April felt like it lasted forever……but now that it’s not April I have completely no memory of any April ever and I can’t seem to recall the last 30 days of my life.
When Tony asks Strange how many they win out of the 14 million possible futures, and, oh god, that look Strange gives Tony when he says, “One.” It was sorrowful. Like he was apologizing to Tony in particular.
Strange knows whatever future it takes to beat Thanos will be incredibly hard on Tony. I mean, until that moment, Strange called Tony “douchebag,” referred to him with detachment (”Stark”), but then there? At the end? He softly calls him, “Tony”for the first time while making sure Tony knew that, “There was no other way” with a solemn shake of his head. He’s so fucking sorry Tony is about to go through whatever’s to come next, but Strange knows it’s all resting on Tony’s shoulders from here on out. Whatever Strange saw made Tony earn his respect.
So, letting people be who they want to be is a good thing. That’s shocking I tell you, just shocking. All I want to know is, how much time and money went into this research when you could’ve just asked trans folks how they felt for free
okay, A: they didask. they did listen. like… I don’t wanna exaggerate here but “asking trans kids how they feel” is literally the entire study:
“children (9–14 years old) and their parents completed measurements of depression and anxiety (n = 63 transgender children, n = 63 controls, n = 38 siblings). Children (6–14 years old; n = 116 transgender children, n = 122 controls, n = 72 siblings) also reported on their self-worth”
and B: this isn’t the kind of study researchers do because “oh gosh we just aren’t really sure yet, we really just don’t know”, they do it because cis people have been sitting on their asses for decades ignoring anything that’s not an Official Scientific Study, so they said “okay fuck you, here’s the study, you’re wrong, now do something helpful or shut the hell up”
#Thank you #I’m super over this smug ‘yeah we knew that’ response to studies #I mean I get the impulse to go ’…yes and water is wet thanks captain obvious’ #But the thing is that you *need* this kind of hard data in order to act on it #Which is actually a good thing #BC ‘we don’t need no stinkin science’ policies based on ‘we just Know This ok don’t ask for our data just shut up and do it’ #Is how you get anti choice laws based in pseudoscience and religious belief #And climate change not being addressed in law and policy #Besides. Just think how satisfying it is to throw hard data in some asshole’s face to counter their claims.
Scientist: Treating trans people like people is the way to make them happy. Cis Person: Yeah but…………how do we KNOW? Scientist: *sighs* can I have a grant to study it? Cis Person: Sure. Scientist: Hey, Trans Person, would you be happier if people treated you like people? Trans Person: Of course. Scientists:
Specifically, this study can now be used in medical offices and courtrooms. A trans kid’s parent can take this study to their bigoted local doctor and say “see, this is why you should either treat my kid or give us a referral to a doctor who will.” Or this can be taken into various legal proceedings about name changes, birth certificate changes/corrections, and custody hearings where it becomes necessary to prove to a judge that yes, helping the kid transition (and perhaps leaving the kid with the parent/guardian who is willing to help) is what is best for the kid.
These kinds of studies are exactly what we want, folks. Don’t knock it just because it’s something you already knew.
I know cats have a stigma of being evil little robots who care for nobody but themselves. I don’t deny that there are some out there like this. But in defense of the large majority of darling cats who have been given a bad name due to the wicked few, I would like to tell you a story…
I am asthmatic. I’m not as bad as some; my asthma is generally well-controlled, and I don’t have much trouble with it on a daily basis. However, as all asthmatics know, getting sick becomes a nightmare. Even a small cold can turn into a days-long asthma attack, one that is very painful, and very annoying for me and those around me. The asthma cough sounds like an ill seal at best, or an angry moose with a nasal condition at worst. Y’all with asthma, and y’all with asthmatic friends, know exactly what I’m talking about. The bark. The hack. The Cough Heard Round The World. It’s painful, it’s loud, and it doesn’t stop. Even the rescue inhaler can only do so much to calm it. It just has to run its course with the cold.
Well, this week I caught the crud, and in the past few days it deteriorated into The Cough. Last night, I took some NyQuil to try and stave it off for as long as I could, just to try and get some sleep. That meant that for a few hours, I was cough-free. After that, I was still doped up enough to sleep through some of it. However, by 2am the sleep aid had worn off and The Cough woke me up. Since lying down makes it worse, and I didn’t want to wake my sister, I sneaked out of my bedroom into the living room, where I sat on the recliner and proceeded to hack up a lung while I waited for my next dose of NyQuil to kick in. That is when I noticed Simon.
Simon is a Russian Blue with a masterful resting-witch-face and an attitude to match. She (yes, she’s a girl, that’s another story) is old, fat, proprietary, and attitudinal. She isn’t shy about telling you when she is displeased, and does so with a loud shriek and some teeth or claws thrown in. She is convinced she owns the place, and owns all of us in turn. She is particular about where you can pet her, like most cats; and, like most cats, she loves her sleep and hates to be woken up.
And of course, my hacking woke her up.
Attempting to whisper an apology in between bouts of coughing, I noticed she was getting off her perch atop the chair nearby. She stretched, made a little squeaking sound, and trotted over to me.
I expected her to demand petting as payment for having woken her precious sleep, but she did not. Instead, this traditionally cranky dragon of a cat did something that amazed me.
She began to purr loudly, and sat herself directly on my aching chest. She kneaded my sternum softly, and nosed my chin as if to say, “I’ve got this, you sleep.” Even though I was still coughing, and bouncing her horridly in the process, she remained settled on my chest right above my diaphragm, purring loudly so that it vibrated through my ribs. I don’t know what magic spell she was chanting between her boat-like purrs, but within minutes my cough had subsided and I was able to sleep.
I didn’t wake up until about 4:30. When I did, it was to discover that my lap and chest were devoid of Simon’s presence, and I was coughing again. As I started coughing once more, I heard her familiar “I’m here” squeak from the area of the water dish. I heard some hurried lapping, and then her heavy gallop across the floor. She flumped onto my lap again, and resumed her purring and kneading. She had evidently been doing that for the past 2 hours, and had only left to get some water. Hydrated, she had returned to take care of me.
So yes, she has her share of evil, jerk-cat moments, but I can no longer pretend that Simon is entirely heartless. For that matter, I now refuse to believe that about any cat. Just because they act like a jerk doesn’t mean that they don’t love you.
Astronaut bird 