Schur loved not only the central thesis of “What We Owe to Each Other” but also the book’s title. “It assumes
that we owe things to each other,” he told me. “It starts from that
place. It’s not like: Do we owe anything to each other? It’s like: Given
that we owe things to each other, let’s try to figure out what they
are. It’s a very quietly subversive idea.”
It is, in a way, deeply un-American — an
affront to our central mythology of individual rights, self-interest and
the sanctity of the free market. As an over-the-top avatar of all our
worst impulses, Eleanor is severely allergic to any notion of community.
And yet her salvation will turn out to depend on the people around her,
all of whom will in turn depend on her. What makes us good, Chidi tells
her, is “our bonds to other people and our innate desire to treat them
with dignity.”
Adulting tip: before you move in with someone, sit down and have a discussion about what a clean living space looks like. Doing this would have saved me so much aggravation in my life.
“But Jaqui,” I hear you asking, “why should we have to talk about it? Clean’s clean, right?” No, it’s not. And thinking cleanliness is a self-evident concept is a great way for screaming fights to happen down the line.
Here’s an example: to my mom, clean means that all the things in the space are not actively dirty, and are free of crumbs and food stains and the like. It doesn’t matter to her where you put your shit, so long as no one has to worry about bugs or stains or diseases. To my once-stepfather, clean meant that everything had a place where it belonged, and things were neat and organized, and there was no visible clutter. He gave less of a shit about crumbs under the microwave than he did about random papers on the coffee table. So she could spend all day working to make sure you could eat off every surface in the kitchen, and he would come home and be upset because she’d spent all that time and as far as he could tell, nothing was clean. Meanwhile, his obsessive organization drove my mom batshit because he would blithely organize away things that weren’t clean by her standards. Needless to say, that relationship did not end well.
So yeah. Have the talk, and figure out what your “augh, this is unlivable, we need to clean!” points are. You may not always be able to get a shared living space exactly as clean as you want it, but if you figure out what everyone needs to feel like they have a reasonably clean space, you’re much more likely to correctly conclude that, when someone makes an offhand comment about the mess getting to them, you’ll know they mean the dishes in the sink are bothering them, and that they don’t give a shit about the dust on the bookshelves, and can act accordingly.
Incredibly, INCREDIBLY important, especially if you’re in a situation where allergies and illness can even further impact the cleanliness of a house.
I currently live in a house with four other people, two cats and a dog. Two of the people are mildly allergic to fur, one person smokes pot, and I can’t deal with strong smells very well. With so many people and animals and substances, it’s patently impossible to keep the house spotless without someone devoting their entire day to the project, and we all work (one is on social security, but she has mental health issues and depression so we don’t really care if she cleans the house so long as she can care for herself).
On any given day, there’s clouds of dog and cat fur caught in corners, dishes left on tables and counters, and mail and documentation left where it lands. We all agree that this is mildly annoying, but normal and fine and pretty much clean.
Dirty in our house is a sink full of dishes, junk cluttering walkways, animal pee next to the back door because someone didn’t get to letting the pup out in time, and a shower turned slimey. Individual rooms do not count outside making sure no one has dishes or food inviting pests.
At my parents house, before I moved out, dirty was Dad’s greasy work boots on the carpet, the dining table overtaken by Mom’s sewing projects, and boxes and boxes of stuff piled in rooms and hallways while the dog napped in Dad’s armchair. The only time anyone deep cleaned was either before we had company over, or someone started cleaning a small thing, like a spill, and ended up following the daisy chain and wound up spending hours clearing counters and emptying the fridge.
Cleanliness is relative, and it’s important to understand your limits.
And this is why we used to make cars out of STEEL instead of FIBERGLASS! Sure, fiberglass is a lot lighter in weight and hence a hell of a lot better for gas mileage. But you hit anything at more than 20 mph and the entire body explodes off the fucking thing, and now you’re spending more to repair the car than it’s worth because you need a entire front end, read end, or side panel. They can’t just take the damaged section off, beat it out with a hammer, sand it, and repaint it.
Everything is made with the idea of it being easier to replace than to maintain, aka planned obsolescence. Thanks, capitalism
You guys are obscenely, dangerously wrong.
