#project scope analysis

[asestimationsconsultants]

Built for Complexity | How Industrial Estimating Service Handles Custom Manufacturing Projects

Introduction: The Complexity of Custom Manufacturing Projects Custom manufacturing projects are often among the most challenging in the industrial construction sector. Unlike standard builds, these projects involve unique designs, specialized materials, and processes that may not be readily available in off-the-shelf cost databases. Each project brings its own set of variables—often with tight schedules and high demands for precision. This is where industrial estimating services come into play, providing the expertise and tools needed to deliver accurate cost forecasts, no matter how complex the project.

Understanding the Challenges of Custom Manufacturing Custom manufacturing projects typically involve the construction of facilities or systems tailored to specific needs, such as custom machinery, production lines, or specialized storage systems. These projects don’t always fit neatly into predefined categories, which makes estimating their costs particularly tricky. The lack of readily available benchmarks for labor, materials, and equipment means estimators must dig deeper to gather accurate data, assess unique risks, and account for variability in the construction process.

The Role of Industrial Estimating Service in Custom Projects Industrial estimating services play a critical role in ensuring that custom manufacturing projects are properly scoped, budgeted, and executed. Estimators rely on a combination of historical data, industry expertise, and sophisticated estimating tools to account for the unique requirements of each project. They assess design drawings, review material specifications, and factor in the intricacies of the production process to arrive at cost estimates that reflect the project’s true scope and complexity.

Detailed Scope Analysis and Custom Material Costs Custom manufacturing projects often require specialized materials that may not have standard pricing available in cost databases. Estimators take the time to analyze material specifications, identify alternative options, and gather quotes from suppliers to ensure that the cost of materials is accurately reflected in the estimate. They may also assess the long-term costs of certain materials, such as maintenance requirements or supply chain challenges, to provide a more comprehensive financial outlook.

Handling Non-Standard Labor Requirements One of the most significant challenges in custom manufacturing projects is managing labor costs. These projects often require skilled labor or specialized subcontractors with expertise in custom processes or equipment. Industrial estimating services evaluate the labor market, assess wage rates for specific skill sets, and account for the potential need for overtime or specialized training. This ensures that the labor component of the estimate is both realistic and aligned with project requirements.

Accounting for Unique Equipment and Tools Custom projects frequently involve unique or specialized equipment, from advanced machinery to custom-designed tools and fixtures. Estimating these costs is far more complex than simply applying standard equipment rental rates. Estimators must account for the cost of acquiring, maintaining, or leasing such equipment, as well as any potential downtime associated with custom tools. In some cases, they may need to work with equipment manufacturers to determine accurate pricing or cost projections for these items.

Risk Assessment and Contingency Planning The nature of custom manufacturing projects often leads to unforeseen challenges—whether it’s unexpected site conditions, delays in material delivery, or the need for rework due to design changes. Industrial estimating services help mitigate these risks by incorporating contingency allowances into their estimates. They conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify potential challenges that could impact the project’s timeline and budget. By factoring in these uncertainties, they provide a more reliable financial forecast, which helps stakeholders make informed decisions about project feasibility and budgeting.

Timeline Sensitivity and Cost Efficiency In custom manufacturing projects, timelines are often tight, and any delays can significantly impact overall costs. Industrial estimating services evaluate the project schedule in relation to the scope and complexity of the work, considering factors like lead times for custom materials, labor availability, and equipment procurement. They incorporate these time-sensitive factors into their estimates, ensuring that the project is planned efficiently from a cost perspective. By optimizing the timeline and identifying opportunities to streamline construction, estimators help reduce costs and keep the project on track.

Integration of Technology for Enhanced Accuracy To handle the complexities of custom manufacturing projects, industrial estimating services increasingly rely on advanced technology. Software tools and Building Information Modeling (BIM) platforms allow estimators to visualize the project in greater detail, integrate different design elements, and identify potential cost-saving opportunities. These tools provide a more accurate picture of the project’s scope, helping estimators refine their forecasts and catch potential issues before construction begins. Additionally, digital tools can analyze historical project data to inform more accurate pricing for custom materials and processes.

The Importance of Communication Between Stakeholders A successful custom manufacturing project requires coordination between various stakeholders, including the design team, contractors, suppliers, and equipment manufacturers. Industrial estimating services ensure that all parties are aligned by providing clear, detailed cost breakdowns and communicating any uncertainties or risks associated with the estimate. This transparency helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures that all stakeholders have a clear understanding of the budget and timeline.

Providing Value Engineering Alternatives In custom manufacturing, budget constraints are common, and finding ways to reduce costs without compromising quality is crucial. Industrial estimating services often work closely with the design team to identify value engineering alternatives that can reduce costs. These might include suggesting alternative materials, adjusting the scope of certain features, or proposing changes to construction methods that maintain the integrity of the design while offering cost savings. This value-driven approach helps ensure that custom manufacturing projects are both financially viable and high-quality.

Conclusion: Precision and Flexibility for Custom Manufacturing Success Custom manufacturing projects present unique challenges, but industrial estimating services are equipped to handle the complexity. By leveraging specialized knowledge, advanced technology, and real-time data, estimators ensure that these projects are properly budgeted, efficiently executed, and financially viable. Whether it’s managing specialized materials, labor, equipment, or risk, industrial estimating services help turn custom manufacturing challenges into opportunities for success.

[vriskarlmarx]

The couple functions as both the problem and its solution. If not this one, she just needs another boyfriend, one that will treat her better. A woman may feel the nausea of ambivalence, of being caught between obsession with phallic power and revulsion from it. She does not know which is greater, the melancholia of the couple or the melancholia of denouncing it as a social form. Most opt for the sadness of the couple over the alienation of being cut loose from its grasp. Capital lends a shoulder at every turn, suggesting you watch a rom com with your girlfriends when heartbroken or providing endless ways to personalize your wedding dress. Similar to the framework of electoral politics that limits the scope of critique to the wrong people being in office, the couple-form attributes women’s problems to dating the wrong man rather than to the couple itself. As long as she stays invested in the idea of romantic love as salvation, as the guiding principle against isolation and towards fulfillment, she remains tied to the couple-form.

As another facet of the couple-as-solution, the discourses surrounding austerity measures and neoliberal restructuring frame the couple as a remedy for poverty. One reads tales of young people shifting between poverty and prison as a result of single parenting, especially absent fathers, as if the restitution of the couple could remedy the poverty and structural racism produced by capitalism. State bureaucrats tell women that the couple and the family that it anchors have replaced social assistance programs: you don’t need help with childcare or food stamps; you need a man! The surest way out of poverty is to get married! While many women might never have access to employment, those who do work for a wage face a gendered discrepancy in earnings, likely forcing them to rely on male wages to support their children. These economic mechanisms preserve the vehemence of the couple-form as a trap for women within capitalism, which masks unwaged labor as acts of love and care.

[...]

The logic of the couple penetrates queer relationships as well as straight ones. Homonormativity and gay assimilation have fashioned queer relationships in the shape of straight coupledom. Rather than a subversion of heterosexual social relations, assimilationist, liberal homosexuals have fought for the right to fit into the logic of the couple — to get married, to wear a wedding dress, to create familial nuclei able to protect property relations. Homosexuals perpetuate heterosexual norms and phallocracy through categorizations and role-play, which further codify desires and constitute sex within the logic of phallic centrality and authority. Same sex couples do not escape either the territoriality imposed on desire or the couple’s reinforcement and faithfulness to repressive social relations.

Dismantling the logic of the couple does not indicate distaste for love, but rather a critique of directing love towards a specific object. One must contextualize the couple-form within patriarchy, as so-called ‘love’ arrives to us through the apparatus of gender. Denouncing the couple does not mean shunning giddiness, love letters written in tiny cursive with quill pens, or the feeling of the sidewalk being a trampoline. Rather, critiquing the couple involves an analysis of the way that patriarchy has recuperated women’s desire for solidarity, for intimacy, for excitement, for negation, for the event into a consolidation of phallic power and the accumulation of capital.

Who would not arrive at this conclusion: patriarchy and capitalism thwart any possibility to love in a way that liberates oneself from the logic of the couple or from one’s own oppression. To liberate love necessarily involves the abolition of patriarchy and capitalism. One cannot opt in or out of these structural relations, and the struggle against them will be a collective, historical project.

In this pathetic, stillborn world, we do have feelings. Sometimes we look at someone and think we are in love with them. We must crush the illusion that romance is or will be an avenue for liberation.

Against the Couple Form, Clémence X Clementine and Associates from the Infinite Venom Girl Gang

[jstor]

I saw something about generative AI on JSTOR. Can you confirm whether you really are implementing it and explain why? I’m pretty sure most of your userbase hates AI.

A generative AI/machine learning research tool on JSTOR is currently in beta, meaning that it's not fully integrated into the platform. This is an opportunity to determine how this technology may be helpful in parsing through dense academic texts to make them more accessible and gauge their relevancy.

To JSTOR, this is primarily a learning experience. We're looking at how beta users are engaging with the tool and the results that the tool is producing to get a sense of its place in academia.

