#I babble too much

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: Visions of the past (issue 32)

Moon Knight, Issue #32:  When the Music Stops (Part 2) 

Written by Doug Moench and art done by Kevin Kowlan and Carl Potts. 

Tag line: How many more will have to die before the final note is played, the grimmest of dance finally done? 

The end of the story also has a short: 

"Cancer" Written by Alan Zelenetz, Marc Silvestri, and Gary Kwapisz. 

Tag Line: Somewhere in the hospital there is a desperate man with a gun and the person he has to kill. 

We open on Moon Knight overlooking a block. 

"A slum stuffed somewhere in the gray miasma called Brooklyn. Directionless, its bleak streets are ruled by poverty, hopelessness, despair....and gangs." 

We have a mild recap of the last issue. 

A 17 year old boy named Lenny who paces Dough Row, heading back to the pawn shop to buy back a pawned dream, his old music box. 

As he walks he starts to get a higher point of view on what is happening. The thug life, the protection money racket, the gang wars, selling his mother's prized music box....

"But how, Lenny wonders, has it come to this?" He views himself trapped by fate, careening down a tunnel without a way out. 

He recalls his tossle with Lewis and Moon Knight. 

He views his gang in memory as they declared to make Lewis an example and asks why he volunteered to collect the money. Why he felt the need to come up with the money on his own. 

The music box was almost like fate handing him an out. 

A hysterical mother begs him to get the box back, thinking it was stolen. He promises to get it back. 

Now, as he walks the street, he holds the cash in his pocket. He has to use it to quell the Savage Studs...Or buy back the box. 

Shank, the gang leader spots Lenny and calls out to him, asking for the money. 

Lenny lies. "Uh...No...I ain't got it. I...I been thinkin' Shank and I decided..." 

Wrong thing to say. Shank is pissed and demands that they all go to the pawn shop now to get the money. On the way, why not also make example of a few other shops too? 

They grab Lenny and force him to come along. 

Back at Grant Mansion, Moon Knight prepares to take off. He confides in Marlene that he feels he was too hard on the shopkeepers, stopping them from standing up for themselves. He decides to go make sure things are alright and that they stay protected. 

They bust into the pawn shop and Lewis comes running. 

Shank sends Lenny forward and tells him to do his job and shake down the old man. 

"Don't fight it, Lenny-Not now--It's too late. I...I'll give you the money...But you still won't be able to buy back what you lost." Lewis tells him it's okay. 

It's not enough for Shank. He doesn't just want the money. Now he wants blood. 

Sometimes the quiet moments in comics speak louder than anything that can be said. 

Moon Knight arrives to find shattered windows. He's too late. 

The other shop keepers have arrived and are gathered around Lewis' body. 

The shopkeepers are angry. They yell at Moon Knight. 

"You! You're what happened! If you'da let us take care of it before it reached this point--" 

He argues that there would have been more dead if they had fought. 

He tries to make them understand, but they won't listen and they tell him to leave. He isn't welcome there. 

"And despite his protests...Their words sting sharply... Perhaps he is responsible." 

He walks to the wharf. There he finds the club house just as Gena's boys, Ricky and Ray, promised. 

Inside, the Studs are not happy with Shank. 

The other members are displeased with the death of Lewis and Lenny isn't there. 

You know who is there? 

Moon Knight kicks in the door dramatically and declares "The kid gloves are off, Studs. Now that it's murder, you've just come of age." 

These young thugs have nothing on Moon Knight's combat training. 

He takes the out so easily. An all out brawl and he doesn't hold back. 

The details on that glove are amazing. 

With the gang beaten, Moon Knight asks "All right, who did it? Who killed the pawnbroker?" 

Lenny walks in. "Leave 'em alone, Moon Knight. I did it." 

He tells Moon Knight that the other members of the gang have had enough. He wants them to get a second chance and he surrenders himself. 

Moon Knight tells him that it was an accident. That he could testify on his behalf. 

"Yeah, sure--And how 'bout another song and dance about the dreams bein' mended someday, huh?" 

"Healing is possible, Lenny." 

"Maybe, Moon Knight, but right now I don't believe it..." 

He asks Moon Knight for a favor before he gets turned in. 

Unfinished business for his mother. 

They return to the smashed up pawn shop where he turns in the cash. 

"You were wrong, old man--I am redeemin' the ticket." 

He places the money on the counter and picks up the music box. 

This particular two parter is very bitter sweet. You see Moon Knight struggling to help and talking about healing. He helps a young man that has similar views to what he once had as a young Marc Spector. Perhaps he feels that helping this kid can somehow help Marc.

Yet in the end, the pawnbroker is dead, the kids will not be able to afford putting on the big dance they wanted, the gang breaks up, and Lenny is going to jail. 

Moench does a lot of stories that don’t have clear cut villains. There are no evil big bad guys or super villains out to destroy the world. More often than not, it is just an average down on their luck person with no way to a clear cut victory. 

