8hyenas | Reading

* News keeps moving fast, so some items may be already out of date.

* Once again, I'm cutting this off with only the surface scratched. Sorry.

* "100 transgender inmates presumed dead after Israeli missiles struck Iranian prison last month:" https://www.advocate.com/world/iran-trans-prisoners-missing-israel

******

* "Trump, finally fed up with Putin, teases more Russian sanctions 'at my option':" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/08/trump-putin-russia-sanctions-00442269?nid=0000018f-3124-de07-a98f-3be4d1400000&nname=politico-toplines&nrid=d2eeaed6-f3e9-45f4-9cdf-e99483343117

Anyone taking bets on how soon Trump'll be on his back begging Putin for belly rubs?

* "Kremlin says it's unclear if CNN report that Trump threatened to bomb Moscow is fake or not:" https://archive.ph/ejuSw

* Not holding my breath. "Congress is ready to move on Russia sanctions, Johnson and Thune say:" https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/09/congress/senate-sanctions-scheduling-john-thune-00443808

* "Russia’s summer Ukraine offensive looks like its deadliest yet:" https://archive.ph/utW31#selection-1126.0-1126.1

******

* "Syrian forces massacred 1,500 Alawites. The chain of command led to Damascus.:" https://archive.ph/GK71U

* "Sudanese Photographer Shares Personal Experience Documenting His Country’s Ongoing War [Interview]:" https://mymodernmet.com/sudan-war-photography-mosab-abushama/

* "Eleven Dead in Kenya Protests as Police Shut Capital City Down:" https://archive.ph/5Kosn

* "Kenya mourns vendor killed in protests, as calls grow for Ruto to quit:" https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/11/kenya-mourns-vendor-killed-in-protests-as-calls-grow-for-ruto-to-quit

* "Congregation flees after arsonist sets fire to an Australian synagogue door:" https://apnews.com/article/australia-melbourne-synagogue-arson-antisemitism-4226c3be3cfd1097ea630ef4706ad705

* "Tigers, jaguars and elephants are the latest to flee cartel violence in Mexico’s Sinaloa:" https://apnews.com/article/sinaloa-violence-animals-refuge-cartels-cc41ee64c385537edd5289c24c03979f

* "World Bank warns that 39 fragile states are falling further behind as conflicts grow, get deadlier:" https://apnews.com/article/world-bank-development-conflict-gdp-57c1f24ea6ca753e64870a7f882038d5?

* "An Australian woman is found guilty of murdering her in-laws by toxic mushrooms:" https://www.npr.org/2025/07/07/nx-s1-5451735/erin-patterson-mushroom-murder-trial-verdict

* "The Little Mountain Democracy That Sustains Tibet’s Refugee Nation:" https://archive.ph/x6Gcp#selection-497.0-501.145

* "Though the US is backsliding on LGBTQ+ rights under Trump, the UN renews mandate for queer protections expert:" https://www.advocate.com/news/un-sogi-expert-mandate-trump

* "Canada labels the Proud Boys, neo-Nazi groups as terrorists:" https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-proud-boys-terrorists-1.5899186

* I don't blame them nor the scientists fleeing our sinking ship. "Europe launches program to lure scientists away from the US:" https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/05/europe-launches-program-to-lure-scientists-away-from-the-us/

* "Ways and means:" https://amaebi.dreamwidth.org/2663627.html

* The next big 50501 protest is July 17th: https://www.fiftyfifty.one/events

* "Trump Says He’s Weighing Federal Takeover of Washington, DC:" https://archive.ph/iHo9q

This is scary autocrat stuff. I'd also like to point out how Republicans overthrowing democracy in Flint Michigan turned out for the people living there.

* CW: sexual abuse. "Trump loses appeal of $5 million E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse, defamation verdict:" https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/10/trump-carroll-sexual-abuse-appeal.html

* "Trump commutes 17-year prison sentence for Volusia County Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs:" https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/2025/01/21/florida-proud-boy-joe-biggs-jan-6-prison-sentence-commuted/77842895007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z118256p115550c115550e000300v118256b00xxxxd11xx65&gca-ft=12&gca-ds=sophi

* "Jan. 6 defendant sentenced to life in prison for plotting to kill FBI special agents who investigated him:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/jan-6-defendant-sentenced-life-prison-plotting-kill-fbi-special-agents-rcna216526

* "Mystery Artists Return with Trump Dance Sculpture on the National Mall:" https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/mystery-artists-return-with-trump-dance-sculpture-1234746367/

* "'No earthly clue what he's doing': Psaki shreds Trump's poor grip on his own government:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/-no-earthly-clue-what-he-s-doing-psaki-shreds-trump-s-poor-grip-on-his-own-government-242979909528

* He's still obsessed with Rosie O'Donnell all these decades later? "Donald Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O'Donnell's citizenship — but he can't :" https://www.advocate.com/news/trump-odonnell-revoke-citizenship

* "From people to food to flags, why does the Trump administration hate colors so much?:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/trump-administration-hates-color

* "Not so proud to be an American? Why U.S. patriotism is plummeting.:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/not-so-proud-to-be-an-american-why-u-s-patriotism-is-plummeting-242772037563

* "'Thoroughly incompetent manager': The Trump Cabinet's no good, very bad week:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/-thoroughly-incompetent-manager-the-trump-cabinet-s-no-good-very-bad-week-243128389746

* "The F.B.I. Is Using Polygraphs to Test Officials’ Loyalty:" https://archive.ph/SpLoU

* "Man Afraid to Ride Subway Named Head of NASA:" https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-sean-duffy-interim-nasa-administrator-1235382413/

* "Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and US officials:" https://apnews.com/article/rubio-artificial-intelligence-impersonation-1b3cc78464404b54e63f4eba9dd4f5a9

* "Judge won't lift her block on Trump admin's anti-trans, anti-nonbinary passport policy:" https://www.advocate.com/news/judge-keeps-block-passport-policy

* "Passengers at U.S. airports no longer have to remove shoes during regular TSA checks:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tsa-shoes-rule-expires/

* "Why is the Army recommending training for this transgender officer that the Pentagon plans to oust?:" https://www.advocate.com/news/transgender-nic-talbott-army-training

* This is scary. What happened to HIPAA and privacy? "Trump's DOJ subpoenas doctors and medical clinics that care for transgender youth:" https://www.advocate.com/news/doj-subupoenas-gender-affirming-care

* CW: Suicide. "Cutting the cord on compassion, how one federal order cut lifelines to millions of LGBTQ+ youth:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/trevor-project-donald-trump

* "After trans people, Trump now erases bisexual people from Stonewall National Monument:" https://www.advocate.com/news/bisexual-rights-stonewall-national-monument

* "FTC hosts anti-trans workshop LGBTQ+ advocates call ‘government-sponsored disinformation’:" https://www.advocate.com/news/ftc-gender-affirming-care-workshop

* "Trump admin lawsuit against California seeks end to trans-inclusive sports policy:" https://www.advocate.com/news/trump-admininistration-sues-california-transgender

* "Health experts warn Trump’s new policies for HHS teen pregnancy program could reverse decades of progress:" https://www.advocate.com/health/trump-rollback-teen-pregnancy-warning