In order to understand what we're doing a bit more, it may help to take a look at what the tool actually does. From a recent blog post:

Content evaluation

Problem: Traditionally, researchers rely on metadata, abstracts, and the first few pages of an article to evaluate its relevance to their work. In humanities and social sciences scholarship, which makes up the majority of JSTOR’s content, many items lack abstracts, meaning scholars in these areas (who in turn are our core cohort of users) have one less option for efficient evaluation. 

When using a traditional keyword search in a scholarly database, a query might return thousands of articles that a user needs significant time and considerable skill to wade through, simply to ascertain which might in fact be relevant to what they’re looking for, before beginning their search in earnest.

Solution: We’ve introduced two capabilities to help make evaluation more efficient, with the aim of opening the researcher’s time for deeper reading and analysis:

Summarize, which appears in the tool interface as “What is this text about,” provides users with concise descriptions of key document points. On the back-end, we’ve optimized the Large Language Model (LLM) prompt for a concise but thorough response, taking on the task of prompt engineering for the user by providing advanced direction to:

Extract the background, purpose, and motivations of the text provided.

Capture the intent of the author without drawing conclusions.

Limit the response to a short paragraph to provide the most important ideas presented in the text.

Search term context is automatically generated as soon as a user opens a text from search results, and provides information on how that text relates to the search terms the user has used. Whereas the summary allows the user to quickly assess what the item is about, this feature takes evaluation to the next level by automatically telling the user how the item is related to their search query, streamlining the evaluation process.

Discovering new paths for exploration

Problem: Once a researcher has discovered content of value to their work, it’s not always easy to know where to go from there. While JSTOR provides some resources, including a “Cited by” list as well as related texts and images, these pathways are limited in scope and not available for all texts. Especially for novice researchers, or those just getting started on a new project or exploring a novel area of literature, it can be needlessly difficult and frustrating to gain traction. 

Solution: Two capabilities make further exploration less cumbersome, paving a smoother path for researchers to follow a line of inquiry:

Recommended topics are designed to assist users, particularly those who may be less familiar with certain concepts, by helping them identify additional search terms or refine and narrow their existing searches. This feature generates a list of up to 10 potential related search queries based on the document’s content. Researchers can simply click to run these searches.

Related content empowers users in two significant ways. First, it aids in quickly assessing the relevance of the current item by presenting a list of up to 10 conceptually similar items on JSTOR. This allows users to gauge the document’s helpfulness based on its relation to other relevant content. Second, this feature provides a pathway to more content, especially materials that may not have surfaced in the initial search. By generating a list of related items, complete with metadata and direct links, users can extend their research journey, uncovering additional sources that align with their interests and questions.

Supporting comprehension

Problem: You think you have found something that could be helpful for your work. It’s time to settle in and read the full document… working through the details, making sure they make sense, figuring out how they fit into your thesis, etc. This all takes time and can be tedious, especially when working through many items. 

Solution: To help ensure that users find high quality items, the tool incorporates a conversational element that allows users to query specific points of interest. This functionality, reminiscent of CTRL+F but for concepts, offers a quicker alternative to reading through lengthy documents. 

By asking questions that can be answered by the text, users receive responses only if the information is present. The conversational interface adds an accessibility layer as well, making the tool more user-friendly and tailored to the diverse needs of the JSTOR user community.

Credibility and source transparency

We knew that, for an AI-powered tool to truly address user problems, it would need to be held to extremely high standards of credibility and transparency. On the credibility side, JSTOR’s AI tool uses only the content of the item being viewed to generate answers to questions, effectively reducing hallucinations and misinformation. 

On the transparency front, responses include inline references that highlight the specific snippet of text used, along with a link to the source page. This makes it clear to the user where the response came from (and that it is a credible source) and also helps them find the most relevant parts of the text. 

[randomalistic]

hey! i'm concidering writing an autism-fueled video essay about a blorbo , and i think your similar in concept video on that little white man is very well put together ! i was wondering if you had any tips on how to structure or write something like that?.. also if you answered it allready you can just link the post no worries!!

SLAY hold on Ok so I actually havent made a post for script writing... or if i did i forgor. But here's a post for what programs I use and PNGtuber stuff in particular. I'll probably end up making a masterpost at SOME POINT but I am still learning and have made a total of 3 video essays in my life </3

ANYWAYS THIS IS JUST ME RAMBLING FOR MULTIPLE PARAGRAPHS👍

Umm okay so for script writing... It really depends on the scope of the project. If its about a character or topic you have a TON of preconceived knowledge on, just dump every bit of information out from your brain onto a google doc. make multiple docs even. it doesnt matter how messy it gets. Then just start structuring it however you want, like make an outline, explore ideas and how they could flow into eachother, scrap them, keep bits you like, etc. Expect to scrap a LOT of rambling, which is normal. Don't delete anything you write though, just keep it in a separate place just in case you want to revisit any ideas later.

I think the most important guideline for me personally was to structure it in a way that is "slow and steady." Don't explode all the information you have all at once, you kinda just want to trickle-feed it to the audience. The flow of one concept to another is also important, just do bare minimum for the audience to understand, don't distract them with extra info that doesn't connect to your main point for that section.

Basically, think of the YouTube essays that had you really engaged, or that you really enjoyed, study what you REALLY liked about them - What are the main points? how does it portray new information? Think about their structure as a baseline

Now something related ( definitely not a necessity ) but personally one of my FAVORITE things great video essays do is strategically withholding information from the audience right up until that info is relevant, or until it would have the MOST impact. Storytelling mediums do this too

One of my fav example of this is from a video by LasersZ "How Bolt is a critique of Disney" If you want it slightly spoiled, keep reading. Otherwise just watch it first lol

The narrator argues how Penny's character is a struggling child actor, and he lays out all the information for this argument through media analysis / evidence from the movie itself, he gets you invested in her character struggle.. and then he reveals something: That this whole time, Penny is actually voiced by Miley Cyrus - an at the time child actor who was being used by the TV industry in the exact same way they were using Penny in Bolt. This argument just TRANSCENDED the source material. When he could've just mentioned that information offhandedly at the start, he actually USED that information to strengthen his argument and make the video more meaningful and engaging. Even if you aren't making an argument, this sentiment is probably still useful. You really don't have to pull a "twist" in your video to make it fun, but i just like them hehe

Another example is the goddamn MAGNUM OPUS that is DefunctLand's Disney Channel theme song investigation. At the very end, a HUGE piece of information is revealed that makes the whole video absolutely outstanding, and so appreciative of what its trying to do. I'm not even going to SAY it you need to watch it yourself. If you know you KNOW. AAAGHH. You also see this in Summoning Salt speedrunning history videos. It's always like "it seems this was the new world record... UNTIL... (BOOM. NEW SPEEDRUNNER / STRATEGY DISCOVERED AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME)

ok now I'm just rambling about my favorite videos LOL but you know what I mean. It's internet storytelling. If you want to make it more exciting / meaningful / funny, be very select with the information you're delivering. again, a strategic 'bare minimum' for the audience to understand, don't distract them.

Ooh another thing- specifically something I've taken from Patricia Taxxon's DHMIS video : Tell the audience - how did this thing make you FEEL. In an era where lazy content and Ai is everywhere, people want humanity and authenticity more than ANYTHING. So don't be afraid to go a little off script, be unprofessional, be vulnerable, just be yourself! :']

Anyways I think thats the best advice I can offer rn cuz this post has been in my drafts for months and i forgot about it oops. Thank you so much for asking ❤️

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Thinking Styles

Here is a theory that may help you with character development.

The theory of mental self-government holds that styles of thinking can be understood in terms of constructs from our notions of government.

On this view, the kinds of governments we have in the world are not merely coincidental, but rather are external reflections or mirrors of ways in which we can organize or govern ourselves.

According to this theory, people can be understood in terms of the functions, forms, levels, scope, and leanings of government. 

People do not exhibit just one style or another, but they do have preferences across various kinds of tasks and situations.

Functions

There are 3 functions of government in this theory:

Legislative. The legislatively oriented student has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that require creation, formulation, planning of ideas, strategies, products, and the like. This kind of individual likes to decide what to do and how to do it, rather than to be told.

Executive. The executively oriented individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that provide structure, procedures, or rules to work with, and that, although modifiable, can serve as guidelines to measure progress. Whereas the legislatively oriented individual likes to decide what to and how to do it, the executively oriented student will often prefer to be told what to do, and will then give it his or her best shot at doing it well.

Judicial. The judicially oriented individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that require evaluation, analysis, comparison–contrast, and judgment of existing ideas, strategies, projects, and the like. This individual tends to be evaluative of others, sometimes on the basis of minimal information.

Forms

There are 4 different forms of mental self-government in this theory:

Monarchic. The monarchic individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that allow complete focus on one thing or aspect at a time until it is complete. A monarchically oriented individual is single-minded and often driven, and likes to finish one thing before moving on to the next.

Hierarchic. The hierarchic individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that allow creation of a hierarchy of goals to fulfill. This individual likes to do multiple things in a given time frame, but assigns differential priorities for getting them done. Hierarchic people tend to be adaptive in many settings where it is necessary to set priorities for getting certain things done before others, or where it is necessary to decide that some things are more worthy of attention than are others.

