Vote In Every Election, For Every Position!  Some Really Horrible Racist And Anti-LGBTQ+ Groups Are

Last week, my boss gave me a folder with what she said was my quarterly evaluation.  This was inside.  Best Boss Ever!

I just realized that I forgot to post yesterday!  I had it planned out and just ... spaced.

Anyway, now that I'm done beating up myself (with e. e. cumming’s help), I'm ready to take on the world.  If you're sequestered, this may be a good time to add some color to your life!  Yesterday’s poem was I Shall Paint My Nails Red by Carole Satyamurti.

For today's poem, if painting your nails isn't acting out enough, try some Dangerous Coats by Sharon Owens.

Pride puppies!!!

kinda late but I really wanted to draw something for pride month so have some transparent pride pups!!

if you want a certain flag/pup feel free to message me for a request! ;w; I’d be happy to take a few as these were really fun and relaxing to draw

Awwww!

Some non-binary awareness pictures I made for a russian nb blog

This is kindof weird.  My likes and pictures from my posts and reblogs were on there, but it removed them pretty quickly when I went through the remove page.  @awfulhorrid discovered that it made browser security add-ons (like Privacy Badger) light up with warnings, and they saw some fishy things when they looked at it more closely.  Bleah.

tumblr mirrors on ‘photosugar’

So idk if others have noticed this before - but it’s the first time I’m seeing this, hence the post.

There’s a website, https://www.photosugar.com, which apparently mirrors all pictures, gifsets etc. people post on their tumblrs (and also other social media sites like twitter and instagram, if I understand it correctly). An eample for a tumblr user, with my name: https://www.photosugar.com/tu/lordhellebore

Now it won‘t turn up anything but a 404 error in my case, because I sent an e-mail to the contact address, which is darius@photosugar.com with the title “My content on your website”:

Hello, it’s come to my attention that you are mirroring all of the posts containing pictures/gifs that I post on my tumblr. I am asking you to stop pulling the content from my tumblr and to delete me from your website. tumblr username is „lordhellebore“ Thank you.

I got a reply consisting of the single word “removed” after just one day, and as you can see, it worked perfectly fine with the informal mail I sent. So if you want them to stop mirroring your tumblr, it seems all you really need to to is this.  

I can’t test the site for all of my mutuals, but I’m tagging a few whom I found on there by random trial & error, and I suggest you look yourself up if you see this post and dislike tumblr mirrors (even if this one is only for pictures, not text).

@janiedean, @ladytp, @vaysh11, @lunavagantt, @einemelodieimwind, @robb-greyjoy, @youbuggingme, @ysilme, @rex-luscus, @bai-xue, @viendiletto, @electricalice, @contessa-de-leusse, @memetic-mutism, @bluecichlid, @mrs-storm-andrews, @ladymothwing, @prismatic-bell, @kittykatknits, @tinkili

….basically, whomever I’m trying at random, it seems that you’re on there.

 Please reblog so others can know and ask for removal if they want to.

Believe the beautiful snow leopard!

°˖✧*•  Shop, Patreon *•. ✧˖°`

Please vote!  No matter what the political bots say, there is a world of difference between Democrats and Republicans, and every vote matters.

Also, make sure to look at the candidates and vote in your local races.  A lot of work is being done on school boards, library boards, town councils, and other very local levels to ban books, limit what can be taught to children, restrict library programs, and much more that chips away at your rights.  

How do I put this gently . . . You fuckers wanna see Trump actually face consequences - see Roe protected - not lose all the progress of the past 2 years under Biden? (yes ik we need more to be done i know) YOU HAVE TO FUCKING VOTE IN THE MID TERMS - POLLS ARE SHOWING A RED RESURGANCE BC PEOPLE HATE INFLATION AND THEY'RE VOTING REPUBLICAN LIKE IT'LL DO SOMETHING TO STOP IT.

I don’t have many followers, but if any of you know someone in the Chicago area with kids who want to take them to a queer-safe Santa, please pass this along!

