blackbird on my shoulder

worry about it kitten daddy fucked up

don't worry kitten daddy got it

start worrying kitten daddy fucked up

I'm god's specialest princess I've never been wrong I cannot be harmed by word nor action and I shall never die

the past is dead the future died before it could be born and me i feel also not so good

Over the years I've seen a lot of people lament that they'd like to try podcast voice acting but they have a speech impediment or the "wrong" accent for it or sound too "noticably trans" or suchlike and this is a shame because these are very often my favourite voices to hear.

"I want to but nobody would want to hear me because I [haven't done voice training/have flat affect/stutter/have a strong accent/damaged my voice/haven't started T/have tourettes/don't think I sound very cool/etc.]" Are all sentiments I've heard before. But not only are unique voices so much easier to pick out of a cast, you sound like real people I care about. It makes me happy.

every time i read some ethnography stuff about villagers (h-g's, agriculturalists, it doesnt matter) i am reminded of how bad it is to live in a village. your PARENTS or your INLAWS get to TELL YOU WHAT TO DO (who to marry!!!). everyone is in your BUSINESS. if you try to just leave you will probably DIE. it sucks!!!!! i am so glad we don't live in villages!!! rootlessness SWEEP

i read an interview with a mathematician recently where she talks about the commonalities between math and literature and the idea that playfulness is a key part of doing both of those things. there’s a lot of fun to be had in turning a concept over and over, finding novel ways to look at it or combine it with other things, and i think that idea of playfulness also applies to analysis + critique. looking at a story through different lenses to see what new insights you can gain, reading intertexts and learning about the context in which it was created. finding a new bit of theory and saying hey wait a minute, i can use this to talk about [insert favourite media here]! it’s fun!

if i can get on my professional educator soapbox for a moment i think the reason a lot of people struggle with the idea that analysis and critique can be fun is that our education system in general is not designed to make the intellectual process seem particularly fun, or like something that can be approached in a playful manner (see also: the mathematician’s lament). thinking deeply about things for the sake of thinking deeply about things seems ridiculous because it’s associated with the stress of grades and too much homework and general bad pedagogy. it creates a lack of confidence in one’s own intellectual abilities that makes even the act of trying seem like too much. and it’s not at all impossible to grow past this and find the fun in the intellectual process but you do have to push past a lot of that fear and anxiety first

here’s the original article as well as a mathematician’s lament