ok non-dancer folk, i’m curious, which of the four standard ballet tutu types is your favorite?
the pancake tutu
as seen in sleeping beauty (pink) and swan lake (white)
also known as a platter tutu, the pancake is probably what you think of when you hear the word ”tutu”. it’s made of 8-16 tulle layers increasing in length from bottom to top, kept stiff with starch, stitching, and sometimes a thin wire hoop sewn in between the layers.
the romantic tutu
as seen in giselle (light blue) and chopiniana (white)
the romantic tutu is the oldest tutu style, worn as early as the late 1700s, and popularized by marie taglioni (1804-84) in 1829. it’s made of lighter tulle layers reaching to as high as just below the knee, and as low as to the ankle.
the bell tutu
as seen in the awakening of flora (four dancers) and paquita (blue)
the bell tutu is a less common variation of the pancake tutu. it uses dozens of layers of tulle without a hoop to get a fuller, lighter look when in movement. it’s more expensive and difficult to make, but completely worth the effort.
the powder-puff tutu
as seen in jewels (white), and stars and stripes (red)
the powder-puff tutu, also known as the american style tutu, was favored by american choreographer george balanchine (1904-83). it’s made of short layers of tulle that aren’t sewn together or hooped, to achieve a less structured look.
thanks for coming to my ted talk :) i’m curious which y’all prefer
Thank you for teaching me the names. I was going to look them up but this is lucky.
To answer your question, I am now in love with the Romantic tutu
Does anyone know anyone in the nottingham or peterborough areas of england that would be willing to foster a cat for 9-10 months?
I’m going to university and can’t take him with me, and my dad travels and can’t afford to always put him in kennels for those periods. He’s my baby boy and I love him to the ends of the earth so ideally in my second year I’ll find student housing that will accept a cat and I can take him back. Until then I’m desperately in need to someone to love and look after him for a while
He’s ~16, super affectionate, non-destructive, ex-stray, would be good with kids, he’s never lived with a dog. He’s missing a paw and has a grain allergy, and also likes variety in his wet food. He likes going outside in the summer, treat sticks and cuddles
If anyone knows someone willing to look after him for me, I’d love to chat! Even if you don’t, can you reblog this to help find someone who can?
July 27, 2022 / Disabled, neurodivergent, interracial US family caught in expensive bureaucratic and medical nightmare overseas
Hey there friends, followers, mutuals, comrades, and well-wishers. Your donations and moral support have done so much for us over the past 9 months. Now we can just see the light at the end of the tunnel but it’s still a ways away.
For now we’re home in Baguio, waiting on the Bureau of Immigration to decide whether or not we can stay here together with our daughter Eleanor, or if we have to risk being separated. We’ve legally overstayed our visas and have asked for yet another extension to stay with her until we get her registration and American papers sorted out. Rob’s COVID related health conditions continue to change and become complicated, taking an additional financial toll on us.
After we got Eleanor’s corrected birth certificate back at the beginning of June, I emailed the American embassy to double check that we would be able to get an appointment to register her as a citizen and apply for her passport. They emailed back and said yes, within 3 to 10 business days of them receiving our paperwork we would have an appointment slot. To ensure we’d be able to attend that hypothetical appointment, we booked a trip to Manila, which is about 5 hours travel one way, and a significant financial hit. We submitted our paperwork by courier a few days after getting to Manila, and waited a few days more for the email with our appointment time.
They scheduled us for the end of August 2022. That’s quite a bit more than 10 business days after they received our paperwork. So essentially our trip to Manila was a waste of time and money, except for a necessary surgery for Rob’s health that we were able to get taken care of.
Unfortunately, this means we have to wait until August to get Eleanor registered AND to apply for her passport. Which means we need to fork over the money AGAIN to get to Manila and stay there for the necessary amount of time AGAIN. And then we have to wait 8 weeks or more to receive her passport.
In the meantime we have to keep Rob pushing, getting caught up with his medical things and making sure we have things situated legally in case the worst happens.
Additionally, at the end of May we filed with Philippines Immigration to extend our visas again, which expire this month of July, and as of right now we have not heard back. If we are approved, we’ll have to pay another 1200USD or more to continue to stay legally, and if we are denied Rob and I will have to travel separately out of the country to reset our visas so one of us can stay with Eleanor, and hope against hope that travel restrictions don’t change while one of us is out of the country. That’s what is stopping us from resetting now, before Eleanor can travel with us. We won’t be parted, if we can help it.(Keep in mind that travel restrictions here have changed with literally zero notice before–which is why we’re being so cautious.)
It is extremely worrying and stressful to be in a position where our family unit may be endangered at a moment’s notice. Even after we secure Eleanor’s papers and can stay together, we still have all the debt resulting from all of this to handle.
