I am in love with Clara 😭

Transcript:

Clara trusts me enough to show me different parts of her body like her belly. show me her mouth and allow me to touch all of those teeth. —right? can you turn and show them all of your teeth? good job!— So we work really hard on being able to look over their entire bodies, and progress those behaviors to things like voluntary blood draws, ultrasounds, teeth brushing, and radiographing. —right? yeah!— But the biggest thing is we find what they find reenforcing and they show us that. and that includes hugs. —right?— And Clara has shown us that she really seems to enjoy tactile, so I give her this hand signal and she will show me what part of her body she wants rubbed. So, right now she wants a big noogie —right? good.— and sometimes what I will do is I’ll make her head a little pancake. or then I’ll rub her side and then she snuggles right in. —huh? huh! good girl thats very nice, good.— And then like I said, she would climb right on my lap and allow me to continue giving her tactile.

We had one of Steff's comedian friends staying with us on the weekend, lovely lad called Sam from Singapore. He had never been to Wales before, and he requested that we take him to a Welsh restaurant so he could try Welsh food

That's surprisingly difficult, actually. Like a lot of Welsh culture, our culinary traditions have not exactly been applauded over the years, so you don't really see them. But a lucky Google search revealed a brand new one has just opened in SA1 called the Welsh House, so great! Away we went.

Fuck me, they went all in.

It wasn't just the menu (though fuck me, what a menu - one of their 'for the table to share' options was little mini leek and cheddar Welsh cakes with salted butter and they were paralysingly good). It wasn't just that every alcohol was Welsh, even including the wine (surprisingly good btw, called 'Naturiol'.)

The table centerpieces were daffodils. All signs for the toilets were Welsh only. The walls had photos of Wales, modern and historical; the windows had the fleur de lis; the specials board (pork belly in Welsh cider and damson sauce with honey and wild garlic glazed carrots) had dragons on. I realise this is probably normal for country-themed restaurants, but I've never been to one for Wales before.

But the best bit, see, was the music

I clocked, when we walked in, that they were playing If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next by the Manic Street Preachers (you always clock the Manics). Ah, I thought. A Welsh song! In a Welsh restaurant! Ho ho ho.

As they seated us, it became What's New Pussycat. Ah! I thought. Another Welsh song! Fu fu fu.

Then they played Monster by the Automatic and I was like my god are they only playing Welsh music?? That's so cool! What an eclectic mix that's going to be. We should suggest to them they should look into Welsh language music too, really mix it up.

And then they played Anrheoli by Yws Gwynedd and lads, Steff and I lost our shit. We lost our fucking shit. Sam's sitting there, utterly bewildered. The staff are nervously edging away from us. We don't care. It's the first time I have ever heard a Welsh language song played outside of a Welsh language setting. We're so excited.

"They're playing Welsh music!!!" says Steff. "Holy shit!!!"

"Imagine if they played Sebona Fi!" I say, humorously.

"Nah," says Steff. "You can't in a restaurant. There'd be a riot, it's faerie music."

"...what?" says Sam

We explain the cultural phenomenon that is Sebona Fi. The song changes: Primadonna Girl, by Marina and the Diamonds.

"She's Welsh??" says Sam.

"She's from Abergavenny!" we beam.

"I don't know what that means," nods Sam, who is from Singapore.

Next: The Bartender and the Thief, by the Stereophonics. We're in high spirits. The extraordinarily Welsh wine arrives, as does the rarebit on sourdough starter. Sam, a gay man, delightedly orders the faggots and peas.

They play Ben Rhys by Gwilym Bowen Rhys, and we lose our shit again. Sam is now used to this, because comedians are adaptable. "They even have daffodils!" I say, misty eyed. "Is that relevant?" Sam asks, fascinated.

They play Hiraeth, by PLU. Hard to explain that one. Very hard to explain the effect it has when it's played in a restaurant, but Sam looks around the suddenly muted room and whispers "Are we in church?"

"It's about Hiraeth," whispers Steff. "So kind of."

Next: the Masses Against the Classes, by the Manics. Utter tonal whiplash. This playlist is not remotely restaurant appropriate. It's perfect.

"You'd think they'd pick like... a genre," Sam says dreamily. "We just went from church to the barricades."

The faggots arrive. "I forgot it would be a western sized portion," Sam says morosely, of what to me is a normal sized plate of food. He tries one, and brightens.

They play Sebona Fi.

The place erupts.

Faerie restaurant. Your guests will never want to leave

I don’t know if I will ever go to Wales, but if I do, I hope this place is still there.

Y'all they reintroduced kākāpō to mainland Aotearoa and I can't get over the photo of this little guy preparing for his Air New Zealand flight. They packed him snacks??? His water bowl says "only top quality"??? You're so right babe he is top quality 🥺🥺

The North Island is not the Mainland, the South Island is the Mainland, the North Island is just the Fish.

honestly in the context of this, I think EITHER of the main two islands count as "mainland".

