Livin' La Vida Dorka

Dean Winchester is my fandom bicycle. Charlie Bradbury is my fandom unicycle. Casual Destiel shipper but my real OTPs are Dean/happiness and Sam/happiness. Never mind that those are probably even less likely to...

[tlatollotl]

Military-Style Raid Ends Native Prayer Against Dakota Pipeline

Up to 21 people were arrested during a peaceful prayer service.

North Dakota police with military-style equipment surrounded Native Americans gathered in prayer against the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline on Wednesday, disrupting their plan to cross sacred and treaty-protected land in protest of a project they fear will destroy their livelihood.

“ND authorities deploy armed personnel with shotguns and assault rifles, military vehicles, and aerial spray on peaceful Water Protectors gathered in prayer,” wrote the Sacred Stone Camp, in a Facebook post.

Officers with military-style armored vehicles and shotguns threatened the protesters, who call themselves “water protectors” for defending the Missouri River from imminent pollution, reported Unicorn Riot. Up to 21 were arrested, the channel reported.

Witnesses filmed the crackdown but said their access their Facebook was blocked. One participant, Thomas H. Joseph II, posted a chilling video narrating the mobilization and his getaway. Helicopters are heard as he says that tear gas is being dropped, and an officer loads his gun as protesters, some on horseback, chant, “We have no guns.”

VIDEO

https://www.facebook.com/ThomasH.JosephII/videos/10210794487923484/

In the video, Joseph said that “one guy’s about ready to blast us” but later added that no fires were shot.

“We gathered in prayer un-armed, prayed, sang songs, and attempted to leave,“ he later wrote in a Facebook post. “No threats, No vandalism, No violence was taken on our part.”

Police and private security personnel have been more aggressively cracking down on actions against the pipeline since the governor declared a state of emergency. The state is currently investigating an incident in which contracted private security film Frost Kennelsunleashed dogs during a nonviolent direct action, ending with six bitten, including a pregnant woman and a child, according to organizers at the action.

Alternative media outlet Unicorn Riot previously accused Facebook of censoring its livestream of police repression, saying they received a popup security alert when they tried to post the video.

“We will not let them stop our mission to amplify the voices of people who might otherwise go unheard, and broadcast the stories that might otherwise go untold,“ they told RT.

The pipeline, expected to transport over half a million barrels of oil a day through four states, has united over 300 tribes in resistance. Several lawsuits are pending against the company, which has retaliated with restraining orders. The White House halted construction on federal land, which makes up three percent of the pipeline’s path, but has not issued any other statement against the pipeline—motivating Facebook users to demand a response after Wednesday’s crackdown.

President Barack Obama met with tribal representatives on Monday but only made an indirect reference to the historic native gathering: “I know that many of you have come together across tribes and across the country to support the community at Standing Rock,“ he said. “And together, you’re making your voices heard.“

—

I can’t inline the videos, but there are two videos if you follow the link

[kaivaviits-deactivated20181219]

WATCH THESE. DON’T LET THIS STORY DIE OUT BECAUSE ITS BEEN GOING ON FOR A WHILE. REBLOG. SHARE TO YOUR FACEBOOK, be enraged. Pray.

[trupowieszcz-moved-deactivated2]

🎃👻💀🎃🎃👽👿👻👻🎃HAPPY FIRST OF HALLOWEEN🎃👻👿👽💀🎃🎃👻👽👿💀🎃🎃

[aleithio]

the man is sitting right in front of you wearing a rubber mask for crying out loud

[fictionparadox]

wearing a rubber mask AKA played by a different actor until we see him with the mask off

[werelemur]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDxnqOOd6oE)

[agentem]

Fake Geek Girl Myth: Busted (x)

[mckitterick]

[clayorey]

Wonder what happened to the dinosaurs? This is a baby Blue Heron.

[leviathan-supersystem]

this baby Blue Heron killed the dinosaurs.

[tashalyonnes]

[strangehorse]

your friendly neighbourhood guide to not believing everything you see on the internet

1. if there’s not a source, find a source. if you can’t find one, ask the person. if they can’t find one, don’t believe it.