It’s these stories where you see what’s happening in the world in those times and what is still happening. You have small stories that are close to home. You also have what feels like closer stories to Moon Knight. You see him try and often fail to help. 

Moon Knight has always had a soft spot with the teenage punk. With the rebellious youth and the kids that feel they have nothing ahead of them but violence. 

Jake connects with Gena and her boys, knowing they don’t have a father and he works to keep them off the streets and away from drugs and gangs as best he can. The heart of the Moon Knight system will always remember their own pain and do what they can to help those avoid the same path. 

EVEN MORE SO. This story took a special interest for me because of a callback. A lovely friend and fellow Moon Knight enthusiast (FAR bigger fan than I ever could hope to be and that’s saying something) pointed out to me that The Moon Knight revival of 2014 (after Bendis' horrid run and before Lemire blessed us). We had Ellis, Wood, and Bunn take on Moon Knight in an effort to draw interest back in and bring the character back to how it was when Moench first started painting us the picture. 

You see, Moon Knight was in trouble at Marvel. Interest had tanked and he was in danger of getting dumped and forgotten about. As luck would have it, the Editor and chief of Marvel at the time, Joe Quesada, claimed to be a huge Moon Knight fan and was super hopeful about this edgy run, and then super disappointed in how badly it tanked. 

In a last ditch effort, Mr. Ellis stepped up and requested he have a crack at Moon Knight. 

Ellis is known for a certain style and Marvel shrugged and said "Why not". 

Ellis started his run by doing callbacks to original popular stories. 

In issue 3 of Vol 1 by Warren Ellis and the amazing Declan Shalvey, we find Moon Knight facing down a gang of ghosts. 

The title of this issue? "Box". 

Boy those punks sure do look familiar. 

This particular issue gave us the glorious Khonshu armor designed to kick ghost ass. 

And of course Moon Knight kicks the ghost butts. He hates ghosts. Chasing the ghosts down, he finds their main hide-out. And…. 

Moon Knight finds the music box. Inscribed on the bottom "Johnny, be good. Love Mom." 

Now, we know in the original run, the punk's name was Lenny. But Johnny Be Good is a reference to a song. 

Hard to say.

Look at those skeletons huddled together in the corner. Each a bullet in their heads. 

As Moon Knight leaves, he takes the box with him where the ghosts now reside. Flying away, he drops the box into the river to let it be buried. 

While most likely not the original gang of Studs from before, the reference is clear and so very appreciated. Most of the stories in Ellis’ run end on this note of sadness and a feeling of loss for the past. 

Honestly, it works because the past is now so bitter to him. His struggles have come to a breaking point and the peace here is far away. 

It’s just a little extra tidbit that I really appreciated once I figured out the reference. And Modern Moon Knight is still filled with references to Moench. You just have to know where to look. 

---

As a juxtaposition to the story of lost dreams, we now come to the short: 

"Cancer" by Zelenetz. We're going to see a lot of stories by Zelenetz. He starts to fill in for Moench when he's out and does a lot of the shorts.

We open on a doctor talking to another man. 

"Bilateral inoperable carcinoma of the lung. In Layman's terms, it's quite simple, Mr. Fixler. Your brother's dying." 

He tells Mr. Fixler he wasted a trip and should have just called. 

Mr. Fixler begs Dr. Steele to do something. He loves his brother and he feels Dr. Steele has just written him off. 

Dr. Steele brushes it all off. "Your fraternal devotion is commendable, but I'm afraid it doesn't concern me as a diagnostician." 

Mr. Fixler calls Dr. Steele out on his attitude. 

"You know, Joey may have cancer in his body, but you, mister, you have got it in your soul. You're the one oughtta be dying." 

Mr. Fixler leaves and Dr. Steele sips his coffee, not at all bothered. 

"Elsewhere, early that evening, at the Mansion owned by Steven Grant, Millionaire alias of the Silver and jet crusader known as Moon Knight..." 

We see Moon Knight returning to the mansion. Steven walks into the room, running late to get them to a fancy dinner set to help raise money and open a new hospital wing. 

He removes the cape, but puts the tux on over the Moon Knight suit. 

Marlene calls him out on it and asks why he feels he needs to wear it to a charity event. 

"Aw, c'mon toots. You know it's my security blanket. Besides, Moon Knight's as much of a philanthropist as Steven Grant. He just gives his charity differently." 

Back at the hospital, Mr. Fixler is visiting his brother, who is hooked up to breathing machines and IV drips, asleep in the hospital bed. 

"Hot shot doctor tells me to get a private-duty nurse. 'This isn't a hotel', he says. 'we don't wait on patients hand and foot'." He hates how helpless his brother is and how he seems so far gone. All the tubes and lines connecting to him just to keep him alive and suffering. 

His brother wakes up and looks over, but he is unable to say or do anything. 

In the grand part of the hospital, the charity event is happening. 

