Undercaffeinated, Over the Moon

I can no longer feel the infinite sadness

My woke take, as someone who has worked in both a public library and a school library, is that we desperately need both more books that are at a higher reading level but a less mature subject matter, and more books that are at a lower reading level but a more mature subject matter, because 8 year olds who are advanced readers are still 8 year olds and don't want to read about graphic violence and torture, and teens and adults who have learning difficulties or who are just later readers for whatever reason are still teens and adults and don't want to read about Billy the Bunny going to school or whatever the hell.

Shoutout to people in the notes also mentioning people learning the language, I should've mentioned that really, given that I've been stuck reading German picture books myself while learning German.

every day i get a little madder about the ‘dream job’ narrative… all i want is to have a job that benefits society somewhat, doesn’t abuse me, and lets me live a happy life outside of my job lol. jobs should not be (and arguably can’t be) cosmic destinies and identities

There's quite literally a grocery store two doors down from me. A round trip for milk takes less than 10.

It's possible to have multiple people's needs met in a 15-minute-city. It's possible to have a walkable city that also caters to disabled people's needs. Wellington and it's inner suburbs are pretty close to a 15 minute, walkable city. We also have dairies in most places (corner stores) that cover things like the basics plus snacks and drinks etc. But I can't walk anywhere anymore due to chronic pain. I can however get groceries delivered in either large or small amounts. It should be cheaper than it is, but it's not too rough for me - a fortnightly shop gets delivered to my door for $9. A small top-up delivery is $7 or less. I do think if your big grocery shop is over a certain amount they should deliver it to you for free - they're making enough profits off us to factor that small amount in. If I had a mobility scooter, I could get to my local dairy, down to my doctor's surgery, to my local library, to a cinema, to most things I need. The only thing I struggle with is getting to and from work, but I work on the far side of town to where I live, and it's up in a very hilly suburb. I can't walk to the bus stop near home any more, but I can get to a bus stop in town in a rideshare for less than $10, and then catch a bus that drops me at the door of my workplace. I catch the bus down into town after work and then rideshare home for around $6-$7. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford this cost because I have a free bus pass. To catch the bus without a bus pass from the closest stop to my house would cost me $$60-$70 per week. To use rideshare to and from an accessible bus stop usually costs me another $20ish per week on top of what paying for the bus would cost, maximum. I'm good at playing discount codes between apps, sometimes I can get my weekly transport spend under $70. I looked at using a disability driving service but it was more than double the price of rideshare apps, even with a Total Mobility card! It's not impossible for 15 minute cities to be accessible. Low public transport costs, low delivery costs, accessible footpaths and crossings, affordable rideshare costs, plenty of drop off/pick up spots in busy areas, public toilets, etc etc are all doable. It just needs the community to demand it and those in power to put it into place.

as a child being told "the moon controls the tides" with no additional explanation was like. oh okay. you want me to believe in magic? you're talking about magic right now? okay. fine

you have to consciously unlearn racism and continue to watch for it because it will come out without realizing. because so much of society is structured around it. shrugging and going "i dont care" or "i dont know how else to say it" means you are okay with being racist and hurting other people with how much you dont give a shit about them.

While the 90s were not good by any means - by most measures, anyway - I do wish that politics still had some pretense of being serious and dignified business for grownups. A little bit of decorum in there. We can't just have two opposing sides who both go by "empathy and common decency are faggot behaviour."

I think the desire for authenticity helped with the downfall of this decorum. As much as I appreciate honesty, there's a lot to be said for pretending to have empathy and common decency until it grows in by sheer force of habit.

While the 90s were not good by any means - by most measures, anyway - I do wish that politics still had some pretense of being serious and dignified business for grownups. A little bit of decorum in there. We can't just have two opposing sides who both go by "empathy and common decency are faggot behaviour."

"cozy bookstore" "cozy cafe with a bookshelf" "omg imagine if there was a place you could just sit and read at" we have this its called the library. you guys want to go to the library. the two college libraries near me have cafes inside and they are open to the public. people need to go to the library