Among the Falling Stars

This is an ongoing series by @sarahseeandersen called “Fangs” - it’s absolutely worth following and keeping up with!

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Hampster Dance (1998) Rejected (2000) All Your Base (2001) Tidus Laughing (2001) The End of the World (2003) Badger Badger Badger (2003) Hyakugojyuuichi!!! (2003) GI Joe PSAs (2003) Llama Song (2004) Banana Phone (2004) Ddautta (There She Is!) (2004) Charlie the Unicorn (2005) Cillit Bang (2006) Caramelldansen (2006) Metal Gear Awesome (2006) Leekspin (2006) Marissa Stole the Precious Thing (2006) The Mysterious Ticking Noise (2007) Powerthirst (2007) Paffendorf (2007) Splash Attack (2007) Caipirinha Dance (2007) I Take a Potato Chip… (2007) Nico Nico Douga Medley (2007) Ronald McDonald Ran Ran Ru (2008) Danjo (2008) Giga Pudding (2008) The Ultimate Showdown (2008) Balsamic Vinegar (2008) Sakura-Con Commercial (2009) Shamwow (2009) Slapchop (2009) OK GO- Here It Goes Again (2009) Stu Making Chocolate Pudding at 4 AM (2010) HEYYEYAA (2010) Galo Sengan (2011)

Chocolate Rain (2007)

Fork in the Garbage Disposal (2007)

I Can Break These Cuffs (2008)

Do You Like Waffles? (2008)

Fukkireta (2010)

Spitting While Kissing (2011)

My Roflcopter Goes Soisoisoisoi (2004)

Kitty Cat Dance (2004)

Fast Food Rockers (2006)

Shoes - Kelly (2006)

Geddan (2007)

Neurotically Yours (Foamy the Squirrel) (N/A)

Leeroy Jenkins (2005)

It’s Over 9000! (2006)

This Is Sparta (2006)

Double Rainbow (2010)

ASDFMovie2 (2010)

1-2 sharp handheld objects apiece (knives are ideal, but you can settle for very sharp pencils or fresh resin casts of dinosaur teeth... whatever’s on hand)

1 song you each know at least some of the lyrics to

1 visual disruption between you and your boss so that he can’t stop Knife Karaoke from happening

HOW YOU PLAY:

slowly circle each other with your sharp objects in hand and start singing (suggestion: ‘Lean On Me’ by Bill Withers works great for Knife Karaoke) and then try to stab each other without interrupting the song

if you get stabbed you lose

if you stop singing you lose

if your boss catches you fucking around and playing Knife Karaoke you both lose

if you get through the whole song without getting stabbed you win, you can tie if no one gets stabbed but you’ve gotta go into it at least pretending to want to fight

-getting stabbed doesn’t automatically mean you lose; if you stop singing in reaction to getting stabbed, then you lose

-but if you can keep singing during/after the stabbing, you’re still in the running

-it is theoretically possible to win the game but also physically die, John Henry style

Shortly after the success of The Buddy Program, Parton learned in dealing with teachers from the school district that problems in education often begin during first grade when kids are at different developmental levels. That year The Dollywood Foundation paid the salaries for additional teachers assistants in every first grade class for the next 2 years, under the agreement that if the program worked, the school system would effectively adopt and fund the program after the trial period.

During the same period, Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995: The idea being that children from her rural hometown and low-income families often start school at a disadvantage and as a result, will be unfairly compared to their peers for the rest of their lives, effectively encouraging them not to pursue higher education. The objective of the Imagination library was that every child in Sevier County would receive one book, every month, mailed and addressed to the child, from the day they were born until the day they started kindergarten, 100% free of charge. What began as a hometown initiative now serves children in all 50 states, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, mailing thousands of free books to children around the world monthly.

On March 1, 2018 Parton donated her 100 millionth book at the Library of Congress: a copy of "Coat of Many Colors" dedicated to her father, who never learned to read or write.

