Sorbus Aucuparia

Pine martens are an option!

I went pine marten, as I've been involved in helping their reintroduction to Wales, and then I wrestled with myself for an Age before finally going hedgehog.

Birds: puffins were the easiest choice. The UK - and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in west Wales specifically - has a significant portion of the global breeding population of puffins, thanks to Skomer and Grassholm islands. In a country with the biodiversity depletion we have (bottom 10% of countries globally for biodiversity), the islands of Pembrokeshire are almost obscene in how high their biodiversity is, and it's for breeding specifically. We can be justly proud of those. Plus, puffins are fun clowns.

And then I agonised about the others until I finally went for the Great Spotted Woodpecker, a bird I do periodically see and get excited about every time

The Lumped-Together-Others: the bumblebee, you have to. I adore bumblebees.

And then I went for the marsh fritillary, because it's super endangered and I'm an environmentalist with a specialism in habitat management and ecology, and therefore spend a non-trivial amount of my time explaining how to manage for the little assholes.

Animal husbandry accounts for close to three-quarters of global use of antimicrobial medications and in many countries their use is poorly monitored. Some herds are routinely dosed and in many countries antimicrobials are used to increase the growth of animals bred for meat.

There is this form of social control that I’ve never seen adequately described, whose mechanism is to prevent the victim from being able to describe their life, experiences, or identity in any meaningful way. Usually, it’s described as “gatekeeping”, but I’ve always found the term inadequate because it implies that the main function is the maintenance of a boundary, and the protection of an in-group. While those *are* functions of it, it’s primary purpose is to create a state of threat, isolation, and and uncertainty in the victim, while silencing their ability to talk about any of those things.

It’s functions through a series of logical traps, namely:

- this word as applied to you is inaccurate (“this word describes something real, but does not apply to the thing you are describing,”)

- this word as applied to you is invalid (“even if you meet the correct conditions for this term, it is the wrong word, because something fundamental about you precludes it being the right word.”)

- this word as applied to you is incoherent (“this word cannot be used/is not meaningful in the way you are using it”

- this word as applied to you is appropriative or harmful (“this word belongs to someone else” or “this word is innately sullied and using it makes you a bad person.”)

These traps can overlap, they can be sequential, and they can have a sort of whack-a-mole approach to alternate terms (“this term belongs to someone else, but that one is incoherent,”) but the function is always the same: to silence the victim, to create a state of fear around speaking/belonging/self-description, and (crucially) to frame any attempt to speak as an act of violence - against another, more worthy, group, against themselves, against society.

They are, of course, deeply hypocritical, and not leveraged against people who the perpetrator does not wish to victimise.

Applied effectively (or frequently) enough, the victim becomes self-policing, and capable of inflicting enormous emotional pain upon themselves every time they try to speak about their experiences, and will preface their whole selfhood with disclaimers that they don’t belong, or are not entitled to speak about a thing.

Groups of people to whom this has happened often (ie, marginalised people) are often hyperaware of criticism to the terminology they use, and much easier to manipulate on this way. (Or, conversely, they are wise to it.)

Sometimes, I’ve seen this cynically applied (the whole poly/polyam thing, anyone?) but more often I suspect people do it instinctively when they feel threatened, or are dealing with people whom they are prejudiced against.

the fridge-freezer is in the kitchen. Not only are there dishes every day, not only are there food preparation surfaces of various kinds every day, not only are there crumbs and odds and ends that fall on the floor every day ... but the fridge-freezer is in the kitchen. The oven is in the kitchen, the food cupboards are in the kitchen, and above all THE KITCHEN BIN IS IN THE KITCHEN.

I mean, it's not like the bathroom is all sweetness and light, but seriously! Who in their right mind is choosing the bathroom?!?!?!?

#You can piss in the kitchen sink but you can't make lasagna in the shower

How it’s going:

This piece is titled "The Secondary Eclipse Occurs When The Cooler Star Is Occulted By The Hotter Star", and it was created for Poetic Tiger's Invisible Threads show. The snake is 43" from end-to-end, and 39 of those inches are covered in sequins stitched on one-by-one. He's a big boy.

This species of rodent, much like its freshwater cousin, builds complex wooden structures, creating artificial reefs to farm fish and seaweed. Unlike their relatives, though, their supply of wood is limited. While most rely on driftwood or tear down human docks, some populations have opted to construct intricate lures, possibly to attract human attention and provoke shipwrecks. This brings in a new source of materials to grow their ever-larger barriers.

their (live!) young gestate for. wait for it. eight to eighteen (??) YEARS. can have up to 10 at a time. good grief.

longest lifespan of any vertebrate, up to five hundred years

toxic flesh

has giant eyes but is usually blind because of a weird little crustacean that's evolved to live on and eat their eyes. this doesn't seem to bother them much.

lives in deep cold water and has the lowest swim speed and tail-beat frequency for its size across all fish species. just generally lives life in extreme slow motion

largest genome of any shark

eats everything including moose and polar bears

I (22 M) and my 4 roomates (21-24 F) all share an apartment with 1 kitchen, 5 rooms and 2 bathrooms. We tend to get along but we argue over the bathrooms more than we’d like

They tend to take a long time to get ready in the mornings, and I tend to take a long time at night because of my coping mechanism.

Basically once or twice a week, I take a few edibles, turn off all the lights, and shower while on the floor in complete darkness, rolling around in soap. I call this my Olm time after the blind cave salamander. I basically roll around in all the soap and just pretend I’m a little cave dwelling salamander while high as shit, and then rinse off and crawl out of the shower and head to my room.

It’s like meditation. I go to a completely different state mentally. This is the only thing that has significantly helped me with stress, while allowing me to incorporate all of my self care duties into my routine. Becoming one with the Olm is my only option.

My roomates don’t know about Olm time but they have realized I take a while in the shower some nights, and they have tried to argue by saying that everyone needs to get ready for bed too. I’ve told them that they take a really long time in the mornings, and I often have to brush my teeth in the kitchen sink because the bathrooms are basically locked from around 6:30-8:45 every day because of how long they take.

Basically they’re all pretty frustrated with me and I’m pretty frustrated with them. That self care time is pretty much what keeps me going through really hard days, and they don’t seem to get that, even when they tell me how important their getting ready time is for them in the mornings. I don’t know if I’m being an asshole or if I’m genuinely standing up for myself here. AITA?