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cyruspavels · 11 months

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Personal Greed

Chapter 1: The Temptation

On a bustling planet, there lived a character named Greed. Greed was an insatiable force, always yearning for what it saw others possessing or enjoying. It watched as children gleefully played with their toys and wondered what it would be like to possess such joy. It envied the adults who engaged in leisurely activities, their laughter echoing through the streets. Greed longed to experience the same happiness that seemed to radiate from these simple pleasures.

As time passed, Greed's desires grew stronger. It couldn't resist the allure of material possessions and the satisfaction they promised. It saw people with extravagant cars, luxurious mansions, and designer clothing. Greed's heart ached with an insidious hunger, compelling it to acquire everything it laid eyes upon.

Driven by its insatiable craving, Greed began to manipulate and deceive. It cunningly convinced others to part with their belongings and give up who they were, using any means necessary. Greed's actions grew increasingly audacious, tearing through societal norms without remorse. It left a trail of broken relationships, shattered trust, and an undercurrent of tension that engulfed the planet.

Chapter 2: The Unraveling

As Greed continued its rampage, the world’s fabric began to unravel. People became disillusioned, consumed by their own desires, oblivious to the impending doom. The pursuit of personal gain had taken over their lives, blinding them to the consequences of their actions.

Greed's influence seeped into every corner of society. Corporations exploited workers, driven solely by profits, while politicians succumbed to bribery and corruption. The gap between the rich and poor widened, causing resentment & unrest. Greed had poisoned the hearts of the people, turning them against one another.

This once vibrant planet now stood on the brink of collapse. Countries of people were filled with discontent and desperation. They were willing to do anything to satisfy their desires, even if it meant forsaking their humanity. Society had become a twisted reflection of its former self, a hollow shell of what it once was.

Chapter 3: The Fall and Redemption

But amidst the chaos and destruction, a glimmer of hope emerged. People started to realize the extent of the damage caused by Greed. They yearned for a return to the values and principles that had once guided them. They understood that the pursuit of personal gain at the expense of others was a road to ruin.

In a collective effort, the people rallied together to restore society. They rejected the superficial allure of material possessions and focused on rebuilding the bonds of trust and compassion. Gender roles, which had been twisted and distorted, were realigned to honor the innate qualities each gender possessed; the unique strengths and contributions of both men and women; A species miscategorized as the same when in fact they are two different species.

As Greed's power diminished, society healed. People found solace in community, sharing their resources and talents for the greater good. The city blossomed once more, but this time with a newfound appreciation for the simpler things in life. The scars left by Greed served as a reminder of the destructive power it wielded, and humanity vowed to never let such darkness reign again.

And so, Greed was decimated by the collective awakening of humanity reverting to basic gender roles for procreation, that allows for the continuity of our designed species.

By embracing a more balanced approach to life, valuing connection and empathy over personal gain, humanity thrives. Still, not without a lot of selflessness, from a lot of people, all the time.

CP’23

#short story #greed #want #monkey see monkey do #cp'23

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dailydnp · 3 years

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YouTube stars and LGBT+ influencers Dan Howell and Jessica Kellgren-Fozard on how they and their queer fans have helped each other through “radical bravery”.

Dan Howell, a comedian and one of world’s most popular YouTubers, and Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, lesbian YouTube star and disability advocate, have had vastly different experiences as queer content creators.

The two LGBT+ YouTubers spoke to PinkNews to mark the launch of The Rise, a YouTube campaign that celebrates diverse UK creative talent on the platform.

Having already made YouTube videos for 10 years, Dan came out publicly in June 2019, in a 45-minute video titled “Basically I’m gay”.

He described his coming out story as “very strange”, and told PinkNews: “Me already being this kind of obnoxiously, omnipresent public figure, I had to kind of go on this process.

“I’ve known how gay I was since forever, but had to go on the whole journey of not just working out how I would communicate that to the world, but truly reaching a point of self-acceptance.

“Because on some level throughout all of my life, I’ve accepted it but not really acknowledged it. I said: ‘I’m not ready yet, now’s not the time, I don’t know how.'”

Jessica, on the other hand, explained that she has “never struggled” with her sexuality, having always known she would be accepted.

“I have a very different coming out story to most LGBT+ people in that I was raised in a Quaker family, and there was never the expectation that I was going to grow up and get a husband and that this was the way things happened… So I’ve never struggled with my sexuality in that way,” she said.

While Jessica uses her online platform to discuss her life as an LGBT+ person as well as queer history, much of her audience comes to her channel for her disabilities advocacy.

She has two rare genetic conditions, HNPP and EDS, which affect her nerves and connective tissues. She is deaf, visually impaired and her conditions can affect her mobility with varying severity.

“Being a disabled and chronically ill teenager, I had this big thing in my life that was really difficult, and a real struggle, and being gay just paled in comparison,” she said.

“There was obviously the drama, the girls that I liked didn’t liked me, they always turned out to be straight. But that was the biggest drama.

“When I started YouTube, I was already married, it was already very much like, this is who I am. I’m gay, this is my wife. There’s no question. There’s no worrying about it.”

She added: “I like to think that that does, in a way, represent what our future is going to be – that we don’t have to have these coming out stories where people worry about how they’re going to be accepted, and worried about the response they’re going to get.”

Dan Howell wishes he’d had queer role models like Jessica Kellgren-Fozard when he was growing up.

Dan Howell said that YouTubers like Jessica Kellgren-Fozard could have helped him immensely when he was discovering his LGBT+ identity.

“If there was someone like Jessica when I was a young person watching YouTube, I just know I would have had a profoundly different journey through life and coming to accept my sexuality,” he said.

“I would have been represented, I would have learned about queer history, I would have been seeing different relationships, seeing different personalities.”

From LGBT+ issues to disabilities and mental health, both Dan and Jessica have used their platforms to share their experiences in areas that are vastly underrepresented in mainstream media, showing their viewers many facets of their identities.

In 2017, Dan used his YouTube channel to discuss his struggle with his mental health, in a video titled “Daniel and Depression”.

“There’s many aspects to a human,” he said. “I’ve always come from a place of just talking about whatever’s on my mind, or whatever is important to me.

“It was quite a jump for me to make that first video about mental health, opening up about depression out of nowhere was quite scary. Because even three or four years ago, it was still more of a taboo topic.

“I tried to do it in my own way, which is to kind of inappropriately joke about it at my own expense, and try to make it a storytelling experience. That’s just the same as everything else I do.”

Jessica said that from her point of view, “the best representation is always ‘happens to be'”.

“It’s the idea that you have a character who’s going on an adventure, you have someone who’s talking to you about makeup, and they just happen to be gay. Because otherwise we’re not really going to be reaching outside of our own echo chamber.”

She explained that some viewers end up watching 10 of her videos without ever realising that she’s married to a woman, which she thinks is “the best way to kind of have any change and effect on the culture and and people in the world”.

“Because if we’re always trying to preach to the choir, we’re not really going to get anywhere,” she said.

“But if people are thinking so-and-so on TV is absolutely amazing and then later find out that they’re gay, maybe they’ll be changing some preconceived notions.”

“It’s this kind of sneaky, insidious way that the gay agenda will thrive and inevitably take over the world,” laughed Dan. “Winning hearts and minds.”

One particularly heartwarming example, Jessica said, was when a fan used her videos to come out to their parents.

“She was raised in a very religious household and her parents were not at all open to the idea of homosexuality. In fact, if they were watching television, and something came up relating to the subject, they would immediately turn it off, change the channel, perhaps say something wasn’t particularly lovely.

“She was sat there feeling like, ‘Oh, am I ever going to come out my parents?'”

The fan decided to curate a playlist of Jessica’s videos to show her mother.

“It started with videos that I made about my religion,” she said, “and then transitioned to fashion and videos about history. And just slowly, each video was a slightly gayer video.”

“Her mother became a fan within the first 20 videos. She was like: ‘This seems like a good role model for my child.’

“Eventually [she realised] this role model has a wife and is gay, and is OK with this. And her parents are religious and OK with her being gay… I was able to provide a tool for someone to do that to come out in quite a safe way to their parents.”

The “radical bravery” of his queer fans helped Dan Howell come out.

Dan Howell, on the other hand, said that his fans were the ones who helped him feel safe to come out.

While still in the closet, he said he found it “difficult” that he viewers saw him as someone who was always “open and honest” with them, especially after sharing his experience with depression.

