#psa the mushroom forest

[elsewhereuniversity]

PSA: The Mushroom Forest

The Mushroom Forest welcomes all merchants, peddlers, traders, and any other sort of budding young salesfolk to its famed market, but most of those who seek easy monetary profit will leave sorely disappointed. To enter the market one must first obtain a token of favor, usually obtained by performing some sort of long, drawn-out task for a Forest inhabitant, which must then be presented and accepted by the Forest. After entering the market, feel free to browse at will, but take care at what you trade for! A side effect of this token just happens to be that any goods taken from the market will, within the next 24 hours, turn into a mushroom of comparable size (hence the name). Great for mycologists and chefs, not so great for anyone else - unless you’re really keen on getting some shiitake or portobello, as those mushrooms seem to be the transformations of choice.

There are those, of course, who claim to have obtained tokens that do NOT transform goods into mushrooms. Don’t be deluded by such scams. For those well-versed in the customs of the Forest, it is an established rule to never invest in Non-Fungible Tokens.

[crowcaws]

Drawing fictional guys with long hair until someone puts me out of my misery (Part 1 of ?)

Soul Evans & Percy Jackson

[iishmael]

was just researching mushrooms in north america for the fic to make sure the descriptions are consistent throughout, but i just found out there are carnivorous mushrooms. what the actual fuck.

[punkgardener]

I know my goal of owning a nature preserve and protecting the rare not talked about plants is probably impossible, but my dear, I need hope, I need to keep the idea in my mind that I can change things, that I can save the part of my heart so closely bound to the roots and foliage we neglect. I have hope, no, faith that if I put my mind to it I can do something about the decaying forests, lacking the things that make it whole, can be fixed, I won't be saved in my lifetime, but it sure as hell will start in my lifetime. Because God damn it, I need my kids to know there is wonder beyond the concrete cities we build that choke out light and plants, there is beauty to be found in the bugs and leaf litter. I may be one person but all that's needed to start a movement is one person, one person is all that's needed to create change.

So protect your forests, your deserts, your bogs, grasslands, and tundra, remind people that there is still a wilderness to explore, even if others came before you, they haven't seen everything, neither have you, remind them of that and go out there, learn about the trees in your woods, the fireflies over your pond, and the shrubs and plants that call your place home.

[shebeafancyflapjack]

A Strange God

A story about my OC Silver's death and first meeting with Robin.

Tw: drug usage.

"These will make you see the gods."

That's what Duncan had told her when he'd sold her the shrooms. That's what she'd wanted.

Not to die. Shit, if she'd wanted to take a stupid risk like that she'd have opted for LSD or E. One of the big ones she'd watched those scary PSA films in school. Duncan had assured her that shrooms were one of the "safer" ones to try out, so long as she didn't go overboard. True, she might have added a few more grams than recommended to the tea she brewed and kept in her grandad's flask. But how much of a screw up had she been to be one of the super rare cases to die on magic mushrooms?

Drinking the tea had been the last thing she remembered. Before that, she'd been setting up her ritual for the Esbat, deep in the woods closest to the ancient stone circle she'd read about. Yeah, she was technically trespassing, but the fence had been so short she had practically skipped over it. Plus she'd heard no one really lived in the nearby house other than some reclusive rich lady.

All Silver had wanted to do was find a good spot to set up her makeshift altar, get high as a kite, cast a few spells and hopefully catch a glimpse of her deities, or something supernatural. She hadn't even tried to build a fire, mostly not wanting to draw attention but also just common sense. However, she barely managed to achieve step three, the drugs having kicked in a lot quicker and way stronger than she anticipated.

The moon had been so bright above the treetops, nearly as bright as the sun, except silver - like her. She had named herself after her favourite heavenly body. One of her patron goddesses, Artemis, was also linked to the moon. Silver had gazed up at her in wonder so overwhelming that she'd laughed and laughed until she began to cry. She threw her arms up, as if to catch the moon itself, as it seemed to be falling upon her.

"Isis, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kali, Inanna!" She sang the Goddess' many names, grateful for any of them to appear to her.

The forest had become a helter-skelter around her, shadows spinning, waltzing, owls and deer and foxes singing as her brain began to stagger with how bright and loud the world had become. Fuck, she should have brought a bottle of water!

Silver tried to search for her backpack but ended up falling to her knees, mucking her fishnets. It had been a warm night, no need for a coat, nothing more than her favourite pink and black shirt over her boob tube. But now her temperature was starting to fluctuate. Too hot, then too cold, then shivers and sweats.

This wasn't normal. It couldn't be right.

Failing to find her backpack - which she now regretting buying a navy one, perfect to camouflage at this exact moment - Silver looked to the tiny statues of her patron gods she had set up on a fallen log.

Artemis, a tiny statue she'd been lucky enough to find while on holiday in Athens, sat against a cresent mood while aiming her bow. Beside her, Pan, sat on a mound playing his pipes.

"Lord and Lady, Goddess and Horned One..." She bowed her head and clasped her hands, a bit more of a Christian-y gesture than she'd prefer, but she was desperate; "...H-help me...Show me something good! A vision or a path, something other than..."

The bloody shadows that were making her want to heave. She batted away what she was certain was the branches of trees trying to grab her arms, like wooden claws.

"Leave me alone! I'm not here for you!" She berated, mostly slapping her own elbow.

"Talking to trees? Oh been there, done that, got fur shirt." Came a gruff voice on the gentle wind; "Trees suck as friends."

Silver glanced around.

"Who's there? Who said that? Is someone watching me? You being a creeper?!" She asked, defensively, realising she was a young woman alone in a wood. Prime murder set up.

