DEAR READER
Cosmic Funnies
Claire Keane
Mike Driver
we're not kids anymore.
⁂
Game of Thrones Daily
taylor price
YOU ARE THE REASON
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
Discoholic 🪩
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
Not today Justin
pixel skylines
AnasAbdin
No title available
shark vs the universe
JVL
No title available
seen from Indonesia
seen from Germany
seen from Canada
seen from Türkiye
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from T1
seen from Germany
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Canada
seen from T1
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from T1
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from T1
@rainbeauxraconteur
An easy to make mouthwatering cheesy shrimp dip with succulent shrimp, sharp cheddar, pepper jack, Old Bay Seasoning and garlic. Always one of my most popular party dips with tons of flavor.
https://www.smalltownwoman.com/hot-shrimp-dip/
Some of Cherilyn Sarkisian’s costume reveals from The Cher Show (1970s)
angel costume by latifah osazee | src src src src
Someone I know not well enough to voice my opinion on the subject said something like why didn’t God make potatoes a low-calorie food so I am here to say: God made them like that because their nutrition density IS what makes them healthy. By God I mean Andean agricultural technicians. Potato is healthy BECAUSE potato holds calories and vitamins. Do not malign potato
For all evolutionary history, life has struggled against calorie deficit… So much energy goes into finding food that there is no time for anything else. Our ancestors selectively bred root vegetables to create the potato, so that we might be the first species whose daily existence doesn’t consist of trying to find the nutrients necessary for survival. One potato can rival the calorie count of many hours of foraging… Eat a potato, and you free up so much time to create and build and connect with your fellow man. Without potato where would you be?? Do not stand on the shoulders of giants and think thyself tall!!
I nearly teared up reading “Andean agricultural technicians” bc fuck yes! these were members of Pre-Inca cultures who lived 7 to 10 thousand years ago, and they were scientists! food scientists and researchers and farmers whose names and language we can never know, who lived an inconceivably long time ago (pre-dating ancient civilizations in Egypt, China, India, Greece, and even some parts of Mesopotamia) and we are separated by millennia of time and history, but still for thousands of years the fruits vegetables of their labor and research have continued to nourish countless human lives, how is that not the most earthly form of a true miracle??? anyway yes potatoes are beautiful, salute their creators.
There are approximately 4000 varieties of potato in Peru. I’ve seen an incredible variety of corn and tomatoes, and root vegetables I’ve never seen before, on the local farmer markets. Yet some expats insist on buying only imported, expensive American brands of canned veggies… 🤷🏼♀️ Peruvian potatoes 👇🏼
It is long since time for us to start viewing plant domestication as the bioscience that it is. Because while the Andeans were creating potatoes, the ancient Mesoamericans were turning teosinte into corn:
And then there’s bananas, from Papua New Guinea:
These were not small, random changes, this was real concerted effort over years to turn inedible things into highly edible ones. And I’m convinced the main reason we’re reluctant to call them scientific achievements is, well, a racist one.
The art of pie
Timelapse of acorn growth into a small oak in six months
🍄*.✧✯ 💮
You're all gonna love this one
wait are y’all an ocean guy, lake guy, or river guy. i am a river guy tbh
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8jWBWmFy3w/
My hypothesis is that in like 10 years gen z is gonna have a big cult boom the way the boomers did in the 70s
It’s already happening on tik tok. There’s a fun new thing going round that’s citing common symptoms of depression and anxiety as signs you’re about to have your awakening and that you are actually an alien and the reason you don’t feel right is because you’re home sick for your own galaxy. So that’s fun.
agreed, and i don’t mean this in a “haha gen z is so dumb they’re gonna join a tiktok cult lmao” i mean that conditions are perfect for the formation of cults right now.
high unemployment and a lot of underpaying, pointless jobs = people are looking for things to do with their life, a purpose
skyrocketing cost of living = most young people will not be able to live on their own, meaning some will end up in a group living situation with people interested in recruiting them
it’s a time of great cultural and political upheaval, nothing feels real, people are desperate for meaning and human connection. cults promise that
there is a new wave of acceptance and understanding for ways of life outside the norm, which is great! …except for when cult leaders tell you abusive and controlling practices are just their culture, their religion, their lifestyle, their beliefs, their tradition, and if you disrespect it you are the problem
social media influencers have already shown us how easy it is to build a cult of personality and attract people from anywhere in the world who are interested in the exact brand you are selling
spirtuality is having a boom, as are things like astrology, crystals, tarot, meditation, energy… those things aren’t bad on their own but they are often used as tools of cult spaces
wellness. i think a lot of people are already in wellness cults. you can make people do a lot of things in the name of “wellness” and a big factor of maintaining a cult is keeping members in a state of decreased cognition….. like say, with regular fasting
i think people are just unaware in general of how cults function, especially because the satanic panic was a big stupid false alarm that convinced the youths that dungeons and dragons or doom were gateways to cults, which are scary evil child murdering, satan-worshipping gangs. people don’t know how to spot them in real life.
as a cultic abuse survivor with a half-decade of academic research on how these groups work, here are some quality, public-friendly educational resources to help you learn what high control groups look like, how they work, and the methods they use to influence, draw in, and control/coerce literally anyone.
education about this subject is SO important—high control environments and their methods for influencing and controlling people often go totally unnoticed unless you’ve learned about them, and there’s a long history of mainstream misinformation on what thought reform and cults are, what they look like, and how they work. there’s also a huge misconception that “no way that could be me!” when unfortunately, because of how high control influence works, it’s possible for anyone to get drawn into a high control group or relationship without realizing that’s what it actually is.
