None of the Above

"If the new team produces funny episodes, Twitter’s opinion might not matter."

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:31:34 -0400

“If the new team produces funny episodes, Twitter’s opinion might not matter.”

- Josef Adalian of Vulture.com

No. That is not how this fanbase works, and if you don’t know that —as clearly, NBC and Sony don’t know that— then you are sorely, sorely uninformed.

Community doesn’t work like other sitcoms. It’s not just a show about appealing to the lowest denominator with the most blunt jokes. Community already has its own sense of humor, and it’s not one that everyone gets. We know that, and that’s part of why we love this show with the passion that we do. It’s our kind of humor. Its our kind of show in a sea of shows that are everyone else’s.

The other reason we love this show is the insane, ridiculous, alienating, passionate, nigh-incomprehensible amount of heart that it has. None of us have stuck around this long just because of the jokes. None of us. We stuck because this is a show makes us cry and scream and lose our minds with the characters and the stories that it’s built up, and the building up is the important part.

We are attached and long since have been, and that’s what makes the emotional backbone of this show what it is. Unless the new writers are willing to go all in with doing what’s right by the story and the characters that kept us here, it won’t matter how funny other people find the new episodes. The show would lose us if it lost its heart, and we’re the ones who fought the hardest and the longest to keep this show in the first place.

Now, I know that there’s a chance this isn’t a disaster. Harmon could continue to contribute and keep it on track and/or the new writers could actually do right by the world that’s been set up already. It’s not impossible. I’ve seen Happy Endings, and while it’s not exactly my kind of show, it’s well done for being what it is. If the new guys are willing to adapt, this could go well enough. Some of my favorite shows have gone through similar power changes and survived. Hell, some of my favorite television ever is the third/third-and-half/fourth season of Due South, and that show went through a whole mess of changes.*

I’m not saying that this can’t go well, but it just won’t go well if “Needs to be funnier to more people” is the only direction from which this new run is approached. That is just not how this show works.

(via imaginearianne)

Fillydelphia: auxil: There have been brony issues here and there and everywhere...

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:41:45 -0400

Fillydelphia: auxil: There have been brony issues here and there and everywhere...:

auxil:

There have been brony issues here and there and everywhere lately so lemme lay down a few things about the issues here.

My name is Nathan, I am 18 years old, and I watch My Little Pony. I wouldn’t consider myself a brony because I have no interest in the fandom. Now I’m not one for…

Someone help me understand Plus Size Sizing?!

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:01:45 -0400

ohsopathos:

voxmente:

ohsopathos:

I’ve been seeing such great clothes lately and I am so frustrated at the sizing charts. I’ve measured myself and don’t understand how i could be so far off. I have stopped myself from shopping online on many occasions (even when it’s affordable) because I don’t want to waste money on an item I’m unsure will fit.

The problem is that my waist puts me in one category, and then bust and hips are much smaller. I’m terrified of buying something and having it sag in the boobs… or look great on the boobs but be too tight around the waist :( My measurements are not nearly as differing as the charts always show; they really only differ by a few inches. Am I measuring wrong? I’ve followed lots of videos and tips and always come out about the same. Is there some foolproof method?

Can anyone offer any tips on sizing? Is there a chart or listing anywhere that I can compare different brands and their equivalent sizes? (i.e. I can shop a 16/18 or 1X at Addition-Elle, but what does that make me everywhere else? Which number in the sizing is most important? Do I just stick to whichever of my measurements is highest and hope for the best?

As an example, I’m looking at this dress from Domino Dollhouse. My waist puts me at about a 22 or 24 (which seems high compared to what I wear at AE, but I figure those numbers between brands are irrelevant) , but my bust and hips are much smaller than those shown in the chart. What to do….?

I don’t know about DD, but recently I shopped for clothes online for the first time in a long time and ran into the “whaaat sizing?!” issues. The first clothes I ordered were in sizes that were much bigger than I ever wore in a store, but I figured I just hadn’t bought clothes in a long time and not from that store. When they got to my house, though, they were MUCH bigger than my measurements said they should be and I had to return them. (Torrid, I ordered a 22 based on the size charts but am a 14/16.)

