While I’m trying to draw a coherent picture of each, maybe footage of them and their countries could help. I think there’s vastly different kinds of weather. I know Russia can be snowy and Cuba is very hot. Appearance of common plants, animals, architecture, and machines could look different in each country too as we look at them during each leader’s time. Those all could relate back to the needs of people which needed to be met.

When I picture things in my head, I keep thinking Stalin and Fidel Castro are the same person, and Soviet Russia and Cuba are the same country. How do I seperate these people and places in my mind?

If you can’t tell, I really don’t know much history and could use little bits of info at a time to build more distinct pictures of these two men and countries. If I am to be honest, I’m scared of reading the terrible struggles forced upon them and their people. It makes me very sad, but I will try to at least check a few small things out. I might be too depressed to read almost anything, but I figure there’s got to be something for me out there. It’d be nice if I got the fun/happy facts as well as the sad ones.

Or it’s flavored with the oil extracted from fruits or something

believe in the good tenants

Is this religion-related? I’m spiritual but not religious, and I wouldn’t know.

imo that’s a lot darker than just bad spray tan, has she acknowledged it since?

If she has I haven’t heard of it.

I lived with a white Tibetan Bhuddist for a while. They were constantly dehumanizing people around them, but then would do things like boast how Tibetans pray in simple shacks while Bhuddists in China have beautiful ornate temples. This was in response to me just having a video of a Bhuddist temple in China up on a TV. Someone told me she had a lot of anti-Chinese takes so this didn’t sit with me well.

I didn’t say any of this, but looking back: Like really, you’re going to try to look humble by claiming you have anything to do with something humble? Also, what if the Dalai Lama had instead shared his wealth? What if they mostly worshipped in simple shacks because wealth was withheld from them? And what about the Tibetan Bhuddists who want to worship differently in a way that requires more resources and a highly artistic and ornate temple? People don’t need to be poor, there’s just the existence of capital, and capital has the tendency to collect more than spread.

I think that’s just a bad fake tan because she was often orange in her early career, but I can see why someone would wonder if it was blackface.

She’s a Zionist. And believes in the Tibet Myth of “Friendly Feudalism”. She’s banned from China after promoting Dalai Lama’s image.

Ugh why does Lady Gaga have to believe in race conspiracies? She’d be so much cooler if she didn’t. It’s harder to like celebrities when them meaning well equals racism.

I was watching some scenes from a kung fu movie. It’s comforting that a lot of fancy goods from the days of fuedal China can be mass produced now, and doesn’t necessarily have to be straining to make.

Do you mean N95 respirators?

If you are cohabiting with someone that doesn’t automatically mean you get all their illnesses. I’ve missed things my partner gets and we sleep next to each other.

That’s comforting to hear. Maybe I will try masking up more when they don’t.

They actually care about masking, but sometimes they won’t. I’ll have to ask why.

Edit: They say at the gym it interrupts workouts because it shifts around, and the heat and sweat irritates their shaved face. In stores, it’s when they feel it’s not too crowded, and they hold their breath while passing people.

Dunno what you mean by “Shinji”

it’s bizarrely infantilising of innumerable peoples, as if white people are the only ones who ever looked at killing non human animals and went “idk about that”. Not like there’s thousands of years of recorded theological debate and shit from all around the world, with Europeans being somewhat late to the game here.

Until reading this, I had a liberal take on culture and eating animal products. I felt I should not criticize eating meat in indigenous practices because they have meaning I don’t know the depth of. But if many people of just about all cultures have been criticizing it yeah I can see how spiritual practices involving meat can and must shift because the world is dying. It’s absolutely racist to claim people are helplessly stuck in meat eating ways and can’t change because of their culture. It’s more appropriate to say individual people are addicted to meat.

I want men to start making more meaningful art that’s raw, emotional, and difficult; so difficult that it forces us to seek better perspective.

I forgot to respond to this part. Yeah I want everyone to. I feel you might like the choreography in the music video Eusexua by FKA Twigs also Butoh dancing. (I saw a way better video on Butoh, maybe I’ll find it later.) Butoh dancing originated in Japan. Many dancers are painted white as if coated in nuclear fallout. I would probably know more about it, but each dance I see is so satisfyingly raw to watch I don’t go into deep dives about it. To me they’re refreshing and difficult at once. Please do share if you’ve got art you reccomend.

I only know about the Nazi problem resulting from US activity in Ukraine. With each color revolution is it the US’s goal to spread Nazism in that country which it takes place in?

Sounds like what the US did to Ukraine, the US would do to the entire world if it could. That’s truly disturbing.

Why are nonviolent protests called “color revolutions?”

You take time to learn things and you aid people in goals. That takes lots of caring. In overcoming, you’re elevating your understanding of things within and outside you. That’s a lot of nice things at once. Courageous is just one of them.

You’re a car dude, I don’t understand you guys, your engineering specialty is beyond me. Your loved one is very lucky to have you help them with their car. Electricity is not my specialty either, but I remember enjoying seeing electricity experiments in the past. If I could figure either out I think they’d be much more interesting to me. It’s cool that you’re hiring yourself for the job of fixing up a car and garage lights.

I share those fears too. I hope I overcome them. For the first time in a while, I’ve been trying to take steps to get dental work done as well. I think it’s been around half a decade. Failing is part of life, a part of pretty much all progress, I’m trying to accept that. We’re people, not an automatically readily perfected machine(except for times when we are, but that also usually takes failure first.) I should remind myself that I have a lot to overcome and being erroneous is usually just fine for a learner. Socially, giving myself this understanding is how I try to give myself grace with awkward and embarrassing mistakes. I was not given the tools to smoothly socialize and now I must overcome not starting with many tools. You have ambition to connect with things, yourself, and others. At your slowest times, this is all getting you places no matter how much progress pauses for a while.

Yay I got chosen. I dream of being able to write poetry and share it. Idk how to rhyme atm, I’ve somehow lost the ability, but if you have any poetry reccomendations, maybe I’ll try reading it.

Yes! The gears in others heads are often beautiful. I know someone who’s advancing in sewing and it’s exciting to watch. They can also rhyme really well, but they won’t write poetry and I wish they would. I want to be creative, but I’m used to old patterns where I don’t exercise my good qualities much. At night my dreams can help me understand that I’m brilliantly creative, if only I could manage taking things into the waking world. I’m kind of in a PTSD script that blocks me off from creating art.

What a lovely part of someone’s inner person to come across in a workplace. Years ago, my now-favorite poet posted their writing and it showed me just how mindful and grounding writing poetry can be. I had no idea they had talent in writing until then.

Still don’t know how to use a semi colon. I’ve tried looking it up, but I don’t understand it.

This rocks. Improving your headspace for the rest of the day must feel more comfortable too.