Oligarchic. The oligarchic individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that allow working with competing approaches, with multiple aspects or goals that are equally important. This individual, like the hierarchically oriented one, likes to do multiple things within a given time frame, but has trouble setting priorities for which to get done when. The oligarchically oriented individual thus adapts well if the competing demands are of roughly equal priority, but has more trouble if the things are of different priorities.

Anarchic. The anarchic individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that lend themselves to great flexibility of approaches, and to trying anything when, where, and how he or she pleases. This individual tends to be asystematic or even antisystematic. The individual tends to take a random approach to problems, and is sometimes difficult for other people to understand.

Levels

There are 2 levels of mental self-government:

Local. The local individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that require engagement with specific, concrete details. This individual likes to work with the nitty-gritty, but may lose the forest for the trees. Individuals displaying this style tend to enjoy tasks that require them to keep track of details and focus on concrete specifics of a situation.

Global. The global individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that require engagement with large, global, abstract ideas. This individual likes to deal with big ideas, but sometimes can lose touch with the details—the individual may see the forest but lose track of the trees. People employing this style enjoy tasks that encourage them to think about major ideas and not have to worry about details.

Scope

There are 2 scopes of mental self-government:

Internal. The internal individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that require activities that allow one to work independently of others. This individual prefers to work alone, is typically introverted, and is often uncomfortable in groups.

External. The external individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that allow working with others in a group or interacting with others at different stages of progress. This individual prefers to work with others, is typically extraverted, and is very comfortable in group settings.

Leanings

There are 2 leanings of mental self-government:

Liberal. The liberal individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that involve unfamiliarity, going beyond existing rules or procedures, and maximization of change. Sometimes the individual may prefer change simply for the sake of change, even when it is not ideal. People displaying a liberal style like new challenges and thrive on ambiguity.

Conservative. The conservative individual has a predilection for tasks, projects, and situations that require adherence to existing rules and procedures. This individual likes to minimize change and avoid ambiguity.

Source ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[regulusrules]

Yo, I saw your post about orientalism in relation to the "hollywood middle-east" tiktok!

How can a rando and university dropout get into and learn more about? Any literature or other content to recommend?

Hi!! Wow, you have no idea how you just pressed a button. I'll unleash 5+ years on you. And I'll even add for you open-sourced works that you can access as much as I can!

1. Videos

I often find this is the best medium nowadays to learn anything! I'll share with you some of the best that deal with the topic in different frames

• This is a video of Edward Said talking about his book, Orientalism. Said is the Palestinian- American critic who first introduced the term Orientalism, and is the father of postcolonial studies as a critical literary theory. In this book, you’ll find an in-depth analysis of the concept and a deconstruction of western stereotypes. It’s very simple and he explains everything in a very easy manner.

• How Islam Saved Western Civilization. A more than brilliant lecture by Professor Roy Casagranda. This, in my opinion, is one of the best lectures that gives credit to this great civilization, and takes you on a journey to understand where did it all start from.

• What’s better than a well-researched, general overview Crash Course about Islam by John Green? This is not necessarily on orientalism but for people to know more about the fundamental basis of Islam and its pillars. I love the whole playlist that they have done about the religion, so definitely refer to it if you're looking to understand more about the historical background! Also, I can’t possibly mention this Crash Course series without mentioning ... ↓

• The Medieval Islamicate World. Arguably my favourite CC video of all times. Hank Green gives you a great thorough depiction of the Islamic civilization when it rose. He also discusses the scientific and literary advancements that happened in that age, which most people have no clue about! And honestly, just his excitement while explaining the astrolabe. These two truly enlightened so many people with the videos they've made. Thanks, @sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog

2. Documentaries

• This is an AMAZING documentary called Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Villifies A People by the genius American media critic Jack Shaheen. He literally analysed more than 1000 movies and handpicked some to showcase the terribly false stereotypes in western depiction of Arab/Muslim cultures. It's the best way to go into the subject, because you'll find him analysing works you're familiar with like Aladdin and all sorts.

• Spain’s Islamic Legacy. I cannot let this opportunity go to waste since one of my main scopes is studying feminist Andalusian history. There are literal gems to be known about this period of time, when religious coexistence is documented to have actually existed. This documentary offers a needed break from eurocentric perspectives, a great bird-view of the Islamic civilization in Europe and its remaining legacy (that western history tries so hard to erase).

• When the Moors Ruled in Europe. This is one of the richest documentaries that covers most of the veiled history of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). Bettany Hughes discusses some of the prominent rulers, the brilliance of architecture in the Arab Muslim world, their originality and contributions to poetry and music, their innovative inventions and scientific development, and lastly, La Reconquista; the eventual fall and erasure of this grand civilization by western rulers.

3. Books

• Rethinking Orientalism by Reina Lewis. Lewis brilliantly breaks the prevailing stereotype of the “Harem”, yk, this stupid thought westerns projected about arab women being shut inside one room, not allowed to go anywhere from it, enslaved and without liberty, just left there for the sexual desires of the male figures, subjugated and silenced. It's a great read because it also takes the account of five different women living in the middle east.

• Nocturnal Poetics by Ferial Ghazoul. A great comparative text to understand the influence and outreach of The Thousand and One Nights. She applies a modern critical methodology to explore this classic literary masterpiece.

• The Question of Palestine by Edward Said. Since it's absolutely relevant, this is a great book if you're looking to understand more about the Palestinian situation and a great way to actually see the perspective of Palestinians themselves, not what we think they think.

• Arab-American Women's Writing and Performance by S.S. Sabry. One of my favourite feminist dealings with the idea of the orient and how western depictions demeaned arab women by objectifying them and degrading them to objects of sexual desire, like Scheherazade's characterization: how she was made into a sensual seducer, but not the literate, brilliantly smart woman of wisdom she was in the eastern retellings. The book also discusses the idea of identity and people who live on the hyphen (between two cultures), which is a very crucial aspect to understand arabs who are born/living in western countries.

• The Story of the Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole. This is a great book if you're trying to understand the influence of Islamic culture on Europe. It debunks this idea that Muslims are senseless, barbaric people who needed "civilizing" and instead showcases their brilliant civilization that was much advanced than any of Europe in the time Europe was labelled by the Dark Ages. (btw, did you know that arabic was the language of knowledge at that time? Because anyone who was looking to study advanced sciences, maths, philosophy, astronomy etc, had to know arabic because arabic-speaking countries were the center of knowledge and scientific advancements. Insane, right!)

• Convivencia and Medieval Spain. This is a collection of essays that delve further into the idea of “Convivencia”, which is what we call for religious coexistence. There's one essay in particular that's great called Were Women Part of Convivencia? which debunks all false western stereotypical images of women being less in Islamic belief. It also highlights how arab women have always been extremely cultured and literate. (They practiced medicine, studied their desired subjects, were writers of poetry and prose when women in Europe couldn't even keep their surnames when they married.)

4. Novels / Epistolaries

• Granada by Radwa Ashour. This is one of my favourite novels of all time, because Ashour brilliantly showcases Andalusian history and documents the injustices and massacres that happened to Muslims then. It covers the cultural erasure of Granada, and is also a story of human connection and beautiful family dynamics that utterly touches your soul.

• Dreams of Trespass by Fatma Mernissi. This is wonderful short read written in autobiographical form. It deconstructs the idea of the Harem in a postcolonial feminist lens of the French colonization of Morocco.

• Scheherazade Goes West by Fatma Mernissi. Mernissi brilliantly showcases the sexualisation of female figures by western depictions. It's very telling, really, and a very important reference to understand how the west often depicts middle-eastern women by boxing them into either the erotic, sensual beings or the oppressed, black-veiled beings. It helps you understand the actual real image of arab women out there (who are not just muslims btw; christian, jew, atheist, etc women do exist, and they do count).

• Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. This is a feminist travel epistolary of a British woman which covers the misconceptions that western people, specifically male travelers, had recorded and transmitted about the religion, traditions and treatment of women in Constantinople, Turkey. It is also a very insightful sapphic text that explores her own engagement with women there, which debunks the idea that there are no queer people in the middle east.

---------------------

With all of these, you'll get an insight about the real arab / islamic world. Not the one of fanaticism and barbarity that is often mediated, but the actual one that is based on the fundamental essences of peace, love, and acceptance.

[askoverlordvox]

VoxTek™ Employment Contract

I, @helluvahotelfan , invoke the infernal powers of Hell to complete the following contract between myself and the Overlord, Vox. Hereafter, "the employee" will refer to Jenn, "the employer" will refer to VoxTek™, "the Overlord" will refer to Vox, and "the contract" will refer to this agreement, signed and sealed by a handshake.

Payment: to complete this contract, the employee signs over possession of their soul to the Overlord. For as long as the soul remains in the Overlord's possession, the terms and conditions of this contract are considered valid. Additionally, the Overlord cannot kill or willfully maim or harm the employee while this contract is in effect.

Terms: The employer will provide housing(1), a competitive(2) salary, the latest(3) model of Hellphone, insurance (4), two weeks of paid training, 30 vacation days per year (5), 30 days of sick leave per year (6), a free upgrade to replace or enhance a body part(7), a 200 year(8) retirement plan, and 24/7 protection from reasonable(9) threats. The employee will fulfill the job description provided below to the best of their ability.

