Random Walk Thru Sparky's Mind

[helthehatter]

Good Things that Happened in 2016

·         New chemotherapy breakthroughs have increased the 5-year survival for pancreatic cancer from 16% to 27% (and is getting better)

·         Scientists figured out how to link robotic limbs with the part of the brain that deals with intent to move so people don’t have to think about how they will move the limb, it can just happen.

·         Child mortality is down everywhere and it keeps going down.

·         Thanks to the ice bucket challenge the gene responsible for ALS has been found, meaning we are closer to an effective treatment. Let me rephrase that: we are close to getting a treatment for a very bad disease because a lot of people (including really hot celebrities) got wet.

·         A solar powered plan circumnavigated the world.

·         Michael Jordan donates 2mil to try and help bridge connection between police and the community.

·         Tiger numbers are growing.

·         And manatees.

·         And pandas.

·         Pakistan has made strides toward outlawing honor killings.

·         70,000 Muslim clerics declared a fatwa against ISIS.

·         Pokemon Go players went insane with placing lure modules near hospitals for sick kids.

·         California is now powering over 6 million homes with solar power, a record in the US (and that is the tightest shit)

·         Volunteers in India planted 50 million trees in 24 hours.

·         Apparently world crime as a whole has drastically declined as a whole in the last couple of decades.

·         Coffee consumption has been proved to help curtail cancer and suicide rates.

·         Speaking of coffee Starbucks figured out how to donate perishable food in a food safe way.

·         500 elephants were relocated to a better, safer and bigger home.

·         We made massive strides in Alzheimers’ prevention (my grandmother literally told me that scares her more than getting cancer this is very good news)

·         The ozone layer is repairing itself and all the work we did to get rid of those aerosol chemicals was actually worth it.

·         A new therapy developed in Israel could cure radiation sickness.

·         The Anglican church resolved to solemnize same-sex unions the same as opposite-sex unions which required a super majority of all three orders of the church (lay, clergy, bishop).

·         The Rabbinical Assembly issued a resolution affirming the rights of transgender and non-conforming individuals.

·         Precision treatments for cancer are hitting clinical trials and WORKING (as someone who’s had relatives with cancer this is the best news)

·         Dentists are once again providing free care to veterans who need it.

·         The Orlando Shakespeare Festival showed up with angel wings to block funeral-goers for the Orlando Pulse victims, view from anti-gay protesters

·         We may have cured MS

·         Rise Women’s Legal Centre opened

·         Death by heart disease has decreased by 70% in the United States

·         Two brothers saw color for the first time thanks to specially-designed glasses

• Portugal ran its entire nation solely on renewable energy for four days straight

·         A retiree is launching a project to transport 80 endangered rhinos to an Australian reservation to save the animals from poaching

·         An Afghan teacher has been delivering books via bicycle to villages that lack schools

·         Harriet Tubman is going to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.

·         200 strangers attended the funeral of a homeless WW2 veteran with no family

·         A teen battling cancer married his sweetheart

·         Bank firm pays for college tuition for the children of employees who died in the 9/11 attacks

·         New medicine has been shown to increase melanoma survival rate to 40%

·         Over 800 Boko Harem Hostages were rescued by Nigerian Army

·         Toys R Us is Offering Quiet Shopping Hour for kids with autism this holiday season

·         Volunteers made special tiny Halloween costumes for NICU babies

·         A 4-year old befriends a lonely man and helped him heal after losing his wife

·         Families grew

·         People survived c ancer

·         People overcame depression

·         Any kind of victory, even if it affects only one person,  is a victory

·         Now for the pop culture good news

·         LEONARDO DICAPRIO WON AN OSCAR! EVERYONE READING THIS LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO SEE LEO FINALLY GET WHAT HE DESERVED

·         There’s a new Harry Potter book

·         And a movie

·         Harry Potter has no plans on vanishing with time

·         This sweet father gave candy to passengers on a flight so his little girl could trick or treat on Halloween

·         LET ME TALK ABOUT ALL THE KICK ASS MOVIES WE GOT THIS YEAR OH MY GOD

·         Kung Fu Panda 3, this franchise is still going strong despite that its about a panda played by Jack Black

·         Jungle Book. The amazing remake none of us saw coming

·         Finding Dory. I haven’t seen it yet but I’ve heard good things

·         Kubo and the Two Strings. Haven’t seen that yet as well but its Laika so I know it’s a masterpiece

·         Deadpool. The beautiful and super accurate R-rated marvel film

·         Captain America: Civil War. Seriously is the best marvel movie yet in my opinion I need more.

·         Zootopia. Oh don’t mind me I’m just a movie that tackled the issue of racism and not only game changed animated films but also made a billion dollars

·         The Hamilton Mixtape is coming out. Which is a bunch of artists singing songs from the musical (Sia, Usher, Regina Spketor, etc.) I’m excited.

·         A personal victory for myself, I joined Tumblr and met angels in blog form so…that’s uplifting.

·         And I met my favorite voice actor at a con which was a bucket list accomplishment.

Good Things that have yet to happen this year

·         Birthdays

·        Thanksgiving

·         Black Friday

·         Moana

·         Christmas

Good things that have nothing to do with the year but will hopefully make you feel better

·         Puppies

·         Chocolate

·         Rainbows

·         Rain (I like listening to rain it’s one of the most calming sounds)

·         Cartoons

·         Kissing

·         Music

·         Friends

·         FF: If you are a religious person you are an imperfect masterpiece

·         FF: If you are not then you are a splendid coincidence

·         Any year spent with loved ones be they family or friends is a good year. Trust me.

