If House Md Were Running In 2024 There Would Be An Episode With A Patient Who Identifies As An ‘online

Image by Bharat S Raj, CC BY-SA 3.0

snack time!

Which type of "what the fuck" monster do you prefer, the lovecraft "I cannot comprehend this as that's terrifying", or the "I can comprehend this and I wish I didn't"?

I'm quite fond of "I thought I could comprehend this but I've just been struck by some Implications and now I'm afraid to comprehend any further"

This Spring, I reserved a room online, at a Best Western motel, and received a pop-up message that said, "Thank you for submitting."

My apologies for not getting a screenshot.

Oh, they know exactly what they're doing.

It's often not even the same crab. Can you recognize individual members of a species you've never seen before?

Why is the crab in danger? So you will keep watching. Creating mortal peril for your subjects is SOP for wildlife videography.

There's more awareness now, and you can't be certain that's what you're looking at nowadays, thank goodness, but there's still a lot of that. Because the networks pay for it.

Mainstream television has this weird superstition that everything has to follow one of a few specific plotlines very closely, or nobody will watch it.

That said, I miss the old school nature documentaries sometimes, because either they prioritized information over their narrative (Nature With George Page), or they went full send with an actually good narrative (Wild America).

Let's thank our villainous voice actors!

Everyone say "Thank you!" to Georgina Leahy, the voice actor who brought to life Stella, this horrible lady-demon-bird-thing whom it feels so good to hate!

Anyone can chew scenery, but to really make a character feel odious in a way that makes it feel cathartic to hate them… that takes talent and hard work.

And the way Leahy voices Stella just a little lower and hoarser than her natural voice… that isn't something you can do all day without risking permanent consequences.

~@~

Let's also remember to thank Jason LaShea, the voice actor who brought to life Andreaplhus, the most punchable conniving bastard in web animation!

Sneering isn't a talent, but building a lawful evil antagonist with just the right balance of arrogance and sliminess, while matching the physical appearance and mannerisms of an animated character, is very much a talent, and also requires a lot of hard work!

So, as we wait for Season 3 and dream of wringing these characters' scrawny little bird necks, let's remember to show some love for the humans behind our villains, yeah?

I think the number one worst piece of traditional advice people give about being bullied is to "stand up to the bully."

This only works if you can make a convincing show of force to the bully, if you can convince them that there will be consequences to further attacks.

If you try to bluff a bully and fail (as is very likely, bullies generally have enough social awareness to pick their targets and to get away with bullying), the bully will punish you. Severely. Standing up to a bully with no credible defense or threat gets you pounded.

Instead, gather allies and confront the bully together. Cultivate authorities and destroy the bully's ability to get away with crimes or prohibited actions. Devise asymmetrical ways of retaliating, using any advantages you might possess. If possible, find ways to make your show of force without making an actual counterattack on the bully. That way you can maintain the moral advantage.

Don't escalate. Keep your responses proportional, even restrained, and your mind focused and calm. If you're more aggressive or harmful than the bully, you've either opened yourself up to being seen as the problem, or given the bully a justification to take even more harmful actions against you. Bullies often try to provoke this exact mistake, by getting their targets angry.

If the bully is a powerful group, which can't safely be confronted or resisted, it may be necessary to suffer some retribution, some punishment, and continue to confront or resist anyway, to send the message that no amount of retribution, however violent, will stop your resistance, or change your behavior.

How about hat racing? You can hat race on foot, or with horses or bicycles, or even in convertibles.

Everyone wears the same kind of hat. If your hat blows off or falls off during the race, you're disqualified.

No trying to knock off each other's hats. No adhesives.

My Dad: "The Melrose [apple tree] also has some massive pups."

Me: " . . . . . "

Me: "Just so you know, you should expect some... weird reactions... if you use the phrase 'has some massive pups' in public."

OSP Red, over on her Tumblr blog Comicaurora, posted a brilliant and refreshingly frank analysis of "Fable of the Dragon Tyrant."

I can't believe I didn't figure out it was an allegory about death, but we all miss something sometimes, I guess.

Go read the whole post.