[lily-beastdaughter]

Hey USAmericans! It's National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, and I am recruiting you!

Want to help ensure free, fair, accessible* elections? Be a poll worker.

Want to find out how elections work anyway? Be a poll worker.

Want to get paid, or get community service hours, or warm fuzzies from volunteering? Be a poll worker.

Don't know how to contact your local elections office? There is a fast and easy website to do that for you, if you just put in your zip code:

Power the Polls

Poll workers power democracy. We help recruit them! Sign up now to make sure we have safe, fair, efficient elections for all!

This will take you to information about eligibility requirements, hours and compensation, etc. for your area. AND the "Complete your application" link takes you directly to the application for your local clerk's office / election commission / what have you.

In general, you can only work the polls in the jurisdiction that you actually live in. This is non-negotiable. But:

Not all states require you to be a US citizen!

Not all states require you to be 18 over over!

Not all cities / counties / towns require you to work the whole day!

You don't have to be a member of a particular political party, or any party at all. It's good for polling places to have workers that belong to different parties!

Seriously, it's fun. Go do it at least once if you can.

[lily-beastdaughter]

*Accessible

Dip, I forgot the rest of the post. This post continues to apply to USAmerican residents only. Anyway, you don't have to be a poll worker to help make voting more accessible!

Learn the accessible voting options in your state / commonwealth and spread the word.

https://accessiblevoting.net/

If you have a car, check with local organizations whether they have a ride to the polls program.

Find out what organizations in your state / commonwealth are advocating for more accessible voting, giving know your voting rights trainings, or looking for volunteers to survey polling places for accessibility and reporting back. REV Up coalitions are a good place to start:

Join the Movement: Amplify Your Impact with a REV Up Coalition - AAPD

[lily-beastdaughter]

Hey USAmericans! It's National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, and I am recruiting you!

Want to help ensure free, fair, accessible* elections? Be a poll worker.

Want to find out how elections work anyway? Be a poll worker.

Want to get paid, or get community service hours, or warm fuzzies from volunteering? Be a poll worker.

Don't know how to contact your local elections office? There is a fast and easy website to do that for you, if you just put in your zip code:

Power the Polls

Poll workers power democracy. We help recruit them! Sign up now to make sure we have safe, fair, efficient elections for all!

This will take you to information about eligibility requirements, hours and compensation, etc. for your area. AND the "Complete your application" link takes you directly to the application for your local clerk's office / election commission / what have you.

In general, you can only work the polls in the jurisdiction that you actually live in. This is non-negotiable. But:

Not all states require you to be a US citizen!

Not all states require you to be 18 over over!

Not all cities / counties / towns require you to work the whole day!

You don't have to be a member of a particular political party, or any party at all. It's good for polling places to have workers that belong to different parties!

Seriously, it's fun. Go do it at least once if you can.

[velvet-jellyfish]

If you get into white work embroidery, you might discover cutwork. And when you start doing cutwork, you might get curious about incorporating detached elements. And before you know it the fabric is gone, you are making needle lace, and there goes the rest of your week.

Buttonhole stitch - not even once.

[parkchanwoohoo]

OP this is gorgeous, holy shit

[wyrmscraft]

Y’all.

To my utter surprise and joy, i have reached 1000 followers.

What the fuck y’all? I fucking love you guys.

💖💖💖

Anyway. I feel I should commemorate it or something. So.

I shall do a give-away!

Who wants a free quilt?!

Everyone. Everyone wants a free quilt.

I am even gonna pay shipping (yes even to the states) for you. This will be 100% free to you, you will not have to pay a dime.

How do you enter?

Everyone who reblogs this post will get one entry into the draw.

(Multiple reblogs is still only one entry, sorry 😂)

You don’t even have to be following me.

On August 20, 2026 I will turn off reblogs and put everyone’s names into the draw to pick someone. I’ll DM whoever gets drawn for option selection and shipping details.

Once that’s happened, I will turn the reblogs back on (just so people can keep sharing) and post the winner’s tumblr. If the winner doesn’t want to be perceived, I can just post which quilt was picked.

