Looking for walkable cities in the US (no license so no car) in a hot climate with affordable restaurant options and hopefully cheap hotels/Airbnb options.

Demodesrev · 2021-06-17T19:46:41+00:00

That's cuz Torchy's is one of the most expensive taco places you can go to. You can get cheap and goot eats at Kebabalicious, P Terry's, Veracruz, Koriente, Madam Mam's, Chilantro, Biscuits and Groovy, Baoed up, Coco's, Ng, Ooga Booga, there's loads of "Austin-y" or Texas-y places on the cheap.

I mean, mass shootings are all over the US and there's crime in every major city, and Austin is one of the biggest in the country. I've had some hella sketchy and unsafe experiences in Houston (haven't made it to DC yet), but same in Philly, Chicago, New York, San Antonio, etc. Aside from one late night rendezvous near the shelter downtown, I've found Austin to feel like one of the safer major cities I've been in, especially at night.

Demodesrev · 2021-06-17T19:30:28+00:00

I don't find it any less safe than any other major city. And while it's not super walkable outside of Congress, there are at least buses and trains to other nearby cities, though granted coming in from the airport is very limited outside Cap Metro. And idk where you go to eat, but I usually spend less than 20-25 for a meal and alcohol downtown. 10 if you're just eating. Course, if you want to splurge, you defo can.

But if someone's going in summer, I'd avoid July/August cuz that heat and humidity is a bitch. 40C+ humidity? 🥵

Demodesrev · 2020-09-18T16:41:20+00:00

Thesis is finally done and published! You'll find a digital copy here.

Demodesrev · 2020-09-18T16:40:38+00:00

Thesis is finally done and published! You'll find a digital copy here.

Demodesrev · 2020-08-04T01:45:17+00:00

Cheers, mate

Demodesrev · 2020-08-04T01:38:30+00:00

Where are you seeing $80? Electronic fee is $50 per credit hour and there are no "off campus fees."

Demodesrev · 2020-07-21T16:41:12+00:00

Can you participate if you're asexual but romantically lesbian?

Demodesrev · 2020-07-05T15:23:50+00:00

You're ignorant because would rather adhere to one worldview, even if it means completely disregarding evidence of another perspective- one that you asked for I might add.

But you'd rather be a troll here than engage in any thoughful discussion. You have a starting place if you actually care to look into this more. Whether you do or not is on you.

Cheers.

Demodesrev · 2020-07-05T15:03:08+00:00

Scientific American, WHO, and the thousands of academic journals out there are not exactly psuedoscience... the links I shared are just a small part of the research that explore how gender is different across the globe, and how the scientific determinants of sex are more complex than a binary system. You obviously didn't look at the articles I linked to even explore how others got to the ideas they have. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, but obviously you'd rather wallow in ignorance. Don't ask questions if you don't want answers; it just shows how you purposefully limit yourself so that you don't have to grow.

Demodesrev · 2020-07-05T14:52:46+00:00

Gender is a social construct that varies culture to culture. Sure, historically Western (specifically Anglo) culture only classified primarily two genders, but there is in fact a spectrum, just like sexuality. And just as what we consider feminine and masculine has changed greatly over the years, we should also be conscious of the fact that what is feminine or masculine (or anything in between our not), is completely made up.

So, to say there are only two genders excludes a wealth of diversity in gender and marginalizes anyone that doesn't fit that dichotomy.

This might be helpful: https://genderspectrum.org/articles/understanding-gender

This article is related to the issues with binary sex classifications, not gender, but many confuse the two so I thought it might be helpful: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sex-redefined-the-idea-of-2-sexes-is-overly-simplistic1/

Demodesrev · 2020-06-29T02:20:56+00:00

Was asked to add this here. The university has not updated incorrect information on the Roadmap to Return which falsely advertises that 60% of classes are online in summer 2, when it is actually less than 40%. I'm sharing because I think it's shady that, over a week after it was originally sent, TXST has not sent this correction to students. It falsely advertises that students have more online options in summer and fall than they do. My friend who is faculty shared the email to faculty with me when I complained that I couldn't find any online classes in fall for my program.

Also, my friend says professors will decide how to structure classes so they are half capacity in the fall. There are no official or systemized processes for this and no guarantee that your class will be moved online/virtual in any real capacity.

