The Hyperactivity in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is NOT about being physically hyperactive, it's about having a "hyperactive central nervous system" because it's a form of inheritable dysautonomia. The problem with disautonomia, especially the ADHD kind, is that it makes boredom flag to your nervous system as a THREAT, triggering hyperactive and maladaptive central nervous system processes like fight or flight.

But dysautonomia kills you that way. Literally, part of the reason our average life spand increase on stimulents is that it helps manage risk-taking impulsivity that can get us killed by accident, but the other part is that stimulents can regulate a hyperactive CNS such that it is functionally (while impacted by the stimulent) NOT dysregulated anymore. And PHYSIOLOGICALLY that is essential because the physical outcomes of dysautonomia can reduce your life span by YEARS if not decades through self-perpetuating hypervigelence, endocrine disruption, and adrenal fatigue.

So when the ADHD brain goes stimulation-seeking and a doctor tells you to practice mindfulness, it feels like being told "hey go stand in a functioning boiler until you can stop thinking" rather than WHAT IT IS which is the process of re-teaching your body what is and isn't safe.

Standing outside making mindful, non-interpretive/moralized observation of the world helps your brain and body re-acclimate to the idea that absence of that frantic "busy" feeling isn't a threat or a risk to your safety, and gradually reduces the level of distress that just hanging out somewhere triggers for you.

Learning WHY this stuff was being suggested and understanding what it was actually supposed to do went a long way towards changing my relationship with my ADHD. I am FAR more functional now, far less prone to shame spirals and rejection sensitivity, hell, I can **sit physically still for near on an hour at a time** now without feeling like I'm going to crawl out of my skin.

So yeah. Go outside. Let the world narrow around you and take deep breaths until it stops feeling claustrophobic or like you need to climb walls. Learn how to let little sensations become big ones like the way the heat of the sun on your skin starts as a gentle warming and be omes a unique collection of sensory moments depending on how it lands on you. Listen for sounds under sounds and let them fade in and out as you move your focus from one sound to the next. Enjoy. Move on. Rinse and repeat.

Costume appreciation series: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) dir Brian Henson

And Nichole Rudolph recreated Gonzo as Charles Dickens’ outfit from the movie using historical research and techniques. Here’s a playlist of 9 videos documenting the process:

You could look at pretty much any aspect of filming - special effects! Music! Set design! - and literally every person on every team went absolute ham for this movie, because it was a labor of love. Brian Henson made the movie after the death of his father Jim Henson and co-father Richard Hunt. The whole team was devastated after losing the two men who had brought the heart and soul and creativity to The Muppets from the very beginning, and for a while there was debate over whether they should keep making movies at all.

(That scene where Kermit, voiced by Brian Henson, says the brief epitaph for Tiny Tim? The cracks and wavers in Brian’s voice are very real as he says “Life is full of meetings and partings children, that is the way of it. I’m sure we will never forget… this first… parting there was among us…” MY HEART.)

Eventually they decided that they would make this movie, and they would make it as a tribute to all the things Jim and Richard valued; kindness and empathy, in-jokes about life in showbiz, and an attention to detail that even the most autistic among us might not notice at first glance.

Please enjoy some screenshots of Abby Cox’s video, because she did her fucking homework hunting down the specific fashion plates Smith and Hollowood referenced:

(See they were printing plates with the latest fashions on them, that’s where the expression comes from!)

I do want to point out that the costume designers, Ann Hollowood and Polly Smith, were prepared to bring their absolute A game for this project even when it only had the budget of a made-for-tv Christmas special. But when the producers scored Michael Caine and locked in that good good Disney money, these two maniacs looked at each other and immediately said, probably in unison, “We are going to exhaustively research smocking techniques for men’s work shirts specifically from 1840 to 1842 - and keep in mind we’re doing this at a time before the internet is really a thing - then we are going to hand sew a tiny, perfectly accurate recreation, and then we are going to put it on a rat puppet for exactly one scene.”

And it shows. Every frame of this movie, literally every frame of this movie, contains costumes that are not only immaculately period accurate (bearing in mind that the story is not set in Generic Victorian Timey Times, it’s set in 1843 specifically, a time in European fashion that was completely fucking bonkers on several levels), but are also a pitch perfect insight to each individual character, with telling details that contribute to the vibe of each scene even if we don’t consciously pick up on them. We can tell that Miss Piggy is a fashionable lady who doesn’t have much money but is dressed up in her very best, even if we don’t actually know the elaborate tatting technique used to make that lace bonnet that was fashionable maybe 12 years before the events of the story, or that she clearly added a simpler tatted border to that older heirloom shawl to make it match the bonnet better.