Shit.

Her hand moved to the pocket of her shirt where her phone sat. At least she had that still on her, though signal was crap here, limiting her to emergency calls only. That was fine, the police was all she'd need. Hopefully questions on why she was trespassing on private property could wait.

"Me no creeper! Me spectate, big difference. Not know lady could see me...Must have been special potion, like in old times when living speak to me." The voice explained.

"...What?" Silver blinked, her head beginning to throb; "I can hear you but...where are you? Who...?"

"Me right here. You no see?"

The voice was right in front of her. She could practically feel a warm breath waft against her face. And a strange, thick smell of must and burning and....wet dog?

And then, just to make her jump, a hand waved inches from her nose. Her eyes made out the shape of a hand before the rest of him began to materialise. Silver blinked, mesmerised as the shadows seemed to move in to form the silhouette of a being before her eyes. A man, or masculine in appearence at least.

Head like a lion, shaggy mane of wild brown hair, a heavy set brow, a mouth of jagged teeth gawping at her, blue eyes that seemed younger than the lines around them. And his body seemed to be mostly...fur?

"Pan?! Oh....Oh my god! My literal god, is it you?! Pan, my...My Lord!" She broke into hysterical laughter.

There were no horns or hooves that she could see but...surely it had to be him!

"Uhh, that like frying or Peter? Because me neither." He said, putting his palms up.

She needed a better look at him, but she was struggling to keep her eyes open. The pain in her head was becoming intense, lessened only a little by the drugs mostly distracting her. The moonlight felt as though it was burning her retinas worse than staring straight into the sun.

"Who...Which God are...?" She reached forward and her hand went through his forearm.

The man winced, one fist moving up to his mouth.

"Oof! Please no do that."

"I...I'm sorry, I...."

More pain. Louder. Angrier. Burning away inside her skull.

Had she angered this god, whoever it was? She was an idiot to think she could try to touch a divine being! She was in way over her head and now she was regretting ever getting into Wicca.

"Please...make it stop! Lord, please, I'll offer anything just....AARGH!" She collapsed onto her knees, shedding tears as the world now began to melt in her eyes.

The god knelt in front of her, concern etched into his weary face.

"Hey, hey, I no do that." He assured her, "You no look so good. More pale than Moonah. She no like that, get jealous maybe?"

That was hardly something she could help right now!

"I don't like this, I don't like this..." She began to whimper. Was the Goddess really turning against her?

"No, Moonah not hurt, not this, she good and bootiful. She no make you bleed."

Bleed? But she wasn't...

Her hand flew up to her nose, feeling what she'd thought was mucus, only to see the thick red fluid on the end of her finger.

And then came more pain. And light, blinding moonlight. So beautiful. So terrifying.

"He...He....S-stay...Sta...." She begged to the god, whoever he was, not caring if he was one of her patrons or something unknown.

She didn't want to be alone.

"Me here, Moonah girl. Me here." The voice enveloped her as everything else fell to white; "Me got you. You not die alone."

Her body was too busy convulsing in a violent seizure to respond, or dare to argue what he meant by that last point.

When the pain finally stopped, she felt a warm hand envelop her own.

And then darkness.

Sweet, silent darkness. Then, thank the gods, came sleep.

When she opened her eyes, she was still gazing up at the treetops. The moon was hanging in the same spot, still full, still gorgeous, though not quite as imposing and apocalyptic as before. Silver assumed not much time had passed since she fainted.

She raised her head, the world still a little fuzzy around her. But it was manageable, kinda like how it looked without her contacts in. Shit, she could get those in solution, they're gonna be drying out soon after that nap. Not so bad at the moment. She can't have slept long or they'd have been all squidgy between her eyelids.

"What...." It took her a moment to realise why her bearings were off. Not easy to spot at first glance, woods in England all looking mostly the same.

But she'd moved. She wasn't in the same spot as before, near the field adjacent to the mansion. She could hear the soft trickle of a running stream nearby. And she was lying on some sort of mound surrounded by blue flowers. The gap in the canope was the perfect position for the moonlight to be cast down, unobstructed.

Had she awoken in a glass coffin, she'd have fancied herself as Snow White for the new millennium. Someone had laid her there purposefully...and with care.

An outdoor bed? Or a wake?

"You no die alone." That's what the voice of the god had said.

Silver felt her own chest. No. No, she must just not be able to feel it. She checked her own pulse. Nothing.

No...She must still be off her head. She knew from dabbling with weed that come downs usually brought paranoia.

"Woah! You....you awake?"

Silver jumped off the mound at the voice and turned.

It was the furry god again. Far more solid before her now that the world had stopped spinning. In fact, he looked less...ethereal than before.

She remembered to bow her head all the same.

"Uhh, Hi. Uhm, well met?" How do you greet a god face to face? She should have studied a bit more; "Forgive me, Lord, if I messed up the ritual."

"Rich-ul? For me?" He pointed to himself and then chuckled, jaw uneven; "Haha, no one ever do rich-ul for me!"

"...Aren't you a god?"

The man shrugged; "Dunno. Pretty useless god if yes. Can't do lot except make light flicker. Who ask for that? Better gods out there, stick with Moonah, she no give a lot but good light very special."

Feeling a little deflated, Silver straightened up.

"Then what are you? Are you just some...weird guy living out in the woods?" She dropped the reverence from her voice.

He barked another laugh; "Sometime. Except me not live because, y'know, dead."

Silver blinked. There was that word again.

"...You're a ghost?"

He nodded.

