Our Lady of Immaculate Depression

Doctors are to black women what police officers are to black men. That may seem controversial but I believe it to be true and I speak from personal experience.

If you've seen this TikTok you know that a 2016 study showed that 50% of medical students and residents thought that black people couldn't feel pain the same as white people.

And we learned from this video that because of a 1999 study, to this day, there's a black correction factor for the creatinin levels in black people's kidneys, meaning we're less likely to recieve a kidney transplant if needed.

So if you go to a doctor, feel you aren't getting proper treatment or they refuse the treatment you've requested, say to them the following:

If you weren’t already going to spread this advice because black women are at risk, then spread it because it’s applicable to everyone else as well, including you reading this.

i keep seeing a girl in the mirror as i pass by.

she looks really cute. happy. a little tired, maybe. but like she's found joy.

she looks kind.

Welcome to Part #2 of an ongoing series in which I stop and smell the virtual roses! The internet is vast, and I need to remind myself that there's more to do than just doomscroll. So, I've started this series to write about the things on the internet I appreciate, and that have brought me joy this week. We'll see how many more weeks of this I do – I'm trying really hard to do more than just lurk, but tbh? I kinda hate posting anything that's not a podcast. Discomfort aside, let's dig into this week's treasures!

#5. Artfight!

Every July the internet engages in an artfight! It's what I imagine a cafeteria food fight would be like, if instead of mashed potatoes and peas, it's delicious delicious artwork! The concept is pretty simple, each July artists can register to join one of the themed teams (this years teams are Comedy, Mystery, and Tragedy). Players can attack the opposing team by creating art of other team's OCs! There's extra rules about countering attacks, or even attacking your own team members, and at the end of the month the team with the most points wins! And we win too– because it means there's lots of great artists sharing lots of cool artwork! Plus, it's a great way to discover new accounts to follow to beat out the doomscrolling.

This year, resident SCP Archives artist, dear friend, and creature creator extraordinaire, Eduardo Valdes-Hevia is participating (he's on team mystery).

#4. The Return of Game Informer

This is actually old news, but I thought I'd share in case you missed it! Growing up, one of my favorite past times was reading the newest edition of Game Informer. I must have had over a hundred issues when they closed down in 2024. It was absolutely devastating, but maybe not shocking given the tumultuous history of their parent company GameStop, and numerous layoffs in games journalism at the time (a trend that continues today). Fortunately, less than a year later, Game Informer returned! Not only was the online outlet back, but the magazine was revived too, this time with a couple of noticeable upgrades! It's been just over a year since Game Informer returned, and I'm excited to say I've gotten every one of their issues so far. They're really good. And a year of Print & Digital costs just $60. Supporting journalism is very important to me, which makes this one of my easiest purchases each year.

#3. Insane No Hit Parry Run on Commander Niall

One of the greatest joys online is stumbling onto something so random and silly that just makes your whole day. A couple weeks ago I scrolled past a random Tumblr post that did just that.

I already mentioned our artist, Ed, this week. But I cannot overstate just how much work he personally does to make the internet a weirder, and more wonderful place! Of course, you can see all the strange things Ed creates on his Instagram

And if you love Ed's art as much as I do, consider signing up for his Patreon! There's even more cool artwork there, and even physical rewards! I have over a dozen of Ed's postcards and Polaroids pinned to my office cork board. Whenever I need inspiration, or just wanna look as some good art, it's right there waiting for me.

#1. Gielinor Games 5

One of my best friends, Sam Robinson, is deeply in love with Runescape. He's currently rotating between three accounts, on which he has 6,816 hours (as of writing, probably another 20 hours by the time this publishes). This is not including all the hours he's put into dozens of other accounts over the last two decades. Whenever we're just chatting, or he's trying to figure out what he wants to play, or he's multi-tasking, Runescape is on one of his monitors.

Now, I'm not a big Runescape fan, I've played it a bit here and there, but I am a lifelong fan of Survivor. Enter Gielinor Games! It is the perfect blend of Runescape and Survivor, and it's surprisingly well produced! If you're a fan of either, or both, you'll have a great time. It's just one of those mix-ups that could only exist in this exact time and space, and I love it for that.

That's all for this week! And I'll be honest, I'm worried I might start running out of ideas sooner rather than later. So, here's my plea to you: If you have a cozy corner on the internet that you frequent, or saw something that made you happy, please let me know in the comments below, so I can discover it too!