"Don't use Libby because it costs libraries too much, pirate instead" is such a weird, anti-patron, anti-author take that somehow manages to also be anti-library, in my professional librarian-ass opinion.

It's well documented that pirating books negatively affects authors directly* in a way that pirating movies or TV shows doesn't affect actors or writers, so I will likely always be anti-book piracy unless there's absolutely, positively no other option (i.e. the book simply doesn't exist outside of online archives at all, or in a particular language).

Also, yeah, Libby and Hoopla licenses are really expensive, but libraries buy them SO THAT PATRONS CAN USE THEM. If you're gonna be pissed at anybody about this shitty state of affairs, be pissed at publishing companies and continue to use Libby or Hoopla at your library so we can continue to justify having it to our funding bodies.

One of the best ways to support your library having services you like is to USE THOSE SERVICES. Yes, even if they are expensive.

*Yes, this is a blog post, but it's a blog post filled with links to news articles. If you can click one link, you can click another.

When I was a kid, my dad hated when I hung up anything on my walls. My art, band posters, movie posters, anything. Not with taxks, not with tape (it “ripped the paint off”) not with anything. At one point in 5th or 6th grade he came in my room and found me hanging up a Diary of a Wimpy Kid poster with tacos and he was like “EVERY HOLE YOU PUT IN THE WALL TAKES $10 OFF THE VALUE OF THE HOUSE.” so when I was mad at him, I’d insert tacks into the wall in places he couldn’t easily see just out of spite. Whoever owns the house now is probably wondering about it.

bro didn’t even know you could just fill holes with toothpaste 💀

I know this is about an owned house (that you should be touching up and repainting the walls of before reselling anyway???) but for ppl who are paranoid about putting holes in rental walls: don’t be. Put up posters. Shelving if you need it. Have hanging plants. Invest in a studfinder. Spackle kits are cheap and everywhere now, or you can use white toothpaste, glue, or even soft air-dry clay to fill holes. Scuffs and rub marks are considered normal wear and tear and landlords can’t charge you for them. Most places will have you fill holes but will have to repaint between tenants anyway, so even if the spackle doesn’t match the walls, it’s not a big deal. Check your state laws about what is considered normal wear and tear. Most states have laws covering everything from paint to flooring. For instance, in my state, carpet that is 3+ years old is considered past its normal life cycle and therefore any damage to it cannot be charged for because the landlord/management is expected to put in new carpeting. Before any move-out, check local laws considering paint, flooring, light fixtures, appliances, etc. Landlords and management companies make BANK on people not knowing that they’re paying for paint rubs that they’re painting over anyway and carpet that has been paid for 6 times over.

Reminder: they’re never ever ever ever going to give you your security deposit back no matter what you do. have fun with life.

Actually, if your landlord isn't giving your security deposit back without good reason (in new york, they gave to give you a itemized receipt listing why they deducted from it) bring them to small claims court. Don't let the bloodsuckers get away with your money.

Our last landlord tried keeping all the deposit and charging is for more. When we moved in, I took a whole lotta pictures. I took pics when we moved out and did my research regarding local laws and looked at how frequently tenants win in small claims court here. Over 80% of cases are in favor of tenants.

So I wrote a very professional letter to the landlord and property management company. I provided this information and sent a CD with copies of before and after pics of the place with notes, like the place hadn't been cleaned before we moved in, there was a hole from the second bathroom to the outside, large enough to fit a fat raccoon, husky fur everywhere, nails, hooks, and tacks in the walls, footprints on the ceiling, human hair on the walls and ceilings of the main bathroom.

I informed them they had 60 days to return our deposit or we will take them to small claims court. Local laws state that if a tenant wins, we receive 3x the deposit, and the landlord pays all court costs and fees. 58 days after sending the letter, we received our deposit with an apology for "confusion."

These people are dependent on ignorance. Be aware, be knowledgeable, and make them afraid.

You're a dumbass who the fuck says something like that

a few months ago my friend called me and told me she was moving back up near me from 7 hours south in the middle of nowhere and asked if i would help her because she couldn’t move the furniture by herself and the town was so small there was no moving company (there were actually only 5 or six businesses in the whole town including both restaurants) and she had no one else down there to ask. 

And even though money is pretty tight for her, she told me I could name my price if I would help her, because it was so far away.

