#this is an affiliate link

[peonybookblog]

Guess what's out today! It's You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, which is a collection of 50 poems edited by Ada Limón that reflect on our relationship with the natural world. It looks really cool!

#this is an affiliate link #poetry #nature poems #milkweed press #ada limón #books #small press #unless the release date changed after i scheduled this post in which case my apologies

[vaspider]

If you have celiac or otherwise can't eat wheat, btw, and you like bread, I highly recommend investing in a breadmaker. Even the best store-bought gluten-free bread does not hold a candle to the stuff that comes out of our breadmaker, and it's cheaper per slice even when we buy bread mix in single-loaf bags.

This is our breadmaker. Evie got it on sale, but it is an investment. I'm not going to pretend it isn't a chunk of change up front. There are cheaper ones, but the reason I like this one and think it's worth the money:

It has two smaller paddles, where our older bread maker that my mom got us and got destroyed by getting construction dust in it had one big paddle in the middle. This leaves a big hole in the middle of the finished loaf, which makes the bread much less useful for, like, sandwiches.

Zojirushi is not as well-known a brand in the US, but it's a Brand Name in Japan for good reason. Evie's had our Zojirushi rice cooker for over a decade & we had to replace the inner bowl once bc someone used metal utensils in it and scratched the non-stick coating. We expect to use this machine for at least a decade.

You can program your own cycles, which we found really useful. Evie built a custom cycle that removed the punch-down sections (gluten-free bread tends not to rise as much) and that made our perfect loaf.

A lot of bread machines produce very tall, square loaves, which are awkward to slice, store, and make sandwiches with. This produces loaves that make good sandwiches and toast, and the French toast slices don't crowd the pan.

The top heating element on this gives a really amazingly browned top crust that we definitely didn't get on our old machine.

It's so pretty.

So how is it cheaper in the long run if the machine costs $300+? A little like this:

We use Pamela's Bread Mix bc it's really consistent and easy - you need the bread mix, water, yeast, 3 egg whites, and oil. (We use avocado oil and find it best and most consistent, but regular vegetable oil works!) We buy Pamela's in bulk, and without any subscription discounts or whatever, the $48 pack of 3 bags makes about 11.5 loaves. With the cost of yeast and eggs and stuff, it ends up costing about $4.50 a loaf. (If you buy your yeast in larger bags & store it in an airtight container, you can create less waste and it's also cheaper.)

By comparison, a loaf of Franz GF Bread costs $7-8, and Canyon Bakehouse usually runs about the same.

However, that's not an apples to apples comparison because the Franz loaf is an 18 oz. loaf, whereas our breadmaker makes a 2 lb. loaf. Assuming even the lower-end cost for getting a Franz loaf at the store, an equivalent amount of bread would cost $12.42, and it's not nearly as good.

(Yes, gluten-free bread is fucking expensive. That's part of why I'm writing this post in the first place.)

Anyway, assuming you eat 2 lbs. of bread a week in your house - a breadmaker loaf, basically, to make the math simple - you'll end up spending $7.92 less on bread every week. That means that even at the most expensive cost for the Zojirushi, if you buy it at its highest price (don't do that! wait for a sale!) it'll take 50 weeks - about a year - before the breadmaker pays for itself. If you manage to get it on a 25% off sale (which we did), it pays for itself in about 9 months.

Nine months, I must stress, in which you are eating much more delicious bread.

We tend to go through a couple of loaves a week because toast, sandwiches, and melts are great food for people with low spoons.

Evie and I perfected the Pamela's mix recipe for this particular machine - I'll get it typed up when I'm downstairs next, along with the quasi-babka recipe. (Really, it's like a marble cake and babka and bread had a baby, and it's a family favorite.)

Bread good. The end.

#my peasant roots let me show you them #homemaking #queer homemaking #food #food cw #affiliate links #i may make a few pennies from these links #and use them to buy books

[magicalshopping]

♡ Spiderweb Fan ♡

#goth #nu goth #halloween #spiderweb #spider web #hand fan #fan #accessories #gothic #alt fashion #fashion blog #shopping blog #amazon #under 20 #affiliate #affiliate links

[unpretty]

Discworld Bundle!

$18 for 38 Kobo ebooks!

EIGHTEEN DOLLARS

THIRTY-EIGHT EBOOKS

The deal goes until February 1st! Unfortunately I think it's US only, so you might not be able to redeem this deal if you're using a VPN? I haven't checked.

Here is my affiliate link, go nuts

#original #affiliate links jsyk #there is DRM but if you have been following me. you know.

