Yikes. To be fair, it's been in vogue at times even before Marilyn (like the super skinny flapper girls of the 20s), but it definitely came back hard for the 90s. They called it "heroin chic". I remember being in the 3rd grade at the time (8 years old), looking down at my lap at my desk and thinking that my thighs were too chubby.

Yeah that's what I meant, Tom

To be fair, the oddity was that specifically two blondes (Rhaenyra and Laenor) had a child, much less 3, with brown hair. Alicent having a child with Viserys with brown hair wouldn't be nearly so suspicious, assuming of course that it was a lighter auburn like hers, not nearly black like Criston's.

But a suspension of disbelief has to be had either way. For example, I know I'm being ridiculously petty, but as far as I can tell Jace has brown eyes, while Harwin and Rhaenyra both have blue. It's not outright impossible for such a thing to happen (despite the Punnett squares taught in middle school biology classes) but it's extremely unlikely, so much so that it could warrant some skepticism IRL. Obviously I still think the casting for all those characters is incredible, I wouldn't change a thing.

My conversations with people 42 years older than me usually center on things like, "and what was it like, living through ___ war?" and "Do you remember where were you when JFK was assassinated?" (Turns out Grandma was on a bender, bless her heart)

Yet more clues...one used to be good friends with Melissa Chapman and is a tall beautiful blonde in her gymnastics class. That person also happens to be the cousin of another high-ranking Controller. Also she was on the news for saving a kid from a crocodile and her house collapsing.

Rereading the series from the beginning, it really makes no sense. The Yeerks directly suspected them, they knew that a group of KIDS was there that night and Tom questioned Jake about being at the mall. They could have at least used fake or code names. Especially with Tobias's identity being known as Elfangor's son, or Marco as the child of Visser 1. It would not be hard at all to connect things like Cassie's parents and their jobs (how many wildlife clinics are there to narrow it down?), Jake and Rachel being cousins, etc etc.

It's a fun narrative device but it doesn't hold up if you think about it for more than a second.

It's simple really, these types want weak malnourished women they can most easily control. Apparently bonus points for us looking prebuscent as a result.

It's just Elinda, jsyk. :) apologies for pointing out the typo

It's actually a wooden frame, I couldn't find a good picture that accurately showed how it really is. I'm not sure what kind of padding is underneath, it's sort of foam-like? It's built like puzzle pieces. It does seem safe, I've seen a couple kids do little jumps (which we still discourage of course, "all done swing") but never actual tears.

This is just spoofing that Reese Witherspoon Vince Vaughn cover (don't remember the title), originally she's on the stack.

Honestly, kids are clumsy, and kids with autism in particular can struggle with hand-eye coordination and motor skills. I see a lot of (very mild) falls and trips on a daily basis. It's important to remember that (in my experience at least) little kids are pretty resilient, I've seen some falls that would have been cry-worthy for an adult that kids were able to shake off as nothing. Sometimes a kid will even cry at the shock of the fall, but once you check for bumps or scrapes and assure them they're okay, are immediately back up and running.

I definitely get that it's scary though. Obviously you should always be ready to soothe, and look out for potential trip hazards or safety concerns to avoid falls when possible. But they really do trip over their own feet, haha. I'm assuming you're in a center? The gym might not be completely padded, but perhaps you could have carpets or mats on some of the space, so if she does fall, she has a soft landing. Or if you're really that worried, maybe she'd tolerate arm pads or something. I truly think it's okay though, 2 year olds are absolutely going to run and stumble and that's normal.

Edit: it might also be good to set a timer and only allow a few minutes of running at a time, so she doesn't get tired or overstimulated as often (resulting in more falls). It also gives a neutral end point so she doesn't feel confused. Then she can cool down for a bit and answer some questions/play a game to earn more time to run.

For the center, it's tablets, for school/home it's personal phones/tablets.