If, for some reason, I cannot get a hold of the winner after 24 hours, or they decide they don’t want it after all, I will do a second draw and try to contact that person.

Since everyone has a different tastes, I’ve decided to offer up a choice of quilts for the winner to pick from.

Option 1 is a 77”x103” queen size quilt made with a bright floral on a pastel dot background. It also has a soft and thick backing, making the quilt heavy and warm.

Option 2 is a 74”x94” skinny queen quilt in dramatic halloween colours and sugar skulls. The vibrant purple backing is beautiful!

Option 3 is a 89”x89” queen size rainbow stars on black background with a gorgeous teal backing. One of my favourites of all time, honestly.

Option 4 is a 84”x100” queen size space themed quilt with a royal blue backing and gold quilting.

Option 5 is a 85”x92” queen size red and gold chandelier quilt with a fun dark red/orange/pink backing.

Good luck everyone!

[theprofessional-amateur]

link to bluesky post

[theprofessional-amateur]

In addition to how to turn various things, it includes:

Other useful AI Removal/Detection links

How to spot AI Hallucinations like a Reference Librarian (originally on Substack)

Library Freedom Project has a lot of handouts about AI on their Resources page

[herpsandbirds]

This is easily one of the CRAZIEST videos I've ever gotten. I was rafting down a river when a Yellow Jacket came, landed on my bright pink waterproof phone pouch, and started drinking from the water droplets that had gathered there.

The most amazing part is how the water droplet magnifies the Hornet's mouth parts, so you get to see them up-close!!!! It was FASCINATING to witness!

Here's some of my favorite still shots from that video:

What do you think? 🥰

[shadowen]

This is an anti-despair checkpoint! You must share something you're looking forward to before scrolling on.

[waspdaily]

Put wasp in your walls. You want wasp in your walls. Wasp makes walls better.

[humanbyweight]

So uhhhh my team and I have a new wasp-nest-inspired insulation coming out soon, so in that context I support this message!

https://owlflyllc.com/engineering/yellowjacket

[markscherz]

Today my magnificent octopus magnum opus, a 126-page monograph on the genus Rhombophryne—Madagascar's diamond frogs, was published open access in the journal Vertebrate Zoology. In it, my colleagues and I have described seven new diamond frog species and provided detailed revised accounts of each of the now 27 species in the genus, compiling practically everything that is known about these curious and obscure frogs!

Allow me to introduce the new characters:

This piece of lint precious child is Rhombophryne maraorao, a little burrowing species from the northeast of Madagascar. It is very similar ecologically to R. coudreaui, a long-known species from further south. The name maraorao means ‘rough to the touch’ in Malagasy, referring to the rough skin of this species. They do a weird thing where they straighten all of their limbs and go stiff in self defence. Think pumpkin toadlet post-launch mid-air stiffness, but… in the hand?

This beautiful creature is Rhombophryne mavokely, a little leaflitter-dwelling species from the northeast of Madagascar. The name mavokely is the Malagasy word for ‘pink’ but literally translates as ‘small yellow’ (mavo = yellow, kely = small). I LOVE this bizarre etymology, and also this species is small and sometimes pink and sometimes yellowish, so the name seemed extremely apt. This species was the first Rhombophryne I ever saw alive—I caught the first ever specimen immediately underneath my hammock on Marojejy in 2016!

This shiny boy is Rhombophryne sonaliae, a rather well known species from eastern Madagascar that has previously been called R. alluaudi—until we showed in 2019 that the correct use of that name was for a Plethodontohyla alluaudi from southern Madagascar! We dedicated this species to Sonali Garg, in recognition of her fantastic work especially on Asian frogs.

This forbidden truffle is Rhombophryne anatiala, a very poorly known species very closely related to R. sonaliae but found further north and differing subtly. The name anatiala means ‘in the forest’ in Malagasy, referring to the forest habitat of these frogs.