"Oh, nice one! Sure, you're a ghost. Hope you don't mind if I just-"

Before the man couldn't react, she lunged and wrapped her fingers around the sleeve of grey fur over his wrist. Her hand didn't pass through like the night before. Her fingers rested in the soft fluff.

"Yeah, mate! Bit harder to fool me now I've come down. Don't feel much like a ghost now."

"No. Because ghost touch each other."

Silver let him go.

"What are you saying? I'm not a..." She patted herself down, her clothes and skin feeling just as solid as the strange man.

Then she knelt to pluck at one of the blue flowers around where she'd been laying down. Her fingers passed straight through.

"I...No, this..." She kept up the tests, waving her arm through the trees and rocks and logs.

They weren't real. Not there.

Or it was she who....

She kept looking at her hand as if it had betrayed her. She couldn't be a...She couldn't be....

"Hey. Come. Sit down or fall." The man moved over to her.

Silver flinched; "What...What are you?! What did you do to me?!"

Patting her pocket, she wished she had her athame as a weapon. But the only witchy tool she had on her body was the pentacle on her neck.

"Me no do anything. Me just ghost." The man raised his hand; "Sit and me explain. Promise."

Her heart should be pounding, knocking hard against her eardrums as it did when she was anxious, but there was only silence, despite the anxiety being at an all time high. She sat on the mound of dirt.

"It full moon. Me come out to say quick thanks to Moonah like do each month." The man explained in his broken English, "See pink hair lady set up altar and have drink. Then lady start talk to trees and spinning around like-"

He twirled, hands flapping above his head. Shit, had she looked that ridiculous?

"Lady then start laugh and cry all at once. Lady speak to me. Then lady start get sore head and nose leak blood. Then lady fall."

She touched her nostril again. No blood this time. Dry as a bone.

"Lady ask me to stay so me stay." She was surprised to hear there was more; "Me watch many die before but lady die different. She no get up and no go up to stars. Lady just sleep. Sleep and sleep and sleep. It big boring. Me thought maybe lady not really dead. But then fox come and start chew on face and lady still no wake. I pick up lady and move away, she leave body but still no wake."

Again, she hoped the man was pulling her leg. The idea of animals eating her corpse before she could be discovered disturbed her.

"It take another day till police come and find body. They set up tent and do quick search but say 'no suspicious'. Something 'bout brain bleeding. Then put body in bag and take away."

Bleed on the brain. Silver clutched at her arms.

A brain aneurism had taken her dad when she was sixteen. Both her grandparents on her mother's side suffered strokes. Her aunt had a tumour removed and barely survived. She had been well aware these things ran in her family, but they didn't tend to become a problem until they reached fifty or more. Nineteen?! How unlucky was she?

"Lady still no wake so find nice spot with pretty flowers and good view of moonah. Less likely to get walked on too. I stand guard for little longer and animals seem to know to leave you alone. Then me got big bored so went back home, but always come back to check."

"So I've just been asleep for the past...couple of days?" For all of that to have passed.

"Uhh....little bit longer."

She frowned, "How long?"

He stroked the front of his furry shift; "Long 'nough for Moonah to get fat again."

A month? She’d been asleep for a whole month?

No. Worse. She'd been DEAD for a whole month.

There was still a weight in her pocket. She pulled out her Nokia and turned on the screen. It lit up - still emergency calls only. She tried 999 all the same but had nothing in return except a single bleep. No service. It didn’t have internet access anyway like some of the newer mobiles but she doubted that would have worked either. No service at all in the afterlife...

She ran.

It had to be crazy. This is what her mum had meant when she'd warned her to be careful getting into witchcraft. It meant having bad trips and meeting crazy people who tried to sell you on lies.

Ignoring the calls of the man, she headed towards the fence she'd easily climbed over. It was in sight, she would just have to...

Blink. Silver found herself facing the man again.

She screamed. Then tried again, turning around.

Again. And again.

By her tenth attempt, she was sobbing, body wracked with distress, chest unbearably tight, a panic attack taking its hold. The man caught her that time, strong hands on her forearms.

"Hey, hey, shh. It okay. Maybe stop now."

"It not okay, I'm fucking dead!" She yelled, eyes red with tears.

"Yeah, true, that suck. But not do you good running round like no headed chicken. Come. Sit."

No bother in finding a chair. The man took her hands and brought her to the floor. Looking down, she saw the dirt didn't mar her outfit anymore.

One of his hands continued to squeeze hers, while another reached to rub her back.

That helped. It was a bit like...

She sniffed; "I wanna go home. I want my mum." For as much as they clashed about everything, she hated the thought of the police knocking on her door to tell her mum they'd found her daughter dead in the woods; "I want...I want my dog."

Brothers and sisters, she wasn't too close to. But her black lab, Jess, had been her best friend, the only one who could truly comfort her when the anxiety flared. Would Jess be lying on her bed, not understanding why she wasn't coming back?

The man at her side gave a curious hum as he continued massaging her between her shoulder blades.

"How 'bout this?"

Silver sniffed, raising her head up to see the man retrieve something small and fuzzy, the same colour as his sleeve, from inside his shift. She stared, tears stilling.

"Is that....?" A puppy? A newborn puppy?

"This Kya. She my cub. Dead like us so never grow up." He cradled the pup like precious china in his hands; "She sleepy girl, like you. Here. Stroke head, it help?"

The little cub stirred only slightly on the man's palms. She was so cute, so tiny, it was difficult for Silver to wallow in grief and loss with this little marvel before her. She delicately ran her fingertip over the pup's head, eliciting the tiniest coo of approval, little tongue poking out.

