Sade Olutola
Product Placement
Kiana Khansmith
Kaledo Art
Claire Keane
❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
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DEAR READER
Andulka
Cosimo Galluzzi
Discoholic 🪩
JBB: An Artblog!
cherry valley forever
ojovivo
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
we're not kids anymore.
AnasAbdin
Cosmic Funnies
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
KIROKAZE
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
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@exploringthingswithowls
a CRITTER? Carrying a BERRY?? Across a BRAMBLE VINE?????
I drew them
[Image description: A photograph of a mouse on a tiny bramble branch. Hanging above the mouse is a cluster of blackberries, and the mouse walks away with one held in it's mouth. Followed by a pencil sketch of the same mouse. End description]
When the health food store unionized, something wild happened that I thought was just a goofy one-off, but makes more sense now.
There was a big push to eliminate "degrading jobs" but the strategy was to eliminate the position, then create a new position outside of the bargaining unit to do the work. So like, we wouldn't have dishwashers, but we'd have people who washed dishes that weren't eligible to be in the union.
I was like A) what the actual fuck? Dish washing isn't "degrading", it's fucking vital. B) What the actual fuck? You want to create a union just to exploit different people?
There were enough of us to be like "Absolutely the fuck not," and put a stop to it, but I was absolutely flummoxed that people involved in a union would say that out loud. Working with more leftists now, it makes sense.
I think it was coming from a background that viewed labor as necessary to accomplish anything, but advocated for the equitable distribution of the gains made by labor... and then being thrown in with people who just thought labor was icky.
The first time someone told me that busing tables was "degrading", I was like "Oh, uhh, yeah, like it's very necessary work but under compensated for how vital it is?" and they responded "No, touching plates that other people have eaten off of is disgusting."
But I want to eat off of clean plates. So somebody is going to have to touch/clean those plates. And I respect that person and want them to be able to afford to live.
Those people sound like a guy I'd make up to be mad at.
I mean, that job definitely had a Truman Show vibe. If they hadn't been in-person interactions, I'd think I was getting trolled.
Just to put a bow on it:
In bargaining, someone on the Union side suggested that we eliminate all the cashiers and exclusively use self-checkouts (they were a cashier and didn't like it). The organizer told them that the union wasn't in the habit of eliminating bargaining unit positions. (This is the same person I've talked about how said that "as a prison abolitionist" we just needed to execute most criminals.)
When I explained holiday scheduling (time off requests granted in order of seniority, shifts assigned in reverse order of seniority). Someone was angry and said that time off requests potentially being denied "wasn't in the spirit of the union". When I pointed out that our departments made like 30% of our annual revenue between Thanksgiving and New Years and that required production staff to be working, they said that we just needed to create a class of positions ineligible for the bargaining unit that wouldn't be able to request time off. (Which again, most of us figured we'd just rotate holidays or something, but assumed that some holiday production was mandatory.)
I was on leftie tiktok (as a creator) for a bit and I saw this attitude there as well. I specifically remember one argument around cleaners where someone said that employing a cleaner was, like, ethically bad, and that "after the revolution" we wouldn't have cleaners.
It got me thinking, along with Ann Russell talking about how to treat cleaners (being a cleaner herself), about how we conceptualise domestic service as particularly degrading in all its forms, when, really, why is that? Why is paying someone to do something intrinsically bad?
Like, even in a moneyless, gift economy society, there would still be people whose primary contribution to their communities would be cleaning. Some people like to clean, and are really rather good at it.
I've talked ad nauseam in the past about how British attitudes towards cleaners and other service based positions today are the descendants of Victorian attitudes. That is, both the attitudes of conservatives and many progressives of that time. The trade union movement was particularly exclusionary towards service workers.
I think people on the left thinking about forms of labour can sometimes be worse than people on the right. People who have taken these positions generally just conceptualise them as something you need to do to get by, and there are particular employers where these positions are degrading but in general the jobs themselves aren't.
