highlight quotes;

“… she returned to eating meat after learning that the soybean and corn monocultures that accounted for much of her vegan diet were wreaking havoc on the environment.“

“When we first opened, people were surprised at the prices,” he said. “But our costs are much higher than what a giant company pays. We are paying to have control over the quality of our animals, what they are being fed, how they are being treated, transported, slaughtered and cut up. Once people understood that, the business took off.”

“As soon as I started eating meat, my health improved,” she said. “My mental acuity stepped up, I lost weight, my acne cleared up, my hair got better. I felt like a fog lifted.”

“You can’t be healthy unless the animals you eat are healthy,”

“Rather than being passive and just not supporting an industry I don’t like, I’m taking an active approach by taking thousands of dollars out of it, “ he said. “When people come to me, they aren’t going to Costco for meat.”

The rage and bitterness in the notes. My god. Every generic stock peta talking point imaginable. None of these people read the article at all.

And do so many who feel it’s an injustice for an animal to die no matter how well it lives up to that point? Come on. That’s better than any life and death the wilderness will ever allow anything to experience. There are no peaceful deaths in nature. Total level of suffering should be the only measure of something being good or bad.

Y'ALL THIS IS THE NEW WHITE HOUSE MONKEYPOX COORDINATOR HOLY SHIT

Biden really said "I think we need a raging queer leather daddy doctor to run the country's monkeypox response" and he was RIGHT

yeah this is based

Oh fuck that is a good call: that's a gentleman whose career started while AIDS was in full swing within his community, who has championed harm reduction approaches to infectious disease, and who is pointed in his insistence on destigmatizing high risk communities rather than setting himself apart from them. This is someone who understands harm reduction and meeting people where they are without judgement, which is precisely the attitude you want to have when you grapple with a stigmatized epidemic.

Here's an article about his appointment to director of HIV/AIDS prevention from February 2021. Look at his career: he's been working in HIV/AIDS nearly his entire adult life and career. He's been working on increasing public health within stigmatized populations by focusing on harm reduction that entire time. Hell, this is someone with the institutional memory to remember Anthony Fauci's piss poor treatment of HIV during the Reagan administration and carry a grudge because the man didn't go far enough.

By the way, this is absolutely an example of harm reduction in terms of exercising your right to vote: there is zero chance that an advocate like Daskalakis would have been appointed under a Trump administration, but the incoming Biden administration installed him in the previous director position (which he still holds, as he adds monkeypox to his case load) as early as late 2020, before Biden was even properly inaugurated. That doesn't mean this administration is perfect or that we can't continue to agitate for better change, but it does mean that things are better and fewer people are going to die. That's basic harm reduction in action: you focus on survival for the most people as your metric, you take the route that results in the best outcome for the situation you have, and you do not ever let the imaginary perfect become the enemy of the tangible better.

Fuck, this is delightful good news. Well done Dr. Daskalakis, and all the best of luck to you and yours!

What I’d give for one of the Cinderella remakes to go into how when you’re in an isolated and abusive situation, sometimes you need to be saved and you’re not weak if you can’t escape by yourself

I’ve never been a fan of bad faith reinterpretations of fairy tales, especially ones which flatten the originals into “princesses is saved by a prince and nothing else”, to then go #girlboss. The princess can save herself because she’s a strong female character! (Implying if you’re in a bad situation, it’s because you’re not strong enough to get out)

Also the concept of the Prince over the course of like… a couple hours hanging out with Cinderella  going from ‘Haha nice I really like you’ to ‘oh fuck i can tell from context clues alone that your home situation is FUCKED UP’   it’s good shit   ‘I have just met you but ON GOD I’m gonna get you out of there beautiful mystery woman’   cinderella  makes desperately yelling into the night ‘how can I find you again!??!’ when she’s taking off that much more poignant really

He’s been trained to read the room. To read the context clues. To read politics and scheming and planning and people. He’s a Prince, it’s either that or accidentally drink poison by age 15. And he reads her and …

She’s impossibly wealthy. The dress isn’t a fabric he can recognize, but it’s beaded with cut diamonds, faintly milky opals that shimmer with a rainbow, little pale aquamarines, and somewhere are little bells gently ringing with each step - he’s a Prince and he can’t afford to dress like that. The slippers ring too … there is nothing like that crafted by the hands of humans. That’s fairy stuff. She has an in with them that eclipses royal politics. She is powerful in the Old Ways.