Unfortunately it seems like a lot of stores, even plus-sized ones, the measurements aren’t accurate. For instance I asked Old Navy for confirmation of how their size-chart stated 32.5 inch waisted 14-sized jeans could fit my 40-inch waist, and they eventually admitted that the size 14 were around 39 inches in the waist, despite what the size chart said.

The only thing I can advise is to compare size charts from companies whose clothes you already own to the size charts at the stores you’re looking at, and also to e-mail or call the stores and ask their advice. :/ It really sucks that people don’t have accurate sizing and it’s difficult when your body isn’t size-chart shaped. DD seems like a smaller company, though, so they may be able to give you advice about cuts and sizes.

Good luck!

[bolded for emphasis]

Great idea! I just did that and it completely changed the size I was going to order (and the individual measurements match, though we’ll see how accurate that is!)

As you mentioned above, if they can’t be accurate about the sizing, I wish they at least wouldn’t make us pay for shipping if we have to return the item when it turns out it doesn’t fit. That might encourage them to be more accurate.

I hope that the sizes work for you. I know how frustrating it is to have to return things, and I agree that paying shipping makes ordering clothes online even more difficult. I really think that if the size charts are off, it’s the store’s fault someone has to return clothes, not the customer’s, and the store should have to pay for the return shipping. Sigh. Maybe one day! I wish you luck in your shopping :)

Someone help me understand Plus Size Sizing?!

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:59:00 -0400

ohsopathos:

I’ve been seeing such great clothes lately and I am so frustrated at the sizing charts. I’ve measured myself and don’t understand how i could be so far off. I have stopped myself from shopping online on many occasions (even when it’s affordable) because I don’t want to waste money on an item I’m unsure will fit.

The problem is that my waist puts me in one category, and then bust and hips are much smaller. I’m terrified of buying something and having it sag in the boobs… or look great on the boobs but be too tight around the waist :( My measurements are not nearly as differing as the charts always show; they really only differ by a few inches. Am I measuring wrong? I’ve followed lots of videos and tips and always come out about the same. Is there some foolproof method?

Can anyone offer any tips on sizing? Is there a chart or listing anywhere that I can compare different brands and their equivalent sizes? (i.e. I can shop a 16/18 or 1X at Addition-Elle, but what does that make me everywhere else? Which number in the sizing is most important? Do I just stick to whichever of my measurements is highest and hope for the best?

As an example, I’m looking at this dress from Domino Dollhouse. My waist puts me at about a 22 or 24 (which seems high compared to what I wear at AE, but I figure those numbers between brands are irrelevant) , but my bust and hips are much smaller than those shown in the chart. What to do….?

I don’t know about DD, but recently I shopped for clothes online for the first time in a long time and ran into the “whaaat sizing?!” issues. The first clothes I ordered were in sizes that were much bigger than I ever wore in a store, but I figured I just hadn’t bought clothes in a long time and not from that store. When they got to my house, though, they were MUCH bigger than my measurements said they should be and I had to return them. (Torrid, I ordered a 22 based on the size charts but am a 14/16.)

Unfortunately it seems like a lot of stores, even plus-sized ones, the measurements aren’t accurate. For instance I asked Old Navy for confirmation of how their size-chart stated 32.5 inch waisted 14-sized jeans could fit my 40-inch waist, and they eventually admitted that the size 14 were around 39 inches in the waist, despite what the size chart said.

The only thing I can advise is to compare size charts from companies whose clothes you already own to the size charts at the stores you’re looking at, and also to e-mail or call the stores and ask their advice. :/ It really sucks that people don’t have accurate sizing and it’s difficult when your body isn’t size-chart shaped. DD seems like a smaller company, though, so they may be able to give you advice about cuts and sizes.

Good luck!

esperanzaj answered your question: Help? I wear a 14/16 in stretchy things at Lane Bryant and 18/20...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:45:38 -0400

esperanzaj answered your question: Help?