Dr. Steele is giving a big speech about why he's a doctor. Considering what we just witnessed, it's a little full of bull. 

Steven can hardly hold his tongue, making small remarks to Marlene about the level of corn involved. 

"You want me to pass him the salt and butter for all his corn?" 

The Doctor's pager goes off but Dr. Steele ignores it. 

Apparently Dr. Steele has a reputation of being cold and uncaring as a computer. 

Nearby, Mr. Fixler has decided to take matters into his own hands. He collects a gun and heads back to the hospital. 

Gunfire rings out and an announcement goes off over the loudspeaker. 

"There has been a shooting reported on the premises. Please stay where you are until members of our staff have given you clearance." 

Steven hulks out of his tux and bolts out as Moon Knight.

Yeah, he takes out the cops. 

"Don't worry though, I'm not in this for the bounty. Soon as I find our mystery sniper, he's yours." 

He races around the hospital where it looks like everyone else is just carrying about their business despite an active shooter. 

Not to say mass shootings weren't a problem back then, because they absolutely were, but the social response has absolutely changed. Perhaps with the more prominent availability of not just instant news, but of video, the reality of an active shooter would cause far more of a scene than what we see here. And this bothers me for a lot of reasons. Especially seeing a comedy of Moon Knight running around the halls causing chaos as he passes people standing and talking or at the water fountain or of nurses casually handing out lunches.

It really bothers me. 

The loud speaker alerts that someone's been shot up on the top floor and Moon Knight heads that way. 

Out on the fire-escape, he grapples up to the top floor. Mr. Fixler sits in his brother's hospital room. 

"I had to do it." He sits on his brother's bed as Moon Knight bursts in. Only to find that Joey is the receiver of his brother's bullet. 

"You can go an' arrest me now. Joey's out of his misery. I just couldn't leave him suffering like a dog anymore. The Lord wasn't handling it--Blasted Doctor didn't care...So I shot him, fast as I could. Didn't hurt him. Then I took off all them ugly tubes. Look at him. Isn't he the most peaceful guy you've ever seen?" 

The cops arrive and Moon Knight takes his leave, looking sad. 

Back at Grant Mansion, we see Steven in bed with Marlene, looking pensive. 

"It's a matter of heart, I guess, Steven. To end somebody's life for them." She tries to comfort him. 

This bothers me too. This line to this System. Considering everything they have been through. 

Steven accepts it. "I know. Still, Marlene, the whole sad thing--It kind of reminds me of one of those days you take out the flag, wave it, and throw it away." 

The next morning we see Dr. Steele at his desk sipping coffee as he signs a death certificate. He asks the nurse to remind him which case it was. He can't bother to care. 

It’s a story that we’ve probably all seen before. A doctor that can’t be bothered to care about his patients. The line of leaving our loved ones to suffer vs. putting them out of their misery. 

I’m not going to get into it. That’s a can of worms I’m not willing to open up here for some very personal reasons. 

If you really want to know what I think you are welcome to DM me. I’m also willing to discuss the social changes in America in regards to gun violence over the ages. Considering this was published in 1983 and we are reading this now in 2023, a lot has gone on. 

So the big question here is did the writer have something to say?

That’s what stories are about. A message to get across. A way to move the audience to feel something and to think about things. 

Probably not in the way it was intended, it is making me think about things and I do have a reaction to it. But was this told well? 

Again, we see Moon Knight reacting to something and arriving too late and once again feeling like he could not help. Not to mention wondering if it even a right act or not. A lot of times it isn’t clear cut what the right response is. 

Maybe this is unique to Moon Knight writing in particular. Something that’s always been there. An underlining of trauma and points of view that are not clear cut. 

What’s even more interesting is how this will ebb and flow as the years progress with different writers. Some chose to ignore it and take the more ‘heroic’ route and others dive into it so deeply that perhaps we miss the character response altogether. 

What do you think? A victim of the time or a shot in the dark that just didn’t land?

[delinquentkru]

there’s something about the way that robby and collins regret not creating/prioritizing family, langdon and mel struggle with balancing family and their jobs, and santos and whitaker have removed themselves from family that is very interesting to me

[orbch]

was going to post this when i got FULLY home from momocon but 30 mins back in texas and theres standstill traffic due to a wreck! home sweet home!

anyways i went to momocon yeahhh!!!!! i only cosplayed saturday and sunday but i went as Zoey (tdroti) and Sock (w2h) (and sorry about the silly/dumb pics, im not a huge cosplay photo taker)

anyways i wanted to talk about my cosplay experience because i got recognized a handful of times and it was neat! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Zoey: the lesser of the recognitions LOLL if you can imagineee!!!! i originally wanted to join the total drama fan photoshoot happening on friday! but we were running so insanely late to that day i wasnt able to get in cosplay (+ my chronic migraines really kicked my ass that day anyway so i didnt really feel like getting into cosplay (++ that erm… Evacuation halted things like the second i step foot into the building im not kidding 😭))

but i got one “is that zoey from total drama?!” in passing and another “wow you dont see her cosplayed a lot” from a booth runner LMFAOOO that person also had to explain which season she was from to their booth partner 🤕

