Out of the Blue

Hello! Welcome to here. My blog is filled with everything under the sun. If anything offends you that I post, please talk to me about it. I'm willing to listen to everyone. Also, I'm up to answer any question, so ask away up at the menu button up top!

[jenniferrpovey]

So, this hasn't crossed my dash yet. (Not blaming anyone, there is soooo much going on in the world and I'd also missed it in the noise).

There is currently a strike at Frito-Lay. in Topeka. These workers are striking because:

They were being forced to work 84 hour weeks. The company's best offer so far is a 60 hour cap. This is shit we fought for a century ago, people.

Their generous offer also includes a whole 4 percent wage increase...over the next 2 years. I'm not sure what COL is in Topeka, but... Well, it's better than the entire 77 cents they've apparently gotten in the last decade.

There's also a report that a worker literally collapsed and dropped dead on the line and the foreman's response was to make them move the body out of the way and put in a replacement. (However, this is unconfirmed and, of course, the company denies it).

There have been multiple OSHA violations at this plant over the last few years, including a forklift accident that's under investigation.

They've now been striking since July 5 but, of course, it only hit the national media yesterday.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/14/frito-lay-strike-forced-overtime/

So, why am I signal boosting this?

Because Frito-Lay is refusing to budge. They are attempting to make the excuse that union leadership agreed to the 60 hour work week and crappy pay cut...when union leadership only agreed to put it to a vote.

And this means that we need to put the thumbscrews on them. Remember, this is about 19th century style working conditions.

So, I'm calling on my followers to boycott Frito Lay's until the strike is involved.

Frito-Lay owns:

Lay's

Doritos (Sorry. I really am. I KNOW there's no good alternative to Doritos, although Zapp's are good if you can find them).

Fritos

Tostitos

Cheetos

Ruffles

Sun Chips

Baken-ets

Chester's

Cracker Jack

Islen plantain chips

Funyuns

Grandma's (the cookies)

Matador Meat Snacks

Maui style potato chips

Miss Vickie's

Munchies

Munchos

Rolled Gold

Sabritones

Santitas

Simply

Smartfood

Stacys

The Walking Taco

NatuChips

PopCorners (this one wasn't on their website, but was bought by Pepsi's in 2019 with the intent of adding it. So best avoided just in case). Yes, this really is more than half of the snack aisle. Suggested alternatives:

Kettle Brand Chips

Zapp's (If you can find them. My supermarket had them once and not since, so I'm guessing the culinary cowards in this neighborhood were afraid of "Voodoo" flavored chips).

Pringles

On the Border for salsa.

Wise Cheez Doodles

Bugles

Utz

Store own brand alternatives, if your store has ones that are any good.

Cheez-its

Check before you buy and let's tell these people they don't get to treat workers like that.

[pendragyn]

just to add support to this but also, Frito-Lay is a part of PepsiCo so also avoid

Pepsi products

Gatorade

Tropicana

Quaker Oats

but more than just avoiding them, if you can, tell them that you are and *why* you are. Bad press and a drop in sales is good leverage.

[jenniferrpovey]

There's some discussion about whether or not the boycott should extend to Pepsi products. I would say go with your conscience on that.

[ruffboi-mags]

So hey FYI there’s a local fundraiser here in Topeka to help striking workerss, if y’all’d like to donate. 785 is a Topeka-area culture/arts/lifestyle magazine and they’re working with the local union president to distribute the funds. They met their original goal already, to have enough to cover utility bills for the month, but any extra is still getting distributed as strike relief so please consider donating if you can <3

[gingerhastoomanyobsessions]

I can’t breathe

[brawltogethernow]

Best wishes to these people obviously but I’m WHEEZING at the concept of a standard horror plot starter but the stranded travelers are an entire fully equipped orchestra.

[gleefully-macabre]

It’s the prequel to every other horror film. Their haunting spirits play the background music.

[gleefully-macabre]

Oh shoot, that actually would be a really cool concept. The film starts with no thematic music, and as each member of the orchestra is picked off, their instrument joins the soundtrack. Subtly, so you don’t really notice, and the end credits are a full orchestral symphony.

[thestraggletag]

DUUUUUDE

[kirby-appreciation]

Sometimes I’m tired of being nice. One day your femur will be mine

[kirby-appreciation]

WRONG BLOG WRONG BLOG

[kirby-appreciation]

GUYS STOP REBLOGGIING THIS

[hubcaptastrophe]

So I'm allergic to bananas now

@thebibliosphere

[thebibliosphere]

Same hat, my commiserations on the loss of bananaey goodness.