“I went on a world tour in 2018… I was doing these meet and greets, and people would genuinely pour their hearts out to me, and they would talk about everything they were going through in their life,” he said.

“They would talk about illness, they would talk about mental health. And so many people talked about sexuality, just because the community that had been created had this attitude of acceptance and growth and coming together and wholesomeness.”

While he understands that there was “no presumption [he] was a homophobe”, he found it confusing when people would tell him that he had inspired them to come out.

“It was difficult, because I stood there feeling like I was a sham. People were saying: ‘I feel strong enough to say this to you, because you’ve been so open and vulnerable to me.’ And I was just stood there like: ‘Well, actually, I feel like there’s the biggest part of me that I haven’t even yet gone on the journey to acknowledge myself.’

“I mean, I’ve had people that came out to me in front of their parents, because they felt like they were in a safe environment, and that’s crazy.

“The radical bravery of some of these people is what made me think if I was feeling like a little scared dog in my apartment, looking in the mirror like a chihuahua, thinking: ‘How am I ever going to come out publicly at this stage of my life?’ I would think well, actually, look at the younger generation.”

In the ‘chaos’ of the internet, queer YouTubers like Dan Howell and Jessica Kellgren-Fozard building valuable communities.

While the internet can be a scary place for queer folk, Dan Howell and Jessica Kellgren-Fozard are determined to use it to build community and acceptance.

“I think that we don’t talk enough about the wonderful sides of the internet,” said Jessica.

“How it allows people to come together and create a community, how it gives us access to education that might before been blocked to us, how we’re able to actually learn from people who come before us.

“I really like talk about queer history, because we’re one of the only communities and minorities that can’t pass down out knowledge through the generations. Because you know, gay people don’t necessarily have gay kids.

“We often miss out on learning from our elders and learning what’s come before us. And I think it’s really important and lovely that we talk about and validate and really cherish these communities that are available to us on the internet.”

Dan added: “When you look at the chaos of the internet and various online communities, I think it is good to see when people are creating content that can make people feel better.

“For all of the terrifying chaos of the freedom of the internet and creating on YouTube, it also lets people emerge that may not have been represented, you can create the content that you wish someone was making for you.

“And I think that’s one of the best things.”

#daniel howell #danisnotonfire #dan #phan #mine #interview

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rhenal · 6 years

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To the Void with the Void

Few things in Dragon Age lore bother me quite as much as the Void. It appears just about everywhere, in every faith, but what any one teaching says about what it actually IS never seems to be consistent - even in the same set of teachings.

Come with me on this journey, as I go through the Dragon Age Wiki page on the Void and follow every single cite note to the source - and look through those cited sources as well.

It starts with a brief summary, then goes into Chantry beliefs, because of course that comes first. It lists some verses from the chant.

All that the Maker has wrought is in His hand Beloved and precious to Him. Where the Maker has turned His face away, Is a Void in all things; In the world, in the Fade, In the hearts and minds of men.

Passing out of the world, in that Void shall they wander; O unrepentant, faithless, treacherous, They who are judged and found wanting Shall know forever the loss of the Maker's love. Only Our Lady shall weep for them.

—Canticle of Threnodies, 12:5

So... the void is both a vague emptiness in everything the Maker doesn’t like and the Andrastian version of Hell? Right. How conveniently vague. It never says ‘the Void’ though, just ‘a Void’.

Next follows some extrapolations. Since I know that fanon and canon tend to intermingle a lot in small, subtle and insidious ways, I shall stick as close to the source material - and only the source material - as the wiki and the rest of my resources will allow for, while mostly ignoring the wiki-specific text. So. Let’s follow the cite notes, in order.

The first one refers to a conversation with Sebastian in DA II. I don’t have that DLC, because I think that guy is kind of an arse and not worth my money, and after over an hour of searching both the wiki and youtube, I have not found this conversation, so I’m gonna drop that trail for now.

Second cite note also refers to a Sebastian conversation, but this is one I can actually find. It’s a banter conversation between him and Isabela.

Isabela: So, I've never understood why the Chantry says if you're good, you'll be taken up to the Maker's side. Sebastian: Those who die with the sins cleansed from their souls will walk beside the Maker in eternity. Isabela: That doesn't sound fun! Isabela: If they really want people to be good, shouldn't they offer an afterlife with... lakes of wine and a dozen naked virgins? Sebastian: Anyone who wants that will be going to the Void. Isabela: Sounds like that's where all the good parties will be.

So, Andrasian hell. K. Still doesn’t tell me anything useful.

Next few cite notes are grouped up. These unfortunately refer to books that I do not have access to at the moment - World of Thedas vol. 1 and the Dragon Age Origins official game guide - so I’ll simply settle for sharing the statement on the wiki.

The sinners are lost, endlessly wandering the Fade or even returning to the "ether" (the primeval matter of the Fade) from which they were made.

So, conflating the Void and the Fade now, are we? The next sentence references the Canticle of Threnodies, saying that it says that the Void is a place within the Fade. Time to check out what’s available of that Canticle myself...

Huh. Oh, that’s a lot. Yet after reading it all, the only mention of the Void I could find is in 12:5 above. “Where the Maker has turned His face away, Is a Void in all things; In the world, in the Fade, In the hearts and minds of men.” I think that can be interpreted in a lot of ways. It doesn’t quite say “The Void is a place in the fade” to me. It just says that there is an emptiness - a Void - in everything that the Maker found fault in. And he certainly found fault in the Fade, according to earlier verses in that very same Canticle. I don’t know, but this instance seems more figurative to me. Maybe I’m wrong.

Moving on. Up next is another Chantry verse.

Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls. From these emerald waters doth life begin anew. Come to me, child, and I shall embrace you. In my arms lies Eternity.

—Canticle of Andraste, 14:11

I can’t help but notice how ‘abyss’ isn’t capitalised in this verse. I checked in game - it’s not capitalised there either.

This verse bothers me. When reading further into the codex entry of “Here Lies the Abyss”, there is some musings by Revered Mother Juliette accompanying the verse. They read as follows:

Chantry sisters have long debated this section of the Chant of Light. It is tempting to assume that the "well of all souls" is a literal well, but such imagery appears nowhere in Andraste's other works. An examination from Threnodies 1:4 yields clues:

From the waters of the Fade you made the world. As the Fade had been fluid, so was the world fixed.

It is possible—even likely—that the "emerald waters" Andraste refers to are the substance of the Fade, which began as an "ocean of dreams" (Threnodies 1:1) and was reduced to a well—bottomless but limited in scope—by the Maker's creation of our world.

Is Andraste urging the listener to come to the Fade? Should we take "From these emerald waters doth life begin anew," as literal evidence of reincarnation—or even of life after death, as the Cult of Spirits suggests—or as a figurative benediction indicating that the Maker is the source of all life, and in finding His embrace for Eternity, we will only be returning our souls from whence they came?

Vague, is it not? Juliette seems as confused as I am.

Now, I remember when The Descent came out. When seeing The Wellspring at the end of that story, a lot of think-pieces popped up in the Meta community about how it looked an awful lot like what Andraste might have been describing in that Canticle of hers. Note how, in the Wiki page for the above-mentioned codex entry, there is a trivia section with a quoted passage from The Calling?

"It’s where Andraste goes to speak to the Maker for the first time. It’s where she convinces him to forgive mankind. It was supposed to be this beautiful temple deep under the earth surrounded by emerald waters."

Interesting, no?

If anything, it seems safe to say that The Chant doesn’t seem very interesting in defining just what either the Void or this abyss is in the first place, and anything further simply seem to be interpretations by various Chantry people, which is hardly a reliable source of anything.

Continuing down the Wiki page on the Void, we have the Elven beliefs section. Something something The Forgotten Ones dwell there - the cite note leads us to Codex Entry: Elven God Andruil. Well. Not beliefs of modern elves, then, since this entry is found in the temple of Mythal, but that’s splitting hairs.

One day Andruil grew tired of hunting mortal men and beasts. She began stalking The Forgotten Ones, wicked things that thrive in the abyss. Yet even a god should not linger there, and each time she entered the Void, Andruil suffered longer and longer periods of madness after returning.

Andruil put on armor made of the Void, and all forgot her true face. She made weapons of darkness, and plague ate her lands. She howled things meant to be forgotten, and the other gods became fearful Andruil would hunt them in turn. So Mythal spread rumors of a monstrous creature and took the form of a great serpent, waiting for Andruil at the base of a mountain.