It’s not planned obsolescence, it’s physics.
Modern cars crumple to absorb and distribute the forces of impact in an accident in an effort to protect the occupants. When cars didn’t have those crumple zones, the occupants, being the soft, squishy things they were, took those forces and were mangled or killed in horrible ways. Also, those older cars took hidden damage that often went unnoticed and made them very dangerous to drive. IT’s really easy to hide a twisted frame when all you need to do to make the car look okay is a bit of sanding and paint.
I recently watched a TV show where a small sedan was run over by the trailer of an eighteen-wheeler. Run. Over. They had to unwrap the crumpled ball of a car from the undercarriage of that trailer. Guess what? The driver suffered only minor injuries because the car collapsed in exactly the way it was designed to so that she, in the very strong frame surrounding the passenger compartment, was protected.
And no, don’t thank capitalism for these modern cars. Thank Ralph Nader and countless other safety activists who worked tirelessly to make car manufacturers accountable for the safety of the people who drove their cars.
A while ago, someone came up with the theory that Dumbledore had a horcrux – Fawkes. The SuperCarlinBrothers talked about this theory before being bluntly shot down by J.K. Rowling.
But the joke’s on you, Jo. I was already torn apart by you when you said that all disabilities in your world would be “fixed” or “overridden.” You can’t hurt me anymore! Haha! I’m as immortal as Harry!
“Wait, as immortal as Harry?”
What do I mean?
Well, I’ll tell you!
I think that the original theory was onto something. I think that Fawkes was a horcrux. But I don’t think he was Dumbledore’s horcrux. No, no…
I think that Fawkes was Harry’s horcrux.
Now, before I begin, note that this is just a theory and that it’s midnight, I’m tired, and there’s a good chance that I might not get everything right. But I’m going to try. I await your many many many messages in my inbox to explain why certain things I bring up can or cannot work.
First of all, let’s get the shakiest part of this theory out of the way. The prophecy. The prophecy has always confused me but I’m pretty sure it can still fit into this theory. I’m just not exactly sure how. Again, I’m tired. So let’s just assume that the prophecy fits perfectly.
And here we go…
To repeat: I think that Fawkes was Harry’s horcrux.
A horcrux, of course, being an object in which a person stores a minuscule piece of their soul which keeps them alive.
And I believe that Harry has unknowingly stored a piece of his soul in Fawkes.
And I know what you’re thinking.
“Ah, marauders4evr, you truly are tired. Don’t you know that you have to kill someone in order to create a horcrux?”
I do know that.
“Little tiny innocent Harry Potter is a pure cinnamon roll too good for this world. Surely he has never-”
Ahahahahahahaha.
Remember that time little tiny innocent Harry Potter stabbed a gigantic snake?
I do!
And I think that after he does this, a little piece of his soul jumped ship, merging with Fawkes’ soul. After all, Fawkes had landed on his arm in order to cry Harry back to life.
“No, wait, no. J.K. Rowling said it herself – in order to create a horcrux, you have to perform a ritual so disgusting that her editor nearly vomited when hearing about it.”
Clearly her editor has never read fanfiction but I digress.
It is true that usually some big dark ritual is performed in order to create a horcrux.
Except for one occasion.
It’s widely accepted that the reason why Harry became a horcrux is because Voldemort’s soul was so splintered (from the amount of horcruxes that he created) that a piece of it just broke off and went into this child.
“So, wait, Harry’s soul was splintered?”
Well it certainly wasn’t stable. You’ve got two souls that have been suddenly fused together faster than Ruby and Sapphire. And we know that Harry’s soul has always been unstable. That’s why the Dementors affected him more. That’s why he kept having weird dreams wherein he saw into Voldemort’s mind. That’s why his scar hurt whenever Voldemort was nearby or angry or existing or…you know that part was never clear. But the point is that we know that Harry’s soul is corrupted. So much so that I think it’s safe to say that it’s splintered, splintered enough that after murdering a snake in cold-blood, a part of it flies off and attaches to Fawkes.
