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With the demand for high-quality, sustainable pet food rising, manufacturers are confronting a growing challenge: securing reliable protein sources. Traditional byproducts from livestock and seafood are under pressure—limited in availability and increasingly expensive. Consumer expectations, meanwhile, are shifting toward cleaner labels and environmentally conscious sourcing.

According to a new report by the World Wildlife Fund, invasive carp offer a practical alternative. With protein content and omega-3 levels that rival more expensive ingredients like wild-caught salmon, these fish meet nutritional standards for premium pet formulations. They’re also highly digestible and naturally low in contaminants, helping brands maintain product safety without over-relying on additives or synthetic nutrients.

What sets carp apart from other protein options is scalability. Their populations are well-established across major U.S. waterways, eliminating the need for the costly infrastructure and long lead times tied to livestock production. With harvesting operations already underway in regions like the Mississippi River Basin, a dependable, lower-cost supply chain is within reach for manufacturers ready to invest in alternative sourcing.

Ecological Impact Meets Market Differentiation

The business case for carp extends beyond nutritional and supply chain advantages. In the U.S., invasive carp species—such as silver and bighead carp—have overrun aquatic ecosystems, crowding out native fish and degrading water quality. Their unchecked growth in the Mississippi River Basin and risk of spread into the Great Lakes present a real ecological threat.

Creating commercial demand for these species not only supports long-term supply stability but also contributes to ecosystem restoration. Targeted harvesting reduces population pressure, allowing native species to rebound and water quality to improve. This environmental benefit is increasingly relevant as consumers—particularly Gen Z and millennials—seek products that align with their values around sustainability and social impact.

The economic ripple effect is also noteworthy. Building out a carp-based supply chain could revitalize Midwestern fishing communities and support domestic manufacturing. This angle enhances a brand’s U.S.-sourced credentials, which carry weight in a market where transparency and origin tracking matter more than ever.

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write a new scene → realize it contradicts something from chapter 3 → fix chapter 3 → now chapter 7 makes no sense → cry → repeat

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LeRoy Neiman (American, 1921–2012)

Delacroix's Tiger, 1977

Serigraph

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What do you think is more important, the journey or the destination?

well, since you've invited me to get philosophical, I think the journey is basically everything. destinations are something you can choose to give the journey more structure--guiding stars, distractions, rest stops, any number of things--they just can't be more important than the journey, because a destination is by its nature a point and life unavoidably happens on a continuum.

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I'm reading this history book about Victorian Era gay sailors (Unruly Desires: American Sailors and Homosexualities in the Age of Sail) and one chapter is about sailors' tattoos, and specifically ones that can be interpreted now, or were understood then, as queer tattoos. A lot of the tattoos described in the book are filthy, absolutely meant to be seen, interpreted, and enjoyed in a sexual context (which i have included under the cut). But there's also some very sweet and romantic ones. The French Victorian criminologist Alexandre Lacassagne found a few themes among the queer criminals he researched:

"Two times the interlaced hands were surmounted by initials. Below 'Friendship Unites Hearts', hands holding a pansy, over and above were initials. Hands holding a dagger with the inscription 'To Life To Death.' Four times there were initials below a flaming heart or a pansy with the word 'Friendship.' Four times there was the name of the 'friend' written out entirely. In one case it was surmounted with a portrait."

And Unruly Desire's author found other sweet ones recorded in the US Navy's Enlistment Rendezvous records of tattoos of enlisting men from the 1800s:

"The only tattoo that appeared on the body of Richard Devine, a 25 year old former barber from Aberdeen, Maryland, was a flower on his right forearm above the unexpected name of 'Jose Peralta.' William Young, from Marine City, Michigan, was more straightforward; on his right forearm appeared the declaration: 'I love Wilkerson J. Perry.'"

and now onto the debauchery:

"Perhaps the most overtly homosexual tattoo of any recruit listed in the [US Naval Enlistment] Rendezvous records could be found on Charles D. Moore, a 23 year old former bricklayer from Indiana. Moore had the words "Ticket Office" tattooed on his lower back, with a drawing of a downward pointing arrow "directly above anus." The [Tattooing Among] Prostitutes and Perverts article describes a similar decoration, an American sailor had a tattooed arrow on his back, along the spine, pointing to the anus and an accompanying inscription that said "For Men Only." Another man [...] had on his buttocks two inscriptions: "Open All Night" and "Pay as You Enter."

It should be noted that despite the provocative and explicit advertisement for his proclivities that his "Ticket Office" tattoo presented to the recruiting officers, Charles D. Moore was welcomed into the United States Navy on 29 of December 1864." - Unruly Desires

The criminologist Alexandre Lacassagne also found queer tattoos on penises, including quite a few of boots, which the men told him were related to the French phrase "Je vais te mettre ma botte au..." (basically, 'I'm going to put my boot up your ass and fuck you with it.")

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I've been doing a lot of thinking about my family and how I was treated as a child, and honestly, my father has never seemed more amazing in my eyes.

I used to love Luigi(Mario's brother) when I was little. Like, he was my favorite character ever, and I had multiple plushies of him. Didn't give a fuck about Mario, vaguely tolerated Peach, but I loved Luigi.

On my first day of kindergarten, my dad gave me the number for his work phone and said it was Luigi's phone number. "If anything happens at school, call Luigi."And not even twenty minutes into my first day, I was having a panic attack. So I went down to the principal's office and called "Luigi."

Now, at the time, my father was in a meeting with his manager and his supervisor, along with most of his coworkers. And when I called, he picked up before he even left the room.

And he put on a very awful Italian accent and said, "Itsa me, Luigi! Whatsa the matter?"In front of his boss and coworkers. Without telling them what was going on. So they were absolutely bewildered, and he carried on like they didn't even exist. He only explained what was happening after I had calmed down and hung up, to which most of them responded with "Aww, cute."

I continued to call him whenever I got upset at school, and eventually his coworkers got in on it. I distinctly remember one of them impersonating Toad. I don't know why I'm telling you this, I just thought it might make you smile :)

this is so delightful I love your Luigi dad

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Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Link’s House

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comments are turned off on this and i know it was a bloodbath in there

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Fjaðrárgljúfur, Iceland

Instagram

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painting this on the ceiling above my bed so it's the first thing i see upon waking in the morning and the last thing i see before falling asleep at night

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remember. you can put salt in instant coffee to make it taste different

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This may be the worst use of LLMs anyone has attempted, ever. Up there with recognizing mushrooms.

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had the need to draw another demon gal showing off, i particularly like the slight tummy squish

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cant wait for when i become a real person

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Get these ai writing assistants out of my face!!!! I don't care if my writing is bad at least it is mine!!!!

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goddamnit