When Andruil came, Mythal sprang on the hunter. They fought for three day and nights, Andruil slashing deep gouges in the serpent's hide. But Mythal's magic sapped Andruil's strength, and stole her knowledge of how to find the Void. After this, the great hunter could never make her way back to the abyss, and peace returned.

—Translated from ancient elven found in the Arbor Wilds, source unverified

Here is a much more clear distinction of the Void as an actual, tangible thing. Abyss is still not being capitalised, though. Abyss speaks to me of something deep down below. And the ancient Elves were actively encouraged to seek the deepest parts of the Fade, as seen in Codex Entry: Vir Dirthara: The Deepest Fade.

The pages of this book—memory?—are instructions on how to reach the deepest parts of the Fade, realms so far removed they're unmarked by Dreamers:

"Epiphany requires a mind smooth as mirror glass, still as stone. Put aside ten years for practice, and the next hundred for searching. What others have learned will ease your journey. Those who never manifested outside the Fade will find it easier to find its stillest roots, but it is rare the compulsion overtakes our brethren of the air."

Andruil roaming the Void was considered a bad thing by the Elves, yet seeking the deepest parts of the Fade was encouraged. That says to me that they are not the same. That says to me that the Void is not found in the Fade.

The Andruil codex entry also says that “all forgot her true face” and that because of her actions, “plague ate her lands”. The idea that it was Andruil who caused the Blight has been around for a long time. This codex entry is the source of that theory. So far, I am inclined to agree that it certainly sounds like that may be the case. So. Quite possibly, according to this tale, if this plague is indeed the blight, it can be concluded that the Blight came from the Void.

However, that is a whole lot of conditions. A lot of ‘if’s.

Next up, there’s talk about the legends of Fen’Harel and The Great Betrayal - which we know for certain fact by now is a lot more complicated than the legends make it out to be. However, I don’t remember there being any mention of the Void or an abyss - or even the Forgotten Ones - being mentioned in our conversation with Solas in Trespasser. Sometimes I wonder if the Forgotten Ones are just a trail that Bioware wants to drop, but then I remember that their most explicit appearance in all the games so far is as recently as Jaws of Hakkon. Well. Back on track.

The cite notes here only lead me to Arlathan: Part two and the Dread Wolf codex entry - both tellings of the Dalish legend, which tells me nothing new. The Forgotten Ones were allegedly trapped in the abyss. Might be good to point out that these legends also appear to imply that the Forgotten Ones came from the abyss, or at least that it was their home. “[...]if only the Forgotten Ones would return to the abyss for a time.“

Hmm. The Void wiki entry next says that The World of Thedas includes accounts of the Evanuris being trapped in the Eternal City. I thought that was just a theory. I really need to get that book. Clear some things up.

On to the next cite note, which leads me to the codex entry Elgar’nan: God of Vengeance. Another Dalish account, but this one brings up something interesting that I’ve not paid attention to before.

The sun, looking down upon the fruitful land, saw the joy that Elgar'nan took in her works and grew jealous. Out of spite, he shone his face full upon all the creatures the earth had created, and burned them all to ashes. The land cracked and split from bitterness and pain, and cried salt tears for the loss of all she had wrought. The pool of tears cried for the land became the ocean, and the cracks in her body the first rivers and streams.

Elgar'nan was furious at what his father had done and vowed vengeance. He lifted himself into the sky and wrestled the sun, determined to defeat him. They fought for an eternity, and eventually the sun grew weak, while Elgar'nan's rage was unabated. Eventually Elgar'nan threw the sun down from the sky and buried him in a deep abyss created by the land's sorrow.

A deep crack in the earth - a crack referrenced to as an abyss no less - created by the Sun’s rage.

Perhaps, this instead is a reference to the war in which the Evanuris were generals. The war that enabled their ascent to presumed godhood. And this chasm was opened by the battles waged in this war.

My mind wanders to The Abyssal Reach in the Western Approach. You know the one - the ginormous black chasm? The one that you fall into during Here Lies the Abyss?

The Wiki entry on the Western Approach says that “This area was the site of a major battle during the Second Blight. The darkspawn swarmed out of the great chasm to the south named the Abyssal Rift and corrupted the land beyond recovery.” Note that it doesn’t say is that the chasm was created during the Second Blight. It would appear that it was already there.

I’m thinking that this chasm is the same as the one referenced in Elgar’nan’s legend.

Although - nothing about this says that this chasm and the Void is the same thing. But I suspect that they may be connected.

Continuing down the Void wiki page, all that’s left is the cult of the Empty Ones - who worshiped the blight - as well as a fairly lengthy trivia section. Nothing I find here is new. The Empty ones say the Darkspawn came from the Void and that the Void is a place of nothingness. General mentions of a hungry, yawning void - which doesn’t really say anything because that’s a pretty general turn of phrase. The Staff of the Void’s description talks about a void as an absence of something, which once again sounds more like a turn of phrase than anything substantial.

There is always the Anvil of the Void - the thing that the Dwarves used to forge Golems. Since it essentially functioned by transferring the soul of a dwarf into that of the Golem, it could imply that the Void is somehow related to souls - or at least Dwarven souls - which would support the verse from the Canticle of Andraste mentioned before. But then, we also know that Elven souls come from the Fade - or at least that is what is implied, considering their close kinship with Spirits before the Veil.

And there is still the whole thing about where we have absolutely no idea where the Humans even came from in the first place...

So far, I’ve seen a lot of fairly interesting thinking points - but absolutely nothing that would really lead to any real consensus to what the Void even is - IF it even is. I can’t help but feel that despite the frequent use of the terms Void and abyss in both Elven and Chantry lore, none of these references are similar enough - or substantive enough - for me to be able to be able to safely conclude that the Void even is a special place or thing at all. It sounds to me like metaphorical speech far more often than it does anything else. A metaphor for deep underground or something. The Deep Roads. I don’t know.

But then I remember The Descent again. The Wellspring. The ‘lake’ that seemed almost like a sky. The Dwarf legend of the king who dug so deep down that he and his entire thaig “fell into the sky”. It makes me wonder...

In the end, all I feel I can really conclude for myself is that whatever it is, the Abyss is mostly deep below, and the Fade is mostly up above. I don’t think they are the same. Also that the Blight probably comes from the Void in one way or another.

But honestly, any more than that, the lore just doesn’t seem to converge into anything substantial anywhere. There is simply far too little to go on to make any solid conclusions, and what little lore there is appear to go into different places more often than not. We can assume, we can theorise, we can extrapolate - but what real lore there actually is tells us surprisingly little.

If anyone has any thoughts about this that are more coherent than mine, I’d love to hear them, because it feels like I’m thinking in circles.

#dragon age meta #dragon age inquisition #dragon age 2 #dragon age origins #the void #This post took me four hours to make #My brain feels kinda mushy #I'm tired #I should go to sleep

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firstumcschenectady · 3 years

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“Nonviolence” based on 1 Samuel 3:1-10 and John 1:43-51

I'm intrigued by the words in 1 Samuel, “The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” The story says, in those days, it took a while before the one being called by God realized it.

Since the beginning of October we have offered a “Contemplative Prayer Service” on Sunday mornings at 10AM. Since the middle of November it has been online. I've gotta admit, it has exceeded my expectations. They were pretty low ;) It turns out that getting on zoom, muting your mic, and praying while other people are sitting on zoom (mostly with their mics off) praying actually IS more connected than praying alone.

It is easier to be still then.

This week I've found that I can't get through the day without some silence in prayer. I just get too agitated. And the angst builds and builds, until I take time away from inputs to simply be with the Divine.

These defined times of prayer – with others in the Contemplative Prayer Service as well as the ones I've taken out of deep and abiding need – have reminded me of some things I'm embarrassed I'd forgotten. Perhaps I hadn't forgotten, but at the very least they came as well needed reminders when other things had started to take precedence in my being.

Ready?

First, God is still THERE, or HERE, or however you say it. I'd like to claim I NEVER forget that, but each time I settle into prayer and I sense the peace that passes understanding and the grace that abides I'm … surprised again. Maybe this is just because God's goodness is better than I'm ever able to remember, but each and every time I encounter it I'm relieved to find it there.

Second, stillness is …. possible. It often feels impossible right until it happens. I get drawn into the news, into the COVID statistics, into my own to-do lists, and then I get distracted by baby cries or squeals, - or emails or texts – and the whole of life seems to be carefully created to keep me from finding stillness (and letting me have excuses about it) but then when I do it, it is still there waiting for me and it is GLORIOUS.

