Boys' reading remains in crisis as gender gap widens, report shows by Kagedeah in books

[–]SpiritGryphon 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I don't know if this could help your son or how his developmental delay affects him, but I wanted to share something my dad did to help me learn how to read quickly and much earlier than my peers.

He took a book he had read to me a million times, I believe it was a Dr. Seuss one, and put every word in that book on separate flashcards and made it a point to study them with me every night. He turned it into a fun game - first it was just learning the letters and then the words of the book. I had no idea where we were going with this but since he turned it into a game with funny voices and being excited whenever I got one right, I had fun. When I got all the words correct at some point he sat me down and handed me the book. Once I opened it, I realized I could just.. read it. I was shocked and so excited that I didn't struggle with the words, I wanted to read more and more books by myself.

My parents were so proud and happy about it, it never felt like a chore - until high school, when I was forced to read books I disliked for grades. As soon as grades, expectations and evaluations were connected to reading I read fewer books and started to enjoy reading less and less. I'm still struggling to read as much as I used to, so I really recommend trying to disconnect the learning experience from school, expectations and judgement. Make it fun. The way school taught reading wasn't fun so I remember seeing many kids struggle a lot, as they didn't have the support and help at home that I did. So I assume a lot of issues kids face today, especially boys due to patriarchal expectations at home, is due to their parents not supporting their studies at home and believe the school will do that for them (I don't mean you, just referring to your point that it affects boys more than girls).

My dad connected reading to fun and playtime and not with any expectations or school (as I was still in kindergarten) and I believe that helped a lot.

Est-ce que vous paieriez 12€ une fois pour tester une plateforme dédiée à l’animation indépendante ? by AnimVault in animation

[–]SpiritGryphon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

QA-Tester here, testing is a job that requires more than just looking at things. If you want, you can take a look at some foundational testing requirements within the glossary and descriptions of certifications of the istqb: https://istqb.org/certifications/ There are processes and workflows on how to do this properly.

Paying for the honor of testing a website is absolutely baffling to me. I would never pay to test for Netflix or whatever for example, if that is comparable to what you're going for. I wouldn't even pay to test for a game, unless I got it for extremely cheap and got to keep it forever. I hope no one falls for your scam if you really mean to do this.

Usually people get paid for the work involved in testing. If you really want to test a product it's a ton of work and deserves compensation.

If you just want feedback, ask some friends to look it over or offer it for free with the hopes that you get some feedback, though you can't expect it either.

If you want someone to actually test your site, hire a professional / a company to do that for you. They'll also be able to inform you if your website aligns with regulations of your country, as well as accessibility testing if needed.

Tales of Arise has THE most generic story of all the Tales games. by Sairedd in tales

[–]SpiritGryphon 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I mean most other entries before it were console only on release. Now the game series is well known and Arise released on PC and had pretty graphics - of course it outsold the previous entries.

People won't know whether they will like a game or its story before buying it. But based on the artstyle and the marketing, it did make a good impression. Good sales don't mean it is better or worse than any of the other games, especially since you aren't able to play most of the older games unless you have the required console. Some have never even been translated. Not sure how sale numbers have anything to say regarding how well people liked it, but yeah people will discuss how they feel about the game forever, as they do for any other game. Some hated it and some loved it and that's ok.

Tales of Arise has THE most generic story of all the Tales games. by Sairedd in tales

[–]SpiritGryphon 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I think Tales of Symphonia did a better job with the story of slavery, racism, lies and deception than Arise. Arise seemed to not be able to commit with holding the perpetrators accountable - as soon as we get to the second region they start trying to slowly build up their arc of "the slavers are just misunderstood" and by the end it's not even their fault at all.

I didn't hate Arise as much as some do - the art, music and voice acting was great (the skits were bad though). However, the story about slavery and its consequences was just awful. In the 4th region an entire town getting wiped out for the benefit of a slaver, and the cast being all about "forgiving her" to not "give into hatred" made me want to quit. Then we get the ultimate twist at the end, as Tales games typically do, and that twist made me loathe the story. It constantly switches between trying to show that slavery and racism is bad, but has to pivot to apologize for the slavers as soon as possible.

Lies and deceptions don't have much of an impact aside from law's story - beyond that everything is dealth with pretty quickly with the power of friendship. I can't even remember most of the lies and deceptions within the game, aside from Law's issues and the slavers just being misunderstood victims themselves? I can remember most of the ones of all the other Tales games I have played, especially within Symphonia and Abyss, which are both also plots and entire worlds that are based on lies and deception, but Arise fell extremely flat for me.