I wear a 14/16 in stretchy things at Lane Bryant and 18/20 if it’s not stretchy, and for F21+ I order a 2x in stretchy and 3x in not stretchy

Aha! Thank you!

aimlessflannel answered your question: Help?

I dont exactly know the answer, but what I can tell you is Forever 21+ runs VERY small, I would say 2 sizes smaller that old navy plus.

That’s good to know. I’ll try ordering up and if it doesn’t work I’ll… try City Chic since they have free shipping lol. Thank you!

Help?

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 01:26:02 -0400

I have a question to potentially avoid lots of shipping charges and having to return items as I try things on

There’s a dress I want from Forever 21+, but I can’t figure out what size I should order. The XL didn’t fit and I was basing my ordering off the measurements from the Lane Bryant size chart.

Can anyone tell me if you wear a 14/16 shirt (16 if it’s not a / size) at LB what size do you wear at Forever 21+? Thank you!

prettyfoods: Nutella Fudge Pops (Recipe via Chocolate-Covered...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:57:15 -0400

prettyfoods:

Nutella Fudge Pops (Recipe via Chocolate-Covered Katie)

doctorvtumbls: mattishidasboyfriend: roachpatrol: mercurialmal...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:56:30 -0400

doctorvtumbls:

mattishidasboyfriend:

roachpatrol:

mercurialmalcontent:

vastderp:

whenromancesmoked:

clarri:

Love this!! There’s no excuse to not eat healthy :)

These are American prices, this stuff (the fast food included) would not be that cheap here, but I’ll reblog this anyway.

I support eating healthy, this isn’t about that. I don’t really want to get into that argument.

Yes, eating fast food is more expensive than eating healthy. Fresh produce, however, is a lot more expensive than the junk foods one might find in the store.

What I would like to know is where these prices are coming from? I haven’t run across chicken for that cheap. Nor the fruit [strawberries are particularly expensive around here; could be regional]

I think my beef with this photoset is that it is a blanket statement. Back to my comment there in brackets, prices could be a totally regional think. So while OP can find those items on the cheap, some of us can’t.

I can’t find the relevant article with just a cursory google and may seek it out when it’s not 3am for me, but there was an article [it may have been a study? I don’t recall.] about obesity or something, it was related to this in that it studied budgeted living and the cost of living and how buying junk food could be a cheaper alternative/more convenient because of circumstances. Convenient stores like 7/11 are more available than supermarkets, particularly in larger cities. Many lower income families don’t have a car and rely on public transit. That means carrying all those groceries home. On a crowded bus. After a long work shift. And likely, taking a longer bus route/multiple buses to get from the store and back to your original route. If factoring in the time was a thing, say you had an hour bus ride or something, would you want something that could go bad?

I get it. Eat healthy. But there are other concerns beyond being lazy and such.

…sorry to reblog this on you with this big ass 3am rant, clearly I just need to learn to sleep. I’ll try to find and append that article as well because it’s more factual than my rambling, certainly, and has more credibility than some blogger on the intarwebs.

*eyes those prices* HAHAHA what a load of bullshit. i’d say someone just doesn’t do their own grocery shopping, except i spy some consistency here, like how the prices of the “bad” choices have all been jacked up while those of the good ones have been dropped drastically. show your work, OP, or GTFO.

The OP obviously lives in the magic land of ~personal responsibility~ where of course it is your fault if you’re poor for making ‘bad choices’, and totally not that these prices are hideously unrealisticfor at least a few parts of the States — I have never been to a metropolitan area that had prices anywhere near that low (for certain values of ‘low’, $3 for a loaf of halfway decent bread that probably still has HFCS in it is fucking absurd).

Never mind other countries; the one that sticks out most at me is that 2 pounds of chicken breasts would run me about 8€, but everything on this list is considerably more expensive here except for bread and maybe potatoes.

