rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
Now that 2025 has forced everyone to learn about Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA, what I want to see in 2026 is for everyone to learn about bait.

This applies to myself as well. If I see someone being unhinged, the strategy is to immediately block and ignore. If they are unhinged in real life, I will block and ignore them in my heart.

We only have so many days on this earth. 🍵
rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem
https://thewalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/

If buying the debut is a rollicking night at the craps table, then the sophomore project is the sober morning after. Gone is the clean slate. What publishers really want to see, McGrath says, is growth. “More than any particular number, they’re looking to see a track that is always on the rise.” This is impossible to prove after only one book, especially a book that loses the publisher money. Which is to say: almost all of them.

Read more... )

Idk man. Fun times. I'm doing my best to write and publish reviews; and, despite everything, I think my own stories are worth the struggle and anxiety of the publication game. Still, I wish everything didn't have to be so difficult.
rynling: (Ganondorf)
Outbreaks of rabies seem to be rising across the U.S., CDC surveillance shows
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/rabies-outbreaks-rising-us-deaths-vaccine-rcna227771

People are most often exposed to the rabies virus through the saliva of an infected wild animal that can get into the mouth, eyes or a wound, which is why bites are so dangerous. Prior to the 1960s, most cases in humans were from infected pets, usually a dog. Thanks to strict pet vaccination laws, the canine strain of rabies has been eliminated from the U.S.

Unfortunately...

Vaccine Hesitancy Among Pet Owners Is Growing: Public Health Expert On Why That Matters
https://stories.tamu.edu/news/2025/01/14/vaccine-hesitancy-among-pet-owners-is-growing-public-health-expert-on-why-that-matters/

In the same 2024 study, many of the concerns raised by pet owners mirror those of humans: More than half of pet owners question the effectiveness of vaccines. A similar percentage was concerned about vaccine safety and side effects. Many believed it was better for pets to contract a disease to get immunity than to get vaccinated. About 60% of pet owners thought that pets receive too many vaccines. Strikingly, nearly all pet owners preferred fewer vaccines to be administered to their pets at a time.

In other news, it's been fun (read: horrifying) to watch all my older colleagues come down with a "mysterious illness" at the beginning of the fall semester. Hmmmmm I wonder what that could be.
rynling: (Ganondorf)
I finally finished a stupid two-panel comic (this one here) about my fantasy of taking direct action against oligarchs. The no-minimum tariffs bullshit absolutely wrecking the small businesses of indie artists was the straw that broke my back.

Read more... )

But also, listen. In actual reality, hammers.
rynling: (Ganondorf)
Your Labubu Might Be the Most Honest Indicator of a Global Recession
https://www.milleworld.com/labubu-economic-recession-indicator/

All of this points to the same underlying truth: people are adapting to scarcity by aestheticizing it. When people can’t afford abundance, they turn to objects that feel meaningful, compact, and emotionally loaded. That’s where Labubu enters the chat — not as a toy, but as a talisman.

For real though. I think it's telling that it's not actual teen girls who are into these toys, but grown Millennials who are pushing 40 and still can't afford to buy a house. So on one hand, these stupid little things aren't that deep; but also,

As philosopher Byung-Chul Han notes in The Burnout Society, modern individuals are no longer disciplined by external forces. Instead, they’re coerced internally by a need to perform, optimize, and consume under their own volition. In this framework, buying a Labubu isn’t a childish indulgence, but a full-on coping mechanism as a small act of self-soothing in a system that’s rigged for extraction.
rynling: (Cool Story Bro)
I'm putting together a slideshow about the contemporary glorification of Japanese wartime imperialism in otaku media, and.

Like obviously I don't think it was in any way good for Japan to commit genocide on the Asian continent, or that it was fun times for Japan to force its own citizens into a military that was, by all accounts, nothing less than hell on earth. Obviously. But listen. The aesthetic of that era was sick.

Read more... )

I say with nothing but sincerity that I'm against authoritarianism in all forms, but also I'm starting to think that progressive movements need better propaganda.
rynling: (Gators)
It feels stupid to say this, but I hope everyone in Russia is doing okay. I hope everyone in Ukraine is doing okay too, obviously. As okay as they can be.

As an American, I don't have any moral high ground. Still, I definitely know what it feels like to be held hostage by an insane government. For Pride Month this year, I would like to wish all populist dictators a very [redacted].
rynling: (Ganondorf)
Renewing calls for Tufts to adopt March 4 TCU Senate resolutions
https://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2024/03/4ftk27sm6jkj

The great author and civil rights champion James Baldwin once wrote: “The paradox of education is precisely this: that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which [they are] being educated.” As an educator, President Kumar should embrace efforts by students to evaluate “diverse and sometimes contradictory ideas and opinions.” We urge President Kumar and the Tufts administration to meaningfully engage with and actualize the resolutions passed by the Senate.

So you're telling me that half a dozen plain-clothes ICE agents gestapoed some poor study abroad student off the street in broad daylight for being one of the four co-authors of this toothless student paper op-ed? Cool. Great. Awesome. I need to lie down.
rynling: (Ganondorf)
I thought it was fairly normal to feel empathy for bad people.
https://littlelindentree.tumblr.com/776020275566379008/walk-down-the-street-of-any-city-any-afternoon

This is a lengthy but interesting thread about why it's important not to slip into a fascist mindset. The OP was saying that, even though they firmly believe that Elon Musk needs to be arrested by Interpol and tried in international court, they feel bad that he was abused as a child. Even when you hate someone, they wrote, it's important not to dehumanize them.

Read more... )
rynling: (Mog Toast)
German media: We know exactly what the fuck that meant
https://bsky.app/profile/bubbaprog.lol/post/3lg7gdv7wbk2f

To be fair, it's just the headlines that are "unclear." The text in the American articles I've seen has no ambiguity. But still.

Read more... )

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