#online medical supplies for animals

[rottenpumpkin13]

What's the latest tea from Kunsel? 👀 🍵

When asked to spill gossip, Kunsel becomes an unskippable cutscene.

Kunsel: "Finally. I've been sitting on these for weeks."

Kunsel: "Zack appropriated the men's bathroom on the east wing of the SOLDIER base as a petting zoo. He's even charging people to pet the animals. It's booming, too. I heard he's even got a waiting list to pet tonberries."

Kunsel: "Word on the street says Reno's been delivering crates into the SOLDIER lounge labeled 'medical supplies,' but bystanders said they heard pills rattling. Sephiroth bought the stuff from him, which shocked a few people. They think it's illegal stuff. Real ones know it's the premium ibuprofen. The good stuff, not that cheap crap they give out at Medical."

Kunsel: "Angeal? I saw the guy walk out of the men's room, clear as day, with a faint lipstick mark on his neck. Thing is, no one went in or out besides him. So either his date is some kind of vent escape artist, or—my favorite theory—he's making out with ghosts now. Can't rule it out. He's weird enough."

Kunsel: "Oh, and Sephiroth. He's been spending his free time in the archives lately. Like, a lot of time. Apparently digging through old personnel files and Shinra history books. You know, looking for answers about his origins. Man, I would not want to be there the day he finds what he's looking for."

Kunsel: "There's a betting pool in SOLDIER about when Lazard's next mental breakdown will be. Current odds favor next Tuesday, but only because the bouncy castle Zack ordered online arrives next Monday."

Kunsel: "Genesis has apparently been writing self-insert fanfiction. Heard someone found a draft on his desk. It’s basically Loveless, but the protagonist is just him, but taller and with a better sword. There's also a Sephiroth kissing scene somewhere in there."

Kunsel: "Reeve's set to lose his shit any day now. Someone swears he might be Cait Sith. You know, the little robot cat? It sounds insane, but listen to this: during a meeting with the president, Reeve supposedly slipped up and said, in a full-blown accent "shove yer plans, Shinra, they're shite!" President didn't even blink, he was so alarmed

Kunsel: "And Hojo's been ordering tons of bananas. Like, crates of them up to R&D. No explanation, no context. Just bananas. Honestly, that's one I don't want to dig into. Whatever it's for, it's definitely bad news."

Kunsel: "Oh yeah! I ran into that blond cadet in the air ducts this morning. Cloud Strife. Man, he's so cool. I wish I had the balls to hover above the vent in Sephiroth's office and whisper "Your mother isn't Jenova. Go to therapy" down at him until he thinks it's an auditory hallucination, has a nervous breakdown, and takes the rest of the day off."

[johncory9mm]

Open criticism of Hamas has been growing in Gaza, both on the streets and online. Some have publicly criticised Hamas for hiding the hostages in apartments near a busy marketplace, or for firing rockets from civilian areas. Residents have told the BBC that swearing and cursing against the Hamas leadership is now common in the markets, and that some drivers of donkey carts have even nicknamed their animals after the Hamas leader in Gaza - Yahya Sinwar - urging the donkeys forward with shouts of "Yallah, Sinwar!" “People say things like, ‘Hamas has destroyed us’ or even call on God to take their lives,” one man said.

One senior Hamas government employee told the BBC that the Hamas attacks were “a crazy, uncalculated leap”. He asked that we concealed his identity. “I know from my work with the Hamas government that it prepared well for the attack militarily, but it neglected the home front,” he said. “They did not build any safe shelters for people, they did not reserve enough food, fuel and medical supplies. If my family and I survive this war, I will leave Gaza, the first chance I get.”

Hamas should do the right thing for the people of Gaza. Hamas should immediately surrender and release the hostages, this would end this war today.

[red-garden]

Mdzs modern AU head cannons pt. 2

1) LWJ has a very impressive collection of weighted blankets- he normally sleeps under 60+ pounds of blankets for sensory reasons. The first time WWX sleeps in his bed, he is struck with the pure bliss that is a weighted blanket and never wants to leave

2) LSZ gets cold really easily and likes to be carried in his dads’ jackets when they go out for maximum warmth

3) the Jiang own a water transport company (selling boats, water skis, kayaks, etc) and manage the local rivers (land preservation, erosion control, species census, etc)

4) JYL was very into the land management side and went to college to ecology and conservation sciences

5) JC works water rescue in the local rivers- he’s not only a certified diver, he can also hold his breath without a tank for up to 3 minutes

6) the Jiangs host a yearly sea food boil, and JYL makes a special vegetarian soup for the Lans

7) JYL died in a car accident swerving to avoid hitting WWX- WWX was widely blamed for this accident, despite the unsafe conditions on the road that day

8) WN, bringing WWX along with help wrangling a rabid possum, lost control of the possum when spooked by JZX. The possum bit JZX, and he passed from rabies days later. WN didn’t have a proper hold of the possum, WWX was not supposed to be there since he’s not a professional animal handler, and he was held liable by the Jin

9) WWX, instead of dying, became a missing persons case, and no one- not even him- knows where he was for those 13 years

10) the Jins own the bank, the grocery store, the general store, the post office, basically every place of daily necessity in town. And on top of all that, after the impeachment and jailing of the last mayor WRH, JGS is the new mayor

11) JGY is the deputy mayor (later mayor after the sudden and tragic death of his father), and SMS in the county sheriff

12) while the Nie own a hunting supply store/lodge, NMJ is also the head of the volunteer fire department

13) NHS doesn’t hunt, but he plucks the birds that his brother brings home and turns the feathers into beautiful art pieces he sells online. He’s very well know on social media not only for his art, but also his fashion and gossip content

14) NMJ suffered a massive stroke, and has been on life support in the hospital for a few years, bleeding dry the Nie family with medical expenses

[ahoysteviex]

WRITING COMMISSIONS OPEN‼️IN FINANCIAL DISTRESS

Hello everyone. I'm opening writing commissions because I am in dire financial distress right now. PLEASE consider hiring me or donating to me right now. My family NEEDS help.

MY SITUATION:

I am currently living with my family and we are living with relatives. My father has been nonstop searching for work and getting nothing in return. He will get interviewed sometimes and despite being more than qualified and the interview going well, he won't get the job. My mother is disabled and can only work part time but has also not had any luck getting part time work. I have a younger sister who has to be taken out of school and put into online school because we cannot afford gas to drive her to and from school every day. My mother just got discharged from the hospital two days ago after having surgery to have her thyroid removed because she had thyroid cancer. She's an amputee and cannot afford the supplies for her prosthesis. We have a phone bill to pay as well as a storage unit payment for a unit with all of our stuff in it that we'll lose if we cannot make the payment.

To make matters worse, my maternal grandparents are evil people (I can make a separate post explaining this situation further if need be) and had it out for my parents for months. They are emotionally and mentally abusive and manipulative people. Last month, they started a loud, heated argument, as is typical for them. It was relatively short, but eventually my father leaned over and slammed the bedroom door. Honestly, "slammed" even feels like a stretch. But my grandparents called the police and lied to them by saying my dad slammed my grandfather's hand in the door. The police arrested my dad over this despite there being little to no physical evidence and my mother, sister, and I all testifying that it was not true. This happened the weekend before Christmas. My great uncle was able to call in a friend and get my dad released from jail, but he's going to have to sign bonds papers tomorrow and we do not have the $350 they're asking for, so my father may be detained again. He is just getting his foot in the door at Wal-Mart and is waiting on them to call him to finish his onboarding process and this is throwing a wrench into all that.