Yes, this exactly! Thank you for chiming in with all those great, specific examples. It's actually chilling to read the summary of what happened to him. (Yes, I know it's fictional, but a sad story is still sad)

I think "working with" is probably vague enough, but obviously consult with your BCBA and the parents to know what they find acceptable. For example, the problem with saying you're an "extra teacher" to a parent or another kid is that they'll then expect you to help with other things/people, when really your focus is supposed to be on your kiddo. Obviously saying "I'm working with ___ for their autism" would be a hipaa violation. Keep it vague and immediately redirect to another topic. If they persist with follow ups I'd probably say "oh I just really like hanging out with __ and their mom and teacher said it's okay". Most kids will drop it then and adults understand that, while you're not giving them a straight answer, you're approved to be there. Obviously they'll probably still think it's a bit odd, but common sense will generally dictate that if other adults in authority have signed off on your presence, and you're not willing to elaborate on why, it's probably something private that would be rude to push about.

We have something pretty similar to this  (and yes it's inside, we have a large room that's like a small gym with this as well as different toddler bikes, mini trampoline, a seesaw, various balls, etc)

It's too bad knowing that's not the norm. We have both floaters and Center Assistants, who cover bathroom and lunch breaks and do a lot of cleaning/sanitizing etc, as well as help out during tantrums etc whenever more support is needed.

I always want to write "Vhaegar" 😅 (also a book reader)

Just to be clear though, there's still no actual blu ray right? I got so excited for a minute 🥺 the only thing I can find is some kind of bootleg thing shipping out of Russia

It's a case of an unreliable narrator. Harry tends to downplay his poor treatment because it's his normal, and when he realizes it's not, he hates being pitied (much like Ron). But when we look at the clues - not allowing a child to eat as much as they like, being extremely skinny, being only given broth if anything when confined to his room, and later reaching out to friends for help with food after he's put on an inappropriately restrictive diet, they are absolutely starving him. What constitutes "severe" is up to interpretation. I suspect you're being downvoted because although it seems over-the-top to exaggerate Harry being, say, beaten bloody with regular broken bones and given only a slice of bread to eat per day for 16 years straight, minimizing his abuse feels even worse. The poor kid WAS beaten and starved, and I suspect adult Harry would have had to eventually reckon with the trauma of that realization, even if he was pretty resilient about it at the time - I know personally, at least, that reading as an adult hits differently than reading as a child, and I imagine if I had kids of my own it would seem even more horrifying.

Yes. A long vowel is when the letter is pronounced how it's said when singing the alphabet. So aaaay, eeee, aye/eye/I, oh, (yo)u.

We're not, at least at my location. About 15 years ago at my first job they did leave some popcorn in the warmer over night for opening, but I've worked multiple theaters since then and they always pop first thing in the morning (we come in an hour before opening). The pure volume of popcorn we make and sell means your popcorn is pretty much always going to be a few minutes old, maybe 20-30 at most, staying warm in the popper. So if you're still munching on popcorn an hour into the movie, that's the worst quality you're going to eat (and obviously it's still pretty good at that point, just not super hot anymore).

Iirc it's been around 2 years, maybe 2 and a half. Dany was 14 when they hatched and she's 16 at that point.

Good point. Also worth mentioning that Aemma was half Targaryen (and half Arryn) and by all means should have been capable of claiming a dragon. I don't think Viserys necessarily forbade her or anything (she didn't seem particularly interested in the "stink of dragon") but it's interesting that she wasn't a dragonrider. It wouldn't exactly have changed the story any, since she dies so early on. It would have been a cool parallel if, say, Sunfyre was originally her hatchling.

As of the latest book, Drogon is barely big enough for Dany (a small teenage girl) to ride. I believe he's said to be a bit bigger than a horse. He is the largest of the 3, as the other 2 were kept chained in a cave (the Dragonpit stunts their growth, a bit like a fish in a bowl), whilst Drogon was able to roam and hunt.

Obviously, but it's been made clear they want to keep Vhagar in King's Landing to protect the Capitol. To get them to leave, they need a better target than baby dragons and a kid.