#i was watching a youtube video about short lived nations

[sixeyescurseuser]

Thinking about figure skater Gojo who tirelessly trains to qualify and compete at the next Olympic Games.

Gojo is such a legend in the skating world, very well known for his jaw-dropping, difficult performances, handsome looks, and charming personality! He was built for the spotlight.

Naturally, he has many global fans, fan accounts, and ordinary people who follow his career.

People who meet Gojo in-person after having only seen him on tv are shocked at how tall he is, yet manages to skate so well. All those triple and quad axels? And the amount of grace and power he skates with is insane considering his build. 

Once, an interviewer asks Gojo what other skaters he admires? Gojo talks about a few current big names, then sneaks in a mention of, “Oh, Suguru is also in my list , hehe.”

The interviewer chuckles alongside him, yet can’t help but ask, “Suguru…who?”

Later, Geto Suguru nearly spits out his water while watching the interview posted on Youtube. He doesn’t hesitate to text his boyfriend.

Geto: “Why do you keep bringing me up? I literally just skated in high school 😭”

Gojo sends back an old video of Geto’s skating routine from a regional competition: ❤️❤️

Geto: “WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE THIS?”

Gojo: “heyyy >:(“

Gojo: “It makes me happy 🥰 I loved watching you”

***

Growing up, Gojo and Geto skated at the same club.  But while Gojo continued skating as his professional career after, Geto dropped skating in order to focus on his academics in college.

Gojo often reminisces on the long practices they had where they would watch each other run through their routines and give each other feedback, when they would mess around and throw the craziest combinations just for shits and giggles.

He didn’t realize their time together on the rink would be so short in the long run, but they began dating when they were only sixteen, and have been going strong together since.

Gojo is still lucky to have Suguru to come home to after his long days at the rink.  

After college, Geto went on to become a marine biologist, where he does a lot of work in ocean wildlife conservation. He’s either on a boat collecting data for research or in the lab analyzing his sample results. 

Gojo is not only busy training in Japan, but he also frequently travels to train in different countries. Gojo receives lots of updates from Suguru in the form of selfies and blurry photos with ocean wildlife or results from the lab.

Suguru in the lab with his ppe (personal protection equipment). Suguru wearing his wet suit while investigating algae farms. Suguru smiling while holding a crab.  

Gojo makes the last one his lock screen. Suguru just looks so cute with his hair pulled back, and when Gojo holds his finger down on the live photo, he can hear Suguru’s voice talking in baby to the crab.

(Geto’s wallpaper is a selfie of them when they were teens.)

Geto gets super excited telling Gojo about his new findings, taking the time to explain different facts and technical terms. Gojo eagerly nods along on the phone and asks questions, commenting, “No way! The algae increased nearly double the amount with your XXX solution? That’s amazing!”

***

Gojo loves what he does, but it’s always a relief to come back home and find his comfort place in Suguru’s arms. 

Nothing beats taking a shower and raiding Suguru’s closet after, cooking dinner with his boyfriend, and then cuddles on the couch.

The first thing they see when they turn on the tv is a sports reporter announcing Gojo Satoru's third national championship title, and what it means for the road to the Olympics.

“Oh wow, this guy is on a roll. He should train for the Olympics or something,” Geto says.

Gojo simply buries face in Suguru’s neck and snickers: “Or something.”

***

Once, while getting ready to sleep one night, Gojo whispers in Geto’s: “Remember that one time you ripped your pants during the Junior Grand Prix?”

Geto doesn’t react at first.

Then, without warning, he tries to smother his boyfriend with his pillow.

***

One of the best memories is when Geto surprised Gojo by showing up in-person to one of the abroad competitions. 

In the middle of his post-win interview, still in his competition suit, makeup dewey and hair fluffy, Gojo suddenly spots a familiar face behind one of the paparazzi. 

Gojo is literally mid-answer when he locks in and SPRINTS to get his boyfriend in his arms.

“Suguru!!” Gojo shouts. He’s already leaping and oh, Suguru’s arms readily catch him. 

Geto laughs with his whole chest, squeezing tightly around Gojo’s middle.

“Hello, darling.”

Gojo has to finish the interview but he’s so bubbly now because teehee Suguru is right there and watching proudly. 

Gojo needs him in his bed immediately.

After the interview, Geto explains he got his lab assistants to cover their project for the next week so he could fly out and visit Gojo in Australia!

Gojo happily drags Geto back to his hotel room,  giggling and babbling about the plans they could have for the next week. The couple excitedly discuss outings to art and performance events, to the beach, even the zoo - which Geto is ecstatic for. 

Upon entering the hotel room, Geto quickly drops his luggage off in the corner. Gojo is still yapping when Geto suddenly walks him backwards to the bed. 

The back of Gojo’s knees hit the edge and he falls back with an “oof!”

Geto smoothly crawls on top to lay his whole body weight on his boyfriend’s. 

Gojo chuckles. He combs through Suguru’s hair and continues his talking, knowing Suguru is tired from traveling and this will help them both relax.

Gojo gradually runs out of things to say, and the soft breaths against his neck tell him yep, he unfortunately needs to poke his boyfriend awake so they can both shower and freshen up before bed.

Gojo pats Geto’s lower back. “Suguru, wakey wakey.”

No response.

Pat pat on the lower back again, then smoothing his hands up to pat the upper-back.

“Babyyy, wake up. We need to shower. And eat.”

Geto offers a protesting grunt, then nuzzles against Gojo’s neck.

This leaves Gojo no choice.

He sneaks a hand down to pinch Geto’s ass.

“Ouch- hey what the fuck?”

Gojo yelps when he feels Suguru pinch his nipple in retaliation, then rolls off Gojo’s body to head toward the bathroom.

Five minutes later, the couple shower together while casually recapping the results of the skating event.

“Any feedback for me today?” Gojo asks. Geto hums, more focused on massaging the shampoo into Gojo’s hair. He applies the perfect amount of pressure that makes Gojo moan in appreciation.

“The only feedback I have is that you look amazing out there, Satoru. All the hard work you put into training clearly pays off. I am so so proud of you,” Geto says, dropping a kiss to Gojo’s nape.

Gojo preens, and completely surrenders himself to his boyfriend's tender touches.

[skyenish]

What would the Twisted Wonderland characters post if they had YouTube?

Riddle- doesn’t post anything but is a grammar nazi in the comments

Trey- baking vids and tutorials

Cater- vlogs

Deuce- motorcycle repair vids

Ace- ‘is fortnite actually overrated?’

Leona- wouldn’t upload anything but has a lot of followers (mostly Ruggie alts)

Jack- workout vids

Ruggie- ‘freestyle parkour- RUNNING FROM THE COPS???! (live)’

Azul- those weird business yt shorts with like fake customer complaints and stuff (or kids content a la billion suprise toys because of the money)

Jade- ‘watch mushrooms grow in 1 minute (timelapse)’

Floyd- ‘Should I eat my toothbrush?’ ‘I ate my toothbrush’

Kalim- dance vids and magic carpet rides

Jamil- pissing people off intentionally (anonymously say something extremely offensive or controversial and watch the chaos unfold)

Vil- beauty hacks and advice

Rook- wildlife vids: ‘picking flowers in the wild’ ‘skinning and gutting a rabbit’

Epel- also workout vids (or something about the countrylife)

Idia- anime AMVs and unboxing

Ortho- national threats: (has a nuke in the background) “if you don’t stop bullying my brother I’m going to bomb the shaftlands”

Malleus- doesn’t know how to YouTube, doesn’t post anything. Lilia made an account for him and Sebek and Lilia are the only people following it.

Lilia- gaming videos or family vids with Diasomnia

Sebek- that one annoying guy in the comments who’s like “excuse me sir, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Malleus Draconia?”

Silver- doesn’t post anything but appears in Lilia’s videos.

I made this at like 1 am enjoy

[mcyt-rarepair-tournament]

please tell us how Brutus is a c!Karl song i would love to hear you out

Okayokayokayokay. So I understand that a lot of people never watched c!Karl’s lore pre-TFTSMP however there is a really good analysis video of him on YouTube that explains it really well, and it was made before doomsday even happened.

But to sum it up: c!Karl really wanted to be involved in the lore. He was always trying to be a part of the big stuff, and he even comments on it during c!Niki’s birthday party, when c!Wilbur is about to blow Manberg up (You can actually hear him say ‘wait, am I part of a big event for once?’) Sad-ist’s meme animatic Dre Smp was made because there was a whole bit about Karl wanting to be included.

Later, c!Karl made Rutabag-Ville while the Pogtopia war was going down (this is actually the context in which c!Techno chased c!Quackity and gave That Speech) and eventually annexed it to c!Schlatt. Why? Well, he’d wanted to join Pogtopia, but had been turned down, I believe it was even specifically by c!Quackity.

Later, c!Quackity and c!Tubbo confronted him over this decision, and he eventually said that he sided with c!Schlatt because he felt welcome and c!Schlatt was nice to him. Now, obviously, we all know this was manipulation, and it’s my own little headcanon that c!Karl knew subconsciously what he was doing, but wanted to be accepted so badly he didn’t care.

This also extends beyond the Pogtopia war. I think not a lot of people actually know that Karl was part of the New L’Manberg government as its creative head, but he was left out of every discussion by the rest of the cabinet (we got ROBBED of butcher army c!Karl). He expresses bitterness over this readily! One thing I forgot to mention earlier is that he actually did try to get people on Manberg’s side back in the war by giving them gifts, but they always burned them when he left.

He also founded El Rapids during this time with c!Sapnap, c!Quackity, and c!George. Some drama happened, and in order to assert their nations independence, Karl sacrificed one of his lives by blowing up part of his country in order to frame Eret for it.

(side note, but fun fact; c!Karl was the one who snitched to c!Dream about c!Eret helping Pogtopia, which is what got c!George on the throne. Just a little fun fact.)

Of course, his lore does kinda peter out after that. His CC began streaming TFTSMP, and we know how that went. Not to say he never streamed at all, but they became a lot rarer since a lot of the server began to think they needed more scripted lore, thus their standards for streaming became higher.

