#root and stability
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ronnansink-blog · 5 months ago
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Sendo Yasuhiko “ Hua Jin,” often translated as “transforming energy” or “flowing energy,” in Tai Chi. “Hua Jin,” often translated as “transforming energy” or “flowing energy,” is a subtle yet powerful principle in the internal martial arts—particularly in Tai Chi. While “Fa Jin” (explosive power) is frequently showcased for its impressive display of force, “Hua Jin” is its equally vital counterpart. It embodies the sophisticated art of redirecting and transforming incoming energy with grace and fluidity. In Tai Chi, these concepts exist in harmony, with “Hua Jin” serving as both a defensive and strategic precursor to the decisive striking power of “Fa Jin.” 1. Understanding “Hua Jin” as “Flowing Jin” The principle of “Hua Jin” is described as “flowing Jin,” likened to the effortless glide of clouds and the steady, constant movement of a flowing river. Rather than meeting force with rigidity, practitioners learn to harness the energy coursing through their body to guide, dissipate, or redirect an opponent’s power. This is a highly refined skill that depends on sensitivity, relaxation, and whole-body integration. Flowing Clouds and Flowing Water Just as clouds shift shape without losing their essence, and water finds its path around obstacles without losing momentum, so too does “Hua Jin” continuously adapt and respond to an opponent’s movement. The intention is never to stop or resist force but rather to receive and guide it. Whole-Body Coordination “Flowing Jin” is rooted in the entire body—every joint and muscle should be in harmony, allowing energy to pass naturally from foot to waist, then through the spine and arms. This continuous, unbroken flow—also referred to in many Tai Chi classics—ensures that there are no blockages, no abrupt stops, and no wasted motion. 2. The Role of the Eight Gates Jin “Flowing Jin” draws from the Eight Gates Jin (Peng, Lu, Ji, An, Cai, Lie, Zhou, Kao), fundamental energies in Tai Chi practice. Each represents different expressions or directions of power, but all can serve and be refined by “Hua Jin”: Peng (expanding) and Lu (redirecting) most closely illustrate the transformative nature of “Hua Jin.” Peng provides the structural integrity to remain buoyant and connected, while Lu applies subtle redirection. Ji (pressing) and An (pushing) can incorporate “flowing Jin” by smoothly pressing and pushing without hard collisions. Cai (plucking), Lie (splitting), Zhou (elbow), and Kao (shoulder) also utilize the same principle of continuous energy flow, but in more specific applications of short power or close-in techniques. When “Hua Jin” is present, each of these gates or energies transforms seamlessly, allowing you to neutralize and off-balance an opponent. This is done not by forceful confrontation but by a precise and well-timed yield, followed by a guided redirection of the opponent’s own force. 3. Riding the Flow: Application in Combat In practical terms, “Hua Jin” helps you deal with an opponent’s strikes or grappling attempts by “riding” their incoming power like a raft on a river: Yielding and Connecting The moment contact is made, you connect with your opponent’s energy. Instead of fighting it, you let their force enter your structure while maintaining dynamic alignment and relaxation. Through sensitivity (often honed through push-hands practice), you detect the opponent’s angle, intention, and center of balance. Redirection and Transformation Once you feel their energy, gently alter its direction—much like water flowing around a rock. Your body does not become limp; rather, it remains structurally aligned yet flexible, guiding the opponent’s power away from your center. Returning Force As the opponent’s energy is diverted, you maintain a continuous flow, neutralizing their momentum. The stored or redirected energy can then be quickly converted into your own striking force if needed—often seen when “Hua Jin” transitions into “Fa Jin” (explosive release). The beauty of “Hua Jin” is that it allows you to respond with minimal effort while maximizing the opponent’s expended energy.
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nicorobinphd · 6 months ago
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stg, being an enjoyer of jane twdg is like being forced into an expert-level course on the way misogyny manifests in video game spaces.
god forbid a woman be complex or difficult or provably mischaracterized (see tags) at the end of her arc to service the culmination of a man’s storyline.
