This Is Incredibly Frightening.  In Addition To The Definition Of Domestic Violence, The Definitions

If you’re in the US, see if your local library has Hoopla!  They carry all five seasons of Leverage with no ads.

Hoopla is an online service libraries can provide.  The library pays for each thing people check out on Hoopla, so there is a limit to how much you can check out each month.  It’s completely free to you with no ads though.  You can watch on your browser or through Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, or a bunch of other devices.

If you’re willing to go with physical media, your local library may have Leverage DVDs that you can check out, if they don’t have Hoopla or you want to binge faster.

Any chance you know where I can watch the first season of leverage? i know its on hulu but i really cant afford to drop the money it wants for the subscription, and im having no luck finding working streams for some reason. I really want to get into it

It used to be on Netflix but then it disappeared... It is on Amazon, but it’s only free with ads if you have Amazon Prime. And there are...captioning issues... But! If captioning isn’t a concern and you have Amazon Prime, you can watch it on there, which is what I did (though captions were definitely a concern and I sent a lot of peeved complaints in).

Aside from that, tubi appears to have Leverage available to watch free? I swear I saw a post going around a while ago where folks could watch Leverage free and with bonus stuff from the creators... But I don’t know where I saw it and who reblogged it...

Anyone else have advice as to where to watch Leverage? Help an anon get into this absolutely amazing show!!

Another librarian who would love to see more people doing this! We have displays of shiny new books and movies, as well as some on various topics to tempt you. However, you can also go into the stacks and search for forgotten treasures! You could find books about salt or pockets or seahorses or doorways to other worlds or forbidden romance.

You can also try that book or movie or music CD that everyone is recommending but you don't think you'll enjoy! If you don't like it, bring it back and check out something else guilt-free -- it didn't cost anything, and it won't keep taking up space on your shelves.

unsung benefit i think a lot of ppl are sleeping on with using the public library is that i think its a great replacement for the dopamine hit some ppl get from online shopping. it kind of fills that niche of reserving something that you then get to anticipate the arrival of and enjoy when it arrives, but without like, the waste and the money.

Make sure you have an active library card!  If you don’t have a card or haven’t used yours in a few years and your library is still open, get a card or have it renewed. (Check what ID you’ll need before you go.)  While you’re in the library, check out that book you’ve been meaning to read, the audiobook or music CD you’ve been meaning to listen to, the movie you want to watch, and whatever else catches your fancy!

You can ask about the library’s online resources while you’re there or look on the website when you get home.  Libraries can give you access to a lot of different resources, in addition to what’s listed above.  They may have downloadable or streaming e-books, e-audiobooks, music, movies, and TV shows.  Your library could give you access to classes on just about any subject, homework help for your kids, car repair guides, programs to help you learn a new language, and lots more.  If you go through the library’s website, they probably have information about what you will need to access all of these resources.

If you didn’t get your library card before they had to close to protect people, here are a few free resources you might enjoy.

Jim C. Hines started a Twitter thread where authors can link to free, lighthearted stories (both print and audio): https://twitter.com/jimchines/status/1238486764525948928

The Metropolitan Opera is offering a free streaming opera every night while they are closed: https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/

Some great artists are making coloring pages available for anyone to download and print: https://seananmcguire.tumblr.com/post/612756347442937856/catbatart-so-i-saw-a-great-post-by

Scholastic is offering day-by-day projects for kids in Pre-K through grade 6+: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

The Library of Congress is crowd-sourcing transcription of historical documents: https://crowd.loc.gov/

If you find that you’re having trouble thinking of things to do in the moment, make a list of stuff you want to try or keep meaning to do when you have time.  That craft you bought the supplies for but never started, the time-consuming recipe you want to try, a nagging minor home repair you haven’t gotten around to doing -- put them all on the list!  Make sure to get a good mix of fun things and chores.  You can either check the list when you get stuck or put ideas on slips of paper to pull from a bowl.

Look for ways to volunteer online or by phone!  I linked to the Library of Congress above, but there are tons of other crowd-sourcing initiatives you can do.  If you want something closer to home and like talking with people, an organization you belong to may need someone who can call members to make sure they’re ok or just chat with people who are lonely.

If the news is making you stressed, take breaks from it or limit how much time you spend reading/watching it.  If people are freaking out on social media, it’s ok to stop following them or not check those accounts as often.  Look for people who are posting fun things or links to free stuff you can try.  (Check your library’s website for those, too!)

Stuck at home? Here’s an isolation survival post:

(Everything here is free to use! Feel free to add on. Links were purposefully broken to avoid Tumblr’s spam prevention.)

Social:

discordapp.com/ - Like Skype but better, more accessible, smoother, and with more features. Call, play games, and chat with friends.

twitch.tv/ - Watch and chat with people doing everything from gaming to cooking to teaching.