We're trying desperately to get on our feet. We want to move in to a place of our own. But it's just one misfortune after another. We need money to pay for my mom's medical expenses, our storage unit, our phone service/Internet, gas, and now legal expenses to keep my dad with us. And that doesn't even touch on the car trouble.

MY WRITING:

These commissions are a desperate attempt to help myself and my family, as writing is my only real skill.

I have experience writing for OR would be able to write for the following fandoms:

Stranger Things

Arcane

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Scream (1994)

Apex Legends

Overwatch

God of War (4 & 5)

Baulder's Gate 3

Dead by Daylight

Cyberpunk 2077

Disco Elysium

My Chemical Romance

Panic! at the Disco

Fall Out Boy

One Direction

I'm proficient in romance, angst, fluff, domestic/familial, and NSFW. I'll write basically anything as long as it isn't a NSFW situation involving minors or animals. I'll write Canon Character x Canon Character, Original Character x Canon Character, and Reader Insert. I'll even do those little head-canon posts. Anything, I just need commissions.

You can find examples of my work on Ao3 here, or under my "my writing" tag here on Tumblr.

I will also beta read for you!

Here is my ko-fi.

Please use that to buy a commission from me! You can also donate there without buying a commission if you want to do that too. And if you aren't in a position to help financially, PLEASE reblog this post to get more eyeballs on it so that other people are given the opportunity to help me.

Thank you for reading. ❤️‍🔥

[brokegirlsguidetolife]

Side Hustles That Actually Pay: Broke Girl Edition

Introduction

Finding ways to make money fast is hard. With this guide you can find some methods you never thought of! Here are 10 ways to make money fast online and in person.

1. Reselling Thrift Finds

How It Works: Buy clothes, home decor, or accessories from thrift stores, garage sales, or clearance racks and resell them for a profit on platforms like Poshmark, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace. What You Need: A phone to take pictures, a small starting budget (or start with what you already own), and a little patience. Pro Tip: Look for name brands, vintage items, or trendy pieces that have a high resale value.

2. Pet-Sitting & Dog Walking

How It Works: Offer to watch or walk pets for busy people through apps like Rover or Wag, or just spread the word to friends and neighbors. What You Need: A love for animals and some free time. No upfront costs! Pro Tip: Offer overnight pet-sitting for extra cash, especially for pet owners going on vacation.

3. Freelance Gigs (Even Without a Degree!)

How It Works: Sell your skills online—writing, graphic design, social media management, virtual assisting—on platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, or even Instagram. What You Need: A laptop, internet, and a skill (even basic ones like data entry or admin work). Pro Tip: Don’t undersell yourself! Start at a fair rate and increase as you gain experience and reviews.

4. Selling Handmade or Spiritual Goods

How It Works: If you make jewelry, candles, or spiritual tools (like spell jars or tarot readings), you can sell them on Etsy, Instagram, or at local markets. What You Need: Supplies and creativity! Pro Tip: Take high-quality pictures and market yourself on TikTok or Instagram to get more eyes on your shop.

5. Flipping Furniture or Household Items

How It Works: Pick up free or cheap furniture from Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or thrift stores, then clean, paint, or repair them and resell for a profit. What You Need: Basic tools, paint, and a way to transport items. Pro Tip: Mid-century modern and farmhouse styles tend to sell fast!

6. Plasma Donation & Medical Studies

How It Works: Donating plasma can earn you $50-$100 per visit, and some medical studies pay for participation. What You Need: A healthy body and willingness to spend time in a clinic. Pro Tip: Some clinics offer higher pay for first-time donors or referral bonuses!

7. Tutoring or Homework Help

How It Works: If you’re good at a subject, offer tutoring services online through platforms like Wyzant or locally to students who need help. What You Need: Knowledge in a subject and the ability to explain things clearly. Pro Tip: Offer test prep services (SAT, ACT, etc.)—parents are willing to pay extra for this!

8. Delivering Food & Groceries

How It Works: Sign up for apps like DoorDash, UberEats, Instacart, or Shipt to deliver food or groceries in your spare time. What You Need: A car, bike, or scooter, and a phone. Pro Tip: Work during peak hours (lunch/dinner) to maximize earnings and stack multiple apps for more deliveries.

9. Renting Out a Spare Room or Storage Space

How It Works: If you have extra space, rent it out on Airbnb or use apps like Neighbor to rent out storage space. What You Need: A clean, safe space to rent. Pro Tip: Offer short-term stays for travelers or event-goers in your area to keep bookings frequent.

10. Mystery Shopping & Market Research

How It Works: Get paid to shop, eat, or provide feedback on businesses through apps like Field Agent, Secret Shopper, or UserTesting (for online reviews). What You Need: A smartphone and attention to detail. Pro Tip: Combine multiple gigs for a full day of extra earnings!

Conclusion

Being broke doesn’t mean you’re out of options. These side hustles can help you get back on your feet with little to no investment. Pick one (or a few) that work for you, and start making that extra cash today!

What are your go-to broke girl side hustles? Drop them in the comments below!

[quirkwizard]

Hello Quirkwizard. This question popped up in my head after seeing for the 5th time your post of quirks that would help with survival in the wilderness. Now what original quirks of yours would be great for the exact same scenario ? I don't know when this will arrive and when it will catch your attention so happy Christmas holidays Quirkwizard and be well.

Once again, I'm going to avoid anything that would let the user straight up escape the scenario since that defeats the purpose of it.

Cubism: Given the variety of ways the user can shape the cubes, it can work in a lot of ways, from providing shelter to using them as weapons and the like.

Fallout: This doesn't excel at any one part of survival, but it's a good as a general tool, working to reduce the need for food and medical attention. All thanks to all natural sunlight.

Grow Up: This is going to be a case by case choice, but there's probably going to be some foliage around. If there is, the options are limitless, including food, shelter, defenses and all kinds of stuff from plant life.

Adaptation: The elements are going to be one of the hardest aspects of survival to work around, especially if you aren't prepared. So just building your own body to fit whatever biome your dealing with would be helpful.

Hazmat: If there's one thing I've learned about survival is that infection can demolish you. So having something that can clean whatever you want, such as your food, your wounds, or yourself, it is going to be good physically and mentally.

Self Help: While this could have some help with survival, pulling out certain versions as needed, it mostly helps with psychological issues. Being out on your own can do a lot to you mentally, so might as well get use to talking to yourself.

Cornucopia: Well, this would certainly solve the food and water issue. All the user would need to do is find some of each and their entire supply multiples without much threat to effort on the user's part. And hey, it can be used as a weapon.

Makeshift: This may seem like an odd choice, but I do think that a user of this could still try to engineer something out of the various objects around them to help them survive. Think some of those crazy survival primal tech videos online.

Swiss Hand: A swiss army knife is already going to be a super useful given how many tools you'll have access to. Having a suped up version of that would cover a lot of the hassle of survival, like starting a fire and defending yourself.

Greenery: This may just be the best option, at least in how much it can cover. It can help heal the user, can promote plantlife, makes you more resistant to natural hazards, keep animals from attacking, and promotes the best plan for survival: staying put.

[battleangel]

AI & Palestine

Only mass movements and violence -- throughout all of human history -- have ever resulted in change.

People in power who have power giving up some or all of that power -- CEOs, politicians, the 1%, millionaires & billionaires, world leaders, generals, owners, commissioners, founders, investors, dictators -- to the people they are oppressing -- workers, proletariat, minorities, people of color, black & brown people, LGBTQ people, poor people.