#“kenny was harrowed by loss in his family” so was jane. that is part of them literally being foils.#“kenny teaches clem more!” literally untrue a lot of clem’s combat style is rooted in what jane taught her (targeting the knees & basically#everything clem knows about knife combat- jane is also mirrored with lee in this sense as like was previously stated knife combat later goe#on to become a major element of how clem fights only outweighed by her use of firearms)#she teaches clem the gut trick & we see the innovative thinking that comes with being more independent & proactive influence the way clem#handles sticky situations & deals with feeling disempowered. like this is going to sound odd but the fact that her behaviour mirrors jane#at her best (even though her relationship with aj is more maternal the way she approaches him much more as an equal & capable of holding#agency over his own life is much more reminiscent of the way she was treated by jane & luke positively + the rest of the adults negatively#than how kenny or even lee treated clem [though lee did start to view her this way after the train] + her people reading skill.) & at her#worst (isolating herself + becoming cold + the fact she is [based on player choice] willing to leave aj behind for both their survival +#struggling with her need for community vs her sense of distrust in their lasting stability + her tendency to be unfeelingly pragmatic to a#fault except when it comes to aj + the fact that clem- at her worst is self-serving & somewhat uncaring in comparison to kenny’s possessive#hot-headedness etc) indicates that on some level- regardless of a player’s second season ending- clem considered jane to be a better#behavioural role model- this isn’t to say kenny was unimpactful but rather that his impact was different- where behaviourally we see elemen#of lee luke jane & even carver in clem’s later behaviour kenny’s impact is more so that of a cautionary tale- somebody clem cared for who#she witnessed lose himself entirely to his worst character flaws due to an inability to cope with the world she now lives in- something he#even admits to her in multiple endings iirc. kenny becomes the fate clem must strive against at all costs.#similar can be said of the ending where you go with jane regarding how it analogies clem’s fears & low self worth as a result of being#unable to maintain what she had with aj (in a manner that mirrors jane’s story in that she’s choosing to leave behind a living relative due#to no longer being able to be what they need- again depending on player choice*)#*my exact memory of the third season is hazier tbh. iirc it is dependent on player choice whether she is complacent with the decision to#make her leave the new frontier.#like the way the ending was handled was sloppy & jane was mischaracterized as a result of being shoved into a conflict that we know for#certain was not intended to go to her. calm down & just enjoy your man without being weird & misogynistic dear god.)#(also if you like clem & jane you will like holly robinson & selina kyle dc)#twdg jane#jane twdg#twdg
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gxlden-angels · 3 months ago
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I've had this account now for 5ish years now. I've been in therapy for years, not exclusively for religious trauma but it's a major part. I've gotten better. I have a lot of content here I could reflect on, but I don't think I want to. I like knowing I progressed. I don't like looking at what from. Usually religious trauma comes up in therapy as an "oh yea...." instead of by name now. It's indirect. Enmeshment. Parentification. Vaginismus. Scrupulous and Harm OCD. Alexithymia. Derealization and Depersonalization. Paranoia.
