first racoon

shall i tell you the biggest difference between this guy and messi? talent, contribution, intelligence and so on, i’m skipping all that. ronaldo gets unhappy deep down when a teammate scores, i can feel it. purely because he wasn’t the center of attention. the guy’s concern isn’t winning or anything, he just wants the attention on him. messi, on the other hand, does the complete opposite, doing the best he can to set up his teammates to score. for him what matters isn’t being the one who scores the goal but being the one who wins the match. and this difference right here is what we call character.

day 73. for me there's no turning back from this road now. it's done me a world of good so far, my body and my mind feel amazing, i regret not doing it sooner, but in a word it's hard. i've never smoked, so i can't compare it to quitting cigarettes. but it isn't easy. because when you think about the place refined sugar holds in our lives, you're reshaping not just your diet but your social life too. staying indifferent to the smell of cake drifting in from the kitchen. zeroing in on just the cheeses and the like at a beautiful spread-out sunday brunch. not reaching for gels, chocolate, and so on during a run. keeping your distance from the redbull they hand out at a marathon/half marathon, and so forth. it takes major concentration. i wish i could go back 20 years to make this decision.

an ancient city on unesco's world heritage list that turned out to be far beyond my expectations. the entire place feels like a work of art. everything is marble, and everything is carved with an unbelievable level of detail and aesthetics. because of its location near marble quarries, it became a major attraction for sculptors during the roman era, and the result was this extraordinary city.

even at the entrance, dozens of unique and fascinating sarcophagi immediately pull you in.

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then later, you come across a wall filled with hundreds of different faces, almost like the faces wall from game of thrones.

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i'll let you discover the rest yourself so i don't spoil it. and i haven't even mentioned the council building, the theater, the stadium, or the olympic pool yet. there's so much more.

we sell the flesh of dead animals.

love doesn't just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new. so, love doesn't sit still in place like a rock; it needs to be made over and over again, like bread. if you leave it to others' mercy, if you don't care for it, if you don't put in the effort, it'll go to waste. it's like sourdough starter, you have to keep feeding it constantly. if you can't take care of it, don't even get involved, go buy some lavash from the store or something.

in the type known as argumentum ad auditores, the fallacy-monger, instead of refuting their opponent with logical arguments, tries to win applause by appealing to the values, beliefs, or emotions of the audience present at that moment. they build their argument not because "it's true," but because the crowd will applaud it. you could also call this playing to the bleachers.

the aim of the person using this fallacy isn't to find the truth or present a logical thesis; it's to whip the audience into a frenzy, get them to applaud or laugh, and walk away from the debate looking victorious. they skip logic and head straight for showmanship and populism. however, the truth of an argument doesn't depend on how many people applaud or cheer for it.

although it lags behind las vegas in terms of gambling and entertainment, it's a paradise for those who love to spend their weekends on outdoor activities, thanks to having mountains on one side, a desert on the other, and lake tahoe in one corner. the i-80 highway running through the city connects san francisco to new jersey. it's almost merged with the city of sparks. while not necessarily a tourist destination, it's a solid choice for living.

if an egg is broken by an external force, life ends. if it is broken by the force within, life begins. great things always start from within.

you want to watch a movie. you search for the movie on imdb. by typing play right in front of "imdb" in the address bar, you can watch the movie in question.

example:
movie url: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/
what to do: https://www.playimdb.com/title/tt0120737/

word is that houston isn't going to make a single move next season. according to espn sources, udoka and durant will remain core pieces of houston next season, the young core will be preserved (tari eason will either stay or leave depending on the salary he's offered), and fvv and adams will return. so basically, everything is going to revert to where things stood at the start of last season.

okay but with all the chaos that went down, kevin durant's burner account fiasco, the team chemistry falling apart, udoka not having a single halfway-decent offensive game plan... how is any of this supposed to be salvaged?

kevin durant is someone who has personally said he's not a leader and that he doesn't want to be forced into being one. how is someone like this expected to lead a young roster? and on top of that, what if that young roster has found out they're being talked about behind their backs as imbeciles and the like?

before the durant fake account stuff blew up, zach lowe wrote a piece. in the article, he claimed that the young guys on houston had incredible respect and admiration for kevin durant, but that durant was using this respect to keep the young players under his thumb. isn't this assessment exactly right? we all know from alperen how much respect he has for kevin durant, how excited he was to play with him. likewise, jabari smith jr. has said many times that his idol is kevin durant. clearly, this entire young roster is going through major disappointment.