This is utter bullshit and I don’t — and never have— even lived in a fucking food desert. I lived in downtown portland on foodstamps for about three years, and had access to a safeway within half an hour’s walk, and a farmer’s market on weekends. And the farmer’s market took stamps too, thank fuck. Absolute luxury, compared to what the majority of destitute americans could afford, and, yeah, according to the state my income/rent put me literally in the destitute category. I got about 150$ a month. Interestingly this meant I couldn’t buy fast food because foodstamps didn’t cover it, but I could pick up grocery store frozen pizza, which was an absolute necessity a few nights a month because I took 18 credits a semester and worked retail 18-25 hours on top of that. Sometimes you don’t have the energy to do anything more than shovel cheese into your face while you try and get an essay done before you pass out.

Meatless burgers: bullshit. Vegan products are too expensive and make me feel jittery and sick. Beef costs anywhere from 3-5$ a pound and sometimes you can’t find anything on sale.

Why the fuck would you buy cashews not from a bulk bin

Why would you buy cashews

Bugs get in them

Ick

1 pound of strawberries: 3-6$, tastes like cardboard, goes bad in three days. Get from farmers’ market or don’t bother.

10 pounds of potatoes: i can’t carry ten pounds of potatoes

5 pounds of potatoes: 3-5$ ow fuck my back

1 carton of pure good quality orange juice: 3-5$

1 gallon of pure good quality orange juice: probably 6-7$

frozen mixed veggies: 50 cents if you’re lucky and like lima beans

frozen mixed veggies you actually like: 1.50- 2$

1 pound dried pinto beans: you will never remember to soak these ahead of time

1 pound dried pinto beans: bug food

broccoli: 1-3$, eat real fast.

Total price, 30-40 and doesn’t even include onions. I can’t think of any single meal I’d actually make with this random pile of junk. Even if you got the pinto beans you can’t make a bean soup because there’s literally no other ingredients that you’d need for a bean soup, like broth, onion, other beans, etc. Plus remembering to soak the beans in preparation involves a safe space, a bug-free apartment, and a brain that actually works for that kind of forward-planning type of deal. You could have… veggies and juice? Hamburger and… broccoli? My usual shopping list is chicken, hamburger, pasta, potatoes, onions, carrots, frozen stir-fry veggies, bread, tuna, canned beans, and a few apples for about 40$. Versatile and fairly decent, you can make a bunch of different foods with those ingredients. What can you cook with cashews? Fuck cashews.

Whatever asshole is trying to shame me into living a better life can’t even get even the most bogglingly basic shit right.

reblogging this whole thing because roach’s commentary made me spit out my drink laughing, sorry about your dashboards

[This got way longer than I meant it to. Sorry.]

Okay, I work at a grocery store and have a pretty reasonable idea of average prices in my area (East Texas, BTW). I’m going to go through this and see what’s what.

Let me add the disclaimer, first off, that I do, personally, prefer to cook my own food. There are some foods that just don’t agree with me, so I generally find it easier to make things myself so I know what’s going into my system. It is also, in general, cheaper to cook at home than to eat out, and I’m speaking from personal experience and minimal budget here. It just is. HOWEVER. However, there are times when I am just so utterly exhausted, so barely-holding-it-together after work, so hungry-right-now that I DON’T CARE. Is it food? Do I have to do anything but hand over money and find a place to sit as I inhale it? EXCELLENT. TAKE MY MONEY, GIVE ME FOOD. Okay? So my preference is for home-cooked, but I’m not going to look down on anyone who eats out.

Set one:
Let me start by saying I’m taking the fast food prices on faith, here. I honestly haven’t a fucking clue how much most fast food costs unless it comes from IHOP. So yes, okay, we’re working from the assumption of four combo meals equalling $21.76.

Why are we getting vegetarian burgers AND ground beef? Are we feeding a group that includes vegetarians and omnivores? WHAT KIND OF GROUP AM I LOOKING TO FEED WITH THIS SET-UP? I NEED TO KNOW THESE KINDS OF THINGS?

