captain underpants is a book series written by dav pilkey, who was often punished in school and reprimanded because he had ADHD and dyslexia, and he created captain underpants while sitting in the hall being punished for “misbehaving.” when he wrote captain underpants, he encouraged the behaviors that he was so often yelled at for, and encouraged creativity and humor, mostly the very type of creativity and humor that got him in trouble in the first place, despite his teachers literally telling him that his comics were useless and there was no way he could make that into his living. instead of giving up, he wrote a beloved book series that had two cannonically ADHD characters who were told that their ADHD was not only okay, but wonderful, one of whom is cannonically not straight and grows up to have a husband, in a book that flat out makes fun of the GOP in the first few chapters, and i am being completely and utterly serious when i say that we do not deserve dav pilkey or the captain underpants books and it makes me want to tear up as a pan kid w/ severe ADHD because this means so much to me
… or, in his own words:
Dav Pilkey is the only reason I started taking drawing seriously.
I wish I could write a letter to him or contact him or something because I need to thank him for literally changing my life
Dav fought against the man and won. Don’t let them turn you into an obedient drone. Fight for creativity and expressing yourself. Dav should’ve been president.
theres a new product by verzion called “hum” that allows your parents to track your car and places you go, if your parents are controlling like mine please check under your steering wheel to make sure that they havent installed this
here is what it looks like installed:
you can read more about it here, and here– this excerpt sums up what information Hum will send:
“a car’s owner will be able to get notified on their phone when the vehicle leaves a pre-determined area or drives faster than a set speed… [Hum] will enable location tracking and a driving log, which measures travel times, engine idle times, and average speeds.”
People in abusive relationships, please check your cars.
Ive been seeing commercials on actual TV for not this specific product, but similar ones. Its absolutely terrifying.
If it’s used abusively it’s horrifying. If used the right way, it can be a life saver. My parents had one installed in my car and honestly; the emergency response button on it is incredible. I accidentally hit the button one time as I was getting out of the car, and the HUM center called my car through the device. Since I wasn’t in the car, the person on the other line only knew that an emergency call was placed and I was unresponsive. Despite this being a mistake and I wasnt actually hurt, the way they handled it amazed me. They contacted first my mom and when she didn’t know if I was okay, they contacted the police in my area and gave them an approximate location and vehicle description. This thing can save lives. It also tells u if anything is wrong with your engine, and what it is that’s wrong. You can also call for towing or general advice if your car breaks down. If used the correct way where it’s CONSENSUAL, it’s very useful.
^^^
I’ve seen advertisements for these and it actually seems kind of terrifying, as a teen.
Oh so I was right (partially) when I first heard of it, it CAN be used for good.
kids have no concept of anything. i walked into my kindergarten class and one kid asked me what my name was. when i said miss jones, he said “i like that name. did you know i’m in love with you”
i asked my four year old cousin how old he thought i was going to be at my next birthday and he said 8. im 23
once i told a 6 year old that i had finished school and was doing “more school” [university] and she asked “why haven’t you found anyone to marry then”
We were at a museum and I was asking for the student discount and my nine year old cousin looks up at me with his eyes wide and says “wait you’re a STUDENT??”
I used to babysit these three kids and the eldest who was around 11 at the time was talking about how adults are boring and when I told him I was an adult he said, “That’s not true, you’re my age”
our aunt teaches and she has this story about a little girl who really was always pretty quiet in class and then on the final day of kindergarten she just up and stated ‘i’m all teached now. i don’t need to be teached anymore. i’m done of being teached.’
once when i was 19, I told my little cousin that i was 19 and she looked up at me with huge eyes and went, “Does that mean you don’t have to bring an adult with you to the pool?”
My 6 year old cousin saw me driving for the first time, looked up at him mom and said “does that mean she is married now?”
I watched my dad and my niece (3 at the time) arguing over a pair of pants and whether or not they were also a dress. My neice’s argument was that they were, in fact, also a dress because they were blue.
I asked the kids in my daycare class what they thought I should be for Halloween and this little boy goes, “ooh I know! A pickle! You’d be such a good pickle”
On the first day of class with my favorite student of all time, I said, “Are you okay? You look like you have a question.” And she looked me right in the eyes and said, tremulously,
“Can a piranha eat a stapler?”
One time I was working with a kid and he looked up at me and asked “Do you have a boy?” I had no idea what he was talking about, but I told him that I did not have any boys. He looked shocked and then deeply concerned and said “Well, you better hurry up and shave your arms so you can get married; August is next month!”
I was sitting on the floor with my 3yo niece and we were playing with her younger brother’s alphabet blocks and the O had an octopus on it. So I picked it up and asked her what it was.
“Octopus,” she said, all curls and smiles.
“And what kind of animal is an octopus?” I asked. I was looking for “fish” or “sea creature” but I would have accepted almost anything–”weird,” “gross,” even “slimy.” “Underwater” or “it lives in the ocean” would have also been acceptable.
