#the bolded are 2018

[marshmallow-biscuit-blog]

Maybe an unpopular opinion (/j) but I think they should just be happy forever yk

[pezhead]

Alrighty~ @leelee9-9

[martyye44]

he came to you with his Valentine card, which he carved himself^^

it's so small compared to the background, but I've been painting it for a very long time, surprisingly

[bisupergirl]

i think kara and hawkman should have some sort of team-up just bc i think its fun that catar ol (hawkman’s kryptonian past life) was kara’s history professor back on krypton. 

i don’t think that hawkman remembers his past lives (?)(←doesn't know anything about hawk lore) but i think their dynamic would be fun anyway. kara trying to form a tangible connection to old krypton by hanging out with the reincarnation of her dead history professor.

[pikslasrce]

for someone who allegedly wants to have a 'whimsical' and 'alternative' style i sure dont have many accessories....

[movies-to-add-to-your-tbw]

Title: Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Rating: NR

Director: Jake Castorena

Cast: Frank Welker, Matthew Lillard, Diedrich Bader, Grey DeLisle, Kate Micucci, Jeff Bennett, Tara Strong, Jeffrey Combs, John DiMaggio, Tom Kenny, John Michael Higgins, Nika Futterman, Fred Tatasciore, Nicholas Guest, Kevin Michael Richardson

Release year: 2018

Genres: action, family, comedy

Blurb: Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang meet up with Batman and other friends to defeat evil villains and save the day.

[mmoodd-jobutupaki]

Hello I am living 20ish hours on 1< hour of sleep, certain I am going off kilter (a little) . BUT ANYWAY, on the topic of sleep here's what the amount of sleep I sacrificed for you means

1 minute: FUCKING PATHETIC. I have sacrificed more for homework. You mean literally fucking nothing to me.

An hour: Okayy we're getting somewhere. Either I kinda care about you or I care about you even more and had to go to sleep, but definitely was willing to sacrifice more for you. You're either my friend or I love you.

A few hours: This is getting a little unrealistic. Either you're homework or social media. Or you're my absolute best friend in the whole world, we're talking like, top 5 people here. Or I'm at a concert, that has happened before.

Most of the night: Inhumane. You are a good book, or maybe a revolutionary edit idea I'm working on. I would NEVER give up that much time for any sentient being. Dream on, literally. Leave me to my own nightly activities.

An all nighter: No way. There's only one possible answer and it's that you are my significant other (or really best friend, that too).

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[nothingwith-nt]

The Legacy of Halston: Defining American Glamour

When you think of the golden era of American fashion, one name consistently rises to the top: Halston. The iconic designer, born Roy Halston Frowick, transformed the landscape of fashion in the 1970s, shaping what would become synonymous with American glamour. Halston’s minimalist yet luxurious designs revolutionized not only how people dressed but also how they felt in his creations. His legacy…

[jasonsutekh]

Scooby-Doo and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)

The gang is recruited to join a group of detectives which includes Batman.

There were a few different elements to the plot including a couple of red herrings and an exploration of the group dynamics. It was amusing to see how the gang reacted to the various heroes and villains and the styles of animation for each respective fandom blended well enough that they fitted together.

They really milked the alliteration to the point where some sentences were nonsense. They never got round to addressing the fact that the gang don’t usually believe in ghosts but were now surrounded by beings overtly supernatural that Daphne implies that they’ve known about for some time.

Some of the fight scenes were more effective than the mystery; the traditional chase sequence was given far more variety by the diverse characters. A few locations around Gotham were explored, although the asylum was a little underwhelming once inside and the villains didn’t seem as powered up as usual.

The mystery was hindered mainly because a few aspects were somewhat obvious like the method and who was really behind it, but the subterfuge with the Question was also hinted at a little too much. Few of the characters could be used to their full potential since there were so many of them, even the Joker got mixed into the melee of additional villains.

