Cabot whipped cream near me

You make me feel electric. My doughy fingers trace your metal housing with care for your cool angles and sharp aluminum. I love when your buttons light up after I say the right thing. I want to feel every gigahert when my oblivious erection nears your analog inputs. You said it twice, but render it again and I swear to god I’ll plug in. I want to access our memories faster than you can compute. Don’t charge me, verify the specs, and we’ll do away with floppy dicks.

I made some Henry Stickmin style options for you folks to consider in addition to your own personal answers with results in spoilers. There are two endings and 8 fails. Choose wisely and watch out for Angel. Yes this took over hour to make and I was bored.
Double Down! Look him in the face and call him Mikhael again loudly and proudly.
The Maverick after you double down on calling him Mikhael again points his hand at you and shoots a powerful ki blast which sends you flying back through 3 houses until you end up in Sunny's kitchen. FAIL!
Beg For Mercy! Immediately drop to your knees, start crying, begging, and apologizing.
The Maverick looks at you and decides to give you a strong warning. However, Angel is upset and is not that forgiving for calling his Master "Mikhael" and you end up getting beat up by Angel instead. FAIL!
Slap Attack! You slap the Maverick and tell him to stop being a weeb.
"You dare to lay a hand on my perfect face you sad excuse of a person? Let me show you what a slap from the Maverick is like." You get slapped so hard, your entire body goes through the front car window... and that car is The Maverick's parents car... he screwed! BOTH FAIL!
Angel Hostage! Grab Angel and keep him as hostage until the Maverick will no longer beat you up.
Angel gets annoyed with you and teleports behind you and uses you as hostage to get the Maverick to buy him ice cream. It actually works and you walk away free. ICE CREAM ENDING!
Two Can Play! You power up and show the Maverick that you are willing to fight back... against... THE MAVERICK.
The Maverick delivers a very fast punch and you somehow dodged it. You laugh and call him Mikhael again. He punches very fast again and you are unable to dodge because Angel teleported behind you and held you in place causing you to get knocked out. FAIL!
Just Lie! Say Kel told you to call him that.
The Maverick knows you're lying because Kel is not even home. The Maverick proceeds to beat you up and tells you in addition to not calling him Mikhael, to not lie to him which is why you got beat up even worse. FAIL!
Hold Your Ground! Pull out your Paintball gun and threaten him with it.
You point the paintball gun at his wig and the Maverick begs you not to ruin his perfect "real" hair. You decide to shoot a few paintballs at his wig which sends it flying off his head and the Maverick drops down crying. His twin siblings comes out and caught you red handed and forces you to work with them at the Bakery until you make enough to replace the wig for the Maverick. FAIL!
Take The Wig! Remove his wig, remove his power? Worth a try.
The Maverick's power level plummets and you call him Mikhael again, and then you put on his wig and immediately feel a huge enormous power rush through your body as you begin to float in the air with electrical sparks all over your body. You demand he calls himself Mikhail from now on, but then Angel takes the wig from you and puts it on and points his hand at you, and shoots a powerful ki blast sending you into Faraway Park next to Aubrey who laughs at you. SUPER FAIL!
Pull Out Scouter! Take your scouter out to measure his power level and then respond appropriately.
The scouter reads "Error: >999,999 can not be measured!" and you drop to your knees begging and apologizing. The Maverick smiles confidently and let's you go. SCOUTER ENDING!
THE MAVERICK card! Pull out your THE MAVERICK user flair showing him that you are part of the Maverick crew.
The Maverick is confused as to why one of his loyal fans would call him Mikhael. He examines the user flair. He asks if you are really loyal to the Maverick and you say yes. He points his finger at you and asks if you are ready for your punishment? Being that you are a loyal Maverick fan, you close your eyes and shake yes. You go down proudly. FAIL BUT LOYAL!

Hello. Hope you're well.
25M from Hertfordshire (near London) in the UK. I'm a secondary school teacher. Travel has become a major part of my life with America, Amsterdam and Canada being recent trips that I've done. I would love to explore more plus culture and history about places I've never been to fascinate me. I also enjoy walks, visiting museums, listening to music or playing video games (PC and Switch).
I also have an eating disorder so as a result I'm quite short and very slim for my age. It also means depression and anxiety come with me by default
I'm looking for a human (good start, huh?) who can be from literally anywhere who I can bond with and go places with or potentially move into a relationship with. Long distance is possible. Hopefully your a fan of awful puns and dad jokes with a side of games and adventure too. Being down to vc or watch movies would also be cool (or even to talk on discord or something) - it's not me being desperate, I just really miss having voice calls.
Here's a icebreaker for you - what is a goal you have for your life? Where do you see yourself? If you could travel the world where would you travel to?
Thank you for reading this! You're amazing!! https://imgur.com/a/sEfFhUP

Demographics

• Gender: F
• Race/Ethnicity: asian
• Residence: small asia country
• Income Bracket: did not ask for aid except for need-blind colleges
• Type of School: small private, sends 1-2 to ivies each year
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): lol no

