#I really wanted to push to be more environmentally friendly

[corrodedparadox]

when will the tapestries be dropping?

Not too sure yet!! I’m aiming to have a small drop the end of this month/middle of next month, but the date is really up in the air until I get everything behind the scenes situated. It’ll have the tapestries, new prints, bumper stickers, and bad dog shirt and tank preorders will open back up!

Also, if yall have any specific art you’d wanna see as a tapestry let me know!! I can’t promise anything but it’s always nice to know what everyone’s interested in :)

[luigilore]

lu x hyperfeminine gf thoughts incoming!

I don't think he's that hard to please when it comes to having a good smell that attracts him. I personally see him being more into sweet scents or soft floral scents. Nothing to mature or femme fatale kind of scents. Think the entire Chloe perfume collection, Glossier You family, Being Frenshe (Solar Fleur scent), LoveShackFancy perfumes, you get where I'm going with this... This man loves and I mean LOVES the feel of the soft, supple skin you have after you use scented moisturizer & body oil after you shower. He's always sniffing the crook of your neck and massaging your thighs with his hands after that fresh shave. Loves to smell hair, he's addicted to that gisou hair perfume and sometimes you catch him sniffing the bottle when he think you're not looking.

Sighs internally when you leave random lip balms and lip glosses all over the apartment. He highly (but think he's being lowkey) loves catching a whiff of Summer Fridays Pink Sugar on your lips when he leans in to kiss you.

He think you look at little silly when you put on those heatless curl rods in your hair and chuckles to himself whenever you decide to put on a sheet mask. But then one day he randomly says, "Hey, can I try one of those? Are they any good?" Single use sheet masks aren't the most environmentally friendly but he'll do it because he loves the shit out of you and it gives him a chance to bond with you.

"luigi, give your hand. those cuticles need to get pushed back and I want to put some cuticle oil on them"

he'll grumble and mutter on about how pointless it is under his breath while giving you his hand in the most dramatic, sassy manner. However, when you're bent down putting the rose scented cuticle oil on, he's beaming. He knows this your way of showing him love, by taking care of the things he wouldn't even dream of putting emphasis on.

He knows that even though you take extra care of your (and his) appearance, you're not shallow or vapid. You have a heart of gold, wear your heart on your sleeve. You're his hair tossing, lipgloss smacking princess and he wouldn't have it any other way

xoxo, a hyperfeminine girlie that did a lot of self insertion here

OH ANON stop thank you for this truly🩷🩷reading this like the morning paper actually🤓 this is soooo good

i totally agree re scents like anything sweet or floral or even maybe citrusy/fresh would be his fav... and omg i loveee glossier you i also love the marc jaocb daisy line i feel like that fits this vibe <33

!!! imagine one time you forget and kiss him right after u put lip plumper on and he makes the most disgusted face like pouting with his now red lips like lmfao wiping it off immediately asking if thats normal and why would you purposely hurt yourself <//3 but yes ur little like bowl near the doorway where u keep ur keys has so many random lipglosses and balms in it

ur absolutely right like would be obsessed with thumbing over and rubbing ur skin after u put lotion and body oil on omgg... random but after u've been together for a while and ur v comfortable w e/o i do think he would enjoy randomly sniffing ur hair or the crook of ur neck :') would also sometimes just wander into your bathroom with you as you're doing your nighttime routine to look at all of your different products lol he's curious... "i didn't even know this was a thing" x 100

re face masks yeahhhh ahh he would enjoy just listening to you explain the different ones u have and u put it on for him so carefully, maybe even straddling his lap, very concentrated and he's just looking at u like 🤩

stopppp omg hed be so sassy but he'd also feel really so uniquely pampered and loved by you down to the way you hold his fingers so gently <3 also imagine getting him a curl cream like u do ur own research and u put it on after a shower all excited and again so carefully ... it kind of is reframing how he views the body not just as... almost a vehicle to upkeep but learning to enjoy the actual act of self care itself... IDK

thank u again this is truly my jam 🤗

[allthecanadianpolitics]

I actually really dislike using taxes to try and pressure certain behaviours because it only really causes problem for poor people, especially if you're going to make making exemptions for industries that should be the target of it anyways. It's all for show. Ooh, gas is more expensive now so people will make greener decisions--you've just made it so companies will hike up their prices so gas is more expensive but the average Canadian has no alternatives to paying that higher price. And removing the carbon rebate? It's the same story about how taking money through taxes is "bad" (for companies), but god forbid the government give that money to the individuals who may need it. Maybe it encourages some level of change by making green more profitable, relatively speaking, but it still puts the onus on companies and consumers when progress has a price tag more expensive than the status quo and gives reason for "greener" alternatives to price gouge because environmentally friendly is a selling point for the people who can afford it. Even if he creates tax incentives for other, greener choices, the question remains as to who can afford to make those choices and reap the rewards? If the government outright subsidized those green choices it'd be one thing, but simple rewards or being overall, long-term cheaper still requires already having the initial capital necessary to invest in those green choices.

(Plus carbon isn't the only measurement of being harmful to the environment. Something will excel at whatever measurement you use for success--we see this in how instead of using fossil fuels, companies like Tesla will still engage in environmentally and humanitarianly damaging practices but claim being eco-friendly because they're not using oil or coal)

Just man up and make regulations, put funding into better, greener infrastructure so making the greener decision is actually feasible, actually DO something useful instead of expecting individual Canadians to make the "right" decisions in a dysfunctional system. That's why we HAVE a government. I know we've made lots of progress in terms of switching to more renewable, green energy, but while you've got to reward the behaviour you want to see you also have make it feasible for the average Canadian. They could at least push for something more radical instead of waffling on policies that no one likes anyways. I'd respect the Liberals far more if they at least tried, even if it failed.