Sock: i actually lost count of how many times i got stopped for my cosplay. THERE R SO MANY LURKING W2H FANS!!!! it was insane. notably there was one person who asked to take a photo of me, one momocon worker who gave me a free sticker after recognizing my cosplay, and a tv head persona who said “sock!” and then gave me a free beanie baby! cool stuff!!!

other than those i got a couple people stopping me and talking about w2h2 with me, someone asking if id seen the sock plushie announcement (i have and will be SAT for preorder, lol), a lot of very sweet compliments, one “is this from that old youtube video”, and a LOT of overheard whispers of people saying “sock?” in passing

my general experience at momocon was SO FUCKING FUN! IT WAS A BLAST!!!! hopefully i can go next year bc genuinely the most fun con experience ever. i guess being pointed and yelled “SOCK” at a handful of times really fueled the excitement but still!!!!

[anghraine]

ROTJ ruled, as usual— it has more flaws than my beloved ESB for sure, and more than ANH, but the highs are so good and so rewarding in a way that never gets old.

One of my favorite parts this time around comes after Anakin tells Luke it's too late for him to ever go back (a belief explicitly shared by Palpatine, Yoda, and Obi-Wan, but not by Luke until that moment—and only for a little while). Luke withdrawing into "Then my father is truly dead" is always great, especially the shot of him in the lift, surrounded by taller men in Imperial uniforms with his shoulders and back rigidly straight and the warmth in his expression gone. But the thing that really makes it is not ending the scene with Luke disappearing, but letting that rejection linger by shifting to Anakin and just letting seconds tick by as he contemplates what's just happened.

He doesn't actually do much—just walks a few steps and reflects. His body language isn't overwhelmingly despondent or anything. Obviously we can't see his face. And yet we feel how hard that hit and how much he's dwelling on it. He's all but encouraged this response from Luke and yet it feels like it's really, truly sinking that this isn't at all what he wants from Luke.

He doesn't want Luke to call Palpatine (or anyone) master, I don't think; he just considers it inevitable, the only possibility other than Luke's death. And for Anakin, death above all is the thing to prevent.

Everything Anakin says is about things he or they must do, or what cannot be escaped, or destiny, but all of these things he says to Luke are ultimately about Not Getting Yourself Killed. There's no sense of choice beyond submission or destruction.

(Anakin does know he's done terrible things, clearly, but his takeaway from that understanding is that he's gone too far to turn back. That sense of powerlessness, the inability to make a choice that really means anything, pervades his characterization in ROTJ in particular.)

But I feel like, while he still feels powerless after Luke leaves, there's also this sense of a slow, half-buried epiphany. This isn't what he wants.

[bonefall]

[ID: Ask from @storiesandsquirrels, transcribed in alt text]

also: link to Cow Lore

There's one major misconception here I've gotta correct before answering earnestly; Holsteins do need Super Duper Food. This is one of their major problems as a breed, you need to give them high quality feed for high quantity, low quality milk.

But! That said! These are valid questions that deserve real responses. In spite of the quick correction, I actually want to answer them as you phrased them because I think it would be more illuminating. I'm going to try and summarize them as I go along;

Question 1: "Why wouldn't we want to use The Most Efficient Cow?"

The simplest answer is disease. My ""prediction"" came true, and bird flu has mutated to spread extremely easily through the infected udders of Holsteins. No one has died of bovine-contracted HPAI yet, but with Brainworm Bobby and his love of raw milk in charge of the CDC...

well. my last prediction was prophetic. let's hope this one's not.

Minmaxing a breed for one specific purpose always means intensive inbreeding. Like I mentioned, 9 million Holsteins are genetically equivalent to 60 individuals. A more genetically diverse population is one that will be better at preventing disease outbreaks, and reducing their severity when they do.

And what even is the Most Efficient Milk Cow? If you're only selecting for pure milk production to drive down its cost, you get a breed of cattle that lacks every other important trait that would make it good livestock;

They get sick more often, due to inbreeding depression and lack of physical fitness, requiring more antibiotics and veterinary care.

They are bad parents who will need more human intervention to birth and raise calves

They won't be good grazers, meaning they need a specific food grown for them, increasing how much "functional" land is actually dedicated to cattle husbandry.

Their carcass won't yield as much meat, so more cattle have to be raised and slaughtered to meet demand.

Their bodies will burn out much quicker than a healthier animal, meaning you need to replace your livestock more often.

When it comes to living beings, "efficiency" is "fragility." It's not a stable system to begin with.

Even with the pure logic aside, just, step back here and look at the situation with a heart. We'd be making unhealthy, short-lived animals lacking critical instincts to lead good social lives. AND we probably haven't even fixed the "less land" problem, just shifted the land off-site.

