Did you know about Paw Patrol’s dominating popularity? I had just seen some of their co-branded things like Band-Aids but knew nothing about them despite having a preschooler. All the kids are into PJ Masks (absolutely terrible stories in the books we checked out), Peppa Pig, and one other color coordinated set of kiddie superheroes but I don’t know their names.
I’m SUCH a pessimist. Tawcan’s right at the basic level that if things go wrong in FIRE, you should just go back to work for a while but I can’t help but think of all the complicating factors that may prevent you from getting a job or getting a job that pays enough to cover the bills because I remember my Mom having this problem: ageism, an inability to get back into the field you have experience in, leaving you entry level jobs that might discriminate against your longer resume, etc.
Why Allison is leaving cancer research. I’ve followed her career highlights for a while now and am so happy that she’s able to make the shift that she wants to. I wish that the world of research wasn’t so broken. I know quite a few people still in it who can make it work one way or another for a while but it’s draining and a sacrifice frequently and feels less than worth it.
Veronika on obligatory gift giving. I’m very much in favor of eliminating this entirely but that’s out of my control.
I am not at the point where I can afford fashion as a regular part of my budget, my annual spending is under $250 a year because there’s just no justifying spending good money on clothing when I have plenty that sorta kinda fits and my work doesn’t care what I look like. BUT when I do want to shop, this post full of ethical shopping sources is fantastic.
Ways to guard against financial elder abuse. I’ve been thinking of older dear friends with assets (but no children to help) and hoping we can help them guard against this as they get older and need more help.
How to Write About a Vanishing World. I have to admit that knowing this is happening has got me quite down. We’re destroying our planet, right now, for us and for our kids already born. How has dystopian science fiction NOT prepared us to stop it??
Tanja is reading my mind pretty much always: Climate change. How are you preparing for climate change in the long run?
Comments are off on this post for reasons I can totally understand but I wanted to comment here – Debt is exhausting! Apparently some people think mortgage debt is “good” (probably because of tax deductions?), I personally find it exhausting and want it GONE.
Parents, are you behind the camera or in the picture? I always forget to try and take pictures with the kids, so generally I have pictures of them playing but PiC has always from Day One made it a point to take pictures of him and JB together. Those two goofballs. I love that succession of pictures.
I don’t typically keep up with most rap feuds, though they can produce some amazing music and this is no exception, but a friend passed on the link with a note: TI had a feud with Shawty Lo so he filmed this video in Shawty Lo’s hood. I especially appreciate this in light of this money related story I just read about TI buying up homes in his old neighborhood that’s rapidly gentrifying and creating affordable housing. That’s a multi-millionaire I can tip my hat to.
Stephonee pulled off a grand student debt repayment by credit card scheme. All details here.
Basic Economic Security in the United States: How Much Income Do Working Adults Need in Each State? This breakdown puts us in California as needing somewhere between $94,000-$106,000 per year. If we didn’t have to save at all then I suppose that might do it but I can’t comprehend a world in which I didn’t always need to save. Even when we’re no longer making income, I have trouble envisioning that future in which we just spend a limited income and don’t save actively. I’m so programmed.
This seems like a bad idea: “Nectome is a preserve-your-brain-and-upload-it company…For Nectome’s procedure to work, it’s essential that the brain be fresh. The company says its plan is to connect people with terminal illnesses to a heart-lung machine in order to pump its mix of scientific embalming chemicals into the big carotid arteries in their necks while they are still alive (though under general anesthesia).”
Simple crafts I might actually do this year, thanks for the tutorial, Kristine! (The drawstring bags! I will make shoe and laundry bags for travel, they will live in our suitcase.)
I adore food prep posts like this from Frogdancer. I might not be able to do all the same kinds of prep but it gives me IDEAS. And I’d like tips on doing this sort of thing sustainably as well.
Just as Hugh Jackman is Wolverine for me, a diehard Marvel fan of old, Chris Evans IS Captain America. I’m sad to know he’s done though I realize 8 years is a long time to be playing one character if you want to keep doing new and challenging things in your work. Thanks, Cap / Chris.
Instead, current research suggests that prevention should focus on those perceptions and behaviors that did strongly predict assault. Although they’re often referred to in the literature as “personality variables,” they aren’t immutable characteristics any more than personality itself is immutable. “There’s a small number of sociopaths, but there’s a lot of it that’s cultural,” Testa said. In other words: Are these men supported by peers who also voice negative attitudes about women? Is it considered socially acceptable to look for the drunkest girl at a party and try to take her home? Are there social consequences for young men who ignore consent?
Teaching your kids about consent. (This last bit really really doesn’t work for JB though: “With parenting, something I heard is that when little kids are melting down—say, lashing out and generally being terrors—it means that they’re yearning for connection. So even if it goes against your instincts, what you can do is kneel down and give them a big hug.” If you want to see how fast a three year old can try and rip off your limbs, I have a model case right here. Hugs before ze is ready is a HUGE NO.)
Are your kids addicted to television? Mine is a bit, obsessively asking me some weeks “is this a tv day?” but surprisingly, it doesn’t (so far) have the effect I was worried about. In a stunning indictment, though, JB told me one day that ze was going to pretend to be me. When I agreed, ze put on fake glasses and said BYE I GOING TO WORK. You don’t know me!
N. K. Jemisin put it perfectly when she said “Golf Digest to the rescue” ain’t peak 2018 but it’s definitely not a sentence I ever expected to type… For Valentino Dixon, a wrong righted
The price of relevance is fluency: “You see, there is no “Twitter mob”, there’s only people. And people shape culture, and culture evolves. But in the past, the powerful could keep themselves isolated from the way culture evolves, if they wanted to. Janet Jackson didn’t even know what Hot Cheetos are!“
If I can’t convince someone that giving is a worthwhile endeavor in and of itself, and I’m forced to keep them in my life despite their being a terrible person because who doesn’t believe in caring about more than yourself (??), perhaps Matt would be more persuasive.
I am sick to my stomach of all the people who are ok with how men and boys treat girls and women. I see you not speaking up. I see how you support this culture. GIRLS MATTER. And I am sick of the people in the comments section acting like the vast majority of rapes aren’t credible reports because of the rare false accusations out there. It just keeps on with the protect the boys narrative as if boys can’t be better than this, as if they can’t possibly be expected to take responsibility for their actions while the body count of their targets pile up. The only concern these people have is about the future of the boys while the people they actually hurt, by the thousands, are told they don’t matter: Girls . . . are human. Girls are not there for the benefit of helping boys to turn into men. They are not there to be soiled and then tossed on the heap while boys go out and buy themselves a whole new look, a whole new life.
If you don’t want men to be dragged down by decades-old accusations of rape, then you need to crack down on minutes-old accusations of rape as they happen. But that’s not how it goes. Still, even now, that’s not how it goes.
