From The NY Times:

So many people wouldn’t have asthma in the first place if it wasn’t for these corporations…Shifting blame from actual culprits to people with asthma (and people who can’t help but use plastic straws at that) is peak capitalism.

Want to learn something new in 2022??

Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)

40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)

Excellent basic crochet video series

Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)

Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)

How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)

Another drawing character faces video

Literally my favorite art pose hack

Tutorial of how to make a whole ass Stardew Valley esque farming game in Gamemaker Studios 2??

Introduction to flying small aircrafts

French/Dutch/Fishtail braiding

Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)

Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)

Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)

Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:

Calculus 1 (full semester class)

Learn basic statistics (free textbook)

Introduction to college physics (free textbook)

Introduction to accounting (free textbook)

Learn a language:

Ancient Greek

Latin

Spanish

German

Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)

French

Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)

A long-term project of mine on this blog is to keep an accurate table of contents for all of the posts I've reblogged: it helps me find posts on specific topics I've reblogged whenever I want, since a tag can sometimes be too much to sift through. Below are links to my google docs with links back to my own blog in case OPs delete or deactivate. I post this in case anyone would like to reference them, since they are now up to date!

Information on General Magic, Spells, Correspondences, and Substitutions

Information on Specific Types of Magic

Information on Astrology (I just wanted this one separate)

Spells, Spreads, Sigils

I hope whoever references these pages finds them useful 😀

Stripper Tutorial Masterpost

The links are in order from beginner to advanced. Most of this is aimed towards dancers-to-be or baby strippers, so there aren’t many complicated moves on here. Also, please note that this list is incomplete. I will be adding to the Bootywork and Lapdance sections in given time and as I find better videos/tutorials. FLOORWORK: Sexy Worm (with Spin Sity)  The Dive (with Spin Sity)  The Clock (with Spin Sity)   Crawl (with Pole 2go) Goddess Rising (with Pole2go) Outside Tick-tock Clock Variation (with Pole2go) Leg Peels (with Pole2go) Floor Fan Kick (with Pole2go) Backwards Shoulder Roll (with Melonie) Four Ways to Get Up From the Floor (with Dirdy Birdy)  Twisted Grip Floor Roll Down (with Dirdy Birdy)  Intermediate Drop & Roll (with Cleo the Hurricane) Advanced Pole Press Handstand (with Cleo the Hurricane) POLEWORK: Basic Walk (with Pole2go) Eternal Pole Walk (with Pole2go) Figure 8 Walk (with Pole2go) Hip Circles (with Pole2go) Booty Dips (with Pole2go) Pole Plie (with Pole2go) Beginner Fireman Variations (with Dirdy Birdy) Beginner Sunwheel/Ankle Hook (with Dirdy Birdy Beginner Pole Climb (with Dirdy Birdy) Beginner Pole Sit (with Dirdy Birdy)  Beginner Pole Plank/Layback (with Dirdy Birdy)  Beginner Angel Spin (with Dirdy Birdy)  Beginner Fan Kick (with Dirdy Birdy)  Beginner Cradle/Cradle V Spin (with Dirdy Birdy) Beginner Pirouette Variations Inner and Outer Grip (with Dirdy Birdy)  Beginner Bodyrolls (with Dirdy Birdy) Beginner Invert and Exercises Before (with Dirdy Birdy)  Intermediate Gemini Aka Outside Leg Hang (with Dirdy Birdy) Intermediate Scorpio Aka Inside Leg Hang (with Dirdy Birdy) Tips for Using a Spinning Pole (with Veena)  Static Pole Spins (with Veena)  Back Arch Slide (with Pole2go) The Wrist Seat (with Pole2go)  Corkscrew Spin (with Pole2go) How to Shoulder Mount (with Blush Dance) Jade (with Muse Fitness) Jade Split (with Cleo the Hurricane) BOOTYWORK: How to Twerk For Non-Twerkers (with Firestarter)  How to Twerk Tutorial and Leg/Booty Workout (with Keaira Lashae) Ass Clap 101 (with Imani Rose)  Booty Pop on Floor (with Amy Shi)  Booty Flexing Exercise (with Empre$$)

STRENGTH/FLEXIBILITY/STRETCHING Beginner Pole Strengthening Exercises (with Dakota Foxx) Back Stretches/Flexibility Training (with Dirdy Birdy)  Four Exercises Every Pole Dancer Should Know (with Veena)  Tips For Splits and Hips (with Veena)  Stretching for the Splits (with Veena)

I would like to hear the story of how you slept under the christmas tree

so i immigrated to the US at age 9, right, and one of the first things my family did was join the local Chinese church. as far as the whole “figuring out how to do things so we no longer have to live in the back shed of Uncle Joe’s* Magic Emporium” thing goes, it’s a pretty sound strategy! now we had people to teach my dad how to drive and give us old furniture and say “hey, Seattle is pretty rainy maybe you should rent an apartment-like space before either a) the shed roof caves in b) your daughter with the famously delicate constitution falls dramatically ill from a strain of black mold or possibly herpes”

*is not my uncle, that’s what his store was called. he sold magic gadgets and my dad knew him because???? possibly in a past life they ran a meth empire in Albuquerque, who knows

ANYWAY. thanks to the church i did not fall dramatically ill from black mold or possibly herpes, but there was an unforeseen factor in joining a Christian church, which was that they? were pretty hardcore? about Jesus?**

**in a nice “we build houses for the homeless” way, not in…the other way

given that we’d just immigrated and that China’s religious policy is worshiping Mao’s preserved corpse ehhhhh…let’s call it “freedom of atheism,” my family was decidedly not hardcore about Jesus. my parents mostly took the bemused “i guess Jesus is okay since he indirectly led to us living in a place suited for human habitation” route, but i

was

DISGUSTED.

