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venussaidso · 3 months

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𝗞𝗲𝘁𝘂 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀 — 𝐍𝐚𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 (part 1) 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏𝟎

disclaimer: spoilers for all movies or shows mentioned.

the warnings: mentions of drug abuse, sexual violence, self-harm, genocide, mental disorders/illnesses, cannibalism and self amputation.

The most interesting theme within all the Ketu nakshatras was one that was unexpected, as it is common to mainly associate Ketu with concepts of disconnection or isolation from society as a whole -- since Ketu is often linked with the 12H. But it is more about the interactions with the unseen forces within society more than anything. Because the 12H also represents the collective's consciousness and all the interconnected energies that come with that which Ketu becomes possessed by. And it is Ashwini that is the most sensitive Ketu nakshatra, as it easily becomes consumed & absorbed by these 12H energies which often leads to chaos and loneliness.

Ashwini nakshatra embodies Nothingness which is the oldest energy in the universe. It's between a space before actualized creation, and after the rise of awareness that's emerged from Nothingness (or the Cosmic Void). It is very fitting that this is the first nakshatra; but it should also be considered the last as it essentially represents the non-duality of Life & Death. This theme is further extended in Bharani and beautifully explored in that nakshatra, but in Ashwini we focus on the spirit's evolution. The energy found in this nakshatra is as undeveloped as it is chaotic, which is why evolution needs to take place -- and this usually involves extreme harsh forces to tame it. It is in Ashwini where there's confusion or lack of self-awareness of one's own identity as energies here become repressed, unconsciously accumulating. I'm going to use some films as examples to explore this point.

First, I'm going to use the most typical Ketu-coded character. Ashwini Moon Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho". This film follows an investment banker who relishes in the wealthy excesses of his superficial lifestyle in which everybody else around him also revels in. His life is empty, mostly revolving around getting into exclusive restaurants, wallowing in designer suits, having a meticulous morning routine etc. There's a pressure in general for conformity and Ashwini is sensitive to these energies which they take up, driving them to compete and also go too far with this -- because it's no longer about conforming anymore. It's become an obsession, and these pressures drive Patrick Bateman into homicidal tendencies as an outlet. This film perfectly encapsulates modern-day consumerisms, and it is of course an Ashwini native who is driven into a descent of madness from this empty, superficial culture he's subjected to.

Nothing can fill up the emptiness inside of him and he knows that. This crippling, painful understanding is what continuously manifests his violent self-hatred and hatred towards others. And this is why he is forever trapped in a cycle of loneliness, as he is surrounded by the same narcissistic, self-absorbed suits who will continue to maintain this soulless, superficial culture.

The movie was adapted from the book with the same name, written by Mula Moon Bret Easton Ellis whose own experiences inspired the book "American Psycho".

Quote from an interview; OregonLive (2010);

"[Patrick Bateman] did not come out of me sitting down and wanting to write a grand sweeping indictment of yuppie culture. It initiated because my own isolation and alienation at a point in my life. I was living like Patrick Bateman. I was slipping into a consumerist kind of void that was supposed to give me confidence and make me feel good about myself but just made me feel worse and worse and worse about myself. That is where the tension of 'American Psycho' came from... It came from a much more personal place."

-- Mula Moon Bret Easton Ellis

Now, onto the movie "Fight Club", which was directed by Magha Sun David Fincher, and stars Magha Sun Edward Norton and Mula Sun Brad Pitt.

The most highlighted character from this film, played by Brad Pitt, is Tyler Durden, who plans on making a revolution to destroy the hyper-capitalistic, materialistic superficial culture that we saw destroy Patrick Bateman from the inside in "American Psycho".

(video - ��)

Of course, just like Ashwini Moon Patrick Bateman took his obsessive consumerism too far; Mula Sun Tyler Durden lays on the opposite spectrum -- aiming to destroy modern society by blowing up all credit card companies and ruining the world's economy. Mula is related to destruction as it is ruled by Nirriti, the goddess of destruction. The oppressive forces that weigh on this Mula character, Tyler Durden, causes him into a spiral for freedom (9H), using extremities and acts of terrorism to be rid of ego/society. Whereas Ashwini, having no solid identity and just being undeveloped in nature, is more likely to conform; but so long as Ketu is there, there will always be an emptiness in the ambitious pursuit of things. Ashwini can grant excess wealth and fame, but with no inner fulfillment or balance, you see characters like Patrick Bateman. Or Daniel Plainview from "There Will Be Blood".

A movie directed by Paul Thomas Anderson who has Ketu in Magha, and stars Ashwini Moon, Mula Ascendant Daniel Day Lewis who portrays Daniel Plainview. Plainview is more Ashwini, as he is an extremely ambitious, capitalistic and competitive oilman.

His pursuit for wealth and power leads him to personal loneliness, isolation and emptiness -- we see how Ketuvians become so drained and eaten alive by the energies they absorb in the pursuit of things. Similarly to Patrick Bateman, he not only hates others but himself and wishes for no one to succeed in life.

(click on the gif(s) if they're buffering lmao, i swear they're cheap)

His primal competitiveness and self-loathing even drives away his only family -- his only child. His adult son means to do his own oilrig business and cuts his partnership with him. But Plainview's unchecked ambition shows that even after attaining success and power, he literally goes ahead to disown his own son as he considers him competition now. And now he extends the same hatred he has for others to him. Further isolating himself; this validating his deep sense of loneliness that was always there with his self-loathing.

The film ends in an Ashwini fashion; in which Plainview goes into a psychotic meltdown and murders someone who he has had a long stewing hatred for.

(YouTube clip by me - 🎧)

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I wanted to provide a brilliant video from the YouTuber "The Vile Eye", who explored the dark nature of this character; because it perfectly illustrates Ashwini nakshatra in a twisted way -- especially in how Aries in this segment is influenced by Ketu forces. Everything about this character is every Aries stereotype you can think of from the top of your head, but Ketu exaggerates it to the point of extremity and tragedy.

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Amazing video for anyone who wants to understand Ashwini at its extreme which can manifest in real life of course.

Now in the series "Peaky Blinders", which I quickly wanted to mention, stars Ashwini Moon Cillian Murphy whose character faces moral dilemmas, as his relentless pursuit of power contributes to his moral ambiguity.

His ruthless ambition to become the most powerful in the criminal underworld is something I couldn't help but relate it back to Ashwini's drive & competitiveness.

The movie "Scarface" stars Ashwini Sun Al Pacino who plays Tony Montana. And fun fact, Tony Montana is loosely based and inspired by the real-life figure, Al Capone, who was literally a goddamn Ashwini Moon. So, I say Scarface is a fucking Ashwini movie.

Both Tony Montana and Al Capone had unchecked ambitions and an unrelenting desire for power. In Ashwini, extreme power can be attained, and we saw how Tony Montana quickly rose to it (as Ashwini is the Star of Transport and it is associated with Shidhra Vyapani Shakti which translates to 'The Power to Quickly Reach Things'). Similarly, Al Capone was also driven by the desire for power and he attained it.

Like Daniel Plainview in "There Will Be Blood", Tony Montana starts to experience isolation after all of his achievements. His chaotic behaviour contributes to his alienation, and he starts to feel intensifying loneliness, which seems to be a theme with this nakshatra. And this film also ends in Ashwini fashion; with absolute chaos, the psychotic unraveling of Tony and of course death.

I wanted to also add in the movie "Nightcrawler" which stars Mula Sun Jake Gyllenhaal who plays a character willing to go to the extreme lengths for success and personal achievement, to the point of exploiting others and not giving two fucks about ethical boundaries.

He has a distorted view of success and has an unchecked, ruthless ambition which is common in Ketu nakshatras. He is also a socially isolated character, behaving inappropriately as he is disconnected from social norms. He lacks zero empathy. In his obsessive & relentless pursuit of success, he is devoid of humanity. Had to mention this film because these themes are not exclusive to Ashwini.

But as I did mention, Mula is more likely to be aware of societal pressures and these natives often feel deeply disturbed by them -- while Ashwini is more focused on the Self, as it's ruled by the 1H. In the film "Falling Down", Mula Moon Michael Douglas plays a character who has become disillusioned and is now aware of the pressures and oppression caused by the modern-day life. This movie is literally directed by Magha Sun Joel Schumacher.

