u/-K_P-

Having been diagnosed with MS for well over 10 years now, the steadily worsening tremors in my hands have long since made pumkin carving a no-go for me... but way back in the day, it was the first visual art form I really got into, and I would have so much fun with it! I don't know why I've been feeling so nostalgic for it lately (I mean, it's not even the right time of year for it, but my brain's gonna do what it's gonna do, lol), but because I'm in the mindset, I thought I'd share some of the [AS] related designs I carved back in the day. Facebones was the earliest of the bunch (which you can likely tell from the quality haha), followed by the Aqua Teens, and then the silhouettes of the Dethklok lads was the last, which again should be kind of obvious, as despite being silhouettes, they are without comparison the most detailed (and accordingly, it by far took the most effort; Pickles' hair alone was a monumental feat of patience and a visibly obvious increase in skill from that first Facebones 🙃).

Upstate/Western NY - I don't actually live with her so I haven't seen it in person, but she says she thinks it looks like some kind of eggs? I honestly have no idea. According to her, they weren't there yesterday, but this morning there was a clap of thunder so intense it literally made her whole house shake, and afterward when she went out into her front porch, she saw this. Above this is an old crawl space no one goes into and she is wondering if there is some sort of nest in there that these fell from when the house shook. I am clueless on this so I told her I'd post the pics here. If more info is needed, let me know, and I can ask her.

Anyone old enough to have watched this charming oddity back in the day? Thoughts?

https://local12.com/news/local/family-friends-honor-murry-foust-body-found-following-monthlong-search-northern-kentucky-university-nku-art-artist-artwork-celebration-of-life-graduation-degree-commencement-cincinnati-ohio

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While I myself am not a part of the Cincinnati/Kentucky community, I happen to be very dear lifelong friends with someone who both resides there and is a member of the local LGBTQ+ community, so Murry Foust's story made quite an impact and hits very close to home. When that friend, who is not a reddit user, asked me for help in expanding the reach of the fundraiser she is organizing, I leapt at the chance.

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The fundraiser will be in the form of an art exchange; essentially like an art sale, however instead of people buying the art directly from the artists, local artists are encouraged to donate whatever pieces or services they choose and work with the organizers (my friend being the main one) to come to an agreement on a price, thus each item donated will be priced individually. Should someone then find a piece they are interested in, a donation of that amount will then allow them to choose an item of that same price - buying with a middle man, pretty much, because that middle man is ensuring all proceeds will go directly towards a scholarship set up by Murry's family (with whom my friend has been and is in touch with personally to arrange this). While electronic payments will be encouraged, cash payments will be accepted and logged in *excruciating detail,* then after the event, the totality of the cash will be donated *publicly and transparently* to the Foust family's own scholarship fund, to ensure it is clear to all that this is on the up and up and every penny is for them.

​

Local artists are encouraged to donate whatever art pieces they wish, which can be anything from "traditional" art media like paintings, sculptures, etc., to homemade goods like jewelry, clothing, whatever. Even services can be offered, like photography sessions and the like. One really cool example of donations that have already come in - a nearby secondhand arts and crafts store actually donated a guitar *signed by Duran Duran!*

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But I must reiterate, this is a relatively small, *local* fundraiser; if you choose to offer your services, you must be within the area, and while my friend intends on posting some preview highlights of certain artists on the event page in the upcoming days, there will be no online accessibility and items must be purchased **at the event!**

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Also, if you choose to donate and your item does not get "sold," there is a place at the bottom of the form (and my friend is also speaking with each artist who donates individually) to specify whether you want your item returned or if you'd like it to be donated to another LGBTQ+ friendly charity.

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Lastly, I know there are far more people who care about the Foust family and want to help than there are people who were blessed with any sort of creative abilities. If you DO wish to make any sort of cash donation, that can be done directly through the family's own mealtrain link, which can be found in the description on the FB event page, but if requested I can also share it again here as well.

