#our first avenue of treatment

[cowboyjimkirk]

weird question probably, but has anyone tried benzodiazepines with their dog or other animal? how did it go? my veterinary behaviorist has brought it up a few times as an option for my pup, but i guess i’m wary of schedule iv drugs.

i’d ask on one of the Facebook dog pages i follow, but they seem to frown down on medication questions 🥺👉👈

[reasonsforhope]

"Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have made a critical breakthrough that promises better outcomes for pregnancies threatened with pre-eclampsia, a condition that arises due to insufficient blood flow to the placenta, resulting in high maternal blood pressure and restricted blood flow to the fetus.

Pre-eclampsia is one of the leading causes of stillbirths and prematurity worldwide, and it occurs in 3 to 5% of pregnancies. Without a cure, options for these patients only treat symptoms, such as taking blood pressure medication, being on bed rest, or delivering prematurely—regardless of the viability of their baby.

Making a decision to treat pre-eclampsia in any manner can be a moral conundrum, to balance many personal health decisions with long-standing impacts—and for Kelsey Swingle, a doctoral student in the UPenn bioengineering lab, these options are not enough.

In previous research, she conducted a successful proof-of-concept study that examined a library of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)—which are the delivery molecules that helped get the mRNA of the COVID vaccine into cells—and their ability to reach the placenta in pregnant mice.

In her latest study, published in Nature, Swingle examined 98 different LNPs and their ability to get to the placenta and decrease high blood pressure and increase vasodilation in pre-eclamptic pregnant mice.

Her work shows that the best LNP for the job was one that resulted in more than 100-fold greater mRNA delivery to the placenta in pregnant mice than an FDA-approved LNP formulation.

The drug worked.

“Our LNP was able to deliver an mRNA therapeutic that reduced maternal blood pressure through the end of gestation and improved fetal health and blood circulation in the placenta,” says Swingle.

“Additionally, at birth we saw an increase in litter weight of the pups, which indicates a healthy mom and healthy babies. I am very excited about this work and its current stage because it could offer a real treatment for pre-eclampsia in human patients in the very near future.”

While further developing this cure for pre-eclampsia and getting it to the market for human use is on the horizon for the research team, Swingle had to start from scratch to make this work possible. She first had to lay the groundwork to run experiments using pregnant mice and determine how to induce pre-eclampsia in this animal model, processes that are not as well studied.

But, by laying this groundwork, Swingle’s work has not only identified an avenue for curing pre-eclampsia, it also opens doors for research on LNP-mRNA therapeutics addressing other reproductive health challenges...

As Swingle thinks ahead for next steps in her research, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, she will also collaborate to further optimize the LNP to deliver the mRNA even more efficiently, as well as understanding the mechanisms of how it gets to the placenta, a question still not fully answered.

They are already in talks about creating a spin-off company and want to work on bringing this LNP-mRNA therapeutic to clinical trials and the market.

Swingle, who is currently finishing up her Ph.D. research, has not only successfully led this new series of studies advancing pre-eclampsia treatment at Penn, she has also inspired other early career researchers in the field as she continues to thrive while bringing women’s health into the spotlight."

-via Good News Network, December 15, 2024

[naamahdarling]

The pharmacy got some of my ADHD meds in!

After weeks!

I took ONE full dose and 20 minutes later was uncontrollably yawning and had to take a nap.

Stimulant meds are the first line, most effective treatment for ADHD, being remarkably effective in 70-75% of people with ADHD.

People with ADHD do not get high from their stimulant meds.

Becoming relaxed after taking them for the first time or after a long time off them is a sign that they are working and is an indicator that we DO have ADHD, though most doctors don't seem to know that this happens. We relax because we are closer to a normal state than we were, initially our bodies literally respond with relief.

Again. That is not what you would call even remotely a "high". Unless you are one of those awful people who believe naps are a crime.

They make our brain chemistry more normal, not less.

For those they help, we genuinely need them. Yes, both children and adults. It's fine to take them. It should not be a controversy (nor should ADHD itself be as controversial as it sadly is).

Medicating us does not lead to abuse. We are not addicts in waiting. Treating us as such is repugnant. (And treating addicts like shit is repugnant as well. People who abuse ADHD meds deserve compassion. From the ADHD community as well. They are not why we can't get meds. It's the FDA limiting how much can be oroduced and not keeping up with increased demand due to new diagnoses during COVID. It isn't other humans.)

Forcing us off medication with no support does, however, cause serious problems and can lead some people to seek them through illegal avenues, which is dangerous. Also understandable. The medical profession blames us and does not take responsibility for their part in this situation, even though they should.

We have every right to use whatever means works best for us free of censure, disapproval, and overzealous gatekeeping. If that's stimulant meds, so be it.

More respect for us please.

Especially now as we are facing rolling shortages of meds for the next few weeks or months. Your ADHD friends are struggling. Be patient.