Third, there is a vibrant, thriving, almost tangible connection between all living things and the Living God. When the noise of the world isn't in the way, the spiritual wonder is breath-taking.

Perhaps these reflections are able to serve as a reminder to you of things you also know. Or perhaps they serve as a reminder of a need to find time for contemplative practice.

For me, they serve as a source of transformation. My emotional responses to the world right now are....sharp. I'm horrified. I'm terrified. I'm disgusted. And yet, closer to home, I'm also delighted, and exhausted, and grateful, and worried, and relieved. It is just a whole lot to hold.

I have been thinking about the retreat we did in 2017 with Bishop Susan Hassinger, looking at spiritual practices that uphold social justice work. This might also be called the grounding for building the kindom, or following the way of Jesus without burning out.

The needs of social justice work, of kindom building, are so BIG that I'm overwhelmed by them unless I get grounded in the unfailing love of the Divine. Worse, in this moment, I've finding it easier to get pulled into the polarization of our society – which dehumanizes “the other side” than ever. This is a BIG problem, particularly for one who seeks to be a Jesus follower.

Are you ready for today's challenge? One of the great interpreter's of the life and teachings of Jesus in our tradition, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote,

To our most bitter opponents we say: “We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will, and we shall continue to love you. We cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws, because noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. Throw us in jail, and we shall still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you. But be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we shall win freedom, but not only for ourselves. We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.”1

I feel quite confident that the most bitter opponents of the work of Rev. Dr. King, and the kindom, have been hard at work in our society, and their work has exploded into violence, death, fear-mongering, and the disruption of our democracy. Rev. Dr. King worked against the forces of white supremacy, by working for the full humanity of all people.

And that man, that wise prophetic man, that man whose life itself was taken by the violence of the world, is the one who said, “Do it us what you will, and we shall continue to love you.”

He refused to face violence with violence, he believed that the Jesus movement was founded in NONVIOLENCE. He refused to meet hate with anything but love. Now, of course, LOVE did not mean “compliance.” Love meant naming evil, love meant good analysis of power dynamics, love meant strategic planning of protests, love meant taking care of the people's spiritual well being so they could keep on working for God's greater good. Love does not require us to back down. Love does not require us to become passive. Love does not require us to become silent.

But, love does require us to seek the well-being of ALL OF GOD'S BELOVEDS, and dear ones, this week, that includes people who are part of white supremacist groups, and people who are part of QAnon cults, and even the people who use those people to gain and keep power. Love requires us to want what is good for all of them, although – thank goodness – that doesn't include that they get to keep power or continue using violence. Perpetuating violence hurts both the one who is violated and the one who violates. No goodness or love comes out of it.

But following the way of Jesus, nonviolent, loving resistance, that builds the kindom. You may remember the admonition in Matthew to turn the other cheek, “But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well.“ (Matthew 3:39-40, NRSV) Walter Wink's teaching informed me that these teachings are the ultimate in nonviolent loving resistance. In those days there were two forms of striking a person – one used for equals and one used for inferiors. A backhand vs. a slap. The left hand was NEVER used because... well... toilet paper hadn't been invented yet. To turn the other cheek is to respond to the diminishing insult of a backhand with an invitation to hit again – but this time as an equal. Similarly, the Hebrew Bible forbids anyone from leaving a person naked in the process of seeking loan repayment. So, if a person seeks restitution of a loan by demanding your OUTER garment, and you offer your INNER garment as well, you put them in the situation of having to refuse to take both or stand in violation of religious law.

I sort of wish today's gospel lesson has the question “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” asked to Jesus himself, but I think John does well with it anyway. The answer of the whole book is “YES” and the person asking the ignorant question is immediately aware of his error. Loving nonviolence here includes seeing the world, and its locations, a new.

I am a little bit concerned that because I have focused on spiritual grounding for kindom building, and nonviolent resistance as the form of kindom building, that someone might not have heard me speak imperative truths. So, please give me a moment to be abundantly clear:

People who perpetuate violence in the name of Christianity are not following Jesus.

Christianity itself has been profoundly co-opted by white supremacy in this nation (and many others), and it is our obligation to CONTINUALLY root it out, transform it, and be self-aware of how it is playing out in our lives and communities.

The violence we have seen in terms of mobs attacking governmental institutions in this country are the angry expression of mostly-white, mostly-men who believe they have a fundamental right to be more important than others. Like any other abuser, they are most violent when they fear they are losing control. THEY ARE LOSING CONTROL, and they are truly terrifying as such.

The progress we have seen in humanizing people from the fullness of humanity is NOT GUARANTEED – these angry abusive mobs have friends in very high places, and a lot of backing.

God is always, always, always on the side of full and abundant life for ALL PEOPLE.

So that's the side we are on. We don't want power consolidated with mostly white mostly men because no one group is able to adequately seek the good of all groups. It is only through shared knowledge, resources, and power that we can seek the common good.

And THAT is why I want us to be grounded in contemplative prayer, good analysis, and God's grace. Because I believe those are means of countering the insidious voices of white supremacy and it's close cousin the patriarchy. To move towards the kindom requires seeking clearly what is happening, and letting God's love transform us, and the world through us.

So, dear ones, please find the time to connect with grace.

Please allow grace and love to fill you up.

Please let Rev. Dr. King's reminder of the way of Christ continue to challenge you. Please recommit to Jesus's way of nonviolence.

And may God grant us wisdom for the facing of this hour. Amen

1Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “On Loving Your Enemies” found at https://www.onfaith.co/onfaith/2015/01/19/martin-luther-king-jr-on-loving-your-enemies/35907 on March 29, 2018.

Rev. Sara E. Baron First United Methodist Church of Schenectady 603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305 Pronouns: she/her/hers http://fumcschenectady.org/ https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

January 17, 2021

#Thinking Church #progressive christianity #Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr #MLK #human relations day #nonviolent #First UMC Schenectady #schenectady #UMC #Sorry about the umc world #Rev Sara E Baron #kindom #democracy

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4rt-e · 5 years

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Business of Fashion interview with James Jebia https://ift.tt/2CVFTNH

I just horribly scraped this off BOFs site. You need a membership to actually read. Formating may be messed up and images are missing so please don't complain.

BY CHANTAL FERNANDEZAPRIL 3, 2019 05:30

NEW YORK, United States — In mid-March, Italian police, acting as part of operation “Golden Brand,” released a video showing a storeroom stacked high with boxes from which officers pulled products covered in shiny plastic sleeves. Most of the items — T-shirts, sandals, even skateboards — were branded with the distinctive box logo made famous by Supreme, though, of course, none of them were actually made by the New York-based streetwear giant. In a statement, the Italian authorities said that, in total, they had seized 700,000 counterfeit items worth €10 million as part of an investigation into the sale of counterfeit streetwear, which they characterised as a “new insidious phenomenon.”

Supreme knock-offs, from T-shirts to cigarette lighters, can be found all over the world, from Canal Street in New York City to the souks of Marrakech. The market for these counterfeits has thrived in part because distribution of genuine Supreme product is so tightly controlled. Its goods are available only at the brand’s 11 stores, via its website and at Dover Street Market, often in small batches released in weekly “drops," meaning that demand often far outweighs supply. Most items sell out online less than 10 seconds after they are made available.

Manufactured scarcity is a key part of Supreme’s incredible success. Over the last 25 years, the brand has grown from a single store on New York’s Lafayette Street that served as a de facto clubhouse for local skaters to a billion-dollar streetwear juggernaut that, in 2017, attracted investment from private equity giant the Carlyle Group, which paid around $500 million for roughly 50 percent stake in the business. Its red box logo, itself inspired by the signature style of artist Barbara Kruger, is now recognised worldwide.

But Supreme’s global profile, coupled with the scarcity of its product, has also exposed the company to sophisticated opportunists. The biggest thorn in Supreme’s side is Italy’s International Brand Firm (IBF) and a series of up to eight affiliated companies, known primarily as Supreme Italia and Supreme Spain to consumers. The company has brazenly set up Supreme-branded storefronts and websites in Italy, Spain and China that look real enough. It has filed trademark registrations using the word “Supreme” and versions of its logo in as many as 50 countries including Spain, Portugal and Israel. It has challenged Supreme for its trademark in international courts, and it has promised to open 70 more stores selling look-a-like Supreme goods.

All told, IBF appears to be doing swift business in what some call “legal fakes” because, according to Susan Scafidi, founder and director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University's School of Law, the items fall in a legal grey area of trademark squatting. Even before IBF targeted Supreme, the streetwear brand faced an uphill battle in trademark registrations: its name has been considered too general and descriptive by some courts.