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Here is the event page:

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https://facebook.com/events/s/murry-foust-scholarship-fundra/1694542598234060/

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And a direct link to the sign up/art donation form itself, if you wish to look it over or just jump right to filling it out:

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https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdPluXZrjkOc-09xZO2SSfxyXuGhQDEzstXsTvFma8M5erJ8A/viewform

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If you have any questions, feel free to comment them and I'll gladly pass them on to my friend and try to get them answered for you ASAP. Thank you for your support, even if it's just in the form of taking the time to read this!

https://local12.com/news/local/family-friends-honor-murry-foust-body-found-following-monthlong-search-northern-kentucky-university-nku-art-artist-artwork-celebration-of-life-graduation-degree-commencement-cincinnati-ohio

​

While I myself am not a part of the Cincinnati/Kentucky community, I happen to be very dear lifelong friends with someone who both resides there and is a member of the local LGBTQ+ community, so Murry Foust's story made quite an impact and hits very close to home. When that friend, who is not a reddit user, asked me for help in expanding the reach of the fundraiser she is organizing, I leapt at the chance.

​

The fundraiser will be in the form of an art exchange; essentially like an art sale, however instead of people buying the art directly from the artists, local artists are encouraged to donate whatever pieces or services they choose and work with the organizers (my friend being the main one) to come to an agreement on a price, thus each item donated will be priced individually. Should someone then find a piece they are interested in, a donation of that amount will then allow them to choose an item of that same price - buying with a middle man, pretty much, because that middle man is ensuring all proceeds will go directly towards a scholarship set up by Murry's family (with whom my friend has been and is in touch with personally to arrange this). While electronic payments will be encouraged, cash payments will be accepted and logged in *excruciating detail,* then after the event, the totality of the cash will be donated *publicly and transparently* to the Foust family's own scholarship fund, to ensure it is clear to all that this is on the up and up and every penny is for them.

​

Local artists are encouraged to donate whatever art pieces they wish, which can be anything from "traditional" art media like paintings, sculptures, etc., to homemade goods like jewelry, clothing, whatever. Even services can be offered, like photography sessions and the like. One really cool example of donations that have already come in - a nearby secondhand arts and crafts store actually donated a guitar *signed by Duran Duran!*

​

But I must reiterate, this is a relatively small, *local* fundraiser; if you choose to offer your services, you must be within the area, and while my friend intends on posting some preview highlights of certain artists on the event page in the upcoming days, there will be no online accessibility and items must be purchased **at the event!**

​

Also, if you choose to donate and your item does not get "sold," there is a place at the bottom of the form (and my friend is also speaking with each artist who donates individually) to specify whether you want your item returned or if you'd like it to be donated to another LGBTQ+ friendly charity.

​

Lastly, I know there are far more people who care about the Foust family and want to help than there are people who were blessed with any sort of creative abilities. If you DO wish to make any sort of cash donation, that can be done directly through the family's own mealtrain link, which can be found in the description on the FB event page, but if requested I can also share it again here as well.

​

Here is the event page:

​

https://facebook.com/events/s/murry-foust-scholarship-fundra/1694542598234060/

​

And a direct link to the sign up/art donation form itself, if you wish to look it over or just jump right to filling it out:

​

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdPluXZrjkOc-09xZO2SSfxyXuGhQDEzstXsTvFma8M5erJ8A/viewform

Ideally I'd love to have the guitar AND bass tab, but just the guitar tab would work if someone's managed to work it out and get it written out.

For some context and to explain the reason I really want to find it, I am the youngest with 3 older brothers, and while from an objective standpoint this may not exactly sound like a "hEaLtHy DyNaMiC" to be bragging about, lol... each individual avatar along with the relationships and interplay between the embodied characterizations legit represents each of us.

The brother who is younger than the rest/closest in age to me has total middle child syndrome, and it definitely makes him act weird af... and more than a little Carl-like, frankly. There has been more than one joke made about farm animal porn that we weren't sure was a joke 🙃. The next oldest brother was, while growing up, shall we say... a functional sociopath, and thus a dead ringer for Shake. Him saying things like "who bothered to spawn you and why" to us (mostly me) was par for the course growing up with him LOL. Then there's the oldest brother, who is actually a LOT older, so much more mature, and therefore generally wanted nothing to do with our bs growing up, and only ever really got involved to protect me haha, making him the family Frylock. And yes, you likely guessed by now - me being the youngest, I am, by default, the Meatwad of the family, even if it is against my will 😂😭. Although, I will admit, it is an actual fact that no one works in the system I use... LOL.

