Rivka
@rivka-otter.bsky.social
Psychologist (but not *your* psychologist), parent, progressive, and all manner of things that begin with P. What a time to be alive and anxious.
Put your hand in a spilled puddle of marshmallow-scented lotion while begrudgingly shopping for stocking gifts on your way to work, all before having your tea, and nothing worse will happen to you all day.
Follow me for more life hacks!
Follow me for more life hacks!
December 15, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Put your hand in a spilled puddle of marshmallow-scented lotion while begrudgingly shopping for stocking gifts on your way to work, all before having your tea, and nothing worse will happen to you all day.
Follow me for more life hacks!
Follow me for more life hacks!
“So your mezzo piano - don’t take it as a volume level. Take it as how rich you feel in your heart.”
- very useful directorial advice
- very useful directorial advice
December 11, 2025 at 2:02 AM
“So your mezzo piano - don’t take it as a volume level. Take it as how rich you feel in your heart.”
- very useful directorial advice
- very useful directorial advice
I interpreted this prompt as referring to visual art, but I’m delighted to see people posting novels, films, pieces of music.
This is “La Chambre Bleue” by Suzanne Valadon, from 1923.
This is “La Chambre Bleue” by Suzanne Valadon, from 1923.
December 9, 2025 at 1:12 PM
I interpreted this prompt as referring to visual art, but I’m delighted to see people posting novels, films, pieces of music.
This is “La Chambre Bleue” by Suzanne Valadon, from 1923.
This is “La Chambre Bleue” by Suzanne Valadon, from 1923.
I had an ARC of this book. Reading it feels like a cold drink of water when you’re running a fever. It’s not a feel-good book, but it does make you feel better: seen, strengthened, informed.
Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis is still on the Bookshop Bestseller List! ❤️
Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis
Letters to Activists in Crisis
bookshop.org
December 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
I had an ARC of this book. Reading it feels like a cold drink of water when you’re running a fever. It’s not a feel-good book, but it does make you feel better: seen, strengthened, informed.
It’s kind of nice to start off my workday writing a recommendation for someone to receive gender-affirming medical care.
“To whom it may concern: this person is who they say they are.”
#therapistsky
“To whom it may concern: this person is who they say they are.”
#therapistsky
December 2, 2025 at 4:38 PM
It’s kind of nice to start off my workday writing a recommendation for someone to receive gender-affirming medical care.
“To whom it may concern: this person is who they say they are.”
#therapistsky
“To whom it may concern: this person is who they say they are.”
#therapistsky
Reposted by Rivka
The reason the top 10% of income earners pay more than half of all tax revenue is NOT because they are taxed more than ever.
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
November 29, 2025 at 12:23 PM
The reason the top 10% of income earners pay more than half of all tax revenue is NOT because they are taxed more than ever.
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
Their tax rate has been cut FIVE times in the last 25 years.
They are paying more because their INCOME has increased astronomically, where the income of the bottom half has
Absolutely delighted to be given an original 1955 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. What a treat to show my assessment students!
I originally learned on the WAIS-R, which seems surprising given that I was in grad school in the mid-90s. They come out with new tests a lot more often now.
I originally learned on the WAIS-R, which seems surprising given that I was in grad school in the mid-90s. They come out with new tests a lot more often now.
November 29, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Absolutely delighted to be given an original 1955 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. What a treat to show my assessment students!
I originally learned on the WAIS-R, which seems surprising given that I was in grad school in the mid-90s. They come out with new tests a lot more often now.
I originally learned on the WAIS-R, which seems surprising given that I was in grad school in the mid-90s. They come out with new tests a lot more often now.
Public Service Announcement: the 50th Anniversary version of Alice’s Restaurant doesn’t include the F-slur, so if you’ve let that Thanksgiving tradition lapse, you can start up again.
November 26, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Public Service Announcement: the 50th Anniversary version of Alice’s Restaurant doesn’t include the F-slur, so if you’ve let that Thanksgiving tradition lapse, you can start up again.
Reposted by Rivka
when we say we want more streets to be pedestrianized, this is what we mean
November 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
when we say we want more streets to be pedestrianized, this is what we mean
Important news: I made a Gimlet (with fresh lime juice, not Rose’s) and added ginger bitters.
It was SO GOOD.
It was SO GOOD.
November 26, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Important news: I made a Gimlet (with fresh lime juice, not Rose’s) and added ginger bitters.
It was SO GOOD.
It was SO GOOD.
Talking to a colleague about why we get so few testing referrals for math learning disabilities.
My theory: widespread cultural acceptance of the idea that being “bad at math” is normal. You’d never hear another adult say “oh, I’m terrible at reading!” in a social context, right?
#therapistsky
My theory: widespread cultural acceptance of the idea that being “bad at math” is normal. You’d never hear another adult say “oh, I’m terrible at reading!” in a social context, right?
#therapistsky
November 22, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Talking to a colleague about why we get so few testing referrals for math learning disabilities.
My theory: widespread cultural acceptance of the idea that being “bad at math” is normal. You’d never hear another adult say “oh, I’m terrible at reading!” in a social context, right?
#therapistsky
My theory: widespread cultural acceptance of the idea that being “bad at math” is normal. You’d never hear another adult say “oh, I’m terrible at reading!” in a social context, right?
#therapistsky
Chicken tortilla soup is pretty much perfect on a chilly November evening.
November 22, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Chicken tortilla soup is pretty much perfect on a chilly November evening.
Joyce Carol Oates must feel pretty embarrassed right now for calling Elon Musk a sad hollow shell of a man.
After all, would a sad hollow shell of a man be extravagantly praised by the AI he owns and controls, on the social media platform he owns and controls?!