I'm like, a real adult now I guess. I have a bachelor's degree now. I walk this upcoming weekend. I live in a house and I'm renting out a room with my own money. It has a backyard my cat likes to run around in. I had a job interview in my chosen field today. It went well
Then I'll go back to my family for the weekend and I find out they're spiraling into AI generated christian conspiracy theory videos. Their pastor is preaching about Trump being the anti-christ, and any non-Trump or Conspiracy message is the same thing he's said for the past decade, sometimes word for word. My uncle is convinced he's a prophet. He tells a story about a girl that was paralyzed after not listening to his message. My grandfather is convinced us black people are the true Israelites and chosen people. I thought I was the only one medically neglected by my aunt who's a doctor. I was not. I show her my emotions chart app. She tells me it's good so I can recognize when I feel bad and remember Jesus's love until I'm happy again. It's not normal for your joints to pop out of place apparently. We all learned this at the same time. It's Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. That explains a lot. My grandfather fell asleep to a video about the Ethiopian bible and how other bibles were made to take out miracles by Jesus and angels again. The remote is lodged in his hand so we can't change it
Then I talk about plants and food with my dad and my grandmother. My dad jokingly complains about his mom making him garden with her all day half a century ago. I give her a little kiss on her forehead before I go. My dad sends me home with leftover peach cobbler he made. I eat it with my lunch at my job. I answer phone calls at a front desk. I paid real taxes for the first time this year. I go to therapy and I talk about everything from my sex life to my graduate school plans to my opinions about generative AI (I hate it). I'm like, a real, breathing adult that has autonomy I guess. I'm not even claimed as a dependent anymore. I built my own desk that I bought from Big Lots.
You get where I'm going with this right? I'm not cured or healed by any means. Far from it in fact. I still get a pang of anxiety using the lord's name in vain and a chill down my spine when manifesting feels too close to confessing. It's harder making a personal post about religious trauma now though. It's not necessarily that I'm cured, it's just so engrained that I've created atheistic excuses to stay stuck in my religious trauma. I can pinpoint the source of it if I think about it long enough, so I don't think about it long enough
I'm not afraid to think lustful thoughts because holding lust in your heart is a sin, it's because I feel like a creep. I'm not worried I'll be sent to hell if I make mistakes that take me further from Jesus, I just think making mistakes would make me a bad person and an asshole. These beliefs popped out of nowhere, of course. They aren't influenced by the religious trauma so deeply buried in my head that taking it out would feel like taking out the gray matter of my brain itself. I'm schrodingers's man where I'm only a human when I'm observed. It used to be a deity but then it was you. I'm observed by you and that proved I'm human just long enough to get by when I most needed it. I still have that problem, but I'm seen outside of here. I see myself more often too
I don't want this post to seem like a good-bye, because it's not. I'm just currently in a period of limbo and I feel like the next generation of religious trauma bloggers are rising. I'm too busy arguing with my therapist about why I'm a bad person in a way that doesn't just boil down to "I'm a sinner in need of redemption" in a desperately-secular way. I'm self-aware enough to know that's what I'm doing, but not progressing enough to stop yet. I think what will happen is I'll eventually get frustrated enough to give up on the secular origins of my mental distress. I think a lot of you are in a similar place. You're out long enough that it feels like it should be over. You don't live in the bible-thumping, belt-wielding, gay-bashing, hellscape you once did. You might even be no-contact. You pay taxes now in your apartment. But it's not over. It's still there. It's just harder to say it's Jesus's fault I'm like this. It feels like it's been too long to still blame the bible.
It's not. It's buried in your synapses and neurons and muscles and bones and skin and hair and teeth and it's hard to remember that after 5 years. It's not oozing out into your bloodstream and filling you with enough cortisol and adrenaline to fuel an elephant anymore. It trickles though like a leaky faucet. I think I've lost the plot at this point, but you get it
Like I said, not a goodbye despite what it seems like. I just have to remember that a leaky faucet is still a concern
#Like I said I might've lost the plot a bit but like you get it right?#I'm not on this blog as often anymore#in fact i'm not on tumblr as much anymore#but not because I don't like tumblr it's because I've been in a state of chaos the last couple months#and I try to think of why I'm reacting the way I do to things and my therapist just looks at me#and I tell him#I'm past this. I don't think about religion anymore. I joke about being smited down#And he just looks at me. It pisses me off so we stop talking about it. He doesn't push any further#I'm an adult. I make the decision to talk if I want#Like I said#not a goodbye#it's a change of substance#I think if I start up on this blog again it'll be less religious trauma and more getting back to religious trauma#if that makes sense#like i'm here to get back to the root of the issue but I wouldn't be directly thinking about religion anymore#cause it's hard to not immediately assume I'm past it already#but yea no sorry for the long and dramatic post I'm in a weird headspace man#we upped my mood stabilizers recently too so I've been in a weird state of near stability#like I can recover now from terrible things I don't feel like killing myself for the next week#just the next hour or two. maybe the day if it's truly bad#I actually believe the 'emotions are temporary' thing now. Medication is a miracle yall this is good shit#before if I felt this bad I'd be 5150'd ngl but I actually feel like I can get thru shit#I mean it takes a little while longer than the average person to get there but I do get there now#anyways#excuse my rambling#ex christian#religious trauma#long post
