Utopia or else

Michelle - Solarpunk Scientist Exploring urban homesteading and community building in Vermont

[meanderinginthemarigolds]

Books that have made me a better person

Here is a list of books that have made me a better person by teaching me about the world we live in, empathy, how to live in community, and how we change it for the better. I highly recommend checking out these books:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmer

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Palsm for the Wild Built and Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers

The Zoologist Guide to the Galaxy by April Kershenbaum

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

The Day the World Stops Shopping by J.B. MacKinnon

Instructions for Traveling West (poems) by Joy Sullivan

Afterworld by Debbie Urbanski

The Three Body Problem (trilogy) by Cixin Liu

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

[not-your-average-url]

I miss when ads were a single click and then they’re gone. Now every ad has a minimum of three phases where you watch a video, exit the still frame of fake gameplay, and then exit the app download. That doesn’t even touch on the ones that forcibly take you to another app after opening a tab in safari without you ever touching the screen.

I hate advertising. I hate that you can’t do anything without companies jumping down your throat with mostly bullshit ads. I hate that billboards exist. I hate that every company unanimously decided to make their ads longer and longer. I hate that ad blockers try to charge you money and there are in app purchases to remove ads. I hate that my attention has become commodified. I hate that there’s nothing I can do about it.

[vexheart]

Reminder

[summerswages]

stand together . . .

[thememedaddy]

[mamamalkavian]

How to Always Know What to Make for Dinner

The secret to knowing what to make for dinner at any time is a well-stocked pantry. Keep ingredients on hand for the same few meals that you like, especially things with really basic ingredients such as rice and pasta.

Our pantry always holds 

Pantry

dried beans

pasta

spaghetti

macaroni

twists or other shapes

rice

ramen

mac n cheese

canned vegetables

canned tuna

cream of... soup

cream of chicken, mushroom, golden mushroom

flour

sugar

baking powder

baking soda

red pasta sauce

Pioneer packet instant mashed potatoes

Peanut butter

loaf bread

Freezer, fridge:

chicken

ground beef

eggs

milk 

jelly

sliced cheese

sliced lunch meat

stir fry vegetables

Fruit & vegetables

potatoes

onion

apples, bananas, oranges (rotating)

Seasoning

McCormick's spaghetti seasoning

Pioneer gravy packet

chicken stock and/or chicken bullion

garlic powder

onion powder

paprika

salt and pepper

oregano

Condiments

mayonnaise

sweet relish

ketchup

mustard

barbeque sauce

steak sauce

Worcestershire sauce

minced garlic

Parmesan cheese

Some meals that I'm always prepared for:

Baked chicken, canned vegetable, mashed potatoes and gravy

Banana bread

Barbeque chicken

Bean stew (add meat: neckbones, ham hocks, or salted pork)

Beefy mac

Boiled eggs

Chicken cordon bleu (need ham, swiss cheese)

Chicken and rice

Chicken salad (get celery)

Egg salad

Fried potatoes

Fried eggs

Fruit salad

Hamburger steak

Mac n cheese

Meat and cheese sandwich

Meatloaf

Pancakes

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

Potato salad

Pulled barbeque chicken sandwiches (need buns or sliced bread, get coleslaw)

Ramen (add boiled egg and vegetables)

Spaghetti and meat sauce

Shakshuka

Tuna salad (need celery)

Scalloped potatoes

Scrambled eggs

Toast

Tuna casserole 

There's got to be more than I listed. Drop more recipe ideas in the comments.

[titsay]

[newsandstuffisee]

[greater-than-the-sword]

When you're a kid you just take trees for granted. Then when you get to be an adult you realize that a fully mature tree cannot be created in an amount of time that fits in a convenient landscaping timeframe for love nor money nor all the powers of science. Then you realize that people are very very very cavalier about chopping them down

[glimpsesofpeaceful]

ig credit: thenovelacademy

[jetix]

Aleksander Nordahl

[the-habitat-ring]

Sometimes people argue about how having a small garden is useless and has functionally no impact on anything and I just want to say that when there are routine disease outbreaks from lettuce, yeah, someone’s pot of greens on their balcony can definitely make a big difference for them

[docileroamer]

'We have Enough Dead Friends --- Lena Oleanderson' thank you @lena-oleanderson for making this poem, was a good read!

[nickturse]

[todaysbat]

Image description: over an image of a grassy coastline and a blue sky with a few clouds is the words "There is enough if we share" in all caps.

[maidslime]

Ok like. Imagine life without ads. You wake up, check your messages across a variety of apps, no ads. You get up and put on the tv while you prep your breakfast, no ads. Maybe you drive somewhere and switch on the radio, no ads. Maybe you drive a long distance, yet somehow, not a single billboard on your path. You pick up a newspaper or magazine to pass the time, no advertisements only articles. You turn on your game console, the home screen is just about your games, no ads to buy more. You open a streaming app, you don't pay extra for no ads, there's just no ads ever.

Think about how much of your time is spent looking at ads. "Download ublock" yeah I know, I have. But that doesn't change that the world is covered with endless advertising. Imagine never seeing that again. How much better our lives would be.

[anxious-and-in-pain]

it’s okay to do things that make your symptoms worse (as long as you’ll stay safe)

every once in a while you need to eat something yummy. or go on a walk. or a trip to the zoo. take a hot shower. cry your eyes out. dance. listen to music. draw for way to long. write. laugh. sit in a cafe with a friend. paint your nails. dye your hair. go on a run. pet a cat

sometimes you need to do things that are cathartic or make yourself feel alive. sometimes you need the reminder of why you’re fighting so hard to stay alive

this is your reminder that just because it makes your symptoms worse, it isn’t always the wrong thing to do. there can be value in these actions

[lifewithchronicpain]

If you think about it too, abled people do it all the time. Deciding to drink to excess at a party knowing they'll have a hangover. Going to a theme park knowing walking all day is going to hurt their feet by the end. We have the right to make those same decisions.

[ghostly-light]

This is called Dignity of Risk, and it's an important concept in disability justice.

Everyone weighs their physical and mental/emotional health against one another in constantly shifting balance; inevitably, there are times when we choose to accept consequences to one for the sake of the other.

Infantilsing us by undermining our agency in the name of "protection" or "care" is yet another way that we are disabled by society.

[revolutionary-optimism-now]

Good news: you can make the world a better place but you have to actually go out and do it. Volunteering, helping your neighbor out, picking up a bit of trash in public, giving up your seat, carrying extra food, etc. even little things.

The other good news is that apparently when people witness acts of kindness, it inspires them to act as well.