Conditions: This contract remains in effect provided both the employee and the Overlord wish to continue adhering to the terms. At any time, either party may request breaking the contract. The request must be accepted by the Overlord. The Overlord reserves the right to change the job assigned to the employee in the event of subpar performance.

Job Title: Junior Data Collector

Department: Research & Development

Job Scope: Junior Data Collectors follow instructions from Senior Data Collectors and report to Project Leads all data obtained throughout marketing, testing, and further analysis. Data Collectors observe tests, trends, and other indicated measurements at the direction of Project Leads and record data as instructed by Project Leads. Data Collectors are expected to report accurate figures. Data Collectors may, on occasion, be asked to participate directly in Projects but never to the extent Hazard Pay would be required. Any injuries incurred as a result of Data Collection are to be reported immediately to the Project Lead.

Hours: Mandated work hours are 1000-1600, Monday-Thursday unless Project Leads get approved for a different work cycle.

(1) Housing starts at one bedroom, one bathroom, kitchen and washer/dryer included 550 square foot apartment. Housing can be upgraded through promotion or by registering dependents with Human Resources. (2) Competitive rates based on job title and relative cost-of-living analysis for Pride ring standards. Salary will always be 400% of current housing cost. (3) Latest model refers to latest model to pass all safety checks and either is commercially available or in phase 4 of production. (4) Insurance covers health, vision, and dental plans, as well as maternity/paternity leave, Family Medical Leave Allocation, and associated costs. (5) Unused vacation days roll over but will not exceed 75 days. Vacation days accrued past 75 days will either be paid out to the employee in a lump sum, signed over to another employee, or forfeit. Decision must be made within 1 month of employment anniversary date. (6) Unused sick leave rolls over but will not exceed 60 days. Illness or injury requiring more than 60 days to recover but at no fault of the employer will be deducted from vacation days. Illness or injury incurred during the execution of job duties will not be charged to the employee. (7) Available upgrades subject to change depending on demand. Specific upgrade offered: replacement of one eye with a VokTek™ High Definition digital recorder. Any data or information recorded by an upgrade becomes property of the employer with employee consent. (8) 200 year retirement plan based on projected life expectancy increase following the cessation of Exterminations. In the event Exterminations resume, this requirement will be lowered to 50 years. (9) Reasonable threats are those not provoked by the employee, provided the employee remains within designated areas when directed by senior personnel. Ex: leaving the approved VoxTek™ Extermination Bunker during an Extermination or insulting an Overlord/Sin/Ars Goetia are examples where the employer is no longer liable for the employee's protection.

Signed and confirmed via handshake with the Overlord,

Jenn

It took me a moment to find it, I apologize; you wouldn't believe how many copies I have in my office. Of course I have a digitized copy but Hell runs on old school methodologies, so having a hard copy is still required.

Now, @zayne1, you can make your determinations.

[aroaceleovaldez]

I've been listening to hank green explain (at various times with various contexts but most recently during a vlogbrothers video on Bree Sharp's David Duchovny) how "nothing lasts on the contemporary internet" and I wonder what that might have to do with your analysis on fandom infrastructure... like IS it even possible for BNF/public AUs/OCs/fandom events to exist at the same scale in the new internet? I also have to wonder if rr is similarly operating in this new (awful) way with the knowledge that the old books could last longer as cultural moments while the new books are kinda just... there to trend for a hot minute and then fade away into nonexistence within the fandom canon. or maybe i'm just coping bc I miss old tumblr

I absolutely do think old-style fandom is possible on the modern internet! some of the oldest pillars of fandom are from BEFORE the internet was popularized! Plus, there are still plenty of old-style fandoms that are active in those same ways!

You mention "at the same scale" and i think that's interesting because, yes, a lot of those old-style fandoms that are active are smaller. The thing is the scope of old fandom we're used to when we think of classic examples are outliers who were MASSIVE. PJO was a fandom GIANT back in the day, at least so far as book fandoms went (and still is!). The major thing that's changed is that "fandom" has become mainstream - or at least, the concept of fandom.

The thing with mainstream modern fandom is it gets conflated with general audience a lot. A lot of people trying to engage with fandom when they're new to it don't understand how it's different from just being a normal fan or audience member of a thing, and so just treat them as equivalent and this causes a lot of problems. The main one being the reliance on source material - which causes a lot of newer fandoms to die out whenever there is no new source material - comparatively to old-style fandom, which is inherently self-sustaining.

Some examples of old-style fandoms that are still plenty active are furry fandom (obviously), a decent number of anime fandoms (particularly older ones or less mainstream ones cause the communities are smaller/closer-knit, also their fandoms aren't as strictly western-leaning), and Hermitcraft/associated fandoms is one particularly that I'm in that's VERY active and old-fandom style. They're constantly engaging with material that's long over or series that have ended (Evo, older Life series, older Hermitcraft seasons, etc). They have fandom OCs/AUs/concepts that are shared, they have a TON of projects happening constantly (a recent massive one that just finished is the Hotguy Comics zine! It's an incredibly cool project). Hermitcraft fandom is pretty much the closest new* fandom to old-style fandom that I've found so far (*it is technically 11 years old but it had a recent boom during the MCYT surge in like 2020).

But yes! Old-style fandom absolutely can still exist - and does! It's just far less common because the mainstream image/concept of what fandom is that has become popularized differs from it in practicality. People are being introduced to fandom as just being equivalent to a general audience and are interacting with it as such, when it should be interacted with as a niche, very passionate community. The core of old fandom is always community.

I guess i would describe it as like, passive fandom versus active fandom? Passive fandom being the "new fandom" type format - near complete reliance on source material, usually some attitude of entitlement towards fanwork creators because theyre viewing it as another source material to passively engage with, large lack of headcanons or hcs being equated to theories, shipping is restricted almost exclusively to canon pairings (and ships/headcanons are treated more as things you want to become canon, not explorations outside of canon), etc etc. There's no community or creation happening, only a focus on consumption and maybe at best how to streamline consumption (the only sorts of hubs we see form in this type of fandom are update accounts and official social medias). Basically no proper community has formed and there is little to no engagement with the material outside of the source media. (I also have a theory that this format leads to some New Fandom behaviors that have become more commonplace comparatively to Old Fandom, such as a LOT more trying to directly interact with writers/cast/crew or reliance on them as secondary source materials during hiatus or similar - we see this now with PJO TV and a lot of people downright literally stalking the actors - and almost a refusal to make fanwork of their own. You see a lot more of "omg somebody write/draw [concept]" or trying to pitch ideas to source material writers because they only want to engage passively, not actively, or genuinely don't know how to engage actively.) Big Name Fans can absolutely exist in this sphere, but it's a completely different environment (for PJO, Velinxi is a good example of a new fandom BNF - ive found in this format of fandom, BNFs are almost exclusively fanartists, because fanart is one of the easiest fanworks to find and passively engage with. This also often results in the community being extremely entitled towards larger fanartists).

Active fandom, comparatively, is focused on community and creation. This is where you see fandom projects, engaging with the media beyond the source material, things of that nature. There is actually a structured community.

This post got long but I have more points regarding the second half of your question and my thoughts for why the new books are so. Like That. so I'm going to move that whole ramble to a second post which I will post momentarily.

[part 2 here!]

[mrcowboydeanwinchester]

🌸 Sapphicnatural Statistics Spreadsheet 🌸

link for the spreadsheet here!

hello hello! in may 2024 i completed a university essay studying the subversive shipping conventions of sapphicnatural fanfic in the Sapphicnatural Collection over on AO3, with the thesis that sapphicnatural ships are often rarepairs with little-to-no grounds in canon (e.g: a guest character/one-off character who have never met on screen), conversely to standard fanfic practice. as part of this, i gathered some statistics about the fics in the collection, got slightly carried away with the scope, and made a giant spreadsheet with 6 sheets of various data. with the project over, i thought it would be nice to share it with tumblr in case anyone else finds it helpful or just interesting!! i'm likely going to post the essay that i wrote alongside this in the next few weeks, so give me a shout too if that's something you'd like to see

to pique your interest, the spreadsheet includes:

Notes on methodology and the vocabulary used

Statistics on the popularity of each sapphicnatural ship in the collection and the frequency of characters featured

Analysis on some significiant ship factors: whether the characters have met in canon and how frequently characters re-occured in the show

'Ship potency', a new framework i'm workshopping to quantify how 'viable/strong' a ship is, specifically when measuring the makeup of femslash ships against mlm ships

i've written up some of the key points i found and some extra analysis about them under the cut, so read more if you're interested! <3

Contextual note: there are 129 fanfics in the Sapphicnatural collection.

Top 5 most popular Sapphicnatural ships:

donna/jody (10 fics)

anna/mary (7 fics)

jo/cassie (6 fics)

anna/ruby (5 fics)

kaia/claire (4 fics)

21 unique ships have 3 fics per ship. 24 unique ships have 2 fics per ship, and 52 unique ships have 1 fic per ship. So, only a quarter (25.3% of ships) have more than 3 fics written about them.

Rarepairs (and thus multishipping) are much more frequent in Sapphicnatural fanfiction than across most fandom fanfic collections which often centre around a specific ship

Have the characters met in canon?

