phoenix. 27. very unfocused. ▲ they/he

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    I haven’t been on here in a bit, but I thought I’d post an update/selfie since I’ve gone through a lot of changes lately and it’s pretty noticeable. I moved to Beijing two months ago to live with my partner, who studies traditional Chinese medicine here, and get medical treatment. Over the past couple of months, I’ve received a couple of different kinds of treatment, including a treatment using energy, that has helped my body begin to recover from years of prescribed medications (that damaged my kidneys) and covid (which wrecked my digestive system). A few friends who I told about it replied that they “don’t believe in energy healing,” but I feel like you can see the difference on my face. I’m not gaunt and pale anymore, there’s actual bloodflow to my face and I’m able to put on more weight after struggling a long time with it.
    Another aspect of life in China for me is being trans, though not visibly. It’s weird being a nb trans guy in China, since there isn’t really the community or vocabulary for it, and I don’t really speak enough Mandarin yet to engage that way anyway. I don’t feel totally invisible, but I also don’t look at my face in the mirror much, or care how I dress myself the way I used to in America, where I felt like I could outwardly express myself more. A lot of the time I feel like my gender doesn’t matter, because people aren’t treating me in a gendered way, and my emotional/physical/spiritual growth has taken precedent over any focus on gender issues/visibility. Occasionally though, someone will say something that gives me a spike of dysphoria. It’s okay though – the privilege of being here and receiving treatment, plus being exposed to all this really neat tcm stuff currently gives me enough energy to not feel fixated on the lack of gender diverse community here. At some point once I’m healthy and get to meet more people, I wonder how my opinion of this stuff will change.
    It is a little uncanny getting online and remembering that in America it’s pride month right now, and seeing pride stuff everywhere. I miss it when I think about it, but I’m thankfully I’m busy enough and not on social media enough for it to be any more than an afterthought/feeling.

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  1. cryptotheism:

    powerburial:

    hungwy:

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    sorry but this ai expansion of the descartes portrait is literally so swagful

    this was the guy leaving comments on pornhub

    “who give a shit”

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  1. terumisitia:

    happy pride month to these two mice working at the rodent’s gazette, or whatever they have going on


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  1. The Palestine Reader

    readyokaygo:

    The following is a collection of articles, essays, and books on Palestine. These are not introduction texts to the question of Palestine or the Palestinain-Israeli “conflict”. If you need one read The Palestine-Israel Conflict by Gregory Harms and Todd Fery. Further, this is not an “unbiased” or “neutral” readng list. Everything listed below is counter-hegemonic. I feel absolutely no need to provide anything from the Zionist or Israeli point-of-view when that is the dominant narrative. With that said, I believe this provides a diverse, but in no means comprehensive, overview of the discourse on Palestine. A continuously updated page of this list can be found here.

    On Theory

    On History

    On Being Palestinian

    On Zionism

    On the Holocaust

    On Media

    On Al Nakba

    On Genocide

    On BDS

    On Solutions

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  1. hairbrush9:

    image
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  1. skyekurisu:

    skyekurisu:

    skyekurisu:

    skyekurisu:

    Me, sometimes, out of nowhere, at no specific time and for no specific reason.

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    Does this work for you?

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    @siverfanweedo

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    I can do this all day

    2. 47,533 notes

  1. axolotlesque:

    quasi-normalcy:

    nimthirielrinon:

    quasi-normalcy:

    maculategiraffe:

    on-a-crescendo:

    every horror writer in history wanted what the 19th floor subplot in the Wayside School books had

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    Also the gentlemen with the black attaché case who offer you the choice between being safe or being free and the dead rats who live in the basement.

    I have no idea what Wayside School is

    It’s a trilogy of absurdist children’s novels published by Louis Sachar (the author of Holes) about a school that was supposed to be one storey with thirty rooms but is actually thirty storeys with a room on each floor because the builders were holding the plans sideways (and apparently this is how architecture works). Each book consists of a series of thirty loosely interrelated short stories about the students on the thirtieth floor, and there are a bunch of weird anomalous things that become running gags throughout the novels and, actually, now that I think about it, I can definitely see how Night Vale would have been inspired by this

    psa: a new installment called ‘wayside school beneath the cloud of doom’ was published in 2020, still written by louis sachar, and was released 25 years after the previous entry. it was explicitly inspired by modern stressors, including climate change and the 2016 election.

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  1. endearmint-moved:

    shaipouf:

    hi guys-

    breaking from my normal posting to bring up something really important to me.