Intended Major(s): physics, philosophy
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 44 IB
• Rank (or percentile): 1
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: standard ib
• Senior Year Course Load: most rigorous

Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

• SAT I: 1540 (740RW, 800M)

Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.
(shuffled)

1. leadership position at a legit intl youth org
2. play an instrument for fun (upper intermediate level)
3. leadership position at another natl youth org (quit in 11th)
4. wrote for school newspaper
5. one of the leaders for school’s science club
6. coding projects i did on my own (not published or anything)
7. volunteer teacher for coding at an orphanage
8. founder of school lit mag
9. somewhat niche sport i did non-competitively
10. debate club member

Awards/Honors
List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

1. mid intl math award
2. decent intl pitch competition award
3. fluff regional math award
4. local pith competition award
5. school awards

Letters of Recommendation
(Briefly describe relationships with your recommenders and estimated rating.)
STEM teacher - 6/10? I'm not their fav student and they're not my fav teacher but I guess she thinks I'm smart?
Hums teacher - I'm their fav student and they're my fav teacher in a mutual admiration kind of way, can totally vouch for me, 9.5/10
Additional non-core teacher - offered to write me a rec, has written recs for kids who got into T10s, 9.5/10
Counselor - I guess she likes me, knows my quirks, but I'm not the most involved at school, 7/10??
Interviews
(Briefly reflect on interview experiences, if applicable)
didn't get any
Essays
(Briefly reflect on the quality of your writing, time spent, and topic of main personal statement.)

• common app: 5-8/10?? ok it depends like it's a really bizarre and cringe topic now that I reread it and if I could redo the app I'd most likely change it, but I'd say it resonates with certain types quirky of colleges? drafted the entire thing in like 2 days before jan 1 but kind of rewrote it the night before submission LMAO yes I barely had time to do apps, not with my adhd
• yale: I spent months perfecting this, 9/10
• columbia: spent nearly a week but could've been better, 7.5/10
• stanford: these were the hardest to write for some reason. kinda cliche and non-unique, 5/10
• swarthmore: I recycled a roughly-written essay (istg the word limit is so short), 7/10
• wellesley: wrote these 2 days before, love one of them but lowkey regret the other, 6/10
• amherst: i LOVED my amherst essays, 8/10
• williams: meh i wrote these the day before, 6/10

Additional Information:

• submitted creative writing portfolio to Columbia and Swarthmore despite never being published bc why not lol
• attended high school with multiple scholarships, prolly helped?

Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
Acceptances:

• swarthmore

Waitlists:

• wellesley

Rejections:

• amherst
• williams

Awaiting but no chance ikik:

• yale
• columbia
• stanford

all my safeties were in other countries and wasn't expecting to get into anywhere in the us so very very pleased with that swat acceptance esp since I plan to go to grad school <3
in all honesty tho, what do yall think got me into swat bc i know my profile is v mid

https://www.moxfield.com/decks/oSabceN83Ue2hJPuL1yHKA
I used to run [[Athreos, God of Passage]] as a [[Rat Colony][ commander, one of my beloved iterations of my rat deck, but it's been a long time since I've pulled Athreos out of the binder and into a deck box.
After wanting to brew a deck based on a [[Shadowborn Apostle]] engine and already feeling nostalgic for Athreos, the two cards inherent synergies made me decide to try and build something.
I've been playing the game for quite a while. I'm no Master Craftsman or anything, but I've found the rhythm for brewing that works best with my playstyle. Ultimately, I always start with focusing on my lands, ramp, card draw, and interaction pieces, then work on value and synergy, adding and taking away to ensure those previous pieces are not only strong enough to matter in the deck, but that they're synergistic with the deck as a whole. I'm a control/combo player at heart (kind of Midrange-ish?) and always run decks that have legitimate ways to win the game, pieces to ensure I keep drawing cards and have more resources to my opponent's, plenty of Mana to cast those cards, and ways to interact with my opponent's threats and keep them from winning instead.
The only problem with this deck is that while Shadowborn Apostle is inherently a straight forward card, deck construction around it has bot been. At all. Coming to understand how many I needed (31, as 30 allows for 5 activations off of a full Thrumming Stone pull and, as far as I'm aware, gives me, generally, a near 62% chance to get every Shadowpostle off of one Thrumming Stone trigger, with the 31st enabling [[Secret Salvage]].
Due to this inherent and massive limitation, it was quite tough to put a list together on Moxfield and with the price of the cards I don't already have I want to ensure I have confidence in the list even if I know it can be improved as time goes on.
I'm worried I don't have enough ramp, draw, Interaction, or a way to put a crucial piece to Tutor with Shadowpostle, like [[Razaketh, the Foul-Blooded]] back into the deck should I draw it early.
How do you manage unorthodox deckbuikds that you still want to be consistent and strong?
How would/did/ you brew Arhreos Shadowpostles and why?
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/oSabceN83Ue2hJPuL1yHKA
TL;DR - Need feedback on Athreos Shadowpostle build.

