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My side blog for stuff I find cool, but doesn't fit in with my other blogs.

[goodvibesatpeace]

[rabbitheatedgrrrl]

Not wanting to have sex is NOT a problem. It doesn’t matter if you are asexual or allo, there is nothing wrong with not wanting sex. It’s just an activity. That’d be like saying that if you don’t like soccer, you need to go to soccer therapy to figure out why you dislike it and figure out how to like it because it’s for your own good. See how ridiculous that sounds? IT IS OK TO NOT WANT TO HAVE SEX AND IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED!!!!!!

[irishshauna]

[marmotini-of-the-world-unite]

Learning this was an intentional genocide changed me.

[fighterkimburgess]

I know most of those following me know this, but just to make it super clear. An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger/the Great Famine) was a deliberate genocide of the Irish people. There was enough food grown in Ireland to make sure everyone was alive and healthy and survived. Instead it was exported, sent to England and elsewhere for profit while men, women, and children starved in the streets. While the English landlords fucked off and evicted starving families who couldn’t afford rent. While babies were too weak to cry and died at the side of the road.

They tried to kill us, but they did not succeed. And we owe so much thanks to the other oppressed peoples, in particular the Choctaw Nation and the Masai, who sent money and grain to us.

Let me repeat that. The Choctaw Nation who had just gone through the Trail of Tears sent us money to try save Irish lives. It’s led to an understanding between Irish people and Native American tribes, most recently when we donated to the Navajo and Hopi fundraisers for COVID-19 relief, because while it may be a different tribe, Irish people will never forget those who helped us and we’ll help back.

The entire population of the island is less than seven million people. We’re still a million less on this island than pre famine. And it’s not that long ago. My grandmother’s grandparents lived through it. We’ve told the stories, it literally changed the DNA of the country. We have a national fear of renting, because so many people were evicted. People joke about Irish people always offering loads of food, but it’s because there’s that cultural memory of not being able to.

They tried to kill us, but they did not succeed. We will not let them take our lives, we will not let them take our language. We lost so much, but we will not lose it all.

[saltedweather]

This is why I get so angry when people say “it was the potato famine, it was because of monoculture/microbes.”

Nope. The potatoes were the only thing Irish people were allowed to fucking eat, because as pointed out, the rest of the crops they were growing were for their landlords to ship to England. So when the one “worthless” crop they were allowed to eat rotted in the field, the English crown, empire, landlords, all shrugged and carried on. People starved to death lying next to productive fields.

[nerathul]

What people don’t know is the blight was all over europe but the famine was exclusive to Ireland because of generations of farming and property laws made to continuously shrink Irish land ownership and force them to sell to the English landlords.

By the start of the blight tenant and free farmers personal plots had become so small potatoes were the only crop that produced enough calorie-per-acre to feed them.

Ireland experienced a famine because its agricultural system had been so utterly broken in the name of feeding the English and making the landlords and grain merchants wealthy, and then any efforts to combat the famine such as importing grain from the USA were halted because they feared it might harm the merchants profit margins.

Famines are almost always man-made. Crops fail and lean years happen all the time, but it’s the result of human-factors pushing agriculture past breaking point that turns those into disasters and mass death.

[lamignonette]

[themirokai]

Contemplating crimes….

[elierlick]

One year ago, trans women held an iconic topless protest outside the Scottish Parliament. I love it when trans women hold topless demonstrations. If they're arrested, the state must admit they're women. If they aren't, it exposes the obvious contradictions of defining trans women as legally male.

Now, a year later, Parliament has its first two transgender members, one of whom represents JK Rowling in Edinburgh. We can't attribute this momentum solely to the protest, but the direct action seems to have galvanized a new political movement of trans people across Scotland.

[frontmansdefender]

RIP to the legend

[scoriarose]

Theory on why Tofu hates Markiplier

If you are unfamiliar with Tofu, please read this post or watch this playlist about the snake who hates Markiplier. tl;dr- under the Markiplier gif.