* "Doctors and public health organizations sue Kennedy over vaccine policy change:" https://apnews.com/article/lawsuit-vaccines-kennedy-95a1aa23c3f015f7a35a570f5ef8da36

* "Unsaid: ‘Make America Healthy Again’ means kill the sick:" https://www.editorialboard.com/unsaid-make-america-healthy-again-means-kill-the-sick/

* "Measles cases reach new high since being eliminated in U.S.:" https://www.axios.com/2025/07/07/measles-cases-high-eliminated-us

* "Trump’s FEMA Proposals and Feud With Gavin Newsom Could Devastate California’s Disaster Response:" https://www.propublica.org/article/california-disasters-fema-trump-funding-fires

* This smells like Racism to me. "Trump official called out for misrepresenting report on female Lahaina fire survivors :" https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/07/12/trump-official-called-out-misrepresenting-report-female-lahaina-fire-survivors/

* "Why you should be worried about a new Trump-appointed commission you probably haven't heard of:" https://www.alternet.org/religious-liberty-commission/

* "IRS moves to allow political engagement from churches, in a win for evangelical groups:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/08/irs-churches-tax-exempt-00441992?cid=apn

* "When Father Joe tells you who to vote for, America loses its last vestige of morality:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/irs-churches-can-endorse-candiates

* "Harvard seemingly caves to Trump, shuts down LGBTQ+ and women's center websites:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/harvard-trump-lgbtq-center-website

* "George Washington University implements hiring freeze & budget cuts as Trump advances war on higher ed:" https://www.advocate.com/news/george-washington-university-austerity-measures

* "Steve Kroft – “60 Minutes” and Paramount’s $16M Trump Settlement | The Daily Show:"

( Embed: )

* "Goodbye to All That:" https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/goodbye-to-all-that

* "FBI veteran exposes Trump cronies' political games with Trump enemies list:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/fbi-veteran-exposes-trump-cronies-political-games-with-trump-enemies-list-242978885727

* "FBI launches probes into former FBI, CIA directors, Fox News reports:" https://archive.ph/r6UR1

*** CW: CSA. Jeffery Epstein Stuff ***

* "Trump’s DOJ Just Denied Key Jeffrey Epstein Conspiracy Theories. MAGA Uproar Ensued. :" https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/trump-jeffrey-epstein/

* "MAGA turns on Trump over Epstein scandal:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/maga-turns-on-trump-over-epstein-scandal-242907205538

* "MAGA world in disarray over handling of Epstein case:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/maga-world-in-disarray-over-handling-of-epstein-case-243107397876

* "'Everything should be released': Raskin calls making Epstein files public:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/-everything-should-be-released-raskin-calls-making-epstein-files-public-243114565536

* "Trump's Epstein turmoil triggers MAGA meltdown:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-s-epstein-turmoil-triggers-maga-meltdown-243112517606

* "Supreme Court green-lights Trump’s order for mass firings across federal government:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/08/supreme-court-federal-worker-firings-ruling-00442721

* "Supreme Court sides with Texas' age verification law for porn sites:" https://www.npr.org/2025/06/27/nx-s1-5422424/scotus-texas-porn-law

* "How The Supreme Court Ended Trans Rights:"

( Embed: )

* "This bill will “kill people”: Dem Rep. on how party can capitalize on Trump's unpopular law:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/this-bill-will-kill-people-dem-rep-on-how-party-can-capitalize-on-trump-s-unpopular-law-242751045655

* "Rural hospitals brace for painful program eliminations after Trump's megabill signed into law:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-weekend-primetime/watch/how-will-the-so-called-big-beautiful-law-impact-rural-hospitals-243130949948

* "Sounds like 'lab-invented spin': Jen Psaki shreds Sen. Hawley's Medicaid remarks:" https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/sounds-like-lab-invented-spin-jen-psaki-shreds-sen-hawley-s-medicaid-remarks-243004997595

* "Senate GOP gears up for test on Trump’s DOGE cuts:" https://thehill.com/business/budget/5390897-senate-gop-gears-up-for-test-on-trumps-doge-cuts/

* "Donald Trump Gives Republicans Ultimatum Over PBS, NPR Funding:" https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-gives-republicans-ultimatum-pbs-npr-funding-2097602

* RE: SAVE ACT "Do This Today: Call Senators:" https://solarbird.dreamwidth.org/2036106.html

If these are your Senators, please stop what you are doing and call now:

KELLY (AZ)
WARNOCK (GA)
PETERS (MI)
SHAHEEN (NH)
HASSAN (NH)
CORTEZ MASTO (NV)
ROSEN (NV)

* This one is a super dangerous attack on the judiciary's ability to protect citizen's rights. "H.R. 1526: NORRA of 2025:" https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/119/hr1526

* THE VOTE IS SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK CALL NOW!!! This is a life time appointment!

* "Internal DOJ messages bolster claim that Trump judicial nominee spoke of defying court orders:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/10/emil-bove-whistleblower-documents-00446225

* "Whistleblower exposing contradictions in Trump nominee's testimony may not be alone: Sen. Booker:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/whistleblower-exposing-contradictions-in-trump-nominee-s-testimony-may-not-be-alone-sen-booker-243052101926

* He should be in jail, not a judge. "Federal Courts Are Cooked:"

( Embed: )

* "Jewish Groups Deny Endorsing Trump’s Far-Right Pick for Watchdog Chief:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/jewish-groups-flat-out-deny-endorsing-donald-trumps-pick-for-office-of-special-counsel-paul-ingrassia/

* "Trump steps up effort to prevent truth from exposing his administration with new appointee:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-steps-up-effort-to-prevent-truth-from-exposing-his-administration-with-new-appointee-243053125934

* "Marjorie Taylor Greene Wants To Make Weather Manipulation A Felony:" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marjorie-taylor-greene-weather-manipulation-bill_n_686a8cf3e4b06d6dc61354d4

* "“The internet can be a strange place”: Ted Cruz addresses “weather modification” conspiracy theories:" https://www.salon.com/2025/07/07/the-internet-can-be-a-strange-place-ted-cruz-confronts-weather-modification-conspiracy-theories/

It seems to me we'd be better served by rehiring all the people fired at NOAA and FEMA and restoring policies for quick response that Kristi Noem replaced than with outlawing imaginary things, but I'm part of the reality based community, have a working brain, and empathy.

* "Florida congressman's ‘unhinged, racist and Islamophobic’ posts under fire:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/florida-congressman-s-unhinged-racist-and-islamophobic-posts-under-fire-243049541744

* Our job for the next two years is to survive, to build grassroots resistance, to do all in our power to slow the republican Christo-fascist agenda, and to prepare for 2026 in case there is still Democracy.

We are trying to build a good list of resistance resources.

Please add more below if you have them.

