janiedean

[janiedean]

believe me I understand working for call centers is hell on earth and I don't wish it on anyone but good grief after the 1000th time you call me for the gas/electric bill at *my parents' house* where I don't even live anymore after I told you nicely ten times that it's not my damned contract you can't ask me to not lose my shit

#three fucking calls per day #since i moved out #and I DID tell them it's useless they'd call ME #just remove me from the damned list and correct the mistake #noooo #also i signed myself for a thing where if you put your number you shouldn't get that kind of calls #NOOOOO #i'm too fucking old and tired #for this nonsense #like i GET that they only have the list but jfc this is borderline legal harassment i'm fucking too braindead for this shit #anyway i'll reply to ya'll soon sorry in the meantime i chipped a tooth and i'm just feeling like crap X_X #and the freelance stuff i found on the side is killing my soul #my kingdom for getting out of writer's block and/or finding a decent sidegig #personal for ts

[janiedean]

#either leave it or put it outside #like we don't have dangerous ones much around?? #and i don't mind spiders i think they're nice #they. just chill there eat mosquitoes and don't buzz around me while looking disgusting #anyway not gonna kill it why would i #if it was a mosquito meanwhile #yeah fuck you #queue of the beam

[janiedean]

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.

#PLEASE #queue of the beam #rid me of this hellvirus forever #jfc it's been one year i still cough like i'm fucking violetta valery #even if im not like actually having a cold #i'm vaccinating drinking it directly from the vial if it's true

[janiedean]

About the AO3 "No Guest Comments for a while" warning

If you're not following any of AO3's social media accounts you might be in the dark as to what kind of "spam comments" have engendered this banner at the top of the site:

These spam comments have been posted about a great deal on the AO3 subreddit for the past couple of days. Initially they comprised a bunch of guest (logged out users) bot comments that insulted authors by suggesting they were using AI and not writing their own fics. Some examples, from the subreddit:

But it then escalated to outright graphic porn images and gifs being posted in comments, again by logged out 'Guest' accounts. Obviously, I'm not going to give examples of those, but between these two bot infestations, AO3 has clearly decided to act and has temporarily closed the ability to post comments for users who are not logged in with an AO3 account.

Unfortunately, this means that genuine readers who don't have an AO3 account won't be able to leave comments on fics that they enjoy.

If you are a genuine reader who doesn't yet have an AO3 account, I strongly suggest getting yourself on the waiting list for one. More and more AO3 authors are now locking their fics down to registered users only - either due to these bot comments or concerns about AI scraping their work - which means you're probably missing out on a lot of great stuff.

Hopefully guest commenting will be enabled again at some point soon, but I suggest not waiting until then. Get yourself on that list.

Wait times are going to be longer than usual at the moment, due to the current Wattpad purge [info on Fanlore | Wattpad subreddit thread], but if you're in line, then your invite will come through eventually.

Update: There's now a Megathread about this on the AO3 subreddit.

#wattpad is getting purged now #wtf #im so out of the loop #anyway i have like at least 9 invitations sitting around if anyone wants those #queue of the beam #fandom #who tf has time to lose with this nonsense

[janiedean]

A high-profile Italian author has accused Rai of censorship after his antifascist monologue was abruptly stopped from being aired, in what he called the “definitive demonstration” of alleged attempts by Giorgia Meloni’s government to wield its power over the state broadcaster.

Antonio Scurati was due to read the monologue marking the 25 April national holiday, which celebrates Italy’s liberation from fascism, on the Rai 3 talkshow Chesarà on Saturday night.

But as he prepared to travel to Rome, he received a note from Rai telling him his appearance had been cancelled “for editorial reasons”.

Scurati is well known in Italy for his books about the dictator Benito Mussolini and the fascist period. The cancellation of his monologue provoked fierce reaction from Rai journalists, fellow authors and opposition leaders.

His speech referenced Giacomo Matteotti, a political opponent of Mussolini who was murdered by fascist hitmen in 1924, and other massacres of the regime. It also contained a paragraph criticising Italy’s “post-fascist” leaders for not “repudiating their neofascist past”.

“Undoubtedly, this is what infuriated them,” Scurati told the Guardian. “And also because of what I represent and maintain in my books … [that] there is a continuity between the fascism of Mussolini and the populist nationalists in Europe.”

The Rai director Paolo Corsini denied that the monologue had been censored, telling the Italian media that an investigation “of an economic and contractual nature” was under way, while implying that the speech was cancelled because of the “higher than expected” fee sought by Scurati.

Scurati said his fee had been agreed and the contract signed before the monologue was due to be broadcast. “The fee was perfectly in line with those paid to authors … It was the same as in the past, when there were no issues.”

In solidarity, Serena Bortone, who presents Chesarà, read out the monologue on the show. It has also been published in full by several Italian newspapers and websites.

Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neofascist origins, came to power in October 2022 with a coalition including the far-right League and the late Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia.

During the election campaign, Meloni said the rightwing parties had “handed fascism over to history for decades now”. However, Scurati claimed in his monologue that when forced to address fascism at historical anniversaries, Meloni has “obstinately stuck to the ideological line of her neofascist culture of origin”, for example by blaming the Mussolini regime’s persecution of the Jews and other massacres on Nazi Germany alone.