In 2017, IBF generated £514,000 (about $679,000) in revenue, according to public filings for part of its business. But if its plans to open new distribution channels go ahead, that number could grow significantly.

IBF’s activities made international headlines last December when Samsung announced a product collaboration with Supreme at a press conference in China. The South Korean giant welcomed someone it believed to be the chief executive of the streetwear business to the stage. “Today is Supreme’s official debut in the Chinese market,” said the person on stage with Feng En, Samsung’s head of digital marketing for Greater China, promising to open several stores in the country including a seven-story flagship in Beijing. Only later, after a backlash on the internet, did Samsung seem to discover that they were dealing not with the New York-based Supreme, but with the IBF-controlled Supreme Italia, and canceled the partnership.

In March, a Supreme-branded store opened on Middle Huaihai Road, one of Shanghai’s busiest retail streets, attracting a line of curious consumers wondering if the world’s most coveted streetwear brand had finally set up shop in China. Inside, shoppers can now find T-shirts and hoodies branded with oversized logos and tagged as “Supreme Spain” for 599RMB (about $90) to 1,599 RMB (about $240), as well as skateboard decks, backpacks and other accessories.

“I don’t think another company has really had to deal with this like we have,” said Supreme founder James Jebbia in a rare interview. “This is a whole new level with this criminal enterprise — these complete imposters and impersonators. This is a company that was able to convince one of the biggest companies in the world [Samsung] that they are the real thing.”

It would be sad if a new generation thinks that’s actually legit.

“People should know that the idea of legal fakes is a complete farce,” he said. “It would be sad if a new generation thinks that’s actually legit,” Jebbia added, likening IBF’s ability to spread disinformation to how “fake news” can easily be spread online today. “We don’t do a ton of press and we are quite quiet. These guys are taking full advantage of that… We haven’t had the time to basically go on this massive disinformation tirade or press thing that most people would.”

Some have chalked up Supreme’s counterfeiting woes to its failure to register its trademark faster than imposters in global markets — where trademarks are often awarded to companies that are first to file them, not first to use them — as the streetwear label grew more quickly than it was able to professionalise. Others say Supreme has little choice but to accept the situation.

But the truth is more complicated. For over two years, Supreme has fought its counterfeiters in the courts as it lobbies for trademark recognition in China and with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, jurisdictions in which no company yet has these rights. (Supreme has registrations in several European countries, parts of Asia and the United States.) In China, for example, Supreme filed for trademarks five years ago, though its application is still pending. Supreme Italia and IBF also have pending applications in the country that were filed in March 2018.

For Supreme, this is a highly inconvenient and expensive problem. Though the company was unable to provide an estimate in dollar terms, the cost is not only felt in lost sales and legal fees but in damage to the brand's reputation. And it comes just as Supreme enters a post-Carlyle growth phase which is believed to include expansion into China, the world’s largest fashion market. (Firms like Carlyle, which do not hold businesses indefinitely, typically aim to rapidly grow their investments and then sell their stakes within five to seven years).

In 2017, the same year as the Carlyle deal, Supreme hired its first general counsel as part of a wider professionalisation drive that has included poaching Converse's ex-chief marketing officer and hiring the Boston Consulting Group to evaluate its supply chain. General counsel Darci J. Bailey is overseeing the company’s multi-pronged trademark registration and anti-counterfeiting strategy. Supreme said it now has over 350 trademark filings around the globe.

“There is not a jurisdiction in the world that’s said what [IBF is] doing is lawful,” said Bailey. “Opening stores is only going to yield a bigger victory once we are able to shut those down.” She said that in addition to copying its products, opening fake stores and impersonating Supreme executives, IBF has duplicated Supreme's invoices, shopping bags and signage. “They are really after our DNA,” Bailey said, adding that IBF offered to “sell our trademarks back to us,” but Supreme will not consider payoffs as a way to solve its trademark issues.

“We will not stop, we will not relent,” she said. Supreme has made the most progress in Italy, IBF’s home country, where Italian and San Marino courts have prohibited IBF and its affiliates from using the trademark, and police have conducted over 100 seizures of counterfeit Supreme goods.

IBF and its lawyers declined multiple requests for comment from BoF.

Supreme's lawyers created this graphic to demonstrate that Supreme Spain's mark (far right) will be confused with Supreme's logo (far left) | Source: EUIPO

For years, brands from Nike to Chanel have faced sophisticated counterfeiting operations and trademark squatters. But the tactics used by IBF reflect a new level of sophistication. “I’ve never seen any brand subject to press conferences where there are people who are hired to impersonate the CEO,” said Bailey. “I think that there is a lot of confusion in the marketplace.”

The confusion is particularly palpable in Spain and China, where IBF has actual stores and the genuine Supreme doesn’t. The New York-based label’s cautious approach to expansion — which goes hand-in-hand with its carefully cultivated street cred — is a powerful part of its appeal to consumers. But as the company grows its customer base beyond longtime devotees, who have studied message boards and Supreme fan accounts for tips and tricks on how to buy its releases, the label may become a victim of its quiet approach if new consumers are duped by the likes of IBF. Or if, even worse, they knowingly settle for counterfeits that, in the case of items like logo T-shirts and hoodies, may not appear radically different from the originals to more casual admirers of the brand. “I don’t think we have a difficult time communicating to our core customer — they know how to get it — but any expansion is where it becomes difficult,” said Bailey.

David Fisher, founder and chief executive of influential streetwear and youth culture title Highsnobiety, said that shoppers who only see Supreme as the fashion trend it has become in recent years are less aware of the history of the brand and can’t as easily discern between real and counterfeit items. “They are probably going to buy one T-shirt and hoodie and that’s it… I’m sure there are thousands of people who have that level of engagement with the brand,” he said.

A first-time shopper coming to Supreme’s website — which offers e-commerce for customers in the US, UK, Japan, most of Europe as well as Russia and Iceland — can see a list of the brand’s retail stores, for example, but would not know that new products are released on Thursdays. Or that in order to manage long lines outside its stores, Supreme now assigns shoppers a 15-minute time-slot via text-message lottery that allows them to enter the store on what longstanding customers call “drop days.” The website also does not warn shoppers about the proliferation of counterfeiters.

While the company is likely contemplating opening more retail channels — online and off — in new markets, many of its products (including its coveted box logo items) are still virtually impossible for many consumers to buy, especially in places like Spain, Italy and China, where Supreme does not have stores and where IBF has taken root.

In the 13 months ending in January 2018, Supreme generated £63 million ($83 million) in sales in the UK, Europe and other regions outside the United States, up 156 percent year over year, according to public filings in the UK.

“These fake Supreme [pieces] that appear now make the real Supreme not as popular as it once was,” said a college student in Madrid, Beltrand Montauzon, who has purchased Supreme items on the resale market when traveling abroad. “[Supreme Spain] is way more accessible for people who weren’t able to buy it, which is 99 percent of the population.”

Supreme is believed to be considering new stores in Milan, Berlin and San Francisco, but Jebbia declined to confirm any concrete plans. Existing stores include two in New York (the original Lafayette location is closed for renovations, but another store is open nearby on Bowery), one in Los Angeles, one in London, one in Paris, and six in Japan. “We certainly wouldn’t say, ‘Let’s open in Spain because these fakers have opened up a fake shop,’” he said. “We do look, but we aren’t in any massive rush; it can take years to find the right space,” Jebbia continued. Supreme generated £1.8 million ($2.3 million) in sales between 2013 and 2018 in Spain through online sales, according to documents filed by Supreme's lawyers with the EUIPO.

We certainly wouldn’t say, 'Let’s open in Spain because these fakers have opened up a fake shop.'

IBF was incorporated in November 2015 by Michele di Pierro, a Barletta, Italy native who was previously affiliated with an apparel distributor Grew Sport. His biography on Twitter states, “No one is indispensable” and on Pinterest, “Thirst for innovation.” IBF has boasted that it registered Supreme’s trademarks in Italy before the New York brand could. But in fact, IBF filed a month after the real Supreme did, in November 2015. Then, in January 2016, Supreme Italia is thought to have made its debut during menswear tradeshow Pitti Uomo, where attendees reported the company had set up a booth.

The real Supreme started fighting back in July 2016, taking its case to the Italian courts. After a series of civil and criminal suits in 2017, Italian and San Marino courts ordered an injunction against IBF and its use of the Supreme or Supreme Italia marks, and police started seizing counterfeit product the same year.

