#bad writer but yolo

[bingo6776]

Confrontation - 1/2

wednesday addams x reader 

2.1k

summary:  Wednesday has started to neglect your relationship to solve the mystery. You finally confront her about the relationship going from dreamy to doomed because of it.

You had been dating Wednesday Addams for slightly under a year, and you knew that dating Wednesday would come with its challenges, she wasn’t as experienced with relationships as the rest of her peers, and its not like that bothered her, but she understood, as you did, that there would be struggles.

The push and pull effect she had on her relationships, the hot and cold – in her case, it being the lukewarm and the burning frost.

 But it also came with its highs, the psychic doesn’t seem like it, but she could be soft, and sweet when she wanted to be.

There was the time in the quad where you were only in your school shirt with no blazer. How you kept thinking you could fight off the cold with your abnormal body temperature, Wednesday would never know, you were shivering in your spot every time. Teeth chattering and everything. She would offer you her coat, albeit not making eye contact as she held it out to you, a silent demand that you take the piece of clothing more than an actual offer. Of course, Wednesday would say you were distracting her from whatever book she was pouring over, her already deathly cold skin practically being immune to the cold weather.

 She would walk into the classes you shared together, and stare at whoever had tried to sit next to you in the class with a murderous look in her eye until they related and moved. The top record for the student being able to hold out is 4 seconds. If she let you sit close enough for you thighs to be touching, she would deny it, or blame it on the extremely spacious table being too small to have a comfortable amount of distance, ignoring the fact that there was multiple open seats she could have taken instead.

And, of course, she would deny it if she ordered her coffee too sweet for her likings and push it in your direction. She would never traipse all the way to Jericho before classes just to get you a drink. No way. Never.

Except on Mondays, and Fridays.

 And the occasional Wednesday afternoon trip after fencing.

But otherwise, no never.

 Yet, there were still challenges. For example, you were currently sitting on Wednesday’s bed, as you had been doing for the past 45 minutes, wearing the black sweater she loved seeing you in, waiting for her to get back from wherever the fuck she had disappeared to this time.

 No, you hadn’t just walked in uninvited and expected to find her waiting at your beck and call.

Because you had been. Invited that is.

 She had stopped you in the corridor a day or so before when you were on your way to your next class demanding you be at her room at 10pm on the dot, as Enid was going to be with her “disappointment of a gorgon boyfriend,” doing whatever “mindless adolescent activities” the couple filled their time with.

Wednesday had flashed you a small, barely there smile, before threatening to “skin your wolf and keep its fur” in her dorm if you were late.

Ironic.

 As you watched the digital clock on Enid’s side of the dorm finally mark the fact that you had been patiently waiting for an hour, you thought fuck it, if Wednesday wanted to spend time with you that badly, which apparently she did not, she would have to come and find you for it.

 Clenching and unclenching your jaw as you laced up your shoes, you fought to not let your wolf form rip out if its inner cage. It’s not entirely shocking your usually impeccable self-control always came under question with Wednesday, no matter the emotion: happy, sad, disappointed, anxious, angry.

And right now? You were homicidal, the urge to tear at something fuelling the fire in your veins. This was the third time this week alone – you had lost count of how many times it had been over the last few weeks, to be honest - that Wednesday had left you alone and waiting like a dumbass, to not even show.

Did you get an apology? No.

Did she try to make it up to you in some way? No.

An explanation? You practically scoffed at the idea.

 Walking – definitely not stomping, you were a werewolf, not a sulking child – towards the door, you had barely been able to move more than a couple of steps until the oh so great Wednesday Addams herself walked in.

“Y/n? Is everything alright?”

 She sounded confused. Confused. The absolute fucking audacity.

 “Where have you been?” you gritted out between your clenched teeth, watching as her perfectly shaped brow quirked up slightly. “I’ve been sat around waiting for you for an hour, Wednesday. an hour.”

 Tracking her every movement with your eyes, as she placed her bag on the floor and slid her jacket over the back of her desk chair. You literally saw the cogs turning in her brain, watching the moment of realisation dawn on her from the way her eyes awkwardly flicked to yours for a split second, going to the door, and then back to yours. There was a quick flash of worry that flashed across her features, her mouth opening slightly and her gaze softening slightly, it would have wiped away your anger if the flash of emotion hadn’t disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

 “I had forgotten about our meeting, there is a storm tonight, and I didn’t want any possible clues at the monsters activities to be washed away,” usually, you adored Wednesday’s voice, but tonight the monotone way she drawled out her words made you want to gauge your eyes out with a rusty spoon. She’d probably like that actually. “It will not happen again,” she held eye contact with you, expecting you to follow on with the script that you had both unofficially constructed for yourselves over the past few weeks.

 It usually went like this:

Wednesday walking in on you lounging on her bed, prepared to wait until the early hours of the morning before you gave up on the girl showing up.

Her muttering a quick and meaningless “it won’t happen again,” you both knew it would.

You’d swallow up her obvious lie with an easy “oh, yeah no. totally. I understand,” following up with your questions about the investigation, getting one worded response. Until you turned to talking about your day, you’d get the usual ‘hmm’ every few sentences. Leading to the “so, do you want to hang out, still? Watch a horror movie, read together?”

And then the awaited dismissal, “Y/n, I appreciate you waiting for me, but it is late, and I have to review some events that occurred today. I shall see you for class tomorrow.”

And that was that. You’d walk out and wait until she stopped you again in a few days.

It wasn’t always like this, no, this was a recent development. You knew at times her obsessions may interfere with your relationship, that was okay, you didn’t need to be her number one priority all the time, you knew the raven was best at compartmentalising.

You just didn’t expect having to begrudgingly take the bare minimum for so long. You had hoped that eventually Wednesday would start acting like she wanted you again.

At this point you think you’d forgive her if she agreed to go on a walk around campus with you.

 “No, we are not doing this again, Addams,” you saw the slight flinch at the use of her surname, instead of the plethora of loving nicknames you usually showered her with. “Listen, I understand that this is important to you, I do, more than anyone. I have dragged my ass into whatever decrepit house you asked me to, running from the literal monster that has killed umpteenth people in the woods because you can’t let this go. And that’s all fine and dandy. But I refuse, Wednesday,” you match her intense gaze with your own, you ignore the way you feel your claws digging into your clenched fists, actually relishing in the distraction the warm red liquid was seeping through your fingers gives you from the sweltering pain in your heart, “I refuse to be pushed aside time and time again until you finally deem me worthy of your time. Because this isn’t the first time, and we both know it won’t be the last until you solve the mystery. But are you really willing to lose everyone who loves and cares for you because of your god damn fucking obsession? I love you, and it feels like you barely acknowledge me anymore.”

 You had a million things you wanted to say, but instead you just sighed dejectedly as she stared at you in silence, being the perfect image of indifference. Well, she would have been if it wasn’t for the thick layer of tears that covered her eyes, but no, like you had said, you weren’t going to push it all under the rug before it was unfixable simply because the Addams was emotionally constipated.

 “If you truly understood, you would understand that there are sacrifices to be made,” her voice low, speaking slowly as if you were a dog who didn’t know how to ‘roll over’, “there are bigger things at play, I can’t lose an opportunity to know what is happening, it could bring me closer to finding out who the killer is.” She said this as if that solved everything, as if you were also meant to be focusing as heavily on the mystery as she was, as if, like her, you were meant to live and breathe it without thinking about anything else for a second.

Yeah, God forbid she thought of her girlfriend for longer than the two minutes it took to invite you over, only for her mind to be clouded over again when she left you stranded in the room, hoping Enid wouldn’t walk in and see your miserable figure in the room.

 “There are more important things other than the monster, you know? There are trained professionals who can catch it, normie and outcast.” you wished you had left the room earlier.

 “I am the one who is destined to solve the murders, I am the one who was in the drawing, I am the key to whatever is happening. I do not need you to be burdening me with this constant clinginess and desperation for my attention, this is what is important to me,” she had forced each and every word out of her throat, wishing she could ignore ethe way she saw your face contort as you fought of the tears at her words, as if every word cut you like a blazing dagger.

If Wednesday was being honest with herself, she was scared of the emotions that were waging a war within herself, the desire to know what monster has been leaving the masterfully carved bodies building in the morgue at an increasing rate, against the way she felt as if her very soul called out to you. To be held, and to be loved by you, to have your arms wrapped around her, to give herself a moments peace from the consistent inner monologue.

