#Coastal Mexican

[xochipapalol]

Okay, time for me to talk about smth relating to my last reblog.

Forceful displacement as a form of ethnic cleansing/genocide

So basically as my bio states, I am a Coastal Nahua from Mexico, but wanna know where that Coastal comes from?

Originally my people were actually closer to the mountains and rivers of Michoacan, surrounding places like Patzcuaro and Tzintzuntzan. Until we were forcibly displaced by Mexicans, not conquistadors, Mexicans. (And also European immigrants)

We were forced to move from the rivers, highlands, and mountains which were our main dwellings. Many of us moved to the coast for our own safety, many of us were forced to assimilate because of the violence from Mexicans and other settlers. While being on the Coast of Michoacan was part of our historical movements, the Highlands, Mountains, and Rivers were our homes.

Our land, once we fled or were forced to leave, was then claimed by Mexicans, and other Settlers. Many of us left were forced onto ranches near those settlements, these ranches were often in bad spots where we would be forced to assimilate if we wanted to survive.

This happened in the 1800’s and continued into the 1900’s.

We were forced from out from our homelands, displaced into an area where we had to start basically all over again. And in that, many of us continue to live in poverty, and lack access to certain resources.

We did not move willingly, we did not willingly give our lands away, our lands were not peacefully taken from us.

Because of this, many of us have and continue to suffer. That is the intention, the intention is to kill us, our culture, our language, our history, and our future.

This is very similar to what israeli settlers have been doing to Palestinians, forcing them off their lands, so that they can take them and claim them as their own. Trying to erase them. Displacement is a tool of genocide.

[thelastspeecher]

"Food is a way of life on the Gold Coast"

no Tyler Florence, food is a way of life EVERYWHERE, you're just yet another California-centric foodie

[idkstudyblr]

Mediterranean Landscape - Gravel

[reasonsforhope]

"Mexico’s government recently announced the creation of 20 new protected areas across 12 states and two coastal areas in the country, covering roughly 2.3 million hectares (5.7 million acres). This follows a series of budget cuts to the nation’s environmental agencies.

Officials introduced four new national parks, four “flora and fauna protection areas,” seven sanctuaries, two biosphere reserves and three “natural resources protection areas” under the protection of the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP).

“This is a commendable step toward biodiversity conservation and environmental protection,” said Gina Chacón, director of the Wildland Network’s public policy program in Mexico. She told Mongabay these new areas will help preserve the country’s rich ecosystems, foster sustainable practices and protect a broad range of important species and habitats. Though some environmental and Indigenous groups are wary the budget cuts could hinder efforts to conserve these areas.

The newly protected areas will preserve habitat and ecologically important marine areas for various species, including whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), Mexican prairie dogs (Cynomys mexicanus) and jaguars (Panthera onca). They will also help safeguard ecologically important coral reefs and areas of cultural significance to Indigenous communities.

Bajos del Norte, a new national park in the Gulf of Mexico, is the largest new protected area, covering 1,304,114 hectares (3,222,535 acres), almost nine times the size of Mexico City. The area is important to the more than 3,000 families that belong to fishing communities on the Yucatán coast. It is also one of the main grouper fish (Epinephelinae) reproduction sites in the Gulf of Mexico and will safeguard threatened species, such as the rocky star coral (Orbicella annularis) and the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).

Joaquín Núñez Medrano, the secretary of the UEFAHG or Union of Forestry and Agricultural Ejidos Hermenegildo Galeana A.C. (Unión de Ejidos Forestales y Agropecuarios Hermenegildo Galeana), lives in an ejido — a type of communally owned land used for agriculture and forestry purposes — called Cordòn Grande in Sierra Grande of Guerrero, along the Pacific Coast. For more than 10 years, Medrano’s community has monitored species such as the jaguar and sustainably managed the ejido’s natural resources, without government assistance.

But now, the ejido has been designated a protected area in this latest round of decrees, as it falls inside part of the new Sierra Tecuani reserve. “The goal is to strengthen what we have already been doing but with support to do it much better,” he told Mongabay.

The second- and third-largest newly protected areas are Sierra Tecuani, a 348,140-hectare (860,272-acre) biosphere reserve threatened by illegal logging, forest fires and land use changes, and the Semidesierto Zacatecas Flora and Fauna Protection Area, which is important for the recovery of the Mexican prairie dog.

The state of Oaxaca is where the government created the most new protected areas, numbering three: the 90-hectare (222-acre) Playa Morro Ayuta Sanctuary, the 56-hectare (138-acre) Barra de la Cruz-Playa Grande Sanctuary and the 261-hectare (645-acre) Playa Cahuitán Sanctuary. Other protected areas were created in the states of Quintana Roo, Veracruz, Campeche, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Chiapas, Colima, Durango, Jalisco, Chihuahua, Guerrero and the State of Mexico...

