Bookish Nerd

Leaving comments like this takes a moment of celebration and turns it to a moment of spite.

This is especially annoying when it's online. Most online spaces are algorithmically based and since algorithms like to share posts that will spread controversy, comments like that are only going to attract more people to it.

Bringing generative AI into a conversation that was started when someone wanted to share their art is just going to attract a generative AI dick rider to "erm actually..." the conversation. Bringing transphobia into a conversation that's supposed to be support of trans people will cause transphobes to enter the conversation and remind said trans person about transphobia. And so on and so forth.

Just like being a Republican changed from being a side that stood for the individual person is now just "triggering the libs," if we go down that same route, we will be just as lost.

"how dare you say we piss on the poor" in response to someone misinterpreting your post

"_ isnt gonna fuck you" for suck up behavior

"woah. should we tell everyone? should we throw a party?" for who the fuck cares

"and what if the world was made of pudding" for when would this ever matter.

"and sharks are smooth both ways" for a group of people heatedly arguing with 1 guy who is fucking with them all

“30-50 wild hogs” for someone making ABSURD excuses for violence.

“what were YOU doing at the devils sacrament” for how do you know that without being a part of it.

“anyone in this thread smoke weed” for the shit you people are saying is so off topic this might as well be a general discussion forum

“dogs are boys and cats are girls” for ooh ur mindset did not grow past 4th grade, huh

“color theory in a childrens hospital” for bending over backwards to not agree that YEA, that thing Came Off Weird

“you are a tar pit” for someone finding any reason to respond with outrage.

“is the __ in the room with us right now?” for I Don’t Think That’s Real.

“bean soup? im allergic to beans!” for ik this doesn’t work for you, but that’s not a flaw. not everything can be for you.

Here’s the publisher’s site, if you wanna avoid Amazon: https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/song-of-the-lioness-book-1-alanna_9781419765575/

National Park Service removes references to Harriet Tubman from ‘Underground Railroad’ webpage

(CNN) — An image of and quote from Harriet Tubman have been removed from a National Parks webpage about the “Underground Railroad,” following several prominent changes to government websites under the Trump administration.

The National Parks Service webpage for the “Underground Railroad” used to lead with a quote from Tubman, the railroad’s most famous “conductor”, a comparison on the Wayback Machine between the webpage on January 21 and March 19 shows. Both the quote and an image of Tubman have since been removed, along with several references to “enslaved” people and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Especially since I haven’t used TikTok in years. I watch videos primarily on YouTube and it’s really been so much better for my mental health.

-"it only hurts a little" is still pain

-"I can ignore it" is still pain

-"I can cope with/manage it" is still pain

-"it's bearable" is still pain

-"I can push through it" is still pain

-"it doesn't hurt that much" is still pain

-"it doesn't stop me from doing x" is still pain

Also, when it comes to minority history, it is absolutely true. Just look at how incensed people get over critical race theory, let alone that indigenous people didn’t have full rights as American citizens until the 1990’s (which I had to take an indigenous history class in university to learn). History is frequently taught as a propaganda tool instead of analyzing power dynamics. It’s only in the last decade/ so that narratives outside the WASP* experience have started to be considered, let alone taught consistently.

And then you have conservative backlash editing textbooks, banning alternate sources, and complaining about “wokeness” instead of processing internalized White Guilt.

"Absolutely no one comes to save us but us."

It’s a lot easier to switch off mentally and tune into a show/ social media. Which we all need at times. But I believe that one needs to read from time to time in order to actually enjoy life instead of going through the motions.

I have met so many people who “don’t like reading” because they haven’t found something that interests them or rather, they’ve been taught that reading is an arduous task with seemingly little reward, so might as well not do it.

The series is lovely because Scott Christian Sava is an artist and each video is him making a watercolor of a character from the series.

My current thoughts (they just left Tom Bombadil) (semi-spoilers):

At the same time, so far the descriptions make sense. Lothlórien had a long description, but it made sense for the company to be in awe of it’s beauty and therefore pay attention to it. Tolkien has a slower pace than modern authors, but it makes sense for the time and for his writing style. He’s taking the time to illustrate things clearly, which I appreciate.

Fangorn, on the other hand, is slow because the Ents are slow. At least for a hobbit/ human timescale. They take a long time to say things because a, they live for much longer, and b, it just makes sense to me that trees would speak slowly. I did get a bit annoyed by his song, but that’s more to do with the audiobook reader’s choice to have lots of deep inhales, which is my least favorite aspect of audiobooks, distracting me than the song itself.

Also? I feel like they made up their minds rather quickly? In the movies it seems like they waste time spending more than a day, but compared to the weeks (months really) that the hobbits have been traveling, two and a half days is nothing. Especially when considering the Ents’ lifespans. They made up their minds in just a day longer than the Council of Elrond. I had the impression that the Ents took significantly longer.

I know that it’s difficult for movies to show time, but for some reason I was under the impression that the whole series only took a couple months. I’ve been noticing that there’s lots of mentions of travel time in the books, which is helpful. Aragorn discussed the distance from Weathertop to Rivendale, Sam pointed out that they had been in Lothlórien longer than they thought, and, at least on the way to Rivendale, the narrative points out the date and how long they’ve been traveling. It’s a nice detail, since it helps set the overall setting. Frodo enjoying his last carefree summer in Hobbiton, then going to Rivendale in the fall. The symbolism of them traveling into places as fall wanes into winter as the glory age of elves is also waning/ evil is rising in barren places is a nice touch. I’m curious to see whether they get to Mount Doom before spring.

Another thought: Fangorn Forest is named after Treebeard? I wonder if it’s because he’s so old that the shorter lived people started calling it his forest and it got shortened.

I vaguely remember a post talking about how the Ent wives got fed up and that’s why they left. Which might be true, but seeing as we’re getting Fangorn’s perspective, I like his story. The difference between lifestyle preferences/ goals for their trees. And the hint that the company passed through where the Ent wives lived before being wiped out.

His main purpose after the scouring of the Shire was to reforest it. Bringing back the trees and wonder of life to it. Gorgeous

I haven’t had enough time to properly flesh out this thought, but Tolkien’s focus on nature as a symbol of hope and renewal is my favorite motif in the series. Everywhere the characters go, he tells us about the foliage. Even in Mordor, there are some scrubs clinging to life, keeping hope