Carbon taxes are, at least when not used in conjunction with other more constructive policies, half-assing it in a way that is fundamentally ineffective at actually solving the problem because it doesn't address the demand part of supply-and-demand, and primarily screws over those who have fewer options in the first place. Its kowtowing to the oil industry because instead of offering genuine competition or alternatives, you instead give them a fine that they can afford to pay, and if they can't or won't they dump it on their consumers who largely have little choice in something like mode of transportation. And so long as its in competition with gas, electric cars and similar will remain more expensive because those who can afford it are willing to shell out for the more eco-friendly choice, not to mention the bigger price tag on maintaining and using that electric car, but that dynamic is reliant on the cheaper, gas-based baseline existing for those too poor to make the "green" decision. All of which has a profit motive that supersedes the people and environment that it is meant to benefit.

But the most basic example of Why We Need Governments And Taxes is maintaining roads for communal use and we still have 407 so I'm not holding my breath.

~~~~

[kingshovelbug]

im sorry but i need to geek out somewhere and screaming into the void on tumblr is less likely to get me flayed than on twitter, especially if i get terms wrong. plus i can do a read more and yall can click into the tech talk if you want to verse it bombarding your twitter timelines

so idk if i only liked it or if i actually put it in my queue but i saw a post that talked about a few pieces of tech that focus on user repairs and being sustainable (fairphone and frameworks laptop) and after doing some more research into what they have to offer i actually really excited that these products are finely hitting the us market and that people are moving away from the belief that super smooth streamlined glassy = the future. being able to reliably repair and keep what you have alive verse throwing the whole thing away when maybe all you needed to do is add more ram to your current laptop (something that i would do with my laptop to keep using it for a few more years if it wasnt glued shut and i was at risk of cracking the screen) or swap out a fuse.

i know big corporations dont like it but i truly do believe with how much tech we use on a daily basis that the way that we are going to be more environmentally friendly is to move back to tech that we can hang onto for as long as we can and to recycle and then reuse what we cant. like with the frameworks laptop. i saw that they just partnered with coolermaster to create a case specifically so that you can reuse you motherboard, cpu, etc and make a portable workstation. you could dual wield with the laptop you just upgraded if you want to dedicate specific tasks to one or the other. they also specifically mentioned that you could screw it into the back of a monitor and create your own all in one. guys thats cool as shit??? if you had a 3d printer and some time you could even create that yourself

on top of the actual hardware part moving to open source programs when your able. when i update my desktop i plan on running linux. it might have a learning curve compared to windows but in terms of performance??? ive heard that it runs smoother even on older machines, that its more efficient because isnt running stuff in the background that tracks your data and shit. now i understand that not everyone can do that because there are some programs that dont play nice with linux but for my needs at least it does everything i would need it to. and maybe a couple years down the road we do figure out how to run these programs on certain flavors of linux since its open source and people fiddle with it so much. (still looking for alternatives to like word and excel though, i use google docs since its free but i want to move away from them as much as i can too since they laid of their youtube music team (i believe?? it might of been a different branch) for trying to unionize)

if anyone knows of any other smaller companies that actually focus on sustainability and user repairability please let me know. theres certain pieces of tech that i think are now unfortunately behind a software repair paywall, things that used to be just machines and are gaining more bells and whistles like cars and refrigerators if that makes sense. but the more we push for these things to be repairable by us the consumers id hope that would change, or there would at least be options that dont need specific companies to repair them or else they blow up

[tyrantisterror]

A couple months ago, one of the kids at the daycare brought in a D&D starter set and asked me to DM a game for him and some of the other kids in my class. Now, I had considered doing this in the past, but written it off for a variety of reasons, mainly asusming it'd be a couple days of chaos before the kids get sick of all the math involved and lose interest. But if a kid broaches an idea and others seem on board, I feel it's kind of my duty to at least try it.

So far my assumptions have been... mostly correct? Like, 70% of my predictions have come true, it is chaos, ten-years olds are the most murder-happy murder hobo PCs you could possibly imagine, and they've really been pushing my improv skills to their absolute limits with the choices they've made (and the constrictions I have on me as a daycare teacher). But they haven't gotten bored with the math, and they absolutely love playing the game still, which is nice. I like it when my students are passionate about something.

Anyway, I bring this up because seeing how children play with D&D canon has made me realize one critical fact:

D&D needs a Mons Game spinoff.

Kids love monsters. This is not my bias, it is something that has been categorically proven to me in my four years of working at a daycare. Every kid loves the idea of weird, impossible creatures, and they love the idea of befriending a whole horde of those creatures even more so. One of my kids in the daycare D&D campaign is making it his goal to find and tame every monster he can find in the kid-friendly monster manuals I bought for the class. He wants a Tarasque and a Bullete and an Owlbear and on and on and on, and keeps proposing tactics for capturing them based on his time playing Ark: Survival Evolved, a game where you can tame dinosaurs and mythic beasts while trying to survive a wild world full of danger and obstacles.

And it turns out that, while the mechanics of D&D don't support this, the philosophy of how its settings are structured according to those mechanics does. D&D is filled with hundreds of wild and imaginative monsters, all with distinct appearances, habits, adaptations, and environmental needs. The need to make the "dungeons" part of D&D interesting has required it to build really interesting monster ecosystems, and, much like mons games, the need to keep players buying new content has resulted in them building a vast library of creatures, because selling $50 books containing a slew of new monsters is a pretty guaranteed way to get money. D&D may not be a mons game, but it's accidentally made its setting perfectly suited to be one.

And what a money-maker that would be! Skew it more towards a child audience in tone, use simpler mechanics so kids can hop into it without spending, say, three solid weeks of afterschool daycare time crafting character sheets more or less one on one, and you'd have a game that would easily hook a younger audience while planting seeds of interest into the bigger game.