* "Take action with Indivisible:" https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/

* Trump 2.0 Indivisible Guide. https://indivisible.org/resource/guide

* "Democracy 2025:" https://www.democracy2025.org/?utm_source=df-ad&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=21912407002&utm_content=721373734297&source=df-ad-gs&gad_source=1

* "Resisting Fascism in 2025 and Beyond:" https://www.prideandpagesbookclub.com/resisting-fascism-in-2025-and-beyond

* If you can't safely contact them in person, here are some other options for contacting your Congress Critters:

Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

And another: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

Snail Mail Campaigns: https://conuly.dreamwidth.org/3622760.html

"Congress. gov:" https://www.congress.gov/

White house (Possibly Dangerous): https://www.whitehouse.gov/

ACLU advice for writing to your Critters: https://www.aclu.org/writing-your-elected-representatives

This tracks legislation: https://www.govtrack.us/

"The Public Comment Process (+ how to write effective public comments):" https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/781844516804149248?source=share

Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/

"Vote Smart:" https://justfacts.votesmart.org/

Useful organizing links and resources: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/771859083592613888/hater-of-terfs-ive-already-reblogged-a-link-to?source=share

Protests: "50501 Events:" https://www.fiftyfifty.one/events

How to render emergency aid in a riot: https://riotmedicine.net/static/downloads/riot-medicine_a5.pdf

"How to Safely and Ethically Film Police Misconduct:" https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-to-film-police-safely

"ICE Raids Toolkit: Defend Against ICE Raids and Community Arrests:" https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/raids-toolkit/

Contains a raid tip hotline amoung other things. "Know Your Rights
LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY:" https://wearecasa.org/know-your-rights/

* "North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein vetoes anti-trans, anti-DEI bills:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/nc-vetoes-anti-trans-dei

* "Murders are down nationwide. Researchers point to a key reason:" https://www.npr.org/2025/06/30/nx-s1-5448852/murders-down-nationwide-covid

* "America’s Incarceration Rate Is About to Fall Off a Cliff:" https://archive.ph/mi5Wn

Now would be a great time to end for profit prisons, but alas, Republicans are in charge so likely they will fill them with political prisoners and illegally detained immigrants.

* "Baylor University returns $643,000 LGBTQ+ grant, calling it 'inconsistent' with values:" https://www.advocate.com/news/baylor-university-returns-lgbtq-grant

* "Beloved Georgia librarian fired after child chooses book with transgender character for library display:" https://www.advocate.com/news/librarian-fired-trans-book-georgia

* CW: sexual abuse "Rep. Jim Jordan is a liar who abandoned his wrestlers when they needed him most:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/jim-jordan-abandoned-abused-wrestlers

* CW: domestic violence. "Ohio man charged with killing his partner, a rising local drag artist who went missing last month:" https://www.advocate.com/crime/ohio-man-suspect-drag-artist-killing

* "Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling reinstates conversion therapy ban:" https://www.advocate.com/news/wisconsin-supreme-court-conversion-therapy

* " Black trans woman Dream Johnson killed in Washington, D.C. :" https://www.advocate.com/crime/dream-johnson-transgender-woman-killed

* CW: suicide. "Pennsylvania fines gay grandpa with stage 4 cancer $16k for protesting trans youth suicide:" https://www.advocate.com/news/gay-grandpa-glue-capitol-vermont

* "LGBTQ+ groups face alarming funding crisis as Republican anti-trans attacks mount, new report finds:" https://www.advocate.com/news/lgbtq-fundraising-dries-up

* CW: Suicide "These hotlines are still available for LGBTQ+ youth after Trump kills 988 services:" https://www.advocate.com/news/lgbtq-youth-hotlines-still-available

* "What to know about the COVID variant that may cause ‘razor blade’ sore throats:" https://apnews.com/article/covid19-sore-throat-razor-blade-vaccine-4688df53917022cb61204e08b41d5952

* "US CDC report shows no evidence linking thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism:" https://archive.ph/13NCB

* "Measles leaves children vulnerable to other diseases for years:" https://ourworldindata.org/measles-increases-disease-risk

* "‘I’m Treating Guys Who Would Never Be Caught Dead in a Casino’:" https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/06/sports-betting-gambling-addiction/683042/

* "Why Can’t Americans Sleep?:" https://archive.ph/Z4Rxs

* "Spider fear inflates size perception, highlighting the role of emotion in threat assessment:" https://www.psypost.org/spider-fear-inflates-size-perception-highlighting-the-role-of-emotion-in-threat-assessment/

* "The more library books per capita, the fewer residents require nursing care: Japan study:" https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250624/p2a/00m/0li/017000c

* "Real Doctors of New York Spill Their Guts:" https://archive.ph/htp02

* "The Surprising Reason Rural Hospitals Are Closing:" https://time.com/7298891/rural-hospitals-closing-explained-health-care/

This was published before the Republicans voted to kill most of the remaining rural hospitals because they feel a handful of billionaires aren't rich enough.

The point about how deadly health insurance companies are matters still.

* "The Business of Betting on Catastrophe:" https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-business-of-betting-on-catastrophe/

* CW: Suicide "A Killer Within Easy Reach:" https://archive.ph/dicIe

* "See How Marine Heat Waves Are Spreading Across the Globe:" https://archive.ph/xZNVt

* "America's summers keep getting warmer:" https://www.axios.com/2025/05/28/summers-warmer-climate-change

* "Texas Hill Country floods: What we know so far:" https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/11/texas-hill-country-floods-what-we-know/

* "Texas flood rescue teams continue to search for scores of missing people as death toll climbs:" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-floods-missing-people-death-toll-climbs/

* "Video: Timelapse Shows Texas' Llano River Completely Flood in Just Minutes:" https://www.npr.org/sections/the-picture-show/2025/07/06/g-s1-76298/video-timelapse-texas-llano-river-flood-minutes

* "Meteorologists Say the National Weather Service Did Its Job in Texas:" https://www.wired.com/story/meteorologists-say-the-national-weather-service-did-its-job-in-texas/

* "Texas flood forecasts were accurate. It wasn’t enough to save lives. The National Weather Service issued timely alerts, meteorologists say, but few were listening in the hours before the early morning flash floods.:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/07/texas-flood-forecasts-accuracy-lives-lost-00441068

* "DOGE Cuts Turned A Predicted Disaster Into A Deadly Reality In Texas :" https://www.techdirt.com/2025/07/07/doge-cuts-turned-a-predicted-disaster-into-a-deadly-reality-in-texas/

* "Texas lawmaker wants investigation into weather alert system and storm preparedness:" https://www.npr.org/2025/07/07/nx-s1-5458506/texas-floods-alert-investigation

* "Devastating Texas floods highlight stakes of vital weather services amid reckless Trump cuts:" https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/devastating-texas-floods-highlight-need-for-coordination-experience-amid-trump-era-service-cuts-242828357581

* "Amid Trump's FEMA phase-out, disasters make stark the need for federal help:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/amid-trump-s-fema-phase-out-disasters-make-stark-the-need-for-federal-help-242912837825

* Think of the small amount of money Republican politicians are proud of saving by cutting over night weather monitoring and forcing out the person in charge of coordinating disaster related communications. For them the deaths of all these people, many of them children, are minor sacrifices compared to the pleasure Trump and Musk got from firing people significantly more competent than themselves and the tax cuts for a handful of billionaires this carnage is in aid of.