What we’re looking at right now is this: until the appointment in August, we need 1200USD for immigration fees, 2000USD for the Manila trip, and more for Rob’s health fees. After the appointment, we may need more for immigration until we get Eleanor’s passport, and once we get the passport then we need to pay nearly two years of visa fees for Eleanor all at once, then travel out of the country to reset our visas, and make a decision about our immigration goals.
After we travel to reset and decide on a long term goal, then we have to grapple with the resulting debt (which is already up to about 11K so far, and rising) , try to get Rob’s health in order, save for immigration, and hopefully by that time we’ll be in a position where I can attempt to work for an income. Right now I do plenty but unfortunately I don’t get paid for that, lol.
Our preferred method of receiving donations is Rob’s paypal, so here’s the link for that as well as alternate methods of donations we are capable of receiving,
(And here’s the bait-and-switch from the embassy that led us to waste a trip to Manila. Grrr!)
Thank you all so much for your emotional and financial support to keep us together. That little ray of sunshine Eleanor has kept us pushing through all this mess and stress. The light at the end of the tunnel is faint, but it’s there.
Every dollar and every reblog helps. Thank you. ❤️
Aug 12: So far, even with donations, we’ve had to go about 12K USD into debt (and rising) in part because long covid caused a myriad of health issues (heart, eye, toes, neurological symptoms amd joint issues) on top of dealing with bureaucracy. The finish line is SO CLOSE, but we still need as close to about 16K more as we can get, as quickly as possible. Just the INTEREST on the debt is costing us a couple of hundred a month, and our only income is my disability, because Zoey can’t work here. Thank you for all your support. ❤️
I don’t understand what’s going on with AO3 and the election? I’ve been using it for about a year so this is all new to me! Is Tiffany getting elected actually bad?
I hate censorship, so seeing posts about them censoring stuff is concerning but idk how much truth to it there is 😳
since I’m not sure how much you know already, the background (background as interpreted by me: I am not speaking on behalf of the OTW) is: Ao3 is run by the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW), the nonprofit that also runs Fanlore and publishes Transformative Works & Cultures. Anyone who has donated $10 to the OTW in the last year, and chooses “yes I want to be a member” at checkout is an OTW member. (This is not the same as having an ao3 account.) Every year, there is an election to fill 3 seats on the Board of Directors. OTW Members (i.e. people who donated between 7/1/21 and 6/30/22, in this case) get to vote on this.
Most of the time, this election is only really followed by people on fail_fandomanon. Sometimes, it isn’t.
Things the Board of Directors does: writes posts to send out to the general public when Things Are Happening (the recent csam attacks, the requests for more antiracism measures.) Writes posts to send to volunteers when Things Are Happening (see prev.) Keeps track of what all the committees are doing and how it ties in with whatever the strategic plan says they should be doing. Deals with the IRS/US laws. Approves large funding requests. Deals with emails that someone else has deemed outside their own wheelhouse. Herds cats. Proposes priorities. Points at something shiny, pats the org on the flank, and says “walk that way, walk that way!! Come on buddy, you can do it!!”. etc etc etc.
Things the Board of Directors doesn’t do: unilaterally determine ao3 content policy. Let us use the word “porn” on ao3 drive merch. Make decisions that are going greatly affect other volunteers’ work without input and some level of agreement from said volunteers.
Anyway. This year, one of the five candidates for the three open board seats is Tiffany G. (More information about all the candidates and their platforms is at https://elections.transformativeworks.org)
Tiffany is a tag wrangler from an unspecified country that is, from context, assumed to be China. The candidate Q&A can be read here. Her answers were a little bit confusing, but she said she wanted to update the ToS policies on ‘pedophilic and illegal content’ because, quote, “people think we host child porn content and such things… It might… be helpful to clarify that to the public.” Further down she said:
a) I support 100% “maximum inclusiveness of content”, yet there is always a boundary to everything. Since OTW is already an influential org, we need to protect our image and hold a better image to the public. I want the public to think of us as an inclusive and socially responsible community. So in general, we have to do something to change. Things like making the rating system more specific and obvious to users will be what I want to do. b) Not really restricting the content being posted. I hope it is like more warnings and ratings for posting work so people know what to expect. And all of these are not surprising to people who do not wish to see this.
I took this to mean “she wants to clarify to outsiders that ao3 does not host csam, is not only for erotica, and update the ratings and warnings system.” I don’t think that those things are necessary or should be a focus of the org, which is part of why I didn’t vote for her.