Reading:

whichbook.net/ - helps you find what book to read

overdrive.com/ - Free audiobooks through your public library

standardebooks.org/ebooks/ - Free ebooks

rbdigital.com/ - Free audiobooks and ebooks through your public library

Movies:

www.kanopy.com/ - Free movies through your public library

www.ted.com/ - Watch lots of educational and inspiring talks

Hobbies:

join.skillshare.com/ - Learn how to do virtually anything with 2 free months of premium

scratch.mit.edu/ - Make a game or movie, super easy to use, good introductory programming “language”

gimp.org/downloads/ - Free photoshop-like program.

twinery.org/ - Make a text-based game

pixologic.com/sculptris/ - make 3D models

unity.com/ - Make a 3D game

yoyogames.com/gamemaker - make a 2D game

spotify.com/us/ - Listen to music

travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours - Museums with virtual tours

Dungeons and Dragons: (play over Discord!) (DM me if you want PDFs of the Handbooks)

probablybadrpgideas.tumblr.com/post/612459866001391616/basic-rules-for-dungeons-dragons-dungeons - The Basics

entertainment.howstuffworks.com/leisure/brain-games/beginners-guide-dungeons-and-dragons.htm - Learn to play

roll20.net/ - Make maps/play online

Video Games:

itch.io/ - play hundreds of games

freegameplanet.com/ - Even more free games!

dolphin-emu.org/ - Play Gamecube and Wii games

Phone Apps:

sourceforge.net/projects/gameboid/ - Play gameboy games

smartphones.gadgethacks.com/how-to/10-must-play-free-puzzle-games-for-iphone-android-0178848/ - list of puzzle games

Cooking:

fridgetotable.com/ - Input ingredients you have and get recipes you can make.

youtube.com/user/DepressionCooking - Learn how to cook with limited ingredients from a lovely old woman who lived during the Great Depression

butterwithasideofbread.com/homemade-bread/ - Make bread with yeast

letsdishrecipes.com/traditional-irish-soda-bread/ - Make bread without yeast

Other tips:

Take care of yourself (eat well, shower often, wear clean clothes, exercise, clean your space)

Talk with people

Do what makes you happy

Take time away from screens

Play – with your pets, your kids, your friends. Keep yourself active and busy and happy.

Is anyone else on PillowFort?  I know I heard about it from someone on Tumblr, but now that I’m able to create an account, I can’t remember whom.  Let me know if you want to connect up there.  My username is the same, and I’ll probably post about as often there as here.

[swoon] 

Moomin pride icons!!! Show your pride this month with tove jansson’s beloved Moomins!

Free to use with credit! 🏳️‍🌈

Know your rights! Also, check your workplace's policy on sharing information about staff, customers, clients, etc.

ICE agents are complaining that the push to make sure people know their rights is making their jobs harder. Keep it up!

I can’t even draw straight lines with a ruler.

I am not a straight people.

Reblog if you are also not a straight people.

Last week, my boss gave me a folder with what she said was my quarterly evaluation.  This was inside.  Best Boss Ever!

This explains the situation of e-books in libraries much better than I did.  It’s incredibly frustrating for librarians, most of whom just want to connect people with books!

It’s been an increasing source of frustration for many library users: waiting weeks, sometimes months to get to the top of the waiting list for a popular eBook or e-Audiobook.

Why does it take so long? After all, it’s not a physical object, it’s a digital file that lives in the “cloud”, why can’t multiple people access it simultaneously instead of only one at a time? Barring that, why doesn’t the library just buy more copies so that the waiting list is shorter? Getting people access to books and information is what libraries are all about, but the struggle for acquiring lendable e-content is very real, and it’s getting harder all the time. Why? What’s the big hairy deal? For that answer, you have to look to the “Big 5” Publishers, who are responsible for close to 80% of trade book sales. 

Publishers have been extremely wary about allowing library users virtual access to their books. After all, digital copies of books never wear out or have to be replaced, and are more vulnerable to unauthorized copying (“pirating”). Publshers were afraid if they allowed libraries access to their books digitally, they would be losing money. Individual publishers came up with their own sets of rules for libraries to access their e-content, and they have been tweaked many times since 2006.

In addition, the prices libraries must pay for ebooks and e-audiobooks is very high. Libraries must pay up to 4X the retail price for digital versions of books (which only one user can have access to at a time).  Meeting the library patron’s needs for downloadable content is a very expensive enterprise, indeed! Take a look at this comparison of the prices for various versions of the same book:

It becomes easy to see that acquiring ebooks for public use is a very expensive endeavor…

Read more on The Cheshire Library Blog.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to fail my saving throw on Minority Monsters again.  They’re just so adorable!  I already have the hardcover edition, but the softcover is going to have some updated sections.  It also helps fund an audiobook version, and I know people who could use that.

If you missed out on the hardcover Minority Monsters, consider backing this Kickstarter to get the softcover edition!  How can you resist Queen Ravishment the polyamorous dragon and all the others??

I’m doing a giveaway of 4 MASSIVE monster plushies to celebrate the mini minority monsters book kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/khaoskreator/mini-minority-monsters)

To enter just comment with your favourite monster or share this post. No limit to entries but don’t be a spammer. KS Backers get automatically entered!

Winners gets chosen randomly when the kickstarter ends 29th september, 1st winner gets first pick and so on. Make sure your dms are open so I can contact you!!