#here's your reminder that missionaries are colonizers

[genericpuff]

I wonder why christian misrepresentation are rarely talked about if compared to other religion misrepresentation. Like, I've seen people really vocal about Greek myths misrepresentation in LO and such (and it's valid because it's a culture and religion) but I rarely saw the same thing with christian even though there are many media who use christian religion innacurately, to the point where it comes off as using it as an aesthetic and not a proper religion.

Is it because of rampant religious trauma especially in western world? No ulterior motives on this question. I'm not a christian and yet I'm curious about this. I apologize if this sounds harsh.

I obviously don't have The Answer(tm) to this but personally speaking (and I'm about to get VERY personal here so take this with MOUNTAINS OF SALT), I think it's just the obvious - Christian mythology is one of the most well-documented and strongly protected out of virtually any other religion on the planet. Especially here in the West, it's commonplace for kids to go to Sunday school, for couples to have Christian weddings even if they're not practising Christians themselves, even the American anthem references the Christian God. It's simply not as easy to 'misrepresent' it because the representation is written into our very fabric of society. Even Greece itself is primarily made up of Orthodox Christians.

So anyone that does 'misrepresent' it are either completely mislead hardcore Christians, or people who are doing it intentionally, such as with the intent to make a parody of it or to deconstruct it through a different context or whatever have you. And of course, people will still get mad at those things, if you're implying that people aren't vocal about Christian misrepresentation then frankly IDK what to tell you there LOL If you want a contextual example in the realm of webtoons, Religiously Gay was dragged to hell and back during its launch for having a very crude and insulting depiction of St. Michael, and frankly, yeah I don't disagree because what the fuck is this-

(like at best it's just terrible character design lmao that said, there's also plenty else to criticize Religiously Gay for, including its fetishy representation of gay relationships and the fact that it's still just the "naive person who looks and acts like a child hooks up with mean person in a position of power" trope, blech, but the character design is definitely the first thing you notice)

There are even plenty of hardcore Christians who will deadass claim "misrepresentation" over things that ARE factually correct but they just haven't read the actual Bible and simply cherry pick what works for their own agenda. And of course those people are routinely called out by people like myself who know for a fact that Jesus wouldn't have promoted the war crimes that many modern day Christians are committing and justifying today. So it really depends on the definition of "misrepresentation" here.

The issue specifically with LO and Rachel that I personally call her out for (and many others) is that she's called herself a "folklorist" and claimed she's so much more knowledgeable on Greek myth than anyone else, while making a complete mockery of the original mythologies while not being honest about her intent as to whether LO is actually supposed to be a legitimate retelling OR a parody (because it sure acts like the latter more than the former, but she still seems to expect us to take it seriously and consider her knowledge of Greek myth superior?) Which leads to a lot of her teenage audience claiming shit like "Persephone went down to the underworld willingly" and "Apollo did assault Persephone in the original myths actually" and the classic "why would Lore Olympus lie or make up fake myths?"

You just can't pull off this extent of erasure with Christian mythology because we have a whole ass book of it that's been preserved, sold on shelves, and systematically integrated into society for thousands of years. Of course, there are people who will still try their damned best to twist the Bible to match their own bigotry with the whole "Jesus hates gays" bullshit (he would never), but it's met with equal amounts of 'misrepresentation' that are actually fully well-read and are intentionally subverting and changing things to either critique, parody, or restore the original intent of a lot of stories in the Bible without all the manufactured right-wing crap.

Greek myth, on the other hand, has some stories that are well preserved, and others, not so much. And in the modern day outside of the poems and hymns, you'll also rarely, if ever, see anyone use stories from Greek myth to ostracize, torture, and murder other people. "Misrepresenting Christianity" is more often done by actual Christians who are using the Bible to commit hate crimes than the people who have actually read the Bible and are just taking creative liberties with it for the sake of deconstructing / parodying / analyzing / subverting it. Veggie Tales "misrepresents" Christian stories because obviously Moses wasn't a fucking cucumber lmao but it still accomplishes its goal by retelling Christian stories in a way that's fun and educational for children.

By comparison (on the whole, I'm not comparing LO to Veggie Tales LMAO) LO just isn't clear in its intentions beyond Rachel's initial statements that she was trying to "deconstruct" the myths, while labelling herself as a folklorist. Therefore, I'm going to criticize how she does it because the way she's done it up until now has been very mishandled and has resulted in a lot of misinterpretations of the myths simply for the sake of fandom. And yes, these people exist in Christian media as well - they're called TV evangelists.

And that's my (very heavy) two cents.

[everything-is-crab]

:))

This is what I meant when I said both rightoids and liberals in India are equally dumb as fuck. Both are pro imperialists. She's not even lower caste and yet she's speaking on behalf of us. I have seen this trend in a lot of "anticasteist" upper caste women (who unfortunately have more voices than people like me, actually women from oppressed castes).

How are these people different from the white supremacists who say brown people are intellectually and socially inferior?

"At least the goras let us have meat" oh okay we're gonna ignore the 3 million lives lost in Bengal famine caused by Churchill's policies (after which he blamed it on us instead of his own greediness). Did he let those people eat meat then? Unhinged shit. They wouldn't let people fill their bellies cause sometimes instead of food crops they wanted our ancestors to grow cotton, indigo, spices, tea. Which also left areas prone to land disasters. Commercial stuff that they could sell at much cheaper prices in their own countries and others in the Western world as well. Also levied extremely unreasonably high taxes. Leaving us with no money. Delusional world these middle/upper class liberals live in where the British let us have meat. They didn't even let us have rice.

The British protected the caste system. Read Sharmila Rege's work about how the British introduced the process of "Brahmanisation" in colonial India.

This is the exact thing Hindu nationalists are doing rn! And have been doing forever! Protecting Western imperialists! Why do you think Modi is bootlicking the US so much? Do you think the farmers' protests and the after effects of globalization after 1991 are disconnected from Western imperialism?

Just because nationalists claim to be against white dominance doesn't mean they practice what they preach.

And this folks is why you need to incorporate class and gender in your analysis and not read about the work of only the middle class men of a community :)

Women and poor people matter too.

But unfortunately many earlier anti caste activists who were middle or upper class were anti Marxists and only later few like the Dalit Panthers and R.B More realized the importance of Marxist analysis for understanding modern caste based oppression more. Yes many Indian Marxists ignored casteism. But that does not mean we must dispose it as a useless theory.

But who tf cares about the Dalit Panthers or anyone else? Have you even heard of any other names that aren't Phule or Ambedka? Everyone followed and still follow people like Periyar, Ambedkar, Phule who were all from relatively well off family. And why will people who uncritically follow these people not think colonization was as bad? All of them attended British school and went for higher studies as well. The British was staunchly anti communist. They constantly resisted communist activists in colonial India. This is a privilege even today many people from oppressed castes cannot enjoy.

I have seen all these upper caste women, ignore people like me pointing this out. They think we're against education of oppressed castes (why would I advocate that for my own community?). But rather we take issue to these men ignoring their economic and male privilege and speaking on behalf of all of us.

A reminder that Periyar criminalized devadasis and read Ambedkar's arguments against Hindutva solutions to the Partition (hint: he cared more about the money that could be wasted in missionaries rather than the violence and human rights and unironically called Muslim people "tyrannical" and referred to "Muslim oppression" on Hindus). He was anti casteist, but he was Islamophobic.

To avoid with this kind of thinking, follow Dalit feminist theory. Dalit femininism from its inception has been pro Marxist (cause women make most of poor here). And they explain the effects of colonization on lower caste women (how the British introduced evidence act, a law that justified rape against lower caste women and let me remind you gang rape of lower caste women by upper caste men is a national issue. Ex the Manipur case, the rape of Phoolan Devi, the Hathras case etc). And how dowry (that earlier used to be a practice mainly amongst upper castes was now becoming dominant in lower castes as well due to capitalization of economy during colonial era). Maybe then you will understand why the British abolished sati but not any temple prostitution or other issues faced exclusively by women from oppressed castes. In fact they called upper caste women those who deserve to be protected but lower caste women were inherently deviant in their justification. But please go ahead and argue how imperialism brings "good things" sometimes.

Just read about caste reformation during colonial era. The choice isn't between hindutva and colonial era. The choice is between hindutva and hindutva along with colonial rule. Why do most liberals pretend the British never favored the Brahmins over everybody else?

White supremacy is so much better than Hindu supremacy for women of lower castes am I right guys?

This is so much better?

Also reminded of the "breast cloth" controversy. Do not mistake that anti caste activism is always anti caste for both Dalit men and women. Sometimes it favors Dalit men. And oppresses Dalit women further. Cause usually the colonizers never cared about oppressed castes but when they did, it was only for the men.

Ik many upper caste Marxists are not good at anti caste politics but I cannot separate Marxism from my anti caste or feminist politics. And as a Marxist from a formerly colonized country, I cannot ignore the imperial divide between the West (that is white dominated) and the global south (that includes India). You cannot separate the conditions of brown and black people today in the global south from the past dynamics of the colonizer and the colonized.

