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Girls With Slingshots - GWS Hair of the Dog #727
Sep. 9th, 2025 10:00 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
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New comic!
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Keep that cat butt WRAPPED.
Here's the original! Here's the chaser, with its badass recurring lime-green fart cloud!
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Girls With Slingshots - GWS Hair of the Dog #726
Sep. 8th, 2025 10:00 pmgirlswithslingshots_feed
Natalie Nakase a strong WNBA Coach of the Year Candidate as Valkyries make the Playoffs
Sep. 8th, 2025 04:00 pm8asians_feed
The Golden State Valkyries have clinched a playoff spot in the WNBA playoffs. They are the first WNBA expansion to ever do that in their first year. This accomplishment makes head coach Natalie Nakase a strong WNBA Coach of the Year candidate.
Nakase had to overcome a lot of obstacles to reach this point. She developed a group of players who had never played together into a cohesive unit. Veteran player Kayla Thornton grew into an all-star but got injured and is out for the rest of the season. Nakase lead the team into the playoffs anyway. Moreover, the Valkyries have sold out all of their home games and are a franchise valued at $500 million.
As of the time of this writing, the Valkyries are the sixth seed in the WNBA playoffs. Oddly enough, the Valkyries are so new that they cannot play their first playoff game at home in Chase Center. Instead, their first playoff game will be at SAP center in San Jose. The WNBA playoffs begin on September 14. Regardless if the Valkyries make it past the first round, their performance this season makes Natalie Nakase a strong WNBA Coach of the Year candidate.
The post Natalie Nakase a strong WNBA Coach of the Year Candidate as Valkyries make the Playoffs appeared first on 8Asians | An Asian American collaborative blog.
Girls With Slingshots - GWS Hair of the Dog #725
Sep. 7th, 2025 10:00 pmgirlswithslingshots_feed
September is Suicide Prevention Month
Sep. 6th, 2025 05:14 pmpost_secret_feed
—email—
Dear Frank,
I was the one who sent this in September of 2007. It was September of my freshman year in high school and I had just gotten out of a deep depression. On April 25th, 2007, I had written the note, thinking that life would never get better than my depressed, 14-year old existence. But for whatever wonderful reason, I kept going. Oddly enough, I didn’t get rid of the suicide note. I’m not sure what was stopping me.
I had wanted to send in a secret since I discovered Postsecret in 7th grade in the midst of my first bout of depression. I instantly fell in love with it. I try realized that other people were in just as much pain as I was. When I started to feel better, I realize I needed to get rid of the note. I thought that ripping it up and sending it to Postsecret was the best way to do it.
I am now almost 23 and studying to be a social worker. Right now, I want to do mental health advocacy. I want people to be able to access treatment and realize they’re not alone.
But I’ve also been struggling. This year, my depression came back with a vengeance, along with an eating disorder. Monday night, I I was exhausted and sick from days of restricting. I was so frustrated with the fact that I couldn’t seem to get better. I lied in my bed and begged God to take away my pain. I was so afraid of my own pain, I made my housemate keep my meds in her room so I wouldn’t have access to them in the middle of the night.
Tuesday morning, I barely rolled out of bed. I was procrastinating on getting ready for class, and I realized I hadn’t checked Postsecret this week. I scrolled through the Sunday secrets, past the pictures of the Smithsonian exhibit (which I fully intend to visit), then I saw mine. I immediately recognized it. I couldn’t believe it. I thought that since it wasn’t posted 8 years ago, it would never be posted. I was so glad that I was an inspirational suicide story. It was like getting a note from my ninth grade self reassuring me that it was going to be okay.
Ironically, I’ve been showing the post to everyone. My mom told me she was so glad she never had to read it. One of my housemates hugged me and said she was getting goosebumps. My pastor said he couldn’t imagine a world without me and was also glad I had introduced him to Postsecret. My therapist was amazed that you had kept it for that long and that it must have really impacted you. She pointed out that it was clearly written by a child (with the handwriting and the purple gel pen), and that if I could impact a stranger with my story at the age of 14, imagine how I could use my story now.
Thank you so much for Postsecret. For the approximately nine years I have followed it, it has amused me, changed my perception of others, and made me realize I’m not alone. I’m am so glad that Postsecret was a way for me to reach and inspire others, even 8 years later.
Sincerely,
Claire
Aspiring social worker and life-changer
—email—
Dear Claire,
Thank you for sharing your honest story and secret. It is gratifying to see the people PostSecret touches, in the same way you will never fully appreciate all the strangers you have inspired – and will inspire.
-Frank
—email—
Dear Frank,
It has been many years, since my secret was featured on PostSecret, but I have never forgotten about it. It was a hugely transformative moment in my life. I recently decided to share the story on a podcast. Here’s the link. After my story was shared on the podcast, I got a tattoo to remind me of this whole story, and to symbolize my resilience throughout all of this. I am so grateful that I had my opportunity to share my secret with the world. I am also thankful that I am in a place where it is not a secret anymore. Thank you for providing the space to share.
The post September is Suicide Prevention Month appeared first on PostSecret.
8Books Review: Being Mortal
Sep. 5th, 2025 05:00 pm8asians_feed
I learned about Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal in a roundabout way. John and I receive a lot of marketing materials about Asian American movies and media in general. One of those movies is Good Fortune directed and starting Aziz Ansari. He was working on another movie called Being Mortal when its studio suspended it. Ansari then moved on to Good Fortune. The suspended movie was based on a book. When I read what the book was about, I found it immediately relevant to me so I decided to check it out. Here is a quick review of Atul Gawande’s book, Being Mortal.
Overview
Although the Being Mortal film was planned to be a comedy drama, the book is serious non-fiction about how American medicine and society treats/maltreats the dying. It looks at the problems of institutions like nursing homes and end of life care. As an Asian American, Gawande, has a unique viewpoint on caring for the elderly. He talks about how in traditional cultures, the old were cared for by family. While this may sound great, he also points out, from experiences in his own family and others, that this can be a source of great stress. My own experience can attest to that point, having lived in a multi-generational Asian household. Gawande looks, to his credit, often looks at both sides of issues like this through out the book. He points out not just the problems of modern nursing homes but also the even worse institutions that they replaced.
Recommendations
I heartily recommend this book. Being Mortal is particularly relevant in a time of Medicaid cuts and an aging population. The books Outlive by Peter Attia and When Breath becomes Air make excellent companions to it. Outlive talks about goals to set for the last part of one’s life and how to become fit enough to reach those goals. Being Mortal points out that no one can escape death and what to consider when one is at the end of one’s health span. When Breath Becomes Air talks about one Asian American doctor’s experience at the end of his life.
The post 8Books Review: Being Mortal appeared first on 8Asians | An Asian American collaborative blog.