I Found This At Goodwill.  It’s A Little Gaudier Than I Usually Like, But I Couldn’t Resist.  Now

Make sure you have an active library card!  If you don’t have a card or haven’t used yours in a few years and your library is still open, get a card or have it renewed. (Check what ID you’ll need before you go.)  While you’re in the library, check out that book you’ve been meaning to read, the audiobook or music CD you’ve been meaning to listen to, the movie you want to watch, and whatever else catches your fancy!

You can ask about the library’s online resources while you’re there or look on the website when you get home.  Libraries can give you access to a lot of different resources, in addition to what’s listed above.  They may have downloadable or streaming e-books, e-audiobooks, music, movies, and TV shows.  Your library could give you access to classes on just about any subject, homework help for your kids, car repair guides, programs to help you learn a new language, and lots more.  If you go through the library’s website, they probably have information about what you will need to access all of these resources.

If you didn’t get your library card before they had to close to protect people, here are a few free resources you might enjoy.

Jim C. Hines started a Twitter thread where authors can link to free, lighthearted stories (both print and audio): https://twitter.com/jimchines/status/1238486764525948928

The Metropolitan Opera is offering a free streaming opera every night while they are closed: https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/

Some great artists are making coloring pages available for anyone to download and print: https://seananmcguire.tumblr.com/post/612756347442937856/catbatart-so-i-saw-a-great-post-by

Scholastic is offering day-by-day projects for kids in Pre-K through grade 6+: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

The Library of Congress is crowd-sourcing transcription of historical documents: https://crowd.loc.gov/

If you find that you’re having trouble thinking of things to do in the moment, make a list of stuff you want to try or keep meaning to do when you have time.  That craft you bought the supplies for but never started, the time-consuming recipe you want to try, a nagging minor home repair you haven’t gotten around to doing -- put them all on the list!  Make sure to get a good mix of fun things and chores.  You can either check the list when you get stuck or put ideas on slips of paper to pull from a bowl.

Look for ways to volunteer online or by phone!  I linked to the Library of Congress above, but there are tons of other crowd-sourcing initiatives you can do.  If you want something closer to home and like talking with people, an organization you belong to may need someone who can call members to make sure they’re ok or just chat with people who are lonely.

If the news is making you stressed, take breaks from it or limit how much time you spend reading/watching it.  If people are freaking out on social media, it’s ok to stop following them or not check those accounts as often.  Look for people who are posting fun things or links to free stuff you can try.  (Check your library’s website for those, too!)

Stuck at home? Here’s an isolation survival post:

(Everything here is free to use! Feel free to add on. Links were purposefully broken to avoid Tumblr’s spam prevention.)

Social:

discordapp.com/ - Like Skype but better, more accessible, smoother, and with more features. Call, play games, and chat with friends.

twitch.tv/ - Watch and chat with people doing everything from gaming to cooking to teaching.

Reading:

whichbook.net/ - helps you find what book to read

overdrive.com/ - Free audiobooks through your public library

standardebooks.org/ebooks/ - Free ebooks

rbdigital.com/ - Free audiobooks and ebooks through your public library

Movies:

www.kanopy.com/ - Free movies through your public library

www.ted.com/ - Watch lots of educational and inspiring talks

Hobbies:

join.skillshare.com/ - Learn how to do virtually anything with 2 free months of premium

scratch.mit.edu/ - Make a game or movie, super easy to use, good introductory programming “language”

gimp.org/downloads/ - Free photoshop-like program.

twinery.org/ - Make a text-based game

pixologic.com/sculptris/ - make 3D models

unity.com/ - Make a 3D game

yoyogames.com/gamemaker - make a 2D game

spotify.com/us/ - Listen to music

travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours - Museums with virtual tours

Dungeons and Dragons: (play over Discord!) (DM me if you want PDFs of the Handbooks)

probablybadrpgideas.tumblr.com/post/612459866001391616/basic-rules-for-dungeons-dragons-dungeons - The Basics

entertainment.howstuffworks.com/leisure/brain-games/beginners-guide-dungeons-and-dragons.htm - Learn to play

roll20.net/ - Make maps/play online

Video Games:

itch.io/ - play hundreds of games

freegameplanet.com/ - Even more free games!

dolphin-emu.org/ - Play Gamecube and Wii games

Phone Apps:

sourceforge.net/projects/gameboid/ - Play gameboy games

smartphones.gadgethacks.com/how-to/10-must-play-free-puzzle-games-for-iphone-android-0178848/ - list of puzzle games

Cooking:

fridgetotable.com/ - Input ingredients you have and get recipes you can make.

youtube.com/user/DepressionCooking - Learn how to cook with limited ingredients from a lovely old woman who lived during the Great Depression

butterwithasideofbread.com/homemade-bread/ - Make bread with yeast

letsdishrecipes.com/traditional-irish-soda-bread/ - Make bread without yeast

Other tips:

Take care of yourself (eat well, shower often, wear clean clothes, exercise, clean your space)

Talk with people

Do what makes you happy

Take time away from screens

Play – with your pets, your kids, your friends. Keep yourself active and busy and happy.