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spliqi · 6 months ago
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thinking about the kunikida bible (dazai’s entrance exam) and i will never get over any of it but i especially love the concept of ideals being something that can corrupt and radicalize a person and how being partnered with someone who challenges those ideals is actually why kunikida is able to stay living a morally sound life
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dailyanarchistposts · 10 months ago
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Trajectories for the Future
In "Dark tidings: Anarchist Politics in the Age of Collapse," Uri Gordon paints an ominous picture: "industrial civilization is coming down," so "anarchists and their allies are now required to project themselves into a future of growing instability and deterioration."[20] I am not so sure about the imminent downfall of industrial civilization or the collapse of capitalism, but I concur that we need to project ourselves into some image of the future in order to prepare for it.[21] A complication is that the future is partially decided by how we project ourselves into it and how we imagine it. There is not a predetermined future that we merely need to prepare for. It will be shaped by how we prepare for it and by what future we prepare for. To fixate ourselves on a particular vision of the future could affect us by constricting our capacities in the present to those actions that lead to that future, blinding us to other possibilities.
Gordon mentions some possible future scenarios, summed up as "grassroots communism, eco-authoritarianism, or civil war."[22] As the ecological crisis becomes more clear and people demand change, global capitalism might attempt to recuperate by making minor adjustments and putting on a "green face" without any changes in the system that is actually causing the crisis: capitalism itself. This can only buy time, and as the crisis intensifies capitalism will employ more authoritarian and repressive measures to stay in power. It can do this either in an authoritarian, neoliberal form, deploying superficial, liberal "progressive" rhetoric while preserving existing hierarchies; or it could instead turn to "eco-fascism," combining nationalist, racist and misogynist ideas of population control and "belonging" with the need to protect nature by totalitarian means. Both are tendencies that exist in the present.[23] In either case, it can only be a matter of buying time by managing the crisis until the inevitable collapse. In his piece Gordon suggests a number of praxises that are necessary in order to resist the authoritarian tendencies during this period of interregnum as well as to build alternative communities that prefigure a new way of life, independent of global capitalism.
Another, more recent, theory of possible futures is Geoff Mann and Joel Wainwright's (M&W) "Climate Leviathan."[24] They see four different trajectories: Either the capitalist order will continue under an increasingly authoritarian global sovereign - a planetary regulatory regime that decides who gets to pollute and at which cost ("Climate Leviathan") - or it will continue without such a sovereign as reactionary and nationalist movements refuse any serious collective efforts to mitigate climate change ("Climate Behemoth"). The global sovereign might also emerge as a non-capitalist world order: the state-socialist dream of a global centrally planned economy but with an emphasis on reducing carbon emissions ("Climate Mao"), and finally there is the more unknown path which involves a rejection and transcendence of both capitalism and political sovereignty ("Climate X").[25] Although climate denying "anti-globalist" right-wing movements have gained political power in several countries in recent years, the authors doubt this "Behemoth" will be long-lived: at some point the climate crisis will become so apparent it cannot be ignored.[26] They find the capitalist "Climate Leviathan" the most likely scenario as it can be built on global institutions and structures that already exist.[27] Climate X is less certain but is the only scenario the authors see as a viable strategy for the future.[28]
There are several overlaps between Gordon's and M&W's theories. Gordon's vision of eco-authoritarian capitalism is not that far from their Climate Leviathan: an attempt to manage the escalating crisis while preserving the existing structures of inequality. In his updated version, he admits that the prediction that capitalism would adapt by accommodating environmentalist and progressive concerns has not been realized. Instead capital has tended to "opt for full-blown reaction" expressed in climate denial and national chauvinism[29] - a trend that aligns with their vision of Climate Behemoth. The main point of convergence in the two theories is the hope for "Climate X" / "grassroots communism" - a movement of movements struggling for social justice, equality and self-management. My own theory is close to these. I also think we will see an increase in authoritarianism and inequality, but I posit that this is not really a change in the system but merely an intensification of the tendencies already contained within it. But the growing crises do give room for and force into existence other forces with the potential to create something new. I too, place my hope in "Climate X" - not as a utopian unknown but as concrete and existing praxises that can be expanded and amplified.