Okay, fuck that, I’m just going down the list. The Morningstar I think I’ve only ever seen that cheap when it’s on sale. Possibly with a coupon involved. I think typically it’s at least a dollar more, and I’m pretty sure there are only two patties to a box. ($3.99)

I have trouble properly digesting red meat, so the ground beef is right out. I don’t know where they’re getting a pound of beef at a percentage that high and a price that low, but I prefer to get a pound of ground turkey. Does it taste different? Yes. Do I care? Fuck no, because my body doesn’t freak the hell out when I eat it. I don’t usually buy meat at all unless it’s on “Manager’s Special” (meaning it needs to be sold now or else it’ll be thrown out, but it’ll still keep just fine in the freezer) or on sale. On sale I can get a pound of turkey for about $2.50, but don’t ask me what the percentage is. 96% lean beef? Even storebrand you’re more likely to see it at $3.79.

Why are we getting cashews? Cashews are expensive. Like, SUPER expensive. No one on a budget is going to be getting cashews unless it’s a splurge or a gift. Almonds, maybe. They’re also expensive but not as much, and they’re also supposedly an appetite suppressant. Did I mention that no one on a budget is buying cashews? Did I mention I’m on a budget? I honestly never pay attention to anything but the peanuts in that section. Honey-roasted for sugar AND protein in one go, excellent for warding off a bloodsugar crash. I’ll go with their price for this, just because I’m honestly not sure, but I think that’s generally the price for HALF that amount of cashews. ($4.18)

No. No, wrong, and fuck you. :| I am not amused by this strawberry price. Do you know how long I have to WAIT for strawberries to go on sale for a price like that? And that’s only when they’re in season. When they’re on sale for that cheap I buy a crapload and fucking FREEZE them. I’m not even going to be generous and assume the usual sale of $2.50 on this one. Now I’m pissed. We’re going full price. ($3.99)

For five pounds of potatoes, maybe. Ten pounds, no. I’m guesstimating low at $3.99.

If the juice is on sale and storebrand, you can get it as low as $2.50, sometimes. But regular price is $3.99.

I’ll give them the mixed veggies. A pound with that mix goes for about a buck here. ($1.00)

Why are we getting broccoli when we already have the mixed veggies? Mixed veggies DO come with broccoli in them, too, you know. God, this is the stupidest fucking grocery list. WHY are you getting these things? What is the point? I’ll go with their price on this one, too. Broccoli on sale rarely goes below a dollar (and that’s per pound, which is roughly what a bunch weighs), but I’m pretty sure regular price is two-something. ($1.58)

AGHUIJNFWHY?! WHY THE PINTO BEANS?! I have a bag of pinto beans JUST IN CASE and I think they’re a year old by now. AND I COOK. Ugh. I think these are actually a little cheaper at my store, but fuck it, I’m pissed and tired of doing this. ($1.00)

So what have we learned from this? Doc has a short attention span. Yes! But what else? On average, you’re looking to spend closer to $23.52 for this ridiculous mish-mash of unconnected food items. And after that you still won’t have a fucking meal. Well done, you fail at grocery shopping. :/
Let’s get this a little closer to something even. Okay, burgers:

Two pounds ground turkey (for four half-pound burgers), assuming it’s on sale for 2/$5. ($5.00)

I like my burgers with cheese, so let’s get some individually-wrapped slices, because I don’t have time to fuck around with cutting it myself. Or just some pre-sliced together in a container. Either way, it’s about $2.50 and that’s more than I usually pay because I buy things when they’re on sale. (Granted that IS a sale price, but I prefer a BETTER sale price.)

Let’s assume about $3.00 for ketchup and mustard, because in this scenario I actually eat mustard AND I somehow managed to have run out of basic condiments.

I hate tomato and onion. Fuck ‘em. But I’m making burgers for friends so let’s go with…$2.00 total for both, because I don’t need much and they’re by the pound. (I’m assuming A tomato and AN onion.)