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    have you heard of powell’s city of books? they’re famously the world’s largest independent bookstore, lauded as a family business, tourist landmark, and progressive icon of portland oregon.

    i work there.

    currently our union is fighting to have the company pay us a living wage.

    it’s embarrassing how little powells pays us- we barely make more than minimum wage right now- and most people don’t know that the famous business they’re supporting treats its workers like dirt.

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    when asked to consider our wage proposal, our lead hr officer stated: “We have all worked jobs where the pay and our personal needs were not in alignment.” this isn’t about personal needs “being in alignment.” my coworkers can hardly afford rent or afford to even feed themselves with our current wages.

    what am i asking for?

    if you love books, love or know powell’s, or just want to stand in solidarity with fellow workers, i’m asking for you to let powell’s books know how you feel about their insulting wage proposal: email our union and they will pass on the message to corporate-

    community@ilwulocal5.com

    it can be as short and sweet as you want to make it. we want to show the company that people are paying attention to the example they set and won’t stand for it.

    also literally just sharing this post to let everyone know what we are asking for helps too. share it on booktok, tell your friends, tell your book club, spread the word. powell’s skates by on its reputation and in doing so hides its betrayal of the workers that dedicate their lives to make it the special place it is.

    thank you for reading ❤️

    links to our original union instagram post: here

    and read some examples of community member emails: here + here

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    [1ST IMG: Photo of Powell’s Books store on a street corner. END ID.]

    [2ND IMG: Photo of yellow cards in someone’s hand with a QR code. Transcript:

    What Powell’s workers need: A fair contract; A living wage; Affordable healthcare

    What Powell’s is proposing: A base wage more than $5 below the living wage for Portland; Wage increases that won’t keep pace with inflation (and are a substantial decrease from our previous contract); Healthcare plans that will be unaffordable for most workers under their wage proposal

    How you can help: Let Powell’s leadership know you support a fair contract for Powell’s workers, with a living wage and access to affordable healthcare.

    Send an email to community@ilwulocal5.com and we’ll pass your message along to Powell’s leadership!

    Note: This is not a call for a boycott; it’s a call for solidarity!

    End transcript. END ID.]

    [3RD thru 7TH IMGs: Comments from anonymous Powell’s booksellers answering the titular prompt, “Tell us how Powell’s low wages have impacted your life.” Transcript:

    “I constantly have to choose between medicine, food, and rent. I can’t afford all three. If I miss even a day of work, it means I might not get to eat that week. If I can’t get medicine, I die.”

    “Nothing the company has said or done reassures me that I will be able to keep this job and still be able to live. You will lose all your employees if you continue to undervalue our work and treat us as disposable, even though all we want is to be able to work here without financially struggling. I will not vote for a contract that does not give employees a living wage. It is my number one priority, and it should be Powell’s priority too.”

    “Powell’s low wages are demoralizing. With all we have to juggle during a work day, knowing that many of us are struggling to make rent and feed ourselves is absurd. I go home frustrated, stressed out, and often on the verge of panic attacks thinking about how my labor is used. I’m taken advantage of. We all are. Powell’s workers make these stores run properly; our paychecks should reflect that.”

    “I am honestly terrified that I will have no choice but to start living in my car sometime this year. I cannot afford my rent at my current wage, and I can only qualify for an apartment that costs $850/month… which does not exist in Portland… I currently struggle to feed myself while also trying to help feed my coworkers who cannot afford food… Shame on the company for continuing to pay us poverty wages.”

    “I feel trapped because I’m making below a living wage here, but I know that my coworker’s won’t hate-crime me on the job. I don’t do this job for the money, I do it because I love my community and this is the safest job I’ve ever had. Please pay us more so that I don’t have to leave.”

    End transcript. END ID.]

    2. 17,683 notes

  1. walrusguy:

    walrusguy:

    “holy shit is that kurt cobain” still one of the best pics on the internet

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  1. goobra:

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    *preorders*

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  1. neptunepngs:

    pansy pngs

    1  2  3  4  5  6

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  1. 389: “ Leo Horton - :) Colored Pencil 4x4" ”

    389:

    Leo Horton - :)
    Colored Pencil 4x4"

    2. 2,229 notes
  1. milksockets: “the costumes of burlesque: 1866-2018 - coleen scott (2019) ”

    milksockets:

    the costumes of burlesque: 1866-2018 - coleen scott (2019)

    2. 3,956 notes
  1. shihlun: “Kate Bush with the Fairlight CMI ”

    shihlun:

    Kate Bush with the Fairlight CMI

    2. 2,728 notes

  1. touchedherperfectbody:

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    from the lost and found of the school of art computer lab

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