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(Sound on.) Bonus clip today: Penguins navigating stairs.

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Lava Flow in Leilani Estates, check out the speed

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I hate when people say stuff like "oh if seatbelt laws or asbestos bans happened today, they would be controversial!"

Like. They were. There were a lot of people - influenced by multi-billion dollar campaigns - who were against it and thought it was sissy libturd shit.

Asbestos wasn't fully banned in the US until March of 2024

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my favorite thing about navigating fanfiction is finding a really good one and being all “oh boy this was good, I hope they have more!” and literally every other story they’ve ever written was for like Miami Vice 

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I did the math (TM), and the two bakeries both have different strong points and weak points that just cater better to different preferences. If you grew up on just one of the bakeries, or one that doesn't bake for Girl Scouts anymore (there have been a lot of bakers!) , the others aren't going to meet your expectations because they're just different enough to create friction.

I find it interesting that the 2022 comparison above only compares four of the oldest flavors, conveniently and area where LBB does perform very well. I tested all the flavors.

This is from March 2025's cookie sale. I live in an ABC region and I got these because 1) I wanted to know what I was missing since everyone is always hyping LBB and 2) I was tired of people shitting on ABC.

My assessment in the flavor order shown above:

Adventurefuls: I had a hard time choosing. ABC actually has a caramel flavor so my children both preferred it. LBB didn't have any notable caramel taste but did have more brownie taste and a prettier cookie. A draw.

Lemon: Lemonades from ABC are a clear winner here, which is why we've had them for over ten years. Good lemon flavor and a lemony shortbread. Lemon ups look really good but they taste of froot (I'm using this in the technical way, a la Fruit Loops flavor) not lemon. If they were making a cereal cookie this would be spot on but they aren't. The texture is also rather mealy after the first crunch. Very weird. ABC wins easily.

Trefoils: ABC has a paler, straight sugar cookie flavor. LBB has a lot more browning and a strong buttery flavor that nearly compares to a proper shortbread like Walker's. I have noticed on further eval that ABC's version performs better with a drink- when I have it with tea the flour taste disappears and leaves a more buttery flavor behind (a similar effect isn't observed with LBB). But cookie to cookie LBB is the clear winner here.

Thin Mints: The money maker. ABC has a much mintier, crunchier cookie, just as described above. LBB has a very fine textured, more chocolate forward cookie that, imo, barely has a mint taste. Everyone who participated in the comparison preferred ABC... But we all grew up with ABC and we love mint chocolate. My mom makes these chocolate mint brownies that my husband says taste like toothpaste. That being said my husband also HATED the LBB version on texture alone. LBB would presumably be better for those who don't like mint chocolate as much as my family...but if so why are you buying thin mints? ABC win.

Tagalongs/PBPs: This was a divisive one in our house because I have two big peanut butter fans and they were firmly in camp Peanut Butter Pattie. Why? PB preference. The peanut butter in the Tagalong is much sweeter--more in line with a Reece's--whereas the PBP tastes like peanut butter straight from a jar of JIF. Personally, I like candy peanut butter better and the cookie in the Tagalong was also crispier (probably more browned too, not that i could see it). But if I had the PBP first I had zero complaints, both are excellent cookies. I've also heard a lot about how the "chocolate is thicker" and there's "more peanut butter" - no. There's the same amount. It's distributed differently: the PBP is a bit thicker and smaller around while the Tagalong is wider and thinner, without peanut butter all the way to the end. Ultimately, a draw.

Samoa/Caramel deLite: This one I thought i was gonna like the Samoa better because it has dark chocolate instead of milk. However, turns out, I think milk chocolate pairs better with caramel in this context. Weird, I know. The Samoa also has more toasted coconut and possibly a tad more caramel--on paper, again, I thought I would like this better but I just didn't. No one else who tried them had a strong reaction to the Samoa over the CD. Also of note, this was the only cookie where LBB was uglier. Are we just used to the CD? Idk. CD wins in our house, but no one really likes them much anyway so LBB can have this one.

Do-si-do/PB Sandwich: You can pry the PB Sandwich out of my husband's cold dead hands. He hated the Do-si-do and let me finish them off because I liked them a lot better (again, candy PB vs. regular PB). The Do-si-dos also have much better browning and a crunchier cookie. I'm not sure anyone else agreed with my husband so, LBB wins.

(not pictured) Toast Yays: There's no comparable offering at LBB to this ABC exclusive. It's a cinnamon sugar cookie with a thin vanilla frosting on the bottom with some hints of maple. A great cookie, but retiring this year likely due to pretty weak sales. Very similar to the Lemonades or Thanks-a-lot (also retired) in construction.

(not pictured) S'mores: ABC used to have a version of this cookie that retired a few years ago. I never had one but I understand it was popular. The LBB version is not similar to the ABC version, but it is similar to the Smoreo that is out right now, but better (suck it, Nabisco). A graham cookie sandwich with chocolate and marshmallow cream. A+ and the entire reason I put in an order to LBB in the first place. Really sad this one retired this year.

(not pictured) Toffeetastic: A gluten free cookie from LBB. Hot garbage. Do not buy. It tastes good for about one second and then actively tastes like cardboard. I don't eat gluten free cookies often but I really hope they aren't all this bad. F-.

(not pictured or tasted by me) Caramel Chocolate Chip: ABC's gluten free cookie. My neighbors bought them last year and still talk to me, so I think they probably aren't as bad as the Toffee ones. Grade - shrug emoji.