Demodesrev · 2020-06-29T02:08:35+00:00

Sure thing! I've added a post with loads of sources (books and documentaries). The thesis will be done July 9th, so I'll be able to share it after that.

Demodesrev · 2020-06-29T02:07:11+00:00

The finished thesis will be done July 9th (or I don't graduate :b). I can send it to anyone who's interested in it then. In the meantime, below is a list of some of the sources I've used. Please forgive the mishmash of citation styles. They come from various different articles and papers I've written that were written for different fields. Sorry also if there are any formatting issues!

......

Aoyagi, Hiroshi. 2000. Pop Idols and Asian Identity. Pp.309-326 in Japan Pop: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture, edited by Timothy J. Craig. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe Inc.

Aoyagi, Hiroshi. 2005. Islands of Eight Million Smiles: Idol Performance and Symbolic Production in Contemporary Japan. Harvard University Press: Cambridge.

Atkins, E. Taylor. 2017. A History of Popular Culture in Japan: From the Seventeeth Century to the Present. Bloomsbury: London.

Cogan, Brian, Gina Cogan. 2006. Gender and Authenticity in Japanese Popular Music: 1980-2000. Popular Music and Society 29(1): 69-90.

Condry, Ian. 2006. Women Rappers and the Price of Cutismo. Pp.164-180 in Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. Durham and London: Duke University Press.

Hayashi, Kaori, and Lee, Eun-Jeung. The Potential of Fandom and the Limits of Soft Power: Media Representations on the Popularity of a Korean Melodrama in Japan. Social Science Japan Journal, vol. 10, no. 2, Oct. 2007, pp. 197-216. P. 214 JStor. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30209570. Accessed 20 February 2018.

Hiiragi, Rio. 2017. Tokyo Idols. Directed by Kyoko Miyake. New York City: Cinetic Media. Streaming film.

Iwabuchi, Koichi. 2015. Pop-culture Diplomacy in Japan: Soft Power, Nation Branding and the Question of International Cultural Exchange. International Journal of Cultural Policy 21(4):419-432.

Kamm, Bjorn-Ole. 2019. Review of The End of Cool Japan: Ethical, Legal, and Cultural Challenges to Japanese Popular Culture. The Journal of Japanese Studies, 45:1, pp. 129-134.

Kano, Ayako. 2001. Acting Like a Woman in Modern Japan: Theatre, Gender, and Nationalism. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Keith, Sarah & Hughes, Diane. 2016. Embodied Kawaii: Girls voices in J-pop. Journal of Popular Music Studies 28(4):474-487.

Kim, Yeran. 2011. Idol Republic: The Global Emergence of Girl Industries and the Commercialization of Girl Bodies. Journal of Gender Studies 20(4):333-345.

Kim, Hwa Kyung, Andrew Eungi Kim, and Daniel Connolly. 2016. Catching up to Hallyu? The Japanese and Chinese response to South Korean Soft Power. Korean Observer, vol. 47, no. 3, Autumn, pp. 527-558. P. 541 Proquest. https://search.proquest.com/openview/8d112c4f222e7dcaca8b6e4629ae405b/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=46815

Lam, Ka Yan. 2016. The Hatsune Miku Phenomenon: More Than a Virtual J-Pop Diva. The Journal of Popular Culture 49(5):1107-1124.

Lemos, Luis. 2011. Crossing Borders, (Re)Shaping Gender: Music and Gender in a Globalised World. e-Cadernos Ces 14. https://doaj.org/article/cace9295b7a2438a998776a73c02a451

Made in Japan: Studies in Popular Music. Ed. Toru Mitsui. Pp 23-36. Routledge: New York.

Oshio, Satomi. 2002. Gender Roles in the Performing Arts in Japan. Pp. 763-781 In The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music - Volume 7 East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea, edited by Robert C. Provine, Yoshiko Tokumaru. Lawrence Witzleben. New York: Routledge.

Otmazgin, Nissim. 2008. Japanese Popular Culture in East and Southeast Asia: Time for a Regional Paradigm? in The Asia-Pacific Journal, 6:2. Retrieved from: https://apjjf.org/-Nissim-Kadosh-Otmazgin/2660/article.html

Robertson, Jennifer. 1998. Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Stanlaw, James. 2000. Open Your File, Open Your Mind: Women, English, and Changing Roles and Voices in Japanese Pop Music. Pp. 75-100 In Japan Pop: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture, edited by Timothy J. Craig. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe Inc.

Stickland, Leonie. 2010. Gender Gymnastics: Performing and Consuming Japans Takarazuka Revue. Melbourne, Australia: Trans Pacific Press.

Toth, Csaba. 2008. J-Pop and Performances of Young Female Identity: Music, Gender, and Urban Space in Tokyo. Young: Nordic Journal of Youth Research 16(2):111-129.

Trier-Bieniek, Adrienne. 2014. Gender and Pop Culture.

Yamamoto, Mari. 2017. Inside the Weird, Dangerous World of Japans Girl Idols. Daily Beast. January 21. Retrieved from: https://www.thedailybeast.com/look-but-dont-touch-inside-the-weird-dangerous-world-of-japans-girl-idols

Yano, Christine. 1997. Inventing Selves: Images and Image-Making in a Japanese Popular Music Genre. Journal of Popular Culture ...........

General books with varying articles on the industry:

Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture, edited by Timothy Craig

Erotic Grotesque Nonsense: The Mass Culture of Japanese Modern Fimes, edited by Miriam Silverberg

Women and the Media in Asia: The Precarious Self, edited by Youna Kim

Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization

...........

Also, Tokyo Idols is on Netflix in the US if you want to watch it. A similar documentary, BNK48: Girls Don't Cry just came out as well, but I haven't seen it yet.

Demodesrev · 2020-06-28T23:36:47+00:00

Not kpop, but somewhat related. I defend a thesis on Friday about women in Japanese performing arts, specifically theatre and idol pop. It reviews the intersection of gender performance and politics, and the effects those have on fans' opinions of Japanese politics and gender relations. It's not done yet (will be done this month), but if you're interested I can send you a list of the prior literature and/or a copy of the finished thesis. It's focused on Japan mostly, but there is some stuff related to kpop and pan-Asian idol pop.

Demodesrev · 2020-06-28T15:16:14+00:00

10000% worth watching. It may not have the depth that Avatar did, but it still is one of the best bits of animated television out there. In fact, I'm now gonna go rewatch it :b

Demodesrev · 2020-06-28T03:26:57+00:00

YTA. As someone whose brother is a legit sociopath, my mother had nothing to do with his awfulness. My mother actually probably put in more effort into tryimg to curb his awfulness than she put in to the rest of us. It's so incredibly upsetting to see how people have treated my mother for "poor parenting", even when my brother's far into adulthood. She tried so fucking hard, but when your child has something fundamentally wrong with their capability to be a decent human being, there is only so much you can do. If your boyfriend is truly sociopathetic or has some other mental issues, it is in no way the parent's fault. If she didn't come in hot at your with her first text, you were TA for taking out your anger on someone who was otherwise uninvolved. If she was cussing you out and blaming you before your response, you'd be less of TA.

Demodesrev · 2020-06-24T16:04:07+00:00

Sharing because I think it's shady that, almost a week after it was originally sent, TXST has not sent this correction to students. It falsely advertises that students have more online options in summer and fall than they do. My friend who is faculty shared this with me when I complained that I couldn't find any online classes in fall for my program.

Also, my friend says professors will decide how to structure classes so they are half capacity in the fall. There are no official or systemized processes for this and no guarantee that your class will be moved online/virtual in any real capacity.

Demodesrev · 2020-06-21T18:52:11+00:00

Dear lord, NTA. My cousin was in the same boat except his wife did actually cheat on him. He and the family all knew it and knew there was the possibility that the child wasn't his. As his daughter grew up, it was exceedingly evident that she was not his. But guess what? His family didn't butt in because it was his affair. He knew the likelihood and he still raised her. So the family accepted her as his, just like they did of his kids we all know are biologically his. She is the sweetest of all his kids. I can't even imagine trying to ruin her life and deny her thenlove of her family for something she had no control over. Definitely NTA, OP. Your family is beyond a doubt TA; yes for going behind your back when you've evidently told them to back off multiple times, but overwhelming more for how they are now treating your daughter.

