Nintendo Paywalling To The Ability To Play Classic N64 And Sega Genesis Behind A Second Paid Online Membership

I don’t know if medieval European history is interesting to anyone else, but I’m building a Google Drive folder with books I’ve found on that topic, feel free to check it out here! Mostly western Europe right now but I’m going to read more Byzantine stuff moving forward.

Resources for LGBTQ+ Muslims

A few days ago, I came across a document I had created nearly a year ago when I was first beginning to seriously consider that I could be bisexual. In the document were a myriad of links and resources I had found that discussed being queerness and Muslim. I thought that these links and resources, which had taken me last year a while to compile, could inshAllah help any other Muslims who identify as queer, are questioning or are struggling to reconcile certain parts of their identity together. Some of these resources provide explicit reconciliation for LGBTQ+ Muslims, while others thoroughly explore several views of LGBTQ+ within Islam and the Muslim community, including views that are disagreeing, homophobic and/or hostile. InshAllah, I will add more as I find more. While I tried to look into these resources thoroughly, some of the longer ones were skimmed through at some parts. Anyone is welcomed to add more, and please, let me know if there are any problems found in this post and/or the resources listed below.

TW // Several of these resources either briefly mention or thoroughly discuss sexual violence, homophobia, transphobia, problematic age gaps, Islamophobia, assault, hate crimes, discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, questionable/ambiguous age gaps and unbalanced power dynamics.

Platforms, Organizations and/or Guides That Contain a Multitude of Articles, Essays, Resources, Sermons, Stories of the Prophet (PBUH), Proofs from the Quran & Hadiths, or Groups for Muslims to Explore and Join:

Muslims for Progressive Values

Queer Jihad

Salaam Canada

I’m Muslim And I Might Not Be Straight

I’m Muslim And My Gender Doesn’t Fit Me

The Muslim Alliance for Sexual & Gender Diversity

Coming Home to Islam and to Self

Mecca Institute

Queer Muslim Resistance

Queer Muslim Reading Group

Resources Organized by Queer Muslim Resistance –> Highly, highly recommend this! The documents included in this folder explore films, books, podcasts, books, literature, accounts, poetry and many articles that are resources for queer Muslims.

What Imams/Scholars Have to Say:

There are 8 openly Gay imams in the world

A gay IMAM’S story: ‘the dialogue is open in Islam – 10 years ago it wasn’t’

Q&A: Islamic scholar Omar Suleiman on the Quran and homosexuality

Affirming mosques help gay Muslims RECONCILE Faith, sexuality

Essentialism and islamic theology of homosexuality: A critical reflection on an essentialist epistemology toward same-sex desires and acts in islam

Includes Evidence and/or References to the Quran and Hadiths:

Q&A: Islamic scholar Omar Suleiman on the Quran and homosexuality

Opinion | What Does Islam Say About Being Gay? (Published 2015)

Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ Issues: Islam - Sunni and Shi'a - HRC

Affirming mosques help gay Muslims RECONCILE Faith, sexuality

Essentialism and islamic theology of homosexuality: A critical reflection on an essentialist epistemology toward same-sex desires and acts in islam

Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream Muslim Society

The Qur’an, the Bible and homosexuality in Islam

A Muslim Non-Heteronormative Reading of the Story of Lot: Liberation Theology for LGBTIQ Muslims?

What’s wrong with being gay and Muslim?

Sexual Diversity in Islam

Homosexuality, Transidentity, and Islam

Queer Muslims (+ their experiences) and Community:

What’s wrong with being gay and Muslim?

Gay Muslims - How you can be LGBTQ+ and Muslim

What’s it like to be queer and Muslim? Let this photographer show you

Lut’s People: The struggle to be gay & Muslim in South Africa

As a trans Muslim, I used to feel vulnerable all the time. Then I found a community of people like me.