Yeah, that really sums it up. There's stuff that needs to get done, so I'll never be of the opinion that it's degrading work. I worked in kitchens for a long time, and every other position is reliant on having clean dishes, so nobody can really be "above" washing dishes. The shitty thing about washing dishes or busing tables is how people treat the people doing it. The work itself is vital.
And some of those jobs are like, sure, you can throw almost any warm body at it and get it done adequately, but you still run into people where you're like "Holy shit, you're good at this."
People doing a job most people don't want to do should be paid MORE in order to get people to do it. That's how it would work if we weren't mired in a schema assuming that less-frequently-desired jobs are the province of people who "can't do better" and "deserve" poverty because they have less value as people.
Peer reviewing the tags: #these attitudes are also why ppl are weird about sex work#and weirdly enough visibly disabled people working - like esp thinking of like#places that employ ppl w LDs as workers and volunteers#what they FEEL is 'these people make me uncomfortable'#and they say 'they shouldn't have to do that'#so the solution is. no visibly disabled people getting to work#the fact that. they want to work. and want jobs#is irrelevant#too many people base their politics off their like. gut feelings of discomfort and unease#which are completely disconnected from both practicality and actual morality
Tell me: is he's allowed to say that?? If you turn on the volume, you will hear his words.
The boulder pushing punishment is iconic. But I think more people should know the reason Sisyphus was punished to begin with, which was for cheating death, twice.
The first time he cheated death, Sisyphus had just angered Zeus by revealing the location of the Asopid Aegina whom Zeus abducted. Which is super valid, fuck Zeus.
Sisyphus knew that Zeus would send the god of death Thanatos after him, so he prepared a trap and trapped Thanatos in the chains meant for him.
After that, nothing on Earth was able to die so long as Thanatos was in chains. Which meant no animals could be sacrificed to the gods. This angered the gods, who made Sisyphus' life so miserable with pain and illness that he would beg for death. And so he released Thanatos.
But then came the second time Sisyphus cheated death. As he was dying, he asked his wife to dump his naked corpse in the middle of the public square. Denied a proper burial, his soul ended up on the far side of the river Styx, unable to cross.
He complained to Hades and Persephone about how his wife disrespected him, and begged them to let him return briefly to the world of the living to scold her and make her bury him properly. They agreed, and Sisyphus returned to life. He then embraced his wife, and refused to return to the Underworld.
It's only when he finally died of old age that he was sent to Tartarus and punished with the boulder.
I don't remember where I've seen it, but I like the interpretation that Sisyphus doesn't have to push the boulder. He can choose to stay in Tartarus and rest. But he was promised that if he managed to push the boulder to the top of the mountain, he'll ascend to Elysium.
And Sisyphus, in his stubbornness and cleverness, refuses to give up on a challenge.
One must indeed imagine Sisyphus happy, planning and scheming about how he'll cheat the gods next.
I really like winnie the pooh, Can you draw winnie the pooh pleaseeeeee
Happy 10 year anniversary to this absolutely foundational post
#really cannot emphasize enough how much iguanamouth changed the site’s sense of humor and therefore the timeline of the western world
nerve stretch and glide
(modified from a bigger post)
T-pose/sitting variation
extend arms out in a T-pose; face forward and shoulders back
rotate one thumb up and the other thumb down; turn your head to face the up thumb
move your arms up and down a bit until you feel a nerve running from your armpit to your palm
return to step 1's default T-Pose and repeat a mirror of steps 2 and 3, facing the up thumb previously down
continue to alternate for ~1 minute
sitting down, put the first down thumb hand firmly under your butt; your arm should be parallel to your side.
keeping shoulders back, use your opposite hand to gently pull your head to the side for 30 seconds
repeat a mirror of steps 6 and 7
occupational therapist variation
bonus 6 step: with arm in the same position, tilt your head towards the opposite side for a few seconds
👍 give yourself a double thumbs up 👍
My resolution last year was to do one thing before bed that would make my morning feel easier, and that’s become a daily habit that I’m carrying into this new year.
Some nights even filling up the kettle and setting an empty mug out for my morning tea felt hard. But I was always thankful for it in the morning.
Other nights, one thing would lead to another, and I’d wake up in a clean house with everything ready to go.