They are planning to cut even more and completely dissolve all federal Disaster response, because NOAA's ability to monitor and predict disasters helps quantify the climate crisis, which is bad for Republican donors, and Trump cares about no one but himself.

Republicans do not care how much damage to the country that they do or how many of their own voters they murder as long as they get money and power.

* "Texas is relying on FEMA. State leaders said it should be cut:" https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5459871/texas-trump-fema-flooding

* "FEMA leader is a no-show after deadly Texas flooding:" https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/10/fema-leader-texas-flooding-00445902

* "Kristi Noem Faces Investigation Over FEMA's Response to Texas Floods:" https://www.newsweek.com/kristi-noem-faces-investigation-fema-response-texas-floods-2097623

* "Budget limits at DHS delayed FEMA’s Texas deployment, officials say:" https://archive.ph/LXKQ6

* "Chris Hayes: It's not 'partisan politics' to question Texas flood response:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/chris-hayes-it-s-not-partisan-politics-to-question-texas-flood-response-242978373680

* "New report on Kristi Noem’s 3-day delay of Texas flood rescue:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/new-report-on-kristi-noem-s-3-day-delay-of-texas-flood-rescue-243044933670

She deliberately slowed the response not only preventing advance deployment of resources, but making them wait three days for help.

She claims ending advance and immediate response to disasters is an essential cost saving measure.

* "When Texans desperately sought higher ground, Ted Cruz climbed to the Parthenon in Greece :" https://www.advocate.com/voices/ted-cruz-absent-flooding

* It's part of the same fundamental pattern of behavior in Republican politicians. "In the wake of Kerrville, how so-called Christian Mike Johnson is leading a satanic cycle of suffering:" https://www.advocate.com/voices/mike-johnson-causing-suffering

* "Texas County Flagged Need for Flood Alarm Months Before Tragedy:" https://archive.ph/p2Ne9

* Somehow, Republicans find a way to make it all worse: "GOP's conspiracy theorist problem worsens as flood disasters trigger misinformation frenzy:" https://www.msnbc.com/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/gop-s-conspiracy-theorist-problem-worsens-as-flood-disasters-trigger-misinformation-frenzy-243057221742

* "Chris Hayes: ‘Start planning for the unexpected’:" https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/chris-hayes-start-planning-for-the-unexpected-243105861889

* "Why the Texas Floods Were So Deadly:" https://archive.ph/ptpZI

* "FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from 100-year flood map before expansion, records show:" https://apnews.com/article/texas-flood-camp-mystic-map-records-investigation-e12bee8d5f88301363861ca12c19b929

* "Flash flood threat in the Southern Plains as Texas still recovers:" https://abcnews.go.com/US/flash-flood-threat-southern-plains-texas-recovers/story?id=123708107

* "Inmates clear tornado damage to free Oklahoma family stuck for over a week:" https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-tornado-cleanup-inmates-607c1ff77dfc79d5b8539c2f08585c7a?

* "Many coastal communities are flooding more than we thought, researchers find:" https://archive.ph/PSoKC#selection-272.0-272.1

* "Poison in the water: the town with the world’s worst case of forever chemicals contamination:" https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/19/world-worst-case-of-pfas-forever-chemicals-contamination-kallinge

* "This Obscure But Powerful “Dark Roof” Lobby May Be Making Your City Hotter:" https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/06/dark-roof-lobby-white-reflective-roofs-laws-lobbying-urban-heat-islands/

* "'Sweating' paint keeps buildings cool even in hot and humid cities:" https://newatlas.com/materials/sweating-paint-buildings-cool-humidity/

* "Why taking apart buildings piece by piece is a climate solution:" https://www.npr.org/2025/06/13/nx-s1-5340709/deconstruction-recycling-climate-solution

* "Scientists in Japan develop plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours:" https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/scientists-japan-develop-plastic-that-dissolves-seawater-within-hours-2025-06-04/

* "New cheese packaging decomposes in 300 days, not 1,000 years: 'The solution was in the cheese itself':" https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/nestle-cheese-single-plastic-waste

* "In Atacama, Chile's driest desert, lettuce is grown with fog water:" https://archive.ph/9exp6

* "Fire-Eyes Of The Underworld:" https://www.noemamag.com/fire-eyes-of-the-underworld/

* "That Dropped Call With Customer Service? It Was on Purpose.:" https://archive.ph/e54oR

* "‘A Billion Streams and No Fans’: Inside a $10 Million AI Music Fraud Case:" https://www.wired.com/story/ai-bots-streaming-music/

* "'The models were right!' Astronomers locate universe's 'missing' matter in the largest cosmic structures:" https://www.space.com/astronomy/astronomers-turn-up-missing-matter-in-the-largest-structures-in-the-cosmos-the-models-were-right

* "Scientists puzzled by giant planet detected orbiting tiny star:" https://www.reuters.com/science/scientists-puzzled-by-giant-planet-detected-orbiting-tiny-star-2025-06-04/

* "The Unseen Fury Of Solar Storms:" https://www.noemamag.com/the-unseen-fury-of-solar-storms/?

* "Nearby Sculptor galaxy revealed in ultra-detailed galactic image:" https://archive.ph/PDO9J

* "For first time, Webb telescope discovers an alien planet:" https://www.reuters.com/science/first-time-webb-telescope-discovers-an-alien-planet-2025-06-25/

* "Astronaut becomes first Indian to set foot on ISS:" https://www.yahoo.com/news/first-indian-astronaut-arrive-soon-090909376.html

* "Menstrual Cups Tested in Space Flight Conditions for the First Time:" https://www.universetoday.com/articles/menstrual-cups-tested-in-space-flight-conditions-for-the-first-time?

* "Microbes are Evolving that Thrive in Spacecraft Cleanrooms:" https://www.universetoday.com/articles/microbes-are-evolving-that-thrive-in-spacecraft-cleanrooms?

* "A long-running experiment finds a tiny particle is still acting weird:" https://apnews.com/article/muon-fermilab-standard-model-physics-cb123cd20bfd8141dbf75de62804b32b

* "Shining a Light on the World of Tiny Proteins:" https://archive.ph/rYkIj

* "The science behind the smell of rain:" https://www.popsci.com/science/smell-of-rain-petrichor-science/?

* "The Wild Within the Walls:" https://www.biographic.com/the-wild-within-the-walls/

* "The Silky Anteater: The Life of the Tiny, Nocturnal Tree-Dweller :" https://www.arkinspace.com/2025/06/the-silky-anteater-life-of-tiny.html

* "Mish and Lucy the bears eat 'a week's worth' of honey after escaping from their enclosure:" https://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/england-bears-escape-enclosure-honey-asleep-mish-lucy-rcna214921?

* "Maternal Iron Deficiency Can Trigger Sex Reversal in Mouse Embryos:" https://www.the-scientist.com/maternal-iron-deficiency-can-trigger-sex-reversal-in-mouse-embryos-73070?

