So i won't spam on Twitter (so much)

The heat’s been brutal this summer but we still gotta eat! If you’re like me, heat might suppress your appetite, and the last thing any of us want is to sweat over a hot stove and oven when it’s already boiling outside. Here are some of my favorite hot-weather recipes to keep hydrated and fed with when the weather is unbearable! (All recipes should be un-paywalled).

NYT’s best gazpacho (lives up to its name!!)

Persian cold cucumber soup (if you like tzatziki you will like this!)

Eric Kim’s cold noodles with tomato (infinitely riffable Korean flavor profile — for a creamier and less brothy take, try these cold sesame noodles too)

Vietnamese chicken and herb salad (this is an excellent time to get a rotisserie chicken so you don’t have to turn the oven on)

Radish sandwiches with butter and salt (and in a similar vein, if you dig this flavor combo you should try this Polish cottage cheese dip on some good rye bread or even crackers)

It’s still a little early in the season, but you can never go wrong with a BLT (or, if you don’t eat bacon, try this tomato furikake sandwich in its place)

Infinite iterations of pasta salad! You can use anything you got but here is a template I like.

Assorted dense bean salads. This back pocket canned salad is a weird combo of jarred ingredients but it slaps, this hoagie-inspired one is super satisfying, and cowboy caviar is a classic for a reason.

Poke bowls! Canned tuna mixed with some kewpie mayo and sriracha is a budget-friendly riff on the usual ahi and makes everything taste like a spicy tuna roll, but use whatever proteins you like, this is more of a loose template.

go to About:config find media.mediasource.enabled and toggle it to false find media.cache_readahead_limit and change it to 9999 find media.cache_resume_threshold and change it to 9999

additionally if you'd prefer mp4 to webm

also in about:config, find: media.encoder.webm.enabled media.mediasource.webm.audio.enabled media.mediasource.webm.enabled media.webm.enabled and toggle them all to false

note! this will limit video to 1080p

nature is healing

This is one of those non-poem things that are among my favorite poems.

As the OP stated, the use of alliterative consonants is aesthetically just great, especially the placement of the strongest use at the end: “fuck him on the floor.” The use of “chintz” is indeed great word choice.

Because I’m insane, decided to scan the poem:

Not only is the second sentence, indeed, perfect iambic pentameter, the entire poem is perfectly metered, though the first sentence has four iambs rather than five.

There are further things I love about this poem, though: I like the casual connotations of “keep it real” juxtaposed with “chintz.” It causes me to interpret the “chintz” more strongly as meaning something fake, a facade. There is also of course the coarseness of “fuck,” which is a contrast with “chintz” but a different kind of contrast, gutsy and carnal where “chintz” is flimsy and inanimate.

And then there is the storytelling: there is SO MUCH storytelling in just these two lines. To break it down: The speaker is having sex with a married man, in the house he shares with his wife, which is “filled with chintz”—something that here connotes fakeness, in contrast with “keep it real.”

The illicit encounter in the poem takes place within a house filled with facade, the flimsy construction of the wife’s marriage and domestic sphere, but the encounter itself is a taste of something “real.” That’s a story, and it’s just two lines.

This is EIGHTEEN SYLLABLES, y’all. The amount of meaning condensed into these eighteen syllables is stunning, and it is so elegantly done.

List of countries that claim Russia has trafficked their citizens, luring them to the country under false pretenses before forcing them to fight against Ukraine:

Bangladesh: "Russia is exploiting people in vulnerable situations to sustain its war effort." 100 sent to frontlines, 34 confirmed dead.

Botswana: "The government of Botswana has launched an investigation into reports that two young citizens were lured to fight in the Russia–Ukraine war under the pretext of short-term military training in Russia."

Burundi: "African cannon fodder." At least 6 Burundi citizens have been killed in the war after being lured to Russia with promises of security jobs.

Cameroon: 16 Cameroon citizens have been killed in the war.

Colombia: now one of the central recruitment hubs in Latin America.

Cuba: the other big hub.

Egypt: an Egyptian citizen was the sole survivor of his squad being wiped out by Ukrainian forces, because he quickly surrendered. He reported being lured to Russia for higher education, but then was conscripted.

Eswatini: recently the government began an investigation into Russian recruitment of citizens under false pretenses.

Ghana: at least 272 Ghanians have been lured to Russia, and 55 are dead. The Ghanian president is asking the EU to help rescue its remaining citizens.

India: "The CBI said it had detected "around 35 instances" of Indians being sent to Russia. At least two of the men who went to Russia expecting to work as "helpers" in the army have died while fighting at the front, according to their families. The Indian Embassy in Russia has confirmed one of those deaths."