Cults/High Control Groups and Influence 101:
BITE Model by Steven Hassan: criteria for identifying undue influence and high control groups/cults
“On Destructive Groups” section of BITE Model Analysis’ Resources page. The collection of links here are all to quality, highly respected references and resources (including videos) on Cult and High Control Group 101 information.
A Little Bit Culty podcast. This podcast is hosted by former NXIVM members Sarah and Nippy, who are now cult education and survivor healing advocates. Episode 2 (titled “Cults 101″ with guest Steven Hassan, creator of the BITE model) introduces what cults are, and why humans are universally vulnerable to cult abuse.
“Is Trump a Cult Leader? A Scientific Perspective” by Telltale. This video has a catchy title, but the creator does a great job on 1) knowing his stuff, and 2) explaining what’s required to be a cult, and what does/doesn’t qualify as a cult. The video also has really interesting insight/analysis on the current conspiracy theory cult movements we have today (QAnon, flat earthers, anti-vaxxers). The channel is a good source on both those subjects, as well as groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
TV Series/Films (Bit More In-Depth):
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (Emmy award-winning TV series, it’s on US Netflix now). Really digs into the specifics of Scientology, but they do a great job portraying to the general public how cults operate, and how even a destructive cult can recruit people, cover up abuses, evade the law, and keep members within the group.
Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (TV Series, available on Amazon Prime)
The Last Stop: The True Story of the Elan School (Warning: All of the TWs. Seriously.) Film on the Troubled Teen Industry, aka what happened when the War on Drugs combined with the 1960s anti-drug cult Synanon and LGAT seminars to create a still-active billion dollar industry of cult-based institutional child abuse in the name of teen rehabilitation. There is actual footage, it is deeply upsetting. Use the trailer to gauge your limits. Spoiler: fuck Nancy Reagan.
If you can’t watch the Last Stop, or even before you do, watch the video “The Elan School: Death by Misinformation” (it has its own bullet point later, too). It’s shorter, and the creator does well in giving you information from The Last Stop in a less harrowing/triggering delivery format. The video highlights the cult history of the US rehab and residential treatment industries. Also, once again, fuck Nancy Reagan.
Wellness/Self-Help Cults, including Corporate Cult Seminars/Workshops:
“What is the Landmark Forum?” by iiluminaughtii. A 101 on the cult corporate seminar industry. Landmark is one of the most well-known examples of a corporate seminar/workshop cult.
The channel above goes over a *lot* of the self-help/wellness industry cult groups/businesses, including MLMs. I’d genre her videos as true crime, but the research is really solid, the presentation is respectful, and there’s a good balance of education and entertainment.
Also check out Lifespring and Large-Group Awareness Training (LGAT) seminars. These are 1000% endemic, and yes, they’re high control groups. Their seminar methods are all various implementations of abusive high control tactics. Not good :(
Cult Origins of and Ongoing Destructive Cult Presence in the Modern US Drug Rehabilitation, Residential Treatment, and Troubled Teen Industries (including the origins of anti-LGBTQ conversion therapy camps):
“Help at Any Cost” by Maia Szalavitz (can’t recommend enough)
“The Elan School: Death by Misinformation” by iiluminaughtii. Includes a good 101 background on the Synanon cult and est seminars as the origins of the methods and ideology behind the modern US rehab industry, including residential treatment for adults and minors with substance abuse or mental health issues.
“Running My Anger: The Legacy of the CEDU Cult” by Medium Anonymous
Article by the National Youth Rights Association
Current Survivor Activism: Breaking Code Silence; WWASP Survivors.
Some More Podcasts!:
Scientology: Fair Game Podcast with Leah Remini and Mike Rinder (they’re really fantastic)
Jon Atack, Family, and Friends Podcast
This list seems really long, but I actually cut a lot out. Happy to field asks if that’s helpful—these links are meant to be easy-access for a general audience, but there are many more *really* fantastic resources besides these ones I’ve mentioned above :)
Just a happy dog!
(via Lynn Terry)
Hot, comforting and a welcome nostalgic trigger reminding me of home – the won ton soup @hong_minh_restaurant was an excellent lunch yesterday to beat the brief bout of colder weather. 🍲 #chinesefood #westbankeats #nolafoodporn (at Hong Minh) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj-9oL8rxSS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
