in light of the Amazon strike, I wanted to offer some alternative online stores you can use INSTEAD OF Amazon for the upcoming months until the employees at Amazon are granted some basic common decency đ
rakuten.com – has nearly everything Amazon has
ebay.com – just be careful for scams!
newegg.com – for electronics/technology
emusic.com – music for as little as $1!! They also have a membership program where you can get music for even less!!
barnesandnoble.com – they have collectible items and childrens toys too!
This is great!
indiebound.org – books, and they make it easy to locate and purchase from local independent bookstores near you who Amazon would otherwise be putting out of businessÂ
Addall also lets you search for the lowest price on books via multiple websites & sellers worldwide (doesnât include eBay, but it has most of the other big online book sellers)â and Open Library has free ebook rentals (all legally above-board!), including a bunch that donât âtechnicallyâ have ebook releases, because OL also pulls from Googleâs log of digitized/scanned analog books as well.
Donât overlook traditional libraries right now, either; a lot have digital rental & streaming media services included with your membership now, like Hoopla & Overdrive.
Just Watch also lets you search for movies & TV shows by title and see where you can (legally) watch them streaming, including labeling if theyâre free, have ads, and listing prices for pay rentals & purchases. It wonât include those library services, but like Addall, it covers most of the big hitters.
also note, book depository is a subsidy of amazon – better world books is an alternative for those who want free international shipping
In case you missed it, this website is mirroring all the content from Tumblr, which means that all your images and gifs youâve ever posted on Tumblr are up there without your consent. The developer of the website has provided this link to personally remove your blogs from photosugar.
This is ALL blogs. All of them.
Follow the instructions to get your content off of there.
Title: The Radical Copyeditorâs Style Guide for Writing About Transgender People: 2.8-2.11: Avoiding Invalidating Language Traps
Speech bubbles contrast the following phrases under the headings âInvalidating languageâ versus âValidating languageâ: âWomen and trans womenâ versus âCis and trans womenâ; âStudents who consider themselves ânon-binary’â versus âNon-binary studentsâ; âZed, who identifies as agenderâ versus âZed is agenderâ; âher secret was exposedâ versus âher history was publicizedâ; âcloseted,â âstealth,â and âpassesâ versus âprivateâ and ânondisclosureâ; and âan out trans manâ versus âopenly transâ and âpublic.â
So this happened to me a few days ago, and I thought maybe sharing my experience could help someone if this happens to them in the future.
I was checking my Tumblr when suddenly I was logged out from it and given the usual Log In page. When I entered the details to access my blog, this appeared:
My heart skipped a bit. I tried to re-enter the details (maybe I got them wrong the first time), but no, the same message about Termination was shown. I typed my blog URL and got the
ominous
:
Same thing with my sideblogs.
So obviously I was very worried. I contacted the Tumblr support but didnât get an answer for 48 hours, only an automated reply. I already started mentally saying goodbye to my blogs, my posts and all my followers, when finally I recieved their answer:
(In case you canât see the picture, it says:Â
Hello, Weâve restored your account. Thank you for bringing this problem to our attention. Weâre sorry that it occurred, and weâll do our best to make sure that it doesnât happen again. You should now be able to log in just fine with your email address and password. Please let me know if thereâs anything else I can help you with.
 My blog was restored and working normally. All my sideblogs were intact , and so were my posts and my followers. The only thing that was lost, is all the conversations by Messages. The people with whom you talked are still there, but all the history of the conversation is gone.
Alright so here is what you should do if this happens to you. Donât panick like I did Click on the âcontact supportâ link provided in the terminated window. Alternatively, go on Tumblr.com/support.Â
Politely explain your situation – give your blog URL, your mail, tell what happened exactly. I understand that the situation can be upsetting, but the person who will read the message and try to help you isnât directly responsible for the termination of your blog. And sending an angry message with insults isnât the best way to get your blog back either.Â
 Wait for the reply of the team. If you feel like it takes too much time (more than few days for example), try to fill the Help/Support form again.Â
 Once the team is in contact with you, keep the polite tone. Normally if your blog didnât go againt the Tumblr rules and policies, you should getit back like I did.