Fuck, I don’t buy pickles very often, because we only ever eat them on burgers and half the time I forget anyway. Let’s say I got a big jar to last me a while. ($2.99)

$1.00 for el cheapo storebrand buns. I’m not buying wheat, because they’re not on sale, but I’ll take a moment to stare at them longingly. I can dream.

Fries:
Let’s get a three pound bag of potatoes, because we don’t eat very many in the course of how ever long it takes for them to get mushy or start growing things. ($1.99)

Wow! Magically I ran out of salt, garlic salt, AND seasoned salt! Let’s get a little $1.00 container of garlic salt, since we don’t need much for just this meal.

Getting some canola oil spray, because I always seem to be running out, and ooh, it’s on sale right now. ($1.50)

Other:
Now I don’t know about you, but when I’m looking for something to wash down my homemade turkey burger and garlic fries, orange juice doesn’t immediately come to mind. A two litre bottle of storebrand soda rarely costs more than a dollar, so I’m going to treat myself and get a bottle of cream soda because it’s my favorite and clearly I’m the one doing the cooking so I’ve earned it. ($1.00)

Salad, because I don’t like lettuce on my burger and I can’t fit as much as I want on one anyway. Depending on the price of each, I’ll either get a bag salad or a bunch of lettuce, so we’ll split the difference at $2.50.

Okay, so all this ran me about $24.48, but that’s including in basic ingredients that I typically already have and also guesstimating higher prices than I would usually get. Taking out condiments, salt, and canola spray (which I currently have sitting in my fridge and cabinets), it’s closer to $18.98. Keeping in mind that I’ll still have cheese slices, pickles, buns, and potatoes, possibly soda and lettuce, left over. So there’s an ACTUAL comparison. Same meal, cheaper and healthier, and it cost me about an hour or two of shopping and cooking time.
THAT is how you compare prices. Not this bullshit with broccoli and cashews. WHY ARE YOU GETTING THOSE? WHAT MEAL ARE YOU MAKING WITH ALL THESE THINGS? WHY ARE YOU GETTING CASHEWS ON A BUDGET? WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST GET THE MIXED VEGGIES THAT INCLUDED BROCCOLI? YOU MAKE NO SENSE.

I am not EVEN going to get into any of the other comparisons…HOLY SHIT, NAME BRAND CHICKEN IS NOT THAT CHEAP. AND WHERE IN THE FUCK ARE YOU FINDING TWO DOLLAR GALLONS OF MILK? EVEN THE CHEAPEST MILK IS $2.99, HERE. WHAT IS WITH YOUR BIZARRE BEAN FETISH?! WHY ARE YOU NOT COMPARING THINGS THAT MAKE SENSE? AND WHEN THE FUCK ARE YOU BUYING YOUR CORN? BECAUSE IT’S SURE AS HELL NOT 4/$1 ON AVERAGE. AND FUCK YOU FOR SUGGESTING DRIED CRANBERRIES AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO TWIZZLERS. I HATE BOTH. I’M GOING TO EAT SOME OF MY FROZEN STRAWBERRIES WHILE DINNER THAWS.

Doc says it best.

Also if you’re poor and buying food from a fast food place, you’re not getting four combo meals. You’re getting four burgers off the dollar menu and free cups of water (although I’ve been to places where they wouldn’t give me a free cup of water). Srsly.

thefusspot: OH GOD IT JUST DOESN’T STOP. (It’s gonna have to...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:19:35 -0400

thefusspot:

OH GOD IT JUST DOESN’T STOP.

(It’s gonna have to for a bit. I have things to do. D:)

Photo

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 02:37:46 -0400

gingerhaze: nope nope nope

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:39:06 -0500

gingerhaze:

nope nope nope

laserscrewdriver: AVENGE ME HAMLETFOR I WAS KILLED BY YOUR...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:24:00 -0500

laserscrewdriver:

AVENGE ME HAMLET
FOR I WAS KILLED BY YOUR UNCLE, AND MY BROTHER

10 Myths about introverts!

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:05:18 -0500

introvertsdontbite:

imateng:

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts. (Yes, I reversed these two terms on purpose to show you how biased our society is.) Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

This is very interesting, and I’d say it’s a good general, broad debunker. A personal note that has little relevance to this: I am a very, very shy introvert. I do not like to talk; I do not like people. I rarely enjoy going out in public, and I prefer to be alone. That’s just me. I’m rather extreme on the scale, and I am comfortable with that.

