Tag: allotment86

dbdspirit:

In response to the NSFW ban being enacted by Tumblr Staff, on December 17th 2018 I propose that we all log off of our Tumblr accounts for 24 hours. 

The lack of respect and communication between staff and users is stark. Users have been begging staff to delete the porn bot outbreak, which has plagued the website for well over a year. The porn bots oftentimes send people asks and messages, trying to get them to go to a website full of viruses. They also spam advertisements on others posts.  

Users have also begged that Tumblr ban neo-nazis, child porn, and pedophiles, all which run rampant on the site. The site/app got so bad that it was taken off the app store.

However, instead of answering the users, Tumblr has instead taken the liberty to ban all NSFW content, regardless of age. But users have already run into issues of their SFW content being marked as sensitive and being flagged as NSFW, not allowing them to share their work.

Not only does this discriminate again content creators, but it also discriminates against sex workers. Disgustingly, the ban will be enacted on December 17 which is also International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

This ban is disgusting, and while I (and plenty of others) welcome porn bots and child porn being banned, the Tumblr filtration system is broken. It tags artistic work’s nipples as NSFW (when it is art), it tags SFW art as NSFW (when it is not), and does not stop the porn bots, neo-nazis and dozens of other issues.

This ban is discriminatory. This ban is ineffective. This ban is unacceptable. 

To protest, log off of your Tumblr account for the entirety of December 17th. Log off at 12 am EST or 9PM PST and stay off for 24 hours. Don’t post. Don’t log on. Don’t even visit the website. Don’t give them that sweet ad revenue. 

Tumblr’s stock has already taken a hard hit. Let’s make it tank. Maybe then they will listen to the users. 

Reblog to signal boost! We must force change.

allotment86:

As if hand-painted by a Japanese master: Hippeastrum ‘Papilio’. Photograph: Alamy

Hippeastrum, a light in winter darkness

Plant it now and this gorgeous South American should bloom around Christmas

I know as someone who writes about gardening that I am meant to wax lyrical about how I embrace the wonder of each changing season. But to me, as a kid who grew up in the tropics, the long slide into the darkness of winter isn’t any fun. Plant growth slows down, or stops altogether, meaning it is far harder for us plant geeks to get our horticultural fix. Fortunately, there is one plant out there you can get growing right now that will reach peak perfection in the coldest, shortest days of December – hippeastrum.

Unlike many traditional Christmas plants hippeastrums will come back season after season

Hailing from the wilds of South America, hippeastrums are some of the easiest of all houseplants to grow. Unlike many traditional Christmas plants they will also reliably come back season after season, giving you years of pleasure, not just a couple of weeks. Although I once thought of their massive crimson petals as a bit too blousy for my tastes, a new generation of wonderfully exotic, wild-looking ones have forced me to reconsider. I love the elegantly curved, spider-like flowers of ‘Quito’ and the intricately striped burgundy markings on the creamy and lime green petals of ‘Papilio’, as if it was hand-painted by a Japanese master. For fans of more pop-art, dazzling shades, the shocking pink and cream blooms of ‘Santa Rosa’ are hard to beat.

Dazzling shades: one of the more common red hippeastrums. Photograph: AYImages/Getty Images

Hippeastrum bulbs are everywhere at the moment in garden centres, florists and online. Once you get your bulb, plant it up in potting compost leaving the top half of it above the soil. Water it in well and leave it in a bright place at about 20C.

When in active growth (nine to 10 months of the year) hippeastrums like warm, sunny sites, and watering only after the surface of the compost just begins to dry out. Planted now, your plants should bloom between Christmas and New Year. If you want to eke out the most of its blooms, moving the plant to a cooler room will help extend its flowering season by a couple of weeks.

Now here’s the only mildly tricky bit. Hippeastrums require a dormant period in the autumn to trigger flowering. The good news, though, is that this is really easy to recreate at home. From next September start to slow down their watering, eventually letting the plants totally dry out. Their leaves will quickly begin to yellow and, once they are totally withered, snip them off at the base. Move your now dormant plant to a cool, dark but frost-free place, such as a shed, garage or understairs cupboard, and leave it for six weeks or so. This treatment may seem mean, but it is essential, generating the chemical reactions that induce flowering. To start them back into growth, bring them back into the warm and carry on as normal.

Email James at james.wong@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @botanygeek

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