I just want to take a quick second here for all my peeps with Alphabet Soup in their hearts (BIPOC, LGBTQIA, any of the host of acronyms for physical and mental conditions that affect our daily lives, and so on) and anyone else having a hard time with the latest round of US politics bullshit.

My friends, my loves, my darlings. Hold my hand. Squeeze as tight as you need to. (Or we can just sit here together and you can squish this stress ball.) Cry if you need to. Scream if you need to. We'll let it out together, all the anger and fear and worry that's scraping us raw on the inside. It's okay if it's ugly and messy and incoherent and crude. Doesn't matter. Just us here.

I've got a hug if you need one. If you need an encouraging word, I've got lots. And there are thousands of others out there, standing behind you and beside you in spirit. We can't fix everything, but we will do our damndest, bit by bit, to try and make things better.

I want you to promise me that you'll try. Doesn't need to be a lot, doesn't need to be life-altering. Taking care of yourself is enough. Getting through the day is enough. If all you can do is survive, that counts. If you can do more, whether it's standing up or speaking up or helping out in whatever way you can, then you do it with all your heart and know that I'm over here doing the same.

One more big squeeze. And even though it's over a silly post on the internet, I hope you can feel the love and the solidarity that I'm sending your way. I hope it gives you something to hold onto. I hope it lightens your load, even if it's just for a moment.

I want to see you on the other side of this. Doesn't matter how long it takes. I want us to sit together again when things are better, so we can laugh and cry and celebrate. I promise you that I'm going to try. I am living for that day when we don't have to be afraid anymore and I truly hope that you'll be there with me. And if you aren't...or if I'm not...let's both have faith that we tried our hardest and never backed down.

You're here. I'm here. We are HERE.

And despite it all, we persist.

"Friends outside of Minnesota please read. I'm sharing a post written by a personal friend and medical doctor: Friends outside MN, you need to know what is happening here. Everyone knows that ICE shot and killed a woman here on Wednesday. But that’s not the only thing that’s going on:

Here's an AP news brief with a little more info. It's limited in the way major news outlets are right now but provides context that supports the personal account shared.

ICE has profiled and detained at least 5 Native people in Minneapolis in the past 2 weeks. One man has been identified and released, but the other four were unhoused and have yet to be located.

there is an initiative to ensure tribal members have ID:

Project Coyote: instagram / website

woman yelling at cat meme but make it ancient greek red figure pottery

From ancient to abstract, this one sure got around.

Japanese one made no sense to me until I finally saw the “sale sale/sasa lele” version. セール　セール。 But then it’s a meme so it has to be misspelled?  🤷‍♂️

tHERE ARE MEMES IN THOSE HIEROGLYPHICS

Black cats are lucky. (via leahweissmuller)

MAN [IN THICK ACCENT]: Black cat bring good luck.  Not bad luck.  I have black cat - See, him face - And I am not dead today: Good luck!

“See him face”

I sure fucking do see him face

Him face

Reblog him face for good luck in 2021

Reblog him face for good luck in 2021 (2)

Reblog him face for good luck in 2022

Reblog him face for good luck in 2023

Reblog him face for good luck in 2024

Reblog him face for good luck in 2025

here’s the og video. Go see him face for real this time

the fundraiser for Renée Macklin Good’s family has well surpassed its goal and is now closed — if you want to help Minneapolis residents as the city is terrorized by ICE raids, please turn your attention toward this fundraiser for local families, as well as Adelina Olivarez Cardona and Arturo Sanchez Chinos, both of whom are currently being detained.

additionally, you can support the family of keith porter jr, who was shot and killed by an off duty ICE agent on new years

Bisan Owda

This is your reminder that if you are feeling helpless and cannot be on the front lines, there are other ways to help.

People need to be fed. Check to see what your local food pantry situation is. Make hot meals for people you know have been out in the cold for hours on end. Emergency kits for field medics need to be supplied. People need help getting to the pharmacy, the grocery store. Help shovel your neighbor’s sidewalk if you’re able. Find a way to do something.

Build connections. Build community. They want us frightened and isolated. Refuse.

The countdown to the new year brings more brutality in Gaza. Israel is banning thirty-seven aid organizations at midnight, January 1 2026.

