Saffron Honey Chai

Libraries aren't just quiet rooms with books. They're opulent, tax-funded goldmines packed with rare collections, audiobooks, genealogy databases, and professional "weaponized nerds" (librarians) who hold master's degrees and will hunt down anything you need.In this video, I'm breaking down everything your local library offers and why you should be using it like the luxury resource it is. From requesting rare books through interlibrary loan to simply walking through the doors (foot traffic = funding!), supporting libraries is one of the easiest ways to invest in your community and yourself.Plus, I share my surprising connection to Frederick Douglass, dive into the real costs of running a library, and remind you that as a taxpayer, you have every right to ask for what you want.

Naruto gets a terrible rep for being a bad dad in Boruto but that’s not a fair title to give him when you consider all the factors. Let’s consider the fact that he was: -an orphan -hated by the whole village (for saving their ungrateful butts -neglected -food insecure as he grew up -completely divorced from the concept of a healthy home life Now these are not excuses for his lack in terms of hands on parenting but rather to show why such a thing would not be of great concern to him.

Watching this years mayoral campaign has been a real treat, especially when you look back on previous elections, actually engaged politicians who focused on materially improving the lives of New Yorkers... truly how refreshing!Note: The government is no longer shut down now. But at the time of this recording it was still shutdown/in the process of reopening.

I’ve finally finished watching Hazbin Hotel season 2, and I was very pleased with how the season left off. The start was a bit slow for me, but I really enjoyed the music and character growth for Vaggi and Emily. Two angels standing on business and I’ve got to say I was glad to see it. As for the rest, prepare yourself for a 10-minute-long Vox drag.

Every generation, the preceding generation has complaints about the rising generation. They're rude, they're lazy, they're uncultured. But there's never any reflection on how we've shaped society for them. How we've participated in their upbringing... or how we've abandoned them. One piece I really wanted to touch on is how young people (literally all children) are being locked out of society and public spaces. They can't go to malls, they can't hang out at food courts, and they do not get opportunities outside of commuting (maybe) to express their independence or develop needed social skills. This is leading some of them to engage in hazardous activities, and what I despise about the reaction to it is the simple fact that disparaging them won't fix the situation at all. Taking action to provide safe third spaces is an option, being active participants in shaping our communities is an option, and, perhaps most importantly, letting go of our intense desire to be unannoyed is definitely an option.

It's been over 2 months since K-Pop Demon Hunters came out and we're seeing how much love and passion the fandom is pouring into it and how much notoriety it's getting in the media for the catchy songs, great animation, and amazing easter eggs that people have still been finding with each new rewatch!

For my September curriculum, I set forth to learn about nüshu, the secret women-only writing system from Jiangyong in the Hunan Province. For hundreds of years, women recorded their secrets and sympathies, sharing stories, strength, and spirit with one another as they endured hardship and found small joys in life.

Perfectionism can be a natural tranquilizer to success. You become too afraid of failing to even start something new when, in reality, improving includes, at the very least, some measure of doing. Your first yoga pose will be stiff and awkward. Your first drawing will look pretty rough. Even your first steps as a human being were unsteady and stumbling. What makes the difference between being stuck in a crater of suck is the desire to climb out once you're in.

We hear it all the time, "Believe in yourself!", "Think positive!" But no one ever fully impresses upon you that believing in yourself is more than just passively having "faith". You need to be borderline delusional to make things work out in your favor. We have to go all in on our dreams. We have to believe in the miracle of our own existence as the catalyst for everything that you have in your heart.To join the reading challenge: https://forms.gle/dWnSR9om4f7qCABX6This episode is brought to you by Prep Starts Now, a one-stop shop for all things emergency and survival preparedness. Visit https://prepstartsnow.com/ and use our code SFCTReats for 15% all purchases.

Right now, there's a constant battle going on for your attention. Shortform content, hidden advertisements, buy this, buy that, buy, buy, BUY! It can be hard to take back control, especially when you spend all your downtime doomscrolling to recover from your uptime, which likely includes a burnout-inducing amount of work and social interaction.When was the last time you followed your bliss? Not just being influenced to try a trendy new Pilates class or getting your government-mandated sweet treat, but truly listening to yourself and your interests and learning, really learning about something of interest to you? Do you even know yourself well enough to understand your interests? Often, we view reading as tedious, time-consuming, and perhaps even boring, but if you read with intention, you gain new insights into your life and desires. This "winter arc," I challenge you to read. Even if it's just one book. I challenge you to read something of genuine and sincere interest to you. Read it slowly and savor it, take note of key words and things that stand out to you. Fall in love with the topic or genre and go crazy reading more and more. It's up to you, but you must choose something for yourself. You must make that step.To join the reading challenge: https://forms.gle/dWnSR9om4f7qCABX6This episode is brought to you by Prep Starts Now, a one-stop shop for all things emergency and survival preparedness. Visit https://prepstartsnow.com/ and use our code SFCTreats for 15% all purchases.

Now this was ~Cinema~ I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out as a viewing experience. Demon Slayer is already a top-tier anime, but this film is so well-made that it really takes it over the top. Seeing Akaza's backstory in IMAX was everything I didn't know I needed!This episode is brought to you by Prep Starts Now, a one-stop shop for all things emergency and survival preparedness. Visit https://prepstartsnow.com/ and use our code SFCTReats for 15% all purchases.