Persian poetry lovers

‘I feel caught in the middle’: queer Muslims on the LGBTQ lessons row

Just Me and Allah: A Queer Muslim Photo Project

How Queer Muslims are Rewriting Their Stories

Queer Muslim Heroes to Celebrate This Muslim Women’s Day

Queer Muslim Women Reflect On Navigating Their Faith and Sexuality

Queer Muslims Are Carving Out Their Space On TikTok

Why Samra Habib wrote a memoir about growing up as a queer Muslim woman — and it’s now a Canada Reads winner

Being a black, British, queer, non-binary Muslim isn’t a contradiction

Bangladesh opens first Islamic school for transgender Muslims

Affirming mosques help gay Muslims RECONCILE Faith, sexuality

Interview: Summayah Dawud talks about being a transgender Muslim woman

“It’s between me and Allah!”: Queer Muslims explain how they reconcile faith with love

Homosexuality, Transidentity, and Islam

Views Throughout History:

A historical look at attitudes to homosexuality in the Islamic world

Gay Sex Didn’t Scare Muslims in Islam’s Golden Age

Medieval Arab Lesbians and Lesbian-Like Women

The Amazing Way Islamic Middle Ages Celebrated Lesbian Loves

How homosexuality became a crime in the Middle East

Vanishing Source Materials and Medieval Arabic Lesbianism, by Boyda Johnstone

The Historical Context and Reception of the First Arabic-Lesbian Novel, I Am You, by Elham Mansour

Study examines the same-sex relationships of Medieval Arab Women

Persian poetry lovers

Sexual Diversity in Islam

The Qur’an, the Bible and homosexuality in Islam

Literature and Poetry:

A historical look at attitudes to homosexuality in the Islamic world

Gay Sex Didn’t Scare Muslims in Islam’s Golden Age

Study examines the same-sex relationships of Medieval Arab Women

How homosexuality became a crime in the Middle East

Vanishing Source Materials and Medieval Arabic Lesbianism, by Boyda Johnstone

Persian poetry lovers

For Queer Muslims, Islamic Poetry Represents Solace and Acceptance

Male-Male Love in Classical Arabic Poetry (Chapter 6) - The Cambridge History of Gay and Lesbian Literature

Persian Literature from Homoeroticism to Representations of the LGBT Community: an Introduction

The Amazing Way Islamic Middle Ages Celebrated Lesbian Loves

If I see explicit hate of any kind (from TERFs, or promoting transphobia, Islamophobia, homophobia, racism and/or discrimination of any kind), I will report and block.

This is about Sci-Hub. yeah we get it.. gatekeep knowledge and protect the interests of capital…

How to Really Comprehend a Scientific Paper

**credit to my research advisor, she’s an amazing mentor and I aspire to be just like her someday :)

Read the abstract. Write down what the paper says it is going to be about.

Read the introduction. Write down what the paper says it is looking to accomplish and how.

Read the conclusion. Write down what the paper actually did accomplish.

Go through and find all the pictures, graphs, or diagrams. Write notes explaining these images to yourself.

Read the whole paper start to finish. Write a summary of the paper as though you are explaining it to a layperson, and then another summary as though you are explaining it to a colleague.

Throughout all of the above steps:

If there are words you don’t know google them and write down the definitions

If the paper defines a formula, law, variable, etc in a certain way write that down

If there are references to or recommendations of other literature write those down. After the last step if there’s anything you’re uncertain about or would like more information on look to that list for further reading

when ur culture puts everything on romance, u start to feel like an outsider if you dont experience it… 

Emergency cleaning: Unfuck your whole house in the shortest time possible

So, your landlord/parents/home inspector/favorite movie star is dropping by, and your place is a disaster. You don’t have much time to clean it up. You’re in emergency mode. Let’s get started.

Don’t panic. Panic leads to fear, fear leads to procrastination, procrastination leads to the dark side. You can do this, but you have to stay calm.

Unlike maintenance cleaning, we’re not looking to completely unfuck one space at a time. Instead, we want to decrease the overall mess in stages, spread evenly across the whole area that we’re concerned about. If you think your home is at Level 10 filth, we want to bring the whole thing down to a Level 9, and then down from there. One really clean spot in an otherwise messy home is not going to be helpful here.

Get prepared. You’ll want to shut the computer down (or turn the modem off if you need your computer to play music). Trust me. Get your music going. Gather up trash bags, your vacuum and mop, some rags or paper towel, sponges, and other cleaning supplies. Use what you have on hand. Don’t get distracted running to the store and spending an hour browsing cleaning supplies. A multi-purpose cleaning concentrate or a jug of vinegar will be just fine.