[fatehbaz]

"interpreting the doctor as passively evil is an interesting character experiment"

at first, thought this was going to be like analysis and/or advice about when you're disabled, chronically ill, trans and you are seeking help and trying to be respected and taken seriously during a doctor's appointment.

by remaining cautious, discreet, maybe sometimes reserved, to carefully study based on their responses and demeanor whether or not the doctor might be safe. to determine whether the doctor might have biases, might be judgemental or dismissive.

advice about how it might behoove you to try a little thought experiment or exercise. when meeting a new doctor for the first time, to act as if there was always the possibility that the doctor might be less than helpful. maybe not actively spiteful or malicious. just potentially passively harmful. in the same way that you might be careful about what you say on the record when talking to an insurance agent or a hiring director or prospective new academic adviser. doesn't mean the doctor in your thought experiment must be "a bad person." maybe they are actually spiteful, though. complex personhood. y'know, like you don't want to frame other people as fundamentally "evil," but be aware that they can enact "evil" even if they're well-meaning.

because in that doctor's office, so many of us have been dismissed or rejected, labelled as catastrophists or irresponsible or confused autogynephiles or scheming drug-seekers or ne'er-do-wells or incapable of making autonomous decisions. casting us as people who brought on our own suffering. with doctor's notes in medical records haunting you for years afterward, abused by health insurance companies who cite those notes as justifications for continued abandonment and the imposition of dread-inducing life-long debt. controlling your fate, limiting possibilities, dictating your access to further treatment or resources. and a doctor can set it all in motion, maybe if their upbringing or wealth or the setting of their education or their current social world has insulated them against knowledge of the realities of people beneath and beyond them.

control of the scariest sort: authority figure of "care" turned captor, like a bad teacher or abusive workplace manager or unkind parent. making you feel discouraged to open up or seek help through some institutions or avenues. your heart learns to guard itself, in defense. you wither, and you might find that you close yourself even to your friends, and to the world. the suffering entrenches and expands.

it wasn't until i got to the fourth line in the paragraph that i realized this was actually about doctor who.

[d-criss-news]

Ruben V. Nepales: Farewell and thanks for the delicious Filipino food and best of all, for the scintillating conversations, Lem Balagot!

Lemuel “Lem” Lorenzana Balagot

May 3, 1951 - October 17, 2024

We lost a Filipino cuisine pioneer in America and owner of the long-running and everyone's favorite, L A Rose Cafe.

So many memories.

When Darren Criss and his mom organized an intimate breakfast gathering the morning after the 2019 Golden Globes, where else did the mother-son have it but at Darren's favorite LA Pinoy restaurant?

Serendipitously, Darren won the Globe for "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story" the night before (becoming the first Filipino American to win a Golden Globe) so it was an extra special celebration over Lem's yummy Pinoy breakfast fare.

When the Globes held a press conference with Paris Hilton, we heard that she loved Filipino food in her Manila visits. So we thought of Lem to cater the event. Paris loved the food so much that she asked to have photos with Lem and his staff.

Janet Susan Rodriguez Nepales and I are also glad that our girls got to know Lem this year. Nikki Bianca Nicole and Ella Rafaella Angelica met Lem when he catered our housewarming in the Valley but they were too young to remember him.

In more recent times, Nikki and Ella got to know Lem as they dined at LA Rose Cafe. Lem sat down with our family when we had lunch at LA Rose before we headed to a wedding mass in summer this year.

Some of Lem's endearing qualities were his affability, wit, humor and intelligence. Our conversations with him were as satisfying as his lunch and dinner staples. We brought Hollywood friends and colleagues to his Fountain Ave. cafe.

Last time we ate at LA Rose, we brought a visiting friend Evita Wise to dinner with our family. Janet and I just told the staff to give our love and hugs to him since he was upstairs, resting from a treatment. The day after, he called to say thanks and ask how the food and service was.

About three weeks before Lem passed away, we had a long phone conversation about many topics, from the recent earthquakes to his health condition. From out of the blue, he spontaneously said some very kind words to Janet and me which we will always treasure.

Paalam, Lem. We will miss you. We will always remember you. Hugs and sincerest sympathies to Lem's partner, Rai, and Lem's family.

LA Rose Cafe will remain open -- if you have not been there, try it one of these days. And to all of Lem's regular patrons and friends, let's keep LA Rose Cafe jumping in loving memory of and in tribute to the wonderful human being Len was.

******

From the family:

An open casket viewing will be held on November 6 from 10 am to 8 pm, followed by a closed casket visitation on November 7 from 10 am to 8 pm at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 9 at 9:00 am at the Church of the Recessional, also at Forest Lawn Glendale with a reception at LA Rose to follow at 12 pm. The family requests that flowers be delivered to Forest Lawn Glendale, located at 1712 S. Glendale Avenue, Glendale, California 91205.

[keywestwildlifecenter]

Just rescued this weak, underweight, and dehydrated first-year Brown Pelican. The Pelican was walking on Maloney Avenue, Stock Island. We were able to make the rescue and transport the patient to our clinic. Rehablitative care has begun with fluids and treatment for a high parasite count administered. www.keywestwildlifecenter.org

[firstofficerwiggles]

Wiggles!!

