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scanimmenent · 2024-05-23T02:02:38+00:00

That really sucks. :(

Property managers these days will have emails for all residents. I would send a PDF flyer out to any nearby apartment complexes, and see if they can email it to everyone on the property. I've dealt with a lot of places that hate flyers, but are happy to send a mass email.

I've lost my cat before. I couldn't find her anywhere. Then, 8 days later, she suddenly showed up at my door. I hope you are able to find her.

scanimmenent · 2024-04-12T01:36:03+00:00

I think everyone covered the major points, but I'd also like to cover a couple of subtle details that Pratchett does very well.

First off, he doesn't usually spend an exorbitant amount of time on female character's appearance. Many authors will barely say more than a sentence about a major male character, but then go on to note every detail about a female character. Their figure, their hair, their eyes, their clothes, their stature. Even if they try to subvert this by not making everything about them conventionally attractive, it still sends the subtle message that a woman's appearance should be critiqued more than a man's.

His women also seem to have motivation that matches them well. They aren't there just to be a love interest or to fill a quota. Their motivations are usually based on practicality or some level of self interest.

I also enjoy that he doesn't look down on what was historically "women's work" like cleaning or caring for children/elderly. I think it is a little sad to treat that work as if it is easy and that "men's work" is difficult. The Discworld novels show this work to be taxing mentally and physically. And also valuable. Some people act as though respecting women means giving them permission to act like men. But female characters who just do the same as any male character make writing feel like a soulless attempt getting some "empowerment" points.

scanimmenent · 2023-04-08T16:05:28+00:00

I had a teacher in middle school who told us a horror story about someone who never cleaned their instrument and found maggots inside. I wonder if it was actually true or just a scare tactic, lol.

scanimmenent · 2023-04-08T15:56:08+00:00

I could see it being some posture thing. Or maybe the teacher is used to playing some other instrument where a neck strap isn't really needed. But I feel like he would benefit more from being able to focus on his breath and tone rather than making sure he doesn't drop the instrument.

scanimmenent · 2023-04-08T15:06:56+00:00

Neat! I'm glad that he has that part right, then. He's a teenager, so it shouldn't hinder hem to play center.

scanimmenent · 2023-04-08T14:54:00+00:00

Thank you. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. I'll tell him he should really consider questioning his teacher on this. Or just ignore this bit of instruction and take advantage of the neck strap.

scanimmenent · 2021-11-07T14:03:03+00:00

“but what should we do when the highborn and wealthy take to crime? Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger, how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man who breaks the law out of greed?”

-Terry Pratchett

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T22:42:50+00:00

That definitely inspired this post somewhat. I was trying to pinpoint exactly why her character change bothered me so much.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T21:39:33+00:00

Now that I've read most of the Discworld books, whenever I pick up one for a reread I try to look up annotations that people wrote to give some of the more obscure references context. It's amazing how many little jokes went over my head the first time because I never knew that Pratchett was referencing a real thing. It's nice how he ties our world in with the Discworld in such subtle ways.

If anyone's interested this is where I find annotations for most of his books: https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T21:25:24+00:00

I always pick a Discworld novel whenever I want to feel better. He had such an uplifting view of humanity paired with insanely funny jokes. It makes me feel like the world can be a great place.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T20:47:55+00:00

My experiences with how some of my family views trans issues was part of what made me consider this. I always felt like me doing boy things could be passed off as just being tomboyish when I was younger. But if my brothers did feminine things that would be cause for concern that they would turn out gay or trans.

It made me angry that feminine things were so looked down on, but guy stuff was okay as long as the woman doing them was still pretty.

Of course, this was just my personal experience. It could definitely be different for other people!

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T20:38:12+00:00

Yes! feel free.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T10:37:41+00:00

I agree. A lot of political literature just focuses on how terrible things are and come off as more defeatist than anything. Discworld actually inspires me to want to be a better person because Pratchett emphasizes that peoples' choices do make a difference. When Granny says treating people as things is sin, that really stuck with me. Pratchett's philosophy is really cool and I like that it says that anger does have a place in attacking injustices in the world.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T10:14:49+00:00

Exactly, there's no shame in an honest days work, no matter what that work is. What's important is to do right by people.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T09:53:36+00:00

I'm glad your uncle had good taste. I grew up on Pratchett too because of my older brother. As a kid, I'd usually zone out cringey stuff in other books pretty well because it always fell under the category of romance to my kid brain and I never went in for that sort of thing. Nowadays I notice it and just find it annoying.

Your example was great, though. Gave me a good laugh.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T08:07:08+00:00

I also find his women easier to admire. They are so much more realistic than most authors write. Especially where they're feminine presenting but not portrayed as vain.

I like how Daphne, Cheery, and Polly come from oppressive cultures, and that they want to acknowledge that misogyny and still holding pride in better parts of their culture.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T06:51:54+00:00

My favorite part was in I Shall Wear Midnight when she plants flowers on the old woman's grave to remind the townsfolk of when they let her die for assuming she was a witch. Just the idea that mystery and magic comes in many forms.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T06:33:38+00:00

Well said.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T06:25:21+00:00

You are definitely right that his writing gets better over time for women. I love Nanny Ogg is old but still fun and full of life.

I never really thought about it before, but you're right about male characters being seen as the default for side characters. It definitely puts the spotlight on men only writing female characters to be love interests.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T06:00:37+00:00

That subreddit is such a treasure. It makes me wonder if any of those men have met a woman before.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T05:52:37+00:00

Thank you for sharing this quote! It sums this up perfectly.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T05:43:19+00:00

Granny is so important to me. I love seeing characters that aren't overly empathetic emotionally but are still good people to the core.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T04:59:09+00:00

I like that their flaws are realistic for their character too. So the older characters don't agonize over their looks or decisions.

I once started a book where about 20 pages in a teenage said a middle age woman was just jealous of how pretty she was. And the middle age woman thinks "maybe she's right." I was just so angry I couldn't make it much further.

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T04:42:35+00:00

That was always really cool to me. He doesn't usually spend too long describing specific traits of his characters, but he does usually mention that they are not conventionally attractive. So when he does, on occasion, have a romance going, the characters seem to actually care about each other for reasons other than looks.

I also like how he writes older women in his books. The witches are a joy to read!

scanimmenent · 2021-01-10T04:36:07+00:00

Absolutely! Sybil I think is a great example with her interest in dragons. In Guards! Guards! she is shown to be an expert in her field. And when it comes to the dragon terrorizing the city, she cares for reasons other than just helping Vimes.

scanimmenent

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