too many things to be normal about

This is… not a good idea.

But we actually carefully maintain that nature. We cut down the deadfall. We pull invasive plants. We trim the elderberry bushes. We get more animals than almost anywhere else on the mountain because we put up salt licks and water troughs.

some of these same things are true of national parks. A lot of places that you think of as “untouched wilderness” are influenced heavily by human care and maintenance. And this isn’t a bad thing. We are animals too. In many ways, our ecosystems depend on us to keep them healthy. Many “wild” plants that are useful for food or building materials are actually semi-domesticated because indigenous groups cared for them and encouraged their growth so they do better with human care.

we have a place in nature. We just need to be conscious of our actions.

EDIT: since this post took off, I thought I should add some sources

I went, "What. no. she/her."

"How does that work? With she/her/hers and they/them?"

I stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Well you came out as-" and I said, "I'm asexual."

She replied, "Like an amoeba, I know."

"Oh. My god. No. Mom. It doesn't- it's not the asexual you learned about in biology. I didn't come out as a single celled organism."

With heavy relief, she said "Oh, it has a different meaning?"

It is, by any metric, a small country masquerading as a city.

It governs more lives and more wealth than most nations. If democratic socialism — housing reform, public banking, equitable taxation — functions here, it obliterates the myth that such governance can’t work at scale. The fear isn’t ideological. It’s empirical. Because if Mamdani can keep the lights on, reduce homelessness, and maintain economic growth without catering to Wall Street, then the capitalist gospel collapses under its own dead weight.

What terrifies the establishment isn’t failure. It’s feasibility.

If it works in New York, there’s no reason it can’t work in Nebraska. If it works in Queens, it can work in Kansas City. And once proof exists, belief becomes irrelevant. The ship of democracy, fully refitted, will keep sailing — and no one can claim it isn’t American."

Round 2 - 2026 (Costume Art / Fashion is Art) - Match 59 of 64

Suleika Jaouad (Christian Siriano), left

"[Siriano] created my gown after being inspired by a photograph of me at eight years old, wearing my grandmother’s traditional Tunisian houli garment and layers of jewelry." "With its red and gold color scheme, the author’s glittering gown also evokes renowned African artist El Anatsui’s metallic tapestry-like sculptures." (x)(x)

vs. Isha Ambani (Gaurav Gupta), right

"[Her] saree draws references from ancient India. The border of her saree featured hand-painted pichwai-inspired motifs with hand embroidery techniques like zardozi, aari work and relief embroidery. According to Vogue, the earthy-toned saree was hand-made by more than 50 artisans who completed it within more than 1,200 hours. The saree came with a cape from the same couture. “It's supposed to be a sculptural element of the saree,” Isha Ambani explained to Vogue at the event. ... Talking about the inspiration behind the look, Ambani explained, “It's a handwoven saree, and the blouse is full of my mother's jewellery. It has different sentimental pieces. It has pieces like gifts when my kids were born. ... Saree is the ultimate symbol of an art form. That's why I picked it.”" (x)