All this wraps around the poorest woman he’s ever seen in his entire life, and he’s seen some very, very, poor people in his time.

Poor in money, but poor in “oh you poor thing!” as well. This is someone who has been robbed blind. This is someone who carried themselves waiting for the lash, for a browbeating, for harsh, cruel, abrupt, punishment.

He expects her to be haughty, or hard, or meek or… something else… but she’s just nice. She’s just … nice.

The rigid posture comes out of his back, his tongue unsticks. She’s like sitting by the embers of a low, calm, fire. He feels warmed and rested simply speaking to her. He wonders if it’s magic, and it might be, but if it is it is magic that is her own.

And that terrifies him, because he’s trained to see these things and he knows someone with a cruel hand is waiting to douse her, and snuff her, and beat the last glimmer out of her shining eyes - eyes that put that dress to shame and and and and… she’s gone.

Oh god, she’s gone. It will be all over her sweet, kind, warm face that she transgressed and … oh god they’ll kill her, whoever they are. This will embarrass them and if there’s anything he knows, it’s that you don’t humiliate someone who has power over you and walk away unscathed.

And all he has is a fairy slipper that will only ever fit her foot (it’s not merely shoe size, it’s a kind of spiritual fit as well), and the vain hope that he can keep such a bright light from burning out. It doesn’t even touch his heart that what he’s feeling is a kind of pure philia, not until it enraptures him soul to bones, all at once. Oh god, oh no, oh shit… he’s reached well above his station, but…he can try to be good and worthy.

The way he sees it, sometimes even the strongest people can be brought low and need just… a little help. She had enough in her to do whatever she had to do to free herself of those evil relations if she had to, but she shouldn’t have to. There’s no glory in blood. Sometimes it’s okay for the ending to be happily ever after.

Admitting my star sign was a mistake.

“Oh, so that’s why you are they way you are. You’re two fire signs ruled over by water!”

Pretty sure it’s just the ADHD.

A fun thing to do whenever someone asks you your sign is to lie about your birthday. It still means listening to them attempt to explain your entire personality badly for a few minutes, but then you can undercut them as soon as it gets too annoying. 

So, for a while I was doing mailroom/account followup work for a nonprofit, and on my firt day there, one of the ladies, “Debbie” asked me when my Birthday was. Assuming she was planning office Birthday parties, I told her.

The next day she came in with my ENTIRE star chart with personality tropes, life advice, predicitons for my future and so on. Now, I don’t go in for Astrology but I can tell when someone is making a well-meaning gesture and I can say “Thank you” and shut up.

Especially because I told her the Wrong Birthday.

See, my birthday is in the middle of a cluster of a whole bunch of family birthdays and growing up I used to have to share my Birthday with my older cousins and while that’s not really a big deal (even fun if you’re older) it kinda sucks when you’re five and none of your cousins share your interests.

So mom made a deal with me: We’d celebrate my “Un-Birthday” in January, when nobody else in the family has a birthday or anything else, and the “real” birthday would be my Cousin’s. I got my own birthday and they got a second party and it was fun.

As I got older, I just started using my Un-Birthday for everything except paperwork, becuase January is boring and bereft of holidays except the one that’s really part of Xmas these days. On paperwork, I put my real one, but I’ve been celebrating my birthday in the wrong month for over 25 years now, and didn’t think about it when she asked, and told her my Un-Birthday.

And for a few weeks everything was fine.

But Debbie had a RIVAL.