Other people took it to mean “Tiffany is against pornographic or underage works and wants them to be banned.” Some people took this, combined with her nationality, to the conclusion of “Tiffany is a secret plant of the Chinese Communist Party who wants to join the board, get all the ao3 user data, and then have the users from mainland China arrested” (despite the fact that this is not information the board would have access to, if for no other reason than ao3 is blocked in China so anyone trying to view the site from mainland china has to use a VPN anyway.) Some people are upset that the OTW elections committee “allowed” her to run in the first place, because they think that not letting anyone with opinions the current board or elections committee didn’t like is an absolutely great precedent to set.
There are a bunch of comments in comments on tw.org, and some in fail_fandomanon, that give more context to her comments in terms of Chinese fandom (though most posters still disagree with her position.)
This got… longer than planned. But to the question “Is tiffany getting elected actually bad” - If my interpretation of her statements are correct, I think it would be annoying, because she does not have the experience I think that being on the Board requires, and focuses on priorities I disagree with. Which isn’t to say she’d never have a valuable perspective or ideas about something, but there are four other candidates that I think are much better suited to it at this point in time. If the people who think she is an antishipper bent on censorship are correct, she could probably make life very annoying for the rest of the board– but considering the rest of them are not pro-censorship, I can’t see how she’d have much influence in that direction in the org as a whole.
If the people who think she’s doing espionage on behalf of the CCP are correct, then… look, I can’t even finish that sentence because I find the idea of the CCP deciding that a) they need to get ao3 user data and b) the way to do that is to run a clearly unqualified candidate in a public board election absurd.
the tl;dr of this tl;dr is that there’s a lot of fearmongering going around, and a lot of accusations and hate directed her way. I don’t know her, so I don’t know what her “real” opinions are, but regardless of who wins the board election, ao3 is not going to be censored any time soon.
if for no other reason than if the Abuse team was told on top of all their other work, they now had to assess and remove fics reported for being “problematic”, they would say “we’d prefer not to” and then proceed to not do it.
It’s awesome that people are realizing the board elections and OTW membership are a thing now, though. We kept talking about how to encourage membership, and “running a very dramatic and wanky election” did not occur to us. In retrospect, I don’t know why.
*pulls out walking stick and prepares the yells at clouds position*
The thing is there have been incredibly wanky and dramatic elections in the past and from what I can see, a good part of what they did was burn folk out even if they weren’t up for election.
(And the stuff that did get done was done independent of the screaming, like the mandatory 1 year break in between eligibility for re-election - which I think is a good thing for sustainability in an organisation like OTW.)
I mean it, the discourse doesn’t work for long term interest in voting or being a OTW member or actually getting stuff done. Having spoken to eligible candidates, it really doesn’t encourage diversity even if it’s full of people screaming about it. Even if you’re a person who’s considered “good” by the people who screaming - it stresses you and all of the other people involved and makes it harder for them to engage with their peers - making it more difficult than it needs to be to actually get work done.
And quite frankly some of the earlier election wanks I considered a factor into later election wanks as people were trying to take advantage of wank to try and undermine people (who had legit concerns!), and forced people on the board or joining the board, to consider other members of the board hostile and someone that needed to be worked around, not with. Which is not healthy! Not sustainable!
Like not every discussion of “should we add more warnings” is unreasonable - but being part of the group screaming the loudest at the time, doesn’t mean that it’s a sustainable or workable solution. (And warnings isn’t really boards purview to enforce anyway.)
A lot the election wank I’ve seen over the years misunderstands the work that the board for OTW does. The OTW board is not that glamorous and it doesn’t have the kind of power people are scaremongering over right now. It’s unpaid labour that involves talking with a lot of different committees, and trying to help balance a plethora of needs.
Quite frankly not only do I think the outrage over this particular issue is misplaced, I think that it’s damaging to the mental health and stability of a lot of volunteers. Yes, even the ones with the “right” opinion (for now).
Like there are certainly people who I would prefer not to see on the OTW board, and I definitely think the ability to coordinate with a lot of folk is a key skill for being on the board; so voting matters! Having multiple folk stand for board* matters! I voted today in fact!
*who are not straight up saying I’m here to make sure it’s contested but please don’t vote for me unless you see no other choice as I don’t want the job and think I would be bad at it. Because that’s where I fear this wank is taking us.
Again.
THIS. I don’t know how many volunteers (especially ones from non-English majority fandoms) are looking at this and going “well now I’m definitely never running” but it’s probably not zero. And that’s a loss for everybody.
