I played D&D yesterday at a board game store and I am still a bit shook from it. This isn't a D&D horror story but there's a few things I need to vent about.

- the DM who we did not know handed us character sheets. Apparently this had been agreed with the guy from my group who was arranging everything but he forgot to tell everyone?

- I never related more to a drag queen who gets the role on a ruchallenge they hate. I was forced to play a low charisma wizard whose whole thing was being religious. I did rly good and moved the plot along despite this horrible character, I killed it.

- Anyway straight men are animals they immediately go "IM ROGUE" "IM BARBARIAN". They don't even read the character description or backstory. Or ask me and the other girl in the group if we wanted to read the roles first??

- nobody was doing character voice 🫠 "he says x" "he asks why"-- I interrupted the other players to speak like the characters and they were just stuborn. Especially the straight men they barely used dialogue they only wanted to fight?

- one of the things I HATED the most was that I got a crystal (important plot device) and one of the straights says a) he wants to break it. I start *discussing* with the group that I don't think that's a good choice. B) suddenly the guy says "I take the crystal from her and save it on my things."

????

- me and the group and still discussing what to do with the crystal but the guy decides he takes it and doesn't need to roll or interact/ask me. He then triggers a boss to appear who wants the crystal.

- Before we can discuss as a group why we should give him the crystal the same guy throws the crustal at the guy??

- The DM who had obviously put some effort into describing the boss and voice for the boss just goes ok. I guess he leaves with the crystal then.

- the same guy says he wants to fight the boss. Not for the crystal. Just because he wants ti fight.

- I see the horror flash on the DMs eyes. This is obviously a very high level boss to fight later in the campaign. He even goes "are you sure..?" I save it by saying no obviously not. We already lost the crystal let's not get killed too. Dm says "good choice".

- playing in a boardgame store is horrible. There's so much noise. I have adhd and oh my god. Also dm said something rly serious to my character and I couldn't understand him and didn't wanna ask him to repeat himself bc he did character voice and it was a tense moment.

- straight men's characters kept trying to "go investigate on their own". Boy we just started the campaign??? Maybe idk we should stick together. One of them kept "I go way ahead of them" or "I go way in the back". Which triggered events without us being there yet. At some point the DM ignored the guy and just spoke like he was there with us too.

- I was the only one (aside from dm) actually roleplaying and doing voices.

- one of the guys was mad the dm didn't let him use his own figure on the map even though it was three times the size of the figures the dm had for us.

- I am 100% sure the men were angry I was the hero of the battle we had. (It was bush like creatures and I used burning hands... They were all upset at the dm when the attacks they used barely did anything. And I mean actually arguing.

Anyway I just to take this out of my chest. They also kept asking for feedback/compliments on WhatsApp and I was nice and said I rly liked meeting with them and the dm was way better than I had imaged. And the guy that stole my crystal without asking and almost ruined the game an off comment about me being "uncomfortable" because I didn't join them for dinner after (worded like an accusation)? 🫠 And didn't even say anything about me carrying the game and helping him with his fuck ups. But ok.

ce characters + whether your asian parents would like them and how to win them over 🥺😣🫶🏻💕🍵

based on unfortunately realistic intrusive thoughts i have while reading self-insert fics

steve: military? hm. desi peeps leave ur comments bc idk how desi parents feel but i know ALL the east asian and southeast asian parents and grandparents might have something to say about that. the US army has left its mark.. just saying... better highlight his better features such as his sensitive artistic nature!! wait. wait. not that either, no need for them to call him a bum at the dinner table.

just... have him win your mom over with his stunning future son-in-law adorableness and charming smile 😀

andy: lawyer. that's it- no, no it doesn't matter if your EA mom prefers flower boys and he's a little too bearded. lawyer. the desi parents are messaging the Whatsapp group chat, they're calling the fam back in the motherland. look at that beard. lawyer.

tall ✅ upper middle-class ✅ drives an audi ✅ divorced? he has you now.

ari: handsome... ok.. but also. military. hmm. non-religious/non-abrahamic religious peeps, your asian parents might give him a better reception. but um, "divorced?" "has a daughter??" "soldier la??" "he have steady income???" 👁️👄👁️

my super religious background peeps, im so sorry. maybe the part where he's Jewish will get lost in translation. um. that's a fight and a half at the dinner table, good luck 🥲 maybe just elope.

curtis: ... I MEAN IS IT THE APOCALYPSE?? if not, your dad would probably like him. a man's man. strong, silent, built like a brick wall and does whatever DIY project he points him towards when you visit. your mom will call him scary. i don't think that would change whether you're E/S/SEA, your mom is pulling you aside in the kitchen and asking if you're really sure about him.

let Curtis show his gentle side. yeah, he's tall and intimidating but he has a soft heart. tell your lil cousins and niblings to use him as a jungle gym

jake: see Andy above- no, EVEN MORE POWERFUL THAN ANDY. yeah, military veteran, yeah, he's a lil awkward. but. computer science. information technology. wifi. tvs, laptops, phones. your parents are going to turn him into their personal help line and you might have to put a stop to it but goddamn if they don't call him son the minute this convo happens:

"he's in cybersecurity"

"what is cyba-"

"... IT"

"OH EYE-TEE. EYE-TEE VERY GOOD"

ransom: he's rich. he wears L.L. Bean and probably has the Louis Vuitton travel duffle bag. ransom is the nicest dressed, actually fashionable, sleek, and nicest smelling compared to the rest of these bozos. your mom loves him already. your dad is on the fence but also, he's well off enough to take care of you.

don't... say that he writes. yes, he does write. but focus on the fact that he's connected to a big big publishing house. yes yes. if this is an au and he's in charge of Blood Like Wine. BUSINESS OWNER, TAKE THAT.