it's no longer houston, it's houston's young players and kevin durant. just like it was once golden state and kevin durant.
anyone expecting leadership and ownership of the team from this guy is going to be waiting a long, long time. houston might as well kiss another season goodbye.

if we flip the medallion to its other side... our sweet little dorothy, judy garland, endured 6 months of filming with a painful corset to make her belly look flat and bandages wrapped around her chest to make her look younger. throughout this time, she was bound by a harsh contract with mgm, which kept her on diet pills and a strict diet program to lose weight, energy pills so she could work longer hours, and sleeping pills so she wouldn't lose sleep. as a result of all this, judy garland ended up addicted to pills. her drug-dependent metabolism would crash by the age of just 49. but the blame here shouldn't fall on mgm alone; it should also fall on judy's mother, because she pushed her daughter way too hard so that judy could achieve what she herself couldn't. years later, judy garland would say of her mother: she was the real wicked witch of the west.

there's more: the actress who played the wicked witch of the west suffered second- and third-degree burns to her face and eyes during one of the scenes where she vanishes in smoke, due to a timing error by the people operating that infamous trapdoor mechanism.

the actor who played the tin man was hospitalized because he was allergic to aluminum dust (as mentioned above, he didn't die). no compensation from mgm, not even a "how are you doing," just bam, fired from the project. they searched for a new actor and found one. but mgm never gave any explanation as to why they parted ways with the previous actor. they pulled every dirty trick in the book.

zohran mamdani is 34 years old, born in uganda to indian shia muslim parents. he is an organized democratic socialist who supports free childcare and free public transit, as well as women’s and lgbtq rights. he is a vocal pro-palestine activist, a rapper, and he met his syrian cartoonist wife on a dating app. his mother is filmmaker mira nair and his father is marxist scholar mahmood mamdani.

with 50.5% of the vote, mamdani became new york city’s first muslim and first mayor of indian descent. his win challenged donald trump, billionaire donors, business elites, millions of dollars spent against him, islamophobia, and the pro-israel political establishment. his victory suggested that a new kind of politics is possible in the united states.

mira nair met mahmood mamdani in uganda while she was researching material for her film mississippi masala. mahmood had been expelled from uganda in 1972 along with tens of thousands of asian ugandans under idi amin. he later became a leading scholar on colonialism, nationalism, and minority rights. the couple married and lived between countries, and in 1991 they named their son zohran kwame mamdani after ghana’s anti-colonial leader kwame nkrumah.

the family eventually settled in new york after time in south africa. their home became a gathering place for writers, journalists, artists, activists, and academics. zohran grew up surrounded by political debate, creativity, and organizing.

he attended school in new york and studied african studies at bowdoin college. some critics later called him a “nepo baby,” but instead of pursuing a traditional career, he focused on political organizing. he worked with tenant defense groups, socialist organizations, and the palestine movement. he also made music and worked in new york’s cultural world.

in 2017 he joined the democratic socialists of america. he first organized for other candidates, then launched his own campaign.

in 2019, during a period of rising activism and anger at inequality in new york, he ran for city council from astoria, a diverse immigrant neighborhood. his team knocked on tens of thousands of doors and distributed 12,000 iftar meals during ramadan to mobilize muslim voters. he won the democratic primary and took office. in the council he became known for supporting movements, especially the hunger strike by taxi workers trapped under predatory loans.

in 2024 he announced a run for mayor. at first he had only 1% support in polls. he built his campaign through mass organizing. more than 50,000 volunteers canvassed. on some days the campaign reached 150,000 homes.

a central focus was engaging muslim new yorkers, who number over one million but often vote at low rates. mamdani embraced his identity and spoke directly to mosque congregations after friday prayers.

his position on palestine became a central issue. while many political elites in new york support israel, mamdani aligned with working-class people, students, and immigrant communities who were outraged by the war in gaza. he argued that criticizing israel is not antisemitic and called on the city to end certain business ties with israel. progressive jewish activists and a jewish socialist candidate who encouraged voters to rank mamdani as their second choice became crucial to his win in the ranked-choice voting system.