He confronts many issues such as homelessness and crime, which are heavily rooted in the greedy, capitalistic system of modern society. But he becomes violent and chaotic himself, going into a descent to madness (from absorbing the energies felt by the collective who also feel the weight of these oppressive forces within society). This movie deals with the consequences of unchecked rage, a theme shared in all Ketu nakshatras.

The film "Taxi Driver", which stars Magha Sun Robert De Niro and is directed by Magha Ascendant Martin Scorsese, depicts a man who suffers from extreme loneliness, alienation from society, and struggles with existential crisis. The film explores social decay; such as social disparities, the disillusionment of our main character to society's ills, crime, poverty etc. He goes into a descent into vigilantism, using violence as a catharsis which is a common thing for these Ketu nakshatras (mainly Magha and Mula as it looks at societal frustrations and the emptiness in life/modern culture).

The character also suffers from a possible case of untreated mental illness, and insomnia -- and this seems to be a theme with all Ketu nakshatras in general.

Another film where the main character suffers from extreme insomnia is "The Machinist", starring Ashwini Moon Christian Bale whose character's insomnia and untreated mental illness literally contribute to his isolation and alienation.

will be coming back to this film in my part 2 post

And the film "Fight Club", in which Magha Sun Edward Norton plays an insomniac character who has dissociative identity disorder. And his split personality is interestingly played by Mula Sun Brad Pitt.

Then we have the film "Insomnia", directed by Ketu in Magha Christopher Nolan, starring Ashwini Sun Al Pacino who plays an insomniac detective who faces some mental challenges.

There is a spiritual belief about insomnia, which suggests that there may be a disturbance in one's spirit; unresolved issues that have been long suppressed can be linked to an imbalance of energy within the body. This causes restlessness and more mental problems. This could make sense as Ketu and the 12H deal with what is unconscious -- and how that tends to be our deep, rooted traumas and the way in which they affect us & those around us. And not just traumas, could just be repression of one's own internal suffering from either loneliness or external pressures. We see this with Patrick Bateman, whose only outlet is literal murder, or Tyler Durden's 'revolutionary' fight club causing more destruction around him as planned. Both characters violently act out from these unaddressed decaying energies within themselves and from within society.

The series "Sharp Objects", directed by Magha Moon Jean-Marc Vallé, mostly deals with family traumas, but also shows how those traumas and unresolved energies literally cause death and chaos around them.

Camille Preaker, who is played by Magha Sun Amy Adams, is deeply traumatized and troubled. She has a history of self-harm and has many scars on her body; her self-destructive behaviour is a coping mechanism for what happened when she was young (sexual violence by a group of boys and witnessing the slow, painful and preventative death of her sister). Then we have her younger half-sister Amma, played by Magha Moon Eliza Scanlen, who has a hidden dark side that has been shaped by the family's troubled history and generational trauma. By the end of the series, we find out that Amma is the killer of the violent murders that have shocked the townspeople of Wind Gap. It is Amma who is responsible for all of the gruesome deaths of the girls whose teeth were removed. As Camille's coping mechanism is cutting herself as self-punishment for all the guilt she harbours from the death of her sister, Amma literally commits homicidal acts. All of this connecting to just how messed up, and complex, their trauma and the community they grew up in is. And then we have their mother, played by Mula Moon Patricia Clarkson, who has Munchausen syndrome and is responsible for the death of her oldest daughter. Camille was a witness to her sister's suffering and death, and she sees her mother as a monster and now her little sister is an extension of her. This series is such a good example of how our own personal unchecked traumas affect others, especially those who aren't involved. And how much destruction can be caused, as we see with Amma killing other girls as an 'outlet'. This is why I now realize how wrong I was about Ketu, as Ketu is not necessarily about isolating from society. Regarding society, Ketu will be the complex yet intricate unaddressed/rotting energies within society, and it always relates back to individuals' personal generational traumas. It makes sense that Magha relates to ancestry roots and origins of oneself, even the origins of one's trauma.

Now onto the film "Nocturnal Animals", which is directed by Magha Sun Tom Ford, stars Magha Sun Amy Adams and Mula Sun Jake Gyllenhaal.

Amy Adams plays Susan who is a successful art gallery owner. She receives a manuscript for a novel called Nocturnal Animals sent to her by her ex-husband Edward who's played by Jake Gyllenhaal. The book is extremely violent & tragic; but it actually turns out to be a symbolic reflection of their relationship and marriage. Bringing in the Ketu themes of unresolved trauma and getting to the roots of it (Mula theme). This book serves to make Susan confront how much of her actions fucked him up. The movie focuses on the confronting of one's past, telling of how trauma will still continue to shape the lives of those involved. And the movie shows that even Susan still has unresolved issues just by her repulsed reactions to extreme parts of the novel.

The movies "Split" and "Glass", stars two Ashwini Suns, Anya Taylor Joy and James McAvoy. McAvoy's character, Kevin, has dissociative personality disorder and these different personalities exist to keep him safe. His trauma is so extreme and deeply painful that it manifested into the creation of The Beast, the most dangerous and superhuman personality. Three kidnapped girls are prey to The Beast as they end up being devoured by it but there is only one doesn't fall victim to him -- and that's Anya Taylor Joy's character Casey.

The reason why she doesn't fall victim is because she, too, has suffered extreme trauma and her resilience through it is what creates an immediate connection with Kevin. It is when The Beast sees her scars that he calls her pure, implying that those who have been damaged are the ones who are truly evolved.

(YouTube clip by me - 🎧)

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Also, "Split" is another example of how deeply repressed energies and traumas of one can ruin everything around them and victimize those close to the Ketuvians (usually uninvolved people's lives being violently taken; "Split", "Sharp Objects", "American Psycho", "Falling Down" etc.).

Ashwini Moon Zendaya in the series "Euphoria" plays a character, Rue, who has been through a significant amount of trauma, including the passing of her father. She uses self-destructive ways to cope with her deep emotional pain and grief, very similarly to Magha Sun Amy Adams's character in "Sharp Objects". Rue uses drugs to numb herself from her harsh realities. There is a moment in the series in which she has a chaotic meltdown.

(YouTube clip by me - 🎧)

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Something I now understand with Ashwini is how explosive, volatile and scary its ungrounded energy can be -- exactly why I'd commonly associate it with hysterical meltdowns which can lead to accidental or unplanned homicidal acts or other forms of harm/self-harm. This scene of Rue is vaguely taking me back to Ashwini Moon Christian Bale's spiraling and meltdowns in "American Psycho".

(YouTube clip by me - 🎧)

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Ketu, especially with Magha, seems to cause erratic behaviours when its natives aren't purified of their long-accumulated baggage in their unconsciousness -- exactly why the 8H is also ruled by Ketu as Scorpio shares this particular theme. As long as there is deep disturbance and imbalance in the body, there is no rest for the soul -- even for future incarnations to come.

But now, I want to touch on the senseless harshness of Ketu. Remember, this energy embodies the eternal sucking void. Mula nakshatra relates to the center of the cosmic void and goes straight into the roots of it. Ashwini has already risen from it, while Mula is centering itself back into it. Mula is where we seek an awakening to the truth of what is behind reality. What is on the other side of the cosmic void? Truth is searched in Mula, but it seems that it is Ashwini that understands that chaos is the absolute truth of reality. There is no meaning to anything, which sounds nihilistic, but it is what makes life beautiful.

In the film "The Pianist", written & directed by Magha Sun Roman Polanski, starring Ashwini Sun Adrien Brody, starts out quite warm with a well-put together family and a handsome talented Ashwini man who dreams of being a pianist. But things take a drastic turn. We see a once bright-eyed boy turn into the shell of the person he once was after going through such harrowing events, and things just keep getting tragically worse and worse until there is not even a sliver of hope anymore. The majority of the film is literally just despair, senseless cruelty, and the protagonist's soul slowly becoming annihilated.

I've never watched a film more Ketuvian than this; surrounded by genocide, death and being completely isolated while being eaten by one's own lonely misery.

