I’ve been wanting to touch up this drawing for a long time, originally from 2020 but given a makeover. Originally inspired by an article about reindeer in Finland with their antlers coated in reflective paint, but I used an elk instead bc I like their creepy bugling
me when i cant comprehend that different continents have different animals
the rest of the paragraph that was cut out in that screenshot literally explains the reasons behind the easter bilby and bluntly theyre minimising the impact that wild rabbits have had as an introduced species in our ecosystem.
the easter bibly was an ingenious campaign that builds in social awareness and change to an ongoing annual tradition without detracting from what that tradition represents. the choice behind it was intentional
saying Australians "don't like bunnies" because of ecological damage is like saying Americans "don't like rabies" because of the health risks. They're a major problem and the Easter Bilby rules.
On one hand, it's great to see people learn how to unfuck their living spaces. On the other hand, that stuff like "frequently used articles should be stored near where they're used" and "trash receptacles should be placed near activities that generate trash" are being received as radical ideas points to a serious knowledge transmission problem.
Some people's parents get Really Weird about trash cans and practical items being where they can be seen, is part of the problem here
Source: currently a janitor at a church and you would not believe how many boomers get upset with me for insisting the trash cans need to be practical and easy to use instead of out of sight and too cute for functionality
including in the actual bathrooms
actually no sorry there's a list here
things people have told me are "tacky" and that I need to get rid of (they have lost many of these arguments because I'm a bitch, others are ongoing)
an umbrella stand by the door with spare umbrellas for parishioners to use
a table by the front door "because people keep putting things on it" (that was. Why that table was there)
the signs that directed people towards the bathrooms
the actual trash can in the bathroom "because surely we don't need one so big" (for the bathroom that services the fellowship hall, which hosts things like the local scout events, so yes we need one that's at least 20 gallon)
apparently it's also tacky if I write down when I changed things like batteries and air fresheners, on a calendar they'll never see unless they go into my office??
another table in another waystation type area because "people keep putting things on it" (even when it's completely clear)
signs we are legally required to post
What the fuck is wrong with people
a lot of the pushback ("tacky" etc) is because this work is, generally, women's work (female-coded).
and women's work is supposed to be invisible. it is meant to go unnoticed. a house should not have signs of life, like dirty dishes or a unfolded blanket, and that means it shouldn't have the suggestion of dirt, like a trashcan.
and by god you'd better not act like any actual effort goes into keeping things clean, like a chore chart or cleaning log, because you are discussing the taboo.
I mean I think it's important to acknowledge that this is also a matter of classism; most of the women (and it's mostly women) I have these arguments with are the sort who pride themselves on their houses looking expensive.
And while the "women's work" aspect of it is definitely THERE, it's one of those situations where it's also often women enforcing these ideas, particularly upper middle class white women.
It's certainly true that if these folks perceived me as a man, they'd leave me alone on a lot of points they nitpick now, but the lady who thinks the restroom signs are clutter would still think that if I was a baritone instead of a soprano.
Bingo! I was looking in the notes on this one to see if someone happened to bring this up and was not disappointed! This is absolutely a class thing!
The upper middle class (arguably the middle class as a whole) style themselves over the impossibly rich aristocracy that probably have a guy wiping their butts in the bathroom who puts the toilet paper in his pocket and goes directly outside and flings himself in the dumpster then is replaced by a new guy every time they take a shit.
The bourgeoisie don't need a trash can in the bathroom. But the upper middle class does not have access to that kind of wealth, all they see is the richer people they so desperately want to be like don't have a bathroom trash can and so they shan't either.
The majority of companies for the majority of recent history market to the tastes of the middle class so that gets established as the normal, desireable state of home decor and logistics of the home, even though this doesn't make sense for people who work two jobs or are single parents or are neurodivergent or even for the middle class that has established that norm. It's basically virtue signaling that you are, in fact, as classy as those awesome, successful rich people we all want to be like (/s) who don't put trash cans in their bathrooms.
I'll never forget staying in an ultra-trendy NYC hotel, one that pumped a custom Le Labo fragrance into the lobby, and having no trashcan in the room. I had motorized blackout blinds, a shower that looked like a tiled shame corner and not a place to get clean, and a VIP elevator for the top floor bar.