And those plates weren’t the only inspiration, I actually recognize a few famous historical pieces, like this 1840s day dress currently in storage at the Met:

Look at it. Look at that fucking feat of engineering. Look at the way the upper sleeves are cut on the bias and the lower sleeves are cut straight, look at the way the pleated collar is gathered at the drop shoulders, and look at how many different ways and in how many places the intricate plaid pattern matches up at the seams, carefully folded and pleated so that the blue underthread matches up in the front panels of the skirt.

This character is in the corner of the screen for less than a minute in total. Smith and Holloway did not have to do this.

Even at a glance you can tell that this plaid pattern was probably less expensive at the time, but it too was cut on the bias, and her bonnet also has very very teeny tiny tatting. This character is also on screen for less than one minute, and she’s also about 4 inches tall.

THEY DID NOT HAVE TO DO THIS.

There’s a reason that one of the most frequently done Muppet cosplays ever is Gonzo as Charles Dickens, because that fit still absolutely fucking slaughters to this day:

Just look at this motherfucker! Look at his fur top hat and matching foxtoe shoes! Look at his stockings! Those stockings look accurately hand-knit to me, and they were on screen for a matter of seconds.

Next, let’s all channel our inner Miss Piggy and stare at Kermit’s crotch!

I couldn’t get clear screenshots of it to save my life, so you’ll just have to trust me, but when these characters are moving, you can tell that Kermit’s pants have a fold front fly. Which was popular up until about the early 1830s - which indicates that his clothes are about 15 years old, presumably the last suit he could afford to buy before he started having a bunch of kids.

Nephew Fred, on the other hand, is wearing the newfangled hot look of the season, a button fly front:

Again, you’ll just have to trust me, but it’s there if you know what to look for. Also, a keen eye will notice that Fred’s coat doesn’t fit him quite perfectly, but he and Clara seem to be stable enough that he could afford to get it tailored - which indicates that either he hasn’t had time or hasn’t bothered, or maybe it’s a new coat that Clara has just given him or something.

Let’s look again at Fred’s daytime monstrosity, period accurate down to the embroidered floral waistcoat with the plaid pants, which at the time would have been the absolute height of fashion for any young man to irritate his penny-pinching uncle in:

These methods of making clothes aren’t just old skills that have no modern application anymore, they’re advanced old skills. This is like someone writing a poem in iambic pentameter in a dead language, and only on the sixth reread do you realize it’s also a palindrome. This is insane.

Y'all. It took me until my 937th viewing of this movie, but I took a closer look at Peter’s little jacket:

It’s also a little outdated, like Kermit’s - and this isn’t a great photo of it, but if you look really really really carefully, there’s a line of darker fabric along the shoulders. And only if you really know your shit about sewing, you can spot the clues that this garment has been let out at the seams. Given that he can’t quite close it and the arms are still a little too short, that indicates that the Cratchets bought him a fairly nice coat a couple years ago and have kept letting it out as he grew. And I can’t find any stills to prove it, but I’d be willing to bet there’s evidence that Tiny Tim’s clothes are hand-me-downs from Peter.

THEY DID 👏NOT👏 HAVE👏 TO👏 DO THIS!

And in any other movie I’d assume that they didn’t, that it must be a coincidence or something, but given the level of detail in this movie I absolutely believe that the costume designers took the time to add a tiny clue like this that maybe fifty people on the planet would notice at the time.

And finally, here are the two women responsible for this visual feast I enjoy every year, and every year as my sewing skill grows I can appreciate more and more of their virtuosity and dedication to their craft:

Ann Hollowood!

I have made you a chart. A very simple chart.

People say "You have to draw the line somewhere, and Biden has crossed it-" and my response is "Trump has crossed way more lines than Biden".