One moment you think one character is going to make it out alive somehow because they have the conviction and drive to survive, but the film immediately takes that idea away as they helplessly die. You think the protagonist is going to see some light, and the film even makes you slightly comfortable in some moments given the harsh realities, but you witness just how everything remains tragic. There are no answers to any prayers, as suffering is just ongoing. This tonality creates another layer of feeling trapped, and you watch as the character just lets life do whatever it wants to him as he is trapped in a world where he is helpless anyway. With Ketu, you realize that there was never any security or answers to this senseless chaos in this world to begin with.

But his survival at the end makes you question why he even went through all of that. There was no lesson to be taken from such a tragic, horrifying experience. Why did his other friends and family die but not him? In the end, he became a successful pianist as he dreamt of from the beginning. He was exceptionally talented from the start; these events took everything away from him except his passion for the piano. What he went through was senseless, as Ketu has no prime motivation. Saturn will push you through the worst so that you can reach a level where you can now attain all of your reaped rewards, Ketu doesn't care for what you get in the end -- that's Rahu's objective, as Rahu deals with ego; Ketu deals with the evolution of one's soul and that usually involves its annihilation.

The kdrama "Save Me", stars three Ketu natives; Magha Moon Seo Yea-ji, Mula Moon Woo Do-hwan and Mula Sun Ok Taec-yeon. It follows Seo Yeah-ji's character, Sang-mi, and her family after moving into a new town. They become influenced and entangled by a religious cult. Sang-mi becomes aware of just how oppressive and dangerous the cult is when she & her family literally lose all control to them. Sang-mi's attempts to escape become futile, as she remains trapped under the oppressive abuse of the cult, turning her more into a shell of the person she once was.

(The Mula male characters are the ones who find out about the Magha girl's whereabouts, and they plan to save her and her family from the clutches of the cult.)

She witnesses extremely harrowing events, and the drama makes you feel the sense of hopelessness that she's feeling -- trapped and completely helpless no matter how much she tries to save herself and family. There is a similar sense of hopelessness and lose of one's own identity found in "The Pianist", but in this drama it's more about extreme involuntary isolation from society (which I will be expanding on in part 2 of this exploration).

The film "Society of the Snow" is literally directed by Ashwini Moon J.A. Bayona, based on real life events. There's a documentary based on these events as well, "Stranded: I've Come From A Plane That Crashed On The Mountains", directed by Magha Moon Gonzalo Arijon.

Now, in the "Society of the Snow", there is a tone of hopelessness set in the film because of the gruesome reality that these characters (based on real life people) experience. And never in their lifetime did they think that everything was going to change so drastically from just living the average life of normal teenage boys. These characters, who were in a rugby team, get on a plane that would soon crash onto glacier surrounded by endless cold harsh mountains -- with just a piece of the wrecked plane remaining in which they take shelter in. The protagonists are surrounded by the dead bodies of friends who did not survive the crash, and now they must spend the first night in harsh coldness while many are severely injured. They couldn't even sleep, the first night being spent with many of them crying and wailing out loud, nearly freezing to death. One day after, a rescue helicopter searches for them, and they all scream out for help. But the helicopter misses them as they're barely noticeable under all the glacier that surrounds them. This is when the sense of hopelessness and despair kicks in and intensifies as the story progresses. Now that chances of being rescued have completely fallen to zero, they realize that they can't ignore their growing hunger anymore. They all have no choice but to eat the flesh of the dead bodies after running out of chocolates. We see how these decisions mentally challenge some of the characters. It is truly tragic as they were stranded, isolated from the world and completely in despair in every waking day, for a span of 72 days.

After being rescued, we see just how malnourished they were from the looks of their bodies. They come back home bone-skinny and weak. And the monologue in the ending scene tells us how the survivors wondered; "Why didn't we all get to come back [home]?" "What is the meaning of it all?" These are the questions asked when we observe these raw Ketu events.

Ashwini Moon J.A. Bayona also made the film "The Impossible", which is about survival and resilience -- based on real life events. Much like "Society of the Snow", it also has a sense of complete despair and there is an involuntary separation of a family (which reminds me of "The Pianist" in which Ashwini Sun Adrien Brody's character is also separated from his family in the story).

"Nothing is more powerful than the human spirit" it writes on the poster.

"Nowhere", is directed by Ashwini Moon Albert Pintó, a survival thriller about a pregnant woman who finds herself isolated from society as she's drifting in the sea trapped inside a container. Because of her newborn baby, she is forced to survive and protect her child even when there is no hope. The reason why she's even in the container is because she was fleeing a society of a dystopian future in which women & children are caged and murdered (Ketu's oppressive forces and her attempt to run away from them leads her to total isolation which is another manifestation of Ketu).

And we also have the film "127 Hours", directed by Ashwini Moon Danny Boyle, starring Ashwini Sun James Franco who plays Aron Ralston whose right arm becomes trapped against the canyon wall when he was on a solo canyoneering trip. When he is unable to release himself, we realize the severity of his situation. He is completely isolated and alone. His own supplies running out and he's losing his mind. The struggle for survival and one's own helplessness is a theme of Ashwini nakshatra as this eventually drives one into taking extreme measures for freedom -- as the audience sees him resorting to cutting his own arm off.

These themes seem to speak of the power and resilience of the human spirit, as emphasized in "The Impossible" and "Society of the Snow". Our ability to survive even just our own personal traumas must be a testament to our spirit being an extension of the Higher Power which is behind the happenings of all of these senseless yet significant experiences and events we go through.

It is in Ashwini that one's experience through harsh forces contributes to the spirit's evolution after total annihilation, which leads us on the path towards moksha. This is particularly why I state that Ashwini must be the last nakshatra, in my opinion of course.

Ketu is very pure by nature, and it wants to destroy impurities. The repression of one's accumulated dirt can manifest in destructive tendencies, this being a misdirected flow of Ketu energies wanting to express the very raw forces we're wired to run away from. By facing one's true inner self and embracing your entirety is how you embrace Ketu in general. But one must go deep and inward. All three Ketu nakshatras deal with getting to the roots for this reason.

Ashwini is ruled by the Ashwini Kumaras, gods of medicine and healing. Also known as divine physicians. In order to heal, one must get to the root of all disturbances in order to create the perfect medicine to heal. As Ashwini is ruled by the 1H, this does involve getting into the roots of oneself for self-liberation. Magha, on the other hand, is about tracing your own existence back to the consciousness of others -- usually family members and ancestors. Magha relates to generational trauma and shining light on that in order to be freer. Mula is symbolized by the roots of a tree, and 'mula' translates to 'roots'. It signifies ancestry roots as well, but mostly the truth. Mula is where disillusionment takes place as one gets directly into the roots of everything; going right into the galactic center -- which can also signify going right into the roots of our demons and letting all of that rotting energy burn from your body. And after this purification process, one's consciousness raises by default.

Ashwini has strong, undeveloped energies which can be tamed and grounded to be properly channeled -- in order for this to be achieved, one must let go of poisonous impurities so that they're no longer controlled/possessed by unseen forces. It is in Ashwini that we expand on the interconnection of the collective consciousness being tight, as this was secretly discovered in Uttara Bhadrapada and remembered in Revati. Ashwini nakshatra is extremely sensitive to outward energies, as are the rest of the Ketu nakshatras. Every individual's consciousness is affecting the whole world somehow. This being a Ketu theme in general describes the whole energetic field of the world and how we each play a part in it and affect each other's lives. As all Ketu nakshatras deal with getting into the roots of things, we must get dirty by digging into our own roots which are connected to the reasons for our layers of repressed emotions such as rage, numbness, resentment, hatred and grief which are commonly harboured in Ketu natives. These unconscious emotions, which form our Shadow Self, contribute to how we interact with the world and other people -- and there's always that capacity to harm or further traumatize others because of our own unchecked, hidden troubles. Mula also perfectly shows how all of the complex, interconnected traumas of everyone else are intertwining and creating more chaos and confusion in society; and the disillusionment to how the oppressive systems of society are just breeding more of these pains & troubles -- which in turn, in Ketu fashion, demonstrates just how trapped everyone is.