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has protected more areas than any previous administration, with a total of 43 new areas across 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres). But Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), which works to safeguard the environment, has become severely cash-strapped throughout his six-year term.

SEMARNAT is one of many sectors in Mexico undergoing funding cuts. In recent years, Obrador’s government has implemented a series of strict austerity measures to free up more money for other areas like pensions and wages, boosting the leader’s popularity among citizens, particularly the working-class. Judicial workers, health services and academia have also had their budgets slashed in 2024...

Juan Bezaury-Creel, the director of the organization Fundación BD BioDiversidad Mexicana, said a protected area is better than no protected area because, once a decree is formalized, the government has a duty to protect it. However, this puts “huge pressure on existing personnel because they have to take care of more surface area with less resources,” he told Mongabay.

“The personnel from CONANP are heroic,” he said. “They are putting their lives on the line many times with little budget and little help.”"

-via Mongabay, January 25, 2024

[ruthbancroftgarden]

Beschorneria septentrionalis

Beschorneria is a small Mexican genus related to Agave, with plants typically fond in the mountains in forested areas, rather than in the drier lowlands. The most commonly grown species is Beschorneria yuccoides, but B. septentrionalis is a smaller plant with vivid green leaves, rather than glaucous-green like B. yuccoides. The flower stalk of B. septentrionalis is also a brighter red, and it remains attractive all the way through to the end of the summer as the large fruits develop. It does well in semi-shade (or in full sun in cooler coastal climates), and it is quite cold-tolerant to as low as 10° F (-12° C).

-Brian

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Photo: Mick Thompson

"A spectacularly marked, sociable, noisy waterfowl. Often rests on low snags above water, and may perch high in dead trees. In North America found mostly near Mexican border, but has increased in numbers recently, partly because it will use nest boxes put out for it. In some areas (such as coastal Texas), feeding of this species has become popular, with landowners tossing out corn near ponds to attract hundreds of whistling-ducks."

- Audubon Field Guide

[venus-in-pearls]

~ Coastal Moodboard #2 ~

Yesterday I met a good friend of mine on the beach 💙 She had to leave after a little more than hour, and I spent the rest of the day there. I visited 3 beach accesses in total, from South to North. I saw and enjoyed some beautiful birds and water, but not as many seashells as I was hoping. I collected a few lovely common Ark shells, but nothing that really stood out. Because it was a Saturday and there were more people than usual, and because the waves and riptides were particularly strong

1) Mexican Olive tree trimmings from the tree in my garden

2) one of my favorite thrift finds ever!!! I found this absolutely beautiful scallop on a cheaply made necklace for a very low price! I removed it from the necklace and the scallop is on my altar now 🩷 I plan to reuse the wooden beads that were on the necklace for future jewelry pieces

3) Black Skimmer. I haven't seen this species in a long time! But she was so fascinating to watch! You can see in the photo that this bird glides along the water's edge with their mouth open, collecting small fish, crustaceans, and mollusks! She did this back and forth a few times, then went Northward, away from me

4) A pelican in flight! I saw several groups and pairs looking for and hunting fish. Last week at the beach when I did some spiritual work, I saw a group of 10 pelicans!!

5) Sanderling. A species of sandpiper! They're so cute!! 🩷

6) my favorite photo I've taken of pelicans so far!

[tropic-havens]

Ruins of Tulum, state of Quintana Roo, Mexico

Tulum is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The ruins are situated on 12-meter (39 ft) tall cliffs along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Tulum was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya; it was at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries and managed to survive about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico. Old World diseases brought by the Spanish settlers appear to have resulted in very high fatalities, disrupting the society and eventually causing the city to be abandoned. One of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites, Tulum is today a popular site for tourists.

The site might have been called Zama, meaning City of Dawn, because it faces the sunrise. Tulum stands on a bluff facing east toward the Caribbean Sea. Tulúm is also the Yucatán Mayan word for fence, wall or trench. The walls surrounding the site allowed the Tulum fort to be defended against invasions. Tulum had access to both land and sea trade routes, making it an important trade hub, especially for obsidian. From numerous depictions in murals and other works around the site, Tulum appears to have been an important site for the worship of the Diving or Descending god.

Tulum was first mentioned by Juan Díaz, a member of Juan de Grijalva's Spanish expedition of 1518, the first Europeans to spot Tulum. The first detailed description of the ruins was published by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in 1843 in the book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. As they arrived from the sea, Stephens and Catherwood first saw a tall building that impressed them greatly, most likely the great Castillo of the site. They made accurate maps of the site's walls, and Catherwood made sketches of the Castillo and several other buildings. Stephens and Catherwood also reported an early classic stele at the site, with an inscribed date of AD 564 (now in the British Museum's collection). This has been interpreted as meaning that the stele was likely built elsewhere and brought to Tulum to be reused.