Silver laughed, the last of her tears spilling. Dogs always did fix everything. She'd joked that Jess was her untrained therapy pet.

"You hold if very careful. Not too tight." He offered to her, his tone turning serious.

She nodded, gingerly taking the cub and bringing it to her chest. Suddenly, she was also reminded of her niece and the first time she'd held her as a baby. Fuck. Fuck, she'd never get to see her grow up.

The tears began again as she let the cub rest against her calvicle, rocking as much for herself as for the baby.

The man was still rubbing her arm.

"Me know it big shock. But lady not alone. Lot of ghosts in big house. I tell them there dead lady in wood but they no believe me. We show them now....when you ready. You like them...some of them....Two, maybe."

Silver rubbed her face; "And...you're not a god? You're just a....man?"

"Sorry 'bout that."

She laughed, as did he.

"Nobody's perfect." She smiled, rubbing little Kya's back and feeling her tiny tail flap against her skin; "Do you have a name then?"

"Many. Friends call me Robin."

"S'pretty." She said, watching a blush appear beneath that brown mane; "I'm Lou-."

Closing her mouth, she nearly let slip the name she'd cast off. The name of the dead girl.

"Silver."

"Like Moonah light? Very nice. Me knew you love her too, is why I lay you to sleep where you always see her. It how my tribe would lay our dead before burning. How I lay my mum..." He began to trail off and Silver saw a flicker of pain on that otherwise jovial face.

Tribe? Damn, how old was he?

"Thanks. It was lovely." It was probably a more thoughtful resting place than the tacky vase her mum was probably keeping her ashes in.

She slowly got to her feet, holding Kya securely, the little wolf melting her heart as she whined and nuzzled her skin.

"These other ghosts...Are they cool with witches and pagans?"

"Hehehe. Fanny gonna love meeting you."

She wasn't certain, but she had a strong suspicion that was sarcasm.

[rootedincuteness]

PSA: Staying Safe Outdoors

Dr. Mycol: “Hello! Your friendly neighborhood mushroom doctor here. Today, I’d like to speak a little bit about- Erm... hold on. We’ve got a piece of errant grass here...”

Dr. Mycol: *tucks it under his arm* “There we are. As I was saying, I’d like to talk to you about air quality and staying safe while outdoors."

Dr. Mycol: “Some of us right now are living with the effects of forest fires, which are sending soot particles as well as other toxic particulates and gasses into the air. Fires can happen as a part of a forest’s natural life cycle, and sometimes plants even need fire to help their seeds be released or to germinate, but in this case, these fires are largely due to very dry conditions. The increase in fires is connected to global warmings and climate change, which cause extreme weather events and droughts leading to more forest fires.”

Dr. Mycol: “Although the sky looks beautiful today and there is no odor in the air, a few days ago that was not the case. It is best to stay indoors if the air is hazy, yellow or orange, or has an overwhelming odor of burning wood, like it did the other day. That means there are particulates in the air, tiny little specks of debris from the burning fires. It isn’t good to breathe that into your lungs or get it in your eyes.”

Dr. Mycol: “Even on a pretty day like this, there could be toxins in the air that we can’t see, such as very fine particulates or invisible gasses. If you are sensitive to these things, if you have allergies, or if you are immunocompromised, you may want to wear a mask outdoors if the air quality is poor. I know it isn’t fun or comfortable, but you’ll have fewer health effects long-term as well as reduced discomfort from allergic responses if you wear a mask when air quality is poor. ”

Dr. Mycol: “How do you know if the air quality is poor or not? Pay attention to weather reports on the news or even download government and weather service apps on your mobile device. Many have ratings of air quality, ozone levels, particulate levels, and warnings about haze, smog, and other hazards you need to be aware of. This way, if you’re thinking of being outside a lot, you can check to make sure it’s safe first, and wear a mask if you want to be even safer.”

Dr. Mycol: “If you do have to go outside when air quality is poor, change clothes and take a shower when you get home if you can. This will help remove residue off your skin and hair, so it won’t continue to affect you or get on more of your clothes or bed linens. Finally, drink plenty of water so that your body can more quickly flush out any toxins and particulates you do happen to breathe in. Staying hydrated when out of doors is good to do anyway, especially during Spring and Summer, to avoid things like dehydration and heat stroke.” 

Resident Human: “Thanks so much, Dr. Mycol. I’m sure a lot of people out there will be thankful for your helpful advice.” *shakes his arm nub*

Dr. Mycol: “You’re very welcome, I’m happy to help!”

Dr. Mycol: “Stay safe and hydrated, folks, but do still continue to have fun. We don’t have to stop doing all the things we love just because there are hazards to be aware of. All we need to do is keep ourselves informed and take the proper precautions to ensure that we’ll be as safe as possible while we live our best lives.”

Resident Human: “Well said, my fungal friend.”

Dr. Mycol: “I try.” *smiles under mask*

[flysair2566]

Flights from MSP to Richmond

After the war, Richmond bounced back fast and was once more a bustling metropolis by 1782. The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which was written by Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), was adopted in 1786 at the temporary capital in Richmond. This act laid the groundwork for the separation of church and state, which was crucial in the growth of religious freedom in the United States. With the help of Charles-Louis Clérisseau, Jefferson created the Greek Revival design of the Virginia State Capitol building, which was finished in 1788 and served as a permanent residence for the new government.