Breaks are very important. Depending on your time constraints, work in 20/10s (20 minutes working, 10-minute break) or 45/15s. But take breaks because otherwise you’re marathoning, and marathon cleaning is no one’s friend. Keep hydrated, don’t forget to eat, and check in with yourself frequently to make sure you’re physically doing OK.

Make your bed. This will be your home base if you get overwhelmed or need somewhere clear to take a break.

Start with the garbage. Going from room to room, throw out anything that is obvious trash. Once you fill a bag, take it out. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Move on to dishes. Gather the dishes from all over your house and bring them to the kitchen. If you can, start them soaking in a sink of hot, soapy water or start loading the dishwasher. After the dishes are all in one place, spend one 20/10 getting started getting them under control.

Now it’s time for your flat surfaces. Countertops, tables, dresser tops, etc. Clear them off and wipe them down. Don’t get distracted in too much sorting and organizing. We’re in crisis mode here. There will be time to get in-depth once this is all done. The same applies to cabinets and closets. Unless you have reason to believe people will be opening closed doors, leave these alone for now.

Attack the floordrobe and shoe pile. Get your clothes either put away or in the hamper. Start a load of laundry if you need to, but keep in mind that laundry and dishes have three steps: wash, dry, and put it away, goddammit!

Get random stuff up off the floors. If something is trash-worthy, throw it away now rather than just move it around a bunch of times. Otherwise, put stuff where it belongs.

Take another 20/10 or 45/15 to catch up on more dishes, if needed.

Head into the bathroom. Pour some cleaner in the toilet bowl, fill the sink with hot water and cleaner, and either spray the tub and shower with cleaner, or fill the tub up with some hot water and add cleaner and let it soak. Put everything away that’s out and shouldn’t be, clean the mirror, counters, and toilet seat. Sweep or dry mop the floor. Wipe down the sink and tub/shower, and give the toilet bowl a scrub. Mop the floor.

Sweep and mop the kitchen floor.

Vacuum everything you can, and sweep everything you can’t.

Walk outside of your house (don’t lock yourself out, please). Walk back in and see what catches your eye first. Go and deal with that.

If you’re being inspected or your landlord is coming in for repairs, spend time on whatever area they’ll be focusing on.

Give the whole place one more once-over and pay attention to anything you’ve missed so far.

It’s an old trick, but if your place is a little funky-smelling, put a pan of water on the stove on low heat and add some citrus or cinnamon or vanilla. Don’t leave it unattended or forget about it.

Take a shower, put on something clean, and eat something.

You can do this. It’s overwhelming, yes, but it is not impossible. You just need to do it. You have a list. You have directions. You have a whole bunch of Internet strangers who have been there before and who are cheering you on. You can do this, but you need to get started.

Why are you still here? GO. START. NOW.

Collocation anon here! I was referring to phrases that use specific words that just kind of “sound right” to native speakers but they’re different from what we would say. Like “tomar una decisión” instead of “hacer una decisión” when we would say “to make a decision” in English

Ahh okay gotcha

When I hear collocation I think "verbal phrases" or "noun phrases", words that kind of become joined to form a new word or phrase like compound nouns or specific idioms but okay!

I think a lot of times it comes down to people putting their existing grammatical knowledge onto the language they're learning.

It's very common to bring our own knowledge and experiences into learning so it becomes something you have to understand and break or recognize.

I personally struggle with formality because in English "you" is all we have, regardless of formality. When I say "you" I typically use tú as my first instinct because it's taught more than usted

That's sort of what I mean by bringing our frameworks into other languages

-

Though I will say "to take a decision" is sometimes used more in British English and in some more formal contexts!

Every so often an odd-sounding literal expression will have a British or older English antecedent... or ancestor is maybe a bit more accurate.

There are times when I'll be hearing something in an English drama and I'm like "ah that makes sense now" connecting something in Spanish.

It's not a collocation but for example aquí is "here" and acá is "here", but acá is a direction word and it could be "over here" or "nearer"... in older English it is understood as "hither" like "come hither" is directly ven acá "come here / come over here"

-

I think an earlier more confusing one is llamarse for names.

In English we're so used to "I am" as in soy but you hear me llamo Ana or me llamo Marco for introducing yourself.

It reads as "I call myself" literally

Another big one is when people want to use qué instead of cuál

As in "What's your name?" in Spanish is ¿Cuál es tu nombre? literally "which is your name?" ... not that qué isn't understood, but the implication is that you obviously have a name, so which one is yours?