Lower caste women are obviously very poor. The poorest of all with least social protection. These upper caste women can sit on their asses and write papers and blogs on how much white supremacy was much cooler. But the ones from oppressed castes and working class? They don't have this privilege. They have the same burden of upper caste women related to marriage and domestic work and everything. But on top of that they have to do labor as well. And after globalization, when condition of "blue collar jobs" degraded (wages lowered, subsidies cut, worker protection rights gone etc) , the percentage of women in these fields increased. That's not a coincidence. Men always force women into lower earning occupations that have little job security. I am not gonna ignore this.

Fuck Hindutva. But fuck white supremacy too. For me neither is better. Both go hand in hand in fact. Look at the Hindu nationalists in France allying with white supremacists over shared conservative interests.

[samwisethewitch]

sivillanightchief replied to your post: An Open Letter to Christian Witches

I think you have these feelings because the trauma is still fresh.

You know, in the West it's Christianity that dominates, if you lived somewhere in the Middle East, there would be Islam. Natural cultural system. Not a thing that an individual can change. If people at your work are of evangelical faith, the way to deal here is to find common points of your faith and theirs, if there are none, you have to work in another place.

Thank you for proving my point by providing an excellent example of Christian fragility in action. I’ll try to address your response point by point:

1.) I left the Mormon church, where my trauma occurred, five years ago, so no, my trauma is not “still fresh.” However, living in a culture where Christianity is literally shoved in our faces 24/7 can lead to retraumatization (a reminder of past trauma that results in a re-experiencing of the initial trauma event and associated emotions) in those of us who have experienced spiritual abuse in Christian churches, which makes recovery even more difficult, complex, and non-linear than normal. 

You dismissing my post because of my emotions invalidates my lived experience, as well as the literal years of research I’ve done into this subject. I find that this is a fairly common Christian evasion tactic -- if something is critical of Christianity, it must be false. If someone is critical of the church, it must be because they’re lashing out emotionally. Christians refuse to acknowledge the enormous body of research showing how their religion harms people.

2.) “But Islam!” is another common Christian evasion technique. I explicitly acknowledged in my post that I was talking about Western culture, particularly the culture of the United States, where I live. My post was not about global religion. My post was not about the Middle East. My post was about America and my experiences as an American, and pointing out that other countries have other forms of religious hegemony is not relevant to this conversation. 

Islam is also a marginalized religion in the United States, and I’m not going to blame other marginalized folks for systemic issues that negatively affect them just as much as me. 

3.) I’m intrigued by your argument that hegemony is a “natural cultural system.” I’d genuinely be interested to hear your reasoning for hegemony being natural. Is empire natural? Is colonization natural? Is the intentional and systemic destruction of other cultures natural? Those are the methods that create hegemony and, frankly, I don’t think they’re natural at all.

It’s natural for humans to be different. It’s natural for different groups from different cultures to have different religions that reflect their values, history, and experiences. It’s not natural for one religion to take over the world through imperialism and aggressive missionary efforts, then claim that their way is a one-size-fits-all path to salvation.

4.) I also think it’s interesting that, out of all the examples I gave of Christian hegemony at work in my life, you focused in on my workplace and argued that I should do the mental and emotional labor of trying to find commonalities between my beliefs and my coworkers’. 

Shouldn’t my Christian coworkers also have to do this work? Shouldn’t they also try to bridge that difference? If I am expected to be familiar with the Bible before I discuss religion with Christians, shouldn’t they also be expected to read the important texts from my religion? Shouldn’t they give me gifts for my religious holidays instead of Christmas and Easter? Why aren’t they expected to put in the same level of work that I am?

It is not my job as a marginalized person to defend my existence to members of the dominant group. It is not my job to educate people or package my religion in Christian language to make it more palatable to them. When Christians are willing to meet me halfway, then we can talk. 

(And some Christians are willing to do the work, and we do talk. I have dear friends who are deconstructionist Christians and who have a genuine interest in my beliefs because, you know, they care about me and the things that are important to me, and we have wonderful discussions about religion. But I can’t have those discussions with someone who thinks my religion is evil, wrong, or backwards.)

5.) “if there are none, you have to work in another place.” I can’t even begin to describe how privileged this sentence is. I don’t know what your situation is, but most of us don’t have the means to just quit our jobs whenever we feel like it. Especially in the middle of a pandemic.

There’s also the issue that, because I live smack in the middle of the Bible Belt, it’s highly unlikely I could find a workplace that doesn’t have at least one devout Christian on staff. My current job is actually remarkably tolerant compared to places I’ve worked in the past.

[broken-academia]

I find it interesting that when white supremacists quote the scripture and use it as justification, Christians tend to act like these white supremacists "somehow" got the wrong message, or "somehow" crept into Christian communities.

Yet the very ways they "somehow" got the message wrong keep happening over and over again, which suggest that it's not a simple misinterpretation, because it keeps happening.

The church laid the foundation for the enslavement of Africans and Native Americans, and even before that, the church layer the foundation for centuries of brutal colonization done worldwide.

If we even focus on just America for a bit, the Puritans came and based their ideology on the "New world", Catholic missonarie and preachers forcibly converted people to Catholicism and forced them to abandon their own beliefs.

These people talked about the equality of all men on God's eyes, yet kept child slaves.

Frederick Douglass, in the first of his three autobiographies, wrote what became of his master when he became a Christian believer. What Douglass hoped would happen is that his master became more "Humane". This did not happen.

Douglass wrote, “If it had any effect on his character, it made him more cruel and hateful in all his ways.” Auld was ostentatious about his piety—praying “morning, noon, and night,” participating in revivals, and opening his home to travelling preachers—but he used his faith as license to inflict pain and suffering upon his slaves. “I have seen him tie up a lame young woman, and whip her with a heavy cowskin upon her naked shoulders, causing the warm red blood to drip; and, in justification of the bloody deed, he would quote this passage of Scripture—‘He that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes,’ ” 

In the book, “White Too Long” (Simon & Schuster), Robert P. Jones, the head of the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonpartisan polling and research organization, marshals this and other data to lay out a startling case that “the more racist attitudes a person holds, the more likely he or she is to identify as a white Christian" and that "more than six in ten white Christians disagreed with the statement that “generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for blacks to work their way out of the lower class.”

So what does this say then? Because this is just a small small portion of white Christians making the same "misinterpretating the bible to justify racism" mistake.

I find it interesting the way you phrase this rebuttal. It doesn’t make a differentiation between Christian sects, which is extremely important when considering the theological ramifications of a religion on a culture. it also makes generalizations, which I won’t fault you for any more than simply pointing them out. 

so just a reminder: I’m a Christian Catholic. I don’t speak for protestants, and especially not Puritans (ew). 

I find it interesting that when white supremacists quote the scripture and use it as justification, Christians tend to act like these white supremacists "somehow" got the wrong message, or "somehow" crept into Christian communities.

“Christian” here is a very broad term, and I think it’s important to mention that Protestantism would be the correct term here. Ignoring the differences leads to generalizations that ignore the immense prejudice faced by Irish Catholics especially that only started to alleviate in the 1940s. The Nativism movement is a prime example of this prejudice. In studies of prejudice, you must separate Protestant sects and Catholicism, at the cost of academic integrity.

 Take for example The Five Points: 

“The Five Points was named after the intersection of five streets, and it was the one of the first black settlements post-emancipation years. Located within the Sixth Ward, it played a unique role in the interracial tensions, due to the high rate of prostitution and crime that occurred there.

After the mid-1840s, the Sixth Ward itself became known as the ‘Irish ward’ because of the high number of Irish immigrants who settled in Five Points. Because they too were outcasts of society, they went to the same residences the black New Yorkers did, changing what were previously exclusively black social spaces. Irish experienced a form of prejudice similar, but not entirely alike, to the black New Yorkers, being called derogatory names and being given the worst of the labor. It was with these connections that black New Yorkers and Irish settlers shared geographic, social, economic, and cultural space during the 1840s and 1850s in New York City.” - precis of ‘In the Shadow of Slavery’ by Leslie Harris

so in New York at least, the prejudice doesn’t seem to lessen when everyone’s ‘Christian’. 

“In 1848, the Ladies’ Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church moved to Five Points to create a new city mission. Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, a historian, shows that the hiring of Louis M. Pease led their first mission. Both this effort and that of the Home itself were relatively popular in Five Points. The effect was not always positive, with missionaries removing children often the influence of ‘immoral’ parents forcefully.” (ibid)

That’s Episcopalian, right? What does the Catholic church say about that?

“The family must be helped and defended by appropriate social measures. Where families cannot fulfill their responsibilities, other social bodies have the duty of helping them and of supporting the institution of the family. Following the principle of subsidiarity, larger communities should take care not to usurp the family's prerogatives or interfere in its life. “ - CCC 2209 

When Catholic missionaries unjustly took children from Native American families, that was wrong. To say it isn’t is to deny Church teachings. 

Yet the very ways they "somehow" got the message wrong keep happening over and over again, which suggest that it's not a simple misinterpretation, because it keeps happening.

Very big generalization here, and your conclusions does’t follow your inference. First, ‘the very ways’ is extremely vague, but I’ll leave that alone, because this is Tumblr. Not every sentence or argument is perfect. “it keeps happening” can be blamed not on Church teachings themselves, but rather human nature. Also, ‘misinterpretation’ is the entire point of Protestantism even existing, which, in combination with your other generalizations, tell me that you don’t really know the way Catholic interpretation of Scripture works. One of the main reasons Protestantism even happened was because of the personal interpretation of Church teachings and Scripture. 

