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Melissa Paints

@melissavandiver.bsky.social

1.3K followers 1.4K following 7K posts

Melissa Vandiver (she/her), artist & illustrator in New Orleans. Board member New Orleans Women and Children's Shelter. Noted loudmouth. Follow my art account for art and less loudmouth: @mvandiverart.bsky.social https://linktr.ee/mvandiverart

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 27d

Would love it if y'all followed my art page and shared my posts from there!

Melissa Vandiver Art @mvandiverart.bsky.social · 27d

Here's a thread of the art I spend most of my time on: themed pet portraits. They are all commissions, and I love collaborating with pet weirdos to portray these lil guys. I have done around 250 of these and they are each different. If you ever wonder what I'm working on, it's probably one of these.

Painting of a cat in an astronaut's space suit, standing on the moon, with an American flag and dark space behind. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver..#petportraits #art #neworleans #cats #cat #catsky #catsofbluesky #space #moon

Painting of a furry black, white, and brown dog, wearing a giraffe costume, on a black and white giraffe print background. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver.#petportraits #art #neworleans #dogs #dog #dogsky #dogsofbluesky #giraffe #giraffes

Painting of a brown dog in the crow's nest of an old-fashioned ship, with another mast and crow's nest in the distance behind. Background is blue sea and sky. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver. #petportraits #art #neworleans #dogs #dog #dogsky #dogsofbluesky

Painting of a furry white dog in a leather jacket, against a background of a brick wall with graffiti. Pet portrait by New Orleans artist & illustrator Melissa Vandiver.. #petportraits #art #neworleans #dogs #dog #dogsky #dogsofbluesky

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Delaney Nolan @delaneynolan.bsky.social · 39m

My debut novel, HAPPY BAD, is out today! Come see me in New Orleans, New York, Chicago, wherever.

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paris martineau @paris.nyc · 2h

i was surprised to learn that bc most protein powders are considered dietary supplements, they basically fall into a regulatory grey area

there's no federal limit on the amount of lead they can contain and neither manufacturers nor the FDA have to prove these products are safe before they're sold

Protein powders and shakes, like all dietary supplements, fall into something of a regulatory gray area.

There is no federal limit specifying the amount of lead allowed in protein powders. And while the FDA requires that manufacturers keep their products free of harmful contaminants, it largely leaves it up to companies to decide what counts as harmful and test their own products for compliance.

Before 1994, manufacturers had to prove herbal products were safe before selling them. That changed after Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. The law sharply limited the FDA’s authority, leaving supplements far less regulated than drugs.

Today, supplements are “presumed safe unless found otherwise,” says Cohen at Harvard Medical School, and most products face scrutiny only after reaching the market—meaning unsafe or contaminated supplements can reach consumers before problems are caught.

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 28m

*looks around at how everything's going*

Ayuup

paris martineau @paris.nyc · 2h

my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements

we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)

www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...

Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports

CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.

www.consumerreports.org

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 52m

"But “security” is not a magic word that suspends the Constitution" tell that to the writers of the Bulwark in 2002

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 2h

Supporters of the new restrictions say they are “common-sense security” measures. But “security” is not a magic word that suspends the Constitution. www.thebulwark.com/p/locking-do...

Locking Down the Pentagon Press Is Dangerous

Pete Hegseth’s proposed restrictions would harm the people whom both the military and the press are meant to serve.

www.thebulwark.com

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 54m

Wow this is a giant shit show and after reading it I'm convinced one of the good standing members of it probably leaked it because they are vicious to each other as well as humanity at large. The "this is not who we are" statements are hilarious

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 2h

"a test"? you mean...a violation?

AP: Israel plans to halve aid into Gaza over slow return of dead hostages, a test for the Gaza ceasefire

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ElieNYC @elienyc.bsky.social · 2h

Not that anybody comes to me for Maine politics, but the fact that the Democrats successfully convinced a 77yo Governor to primary the 41yo progressive, is today's example of why the Democrats fucking stay failing.

Susan Collins is 72 and if Schumer gets his way, she'll be the YOUNGER choice!