Work conducted at Tulum continued with that of Sylvanus Morley and George P. Howe, beginning in 1913. They worked to restore and open the public beaches. The work was continued by the Carnegie Institution from 1916 to 1922, Samuel Lothrop in 1924 who also mapped the site, Miguel Ángel Fernández in the late 1930s and early 1940s, William Sanders in 1956, and then later in the 1970s by Arthur G. Miller. Through these later investigations done by Sanders and Miller, it has been determined that Tulum was occupied during the late Postclassic period around AD 1200. The site continued to be occupied until contact with the Spanish was made in the early 16th century. By the end of the 16th century, the site was abandoned completely.

Tulum has architecture typical of Maya sites on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. This architecture is recognized by a step running around the base of the building which sits on a low substructure. Doorways of this type are usually narrow with columns used as support if the building is big enough. As the walls flare out there are usually two sets of molding near the top. The room usually contains one or two small windows with an altar at the back wall, roofed by either a beam-and-rubble ceiling or being vaulted. This type of architecture resembles what can be found in the nearby Chichen Itza, just on a much smaller scale.

Tulum was protected on one side by steep sea cliffs and on the landward side by a wall that averaged about 3–5 meters (9.8–16.4 ft) in height. The wall also was about 8 m (26 ft) thick and 400 m (1,300 ft) long on the side parallel to the sea. The part of the wall that ran the width of the site was slightly shorter and only about 170 meters (560 ft) on both sides. Constructing this massive wall would have taken an enormous amount of energy and time, which shows how important defense was to the Maya when they chose this site. On the southwest and northwest corners there are small structures that have been identified as watch towers, showing again how well defended the city was. There are five narrow gateways in the wall with two each on the north and south sides and one on the west. Near the northern side of the wall a small cenote provided the city with fresh water. It is this impressive wall that makes Tulum one of the most well-known fortified sites of the Maya.

There are three major structures of interest at the Tulum archaeological site. El Castillo, the Temple of the Frescoes, and the Temple of the Descending God.

Among the more spectacular buildings here is the Temple of the Frescoes that included a lower gallery and a smaller second story gallery. The Temple of the Frescoes was used as an observatory for tracking the movements of the sun. Niched figurines of the Maya “diving god” or Venus deity decorate the facade of the temple. This “diving god” is also depicted in the Temple of the Diving God in the central precinct of the site. Above the entrance in the western wall a stucco figure of the “diving god” is still preserved, giving the temple its name. A mural can still be seen on the eastern wall that resembles that of a style that originated in highland Mexico, called the Mixteca-Puebla style, though visitors are no longer permitted to enter.

The Temple of the Descending God consists of a single room with a door to the west and a narrow staircase that was built on top of another temple that served as its base.

In the niche located at the top of the door stands a sculpture that’s found throughout Tulum. He has wings, a headdress and holds an object in his hands.

Also in the central precinct is the Castillo, which is 7.5 m (25 ft) tall. The Castillo was built on a previous building that was colonnaded and had a beam and mortar roof. The lintels in the upper rooms have serpent motifs carved into them. The construction of the Castillo appears to have taken place in stages. A small shrine appears to have been used as a beacon for incoming canoes. This shrine marks a break in the barrier reef that is opposite the site. Here there is a cove and landing beach in a break in the sea cliffs that would have been perfect for trading canoes coming in. This characteristic of the site may be one of the reasons the Maya founded the city of Tulum exactly here, as Tulum later became a prominent trading port during the late Postclassic.

[granvarones]

The universe and our ancestors have a way of delivering messages that we need to hear, read, and witness. That’s why I find myself offering countless flowers in tribute to Daniel Sotomayor. His legacy in Chicago serves as a powerful reminder that the impact of the AIDS Crisis extended far beyond the coastal epicenters of New York City and San Francisco.

I went back to Victor Salvo’s essay titled “Daniel Sotomayor: Chicago, Illinois August 30, 1958 – February 5, 1992,” which is part of the Art AIDS America Chicago exhibition book. This exhibition documents the impact of HIV/AIDS on the national art space. I’ll give you all the cliff notes to this essay, which continues to inspire my own political advocacy work.

Daniel Sotomayor was not only the first openly gay and nationally recognized political cartoonist but also a co-founder of the Chicago Chapter of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Growing up in the Humboldt Park Neighborhood in Chicago, Daniel’s heritage was a mix of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent. In the four years following his HIV diagnosis in 1987, Daniel passionately fought against the despair of the AIDS crisis until his passing on February 5, 1992.