I've been playing for awhile now and my throw has developed to where I have been able to hit (one) 11 darter in competition. However I think I have taken my throw as far as I can and I cannot improve my averages with it any further without modification.
What I recorded when I put in some solid practice for a competition was that although I could hit 60s, 100's, 140's and 180's I was more likely to hit 41/45, 81/85, or 121/125. I have always had a real problem with getting more than 12 darts consecutively in the 20 segment, even aiming for the fat section. I know its not easy, but it shouldn't be near impossible after a good warm up.
So here is what I think contributes to my lack of an ability to stay straight and what I have done about it...
Firstly I am left eye dominant and right handed. I changed my throw from front-on to side on when this was brought to my attention, and now I can put my dart on target in my set up. I always try to stand at the same point on the oche with my hip aligned to the centre of the bull. I believed by doing this I could bring my follow-through straight at the 20.
Which brings me to the greatest flaw with my throw I feel, the follow-through. I'm 6' 4", so have long levers. If I try and throw hard my darts hit high. It's not that I 'snatch' so much, but more that my arm isn't fully extended at the elbow. I have worked hard on making my throw mechanical and a lot of my practice is concentrated on grouping around targets, which I think I do reasonably successfully, so I feel that this slightly kinked arm finish is pretty consistent.
When I did an alignment drill I found on YouTube where you throw your first dart at the bull and close your eyes for the next two. I found I was about half way right to the treble with my blind throws. I tried re-aligning my back foot to compensate, but I'm already standing side on and twisting further whilst standing in the same position on the oche wasn't the solution, I felt.
I was using Rising Sun 3.0 21.5g darts, because my first ever set were Puma darts, scalloped like the Meryn Kings' bamboo style. I'm a back gripper and the back scallop took my thumb well, the front my index. But I got into smoothies because I like the release without an aggressive grip pattern. Going heavier meant my arm was even less at 180% at the finish of my follow-through. So I grabbed some 12g smooth Buntings I'd tried a long time ago for shits and giggles, stood further to the right of the oche to open up my chest and started hitting 20's much more consistently, including a 180 on my third throw.
I'm sitting here unable to throw know because the muscles on the inside of my elbow are bloody sore, but I thank you for reading my rant this far and was hoping for some insights into what is going on.

The disturbing stats of unlawfulness always made me grab my cell phone and look for the best training classes for martial arts near me. I enrolled with the Krav Maga Experts based on my friend's recommendation and could see the changes in my body and mindset within the first few days. The trainers here have refined teaching and fighting skills and are professional in teaching you to become your own hero.

