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It’s impressive that you have been doing activism for so many causes! And I was so happy to learn that you’ve been spreading the word about how AI is bad for the environment – I’ve been trying to do the same thing! Some of the teachers at my school are falling into the trap of thinking “AI is coming and there’s nothing we can do about it,” which just seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy. But fortunately a lot of the students disagree and are concerned about the negative effects of AI, and I’ve been trying to do my part too. I know you probably don’t need my encouragement, but I totally support your efforts to speak up about important causes – the world needs more people like you who are willing to push for change. Keep going <3
Spanish sounds fun! I do agree that the Day of the Dead celebration has changed a lot… It’s interesting to hear that the presenter saw Coco as a culturally accurate film. I’ve noticed that Mexicans tend to like it – my second cousin even told me it was her favorite movie – but I did some research on it for a school project last year, and I found that it wasn’t really very accurate in terms of the culture. The whole mood and plot and worldbuilding is so different from the real Mexico. It’s quite popular among Mexicans though! Have you ever watched it?
I didn’t know you liked Frida Kahlo! Is there anything about her art that you particularly admire?
Dance class is pretty “chill,” as the students say! We usually do line dances, like the Electric Slide or the Canadian Stomp. They’re really fun! And it’s kind of cathartic to just move around and not think about anything. The teacher is also really funny sometimes, and she is not at all strict. She usually demonstrates the dances bit by bit, then she has us practice them/do them to music. It’s still tricky to remember how to do the dances, though! Each one is pretty similar to the others. The teacher is amazing, she knows tons of different steps and dances. I don’t know how she manages to keep them all straight!
Good luck with your school’s literary magazine, I hope you can do it this year!
I really like the song recs! I’m listening to “Not the Tremblin’ Kind” as I type this. Thanks so much for telling me about them – it’s always so great to discover new music:)
At first I thought I wasn’t doing anything for Halloween, but then I decided to go to a Halloween dance at my school, which was fun. It was like the other dances I’ve been to, just people chatting and dancing – nothing wild or inappropriate, thank goodness. A lot of people were in costumes, and some of them were really cool – there was a guy in an 1800s-style suit and top hat, and a hobbit/forest-elf, and a guy in a sort of Harry-Potter-style cape. I met some new people and got to chat with them. The night market sounds exciting! I’ve never been to one. Did you like it?
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Admins, I can see that Poinsettia made a post, but I can’t see the post. Any idea why? Thanks
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I don’t know why. It’s baffling and frustrating to us. I remember reading the long comment, but it didn’t come in the usual way. Every so often this happens. I wonder if it may be because the writer wasn’t given the option to check the cloudflare box. I was able to read it and checked Approve, but after I did that, it disappeared. I looked on the thread and it wasn’t posted. I hope Poinsettia kept a copy and can submit it again. I’ll try to see if our webmaster has any ideas about fixing this glitch.
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Is the missing comment now showing up? Let me know. I’ll try to remember what I did to make it appear and let the other Admins know.
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It’s showing up right now! I do seem to remember that my laptop lost its internet connection for a minute while I was typing the post, so the Cloudflare disappeared and I had to refresh the page to make it come back. Maybe that’s the explanation. Thank you for making it show up, @Admin!
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Yep, it’s up and I can see it now. Thanks so much!
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Thank you to both of you for your patience while I figured this out. I hope what I did will work for future comments that come in the same way.
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Oh dear – I may have accidentally sent an unfinished version of this comment through? I somehow managed to accidentally click the submit button?? Not sure, but just ignore it
Yeah, a lot of teachers are into AI, and I kind of understand why — I think the hope is to teach students how to use it ethically. But so many of them are “helping” students learn how to use it “ethically” without realizing the damage done to the environment. I think that if there’s a way for AI to not be so bad for the environment, that would be the point where we could talk about ways to use it ethically. Until then, I think people should mostly avoid using it at all. AI gives me the “ick.” Why use Artificial Intelligence when I can use the Actual Intelligence that I already have in my own brain?
And thanks! I’ll definitely be keeping with my activism. It’s nice to hear words of encouragement.
I’ve heard very mixed opinions on the movie. I personally have watched it and I think it’s really sweet and cute. I think it makes sense that some people feel it’s accurate to the culture while others don’t – the presenter said the Day of the Dead has changed in response to such movies anyway – because it seems to me that people tend to celebrate it a little differently. I think it’s fine for people to have different feelings about it; there doesn’t have to be one right answer. It kind of reminds me of my experiences coming from an Irish family, because St. Patrick’s Day is observed in America to celebrate the Irish-American community, but it also spreads popular misconceptions and stereotypes about Irish culture. I think that capturing a culture is really hard, because everyone is different, you know? What feels stereotypical or downright inaccurate to my family might really resonate with another. All of which is to say, I think it’s fine if you don’t like the movie, and fine if other Mexicans do. What do you think?
I’ve loved Frida Kahlo since I was young, yeah! My mom is really into her art and taught me and my sister about her from a young age. I love that she expresses her feelings in visual metaphors. I think it’s so cool that she painted mainly self portraits, too. Her style is also just so distinct and interesting.
Dance class sounds fun! I don’t like to dance very much, but my sister loves it. She dances competitively and casually. This year is a big year for her, actually! She started doing ballet on pointe (it takes years of training to get strong enough to safely wear pointe shoes, but lots of people don’t know that) and she is dancing her first real solo. She’s been in duos and trios before but she’s never had a solo. I also spend lots of time wondering how she remembers all of those dance moves!
