Y’all, I’m over here DYING cuz Google suggested me this article about the crisis of backyard chicken keepers– which is that they love having chickens so much that they keep getting more, and then don’t know what to do with all the eggs.

Which I can see how this would be a problem, but it’s just so funny to me because they had interviewed this one guy who started off with 3 chickens, and then kept adding more and more, and eventually started donating the eggs to a local food bank, and at the end of the year when they wrote him a tax receipt, he discovered he’d donated over 400 dozen eggs.

Seriously, it was a whole article talking very seriously about how people are so into chickens that they just keep collecting them like pokemon and then have to “scramble” (their words not mine) to get rid of the eggs, because they weren’t even thinking of egg production, they just loved having chickens.

And while I may be over here laughing a bit too hard, honestly? Big Mood.

“but without the profit motive people won’t work”

If this is you:

Dinosaur Anti-Capitalism

Applies to crochet and any other fiber arts too.

Tips for Writing Interrupted Scenes

Scenes don’t always happen from start to finish. When you need to write interruptions, use these tips to get more confident about breaking up plot points and stitching them back together.

Pick an Emotional Cliffhanger

When your character gets the phone call about the job that could change their life, they hesitate to answer it. 

A new chapter begins on the next page from another point of view. 

But what happened with the phone call??

Your readers will keep going through the next chapter because they were left on an emotional cliffhanger with a character they love. The break won’t seem as natural as others, like ending a chapter when your character goes to bed or leaves a venue.

Plot Your Scene Breaks

Write a rough plot line, even if you don’t normally plan any outlines. It helps to know where your story is going so you can insert the rest of the scene more effectively.

Picture your character—they’re running a marathon and they’re starting the final mile. Their focus gets interrupted by something in the treeline to their left. It’s the childhood version of themselves, hanging upside down from a branch and waving. They have to go find out what that is, so the protagonist interrupts their race by sprinting into the woods.

Although the rest of the story may involve spooky moments and weeks or months of drama, the race never gets finished. Maybe the protagonist runs the same last mile after the event is over, when it’s back to being a regular street. They conquer the mile after completing the lesson or purpose of the plot.

That’s much easier to keep track of if there's a rough plotline to follow. Using bullet points can help or try writing a one-sentence description of each big plot moment on a sticky note.

Add More While Editing

If you have multiple moments that get interrupted, like broken dialogue or plot points, you may not remember to tie them together or make the break essential to the plot. That’s okay!

That’s what editing is for.

While you’re re-reading, make a list of every moment when something gets interrupted and another of when those moments get completed or resolved. You’ll easily tell what’s left unsaid that would otherwise feel like a plot hole.

-----

You may not always have interrupted scenes in every story. When you feel like they’re necessary, I hope these tips help you feel more confident about writing and editing them. 💛

Unironically, vegans need to be advocating for more and better sheep, llama, and alpaca farms. Wool is one of the best fabrics we have in terms of versatility, longevity and most importantly, insulation. Even wet, it retains 80% of it’s insulation potential.

AND IT DOESN’T SHED MICROPLASTICS

Like, there’s literally nothing you can do to a sheep that’s as morally reprehensible as dumping plastic down the gullet of literally every other living thing. You wanna talk about animal welfare? Talk about reducing the amount of microplastics produced by rayon, polyester, and spandex.

You are brave as FUCK for saying this, and it’s 100% true.

Wool farming, if done with an eye on animal welfare*, does absolutely nothing to harm a sheep or alpaca. It’s no different than a haircut. And just like a haircut, it’ll grow right back. If your argument is that sheep may be cut in this process—very occasionally a sheep may be nicked. To be clear, I say NICKED, not cut. Think about shaving your legs or face and hitting a bump, and ow, you bleed a couple drops. That is what may, rarely, happen. But RARELY, because farmers are going to take damn good care of the animals who keep them in funds. Should it happen, it’s as much an accident as you finding that bump while shaving.

Likewise y’all should be promoting ethical beekeeping and honey farming. Bees are unique among livestock in that if they don’t like their keeper, if they think the hive is shitty, they can, and will, just…leave. You can’t put a collar or ear tag on a bee. Bee populations are declining and they’re incredibly important in our biodiversity (as pollinators, yes, but also in other ways). And bees do, indeed, make too much honey for themselves. That’s why they swarm. A nest gets too full of comb, or they outgrow it, and they just dip. Swarming is dangerous because it leaves the bees vulnerable—the queen is mostly unprotected, they have only as much food as they could carry with them so if it’s late in the season they’re dead meat, humans spot swarms and freak out and send exterminators because they don’t realize swarms aren’t dangerous as long as you’re calm….it is, BY FAR, better to have bees in a hive that never overfills, where they can be checked for parasites and diseases that would destroy the colony or even an entire apiary and can receive honey substitute rather than starving to death if winter should be particularly harsh or long, and where an excess of their natural product and instincts can be siphoned off for the benefit of humans with no detriment to the bees.