I also agree with the headcanon that he has FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and while you could say that this was just his CC wanting to be in more lore, you would be right, but if we brushed off character’s lore because the CC wasn’t 100% in-character, we would have very little characterization left. A lot of Karl’s characters comes from before the 4th wall had really solidified on the server, plus it comes from late-2020, while a lot of newer fans got into the smp around early to mid 2021.

Basically, Brutus is a song about envy, hatred, and a whole lot of mixed emotions based on the assassination of Julius Caesar. While c!Karl never went to the extremes Brutus did, it’s not really hard to see how closely the song echoes his treatment on the server.

I tend to divide c!Karl’s characterization into three parts; first is his more immature and young personality that is set during the Manberg to El Rapids era, second is his transitioning phase between that and someone a bit more mature, which I put from Doomsday to The Pit (the eighth TFTSMP episode), and third is his more mature characterization, where he is burdened by his time traveler duties and has grown into his own person, past the need to be important and make an impact, though the shadow of Manberg and El Rapids loom over him.

In short, c!Karl is a nuanced character who faced the curse of fanon and lost. But hey, so did everyone else. I’d argue he got some of the worst of it, though C!Ranboo is a tough contender. So is C!Sam, actually. And c!Fundy. Just… a lot of characters got the short stick by fanon.

This is my first shot at making an essay, so it’s a bit messy. A lot of this can be found on vod channels, however, so if anyone wants to give links feel free to do so! Also you can correct me if I got anything wrong, it has been a hot minute since I’ve watched a DSMP vod.

That’s my two cents, anyhow. I just really like c!Karl and feel like he got done dirty by a lot of fans. They really did take a nuanced character who was both selfless and selfish, kind yet a bit of a sadist, loved to mess with his loved ones but also hated when anyone touched them, and turned him into a little soft boy who can’t defend himself against anything or One Of c!Quackity’s Mean Crazy Ex-Fiancés. No, I am not exaggerating, I saw someone legitimately call c!Karl crazy because of the Kinoko argument. Y’all…

That’s pretty much it! My fingers are getting tired so I’m sorry if it got a little messy at the end or I got a bit off topic. If anyone needs more clarification I will happily oblige. There were even a few details I left out because I wanted to cut down on this post’s length. C!Karl is a fascinating character and he’s been my No. 1 for nearly two years at this point. Thank you for listening!

[thougts-of-xena]

• Wakanda forever, Líik'ik Talokan and Glory to Ukraine •

[ ukrainian girl's perspective of the latest mcu movie ]

I watched [ Black Panter: Wakanda forever ] recently, and I can clearly tell - it's gonna be my favorite movie of the long long time. It's an amazing, really good action movie, one of the most epic I've seen. I loved it so much to see beautiful cultures, and all honor to Chadwick Boseman's memory made me very emotional every time. Like those silent moments whole audience was silent too, almost holding their breath.

And the most important for me was character of Namor, his arc and whole point about colonization. This period of time, colonization of America and erasing cultures hurted me so deep as an autistic child with history as an interest, and now I can relate so much with all this stories as an adult woman of the nation fighting for independence [ and survival basically ].

In our National Day of Dignity and Freedom want to talk with you about it. Why it is so important for me personally, and maybe for many conscious people of our nation as well.

Not for trying to compare who suffered more through the history. It never was, and never will be my goal, this would be awful thing to do. But to share history of my people and explain why this movie and character affected me so much.

For short - though Namor despites human kind in general I hope he might be pleased to see our "let's burn colonizators to the ground" resistance after hundreds of years of oppression, when old 'mighty' Europe only saying they're conserned and "let's just calm down and talk everybody". Heaven knows we tried everything, we tried to talk so many times. Russians do not want to talk with us - they want to make us assimilated part of their country, or they want us dead. And we just want to be left alone and live our lives.

For a bit longer story - just look at this monstrosity of a country. Is this normal for country to be THAT enormously big?

You can say: - Maybe. And I will say: - Only if all subjects having equal rights, impact and independence inside the union.

But things never in the history of russian expansion was like that,  and im going explain it, and hope you will get it why  I have used word "colonizators" earlier.

I really wanted to write a whole proper article or essay about this, but I'm without electricity for most of the time lately. "Thanks" to russian missiles damaging our power plants. And it become really hard for me to engage in deeper research, to translate and put in here sources that wasn't originally in english.

So instead it will be more little history lesson with knowledge from my head, and little documentaries from other intelligent people, which I recommend you to watch to illustrate my point. Videos was made by ukrainan creators, so yu can trust them, english subs that can be turned manually if you open them on YouTube, I'm still not sure how this works here.

I'll mostly use history of my country as an example since i know it better, I feel I have no right to talk about other nations at their behalf.

So Muskovy [ USSSR and modern Russia ] is like adopted offspring of the Golden Horde.

Golden Horde expanfion, you can spot something similar already

It expands only to consume resources, erasing native people of that lands. Do you think small swampy peace of land it originally was had all that gas, oil and wood they're bragging about nowadays?

Do you think there wasn't native people in that land who was exterminated, exiled or assimilated so russians can use resources this nation had? They didn't even had a clear access to big water.

Muskovy was a small part of Kyevan Rus' on a distant swampy land, but it wanted more influence in the world, a clear access to the big water - Black Sea that we had, since they didn't have it and felt like they missing up whole worldwide trading and invasive wars party.

To do so they tried to get all the land for themselves. Kyevan Rus' then was successful and strong country of its time but had an internal issues [ muskovy as one of them ] and was struggling with every neighbor wanted to get a part of its territory.

Interesting story for another time, let's focuse on a russian part of it.

So Muskovy put their eyes on not only territories of modern Crimea, wich was their own country that days  - Crimean Khanat, but all modern Odesa-Mykolaiv-Kherson-Mariupol lands. But they can't get there easily, they need to concuer all the land, wich is not bad itself as it has a lot of coal, forest ant great agricultural potential.

But my people don't wanted to give it up so easily, wanting our territories back, wanting a safespace for our culture and history, so fighted with their lifes. This leads to more than 300 years of  [ - give me your land! - no. ] and after becoming an Empire strong enough to overpower us [ - give us our independence back! - no. ] cycles of merciless wars.

And than Russian Empire coming up with a time proved strategy. I don't know did they make it by themselves or sneaked a peak of it by older empire-sisters but they're using it til now,  evolving from Russian Empire to USSR to Russian federation like some wicked Pokémon.

And here's coming the interesting part with the videos I prepared for you,  grab some snacks and let's go.

The first one is about how russia tried to erase our language

This one about them them trying to erase our culture and replace it with a fucking joke.

And the last one is about creating an image of our people as angry, stupid and degraded, with THEM as superior nation above us, mostly in our heads.

They knew what they were doing and did that on purpose. They wanted make us ashamed of our culture, to separated us from who we are and mash into a faceless "brotherhood nations" with recourses to use.

Unfortunately - it worked, and worked very well as whole nation has an inferiority complex now, simpy denying ourselves. Feeling like its better to be associated with them, to blend in what they are calling culture, than discover our own one, that was appropriated, stolen or forgotten for generations, almost fighting for not to be lost forever.

So-called "big brother of ours" enslaved our people with serfdom, suppressin our attempts to embrace our heritage, to gain independence, causing artificial hunger Holodomor in 1932-33 also known as Terror-famine in Ukraine, or by repressions like Executed Renaissance. Our culture is still alive and kicking, but you can see there was not big room for blooming.

Those who they couldn't execute - they calling heritage of their own. For example Treasure Island animation, dr. Livesey from it internet loved so much not so long ago - it's actually ukrainian made.

They simply called russain everyone talented or famous from so-called union. They made sure it's almost impossible for you to pursue your ambitions as a scientist, artist or musician anywhere but Russia, so if you work in Russia you will be seen as and caled russian, no matter where you from.

No matter wich culture certain traditional attires [ vyshivanka or papakha ] dish [ borsh or chebureki ] or other heritage  like giorgian dance woman lezghinka russians calling their beryozka now, came from - it all claimed by them as their general [ stolen ] russian culture.

They did it not only to us. I told I wouldn't be speaking of other nations but just take a look what was done to Crimean tatars.

If you thought I made up my point about them wanting access to the sea VERY BAD

You may search on YouTube or TikTok how russians treating their neighbor "former soviet union" countries [ like Republic of Kazakhstan or Georgia ] when visiting them.

Like "you should be grateful we bring civilization to your land" and "your native name is to hard for me to pronounce, I'll just call you Masha, Natasha, Ivan etc." Ask people of other Caucasian regiongs about how they was and still treated till now, ask belorusians about their language [ spoiler - it is dying ].

Its so unfair, that now we are screaming at the top of our lungs to be heard, for people to see us the nations of our own, to just let us be and cherish our culture.

But our voices are suppressed by voices of our oppressors telling us to calm down and listen to them since they know the better way for us to live and solve problems THEY CAUSED. With no regrets or reflexia.

And world prefers to listen to them, praising them, insted of listen to people who was offended, if not to say violated, by them. Not only us, many other nations,.

After all i said this story may sound familiar to black people, indigenous people of America, people of other colonized countrie - because IT IS.

Or you may say to me:

- I'ts just white's business, mind it on your own.

Ok, though its not very correct statement, but I'll take it for now. Let me show you this video, then - Russia is literally colonizing African countries right now for their woods. They won't stop. They simply don't want to, still thinking imperial way.

             •••• ••••   •••• ••••   •••• ••••

Thank you for reading all of this to the end.

My point here was not to make this movie and other people's trauma about my people, to take it away from you. This is YOUR history and YOUR experience.

I'm writing this not to impose ourself in your place, not to say that we can completely 100% clearly understand what are you feeling. I just wanted to share what are going through, to show why this movie in general and Namor in particular is so important and precious to me as.

I feel like he was right all along, just like us wanting nothing other than protect his land and people. Time is now for Ukraine and someone has to end this monster, burn those russian world | peace* they bringing everywhere they go, and we'll not hasitate.

* in russian there's one world for this term, basically it means "coercion some country to peace by violence and propaganda for expantion through the world"

I think it's really important to point some serious issues in movies like that. You may not like the movie, or actors or else, I respect that, but it's social commentary, it's impact you can't overestimate.

I believe some nations should be pointed at this on and on and on like "yes, YOUR nation did it. Yes. Yes it did. It's part of your history and responsibility is not going anywhere. Your way of thinking now is a part of the problem! Take it, rethink it and work it out,  like a mature nation should".

