Day: August 4, 2017

And that’s the real difference between Blade and the superhero franchises that have followed. Blade was never a big-name character in the first place. So there wasn’t a whole lot of retro-geek enthusiasm associated with the character. But more than that, Blade, the film, simply isn’t backwards-looking.

There’s none of the Greatest Generation boosterism that clings to the Captain America franchise, for example. Nor do we get from Blade the home front 50s stay-at-home mom-with-kids meme that pops up incongruously in Age of Ultron when we get to meet Hawkeye’s secret, perfect family.

Instead, Blade is deliberately, defiantly hip. Motherhood isn’t idealized; on the contrary, one of the queasier moments of the film involves Blade ruthlessly offing his feral, incestuously sexual, evil vampire mom. If there is nostalgia, it’s for blaxploitation’s up-to-the-minute cool.

The movie’s first grinding, sweaty, sex-and-blood drenched night club scene hasn’t dated at all. Nor has the Afrocentric incense store where Blade buys his formula fix, nor the black, brotherhood embrace between that store’s owner and the hero. There’s a notable lack of cell phones, of course, and the computer graphics prophesying the coming of the blood god look rather dated. But there’s little question that, as much as it’s able, the film is looking forward not back.

And part of the reason it’s looking forward, I think, is race. Blade—unlike most superhero films—is set in a meaningfully integrated world. That Afrocentric shop suggests, quietly but definitely, that Blade is part of a black community and that that community matters to him. One of his two crime-fighting companions Dr. Karen Jenson (N’Bushe Wright), is also black.

The diverse cast, and the acknowledgement of diverse communities, is part of why the film still feels and looks relevant. Here, after all, is a narrative that was fulfilling the call for more diverse superhero movies before superhero movies were even a thing.

But beyond that, Blade makes clear the extent to which nostalgia and whiteness are inextricably bound together in so much of the superhero genre. Retooling old, old pop-culture heroes[1] means, inevitably, dreaming about white saviors and about a time when white people were the only ones who were allowed to be heroes.

THE WHITE SUPERHERO FAD STARTED, CRAZY ENOUGH, WITH BLADE

[1]

A lot of us have talked a lot about how Blade started the current superhero domination in Hollywood and how current films forget that; and though it’s important to ask what kinds of behind-the-scenes decisions have caused that, I like this analysis about how Blade is fundamentally different from what we’re getting today and how that film is, in many ways, incompatible with today’s Ant-Men and Men of Steel.

(via dakotacityukuleleorchestra)

I think the adrenaline attack has settled down enough to try to get a nap now. Needed one before I went out and moved those planters around, but oh well. Glad to get it done before the plants really started suffering.

Not likely to be that functional later if I don’t try to at least get some rest, so better give it a try.

afghanistaninphotos:

Chadari (aka Burqa)

I’m sharing these photos to remind you and myself, that beneath each Chadari is a determined and beautiful Afghan woman. Covered by cloth is a brave mother holding her child, a courageous sister buying groceries, a determined daughter making her way to an education center, a bride-to-be choosing her wedding outfit, a pregnant woman on her way to the hospital, a frail grandmother visiting family, a loved friend shopping for a birthday present…..and the list goes on.

To wear a Chadari may or may not be each woman’s choice, but despite this fact, they are still WOMEN. Being covered doesn’t lessen their worth as women. I don’t ask you to like or agree with Chadari, I sure don’t. All I ask of you as you browse through these photos, is to think of those who wear the Chadari, as what they are…people.

Source: facebook.com

A little too relevant in that last reblog:

A burnt out bulb may go unrecognized as a problem – there’s two other bulbs in the room, it’s a little dimmer, so what? It might take all three burning out before you see it as a problem.

Yeah, I think one of the reasons I get so frustrated is that I don’t seem to get hung up on that particular step very much. While living with someone who could let all three burn out, and not necessarily be put out enough to replace any even then. (Not exaggerating.)