Flights

·        Republic Airways

·        PSA Airlines

·        SkyWest Arline

·        Go jet Airline  DBA United Express

·        Mesa Airline DBA United Express

·        Air Wisconsin DBA United Express

·        Endeavor Air DBA Delta

·        Piedmont Airlines

·        Southwest Airline

 Places To Visit in Richmond

1.Gennet Records Walk of Fame

Gennett, an American record label and firm based in Richmond, Indiana, thrived in the 1920s. Its name is pronounced with a soft G. Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and Hoagy Carmichael all had early recordings made by Gennett. Gene Autry, Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Jelly Roll Morton were featured in the cast.

 2.Richmond Rose gardens

The Richmond Rose Garden, which is totally run by volunteers, uses the beauty of roses to celebrate the delight of our natural world.

 3. Thistle Thwaite Falls

In order to route the water over this rock structure and increase the waterpower available to his neighboring sawmill, Timothy Thistle Thwaite blasted a new channel in the West Fork of the Whitewater River in the early 1800s. Short stroll leads to this lovely waterfall, which is situated close to Springwood Park just south of Waterfall Road.

 4.East Main Street-Glen Miller Park Historic District

A neighborhood of historic homes and a national historic district, the East Main Street-Glen Miller Park Historic District is situated in Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana.

 5.Hayes Arboretum

The forest-classified private property known as Hayes Arboretum. This prohibits the gathering or hunting of mushrooms, flowers, plants, animals.

[laurasimonsdaughter]

@parthikleon left this comment on my Fae PSA:

After the humans learned this there were increased cases of humans being arrested for sitting at a banquet table in a fae circle in a forest, banging pans together and screaming "IT WOULD BE A SHAME IS SOMEONE WAS TO KIDNAP ME, IAN MCKELLEN, BUT IF IT HAPPENED I WOULD BE FINE WITH IT".

So...

“No, listen, you’re not under arrest, but I do need you to stop.” The officer repressed the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. It had been a long night. “Look- Ian McKellen, was it?”

“Yes, and no, no relation,” her charge replied sullenly.

She glanced back at her colleague who was patiently standing a little ways away, helpfully holding up a light, but as usual declining to step inside the mushroom circle. “Right. Can I call you Ian?”

The young man shrugged and half nodded. He looked positively crestfallen.

“You gotta understand, Ian, this sort of stuff happens a lot here. Drives the residents crazy. And all this dragging tables around is not great for the forest.”

“I just… I thought it work,” Ian muttered.

“Mm,” she hummed understandingly. “Had someone specific in mind?”

A faint ripple of embarrassment coloured red under his stubble. “I mean, I hear someone sing sometimes.”

“I see. In that case—” She took out her notebook. “Would you be willing to show me some identification? Just to save me some paperwork later.”

“Okay...?”

The officer quickly copied the info on his ID card and handed it back to him. “Now, anyone likely to report you missing within 72 hours? People tend to forget to send a message home before the third sunrise.”

Ian blinked at her. “Um, my cousins. But they know.”

Well, that was encouraging at least. “Brilliant. Just in case, if you could give me a way to contact either of them?” She offered him the notepad.

“Why though?” he demanded, pen hovering above the paper. “It’s clearly not happening.”

“Hm-hm,” the officer hummed. “Got dressed in a bit of a hurry this morning? In all the excitement?”

This time he gaped in confusion. “I don’t see why you—”

“You’ve got your sweater on inside out.”

His eyes widened. “Oh.”

“Yeah, so if you could just…”

He hastily scrawled down a name and phone number, colour rising further onto his cheeks, and gave the notepad back.

“Thank you, that’s going to make everything a lot easier.” She tucked the pad away. “Now, my colleague and I will give you a moment, but please. No more screaming in the woods.”

“Yes, ma’am!” It clearly took him all his self-control not to pull his sweater up over his head already.

She smiled and turned around. She had barely stepped outside the fairy circle when the familiar rush of wind swooped down behind her and the moonlight pouring down from above flickered for a moment.

When she looked over her shoulder, the circle was empty. Apart from the laughter at the edge of her hearing. And that damn banquet table they would have to have removed. Again. She sighed and shook her head. Honestly. She couldn’t wait for the day the fae figured out dating apps.

[metanoiyed-archive]

CURRENT EVENTS - updated 9/23/2021

Ecology/Environmental Activism/Environmental Racism

Oil Project Threatens Russia's Arctic Indigenous Communities

Climate change is affecting mothers and unborn children in the Brazilian rainforest.

We Need to Indigenize Land Conservation.

Ecological Degradation of the Dust-Bowl and other countries: They Knew, by fatehbaz.

Environmentalism, Racism, and Veganism by fandomsandfeminism with contribution from apathetic-at-my-best.

White-Washed Hope: Infographic on Climate Change and Environmentalism.

Decolonizing ecology.

Post by 01030104 about ecofascism.

Dam Removal Win in Washington posted by pacificnorthwestcore.

Returning Native Land is Protecting Nature

StopLine3.org / riceislifecarrd / stopline3: link tree

Indigenous Resistance Has Cut US & Canada's Annual Emissisions

Mushroom Beehives Could Save Honeybees.

Sign this petition to protect Pololu Valley in Hawai'i.

Graphene sucks out Uranium From Contaminated Water

“Blackness & The Bomb”: Nuclear Power and Environmental Racism

Wasp PSA by Symbolone

WATER HUNTERS: Water Conservation video by IBRIDO

Private Space Travel is Irredeemable by lesbianboboberens.