I believe that we can overcome this trauma, educate people [ though some of them may use the Clockwork orange therapy instead ], and in some time make world a better place without all this shit.

I've seen [ Wakanda forever ] two times at theaters already and I'm planning to go for it again. I want it to make a good income, I want corporations see at least financial benefit of educating people, of making an empathy gap smaller.

I want them to seek profit in making a good culture and history representation, to give voice for this people to talk to a wider group of people - its freaking Marvel, after all. To educate and unite those who suffering with generational and colonial trauma.

For example after "Encanto" someone might catch themselves wondering - who was those people that attacked Abuelas village and why would they do that?

Like "The Woman King" left me shaken . Movie may not be 100% historically accurate, as I'm aware, but it was good as the work of art, it showed culture, tradition, and the tragedy. It really drove me to this culture, I hope many people as well wanted to know more, and more.

Simple wandering who K'uk'ulkan may originally be, what a meaning his figure may originally have, may lead people to more serious research. To study, to respect and adore as this cultures in the way they deserve to. Like my childish adoration is booming and blooming now, bringing me so much joy, im eager to learn and resurch. I just hope books from my childhood aren't burned to ashes in occupied town where I left them.

And I'm only waiting for my salary to try to buy some books end explore world of Black Panter more. Same for comics in general - I was torn from pop-culture growing up, trying regaining this loss in past few years, taking friendly recommendations here, indigenous, POC or queer stories\creators is a priority.

I'm open for discussion, since my mind is a mess after this movie. I have so many thoughts, I love it - the movie and thinking thoughts -  very much.

We can also discuss how amazing it is to see celebration of any other than white european cultures on the big screen, how beautiful it is to see people of color on the leading roles, and black people in position of power through the plot. To show them as good and proud people, who know their worth, and will not tolerate any disrespect towards them. [ and how pleasing it is to see so pissed off people those empathy ends when starts conversation about the minority they can't associate themselves with. It's not about or for you, wolrd is changing, adjust a little, baby boy ]

We can discuss the messages from Black Panter movies that someone with the real power do not use it to cause harm, but the weak ones always seeking power to abuse the others. The message about loss and grief. Like now I have deeper understanding of our national motto "heroes never die".

Or we can share our love to Namor. As my sister told me after the movie - despite our shared thalassophobia we'd love be one of Talokan people. To have place then you'll be safe and secure, to have fatherly caring figure of K'uk'ulkan that always by your side protecting you, making sure that all will be well. Aqua papi? Aqua papa, por favor, gracias. And please - his little wooden house - isn't it adorable? Does his mother inspired him to make it? Does that mean his heart still have some little room for something from the surface? I don't need sleep, I need answers.

You can offer your theme to talk about, but if you coming to start some rude shit here - I'll not hesitate to block you immediately. Same goes for those who didn't like the movie as much as I did, I respect that, just chill out and pass by.

For the ones who read this to the very end - exclusive announcement. On my art acc I'll definitely draw my beloved feather serpent god, not once nor twice, since now it's a comfort character of mine and im going to embrace my urge for historicall, cultural and mythological studies as much as i can. But with some time pass. I have the ideas, now I need to gain some stability, mental at least. I'd love to share love for him with you, feel free to be my guest.

[silversimp]

Curiosity (Reigen x Female Reader)

Reigen Arataka has always mastered skills effortlessly, well aside from one: flirting with women. When the greatest psychic of the 21st century drunkenly takes an online course for picking up chics he doesn't expect it to actually work.

aka I randomly remembered those wild pickup artist youtube channels from a few years ago and wrote this silly little fic~

Reigen Arataka had always been the kind of man who rapidly learned a new skill, fully enthralled in each new skill until he mastered it and tossed the short lived passion to the side for his next mental adventure. He learned things quickly, easily, and he often found the new skill boring once he learned it. Becoming a psychic was no different. Reigen played with idea until it started to get boring, if anything the skill he had mastered through the endeavor was massage rather than actual psychic abilities. 

That was until a young boy wandered into Reigen's office seeking someone who understood him, understood being an esper. So the man continued his shady business, with a new interest that peaked in mentorship. However, he was still doing mostly the same work as he had before he found out spirits and psychics were real, spare the occasional real exorcism. So Reigen decided he needed to find something to fill that innate need of his to learn new things, of course, without stopping the greatest psychic of the 21st century charade for Mob's sake. 

The man mastered a few new skills, knitting and sewing being the most useful since he wasn't making enough money to buy new clothes every time his pants ripped or his sweater tore. However, an ad online caught his eye one day. A class for a skill he had never excelled in, in fact a class he had no idea people were actually interested in paying for: picking up girls. Reigen clicked the ad out of curiosity, the same curiosity that always fueled his impulsive nature. 

GET GIRLS FAST! 

The ad read in large, gaudy, text at the top of a website akin to his own graphic design hell. Many pictures of gorgeous women, almost all of them a few thin pieces of fabric away from nude, hanging on average and below-average looking men. Reigen raised a brow at the obvious scam looking back at him, bright yellow text telling him that if he paid $29.99 he too could have sexy women hanging all over him. 

"Yeah, okay sure" he scoffed, scrolling down some more to find a link to MobTube account. Clicking that led him to a channel overflowing in obviously staged videos of some guy picking up girls in various locations. It was a Saturday night, Reigen was sitting alone in his apartment having a beer and mindlessly browsing the internet, might as well waste a few minutes watching the videos. 

"Hey there, bad dude nation!" The conventionally attractive man in a tight shirt yelled as the video started. 

"I'm sorry, the what?" Reigen laughed, putting his laptop down on his bed to lay down next to it as he watched the video. 

"Today I'm going to show you that getting girls is all about confidence! It has nothing to do with looks or what you say!" The man yelled as the camera zoomed out, displaying him on the beach. 

"Does he only yell?" Reigen snickered, sipping his beer and kicking his feet back and forth in the air as he laid on his stomach. 

"I'll be getting girls' numbers without saying any words to them!" The man shouted before the video transitioned into a long and loud intro sequence. 

"Holy shit!" Reigen yelped, almost spilling his beer as he rapidly tapped the lower volume button. Once the intro finished begging him to like and subscribe for clear skin, the man was now dressed as a mime and silently trying to get a girl's number. The girl was, of course, in a tiny bikini with the body of a Victoria's Secret model. Reigen laughed so hard he started crying as the miming turned into just straight up making out with the woman. 

"See guys, it doesn't matter who you are or what you do! What women want is a man with confidence!" The man was yelling after a hard cut from the soft core porn to a far too close shot of his mime makeup face. 

"Hey, you might want to put a jump scare warning for the people jerking off man" Reigen giggled after finishing his beer. He laughed at a few more, equally ridiculous, videos before deciding he was too curious to not see what this guy was selling on his website. 

After returning to the website, Reigen read through what exactly was being offered for the low, low price of $29.99. It was an online course, most likely just more videos like the ones on the MobTube channel, and access to a chat room that the pickup artist himself was in and giving out tips and tricks on. Reigen bit his lip, hovering his cursor over the pay now button as curiosity ate away at him. It was an obvious scam, no way would the course actually make him able to pick up girls. Reigen knew this, he was positive even. Still, he clicked.

After hesitantly typing in his card information, Reigen was brought to a different website. This one was neater, with a menu of the courses he could take. Reigen wasn't surprised to find out that once he finished the first two courses he would need to pay an additional $10 for every course after that, and there were fifty courses in total. His curiosity, and wallet, weren't strong enough to dish out the $480 to complete his training to become the greatest pickup artist of the 21st century. 

Though, he did click through the two he had just paid for. Like he thought, they were compilations of the guy's YouTube videos with a few clips of him reading from a script about vague dating tips. However, after he finished the second course he got a pop up telling him he could practice his new pick up artist skill with a real girl online at that very moment. Reigen eyed the pop up for a moment, mulling over what exactly that could mean and if he should click accept or deny. He hovered over the deny button with his mouse, only to get another pop up asking him if he was a pussy. Which was enough to get him to click accept. 

As he clicked the button a video chat window popped up, along with a box asking for permissions to access his camera and microphone. Behind that box was a girl, waiting for him to join the video call. Reigen nervously sat up and tried to position the laptop at a better angle so he wouldn't look dumb as he clicked the accept buttons. At this point the man had already drank two beers, which would be the same as finishing a six pack for a person with a normal alcohol tolerance. 

"Uh, hello?" Reigen mumbled as his camera and microphone turned on, a window next to the one with the girl in it displayed what he looked like: drunk and tired in a dark room. 

"Hi" she smiled back at him, Reigen couldn't help but sweat as he looked over her beauty. 

"So, uh, what now?" He asked dumbly as he stared at her.

"What do you mean?" She tilted her head and furrowed her brow, visibly confused by his question. 

"So like, is it role-playing or am I just shooting my shot as me?" Reigen asked nervously. 

"Um, buddy I don't know what you're talking about?" The girl leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, "you called me, I assume for tech support." 

"What" Reigen narrowed his eyes, fully confused and drunk. 

"I'm y/n, from MobCom technical support" she shook her head, annoyed, "I got a pop up here at work that you were calling regarding help with a technical issue with your office computers using our software."

"I uh, I was on a pick up artist website. It told me you were calling me to get hit on" his face went red as the words left his mouth, the realization that the scummy website had set this up as a way for gross men to hit on unsuspecting women while they were working sobering him up quickly.

"You were what?" She raised a brow, a smile trying to tug at the corners of her lips. 

"Yeah, I got an ad for this website that said I'd get hot girls all over me if I bought this course from a pick up artist" he began ranting nervously, no thoughts only words, "but it was definitely a scam and it looks like it's hacked into your companies customer service system or something to set guys up with a random girl to hit on" he only stopped talking when the woman on his screen began laughing uncontrollably. 

"That's so pathetic!" She chuckled, "what is wrong with you?" Her eyes wet from laughing so hard. 

"Hey, I only did it cause I'm buzzed and bored!" Reigen laughed back, "I swear this guy's MobTube channel is pure gold! All scripted videos of him basically just making out with models he's definitely paid to be there!" 

"And you paid him money just for fun?" The girl leaned forward with a playful look. 