The church laid the foundation for the enslavement of Africans and Native Americans, and even before that, the church layer the foundation for centuries of brutal colonization done worldwide.

If we even focus on just America for a bit, the Puritans came and based their ideology on the "New world", Catholic missionaries and preachers forcibly converted people to Catholicism and forced them to abandon their own beliefs.

You didn’t read my response if you’re replying with that about African slavery, because it simply historically wrong. In regards to the wrongs done against the Native Americans, I agree it was wrong, and it’s been condemned by the Church. It’s infantilizing an entire culture to presume such simplicity, but that’s beside the point. “Forced them to abandon their own beliefs” really doesn’t take into account the reason why Catholicism is so appealing to different cultures. Forceful baptisms don’t even work, and we don’t condone forceful conversions. Invalid and illicit according to church theology. Protestantism differs, because we’re different things.

These people talked about the equality of all men on God's eyes, yet kept child slaves.

Frederick Douglass, in the first of his three autobiographies, wrote what became of his master when he became a Christian believer. What Douglass hoped would happen is that his master became more "Humane". This did not happen.

Protestantism was an important part of the culture in the Douglass’ time, and obviously the master was a terrible man. I’ve read Frederick Douglass (minor in African-American studies does that to a person) and I know the kind of man his master was. He was thoroughly not a Christian, and if he’d even been a Catholic, he would have been automatically excommunicated. Because the Pope had put an immediate excommunication on any slave-owners. And Protestantism and Catholicism are different.

“the more racist attitudes a person holds, the more likely he or she is to identify as a white Christian" and that "more than six in ten white Christians disagreed with the statement that “generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for blacks to work their way out of the lower class.”

and 30% of ‘practising’ Catholics believe in transubstantiation. The question here is not what the members of the faith believe, but what Divine theology says. Catholicism has repeatedly disavowed racism, bigotry, and prejudice. An action to the contrary is against Church teachings.

So what does this say then? Because this is just a small portion of white Christians making the same "misinterpretating the bible to justify racism" mistake.

“white Christians” jeez, the sheer academic dishonesty. An important part of history is understanding how prejudice originates. so many historians talk about this (I personally like Morgan’s theory of the ‘visible outsider’ for the cause of racism but) and to ignore class, culture divide, socio-economic status, and substantiate an entire claim based upon race is very fundamentalist (the irony).

I could say so much more about this, but honestly, we both know neither of us are going to change our minds. You have something to prove, so I’m sorry history disagrees with you. if you want to believe Catholicism upholds white supremacy, nothing I can say will change your mind. I won’t be responding to anymore of your anons.

[memecucker]

"Oh jeez Scoobs it looks like the concept of “protecting non-Western traditions” can itself be weaponized by Western colonialism" Okay. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Uncle Tom.

I’m not black and also I can already get the sense that youre the sort of person that believes they will spontaneously combust upon actually researching the history of colonialism and thus prefers to sit in a corner and navel gaze about the “concept” of colonialism based simply on your already existing preconceptions about how it “probably” worked and without any interrogation as to whether or not those preconceptions are themselves colonialist propaganda.

Anyway, lets see what Marshal Louis-Hubert Lyautey, one of the most energetic colonizers of the Third Republic period  as well as the first Resident-General of French Morocco had to say about the subject of indigenous traditions in this letter he wrote to his sister while serving as an administrator in Indochina:

“To explain it once and for all, it comes down to this: to aim for a protectorate and not direct rule. Instead of abolishing the traditional systems, make use of them: Rule with the mandarin and not against him. It follows that, since we are- and are always destined to be- a very small minority here, we ought not aspire to substitute ourselves for the mandarins, but at best to guide and oversee them. Therefore, offend no tradition, change no custom, remind ourselves that in all human society there is a ruling class, born to rule, without which nothing can be done, and a class to be ruled: Enlist the ruling class in our service. Once the mandarins are our friends, certain of us and needing us, they have only to say the word and the country will be pacified, and at far less cost and with greater certainty than by all the military expeditions we could send there.” (source- Lyautey and the French Conquest of Morocco by William A Hoisington)

Or we could bring up the example of Portugal's colonial empire in Asia. The Portuguese were afterall the first Europeans to establish colonies in Asia and yet even after mostly winning the power struggle with the Ottoman Empire over dominance of the Indian Ocean their Asian empire quickly imploded in large part because they did not respect local traditions and customs. While I would not say Japan was truly colonized by Europeans the case of how the Portuguese were violently expelled because of their sponsorship of missionary activity in Japan whereas the Dutch who actually banned missionaries from their Dutch missions and even bombarded a Japanese Christian rebel-controlled castle were able to maintain a Western monopoly on trade with Japan until the 19th century.

Now that of course isnt to say that forced assmiliation and destruction of native cultures didnt happen even after colonialism had advanced as a social technology but it wasnt cultural destruction for the sake of cultural destruction but rather replacement of ways of life that were not useful to the colonial state. So the Dutch administrator in Java could honestly care less if the people preaching the pious virtues of obedience and hard work are Christian missionaries or a local Imam as long as the results are the same but an administrator in Western New Guinea (which is still majority Christian) would be dealing with an indigenous population that at the time had not developed into stratified class-societies with a native organized clergy that could be recruited into the colonial state and so in this case extensive Christianization of the island was commenced.  

[misterbitches]

the whole thing but i think esp how oh-aew became more and more sure. the hammock scene is really something cause before he even says it, he’s touching him (tay) the whole time. on the couch before when they were like looking at each other. it was really refreshing? almost to see him be so direct. i’m going to have to think of why he leaned in in their room. i guess to evaluate and test himself, which is fine, but he definitely already knew. the way he rejected that open invitation was fascinating stuff like truly. really good subtext. “you know. you don’t? but i think you do” and “i think you’re jealous” — maybe it’s because tay is a sure thing always (or officially?) but oh-aew’s got himself all tied up in knots if he can do the whole thing to get to where he wants to go but he’s sure with tay. which is fun to see, nice, intimate, sensual etc. it’s nice to see him have firm command over something. unfortunately, life isn’t that easy. 

the music  and sound design were really good this ep and i’m glad they changed it up. i have one critique which isn’t a critique so much as it would be impossible to do, really, and wouldn’t attract us as much. it’s obvious that though they are not too far from 18 (3 years out) they aren’t teenagers anymore. the way oh-aew acts whilst approaching someone is confident with the hesitant parts. it’s better this way; it’s not fumbling or annoying to watch but it is obvious in contrast. i would say it helps the story and i suppose, in a way, it does but you can’t really replicate certain parts of understanding yourself and the way we  learn how to enact sexual cues and sensuality and stuff definitely becomes better with age. it’s easier to be hesitant about leaning in then doing certain things (touching, crawling, etc like when i was a teen i would never do any of that like that even if i knew the dude liked me. and i’ve been in these situations since them as a full grown adult and it’s still ridiculous. on the other hand, tay isn’t a liar like any other men i have liked (girls i don’t usually have this issue lmao) so)

i can safely say that from what we have witnessed a well-rounded and happy ending should be imminent. if not, i will critique it and be irritated. one good thing about story is that we don’t have to keep predictions. i hate watching television for this reason. these are 5 odd hours of a show but it’s like one and done. given the writing, it would be a waste to just let them seperate or something for the sake of coming of age. the heaviness is solidified now and unfortunately there’s all these signifiers that they’re fated to be in each other’s lives and share the same friends.

it’s good tay was so caught up in his day he wasn’t like “oh hold up i told tarn i couldn’t today” but also sad. i mean i’m not sad for her and bas, that’s what being on the other end of heartbreak or liking someone is like. we all go through it (or if we haven’t we know people who have) so it’s interesting to watch. 

for some reason i thought there would be different clashes. but it wasn’t a big to-do at all. the confession. it seems like it will have to be tay who kind of comes to this conclusion on his own. i struggled with my sexuality but i never had another person to spur it on. the acceptance you extend to other people doesn’t always involve yourself which is another interesting piece. had he never thought of it before? had he only known one person to make his heart leap? is it his expectations? 

if i’m reading it correctly hoon’s friend is probably his “close friend” or his girlf but regardless there’s an outsider coming in. there’s all these ideas of like duties as a child of a parent especially who you love etc so i wonder if that will come up.

also want to casually mention that i noticed that it’s a  “french and thai food” place. it may not seem like a big deal but thailand was never colonized by europe (i just learned.) i was thinking about it because there was french vietnam basically. if you don’t know the history of vietnam the french are the first to “own” vietnam, then they discuss it with the british and when the US is formed, then we have the vietnam war—this greatly affected all areas around them in SEA especially laos and cambodia. HOWEVER, they only had missionaries visit and it is chalked down to “relations”—colonizers ruin everything but i guess they were never officially colonized.

it helps add to the story of why their town looks the way it does, how small it is, and just how far their understanding of the world is yet. it’s contained but it doesn’t mean they are free from outside influence (IE tourists, hoons friend etc) and not all outsiders or differences or a bad thing (in this case, the french are a bad thing but they lasted and isn’t it funny what remains.) 

them not kissing is alsooooo a note i liked. because kissing makes it real, and it’s new and weird, and it would mean a lot to oh-aew if he got his first kiss. but tay realizing he’s not like, touching or caressing breasts (LOL) is just wild to me. he’s the type to go if you want it, do it, but damn. that shit runs deep. being young fucking sucks.

also i abhor and i mean abhor call me by your name. like every part of it but the DP was thai, too, just a lil reminder. however, if it was as nice as this show. this show was what i think a white person wanted to imagine on film but simply couldn’t. it portrays the really weird shit about growing up and desire in such a digestible way. it doesn’t rely on precociousness or ridiculous situations or even money to hold the story up (one of my fav critiques of CMBYN is here) but this team really impressed me. i am not so easily moved.