Giving Mountains Their Names Back

Amid Climate Related Concerns of Displacement, Tribes say the US is Ignoring Climate Threats

No Warming, No War: Climate Militarism PDF

Lake Uru Uru is More Plastic Than Water by solarpunkfairy

Mountain Valley Pipeline Defenders / Fight Continues Against Mountain Valley Pipeline (2019) / MVP would Desecrate Native American Grounds (2019)• Fight Brewing Over Damage to Aquifer by Mountain Valley Pipeline (2021) / Protestors Arrested After Rally Against MVP (2021) / Send a Letter to the Virginia Attorney General • MVP sues landowners to gain access for pipeline (2017)

Environmental Racism & Nuclear Testing by bihet-dragonize with additions from baepsaebot, nonbinarymerbabe & betweenparallels

Phytoremediation by lunefrog, contribution by pastrypuppy about gardening and how to use native plants.

Indigenous Sovereignty / Abolition / Settler Colonialism / Land Back

Japan’s Indigenous Ainu community don’t want a theme park – they want their rights.

“The Anglo American mining company destroys forests, rivers and indigenous peoples. We are inside [our territory] and will continue to be. Anglo American—Get Out! Demarcation Now! The people will go on resisting", say Munduruku leaders including [twitter @Alkorap1] in a meeting they held.

Resources put together by head-smashed-in-buffalo-thighs and effectiveresistance on settler colonialism and land back.

Connection between TERFs/radfems and colonialism, by wetpinkorthodoxy and contribution by clatterbane.

Atheism and Settler-Colonial Denial (Don’t Be An Asshole, Basically) by neechees with contributions from konowiw and azu303.

From allthecanadianpolitics: “When Victorians used to dig up Indigenous bones for fun.” With an unnerving addition by normal-horoscopes.

From neeches, cottagecore discourse; how it fetishizes the idea of Native land.

Imperialism Resources put together by lgbtmazight.

Quote by Corrina Gould from hexenmeisterer.

Support the Sovereign Likhts’amisyu and their own land back movement! Donate to their GFM.

Donate and help protect & support the waters and lands of the Sápmi. There is an ongoing struggle right now with the government over their land.

Donate and share this land back movement, Camp Mni Luzahan.

Donate to Survival International, an organization dedicated to educating about tribal peoples and their right to their lands. They have a general action-list link you can check out here, too.

Obligatory COVID Reading:

Kids are not only able to be spreaders, but are often symptomless.

Children more likely to spread COVID-19.

Other Resources & Neat Things

How to use Shinigami Eyes by technogenic-mess

Sci-Hub and Other Resources by elinaline

How to download music by aesthonaut

LGBTQ+ On a more happy note, have some trans musicians who are redefining pop music.

Donate to help provide to & save the Gully Queens of Jamaica, a group made for and by Black Trans Women in Jamaica.

Donate to this organization, the Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP) who work to protect and support trans and intersex people who are going through and out of the legal system (especially POC.)

Donate to this organization the Trans Women of Color Collective!

Donate to the Trans Housing Coalition!

People to follow:

[*keep in mind these are my personal recommendations and individuals are not spokespeople, they are people. be respectful. also i ran out of link space so some of them dont have links but are found on social media.]

Giniw Collective Instagram/Twitter

HonortheEarth Instagram/Twitter

Resist Line 3 Instagram/Twitter

Niitsítapi Water Protectors Instagram/Twitter

Lakota Law Project

mmiwhoismissing Instagram • Link Tree

yintah_access Instagram • Link Tree

wetsuweten_checkpoint Instagram • Link Tree

melaninmvskoke Instagram • Twitter • Link Tree

campmigizi Instagram

IndigenousRising Instagram • Link Tree

Fairycreek Blockade Instagram

Rainforest Flying Squad Instagram • Link Tree

nowhitesaviors Instagram • Link Tree

seedingsovereignty Instagram • Twitter • Link Tree

Choctaw Freedmen Twitter • Link Tree

Intersapphic Tumblr

olowan-waphiya Tumblr

uzizitkah Tumblr

ar-menias Tumblr

mishiikenhkwe Tumblr • Twitter

NativeNews Tumblr

akajustmerry Tumblr

conjuringsigns Twitter

Artists/Shops/Authors

Directory of Native beadwork/art shops put together by uzizitkah/mathosapa beads (here)

Mishiikenhkwe (artist/shop)

JohnnieJae (artist/shop)

niibidoon (artist/shop)

Shop Palestine

The Spirit Trail (music)

mathosapabeads (artist/shop)

The Heritage Center (gift shop)

Akwaeke Emezi

Mount Pleasant Library Friends

Jamie Nole (Artist/Shop)

[sageiiisms-blog]

tag dump 01: general

[lenaglittleus]

My Go-To Healing Bowl

Feeling a little under the weather or in need of a good immune-boost for cold and flu season? This is my go-to healing bowl full of healthy ingredients like mushrooms, miso, chicken broth and veggies.

I feel like the title of this recipe needs a little bit of explaining. While it certainly is my go-to healing bowl, I also admittedly eat this when I’m not feeling sick. Why? Because it reminds me of one of my favorite places in the world.

You may remember back in June, right after we got engaged, C and our families and I headed up the coast for a long weekend in Mendocino. You may also remember that on my birthday, we also escaped the city for a weekend getaway in Mendocino.

C and I have a pipe dream of owning a piece of land up there one day and calling Mendocino our home. For many, many reasons this is not something we’re making happen right now, but we still love that in 3 hours we can escape to our little piece of heaven.

We love Mendocino because it’s a quaint ocean town that’s quiet and absolutely stunning. But another reason we love it is for the food. There is a focus on locally grown produce, and MUSHROOM FORAGING. Mendocino is world famous for it’s mushrooms and people travel from all over to tread through the forest to find these local delicacies. Pretty much every restaurant you go to in Mendocino has some mushroom dish on the menu made from locally foraged mushrooms.