mamdani’s platform focuses on reducing the cost of living. he supports capping rent increases, building more public housing, opening city-run grocery stores to reduce food costs, making buses free, expanding public childcare, and replacing some policing with community-based public safety programs. he plans to fund this by raising taxes slightly on high-income earners and corporations, while also cutting government waste and reducing unnecessary regulation that blocks housing.

his campaign also stood out because of its presentation. his posters used bright colors and large type inspired by new york’s immigrant shop signs and bollywood designs. he communicated in short, direct statements. he spoke with voters who disagreed with him, including trump supporters, and focused on listening and building trust rather than ridicule. his social media strategy reached young voters through short, humorous, clear videos tailored to each platform.

he married syrian artist rama duwaji after meeting her on hinge. when critics mocked their honeymoon in dubai, the couple responded by sharing everyday photos from the new york subway and streets, which strengthened their image of authenticity.

mamdani’s victory is historic for muslim, south asian, arab, african, immigrant, and working-class new yorkers, including taxi drivers, delivery workers, and street vendors who have long been marginalized and surveilled. in a time of rising islamophobia and repression of protest, new york elected a muslim democratic socialist who openly supports palestinian rights.

whether he can accomplish everything he proposes is not yet known. but the meaning of his election is already clear. the name zohran, in persian, refers to something bright like the sun. for many new yorkers, his win feels like the beginning of a new morning.

first off, having an avoidant attachment style does not mean someone is a bad person. they aren’t avoiding closeness to hurt you or deceive you. they usually want connection, but struggle to build it. in everyday life, they often seem like completely normal people.

let’s also remember: not all generalizations hold true for everyone.

attachment styles are shaped by our first bonds with caregivers. ideally, we develop a secure attachment, which teaches us that the world is safe and relationships are trustworthy. when early relationships are inconsistent or chaotic, we can develop anxious or avoidant attachment instead.

a kid with avoidant attachment seems detached because their brain never learned to expect support during moments of distress. they learn to self-soothe because they have no choice. growing up, this internalizes into “you’re on your own, connection will only hurt or drain you.”

they still need love, just like anyone else. they actually crave closeness but don’t know how to build it. when a partner tries to get close, it can feel threatening because deep down they never learned that connection is safe.

this is why they may seem super interested at first, then start pulling away as the relationship deepens.

some avoidant people won’t even start a relationship, knowing it’ll be hard for them no matter what.

do they get sad if you leave? yes. do they lie when they say they love you? no. they do love you, they just don’t know how to handle those feelings. sometimes your love can even feel overwhelming to them.

they also avoid conflict. they’ll ignore issues because they don’t know how to work through them in a healthy way. conflict feels threatening. personal space is really important to them, so the more you chase, the more they’ll pull away. they may come off as indifferent and won’t openly share feelings, but that doesn’t mean they don’t feel deeply. it just stays hidden.

many avoidants have lots of casual flings but very few actual relationships. when they do have relationships, they often sabotage them without meaning to.

these are common traits, but they vary in intensity. for example, in studies of siblings close in age, middle children often show more avoidant traits, which makes sense. but that doesn’t mean every middle child will be avoidant.

second, it’s not your job to “fix” someone with an avoidant style. even if you tried, you couldn’t. this stuff is rooted in early mental patterns and can only really change if the person recognizes it and wants to work on it themselves. recent studies show that attachment style can shift based on relationship and time, but only if the person is open to growth. if they’re unaware or unwilling, no amount of love and patience will magically change things.

third, before trying to figure out your partner’s attachment style, it’s worth looking at your own. if someone with an avoidant style pairs up with someone with an anxious attachment, that dynamic can turn into a real mess. they’re drawn to each other and can’t let go, but also can’t really thrive together. if no one puts a stop to the cycle, it can be exhausting for both.

when two avoidant people pair up, the one with the stronger avoidant tendencies will end up pushing the other into more of an anxious role. the dynamic shifts, and things get complicated fast.

someone with a secure style usually won’t stick with an avoidant partner for long. those relationships don’t tend to last.

instead of blaming your partner all the time, self-awareness matters more. it’s worth asking, “why do i keep picking avoidant partners?” instead of “why do they always avoid me?”

attachment styles are deeply ingrained, but they aren’t destiny. with effort, therapy, and self-awareness, change is possible. human beings need closeness and love, and it’s important not to minimize that.

