#2023 did NOT hold back

[whatisthedeal]

Personal post alert! It’s ok to skip.

TL/DR: we set up a GoFundMe for our cat bc we’re a bit wiped after my mom’s cancer, my dog’s end of life, and my ankle surgery all in the past few months. If you can help, thank you. If you can’t, please share this so that others who may want to can. https://gofund.me/f22b776a

https://gofund.me/f22b776a

Hi there! Our cat has an extremely rare case of peripheral lymphoma that appears to be curable. Lymphoma in cats is usually lethal, but for some reason he lucked out and has symptoms similar to treatable cases in dogs. Wild. We were also lucky enough to get him into a rare clinical trial for a chemo drug! Unheard of, according to the oncologist. So he started chemo today, and we’re looking at dual treatments of chemo and surgery for a full cure. It’s the best situation of the worst case diagnosis.

Now that’s great and all, but why help us? Because, frankly, we’re f*cling tapped out. We’ve been bleeding $ the last few months as we

1. Provided caregiving support to my mom as she battled a 15lb cancerous tumor in her leg (spindle cell sarcoma. It’s a bitch).

2. Covered multiple surprise vet visits as our dog (12 yr old Newfie) took a sudden turn for the worse in November and then ultimately went down in December (still grieving that).

3. Covered and still covering medical costs from my ankle surgery in December to basically reattach my foot to my leg so that I can walk without pain (1.5 years after the initial injury jfc).

We racked up $3,000 in vet bills this week alone for diagnosis costs and are just starting to stare down treatment expenses. So f*ck pride, we ain’t to proud to beg and our boy needs help.

[static-scribblez]

“Our senses restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed, they existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.” - Maya Angelou, ‘Where Great Trees Fall’

Bonus:

[il-predestinato]

Carlos had a good race (except track limits 💀) but he couldn’t help but ask to switch places while the strategy had been discussed and he knew he had des. Glad Fred called that out a bit in an interview. I think not so long ago the pressure could have worked…

It’s good to see Carlos comfortable and good for Ferrari. Now it also means the car is not the best for Charles set up wise so I’m can’t be too happy about it.

Haha, I knew it was too good to be true to expect him to be a team player. Fair play, his performance this weekend was good overall (minus track limits as you said), but Sainz really just can't help himself, can he? His whining in the post-race interviews was just embarrassing.

I absolutely love that interview from Fred Vasseur (Canal+) calling out Carlos and confirming that the strategy was very clear:

"We had a strategy before the race to create the gap with the rest and not to lose time trying to overtake the other. Surely when you’re behind with DRS, you feel like you’re faster but he knew the strategy from the beginning. I think he wanted to put us under pressure."

Massive kudos to Fred for exposing him and revealing the truth.

Then Charles told Canal+: "Honestly I don't know, on the simulations we were aware that with the DRS the car behind has an advantage, so it was already quite clear before the start of the race that we would keep the positions like that."

[buckypascal]

Slutty knee in all its glory 😍

[sweetdonutsart]

new years 2023 🎉✨

yes i know it's almost the end of the year but i have to share Juniper in her new year's bunny suit before it's over and it not be out of place lol

[goldshadows]

anway in 2024, i'll stop putting energy into relationships where i get nothing back 💕

[cletus-kasadys-gay-boy]

Carnage #6 spoilers

This exchange made me fucking laugh. I mean, it's Cletus and I'm not surprised. But like... DAMN

.

.

.

I CAME ALRIGHT CLETUS! He's so fuckin fine. Bitch tell me to have an orgasm.... ON THE SPOT

[theinfinitedivides]

i should have known today was going to be f*cked up when i checked the Shinee tag before going to bed early this morning and saw that the unofficial sign merch for the fans going to the Japan tour with all five members had been pulled and replaced with official merch from SM that only had the three that are currently active. that should have been a sign from God that some f*ckass sh*t was about to go down the vibes were off

[faebriel]

calling out sick bc i thought about niki finding the tnt underneath the podium on nov 16 and quietly replacing the dirt that covered it again

[bread--quest]

mokita !! aaand 6 my favourite number. they don't have to be in the same piece i just couldnt choose between the two on what to send

hiiiii i swear i didn't forget about these! i just ummm was saving them for a rainy day. yeah. and its not actually rainy right now but i am waiting for the bus and whenever im waiting for the bus i am, emotionally, waitin' for the bus in the rain (in the rain). ok anyway here u go

mokita (kilivila): a painful fact everyone is aware of but which--out of compassion--no one mentions

All of the Masgor Marimorts know that Phanta's always been a little...odd. Talking to people who weren't there, smiling at the wrong times, having imaginary friends long past when she should have grown out of it.