---

disclaimer, all asian parents different. my dad is a graphic designer/artsy (though idk if he'd want me to date an artist tbh...) if ur parents aren't represented feel free to reblog w ur thoughts 😌

since yasammy week is in a month, here are my arabtino™ non-exhaustive culture observations for your fics:

- cheek kiss greeting: both latino and arab cultures do it. you do this when greeting family and friends both. for latinos it’s generally 1-2 and arabs are 2-3. you don’t actually kiss and it’s more of a symbolic gesture where you tap cheeks together (unless it’s like an auntie who’s getting cute aggression). the order is generally left, right (and left again, if it’s 3).

- a lot of spanish words are actually arabic. so if sammy forgets the english word for sugar and said “yaz where is the azucar” then yaz, even without spanish knowledge would know what she meant. cause azucar comes from al-sukkar. this is actually extremely relevant for food specifically. like olive (aceituna/al-zaytunna), basil (albahaca/al-habaq), and rice, orange, watermelon, etc are literally just the same word with a slight accent.

- latinos love dogs. arabs do not. both are fond of cats thought. in islam, dogs and pigs are seen as “dirty” animals (not spiritually. just literally. they’re muddy and islam values cleanliness). so it’s become a common belief even in non-religious communities that dogs are gross and cats, who “bathe” themselves constantly, are the superior pet. I think this is a perfect vessel for sammy wanting a dog and yaz being like “but they roll in dirt…” but sammy gives big sad eyes and yaz sighs like “fine”. similar thing with pigs. lots of latino dishes involve pork but no arab dishes do. which is something yaz might have to get used to (assuming she’s non-muslim in your hc. or maybe they make alternatives or vegan editions).

- we are constantly mistaken for each other. it’s not uncommon to try to speak arabic to latinos or spanish to arabs. their family members definitely might do that. AND! we share some common names. if they have a party and sammy’s cousin omar tries to talk to yaz’ aunt sara… confusion WILL ensue.

- these things, though are extremely shared concepts : big families with close relationships with extended family, calling anyone older than you “auntie/uncle”, calling family friends around your generation “cousin”, hosting guests is an extreme sport where you wait on them hand and foot like they’re the president, using whatsapp, your aunt sending boomer memes in the whatsapp family chat, no shoes in the house unless they’re special indoor slippers (9/10 they are adidas slides), white tanktop as lounge wear, looking down at white american culture and food, LOTS of seafood (if u hc them as being from costal countries of the regions), plastic chairs outside where adults sit and chat over drinks (most active hours are after the sun starts going down bc it’s hot), still using clothesline drying because you don’t fix what isn’t broken, can also apply to hand washing dishes but dishwashers are on the rise, watching 12 season badly produced TV dramas in your language with extremely camp-y plots

Bon soir. Do you have resources/recommendations for understanding the Israel/Palestine conflict as it related to American media coverage and American anti-semitism?

I do not have any particular content resources, but as I said on WhatsApp, I am willing to write you a brief (ha) primer of this whole mess, its historical context, and the political issues/positions that inform how it is currently covered and talked about in America and the West. Obviously this will not cover everything, but it will hopefully give you some sense of where this is all coming from and why.

The modern state of Israel was founded in 1948, on territory that is historically associated with the ancient/biblical "Israel." Obviously, this took place in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust and the attempt to wipe out European Jewry. It was felt that the world at large owed reparations to Jews for that "yet again, we tried to kill all of you, our bad" thing. One might say, understandably so.

However, this was controversial because there were already people living in that territory, and overnight they found themselves stateless, or otherwise long-term/deliberately excluded from the new Israeli state apparatus. The Israeli government has long since promoted an image of the (secular) Israeli citizen as also (religiously) Jewish, even though there are many Middle Eastern Christians, Muslims, Arabs, etc etc., who may not identify with this particular ethnic-religious model of Israeli citizenship.

The Middle East has long been a geopolitically/militarily contested area (dating all the way back to the crusades) due to its huge symbolic importance to the three major Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, exemplified by the incredibly sensitive issue of who gets to lay claim to the city of Jerusalem and how). In the nineteenth century, European colonial powers also occupied and exploited the region, particularly Britain in Egypt and Syria, France in Lebanon, and others.

The Ottoman Empire was also in conflict with its European imperial rivals, further increasing the instability and resulting in the development of various nationalist, religious, separatist, and other proxy groups. This all informed the situation at the time Israel was created in 1948, especially as the Middle East and Northern Africa entered the postwar period of decolonization/independence in the 1950s/60s. Pan-Arab nationalist leaders like President Nasser of Egypt portrayed the creation of Israel as yet another crass imposition of European colonial/imperial interests, rather than any kind of merited settlement/feeling bad about the Holocaust. Many Arab states still refuse to recognize Israel, or have any diplomatic relations with it, as a result.

Because Jews have experienced political, religious, and genocidal persecution throughout history (the manifestation of anti-Semitism), the idea of having an actual territorial homeland, where they can be safe from that, is obviously an important protection. There is a very big difference between religious Judaism and political Zionism, defined as the state of Israel's political activities and agendas. However, legitimate criticism of Israel as a nation-state, the same as any other nation-state in the world, is often coded in implicitly (or wildly explicitly) anti-Semitic dogwhistles. Zionism and Judaism are also often deliberately conflated, used interchangeably, or without any attempt to separate them.