 Wednesday had warned you that she would stomp all over your heart and leave you a bloody mess on the floor as she ripped your heart out from your body with a smile on her face at hearing your pained cries. She knew what she was, she wasn’t soft or sweet, she was cold and jagged, she was sour and cruel. Oh. how desperately Wednesday wishes she wasn’t, she wish she wants as she saw you hastily walk towards the door, barely holding back your sobs as you cried for the girl you loved.

The Addams has to force herself to stay where she was, her grip on her chair so tight her knuckles turned white, and the chair creaked.

Wednesday screwed her eyes shut as she fought her own wave of tears, her organs feeling s if they were tearing themselves apart repeatedly, the thumping in her ears overwhelming her, leaving her with an ache in her head. It was nothing compared to the hollowness in her own heart.

 Once, she had told Bianca she cared more. But she wished she cared less at this very moment, she didn’t want to care that she had fucked up again, she didn’t want to care that she had reduced you to tears.

 But she did.

And now she didn’t know what to do.

--- 

a part two will be coming shortly! if you want to throw any ideas my way for a Wednesday x fem/GN reader, or maybe a wenclair fic, id be more than happen to listen!

ao3: Im_Just_Gay

[thevelominati]

sorry, what

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How unions won a 30% raise for every fast food worker in California

Tonight (September 14), I'm hosting the EFF Awards in San Francisco. On September 22, I'm (virtually) presenting at the DIG Festival in Modena, Italy.

Anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop. 40 years of declining worker power shattered the American Dream (TM), producing multiple generations whose children fared worse than their parents, cratering faith in institutions and hope for a better future.

The American neoliberal malaise – celebrated in by "centrists" who insisted that everything was fine and nothing could be changed – didn't just lead to a sense of helplessness, but also hopelessness. Denialism and nihilism are Siamese twins, and the YOLO approach to the climate emergency, covid mitigation, the housing crisis and other pressing issues can't be disentangled from the Thatcherite maxim that "There is NoA lternative." If there's no alternative, then we're doomed. Dig a hole, climb inside, pull the dirt down on top of yourself.

But anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop. For decades, leftists have taken a back seat to liberals in the progressive coalition, allowing "unionize!" to be drowned out by "learn to code!" The liberal-led coalition ceded the mantle of radical change to fake populist demagogues on the right.

This opened a space for a mirror-world politics that insisted that "conservatives" were the true defenders of women (because they were transphobes), of bodily autonomy (because they were vaccine deniers), of the environment (because they opposed wind-farms) and of workers (because they opposed immigration):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/05/not-that-naomi/#if-the-naomi-be-klein-youre-doing-just-fine

Anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop. A new coalition dedicated to fighting corporate power has emerged, tackling capitalism's monopoly power, and the corruption and abuse of workers it enables. That coalition is global, it's growing, and it's kicking ass.

Case in point: California just passed a law that will give every fast-food worker in the state a 30% raise. This law represents a profound improvement to the lives of the state's poorest workers – workers who spend long hours feeding their neighbors, but often can't afford to feed themselves at the end of a shift.

But just as remarkable as the substance of this new law is the path it took – a path that runs through a new sensibility, a new vibe, that is more powerful than mere political or legal procedure. The story is masterfully told in The American Prospect by veteran labor writer Harold Meyerson:

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-09-13-half-million-california-workers-get-raise/

The story starts with Governor Newsom signing a bill to create a new statewide labor-business board to mediate between workers and bosses, with the goal of elevating the working conditions of the state's large, minimum-wage workforce. The passage of this law triggered howls of outrage from the state's fast-food industry, who pledged to spend $200m to put forward a ballot initiative to permanently kill the labor-business board.

This is a familiar story. In 2019, California's state legislature passed AB-5, a bill designed to end the gig-work fiction that people whose boss is an algorithm are actually "independent businesses," rather than employees. AB5 wasn't perfect – it swept up all kinds of genuine freelancers, like writers who contributed articles to many publications – but the response wasn't aimed at fixing the bad parts. It was designed to destroy the good parts.

After AB-5, Uber and Lyft poured more than $200m into Prop 22, a ballot initiative designed to permanently bar the California legislature from passing any law to protect "gig workers." Prop 22's corporate backers flooded the state with disinformation, and procured a victory in 2020. The aftermath was swift and vicious, with Prop 22 used as cover in mass-firings of unionized workers across the state's workforce:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/05/manorialism-feudalism-cycle/#prop22

Workers and the politicians who defend them were supposed to be crushed by Prop 22. Its message was "there is no alternative." "Abandon hope all ye who enter here." "Resistance is futile." Prop 22 was worth spending $200m on because it wouldn't just win this fight – it would win all fights, forever.

But that's not what happened. When the fast-food barons announced that they were going to pump another $200m into a state ballot initiative to kill fair wages for food service workers, they got a hell of a surprise. SEIU – a union that has long struggled to organize fast-food workers – collaborated with progressive legislators to introduce a pair of new, even further-reaching bills.

One bill would have made the corporate overseers of franchise businesses jointly liable for lawbreaking by franchisees – so if a McDonald's restaurant owner stole their employees' wages, McDonalds corporate would also be on the hook for the offense. The second bill would restore funding and power to the state Industrial Welfare Commission, which once routinely intervened to set wages and working standards in many state industries:

https://www.gtlaw-laborandemployment.com/2023/08/the-california-iwc-whats-old-is-new-again/

Fast-food bosses fucked around, and boy did they find out. Funding for the IWC passed the state budget, and the franchisee joint liability is set to pass the legislature this week. The fast-food bosses cried uncle and begged Newsom's office for a deal. In exchange for defunding the IWC and canceling the vote on the liability bill, the industry has agreed to an hourly wage increase for the state's 550,000 fast-food workers, from $15.50 to $20, taking effect in April.

The deal also includes annual raises of either 3.5% or the real rise in cost of living. It keeps the labor-management council that the original bill created (the referendum on killing that council has been cancelled). The council will include two franchisees, two fast food corporate reps, two union reps, two front-line fast-food workers and a member of the public. It will have the power to direct the state Department of Labor to directly regulate working conditions in fast-food restaurants, from health and safety to workplace violence.

It's been nearly a century since business/government/labor boards like this were commonplace. The revival is a step on the way to bringing back the practice of sectoral bargaining, where workers set contracts for all employers in an industry. Sectoral bargaining was largely abolished through the dismantling of the New Deal, though elements of it remain. Entertainment industry unions are called "guilds" because they bargain with all the employers in their sector – which is why all of the Hollywood studios are being struck by SAG-AFTRA and the WGA.

So what changed between 2020 – when rideshare bosses destroyed democratic protections for workers by flooding the zone with disinformation to pass Prop 22 – and 2023, when the fast food bosses folded like a cheap suit? It wasn't changes to the laws governing ballot initiatives, nor was it a lack of ready capital for demolishing worker rights. Fast food executives weren't visited by three ghosts in the night who convinced them to care for their workers. Their hearts didn't grow by three sizes.

What changed was the vibe. The Hot Labor Summer was a rager, and it's not showing any signs of slowing. Obviously that's true in California, where nurses and hotel workers are also striking, and where strikebreaking companies like Instawork ("Uber for #scabs") attract swift regulatory sanction, rather than demoralized capitulation:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/30/computer-says-scab/#instawork

The hot labor summer wasn't a season – it was a turning point. Everyone's forming unions. Think of Equity Strip NoHo, the first strippers' union in a generation, which won recognition from their scumbag bosses at North Hollywood's Star Garden Club, who used every dirty trick to kill workplace democracy.

The story of the Equity Strippers is amazing. Two organizers, Charlie and Lilith, appeared on Adam Conover's Factually podcast to describe the incredible creativity and solidarity they used to win recognition, and the continuing struggle to get a contract out of their bosses, who are still fucking around and assuming they will not find out:

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

Like the fast-food bosses, the Star Garden's owners are in for a surprise. One of the most powerful elements of the Equity Strippers' story is the solidarity of their customers. Star Garden's owners assumed that their clientele were indiscriminate, horny assholes who didn't care about the wellbeing of the workers they patronized, and would therefore cross a picket-line because parts is parts.

Instead, the bar's clientele sided with the workers. People everywhere are siding with workers. A decade ago, when video game actors voted on a strike, the tech workers who coded the games were incredibly hostile to them. "Why should you get residuals for your contribution to this game when we don't?"