It’s magical…but not in a magic mushroom kind of way (insert cry-laughing emoji here).

Our absolute favorite restaurant in Mendocino is Mendocino Cafe. We love sitting on the patio with Bodhi and taking in the fresh salty air while munching down on a California meets Asian meets farm-to-table meal. We actually went there for my birthday dinner this year and of course ordered my favorite Healing Bowl, which I slurped under the moonlight as the stars made their first appearance in the dark sky.

I order the healing bowl every time we visit Mendocino Cafe and since my first time trying it I knew it was something I had to recreate at home. I’ve basically spent the last few months perfecting this recipe despite only having been sick once (every time I visit NYC I get sick argh!). It really comes down to two things:

1. Mushrooms – particularly shiitake mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are known to support immune function and are high in vitamins B and D.

2. Miso – miso is fermented soybean paste and its a powerful probiotic supporting gut health. Make sure you buy a quality organic miso paste.

Just a short PSA. Don’t skip on the mushroom broth simmer. This is really what infuses that umami flavor and helps you get the benefits from the mushrooms.

But beyond this, just enjoy and allow yourself to be soothed by the delicious broth and hearty properties of this healing bowl.

SAVE print

My Go-To Healing Bowl

PREP TIME 10 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 20 mins

Total Time 1 hr 30 mins

Serves 6     adjust servings

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 inch knob of ginger, peeled and minced

2 cups shitake mushrooms, chop off ends but keep stems and caps

12 cups chicken/vegetable stock

1 8-10 oz chicken breast

4 heads baby bok choy

2 tbsp red miso paste

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

salt and pepper, to taste

4 packages of rice noodles (I like Lotus Organic Brown Rice Noodles)

Instructions

 In a large pot heat olive oil over medium heat.

Add onions, garlic and ginger and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add mushrooms and stock and bring to a boil before lowering to a simmer.

Add chicken breast and set a timer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes use tongs to remove the chicken and allow it to cool.

Let soup simmer for 50 minutes.

Once chicken is cool enough to cut, slice into small pieces and add back into broth.

Add in bok choy and continue cooking until timer is up.

In a small bowl combine, miso paste, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and 1 tbsp of soup broth. Stir until well combined.

Add miso slurry into soup and stir until well-combined. Add salt and pepper. Cook for 5 more minutes.

Meanwhile cook the noodles according to package instruction. 

Add noodles to bowls and top with soup. 

Will keep for up to 1 week in refrigerator.

by Davida @ The Healthy Maven

Notes

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What’s your go-to healing recipe? What’s your favorite meal inspired by your travels?

The post My Go-To Healing Bowl appeared first on The Healthy Maven.

from News About Health https://www.thehealthymaven.com/2017/11/my-go-to-healing-bowl.html

[somekindamushroom]

AMANITA DERIVATIVES: A NEW TREATMENT FOR DEMENTIA? - PART V

“It's an amazing drug ...and the people who discovered it, invented it, carry it around in their suitcases and take it everyday because they are such huge believers” - Matthew During, MD.

This is a remarkable statement. Dr. Matthew During, the scientific brain behind Ovid Therapeutics, said these words in December 2015 while addressing concerned parents whose kids have got Angelman Syndrome. As I listened to him I was struck by the fact that he was talking in the present tense about Povl Krugsgaard-Larsen, Søren Brøgger Christensen and the smart team of scientists who synthesized gaboxadol and other Fly Agaric-derived compounds back in the mid-to-late 1970s - some 40 years beforehand (see part two). Have some of the world's top scientists really been taking gaboxadol themselves on a daily basis for the past 40 years? If so, for what purpose? Are they all insomniacs? Have they all got the shakes? Does it have certain nootropic properties? What? There seems to be something special about this designer drug gaboxadol, though I suspect it's nothing in comparison to the source.

Gaboxadol does not interact with alcohol like countless other sedative/hypnotic drugs. People who take Ambien regularly, whether for “Ambien sex”, insomnia or whatever, can quickly become dependent on the drug. Gaboxadol is not addictive. People who try to stop taking Ambien suddenly, either because they're hallucinating, talking to an imaginary friend, or have just fallen off their balcony, tend to suffer rebound insomnia far worse than what they had prior to taking Ambien. Gaboxadol has no withdrawal symptoms. People taking Ambien regularly have to keep increasing the dosage to get the same effects. Gaboxadol has no tolerance issues. True, this latter point is according to the humble lab-rat, but all the non-clinical evidence suggests it's the same with people.  

Lipinski's Rule of Five (RO5) is a metric for determining the likelihood of a chemical compound becoming an orally-active pharmaceutical. Candidate drugs that conform to the RO5 usually perform better in clinical trials and stand a much better chance of getting the green light from regulators and going to market. How does gaboxadol perform according to this metric? It breaks none of Lipinski's rules, namely that: (1) a candidate should have no more than five hydrogen bond donors (gaboxadol has two); (2) it should have no more than 10 hydrogen bond acceptors (gaboxadol has two); (3) it should have a molecular mass less than 500 daltons (gaboxadol's atomic mass is 140.06); and (4) it should have an octanol-water partition co-efficient logP not greater than five (gaboxadol's XlogP is minus O.38!). Clearly, gaboxadol passes the RO5 with flying colours, whereas Ambien, by contrast, is close to XlogP maximum and fails on its 764.88 molecular mass (though oddly enough zolpidem tartrate passes).

