Empress of Mars: Undisputed @zebratron2084@awoo.space

Has anybody else gotten a rash a few days after their vaccination that _wasn't_ "COVID Arm?"

I'm getting a massive outbreak of hives over the left side of my upper belly. I'm not too worried about it, it's just... weird. And I can't find any reports of anyone else getting it from the virus.

To be fair, it's hot and humid as hell in NOLA today and it could just be "natural causes."

@zx3 Those are both FINE examples. I have really fond memories of seeing The Star Hustler late at night, and shared love of Raymond Scott is kind of a mild Thing between Peg and me.

The other is another PBS instructional TV host: the late Bob Kupa'a Smith, host of the language arts and etymology show Wordsmith.

I first discovered him as a kid, of course. Wordsmith was the number one factor that inspired my love of words, linguistics, and classical etymology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wordsmith_(TV_series)

https://web.archive.org/web/20130111024741/http://www.ait.net:80/technos/e-zine/interviews/bob_smith.php

And then I ran into him again as an adult, while he was still alive, after stumbling across his Facebook. Sadly, it's no longer around. But he had evolved into EVERYTHING you wanted your childhood heroes to be.

In his late 80s or so, he was taking computer science courses, had dyes his hair blue, and had taken up food criticism as a hobby. He was everything I wanted to be but lacked the energy and, above all I think, the *hope*. He was teaching kids and being the "groovy old guy" up to his last moments and I am so lovingly envious.

Hope you're on a nice celestial beach, Kupunakāne, where every grain of sand is a word cell and every word is kind and honest.

And wow, it turns out MOST OF THE SERIES is up on an archive. That was a nice, unexpected gift: https://media.dlib.indiana.edu/catalog?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search_field=all_fields&q=wordsmith

First is this gentleman, Dr. Julius Sumner Miller, physicist and TV educator.

I actually have no idea at all how famous he is. Apparently he was actually pretty well-known in Australia, yet he was also a staple on NE Ohio instructional TV in the 70s/80s.

What I love about this guy is his unfiltered self-effacing HONESTY, of a sort you never see on TV (or even Youtube, mostly) anymore.

His shows were barely edited. If he fucked up an experiment... well, he fucked it up. He'd apologize to the viewers, explain concisely and frankly what he thought went wrong, grumble a bit about the majesty and unpredictability of nature, and then apparently to correct it. And sometimes THAT one would go wrong.

Also, he worked as a butler, met Einstein, created a word game, and fought ferociously against ignorance, anti-intellectualism, misspellings, and other fundamental human evils.

Just go and read his Wiki entry, it gets pretty entertaining. First is this gentleman, Dr. Julius Sumner Miller, physicist and TV educator.

I actually have no idea at all how famous he is. Apparently he was actually pretty well-known in Australia, yet he was also a staple on NE Ohio instructional TV in the 70s/80s.

What I love about this guy is his unfiltered self-effacing HONESTY, of a sort you never see on TV (or even Youtube, mostly) anymore.

His shows were barely edited. If he fucked up an experiment... well, he fucked it up. He'd apologize to the viewers, explain concisely and frankly what he thought went wrong, grumble a bit about the majesty and unpredictability of nature, and then apparently to correct it. And sometimes THAT one would go wrong.

Also, he worked as a butler, met Einstein

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s9psf01ldo

Dr. M at work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s9psf01ldo

So. Tell me about a low-level celebrity who influenced your life for the better or whom you just really admire. The more obscure the better.

@zx3 Those are... some head friends right there. She says, as she cohabits with tigers and stuff.

Bitterness is nature's way of saying "Hey, anthropoid! This is probably only somewhat toxic! YOU SHOULD TRY A LITTLE."

I love bitter foods. This tells you a lot about me.

OK, this starts really depressing but ends on a brighter note, especially if you're not from New Orleans and have the same skewed perspective about what hurricane country is *really* like that I used to have.

The cats are still a big thing. The prospect of losing them in a storm is absolutely terrifying, and I feel really helpless. Especially after looking at all the advice out there, which basically says "Well, either scoop 'em all up into carriers and drive them several hours away to the pet-friendly hotel you've somehow secured in advance along with a cargo van" or "Pray to Bast for their souls." One site used the phrase "not uncommon" in reference to cats surviving hurricanes, which did NOT reassure. ;__;

And we just can't. Especially 'cause Ceejay doesn't even trust us enough to enter the apartment. He would be TRAUMATIZED FOR LIFE by a car trip followed by days in a pet-friendly hotel or, Bast help us, an animal shelter. I've had horrible Sophie's Choice visions of what happens if we can only save one or two...