“Okay, marauders4evr, take it easy. If Harry’s soul was so splintered that a piece of it could break off after he murdered someone without the need for the dark ritual, then why wasn’t a horcrux created when he burned Quirrell to death hmmm?”
Okay first of all…why doesn’t anyone ever talk about the fact that Harry straight up killed his professor? I mean it was in self-defense but still…you think anyone would talk about that but they don’t, not in canon or in the fandom. But I digress.
Who’s to say that Harry didn’t accidentally create a horcrux after killing Quirrell?
“Okay, now you’re full of it.”
Probably but hear me out.
What if a little tiny piece of Harry’s splintered soul did break off and go into an object in the room? Maybe an object he was holding like…
…oh snap.
Yep. If you want, you could also argue that the Philosopher’s Stone was briefly a horcrux. I say briefly because Albus Dumbledore states outright that Nicolas and Perenelle destroyed it. (Note: Not the Nicolas and Perenelle from my books, although wouldn’t that be an interesting twist?)
So the Philosopher’s Stone is gone. Kaput. Which means so is that little tiny piece of Harry’s soul. Which stinks. But it’s not really relevant to this theory, it just provides a safety net for lingering questions.
But I digress…
I think that Fawkes is Harry’s horcrux. Which explains why Harry seems to be drawn to him so many times in future books. The others seem comforted by his songs but Harry has always had a genuine connection with him which isn’t really explained. What if this is that connection? Two souls reaching out to one another, causing a subconscious connection?
“Okay so Fawkes is Harry’s horcrux. What does that mean?”
That means that if Harry were to say, walk into the Forbidden Forest to stare Voldemort straight in the eye and accept his fate…
He would come back.
Because really, it’s never explained how Harry comes back. There have been a few feeble guesses. This is mine.
The reason why Harry came back is because he couldn’t die because a piece of his soul was in Fawkes.
As long as Fawkes is alive, Harry cannot ever truly die.
“Wait a minute…Fawkes is always alive.”
And now you see the best part of the theory!
No matter how much Fawkes dies, he always comes back. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes.
Fawkes can never die. Which means, if you believe in this theory, that neither can Harry.
Which means that Harry can never die.
Which means that Harry Potter will always be The Boy Who Lived.
And really, what better way to symbolize his eternal life than a phoenix? It’s literally the representation of Harry – someone who ‘dies’ multiple times but always comes back. Harry and Fawkes. The Ones Who Lived.
When I was a kid, my mom would make these chocolate toffee bars for us every Halloween. While the trick-or-treaters stuffed their faces with candy, we enjoyed these gooey caramel chocolate squares. To this day they are my absolute favorite Halloween treats!
Chocolate Toffee Squares: Every once in a while it’s nice to treat yourself to a wonderfully rich dessert! We’ve got one that will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth and is perfect for that “pat on the back” after a hard day’s work!
Ingredients: 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 2/3 cup light brown sugar ¾ cup butter or margarine 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 cup of HERSHEY’S Chipits Dark Chocolate Chunks 1 cup of Hershey’s Chipits Milk Chocolate Chunks 1 can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) 1 1/3 cups CHIPITS SKOR Toffee Bits
Method: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Combine flour and brown sugar in large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg; mix well. Stir in 1-½ cups chocolate chips and set aside 1-½ cups of the mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over hot crust; set aside ¼ cup toffee bits. Sprinkle remaining toffee bits over sweetened condensed milk. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture and remaining ½ cup chips over top. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Top with reserved toffee bits. Cool and cut into bars.
For more Kitty Chef recipes like this one, check out our cookbook “The Kitty Chef: Easy Family Recipes” available via: www.theoreocat.com
if fallout 76 really is a world where “every character is a real person” & there’s no NPCs im making it my civic duty to be like this lowly tavern barkeep and then once i’ve established enough of a rapport i’m going to nuke all of west virginia and it will be in character
someone help where’s the screenshot of some post somewhere about the mmo player who barkept for a longass time then fucked absolutely everyone over
there exists exactly one (1) picture of garak from his time on ds9, taken by jake on accident, and mysteriously scrubbed shortly afterwards from every single computer database on the station.
blackash26 