last note: people sometimes confuse avoidant attachment with schizoid personality traits. they can look similar but they’re different. one is a clinical pattern, the other is an attachment style. the overlap can make things blurry, which is normal.

psa: psychology is super trendy right now. it’s great that more people want to learn about this stuff, but info without filters isn’t always helpful. labeling your partner as “narcissist,” “borderline,” or “avoidant” can actually harm relationships. even when you know what you’re talking about, it’s still hard to really see clearly when you’re in it. humans are complex. you can’t sum someone up with one label.

blind watchmaker is an idea popularized by richard dawkins in his book the blind watchmaker (1986). it builds on an older argument from william paley, who said that if you found a watch lying on the ground, you’d naturally assume it was made by a watchmaker, not just formed by chance. he used this to argue that the complexity of life must mean there’s a divine creator (a “watchmaker god”).

dawkins flipped this idea. he argued that evolution by natural selection can produce incredibly complex and functional systems without any conscious design. nature acts like a “blind watchmaker”: it builds intricate lifeforms, but it’s a totally unguided process. there’s no foresight, no intention, no plan. just random mutations filtered by survival and reproduction.

so when people say “blind watchmaker god,” they’re usually talking about how the natural world can look designed without needing an actual designer. evolution does the work, but it’s blind to any outcome.

israel-iran war: latest developments as of june 17, 2025 (detailed, hour-by-hour)

early morning (12:00 am – 6:00 am)

• iran launched over 40 ballistic missiles targeting dimona, be’er sheva, and eilat. israeli air defenses intercepted most of the attacks.
• an air defense battery near dimona was hit; 2 israeli soldiers were killed, 7 were wounded.
• the u.s. temporarily closed jordanian airspace and moved an aircraft carrier closer to israel’s coast.
• explosions were heard over tehran; residents spent the night in metro stations and basements.
• iran’s revolutionary guard claimed to have bombed mossad centers and military intelligence units in tehran.
• israel reported no civilian casualties. iran reported fatalities in an attack on its state television building in tehran.

morning (6:00 am – 12:00 pm)

• iranian ground forces commander colonel general ali shadmani was killed by israel — the second high-ranking iranian officer lost since the war began.
• israel targeted missile production facilities in kerman and isfahan. iran claimed to have shot down some israeli aircraft.
• significant weaknesses were observed in iran’s air defense systems.
• the international atomic energy agency reported losing contact with several nuclear facilities in iran.
• heavy bombardments continued in tehran, targeting airports and police-intelligence sites. thousands of foreign nationals began evacuating. the u.s., india, russia, china, ukraine, and south korea issued urgent evacuation advisories for their citizens.
• donald trump posted on social media: “everyone evacuate tehran immediately,” adding that while the u.s. knows the iranian leader’s location, they do not plan to act for now.

midday (12:00 pm – 2:00 pm)

• israel’s ministry of defense announced that iran’s long-range strike capabilities had been largely neutralized.
• massive traffic jams formed in tehran as civilians tried to flee the city. internet and mobile phone access were heavily restricted.
• hospitals in iran exceeded capacity, and some stadiums were converted into field hospitals.
• trump stated: “the iranian leader is an easy target, but we do not plan to strike him at this time.”

afternoon (2:00 pm – 4:00 pm)

• iran’s revolutionary guard struck an israeli commercial vessel in the strait of hormuz, causing a fire; the crew was evacuated.
• in retaliation, israel bombed a naval base at the port of bandar abbas.
• iran imposed a curfew around tehran; state television broadcast only written statements.
• turkey, qatar, and china issued urgent calls for a ceasefire.

early evening (4:00 pm – 8:00 pm)

• israel struck a major military command center in shiraz. iran condemned the attack as a “war crime.”
• clashes erupted with hezbollah forces on the lebanon border; northern israel went on high alert.
• g7 leaders held an emergency meeting. trump left the summit early without signing the communique and returned to washington.
• the u.s. department of defense stated: “we are not directly involved in the conflict but are ensuring regional security.”

evening and beyond (after 8:00 pm)

• iran used a new-generation hypersonic missile for the first time, causing significant damage at the port of haifa.
• in tehran, civilians moved into underground parking lots, metro stations, and rural areas.
• infrastructure damage in both countries continued to trigger crises in water, electricity, and communications.