But honestly, if I look at this a little more soberly... There's a pretty good chance we'll never even have to worry about it at all, let alone this year. Evacs in New Orleans actually turn out to be pretty uncommon. We had a streak of them around Katrina, every 1-3 years for a while, but we haven't had another one since '08. It averages out to one evacuation every seven years since 1965. Ten years is a good life for a porch cat. So we'll probably have to do it ONCE, if ever.

(The reason evacs are the line is, of course, that otherwise we just let the little buggers inside to shelter with us and hope Ceejay is willing. He did come in for Hurricane Laura, though he was NOT a happy guy!)

I... just don't like rolling dice with my friends' lives. So I guess next step is to contact some local cat charities and (ugh) Facebook circles and see what the other cat-friendly locals do with their buddies. I mean, there ARE STILL CATS in New Orleans period so they _must_ be able to deal with hurricanes somewhat...

Heh. A lot of this is also just lingering guilt and trauma from last year's Foundling Kitten Debacle. I still feel awful for being ready to give up on them, even though it was a fucking miracle we found someone to take them in.

Though on another bright note, I saw recent photos of the other kittens (Snowy and Olive, the ones we raised for three months) recently. Their new Food Guy is a beam of light and they look really cozy. Whatever becomes of their family, I'm so proud we got those semisweet little boys through the first months of life. That's warmth that never leaves you.

@001zlnv Hmm, you know, I hadn't taken pandemic amnesia into account. I actually take back what I said-- I'd probably let this one skate, 'cause NOBODY'S brain is on straight right now.

Give them three months to remember who the fuck you are and THEN start the unending prank war*. ;)

*disclaimer: never listen to tigers

@001zlnv I would rub that in their face for YEARS if it were me, in the most fake good-humored but subtly smug way, but I'm petty like that.

Doing a lot better this morning. Yeah, it was definitely bad brain chemistry.

Dragon helped a lot.

You helped a lot.

This crimebear helped a little so I'm sharing it. <3

It dawned on me that a good cry might help. I've read that it can help flush out bad brain chemistry and it may have worked in the past. So I pushed myself into crying on Peg's shoulder and you know, I do feel better.

Still scared shitless for the cats. Did a little research and at least reassured myself that evacuations don't happen *that* often in NOLA. But they still happen often enough that we'll probably have to go through this at least once during their lifetimes.

I am gonna write some more local cat charities in the morning and hope one of them eventually actually gets back to me with either some practical advice or a "nah, they're usually fine." Or even a "yeah, it's part of living down here, you get used to it."

'Cause the guilt of not doing enough for them would wreck me, possibly lethally.

@Leucrotta Nah, reasonable guess but not the sort of rut I tend to get into. *hug*

and i'm also suffering some emotional fallout from realizing that in the event of a severe hurricane that requires an evacuation... there's no fucking way we can evacuate six cats that all HATE being in carriers even for a 10 minute car trip, and the best we can do for them is give them big hugs before leave and pray real hard to Bast. I think that's fucking broken me too.

also it's really really really scary not being able to think straight again after years of whatever-the-fuck caused my chronic fatigue being in remission

if this is permanent it's probably goodbye, sorry -- though i'm at least somewhat reassured it's probably not. this ain't my first relapse scare by a long shot.

sorry about that folks, i was feeling a little broken all day and then for some reason _that's_ what crashed me

it's a known issue. i've had a bad case of Martian Brain Flu all day. some part of me that knows better is terrified it's a permanent new effect of the covid vaccine on my mutant physiology. -__-

either way, there is definitely a brain chemistry issue going on and if i don't feel better in the morning i'll start the self-care checklist <3

and if i still don't feel better in a month i'll contact a doc or two, promise -- i don't really have the OPTION of going anywhere. cats/dragon/parents need me.

there was a day when i would have been so excited by the prospect of dressing up in one of these crazy garish shiny things

the fault is not with the design or designers, not a criticism; it's purely with me

it's all gone and i barely even feel it. i've lost so much of who i am.

i am here for peg and my mom and the cats and not a hell of a lot else. i wonder what it felt like to experience physical pleasure? i literally can not remember. that part of my brain has basically rotted out completely.

i wish sometimes there were a graceful way i could just leave quietly without hurting anyone i care about

https://twitter.com/karinKariwanz/status/1397729353861976067

i will never cease to marvel at the capacity of my fellow leftists to sneer at even the possibility of victory

I will never get tired of replying to threads where people try to compare black people to monkeys... by showing them pictures of _actual_ shaved chimps.

Yeah, just guess what color their skin is. White, white, white.

The best part? Pointing out, "You know, if you just gave this little guy a MAGA hat, a Bud, and a Marlboro, you'd have a dead ringer for your Uncle Dad."

Never fails to get an entertaining reaction.

@Balina God, those original images... It's like a Facebook algorithm started churning out Pod People. Or they were all dipped in a vat of Psychic Bleach before filming. These are not personality traits, they are spending habits. I'm not sure our culture still knows the difference. 🤦​