The thing about dopamine is interesting. Yesterday I had to lay down in the dark for an hour and a half because I’d gotten worked up over some homework and I couldn’t even handle the sound and light of TV. I’d never heard about dopamine before (I mean, not in the context of introvert) so I looked it up.

In addition to differences in brain pathways accessed, extroverts have a low sensitivity to dopamine—often known as one of the “feel good” neurotransmitters—yet they require large amounts of it. Adrenaline is needed to make more dopamine in the brain; so the more active the extrovert is, the more adrenaline is released and the more dopamine is produced. Dopamine is correlated with movement, attention, alert states, and learning.

Introverts, however, are highly sensitive to dopamine. If their bodies produce too much of it, they feel over-stimulated. An introvert’s dominant pathway uses acetylcholine, which plays a large part in our sleep and dream states. This difference in neurotransmitter sensitivity and production goes so far as to favor which basic parts of our systems are activated: Whereas extroverts are linked to the dopamine/adrenaline, energy-spending, flight-or-fight sympathetic nervous system, introverts are associated with the acetylcholine, energy-conserving, parasympathetic nervous system that relaxes and calms the body.

via What Does It Mean to Be an Introvert?

Over-stimulated is exactly the word I’ve been using to describe it when I get all overwhelmed. Nice to know what’s happening.

The Way Things Go

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:23:24 -0500

Cross-posted a holiday exchange fic at ao3 (not actually holiday-themed). The Way Things Go.

Info: Fake News RPF, PG-13, ~7000 words, Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert, past Jon/Denis Leary, demisexual!Jon

Summary: It takes a while for Jon and Stephen to get to know each other well, but they manage it. And Jon knows himself well enough to recognize — eventually, at least — when things with them stop being a game. The problem is knowing what to do about it.

fyeahenglishmajorarmadillo: [Picture: Background — a six piece...

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:16:18 -0500

fyeahenglishmajorarmadillo:

[Picture: Background — a six piece pie style colour split, alternating black and grey. Foreground — a picture of an armadillo. Top text: “Kindle for Christmas” Bottom text: “Free to read titles you would be ashamed to be seen with in public ”]

Accurate

Fanfic (Comedian RPF)

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:48:47 -0400

Decided to post my RPF Big Bang for this year (The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Strangers with Candy, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Misc. Comics) on Archive of our own. It’s here: It’s Time to Talk.

Importing it from Dreamwidth was … interesting. There was still a lot of editing to do. But it was probably faster than copy/pasting. Also for some reason the importer initially added a tag in the relationship section of “Jimmy - Relationship” which … I don’t understand. Apparently the importer is psychic enough to know that Jimmy was in a relationship, which wasn’t listed in the entry headers, but not psychic enough to figure out how to represent his name along with Stephen’s (and Jon’s) for a queerplatonic thing? I guess I can’t blame it; I can’t even figure that out. But I took the tag off because it made no sense.

(Also, somehow it wasn’t psychic enough to figure out that Janeane and Denis are in some kind of relationship, but maybe because Janeane and Denis couldn’t figure that out either. This raises a lot of questions about the artificial intelligence of Ao3 and the safety measures we need to put in place before it begins the fandom war to end all … what? Why are you looking at me like that?)

I hate tagging on Ao3 though. I don’t know what tags to add. I just guessed randomly because I don’t use Ao3 to read things so I have no idea how people will be looking for fics. On LJ and DW it’s simple.

Vanilla ice cream inside hollowed out apples, topped off with...

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:09:30 -0400

Vanilla ice cream inside hollowed out apples, topped off with brandy caramel

I need to learn how to do this right now.

I just want a program to type words on a page, is that so hard?

