Nous protègons ceux...

Mel. They/She. Middle-aged. Counselor, former teacher, bookwyrm, writer, musician, history buff, tree hugger, hopeless wanderer, exvangelical believer, chronically ill and disabled, neurodivergent, introvert, queer, childless cat lady, and more. Tags excessively and fangirls something fierce. Chris Argent owns my soul. ⚜

[exlibrisfangirl]

This, my friend, is an ambush (I'm rewatching Robin Hood because I got sad, and it made me think of you so I wanted to say hi. I was going to send a gif but tumblr's search is being mean and mostly giving me gifs of Alan Tudyk (also lovely but not who I want right now) and Edgar Allan Poe if I search for Allan by name and Batman and Guy if I search for Robin Hood 😅)

Except this one. So have a sassy Allan for your day instead.

A SASSY ALLAN A DALE IN MY INBOX IN THIS, THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2026?!

I LOVE YOU, SHYE 😘

[itseasytoremember]

So this one time I was in a hospital recovering from an emergency surgery on my leg, and had to be there long enough that they had to change my bedding, so, doped up on three kinds of pain meds and antibiotics my dad wheels me into the hallway while the nurses work.

"dad" I say, my eyes barely open "it's Colonel Sanders" while pointing down the hallway. He looks, and at the end of the hallway, there's a portrait of an old man, the donor who paid for the wing of the hospital I'm recovering in.

My dad explains as much to me, and goes "I mean the guy *kinda* looks like him, but why would Colonel Sanders pay for a hospital wing Mississauga Ontario? I think those drugs might me messing with you"

Then the nurse comes out of the room. I go "hey, who is that picture of?"

She looks at the portrait. She looks at me. She looks at my dad. She looks at the painting. She looks at me again.

"you don't recognize the Colonel??"

[marian-mommy]

I had to look this up, and it's true! Colonel Sanders lived in Mississauga Ontario for some time with his second wife while expanding KFC into Canada, and he funded several hospitals up there. He was also a freemason. Huh, you learn something new every day!

[depsidase]

[barkingbarghest]

Here is an article from NPR about it (May 22, 2026):

Carolina Milanesi, an independent technology analyst, said Google is trying to make its cash cow business — search — richer and more personalized, and it will make shopping easier. But there is a risk that users may have fewer choices about what to click. "Right now it's: I ask a question, I get a bunch of answers and I feel that I'm in control as to which answer I take, or if I'm looking for something, which product I'm going to end up buying. That is going to be less so going forward," she said. Milanesi envisions AI-enabled search and agents proposing products to consumers — perhaps even those they have requested — but with less clarity or choice around where it's coming from. "If you're going to say: 'I want a pair of Jordans, go find them,' you're not necessarily sure what steps have been taken and whether the AI has used a source or a store that was paid for and therefore came up in the search results," she said, "or if AI actually went and did their due diligence and picked the best for me as a customer."

And here's one from Time magazine (May 20, 2026):

While Google already has “AI Mode,” the company will now power the whole search bar through its new Gemini 3.5 Flash model.  Instead of the classic list of blue links, Google Search will now also generate a custom page with an AI-generated summary of what you’re searching about, which will then trigger a conversation with AI Mode on the main page, allowing users to ask follow-up questions—similar to the kind of layout you would see when opening ChatGPT.

And a little more from Time's article on how this may affect the websites that we are trying to search for:

When Google first started implementing AI-assisted results, news publishers warned of “catastrophic” impacts on the industry, much of which relies on Google search to drive users to their websites.  Last year, news websites saw significant traffic declines as chatbots increasingly replaced Google search as the primary way to find sites and ask questions.  Small businesses also noted drops in traffic to their sites from Google, which has traditionally delivered customers.   Lily Ray, vice president of SEO strategy & research at Amsive, a digital marketing agency, warned as early as last year that Google’s planned changes to search are “going to have a devastating impact on the Internet.”  “It will severely cut into the main source of revenue for most publishers and it will disincentivize content creators who rely on organic search traffic, which is millions of websites, maybe more,” she told Technology Magazine.  

[anarchopuppy]

noai.duckduckgo.com blocks all AI content in search results automatically

[thatonelonelydude]

Rewatching teen wolf and thinking of the horror Derek must have felt seeing Jackson's body reject the bite, already knowing what happened with Paige

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

Meanwhile in Denmark: My mom knitted a hat for my cat

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

The face of a woman who isn't disappointed that her only grandchild is a cat

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

Just one day later she sends me this... My cat in different homemade hat. The woman is unstoppable!!!

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

Taking over the world... One silly hat at a time...

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

The source of her power:

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

The most delicious little strawbebby...

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

Presenting the politest of little gentlemen

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

This little alien is kinda done with our bullshit

[rockifresa]

[kamil-a]

I NEED A SICKO… im holding out for a sicko till the end of the night ..and hes gotta haha and hes gotta say yess at the window with a look of delight

[high-val-you]

[everything-but-the-not-natural]

@0dde11eth @catscraftsandcommentary

[wonderstruck]

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

[amusementforme]

[lizziesupremacy]

THE LAST DAY GUYS

[darkmuse112-og]

Every April 30th, like clockwork.

At least I know that the people of tumblr will never let me down.

[simply-elegantly-kai]

Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!

[exlibrisfangirl]

Life Update - 4/19/2026

Hello, friends!