(bonus not pictured) Raspberry Rallies: The cookie no one got to taste so they sold for hundreds on eBay. I tried one from each bakery the year they attempted to launch these and this was an ABC win for me. LBB was a pretty bright Barbie pink inside and the raspberry flavor they used was very candy-like. Attractive, but not the kind of raspberry I want in a cookie. ABC used a raspberry flavor that was closer to an actual fruit and more appropriate for use in baking imo. The color was also darker and the cookie wasn't smoothly uniform. I suspect they weren't able to get these to work because they couldn't justify taking production away from Thin Mints to make these--they clearly used the same equipment.

Ultimately, I came away from the test feeling a lot less jilted by having always lived in an ABC Bakery area. They make solid cookies that are of equivalent quality to Little Brownie Bakers, it's just that they aren't *the same exact cookie* and that is ultimately the driver of most complaints about one bakery versus the other. If we moved to an LBB area, I'd be just as happy there, but the cookies I buy would change. Lemonades are my favorite and I'd be sad to give them up but it's not a big deal, and I'd probably start buying a lot more Do-si-dos instead.

They're shelf stable cookies, after all. None of them are even half as good as the ones I bake at home. I'm buying them so my girls can go to camp and get an Axolotl plushie...and also cuz when my house is full to the brim of them they start consuming my every waking moment and I should at least get to put some in my mouth too, not just into other people's cars.

starting girl scout cookie discourse. if you’ve had girl scout cookies from both bakeries, do you prefer little brownie bakers (tagalongs, samoas) or abc bakers (peanut butter patties, caramel delites). also is your preference the same as the girl scout cookie you grew up with?

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it would explain so much about Gotham economics if it turned out the only employers who pay a livable minimum wage are 1) Wayne Enterprises duh, but mainly 2) all of Gotham's assorted villains.

sure henching comes with shitty working conditions, but the benefits package is crazy competitive. they have dental

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Zoom In, Don’t Glaze Over: How to Describe Appearance Without Losing the Plot

You’ve met her before. The girl with “flowing ebony hair,” “emerald eyes,” and “lips like rose petals.” Or him, with “chiseled jawlines,” “stormy gray eyes,” and “shoulders like a Greek statue.”

We don’t know them.

We’ve just met their tropes.

Describing physical appearance is one of the trickiest — and most overdone — parts of character writing. It’s tempting to reach for shorthand: hair color, eye color, maybe a quick body scan. But if we want a reader to see someone — to feel the charge in the air when they enter a room — we need to stop writing mannequins and start writing people.

So let’s get granular. Here’s how to write physical appearance in a way that’s textured, meaningful, and deeply character-driven.

1. Hair: It’s About Story, Texture, and Care

Hair says a lot — not just about genetics, but about choices. Does your character tame it? Let it run wild? Is it dyed, greying, braided, buzzed, or piled on top of her head in a hurry?

Good hair description considers:

Texture (fine, coiled, wiry, limp, soft)

Context (windblown, sweat-damp, scorched by bleach)

Emotion (does she twist it when nervous? Is he ashamed of losing it?)

Flat: “Her long brown hair framed her face.”

Better: “Her ponytail was too tight, the kind that whispered of control issues and caffeine-fueled 4 a.m. library shifts.”

You don’t need to romanticise it. You need to make it feel real.

2. Eyes: Less Color, More Connection

We get it: her eyes are violet. Cool. But that doesn’t tell us much.

Instead of focusing solely on eye color, think about:

What the eyes do (do they dart, linger, harden?)

What others feel under them (seen, judged, safe?)

The surrounding features (dark circles, crow’s feet, smudged mascara)

Flat: “His piercing blue eyes locked on hers.”

Better: “His gaze was the kind that looked through you — like it had already weighed your worth and moved on.”

You’re not describing a passport photo. You’re describing what it feels like to be seen by them.

3. Facial Features: Use Contrast and Texture

Faces are not symmetrical ovals with random features. They’re full of tension, softness, age, emotion, and life.

Things to look for:

Asymmetry and character (a crooked nose, a scar)

Expression patterns (smiling without the eyes, habitual frowns)

Evidence of lifestyle (laugh lines, sun spots, stress acne)

Flat: “She had a delicate face.”

Better: “There was something unfinished about her face — as if her cheekbones hadn’t quite agreed on where to settle, and her mouth always seemed on the verge of disagreement.”

Let the face be a map of experience.

4. Bodies: Movement > Measurement

Forget dress sizes and six packs. Think about how bodies occupy space. How do they move? What are they hiding or showing? How do they wear their clothes — or how do the clothes wear them?

Ask:

What do others notice first? (a presence, a posture, a sound?)

How does their body express emotion? (do they go rigid, fold inwards, puff up?)

Flat: “He was tall and muscular.”

Better: “He had the kind of height that made ceilings nervous — but he moved like he was trying not to take up too much space.”

Describing someone’s body isn’t about cataloguing. It’s about showing how they exist in the world.

5. Let Emotion Tint the Lens

Who’s doing the describing? A lover? An enemy? A tired narrator? The emotional lens will shape what’s noticed and how it’s described.

In love: The chipped tooth becomes charming.

In rivalry: The smirk becomes smug.

In mourning: The face becomes blurred with memory.

Same person. Different lens. Different description.

6. Specificity is Your Superpower

Generic description = generic character. One well-chosen detail creates intimacy. Let us feel the scratch of their scarf, the clink of her earrings, the smudge of ink on their fingertips.

Examples:

“He had a habit of adjusting his collar when he lied — always clockwise, always twice.”

“Her nail polish was always chipped, but never accidentally.”

Make the reader feel like they’re the only one close enough to notice.

Describing appearance isn’t just about what your character looks like. It’s about what their appearance says — about how they move through the world, how others see them, and how they see themselves.

Zoom in on the details that matter. Skip the clichés. Let each description carry weight, story, and emotion. Because you’re not building paper dolls. You’re building people.

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HAPPY PRIDE :] Reposting some gay bugs ♥️💛💚💙💜