Suzanne Collins Gripping My Face With Her Hands: Listen Listen The First Step To Evil Is Dehumanisation,

I’m actually crying over KB’s storyline in the newest episode of Skeleton Crew.

As someone who was the kid with disabilities, it sucked. You were always the one being left behind, the one working twice as hard just to keep up. You feel guilty for making your friends change how they do things to accommodate you but also a little angry because they should want to make things easier for you, because they’re your friends!! And sometimes people decide your friendship isn’t worth giving up their way of doing things, and that friendship fades into nothing.

KB pointed out that Fern not acknowledging her disability and treating her “like everyone else” was actually the opposite of her being a good friend. But Wim also pointed out that KB never expressed that to Fern due to her own fears that Fern won’t be her friend anymore (probably due to losing the rest of her friends post-accident).

I just think is SUCH an important message to show kids - that sometimes being treated equally isn’t actually equal treatment. Sometimes you have to have compassion and understanding for your friends who aren’t as able-bodied as you, and that it’s okay for disabled kids to speak up about their needs.

Ecosocialist praxis

Highlights from the conference room where they nominated contenders for Word of the Year 2023:

• They put Skibidi Toilet on the projector to explain what “skibidi” means.

• Baby Gronk was mentioned.

• We discussed the Rizzler.

• “Cunty” was nominated.

• “Enshittification” was suggested for EVERY category.

• “Blue Check” (like from Twitter) was briefly defined as “Someone who will not Shut The Fuck Up”

• The person writing notes briefly defined babygirl as “referencing [The Speaker]”. He is now being called babygirl in the linguist groupchats.

• MULTIPLE people raised their hand to say “I cannot stress this enough: ‘Babygirl’ refers to a GROWN MAN”

I turn 30 next month so here’s what I learned in my 20s:

—don’t work for startups, they’re always one ‘innovative idea’ away adding ‘sell your kidneys on the black market’ to your job description.

—keeping a collection of basic OTC medicine on you will save your life one day. I recommend Advil, Imodium, and TUMS.

—those little single-use glasses cleaning wipes are 1000% worth the money

—overly self-depreciating jokes just make people uncomfortable, wean yourself off of them

—you can buy dehydrated mini marshmallows in bulk online and they’re a godsend for hot cocoa

—people don’t care if you have fidget toys on your desk they just want to play with them

—try to go to bed BEFORE the existential ennui kicks in

As a writer, my hobbies include doing anything other than writing.

My latest cartoon for @GuardianBooks.

My cartoon for this week’s Guardian Books

as an aroace person with limited sexual experience, no interest in watching porn, and poor sex ed as a teen, there IS something simultaneously funny and vaguely tragic about being 28 adult years old and realising how extremely tiny your frame of reference is for genitalia and deciding you should expand this to better understand bodies (yours and others). and then you're just there like "okay so what the fuck do I even google right now, anyway"

patience is such a compelling dynamic in relationships sorryyy it’s the peak of romance to me