I didn't watch this live as it happened in the early morning on New Zealand time. School was about to go back after the summer holidays. Ordinary programming stopped to replay the explosion on repeat. I was very disturbed by it.

DD Ward ..."Interim Pirate Queen"@ddwardiswriting.bsky.social · yesterday

I am "watched the Challenger Explosion live on TV" years old.

This article opens by saying there's a 'surging demand' for 'diagnoses of neurodiversity'. I'm sorry to inform you the neurodiversity rate amongst the population is 100%. What you probably meant was 'neurodivergence'. This is not just me being pedantic... www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

NHS bodies in England impose two-year minimum wait for ADHD and autism assessments

Patient groups decry ‘scandalous’ delays as four integrated care boards take step due to soaring demand for diagnoses

theguardian.com

If any bookish asexuals would like a podcast series with an asexual host, see if this is your thing. It's Australian and chatty and quite young. (From my perspective.)

The Love Hypothesis review: Does this adaptation have chemistry?

The BookTok girlies have been blessed with yet another book-to-screen adaptation with Ali Hazelwood's 'The Love Hypothesis' dropping on Prime Video. But the real question is, does this…

pca.st

Love on the Spectrum. iykyk

tunes to make you run away@whippoorwont.bsky.social · 3d ago

If anyone's wondering why the Australian seasons of Love on the Spectrum are more queer, this comedy skit partly explains it. *Northern Pictures making insufficient effort to avoid the ABA / Autism Speaks crowd once hitting the US explains the rest.

LARP Casting 🎤 Scout Boxall

YouTube video by Comedy Republic Standup

youtube.com

With Ace Week🖤🩶🤍💜 coming up Oct 25-31st, I'm putting together an Itchio bundle called 'Asexuals on Adventures'. Main criteria: at least one main character is somewhere on the asexual spectrum (aro-ace is fine👋) and see eligibility graphic for 'Adventure'!⬇️ Sign up form: on my discord or I can DM!

Can bisexual people use the split attraction model? I think the answer is yes—and that the question reveals something interesting about how we think about attraction.

Massive #spider has finally moved out of the shower. Yay! Massive spider has moved to the wall above my computer. Yay.

the way to know if someone is really trans is if they tell you they’re trans and then you shut the fuck up.

Children who might otherwise need glasses should sit closer to the Smartboard, and everyone in general should just make everything bigger for them.

Erin Fogg says Free Link@criminalerin.bsky.social · last wk.

Great thanks no one ever thought of using a day planner before

Dad Races Outside To Witness Delivery Of Neighbor’s Mulch https://theonion.com/dad-races-outside-to-witness-delivery-of-neighbors-mulch/

alt text is also good for when i want to figure out what the fuck you’re talking about

Me trying to make new friends my own age: “So which midlife crisis are you having? Are you having the type of midlife crisis where you & all of your lifelong friends find out you’re all autistic, or the type where you start going on group vacations with people you met on a cruise?”

For people who have lost DVDs and then found them again months or years later, where the hell were they? *I have checked the player trays

This is the bullshit you get back when you tell a company you won't be buying any more of their product because they are sending money directly to a transphobe with their Harry Potter licenced goods, and ask them to terminate the partnership.

I learn well from textbooks. Neurotypical brains tend to find this tedious and would prefer to learn from talking to native speakers. Of course both are necessary. Japanese will have you spending a lot of time with textbooks, or these days with apps maybe. #AutChat

Meghan Wilson Duff 🦑@mwduff.bsky.social · 2w ago

Q4: Listening #AutChat

I'm of the view that Japanese language attracts a lot of Autistic students, as does living as a foreigner in Japan. There are many reasons for this. For me, it was the joy of seeing how well Japanese fits together. It's wonderful for pattern seeking brains. #AutChat

#AutChat Mod@autchatmod.bsky.social · 2w ago

Q3: What was easy about learning the new language? What was hard? Do you think being autistic/similarly neurodivergent contributed to this? #AutChat

I started learning Japanese at age 12. I had refused learning French and German in upper primary. I went to the library with the "non academic" kids. Did a project on cameras instead. My main teacher said, " But I organised this for you!" I just somehow knew I wanted to study Japanese. ##AutChat

#AutChat Mod@autchatmod.bsky.social · 2w ago

Q2: How old were you when you started learning the new language? Why did you start learning it? #AutChat

I studied Japanese for decades, two of those years in Japan (high school exchange and then university). I then taught high school Japanese for 4 years. #AutChat

#AutChat Mod@autchatmod.bsky.social · 2w ago

Q1: Have you studied any languages other than your first? How many? #AutChat

Filled with animosity for my local libraries, who are doing a big push this month to get patrons to read The Philosopher's Stone, available in "every" language. Yeah, they know. *I, for one, have previously complained

Fuck okay I gotta listen to this and cry again :") youtu.be/oxHnRfhDmrk?...

Don McLean - Vincent ( Starry, Starry Night) With Lyrics

YouTube video by wysty67

youtu.be

I read the latest ableist dreck to come out of the UK and I am going to save what is likely going to be a massive thread on it for tomorrow when I am preparing my lecture on philosophy of disability. THAT BEING FUCKING SAID…

I'm doing a lounge tidy but 15yo walked in, took one look, and said "what are you trying to summon??" 😂😂😂

Me to cat with cone on his head: please stay away from the lamp. You are lamp right now.

I think it’s important to know that people like this are often referred to by the media as experts in illnesses like Long COVID and ME/CFS.

Adam@abrokenbattery.bsky.social · 2w ago

Today marks 25 years since 9/11. 8 months after the attack, psychiatrist Simon Wessely argued that illness reported around Ground Zero was being wrongly attributed to environmental toxins, suggesting “World Trade Centre Syndrome” was driven by social and psychological factors.

CW: suicide If you’re any bit at all invested in preventing suicide, rather than posting bland “talk to someone” admonitions, yell at elected officials about ensuring chronic pain is adequately treated. I have lost too many friends and mentors this way, and it’s harder year after year.

This guy had dental work done yesterday so he got a complete shave for summer while he was under anaesthetic. Now he looks like the Hyperbole and a Half dog.

Larre Bildeston@larreau.bsky.social · 2y ago

The great thing about having a dog: you get to wake up every morning and find someone staring at you, sending breakfast vibes.

"They are designing the system thinking that most disabled people are only disabled for discrete periods of time. They are designing the system thinking that the “real” disabled people will be on NDIS and everyone else doesn’t really need help because they’re not really disabled"

I've spent hours this week finally making the switch from Apple to Android. Pain in the butt process. I had an iPhone mini, which I loved the size of. This Samsung Galaxy is too damn big for my hands and my pockets. *feminist issue

PVN2099@pvn2099.bsky.social · 2w ago

Tech was all in on “big screen good.“ Apple was the lone holdout worrying about silly things like “ergonomics” and ”pocket fit.“ The public eventually forced them to move, and now everyone wonders why their pinky fingers are randomly cramping.