But SAG-AFTRA members who provide voice acting for games just overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike, and this time the story is very different. This time, tech workers are ride-or-die for their comrades in the sound booths:

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-09-13/video-game-voice-actor-sag-strike-interactive-agreement-actors-strike

What explains the change in tech workers' animal sentiments? Well, on the one hand, labor rights are in the air. The decades of cartoonish, lazy dismissals of labor struggles have ended. And on the other hand, tech workers have been proletarianized, with 260,000 layoffs in the sector, including 12,000 layoffs at Google that came immediately after a stock buyback that would have paid those 12,000 salaries for the next 27 years:

https://doctorow.medium.com/the-proletarianization-of-tech-workers-ad0a6b09f7e6

Larry Lessig once laid out a theory of change that holds that our society is governed by four forces: law (what's legal), norms (what's socially acceptable), markets (what's profitable) and code (what's technologically possible):

https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/2010-11/CodeAndRegulation/about.html

These four forces interact. When queer relationships were normalized, it made it easier to legalize them, too – and then the businesses that marriage equality became both a force for more normalization and legal defense.

When Lessig formulated this argument, much of the focus was on technology – how file-sharing changed norms, which changed law. But as the decades passed, I've come to appreciate what the argument says about norms, the conversations we have with one another.

Neoliberalism wants you to think that you're an individual, not a member of a polity. Neoliberalism wants you to bargain with your boss as a "free agent," not a union member. It wants you to address the climate emergency by recycling more carefully – not by demanding laws banning single-use plastics. It wants you to fight monopolies by shopping harder – not by busting trusts.

But that's not what we're doing – not anymore. We're forming unions. We're demanding a Green New Deal. And we're busting some trusts. The DoJ Antitrust Division case against Google is the (first) trial of the century, reviving the ancient and noble practice of fighting monopolies with courts, not empty platitudes.

The trial is incredible, and Yosef Weitzman's reporting on Big Tech On Trial is required reading. I'm following it closely (thankfully, there's a fulltext RSS feed):

https://www.bigtechontrial.com/p/what-makes-google-great

The neoliberal project of instilling learned helplessness about corporate power has hit the wall, and it's wrecked. The same norms that made us furious enough to put Google on trial are the norms that made us angry – not cynical – about Clarence Thomas's bribery scandals:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/06/clarence-thomas/#harlan-crow

And they're the same norms that made us support our striking comrades, from hotel housekeepers to Hollywood actors, from strippers to Starbucks baristas:

https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/09/13/Starbucks-Workers-Back-At-Strike/

Yes, Starbucks baristas. The Starbucks unions that won hard-fought recognition drives are now fighting the next phase of corporate fuckery: Starbucks corporate's refusal to bargain for a contract. Starbucks is betting that if they just stall long enough, the workers who support the union will move on and they'll be able to go back to abusing their workers without worrying about a union.

They're fucking around, and they're finding out. Starbucks workers at two shops in British Columbia – Clayton Crossing in Surrey and Valley Centre in Langley – have authorized strikes with a 91% majority:

https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/09/13/Starbucks-Workers-Back-At-Strike/

Where did the guts to do this come from? Not from labor law, which remains disgustingly hostile to workers (though that's changing, as we'll see below). It came from norms. It came from getting pissed off and talking about it. Shouting about it. Arguing about it.

Laws, markets and code matter, but they're nothing without norms. That's why Uber and Lyft were willing to spend $200m to fight fair labor practices. They didn't just want to keep their costs low – they wanted to snuff out the vibe, the idea that workers deserve a fair deal.

They failed. The idea didn't die. It thrived. It merged with the idea that corporations and the wealthy corrupt our society. It was joined by the idea that monopolies harm us all. They're losing. We're winning.

The BC Starbucks workers secured 91% majorities in their strike votes. This is what worker power looks like. As Jane McAlevey writes in her Collective Bargain, these supermajorities – ultramajorities – are how we win.

https://doctorow.medium.com/a-collective-bargain-a48925f944fe

The neoliberal wing of the Democratic party hires high-priced consultants who advise them to seek 50.1% margins of victory – and then insist that nothing can be done because we live in the Manchin-Synematic Universe, where razor-thin majorities mean that there is no alternative. Labor organizers fight for 91% majorities – in the face of bosses' gerrymandering, disinformation and voter suppression – and get shit done.

Shifting the norms – having the conversations – is the tactic, but getting shit done is the goal. The Biden administration – a decidedly mixed bag – has some incredible, technically skilled, principled fighters who know how to get shit done. Take Lina Khan, who revived the long-dormant Section 5 of the Federal Trade Act, which gives her broad powers to ban "unfair and deceptive" practices:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

Khan's wielding this broad power in all kinds of exciting ways. For example, she's seeking a ban on noncompetes, a form of bondage that shackles workers to shitty bosses by making it illegal to work for anyone else in the same industry:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/02/its-the-economy-stupid/#neofeudal

Noncompete apologists argue that these merely protect employers' investment in training and willingness to share sensitive trade secrets with employees. But the majority of noncompetes are applied to fast food workers – yes, the same workers who just won a 30%, across-the-board raise – in order to prevent Burger King cashiers from seeking $0.25/hour more at a local Wendy's.

Meanwhile, the most trade-secret intensive, high-training industry in the world – tech – has no noncompetes. That's not because tech bosses are good eggs who want to do right by their employees – it's because noncompetes are banned in California, where tech is headquartered.

But in other states, where noncompetes are still allowed, bosses have figured out how to use them as a slippery slope to a form of bondage that beggars the imagination. I'm speaking of the Training Repayment Agreement Provision (AKA, the TRAP), a contractual term that forces workers who quit or get fired to pay their ex-bosses tens of thousands of dollars, supposedly to recoup the cost of training them:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/04/its-a-trap/#a-little-on-the-nose

Now, TRAPs aren't just evil, they're also bullshit. Bosses show pet-groomers or cannabis budtenders a few videos, throw them a three-ring binder, and declare that they've received a five-figure education that they must repay if they part ways with their employers. This gives bosses broad latitude to abuse their workers and even order them to break the law, on penalty of massive fines for quitting.

If this sounds like an Unfair Labor Practice to you, you're not alone. NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo agrees with you. She's another one of those Biden appointees with a principled commitment to making life better for American workers, and the technical chops to turn that principle into muscular action.

In a case against Juvly Aesthetics – an Ohio-based chain of "alternative medicine" and "aesthetic services" – Abruzzo argues that noncompetes and TRAPs are Unfair Labor Practices that violate the National Labor Relations Act and cannot be enforced:

https://www.nlrb.gov/case/09-CA-300239

Two ex-Juvly employees have been hit with $50-60k "repayment" bills for quitting – one after refusing to violate Ohio law by performing "microneedling," another for quitting after having their wages stolen and then refusing to sign an "exit agreement":

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-09-14-nlrb-complaint-calls-noncompete-agreement-unfair-labor-practice/

If the NLRB wins, the noncompete and TRAP clauses in the workers' contracts will be voided, and the workers will get fees, missed wages, and other penalties. More to the point, the case will set the precedent that noncompetes are generally unenforceable nationwide, delivering labor protection to every worker in every sector in America.

Abruzzo has been killing it lately: just a couple weeks ago, she set a precedent that any boss that breaks labor law during a union drive automatically loses, with instant recognition for the union as a penalty (rather than a small fine, as was customary):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/06/goons-ginks-and-company-finks/#if-blood-be-the-price-of-your-cursed-wealth

Abruzzo is amazing – as are her colleagues at the NLRB, FTC, DOJ, and other agencies. But the law they're making is downstream of the norms we set. From the California lawmakers who responded to fast food industry threats by introducing more regulations to the strip-bar patrons who refused to cross the picket-line to the legions of fans dragging Drew Barrymore for scabbing, the public mood is providing the political will for real action:

https://www.motherjones.com/media/2023/09/drew-barrymores-newest-role-scab/

The issues of corruption, worker rights and market concentration can't – and shouldn't – be teased apart. They're three facets of the same fight – the fight against oligarchy. Rarely do those issues come together more clearly than in the delicious petard-hoisting of Dave Clark, formerly the archvillain of Amazon, and now the victim of its bullying.