·         ”A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it’s the only weapon we have” –Roger Rabbit

#NeverForgetTheGood

*Plz feel free to add other good news (even if it’s something small like you ate cheesecake THAT is good news)

[anomalous4]

A little perspective in this crazy world.

[maeril]

[coelasquid]

maeril:

Hi everyone! This is an illustrated guide I made as part of my co-admining work at The Middle Eastern Feminist on Facebook! It will be published there shortly.  The technique that is displayed here is a genuine one used in psychology - I forgot the name and couldn’t find it again so if you know about it, feel free to tell me! Some could say: “Yes but you can use that technique for instances of harassment other than Islamophobic attacks!”, and my reply is: Sure! Please do so, it also works for other “types” of harassment of a lone person in a public space!! However I’m focusing on protecting Muslims here, as they have been very specific targets lately, and as a French Middle Eastern woman, I wanted to try and do something to raise awareness on how to help when such things happen before our eyes - that way one cannot say they “didn’t know what to do”!  I’d like to insist on two things: 1) Do not, in any way, interact with the attacker. You must absolutely ignore them and focus entirely on the person being attacked! 2) Please make sure to always respect the wishes of the person you’re helping: whether they want you to leave quickly afterwards, or not! If you’re in a hurry escort them to a place where someone else can take over - call one of their friends, or one of yours, of if they want to, the police. It all depends on how they feel! For my fellow French-speakers: I will translate it in French and post it on my page as soon as I can :) Please don’t hesitate to share this guide as it could push a lot of people to overcome bystander syndrome!! Lots of love and stay safe!

Every single time I have ever been in a situation where someone (or myself) was being harassed and I didn’t act fast enough to do something about it, I left with a permanent blemish on my conscience that spurned me into action when similar situations came up in the future. This is great advice for a way to interject into a situation and quantifiably improve someone’s day. Take it from someone who’s made it through about a third of an average human lifespan, you will regret any situation you had the opportunity to do something and didn’t.

[anomalous4]

This. A whole lotta THIS.

[josettacay]

[anomalous4]

Love it.

[anomalous4]

(via 11 Passed-Out Puppies | Dead to the World) And you thought cats were the masters of sleeping in awkward positions…

[anomalous4]

21 Photos That Prove You Should Never Listen To Tumblr Users About Science

Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, duh.

ROFLMAO OMG I'm DYING over here!

[anomalous4]

(via humanæ) What color is a person? Ongoing project by Brazilian artist Angélica Dass. Hundreds - maybe thousands - of beautiful faces showing the diversity of human skin tones and their Pantone matches. (Eek, I’m such a paleface! LOL)

[buzzfeedcomics]

??? ?? ? ? ?? ? ??

[anomalous4]

KNIT, of course!!! Next silly question…

[anomalous4]

Sleeping Late Is Awesome, and People Who Do It May Be Smarter

A study found that sleeping late could be better for you than rising early in the morning.

In yo’ FACE, morning people!!!

[thesetupwizard]

Times Like These

JD-

I had to explain to a very confused wizard today that in the muggle world we’re living in an age where kids are getting iPads and adults are buying themselves coloring books.

[anomalous4]

Ain’t dat da troof.

[weirdbuzzfeed]

No one knows steak like Donald Trump. That’s why we enlisted the help of “The Donald” himself to give us the rundown on his famous T-Bone Recipe:

First things first, ALWAYS wash your hands.

Then, you gotta take a moment to get to know that beautiful piece of meat.

Next, slap on some of that world-famous Trump Rub.™

And don’t forget to always give yourself the credit you deserve.

It’s time to make steak great again:

[buzzfeed]

…y’all

[anomalous4]

…then you overcook it until you could hammer a nail into a board with it. SUBSTANCE ABUSE!!! Seriously, it’s already dead. Why kill it a second time???

[anomalous4]

(via We Posed Like “Sports Illustrated” Swimsuit Cover Models And It Was Empowering)

HOW TO HAVE A BIKINI BODY:

1. Have a body.

2. Wear a bikini.

YOU GO, GRRRLZ!!!

[crochetmelovely]

[rainnecassidy]

Damn right. Supplies are one thing but time, time is a precious and expensive commodity.

[anomalous4]

One big reason I won’t even think of selling my FOs…OTOH, I LOVE giving them to people - watching their eyes pop out is PRICELESS.

[anomalous4]

(via Can a Silly Cat Video Help Curb Youth Smoking? -- Science of Us) “Fact: Cats are twice as likely to get cancer if their owner smokes. Smoking = no cats = no cat videos. That sucks.”

OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOES!!!!!!

[anomalous4]

Shaxper like you’ve never heard him…sounds Irish with a dash of Australian for flavor… (via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s)

[anomalous4]

(via Navajo Spindle | Navajo Code Talkers) Spinning wool directly from the sheep? Whodathunkit??

[spacecurry-diy]

finally finished … Willow by Nancy Marchant, published in Knitting Fresh Brioche - Creating Two-Color Twist and Turns

[loveknittingcom-blog-deactivate]

Wow. 0_0 <3

[anomalous4]

Brioche knitting in laceweight, light as a cloud. Who knew? *swooooooooooon*

[loveknittingcom-blog-deactivate]

Yes. 

[anomalous4]

It’s always yarn o’clock somewhere!