Voila đÂ
Guys this is important. 2 of my followers and rp partners got their accounts terminated today so be careful
hey everyone! itâs been a while since i made a masterpost, and i recently found some good health-related apps on the play store that i thought to consolidate into a post.
all these apps are available for both ios and android users! iâve also grouped similar apps together.
fyi: these apps are not intended to replace your therapist/counselor â they only act as an aid. the apps listed here are those that seemed credible enough and had good ratings on the play store. some may help you and some might not. since i donât have depression or panic attacks, i canât speak for the efficacy of some of the apps here.
For stress, depression, anxiety, or panic attacks:
Rootd: exercises to help with anxiety and panic attacks, as well as lessons understand anxiety. it also includes emergency contact if you need help and a personal stats page.
Self-help Anxiety Management (SAM): exercises to help you manage your anxiety. you can also build your âanxiety tookitâ and chat with other SAM users.
PanicShield: for those who have panic attacks. it has a breathing tool to calm you down, information about panic attacks, and two techniques to train your mind to have fewer panic attacks (based on two types of therapy).Â
MoodSpace: short, interactive mood workouts that may help treat depression.
InnerHour: a self-help app for stress, anxiety or depression. it has small daily tasks, helps you deal with distressing situations, helps control your stressful thinking patterns, and has a relief box.
Moodpath: an interactive two-week depression and anxiety screening program that tracks your emotional and physical wellbeing and generates a personalized mental health assessment that you can discuss with therapists.
Calm Harm: tasks to help you resist or manage the urge to self-harm.
To generally improve your life:
Youper:Â conversations with a bot to improve your mood and emotional health. it also has mindfulness and meditation exercises, a mood tracker, journal and symptoms tracker.
Wysa:Â similar to Youper, Wysa is a chatbot who reacts to the emotions you express to help with anxiety, stress, low mood, anger or sleep issues.
Primed Mind: a life coach to help you reach your personal goals and improve yourself. it can help you build habits, calm down, fall asleep quickly, and study effectively.
Headspace: meditation and mindfulness exercises
Just Rain:Â a soothing audiovisual rain simulator where you can control the degree of rain sounds.
I love how the search function on this site is absolute garbage. I can look up a post word for word and I will NEVER find it
Pro tip:
Wanna find a post?
Write out what you remember into a Google search.
After you write that out, end with site:tumblr.com
Google will search for your text on just tumblr
In my experience, itâs way more effective than searching through Tumblr
(you can use site:SITENAME.com to search any site btws)
This usually works but for some reason a lot of posts get indexed on google from a personâs URL based on the posts that were recently reblogged on page 1, meaning that this is only a tiny bit more reliable.
I HAVE a solution to this, you have to write down site:tumblr.com/post â â
and then write a direct quote (could be a fraction of a sentence) into the quotations, Iâve been doing this for years, and itâs so useful, it works like 99% of the timeÂ
(the more popular a post is the more likely youâll find it)
youâre a genius holy shit
imagine if instead of having to find a workaround @staff FIXED THE FUCKING SEARCH ENGINE
So apparently last year the National Park Service in the US dropped an over 1200 page study of LGBTQ American History as part of their Who We Are program which includes studies on African-American history, Latino history, and Indigenous history.Â
Like. This is awesome. But also it feels very surreal that maybe one of the most comprehensive examinations of LGBTQ history in America (it covers sports! art! race! historical sites! health! cities!) was just casually done by the parks service.Â
so I had an idea for a regency romance novel that I really want to read but it doesnât seem to exist so now I guess I have to write it
and after brainstorming with @romancingthebookworm for a bit she suggested that I post about it to try to drum up interest and keep myself accountable while I write it so here goes:
an older duke/earl/whatever it doesnât matter and his (teenage? 20-something?) son are killed in a freak accident outside of London and their bodies are disfigured beyond recognition. the sonâs twin sister, in a desperate attempt to keep her family title out of the hands of a distant relative who for whatever reason is unsuitable, claims that she was the one who was killed, and takes her brotherâs place and her fatherâs title
everything is going swimmingly for a couple of years, although eventually she knows that sheâs going to have to find SOME way to continue her family line, until FEELINGS for another young lady threaten to put everything at risk
meanwhile, the girl sheâs fallen for has gotten herself âin trouble,â if you know what I mean and is on the verge of scandal, herself
the two eventually each reveal their secrets to each other and strike a bargain, which they initially tell themselves is a marriage of convenience to protect both their names, but of course eventually LESBIANS. or really, LESBIAN/BISEXUAL, which is even more exciting to me.
thoughts?