"I'm bored okay" Reigen smiled, "I worked hard for those thirty bucks and I can waste them however I want" he ran his fingers through his hair, a smug smile plastered on his lips. 

"Oh my god, you paid thirty dollars!?" She began laughing again, "Dude I wish I had thirty dollars to burn on something that dumb" she doubled over laughing loudly. 

"What are you doing working so late on a Saturday anyways?" Reigen asked out of nowhere as he noticed the time. 

"MobCom runs all over the world despite being based in Seasoning City in Japan, so I work remotely overnight to help people overseas or people in the country who are having technical difficulties at strange times. We regularly get great ratings for our customer service because of it" she chirped, getting more comfortable in her desk chair. 

"So what exactly is MobCom?" Reigen asked, opening another beer. He didn't usually have someone to talk to on Saturday nights, unless he went to the bar, so he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to hang out with someone. 

"It's a software company, we make communication software for companies" she shrugged, "normally when people are having issues with the software they get put through to either a phone call or video call, depending on their preference, with me or someone else. I can remotely access any computer with our software installed with permission from the user, most of the time the client isn't drinking beer though" she giggled as he took a long sip. 

"Well I'm not a client, I'm some lame guy who got scammed by a pickup artist and you're collateral" Reigen laughed before chugging the rest of the beer, regaining his drunkenness, "you deserve a drink too, a real weirdo could have gotten to you instead of me you know." 

"I'm pretty sure you're a real weirdo" she laughed, "and actually I'm already drinking wine" she blushed, pulling the glass into frame. 

"You drink while you're working?" Reigen teased, wiggling his finger in front of the camera, "tsk tsk" he feigned disappointment before opening another can. 

"I'm pretty sure everyone who works in customer service deserves a drink while they deal with the general public" she laughed, taking a swig of the red wine. 

"Oh, I get that" Reigen laughed, "yesterday I had this guy in my office who kept telling me if I didn't lower my prices he wouldn't pay them, after we finished everything! He even knew the prices before he agreed!" 

"What do you do for work?" She asked, swirling her cup. Reigen swallowed, he didn't really want to tell her he was a psychic, that could quickly make this conversation weird if she didn't believe in stuff like that.  

"I'm a masseuse" he half lied, "I told the guy my prices for massages and he picked one of the more expensive ones, just to try to talk down the price after we were done." 

"You should take payment first then" she shrugged, "can't get stiffed if they refuse to pay before you put in the work." 

"Well, yeah" he smiled at her dumbly, "you're right, I should do that" Reigen was surprised such a pretty girl had stayed and chatted with him for so long, especially given the rather dubious way the conversation was brought to life. 

"You're pretty drunk huh?" She laughed, inspecting him on her screen. 

"No, it's sad if you're drunk alone" he rubbed his neck, "I'm just a little buzzed" he winked. 

"You're not alone" she smiled, holding her glass up to the camera, "cheers" she giggled before taking a sip. 

"Shouldn't you be getting to work? Talking to actual clients?" Reigen teased, hoping she wouldn't actually leave but he didn't want her to feel trapped in their chat. 

"And talk to people mad about their computers not working?" She rolled her eyes, "yeah, no thanks! I'll enjoy my little break for a bit longer." 

"Well I'm glad I could spend thirty bucks to give you a little break" Reigen smiled, shifting in his bed to lay down. He was starting to get tired, exhausted from the work week and the alcohol settling in his stomach. 

"Me too" she blushed into her wine glass, "of all the weirdos to get hacked into my service system I'm glad it was you" she said in almost a whisper before chugging her drink, a little embarrassed she actually said that aloud. 

"That's pretty cute" Reigen laughed, "you said you're based in Seasoning City? Me too" he wasn't really sure why he said it, maybe he secretly hoped she would offer to meet up sometime. 

"Oh wow, small world" she blushed, "I didn't get your name by the way." 

"Reigen Arataka, the greatest psychic of the 21st century" he mumbled sleepily, eyelids getting heavy as he snuggled into his pillow. 

"Oh?" She giggled, "a masseuse and a psychic? You sure are talented." 

"Mmm, come to my office sometime. I'll give you a discount on a massage and palm reading" he smiled stupidly as sleep began to take him, his words leaving his lips without thought. 

"Maybe I would if I knew what your business was called, sleepy head" she laughed, eyeing him as he began to fall asleep. Reigen couldn't get any more words out as he passed out, y/n watched him for a moment and sighed before closing the chat. After another call, with a much more annoying and rude man, she decided to try googling Reigen. To her surprise she got a few results, one of them being the Spirits and Such website. 

Opening the website provided her with some more laughter, the horribly designed website looked like something out of a nightmare as she tried to find an address. A soft blush on her cheeks as she paused her scrolling to look at a collage of photos of Reigen with satisfied customers. The blush was in part from the wine, but also the cute dopey face he was pulling in each picture; one she hoped to see again. 

Unable to locate the address for the office she decided to just fill out an appointment request form, assuming she would be given the address from that. When a questionnaire popped up about why she was seeking out a psychic she decided to have some fun with it. 

Q. What kind of paranormal problems have you experienced? 

This really cute guy randomly popped up inside my computer, I need your psychic powers to get him out of the screen.

Q. Have you been to any other psychics to help with this problem? 

I'm afraid you're the only one who would be able to help me, so I have nowhere else to go.

Q. Are you a returning customer? 

Gees, do people really encounter enough paranormal problems to become regulars? Lol 

Q. When would be the best time for you to come in for a consultation? 

Anytime before 4pm Monday-Friday and I'm available for dinner or a drink on Saturdays.

Sufficiently satisfied with her responses she submitted the request along with her email address and phone number for Reigen to contact her. Giddy for when he might call or message her, y/n returned to scrolling through the photos on his website while she waited for customer service requests. It had been a few years since she last was in the dating scene, her job had weird hours that made dating hard after all. However, Reigen Arataka had thoroughly interested her. 

It was kind of dark in his room during the call, but he didn't look ugly. His laugh was nice, and so was his voice. Besides, how fun would it be to tell people how they met? Y/n spent the rest of her shift giggling to herself about how excited she was to hear back from him. That was until a week went by with no response. 

Frustrated, she sent another request form with more serious answers. Sure she lied a little, saying she thought she was cursed and needed the curse dispelled by a professional. Luckily this time she got a response the day after sending the request in, an email from Reigen asking her if an appointment at noon the upcoming Thursday worked for her. Although she was annoyed it took so long to get this far, she excitedly emailed back her approval and finally got the address to the Spirits and Such Consultation Office. 

…

"Welcome!" Reigen beamed as y/n walked into the office, he hopped up from his desk to walk her into the space and pull her chair out for her. 

"Thank you" she smiled nervously, after so long looking forward to the encounter she had no idea what to say. Especially since he didn't seem to remember her as he explained pricing options for curse dispelling.

"This package is a little pricey, but it's guaranteed to remove the course! If it doesn't, your next package is 20% off!" Reigen shot her a slimy smile as he smoothed down his hair. She tried to hold back her giggling, she wasn't sure what she was expecting when she came in, but it wasn't whatever this was. 

"I'll take the guaranteed one" she smiled watching him readjusting some papers on his desk, she did find him attractive and he was certainly interesting. 

"Fantastic! I'll show you to the curse dispelling room then" Reigen got up from his seat and ushered her to a side room, "undress to your comfort level, I'll knock before I come in again. If you're not on the table and ready for me just yell out 'no' okay?" His eyes were soft, comforting, as he leaned against the door frame waiting for her confirmation. 

"Yes, I'll let you know. Thanks" she couldn't stop the blush on her cheeks, this man she somewhat cyber stalked to get to see was going to be touching her. The thought made her go beat red as he closed the door behind himself. 

Reigen took a quick smoke break to give her plenty of time to undress and get comfortable, when he knocked on the door she shouted back that she was ready and he walked back in. The massage was rough, focusing on her stress spots and removing all her tension. It was the best massage she had ever gotten, not that she got them very often. 

"So you're still having people pay after the massage huh?" She teased as Reigen grabbed an oil to use on her back, he turned around quickly. 

"Ma-massage? No, this is a curse dispelling technique!" Reigen waved his arms dismissively, sweat beading on his brow.

"Oh? But I thought you were a masseuse?" She picked up her head to look over at him, immediately blushing at the sight. Reigen had removed his suit jacket, sleeves rolled up exposed his forearms, his tie was loose around his neck with his top buttons undone. There was no denying she thought he looked hot, his shirt sticking to his sweaty torso as he walked back to her holding lavender scented massage oil. 

"Why would you think that?" Reigen laughed awkwardly. 

"Because that's what you said" she giggled before putting her head back in place. 

"You must have misunderstood at some point" he chuckled as he smoothed the oil over her back, "though this is similar to a massage" his voice suddenly much lower and quieter, "this is actually an ancient technique to force a curse out of someone's soul" Reigen began a softer and slower approach on her back, fingers dancing along her spine as the room filled with the scent of lavender from the oil. 

"I guess I must ha- ahh" a moan cut off her sentence as Reigen's hands moved to her sides, effectively tickling her. 

"You okay?" He asked, ripping his hands away from her body. 

"Yes! Sorry!" She blushed into the massage table, suddenly regretting her whole life. 

"Don't apologize" Reigen chuckled, returning his hands to her back. A few quiet moments passed as he finished up, gently touching her skin in a way that made her force down every audible reaction of pleasure that tried to escape her lips. He leaned down, warm palms on either side of her spine moving up from her waist to her shoulder blades, "does that feel good?" He whispered, unaware of how hot and bothered he was unintentionally getting her. 

"Yeah" she moaned breathily, the tone making him shiver, "you're amazing" she whimpered. 

"I, uh, I think the curse is gone" Reigen nervously removed his hands from her back, suddenly aware of how sensual he may have come across. He wasn't trying anything like that, he made it a habit to never hit on clients and he would never dare try any funny business in the curse dispelling room. Though, he had jerked off several times to the idea of oiled up sex on the massage table. 

"You sure?" She looked over her shoulder, desperate to keep his hands on her.

"Yep! 100% no more curse!" He fidgeted as their eyes met, nervous he was close to crossing a line if she let him. It had been a long while since he got any action, and this whole situation was getting to him. Reigen would be lying if he said he didn't find her extremely attractive. 