Continued in Part 2 of this exploration

#ashwini #aries #magha #leo #mula #sagitarrius #1st house #5th house #9th house #vedic astrology #astro observations #astrology #sidereal astrology #nakshatra series #vedic observations #sidereal observations #Youtube

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daimonclub · 4 months

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Christmas holidays

Merry Christmas holiday time Christmas holidays, customs, story, and traditions in Anglo speaking countries, an article that explains the origin and development of this great Christian feast, with some quotes and useful links. Christmas it seems to me is a necessary festival; we require a season when we can regret all the flaws in our human relationships: it is the feast of failure, sad but consoling. Graham Greene Christmas Eve is my favorite... I think the anticipation is more fun than anything else. I kind of lost that. The idea that something - food, traditions, an arbitrary date on the calendar - can be special because we decide it should be. We make it special. Not just for ourselves, but for others. Kiersten White I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year. As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year. And thus I drift along into the holidays - let them overtake me unexpectedly - waking up some find morning and suddenly saying to myself: 'Why, this is Christmas Day! Ray Stannard Baker I have always thought of Christmas-time... as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. Charles Dickens Let the children have their night of fun and laughter. Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures before we turn again to the stern task and the formidable years that lie before us, resolved that, by our sacrifice and daring, these same children shall not be robbed of their inheritance or denied their right to live in a free and decent world. Winston Churchill Christmas Holiday Christmas is undoubtedly the most important festival of the year. It is the celebration of the birthday of Christ. Christmas means "mass", or church service, for Christ. The abbreviation Xmas derives from the Greek letter X that was used as a symbol for Christ by early Christians. For most boys and girls these celebrations mean preparing the Christmas tree, singing carols, pantomime, the church service in the late evening, the sumptuous dinner at midday with the whole family and, of course, Santa Claus, the smiling old man with the beard who slides down the chimney during the night to bring presents for the children. These Christmas traditions are losing their religious and traditional aspect and are becoming more consumistic. This is happening in both the English-speaking countries and in the rest of the world.

Christmas nativity advent of Jesus Xmas yesterday To children Xmas means the season of joy, of family and of presents. Its festivities mark the magic moment of the whole year. The children of the English-speaking countries still feel Christmas this way, while the adults seem to have turned it into a festival of consumerism. Children still delight in preparing the Christmas tree, a fir tree which is decorated with small, brightly-coloured lights and glass ornaments. Their feast still has a "Carol Service" consisting of Xmas hymns and readings from a Bible. Xmas Eve is probably even nicer than Christmas itself. Before going to bed, children prepare the "old sock" at the foot of the bed in which Santa Claus will place the presents during the night. On Christmas day, after the church service, the family gathers around the tree. They open the presents and then they sit down to the traditional dinner. Later, the children go and see a pantomime, a kind of comedy play with singing and dancing based on a well-known fairy story or folk story such as Cinderella, Robin Hood, etc. This wonderful feast will last twelve days and nights up to the Epifany. Xmas today In Great Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia, etc., in families without children, Xmas is constantly becoming less a feast of love and more and more a consumer festival. Maybe we should speak of a religion of consumerism. Christmas trees have multiplied and have become bigger and more brightly lit. Around them are parcels of presents, lots of them. Even Santa Claus - whose name derives from St Nicolaus or Nicholas - has changed. He is no longer the little old man coming from the North Pole on his sleigh, but a cheery, rosy-cheeked gentleman sitting at the entrance of department stores to attract customers. Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, has therefore changed from children's dream to buyers attraction. Even Christmas dinner seems to have changed. The enormous turkey sitting on the table proves this as do also all the bottles of wine. Of Christmas - the one with traditions and family love - there seems to be left only the name. Christmas in New York New York is not only inhabited by rich people. The contrast between lights, warmth and wealth, represented by Santa Claus and his gifts, and the world of the poor and homeless is highlighted during the Christmas period. New York shines with lights at Christmas. The brightest part of the city is the Rockefeller Center, with its enormous Christmas Tree and its ice rink where skaters may have fun in the chilly New York winter. All towns are full of lights during Christmas-time and on New Year's Day. But New York is brighter that any other city: the Catholic traditions of the Irish, the Polish and the Italians have mixed with the Orthodox traditions of Slays and Greeks, and with those of the white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, so that all Christians (and non-Christians as well) participate in the Holy Night. St Nicholas Story They bring happiness St Nicholas was the bishop of the Italian town Bari. He was a very good and generous man. He died in December and parents started giving gifts' to their children on the anniversary of his death, in order to remind them of the saint's generosity. At the end of the Roman Era and during the Middle Ages, Europe was far more united than we can imagine: pilgrims' travelled to sanctuaries, scholars' went from one university to another - and so St Nicholas, or Nicolaus , became known all over Europe. And in northern Europe Santa Claus, who brings gifts during the Christmas period, is still St Nicholas from Bari with his new northern name. Yet, in the original Celtic tradition there were two other people who brought gifts during winter. Of course you know them. One is the Italian Befana, who is a good witch on her way back from the witches' Sabbath. The others were the tiny' gnomes from northern Europe, who lived in old trees in the forests. They also wore a big red hood'. A little girl who spoke to wolves' and walked in the forest wearing a red hood and carrying gifts is no doubt known to you: Little Red Riding Hood. CHRISTMAS DAY December 25th (Conversations) It is 1.30 on Christmas Day and the Browns are eating their Christmas dinner. Mrs Brown's father is carving the turkey and Mrs Brown is serving ... Mrs Brown: I hope the turkey's cooked properly, Father. Father: It looks fine to me. Mrs Brown: Will you have ham and sausages with your turkey, Barbara? Barbara: Yes, please, Mum. Mrs Brown: And bread sauce? Barbara: Yes. Mrs Brown: And chestnut stuffing? Barbara: Oh yes - I'll have everything. Mrs Brown: Here you are then. Barbara: It looks delicious. Pass the gravy, please, David. Mrs Brown: Don't wait for us, Barbara. Start yours or it'll get cold. Now, David, what'll you have? ... ... And after the main course the Browns had Christmas pudding with brandy butter, mince pies with cream followed by nuts and fruit and coffee. Then they all pulled crackers. Inside each cracker there was a coloured paper hat, a joke and a small toy - a whistle or a doll perhaps. After such a large meal - and a lot of washing-up they all settled down to watch the Queen on television. (A Christmas Day programme in which The Queen speaks to the Commonwealth.) In the evening they went carol singing with the church choir and visited an old people’s home. This is one of the carols they sang: I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day, on Christmas Day. I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day in the morning. And what was in those ships all three, / On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day? And what was in those ships all three, /On Christmas Day in the morning? Our Saviour Christ and His lady,/ On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day; Our Saviour Christ and His lady, / On Christmas Day in the morning. Write wish messages on some Christmas Cards. If you were invited to Christmas dinner with the Browns what would you like to eat? What would you say to Mrs Brown? Christmas in Scotland Mr Rogers is on the phone to a restaurant in Scotland. - Hello. Mees restaurant. - Hello. My name is Rogers. I'm spending a few days in Scotland for Christmas. Is it possible to reserve a table for Christmas dinner? - Yes, Mr Rogers. How many of you are there going to be? - Four. I've heard you serve traditional Scottish dinner. Do you? - Of course. May I have your full name and... (fades) Pudding The Jones are having their Christmas dinner. - How did you like the pudding? - It was great. Fantastic. - Do you want some more, Mary? - Well... yes, please. Just a little bit, though. - OK. Here you are. - That's enough, thank you. - What about you, John? Would you like some more? - Oh, no, thank you. It's got more calories than... than a volcano! Friends Mary meets Joey the day before Christmas. - Joey! Hi. Merry Christmas! - Merry Christmas, Mary. How's it going? I haven't seen you around these days. - I had a bout of flu! - Oh, poor thing... - But I'm all right now. Well, I'm in a bit of a hurry... Oh... Happy New Year! - The same to you! Hangover It's New Year's Day. John is walking the dog and he meets his friend Charles. - Hello, Charles. Happy New Year. - Happy New Year. Gosh, John: you look miserable. - I know. It's a hangover. I had too much Italian wine last night. - It always happens when one's used to beer. - But they think beer is not good enough for New Year's Eve. So the friends who invited us served wine. And we had brought some port as a present... and now I'm dying! - Come on! Tomorrow you'll be OK. - I hope so...