IBF, in response, began shifting its business to Spain, where it filed for a trademark in April 2017, five days before Supreme did, and started opening stores in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Ibiza and Formentera the following summer. Supreme also filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, where the trademark is still pending registration. Later in 2017 and 2018, IBF filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), where it has two active listings.

Meanwhile, IBF has been able to score points in the press. In July 2018, an Italian court in Trani unfroze IBF’s websites, even though the company was still barred from producing and selling products featuring Supreme branding. In October 2018, the European Union Intellectual Property Office said it would continue to consider Supreme’s trademark application, which IBF contested. Both of these developments were spun as wins for IBF by Italian streetwear blogs, particularly NSS and TheStreetwearMagazine.com, the latter of which Bailey said is published by IBF.

Supreme's new shop on Bowery in New York | Source: Courtesy

But Supreme isn’t backing down and is focusing on getting the EU-wide mark approved. “We are very confident we are going to get the trademark registration with the EU,” said Bailey.

Meanwhile, Supreme has obtained several trademark registrations in Spain, which IBF has opposed, but the proceedings are suspended until the EUIPO makes its ruling. Supreme is also trying to get Spanish courts to close IBF’s stores, but the relevant authorities have denied this request and Supreme is appealing.

Bailey said Supreme is also persevering in China, where she said the brand has been working closely with officials and is now “months away” from getting its trademarks registrations about four years after the application was first filed.

“It’s highly likely Supreme will create a lot of difficulty for Supreme Italia moving forward and may win,” said Scafidi. “Trademarks are born global; they cross borders without being stopped at customs and yet there is no way to simply protect a trademark globally.”

"We are doing every single thing that we can do to stop [IBF] and I think we are going to prevail,” said Jebbia, adding that although the complexity of running Supreme has certainly grown and the company was still in the process of bringing its operations up to speed, he was still animated by the same principles that guided him at the company's start. “I don’t think of it any differently today than I did 20 years ago. We’ve still got to make great products that hopefully people like and sell well. All we can do is go on instinct.”

Additional reporting by Zoe Suen and Sam Gaskin.

submitted by /u/whalingman [link] [comments] April 03, 2019 at 05:29PM

#hype #streetwear #streetfashion #hypebeast #aesthetic

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literateape · 6 years

Text

Spoilers Ahead: America as "The Walking Dead"

by Chris Churchill

SPOILERS FOR THE WALKING DEAD AND THE UNITED STATES!! ONLY READ FURTHER IF YOU ARE CAUGHT UP ON BOTH AND YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!!

Good old, poor old, heroic old Rick Grimes, huh? What a guy. A man of integrity and honor. A man who understands that humanity is important in a human. Boy, he really gets it. He’s our guy. For those who don’t watch AMC’s biggest current hit, “The Walking Dead” I’m referencing the hero of the show, the former sheriff, Rick Grimes, current leader of group of post-apocalyptic survivors in that show. I love that show. I’m one of the few who nearly never criticizes its acting, writing, and story arc, even though I probably should.

I don’t criticize because it’s not real life and it’s not supposed to be. It’s supposed to be as stupid as the premise that some vaguely scientifically-defined plague will make most of humanity a wandering hoard of magically evil, flesh-eating monsters. Yes. I believe my favorite show’s premise is stupid, yet I hope against hope that one day it will come true, because let’s face it, I don’t know most of you people, and they make it look fun on television.

We had thought that the mission of America was very much like the mission of our protagonist, Rick Grimes. We thought he was the real hero. We thought there was no other way but his. It was Rick Grimes’ way or a bullet to the head.

WE thought WE were the real heroes right up to the 2016 election. Then a bizarre parallel developed between America’s political divide and the collision between the hero, Rick Grimes and his crew with the new villain, “Negan” and his crew.

Now, I’ll just come out and say it. I voted for Hillary. I was as shocked and devastated at the utter (electoral college) annihilation of my candidate and all the hopes and dreams that we had attached to her campaign as anyone on her side was. But, like in the eventual collision between Rick and Negan, I should have seen this coming.

I mean, the way Negan’s guys were kind of everywhere. That should have tipped us off. Roadblocks and booby traps were becoming all too common.

Tea Partiers, like Negan’s “saviors”, had been whistling in the woods for years now. But we weren’t really sure how strong Negan was until the night he smashed Hillary and Tim, or maybe “our bravado and our heart” (i.e. Abraham and Glenn) over their heads with that barbed-wire baseball bat. Then there we were left, sweating, crying, bleeding, in complete shock, relegated to working for the “bad guys” and wondering, “what the hell just happened?”

My wife pointed something out the night that Negan took out a couple favorite characters on that show. Rick Grimes could be seen as just as bad as Negan depending on from which side one views the events leading up to the massacre. Maybe Hillary using the term “basket of deplorables” was the same as Rick killing a bunch of Negan’s guys at an outpost while they slept. Maybe Rick and Hillary assumed the “others” were expendable.

Here’s why the Democrats are Rick’s people and Trump’s Republicans are Negan’s people. They both were going around killing people under the guise of protecting their own way of life; their own worldview. Rick’s group did their survival thing by earnestly claiming moral superiority to the groups they had defeated up until that time and assuming that same moral superiority when asked by a virtual stranger from another group (the character of “Jesus” from the “Hillside” community, for you Walking Dead fans still following along) suggested that “these other people are bad and you should kill them.” In reality, that’s not a good enough reason to kill a bunch of people. It seems like you’d, kind of, investigate a little before doing something that drastic. Maybe Hillary and her crew should have investigated a little before using the “deplorables” line. (Or whatever else people want to attach to Hillary, true or not, that made them hate her.)

Negan, on the other hand, had a whole thriving community going on his side too. The problem was not whether or not he was helping the people in his community but the way he was doing it. That coupled with his own personal moral indiscretions with women.

For those who don’t follow Walking Dead, Negan rules with violence and chaos. He also keeps a stable of young ladies around for amusement. I’ve heard evangelical Christians say that they don’t care what Trump does in his personal life, so long as he is fulfilling their agenda. Negan uses violence in the way that Republicans use the “free market”. Let the system shake itself out. If you aren’t strong, you’ll be weeded out. No favors, no entitlements, no helping the weak. Just do your part and no one gets hurt.

Negan also let’s his underlings hash things out between them. You have to let them fight it out and then back the winner…after he wins. (I swear I’ve seen Trump do that.) Of course, Negan’s brand of “firing” someone is a little different.

So, it seemed for a while that Negan won. He certainly shut down any meaningful opposition for a while. As on the Hillary side of America, it was a bleak time on the Walking Dead for a while.

But here’s why I obsess on pop culture as metaphor for America:

Art doesn’t just imitate life, it sometimes predicts it.

So right now, America is dealing with the fact that maybe one side wasn’t as righteous as it was pious while the other side might be finally admitting that their guy isn’t really a “savior” after all. But I saw the season finalé. I’ve also read enough about what happens in the comics to know what’s going to happen.

SERIOUSLY SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BOTH THE SHOW AND THE COUNTRY:

See, Negan, eventually does get caught. Not for colluding with any nearby community. Simply for having an inhumane ruling style. He’s not killed. He doesn’t even remain a villain forever.

I watched the season finalé in theatres recently. Negan is under arrest and is told he will be in a prison cell for the rest of his life, as an example of what not to do and a reminder of a bygone, failing way of life. That’s what a great number of people in America think about the current administration. But (and this is from the comic book, it hasn’t been in the show yet), as Negan lives out his days in the cell, he actually becomes a serious asset to Rick’s people in an upcoming war with an even more insidious and destructive threat.

In the future of this country as in the future of The Walking Dead television series, it seems that the only way that we will continue to survive is by both sides seeing some value in the other. By understanding the value of each other’s ways of life. By coming together to pool our strengths to defeat a common enemy. There’s always a common enemy.

The “walkers” (the undead creatures that serve as constant threat on “Walking Dead”) are a device used to heighten the stakes of what is basically a metaphor for the development of human civilization. They are the unknown forces that can kill us all. Somewhere along the way, they (the fear) stops being such a problem. The problem becomes the other survivors.

We’ve gotten to a place in human development where the metaphorical “walkers” are much less of a threat to us than ever in the history of mankind. The threat comes from the other humans. We know that all we have to do is learn how to walk together and there will be nothing to fear. Even if the dialogue is stupid sometimes.