Of course, there are already indie TTRPG mons games, and I imagine some of them are actually good, but unfortunately they're not exactly easily obtainable on a daycare teacher's budget. And, you know, they wouldn't let you make a team of a bulette, an otyugh, a gray render, and an owlbear.

But then again, Wizards of the Coast continues to be absolute bastards, so maybe this idea is too good for them. Which makes it a good thing they're never going to read this blog post.

[rjzimmerman]

My view, for what it's worth. President Biden was consequential. He caused legislation that vigorously applied (and will continue to apply) billions of dollars of federal funds toward the development of systems, hardware, infrastructure and education to address climate change and environmental issues. He promoted and created more protections for public lands and oceans than any president before him. Yet, he succumbed to politics when he felt like he had to, primarily to the benefit of the fossil fuel industry. I want to believe that he was listening to his staff, and not his conscience when he did so, but his job, among many, was to do what he thought was right, not what his staff was pushing him to do. He had failures in other areas, unfortunately too many, but on balance, he was good for us and to us. I voted for him in 2020 on the assumption he would be a one-term president dragging us out of the trump mud. I got my wish, but not the 2024 outcome I wanted.

Excerpt from this story from Grist:

When Joe Biden first became president, some found it hard to believe that he cared very much about climate change.

With a global pandemic raging, the former vice president and longtime senator pitched his 2020 campaign as a return to normalcy and a referendum on the erratic leadership of Donald Trump. His campaign pledges to ban drilling on federal lands and spend trillions of dollars to decarbonize the economy — though they amounted to among the most ambitious climate agenda ever put forward by a major-party candidate — were widely seen as consolation prizes to skeptical progressives and climate hawks, like those who had backed Senator Bernie Sanders or former Washington Governor Jay Inslee in the 2020 Democratic primaries.

It’s clear now that these skeptics underestimated the outgoing president. Biden’s climate agenda, broader and more ambitious than that of any U.S. president before him, is poised to stand as the most consequential feat of his presidency, especially given his self-evident failure to “heal the soul of the nation” by ushering it into a post-Trump era. He succeeded in getting Congress to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, a misleadingly titled law that amounts to an unprecedented subsidy for renewable energy and climate-friendly technologies like electric vehicles. The measure triggered a wave of investment that has begun to reshape the nation’s economy and finally put the U.S. within reach of its commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“I think Biden will go down in history as passing the biggest climate bill that was ever passed in the world’s history,” said Sean Casten, a Democratic member of Congress from Illinois (and former contributor to Grist).

If Biden’s presidency represents a major step forward in the climate fight, though, it is also a cautionary tale about the limits of climate policy in the United States. The success of the IRA shows that a massive clean energy push is politically viable, under the right circumstances. (Whether or not it’s politically advantageous, or even prudent, is a story that the 2024 election called into question.) But Biden’s attempts to restrict fossil fuel production throughout his presidency were far less successful — not only did his push to curb oil and natural gas production get mired in litigation before it could bear any real fruit, but it also generated political backlash that never really dissipated. 

[thatfrenchacademic]

Hello! because you are our EU person on tumblr: any advice who to vote for on Sunday when we care about the environment?

Oof, Anon, that is quite the question.

Bear in mind that for the EU, the environment is technically a shared competence, meaning that there is a lot of push and pull between Member States and the EU regarding who decides what and when. See them more as co-deciders, rather than the EU always being "above" on these questions.

I am NOT in the business of telling people who to vote for. I'm going to slightly twist it and put it as "which European Group has the best record in supporting environment-friendly policies".

Buckle up, we are going on a quest in the European Parliament! Complete with links, sources and all you will need for the adventure, along which I try my hardest to not comment on things that drive me nuts with how European parties and groups work.

First off, this is the current EU Parliament:

These are the seven groups, from left to right:

The Left

Socialists and Democrats (S&D)

The Greens/European Free Alliance (The Greens/EFA)

Renew Europe (ex ALDE)

European People's Party (EPP)

European Conservative and Reformists (ECR)

Identity and Democracy (ID)

Now, I am not an expert in environmental policies, but other people are. What are want to look for is people evaluating the record of each of these parties regarding environmental policies.

Problem: "environmental policies" is kind of broad and vague. We are all for green policies, but parties sometimes disagree on how to get there. There is a longstanding battle between France and Germany overall regarding what is more green, in the long term: coal, or nuclear energy. There are disagreements over whether it is greener to ban some pesticide in Europe, if it means we end up importing more food from outside the EU. How to best support green policies without just displacing polluting industries outside of the borders of the EU? What about emission trading, do we want this? What I mean is that the details tend to be complicated, and multiple groups could try to claim that they support pro-environment policies.

Broadly speaking, for pro-environment policies at European level, you will be looking toward the Left. A dedicated right-wing supporter could argue that they have some green policies as well, but it is simply not their priority, and so if they have to chose between [issue that they campaign on] and green policies, then they will pick [issue that they campaign on]. Note that "issues they campaign on" can be perfectly valid issue, or it may be xenophobic garbage, but fact is, they are not prioritizing green policies, ever. Whereas groups on the left side sometimes do priorities green policies... but not always.

So: The Left, S&D, The Greens and Renew can all more or less plausible claim some record of pro-environmental policies. What you could from there is peruse their website, and look for their policy papers, official positions, etc... It can be hard to fin documents you can really compare with each other, but you could look here:

Renew Europe: here

The Greens: here

S&D: here and here

The Left: here

And before anyone calls me unfair: ID has no section on the environment, EPP has their green policies here and here, and ECR here.

You can find more on each group's website than what I have put here! The Greens and The Left, especially, have much more.

But, smart voter that you are, you know that this is all campaign stuff and fluff. What we may want to know is how well they did so far. What's their record, beyond their words. Well. Good thing smart people have looked into it already.