4/10 -It’s below average, but only just!-

[floodlight-bridge]

The fact that there is an intensity to eye contact that can change, be changed during, is so crazy and my favorite thing about it. It’s like when you read in a book the eyes fill with desire. A heat. I almost don’t want this…we’lll call it flirting to come to a head w this woman, it’s been so fun, but…the desire.

She made me food. I walked her to her car and finally kissed her. I am v happy.

Having some of the best sex of my life, she made albondigas it was incredible, and the communication is something I’ve never had. Not used to someone wanting to take care of me, just because.

[lcvlettrs]

"You're starting to catch on, huh?" Zak growled, meeting her stare head-on. But out of no where, everything condensed to the pressure of her arm squeezing around his throat. Panic shot up, twisting with a flame of refusal for this to be the way he went out. With a grunt, he rooted himself, shifting his weight to hurl her over his shoulder and crash her down onto the unforgiving floor. Shadows swirled at his command, enveloping them in darkness to submerge them both if she broke the surface. His motions were raw, lacking finesse, driven by adrenaline and an instinctual craving to dominate the situation once more.

                           just   as   she   was   poised   to   dart   toward   him,   intent   on   sweeping   his   feet   from   under   him,   a   glint   caught   her   eye—only   this   time,   it   wasn't   a   playful   maneuver.   it   was   a   blade   hurtling   towards   her,   déjà   vu   in   its   unsettling   familiarity.   reacting   with   split   second   speed,   she   glitched   as   fast   as   she   could,    scarcely   evading   the   sharp   metal.  a   sharp   sting   on   her   cheek   reminded   her   of   its   perilous   proximity   as   she   crouched   down   in   the   light   again.   her   entire   form   enveloped   in   static   as   the   jolt   of   shock   momentarily   scrambled   her   senses.   the   clatter   of   blades   falling   to   the   floor   punctuated  the   scene, discordantly.   her   fingers   instinctively   touched   the   warmth   spreading   on   her   face,   confirming   the   slight,   distorted   redness   that   marked   her   skin.  in this moment,  her   gaze   shot   back   to   zak,   any   hint   of   levity   vanishing   from   her   demeanor.   in   a   pixelated   blur,   she   was   gone,   only to manifest   herself   on   his   back.   her   arm   coiled   around   his   neck   with   a   determined   grip,   the   intent   clear—to   make   him   yield,   to   tap   out.

[redgreenbluez]

[todays-xkcd]

Hint: If you ever encounter this puzzle in a crossword app, just [term for someone with a competitive and high-achieving personality].

A Crossword Puzzle [Explained]

Transcript

[A square 15x15 crossword puzzle is shown. Only 21 of the 225 squares are black. The black squares are in a pattern that are 180 degree rotationally symmetrical. Three black squares down from the 11th column and similarly three black squares up from the 5th column. Three black squares out from the right in row 7 and then two more black squares diagonally up from the end. Similarly three black squares out from the left in row 9 with two more black squares diagonally down from the end. A single black square is three above the first black square on the diagonal going down to the right and similarly there is a black square three under the first of the diagonal squares going down to the left. (Row 6 column 12 and Row 10 column 4). Finally there are three black squares on a diagonal crossing over the central point by going up from the left through the central point (Row 8 column 8). There are numbers at the top of every column (except the one that is a black square) and similarly at the left edge of all rows (except the one that is a black square). There are also numbers at the bottom of every black segment (except the one that reaches the bottom) and all rows after black segments except the one that reaches the right edge. In total all numbers from 1 to 51 is written. They are written in reading order from 1 to 51.]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

[Below the square there are two rows of clues for each number that belongs to across (rows) and to the right there are one row of clues for each number that belongs to down (columns). Both segments have an underlined and bold title above the clues. ]

'''Across'''

1. Famous Pvt. Wilhelm quote

11. IPv6 address record

15. "CIPHERTEXT" decrypted with Vigenère key "CIPHERTEXT"