As Maureen Tkacik writes for The American Prospect, Clark had a long and storied career as Amazon's most vicious and unassuming ghoul, a sweatervested, Diet-Coke-swilling normie whose mild manner disguised a vicious streak a mile wide:

https://prospect.org/power/2023-09-14-catch-us-if-you-can-dave-clark-amazon/

Clark earned his nickname, "The Sniper," as a Kentucky warehouse supervisor; the name came from his habit of "lurking in the shadows [and] scoping out slackers he could fire." Clark created Amazon Flex, the "gig work" version of Amazon delivery drivers where randos in private vehicles were sent out to delivery parcels. Clark also oversaw tens of millions of dollars in wage-theft from those workers.

We have Clark to thank for the Amazon drivers who had to shit in bags and piss in bottles to make quota. Clark was behind the illegal union-busting tactics used against employees in the Bessamer, Alabama warehouse. We have Clark to thank for the Amazon chat app that banned users from posting the words "restroom," "slave labor," "plantation," and "union":

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/05/doubleplusrelentless/#quackspeak

But Clark doesn't work for Amazon anymore. After losing a power-struggle to succeed Jeff Bezos – the job went to "longtime rival" Andy Jassy – he quit and went to work for Flexport, a logistics company that promised to provide sellers that used non-Amazon services with shipping. Flexport did a deal with Shopify, becoming its "sole official logistics partner."

But then Shopify did another logistics deal – with Amazon. Clark was ordered to tender his resignation or face immediate dismissal.

How did all this happen? Well, there are two theories. The first is that Shopify teamed up with Amazon to stab Flexport in the back, then purged all the ex-Amazonians from the Flexport upper ranks. The other is that Clark was a double-agent, who worked with Amazon to sabotage Flexport, and was caught and fired.

But either way, this is a huge win for Amazon, a monopolist who is in the FTC's crosshairs thanks to the anti-corporate vibe-shift that has consumed the nation and the world. As the sole major employer for this kind of logistics, Amazon is a de facto labor regulator, deciding who can work in the sector. The FTC's enforcement action isn't just about monopoly – it's about labor.

Now, Clark is a rich, powerful white dude, not the sort of person who needs a lot of federal help to protect his labor rights. When liberals called the shot in the progressive coalition, they scolded leftists not to speak of class, but rather to focus on identity – to be intersectionalists.

That was a trick. There's no incompatibility between caring about class and caring about gender, race and sexual orientation. Those fast food workers who are about to get a 30% wage-hike in California? Overwhelmingly Black or brown, overwhelmingly female.

The liberal version of intersectionalism observes a world run by 150 rich white men and resolves to replace half of them with women, queers and people of color. The leftist version seeks to abolish the system altogether. The leftist version of intersectionalism cares about bias and discrimination not just because of how it makes people feel, but because of how it makes them live. It cares about wages, housing, vacations, child care – the things you can't get because of your identity.

The fight for social justice is a fight for worker justice. Eminently guillotineable monsters like Tim "Avocado Toast" Gurner advocate for increasing unemployment by "40-50%" – but Gurner is just saying what other bosses are thinking:

https://jacobin.com/2023/09/tim-gurner-capitalists-neoliberalism-unemployment-precarity

Garner is 100% right when he says: "There’s been a systematic change where employees feel the employer is extremely lucky to have them, as opposed to the other way around."

And then he says this: "So it’s a dynamic that has to change. We’ve got to kill that attitude, and that has to come through hurt in the economy."

Garner knows that the vibes are upstream of the change. The capitalist dream starts with killing our imagination, to make us believe that "there is no alternative." If we can dream bigger than "better representation among oligarchs" when we might someday dream of no oligarchs. That's what he fears the most.

Watch the video of Garner. Look past the dollar-store Gordon Gecko styling. That piece of shit is terrified.

And he should be.

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/2023/09/14/prop-22-never-again/#norms-code-laws-markets

EFF Awards, San Francisco, September 14

[julysn]

main 3 when they find out you write smut fanfiction

includes: slight cursing, mention of masturbation, reader writes fanfiction, inspired by a true story 😭, reader has a crush on the boys, slightly/moderately ooc(?)

a/n: inspired by something that happened to me where my crush read one of my smuts 🤧 he said it was really good though and then he showed it to all of his friwnds. and then he found out i wrote south park fanfiction.

the worst day of my life methinks…

currently in boston rn 😵‍💫 this might be slightly ooc bc i haven’t slept in a day and a half.. and im short circuiting… but i wanted to write AAAHHHH

kyle broflovski

when he first found out he wasn’t really surprised but was a little (and i mean a little) disgusted

“well you look like you do”

of course you were like “.. what the hell does that mean”

but he’s pretty smart and figures things out quickly so you’re not surprised that he said that

eventually he decides to read one of them because he was curious

he thought it was pretty good but you needed to work on some things so he offered to be your co-writer

something along the lines of “it’s good but you could do these things better”

he’s like a teacher LMFAOA

stan marsh

surprised and kinda disgusted

“what the hell”

after he said that you thought u lost your with him chance fr

eventually you mustered up the courage to ask him to read one of them

why? who the hell knows. yolo.

once he did end up reading one of them because he got curious, and he was surprised because it was really good

he ended up complimenting your writing skills

something like “it’s not that bad”

would never read one of them. ever. again. no matter what + tries to forget it even happened 😭

lucky u didn’t lose your chance w him but its still embarrassing to think about

kenny mccormick

he likes loves how freaky that is 💦

“damn that’s hot” or something 💦

0% judgemental 100% supportive 💦

when he eventually came around to reading it he jerked off. right hand dick left hand scrolling down on his phone bc he’s soaking the sex in!!

he’ll offer to be your co-writer but unlike kyle who wants to help your writing, kenny will 100% make it freakier and sexier 💦

“you should add (freaky obscure sex thing)” and you’re like “… wtf is that”

eventually you let him be your beta reader and editor and your fics were suddenly freakier than ever before!

your readers were delighted by the level of creaminess! (i meant to write freakiness but it autocorrected)

[seeingivy]

bsfs older brother sukuna asks!

OUCH like you're literally crazy thank you so much. random side tangent that no one asked about but basically my mom has a masters in english literature and likes to read/write a lot (which is where i think i get that from) but basically we were talking about books that are meant to me read as books or other writing that is more like cinematic? if that makes sense.

like some people on here write fic that's really prose based and beautifully written. like truly I think the talent lies in how they choose to string the words together that always leaves me in awe. another irl author that does this a lot is celeste ng (ronnie book rec! everything I never told you is one of my favorite books ever)

but then some books are very very plot driven and kind of have plot as the main thing that kind of draws me in. I definitely think i'm this type of writer more where I know that my talent isn't necessarily in how I string the words together (not that I think it's bad, I just think that the way I build something up and make a plot out of something is kind of where I have the most fun and think I do the best in terms of the stuff I put out) an irl book that does this is the seven husbands of evelyn hugo - where it's very jam packed and driven by the actual events of the book as opposed to the actual wording and sentence structure of how they're written.

anyway this ask just validated what I was thinkiNG LOL bc I do think I tend to write some thats more like sucker punch yolo as opposed to really working on writing that's more prose like (and I admire people who can do that because I literallly fumble with normal words, like @/theragethatisdesire and @/neptuneblue are SOOO skilled at this that it always leaves me speechless. anyways.)

thank you again pookie 💌

literally that's emotional whiplash. I reread the entire thing myself (which is crazy, because I rarely reread my own works after writing them, but I do find myself reaching to read this one sometimes) and LORD like i actually kind of forgot the stuff in the beginning so PROPS TO YOU and it's so sweet that you felt all the feels that were going on that makes my heart so so warm.

heavy on the poor weird child me. mind you that both of these characters internal monologue/and somewhat of their backstory is based on me in real life and heavy on loving little weird child you and knowing that they're still in you somewhere fighting in whatever way they can (for me its fanfic....which is very on brand when I think about it)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! 💌 idk where that all came from in three days but it did and im actually very very proud of it so it makes me so so happy that you enjoyed it!

anyways! idk I hope to write some more soon but someone in my family is having a five wedding events week business going on so i'm like out of capacity all weekend (and already overstimulated from so much interaction)

[house-of-lovin]

see im relatively new to tumblr so i don’t even know if this is how ur supposed to send stuff in but.. yolo!

Anyways since R is a singer/writer and her reputation is pretty bad rn.. in like any sort of upcoming song she has i feel like ANY song from Taylor swifts “reputation” album works (im also saying that bc i absolutely adore rep.) BUT im not biased I have evidence.

