TheMidwestJess

a snail is resplendent sliming across some ferns, viewed from above.

Part of me wants to post an #ArtAdventCalendar entry of just macro photos I took this year of various invertebrates.

But I am tired and I have so many other things to do...

Eh fuck it, let's see how many days I remember.

Here, have an invertebrate 😘

a bald man wearing a plaid shirt is making a face Alt: A man squinting like he's trying to make something out

I'm assuming "edible" here is a victim of autocorrect? Audible, right? Bc if not, I'm *very* confused 😂

Do I ever recall who recommended them, or what the topic was? Often no! But that kind of makes it like a big treasure hunt when I finally decide to read some of the books on my list 😂

Anytime I'm watching someone talk about something they're an expert in, if they recommend a book as a good resource to learn more, and it's something I'm interested in, I'll throw it on my "want to read" list on Goodreads.

Sooo here's a little public records request I just made to the University of Oklahoma.

Increasingly concerning times for higher education in red states. A conservative student claimed discrimination over an essay where she didn’t cite any source nor address the main question, and instead mentioned the Bible. As a result, the teaching assistant was put on administrative leave

They haven't even gone to the pretense of giving him some made-up official role and title, as they easily could and did during the first term. They're flaunting the lawlessness and patrimonialism, as if being a close relative of Trump is in and of itself enough to be conducting foreign policy.

Granted, this is all dependent on the idea that the US govt *is* actually repentant, which idk if I actually believe. Seems like a lot of lip service with not a lot of action... 🤷🏼‍♀️

Like, I've heard of the #landback movement, so I imagine that it would be wanted, I haven't heard of any real efforts by state/federal govts to work towards that goal?

So if the US is so repentant over how it treated native peoples over the course of the 19th & 20th centuries, why haven't I heard of any efforts to return land to tribes that were removed by the Indian Removal Act? /gen

Sometimes it kinda feels like living in the US is just like high school, having to watch all the popular kids get together and fall out, keeping up on who likes who, etc., except for the fact that it has very real geopolitical, legislative, and economic impact on real people's lives. I hate it here.

So I've been thinking about this awhile, and have a question for any rheumatology people out there: does the prevalence of 9 in 10 lupus patients being women implicate estrogen as playing some sort of role in this development of lupus from EBV? Or are there other explanations? Do we know?

Overcoming Colonialism in Pathogen Genomics

I really loved listening to this podcast episode about colonialism in pathogen genomics! I found it really accessible, even with me not being trained in any form of medicine. Considering this podcast is geared towards neurology professionals, that's quite a feat!
open.spotify.com/episode/4GNK... 🧪

I sometimes wonder how people navigate the world thinking that anything is apolitical. Your existence is political and anyone who tells you otherwise is just trying to hope you don't notice so they can continue to legislate you without you caring.

Link to the article itself bc it sounds like it could also have wider implications to other autoimmune diseases even outside lupus:
med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...

One time I was just trying to use up stuff in my fridge and I somehow accidentally figured how to make some sort of cream of pumpkin soup using vanilla almond milk and pumpkin puree and some kale, along with a few other things. It was delicious and I have no recollection of how I made it.

a person laying on a bed with the words " it 's me " written on the bottom Alt: A white cat in a short silver wig dramatically flings it's head to look at the camera. Under the cat is text that says "It's me!"

How do you cope with the crushing weight that everyone you know demonstrates their care for you in a way that you feel is superior to how you demonstrate care for them...

...asking for a friend

I watched my local city development commission meeting last night, and the main guy turns to one of the ladies on the panel and goes "what about you? You haven't spoken much tonight. I know you didn't get reelected, but there's still a lot you can do!"

Fucking BRUTAL

Deeeeeep breaths in. Deeeeep breaths out. It's ok, cardiovascular system. It's ok.

Rage has increased my blood pressure higher than I would have preferred today. I miss contact sports.

Oh right this account exists.. woops!

What I wouldn't give for a collab between Ren & Stray Kids....

YouTube video by Gamers Nexus THE NVIDIA AI GPU BLACK MARKET | Investigating Smuggling, Corruption, & Governments

Omg I'm so excited to chew my way through this documentary now that it's finally back up!
youtu.be/1H3xQaf7BFI?...

[📸] #FELIX Instagram update

"💙🤍❤️"

I need more skz ppl to follow bc as much as I love academic sky, sometimes I just need a little brainrot, yk? Stays, come let me know you exist! 🖤❤️

#straykids #skz #stays #skzsky #kpop #kpopsky #bangchan #leeknow #changbin #hyunjin #han #felix #seungmin #I.N

I freaking love getting to indoctrinate new people into the world of skz. If we're doing this, we're doing it right and doing it from the beginning!

Like, seeing Changbin as a lanky teen and NOT be big muscle man? Insanity. Seeing Minho struggle with ball sports all the way back then, even in an arcade setting? Hilarious. Seeing Chan be such a tough love force on his team, knowing he's literally the biggest marshmallow? Absolutely deranged.

I showed a friend of mine the first couple eps of the stray kids survival show last night, and it's been 4 years since the last time I watched it. It is WILD to see how young they all were and to see their personalities back then, knowing how they evolve later on.

Like, does it have to do with short lead times between announcement of the album to the day the album drops, so they have to manufacture ahead of time? Bc if so, I feel like you could solve that by just lengthening the time between those two things and your problem would be solved.