Anyway, we also tend to be a pretty music-oriented family. And since the Carl-Brother's own SJFA is coming up at the end of July, I was thinking my Shake-Brother, who plays guitar, and I, who am a trained vocalist (and a woman, so it's much easier with my vocal range to do a passable Geddy Lee 😂) could learn it and record it for him, since he lives pretty far away now and we don't always get to travel to see each other for holidays or bdays (er, excuse me, SJFAs, lol) anymore. Here's the issue though... I am the only one between Shake-Brother and myself with the trained ear, but I don't play guitar/know tab, whereas he only plays drums and guitar, thus he does not know how to read sheet music beyond rhythms, he can only read notation in the form of tab, so... we're at a standstill. Thus I was hoping some other guitar loving adult swim fan had already had the idea to transcribe the tab for it.

Also, regarding the second "optional" part of my request - my nephew (Shake-Brother's son) has recently taken up the bass, so it'd be REEEEALLY awesome if we can get full notation, or even just some tab for guitar *and* bass parts... but I understand that's a super tall order.

So I'm hoping you guys can help make Carl-Bro's SJFA an awesome one. I mean, me and Shake-Bro may not need no instructions to know how to rock, but I suppose we could still use some assistance with sounding *good* while doing it... 😂

Pics from my attempt about 4 or so years ago...

I have been in love with all sorts of carnivorous plants for as long as I can remember, with the VFT always being the Queen Bee(-Eater... lol). Growing up, I admit, I was TERRIBLE with any kind of gardening, and my thumb was as black as a dead trap haha... but then in high school a friend with uncanny Poison Ivy-esque plant abilities sorta took me under her wing and taught me, and while I still don't have her almost preternatural abilities, I am a pretty darn good gardener all around now. But for years I tried my hands at growing these babies, AND BELIEVE ME! I studied! I got the right sphagnum/perlite/moss∗ mixtures, made sure it was consistently moist with only distilled water... I did everything right that I could control. Which is the key... what I can control.

I live in an apartment, so my space is extremely limited, and while I have a balcony, due to the placement, the amount of sun I get is... well, not as ideal as it is in other locations. For a few hours, I get some good direct light, but then the other buildings and trees create a lot of shade, unfortunately. So EVERY SINGLE YEAR I have tried it, my babies start out strong with everything they need, but I think they just don't quite get enough sun and.... well, the sequential pics say it all. So for the last few years I haven't even tried to grow any, and it has made me sad. I want my little predators 😭.

Does anyone have any advice? Obviously I can't move the location of my apartment/balcony. The sun I get is what I get. But is there some way I can cheat, some position that will help maximize the efficiency of the light they do get? Is there ANY way I can grow these friends and keep them alive in this less than ideal spot I'm in?

∗Re. The Moss - Yes, the bright green stuff in the pics looks dry, but that is actually a totally different moss I put on top for the birds to take for their nests because they kept stealing the actual moss meant to sit on top of the plants, despite it being all wet and soggy. Idk if anyone else has had that problem, but when these local winged thugs want nest materials, they don't give a damn if the plants were using it first LOL. So I looked it up before using it to make sure it wouldn't affect the plants or anything, and put it on top and left the good moss underneath, properly wet. It did work that year, the birds stuck to using the dry stuff. And I should note that and other years when the birds weren't such an issue, I didn't need to use that other moss, yet the same thing happened to the VFTs, so I know that that can be ruled out as a contributing factor... It's literally just a Bird Deterrent.

According to this Marist Pole, the most commonly desired superpowers are:

5. Invisibility

6. Teleportation

7. Flight

(2 & 1 tied):

• Telepathy/Mind Reading

• Time travel

... with the following "runners up" also ranking high among common choices, according to a variety of other similar poles:

• Telekinesis

• Super Speed

• Shape-shifting

• Healing/Regeneration

• Super Intelligence

So, let's say, hypothetically, tomorrow you were to fall into a vat of DC Comics™ brand chemicals or get bitten by some type of radioactive insect created by Marvel's™ top secret bioengineering team - you know, the kinds of things that don't kill you but give you kooky powers, lol... but there's a slight catch.

ALL OF THE ABOVE COMMON SUPERPOWERS ARE RULED OUT AS POSSIBILITIES. So what are you hoping for?

