we for real rn?

something needs to change here

this is urgent

I don’t know how to do it

death is the ultimate metaphor for drastic change. it’s a general specific. whatever your problems are, it is very likely that dead people don’t have to deal with them. a real solution to your problems may demand a very narrow range of action that’s likely to be out of reach at this moment, but death is sold on every street corner, so it feels like a more realistic fantasy than happiness.

you don’t really want to die per se but it’s also not completely random chemicals swamping your brain for no reason. you want the pain to stop, you want to be somewhere else, you want to be someone else. it’s urgent. you don’t know how to do it. the end is not the end but a means that feels within your reach right now.

req'd by @hermitindrag

on it boss!!!!

Benjamin Reiss's book The Showman and the Slave: Race, Death and Memory in Barnum's America (2010)

John Woolf's book The Wonders: Lifting the Curtain on the Freak Show, Circus and Victorian Age (2019)

The Ugly Laws: Disability in Public by Susan M. Schmeik (this is more on the legislation at the time and how that impacted circus culture)

Jessica L. William's Media, Preformative Identity, and the New American Freak Show (2017)

Being a Little Person in America: We're still treated as less than human - video essay by Cara Reedy (2019)

Often times, especially if someone doesn't have very advanced social skills, and someone is going through some sort of major tragedy, trauma, crisis, or otherwise overwhelming event it can be really hard to know what to do for them to support them.

But when, say, a loved one just died, or you just went through a major traumatic event, or even something generally positive but still overwhelming such as you just had a baby, it can be much harder than usual to meet your basic needs such as feeding yourself.

So if you actually want to help someone who's really going through something, help them meet their basic needs such as making sure they're fed.

Take the tasks off their shoulders.

Bring in their mail. See a bill? Pin it to the fridge if you arent close enough to sit down and help pay it yourself (finances are touchy). Don't let them lose their utilities when they've already lost so much.

Take out their trash. Clean their toilet if you can find the tools.

I've never received a casserole in my life despite plenty of grieving and struggle. Not everyone has a support network like that, and not everyone just brings a casserole when they don't know what else to do. Most people, from what I've seen, when they don't know what to do, do nothing. Also. Casseroles can be frozen. Also also if they ARE for some reason just completely overwhelmed with food contributions? You could do some dishes for them! Or maybe help separate out the servings into freezer bags for them. Or both.

minimalist pencil sketches of cats by Shou Xin (手訫)

when I was younger, I got food poisoning. I was supposed to recover from it, but I wound up with a bunch of nasty medical conditions instead. I never imagined I would become disabled from food.

so I am really glad I have been able to help spread the word every now and then about food safety and recalls, since it hopefully means a few less people going through what I have.

while I have your attention, I do not post every recall, even just for the US, so here are a few of the links I use!

recalls.gov/recent.html <- aggregate of official government recall links for the US! food, drugs, products, child safety seats, motor vehicles, and tires! (half the feeds are broken half the time, but hey, it works™! check the FDA enforcement reports for a more complete list of recalls, especially drug recalls!)

recalls for canada <- recalls for canada!

RASFF <- food recalls and safety alerts for the EU!

food safety news <- news about food safety in the US, canada, and around the world!

I was poisoned <- see where people have gotten food poisoning near you, and report your own! (worldwide!)