* "Researchers thrilled after discovering critically endangered creature far from its usual habitat: 'A good sign':" https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/belalanda-chameleon-madagascar-discovery/

* "Healing Hearts, Tiny Wings: Mexico City's Hummingbird Sanctuary:" https://www.reuters.com/pictures/healing-hearts-tiny-wings-mexico-citys-hummingbird-sanctuary-2025-06-03/

* "A new study knocks down a popular hypothesis about why birds sing at dawn:" https://www.npr.org/2025/06/20/nx-s1-5436078/why-birds-sing-dawn-chorus-research-study?

* "Feather-legged lace weaver spider kills prey by covering it with toxic silk:" https://phys.org/news/2025-06-feather-legged-lace-weaver-spider.html

* "Sea spiders found farming methane-eating microbes in cultivated biofilm:" https://phys.org/news/2025-06-sea-spiders-farming-methane-microbes.html

* "Orcas in Washington are creating grooming tools out of kelp stalks:" https://nautil.us/scratch-my-back-and-ill-scratch-yours-1220231/?

* "The right touch: Octopuses' surface-sensing secrets decoded :" https://newatlas.com/biology/octopus-surface-sensing/

* "In Death, New Life: The Science And Symbolism of a Whale Fall:" https://atmos.earth/after-the-fall/

* "The History of the Ocean, as Told by Tiny Beautiful Fossils:" https://daily.jstor.org/the-history-of-the-ocean-as-told-by-tiny-beautiful-fossils/

* "236-Million-Year-Old Poop Fossil Reveals a Hidden Treasure — Oldest Evidence of Butterflies:" https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/236-million-year-old-poop-fossil-reveals-a-hidden-treasure-oldest-evidence?

* "Did the Romans Like Swearing?:" https://jamescoverley.substack.com/p/did-the-romans-like-swearing

* "Tibetan Musical Notation Is Beautiful:" https://www.openculture.com/2025/06/behold-tibetan-musical-notation-is-beautiful.html

* "The Invisible City of Tehran:" https://archive.ph/SWQfi#selection-579.0-579.28

* "Jewel Thais-Williams, activist and owner of legendary L.A. Black queer bar Jewel's Catch One, has died:" https://www.advocate.com/news/jewel-thais-williams-dies

* I am doing my best to adjust to spending most of my time in a 5' by 5' space. The cats are adjusting to the new routines. Livia's worked out the invaders only come when I wear clothes, which means for the long weekend, she only hides for a couple of hours during the lungs/food/chores portion and comes out again when I settle for the afternoon. They take turns sitting on me for loves while I read Bad Gays, which is turning out to be fascinating. I've been really enjoying all the ways Queer Studies scholarship is expanding and the intersectionality of research just generally like in the one I read about policing bodies in San Fransisco. There are so many documents available now that there was no or only limited access to back in the day.

They've been mostly hanging out with me in my desk/sofa space, which is kind of them. They still spend time in the window spots, watching birds and butterflies. I periodically find Livia standing sadly in front of her bedroom door, which I can't open for her for safety reasons. Mostly though, we hang out in a group.

It will be rough when hurry up and waits starts again Monday.

I am bruising myself less trying to sleep, but today I fell twice because there is only so much I can do to protect my joints in these conditions. The mystery rash I had for the two weeks of them forcing us to move my whole room contents is mostly gone and I am finding fewer mystery sores. Likely I was allergic to something in the dust all that kicked up. I am still having trouble with my sinuses because I can't filter the common area properly. There are too many gaps in the window around the air conditioner and I have to move the big ass air filter twice a day to service my fish tanks and it's heavy and adding extra bending and plugging and unplugging is just too many things. Really I need new filters, but that chance has flown for the summer given our finances.

I have instituted a new litter change routine as I now have no one to do it. I am bad at bending and worse at breathing while bending and litter dust is being kicked up, but it can't be helped. Squirrel has taken over trash. I wasn't us to moving lots of heavy things, which would be needed for the next making things more livable in the debris maze steps, so I've been working on reorganizing some things in the garden, which needed doing. I think I've got things squared away for the month. *digits cruciform* (Obviously there will be weeding. There will always be weeding).

* I've just been drowning here. The exhaustion is intense and I'm in week two of a bunch of my left side joints randomly dislocating or trying to dislocate. Usually in situations where I just had to keep hobbling regardless. I keep trying to adjust what little propping I can do, but I really, really can't protect my joints when I sleep without a proper bed.

I can actually feel my natural shoulder joint deteriorating under the stress and my artificial one is backsliding. I can't really manage much physio either given the givens. Most of it's physically impossible in the space I have, and what is possible is hampered by pain, exhaustion, and all the fucking extra physical labour i have to do to deal with HOA Construction Hell.

I still need to move a heavy thing back and forth twice a day for the benefit of the fish tanks, and I'm trying to do at least one other extra thing everyday on top of the usual stuff needing doing.

Monday it was so bad I couldn't raise my arms above my chest. There was nothing for it but to take a muscle relaxant for the benefit of my shoulders and neck, which is dangerous (see can't prop my joints in safe positions when I sleep in a 2' by 5' space). I took it early, in hopes that it would be mostly worn off by bedtime. Another downside is my body thinks even a half dose is a sleeping pill which carries it's own problems. I still hurt myself in my sleep, but the balance ended up in my favor.

So this meant I started Tuesday exhausted and behind with joints that kept trying and occasionally succeeded in popping in and out.

I didn't even manage all the basics Tuesday RL or online.

Wednesday, I heard them working above me, so I was pretty sure they'd turn up here Tuesday morning to squeeze me in, based on the pattern previously set. Job took all morning and I am pretty sure they are sneaking in one disabled person a day outside the HOAs demands they go systematically and fuck the disabled residents.

I'm not kidding when I say the construction workers have been incredibly kind and considerate from their head office to the teens that are just learning what to do.

I forgot to check my email, which I feel bad about as a Millennial had rearranged their schedule to cove my Thursday morning doctor's appointment. I panicked and moved it to September, which is not a bad thing really as we were going to talk next step on my joints and the next round of that is going to be strenuous and I haven't any spoons or time for that now.

It turns out Squirrel traded a shift so they can Construction sit while I do the rather more urgent dentist appointment scheduled three months ago for two weeks from now.

I spent Wednesday just trying to catch up on some of the things I couldn't manage Monday or Tuesday and honestly, mostly failing.

Thursday morning a whole crew showed up 9ish to work in my room until 11:30ish.

They replaced a lot of pipe in the ceiling and expanded the network of it. They put in some drywall. the whole thing looks wild as the assembly is sticking right out of the ceiling.

Next is another code inspection (Yay, up to code fire, water, and electrical things!). They think Friday or Monday, but can't promise as it's third party. After the nice fire system specialist comes by to do "Bio-safe caulking." Again, all for "Biosafe" and no leaks on my bed.

Then they build a box around the new sticky outie stuff, which is a two day process because stuff needs to dry.