Revolutions, rebellions, insurrections, civil unrest, Montgomery boycott, sit-ins, marches, rallies, protests, hunger fasts, strikes, kidnappings, hostages, threats, demands, terrorism, bombings, bioterrorism, EMP attacks, hacking, picket lines.

On campus, at work, on the White House lawn, state capital, factory floor, Trump Plaza, at the polls, during Presidential and papal visits, during elections.

The only thing that does and has work throughout all of recorded human history is mass movements in the hundreds of thousands and millions and violence.

What doesnt actually work, what doesnt cause change, what has never resulted in people with power giving up some or all of that power in any way, shape or form in any situation is petitions, online signatures, phone calls, emails, tweets, hashtags, "raising awareness", debates, talks, "negotiations", "agreements", "bilateral" talks, treaties.

The above so-called "peaceful measures" only lead to more oppression, exploitation, violence, civilian slaughter, dehumanization, propaganda, hate campaigns, colonizing, empire building, endless wars, genocides, ethnic cleansings, mass graves, rape squads, tortures, atrocities, war crimes, crimes against humanity, mass arrests, cutting off humanitarian aid, massacres, concentration camps, apartheid, mass unemployment, unlawful curfews, overextracting earths resources, forced relocations, mass starvation, engineered famines, childhood suicides, loss of sewage and filtration systems, loss of medicine and medical supplies, schools hospitals and residential areas being carpet bombed, grandmothers being raped on Facebook Live, children being killed on TikTok, genocides streaming live to your phone in real time on Twitter alongside the Met Gala, tens of thousands murdered and buried under rubble that will take decades to unearth, banned biological warfare including phosphorous burning literal holes through civilians skin, 24/7 traumatization as the US funds genocide that is being recorded and streamed in social media in real time against the will of nearly 70% of the tax-paying populace, children eating animal feed because they are being starved on a mass scale, boys and men being stripped naked beaten tortured and exposed to the elements then murdered, pamphlets warning millions of civilians to evacuate before the attack begins when their only escape route into Egypt has already been blocked, an entire generation of children lost traumatized orphaned starved injured hurt oppressed radicalized hated murdered tortured suicide'd . . .

What gets promoted?

The stuff that doesnt work.

Whats legal?

The stuff that doesnt work.

What doesnt get promoted?

Yes there have been marches in Washington for Palestine but true watershed moments are made difficult by the fact that in a capitalist society during the week everyone is at work.

If its on the weekend, Western capitalist societies especially AmeriKKKa are obsessed with competition, organized sports, being busy for the sake of being busy, mindlessness, socializing and errands so if the march is on the weekend, most people will be grocery shopping, clothes shopping, at the mall, at the movies, at a restaurant, at a hair or nail salon, getting a massage, attending kids sports games or dance recitals or plays or martial arts competitions, at the library, at a museum, at an amusement park, at a park, at the beach, at a bar, at a nightclub, at a friends house, at a party, watching a sports game, streaming a show or movie, gaming, scrolling social media, messaging on discord or Whatsapp, going to a play, mowing the lawn, doing the laundry, planning meals for the week, raking leaves, going to church -- endless mindless distractions and busying of the self so who is really traveling to Washington DC for a march for Palestine?

Yes, thousands show up but it isnt enough to disrupt the matrix.

It has to be a mass movement of the people -- hundreds of thousands, not tens, or millions -- for a protest, boycott, strike, march, rally to actually work.

A few thousand people boycotting McDonalds, Starbucks and Disney for Palestine isnt even a rounding error.

Neither is a few people of conscience quitting Google over the cloud AI technology being used to track and surveil Palestinian civilans for Israel.

A few million, however, would impact the bottom line.

Biden was asked if the student protests had made him reconsider his position on Palestine and his immediate, emphatic answer was an unqualified and unmitigated no.

Why do you think that is? Students have been and will continue to be arrested.

Protest encampments will be ripped up and taken down.

Graduations will happen.

Classes will resume.

Netanyahu said "hostilities" (its a genocide, you Hitlerian fuck) will continue for at least six months, suspiciously close to the US election in October.

Why do you think that is?

Does that sound like someone who is sincerely considering a "permanent ceasefire" to you?

Its almost like Biden and Netanyahu have already planned this genocide out regardless of student protests, nearly 70% of Americans wanting a permanent ceasefire and over 3 million calls to Congressmembers by American citizens demanding a permanent ceasefire.

42k dead Palestinian civilians, 4k dead Israeli civilians.

That is a genocide by any definition yet Netanyahu isnt budging and despite Biden using supposedly "tougher language", he hasnt stopped shipping weapons to Israel or sending funding to Israel.

So, ofcourse Rafah got invaded and ofcourse Israel continues to commit genocide against the Palestinians with total and complete impunity.

Israel is already displacing and forcibly relocating Palestinians, forcibly establishing Israeli settlements and building oil wells on the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza Strip has more oil per square kilometer than any place on earth.

Do you think its possible that all this death and destruction is about what its always been about -- money?

Specifically in this instance, oil.

This is a very, very old story that we have seen time and time again with US military involvement in the Middle East.

The Gulf War was not about liberating anyone from Saddam Hussein.

The Iraq War had nothing to do with 9/11, which was an inside job.

Israel is committing a US-funded genocide against Palestine for the same reasons the Gulf War and Iraq Wars were fought -- money (oil), colonial ideology, Western supremacy, military might and expansionism.

As Biden said in the 80s, if Israel didnt exist, "we would have had to invent her."

Ask yourself who "we" is.

So, whats the answer?

The answer is there is no easy answer because a patriarchal, misogynistic, hegemonic, militaristic, colonialist, white supremacist, capitalist state is going to be inherently set up by design to oppress, annihilate, expolit, dehumanize, suppress, repress, colonize, enslave, conquer, slaughter, murder and self propagate its own myth.

Its set up that only a few people hold and can gain access to the levers of power.

Why wont you see Cornel West or Claudia and Karina on the debate stage this fall?

Why are the choices Biden, Trump and Bernie again?

Why have all U.S. Presidents -- hundreds of them -- all descended from the same UK royal bloodline?

Do you know who the Reptilians are?

It doesnt mean give up.

It means realizing resistance and struggle are lifelong endeavors. Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X were in Palestine protesting in solidarity with their brown oppressed brothers in the 1970s -- whats changed?

Layoffs are cyclical, on purpose and follow a predictable pattern meant to disrupt, unnerve and keep workers in control, desperate, afraid, off-kilter and on the corporate hamster wheel.

Wars are cyclical and on purpose just like mass layoffs are.

Layoffs have nothing to do with the economy and wars have nothing to do with freedom.

Its about exploitation, wealth hoarding, empire building, fear, control, manipulating, amassing and mainting power, hegemony, patriarchy, militarism, white supremacy, police state, fascism, unregulated free markets and exploitative capitalism, monopolies, monoliths, kingdoms, Western Civilization, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, The Age of AI, robotics . . .

They are really gearing up with AI and robotics.

Studies have demonstrated that 80% of current jobs will be replaced within the next five years with advances in AI & robotics.

So, what happens to people that were doing those jobs?

I believe the relentless endless obnoxious and fucking nauseating push for all things AI & robotics is leading to the following scenario in the next five years:

Once 80% of current jobs have been replaced with AI and robotics, people will be offered jobs to do what they are already doing -- use social media, online gaming and Metaverse (which will be rolled out already) -- and they will be paid as "User Researchers", to fill out surveys and give feedback on their daily experiences using social media, online gaming and the Metaverse and to test out functionality and usability of new features.