This bumpy beanbag with his go-faster chevron is Rhombophryne kotrobaratra, an interesting species from northeastern Madagascar with rather unusual anatomy, especially its quite long and strong hindlimbs. The name kotrobaratra means ‘thunder and lightning’ in Malagasy, and refers to the inclement weather that seems to bring these frogs out (true for all Rhombophryne, really) .

This coffee bean is Rhombophryne quentini, an orange-thighed species from high-elevation forests in northern Madagascar that resembles R. ellae. Back in 2020 I named R. ellae after my partner, Ella, and I thus took particularly great pleasure in naming this new, closely related species after our four-and-a-half year-old son, Quentin. A little family of frogs. :3

This little pebble is Rhombophryne kilonjy, a small, poorly known and obscure species related to R. ellae and R. quentini but found in lowland forest close to the coast in northwestern Madagascar. The name kilonjy means ‘pebble’ in Malagasy because, well, just look at it.

Even way back in my tumblr posts from 2013 and 2014 I think you would find mentions of the work I had begun on this monograph. I had no notion that it would take more than twelve years to complete. But I cannot express my joy at finally being able to share these charming, round frogs with the world. I hope you approve of the names!

If you want to read a bit more about these frogs, you can do so on my website. I have even posted a couple short videos about them on TikTok and Instagram (which also will show you how to pronounce the names!). Basically, you can find me most places on the internet, and wherever you find me, you can be sure to find frogs and lizards and snakes and a good deal of enthusiasm.

[tsaktahis]

Cloaked in Sovereignty - Shan Goshorn

2014 9” X 9” X 16”

Arches watercolor paper splints printed with archival inks, acrylic paint, copper foil

"Cherokees made clothing wraps fashioned from feathers for warmth and protection. Surprisingly warm and exceedingly beautiful, they also could represent the mantle of leadership. Chiefs were the only ones allowed to wear turkey feather capes. The case of Worcester v. Georgia, 1832, established the legal principle of “tribal sovereignty”. Justice John Marshall’s decision set the precedent for the US Government to recognize nation-to-nation dealings when negotiating with Indian tribes. This basket is symbolically wrapped with a Chief’s turkey feather cape to illustrate the sovereignty of Indian nations.

Splints on the interior of this piece are printed with a reproduction of Cherokee principal Chief John Ross’s appeal to the Senate and House of Representatives in 1836, regarding the “spurious (fake/bogus) delegations” which supposedly represented the Cherokee in signing the Treaty of New Echota, illegally resulting in the removal of the tribe, i.e. The Trail of Tears. The last sentence of his letter reads “And, therefore, we, the parties to be affected by the result, appeal with confidence to the justice, the magnanimity, the compassion, of your honorable bodies, against the enforcement, on us, of the provisions of a compact, in the formation of which we have had no agency.” Unfortunately, his words did not inspire Congress to reconsider this nefarious scheme and the Cherokee were removed by force to Oklahoma."

[tsaktahis]

Reclaiming Our Power - Shan Goshorn

2014 16” X 16” X 13.5”

Arches watercolor paper splints printed with archival inks, acrylic paint

"The interior of this double-weave basket is woven with high statistics of violence directed at Indian women on tribal lands by non-natives. These facts include: “3 out of 4 Native women will be physically assaulted in their lifetime, Native women are 10 times more likely to be murdered than any other group of women, 1 in 3 native women will be raped in their lifetime, and 88% of crimes against Indian women are by non-natives but tribal courts have ZERO authority to prosecute them.” The paper text is washed with purple, black and blue paint to emphasize the bruising severity of this violence.

The exterior is woven with the language in sections 904, 905, and 910 of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 0f 2013. This language recognizes the inherent right of tribes to protect Indian women who suffer specific abuse by non-natives on tribal lands. Prior to the enactment of this law, non-natives could act without fear of prosecution for these crimes. Many thanks to the brave women and men who worked tirelessly, including their public testimony of personal accounts which convinced the House and Senate of the need for this legislation. Their testimonies are literally what passed the vote.