*turns on Bad Romance cover*

Me 0.2 seconds later:

Have you ever been listening to Rainymood and thought, “Yeah, this is good … but it would be nice if I could customize the sound more, or if there was a little more choice.

Let me introduce you to MyNoise.

MyNoise is a customizable sounscape looper with so many options, even within each soundscape.  So say, for instance, you really love rain sounds when you write or study or relax.  Anything.  I know I’m a big fan of rain sounds.  They have a page for that.

But say you like really high, pattery rain, and LOTS of low thunder.  Here’s where MyNoise really stands out: you can customize that.  See those sliders with all the cute colors?  That is your equalizer. You can adjust the levels based on what you want to hear more and less of.  Here’s how it looks when you want high, pattery rain and low, rumbly thunder:

But say rain isn’t really your jam.  Say you want something a little more ambient, a little more background noise-y.  Something with people.  Well, they have customizable coffee house chatter that even has the levels listed for things like “kitchen,” “babble,” and “table”:

Or say you miss the ocean.

Or say you miss your cat.

Or say you miss your spaceship.

Or say you miss the dungeon where you and your team of scalawag adventurers used to explore and face off against, say, dragons.  In the dungeon.

This site is seriously so helpful, and those are just a fraction of every kind of sounscape the site has to offer.  The best part is that if you want to layer it with music (for instance, I’ll layer a playlist + rain + coffee shop if the scene I’m writing takes place in a coffee shop), you can adjust the master volume, meaning all of your layers stay at their respective volumes, just louder or quieter.

don’t just pay it. do not automatically pay the hospital bill when you receive it. call your health insurance provider and POLITELY say, “excuse me, i just received a bill for $1200 for my hospital visit/ER visit/etc., is that the correct amount i’m supposed to pay?” because hospitals bill you before your health insurance and they will take your money no matter how the amount due may change based on your health insurance looking at it. 90% of the time, if your health insurance is in any way involved in the payment of that bill, you do not have to pay as much as the hospital is billing you for. call your health insurance provider first, and POLITELY request clarification, always remember that the person you are talking to is human and this is just their job, and then you will very likely find out you actually only owe $500.

Also, it is important [for people receiving medical care in the USA] to carefully read all of the items on the medical bill and look for errors and overcharges. I know that the normal feelings of avoidance and dread can make it hard to look at scary hospital bills, and that’s okay! But as the OP mentions, private orgs like hospitals don’t monitor overpayment of bills - they are motivated to charge you extra - and it is basically impossible to get your money back. Read the bill carefully and make sure that the charges are correct, using the links below for help if you need. If they haven’t sent you an itemized list, you can ask for one. Sometimes you will be charged extra for items or treatment you didn’t receive. Most people don’t know that you can dispute medical bills! But in 2009, Consumer Reports stated that 8 out of 10 medical bills scrutinized by a watchdog had errors, and generally you are not obligated to pay for someone else’s error.

You may be charged for using medication that you actually brought into the hospital with you - that’s easy to dispute! You may be charged for the consumables used during your stay such as sheets, gloves, gowns, etc - the hospital should actually cover that under its running budget. You may be charged for a brand name drug if the generic was available for cheaper - the links below explain how and when you can dispute this. You may be charged a surprisingly expensive “oral administration fee” (where a nurse puts pills for you to take in a little clean paper cup and then hands it to you) but that’s worth disputing if you were actually able to take the pill out of a bottle and put it in your own mouth. And so on.

8 Things You Should Know About Challenging a Medical Bill (FORBES) (includes links to sites that help you calculate how much a procedure/treatment usually costs in your area, if the costs seem super high)

7 Tips for Fighting and Paying A Huge Medical Bill (FORBES) This explains briefly how to negotiate costs, and payment plans.

