Sorry-not-sorry for all the veganposting lately, but today I found this: https://www.pestworldforkids.org/ and it's like... what the hell.
Introducing kids to these animals in the language of pests and pest control, with obvious promotion of calling pest control, and often leaving out the ecological role that they play or how to coexist with them peacefully... yeah, it's upsetting.
It's not the worst resource ever, but the bias is showing.
I know that sometimes the hesitation to use mobility devices is about how it looks, both aesthetically and in terms of 'am I a strong person, worthy of existing'.
Canes come in a HUGE variety of colors, styles, materials, and ways to decorate it. As long as it's the right length, sturdy enough for your weight, and has a non-slip tip there's a good chance it'll do for you*.
Additionally: there are a lot of assholes that don't want you to take care of yourself this way. People who use accessibility aids despite the social pressure not to and their own internalized ableism are powerful people.
Additionally additionally: You are not taking anything away from anyone else when using your own personal cane or rollator. You're just making it easier for other people to exist while using them.
Most importantly: Anyone who thinks accessibility aids are bad for you is a person who is not good for you. Fuck'em.
*For tumblr contrarians: if you need something more specialized than the kind you see in the drug stores, you'll know it. Plus, those can also look cool.
People who read information about how [x animal] actually isn't that aggressive or dangerous and go "haha did [x animal] write this" or similar: you are not funny, you're just annoying and look like a fool.
A random thing that tends to bother me about many spiritual beliefs about animals is that they're being sent by or appear due to supernatural forces--like that nonhuman animals don't have their own reasons for being where they are and doing what they do, instead of being tools for higher powers. I don't like when this shows up in fiction, either.
'Don’t Just Do Nothing: 20 Things You Can Do to Counter Fascism' is a zine by Jewish anarchists on how people can organise and act in this changing terrain.
Download it (it's free), read, print and distribute it IRL!
The only reason that AI has any presence in our economy is that Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon are intent on spending more than $765 billion in capital expenditures in 2026 and a trillion more in 2027 because they have no other hypergrowth ideas, even though generative AI has yet to show any real potential as something that can drive meaningful revenues (let alone profits), as evidenced by the fact that none of these companies break out their actual AI revenues, a point I made on CNBC late last week.
Google does not have the next Google Search, Microsoft does not have the next Microsoft Office, Meta does not have the next Facebook, and Amazon does not have the new AWS. That’s why they need you to believe that AI is a big deal without them ever having to prove why outside of capital expenditures. They want you to assume that all this money can’t be wrong, even though when you remove OpenAI and Anthropic (who represent 89% of the revenues of the largest AI companies) the AI industry is, at best, pulling in $20 billion in annual revenue.
The older i get the more i understand why some people become obsessed with privacy, not because they’re hiding something, but because being constantly perceived starts to feel spiritually exhausting.
Did you know that soda machines at restaurants and movie theaters spy on you? That most common new cars now record your sexual preferences and send it to the manufacturer (and also data about anyone who also gets in your car, walks by your car, and maybe happens to be within visual range of your car)? That grocery stores are trying to force customers to download an app to scan barcodes on shelves instead of putting up prices, so the app can scan the phone, decide how much that customer should be squeezed for, and adjust the price? That more and more innocent people are being sent to jail for crimes committed hundreds of miles away because an AI facial recognition algorithm spit their faces out and the cops didn't bother to do the most basic of checks?
I am not uptight about privacy because I'm hiding something. I'm uptight about it because the people who dismiss my right to privacy are dangerous to you and me and our families, personally, all the time.
Got 2 amazing artists. If you haven't already reached out to me feel free to dm anyway but I don't have enough money to commission everyone as much as I would love to ❤️
Oooo 1/2 commissions completed! I wonder what else we'll see next week 👀
Everyone go commission @daphnis-draws now. Their art is awesome! I can't wait to use it in my classroom next year.
Please reach out to Daphnis if you're interested in using it. I have been given permission to use for educational purposes only and share with my coworkers. Not for resale or remixing. This work will not be used for generative AI.