2. if there is a source, click it. people sincerely reblogging those ‘shocking’ posts where the source leads to a rickroll or something, and they don’t know because they never clicked it: this one is for you

3. if you’ve clicked the source, look at what it is. is it the onion? Is it the daily mash? look at the other articles on the site and look for the ‘about’. please don’t be one of those people who takes the onion seriously.

4. if you’ve clicked the source and it’s not satire, how reputable is it? bbc news is a lot more reputable than supermystichoroscopesforonly99p.com. who is saying it matters. this can be hard if you don’t know much about the site, but a bit of research can help. wikipedia is a dodgy one because whilst anyone can edit it, lots of articles are under strict surveillance and will quickly get edited back. if you see a claim on wikipedia that looks strange, refer back to point one. wikipedia sources/ cites too.

5. anecdotes are not evidence! someone going ‘one time my dog ate a can of woofers dog food and died two days later’ doesn’t suggest woofers kills dogs. the plural of anecdotes is not data. sure, when 100 people are all going ‘hey, this thing makes XYZ awful things happen?’, listen, but don’t take one person’s experiences as gospel

6. ‘idk, some news article’ is not a source. ‘I saw it in some random interview a few weeks ago’ is not a source. ‘I can’t remember’ is definitely not a source. 

7. if something seems too good, bad or weird to be true, maybe it is! a two minute google search may help! 

8. basically ignore the daily mail bye

[fullyarticulatedgoldskeleton]

As far as #5, you can google “(brand name) pet food recall (the current year)” to find out if there really is a problem with that pet food.

[rogueoftimeywimeystuff-deactiva]

#5 for the record is great if you’re referring to science. If you’re referring to history and someone was there? They are a primary source. Do not discard lightly. Especially with multiple people from the same time period agreeing.

[vaspider]

Yes, thank you for clarifying on this. The difference between science and history is a big and important one.

[clit-lit-101]

Glamour gives risky period advice, recommends dangerous sea sponges

Dr Jen Gunter

Of course I clicked when this tweet from Glamour came across my timeline.

The article mentions the following four products: washable period underwear, washable pads, menstrual cups, and sea sponges. The first three are great, but menstrual sponges are not.

This is what Glamour said about sponges:

Yup, you can stop your period before it exits the premises by putting a sponge up there. Menstrual sponges like those that Jade & Pearl and Jam Sponge offer actually look a lot like bath sponges, and they work the same way. The only disadvantage is that they may be a bit cumbersome and messy to get out. But they are good for the environment and your wallet, since you only have to change them every six to 12 months.

This is dangerous advice.

Sea sponges aren’t “like” bath sponges they ARE bath sponges. Some people promote them as “natural” alternatives to menstrual tampons, except they are untested and potentially very unsafe. Oh yeah, they are also filled with dirt.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, twelve “menstrual sponges” were tested at the University of Iowa in the 1980s and they and contained sand, grit, bacteria, and “various other materials.” Another batch was tested by the Baltimore district laboratory and in addition to the sand, grit and bacteria they also found yeast and mold. One sample contained Staphylococcus aureus (the bacteria that causes toxic shock syndrome). As the FDA notes there is least one case of toxic shock syndrome associated with the sea sponge and another possible one.

The grossness of a debris and “various other materials” containing vaginal sponge aside there are real potential safety concerns. Bits could break off and become a nidus for bacteria, the sponge itself could have harmful bacteria, sponges may change the vaginal ecosystem promoting the growth of good bacteria, the inability to clean them adequately between uses may reintroduce potentially harmful bacteria that was breeding in the wet sponge sat drying beside the sink, and the sponge may cause abrasions during insertion and/or removal.

Menstrual products, sea sponges included, are regarded by the FDA as “significant risk devices requiring premarket approval under Section 515.” Basically, you have to study any products that is new and prove it is safe.The concerns about sponges were so significant the FDA contacted the manufacturers of menstrual sponges to warn them of the risks and to require they stop marketing and selling the products. Some closed down, others relabeled their products for “cosmetic” use. By they way there weren’t just a few businesses selling sponges, the FDA visited forty-one businesses that packaged sponges as well as 500 retail establishments.

One of the companies suggested as a source of menstrual sponges by Glamour is Jade & Pearl who received a warning letter from the FDA in 2014 about marketing menstrual sponges (if you read the full letter you’ll see that Jade & Pearl actually had a whole list of FDA violations).

This is how Jade & Pearl advertises their sponges right now, but it’s pretty genius marketing to get Glamour to  tell everyone that your product is potentially not just for cosmetic uses! See FDA, it’s “just a sponge.”

Sea sponges are potentially very unsafe.

Really, I can’t emphasize that enough. There are lots of very biologically plausible ways they could harm women andGlamour magazine should be ashamed for including them without the most basic of research. It makes you wonder if Google was just not working the day the piece was written or if it was sourced only from press releases.

I’m the expert and I say women should not use sea sponges in their vagina. They are potentially very dangerous. They don’t even have the most basic of safety testing. Glamour should know better and I urge them to print a correction and remove the offending paragraph.

[jacobaea-deactivated20201218]

Reblogging because im very sure i reblogged the video of that review and want ppl to know

[queerenbian-deactivated20190515]

@vaspider boost?

[vaspider]

The idea that anyone would put a dead, untreated animal up their vaginal canal is terrifying to me. Would you put a dried-out chunk of dead bird in your vaj? No? 

THEN DON’T DO THIS. IT’S A DEAD FUCKING ANIMAL. DO NOT PUT A DEAD FUCKING ANIMAL UP YOUR VAGINA. IF YOU PUT A DEAD UNTREATED ANIMAL UP YOUR VAGINA IT WILL FUCKING ROT IN YOUR VAGINA.

NEVER DO THIS. D: 

Just use a goddamned pad or tampon. What the actual fuck. Do not put a dead animal up your nethers. Ever.

[periegesisvoid-deactivated]

I don’t think most people really realize that sea sponges are animals because they look like the synthetic sponges we use every day. But you know why we have synthetic sponges in the first place? Other than being lower cost, they’re more sanitary. (And you’re STILL not supposed to put them up your vagina, either.)

[fitblrholics]

If you look at the ingredients list and it’s a bunch of words you don’t even know… neither does your body (x)

[the-exercist]

Just like if you break apples and grapefruit down into their chemical components, I’m willing to bet that most people wouldn’t recognize the “ingredients” either. It’s a bunch of words you don’t even know:

Don’t use these scare tactics - Chemicals aren’t inherently bad. Literally everything is made up chemicals. Trust me, your body knows what niacin is. It knows how to digest fructose and calcium sulfate. Even if you only consume the most basic and “real” foods that are pulled directly off the vine, you’re still ingesting a series of chemical compounds that you probably can’t pronounce. That’s okay. 

[ohnofixit]

thanks to drhoz for submitting!

[terrible-tentacle-theatre]

“If you can’t pronounce it, it’s bad for you” is literally the worst pseudo-scientific scaremongering bullshit tactic. I hate it so much.

I’m pretty sure you can pronounce “arsenic”, but that doesn’t change the fact that arsenic is highly toxic. On the other hand, you couldn’t pronounce “cycloadenosine monophosphate” or “nicotine-amide-dinucleotide-phosphate”, though both of them serve vital roles in human biochemistry and you would die if your body wouldn’t produce them.

[dr-archeville]

Cyanide: Easy to pronounce, very bad for you.

Eicosapentaenoic acid: Difficult to pronounce, very good for you.

It’s more important to know what the chemicals are and why they’re in there.  Anti-intellectualism helps no one.

[timetraveldean]

pretty sure this is how every conversation between cas and naomi went (x)

[relucant]

suricattus replied to your post “i actually have time to write tonight without slacking on work but i…”

You owe me a birthday present. 500 words on Cas being fascinated by the boxers vs briefs debate, with hands-on research? :-)

496 words, no panties! it’s not quite what you requested, but close enough? <3

——-

“I don’t like them,” Cas complained, equal parts plaintive and petulant.

Dean sighed. “Dude, aren’t they the same shit you been wearin’  forever?”

“Jimmy favored them,” Cas said mulishly.

Dean rolled his eyes. “All right, well, what don’t you like?”

There was a pause. “They bunch,” Cas finally blurted. “They bunch, and the fabric is scratchy, and it bothers my skin. I suppose I retained some awareness of physical irritation even after my grace was restored.”

Dean snorted. “Look, everybody’s different. Some people don’t wear any, but that can kinda, uh, chafe. Stay put a sec.” He disappeared briefly before shoving an armload over the door.

“All right. Try some of these.”

There was a rustling from inside, and Dean pointedly did not conjure a visual of what his boyfriend was doing to cause it.

“These are better,” Cas finally said. “Both the flannel and silk boxers. Softer. But I still don’t know if I’d like the feeling inside the confines of pants.”

Give me fucking strength, Dean swore under his breath.  "All right. Good,“ he called. “Set those aside and try on one of the others.”

A few moments went by, and then the door swung open, revealing Castiel, angel of the goddamned Lord, standing there in cheap white socks and black cotton briefs.

“These feel very different.” He tugged at the elastic around his thigh, which caused the underwear to slide another half inch down the trail of hair on his belly. “Less bunching, but,” – tug, and his muscles flexed – “more constricting.”

“Yeah,” Dean croaked, then cleared his throat. “Uh. Try the other style, the boxer-briefs. Might, uh, be a compromise.”

Cas nodded thoughtfully, turning around and shutting the door. Dean sank into a chair and tried to surreptitiously adjust himself.

Another minute went by. “Cas?” Dean finally called. “Any luck?”

There was a frustrated sound and then the door opened again. “The fit is comfortable, but I – I don’t know what to do with my penis.”

Dean stared at him blankly before his eyes dropped to Cas’ crotch, where his cock seemed to be tucked awkwardly towards his left hip.  Dean again bit back a hysterical urge to laugh, because there was no fucking way he was in a suburban Kansas Wal-Mart watching his angel adjust himself in his underwear.

“Okay,” he said. “Yeah. Boxers, you kinda, uh, let it do its thing. Boxer-briefs you gotta figure out what works for you, all dudes are different. Or all, uh, dude-shaped things.”

Cas frowned, moving to slide his hand into his underwear, and Dean yelped, jumping up and shoving him back inside the dressing, following him in and shutting the door.

“Um,” he said, as Cas blinked at him. “Look, can’t just adjust your junk in public, okay?”

“Well, we’re not in public anymore,” Cas pointed out reasonably. “Will you help me?”

Dean finally noticed the smirk playing at Cas’ mouth. “You little shit,” slipping his fingers inside the waistband.  "Yeah, I’ll help you.“

[scifiction]

by painfulreminders

[spacevorobey]

[saathi1013]

Leverage OT3 + pirate AU

This seemed deceptively easy at first, because Thief and Hitter translate pretty straightforwardly (as do Mastermind and Grifter, as do a lot of their backstories*, come to think of it…), but what about Hacker?  

Then I realized that Hardison is a navigator.  He has all the trade routes memorized, he knows ocean currents like the back of his hand, he can direct the crew to seasonal and local shortcuts that sink unwary pursuers… he even knows the best ways to survive the kind of storms that make most pirates need brown pants, per the classic joke.

Side note: marine insurance has been a Thing for basically as long as there has been oceanic trade.  I picture Nate as, like, the Leverage analogue to Norrington from PotC.

Nothing gives me more joy than to imagine Sophie trying to teach Miss “I pretended to be a boy until I was nineteen” Parker how to get around in those elaborate dresses with ruffles and boning and lacing… and how frustrating it is for both of them until Parker realizes just how much stuff she can hide under those skirts.

Eliot can’t swim, never having been on a ship for longer than it took to get on, beat the tar out of whoever was between him and his objective, and then get off again.  Nobody knows this at first, but Parker figures it out, and she and Hardison teach him in secret after a lot of grumbling and cajoling.  A LOT.

Nate doesn’t say “let’s go steal an island” anymore because they’ve done it so often.  The intense glee in his voice when he got to say “let’s go steal the Flying Dutchman,” however, is wholly unprecedented.

The trio can still settle down running a bar/pub, but this one’s a five minute stroll from a tropical beach. :D

[sunwomb]

3 types of self soothing thoughts 

Validation: it’s ok that I hurt and want to feel better

Reassurance: I can handle this pain even though it hurts 

Perspective taking: I’ve had bad days like this before and I’ve made it through them. I can remember my better days and know I’m not always hurting this much