#52 countries

[eretzyisrael]

[compacflt]

your last post abt icemav vs. interior design has me cry laughing and also makes me want to ask: how does rooster (millennial gay man, fairly good at being open about his sexuality in comparison to the the environment he came from) feel about being one-uped in the gay department constantly by Mr. and Mr. Can’t Talk About It?? like him and jake have to have conversations about it [jake, meeting ice the first time: oh this is the gayest man i’ve ever met. he had everyone fooled for thirty years???? // bradley: “yeah but you didn’t have to grow up with him. i was on the front lines.] like—they were willing to get married at the same time as icemav as a distraction, so they have to be aware of how groundbreaking icemav is to the structural appearance of the Navy. but they’re also fully immersed in Navy culture and customs, so are civilian gay people even surprised??? do they care??? or is everyone collectively reading through twitter like “gay men in navy? okay fork found in kitchen 🙄 who cares.”

this is all just a long way for me to ask if icemav is easier to pick up on/less surprising if you’re gay. bradley clocked them early because he was in close quarters with them constantly, but he’s also gay—in comparison, slider knew ice for years, but only added it up when it was way too obvious to ignore. and to other straight people they seem to be at an Ethan Hunt level of undercover, but are they really??? (this is kind of a dumb question so feel free to do whatever you want with it lol)

see i feel like i haven’t been writing them very obviously clockingly gay at all! i actually feel like it would piss Jake and bradley off how STRAIGHT ice & mav act all the time!

1st excerpt from post-marriage, second excerpt from a scene that got deleted from WWGATTAI chapter 9, wherein compacflt ice approves the promotion of a fictional “first female admiral to be married to another woman” and then runs into her at a DOD Xmas party and chats about gay marriage for a bit out of curiosity… (deleted bc chapter 9 was already 9.5k words) like it is still a secret even if they aren’t actively trying to keep it secret anymore

but you’re right hold on. here’s christmas 2017

[lamperts-bleach]

someone just sneezed on me and had the AUDACITY to NOT cover their nose.

does soap being shoved into someone’s mouth is considered a crime asking for a friend

[oldfilmsflicker]

The Unknown Country, 2023 (dir. Morrisa Maltz)

[dandyshucks]

even online i cannot escape middle-aged adults trying to tell me their life story and hit on me,,,,,,,,, help,,,,,

[limelocked]

Me, naive, yesterday: you know what? I wanna know about Connor my little cringe fail clone boy kon-el, for him I will break and read comics

Me, now, frustrated beyond all known human limits: it’s all about selling as much as possible that’s why I’m forced to have two tabs open just so I can get one guys story

[snarp]

The central conflict of "Guilty Gear Strive" is based on the idea that, if a globally-known-to-have-been-hijacked American military aircraft crosses into Mexican airspace, Mexico will immediately declare war on the US.

Unexplained why this would be the case. Or why it would even be a significant problem in comparison to the ongoing potentially-world-destroying wizard battle. What the fuck is Mexico even going to do? Does the Guilty Gear writer think Mexico has nukes? Does Goku live in Mexico for real, in Guilty Gear

[newvegascowboy]

My toxic trait is that I actually like to golf :/

[my-52-weeks-with-christie]

Cooking With Christie: A New To Me Holiday Spice Cookie

This Week’s Bake: Kruidnoten Inspiration: I ran across a cookbook I couldn’t resist — Dark Rye And Honey Cake: Festival Baking from Belgium, the Heart of the Low Countries. Not only does it contain instructions for fourteen distinct waffles, five different pretzels, and three separate pancakes. It contains this little gem of a recipe for kruidnoten. A spiced cookie popular during Saint…

[coochiequeens]

Who's taking care if the baby while they are dealing with legal issues? Did the surrogacy agency find a nanny? Is the surrogate now performing childcare for them? Will they reimburse her for the extra time? How will this impact bonding when they finally get the kid they paid for?

Sam and Laura Kaitz are distraught parents trying to bring their baby home. The New Jersey couple told The Washington Post about their experience using a surrogacy broker and surrogacy agency to welcome their baby boy, Simon George Kaitz. The couple explored surrogacy outside of the United States because of costs and were connected with an agency in Mexico. Laura, a mom to two sons from a previous relationship, wanted another child with Sam, but pregnancy wasn't medically possible for her. The two nearly signed an agreement with a Ukrainian surrogate, another popular option for US couples looking for cost-effective surrogates, days before the Russian invasion of the country.

The ultimate appeal of the Mexican agency was the promise that both Laura and Sam, whose sperm was used with a donor egg, could be listed on the baby's birth certificate. "That was something she was very excited about being able to say, ‘I am his mother and nobody else,’” Sam said of Laura, 52, to The Washington Post.

Born on Tuesday, April 18, Simon was met by his dad in Mexico City, where he rented a place to stay, planning on bringing the infant home two days after their June 7 passport appointment at the US Embassy. However, getting the infant's documentation proved difficult. The couple had to go through Mexico's court system to get Laura's name on the birth certificate.

