I may have ended up going into tech, but getting a pre-law degree and working for attorneys for a few years repeatedly saved me from getting totally ripped off in my early 20s. So many charlatans are only able to get away with their bullshit because they expect you to not know what your rights are or how to create a paper trail.
I once had a landlord try to withhold my entire security deposit after I moved out despite leaving the place in good shape. Just by writing a letter that A) cited the state statute saying a landlord must provide an itemized list with invoices for any repairs they deduct from a tenant’s security deposit, B) bluffed by declaring my intention to file suit if they did not (and cited the same statute again, which says that tenants are entitled to recover DOUBLE what the landlord withheld if they did so in bad faith) , and C) sending it via certified mail with return receipt (so they couldn’t claim not to have received it), they sent me back a check for like 2/3 of what they tried to withhold, plus the itemized list, plus an apology. I spent $2 on postage and half an hour on the letter and got back $300.
Another time, I got into a car accident (in which I was officially found not at fault) where the other person was driving a rental car. Over a year after the fact, I received a letter from some sketchy claims adjuster demanding immediate payment for around $2000 in damages to the other car. Once I stopped panicking, I gathered the info from my old insurance claim and called the adjuster, and some very snippy lady told me the letter was sent in error and I should disregard it. I followed up with her by email restating exactly what she told me on the phone, instructing them to work with my insurance company on any future inquiries about the accident, and threatening to involve my attorney (which I did not have) if they ever directly contacted me about it again. And again, I got an apology and saved myself a crazy amount of money.
If you are getting ripped off (or sense you are about to be), you want to ask yourself two things:
1. Can I indisputably prove that I said/did this? That they said/did this? When?
2. What rights do I have under the law? (For a lot of issues, googling “can X legally do Y” + your jurisdiction is a good place to start.)
And then, if you’re in the right, bluff. Act like you’re going to sue even if you know you don’t have the time or resources to do it. They don’t know you won’t, and even if they think they’d win, they know that would cost them more in attorney’s fees than just letting this go.
HEADS UP: The U.S. Postal Service quietly changed how postmarks work.
Mail is no longer automatically postmarked with the date you drop it off. Instead, the postmark now reflects the date it’s first processed by an automated sorting facility — which can be days later.
If you mail something right at a deadline, the official postmark could be later than your drop-off date and may be considered late.
If mailing date matters to you, go inside the post office and request a hand-stamped postmark.
A new USPS postmark rule may cause property tax payments to look late even when people mail them on time. The change can create surprise lat
theres something palatably and beautifully human about tony stark giving names to his bots and programmes that are funny and endearing, the way he talks to them and treats them as if theyre human beings with souls, the stocking he sets up for jarvis and the ‘jarvis is my copilot’ sticker he makes as if the ai would be capable of appreciating it the way a human would appreciate being shown recognition, the joking threats he sends dum-es way that are the literal exact same kind he says to his actual human daughter when he has her is just the cutest most precious studio ghibli bullshit that you’d never expect from such a hurt, broken, betrayed and scared man to have it in him and treat even the ones that he couldnt possibly harm, with love and kindness.
18+ 616 Steve/Tony Discord Book Club: Avengers Annual vol 5
It's time once again for Book Club here on You Gave Me A Home, and it's an Avengers week, and of course we're rereading everyone's favorite holiday special, Avengers Annual volume 5 from 2013.
This annual came out during Hickman's Avengers run but it's not by him -- it's by Kathryn Immonen and David LaFuente -- and has nothing to do with the run, which means it's the happiest comic in this entire volume. The plot: a bunch of kids with superpowers break into the Tower and cause havoc while the Avengers are just trying to have a restful Christmas.
Yes, it's the one with this panel.
It's a fun and fluffy low-key read!
If you're looking for something else fun and low-key, signups for server stockings have just opened -- we do them later than everyone else because we figure everyone is already busy with their holiday exchange fic -- so, if you are a member, check the news channel for details and get ready to give and receive Steve/Tony drabbles and doodles or whatever you want, really. If you aren't a member, it's always a good time to join us!
Come join us on You Gave Me A Home, an 18+ comics Steve/Tony Discord server! We are located at discord.gg/stevetony!
If you are making calls to Republican politicians about not supporting certain bills, remember to stick to Republican scripts. No trying to play on their emotions. Don't talk about people dying or marginalized people being hurt or anything like that. That doesn't work on them.
Instead, focus on:
Cost. These Republican bills have MASSIVE costs that either tax payers take the brunt of or it goes into the national debt.
Withholding your vote. You weren't going to vote for them anyway, but they have absolutely no way of knowing that. Even if you've said in other places, they are not researching every single person who calls to see who's a Republican. You're just another constituent using your vote as leverage. Take advantage of that.
Hard-working Americans/working class Americans/veterans/etc. Figure out the specific group of people that politician campaigns the hardest to and talk about them and how they'll be hurt by whatever is happening.
Trump's stupid fucking bill isn't cruel and evil and it's not going to kill millions of people, it's a huge financial strain that will drastically increase the national debt while hurting working class Americans who just need a bit of help and you would never consider voting for someone who would support it.
I told my Republican representative that I regretted voting for him (I didn't) and that I could not vote for him in good conscience in the next election unless he showed us that he regretted turning his back on veterans and hard working Americans who had their retirements ruined. I told him I was telling all my church friends and HOA neighbors (non-existent) all about how he had turned his back on the silent majority.
