As of July 4th 2018, the Internet as we know it might be dead for good.
The European Parliament is passing a new Copyright Directive. Article 13 #CensorshipMachine will impose widespread censorship of all the content we share online. Art, fanfiction, parodies, remixes, mashups, memes, etc.. Anything that you do not hold the rights over will be taken down.
Article 13 would force all online platforms to police and prevent the uploading of copyrighted content, or make people seek the correct licenses to post that content. Internet platforms hosting large amounts of user-uploaded content must monitor user behaviour and filter their contributions to identify and prevent copyright infringement.
Such filters will be mandatory for platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit and Instagram, but also much smaller websites.
Last Tuesday (19th June 2018) a group of more than 70 people who have played important roles in building the internet and developing it (Tim Berners-Lee, Vincent Cerf,
Jimmy Wales, Mitchell Baker…) into what it is today addressed an open letter to the members of the European Parliament:
“As creators ourselves, we share the concern that there should be a fair distribution of revenues from the online use of copyright works, that benefits creators, publishers, and platforms alike.
But Article 13 is not the right way to achieve this. By requiring Internet platforms to perform automatic filtering all of the content that their users upload, Article 13 takes an unprecedented step towards the transformation of the Internet from an open platform for sharing and innovation, into a tool for the automated surveillance and control of its users. […] The damage that this may do to the free and open Internet as we know it is hard to predict, but in our opinions could be substantial.”
did I ever tell you guys how I lost the most overtly religious friend I’ve ever had because she insisted I was hellbound over a pair of jeans
apparently not by your reactions SO let’s talk about emily
emily was catholic and found it really, really important that you knew that
she was discrete for the most part (sign of the cross before meals and blushing when the lord’s name was said in vain sorts of things) but she had a habit of berating people for politely declining her invitations to her church services and was sort of a pain in the ass about it at times but that’s beside the point
we were friends for about two and a half years
and then she borrowed a pair of my jeans.
now these jeans
were not just any pair of jeans
they were lucky brand jeans and the nicest jeans I owned at the time, but I was always cool with letting people borrow things when they really needed them
so this fateful day rolls around and emily is freaking out because she tore her skirt (as in straight up the back, mortifyingly torn) while we were out for coffee waiting for her other friend to pick her up because she was going on a weekend trip with this other friend’s (even more religious) family and her only other option was a pair of starchy pants that would absolutely suck to sit comfortably in for a five hour drive
so I do what any good friend would do and give her the extra pair of jeans I have in my car
which are my luckys
now I didn’t think anything of it and just assumed I’d done a great service here right
but flash forward three days
and she comes back
and doesn’t say
anything
just hands me the jeans
pivots
and walks away
so naturally I’m like??????????
so she proceeds to send me a text the next day saying that I made her look horrible to her friend’s mom because she nicely offered to wash the jeans before returning them and that’s right around the time I remember that Lucky brand jeans have a lovely little note on the fly
they look like this
and then you unzip them and
so that’s the story of how my catholic friend stopped talking to me because I accidentally tainted her social life with my subtle sexual vicious trollop jeans
That is both terrible, and absolutely fucking hilarious
please remember that just because you appear calm doesn’t mean you don’t have anxiety
anxiety can manifest itself through perfectionism, obsessive compulsive behaviors, hyper-vigilance, irritability, increased maladaptive coping mechanisms, extreme caution, racing thoughts, insomnia, nightmares, and more. it doesn’t always appear as jittery hyperactivity
anxiety doesn’t always show, and you don’t have to force it to show in order to get help
I’m not sure where to begin with this as I normally don’t post anything other than my art here, but I have seen enough from your side to prompt me into making this post, so I suppose we should start with the obvious:
1) Swearing, editing my works, and worse of all, throwing heavy accusations around like there’s no consequences and being proud of it. I might not know who you are but I can tell you’re rude and ignorant based on first impression. You have already lost quite a bit of my default respect that I have for anyone before we even begin.
2) I read that you’re a PoC and most likely belong in the group of minorities from where you’re from. Now that’s something you and I have in common, but our biggest difference is, I don’t throw accusations lightly like you did me.
3) Now let’s talk about art. I have seen people trying to explain to you how color, light, tonal values work, but you seem convinced that as long as it’s not a direct eye-dropped tone, it’s considered whitewashing. There’s a difference between giving a dark-skinned character a lighter shade due to lighting/mood and downright turning them white. And just for clarification, I generally favor pastel-like tones with saturated values at times, which usually resulting in a softer and brighter shade in the things I colored.
Let’s have a look at the official art:
We know that the creator is trying to convey an atmosphere. Marina is being colored close to a beige tone here, but we can tell she is still shades darker than Pearl, and naturally so. Everything here is meant to look soft and light to convey a sense of relax.
Here’s another example of light and mood:
Notice the differences in how the creator colored in these two pieces. One is not more ‘right’ than the other. They’re just being depicted in different mood and settings, often times exaggerated to display a more dramatic effect.
4) I’m not sure if you’re still with me, but I shall continue on. Your heart is at the right place and your cause is noble. Racism is a very bad thing and I should know, but I think you’re picking the wrong battle. You’re accusing people of something that isn’t intended, creating more enemies than allies, making the environment hostile for the wrong reasons. Your lack of understanding and proper knowledge in certain field has, frankly, caused more harm than help towards your goal and, indirectly, hurting the art community.
I don’t bear any ill will towards you and I’m definitely not expecting an immediate change, but all I ask for is that you take a step back and think things through before you decide to throw down the gauntlet again.
This means there shouldn’t be ridiculous limits on how much someone can make while on disability benefits
I’d like to add that this also means acknowledging that being disabled is often expensive, and thus should actually be given proportionately more to ensure they can afford expenses like wheelchairs, medically prescribed diets, prosthetics, modified vehicles, and accessible housing as needed for their condition.
The so-called “duck crocodile” isn’t a true crocodile, but part of a group of extinct reptiles that walked on land called notosuchians. Its broad snout helped it catch small animals that live in the water.
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252MYA creates custom-made artwork for private collections and editorial, scientific, or educational project.
There’s a heatwave in the UK again and just a healthy reminder that comments like “lol thats not hot” or laughing at people suffering in the heat is not cool or funny. Just because it’s not hot for you doesn’t mean it’s hot for us. The mortality rate rises dramatically whenever we have a heatwave. We’re an island that’s on average between 3C (37.4F) in the Winter and 24C (75.2F) in the Summer. We don’t build our roads or buildings to deal with this kind of heat so when it gets unusually hot there is no where for us to go. There are very few buildings with air con other than huge office blocks and some largescale restaurants.
We’re expecting temperatures of 30C+ (86F+) within the span of a week, so anyone in the UK make sure to drink plenty of water and take regular breaks if you need to. A cold shower in the morning and at night will also help you hydrate!