yes this

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

somnilogical:

I would suggest that there is no harm in knowing exactly what you have to do if you had to move to Canada, Australia, Japan, Israel, England etc. on short notice, if you are worried about this.

It is useful to have these things computed ahead of time in emergency situations.

A lot of people actually have procrastinated on leaving real dystopias because figuring out how to move and then moving is an effort-intensive process.

If you’re concerned that you might be forced to move, setting aside a day to work out the details of how you would do this and writing it down would

(1) likely relieve some vague feelings of unease attatched to thoughts like “I might have to leave if things start to get really bad.”

(2) make “I can just leave, I know how to do this” a more available response to the thought “things look like they are getting kind of bad”

#advice to myself  #mostly  #it is easier to phrase it as advice to others though  #advice to all those who share these thought patterns  #is more exact

Tags:

#home of the brave #election 2016 #our home and cherished land #good advice

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

pearlumbra:

me, finally getting a chance to say something I’ve thought about for twelve days straight: oh, hey, that reminds me, funny thing, this just came to mind but

Tags:

#same #(well sometimes) #(sometimes I admit I’ve been thinking about it for twelve days)

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

wirehead-wannabe:

marcusseldon:

(Note: I may be projecting a little here, but I think it is getting at something true)

Inspired by this conversation, though possibly tangential to it.

I feel like one major point of misunderstanding between (personally good and also politically liberal) people* who push back against social justice, and social justice-types themselves, has to do with differences in their experiences due to the context in which these people live. They are responding to different life experiences. 

Keep reading

Endorsed

Tags:

#yessss #yes this #this is what I’ve been saying too #this is my *home* #born and raised #and it fucks you up to grow up somewhere being told that nobody grows up there #(and a lot of people claiming you can’t even *move* there) #(it’s nothing more than a sanctuary where people stop to rest for a bit between) #(going to and from the Real World™) #(things that are a relief to visitors seeking sanctuary get very grating with a lifetime’s experience) #(and a place can’t be hospitable to its residents if it denies *having* residents) #((the idea that everyone in a given place is first-generation is self-fulfilling)) #((if it means nobody can stand living there for longer than one generation)) #nobody could come up with a better idea so it looks like the category tag’s going to be #our roads may be golden or broken or lost

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

lizardywizard:

Saying this because I literally haven’t heard anyone else do so, and because I really needed to hear it personally. And yeah, it’s less useful now, but I was scared to say it right when it happened, and so –

If you have low empathy, or alexithymia, or flat emotions/affect, or you just don’t emotionally respond strongly or at all for any reason – whether you’re diagnosed with anything or not, whether you see it as a medical condition or not – it’s okay to not have emotions about the recent shooting, or any other event.

If you have emotions about things personal to you but you don’t emotionally respond to external tragedies, it’s okay.

If you feel callous because you just want to post about your special interest or your fandom and can’t get emotionally worked up about the shooting, it’s okay.

If you feel frustrated and alienated because everyone else is showing strong emotion and other people’s emotional displays distress you or make you uncomfortable, it’s okay.

I know some people in these categories don’t need or want to be told it’s okay, either, in which case dismiss this. But I know some people do have emotions about specific things (often self-oriented or personal things, which can make one feel selfish) and also care about how others feel about them, but are unable to have emotions about world events or choose to distance themselves on purpose. And it’s okay if you are that way. Your not having a visceral emotional response to something does not cause more pain in the world, does not harm anyone or pick their pocket. Do not let people demand grief of you.

Tags:

#oh look it me #Orlando shooting #but really in general #thank you V #I often need to hear this

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

truffledmadness:

Be wary of anyone who talks about “the real world.” Your world is real. Your experiences are real. And the phrase “the real world” tends to be bandied about by people who want you to imagine that everyone is as cruel as them, you’re just too sheltered to know it.

No matter how many adult responsibilities you have, it is not impossible to find compassionate people.

Tags:

#yes this #well sort of #I mostly get into trouble not with ”everyone is cruel” #but ”everyone is cruel *in these particular ways*” #and claiming that because my culture generally expresses its cruelty in different ways it is not real #(the following category tag was added retroactively:) #our roads may be golden or broken or lost

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

ilzolende:

I say this both from an SJ and an anti-SJ standpoint: There are actually lots of things more annoying than being told that traits and experiences you have don’t exist, but it’s still pretty annoying.

original post

Tags:

#yes this #(”five bucks says she denies my existence in the first five minutes!”)

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

comparativelysuperlative:

kelsbraintumbler:

brozilek:

brozilek:

OK but like, “Frankenstein’s Monster”, a being capable of thought and speech, refers to Victor Frankenstein as his father. So why wouldn’t it be ok to call him Frankenstein, seeing as it’s his dad’s last name??? Do we have to make up a first name for him, just to differentiate between them?

Dwight Frankenstein

if Victor had continued to like him after he brought him to life, he probably would have named him Adam? Victor’s religious thing was not exactly subtle.

He would have, but Dwight doesn’t like that name. “I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel.” So I think we should respect his preferences and call him Satan.

Tags:

#Frankenstein #a conversation I’m pretty sure I’ve had at least once: #”*something about Frankenstein [the monster]*” #”Frankenstein was the *creator* not the monster!” #”Okay fine Frankenstein *Junior*”

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

tigerkat24:

Okay, guys, as April first is tomorrow, I’m reiterating my pledge not to post any pranks. Nothing originating from this blog will be a prank or deliberately incorrect. If I reblog other people’s pranks, which I may, they will be clearly marked and tagged “april fool’s day” and “prank” so you can block them from your dash.

Stay safe out there, my lovelies! I got your back. 

Tags:

#for anyone who missed the previous version of this post #yes this #the tag is #April Fools

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

misbehavingmaiar:

sebastian-bond:

but-the-library-of-alexandria:

the thing about writing fantasy stories is that language is so based on history that it can be hard to decide how far suspension of disbelief can carry you word-choice wise – what do you call a french braid in a world with no france? can a queen ann neckline be described if there was no queen ann? where do you draw the line? can you use the word platonic if plato never existed? can you name a character chris in a land without christianity? can you even say ‘bungalow’ in a world where there was no indian language for the word to originate from? is there a single word in any language that doesn’t have a story behind it? to be accurate a fantasy story would be written in a fantasy language but who has the time for that

Tolkien had the time apparently

LIsten. Linguistics Georg, who invented over 10,000 conlangs each day, is an outlier and should not have been counted. 

Tags:

#language #yes this #I have been thinking lately about how much of the development of English comes down to sheer serendipity