It all comes down to the fact that the American public have had a slow and steady diet of Goebbels’ methods being directly fed to the least intelligent and most emotionally vulnerable on a daily basis for over 40 years.

We’ve been the victim of the Nazi Playbook from the git-go after WWII.

so embarrassing when i forget im checking someone's blog and i start scrolling through and liking and reblogging shit as if it's just my dash. it feels like wandering into someone else's apartment and not noticing and making myself lunch

reblog if i can wander into your apartment (blog) and make myself lunch (like and reblog as if it's my dash)

Anyone can go through my blog and like and reblog anything they want. I don't even understand why this would ever be a problem.

listen. listen. the consumption of animal products is about mutually beneficial relationships Not domination and that's why prioritizing animal r*ghts over animal welfare is an absolutely brain fungus take to have

urban leftists who've never so much as raised a chicken will be like "umm think about the politics of your diet???" because they can't conceive of the fact that domestication is an incredibly sweet gig for most livestock where they don't have to look for their own food or shelter or water are protected from predators and also get free healthcare and a quick clean death

100%

The actual issues with our current livestock system are because of capitalism and industrialization. Can we please focus our energy on the global paradigm being cruel and unsustainable to us, the planet, AND livestock instead of getting lost in virtue signaling

malala being the icon that she is 😭

her husband’s reply please

also posting these two on their own :-) based on This post by @outpastthemoat

People are seriously complaining about Lois jumping off the roof to prove Clark is Superman? She's been doing that for decades! That's her go to move! Lois Lane has always been unhinged, that's what makes her great. Y'all are like 'give me a weirdo woman, give me a real freak", then a piece of media accurately portrays a CLASSIC weirdo and y'all call her toxic or whatever. It's called being dedicated to finding the truth and having no chill. Just admit you can only accept women (esp woc) being slightly spunky and awkward and will turn against them the second they get a little interesting and fucked up. If y'all can't appreciate that Lois is a freak, you don't deserve her. More for me.

None of you would be able to handle Silver Age Lois. Y'all want a REAL toxic weirdo? She jumped off cliffs when she was late for work and needed a ride.

enough reclaiming slurs, I think in 2023 we should reclaim nascar. they banned the confederate flag on all properties & their stance on lgbtq+ isn’t just performative bc in 2013 they fined a driver 10k for using a homophobic slur, condemned indiana in a statement for an anti lgbt law, and partnered w carolina’s lgbt+ chamber of conference in 2022. nascar was founded by anti-cop moonshiners/bootleggers who drove suped-up fords to out-run the police. #yaaascar

HELP

To this day, my favorite argument I ever had was with my Nascar-loving family about how a thin blue line flag on a Nascar is antithetical to the core tenets of Nascar. There is no organization more rooted in ACAB than Nascar. Literally, the only reason it exists was that a bunch of moonshining families had to build cars that could outrun the cops while on supply runs during the Prohibition Era. The goal was to make the car look like a regular vehicle so they could pick up supplies or drop off illegal alcohol without arousing suspicion. But if the cops were on you all you had to do was put the pedal to the metal and that little truck could outrun them with no problems. And of course, families would be in competition over who made the best alcohol, and whose car was fastest. So, they would have races on the weekends. When prohibition was lifted, the races continued. And that is why we have Nascar. It really frustrates me how people look at American car culture and scoff at it. Formula One racing is more exciting and more dynamic to watch, but the history of it is not as interesting: a bunch of rich assholes who made specialized cars for racing. And to this day, it is still a rich man's sport. Whereas Nascar was about a bunch of so-called hicks in the backwoods who used some basic hand tools and trial and error to make a junker into a racecar.

“oh they’re not taking away chronological dashboard, well everything’s okay then” they also said in the post they’re making reblogs collapsed (like comments on twitter) so you won’t see the full conversation in a post. they also won’t get rid of tumblr live despite it being an annoying and cancerous data-miner that isn’t legal in much of the world. they won’t even let you opt out of tumblr live for more than seven days. they implemented a terrible photo viewer that mimics tiktok and makes it so you can’t zoom in on images. they took away the ability to view prev tags. they’re making it so you have to sign in with your email to view almost any thing on tumblr. they’ve already made it so you have to sign in to send asks, even on anon. they’re slowly phasing out custom blog themes.

the things that make tumblr at all usable and favored by us– the older web blog features, the anonymity– that is still being taken away. it HAS been being taken away for some time now. i am urging you people to reveiwbomb the tumblr app. force them to acknowledge that users do not like these changes.

Let me stress: Collapsing reblogs would turn tumblr into a completely different site.

