flameraven

[flameraven]

#gamechanger #dropout #sam reich

[flameraven]

For a second I thought this was by @tkingfisher, Brother Gregor would fit right in with her various robed creatures!

Brother Gregor never spoke and often spooked the neophytes with his appearance, but he was a gentle soul and a phenomenal cook and knew more ways to prepare a fish than the abbot knew hymns

#art

[flameraven]

“By the usual measures, Biden should be cruising to reëlection. Violent crime has dropped to nearly a fifty-year low, unemployment is below four per cent, and in January the S. & P. 500 and the Dow hit record highs. More Americans than ever have health insurance, and the country is producing more energy than at any previous moment in its history. His opponent, who is facing ninety-one criminal counts, has suggested that if he is elected he will fire as many as fifty thousand civil servants and replace them with loyalists, deputize the National Guard as a mass-deportation force, and root out what he calls “the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.””

— Joe Biden’s Last Campaign

#us politics #election 2024 #look I am frustrated with Biden over many things #but he HAS genuinely done a lot of good #often in boring administrative ways we don't notice #but also cancelling student loans! #pardoning weed convictions!

[flameraven]

The first series I watched was Rurouni Kenshin, as well as the first 3 seasons of Digimon, which my friend had diligently recorded onto VHS. And also around that time (possibly before?) I watched Akira. Which was a real mind fuck. A few years later my mom took me to the big city so we could watch the US release of Spirited Away in an Arts Theatre. I'd also seen some of Cardcaptor Sakura, although it was the bastardized US version, and mostly only the first 10 minutes of each episode before I had to go catch my bus.

edit: THIS POST BREACHED THE CONTAINMENT OF THE TARGET AUDIENCE, "28-YEAR-OLDS WHO SAW THEIR FIRST ANIMES IN PIECES ON YOUTUBE DURING THEIR TEENAGE YEARS." PEOPLE WHO WATCHED SAILOR MOON WHILE SIPPING APPLEY JUICE IN PRESCHOOL I'M SORRY I GUESS THIS ONE ISN'T FOR YOU

#anime #polls #youtube didn't exist yet

[flameraven]

One of the most insidious messages we receive as aromantic people is the idea there is nothing to be gained from a platonic relationship that one can’t get from a romantic relationship. The media we consume every day tells us that what we have to offer would be somehow better if it were given in a romantic, rather than platonic context. It tells us things like emotional support, laughter, care, and love are more valuable within the confines of a romantic relationship.

This can leave an aromantic person feeling as if they have nothing unique or valuable to offer, and the things they could provide to the people they care about would be better had from a romantic partner. That they themselves are superfluous and unnecessary.

These are lies. You are beautiful, and valuable, and you have more to offer than you will ever know. You may never see it yourself, but every person who chooses to have you in their life sees something in you that is worthwhile. There is something they receive from you they don’t get from anyone else, and it’s likely something different for every person who knows you.

You are special. You deserve to be loved. You deserve to feel like you’re enough, because you are.

You are.

#aromantic #lgbtq #qpr

[flameraven]

Sometimes I think about The Night at Crowley’s Flat-- they'd just saved the world, their superiors wanted to kill them, they'd concocted their little plan to swap bodies --and I wonder,

How had there not been a confession?

Had they not considered that their plan could go pear-shaped so easily? Had they not felt the urge to say the things they'd always left unsaid, just in case they never got another chance to say them? Maybe not Crowley, maybe Crowley wasn't aware of his feelings yet, his reaction in season 2 when Nina suggests the couple thing makes me think maybe he wasn't aware... But Aziraphale?Aziraphale knew. Aziraphale fucking knew. And he didn't say anything then??

Like. Tell me how is this possible

#good omens #good omens meta #ineffable husbands

[flameraven]

Amore Kidnapped

— by Daniele Accossato

#art #angels #sculpture #bondage? sort of? #saving this as ref for angsty Crowley art

[flameraven]

Even my friends of many years cannot reliably spell my last name. Most people dont even attempt to pronounce it. At this point I'm just used to spelling it for everyone immediately after I say it.