The nice young man in charge of today actually apologized for things taking so long. I made clear I knew none of this was their fault and of course we need inspections. Seriously A++ on kindness and communication from Construction folks. **This is me glaring hard at Apartment management who earned their F**

He also let me know I was safe for the day, so I slipped out to the grocery store with things like safe for me salsa, and hit the produce place with the irregular hours that is near it. Like the Market garden down the street from me, they work with local farms, orchards, and nurseries. Their produce is better than any grocery store and fresher, but not as good as the Market Garden which is more expensive, but also has by far the best produce and town. Irregular produce place is run by semi-retired people, which is why hours are now short and less convenient compared to when they were full time. They also still take EBT and because they draw from larger small farms over a larger area, they had white nectarines, which no one else has just now. Market garden mostly draws from micro-farms and the like and if it's not in season or the crop is bad SOL. I haven't found white nectarine anywhere else yet this season, so I got two as a little treat.

I had time to put groceries away before City Guy and Honest City Contractor turned up for final paper signing on the City renovation. I explained construction Hell. They are planning to start late July/early August. I suggested they start with kitchen and bathrooms first and encourage the electrician to schedule us further out because I have no way to predict when I will have access to the walls of the living room.

Them: Are you sure you can manage this.

Me: We will manage somehow.

I am already trying to work out how much I can sneak back into the piles against my bedroom closet without breaking bed parts and what can be sacrificed access wise in an absolute emergency. There is so damned little leeway here. I am pretty sure I can't sleep in my bathtub. How many days can I go unwashed in high summer without clawing at my scalp and skin? If I deconstruct the debris maze and put it back with zero space sofa side, I won't be able to change the sofa if Tavy has an accident and will only be able to get in and out climbing over the arm. How many days can I do that without hurting myself and/or ruining the sofa?

Let us hope the nice people doing HOA Construction Hell are fast. Let us hope this all doesn't get any worse.

Livia didn't come out of hiding in her special secure hide until after four. (The secure hide is a multilevel hide with comfy sleeping spots under my desk. No one can see her and it is nicer than the debris maze if you are spending 7ish hours in there and don't happen to need a litter box. There are even toys to play with quietly in there and you can peer out the upper level without being seen). Livia saw me get dressed before eight and suspected Invaders were coming, clever girl.

Tavy was fascinated by the construction people going in and out of his room and the odd sounds in there, but the big loud power tool sounds were too much and he hid in the debris maze every time.

Because I knew they weren't coming back, I could bathe, which I very much needed after being out in the heat, but to do that, I needed to wash the bit of plastic shelving I scavenged... whatever day it was I went on the lap top repair quest. I don't scavenge soft furnishings for obvious reasons, but this is easily washable plastic, and I need replacement shelving for my towels. I am not 100% sure this will work, but I have hopes and it was normal outdoor furniture dirty, not suspicious dirty. Took it apart, went at it with a scrubby and dish soap. I'll reassemble it another day and duct tape the damaged bit.

* This morning I was inspected twice and caulked once. **waggle Brows**

They were also prebuilding structure for the thing that will stick out of my ceiling in the hall this morning.

This afternoon I heard power tools in the room above mine. I shall be on the look out Monday morning in hopes.

The next bit is two different days as they need things to dry in between.

We'll also need to repaint the ceiling in that area.

I want my room back so bad.

Putting it all back together is a massive fucking project, but just being able to really sleep... oh the luxury of it.

UPDATE: I just got an email that inspection and fire caulking for my floor and the one above are Delayed for Two Weeks, stretching the project out to end of August for my floor.

My suspicion that they’ve been slipping me and the even more disabled people above me in with the upper floor people to speed us us confirmed.

Wow, did we just dodge a bullet!

Thank you Construction people!!!

* "Jon Stewart on Who Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Really Helps — and Hurts | The Daily Show:"

( Embed: )

* "In pictures: Pride Month celebrations worldwide:" https://www.reuters.com/pictures/pictures-pride-month-celebrations-worldwide-2025-06-16/

* There is nothing like a periodic rereading of the Iliad to remind me just how much I hate the Gods and Goddesses. No, I don't hate them being in the narrative. It annoys me that they often get yanked out of the narrative or brushed aside in how people look at the Iliad because they are very much part of the point and woven deep into the plot and themes. What I mean it the fundamental arbitrariness of their behavior, their playing favorites, their breaking of their own rules causes so much misery and death and destruction. It's important and it parallels a lot of the same behavior in the human characters. It needs to be there.

The war itself is made because of decisions made by men and Deities. Both men and Deities make terrible decisions that prolong the war and end up harming their own sides. Both men and Deities fuck around and find out, but it's usually people who had little to no say who end up getting the worst consequences. Heroes cheat; Gods cheat. People die and die.

I can have no idea what the early audiences thought when they heard the oral formulaic versions. I can't know what the early audiences of the written version thought. I can't even know what classical audiences thought of oral or written versions. I have seen so much art made both from our text and other written and oral formulaic versions. I've spent decades thinking about the text we have in all it's richness and complexity and the complicated ways playwrights and philosophers portrayed both the human and demi god characters on one side and the gods on the other. I've wrote and thought and talked so much over the years about the human characters and the ways they illuminate and interrogate fault lines in ancient culture and the human heart.

I don't write much about the Greek Gods in the Iliad, though. Still I think about them, oh, do I think about them.

* "Sunday Sweets Goes To The Beach:" https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/sunday-sweets-goes-to-the-beach-2025

*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* CW: Suicide "These hotlines are still available for LGBTQ+ youth after Trump kills 988 services:" https://www.advocate.com/news/lgbtq-youth-hotlines-still-available

* "United States Disappeared Tracker:" https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/danielleharlow/viz/UnitedStatesDisappearedTracker/Map

* "Introducing Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network:" https://aflcio.org/2025/4/16/introducing-rise-federal-workers-legal-defense-network

* Here are some ways to help Immigrants and the anti-ICE Protesters:

Immigrant Defenders: https://give.immdef.org/give/545119/#!/donation/checkout
The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/
National Bail Fund Network: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/en/nbfn-directory
Amnesty International: protect asylum-seekers: https://donate.amnestyusa.org/page/113080/donate/1
The Young Center for Immigtrant Children's Rights: https://www.theyoungcenter.org/
CHIRLA: https://www.chirla.org/
AL Otro Lado: https://alotrolado.networkforgood.com/projects/63833-al-otro-lado-fund
Mid-South Immigration Advocates: https://miamemphis.org/

* Want to help Nathan Sage against Joni Ernst? https://www.sageforsenate.com/

* Want to help Dr. Annie Andrews beat Lindsey Graham?" https://secure.actblue.com/donate/loc_annie_fr_txt_q22025?refcode=LOC_RTL_FR_2025.05.29_Lindsey-Bad-Job_B1_C1_Pros_N_Peony_RG-T1&amount=5

( More Links Underneath: )

dine

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silver_chipmunk

I got up at about 9:30 this morning and had breakfast and coffee, then showered and dressed. Then I took the 28 bus to my Al-anon meeting. I missed one just barely, so I was a little late, but not badly.

The meeting was very good, larger than usual. Afterward there were 8 of us that went to the diner. I got a bacon, egg, and cheese on a croissant, and iced coffee. I got a ride most of the way home, so I didn't get a chance to try out the transfer to the 12 from the 13. Next week maybe.