Most of her friends have been imaginary, really. In hushed conversations late at night, Hazel and Joel wonder why it is their sweet little girl can't find anyone living to hang out with. She's all of 14 now, and mostly remembers the basic politenesses they've tried to teach her and doesn't usually mention ghosts for at least 15 minutes of conversation, and they think she's perfectly charming even if she is a bit strange, so why can't she find any living friends?

Shelie's hypothesis is that even if Phanta may insist on clinging to beliefs with no basis in reality, they're her little sister, and they've never done anything wrong in their life, and high schoolers are stupid. So there.

Phanta, for her part, doesn't usually seem bothered by this. And the rest of her family has become quietly resigned to the sad fact of it. And yet, when Phanta starts chattering on about her new best friend Leviat at the dinner table, Hazel still hopes enough to ask "And where'd you meet?"

"Oh, the graveyard!" Phanta says happily.

Hazel and Joel exchange glances. Shelie sighs. They all agree, without saying anything, not to push it. Let Phanta have her ghosts.

"That's great, honey," Hazel says.

an-n-n-nother day goes by! so hold me tight, hold me tight– or don't!

"I'm pretty sure my whole family thinks you're not real," Phanta says brightly, balancing precariously on the graveyard gate.

"Watch it, idiot, don't fall off and crack your skull open," Leviat says.

"Or– they think you're a ghost, and they don't think ghosts are real," Phanta says, leaning backwards against Leviat's good advice so the gate swings backward. "Whee! Anyway, don't you think that's funny?"

"No."

"Yes you do! I can tell!" Phanta struggles to lean enough to swing the gate back in the other direction–"Watch it—" and is eventually forced to concede defeat. "Anyway, even though it's funny to let them keep thinking that, I still think you should come meet them! Shelie would really like you, I think. You both like a bunch of the same stuff, like being good at crosswords, and doing surgery on stuffed animals, and hanging out with meeee!" They do little jazz hands on this last word.

Leviat rolls their eyes. "I already said no, and I will continue to say no until you give up or the sun fucking explodes, the latter of which is starting to seem more likely."

Phanta sighs. "Oh well. Doesn't really matter, I guess."

"Nothing does."

"Nope!" She hops off the gate and swings it fully open invitingly. "Come on, let's go see if they've come up with a new kind of pasta yet!"

[lastonthebrakes]

raul can u not be a flop for once

[sarah-dipitous]

Should I have watched my daily hellsite nostalgia shows before I got tattoos that (with them being this raw) are making arm movements uncomfy? Maybe. But I didn’t.

[knightofleo]

Finalists of the 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

Dispute by Jacek Stankiewicz from Kraków, Poland: 'I caught this scene while watching birds in the Bialowieza Forest. Young greenfinch was still fed by parents. However, from time to time birds looked like having argument. My friends interpret this scene in two ways: A young naughty kid is arguing with a parent. Or one kid is reporting to the parent that its brother did something wrong: "Look he has broken the glass in the window"'

'Excuse me sir but I think you're a little too young to be smoking' by Dakota Vaccaro from Victor, United States: 'While I was working deep in the Virginian woods, a family of grey foxes took up residence under the deck of the abandoned cottage next to my work housing. One day while practicing their hunting skills on bits of moss and branches, one of the kits lunged at a small chunk of wood and started rolling around with his prize. Tired after his hunt the kit lounged on his belly still holding the wood in his mouth which gave the strong resemblance of a cigar. I was very envious of the kit at this moment cause who wouldn't want to just lay around all day relaxing'

The Rainforest Dandy by Delphine Casimir from Brussels, Belgium: 'This picture was taken in the monkey forest in Ubud, Bali. This place is a crazy place where monkeys are king! Sometimes they give a show, sometimes they climb on you to look for fleas or steal the piece of biscuit you are trying to eat'

Otter Ballerinas by Otter Kwek from Singapore: 'An arabesque smooth coated otter'

Picture me! Picture me!! by Dikla Gabriely from Yokneam, Israel: 'A brown bear in Finland who definitely did everything to make me pay attention to him and focus on him and not the other bears'