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 2h

Grandma antifa

Grantifa

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 2h

And the average protester is a suburban older white lady

Grandma hates America

Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 2h

They seriously paid some consultant to come up with "hate America rally" as their compulsive talking point for a mass protest entirely framed around invoking the American Revolution as the foundational creed of American identity.

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 3h

I visit the subreddit r/bropill (bad name, good sub) which is full of men recognizing this is their problem to solve and uplifting each other. Highly recommend for an antidote to *gestures around* or if you know any men (esp younger) who could use some non-toxic bro spaces www.reddit.com/r/bropill/

bropill

Bropill: A subreddit for encouraging positive attitudes, wholesome memes, and what it means to be a bro.

www.reddit.com

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 3h

Both male and female loneliness have the same solution - women must be with men they don't want to be/are in some danger because of. Heads men win, tales women lose.

It's somehow our responsibility to make men not lonely in order to prevent them from murdering us or legislating our rights away.

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 3h

I'm always waffling between empathy and wanting to yell at them to stop making their problems everyone else's. I know so many boys grow up with a cursed view of relationships and emotions that the patriarchy instills. Maybe if the men were not placing blame squarely on women I could be kinder?

Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 3h

Whenever I see men complain about the male loneliness crisis or unique emotional/psychological issues faced by men, it’s very clear that they just don’t see women as full people capable of experiencing the exact same emotions they do

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ElieNYC @elienyc.bsky.social · 4h

This is a good point

Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 7h

one of the reasons they're so mad at "no kings" is that they thought they were going to get a different kind of protest. they *want* the black bloc to be out there fighting with the cops. those are the images they've been trying to generate from "go." instead--

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

MAGA Rage at “No Kings” Boils Over—and It Quickly Backfires on Trump

As Trump allies smear the coming protests, a good writer on MAGA skewers the absurdity of these attacks on large swaths of Americans—and explains why our best recourse will be to turn out in force.

newrepublic.com

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Melissa Vandiver Art @mvandiverart.bsky.social · 18h

Can't show you this one yet - it's a gift that has yet to be given!

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Shirley Chisholm @anickel4thought.bsky.social · 1d

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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 14h

ICE needs a legislative death sentence. We are allowed to abolish institutions when they become unaccountable beyond the point of reform, or when they become inextricably associated with corruption or abuse. In order for ICE’s leaders and agents to be held to account ICE itself must die.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 16h

The entire incident is infuriating and terrifying. She’s a Latina woman who was working a service job. On her way home late at night, with her headphones in, she was detained for an hour by masked federal agents who wouldn’t give her their names.

Maria Greeley, 44, had just finished working a double shift at the Beach Bar on Ohio Street
earlier this month when she said she was surrounded by three federal agents who grabbed her, forced her hands behind her back and zip tied her.
Headphones in, Greeley had been focused on getting home to her two dogs for a walk.
Instead, she said she was detained by masked agents who did not answer when she asked for names. They questioned her for an hour, she said.

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Bill Corbett @billcorbett.bsky.social · 14h

Ta-Nehisi Coates speaking to Ezra Klein. Quote: "Was silence not an option?"

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 14h

awwww

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 14h

Love it! I had a dachshund until a couple years ago, and currently have a Chihuahua/Maltese mix. Never a x
Chiweenie though

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 14h

We had two and one passed away a couple years ago (at 19!) and the one who's left...lol we think she could use a little competition because she's basically a spoiled potato now

Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 15h

I would die for her

Screenshot of a page on Petfinder featuring a very cute little black puppy named Lemondrop

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Melissa Paints @melissavandiver.bsky.social · 15h

I'm excited to announce my husband and I are trying

To get another dog

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Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 22h

Like blah blah blah virtue signaling how about if you learn some virtue other than being a piece of shit

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Stan Oklobdzija @stano.bsky.social · 23h

The reason we've coalesced on "Democrats win every election" as a safeguard is that the obvious solution to a political movement that's abandoned democratic principles is outlawing it. There's a reason that fascist parties are illegal in much of Europe.

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d.ly @dly.bsky.social · 1d

Israeli hostage, Palestinian prisoner. fascinating word choice.

A young 90s gal in front of a computer sarcastically saying “interesting”

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