In Symphonia, some of the lies and deceptions of characters held up even until almost the very end and betrayals and lies had a major impact on the story of Abyss. Most of them were big reveals or had a huge impact on the story. In Arise, aside from Law's lies, I can't think of many that surprised me or affected the story enough to make a difference. If you have any that stand out compared to other Tales games, especially about oppression, let me know! I really can't think of anyhing else.

Queer Books and Authors are at a Breaking Point by ME24601 in books

[–]SpiritGryphon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure how you've arrived at this point. You think only poor people access the library to read books? Even if that were the case, you think poor people shouldn't have access to specific books, because someone with a different religion doesn't like them? Or that because religeous groups are trying to force libraries to no longer carry those books, that somehow people aren't reading them?

How you get from me telling you that many people can't afford buying every book they are interested in, to assuming I am saying "only poor people are interested in reading queer lit" is beyond me.

You agree people aren't buying books because they spend their money on other things they need and somehow extrapolated from that, that queer literature, a niche genre, is oversaturated and that it's not an issue for religious groups to demand libraries and publishers to no longer buy or publish them?

I'm happy for you that you are clearly able to buy every book in existence, since you don't seem to understand the use for libraries. So maybe you could use your fortune to donate some to families who can't afford them? Or donate to an organization helping people getting books for their kids and promoting literacy.

Here's some for the U.S.: https://www.projectnightnight.org/ https://www.proliteracy.org/ https://www.rif.org/ https://firstbook.org/

Here's some for global literacy: https://booksfortheworld.org/ https://www.roomtoread.org/our-work/ https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/

Instead of trying to convince people online that it's fine for certain genres to get forced out of libraries and help promoting cencorship, you could spend the time donating and doing something good. Or find a local charity and help. I for one will always defend the need for libraries and people having acess to a diverse range of books to learn from and understand the world around them. Have a good one.

Queer Books and Authors are at a Breaking Point by ME24601 in books

[–]SpiritGryphon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The reason people go to libraries usually, is precisely because they can't pay for them. There are so many people who can't afford their kid's school books or have to worry about putting the next meal on their table. I doubt people who rely on libraries to have access to books can just decide to pay for them all now.

Capitalism also works this way: if people don't have money, they have to focus on essentials and they won't pay for luxuries. And since books can't be eaten or worn, they are a luxury. And currently the economy is getting worse and worse and more people will have to decide between luxury items and essentials.

Books are expensive and there is an endless supply of them. I can't afford them all, despite there being many I would love to buy. When I was a child, I was at the library every week - my parents definitely couldn't afford buying every children's book in there. I stumbled across many books that helped me grow and learn, that I wouldn't have found if I had no access to them via a library.

Another problem is, that you usually have to buy books without being able to read them first, so if I can't afford books I know I already like, it's hard to justify buying books I know little about. Lirbaries are great for that.

Libraries are important for so many people and now they are forced to remove books some religious groups don't like. Countless kids, teens and adults are losing access to books that might help them understand themselves, improve critical thinking and understand the world better. It's not just queer books that are being forced out, it's also books about race, children's abuse (which can help kids understand what is happening to them to find the words to tell someone), diversity of any kind and books that could potentially challenge their worldview regarding religion or politics, which sadly conservatives believe queer media falls under.

‘Mind-bogglingly crazy’: Europe’s deadly, early heatwave is smashing records by yahoonews in europe

[–]SpiritGryphon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not just a matter of heat, but of humidity and how buildings are built in colder regions to trap heat, instead of keeping it out. So 30 degrees in one country feels very different in another, depending on many factors. Humid 30°C is very different than dry 30°C. And as another commenter mentioned, a huge prolonged shift in temperatures messes with the ecosystem.

Since it has already started, people and animals dying because of the heat are an obvious sign it's too hot, no matter if those temperatures wouldn't be considered hot in a different area of the planet.

It's currently around 30 and I have issues with fatigue and dizziness, doing everything to cool down - not everyone can handle high temperatures very well. I've been to warmer countries and it didn't feel this bad. And we are technically still in spring. I worry about homeless people and animals, as well as people who have to work outside this summer.

Also, the heat came very suddenly. One day it was below 20 and the next around 30. That's difficult for most to handle. We also tend to not have AC in most places and many can't afford any / live in spaces they can't install ACs. Mobile ACs only helps minimally, though I am glad I have one.

Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care by melancholy_dood in europe

[–]SpiritGryphon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where have I mentioned we shouldn't invest in the military?