My aim here is thus not to critique the previous theories but to supplement them with empirical cases of what is already happening as the world responds to climate disaster - how the state and capital tries to consolidate the existing political structures on one side, and, on the other, how communities are responding by changing their social relations. Examining these cases from the present can give us a better idea of what to expect from the future and where to focus our struggles. I also add an element to "Climate X" that is under-emphasized in the aforementioned works, which focus primarily on protest and resistance to the dominating powers with the goal of preventing the destructive course.[30] Given the fact that climate disasters are already happening we also need to take into consideration how we are going to survive in the future. The politics of adaptation must be considered from the grassroots level.
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encantresse · 4 months ago
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♡ :D
Send ♡ to see what my muse thinks of yours
●●●●● | ATTRACTION ●●●●● | AFFECTION ●●●●● | INTEREST ●●●●● | LOYALTY ●●●●● | TRUST
"edie's as special as they come! she's always working so hard. i don't envy the weight of the role she's had to take on as imperial princess. i know it'll only get harder once she's emperor, though i have faith she'll manage just fine. more than fine, actually. all her talk of the future makes me feel hopeful. you always hear the nobility speaking about 'better days ahead,' but when edie says it, i somehow believe every word.
'the future will always be ours to make.' that's what she's told me. and not only that, but she also wants me at her side to see it. imagine that? someone like edelgard wanting to have someone like me around. it almost feels unreal.
i'm hoping to spend more time with edie. when the two of us are together, it's easy to forget about everything else."
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elenadoeslife · 7 months ago
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2024: RECAP
After living in anti-squat & temporary rent houses for close to 2 years, we finally became actual home renters;
I found my best friend in the downstairs neighbour of our last temporary rent house;
The Script dropped a new album last summer and I got tickets for the Amsterdam concert;
Had to say goodbye to my uncle and grandpa;
Learned how to knit.
2025: INTENTIONS
Celebrate my 30th birthday in February;
Work a couple of hours a week and slowly build my way up to a part-time job;
Put aside some money so I can finally get the tattoo I've wanted for quite some time now;
Make this house feel like a home by adding decor and personality;
Work on a healthy relationship with food & exercise so I can feel good in my body.