Only 34.2% of ships involve two or more characters who have met on-screen in the show, with 59.6% of ships featuring two or more characters who have never met

4 out of the 5 top ships are between characters who met in the show's canon

BUT the most common dynamic is between two characters who could potentially meet in canon (are alive through the same seasons/at the same location (hell/heaven) at the same time) but who never meet in the show

This idea of 'canon potential' is the most exciting space for a lot of sapphicnatural writers, where finding gaps in the existing narrative and placing two similar women together to explore what their relationship could look often seems to be more inviting than those established on-screen

What is the spread of side/guest/one-off characters in ships?

A third (32.9%) of ships are made-up side/guest character

None of the characters featured are main characters (as none of the women spn characters can be realistically classed as 'main characters' lolol)

17 ships feature at least one one-off character, with 3 being one-off/one-off

Sapphicnatural fanfiction has a unique appreciation for reinforcing attention to minor characters, often as part of a feminist agenda to restore their agency

How frequently are individual characters featured?

Jo Harvelle is the most popular character in the sapphicnatural collection, involved in 15 unique ships across 34 fics. So, over a quarter (26.4%) of the fanfics in the collection feature Jo

Author's note: honestly this could be my individual impact on the collection as a jogirl oops

Mary Winchester is involved in 14 unique ships across 25 ships, so both Jo and Mary are significantly multi-shipped. Mary features twice across the top 5 ships

Sapphicnatural writers often write in service of a particular character rather than a ship - ie. exploring Jo's sapphic identity is more important than who her relationship is with

Charlie, Anna, Ruby, Claire, and Bela are the other characters involved in more than 10 fics each across the collection

Ship potency:

I explain this concept more on the sheet itself, but I essentially assign numerical values to whether a ship is (possible in) canon or not, how frequently characters re-occur in the show, and how popular a ship is respective to the fandom (as sapphicnatural is small, donna/jody is popular with 10 fics, for example)

This is to gain a measure of how 'strong' a ship is, assuming that a standard mlm ship will rank highly in most of these criteria (control variable of destiel ranks 29.5/30, whereas the average potency sum for a sapphicnatural ship is 11.8)

Across the top 5 ships, the average potency sum is 20.9

4/5 of the most popular sapphicnatural ships are in the top 5 for ship potency, with donna/jody, anna/mary, kaia/claire and anna/ruby having strong canon foundations and so high potency ratings.

jo/cassie is irregular as the third most popular ship because they only rank 14th for ship potency, as the pairing have not met on-screen in canon, and features a one-off character

Ships with higher potency sums do tend to be slightly more popular, but there isn't a clear pattern among any of the ships. I'd like to do some more work with this to fine-tune the system

Wordcount, kudos, and hits:

Average wordcount of a fic is 3,511 words. This fits with my other working theory (links to my post about my history essay on women's fiction through the feminist waves) that sapphicnatural writers utilise short stories and one-shots to most succesfully explore sapphic identities

Average kudos is 48, with a median of 13

Average hits is 353, with a median of 122

So: sapphicnatural fanfics receive a fairly low level of interaction, especially when compared to the mlm ships in the Supernatural fandom (destiel, etc). This is in-line with most fandoms and femslash as a whole - a small, dedicated community are reading and writing sapphicnatural

I didn't explore much here, but it would be interesting to go into further depth anout how many fics in the collection are written by different authors, etc

and that's it from me! if you've made it down here, you're an absolute gem and thank you for sticking with me! hope you foundd it as interesting to read through as i did to write up - and that you give the spreadsheet a nosey too if you fancy <3

[yuurivoice]

easiest and hardest part in the writing process for each of your projects? like maybe the earnestness of bittersweet or the world building of eoe, etc. idk if my question makes sense lol

I think across the board, the hardest part is undoubtedly just getting the work done. Battling with myself will always be the biggest pain point of the creative process, but I can identify a few particulars.

BitterSweet's best part in regards to writing has been the beauty of tapping into these kegs of creativity and discovering what was actually in there. I have ideas, bullet points, etc, but when the rubber hits the road it becomes magical. For example, realizing that so much of Alphonse's motivation is related to his grief. When working on the Director's Cut and going over chapter 1 specifically, I see these gaps where the grief I figured out later on fit so perfectly. It was always there, I just didn't want to pull back that particular curtain...for reasons that I probably don't even need to sit with my therapist to figure out, I can tell you EXACTLY what that was lol

The hardest part with BitterSweet was the handful of voices that I felt tried to invalidate my work. I let it bother me, a lot. It left a very sour taste in my mouth. To reduce this story about love to the very narrow viewpoint of only being valuable if the trio explicitly kiss and declare with very deliberate and specific language that it's deep romantic love is a garbage thing to do, and the anger I felt was nearly enough to get me to walk away entirely. But this challenge made me better as a writer, because it taught me to trust myself. I accomplished this much by listening to my heart, and my gut. I will accomplish even greater by continuing to do the same.

With Echoes of Evalas there is a bit of that same anxiety, because there are similarly bold choices being made in different ways. Antagonistic relationships, a general moving away from the heavily romance based influences in favor of a broader scope, etc. but a bigger challenge has been making tasteful, thoughtful, considerate choices in relation to how serious subjects will be handled. We're dealing with fantasy colonizers, displaced peoples, implied genocide. That shit is heavy, but the goal isn't to treat it as window dressing, but calling out the wickedness that those same acts are built upon in our world. The thing about it is, it's EASY to handle that with taste and care, but I feel the pressure to get it right and be responsible with my writing. So I do a lot of analyzing as I write.

For example, there was a situation recently with a fantasy race that has some tribal implications, and someone would absolutely throw around the word "savage" carelessly because there are facets of their culture that are violent in nature and opposed to the "normal" way of life. So as I began to delve into it, I recognized that it's on me to express how it is viewed within the culture itself, some of the reasoning, the way of life. You don't pluck the character out of that culture and then just make them the angry, bloodthirsty one, ya feel me? So rather than "x character is a killer with a grudge, he's just really angry and wants to murder the oppressors", we're looking at how the oppressors MANIPULATE and create that image to further that systematic oppression through fear of a culture unlike their own.

Said character is righteous in their anger, as are those who were wronged, but you can't just treat them as "oh they're big scary and violent" and leave it at that. Because that's literally pushing the same agenda that has been used to oppress peoples here in reality, and that's fucked.

So there's a WHOLE LOT of self analysis going on as I write, but I feel like I'm doing the best I can to ensure that what ends up being put to screen is made with the care and thoughtfulness that the fantasy genre has historically lacked.

The thing that I hope comes through loud and clear is that Evalas' stories specifically speak to the wicked thing in people's hearts that make them believe they have the right to oppress and lord over those who are different from themselves, in my pitch I've written for potential collaborators on the project, I specifically call this out:

"In summary, I think I’ve got something to say about whatever wicked thing finds its way into people’s hearts that may make them feel entitled to erase and rewrite that which makes another so different from them. It rears its head in ways broad and narrow, but they share the same ignorance and fear of otherness. Some that I’ve experienced personally, some that I’ve witnessed and stood in allyship against, and certainly more that I’ve yet to understand and consider."

There are many ways I cannot ever experience oppression, but I can identify the systems and hate that fuel the machine, and imagine a world where we put our faith in each other to overcome that hate. It cannot be perfect, or without failure and misunderstanding, but we can find our way towards being greater as a whole in our path to purge that wickedness from the world.

Saying alllllll of that to say, the hardest part of Evalas may also be the easiest, because these are core to my beliefs. It is work that feeds my soul and makes me consider my fellow man, and seek to understand and empathize and learn. If I stumble along the way, I hope I am afforded the grace to learn and continue that pursuit.

[asestimationsconsultants]

Uncovering Hidden Costs with a Construction Cost Estimating Service

Construction projects often face unexpected expenses that can disrupt budgets and timelines. These hidden costs may arise from overlooked details, unforeseen site conditions, or changes in project scope. Identifying and accounting for such costs early is crucial for effective financial management. A construction cost estimating service plays an essential role in uncovering hidden costs, enabling project teams to create realistic budgets and avoid costly surprises.

Common Sources of Hidden Costs

Hidden costs in construction can originate from various areas, including:

Site conditions that differ from initial surveys

Design changes or scope creep during construction

Delays caused by weather, permitting, or labor shortages

Price fluctuations in materials or labor

Unexpected regulatory compliance requirements

Coordination and communication breakdowns among contractors

These factors can inflate project costs if not anticipated and managed properly.

Challenges in Detecting Hidden Costs

Incomplete Initial Data

Insufficient site investigations or surveys lead to surprises

Lack of detailed design documentation

Inadequate Risk Assessment

Failure to identify project-specific risks early on

Underestimating the likelihood or impact of certain events

Poor Change Management

Untracked scope changes causing budget increases

Ineffective communication among stakeholders

Market Volatility

Sudden price increases for materials or labor

Supply chain disruptions affecting availability and cost

How a Construction Cost Estimating Service Helps

Cost estimators use comprehensive techniques to identify potential hidden costs, such as:

Thorough site and design reviews to detect overlooked factors

Risk analysis incorporating probability and impact assessments

Detailed allowance and contingency budgeting

Market research to anticipate price trends and supply risks

Structured change management and cost tracking processes

Techniques to Reveal Hidden Costs

Value Engineering: Examining design alternatives to reduce costs without compromising quality.