For what? For more milk? We have SO MUCH milk we don't even know what to do with it!

Question 2: "Isn't an overabundance of cheap milk a good thing?"

no.

Under the infinite genius of Capitalism, thousands of gallons of milk just gets poured into the sewer daily because there's too much of it. Transporting it to a processor would cost more than it's worth, sometimes the processors turn milk away because they don't want to overproduce products, and even the US government can't subsidize every last drop; it still has 1.4 billion pounds of cheese in various caves and warehouses across the country.

The price of milk cannot get any lower because it's already being sold below the cost it takes to produce it, and yet, we're still here literally pouring it down the drain.

[photo from bill ulrich who photographed a farmer dumping milk back during the pandemic. this isn't even a recent photo. this happens every time there's a milk surplus. im using this photo because i like the farmer's cunty little pose. look at him. "just ain't right"core.]

And milk being dumped into the sewer is more than just wasteful. It's a biohazard.

Milk doesn't stop rotting when it's dumped. If you live downstream of a milkhouse, improper milk disposal reeks.

It's full of nutrients, too, which causes diatoms, cyanobacteria, and other types of algae to go into overdrive-- causing a Harmful Algal Bloom event in the water, or HAB.

HABs are horrific. There's HUNDREDS of different types. They can suck up oxygen and create "dead zones" which kills all aquatic life, they can poison the water supply for an entire town, and some can even cause toxic fumes that make it hard to breathe on land.

Now, listen, I don't want to scare you into never dumping out rotten milk or anything! It's that on an industrial scale, it's REALLY REALLY bad if a farm overproduces milk-- especially crummy milk that can't be made into decent cheese or other dairy products.

In fact, if we did produce milk on a smaller scale, it would be better for everyone! Unless you're a Milk Guzzling Fiend like I am, you probably wouldn't need to buy a whole gallon at a time. In countries like Italy, it's sold fresh and in smaller containers, and you're just expected to pick it up as you need it.

This is why milkmen used to exist, and still do in places that are cool; they'd deliver your supply fresh from the creamery. Less waste, less stress! The "subscription model" is actually sooooooooooo much better for milk production, since it helps to stagger out those "surges and drops" of demand that leads to milk dumps.

Question 3: "If the cow eats less, doesn't that mean less land for pasture, which is a good thing?"

There's a lot to unpack within this sentiment. It's actually based on a couple of common assumptions on a few levels, which are incorrect in fascinating ways. Challenging this means opening up your worldview on how complex keeping livestock actually is!

I'll start with the simpler part;

You could cut fresh pasture out of the equation entirely and shove a cow into a concrete pen with a food box-- but are you counting the land growing the fodder?

When you grow corn the way that we do on industrial farms in the US, it's unbelievably destructive. Unending oceans of monoculture. Fogged with pesticide, pumped full of fertilizer which causes HABs like dumped milk does, sprayed with thousands of gallons of wasted water.

When you look at this image, I need you to understand you are looking at a dead zone. Like a suburban lawn, just because it's green doesn't mean it's good. Nothing grows here but corn and pests of corn, which gets poisoned and dies without returning any of that energy to the ecosystem.

This is usually what is being given to "grain-fed cattle," either when they're sent to a feedlot to hit their slaughter weight, or when they're lactating so they need the extra nutrition. It's also so nasty it's inedible to human beings.

Now, a lot of cattle farmers will just supplement their cow's diet, doing a mix of pasture feeding (much cheaper) and grain feeding (quicker gains). But the facts on this are clear; pasture-kept cattle result in LESS emissions and need LESS total space than cows in confinement.

In fact, there were a LOT of benefits!

Overall gas emissions from the cows dropped by 8%

Ammonia pollution was down by 30%

Not needing to run farm equipment for fodder planting and harvest reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 10%

Rotated crop fields didn't sequester carbon; but the newly converted perennial grasslands store as much as 3,400 pounds per acre.

The outside cows did produce less milk volume, but the milk they did produce was higher quality. So, looking at all the benefits here, it's clear that pasture is actually something that should be embraced for ecological reasons, not rejected.

In FACT, it should be EMPHASIZED. Because, this is the mind-blowing part,

Pasture can ALSO be an ecosystem.

In fact, I'm a Warrior Cats guy who once did a deep dive on moorlands just so I could write WindClan better. There are entire biomes that only exist because of grazing, and British lowland heath is one of them!

Keeping cattle in a sustainable, ecologically sound way is going to look different depending on where in the world you're doing it. So many earnest, good-willed people have bought into the lie that humans are a problem, and that everything "associated" with us becomes a barren wasteland as if we are tainted. YOU are not the problem! The problem is, and always has been, exploitation. Unsustainable relationships with the land we're part of.

Indigenous people in Europe, Asia, and Africa have been keeping cattle for thousands of years. In North America, cattle can be used to maintain ecosystems that have been badly affected by the colonial eradication of the American Bison. In South America, Brazil specifically has been making incredible advances with highly efficient integrated crop-livestock-forestry farming.