And, on a rare few nights, the one thing that I could do to make my morning easier was going straight to bed and allowing myself to rest.
What stayed the same each day is that I would take a moment to think of what I could do for my future self and do it, even after a hard day. And I would wake up knowing that I had done my best and any effort—no matter how small—was a kindness to myself.
I’ve been doing a lot of “a treat for future me” moments lately.
That’s a great way to look at it, and I love this artist! (Anna-Laura: instagram / website)
A gorgeous little puma cub checking out a wildlife cam
(via)
BEAUTIFUL BABY
Inner peace 🕊️🐱😌
i wanna be that cat
Rendition in marker
Tumblr artists 💗💗💗
the space race may be the funniest point in history period and i'll stand by that. the US is like "yes whoever gets into space first will prove once and for all that our economic model is superior and that we are, in general, the superior country of superior and smarter people." then the soviets just went and did it and the US freaked out and needed to cover their ass so were like "WE MEAN THE MOON, WE MEAN THE FIRST TO LAND ON THE MOON."
yeah its cus walking on the moon was cool as hell and all this other boring shit sucked ass
When I was a freshman in a red-state college, I had a professor who taught Newtonian physics with a super thick Russian accent. The student body was unusually conservative for a state college, so there was a sort of general bemusement about learning physics from a Russian, but even back then the Cold War was far enough in the past that not even the red tribe was inclined to stir up trouble about it.
He was aware enough of this to get off on trolling the class, though. Whenever some force diagram in a homework assignment needed to be weightless, instead of being some generic spacecraft it would be “Mir” specifically. And he’d always use ‘cosmonaut’ instead of ‘astronaut’, that kind of thing.
One day about halfway through the semester, he’s doing this with in-class examples on the board, and one of the students finally gets up the guts to troll back a little. So this kid shouts from the back of the auditorium, “Hey professor, what’s the difference between a cosmonaut and an astronaut?”
And this beautiful man spins around on one heel to face the class, whiteboard marker triumphantly over his head, clearly having been waiting for this moment the entire semester: “Cosmonaut go to space first! Ha!”
unlearn shame. then with all the new space in your brain you can learn something cool. like you can learn how to read braille. or you can learn how to make chocolate mousse. you can do anything really
Paint various ponies in ink wash style. (cr 画画的老六)
I have so much love and respect for women who are honest about their own loneliness but also find the good in it like when audrey hepburn said “I have to be alone very often. I’d be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That’s how I refuel” and when charlotte bronte said “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself” and when jenny slate said “I think I’ve come to terms with the fact that there will always be a ribbon of loneliness running through who I am. But that’s why I want to do comedy, and why I want to connect with people. You can use that ribbon to be a part of a finer tapestry, or you can choke yourself out with it! Your choice!” and when mary oliver said “whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh & exciting - over & over announcing your place in the family of things”
Decide 10: A Relationship Tool I Found to be Helpful
A lot of internet advice says “don’t do things you don’t want to do” or “you don’t owe anyone anything.” Technically true, but real relationships are more complicated. Sometimes you’re tired but still willing, sometimes you’re excited, and sometimes you’re just… meh.
That’s why I love the Decide 10 system (from Prototype Thinking on Medium). It makes compromise clearer and more balanced. I saw this talked about on Instagram and looked it up.
Here’s how it works when it comes to activities (I used a different method for an emotional need, which I talk about in example 3).
Each person rates from 1–10 how much they want to do something.
You both reveal your numbers.
If the total is 10 or higher, you do it. If it’s lower, you renegotiate, postpone, or skip it.
Example 1: This is often used to decide whether to do a specific activity, but it can also be used to decide between two. You’re deciding between Taco Bell and Burger King for dinner.
Your partner rates Taco Bell 5, Burger King 8.
You rate Taco Bell 7, Burger King 4.
Totals:
Taco Bell = 12
Burger King = 12
Both hit the 10 threshold, so either works but you can see Burger King matters more to them than Taco Bell matters to you. So maybe a compromise is you go to Burger King that night and Taco Bell another.