Look what you made me do - one of the lines in the song is “i don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me, I’ll be the actress staring in your made dreams” THATS LITERALLY PERFECT BC PPL ARE STARTING TO NOT TRUST HER BC OF THE VEGAS SCANDAL, AND SHES AN ACTUAL ACTRESS!!

I did something bad - the title honestly speaks for itself. she taking the Vegas thing and reclaiming it as her own experience.. but making it positive

End game - “ohh, you and me, we got big reputations” her and j do indeed have very big reputations

So it goes - “getting caught up in the moment, lipstick on your face” her and j after R’s performance

Getaway car - “there were sirens in the beat of you heart” this might be a stretch buttt how R got arrested

Dress - “say my name and everything just stops. I don’t want you like a best friend, only bought this dress so you can take it off” I don’t feel like I even have to explain that

Dancing with our hands tied (my fav) - “i love you in spite of deep fear that the world would divide us” R being to scared to commit to J

Gorgeous- sooo many lines apply to R and J but I’m only gonna choose one. “And I’m so furious at you for making me feel this way, but what can I say? your gorgeous.” once again, speaks for itself

Ready for it - “i know I’m gonna be with you so I’ll take my time” she knows her a J are gonna end up together so she’s fine with waiting

This is why we can’t have nice things - “Here's a toast to my real friends. They don't care about that he said, she said. And here's to my baby. He ain't reading what they call me lately” ofc we can change the wording to best fit

New Year’s Day- “please don’t ever become a stranger who’s laugh I could recognize anywhere” cmon now..

Don’t blame me - “I’ve been breaking hearts a long time and toying with them older guys” cause yk we know about R past.. with multiple people.

Call it what you want - “all the liars are calling me one” idk that just seems like a jab at the authors of the articles written about her

Delicate - “this is for the best. My reputations never been worse so you must like me for me” that’s the most PERFECT way to describe R and J

King of my heart - “your love I’m hoping, dreaming, dying to keep” cause.. she’s literally grasping onto the 50% chance she has with J

Anyways that’s my analogy, sorry if I went to far. I do that sometimes but once again, yolo. But tbh i can make any song relate to R. Just tell me and I can and will do it. ALSO THIS WASNT TO PRESSURE U JUST TO CLARIFY. THIS SERIES IS YOURS AND UR COMPLETELY IN CHARGE!!

I'm def gonna listen to all of these songs !!!

but a lot of people have said reputation fits R & J well!!

[ctrnewrites]

sacrifice (adrian chase)

okay pals, first post after rebranding myself as a writer. so excited to probably start writing more in my free time. yolo. in the meantime, here’s a funny little blurb that’s definitely not proofread except for basic grammar and relative plot. 

summary: adrian just joined project butterfly, but with secret government missions, comes sacrifice. (bro is mad ooc me thinks but its midnight so whateva)

wc: 536 (blurb)

“Wait, you’re breaking up with me? Like, for real?” She asked in shock. Staring the brown-haired man down. Everything seemed fine, nothing out of the ordinary. But his statement was downright flabbergasting.

“Oh god, uhm… Yes...” He trailed off. Still thinking of what else to say to ease the blow. “But pumpkin, listen- “.

He was cut off with a very overdramatic, yet reasonable scoff. “No way. Adrian there is no well in hell do you get to tell me that you’re breaking up with me then calling me pumpkin in the next sentence.”

He couldn’t tell her the truth, no matter how much he wanted, no matter how much their relationship would depend on it, he cannot tell the truth. “Listen, I’m sorry. It just needs to happen.”

“Give me an explanation on why it does!” Her voice was raised. He never liked it when her voice was raised at him. She was always kind and soft spoken to him. Only on a few occasions was her voice ever raised and she always felt bad afterwards. This time, she wasn’t going to feel bad. “Was it me? Did I do something wrong?” Tears threatened to spill against her cheeks.

God, how this stressed Adrian out. “Baby please…” He tried to speak, placing his hands on her cheek. “I wish I could tell you; I really do. But I just can’t.” Adrian was almost to tears himself.

He never wanted it to end this way. Overcome by excitement, he got himself involved with Project Butterfly. Now for his girlfriend’s safety, he can’t have her at all. He had to at least let her down easily. He sighed heavily, ultimately deciding to seal his fate. “I cheated on you.” He dropped the bomb. A fake one. The fakest bomb to ever exist was dropped and the damage was done.

“No, Adrian please tell me you’re lying.” She removed her hands from his face. Stepping a few steps back. “Tell me you’re lying, and this is all some big prank that you’re playing on me to get me to hate you even less than I do right now.” The tears fell, no chance of getting them back in.

He hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s all you have to say for yourself?” He nodded in response. “Get out.” With that his head lifted again, shocked but what did he expect. “I want you to get out, leave your key, please. I can drop whatever you left here off at your place or work or whatever. I just don’t want you around me anymore.”

He didn’t fight it. Adrian knew he had to leave. He was never good with processing emotions or reading others. But he did know one thing, he was madly in love with (Y/n) but now, she had to be left behind for reasons of government secrecy. His lies of vigilantism were covered by more lies of unfaithfulness. It was hard to justify it. Joining and aiding Project Butterfly would save the world from being overrun by controlling aliens. Leaving his love, his life, and hiding behind a lie would destroy his world from heartbreak. The choice was his, and he made his sacrifice.

[mooblybloom]

My favorite character trope is when something so bad happens to the character that they're just like "caution to the wind who cares It doesn't matter anymore who gives a fuck you die young anyway Yolo ig!"

Because I always imagine a specific situation thanks to Ninjago.

In season 4 The writing team does a great job of showing the different ways people grieve when someone dies.

My favorite is how Kai deals with it. Instead of a healthy means of grieving, He throws himself into what he knows, which is fighting and Lloyd finds him in a bar-Fighting-ring-combo-thingy fighting for the entertainment of others to escape his anger and the reality of his friend being dead there's like this little throwaway motion of him drinking what is assumed to be juice by the younger originally advertised audience but we all know it's probably alcohol. Let's be honest with ourselves.

so I love the thought of a character throwing themselves into the anger of losing something they loved and just saying "Oh who gives a fuck?" and throws themselves into drinking and fighting and other means of unhealthy grief

I love this trope even more so when they're given what is basically the perfect support system made for them specifically and at first they refuse it but then they realize things aren't that bad and they can get through it which is how the other ninja play in and I kind of hate it but Lloyd is that keystone, that one thing that keeps everyone together when Zane can't because he's not there anymore...

And then he's bought back in the next season and we explore his identity, I'm not even that about the fact that the entire thing is invalidated because that's what the writers are good at not invalidating the death of the people with kill off but building on the character

My favorite character trope probably says that I need help

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Hello! May I please request a star wars, the hobbit and the arcana match up? ^^

I'm 19, omnisexual and I go by they/them. I am a enfp, 3w4, saggitarious, so basically I'm impulsive, ambitious, fun loving, sensitive, expressive, understanding, always seems a lil high, blunt, out of pocket, creative, rebellious and live by the phrase Yolo. (I also have really bad anxiety, depression and adhd)

I'm like a mix of emo, metalhead, goth and punk in terms of music and style but I like mostly sticking with a cleaner look. I'm pale, 5'4, have shoulder length straight dyed black hair, brown eyes, skinny but has some muscle, lots of scars I am very proud of, and visible scoliosis but I like to pretend it's the emo hunch

I enjoy creating, dancing, music, trying new stuff, fashion, stuff that makes me feel sophisticated, comics, horror, zombies, learning, bugs, dark stuff, my pet bird, experimenting, running, space, writing in code, science, working out, reading, plants, red and black, collecting, info dumping, and I love taking care of things and people for some reason.