Indonesia: "A former Indonesian marine, who reportedly lost his citizenship after joining the Russian army to fight in Ukraine, has posted a TikTok video appealing to his country for help returning home. His plea has sparked controversy across Indonesia."

Iraq: an Iraqi man was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in a trafficking ring that sent an unknown number of Iraqis to Russia for the war effort.

Jordan: "Jordan urged Russia to stop recruiting its citizens after two Jordanians were killed fighting with Russian forces, warning of illegal online recruitment."

Kenya: More than 1000 Kenyans have been trafficked by Russia, including a rather famous athlete, Evans Kibet. "He described being told, “You either serve or get killed,” and recalled how Ukrainian troops fed and sheltered him after he surrendered. He also pleaded publicly not to be returned to Russia."

Malawi: an especially disturbing case, as the country reports many young women have been tricked into working at drone production facilities.

Nepal: This is the big one. Between 6000-10000 Nepali citizens have been recruited to fight in Russia, often under false pretenses. "Soldiers have reported paying traffickers in Russia thousands of dollars to facilitate their escape. Ishwor Lamichane, 39, who went to Russia in 2023, had visited a consultancy in Tinkune, Kathmandu, with friends and paid $4,000 to secure transit and a tourist visa. He was told he would be in a medical post, a low-risk military role." "The choice to go to Russia is rooted in “extreme poverty”, Pangeni said. “Rather than lingering around in a state of unemployment, people prefer to risk their lives. They seem convinced of the security of their family — as, even if they die, they believe their families will receive compensation.”"

Nigeria: At least 36 Nigerians have been trafficked to Russia for the war. 5 have been confirmed killed.

Palestine: multiple refugees from the Gaza war have been trafficked from refugee camps in Lebanon.

Somalia: "Muhammad and seven other POWs prisoners of war, including five Nepalis, a Cuban, and a Sierra-Leonian, say they came to Russia seeking an escape from poverty. They also say they were tricked into fighting for Russia on the front lines in Ukraine. All foreign POWs claimed Russia promised not to deploy them to the front lines in Ukraine and that they would receive regular pay. However, only one said he received his salary, albeit not in full."

South Africa: "President Cyril Ramaphosa said the South African men aged between 20 and 39 were lured into joining mercenary forces “under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts” and had issued distress calls after becoming trapped in Ukraine."

Sri Lanka: ""We have received 455 complaints, we feel the number could be much higher. They have been duped by certain nefarious agents, some of these people have been arrested. People who have left for Russia have been promised certain salaries and privileges including citizenship,” Balasuriya said. The agents who recruited Sri Lankans had told them that they will not be used for fighting but there are now daily complaints that they are being sent to the war front in Ukraine, the minister said."

Tajikistan: according to Ukraine, at least 931 Tajiki citizens have been identified as fighting for Russia, and 196 have been killed. It's unclear under what circumstances they were recruited.

Togo: the Togolese government has confirmed the presence of multiple nationals -- described as "students" -- in Ukrainian prison camps after they surrendered. "Togo's foreign ministry stated that many of its citizens were lured into the conflict under the guise of being "students" with scholarships offered by Russian authorities. The ministry advises its citizens "seeking education abroad" to exercise extreme caution and verify the authenticity of such offers to prevent unwitting involvement in armed conflicts."

Turkmenistan: "Russia recruited at least 122 citizens of Turkmenistan to participate in the war against Ukraine in the first six months of 2025. Foreigners serve as a "disposable resource" in assault units, where mortality is high."

Uganda: not only have dozens of Ugandan citizens been lured to Russia, the Ugandan government has officially washed their hands of the issue even as their citizen beg for help.

Uzbekistan: Ukraine has identified 1,100 Uzbeki citizens who were trafficked to Russia; 109 have been killed.

Yemen: hundreds of Houthi fighters have been recruited under false pretenses of high-paid military jobs, then sent to front lines.

This Ring quest will have two hobbits. Maximum.

Then they all get to Rivendell and have somehow multiplied into four hobbits. And it's like. Okay. Maybe the others are right.

Maybe this is too many hobbits.

We have as many hobbits as we have not-hobbits.

But damn it, you just don't want to get rid of any of these hobbits. Screw it! Everyone can deal. Four hobbits. This is a four hobbits problem.

So away you go.

And things go bad in the worst possible way.

Over and over.

You've lost your hobbits. You've lost yourself. The fellowship has been separated.

It takes everything in your power to help the humans defend themselves, bringing them together to save Rohan. Finally, as things begin to look upright, you're ready to face the war with everything the Rohirrim have left.

You're ready to face him. This may be the hardest battle you've ever fought. But you ride.

Then you get there and two of your fucking hobbits are sitting there like "Yeah, while you were gone, we raised a tree army and beat Saruman's ass. Wanna help us loot his tower?"

....

There were not, in fact, too many hobbits.