Jews of the diaspora, i.e. those in America and Europe, often find themselves ambushed with criticisms of Israel's political and military excesses, and asked to explicitly renounce any allegiance to Israel in order to be seen as "good Jews." Which is a heaping helping of problematic stereotypes all at once. Many Jews in America are liberal, Democratic voters, members of Reform congregations etc, and do legitimately oppose the militaristic and seemingly apartheid-esque actions of the Israeli nation-state. But when your choice is "totally renounce the homeland for your people that was created in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust and intended to provide very real and very needed shelter against future atrocities of this type, or be subject to more anti-Semitic vitriol," that is... not good.

The U.S. has long supported Israel as a political entity for various reasons. One, because it is often antagonistic or in opposition to the largely Muslim nation-states in the Middle East, and sees Israel as a more natural ally (so yes, institutional Islamophobia does play a role). Two, because the evangelical Christian right-wing wackjobs think that it's important to support Israel because one day Jesus will come back there and start the Rapture (true story).

Right-wing Republicans are often extremely anti-Semitic because they're Christian nutjobs, and left-wing tankies are ...also extremely anti-Semitic, because they paint Israel as just an extension of the American imperial regime and it should therefore be destroyed/delegitimized. (Remember, everything is America's fault somehow and other countries have no agency and never act independently, just as dumb American puppets!) As usual with tankies, they make no effort to understand the sensitive historical, religious, and identity issues around the necessity of a Jewish homeland and why it happened in the first place.

All that said, Israel as a nation, culture, and military (not Judaism as a religion) has often behaved appallingly toward the Palestinians who also live there, and has rejected any idea of a two-state or power-sharing solution. This is where Palestine would also have the right to organize itself as a state and exert the same level of influence/defend itself from what often reads as deliberate ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs and attempts to set up an apartheid state where only religious/ethnic Jews have full citizenship rights.

This is exemplified by the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu took a brief vacation, a few undistinguished caretaker far-right PMs occupied the chair for a year, and then he came back.

Almost every player in this situation has an interest in promoting themselves as fully blameless and their enemies as fully and even demonically in the wrong, which complicates any complete or objective assessment. There are Palestinian militant groups, i.e. Hamas and Hezbollah, who are painted as obvious terrorists and extensions of al-Qaeda, especially in the wake of 9/11 and the start of more U.S.-led wars in the Middle East. This assessment neatly serves the purposes of both American and Israeli political agendas and should be scrutinized, especially considering that all sides are engaging in armed violence at all times.

Israel often engages in the same kind of imperialistic "we're only attacking our enemies defensively in order to preserve our own survival as a state" rhetoric as, say, Russia, and has been notably slow about providing weapons or assistance to Ukraine, in contrast to other western allies. However, unlike Russia, which is not under legitimate threat from anything except Putin's wild revanchist delusions of grandeur, Israel does have plenty of other nations (particularly Iran) that would like to wipe it off the map, if it was at all possible to do. This does not excuse the terrible things its powerful military apparatus has repeatedly done to Palestinian civilian populations, but it, again, makes it more complicated.

As the basic realities currently stand, the conflict does not have any obvious short-term or long-term end. Israeli gives no indications of shifting its extreme-assimilationist political and military policy, there will continue to be violent friction between the political and religious Abrahamic factions that lay claim to Jerusalem and its larger symbolic legacy, and the wider world will continue to be invested in promoting and using particular depictions of the conflict for its own domestic and international purposes.

So yeah.

Fearless came over yesterday after school and counselling. I walked in the door and he rushed over to greet me with a big hug. Got to admit that’s a nice feeling. The girls used to sprint to me whenever I came home but now I can barely get them to look up from their iPads when I stand in front their face to say hi. It’s all part of the natural part of parenting, so at least they are normal kids!

Fearless is so proud that he has gone 1 week on a “diet”. I tried to point out that he is just focused on eating healthy food, he’s not dieting at all, but he seems offended by that and clearly was proud to be on a “diet” so I didn’t push it. I have set up a “personal trainer” session with a trainer at my gym for him next week. The guy is covered in tattoos and has a total teddy bear heart so I think it will be a good fit. Fearless’ mom is going with him, and I’ve told her if she wants to do a session herself she can. The challenge is keeping up the momentum after the initial thrill of doing something new wears off, and shifting things towards establishing life long healthy habits. We will get there!

Let’s hope 2024 is a big leap forward in maturity for Fearless.

In other news, I’m now following the Instagram account of the oldest Cutie sibling. She wrote a post thanking her “Daddy” for cooking her dinner. It’s her mom’s new boyfriend who moved in the last few months. I noticed her mom reposted it on her WhatsApp status. My heart cringes that her mom is encouraging her to call him Daddy. I know I have a natural distrust of all of these boyfriends who date the moms of my former foster kids, that’s my bias. But the last boyfriend who lived with them beat the kids so bad that their teachers noticed bruises and called child services. And the real biological father is also an abuser. So I’m going with historical evidence here. How messed up to be encouraging a 11 year old girl to use the term Daddy for someone so new in their lives. She’s clearly being set up for a lifetime of “Daddy Issues” literally.

