cascadianights

[cascadianights]

find pride in protecting your community in the midst of the pandemic that never went away. pride not being accessible to disabled and marginalized people isn’t new. one simple step you can take this year to change that is to wear a mask. trans and queer folks are disproportionately affected by long covid—the folks you share spaces with every day. so put “we keep us safe” into action and find free masks and tests near you at covidactionmap.org or maskbloc.org! . . Photo ID: A doodled 2-panel comic. The top panel has four different shape characters, all smiling big. A square is holding a pink and blue sign with text that reads “We keep us safe”. A triangle is holding up a rainbow. An octagon and trapezoid are both holding a long colorful sign with text that reads “Protect trans & queer youth.” The bottom panel is filled in with gray. In the background are the four shapes from the top panel, but they are now silhouettes in the distance. A circle character stands in the foreground, looking towards the other shapes with a blank expression. They’re wearing a face mask and are holding a tiny pride flag that’s lowered to the ground.

Comic, caption, and image description via @/doodlesbycharlie_ on instagram.

[cascadianights]

I feel like the reason certain dog-lovers insist cats are evil is because they read their body language as if they were dogs. So here’s a very basic guide to common “mean” things cats do that actually aren’t mean at all if you know what they’re thinking.

Rolling and exposing belly- attacks you when touched Does not mean: Give belly rubs! - haha I tricked you!  Actually means: I’m playful! If you reach for my belly I’ll grab your arm and bite it because I think we’re playfighting! 

Lazily exposing belly - still attacks when touched Does not mean: tricked you again! Actually means: I’m showing you my belly because I trust you. Please don��t break that trust by invading my personal space. I might accept a belly rub if I’m not ticklish and I know you well. Snapping at you while being pet Does not mean: I suddenly decided I dislike you! Actually means: You’re petting me in a way that gives me too much restless energy. Please focus on petting my head and shoulders instead of stroking the full length of my back next time.

Is in the same room but makes no attempt to interact Does not mean:  I’m ignoring you Actually means: We’re hanging out! I’m being respectful by giving you space while still enjoying your company. Slapping/scratching your hand when you try to pet them Does not mean: I hate you! Actually means: You’ve failed to establish that we’re not playing, or the way you’re approaching me scares me. Be calmer, speak more gently, make eye-contact and blink slowly at me before you try again.

[cascadianights]

Reductress really taking no prisoners today

[cascadianights]

Congratulations! You get to sprout a pair of wings of choice on your back!

[cascadianights]

Drowning

[cascadianights]

Loving this new job but my body is hating it and despite drinking over a gallon of water (and broth and electrolyte mix and juice) today and taking breaks and taking a nap when I got home I just threw up from Doing Too Much, the first sign of body disaster and im 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩 let me live im trying so hard to take it easy when I can

[cascadianights]

I know, I know, it wasn't the original idea, BUT. You gotta admit that "Calypso's Birthday," in which a bunch of queer people throw a big sparkly party on a made-up holiday is, like, gayer than an actual gay wedding (which they also have).

Like, this? Gay.

Really gay.

SUPER gay.

THE GAYEST.

[cascadianights]

All Tybalt has wanted since I brought him home was for the Big Cats to be his friend. He loves them. He adores them. They weren’t so sure about him, but he persisted in always being incredibly happy to see them, and I think it has paid off.

Here he is in heaven:

Meemo was hardest to win over, but Tybalt did it, and he loooooves his big friend Meemo

Shortly after this photo both the Big Cats were grooming him at the same time. He was so so sososososo happy about it

[cascadianights]

drinking water when I have a headache should give instant relief. it should go away. what's even the point of drinking water if it can't do that

[cascadianights]

Dragon Sculpture sitting at the bottom of Lake Neuchâtel. Location: Romandy, Switzerland

[cascadianights]

