First you procrastinate on the task because it is not a big enough deal to get done urgently. Then you procrastinate on the task because it has become such a big deal that doing it is overwhelming. You would think that this implies a middle point where it is just big enough of a deal to get done easily, however the inherent perversity of the universe’s causal geometry prevents this
As a trans woman I can confirm that they indeed found an ancient forest inside a 630ft deep sinkhole in China
cis people can reblog this but keep it on subject, please
Happy pride month everyone always remember that the sinkhole has an ecosystem large enough to house not only insects but likely several species of small birds or mammals
Looking at fonts and some of them are nice and consistent all the way through, but for some of them you look at the special symbols and go โhoo boy, zero effort went into that ampersandโ
I’m so fascinated by languages with different levels of formality built in because it immediately introduces such complex social dynamics. The social distance between people is palpable when it’s built right into the language, in a way it’s not really palpable in English.
So for example. I speak Spanish, and i was taught to address everyone formally unless specifically invited otherwise. People explained to me that “usted” was formal, for use with strangers, bosses, and other people you respect or are distant from, while “tú” is used most often between family and good friends.
That’s pretty straightforward, but it gets interesting when you see people using “tú” as a form of address for flirting with strangers, or for picking a fight or intimidating someone. In other languages I’ve sometimes heard people switch to formal address with partners, friends or family to show when they are upset. That’s just so interesting! You’re indicating social and emotional space and hierarchy just in the words you choose to address the other person as “you”!!
Not to mention the “what form of address should I use for you…?” conversation which, idk how other people feel about it, but to me it always felt awkward as heck, like a DTR but with someone you’re only just becoming comfortable with. “You can use tú with me” always felt… Weirdly intimate? Like, i am comfortable around you, i consider you a friend. Like what a vulnerable thing to say to a person. (That’s probably also just a function of how i was strictly told to use formal address when i was learning. Maybe others don’t feel so weird about it?)
And if you aren’t going to have a conversation about it and you’re just going to switch, how do you know when? If you switch too soon it might feel overly familiar and pushy but if you don’t switch soon enough you might seem cold??? It’s so interesting.
Anyway. As an English-speaking American (even if i can speak a bit of Spanish), i feel like i just don’t have a sense for social distance and hierarchy, really, simply because there isn’t really language for it in my mother tongue. The fact that others can be keenly aware of that all the time just because they have words to describe it blows my mind!
But you do have it! because American English has titles and also hierarchical treatment of last names (if your name is Jeremy Jefferson, there’s a huge semantic weight difference between Jerry, Jeremy, Mr. Jeremy, and Mr. Jefferson, for example). English marks hierarchy and familiarity even if it doesn’t do it in more grammatical terms. Think of being a kid and your parents yelling your full name across the house when you were in trouble.
I speak Icelandic. Icelandic doesn’t have titles or last names or everyday use of a formal plural or any other obvious markers of formality and intimacy. Formality is still marked, just in non-grammatical lexical terms…but because it’s not marked in ways I as a L1 English speaker recognize, it’s harder for me to reproduce.
The reason you feel like this doesn’t exist in English to the point where it exists in Spanish is because it’s easier to spot for a L2 learner who has to think about categorizing the new language in a way that makes sense in the L1, and unless you have some more in depth information about language registers and intimacy marking and whatever it’s easy to consider this as a novel phenomenon in the L2. But a lot of this semantic stuff is pretty universal, just marked in different ways.
THANK YOU. This is a misconception. Speaking from my experience of living in Japan and studying Japanese while being a native speaker of American English:
1. For folks who don’t know, Japanese words/grammar change depending on formality, the genders of the speaker and listener, the age of the speaker and listener, etc.
2. But English words/grammar ALSO change depending on the above contexts described. It’s just not formalized in grammar books. Consider the differences:
A. “The honor of your presence is requested for dinner this evening.”
B. “I would like to invite you to dinner.”
C. “Do you want to get dinner together?”
D. “Wanna grab a bite to eat?”
E. “Yo, bro, you want a burger?”
Etc. People will be like “it’s wild that Japanese has different words for ‘meal’ depending on formality!! Gohan? Omeshi? Crazy!!!” But ENGLISH IS THE SAME WAY.
And this actually makes it harder for speakers of languages like Japanese to learn natural English, because they’ve been taught that there’s no difference in tone between telling a waiter “I’d like a coffee” and “I want coffee.” Since one of those feels easier to learn, they’ll choose the option that makes them sound weirdly dickish to the waitstaff.
In short: English has levels of formality! Conveniently, saying otherwise fits the stereotypes of rigidly hierarchal East Asians, refined and sophisticated Europeans, and lawless/casual Americans and Australians—but us not recognizing these differences makes it harder for ESL speakers to learn real English
cannot describe how deeply rotted these people are
the number of people responding to THIS VIDEO in particular to berate people into voting for kamala instead of engaging at all with the actual content of the video and the behavior displayed by others who are supposedly their allies and fellow democrats, especially when nowhere in the post itself did i even say anything about not voting for kamalaโฆ
thereโs just a complete inability to handle even the existence of not just criticism of but the mere OBSERVATION of egregious behavior both from politicians and delegates/supporters. not only do we HAVE to fall in line with people who openly mock dead children, we cannot even observe and acknowledge that they do so because it makes them look bad and that would harsh the vibes and they need the vibes to win.
like even if you think arms embargo is impossible and a laughable dream, this post is not even about that. itโs about THIS behavior: the complete dehumanization and ridicule of palestinian children who have been killed by american bombs and american tax dollars. address what is in front of you. you are willfully covering your eyes and your ears of this evil in your own big tent because it is inconvenient and uncomfortable to youโeven if you think to yourself, well i acknowledge the genocide so this isnโt about me, you still need to acknowledge the others who are at that convention, who supposedly represent and speak for you.
even if you think biden and harris are unreachable and unmovable, very likely true, look at your fellow democrats with their rainbow accessories and their talk of hope and joy on one hand and their mockery of dead children on the other and think about how much you want to let slide without comment because commenting would be inconvenient, standing up to them would be too dangerous. just because the people in power are untouchable does not mean you too have to just full-throatedly accept their supporters, the people with whom you have thrown your lot, gleefully stripping the victims of a genocide of their basic humanity and dignity.
I do get that Chris Hemsworth is probably VERY expensive, and I appreciate that ‘found family’ feel of the Loki TV show
But I also mourn the missed opportunity of the show having Loki run into dozens of variants of his brother.
Some are still how Thor was when they were children, boisterous and uncaring, and Loki feels this wistful mourning for the way things were when they were young - simpler, not uncomplicated, but still full of the camaraderie that Loki longs for.
Some are Thor after Loki’s fall, desperate and pleading for Loki to see reason, and now removed from the situation Loki can see this is not an attempt to chastise him, but a desperate plea from his brother who loves him to stop before he destroys himself.
And some, the worst ones, are broken and lost after Loki’s death, who see this version of him and collapse into tears of grief and guilt. Loki sees them and feels horror and heartbreak knowing that this is how much he meant to his brother, that he spent so long wanting to matter and wanting to be seen, and here is the brother that loves him so desperately that he holds his memory to his soul like an open wound.
visitor at our museum made a comment today that made me question a lot of things so i’m making a poll about it
the scenario: it is a beautiful day outside and by beautiful i of course mean “cloudy with a chance of rain”. sky is gray. smells rainy. possibly already drizzling. you don’t really know How rainy it’s going to get, but there will definitely be Sky Water happening for a good portion of the day.