Congratulations on your milestone! You deserve every single one of your followers, love 🧡

I don’t have a request cause I don’t wanna bother 🥺 but I just wanted to say how incredibly proud I am of you and your writing. You are so talented and so sweet, I’m really happy I got to meet you 🙏🏼

Thank you so so much! This is so very sweet, I'm very happy to know you too. So I know you weren’t requesting anything, but as one of my dearest friends on here and as someone who has supported my writing from the start, I wanted to write something for you too. Buckle up though because this one is going to make you cry…

My darling,

I have no way of knowing whether or not you will receive this message, but I know that it is necessary for me to try. I am certain that you think I am deceased, because it seemed highly improbable that anyone could survive a fall from that height. However, it appeared that fortune was on my side as I did not fall to the bottom of the chasm, but rather to a large ledge. I sustained only a broken arm and minor bruising. Nonetheless, my luck only went so far as I was found by a squad of stormtroopers. They have brought me to what I believe is a secret, experimental medical facility. My injuries have all healed now, and physically I am back in peak condition. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my mind. The researcher here is experimenting with a new machine that is designed to manipulate the mind and create false memories. While at first, I was spared the typical effects that I saw in my fellow captured troopers, I can tell that the supposed ‘treatments’ are beginning to have an effect on me. I have memories and emotions that are not congruent with what I know to be true. I confess that at times I do not know if what I remember about an event is accurate. There is one constant that I cling to, my memories of you. I know that the memories of our love and our time together are real. When I picture your beautiful face and remember the touch of your soft lips against mine, I know that I have known joy. Even now as I write to you, it is the memory of your voice telling me that you believe in me, that you care for me, and that you will always love me that is keeping me from giving in completely to this mental manipulation. I am trying to escape and considering all avenues to succeed in fleeing from this hell. Every night as I sit in my cold cell I tell myself that I will find my way back to you. I will never stop trying to get to you. You are my guiding force and the key to my sanity. I hope that this message reaches you and I hope you will know that I am alive and that I still love you. I will always love you. 

With all my heart,

Tech

[alpaca-clouds]

Biopunk is super interesting

You know what? I will now do a "rambling about punk genre stuff other than Solarpunk" Saturday think. Because I feel like it and because the punk genre are super interesting as a concept. So I want to explore this a bit further.

I kinda grew up with the entire punk-genre thing. Literally. As a kid I got into Cyberpunk when I was like... 12. So, I always had an interest in the genre. That I ended up playing Shadowrun hence was not a bis surprise. (Maybe I will talk about that a bit more one day...) And it was through Shadowrun, that I got interested in one of the subsubgenre of Cyberpunk: Biopunk.

Fun fact: Outside of fanfiction this is the one bit of Cyberpunk that I have actually written quite a bit about. And I just think it is interesting.

Now, to catch everyone up to speed: Biopunk usually (though not necessarily) is set in a Cyberpunk world, but instead or additionally to cyberware, there is gen-modifications happening. And this of course brings new and interesting avenues to explore with it.

See. One idea in this regard that gets played with a lot in Shadowrun, but also other Cyberpunk media, is the entire idea of "cyber psychopathy". Basically, a "ship of theseus" thing. If you replace too much of the human, the human looses their humanity and might do bad things. In comes bioware and goes like: "Sure this, we do not replace the human body, we just alter it." Basically, GMO for the human body.

Now, a while ago I talked about how gene tech is nobody's enemy as it is. BUT... gen tech currently suffers from the issue of people copyrighting gene sequences. Going so far as "you cannot use you non-genemodified harvest as seeds next year, because it has been pollinated with pollen from other gene modified stuff".

What would that mean for a human?

The possibilities for gene tech in medicine would be endless. Cure cancer. Cure all sorts of genetic diseases. Cure stuff that would kill you in real life. And do not even give up parts of your body.

But what if you cannot pay? With Cyberware you can still say: "Fuck it, have your stupid cyber arm back." And give up your arm. But with gene tech... Well, looks like you belong to the company now!

And of course, even more than normal Cyberpunk, this genre is also ripe to explore for the human relation to disabilities. Because, yeah, imagine gene tech could fix all disabilities. What would it do to the way humanity treats disabled people? Are your forced to be cured? And if so... Does your cured body then belong to the company?

So many interesting questions to explore.

The Biopunk stuff I wrote basically featured the set up of "the company" (that also was the state) offering parents of children, that would probably not be born alive or if born alive would die within the first two years of their life, to cure them. For free. And while they were on it, they gave the embryos all sorts of gene treatments, turning them into basically a different species alltogether. But when the revolution came... Welp, the company sat down: "Looks like we own you. Time to be our soldiers."

So... Yeah. Interesting concepts to explore here.

[triptychgrip]

Impact of figure skating politics on post-canon Yuri!!! on Ice

So, even aside from the rampant doping, I think many people are familiar with how the politics within the sport of figure skating really suck -- whether that's in terms of how skating federations meddle with their athletes' careers in ways these athletes clearly don't want or don't even know about, the way regulatory bodies -- the International Skating Union (ISU), and its various Commissions -- can and do remain silent when it comes to speaking out on abuse or corruption, or the complete shit-show of bias within judging, sometimes on a ludicrously visible level.

After all, this is a sport where a judge that showed clear bias at the PyeongChang Olympics was not only invited back to judge at the Beijing Games, but was given the position of being the technical controller!

Sheer madness...

It makes sense why Yuri!!! on Ice didn't delve into this stuff in a 12 episode season b/c the reality is: it's a major bummer.

But I work in public policy and am a social justice researcher whose career focuses on institutional change. So I often find myself asking the question "what would cause institutions/people/movements -- especially with a lot of history and influence behind them -- to change for the better, whether by 'force' (public outcry, insider advocacy, etc.) or their own volition?" It's a question I started thinking about a lot almost as soon as I got into Yuri!!! on Ice a few years back, and specifically, thought about in a post-canon context.