In better news, I have 2 new families set up to interview my 2nd helper because I don’t think I feel comfortable to let her go to that other family knowing their mindset when it comes to seeing how far they can squeeze the terms of the contract in their own favour. Just because you HAVE power doesn’t mean you should use it. And these are religious people. Seems they have missed the message at services!

Hi I need advice so I wanna manifest my boy bestie/crush/soon to be bf right but here’s the thing the person who was exactly that I use to go to school with and have the greatest memories ever with him and just honestly the best we almost became bf and gf but he disappeared out of blue then I transfer only to find out two years later he was looking for me and no one had my number ( at the time he didn’t had Wi-Fi and WhatsApp ) so he couldn’t contact me and the reason he wasn’t in school because he was in the hospital for his eyes, but now I got his digits and he has wifi but he changed like he’s over religious and his mom ain’t the ideal kind because she compared the covid vaccine to hitler’s killing of the Jews alongside saying the top billionaires in the word are like hitler especially Jeff bezo since he agreed something with the vaccine ( ik Caribbean parents are extremely over religious that they believe a ton of sh!t honestly) idk if I want to manifest the change in him ( because I think I only like him because of the memories we have) or manifest someone new but I might manifest not remembering I manifest them and that we knew each other from school.

honestly im a little shocked LMAO. does he also believe THAT?? if he isn't like his mom, the choice is yours tbh. it's possible he is religious but still disagrees with her.

2023/05/17 English

BGM: Aphex Twin - Xtal

Today was a day off and a perfect day for walking in the mountain. I went to that mountain and spent my time doing nothing with Aphex Twin's album "Selected Ambient Works 85-92". Indeed, there is no special thing to do in there even though it has rich greenery. All I do is just to face the nature or myself. And also I learn that the nature doesn't seem to be changing drastically by visiting there every week. But, maybe this is because I am an autistic person therefore a kind of monomania, I start learning that there is a certain change within that greenery or nature. That's like our life. Writing this journal lets me learn about this: Everyday is not a simple result of repetition even though it seems to be a cluster of happening the same things/events. And also, it doesn't mean that it is boring. Every single day is a precious day, so it has a certain worth to be lived carefully. Quitting alcohol and learning autism let me learn about them. In Japan, a lot of fiction of "infinite/endless loop" are read passionately, but we can enjoy some certain difference in that kind of "repetitive" "infinite loop", can't we?

When was the first time I listened to Aphex Twin's music? Listening to his beautiful tunes makes me calm... People say that autistic people like me feel calm when they do their routine works. It seems that his tunes are a kind of good medicine which enables me to do that routine, and also keep on peace of mind. But, this might sound so strange but, that kind of autistic people who like the firm calmness had done/achieved a lot of "breakthrough" things which had made this world confused and recreated. Autistic people tend to be in a panic when they find the sameness is disturbed... but I guess that those autistic pioneers/innovators would say "why? I have done what I believe in my life". But I still want to ask that why it becomes possible if I see the real world full of innovations autistic people made. Indeed, there must be more neurotypical innovators, but I still think that it is interesting that some great people who were free that dilemma, and who must live their lives as they wanted honestly.

This afternoon, listening to Lou Reed, I read Ryu Murakami's "YouTuber". I remember that I had read Ryu's novels a lot during my life because he has been a great/huge rival of Haruki Murakami, therefore treated as a new pioneer of Japanese literature. Yes, he has written a lot of "controversial" and "marvelous" masterpieces... and this novel is about a "trendy" and "catchy" topic, the YouTuber(s). But I guess that the thing he is trying to write/tell is also about a "classical" one which is "the basic/true essence of our limited life". Indeed, this novel has no reality, and also the confession within it is too unacceptable to read, but I accept it is about our sad fate or nature therefore I never treat it as crap. What is that "sad fate/nature"? I think that is the fact that we will die one day, and also we have to be beaten/defeated by this real or this world itself. That can be described as "everything is in a flow" like some oriental religious thoughts. And, not surrendering to that fate, but trying to live against that fate would give us the meaning or beauty of life. Our passionate power of life must be beautiful... I accept this is the message from this novel.

This sunset time, I met an ex-staff of my group home again. As a friend, she had asked me that "have you heard of the app ''WhatsApp'?". I heard that a member of her family is living in a foreign land, and that person had said to her that he wants to use her that WhatsApp, instead of LINE. Therefore she wanted me to tell about it. But I am just an old/out-of-date dude so never able to say that I can understand how to use WhatsApp. So it took about half an hour to control/set the environment of her smartphone to enable her with that family member via WhatsApp. She could communicate with him by this setting I made... and she said to me a lot of thanksgiving as "I really appreciate it! Every shoppers I went only installed it, but never told me how to use". But I don't think this is irrational because WhatsApp is not a popular app within Japanese users. For foreign users, the app LINE which is almost Japanese "national" app we Japanese use every day passionately would be "what on earth this app is?". Indeed, this era becomes globalized and the world becomes flatter. But, this is the real therefore it is interesting.

Migrant Workers are Flipping the Script and Using Photovoice to Tell Their Own Stories

Kukreja, R. (2022, May 8). Migrant workers are flipping the script and using Photovoice to tell their stories. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/migrant-workers-are-flipping-the-script-and-using-photovoice-to-tell-their-own-stories-180500 

Reena Kukreja writes: “What happens when undocumented Bangladeshi and Pakistani men in Greece pick up their cell phones to record their lives as migrant agricultural workers? ‘This will let the people learn how we live our lives here, said one of the men, referring to the photos and videos they were taking. For the workers, these serve as evidence of their migrant existence. COVID-19 and worries about food security have resulted in increased media coverage about migrant agricultural workers, with stories usually told on their behalf. Four sets of South Asian migrant men in Greece wanted to flip the script and tell their own stories. They used Photovoice, an arts-based social justice tool, to present themselves and their concerns directly to people. This eventually transformed into a travelling multi-media exhibition and a digital archive, This is Evidence.”  