This is so frustrating.  Have any of you wondered why your local library doesn’t have eBook versions of your favorite book?  It’s crap like this.  All of the major publishers (and their subsidiaries -- so this covers a lot more books that you might think) put some sort of major block between libraries and their eBooks.  This can include jacked up prices, limits on the number of checkouts, limits on how long a book can circulate before the library has to buy it again, embargoes, or some combination of those.  Oh, and in most cases, the library can only check an eBook out to one person at a time.  If several people want to read it, they have to wait, or the library has to “buy” multiple copies.  (Yes, even if the limit is on the number of times a book can circulate.  Doesn’t that make sense?)

What do I mean by jacked up prices and limits on use?  Let’s take a look at some books that are popular now, just as examples!

The President is Missing by James Patterson and Bill Clinton -- $90 for libraries to buy the eBook.  You can get it on Kindle for $14.99.  You or the library can buy the hardcover print version for $15 or less.  For that matter, you could buy the print version, read it, and give it to the library.  That’s right out for eBooks.

The Outsider by Stephen King -- just $20.99 for libraries.  That’s not too much more than the $14.99 Amazon is charging people.  However, the copy that you buy (probably) won’t disappear after 12 months.

The Other Woman by Daniel Silva -- $28.99 for libraries.  Again, $14.99 for ordinary mortals on Amazon.  Do you think you and your friends could read it more than 26 times?  Not if you’re checking it out from the library!  After 26 checkouts, it goes away.  But it’s still limited to one reader at a time -- even if ten people want to read it today (and use up almost half of those checkouts), they have to wait in line to get it.

Feared by Lisa Scottoline -- Are you ready for this?  $60 for libraries AND it goes away after the earlier of 52 checkouts or 24 months.  (Still just $14.99 on Amazon for individuals though!)  

I could go on and on.  (Just ask my family and friends who have gotten to hear this rant in person!)  I just checked the top 5 New York Times bestsellers in fiction and nonfiction.  All of the eBook editions suffer from these higher prices and/or restrictions on use for libraries.

Why?  Because we cut into sales?  Libraries buy a lot more print books than eBooks, even now, but we get discounts on the print editions.  Publishers know that library sales mean more people reading their books and reviewing those books, talking them up to friends, buying them for family members, even buying their own copies later.

Because people might crack the DRM on the library’s eBook?  It’s possible.  However, it’s probably easier with a regular commercial copy because library eBooks are actually locked down more than individual eBooks.  You can’t access an eBook that you’ve checked out once the loan period is over -- it’s automatically “returned” to the library.

Could libraries spend their money on smaller publishers that are less restrictive?  Absolutely!  However, those eBooks aren’t on the bestseller lists.  They usually aren’t the ones that our patrons are asking us to buy.

I’m afraid I don’t have a great way for individuals to make a difference.  (Mostly, I just wanted to rant because this is a topic I find extremely frustrating.)  Joining Readers First and letting publishers know that you support libraries will help.  Being patient when your local library can’t get the books you want as an eBook is great, too.  If you have a way to talk directly with someone high enough in one of the big publishing houses, let them know that these restrictions hurt libraries, hurt readers, and ultimately hurt sales of eBooks.

Tor Publishing Issues a 4-Month E-Book Embargo on Libraries, Cites Retail Sale Concerns

If you’ve been to the library recently, you might have noticed something strange. New e-books from Tor Publishing are nowhere to be found. Ball Lightning by Cixin Liu. Cathy Clamp’s newest novel in the Luna Lake series. The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark. All missing. That’s because Tor is refusing to let libraries have them.

Several library organizations and advocacy groups, including the American Library Association and ReadersFirst, have come out against Tor’s embargo. In a phone interview with io9, ALA president Loida Garcia Febo expressed her concerns that it could mean more trouble for libraries and their relationships with publishers, taking into account how hard they had to fight to get e-book access in the first place. She also said how unfortunate it is that the embargo is targeting sci-fi and fantasy readers, given how dedicated and passionate they are about the written word.