Lastly my ideal date is going and trying something new togethor or like a amusement park. What I look for in a person is passion and ambition extra points if there a little dorky lol. My love Language kinda differs from person to person I take there needs and wants into consideration but I am a little touch starved soo :)

And here you go good luck and keep up that good work fellow writer!! <3

Hi! Thanks for requesting a matchup! I hope you enjoy it! Sorry for the wait! <3333

---

Star Wars;

Luke Skywalker:

✨ You were already a part of Han's crew when you met Luke, chilling on the Falcon as you fixing one of the monitors; you heard blasters shooting in the distance, watching out the main window to see Han and Chewie running with two other people, (some old guy and a pretty cute looking young guy)

✨ Immediately getting into flight mode, you didn't get the chance to say hello to the newcomers until after you escaped the planet, and that's when you finally met Luke; hubba hubba

✨ Skipping the year that you both were just friends, you and Luke finally got together after he got back from cutting off a Wampas's arm on Hoth, (and after he got out of that water tank), but to get to the point, Han liked to joke around with you both; you were almost polar opposites, looks-wise, Luke was a blondie and you had dyed black hair, and you wore dark colors and he didn't really

✨ But opposites attract, and you and Luke actually had similar personalities, you were both passionate, caring, understanding, fun-loving, and impulsive; you both had anxiety and he definitely had ADHD

✨ Luke really, truly love you, from your love for trying new things to stargazing at the million stars in the sky - you're perfect; and you adored Luke, his willingness to learn and grow, his quirky charm, his bashful smiles, his dorky attitude; he was perfect

---

The Hobbit;

Ori:

🌿 You met Ori when you joined the Company, Gandalf asked you to come along since you were pretty great at knowing what plants can help heal or ones that you could eat, and you were great at keeping things light; basically your job in the group was to make sure no one was upset, trying your best to joke around and get smiles on everyone's faces

🌿 But sometimes you needed someone to bring a smile to your face, and Ori was your guy! From little jokes here and there, or just being his little, dorky self made you smile; he was your little, dorky boi

🌿 There wasn't a lot to collect on the road, so you'd collect a rock wherever you could, and Ori would help, running up to you with a huge, sheepish smile on his face as he handed you a few rocks he had found for you; you're swooning

🌿 Near the end of the journey, Ori took his chance and asked if he could braid your hair; having learned and read about Dwarven culture, you felt your heart skip a beat and you joked a little before saying yes and allowing him to braid you hair

🌿 As said before, Ori's a dork, like the number one dork of all dorks, but he was your dork, and he understood you, he cared about you, and he loved you

---

The Arcana;

Portia:

🐱 You met Portia when you came to visit your friend Nadia, yes, ou were friends with royalty, lucky you; for some reason the other many times you visited Nadia, Portia was at her cottage, what a coinkydink

🐱 But it was love at first sight, you loved how sweet she was, how energetic, upbeat, and mischievous she was; and you absolutely loved her eyes, you could stare at them all day

🐱 You had both started talking, going on walks together, talking about everything and anything, and soon a romance blossoms; from secret kisses in the castle to dancing in the garden, you and Portia were in love

🐱 She loves your bird, and you are so glad that she does; she also loves looking at plants with you, reading with you, trying out new things together, (all when she has free time, that is)

🐱 You both are two sweet peas in a pod, always there for one another, and always bringing out the best in each other :)

---

[brookston]

Holidays 7.24

Holidays

Amelia Earhart Day

Asarnha Bucha Day (Thailand)

Body Painting Day

Boycott SeaWorld Day

Carnival of Awussu (Tunisia)

Children’s Day (Vanuatu)

Cousins Day

Drive-Thru Day

Feast of the Trickster of Liberty

Fellowship of the Ring Day

Guayaquil Day (Ecuador)

Horsetail Day (French Republic)

International FemDom Day

International Save the Vaquita Day

International Security Officers Day

International Self-Care Day

Life Peerage Day (UK)

Midsummer Day (Denmark)

National Day of Motoring

National Drive-Thru Day

National Kebab Day

National Madison Day

National Private Investigator Day

National Seasonal Affective Disorder Awareness Day (UK)

National Thermal Engineer Day

National Water Gun Fight Day

National YOLO Day (Indonesia)

Navy Day (Venezuela)

Pioneer Day (Utah)

Police Day (Poland)

Pop A Wheelie Day

Public Opinion Day

Puzzle Day

Resident Evil Day

Samaritans’ National Awareness Day (UK)

724 Day (Pennsylvania)

Simón Bolívar Day (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador)

Tell an Old Joke Day

Tenjin Matsuri (Japan)

Treaty of Lausanne Anniversary Day

Virtual Love Day

World BDSM Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Instant Coffee Day

National Drink Watermelon Day

National Frozen Margarita Day

National Tequila Day

Pie 'n' Beer Day

Independence & Related Days

Restoration of Democracy Day (Greece)

Tennessee (Readmitted to Union; 1866)

4th Wednesday in July

Bubble Tea Day [3rd Wednesday]

Cat Yoga Day [3rd Wednesday]

Festivals Beginning July 24, 2024

Cinehill Motovun Film Festival (Gorski Kotar, Croatia) [thru 7.28]

Days of '47 Parade (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Gage County Fair (Beatrice, Nebraska) [thru 7.28]

Hood River County Fair (Odell, Oregon) [thru 7.27]

Kotka Maritime Festival (Kotka, Finland) [thru 7.27]

NYC Restaurant Week (New York, New York) [thru 8.20]

Ohio State Fair (Columbus, Ohio) [thru 8.4]

Tenjin Matsuri (Osaka, Japan) [thru 7.25]

Tolminator (Tolmin, Slovenia) [thru 7.28]

Feast Days

Alexandre Dumas (Writerism)

Alex Katz (Artology)

Alphonse Mucha (Artology)

Asalha Puja Day (Buddhism)

Banana Yoshimoto (Writerism)

Boris and Gleb (Christian; Martyrs)

Charbel (Maronite Church/Catholic Church)

Christina the Astonishing (Christian; Saint)

Christina of Bolsena (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Pioneer Day

Cunegundes of Poland (a.k.a. Kings; Christian; Saint)

Day of Bast (Pagan)

Day of Mourning (Orthodox)

Declán of Ardmore (Christian; Saint)

Eugene J. Martin (Artology)

Expensive Hugs Day (Pastafarian)

Feast Day of Vatiaz (Mongolia; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Francis Solano (Christian; Saint)

Jakaba Diena (Ancient Latvian Hay Harvest Festival)

Jilwalla Jinks’ Jamboree (Shamanism)

John Boste (Christian; Saint)

Kinga (a.k.a. Cunegunda) of Poland (Christian; Saint)

Lewine of Britain (Christian; Saint)

Lord Dunsany (Writerism)

Lupus, Bishop of Troyes (Christian; Saint)

Martyrs of Daimiel (Christian; Saint)

Mel Ramos (Artology)

Menefrida of Cornwall (Christian; Saint)

Michaelangelo (Positivist; Saint)

Mourning Day (Greek Orthodox)

The Old Mothering (Celtic Book of Days)

Pat Oliphant (Artology)

Piganini (Muppetism)

Romanus and David of Muscovy (Christian; Martyrs)

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (St. John the Baptist Day; Quebec)

Sigolena of Albi (Christian; Saint)

Sylvester Graham Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Tequila Day (Pastafarian)

Vladimir Borovikovsky (Artology)

Wulfhad and Ruffin (Christian; Martyrs)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Baby Wants a Battle (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1953)

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (Film; 1947)

Begin the Beguine, recorded by Artie Shaw (Song; 1938)

Bewitched Bunny (WB LT Cartoon; 1954)

The Black Cauldron (Disney Animated Film; 1985)

Blow Out (Film; 1981)

Corn on the Cop (WB MM Cartoon; 1965)

Cupid Gets His Man (Rainbow Parade Cartoon; 1936)

Donald’s Gold Mine (Disney Cartoon; 1942)

Existentialism is a Humanism, by Jean-Paul Sartre (Philosophy Book; 1946)

Eye of the Needle (Film; 1981)

Folklore, by Taylor Swift (Album; 2020)

Franken-Stymied (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1961)

Friedenstag (Day of Peace), by Richard Strauss (Opera; 1938)

G-Force (Film; 2009)

High Noon (Film; 1952)

How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You, recorded by Marvin Gaye (Song; 1964)

Jungle Jitters (Ub Iwerks MGM Cartoon; 1934)

La Bamba (Film; 1987)

La Feet’s Defeat (The Inspector Cartoon; 1968)

Le Ball and Chain Gang (The Inspector Cartoon; 1968)

Let’s Get Movin’ (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1936)

The Masks of God, Vol. 1: Primitive Mythology, by Joseph Campbell (Science Book; 1959)

A Maze of Death, by Philip K. Dick (Novel; 1970)

Olivia, by Dorothy Strachey (Novel; 1949)

Paper Towns (Film; 2015)

Pixels (Film; 2015)

Porky’s Bedtime Story (WB LT Cartoon; 1937)