Tomorrow (Monday, April 20th) is Thyroid Cancer Eviction Day! *jazz hands*

This past week has been unbelievably stressful, as my mom had a heart attack last Sunday night, had to get a stent placed, and was in the hospital until Friday. After the nightmare that was my dad's surprise emergency triple-bypass surgery in 2024, we're really thankful that my mom didn't need more extensive surgery. Plus, my poor dad would NOT have handled both of his womenfolk being in the hospital at the same time very well at all. 😬

Anyway. Hopefully, I will be cancer-free after surgery, so I can focus alllllll my energy (*snort*) on all the OTHER BATSHIT BONKERS STUFF my body is doing. 🫠 I am currently in the middle of a combination trigeminal neuralgia + POTS + vertigo flare, so I'm in a lot of pain and literally scooting around the house on my butt (never been so grateful for wood floors in my whole life, lol) because walking is too risky... all of which will make pre-op and post-op suuuper interesting tomorrow. 😅

Prayers, well-wishes, and check-ins would be most welcome!

Love & Light,

Mel 💛

[exlibrisfangirl]

Hi, friends!

I am home from the hospital.

My surgeon was able to leave some of my right thyroid lobe intact, which means I *might* not have to take synthroid for the rest of my life if what's left can pick up the slack and produce enough hormones. We'll see. He also removed some suspicious-looking lymph nodes and biopsied some nodules on the remainder of the right lobe, so we're hoping no cancer will be found there. 🤞🏻

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and notes of encouragement! I am in extra super-duper pain now, so I am taking some of The Good Stuff, turning off my phone, and going to bed for as long as possible, lol. 💛

[exlibrisfangirl]

Hiya, friends!

Welp. I had my post-op appointment today to get my wound drain removed, and I found out that the pathology results were... not great. All of the lymph nodes my surgeon removed were cancerous, so I will be having a second surgery in ~6 weeks to remove the rest of my thyroid and some more lymph nodes, and then I will start radiation therapy.

My incision/surgery site is doing fine, but I'm in a lot of pain from the awkward positioning of my neck and jaw during surgery and resulting strain, and my throat and vocal cords are very angry. I'm having difficulty getting sound out when I talk, and after spending most of last year in speech therapy for a vocal cord disorder, I'm really worried that I'm going to be back to square one with my voice after these surgeries. It might sound strange, but I think I'm actually more worried about that than the cancer.

Thank you for your continued prayers and check-ins! Walking with me through the ups and downs of chronic illness life has turned into one hell of a marathon in recent years, and I'm so grateful for the people who have stuck by my side, even when it's a struggle to keep up.

Love & Light,

Mel 💛

P.S. Mom is doing okay. She has some ugly bruising of her arm from the heart cath procedure, and she had an ultrasound today which showed a pseudoaneurysm in her radial artery (a heart cath complication), so that is being closely monitored as she heals. She has had zero chest pains or other potential heart attack symptoms since the stent went in, and we are so thankful for that! Please keep her in your prayers, too.

[egax]

I have been saving this since last year. Happy Earth Day everyone.

[exlibrisfangirl]

Life Update - 4/19/2026

Hello, friends!

Tomorrow (Monday, April 20th) is Thyroid Cancer Eviction Day! *jazz hands*

This past week has been unbelievably stressful, as my mom had a heart attack last Sunday night, had to get a stent placed, and was in the hospital until Friday. After the nightmare that was my dad's surprise emergency triple-bypass surgery in 2024, we're really thankful that my mom didn't need more extensive surgery. Plus, my poor dad would NOT have handled both of his womenfolk being in the hospital at the same time very well at all. 😬

Anyway. Hopefully, I will be cancer-free after surgery, so I can focus alllllll my energy (*snort*) on all the OTHER BATSHIT BONKERS STUFF my body is doing. 🫠 I am currently in the middle of a combination trigeminal neuralgia + POTS + vertigo flare, so I'm in a lot of pain and literally scooting around the house on my butt (never been so grateful for wood floors in my whole life, lol) because walking is too risky... all of which will make pre-op and post-op suuuper interesting tomorrow. 😅

Prayers, well-wishes, and check-ins would be most welcome!

Love & Light,

Mel 💛

[exlibrisfangirl]

Hi, friends!

I am home from the hospital.

My surgeon was able to leave some of my right thyroid lobe intact, which means I *might* not have to take synthroid for the rest of my life if what's left can pick up the slack and produce enough hormones. We'll see. He also removed some suspicious-looking lymph nodes and biopsied some nodules on the remainder of the right lobe, so we're hoping no cancer will be found there. 🤞🏻

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and notes of encouragement! I am in extra super-duper pain now, so I am taking some of The Good Stuff, turning off my phone, and going to bed for as long as possible, lol. 💛

[exlibrisfangirl]

Life Update - 4/19/2026

Hello, friends!

Tomorrow (Monday, April 20th) is Thyroid Cancer Eviction Day! *jazz hands*

This past week has been unbelievably stressful, as my mom had a heart attack last Sunday night, had to get a stent placed, and was in the hospital until Friday. After the nightmare that was my dad's surprise emergency triple-bypass surgery in 2024, we're really thankful that my mom didn't need more extensive surgery. Plus, my poor dad would NOT have handled both of his womenfolk being in the hospital at the same time very well at all. 😬

Anyway. Hopefully, I will be cancer-free after surgery, so I can focus alllllll my energy (*snort*) on all the OTHER BATSHIT BONKERS STUFF my body is doing. 🫠 I am currently in the middle of a combination trigeminal neuralgia + POTS + vertigo flare, so I'm in a lot of pain and literally scooting around the house on my butt (never been so grateful for wood floors in my whole life, lol) because walking is too risky... all of which will make pre-op and post-op suuuper interesting tomorrow. 😅

Prayers, well-wishes, and check-ins would be most welcome!

Love & Light,

Mel 💛

[wanna-bee]

[johnnycrass]

been laying down a lot lately. nothing to offer anyone anywhere. busy

[apofiss]

Black void cat ₍ ^. .^₎⋆˙⟡