Honey is less harmful to us and to the planet we live on than agave syrup, stevia, or cane sugar. It does not rely on any kind of slave labor (again: if the bees weren’t happy, they’d leave). It does not upset entire economies. And by its nature there are more independent keepers than there are giant conglomerates, which is better all the way around! (Although the conglomerates are trying to change that, so like. Support your local beekeepers.) Plus, old no-longer-needed honeycomb is made of beeswax, which can be used in all manner of things in lieu of more harmful chemicals like phthalates. There is no downside here!

“Never do anything involving an animal ever” should not be the goal. That completely ignores that we are animals that grew up in a complete ecosystem. “Do the least amount of harm and be good stewards, because this planet doesn’t belong to only us” should be the goal.

Wool and honey. We can argue another time about eggs. For right now let’s agree that sheep, goats, alpacas, and bees make far more of these products than they will ever need, that in some cases an excess can even be detrimental to them, and that it is a GOOD THING to find a way to live in balance rather than poisoning our world with “vegan leather.”

*to wit: animals should have plenty of space, shelter, food, and clean water. I love meat and I fucking hate factory farming.

important PSA about when your car is smoking

like literally smoking from the engine

white and you smell pancakes? it’s the coolant. panic and pull over, but you’ll live

a slight blue tinge? it’s the oil. panic and pull over, but you’ll live

grey, looks like fire smoke? gasoline; the most combustable and dangerous. pull over and leave the vehicle, pray.

sharing because i didn’t know this when my car started smoking white yesterday and i was so afraid for my life.

Reblogging because a dear friend of my Moms with mechanic experience told me the same thing when I got my license.

White or blue, you’ll pull through. But if it’s gray, get away.

This has literally always been the point, to be clear. They want more white babies, specifically. They want more poor white mothers. They want poor white people that they can use as pawns.

This has been an explicit part of Republican strategy since Reagan. Look it the fuck up, y'all.

and the Boomers (or what is left of them via themselves or their legacy instilled into whomever) are getting exactly what they want: tHe gOoD oLd dAyS! tHe gOlDeN yEaRs!

the reality of now is finally going to match with the ideals, the values that they have inherited from their parents (the people who survived The Great Depression AND World War II)

generational trauma is fucking insane y'all

I mean, we knew, but it's nice to hear so succinctly

Just a little mushroom handbag 🍄 by Hanako_xo

i’ve heard a lot of people say “don’t reach out to your friends first and see how many people will remain in your life. those are your true friends” and i get it. it sucks and it’s tiring constantly being the one to message first, to initiate hang outs but don’t take this so literally. some friendships require initiation. i have lost touch with so many people who genuinely cared about me and wanted me in their life because i stopped reaching out. it’s a hard pill to swallow but honestly some people just suck at it and it doesn’t mean they don’t love and value you. i’ve reconnected with some people over the past few months and it’s crazy how genuinely happy they are to see me and how engaged they are in the conversation. i just think sometimes we’re too harsh on each other & too quick to emphasize other peoples flaws and remove them from our lives but then we’ll all be alone and what’s the point of life then!!!!

I always see those little test things as ways to punish anyone who’s neurodivergent who thought you were a friend. It’s suddenly changing the friendship dynamic and, you know, pretty mean to think of your friends like that. Don’t make up shitty little tests for people you supposedly care about. If you truly have concerns then fucking open your goddamn mouth and talk about it. Say “hey, I notice I initiate conversations most of the time, what’s up with that?” and you’ll probably get an answer like “oh, I have adhd” or “oh, I rely on you to message when you’re not busy so I don’t feel like I’m disturbing you” or whatever. COMMUNICATE. Think of a shitty sitcom plot that could be solved if people would just use the centuries old tested technique of asking a damn question when you want to know something.

To think people are just purposely ignoring you or whatever means you have some issues with yourself you need to work on and not project it on other people. Sometimes the problem is YOU; more specifically some trauma or neurodivergence or whatever and there’s not a problem at all except your perception. Which you need to know about and, AGAIN, communicate with folks and work out some way to accommodate everyone’s needs.

dunno if someone already said it...

if the relationship (friendship, romantic, etc.) "must be tested", then gurl it was already over for you

communicate, peeps. just ask. you may or may not like the answer, but at least you know instead of suffering in the silence, wondering and uncertain

This your irregular remind to change/clear your A/C filters. Whether you have central air or a window unit, there's an air filter, and once it gets gummed up, your AC has to work harder to get the job done, resulting in higher power bills for less cooling.