Scenario Modeling: Testing “what-if” situations to evaluate cost impacts of delays or design changes.

Historical Data Analysis: Using past project data to identify common hidden cost drivers.

Supplier and Subcontractor Input: Engaging experts to uncover overlooked expenses.

Benefits of Addressing Hidden Costs Early

More accurate and reliable budgets

Increased ability to secure financing with confidence

Reduced risk of project delays and disputes

Improved stakeholder trust through transparency

Better decision-making under changing conditions

Conclusion

Hidden costs are an inevitable challenge in construction, but they don’t have to derail projects. A construction cost estimating service provides the expertise and processes needed to uncover and quantify these costs early. This proactive approach helps project teams manage financial risks, maintain control over budgets, and achieve successful outcomes.

[dailyanarchistposts]

How Do We Get There?

Unfortunately, the environmental crisis cannot wait for a revolution to destroy capitalism, nor will a post-revolutionary society be environmentally sound unless we manage to change the relationship between humans and the rest of nature. As anarchists we need to be doing everything we can to bring these issues to the forefront. We have identified a number of approaches to this.

We must make the link between capitalism and environmental degradation explicit in our politics and critique the role of the state in facilitating this. This pamphlet is a first step towards this, but we also need to work towards the dissemination of these ideas in the wider movement.

We must insert ourselves into the mass climate movements such as divestment, climate marches and third sector campaigns to use these moments of publicity to put forward our ideas. We should try to win the battle of ideas in these movements and shift the aims away from the false solutions identified here.

We must push our unions to adopt an eco-syndicalist stance which argues for a just but rapid transition for workers in extractive industries. We must also, however, be internationalist in our scope and ensure victories for workers in MEDCs does not mean just pushing environmental problems onto workers in LEDCs.

We must use our anti-capitalist analysis to link up different struggles, so that it is clear that we are not facing disconnected problems, but that capitalism is at the heart of the issues that face the global working class. Land justice campaigns have a clear link to climate change as land owners decide how land is used and how resources are exploited, counter to a sustainable commons approach. Similarly, we have identified rising nationalism and authoritarianism as the state’s response to climate refugees. We must continue the work linking anti-capitalism and environmentalism with No Borders and migrant rights groups, ensuring the fair treatment of those affected by climate change in the future.

We must develop networks of like-minded people who are willing to campaign on these issues and work together to build our capacity to organise. A good example of this has been the anti-fracking protests in the UK where actions at the drilling sites have been amplified by activists elsewhere targeting the headquarters of the fracking companies and carrying out other solidarity actions. Some of these networks already exist so we should work more closely with groups such as Earth First!, Reclaim the Power and Rising Tide to further develop an activism which is both confrontational towards capitalism and is inclusive of local and global perspectives. These networks offer opportunities to develop our ideas further and collaborate on future projects and actions.

We should ensure the actions we take, and the struggles we link up for, leave us and others who take part stronger not weaker. We must avoid any so-called victory that relies on the ‘good will’ of a politician or the ‘expertise’ of an NGO. Win or lose, each action and campaign should leave us more aware of the world around us, more confident of our collective power, and more experienced in our ability to self-organise and take the fight to the capitalists. Within the environmental movement we must develop a diversity of tactics that is not dependent on the actions of politicians or corporations developing a conscience to achieve its goals.

[girlactionfigure]

🟩 Monday morning - events from Israel  

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

( VIDEO - IDF bombing Hezbollah hidden Hezbollah rocket launch sites in south Lebanon villages, this video from Tyre. Note the secondary explosions. )

♦️IDF MESSAGE to South Lebanese: If you are near a building where there are Hezbollah weapons, stay away from the village until further notice.

♦️Intense bombing by the IDF Air Force from the early hours of the morning.  Continued increase of force.  Dozens of villages and towns were attacked from the morning hours in southern Lebanon.  The Lebanese counted over 150+ air force strikes that lasted about an hour and a quarter.

.. Videos from Lebanon show intense explosions and major secondary explosions - meaning rockets hit.

♦️IDF spox: the IDF is now widely attacking Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon. The targets: Hezbollah launch sites.  We detected Hezbollah's preparations to attack the citizens of the State of Israel and that is why we attacked.  For twenty years Hezbollah distributed weapons in southern Lebanon, placing missiles in peoples homes.

♦️A GENERAL’S ANALYSIS: Brigadier General (resp.) Yossi Kuperverser writes: "The repeated failures of Iran and Hezbollah to obtain revenge by promoting terrorist attacks against senior Israeli officials, may lead them to try to save their damaged honor by extensive military action, which in turn will lead to escalation and justify strong Israeli action."

❗️IDF: Following the IDF Spokesperson's statement, attached is a video that reveals the attempt by Hezbollah terrorists to launch cruise missiles from a house in Lebanon: https://bit.ly/3ZCK3Fp  - these missiles have range over all of Israel and a 300 kg warhead, very destructive.

▪️IRAN AFRAID OF RADIOS.. Reuters report: The Revolutionary Guards have ordered all their men to immediately stop using all electronic radios for fear that they too will be captured by Israel. An extensive operation began to test all devices.

▪️CHINA.. calls on its citizens to leave Israel as soon as possible.  China manages port operations at one of the Haifa ports, and multiple major construction projects in the country including the Tel Aviv light rail.

▪️RELIGIOUS POLITICS.. United Torah Judaism to the Prime Ministers Office: Strongly demand that Netanyahu not fly back to Israel on Shabbat after he flies to the US to speak at the UN.  "If Netanyahu can't fly without staying on Shabbat, let him not fly"

▪️TEACHERS STRIKE DEAL.. Teachers' salaries will increase by NIS 1,200 in relation to the scope of the position.

▪️DEAL NEWS.. The Americans submitted drafts of their new mediation proposal to Hamas - and were refused.

⭕Overnight a large explosion was heard in the city of al-Shadadi, where American forces are located near the Iraq-Syria border.  The US Al Shadadi base was reportedly under rocket attack, alarms sounded at the base.

⭕DRONE BARRAGE from Hezbollah this morning at near-border towns in the near.

🔅 SHARE US WITH A FRIEND! Send the URL below —>

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[phatcatphergus]

Hi, you reblogged me with a lore dump about Q! Tubbo and you mentioned that you'd be willing to do a character analysis? Please, I'm invested at this point

Ahhhhh omg hi! I can't believe you came back for more lol. You shall soon be a qtubbo stan like the rest of us.

I do want to preface this by saying that this is my personal lore interpretation so it's subjective. So many people have great analyses of his character, so I recommend watching a couple streams or looking at the tag for a broad scope as well!

That being said...

I think the best word to describe qtubbo is loss.

He was brought to the island having already lost parts of himself he didn't know. Through his time on the island, he lost respect, credibility, friends, family, teammates, nieces and nephews, penpals, godkids, mentors, and himself. He never had something he didn't end up losing, whether by choice or force. He loses what matters most to him, yet he continues giving his all to everyone he meets.

He came to the island with loss and no sense of who he was or where he came from, yet he spent all of his time for the benefit of others. He worked day and night so that other people wouldn't experience the loss of what he could prevent such as items or supplies. He never wanted anyone to experience what he experienced, even when they were the ones perpetuating it.

No one ever cared about him unless it was for a reason. His relationships were transactional and needed to be because who would ever care for someone with no firm sense of self or where you came from? When he couldn't provide a transaction of care, he made himself useful, he became indispensable so that even if people didn't like him for him, they could use his skills until they didn't need him anymore.

The only time he actually felt that someone cared for him, just to care about him, was Fred. Fred had no emotions, no sense of self, and no past to speak of. Fred was someone who had no reason to hate or use Tubbo because Fred was like Tubbo. Fred was the first person who could care for Tubbo because he wanted to, and not because of his use or someone's sense of responsibility.

Losing Fred meant losing the one person who cared about him without strings attached. Anyone else only cared about him because he was useful, a leader, an engineer, a neighbor, a business partner, a babysitter, someone to steal from, or just someone to poke fun at. Until Sunny.

With Sunny, Tubbo knew better than to expect her to stay with him. He learned from his past that he doesn't deserve something as wonderful as Sunny, that he can only love and wait until she is ripped away too. If he wasn't good enough to keep Fred, why on earth would he be even partially enough for Sunny.

He mourned her loss the day he got her. He knew he wasn't the best for her, he wasn't anywhere close to what Sunny deserved, but he did his best regardless and loved her more than life itself. Sunny became his tether and the only reason for him to stay alive. Sunny needed him like he needed Sunny. Sunny was the only reason he kept himself alive after Fred's funeral. Through the jeers, through the belittlement, through the disregard for his feelings, Sunny was there and provided him with enough purpose to keep going.

Fit and Pac dating made his only sense of security start to crumble. The two people he figured would stick by his side were moving along without him. They wouldn't need him in their life because they would need each other. They don't need his friendship anymore, his usefulness has worn itself out. He doesn't see them extending a hand to him as they step forward because he's too focused on the empty voids in his past where others should be.