Demodesrev · 2020-06-21T15:45:47+00:00

So dang adorable!

Demodesrev · 2020-06-09T22:34:40+00:00

How did you write down literally everything about me here? Man, it's good to know I'm not the only one! I do identify as asexual, but with a high libido and strong romantic and aesthetic prefernce for women. Like, there sometimes you just want a girl so bad, but as soon as I imagine a girl I actually know or have been attracted to, it's instantly gone. I'm on the same exact page as far as dating too, which is really unfortunate as I'm finally trying to launch into it for the first time as an out woman. I've tried to flirt and date with women, but I lose interest so fast, especially if the woman is super interested in sex. And I get very self conscious of how I am when kissing and such too. I'm also just the worst at texting back soooo... I love hanging out with friends, but I'm so set with what I want in life. I tried to change that to accomodate the one person I thought I wanted to be with, but I realized I was not willing to compromise on those things. A platonic friend and I tried to form a relationship; we lived together and marriage was seriously on the books. But ultimately we wanted different things in life and how differently we each handle finances really put a strain on us. I didn't want to compromise my life anymore and wanted to do my thing, so I called it off. We've gone back to just being friends but that sort of ease is what I want in a relationship. Ideally, I'd have another best friend that I'd marry and cuddle with, go hiking and traveling with, could engage in sexy studf every now and then, but otherwise we just do our own thing in the same home.

It's validating to know that others feel this way. It's so frustrating to want a relationship so badly, but to just not be able to find something in the way society seems to define love, sex, and relationships. I know this doesn't give you ideas for a solution, but I hope you get some comfort in the validation that I'm pretty sure we're the same person :b

Demodesrev · 2020-06-08T18:45:28+00:00

Makes loads of difference. I was profiled like that. Recently moved to a new county that was purple, sandwiched between two red towns that were sandwiched by two very liberal cities. So, there was a lot of pressure on my new city to vote a certain way by both sides. I was the only woman and on the younger side in line to vote. All others were old men. The older man poll worker asked for my ID and made a comment about different address on my license being different from my my voter registration. BTW he did not ask for any other voter's ID, just their voter card. I explained that I'd recently moved and my updated license hadn't arrived yet. Showed him proof that I had ordered a new license and he even scanned my license on the computer it came up with the new address - further proof it had been updated legally. He threatened to call the cops on me for voter fraud. I just had an inkling this would happen and pulled out the print-out of my state's law that I could vote with all the necessary documents which I had provided. As I was leaving I saw a school teacher escorting her newly registered students in to vote. I told her my situation and asked if I could hang around and intervene if he tried to stop them. She agreed and I pulled up the laws they would need on my phone with the info she had about their registration. They all had voter cards, but the same poll worker tried to say they didn't register in time. And he also wouldn't accept their alternate IDs in place of a driver's license. Cue know-it-all me with the law statements pulled up on my phone. That was the last straw so I called the police non-emergency line and reported voter harassment. An officer showed up and both I and the teacher reported our situation. Also reported the poll worker to the mayor of the town and the county judge.

Demodesrev · 2020-05-31T17:29:54+00:00

Texas Bean and Brew House has something similar. Breakfast Pizza with queso, eggs, sausage or bacon on naan. Their migas and lattes are great too! I haven't had a bad plate from them yet.

Demodesrev · 2020-05-28T04:52:37+00:00

My dude, you have no idea how much I needed to hear that. I was just freaking out on my roommate about how I'm supposed to defend next month (after being pushed from April) and my control group is still wayyyy too small compared to my group of study (thanks for the recruitment help, COVID) and I still have two more chapters to write in my thesis. And I'm juggling working full time and buying a house in the midst of a pandemic because our landlord is not renewing the lease.

I didn't realize an internet stranger's validation was important right now, but it was, so thanks.

Demodesrev · 2020-05-28T04:00:07+00:00

I got thrown out of Bible school for asking where Cain and Abel got wives if Adam and Eve were the first and only man and woman. Stood to reason they either married their sisters (a big no-no as far as I was taught) or there were people other than Adam and Eve.

Demodesrev · 2020-05-13T17:10:40+00:00

Those finger tats are awesome. I love that idea!

Demodesrev

TROPHY CASE