armedwithapencilandpaper

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I don't remember half of what happened in high school, but I do remember that at lunch, us seniors were allowed to leave school to go into town. And while walking with my friend group and a new exchange student, he noticed a skink dart out from some cinderblocks and he pointed and bellowed very loudly (in a very crowded place) "SKANK!"

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there’s something so desperately miserable about the lyric “buy me some peanuts and cracker jack / i don’t care if i never come back”

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"I had not touched a cat in 15 years when an orange kitten wandered over to sit with me in the grass one day. I was left without adequate words to describe that experience. It reminded me that I am alive. It instilled in me a raw, unbridled happiness that I had never felt before, not even as a child. 

I have spent many hours with those cats, and still I am amazed at how perfectly they reject everything it means to be in prison. They are playful and unselfconscious, curious and silly, soft and cuddly.

Sometimes it is even more interesting to watch my fellow prisoners interact with our cats. All those hard cases doing hard time melt like butter on a summer sidewalk when they visit the felines, feed them, watch them chase the birds and bees, and when they make toys to entice the cats to play with them. 

I don’t think about the past when a cat hops in my lap. I don’t think of what I should or could have done. I don’t think about courts or life sentences or parole boards. What comes to mind is peace, and a sense that everything is going to be OK. What’s in the past needs to stay there if I want to have a future, if I want to be grateful for today and for the fact that I am no longer the person I once was.

The cats, of course, already know this. They are gracious enough to spend their time with us so that we might learn, and so that we can enjoy a few quiet moments of warmth, softness, non judgment, and freedom."

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Small Elephant Hawk-moth - Deilephila porcellus

By Pedro Luna

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Today's Seal Is: He Loves Hose More Than God

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when mutual tell me two fictional men i dont know had gay sex

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benny for a fabula ultima campaign

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hi it's @glittergroovy !

been looking for a blank unicorn blinkie template.

I'm still having trouble making 150x20 templates myself; images never seem to size down that far without being a mess

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okay, yes, I know that comma isn't supposed to be there but I want the reader to take a breath! I want a pause! Stop trying to correct me, I'm trying to control the flow of reading

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god im infected by that posting style that's like "posting about my thing #my thing" i just got back to my apartment and my first thought had to go and formulate itself as damn im so sleepy i haven't even had my tea #mytea

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whoops I accidentally may have made a mascot. She is a possum with a pencil and her best friend is a mosquito. Let’s see if I even remember them next year

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I missed most of the Iraq war due to being a baby, but every time I read about it I start wondering why we aren’t all talking about it all of the time

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Bystander Intervention Training

so, the US just attacked Iran, and that is fucking terrible. Something we all need to think about right now is how we can stop the harassment and violence against Muslims and Arabs in the US that got so much worse in the early 2000s from happening again to people now.

To that end, I wanted to share some resources on Bystander Intervention. One of the biggest things I learned from training like this is that there are many ways to intervene, and they don't all involve putting yourself in front of the person who may harm you or others. It's ok if you feel intimidated by that because there are more ways to help! And once you do the training, it might not be so scary.

Right to Be has Bystander trainings based on the 5Ds of Bystander Intervention (Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct). The trainings are free!! sign up here.

I took one of their trainings a few years ago (when the org was called Hollaback!) and it was really very good, they have trainings at multiple levels and focused on various topics. They also partner with other orgs to focus on specific issues (like anti-AAPI harassment and with CAIR Chicago for anti-Muslim harassment, etc.).

Here are a few more resources:

APA Bystander Intervention Tip Sheet

RAINN Practicing Bystander Intervention

I think I'll sign up for one as a refresher.

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With the NYC primary 2 days away, if you live in NYC, remember to rank Zohran Mamdani #1 and be sure to NOT rank Andrew Coumo

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Kaoru Yamada, Japanese

'City Lights"