Got home, the cottage deeds have arrived, but I haven't looked at them yet. I put in my second eyedrop for the day, and went to the Starsky and Hutch chat, We had a good time, and chatted til a bit past 6:00.

Cousin Nancy texted me. The OUting Park meeting is tomorrow, and she wanted to know if I would allow her daughter Sophie to be my proxy as she was afraid there might be some things we'd want to prevent, like excess tree removal. I trust Nancy so I said yes.

A bit before 7:00 I put in my third eyedrop, and then Teamed the FWiB. We talked for an hour and a half, and it as fun.

I checked Barnes and Noble's website and discovered that the new Bujold novella, The Adventure of the Demonic Ox, was available for download, so I downloaded that. I haven't started reading it yet though, I had to finish the Aaronovitch book, Stone and Sky, first.

I also called the Kid, who didn't pick up, so I texted her about the deeds and the proxy. No reply yet,

Then I played solitaire til pet feeding time, because I was falling behind in the Events.

My vision is starting to get less blurry now. I am excited about seeing better. It's still pretty smudgy, but definitely better than yesterday,

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB,

2. My vision is clearing.

3. My meetings and the people there.

4. Starsky and Hutch fandom.

5. My family.

6. The new Bujold is available!

Current Mood: happy

conuly

and completion of orientation. They really are taking anybody with a pulse, as judged by the extremely detailed list of instructions for appropriate behavior during orientation. I'd be more insulted, but that's good for me, I really need a job. If they had higher standards they would hire somebody with formal work experience, or at least an associate's degree.

(Don't think I've stopped applying other places, mind you, but I'm really not in a position to be picky, either.)

**************

( Read more... )

conuly

Well... if you're interested in reading a book about how living in an over-privileged Connecticut town is terrible and nobody should ever do it (especially if that's going to intersect badly with their terrible childhood) then this is a book you'll like. I preferred Dreadful - the realism : magic ratio in this book leaned a little too realistic, also, I just do not believe that the only school choices are a. fancy schools for wealthy overachievers that have massively high standards and high stakes testing b. xenophobic schools with very low standards and c. homeschooling. Even if there are no public school options there still have to be artsy fartsy schools for wealthy people who know that their kids cannot do the pressure cooker thing starting in kindy.

beanside

It's Saturday! We decided to switch Superman to today, since we were both still a little hung over from the concert yesterday, and neither of us was excited about being out late. Today, I work from 8-12, and then we have the movie at 1:30, then the MD German Festival for dinner. It should be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to it.

Yesterday, the person who normally makes calls for the team was out, so I was kept jumping. At any given time, I'd have four or five emails of people to call. I got all of them done, so that's something. Scheduled a lot of people for STAT tests.

At about eleven, my boss thanked me again for helping out. He said he'd depleted his balance of points for our in house recognition system, but when they replenished, he was sending some my way, but he also wanted to do something else. He's trying to decide what. (Money is always a good thing. lol)

( Cut for some mental health thoughts )

Tomorrow, I have my Strixhaven game, which is always fun. It's a game light weekend, but that's okay. We're going to actually go. out and do things! Movie! German festival! It's going to be a good weekend, I think.

On that note, I'm going to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have an amazing Saturday!

dine

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silver_chipmunk

Got up at 7:45 at

mashfanficchick's. Showered and dressed, and walked to Starbucks for coffee. Then Ubered over to the eye surgeon.

The surgery was really not bad. They gave me 10 mg of Valium beforehand, and filled my eye with lidocaine, and there were no problems.

Then after it was all over, it was only around 10:30, so instead of waiting in the area we Ubered back to zer place where I slept for two hours.

Then at 3:00 we took the bus back over and got there with enough time to have lunch at the halal restaurant next door.

Finished in time for my appointment, and went back over to the surgeons. Everything looked good, they took off the eye shield though I have to wear it at night for a week. I also have sunglasses I have to wear for a month,

Went back to

mashfanficchick's and took another small nap.

Then the Mets game was delayed by rain in Kansas City so I Teamed the FWiB while we waited.

The game was going by the time I finished, and I watched til 11:00 and then Ubered home.

Fed the pets, put in an eye drop, and started here,

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2.

mashfanficchick

3. The surgery went well.

4. Air conditioning.

5. Naps.

6. Bed soon.

Current Mood: chipper

conuly

Adrian Tchaikovsky is amazingly hit-or-miss for me, but this looks like it's coming up "hit". The sapient arthropods are a swarm of bees. If there are any spiders, I haven't met them yet!

beanside

Day two post concert, and I'm still stiff and sore. I guess I really overdid it during the encore. I had off yesterday, so I'm not as tired as I was, at least. Around 4:30, my energy totally tanked and I was just wiped out. People were lucky that there wasn't much prep work left in dinner, otherwise, we'd have been having just cupcakes. (Yesterday was my father's birthday, so my sister felt we needed to have cupcakes.)

But I pushed through and made a really good French onion soup. I had bought little handled ramekins offline, which is always dangerous, since it's hard to tell how big they are from a picture and from ounces. It worked out well, though. They're just right size., and they're pretty! They handled the oven like a champ, and I melted a nice thing of cheese on top.

The rest of the day was pretty chill. We went to the bank and added Jess to the account, and then had a very low energy, easygoing game. I relaxed for a bit and then chopped a shitton of onions and sauted them while I made some broth in another pan, and added that in with pepper, sherry and a fuckton of thyme. (might have overdone that a bit, but it tasted good.

Today, it's back to work, for what will hopefully be a quiet day. Afterwards, we shall go see Superman. It's gotten great reviews, some from people I trust, so I'm looking forward to it.

Tomorrow, I work til noon, and then we shall go see the Ooompah bands at the German Festival. I'm looking forward to trying the food and walking around. I'm sure it'll be super fun.

The Londontown Lakur continues to be pretty solid. My nails are still pretty, even after a concert and typing a lot. My sister fell in love with both the formula and the brush, and bought a few, including a moonstone chrome topper that I covet.

I'm still wandering around the house singing Ghost songs quietly to myself. There really isn't anything I would have done differently for the concert. The sedan service, the VIP tickets, everything was stellar. I'm looking forward to seing them again in Philly. We don't have sedan service there or VIP, but we do have good seats and a hotel shuttle, which I am appreciative of. I'm seriously considering getting a crafty side and making some bracelets to give out/trade. I have no talent, but since it's just stringing beads, I think I could do it.

Okay, time to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have an absolutely banger Friday!

dine

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silver_chipmunk

Posting from my phone. Spent the day at

mashfanficchick's place. We watched the last of The Lincoln Lawyer. I called Middle Brother, he's fine. We had halal food for dinner. I briefly Teamed the FWiB. Spending the night to go to my eye surgery tomorrow.

Current Mood: good

beanside

Greetings on this somewhat gray Thursday. I am returned from the Ghost concert and good lord, I'm exhausted. I am not young anymore. I found to my annoyance that I cannot stand for 2 hours straight--I had to take breaks to sit here and there.