After all, would a sad hollow shell of a man be extravagantly praised by the AI he owns and controls, on the social media platform he owns and controls?!
November 21, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Joyce Carol Oates must feel pretty embarrassed right now for calling Elon Musk a sad hollow shell of a man.
After all, would a sad hollow shell of a man be extravagantly praised by the AI he owns and controls, on the social media platform he owns and controls?!
After all, would a sad hollow shell of a man be extravagantly praised by the AI he owns and controls, on the social media platform he owns and controls?!
Click through for an excellent thread analyzing the “Trump Peace Plan.”
Compare the vagueness of the clause "it is expected that Russia will not invade neighbouring countries" with the very specific limits on Ukrainian army numbers and "Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO."
November 21, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Click through for an excellent thread analyzing the “Trump Peace Plan.”
Full house tonight at the little Mennonite church for Trans Day of Remembrance. The pastor is speaking out against “confining the diversity of creation to one vision.” #tdor
November 21, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Full house tonight at the little Mennonite church for Trans Day of Remembrance. The pastor is speaking out against “confining the diversity of creation to one vision.” #tdor
Reposted by Rivka
You can't even call for executions anymore because of woke
November 20, 2025 at 5:11 PM
You can't even call for executions anymore because of woke
We’re still on track to punish universities whose students protest for Gaza, though, right? Because anti-Semitism is the greatest scourge something something?
Exclusive: The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, nooses and the Confederate flag as hate symbols.
The military service drafted a new policy that classifies them as “potentially divisive.”
The military service drafted a new policy that classifies them as “potentially divisive.”
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:19 PM
We’re still on track to punish universities whose students protest for Gaza, though, right? Because anti-Semitism is the greatest scourge something something?
Reposted by Rivka
Sometimes my friends and I would wonder how bad it was gonna get, and I think this sentence does a good job of encapsulating our guesses.
"A man pardoned by President Donald Trump for storming the Capitol was arrested on child molestation charges, according to Florida officials, who said he tried to use an anticipated Jan. 6 payout to silence the victim."
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Pardoned Capitol rioter tried to bribe child sex victim with promise of Jan. 6 payout, officials say
Andrew Paul Johnson, 44, faces multiple charges in Florida, including lewd/lascivious molestation, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
www.nbcnews.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Sometimes my friends and I would wonder how bad it was gonna get, and I think this sentence does a good job of encapsulating our guesses.
This is a very flattering offer, but regretfully I must decline.
November 17, 2025 at 1:22 PM
This is a very flattering offer, but regretfully I must decline.
“Ended up.”
Powerful men trafficked an underage, homeless teenager who couldn’t pay for healthcare any other way.
Matt Gaetz, before being tapped for the highest law enforcement position in the country, raped a girl too young to consent. And was then positioned as a victim in a NYT article.
Powerful men trafficked an underage, homeless teenager who couldn’t pay for healthcare any other way.
Matt Gaetz, before being tapped for the highest law enforcement position in the country, raped a girl too young to consent. And was then positioned as a victim in a NYT article.
A teenager in Florida with a homeless parent wanted money for braces and ended up having sex for money with powerful men, setting off a chain of events that would have a dramatic impact on her life and help upend the political career of Representative Matt Gaetz. nyti.ms/49PSkL9
November 14, 2025 at 3:44 AM
“Ended up.”
Powerful men trafficked an underage, homeless teenager who couldn’t pay for healthcare any other way.
Matt Gaetz, before being tapped for the highest law enforcement position in the country, raped a girl too young to consent. And was then positioned as a victim in a NYT article.
Powerful men trafficked an underage, homeless teenager who couldn’t pay for healthcare any other way.
Matt Gaetz, before being tapped for the highest law enforcement position in the country, raped a girl too young to consent. And was then positioned as a victim in a NYT article.
My 16yo’s Spanish class took the city bus to a Latino neighborhood and went around in small groups doing scavenger hunt tasks like ordering lunch in Spanish and finding information posted on a notice board.
So practical! I’ve never heard of a field trip like this before- I love it.
So practical! I’ve never heard of a field trip like this before- I love it.
November 14, 2025 at 1:52 AM
My 16yo’s Spanish class took the city bus to a Latino neighborhood and went around in small groups doing scavenger hunt tasks like ordering lunch in Spanish and finding information posted on a notice board.
So practical! I’ve never heard of a field trip like this before- I love it.
So practical! I’ve never heard of a field trip like this before- I love it.
Unexpected results of a Bluesky thread: I was loudly exclaiming “if you can’t trust the Piss Christ guy, who can you trust?” and it led to a great conversation with my kids about art.
(I had actually never seen the photo before! It’s surprisingly lovely?!)
(I had actually never seen the photo before! It’s surprisingly lovely?!)
November 14, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Unexpected results of a Bluesky thread: I was loudly exclaiming “if you can’t trust the Piss Christ guy, who can you trust?” and it led to a great conversation with my kids about art.
(I had actually never seen the photo before! It’s surprisingly lovely?!)
(I had actually never seen the photo before! It’s surprisingly lovely?!)
This is why you should banish “Cinderella story” from your list of heartwarming phrases.
Thinking today how homelessness runs through this story, through Epstein's (Virginia Guiffre had been homeless before meeting him), and even through Gaiman's (his nanny was sleeping on the beach when Palmer recruited her, and he used threats of homelessness against another victim).
The woman whom the House Ethics Committee determined Matt Gaetz paid for sex when she was 17 years old was living in a homeless shelter, working at McDonald's, and needed the money for braces www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
November 13, 2025 at 8:18 PM
This is why you should banish “Cinderella story” from your list of heartwarming phrases.