Jessica Riffle
Bio
33, First Nation's in diaspora from home. Mother of cats. Prone to random relocation and mood changes.Business inquiries; [email protected]
Stories (28/0)
In Defense of Long, Meditative Rituals
How We Used to Be In the past, people would do things like go to the market every day, set the table in a specific way with a table cloth that they would change daily, take things to a temple to be blessed, attend Latin Mass each and every day, wake during the small hours to pray, or even have a ritual each day. While we sometimes make time for those today, we don't really seem to put much focus on it. With so much going on in life, the idea of losing an hour or more a day to something can be ludicrous. But this kind of intentional slowing down of your day is something that our elders found great value in.
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in Longevity
Why Bajorans from 'Star Trek' Are the Feminists We Need
While most people don't think of Major Kira when they think of feminism, I honestly think she should be one of the first examples. It's almost as if her brand of feminism is too quiet, too earned, too perfect. Her lack of struggles in this area make it seem like maybe her society is just the same as every other. With the deeply problematic history of Star Trek, in terms of the sexualization of women and even their mistreatment in some scenes, it also isn't surprising that Star Trek is not the first place that people look for feminist messages. So, why do I make this argument? Well, read on to find out more.
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in Viva
The Disappearance Files - Megumi Yokota - Japanese Citizen Kidnapped by North Korea
On a sunny but slightly malevolent-feeling seaside afternoon in November, North Korean agents kidnapped 13-year-old Megumi Yokota as she was walking home from a badminton court, less than seven minutes from her home. For years, all her parents, or anyone, would know about her was that she had disappeared into thin air, she was likely dead, and her body was likely in the sea. Her family went through the grieving process, and hoped that they would be able to move on, despite the circumstances of her disappearance.
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in Criminal
What It's Like Living as a Slaughtered, Lied to, and Persecuted People
Living as a Native American or First Nations person, depending on which side of the border you are on, is not really that amazing. You hear people talk about casinos, money the government supposedly gives you, and lots of other silly things, but never really anything good. With each shift in the government, there are some truths that remain and a feeling that never goes away. In this article I'm going to explore how I, coming from a Rez, feel and think.
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in The Swamp
Why Most Star Trek Aliens Look Mostly Human
In Universe There are actually several reasons that the majority of the aliens found in the first few series, at least before we make it to the gamma quadrant, are somewhat humanoid in nature. This has to do with both the origin of the quadrant and the forces that have long protected it. The first reason is that the majority of the races in Trek, from Cardassians to humans, were genetically modified by the sewing of DNA onto their planets by a group of entities called the Progenetors. While little is known about them, they were advanced enough to leave behind a hidden code in the DNA of the races that they seeded that would reveal a hologram when combined. Before this point in time, there were no other humanoid races, and it is heavily implied that only this DNA is keeping the current races even slightly related. To read more about the hologram, Progenetors, and other speculation about them you can check their memory alpha articles.
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in Futurism
What Is the Religious Travel Industry?
While the reasons that people travel can be many, most people aren't going to think of religion as being even in the top five. However, religious tourism is actually in the top three, and is one of the sectors in which tourism has been growing each and every year. Most of this can be put down to the current ease of travel across the world, but some parts can actually be attributed to different ways of expressing and feeling your faith. In this article I'll go over a little bit of information, give a few basic examples, and explain why, for some, this tourism is becoming integral to their faith. If you have been thinking about taking part in religious tourism, I hope this article helps convince you to do so. If you live in an area that benefits from this type of tourism, I hope I can help you learn what the people taking part in it are looking for from your area.
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in Wander
Riding in an All Women Train Car in Japan
During my time living in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan I’ve had on occasion to use the women only cars on trains, only a few times; usually when I or my wife felt threatened by drunk men at weird hours, or when the crush of people was such that groping was sure to happen. That being said I’ve found that many people are interested in the experience so I’ll share a bit about it. It should be noted that my experiences are for the local trains, and that I haven’t taken a women’s only car cross country in Japan, however the differences according to friends are very minimal.
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in Viva
How Con-Langing Is Taking the Geek World by Storm
What Is Con-Langing? Simply put it's a portmanteau, or word made from combining two words. In that case those words are "constructed," and "language." So it refers to the process of making a language and all of the linguistic rules that go with it. This is a bit different from babbling to yourself and specifically refers to languages that have defined rules, could actually be learned by a human, and are capable of being recorded. This means that things like "speaking in tongues", "reconstructed dead tongues," and anything else that doesn't fit the above definition is not included.
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in Geeks
Why Do Natives Use Indigenous Language to Greet Each Other
If you, as a non-native, have come across Natives or Indigenous people greeting each other, you have likely noticed that most of us use at least a single word in our native language, and using terms of kinship. You might also be sitting there asking... but why?
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in Humans
5 Surprising Geisha Facts
They Aren't Sex Workers. This might be one of the most common myths and one that was helped along by the book Memoirs of a Geisha, which was written by a man who had hardly any real contact with Geisha and traditional Japanese society. Explaining the role of Geisha in cultures where they don't exist is also very hard, which might have led to people assuming they were sex workers at first. Geisha are artists, literally. They keep the arts of spoken poetry, brush painting, traditional music, dance, and instruments alive. These are all pursuits that require the support of others and that take a long time to master. Geisha also train in the art of speaking and in social graces.
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in Viva
What It's Like to Marry a Man as a Lesbian
When I was 23 years old, I decided to make my rather conservative family happy and "settle down" with someone after a particularly bad breakup. What followed was an adventure in navigating not just my own sexuality but that of many others in my life as well. Keep reading to find out more about how it felt and how it changed my outlook on the world!
By Jessica Riffle5 years ago in Humans