[thebibliosphere]

Continuing this post: it’s time to add COLOR

Paint is Arsenic by Farrow and Ball but color matched by Ecos Paint.

Let’s see how far I get.

#there are no affiliate links in this post #but I am an Ecos Paint affiliate #just for transparency

[zarla-s]

I was cleaning up some broken links on my old silly Pokemon fansite, the Neglected Pokemon Lovers Unite (NPLU), and I realized that it has now been open for 25 years. TWENTY. FIVE. YEARS. That is an ASTONISHING amount of time for a site to stay open! Even if the last substantial update was like back in 2009 lol. The world around it has changed so much, but I think it's still valuable as a time capsule of a certain time on the internet. I wrote up a new essay about it on the site and did some general clean-up here and there.

Anyway to that end, since so much of the fic and art there is so old, I decided to compare Radic's oldest form to his newest! Radic was always a human boy but I just couldn't draw humans at the time so I made him a furry lol. Eventually I figured it out.

I also thought it'd be a neat challenge to mimic my own style back when it was really wonky and bad. And it was! It was kind of fun actually. I don't have too many shots of Radic from back then (it was hard to get art on the internet in the late 90's-early 00's), but I do have a few - hugging Kitsune, two old kiribans if you want to compare. I had a lot more old shots of Parasects though to reference unsurprisingly, they were very triangular lol. I think I did a pretty good job of matching what my art used to look like. I had a clear see-through Gameboy back in the day if you can't tell what Radic is holding lol.

("Isn't Radic the faceless avatar of your gamer self as depicted in Handplates-" yes, but Pokemon!Radic is the only one that actually became his own character, all the rest are shells)

If you do go poking around the NPLU, please keep in mind that almost everything there is very old and most of the fic and art is pretty bad (and shockingly violent). Plz do not judge me! My younger self was a cringey weeb but she was trying very hard. :<

[patreon]

#pokemon #z art #radic #callima #parasect #man i haven't drawn a parasect in ages i forgot how fun it is #my crabshroom babies #i always get tempted to just delete all the links to my old art but people always tell me not to #they like seeing it?? which always baffles me but i'm trying to accept that there's something worthwhile about them lol #radic is blind so he's not using the switch he's just holding it #maybe for red? idk #there was this odd stretch where i was using dot eyes #then switched to big anime eyes #then smaller anime eyes #then back to dots again #time is a circle... #i also used to use ^_^ CONSTANTLY #thus the ^_^ by old radic there #i've seen a lot of old web trends get revived but not hit awards/kiribans #for some reason #hit counters sure webring sure affiliates sure awards and adoptables sure #but celebratory things for reaching a hit marker? haven't seen a lot of those lately

[geeses]

Chronic Illness Tools Master post

Hi! I'm Laura. I am disabled with Ehlers Danlos, MCAS, and POTS. Here are a few mobility aids, physical therapy tools, braces, comfort items, and other things that I have acquired over the years that significantly increased my quality of life. I hope it helps someone.

Mobility aids:

Folding cane

Instant seat

Shower stool (nice quality)

Shower stool (cheap but works)

Physical therapy tools:

Exercise ball (small)

Exercise ball (large)

Exercise bands (with handles)

Yoga wheel

Cervical traction

Resistance bands

Theraband (get that GRIP)

Foam roller

Grip strength resistance bands

Adjustable ankle weights

Braces:

Neck brace

Wrist widget

Thumb splint

SI Joint Belt

K-tape

Knee brace

Wrist braces

K-tape (non-bulk)

Back brace

Elbow brace

Comfort items:

Heating pad

Neck and shoulders heating pad

Massage gun

Hand fan

Acupressure mat

Large Icepack

Leg pillow

Neck pillow

Bulk epsom salts (guess this could also go in the next category)

SALT:

Saltstick fastchews (orange and watermelon are my favorites)

Salt pills (that don't upset my tummy)

Cell Salts (these help my migraines)

Misc:

Quercetin (for allergies)

Neti pot

Bug bite thing

Hand warmer

Bed tray table

Toilet seat cushion

Yoga swing (yeehaw cowboy)

Cooling towels

TENS Unit

Huge Mason jar pitcher thing (revolutionized my access to water)

Pulse oximeter

*Notice* All of the above WERE Amazon Affiliate links. They no longer bring me money because Amazon decided that Tumblr is not an authorized site to use links on. Fuck amazon. I worked hella hard on this list.