I, a hearing person who likes subtitles just as a preference, shouldn't have to read a subtitle that's obvious nonsense, go back a couple seconds, and listen again in order to figure out what's going on. An accessibility feature should not be the most half-assed part of a professionally made production. Scripted media has absolutely no excuse for not having subtitles or having subtitles that aren't perfectly verbatim. Professional captioning services should be ashamed of the shoddy work that they put out. Captions should be treated as a part of the production, just like filming, editing, audio balancing, etc - and anything that releases with missing or bad captions should be seen as unfinished
I really wish it was common knowledge that powerchair features like tilt in space, reclining backrests and elevating leg rests are medically necessary features rather than luxuries. Or failing that for people to just not comment on it when they see a mobility aid with a feature that they aren’t familiar with.
It would be great if I could reposition, relieve pressure and pain and help my body tolerate being out of bed without someone feeling the need to make a comment about how “it’s not bedtime yet” or “I wish I could relax like that whenever I wanted”
Phone/email script under the cut, and key talking points pulled from their website:
Script:
I am deeply concerned about the botulism outbreak occurring right now in Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge. I urge you to please release sufficient water into both Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Refuges to stave off a potentially catastrophic bird die-off. Specifically, please provide 15,000 acre-feet to Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge as soon as possible, to fill Wetlands 1A and 1B and start Flow Through.
5,000-10,000 acre-feet should also be delivered to Lower Klamath NWR. Thank you.
Key Talking Points:
In early July 2026, a botulism outbreak was discovered at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge. If water is not sent to the refuge, there could be a repeat of 2020 and 2024, where 60,000 and 140,000 (respectively) birds died from botulism at the refuges.
Simultaneously the rapid drying of wetlands at Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge has left broods and molting waterfowl and waterbirds susceptible to predation as mudflats are exposed and birds are stranded.
In the short term, we ask the Bureau to provide 15,000 acre-feet to Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge as soon as possible, to fill Wetlands 1A and 1B and start Flow Through. 5,000-10,000 acre-feet should also be delivered to Lower Klamath NWR. This will go a long way to help minimize the impact of the current botulism outbreak.
The Klamath National Wildlife Refuge Complex is one of the most important stopover and breeding sites for waterfowl and waterbirds in the Pacific Flyway. Yet, these refuges rarely receive enough water to fulfill their mission to protect what remains of the region’s once vast wetlands, and to support fish, waterfowl and other wildlife.
In the long term, we urge the Bureau of Reclamation and Department of the Interior to support the “Flow Through” concept and the Lower Klamath Reconnection effort to ensure that nesting and migrating birds have the water they depend on to survive.
The world is literally so wide and beautiful and we should spend all of our time watching nonhuman animals instead of doing accounting. And if you farm or hunt or harm animals then FUCK YOU.
the thing about being bullied for being weird as a kid is that even if you've always embraced being weird your brain is still always looking for the line where it's too much. you can be as proudly and intentionally weird as you want and you can love being weird but your mind is still convinced there's a point where you get too weird and people start treating you like a weird looking bug again. also it feels like you reach that point 500 times a day even if everyone you've spoken to today found you pleasant and likable and even if you're completely alone in your house with nobody looking at you at all.
(7/30/26) The Red Cross just declared the second US blood crisis in its history.
Summer sees both a drop off in donations and, at least for our trauma center, a spike in traumas. Trauma centers across the US are in danger of running out of blood for our trauma patients TODAY, which is very scary but, unlike much of the other scary national news coming across our screens these days, is something you can help fix immediately and directly.
We need ASAP donations of blood, for people to spread the word, and for manager types to help facilitate others' donations. All blood types are needed, but universal donor blood (type O) is especially dire.
Many things that previously made people ineligible have been rolled back. If you previously thought you were ineligible, please consider checking current guidelines!
While O- is the most dire need as it can be safely given to anyone in an emergency, all types are needed! Our emergent release blood is being pulled for patients who have a high chance of death if they don't get blood within the hour. Once they're stabilized, they can have their type confirmed and get blood of a specific, matching type released to them so that O- can go to the patients who need it most.
Canada is also in a blood shortage, not just the US. Even if you're not in the USA or Canada, maybe check locally, especially if it's summer where you are.
It is also important to note that your friends will almost certainly help you move / drive you to the airport / anything else without a trade! If you can afford it then pizza/drinks/whatever is the traditional payment for moving house but if you can't, still ask your friends for help!
Especially if you're the kind of person who wants to help all your friends but won't accept help in return, you should start asking for help! It helps everyone else get more comfortable helping each other and accepting help, and it's the foundational part of building community!
A canine catastrophe @revolupine - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