From the videos you can see she tries to figure out what is upsetting Tofu, and found that it's not just streamers, or just his voice, or the stream. This specific snake very much does not like Markiplier, and appears to recognize him visually and from his voice.

He does not like Markiplier specifically which is demonstrated by him squaring up with Mark, striking, and tail buzzing at him. He recognizes Mark specifically as a scary threat.

Animals have been shown to recognize human faces, and Tofu's reaction to Markiplier's face (and only his face as shown by the printout) is strong evidence that he recognizes Mark's face and differentiates him from other faces. With crows, they've been shown to hold grudges and have that grudge extend to other crows.

So Tofu has a negative association with Mark, and specifically Mark. The question is why? My theory is: perceived threat after a perceived dangerous situation. Some have theorized Tofu was mistreated by someone who looked like Mark- if they were while in his keeper's care she'd know. If it was his breeder, he'd more likely be afraid of all humans and need to first get over this negative perception (basing this on how Sakura reacted with massive trauma that took years for her to overcome, and to this day she's still jumpy. A breeder doesn't socialize their snakes so they'd only know humans to be abusive before being adopted, and his current keeper would very much notice that terrified trauma behavior to herself.)

One thing important to know about snakes is they are not only capable of learning from each other, but are protective of each other. I've seen this with my girls interacting with each other (yes snakes have friends and remember their family), learning from watching the other and copying her actions, as well as behavior I've observed on the Rattlecam with wild snakes. Adult snakes teach younger snakes, as well as are protective of them- even if they aren't their own babies. A female was shown on the rattlecam watching over a group of slitherlings that were obviously not her offspring as she was heavily pregnant. IIRC that same female ushered babies to safety after a hawk attack before worrying about her own safety. I've seen it in person as well with my girls, who have shielded each other from perceived danger, and scoria also squared up to something scary in the hall as though she were protecting me. And when it left she immediately went back to being relaxed and cuddly and happy. Snakes have friends that are snakes. It's an outdated belief snakes cannot bond with their keepers, as many do and seek them out for attention. These observations of snake behavior are part of what play into my theory basis.

So what could Mark himself have done? If you watch streamers you'll know Markiplier is known for playing jumpscare games with his FNAF let's plays being some of his most well known. Tofu's owner knows Markiplier, and is actively watching Markiplier with Tofu. More than likely she regularly watches Mark, has watched jumpscare videos, and had Tofu around while doing this.

It's a reasonable assumption. And if Tofu's keeper reacts to Mark's jump scare videos by flinching, looking frightened, or making frightened sounds, it's quite likely Tofu's sees Markiplier is involved every time... and blames Mark. Seeing his keeper get startled, Tofu doesn't understand it's a fun video or that humans enjoy being jumpscared (honestly I don't think I could explain it to him either) so he's learning from his human that Markiplier is a scary threat.

And from Tofu's point of view? He's right! Markiplier is a regular threat that not only (probably) scared his human, but regularly appears to stare him down and even went after him in his own home! And when his keeper scolds him? It's likely the same misunderstanding that dogs have when their owners yell at them to be quiet- they think the human has joined in! Clearly his keeper is joining him in being upset at Mark!

So in Tofu's mind? Mark is a diabolical threat to his family's safety that he must defend them against, and they are united with their keeper in their efforts to drive away that scary scary guy. You are very brave Tofu, and we are all very proud of you.

[goth-queen]

[my-dailydreams]

[amnhnyc]

👀 🐍Meet the vine snake (Ahaetulla prasina). Found in parts of Asia including Indonesia, China, and India, this species can grow up to 6 ft (2 m) long. You might spot this arboreal critter swaying side to side, mimicking a windblown vine. To further enhance the illusion, this species can even flick its tongue more slowly than many other snakes. Its camouflage allows it to snatch unsuspecting prey including birds, frogs, and lizards. 

Photo: Hamas Fathani, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 

[cherryjams]

‘Hands weaving magnetic-core memory, IBM, Poughkeepsie, New York,’ 1956. Photograph by Ansel Adams.