The day went well. I had work in the morning, which was good. Otherwise, I think I would have been vibrating all day. As it was, I only had four hours. We relaxed for a couple of hours, and then I started getting ready. I went all out on the makeup, full Bucky Barnes eyeliner, and some pretty blue and gold eyeshadow. I got my Laura Geller foundation, and I really like it. Next time, I might get the lighter shade, but it still looks good and it didn't get cakey. Then I slid on my outfit, picture below the cut. Finally, my nail polish arrived, and I got pretty nails. Side note, Lakur nail polish? Goes on super smooth. We'll see how it wears, but no complaints so far. Jess had their therapy session and not long after they finished, the car had arrived to whisk us to dinner. (I say car, but it was a big ole GMC SUV that you had to clamber up into.)

I did not plan dinner well. We got there about 4:15, only to find that it didn't open until 5. Whoopsie. It was okay, we just went somewhere else, but no tapas for me. We got down the arena around 5:45, and quickly found the VIP entrance. They had a pretty well oiled machine, you went in, gave your name and ID, and they welcomed you and handed you a cool VIP lanyard, and your free gift, a Ghost branded Yeti bottle and a bag, then you moved down to get your wristband, and the concierge asked if you needed anything off a list of things that included earplugs, bandaids, hair ties and something I appreciated, feminine hygiene products. I didn't need any, but it seemed somehow a little revolutionary that a metal band actually thought about that for their fans.

Then we were into the venue and they got our tickets scanned and headed down to the Yondr booth, where they bagged our phones into little pouches. Ghost is very strict on no phones in their shows, and honestly, I agreed, it made it a much more immersive experience to not have the screen lights and all the people filming. Then, we sat for a while.

Our seats were floor, which was not my best decision, as we had a pretty heavily obstructed view. In my defense, for wrestling, they've always used risers for the floor seats.

The show was excellent. They sounded amazing. I started sitting for the songs I didn't know, which was a handful. I'm going to have to brush up before Philly! The first half, I was sitting a bit, but then towards the end, the hits really kicked in, and I was up and dancing. The encore was three of my favorite songs, ending on my absolute favorite.

The set design was amazing, and the band sounded SO good. It was 100% obvious that they don't use any vocal tricks on the album, because they sounded just the same.

All in all, loved it, can't wait for Philly!

And having the car service to deal with the ride home was so nice. We just headed out and met him at the designated spot, and he took care of the rest. It was awesome.

Today will be a mostly relaxing day. We do have a meeting at the bank to add Jess to the new account, and then we have a couple of hour game. Hopefully they don't mind if I'm a little hoarse.

Tomorrow, since my meeting was pushed out, I'll be at work, then we're going to see Superman.

Pictures of my outfit beneath the cut.

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I felt totally fancy.

And now, I shall go forth and get myself somewhat together. Everyone have an excellent Thursday!

silver_chipmunk

I got up at 10:30ish and had breakfast and coffee, then showered and dressed, and headed over to

mashfanficchick's place.

I got there by 1:00, and the movers texted at a bit after that they would arrive by 2:30. So a bit before 2:00 we Ubered over.

The movers got there, and they moved everything into the storage unit. There was much more room left than I expected, truthfully I am puzzled. But that's OK. It is done.

So

mashfanficchick and I took the bus to the subway and then ate at Chipotle which was very good. Then we took the subway back to zer apartment and settled in.

I skipped my D&D game, which was cancelled anyway, so that's OK.

We watched five I think, episodes of The Lincoln Lawyer. Then I Ubered home.

Now it's time for bed.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB, didn't Team but emailed.

2. Oldest Brother's stuff is moved.

3.

mashfanficchick

4. The Kid thinks she did good on her job interview today.

5. Good TV.

6. Fresh cherries.

Current Mood: rushed

dine

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conuly

"Why work here?"

"Weekly pay!"

Yup, that's why I would like to apply for any and all jobs!

(On a side note, A has been sending me a lot of job links today. I'm a bit inundated, but I somehow don't think that "Great, please don't send them to me, just fill them out with my resume for me" is going to go over very well.)

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conuly

Asked where I lived, was concerned that the answer is "Staten Island". FFS, it's not Siberia!

I need to start telling people I'm moving in with a friend in Tribeca. Just straight up lie.

beanside

It's Ghost concert day!!! I had trouble sleeping last night, because I was so excited. I was on the Reddit forum before bed, and people were talking about what they're wearing and the bracelets and stickers they're making to give out, and it just made me more excited, which might not have been the brightest thing to do before bed. Instead, I listened to some music and wound down, but that took a while to relax me, so I got to sleep late. I'm a little tired this morning, but the excitement will carry that.

I'm working for the first half of the day, til noon. Then, I will hop off and relax for a couple of hours til around 2pm, when I'll start getting ready. I'm not sure what I'm doing with my makeup. Heavy winged eyeliner, outlined in gold, I know that much. Fenty lipstick. But beyond that, no clue. I haven't decided on eye shadow. I think that'll depend on whether my nail polish comes early. if so, I may go purple for the eyes. Or, I may go blue. We'll see. I'll have Jess take a picture when I'm ready.

My pinafore actually came, and it makes my bustline look freaking amazing. I am pleased. I will look pretty for dinner and Papa Perpetua V. (By the end of the concert, I will probably have sweated it all off, but that's okay.

We're going to have to sneak in, so as not to awaken Yoda.

Tomorrow, I'm going to sleep in a bit, probably til 7, and then we'll try taking the dog for a walk. Since the beeping and the fireworks, he's gotten very tentative about going out. We've been having to take him on a little ride up to the school to get him to leave the house. It's very strange, and very stressful.

Then, we have to head over to the bank to add Jess to the account. After that, we have a game to play for a couple of hours. Once that's done, I think I'm going to make some French Onion soup for dinner. I've got cheese and bread, and little ramekins to bake them in. It should be very tasty.

And on that note, I'm going to get myself together. Everyone have an amazing Wednesday!

dine

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silver_chipmunk

Last night Stone and Sky, the new Ben Aaronovitch Rivers of London became available, so I downloaded it to my Nook.

Then I had very broken sleep (especially considering I got to bed at 3:30ish). I got up at 10:00 and put in my first dose of the eye drops I need before my surgery Friday, then went back to bed. But I finally got up, around 12:30, had breakfast and coffee, and meant to get my laundry together and take it down.

But it was over 90 degrees out, and felt like 102, so I decided no, stay in and read.

So that's what I did, I read Stone and Sky, in the bedroom with the ac on. I had gotten a call from the movers who are bringing Oldest Brother's stuff to the unit that they would bring it between 2:00 and 4:00 tomorrow, so later I called

mashfanficchick and told her and we made plans.

At 6:00 I got off and puttered online, and emailed Ricky since I never heard back from him about picking me up from the train station, and asked him straight out. Waiting for an answer.

At 7:00 I Teamed the FWiB, We talked til it was time for my meeting at 8:00. The meeting was just me and M. So we ended early, and I had dinner, then went to read again until pet feeding time. Then I fed the pets, and did today's third drop in my eye.

And now it's time for more reading.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. Good books.

3. The delivery tomorrow isn't in the early morning.

4. Air conditioning.

5. Surgery Friday.

6. Able to stay in.