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possible-mermaid · 6 months ago
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I’m actually crashing out over this wtf do I do with my time now
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sillybouquetoflillies · 1 year ago
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i keep thinking i rly didnt go thru that much growing up, but idk, everytime i tell someone abt my life, they say i did and kinda just like sit in shock abt it. am i just internet brained or smth, or am i just dramatic?? i rly dont think ive earned a lot of the symtoms of someone who was traumatized that i have. or maybe i havent been in a safe place for long enough to process things??? i dunno. maybe someday far away in the future ill figure things out
#i let myself sit n accept that i did go thru smth.. maybe that i didnt totally remember or that i blurred out the details of n idk#i keep feeling like an imposter n like i shouldnt be feeling it. i didnt rly like how ive been acting#but like also i let a lot of stuff out of the box in my brain doing that n idk how 2 put it back or deal with it#so now i just feel like a half untangled mess with 0 stability bc in that 'growth n discovery' period i realized almost everyone in my life#wasnt someone i wanted 2 keep around#so now its rly just me n my bestie that r close n i keep everyone else at arms length#how tf did i get on rambling abt this omggg#ugh i am srsly such a mess n i cant find the root n i think thats whats freaking me out the most#i hate not being able 2 explain why im feeling a certain type of way or justify it in anyway#i just wanna feel okay n stable n be a fun person 2 be around again!!!!#i wanna be completely independent but like.... everything is so expensive n i have no interest in anything that would pay well#i wish my sw stuff would take off but i think im too messy 4 ppl 2 wanna stick around n also i dont think im super attractive unfortunately#I DUNNO#i dont have any answers atm n its freaking me out#i either wanna figure out how to be okay with not having answers or to get the answers and solve my problems#n i also dont wanna depend on other ppl 2 solve them for me#i just wanna be a whole.. well rounded person who can take care of themselves n do what i want#while also being a cute puppy thats rly rly rly fun 2 play with n is super helpful n supportive 2 the ppl it cares abt 🥰#i am so sick of these silly dumb messy fears n emotions that keep me stuck in boring ruts#i wanna go out n have my own fun n be my own person n stop being so scared of everything!!!!!#its okay if things go bad!!!! its just more stories 2 tell ppl!!!! ppl love my stories!!!! ugh i just needa put myself out there#i just needa find smth fun 2 do that keeps me around fun ppl#i just dont know what yet#concerts r fun but idk no one super interesting is touring here rn n i need smth more frequent#ok i think this ramble is ovr#im rly sry if ur reading this!!!! i love u vry much n hope ur having a wonderful day!!!!!!!!!
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thelegendofmrrager · 1 year ago
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Finally working as a social worker in the field and yeah we're cops too. We're churning ppl thru the system too. Most fucked up thing is my job is considered a "mental health" agency and we're supposed to prioritize linking ppl to mental health resources... whole time like 95% of our clients are homeless and utilize us primarily for a hotel stay. These ppl are worrying about where they're gonna get their next meal, what's going to happen to them after their hotel stay runs out. I have clients who are single mothers on the verge of homelessness and I'm supposed to ask "how do you feel about outpatient counseling? Psychiatry? Mental health skill building?" It's fucked.
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neverendingford · 1 year ago
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#tag talk#I think one of the reasons therapy is so hard is that it's not like I show up and talk about the problem I have.#I show up and have to list all thirty seven problems and explain how their separate and how they're intertwined#I had my third hour-long appointment with my therapist who I feel genuinely hopeful about and there's still issues I haven't talked about#and I get that a lot of these separate issues are really just a basket of extreme symptoms from a few core issues#but it's been so long that they've grown and rooted on their own so it's not just a matter of digging out the original roots. not anymore.#and I do feel like I've made progress. I've made immense progress. the mood stabilizer alone is giving me loads of new data to process.#without it the mood phase I'm in right now would be morose and gloomy with manic energy turned inward to self loathing.#I started that direction a day or so ago because I forgot/didn't care to take my meds and started slipping#but I took my pills and bam I leveled out. and that's nice. I feel calm and serene.#hmm. I've been like this before though. after some sort of emotional high which I did have for a bit.#idk. I'm hopeful I'm positive I'm optimistic but still#I need to talk to my therapist about the feeling like a joke. I'm weird I'm interesting I'm novel I'm strange I know it already.#I'm lonely#I'm tired of being different. of being set apart. of being holy. divine.#I want to be normal. not a spectacle to gawk at or even appreciate. I want to be unremarkable. I want to fit in.#my therapist has enjoyed talking with me. I'm very funny. very charming. tough to keep up with apparently.#those things are intended as compliments but they also just remind me of how alone I am. different. set apart.