He shouldered the responsibility of challenging not just the political establishment but also the church, his employers, fellow HIV/AIDS activists, and even friends. By 1991, Daniel had produced 147 political cartoons that addressed both current events and personal struggles. His commitment to truth-telling not only stirred controversy but also laid the foundation for the legacy we honor today.

Despite facing termination from Gay Chicago Magazine and later Windy City Times due to his outspoken activism, Daniel prioritized urgent action amid the ticking clock of HIV and the community’s mounting death toll. His life’s work stands as a testament to what political accountability should entail for leaders entrusted with our protection.

Daniel’s activism was bold. He participated in protests against the Chicago Transit Authority’s refusal to display safe sex messaging and was part of national AIDS actions demanding equal healthcare. His confrontation with then-Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley at the Impact Gala in 1991, where he held a banner demanding truth about AIDS, exemplifies his unwavering courage.

As I reflect on Daniel’s life, I am reminded of the ongoing struggle for justice in today’s crises, like the Overdose Crisis. The slow response of political leaders to adopt proven harm reduction strategies echoes past battles fought during the AIDS crisis.

Every day, I carry the heartbreak and the resilience of figures like Daniel, whose battles have paved the way for our opportunities today. Daniel’s legacy teaches us to keep fighting in dark times. As an advocate, I draw strength from the wisdom of AIDS activism, maintaining optimism in the face of political disappointment, with the belief that our perseverance will bring hope to newer generations.

Written by Aces Lira. Aces Lira was a 2019 Gran Varones Digital Arts Fellow. Currently he serves as a project manager focusing on legislative, policy, and administrative advocacy responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Illinois. Working closely with the Getting to Zero IL initiative, he focuses on the efforts to increase access to HIV prevention and treatment services and supports, including implementation of Rapid Start interventions across the state. As a social worker by training, Aces has direct service experience in education, child welfare, and migrant aid which informs his policy advocacy work.

[warningsine]

Hotels and homes destroyed, impassable roads and thousands of people cut off. This is how Acapulco, in the Mexican state of Guerrero, has been left after the passage of Hurricane Otis, the most powerful Pacific storm to make landfall on Mexican territory in the last 30 years. The cyclone, which in 12 hours went from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane, the highest possible classification, has left the popular tourist destination resembling a war zone with uprooted trees, debris, roofs torn off and buildings without walls. Neither the National Meteorological Service (SMN) nor local and federal authorities were able to predict the intensity of the hurricane. Scientists were also caught by surprise. The speed with which the cyclone intensified was unusual and forced Mexican authorities to issue an evacuation alert for the area just hours before Otis made landfall.

The SMN warned at 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, that the hurricane would reach Acapulco at 6:00 p.m. the following day. However, the storm arrived earlier than expected and devastated the coastal city at 12:25 a.m. Wednesday. Winds of more than 270 kilometers per hour (168 mph) hit the town and the state of Guerrero, one of the poorest in the country, destroying everything in their path. More than 500,000 people were left without electricity, internet and telephone connection in the early hours of the morning and only part of the service has so far been restored. The breakdown of communications has complicated access to the affected areas and there is still no official information on the number of victims and the amount of damage caused, although it is expected that material losses will amount to millions of dollars.

The unusual power of the hurricane has attracted the attention of the scientific community, which links the devastating power of Otis to the El Niño season, a phenomenon associated with changes in the atmosphere and the fluctuation of water temperature in the Pacific. “There is a hypothesis that it could be related to the rise in ocean temperature, which does not mean that there are more hurricanes, but it does mean that when there is one, the cyclone accelerates its formation by taking on more energy under these conditions,” explains Claudia Rojas of the Department of Process Engineering and Hydraulics of the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM).

There are those who point to a relationship between climate change and the strength of hurricanes, although the scientific community is still investigating the matter. “El Niño is inducing these cyclones to reach high categories. However, it is difficult to attribute the responsibility for Hurricane Otis to climate change,” says Christian Domínguez, a researcher at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). “What is known on a global scale is that with climate change there will be fewer hurricanes in the Pacific, but they will be more intense,” he adds. “With the information we currently have, it is not so clear that the intensity has to do with climate change because there are not so many historical records, although we have not ruled it out.”

After making landfall, Otis was downgraded to a tropical storm after depositing heavy rainfall in several states in central and southern Mexico. However, the threat has not yet passed. “The risk is not only posed by the strength of the winds. There are more dangers that such a phenomenon can entail, such as landslides and the flooding of rivers and streams,” says Domínguez. In Acapulco, some 20,000 people live in areas susceptible to flooding or landslides. The hurricane season in the Pacific begins around May 15 and ends around November 30, as such Guerrero could still experience the consequences of other cyclones, says Rojas. “Research work has shown that after a prolonged drought, very intense rainfall events occur, as is the case with tropical cyclones that can reach these [high] categories.”