illustrations continued:

fuck yeah

sometimes i see a post that has inaccurate information about libraries and sometimes i contemplate correcting them but then i don’t

actually this is a specific post i’ve seen circulating on my dash for a few months. i’m not blaming anyone for reblogging it but i think a lot of people don’t know enough about what a library is

getting a card is great, don’t get me wrong. but not using it isn’t good. yes, we can run reports that say how many cards were made in a year and we report it to our board (which the mayor is part of and the mayor has a big say in our budget -- see the cuts to nyc library funding by eric adams). but it’s bad if no one is using the cards. we do track circulation (items that are checked in/out, are lost or go missing, etc.), and if no one is taking out items that looks bad for our acquisitions budget. is there a manga series you like that’s 1000 issues long and still ongoing? if our budget gets cut we might not buy new books in the series. if you don’t use the ebook services we provide (libby, overdrive, etc.) those go away. if you don’t come to programs, program budgets get cut. if you. don’t keep track of what’s going on in your library, things you do not want to happen might happen anyway. go to the library. get to know the librarians, because if something comes up they will tell you about it. they might tell you that they’re holding a board meeting because a book was challenged by another patron. go to that board meeting to object to the challenge. and if you can’t physically go, get it in writing. e-mail the director -- you can find their email on the library website or somewhere on the internet. public librarians work for the public -- our info is out there. the director will read the email at the board meeting.

being an active member of the library is so much more than getting a card. not every library is great at outreach (my library is working on it, but we’re a small town, too), so sometimes you need to go to the website or call the library and ask. we’re more than happy to help. we want people in the library. it’s how we justify our existence, especially now when the far right really hates us and thinks we’re all pedophile indoctrinating children and will do anything to defund us. bigots are loud -- you have to be louder.

we all agree that book bans are bad and libraries closing are bad. but you have the power to stop it. and yeah, budgets are sometimes cut because there’s nothing else the library can do, but showing you actually want the library and the resource it provides to be around is important. i cannot overstate how much your voice matters. it matters over the staff, honestly, and i have a literal degree in library science. so i’m using my grad school knowledge to tell you to actually use and advocate for your public library

Use your card like you are on a shopping spree with unlimited funds!

See what other items/services your library offers with your card! Databases for research, music, movies (mine has whole ass streaming service I can checkout for a short time!), tools, toys, games, learning services, mobile hotspots, you never know what awesome services and materials your library has!

Ask you library staff, they will be so happy to tell you!

Oh so THAT's where the crying confusion image comes from!

LMAO

this is the second time i'm seeing this ask and the comic

i spent $32 on this fucking bowl at the moma and at first i felt bad buying it bc it was so expensive but ive had a terrible day today and every time i look at my lil bowl im like :o) you know what. i can get through anything with this bowl by my side

i literally get what marie kondo was talking about now

bc everyone keeps requesting to see it filled :)

I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Time seems to pass differently. But the place is cozy and private so I have no complaints. And whenever I’m hungry, I go outside with my bowl and walk down the hill to the shore. Sometimes the lake is made of soup. Sometimes it’s huge pasta noodles the size of barges. Sometimes it’s breakfast cereal. Sometimes it’s dumplings the size of great whales. I dip my little bowl and take a portion and carry it back up to the house.

Today I found a new bowl! In its center is a little hill with a little house. I will carry it down to the shore and fill it up, and whomever lives in that little house can have a tiny portion of my meal. I hope they have a nice bowl to put it in..

Anon hate from the late 1800’s.

What I love most about this is that this person was SO INCENSED at the recipient that they couldn’t even wait the days/weeks it would take for the mail to go through. No, they had to say “FUCK YOU” as soon as fucking possible and, AND, let the recipient that they were not done with the fuck you, nay, this was merely the first volley in what would undoubtably be a dressing down of Biblical proportions.

i will gleefully reblog this every time i see it

oh hey its the post i based this off of

IS BEING HYDRATED REALLY WORTH ALL THIS PEEING?

Hi friend! Fun fact! The human body can only absorb one liter of water per hour, and not all at once! Likely the reason you’re peeing so much is because you’re taking in too much water at a time, so your body just flushes it through your system as opposed to absorbing it. A good rule is ¼ liter every 15 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times that I want to (and will) glug a whole liter like it’s nothing, but steady hydration throughout the day is key! -Your friendly local wilderness first responder who rehydrates people for their job :)

Dang okay 📝

Roommate went out of town once, asked me to look after her cat.

Night one she comes down meowing at me. I go check her food/water, they're full. Litter box empty. Make sure my roommate's door is still open and she's not locked out of her room or something. I try to pet her and she dodges me, offer her treats and she won't have it, try playing with her but she won't play, try just ignoring her and she won't stop following me around meowing at me.

So I call my roommate, concerned maybe she was sick or in pain and that's why she was being so insistent despite having all her needs met.

Roommate goes: "OH! She wants you to go to bed. Go upstairs to my room and just sit in my bed with her for a few minutes. She should curl up and get comfortable. Once shes laid down she usually lets me go back to what I'm doing she just can't seem to go to bed on her own"

Sure enough, I go sit on roommates bed and she just happily jumps up, curls up on the blanket, and purrs herself to sleep.

I like when cats try to give their humans healthy habits.

From Theophile Gautier, mid-19th century, about his very floofy white cat:

Cats : trying to make us go to bed at a Reasonable Time since forever (so they can wake us up at 3 am for treats)