Another woman in the office “Sharon” was also big into Astrology and was convinced Debbie was Doing It Wrong, so when she was going over payroll, she saw my Legal Birthday, realized Debbie had filled out the chart wrong, and then proceded to drag Debbie on the company facebook group, and a bunch of astrology groups they were both in.

I found out when I came in three days later from a long weekend and Debbie burst into tears and sobbed “HOW COULD YOU LIE TO MEEEEEE???”

After an extremely garbled recounting by our coworkers, a talk with my manager about “Hey yeah I don’t think it’s Legal for Sharon to take my name and date of birth from Payroll and put it all over facebook?”, the manager had a talk about “I know you are all over 50 but this is NOT WHAT THE COMPANY FACEBOOK IS FOR”, Sharon was ‘removed from the premesis’ and I finally got to sit down with Debbie.

I explained the slip-up and how I sort of have two birthdays and think of the January Birthday is my “Real” one.

Debie looked up from where she’d been sobbing into her tissue all morning, realization dawning on her less like the illumination of the sun and more like a baby sea turtle headed in the wrong direction because of light Pollution.

“Oh!” She said “You’re TRANS-ZODIAC! You might have been born as an Aries, but you’re really a Capricorn!”

As someone who’s been hit by a minivan and gotten a minor skull fracture from it, I’m pretty sure hearing that sentence gave me more brain damage.

“Sure Debbie.”

You know, I had no idea where this ride was going to take us, but of all the outcomes I expected, that was not it.

What, and I cannot stress this enough, the fuck.

Debbie was a kind woman with room in her heart for all the people of the world and the critical thinking skills of a Sea Cucumber.

being able to teleport must suck ass when you have adhd

“why the FUCK am I in nevada”

I really feel like Television should enter an era of allowing happy endings. That’s not to say characters can’t suffer along the way or that storylines can’t be “dark” but I would really like to see stories end on hopeful notes. I’m so sick of every story having tragic endings, especially considering the world we live in right now. Call me naive, I don’t care, but hope breeds hope. Love breeds love. Happiness breeds happiness. Allowing our characters to overcome and find the light in the end is powerful. Allowing characters to be happy is brave because happiness is not boring. I feel like we’re surrounded by dark stories in fiction and in reality and I find myself wondering where’s the hope and happiness.. is no one overcoming the darkness?

As Terry Pratchett said:

Why does the third of the three brothers, who shares his food with the old woman in the wood, go on to become king of the country? Why does Bond manage to disarm the nuclear bomb a few seconds before it goes off rather than, as it were, a few seconds afterwards? Because a universe where that did not happen would be a dark and hostile place. Let there be goblin hordes, let there be terrible environmental threats, let there be giant mutated slugs if you really must, but let there also be hope. It may be a grim, thin hope, an Arthurian sword at sunset, but let us know that we do not live in vain.”

Ok so the thing about reading like books which are “predictable” is that I, a story enjoyer, go completely bonkers about it bc its like Enrichment in my Enclosure. A scene parallels another earlier scene between different characters thus serving to highlight the differences in their views and priorities???? A line makes me think “hmmm I bet that’s gonna be relevant later” ends up being relevant later????? I am a tiger chewing ice cubes out of a pumpkin. I’m so so happy. Please foreshadow more things. Throw the completely anticipateable plot beats at me like catnip mousies!!!!!

YEAH!!!!!!

When I see a rifle on the wall, I want to see that rifle being fired! I’m literally on the sidelines shouting “Chekov! The gun! Get the gun, Chekov!”

weed smokers when they hear youre out of weed: oh shitttt youre out of weed? thats roughie doughie broski wish i could help you :((( but i can sell you this new shit i got yeah its like $30 a gram, its fire u gotta try it. really wish i could just spare you some but im all out :( feel u my man :( but for realsies hit me up next payday i got some fire

cigarette smokers when they hear youre out of cigarettes:

things i have learned from this post:

When I first started hanging out with people that smoked, I learned quickly that if I mentioned I hadn't smoked before, someone would immediately load and start a circle.

They wouldn't remember this. So the next time I saw them, I could do the same thing (it would be a month or more in between).

