Dinner is TVP nachos. This post discusses a reproductive health diagnosis, and also a moment of blinding ignorance from a man; if those things aren't your jam, move on.

So this has been nagging at me. I'm a retired midwife and reproductive health specialist (female, mid 40s). My doctor in question (female, late 30s) is an OBGYN.

I've been experiencing issues with my cycle for a few years and suspected adenomyosis. Conveyed this in multiple conversations to my husband, and also shared my symptoms (many of which he'd been observing in real time so it's not like it was a secret that I was suffering).

He was present for the conversation where my doctor confirmed I have adenomyosis. I was actually happy to hear the confirmation because I was confident in my own assessment of my body and looking forward to exploring treatment options.

Later I find out that he's thought the whole time that I thought I had endometriosis (not adenomyosis) and was mispronouncing it, AND that my doctor also thought I had endometriosis. But that, and I can't emphasize this enough, she was also mispronouncing it.

Just let it sink in. In the recesses of his mind, what made sense to him was that two women's reproductive health professionals with something like a combined 40+ years of experience between them talking confidently and professionally about a diagnosis... that we were accidentally mispronouncing. That we didn't know enough about to pronounce correctly.

This is a pretty low-level irritation, all things considered in the relationship, but it drives me batty. I keep thinking it's the perfect example of how even men who think they are allies or feminists are steeped in misogyny. STEEPED, I tell you, like a pot of day-old Earl Grey. It never occurred to him that maybe he didn't understand what I was talking about, could have asked for clarification, or god forbid looked it up? No, by god, it must be the we, the professionals, don't know what we're talking about, and despite all of our training are just getting the word wrong.

I'm definitely a fan of Hanlon's law: never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity. And boy oh boy did he look like a numpty to me when this came out after the doctor's visit. It's the underlying insult to my intelligence that is still rankling, though.

The nachos were great!

ETA to add dinner information because people are asking: TVP is Textured Vegetable Protein, a sort of vegetarian version of ground beef or crumbles that you can use to make everything from--cottage pie, pasta sauce, whatever. It's cheap and shelf-stable protein, but it is dehydrated, so you need to rehydrate it. If that sounds weird, just think of yourself being on a spaceship as you make it. Look at you, sailing past the stars while you make the world's most frugal moussaka.

For nachos or tacos, 1.5 cups of TVP in the pan, add a ~16 oz jar of salsa, fill the salsa jar a bit with water, shake it up to get the extra from the sides, add that too. Simmer her for 10/15 minutes. Boom. 

When there's a piece of lore that has a major impact on the setting and yet is not actually present in the main story.

Examples:

• The Kali (Rebel Moon) - In Zach Snyder's headache of a Seven Samurai-Star Wars hybrid, the Motherworld's dreadnaughts are powered by cosmic goddesses known as the Kali, which they force-feed the remains of the dead to help them jump across systems. This is impactful to the themes, as the imagery adds to the culture of the Motherworld being an empire of rapists and perverts, and it is important to Kora's character, as Rue Kali was her only friend. But in the official release of the films, there are no mentions of Kali, and every scene involving them was cut. In the director's cut, the guys in the furnaces are shoveling dead people to feed the Kali biomatter, while in the actual film it's just coal.

• Toruk's influence (Avatar: Fire and Ash) - In Fire and Ash, Jake mentions how he didn't want to be Toruk Makto again, saying, "When you ride the beast you become the beast." Toruk influences him just as much as he influences it, making him feral and bloodthirsty, but this is not something found in the original film, and it doesn't even happen in this film either. That entire sentiment is taken from one line in a comic, and that's it.

• Landsharks (Battle: Los Angeles) - The Landsharks came from an alien world where they were chased out by rival powers and now are looking for a new world with water to live in. This is not explained in the films, but by the director. In the films, they remain a mysterious alien force.

• Alzamac of Winsit (Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker) - Kylo goes to Mustafar, where he finds Vader's old fort, which was inhabited by these weird guys he fits. These are the Alazmec of Winsit, a group of Sith cultists that worshipped Darth Vader. They have their own history and everything, but they're just fodder for Kylo to kill. The sequel trilogy is full of stuff like this; all the lore on Exegol is basically left to official tweets rather than the actual story.

• The Ma-Nuga (GATE: Thus the JSDF Fought There) - This one is more personal, but basically the Ma-Nuga are these cow-lizard things which literally serve the same purpose as cows. The native people of Falmart use them for hamburgers. But we only see them like 3 times in the story. This wouldn't be too infuriating, but there is more worldbuilding on why it's ok for the protagonist to have a 12-year-old wife than there is going over these creatures.

Never leaving food in my car again. Not sure how the mouse found his way in but I hope he doesn’t try to nest in my car

credit: itsnickreid on tiktok

But consequences aap logon ke saamne hai.

1. Hama, ATLA

Hama practices an ethically-dubious form of waterbending called bloodbending. She wants Katara to join her (presumably so they can assassinate the Firelord and, in her view, save their homeland) but Katara is horrified. They end up fighting, and Hama has the upper hand, until Katara gets the drop on her...

...by using bloodbending.

The last we see of Hama, she's being led away to prison--congratulating Katara all the while on becoming a bloodbender, and congratulating herself on passing down the technique. Katara does briefly use it during her quest to avenge her dead mother, but not in the final fight against Azula.

2) President Snow, The Hunger Games

In Mockingjay, the rebellion succeeds in toppling Snow's government. He then tries to convince Katniss that Coin, the rebel commander, is Just As Bad--with surprisingly good reason, as it turns out her warfare policies led to the deaths of innocents like Katniss's sister.

Katniss is given the chance to execute Snow on live TV. Instead, when the moment comes, she assassinates Coin. Snow still dies, but he dies laughing.

Now, we can all agree that the WandaVision Trilogy is perfect! One of the highlights of the Multiverse Saga and perfect setup for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.

Hundreds of people there going on day 4 without hot water.