#thinly veiled metaphor #The Walking Dead

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theliterateape · 6 years

Text

Spoilers Ahead: America as "The Walking Dead"

by Chris Churchill

SPOILERS FOR THE WALKING DEAD AND THE UNITED STATES!! ONLY READ FURTHER IF YOU ARE CAUGHT UP ON BOTH AND YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!!

I mean, the way Negan’s guys were kind of everywhere. That should have tipped us off. Roadblocks and booby traps were becoming all too common.

So, it seemed for a while that Negan won. He certainly shut down any meaningful opposition for a while. As on the Hillary side of America, it was a bleak time on the Walking Dead for a while.

But here’s why I obsess on pop culture as metaphor for America:

Art doesn’t just imitate life, it sometimes predicts it.

SERIOUSLY SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BOTH THE SHOW AND THE COUNTRY:

See, Negan, eventually does get caught. Not for colluding with any nearby community. Simply for having an inhumane ruling style. He’s not killed. He doesn’t even remain a villain forever.

#thinly veiled metaphor #The Walking Dead

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pink-earmuffs · 7 years

Photo

MULTI REVIEW POST BONFIRE - ARC via Netgalley READ: 8/19-22/17; RELEASED: 11/9/17 "Can you ever outrun your past? From actress, producer, and writer, Krysten Ritter, a psychological suspense novel about a woman forced to confront her past in the wake of small-town corruption. It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands. But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life Abby painstakingly created begins to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town's most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’ biggest scandal from more than a decade ago involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends—just before Kaycee disappeared for good. Abby knows the key to solving any case lies in the weak spots, the unanswered questions. But as she tries desperately to find out what really happened to Kaycee, troubling memories begin to resurface and she begins to doubt her own observations. And when she unearths an even more disturbing secret—a ritual called “The Game,” it will threaten the reputations, and lives, of the community and risk exposing a darkness that may consume her. With tantalizing twists, slow-burning suspense, and a remote, rural town of just five claustrophobic miles, Bonfire is a dark exploration of what happens when your past and present collide." Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this review copy in exchange for an honest review. I read the majority of this in hospitals and waiting rooms in the midst of being ill. Do I have any regrets? Nope. I originally requested this because I've been a fan of Krysten's for ages and was excited and then I read the summary and whoo boy. It's not a perfect debut (there were some parts that seemed more destined for the small or big screen instead of a novel especially the end reveal) but the story and the way Ritter manages to capture imagery and feeling within the pages makes it easy to see in your mind and get lost in the mystery and the intrigue of the world she's created. Very much looking forward to reading more from her. ------------------------------------------ THE PUNCH ESCROW - Paperback ARC READ: 8/3-5/17; RELEASED: 7/25/17 4.2/5 "Dubbed the “next Ready Player One,” by former Warner Brothers President Greg Silverman, and now in film development at Lionsgate. It's the year 2147. Advancements in nanotechnology have enabled us to control aging. We’ve genetically engineered mosquitoes to feast on carbon fumes instead of blood, ending air pollution. And teleportation has become the ideal mode of transportation, offered exclusively by International Transport―the world’s most powerful corporation, in a world controlled by corporations. Joel Byram spends his days training artificial-intelligence engines to act more human and trying to salvage his deteriorating marriage. He’s pretty much an everyday twenty-second century guy with everyday problems―until he’s accidentally duplicated while teleporting. Now Joel must outsmart the shadowy organization that controls teleportation, outrun the religious sect out to destroy it, and find a way to get back to the woman he loves in a world that now has two of him." Thank you to the publishers for this review copy in exchange for an honest review. This one was a nice surprise. I was contacted by the publisher and offered this one. I had to wait to get out my thoughts about it because of real life events that went beyond my control. So sorry this is late. I found the whole thing really interesting from the carbon sucking mosquitoes to the AI and the cloning that takes place. Not once did I find this to linger or be slow in the pace and I loved that the main character was an average "Everyman" with his own set of issues that just so happens to go on this journey. Add to the fact that I hope there's a sequel and I'll be completely looking forward to it. ------------------------------------------ ZERO REPEAT FOREVER - ARC via Netgalley READ: 8/1-2/17; RELEASED: 8/29/17 3.8/5 "The 5th Wave meets Beauty and the Beastin this fast-paced and heart-stopping novel about an invasion of murderous creatures and one girl fighting for her life at the end of the world. He has no voice or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind.  Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting. Until a human kills her… Sixteen-year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her fellow campers can only stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn’t like feeling helpless, but what choice does she have? Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend. Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival comes to depend on trusting each other…" Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this review copy in exchange for an honest review. The pitch for this is Beauty and the Beast meets The Fifth Wave. I liked one more than the other but was still an optimist about reading this because with life happening I needed a fun escape. I liked this take on aliens and mythology (I've read enough alien fiction in my teens since Roswell to have a grasp of what's new or not and what's been done before), that I hadn't considered and I liked the authors take on aliens for Nahx. Raven, the main character was a tad all over the place (maybe it was the pacing of the novel) but I did enjoy the originality of the novel and how it unfolded. I'll look forward to the second one because even though I wasn't shocked by the twist it's still a good novel. ------------------------------------------ CHRISTOPHER WILD - ARC via Netgalley READ: 8/9/17; RELEASE: 2017 "Three lives. One man.Christopher Marlowe was the first rock star poet, a spy, an atheist, a gay rebel whose controversial plays thrilled audiences and challenged the government. CHRISTOPHER WILD is Kathe Koja’s new novel, a daring remix of eras—the glitter and threat of Elizabethan England, a grimy mid-20th century, and a dark near-future of constant surveillance—as Marlowe loves and fights and writes his way through every life" Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this review copy in exchange for an honest review. Alright, time for the confession, I picked this up because I'm an English major and I got into TNT's now canceled show on Shakespeare. I wanted to like this but found myself struggling at times even if this novel is beautifully constructed. ------------------------------------------ THE WHISPERING ROOM - ARC via Netgalley READ: 8/10-12/17; RELEASE: 11/21/17 4.2/5 "Jane Hawk—fiction’s most relentless, resourceful, stunning new heroine—continues her battle against a murderous conspiracy in the riveting sequel to The Silent Corner."No time to delay. Do what you were born to do. Fame will be yours when you do this.”These are the words that ring in the mind of mild-mannered, beloved schoolteacher Cora Gundersun—just before she takes her own life, and many others’, in a shocking act of carnage. When the disturbing contents of her secret journal are discovered, it seems certain that she must have been insane. But Jane Hawk knows better. In the wake of her husband’s inexplicable suicide—and the equally mysterious deaths of scores of other exemplary individuals—Jane picks up the trail of a secret cabal of powerful players who think themselves above the law and beyond punishment. But the ruthless people bent on hijacking America’s future for their own monstrous ends never banked on a highly trained FBI agent willing to go rogue—and become the nation’s most wanted fugitive—in order to derail their insidious plans to gain absolute power with a terrifying technological breakthrough. Driven by love for her lost husband and by fear for the five-year-old son she has sent into hiding, Jane Hawk has become an unstoppable predator. Those she is hunting will have nowhere to run when her shadow falls across them." Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this review copy in exchange for an honest review. Alright, when we last left the characters I was excited for a sequel and found that I had more questions instead of answers. Kootnz still has a brilliant strong character in Jane and he doesn't falter here. The only complaint I had much like last time is that Koontz is still a bit wordy in his descriptions but even though that makes it longer it's still enjoyable even though the pace drags a slight bit in still itching to get my hands on the next novel to see where he takes Jane especially after that ending. ------------------------------------------ NOTES FROM THE UPSIDE DOWN - ARC via Netgalley "Jump inside the world of Stranger Thingsand discover everything you need to know about the hit TV show. Grab your Eggo waffles and get ready for a visit to Hawkins, Indiana—just don’t forget the fairy lights! If you devoured Stranger Things on Netflix and you’re looking to fill the demogorgon-sized hole in your life, then look no further than Notes from the Upside Down. Thisfan-tastic guide has every fact you could ever wish for—from insights into the origins of the show, including the mysterious Montauk Project conspiracy theory; a useful eighties playlist (because, of course); and much more. If you’ve ever wondered why Spielberg is such a huge influence, which Stephen King books you need to read (hint: pretty much all of them), or how State Trooper David O’Bannon earned his name, then this book is for you. Entertaining, informative, and perfect for fans of eighties pop culture, Notes from the Upside Down is the Big Mac of unofficial guides to Stranger Things—super-sized and special sauce included." Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this review copy in exchange for an honest review. I really, really fell in love with this show when it debuted and since then I've always looked for a book like this. I'm a casual fan but enjoy the little tiny backstories and what not from tv shows. Overall a great edition to companion books with a really bright and catchy cover. ---------------------------------------- BREAKING BAD 101 - ARC from Netgalley "AMC’s Breaking Bad is among the most beloved, critically acclaimed American television series of our time. Created by Vince Gilligan, the series charts the transformation of high school science teacher Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) into a cold, calculating meth kingpin. Breaking Bad 101 collects esteemed critic Alan Sepinwall’s (Uproxx) popular Breaking Bad recaps in book form, featuring new, exclusive essays and completely revised and updated commentary—as well as insights from and interviews with the creative masterminds behind Breaking Bad. The ultimate critical companion for one of the greatest television dramas of all time, Breaking Bad 101 offers fans Sepinwall’s smart, funny, and incisive analysis of the psychology and filmmaking craft behind each episode and celebrates the series’ unique place in pop-culture history." Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this review copy in exchange for an honest review. I liked this book. I'm a huge fan of the TV series and found this to be a nice walk down memory lane especially with the episode recaps and I like how they manage to tie in Better Call Saul as a nod to the shared universe that the characters all live in. A nice edition to companion books and fans of the show (even if the cover isn't very eye catching).