Some of the politics-related questions that surfaced for me, included:

-When Viktor returns to skating, how would his federation (the FFKKR) choose to treat his absence? Would they, perhaps, "make an example" of him at the Rostelecom Cup, purposely underscoring his performances? Or, would they have "given up" on him, trying to focus all of their attention/resources on Yurio's obvious rising star potential?

-Further, would they (with tacit or explicit media support) take a negative stance regarding his and Yuuri's highly public relationship -- perceiving Viktor's romance as a "threat" to his ability to return to the field as strong and focused as before -- or would they choose to ignore it, altogether?

-How would Yurio's growth spurt (which is hinted at in canon) impact the FFKKR's treatment of Viktor if the former is no longer able to put out the kind of performance that he did at the Barcelona Grand Prix Final? Or if Georgi retires from the field?

-How would skaters that wish to skate independently of corrupt federations -- something that is currently not possible under the way the ISU is structured with 'member nations' -- navigate their careers, and what avenues would they have at their disposal to avoid burn-out from the shitstorm of pervasive corruption?

-How would politics affect our favorite characters at an event as globally visible as the PyeongChang Olympic Games, and in its aftermath? (I say this with the caveat that I generally write yoi fic w/ the premise that it took place during the first half of the 2016 skating season, though there is no way to pinpoint the actual season).

All of these questions kept circling about in my head, and I felt highly motivated to begin writing a multichapter, post-canon "future fic". Specifically, a fic that would tell the story of married Yuuri/Viktor at the 2022 Olympic Games, but jumping back in time at various points over the previous five years to showcase how a particular scandal -- other than doping -- at the 2018 PyeongChang Games has "followed them" throughout the years (and has deeply impacted the sport/our other favorite characters).

This fic turned into a series called "Gold's On The Inside, Elevated My Feet", which currently is at 293K total words, and is being updated 1-2 times per month.

I know a lot of people aren't into long, novel-length works, especially if they're WIPs, but if you, like me, are fascinated by some of the real-world issues that might impact Yuuri/Viktor/Yurio and others post-canon, I hope you'll consider checking my work out.

I've included a spoiler-free excerpt from Chapter 11 of part 1 of the series, below, that I feel hints at the politics while encapsulating the Viktuuri fluff, friendship antics, and overall supportive themes that I've tried to weave into my stories.

I hope it piques your interest and encourages you to check the series out, or my other Yuri!!! on Ice fics!

---------

“First of all, how the hell would you have even managed to contact me from all the way over in the Kiss and Cry?” Phichit went on. “Did they imagine you had waved a wand to send a carrier pigeon flying through Gangneung Ice Arena to land directly on my head ? After which, it would peck an intimidating message in Morse code straight onto my scalp?”

Yuuri was now hiccuping giggles, and he was pleased to see that he’d begun to wipe a profuse quantity of tears from his cheeks.

When his best friend had told him that he wanted to hear all the nitty-gritty details of his International Court of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) hearing, Phichit had definitely had some misgivings; Yuuri and Viktor had flown to Lausanne for their own proceedings directly after the latter’s retirement party in Milan, and given what they’d told him about each brutally long-winded 4 hour session, he’d known fun things were not in store for him.

“But Yuuri without his glasses on can be very intimidating…very sexily intimdating,” Viktor said with a grin, prompting a playful slap on the arm from his fiance; thanks to Yuuri’s thirsty fans, the hashtag #Yuuri’sNearsightedSexySquintTally had become a staple on the competition circuit, and both he and Viktor had taken to alluding to the phrase as much as possible.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s exactly what permanent-frown-dude-arbitrator was referring to,” Yuuri responded, sarcastically, “my nefariously sexy squinting that so very clearly spelled out that Phichit better file a claim, or else.”

He and Viktor both laughed, and he shared a few more snippets from his hearing before conversation moved along to discussion around the other Olympics claimants’ hearings.

“Oh my god, just imagine Christophe during his,” Yuuri said, before giving Makkachin a kiss, right to the top of her fuzzy head.

The poodle was splayed out across both of her dog-dad’s laps, taking up much of the bench directly in front of the rink boards at Hasetsu’s Ice Castle. After their hearing, the couple had flown to St. Petersburg, spending just a few days there to get Makka and Meni and do a round of cursory packing. They’d then taken off for Japan where they planned to stay until mid-June, which was the beginning of the rainy season.

Even from afar, Phichit had been able to keep tabs on Yuuri thanks to Nishigori Yuuko. After thoroughly bonding with her at Viktor’s retirement party – after all, a willingness to drunkenly act out the unhinged plot of The King and the Skater 3: Because Time Loops Are A Thing tended to solidify people in Phichit’s mind as lifelong friends – she had been messaging him through Instagram as well as contributing heavily in the “Yuuri Support Squad” chat.

Soon enough, he’d be able to keep tabs on him in-person, as his own trip to Hasetsu was just three weeks away.

“He’d be all: ‘And then, my esteemed arbitrators, I got distracted from calculating Yuuri’s grade-of-execution, because my eyes were too busy lingering on his delectably muscled thighs as he came out of his triple-lutz, triple-toe combo’,” Viktor said, in a deliberately put-upon Swiss accent, while lasciviously licking his lips.

Phichit barked out a laugh while Yuuri grinned at him.

“Are you sure you aren’t just verbalizing the thoughts you wish you could have expressed during your hearing?” he asked his fiance.