What UBI (Universal Basic Income) should have been for all adult US citizens will instead go to these User Researchers. I predict they will borrow from proposed UBI models and pay these User Researches a $1k a month and provide them with healthcare.

The real purpose of these jobs will be to make people even more obsessed and dependent upon social media, online gaming and the coming Metaverse than they already are. Instead of breaking to go to work, now this is their work so there is no break from it Monday through Friday -- they will be addicted.

They will be so addicted that even on the weekends, they will choose to stay inside online -- social media, gaming and Metaverse -- instead of going out and about, socializing, exercising, going for a walk, shopping, movies, going to eat, sports, plays, etc.

VR will be huge at this point and all of the above can be experienced virtually so why leave your house or apartment.

Naturally, there will be people who occupied the 80% of jobs that were eliminated by AI and robotics that wont have an interest in being User Researchers for social media, online gaming or the Metaverse.

I predict they will get the equivalent of retirement packages since their actual functional roles no longer exist and have been replaced with AI and robotics and then I envision they will allow these people to access their 401k and social security early.

I believe User Researcher will be offered as a major in colleges and online academies. I also believe influencers will tout it as the thing to do post high school and post college. I also predict that degrees will be optional for the position and not required.

Naturally, given that these User Researchers will literally be paid for their addictions to social media, gaming and the Metaverse, as one might suspect, they will not be getting up very much from their respective couches, gaming chairs, bean bags, beds and Lay-Z boy reclining chairs and thus, by design, obesity, Type II diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart disease and all manners of diseases caused by sedentary lifestyles will skyrocket.

A less healthy, more sedentary, more addicted to tech society than we even have know that are dependent on big tech to fund their existence.

What could possibly go wrong?

Covid was the soft reset for the Age of AI & robotics.

They got rid of countless jobs and small businesses and financially ruined many entrepreneurs and 9 to 5'ers.

Paradoxically, at the same time we were being told that we couldnt go into the office because Covid, yet somehow fast food and big box retail were deemed "emergency services" (like hospitals and pharmacies???) so that mostly black and brown impoverished people who statistically are more immunocompromised and less healthy were constantly exposed to the dangers of Covid as many customers refused to mask up.

Soft reset. Control, fear campaigns, paradoxes, paradigms, millions dead, percentage wise mostly black brown impoverished, elderly and immunocompromised.

Exactly who costs the government the most with Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP & EBT and exactly who they wanted to get rid of.

TikTok was a catalyst for this.

Peoples attention span on average is 3 seconds now -- 3!

That is unprecedented in all of human history.

We were not designed to constantly process 1 to 5 second videos.

They overloaded us by design to shortcircuit our attention spans and shorten our minds.

The average song now is 2 to 3 minutes long.

Ten years ago, the average song was 4 minutes long.

Do you see whats happening?

Do you see what they've done on purpose?

Does anyone remember the Super Bowl shooting at the Chiefs parade earlier this year?

If you noticed, there was an extremely short news cycle regarding the Super Bowl parade shooting. Much shorter than other shootings. And it was the Chiefs, the NFL's reigning Super Bowl champions.

Even five years ago, that would have been news for a week.

It was literally reported on for a day or two and then dropped and never reported on again.

Why do you think that is?

This years Super Bowl had 150 ads. Think about that. In about 3.5 hours.

Five years ago, the Super Bowl had 100 ads.

Why do you think that is?

Who are the Reptilians?

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Alaina Demopoulos at The Guardian:

For Mikyla Page, keeping a three year-old daughter healthy is serious business. Before eating anything, the stay-at-home mom reads an ingredients list, staying away from artificial colors, flavors, dyes, and excess sugar. She doesn’t support vaccination, instead believing that “bathing in sunlight” will keep her family healthy, making sure her family gets outside every day to soak up vitamin D. At first, Page felt alone in her choices. “You’re called crazy for even questioning the medical field,” she said. “My intuition was telling me one thing, but the world was telling me something else. My husband was like, ‘Are you sure this is where you want to go?’ I just went with my gut.”

Now, with Robert F Kennedy Jr tapped by Donald Trump to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services, Page, who is 26 and lives in Utah, feels vindicated. Kennedy is well known for his history of pushing baseless health claims that sometimes veer into tinfoil hat territory – he’s said that chemicals in the water supply affect a child’s gender identity, and that Covid was “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jewish and Chinese people. He has also long advocated against vaccines, repeating the debunked claim made by the discredited British doctor Andrew Wakefield that the vaccines cause autism.

Kennedy’s supporters include an army of self-identified “crunchy moms” like Page, who are especially drawn to one proposal in particular: improving Americans’ diets and reeling in the processed food industry. In November, he accused major manufacturers of “poison[ing]” kids. Moms on social media adopted the hashtag #MAHA, which has been used in over 224,000 TikTok videos (Kennedy has promised to “make America healthy again” – a play on Donald Trump’s trademark slogan that’s often shortened to Maha). Anyone can consider themselves Maha, but mothers in particular have become its fiercest evangelists online, where they post videos explaining their politics while cooking dinner or resting a swaddled baby in their arms. Maha can be seen as the alliance of multiple health-focused subcultures. Along with crunchy moms, there are influencers and entrepreneurs who use the movement to peddle supposedly non-toxic brands of baby wipes or moisturizers. There are the chronically ill, who feel failed by the medical establishment. There are the yogis and wellness bros who believe that it’s possible to optimize your way to a better life, to heal oneself without the help of mainstream medicine. And then there is Trump – famously a McDonald’s lover, and not exactly the picture of health – and his supporters, who politicize Maha as a rallying cry against science-based elites.

But moms have a special place within the movement. They are the kinds of voters that the Democrats thought they had locked up when Kamala Harris ran on a history of prosecuting sex offenders and a platform of abortion rights. But, Page says, it was Kennedy who mad her feel legitimized for the first time. “It’s nice to have somebody backing you up, especially a male [such as Kennedy], because I feel like sometimes men take longer to catch on to these things since they don’t have a maternal instinct,” Page said. “It’s nice to have someone like Robert Kennedy and Trump to see these issues.” Page says she’s most excited for Kennedy to “crack down on dyes in food and helping the [Food and Drug Administration] regulate that”. One specific dye, the petroleum-based red 3 that’s ubiquitous in American junk food, may be banned by the FDA soon for use in food – it’s been banned in cosmetics since 1990 – since it has been found to be carcinogenic in animals. A number of Democrats, including the New Jersey congressman Frank Pallone, have sought to have the dye banned. The FDA’s current review is not related to Kennedy, though he is in favor of a ban.

[...] The past decade-plus has seen the rise of the momfluencer, women who project an impossible image of soft, mess-free, domestic bliss. They sell new mothers a fantasy – as well as promoting the products they say are required to attain it. These brands are always “non-toxic” or “organic”. Kennedy also uses this language, and his audience is primed to respond to it. Kennedy has also declared war on the “chronic illness epidemic”. Women are disproportionately affected by chronic illnesses such as depression, endometriosis, and Alzheimer’s, but doctors are less likely to listen to them. Kennedy’s promise to overhaul systems like the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes on a common enemy: the idea of a traditional doctor in a white lab coat. Maha women might have felt dismissed or gaslighted by this figure, so they root against the status quo and look for alternatives – no matter how untested, or potentially dangerous.

The Guardian has an informative story on how crunchy mom influencers are embracing the MAHA vision for America, but they aren't the only health-related subculture that has joined the RFK-MAHA ride.