I am a disabled queer artist. As I'm sure you know, it is very expensive to be disabled. These links won't bring me anything other than the joy of helping someone else. Please enjoy and share! Knowledge is power.

if you are feeling generous, here is my venmo for tips.

#text #resources #disabled #disability #ehlers danlos syndrome #hypermobility #mcas #tools #pots #dysautonomia #amazon affiliate links

[thethirdromana]

Christmas gift ideas for Dracula Daily readers/ Re: Dracula listeners

The book itself

For obvious reasons.

Re: Dracula merch

Ditto.

European railway atlas

For when you want to recreate the Crew of Light's epic journeys across Europe.

Reproduction of Bradshaw's Handbook

To look 100% like an authentic living Transylvanian nobleman who is definitely not pretending to be his own servants.

Kukri paper knife

For opening envelopes Jonathan Harker style.

Whitby wall calendar

To imagine yourself on holiday in the style of a Victorian schoolteacher.

Romanian cookbook

To get that recipe for Mina.

And of course prints and similar things of all of the amazing fanart that people have made!

#dracula daily #re: dracula #these aren't affiliate links or anything i just thought this would be fun

[animenostalgia]

Rumiko Takahashi has a new artbook coming out this December! "RUMIKO TAKAHASHI COLORS 1978 -2023" will be 400 pages, with tons of color art, including copies of original drawings from her classics like Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2, and of course her more modern works like RINNE. There will also be lots of newly written comments by Takahashi herself (in Japanese) about her art and process. If you're outside of Japan and want a copy, the artbook is currently available to pre-order on CDJapan, and you can use my affiliate link here if you'd like to order & support the podcast! It's due to come out mid-December 2023.

EDIT: CDJapan hasn't updated their listing yet, but the artbook has been delayed to March 2024! Thank you for the head's up, @everythingranma !

#Rumiko Takahashi #classic manga #artbook #manga art #urusei yatsura #maison ikkoku #ranma 1/2 #affiliate link #links out

[muffinlance]

The Fox's Tongue and Kirin's Bone audiobook is on sale!

$4.99 until Sunday, September 10th, no recurring Audible subscription required. Voiced by the award-winning Gary Furlong.

Humanity is dying, hunted to extinction by creatures of legend. One boy was born to save them all.

That boy just got knifed in the back. He looked a bit too much like Aaron, you see.

Now it’s Aaron’s job to step up, lest his Death correct that little mix-up. But Aaron’s skills as a street rat run more towards stealing and stabbing than towards saving. And the more he learns of what brought dear dead Markus to that fatal alleyway, the more he has to wonder just what the world’s savior was really up to the night the wrong boy died.

Cover art by the most excellent @art-emisz

FYI: Signed paperbacks and hardcovers will be coming back on sale in October so I can ship them ahead of the holidays; if you want an email when the pre-order launches, add yourself to my mailing list (it's at the bottom). Zero spam ever, only book news.

#fox's tongue and kirin's bone #my publisher controls the audiobook sales not me so no telling when this will happen again #original fiction #fantasy #asexual #asexuality #aroace #aroace protag #audiobook #is the link an affiliate link? #yes #am I making Amazon pay me moar money for my own book? #absolutely yes #writeblr

[linddzz]

Luckily the "what if the SHARK impregnated our ray???" seems to be dying down and bigger news organizations have the corrected information in their articles, but I wanted to share this great blog post by marine conservation biologist David Shiffman that covers both the cool actual science that got overshadowed while actually calling out the facility for how unscientifically they handled it and for the fact that they doubled down (esp since newer media they've put out is softly backtracking and it looks like they're attempting to play it off as a joke that the news misreported. Nope. They put the idea out there like it was as possible as parthenogenesis while calling themselves scientists at a "shark lab")

From the conclusion:

Unfortunately, poor handling of this story has made it likely that we are on track for another year where the most-shared news story about a shark or ray is pseudoscientific nonsense, rather than about their dire conservation needs, their importance to marine and coastal ecosystems, or amazing new discoveries about them. As a longtime supporter of zoos and aquariums and the roles they play in public science education, I am especially troubled by some of the public-facing communications here. If your goal is sharing knowledge with the public, there’s value in gaining accurate knowledge about the subject yourself first. Sharing wrong facts is not “raising awareness” or educating the public, and falsely claiming “anything is possible, don’t trust the experts” is, to put it mildly, not helping the ocean.