These categories are based off of actual policy enacted by both of these men while they were in office.

we will ALWAYS be a two party system until voting reform happens, and voting reform won’t happen if project 2025 happens.

this was quite literally labeled "hanukkah cone tree." gee I wonder which winter holiday is The One With The Trees. surely it's the jewish one with all the fire. let's make it blue and white just in case. 4/10 there is no excuse for this

why are the chairs so far apart. why is there nobody there. why are there so many grapes. what even are those green things. why is there soup. will the mysteries never cease. 7/10 purely because it's pretty

I for one welcome our jewish alien cousins. not sure what this has to do with chanukah but I want to hear about jewish life on mars so 8/10 friends come in out of the cold and have a latke with me

the more I looked at this, the worse it got. there's a literal christmas tree and tinsel but oh it's got blue lights so it's fine. and as we all know, children regularly hold fully lit candle menorahs with mittens while going door to door during a snowstorm. I guess who are we to stifle a child's latent desire for arson. 5/10 somebody save that poor dying kitten

this poor magen dovid is being forcefully converted to christianity and we need to help it. quick somebody put this on a sufganiyot stack. 4/10 we all know the intended target audience isn't interfaith families okay

do I even have to say it. please just. just stop. get One (1) Jew to weigh on your hanukkah products, I beg you. -392928373/10 walmart owes me a personal apology for making me see this with my own two eyeballs

I spent a full five minutes staring at this shirt desperately trying to make it make sense. I shouldn't have bothered. it's worse than the hebrew could ever be. 4/10 amposzu zusach mezchamal to you too

congratulations, once again you wrote gibberish. this says nothing. it's not chanukah, it's not happy holidays, it's nothing. the letters on the dreidel are an ACRONYM people! there's an order! 5/10 it's antisemitic that this has over 4,000 sales (thank you @quartzfox for sending this to me. now you all have to see it too.)

now these are CUTE. and the dreidel letters are in the correct order too, which is unfortunately impressive. 10/10 no notes, it has cats, would wear

A watermelon eating contest

The white-hot liquid glass is hot enough to light the branch on fire.

While the branch is catching on fire, the liquid glass coats it completely, trapping the plant matter away from oxygen, and it can't continue burning without oxygen.

Ready to fight

ZAKARIA: According to reporting by Al Jazeera, the leader of Hamas has said the group is on the verge of a great victory after its incursion into Israeli territory. Political leader Ismail Haniyeh has blamed the violence squarely on Israel's he occupation of Palestinian land.

For another Palestinian viewpoint, I wanted to bring in Dr. Mustafa Barghouti. He's a former information minister for the Palestinian government which is in control of parts of the West Bank but does not control Gaza.

Welcome, Minister. I again want to just make sure that viewers understand that the Palestinian Authority has been an opponent of Hamas so you are not in any way affiliated with Hamas. You represent the Palestinian Authority which has control over parts of the West Bank.

[10:25:03]

All that said, what is your reaction to what you have seen so far?

MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI, LEADER, PALESTINIAN NATIONAL INITIATIVE: Well, first of all, I am not part of the Palestinian Authority. As a matter of fact I represent a democratic Palestinian movement called Palestinian National Initiative which is non-Fatah and non-Hamas. And we have -- of course I'm not affiliated with Hamas. But I think this situation that has evolved is a direct result of the continuation of the longest occupation in modern history.

Israeli occupation of Palestinian land since 1967, this is 56 years of occupation, that has transformed into a system of apartheid. A much worse apartheid that what prevailed in South Africa. Yes, maybe Hamas did not recognize Israel, but the PLO did. And the Palestinian Authority did. What did they get? Nothing. Since 2013, the Israeli government would not even meet with Palestinians.

And what you see today is a reaction to several things. First of all, settlers' terrorist attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank that has evicted already 20 communities in an act of ethnic cleansing. 248 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army and settlers in the West Bank including 40 children. Attacks on the holy sites, the Muslim and Christian holy sites, by Israeli extremists, as well as declaration of Netanyahu that he will liquidate the Palestinian rights and the Palestinian cause by normalization with Arab countries.

And he dared even to go to the United Nations and carried in the United Nations a map of Israel which included the whole of the West Bank, all of Gaza, all of Jerusalem, as well as the Golan Heights. He declared the annexation of the occupied territories. So of course Palestinians turned to resistance because they see that this is the only way for them to get their rights.

The question here is not about dehumanizing Palestinians as is happening and calling them terrorists, it's about asking the question. Why the United States supports Ukraine in fighting what they call occupation, while here they are supporting the occupier who continues to occupy us?

ZAKARIA: But let me ask you if that is the analogy you wish to draw, what Hamas is doing is they are targeting Israeli civilians, women, children, grandmothers.

BARGHOUTI: No, they are not.

ZAKARIA: Is that -- is that not a classic -- isn't that classic terrorism? They're not fighting the Israel government. They're fighting ordinary people.