[zhooniyaa-waagosh]

With very few exceptions, constant handling of zoo animals posted online is stressful for the animals AT BEST and actively harmful in many cases. There are very few animals in zoos that have regular physical contact with handlers outside of medical care and training (to make it easier to give them medical care). Even fewer animals interact directly or closely to the guests.

A baby animal that is being messed with frequently and handled roughly by keepers for videos to post online is a GIANT red flag regardless of where the zoo is. Hippos especially are delicate and EXTREMELY dangerous animals that should be handled with care.

And that's not even getting into the dangers of the zoo posting that sort of content when it's a known fact that social media contributes strongly to exotic animal trafficking to supply the illegal pet trade and "cute" versions of highly dangerous wild animals, like pygmy hippos, are a common target of that.

I'm just so sick of the way animal abuse is normalized online.

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Your tags re: the Woolman article are making me think about some things... No need to respond to this--I'm just sending it over in case you have some insight, as someone who's constantly living and breathing and thinking about these things.

I've often considered my comfort a matter of physical safety. I have multiple compounding disabilities (a lot of them undiagnosed, not a lot of access to competent medical practitioners in my life) which generally directly translate mental stress & physical exertion into negative health outcomes. Insomnia, inability to process nutrients and resulting significant weight loss, joint pain and instability, constant swelling of my lymphs and tonsils, autonomic dysregulation, fatigue and muscle weakness, decreased immune function, and more. When I was working outside of the house regularly, my health was incredibly poor; when the new coronavirus hit and I was forced onto SSI, I was able to move in with a caretaker/partner and my required activity level has gone significantly down. I gained over 30 pounds, started sleeping regularly, stopped subluxing, no longer experience sensory meltdown, and went from getting contagiously sick once or twice a month to once or twice a year.

But my activity level is now only possible because I rely on the structures I think are abysmally unethical. My daily routine involves very light housework, emotional care and trauma work for my partner, and sedentary hobbies like writing poetry. I can't even do useful hobbies that require fine motor skills (i.e. sewing), because of my sustained tremors and dyspraxia. I don't cook, and I rely almost entirely on prepackaged foods and delivery services. We have a small garden, and I work in it occasionally, but nowhere near enough to grow our own food, apart from some tomatoes (very easy plant to care for where I am, but does not a divestment from industrial agriculture make). We've chosen not to care for animals because I don't think I could comfortably manage them. In fact, I do not do much of anything that involves exiting my front or back door, as my sensory overload is strongly triggered by direct sunlight and causes genuine physical pain--something that has become much more difficult to deal with ever since I stopped subjecting myself to it daily.

Frequently, I feel hypocritical for, for example, having a principled and genuinely *angry* opposition to the global supply chain and my principles being in favor of divesting from it and hoping it breaks down entirely--and yet, I myself won't divest from it, because of my own comfort. Because at the end of the day, I certainly wasn't dying before. Perhaps I could re-train myself to not feel the sensory overload I am now so sensitive to--when I was used to experiencing it every day, I barely even noticed it, and things like sunglasses do take the edge off. I was not *dangerously* underweight, just enough to make my life slightly more difficult. Getting sick so frequently was frustrating, but I could significantly up my activity level without upping my socializing or generally being around others, which would make it less likely I reach the level of contagious sicknesses that I was at pre-coronavirus.

The point of all of that being, I have been mulling over this for quite some time, and now I'm considering the matter even more intensely. I have been primarily socializing in online disability support groups for a very long time now, and this kind of talk is always met with the assertion that my comfort is more important than my principles above all else. That I should care for myself, make my life as comfortable as possible, because disabled people deserve to be happy. I agree with that. But simultaneously, my happiness should not come at the expense of others' *lives,* and while I cannot actually stop those people from being exploited and dying, individually, I still resonate with your statements... that my principles are important to live by, and even moreso, that we *must* make the decision to be comfortable with discomfort to destroy these systems to begin with--all of us, individually. I wonder where the threshold is for "comfort" vs "safety" when you are someone whose discomfort can be physically dangerous. How does one assess that danger? Where does one draw the line? I am in the process of feeling out that line... but where are the rules for how to draw it, where are the guidelines... Has anyone even written any?

I appreciate you sharing your insights with the Internet as a whole, allowing me access to them and expanding my worldview. Once again, certainly no pressure to offer any on this ridiculous essay of an ask specifically. This is a matter I will surely be journaling about!

Honestly Anon? I love you for this. You've given me the space to say out loud things I very rarely acknowledge to anyone other than my wife and my therapist. Not because it's private or shameful, but because it's just....so goddamn hard???? To figure this shit out.

Simple answer Anon: we all have to make that judgement call for ourselves based on our values, our needs, and our circumstances. We cannot, and should not, prescribe judgement calls to others, because we can never fully know what their relationship with those factors is like. I meant what I said about needing to refuse to share your power with a system that wields violence in a SUSTAINABLE way, maybe even your whole life. That doesn't mean "strip every connection out and then deal with the consequences until you find a new normal" though. It means "for every place you don't HAVE TO utilize a connection, don't, and be REALLY honest about what "have to" means to you."

Long answer: I have lived a "homesteader" life for poverty and access reasons during my childhod. And now, as an adult, I am returning to it after the sweet joys and freedoms of modern infrastructure, NOT because of poverty, but because of being middle class with an autoimmune disorder that nearly killed me at least twice in the past 5 years. In both cases, there were parts of life that absolutely still relied on systems of power (as a kid, for example, my mom bought me all my clothes through thrift shops for as long as she could, but my body type has always been a bit unusual and by the time I was 10 we had to buy clothes from your standard department store - usually a sears or every once in a while a kohls, and it's not like we weren't aware of the clothing industry's impact on the environment and human life globally. As an adult, I currently depend HEAVILY on technology, and for all that I am a huge advocate against the ongoing atrocities in Sudan and DRC in part due to their geographical role in tech, research, and development from rare earth mining, I also literally cannot survive in the world right now without semi-current tech due to communication needs, work needs, healthcare beeds, etc.)

This is not to say "if I can do it, so can everyone else!!1!" (Obvious bullshit I have no interest in selling yall). But it IS to say that there are so many different reasons and ways that people withdraw their power from systems of violence. For example, people who undergo the process of removing themselves from the public workforce and accessing state or federal financial aid are absolutely withdrawing their (e.g.: labor) power from systems of violence. The fact that your (e.g.: finanancial) power may be placed in various access points, resource pots, etc., really isn't a BAD thing, it's just the reality of being human.

To one extent, this is why I talk about (and try to engage as much as possible in) mutual aid the way I do. It would be literally an impossible demand to tell someone they have to completely withdraw their contributions to and from society in order to have opinions about systems within that society being abusive or unacceptable. The idea that you (or you, or him, or her, or them, or me, or it, or ANYONE) should need to be completely self-sufficient as an individual or a household in order to demand change from resource systems is ultimately one that opressive systems themselves put forward in this twisted all-or-nothing portrayal of autonomy. To buy into that framework is to accept their claim that there is no other way to do things besides theirs or Alone and Unsupported. And we all need to work REALLY hard to remember what utter fucking horseshit that is.

