a-yank-downunda.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Well, since we're once again talking about the moral bankruptcy of American healthcare, I guess I'll retell the story of how my wife and I fled to Australia this year because of our healthcare providers in Florida:

submitted 77 days ago • 1 comment

P.S.A.: He got less than half the popular vote, and 1/3 of the electorate didn't vote. His support's not that strong, and the opposition is heavy and most likely pissed. Don't let the insane, rapidfire bullshit wear you down. They've already shown they'll cave if the backlash is fierce enough.

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

In my experience, if a bully thinks you're not intimidated or even really fazed by him, most of the time he'll fold like a paper napkin. On 3 occasions, some bro has threatened to kick my ass. Each time, I stood up straight, smiled and said: "Go for it." All 3 times, the other guy walked away.

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

Melbourne CBD is to coffee as Wall Street is to cocaine. ☕🌨️

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

Anyone here want to go full-blown misanthrope with me? Not much to it. Just hate the human race. Give up on a decent society. Hope for extinction. Simple! There's even room for empathy! Just cause humanity is a mistake doesn't mean loved ones and vulnerable people should suffer its cruelty.

submitted 42 days ago • 0 comments

Having read the full article on the allegations against Neil Gaiman... What can I add? The details are genuinely, no exaggeration, stomach-turning. I know we're all learning not to put people on a pedestal, but are we now naive to assume they might have basic human-level decency?

submitted 42 days ago • 3 comments

I understand wanting immortality. I don't want to die. But Alan Moore did the best counterargument in Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow, I think. Mr. Mxyzptlk started killing because he spent 2000 years being cheeky & wanted to try being cruel instead. That's just so human it hurts.

submitted 43 days ago • 5 comments

Aussies, as a yank, I've adapted to and embraced your culture. Not everything here has to make me feel at home. BUT...I don't care how much you love a good barbecue...Putting BBQ sauce on meat lovers' pizza is just WRONG. Especially when you use that inedible sugary crap from Woolworth's. 'Kay?

submitted 44 days ago • 2 comments

Hey HEY! Follow this guy! Dan Pacheco was my mentor during my postgrad term. He taught me VR storytelling, he's a boss when it comes to immersive content, hardware, and software, and he's also a cool dude with a great heart and endless supply of savvy.

submitted 47 days ago • 1 comment

Hey fellow Sky residents. Follow my former classmate, current talented artist/musician, and full-time mermaid siren, Max. Please do!

submitted 47 days ago • 0 comments

We all have an emotional support dead famous guy and who he is says a lot about you.

submitted 47 days ago • 0 comments

The more I look back on my year in Florida, the worse I feel about America's future. In 2023, I wrote articles for a Tampa news station. Every week brought crazy, horrific stories to my desk, and my boss would say, "Welcome to Florida". Here are a few I wrote that captured the madness. 🧵

submitted 47 days ago • 1 comment

Meanwhile looting rumors, usually spread by right-wingers to justify shifting the focus rescue to protecting property and punishing poor/nonwhite people, are being spread on social media (as they were during the big Buffalo blizzard). Wrote this in 2010: www.guernicamag.com/when_the_med...

submitted 48 days ago • 32 comments

Have been on Bluesky quite a bit the last two days (for info & resources) & it’s not social media that’s broken. I think it’s us that’s broken now. I’ll post about places ppl can donate because LA is in bad shape & my replies are full of “ummmm sounds like somebody’s never heard of Pompeii.”

submitted 47 days ago • 1308 comments

Wife and I started coming up with destination names that are half cuss word as a way of venting: places like "Assholesville", "Dicktowne", "Shit City", etc. My favorite: Upyourassissippi.

submitted 48 days ago • 1 comment

I'd been living in Australia for 5 months before I finally caught up on drop bears, and it was one of the funniest things I'd ever heard! The Wikipedia page alone had me laughing hysterically. Unless that's just what the Aussie government WANTS me to think: Just a joke. Nothing to see.

submitted 48 days ago • 3 comments

For a long time, I assumed my mom's problem was that she was intelligent, but emotionally immature (petty, hyper sensitive, low self awareness, etc). It might be time to rethink that. She sincerely told my aunt, "Elon Musk is a genius".

submitted 48 days ago • 1 comment

One of the perks of still being so new to Australian media: Never, not ONCE, have I ever needed to know more about the Kyle and Jackie O Show. Not for work or everyday life. I've heard of them. I see their billboards, but I came in late to all this, so I've bypassed them completely.

submitted 48 days ago • 3 comments

I've mostly been able to avoid talking Trump with Australians, with one awkward exception: As the election results came in, someone at the office building I was in said her husband was obsessed with Trump. I immediately said: "Divorce him...I'm not joking." If you see me, approach with caution.

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

Being a parent when the world's on fire: Upsides: You mean the world to someone, you always have something to get you out of bed, you have strong family support. Downsides: Your escapism is gone, no time for movies or shows, minimal time (at best) for books or games, every minute of sleep counts.

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

Daddy's dark inner thoughts: "I'm sure Ms. Rachel is a perfectly decent human being, but her show does answer the question: 'What would it be like if one of my baby's teeth-grindingly annoying electronic singing/talking toys became human and started its own YouTube channel?'"

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

"Charity begins at home". That's a comment I get a lot from Aussies who resent being asked to donate to help kids in Gaza, Sudan, etc. Apparently they don't know the actual quote is: "Charity begins at home, but it should not end there". The exact opposite of the point they think they're making.

submitted 48 days ago • 3 comments

Unpopular opinion - ....Nah, I don't have any controversial takes to rage-bait my way to engagement. ... UNUSUAL opinion: More kids' birthday parties should be in industrial shipping yards. Lots of space and color, and when you're done with the bouncy castle, you can just ship it back overseas.

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

Depp, Baldoni, and the 2016 and 2024 elections have all told me the same thing: Coordinated smear campaigns work, especially online, and especially when the target is a woman. And they seem to work on everyone, regardless of education, politics, race, gender, etc. That's why I don't like people.

submitted 48 days ago • 1 comment

Regarding the men who blame their own autism or ADHD when accused of harassment or other bad behavior: I did NOT endure years of forgotten homework, bad test scores, social anxieties, and pressure to mask better throughout 75% of my schooling, just to be your 'get out of cancellation free' card.

submitted 48 days ago • 1 comment

BlueSky may be the only social media platform so far where I haven't had to explain to other dudes that misandry isn't nearly as widespread of a thing as they seem to think, and that it sure as hell isn't systemic. I like that, but I'm cautious. Nothing good is made to last.

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

Hey moms & dads! Need to hide a bad mood from your baby? Don't fake a smile! The physical & emotional parts of your brain will firebomb each other with dissonance, and your face will scare the kid. Instead, lift your eyebrows up! Turn that frown...ambiguous! 😳 "Good morning, honey" = good parent!

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments