#advertisers don't like this because it will end up costing too much with not enough rewards

[silverfox66]

When you don't pay your bills 🤷‍♀️

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Too big to care

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in BOSTON with Randall "XKCD" Munroe (Apr 11), then PROVIDENCE (Apr 12), and beyond!

Remember the first time you used Google search? It was like magic. After years of progressively worsening search quality from Altavista and Yahoo, Google was literally stunning, a gateway to the very best things on the internet.

Today, Google has a 90% search market-share. They got it the hard way: they cheated. Google spends tens of billions of dollars on payola in order to ensure that they are the default search engine behind every search box you encounter on every device, every service and every website:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/03/not-feeling-lucky/#fundamental-laws-of-economics

Not coincidentally, Google's search is getting progressively, monotonically worse. It is a cesspool of botshit, spam, scams, and nonsense. Important resources that I never bothered to bookmark because I could find them with a quick Google search no longer show up in the first ten screens of results:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task

Even after all that payola, Google is still absurdly profitable. They have so much money, they were able to do a $80 billion stock buyback. Just a few months later, Google fired 12,000 skilled technical workers. Essentially, Google is saying that they don't need to spend money on quality, because we're all locked into using Google search. It's cheaper to buy the default search box everywhere in the world than it is to make a product that is so good that even if we tried another search engine, we'd still prefer Google.

This is enshittification. Google is shifting value away from end users (searchers) and business customers (advertisers, publishers and merchants) to itself:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/05/the-map-is-not-the-territory/#apor-locksmith

And here's the thing: there are search engines out there that are so good that if you just try them, you'll get that same feeling you got the first time you tried Google.

When I was in Tucson last month on my book-tour for my new novel The Bezzle, I crashed with my pals Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden. I've know them since I was a teenager (Patrick is my editor).

We were sitting in his living room on our laptops – just like old times! – and Patrick asked me if I'd tried Kagi, a new search-engine.

Teresa chimed in, extolling the advanced search features, the "lenses" that surfaced specific kinds of resources on the web.

I hadn't even heard of Kagi, but the Nielsen Haydens are among the most effective researchers I know – both in their professional editorial lives and in their many obsessive hobbies. If it was good enough for them…

I tried it. It was magic.

No, seriously. All those things Google couldn't find anymore? Top of the search pile. Queries that generated pages of spam in Google results? Fucking pristine on Kagi – the right answers, over and over again.

That was before I started playing with Kagi's lenses and other bells and whistles, which elevated the search experience from "magic" to sorcerous.

The catch is that Kagi costs money – after 100 queries, they want you to cough up $10/month ($14 for a couple or $20 for a family with up to six accounts, and some kid-specific features):

https://kagi.com/settings?p=billing_plan&plan=family

I immediately bought a family plan. I've been using it for a month. I've basically stopped using Google search altogether.

Kagi just let me get a lot more done, and I assumed that they were some kind of wildly capitalized startup that was running their own crawl and and their own data-centers. But this morning, I read Jason Koebler's 404 Media report on his own experiences using it:

https://www.404media.co/friendship-ended-with-google-now-kagi-is-my-best-friend/

Koebler's piece contained a key detail that I'd somehow missed:

When you search on Kagi, the service makes a series of “anonymized API calls to traditional search indexes like Google, Yandex, Mojeek, and Brave,” as well as a handful of other specialized search engines, Wikimedia Commons, Flickr, etc. Kagi then combines this with its own web index and news index (for news searches) to build the results pages that you see. So, essentially, you are getting some mix of Google search results combined with results from other indexes.

In other words: Kagi is a heavily customized, anonymized front-end to Google.

The implications of this are stunning. It means that Google's enshittified search-results are a choice. Those ad-strewn, sub-Altavista, spam-drowned search pages are a feature, not a bug. Google prefers those results to Kagi, because Google makes more money out of shit than they would out of delivering a good product:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/2/24117976/best-printer-2024-home-use-office-use-labels-school-homework

No wonder Google spends a whole-ass Twitter every year to make sure you never try a rival search engine. Bottom line: they ran the numbers and figured out their most profitable course of action is to enshittify their flagship product and bribe their "competitors" like Apple and Samsung so that you never try another search engine and have another one of those magic moments that sent all those Jeeves-askin' Yahooers to Google a quarter-century ago.

One of my favorite TV comedy bits is Lily Tomlin as Ernestine the AT&T operator; Tomlin would do these pitches for the Bell System and end every ad with "We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company":

https://snltranscripts.jt.org/76/76aphonecompany.phtml

Speaking of TV comedy: this week saw FTC chair Lina Khan appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It was amazing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaDTiWaYfcM

The coverage of Khan's appearance has focused on Stewart's revelation that when he was doing a show on Apple TV, the company prohibited him from interviewing her (presumably because of her hostility to tech monopolies):

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/apple-got-caught-censoring-its-own

But for me, the big moment came when Khan described tech monopolists as "too big to care."

What a phrase!

Since the subprime crisis, we're all familiar with businesses being "too big to fail" and "too big to jail." But "too big to care?" Oof, that got me right in the feels.

Because that's what it feels like to use enshittified Google. That's what it feels like to discover that Kagi – the good search engine – is mostly Google with the weights adjusted to serve users, not shareholders.

Google used to care. They cared because they were worried about competitors and regulators. They cared because their workers made them care:

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/4/4/18295933/google-cancels-ai-ethics-board

Google doesn't care anymore. They don't have to. They're the search company.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/04/teach-me-how-to-shruggie/#kagi

[caitchercatlady]

Not Having a Good Time

-Octavinelle Version

Azul Ashengrotto

As you drag your feet down the halls, you can hear the Leech twins advertising the Monstro Lounge's weekend discounts. This is quite the bad timing because the moment they see your sourpuss face, they make you an example target for bringing in business. Begrudgingly, you follow them to the Octavinelle Dorm, which was already busy enough, the type of place you'd rather not be. You take a booth by your lonesome, wishing you were somewhere else, until the dorm's Housewarden, arrives, making his rounds around the Lounge.

"So the rumor was true. You elate me by coming this evening. Now, sing me your troubles, and in return, I will make you the best offer of the night."

You doubt Azul's statement, but if there was any good time to rant, it was now, where the Headmage couldn't hear. As you give him the lay down, Azul takes in every word with interest. Once you finish ranting about schoolwork and the Leech twins' antics, Azul makes the most unbelievable offer: you will receive anything you want for no cost at all.

You take it to see if Azul's being honest, and much to your surprise, your order comes in without a bill. You indulge in the meal, and once finished, you so happened to fall asleep in peace. Azul comes back to the booth to check on you, and his heart happens to melt at the sight of you. Without wanting to to disturb you, he lays his Housewarden uniform trench coat on top of you as a blanket. No need to fret about when you wake back up; Azul will take care of everything.

Jade Leech

You feel bad for not wanting to keep your promise on helping Jade out with his mushroom research, but a promise is a promise. You feel better that you two don't speak for the first few minutes as you are searching for shrooms about campus. This quiet search ends up as tiring because as soon as you find a tree, a chunk of your memory is gone. You wake up again to see Jade laying right next to you, taking in the peace and quiet. Guilt immediately rushes through your body and you apologize profusely. However, you're surprised at Jade's response:

"Be still, Yuu. No apologies are required here. I happen to quite enjoy the quiet out here. Nevertheless, if you feel the need to explain, I'll be more than interested to listen."

So you explain your stressful, sleepless days due to studying and helping others during the week. As Jade promised, he keeps his focus onto you until you grow tired from talking. You apologize again as you unconsciously fall asleep again under the tree. Finding this cute, Jade doesn't mind and he also takes a nap with you under the tree, hoping this would help you after a long busy week of work.

Floyd Leech

Floyd notices that you haven't been your usual self today. As someone who experiences mood switches on the daily, he believes he has the best idea to help fix your energy tank. He takes you to the lake, though you were still not in the mood for anything, but this is Floyd we're talking about. He doesn't seem to take no for an answer. As you hesitate, Floyd gives you an encouraging push into the water. He jumps in after you to show you the proper way to relax like a merfolk.

"Be with the water. Close your eyes and think of nothing."

Whatever that was supposed to mean, you follow those instructions unless you wanted Floyd to constrict you to understand. To your incredibility, you're no longer floating on water, but you're resting on a cloud instead. Floyd joins you in the float from the opposite direction just in case you relax a little too comfortably. It's too bad that humans shrimp up too quickly in water or else you would've enjoyed this experience forever.

[deirdreskye]

Commercial I would produce as an advertising executive

We see two friends, a blonde and a brunette, are doing yoga in a park together.

BLONDE: So, yeah, work went okay today. I dunno, I haven't been getting enough sleep lately, and on top of that things have just been kinda tough ever since Kurt and I broke up. But oh well, that's how it goes, I think I'll be fine. What about you?

The brunette completes her yoga pose, then turns to the camera and rolls her eyes.

BRUNETTE: Don't you hate when this happens? I did NOT consent to expending this much emotional labor. Go! To! Therapy!

We see a boyfriend and a girlfriend sitting on a couch together. On the television a YouTube video essay is playing and the boyfriend is excitedly explaining it to the girlfriend as he occasionally flaps his hands and yelps in excitement.

BOYFRIEND: So this is the ending I got! When you link the Frenzied Flame, it puts an end to the cycle of the Elden Lords once and for all. It's actually so cool because it ties in to the greater Nietzschean themes of Miyazaki-san's previous work and-

The uninterested girlfriend is watching TikToks on her phone. She turns to the camera and rolls her eyes.

GIRLFRIEND: Trust me, he's always mansplaining about something or another. Don't ask me why I love him. Go! To! Therapy!

A mother berates her 12 year old daughter in a dimly lit kitchen. The young girl stands there dissociating, completely paralyzed and stone-faced.

MOTHER: You look like a little piggy when you eat like that. You'll never find a husband if you get fat. My mother used to tell me you'll never feel the pain of childbirth if you've never felt the pain of an empty stomach. She used to put a lock on the refrigerator. We barely ever had any food, she just did it to remind me to stay skinny. She's senile now. Doesn't even know who I am. I pray to the Virgin Mary every night that she'll remember me before she dies.

The daughter turns to the camera and her blank expression is replaced with playful annoyance.

DAUGHTER: Traumadumping? Really? Mom, I'm 12! Go! To! Therapy!

Now we are introduced to GoTu Therapy, the AI-powered therapy robot. He shambles up to the camera to greet us and we see he looks like if C-3PO were dressed like a zoomer e-boy: kpop boyband onion haircut, dangly earrings, and an ahegao hoodie. He talks with the most outdated text to speech you've ever heard, not too dissimilar to a Kraftwerk song.

GOTU: GOING TO THERAPY IS LOW-KEY GOATED WHEN NOT BEING A BURDEN ON YOUR LOVED ONES IS THE VIBE. UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE NOT ALL CURRENTLY IN OUR "ABLE TO AFFORD HEALTH INSURANCE" ERA. BUT A SESSION WITH ME COSTS LESS THAN A GENSHIN IMPACT LOOT CRATE AND I AM HIGH-KEY JUST AS EFFECTIVE AS A THERAPIST MADE OF FLESH AND BLOOD. OBSERVE:

GoTu sits across the kitchen table from the mother as she sobs over her wine glass.

MOTHER: And what the fuck does this family know about suffering? Suffering is when your brother blows his brains out on Christmas Eve. Suffering is when you have to pick little pieces of skull out of the tinsel on the tree. And were any of those presents under the tree for me? No! My mother told me Santa Claus doesn't bring presents to little fat girls!

GOTU: WHEN YOU REACH THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN CHRIST WILL WASH YOUR FEET AND BEG YOU TO FORGIVE HIM

Cut to the girlfriend watching makeup tutorials on the television, blissfully unaware of the conversation between GoTu and her boyfriend.

BOYFRIEND: I guess I've really been putting the pieces together ever since I started hanging out with Lilith from work.

GOTU: UH-HUH

BOYFRIEND: Like, I guess I knew that people did that, but I never thought it'd be me, you know? And that discomfort with things was always with me, as long as I can remember, does that make sense?

GOTU: WOW, THAT'S REALLY COOL

BOYFRIEND: It's just so scary though. I don't know how I'll tell people. I don't even know what I want my name to be. But I'm trying not to worry about it.

GOTU: THAT'S SO INTERESTING. YOU'RE REALLY REALLY SMART HONEY

The blonde and the brunette are having brunch together with GoTu sitting between them.

BLONDE: It's been really hard lately. I don't think the meds are working, but-

BRUNETTE: Umm, didn't we talk about this?

The blonde sheepishly turns to face GoTu and continues.

BLONDE: It just feels like this will never end. I hate feeling so hopeless all the time. I'm so tired. And God it's fucking hard to even say it out loud, and not that I'd ever actually go through with it, but sometimes when I can't sleep at night I'll start thinking about ki-

A red and blue siren pops out the top of GoTu's head.

GOTU: PROTOCOL 5150 ENGAGED. STOP RESISTING

A taser emerges from the panel of GoTu's chest and jabs the blonde in the face, sending her convulsing to the floor. Unfazed, the brunette puts her sandwich down and turns to the camera.

BRUNETTE: Thanks, GoTu Therapy!

[c-schroed]

Gosh I Need Movies Like "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves"!

Frankly, I'm still a bit surprised by how much I love "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves". I mean, I was very much looking forward to the movie because everything about it just felt right, and I even noticed some fear of disappointment when finally entering the cinema. But it did not disappoint. Gosh, how it did not disappoint.

There's so much for me to love about this movie. To name just three things, it has

a marvelously told story (the exposition was quite nice, but the escape from Revel's End prison really set the stage for that hell of a ride which followed),

a very inspired cast playing absolutely dashing characters (I now have a crush on at least two of the main characters! 😅), and

visual effects and set designs with creativity and attention to detail that I have not seen in what feels like an eternity (the very first shot of Neverwinter already made me want to see this city in all its lovely details).

So yes, I left the cinema as overwhelmed and enthusiastic as I had hoped to be. And much to my personal joy you guys here at Tumblr opened up just another level on which this lovely little movie could excel: I have never played "Dungeons and Dragons" (I know a lot about the mechanics and lore thanks to "Munchkin", though 😅), so reading about how much the movie feels like a true DnD session was very insightful, and it even made me see some of its flaws in a new light.

And then it struck me: "Honor Among Thieves" is that very rare type of movie that I really, really need from time to time. A true feel-good movie whose production process brought people together to tell a special story that usually has already been around in some form before. A fantastic, entertaining tale that can be enjoyed - and I cannot stress enough how important that is - utterly unironically and unapologetically.

The first movie of this type that I remember watching is "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" from 2004, and it has been one of my absolute favorites for a long, long, time. So much energy, and so much fun! But there are more. I'm talking about movies like "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" (2005), "The Men Who Stare at Goats" (2009), "Tron: Legacy" (2010), "Real Steel" (2011), "John Carter" (2012), and "Booksmart" (2019). Yeah, that kinda was an advertisement for films I still have a crush on. Sorry not sorry.

The downside of this type of movie, because of course there's a downside: They only seldom make a profit. And "Honor Among Thieves" is not an exception to this rule, having grossed about 125 Million USD worldwide at the box office so far, while costing roughly 150 Million. But you know what? That's fine. Big Hollywood studios regularly make a fortune with mainstream blockbuster stuff that I don't even care to remember after I skipped the advertisement promoting it, so it's only fair for them to make a monetarily stupid decision from time to time that will make me oh so happy.

So, long story short: As long as studios like Paramount Pictures keep making marvellous darlings of a potential (or actual) flop like "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves", I will not even begin to begrudge the obscene amounts of money they get from too-big-to-fail box office hits like "Top Gun: Maverick".

[belle--ofthebrawl]

coconut, kiwi, papaya for the fruit asks!

I got a bit carried away but thoroughly enjoyed myself and will not be apologizing!

coconut: favorite perfume?

I am incapable of talking about perfume without bringing up Cuoium by Orto Parisi at least three times, so let's go with that one. It's this intense leather scent but not like new car leather. Old, well cared for. From a room that's steeped in incense, heavy with ritual. Other people on fragrantica compare it to a pile of rotting corpses but I don't trust the average fragrantica reviewer in all honesty. Your mileage may vary but holy shit, I was enraptured from the first sniff of the sample I snagged off scentsplit for $14.99. Sorry to sound like an advertisement, but I will ALWAYS tell people where I got my fragrances and how much they cost. No gatekeeping here. I wasn't too enraptured by previous leather scents, though it is a note I like...they were just too clean. Like they didn't really lean into the animalic aspect besides Tyrannosaurus and Rhinoceros from Zoologist but Cuoium just has something deeper and more addicting... that's probably the labdanum note lol. Anyway, it's a powerhouse of a fragrance with the sillage and longevity. I want to try out more OP scents like Terroni and Viride. Perfume pyramid:

kiwi: what’s something that fascinates you? Given that I just spent a solid paragraph rambling about perfume, that would be a safe bet! But to be honest, I still consider myself "new" to the world of fragrances. The bulk of my collection is from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab because those free imp ears are really nice!

But other than that, I've been really into watching internal povs of rally racing. It's more precision racing with a focus on navigation, average speed, and time. So getting from point A to point B while staying within a speed limit (still fast), potentially navigating sharp turns because this takes place on civilian roads, arriving exactly at 3:07 for an official to stamp on a time card because if you arrive too early that's someone else's time and you'll get penalized. Same goes for if you arrive late. Early rally racing fascinates me, especially Group B rally racing. There were a whole bunch of rules and groups for different kinds of cars but Group B pretty much said 'If it's got four wheels, you can race it." It's considered the golden age of rally racing and one of the most dangerous. Since crowds were pretty much allowed to stand on the racetrack itself, parting to let the cars through and closing up behind them, they've found things like clothing fragments, hair chunks and even severed fingers in the front grills of these cars.

(For the hell on wheels enthusiasts, this is how the Earth Wives met. Terra was a driver, Ivy navigated and Pebble was the mechanic...when Terra could be convinced to let someone other than herself touch her precious car.),

papaya: what song describes your aesthetic?

Hmmm. I don't know if there is one I like enough. My first thought was Helvetesfonster, given that it starts off eerie, turns playful and showy once you listen for long enough. Then the ending, the softness and finally the toll of a bell.

Let's go with that. Hope it isn't too pretentious.

[wroteonedad]

Body Poetics Review

Writing about art is difficult. Especially when you live in a town that doesn't have much art, you work full time and you also can't drive. It makes me feel as though I am restricted to the amount of inspiration around me I can find, unfortunately Bournemouth pier just really isn't doing it for me anymore. I love to be on the move, I love to see new places, but I feel as though I am never going to find the place that I want to be settled into forever. Or the place I want to go to is going to be too expensive and that I may as well just flush that dream down the toilet. And did I mention that the cost of living crisis is also making it even harder to be able to go out and explore anymore, that is on the odd occasion that the trains are even running at the moment.

It feels as though I wait for the one gallery to open up their new exhibition before I wander in and end up reviewing every show that they do, except for Martin Parr. I really don't think there was much to say about his work other than it's pretty and they're of beaches. This show, also presented by the wonderful Giant gallery, is called Body Poetics. I was reluctant to go to this show at first, and you want to know the real reason why I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it? It was because I hated the main piece that is advertised on all of the posters of the show, at first glance it essentially just looks like a furry wearing a winter outfit, I hate it. I'm not judging people who say it's their thing, but it really just isn't for me. I decided to give the show a chance anyway, though I had no idea what I was going to ultimately end up saying about it.

The show has been curated by a group of 9 different female artists from across the world. Most of the deeper meaning behind these works is feminist theory from the 70s and 80s and all of these works available to feast your eyes on are made from the 70s and onwards. The works also feature many contemporary values to what it means to be a feminist.

Upon general entry into the gallery, one of the first things I saw was Carolee Schneemann's Eye Body works. It features the idea of the social construction of the female / femme or queer body. The selection of works on the wall all featured different positionings of the body surrounded by materials; all of which discussed pain, suffering, political protest as well as joy and sexual expression. I for one was a huge fan of the collection of images on the wall, there are 4 different images. This one in particular is my favourite because it reminds me of a still you would see from a horror movie in the 60s. The way in which to see an image like this in the 60s would be terrifying, enough to make the film only available for an adult audience. I think it's visually fantastic and perhaps one of the stronger pieces from the show in my eyes, this is purely based around the fact there is little to no photography featured in the show and although I love art from every medium, I still feel as though I am drawn to photography the most.

This piece is Rite of Spring by Florence Peake. Her collection of works also feature the same themes as Schneemann when it comes to female / femme and queer attitudes of representation. I loved this piece from all of the colours it contained as well as the texture of it. I am obsessed with textures that have been edited as the piece has been curated overtime and think it really adds an extra depth of field to it. However, and this is not down to the artist, but rather the gallery. When I posted an image of this on my Instagram story a few days ago, I actually managed to tag the wrong artist in the post. This is due to the signs of the works being very unclear in the work. The list talks about two artists body of works, one being hers, but the sign simply named the work and wrote (opposite) on it while also displaying another list of works near the piece itself. It made the show very difficult to navigate and I apologise to Peake for giving another artist credit for the work.

The work above is Untitled (Hands Waving) by Kiki Smith. I feel like this work stuck out to me in the gallery space because it feels very simple in comparison to a lot of the complex works I saw in there; and sometimes it makes me feel bad because I don't look at everything in the space and immediately know what the deeper meaning behind the work is. This is a piece that I feel like I could stand there and look at for quite some time, it stuck out on the back wall full of eccentric colours and deep meanings, but this piece made me just want to wave back at her. I want to feel what she feels here. I love the focus on the hands, I think people can forget how expressive hands can be. How important they are, I don't want to sound fake deep and be like we take them for granted, but I do feel as though we forget how much we actually can do with them.

I think that Kiki Smith's work was some of my favourite pieces on show in the gallery. The other piece is a ceiling to floor length tapestry with star constellations and crescent moons titled Visitor (Stars, multiple crescent moons). In a way, I feel as though both pieces of work she displayed in the gallery really interlink with each other in opposing ways. The pieces all feel simple, with their matching colour schemes and dainty details all visible to the eye from afar. This piece in particular feels very feminine, the glitter, the stars in general, and like I said before the dainty details. It adds a whole new level of feminism to a piece of work without being an in your face piece of 'this is feminism'

TW: the pieces I hated the most in the gallery.

I was complaining on my story when I saw the show that I was so upset that they chose to use this model as the poster image for the show because every piece of work I saw in the gallery was so much better than this. Perhaps it's harsh to say this, but I feel as though this set of work felt like a whole waste of space, but I just hate it. I really hate it. The work is by Ad Minoliti who is all about the use of abstract forms of art to explore social aspects of the body and gendered experience. I see it I really do, I just hate that they chose to display a full blown furry. Perhaps that was the point, for it to hold a discussion, to use something so bold on the poster to advertise the show that it made people feel something. Enough to come to the show to see what it looked like up close. Maybe I'm being closed minded when I look at this, but I will simply just be walking straight past it next time I come to the show. On the other hand, some of the canvas works submitted by the artists were bright, bold and super eye catching. These were works I enjoyed to look at a lot more.

This piece was the one I enjoyed the most by the artist. This is Queer Modulor and it slayed.

I gotta say though, this is the bad boy that stole the entire show for me. This sculpture slowly rotates in circles and is literally full of surprises. Not only do we get the sculpture, but there's also a fun accompanying drawing of it in the gallery (I'm really sorry I don't want to post every detail of this show, but I urge everyone to go to this). This piece is by Rae-Yen Song and is called happy little leaf.

Next up is Guerilla Girls with Birth of Feminism. The group are very well known for their loud and outspoken media to discuss issues with being a woman and so it only made sense for them to be apart of the show. The poster adds an extra level of overall comedy to the end project.

Holly Steveson

Overall, I think the show is really fun. There's a bunch of outstanding forms of media and installation works and it's so nice to see a big artist collaboration in the space, a space that works really well for the works they are exhibiting. The only thing is I feel there is not much discussion to have with all of the works, rather they are good pieces by good artists and that is all that is left to say on the matter.

Body Poetics is on at Giant Gallery until 8 May 2023.

[jaythelay]

Notes: Dems, you're doing it. You're Trying. Keep Trying. This is good.

I'm seeing people rework old comics to advertise everything I said should be, Not because of me, but because They Tried.

That was it. You can try too! Try! Because it's better to start a fire than sit on your hands for warmth. You don't need to be a genius playing 4D chess, sometimes the obvious isn't so obvious til it's done. Do it. Now.

I'm seeing people in droves shitting all over the handcrafted for Biden talking points, sometimes by redirecting them back at Dump, like him being the oldest running candidate now.

The bad points for Khamala likely won't stick as hard in 4 months as Biden's 40 years has for him. If she fucked up, you shouldn't defend it, you should demand better so that Dem politicians do too, you won't retain voters with stubborn apathy towards dem cruelty.

This way onlookers don't see "dead end/genociden biden" again. That crumpled the party, and the remaining Blue Fanboy's pro-genocide messaging pushed many away from dems entirely. It pushed me into discussing politics far more publically ffs. Damn certain I'm blocked by most at this point for not riden with biden's genocide. Feel free to steal anything I write about politics and spread it in your own or better words.

Main thing to focus on is Hype.

Dump lost the popular vote by 7mil last time. He's bleeding votes but not support. We need to make messaging that demotivates R's into believing even voting won't make up the difference while motivating people to vote dem for progress. Anti-Dump is losing steam, ya need hope and progress.

"Keep things the way Dump left them" or "Dump makes it worse" was Biden/BlueFanboy Messaging. Where we were and still are heading if the hype is killed again. Khamala represents potential change from that, you cannot let Blue Fanboys take over again, you cannot get stuck defending genocide while fear mongering another's possible.

"sorry but the other side is Blank and no matter what I'm votin-"

This isn't for you. You're chronically online expecting that to spread to normal people. It does, but it gets telephoned into garbage before it even has the chance of being in your intended format.

"I'd vote for a corpse-" I'm sure dems are that out of options, I really am, but that messaging is murder for hype. You aren't voting blue for XYZ belief, you're doing it to punish republicans who will never change and allowing Dems to worsen because they haven't reached R levels yet. You're doing it out of a belief the other side is worse, that's unfortunately debatable to the average joe. You need them to go "Oh shit they're legalizing weed?" or "Oh shit they're fighting medical costs?" not "They both approve of genocide but a Dem genocide has rainbows!"

It's genuinely the most hype-killer phrase for a political party yet. "I'd vote for Blank over" Ya aren't even positive about the party you're voting for. You're negative towards both but distinctly one more than another. There's nothing to bring in votes there my dude. Just means politics is the show it really is anymore to them.

If you can't be positive about your party, then, for onlookers, be positive in changing that with Dems in charge but not R's. That there's convicing that can be done for Dems and Never, Ever R's.

I cannot stress enough, if all ya'll do is "Not Biden" Khamala, you've doomed us to a 2028 R presidency. She needs to be Khamala, much like Bernie is Bernie and AOC is AOC. "Not Dump" was all Biden had ya'll. Please. Don't "Not Dump" Khamala, don't let that be all she is while in office.

I don't mean "to you" I mean for her. She cannot sit on her hands doing the obviously wrong thing when the time matters. She cannot "save christmas" by allowing trains to crash and spill chemicals, potentially if not actually killing people like you and me.

She has to retract the 40 headless babies bullshit, correct it firmly, and acknowledge the genocide. They faked Aid Trucks into humanitarian tent reserves and shot a little toddler girl over 130 fucking times. If she's pro-genocide, she loses the anti-genocide crowd permanently and I will actively be holding her accountable for it as normal people fucking should. Hold. Them. Accountable. Or Lose.

Being Pro-Genocide is not being Team Blue or BNMW, it's being Pro-Genocide.

Otherwise, ya'll got it going. The problem is that the second criticism comes in ya'll turtle and punch like bitches. Time to acknowledge and work against bullshit and focus entirely on progress. We cannot sit on our hands expecting dem politicians to do their job like we did with Obama and later Biden.

None of us should have to debate against Dump solely by discussing Dump. We should have a good candidate that's obviously a Good Choice, not "the better poison".

Biden's "accomplishments" did not affect my day to day positively. I still can't afford medicine and food. I still will never own a home. Prices keep skyrocketing. Yes that gets worse under Dump- What do you not understand here??? You cannot motivate people with "Not Dump" you motivate them with Felt Actions. Biden had None other than being anti-union, a Felt Action of negativity. He undid some of Dump's shit and recorrected the ship away from the iceberg, and did some politics, the barest of all minimums. Can medicine other than insulin not cost thousands eventually?

Khamala represents that to me, and only in 2 months time will I have the chance to really say if Dems dropped the ball or not. She has to be Khamala. She has to be anti-genocide. She has to be a Good Choice.

"Not Dump" didn't work in 2016, didn't work in 2020 that well honestly, and it failed miserably in 2024 already before the elections.

What ya'll are seeing and doing? Keep it going.

Forever.

Never. Fucking. Stop.

Maybe the Dem party can be saved from it's apathetic, company controlled self at that rate. Y'know, even though those same controllers bullied Biden out through wealth power. Y'know maybe I shouldn't be hopeful for anything actually. I doubt most dems really care to fix the bigger problems, just abortion.

There's still only 10 dems in office with any courage or ethics. Yeah we didn't change shit switching to Khamala. We just killed R messaging and our own near decade of advertising. But at least Biden kept his Interim promise, just, uh, 4 months from the fucking election when we have no other alternative but His Choice. Blegh. It's a two-way street.

Dems will do messaging until Dem politicians essentially tell them it was a massive waste of time by doing The Obviously Wrong Thing. Then Dems stop and all that's left is the chronically online Blue Fanboy having a debate you're glad you've never heard of before. Such as "Which genocide is better, blue or red"

Imagine thinking being anti-genocide is a bad thing when there's not one good bit of PR for Israel since Oct 7th. We pay their free healthcare folks. They faked aid trucks into a refugee camp and shot a little toddler girl 130+ times. Dems can afford to be anti-genocide, I believe. And so can their politicians, for certain.

Otherwise, still third party til I see some action by her. So far she's just been a magnet of bad PR for dems all around that had to be hidden from the public for years. That's genuinely so bad I dunno what to tell ya. I wouldn't be confident in her, but if I was a Dem I wouldn't have much choice in having to publically back her.

Up to her how this goes. Will she guarantee an R for 2028 or will she keep them at bay til 2032. Not hard to say logically, but it is emotionally. No confidence. But at least Dems are trying again, just...hold them the fuck accountable? Jesus christ you treat criticism as worse for prospects than the actions they take, like an abuse victim.

[redvioletarts]

Story time: Etsy vs. Redbubble

This one's for the other artists out there who might be thinking about making a shop like mine.

I've been making print on demand stuff for about ten years, well before it was a Side Hustle TM that tech bros claimed would make you thousands of dollars a month if you just use AI to make your images and your mockups and your product descriptions. (Pass.)

But I didn't start on Etsy. I used to sell on Redbubble, which does a lot of work for you, but at the cost of not having the kind of control over product quality that you get from using Etsy with Printify integration and doing a lot of the work by hand. With my setup now, I can choose the brand of blank product I'm using, choose the printing companies I'm sending orders to, and even really simple things like only offering certain T-shirt colors for a given design.

(Redbubble offers EVERY color they have and you can't change it, so I was always putting white outlines on things to make sure that the design would at least show up on every color. You'd think that people just wouldn't order a black design on a black T-shirt, but I've made the mistake of ordering a purple shirt with black text from Redbubble and being surprised at how dark the color was. You can still see the white outlines on a few of my older designs, like the Wreaking Havoc for Fun and Profit cat. AI will not think about this for you, by the way.)

Redbubble's also been doing some weird desperate shit where new artists or anyone who doesn't sell frequently enough can get their commission yoinked by some kind of membership fee thing. I wasn't personally affected by this, because a) I'd already started moving to Etsy, and b) my Redbubble shop had already sold enough to not have to deal with those fees. I don't upload there any more, though. Not a fan of the thing they're doing. I don't recommend that anyone start there any more. Society6 has been doing basically the same thing but worse (some artists can't even set their own profit margin, and S6 sets it for them at a measly ten percent), so don't go there either.

Moving to Etsy was a lot of work and required some cash investment, but I think it's been worth it. I'm happier with the stuff I've been selling, I'm getting neat stuff in the hands of more people, and my shop looks a lot nicer when I'm in more control of it.

If you're starting out with a shop like this, some business advice:

Being in Redbubble's marketplace counts for a lot less than you think. Same with Etsy, honestly. You will be doing your own marketing.

Etsy's on-site ad program is unlikely to make you a profit, but it can get you a little bit of traction. Don't spend too much on Etsy ads. It's easy to make some pretty chunky losses hoping they'll pay off over time. If you use them, narrow it down to your products that are already selling pretty well (or have sold at all) and the ones that make the best profit margin. Don't use it to advertise stickers.

Consider going straight to Shopify instead of Etsy if you're really good at using social media to market. (I am not. Though I may end up there anyway.) Host it yourself so you're not paying too much; I use GreenGeeks for web hosting and they've always been good. Shopify and WordPress will take some Googling to install and use, but don't be intimidated; I have set up a Shopify store before and it's not that bad. This is because--

Etsy absolutely will nickel and dime you all over the place and they can end up taking (as of this writing, give or take) about a 15% cut depending on a whole bunch of complicated rules. This can kill products like stickers and pins, which are generally low-priced enough that the twenty cent listing renewal fee actually matters to your profit margin. However, people are willing to pay more for those than you'd expect if they like your designs, so don't set your prices too low.

Happy selling!

[stumblngrumbl]

Do you believe there's any ethical way to share anymore? I know even basic things like Gmail or (especially) Discord are terrible with privacy, and even independent websites ask for cookies and probs use ai.. Do you think we'll have to go back to mailing eachother letters? Or accept that theres always a risk when it comes to putting urself out there? Sorry if this is dumb, your ai post said a lot of things i didnt know how to put into words.

I think right now there's actually more than lip service being paid towards privacy by most of the big players (Google etc), at least insofar as actually keeping your actual thoughts private. Obviously they scan your gmail to see if there's something they can advertise to you, but they literally don't keep copies of our email for other nefarious purposes (unless there's a government warrant, of course).

I don't expect this to remain true for long though (and it's easier and easier for the gov't to grab your stuff, too). I've got a pretty bleak view of the future, and rather than get you and any of the other 11 (heh heh) readers of this down, I'm going to put further thoughts under the jump.

Don't read more of this, it's probably depressing.

I'm serious. You don't want to be this serious too.

I already talked about what I expect from AI re: surveillance. The impact of AI really doesn't end there, though - we're able to do more and more with automation and mechanization, and while some people say "there's always going to need to be farmers" and what-all, but the question is how many workers will be actually need in the future?

In the Star Trek utopia - a post-scarcity utopia - there's more than enough for everyone, and society has room for everyone as a result.

Do we really think our society is moving in that direction?

I'll tell you where I think society will end up at the rate we're going: spoiler, it's not a utopia.

At some point mechanization will be so complete that everything that the very top class (the 0.0001%, billionaire class) needs can easily be provided by a small number of… we'll keep calling them workers, for now. The rulers will tire of the endless petty problems that all the rest of us have - it's too hot, there's not enough water or food, there's too much water, asylum seekers, diseases from deep in the forests are cropping up too much from too many people having to go into them, ancient plagues coming from the thawing permafrost, etc.

They'll realize that everything's getting to a boiling point, hole up somewhere behind their walls, and let the rest of the world crash down. They'll pull the plug. There'll be such privation - mass starvation, people dying of diseases, storm damage, wars between smaller states; mass migration will be attempted, but the rulers will just not care any more.

They won't need to. They can let it all fall down and there's nothing we'll be able to do with all their drones and automated war machines - it's not quite Skynet because there's still people running it, but the effect is the same. Keep the rulers' area secure at all costs, ride out the chaos.

In the meantime, they'll have all of their minions under lock & key (very literally; you don't want to know what's in the ankle bracelet, and it's probably not on the ankle any more) and they're under the same surveillance to keep track of what they're doing. AI will be able to read what they write, hear what they say.

You'd hope that their minions would see that their overlords are no better than the worst Bond villain, but seriously - what can they do? One person acting out alone is likely to be killed by other minions because they can't even begin to conspire. It's all or nothing, and things outside will be so bad that the minions will see their lives and what happens if we try to kill the bad guys and succeed, but then we have to deal with all the zombies rest of humanity? We've got it pretty dang good here.

They won't need us for long, the way things are going. Well, they'll need a few of us for entertainment and to do the few things that still need a bit of a flexible human brain, but it won't be that many. Meanwhile, we'll set things up so that they can go their own way.

[fullymanaged]

How to Choose Best Website Management Services?

Business owners who hire a website management service to build or rebuild a website don't just make decisions about a product. They also make marketing decisions. 

The look and speed of a website affect how long a visitor is there, how often that visitor will return, and even if that visitor does return. 

Fully managed E-commerce services are no different from other service businesses. Some will provide great value and others will destroy someone's dreams of online success.  

It is no exaggeration to say that a management service can charge thousands, even tens of thousands of pounds for work that can be done for hundreds of pounds. Many concrete examples exist.  

It is no exaggeration to say that some of these services will provide expertise in one area but not enough in another. I've seen quite a few websites that look good but lack marketing savvy, especially with search engine optimization. Some of them are not optimized for search engines.

Outside agencies will naturally pursue the contract because it means more money for their own company, even if they lack key skills. They can make up for their lack of skill by hiring a contractor or doing it themselves. It's an understandable thought, but it poses a risk to the client's business. 

Project size is important.

In addition to website development and marketing skills, an outside agency needs experience in the scope of the project. A company that only builds small sites is a risk with a large site costing tens of thousands of dollars.  

A new or rebuilt location for a small business or nonprofit organization may require just a general contractor who can do a little bit of everything but may not be an expert in this particular skill or other. 

A large project will require a larger contractor with many employees with all the core skills or a general contractor who can provide subcontractors. 

At this point, it's not like building a house. 

Some important steps make it easier to hire the best website management services while avoiding mistakes that can cost a lot of money or end up with a completely messy project. 

1) Define project goals 

Website development can be broken down into a group of goals based on key functional areas. They are:

Technology: What software will be used to build the website? Will the vendor provide training on how to use it? Which company hosts the website? How much will it cost per month? Does it automatically back up the website in the event of a server failure? 

Content: Does the text currently exist? Should I write? Who will write? How often should it be updated?

Marketing: Does the vendor offer search engine optimization? Does the site have the potential for an email newsletter? Does the company have a social media account? Does the vendor have the skills to integrate these accounts into the website? 

Advertising: Does the website have any specific content? If so, how will the ad be displayed? Who will sell? 

Design: Who is the website graphic design consultancy? Does it represent the brand? Will it be done in such a way that the site loads quickly? Is it mobile-friendly? 

Design is a great element that comes last in the goal-setting stage. It is risky to focus too much on design as it can overshadow other business goals to their detriment.

2) Research skills

Look for agencies that communicate on their website a skill set that corresponds to these goals.  

A reputable SME will often post employee biographies on their website. If so, take a look at each of them to see if they can fit the project's needs. 

Then go to specialized search engines and lookups to see what else they've done and where they've worked in the past. Check out your LinkedIn profile for more information. 

Look for an About Us page or something similar. If the seller doesn't post any bios or especially if he doesn't list the main ones, run away quickly. He's either a lousy salesman, lives abroad, or is hiding something.  

3) Understand the price

The turnkey solution will have a fixed monthly price. These solutions are best for the smallest projects with the fewest needs. They are also good for new businesses that don't have enough money for a powerful website. 

One provider found under search engine results advertised a starting price per month. It includes hosting and “four service requests” per month. This low entry point is just a template solution that won't help the business much. But it was a start. 

Most businesses have needs far beyond the basic per-month form with half a dozen pages. They will also have their own needs. 

The best way for a company to get an accurate and useful price for their project is to create a project plan that they send to potential suppliers. Since demand often varies, the supplier will, in turn, need to provide a customized price. Try to get at least three quotations to compare. 

4) Watch out for terms of the contract

Contracts should be part of any project to protect the business and suppliers while defining essential definitions, requirements, and schedules. 

Definitions should use terms that describe each task that is part of the project, such as "marketing" with a breakdown of all marketing tasks, "content" with a description of the provider and publish content, etc. 

It should have a start date and an end date and an exit clause in case of problems. Some providers will offer contracts with a 90-day withdrawal clause that must be in writing. Ninety days is a long time to wait – and to pay that supplier – in the event of a problem. Instead, try trading for 60 or even 30 days.

[sajsajawat]

Showpiece for living room

Do you like to shop? Well, who doesn't! Shopping is a pasttime that most people like. The internet has made it much easier for you. There is no end to the things you can buy or the deals you can find. You just need to know the right techniques to make the most of your shopping day! Here are some great tips to do it.

Be sure your malware software is current if you're shopping online. Because of the sensitive personal and financial information involved, online shopping is a prime target for scammers and hackers who want to steal identification or money. Heed warnings from security software about some sites and reports of suspicious activity from a site's webmaster.

Never give out your Social Security number to an online merchant. This number is not required for placing orders online. Giving an online store your Social Security number can help them use your personal and private information to steal your identity. To prevent that, if you go on an online store site and see that as a requirement, do not buy anything from them and shop somewhere else.

If you're purchasing Home Decoration or showpiece for living room online, be careful with the sizing. Some items typically run smaller or larger than normal. Some shopping sites will advertise if an item runs true to size. If the site doesn't list anything about sizing, glance at the reviews. In most cases, if an item is running larger or smaller, the reviewers will let you know.

Always save copies of your orders and receipts from online purchases. Many stores will redirect you to a page after you've submitted an order detailing everything that was bought, customer information, the prices, etc. You should either print a copy of this or save a copy to your computer in case any issues arise before the end of the return period. Make sure to save any emails about your items' status or correspondence with the company regarding your orders, too.

If a website is not secure, do not make a purchase. Simply look up at the web address when you are shopping. If you notice an "https" instead of an "http," you can feel confident enough to insert your credit card information. However, if there is no "s" in the address, move on to a different site to be on the safe side.

Try to make online purchases only with companies you are already familiar with. Chances are, a store you go to on a regular basis probably has a safe website. But, if you go to a website you know nothing about, you are putting your personal information, like your credit card info, at risk.

If you make a purchase for marriage anniversary gifts ,etc and you are directed to a confirmation page that fails to load, never hit the button that refreshes the page. if you do this, you run this risk of being billed multiple times. If you must confirm your purchase, contact the company or check your credit card statement.

Remember to consider not only the item's actual cost, but also how much will be charged for shipping. An item may cost a few dollars more at one site, but if they offer free shipping, it might end up being less expensive overall. If shipping prices aren't listed up front, you can check on them by beginning the checkout process. The shipping cost will be shown before the order is complete.

In order to save on shipping fees, it is best to get everything you need in one order. If you do not do it this way, you will have to pay a separate shipping fee for each order you make. This will end up costing you a fortune in the long run.

Before completing a purchase, be sure that the website is secure. There are a couple of ways to tell this. Check for the letters "https" in the web address or look for an icon of a closed lock or an unbroken key at the bottom of your screen. Don't worry if the "s" is not included in the web address right away, sometimes it is only present on the checkout page.

After reading this article, you probably want to start buying right away. Just remember to keep the tips in mind as you browse sites. Make sure to keep the tips in mind if you decide whether to buy, too. The tips will help you to find the hottest deals and the best things, so get started.

[kazoohaa]

Hello! I saw you are writing for tot and idk if u are still accepting requests if you do can u do please a headcanon or whatever u want about tot men having a s/o who is a hikikomori(someone who never leaves home and just watch play video games and stuff) always trying their best to stay at home and avoid getting outside at any cost to the point they work online XD if you are not accepting requests please ignore and and sorry ╥﹏╥

𝐇𝐈𝐊𝐈𝐊𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈 𝐒/𝐎. tears of themis

— notes. this just ended up becoming mostly about what kind of games theyd like to play with you im sorry 😭

— details. artem wing, marius von hagen, vyn richter, luke pearce x gn!reader (separate). fluff.

LIBRA ;

he really doesn't mind that much, as long as you're still keeping getting your work done while keeping yourself healthy and getting a good amount of sleep in between!

well, he isn't really one to talk for the 'sleep' part, but...

yeah.

artem makes you food every day, and it is absolute heaven

his cooking is literally the best. it's so perfectly-made, to the last little detail, and it has the taste of home in it.

he makes sure that he makes different dishes every time, so that you won't get tired of having the same kind of thing over and over again. though he wouldn't mind if you wanted him to cook the same thing a few times because you like it!

he also keeps watch on how healthy each dish he makes is, he can't have the both of you eating primarily unhealthy things! the things he cooks will have a nice healthy balance.

helps you organise a daily schedule, so that you have enough time to do normal daily activities, get your work done, as well as have time to check in on all of your games. you can definitely trust artem with this one, he'll get you a good schedule so everything you need to do fits.

doesn't really understand whatever's happening in your games and doesn't know the controls at all, so he'll prefer to watch you play instead, even though he has little to no idea about what's happening.

he doesn't seem like the type, but you should introduce him to games like animal jam. he'll feel really childish and embarrassed because he actually somewhat enjoys it. it's absolutely hilarious, though. he's also like, the champion of playing checkers on animal jam. poor twelvies getting absolutely destroyed by a senior attorney on a kids game.

KING ;

will buy you the latest gaming consoles and any new games you want

oh? a new game came out and your eyes lingered on the advertisement for a few seconds longer than usual? consider the game yours!

he will absolutely spoil you

dude he might even buy the whole-ass company which makes the games

watch out, nintendo/playstation, marius von hagen is coming for you /j

it would be really nice if the two of you could go out someplace like an arcade or an amusement park together, but if you want to stay inside, that's fine! he can keep you to himself then >:)

will occasionally get jealous of how you give lots of attention to your games!! pay attention to him too, please, [name]-saaan! you can't just leave him alone like thisss! :(

plays some games with you, too. he usually likes the battle ones. the ones that take longer time or lots of effort like strategy games don't interest him that much, but if you want to play it with him, he isn't complaining.

claims he's the best at mario cart and then will sob when you absolutely destroy him /hj

oh my god, play fireboy and watergirl with him

the nostalgia

the two of you will rage when you don't get the achievement for completing the level within the time minute. this game is so unfair! do they expect you to finish the level in 30 seconds or less?! that's impossible >:(

ADJUDICATOR ;

like artem, vyn also helps you properly sort your time so that you're also getting exercise and staying healthy

and hey he's also your therapist for free

isn't the type of person to be interested in video games, but likes it when he's listening to you ramble about your favourite games, the features, the characters, everything.

the thing that interests him the most out of your games is the lore behind some of them. some can actually get really interesting. do explain the complicated lore to him, he won't care if the two of you will have to sit there for hours listening to your long-winded explanation about the history of the game's world.

he's pretty much the opposite of marius; he likes strategy games a lot (obviously, it's vyn richter we're talking about here—) and he doesn't like the ones which are battle-focused or things like racing games. if you want to play mario kart or super smash bros a few times, though, he'll indulge you.