London Christmas lights decorations Holiday time The Christmas season, also called the festive season, the holiday season (mainly in the U.S. and Canada), or simply the holidays, is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and Western-influenced countries that is generally considered to run from late November to early January. It is defined as incorporating at least Christmas, and usually New Year, and sometimes various other holidays and festivals. It also is associated with a period of shopping which comprises a peak season for the retail sector (the "Christmas (or holiday) shopping season"), and a period of sales at the end of the season (the "January sales"). Christmas window displays and Christmas tree lighting ceremonies when trees decorated with ornaments and light bulbs are illuminated, are traditions in many areas. In the denominations of Western Christianity, the term "Christmas season" is considered synonymous with Christmastide, a term associated with Yuletide, which runs from December 25 (Christmas Day) to January 5 (Epiphany Eve), popularly known as the 12 Days of Christmas. However, as the economic impact involving the anticipatory lead-up to Christmas Day grew in America and Europe into the 19th and 20th centuries, the term "Christmas season" began to become synonymous instead with the traditional Christian Advent season, the period observed in Western Christianity from the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day until Christmas Day itself. The term "Advent calendar" survives in secular Western parlance as a term referring to a countdown to Christmas Day from the beginning of December. And now enjoy some proverbs on Christmas: If I could wish a wish for you, it would be for peace and happiness not only now, but for the whole year through! Catherine Pulsifer, Christmas is more than just presents, it's love and harmony. Julie Hebert Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas every day. Helen Steiner Rice Christmas can't be bought from a store ... Maybe Christmas means a little bit more. Dr.Seuss Christmas comes but once a year. Proverb, (Italian) At Christmas the day stretches out of a rooster's step! Proverb, (Italian) But when it comes it brings good cheer. Proverb Read also our other posts on Christmas ; Christmas quotes ; 60 great Christmas quotes ; Christmas tree origin and quotes ; Traditional Christmas Carols ; Christmas jokes ; Christmas cracker jokes ; Christmas food ; Christmas thoughts ; Christmas story ; Christmas in Italy ; Christmas holidays ; Christmas songs ; Christmas poems ; An Essasy on Christmas by Chesterton ; International Days List ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT_ug0mFdoo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT_PX9E_3-o Read the full article

#Australia #Bible #canada #carols #celebration #children #Christmas #Christmas-time #church #eve #festival #GreatBritain #human #joy #NewYork #relationships #SantaClaus #Scotland #singing #USA

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alwaysrememberjesus · 1 year

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God’s Greatest Gift

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.” — Luke 2v10-11

Do you have a special childhood Christmas memory? I have many, but some of my favorite memories were the sleepless, adrenaline-filled nights: wrestling with my weariness, watching the clock, and allowing my imagination to present a perpetual carousel of awaiting gifts. Expectation captivated my mind and body until the early morning sunrise stirred my shallow sleep. Without prompting, and with unyielding anticipation, I huddled around the colorful, carefully wrapped packages, wondering what gifts were for me.

For centuries, prophets, priests, and kings foretold of the promised Messiah. Year after year, they prayerfully anticipated His arrival. On that first Christmas night, an angel announced the Messiah’s arrival and the world changed forever. During this Christmas season, don’t allow busyness, consumerism, or even familiarity to distract you from anticipating and celebrating God’s greatest gift – clothed in humility and fragile flesh – Jesus, our Messiah.

Have you forgotten the spectacular splendor of this gracious gift? Reflect on the lyrics of the song “How Many Kings”:

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones? How many lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? How many Gods have poured out their hearts To romance a world that has torn all apart? How many fathers gave up their sons for me? Only one did that for me….

May the miracle and majesty of God’s greatest gift captivate your heart with renewed anticipation and expectation. May His presence resonate in your spirit throughout this Christmas season and the coming year.

#devotional #god #jesus #christ #holy spirit #bible #scripture #christianity #faith #ministry #prayer #praise #worship #love #grace #Christian #Christmas #peace #daily devotional #daily devotion

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addie-henderson · 1 year

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Happy Valentine's babes hope you like it 🤞🏾

Michael Dipnicky; cw- blowjobs, face fucking, public/exhibition (kinda)

There was a firm knock on you dorm room door. You glance at the clock, 9 a.m. who could be at your door at nine in the morning. You frown and push yourself quietly away from your studying careful not to wake your roommate who's first class wasn't until well after noon. You peek through the peephole and spot the top of a head full of curls and your stomach swirls in excitement. You open the door wide to find your boyfriend leant against the frame and assortment of things him his hands and by his feet. He'd said he wasn't planning anything for today.

'its just another commercial consumerism holiday. It doesn't really mean anything.' maybe he had seen the look of sadness at the sentiment because he stood with at least 4 matching pink gift boxes and a basket in front of you. "Hey" he muttered almost embarrassed. You press your hand over your mouth to hold in a squeal of excitement. "Michael...but you said...I thought-" you stumble. "I know what I said but can you let me in before I drop everything." He grumbled.

"right Im just..." You step to the side to let him in. "Be quiet my roommate is sleeping."

He tsk's in annoyance but hands you a small pink box first after setting the rest down, "Open it."

You do as told taking the lid off the box and moving the thin white paper to find a beautiful necklace.

"O-oh... Mikey-" you look up at him and back to your box. It was a pretty white gold with a simple charm of a heart locket. "Will you put it on for me?"

He takes the box from your hand pulling the necklace out as you turn your back to him. His warm fingers and the cold metal both graze your skin making you shiver, "I didn't get you anything" you frown

"I know. I didn't want you to."

"But-" he cuts you off handing you a basket next, now that you got a clearer view you could see the carefully array of fruit bouquet.

"Ooo food." You perk up moving the clear wrap for a strawberry meekly becoming excited for the rest of your gifts you peek at him through your eyelashes. "...what else?"

He snorts and hands you one after the other of the remaining 5 boxes. A new outfit, a tiara, earrings to match your necklace, and all of it made you thrilled. While he watched on with nothing of his own to open. You kiss him sweetly and his hand faintly touches your check.

"Thank you." You mutter placing your hand between the two of you onto his thigh.

This was nerve wracking. Your heart slammed in your chest as you smile at him. He'd been so thoughtful something he wasn't very often he deserved this. You unbutton his nice slacks sinking down on your knees in front of him pulling them roughly down with you, visibly shocking Michael as his eyes cut across the room to your sleeping roommate. His hand sat palm open against the edge of your bed, his own way of keeping calm and quiet

"Thank you again for all my presents, Mikey." You hum politely as you run the tip of your finger down up his thigh and up into the band of his boxers. His cock was semi hard already, enough for you to get a good grasp of it in your hand it looked kind of cute when it wasn't as big as you were used to with it's soft pink tip and stray freckles. You kiss the tip of it gingerly. "Thank you so very much."

His eyes widen as you lick the underside of his dick feeling it grow in your palm, causing a little giggle "There he is." You shuffle on your knees and take the tip of him in your warm mouth and swirl your tongue around it causing him to shiver. You fight the urge to smile at the fact that you'd reduced rich bad ass Michael to shivering at your touch and slide your mouth down the rest of him inviting him into the back of your throat, careful not to gag too loud around his dick in your mouth. Bouncing head up and down his length patiently waiting for his release. He whimpered, a rare sound, and placed a firm hand onto the back of your head pushing you down on his cock faster his hips give small fast flutters to meet your new forced pace. Your pussy flutters around nothing as he fucks your face brutally, claiming his reward. You try not to sputter spit too loud it'd wake the sleeping danger in the room but it seemed Michael could care less about being caught as a slightly louder than ideal groan fell from his lips when he pushed your tight throat down once more holding you three to cum down your greedy throat. His hips give a few more shallowed thrusts as you breathe through your nose and tears prickle your eyes.

"Good girl." He mutters yanking you off his dick by your hair and looking over your fucked out face. "Happy Valentine's."

You give a little cough in response cause a bit of cum to bubble as you finish swallowing. "Happy Valentine's Day."

