#getting it wrong

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

“Here is a statistic that does matter: Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that “God helps those who help themselves.” That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin's wisdom not biblical; it's counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up.”

― Bill McKibben

[polyamorousmisanthrope]

I had forgotten to delete my Headspace app from my phone. I just got a notification to "Do a quick mental pushup to flex your mindfulness muscle."

I very mindfully, thoughtfully, and with deliberate intent deleted the app. That isn't the place from which I come or the place I want to go with meditation. See? I'm learning!

I can set a timer for however long I want to meditate (usually ten minutes), close my eyes, and focus on my breathing. It's not that I am sorry for learning how to meditate on the app. I really did learn. But the direction the marketers are going with it ain't me, ain't what I want out of it, and I think are kinda contrary to the point.

Heh, then again, I do yoga to be physically flexible and fluidly mobile, which kinda wasn't the original point. So... inconsistent there.

So, here's where I laugh. What if taking a Daily Walk, something that is certainly a part of my culture, but not some Big Thing for Personal Development, was seen by another culture as Some Big Exotic Thing To Do for Personal Development?

Like aliens who saw humans doing it and figured that's where our Space Orc qualities came from? Would there be Teachers and Traditions around that damn half-hour walk? Arguments about Original Intent? Podcasts about How Humans Take a Walk? Special gear marketed for it? Arguments about how 10,000 steps was some sort of Spiritual Advancement?*

(Yeah, I know, that stuff already exists, but imagine it was from a Not-Human culture, if you get me, and how the Aliens might get it wrong in embarrassing and kinda cringy ways).

*10,000 steps was a Japanese marketing scheme to sell pedometers in the 1960s, and again in the US and Europe the 2000s. Sure, sure, if you want to use it as a way to keep yourself mobile and it works for you (it does me) then that's fine, but there's nothing magic about it.

[eatenbyfaeries]

FINALLY. FINALLY. MESSY GAY MAN ROMANCE ON THE BIG ANIMATION. LET'S ROCK. Hell YEAH.

[great-and-small]

Trends on other social media sites:

Try this new dance challenge! Post your glow-up! Get Ready With Me!

Trends on Tumblr:

[andisupreme]

At the company retreat, one extremely drunk girl asked what my pronouns were. (Eventually, it took her a while to word the question.) After the whole conversation was done, she goes- "YEAHHH GURL, Get on with--with THY bad self! See what I did?? They/them/thy."

I was almost holding back tears from trying not to laugh as I told her yes that's great you nailed it honey. Thank you very much I am feeling the love.

Anyway I've been assigned Thee/Thine at Supportive Drunk Girl

[toss-a-coin-to-your-stan-account]

staff: our april fools joke this year is a silly feature that doesn't really do anything but give you a button to boop other users! they have to opt-in first though :)

me:

[mysteriouseggsbenedict]

I love Matilda because it's a story about a child who sees injustice around her and gets mad about it and questions why things aren't fair, and instead of the ending being that she learns how the world works and that life isn't fair, she catapults one of the adults who abused her out of a building with her mind

[kochei0]

I turn to Ares.

Thanks to Tyler Miles Lockett who allowed me to draw inspiration from his ARES piece for page 2! Look at his etsy page it's SICK

⚔️ If you want to read some queer retelling of arturian legends have a look at my webtoon

[clonerightsagenda]

I think this is just a trend everywhere but I've been very frustrated this week by how much admin work is being outsourced to me as the patient/customer.

My orthodontist tells me I can make an appointment with the surgeon. I call the surgeon. They tell me I need a new referral. I call the orthodontist. They do a referral. I call the surgeon. Referral didn't come through. They tell me about their special unique system we have to use. I call the ortho again and walk them through the referral. I call the surgeon. They say the referral was missing some details so they have to do it again. I call the ortho.

The insurance company calls me about repair shops. I give them the name of the repair shop which I already gave them yesterday. They say they're not in their system but I can use them, but I have to call the repair shop to ask them to contact the insurance company. I call the repair shop and they say the insurance company is supposed to email them.

I feel like at a certain point these constant fetch quests become unreasonable?? Is it too much to expect these groups to communicate with each other instead of making me run back and forth between them???

[dramatic-dolphin]

who let biologists play dnd

[cricketcat9]

I’ve been married to an artist who occasionally supplemented the income by designing books covers, and had friends who did. To my knowledge, they were happy with being told “what’s this all about”. My husband was once praised for an abstract cover in olive green, white and magenta, for “capturing the essence of the Polish military history in WWII” 🤷🏼

im dying over this thread of algorithmically-generated/otherwise low-effort Kindle covers

[unsung-idiot]

don't show him modern technology; it won't end well

bonus under the cut:

[mythtakens]

“these characters should be mentally healthy before they get together 😌” ummm no I actually think we should smash their mental illnesses together like clumps of play-doh and see what colors it makes

[coco-wheats]

I just wanted to crosspost this for anyone who isn’t on instagram

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Expertise can't help you here.

[otherside-picnic]

the way "steal" seems to have shifted in people's minds from literally taking an item to depriving someone of potential profit is genuinely kinda sickening