I learned what the alignment Minimalist Stupid truly meant there.
Mona Lisa cat nest 😭
That's all kinds of clever
the world is getting so ugly and bleak and it’s hard not to feel so hopeless. but we have to remember that they want us to feel that way.
it reminds me of this quote by dan savage - “During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon, and we danced all night, and it was the dance that kept us in the fight because it was the dance we were fighting for.”
joy is resistance. it’s really scary times but we are all in this together.
The Deer of Stars, the youngest god, searches for something it does not have the words to describe.
first art of the new year
The relation between nature and human being: Agnieszka Lepka
The red-winged blackbird’s song is deeply comforting and familiar it’s like walking into the marsh and hearing an old friend
A well loved friend's ringtone
hi, a lot of you need a perspective reset
Been feeling like I lost the past 5 years and I have been losing the plot for my future. Sometimes, I imagine being old and fabulous and then realize I don't know how to be alive right now.
Working on getting my hopepunk motor running again. Hashimoto's makes that hard. So does fascism.
I know this is a joke but like, yeah. It is. I promise you.
See, I had graduated early from highschool and then got my associates in Zoology. But then, from ages 18-23, I was medicated with antipsychotics and (for those last two years) a deadly combo of sedatives due to misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis, and then a psychiatrist who was legitimately on drugs and just writing random shit that almost killed me.
Anyway, needless to say, my brain turned to mush and stopped working, and it took me 6 years to get some sort of bachelors degree (in fashion??) and I graduated at the bottom of my class.
And then I got properly diagnosed (the “psychosis” was just narcolepsy) and got off all those meds. And I was so afraid my brain was permanently fucked. And it is, cause of the narcolepsy part, but the narcolepsy doesn’t kill the parts of your brain where your smarts are.
But I went back to school. Got another bachelors studying sustainable tourism. Turns out my smarts hadn’t gone anywhere when my brain turned to mush. I graduated with a 3.98 GPA.
Now I’m getting my masters in biology studying the intersection of tourism and the conservation of the critically endangered Cozumel raccoon. And doing well. 🤷🏻♀️
Your brain is not a muscle in the literal sense, but it is a muscle in the sense that the more you use it, the better developed it becomes. Not using it might make its usefulness dip for a bit, but that doesn't mean it's gone forever. You might have to work your way back up, start with easier exercises (puzzles, creative exercises, critical thinking questions) before jumping back into the stuff you used to do, but like a couch to 5k slowly ramp up the difficulty and you'll get there in the end. No one's brains are useless, you just gotta meet 'em where they're at.
Me: I don't get it. I thought I was doing a lot better than I was a few years ago. I'm like 10 times more on top of things than I used to be. How does everything feel terrible now?
The Tiny Me in OSHA-approved Hi-Vis Gear Who lives in my brain and pulls all the levers: Boss, it's the fascism. You're completely gunked up with cortisol due to the fact that your entire daily life is now underscored with a haunting awareness of the rapid erosion of your rights, dignity, and any and all social safety nets, and you're also bearing witness to the most vulnerable people immediately being persecuted. This creates a natural stress response that basically means you're going to continue having memory and organizational problems, as well as emotional imbalances.
Me: BUT I HAVE A BULLET JOURNAL AND I MEDITATE NOW.
Tiny OSHA Me: BOSS, THE FASCISM.
when i was reading the book entangled life which is about fungi and the author merlin sheldrake said that once he got his first author copies he was going to dampen the pages and use them to grow oyster mushrooms and yeast and then use the yeast to brew beer and then drink the beer with the mushrooms to complete the cycle of fungal knowledge. i was like really and truly this guy gets it
he ate his own words.
But really and truly. The cycle is not complete until he dies.
I’m not sure how or why, but this is goth as FUCK.
his brother cosmo is a musician and made a theme song for it and god I wish it was longer because it slaps
their parents named them Merlin and Cosmo, and they were rewarded with some very unique and creative individuals
HEY WAIT THATS COSMO SHELDRAKE. THE GUY WHO DID