[the-hug-department]

My bffl is allergic to bananas, watch out for cantaloupe and pineapple please! Yours might not be the same allergy, but the thing she's allergic to in bananas is also in cantaloupe and pineapple.

[hubcaptastrophe]

Wait a minute now! But pineapple are supposed to tingle, right? RIGHT??

[thebibliosphere]

*waves hand in the air* to a certain degree. But y’know, many allergies don’t come alone. Anything in the birch or latex family can be a possible trigger if you’re allergic to bananas. 

I’m technically not allergic to them, but I am highly allergic to birch and I cross-react to them. And when you combine that with my histamine intolerance (ripe bananas are very high in histamine compared to ones that are still slightly green, which were the only ones I liked to eat growing up, funny that) it’s a good combination for a trip in the wee-woo wagon. 

[bog-horse]

hahaha omg this is interesting because i am -also- allergic to bananas— except the cause is a potassium allergy, meaning i’m not allergic to latex/cantaloupe/pineapple, assuming they’re relatively low in potassium

[thebibliosphere]

That doesn’t surprise me. Potassium can cause wonky mast cells to realease histamine if you get “too much” of it. (Weirdly it can also be used to help stabilize mast cells, but there’s more to mast cell instability than just histamine release so comprehensive teting is needed to find out where the cell breakdown is happening)

Folate can also make some people over release histamine, which is why my folate levels are constantly deficient. Taking vitamin C supposedly helps but I haven’t been able to find one I can take yet without coming out in hives.

Bodies are wild.

[bog-horse]

oh wow!! it’s totally cool to have an actual explanation for it— the few times i’ve looked up the possibility of potassium allergies, the answers i’ve seen have been along the lines of “you can’t have a potassium allergy because it’s a required vitamin for existing” and i was like “cool!! so what’s wrong if it’s not potassium because the only common ground here is, unfortunately, potassium”

maybe i just need better research skills lmao

thank you for mentioning that though!!

[thebibliosphere]

You are entirely welcome! In fairness, I only know what to google because I’ve spent the last five to six years of my life trying to Frankenstein my health back together, and now know way more about mast cells and the immune system than someone who went to college for liberal arts ever should. But hey, that’s life.

If your potassium deficiency becomes a major issue in the future, you might be able to use some asthma medications to stabilize the issue. But y’know, usual disclaimer, talk to your doctor(s), etc, etc. Best of luck!

[cheshiremadd]

There's a bunch of super interesting information here!

But, also, the phrase "trip on the wee-woo wagon" made laugh out loud. I was not expecting that...

[sweetmeatdale]

@thebluebass5

[thebluebass5]

I am also allergic to bananas! I’m also allergic to avocados, but only in certain areas. My theory has been that when the avocado has to be shipped farther away they spray stuff on it to prevent it from ripening. Just a theory though. Does anyone know what this might be linked to?

[virginiaisforhaters]

winter driving tips from a new englander 

sometimes you’re just not gonna stop. its okay. dont freak out. youll stop eventually. just dont follow anyone too closely and dont slam on your brakes they are not your friend

the road is often worse when you think it looks fine. ice during the day is a bitch, if its snowing and the road looks okay just pretend its a sheet of ice

people will tailgate you in giant SUVs, dont speed up for them. let them pass you, or pull off if they wont pass you. if they wanna die thats their prerogative 

following a plow is fucking obnoxiously slow but its also probably the safest way to get home

at some point you’re gonna blow thru a red light because you cant stop. people understand. when your light turns green, wait a few seconds before you go, dont assume that their light being red means the people coming at you can stop

if you see black ice right ahead of you just chill. the first thing ur gonna wanna do is slam on your brakes. do not touch them. just take your foot off the gas and drive through it, and dont try to swerve. just keep going. 

dont stop ever! dont stop on a hill, dont fully stop at a light. just take your foot off the gas and roll to a crawling speed until the light turns. its harder to get going from a complete stop than from a crawling speed because physics is an asshole 

drive as slow as you need to to feel safe, and if anyone has a problem with it eat them 

[luckytin]

I thought this was going to be a creepy text post about like new England gothic but really it’s just good tips for how it gets to be in our area

[virginiaisforhaters]

the only creepy thing here is how slowly im gonna be creeping towards every red light 

[priceofliberty]

Report: 95% Of Grandfathers Got Job By Walking Right Up And Just Asking

[lesb0]

Fun story my history teacher told us: his grandfather during the industrial revolution walked past a flyer which said “looking for smart strong boys” so he went into the factory, said “i’m strong and smart”, and he had that job from age 13 to 78

[kaiitea]

and this is why they expect the younger generation to simply “get a job” ahh it’s so much clearer now

[entwinedmoon]