Make sure they hear what you have to say on November 6: VOTE!

This is incredibly frightening.  In addition to the definition of domestic violence, the definitions of stalking (old vs. new) and sexual assault (old vs. new) were changed between December 2017 and April 2018.

The Trump Administration Quietly Changed the Definition of Domestic Violence and We Have No Idea What For

It is too early to assess the full impact of the change.

Without fanfare or even notice, the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women made significant changes to its definition of domestic violence in April. The Obama-era definition was expansive, vetted by experts including the National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The Trump administration’s definition is substantially more limited and less informed, effectively denying the experiences of victims of abuse by attempting to cast domestic violence as an exclusively criminal concern.

The previous definition included critical components of the phenomenon that experts recognize as domestic abuse—a pattern of deliberate behavior, the dynamics of power and control, and behaviors that encompass physical or sexual violence as well as forms of emotional, economic, or psychological abuse. But in the Trump Justice Department, only harms that constitute a felony or misdemeanor crime may be called domestic violence. So, for example, a woman whose partner isolates her from her family and friends, monitors her every move, belittles and berates her, or denies her access to money to support herself and her children is not a victim of domestic violence in the eyes of Trump’s Department of Justice. This makes no sense for an office charged with funding and implementing solutions to the problem of domestic violence rather than merely prosecuting individual abusers

read more

As a librarian, and especially as a cataloger, I have Feelings about the arrangement of books. However, one of those Feelings is that, in your own personal/household library, you should arrange your books in ways that make sense for you/your household. Part of that is going to depend what types of books you have, part on how much shelf space you have where, and part on how you use and look for your books.

In my household, we have several broad areas for books. General fiction is arranged alphabetically by author; books by the same author are alphabetical by title unless I can remember a series order easily or at least separate distinct series from one another. Anthologies are arranged alphabetically by title. Graphic novels and collections of comics are arranged by series, character, or title (depending on whether they're part of a series and/or how we would look for them).

Nonfiction books are organized by subject, with similar topics generally grouped together and flowing into each other in ways that made sense when I set up the shelves after we moved here. For example, one shelf has yoga/stretching -> massage -> first aid -> general science -> animals -> field guides for birds and plants -> pets -> art books (because we have some art books focused on different animals) -> biographies (because we have biographies of artists).

A few collections are separated out for various reasons. Picture books are in their own area because I had a small bookshelf with high enough shelves for them to fit in (mostly) comfortably. Cookbooks are on their own set of shelves in the kitchen, roughly grouped by topic or type of food (general, slow cooker, chocolate, bacon, etc.). Gaming books are organized by gaming system, then generally by title. Books on sex and sexuality, erotica, and NSFW graphic novels/comics are in the bedroom but otherwise mirror the organization of the main collection.

The guest bedroom has collections of miscellaneous information and short essays, as well as books that we have two copies of, so we don't mind if someone borrows them indefinitely.

This is very important research so I can figure out how to arrange my books

Also, Vote Your Whole Ballot in every election! The president has a huge impact on the country, but so does Congress. Your senators and representatives can support or block a president and influence the long-term effects of the president's actions. And as @neolithicsheep shows, your governor and state legislature can make a big difference on your life.

Your city's mayor, council, and other administrators have a narrower impact, but it can literally hit you where you live. Even school and library boards affect what children in your community are taught and whether books are banned. They are either elected or appointed by the mayor and/or city council.

Learn the dog whistles that hide people's agendas. Look at who is sharing advertising space. Check out the groups that support different candidates. And vote like your life depends on it, because it does for many of us.

"Don't vote to teach the Democrats a lesson!" Great thanks my Jewish disabled queer ass will just die then

Hi! Thanks so much for following my blog, here is your moodboard. I hope you like it :)

Stay awesome! 

[Fran: Squee!  I love it!  Thank you very much @acelepuff!!]

Leafy sea dragon mermaid! [swoon]  (Ok, they’re all cool, but I have a soft spot for leafy sea dragons.)

5/15 mermaid design challenge i made for myself (also happens to be during #mermay)

so far: goldfish, lionfish, leafy sea dragon, deepsea predator, and red octopus

i will post here when another 5 are done, meanwhile you can see each one & WIPs on my twitter if you want

edit: basically i realized way too late that u cant see anything of the details so i added 100% closeups for each one like i did on twitter ///shrug

Discriminating against people based on their religion, ethnicity, skin color, or anything else is just as wrong in the QUILTBAG community as it is anywhere else.  The ways some members of a religion use it to justify doing terrible things to other people is horrible, whether that’s Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, atheism, or anything else.  However, that does not mean that the religion itself is horrible, or that all of its followers should be blamed for those people’s actions. 

anyway here’s your reminder that lgbt muslims exist and islamophobia shouldnt be tolerated within lgbt communities!

shout out to lgbt muslims living in places where our identities are still criminalised. 

Check this out if you’re on Instagram and want to try to win a book with an ace character!

Win an asexual book of your choice! [Details here]

This is a brilliant advertising campaign!