It was important to me for this basket to be a community project, so I sent out an e-request and received responses from over 50 native women from across the northern hemisphere. I requested images of women wearing street clothes (to indicate how violence happens at any time, not just at pow wows) and for females of all ages (to show how this can happen to our daughters, our sisters, our mothers, our grandmothers, our friends.) I obscured individual faces to illustrate the anonymity of the victims and widespread pervasiveness of this violence. All the figures are wrapped in intertribal shawls, metaphorically indicating how the new provisions in this act will serve to wrap around us like a protective shield and untie the hands of tribal courts to dispense justice."

[fleshandfluids]

every year small towns and indigenous communities across canada are burnt to nothing by horrific wildfires and americans go on the internet to complain about it and blame us bc the smoke has spread to their state. i’m so tired.

go yell at mark carney or your own local politicians about climate change and urge them to do more to stop it. the namaygoosisagagun first nation had their community destroyed today. you can find a link to donate to them here. donate to your local food bank. go to the beach next week when the smoke clears and you don’t have to think about it anymore while the people who’s lives have been destroyed will have to pick up the pieces and try to move forward when we are already in a huge cost of living crisis across the country.

[fleshandfluids]

rbing with other places you can donate to to support those impacted by the fires!

true north aid (an organization aimed at providing support to remote/northern indigenous people in canada)

canadian red cross wildfire fund

ontario spca and humane society (links to their donate page specifically aimed at supporting pets and animals in areas impacted by the fires)

and the anishinabek nation’s page where you can donate to support the namaygoosisagagun nation who had their land destroyed by the fires is still accepting donations

[yeyinde]

Collins is gone.

Namaygoosisagagun First Nation/Collins has burned to the ground. The entire community is nothing but ashes after being quickly consumed by wildfires. They did not have any support from emergency services, and no one offered aid. The community saved themselves by escaping into boats because no one came.

Mishkeegogamang and Cat Lake have lost power. Families are ending up in shelters with nothing. Armstrong, Lac La Croix, Whitesand, Gull Bay, Lac des Mille Lacs are currently in the fires path and all members are being evacuated.

All this loss, all this devastation, and it was entirely preventable.

After steadily underfunding wildland firefighting and purposefully excluding Indigenous wildland firefighters and Indigenous wildfire organizations from wildfire operations, firefighter training, decisionmaking, and resource exchanges, in 2025, Doug Ford slashed the forest firefighting budget.

It's hard to ignore his decision to cut funding and leave us out of adequate fire training (even though we've lived with forest fires for thousands of years—far longer than settlers have been in Canada—and made sure fires like the ones we're all seeing today were prevented through kinisitotēn) when, despite making up less than 5% of the population, we account for 42% percent of all wildfire evacuations in Canada.

And when we are successfully evacuated, we face discrimination and racism—like Kashechewan—because it's always been easier to blame us than it is to blame the true culprit: denialism, corportate greed, and colonization.

The people of Collins and every other impacted community deserve better.

Right now, the AFN is currently accepting donations to help Collins First Nation. If you're able to, please consider donating.

ONWA (Ontario Native Women's Association) is another great place to donate to. They have outreach vans going to motels and inns and offering food, water, resources, and cultural support to those impacted by the wildfires.

Other places to consider donating to are Mikinakoos Emergency Fund, Red Cross, True North Aid, Indigenous Climate Action. You can also send donations directly to Whitesand First Nation via e-transfer ([email protected]) and they request that you add your full name in the e-transfer comment section to receive a tax receipt.

*Before sending money, verify that the appeal appears on an official First Nation, Tribal Council or registered charity channel.

If you can't offer financial support, please consider donating items of need. Moontime Connections is currently accepting drop-off donations. If you live in the Thunder Bay area, Namaygoosisagagun Health Office is also taking in donations! They can also bemailed to Superior Inn Hotel & Conference Centre at 555 West Arthur Street, Thunder Bay, ON, P7E 5P8.

items needed are: food, diapers, medical masks, men’s and women’s joggers (all sizes), children’s clothing (newborn to size 14), children’s shoes, summer clothing, men’s clothing, toiletries (lotion, Vaseline, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, soap, deodorant, etc.), strollers, adult depends-all sizes, dog & cat food

wīya ispīh iyiniw-kiskīyihtamowin pasikōpayiki kāwi askiy ta-iyihyīmakan

[hollenka99]

Friendly reminder this Moon Landing Day that this website exists, where you can drop yourself at any point in the mission where the crew are awake and they'll probably be bantering with Houston.