Same thing with surnames, phone numbers, addresses (and email addresses which are "electronic addresses")

This also (to me) kind of makes more sense in an older feudalistic society. In Catholic societies people tended to take names from the Bible or the names of saints or angels. And not everyone had a last name, so it was like "Which house do you belong to (if any)?" so there's a bit of a historical aspect there too, especially when surnames could be given by place names or cities, or by geographic terms. It got a bit messy.

-

People also struggle with reflexives and body parts when it comes to autonomy of body parts

As in me lavo las manos is literally "I wash myself the hands", and that makes sense in most Western languages, even German, that particular construction

In English we say "I wash my hands", we don't often use reflexives like that, so people who are learning reflexives with body parts like "I wash my face", "I shave my legs", "I brush my teeth", "I comb my hair" are very tempted to use the possessives

In Spanish the reflexives mark autonomy already, if it's "I wash myself" or "I shave myself" or "I brush/comb myself" then it couldn't be anyone else's body parts.

You could say something like "I wash her face" but that's a direct object one subject acting on another... not reflexive where the subject and object are the same. In Spanish me lavo la cara is "I wash MYSELF" so I am doing the washing and I am being washed, it's just la cara that's the thing being washed... but in Spanish grammar, your body parts ARE also you, which makes sense

But it's a little confusing for English-speakers because we phrase things differently in our grammar

-

The other one that trips people up a lot is gustar in the context of "to like". We say "I like" as if it were a simple verbal construction

In Spanish with the indirect object me gusta(n) comes out as "it pleases me" or "they please me"

Don't even get me started on "I like you" which is me gustas literally "you please me"... and "you like me" te gusto literally "I please you"

That trips a lot of people up and, honestly, same. To me it feels weird and unnatural to phrase it that impersonally because I'm so used to treating it like a direct object in English

-

Oh gosh let me think there are a lot, and not just idioms, but I find a lot of the main issues I personally have are prepositions:

enamorarse de alguien = to fall in love with someone [lit. "to fall in love OF someone"]

soñar con algo/alguien = to dream of something/someone [lit. "to dream WITH something/someone"]

parecerse a algo/alguien = to resemble something/someone [lit. "to look like/to appear TO something/someone]

Prepositional verbs are really difficult

-

A few could be like special verbal phrases like ponerse or echar(se) when used with actions. The verb ponerse has a lot of uses but it's often "to become" or "to set to", and echar(se) literally reads as "to fling (oneself)"

But for example:

ponerse a llorar = to burst into tears

echar a perder = to waste / to go to waste

For English-speakers we would be tempted to use reventar "to burst", but literally ponerse a llorar is like "to set oneself to crying"

echar a perder comes out a bit weird because it's "to throw to loss", and we'd be tempted to just use the simpler verb forms malgastar "to waste" [lit. "to spend badly"], or desperdiciar "to waste"

echar a perder can also mean "to spoil" or "to ruin", which most English-speakers would take arruinar "to ruin"

Other times echarse comes out in like "to take a nap" or "to lie down" depending on the region, where it seems very literally "to

-

Now I will say there are a few verbal phrases that translate a bit differently literally depending on your intention:

1. beber café = to drink coffee

2. tomar café = to drink coffee

Both of these are correct grammatically and linguistically, but in a conversation they come across differently

beber as "to drink" reads as more of the function

tomar as "to drink" [where it literally means "to take"]; if I read tomar café or especially tomar un café I interpret it as "to have a cup of coffee" which can include the idea of relaxation or enjoyment

The same exists with "water", "tea" or any kind of alcohol or shots. It can imply literally "ingesting", but it can and often does imply some kind of enjoyment, usually like private relaxation or public social engagement. There's a bit of an unspokenness in there.