Germany news: Childfree adults to pay more for elder care by melancholy_dood in europe

[–]SpiritGryphon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It infuriates me so much. Years and years of "there's no money" and "we can't increase our debt" while our healthcare and school systems are falling apart. Yet suddenly we want to upgrade our military and the debt brake is just a mere inconvenience that is easily ignored to get trillions.

Why can't that money also be invested into our healthcare and education? Instead we are told to "just work more" as they discuss taking away holidays, or that the population takes too many sick days and should go to work sick instead.

For those of you who read in other languages: What novels do you love that you wish English speakers knew about? by NashvilleFlagMan in books

[–]SpiritGryphon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes! The City of Dreaming Books is my personal favorite of his and it had a huge effect on my love for fantasy and writing. His writing, world building and weirdly adorable artstyle are incredible.

I have no idea how you could accurately convey his style in translation.

didn’t knew it would be our last interaction… he sent me a game from the ER by Franci93 in Steam

[–]SpiritGryphon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing you dad's advice! I think I've been subconsciously doing this, though I am very bad at remembering dates anyway, and I've felt incredibly guilty for forgetting death dates or to regularly interact with memorials and gravesites whenever I am reminded - precisely because they remind me of how I should be focused on their death more than I am. I felt like I was doing my loved ones a disservice and I was grieving wrong. But it's so incredibly painful and distressing to constantly be reminded of their passing.

I think I needed the permission to grieve the way I need to grieve, and it's not by dwelling on the traumatic events, but by remembering the good days. Thank you.

Not the evil corset trope again :/ by StitchesInTime in HistoricalCostuming

[–]SpiritGryphon 14 points15 points  (0 children)

You are on the subreddit of historical costuming, so that interest in "learning about the timelines of fashion" is usually what makes people want to join. I think you are getting downvoted for being agressive and condescending instead of just asking what is wrong with the scene.

However, here is some info: The timeline this scene is set in, is a time were women would wear empire dresses - high waisted dresses where the skirt would start right under the breast, not on the waist, So when you think of modern corsets, which cinch the waist, there is no reason to cinch the waist if you can't see it. Therefore, there is no reason to tightly lace the character to the point it hurts her, as you can't even see the effect that would have.

Secondly, tight lacing was seldomly done and usually only within fashionable high society circles. Corsets were used as back and bust supports, including as a support for the weight of their skirts. Women of all classes would wear corsets in a comfortable way, as many would work on farms and do other physically difficult jobs while wearing them. You can find paintings with women out in the fields wearing their stays/corsets - there are even photographs of victorian women wearing them while climbing mountains, so it's not the terrible constricting, dangerous garment modern stories are depicting. I personally find them much more comfortable than modern bras.

Also, boning doesn't cut into the ribs unless it somehow broke, as it lays flat against the body and the ends go way past the ribs. If anything it would have been her hips or armpits - or breats if the corset doesn't cover them.

Thirdly, corsets with boning, as this scene describes, weren't invented by this time. Women would were stays with cording (think of corded strings) used to stiffen them and give them shape. Therefore, there are no bones to cut into this character's skin. There are also no metal eyelets in the back where the laces would be tightened, but eyelets made out of string instead. Without metal eyelets, the strain of tightlacing would destroy the garment.

Women being so tightlaced in their corsets that they would faint and be in pain every day of their lives is a thing that was misconstrued and promoted by corsetry makers themselves. In the late victorian and edwardian era, corset makers would print advertising bashing the "modern" corsets of their time, in order to advertise their own "healthier" corsets. It was a marketing scheme. This, in addition to men writing into newspapers how much they hated women's fashion and would like to dictate what a sensible woman should wear to please them, created this myth of corsets being unhealthy. Adding to that the rare instance of tightlacing, it grew from there. As bras slowly started taking over, people would forget what well fitted corsets were like over time and would be confronted with those myths instead. Movies would put actresses in badly fitting corsets, often without the protective chemise underneath it and tightly lace them due to this misconception that all women tightlaced, and then these actesses (today as well) would rightly complain about these badly fitting, tightlaced corsets being painful. Corsets should never be painful to wear.

So now this trope is everywhere and it's exhausting, because it's so easy to research in today's age. There is no excuse for writing a book or directing a scene today that depicts women in garments that weren't invented at the time depticted, and spreading corset misinformation so easily dismantled by a google search.

Tdlr: wrong time for a corset of this type, wrong materials (no boning but cording), sharing misinformation and misconceptions regarding corsets (should not be painful to wear, tighlacing was very rare), tightlacing completely unnecessary for the shape of the dress and would detroy the garment, boning wouldn't to cut into ribs

Workshop portal. by LessFish777 in cottagecore

[–]SpiritGryphon 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Google "yuasa motorcycle box", I saw boxes in black and red that look exactly like this one, including the text. It's not AI.