Puddy Pup and the Gypsies (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1936)

Saving Private Ryan (Film; 1998)

Sherlock (BBC TV Series; 2010)

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Film; 1978)

Spring is Here, featuring Farmer Al Falfa (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

Summer School (Film; 1987)

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (Film; 1987)

A Time to Kill (Film; 1996)

Tire Trouble (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Today’s Name Days

Christoph, Christophorus (Austria)

Boris, Kristina, Ljudevit, Mirjana, Sarbelije (Croatia)

Kristýna (Czech Republic)

Christina (Denmark)

Kersti, Kerstin, Kirsti, Krista, Kristel, Kristi, Kristiina, Kristin, Kristina, Rista, Riste (Estonia)

Kiia, Kirsi, Kirsti, Krista, Kristiina, Tiina, Tinja (Finland)

Christine, Ségolène (France)

Christine, Christoph (Germany)

Christina (Greece)

Kincső, Kinga (Hungary)

Cristina (Italy)

Krista, Kristiāna, Kristīne, Krists (Latvia)

Dargvilas, Dargvilė, Kristina, Kristoforas (Lithuania)

Kristi, Kristin, Kristine (Norway)

Antoni, Kinga, Krystyna, Kunegunda, Olga, Wojciecha (Poland)

Elena, Olga (Russia)

Vladimír (Slovakia)

Cristina (Spain)

Kerstin, Kristina (Sweden)

Christine (Ukraine)

Chrissie, Chrissy, Christabel, Christelle, Christene, Christi, Christie, Christine, Christy, Cis, Cissy, Declan, Kirsti, Kirstie, Kirstin, Kirsty, Kristel, Kristie, Kristine (Universal)

Amalia, Amelia, Boris, Chris, Christa, Christen, Christian, Christina, Christine, Christy, Cristina, Cristian, Declan, Kiersten, Kirsten, Krista, Kristian, Kristen, Kristi, Kris (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 206 of 2024; 160 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 30 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 18 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Xin-Wei), Day 19 (Ji-Chou)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 18 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 17 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 26 Red; Fryday [26 of 30]

Julian: 11 July 2024

Moon: 87%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 9 Dante (8th Month) [Michaelangelo]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 1 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 35 of 94)

Week: 4th Week of July

Zodiac: Leo (Day 3 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Thorn (Defense) [Half-Month 14 of 24; Runic Half-Months] (thru 8.7)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 7.24

Holidays

Amelia Earhart Day

Asarnha Bucha Day (Thailand)

Body Painting Day

Boycott SeaWorld Day

Carnival of Awussu (Tunisia)

Children’s Day (Vanuatu)

Cousins Day

Drive-Thru Day

Feast of the Trickster of Liberty

Fellowship of the Ring Day

Guayaquil Day (Ecuador)

Horsetail Day (French Republic)

International FemDom Day

International Save the Vaquita Day

International Security Officers Day

International Self-Care Day

Life Peerage Day (UK)

Midsummer Day (Denmark)

National Day of Motoring

National Drive-Thru Day

National Kebab Day

National Madison Day

National Private Investigator Day

National Seasonal Affective Disorder Awareness Day (UK)

National Thermal Engineer Day

National Water Gun Fight Day

National YOLO Day (Indonesia)

Navy Day (Venezuela)

Pioneer Day (Utah)

Police Day (Poland)

Pop A Wheelie Day

Public Opinion Day

Puzzle Day

Resident Evil Day

Samaritans’ National Awareness Day (UK)

724 Day (Pennsylvania)

Simón Bolívar Day (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador)

Tell an Old Joke Day

Tenjin Matsuri (Japan)

Treaty of Lausanne Anniversary Day

Virtual Love Day

World BDSM Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Instant Coffee Day

National Drink Watermelon Day

National Frozen Margarita Day

National Tequila Day

Pie 'n' Beer Day

Independence & Related Days

Restoration of Democracy Day (Greece)

Tennessee (Readmitted to Union; 1866)

4th Wednesday in July

Bubble Tea Day [3rd Wednesday]

Cat Yoga Day [3rd Wednesday]

Festivals Beginning July 24, 2024

Cinehill Motovun Film Festival (Gorski Kotar, Croatia) [thru 7.28]

Days of '47 Parade (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Gage County Fair (Beatrice, Nebraska) [thru 7.28]

Hood River County Fair (Odell, Oregon) [thru 7.27]

Kotka Maritime Festival (Kotka, Finland) [thru 7.27]

NYC Restaurant Week (New York, New York) [thru 8.20]

Ohio State Fair (Columbus, Ohio) [thru 8.4]

Tenjin Matsuri (Osaka, Japan) [thru 7.25]

Tolminator (Tolmin, Slovenia) [thru 7.28]

Feast Days

Alexandre Dumas (Writerism)

Alex Katz (Artology)

Alphonse Mucha (Artology)

Asalha Puja Day (Buddhism)

Banana Yoshimoto (Writerism)

Boris and Gleb (Christian; Martyrs)

Charbel (Maronite Church/Catholic Church)

Christina the Astonishing (Christian; Saint)

Christina of Bolsena (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Pioneer Day

Cunegundes of Poland (a.k.a. Kings; Christian; Saint)

Day of Bast (Pagan)

Day of Mourning (Orthodox)

Declán of Ardmore (Christian; Saint)

Eugene J. Martin (Artology)

Expensive Hugs Day (Pastafarian)

Feast Day of Vatiaz (Mongolia; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Francis Solano (Christian; Saint)

Jakaba Diena (Ancient Latvian Hay Harvest Festival)

Jilwalla Jinks’ Jamboree (Shamanism)

John Boste (Christian; Saint)

Kinga (a.k.a. Cunegunda) of Poland (Christian; Saint)

Lewine of Britain (Christian; Saint)

Lord Dunsany (Writerism)

Lupus, Bishop of Troyes (Christian; Saint)

Martyrs of Daimiel (Christian; Saint)

Mel Ramos (Artology)

Menefrida of Cornwall (Christian; Saint)

Michaelangelo (Positivist; Saint)

Mourning Day (Greek Orthodox)

The Old Mothering (Celtic Book of Days)

Pat Oliphant (Artology)

Piganini (Muppetism)

Romanus and David of Muscovy (Christian; Martyrs)

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (St. John the Baptist Day; Quebec)

Sigolena of Albi (Christian; Saint)

Sylvester Graham Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Tequila Day (Pastafarian)

Vladimir Borovikovsky (Artology)

Wulfhad and Ruffin (Christian; Martyrs)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Baby Wants a Battle (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1953)

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (Film; 1947)

Begin the Beguine, recorded by Artie Shaw (Song; 1938)

Bewitched Bunny (WB LT Cartoon; 1954)

The Black Cauldron (Disney Animated Film; 1985)

Blow Out (Film; 1981)

Corn on the Cop (WB MM Cartoon; 1965)

Cupid Gets His Man (Rainbow Parade Cartoon; 1936)

Donald’s Gold Mine (Disney Cartoon; 1942)

Existentialism is a Humanism, by Jean-Paul Sartre (Philosophy Book; 1946)

Eye of the Needle (Film; 1981)

Folklore, by Taylor Swift (Album; 2020)

Franken-Stymied (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1961)

Friedenstag (Day of Peace), by Richard Strauss (Opera; 1938)

G-Force (Film; 2009)

High Noon (Film; 1952)

How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You, recorded by Marvin Gaye (Song; 1964)

Jungle Jitters (Ub Iwerks MGM Cartoon; 1934)

La Bamba (Film; 1987)

La Feet’s Defeat (The Inspector Cartoon; 1968)

Le Ball and Chain Gang (The Inspector Cartoon; 1968)

Let’s Get Movin’ (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1936)

The Masks of God, Vol. 1: Primitive Mythology, by Joseph Campbell (Science Book; 1959)

A Maze of Death, by Philip K. Dick (Novel; 1970)

Olivia, by Dorothy Strachey (Novel; 1949)

Paper Towns (Film; 2015)

Pixels (Film; 2015)

Porky’s Bedtime Story (WB LT Cartoon; 1937)

Puddy Pup and the Gypsies (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1936)

Saving Private Ryan (Film; 1998)

Sherlock (BBC TV Series; 2010)

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Film; 1978)

Spring is Here, featuring Farmer Al Falfa (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

Summer School (Film; 1987)

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (Film; 1987)

A Time to Kill (Film; 1996)