Generally, pastures here in the US are not as intensely managed as an equivalent crop field. Some people fertilize them, or water them mid-summer, but absolutely not to the same extent as industrial corn farms. Cattle are typically rotated between pastures, allowing each to re-grow before they come back to graze again.

Obviously, yes, overgrazing can be an issue. Not every open space should be converted into a pasture, and the destruction of other environments to turn into cow land is a problem. But that is an issue of bad land stewardship, not the mere practice of keeping livestock.

Bottom line, though? Cattle who can graze and survive outside are better for the environment than cattle that can't.

...but hey, you know what Holsteins happen to be really bad at?

EVERYTHING. GRAZING.

They are notoriously terrible grazers. They can't do megan THEEEEE thing that cows are known for. Fragile frames, a lack of fat to keep them warm outside, increased demand for food, distaste for any rough forage, horrible mothering instincts, the list goes on. Holsteins are a NIGHTMARE to try and keep outside all year round compared to other breeds.

(especially heritage breeds, like the Milking Devon, Florida Cracker, or Texas Longhorn. Between these three, you'd be totally covered in 80% of American climates.)

I've already explained why it's not actually very good or important that we minmax milk volume, but even if that was actually something we should value, there are so many downsides that they would absolutely not be the dominant cow breed in a truly "efficient" system.

"Less cows means less cow food and cow land" is sound logic, but Holsteins are not the right cow for that job.

Question 4: "How could this be done in a way that doesn't increase cost of living?"

I'm not sure how to answer this question, simply because I'm not Bonestar, Leader of AmericaClan. Wish I was. I would rule tyrannically.

It's worth noting that Brazil is the second largest producer of beef in the entire world, AND the number one largest exporter of it, AND only puts 30% of its land to total agricultural use. The USA dedicates over 50%. And also Brazil is net reducing its amount of agricultural land while increasing output.

It seems clear to me that the USA actually has a massive food waste and resource distribution problem, to the point where the price we pay for stuff is actually wildly disconnected from the actual value of the goods and labor.

I think the way that us Americans tend to frame our conversations on these topics as "growth" vs "cuts" instead of asking how to minimize waste by making existing systems more efficient prevents us from solving problems. We're also just... really culturally resistant to the idea of anything being more "expensive," even if it ends up costing us a lot more money in waste or mismanagement later.

Penny wise and dollar foolish ass country.

Question 5: "What can we personally do about this?"

I mean, I wasn't making a call to action in Cow Lore, I was just explaining to one of my regulars why I don't like Holsteins LMAO. Since you're asking though...

I don't think we can change the wider trend in the dairy industry without actual government intervention and regulation, though, and that's very unlikely in the current political environment. they just sent random dudes to Ausalvador-Birkenau and when the Supreme Court said "bring this specific person back" they said "nuh uh." fellas I don't think we're getting better dairy regulations in the foreseeable future.

So I think the most productive thing to do is focusing on supporting small farms and heritage breeds. Get involved in your community garden or heritage society if you have one.

Not only is that generally a very rewarding thing, but it will be helpful to you in case The Situation Gets Worse. Knowing your neighbors and having real human connection is your best defense against economic recession.

Supporting the locals is always a great thing to do, which can be as simple as going to farmer's markets. You don't need to buy fancy food every day to make an impact on your community-- it can be a treat sometimes!

You could also subscribe to the Livestock Conservancy's free newsletter, where they talk about the work they're doing and upcoming events. If you're a knitter, crocheter, or any other kind of fiber artist, you could even join in on a challenge they're running where you make items out of rare wool for prizes!

Should you end up liking the work they do, you can become a member for 4$ a month, or go to one of their educational events.

Even just talking about the problem can do a lot! Did you know the Highland Cow was actually critically endangered in the USA within the past 10 years? It was the work of the Livestock Conservancy, plus a surge in their popularity, that helped to bring their numbers up. Word of mouth is a powerful thing.

All that said, remember, you can't solve every problem. It's a big world and there's a lot of them. Being made aware of an issue doesn't mean you have to drop what you were previously doing-- just care a lot about something that you want to improve, and let that guide you.

[sometinybees]

Royal Royale sillies

ft mostly team purple

[twistedappletree]

Look, I just think we as a fandom have not considered an alternative Hansry ending where Jitka is a lesbian, her and Hans are in a lavender marriage and have agreed to let each other do whatever the hell they please when it comes to lovers. Jitka gets to pursue all the beautiful lady knights and court damsels while Henry and Hans continue being grossly in love disaster bisexuals who go on way too many hunting trips. Everyone respects each other, nobody’s unhappy because they’re all getting what they want and nobody outside of their relationship can sabotage it because they’re all in agreement with the situation and can just laugh in their faces while being absolutely, unapologetically queer.