So instead of shaming yourself for being a human being with survival needs you don't want other people to have to die for, focus on asking yourself what you ACTUALLY need, at the literal survival level. Then take the time to think of as many different ways you could meet those needs as possible, even the obviously unreasonable ones. Think about WHAT MAKES THEM unreasonable. Is it an intersection with another need? A societal construct (money, respect, family structure, etc)? A logistical/environmental issue? What would it look like to problem solve for any of those? What is EFFECTIVE at addressing the barriers and what is ACCESSIBLE at addressing the barriers? Figure out, realistically, what it would mean to take the autonomy and choice of each factor FULLY into your hands.

So that way, when you make a decision, you know you've made one based on what is as in line with your values as possible, while taking into account your needs and your circumstances, on a case by case basis. A conscious, thoughtful level. Whatever the outcome is, that's ultimately less important than the fact that you really took the time to observe, understand, and actively participate in the process of impact on the world living your life will inevitably have.

"There is no ethical consumption under capitalism" doesn't mean, as some allege it is understood or used as, "ethical consumption is impossible therefore do whatever you want," it means "your existence and its interaction with the existences of others, whether direct or indirect, WILL have an impact, and not all of that will be good, or within your control, so don't waste time trying to be perfect when what you need to be is respectfully and compassionately INTENTFUL."

So what does that look like for me?

Well, I have an autoimmune disorder, intermittent chronic organ failure, constant pain and frequent limited or restricted mobility, and can't let anything touch a mucus membrane that I don't know the EXACT ingredients of.

So long before a return to homesteading, or COVID, or anything else that's happened in the last 5yrs, I had already been put in the position of needing to be EXTREMELY aware of the origins and distribution chains of everything I came in contact with. I had to start making my foods, drinks, hair and skin care products, hygeine products, hell my own fucking PET FOOD sometimes to cut out potentially lethal exposures to substances I could no longer interact with. And while that list STARTED at 3, it has only grown since, and I now maintain strict isolation from. Well. Basically everything and everyone. It. It sucks, Anon, gonna be honest. I genuinely don't want to do most of it, and between the constant pain, the brain fog, the ADHD, the intermittent flareups that leave me bedridden, etc, my life has basically been nothing more than an endless game of catch-up since I was about 23.

I *am* catching up tho.

Like, one of the things that's really stuck out to me through the near-decade long process is how the every step more distant you take from these systems makes the next step easier.

My first step was removing gluten and corn from my diet, and boy howdy let me tell you, there is NOTHING left for you that you don't make from scratch if you need to avoid both. Your life as "normal" kinda just. Ends there. You know?

Like, I'm about 9yrs into this change in particular, and once or twice a month I STILL manage to bring home something from the market that ends up having a gluten ingredient that got missed in the first scan because I got careless because why the FUCK do egg salad and hair shampoo have wheat flour in it STEVE??????

So the idea of buying any ingredient or food item that has been processed in any way beyond basic cleaning and transport just comes with this inherent thrill of terror every time. And god, the THINGS that I have to CARE about???? Literally, it depends on severities and who you ask, but there are real conversations being had in celiac circles about having to raise their own chickens because COMMERCIAL EGG LAYING CHICKEN FEED HAS WHEAT IN IT AND SO THEY REACT TO THE EGGS???? Nightmares, I'm telling you.

All this to say, the more often the stuff you bring home from the outside world inches you closer to death, the more motivated you are to have a complete understanding of the entire lifespan of anything you come in contact with. The easier it is to just. Do it all your damn self. Not because it's ACTUALLY easy mind you, but because you just don't have the emotional strength to keep pushing back on the sneaky, magical thinking based idea that if you just do it all yourself maybe being alive will hurt a little less. So it's probably not a surprise to anyone that my end goal here is to retreat to about 100+ acres of conservational land that I can slowly restore with edible, astringent, and fiber plants indigenous to the land's ecosystem and then just spend my days puttering around eating nuts and berries and amaranth and spinning thread or weaving cloth for bandages and blankets.

But I can DO that in part because I'm NOT doing it alone, or even just with my own household. I work with friends, colleagues, community resource programs, and everything else to make this stuff happen. I do everything I reasonably can to sustain my life as it needs living in ways that allow me to only depend on infrastructures of systemic violence as a conscious concession that I lack other survivable long term options. And I keep my evolving needs and circumstances in mind in case that ever changes in a way I can take advantage of.

I dunno, I guess....I've lived life a lot of different ways now, and I've come to understand the world really differently. One of the most meaningful frameworks for change I use now isn't eliminating or stopping something, but just. Lessening it.

When we were homeless for a while, we lost basically everything we owned. I think we had a handful of blankets, clothes, the pets, the car, a couple of personal treasures we managed to keep on us, and that was it. And we've stabilized now, but that doesn't mean we can afford things like furniture or dishes or clothes or whatever. Not unless we need them. So we make do with thrifted whenever we can and we also just. Make do without. We haven't had a couch in about 3-4 yrs now. It just wasn't a priority. Same with a dining table or chairs or the like. We have a bed! For a long time it was just a mattress from a lady selling them out of her garage and then we got some box springs, and now we have an actual bedframe! We each have a work desk and chair that's really it tho. A whole house now, and maybe 7 pieces of furniture in the whole place.

It's kinda similar with dishes and clothes. If you have to handwash all your dishes with special hypoallergenic soap that costs. Just so much more. Than normal dishsoap would. You're gonna start being really inventive about your dishes. My wife and I have what I like to call "service for 4" meaning we have 4 plates, 2 bowls and two tupperwares, two pans (1 cast iron, 1 ceramic, same size different functions), two pots (a 4cup stock pot and a 3gal stock pot), a full sheet baking tray, 3 mugs and a few washed jam jars, four of each sppon/knife/fork, and 2 nice butchering knives. Basically all of them are thrifted or gifts. And I could fit almost the whole lot piled together in the 3gallon stock pot for washing as needed. If you have to wash all your clothes in a basin while you shower, and hang them out to dry, you benefit from having only about 2-3 outfits worth of clothes that you can spice up with accessories instead of new combos, that way someone can do a basin full of washing each day and you'll more or less keep up with the pace of laundry. Missing days will happen, but they won't pile up as badly, are easier to recover from, and can - in a pinch - just be taken to a laundromat and dealt with for less than $10.

My floors are all (as much as possible) hardwood, because it's much easier to just put on my dusting or mopping slippers and "skate" around for a while to clean the floors than it is to lug around a vacuum I can't carry or use without pain.

I'm lucky enough to live on land with a creek, a well, and henhouse, so I thatch the henhouse floor with $5/bale clover hay from a local farmer once a week, and keep enough chickens on a rotation to cut down our protein costs and eliminate our egg costs. We're (wifey and me) building a fenced in run this weekend around the hen house so the hens can start foraging for food daily and we can cut back on feed (the area is already planted with lots of lovely chicken safe plants and I figure I'll keep cultivating that for them with replantings as necessary. That way, we can just let them out in the morning and close them back in (if we bother) at night, and top up a 25lb feeder once a week when we change the hay over again. The hay we clear out goes into the garden for mulch and fertilizer, and in turn the chickens get bundles or herbs and veggies and other snacks to supplement their forage and feed. It's an involved first year or so, but once the system is set up it's actually remarkably self-perpetuating.

And a lot of the ways I've changed my life are like that. Intensive to set up right, but shockingly low impact on day to day life once established. And sure it adds up, but like. So do the benefits.

I'm the healthiest I've been in years.

That doesn't always FEEL like much because things do still very badly wrong for me about once a month.