He tries to break them up, and even if they hate him, he can rationalize that he did it for the right reasons. They may hate him but they're stuck with him, kicking and screaming by his side. Everyone tells him that he needs to find Fred, that he's projecting his romantic life onto theirs. In reality, he is too scared of leaving the island the exact way he started, with nothing to his name and no one by his side.

His character is such a battle between what he wants to do and what he feels that he needs to do. His entire run through purgatory was fighting others for eggs that weren't even his. He spends his days working on projects for other people and picking apart his failures when others can only see his success. He works tirelessly so that Sunny won't ever understand what it's like to be underestimated, beaten down, mischaracterized, and alone. Even if the world is against them, he will be in her corner to fight until his dying breath.

He loves so deeply and so purely. He tries to compensate for the lack of it that he has received after giving it away to whoever asks. He is depressed, anxious, and on alert. He has gone through trials and events with his head high and carrying the weight of others on his shoulders. He loves and he gives and continues to even when the people he gives his love to throw it to the side.

He has people in his corner, but his fear of them leaving has already made them vanish in his mind. He's a killer and a father. An engineer and a friend. A penpal and an adversary. He is loss and he is love.

[waitingfordecember]

Ward of the Spectacle: A Critical Analysis of 25th Ward and Capitalism

The 25th Ward: The Silver Case is a commentary of social dynamics as developed under fascism, a narrative mediated through the commodity-form of a videogame. The game is built on the premise of its own aesthetic, and through its medium that pertains to entertainment, ties itself to a greater scope to commentate on capitalism. The game abandons any pretense of “solution” and denies any kind of moralizing, and characters envision no future without capitalism. I begin with Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer's 1947 chapter "The Culture Industry" to define how commodities are present within the narrative, and how the industrialization of culture from capitalism is ultimately a tool of fascism. I will use this as the basis for Guy Debord's 1967 work Society of the Spectacle, which develops the concept of the Spectacle, in which social life, dominated by the commodity, recedes into representation; I will be analyzing how the Spectacle arises from representations mediated in social dynamics. I will then be using Mark Fisher's 2009 text Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? to further analyze the game's style that alienates the audience by obscuring itself so strongly, and how the narrative stands distinct from other works that attempt anti-capitalism. Lastly is Anna Kornbluh's 2024 work Immediacy or, The Style of Too Late Capitalism, with the concept of immediacy of images, where messages become "immediate" in art rather than offering space for reflection within medium; I will not be using this as a total lens of analysis, but Kornbluh's discussion on relationships towards art is important to contextualize 25th Ward's readability.  In this essay, I will attempt to deconstruct 25th Ward and execute the “slow and uncertain work of making sense” (Kornbluh 21) to analyze the commentary of social dynamics as it appears within the textual narrative. In the midst of the “nothingness,” the narrative is relentless with the depth and strength of its pseudo-world. 

To begin my argument, I will first define the central commodity of the game’s narrative for my reading of capitalism: Kamui. Originating in The Silver Case, Kamui was a hitman contracted by a political party to assassinate those in opposing government parties of Tokyo’s Ward 24. After his execution, his party “implanted” him into a generation of children known as Kamui MasPro. The government would have the means to “activate” the Kamui in one of these products; when one Kamui is killed, there is a stock of replacement Kamuis (The Silver Case). Conceptually, he is a commodity: a base value representing human labor, a social use value, and an exchange value. The government values Format Kamui’s labor as an assassin, and an exchange value in the stock bodies being expendable and thus replaceable. Lastly is his social use value in the Kamui economy: his physical use as a dispensary of political assassinators, and to the public he fulfills a human want of ideology; Kamui, representing a base concept of “crime,” has higher meanings projected onto him from society; regarded by the youth as “some sort of savior,” his murders have “some sort of purpose”; as such, “it’s more about what he symbolizes” (The Silver Case). The public prescribes Kamui (perceived) intangible power beyond normal citizens. Kamui’s value to the people—symbolism—is perceived within an abstract hierarchy. Social life becomes muddled with Kamui; he has given rise to “‘believers’ [who] fashion themselves as revolutionaries” who see Kamui one who targets corrupt government officials, while others regard him as an ideal of fascism (The Silver Case). He has become an ideology, and commodity fetishism arises in him being prescribed a “meaning” beyond his own humanity. No one has any relationship to Kamui himself, only connecting to each other via interpretations of assumed ideologies. From here, a “crime virus” spreads (The Silver Case); criminal intent infects society in reaction to the ascendance of Kamui. 

With this established, we can now return to Kamui MasPro as analogous to cultural goods. He is mass produced, used as a means for the government to implant and study the aforementioned crime virus within the control of Ward 24, becoming its own culture industry; Adorno and Horkheimer write about entertainment as a cultural good, and we can understand Kamui as a manufactured biological culture (in terms of his genetics being used). Adorno and Horkheimer discuss how the products of the culture industry are consumed as entertainment, curating false needs to bring contentness, man needing “no thoughts of his own” (94) to prime him for unresistance to authority (124). The process is simplified with Kamui; the government produces Kamui, Kamui incites public reaction, the public seeks safety. There are those who turn to the government and those, in their weakness, “seek salvation in the wicked” of Kamui’s ideals of crime (The Silver Case). However, as Adorno writes, “[t]he enjoyment of violence done to the … [product] turns into violence against the spectator,” (110) as even turning to the product of Kamui remains within the bounds of government control. It is curated false needs that are deeper than media consumption; “distraction becom[ing] exertion” (Adorno 110) is only exacerbated by the cycle of seeking a higher power in times of helplessness. Society is no longer conditioned to be unresistant to fascism, rather, society is made to become utmost dependent on fascism. This, as Adorno writes, is the “incurable sickness” (109) of culture—so ill with a crime “virus” that authoritarian rule as a treatment becomes an addiction.

Finally with this framework we are able to approach 25th Ward; the urban planning of Ward 25 is a direct progression from the false needs of security and authority that sets the basis of false consciousness. With the rampant urbanization that created Ward 25, authority as a false need became a commodity, where “people yearned to entrust their own lives to a fully ordered and regulated society, and saw a perfect Utopia” within these wards (25th Ward). It is not that desired utopia stems from an authoritarian society, but instead the object of desire is the authority, from which the idealized utopia arises as it is valued, and enforcers of authority as those who provide labor. In exchange, “[h]umans lose the will to resist,” and thus Ward 25 became “accelerated,” already formed with learned helplessness and submissiveness (25th Ward). Adorno writes that in the “omnipotent society, everyone can be happy if only they hand themselves over to it body and soul and relinquish their claim to happiness,” (124) just as in Ward 25, where residents can relinquish their own agency.  The “reason high-rise buildings are constructed” in regards to urban planning is so “[o]ne can flash their rank to the world,” a status symbol and luxury to all those who regard it as such (25th Ward). The luxury perhaps comes from the supposed lack of “tragedy,” abolished when the residents’ “lack of resistance certifies them as reliable customers” (Adorno 124) as full obedience grants them a life to live at all.

The particular blueprint for the framework of Ward 25’s false consciousness is the pseudo-world of the spectacle. Debord writes the “illusory paradise that represent[s] a total denial of earthly life [...] is embedded in earthly life itself,” that the ‘illusory’ falseness of living is no longer something that denies living, rather, the falseness is how living is done (12). Ward 25 is a false pretense. The residential Bayside Towerland is the ideal utopia that represents a life free of tragedy, and engulfed in it—deathly so. The apartments within these towers, as Adorno writes, are made to “perpetuate individuals as autonomous units,” a design to “subjugate them only more completely to their adversary, the total power of capital” (94). The Bayside Towers are a surveillance state microcosm, as residents are monitored by the Postal Federation serving as a form of secret police (25th Ward). Residents face alienation, becoming estranged from others, under the scrutiny of perfect, in-ordinance living; the narrative begins with an investigation on a recent victim to a series of murders within these towers, and it is quickly discovered that the Postal Federation executes anyone that commits even the slightest of infractions (such as forgetting to separate flammable and non-flammable trash). The false consciousness on the surface is utopian living, though I struggle to measure the scope of falsehoods, as the Bayside Tower itself is in the stage of accelerated, violent capitalism. The estrangement and devaluation of humans with their own nature and lives becomes perverse; they are aware of the Postal Federation’s role as executioners, and turn it into a “sudden death” game where residents predict who will die next. Violent death becomes desensitized to a point where one is no longer truly surprised by their own imminent execution (25th Ward), becoming a wholly banal and cliché occurrence. Apartments are merely cleaned up and primed to be replaced by the next citizen, a line of willing customers (Adorno 124) eager for obedience.

In this economy does the spectacle now allow itself to appear as a character: Kurumizawa, an “observer” and building administrator to which the Bayside Towerland is under his domain. In his role of observer, he is akin to a superhuman figure that can store mass amounts of data (25th Ward), a kind of web server that hosts the pseudo-world within him. Just as Debord establishes, he is the “society itself” in this regard, and “part of society” as administrator, and a “means of unification” (7) to curate the false consciousness where everyone converges; the “domain of delusion”(7) from which the tower residents “live” in. He is not a representation of the spectacle, he is not pure appearances; he is the mediation of those images. A heavily abbreviated confrontation with Kurumizawa as follows:

Sumio: Is this reality? [...] Kurumizawa, I know what you really are. [...] You're an existence without any actual substance. [...] Yeah, you have no physical body, Kurumizawa, you have no form.