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:37:12 -0400

sarahblass:

voxmente:

microaggressions:

In my computer class, work must be done using Word ‘07. I only have Word ‘03 at home, so I come early and stay late trying to get everything done. The teacher knows this and has had several conversations with me in front of the class regarding open lab times. When another student asks the teacher if the campus will be moving to Word ‘10 soon, she looks directly at me and says, “Yes, so everyone using Word ‘03 had better get with the times.”

I felt as if I was being publicly shamed for not being able to afford hundreds of dollars in new software. Made me wonder if working hard to keep up anyway was even worth it.

My current professor saved our midterm exam as a .docx that I had to open in Google to be able to access at all, despite him knowing that most of us can’t open .docx files. I haaate when professors demand to use the latest version of Word. I can’t afford to keep up with that. We ask over and over to be able to use .doc or .odt but they “forget” and send us inaccessible files.

To anybody who has this problem: Windows has a Microsoft Office backwards-compatibility free download from their site. I don’t think you can save as .docx but you can definitely open them and I think you can save to the same .docx file, or at least to a .doc file. 2007 can open and save .doc too, anyway.

I was lucky that none of my professors ever had a problem with me using Microsoft Office 2003 even though the whole school had upgraded to 2007. I was especially lucky because I took the computer class focused on Microsoft Office in 2006.
It’s just ridiculous because the new software is incredibly expensive and it has a lot of stuff you don’t need. You have to also add in the cost of the learning curve, especially since they completely changed the layout. And it pretty much does the same stuff as the last over-featurized version!
I mean I get that part of college is making you buy expensive software and books for the sake of teaching you stuff. I get it. There’s no reason a hundred-dollar software is somehow more problematic than a hundred-dollar book. But just as I think it’s absolutely ridiculous to charge top dollar for a brand new edition of a book that hasn’t changed significantly in five years, it’s ridiculous to ask students to buy a new version of a software they already have that can do…what? More fancy special effects?

After getting a new computer I just installed Open Office and I love it. I like my menus spread out at the top of the screen instead of hidden behind a big Windows button. It’s missing one or two features but the fact is that most of what I need out of word processing or spreadsheet software is the very basics, and it’s free. And it can save .doc to be compatible with Microsoft Office so I can easily communicate with people who use Word.
ETA: I also checked to make sure, and Open Office can open .pptx and .docx too. You just have to make sure to tell your computer to open them with Open Office. It can only save in .doc/.ppt though.

Yeah, I understand that we have to spend money to be in school, but there’s definitely a point where it’s ridiculous. There’s no reason to demand we use .docx when we’re not being asked to use features that are only available in .docx, and when I know my professor can open .doc files. Also, I’ve been lucky enough to be in classes where I could buy previous editions of books and not miss a beat.

I did not realize I could get Open Office to open .docx files now. When I used to try that the program would always stumble and close out. Thank you!

microaggressions: In my computer class, work must be done using Word ‘07. I only have Word ‘03 at...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:53:10 -0400

microaggressions:

In my computer class, work must be done using Word ‘07. I only have Word ‘03 at home, so I come early and stay late trying to get everything done. The teacher knows this and has had several conversations with me in front of the class regarding open lab times. When another student asks the teacher if the campus will be moving to Word ‘10 soon, she looks directly at me and says, “Yes, so everyone using Word ‘03 had better get with the times.”

I felt as if I was being publicly shamed for not being able to afford hundreds of dollars in new software. Made me wonder if working hard to keep up anyway was even worth it.

My current professor saved our midterm exam as a .docx that I had to open in Google to be able to access at all, despite him knowing that most of us can’t open .docx files. I haaate when professors demand to use the latest version of Word. I can’t afford to keep up with that. We ask over and over to be able to use .doc or .odt but they “forget” and send us inaccessible files.

moarhat: May not be the best photo, but this cosplay is just...

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:40:06 -0400

moarhat:

May not be the best photo, but this cosplay is just full of win.

He has the look down perfectly.

This is the *most* perfect.