My wishes would be:

1. Hypnotic suggestion; as demonstrated here by the X-Men's Morlock character, Annalee, and with the ( ˊ ³ˋ)੭ ⃰ ⷭ ⷩ ꙴ ᷫࠠ ᷤ ⷦ ͥ ᷤ ᷤ ⃰ perfect amount of melodrama, as is to be expected from the masterpiece that was the 90s animated X-Men series 😂

2. Probability Alteration/Luck/"Plot Armor"; Note - this one is best depicted in the comics by Domino and Longshot. The biggest downside to this one is that this power generally implies a sort of universal "scale of luck" that requires "balancing out" when used by the person who has this power, whether intentionally or subconsciously. In other words, when the power-haver's probability of good outcomes is unnaturally increased, the probability of bad outcomes for those around them is equally increased, as a sort of twisted interpretation of Newton's 3rd law, lol. So this one comes with the onus to make sure you're not around anyone you actually like when your power is activated.

3. Siren Song; More of an "anti-hero" thing I suppose (or straight up villain, depending on which way you wanna go... 😅), seeing as though it really only has one function - lure people (men, traditionally, but hey... statistically speaking, most villains fall into that category, both in comics and IRL haha 🤷🏻‍♀️) to an agonizing death by drowning. But damn, you could get a platinum record and a grammy doing it! 😂 Or if I want to stick with the creativity but with a slightly less murder-y vibe, LOL...

4. The ability to bring art to life, whether it be limited to visual arts or, my preference, expanded to anything classified as one of the "fine arts"; since this one may be harder to imagine, let me give a few examples of some abilities it might include. For visual arts, drawing/painting/depicting an object or scene and causing it to become real; recreating in reality the circumstances of a photograph; etc... for performing arts, causing the actors and actresses of a play or a movie to actually become the roles which they are playing; affecting the mood of anyone in earshot by playing different styles of music... even things like sculpture/studio crafts/architecture could be affected - think this classic scene from Beetlejuice, lol

And finally, what I have always considered to be the ULTIMATE superpower...

5. Access to Hammerspace; For those unfamiliar with the term "Hammerspace," it refers to the invisible, hidden pocket dimension where cartoons store objects which they can then access at their convenience/when comedic timing dictates it's appropriate, lol. Of course, if I wanted to go the Superman route and make myself ridiculously overpowered, haha, I could even raise that to "being governed in totality by cartoon physics." Then, depending on just how far my cartoon physics abilities went, it'd essentially be like having the superpowers of The Mask, which, in all honesty, would be amazing. 😂

So how about you all? What would be your top 5 choices for lesser known/under-appreciated superpowers? I'm curious to know how many creative/weird choices are out there lol

So, I'll sum up what it is/how it works here, then for those interested, I'll include the long-winded backstory of how I obtained this awesome device in a comment (since the bot keeps detecting certain words in the backstory and misinterpreting it as me asking banned questions anyway, lol... it'll just be easier to put the story in a comment for anyone interested).

This is a real 19th century quack electrotherapy device, from somewhere between the years 1898 to 1902 (sellers were unsure when this *exact* one was from, but those are the range of years in which this particular model was sold; I do have some paperwork on it, filed away in my filing cabinet somewhere, but I didn't feel like digging it out just for this post).

The way it works: it is difficult (though clearly not impossible, as you can see from my demonstration here) to operate alone. You can also see that as I demonstrate it, I have to stretch the hand that is not turning the crank across both knobs, as they both must be touched to complete the circuit, or else it won't work. It is designed for the "dOcToR" - read, snake oil salesman - to turn the crank while the "PaTiEnT" - read, sucker, lol - holds on to those two knobs with their hands (one on each of course). When the crank is turned with the circuit completed, a small electrical charge is generated that is slightly bigger than the shock you get when you shuffle across a carpet and touch something metal; definitely uncomfortable but nothing that will hurt you in any significant way. Nor will it actually do anything to *help* you, of course, from a medical standpoint, but that's the beauty of "quack medicine" - all razzle dazzle, no actual results (if you're lucky, that is... because there were plenty of snake oil "medical therapies" that DID give results, but they weren't *good* results lol).

Anyway, this is by far the coolest antique I own, and like I said, if you're bored and want to read a long story about how I got this thing, check the comments...