#basically everyone aged Baby Boomer and up #still can’t wrap their heads around the fact that there’s no such thing as ‘just walking in’ anymore #like the majority of jobs you’d actually want require online applications and you’re lucky to get a rejection email  (via halffizzbin)

Here’s another fun story: My boss decided to slap my work phone number on all the ads we post looking for newspaper carriers. So I receive a bunch of calls from people looking for jobs. Working only part time, I’m not usually there when they call, so they have to leave a message and I take their info to pass on to my boss. Sometimes it can be weeks before my boss calls any of these applicants back, if at all. How the callers respond to not getting a callback varies. Most don’t do anything, but some call again. If the person sounds young, they may leave another message clarifying their qualifications and reaffirming their interest. If the person is old, and I can always hear it in their voice, they respond by getting mad, threatening to cancel their newspaper subscription, and occasionally swearing. The older generation is used to getting a callback, and an immediate one, so they throw a tantrum when they don’t get what they want.

And everyone calls Millennials entitled.

[truckerjbthemd]

Mind. Blown.

[spaghettisaurusrex]

This is great info, but the way the headline is phrased made it sound like they got the job of being a grandfather by walking right up and just asking

[mouchefska]

Let’s also talk about how everyone expects us to be able to “go get a job” including the generation that made that utterly impossible. The boomers did started all this bullshit with unpaid internships, qualifications that not applicant could feasibly have and disrespecting us so hard they don’t even call back to say they’re not interestsed.

[memewhore]

[lithping]

here he comes

[voideddragon]

[moonthymes]

anyway jeff bezos could eradicate homelessness. he could literally give each homeless person 100k and it would only take less than .5% of his entire wealth. what the actual god giving fuck

[the-prolefeed]

Why do you think they deserve it

[killin-the-machine]

Well shelter is a basic need, and would at the very least allow them a place where they can get back on their feet. Food water and shelter are necessary for a healthy body and psychology. There’s also the fact that they’re people too, and a little help goes a long way in making a decent community. There’s plenty of reasons

[the-prolefeed]

Yeah they need stuff, but why does every homeless person deserve 0.5% of someone’s income

[teaboot]

You have five hundred apples, and just one day to eat them all. 

You pass by a small crowd of hungry children, and decide you’d rather 455 apples go rotten than give them to some snotty brat who isn’t your problem.

It doesn’t matter how hard you’ve worked for your 500 apples, or that you aren’t the parent of any of those kids. in the moment you decide to walk away, it doesn’t matter why they’re hungry, or who owes who what.

You had the opportunity to help people, you had the ability to help people, you had the resources to help people. You had everything you needed to make a small, tiny little difference in someone’s life, and you decided not to.

What are you going to buy in your lifetime that’s worth more to you than your own humanity?

[just-queer-things]

What are you going to buy in your lifetime that’s worth more to you than your own humanity

[i-sold-my-soul-to-thefandom]

Reblogging for the very, very important lesson

[thebluebass5]

If you want to put it on the apple scale as well, 0.5% of 500 apples is 2 1/2 apples.

Alternatively, as a teacher after taxes I make $31,000 per year. 0.5% of that is $155. Or $12 per month. If you tell me that he can't afford the $12 per month comparison to a working man's salary, then there is something wrong here.

[d-cookie-deactivated20210317]

The fact that Snape is one of the youngest if not THE youngest professor is fucking hilarious.

[d-cookie-deactivated20210317]

Like how does he get away with half the shit he does like almost everyone there has taught him since he was 11 and they just see this 21 year old just walk back in like "Sup fuckers I'm a professor now by force better so you better start treating me like one."

[d-cookie-deactivated20210317]

7th years in the school are like probably "Didn't this fucker graduate 3 years ago?"

[maybeshesnaped]

Imagine being a fourth year who has done /said something to your classmate Snape and then in your 7th year he's your TEACHER

[d-cookie-deactivated20210317]

THAT'S LOCKHART THAT'S LITERALLY LOCKHART LIKE

1. He Went to School with Snape

2. Got taught by Snape

3. Became part of the Staff like Snape

And the Fact that he's acting like he knew shit about potions is hilarious cause you just got Snape in the corner like

"Listen here you little shit . I taught you. I've seen your test scores. I graded those shits and you coming in here talking about being able to come up with an antidote?...Sit down."

[d-cookie-deactivated20210317]

The more people reblog this the more shock I am that they didnt know Snape started teaching at like 21 and he's like 30 first book

[d-cookie-deactivated20210317]

People in the tags for the past week having been confused and going bananas so like we gonna forget about the movies. Because the movies got it all wrong

Snape is 31

Hagrid is 63

Professor Mcgonagall is 56

Lupin and Sirius and Peter (3rd movie/book) 33

Dumbledore is 112

Do what you will with this info fam

[bluthatesfabrikk]

You forgot Burbage. In the books, she's in her twenties.