Had some big Technical Difficulties TM this week, but we are BACK! And sponsored! This episode is brought to you by Prep Starts Now, a one-stop shop for all things emergency and survival preparedness. Visit https://prepstartsnow.com/ and use our code SFCTReats for 15% all purchases. We've all had that moment where we're trying our best to communicate an idea. Through text, through memes, through smoke signals. The other person how however, refuses to understand, not out of their own free will, but rather because they can't help themselves. Due to a variety of factors, we are all more used to short-form, easy-to-understand content. So we all must come to one conclusion: the rate of literacy is on a noticeable decline.

For most of y'all the official fall semester has come and is in full swing. Whether this is your first semester, your glorious return, or you're preparing for a future semester, these are some tips that have served me quite well. Simple, relatively easy to implement, and with great rewards, even if only partially applied.

All of us are full of hopes, dreams, and goals to enrich ourselves and our lives, or even just to have fun. But when it comes to actually starting something new, we can, at times, struggle to give new things a try. Even when we want to. Especially when we want to! We look at all the variables, the issues, the reasons why we aren’t ready. But no one is ever ready at the start. It’s not a state of being, it’s a state of becoming. We work to improve ourselves to “get ready” for our dreams, but you don’t learn how to bake lemon squares by growing lemon trees.

Since the Fall semester is right about to start I wanted to make sure you all knew about NYS's Reconnect Program. "But wait," you say, "the semester starts in like a week?" Not to worry! There's time for you to get things together for the Spring Semester and make your plan now, or jump right in regardless of the time. Some Admissions Offices work fast so if you already know what you want now is the time to move! I know people often put off their dreams saying, "Later, later." but the time is NOW! Make the best choice and Reconnect TODAY!

Since I was a child, I have been a massive hater of the people of the Leaf Village for abusing Naruto. But one figure rose high above the others as worthy of my ire. The Third Hokage should have done way better for Naruto, considering the sacrifices he had to bear the consequences for. He deserved BETTER.

Last week, the CPB was officially defunded and announced that it would cease operations. I was devastated, my heart ached for what I saw as the end of an era. But I forgot something essential: it's not over till it's over! And as long as we continue to fight, amazing things can happen. As a former PBS kid and now a PBS adult, I know now more than ever that anything is possible so long as we work together.

We all wanna be liked. Every human soul craves love, but even if you aren't loved, even if you are hated, you can't live and die based on the feelings of others. You owe yourself the peace of a life lived with honesty. That is dignity.

The Queens Bus Redesign project has been in effect since June 29. Some aspects of my commute have remained unchanged, while others have improved slightly, but most have deteriorated markedly and become more confusing. I'm not happy with the changes overall, as it puts too much focus on the trains when Queens is more than just a race towards your nearest train station. I feel like consideration for accessibility has been neglected, especially for our elderly and disabled commuters who travel on the bus and now have to walk further, even in areas that are active housing communities or major landmarks such as courthouses, malls, or other shopping centers. Since this is just Phase 1 there is still time to make changes! Here's where you submit comments/complaints/suggestions: https://www.mta.info/contact-us Here's where you can find your local council member: https://council.nyc.gov/map-widget/ Here's where you can sign the petition to Save Coney Island: https://saveconeyisland.com/ Please note that I filmed this shortly after, but I could not find it for weeks. Make sure you handle your file management well folks! Thumbnail Images Courtesy of (Marc A. Hermann / MTA), Oscar Portan.

We've got to go to the library. It's free, it's air conditioned, it's filled with resources! Of course there are books, but there are also CDs, DVDs, Audiobooks, sewing machines, and even power tools (depending on the location).

I've really enjoyed this movie! Kpop Demon Hunters was super fun and refreshing! I loved all the music, the animation, and the cultural impact! Can't wait for these three years to pass so I can see the SEQUEL!

No it's not just for anime protagonists. Friendship can actually have a powerful impact on your life. Here I tell you about a man who had a pretty big impact on my life. But who has had a big impact on yours? Have you thanked that friend?

I got some girls together and started a little chat about Pride.

You said you wanted to change, you said that you don't want to stay in the same place in the same spot. Be brave and take that step. Even just the smallest step. You've got this!

You might be living a life you hate right now, just dragging yourself through each day liked a ghost but you are still alive so you can change direction at anytime. You don't have to make the same mistakes. You can take your life in your hands and reset. You haven't run out of time yet.

I didn't really plan to talk about High School Musical 2 and Descendants originally, but my guest star, Tyler (@Tytheillest) didn't know anything about the topic I had plan, so we had to rethink things a bit. I've always been a big Disney fan and while I was once a High School Musical hater I did later gain a deeper appreciation for the film after a few years had past.

I finally saw Ryan Coogler's Sinners, and what an amazing film! From start to finish, the music, acting, and cinematography were incredible. I found myself enjoying the movie even more upon further reflection. With Coogler's strong direction, Ludwig Göransson's score, and the cast's amazing performances, the film is so delightful that you would forget it was a horror movie. Aside from the vampires, of course. Those make the genre pretty hard to ignore.

We discuss the somewhat controversial "admission" of gingers into the black community.

In which I talk about Chinese micro-dramas and not much else!

What's the value of doing nothing? The Dutch art of Nisken brings forth an interesting perspective. Not laziness but rather peaceful stillness, not in contemplation but in a truly gorgeous opportunity to be. Just be.

Our very first episode! Let's think about how we can improve our community together!