10 Common Medical Billing Overcharges You Can Prevent (Bill Advocates) A breakdown of errors and overcharges to double check.

like. he knows this is an impossible task. and it does happen–yes! in the first episode, so maybe we don’t even think about it that much! but when ozai tells zuko to go find the avatar, it’s an impossible task. and iroh knows this. and zuko might have everything riding on this, and he’s a kid and hasn’t learned what’s impossible yet, and so he’s plugging his ears and saying “i can do it! i can do it and then dad will love me again!”, but iroh knows the only reason this specific task was assigned is because ozai doesn’t want him. he doesn’t want him back. ozai didn’t want him to betray them so he gave him a little hope, a little “of course i could still love you, you can come back, that’s a possibility, just don’t disappoint me” because, you know, he’s an abusive dick. but iroh knows his brother, and he knows 

i think as a kid, while i loved loved iroh, it was a little hard to reconcile his silly moments with his wise moments. it’s not anymore 

i’m just thinking of the pai sho tile, and how silly it seemed at the time that it was just in his sleeve. silly old man! so forgetful 

no. no, that wasn’t it at all 

because every moment he stalled, every moment he mucked up the plan, every moment he just generally wasn’t helpful, that was another moment where he could still have a chance. where he might get through to zuko. where he could delay what was suddenly now a very real possibility: 

Me: you will not earn what you desire by banging the cabinet door.

My cat: This is a test of wills, is it not? We shall see if your ability to put up with my incessant banging outlasts my eternal lust for snackie treats. Years of conditioning have hardened me for this purpose. bang bang bang

Me: ksst!

My cat, throwing herself to the ground like she's been shot: Oh! Oh I have been assailed in my own home! Have mercy, have pity! Surely in the cruel darkness of your heart there is some mote of goodness that might stay your hand! Do not strike me, I pray you!

Me: ok

here’s a small list of videos you can watch and passively donate to different funds that are a part of the black lives matter movement. if you are interested in donating as well, i’ve linked most of the funds and organizations the youtubers are donating too. please do not skip the ads!!

I FOLLOWED A PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP ARTIST’S TUTORIAL: to the Black Visions Collective (x)

80p makeup... but what’s the catch? TESTING SHOP MISS A! First impressions and WEAR TEST!: to the George Floyd memorial fund (x)

In-N-Out Mukbang: to the Minnesota Freedom Fund (x)

how to help BLM with NO MONEY/leaving your house: to protestor bail funds of different states

I Got Drunk And Gave Relationship Advice! The ULTIMATE guide to BOYS & GIRLS!!: to the George Floyd fund and other racial equality charities (x)

Baby Products I Regret Buying: to the George Floyd memorial fund (x) and National Bail Out (x)

MY #1 PRODUCT FROM 10 DRUGSTORE BRANDS: the Black Visions Collective (x)

BIG LOUIS VUITTON HAUL | SS 2020 ESCALE + MORE | hollyannaeree: to the George Floyd memorial fund (x) and Campaign Zero (x)

WANT TO DONATE TO BLACK LIVES MATTER BUT HAVE NO MONEY? WATCH THIS VIDEO: to the Black Lives Matter organization (x)

Watch To Donate For FREE: Black Lives Matter: to Campaign Zero (x), NAACP (x), Black Lives Matter (x), Unicorn Riot (x), Comminuties United Against Police Brutality (x), ACLU (x), Color of Change (x), Equal Justice Initiative (x), Reclaim the Block (x), National Bail Out Fund (x)

Huge Prettylittlething & Missguided TRY ON Haul NEW IN... MAJOR Retail Therapy!!: to the George Floyd fund (x) and others

MAY FAVORITES & BOOKS I’VE READ THIS MONTH | I Covet Thee: to The Bail Project (x)

Quarantine Graduation Cap Cake for Class of 2020 | How to Cake It with Yolanda Gampp: to an unspecified organization dedicated towards the education for black students

AMSR Putting Fenty Makeup on Rihanna (Paper Makeover): to the Black Visions Collective (x) and Support the Cities (x)

TikTokers SPEAKING OUT About RACISM & BLACK LIVES MATTER (Ft. Charli D’amelio, Dixie D’amelio): to the Black Lives Matter foundation (x)

Let’s Talk About It: Racism & Social Injustice: to the Black Lives Matter foundation (x)

“but i’m not racist?”: to the Minnesota Freedom Fund (x)

The image is a screenshot of a tweet by @/SOFIALIVE. It reads: “please share this it’s so important”. Underneath is a still from the video.