Viktor gasped, theatrically, and clutched Meni even more closely to his chest before responding.

“I would never think such a thing! I’ve become an expert at admiring your beautiful thighs while simultaneously calculating your GOE,” he said, sounding proud. “As any good coach should be.”

[jonathanbrandisarchive]

Jon’s Home Away From Home: The Sequel

Since setting up camp in the Sunshine State to work on seaQuest DSV, Jon Brandis has ventured from his hotel home in search of amusement. Here, Jon’s mom, Mary, tells BOP’s Cathee what her son does for Florida fun!

BOP, 1994

Cathee: Last month, you told us Jon would rather play pool than swim in a pool.

Mary: Yeah, there is a billiard parlor that is right around the corner [from our hotel]. But it's not walking distance; he has to drive to it.

Cathee: Is Jon still driving the car the seaQuest people loaned him?

Mary: Yeah. A gold Toyota Camry, brand-new. He has been driving around, getting to know the area. He is finding his way around, which is surprising. It was a brand-new area, so we got maps, and he asked me to write out directions on little 3x5 cards to things like malls and the movie theater, to and from the studio and [the video store]. He carries them in his car, but I knew that once he did it a couple times, he wouldn't need them.

Cathee: So I take it that Jon the movie buff has been seeing some movies?

Mary: One of the first things that he did when we got here was go and find the nearest video store so he could sign up and start renting movies! And he found a really nice movie theater complex. He has gone to the movies with me, or he goes with his dad [Greg, when he's visiting from Los Angeles]. I don't know if they've gone to the movies together, but Jon has been hanging out with Ted Raimi and Marco Sanchez from the show. He has gotten a lot closer with the returning cast members, like Roy Scheider, Don Franklin, Ted and Marco. And, of course, Darwin!

Cathee: Has Jon made other friends in Florida?

Mary: Yeah, he's met some people in production. There are some young people working in the production office, so he'll go get a coffee and just sit there and talk to them.

Cathee: Are there any cool coffee houses nearby?

Mary: That is one of the things that he misses, that they don't have a lot of. That and the vintage shops. Jon really misses [coffee houses] and Venice Beach and [the shops on] Melrose Avenue.

Cathee: So where does he go instead?

Mary: He's been to Disney World and Epcot Center and the Disney Studios. Jon has gone to Disney World three times already. He does the voice [of Mozenrath, the evil wizard] on the Aladdin cartoon for Disney so, well, they take him around to anything he wants to go on, and he loves it. It is nice that he gets that special treatment and all they ask is that he pose for a couple of pictures. Oh, he also hangs out at the Hard Rock Cafe. He has been there several times. It is right on the Universal lot. There's also a Sea World that Jon's been to with one of his friends. He's also been to the new Planet Hollywood restaurant.

Cathee: Well, it sounds like there's enough to keep Jon entertained!

Thanks again for all the details, Mary.

[almostyours]

hi dulce i have a crazy question because i went down the deepest part of hiraeth (their first post) but what would have happened if the girlies stayed at their old company??? how different would it have been?

ditto…  it’s been a minute since i’ve heard that name…  and wow,  u’ve got me thinking because this isn’t something i’ve thought about since aine accepted the girls into mighty devil slash octavia.  but i do have an answer—originally,  i planned for them to get the blackpink and aespa treatment:  solid careers,  a huge fanbase,  ur favorite girl group sings our songs kind of thing,  but stuck in the basement,  only brought out when the company needed a quick cash to fund their new projects.

i feel like,  career-wise,  it would have been the same  (not as big as mighty devil/octavia!hiraeth,  though).  they were always set for a solid career as the winners of ditto avenue,  one of the company’s most popular survival shows,  and ditto would’ve totally ridden the hype of not only their win but the buzz surrounding each member.

their current manager,  vivi yoo,  would’ve likely still been around,  but probably with less freedom to do what she does now.  their concept,  the lore,  and sound would’ve stayed the same,  so in that sense,  not much would’ve changed—aside from maybe adding another member to the group and having fewer music releases.

the big difference here,  though,  would’ve been them having to endure not just a terrible,  but abusive management,  but also nari and her favoritism.  i haven’t really talked about this but nari kwon,  the member who never got to debut as a member of hiraeth,  was ditto’s favorite and they would’ve 100% ignored nari’s abusive behavior towards the others because she was the girl they were pushing and succeeding to be it.  nari would’ve been pushed so hard that the other members would’ve been forced to stay in the background just so she could shine. 

i don’t think ditto!hiraeth would’ve lasted.  i can see yvan,  and maybe even kaia,  leaving once their contracts were up or whatever because of the mistreatment or the constant tension with nari and each other because i think the idea of hiraeth as a whole would have made them shiver in rage because the group forced their potential into a halt  (kaia as a japanese idol and songwriter,  poppy as a prima ballerina and producer,  and yvan as vocalist and musical theater artist).  poppy probably would’ve stayed as a producer,  but under a different name and hating herself for not leaving when she had the chance.  nari,  though?  that girl!  :)

[covid-safer-hotties]

Slightly old news, but proof that Covid is still here and still a concern

Also preserved on our archive

Thanks to the person who sent me the link to this story!

By Emma Convey

Nova Scotia Health is introducing new masking requirements for visitors and health-care workers in provincial hospitals.

Beginning Thursday, masking will be required in ambulatory and inpatient care areas.