[the-witches-son]

Bringing this back around, when Snape started teaching in Aug/September 1981, he was 21

In Aug/September 1981, Lockhart was 17 :')

[cokeworthprince]

lockhart, 17, never fucking learned how to read: actually professor ;-)

snape, professorially, as if he hasn’t just had his last growth spurt: on god, i’ll smack the shit out you. put—your hand—down.

[d-cookie-deactivated20210317]

[danse-de-macabre]

@cokeworthcauldrons , your tags are fantastic

[the-brodie-set]

[tonedeafparrot]

[tonedeafparrot]

[tonedeafparrot]

[tonedeafparrot]

[tonedeafparrot]

[tonedeafparrot]

[tonedeafparrot]

[tonedeafparrot]

[uberfluss]

I KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE THE GRAPES

[ianelri]

i need to know if this friend is actually named murphy or if they were given the nickname murphy because they’re a walking disaster

[oopsabird]

murphy’s law: if left unsupervised and uninhibited, anything which murphy can do, they will

[mega-taiga]

do i want to open this

[mega-taiga]

this was better than i couldve imagined

[awarew0lf]

ATTENTION TRANS PEOPLE

if you are looking for a name change but cant afford the basically $400 like most people then go to your local court house and ask for an “indigent form” that form you will state that you cant afford to change your name. so then it will be free if very little.

feel free to add to this if other states have any more information

[seethestarsablaze]

Landon told me to do this so when I went to the county clerks office I asked for a fee waiver, I had to go to the law library to get the right paperwork then filled out my income and my monthly expenses and they waived my $290 court fee. I still had to pay for the notary and fingerprints and whatnot before all that but it ended up being around $50 total rather than $300+ definitely look into it if you need some financial help with this process!

Additionally this link had all the info for name changes in TX that I needed: http://www.transequality.org/documents/state/texas

(I think you can go on that site and select other states as well so it should be helpful!)

[daisywalletchains]

@speedwag

[honted]

oh my god?

[stigmatic]

@prospecthummer @prospecthummer @prospecthummer @prospecthummer

[nutheadgee-deactivated20190314]

My American trans peeps

[name-exchange]

In case anyone here wants to go through a legal name change but doesn’t have the money to, here’s something you may be able to try to help with that.

[yyyyddmmsupremacy-deactivated20]

@lemememeringue

[rocktheholygrail]

There are so many unintended consequences to well-intentioned actions. It feels like a game you can’t win.

[rocktheholygrail]

#CHIDI WAS RIGHT

[cosmik-homo]

The Good Place really went with making their new Point ‘there is no ethical consumption under capitalism’ and I respect that

[catchymemes]

Spooktober in VRChat

[beans345-deactivated20211127]

[beamwrites]

Doot doot

[hydro-homies]

They had us in the first half

[rivalwrites]

I think the best piece of character design advice I ever received was actually from a band leadership camp I attended in june of 2017. 

the speaker there gave lots of advice for leaders—obviously, it was a leadership camp—but his saying about personality flaws struck me as useful for writers too. 

he said to us all “your curses are your blessings and your blessings are your curses” and went on to explain how because he was such a great speaker, it made him a terrible listener. he could give speeches for hours on end and inspire thousands of people, but as soon as someone wanted to talk to him one on one or vent to him, he struggled with it. 

he had us write down our greatest weakness and relate it to our biggest strength (mine being that I am far too emotional, but I’m gentle with others because I can understand their emotions), and the whole time people are sharing theirs, my mind was running wild with all my characters and their flaws.

previously, I had added flaws as an after thought, as in “this character seems too perfect. how can I make them not-like-that?” but that’s not how people or personalities work. for every human alive, their flaws and their strengths are directly related to each other. you can’t have one without the other.

is your character strong-willed? that can easily turn into stubbornness. is your character compassionate? maybe they give too many chances. are they loyal? then they’ll destroy the world for the people they love.

it works the other way around too: maybe your villain only hates the protagonist’s people because they love their own and just have a twisted sense of how to protect them. maybe your antagonist is arrogant, but they’ll be confident in everything they do.

tl;dr “your curses are your blessings, and your blessings are your curses” there is no such thing as a character flaw, just a strength that has been stretched too far.

[mareebrittenford]

This is such a fabulous flip side of what I’ve always known about villians. That their biggest weakness is that they always assume their own motivations are the motives of others.

[bookishdiplodocus]

Such a good tip for writing realistic characters.