[asexualbookbird]

Hey! Hi! I need dental work, a filling repair between two teeth, so I'm opening up simple doodle commissions! Send me a photo of your pet, and I'll turn them into a doodle! I'm not picky about the animal, all critters welcome.

Don't have a pet? No problem! Send me a photo, even an idea, and we can work things out. Your critter doesn't even have to exist.

Whole procedure will be 606$, my goal is 120$ to cover the months phone bill, and I've put down a 25$ deposit for the appointment in September.

I only have cashapp at this time ( $ravencrantz )

I've temporarily opened up tumblr dms, so message me if you're interested! If you want more pet (okay. cat.) doodle examples, check out this tag! For my art in general check out this tag and there's also some things on my other blog @ravencrantz

[galaxy-fleur]

Replaying RE4R, and I am once again thinking of how Leon just straight up murders a guy the moment he attacks. Like yeah, sure, he lunged at him with a weapon, there is a bloody badge of an officer, things are sketchy to say the least, but still. It all happens so fast, I doubt he actually had the time to fully put two and two together quite yet.

And you can't tell me that Leon, a trained agent, just overestimated the power of his kick on accident. That ↓

Was a pretty much deliberate kick. What's interesting is that in the OG RE4, he at least tells the ganado to freeze a good couple of times (or maybe once, I don't remember the specifics, but my point still stands) before actually proceeding to harm him. Remake Leon, meanwhile... just breaks his neck without a second thought.

And his reaction right after makes it... pretty obvious, honestly.

There is no strong reaction there to offing an old man in his home. Now, granted, he hears a scream right after, so it's not like he has much time to stand and ponder over what happened! But the only thing he says right after is: 'This is not good.' And, yeah, true, but we do know Leon is capable of expressing some level of distress over something he finds disturbing, and he proceeds to do that literally a few minutes later once you start exploring the village. So really, it's an interesting scene and a very intriguing way of introducing this hardened version of Leon we'll be playing as.

I wouldn't be thinking about this as much if not for the circumstances surrounding it. Not like Leon is aware that this man is infected with anything. Up until the moment he gets back up, he could be just some disturbed, paranoid old man or something. And he did just walk into someone's house. He's an intruder here, really. But the moment danger presents itself, he eliminates the threat without a second thought.

I think it speaks volumes of the past 6 years that passed for him, and how they shaped him. We don't know much of Leon's job: what it entails exactly, what kind of work he does on the daily, how the entire structure operates. And before the events of RE4, it's not like he was a well-known agent, if I remember correctly. It's his successful rescue of Ashley that got him high in the ranks. His status as a Racoon City survivor didn't do that. Throughout RE4R, we see him regain his humanity through the connections with other characters, going from the cold, robotic way he caries himself at the start of the game, to the determined, emotionally-invested man we later see carrying Ashley to Luis' laboratory.

It's very neat to think about! And while we all love Leon for his kind heart and his drive to save innocent lives, he is more than capable of violence, and that's an aspect of him I wish was talked about more. That neck break was definitely not the first one for him, just saying.

[mellosdrawings]

hihi! I would like to know how you see/feel about the dynamic of the Tweels and Azul, if you don't mind sharing of course!

Hi o/

Sorry, this one took me a minute, I was trying to figure out the best way to explain my feelings about their relationship but... I realized that while I was unable to give a name to KaliJami but was able to explain the relationship, here I am unable to even explain the Octatrio's relationship.

They're best friends who would do anything for each other without needing any explanation, but they also would sell each other for a corn chip. The Tweels are Azul's first friends and also his most consistent bullies. They keep saying they're not friends but nobody around them believes it.

And, you know, I actually like how their vibe is "as long as we're having fun, we're staying together". Relationships don't have to last forever to be cherished. It's perfectly fine to stop frequenting who was once a dear friend if the relationship ends up not being enjoyable anymore. People change and so do their relationships, and that's a healthy mindset to cling to the fun and not force yourself into something that doesn't fit you anymore (in my opinion, at least.)

Though I have a feeling that, for the Tweels, it might come from a shaky family situation. Like Cater who can't will himself to have friends because he keeps moving, so he can't imagine a long lasting relationship whatsoever, I think the Tweels who might come from a family that has some kind of criminal background might approach their relationships in a "that won't last, but at least we'll have fun while it does". They're kinda the opposite of Cater in that regard. All of them are ready for their relationships to stop at any moment, but Cater has a darker view of it and refuses to open up while the Tweels are more nonchalant and try to get the most out of their relationships. The difference might come from the Tweels having each other anyway while Cater has a strained relationship with even his sisters.

Going on a tangent here: a thing I've come to realize is that Azul shows his love the same way the Tweels do. Lemme explain.

The one person we have seen Azul interested in is Jamil. He's shown it in forever bothering him and inviting him to join him and completely disregarding any complaint or refusal Jamil throws his way.