I think I may never be sad ever again. There is a statue entitled "Farewell to Orpheus" on my college campus. It's been there since 1968, created by a Prof. Frederic Littman that use to work at the university. It sits in the middle of a fountain, and the fountain is often full of litter. I have taken it upon myself to clean the litter out when I see it (the skimmers only come by once a week at max). But because of my style of dress, this means that bystanders see a twenty-something on their hands and knees at the edge of the fountain, sleeves rolled up, trying not to splash dirty water on their slacks while their briefcase and suit coat sit nearby. This is fine, usually. But today was Saturday Market, which means the twenty or so people in the area suddenly became hundreds. So, obviously, somebody stopped to ask what I was doing. "This," I gestured at the statue, "is Eurydice. She was the wife of Orpheus, the greatest storyteller in Greece. And this litter is disrespectful." Then, on a whim, I squinted up at them. "Do you know the story of Orpheus and Eurydice?" "No," they replied, shifting slightly to sit.

"Would you like to?"

"Sure!"

So I told them. I told them the story as I know it- and I've had a bit of practice. Orpheus, child of a wishing star, favorite of the messenger god, who had a hard-working, wonderful wife, Eurydice; his harp that could lull beasts to passivity, coax song from nymphs, and move mountains before him; and the men who, while he dreamed and composed, came to steal Eurydice away. I told of how she ran, and the water splashed up on my clothes. But I didn't care. I told of how the adder in the field bit her heel, and she died. I told of the Underworld- how Orpheus charmed the riverman, pacified Cerberus with a lullaby, and melted the hearts of the wise judges. I laughed as I remarked how lucky he was that it was winter- for Persephone was moved by his song where Hades was not. She convinced Hades to let Orpheus prove he was worthy of taking Eurydice. I tugged my coat back on, and said how Orpheus had to play and sing all the way out of the Underworld, without ever looking back to see if his beloved wife followed. And I told how, when he stopped for breath, he thought he heard her stumble and fall, and turned to help her up- but it was too late. I told the story four times after that, to four different groups, each larger than the last. And I must have cast a glance at the statue, something that said "I'm sorry, I miss you--" because when I finished my second to last retelling, a young boy piped up, perhaps seven or eight, and asked me a question that has made my day, and potentially my life: "Are you Orpheus?" I told the tale of the grieving bard so well, so convincingly, that in the eyes of a child I was telling not a story, but a memory. And while I laughed in the moment, with everyone else, I wept with gratitude and joy when I came home. This is more than I deserve, and I think I may never be sad again.

Here is the aforementioned statue, by the way.

[cascadianights]

i think that's what this i saw the tv glow did honestly.

that moment when you're watching it as a trans person, and every cell in your body is begging her to not stop, to not run away, please please please. you need to see it more than you've needed anything. and then she does. she sees everything inside herself in a bathroom all alone where we've all been, and she closes it all up, her emaciated and sickly body barely holding her up, and she walks back into an arcade room apologizing for her outburst to a building full of people who refuse to see or hear her.

and then you realize, while your chest feels like it might just cave in under the pressure, that this film refused to afford you the relief of seeing someone else do what you must, to give you that false and fleeting pressure eased. no. if you want this film to have a good ending, you have to make it yourself. you have to do what she could not, because otherwise, well. you just saw your future.

[cascadianights]

I can’t stop thinking about crocodiles for some reason so here’s some cool pictures I found of probably the second largest one in captivity, his name is Utan:

isn’t he beautiful

listen to the SOUND when he bites

and that’s not even a real power bite, that’s mostly just heavy bone falling on heavy bone from his jaws and the air rushing out from between them

[cascadianights]

I wish they could invent a medical device that temporarily transfers your symptoms and pain to the doctor treating you and it worked like a shock collar. “I think light exercise would-.” and then bam they’re rolling around the floor clutching their stomach in agony and dry heaving.

[cascadianights]

Iranian photographer Hossein Fatemi, offers a glimpse of an entirely different side to Iran than the image usually broadcasted by domestic and foreign media. In his photo series An Iranian Journey, many of the photographs reveal an Iran that most people never see, presenting an eye-opening look at the amazing diversity and contrasts that exist in the country.

[cascadianights]

[cascadianights]

Urban Design Lab posted these great pics of an architect's life before CAD ...