I told her she was a dummy for thinking i would take her money but that i would accept the traditional helping-a-friend-move price: a meal (i know she would feel wrong about herself if she didn’t do something for me in return, that’s just how she is) Tradition suggests pizza and beer, we opted for enchiladas and a margarita.

we crashed on the floor of the empty place and left back north in the morning - when we got back to the city three more friends met us at her storage place (the place she was moving into wouldn’t be vacant for a couple months) and we started to move all her stuff up to a storage room on the THIRD FLOOR (because large city storage places be like that)

we had just taken the first box out of the truck when the (only) lady working there walked by and told us they closed in an hour and twenty minutes, and she couldn’t stay even a little late because she had to get to her other job.

One hour twenty minutes. To completely un-jenga a large uhaul and re-tetris it back into a similar sized room on the third floor.

We all just, shared a look, took off hoodies, and got the fuck down to business. 

It was actually.. I still cherish look we passed around. The tiny eyebrow quirks and chin nods. The eye glints. The bigger breath we each took as we prepared to kick it up several gears. That moment of wordless connection, when we all just silently agreed that we were damn well going to do the impossible and didn’t even waste the time it would take to say anything, just got to it.

And we did it too. Finished with exactly two full minutes to spare. And then we all went for dinner and drinks to celebrate. And my friend’s friends that came to help? Two of them were acquaintances/friends of mine already. Like I lived with one for a year a decade ago sort of thing. But this experience? Brought us all closer. Made myself a new friend too.

And the friend i helped move? She and I are closer than ever because of it.

When i left our storage success diner to go home, she asked me again if I was sure i wouldn’t take any money.

I said “I ever tell you when I was 22 I went down to Hollywood to try that scene out? Anyway ten months later, when I just couldn’t do it anymore, and needed to come back, I called one of my best friends and said i can’t do this anymore i need to come back. You know what he said? He said: I’ll be there tomorrow. Not how much will you pay me, not what do i get out of it, not will you be able to cover my gas, just: I’ll be there tomorrow. Okay? You’re my friend. If you need help, I’m going to be there”

If helping someone move ruins your friendship, you’re doing at least one of those two things very wrong.

fucking goldfish tiktok made me cry bro

Conservative men talking about abortion is pure patriarchal malware. The disinformation and misogyny are criminal.

I think I’m in the minority on this but I’ve always loved how Rick Riordan never held firm on a timeline — that his books happen now whenever now is. That Grover plays Hilary Duff on his reed pipes in pjo and Leo references the Hunger Games in hoo and Nico makes a Montero joke in tsats and Percy roasts boomers in cotg. Because these characters are transcendent. They don’t exist in one place or belong to one time or cater to a specific generation. They’re adapting and changing as readers do (and as Rick does) to bring in new campers and nudge shoulders with long-time year rounders. It’s clever writing to keep evolving and let these stories exist across a wide plane to make the world expansive and welcoming without limitations. It’s just something I’ve always admired about the Riordanverse

yeah man we can tell

that thing looks like it has severe anxiety

Dear people living on your own for the first time:

Here’s some advice I wasn’t told from the myriad of posts before that I wish I’d been given before

Hey this post is pretty good but please always wash your rice. It’s not to make it taste better, it’s to remove aflatoxin, which is created by a very widespread type of fungus and as such is present on most unwashed produce. Chronic exposure to aflatoxin leads to higher risk of liver and gallbladder cancer. I don’t blame anyone for not knowing this, as I didn’t until I started taking classes about cancer for my microbiology degree. Please always wash all of your produce and especially your rice, as it has a much higher surface area to volume ratio meaning that it can have a lot more aflatoxin on it than other produce if you don’t wash it.

I love when my borzoi does the thing

I need you to understand I've been reading these tags for a solid minute now because they are sending me into the stratosphere. Behold, my dog, THE BLORBOZOI

@pnkrathian

"My childhood was so awesome. Kids today don't even know!"

Isn't a flex.

It's a lament.

More people should understand that.

Cereal boxes had toys inside.

Yes, it was a crass marketing for a sugar cereal made of chintzy plastic

Today you're just expected to eat Capn Crunch because that's what you do as a child, that's what breakfast looks like. Which is... fine, I guess. Sugar still tastes good. That's still a pleasure you're otherwise asked to disavow by the protein shake nutribottles advertised on podcasts.

But it also means the idle minor joy of getting a random toy present, as a reward for nothing, just because you exist, is stripped. That random spark of joy is gone, replaced with nothing.

Where did the public pool go? the neighborhood park? the atrium food court public place to gather?