Even though the October ceasefire agreement stipulated that 600 trucks of aid must enter Gaza every day, Israel has blocked an average of 300-500 trucks per day. Now Israel is banning aid from all over the world on the basis that these organizations refused to submit lists with detailed information on all of their Palestinian employees.

Palestine Fashion Week:  Women of Palestine by Nasr Abdel Aziz Eleyan

1. Woman of Bethlehem 2. Woman of Sallt 3. Woman of Jerusalem 4. Woman of Hebron

Source

You ever see something innocuous, minding its own business on the clearance shelf at Michael’s and before you know it, it takes over your life for a few weeks?

So it was with this desktop greenhouse.

I took it home and after taking an appropriate time to “season” my idea in my mind (read: a month or two) I set to make my vision of a mini botanical garden a reality.

I started by removing the heavy glass panels and building a raised floor above the latch. I wanted to use the base as a foundation on the building.

I wrapped the foundation in plastic stone textured flooring (meant for Christmas villages) and built a pond at one end of the same. I then gave it a more realistic paint job and designed a rough layout for my plants and displays.

I also knew I wanted to make the ironwork significantly more intricate, but I wasn’t sure how just yet…

Up next - PLANTS! I went wild making all kinds of plants. Some were specific species and some were more conceptual.

I made several trees with polymer clay and moss, cacti out of beads and flocking, cattails out of raffia, hot glue and coffee grounds, and giant monstera leaves out of paper and wire.

This part should have taken me a long time, but it really came together fast. I loved finding ways to replicate natural shapes and patterns using bits of this and that.

I did make adjustments to my plans as I went like eliminating benches in favor of a simpler overall design.

Then I needed to fill my pond with water. For this I used resin. Lily pads were added to the top layer, and I wired in simple LED fairy lights. The batteries are kept in the box under the foundation.

In a weekend frenzy I added more plants, metal (paper) steps, new (plexi)glass windows, a roof, wrought-iron vines (paper again), doors that open, and a hose reel disguising the latch. Suddenly, a project I thought would take months was finished…

I love my desktop botanical garden. Right now it sits on a simple lazy Susan in my office. But I’d love to get it a proper display box to protect from dust.

Thank you for coming on this little journey with me. This piece packs a lot of joy into a tiny space. I always love building miniatures, and I’ll be doing more in the future I’m sure.

Estonia: Volunteers find it difficult to protect Wikipedia from Russian propaganda

In the English Wikipedia, Estonian history is made more Soviet-friendly. According to Robert Treufeldt, Chairman of the Board of NGO Wikimedia Estonia, it is difficult for Estonian volunteer Wikipedians to stand up to Russian propaganda resources that direct international public opinion...

...Behind the rewriting of history, however, there are often users who express the chauvinistic views of Great Russia and act in accordance with Russia's interests...

..."The former Third World has actually been influenced quite a lot by the Soviet Union. So the Russian-friendly information space is still quite acceptable in Latin America, Africa and Asia," Treufeldt described. As a result of all of this, he said, an editorial war may be unleashed in certain articles, as a result of which the editing of some articles may be locked down altogether.

According to Treufeldt, Estonia has difficulties monitoring Wikipedia because Russia's state resources significantly exceed the capacity of local volunteers. "Who would be responsible for ensuring that the so-called Estonian version prevailed in the world? It is quite difficult to compete with Russia in terms of resources," he stated. According to the Wikipedian, one of the most important topics for Russian propaganda is the so-called Great Patriotic War...

Every year, we do a secret santa event in my discord server. This year, I was asked to draw a Christmas ghost for Frederik and this is what I made! Even though Christmas is behind us, it still feels weirdly relevant with all the snow we’ve had here in the past week. It’s melting now, but it was a magical few days while it was here ❄️

Periodic reminder that time and energy are finite resources and you only feel like you're lazy and not doing enough because the devil that is Late Stage Patriarchal Capitalism has conditioned you to think that your value is intrinsically tied to constant productivity.

It is lying to you. A perpetual state of 110% is neither practical nor sustainable.

You're doing the best you fucking can under the circumstances and it is perfectly right and natural to need a goddamn break.