OP WHATS THE TITLE OF THE BOOK. WHEN CAN WE READ IT.
HELLO if you are still interested: Any Other Name will be available May 24!
ahh i actually havent ! at first i thought you were actually talking about a CATERPILLAR that looks like a snake, and said cocoon on accident (specifically the caterpillar of the hemeroplanes triptolemus, or snake-mimic hawk moth)
but it TURNS OUT theres a species of butterfly that takes it way further, to the point where all the other caterpillars are like âis this really fuckin necessaryâ
its the chrysalis of the daring-owl butterfly ! a species thats found in trinidad and spends a good portion of its young adult life trying to convince other things that its not actually completely helpless
LOOK at the detail thats gone into this though- i cant even imagine the journey  this look mustve taken, with lightly less-snakelike chrysalises being eaten over time again and again until youve got something with definable eyes and scales
apparently if disturbed theyll also rock violently back and forth, furthering the idea that this is a very dangerous pitviper with the tiniest body imaginable
the adult butterflies are much less exciting but honestly they dont need to be with a history like that a+ bug
can you fucking imagine the first guy to find one of those things though like thereâs just this beautifully detailed, vibrating thing in the jungle that looks almost entirely like a snake head but is not. who made that thing. why the fuck. iâd lose my goddamn mind.Â
I have $24 to last me til Friday, what should I buy with it?
a pallet of ramen noodles
I hate ramen noodles tho
hmmmmm
bees?
Are you suggesting that I eat bees for a week
This is roughly what I make sure I have in my kitchen all the time along with rough estimates of local prices (MN). I buy a lot of things when theyâre on sale and stockpile them.Â
instant oatmeal packets with fruit in them – $3 probably and this can be breakfast all week and maybe even a lunch or dinner too since you usually get 10 packets
bag of rice – $2-3 depending on size. 1 cup dry rice makes enough for about two meals depending on what you add in. if you get cheap rice, rinse it before cooking
canned beans – usually under $1 per can – mix the can with your rice and you have a meal. chili-spiced beans will make bean tacos. Rinse non-spiced beans before adding to anything.
Tortilla – usually around $3 but you get like 8-10 of them. Tacos, wraps, and quesadillas are all fair game here
lettuce – $2 max around here, either a head of something or bagged precut depending on preference, use as a salad or on tacos
protein other than beans of some sort – probably $5-7 for meat, $2-3 for eggs. sometimes I can get bags of frozen chicken breasts in this price range and each is usually 2 meals if I add in a bunch of veggies. fry/scramble eggs and add to any of the options.Â
your favorite stir fry sauce – $3ish
vegetables – $5ish. literally anything that you can 1. fry in a pan and 2. youâll eat. fresh carrots are usually pretty cheap. get frozen if itâs cheaper and youâre strapped for cash/prep time on this part.Â
alternative to stir fry: Â pasta (~$2), fresh tomatoes (~$2), cheese (~$3).Â
cheese and fruit if you have extra – look if your store has loyalty cards for free that you can load coupons on for cheese thereâs always one it seems like.
ahh thank you!!!
Reblogging because thereâs never knowing whoâll need it.
Adding also: the single most nutritious food on earth is potatoes in their peel. Potatoes + some milk and butter = everything you need. They donât last all that long, but theyâre fairly cheap and the quickest cheat to âHow do I not fuck my body up.â
(Cooked potatoesâll last a while in the fridge. Potatoes nearing the end of their useful lives? Cook them to half-done first, figure out what to do with them later.)
Easiest baked potatoes: slice thinly but not paper-like, spread like cards, brush with oil (a silicone baking brush is totes worth the little it costs), spread salt and pepper (a little less than you think youâd like), cover with foil, stick in oven or toaster-oven at 150C for 40min. (If you have the patience, at that point click up to 180C, remove the cover and add 10-20min.) Reheats well, lasts in the fridge longer than itâll take you to nom.