"I don't know, you've only massaged my back" she giggled, "sorry, you've only dispelled my back. What about the rest of my body?" She shot lust filled eyes his way, not bothering to hide her horny intentions any longer. 

"No need" Reigen forced a wide toothy smile as his voice cracked. 

"You're sure? I think my chest could really use some attention" she smiled coyly, starting to turn over on the table. 

"Oh, wow! You don't have to do that" Reigen was sweating buckets, white shirt wet and displaying his nipples as he watched her roll over. Her perky breasts out in the open for him, "here let me cover you" he tried to keep his eyes squeezed shut as he pulled the towel covering her lower half up to her chest. 

"It's okay, that's where I need the ma-dispelling" she smiled, placing her palm on the back of his hand to stop him from covering her. 

"That, uh, I don't do that" he blushed looking down at his feet.

"You know, for a guy who paid to learn how to flirt with women, you really suck at it" she laughed, watching him shy away. 

"Wait" his eyes narrowed on her face, "you're not.." 

"Y/n from MobCom" she smiled, watching as realization washed over Reigen. 

"Wait, but… seriously?" He laughed a little, mind blown that the beautiful girl put in the effort to see him in person. 

"Is that 20% discount still on the table?" She giggled.

"Of course" he smiled, suddenly feeling much more confident, but definitely not ready to touch her in such an intimate way. He cleared his throat, "I think I'd rather take you to dinner before touching you there" he smiled nervously. 

"Is that what you learned in pick up artist school?" She teased, making him roll his eyes.

"I'll leave to let you change, come out when you're ready for the palm massage Miss. Tech Support" Reigen couldn't stop smiling as he left the room, his cheeks beginning to burn from smiling too much. That cute girl actually came to his office, clearly had an interest in him, and might even go out for dinner with him. Reigen smiled stupidly to himself as he wondered if he should leave a positive review on that pickup artists website. 

[leelee120000]

Billie Eilish, Fame, and the Romanticism of Teen Suicide

February 21, 2020

It is no secret that when I find something I enjoy I dive into it. Ask my coworkers and friends who have sat through me talking about anything I love and they’ll tell you; “LeAnne really likes details.” Which, I take no shame in, but it can be a lot for someone who isn’t expecting it.

While working I decided to watch Billie’s new music video, “everything i wanted.” I enjoy her music a lot and thought I would just pop it on while doing some more fixing of our YouTube channel. The first small detail I noticed was that the lights of the skyscrapers are timed to the piano. The next was that Billie is blinking on beat. It’s tiny details like that I love so much.

As a fan of Billie’s, I knew about the song’s history before watching. Billie suffers from night terrors and sleep paralysis, so the theme of dreaming and nightmares is one commonly used. This song, for instance, was inspired by a dream Billie had in which she committed suicide. In the dream, her friends and coworkers had betrayed her post-death, ridiculing her with statements that nobody liked her. 

Billie Eilish explaining the video to BBCR1 via Twitter.

The single was released onto YouTube with an abstract image of the Golden Gate Bridge, which is a popular place for suicide. Billie said that the song is also about her brother caring for her and the lyric of, “As long as I’m here no one can hurt you” is a direct example of that.

However, I wasn’t expecting the video to open with the words, “finneas is my brother and my best friend. no matter the circumstances, we always have and always will be there for each other.” The lowercasing instantly let me know Billie typed this herself, as that is her style of writing. 

The camera vertically pans over an almost somber cityscape until we see Billie driving an expensive car with her brother in the passenger seat. We see a close up on both of their faces, Billie is singing and Finneas looks calm. As Billie sings they drive onto the Golden Gate Bridge, the ocean is in view through the windows. 

Finneas mouths the lyric: “as long as I’m here no one can hurt you.” They drive onto the beach and Finneas mouths the lyrics, “if I could change the way you see yourself” and “they don’t deserve you.” 

Billie floors the car into the ocean. As dark water overtakes them, Billie sings, “I tried to swim. But my head was underwater.” The car further sinks with the two holding hands: Finneas smiles, water fills the floorboards and the viewer is left in darkness.

The viewer can interpret that Billie killed herself and her brother.

It’s dark and sobering. The lyrics showing Billie’s fears around her newfound fame matched with the visuals. The metaphorical implications of this, that her fame killed her and her brother; really, it’s amazing. 

We live in a time where I believe, we as Generation Z, have been almost doomed from the start. We embrace it, of course, joking and using humor to cope. But at the end of the day, a vast majority of us have been depressed or suicidal in our short lifetimes. To us, this side of Billie is the most normal, the most relatable. 

As the older generations might fearfully look upon this video as romanization, we relate to it in an almost unexplainable way. 

I have decided to include the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, 1-800-283-8255 in my conclusion of this article. It’s okay to ask for help.

LeAnne McPherson

[blackandredblog]

Anarchapulco 2024

I don't know what craziness I've just stepped into. But it's a rabbit hole that is fucking terrifying.

I was watching a video from More Perfect Union about how the US and Puerto Rico itself have created a wealth inequality that is as profoundly unique as it is disturbing.

In a clip from this video, I noticed something called Anarchapulco in the background. So, I paused it and looked it up.

Original More Perfect Union video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4ulSk0EqX

Upon looking up this AnarchApulco nonsense, I first click to see what it costs, completely missing the fact that they have a menu at the top for NFTs.

The tickets are $600 per person.

So I click on the speaker page. It's as diverse as a Connecticut country club squash team, filled with white grifters pushing conspiracy theories, crypto, and tips to living like them (which never includes being handed their wealth or social connections to acquire wealth).

The speaker page: https://anarchapulco.com/speaker-page-2024/

The leader of this shitshow is a self-proclaimed AnCap Libertarian named Jeff Berwick. Dude pushes Crypto, NFTs, and his own newsletter called the Dollar Vigilante.

Next is Max Igan. Max Igan has links to MeWe and Rumble (far-right friendly platforms). He also uses the term "globalist" in his biography on "The Other Side of Midnight" which appears to be some sort of right-wing, online radio station.

For those unfamiliar, "Globalist" is a euphemism for Jew. It's a frequent term used by far-rights, like Alex Jones.

The biography here: https://www.theothersideofmidnight.com/bio-max-igan/

Next is Larken Rose. He's another AnCap Libertarian. He's done time for tax evasion. And is well-known enough that Wesley Snipes tried to use Rose's arguments at his own tax evasion trial.

Rose is pushing his new movie, about a plantation that likens actual slavery to wage slavery and capitalism. While there are parallels, Rose (who is white) wrote a script in which he drops the N-word in an opening scene. Beyond that, the movie is full of exposition and lacks any real talent or vision for storytelling.

I'm not going to go through every grifter on this list, because I do have actual work to do, but there are two more standouts beyond the pasty homeopaths, internet-only radio disk jockeys, and COVID deniers.

Next up is David Weiss. He's a flat earther. And I'm not just being an asshole calling him names, he RUNS the Flat Earth Podcast. He truly believes we live on a flat earth.

Worse than even being a science-denier, this dumb motherfucker has a "Flat Earth Crash Course" whose opening YouTube video features Owen Benjamin.

For those unfamiliar with Owen Benjamin. He's a failed actor and comedian that is an Olympic-level racist and antisemite. He's recently popped back up on Alex Jones' InfoWars because he needs a new audience to grift after his last scam fell through. Who'd have guessed your neighbors wouldn't let you crowd fund a members-only, "free speech" Ruby Ridge-style compound... in Idaho.

Benjamin's Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Benjamin

I was going to do one last sketch on Ian Smith, but, to be honest, he's just a gymbro science-denier that sells "water treatments" and supplements.

What's the point of all this?

These grifters are insidious and the far-right is trying to appropriate leftist terminologies and twist them.

They take small grains of truth, the base rhetoric of AnComs and grow genetically modified shitmuffins from them. If you ever doubt this is happening, remember that Nazi is short for National Socialist German Workers' Party.

Watch yourselves out there, keep your heads on a swivel, and don't assume that people are who they say they are.

[historyherstory]

There has been an insane proliferation of AI written scripts turned into youtube videos for WWII content that are at best, lacking context or generally just hazily okay I guess you're not wrong into outright UH NO THIS IS NOT RIGHT

pro tips if you're someone who likes watching videos on youtube to learn more: 1. THEY SHOULD ALWAYS LIST THEIR SOURCES. ALWAYS. (and you should always check their sources. "A diary of a (nationality) (soldier)" and you can find absolutely no record of that person ever existing? 🚩 2. If it is read by an AI voice (you will be able to tell at a point - they don't follow normal phrasing through sentences and sometimes they will pronounce things - especially cities and people's names - strangely) that is another 🚩

I've blocked like 4 channels in the last 24 hours alone that I am like 99% sure are all AI and it's really frustrating.

There are so many good channels who do such a good job with research and script writing and fact checking, seeing channels using AI to "research" and "write" is deeply disturbing - especially when they're missing the mark with accuracy.

To try to turn this around into something positive, here are some youtube channels that I've found very informative and have really enjoyed over the years: The Operations Room (this is a great one if you are a visual learner and want to see placement on maps & live-time movement) (They have a sister channel, The Intel Report, which I also enjoy.) The Armchair Historian (this is a great channel for comprehensive overviews of events or situations, and generally does a good job being balanced in how they narrate) (Extra History is not affiliated with The Armchair Historian but it does videos in a similar way: animated, although more short-form but they will do multiple videos in a series to go more in-depth on topics.) American Veterans Center (this channel takes the middleman out - it's interviews with veterans, in their own words)

Honorable mentions: Tasting History (I love the way he contextualizes culture and history into food) and Oceanliner Designs (because we were all Titanic nerds for at least a week this year.... but, he does more than just the Titanic!)

Anyway when in doubt: Check their sources. If they don't list their sources: ask. If they don't provide sources when asked: don't believe them unless you can independently verify. In general, look for another corroborating source even if a video seems well researched/legitimate, if it's introducing a claim that's new to you/you're not sure about.

(Do you have informative/documentary channels you like? What are they? I'm a dilettante with historical topics so even if it's a themed channel about something other than WWII, give it a share! I'd be curious to see. A day in which I haven't learned anything new is a day I've wasted.)