#emmie speaks #cha•°•michael dipnicky #just a thot #•°•smut•°•#this is totally NOT for #•°•my sweet 🎀#•°•gaten my beloved #•°•voyerism

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nhidalgo9 · 11 months

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May 28 - Asakusa

Today marked our first official day doing the UF in Japan study abroad program. We started our day off meeting our worldstride guides Riki and Laena as well as getting to know everyone in the group. We then traversed the subway to go to Asakusa station where we would be going into the Buddhist temple of Sensoji. Before we arrived at the actual temple itself there was an entire section of street market vendors selling all different commodities from various colorful chopsticks and samurai swords, to Yukatas (which I learned are the more informal and practical version of the kimono). Then right before the temple there were places to have your fortune read and determined. I read mine and received a normal fortune which as you would expect was just plain good luck but not crazy in one direction or the other. There was also a well which contained different items burning that was said to be a “healing well” so naturally I wafted the smoke to hit the most important parts of me; mind, body, and spirit. After donating 10 or so yen in order to gain entrance into the temple we bowed our heads twice, clapped twice, and started to pray after invoking the various buddhist deities. Our second activity was to go to the Fukagawa Edo Museum where they successfully created an entire model of what the city would look like in the Edo Period. Equipped with farmhouses, a firetower, and the model homes of families of different sizes, painstaking effort was used in order to make it as realistic as possible.

Academic reflection

When walking to the temple there was these statues of these two deities and they were muscular which Mr. Smith pointed out helps us understand that maybe the statues have an origin outside of Japan because that’s not how the statues would’ve been made. They were instead made in a more greek sense with the muscular detail added. This goes along with what I read that morning and what we discussed because Buddhist practices and customs are constantly changing and evolving in order to fit the time period and circumstances that surround them. For example how contemporary and some forward thinking sects of buddhism are incorporating anime and manga into their temples to better relate to the youth and rapid rise of consumerism.

In the Edo museum modeled after what a typical neighborhood would look like around that time we can look at the picture provided to us by Hane and Perez to better understand why the people modeling the neighborhood made some of the decisions they did. In the section of the reading called “The Townspeople” it says that the job of the wholesale and retail merchants was to provide rice and other goods to the major city. It also cites that mainly coastal transport was used because transporting by land ended up being a lot more complicated. The reading helped explain to me why in a tiny chunk of a neighborhood they decided to remodel there was a boat and a harbor present, because it was a major part of that city and its trade or even reason for existence, to provide to the major governing city.

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chey-rewrite · 1 year

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Thankstaking

Right now at work, we’re at the tail-end of developing and finalizing our organization’s mission, vision, and values — and this has led to this week’s topic of the definition of decolonization. We hear the word all the time now. Decolonize your mind, decolonize your diet, decolonize the workplace, decolonize your syllabus, your classroom. But what they’re really talking about is unlearning racism, sexism — but it’s not actually decolonial because it doesn’t include Indigenous land trusts, sovereignty, or autonomy over the land. The practice of true decolonization must hold Indigenous sovereignty and stewardship at its very center.

The classifications of race, the binaries of gender, human superiority, consumerism and entitlement are all direct products of colonialism and they’ve been key pegs in achieving both colonialism and capitalism. This means that they would require a dismantling of in the decolonial process. Europeans looked at Africans and put them into a category of race that they deemed to be less-than in order to justify their enslavement, put the tribes of Indigenous peoples into a category of race that deemed them to be savages and then they taught this concept of race and the superiority of whiteness to the Indigenous peoples back on Turtle Island. But we can’t solve colonialism’s product of racism by simply redistributing power. While diversity in the workplace via putting women, people of color, and queers into positions of leadership creates an environment of inclusion, it doesn’t address the root issue of race being a European-invented tool of oppression. While individuals can work to re-calibrate their diet away from fast foods and towards the native and seasonal foods of the land they’re on, it doesn’t it doesn’t populate reservations or other food deserts with access to the same food options, as the land has been stripped of its natural resources and replaced with strip malls, prisons, and privatized natural land.

Decolonization is nothing without a direct, clear specification of what it’s meant for Indigenous peoples and their homelands to be colonized.

Take the federally recognized holiday at the end of November, for example. Few people (that I’ve encountered, at least) have made and embodied the decision of not recognizing it as a holiday at all due to the history behind it. More people have learned and come to terms with that history and adjusted their perspective on the holiday, acknowledging the atrocities that are directly correlated to it, but still celebrating it in a somewhat traditional manner. I’m not here to shit on that. I think that it’s really difficult to separate the atrocity of the history of Thanksgiving from the feel-good, warm and happy modern times that many folks spend with their families on that day. It’s difficult to figure out how, if at all, we can still gather on this day while also holding true recognition of the history that we’ve been lied to about.

I don’t have a clear answer for this one. For me, the day of Thankstaking and the weeks leading up to it consist of grief and mourning. On the day of, I wake up at three in the morning to go to the sunrise ceremony on Alcatraz Island where I am around other my fellow Indigenous loved ones and I get to take in the medicine of culture and collective mourning and healing. In the evening, my mom, sisters and I make fry bread Indian tacos, eat on my mom’s couch and watch a movie or two — again, collectively healing 500 year old ancestral trauma, even if it is only one single bite of fry bread at a time.

#thanksgiving #thankstaking #decolonization #decolonial #indigenous rights

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artemisbarnowl · 2 years

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I went to comic con this morning and unfortunately I have some thoughts

It was alright

It's MUCH better being slightly older than most fans of anything and also not knowing what most stuff is. I am Aware of some shows but mostly older ones and while I like some things I no longer care to make it my identity. This is the correct way to be because you get to learn straight into weird aunt energy and say "what a lovely outfit! Did you make it? It's beautiful!" As often as you like

I've never liked funko pops but seeing stacks and stack of them a lot with all the other tat people make about their shows really gave me a no hope for mankind (when it comes to plastic and consumerism) vibes.

Some GENIUS stall holder who care 0% for anything comic/show/fandom culture seeing weebs as a huge untapped market. Including henna artists, and slightly mystic leaning jewellery and print makers (there was a jeweller offering "personalised" moon charms that reflect what the moon looked like on a specific date. Many different nerds care about this). I really like henna so got a traditional hand design but they were doing all the small nerd things too.

Much of the cosplay reaffirmed my perfectionism and I've decided if you're going to dress up as someone you really gotta do it properly, or just a nod. Don't half ass it. Especially if you are doing face painting that has specific facial details. These have to be correct. I saw a she-ra flavoured mandalorian armour and an oogie boogie fairygodmother who we're only good because they were over the top and impeccably made. If they weren't it would have looked lazy. If you are a child and your costume is made you get a good star because great creativity it's wonderful to see you enjoying yourself.

I'm interested in cosplay from a technical perspective. I saw a woman with purple foamboard feathers that were attached to the base of the wing (on her back) with caribinas. Genius! Sturdy, easy and fast to use, and allow for motion. I would have liked to talk to some people about their costumes and how they made them but I'm shy and nerds can be a gamble on having normal interactions, especially if you're not part of the in-group who know what show they're referencing.

Two jobs that I would be EXCELLENT at and no one would employ me for are Queue planner (there was not enough allowance of how people move in groups or flow through spaces) and Guide (need to find a specific thing but forgot where it was? I will take you) because I have a near impeccable sense of direction and also care about organisation and storage, including that of people.

There is way too much pedophillic anime titty shows and art I need to kill some people.

I saw some guy in a costume who was wearing a Bluetooth speaker around his neck playing what sounded like a theme/opening song for something and I thought this was one of the most obnoxious behaviours I've observed in a while. Anytime he came close to anyone conversation became impossible. The poor stall holders.