I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that 30+ brands of nutrition drinks including but not limited to Ensure, Pediasure, Glucerna, Oatly, and Premier Protein just got recalled for possible contamination with the bacteria that causes botulism, a paralytic toxin with a lethal dose of 1.3 nanograms. If you’ve purchased one of the affected lot numbers please return it to the store to be properly disposed of as a biohazard but do not accept any compensatory gift cards because that can be counted as a settlement if you need to file a lawsuit over for any potential damages caused by this later on. If you have any questions regarding the recall there’s a phone number listed in the article above that you can call, but if you believe you may have ingested toxins then please call your local poison control line. Stay safe
If y'all wouldn’t mind boosting this that would be great. Many disabled people including myself and several of my friends drink these brands to help with diabetes/nutritional definiciencies/etc, and a lot of these brands are also popular choices for senior citizens, young children, and athletes. If someone happens to get a bottle that’s contaminated with botulism (especially if they’re disabled, elderly, or a child) a single sip could potentially kill them
To clarify, when I say “don’t accept compensatory gift cards” I don’t mean you can’t get a refund. You can still get the item refunded but if they say “oh we’re so sorry that this happened, let us give you a $20 gift card as well to make it up to you” turn that gift card down. If later on it turns out that you were affected and you try to sue the company for medical bills and damages the company can claim that you already reached a settlement of $20 with them and you’re no longer able to sue. This is done in some companies both for recalls of dangerous substances and for on-property injuries that the company could be held liable for. Don’t fall for it
I am voting because there is a person running who in the chat transcripts really concerns me because it is anti language and I do not fucking want that anywhere near the board.
Tiffany is clearly very new to all of this and I think she is very VERY inexperienced in fandom places and fandom in general and doesnt seem to understand what the OTW is doing/what fandom really is/ how AO3 works, and why. She has no place on the OTW.
I haven’t seen this on my dash so here it is. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill codifying same-sex marriage and it is now going to the Senate where there really is an actual chance of it passing. Sure, there are assholes who won’t support it, but there are Republican senators willing to support it and we need their support to get this passed. If you live in a state with a Republican senator, please call the senate office telling them that as a constituent, you support same-sex marriage and the Respect for Marriage Act.
The following senators are reported to be undecided, if one of these senators is yours, CALL!!!
Richard Burr, North Carolina
Roy Blunt, Missouri
Mike Braun, Indiana
Joni Ernst, Iowa
Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming
Rand Paul, Kentucky
Mitch McConnell?, Kentucky (yeah, I’m shocked the evil undead gizzard demon is in the undecided category as well but…might as well pressure the fucker)
Mitt Romney, Utah
Mike Rounds, South Dakota (specifically Mr. Rounds is quoted as acknowledging difference between a religious marriage and a legal one, go ahead and specify that you support granting couples the legal rights and protections that are given with a legal marriage)
Rick Scott, Florida
Dan Sullivan, Alaska (notably, Mr. Sullivan is quoted to recognize and respect the existing Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage! Pressure this man!!)
John Thune, South Dakota
Patt Toomey, Pennsylvania
Tommy Tuberville, Alabama
Todd Young, Indiana
This information was gathered from CNN on 7/21/22.
For clarification: Same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states right now based on the 2015 Supreme Court ruling. But, with the court standing as it is and with Roe being taken down, codifying same-sex marriage in law would mean that the Supreme Court would have a much, MUCH harder time stripping away the right. This is important. Marriage as a legal binding is critical to allowing spouses to visit each other in the hospital, make medical decisions, share assets, adopt and form families, and more. We need TEN Republicans to support the bill, so far there are FIVE likely supporters - we need AT LEAST FIVE MORE.
Many of you may know how fucked up the PIP application process is. If you don’t, I can firsthand attest to this. I know they didn’t even read my evidence, as they told me in my refusal that I have “no problems” with walking, despite multiple pieces of evidence, including a letter from my GP, regarding my use of a wheelchair. They expect us to jump through impossible hoops to prove our disability. My grandma who has had polio since she was a child and cant leave the house on her own due to this had to apply SEVEN times. It’s ridiculous and dehumanising.
If you are disabled or care about disabled people, I’m sure you agree with me that it needs to change. If you do, please have a look at this petition. It’s a step in the right direction to at least get Parliament to talk about it and hold this review- but we need to get it off the ground. Share it with friends and family and anyone who will listen. Don’t let noise around this die down. We need this!
IF YOU’RE NOT A UK RESIDENT PLEASE DONT TRY AND SIGN THIS! Even one false signature, if proven, can void the whole thing.
What can you do to help? Spread awareness among anyone you may know who is resident in the UK, and ask others to do the same. The more traction this gets the better!
if you noticed that a lot of indonesian artists suddenly opened their commissions, that’s because of the government announcing paypal has a five day window before it’s banned in the country
if you commission an artist right now, you will likely be expected to pay upfront and the commission may take a little while longer. this isn’t because you’re being scammed, but because the artist has taken a bulk of commissions to try and secure their livelihood until they can figure out another payment processor or revenue stream that foreign clients can use
in short, absolutely commission indonesian artists right now, but please be patient with them
Taken from Salamandertea’s comment in the replies: