The inherent tension between “no one post can capture every facet of the human experience, and you need to learn to ignore stuff that doesn’t apply to you,” on the one hand, and “some people’s existence is forgotten or disregarded constantly, and it’s legit to be mad when you see a statement claiming universality that does not and cannot apply to you, especially when this happens many times per day every single day,” on the other hand.
Every time I hear a showrunner say some shit about how the reason he doesn’t want to write his male slashbait duo into a romantic relationship is because “their bond is so powerful and profound that it transcends sex or romance” I want to ask him, “Does your wife know your bond with her is too weak and shallow to transcend sex and romance? Or do you not fuck her either, because you love her too much?”
You cannot talk about homophobia without also talking about misogyny. It is baked in.
The scariest shit I see always comes from people who are quite confident that, being very loving, they could not be doing anything abusive.
THIS. THIS A THOUSAND TIMES. YOU CAN LOVE SOMEONE AND STILL ABUSE THEM. PEOPLE WHO ABUSE THEIR LOVED ONES DON’T AUTOMATICALLY STOP LOVING THEM. THEY HURT PEOPLE THEY LOVE. SOMETIMES IT’S BECAUSE THEY LOVE PEOPLE BUT THEIR MEAN OR SELFISH OR WHATEVER. SOMETIMES IT’S BECAUSE THEY LOVE PEOPLE BUT IT’S A TOXIC LOVE WHERE THEY OBJECTIFY OR ACT OVERLY POSSESSIVE OVER SOMEONE ELSE. THAT ALSO APPLIES TO PARENTS AND PEOPLE WHO AREN’T JUST ROMANTIC INTERESTS BTW. YOU CAN LOVE SOMEONE AND STILL ABUSE AND HURT THEM.
the purest form of serotonin is when a cat looks at u and u go like “what?” and it meows at u
like, that is a very unspecific response I still have no idea what you want but I applaud how adorably you meowed all the same, well done
This post led me to reminisce on the nature of cat’s meowing, and I have a funny story
I befriended a feral cat once who had spent her life in the forest without human interaction. I was worried about her because she had a paw damaged from an old injury and was emaciated but obviously nursing kittens that were hidden away somewhere. It took me weeks of putting out food and sitting across the yard every evening for her to trust me even a little and when she decided we were friends and she expected dinner every night she started coming to my door and trying to call for me in the evening, but she didn’t meow. Why would she? Cats only meow naturally as kittens when their vocal chords/ears aren’t fully developed, adult cats communicate with vocalizations that aren’t audible to humans. She probably tried making noises I couldn’t hear to call me but ended up sticking to the one I always responded to- a horrible yowling growl that she had made at me when we first encountered each other in the forest. Except once we were friends she would make this noise while purring and rubbing affectionately against a nearby tree or the porch railing (because she didn’t want to touch me yet). This understandably freaked my family members out but I was touched that she had taken the time to find a way to basically yell FUCK OFF in an affectionate way.
Fast forward to when she finally trusts me enough to bring her hidden kittens out of the forest to me, long story short I gained their trust and put them in this big pen, that I had previously used to keep chickens in, so they’d be safe and to keep her from having another litter. Except she was already secretly pregnant again! (Fix your pets, guys, they make SO many babies) and ended up having her new babies in this pen. I kept my distance, sitting on the outside once they were born until she seemed comfortable enough to let me come inside. The kittens were a bit wild, hissing viscously at me as soon as they opened their eyes, but they warmed up to me. There were four of them and soon they all wanted to be the center of attention during the twice daily play sessions. I’d be playing with one and another would meow insistently behind me and I’d immediately answer them and give them love, teaching them that humans could be friends that answer their needs- making them adoptable once they were weaned. Mama cat (Artie) would just watch me play with them, and I guess she was doing some thinking because one day when they were about a month old I was playing with them and one meowed behind me. I was confused because I hadn’t realized there was a kitten behind me and when I turned, there wasn’t. The only cat there was Artie looking at me really intensely. I turned back around to the kittens and I heard the meow again, I turned back to Artie and responded in the way I always did with the kittens “yes baby?” And she meowed again in an exact imitation of her kittens! After that she would.not.shut.up. It was like she had cracked some kind of code, meowing for attention and snacks and just to say hi. Her two older kittens, the ones she’d had in the forest, had never meowed at me either but started to once they saw how I responded to their mom. and I find it endlessly fascinating because before that it had never occurred to me that cats only meow at humans because they were taught by other cats to keep meowing past kittenhood because that’s the best way to get a human’s attention.
Imagine befriending some weird giant with the wrong number of legs that you met in the forest who seems nice enough but doesn’t seem to be able to hear you, until your friend explains that all they can understand is fuck off! And I’m a baby give me love!
My mom got phished in an EXTREMELY refined scam that pretty much anyone could fall for– basically her account was already pre-hacked and they spoofed the bank’s number exactly, called her pretending there was fraud, and read back legitimate and fake transactions and personal info so she wouldn’t suspect they weren’t the bank. Then discouraged her from logging in claiming the account was locked so they could investigate the fraud– all so she wouldnt catch them making massive purchases using her stolen info.
We have the same boss and when she told him what happened he recommended she call the bank directly, so she did and they managed to catch it in time before $20k of transactions went through. Very scary
I guess the lesson here is never ever answer your phone, I love that fraud is so rampant an entire form of mass communication is now useless
ANYONE can fall for phishing scams- my mom is extremely smart and we discuss common scams that target her age demographic and she still fell for this. If it happened to me I may have fallen for it too. Always be careful!
that’s EXACTLY what happened to me last spring. it’s dire out there….
that’s EXACTLY what
happened to me last spring.
it’s dire out there….
Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.
If you EVER get ANY call from ANYONE claiming to be a bank or other important group asking you for anything, tell them you will call them back and call them yourself. Do not call a number they give you, look it up yourself.
Banks don’t call people, IME. They send emails and texts and put notices on your online account. Credit cards sometimes do I believe, but in that case, just call the number on your card back.
Never take a call from anyone and assume they are who they say. Period. These people are skilled at social manipulation. They will always tell you there is a crisis.
And don’t just google the number, use your bank’s official site! A lot of search engines are now providing phone numbers of scams instead of legit ones. Also make sure the url of the site matches the one available on cards and other papers you’ve been given by your bank because fake sites can look VERY convincing.
FYI: the U.S. government will not call you. Is someone calls and says they’re the IRS? They’re lying. They say they’re the sheriff? Lying. ICE? Lying.
The United States will mail you information. If the government needs to reach you, check your mailbox.
The IRS are generally pretty forgiving and will accept that humans make errors. They will never demand immediate payment for back taxes, ever. They know that’s not feasible for most people, so they’ll usually make a payment plan and help you out. (This is, of course, assuming you’re an individual who fucked up their taxes, not someone running a massive tax fraud scheme.)
There’s also a scam going around right now for folks in the USA who use toll roads. NONE of the texts are real, the EZPass website has a huge banner on the site saying they’re all scams.
Rating the birds in my backyard by tendency toward violence
Northern Cardinal, 4/10
I’m sometimes worried the male is sexually harassing the female but I’m pretty sure they’re just doing some elaborate public pickup roleplay. The rest of us didn’t agree to participate in your kink, guys.
American Robin, 1/10
Literally just some dude hanging out. Never bothered anyone but worms. Big fan of the way you just stand there in the middle of the grass like you forgot what you were supposed to be doing.
House Sparrow, 10/10
You’re a gang. You’re participating in gang violence. There’s ten billion of you living in a single wood pile and it’s been civil war for three years now. When will the bloodshed end?
Tufted Titmouse, 1/10
A shy baby. A pretty little guy. I saw you on the neighbor’s garage roof and time stopped. There were anime sparkles around you. Come back.
European Starling, 9/10
Why is it always you? Listen, I know, I KNOW the sparrows are the problem, and YET. When the fighting starts, it’s always you in the middle of it, provoking them and then screaming like you’re an innocent bystander defending yourself. I’m onto you.
Carolina Wren, 3/10
This rating is not for physical violence, which you don’t engage in, but for your role as an incurable narc. A tattle tale. I know they’re fighting again, okay? I see it. Our yard has been a warzone for years, you don’t have to make a big announcement every time someone misbehaves.
Eastern Wood-Peewee, 0/10
If this were “birds who think they’re better than everyone else,” you’d get 10/10.
Red-bellied Woodpecker, 6/10
It’s a utility pole. It’s not a tree. You’re surrounded by trees that are full of bugs. But there you are, on the utility pole. Committing vandalism.
American Crow, unrated
For who am I to cast judgment on the actions of La Famiglia? I assume you are doing what is best for the neighborhood. If I could, though, without criticism, make a single observation. That when large numbers of you gather in the ominous dead cottonwood - no? No, you’re right. None of my business.
Great Crested Flycatcher, 5/10
Frankly, I think you could be doing more. I think your name implies a great potential. I think you should massacre the insects. I think your beak should drip with viscera.
Stay tuned for more criminal activity!
(continued)
Common Grackle, 7/10
La Famiglia does not suffer you to stop in our neighborhood long, and I trust their judgement in this manner. You have the look of a guilty bird.
Tennessee Warbler, 2/10
You keep to yourselves, and I respect that. I get the sense that you could defend yourselves if it came to it, though.
Brown-Headed Cowbird, 3/10
You’re not a crow, and eventually they ARE going to figure it out, kiddo.
Gray Catbird, 5/10
Would you. Respectfully. Would you shut the FUCK UP.
Eurasian Collared-Dove, 0/10
You’re doing great, sweetie, everyone loves you.
Red-Breasted Nuthatch, 4/10
A comedian. A little jester of a bird. You’re so silly. Sure sometimes you incite violence in others but, really, is that your fault? If it is, we forgive you.
Blue Jay, 12/10
If you could learn any human behavior you wanted, it would be how to build a bomb.
Honorable mention:
Turkey Vulture, 5/10
You weren’t in my backyard, but you WERE eating roadkill in the street in my neighborhood. I know the animal was already dead when you got there, but you get violence points for frightening the small children that walked past you. Incredible work.
an angel loses its wings every time someone tells me jane austen and the brontë sisters are romance authors or even wrote the same genre. like. austen books are so satirical if you just know how to read and at least wuthering heights and jane eyre are so deep in moral and religious and philosophical questions (that austen books also kind of are but they do it in such different ways!) and they’re only been classified as romance because saying eg. that religion can be wrong or that men should not have absolute power over other’s lifes and that people can grow and change and forgive and become better together was maybe too radical in the 1840s. and i mean they have some themes in common but then i could also call star wars romance movies because they have romance in them.
