I'm a 1/2

Roger Ebert at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001, speaking about Justin Lin’s “Better Luck Tomorrow”. This was in response to a white audience member who asked how Asians could be portrayed in such a negative light and how a film so empty and amoral could be made for Asian Americans and Americans.  (via anngla)

Rest in Peace, Mr. Ebert.

(via deafmuslimpunx)

Roger Ebert is right. It’s also clear that a lot of people have no fucking clue what goes on in Asian America, because I saw “Better Luck Tomorrow” and yeah it’s definitely dark but I thought it was a good representation of a lot of stuff I’ve seen growing up amid struggling immigrant families from East and Southeast Asia with kids getting into gangs and drugs and small-time crime that gets more and more serious and all the trouble that can follow. Rosy stereotypes about clean-living high-achieving Asian Americans are just that, stereotypes. Asian Americans are as fucked up as everyone else in this mess of a world and that’s what’s going to get represented in honest art.

(via zuky)

Nobody but you can say why you dress or look the way you choose to look, and as long as you know that when you’re completely honest with yourself you are really dressing for YOU and not enslaved to this version of you that you wish you were and cannot stand not being, then you are doing personal style right and no matter what you look like, you have my utmost respect and support. But if you are someone who thinks that personal style is just copying the outer shell of people that you see are being exalted by masses of complete strangers and then holding that standard to yourself, you are not going to find happiness, just empty pockets, carpal tunnel, and a shit ton of self consciousness. And probably a fucking shitty attitude, which is why nobody wants to be your friend no matter how much people online drool over you. 

If it makes you happy, do it- the world is not your audience, we are only the spectators. We don’t hear your inner monologue or wait and see your backstory, we just take it as it is, usually based on what we see first and then maybe we’ll stick around to get a second-hand story to explain what we’re looking at. We aren’t the source for your happiness or your validation, not lasting ones anyway. Only you can know if you are genuine or not- but we can often tell who is genuine and who isn’t. The difference is whether we exalt the genuine one or the fake one makes no difference to either, because the genuine one is happy no matter what and the fake one will always be let down and looking for more. 

19 Things To Stop Doing In Your 20s

1. Stop placing all the blame on other people for how they interact with you. To an extent, people treat you the way you want to be treated. A lot of social behavior is cause and effect. Take responsibility for (accept) the fact that you are the only constant variable in your equation.

2. Stop being lazy by being constantly “busy.” It’s easy to be busy. It justifies never having enough time to clean, cook for yourself, go out with friends, meet new people. Realize that every time you give in to your ‘busyness,’ it’s you who’s making the decision, not the demands of your job.

3. Stop seeking out distractions. You will always be able to find them.

4. Stop trying to get away with work that’s “good enough.” People notice when “good enough” is how you approach your job. Usually these people will be the same who have the power to promote you, offer you a health insurance plan, and give you more money. They will take your approach into consideration when thinking about you for a raise.

5. Stop allowing yourself to be so comfortable all the time. Coming up with a list of reasons to procrastinate risky, innovative decisions offers more short-term gratification than not procrastinating. But when you stop procrastinating to make a drastic change, your list of reasons to procrastinate becomes a list of ideas about how to better navigate the risk you’re taking.

6. Stop identifying yourself as a cliche and start treating yourself as an individual. Constantly checking your life against a prewritten narrative or story of how things “should” be is a bought-into way of life. It’s sort of like renting your identity. It isn’t you. You are more nuanced than the narrative you try to fit yourself into, more complex than the story that “should” be happening.

7. Stop expecting people to be better than they were in high school — learn how to deal with it instead. Just because you’re out of high school doesn’t mean you’re out of high school. There will always be people in your life who want what you have, are threatened by who you are, and will ridicule you for doing something that threatens how they see their position in the world.

8. Stop being stingy. If you really care about something, spend your money on it. There is often a notion that you are saving for something. Either clarify what that thing is or start spending your money on things that are important to you. Spend money on road trips. Spend money on healthy food. Spend money on opportunities. Spend money on things you’ll keep.

9. Stop treating errands as burdens. Instead, use them as time to focus on doing one thing, and doing it right. Errands and chores are essentially rote tasks that allow you time to think. They function to get you away from your phone, the internet, and other distractions. Focus and attention span are difficult things to maintain when you’re focused and attentive on X amount of things at any given moment.

10. Stop blaming yourself for being human. You’re fine. Having a little anxiety is fine. Being scared is fine. Your secrets are fine. You’re well-meaning. You’re intelligent. You’re blowing it out of proportion. You’re fine.

11. Stop ignoring the fact that other people have unique perspectives and positions. Start approaching people more thoughtfully. People will appreciate you for deliberately trying to conceive their own perspective and position in the world. It not only creates a basis for empathy and respect, it also primes people to be more open and generous with you.

12. Stop seeking approval so hard. Approach people with the belief that you’re a good person. It’s normal to want the people around you to like you. But it becomes a self-imposed burden when almost all your behavior toward certain people is designed to constantly reassure you of their approval.

13. Stop considering the same things you’ve always done as the only options there are. It’s unlikely that one of the things you’ll regret when you’re older is not having consumed enough beer in your 20s, or not having bought enough $5 lattes, or not having gone out to brunch enough times, or not having spent enough time on the internet. Fear of missing out is a real, toxic thing. You’ve figured out drinking and going out. You’ve experimented enough. You’ve gotten your fill of internet memes. Figure something else out.

14. Stop rejecting the potential to feel pain. Suffering is a universal constant for sentient beings. It is not unnatural to suffer. Being in a constant state of suffering is bad. But it is often hard to appreciate happiness when there’s nothing to compare it to. Rejecting the potential to suffer is unsustainable and unrealistic.

15. Stop approaching adverse situations with anger and frustration. You will always deal with people who want things that seem counter to your interests. There will always be people who threaten to prevent you from getting what you want by trying to get what they want. This is naturally frustrating. Realize that the person you’re dealing with is in the same position as you — by seeking out your own interests, you threaten to thwart theirs. It isn’t personal — you’re both just focused on getting different things that happen to seem mutually exclusive. Approach situations like these with reason. Be calm. Don’t start off mad, it’ll only make things more tense.

16. Stop meeting anger with anger. People will make you mad. Your reaction to this might be to try and make them mad. This is something of a first-order reaction. That is, it isn’t very thoughtful — it may be the first thing you’re inclined to do. Try to suppress this reaction. Be thoughtful. Imagine your response said aloud before you say it. If you don’t have to respond immediately, don’t.

17. Stop agreeing to do things that you know you’ll never actually do. It doesn’t help anyone. To a certain extent, it’s a social norm to be granted a ‘free pass’ when you don’t do something for someone that you said you were going to do. People notice when you don’t follow through, though, especially if it’s above 50% of the time.

18. Stop ‘buying’ things you know you’ll throw away. Invest in friendships that aren’t parasitic. Spend your time on things that aren’t distractions. Put your stock in fleeting opportunity. Focus on the important.

Now that you’ve mastered the basics of drawing, it’s time to begin with the basics when it comes to drawing humans.

Part I: Anatomy