I'm begging people to please just learn to enjoy things, genuinely. Like yes, think critically while consuming media and stay alert, but also remember to allow yourself downtime.
I'm tired right now and probably won't be able to articulate this properly, but I just saw someone on Twitter complain that movies like The Menu and Glass Onion are shallow half-critiques that don't actually say anything radical about the rich/class systems, and I mean... Yeah? That's actually ok? They're entertainment products designed for mass appeal. And I'm not saying that something can't be entertaining as well as taking a clear, defined position, but I'm saying that not every piece of media has to be an in-depth takedown of social/political systems.
Both films had something to say, and do a good job of getting people thinking about our current society and it's issues. They aren't documentaries created for a niche group who have thoroughly studied these ideals, nor do they claim to be. Not everyone watching these movies will have the same knowledge of social systems, and most people certainly don't want to be flat out lectured by fictional characters.
Learn to enjoy things for what they are sometimes, without feeling the need to condemn them for every way they didn't live up to your personal standard
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Ok, now I'm really concerned that how to prevent rats isn't common knowledge like I thought it was. So, to anyone whose parents/guardians/adults didn't teach you, here's the basics of prevention*:
Rats, like you, need three things: food, water, and shelter. If they don't get these things, they don't bother sticking around. Access to food is probably the biggest draw, and the one you can do the most about.
Rats eat the same foods you do, and the same food that most pets eat. You don't want them to have access to this food, so:
Don't leave dirty dishes laying around, the smell will attract rats. Don't put leave dirty dishes in your bed room, or under the couch, or in your car, or whatever. Dishwashers are great, but if you don't have a functional one, and you're low on energy/executive function, at a minimum cover your dirty dishes with soapy water instead of leaving them out. Rats can't eat soapy food.
Work to minimize food waste, because the smell of tasty food in your compost or garbage will attract rats.
Don't put food scraps in your indoor garbage unless your garbage can is rat proof. Take it outside asap, to a rat-proof bin.
When composting, if you're composting food that would be attractive to rats (grains, fats/oils, dairy, meat) it's best to: bury the food down in the center of the pile, try out bokashi composting, or have a rat-proof composter. Generally people do tell you not to compost dairy and meat, but I do know that some people do it anyway.
Keep your grains & legumes in rodent proof-containers. Glass jars, metal trash cans, etc.
If you have dogs, put their food away at night. If you have birds or other animals that eat a seed-based diet, then it pays to make their food/enclosures inaccessible to rats as well. Cats are rat deterrents so leaving dry food out for them is probably the one exception.
Clean up spilled foods immediately.
If you have fruit trees (like those apple trees everyone has that were planted 3 or more decades ago) and notice that something besides a deer is eating them, it's really best to pick all the fruit. You probably can't eat it all, so giving it away is a good option. Compost the rotten/icky ones fallowing the advice above, or dig a hole and do some trench composting.
Rats also need water, which is another reason to make sure you don't have any leaks anywhere, and to not leave beverages out in open containers.
Beyond that, thoroughly looking around your house, inside and out, to make sure there's no access points. Vents can be covered with wire mesh, holes the size of a dime need to be patched (because mice exist, too). Keep vegetation clear from around the base of your house, and make sure there's no trees or shrubs growing close enough to your house that a rat could make the leap to your roof. Keep an eye out for tunnels near your house's foundation, because they will tunnel underneath.
Also, while I'm at it, for the love of your house's structural integrity, DO NOT store wood piles against your house. Termites people!!!
And yes, there's a reason why cats are such a common pet. Not only do they hunt rats, the very smell of a cat is enough to deter rats. Do not just get a cat for rat prevention though, only get a cat if you're going to provide it a good home and are able to take on the additional care tasks without over extending yourself. Getting a housemate that comes with a cat is a great alternative to getting your own cat (and I'm only halfway joking).
*because prevention is much easier and much less terrible than dealing with an infestation. Prevention is so, so, so much easier than getting rid of them, particularly because once they're there, they'll start eating other things that wouldn't have been enough by themselves to draw them in.
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02/09/2024
Cleanliness is next to godliness, so we can assume Jesus always had a broom nearby.
Gotta sweep sweep sweep.
___
JOKE-OGRAPHY:
In this Bible story, a leper comes to Jesus and asks to be healed by saying, "Lord... if you will it, you can make me clean." Alas, in English, "make me clean" can be read two ways.
1. "Make me [become] clean." Where "clean" is an adjective, describing a thing.
2. "Make me clean [something up]." Where "clean" is a verb, describing an action.
Lepers were considered ritually unclean by the Jews. The leper is asking Jesus to wash away his unclean affliction (meaning #1). In this cartoon, Jesus messes with him first by misinterpreting his words and ordering him to sweep the road (meaning #2). This is, as usual, hilarious.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This is another one of my world-renown "Tomics Resurrections" where I've dug an old cartoon from its dusty grave and reanimated it with the IV drips of LOVE, the tesla coils of INSPIRATION, and the giant lever of DISSATISFACTION WITH ANY WORK I'VE DONE THAT'S MORE THAN A DAY OLD! Behold the shambling, groaning result of my hubris! How does the new version compare to the old?
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