I’m glad you liked the recs! I actually have a few more, if that’s alright — have you ever listened to the album Rabbit Songs by Hem? I recommend listening to the whole album (it’s a whole experience as an album, not just a collection of songs) but if you only want to listen to a few songs, try “Half Acre” and “Leave Me Here.”
Teen movies make school dances look so much more wild than they actually are! I’ve never been to a school dance where anything bad happened at all. Mine are actually kind of boring, but yours sounds cool! Only seniors are allowed to dress up at my school, so nobody gets to show off their costumes 🙁 but the night market as cool, yeah! I bought a new jacket 😀
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Hello! I had to go somewhere this evening, but the event was unexpectedly canceled, so now I have some free time to be on the CB! It’s a good evening for staying indoors; it’s really cold and November-y right now.
Yes, that’s so true! Another issue which you may have heard about is the exploitation of workers – AI companies often hire people in developing countries to sort through massive amounts of data, labeling each data item to train AI models. Often the workers are exposed to traumatic content and it’s very unfair.
It’s so cool that you have Irish roots! I can see how St. Patrick’s Day would be stereotypical, though I hadn’t thought about it before. Do you feel like being of Irish descent has influenced you in any particular ways?
Okay so I have strong opinions on Coco which I will not subject you to a full-length monologue about, but basically I think that while anyone can like and enjoy it as a movie, I get worried that people will think the real Mexico is like the place in the movie. I think it’s super important for people to understand other cultures properly, in order to create more tolerance and peaceful communication between individuals from different places. There are real harms associated with people basing their idea of a real-life culture off of an incorrect depiction of that culture…
Oh wow, congratulations to your sister! I hope her solo goes well!
Thank you for the recs – I’ll let you know what I think of them! Do you listen to Forest Blakk at all? I’ve only heard a couple of his songs (I especially love “I Saw Love”), but they’re some of my favorites, and they reminded me a little of the music styles you like.
I’m glad the night market was nice! Do you ever go to farmers’ markets? They’re my main experience with markets in general. Sadly, our favorite farmers, who sold really delicious food, went out of business…
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Hi! Sorry it’s been a minute… I got very busy with school!
I actually didn’t know much about the mistreatment of workers involved with AI training, but now that you mention it that makes sense. Just another reason not to like AI… I keep meaning to make a zine about it, but I hardly have any time these days. Hopefully I will soon. If I do, I’d love to hear some of your ideas about why AI is bad; the more ways I can make the argument, the better!
I love being Irish! While I figure there are probably big ways it has influenced my life, mostly I notice the small ways it comes up in my life. Something I find very charming is the fact that my mother refuses to buy second-hand shoes. That might sound snobby or bad for the environment, but the backstory of it is actually very interesting. My mom knows I love thrifting and happily takes me to thrift stores for secondhand clothes, but she won’t buy me used shoes. This traces all the way back to my great-grandmother, who was born in Ireland and immigrated to America as an adult. She and her husband were poor and could often only afford used clothing for themselves and for their children. This was something that embarrassed them, so they held on to their wounded pride with the fact that they could afford new shoes for everyone. The way they saw it, as long as you could buy new shoes, you were doing alright in America. Isn’t it funny how that still influences my mom?
I do agree about the harms of misrepresenting a culture. I hope you do not feel I would ever support such a thing. I only meant that I think it is still alright if people of said culture enjoy the movie, even if they have conflicted feelings about how it depicts things; it’s not my place to judge if it is culturally accurate or not.
I’ve never heard of Forest Blakk, but I’ll give it a try! I’ve actually been looking for new music, because all of the typical music I listen to is beginning to bore me. I’ll let you know what I think!
I’ve only been to a few farmer’s markets, but I like them! My aunt is a chef who works at a restaurant that often gets involved with farmer’s markets. She makes the best food and has some really creative recipes.
I hope you’re having a good holiday season! I celebrate Christmas (do you?), and I got a lot of very nice gifts, including the new laptop I am typing this from.
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Hello! No worries, things do get busy.
I’d be happy to give you some ideas if you do decide to make a zine about AI; feel free to ask me anytime:)
It’s fascinating how customs like your great-grandmother’s endure in families! Have you ever done any research on your family history?
Yes, of course I know you wouldn’t support misrepresenting a culture – and I agree that it’s fine for people to enjoy something even if it may not be accurate. There are actually a couple of songs in Coco that I really like. I believe (though I might be wrong?) that the songwriters were the same ones who wrote the songs for Frozen and Frozen II, which I also enjoyed:) Speaking of movies, I recently watched the sequel to Freaky Friday! It just came out in August. It was really fun! I recommend it if you have a chance to see it.
I’m glad you had a good Christmas! Getting a new laptop sounds very nice. Yes, I celebrate it as well, and I really enjoyed it this year. I got a boxed set of notecards and a new planner (I love planners:) ), among other things, and I had fun giving everyone their presents. And I got to spend time with my grandparents and other relatives. One of the things I like best about Christmas is that it’s about people coming together in celebration and goodwill. It’s probably one of my favorite holidays.
If you’re still on winter break, how is your break going? I’ve finally had some time to settle down and write a bit, and it’s been nice to wind down and take things more slowly for a little while. I also got to do some ice skating!