This happened in the final few weeks of my senior year. I was getting ready to graduate, and trying to decide if I should pass the reins to Amy 3, Pepper or Hannah the eviscerator. I'd undecorated my room, and was getting some studying done for finals, up way past my bedtime when there was a tap tap tap at my window. I looked to see a figure silhouetted against the dark night. I pointed towards the front door and, with a sigh, went to meet the person who'd be keeping me up.
I should have known who it was when I grabbed the door knob and felt it was ice cold. Not realizing the value of these omens, I opened the door to see Dahlia the harpy. She was certainly in a state, hair a mess, cheaters molting, with streaks of mascara running down her face. Her eyes were red from crying. I mean redder than usual. In a pitiable voice she asked "are you Shannon?" I said that I was. She asked if I still let anyone come to me with any problem. I said I did. She said "we haven't met, but my name is Dahlia. Will you help me?"
I stood slackjawed for a moment until a sniff snapped me out of it. I took a moment and thought WWHD (what would Helga do) and decided I would. So I invited her in, grabbed two pints of butter pecan, and sat down. I grabbed two pints because I didn't want to split one with her, and because I knew I'd need my own to get through this one.
She took a bite and then just sorta melted back into her human form, and for a minute just cried. When the wailing subsided, I asked her what her trouble was.
"I'm pregnant." She said. I'll admit with some guilt that the first thing I felt was relief. I was afraid she'd killed an adventurer and was trying to dispose of the body, but by now I'd handled unexpected pregnancies enough to be back on familiar territory. Then through the sobs she explained "I haven't seen my boyfriend in six months and I got lonely and…"
The relief gave way to white hot rage. She'd taken the one guy who had shown any interest without also being either insane or with one foot in the grave, and she had the audacity to do this? "WWHD" I whispered to myself. I realized I'd crushed my pint in my fist and forced my hand to unclench.
Dahlia continued "and Ethan is coming out in two weeks for graduation and I don't know what to do. I could sleep with him and then say…"
"FUCK" I shouted and sprang to my feet. It took everything in me to not strangle that woman where she sat. She looked up at me alarmed and afraid and I shouted "I SPILLED MY ICE CREAM AND I NEED TO GET A TOWEL." I shouted this loud enough that a few curious heads peeked out of their dorms.
Hannah asked if I was ok as I walked by. She heard me muttering "don't kill her don't kill her" and asked if I wanted her to take over.
I replied "no, but I'm going to need you on standby for afterwards. For me." I made it back to my room, screamed as loud as I could into my pillow, got a towel, composed myself and returned to face the monster. I cleaned up the spilled ice cream and was about to sit down, but then I looked at her and my eye twitched and I said "HANG ON LET ME PUT THIS IN THE LAUNDRY."
I was something that resembled composed when I finally got back, less than three minutes after my outburst, and I was able to pick up my ice cream and resume the conversation. Now given its prevalence in the story, it may surprise you to find out that while I do like butter pecan, it isn't my favorite. I don't know why it became the universal comfort ice cream of my college days, but it seemed everyone liked it and it worked to cheer them up so I didn't question it. The rest of that pint, though, tasted like ashes.
Dahila explained that when she told the father she was pregnant and it was his he'd literally run away, blocked her on everything and last she'd heard he'd left the state. Given that Dahlia was an eye eating harpy this response was understandable but absolutely detestable.
"Deliah, honey." That word was a struggle to get out. "Why would you do that? The thing with Ethan?"
She looked up at me and there was only despair in her eyes. "Because if I don't I… I'm… I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what, honey?" I asked.
Her answer was a whisper. "I can't do it on my own." And in that moment I felt a little better about not slamming the door in her face. I let her comment hang for a minute and she continued. "My mom was a single mom, and I never knew my dad and she… I don't want to be like her." Her voice broke. "I can't be like her, Shannon. Please."
I realized what she wanted. She wanted my approval to go ahead with Ethan, for me to tell her that that was the right thing to do. And if she wanted me to tell her that, it meant that she knew it was the wrong thing. I considered my next words carefully. "Dahlia, you're a senior. You're about to graduate. What kind of degree did your mom have?"
"She got her GED when I was nine."
"Well there you go, honey. You're already miles ahead." I said, false sunshine in my voice.
"But what if…"
"Yeah, the job marker sucks right now. But you're Dahlia the h…" I was going to say harpy. "The mighty. You can do this."
"But Ethan… what if I need him?"
I wanted to pull a Hannah, to verbally give her the ol KA LI MA and verbally rip out her heart, but I held myself in check. "Dahlia, you know that this plan of yours is wrong." I said, a little more sternly than I meant to. She started to protest but I interrupted her. "It's also setting you up for misery. You'll live in fear. What if he finds out? What if he realizes? What if he does the math and realizes that you can't deliver at a full 40 weeks if you've only been pregnant 32 weeks. What if he does a DNA test for one of those heritage websites? He might not know, but you will, Dahlia. You'll always know, and it will eat you up inside. What happens if, in ten years, you get in a fight and get drunk and decide to tell him, just to see how much it hurts him? Because it will hurt him. It will kill him. Do you think he's earned that?"
She just cried. She cried and cried and cried. And finally, in the smallest voice, she whispered "no".
"Then you have to do the right thing."
"I can't!" She shouted, then cried some more. "Will you help me? Please?"
Come to Shannon with your problems! She'll always do whatever she can. I got the number from her, and with each digit I dialed I cursed the stupid reputation I'd cultivated. I almost came close to even considering to curse Helga for believing in me.
The phone rang, and with each a sprout of hope blossomed in my heart, hope that it would go to voice-mail. And at last my prayers were answered! "It's Ethan, leave a message. If this is mom, hi mom!" Beep. I hung up, relief flooding into me. I tossed my phone down on the table and took another bite of ice cream.
Then I heard it.
The wrrr wrrr wrrr of my phone vibrating on the table. I recognized the number. Dahlia looked at me, a silent plea in her eyes.
I answered it on speaker. "Hello?" I said.
"Hey, I missed a call from this number?" Ethan said, from his voice he'd been asleep.
"Hi is this Ethan? Hi, my name is Shannon McMatthews, I'm the RA of dorm 6." I waited a moment for a reply.
"Uh…"
Well I suppose that one was on me, I didn't give him much to go on. "Now don't worry" I was about to say that nothing was wrong but that wasn't the truth. "She's not hurt, but I'm here with Dahlia. She needs to talk to you."
I clicked it off speaker and slid my phone over to Dahlia, who took it in shaking hands. I said "I'll give you some privacy. Come knock on my door when you're done."
She did a few minutes later and from her expression I knew how the call went. I just took my phone back and hugged her. She didn't want to talk more, so I walked her back to her dorm, returned to my own and then cried my eyes out. I told Hannah what had happened, and then without explaining to them what was wrong, she got the other girls to come out. And I cried. Because it's me and I guess that's my thing. I realized I'd been burying my feelings. That I didn't want this to end with graduation.
Pepper started it. One by one they took turns telling me about how I'd helped them, about when I'd been there for them, about what I'd done for them. They told me they loved me, how much it meant to just know I was there. Rachel said she thought of me as a big sister. Amy 2 said I was like the mom she never had. Hannah said I'd given her a voice. Girls, if any of you are reading this, know that it was a pleasure and an honor to have been there for you. I remember every single thing you said, I've written it on my heart and the memory of that night is one I cherish dearly.
Classes the next day could fuck right off, though.
I talked to Dahlia a few months ago, and found she'd really turned herself around. Brayden (of course) is a really cute kid. Dahlia herself is doing great. She works for a non profit helping single mothers. She did a bunch of therapy and is working on her MSW. I asked if she was dating anyone and to my delight she said "not at the moment, but it's fine, I might want a man but I don't need one." She's also stopped eating eyes. Well, she's stopped eating HUMAN eyes. So that's a start.