Another rule-of-thumb for determining a candidate's 'druglikeness' and bioavailability is that it should have less than seven rotatable bonds. Gaboxadol does not have any rotatable bonds. Also, it goes without saying that since gaboxadol is a known GABOergic compound it must have passed the polar surface area (PSA) metric for determining a candidate's ability to permeate cells. For a compound to cross the blood-brain barrier and act on the brain's receptor cells it should have a PSA of less than 90. Gaboxadol's PSA is 50.36. It is not easy to synthesize or 'design' a compound with so much in its favour, and all credit must go to Povl Krugsgaard-Larsen for 'inventing' such a molecule. No wonder his was the last voice for gaboxadol in the mid-80s trying to convince the world of its efficacy for neurological disorders in the face of one skewed clinical trial after another. But there's no point flogging a dying nag. These type of scientists just give up and move on to something else, except in Krugsgaard-Larsen's case it seems he has never forgotten gaboxadol - there's a little bag of gaboxadol hydrochloride tucked away in the corner of his briefcase.

All the above chemical data and much more suggests that gaboxadol remains a drug, as Hamilton Morris said years ago, that has 'yet to find it's niche.' Maybe that niche will turn out to be Angelman Syndrome (AS), a congenital disorder in kids believed to be caused by defective Ubiquitin protein ligase E3A (UBE3A) in neurons due to their mums having a faulty chromosome 15 (i.e., a mutation of the UBE3A enzyme or gene encoded within that chromosome). Angelman children are intellectually defective kids with little heads who love nature and are particularly fascinated by water. They generally have a happy demeanour, always smiling and laughing and flapping about; but they get overexcited and have epileptic seizures. They may have difficulty speaking, balancing and walking. They also have trouble sleeping. If gaboxadol turns out to be the drug parents of Angelman children have been longing for, then it will likely be of application in Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) which usually results from a father's faulty chromosome 15. PWS makes gluttons of kids. They are constantly hungry, characteristically obese and diabetic.

Although Jeremy Levin has indicated Prader-Willi Syndrome as a potential target disorder for OV-101 (Ovid's developmental code-name for gaboxadol), it is the orphan disease Angelman Syndrome which Ovid initially pinned its hopes on. And so far, hope is what they're selling, though it appears to be well-founded. Gaboxadol selectively binds to specific GABA receptors that are unique because they have the delta subunit which operates extrasynaptically - outside the brain cell. Gaboxadol selectively targets the specific extrasynaptic GABA transporter, GAT1, which acts like a brush sweeping up GABA neurotransmitters (the brain's key chemical messengers) after they are released and putting them in the recycling bin. This helps to keep us calm and stops us getting over-excited. The theory goes something like this: if your GAT1 transporter is malfunctioning, it's like a binman's strike. There's a build-up of junk protein all over the place, brain cells get over-excited, and you could have a nerve-shredding fit. The recycling mechanism to prevent this accumulation of protein and resulting excitation is called “tonic inhibition”. It is believed that loss of the UBE3A gene function in Angelman Syndrome is closely linked with GAT1 malfunction, which is specifically targeted by gaboxadol or OV-101 and thus could restore tonic inhibition. Theoretically, gaboxadol could be a very useful drug for a disease that, up to now, has no cure.

From my point of view it is fascinating to think that this potential treatment for Angelman should come from a “sacred mushroom” which, for all wants and purposes, is the king of mushrooms historically. In merry old England, Kings had their “King's Forest”. Today, Prince Charles supplements his income selling mushrooms out of Balmoral. Amanita was the mushroom of king's as it was for Roman Emperors. It has a history like no other mushroom. In spite of the criticism, there is no doubt that the philologist John Allegro's work in 'The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross' was, philologically speaking, sound, whatever else he may have imagined outside his chosen field. So, Amanita goes at least all the way back to ancient Sumer. where, unsurprisingly, it was the mushroom of Sumerian kings. You can eat everything you see in the garden, just leave these mushrooms alone or else!  

However, it is understood that everything Levin and During says about OV-101 is, to use Levin's word, “aspirational”, the worst-case scenario being that it's all a load of rubbish. I'm not doubting the cause of Angelman or the mechanisms just described; it's just that there are lots of different mechanical engineers going about their business in the human brain. Some are in garages (cells) fixing cars (transporters) which are sent outside the synapse as pre-programmed, self-drive couriers (neurotransmitters) delivering chemical messages. It's a highly-efficient neural network with multi-way traffic and it works beautifully. These are the drivers of our very thoughts, the brain internet that strings you together cognitively and makes you who you are. If there's a traffic jam or some obstacle in the way, if anything inhibits any one or more of these processes, some form of neurodegeneration ensues.  The bigger and longer the jam, the worse the defect. Brain disease is usually either a bunch of BMWs going constantly steaming down the autobahn at maximum speed, or you're stuck at the Haudagain during rush hour.  In part one, I mentioned amyloid-plaque build-up and intracellular calcification. There is 1000 times more free calcium outside the brain cell than there is locked inside the brain cell. This is why those inner, voltage-dependent calcium channels are believed to play such a major part in excitability and things like epileptic fits. The point of all this being: that while these neurologists are usually very persuasive and convincing in their public addresses, there is a lot of argument going on behind closed doors as to exactly what is causing what and how it all connects together. Spaghetti junction. I mean, if there was any real consensus, I might not have had to watch my own father's gradual deterioration over a 15-year period with Parkinson's Disease, especially his responses to L-DOPA and other drugs.

Still, experiments and often mistakes have to be made before there is results, and for gaboxadol there is growing hope...