Boing! by Lara Mathews from Melbourne, Australia: 'Taken at Westerfolds Park, a beautiful and surprisingly wild pocket of land in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, famous for its kangaroo population. The mob was enjoying some morning sunshine when this joey decided to get silly and try his hand at boxing'

Living the Moment by Kawing Chiu from Staten Island, United States: 'Relax, lay back and enjoy the warm sun... This seal is scratching its face and it is seen lying on the side while his head is supported by his flipper. This image makes the seal like the reclining Buddha statue'

[hello-kumamimi]

[krissiebucks]

sigh

[heritageposts]

The Grayzone has obtained slides from a confidential Israel lobby presentation based on data from Republican pollster Frank Luntz. They contain talking points for politicians and public figures seeking to justify Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. Two prominent pro-Israel lobby groups are holding private briefings in New York City to coach elected officials and well-known figures on how to influence public opinion in favor of the Israeli military’s rampage in Gaza, The Grayzone can reveal. These PR sessions, convened by the UJA-Federation and Jewish Community Relations Council, rely on data collected by Frank Luntz, a veteran Republican pollster and pundit. [...] The Luntz-tested presentations on the war in Gaza urge politicians to avoid trumpeting America’s supposedly shared democratic values with Israel, and focus instead on deploying “The Language of War with Hamas.” According to this framing, they must deploy incendiary language painting Hamas as a “brutal and savage…organization of hate” which has “raped women,” while insisting Israel is engaged in “a war for humanity.” [...] Luntz’s Gaza war presentation puts his poll-tested tactics back in the Israel lobby’s hands, urging pro-Israel public figures to stay on the attack with incendiary language and shocking allegations against their enemies. In one focus group, Luntz asked participants to state which alleged act by Hamas on October 7 “bothers you more.” After being presented with a laundry list of alleged atrocities, a majority declared that they were most upset by the claim that Hamas “raped civilians” – 19 percent more than those who expressed outrage that Hamas supposedly “exterminated civilians.” Data like this apparently influenced the Israeli government to launch an obsessive but still unsuccessful campaign to prove that Hamas carried out sexual assault on a systematic basis on October 7. Initiated at Israel’s United Nations mission in December 2023 with speeches by neoliberal tech oligarch Sheryl Sandberg and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a recipient of hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and speaking fees from Israel lobby organizations, Tel Aviv’s propaganda blitz has yet to produce a single self-identified victim of sexual assault by Hamas. A March 5 report by UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence Pramila Patten did not contain one direct testimony of sexual assault on October 7. What’s more, Patten’s team said they found “no digital evidence specifically depicting acts of sexual violence.”

They also advice to use different language for Democrat and Republican voters, which inadvertently provides one of the most succinct explanation of the difference between the two genocidal parties that I've ever come across:

To make their arguments stick, Luntz recommends pro-Israel forces avoid the exterminationist language favored by Israeli officials who have called, for example, to “erase” the population of Gaza, and to instead advocate for “an efficient, effective approach” to eliminating Hamas. At the same time, veteran pollster acknowledges that Republican voters prefer phrases which imply maximalist violence, like “eradicate” and “obliterate,” while sanitized terms like “neutralize” appeal more to Democrats. Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Donald Trump have showcased similar focus-grouped rhetoric with their calls to “finish them” and “finish the problem” in Gaza.

One of the slides, illustrating what language to use:

There are several more slides in the article. I recommend reading the whole thing, start to finish. One more thing I'd like to highlight though:

Luntz acknowledges Israel’s mounting PR problems in a slide identifying the most powerful tactics employed by Palestine solidarity activists. “Israelis attacking Israel is the second most potent weapon against Israel,” the visual display reads beside a photo of a protest by Jewish Voices for Peace, a US-based Jewish organization dedicated to ending Israel’s occupation of Palestine. “The most potent” tactic in mobilizing opposition to Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to Luntz, “is the visual destruction of Gaza and the human toll.” The slide inadvertently acknowledges the cruelty of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, displaying a bombed out apartment building with clearly anguished women and children fleeing in the foreground. But Luntz assures his audience, “It ‘looks like a genocide’ even though the damage has nothing to do with the definition.” According to this logic, the American public can become more tolerant of copiously documented crimes against humanity if they are simply told not to believe their lying eyes.

. . . full article on GZ (6 Mar 2024)