Nothing about morality or equality or anything. Just 100% pulled a Karen. I was a middle-class white lady who was displeased with him. I didn't even mention Trump, just money.
A week later the guy sent out a mailer about how he knows we're concerned, but he genuinely has our best interests at heart, addressing some of the issues I mentioned and a few others. Clearly I wasn't the only angry Karen giving him shit. If I'd tried to talk to this guy about the morality of supporting marginalized communities he would have just deleted the email, because he doesn't give a shit about marginalized communities because they don't vote for him. Middle-aged white ladies vote for him. And now he knows some of us are pissed at him.
“I want you to do this with me for one month. One month. Write 10 observations a week and by the end of four weeks, you will have an answer. Because when someone writes about the rustic gutter and the water pouring through it onto the muddy grass, the real pours into the room. And it’s thrilling. We’re all enlivened by it. We don’t have to find more than the rustic gutter and the muddy grass and the pouring cold water.”
— Marie Howe, Boston University’s 2016 Theopoetics Conference (via mothersofmyheart)
I ask my students every week to write 10 observations of the actual world. It’s very hard for them.
Ms. Tippett:
Really?
Ms. Howe:
They really find it hard.
Ms. Tippett:
What do you mean? What is the assignment? 10 observations of their actual world?
Ms. Howe:
Just tell me what you saw this morning like in two lines. I saw a water glass on a brown tablecloth, and the light came through it in three places. No metaphor. And to resist metaphor is very difficult because you have to actually endure the thing itself, which hurts us for some reason.
Ms. Tippett:
It does.
Ms. Howe:
It hurts us.
Ms. Tippett:
You naming something.
Ms. Howe:
We want to say, “It was like this; it was like that.” We want to look away. And to be with a glass of water or to be with anything — and then they say, “Well, there’s nothing important enough.” And that’s whole thing. It’s the point.
Ms. Howe:
It’s the this, right?
Ms. Howe:
Right, the this, whatever. And then they say, “Oh, I saw a lot of people who really want” — and, “No, no, no. No abstractions, no interpretations.” But then this amazing thing happens, Krista. The fourth week or so, they come in and clinkety, clank, clank, clank, onto the table pours all this stuff. And it so thrilling. I mean, it is thrilling. Everybody can feel it. Everyone is just like, “Wow.” The slice of apple, and then that gleam of the knife, and the sound of the trashcan closing, and the maple tree outside, and the blue jay. I mean, it almost comes clanking into the room. And it’s just amazing.
Ms. Tippett:
In some basic level, what they’ve done is just engage with their senses.
Ms. Howe:
Yeah, and have been present out of their minds and just noticing what’s around them, which is — we don’t do. And again, not to compare it to anything. They’re not allowed. And that’s very hard for them. And then on the fifth or sixth week, I say, “OK, use metaphors.” And they don’t want to. They don’t know how. They’re like, “Why would I? Why would I compare that to anything when it’s itself?” Exactly. Good question.
So then you think, why the necessity of a metaphor? Why do you have to use a metaphor now? Not just to do it to avoid it, but to do it to make it more there. And it’s very interesting.
The words and silences we live by. The rituals that sustain us. The poetry of ordinary time.
pro-wrestler!vi who always needs you to do her make-up before a match. she claims that you're so much better at it than her, and the touch of your hands brings her good luck.
pro-wrestler!vi who insists you give her kisses for courage. the first time she said that to you, you eyed her for a minute. this was the same woman who fearlessly jumped into danger without a second thought. since when did she need kisses for courage? but her puppy dog eyes broke you down then, and they break you down now. so you spend, at least, five minutes smothering her happy face in kisses as she holds you tight.
pro-wrestler!vi who, no matter how deep in the zone she is during a match, always looks for you in the crowd. whether she's in the middle of a move or being held down, her eyes never stop finding you because the sight of you gives her the boost of energy she needs to win.
pro-wrestler!vi who, after winning, runs to you in the crowd and lifts a waiting you into her arms. it's tradition at this point; even the crowd parts for her, because they know where she's going. you giggle happily, congratulating her on the win before allowing yourself to be thoroughly kissed, millions of eyes be dammed. vi pulls back to look at you, cheeks cutely bunched up with her grin, and you feel yourself fall that little deeper in love.
pro-wrestler!vi would also have a lot of respect for rhea ripley, but it would turn to jealousy when she sees you fawning over her.
"she's so cool and awesome!" you gush with stars in your eyes. "look at how she moves? isn't she amazing?"
"she isn't that great," vi grumbles, pouting as she clings to you. like she's worried rhea would appear and snatch you up at any moment.
I already admired Zelenskyy, but frankly, having the sheer bravery to refuse point-blank to be bullied by Putin, Trump, Vance, the MAGAGOP and the Treason Caucus, and the rest of the horrible fascists' gallery is the energy that we all need more of at all times.
the assholes of the current admin removed the incredible, thorough, scholarly research study that was sponsored by the NPS about LGBTQ+ life in America and American LGBTQ+ history from the NPS website. Suspecting that they would, in fact do this, I downloaded a copy of it, which you can now find (and download) here.
Fuck them for deleting this important piece of scholarly research and writing about LGBTQ+ history in America. We're here and we're queer (as in fuck you). We have ALWAYS been here and no matter what they do, they can't change that.
@qqueenofhades @batboyblog @mariacallous I know I don't know any of y'all well, but I think based on your blogs that you might be good people to spread this very important study around for more people to see it! ❤️
my soul is painted like the wings of butterflies; @ravenisthegem - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
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