16. 8mm diameter battery

17. "Warthog" attack aircraft

18. Every third letter in the word for "inability to visualize"

19. An acrostic hidden on the first page of the dictionary

21. Default paper size in Europe

22. First four unary strings

23. Lysine codon

24. 40 CFR Part 63 subpart concerning asphalt pollution

25. Top bond credit rating

26. Audi coupe

27. A pair of small remote batteries, when inserted

29. Unofficial Howard Dean slogan

32. A 4.0 report card

33. The "Harlem Globetrotters of baseball" (vowels only)

34. 2018 Kiefer song

35. Top Minor League tier

36. Reply elicited by a dentist

38. ANAA's airport

41. Macaulay Culkin's review of aftershave

43. Marketing agency trade grp.

44. Soaring climax of Linda Eder's ''Man of La Mancha''

46. Military flight community org.

47. Iconic line from ''Tarzan''

48. Every other letter of Jimmy Wales's birth state

49. Warthog's postscript after "They call me ''mister'' pig!"

50. Message to Elsa in ''Frozen 2''

51. Lola, when betting it all on Black 20 in ''Run Lola Run''

“Down

1. Game featuring "a reckless disregard for gravity"

2. 101010101010101010101010 [sub]2→16

3. Google phone released July '22

4. It's five times better than that ''other'' steak sauce

5. ToHex(43690)

6. Freddie Mercury lyric from ''Under Pressure''

7. Full-size Audi luxury sedan

8. Fast path through a multiple choice marketing survey

9. 12356631 in base 26

10. Viral Jimmy Barnes chorus

11. Ruby Rhod catchphrase

12. badbeef + 9efcebbb

13. In Wet Let's ''Ur Mum'', what the singer has been practicing

14. Refrain from Nora Reed bot

20. Mario button presses to ascend Minas Tirith's walls

24. Vermont historic route north from Bennington

26. High-budget video game

28. Unorthodox Tic-Tac-Toe win

29. String whose SHA-256 hash ends "...689510285e212385"

30. Arnold's remark to the Predator

31. The vowels in the fire salamander's binomial name

32. Janet Leigh ''Psycho'' line

34. Seven 440Hz pulses

37. Audi luxury sports sedan

38. A half-dozen eggs with reasonably firm yolks

39. 2-2-2-2-2-2 on a multitap phone keypad

40. .- .- .- .- .- .-

42. Rating for China's best tourist attractions

43. Standard drumstick size

45. "The rain/in Spain/falls main-/ly on the plain" rhyme scheme

[mostlysignssomeportents]

NLRB rules that any union busting triggers automatic union recognition

Tonight (September 6) at 7pm, I'll be hosting Naomi Klein at the LA Public Library for the launch of Doppelganger.

On September 12 at 7pm, I'll be at Toronto's Another Story Bookshop with my new book The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.

American support for unions is at its highest level in generations, from 70% (general population) to 88% (Millenials) – and yet, American unionization rates are pathetic.

That's about to change.

The National Labor Relations Board just handed down a landmark ruling – the Cemex case – that "brought worker rights back from the dead."

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-08-28-bidens-nlrb-brings-workers-rights-back/

At issue in Cemex was what the NLRB should do about employers that violate labor law during union drives. For decades, even the most flagrantly illegal union-busting was met with a wrist-slap. For example, if a boss threatened or fired an employee for participating in a union drive, the NLRB would typically issue a small fine and order the employer to re-hire the worker and provide back-pay.

Everyone knows that "a fine is a price." The NLRB's toothless response to cheating presented an easily solved equation for corrupt, union-hating bosses: if the fine amounts to less than the total, lifetime costs of paying a fair wage and offering fair labor conditions, you should cheat – hell, it's practically a fiduciary duty:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/468061

Enter the Cemex ruling: once a majority of workers have signed a union card, any Unfair Labor Practice by their employer triggers immediate, automatic recognition of the union. In other words, the NLRB has fitted a tilt sensor in the American labor pinball machine, and if the boss tries to cheat, they automatically lose.

Cemex is a complete 180, a radical transformation of the American labor regulator from a figleaf that legitimized union busting to an actual enforcer, upholding the law that Congress passed, rather than the law that America's oligarchs wish Congress had passed. It represents a turning point in the system of lawless impunity for American plutocracy.