“Anybody who is in clinical area in the hospital’s inpatient units and clinics where we are providing direct patient care. We will still have masks available at entrances, but we won't be making people put them on just yet in the common areas, cafeterias, elevators, those sorts of places,” said Doctor Shelly McNeil, senior medical director for Nova Scotia Health(opens in a new tab).

McNeil says the idea of implementing these changes now is to get ahead of the spread of respiratory illnesses that come along with colder weather.

“We sort of monitor several different ways to see how many respiratory viruses are in the community. We can look at the number of people presenting or care for respiratory illnesses. We can look at the number of people hospitalized with respiratory infections, people getting tests or treatments for respiratory infections," said McNeil.

"It's usually around this time of year when we see an upswing in that, and we have been seeing that very consistently in Nova Scotia and given that we are looking to reduce the risk inside of hospitals as early as possible."

Dr. John Gillis, an emergency room doctor at Dartmouth General Hospital in Dartmouth, N.S., says he has seen many patients experiencing these illnesses already this year.

“We are starting to see more cases of respiratory illness, Covid is certainly still out there, RSV is out there, influenza and other viruses and colds as we are heading into the bad season and we are seeing a fair bit of it now,” said Gillis.

IWK Health Centre(opens in a new tab) is also reinstating masking rules.

In a statement to CTV Atlantic, IWK said it is seeing an increase in local viral respiratory illnesses, and they are implementing masking requirements to protect their patients, families, support persons, staff and physicians starting Oct. 1. Masks will be required in inpatient units at IWK Health Centre on University Avenue, the emergency department, early labour assessment unit and any ambulatory care interactions.

Although this may be new to Nova Scotia, this is not the first Maritime province to reintroduce these rules.

Horizon Health Network in New Brunswick reintroduced masking(opens in a new tab) for all health-care workers, patients, social visitors, and support workers in all patient facing and clinical areas on Sept. 3.

Some community members feel this change is crucial in Nova Scotia as well. Local resident Shannon Jack explained her views on the importance of masks.

“I think people everywhere, not just in hospitals, should wear a mask now that it's fall. The coronavirus is still around, and masks should be made mandatory again," said Jack

Others feel it's important to have a choice as well.

“It's a lot easier to comply as best as you can than be the rebellious person. But then again, free will always accommodates for people's differences of choice," Neria Atwine.

As the cold and flu season begins, doctors say if you feel sick, stay home. If you must go out when you aren’t feeling well, wear a mask to avoid passing it on to others. They also recommend people get their flu and COVID-19 vaccinations when they become available.

[stephensmithuk]

The Veiled Lodger

Published in 1927 (and therefore only entering the public domain in the US this year), this is our first story from The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes, the fifth and final volume of the Holmes short stories.

It is also the penultimate published tale in the canon. It is also the shortest.

"The politician, the lighthouse and the trained cormorant" sounds like the ending of a Kenan and Kel episode.

Brixton is under three miles from the centre of London. In 1888, it became home to the first street in the UK lit by electricity, which was called Electric Avenue. That's where the song comes from.

Brixton became a predominantly Afro-Carribean community after the war as many of the passengers from Empire Windrush were temporarily housed in the Clapham South deep level shelter; the nearest Labour Exchange was in Brixton and they subsequently found accommodation in the local area.

Milkmen were delivering daily milk deliveries to houses from c.1860 as the railways allowed for it to be delivered still fresh from the countryside. Milk floats were among the first electric vehicles as they were a lot quieter for nighttime deliveries.

The use of lions in circuses is still a thing in some cases, sadly, although public opinion has progressively moved against it.

Allahabad is now the Indian city of Prayagraj, the judicial capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Sadly, I guess the poor lion was shot.

A discussion on Victorian attitudes to domestic violence can be found here. Had Eugenia Ronder been able to afford it, she would be have been able to obtain a divorce for adultery and cruelty at this time.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) was found in 1824 and has successfully lobbied over the decades for changes to UK law regarding animal treatment. The RSPCA brings private prosecutions, as any citizen can, against those who engage in cruelty to animals. It also has uniformed inspectors; these do not have police powers but work closely with the police.

Attitudes towards suicide progressively changed over the Victorian era, but it was still illegal. The practice of burying those who had killed themselves at a crossroads with a stake through their heart was banned in 1823, but it was commonplace for those who had killed themselves to be denied a full Christian burial, ending up in an unmarked grave. Church of England law on the matter wasn't changed until 2015, by which point the restriction was widely being ignored anyway.

There seems to be no specific prohibition in the 1896 Post Office Guide against sending prussic acid, aka hydrogen cyanide, in the post, but it is now definitely banned.

[notarealwelder]

(Ramble without much point)

Meditating today on how Perfectly Ordinary dev tasks get recursively byzantine at the drop of a hat.

Like, ok, we're writing Haskell and there's a fresh ghc and a fresh LTS snapshot of compatible packages; would be nice to upgrade. How hard could that be.

Ah, right, we're building with Bazel. Need to reconfigure it to point at the right ghc, update our custom snapshot to include deps not in current LTS, regenerate the autogenerated Bazel build file for all the 3rd-party deps we use, and check that the projects still builds. Wait, no; regeneration instructions are bullshit, we have not migrated to the new autogen system yet & need to use the old one.

