Sometimes reading manosphere stuff turns my brains to mush. So let’s take a little break, with the assistance of a bunch of capybaras. Also this is an open thread.
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That last one’s not a capybara, though it’s still cute. Can’t place *what* it is though.
@Nequam
That’s a rock hyrax
How dare you adulterate our capybara purity with a hyrax! [fetches torches and pitchforks]
It’s about ethics in capybara journalism.
Capybara are friend-shaped.
I’m going to differ from everyone else here and admit that I don’t find capybara’s that cute or attractive.
To me, they look like furry bricks.
Rather ridiculous furry bricks at that.
Because they’re kind of brick shaped.
And furry.
What?
@Robert: I hear ya. Yet somehow that still spells adorable to me. I personally don’t get people’s obsessions with monkeys.
@robert : I don’t think the capibaras are cute by way of form. They are cute by way of being perpetually chill and never being bothered by other animals or humans.
If people were more like capibara in behavior, the world would be a better place.
Capybaras ARE cute, but they will always lose the Cute Rodent Contest to cavies/guinea pigs, who are basically hobbits in rodent form.
Since this is an open thread: I am getting worried about my nephew.
He’s 22 and has been in the Army for 2 years (has not yet been in a combat zone), and he seems to be unthinkingly picking up right-wing propaganda. While he recognizes individual cops (e.g. Chauvin) as terrible people, he does not accept that as member of an organization, that organization is culpable for their actions. Even the fact that murderous cops almost invariably suffer no consequences is, he insists, just evidence of a second terrible person in the organization, rather than a problem with the organization itself.
A lot of this seems to be naivete from youth. When he brought up the “good cops” who hate the bigoted, murderous cops, I asked him if he knew what usually happens to the good cops who try to stop abuse and corruption within their department. He answered “They join IA.” Uh… no. They have their careers destroyed for “causing trouble.” (Murdering an unarmed POC: fine. Exposing a murderous cop: Bad. See also any religious organization accused of abuse.) He does not believe that Chauvin actually being convicted was an outlier.
The idea of institutional responsibility seems to evade him. He repeated the “a few bad apples” myth, even as I point out that the phrase goes on to say “spoil the barrel.” He even said that blaming an entire law enforcement agency for the actions of those “few bad apples” was comparable to blaming the mentally ill for mass shooters, which… hoo boy, that’s another essay, but needless to say it REALLY cheesed me off, and not just because I am mentally ill. (Short version: The mentally ill are not an organization entrusted with upholding the law.)
He refuses to accept that some agencies, such as ICE or our own city’s infamous PD, are fundamentally bad and cannot be reformed, only dismantled and replaced. He does not accept that reforms have always had to be forced on recalcitrant police departments, who often just ignore them, and what this says about the organization itself – that it is not a good organization that is not working as it wants, but a bad one that LIKES how it works. (Consider the absurdly lax “escalation of force” rules that police must theoretically follow, which are far less stringent than those that my nephew and his fellow soldiers must follow in an active warzone.)
He also seems to have unthinkingly accepted reactionary propaganda in other areas. Despite immediate LGBT family and having grown up knowing many, many LGBT people, he views trans rights as a “both sides” issue, parroting anti-trans “recruiting kids” libel straight out of the TERF handbook, but was completely unaware of what a TERF is.
I don’t know how to approach him over this (currently limited to phone and internet communication as he is back on base). Just sending him links to articles or videos may not be productive.
1) Best rodent = pika (put the sound on if you google that)
2) I’m all over the place about going back to normal. I think I’m in like the 10% most cautious here, so on one hand everything is going too fast, I’m still not vaccinated (will get as soon as possible, just not yet possible), do we really need overseas holidays that bad this summer? I’m scared of variants, I would rather be too cautious now than have another year or two if this.
But it’s weirder than that. The few meeting ups I’m having I can’t feel enthusiastic about until its almost happening. Once things get started, I love it, but I’m having to drag myself to do it, which I never had before.
3) has anyone found they just have less to talk about/more silence lately? Oh what have you done the last few months? Oh, we went to one thing, you? Oh someone had a cold so we stayed at home lately…
Remember that newborn volcano in Iceland I commented about way back when it started? It looked something like this:
Well, it has been erupting nonstop since its birth and now look at it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiD5qwDqmrE
That whole valley has been flooded with lava and it’s spilling over into nearby ones. It’s turned into something of a tourist attraction, since it’s apparently fairly safe to get close to the edge of the lava from upwind, as long as that edge is not moving toward you.
Impressive what nature can do when it decides to do a little non-urban renewal …
@Sophiab
I feel this. I mean, things aren’t going back to any sort of normalcy for a while where I live, but I really wish I could be excited about the proposed timeline for the loosening of restrictions. I wish I could greet the idea of restaurant patios soon being open for parties from different households with excitement, and maybe if we had halfway competent leadership here, I could. Unfortunately, I know the timeline is politically motivated, not scientifically, so it just kind of makes me more sad knowing I’ll have to refuse any invites that come my way.
