How to help the #autistic people in your life get through Christmas - a practical thread of advice.

Please read and share!

(This is based on my own experiences of being autistic)

#autism #christmas

1. Give #autistic people an easy escape route they know they can take without judgement - knowing you can dash off to recharge without being questioned can help so much!

2. Don't play Christmas music really loudly around the house. No one needs that anyway but if you must, make it not too intrusive as it can be difficult for #autistic people to handle. Christmas music is *so* 'busy'!

3. Don't expect clear and unambiguous response to Christmas presents when opened. Many #autistic people struggle to show the appropriate emotional reaction, and are also terrified of making you feel bad. We show appreciation in our own way.

4. Don't forget #autistic friends and relatives may not be as excited about meeting up with family members as you are. There is likely a lot of anxiety there, especially this year. Be mindful of this and don't force it.

Thread: A 12-year flashback to the first time I ever heard of the Oath Keepers. It happened in 2009 when I was monitoring ‘Patriot’ movement chatter and came across a YouTube video by this man: An ex-Marine named Charles Dyer. You can see why it caught my attention.

2) Dyer’s style was disturbing—combining a skull-mask imposed digitally and his fondness for ‘inspirational,’ anthemic music in the background—but his incendiary, violent rhetoric was especially worrisome. Watch this one to the end: ‘You’re damn right I’m a threat.’

3) This video and others I was seeing float around on the fringes of the suddenly burgeoning ‘Patriot’/militia far right made me concerned about their recruitment of military veterans. There were good reasons to be

4) As it happened, I raised the alarm at @crooksandliars only a month or so before Homeland Security issued its ill-fate warning about precisely that problem—which set off months of hysterical hyperbole from Fox News and the far right

5) You may remember how that all turned out: The projection-fueled attack on DHS’s domestic-terrorism-monitoring section ended up gutting the section and sending the Obama administration into hunker-down/failure mode when it came to the radical

Writing tip: let’s talk about the INACTIVE PROTAGONIST. I’ve seen a lot of amazing books lately with incredible plots, intricate worlds, and just really great writing with one recurring issue, which is the inactive protagonist. I think it can get tough when you’re writing (1/10)

a big world, making sure your world building is there, your minor characters don’t fall flat, etc, & we can get an amazing story with one key component missing: an active protagonist. A lot of times, these protagonists will have motivations and they’ll be great characters (2/10)

but instead of moving the plot, they’re reacting to it. I read a great synopsis thread once that talked about your synopsis shouldn’t be a series of “and then’sit should be a series of “because,” and that because needs to come primarily from your protagonist. (3/10)

They react to the inciting incident, and then the plot needs to be reacting to them. They are your protagonist for a reason. This is their story, and in order for it to feel like its theirs, in order for your reader to fall into it headfirst—they have to own it. (4/10)

It’s not enough to want something; the protagonist needs to be actively seeking it. And I see a lot of this in the form of “oh they’re just looking for a sense of belonging” (trust me, I’ve done it too) and that leads to a very internal, borderline stagnant story (5/10)

Download before they order web archive to zoink it

https://t.co/30WMwU2r4B https://t.co/aGgROUz7n6

This is the gospel according to Luke. And these are the generations; no-one begat Anakin, who was slain by Vader; Vader begat Luke and Leia, and Leia begat Ben known as Kylo.

And lo, red five appeared into the rebels, saying unto them, I come with great plans. But many bothans died to bring us this information.

And three imperials came from the east unto the spaceport, saying, where are they that bear the designs of our battle station? seek ye them, tear these ships apart, and find me those plans.

And they sought the plans from the droids, but these were not the droids which they sought, and they went about their business.

It came to pass that Po and Rey came to the starport, but there was no room.

"Music, Sense and Nonsense: Collected Essays and Lectures", por Alfred Brendel.

Capítulo: “Thanking the Critics - London Critic’s Circle Award

Alfred Brendel ganó en 2003 el London Critic’s Circle Award, el cual que se otorga a quienes han prestado por un largo tiempo un servicio distinguido a las artes. Este premio se ha entregado a Ninette de Valois, Alicia Markova, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, entre otros.

En su discurso, Brendel confiesa que aún en ese punto en su vida y con el gran éxito alcanzado, sigue teniendo algo de la aprehensión que tenía en un principio cuanto trataba de consolidar su prestigio con la ayuda con la prensa, y a veces sin ella.

Brendel agradece en particular a los críticos que después de su primer recital en Graz, Austria, le predijeron un futuro brillante, y a William Mann, quien lo describió en “The Times” uno de sus primeros conciertos como “un recital en mil”.

Brendel también agradece en retrospectiva al “New York Times” que por varios años lo menospreció, por demostrarle que es posible ganar admiradores y establecer una reputación a pesar de él.