CAN had a look at that back in 2019. They looked into how each MEP had voted on key environmental issues in the EU. You can find their whole report here, but I will borrow that page from them:

[always a good idea to look into how they pulled out these numbers! They include it in the report, in the "methodology" section. There are little bits I am not suuuper happy with, but overall I think it's a really good, transparent, report.]

So, without much surprise, the Greens score the highest, followed by the Left and S&D, pretty much neck to neck. Overall, if I update the names of the different parties, the ranking goes like this:

The Greens

The Left

S&D

EFDD disappeared

Renew Europe

ID

EPP

ECR

[Note: I am trying so, SO HARD to not add my own thoughts and comments on this, pls appreciate my restraint]

Ok, but how do I know WHO to vote for ?? IN MY COUNTRY?

As far as I know, however, candidates on the ground tend to market themselves as belonging to a national party, rather than a European group. Which is also why people usually don't even know about European Parliament groups [on which I also have THOUGHTS SOMEONE PLS RESTRAIN ME] For example, in Germany:

And as seen above, usually The Greens do have their logo in there, and sometimes Renew (at least the ALDE used to) but others usually just have their national party affiliations.

[me as I try very hard to not judge national parties's campaigns on main when European elections are around the corner]

The good thing is, it is pretty easy to figure out where each national party stand in the European Parliament. You can google that pretty easily, and I made you a handy dandy list:

The Greens: here, and click "countries" or "parties" on the left

The Left: here, with actually nice website

S&D: right here !

Renew: here, also with actually decent web design?? in a European group website??

Alternatively, you can go back to the CAN report, and scroll to your country specifically! Isn't that sweet ?!

So there you go anon, we know now who in the European Parliament has a good record on green policies, and who that will be in your own country! And I have been so :) neutral :) about :) it :) all :)

[thesorcerersapprentice]

04.03.2024

Hello everyone! Apologies for the delay. My offline life has gotten quite hectic lately, which has made it hard to keep on schedule. Hopefully, things will smooth over soon!

Worldbuilding & Solar/Cyberpunk Considerations: As I mentioned in the last couple of updates, I've been working on a post on the geography, flora & fauna of The Sorcerer's Apprentice universe, which I meant to publish last week (and the week before that, lol). I've completed the three sections that correspond to the (as of yet unnamed) second empire's territory (second because the book focuses on neo-colonialism, the successor of old-world colonialism), all of which are based on the natural world of Colombia at 2600 meters above sea level and beyond. Because the plot of The Sorcerer's Apprentice mainly transpires in a city within this region, while writing the aforementioned sections, I was also trying to figure out what a city that incorporates the novel's themes (the link between colonialism, environmental catastrophe, and capitalism) would look like within this context. Given that one of the main themes is capitalism, my first impulse was to make the primary plot location in the novel a cyberpunk-inspired city. After all, what screams capitalism gone mad more than cyberpunk? To this end, I read quite a few articles on the subject (Rethinking the End of Modernity: Empire, Hyper-Capitalism, and Cyberpunk Dystopias by Jeffrey Paris, Elements of a Poetics of Cybperunk by Brian McHale, Neoliberalism and Cyberpunk Science Fiction: Living on the Edge of Burnout by Caroline Alphin, Recycled Dystopias: Cyberpunk and the End of History by Elana Gomel, The Cyberpunk Dystopia as a Reflection on Late Capitalism by Marius Florea, and more). The problem with this idea was that when I looked around me at Bogotá, the city I live in, I just couldn't see it. Bogotá is a green city. There is green everywhere you look. Furthermore, traditional-looking cyberpunk flattens any culturally specific elements it incorporates, the same way big-chain supermarkets worldwide completely obliterate the slightest whiff of uniqueness from their premises. No matter where you are, they all look the same. As I mentioned in a previous update, one of my aims with The Sorcerer's Apprentice is to celebrate the culture of my region of the world. Cyberpunk, at least as it has been traditionally conceived, works against that objective. Again, this fits with what capitalism does irl, but I really really really don't want to write yet another NYC-inspired urban hellscape. In fact, I can't think of anything worse than having my main character admire a cyberpunk city... My search for a more suitable alternative led me to the antithesis of cyberpunk, its eco-friendly adversary, solarpunk. For information on this genre, I relied mainly on @alpaca-clouds post on the History of Solarpunk and @solarpunks's informative response, which includes several very helpful links (check out both posts here!). At first glance, solarpunk seemed to fit The Sorcerer's Apprentice much better than cyberpunk had; it allowed me to envision a city that elevated rather than obscured (or flattened) present-day Colombian culture. Basically, with solarpunk I could keep the city green, as cities in this region of the world tend to be; I could retain the push for sustainable innovations that play such a vital role in our mainstream policy; and I could keep the regional architecture, as well as site-specific building materials like guadua, a hardy local species of bamboo. Most importantly, with solarapunk I could genuinely describe the city with respect and admiration. The only remaining issue was to figure out how to incorporate the novel's themes into this genre. After all, although Solarpunk is utopic, The Sorcerer's Apprentice is not. How do I illuminate and criticize the link between capitalism, colonialism and environmental decay within a fantastical city that walks and talks like a utopia?

Cont. My solution is to create a hybrid proposal somewhere between cyberpunk and solarpunk; a city that presents like solarpunk, but that has achieved this green, sustainable self-expression without renouncing its colonial and capitalist exploitation of vulnerable peoples and environments elsewhere. Essentially, this would make the city the large-scale equivalent of one of those high-end clothing brands that have "recycled" symbols on their tags, but that have their product made in deplorable overseas sweatshops. The message of the novel would, thus, be amplified to include the idea that there can be no environmental justice without social justice. Does it work? We'll see. That's what I've got so far.

Researched the Link between Colonialism, Environmental Catastrophe and Capitalism: To educate myself on the main themes of the novel and how these can be better incorporated into the setting, I picked up Chaos in the Heavens: The Forgotten History of Climate Change by Jean-Baptiste Fressoz & Fabien Locher, and translated by Gregory Elliott. And let me tell you, I was not expecting to learn what I learned!!! This book is honestly fire. I had no idea climate science was so deeply rooted in colonialism!! Honestly, more than any other book I've read so far, Chaos in the Heavens articulates the link between the three main themes I've been trying to work with so, so clearly. Now I understand why people say we're lazy because we get too much sun. Or why all the native trees got cut down and replaced with pines. Eye-Opening!!! 100000% recommend.