She looks me right in the eye and says, happy as a clam, “It’s a cephalopod.”
I haven’t been the same since.
My younger cousin thought College was a city, and that all of the older cousins were at the same city, College, just attending different schools.
i had a preschool teacher called ms. warner, and no one could figure out why i was so scared of her
the truth was, i had an overdeveloped vocabulary and figured her name was a warning and i should be on my guard
I picked up the 3-yr-old I was babysitting and she reached out slowly towards my face and said–with absolute seriousness–”you have bones in there.”
My 2 year old niece is in the car and is heard talking to herself. She said “Them’s not broccoli. Them’s trees. Layla no eat trees,”
I was watching a 6 year old boy this past summer. He was throwing a cotton ball (which I have no freakin idea where he got it from) at some other kids in the room. I took it from him, and put it on a plate that was covered in peach juice. He reached to grab the now soaked cotton ball, and I stopped him saying; “What do you think you’re doing?! You’re gonna get all sticky.” He then put on this very sad, puppy dog face, and walked away muttering to himself. “But I like touching peach juice….”
In the same vein as other ‘things humans do that aliens might be weirded out by’ what if human pattern recognition skills were the thing? Like the ability to see a cloud resolve into a dog, or faces in wall patterns. Stuff that evolved from predators having camouflaging abilities, or let’s face it, bugs that can look basicaly like a leaf to prey ON.
Imagine an alien being super confounded by a human being like ‘oh, that control board looks like a face’ and it’s just this big grouping of random lights and line but no ALL the humans on board think it looks like a FACE and theyve started NAMING it. And it just seems so confusing- is there anything on this flat painted wall? ‘No of course not’ HOW IS THERE AN OF COURSE NOT. What about in that galaxy? And the human squints and stares at it and says ‘yeah, it looks like a cat.’
And they an draw out what they’re recognizing in the lines but it’s just so strange.
And then an enemy develops ‘cloaking technology’ that’s based on camouflaging and are so angry that every single human is able to point it out because it’s a completely obvious moving shape to them.
or: alien species are introduced to leaf insects, tigers, and that one octopus that imitates a coconut and freak the heck out.
I think a lot of people forget that a library is a giant room filled with free awesome shit that you can take home and play with, no questions asked. just as long as you tell them you’re gonna, and remind them if you want to spend more time with the stuff.
I think the US library system should have a once a year advertising spree where they just have the phrase
“Libraries. Don’t forget: Things are free in here.”
Posted literally everywhere.
No. If ordinary people start going into libraries, libraries are going to get robbed. They’ll spend tons of money trying to replace missing books and they’ll be loud as hell. This is a terrible idea.
First: there’s no such thing as “ordinary”. People from all walks of life have always used libraries. The system I work for has ALWAYS had missing lists, and always will. It’s human nature: a certain percentage of items are always going to go missing. Most libraries take that into consideration when ordering materials.
We use strategies to curb things from walking off, of course: put video games and DVDs in locked cases, for example. But you’d be surprised how many people dont even know how that we have video games! Also, we have a SUPER EXTENSIVE digital collection, accessed for free with a library card. You dont even need the physical items! We also have a toy collection. That’s right, TOYS. For free with a library card. And they ALWAYS come back. We have access to makerspaces, audiovisual recording studios, and much more, all for free with a library card.
Still, we get patrons who walk off with things, improperly check things out (which adds to the missing list), and guess what we do? We constantly try to help patrons regain access to being able to check things out. We do a lot of fine forgiveness so that patrons can continue to take things home. We know a lot of people might not be able to pay their fines at the moment. So we try to work with them because life happens. We don’t judge or try to limit patrons. We try to help them to clear their cards.
Fuck outta here with that “going to get robbed” mindset. Libraries are free, and always will be. They stock way more things than youd ever imagine. Try walking in one some time. I bet it’s changed a lot since youve last been there.
^^^
Also, fuck the idea that libraries have to be quiet. In half an hour, I’ll be teaching kids how to make their own intruments from vardboard and a MakeyMakey set and they will play piano, bongos and a synthesizer that does fart sounds (they’re 8-10 years old…) and we’ll be doing it right in the library. The children’s library is never quiet.
There ARE quiet corner and there always will be, for people who want to work here. But on the whole, I prefer a library where people are not talking in hushed tones and walk around on tiptoes. I want them to feel at home and that bring a certain amount of noise with it.
Also, what is ordinary in your mind? What are these ordinary people you are talking about because I don’t think I have seen such a person in my life.
Seems to me that SOMEONE is well off enough to not need to use the services of a library, and not coincidentally, they believe poor people don’t deserve access to those same resources that, in owning them, SOMEONE feels superior.
I have an infinite love for libraries and it took some time to realize they offer so much more than “just” a huge treasure of books even though I visited libraries daily for years.