But it used to be daily. I used to push myself through a system of functioning that DID depend largely on these external hierarchical systems, and STILL come up short of resources in the end while experiencing daily symptoms. The more I've removed myself from those systems, the more I've removed their IMPACT on me, both positive and negative. And. At least in my case. It turns out there was always a LOT more negative than positive. I just. Didn't get to see and assess my alternatives, so it was harder to notice. Depending more on subsistence and community systems has turned out to be REALLY healthy for me.

I think part of that has also been learning how to create alternatives out of spaces that feel like voids. It's made it easier for me to cultivate a life of intentional accommodation by familiarizing myself with the process of initializing them.

And I think if that's NOT how you're experiencing your withdrawal of power from systems of violence, then you're not ACTUALLY meeting the needs you are trying to find replacements for OUTSIDE of that system. Maybe you can right then or maybe you can't! But either way it's worth asking why hurting yourself helps anyone else.

Praxis is uncomfortably complex in its simplicity: bring as much safety and compassion and collaboration to your world as you can.

It does include safety, compassion, and collaboration towards OURSELVES as well, after all.

[wizardsjournal]

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[coyote-kiddo]

30 Days of Agere (all at once because I can)

I found it initially on Tumblr via the aesthetic "babycore", and I assumed it wasn't for me so I tried pet regression (to cope with a situation I was in at the time) and then slowly got more into agere :)

Usually 1-8

No, I'm fairly independent when I regress

Home alone, able to watch cartoons and use little gear as I please around my house, decorating my headphones and a long nap in the middle of the day,,, food prepared beforehand by big me so little me doesn't have to :)

I have loads of stuffies, toys and coloring supplies from when I was a kid, and some sippy cups (also from when I was a kid), but I'm hoping to get a paci and some other things soon :))

Yes !! I petre to multiple animals, usually ragdoll kitty or fox but also puppy, bunny, and I'm thinking of trying goat, lamb and/or wolf !!

Big me wears lossa eyeliner, big clothes and is very very irritable, little me is super sleepy all the time and only wears pjs

Both !! I don't do much when I regress but sometimes I color or draw :)

(will tag when I remember their users)

Both. I usually voluntarily age dream/fully regress and involuntarily half-regress when I'm anxious (and I have halfway kitty regressed during panic attacks before??)

Yes ! I often do it to help me slip, but also just to calm down even if I don't regress

I would say so, I have also seen and used pacis in dreams before

Banana milkshakes, Cheerios and goldfish :)

Yes of course, I have over 100 of them

My stepmom knows and she's very supportive, my dad also knows but he just kinda gives it the side eye

Prince/Princett, Kiddo, Nugget, Pup, and Angel :)

Nothing really makes me "instantly regress", but SFW little content, blanket burritos, my little playlist, and my little gear help quite a lot

No, my living situation kinda sucks right now and I have chronic (medically diagnosed) anxiety that makes it hard to stay regressed.

Sometimes kinda sucks (as it is plagued with discourse, people claiming to be "nsfw agere", literal gr00mers and people who make fun of other regressors for not fitting into the stereotype of "physically small, a girl, feminine, pretty, pastels, etc.") but I stay mostly to the safe side of the community

No

Yes and I hate being tickled with a passion :(

Alphys and/or Mettaton from Undertale :)

Mostly dark colors for the walls, carpet floor, a tent, fairly small, places to organize my toys and craft supplies, a tv, lots of blankets and pillows, and dim fairy lights for lighting :)

Not really, as an autistic regressor I find it hard

Mostly to take my mind off of things, but also to cope with severe anxiety and (as a transmasc regressor) to relive my childhood :)

Yes !! I can't regress without it, I have a playlist on Spotify with some songs that help me regress

Since I don't have or want a cg, not really, but big me has some rules for little me, i.e. no hurting myself, be safe online, be ready for bed by 10, etc.

Sleepy and "soft" I guess ?? I'm kinda fuzzy brained and can't do much

No, I don't think I could be a cg

I have a document in my phone (Notes) about my regression that I like to add to, I find it very helpful and fun :)

[ghostofacrow]

Decided to rewatch Psycho-Pass (season 1) because I didn't remember the ending entirely and got worried it pulled a Makoto Persona 5 at the end and decided that being a cop is based actually, which made me hesistant about recommending it to people anymore. But surprisingly I came away from it liking the ending more.

Spoilers under the cut, this is mostly ending discussion so it's also not going to make sense if you haven't seen it - if you want a recommendation, I think it's definitively worth the time, especially if you like cyberpunk dystopias and/or thrillers. Be warned that there is a lot of graphic violence so you might want to look up content warnings

"Being a cop is good actually" is technically what happens, Akane does stay with the CID by the end, but it's also a lot bleaker and conflicted then I remembered. In one of the conversations with Sybil she does outright say "I'm not interested in dying needlessly", making it clear she's going along with their bargain because refusing would be pointless, and from the scene where the chief tries to kill Kougami in the parking garage all of her interactions with Sybil are Akane trying to push against the rules to get consessions from Sybil and it doesn't even work. She doesn't manage to save Kougami and when she gives her final speech to Sybil ("One day, someone is going to come down here and turn the power off"), Sybil just laughs at her and taunts her to keep struggling because it will make them stronger. And then it ends with a repeat of the first episode except several of the characters are dead now and Ginoza got demoted to enforcer, just like his father and Kougami before. (sidenote: that they decide to portray this visually by removing his glasses is hilarious)

Akane definitively comes down on the "no violent revolution I will work within the system" side of things but I'm not sure the anime does and even if it does, the ending is bleak enough that I can respect that it's aware that that decision isn't neutral and has a heavy price tag on it.

There is something to be said about how the main agent of change is a dangerous serial killer, and the non-serial killer outcasts are generally glossed over in favor of the crazy schoolgirl using bodies as an art supply store, but I do think they're generally framed as sympathetic. Maybe ineffective or terminally online but not misguided? It rings very true that Sybil is so ingrained that it seems impossible to change.

There is a more complicated discussion about how much the series buys into true crime ideas about profiling and how sociopathy works (Sybil is clearly flawed, that's what the whole story is about, but the behavioral science unit profiling shit Kougami does is real and works within the fiction of the story and there sure are a lot of weird quirky serial killers around in this one city) but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy serial killer fiction and this is a much bigger discussion then this one ten year old series. It's kinda problematic but it's not more problematic in this regard then any other thriller and it at least does something interesting with it. Same with how easily the people in the helmet episodes are pushed towards heinously violent crimes just because they can get away with it, but it's also maybe kinda implied that this is Sybil's fault because everyone is really bad at managing their impulses and dark thoughts now? And it's not really remarked upon but the first guy was trying to steal psych medicine first so it's also plausible he was trying to self medicate to avoid getting flagged. Not sure if that read is intended but I appreciate that it's open to interpretation like this - the same thing I liked about the ending. Akane does come to a decision by the end but it feels more like a tentative answer then a final conclusion.

There's a scene where the criminal psychology professor guy gives a definition of anarchism and it's very brief and glossed over but it does correctly point out that it's about rejection of hierarchies, not about having no rules whatsoever. So that's nice considering how often media gets this wrong and it makes me like Akane's monologue about laws a lot more because it seeds the idea that "law" is supposed to mean any kind of socially agreed upon rule here, not necessarily one dictated by the ruling class.