REMINDERS:

Answer pending asks, and publish that promised worldbuilding post on the geography, flora & fauna of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice universe, you know the drill lol

Research Transhumanism.

Research Designs for Sustainable Cities and New Green Technologies.

TAG LIST: (ask to be + or - ) @the-finch-address @fearofahumanplanet @winterninja-fr  @avrablake @outpost51 @d3mon-ology @hippiewrites @threeking @lexiklecksi @achilleanmafia @blind-the-winds

© 2024 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. All rights reserved.

[kidcharlemagnex6]

Wendy Testaburger is NOT Selfish!

As I've been exploring Tumblr, I've noticed several posts regarding the relationship between Stan Marsh and Wendy Testaburger in South Park. Most of these posts are primarily concerned with defending the relationship between the two by pointing out all of the ways that they DO care about each other. However, I've noticed that most of them try to look at from Stan's point of view. I would like to take a different approach and examine the situation from Wendy's perspective by comparing her to a somewhat similar character: Lisa Simpson.

On the surface, Wendy and Lisa are a lot alike: both are intelligent pre-teen girls who take their schoolwork seriously and believe in fiercely advocating for issues that they're passionate about. But when you really look into their characters, you'll notice that Wendy is actually less selfish than Lisa; this, in my view, is down to three major flaws on Lisa's part that Wendy doesn't have: Lisa just uses her schoolwork to stroke her ego, only speaks about social issues to get attention, and refuses to respect other people's choices.

First, let's look at how the two girls approach their schoolwork. As stated earlier, Lisa's concern about her schoolwork, when you really look at it, only extends to how good she can make herself look with it. I think this is best shown in the episode where Lisa gets the chance to skip ahead to the third grade; Lisa was very enthusiastic at first, but once it became clear that there were plenty of third graders who were just as good as her, if not better (Bart getting pushed back to third grade, notwithstanding), she jumped at the chance to go back to second grade and be the "big fish" again. If Wendy was ever given the chance to skip a grade level, I'm sure she would take the opportunity with gusto and do her best to persevere, if not reject the offer because she doesn't want to leave her friends, especially not Stan. That, in my view, would prove to me that Wendy doesn't care that much about being the best, so long as she can do her best.

The next point I want to bring up is both girls' activism. Neither one of them is afraid to speak up for causes that they believe need more attention. But if you pay careful attention, you'll notice that the difference is in the motivations. For one example, when Lisa attempted to join the football team but discovered that the team already had girls and were using environmentally friendly materials, Lisa simply left in tears; if Wendy were in that situation, she would either happily join the team or leave without a word. Another example is how they react when others get rewards or positions that they think were undeserved. When Wendy was trying to prove that Cartman plagiarized that one essay, she was doing so TO prove that the essay was plagiarized. On the other hand, Lisa tried to get Bart demoted from that little newscast they were both working on simply because she was jealous of the idea of him being her equal; same as when Bart learned to play the drums. So, when you take those factors into account, you can conclude that Wendy's ego is not as swollen as Lisa's since she actually tries to expose injustices and would be proud of other people's accomplishments and talents, whereas Lisa would find a way to snuff those out.

The last point I want to look at is both girls' love lives. The biggest difference is obvious: Wendy has been dating Stan for almost as long as the whole show has lasted, while none of Lisa's relationships have lasted longer than a single episode. In my opinion, this is due to one major reason: Wendy is more respectful of other people's choices than Lisa is. You can best see this in the episode where Lisa tried to start a relationship with Nelson Muntz. First off, she never expressed any interest in Nelson before that episode and was explicitly trying to "change" Nelson in both appearance and behavior to mold him into her idea of a "gentleman." Also, she clearly tried to automatically appoint herself Nelson's "girlfriend" and gave up on him once it became clear that she can't mold him into anything. Wendy, on the other hand, asked Stan on a date the way you're really supposed to and has never expressed discontent with issues as minor as Stan's fashion sense or love of fart jokes; therefore, it seems safe to conclude that Lisa would have looked for any excuse to leave Stan over some petty bullcrap while Wendy is genuinely in love with him. And it's not just romance that this can apply to. When Wendy advocated to have vegetarian options added to the school's cafeteria menu, she only did so to give vegetarians the options they want; Lisa, on the other hand, would have outright demanded that the entire menu be made vegetarian without giving any consideration for any students who might need to keep meat and such in their diets; she even abandoned one of the very few real friends she did have just because she wasn't a vegetarian (and really likes horse meat), which Ms. Hoover (her teacher) admitted would happen. So all in all, Wendy wants to love and be loved while Lisa just wants a Ken doll she can dress up and show off.

So with all of that said, I think it would be safe to conclude that Wendy Testaburger is a far better character than Lisa Simpson. Wendy actually cares about doing the right thing, legitimately respects other people's autonomy, and is more than happy to love people for who they are. Lisa Simpson, on the other hand, is a selfish conformist who just wants to be fawned over by yes men. You can also see this in how they view their respective families. While we haven't seen too much attention given to Wendy's view on her family, she seems to have a fairly high opinion on them and most likely wouldn't trade them in for anything. Lisa, on the other hand, would gladly abandon her family, despite all they have done for her, for one that's more "highbrow." So, in my opinion, Wendy seems destined to have a much better and more joyful life than Lisa because she cares more about being happy than being right.

'Nuff said.

[ethanfmp]

Ethical/Cultural Considerations Of My Initial Game Idea

At first glance, the keywords for my game might look like one of the strangest combinations you’ve ever seen The Lorax H.P. Lovecraft and curses. But when I thought about these three together something unique clicked for me. What if there was a godlike ancient deity who like the Lorax watches over nature and the forest but instead of a friendly protector this being is more of a wrathful force? Something powerful and potentially evil who reacts violently when humans disturb the natural world.

The idea that human encroachment could awaken such a deity leading it to unleash a curse on humanity as a form of defense or retaliation really fascinated me. I knew this concept had broad potential it could fit into any genre or story but it was the emotional and thematic pull of these keywords together that pushed me to explore it more seriously.