#books #arc review #advance review #advance reader copy #multipost

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opalmothnightingale · 6 years

Text

Some Types of Neediness Spoil Love

1- 20- 18 -

I want nothing more than to wrap my life around the care and nurturing and making another happy... Only if they are made happy by things I like to do... No doormat am I...

But yes, I even thought I would like to love somebody who’s weaker, more tired, broken, sad, needs help and care and things like that... If I had the resources. That is a neediness I can accept, and be happy with.

But the sex based neediness can create this artificial sort of love that is chemically induced and physically dependent. I mean, call it love if you want but it seems to me like it’s a drug induced love illusion. Love can be there but so is the love illusion drug sex feeling. That doesn’t leave, it remains imprinted as a trait of personality, for those whose love bonds are dependent on it. For them maybe it feels as natural and right as ever a love could be. Good for them, but bad for me. It’s fake, strained, artificial to me. It feels less than to me. It’s not what love means to me and if I can get by with it, it’s not the ideal love to me.

But I think other forms of neediness might be even more pernicious and insidious and destructive, harder to meet needs like emotional dependency, psychological disorder and so on that needs others to be their mind, their heart, their soul when their own selves are broken... Which, I might like if I know how to do that, but if it’s changeable, unstable, chaotic and I don’t know how and when I can help them... Sex dependency is at least more predictable usually.. Lol Sigh. So,.. I dont’ know...

It’s not just that men’s sex drives and compulsions weigh things down for me but the whole masculine mentality I think... Which many women also have... This whole work based, productivity based mentality, which also may be applied to housework and other tasks, not just money making work... This competitve and social approval seeking mentality of being strong, stable, grown up, productive, dependable...

When what I want is to be a wandering mind, heart, soul and expression, scattered and only seeking to be tied down as much as needed to meet basic needs. Emotional needs and artisitc and soul and intellectual needs are more important, and are changeable... I seek and fulfill those on my own, and with friends, but not seeking friends like a supply to give me that... Only to enhance it if I can find someone who shares in those dreams and ideals, joys and loves and meanings. And creative expressions as well.

And I want to be a caretaker... I thrive in the role of nurturer... But I don’t want to be a sex provider. Which is what I feel like for my husband. Ugh I don’t ever want to feel like this is even a chance that is what I am, unwittingly, for another person, ever again...

So but yes, though, I want to care for needs and make someone happy and know just how to make them most happy but the sex urgency just seems too urgent to me... It seems to animal. I want my role as something more mental, creative, psychological instead, even if it’s a need-filling role... Something calmer, more sedate, caring for the person not the mating animal in them... Lol

Yeah, not for me... I am done with that gross base fixation, sex and reproduction. I want the motherly, feminine, doting kind of role. Forget sex. It makes me want to strangle someone. I get so mad about it. I get so dark, angry, vengeful about this whole topic... I hate it. I want to be free from it for the remainder of my entire life... Not only sex but all masculine, needy, dominant roles and cravings and expectations...

I want a completely opposite world, life and roles... That is what I want, most of all... And now I see that and tell the universe. Universe if you will give me love, give me a love that is not clinging, grasping, fists clutched, hungry, pursuing.

It’s ominous and disturbing and reminds me of men in my family who had that whole vibe, who didn’t sexually abuse me but they did abuse me emotionally and it’s this whole disgusting man persona

(and many women adopt it and find it appealing but it makes me want to run and hide forever from such, in myself too, to strangle it out of existence... an aberration... a blight, a stalking disorder of mania and selfish controlling darkness... It makes me feel traumatized and abandoned and cruelly abused all at the same time... If I let myself go there which is why I try not to).

It’s ironic because I’m highly sexual but maybe that’s why I feel this way because I know I can meet my own needs. I don’t need another to teach me that. I reserve my sex for the purest, most refined expressions... Which can include spiritual sex with spirit beings. And so, nothing is the same after you have spirit sex... Yes,... So there’s that. It’s real. It’s been a regular part of my life for a few years at least now.

I wouldn’t ever go back to only physical or 3 dimensional based sex (that is to say, sex without a strong energy/astral feeling)... Nor even human-only based love any more after having this... I need soul love, spirit love, astral love, spirit conversation/telepathic communication, energy, healing, and sex... It’s more than the physical can be....

The physical and material aren’t enough for me anymore... Not that I have seen so far at least... And, it can’t begin to compare,... Can’t compare at all,... with all the healing and energizing and heart rejuvenating from the energy, higher self things I experience in my spirit love bonds...

Even though, physically, it leaves something out... Lol But I think I could find how to make up for that,...

And, so,... Not only sexually but real life presence, which could be made up for with my own friends and lifestyle and lovers perhaps (or not any lovers, but only the feeling, idea and expression of romantic love, immense and unfettered...

Found in ideals, ideas, love, all over the world and books, art, an abstract but real bigger picture “lover” which I can find and see and sense somehow... Like god is with people and like passed on loved ones are with you...

... Yes, in signs,... Powerful experiences, that you’d share with a lover, if you had one,...

And energy,...

And synchs and things that remind you of them, all over the world and your own heart as well... And somehow all this is so big if I could only show it to you... If you could only see how to have a lover with no lover there,... The world would be transformed, with all it’s lonely sad broken angry people... Not feeling like that any longer, I think... Love, romantic feeling love,

(and yes, sexual bliss too haha... but not a needy obsessed sex,... not for me at least...) and adoration just.. it really totally transforms shame and everything, all bad feelings or poor self esteem, depression, anger, etc, etc, etc).

Only now I don’t have to because my physical sex needs are overly “met” by the needs of my husband that he expects me to dutifully provide

Or... else our marriage wouldn’t last or would degenerate... I never knew he was like this, till years into our marriage, when I fell out of love after he forced me pregnant... The last shred of romantic love I had for him, gone absolutely after that... But he has to have fake love expressions and sex if he will be there to raise the child he forced into being on an unprepared mother...

Oh isn’t sex great? Isn’t marriage and family wonderful... The fabric of humanity and human animal generations over time...

Hm but... yeah... This is reality, true and stupid and animalistic and shameful, the hidden secrets that keep our species going along... through the centuries.

But,... Ah,... so now... Yes, now you see why I despise sexual compulsivity, right? Hmm. Yeah. Ugh. *Waves of disgust and nausea* Sex leads people to act like greedy mindless animals... I don’t want that. Sex leads people to call it love when they have this basic, mindless animalistic bond... That feels totally empty and boring and crass,...

My husband thinks he is so in love but I am disgusted... Good if that makes others happy, but it’s not for me. I need a spiritually and emotionally refined foundation for the love in my life... No material or mundane bond satisfies my sense of heart, joy or motivation, but leaves me feeling empty and bored and alone... Like a used object, there to gratify the role they want me to be for them.

And... For me, I have definitely found spirit sex is better than real sex, if I have to choose only one or the other of the two, and so it’s not just me alone but there is love there with spirit, which now it is a constant source to me. Not to even mention kundalini and the sexual fulfillment that it gives me. I think there are techniques that can maintain that sexual energy all of one’s life... Sexual practices are part of many spiritual disciplines,... but this doesn’t always revolve around a partner.

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