Otis is not the first hurricane in recent years to strengthen so rapidly. In 2015, Tropical Storm Patricia escalated to a Category 5 hurricane in 10 hours. The difference with the current phenomenon was that it did so offshore, and authorities in the states of Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit were able to evacuate 50,000 people before it made landfall. The storm, catalogued by the SMN as “extremely dangerous” and by the media as the “largest in history,” quickly lost strength after making landfall in Mexican territory thanks to the mountainous system of the Sierra Madre Occidental, which eroded the outer ring of the cyclone and prevented greater damage and devastation. Guerrero, in this case, did not have the same luck.

Acapulco International Airport, which receives millions of tourists every year, has been completely flooded and suffered serious damage to its infrastructure, forcing the suspension of all flights. The main highways are also closed, preventing communications with Mexico City. Mexican President Andr��s Manuel López Obrador had ordered his Security Cabinet to go to the affected area, but on seeing the seriousness of the situation, he decided to personally supervise the rescue efforts himself. The Mexican army has initiated an emergency protocol and 37 shelters have been set up throughout the state for victims.

[kuramirocket]

Mexican biologist Yuliana Bedolla 

Off Mexico's west coast, the Baja California Pacific Islands are key global nesting sites for 23 seabird species and Natividad Island shelters 90 percent of the breeding population of the Black-vented Shearwater (Puffinus opisthomelas).

Mexican conservation biologist Yuliana Rocío Bedolla Guzmán, Director of the Marine Birds Project at Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas (GECI) says that invasive mammals like cats and rats wiped out at least 27 seabird colonies in the past.

The researchers have been working with fishing cooperatives to decrease the likelihood of reintroductions that would lead to expensive eradication efforts.

"In 2021, we created the local community group “Líderes Comunitarios'' formed by enthusiastic and committed women who have received formal training on island biosecurity and bird identification, and are becoming agents of change in their communities," Bedolla says.

Recently, Bedolla won a 2023 Whitley Award from UK charity Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) and will use the funding to boost the role of local women and fishing cooperative.

"The goal is to continue preventing the accidental introduction of invasive mammals on Natividad and San Benito Oeste islands by actively involving local leaders and fishing cooperatives in biosecurity protocols," she says.

"My Grain of Sand"

Bedolla grew up far from the sea in Moroleón, a small town in central Mexico, where she enjoyed being out in nature.

"But I had my Eureka moment when I learned to snorkel when I was 12 years old at a beach in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, in the Mexican Pacific," she says adding that she remembered a feeling of amazement, wonder and a new sense of connection to nature.

"That experience was life-changing for me and marked the beginning of my journey as a conservationist," Bedolla says, "From that moment on, I knew I wanted to become a marine biologist and contribute with my grain of sand."

She would go on to study Marine Biology at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, learning to dive and study coral reefs and associated invertebrates on several islands in the Gulf of California.

Bedolla would contact GECI in the course of her masters degree and years later, after a Phd in Germany, GECI offered her the directorship of the Marine Birds Project.

Bedolla says that being from the Global South helps her to bring diverse perspectives and approaches to scientific research, which can lead to more innovative and creative solutions.

The San Benito Islands, which is among the islands Yuliana Bedolla is trying to protect from invasive species

Yuliana is a marine biologist, graduated with honors from the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS).

She is a Master in Coastal Oceanography from the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC) and a PhD candidate from the Justus Liebig University of Giessen in Germany. For her doctorate, she obtained a scholarship in Germany. Yuliana speaks Spanish and English and has basic knowledge of the German language. Her doctoral research focuses on the foraging ecology of three petrel species that nest in the San Benito Archipelago, in the Pacific of Baja California.

She began collaborating with the Ecology and Conservation of Islands Group, A.C., (GECI), in 2009 as a field biologist, and is currently the director of the Seabird Project, which aims to restore and conserve seabirds through the use of social attraction systems in conjunction with systematic monitoring, research and environmental education. She has carried out numerous research studies with national and international institutions. Her scientific publications in international journals focus on the response of seabirds to environmental conditions, the parasites that infect seabirds and the response of native fauna to the eradication of invasive mammals.

She has collaborated with several national seabird conservation programs and has been directly involved in environmental restoration projects in Isla Isabel, San Benito Archipelago, Banco Chinchorro and Arrecife Alacranes, related to the eradication of invasive rodents for the benefit of seabird colonies, among other island species. Her activities at GECI include project planning, staff coordination and supervision, applied research and monitoring, environmental education with local communities and dissemination of information in conferences and scientific reports and publications.