I’m a big fan of soulslike games and I dream of making one someday but I realized that creating a massive game with hundreds of unique bosses and handcrafted zones is beyond what I can manage right now. Instead I wanted to focus on making a more manageable project that still feels cohesive and rich. That’s where the idea of a procedural roguelike survival game came in.

The game world would be a place where a once thriving forest is now corrupted by a spreading plague unleashed by this ancient deity. Mutated creatures roam the land and players must scavenge resources craft tools and balance elemental powers drawn from nature while surviving the harsh environment. The curse isn’t just a story device it’s a core mechanic affecting everything the player does spreading and mutating the world and even the player’s own body.

I’m excited about how the game’s procedural generation and short runs can create fresh challenges each time while the environmental storytelling would let players piece together the deeper lore at their own pace. It’s not a traditional narrative but I hope it gives the player space to imagine and reflect on the consequences of humanity’s actions. This approach reminds me of games like Hades where roguelike runs reveal bits of story over time and Dark Souls where environmental storytelling creates a rich atmosphere without heavy exposition.

But beyond the gameplay there’s an ethical and cultural dimension I want to be mindful of. The game draws heavily from the idea of nature’s vengeance inspired by The Lorax’s environmental message but seen through a darker more cosmic lens inspired by Lovecraft. It’s about the idea that nature isn’t just something we can control or exploit without consequence it’s a force that might push back in ways we don’t expect. This echoes themes found in games like Hollow Knight where corrupted nature shapes the world or Bloodborne where cosmic horror challenges the player’s understanding of reality.

Using curses and a wrathful deity ties into traditional folklore and indigenous perspectives about balance and respect for nature. I want to handle this thoughtfully so it’s not just a superficial trope but a meaningful exploration of how humans have lost connection with the natural world and the potential spiritual consequences of that loss.

At the same time I’m aware of the baggage Lovecraft’s work carries and I want to avoid any of the problematic aspects while reinterpreting his themes of cosmic horror. Instead of fearing the unknown ‘other’ the game is about fearing the consequences of our own actions a reckoning from nature itself.

Ultimately I hope this game will be more than just a survival challenge. I want it to spark reflection on humanity’s relationship with nature the cost of greed and whether redemption is possible in a world that seems to be punishing us for our past mistakes. The blend of The Lorax H.P. Lovecraft and curses might sound strange but to me it opens a door to telling a story that’s both terrifying and deeply relevant.

[fyqahhh]

It feels like when you read the synopsis of Introvert, this book is a horror genre. But, when you've finished to the end of the book, it's undeniable that you actually misunderstood when you read the synopsis. HAHA. Pity you bro. This is not a gay horror story, although the author has previously written a horror book. Before that, let me explain a little bit about this Introvert. Ika salutes with Abstrakim who come up with works that raise the themes of depression, bullying, introversion, love, friendship, family and life well. This is not a work without filling. As I said before, what we read is especially fiction books. We ourselves have to be good at producing good content to be used as a lesson. Don't just read.Tells about a man named Farady. He is depressed by what is happening in his life. Glad to hear that he has given up hope of continuing to live. So, he decided to end his life in a place called Bangunan Alam. When his feet were standing on the roof of Bangunan Alam, suddenly Farady was approached by a girl named Haura. It was Haura who tried her best to persuade Farady from continuing with his intention. What happened after that? 

The title Introvert refers to Farady. His life is not so beautiful. Although he is in a family, his heart is empty and unhappy. He was also pushed by his father to study in a course he was not interested in, had to forget his passion for multimedia, often wondered about losing his biological mother and many other things that bothered him until he suffered from depression. If I were in Farady's place, I wouldn't necessarily be strong enough to stand strong like him. Maybe he's crazy and sitting on the side of the road.

Farady's character as a whole seems more alive with the presence of Haura. If he stands alone, he will see many weaknesses and be bored. Maybe because he rarely gets along with people. So, he became stiff. Fortunately, he met a person whose personality was the opposite of his. Haura deserves to be Farady's friend.

But, there was a time when Farady tried to change himself. While in college he tried to be an environmentally friendly person but the people around him were not comfortable with Farady's sudden change because they knew how Farady was before. It is also difficult for us to change ourselves just to impress and satisfy people. Be yourself better :) 

Haura -- Actually, I personally like Haura's character. A person who is cute, pleasant, a loyal listener, a successful advice giver and always has difficulties and hardships for Farady. At first, I reminded Haura of the ghost that was hanging around the Natural Building. That's why he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But no, there is a reason why he was there when Farady decided to commit suicide. They were both destined to meet that night. 

But, what makes him angry is when Haura & Farady ignore their feelings. Benda can confess why she wants to keep quiet TT But, Haura seems unwilling to ruin their friendship because of her feelings. So he just shut up. But personally, I really like the characters of Farady and Haura. Their conversation that leads to a personal and heart-to-heart trial between them makes them close in a very quick period of time. And I think I blushed for a moment when I read the sweet-sweet part because Haura likes to tease. But unfortunately..Farady can also not see the gem in front of his eyes and he starts looking at other people. The person who suddenly entered their lives. Farady's principle. 

The story gets more interesting with the presence of Adli, Datuk Idris, Fendi & Natasha. One compliment that can be given to the author is that he knows how to hide hints so well that I myself did not expect it. For the coincidence written by the author, sika can accept. The author will surprise you with more than 1 plot twist at the end of the story. The ending that I don't like but what do I want to do. Because I am sure the author knows what he is writing. It's really sad to think about the ending. 

I also like the way the author writes. Relaxed but the sentences used feel easy to read and digest. It doesn't feel clumsy and I like how the author tells the story of each character. Detailed and every question was answered well. Like Adli's story. Who would have thought that for a boy of his age, he would have to go through such an experience. Bullied, slandered, recruited, thrown out of the family and plunged into the black scene. Adli matured before his age. The painful experience taught Adli the meaning of life. Same with the story for other characters. Play the emotion of this introvert read. 

I recommend this book for anyone who is not fussy in choosing a book. Congratulations to the author. A good try. And I like this book.