In the words of Frank Wilhoit, it is is a repudiation of the conservative dogma: "There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect":

https://crookedtimber.org/2018/03/21/liberals-against-progressives/#comment-729288

It's also a stunning example of what regulatory competence looks like. The Biden administration is a decidedly mixed bag. On the one hand there are empty suits masquerading as technocrats, champions of the party's centrist wing (slogan: "Everything is fine and change is impossible"):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

But the progressive, Sanders/Warren wing of the party installed some fantastically competent, hard-charging, principled fighters, who are chapter-and-verse on their regulatory authority and have the courage to use that authority:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/18/administrative-competence/#i-know-stuff

They embody the old joke about the photocopier technician who charges "$1 to kick the photocopier and $79 to know where to kick it." The best Biden appointees have their boots firmly laced, and they're kicking that mother:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/16/the-second-best-time-is-now/#the-point-of-a-system-is-what-it-does

One such expert kicker is NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. Abruzzo has taken a series of muscular, bold moves to protect American workers, turning the tide in the class war that the 1% has waged on workers since the Reagan administration. For example, Abruzzo is working to turn worker misclassification – the fiction that an employee is a small business contracting with their boss, a staple of the "gig economy" – into an Unfair Labor Practice:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/10/see-you-in-the-funny-papers/bidens-legacy

She's also waging war on robo-scab companies: app-based employment "platforms" like Instawork that are used to recruit workers to cross picket lines, under threat of being blocked from the app and blackballed by hundreds of local employers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/30/computer-says-scab/#instawork

With Cemex, Abruzzo is restoring a century-old labor principle that has been gathering dust for generations: the idea that workers have the right to organize workplace gemocracies without fear of retaliation, harassment, or reprisals.

But as Harold Meyerson writes for The American Prospect, the Cemex ruling has its limits. Even if the NLRB forces and employer to recognize a union, they can't force the employer to bargain in good faith for a union contract. The National Labor Relations Act prohibits the Board from imposing a contract.

That's created a loophole that corrupt bosses have driven entire fleets of trucks through. Workers who attain union recognition face years-long struggles to win a contract, as their bosses walk away from negotiations or offer farcical "bargaining positions" in the expectation that they'll be rejected, prolonging the delay.

Democrats have been trying to fix this loophole since the LBJ years, but they've been repeatedly blocked in the senate. But Abruzzo is a consummate photocopier kicker, and she's taking aim. In Thrive Pet Healthcare, Abruzzo has argued that failing to bargain in good faith for a contract is itself an Unfair Labor Practice. That means the NLRB has the authority to act to correct it – they can't order a contract, but they can order the employer to give workers "wages, benefits, hours, and such that are comparable to those provided by comparable unionized companies in their field."

Mitch McConnell is a piece of shit, but he's no slouch at kicking photocopiers himself. For a whole year, McConnell has blocked senate confirmation hearings to fill a vacant seat on the NLRB. In the short term, this meant that the three Dems on the board were able to hand down these bold rulings without worrying about their GOP colleagues.

But McConnell was playing a long game. Board member Gwynne Wilcox's term is about to expire. If her seat remains vacant, the three remaining board members won't be able to form a quorum, and the NLRB won't be able to do anything.

As Meyerson writes, centrist Dems have refused to push McConnell on this, hoping for comity and not wanting to violate decorum. But Chuck Schumer has finally bestirred himself to fight this issue, and Alaska GOP senator Lisa Murkowski has already broken with her party to move Wilcox's confirmation to a floor vote.

The work of enforcers like DoJ Antitrust Division boss Jonathan Kanter, FTC chair Lina Khan, and SEC chair Gary Gensler is at the heart of Bidenomics: the muscular, fearless deployment of existing regulatory authority to make life better for everyday Americans.

