Born 09/22/1998, Live in Beirut, Lebanon. Cisgender female, watch a bunch of cartoons. Not quite sure where my life is going and i'm okay with that right now.
okay no I’m reblogging myself because I was clicking through just curious to see what kind of results you can get and one of them is fish. FISH. what kind of fish? dunno. just a fucking fish. goldfish? clown fish? angler fish? fucking… deep sea monstrosity that no one’s even named yet? JUST A FISH. why not “mammal” or “bird.” WHY FISH.
i honestly think that the reason that the whole “staff shortage” thing still hasn’t been resolved is because employers legitimately aren’t trying to remedy it.
like as this “shortage” drags on it seems less and less like a natural phenomenon and more like excuse for employers (especially large employers like grocery store chains) to see just how few people they can have in their stores and still make money. like this pandemic has given them the perfect opportunity to see just how shit they can make the customer experience while still turning a profit
and when you look at it that way, the countless stories of people being denied jobs that were supposedly in DESPERATE need of filling totally make sense! because even if your store has ten-person lines at every cashier, if it isn’t hurting your bottom line, why would you care? businesses are finding out now just how much that they can get away with before losing business, and it’s WAY more than they previously thought
and i think grocery stores are such a good example because they’re realizing that they can more or less do whatever the hell they want because customers essentially CAN’T choose not to shop there…people HAVE to get food and if all the stores around you are doing the same thing then there’s no reason NOT to just cut staffing levels to the absolute bare minimum and secure that extra profit
Me and my husband both worked in retail management (big store chains) for years.
When I first started, my manager completely disregarded labor budgets. Every night (afternoon and evenings were our busiest times) there were at least 4 people scheduled (not at a big chain grocery story, but a big chain pharmacy/store). This way, if someone called out, we still had a decent sized staff to get through the night. Every Thursday, which was our truck/delivery day, everyone was scheduled so we could get through it fast and efficiently. For the seven years he was there, the store was organized, clean, fully staffed, and customers didn’t complain beyond the normal annoying customer bullshit.
When he left, the assistant manager replaced him, and this guy. Oh my god. All he wanted to do was kiss corporate ass. He would schedule two people a night and if one called out, he’d rarely call someone to cover the shift. Thursday nights made no difference. We were so backed up that our back room was actually dangerous. Crates and totes were piled up way higher than they should have been. The office was an absolute mess. The store was a disaster. There were times on a Saturday that only one person was in the store to work and when they asked how they were going to take down the sale signs, put up the new sale signs (which hadn’t been cut or sorted yet), ring, and face the store all on their own, they were told “You’ll figure it out.” (they quit on the spot and then when he spoke to me about it I got an entirely different version of the story).
The only reason I stayed as long as I did was to be there for our younger employees, and since they started quitting and he wasn’t hiring anyone to replace them…no reason to stay. Plus, I was pregnant, so fuck that. I wasn’t working sometimes 7 days a week just because he refused to schedule a full staff.
As for my husband.
The biggest store he worked in did approximately $2M a week. Obviously a store that did this much weekly revenue needed an appropriate staff to keep the building running well. Yet, every week, my husband, who ignored corporate’s labor budget in order to have the store operational, was yelled at and threatened by district managers and higher-ups. Despite the fact that he proved time and time again that he needed that labor for the store to turn the biggest profits, they were mad. Because he had the audacity to give people hours. Because he knew it was better for customers if there were people there to provide customer service.
Eventually, he left that company to work for another. He had the same problems, of course, but in addition to them, he was expected to work 50+ hours a week. He would be gone every day for at least 10 hours. Our second kid was only a few months old. Our oldest was just getting ready to start school for the first time. When he mentioned to his new boss that he wasn’t seeing his kids as much as he wanted, the fucking asshole literally said “I don’t see mine much either. That’s what we have pictures for.” Needless to say, my husband didn’t work with them very long.
So, yeah, these companies have been doing everything in the power to test these waters for years. The pandemic just gave them a perfect excuse to do it even more while whining about some fake labor shortage and claiming ‘no one actually wants to work’.
they’re already calling it ‘shrinkflation’: even when you’re paying the same prices, you’re getting worse products and less service. corporations are turning record profits while their skeleton staff suffers and dies for them, and their customers just have to put up with getting poor service by overworked workers who literally can’t do any better.
like, we just had to buy three dishwashers because the first two came with defective parts. it took a month longer than we expected because of shortages in supply and labor. meanwhile i’m working so much overtime at my factory because they 'can’t’ hire enough people but are still taking plenty of orders.
anyway, support any and all unions. collective bargaining power is the only way to break capitalist overlords out of this insane death spiral we’re all stuck in.
i never want to have to deal with the horror that is three dishwashers ever again
So there’s this comic on Tapas called Almost Home.