[themomsandthecity]

Parenthood Can Amplify Climate Anxiety - Here's How to Cope

For Lauren Simmons, it was Christmas songs that triggered her climate anxiety as a parent this past winter. "Every time I heard 'It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas' or 'Winter Wonderland,' these songs that were so critical to my core childhood memories, I felt a deep sense of grief knowing that snow may or may not be a part of my children's future Christmases," she says. Though a climate and education advisor, Simmons at one point kept a filter on her news feed to avoid stories about climate change; they were too much for her to handle. Simmons is not alone: as floods and fires become more widespread, climate anxiety has become so pervasive that there's an entire industry of therapists dedicated to helping people deal with it. And as a parent, concerns for the future of our planet are amplified by how climate change could affect those you love most for decades after you're gone. Moms and dads are asking each other for coping strategies on Reddit. For some people, it makes them rethink having kids altogether. If you are a parent, learning how to grapple with climate change distress is not only essential for your own well-being, but for your children's, too. "It's harder to show up for your kid and put your best parenting self forward if you're thinking a lot about what their future might look like and worrying," says therapist Jennifer Silverstein, LCSW. Figuring out how to manage climate anxiety as a parent comes down to feeling less alone, and more in control. --- Experts Featured in This Article Jennifer Silverstein, LCSW, is a therapist who volunteers with Climate Psychology Alliance and consults on community resilience. Pamela Templer, PhD, is a professor and chair of the biology department at Boston University, where her lab focuses on the effects of environmental change. --- How to Manage Climate Anxiety as a Parent Find Ways to Be Proactive For many parents, productive coping centers around taking action. "Any time we feel anxiety, it often stems from feeling a lack of control," Boston University biology professor Pamela Templer, PhD, says. "And so if you feel like you're making a difference, it feels more constructive." In addition to teaching young people about climate change in her professional life, Dr. Templer says that small actions at home help her (and her family of four) feel like they're doing what they can to make a difference: walking rather than driving when possible, composting, eating less meat, not using heavy pesticides in the yard, letting the house get a little warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter. "Any climate anxiety I have, I feel like as long as I put energy into doing something to fix it, then I feel better about it," Dr. Templer says. It can also help to get active in your community and beyond. Dr. Templer is part of a local tree-planting committee. Simmons suggests taking actions like advocating for a no-idle zone at your kids' school. You can go to town meetings to push for climate-friendly policies, or become part of a parent-led environmental organization like Moms Clean Air Force or Mothers Out Front. Silverstein recommends getting your kids involved in these activities, too, so you can experience it together. "You want to be able to model for your kids what collective action looks like," Simmons says. If nothing else, look up what other people are doing for the environment. "Even that might give them some alleviation of their anxiety to know that people are out there really working hard on this," Dr. Templer says. Simmons points to the idea of "constructive hope," or the belief that actions are being taken to avoid climate disaster - something that she relates to personally. "I see how bad it is. But at the same time, I see that there are very real ways in which people are trying to transform systems to address the underlying causes of climate change and environmental injustice," she says. Let Go of the Guilt of… https://www.popsugar.com/family/managing-climate-anxiety-parent-49355515?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[ramenheim]

I mean; plenty of mythical pokémon became just part of the normal pokésphere after a few more generations..? (Many from gen I for obvious reasons), but even being from the pretty techno-futurey gen IV its pokédex entry says that research is ongoing on its energy-induced plasmic body-- and then several gens later it becomes a pocket-sized device allowed to jr field scientists; & then all but ubiquitous by now on every *single person* even at young ages regardless of whether they're a pokétrainer/jr. lab assistant-- but with the new important feature of *never really leaving its birth device*{fully domesticated}. It talks to other devices easily enough; but more and more are no longer vacant shells, but rather Rotom-producing tech in their own right.

See, the proliferation of advanced technology that can generate the specific conditions **necessary** for a Rotom to Become Into Existance (they don't lay eggs!) is a self-feeding cycle. They are useful as sentient helpers/energy sources -> so more ppl want them -> so more are literally 'made' (probably by being primed with some initially-induced push of electricity into the 'engine space' its going to occupy**) en masse thereby demoting them from mythical to common.

They were in Arceus (the game) as sentient will'o'wisps that probably occur due to well... the lightening ball phenomena that we get. But future generations had sufficiently fine enough tools+understanding to create more technology for Rotom to naturally manifest within--

§ long aside: (since they figured out how to manifest ALL pokémon digitally [pokéball/Bill's PC]; & even created ones native to the digispace [porygon et al.]{interesting implications on the pkmn-are-replacing-real-animals theory & the influence that "the dark energy space of the area wormholes manifest through" energy has on the pokémon parallel universe re:evolution+egg manifestation}{and a nice meta play on pkmn as a parallel to our world through the lens of GO/HY,P!(n64) as modified by the technology of *our* digital space.}) §

--until they eventually created Mythical-Plasma-Motor On-Demand accessories that let everyone manifest their own Rotom summon, and progressed into a society that REQUIRED the MPMOD° just to navigate most of its *physical spaces*(wallet/calls/DMs/ID/Tickets){~possible "Credited Inventory" stock in the case of the Item Printing Backpack you seem to carry in lieu of physically heavy objects}-- but still just shy of having many *social net-o'-spheres* to proliferate in {which would stray too close to what digimon does, so they can't really; not until they stop refusing to kiss e/o}.

As their science progressed in acuity within the pkmn world {parallel to our videogame pocketdevices + visions of future technical marvels (though critically: stuck reflecting only recentpast social climes)}; the consequences of the creation of new pokémon (human activity already known to cause new/changing pkmn [voltorb,cursola,trubbish,yamask], science progression reclassifying existing pkmn into "new types", etc.), & a changing 'rarity status' of other pkmn due to an INCREASE of their environmental conditions, should be together understood as inevitable.