The project...does not build; a dependency fails with incomprehensible problems in some files generated by Cabal, the lower-level build system. Aha, we had this problem before; Cabal does something bazel-incompatible there, fix will land in the next ghc/Cabal release, & for now the workaround is to use a forked Cabal for all the packages with the problem. The autogen tool we use has a list of affected packages that need this treatment; let's inject the dep there.

That doesn't help, why? Mmm, aha, this dep has several hardcoded setup-time deps, and the autogen tool uses the default map-merging operator, which....discards the custom Cabal dep we thought we inserted. Ok, let's force it to union instead.

That still doesn't help, why. Is it perhaps the other setup-time dependency that was already there. ........why, yes, of course; the setup problem in general is that a package's Setup.hs uses functions from fresh, unpatched Cabal to generate some incoherent-wrt-bazel code; the setup problem here is that Setup.hs of this package uses a function from cabal-doctest to do something fancy, and cabal-doctest is basically a wrapper on Cabal's function. And for some reason, we build cabal-doctest with unpatched Cabal, & so obviously it fails later.

(How do we know that cabal-doctest has a wrong Cabal wired in, and that is the extent of the problem? What a good question! It turns out if we start inlining cabal-doctest's functions into the Setup.hs of the faulty package, they complain about type mismatches of type X defined in Cabal-3.6 and the same type X defined in Cabal 3.8. Also, if we inline the entirety of cabal-doctest, the problem merrily goes away. Also, cabal-doctest build artifact binaries contain mentions of Cabal-3.8.)

Ok, so how do we make cabal-doctest depend on/use the correct patched version of Cabal? Specify Cabal version in Bazel's build config file? No. There are.....no further obvious avenues to affect the build of cabal-doctest. .......how tho.

Ok, fine, time to learn what bazel build action does exactly. It generates faulty but coherent build config and artifacts all by itself; it figures out somewhere that it's supposed to wire in Cabal-3.8. Let's find out where and why and how to make it not.

First, we'll need to overcome bazel's tendency to uninformatively Do Absolutely Nothing when it's asked to execute a cached action. The normal way to force bazel to rebuild something so we can look at debug output is.... (...) .....not a thing, apparently? (Why would you make a build system you can't command to force a rebuild. What the fuck, bazel devs.) Oh, ok, thank you, internet article about debugging bazel builds; if the recommended way is to harmlessly alter the source of cabal-doctest to force cache misses, we'll do just that, good thing we have it downloaded and unpacked anyway.

Now, unpeeling the bazel action: bazel can be made to output the exact command it runs; we can then run it manually, without appeals to cache; good. Moreover, we can look at the executable of the command, maybe find some verbosity levers. (...) Not as such, but thankfully it's just a python script, so we can figure what it does by reading; what's more, we can tinker with it manually, and print() will give us all the verbosity we can ask for.

So what does that script, cabal_wrapper, do? (...) ...ignoring irrelevant parts: sets up environment flags and...calls...another...python script...cabal_wrapper.py. You know what, I don't care why it works like this, it's probably useful for concern-separation reasons, the internal cabal_wrapper.py is just as amenable to forced verbosity by way of print(), let's just move on to what it does.

Oh hey, a directory that contains some faulty build artifacts is mentioned by exact path put into a variable. Let's see where it's used; I bet we'll run into some specific line that produces or consumes faulty outputs & thereby will have a nice localized point from which to backtrack. Use in a function that further used somewhere, use in a variable that etc, argument to run runghc configure, argument to run runghc register --gen-pkg-config, aha, that's exactly the name of one of the faulty artifacts, that's interesting. Experiment: is it true that the faulty artifact does not exist before that line and exists after? Yes! Awesome; let's dig into what this line does. (It's almost certainly an invocation of runghc wrapper, but exact arguments are important.)

(There was supposed to be an ending here, but now it's been months and i forgot how it ended. Sorry.)

[seannesruins]

ANATOMY OF A FALLOUT

This may seem like a sympathy begging post but so be it dahil Tumblr lang naman ang outlet ko haha.

I've been wanting to watch Anatomy of a Fall since its theatrical release last year. Unfortunately, SM Cinemas screened it for a week only and I was not able to catch it then. Next I heard it was screening in Cinema 76 in Morato but the screenings were mostly on weekdays and early timeslots on weekends, both not feasible given my work schedule. That's why when I heard that FDCP is screening it in Cinematheque, I knew this was my one and only chance to catch it on the big screen before it gets into a streaming service, or something.

I asked my girlfriend, of course, because we haven't had the chance to celebrate our monthsary yet. We agreed to watch it yesterday, and agreed to meet up around 2pm because I still have work in the morning, while she wanted to sleep in late because it was her rest day.

It started off okay. I arrived first and got our tickets, she arrived a few minutes later and we went to Robinson's Place Manila for a late lunch. We went to Timezone to kill some time until the movie starts. Everything was okay until the movie ended.

It was 7:30 and she said that she's hungry so we walked around Taft Avenue to find a place to eat but she refused ALL the fast food that we passed by so we walked towards Padre Faura (From Kalaw) to go back to Robinson's. After walking around the mall, she looked at me annoyingly and said

GF: "Maglalakad na lang ba tayo? Nagugutom na ko."

Me: "Ano bang gusto mo? Kasi ikaw yung gutom diba, bakit ako ang tinatanong mo?"

GF: "Wag na kumain, umuwi na tayo."