“Each year, thousands of young South Asian men arrive in Greece, Europe’s frontier, often driven by poverty, climate change, political unrest, or ethnic or religious violence in their home countries. ... Despite 90 per cent of Greek agriculture being dependent on migrant labour, they are paid low wages, face wage theft and are forced to work long hours without breaks.” 

“The process behind the exhibition emerged organically as the men used WhatsApp to send me images of their lives. I suggested the use of Photovoice so they could share their lives with a wider audience. Photovoice is a participant-oriented visual research strategy used to collaborate with socio-economically and politically marginalized populations. Participants take images of what they consider important and not what researchers wish to highlight. ... These narratives are often used to advocate for policy changes. This project challenges the stereotypes of migrant men, often vilified because of their gender identity, race and religion. It also serves to empower by allowing the experiences of ‘disposable’ migrant agricultural workers in Greece to reach a wider audience through multi-city exhibitions and the digital archive.” 

Additional Information 

This is evidence: re-picturing south Asian migrant men in Greece. https://www.thisisevidence.com/

Kukreja, R. (2021). Visible yet invisible: the disciplinary mechanism of self-surveillance among undocumented South Asian male migrants in rural Greece. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(15), 3660–3676. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1642740 UTL Link: https://doi-org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1642740

Heinrich Böll Foundation. (2017). Temporary migrant workers in Greek agriculture. Heinrich Böll Foundation. https://www.boell.de/sites/default/files/e-paper_temporary-migrant-workers-in-greek-agriculture.pdf

Sutton-Brown, C. A. (2014). Photovoice: A Methodological Guide. Photography & Culture, 7(2), 169–185. https://doi.org/10.2752/175145214X13999922103165 UTL Link: https://doi-org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/10.2752/175145214X13999922103165

Budig, K., et. al. (2018) Photovoice and empowerment: evaluating the transformative potential of a participatory action research project. BMC Public Health, vol. 18. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-5335-7 Open Access

Photo source: [Photograph]. This is Evidence. https://www.thisisevidence.com/where-we-work 

Good boy!

The Bahraini Deaf Society is a (Shatira) association.. Its idea began many years ago when one of its founders noticed that deaf people on religious occasions do not know anything about what is happening around them.. So he volunteered to translate in sign language..

Since this moment, they have been writing a success story in the service of people with hearing disabilities, helping to solve their social, professional and educational problems, and developing their various skills.

Today, I spent several hours at the association's headquarters in one of the (Bahraini villages) with the (deaf) young photographer and designer of the association, Hassan Zuhair... to edit the new issue of the deaf magazine, in which Hassan participated in filming its activities and designing its pages.

Hassan is a third-year student from the Faculty of Arts, Department of Arts, and is working in the association at the same time.. in a field in which he discovered his talent and both his father and the association helped him to develop it through training and work.

He is also self-taught in the fields of photography (video and camera), magazine design, publications and the association's pages... in addition to the computer... the association trusts a lot in his ideas and suggestions..

He is a generous person like his association..whether in his interview or hospitality..and this is a natural human generosity and not artificial..he offered me Bahraini baked goods and a large cup of tea..and he wanted to make another drink, but I preferred to get acquainted with us by writing on WhatsApp. And lip movements!.. and his sitting to help me edit the issue that he designed on a new program for me..

And since he is from a humble family and needs money to help himself and his family.. Hassan means for the relatively little money, the congratulations are very much, God willing.. and he calls on his generation of young people to develop it, no matter how small it is, perhaps God will open the door of sustenance for him with it..

He aspires to open his own photography studio after graduating from university, and he will also continue to be present in the activities of the Deaf Association.

My father, may God have mercy on him, used to tell us every winter the story of Shater Hassan and Set Al Hassan.. He sings on the lips of Shater Hassan a song in which the player Hassan asks the eagle to return to him the pearl necklace that used to light the way for him while he was going to Set Al Hassan to present him as a gift.. But the eagle stole it and flew!!

In fact, the story of the good Bahraini, Egyptian, and Arab man may be unknown and devoid of a magical and miraculous atmosphere, but it meets with that folk tale that there are deep and rich meanings about patience, heroism, achieving the goal.. and inspiration..

To this struggling young man, my sincere greetings.. and my sincere prayers..