Source

[gatheringbones]

hi bones! for life/education/employment reasons I will probably be moving to seattle in a year or so. if you have the spoons and inclination, i'd welcome any advice for someone who wants to do right by hir new community/city but also wants to take care of hirself. (and/or just advice for moving to seattle in general!) i'm a neurodivergent, white, mentally ill butch lesbian, if that affects the advice any. thanks for all the incredible book excerpts and writing thoughts you post!

there’s a breakfast place in Fremont called Roxie’s that does latkes instead of english muffins in their benedicts and where you can get an amazing reuben.

there’s also a Cuban sandwich joint called Paseo’s up the hill where you can get an extremely messy and life changing sandwich. god willing there’s still a Mexican sushi place in Wallingford right down the block from Changes the gay bar.

carry change with you and give it to anyone who asks and remember their face, remember where you saw them, place them on a mental map in a way that reinforces their worth as a full and complete human being. if you don’t have change you apologize with intention. you will have some next time. never offer to substitute food for change; this is a terrible insult.

there’s a queer library at a queer community center called Gay City in Capitol Hill where you can sit and read and check out books and access other community services like therapy and social support.

pay attention to the caste system at work wherever you go in seattle. It’s ever-present and exerts constant psychic force on everyone inside city limits. the people who the city refuses to house or treat flock there because seattle technically offers many services for help and healing, but these services have been allowed to exist in a state of complete overwhelm for decades by city officials who support and value the caste system. the mad the sick and the unhoused are meant to float through third and pine and westlake and the waterfront for the Real people to practice dissociating from. this perpetual dissociation colors the whole city. everyone is complicit. everyone swears not to know what they know and see what they see. everyone receives patient conditioning to sort and categorize the shapes they see moving through the city of seattle as human or inhuman and resisting this conditioning will require all of your attention and insight. you will be asked at every second to betray yourself.

read the archives of the view from Nathan’s bus

read about the Duwamish. go down and buy something from the woodcarvers by the ferris wheel. know that the canoes and masks and religious items inside the restaurant next door were hand carved by a white conservative guy who bought a bunch of books on coastal Salish art and copied as best he could.

there is queer community. the lesbian book club that changed the trajectory of my life isn’t the only one. if you have it in you to look for opportunities and spaces to be around the bodies you need to survive, you will find them.

do not wear headphones while out and about unless absolutely necessary. you need to be able to be spoken to.

go watch the sunset at fremont peak park and if you feel absolutely overwhelmed and alien in the world know that a twenty two to twenty eight year old version of me is sitting somewhere behind you and to your left. look out for a blonde cat and the dinosaur village.

don’t call the cops.

[proton-wobbler]

Warbler Showdown; Bracket 1, Poll 6

Townsend's Warbler (Setophaga townsendi)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: a Western warbler, breeding in British Columbia and southern Alaska and overwintering in the Mexican mountains- though it can sometimes overwinter along coastal California.

Habitat: breeds in tall coniferous and mixed confierous-deciduous forests, most abundantly in unlogged, old-growth forest. Overwinter habitat in California is live oaks and mixed oak-conifer forests, while in Mexico and Central America it includes a variety of montane forest habitats.

Yellow-throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: The migratory population moves from the Bahamas and Greater Antilles to lowland Eastern and Midwest states; a more sedintary populations seem to live year-round in parts of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

Habitat: prefers wetter habitats, such as wooded steam bottomlands and cypress swamps, though they can be found in dry pine or mixed pine-deciduous forests. Also common in loblolly pine stands.

Image Sources: Townsend's (David Turgeon); Yellow-throated (Tyler Ficker)

[fatehbaz]

Crocodile news.

December 2022: Dramatic crocodile appearance at Melbourne Beach in Florida, “the farthest north that the American crocodile has ever been documented” (at least on the Atlantic coast of the American continents).

Excerpt:

A rarely seen American crocodile has been documented in Central Florida, and it counts as one of the northernmost sightings ever reported. The crocodile was seen Sunday, Dec. 4, in Brevard County, about 75 miles southeast of Orlando. It was reported by the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program, which called the encounter a “rare sighting” that far north. “American crocodiles typically live in coastal areas throughout the Caribbean, and southern Florida is at the very north end of their range,” the program post Dec. 5 on [social media]. The 8-foot reptile was found “relaxing on the beach in front of the Barrier Island Center” in Melbourne Beach, officials said. [...] The sighting comes one month after [a resident] [...] of Sebastian, Florida, shared video of another unexpected crocodile encounter, just 25 miles south [...]. Only 1,500 to 2,000 adult American crocodiles survive in southern Florida’s brackish swamps, the state says. The southern end of Brevard County is believed to be the farthest north the species has been documented [...].