1) Here goes my thread about how I landed my first OWA. Open Writing Assignment. Btw, I had no idea what term meant a year ago so don't feel bad if you don't. The easy way to explain: A studio/producer has a property/IP/an idea but no writer. #screenwriting #pipelinewriters

2) So they solicit writers to come in and give their take. It's basically a bake off. I had low hopes because I'm a new writer and they almost always go with more established writers, but hey, sometimes the best idea wins! I landed it, yay.I'll get to that, but first my long road

3) Grew up on Long Island, middle class, zero connections to Hollywood. I mean ZERO. Chose law school. I wanted to be in entertainment but didn't know that was a viable career path. Did well, worked at biggest law firm in the world. But deep down I knew this wasnt the life for me

4) So quit/got fired (depends who you ask ;), and hopped on a plane to LA w no plan.Begged a guy I knew to let me sleep on floor in his back room. So went from making lots of money to zero money with no gameplan.I don't recommend having NO PLAN. Knew I loved writing and standup

4) Sidenote - this thread isn't about my standup career, but objectively I've done pretty well. Started the first and only lawyer/comedy troupe, headlined the country. Album #1 on iTunes. But was making basically NO money. Got a comedy manager, pitched an idea for a reality show

[thread in 12: The hill we climb — @theAmandaGorman]

When day comes, we ask ourselves
where can we find light
in this neverending shade?

The loss we carry a sea we must wade.
We've braved the belly of the beast.
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace.

1/12

In the norms and notions of what just is
isn’t always just is.
And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it!
Somehow we do it.
Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished.

2/12

We, the successors of a country and a time
where a skinny black girl descended from slaves
and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one.

Yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine,
but that doesn’t mean..

3/12

... we are striving to form a union that is perfect.

We are striving to forge our union with purpose
to compose a country committed
to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.

So we lift our gazes not to what stands between us,
but what stands before us!

4/12

We close the divide because we know
to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside.

We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another.

We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true.

5/12

Just how dangerous and cunning is A@mir Khan
:An Observation
A@mir Khan claimed his movies Dangal,Secret Superstar made tonnes of money in China.The claim was Dangal made so much money in China that it's bigger hit than Bahubali 2 & therefore India’s biggest blockbuster movie.

Bahubali 2 hardly made any money in China. Chinese distribution is very funny.We don't know who those guys are,how they calculate the collections and how they share it with Indians.A@mir Khan said his movie made 1500 crores and more than 700 crores in China we have to take his

words.
Dangal made 538 crores (gross) in India while Bahubali 2 made 1429 crores (gross) in India.
Aamir claims even his Secret Superstar, where he played a guest role, collected 863 crores in China while it’s India collection is just 64 crore.

So with these collections he is 20 times biggest superstar in China than in India.
A@mir is a very intelligent operator. Unlike Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan, he played it very well from the beginning. He made super-patriotic movies like Sarfarosh, Lagaan and Mangal Pandey,

gaining the acceptance,trust of patriotic Indians.Then he surreptitiously and subtly started inserting his agenda into his movies.Take the example of Rang De Basanti. Everyone who saw it hated George Fernandes and BJP govt for making a quick buck with corruption in Defence deals.

Alright, I just finished "Light of the Jedi" by Charles Soule, and I have some thoughts on it, both as a scientist, historian, and Star Wars fan. I'm mostly coming at this from an Old Republic fan viewpoint.

THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. #StarWars #StarWarsTheHighRepublic

The first thing I want to look at is the tone, because anything else is really nitpicky and the fundamental themes of the story are really the main basis for comparison. So I'm looking at this from a few angles, the big one being it claiming to be a "Star Wars Arthurian Romance."

For those that know anything about the actual Arthurian Romances, they fundamentally focus on diverging from Arthur as the main character, which one can conceptually argue this book does, diverging from the Skywalkers as a main character and focusing on other Jedi.

Where LotJ differs (so far) is in its content - there is no adulterous love affair, quest for a holy artefact, etc. Although in some ways the book touches on or sets up these possibilities - the franchise as a whole is very much about high fantasy storytelling.

I know Claudia Gray is not shy to include sexual content in her stories, and we have plenty of Star Wars tales of seeking "holy artefacts." So I certainly could see either of these happening in the future.

There are those who claim that rock music is blessed and dedicated to the devil, so we should not listen to it. The reality is that even a lot of Christian music and all other types are as well. The recording industry has leaders in it that are bad.

So what to do with it?

The movie and television industry is plagued as well with such problems.

So what can we do about that?

The reality is that not all music or media need be avoided. Honestly someone may dedicate a Mozart recording to the devil, but this does not mean we then are tricked into

inviting in bad spirits because we listen to Mozart. We cannot control or know for sure what music is or is not blessed with dark rituals with certainty. We can know the content of the music or movies though.

What emotions do they convey? What type of spirit do we feel?

Take rap music for the most part. Do you feel that the Eternal society is pleased with is as a genre, not talking about any one song?

Not in the least. The genre as a whole has been used to intentionally divide and conquer. It is meant for bad purposes.