When it starts the characters are already in the middle of a conflict so it leaves you wondering how they got there. Then you follow them along a bunch of adventures as you get to know them and some really fun side characters too! There’s so many different genres and art styles that the creator messes around with throughout. It’s honestly great, but is criminally underviewed.
some folks on twitter are trying to get “finish infinity train” to trend, so I figured I’d draw some art for the push! This show is so unique and clever and I’d hate for it to end before its story is finished being told. Finish Infinity Train!
Hey everyone! So, it’s only been a few months since I released Exploring the Land of Ooo, and shucks, I’m already working on anotherAdventure Time book. This time, however, instead of focusing on the production history of AT, I will be collecting essays that critically analyze the show, its world, and its characters. The best part? I’m editing it, which means that you can submit a chapter proposal for consideration. And while this is gonna be a academic manuscript, you don’t have to be a boring academic! Read on for more information!
CFP:
Critical Essays about Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time
Overview: In 2010, Cartoon Network debuted a
new animated series called Adventure Time, and within just a few short
years, the show had become both a pop culture phenomenon and a critical
darling; perhaps this reception is best exemplified by the words of the George
Foster Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, which praised the
show for
“subtly teach[ing] lessons about growing up, accepting responsibility, and
becoming who you’re meant to be.” But despite this admiration, not many works of scholarship have
looked at the show through a critical lens. This proposed anthology, which will be released by McFarland and Company, thus seeks
to fill a hole in the literature by giving the series the critical attention it
deserves.
Chapters in this collection will focus on Adventure Time,
with a critical emphasis on the profounder messages inherent to the series.
Authors may choose to analyze the portrayal of certain characters, the show’s
myriad story arcs, or even individual episodes. Chapters should function as
critical readings or close analyses that employ a particular theory or
theoretical lens (e.g., critical feminism, queer theory, psychoanalysis,
Marxism) to elucidate the show’s deeper meaning(s). Possible chapter topics
include:
how characters like Marceline, BMO, and Princess Bubblegum subvert/uphold norms
about gender and/or sexuality, or how they queer/affirm aspects of normative
gendered culture
the
narratological structure of Adventure Time, and the role played by the
show’s mytharc/mythology
the
show’s interest in philosophical topics, such as humanism, existentialism, or
transhumanism
the
politics of Ooo and how the series played around with topics like democracy,
monarchy, capitalism, political oppression, and the social contract
how
the series (re)developed its tone and its characters over time
Adventure
Time’s interest in spirituality
the
humor and affect of the series, and its impact on the viewer
how
the series used music to tell stories, advance the plot, or sell character
emotions
a
critical or ethnographic look at the show’s fandom, either in person or online
close
readings of individual episodes or closely-connected story arcs (e.g., the
miniseries), in which the author explains some overarching thematic point
Finished chapters should be around 4,000 to 6,000 words. This collection is aimed at a
scholarly audience, but final write-ups should be as accessible as possible,
employing simplified language, clear explanations of academic terms, and brief
overviews of any major theories that might be employed.
Please format chapter drafts according to the Chicago Manual of Style 17th
edition.
Deadline for Proposal: January
31, 2021.
How to Submit a Proposal:
Formal chapter proposals of 250-500 words (or completed articles)—along with a
brief biography, resume, or CV—should be sent to Paul Thomas (paulthomas@ku.edu)
with the subject line “Adventure Time Essay Proposal.” Inquiries about
potential chapter topics not mentioned here are also welcome.
About the Editor:
Thomas—a library specialist at the University of Kansas—is the author of Exploring
the Land of Ooo: An Unofficial Overview and Production History of Cartoon
Network’s“Adventure Time” (2020), published by the University of
Kansas Libraries. He has also written I Wanna Wrock! The World of Harry
Potter–Inspired “Wizard Rock” and Its Fandom (2018), an ethnographic
monograph published by McFarland.
About the Publisher:
McFarland & Co. is a leading independent publisher of academic nonfiction. They
specialize in books about pop culture, sports, military, and history, in
addition to many other topics. McFarland currently offers nearly 7000 books in
print.