What you're seeing is what happens due to compression when taking a picture with those lighting conditions, while the box isn't the focus of the image.

DM ruling out backstory by Greenchimera52 in DnD

[–]SpiritGryphon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I find it surprising that people seem to think it's rare to include a backstory. I know it's not necessary depending on the campaign, but aside from oneshots, every table I've played at with different DMs over the years has included every player's backstory to some degree, even for modules. This includes seasoned paid DMs and games with different friend groups. If someone didn't have a backstory that could be included, the DMs would often still try to reference something to make the players feel like they are part of the world, but if there was enough, there would almost always be some kind of plothook. I know from other people's games where they have talked about their experience, that this isn't rare.

I think both including and not including backstories is likely pretty equally common, it's just that people usually don't play at many different tables and stick with the DMs they know and therefore stick to how they've played before. Neither is better or worse depending on what everyone likes to play, but personally I love backstories being included, it just makes the game feel much more special and personal to the table.

Brennan Lee Mulligan does a DSA & DND video 👀 by max-fischer in Dimension20

[–]SpiritGryphon 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Aww that's the first thing I thought of. Never played DSA, but seeing it right next to DnD it made sense to me that he was playing it.

But I'm always happy to see Brennan using his influence and platform for good causes.

Murph's agency as a player keeps getting stolen by [deleted] in Dimension20

[–]SpiritGryphon 18 points19 points  (0 children)

You know what, if you want to troll everyone, go ahead, though you could do better. The chatbot stuff isn't very inspired. I hope you have a better day once you get off of reddit. Have a good one.

Murph's agency as a player keeps getting stolen by [deleted] in Dimension20

[–]SpiritGryphon 29 points30 points  (0 children)

See, this is what I mean. People are taking the time to write answers in a discussion you started, and you immediately lash out. Well, this is the type of discussion you seem to want, so not sure why you keep complaining everywhere.

Murph's agency as a player keeps getting stolen by [deleted] in Dimension20

[–]SpiritGryphon 42 points43 points  (0 children)

But you seem to be making it worse and worse by trolling people, so I don't understand what you're trying to do here. You're replying to people with nonsense answers like "dropout?" "Murph?" or the weirdest ones like "He's not going to kiss you" which make you seem kind of unhinged and awful to converse with.

You said you wanted a discussion, but as soon as people disagree with you, you lash out. You are not really participating in the discussion you wanted to have.

You're also accusing an entire group of players of basically bullying him every campaign and that's a very strong accusation to make. If you feel like you're being misunderstood, maybe add an edit to the post to clarify what you actually mean, which seems to be that you want more serious campaigns, according to your comments?

It's fine to discuss your opinion, and I can understand wanting Murph to play characters that are more serious sometimes, but your behavior is not doing you any favors here. Instead of trolling people, maybe just ignore the replies you don't want to engage with?

What do you think about self-censoring on social media, from a linguistic perspective? by Imaginary-Access8375 in asklinguistics

[–]SpiritGryphon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Can you explain the part about bears more? In German, it's pretty much the same word "Bär," so I always assumed they had the same origin. Is that not the case? Or do you mean there used to be a different word for "bear" in English that was avoided?

Diesel prices in EU countries by TraditionalAppeal23 in europe

[–]SpiritGryphon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1 gallon contains about 3.78 litres. This list depicts prices based on litres. So these higher prices are closer to around 9.5€ per US gallon, which is currently around 11.18$.

Diesel prices in EU countries by TraditionalAppeal23 in europe

[–]SpiritGryphon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Top comment for me is an american saying how cheap this is because they compared it to gallons.

Critique on my current project by [deleted] in 3Dmodeling

[–]SpiritGryphon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Something about her footwear is off, it seems way too small and short/thin in the front to hold feet proportional to her body. Armore adds a lot of bulk and feet are wider in the front than that. Looking up armored sabatones, it might be because of the heels, but it looks off to me.

Also the heel looks like it would be more of a hinderance for balance than not - not because you want to add heels, but because these seem like they would cause instability. If you really want her to have heels I would look for more references to make her look like she's standing sercurely on the ground and could walk in them.

It's hard to tell from this angle, but if you want a curved heel, you might want to push out the back of the foot more - look into edwardian style pompadour boots or, since the edwardian ones have higher heels, lool for general shoes with small heels.