#names #polls #polish last names just be Like That

[flameraven]

I started a new job recently and some of the charts have 0-99 as the age range on them. I laughed, because who is working at age 99? And then we were told that there WAS a former employee who lost access because he was still working at 101 and the system couldn't recognize him because he was above the max age. o_o

[flameraven]

*Island in the Sun plays in the background*

Hyp-hyp

#dinosaurs #the feathery bois

[flameraven]

❗⚠️❗ERROR❗⚠️❗

This user has completed Too Many Tasks And has been temporarily replaced by

Potato

Please do not disturb Potato until further notice

#big mood #sensory overload #when will things be done

[flameraven]

Inspired by this wonderful posting by @fuckyeahgoodomens with many more photos of Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman:

#good omens #terry pratchett #neil gaiman #we don't even need to make fanart its already canon

[flameraven]

#dropout #gamechanger

[flameraven]

Not parchment, but iirc linen-based paper was the re-use. Rag paper started to become more widely available alongside the rise in underwear, as worn out linen rags were turned into paper. Tree pulp based paper was expensive/rare outside Asia/the Middle East until relatively recently (the 1800s I think?)

okay what did i miss

(yes some of these overlap and some are suppositions. for example if parchment is always used for ephemera, rough drafts, notes, and never re-used or re-purposed, we can also assume that the author is unaware of wax tablets as a concept)

#history #paper #recency bias

[flameraven]

Common pre-existing conditions insurers would deny coverage for: asthma, diabetes, and pregnancy! I heard rumors about them counting acne but I can't confirm that.

The ACA also removed "lifetime maximums." Because it used to be insurance could cap how much they would pay out over your lifetime. Get cancer and your treatment costs millions? Sucks to be you, insurance won't pay after you hit their maximum amount. This was particularly ghoulish for infants who were born premature or had other serious conditions that landed them in NICU. They might hit their lifetime max just months after being born.

The ACA is nowhere near the solution we need, but it was truly miraculous in stopping some of the worst things, and made it possible for millions of people to get insurance who never had it before.

i think a big reason that I get frustrated with the "liberals have never made anybody's lives better" is that in the US it used to be legal for insurance companies to charge you more if you were sick or even just straight up deny you the ability to sign up for them if you already had a "pre-existing condition", and this was only stopped by the passage of the ACA during Obama's term. but a lot of people who talk about politics on here are too young to really be affected by that since they would have been on their parents insurance (which the ACA required insurers extend until you're 26). and this was all done via politicking and not blowing up insurance CEOs mansions or whatever.

I'm not saying that the ACA fixed insurance forever, god no. but "you can't deny someone insurance for being sick" is a massive change and people don't realize it!

Most adults want the law’s prohibition on insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions to stay. Two thirds (67%) of the public say that it is “very important” that this provision remain in place, including most Republicans (54%) However, only about 4 in 10 people (39%) are aware that that provision is part of the ACA.

#obamacare #the aca #us politics

[flameraven]

This post isn't about Good Omens, but I'm gonna make it about Good Omens. Because this-- THIS is the genius of Crowley's temptation. I see a lot of people in fandom acting like he only plays harmless pranks on people. Mostly citing the (extra-canon) gluing coins to sidewalks. It's true he doesn't do things that seem overtly evil. He just makes everyone slightly more frustrated and miserable. But that is enough to make people do some truly shitty things if they aren't able to rein it in! Taking out the London cell network is a good example. Good Omens is a comedy, so we focus on the funny bit-- haha, Crowley couldn't use his phone when he needed to call Aziraphale. But like... if you actually think through it, the implications are pretty horrible. How many people were waiting for a call because a loved one was in hospital? Or they were waiting on news about medical tests? Or a job? How many people weren't able to call and say goodbye to a loved one before they left for a trip? How many rideshares and food delivery orders were delayed? The point is that cell phones are a crucial piece of infrastructure, and losing them is going to make the entire city miserable and impatient and frustrated. Normal people are likely to snap at the people around them, making THOSE people feel even worse. Maybe eventually someone gets angry enough that they take a swing at someone, or scream at their boss, or their partner, or their kids. (Frankly I don't even want to think about the ripple effect for people who are in abusive relationships.) Crowley is very very good at being a demon. He really isn't nice. He knows that humans only need a little push sometimes to be their worst selves, and he's happy to give that nudge.

worst part about getting angry is how much it makes you want to be mean

#good omens #good omens meta #anthony j crowley #crowley is good at being a demon

[flameraven]

Scientists at UC Riverside have demonstrated a new, RNA-based vaccine strategy that is effective against any strain of a virus and can be used safely even by babies or the immunocompromised.  Every year, researchers try to predict the four influenza strains that are most likely to be prevalent during the upcoming flu season. And every year, people line up to get their updated vaccine, hoping the researchers formulated the shot correctly. The same is true of COVID vaccines, which have been reformulated to target sub-variants of the most prevalent strains circulating in the U.S. This new strategy would eliminate the need to create all these different shots, because it targets a part of the viral genome that is common to all strains of a virus. The vaccine, how it works, and a demonstration of its efficacy in mice is described in a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  “What I want to emphasize about this vaccine strategy is that it is broad,” said UCR virologist and paper author Rong Hai. “It is broadly applicable to any number of viruses, broadly effective against any variant of a virus, and safe for a broad spectrum of people. This could be the universal vaccine that we have been looking for.”

Continue Reading.

#science! #vaccines #in mice #update