OP's first OC is is denial fr; but yeah creating so many plasmagremlin-friendly devices in the first place-- nevermind entrusting them with the en/tirety/ of your \truename\ I mean- \digitalghost\ i mEAN- Personal Identity Markers <phew> {😮‍💨} is really quite something & tauros isn't NEARLY giving it the credit it deserves (as something that only the awesome unteethered power of LIGHTNING ITSELF could ever hope to conjure in ancient times; now made as irreverant as a novel secretary-pet-daemon {a well-executed bit of writing on OP's part!} despite the great power it can express unbound.

(**I'm guessing theirs is some kind of sustainable energy tap into the same enerspace that wormholeshit passes through canonically.)

10/10 love this post. Many such comments.

do you think people in the pokémon universe are pissed that rotom is no longer a legendary like people are pissed that pluto is no longer a planet and get into discourse about it

[desn512sarahwhitehead]

Reflective Statement Writing Exercise

Reflection on my research skills 

What specific forms of research did you do? What really helped inspire/extend your poster designs? How could you improve your research? 

I knew I wanted to do something based around nature/outdoors/wildlife in New Zealand because that's a big part of my love for Aotearoa  

I found a few issues that I experimented with eg. pollution, unswimmable waterways, animals going extinct and also looked into the Greens Party and some projects they were doing that revolved around these issues.  

Because New Zealand for the most part is actually a very clean and environmentally friendly country, some statistics that I found didn’t seem accurate. They were either way too extreme and unrealistic, or quite minimal, and therefore I didn’t see a reason to make a poster speaking up about it.  

Reflection on my creative process 

What design processes did you employ? Eg. sketching, experimentation in InDesign, development of selected design ideas, print testing etc. Which processes helped push your ideas + shape your posters? How? What are the strengths and weaknesses within your design process? 

Should have done some print testing instead of leaving it to the day as colours and transparency didn’t come out very well and then I was in a rush to fix and finish  

Should have done some more experimentation, maybe more so sketching on paper to get my ideas down. Sometimes when I make designs straight in InDesign I get carried away, forget the purpose of the posters and end up making something that I am happy with, but doesn’t fit the guidelines. I think if I were to get my ideas down on paper first it would make it easier for me to see a vision in front of me and then make it digitally.  

Reflection on my decision making 

How did you make decisions to develop the project and its responsiveness to the brief? What did you find hard + which decisions were easy? What did you do when you were stuck? You may refer to your Rationale for ideas, but do not repeat the content 

Experimented with a range of themes but struggled to pick a final theme to base my posters off of 

Found it hard to make the typography do the talking in the poster  

In my final posters, I still wanted a little bit of imagery, so I added it to the typography, I thought this way it gave the poster a bit more detail but technically it was still the type doing the talking?? 

Reflection on the overall progression of my work and leaning 

What have you learned so far? What were some of the challenges and breakthroughs? What insights do they suggest for your work for the rest of the semester? Are there any skills or processes you need to revise or improve? 

Struggling using InDesign, I feel as though I could have created better work in Photoshop with the range of effects and more quickly. Not quite used to using it yet.  

Need to watch some more videos on how to do fun techniques, because since I don’t really know what's available, yet I tend to just stick to basic/plain techniques, effects, and fonts.  

I think doing some more poster research, particularly typography posters, to really get into my head that it's the type that needs to be the base concept of the posters. Doing more research and exploration of other artists may help me broaden my ideas. 

[archieroberts]

Entry 5

Words: 421

The importance of strong organisational culture is something that can never be overlooked (Prasanna & Haavisto, 2018). In each organisation that is exceedingly strong, you will find very strong organisational culture within them. A strong organisational culture is generally driven from the top down, starting with managers (Roscoe et al., 2019). It required all workers to fully ‘buy in’ to the organisation at put their best foot forward. It’s a term that has seen an increased importance in recent years and has become a key part of each industry. It is almost essential for large organisations to create a strong culture as it entails a wide range of benefits for all people involved.    

In my experience at my pizza shop I’ve been at for four years now, I feel the organisational culture is good, but definitely not great. The boss/owner treats everyone well and with respect, and all the employees enjoy coming to work. But I certainly wouldn’t so it’s an amazing culture. So too at Brad Sykes Sports Consulting, the culture there is very strong. Everyone is usually quite positive and happy. Brad as well is a great man, very easy to talk to, listens well, and is quite a bubbly person. He is what every boss should strive to be like and very understanding. Finally, the culture at the St Kilda FC where I have volunteered multiple times has also been great. Friendly, positive, energetic and enthusiastic people all around you. It really lifts you up and makes you more comfortable in your work environment. So, from my personal experience, I have found that a strong organisational culture will yield much greater results for the organisation and work toward its goals.

Being a high-quality intern and hard-working is additionally a critically important aspect of an internship or workplace. When an intern shows a desire and passion to help and learn, this will delight the other workers. Nobody wants an intern that is lazy and slacks around. Personally, I believe I would be an ideal intern due to my work ethic and desire to get tasks done. At the pizza shop, I am a valued worker and put my best foot forward. This will translate swiftly into my internship and will assist me well. I don’t half-arse tasks and I make sure they are completed to a good standard. This is the case with studying, work and working out. Regardless of the internship, I will be pushing myself as hard as possible, and will seize any opportunity to work hard.  

Here is a great simple visual to illustrate the qualities of a great organisational culture (from Achievers, 2023).

References:

Carvalho, A. Sampaio, P., Rebentisch, E. Carvalho, J. Álvaro, Saraiva, P. (2019). Operational excellence, organisational culture and agility: the missing link? Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 30(13-14), 1495–1514. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2017.1374833

Organizational Culture: Definition, Importance, and Development. (2023, June 28). Achievers, https://www.achievers.com/blog/organizational-culture-definition/

Prasanna, S. Haavisto, I. (2018). Collaboration in humanitarian supply chains: an organisational culture framework. International Journal of Production Research, 56(17), 5611–5625. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2018.1475762 Roscoe, S. Subramanian, N., Jabbour, C. J. C. Chong, T. (2019). Green human resource management and the enablers of green organisational culture: Enhancing a firm's environmental performance for sustainable development. Business Strategy and the Environment, 28(5), 737–749.