the brain, a pulpy mass of cells and fibers

Glorindrina Station is a political sci-fi horror actual play following a group of exiles making a home on an isolated space station amidst a cosmic war.

I also happen to specialise in gambling addiction (although I'm not practicing in that area right now), and all I could fucking think about was how these fucking apps were conditioning me in the same fucking way gambling apps do. To be constantly plugged in, consuming. To not even think about just picking it up and having a look. To feel bored when I wasn't watching them, to think about watching them when I wasn't watching them....

That shit is fucking evil.

I deleted it. I'm not exposing myself to that.

That shit will fry your dopamine/reward system so fucking bad you will never read a book or watching a movie again without it.

Love yourself and your potential enough to put that fucking shit away. Watch longer form things that require focus and engagement. Listen to podcasts and audiobooks. Read books. DO ANYTHING BUT CONSUME SHORT FORM CONTENT IN AN UNSTRUCTURED WAY.

If you MUST consume it (I'm sure people will be like 'but my classmates' or 'but my own channel'.... etc), do it in a siloed and structured way. 30 minutes between x time and x time on x day. Focus on it. Don't eat and do it. Watch each short form video to completion. Engage critically with the content. ANd never watch them first thing in the morning or last thing at night.

and my research brought me to (gross photos warning!) Kismai's post on the very topic. apparently this stuff is called "scrud," and it's basically a residue that forms over time inside the nooks and crannies of a washing machine - leftover detergent reacting with mineral traces in tapwater to form a buildup that also traps dyes, grease, and other dirt, which bacteria then feeds on, because it wasn't already gross enough. it forms faster if you have hard water, use too much detergent (which most people do), use fabric softener, wash only on cold and the list goes on and on - point is, scrud is the reason that you have to actually clean your washing machine, or be super fastidious about how you do laundry.

(I'll take "things I wish school/my parents actually taught me" for 800)

it turns out that laundry sucks significantly less when your clothes and sheets and etc actually come out of the machine looking, feeling, and smelling clean, rather than looking, feeling, and smelling like despair dipped in slime

It's the Royal Academy of Art Young Artist's Summer Show. One of my favourite exhibitions of the year. Like. Not only are the older kids insanely talented, the younger ones' artist statements will just punch you right in the face.

Jeffrey is my cat and he feels like my heart

These are all so good!!! please look at them

I think my favorite is this one

The Handmaiden (2016) and Fingersmith (2005) parallels side by side

She moved her tongue. ‘I have a tooth, I think,’ she said, ‘with a point that cuts me.’

‘Let me see,’ I said. I took her to the window and she stood with her face in my hands and let me feel about her gum. I found the pointed tooth almost at once.

[...] She looked at me, then opened her mouth again and I put the thimble on my finger and rubbed at the pointed tooth until the point was taken off. I had seen Mrs Sucksby do it many times, with infants.— Of course, infants rather wriggle about. Maud stood very still, her pink lips parted, her face put back, her eyes at first closed then open and gazing at me, her cheek with a flush upon it. Her throat lifted and sank, as she swallowed. My hand grew wet, from the damp of her breaths. I rubbed, then felt with my thumb. She swallowed again. Her eyelids fluttered, and she caught my eye.

What microphone would recommend to use for recording?

See, i am starting out and i would eventually like to try my hand at voice acting at some point in the future (even though that isn't my true passion) but i realise that even if i don't act at some point i might like to do introductions and/or qna episodes where i might possibly need a mic.

Since i dont have a job, im not looking for anything too expensive, but then again i am willing to save up for a few years in order buy something good quality.

I also would want to look for something beginner friendly as well - I'm not sure what the entails but im sure i could make a wrong turn somewhere.

If there is any software/mic setup stuff anyone wants to recommend (all hail wardrobes, closets and duvets) as well that would be super!

i have a loud/high pitched voice and also have some background noise/reverb issues, and a dynamic mic like the q2u minimizes those problems and the distortion from my loud voice better than most inexpensive condenser mics for me personally. plus it's both usb and xlr, so you can start usb and upgrade to xlr later by just getting an adapter/interface instead of a whole new mic if you decide to. it does run a little quiet so you have to be pretty close to it, but ideally you're like a fist-length away from your mic anyway (and have it turned at an angle to avoid popping sounds/mouth noises)

(the audio technica atr2100x is comparable, and other good brands are shure, rode, and neat, which i think also have condenser mics too if you prefer those. admittedly as far as neat i just really like their bee theme, but i had an ~$80 condenser mic from them years ago that had fun bells and whistles on and my voice sounded pretty okay.)

i will say that for mics, especially dynamic mics bcos their range is less wide than condensers, it really does help to go see how they vibe with your voice! if you've got a guitar center or something similar nearby you can go there and they may let you test out their microphones. also you can often find the same mics for cheaper on sites like bhphotovideo, adorama, or microcenter.

as for setup, duvets and closets are great when you are just starting, but you can also buy a few acoustic panels or sound absorption blankets for cheap and just like, hang them up. i glued several panels to pieces of cardboard and hung them in my recording space (....under my loft bed). they're cheap and obvs not as good as a fully treated studio, but i do find that they work better than any of the blankets i already had on hand.

if you can find good bass traps that will help as well--they do something a bit different from audio foam and really do help if you've got a lot of hard surfaces like floor & walls for your sound to bounce off of--but those can be more expensive, especially if you want ones that are specialized as bass traps instead of just the same acoustic foam in a slightly different shape.

even if you're just using a duvet or closet, i made the mistake of just draping a duvet over my head for a long time. this made extra background noise, stifled my breathing, and made me overheat. but you can pick up like a clothes rack or something similar and drape things over it for just as good sound absorption (if you position it well to block hard surfaces) and less interference with your voice.