So what will happen is those in the industry who are the problems will go. The industry will have a lot of people cleared out. There will be big changes to it.

There is no way you can avoind everything that has had rites, rituals and dark blessings put on it

🌟🌟 Celebrities riding bikes: a thread 🌟🌟

Justin Theroux

Sarah Jessica Parker (bonus points for a hire bike!)

Pippa Middleton

Kendall Jenner

This is the 19th instalment of #deanehistory.

Die Hard is the best Christmas film. This truism is well known.

But the phrase “Die Hard” actually has a much longer history.

In the early 1800s, Spain & Portugal fought the Peninsular War against the invading / occupying French. As usual, in any given scrap in the last millennia or so, the British were on board, against the French.

At the Battle of Albuera, quite near the Spanish/Portuguese border, in 1811, a British/ES/PT force fought Napoleon’s Armée du Midi (included some Poles from the Duchy of Warsaw). In sum: heavy losses on both sides, result a score draw. Such conclusions belie the human stories.

Major-General Houghton was a British national hero. Two thirds of his brigade died in the line at Albuera, including Houghton himself. The French were able to enfilade (fire along their longest axis) with a devastating hail of grapeshot & canister (like huge shotguns).

Colonel William Inglis, one of the many Scots to have flourished during Empire, commanded the 57th Regiment of Foot, part of Houghton’s Brigade. He’d joined it as an Ensign & served with it since the American Revolutionary War in 1781.

It’s thirty years since The KLF’s 3am Eternal hit Number One so I suppose it must also be about thirty years since 13-year-old me met The KLF at Top Of The Pops.

I’d decided they were my favourite band a couple of years earlier and at that point I hadn’t really grasped the fact that most of the music they were making in 1989/1990 was for people either at raves or coming down after raves.

To be frank I made a complete nuisance of myself. Often after school I’d phone their PRs Mick and Pam, or their radio plugger Scott, or their distributor James, and later on Cress and Sallie at their office in Brixton.

I must have been extremely annoying but they’d make time for a chat and sometimes send me photos and white labels and merch. Sometimes they even phoned me. I once came home from school to find my dad on the phone to Bill Drummond.

At one point someone mentioned in passing that on my 13th birthday the band had toyed with the idea of driving their famous but increasingly dilapidated car, Ford Timelord, to my house in East Grinstead and dumping it outside. (?)

1. Is @FoxNews" giving aid and comfort" to insurrectionists? Can the sponsors, hosts, directors, producers, writers, managers, and directors be charged under 18 U.S. Code § 2383 - Rebellion or insurrection?

I've lately seen folks on here say they've felt guilty for getting books (mine and other authors) from the library, or people insinuating some authors might be against libraries. This is nonsense, and here's a thread on how using your local library supports authors.

It's easy to see why people would think, at first glance, that getting books from the library is depriving a writer of their dues. It's free, after all! You're not paying anything, so how would the author be getting paid anything for your reading? This is a misconception.

While it IS true that, in the US, authors are not directly paid each time someone checks out a book, they DO benefit, in multiple concrete ways.

The first, and most direct, being that libraries and library systems BUY the books for their collection. If a book looks to be popular, they buy in bulk! If a book *becomes* popular (i.e. lots of people checking it out), they will continue to buy more copies of that book.

If the library subscribes to a curation service (like the Junior Library Guild), a book is bought for a library system in large quantities before the book is even released. This is a big deal, especially for new and unknown authors (it's why we get excited when we're JLG picks)

Figuring out who to listen to and what's right/wrong in the world of social media, podcasters, and experts of everything is difficult.

As a scientist and writer here's1 trick & 6 lessons on figuring out if a writer, podcaster, or expert should be listened to or not. 👇👇👇

First, the quick way:
See what an expert says about something in an area you have expertise in.

For example, I search for where they talk about exercise or athletic performance.

If they are wrong but confident in it. It tells you that something is wrong in their thinking

They overindex on superficial understanding and don't do the deep work.

It doesn't mean they'll be wrong on everything, but it should make you question whenever the person ventures away from an area where they've had 'skin in the game' success in.

A Christmas Eve Confession & Absolution

Holy God, as Christmas Eve dawns
we find little joy in our hearts.
We have lost so many things
and given up so much
in trying to protect the world around us
and the loved ones we hold so dear
but cannot hold.

None of us are at our best.
We are frustrated with ourselves,
with our family, with all our fellow children of God.
Our spirits are faint and fraying.
Yet still, you are on your way.
Just as you came at Christmas,
you will now not leave us
without mercy and comfort.

We cry out:
Come, O come, Immanuel!

Holy God,
Our holiday meals are made with tears
and our gifts wrapped with tired hands.
We are struggling to stay connected
in this time when the safety of all
requires distance from each other.
All around your beloved world, too many tables
will have empty seats at Christmas.

What should be a time of celebration
only feels like mourning.
Yet still, you are on your way.
Just as you were born and laid in a manger,
you will find us not where we think we should be
but right where we are.