The short of it: my husband broke his phone in January so we shared my phone meaning his social media account logins were accessible. I respected his privacy and thought I had deleted all of them off my phone but realized I still had access to his Insta last month when I was trying to see if I still had access to an old account we had made for our pets. Since it was nearing Valentine's day, I decided to login to his account just to see if there was anything he was liking in terms of gifts since he's absolutely notorious to shop for. Instead, I found flirty messages between him and his half-sister's sister AND suggestive conversations with one of his friends who is happily married and proudly gay (at least I thought so).
For context: During this timeframe, we've had lots of shit happen such as me losing my job and finding out his dad has stage 3 cancer. He has a history of processing heavy news in not the best of ways and finding unhealthy outlets but he has made tremendous progress in the 10yrs we've been together. But I completely understand that he had the potential to regress with all the shit we've been going through.
With that being said, I have no clue how to confront him about this. My reasoning in confronting him is so he can acknowledge that he's not handling all this shit well and that if he doesn't want to talk to me about it (when I ask, he says "it is what it is."), that he needs to find a professional. The glaring issue is that me even finding out about this information violated his trust...but should I just disregard that since his behavior is just not okay?

Buckle in for a late-night, well overdue post in the form of a poorly structured plea
For several years, even when I was just beginning to sexually discover myself, I have fantasized about being... "prey," I guess. I've taken that BSDM test a hundred times over the past few years (not literally, I'm not that unhinged lol) and every time it shows I'm damn near 100% "brat." I would say that is extremely accurate.
The problem is, I've never met a guy (I'm straight, maybe a bit bi) that has embodied what I want in a sexual partner. My "criteria" are as follows: taller than me, 20yo-30yo give-or-take, attractive, strong, well-adjusted, and has the specific interest of overpowering/controlling someone like me out of pure desire and thirst for power.... I think. I'm not completely sure on that last criteria.
I understand that's a pretty common "ideal man" for most gals my age. But I'm hoping to find someone that fits the bill who can help me discover myself sexually and overcome the shame I sometimes feel toward my sex-life and interests. I'm looking for someone who isn't just looking for sex or sending pics or whatever. Rather, someone who I can build a sort of relationship with while mixing in some sexual aspects and maybe eventually take it further.
Some more things about my sexual self: - i hate humiliation :( - like fr i refuse to be humiliated and it is the opposite of a turn-on for me - spanking is ok tho ig - also i LOVE to be choked - i am an extreme "brat" - i tease like a maniac - i am not nearly as horny as i used to be, likely due to my meds and my shame/self-consciousness. hopefully a guy who is a better fit than my past partners can reignite something in me
One more thing. I would consider myself decently experienced sexually for my age. Nothing crazy obviously, but I just wanted to add that bit in to show I'm not just some teen coming straight from like a Wattpad fanfic who has a romanticized view of the world and the men in it.
Not sure what I expect from this post either. Hopefully something positive :)
DM me for my snap if you want to connect further

Not me, 50F who recently started violently coughing after drinking or eating. It started as something that only happened with cold things like ice cream but now happens almost every time they eat or drink.
Happens whether reclined or sitting up, I’m fairly certain it happens when standing as well. Coughing usually lasts for three to ten minutes and ramps up from mellow to making it hard to breathe. It’s been going on for about two months and we have no clue what caused it.
Most of her medications have to do with unrelated issues like chronic migraines. She has had Covid twice but that was in 2020 and didn’t have the sever cough as a symptom either times.

I'm somewhat stuck. I didn't get a chance to play much afterwards but I think it requires searching. I just a hint that can tell me what to do.
I dove deeper and deeper until I reached the lava zone. I found an alien structure (and I got the scene where that thing says it wants to help me), I went near and...lo and behold! It requires what looks like a blue tablet!
Feels like I should have found one by now but it's the first time I see the symbol. I only encountered purple and orange ones. Not sure if I want to scour every inch of the map. I don't know what to do! For a while now all my exploration with the cyclops and prawn has been going deeper and deeper near lifepod 2 (which led me to the giant cove tree, alien structure and another at the end of hte lava zone).
Can I get a hint?

should i masturbaite before inserting estrogen cream in me? idk why i just feel like that would help me absorb the estrogen better or should i just apply it as is? i suffer from atrophy and it hurts to put it in dry….

I'm nearing the completion of The Bumblebee Animation tutorial by u/Dog_Among_Kings. I've just finished animating the bumblebee through the environment, and it looks great, except there is a slight jitter between the last and first frames of the animation. I'm not sure what information to provide here, in order to facilitate help, but I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction, so I can get the scene rendered.

‘Canceled’ radical feminists and the Catholic Church: These unlikely allies believe women are female By Mary Farrow
This article is the first part of a two-part series on the Church, gender-critical feminists, and transgender ideology. Part two will be published on Feb. 12.
Mary Kate Fain doesn't agree with the Catholic Church about anything. Or, nearly anything, at least. But she does agree with the Catholic take on gender and identity. And that's cost her. A lot.
Last July, Fain wrote a piece critiquing non-binary gender identities. She questioned why so many of her female friends felt the need to shed their identities as women and to instead identify as "non-binary" - neither male nor female.
Fain published the piece on Medium, an online social publishing platform.
Not long after the article published, Fain was fired from her job as a software engineer. She claims her viewpoints are the reason she was let go.
"I guess one of my coworkers complained about the article and I was fired. And since then it just started the slew of cancellation," Fain told CNA.
"I was canceled from conferences, and canceled for multiple groups that I was a volunteer in, et cetera. And it just really highlighted to me that they all wanted to shut me up, but what it proved was that there really is a need for a place for women to be able to say this."
Since her firing, Fain, a millennial and freelance writer living just outside of Houston, founded 4W, an online publication that publishes articles analyzing radical feminist issues such as gender, male violence, sex positivity, and the portrayal of women in media. She is also co-founder of the feminist social media platform Spinster.xyz, and a volunteer with the Women's Human Rights Campaign.
And she is just one of many "canceled" women.
Why women are being "canceled"
Fain, along with several other women writers, intellectuals, and activists, have been "canceled" for their conviction that women are adult human females, whose sex-based rights, such as the right to female-only spaces like bathrooms or sports teams or therapy groups, deserve protection.
This view is no longer seen as politically correct by some tastemakers and gatekeepers, because it is "trans-exclusionary" - to hold this view means to hold that a man cannot "become" a woman because he identifies as one, and vice versa.
"...this is not something that you're supposed to say," Fain said. "We're supposed to just blindly accept what anyone says about their own identity, without any critical analysis, without any feminist analysis even. We're supposed to ignore that sex-based oppression exists and just admit, 'Oh yes, we are what we say we are and that defines our reality.'"
"But I think for any feminist, any real feminist, we know that that just simply isn't true," she added.
"Our sex does define certain aspects of our reality, and people are not allowed to say that in today's day and age."
Many women who hold this view refer to themselves as radical feminists, trans-exclusionary radical feminists or gender critical feminists, or even "canceled women."
"Cancel culture" is a relatively new term, used to describe the phenomenon that happens when someone, usually a famous person or one with some kind of platform, experiences a kind of shunning, harassment, or social banishment for doing or saying something with which a lot of people disagree.
Being "canceled" can take many forms: being trolled or doxxed on social media, being banned from Twitter or other platforms, or finding that events featuring the canceled person are quickly, well, canceled.
In January, an event entitled "Evening with Canceled Women" was canceled by the New York Public Library, where the event was to be hosted.
The canceled event was organized by Women's Liberation Front (WoLF), a group that advocates for the "rights, privacy and safety of women and girls, by which we mean human females," Kara Dansky, a board member with WoLF, told CNA.
"We were being told over the course of a week that the contract was being processed (for the event), and then the day before the deposit was due, we were told that we could not proceed with the event and we were not given a reason," Dansky said.
The event would have included the voices of women "who have, in one way or another, been silenced or canceled as a result of their outspoken views on behalf of women and girls," she added.
For example, the event would have featured Canadian feminist Megan Murphy, an advocate against pornography and prostitution whose insistence that women are female got her banned from Twitter, Dansky said.
It would also have included Posie Parker, a UK feminist known "for her insistence that the word woman means adult human female, which is simply the dictionary definition of the word," Dansky said. Parker has also been banned from Twitter for her views.
The event also would have featured Linda Bellows, a Briton "who speaks on behalf of lesbian rights. And she has been told that it is transphobic to insist that lesbians are women who are attracted to women," Dansky said.
These canceled women join a slew of others, with particularly high numbers in the UK, where the 2004 Gender Recognition Act lets adults register their gender as something other than the biological sex with which they were born.
Common ground with the Catholic Church
While trans-exclusionary radical feminist women typically hold many views with which the Catholic Church disagrees, such as approval of abortion and gay marriage, they share common ground in the belief that women are female and men are male - and they are born that way.
"It has been a tremendous plus to have radical feminists speaking out so strongly about the reality of sexual difference and against the new tyranny of gender," Mary Rice Hasson, the Kate O'Beirne Fellow in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. and director of the Catholic Women's Forum, told CNA.
"Although we disagree about many things – most significantly about abortion-– we agree on some important truths about women," she said, such as opposing violence and exploitation against women, as well as "the importance of acknowledging the reality of sexual difference and the dangers of the transgender agenda."
"Specifically, we agree that sexual difference is real, that males and females are different in significant ways, and that a person's sex cannot change," Hasson said.
"The Church's vision of the human person differs radically from gender ideology," Hasson noted. "Christian anthropology teaches that the person is a unity of body and soul, that we are created male or female, forever."
"Gender ideology, in contrast, imagines the person as a bundle of assorted dimensions," she said, such as gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and biological sex, none of which "needs to align – the person is self-determining. God is really not in the driver's seat."
Fain said she agrees that gender identity, "this idea that we have an internal sense of being male, female or neither, and that this has any effect on our material reality, is nonsense."
Dansky, whose group's primary goals are to fight violence against and exploitation of women in rape, sexual and domestic assault, and pornography and prostitution, said that her work is made nearly impossible in the context of broad social disagreement about what makes someone a woman in the first place.
"It's very difficult to solve all of those problems when we're not permitted to name the category of women," she said.
"It's very interesting to me that when our society talks about domestic violence and rape and sexual assault, and we talk about the rampant rates of these crimes being perpetrated against women and girls, everybody knows what the words 'women' and 'girls' mean."
In light of increasing acceptance of transgender ideology, the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education's issued a document entitled "Male and Female He Created Them" last June, explaining the Church's teaching on transgender issues and encouraging dialogue with those experiencing gender dysphoria.
The document cited the need to reaffirm "the metaphysical roots of sexual difference" to help refute "attempts to negate the male-female duality of human nature, from which the family is generated."
Such a negation "erases the vision of human beings as the fruit of an act of creation" and "creates the idea of the human person as a sort of abstraction who 'chooses for himself what his nature is to be.'"
Theories of gender, whether moderate or radical, agree that "one's gender ends up being viewed as more important than being of male or female sex," according to the document, which also reflects on the role of gender theory in education and speaks of a "crisis" in any alliance between the school and the family.
"Although ideologically-driven approaches to the delicate questions around gender proclaim their respect for diversity, they actually run the risk of viewing such differences as static realities and end up leaving them isolated and disconnected from each other," it said.
The document called for dialogue, and the protection of human and family rights. It also decried unjust discrimination and noted points of unity among people with different perspectives on gender ideology.
"Key allies"
Looking for concrete examples of common ground, Fain told CNA that she thinks that protecting the freedom of speech of those who oppose transgenderism will be one of the most important things that radical feminists and Christians can work together for.
"(W)e need to deal with this freedom of speech issue that's happening and cancel culture, which is making most people terrified to speak out on the issue," she said.
Fain noted that when she wrote the controversial article that got her fired, she had anticipated the backlash and had been saving for months to protect herself from the blow. She recognized that most people cannot afford to lose their jobs for speaking up on this issue.
"Most people can't, and especially women who are already at a financial disadvantage are more likely to be caring for kids," she said.
"And people are terrified to speak out on this issue because of the serious economic consequences that are happening."
"And although I have many issues with the right in general, I will say that I think religious freedom and freedom of speech do go hand in hand," Faid added.
"And so the Church's work on that is probably relevant here."
Hasson identified women like Fain as "key allies" in the fight against transgenderism going forward, and said she looks forward to working with them despite differences on other issues.
"Radical feminists have been fearless in speaking the truth about sexual difference - over social media, at universities, and in public hearings. They have refused to be silenced - even after being ridiculed, 'de-platformed' at public universities, or having their Twitter accounts shut down," Hasson said.
"We differ greatly about abortion and our views of men, but I am hopeful that our work together and personal regard for each other will open up some opportunities in the future for discussions about those areas where we disagree. But for now, I'm grateful for their commitment to speak the truth, even at great personal cost."

Source https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/43530/canceled-radical-feminists-and-the-catholic-church-these-unlikely-allies-believe-women-are-female

The short of it: my husband broke his phone in January so we shared my phone meaning his social media account logins were accessible. I respected his privacy and thought I had deleted all of them off my phone but realized I still had access to his Insta last month when I was trying to see if I still had access to an old account we had made for our pets. Since it was nearing Valentine's day, I decided to login to his account just to see if there was anything he was liking in terms of gifts since he's absolutely notorious to shop for. Instead, I found flirty messages between him and his half-sister's sister AND suggestive conversations with one of his friends who is happily married and proudly gay (at least I thought so).
For context: During this timeframe, we've had lots of shit happen such as me losing my job and finding out his dad has stage 3 cancer. He has a history of processing heavy news in not the best of ways and finding unhealthy outlets but he has made tremendous progress in the 10yrs we've been together. But I completely understand that he had the potential to regress with all the shit we've been going through.
With that being said, I have no clue how to confront him about this. My reasoning in confronting him is so he can acknowledge that he's not handling all this shit well and that if he doesn't want to talk to me about it (when I ask, he says "it is what it is."), that he needs to find a professional. The glaring issue is that me even finding out about this information violated his trust...but should I just disregard that since his behavior is just not okay?

I consider myself pretty scam-saavy. That said, I am taking care of my father full-time (he's currently in the hospital) and am unemployed while I take care of him.
I got an email today about an application for a "financial hardship program" that I had sent in, and they wanted to talk to me.
I thought my brother, who had come to visit after our father was hospitalized, signed me up.
But I read the email several times and a couple read flags popped up.
1) "received the application you filled out". Nope, I didn't and I KNOW my brother would have told me if he did (and he would have sent me the link, not signed up for me.)
2) This person was HONORED to work with me and my application (I think this is the new "kindly"!)
3) Email address wasn't exactly the usual gibberish, but it definitely wasn't lastname_first name or any variation thereof.
4) Googled the phone number, can't find any place it ties back to, legit business or otherwise.
Reported as phishing. No free fake money for me!

Another night nearly over.
I've been doing this for 8 years, and even now, I still sometimes can't fall asleep when I get home.
Anyone any tips ?
It's like I feel tired, and then I go to bed, and as soon as my head hits the pillow, my brain wakes up, and I start thinking about the most random things.
And it keeps me awake.
I've tried sleeping tables relaxation music mediation, and none of it works.

If you don’t want a read a damn essay then skip this post💀.
With the cynicism and overt criticism surrounding this film a part of me was a little scared that the criticism for this movie was deserved because I liked the first Shazam and I really wanted to like the 2nd one. I just came out of the theatre a few hours ago and I can honestly say that I actually had a blast watching this and really enjoyed it. It’s a fun popcorn flick. While this move isn’t a masterpiece by any means, it delivered on what it was sold to be; a family friendly fun action packed very funny superhero film, I enjoyed it heavily! Hot take but it’s actually now one of my favourite DCEU Films now.
It sucks that WB is pretty much sending this out to die right now because I really liked getting to know these characters more in this film and seeing their dynamics play out more.
The movie definitely would’ve been received better if it came last year like it was supposed to before all the string of more mediocre superhero content came out to really taint people’s opinion on superhero films that don’t push the envelope or try newer things. Also would’ve probably benefitted from having Black Adam show up and be the villain (but we all know why that never happened) or at least have a Sivana and Mr Mind payoff.
I definitely feel like the criticism for this movie was overblown. Is this story a little generic? Yes! But not every movie needs to be some revolutionary thing like TDK or Endgame. Some people are just setting high standards because they want to be disappointed and have a reason to be pissed at something. I really wouldn’t say this is mediocre? A little generic and silly? Sure but not mediocre at least in my opinion. Though I don’t believe in superhero fatigue as a whole, I do feel like a vocal group of people are dealing with personal fatigue with the superhero genre and just want more from superhero movies since the market is oversaturated and overexposed.
The over-saturation is definitely a major factor with as to why movie is getting so much shit (obviously there are other factors which do include valid criticisms) because simply it’s not pushing the envelope but not every superhero movie needs to do that! Some of these movies like action films are just meant to be fun and an escape from reality. But also considering where DC is right now I think some people had a little hope that despite the Shazam franchise being mainly known for it’s fun nature hoped it could help ease some sort of fatigue and give hope for the DCU going forward by bringing something more innovative (it left me hopeful anyway even though it won’t be an important player moving forward).
I’m also not saying Shazam can’t try different things and push the envelope but just because it doesn’t do that necessarily, doesn’t mean it’s a bad film. In addition to some people saw no point in watching or enjoying this film because of the likely chance that it’ll go nowhere in the overall DCU story moving forward. Sorry to be a broken record but while some of the criticism and amount of people disliking the movie are completely valid in how they’ feel (as some people just want more from Shazam and superhero movies in general). I do think some people are just being cynical and want it to fail because of the unsure state of the DCU and their own personal fatigue with superhero genre as I said before
I personally look at the superhero genre more expansively than Westerns as they’re often compared to, I really don’t think superhero genre will ever die out. It’s been nearly a century of constant superhero content in various medias being promoted and it hasn’t completely died out yet so I don’t see it ever dying any time soon especially as long as kids exist. The genre is diverse enough to keep going, sometimes not as strong as other periods it has done well in but it’ll do fine no matter what as a whole.
(Continued Below):

I have shared on here previously that my DB lasted over a decade and a half. Yes that does sound crazy doesn't? Feel free to call me stupid for staying. Anyway we have been in recovery now since July 2021 and things continue to improve but of course I still have my doubts. I think that the longer your DB continues, the more damage it causes to your psyche and of course the longer it takes to recover. It is funny how the little things can make you spiral. I had a photo pop up on my phone from July 2019 that was taken on an in-state car trip to visit a historic site and our favorite restaurant in a nearby town. Anyway, the photo reminded me of how unpleasant the first part of the trip was. I had made the mistake of bringing up our relationship while driving to our first stop. My wife's response was pretty ugly. I thought the timing would be good to bring it up since she had had time to recover from the prior school year. I was wrong.
Anyway, her reaction was full of the usual anger, deflection, blame shifting, etc.. After I thought about it later I decided that she didn't even want to be there with me. The good news is that trip made me realize that there was an expiration date on the marriage and that it was approaching quickly.
Fast forward to today and she is a completely different person. She started to change near the end of 2020. Why? Was there something else going on during the DB like an emotional affair? After seeing the old photos I just couldn't let it go and ruminated on it for a couple of weeks. It led to a big argument and of course I had no real evidence of anything like an EA. I realized that after all this time I wanted there to be something more than the stressful job and some resentments that she held onto for too long. How can someone be that way for so long and then change so completely?
Those of you who have left a DB or fixed the DB, did those doubts and fears ever go away?
To those of you who are still in a long term DB, I just want to say that the longer it goes on the worse it will screw up your head!