Call Me Note

stop everything you're doing and go read about rakus, the wounded sumatran orangutan from indonesia that was seen using plant as medicine

give it up for rakus, the wounded sumatran orangutan from indonesia that was seen using plant as medicine

lol

@demilypyro

Checked to confirm. It’s true, it’s recent, and the source is beautiful

(also the ‘children’s charity’ Lumos doesn’t recognize trans children, so this failed fundraising event is an all around good thing)

Oh gods, alright. Of course Livraria Lello would be the one to have it. I wonder if they were trying to get rid of it?

I actually would like to talk about Lello and their relationship with Harry Potter and also just ask you to visit the bookstore.

So, anyway, Lello opened in 1906 in Porto, North of Portugal.

JK. Rowling lived in Porto for a bit in the 90’s, where she first started writing the Harry Potter series. It was said she might have frequented it and some important stairs from the book were based on Lello’s stairs. In fact: The book release of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child happened in Lello.

What this meant is that this bookstore ended up having to fight to remain a bookstore. There are so many tourists, a lot of them that only wanted to look at it because it was Harry Potter related somehow and buy nothing. There were (and still are) insane queues to enter the bookstore.

Lello, who wasn’t particularly interested in becoming a Harry Potter museum, ended up having to make a system where people have to pay to enter. If you buy a book that goes above the price you paid for the ticket, the money you paid will be deducted from the book price.

I can tell from going there fairly frequently that they try to be less connected to Harry Potter as possible if they can manage. Yeah they have the books for sale but they also have a plethora of books and their own merchandise to choose from.

Despite JK. Rowling’s involvement with the bookstore, in the Portuguese Wikipedia page, even in the part about the famous writers that went there, there isn’t a single mention of her. Zero. Not in the history nor anywhere else. It’s beautiful.

Last time I went they had an exhibition about José Saramago’s work (portuguese author who won the Nobel Prize) and on the upper side of the stairs had an enormous collection of winners of the Nobel Prize and authors Lello concidered had the quality to also have won (it the Nobel Prize existed when they were alive) and authors that might win.

It’s quite interesting because all was very thought out and you had a whole reason as to why those books were there. Me and my mother ended up chatting for a long while with one of the bookshop employees (they have a lot of young employees btw) and we even ended up chatting with other foreigners that went there shopping.

Also, did I mentionthe bookshop is gorgeous?

As are their book editions (my English edition of Tom Sawyer I bought there)

Have also a photo of the bookstore from 1906 :)

So, if you go there, please don’t go because of Harry Potter. And please don’t shit on it because of Harry Potter too. It’s a very good bookstore and it deserves recognition, but not from there.

The highest privilege of owning a business is getting to say "actually, I don't want your money, please take it back, and you're banned," to customers who behave rudely to my staff.

Yep, there was a problem, but you don't need to be an asshole about it. Yes, I do give my staff Labor Day off. You might have to wait a day or two for an answer, because I don't treat my people like Amazon.

And if me saying, "Actually, this person acted like an ass, I've added them to our banned customers list," is a problem for anybody else, um. I'm proud of not letting people be rude to my staff, so. 🤷

Don't rouse me from my medical leave. I'm grouchy.

Haha, so, fun fact, the conductor can physically kick you off the train wherever they desire.

Since we're technically run by the TSA, that places you on the no-fly list! So don't grab your tour guide's ass!

... amazing.

Artificial intelligence makes accurate sheep counting.

Orgasm denial but in the same way people talk about the moon landing being faked

oh there's "video evidence" that orgasms are real because you saw it in a porn? you know those are paid actors, right?

Actually no one should be having sex. All of us are aged-up minors and the passage of time is inherently problematic

there's a lot to bitch about re: supernatural but at least it was made in 2005 starring teen soap actors on the cw with one million episodes per season. that's real television. if they made that shit now it would be like six episodes on apple tv and glen powell would be in it. so count your fucking blessings.

Teacher to me (photographer): this is Mohammed.

Me: and last name?

Teacher: -shrug- his name is Mohammed, hes the only Mohammed at this school.

Mohammed: -is in preschool, doesnt know his last name-

Me: -looks up Mohammed in system- Nadir?

Teacher: sure, yeah. Sounds right.

Me: this will come back to bite me later.

After merging my camera data with another photographer: there's two Mohammed Nadirs. -goes to talk it out with secretary-

Me: -shows two photos- which of these kids is Mohammed?

Secretary: -points to the one I did not shoot- that's Mohammed.

