#And it's like...

[hood-ex]

I once read a book where a character who had just one of everything - one fork, one plate, etc. - because he considered more than that just pointless stuff he'd eventually have to move told another that she made him want to have two plates, and that might be the most Dick and Donna vibes I've ever gotten out of anything not actually about Dick and Donna.

Well now I'm thinking about Dick buying two mugs and keeping one for himself and giving the other to Donna as a gift, but Dick's mug eventually burns along with the rest of Dick's apartment during the Blockbuster fiasco, so then after Donna dies and there's a funeral reception at her apartment, Dick finds the twin mug in Donna's kitchen, and he takes it up to the roof with him and cries.

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files

[clove-pinks]

Another one down on the 2025 to-read list, and what a read it was. There are a few questionable things about this book, starting with the choice to use the c. 1818 portrait of Richard Mentor Johnson attributed to Matthew Harris Jouett on the cover. It doesn't look much like his other portraits and depictions, and frankly I wonder if this is one of Johnson's seven brothers. Compare with his 1818 portrait miniature by Anna Claypoole Peale, which clearly resembles his later portraits.

Although he was very involved in politics before and after his military service in the War of 1812, Colonel Johnson's big claim to fame was being the man who (allegedly) killed Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames in 1813. (Personally I think he did, basing my conclusion heavily on the testimony of a young soldier in the British 41st Regiment of Foot who was no fan of Colonel Johnson.) Johnson promoted this as much as he possibly could, to the point that he was campaigning into the 1840s as the Slayer of Tecumseh and little else. The title of Dr. Petriello's book references a quote from John C. Calhoun, who snarked that Johnson was a political dead weight because "the days of heroes are over." (Calhoun also called him "a mass of stupidity, vulgarity, and immorality." Yeowch!)

So much of Johnson's life is obfuscated by political narratives, both for and against him, that it's difficult to say what he stood for besides craven self-interest. He endlessly tried to secure government contracts and political favors for his brothers, nephews, and family by marriage. He promoted the ridiculous Hollow Earth Theory of Captain John Cleves Symmes in Congress—to secure contracts for his brothers to supply a Hollow Earth Expedition, not because he was actually that stupid. (Alas, doomed expedition fans, he never got anywhere with it, although the Johnson brothers are behind the "costly failure" of the 1819 Yellowstone Expedition. )

In what is arguably his finest moment, Colonel Dick delivered his Sunday Mail Report to Congress in 1830, successfully promoting mail delivery on Sundays despite religious opposition (as Petriello notes, his stirring speech was probably ghostwritten.) He was celebrated as a defender of the separation of church and state, although knowing everything else that he stood for, I have to question if this was due to Christian evangelical organizations of the time being associated with anti-slavery activity.

He also championed the elimination of debtors' prison—again, looking out for family connections. His support of military veterans and their families may have been more sincere, due to his personal experience as a disabled veteran. Johnson never fully recovered the use of his left arm and hand, and he walked with a limp. It's astonishing that he even survived his wounds in rough field conditions, and I wonder if his steep decline in mental and physical health in his last years was related; the man was chock full of lead.

The part of his life that earns Johnson the most notoriety in the 21st century—his common-law marriage to a mixed race Black woman who was also enslaved by him—is not the main focus of this book, although the political fallout is an important topic. Johnson clearly had a number of children and sexual affairs (with both white and Black women), and that gets short shrift despite Petriello including a jibe from a political opponent that Johnson deserved "much credit for this astonishing increase of population in the Western States."

The book ends on a hopeful, sympathetic note: "Despite his personal foibles, character flaws, and occasional corruption, his mark on American history overall should be recorded as a positive one." ...Frankly I'm not so sure about that, although it's difficult not to feel some empathy for Johnson, after reading so much about him. (As I read this book I constantly dug up Petriello's citations, even reading an entire god-awful 1836 play about Richard Mentor Johnson).

But that makes it even harder to read about what a terrible person he was: an ardent defender of the rights of enslavers, and groveling Andrew Jackson fanboy who helped pass legislation supporting the Indian Removal Act (better known as the Trail of Tears). It was just blow after blow—any kind of unethical and cruel stance in early 19th century US politics, and you can bet the Johnson family was involved. (Literally, they called them "The Family" like an antebellum mafia with more racism).

[quick-drawn]

despite what the most recent posts on my blog will tell you, i did actually get some things done around here these past few days. mainly working on drafts. but i didn't manage to finish anything. head's been all over the place and i've been drowning that out with video games. mandatory overtime is supposed to start this week, but i got a message from the boss yesterday that demand isn't as high as they were expecting it to be, so we're working our normal 8 hour shifts. except for me. because i already had appointments booked for my 12 hour shifts. including monday ( which i don't normally work, but we were required to since we're getting thanksgiving off ). so i only got 1 day off to recoup from that horrid week i had last week. so here i am at 12am, fighting off a headache so i can get some sleep for this 12 hour shift i shouldn't be working, while everyone else either gets to stay home because they didn't book any work or gets to go home early. and, oh yeah, let's not forget that i STILL DON'T HAVE A HELPER —

[jayysnotjoyful]

me: creates a boundary

someone: respects it

me: 😮

[willgrahamscock]

what I think will happen if I message my mutuals

[catmask]

i dont consider myself a 'fashion guru' by any means but one thing i will say is guys you dont need to know the specific brand an item you like is - you need to know what the item is called. very rarely does a brand matter, but knowing that pair of pants is called 'cargo' vs 'boot cut' or the names of dress styles is going to help you find clothes you like WAAAYYYY faster than brand shopping

[vampiricbisexuality]

like to charge, reblog to cast <3

[tenderwatches]

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

[inkskinned]

hey... don't cry.... tesla recall for most cybertrucks, okay? >46,000 vehicles affected <3

[podcastwizard]

my most toxic trait is i fucking love work gossip. i play neutral not to be the bigger person or take the high road but to hear slander and hearsay from every side. two coworkers complained about each other to me in the same afternoon and i nearly blacked out from the rush

[redstonedust]

phenomenom thats been bothering me that i could only express via an mspaint reverse boomer comic

[ducktollers]

🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊

[2022dirt]

Things worn down by people.

[soloh]

I hate when I say things like "oh I want an ipod classic but with bluetooth so I can use wireless headphones" and some peanut comes in and replies with "so a smartphone with spotify?" No. I want a 160GB+ rectangular monstrosity where I can download every version of every song I want to it and it does nothing except play music and I don't need a data connection and don't have to pay a subscription to not have ads and don't have popups suggesting terrible AI playlists all over the menus.

Gimme the clicky wheel and song titles like "My Chemical Romance- The Black Parade- Blood (Bonus Track)- secret track- album rip- high quality"

[scaryorganmusic]

what fucking hell dimension are y’all blogging from