I think I would be happier if we could get away for a weekend and camp, just to be anywhere but home. That can be done pretty safely and with regard to the safety of others if you do all your shopping and gas up and whatever at home. Unfortunately, my husband and I really can’t go anywhere together because our cat needs twice-daily meds, and while we’ve talked about it, we really don’t think we could ask anyone to take over that responsibility for us. I’d rather have the cat than the vacation, but wouldn’t it be great to have both.
Woof, that was a lot of whining. Um, on the positive side, those capybaras are A+.
And now, for something light and funny: folks from the US were asked to label a map of Europe, while Europeans were asked to label a map of the US.
https://unofficialnetworks.com/2020/05/13/funny-american-map/
Let’s just say if these pics are any indication of the entire lot of maps done, then no-one on either side of the ocean have geography teachers worth crap. 😀
Viscaria, Sophiab, I’m with you both. This whole time has been so weird. Does anyone else find that they have a hard time getting anything done, even with more “free time”? I feel like I have no motivation.
We’re getting back to normal here (schools back on, businesses opening), and though our case numbers are low, I’m worried that this will cause a spike just in time for summer vacation. So I’m dubious.
How about a capybara pool party?
@Viscaria: Could you take your cat with you? I know it can be a pain, to travel with a pet.
@Allandrel: Your nephew might “see the light” once he gets more life experience. I hope he does.
@Doormousing_it: That would be a good idea, but he’s very old and sick and likes his comfy life and his regular spots.
I really shouldn’t have complained, and I feel guilty about saying anything because around a year ago they told us he was terminally ill, so it’s actually such a gift that he’s still around. Any inconvenience is nothing compared to how happy we are to still have him in our lives, and it’s going to be hard when he finally does have to say goodbye.
Maybe what we should do is take more walks outside to get that feeling of being literally anywhere other than here 🙂
We do that. Walk every day, sometimes just around the area, but usually we head up to the cemetery and wander for a while. It’s a peaceful, green place full of birds, and isn’t “same four walls.”
Did anyone else see this post and immediately start singing “Capybara dance now! Uh Uh Uh Ah Uh Uh Uh…”?
No; just me then.
Capybara poem:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/52653/unit-of-measure
@Viscaria: We had to go out of town when we had a cat who needed twice-daily meds. We asked our vet if he knew of anyone who could do it, and he gave us the name of an ex-tech who now runs a pet-sitting business locally. We got our vacation, kitty got fed and pilled, it all worked out. It cost money, of course, but getting away for 5 days was so good for us.
If your vet can’t recommend anyone off-hand, there’s always Yelp and whatnot. Gotta be someone who can come in and do kitty medicating. Search for “pet sitting near me”.
I am still leery of going out any more than I did. We did go to a restaurant (outside) last weekend, but everyone wore masks except when eating and was distanced, plus it was only our bubble.
I am still going to wear a mask for the near future. I figure it will keep out pollen and dust as well as germs. And later this summer, wildfire smoke.
Socializing isn’t coming back soon. There’s nothing really to say. in terms of small talk. “So whatcha been doing the past year?” “Sitting inside, on my computer.” “Yep.” I didn’t bake sourdough or take up yoga or anything, I’ve just existed, and so have most people I know. Some of them had to take care of their kids, and that’s the only way they differ from me, and they don’t want to talk about it.
@Alan: Well, NOW I’m thinking that. Thanks?
@Viscaria: My kitty was at the same state as yours when we had our vacation. She’s gone now, so I grok.
From the poem I linked:
“Everything is mistaken for a Brazilian dance craze
more or less frequently than the capybara.”
Capybara dance now!
@Viscaria: Oh, I see. My spouse and I also put travel plans on hold, when our cat, Perry, began her decline. The vet estimated she’d live around 6 months longer; she lived 18 more months.
We also once took another cat along with us on a road trip, so we could be certain she ate her low-protein canned cat food. (Her kidneys were slowly failing – the typical elderly cat problem.). She died about a month after our trip ended.
I live in Brood X cicada territory. I can’t believe how noisy these bugs are, especially at dawn and dusk. They sound like whirring machinery, to me. I don’t remember them being as noisy in 2004.
I’m trying to get up the courage to cook with them. I think I’d like to put them in a stir-fry. Maybe try cicada patties. I’m curious.
@Allandrei: That’s rough, especially since new information tends to be rejected when it conflicts with their held beliefs. This video has some ideas about how to approach someone with different viewpoints and how you can maybe persuade them. Hope it helps.
I always love an adorable rodent of unusual size.
I did get some bad news week that a friend/acquaintance (never know where to draw the line between the two) went in to the ER for GI problems and it turned out to be colon cancer that has metastasized and there’s nothing that can really be done. So from what I gather he’s probably going to die before to long. I’m not super close to him, he’s a good friend of my best friend, but I’ve known him for probably about 20 years now. So I’m okay, but still pretty fucking bummed about it. Also feeling awkward and not sure what I should be doing to be there for my best friend, who’s kind of a wreck right now.
@ weirwoodtreehugger: chief manatee
Ooof, that’s a rough one. My neighbor just died of it and it isn’t kind. Basically, I guess, if your friend is open to advice, the best thing you can do is advise them to be there for their right friend now, and not draw away. Extreme pain meds will come fast and rob them of remaining time.
@ Alan,
Well…it was just you…