The video is from TikTok, made by a user called @/joshconnects. Visible on the screen is an iPhone open to the home screen and the text “Must have police shortcut IOS 13”. The video is narrated by a male-sounding voice.

The only thing visible on the iPhone’s screen is an app called “shortcuts”.

Narrator: “Here’s a shortcut that’s a must have, and let me tell you what it is. Here we just go to shortcuts, and this is the basic layout”

He clicks the app icon and the shortcuts app opens.

The application has a dark background. At the top of the screen is the app logo. Underneath the logo are the words “add shortcut” and “review the contents of this shortcut”. There are two headings underneath, the first titled “when I run”, and the second “do”.

The first, “when I run”, has one gray box underneath it, for the title of the shortcut to be typed in. The one he has open is called “police”.

The second, “do”, has several gray boxes underneath, each of which has an action to be done if the shortcut is activated. Two are visible on the screen. The first has the logo for the messages app at the top and the command “send text ‘I’m getting pulled over by the cops. It’ll send u a recording of it all after’” followed by an option to add recipients. The second box has the camera app logo at the top, and gives the command “take video with back camera”.

Narrator: “This is how you make a shortcut”

He indicates with his finger the title “police” under the heading “when I run”

Narrator: “so this one is called ‘police’. So I can tell Siri to run this shortcut right when I get pulled over. And then I can set my phone down and do whatever”

He scrolls a little bit further down the page.

Narrator: “what this shortcut does is it sends a text message saying ‘hey, I’m getting pulled over by the cops. I’ll send you a recording of it all afterwards’ to a recipient of your choice. And then afterwards it is going to send the video and the current date to the recipient of your choice.”

The screen now shows the third and last gray box under the heading “do”, which has the messages logo at the top, and dictates the command to send the video and the current date to a recipient of your choosing. Underneath the gray box is a disclaimer from Apple saying: “Apple does not review shortcuts outside of the Gallery. Running shortcuts from untrusted sources can put your personal data at risk”. At the bottom of the screen is a large red button labeled “add untrusted shortcut”. Smaller blue text underneath gives the option “don’t add”.

Narrator: “And then afterwards it is going to send the video and the current date to the recipient of your choice. Now, this was built by one of my buddies so there it is right there.”

He points to the “add untrusted shortcut” button.

Narrator: “add untrusted shortcut. But this is how you make it. You can make it yourself. I think this is really really important, especially with everything going on right now. We can all benefit by this running in the background, and it’s incredibly simple. Here’s the overview one more time.”

He scrolls up so that all three of the gray boxes under the heading “do” are visible on the screen at once.

Narrator: “so make this, and add it to your shortcuts, and make sure you’re safe out there. If you want more shortcut videos, leave a comment down below.”

The video ends on a dark screen that shows the logo of the TikTok channel, which is the letters “JC” surrounded by a circle that is made up of a plug chasing its tail, followed by the channel name “Josh Connects” and the account handle “@/joshconnects”. The TikTok logo is visible at the bottom of the video.

The other player pretends that they know their food is poisoned, but must feign ignorance and try to come up with subtle excuses not to eat/drink it without seeming rude or directly confronting the other about the attempted kinslaying.

“Goodnight Father,” I’ll tell him (because Father with a capital F is the most sinister and threatening thing you can call your dad). “I hope you sleep well tonight. Very well. It would be a shame if something… disturbed you.“ In response, he’ll make an offhand remark about needing to Google the upper age limit for sudden infant death syndrome, or he’ll bring up my “inheritance” and the possibility that he might have worthy bastard children somewhere.