Every day is a journey

Scientists invented a fake disease. AI told people it was real: Nature.com

We're having our turn in the heat wave and reports from the National Mall are brutal already this week. That screenshot is today's forecast (courtesy of the Capital Weather Gang) and tomorrow and Saturday are confidently going to be worse than this is.

The national Mall has no shade on the grass and you will be exposed to the sun constantly while also experiencing extremely high humidity. You will not be allowed a bag over a certain size to enter the mall and it has to be clear. You cannot have an insulated water bottle, it has to be clear. Reports are that there are two entrances to the area so you'll have to wait in line to even get in. I cannot find a number on how many cooling stations there are, except that it's "few" to "none" depending on what accounts I read online. Vendors are allegedly charging more than the posted prices and seem to be unprepared for actual crowds - these are the official vendors not the scam food trucks that park all around the edges of the mall. And that's the extent of the planning done because it was not a priority to make sure attendees don't pass out.

My local friends and I have reached a consensus that tourists are going to get extremely sick and none of us know what the EMT response or planning is on the mall this year. People are going to die.

ROUND 1 — Match 191 of 276

Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal)

Problematic because: "He is a cannibalistic serial killer who has somehow convinced half of Baltimore he’s just a very cultured psychiatrist with excellent dinner hosting skills. He kills people as the Chesapeake Ripper, turns their bodies into artful murder displays, and serves human meat to guests, colleagues, and FBI-adjacent acquaintances who absolutely did not RSVP for that. He’s also helping the FBI investigate serial killers while being one, which is already insane levels of workplace misconduct. He withholds/helps hide Will’s encephalitis diagnosis, lets him deteriorate, gaslights him through seizures, hallucinations, fugue states, and memory gaps, then frames him for multiple murders Hannibal committed. Will ends up institutionalised and doubting his own mind because his therapist was actively making him worse for curiosity, control, and emotional obsession reasons. Hannibal helps Abigail cover up Nicholas Boyle’s death, turns himself into this creepy replacement father figure, fakes her death as part of framing Will, keeps her hidden, and then kills her in front of Will during the Mizumono fallout because his feelings got hurt and everyone had to suffer about it. He also kills Beverly Katz when she gets too close, manipulates Margot/Mason’s family nightmare for his own interest, mutilates/maims people through other people as much as by his own hands, and generally treats everyone around him like ingredients in whatever emotional dinner party he’s hosting that week." Propaganda: 1. "The man is a murderer, a cannibal, a manipulative psychiatrist, a terrible friend, an even worse therapist, and somehow still one of the most magnetic characters on television. He’s horrible because he understands people so well and then uses that understanding in the most invasive way possible. On top of killing people, he studies them, pushes them, rearranges their lives, and then acts wounded when they object to becoming part of his little design. I like him because he’s elegant and monstrous without either side cancelling the other out. The food, the suits, the music, the art, the therapy room, the way he talks like every murder is a philosophical exercise - it all makes him fascinating, and it also makes him worse. He has taste, intelligence, patience, affection, curiosity, humour, and almost no respect for anyone’s right to remain intact. Truly terrible man." 2. "hannibal is genuinely so funny because everyone is like “wow dr lecter your insight is incredible” and meanwhile he is the reason they need insights in the first place. like yes king, solve the murder you did. make dinner with evidence. give will graham the world’s worst therapy experience. stand there looking sad because the man you psychologically tormented has trust issues now. he is elegant, petty, terrifying, dramatic, and somehow gets offended when people don’t appreciate being lovingly manipulated into a murder family. awful psychiatrist. amazing character." 3. "The thing with him is that he’s so composed that people forget how ridiculous his behaviour is. He’ll be sitting there in a gorgeous suit, speaking softly about transformation and appetite and loneliness, and then you remember he has been feeding people their colleagues. He frames Will, hides Abigail, kills Beverly, lies to Jack’s face, plays Alana, toys with Bedelia, and still manages to act like HE’S the one suffering because Will didn’t run away to Europe with him fast enough. He is romance-coded. He is horror-coded. He is dinner-party-coded in the worst possible way." 4. "He has really interesting views on self actualisation, which come out through his therapy, is very charismatic, and a great chef. Also is played my Mads Mikkelsen." 5. "What a weird guy. It's great. A sophisticated man who somehow has the best schedule system in the world. A creative individual. He's completely obsessed with Will Graham. Enjoys irony and puns. It's just fascinating the lengths his obsession takes him to."

vs. A'Yark (Star Wars)

Problematic because: "She kills random homesteaders and farmers, kills her own tribesmen when they cross her, is xenophobic and kind of cold to her only surviving kid (who's a teenager trying to prove himself as a member of the tribe)." Propaganda: "She's chief of a Tusken Raider tribe, who are indigenous to Tatooine and suffer because the settlers farm moisture which is already scarce. In the end she kidnaps the guy who started one of those conflicts (for his own profit), and makes him work to provide water for the tribe. I also just like her abrasiveness. She's earned it (harsh environment + conflicts with settlers = she's outlived almost all her family by her mid-30s)."