Finally though the show does have an issue with using women as the default victims for a lot of its graphic violence, the first episode has a rape scene, the murder sculptures are made up of school girls, Boogie Woogie getting strangled while the male V-tubers die offscreen, the person getting slowly beaten to death by the masked guy is a woman, the chief (woman status debatable due to dude brain cyborg bullshit but definitively a female body) has one of the most graphic deaths (death status debatable due to cyborg hivemind brain room bullshit) of any named character. I don't have a problem with these scenes individually, at least not conceptually - with some of them I do have some notes on the execution - but all of them taken together it's a lot. Obviously the show is really dark and violent overall but it does sure feel like there is a disproportionate amount of screentime and detail allocated to women being brutalised while men get comparatively quick or offscreen deaths and I don't think the show is aware of this. The longest discussion of gender is around the sculptor girls fixation on killing schoolgirls, who Makishima later calls shallow and uninteresting (before killing her brutally too I forgot her in the list actually) but the show also does this - focusing on despoiling women because they're supposedly more pure. Again individually I don't have a huge issue with any of these scenes, but when you take it as a whole it becomes uncomfortably even.

Really enjoyed the rewatch overall, I didn't think the show would hold up to my memory of it because of the serial killer bs and the ending but I think I actually came out of it liking it more. Let's see if this holds if i watch season 2 lol I remember approximately two scenes and a feeling of boredom from it

[lovemesomesurveys]

[chasingghosts @ bzoink]

What can you smell right now?   I smell my coffee energy drink that I just took a sip of.

What was the last thing you bought online?   It’s been awhile since I’ve done any online shopping since I just haven’t been in a shopping mood. It’s not fun when you spend all day at home in bed to go shopping for new clothes or accessories. I want to be able to wear them out somewhere, ya know?

If you drink coffee, when was the last time you went a day without having one?   I drink coffee daily, which for the past several months I’ve just been having a Starbucks Doubleshot energy drink. While I was in the hospital last year for 3 months I couldn’t eat or drink anything due to a breathing tube, later on trachea tube, so those definitely felt like the longest 3 months of my life.

Do you have any appointments coming up?   Not this month. 

Do you put appointments in your phone's calendar app to remember them?   Sometimes, but for the past several months my mom has just been writing them on the marker board calendar we have hung up in my room. She’s the one who typically keeps track of that stuff for me right now.

Will you be visiting anyone's house in the next week or so?   No. I won’t be going anywhere. 

Have you ever been to a petting zoo? What animals did you pet?   Yeah, as a kid. I remember there always be goats. 

What was the last movie you saw in theatres?   Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness last year. I didn’t know not long after I’d be admitted into the hospital. 

Do you know anyone who has done a PhD?   No. My brother recently decided to go back to school for his master’s and just got accepted into the program, which is amazing.

How many unread emails are in your inbox right now?   Omg, like well over 1,000. I used be on top of my emails and kept my inbox clean, but I got lazy with it for some reason. The notification used to bother me and help me stay on track; I don’t know what happened.

What four apps do you keep on the home bar on your iPhone? (Sorry, I'm not sure if Android has an equivalent!) Contacts, call, messages, emails.  

Have you ever used Tumblr? Do you still use it today?   Nope, what’s that?

Are you tired right now?   Very. One of the things about the edibles I found that seems to be helping my anxiety also makes me extremely tired. So, I’m napping more but whatever. What else am I doing?

What's your favourite day of the week and why?   I don’t have one.

How far away is the nearest major city?   A few hours.

Do you own an electric kettle?   Nope.

Are your eyebrows wispy or bushy?   Bushy.

Have you ever lost your wallet or purse? Did you have to replace a bunch of things?   No, thankfully. 

Where are you right now? Describe the room or place to me.   I’m in bed in my room. It’s a small room with a closet, dresser, tv, window, canvas art and posters hung up, marker boards, bulletin board, a side table, an office chair, and a shit ton of medical supplies. My room is small and cluttered and I hate it. 

Do you prefer big dogs or small dogs?   As someone in a wheelchair, I personally feel most comfortable around medium sized dogs.

Are you good at understanding heavy accents? Which accents would you say you're the best at understanding?   I admittedly have a hard time sometimes, it just really depends.

Have you ever played on a real life pinball machine, or just on the computer?   A real one, yeah. 

Do you have a lot of word documents or notes on your computer?   No.

What's your favourite Ben & Jerry's flavour?   I don’t really have a particular favorite. When I was younger I loved the Phish food one.

Have you ever been to a school reunion? How was it?   No, and I have no interest in going to one.

How many nights a week do you generally cook at home?   I personally don’t cook at all.

What colour are the street signs in your neighbourhood? Are they the same all over town or do they vary?   They’re green.

Do you have good grammar and punctuation skills?   I believe so.

Have you ever tried vegan chicken? Did you like it? No, and I gotta say... it doesn’t sound appealing to me.

[brenda-mcgrane]

Compassion in Action: Advancing Animal Welfare for a Better World

In today's world, where the rush of daily life often overshadows the quieter but equally pressing issues, the cause of animal welfare continues to garner attention and empathy across the globe. The movement toward more humane treatment of animals is not just about ensuring they live without pain and distress; it's about recognizing their intrinsic value and the richness they bring to the natural world and our lives.

The Global Challenge of Animal Welfare

Animal welfare encompasses a broad spectrum of issues ranging from preventing cruelty to providing environments that meet animals' physical and psychological needs. Whether it's the pets that share our homes, the livestock that contribute to our food supply, or the wildlife that inhabit the world's diverse ecosystems, every creature deserves compassion and respect.

Despite the advances in legislation and the increasing public awareness, millions of animals worldwide still suffer from neglect, abuse, and exploitation. These issues manifest in various forms, including inhumane farming practices, inadequate living conditions in zoos and aquariums, and the devastating impacts of poaching and habitat destruction. The challenge is not only to alleviate immediate suffering but to implement sustainable solutions that protect future generations of animals.

Advocating for Change

The countless individuals and organizations dedicated to making a difference are at the heart of the animal welfare movement. Advocacy plays a crucial role, involving a range of activities from lobbying for better laws to conducting educational programs that aim to change public perceptions and behaviors towards animals.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) work tirelessly to rescue distressed animals, provide medical care, and find loving homes for abandoned pets. These groups also tackle larger-scale issues such as the illegal wildlife trade and the challenges of captive animal welfare. Their efforts are supported by research that guides best animal care and management practices, ensuring that interventions are both practical and ethical.

Education and Community Involvement

Education is a powerful tool in the fight for better animal welfare. By informing people of all ages about the needs and rights of animals, we can foster a new generation of advocates who prioritize compassion over convenience. Schools, community centers, and online platforms offer opportunities for learning and engagement, encouraging people to think critically about how their choices impact animals.

Community involvement is equally important. Local initiatives like spay and neuter programs help control pet populations and prevent future homelessness. Community-led habitat restoration projects can also play a vital role in preserving the ecosystems for wildlife survival. Individuals can make a tangible difference in their localities by participating in or supporting these efforts.

A Future of Hope

The path to improved animal welfare is fraught with challenges, but there is also tremendous hope. Innovations in science and technology are opening new avenues for change. For example, advancements in biotechnology may reduce our reliance on animals for food production, while telemetry and drone technology improve our ability to monitor and protect wild populations.

As the public becomes more aware and engaged, the demand for transparency and ethical practices grows, pushing industries toward more humane methods. The rise of ethical consumerism influences companies to adopt practices that are better for animals and environmentally sustainable.

The passion for animal welfare is more than just a compassionate endeavor; it's a necessary commitment to ensuring that all creatures are respected and protected. As society progresses, we must continue advocating for the voiceless, educating our communities, and supporting innovations that pave the way for a kinder, more ethical world. Together, we can forge a future where the welfare of all animals is a priority, reflecting our deepest values of empathy and respect.