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Headline, image, caption, and text published by: Mark Price. “Rare American crocodile discovered much farther north than expected in Florida.” Miami Herald. 7 December 2022.

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For context, here’s a map of records of the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus). Their actual distribution range is now much more limited, since the crocodile has been eliminated from much of this habitat, especially in Ecuador, the coast of Colombia, Hispaniola in the Caribbean, and along the Pacific coast of Guatemala and Mexico.

This may be the farthest north that the American crocodile has been recorded in the Atlantic, but on the Pacific coast, the same crocodile species currently lives at several sites near Los Mochis on the coast of the Gulf of California in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The crocodile has also been reported as recently as 2016 near the lower Yaqui river in Sonora, and in 1973 a crocodile was captured at El Ciego estuary near Guaymas. The Comcaac/Seri people have also reported crocodiles historically near Isla Tiburon. However, the crocodile is in great danger in those regions, because it prefers to live in coastal mangrove swamps and brackish estuaries, and these habitats are often drained by upriver diversion and irrigation for agriculture. The Pacific coast of Mexico is also home to the beach resorts and tourism industry of places like Puerto Vallarta (not very friendly to crocodiles).

[pandasmagorica]

get to know me ask game

Thanks for the tag, @telomeke. Clean-ish copy from @colourme-feral

Rules: bold the ones that are true & tag 10 people to do it.

Okay, just so everyone knows, not lecturing, bolding by itself is not accessible to people who use screen readers. So I'm going to add modifier words into each sentence as needed (or remove them if need be) so it makes sense and is true when read aloud without hearing that it's bolded. I will also bold to make the ones that apply to me stand out to people who can see my post.

And I love the deaf community rep in Moonlight Chicken, just for the record, and would love to see more disability rep in QL.

Appearance

I do not have blonde hair // I do prefer loose clothing to tight clothing (except for shoes (just fit) and belt (tight enough that my pants don't slip down) // I do not have one or more piercings // I do not have at least one tattoo // I have not dyed or highlighted my hair // I have not gotten plastic surgery // I have not had braces // I do sunburn easily // I do not have freckles // I do not paint my nails // I do not typically wear makeup (or ever) // I do often smile (This was expressed originally in the negative sense so I'm not going to bold it) // I am pleased with how I look // I have never worn either Nike or Adidas and wouldn't have any idea which to prefer // I used to wear baseball hats backwards (do I do this in italics then?)

Hobbies & Talents

I do not play a sport // I can not play an instrument // I am artistic // I know more than one language (Let's just say 1 + 0.1 + 0.1 but I've used both 0.1s in public in the past month with random people) // I have won a trophy in some sort of competition // I can cook or bake without a recipe (but also cook or bake with recipes as well) // I do not know how to swim // I do enjoy writing // I cannot do origami // I do not prefer movies to tv shows // I cannot execute a perfect somersault (or even an imperfect one) // I do enjoy singing // I could not survive in the wild on my own // I have not read a new book series this year // I do enjoy spending time with friends // I no longer travel during work or school breaks but sometimes did (italics again) // I cannot do a handstand

Relationship

I am not in a relationship // I have been single for over a year // I do not have a crush // I have a best friend who I’ve known for ten years (actually over half my life) // my parents are together // I have not dated my best friend // I am not adopted // my crush has not confessed to me // I do not have a long distance relationship // I am not an only child // I do give advice to my friends // I have not figured out what constitutes an online friend // I have met up with someone I have met online

Aesthetics

I have heard the ocean in a conch shell // I think I may have watched the sun rise (italics again) // I do enjoy rainy days (also windy days, but not rainy windy days) // I have not slept under the stars // I do not meditate outside // I don't know what exactly the sound of chirping does to me // I do enjoy the smell of the beach // I do not know what snow tastes like // I do not listen to music to fall asleep // I do enjoy thunderstorms (as long as it's at least five seconds between the lightning flash and the thunderclap) // I do enjoy cloud watching // I have attended a bonfire // I do pay close attention to colors // I do not find mystery in the ocean // I do enjoy hiking on nature paths // autumn was my favorite season when I lived in the northeast but here in coastal California we barely have seasons (italics again)

Miscellaneous

I can fall asleep in a moving vehicle // I am not the mom friend // I do not live by a certain quote // I do not like the smell of sharpies // I am not involved in extracurricular activities but was when I was involved in curricular activities, or does that mean I am now only involved in extracurricular activities? (italics again) // I do enjoy Mexican food // I can not drive a stick shift // I am not sure what is meant by true love so cannot say whether I believe in it - as opposed to false love? // I do make up scenarios to fall asleep (and they usually work) // I do sing in the shower (when I shower) // I do not wish I lived in a video game // I do not have a canopy above my bed // I am not multiracial // I am not a redhead // I do not own at least 3 dogs (or even one)

Okay, who to tag? (Who hasn't already been tagged.) No pressure.