ANYWAY that was a lot of fun and it was nice. they have great chemistry. i hope bkpp stay friends forever and i hope the cast and crew are proud of themselves. the writing in this one really surprised me and as usual the DP and editor did great. unfortunately, i know expect this level in everything i watch. there’s a lot less resources in newer industries but it is clear that hwen you are on a mission you can make something amazing with what you have—no matter what—and luckily they found investors (obviously) but sincerely this should be the level all these shows are at. that’s why capitalism sucks and BL as a genre is simply inadequate nowadays.

on an endnote: i hate the DNC and i don’t like our options in the USA and when i have the energy i will get back into organizing. i finished editing something really important though and it looks like biden might win. though that means nothing now, it’s better than what we have. so we went from fascist to  person who won’t reverse anything and is just okay. but it looks like we have at least that. so i thank the week for being mild and surprising and i’m going to pray that we have one idiot over the other. 

[someoneintheshadow456]

i understand the heart of where you were coming from with your response on the edelgard post. but i would like you to know that i think you have some misconceptions in your argument. firstly, korea's "religious fanaticism" especially in regards to christianic religion, is more of a phenomenon with korean immigrants, and is not reflective of the predominant religious views in korea itself.

As a korean myself, i can say that it is unlikely that koreans are inclined to be against edelgard simply because the church in game is inclined against her. speaking with various other asian poc, those who do not like edelgard are primarily against her due to much of her activities in-game calling to mind japan’s imperialistic history of invading our countries and colonizing us. 

Regardless of whether people believe edelgard’s individual motivations are justifiable or not, it must be recognized that much of the game seems to promote a very pro-imperialistic agenda. even in non-edelgard routes, the endings are very leaned towards centralizing control of the continent often with disregard of independent state’s wishes. edelgard’s position as primary antagonist means that it is easy to see her as the primary representative of this mindset. 

I don’t believe that the op is wrong in asserting that americans have favored edelgard while koreans have not for certain reasons. while the context is different, her popularity in japan versus korea can most likely be accounted for along similar lines of a history of imperialism. while fans of edelgard may not be in favor of her specifically for these views, there is a fundamental difference in perspective american and japanese fans are coming to the game with. 

I dont believe that the op is wrong in asserting that americans have favored edelgard while koreans have not for certain reasons. while the context is different, her popularity in japan versus korea can most likely be accounted for along similar lines of a history of imperialism. while fans of edelgard may not be in favor of her specifically for these views, there is a fundamental difference in perspective american and japanese fans are coming to the game with. Sorry if this was an excessive explanation. 

As a lesbian, i find a lot of traits of edelgard that i like. as a korean, however, my discomfort with her is great enough that i shy away from her. i respect who you choose to like or dislike in the game, and am only aiming to maybe inform what i felt was an argument formed on an incomplete misunderstanding of my country’s culture and history.

TLDR: The korean dislike of edelgard can be more attributed to the history of violent colonization from japan that she brings to mind. as japan executed this kind of behavior against many asian countries, this is a sentiment shared by several of my other asian peers. thank you if youve read all of these rambling messages xp, its an important topic to me and i wanted you to know religious fanatacism at the very least isnt a fully accurate description of my people 

Thanks for the explanation and I can understand where you’re coming from when you put it in this way. 

I also acknowledge that my negative experiences with Korean immigrants may have coloured my perception on the matter. In India we have had Koreans come here because of Hyundai, and the ones they sent here behaved so badly (I used to joke that Korea was using India as a garbage dump for its undesirables because there was no way the entire country was like that) that many real estate agents in India will not lease properties to Koreans. And now Hyundai has to give its employees racial sensitivity training in order to send them to India. This was in the mid-late 2000s however, so I’m sure things have changed since then. 

India has a history of colonization as well by the Mughals and British. Rhea always reminded me of Mother Theresa (who put on a maternal/loving facade to disguise the fact that her hospitals were essentially “dying houses” where she would baptize people on their deathbeds, and was notorious for grooming her patients into thinking their sickness was “a blessing from Jesus”) and other Christian missionaries which was why she left such a bad taste in my mouth. Rhea’s behaviour is how British colonists in general also behaved, pretending to be a benefactor and kind to her subjects while actually abusing them. Even though the Indian Fire Emblem fanbase is very small, the ones who I’ve talked to have a dislike of Rhea for those reasons as well. However I don’t say that people who like Rhea are religious zealots/fanatics/whatever, because your fiction doesn’t affect your morality. 

My problem with a lot of Blue Lions fans is many of them get overzealous when it comes to their path and tend to antagonize Edelgard fans, insinuating that ALL OF THEM have radfem-esque principles and only like Edelgard because she’s a woman/because she’s bisexual, or that they have White supremacist beliefs even if they’re POC themselves. They also think that if you’re a fan of Edelgard, you MUST hate Dimitri, even though many of them don’t. And the hypocritical Black Eagles fans who come under the faction that Blue Lions fans are attacking make things worse for the normal Black Eagles fans who are just trying to enjoy the content, because we get lumped in with the crazies. 

All this nonsense makes me want to join with Golden Deers even though I don’t really like Claude that much, because they’re the only group that doesn’t fight with everyone all the time. 

[mrsronan]

Last Thursday (March 7) I got to speak to a large Women’s Bible Study in San Francisco. I attended the study for three years and have quite a few friends still involved. Here’s what I said. (Health update and other details below the speech.) Also, it won't hurt my feelings at all if you skip the speech and just read the health update. :)

_________________________________________

I’m thankful I get to be here with you ladies this morning. You are always such a blessing. Malene and Karen invited me to give an update on how I’m doing. Most of you know me, but let me introduce myself to those of you I’m not yet acquainted with. My husband and I grew up in Cincinnati Ohio, I’ve served as a missionary to Haiti and spent two years teaching in China. My husband and I believed God called us to San Francisco so we moved here four months after we got married in 2006. When we got here everything that could go wrong went wrong, including losing our housing on the same day I found out I was unexpectedly pregnant. That surprise pregnancy led me to seek help at Alpha Pregnancy Center, the pregnancy ended in miscarriage but I never forgot that Alpha was ready to walk with me and find solutions to all of my concerns. Later I went back to Alpha, but as a staff member and I eventually became the director. I spent almost a decade running that ministry until I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and had to resign.  I’ve been going through chemo and radiation treatments since July 2016.  

Before I give you an update on my health I want to tell you a story that will explain my perspective on this challenge.*  

The day I arrived at my new home in Haiti where I would live for a year, I walked into a house that had been robbed. Everything was gone- furniture, curtains, dishes, everything except the kitchen sink. I had met my roommate for the year one day earlier, Shelley lived in the house the year before and knew our neighbors well. She assured me that since we were back and our neighbors loved her, the house would now be safe and nothing more would be stolen. I didn’t believe her. We had just a couple hours to drop our things off before needing to leave for a meeting at the school where we’d be teaching. On my way out the door for the meeting, I silently prayed, “Lord, if our house gets robbed tonight, please don’t let them take my radio, my guitar, or the vase from Morocco Kellie gave me.”

When we got home that night, our house had been ravished. Clothes were strewn everywhere, Shelley’s nice camera— gone. The sheets off our other roommate’s bed— gone. I made it to my room in the back of the house and did a quick scan of my bedroom: my radio was there, check; my guitar was there, check; my vase— gone! What!? Didn’t God hear my prayer? Why would the thieves want my vase anyway? It was just a small memento that wouldn’t mean anything to anyone but me. My heart sank. I felt robbed. But just as quickly as my heart sank, the Holy Spirit began to speak: “Chastidy, I didn’t bring you here this year to look at that vase. I am the same whether or not that vase is on top of your dresser. I haven’t changed and I am worthy of your praise with or without that vase.” My heart responded, “Oh, check. Yes, Lord, I trust you. I’ll praise you. Thanks for being the same and being good no matter what I’ve lost.” A moment later, a fellow teacher who had come to help walked in the door and said, “I found this on the street, does this belong to you?” and held up my vase.

That small momentary loss and the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart taught me how to get through larger losses that aren’t temporary. When my mom was murdered, when I had multiple miscarriages, when my marriage has been difficult, and many other times of loss I’ve gone back to that moment and remembered God is the same no matter what I might be losing. 

To be honest, the months since November have been filled with loss.  

My grandfather died because of lung cancer. 

Five of my other friends have died as well (three cancer related deaths).

My landlord promised me a bigger apartment and even gave me the keys then changed her mind and took the keys back. 

The clinical trial I’ve been on has stopped shrinking my tumors. (More on this below) 

But amidst these tragedies there have been some triumphs. 