[coenvs3000w23]

Using The Tools We Have To Get By 

Being from a big city, I was not as fortunate as many people to be able to experience the natural world firsthand. Having grown up during the technological era, most of the knowledge I possess comes from watching an absurd amount of TikTok, YouTube shorts, and Instagram reels… 

During COVID, I had an abundance of spare time on my hands, and I spent more time than I would like to admit on YouTube. Now, most of this time was spent watching brain-rotting twitch drama but I did also spend a good amount of time watching nature documentaries. As I said, more screen time than I would like to admit… Anyways, during this time I found a documentary titled, The Insane Biology of: The Octopus. Apart from some amazing biological feats, what was most fascinating about this piece, is just how intelligent octopuses can be. Although defining intelligence can be difficult (as I have painfully learned in my psychology class :p), the octopus displays various levels of intelligence; in planning, in memory, in playful activity, and in ecological intelligence (Sammann, 2020). 

Most interestingly, octopuses have shown incredible feats of memory, both short-term and long-term; being able to recognize objects, areas, and even in some cases human being friends (). This in conjunction with the fact they are one of the few animals known to utilize composite tool use, they are seen to have superior survivability in the wild (Sammann, 2020). Transporting coconut shells and using them as shelter when they are tired; they display their incredible ability to plan and survive in nature (Sammann, 2020). Being completely separate from primates in the evolutionary tree, it begs the question… How have these wonderful creatures developed such an intense intelligent ability? Their secret?... They’ve had to. Octopuses are expected to be over 330 million years old, and over that time have faced significant challenges in the natural world (SMV, 2022). Originally, the ancestors of these squishy molluscs had shells, but around 160 million years ago they would come to lose their them (St. Fleur, 2017). With predation kicking up, being nimble and witty would serve more favourable in the eye of our mother nature (St. Fleur, 2017). As these conditions would require them to rely more on planning, strategy, and tool use to survive, they would learn to break out of their shell and live free. As to not ramble I’ll leave it here. However, if your curiosity consumes you, check out the end of this post for a link to the video. 

Anyways, as I have experienced firsthand, sometimes it can be difficult to indulge in nature. However, that is no reason to neglect it. There are a ton of resources online and some interesting forms of content that pertain to wildlife, geology, and anything that really pertains to nature. If you are feeling a little lost in nature, I left a list of some good places where I got started that helped me get more into learning about nature. These resources are sure to help fuel and nurture anyone trying to salvage their passion.  

List of Resources

The Insane Biology of: The Octopus 

The Wild Times Podcast

Check out platforms like Netflix, Youtube, and National Geographic for more content like this :)

References

Sammann, S. [Real Science]. (2020, November 14). The Insane Biology of: The Octopus [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFP_AjJeP-M&t=776s

Science Museum of Virginia. (2022, April 1). When did the octopus first appear on Earth? Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://smv.org/learn/blog/when-did-octopus-first-appear-earth/. 

St. Fleur, N. (2017, March 6). Figuring Out When and Why Squids lost their shells. The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/science/squid-fossils-shells.html. 

[ouijabored1776]

Background and Goals

Welcome to the New Americana Satanic Manic Panic. My name is Damien Thorne Collins and for the past two weeks I've been coming out of the Dark Shadows of Collinsport to announce the Ominous come up of yours truly. I believe that I am the AntiChrist and I'd rather be altruistic and bring about a conversation in our nation regarding all sorts of groovy things like Mental Health Awareness, the housing crisis, respecting one another and working together as a society to destigmatize the perception regarding substance use, everyone does it. If we choose our vices like we choose our friends then we can showcase the difference between use/abuse. This is the conversation people like Hunter S Thompson, and Timothy Leary tried to start with us and we didn't listen. I've lost friends and loved ones because it hasn't been changed sooner. We've lost brilliant people to this epidemic over the decades because we have remained closed minded. I believe we need to critically think about these topics, and really have a dialogue about it. That's the American Spirit I'm trying to channel. I love reading, writing, music, art, movies/TV, video games, etc. I learn new things every day, and I want to share them with you. Ask me questions, I'm always available. I practice Intentional Peer Support, and I have the lived experience of a high functioning schizoaffective with ADHD, Depression and Anxiety. I've been homeless, I've been hospitalized, and I've been incarcerated. They stigmatize and silence me, and I am advocating for myself and those who don't know how to or are afraid to. I have nothing better to do than scream into the void. I want to one day collaborate with smarter people than myself and organize a music and arts festival to support nonprofits and good causes. Maybe that's unrealistic, but it's good to have long term goals. In the short term, I'm doing tarot readings, I'm making art, I'm writing music, writing essays, and I make edgy controversial jokes. Maybe no one thinks I'm funny but nobody is telling me how to do it better. I want to branch into making youtube videos or tiktoks. If nobody likes my content then maybe they would prefer to watch me go screw myself on Onlyfans. I am dedicated to these ideals, and I feel I'm doing it for the right reason. I love humanity and firmly believe we are the Gods and Goddesses of our universe. Join the pantheon if you can dig it. Feel free to reach out to talk about anything. Even if you just want someone to listen to you vent. I know how it feels to have nobody.

[firespirited]

Speaking of personal preferences and tolerances and annoyances. I have found the latest rash of leftist youtube videos on still “dreaming of utopias, having hope and some level of grace etc etc” really really obnoxious. They’re getting rave reviews so they’re landing with people which is great. i’m not being sarcastic. Truly good for them, good for the audience, good for everyone.

I have nothing against the message and the principle but a two hour theatrical production and lots of roundabout metaphors and very intelligent ways to say “maybe pessimism bad?”

First of all: Well duh.

Second of all: Would it kill you to mention the existentialists and womanists and unionists and liberation fighters who’ve been talking about this all along?

---------------

Over a year ago a small youtuber called DavidJBradley made a video about burnout which is an hour long theatrical production on absurdism, specifically an obscure video game and a play both tapping into that philosophy and at the end he actually does name some essentialists while not fully going into their context. I didn’t share it because it’s not an easy breezy watch to talk about burnout and repetition and it doesn’t go into the importance of community celebration which is part of the next steps.

I wish I had spammed it everywhere because since then, there have been dozens of these videos. Since “Everything Everywhere All At Once”, dozens more (guess how many don’t actually mention EEAAO until the comment section?) and they’re basically clones: not building on eachother, not delving into all the available litterature and speeches and media.

------------------

So uh, essentialism is the closest thing I have to a faith and the journey there cost me a lot. It was born out of survivors of the shoah and the occupation of algeria and post colonial national rebuilding across africa and former indochina and american black civil rights and feminists who didn’t fit neatly into that second wave and disability activists and way way back in work by reverends and rabbis...

So yes, I’m delighted folks have found their way here but i can’t help but feel i’m like watching friends come back from their “exotic” backpacking adventure with snippets of buddhist and hindu thought without mentioning The Texts, the whole way of life, the fact that people dedicate their lives to studing and teaching this stuff... Remember the way we all felt a little bit “hmm 😬” when people weren’t actually reading Mari Kondo just taking little concepts and trying to apply them without her personal philosophy or the larger context of shintoism, you know?

I also happen to know that some of those concepts are in the BLM reading  starter packs, basic level 1 stuff that people started compiling in like 2012 before it was even a slogan. So ¯\_😬_/¯

Did any of the movements that saw waves of mass new arrivals (ex republicans, exvangelicals, BLM, queer rights, feminism) ever coin a term for “Happy for you, please don’t consider this an end point to your enlightenment and your journey means a lot to you but I’m sorry I have to cut you short because we don’t do christian/AA like testimony here: you’re welcome to chat among yourselves later”?

[emmanuelnsutebu]

Using Struggles to Become More Successful: Insights from Successful People #podcast #shorts

Using Struggles to Become More Successful: Insights from Successful People #podcast #shorts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD8Q8aEfBQc Learn from successful people - use struggles to beome more succesful #podcast #successfulpeoplestory #StrugglestoSuccessPodcast #Resilience #PositiveMindset #Inspiration #Motivation #OvercomingAdversityTips #PersonalGrowthStrategies, #SuccessThroughStruggles #InspirationalSuccessStories #TransformingChallengesIntoSuccess #LifeCrisisManagement #SuccessMindsetCoaching, #LearningFromFailures #BuildingResilienceTechniques #AchievingSuccessInLife #GrowthMindsetStrategies #LifeCoachingForSuccess #StrugglesToSuccessBook 🔔Unlock the power of resilience with Emmanuel Nsutebu! Hit subscribe to learn how every struggle can lead to greater success. https://www.youtube.com/@FromStrugglesToSuccess/?sub_confirmation=1 🔗 Stay Connected With Me. 👉Facebook: https://ift.tt/NRmWCc0 👉Instagram: https://ift.tt/6XzfObY 👉Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/nsutebu 👉Linkedin: https://ift.tt/sKZSG39 👉Tiktok: https://ift.tt/uMiKfpa ✅ For Business Inquiries: info@strugglestosuccess.com ============================= ✅ Other Videos You Might Be Interested In Watching: 👉 Leading and coaching teams from struggles to success - Dr Montio Morgan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfHoqrBs3io 👉 A healthcare leader's masterclass in using struggles as opportunities - Prof Ged Williams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXTlCZIvsks 👉 Struggles can help find your passion and purpose - Dr Mathilde Mbouck - health charity founder, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7y3FPHmYiQ 👉 From Struggles to Success, you can achieve great things! - René Awambeng - award winning banker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9Zb5lZGUvQ 👉 Struggles are gifts, how executives deal with struggles - Dr Moka Lantum - social entrepreneur https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQKjy9MaxRI ============================= ✅ About Emmanuel Nsutebu. Hit subscribe and learn to use struggles to become stronger and more successful. We are perpetually either in a crisis, emerging from a crisis, or just about to experience one. That is the reality of life! Your biggest problem or crisis may be your greatest gift. You can either grow through your difficulties or simply get through them. Growth is what great people do! Success is about how you respond to a problem/crisis. 🔗About Dr. Emmanuel. Dr Emmanuel Nsutebu is an award-winning author and consultant physician in infectious diseases. He is President of the African Sepsis Alliance and a member of the Global Sepsis Alliance executive committee and board. He has won numerous local, national, and international awards for turning around problems in healthcare. Dr Emmanuel is a global citizen. He works in the UAE, was born in Cameroon, and has lived in Australia and the UK. He enjoys coaching people to overcome life struggles and turn major problems into success. For Collaboration and Business inquiries, please use the contact information below: 📩 Email: info@strugglestosuccess.com 🔔 Hit subscribe and transform your problems into power with Dr. Emmanuel! Get deep into the art of growing through life's inevitable crises and transforming into success. https://www.youtube.com/@FromStrugglesToSuccess/?sub_confirmation=1 ================================= ADD HASHTAG HERE ⚠️Disclaimer: I do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of my publications. You acknowledge that you use the information I provide at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and my YouTube channel contain dialogue, music, and images that are the property of Emmanuel Nsutebu. You are authorized to share the video link and channel and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to my YouTube channel is provided. © Emmanuel Nsutebu via Emmanuel Nsutebu https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3da9f_4IpuQ8rIUNPFty0Q May 26, 2024 at 09:47PM