If you are able, please consider donating to the Venezuela Humanitarian Fund. They dispense donations out to local organizations on the ground in Venezuela, and you can donate as little as 2 dollars. If you know of any local organizations who are able to take donations online, please share them.

There are, of course, tons of local organizations and efforts ongoing. These often involving donating through Zelle or other mobile pay apps and I know that many people are less likely to donate if there are ‘extra steps.’

In light of this, I’ve added a few larger, “easier”organizations providing aid in Venezuela rn that you can donate to.

I Love Venezuela

World Central Kitchen

CORE

Direct Relief

International Rescue Committee

I explained very clearly to the manager my issue with the meat section not having the price tags listed, and they claimed it was only going to be for the meat, since meat is by weight, and the price of each item is printed on the packs of each item.

Sure. That’s how they get their foot in the door. Fast forward not even two weeks, and here we are:

Bar codes. No prices, no item descriptions. No price stickers on the individual items. Heck, not even the name of the item that is SUPPOSED to be there.

No. The only way to see the price is to scan it on your phone app, which is also recording what you looked at recently, as a way of gauging what you might be looking for in the future.

So here’s what we’re gonna do gang:

Every time you go into a store that has implemented these price-less tags:

Take 1-3 items up to the cash register. Ask the cashier for the price, or hit the price check item on the self checkout, which will likely call over the attendant.

Express that you didn’t actually want it, you just couldn’t see on the shelf how much it was.

POLITELY, AND WITH A THANK YOU FOR THE PRICE CONFIRMATION, Give the items to the cashier or attendant to put back.

When they inevitably try to push the app, politely decline. If pressed for why not, say you don’t want to have to carry your phone in-hand the whole time you are shopping in order to see how much things cost. (Not having cell service or data to use the app is NOT a valid excuse, as stores already often have complimentary WiFi AND more stores will provide WiFi rather than give up on this push for surveillance pricing)

If it’s a shelf-stable item, the cashier will have to set it aside, taking up room in their limited operating space, and eventually pass it off to someone to put in a holding area to put back later. If it’s a fridge/freezer item, it might have to get tossed due to food product sale regulations.

In either case, you are making it a pain in the ass for them to have these digital bar codes. Tie up the checkouts. Give the employees more busywork that the company has to pay them to do. Hurt their bottom line having to toss the pint of ice cream you carried around in your cart for 20 minutes before giving it back to the cashier.

May I present the best apple:

I’m using six colours in the piecing, which should make it 92”x109” (unless I mess with the pattern even more and take one of the rows out completely) which will technically be a king size LOL The seventh colour pink is gonna be used on the binding so I get to use alllll the colours we had in stock in the shop 🎉

Okay, blocks done and middle rows complete!

I did take one row out of the centre so there are only two red centre blocks instead of three. 109” is too big for my queen bed, but I can work with 101” LOL

Technically this will still fit a king at 92”x101”, but I am a blanket hog and that feels like a really skinny king to me.

ALSO??

Because I altered the amount of rows (downsizing) but did not alter the amount of blocks I made, I ended up with just enough left over to make two matching pillow cases! They are even on point like the quilt.

And it’s so fucking big LOL

Not as big as the greyscale king for my brother, but still. It feels big.

As you can see a little from the roll on the back of the long arm, I found a fun rainbow universe print to put on it with all the colours on the front.

I’m quilting the pillowcases too, though in a tighter pattern so they can handle more washing.

The pillow cases look so good too. As I mentioned, I quilted them much tighter than the quilt so they can be thrown in the wash a lot more. Same pattern, just smaller design.

It’s so busy, I could stare at it for hours finding things in the prints.

Also? I love the pink binding. I really did want to use every colour, so this was a nice compromise to having to resize everything LOL

The backing is also so busy LOL You can hide a lot of pet fur on both sides of this thing.

The pillowcases turned out great. I used the leftover from the backing to back the pillow cases so that everything matches. And they’re envelope style so the pillows won’t slip out. Hate it when the pillowcase slips off my pillow.

You are not going to pass a skillcheck against a rip current once it has you.

Waves will not bow to your physical prowess no matter how impressive.

Shock does not care that you used to be on your school swim team.

If you hit your head, being good at swimming isn't going to turn you face-up while you're unconscious.