I was given the Gianna Molla award and spoke to 50,000 people. 

My daughter turned 3 and sweetly told me I set up her party so nice and perfect. 

I turned 40 even though some medical professionals never thought I’d live this long. My husband, family, and friends threw me two surprise birthday parties. 

So I find myself responding to all of this in a few ways

Crying out to God in mourning and in thanksgiving. 

Praying for others as well as myself. 

Singing Amazing Grace and really meaning every word of all 7 verses.

Returning to scripture and asking God to keep His word as the foundation of my heart.

Some of the verses that I’m returning to over and over have become anthems for me that I go to daily to set my heart and mind in the right place.  

Hebrews 13.8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Reminding me that with or without cancer, God is still worthy of praise. For me, all these efforts to get treatment and extend my life are primarily for my three year old little girl. I don’t want her to have the pain of growing up with out her mom. But, this verse reminds me that God is the same and worthy of our praise even if she does grow up with out a mom.

I also go back to the story of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego from Daniel 3. 

You probably remember the story well. Everyone in their town was  told to bow down and worship a false god. The punishment for refusing was to be thrown into a fiery furnace. Everyone worshipped the gold statue, but Shadrach Meshach and Abednego refused to follow suit. Some people told the king and he was furious. 

Here’s how the Message version of the Bible tells the rest of the story:

The king questioned them and gave them a second chance to obey.

16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn’t, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

19-23 Nebuchadnezzar, his face purple with anger, cut off Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace fired up seven times hotter than usual. He ordered some strong men to tie them up, hands and feet, and throw them into the roaring furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, bound hand and foot, fully dressed from head to toe, were pitched into the roaring fire. Because the king was in such a hurry and the furnace was so hot, flames from the furnace killed the men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to it, while the fire raged around Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

24 Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm and said, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound hand and foot, into the fire?”

“That’s right, O king,” they said.

25 “But look!” he said. “I see four men, walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!”

Some people say that is Jesus; I love that even though they were in a literal fire, they weren’t in it alone.  They had to go through the fire, but Jesus went through it with them.

26 Nebuchadnezzar went to the door of the roaring furnace and called in, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most High God, come out here!”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked out of the fire.

27 Everyone gathered around to examine them and discovered that the fire hadn’t so much as touched the three men—not a hair singed, not a scorch mark on their clothes, not even the smell of fire on them! 

Next the king praises God. Shadrach Meshach and Abednego’s fiery challenge 

Gives the king a fiery passion to praise God.

28 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him! They ignored the king’s orders and laid their bodies on the line rather than serve or worship any god but their own.

29 “Therefore I issue this decree: no one should speak against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. No other god can pull off a rescue like this.”

Friends, I’m in a battle where I can say— Only God can pull off the kind of rescue I need. 

But, I’d bet half my bank account most of you have felt that too.  Maybe you’ve had severe health issues,  maybe you’ve needed the courage to leave an abusive relationship,  maybe you’ve had the sorrow of losing a child,  maybe you’ve been plagued with overwhelming anxiety… 

I’m guessing that everyone of you have had a time when you thought, “only God can rescue me from this.” 

I look back at all those trials I mentioned earlier and see, yes, He jumped into the fire with me on all of them and pulled me out and actually it made me stronger than before.  So, right now, in this fire of cancer, I’m looking to the God who has rescued me time and time again and saying “I know you are able to rescue me, and I believe you will, but even if you don’t I will still praise you.”

The final scripture I return to as an anthem I’ve read with you before. Psalm 118. 

I’d like to share some of it with you again today

Psalm 118

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

    his love endures forever.

2 Let Israel say:

    “His love endures forever.”

3 Let the house of Aaron say:

“His love endures forever.”

4  Let those who fear the Lord say:

    “His love endures forever.”

5 When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;

    he brought me into a spacious place.

6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.

    What can mere mortals do to me?

7 The Lord is with me; he is my helper.

 …

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to trust in humans.

9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to trust in princes.

I’m saying it’s better to trust in the Lord 

than medicine or doctors

13 I was pushed back and about to fall,

   ��but the Lord helped me.

14 The Lord is my strength and my defense[a];

    he has become my salvation.

15 Shouts of joy and victory

    resound in the tents of the righteous:

17 I will not die but live,

    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.

21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;

    you have become my salvation.

27 The Lord is God,

    and he has made his light shine on us.

…

28 You are my God, and I will praise you;

    you are my God, and I will exalt you.

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

    his love endures forever.

 Verse 17 is something I’ve especially clung to. 

At first I thought, I will live and not die so that when I am healed from cancer I can tell the miraculous story of how God healed me and what seemed impossible with man is possible with God. And, that is still what I’m counting on. 

But, I’ve begun to think I’m alive today. I can tell what God has done today. I can tell you today that He has been with me in the trenches of every fire I’ve had to walk through, and he has used them all for the good of many lives and souls. 

And, when I return to scripture it allows me to fix my thoughts on Jesus. He endured the cross scorning its shame for the joy that was set before him. And remembering that He did that, and being bought with his blood gives me the strength to be content in a small apartment, to endure the disease of cancer, and to get through the other pains that come with life in a fallen world but doing so with joy because of the promise of a glorious eternity. 

Two nights ago, as I was putting my daughter to bed we were singing “what can wash a way my sins” and she stopped me mid song and said, “Mommy mommy, the blood of Jesus, it can heal everything. Even if you die it can heal you.” 

If I could leave you with any thought this morning it would be that. The blood of Jesus can heal anything you have going on in your life. Remember He never changes even when our circumstances do, lay your burdens at the foot of His cross, and let His blood bringing healing to your life.  

_________________________________________

HEALTH UPDATE

So, what does it mean for me that the clinical trial isn’t shrinking my tumors? To catch some of you up to speed on what I’ve done before I answer that, I’ve already done 3 kinds of chemo and radiation. The clinical trial I’ve been in is my fourth form of treatment. There are no other FDA approved treatments that have been effective at treating my kind of cancer. I have a biopsy scheduled for Thursday. The results of the biopsy will show if the immunotherapy trial I’ve been on has changed the genetic make up of my tumors. If it has I can continue on the trial. If it hasn’t then I’ll need to start searching for other clinical trials or treatments at different hospitals and clinics. My oncologist thinks I’ll have to begin a search for other clinical trials. She is willing to help me. My family might have to move in order for me to continue to have effective treatment options. I’m really hoping that I won’t have to move, but if we do have to move there’s a promising clinical trial in Cleveland that I’m looking into which would get me closer to my family and I’d be thankful for that. Yet, I am willing to go wherever I need to get treatments. I’ll try to write a short update after I get my biopsy results. 

Separately I had a chalazion in my eye. It has healed. 

OTHER UPDATES

I’m still a super Warriors fan and even though they’ve had a few embarrassing losses recently they are still number 1 in the western conference and still the favorites to be champions this year. 

I lead prayer in the SF Prayer Room every Wednesday night from 6-9 pm.  I’d love it if you join me some time. 

My landlord offered to let us move to a bigger apartment and even gave us the keys. She later changed her mind and took the keys back. I was absolutely heartbroken and cried for days. Now, I’m wondering if God kept us from moving because we might have to move so I can get treatment elsewhere. 

We were gifted tickets to see Hamilton and loved it! It left me wanting to live in a way that gives others freedom. 

My husband, family, and friends threw me TWO surprise birthday parties. I’ve lived to be 40 and I’m pretty thankful about that. 

I threw a small birthday party for Catica. The week after her party she snuggled up on my lap and we had this conversation,  C: Mama, you did such a good job. Me: A good job on what, Baby? C: My party. You set everything up so nice and perfect.  My heart melted.  

PRAYER REQUEST

Please pray for miraculous results to this biopsy and miraculous healing. God is able to do more than we can ask or imagine. 

_________________________________________

*I know I’ve already told this story on my blog before but I love to share it whenever I can as it keeps my perspective in check. 

[pope-francis-quotes]

6th October >> (@ZenitEnglish By Jim Fair) #PopeFrancis #Pope Francis Opens Synod of Bishops for Amazon with Mass in Vatican Basilica #SinodoAmazonico . ‘The Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary in the Church’s history, helps us to make this synod, this journey together.’

Pope Francis on 6th October 2019, celebrated Holy Mass in the Vatican Basilica on the occasion of the opening of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian Region.

The much-anticipated synod takes place in the Vatican, in the New Synod Hall, through October 27 on the theme: Amazonia: new paths for the Church and for an integral ecology. In addition to the participants in the synod the newly created cardinals were also present at the Eucharistic celebration.

In his homily, the Holy Father reminded those present of the world of St. Paul to Timothy: “I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim 1:6).

“We are bishops because we have received a gift of God,” the Holy Father explained. “We did not sign an agreement; we were not handed an employment contract. Rather, hands were laid on our heads so that we, in turn, might be hands raised to intercede before the Father, helping hands extended to our brothers and sisters.

“We received a gift so that we might become a gift. Gifts are not bought, traded or sold; they are received and given away. If we hold on to them, if we make ourselves the center and not the gift we have received, we become bureaucrats, not shepherds. We turn the gift into a job and its gratuitousness vanishes. We end up serving ourselves and using the Church.”