[jeramewrites2]

March 16 23

Good morning internet. This will be the start of something. I feel like I keep starting time and time and time again. My problem is finishing anything. I guess that is most people's problems but this is special because it is mine. I was watching a YouTube video yesterday and the topic of burr grinders came up. I have had the oxo one for I think about 3 or 4 years at this point. I make decent coffee. I don't go crazy. I have not bought a moka pot yet nor do I have an espresso arm. But this both look interesting. Anyway there was a fair amount of discussion about the fact that you should really clean your coffee grinder once a month. Or at the very least quarterly. This has not been the case for me. I think I have cleaned it maybe once in the 4 years I have had it. So this morning was the day to do it. Honestly it only took about 15 mins. There are not a lot of parts to pull off and clean and it is a rather simple machine. I am looking forward to the next grind.

Another topic of discussion is the slander of a French press coffee maker. Apparently that method is shit and I don't even need a 100 dollar coffee grinder if I am going to make my coffee that way. Well to that I will say. I am going to do what I like how I like and I don't care what the internet says. See I was raised baptist and the one thing that I learned from my time in the church is that you don't take everything that is said as gospel. Only take the parts of a philosophy that you like. The other parts you don't really even need to listen to or even understand.

I am standing at a crossroads now. I have Saturday off and I can read or I could try and write but I also need to study for my next exam in my Logic class. Which if I am being completely honest I can't believe I am doing as well in it as I am. But that is beside the point. I think that the Teaching Assistants are grading very easily right now. So I am hoping I can still pull out an A. I don't know just yet. The information is not that difficult it's just like learning a new way of thinking and writing. I will do at the very least some of the practice problems and see what goes from there.

I don't know if this is really something I just want to have out in the world. After all this is more of a journal entry but then again do I think anyone is ever really going to read this? No. Absolutely not. Not when you can think of everything else you can do and read on the internet. Ok I have been able to write for 10 mins without even really stopping which is a lot better than I have been able to do in a while.

Ace and Shadow's deaths have hit me hard and has made writing difficult. I am not over their deaths but I think I am getting ready to process them through my writing. I have had a few relations die in the last 3 years or so and well they didn't really effect me at all. My grandfather died but I had not been close to him since I was a kid. The same goes true for my uncle Matt. Once he had a wife and kids I was not a priority or even an after thought. Then again upon looking back isn't that the way that it should have been? Why would he hang out with his nephew when he had a new kid to take care of. I just wish that I had... I don't know if I actually wish things had been different. Both Helen and James are dead as well. I believe Covid got them both. Again I had not seen or spoken to them in 20 years probably. I remember talking to James as a kind but short of him buying me a subscription to National Geographic that I never read I don't know how close we really were even when I was a kid.

I did always like his truck though. That one I can say. As a kid I always got the feeling that I was someone to put up with and not someone that my family wanted around. That feeling still holds to this day. That is most likely low self esteem and I can say that all day but no one is calling me to come hang out. Everyone has their own lives and I am not to be involved in them. So here I sit and here I will stay. I am getting better and better with being alone.

[blandmemoirs]

Chasing the Stars

The Star Bandits were formed 4 years ago by its original 12 members while trespassing on a baseball field ducking from police surveillance. It was a dark night, with a shitty projector as our only light, as some of us attempted to find nourishment in freshly heated hot dogs from a portable stovetop. We had previously been asked to leave the area after campus police caught us playing tag, only to leave everything where it was and meander away for a little bit and return not even an hour later to commence the first ever ring ceremony. Therein we each set the precedent of giving a speech, accepting our ring, and ceremoniously becoming the Star Bandits we always were. We set the foundation for the basic principles of Star Banditry- being artistic, having a sense of adventure, and being endorsed by other star bandits. Since then, our numbers have multiplied to 4 times our original size, now having as many members as there are states in this union of a nation. As such, many of you weren't here for the original inception, and don't know just how far we've come.

Since its establishment, the Star Bandits expanded from an artist's collective, that's us, to a Publishing Company, owned and operated by Marcus Delzell, who published his landmark work, "Living in a Paracosm", as well as into a Production Company, owned and operated by Dalton Anderson, who I intend to work for later this year. For those of us who love yapping, there was the year-long yap-athon called the Star Bandits Podcast, of which many star bandits were welcomed on to speak about their passions, and make dirty jokes, mostly making dirty jokes, the podcast was eventually restructured by some of its hosts into the Star Bandits YouTube channel, which hosted short films and sketch comedy skits, with a special shoutout to Israel Sheahan, who dedicated so much time and effort into keeping that channel alive for a time. Now, even into a non-profit foundation, whose work you may be familiar with after the grand effort that was its inaugural fundraising event: STARGAZE THEATER FESTIVAL, the culmination of a years effort led by the Board of Directors: Marcus Delzell, Kate Robinson, Bella Nunez, Kevin Serrano, and me myself and I. And now soon we will inaugurate our newly implemented star bandit recognition of excellence awards, one of the successful things I championed for during my tenure with the council.

With so many different things being named Star Bandit, it can certainly be confused as to who exactly the Star Bandits are supposed to be, but to me, the answer has always been simple: The Star Bandits is you. If you have an art, any art, something that brings the creativity and passion and dedication to craft out of you, and a sense of adventure to go with it, you are the star bandits. It doesn't matter whether you live here, what books are published with the brand on them, what videos get uploaded to the channels, what events or grants the foundation creates, or even what the council dictates, or who gets recognized with an award, if you meet the bar, you're a star bandit waiting to be endorsed, the endorsements just make it official, and the ring ceremonial, but you never needed those things to be who or what you are. Most of you can't pass a ring check. Many of you don't live in this city or this state. The Star Bandits aren't a cult or corporation or business or religion or any one of those things. The Star Bandits are people, and they are friends, or at the very least, friendly.

In this era of expansion, we face a crossroads that has left me feeling many different ways. In watching us grow and expand and evolve I have been at times wary, and other times excited, sometimes both, at the same time, if you can believe that a person can have simultaneously contradicting feelings. My greatest concern isn't that the Star Bandits is becoming too big or that it's not doing enough to proliferate art, I have always been a proponent of growing our body, as many of you can attest when I made it my mission to personally reach out and recruit you. You might remember me telling you the criteria, and who specifically to ask for endorsements. Inclusion has always been a priority of mine. Growing this bubble and expanding this tent to fit all kinds of people from all walks of life. I don't make people pass ideological purity tests, or ask them to prove their creativity to me, I believe in them because you, the Star bandits, told me you wanted to be star bandits. I just made it as easy for you as I could with respect to our barriers of entry. Inclusion has always been so important to me, that I made it a mission that we broaden our ranks to include people that aren't men, as originally, this group was just a bunch of boys. I personally championed for Kate and Richie to become members, because I didn't want to be a part of an exclusive group that they couldn't be members of if they wanted to be. So they were given the opportunity to join us, and they did, becoming pillars of this community. And that's always been the most important thing, the people who are star bandits are the people who want to be star bandits. No one is here against their will, no one is paid to be a member of this group. You're here because these are your friends and you want to be around them. That's what, deep down, the Star bandits are to me.

So any proposal to raise the standard for accepting new members, be it minimum endorsements, filling out applications, paying dues, or whatever well-intentioned idea leads us to raise our fence higher, I will vehemently reject. Any proposal that distills the Star bandits into being represented by just one person or faction, be it the establishment of a president or the bolstering of authority held by our council, I will fight, or I will leave. If the umbrella which encompasses the Star bandits no longer covers me, I will take my leave, as I expect anyone who no longer feels they can call themselves a star bandit to do. Fortunately, that day has not come, and on our current trajectory, I don't think it will.

Many of you may not know this, but when the Star bandits was first pitched to me I said no. I said no to the rings, I said no to the tattoos. I even turned down the idea of a name. It wasn't until several hours of arguing and a few more days of contemplation that I came around, because I realized despite my loathing of labels and my dread of the consequences of creating a group identity, be it untimely schisms or the unfortunate creation of echo chambers, that this was only ever about furthering our bonds with each other.

Because what the Star bandits was on that baseball field four years ago, was a group of friends deepening their relationship by creating something bigger than ourselves. We were a group of rogues, trespassing, shoplifting, and pushing whatever boundaries we could find, even our boundaries with each other. Though we may have straightened out somewhat since our early days, I still believe that art, adventure, and what we are doing in this group is valuable because we continue to push boundaries, especially our own. Pushing forward and challenging ourselves and each other to be the best we can be. Sometimes we have growing pains, or we run out gas on the way to the finish line, we keep pushing forward. We reject the atomization and isolation of modern society, we uplift each other and create art, expressing ourselves and daring and inspiring others to do the same. For that, we will always be rogues. The Star Bandits should always belong to the rogues, the free thinkers and the individuals who express themselves without compromise.

Though we have come so far and changed so much from that first leap day, I never want us to lose sight of what we were. Yes, we make art, yes, we are adventurers, I would argue adventuring is an art! Traveling long distances to spend time with the people you love, to create a better world for each other, that is art. Art is creation, it is self-expression, it is collaboration to make something that was not before. That is what we are. That is what makes us an artist's collective. It is not and should never be about raw output(though everyone working harder on their crafts to make more cool things is always encouraged!), it is about this community. Let us never lose sight of that as we continue to evolve. If you don't know someone, talk to them. Get to know them, make a new friend :) because everyone who is here, is valid, welcome, and belongs. There should never come a time where some star bandits are more equal than others.