Then she proceeded to walk to the mall exit. I followed close by. When we got to Pedro Gil, she asked what jeep to take. Mind you, I am not that familiar with public transport because I'm used to having a driver around. I told her that we have to walk back to Taft to get a jeepney bound to EDSA

GF: "Lakad na naman, wala na tayong ginawa kundi maglakad."

Me: "Mag book ka na."

GF: "Bakit kailangan sumigaw?"

My voice may have been raised, but it was because the streets were filled with people and she's giving me that attitude in the middle of all that.

Me: "Puro ka reklamo, pagod din naman ako."

Then I proceeded to walk towards Taft, with her trailing behind. We went home in silence. She ignored me from 8 in the evening. Not a single fucking word. Usually when she gives me the silent treatment, I would try to fix things, but even then she wouldn't talk to me until I am at the edge of my emotions, not until I've begged and begged and have drowned in my tears. Last night was different. I tried really hard to keep it in. I sent her a message at 1:30am.

Gustong kumain pero walang mapiling kainan dahil wala akong self awareness???

Yes, I've been cheated on and I lost a part of me in that relationship. I have posted about it here a couple of times. And to share that vulnerable side of me, only to be used against me in an argument dahil hindi ko kayang hulaan na gutom sya. Dahil sa gutom nya naging kasalanan ko pang niloko ako.

Kasalanan ko rin na ginusto kong manood ng movie. After a heated exchange of conversation, she stopped responding. And that's what triggered me the most. How can she just leave in the middle of an argument??? I went to my room and asked her to leave at 3am.

She didn't move. She said inaantok na daw sya, and that's when I lost it. Feeling ko there was something that snapped in me. Hindi ko deserve yung ganitong basura treatment. To not be heard, to not be reassured. Mas important yung gutom at antok nya sa buong relationship namin??? I started screaming until she gets up. I never have ever done that to anyone in my entire life. No one has pushed me to that limit before. But she was not done yet. She took her time packing her things while I am screaming for her to leave, even at the end, she couldn't adjust for me. She even asked me to lock the main door behind her. Have my tear strained face not evident of the emotional pain she has caused me already??? Hindi nya talaga kayang ako naman ang intindihin? That I want her gone that instant.

Ang babaw. Ang babaw but she refused to fix things before it reached this point. I am so tired emotionally. And the worst thing is that she never acknowledged her faults without arguing about it first. I never got an apology without BEGGING for it. And in her mind ako pa rin ang mali, ako pa rin ang may kasalanan. And we can only fix things if I apologize. This time I want to give myself the validation na hindi ako ang may mali.

[codabound]

Rating Leasebound Characters #3: Family Members.

Moving on to the family members of Leasebound, starting off with...

Josephine Anderson, or Josie. 4.5/10. I actually think that the lore of Jaden's backstory was super realistic and depicted what it's like for a struggling mother to try and cope with the sudden death of her husband, and subsequently the treatment of her children as a result. The exhaustion and the unintentional lashing out really hits home, even though I personally have not experienced the death of a loved one or parent. However, where I take issue is how far both the comic and Rusty's fanbase have gone to defend Josie in regards to her treatment of Jaden and Jacob. Even if it was not intentional for Josie to have favoritism and parentify Jaden, these are still issues that she is actively partaking in, and I find it kind of odd just how defensive Rusty's fanbase seems to get over her.

Next up, Julia Duah, or Nana. 6/10. Not very much to her as far as I've seen. She's a protective yet chill grandmother, and that's really all I can say.

Third up, Jacobus Anderson. 2/10. Basically nothing to actually say about him. He existed for the sole purpose of dying. That's about it.

Fourth on the roster, Jacob Anderson. 3/10. There isn't exactly a whole lot to gleam off of Jacob, he's not too much of a character, but I do find the weird and incredibly aggressive attitude Rusty and her fans appear to hold towards him a little off-putting. This guy is 16. A whole teenager. Yet I've seen people basically equating him to basement dweller status, which is... Really odd?

Fifth on our list is Meriam Binti Aayiz. There's a lot that can be said about Meriam, and a lot of it... Isn't great. 3/10. First of all, the obvious, the small Islamophobia the moment that she's introduced by immediately having her remove her hijab for no reason other than Rusty and her fans viewing hijabs as patriarchy. Then of course, we move on to the back story elements, and her subsequently abusive relationship. I have never had to suffer in an abusive relationship with somebody to the degree that Meriam had faced in the comics story, so I'll keep my opinion minimal, and just say that there are aspects about her story that I believe were a little off or distasteful. Other than that, not much else to say.

Crystal Smith, or Rocky. 4/10. There isn't really much I feel for Rocky, since there hasn't exactly been a whole lot written about her. I do think its cute that she likes horses though. I do also appreciate that her trauma manifests in the form of selective mutism, albeit I don't appreciate how Rusty later mocks this in another character, but we'll get to that.

Next up is Karissa Jones, and I give her a solid 6.5/10. I actually find a lot about her current lore to be pretty interesting, with her resentment towards her mother and family due to their trauma surrounding men, and how that ends up opposing her relationship with her boyfriend and her wanting them to trust him. I think it would be a very interesting avenue to explore, albeit given this is Rusty? I doubt that it'll be done in a satisfying or appropriate fashion, if at all. We'll likely never end up coming back to it.

And finally, we have Christina Taylor. 4/10. Not really much to go off of here. She exists, and that's about it.