A massive chunk of our site culture - arguably our entire site culture itself - is based on the collaborative nature of posts. The fact that many posts are chains of relevant additions or Bits done by multiple people is the appeal. This is not an “outdated format” or an inconvenience, it is a core function.

Also I can’t help but suspect that this partial walkback is misleading. Okay, so we still get to have a chronological dashboard, but are we going to be allowed to keep it as our default tab? Because new accounts sure fucking can’t set as such.

Reblog chains are literally what makes tumblr posts tumblr posts

The most beautiful footage of strangers dancing in public… https://twitter.com/Thorayaaa/status/1660180658646568967

its like a real life version of that children’s song with the magic bridge that you had to dance across

Highlights: --all the old people --one dude who starts doing the Cotton-Eye Joe and has the steps on lock --quinceañera girl with a dress bigger than the circle --lots of kids but particularly the dude who's doing the helicopter with his little girl --an entire section of Millennials doing dance moves I recognize, oh the nostalgia

Clark: You know, sometimes I wish I had more children like you do, Bruce.

Lois, sighing heavily because one alien pregnancy was enough for her: Clark-

Bruce: No, Lois, I've got this. You want more children, Clark?

Clark: Uh.

Bruce, calling over his shoulder: Hey, Dickie... Just wondering, did you ever give your brother back his Superman autograph?

Jason: What. Wait, what?

Dick: It was, hold on, hold on! Don't be mad.

Jason, advancing aggressively: You stole my shit- You stole a DEAD BOY'S superhero memorabilia?

Dick: It was to remember you by.

Jason: WELL I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER ME PLENTY NOW, GIVE IT BACK.

Dick: You don't even want it! You haven't once asked about it or-

Jason, throwing himself at Dick: BUT IT'S MINE!

Bruce, to Lois and Clark: Do you need another demonstration?

Clark: Ah, no...

Lois: Yes.

Bruce: I thought so. Tim!

Tim: I've done nothing you can prove.

Bruce: Oh, I know. Did you get your camera back?

Tim: My what.

Bruce: Damian had it out in the garden, playing with the settings earlier and I just wanted to know if he put it back.

Tim, stalking: I'll skin him, I really will this time.

Bruce: Don't do it in front of Jon!

Bruce, to Lois and Clark: You know what, I can give one of them to you if you change your mind.

The United Auto Workers are also negotiating new contracts with the big three US car manufacturers and have announced that they're prepared to strike if they can't get a fair deal.

Children of the Underworld

My cover for @cosmiccowzine ’s PJO zine! 

They’re also shooting for 100% renewable plastic sources by 2030! All of the soft plant/leaf elements in sets right now and going forward are made out of bioplastic made from sugarcane, and they’re working on getting the regular hard plastic bricks out of that, too.

They’ve done it, actually! The full bricks are in the prototype stage now, and are expected to be 100% biodegradable without the need for a commercial compost facility. It’s very cool. Right now they’re testing the durability and playability of the bricks and seeing what needs to be revised/reworked on their final model.

So its that easy huh

Of course it is

Actually, this isn’t “easy” and is huge news. You see, Lego is absolutely meticulous about their quality control. Their standards for manufacturing are stupidly high, as are their safety requirements. You know that distinctive “click” when you pop two Lego bricks apart? They engineered that. That sound is so distinctive that it can be used to tell genuine Lego bricks from counterfeits and it’s a sound that would be based on shape and material.

Furthermore, one of the hard requirements for a Lego brick is that it must be compatible with any other Lego brick. If I buy a set today and pull a set from the 1980s? Those bricks would fit together perfectly. This requires a huge amount of precision engineering and controls on manufacturing quality. (I can’t remember the source, but I’ve at least heard that once the brick molds wear to a certain point, they’re pulled from the line and either melted down or turned into construction material for Lego HQ. Point being, no one is getting their hands on a worn Lego mold)

Recycled and non-petroleum plastics are different from other plastic. The chemistry is different. The timing and process to use them is different. This has been a reason why more companies haven’t moved to them, because there’s a drop in quality for material (so they claim).

What Lego just did is completely obliterate that argument. The corporation with some of the strictest quality control requirements for plastic just kicked the basic foundation of the “bad quality” argument out from under it, because if they feel confident enough to guarantee the same experience as using a brick from over 40 years ago, if they are confident enough that they can meet their own metrics at a huge industrial scale….

Nobody else has any excuse.

It's important to me that everyone understands that if you've got an autistic friend who periodically sends you pictures/videos/whatever of your Thing, because they know you're into it... They love you.

Now don't get me wrong, It may not necessarily be romantic love, they might not want to run off to a little farm in Montana where you'll be married forever and raise little sheeps...

But they definitely love you. And they're so happy when they spot a post about X and go "ooh, my friend likes X! I'll send it to them!".

Because they love you and want you to be happy.

Happiness is stored in the 3am discord DM of a link to a Tumblr post of a cute raccoon