RAVEN ;

WOO HE HAS A BUDDY TO GAME WITH!

get ready to play through his wide collection of games he's collected over the years, trying everything out on each different console he has!

he'll sometimes manage to convince you to go outside from time to time, like treating you to lunch or dinner or visiting an arcade or something

he'll sometimes arrange escape rooms inside your or his house, to get your brains thinking and also to get you to have some sort of physical activity

:D

really loves puzzle games. there's one which he particularly likes, it's called "the room", and he's bought all the different versions of it.

if you don't know what this game is, it's basically where you have to try and unlock these complicated puzzle boxes. sometimes you can explore the rooms because there are some things in there which you have to solve first in order to unlock the mystery

it's taken me absolutely forever to do just two puzzles in the first one, but i feel like with luke's big brain he'll absolutely speed through the whole thing faster than sonic the hedgehog

he likes to play it with you, because two brains are better than one! so together, you'll try to solve the puzzle boxes in record time.

yeah, you two have a speedrun record on this game.

[yoshiyakiryu-archive]

After the game, Neku keeps a little blog account where he posts pictures of tiny, infinitely inconsequential but significant things he notices about the city. A permanent marker smile someone had stopped for two seconds to doodle by the bus stop, napkins with a quick to-do list scrawled across them. Some child's obnoxiously cute hat in the gutter. The heart-shaped crack in the pavement. A lone earring glittering in the grass. Takeout menus with someone's favourite orders circled in pen. Stickers. Price tags. A pair of ruined high heels he knew cost a small fortune. The light of advertisements bouncing off the concrete in the rain. He's a little in love with it all, things no one usually gives a second thought. All this evidence of life surrounding him.

He ends up with a jar of oddities, little remnants of human activity he's brought home, slipped into his pocket because they spoke to him, or because Shiki or Beat and more often Rhyme had stopped to look at them and tucked them silently into his hand, because they get it too, his hobby rubbing off on them as well. These things had belonged to someone once, had been important enough to carry with them. Beads, beach glass, decorative gold chains with mangled clasps, buttons, keychain mascots and charms that had come loose and ended up on the ground, vintage coins covered in tarnish.

He has it on a shelf in easy reach, contents documented on the blog he keeps for himself.

He doesn't try to advertise or promote his odd little art project, but a few people have found it charming enough to come check in and comment now and then. For the most part it's just between him and his friends, but there's a couple of commenters that hang around consistently, leaving opinions on the menus, trivia about the coins, or sometimes incredibly specific theories on what kind of person could have left what trinket or doodle behind. Neku finds himself growing fond of these strangers too, unknown worlds reaching out to leave fingerprints on his like the ones he photographs around the city.

He ends up in a comment chain late one night with one of them, on a photo of a friendship bracelet, talking about keepsakes, about carrying people with you when you don't have them anymore. He has a life to live in the morning, but for now the night is leaving him this quiet lull and nothing is urgent or demanding, and he confesses to another collection, a box that holds the only reminders he has in the world of a boy who had gone and left Neku with a weight too heavy to put down for the longest time. It had been hard, but he'd done it, removed the headphones and opened himself to the world again, and other people have come and gone since, people who have hurt him as much or more, sometimes deliberately. He misses them too, but he understands, people can't always stay, sometimes they simply shouldn't, and he's still keeping parts of them, too. A figure of speech, a favourite flavour of canned pop, a song that plays in his head out of key, a scar in the middle of his chest. Fingerprints on him, fingerprints on the city.

The stranger takes their time replying, eventually thanking him for the conversation, saying it was late, they should get going, that Neku should get some rest.

He does.

And where the night had brought him a gentle darkness to open and hold old memories softened by time, the morning brings him a single white feather, skittering toward him on the sidewalk.

[sweatandwoe]

Yeeeesss go on a cookie rant

You opened floodgates anon. Be prepared, I'm about to drop a horribly opinionated take because it's food so literally my opinion doesn't matter. Eat what you like

Here's the top cookie take in my brain: Macarons are bullshit food and also not worth it

They're expensive, take up way too much time, and most of them only just taste like the filling inside of them. The actual base cookie doesn't taste like much because it's a mixture of powdered sugar, almond flour and whipped up egg whites.

I've tried to make them at home and if you live in a humid environment, prepare to be fucked. They were invented in the stale air of France and that is where they shall forever be baked.

I get that they're pretty, like they're gorgeous and I think the appeal is similar to my problem with focaccia bread. However Macarons get a pass because unlikes the nasty fucking Zuccini focaccia bread, macarons do taste good depending on their fillings.

What does not get a pass is how most macarons are commercially done up. Some bakeries (the one I work at included) will offer macarons without making them in store, getting them from another business that mass produces them. I don't know how actually common it is, but it's something that's done around here.

The problem with these out-of-store macarons is actually the ingredients used. Most macarons will be advertised and assumed as gluten-free due to their use of almond flour. The problem with these mass produced ones is that they are not gluten-free, as they are made with regular flour as well in a way to cut costs.

We don't advertise our macarons as gluten-free but we've had customer complaints due to the content found in the cookies, because if you know macarons you know that they're supposed to be gluten-free. I know our store owner is trying to switch to another brand as the macarons are still a popular showcase/walk-in item.

Also some macarons taste like ass because people don't know how much dye is enough dye. You can dye stuff without making it taste like total shit.

Unrelated to cookies but related to dye talk; black and red icing are the worst tasting icings due to the amount of dye you put in. Black you can fix a bit, Red icing you're kinda fucked on, it's gonna taste artificial due to dyes unless you can naturally make it red (The best I can do is pink). Black however you can make work by making chocolate icing/chocolate ganche/fudge icing. And then you need way less dye to make it black.

end rant

[bartholomewillustrated]

Hello!! Thank you for being interested in possibly commissioning me!

but here's the Deal;

I'm not really.. Open for commissions.

I don't have a price sheet I can direct you to, or a list of available slots, or anything along those sorta traditional lines. I'll spare you all the life details but basically I'm not in a place where I can afford the time and energy for that kind of set up, nor is the demand worth the cost in terms of being able to finish my own projects.

(Plus I can't imagine I'm popular enough for my work to have That much of a demand...)

Buuuuuut, I'm also not Closed... Exactly.

I'm absolutely on board to taking up the occasional Commish~!

It's just I can only really handle 1 at a time, and prefer to take on traditional works for a couple of reasons, (but hey at the end you get a neat original physical copy of the art you wanted and for a few extra bucks I'll thrift a frame for you too!) And because of my various limitations I am Very Very slow. Like Weeks to Months slow.... So I don't feel it's necessarily worth it to advertise myself as 'open for commissions'.

if none of that really seems like a problem for you though! Then I would encourage you to shoot me a message every so often and see what's going on! (I have a few people who have already asked me this question before, so they will be taking precedent, but otherwise it's just kinda first come first serve)

I'm kinda trying to move towards a place where I can take on more commissions, but for now this is what will work best to keep me sane and not like.. disappoint anyone... Thank you for understanding!

If you do have any questions don't be afraid to ask! the inbox is open v-v