As they've tried to fight through bureaucratic paperwork, Laura, a property manager, has gone back and forth between New Jersey and Mexico so that she could also care for one of her sons, who is legally disabled, while Simon spent three weeks in the NICU in Mexico.

"It has been extremely stressful," Sam told the outlet, noting that Laura's other son, who has autism, “has said to her on more than one occasion that he doesn’t think that I care about him anymore because I’m down here and not with him and he feels abandoned, which breaks my heart because that is not true.” Most recently, Sam has been asked by the embassy to provide DNA for a DNA test to prove his relationship with Simon, noting to The Washington Post that the process has left them feeling "betrayed." Sam focuses on staying numb in the situation, noting, "If I don't, I will either break down or start screaming at someone.""And I cannot afford to feel right now. Not when Simon is depending solely on me."

[why-rock-look-tasty-if-no-eat]

@dragonpyre So I accidentally closed out on my previous post and I'm way to tired to rewrite it from memory so I'll just sparknotes it.

I think you'd enjoy that one stupid volcano that's like a pimple in Russia (I forgot the name, I was practically comatose when I watched the documentary). That volcano genuinely pisses me off because it's not, and never was, connect(ed) to Earth's magma but has a history of explosions. The volcano isn't anywhere near the Ring of Fire and is extremely inland, and is just in a really odd place.

I forgot what else I wrote (sleep deprivation for the win!) but I do remember putting these photos in.

Then I talked about how I didn't realize my flight was going by Mt. Saint Helen's and that I grew up watching the NatGeo VHS of it. I didn't even recognize the volcano from the actual volcano, I recognized the flow path first because I thought 'wow that looks a lot like Mt. Saint Helen's path flow' then I was like. 'Well I am in Washington right now.' Which quickly became; 'No way, that's Mt. Saint Helens flow path!!! That's Mt. SaiNT HELENS!!!!!!!!' And I would have legitimately screamed if I wasn't on a public flight but my seat mate did look at me weirdly for practically gluing myself to the window for like half an hour and taking photos like a mad person.

That was taken after I realized what I was seeing so I hope it's understandable that I recognized the flow path first instead of the white cap lolol

There really is something humbling about seeing the damage still so easily visible even decades later.

reminder to worldbuilders: don't get caught up in things that aren't important to the story you're writing, like plot and characters! instead, try to focus on what readers actually care about: detailed plate tectonics

[compacflt]

re: them going viral

i think it would make ice disintegrate to open up twitter and see something like

@bigboybussy49: OMG GUYS COUPLE GOALS THEY'VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR 36 YRSSS!!!! 😫🏳️‍🌈

yes, and:

@TKazansky: Wrote a piece for @theAtlantic about the US Military’s recent commitment to ensuring safe working conditions for active-duty LGBT service members at home and abroad. Diversity has always been this country’s greatest strength & we must recognize it as our military’s greatest asset. Read more below: [theatlantic.whatever/ret-SECNAV-Tom-Kazansky-on-lgbt-service-members.062322.whatever] [45 replies / 86 rts / 1,275 likes]

well-meaning Twitter rando: [replying to @TKazansky:] still war crimes sir

ice: well that’s enough social media for this month i think

[sarnianightlive]

finally upgraded my phone plan so i’m getting minutely less fucked every single month

[oldfilmsflicker]

new-to-me #439 - My Own Country

[30000songs]

#809 - Ala.Cali.Tucky - Brightback

Wanted to love this, but the vocals are too spaced out for it to be to my taste. Still, ignore me on this one.

52/100

[reasonsforhope]

"Over 10,000 square miles of additional protected area will be added to the Heard and McDonald Islands in Australia’s far southern territorial waters.

Coupled with other expansions of existing marine sanctuaries, it puts Australia on course to have 52% of its ocean territory protected, more than any other nation, by the end of the current administration’s term.

“This is not just a huge environmental win for Australia, it’s a huge environmental win for the world,” said Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. “This is a unique and extraordinary part of our planet. We are doing everything we can to protect it.”

Located over 2,000 miles south of the Australian continent, Heard and McDonald Islands make up about 144 square miles of volcanic terrain that represent one of the most remote places on Earth.

They are important breeding grounds for 19 species of bird, including 4 species of penguins, but dozens of other bird species take refuge there. It is a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site, and a RAMSAR Wetland in addition to being an Australian national marine sanctuary.

The quadrupling of the sanctuary borders amounts to 11.5 thousand square miles, (30,000 sq km) of additional protection, but represents one-tenth of the total proposed expansions of marine protected areas.

Under the current guidance, prepared by nationally sanctioned scientific surveys, the total marine protected areas will make up an area the size of Italy.

The current administration of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking to establish a new environmental protection agency, as well as set a high bar for the country’s commitments to an international philosophy of conservation governance known shorthand as “30×30” or “30 by 30,” which states that to prevent the worst effects of general environmental degradation worldwide, 30% of land and waters should be under protections. Often the second thirty refers to a hypothetical 2030 deadline."

-via Good News Network, October 10, 2024