But of course, "existing regulatory authority" isn't the last word. The judges filling stolen seats on the illegitimate Supreme Court had invented the "major questions doctrine" and have used it as a club to attack Biden's photocopier-kickers. There's real danger that Cemex – and other key actions – will get fast-tracked to SCOTUS so the dotards in robes can shatter our dreams for a better America.

Meyerson is cautiously optimistic here. At 40% (!), the Court's approval rating is at a low not seen since the New Deal showdowns. The Supremes don't have an army, they don't have cops, they just have legitimacy. If Americans refuse to acknowledge their decisions, all they can do it sit and stew:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/26/mint-the-coin-etc-etc/#blitz-em

The Court knows this. That's why they fume so publicly about attacks on their legitimacy. Without legitimacy, they're nothing. With the Supremes' support at 40% and union support at 70%, any judicial attack on Cemex could trigger term-limits, court-packing, and other doomsday scenarios that will haunt the relatively young judges for decades, as the seats they stole dwindle into irrelevance. Meyerson predicts that this will weigh on them, and may stay their hands.

Meyerson might be wrong, of course. No one ever lost money betting on the self-destructive hubris of Federalist Society judges. But even if he's wrong, his point is important. If the Supremes frustrate the democratic will of the American people, we have to smash the Supremes. Term limits, court-packing, whatever it takes:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/20/judicial-equilibria/#pack-the-court

And the more we talk about this – the more we make this consequence explicit – the more it will weigh on them, and the better the chance that they'll surprise us. That's already happening! The Supremes just crushed the Sackler opioid crime-family's dream of keeping their billions in blood-money:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/11/justice-delayed/#justice-redeemed

But if it doesn't stop them? If they crush this dream, too? Pack the court. Impose term limits. Make it the issue. Don't apologize, don't shrug it off, don't succumb to learned helplessness. Make it our demand. Make it a litmus test: "If elected, will you vote to pack the court and clear the way for democratic legitimacy?"

Meanwhile, Cemex is already bearing fruit. After an NYC Trader Joe's violated the law to keep Trader Joe's United from organizing a store, the workers there have petitioned to have their union automatically recognized under the Cemex rule:

https://truthout.org/articles/trader-joes-union-files-to-force-company-to-recognize-union-under-new-nlrb-rule/

With the NLRB clearing the regulatory obstacles to union recognition, America's largest unions are awakening from their own long slumbers. For decades, unions have spent a desultory 3% of their budgets on organizing workers into new locals. But a leadership upset in the AFL-CIO has unions ready to catch a wave with the young workers and their 88% approval rating, with a massive planned organizing drive:

https://prospect.org/labor/labors-john-l-lewis-moment/

Meyerson calls on other large unions to follow suit, and the unions seem ready to do so, with new leaders and new militancy at the Teamsters and UAW, and with SEIU members at unionized Starbucks waiting for their first contracts.

Turning union-supporting workers into unionized workers is key to fighting Supreme Court sabotage. Organized labor will give fighters like Abruzzo the political cover she needs to Get Shit Done. A better America is possible. It's within our grasp. Though there is a long way to go, we are winning crucial victories all the time.

The centrist message that everything is fine and change is impossible is designed to demoralize you, to win the fight in your mind so they don't have to win it in the streets and in the jobsite. We don't have to give them that victory. It's ours for the taking.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/06/goons-ginks-and-company-finks

[dc-comics-enjoyer]

Do you think Clark jealously grumbles to himself when he hears (his boyfriend's) Bruce's vitals ever so slightly spike whenever any one of these members strides into the meeting room looking this hot ?

Diana :

Wonder Woman (2023) #3 // The Brave and The Bold : Batman and Wonder Woman (2018) #1

John :

Green Lantern War Journal (2023) #5 // Justice League : No Justice (2018) #4

Dinah :

Green Arrow 80th Anniversary 100-page super spectacular (2021) // Justice League (2018) #63

Hawkman :

The Savage Hawkman (2011) #4 // Hawkman (2018) #24

Arthur :

Justice League (2018) #64 // Aquaman (2018) #51