Me: I was told this one was Mohammed. -points to my student-

Secretary: well, theres only one Mohammed.

Secretary takes me to the break room to chat with two teachers.

Me: can one of you tell me which one is Mohammed?

Teacher A points to my student.

Teacher B points to not my student.

Both: that's Mohammed.

Teacher B says that her Mohammed is in her class and is definitely Mohammed Nadir.

Me: so who is Mystery Mohammed?

Teachers Aide walks by: who are you trying to find?

Me: -turns laptop around- can you identify this child?

Teachers Aide: oh! That's Mohammed!

So theres two Mohammeds. Secretary cant find data for Mystery Mohammed. No one can find his name. All we know is he's in preschool.

Me: okay! Can you direct me to the teacher?

Teachers Aide: sure.

I have my laptop open to the photo as I'm walking down the hall, updating data as we go looking for this kid. Checking hairstyles and clothes in vase we see him in the hall. Buffalo check shirt. Hi-top fade. Secretary is freaking out a little that she lost all data for entire student.

We pass the library.

A class is exiting.

I see the buffalo check shirt. I see the hi-top fade. Kid is wearing a mask.

Teachers aide taps him.

Me: is this you?

Child: no, that's Mohammed.

Identical child is Mohammed's cousin. They dressed alike for picture day because their mothers thought it would be cute.

Cousin: I dont know his last name. His mom never told me.

Teachers aide leads me to classroom where we see...

MOHAMMED!

Me: Hi, hello Mrs preschool teacher. I need to know the name of this child-

Teacher: that's Moham-

Me: Mohammed, yes. We gathered. What's his LAST name?

Teacher:

Teacher: Mohammed, what's your last name?

Mohammed: -stares at the wall, then points to a picture of a duck-

Teacher: his last name is not 'duck.' I'll go look it up for you.

Five minutes later and the reason we couldn't find his name was because he spells it MUHammad. All of this because the teacher swore he was the only kid in the school with the most common name in the world.

End scene, exit left pursued by a migraine.

the funniest and most tragic moment in steven universe is the scene that implies that Pearl pulls bitches like a professional dog walker but doesn't know how phones work so her place on earth is being a life-changing futch fling for every dyke on the east coast there's probably a gay bar in maryland where they talk about the twiggy bird chick that eats milf pussy like it's the last edible thing on earth and they dont even know about the city full of thousand year old neon lesbian amazons who are pent up 24/7 from The War and leaving room for jesus cause they're always hanging out with their softboy nephew who might be the second coming of christ

inflict

if you're over 250lbs you should be thanked daily for your service and receive a discount on your next purchase

oh babe gender has nothing to do with it i dont care if you're male or they or female or gendervoid or whatever if you're heavy and hefty and full of weight you deserve nice things and regardless of what gender people are attracted to

new variant on “your boos mean nothing; I’ve seen what makes you cheer”

"Your thirst means nothing; I've seen what makes you horny."

I’ve seen a few fics that claim the Waynes are ghost royalty through Danny….but apparently one of Bruce’s ancestors was named Dorothea?? Like…what if the Wayne’s were descendants of Princess Dorathea who had a little fling in the living world one of the few times Aragorn let her out?

I need y'all to understand the absolute wild ride of fandoms that I thought this post was about.

I still don't know which one it is.

Never not thinking about the trans woman I met in a gay bar in a town I'll never go back to who said "gender roles are like chains, fun to use in bondage scenarios but largely irrelevant in daily life"

I actually meant to put this in my drafts so I could come up with a response more articulate than the incorrect buzzer sound that went through my head when I read this, but I guess I didn’t do that, so let me just say: both of these are bad.

This is not a competition. Both of these are bad.

It’s also baffling because this is the opposite of what we’re seeing from AI editing software geared towards professional writers, which is deliberately designed to “simplify complex words” for “greater legibility.” (Often with questionable results.)

Programs like Grammarly and PRA use their “integrative AI” to simplify everything down to the bare bones because it thinks words like “devoid” are too complicated for the average reader to understand.

It’s why so many of the newer books read kinda samey right now. Writers are being trained out of using complex language by AI to appeal to readers (supposedly), and kids and non native English speakers who are using “complex” language are being marked down for using AI when they’re not.

It’s a fucking nightmare.

It is a CLUSTERFUCK to teach English to ND, ESL, and other struggling kids right now.

I am trying to use phrases like "this sounds like AI" and offering why, but I have made kids angry by suggesting a paper they wrote themselves sounded like AI.

they're literally every trope ever