Dead-Animal-Free Whole Protein: some legumes + some grain. AKA rice and lentils, or rice and beans. (Maybe some fried onion for flavor; onionâs cheap and stays good a descent while. Fried onion makes everything taste better and keeps forever in the freezer, so frying up a bunch and keeping portions is not a half-bad idea.) (If going for the beans option – lentils are cheaper around here but fuck if I know what itâs like in your area – dump some tomato sauce and oil in; canola or soy are best health-wise, and far cheaper than olive; avoid corn.) Oh, what does instant couscous go for in your area? It keeps for fucking ever, itâs usually cheap, and it takes well to any and all added taste.
If you get to choose, black lentils taste the best and need the least soak-time (0-20min), green lentils are best for cooked stuff and red lentils are best in soups. (Red lentils + potatoes + root vegetables of choice + spices; cut into small pieces, cook, run through the blender if you wanna [stick blenderâs awesome], freeze in portions.)
When possible, get instant soup mix. Get the good instant soup mix. (The kind thatâs not made primarily of sugar, yeast or both. The rest is optional.) Dump 1/2tsp (or more, but start on the low end) into couscous, or chicken, or sprinkle over potatoes being stuck in the oven. Whatever. Itâll make most cooked-food-type things taste better. And again, lasts forever on the shelf.
If you can have eggs (goodness knows theyâre sometimes expensive), dump some tomato sauce in a pan (tomato sauce lasts forever on the shelf), add some oil, onion/beans to cook in it, hot peppers if you wanna, then when itâs nearly ready crack an egg or two in. Hard-boiled eggs last a remarkably while in the fridge, so when eggs reach near the end of their usable lives, just hard-boil and stick in the fridge.
(Have eggs as often as you can, particularly as you have brain-shit going on. You need all the eggs, salt, and 60%-or-more chocolate you can get. Brains are made of cholesterol and salt, so folks with neuro or other brain shit need more of both. Potassium is also aces. You know what has the most potassium? Tomato paste.)
Grated cheese keeps in the freezer for ever. Grated cheese will make a lot of things taste nicer. Preserved lemon juice keeps forever in the fridge. Grated cheese + oil + lemon = instant and awesome pasta sauce thatâll liven up the weeks-old dry pasta in the fridge.
Slices bread also keeps well in the freezer. Try to have half a loaf or a loaf. Dry bread gets cut in cubes, mixed with oil and the aforementioned instant soup, stuck in oven at lowest until properly dry, then kept in an airtight jar to add to soups.
(Over-ripe tomatoes come cheaper. They get turned into soup or sauce, then frozen in portions.)
this is a very good post but why are we glossing over the fact that the alternative to ramen is bees
i have it on pretty good authority that bees are not an affordable eating alternative to ramen.
Seriously, bees are expensive
Trufax.Â
And speaking as someone who is also living off oatmeal, beans, and brown rice, if you need recipes, I have them!Â
Today I made 16 bean soup with chicken sausage and it was crazy good and I got 8 servings out of the one batch (froze half). I usually get the cheapest beans I can find, and GOYA bags of beans are usually $1-2. I soaked them overnight,rinsed them, and threw them in a gallon lidded saucepan with 2 boxes of chicken stock (also on sale for $2), two bay leaves, sauteed green pepper, onion, and celery, some garlic from a jar, about two tablespoons of dried herbs de provence,and the âfancyâ bit was adding $6 bourbon and apple chicken sausages. You can actually sub veg stock for chicken and skip the sausage and make it vegan and it would still taste great.
Oh and Iâve been doing steel-cut oats. I donât buy the name brand ones, I just pick whatever store brand/generic I can get for less than $4. They take about ½ an hour to make, but theyâre super tasty and I make 2 cups
of dried oats at a time
with dried cranberries and thatâs breakfast for 4 days at least.Â
Iâve also been making black bean soup, red beans and rice, and curried potatoes and chick peas. I got 100 quart and pint take-away containers from Amazon for $20 and they all stack neatly and are perf for one serving of whatever.
Additionally, depending on where you live, whole rotisserie chickens are something like $4-$7 and are easily 4 – 6 servings of protein and on TOP of that, if you stick the carcass in a ziplock bag and then the freezer you have excellent soup makings. Using bones in soup literally squeezes all viable vitamins and minerals out of the suckers. Soup made from lots of bones is great to keep around if you get sick, itâll feed and sooth you relatively easily and as you get better you can add noodles. ON TOP OF THAT, a quarter to a half cup of soup broth added to a lot of dishes also adds those nutrients PLUS flavor.
queerlybeloveds 