Harder for me to understand or figure out how to help deal with, when some prompting isn’t always enough to get the concern really registering.

(That’s before we get to the “it’s important to know my blind spots and learn to function around them” part of that same commentary. Another frustrating thing, when someone close to you just seems not to recognize that there is any blind spot there, yeah.)

About Executive Dysfunction; for neurotypical people

hansmoleskine:

spoonie-living:

anarcho-shindouism:

truthisademurelady:

yeronika:

beowulfstits:

Friends, family members and loved ones of learning disabled and mentally ill people need to have a working knowledge of what Executive Dysfunction is, and respect the fact that it is a prominent feature of that person’s psychology and life.

Executive Dysfunction is best known as a symptom of autism and ADHD, but it also features in depression, anxiety disorders schizophrenia, OCD (which by the way is also an anxiety disorder), personality disorders; etc, a whole myriad of mental illnesses and disabilities can result in executive dysfunction.

Years ago when I was like 14 and had recently learned of my autism diagnosis, I watched a youtube interview between autistic people, and an autistic woman said something along these lines:

  • “Sometimes, a lightbulb will burn out, but I cannot change it. I have the physical capability to change the lightbulb, and I want to change the lightbulb, and I know I need to do it, but because of my autism I just don’t do it. So the lightbulb remains unchanged for weeks. Sometimes people have to change the lightbulb for me.”

When she said that I related so much, because constantly throughout my whole life I have wanted and needed to do things with my wanting and needing being akin to my spurring an extremely stubborn horse who refuses to move. For the first time I learned that I wasn’t just “lazy”, I had a condition that prevented me from doing things as easily as other people can, but unfortunately it took me years since then to understand that.

Imagine that you are a horserider, but your horse is entirely unwilling to move even if you want to move. You dig in your heels, you raise the reins, but the horse refuses to respond. Your wants and needs are the rider, and your executive functions (the parts of your mind responsible for getting things done) are the horse.

I think it’s incredibly dangerous for neurotypical loved ones to not understand, or be aware of, or respect executive dysfunction. Neurotypical can assume that we are just being lazy, careless, selfish or difficult, when in reality we want to do the thing but our brains prevent us from consistently and reliably doing the thing.

That misinterpretation can lead to toxic behavior and resentment on the part of the loved one, which will harm us emotionally and do us a lot of damage gradually over time.

That damage can take the form of internal self-criticism, complicating executive dysfunction even further and making it worse.

edited for easier reading!

I think about this a lot, because I have to.  In my own life, as a parent who struggles with executive dysfunction and yet has to teach a child basic life skills, it’s important to know my blind spots and learn to function around them.  He’s watching me and learning from my example, so I have to do my best to explain what I can’t always do, and try to do it anyway.

Executive function is such a fundamental and yet hidden trait.  It is in charge of reasoning, flexibility, problem solving, planning, and execution/prioritization of necessary steps in any action.

Each task is never one task.  Take changing the lightbulb – from beginning to end, it’s a series of steps that must be put in proper order:

  • Notice light bulb is burnt out.
  • Recognize that it can be fixed by putting in a new light bulb
  • Remember where new light bulbs are stored
  • Go to light bulb storage area
  • Select new one
  • Find stool or chair to stand on
  • Take out old bulb, put in new one
  • Screw in bulb
  • Replace chair or stool to previous spot
  • Throw away old bulb

That’s not even all of them, but it’s a good enough summary for now.  There are hidden stumbling blocks in every single step. 