Feels familiar? That's how Floyd approaches Riddle too. That's also how the Tweels approached Azul at first. We don't have that much backstory but we do have an example of Azul trying to drive them away, and them not listening at all and continuing to come bother him until they have carved a place at his side.

I'm personally of the opinion that Azul learned his love language from the Tweels, because it was the only example of (lasting) friendship that he's ever had.

There's also the whole debt thing to take into account. Azul needs to feel unindebted, he cannot stand owing things to others. That's just how it is. The Tweels though would totally do whatever they need to have whatever they want, no matter the debts. But they do play by Azul's rule. Sometimes they even use it against Azul to gain favors from him. Though most of the time it feels like they're indulging him by asking favors when they just wanted to help him. It's a fine line, a fine balance, just like everything else.

The OctaTrio is just always on the cusp of being perfectly in sync with each other, using each other's strength and weaknesses to the best so they could all get what they want, while also being perfectly terrible to each other, literally just using each other for their own gain. It's a very interesting relationship and maybe one of the most balanced and precise out of every other relationships. They're just... in sync.

And contrary to KaliJami, those three can very well work on their own without needing each other. They constantly do their own things, decide to ditch the others because they have something better to do elsewhere, etc.

All three of them say they are into this relationship purely out of personal gain. And, yeah, I'm sure they're getting a lot out of it and they even get to be selfish while still working well together. Buuuuut...

I mean, come on, the Tweels keep coming to Azul's rescue. They were super worried when the anemones disappeared and discovered Azul overblotted. Boys aren't hiding their feelings as well as they think. And Azul isn't any better.

You know what, I think I finally figured it out. I finally know what to call their relationship, despite my introductory statement.

They're siblings.

Azul has pretty much been adopted by the Tweels. Being selfish morons ready to throw each other under a bus while also going on a rampage as soon as a bully decides to target one of yours is 100% sibling-coded. And I'd know it, I almost got into a fistfight because my lil bro got punched once. And I'm usually ready to punch him myself.

The OctaTrio are siblings who know their relationship might not last forever, but who have nonetheless decided to make the most out of it.

[astracora]

Thinking about Goodcat code again. Thinking about how Sylus has said more than once 'would you still like me if I wasn't wild' because he was your dragon, and you fell in love while chasing revenge with a 'wild beast' at your side.

Thinking about how Sylus uses other people (primarily Mephisto) as a cover for his feelings. 'Mephisto gets separation anxiety, can I visit too' 'Mephisto misses you, so I called you'.

'Snowy Owl prefers men who are obedient', the nod to himself, the act he puts on despite wanting nothing to do with Snowy Owl. The question in his eyes, is this what you want? Do you want me at your feet?

Who do you want me to be?

Is this really all about another person, or do you want me to be someone else?

[yandere-sins]

This probably comes a bit out of left field but I think one thing that actually is also a reason why we all like yandere subconsciously is that they do things for themselves (mostly) and more out of selfishness than what we would allow ourselves.

Of course it's bad to intentionally hurt other people and we should never ever go to the extremes of a yandere (though we kind of need that in the trope to balance out the "good qualities" that we are liking about yandere), but since we live in societies that put the wellbeing of everyone above the individual one, I think a lot of people struggle with looking out for themselves, doing things for themselves—be "selfish".

Yandere don't. I'd never want to associate with a yandere in real life, but I think it would be great to be selfish sometimes.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

My brain is buzzed and buzzing.

HW Zelda spent a good portion of her time with Link disguised as Sheik. She decided to keep her identity a secret from even Impa, which means she probably had to change her personality a little to make it convincing. So this entire time, Sheik and Link work together and fight together, and Link got to know this different persona. So when she revealed herself as Zelda, I wonder how that changed their relationship and dynamic?

Imagine Zelda is falling for Link but Link is falling for someone who doesn’t exist. Imagine Link’s agency and consent are so ambiguous because destiny determines that Link and Zelda are always together, that they have to be together, at least according to Lana and Cia.

I don’t know, I just have a lot of thoughts about HW Zelink. Not all of them are great. But I suppose if people write it well I can like it.

[lemonlilactea]

They park the car in a dingy garage, at the edges of the abandoned town, the chill in their chest a stark contrast to the still warm desert. The sun has just crept past the horizon, half dipped below, the world coated in orange and pink hues. It would be a beautiful evening, peaceful, even, but the hammering of their heart in their ribs is like a constant unending drumbeat. What’s worse, these days Johnny isn’t in her head, so if he stays behind, she’s alone again. Fuck, she wishes he had come with. This was a bad idea.

This is basically a teaser for more of Vala's background and who's in it, I WANT to write something with it but if i dont i at least will post it here. EDIT! im adding a bit i wrote after posting

widget used!

[twistedappletree]

fanart of hansry being cute in that cozy little apple orchard cottage outside of troskowitz would fix me

[enden-k]

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i love tumblr, i love being an artist in this time and age with ai, reposters and ppl mindlessly consuming art and fics without a word yippiee

(my twitter btw)