BARGHOUTI: That's one way of putting it. But it's not true. I think Hamas mainly attacked military establishments, military installations, and most of the people there, they have arrested and taken as war prisoners are military people. I do not accept attacking any civilian. I do not accept that Israelis attack our civilians. But look at what Israeli planes are doing now in Gaza. They are bombarding houses. They are bringing down to earth and you've shown that on your screen, whole apartments, whole buildings, high-rise buildings are brought down to the ground.

And we already are reporting -- receiving reports about families who are killed. Nine people in one family, 10 people in another family including children. I do not want any civilian to be hurt. Neither by Palestinians or by Israelis. But the question is how to end that. Will it end by attacking Gaza Strip another time? Israel has already conducted five wars on Gaza. One of them lasted 51 days. They destroyed everything.

This did not stop Hamas, did not stop resistance. There is one way to stop any violence, and that is to end the Israeli occupation. And that is for the United States to be fair. They cannot say that Israel has the right to defend itself but we the Palestinians don't have the right to defend ourselves.

Let me remind you of the case of Shireen Abu Akleh, who was not only Palestinian but also an American, a very peaceful journalist. She was shot to death by an Israeli sniper. Was anybody indicted? Was anybody taken to court? No, no. 52 other journalists were also killed. Our first aid providers are shot at. Our doctors are shot at. This should stop. And the only way to stop it is to tell Israel, you have to respect international law.

[10:30:00]

You have to end this illegal occupation and accept Palestinians as equal human beings.

ZAKARIA: Let me ask you about the practical reality of what's going to happen here, which you know because you have lived through this which is this is going to strengthen right-wing forces in Israel. It is going to strengthen the forces that say have no mercy, have a -- you know, huge military response. Presumably the life of Palestinians in the West Bank will get harder. More check points, more searches. Isn't the practical effect here of all of this going to be much worse for the average Palestinian?

BARGHOUTI: Unfortunately, Fareed, what have you described is exactly what we already have. Today the whole West Bank is paralyzed by 560 military Israeli checkpoints. And these checkpoints were there during the last 30 years.

We are suffering from a wall that is built on our land. The whole West Bank has been divided in 224 small ghettos, separated from each other. And the settlers are everywhere attacking Palestinians. You speak about right-wing government in Israel, already Israel is a right-wing government. Israel is already having fascists in its government.

Smotrich described himself as a fascist homophobe. And that man Smotrich who is also a settler said that Palestinians have one of three options only, either to immigrate, or accept a life of subjugation to Israelis or die. This is the Israeli minister of finance. Netanyahu never negated these statements. And both Smotrich and Bibi (ph) said that their plan is to annex the West Bank.

Can we stop what's going on now? Yes, of course. All these Israelis who are now in Gaza can be released tomorrow, including everybody if there are civilians, also the civilians, even the generals of the Israeli army can be released if Israel also accepted to release our 5,300 Palestinian prisoners who are in Israeli jails. Including 1,260 Palestinians who are in jail without knowing why under the so-called administrative detention.

They don't know why they are arrested. They are not charged. Their lawyers don't know why they are arrested and that is the life we have.

Look, Fareed, we have lived all our lives under occupation. My father lived under occupation. My daughter is living under occupation. We want a time when we, the Palestinians, will be free.

Hamas was not there 30 years ago or 40 years ago. But before that, we are all described as terrorists. Any Palestinian who struggles for his rights or for freedom is described as terrorist.

And the question here, do we have the right to struggle for freedom? Do we have the right to struggle for real democracy? Do we have the right to have normal democratic elections which unfortunately Israel and the United States don't support? I think we are entitled to that.

But the unfortunate thing if we struggle in a military force (ph) we are terrorists. If we struggle in an unviolent way we are described as violent. If we even resist with words we are described as provocateurs.

If you support Palestinian and you are a foreigner, they describe you as anti-Semite. And if you are a Jewish person, and there are many of those, who support Palestinian cause, they call him self-hating Jew.

This should end. It doesn't make sense. We should all have equal life. We should all have peace. We should all have justice and we should all live in dignity.

The main way to achieve that is to end occupation, end the system's apartheid that I am sure no Jewish person can be proud of. Time has come for that and time has come for justice and freedom. If we achieve that, there will be no violence and nobody will be hurt.

ZAKARIA: Mustafa Barghouti, thank you for giving us your time and your perspective.