الشاطر حسن! جمعية الصم البحرينية جمعية (شاطرة).. بدأت فكرتها منذ أعوام طويلة عندما الحظ احد مؤسسيها ان الصم في المناسبات الدينية ال يعرفون شيئا عما يجري حولهم من أحداث .. فتطوع للترجمة بلغة اإلشارة.. ومنذ هذه اللحظة وهم يكتبون قصة نجاح في خدمة ذوي اإلعاقة السمعية ويساعدون في حل مشكالتهم االجتماعية والمهنية والتعليمية كما يعملون على تطوير مهاراتهم المختلفة.. قضيت اليوم عدة ساعات في مقر الجمعية بإحدى (القرى البحرينية) مع مصور ومصمم الجمعية الشاب (األصم) حسن زهير .. لتحرير العدد الجديد من مجلة الصم التي شارك حسن في تصوير فعالياتها وتصميم صفحاتها. وحسن طالب بالسنة الثالثة من كلية اآلداب قسم الفنون ويعمل في الجمعية في نفس الوقت.. في مجال اكتشف فيه موهبته وساعده كل من والده والجمعية على تطويره بالتدريب والعمل .. وهو يتعلم ذاتيا أيضا في مجالي التصوير (فيديو وكاميرًا) وتصميم مجلة ومطبوعات وصفحات الجمعية .. إضافة إلى الحاسوب.. وتثق الجمعية كثيرا في أفكاره ومقترحاته.. وهو انسان كريم مثل جمعيته .. سواء في مقابلته او ضيافته.. وهذا كرم إنساني طبيعي وليس مصطنعا.. حيث قدم لي مخبوزات بحرينية وكوبا كبيرا من الشاي .. وأراد عمل مشروب آخر ولكنني فضلت التعارف بيننا عن طريق الكتابة بالواتس آب وحركات الشفاه!.. وجلوسه لمساعدتي في تحرير العدد الذي صممه على برنامج جديد بالنسبة الي.. ونظرا ألنه من أسرة متواضعة الحال ويحتاج للمال لمساعدة نفسه وأسرته.. يعنل حسن من أجل المال القليل نسبيا المبروك كثيرا إن شاء هللا .. ويدعو جيله من الشباب إلى تطويرها مهما كانت صغيرة فربما يفتح هللا له بها باب الرزق .. ويطمح إلى فتح استديو تصوير خاص به بعد التخرج من الجامعة، كما سيظل متواجدا في أنشطة جمعية الصم.. .. كان والدي رحمه هللا يحكي لنا كل شتاء قصة الشاطر حسن وست الحسن.. ويغني على لسان الشاطر حسن اغنية يطلب فيها الشاطر حسن من النسر ان يعيد إليه عقد اللؤلؤ الذي كان يضيء له الطريق أثناء ذهابه إلى ست الحسن لتقديمه هدية لها .. ولكن سرقه النسر وطار!! وفي الواقع .. ربما تكون قصة الشاطر حسن البحريني والمصري والعربي غير معروفة وتخلو من األجواء السحرية العجائبية لكنها تلتقى مع تلك الحكاية الشعبية في ان هناك معاني عميقة وثرية عن الصبر والبطولة وتحقيق الهدف.. وااللهام.. لهذا الشاب المكافح خالص تحياتي .. وصادق دعواتي ..

ok but dieter is definitely the type of person to have all kinds of weird WhatsApp stickers and a lot of the time he answers only using them 😂

I wholeheartedly agree, Nonnie! I would also go as far by saying that not only does he use stickers religiously, he also finds fan made sticker packs of himself! And just spams everyone with it!*

*I need this idea to come into fruition and somehow integrate it into the story!

14th Jan 2024 - 9:07p.m

I have deactived my 2 instagram accounts, i think after leaving brighton i find it harder to look at my friends post of all them together but even more so the feeling of them not texting me back or the fact i keep picking up my phone to see if there is messages ( there never is ). and its slowly making me more sad and putting me in a mood. So i deactived my account, how long it wil last i do not know, iv decided to use tumblr religiously now. But also even though i only really talk to that friend group on insta they have many other ways to message me, like they have my phone number and whatsapp, god if they really needed 2 even tiktok LOL.

Talking about tiktok though im trying to get off that aswell, i took it off my home scene cuz i feel like i only go on it because i see it. and since iv done that i defo havnt been on it as much. il delete it when i get more comfortable. same with twitter or x whatever its called now. i dont use X that much but now that i dont have insta im not ready to let it go. Same with snapchat i only use it to text my IRL friends for plans and i use it to take in the moment pictures ( so i dont use all my ohone storage) thought i do need to learn to not take so many random pics that half the time i dont care about 2 days later, same with screenshots. Im a photographer so of course i like taking pics but sometimes i think its 2 much to be saving blurrry pics that have no meaning.

i wanna basically make my phone like an 2014 ipod, for music mainly and the odd text message, i think 2024 is finally try to stop using the bad side of social media. like i like tumblr i dont come here offen, i ahve a look for 5 mins, like stuff and go.

Well this is my first blog and genuielly might keep this up, i nice to get my thoughts to go somewhere, where i dont feel like im bothing someone. and also i love journaling, but writing hurts my hand with my chronic illess. i like typing, im fast at it, though i have terrible dyslexia and cant spell for shit.

ok thats it for now bye.

Marla, Chana Stein's daughter in law, said that with the winter coming, the displaced people, some of whom who left in the clothes they were wearing, needed warm coats.  I put a notice on the whatsapp of Nofim  and less than 24 hours later this is the picture you are seeing.

The PDFs I am sending you all show how quickly and surely Israel is falling into line with countries like Russia, Korea, China......need I go on. The Ben Gvirs and their like are trying to shut the mouths of Israelis. Twice already Jews and Arabs have not been allowed to meet. All this is what is now scaring me internally more than what is happening on the West Bank. It is exactly what I wrote months ago I thought would happen.

Last night also there was a memorial service for the fallen and also for our kidnapped people. The service took place at Kikar Paris which is directly below the King's hotel. The balcony was crowded with a religious crowd and I was disgusted to see that they brought out a loudspeaker and started to play David King of Israel. etc. so as to drown the service out. Two of us went and complained to the soldiers and it was then stopped. Maybe amongst them are those who serve in the army and who work but I doubt it if they have so little respect for those who fell and will fall defending them and for those mourning for those who have been kidnapped. 