  • A burnt out bulb may go unrecognized as a problem – there’s two other bulbs in the room, it’s a little dimmer, so what?  It might take all three burning out before you see it as a problem.
  • Maybe you forgot where the bulbs are, because it’s been a while.  Searching the house is a task you put off, because it’s messy/disorganized/big/you have other more pressing matters.  The bulb can wait.
  • You find the bulb storage, but you’re out of new ones.  You have to shop.  You’re busy, you put it off until the next time you shop, by which time you’ve forgotten you need a light bulb.  Repeat cycle.
  • You’ve been depressed for a while, or maybe you’re just a messy person.  A stack of important documents is on the chair you’d use to stand on to get to the bulb.  You know if you move those documents you’ll forget where they are, and it’s tax stuff/homework/your mom’s birthday card, and you can’t forget that.  The bulb gets put aside until you deal with those things.  But you don’t want to deal with them now, so the bulb waits.
  • Throwing out the bulb requires safe disposal so that you don’t break it and accidentally cut yourself, or someone else in your home.  You have no idea how to safely dispose of it.  You put off changing the bulb until you figure out what to do with the old one.

On and on and on.  Each step requires problem solving, prioritization, and reasoning.  These are the hidden processes that go on in our minds every single moment of every day.  Difficult tasks build up, compounding the problem of completing others, until each action requires ten more before you can solve the minor problem you started with.  Changing a light bulb ends in a night of doing your taxes.  Doing the dishes ends in standing in the dish soap aisle at the grocery story for a half hour trying to figure out which soap to buy for the dishwasher.

When a simple action requires the same effort from you as the most complex, abstract problem-solving…. to put it mildly, you’re fucked.  Every day tasks require exhausting mental gymnastics.

So, be kind to the person who can’t seem to change a light bulb.  There’s a lot that can stand in the way.

this is such a good addition to my post

Important info!

thank you for breaking this down, it’s so difficult for me to explain why “simple” tasks seem monumental to me

I also don’t know how the people upstairs can run that much laundry. They do have a kid and a dog, but I’m still not sure how you would run at least a load or two every single day. With the heavily scented products that give me a headache at the best of times.

Less noticeable when that drain is functioning right, yeah 😳

I’m extremely stressed right now, when I really ought to try to get some sleep.

The rain lately really hasn’t helped matters, but this is our patio right now.

This has been a problem for at least a week, with nasty drain water from our kitchen and upstairs’ coming up through the inspection cover thing back there. No clue exactly what might be wrong, but something is obviously blocked up. But, now it’s covering half the patio.

(Which was a wreck even before that, but I really don’t have the spoons to deal with any of the floating debris right now. At least that may drown some of the weeds I have just not been able to deal with this year.)

I’m really not in the best state of mind right at the moment, after finally putting on some boots and dragging waterlogged planters out of the flooded part. My garbage body enjoyed that about as much as you might expect.

But, what has me extra stressed right now is that he said he was going to call the British Gas Home Care thing to send a plumber out, actually last Thursday or Friday. That hasn’t happened yet. And I can’t do it instead.

Now instead of taking care of that this weekend, he’s heading off tomorrow toward Helsinki (via Stockholm) for Worldcon. Which runs through the 13th! So, over a week gone, all told.

The hotel has been booked since before Christmas and all, apparently. And I would feel like a complete jackass saying “NO, you are not going anywhere until this drain situation is dealt with. I am not staying here alone with a stanky flooded patio, to deal with any complaints about it too.” It’s still so tempting, though.

Especially since this is not the only neglected issue around here that I am the one who is mostly even at home to deal with, day to day. This is just close to the last straw right now.

He can’t help having executive function problems too. I can’t blame him for that. But, some of the apparent priorities there drive me up the wall sometimes. Not going to rant more about that right now, but yeah it can cause some problems. Which he doesn’t mean to do, but also often doesn’t even seem to register that there is a problem.

Even, say, slogging through smelly standing drain water to get in and out of the house 😩

(Another example of some of the stuff I have needed to vent about before, yeah. I am also frustrated again at the apparent denial that he even has any issues to work around, as long as he can get to work and pay bills on time. Limited spoons to keep on top of stuff is one thing, but some weird style of denial ain’t gonna help.)

me: *casually riding my bike through the woods*

some dumb fuck hiding in the trees: *starts shooting at me*

me: good thing i came prepared *whips out pistol and shoots him in the face without slowing down the bike*