Meloni responded by publishing the speech on her Facebook page, while attacking Scurati and accusing the left of “shouting at the regime”.

“Rai responded by simply refusing to pay €1,800 (the monthly salary of many employees) for a minute of monologue,” she said. “I don’t know what the truth is, but I will happily publish the text of the monologue (which I hope I don’t have to pay for) for two reasons: 1) Those who have always been ostracised and censored by the public service will never ask for anyone to be censored. Not even those who think their propaganda against the government should be paid for with citizens’ money. 2) Because Italians can freely judge its content.”

Since coming to power, the Meloni government has been accused of increasingly exerting its power over Rai while edging out managers or TV hosts with leftwing views. The European Commission was last week urged to investigate the government’s alleged attempts to turn the broadcaster into a “megaphone” for the ruling parties before the European elections.

Meloni’s administration has also been accused of trying to influence other areas of the press and targeting journalists with legal action who criticise the government. A Brothers of Italy politician recently proposed toughening penalties for defamation, including jail terms of two to three years.

Elly Schlein, the leader of the centre-left Democratic party, said: “The Scurati case is serious; Rai is the megaphone for the government.” Carlo Calenda, the leader of the centrist Azione party, said: “Silencing a writer for saying unpleasant things about the government is simply unacceptable.”

Scurati said he has received solidarity from many authors and journalists who were otherwise afraid to speak out against the government.

“This episode is the definitive demonstration, as it has finally aroused the revolt of other writers, intellectuals and journalists who until now kept quiet,” he said. “This government launches violent personal attacks against you for speaking out, in my case [that] I asked for too much money.”

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

#sigh #queue of the beam #welcome to italy #what fascinating news no one could have predicted #/s

[janiedean]

#I L D #but N also was a strong contender #wish americans exported pies instead of mcdonald's #i should learn to make some *cry* #queue of the beam #food

[janiedean]

This makes so much sense

#queue of the beam #hahahahaah atm my energy is at the lowest possible levels in existence #if i have 40% and give 40% tomorrow I'll have 10 #anyway not counting that #this is actual good advice

[janiedean]

two episodes of nervous crying your brains out for longer than one hour in the span of three days were not in my bingo card for 2024 when I graduated ten years ago and I would like to frankly get the fuck over myself

#personal for ts #one day i’ll be able to put into words #the absolutely hateful feeling of thinking you got over your shit #and then finding out that NOT ONLY you aren’t #but KNOWING you’re falling back into shitty coping mechanisms you STILL let it happen #honestly my self loathing is off the roof because fifteen years ago i didn’t know i was shitty coping #now i KNOW i am and guess what here i am doing the whole isolating myself and forgetting to reply to ppl song and dance #christ i thought i was okay with handling that kinda shit guess not #and yeah ofc i need to fix it for myself but this time is so much worse i’m just #my kingdom for waking up one morning and feeling some level of mental clarity #and for some goddamned financial stability #and for the force of will to keep the house tidy enough that i dont feel sad just looking at the state of the living room #guys also honestly sorry if i forgot to reply to your ask or pm or anything i’ll get to it at some point #i swear i’m not ignoring people on purpose i’m just completely overwhelmed sigh

[janiedean]

#mental health #god #the level of truth #queue of the beam

[janiedean]

i would beg my brain chemistry to magically realign itself on a sensed wavelength before I end up begging for meds i don’t think it’s too much to ask is it /s

#personal for ts #ngl i get why therapist would rather not but god i just cried for twenty minutes #because i couldn’t find the thing you use to put water in the iron #and i looked at the living room desk which is a complete mess and burst out in tears #i’m late answering EVERYTHING I can’t bring myself to get out of bed at the right time in the morning #I need to finish commissions and I can’t do three sentences #and ofc 90% of the relatives think that i either need to calm down and NO NEED TO STRESS or think i have no reason to be stressed anyway #i’m so fucking tired #and like i know that i’m shit at getting over things quick and i just got worse with age #idek what i’m getting at #and i feel ridiculous bc ik what kicked me into the spiral #and i need to get the fuck over it because there is no way i’m getting any closure on that front #i KNOW that #but my brain doesn’t i guess #we’re back at i am this picture and i don’t like ir while staring at stannis baratheon aren’t we #sigh #anyway sorry for the debbiedownering s2g im answering everyone soon

[janiedean]

#i try to eat everything responsibly #but like i couldn’t survive for shit if was veganything i already will regret my crap calcium levels i know that #queue of the beam

[janiedean]

più invecchio più l’avvelenata diventa un mood esistenziale

#ogni volta che sento la parte della pensione sa un lato lo sento nel sangue dall’altro piango #ngl so tre anni che mi sento il mood dentro per ventordici motivi diversi #che non è per un cazzo ma eoba positiva ma ok #sigh

[janiedean]

manual boopery

Heehoo beans

#awwww #TVT

[janiedean]

OMG the backstory behind the whole boop thing is amazing.

#lmfao omg #tumblr

[janiedean]

for april fools we’re deleting this entire site sayonara you weeaboo shits

#ah okay that was it #tumblr

[janiedean]

don't mind me I'm trying to figure out wtf is tumblr doing for april's fools

[janiedean]

sweetest post ever??? 😭

#queue of the beam #good omens #oh my GOD this is so wholesome 😭