Example 2: Compromise in Action
Let’s say someone rates something a 9 and you’re only a 3. The math adds up to 12, but beyond the numbers, it shows this thing is really important to them. In a close relationship, you might decide to stretch for them. Not because you owe it, but because you care. And often, they’ll stretch for you too.
The opposite can be true as well. Maybe you say something is a 1, but they rate it an 8. Seeing your low number might help them realize, “This isn’t worth draining you for. I can let it go this time.” That’s care, too.
Example 3: An Emotional Need
Today I was feeling sad. I told my friend I was a 6 on the “sad scale” and asked what her capacity was for calling. I clarified it wasn’t emergent. I was just sad.
She told me she was at about a 4 on capacity. She was tired and normally wouldn’t call tonight, but since I was at a 6, she wanted to support me. We agreed she’d call in two hours when she had privacy. She added that if I’d said it was emergent, she would have called right away, privacy or not.
That was me applying the concept in a different way. It was honesty about where we’re both at, balanced with flexibility.
The original Decide 10 article talks about adding numbers together for activities. With emotional needs, it worked a bit differently for me. My “6” was about how much support I needed, while my friend’s "4" was about her capacity to give support. Instead of adding the numbers, we compared them and found a compromise. She couldn’t call immediately, but she could call in two hours.
That’s the point of the scale. It is not rigid math, it’s a framework for honest communication.
Why this helps (especially if you have BPD):
No mind-reading. You don’t have to guess how much they care.
Saying “I’m a 3 on this” communicates low capacity without it sounding like rejection.
You can see when one person feels strongly and the other doesn’t. This makes compromise less painful.
It balances give-and-take instead of one person always “winning.”
Important to remember:
Use it for everyday decisions and non-emergency emotional check-ins. Don’t force it in crisis moments.
Numbers can change. A “2” today might be a “7” tomorrow.
The point isn’t the math. It's the honesty and balance it creates.
This is just one tool, but I think it’s a great way to practice boundaries, compromise, and clarity. Things that can be especially tricky when you live with BPD.
Honestly I want to give this a try and implement it in my life to a degree.
I really like it! It's been helpful to me for asking for help honestly. I was able to reach out to my friend today because I felt I could trust her to give me an honest answer on her capacity and we could figure it out from there.
It's also been super helpful for my husband and me when we're struggling with dinner, or what to do for date night. I think it helps things not feel so black and white to me.
don't infantilise yourself. you are not a child who needs an adult to make your decisions for you. you are a splendid and magnificent autocrat and you are consulting your trusted advisors. you are exercising great wisdom by inviting an expert to give their opinion before making your ruling. often the path of wisdom is to say "good morning, I'm trying to [perform task] and I have a question about [aspect], can you tell me who I should speak to for advice?" before you do it. sometimes the path of wisdom is to hire a plumber. there are times when you cannot do things for yourself but that doesn't mean you are not an adult. you don't need a grown-up. you need a specialist.
this has come up a couple of times so let me be really really clear:
the path of wisdom is sometimes to hire a plumber.
the path of wisdom is always to hire an electrician.
today someone asked me what my favorite even-toed ungulate is… god, who could decide?
this was ignorant of me to post. of course its the muskox
and here comes my favorite boy…
okay. some of you must surely be getting tired of seeing me say this but i literally cannot help myself- THAT IS AN ICE AGE GOAT. THAT CAN GET TO BE 800lbs BIG.
we called them musk-ox because we thought they must be some kind of cow thing, but they are actually a goat thing; this is to a normal wild goat what a woolly mammoth is to a normal elephant, only these things survived.
and i absolutely cannot help myself because of the tizzy my brain goes into over the twin facts of
1: ice-age megafauna that is still alive! and
2: EIGHT HUNDRED POUND GOAT
you can see the goatishness a little more in their babies
i just, i am crazy over the fact that these guys are still alive on our planet
MEGAGOAT
ID: tiktok comments. C.A.T.Y.A.Y says "i wonder what my art could be if i didn't quit" iggy replies "i wonder what it will be if you start again" end ID