It's a great article to drop in if the "omg shark/ray babies???" keeps spreading. Or if you just enjoy niche science drama. The aquarium world doesn't get much of that

#to call them out even harder than the article does: it wasnt a random staff at the facility it was the founder/ceo/curator who owns it #which im fine saying bc she kept signing her full ass name to every statement #and to her double down post thats linked in the article #marine biology #marine life #science education #idk i care a lot about a place calling itself a science center being so fucking bad at it #i guess the aquarium world doesnt need to deal with 'roadside zoo' level nonsense #so now that something like it came up people doing the YOURE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ME

[magicalshopping]

♡ Angel Wings Tealight Candle Holder ♡

#angelcore #angel #cute #lovecore #cupidcore #heartcore #candle holder #tealight #tealight holder #home decor #decor #home #fashion blog #shopping blog #home goods #amazon #under 20 #under 25 #affiliate #affiliate links

[unpretty]

oh holy shit the $20 tier of this audiobook bundle (affiliate link) includes... murderbot? all of murderbot. every murderbot novella and novel, narrated by kevin r. free (who you may know from welcome to night vale), in mp3 format and with a portion of every purchase going to the national coalition against censorship. there are other audiobooks included but. MURDERBOT.

#original #affiliate links jsyk #THAT'S A REALLY GOOD DEAL HOLY SHIT #i already have all the ebooks and even i am tempted on principle

[thebibliosphere]

Anyone order a newly discovered praise kink with a generous side dish of soft-dom?

Vlad wrinkled his nose. “How do you ‘positively humiliate’ someone? Surely that’s a contradiction of terms?" Nathan shrugged easily. “It depends on the person. Pet names can be a good way to get inside someone’s head. Making people say things they’re normally too shy to say. Getting them to show off while they get themself off. Praise, compliments.” A hot flush stole over Vlad’s cheeks. “Mostly, it’s just making people feel good about things they want but are usually too shy to ask for." Vlad’s ears burned. But he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “But how does that work?” Nathan observed him for several long moments, and then something in his mannerism shifted. An air of authority rolled over him as he righted his posture and patted the meat of his thigh invitingly. “Why don’t you come over here and find out?”

Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites by Joy Demorra, book one, available now in two different editions.

Buy the (high heat) Flirting With Fangs Edition Here.

Buy the (medium heat) Fluff and Fangs Edition Here.

Why are there two versions, and what’s the difference? Glad you asked!

Don’t forget to check out the listed content warnings and corresponding heat ratings on my website at www.joydemorra.com

Alt text is provided for screen readers, with another image ID under the cut due to post length.

Image ID: Two book cover images side by side. The one on the left is red, with the words "Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites, from International Bestselling Author, Joy Demorra, Flirting with Fangs Edition."

It depicts two male characters, one wearing a light shirt, a visible arm brace and hearing aids. The other is wearing a dark suit and has visible fangs. They are walking side by side, their arms around each other. Both are turning to regard the female character on the right who is wearing a purple flowing dress and is in turn looking over her shoulder at them in an implied bisexual parody of the "distracted boyfriend" meme.

The cover on the right depicts the same image, but the background color is blue, and the text reads, "Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites, from International Bestselling Author, Joy Demorra, Fluff and Fangs Edition."

#Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites #Phangs #Joy Demorra #booklr #writerblr #LGBT romance #LGBT fiction #queer fiction #queer romance #fantasy gaslamp romance #bisexual romance #LGBT fantasy #queer fantasy #paranormal romance #shifter romance #indie author #own voices #authors of Tumblr #buy links #affiliate links

[vaspider]

Hey so while I'm rambling about things I like:

Let me tell you how happy my autistic ass is to have a toothpaste that tastes like Orange Creamsicle & how much easier it is to get myself to brush my teeth now. I look forward to it rather than it being a Chore. My teeth feel fucking great.

We got both the Lemon and Lavender & Orange and Cream. There's also Coco Ginger, Watermelon Mint, White Cranberry, and a regular Mint. It's flouride-free, gluten-free, vegan, and supposedly remineralizing.

Note: it does have xylitol in it. Our dogs are never in our bathroom unsupervised and rarely ever in our bathroom at all, period, but if your situation is different, please be aware, as xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs.

#actually autistic #stuff i like #seriously it's no longer a chore to brush my teeth? #affiliate links

[strathshepard]

“Look for what you notice but no one else sees.” –Rick Rubin

See also: Legendary graphic designer Paula Scher talks about the process of designing this iconic book at Pentagram – a good primer on publication design in general.

If you don’t have it already, buy the book here

#paula scher #rick rubin #quotes #books #graphic design #amazon affiliate link #inspiration #inspirational quotes