@thegalwhorants

@morathicain

@respectthepetty

@kattahj

@ranchthoughts

@heretherebedork

@grapejuicegay

@queersouthasian

@rocketturtle4

@iguessitsjustme

[mettleborn]

Closed starter for @therogueprincedaemon (for Daena)

Los Zetas has grown in size, power and influence since Igor’s last visit to Mexico. The Pakhan still remembers the days when the Zetas were less than 30 in number, men employed to protect high-ranking members of the Gulf cartel. Many were ex-military; intelligence specialists with wide ranging weapons expertise, well versed in paramilitary tactics, which is likely why, in 2003, the Mexican Defence Department separated out Los Zetas as the most formidable death squad to have worked for organized crime in Mexican history. Those days however, are long gone; the organisation is now well established in its own right, with hundreds of members. The Zetas no longer take orders from the Gulf Cartel or any other cartel for that matter. They operate a range of illicit businesses, though their international dealings focus mainly on money laundering, gun and drug smuggling. Their leader, a man named Diago Garcia Cortez, has been an associate of Igor’s for over a decade now, since a disagreement between the Gulf Cartel and Bratva led to Bortsov seeking out a new supplier. It is a business relationship that has been strained at several points over the years, but one that has ultimately stood the test of time…so far.

The weather in North Mexico is too arid for Igor’s tastes, and while the coastal breeze in Tamaulipas provides some relief, it is often extremely short lived. Diago’s hacienda is fitted with good quality air-conditioning, but that is of little use when your host insists on leaving all the windows wide open to let in the night air and the steady sound of the rolling tide. Sitting back down at the card table, Igor pours himself a neat glass of Vodka and lights another cigarette. As the cards are shuffled, the Pakhan reminds himself of the rules of Monte; the Mexican version of poker.

The room tonight is more sombre than usual, normally it would be filled with Los Zetas soldiers, drinking their fill, surrounded by a plethora of liquor, drugs and prostitutes. Tonight however, is a very different affair, mainly because many of Diago’s men are tending to some disturbance down in Mexico City. Only Igor, Diago and his brother Basilio are sat at the table. Nicholai is also here, but the old Russian has chosen to sit out on the balcony, keeping watch while he chain-smokes; knowing he too easily looses his temper when gambling.

“They call it a Columbian neck tie…” Diego explains, laughing, “…the tongue…it pokes through here…” Miming the movement over-enthusiastically, Diago wiggles his finger around the imaginary slit in his throat; he’s clearly had more than his fair share of Mezcal tonight.  

Nodding quietly as Diago sits back down in his seat, Igor softly leans his cigarette on the side of the ashtray. “Yes, we have similar in Russian, though it is not tongue, but rather, how-you-say, the cojones (testicles)…” Igor mimics two large balls and bursts out laughing in tandem with the other men.

“You missed my wedding.” Diago unexpectedly announces, cutting through the laughter as he begins dealing the cards.  

“He talks of cojones and all you can think about is your wife?” Basilio laughs, elbowing his brother in the ribs. “You got married, it was a lovely day, now you have blue cojones...bla, bla bla, who cares, lets play cards!”

Examining the hand he has been just been dealt, Igor soon realises that their card game won’t begin until Diago has finished talking about his new wife. The Pakhan listens carefully as Diago describes her, taking in each and every detail. What is clear from the way his associate is talking about his new, much younger, much blonder wife, Daena, is that he considers her some kind of trophy, an accolade he has been awarded for his success. Neither of the Garcia brothers are from well-established families, they were poor – brawling boys brought up in the dirt to become two of the most powerful men in Mexico. Now, it seems Diago, through his recent nuptials, has secured some kind of legitimacy beyond that power; the kind that can only be obtained by marriage into a reputable european bloodline.

Igor of course remembers Diago’s last wife, the one who met her untimely end when the Zetas received intelligence that she had been informing on the organisation to the CIA. Intelligence that in the end proved to be false, not that Diago would ever accept that truth. Bortsov can only hope his new wife fairs better.

Glancing up from his cards, Igor notices Basilio take what looks to be an urgent call, presumably relating to the current unrest in Mexico City. Standing up to leave the room, Basilio gestures for Diago to join him. Igor, in turn, quite used to the kind of interruptions that must be immediately dealt with, nods, making clear he is content to wait. As the pair leave, the Pakhan hears Diago briefly bark an order at someone in the corridor, one of the staff waiting staff he imagines - the drinks are getting low. Relaxing back into his chair, Bortsov pulls out his cell to check his calls while he waits in hope for more Vodka to arrive.