I didn’t expect them to offer other stuff like guided tours, public talks and discussions, workshops, help with research and computer software, etc, so I didn’t really see it at first. But libraries have a very important social role for people of ANY background! I can’t even be mad at library fees because I see them as a donation to a wonderful service that is otherwise free or almost completely free!
Libraries are for everyone
We also have AC in the summer and heat in the winter and comfortable places to sit. We have tables to work at and (sometimes) outlets to plug things into. We have a lawn and sometimes we put lawn games out on it. We have literacy services and free wifi and programs where you can play with LEGO or see a medieval weapons demonstration (we had a trebuchet on our lawn once – we launched water balloons with it) or learn about local history or geology or wine or dozens of other topics. We run video game nights and board game afternoons and computer classes and storytimes and we just started running trivia nights at a local pub. We have a display space local artists can apply to exhibit their work in and we host art shows from the local high schools once a year. And that’s just where I work. Some libraries can offer more, some can offer less, but we all do what we can.
Why do we do it all? Because EVERYONE DESERVES ACCESS. Every single ordinary person out there? They have the right to access information. Libraries aren’t for the elite. They’re for anyone who wants to use them. Hell, we have tons of material available online now. Stream it for free! Movies, shows, music, audio books, text, databases, newspapers. You don’t even have to physically come in the building again once you get a library card and you STILL get access to all of that. That’s why we fucking exist. For ordinary people and extraordinary people. For the people who can get it elsewhere and the people who can’t. We offer it free. Because you deserve it.
^ THIS
LIBRARIES ARE FOR ALL PEOPLE TO USE
this is why i love libraries and love working for one
and yes sometimes people steal things, but the vast majority of them do not
and even when people do steal things, we replace them and move on
because we are dedicated to providing access to all people
I would LOVE to work in a library…but I would probably get distracted by all the books! <3_<3
I do work in a library, and I do get distracted by all the books (and DVDs). My “to-read” lists are insane.
“If ordinary people start going into libraries…”
EXCUSE ME BUT WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK LIBRARIES ARE FOR????
Signed,
A Librarian
As the daughter of a librarian I can also guarantee that half the missing books are in the homes of librarians and their families who have forgotten which are the library books and which are home books.
I worked in a library for several years.I would spend half of my lunch breaks reading things I’d found on the shelves, and it was one of the most wonderful jobs I’ve ever had.
Also: emphasis on how they’re fantastic, because they offer access to education and learning TO EVERYONE. This includes the homeless. And homeless kids still need a place to learn, and libraries are often a great place for them to come in and stay somewhere safe, and learn things. Don’t dismiss libraries!
– An Ex Librarian
As a only child to a single mom that worked two jobs the library was my after-school safe place. From 4th grade on I would go there after school, do my homework and eat a snack and then read or enjoy one of the many programs, book readings, activities or just talk to some of the librarians. It was my happy place, my safety blanket. We were too poor for a babysitter, and while it wasn’t an ideal situation the staff always understood, and I didn’t make a pest of myself. I literally don’t know what would have happened to me if it wasn’t for our local libraries. Books, movies, even toys or equipment, none of which we could have bought on our own. Personally I’m glad libraries exist for “ordinary” people like me.
^^ same.
In my city, doing this is wild illegal, but it was honestly one of my finest childhood memories.
I’ve been on a first name basis w my librarians since I was 14. The lobrary was a beacon for my friends and I in HS. We spent most of our free time there. They KNOW I have ADHD and tend to misplace things so they have always granted me leeway w fees and such. They are super helpful and friendly and are a big part of my life, they even seem to think so bc they got mad when my husband came in to get a library card and they A) Got mad that he didn’t have one, B) That I would marry someone who doesn’t have one and C) Got mad that they didn’t even know I was married
They insisted that as soon as I had my kid, she get a library card, let me know they have free classes and activities my kid might want to do bc they know we’re a low income family and could use their many, free resources.
Fun fact, in 1962, India and Portugal went to war against each other, over small patches of land in India called Goa, Daman and Diu that had belonged to the Portuguese for almost 500 years
It was a crushing defeat for the Portuguese, as they didn’t have enough military assets in the area to mount any credible resistance, and thanks to international pressure, their attempts at reinforcing their military presence where limited to shipments of infantry and small arms, their only heavy weapon of notice in the region being an obsolete sloop, the NRP Afonso de Albuquerque, of the pre-war era, that was quickly sunk by the more modern Indian warships:
The war was also the first time a developing nation used an aircraft carrier in a military operation, in the form of the INS Vikrant
Lasting over 36 hours, it was a quick but decisive conflict that finally gave India full sovereignty over her territories, while at the same time showing Portugal just how alone they were in their ultimately futile attempts at keeping their colonies, something that would be known as the Portuguese Colonial Wars, which lasted until 1974 and effectively brought to an end the Portuguese Empire.
How did the Portuguese lose more manpower in casualties and POWs than they even had?
ifesbob 