Same thing. All of them were just replaced with nothing.

Kids today have many good things. But it shouldn't be a trade off. They should get to have instant messages with friends and go skating at the park. They should get to play amazing modern video games at home and go trick or treating for halloween. They should be able to have stickers and markers and macaroni art as well as youtube and streaming libraries and fortnite dances.

Fun should be allowed at every level.

Also. Kids now are just used to people constantly trying to sell them stuff.

When I was a kid, we had advertising on TV, radio, magazines, and billboards. It was easy to recognize and you could work around it. There were certain types of TV, like PBS or cable, that did not have commercials.

Now, kids are inundated with advertising constantly. YouTube and social media have replaced TV and radio for a lot of families, where in addition to ads every 1-3 minutes, many YT stars have sponsored bits in their videos. Social media constantly tries to sell you things. They have found a way to put advertising into the pumps at gas stations. There are so many things, like access to TV shows and Disney movies, that are locked behind a paywall. They can't even read a newspaper if they wanted to.

I did a school visit a while back to a group of about 100 fourth graders to tell them about the library's upcoming Summer Reading Program. They were totally unimpressed by me telling them cheerfully that if they met their reading goals, we would give them books for free. I thought they were just tired because it was close to the end of the day, and then one kid raised his hand to resignedly ask the question they were all thinking:

Kid: How much does this cost? Me: Nothing. It's a free library program. Kid: Uh huh, like you are going to give us books for free. How much does it really cost? Me, confused: ... nothing. You don't have to give us any money at all. You just have to do the reading and fill out your reading log, and you will have earned the books to take home and keep forever. Kid, in disbelief: Oh come on. If you don't charge us, how are you gonna make money? Me, taken aback: We don't make money, we're a library. Kid, exasperated: What do you mean you don't make money? Me: We're a public service, like the fire department or schools. You don't have to pay to use those either. There is a ripple in the crowd as 100 disbelieving 9 year olds take this in. Other kid: How do you afford to do anything if you don't make money? Like where do you get the money to do stuff if we don't have to pay you? Me: Through things like government grants and taxes. Third kid: So let me get this straight. That means that if some people don't pay their taxes -- Teacher: Friend, this is a great conversation for Social Studies and not during library time! Ms. Intrepidheroine, would you like to show us the LEGOs you brought?

And that's the story of how I realized that children absolutely expect you to try to sell them something if you come in to do a "special talk" even if it's for a library.

Which is tragic.

percy just gets me in a way nobody else ever will

how it started how it's going

I will be like "I'm fine" and then another fucking event will occur

I don't think Reddit gets enough credit for how hilariously buckwild the subreddit system is.

Like it makes sense on the surface. The subreddits are all topic-focused independent message boards, each with their own moderator teams, and you can curate which ones show up on your feed. Subscribe to the ones that suit your interests and bam you're good.

Except the question of WHO is in charge of every subreddit is an objectively hilarious system. Anyone can create a subreddit. Under any name. Who holds the keys to the kingdom is strictly determined by whoever managed to camp the name first. It's like tumblr URL wars except if whoever managed to grab the URL "homestuck" got to be defacto in charge of the entire homestuck fandom.

Or at least they get to be in charge until they anger the populace and get ousted, Julius Caesar style, by the team of fellow moderators they brought aboard, or until they voluntarily sign the deed over because they don't want to deal with 600,000 angry homestuck fans every single day, or they get mutinied against and all the REAL homestuck fans flock over to "curatedhomestuck" or "homestuckcirclejerk" or "homestuckcirclejerkcirclejerk".

You get seemingly benign subreddits about things like baking or kittens that have absolutely batshit rules because the whole thing is being run by a paranoid and power-hungry 23-year-old from Arkansas. You get inter-subreddit beef where the mods of r/cutekittensdoingcutethings will ban you from their subreddit because you have a history of posting in r/genshinimpact. You get subreddits that fall to ruin and spam because the moderators in charge vanished into the night without passing power along to anyone else.

Redditors love to complain about Reddit moderators and this surprises me not at all because there is simply no possible way that the Reddit moderation system could be a smooth-running machine when its defining underlying mechanic is First Come First Serve. And that's hilarious to me. That's hilarious. Political system where the King is chosen from among the populace of people who comment "first" on Youtube videos. You can't beat that.

Volume one: is about the relationship with the mother

Volume two: is about the relationship with the father

Volume 3: is about the relationship within the self

And the holiday special: is about kidnapping Kevin bacon