At Irit and Yaakov he said to me in a joke that maybe for this period I should try eating only kosher ....I said that I had tried religion and had not got very far. He said , "But you have lived till 84"....I said that was the problem. 

This is the evidence of a Zaka worker. If you want to donate I strongly suggest them. They have had the most terrible of jobs, worse even than when buses exploded and I think that they will need much treatment afterwards.

 I think of the survivors and can only hope that, as they somehow recovered, that the families of those killed and the hostages  will somehow be able to do the same. But last night at the UN demonstration , as the names were read out, I felt such grief and then suddenly I had no feeling in me. It was as if I was emptied of feeling. 

Arab ZAKA worker: 'I had no idea where to start'; Oct. 7 massacre an affront to Islam

-And this is an affront to Judaism as I think it should be and not the first time it has happened. According to the very religious even if you fight for Israel or live in Israel and you are killed, you will pollute the Juden rein cemeteries. And these laws are made to please those who do not serve in the army and who happily take the money of secular citizens. 

This evening with the families at the Knesset one of the speakers whose name unfortunately I do no remember and I apologise, said something which should be put on a banner.

Netanyahu's brother, Yonnie, died to save the hostages at Entebbe.

Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to let the let the hostages die to save himself.

Hell is too good for him. Dante's Inferno would not find a low enough place for him. I wrote this on facebook and then was scared I would be arrested and at 4am  I woke up and thought I should change it.  To think that I ,in a democratic country should be scared. But you can see from the PDFs why.  Someone asked me yesterday if I were prepared to die for Israel. I always thought I was but now I ask myself if I leave behind me an Israel which is nationalistic and religious is that what my life was about. Is that what I gave up my family for?  I did not  think this at the time but now in the era of the rabid settlers and I know that they are in the minority, of Netanyahu and his crazy family, Ben Gvir and crazy rabbis, I think of it often. 

I am sending you a link which you should only read if you are prepared to be horrified. Viewer discretion is advised. If you want to see other links......, October 7 Haaretz" . But this one is really bad. So be warned. I again say we made a mistake not showing the full video which people saw. 

I woke up at four in spite of taking pills. I had zigzagging for my eyes which happens when I am under stress. I went for acupuncture and for the first time could not fall  asleep. I hope that I sleep tonight as tomorrow I am going to the funeral of a woman who was first thought to have been kidnapped and then it turned out that her body was so badly    burnt that she had to be identified by DNA. I know, that is the same as has been happening in Israel.  Many Moslems have said that Hamas is not the Moslem way and I understand. The way of the  extreme settlers is not the way of true Judaism.  I often asked myself before if I would die for a nationalistic religious Israel. I can only pray that  if Israel does not survive, the Jews of the diaspora will. To build an Israel that I wish today I could believe in.  A friend today said you should think of good things.....and I cannot think of anything good. 

The world today is criticizing us.....I think of other  countries who have never been through what Jews over the centuries have been through and what we are going through again. I wonder if one day those countries will fall under the hands of Hamas and  will remember these days and realise that they too were blind. Today they see Gaza and I can grieve too for the people living there ....or not living .....but first let us have our people back. Then I can grieve for others. 

Preview YouTube video GRAPHIC: Israeli Paramedic's shocking account of October 7 Hamas attacks (Watch)

GRAPHIC: Israeli Paramedic's shocking account of October 7 Hamas attacks (Watch)

I Quit Instagram and Twitter

It's a long story, but in short, the title says it all.

I had no choice but to quit both of these apps (With my Twitter account being deleted as of writing this post) because they favor mobile users over desktop users. Not to mention Elon Musk bought Twitter, making the app already worse than it currently is. As for Instagram, I keep having trouble uploading images using a desktop device because of so-called "ratio issues" and even after I change the resolution of my images, it still wouldn't let me upload, so I have no choice but to borrow my mom's phone for it (I'm not getting a phone until marriage).

My mom also isn't very accepting of me having social media because she's from a strict religious family, so anything related to it is considered "demonic." Yet she keeps pressuring me to have a phone before I get married because her phone is very "special" to her, and she doesn't like having to share one with me, when all she does is use WhatsApp on it to contact her family like there's no tomorrow.

From now on, I've decided that here, DeviantArt, AO3, and YouTube are my main socials. I've updated my Linktree, which is in my Pinned Post, so there's no need for worrying.

Off of God is Great group on WhatsApp:

*“HAPPY ARE THE MEEK, BECAUSE THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH”*

*“Learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart”* (Matthew 11, 29)

Jesus meek and humble of heart

- Jesus presents himself as the meek of whom this Beatitude speaks. He says of himself that he is meek and humble of heart. And he invites us to imitate him, to follow him on his path with the cross on our backs:

- “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11, 29-30).

- Meek: in Greek it is translated as meek, it also means soft, clement. It is the opposite of harsh or angry. They are those who, beaten and afflicted by adversity, maintain a meek, humble, pious spirit, which is not poisoned, which does not become bitter, which does not harden; and they act according to God's will for those circumstances.

- Humble: in Greek, it is translated as humble, meaning in its own sense little elevated, low. In a figurative sense it is said of that which is less in power, or glory. In the Old Testament, the “poor of Yahweh” were thus described, a category of oppressed or poor righteous people who put all their trust in God.