To be a star bandit, as I said one year ago, is to be yourself. And what we created that night of our founding, was what I have been seeking for my entire life. A found family to call my home. Whether I'm in a big group house on Evans Street or Journeyville or Roseborough, sharing a bed with Jacob in Wisconsin, traveling across the country to meet one of my best friends Liz for the first time to help him move away from the family that raised him to the family we now share, or going on a stardust crusaders esque adventure to bring William his car in Colorado, I feel at home.

Even at my most jaded, cynical, and paranoid, and Ive hit some real lows in recent times, I'm grateful for this. I want to belong here, and I want every single one of you to feel that same way, to have what I have. If ever there is a way that we, the Star bandits, are failing to include you, failing to uplift you, failing to give you a place to belong, please speak up, advocate for yourself, and help us help you. It won't always be easy, love never is, but I do love all of you and want to be in your lives in whatever capacity you will let me. Thank you, to everyone I can call friend, thank you for letting me be myself, thank you for listening to me ramble and rave about this special thing we've created. Most people don't have this. Thank you, Star Bandits. Ad Astra.

[fritalianblr]

Festival du Court-Métrage de Clermont-Ferrand

In my city (where I currently live for my studies), every year there's a famous and renowed Short Film Fest. I wanted to make you a post about it before it started but... yeah, life and studies, you know ? So instead of just forgeting about it for a whole year again and missing the deadline again, I guess I should talk about it right now !

Long post, please open 💙​

This Short Film Fest takes place in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France, every first week of February, and in 2024, the 74th edition took place. The first edition was made on 1982 by the non-profit organisation "Sauve qui peut le Court-métrage" (Who can save the short film).

If it was to be briefly introduced, during a whole week (from saturday to saturday included) there are multiples programs of short films, divided into 3 big categories : the competitions (national, international and labo/experimental), the short film market where profesionnals can discover short films from all around the world to buy them, and other programs that have specific themes which are generally meant for a larger audience.

The festival is growing stronger and stronger, with so many visitors now that you can get refused at the entrance of the projections rooms (full room for many programs !). There are also lectures, expositions and worshops around short film(ing) during the week.

An example of 2 days of this year's edition's program :

29 programs, 10 projection rooms with up to 7 screenings per room per day ! It's really intense and if you want to see a maximum of the programs, you got to take a paid leave or be retired. And there are people who take days or even the full week to be able to see the programs.

Also, as you can see on the planning, some programs have a number next to them. That's because there's a medium of 5-6 short film per screening so some programs got many different screenings to show every shortfilm ! An example below with the "Insoumises" (INS) program that I went to see and liked a lot. There are 4 different screenings possible around this theme.

The Competitions programs got so many screenings it's huge. National Competition (F) got 10 different screenings, so around 60 competitors. Internation competition (I) got 12 different screenings (huge !).

Okay, enough with the numbers and introducing, let's get to the interesting part : the short films !!!

I was able to watch 5 screenings : INSOUMISES 2, INSOUMISES 3, EUR♀ VISIONS 2, BLOODY and DECIBELLES. And... some of the short films are available online (on YouTube usually) so lemme share those to you ! If you want to see another short film from this year's catalog or from a former edition of the Festival, try typing the title of the short + the director on Youtube and see if you can find it ;)

Most of them have been subtitled in english and not all of them are french. There are short film from all around the world :) It's possible they're not subtitled on YouTube though.

INSOUMISES

These ones are about rebels ! Women rebels ! They defy the norms, the patriarchy and was is expected of them.

Content Warning : violence, sexism, sexual assault (usually mention only), rape (usually mention only)

H24 - 12h : Le Cri Défendu - link (this one is part of a series made by the franco-german channel Arte and is really great. LOTS OF CW FOR THESE, it's hard [make your cisdude friends watch, though])

Quebramar (Brise-lames) - link (about lesbian[ism] and community)

End-O - link (about endometriosis, CW FOOD)

Beach Flags - link (about Iranian women, competitive sport, emancipation)

DÉCIB'ELLES

This program is usually "Décibels" but since this year is about women, it's been feminized with a final "elles". It's about music so there are lots of music video clips.

M.I.A. - Bad Girls - link

Kim Gordon - Hungry Baby - link

Chai - Neo Kawaii, k ? - link

L'impératrice - Peur des filles - link (CW GORE and BLOOD but it's mostly very funny - you can see it's made up)

Pussy Riot - Putin will teach you how to love - link (CW violence, but well, it's the Pussy Riot from Russia)

BLOODY GIRLS

⚠️​ WARNING IT'S ABOUT TO GET BLOOODY !!! Horror, violence, blood, a little bit gore are there. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PEOPLE UNDER 16 !

Horror short movies with women protagonists ready to get bloody !

The Robbery - link (CW violence, drug, weapons, wounds)

Stuck - link (CW voyeurism, sexual predator, body horror/beaten up body, to reassure you, the last cw is for the predator 😈​)

Snake Dick - link (CW SNAKE, weapons, sexual harassment)

And that's it for the ones I could find on the web ! Maybe I've missed some, it's possible. If you have questions about the Festival, the short films, want a translation or anything, ask me !

The official website of the Festival du Court-Métrage : https://clermont-filmfest.org/ (french) - https://clermont-filmfest.org/en/global/home/ (english)

Hit me up if you have a question ! Maybe I'll try and do individual posts for some of the short films (the ones in french) with some vocabulary, word plays or cultural stuff, but that won't be soon.

[sunmarketing]

Dr. Mary Travelbest - Reykjavik Iceland

In this episode, FAQ is: I’ll be going to India soon. What are some ways to prepare for that trip?

Today’s Destination is Reykjavik, Iceland

Today’s Mistake- Biggest Windstorms in Iceland

Travel Advice:  Save Money by grocery shopping

  FAQ: I’ll be going to India soon. What are some ways to prepare for that trip?

Answer:

To prepare for a trip to India, see if you know anyone who lives there now. It’s the world’s most populated country. Consider talking to them about your travel plans and what you want to do. I visited six cities, starting in Chennai and then Kerala on the opposite coast. Then, I ventured north to Hyderabad. After that, I went to Goa and then to Agra and Dehli. The cities where I had a connection or contact made me travel better. You can read the guidebooks, watch the YouTube videos, and do your homework first. Have a plan or goal for your trip; if your mission is world peace, like mine, let me know how you prepared. Even though I had planned the trip for years in my mind, there’s nothing like going and preparing for the trip while on the trip, too. Listen for some future episodes on India with Dr. Travelbest.

  Today’s destination: Reykjavik, Iceland

  Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, is known for its stunning natural wonders, but it also boasts cultural gems. Stroll through the colorful streets of the Old Town, visit the iconic Hallgrímskirkja church, and explore Reykjavik's vibrant arts scene at Harpa Concert Hall. For a breathtaking exploration of Iceland's unique geological features, embark on the Golden Circle route, which includes Thingvellir National Park, Geysir Geothermal Area, and Gullfoss Waterfall. Don't miss the opportunity to relax in the soothing waters of thermal pools, natural and manufactured.

  If you plan on exploring Iceland's vast wilderness solo, consider safety. Inform someone of your plans, equip yourself with a fully charged phone, and stay updated on weather conditions. The Icelandic Touring Association provides valuable resources for ensuring a secure and enjoyable solo adventure in the country's stunning landscapes.

  Despite its chilly climate, Iceland is known for its warm hospitality. Engage with locals at cozy cafes, attend cultural events, and embrace the friendly atmosphere of Reykjavik's pubs. The Icelandic people's warmth transforms solo exploration into shared experiences, fostering connections that make your journey memorable.

  Take advantage of the opportunity to savor the flavors of Icelandic cuisine in Reykjavik's eclectic restaurants. Indulge in fresh seafood from the grocery store called Bonus, or sample traditional dishes like lamb soup and yogurt-like skyr (pronounced Skeer) at local eateries. Reykjavik's culinary scene is a delightful exploration of Nordic tastes, complemented by the warmth of cozy establishments.

  Immerse yourself in Iceland's cultural offerings by attending local events and festivals. From music concerts to collegiate sporting events, these experiences provide perspective to your solo Nordic adventure, connecting you with the vibrant spirit of Iceland.

  Take time to relax amidst Iceland's stunning landscapes. Find solace in the city's hot springs, indulge in a spa day at the Blue Lagoon or at the public pools, where the fee is only $3.00 to visit, or simply marvel at the beauty of the Northern Lights (the Aurora Borealis), during the winter months. I met someone who saw these in September.  Let the magic of Iceland's natural wonders be a backdrop for personal reflection and rejuvenation.

  Reykjavik was founded in 874 by Norwegian Vikings, who discovered the area's geothermal vents and established their first homes there. The city's name, Smoky Bay, comes from the fierce weather that has caused many to perish in the storms here over centuries. Today, Reykjavik has a population of 181,000 and is a walkable city with many tourists. The city is filled with flowers in the summer, and the long summer days make for short flying times to New York, Seattle, and DC.

  Reykjavik is the main city in Iceland, a must-visit for those seeking an alternative attitude, fresh produce, and innovative chefs. Other notable attractions include Hallgrimskirkja, eco-consciousness, geothermal swimming pools, and beaches, moonscapes close to town, and a monument to the Vikings on the waterfront.

  Iceland's exports include fish, and the country has a parliamentary democracy and hydrogen-powered transport expertise. The energetic and uninhibited culture, a mix of Scandinavian and Celtic origins, offsets the high cost of living. The popular discussion topics are Icelandic sagas, elves, whale watching, horse riding, hiking, and hot dogs with remuladi and mayonnaise sauce.

  Today’s Mistake- Biggest Windstorms in Iceland

  My sister and her husband went to Iceland in February 2020. They hit a big storm season and had trouble with all of the plans they had made. Be prepared for weather adjustments. I was there in August 2023, and the weather was mild. T-shirts and light sweaters were all that were needed.

Today’s Travel Advice-Save Money by grocery shopping

  In Iceland, you can find prices exceptionally high, especially in restaurants. I could save much money if I made at least one meal daily from things I bought at the grocery store. I stocked up on chocolate for gifts for the family, too.

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