[bladespark]

My mother used to make computer cores as a "work from home" side business. As a child I got spending money via un-winding the ones that failed testing so that the magnetic center could be re-used. I got between $0.05 and $0.25 per core depending. Mom got more for the finished ones, of course, though I don't know how much. Her sister was an expert, and did the more complicated kind, some of which ended up in satellites and/or were used by NASA!

They were all done by hand using a kind of treadle-operated frame with a little (crochet!) hook to pull the wires around the cores. The people making them were mostly housewives who did this as a side-job in the 80s and 90s. I don't know if it's still done that way anywhere in the USA today, but the history of computing and space exploration is littered with "women's work" like this.

[librarycards]

they don’t teach people with EDs how to actually respond to diet talk because to do so would mean cultivating and embracing rage. you can’t do that within a medico-psychiatric industry that mandates compliance at all costs. I would very much like to start a workshop for channeling & expressing rage, including and especially toward carceral institutions and authorities, for ppl with EDs… like I want to teach you how to terrify your doctor

[mtfoss]

Genuinely being a self advocate is 99% channelling pure rage

[librarycards]

#HOW are u supposed to respond???#i get hit w diet talk all the time at work and i hate it i hate it#but im sooooo bad at feeling and channeling rage. how do u self advocate!!

with people who do not have medical/economic/carceral power over you:

walk away/physically remove yourself rather than engage

"i am not interested in your thoughts on my lunch"

"I am not interested in your thoughts on my [or someone else's] body"

"did she gain weight?" "it isn't our business/it isn't relevant to you."

"why are you eating that?" "because i'm hungry."

with doctors:

"i choose to decline my weight" (you can always choose to decline your weight as an outpatient)

"i am requesting a larger blood pressure cuff in order to receive an accurate reading"

"i am here to discuss [x]. my time and yours would be better spent addressing my present concerns, rather than speculating on others."

"i am not interested in discussing my eating habits, because it is not currently a priority to change them."

these scripts are YMMV. people are horrible, doctors are abusive, and not all situations can be escaped. grey rocking, putting up an affective/communicative wall for all but the most basic/removed exchanges, is a technique many people use with abusers until they can safely remove themselves; this can be helpful, too. but these scripts are perhaps a starting point to shut down and redirect harmful diet/weight loss talk & refuse social pressure to surveil other peoples' bodies and your own.

[important-animal-images]

[petermorwood]

I'm sure the cat is just sleeping, but its pose and the petals reminded me of a painting.

"The Grief of the Pasha" by Jean-Leon Gerome.

[whatcoloristhatcat]

black mackerel tabby

[only-cat-memes]

[what-even-is-thiss]

You know as an American born in the late 90s I’ve watched my country blow up foreigners on tv supposedly in the interest of national security since I was a toddler but quite frankly we live on a natural fortress of a continent with friendly nations to our north and south and have been attacked on our own soil literally two times in the past hundred years and we have military bases on every inhabited continent on earth. It’s never made sense to do these things for “national security”. It never will make sense unless you value the shareholders of weapons companies over the lives of children. And apparently a concerning amount of people do.

[neat-deadandlive-things]

Lots of things are terrible and scary right now. We need to care for each other but that starts with ourselves. It is absolutely okay to watch this rescue kitten live stream from BC, Canada right now. It's 100% okay to watch 3 day old kittens and their "feral" mama cats who have decided to adorably co-parent together. It's encouraged to make some tea and enjoy their tiny little faces and wait for a third mama cat to give birth and see if she'll also plop her babies into the pile of kittens and share parenting duties.

LIVE: Newborn kittens, with more on the way! 🐾🙀

Cornflower, Smudge, Spectra, Oriana and Opal are from our Hellga farm cat colony, where we've spayed/neutered 86% of the cats. We're still o

[neat-deadandlive-things]

I need to put my face into this pile of 15 kittens.

[loucifersbitch]

if you need me, i’ll be sobbing on the floor. humans, man

[vexwerewolf]

"They go to SEX CLUBS and pretend to be DOGS!"

Yeah well you go to church every Sunday and pretend to be a good person