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themetadark · 2 years ago
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it's Relentless Gaze of the Sun coding a character
character who is sun-coded but not in the traditional ray-of-sunshine way. character who is sun-coded in the sense that they burn hot and bright and powerful, that they're a raging fury of fire and passion, and that maybe, just maybe, they are destroying themselves as they do so.
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goldgro · 3 days ago
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Freedom! Mel Gibson Returns to Trim for Braveheart's 30th Anniversary - Thirty years after the epic battle scenes of
Braveheart first echoed across the fields of Meath, actor and director Mel Gibson is set to return to the historic town of Trim. He will be the guest of honour at a major festival celebrating the 30th anniversary of the film that forever linked the town with one of cinema's most iconic stories of rebellion.
The visit is part of the King John's Summer Prom Festival, scheduled to take place next month from August 8th to 10th. Fans will have a unique opportunity to meet the star, who will be signing posters on the morning of Saturday, August 9th, at the Trim Castle Hotel, with proceeds benefiting the Irish Equity Benevolent Fund.
A Festival of Cinematic Proportions
Gibson's return is the headline act of what is being billed as "the largest orchestral festival on the island of Ireland," featuring nearly 300 performers from Ireland and beyond. The King John's Summer Prom Festival is a weekend-long celebration of music and film, taking place under a fully seated Big Top on the Navan Road in Trim.
The weekend schedule includes:
Friday, August 8th: "Voyage: Ireland in Song," an orchestral journey featuring actor Patrick Bergin and vocalists Leah Barniville and Emmet Cahill.
Saturday, August 9th: A matinee concert, "Heroes and Legends," celebrating the music of great film composers, followed by a special 30th-anniversary outdoor screening of Braveheart in Trim, with original cast members in attendance.
Sunday, August 10th: A family-friendly "Orchestral Odyssey" in the afternoon, followed by a show-stopping finale tribute to Neil Diamond’s "Hot August Night" in the evening.
The Story of 'Braveheart' in Ireland
While the film tells a Scottish story, its production is a landmark moment in Irish film history. In 1994, after six weeks of shooting in Scotland, Mel Gibson moved the entire $53 million production to Ireland. This pivotal decision was influenced by two key factors.
First, a groundbreaking tax incentive scheme, introduced in 1993 under then-Minister for the Arts Michael D. Higgins, made Ireland an attractive international filming location. It was the first scheme of its kind in the world, and Irish investors raised £10 million towards the film's budget under its rules.
Second, an agreement was reached to make 1,500 members of the Irish defence forces available as extras for the film's large-scale battle scenes—a cost-effective measure that provided highly disciplined performers. Actor Alun Armstrong, who played the Earl of Mornay, commented, “These must be the best extras I’ve ever worked with, they should have an award for being extras. They’re just so self-disciplined.”
On set, Gibson himself was remembered for his camaraderie and immense work ethic, often eating with the crew in the canteen and working 18-hour days, six days a week, while directing, producing, and starring in the feature.
A Legacy That Built an Industry
Braveheart became a global phenomenon. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture and Best Director for Gibson. Its critical and commercial success was a massive endorsement for Ireland as a filming location, helping to convince later blockbuster productions like
Saving Private Ryan and King Arthur to shoot here. The film is credited with helping to "kick-start a stable growth in Ireland’s film industry that has seen it go from strength to strength since then."
This upcoming festival is more than just a celebration of a classic film; it’s a tribute to a pivotal moment that helped shape an entire industry.
For tickets and more information on the King John's Summer Prom Festival, visit kjsummerprom.ie.
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yeslordmyking · 14 days ago
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Psalm 37:16-17 — Today's Verse for Tuesday, July 15, 2025
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dailyanarchistposts · 10 months ago
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Another Present is Possible
These examples of events in the recent past give us a terrifying image if we extrapolate them into the future. Assuming they will only intensify with climate change they in no way show us the collapse of civilization as we know it - i.e. a world order of economic and political inequality (inside and between nations), domination and exclusion. On the contrary, this "realist" model shows us that it is not the collapse of order we need to fear but its continuation. But the picture I have presented of the present is only partial and therefore misleading. In recent years we have seen many other social reactions to disasters which point towards a completely different future.
