Cow Cow's Ambition

Look at him!

Also he was separated with one of his parents when I saw him but obviously wanted to Be Where The People Penguins Are so they’d set him up with a little rock stool so he could gaze upon his brethren:

Which enabled me to capture the single funniest video I’ve ever taken of anything in my life:

too—look at him striking a

pose with his new look!

You have to understand that nature does not work in the same timeframe as ours. Protecting and restoring ecosystems is RIDICULOUSLY inexpensive and requires very little industrial technology; shovels and saplings are not exactly high-tech. But it takes time and long-term projects with people determined to do it. Maybe we are too focused in our "we want it now" thinking, but what you see today is not what you may see in 10, 20, 50, even 80 years if you live that long.

This article talks about this very much in the "see? ecology can help the economy too!" tone that unfortunately is sort of necessary to convince people in the current capitalist system. But I don't want you to focus on this right now.

I want you to KNOW how doable this is. How inexpensive this is, how POSSIBLE THIS IS. That people working and loving the land and nature they live in is possible. That these projects WORK, THEY DO restore and preserve ecosystems. That humanity is neither a plague that destroys everything or a passive bystander on its own destruction but that these are actual things that can be, are, and will be implemented, backed by actual science and results. This is not empty #hopecore #hopepunk feel good stuff, these are things you can learn about, even work towards, and you can most certainly demand they are part of our society.

This orange peel story was huge years ago: https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/a-fruitful-experiment-in-land-conservation/

Beavers reintroduced to historic wetlands improve them at such a level that we can see the improvements from space: https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/nasa-satellites-reveal-restoration-power-of-beavers/

Africa is successfully slowing desertification and restoring historic farming soil with their Green Wall project: https://welcomeafrica.org/en/africa-combats-desertification-with-a-belt-of-life/

There has even been success at regrowing coral reefs--something which I am old enough to be told was impossible. But people have been hard at work for decades since then, and this is one of the results: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240308123248.htm

REPAIRING THE DAMAGE IS ENTIRELY WITHIN THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY.

It never goes away. Like. Literally ever. "It's so hard and I keep stumbling over it" yeah. Never goes away. For anyone. Keep that in mind.

While you do have to train your eye to get better at drawing, which means you have to look at good art, you also have to stop only looking at artwork made by professionals or people who've been doing it longer than you. Jealous of another 21-year-old whose art is better than you? Block or mute. Lol. It doesn't matter who cares. Jealousy is ugly and you should work on that but feelings like that don't just go away and so if it's not hurting anyone just get that out of your sight. Unblock/mute when you're in a better headspace.

If you can't keep your drawings to yourself then have a dedicated set of artist friends to complain with or hold each other accountable. Preferably people of your same skill level. And no I don't mean a huge discord server full of randos, like, your actual friends, chances are you're only going to get your feelings hurt if in you're some huge buttfuck discord server where people are busy doing god knows what and they either ignore your posts or just leave reacts.

What actually helps ease this is by practicing in bulk. Everyone tells you art is like a muscle and you have to train it constantly, with rest, but constantly. And what this means realistically is you're more likely to learn by drawing something repetitively. Say you're struggling to draw a profile. Don't waste hours getting one drawing of a profile right. If it sucks just start over again. Repeat. Literally the fastest and most efficient way with almost every drawing roadblock is just start over again. The time will pass anyways etc etc.

Confidence is won through effort! Confidence is not so much a feeling as it is the cumulative result of the work you put in. (I read this on reddit one time and never forgot it.)

6. This is a really tough one but you'll have to substitute motivation for discipline.

The Taoyuan Walker