(I hadn't smoked before, then someone else said I hadn't, then I just got curious how long I could get away with it. I always bought pizza or something and when I finally came clean about it, everyone just laughed their asses off. They were sweet kids.)

logs on twitter, posts "are mormons queer for engaging in polygamy?", logs off and watches a war unfold as I smile like the grinch

*knits the red string of fate into a cosy blanket*

I’m more awake now. This is about how if soulmates exist relationships still take work, and also about how my love language is making things for all the people whose souls mine is bound to, be they my partner or my friends

I think a lot about who I am to other people in the world–particular who I am to strangers as a mere concept in their lives.

Today this woman called our information desk and said, “my son’s band is playing tonight. I want to come see him, but he never answers his phone…..I want to be there. Have you heard anything about his band?”

And I felt so bad for this lady but I’m not in the music scene around here so I had to tell her no, sorry.

Five hours later, I’m hiking and run into a group of guys setting up for some outdoor performance, and as I watch them unload the drums it hits me.

“Hey,” I said, “are y’all in a band?”

They said yeah and smiled and I told them “one of your moms called today. She wants to watch you play, but she can’t get a hold of you. Call your mom.”

And they all pulled out their phones and started discussing whose mom it probably was as they presumably dialed their own.

And now, unless we meet again and recognize each other, that’s who I’ll be forever to those guys–some mysterious courier for mom-messages who came out of the woods and told them their mom called.

I didn’t even tell them why their mom called me. Who am I to their mom?? Nobody even asked. They just took my word for it and called their mothers.

Amazing.

I’M LAUGHING!!! THEY DIDN’T EVEN ASK WHO I AM.

Do you ever like physically feel yourself pass your mental breaking point and then all you can think is “oh these next few days are going to be interesting”

Like you’re just sitting there silently and on the outside you seem fine and gathered but in your head you’re like “oh this is gonna hit me like a train any second”

Boys will be boys

realrahsaun

old time mob boss

Meow, see

Idk I'm getting tired of emails that say "OMG THIS PRODUCT IS SO CHEAP!!!" Instead of "this product is so well made and it will last you several years to come!!"

Preach!!

Clothes are so flimsy now-a-days they’re practically see-through and they can’t handle washing more than like 20 times before they’re ruined.  Same with vehicles, same with phones, same with basically everything now.  Everything is flimsier and more breakable... 

Everything is made as cheaply as possible so that the company can save 1/8 of a penny producing it.  That pads the profit margin numbers and buys the CEO a new yacht because stock prices go up slightly for a few days, which makes millionaires buying stocks happy.  And that’s all a company cares about.  Fuck  30, 10, or even 2 years down the road! They can make a fast buck today.

Longevity, both in products and in corporate thinking, is a critically endangered idea.

You're 100% correct on all of this. Tbh when I made this post I should have added these, but I want to add them now at least to curb some despair. Because some manufacturers are just as fed up as we are!!

Buy Me Once is a website that sells products that, uh, you only have to buy once. They have razors, duvets, kitchenwear, hosiery, gardening tools—all that are designed to last as long as physically possible. Hell, they have a smartphone ($200, 4 year warranty) and a VACUUM, both made to never be replaced. A lot of these things are also self-serviceable (looking at you Apple).

There are other sites out there like this, but this is the one I know is reputable. There are also some clothing companies like Eddie Bauer, Uniqlo, LandsEnd, and Duluth Trading Post that all sell durable, reliable clothing. In Uniqlo's case, they're also recycling materials and creating innovative new ways to sew clothes, including just not sewing them at all.

So yes, the mainstream stores you see in the mall are USUALLY bad. But there are some out there that're still working on improving and doing better all the time. The next issue we have to hurdle is money. Because how many of us can afford to buy an actual wool coat vs a synthetic something or other that'll last two years?

a really little animated black cat with giant eyes and no other discernible features

do you get it or do you not know anything

more examples that people keep getting upset with me for not adding

That’s just how black cats be

aaand this is the whole point :)