i was the first kid in my class to get her red scarf, okay, and when we sang the national anthem and saluted the flag every morning i fucking meant what i was singing. we almost didn’t come to America; my dad had more lucrative job offers in Germany and Belgium, but i put my foot down because everyone knows Europe is full of gross imperialists Dad, GOSH, and the Americans helped us fight off the Japanese.

so seeing all these fellow Chinese believing in THE CAPITALIST GOD was basically the worst thing to ever happen to my delicate psyche. my parents’ tacit approval was even worse: DID PATRIOTISM AND COMMUNISM MEAN NOTHING TO THEM? DIDN’T THEY KNOW THAT DOING NOTHING AGAINST OPPRESSION MADE THEM OPPRESSORS THEMSELVES??

clearly something needed to be done.

so because the church was pretty hardcore about Jesus, it was understandably also hardcore about Christmas. big party, massive intricately decorated REAL TREE, sleepover for the kids with presents in the morning—you name it. everyone was going to be there.

WHAT A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO PROVE TO EVERYONE HOW WRONG THEY ARE ABOUT JESUS.

my plan:

sleep UNDER the giant real Christmas tree: y’know, the one with real pointy needles reaching all the way down to the base? that sheds? with lots of pokey tinsel?

catch Jesus in the act of depositing presents***: look. i’d seen like, ALL of Scooby Doo by this point. i knew Jesus was probably a real person, just not the Son of God.

subdue Jesus so he’s still around when everyone else wakes up: CLEARLY VERY FEASIBLE, given that Jesus was a heavyset white dude who used superhuman agility and strength to deliver presents around the world overnight and possibly had reindeer minions and i weighed 70 pounds at most while sopping wet.

(who is Santa Claus?? who cares)

????

EVERYONE MAGICALLY BECOMES AN ATHEIST AGAIN, AMERICA BECOMES A COMMUNIST STATE

***even if i didn’t believe in him, why was i slavishly devoted stopping a highly altruistic man who gave? people? presents? did i hate joy????

sure enough, at around 3 in the morning i heard soft boots approaching the tree. i reached out and snatched one of the Ankles of Jesus

—whereupon Youth Pastor Liao screamed “OH MY LORD” and kicked me in the face.

and THAT, dear friends, is how i spent my first Christmas in America with a concussion.

A Numbers Game

If IKEA flatpacks have taught us anything, it’s that you need the right number of pieces. Same goes for your nervous system. Researchers investigate how correct neuron numbers are produced using confocal microscopy of the developing fruit fly visual system (pictured). Projections from light-sensing cells (cyan, middle bottom) release the chemical EGF, triggering precursor cells to become neurons (yellow). Precursors are arranged in columns of six, but only five become neurons, the sixth dies. Another cell type – glia (magenta, middle bottom) – also aid neuron development. Using mutant fly larvae whose photoreceptors don’t release EGF and hence neurons are lost, the team showed that restoring EGF restored neurons. But if glia were prevented from responding to the EGF, the neurons didn’t develop. Glia were found to release chemicals triggering neuron development and certain neurons were shown to release chemicals preventing the extra precursor from becoming a neuron. So, complex cell-to-cell signalling controls neuron numbers.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Image from work by Anadika R Prasad and colleagues

Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in eLife, September 2022

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miles “who’s morales” morales’s biggest weakness is the cover story

What to do if you suddenly find yourself homeless

FOOD

Find your nearest food bank or mission, for food

grocery stores with free samples, bakeries + stores with day-old bread

different fast food outlets have cheaper food and will generally let you hang out for a while.

some dollar stores carry food like cans of beans or fruit

SHELTER

Sleeping at beaches during the day is a good way to avoid suspicion and harassment

sleep with your bag strapped to you, so someone can’t steal it

Some churches offer short term residence

Find your nearest homeless shelter

Look for places that are open to the public

A large dumpster near a wall can often be moved so that flipping up the lids creates an angled shelter to stay dry

HYGIENE

A membership to the YMCA is usually only 10$, which has a shower, and sometimes laundry machines and lockers.

Public libraries have bathrooms you can use

Dollar stores carry low-end soaps and deodorant etc.

Wet wipes are all purpose and a life saver

Local beaches, go for a quick swim

Some truck stops have showers you can pay for

Staying clean is the best way to prevent disease, and potentially get a job to get back on your feet

Pack 7 pairs of socks/undies, 2 outfits, and one hooded rain jacket

OTHER

first aid kit

 sunscreen

 a travel alarm clock or watch

 mylar emergency blanket

 a backpack is a must

 downgrade your cellphone to a pay as you go with top-up cards

 sleeping bag

 travel kit of toothbrush, hair brush/comb, mirror

 swiss army knife

 can opener

You are a supervillain who has just captured your rival’s child. Rather than being afraid, they’re begging you to let them stay.

How to show emotions

Part V

How to show grief

a vacant look

slack facial expressions

shaky hands

trembling lips

swallowing

struggling to breathe

tears rolling down their cheeks

How to show fondness

smiling with their mouth and their eyes

softening their features

cannot keep their eyes off of the object of their fondness

sometimes pouting the lips a bit

reaching out, wanting to touch them

How to show envy

narrowing their eyes

rolling their eyes

raising their eyebrows

grinding their teeth

tightening jaw

chin poking out

pouting their lips

forced smiling

crossing arms

shifting their gaze

clenching their fists

tensing their muscles

then becoming restless/fidgeting

swallowing hard

stiffening

holding their breath

blinking rapidly

exhaling sharply

How to show regret

scrubbing a hand over the face

sighing heavily

downturned mouth

slightly bending over

shoulders hanging low

hands falling to the sides

a pained expression

heavy eyes

staring down at their feet

Part I + Part II + Part III + Part IV + Part VI

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