I kind of think of it similar to how comer with food can read as mechanical like "to eat/feed", while comerse with food is often what native speakers use for something you are eating for more than just nutrition. In English we kind of say "to have" for this, like "have some cake" instead of "eat some cake"

tomar also gets used in other contexts where it can be "to take in"

tomar (el) aire = to get some air, to get some fresh air

tomar (el) sol = to sunbathe, to bask in the sun

In these cases, specifically tomar el aire I would say there's a bit more of an emotional component where it's not just "to breathe" like "to take in air"

It's similar to tomar un respiro which is "to take a breath" but it could also come out like "to take a break". If I read tomar el aire I kind of get the impression that someone is either just enjoying some time by themselves, or they're overwhelmed and need a break but it's more of a translation thing I suppose

-

The most confusing collocations are the expressions with hacer, tener, and dar because they're so common:

tener hambre = to be hungry

tener sed = to be thirsty

tener X años = to be X years old

tener gracia = (for something) to be funny

tener suerte = to be lucky

tener miedo = to be afraid/scared

tener razón = to be right

tener que (hacer algo) = to have to (do something)

tener calor = to be hot (internal feeling)

tener frío = to be cold (internal feeling)

tener sueño = to be sleepy [lit. "to have sleepiness" where el sueño could be "dream" or "sleepiness" or "drowsiness", and in some cases could be understood as a noun "sleep"]

Especially because tener means "to have", and we interpret ser as "to be". Age is a big confusing one for English-speakers obviously.

But again, older English, tener razón sounds a whole lot like "to have the right of it", though it literally is "to have reason" so you can make some connections here and there

-

hacer is probably the most idiomatic of these in that it can be extremely confusing when you're first starting out to see "to do/make" used with weather

hacer calor = to be hot (weather)

hacer frío = to be cold (weather)

hacer viento = to be windy

hacer fresco = to be chilly

hacer sol = to be sunny

Not to mention when hace/hacía can be used as "ago"... like hace dos años que no te veo "it's been two years since I've seen you" / "I haven't seen you for "two years"

Literally that's "two years it makes that I don't see you"

The idea of "ago" trips people up a lot

Also connected is llevar in the context of "to spend time"... llevo muchos años estudiando español "I've been studying Spanish for many years"... Literally "I carry/spend many years studying Spanish"

You could use he estado estudiando español por/durante muchos años but it's a little wordier

-

dar can be difficult because it means "to give" but in some cases can be "to strike" or "to hit (against)"

dar pena = to make someone feel bad/ashamed [lit. "to give pain/sorrow/shame"]

dar miedo = to be scary [lit. "to give fear"]

dar asco = to disgust, to repulse [lit. "to cause revulsion"]

dar a luz = to give birth [lit. "to give to light"]

darse prisa = to hurry, to rush [lit. "to give oneself haste/hurry"]

dar las 12 (doce) = "for the clock to strike 12"

If you're reading Cenicienta "Cinderella" al dar las doce is like "at the stroke of midnight"; we have to remember that dar here is likely referring to the action of "hitting" a bell which would ring out the hour. When a clock "strikes" or "chimes", that can be done with dar but we tend not to think of a physical strike

dar en el clavo = "to hit the nail on the head"

darse con alguien = "to run into someone", to meet someone (often by chance), to encounter [lit. "to hit against (with) someone"; it carries a literal meaning like "to run into", and darse con algo might mean "to hit up against" or "to run into (a thing)" often a wall or an obstacle]

dar en el blanco / dar en la diana = to hit the bullseye [lit. el blanco here is not "the white" it means "the target"; and la diana is "a bullseye", most likely related to Diana, goddess of the hunt in Roman mythology; just like in English it could be to literally hit a bullseye like archery, or it could be "to be right" or "to get it right"]

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This one I think does make some sense but nos vemos is often translated in the future tense; it comes out like "see you" or "we'll see each other soon", but literally it's "we see each other"

It can be a bit hard to explain but present tense can be short-term future

Secondly, nos vemos gets translated a bunch of different ways as a default goodbye - "see you", "see you later", "see you soon", "bye" etc. so that also doesn't help

But many languages have this kind of reflexive notion, sort of like Italian arrivederci where literally that ci is an "us/we" marker for reflexives in Italian

-

And there are others I could list and probably will when I think of some to put in a list as a reply

Neurodivergent Identity Part 2 (Part 1)

Complete set at TraumaGeek

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

‘Man shouldn’t be able to see his own face – there’s nothing more sinister. Nature gave him the gift of not being able to see it, and of not being able to stare into his own eyes.

Only in the water of rivers and ponds could he look at his face. And the very posture he had to assume was symbolic. He had to bend over, stoop down, to commit the ignominy of beholding himself.

The inventor of the mirror poisoned the human heart.’

— Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet (1982)