Pope Francis reminded the synod participants that the fire to “rekindle” their gifts would come from the Holy Spirit. And he stressed that they were called to the synod to serve and must keep God at the center of their work.

Following is the Holy Father’s full homily, provided by the Vatican:

The Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary in the Church’s history, helps us to make this “synod”, this “journey together”. His words to Timothy seem addressed to us, as pastors in the service of God’s People.

Paul first tells Timothy: “I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim 1:6). We are bishops because we have received a gift of God. We did not sign an agreement; we were not handed an employment contract. Rather, hands were laid on our heads so that we, in turn, might be hands raised to intercede before the Father, helping hands extended to our brothers and sisters. We received a gift so that we might become a gift. Gifts are not bought, traded or sold; they are received and given away. If we hold on to them, if we make ourselves the center and not the gift we have received, we become bureaucrats, not shepherds. We turn the gift into a job and its gratuitousness vanishes. We end up serving ourselves and using the Church.

Thanks to the gift we have received, our lives are directed to service. When the Gospel speaks of “useless servants” (Lk 17:10), it reminds us of this. The expression can also mean “unprofitable servants”. In other words, we do not serve for the sake of personal profit or gain, but because we received freely and want to give freely in return (cf. Mt 10:8). Our joy will be entirely in serving since we were first served by God, who became the servant of us all. Dear brothers, let us feel called here for service; let us put God’s gift at the center.

To be faithful to our calling, our mission, Saint Paul reminds us that our gift has to be rekindled. The image he uses is that of stoking a fire (anazopyrein). The gift we have received is a fire, a burning love for God and for our brothers and sisters. A fire does not burn by itself; it has to be fed or else it dies; it turns into ashes. If everything continues as it was, if we spend our days content that “this is the way things have always been done”, then the gift vanishes, smothered by the ashes of fear and concern for defending the status quo. Yet “in no way can the Church restrict her pastoral work to the ‘ordinary maintenance’ of those who already know the Gospel of Christ. Missionary outreach is a clear sign of the maturity of an ecclesial community” (BENEDICT XVI, Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, 95). Jesus did not come to bring a gentle evening breeze, but to light a fire on the earth.

The fire that rekindles the gift is the Holy Spirit, the giver of gifts. So Saint Paul goes on to say: “Guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit” (2 Tim 1:14). And again: “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power and love and prudence” (v. 7). Not a spirit of timidity, but of prudence. Paul places prudence in opposition to timidity. What is this prudence of the Spirit? As the Catechism teaches, prudence “is not to be confused with timidity or fear”; rather, it is “the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it” (No. 1806).

Prudence is not indecision; it is not a defensive attitude. It is the virtue of the pastor who, in order to serve with wisdom, is able to discern, to be receptive to the newness of the Spirit. Rekindling our gift in the fire of the Spirit is the opposite of letting things take their course without doing anything. Fidelity to the newness of the Spirit is a grace that we must ask for in prayer. May the Spirit, who makes all things new, give us his own daring prudence; may he inspire our Synod to renew the paths of the Church in Amazonia, so that the fire of mission will continue to burn.

As we see from the story of the burning bush, God’s fire burns yet does not consume (cf. Ex 3:2). It is the fire of love that illumines, warms and gives life, not a fire that blazes up and devours. When peoples and cultures are devoured without love and without respect, it is not God’s fire but that of the world. Yet how many times has God’s gift been imposed, not offered; how many times has there been colonization rather than evangelization! May God preserve us from the greed of new forms of colonialism. The fire set by interests that destroy, like the fire that recently devastated Amazonia, is not the fire of the Gospel. The fire of God is warmth that attracts and gathers into unity. It is fed by sharing, not by profits. The fire that destroys, on the other hand, blazes up when people want to promote only their own ideas, form their own group, wipe out differences in the attempt to make everyone and everything uniform.

To rekindle the gift; to welcome the bold prudence of the Spirit; to be faithful to his newness. Saint Paul now moves on to a final exhortation: “Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord but take your share of suffering for the Gospel in the power of God” (2 Tim 1:8). Paul asks Timothy to bear witness to the Gospel, to suffer for the Gospel, in a word, to live for the Gospel. The proclamation of the Gospel is the chief criterion of the Church’s life. A little later, Paul will write: “I am already on the point of being sacrificed” (4:6). To preach the Gospel is to live as an offering, to bear witness to the end, to become all things to all people (cf. 1 Cor 9:22), to love even to the point of martyrdom. The Apostle makes it quite clear that the Gospel is not served by worldly power, but by the power of God alone: by persevering in humble love, by believing that the only real way to possess life is to lose it through love.

Dear brothers and sisters, together let us look to the crucified Jesus, to his heart pierced for our salvation. Let us begin there, the source of the gift that has given us birth. From that heart, the Spirit who renews has been poured forth (cf. Jn 19:30). Let each and every one of us, then, feel called to give life. So many of our brothers and sisters in Amazonia are bearing heavy crosses and awaiting the liberating consolation of the Gospel, the Church’s caress of love. For them, and with them, let us journey together.

© Libreria Editrice Vatican

[01589-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]

6th OCTOBER 2019 11:46SYNOD OF THE AMAZON

[watsonrodriquezie]

Weekly Link Love—Edition 5

Research of the Week

AI can predict heart disease risk from studying an eyeball.

Periodic reminder that bacon protects rats against colon cancer.

100 examples of cognitive decline reversal using diet and lifestyle.

Family dinners work.

Drawing helps memorization more than writing.

Humans may not have killed off the African megafauna after all.

Same-race teachers may help student achievement.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 292: Laura Rupsis and Erin Power: Host Elle Russ chats with Laura and Erin about The Primal Health Coach Program.

Episode 293: Longcuts to a Longer Life, Part 1: You know about shortcuts and hacks. Host Brad Kearns talks about “longcuts,” lifestyle shifts that may take more time but offer longer-lasting benefits.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Media, Schmedia

Man killed by (mostly) uncontacted North Sentinel island tribe he tried to contact.

Tokyo cafe to use robots controlled by remote employees with severe disabilities.

Interesting Blog Posts

Always get a second opinion. And never ignore your gut feeling.

How the modern diet may have initiated an extinction-level event in our guts.

Social Notes

I went on the Wellness Mama podcast to chat about keto, fasting for women and some Instant Pot tips.

Whoever could have imagined that Mark Sisson’s food brand would make a vegan gift list? Or that one of my recipes would be dubbed the “perfect” post-Thanksgiving vegetarian meal?

Everything Else

I’ll eat my hat if this works out.

The North Sentinelese tribe that killed the missionary has a history of forcefully resisting contact dating back to the time when a Brit kidnapped some adults and kids, let the adults die, and dropped the kids back off several weeks later.

Problem solved, folks! Just block sunlight. I’m sure there won’t be any untoward side effects.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Study I’m reading: Vitamin K2 contents of cheeses and other foods.

Article I found interesting: A Vaccine for Depression?

I like the honesty: Ethical vegetarian admits that “the environment” isn’t a valid reason to give up meat.

Another study I’m reading: “A time to fast.”

I’m impressed: Great photo editing.

Question I’m Asking

Would a “vaccine for everything”—one proven to safely inoculate all of us from any mental or physical health condition or disease—have any negative second- or third-order effects on society as a whole? Or would it be an unqualified boon?

Recipe Corner

The little-seen sequel to “Fried Green Tomatoes” tanked at the box office, but it’s quite tasty.

Pork schnitzel patties with cauliflower purée.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Nov 24– Nov 30)

21 Books to Begin 2018 – How many did you read? They’re still good, still relevant.

Why Aren’t We Talking About the Cognitive Health Crisis?– It’s probably the most important one.

Comment of the Week

“Funny! yesterday I was saying to my daughter that I was trying to be like if Francis Mallmann and Mark Sisson had a baby. Living with Mallmann”s lifestyle, but ripped as Sisson!.”

– I’d love to see a Mallmann/Sisson amalgam, Rafael, although I don’t know how realistic a baby would be. I’m a big fan of Mallmann, but not like that.

The post Weekly Link Love—Edition 5 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

[fishermariawo]

Weekly Link Love—Edition 5

Research of the Week

AI can predict heart disease risk from studying an eyeball.

Periodic reminder that bacon protects rats against colon cancer.

100 examples of cognitive decline reversal using diet and lifestyle.

Family dinners work.

Drawing helps memorization more than writing.

Humans may not have killed off the African megafauna after all.

Same-race teachers may help student achievement.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 292: Laura Rupsis and Erin Power: Host Elle Russ chats with Laura and Erin about The Primal Health Coach Program.

Episode 293: Longcuts to a Longer Life, Part 1: You know about shortcuts and hacks. Host Brad Kearns talks about “longcuts,” lifestyle shifts that may take more time but offer longer-lasting benefits.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Media, Schmedia

Man killed by (mostly) uncontacted North Sentinel island tribe he tried to contact.

Tokyo cafe to use robots controlled by remote employees with severe disabilities.

Interesting Blog Posts

Always get a second opinion. And never ignore your gut feeling.

How the modern diet may have initiated an extinction-level event in our guts.

Social Notes

I went on the Wellness Mama podcast to chat about keto, fasting for women and some Instant Pot tips.

Whoever could have imagined that Mark Sisson’s food brand would make a vegan gift list? Or that one of my recipes would be dubbed the “perfect” post-Thanksgiving vegetarian meal?

Everything Else

I’ll eat my hat if this works out.

The North Sentinelese tribe that killed the missionary has a history of forcefully resisting contact dating back to the time when a Brit kidnapped some adults and kids, let the adults die, and dropped the kids back off several weeks later.

Problem solved, folks! Just block sunlight. I’m sure there won’t be any untoward side effects.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Study I’m reading: Vitamin K2 contents of cheeses and other foods.

Article I found interesting: A Vaccine for Depression?

I like the honesty: Ethical vegetarian admits that “the environment” isn’t a valid reason to give up meat.

Another study I’m reading: “A time to fast.”

I’m impressed: Great photo editing.

Question I’m Asking

Would a “vaccine for everything”—one proven to safely inoculate all of us from any mental or physical health condition or disease—have any negative second- or third-order effects on society as a whole? Or would it be an unqualified boon?

Recipe Corner

The little-seen sequel to “Fried Green Tomatoes” tanked at the box office, but it’s quite tasty.

Pork schnitzel patties with cauliflower purée.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Nov 24– Nov 30)

21 Books to Begin 2018 – How many did you read? They’re still good, still relevant.

Why Aren’t We Talking About the Cognitive Health Crisis?– It’s probably the most important one.

Comment of the Week

“Funny! yesterday I was saying to my daughter that I was trying to be like if Francis Mallmann and Mark Sisson had a baby. Living with Mallmann”s lifestyle, but ripped as Sisson!.”

– I’d love to see a Mallmann/Sisson amalgam, Rafael, although I don’t know how realistic a baby would be. I’m a big fan of Mallmann, but not like that.

The post Weekly Link Love—Edition 5 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

[thesinglesjukebox]

NAKHANE FT. ANOHNI - NEW BRIGHTON

[7.08]

...and New Hove?

Nortey Dowuona: THIS VOICE IS BONDYE'S VOICE. [10]

Ian Mathers: Oh, this is gorgeous, and to my ears a successful evocation of some of the emotional/psychological costs of colonialism, which works a lot more directly than something more dry or intellectual. Two individually beautiful voices that just blend so naturally, although when they really get going some of the mixture of the two weirdly puts me in mind of David Byrne? Not a complaint, just not what I would have guessed from the beginning of the song. [9]

Iain Mew: Anohni's voice is still like being smothered by cotton wool, but "New Brighton" is the most I've ever enjoyed her. It goes through parodic over-sincerity and right out the other side to affecting in a way which reminds me of Pet Shop Boys' mocking-but-not-entirely cover of "Where the Streets Have No Name," were it to be updated for the mid-00s of Arcade Fire and Bloc Party. [7]

Tim de Reuse: Lush -- maybe too lush? God knows I've come down hard on songs for using less reverb than this, and the instrumental in isolation feels a little one-note in its endless climbing I - IV - I. But Nakhane's voice pulls it together; his wide, deep vibrato is joyous, and the song clearly centers around the dramatic build to the line "Never live in fear again." It's believable precisely for how effortless the delivery is, less like a prayer and more like a standing of ground. [7]

Alfred Soto: Two queer singers harmonize, swooping and diving, over a chugging rock arrangement, not unpleasantly. The Eno-esque sound-as-statement approach is diverting too. [5]

Josh Love: As stark as his pate, Nakhane is a natural heir to his guest here, Anohni, creating pop that's rich (or, depending on your perspective, freighted) with political, cultural, and sexual context, attempting the tough work of lifting up a host of varied marginalized voices. Such ambition is prone to be sunk by pretense, which is why it's a blessing that "New Brighton" is buoyed by such lovely, lilting guitar. [7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Unremarkable instrumentation that masks its drab synths with a slinking guitar melody. I suppose there's something to be said about the contrast between the lively tone and the lyrics about colonialism, but it's hard to register "New Brighton" as anything other than semi-impressive vocals ruined by poor songwriting. For Anohni, that's been her downfall this entire decade. [3]

Edward Okulicz: Nakhane's got a wonderful voice, both singing and half-narrating the verses here. And I've generally not been a fan of Anohni, but her and Nakhane harmonising together is beautiful, too. The slightly uptempo, lightly skipping music seems a bit basic for the rich combination of voice and story, but if I focus on the voices it doesn't matter. [7]

Iris Xie: "I was upset." The understated phrasing of this line is lovely, because Nakhane chooses subtlety to prove the self-evident wrongness of white colonialism, slavery, and missionaries and what it has done to his people, and resulted in the erasure of the actual people who matter, which Nakhane notes here as the Black women in his life. He expresses the pain in seeing names of colonizers define buildings, when it should be the names of his mother and sisters. Listening to the soulful harmonizing, I also think so much about my queer and trans Black friends and elders who have been through absolute hell but also create their own joy, and how important it is to center their voices and struggles, for they have borne the brunt of so much unjust systemic bigotry during their battle to exist fully as people. Additionally, "New Brighton" embodies a powerful decolonial imaginary that reaches up to the heavens of which Nakhane and Anohni are holding accountable by singing "never, never again." This is resilience, and to me, this is the sound of having to squeeze every last ounce of strength to believe so strongly in your own spirit, of having to rise up again after being burned so many times due to intergenerational trauma, oppressive institutions, hurtful homes, and countless other pains. But you are still here, you can find comfort in yourself and your loved ones, and you can build, once again, but for a new vision. [8]

Ramzi Awn: "New Brighton" is far from perfect, but it sure knows how to mix a vocal. The single's desert landscape is vivid, but in the end, Nakhane's U2 heartstrings can only take him so far. [6]

Scott Mildenhall: Whether as a musician or an actor in Inxeba, Nakhane is a powerhouse. Even if "New Brighton" can only convey a fraction of his personal catharsis, its force is immense. At once, he confronts the multifarious, intertwining issues of colonialism, religion, sexuality and his own experiences of them, and with the fiercest of affirmation refuses to be overcome by them. The sense of triumph -- even if only personal triumph -- is not only more than justified, but a delight to hear externalised. Nakhane says himself that all things considered, his "existence is miraculous." Yet here he is, saying with confidence (and Anohni's booming back-up) that he'll "never live in fear again." It's a powerful light to shine. [8]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: "New Brighton" sounds like a cleansing fire, its guitars and drums prickling with a anger that has been transmuted into joy by the power of Nakhane's vocal performance. It's the sound of winning the fight by abandoning its terms altogether, leaving what petty concerns of conquering men to dust. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[jesseneufeld]

Weekly Link Love—Edition 5

Research of the Week

AI can predict heart disease risk from studying an eyeball.

Periodic reminder that bacon protects rats against colon cancer.

100 examples of cognitive decline reversal using diet and lifestyle.

Family dinners work.

Drawing helps memorization more than writing.

Humans may not have killed off the African megafauna after all.

Same-race teachers may help student achievement.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 292: Laura Rupsis and Erin Power: Host Elle Russ chats with Laura and Erin about The Primal Health Coach Program.

Episode 293: Longcuts to a Longer Life, Part 1: You know about shortcuts and hacks. Host Brad Kearns talks about “longcuts,” lifestyle shifts that may take more time but offer longer-lasting benefits.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Media, Schmedia

Man killed by (mostly) uncontacted North Sentinel island tribe he tried to contact.

Tokyo cafe to use robots controlled by remote employees with severe disabilities.

Interesting Blog Posts

Always get a second opinion. And never ignore your gut feeling.

How the modern diet may have initiated an extinction-level event in our guts.

Social Notes

I went on the Wellness Mama podcast to chat about keto, fasting for women and some Instant Pot tips.

Whoever could have imagined that Mark Sisson’s food brand would make a vegan gift list? Or that one of my recipes would be dubbed the “perfect” post-Thanksgiving vegetarian meal?

Everything Else

I’ll eat my hat if this works out.

The North Sentinelese tribe that killed the missionary has a history of forcefully resisting contact dating back to the time when a Brit kidnapped some adults and kids, let the adults die, and dropped the kids back off several weeks later.

Problem solved, folks! Just block sunlight. I’m sure there won’t be any untoward side effects.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Study I’m reading: Vitamin K2 contents of cheeses and other foods.

Article I found interesting: A Vaccine for Depression?

I like the honesty: Ethical vegetarian admits that “the environment” isn’t a valid reason to give up meat.

Another study I’m reading: “A time to fast.”

I’m impressed: Great photo editing.

Question I’m Asking

Would a “vaccine for everything”—one proven to safely inoculate all of us from any mental or physical health condition or disease—have any negative second- or third-order effects on society as a whole? Or would it be an unqualified boon?

Recipe Corner

The little-seen sequel to “Fried Green Tomatoes” tanked at the box office, but it’s quite tasty.

Pork schnitzel patties with cauliflower purée.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Nov 24– Nov 30)

21 Books to Begin 2018 – How many did you read? They’re still good, still relevant.

Why Aren’t We Talking About the Cognitive Health Crisis?– It’s probably the most important one.

Comment of the Week

“Funny! yesterday I was saying to my daughter that I was trying to be like if Francis Mallmann and Mark Sisson had a baby. Living with Mallmann”s lifestyle, but ripped as Sisson!.”

– I’d love to see a Mallmann/Sisson amalgam, Rafael, although I don’t know how realistic a baby would be. I’m a big fan of Mallmann, but not like that.

The post Weekly Link Love—Edition 5 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekly Link Love—Edition 5 published first on https://drugaddictionsrehab.tumblr.com/

[milenasanchezmk]

Weekly Link Love—Edition 5

Research of the Week

AI can predict heart disease risk from studying an eyeball.

Periodic reminder that bacon protects rats against colon cancer.

100 examples of cognitive decline reversal using diet and lifestyle.

Family dinners work.

Drawing helps memorization more than writing.

Humans may not have killed off the African megafauna after all.

Same-race teachers may help student achievement.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 292: Laura Rupsis and Erin Power: Host Elle Russ chats with Laura and Erin about The Primal Health Coach Program.

Episode 293: Longcuts to a Longer Life, Part 1: You know about shortcuts and hacks. Host Brad Kearns talks about “longcuts,” lifestyle shifts that may take more time but offer longer-lasting benefits.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Media, Schmedia

Man killed by (mostly) uncontacted North Sentinel island tribe he tried to contact.

Tokyo cafe to use robots controlled by remote employees with severe disabilities.

Interesting Blog Posts

Always get a second opinion. And never ignore your gut feeling.

How the modern diet may have initiated an extinction-level event in our guts.

Social Notes

I went on the Wellness Mama podcast to chat about keto, fasting for women and some Instant Pot tips.

Whoever could have imagined that Mark Sisson’s food brand would make a vegan gift list? Or that one of my recipes would be dubbed the “perfect” post-Thanksgiving vegetarian meal?

Everything Else

I’ll eat my hat if this works out.

The North Sentinelese tribe that killed the missionary has a history of forcefully resisting contact dating back to the time when a Brit kidnapped some adults and kids, let the adults die, and dropped the kids back off several weeks later.

Problem solved, folks! Just block sunlight. I’m sure there won’t be any untoward side effects.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Study I’m reading: Vitamin K2 contents of cheeses and other foods.

Article I found interesting: A Vaccine for Depression?

I like the honesty: Ethical vegetarian admits that “the environment” isn’t a valid reason to give up meat.

Another study I’m reading: “A time to fast.”

I’m impressed: Great photo editing.

Question I’m Asking

Would a “vaccine for everything”—one proven to safely inoculate all of us from any mental or physical health condition or disease—have any negative second- or third-order effects on society as a whole? Or would it be an unqualified boon?

Recipe Corner

The little-seen sequel to “Fried Green Tomatoes” tanked at the box office, but it’s quite tasty.

Pork schnitzel patties with cauliflower purée.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Nov 24– Nov 30)

21 Books to Begin 2018 – How many did you read? They’re still good, still relevant.

Why Aren’t We Talking About the Cognitive Health Crisis?– It’s probably the most important one.

Comment of the Week

“Funny! yesterday I was saying to my daughter that I was trying to be like if Francis Mallmann and Mark Sisson had a baby. Living with Mallmann”s lifestyle, but ripped as Sisson!.”

– I’d love to see a Mallmann/Sisson amalgam, Rafael, although I don’t know how realistic a baby would be. I’m a big fan of Mallmann, but not like that.

The post Weekly Link Love—Edition 5 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

[cristinajourdanqp]

Weekly Link Love—Edition 5

Research of the Week

AI can predict heart disease risk from studying an eyeball.

Periodic reminder that bacon protects rats against colon cancer.

100 examples of cognitive decline reversal using diet and lifestyle.

Family dinners work.

Drawing helps memorization more than writing.

Humans may not have killed off the African megafauna after all.

Same-race teachers may help student achievement.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 292: Laura Rupsis and Erin Power: Host Elle Russ chats with Laura and Erin about The Primal Health Coach Program.

Episode 293: Longcuts to a Longer Life, Part 1: You know about shortcuts and hacks. Host Brad Kearns talks about “longcuts,” lifestyle shifts that may take more time but offer longer-lasting benefits.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Media, Schmedia

Man killed by (mostly) uncontacted North Sentinel island tribe he tried to contact.

Tokyo cafe to use robots controlled by remote employees with severe disabilities.

Interesting Blog Posts

Always get a second opinion. And never ignore your gut feeling.

How the modern diet may have initiated an extinction-level event in our guts.

Social Notes

I went on the Wellness Mama podcast to chat about keto, fasting for women and some Instant Pot tips.

Whoever could have imagined that Mark Sisson’s food brand would make a vegan gift list? Or that one of my recipes would be dubbed the “perfect” post-Thanksgiving vegetarian meal?

Everything Else

I’ll eat my hat if this works out.

The North Sentinelese tribe that killed the missionary has a history of forcefully resisting contact dating back to the time when a Brit kidnapped some adults and kids, let the adults die, and dropped the kids back off several weeks later.

Problem solved, folks! Just block sunlight. I’m sure there won’t be any untoward side effects.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Study I’m reading: Vitamin K2 contents of cheeses and other foods.

Article I found interesting: A Vaccine for Depression?

I like the honesty: Ethical vegetarian admits that “the environment” isn’t a valid reason to give up meat.

Another study I’m reading: “A time to fast.”

I’m impressed: Great photo editing.

Question I’m Asking

Would a “vaccine for everything”—one proven to safely inoculate all of us from any mental or physical health condition or disease—have any negative second- or third-order effects on society as a whole? Or would it be an unqualified boon?

Recipe Corner

The little-seen sequel to “Fried Green Tomatoes” tanked at the box office, but it’s quite tasty.

Pork schnitzel patties with cauliflower purée.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Nov 24– Nov 30)

21 Books to Begin 2018 – How many did you read? They’re still good, still relevant.

Why Aren’t We Talking About the Cognitive Health Crisis?– It’s probably the most important one.

Comment of the Week

“Funny! yesterday I was saying to my daughter that I was trying to be like if Francis Mallmann and Mark Sisson had a baby. Living with Mallmann”s lifestyle, but ripped as Sisson!.”

– I’d love to see a Mallmann/Sisson amalgam, Rafael, although I don’t know how realistic a baby would be. I’m a big fan of Mallmann, but not like that.

The post Weekly Link Love—Edition 5 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

[cynthiamwashington]

Weekly Link Love—Edition 5

Research of the Week

AI can predict heart disease risk from studying an eyeball.

Periodic reminder that bacon protects rats against colon cancer.

100 examples of cognitive decline reversal using diet and lifestyle.

Family dinners work.

Drawing helps memorization more than writing.

Humans may not have killed off the African megafauna after all.

Same-race teachers may help student achievement.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 292: Laura Rupsis and Erin Power: Host Elle Russ chats with Laura and Erin about The Primal Health Coach Program.

Episode 293: Longcuts to a Longer Life, Part 1: You know about shortcuts and hacks. Host Brad Kearns talks about “longcuts,” lifestyle shifts that may take more time but offer longer-lasting benefits.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Media, Schmedia

Man killed by (mostly) uncontacted North Sentinel island tribe he tried to contact.

Tokyo cafe to use robots controlled by remote employees with severe disabilities.

Interesting Blog Posts

Always get a second opinion. And never ignore your gut feeling.

How the modern diet may have initiated an extinction-level event in our guts.

Social Notes

I went on the Wellness Mama podcast to chat about keto, fasting for women and some Instant Pot tips.

Whoever could have imagined that Mark Sisson’s food brand would make a vegan gift list? Or that one of my recipes would be dubbed the “perfect” post-Thanksgiving vegetarian meal?

Everything Else

I’ll eat my hat if this works out.

The North Sentinelese tribe that killed the missionary has a history of forcefully resisting contact dating back to the time when a Brit kidnapped some adults and kids, let the adults die, and dropped the kids back off several weeks later.

Problem solved, folks! Just block sunlight. I’m sure there won’t be any untoward side effects.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Study I’m reading: Vitamin K2 contents of cheeses and other foods.

Article I found interesting: A Vaccine for Depression?

I like the honesty: Ethical vegetarian admits that “the environment” isn’t a valid reason to give up meat.

Another study I’m reading: “A time to fast.”

I’m impressed: Great photo editing.

Question I’m Asking

Would a “vaccine for everything”—one proven to safely inoculate all of us from any mental or physical health condition or disease—have any negative second- or third-order effects on society as a whole? Or would it be an unqualified boon?

Recipe Corner

The little-seen sequel to “Fried Green Tomatoes” tanked at the box office, but it’s quite tasty.

Pork schnitzel patties with cauliflower purée.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Nov 24– Nov 30)

21 Books to Begin 2018 – How many did you read? They’re still good, still relevant.

Why Aren’t We Talking About the Cognitive Health Crisis?– It’s probably the most important one.

Comment of the Week

“Funny! yesterday I was saying to my daughter that I was trying to be like if Francis Mallmann and Mark Sisson had a baby. Living with Mallmann”s lifestyle, but ripped as Sisson!.”

– I’d love to see a Mallmann/Sisson amalgam, Rafael, although I don’t know how realistic a baby would be. I’m a big fan of Mallmann, but not like that.

The post Weekly Link Love—Edition 5 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Article source here:Marks’s Daily Apple