familiaralien

[familiaralien]

oh ok

[familiaralien]

We should start naming dog colors like ball python breeders name snake color morphs.

It's not a blue merle it's a Blue shatter thunderstorm het blue eyed white

[familiaralien]

just watched a video of a wildlife rehabber tube-feeding the teeny tiniest orphaned baby opossum and the comments are fucking KILLING me

baby opossum (too teeny, hasn’t finished cooking in the marsupial pouch like it ought to have done, doesn’t even look like it should exist):

the comments:

[familiaralien]

do you have any ideas about why so many students are struggling with literacy now? I know that illiteracy and reading comprehension have been issues for years and most americans read at like a 5th grade reading level but I’m curious why it seems to be worse now (pandemic? no child left behind?)

It is everything. There’s not one answer. I could talk about this forever so instead I set a five minute timer on my phone and wrote a list of as many of the many things that are causing this on a systemic level that I could think of:

It’s parents not reading with their kids (a privilege, but some parents have that privilege to be able to do this and don’t.)

It’s youtube from birth and never being bored.

It’s phasing out phonics for sight words (memorizing without understanding sounds or meaning) in elementary schools in the early aughts.

It’s defunding public libraries that do all the community and youth outreach.

It’s NCLB and mandating standardized tests which center reading short passages as opposed to longform texts so students don’t build up the endurance or comprehension skills.

It’s NCLB preventing schools from holding students back if they lack the literacy skills to move onto the next grade because they can’t be left behind so they’re passed on.

It’s the chronic underfunding of ESL and Special Ed programs for students who need extra literacy support.

It’s the cultural devaluing of the humanities in favor of stem and business because those make more money which leads to a lot of students to completely disregard reading and writing.

It’s the learning loss from covid.

It’s covid trauma manifesting in a lot of students as learned helplessness, or an inability to ���figure things out” or push through adversity to complete challenging tasks independently, especially reading difficult texts.

It’s covid normalizing cheating and copying.

It’s increasing phone use.

It’s damage to attention span exacerbated by increased phone use that leaves you without an ability to sit and be bored ever without 2-3 forms of constant stimulation.

It’s shortform video becoming the predominant form of social media content as opposed to anything text-based.

It’s starting to also be generative AI.

It’s the book bans.

what did I miss.

[familiaralien]

Pre-orders for the physical copies of Hamster Mortis are now open!

Hamster Mortis is a rhyming illustrated art book detailing the five stages of decay, from fresh remains to dry bones, with the help of Mr. Hamster and Ezra the undertaker.

These softcover perfect-bound books are about 7.5" square. There is a limited quantity due to the small run size, and each copy will come signed by the author and illustrator (that's me)

The books are 25$ each, with 5$ flat shipping anywhere that can receive mail from the United States. Because this is a pre-order I cannot guarantee Christmas delivery, though the books are expected to be ready early December.

If you'd prefer to take a more affordable route, a PDF version of the book is available for $5.

Please PM me if you would like to claim a copy, all transactions are done via goods and services invoice.

[familiaralien]

NANALAN GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THERE THAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS TRAFFIC I HAVE EVER SEEN OH MY GOD THE SIGN IS EVEN COMING THROUGH THE WINDOW THAT SEATBELT IS JUST STUCK ON IT’S NOT GONNA HELP YOU OH GOD

[familiaralien]

the thing about rabbits is they can be happy as a clam, having the time of their life or full of more rage than any animal has ever been but they always just look like this

[familiaralien]

the incels should fuck eachother and fujoshis get to watch if they want. solves the issue of male lonliness with a little bonus for women as reparations or something.

[familiaralien]

for each trans person who is unable to acquire hrt or safely transition in any way i will break the fingers of every single cis person on the planet

[familiaralien]

Ko-fi Dooble

‘Oh great if it isn't everyone’s least favorite holiday varmint’

Loveless the Valentine Opossum

[familiaralien]

my worm

[familiaralien]

there's absolutely a percentage of people who cannot be normal about zoos in asia and are convinced they're evil torture farms or full of fake animals. remember when a zoo in china had a sun bear on display and folks who'd never even heard of a sun bear before seeing the video were convinced it was a man in a costume??

[familiaralien]

Pssst... something new is coming...

...this weekend!

Free, non-AI animal art references.

[familiaralien]

i'm understimulated send me things

[familiaralien]

[familiaralien]

i should be able to file for divorce on another couples behalf