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driftwork · 20 days

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monday morning during the singularity

Monday, at the coop in the village, on lower road, at the bottom of the hill, in the valley. There is no river anymore it was rerouted many years ago. The woman behind the desk, selling alcohol and other drugs accepted the the parcels of books for despatch. There are two young men moving goods onto the shelves for resale from the warehouse. A man in his fifties is putting out vegetables and fruit onto shelves by the door from the familiar metal cages on wheels.. A few customers are streaming into the shop, women and men with shopping baskets. Some are greeted by name by the older staff members. They say,"good morning more to post?" Yes i say, that's right. I wonder standing in the queue waiting for them to accept the small parcel and give me the paper receipt how long it takes to be recognised and accepted as a regular customer. I am after all a pretty regular customer. They do no expect to engage in conversation, a question, a few acknowledgements, a feint smile Even more established customers find that the process is no different. Indifference and alienation, does this place them inside the crisis of being consumers rather than being a person? Time is not taken over the choices they make, the customer imagines as they look over the different consumptive objects and then assuming the woman behind the counter wants to speak "Thankyou". Is this the commons or the thick layer of consumerism that has supplanted it? But before she say "Thankyou" you hand her the shopping basket, ask for some additional things you could not find. She responds in a soft mid-scottish-atlantic drawl, a dreamy eroticism touches your unconscious - a poem of domestic life, words played with a abstract satisfaction, your exchange touched with too many images - some meat and pieces of pineapple, money is exchanged through the phone, the loyalty card is registered, points added, are they happy to be paid? all sides of the exchange are alienated. I am amused by the idea that my social status is on display with the goods I have bought, we consume, our ability to exist in this society is shown. Behind me in the queue a middle aged woman with her young son is discussing the things he needs, he is going away for a night or two. Unconsciously they demonstrate their wealth. They move over to the automated payment system and have a complex conversation about the workings of the system on the network. It beeps and pings. A deeply symbolic exchange is taking place here, from the objects being consumed, convivial? the silence of the machines, the familial structures, the last mean this evening before he goes away. Around them, behind them the young and the lonely feel ill at ease. A police is standing in the doorway looking both socially and economically inadequate as it looks at me walking out the door onto the street....

#everyday practices #fiction

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fadingneverlandofsephoragirls · 2 months

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Blog Post 1: The World of Sephora Girls p. 2/2

The system we live in capitalizes off of women’s insecurities to shame them into a perpetual cycle of consumerism. God forbid you get smile lines when you age, good thing you can get Botox for only a couple hundred dollars. This mindset has subsequently been instilled in the minds of young girls as a result of constant exposure to these standards, all thanks to social media. The first TikTok video I’d like to share is of a young woman explaining her shocking experience with this growing trend. She describes how a young girl was purchasing very popular and expensive products from a makeup line meant for women. They both reached for the same product, and the ten-year-old grabbed the last tinted moisturizer, but the woman noticed she already had other products from the same brand in her arms. The woman politely asked the little girl if she would allow her to purchase the product since she really needed it, but the girl gave a snarky response and laughed in her face. The rudeness of these little girls towards grown women is concerning in and of itself, but the reasoning behind her decision is what disturbed me more. These young girls are so obsessed with making sure they buy the newest products of every trending skincare brand on the market because they want to be perceived as older than they are. Another concerning TikTok video I came across was of this elaborate explanation of the trend. It was very eye-opening to realize how problematic this trend is. When I was their age, I only cared about getting a new high score in Purble Place, not about grabbing the latest mascara or lipstick from Sephora. It really made me reflect on how the presence of social media has impacted our youth. I grew up with the internet, but not to the extent of kids nowadays, where you can see every aspect of a stranger’s morning routine. I think the consistent rate of overexposure to other people’s personal lives has greatly impacted kids’ perspectives on what growing up should look like. It has put a suffocating emphasis on the importance of “staying on trend.” These toxic and unattainable ideals have corrupted the minds of young girls and threaten the definitive safe space of what childhood is reserved for, but also pose the threatening question of how their generation will impact the world once they reach adulthood.

#gen z culture #aging #beauty #makeup #social media

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lolexjpg · 2 months

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dts s5 e3-5

e3: -"i am perfect 🥰" fuck u know what sometimes the charles leclerc charm does get to me ngl -"breaking america is very important" OH IS IT. let andretti join then -i'll say it. miami isn't that bad. you can critisize the consumerism of it all without being so anti-america yall -fuck caitlyn jenner but her gushing to christian horner abt how great it is that ferrari is winning is iconic -i did watch this season but i did after the fact /knowing/ max was gonna win in the end. its sorta hitting me how it did really look like, oh my god, charles could really win here. just lookin at his lil face thinking how much did he get his hopes up. how much did i hurt, watching it slip away. how do u even handle that emotionally -i know i've talked abt this before but when i was binging the 2022 season i got super drunk before/while watching miami and when i woke up in the morning i remembered basically nothing other than carlos taking his shirt off (priorities). i watched the race highlights sober and was surprised by the lando crash. lol -if anything this rewatch is putting me back in my max girlie era. chomp chomp chomp. and/or i'm ovulating. combination of both -cannot wait for padel game 2023 edition on dts. it will be superior i know it -i do think its wierd that theyre framing (trying to) prioritize charles as a mean thing to do when its exactly what merc did in 2021 for lewis and it was 100% necessary both times. the guy who said 'ferrari won with the wrong car' wasnt wrong thats just how this shit works!!! -idk why dts couldn't just explain that max has non terminal but non fixable damage and thats why he was so damn slow. i feel like it wouldve been so easy to just mention. give context to why he couldnt get back up there -i dont think having multiple episodes focus on the same race from different perspectives is the worst thing ever, but i do think they fucked it up here by having the silverstone episodes back 2 back 2 back...... at least mix it up a lil. put another episode inbetween so we've forgotten by the time its being rehashed is it rly that hard

e4: -"i would've fucked the whole paddock" you know what maybe gunther IS iconic. maybe i will miss him a lil -i'm not a mick girlie but he is such a sweet boy. gunther count ur days :) -being reminded that michael and jos were teammates is such a jumpscare. how did that happen -"its not about proving them wrong, its about proving yourself right." HES SUCH A SMART N WISE LIL BOY. MWAH MWAH MWAH -that was a legitimately terrifying high speed crash. like a crash is a crash but the way that car got torn up is insane -STAY AWAY FROM OLLIE BEARMAN BTW -kevin supporting mick is So Important like an older sibling trying to break the cycle w/ a shitty parent. kevin i love u -ALSO underrated ship. btw -respectfully. as someone who knows nothing abt cars. if the haas keeps having problems splitting in half during crashes mayb. its a car issue. just a thought -faldskjfalksjf but this monaco crash: thinkin abt during the race, kevin had a mechanical dnf nearly the same time, so when the camera cut from mick's smashed car to kevin standing on the side of the track, looking disappointed, there was legitimate confusion on who fucking crashed. anyway that goes to show MAYBE THE CAR IS JUST SHIT -sebmick. is indeed. important -i love the way mick thinks his name is only a blessing. i just love seeing other people be brutally positive in the face of adversity bc its what i aspire to try to do too. its a good mindset to have i hope he is doin well now <3 -small children humbling tf out of christian horner is so important actually -i'm so glad daniel knew what he was worth with haas. i'm so glad they couldn't damn afford him. as he should 💅 -mick & max ALSO underrated ship. this man is so shippable -i am glad max n mick got to have this lil battle tho. they got to have what their dads predicted finally :)

e5: -ok so this is actually the most recent dts episode ive seen since before i started the rewatch, right after otmar got fired i watched it as a fun lil victory lap. this'll be fun lets goooooooo -otmar as a man is such a walking ick. even if i dislike other TPs at least they dont give me the ick. thats the second most unforgivable crime otmar has committed -i'm sorry the way otmar left AM bc he didnt like lawrence as a boss only to sign up to work for LAURENT ROSSI????? u have to laugh -i've said it before and i'll say it again nando n estie were fucking raw 100% -even if mclaren continued to be shit and alpine didn't implode oscar still made the right choice bc CLEARLY otmar was keen on keeping the nandoestie lineup for as long as fucking possible. and then he gets mad when oscar realizes that and bails??? i hate this man sm -'je m'appelle yuki. merci' iconic dts quote. yall if dts didnt exist we wouldnt have this be grateful -ok. so i know when this season came out this whole dando in the parking garage bit got some heat bc apparently that was not at paul ricard like the episode implies. but honestly. listen. netflix got a fun lil moment with daniel and lando. they didnt have anywhere else to put it. was there really any harm with having it squeezed in there. its not like ppl thinking theres a parking garage at paul ricard is super damaging misinformation. pls find real solid criticisms of dts instead of this kinda bitchin and moanin THANK U -HI SEBCHAL CRUMBS -ok um. not 2 tinhat here but i know dts got some heat for not having enough women in this season. did they go back and add these bits with jennie gow after she recovered from her stroke i dont remember her being here. its fine i just dont particularly like how netflix can go back n change shit -i hate birthdays i get so much second hand cringe from this. if i never get sung happy birthday again ever in my life that would be ideal -how many times has nando left and gone back to renault/alpine? god its like a girl who wont stop getting back together with a cheating bf and then being surprised when he cheats again oh fernando left ur team WATER IS WET BABES -ok what i'm getting is otmar is bad at getting contracts finalized in a timely manner and maybe this is his damn fault :) -'lets show him he made the wrong choice' you have to laugh ladjfaklsjdfaljd

#dtsrewatch #she speaks

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kenziejustquietly · 2 months

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Lent & Asceticism Journey: Journalling

Thursday, 15th March, 2024:

I reflexively pick up my cellphone all the time.