During Hurricane Katrina thousands of volunteer activists arrived in New Orleans, not to distribute charity but to offer their solidarity. They helped the communities who were already coming together to set up local information centers where people could find their loved ones, offer their skills, leave or take supplies, etc. The same happened during the other disasters mentioned here. This spontaneous "disaster communism" or "disaster anarchism" has a long history: when the imposed order of the state and capital retreats people rarely react the way Leviathan assumes - when people find themselves in shared circumstances they are at least as likely to start helping each other as they are to start fighting.[54] A crucial difference over the recent years is that it is no longer spontaneous: communities are learning from past events are preparing for the next; they are practicing the skills required and building communities and networks that prepare them for the future by changing how they relate to each other in the present.
This is about more than surviving during a disaster. In New Orleans the organizations Common Ground Relief and the Common Ground Health Clinic were established to provide immediate relief and mutual aid, but they continue to this day long after the disaster as community led organizations for social justice and self-management. They are now part of the growing network Mutual Aid Disaster Relief which help communities prepare for disasters before they happen, using principles of mutual aid and self-empowerment instead of dependence-creating, top-down "charity."
During Hurricane Sandy in New York, thousands of volunteers came together to organize the relief effort. Their efforts were helped by existing networks of communication and trust established during the Occupy Wall Street protests. The movement Occupy Sandy organized around 60,000 volunteers in an effective relief effort that outperformed both the Red Cross and the government agency FEMA.[55] A report from the Department of Homeland Security praised the decentralized, horizontal and transparent model: "We can learn lessons from Occupy Sandy's successes to ensure a ready and resilient nation."[56]
When the state's branch of repression has such praise for decentralized structures there is reason to be weary of co-optation. Governments could use the potential for community self-organizing to justify neoliberal austerity policies. But since top-down government "rebuilding" efforts have also been used to implement neoliberal policies this is only a reason to further insist on strengthening and radicalizing the grass roots movement and combining the emergency relief and post-disaster rebuilding with an egalitarian anti-capitalist practice. The activists in Occupy Sandy had seen what happened after New Orleans and were from the beginning focused on preventing and resisting the gentrification that often follows with the recovery process.
Furthermore, these movements are not merely reacting to emergencies, trying to survive in the disaster. They are also engaged in climate mitigation by focusing on the environmental surroundings of their communities. Common Ground in Louisiana runs a program for wetlands restoration which is necessary for mitigating the effects of climate change (the wetlands protect against hurricanes and land-loss) and play a part in reducing climate change (by storing CO2). Most importantly though, these movements are building new praxises and social relations that are necessary parts of a different social order beyond capitalism and the Leviathan.
This is not political idealism as in the opposite of "realism" - I have again merely pointed out things that actually exist in the real world and many more examples could be given from many other parts of the globe. As Martin Buber noted,[57] all societies contain to some degree both the "political principle" (organization characterized by domination) and the "social principle" (association based on common needs) and any realistic analysis would be lacking if it merely focused on one, not merely because it would miss part of reality but because it would affect our actions and thus shape reality. The two narratives give us radically different affective states and have the potential to shape our ideals for the future and our capacities in the present. Both principles will likely be intensified with climate change; which one will be stronger depends on what we do.
The movements described may not today be big enough to replace the system in its entirety and stop climate change but they do provide us with a lived and "concrete utopia"[58] which can give us the hope and trust necessary to break the paralysis caused by an overpowering fear of climate induced societal apocalypse. They show us that it is not the breakdown of the current order we need to fear. If we are to avoid climate catastrophe the social order must be radically changed. Communities and movements like these are part of determining the direction of that change - they allow us to prepare for the future by changing the present, thereby expanding our collective imagination of what is possible. Their most important function might be to dispel the Hobbesian fantasy.
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