- From the Heart: “Meek and humble of Heart.” In Holy Scripture the heart is the center of the person, the core of his consciousness and his psychology, the seat of decision and responsibility, that is, his inner and spiritual life. God speaks to the heart of man because that is where man's religious and moral life has its roots.

- An episode in the life of Jesus in which he shows his meekness and humility is the day of Palms, when he enters Jerusalem as a meek king fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9,9: “behold, your king is coming to you, meek and sitting on a donkey.”

Good night to you all

How To Perform Wazifa for Husband Effectively

How To Perform Wazifa for Husband Effectively

Wazifa is a powerful Islamic practice that can be used to achieve a variety of goals, including improving relationships.

If you are looking for a way to strengthen your bond with your husband, wazifa can be a helpful tool.

Here are some tips on how to perform wazifa for husband effectively:

Choose the right wazifa. There are many different wazifas that can be recited for a husband. It is important to choose one that is appropriate for your situation. You can ask a religious scholar for help in choosing a wazifa.

Recite the wazifa with sincerity and faith. When you recite a wazifa, it is important to do so with sincerity and faith. This means that you should believe that the wazifa will work and that Allah will answer your prayers.

Be patient. It is important to be patient when performing wazifa. Results may not be immediate, but if you continue to recite the wazifa with sincerity and faith, you will eventually see results.

Combine wazifa with other positive actions. In addition to reciting wazifa, you can also combine it with other positive actions that will help to improve your relationship with your husband. For example, you can be kind and supportive, and you can try to understand his needs.

Here is a simple wazifa that you can recite for your husband’s love :

* In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

* O Allah, I ask You to bless my husband and to guide him to the straight path.

* I ask You to increase the love between us and to make our marriage strong and happy.

Ameen.

You can recite this wazifa once a day, or you can recite it more often. It is important to recite the wazifa for husband wife love with sincerity and faith.

Certainly! Here are a few popular wazifas (supplications) that are commonly recited for the well-being and harmony in the marital relationship with your husband:

1. Dua for Love and Affection:

"Rabbi innii limaa anzalta ilayya min khayrin faqeer" (Quran 28:24)

Translation: "My Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You would send down to me, in need.”

Recite this dua with sincerity, asking Allah to bless your relationship with love, understanding, and affection.

2.   Dua for Unity and Understanding:

"Rabbanā hābil lanā min azwājinā wa dhurriyyātinā qurrata aʿyunin wajʿalnā lil-muttaqīna imāmā" (Quran 25:74)

Translation: "Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.”

Recite this dua, seeking Allah's blessings to bring unity, understanding, and tranquility in your marriage.

3.  Dua for Guidance and Righteousness:

"Rabbanā hab lanā min azwājinā wa dhurriyyātinā qurrata aʿyunin wajʿalnā lil-muttaqīna imāmā" (Quran 2:128)

Translation: "Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us leaders of the righteous.”

Recite this dua, asking Allah to guide both you and your husband towards righteousness and to make your marriage a source of tranquility and happiness.

Remember that supplications are most effective when recited with sincerity, patience, and a steadfast belief in the power of Allah's mercy and intervention.

I hope this blog post has been helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below or for any queries related to wazifa or dua prayers consult with Rohaniways’s Islamic Scholar Hazrat Noor Mohammad Ji on call or whatsapp :+91-9914884919

FEMME INPUT WANTED ESP IF MUSLIMAH

bc you’ll see why

So long story short bc I hate typing on my phone I really really hate being approached “off the street” by men. Like it doesn’t matter how charming or respectful I hate it.

I theoretically feel open to making new friendships w men esp bc I’m in a new country and it’s nice to connect w new ppl but as a femme I hate the weird mental dance of trying to suss out some dudes intentions and as an introvert I wouldn’t even want to “meet for coffee” as a friend anyway

I love being around my guy friends but NONE of them are people I met “off the street”. And I realize that they are all like family to me (one I explicitly call my brother and he is in both senses- we share lowbrow humor and a passion for talking about Gxd) and/or married so there’s no weird sense of “are they just being close to see if we ever hook up”

Additionally as a rule unless *I* initiate interest w someone I generally only am open to connecting w ppl I met over a shared purpose- most of my friends I met at a concert or during organizing- that sort of thing.

I also just really hate the fact that guys who approach you on the street are always interrupting me just running errands and too much of it feels influenced by my appearance. Like they want to stay in touch, swap WhatsApp, hang out later etc. to me it’s gross bc damn you don’t even know me. I know I look really unique and have a cool vibe but idk it still seems kinda whack to me

So my question is, what do you do to deter men from talking to you in public? It’s so bothersome for me and I’m also realizing that while generally our society pushes that I should feel equally comfortable making male friends as female ones…I personally don’t fucking want to. Like if a man isn’t like a brother to me or my husband…idk if I want to bother at all.

I always wear a veil in public and a mask but have considered covering my face even more the last year with this annoyance pushing me further. I’m thinking of wearing a fake ring and or AirPods to see if that deters anything. Ppl often ask me about my religion (due to the veil and my being covered/clothing style) and I truthfully tell them I am a “free range nun” since I’m deeply religious but don’t belong to any religion for personal reasons. I’m thinking of using this to add “sorry but I can’t form relationships with men right now” to the explanation.

Thoughts and opinions? This has been driving me nuts. I get that it’s cultural but I wish men didn’t feel so comfortable chatting me up in public. I feel like they should respect my space, leave me alone, etc.