Kurumizawa: Whether that's the case or not, it's meaningless.

(25th Ward)

Kurumizawa appears within material reality as stylized, digital representations of himself. Even when caught in recordings, he is not a deception; as the spectacle, he is a materialization that has become objective (Debord 7). Kurumizawa himself tries disregarding his nature as trivial, but as Debord argues, the spectacle is full of “metaphysical subtleties,” – Kurumizawa is he who “invert[s] living values into purely abstract values,” (17) as the towers and Ward 25 are no longer living residencies, and everything recedes into “appearing” (11). As such, Kurumizawa appears: he is able to “subject human beings to [him]self” (Debord 10) in his total domination. He can not be observed as an observer; it is Kurumizawa who has the entirety of Ward 25 under his observations.

Shiroyabu, detective belonging to the Ward 25 HCU, has his own confrontation with Kurumizawa, believing to have “won” over the man as he kills him. Left to his own devices, he reflects on the true concepts of Kurumizawa and Kamui, concluding that “This is the point of observation. It lies buried in people; it mixes with people” (25th Ward). This is the ultimate unification of Kamui and Kurumizawa and Ward 25; the spectacle wholly engulfs all of living. What was lived has become appearances to be observed. Kurumizawa acknowledges that Kamui “has no blindspots,” (25th Ward). Kamui is integrated into the pseudo-fabric of the pseudo-world, the spectacle inseparable from it all. Regardless, Shiroyabu strives to “overcome the theories” and reach a tangible world outside the spectacle (25th Ward). Overpowering Kurumizawa, he is left to his own reflections, a lingering representation without observation. As a natural result of this though, as Debord observes, “the spectacle regenerates [him]self” (11).

Kurumizawa: I won't try to escape. I'm just going to switch places. With you.

Shiroyabu: You're fucking with me, right? [...] I have no idea what the hell you're talking about… Yeah, I'm just gonna kill you.

Kurumizawa: That won't be necessary. Shiroyabu, you're the surrogate.

(25th Ward)

Kurumizawa self-terminates. This is the “opposite of dialogue” (Debord 11) in communication with the spectacle, uprooting whatever futile progress Shiroyabu had made in trying to prove the “theories” wrong. Kurumizawa is not his image or his own sound. Kurumizawa does not “try” to escape, as he states, but he leaves for Shiroyabu a role to fulfill. Shiroyabu, who “defeated” the spectacle, is now left to be the spectacle himself. Throughout the final chapter, Shiroyabu in his lone investigations calls out to his absent partner, Kuroyanagi, to ask her for validation, clinging on to her to ask if his denial of the “theories” and his interpretations of Kamui-Kurumizawa are correct. Even in trying to deconstruct this culture matrix, as Adorno writes, he displays a weakness that was “systematically instilled” (116) in him. At the end, she finally responds:

Kuroyanagi: Don't ask. Think for yourself. This is why you kids are all weak pussies. You all just wanna do things as easily as possible and have others think for you. Get your shit together.

Shiroyabu: Kuro-san, I'm tired.

Kuroyanagi: And fucking spoiled, too.

(25th Ward)

Albeit a little more crudely, Kuroyanagi echoes a sentiment within these texts to Shiroyabu and, by extent, to the audience. Fisher discusses films that perform “anti-capitalism for us,” (12) which 25th Ward rejects. As Kuroyanagi puts it, it is perhaps “spoiled” of the reader to expect some sort of explanation at the end. There is no gentle guidance to bring you the comfort of a “final answer.” Think for yourself. “You kids,” Kuroyanagi says, as if directing her scrutiny to the audience as well. She will not “perform anti-capitalism” (Fisher 12) for you or entertain even the idea of validation. The story has already been given to you, now it is on you to “get [it] together.”

Shiroyabu is similar to how Fisher reflects on Kurt Cobain, writing "[he] knew that he was just another piece of the spectacle ... knew that his every move was a cliché scripted in advance, knew that even realizing it is a cliché" (21). At the end, Shiroyabu realizes that he, too, is a mass-produced entity, but on the individual level of endless stock Shiroyabu bodies (25th Ward). Multiple of these bodies have seamlessly integrated into the narrative across the chapters; a progenitor of the crime virus yet in infinite rotation to be seamlessly assigned right back into the HCU. It is only with the story moving to “conclusion” in which Shiroyabu realizes that the entirety of his being is built on cliché. All he can do is move forward. In a separate concurring storyline, the Ward 25 experiment is terminated. It similarly does not matter here whether the experiment was interrupted or naturally concluded, as either way, the killswitch triggers Ward 25’s self-destruction and it all crumbles into the sea. It is truly easier to “imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism” (Fisher 6) as the narrative continues forwards to the development of Ward 26.

In a possibly similar vein of televised destruction, Fisher writes about films where the affinity  "arises from their common claim to have stripped the world of sentimental illusions and seen it for 'what it really is': [...] perpetual exploitation and generalized criminality," in that these supposed anti-capitalist films only furthers capitalist realism (11). The excessive violence, in its cliché, becomes totally banal and becomes a desensitization itself. They all communicate the same type of perils of capitalism, the “is” of the world, and that the illusion is the world that tries to deny all the suffering. Fisher questions if this is really an “effective challenge” (16) if the conclusions all arrive at the hopelessness of resistance and inevitability of suffering. The “what it is” congeals to “it is terrible, it is what it is.” The colloquial nature of this “is what it is” idea, as Kornbluh argues in her own text, presents an “urgency” of immediacy (6). The “real”ness of these narratives deny the mediation of art to force the “is” into your hands, and this is where 25th Ward forces its own distance. A post-credits epilogue begins. “Next up, war.” (25th Ward) Poor Shiroyabu ruminates on his circumstances, and leaves us with the parting words of “The story ends. It continues on forever” (25th Ward). 

25th Ward, as I have shown, is at its surface a surreal, often nonsensical story that resists immediacy. The game does not convey what the world “is,” and leaves the reader with responsibility of making sense of its own falsehoods once exposed to the pseudo-world. The narrative never arrives anywhere, and as such, continues onwards; in being entrenched in falsehoods, 25th Ward stands unresisting in capitalist realism. The audience is effectively alienated by a plot that is confusing, vague, seemingly “meaningless;” the game appears as a narrative instead of having one. Suffering and the perils of capitalism should not be innately inevitable, yet, it continues on under the domain of capitalism. Ultimately, these falsehoods are never escaped, and the characters surrender themselves to capitalism in the realization that they have no alternative to capitalism.

[pandorasparasite]

burn  reynolds  is  a  chaotic  neutral  agent  of  pandora  selected after  he  uncovered  the  existence  of  the  organization  while  investigating  his  ex-husband’s  death,  and  for  his  extensive  military  experience  as  an  explosives  unit  team  leader and  underwent  the  top-secret  mutation  process.  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  the  fifty-seven  year  old  originally  from  washington, d.c.  is  deceased  or  missing.  however,  in  atlantis,  they  are  now  known  as  vulcan  of  wrath  since  developing  the  ability  to  create,  shape,  and  manipulate  explosive,  combustive,  rupturing,  and  detonative  force  energy.  the  agent  has  been  with  pandora  for  two years  and  is  trusted  for  being  strategic  &  undaunted,  but  once  reprimanded  for  being  obsessive  &  reckless.

THE BASICS.

NAME： burn everett reynolds. CALLSIGN： vulcan. GENDER： male. uses he / him / his pronouns. BORN： saturday, september 14th, 1968. in washington, d.c. HEIGHT： 5 ft 10 in ( 178 cm ). WEIGHT： 175 lbs ( 80 kg ). EYES： light blue. HAIR： graying dark brown hair, grey beard.

ABILITIES.

burn reynolds has only been an agent of pandora for two years, recently out of the mandatory conditioning period before taking the serum. he was assigned to the wrath division. prior to joining the organization, reynolds led a military explosives unit team with excellence. working under pressure is nothing new to this veteran. as part of burn's training, he has acquired expertise in athletics and close combat. his background also makes him an expert in engineering. he has shown proficiency in brute force, stealth and infiltration, culture and politics, acrobatics, evasion, and marksmanship. more training is required in seduction and insight, for his abilities are considered subpar in these areas.

POWERS.

the full scope of agent vulcan’s powers remains a subject of ongoing analysis. preliminary reports confirm the ability to provoke explosions through volatile force manipulation. the operative has used firearms while practicing his abilities, successfully charging bullets with explosive energy. upon nearing the target, these projectiles detonate mid-flight or on impact. other objects are just as effective. essentially, he can turn anything he makes contact with, directly or indirectly, into a bomb. while already impressive, the destructive capacity of burn's detonations is believed to be far from its full potential. current blast output varies significantly depending on the operative’s concentration, physical condition, and emotional state.  controlled simulations have demonstrated that the agent can occasionally trigger explosions at a distance, without direct contact with the target. however, these ranged outbursts are considerably weaker in comparison. should vulcan achieve full mastery over his mutation, projections estimate a significant increase in both range and destructive force, turning the wrath agent into a formidable asset within pandora's arsenal