Apollo 11 in Real Time

A real-time interactive journey through the first landing on the Moon. Relive every moment as it occurred in 1969.

[unknought]

Higgledy piggledy, turning and turning as gyres are widening, centers unheld,

things fall apart and there’s anarchy everywhere; falcons fly freely and can’t be compelled.

Dimming the tide there is blood in the water and everywhere customs of innocence drowned.

Held by the worst is a fervent intensity; lacking conviction the best run aground.

Surely there must be some kind of apocalypse; surely epiphany must be at hand!

Visions unbidden from Spiritus Mundi of something awakening out on the sand:

Head of a man with a leonine frame and a pitiless gaze that’s as blank as the sun;

sleep became nightmare by passage of centuries long before eons of slumber were done.

Higgledy piggledy, beast of antiquity, imminent, just as the prophecies warn,

shambling slowly but revelatorily, slouching towards Bethlehem, there to be born.

[libraford]

Googled something about quick hydration and it suggested big jug of water, couple tbsp pickle juice, dash of lime juice.

Its surprisingly tasty????

[libraford]

Pleased to report that after a day of this i am not longer craving caper brine and my mouth is not dry as usual. There's some good suggestions in the notes too that I want to try.

-ancient roman posca: water, red or white wine vinegar, honey, salt, herbs (coriander, mint, thyme)

-switchel: water, ginger, vinegar, sweetener, lemon, salt

-ayran: yogurt, water, salt, mint

-Agua pepino: water, cucumbers, lime, sugar, optional mint.

[libraford]

I have been reminded of:

-shrub: vinegar, sida water, elderberry (or other berry), sugar.

[libraford]

I have now been informed of

-sekanjabin: honey, vinegar, mint, water.

[libraford]

"Wow, I wonder why this post was popular this week."

-sees the reports of the heatwave in Europe-

"... ah."

[shifgrethors]

just remembered that time when i asked tumblr for recommendations of books on jewish folklore and someone unironically was like “you should read the gemara!”

a. i spent 16 years in orthodox day school, i guarantee i’ve learned a fuck ton of gemara.

b. you need to SPECIFY. the gemara is over 5,000 pages long and has 37 masechtot. over 2 million words!!!!! do you want me to read about sheydim or dybbuks or do you want me to read about legal disputes of tree ownership? because there’s a ton of the latter.

[yehuditexcalibur]

If you still want recs:

“Ascending Jacob's Ladder: Jewish Views of Angels, Demons, and Evil Spirits” by Rabbi Ronald Isaacs

“A Treasury of Jewish Folklore” by Nathan Ausubel

“Divination, Magic, and Healing: The Book of Jewish Folklore” by Rabbi Ronald Isaacs

“Elijah’s Violin & Other Jewish Fairy Tales” by Howard Schwartz

“Gabriel’s Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales” by Howard Schwartz

“Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid” by Moshe Idel

“Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion” by Rabbi Joshua Trachtenberg

“Magic, Mysticism, and Hasidism: The Supernatural in Jewish Thought” by Gedalyah Nigal

“Mimekor Yisrael: Selected Jewish Classical Folktales” by Micha Berdyczewski

“Miriam's Tambourine: Jewish Folktales from Around the World” by Howard Schwartz

“Next Year in Jerusalem: 3000 Years of Jewish Stories” by Howard Schwartz

“Ritual Medical Lore of Sephardic Women: Sweetening the Spirits, Healing the Sick” by Isaac Lévy and Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt

“The Bride Who Argued With G-d: Tales From the Trea­sury of Jew­ish Folklore” by Hava Ben-Zvi

“The Diamond Tree: Jewish Tales from Around the World” by Howard Schwartz

“The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic & Mysticism” by Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis

“Yiddish Folktales” by Beatrice Weinreich