maryannauger

[maryannauger]

you are not going to be the same weight your whole life

[maryannauger]

"Don't stop talking about Palestine"

Sticker spotted in Montreal, Quebec

[maryannauger]

rare vent art from a few months ago

[maryannauger]

You are cute and lovable just the way you are. <3

[maryannauger]

My version of the “google autocomplete” series started by The Militant Baker, which is based on the UN Women ad campaign.

[maryannauger]

woke up and someone spilled vanilla extract all over my dash, so as punishment you strange little beasties are getting all the VANILLA FACTS i know:

vanilla is the 2nd most expensive spice in the world (2nd to saffron)

which is why more than 99% of what we call "vanilla extract" is actually vanillin (vanilla's dominant flavor compound) and is not extracted from real vanilla.

luckily, even professionals struggle to tell the difference when it comes to things like baked goods. but there is a distinct difference in non-heat treated products like vanilla ice cream. real vanilla has a more complex, individualized flavor profile.

why is vanilla so expensive? because it is a ridiculously delicate & demanding crop. complete primadonna.

vanilla beans come from vanilla orchids. these crazy flowers bloom for A SINGLE DAY and have to be HAND-POLLINATED in a process that is exhausting, delicate, and requires specialist knowledge passed down over generations.

then, if you're lucky, you get vanilla beans.

which then require months of further specialized treatment.

the entire process takes about a year and can go wrong at any stage

vanilla has been cultivated for over 800 years (possibly much longer). the first known cultivators are the Totonac, an indigenous people of Mexico.

the Aztecs used it as a sweetener to balance out the bitter taste of cocoa. it was popular in a drink called xocolatl--the precursor to modern hot chocolate!

it is only pollinated by a very specific orchid bee!!!

which is why no fruit could be grown outside of Mexico until the 1800s

Edmond Albius, born into slavery, invented the pollination method we still use today--launching a global industry when he was just 12 years old.

today, the majority of the world's vanilla is grown in Madagascar

if you want real vanilla, read the labels carefully--it's harder to find than you think!

in conclusion, those tiny black specks you see in fancy vanilla ice cream? those are vanilla bean seeds! itty bitty orchid seeds!!! they are delicious and also a PRISSY BITCH!

(src)

[maryannauger]

Israel had shut off water and electricity from Gaza 110 days ago. One hundred and ten days ago. Most of us would literally not survive this long without clean water and electricity. Look around you right now and tell me how many things in your vicinity depend on electricity. Are you able to imagine a life without uninterrupted access to water? I still remember the old lady who was interviewed in a tent who said "the question you should be asking me is how long ago was the last time I showered".

To know that millions of people have their literal life spans, their movement, their access to water, when they can eat, what and how much they can eat, when and how often they can shower, how and where they sleep - to have it all be controlled and dictated for them while also, simultaneously, the mere idea of providing them with aid is "out of everyone's hands"?

There are fucking miles of aid trucks, filled with essentials, that are stopped right outside of Gaza at the Rafah border, while people inside of Gaza are freezing and starving and dreaming of clean water to drink. How does this not infuriate you?

Fuck Israel and every nation that enables and emboldens it.

[maryannauger]

Your daily reminder that inaccessibility isn’t just a little bother to disabled people but is part of a violent ableist culture that bars disabled people from many parts of life and treats them as unimportant and unneeded

Accessibility should not be an afterthought, especially when it comes to radical events

[maryannauger]

u ever in such a bad mood u feel urself turning evil?

[maryannauger]

a reminder that you are gorgeous by default. you are beautiful as a baseline. you're really pretty. also you're cool

[maryannauger]

[maryannauger]

[maryannauger]

Y'all remember "cops aren't supposed to kill guilty people, either", right?

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve to die beneath the rubble of their homes.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve to be shot with expanding bullets that cause massive tissue damage leading to amputation.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve to have their flesh burned away with white phosphorous.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve their fishing boats blown up.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve to see their husbands and fathers executed in front of them along evacuation routes.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve an anonymous phone call threatening to destroy their lives and families.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve to be detained for years without charges.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve to be tortured, starved, and sexually assaulted in prison.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve to be deprived of water.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve their olive trees to be uprooted while they look on.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve sixteen years of blockade.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve to be prevented from traveling for lifesaving medical care.

Palestinians who have done something wrong don't deserve this genocide.

[maryannauger]

so what you're gonna do is you're gonna trim the top off a bulb of garlic, using the knife's edge to take off the tip of every individual clove, that's important. you're gonna place the garlic face-up in a square of tinfoil, drizzle with olive oil, wrap completely in foil, place in baking tray, repeat with a copious amount of garlic bulbs. you're gonna put that baking tray in an oven set to 375-400°F, for 30-50 minutes, until soft and browned. you're gonna toast some good bread, slather generously with butter and honey, maybe a tiny lil bit o' salt. and then. you're gonna SQUEEZE. OUT. THAT. ROASTED GARLIC. onto the butter honey toast. and you're gonna eat it. food stolen directly from the plate of the gods. that's what you're gonna do.

[maryannauger]

[maryannauger]

[maryannauger]

It's fascinating how fatphobes' brains kind of stop at "people shouldn't be fat" or "fat people should lose weight". Like if it's tough to fit into airplane seats, or find clothes, or get a doctor to take you seriously - their solution is weight loss. As if anything and everything can wait until you've become skinny.

I mean even if we play along and pretend that long-term weight loss IS achievable for everyone and not just a small minority - that takes time? Even the handful of fat people who will be skinny in five years are still fat now, and they'll be fat tomorrow too. They will be here on earth for the duration of those five years, living and partaking in society.

It just baffles me that some people will always be like "I just don't think anyone should be/stay fat" and that's the end of their argument. Like.. ok bro. Fat people are still here though, regardless. I'm gonna keep needing clothes to wear.