I was mildly unproductive today, but better than some days. I spend ten minutes meditating on Epictetus. I make a time to meet with a priest. I play word puzzles and games to keep my mind sharp. I cuddle Haku and walk around with her like a baby in my arms. Connor and I have sex.

Connor laughs at me for inferring the dinner I have made is ascetic, and not just "Southland food". I made lamb steaks (unseasoned, baked), on brown rice with steamed broccoli and carrots. It ails me not to put something, anything, on the food.

Connor enjoys Denise's chocolate slice for dessert. I am jealous. I clean the whole house and wonder how I'm going to pass the time tomorrow. I have made two more spreadsheets today.

I listened to a physics lecture, then a short lesson about the history of earth's climate. After that, I listen to an essay on book collecting and consumerism in literary spaces.

I finished No Country For Old Men. Kind of sad in the end, but a very good book. Now I've begun Tess D'Urbervilles which is great so far, very charming.

I message my friends. Rachel sends me gorgeous videos of her fat, giggly baby. My little sister didn't come to stay after all, but she seems happy enough. I get a new documentary recommendation from Becky. I rearrange some knickknacks in our house to make them prettier.

I take a sleeping pill, oil my hair, and put my clothes out for tomorrow morning, intending a shower. I'm happy and placid. It occurs to me how many golden moments I have each day that I will never remember.

#journal

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potatoes83 · 4 months

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Random...

Good morning, and happy new year! I didn't make it last night to see the ball drop on TV, was pretty much assed out with the dogs around 10:30. To be fair, it's always been somewhat of a disappointment. Years ago, probably when we were old enough as kids to stay up to ring in the new year, my grandma Fran told us about how they drop this ball in Times Square. From the top of a tall building. And between the way she described it, and the places my brain went, I envisioned this massive solid steel ball being pushed off the top of a building, smashing at all speed into the ground and flattening cars, mailboxes, whatever was unfortunate enough to be there.

See, it's New York, a place I've never been, but had of course built up in my head. And it's only one time a year, and if you could get away with that sort of thing anywhere, it would be New York.

So there I am, mind-blown that I am about to witness such a spectacle. I have no idea what year it was, at least 30 or more ago, so Dick Clark would have still been alive and hosting, not that I knew or cared what a Dick Clark was. Couldn't even tell you who the corporate sponsor was back then. But oh my goodness, it's 11:59, here we go...

... and this shiny sparkly wire frame thing SLOWLY begins a descent on a pole well above Times Square. Now I mean, the ball is an impressive feat of engineering, and I think it's been redone like three times in my lifetime to become even more grand, but based on what I've worked myself up to in my head, catastrophic disappointment. I mean damn. I was expecting carnage, I was expecting this massive ball to leave a crater in the pavement, flatten a couple cars, maybe come to a rest in a storefront, just absolutely wreck up the place. Because again, it's New York. They spend the next couple months rebuilding, everything's back to normal, it's just collateral damage for something that the entire nation, and probably the entire world watches.

And understand, I am all about tradition. That ball has been dropped in Times Square for over 100 years. And if you're gathered with friends and ringing in the new year, it would be kind of weird to not have the TV at least on in the background, so you could count down along with an entire city and nation. But the whole thing still does seem rather flaky to me.

I don't know what sort of tradition Dick Clark started, I've never thought to look back to the '70s and '80s to see how it went but at least in my memories of the last 15 years or so, you've had everyone wearing the stupid swag, the giant foam glasses that say Nivea on them, or the big foam purple top hats with Planet Fitness emblazoned on them, and trust me I'm all about capitalism, but that level of consumerism is obnoxious. Like, there are very few brands that I consider parading about with their name to be a fashion statement. Oh boy, I got big plastic Nivea glasses. Yeah, I'm going to wear those again in my lifetime. They might be a good skin lotion brand, I don't really know, but I'm certainly not that invested in them.

Then there's the "music", and I use the term loosely. You either have the female artist singing about what an unabraded whore she is, and that's really a Sophie's choice because it's typically in the mid thirties this time of year, so they desperately want to show off as much skin as legally possible, but also keep from getting hypothermia. For the gents, it's almost always going to be that one song where you hold the microphone sideways, and the lyrics go: uh, uh, uh, yeah, uh, yeah, yeah, yeah, uh...

If you're into all that, you do you. But I'm just not. I don't care who the corporate sponsors are, I don't care about hearing the same song, doesn't matter who's singing it, or what it is, it all sounds the same, and I think one of the biggest things that happens to you when you grow up is that when you are tired, you go to sleep. When you're a kid, you're sitting there imagining this time, I'm going to stay up so late, I'm going to stay up past midnight every night, yeah wait till you get here. Last night, I became tired, so I turned everything off and went to bed.

So I missed the ball drop. I literally didn't lose sleep over it, and I'm not that invested to look it up on the you tube. I actually watched the replay of Russia ringing in the new year as I was drifting off to sleep. President Putin finishes up his speech, they zoom in on the spasskya tower, the clock chimes down, and they play the anthem while the cameras pan to different shots around the Kremlin. I'm not Russian, but I totally have a thing for tradition, history, architecture, old clocks, and I don't care what political spectrum you're on, Alexandrov wrote one hell of an anthem; it's an orchestral masterpiece.

I don't know how other English speaking countries do it, but like, it would be nice if after Auld Lang syne, maybe we did hear the Star Spangled Banner. I could give a fuck less what mushbrain Biden would wander out of the day room and attempt to read off the teleprompter in his fake oval office set, but I would rather enter the new year with our national anthem than some singer which is apparently called 'jelly-roll'. Like seriously, and this is not a bad thing, I was looking up some history, came across the list of headliners for last night, and the only singer from last night's revelry that I recognized is LL Cool J, who was big in the '90s. I have no idea what a jelly roll is, or a megan thee stallion, or any of the rest. And again, that's not a bad thing.

I don't know about resolutions, seems to be less important the older you get, at least in my experience. But last year, we made a concerted effort to try to more productively spend our time. Instead of sitting on our ass and watching reruns, we were working out in the garden. If the weather was temperate, we grilled and enjoyed a fire in the backyard instead of sitting glued to the couch. That was a big part of it, just getting away from the idiot box. And as part of that, I have been deliberately disconnecting myself and avoiding 'Hollywood royalty', 'influencers', 'YouTube sensations', and all the rest. Not sticking my head in the sand, and no, I'm not going monastic or amish, I still enjoy a bit of TV time every now and again, and the YouTube black hole remains a guilty pleasure, but it's amazing how much better, how much more productively you can spend your time.

Last year was a good year, and whether I quantify that as a resolution, or just continue on the path I've started, I'm looking forward to 2024. A lot of good things happened last year, and plenty of bad, but that's life. And all we can do is move forward. I'm no self-help guru or anything, I'm an imperfect broken sinner same as anyone else, but more and more, I am taking things that just don't work or fit in my life, and I'm divesting them. You can't be happy all the time, but if something is not only not bringing you joy, but is in fact bringing you downright misery, then why the hell are you doing that?

I wish everyone who reads this a very happy and prosperous new year. Make it a good one. Seek joy, keep what works, distance yourself from what doesn't. In the immortal words of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: every shiny dream that fades and dies, generates the steam for two more tries! Always look forward, keep trying, and fight the good fight! In the words of Steve Deace, fear God, tell the truth, make money... Good advice!

🥔

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