Tire Trouble (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Today’s Name Days

Christoph, Christophorus (Austria)

Boris, Kristina, Ljudevit, Mirjana, Sarbelije (Croatia)

Kristýna (Czech Republic)

Christina (Denmark)

Kersti, Kerstin, Kirsti, Krista, Kristel, Kristi, Kristiina, Kristin, Kristina, Rista, Riste (Estonia)

Kiia, Kirsi, Kirsti, Krista, Kristiina, Tiina, Tinja (Finland)

Christine, Ségolène (France)

Christine, Christoph (Germany)

Christina (Greece)

Kincső, Kinga (Hungary)

Cristina (Italy)

Krista, Kristiāna, Kristīne, Krists (Latvia)

Dargvilas, Dargvilė, Kristina, Kristoforas (Lithuania)

Kristi, Kristin, Kristine (Norway)

Antoni, Kinga, Krystyna, Kunegunda, Olga, Wojciecha (Poland)

Elena, Olga (Russia)

Vladimír (Slovakia)

Cristina (Spain)

Kerstin, Kristina (Sweden)

Christine (Ukraine)

Chrissie, Chrissy, Christabel, Christelle, Christene, Christi, Christie, Christine, Christy, Cis, Cissy, Declan, Kirsti, Kirstie, Kirstin, Kirsty, Kristel, Kristie, Kristine (Universal)

Amalia, Amelia, Boris, Chris, Christa, Christen, Christian, Christina, Christine, Christy, Cristina, Cristian, Declan, Kiersten, Kirsten, Krista, Kristian, Kristen, Kristi, Kris (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 206 of 2024; 160 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 30 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 18 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Xin-Wei), Day 19 (Ji-Chou)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 18 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 17 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 26 Red; Fryday [26 of 30]

Julian: 11 July 2024

Moon: 87%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 9 Dante (8th Month) [Michaelangelo]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 1 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 35 of 94)

Week: 4th Week of July

Zodiac: Leo (Day 3 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Thorn (Defense) [Half-Month 14 of 24; Runic Half-Months] (thru 8.7)

[beeeinyourbonnet]

Fic writer asks: 5, 27 & 28!

5. This isn't a fic but--"It wasn’t so bad biking down the highway carrying everything she owned on her back. She liked biking." Also lol just realized it's two sentences. Whatever. Yolo.

27. Drafting!

28. Developmental editing! I am a professional developmental editor but can I take my own advice? No. I cannot. If it's more complicated than adding a sentence here and there or cutting something entirely and nothing more, I am paralyzed x]

[tristan-d-vick]

Slaying it on Kickstarter! A Rookie's Tale

At the risk of sounding egotistical, I just realized...

I'm 4 for 4 in comic book Kickstarters.

I know I'm just a rookie learning the ropes. But to come out swinging and get 4 knock outs on my debut as an unvetted comic book writer / publisher / creator is quite amazing, even if I do say so myself.

I watched 4 friend's Kickstarters crash and burn and not reach their funding goal this month. I felt bad. I don't know what else to say other than study what works. Emulate the trends. Writing and/or drawing great stories is one thing -- but running a Kickstarter is an entirely different beast.

Other than researching, studying, and emulating what works, I have nothing else to add. I mean, that's what I did before running my first Kickstarter.

If someone who had zero knowledge of the platform 2 years ago can run 4 successful campaigns in that time...then so can you!

*Just sitting here patting myself on the back.*

But you only live once, right? YOLO!

Art from The Profane issue #1 by the super-talented EV Cantada

[mardoufox21111]

jucant remember what i wrote last. nothing interesting hs happened anyway. work has been ok, people are ok but always want to have lunch with me and i would prefer to eat it alone. i had a pasta on friday because i thought yolo and it was pretty good. other than that life has been okay. d has been annoying but with work i dont have to see her as often - only on weekends really. which is nice. although still very very annoying. i feel like i am doing a bit better mentally, not having that constantly nagging at me or criticising me. im able to go and get some relief, even though work is boring af. 

i have a job interview on tuesday and it pays 76-80k! which will be the first time ive been able to be in a $$ category that big. i forgot to mention t has almost been as bad as d.. he just throws me under the bus all the time. and is a jerk. he has been trying to cause conflict. he also doesn thave a job. apparently at the end of the month but i thought it ws the 6th. which means all his bs will come back onto me. i hope he doesnt stay home. well i hope i win lotto tonight and can move out. i looked at rental prices to see if i could finally move out with my 80k which is 60 taxed, nope!! everything is 700+ and its not even that good. in other news nothing has happened haha but like i was saying my mind has been ok... without these 2. imagine if i had my own place, i would be excelling. work i have been putting myself out there and speaking to new people. no one has called me quiet at all. would love to win 20k for 20 years. i would wake up, make myself breakfast, go for a walk, maybe work out as well. start writing. have lunch or go somewhere and have lunch. come back, have a nice long bath relax, watch tv, have dinner, watch some more tv or read and relax and sleep. life would be really nice. i am trying to think, after this is done if i do get the 80k job do i keep it for a year or 2 and then just go do something like take a year off work and relax the fuck out. it was my plan all along before when i was on cetnre i was like ill work for a year and then ill take a year off.. write.. enjoy. now you cant get any kind of rental anyway so its kind of impossible. but maybe down south or something. i just know i am more than these meaningless jobs. i know i ccan be a successful writer i just need to give myself the opportunity to do so. i cant do it on weekends because i need to relax, these people drive me nuts.

[ear-worthy]

YOLO Meets FOGO --The "Fear Of Going Outside" Podcast in Season Two

Not everybody is comfortable outdoors. I once went camping and had to watch a YouTube instructional video seven times to assemble the two tents we brought along. I have a friend who went camping to "rough it" and got lost only 500 yards from the campground parking lot where his Ford F-150 truck was parked.

So, it's not completely nuts to develop a podcast where the host is afraid of, well, the outside.

Believe it or not, there's a podcast for that. It's called Fear Of Going Outside. And it began its second season on February 13. 

Fear of Going Outside  (FOGO) is a nature show — by the most reluctant host ever. Most nature shows are hosted by reckless white men, but avid indoors womanIvy Le is an Asian mom with severe allergies. Last season, Ivy conquered camping. She’s back, braving the outdoors to go hunting - or die trying!

In this season, Ivy Lee shares her experience conquering hunting, from the preparation to learning how to find animals in the wild and how to break them down in the field. 

She seeks out the answers to questions “indoor people” ask: why are outdoor clothes so ugly? Who do you call if you break a leg in the wild? And does it smell bad when you skin an animal?

Ivy Le is a Vietnamese American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer based in Austin, Texas. Ivy was selected to be one of the 10 out of 18,000 applicants to go through Spotify’s first Sound Up podcast accelerator for women of color. She co-hosts the only queer comedy mic in Austin, is a producer for Austin Sketch Fest, and performs at comedy festivals all over the country. She speaks Spanish, German, Vietnamese, and English and is a mom of two kids. 

Fear Of Going Outside premiered in May 2021.  Through its ten episodes that ran till August 2021, listeners followed Ivy's journey from indoor cocoon expert to communing with nature in its most basic form. Listeners followed Ivy through therapy, training, a shaky introduction to bugs and plants, and her preparations to finally go camping.

So far in this second season, Ivy has learned about hunting for food and discovered that the 26th president, Teddy Roosevelt, was both a hunter and a conservationist. 

Then Ivy learned about archery and using a bow for hunting. In the episode, Ivy learns about draw weight and draw length with bows.

Ivy then gets fitted for a sleeping bag, and in the latest episode, she butchers an entire hog with chef hunter Jesse Griffiths. 

Check out the second season. It's a delightful mashup of a nature show, a fish out of water tale, the origins of indigenous people in America, and a close-up view of those who love hunting, fishing, camping and just being outside.

Fear of Going Outside is produced by Fearless Squirrel Productions. On the website of FOGO, the podcast communicates this important message to listeners: "Fear of Going Outside iscreated in a space that was and is still home to many Indigenous people. We are grateful for the opportunity to work in the community and on this territory."

Check out Fear of Going Outside for a new episode every Monday.

[sirladysketch]

“Clear the WIP folder!” I told myself. “You’ll be able to start the next big thing with a clear conscience!” I said.

So how is it I’m now figuratively straddling two new fics to bring them to heel and get them postable/submittable by the end of the weekend?

*sigh*