Dr Lena H

@lenarivkah

artist; lefty Jew; ragey, radical poli sci PhD/fmr prof; cat person; grackle enthusiast; disabled/chronically ill/Covid conscious; (she/her) For art licensing: For Judaica: www.lenarivkah.com

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Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· 23d

Oh good gd. This is just so much more than I knew five minutes ago and I’ve been following this closely.

And then the part that should stop everyone cold. On Saturday FDA reported that a sample of shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico had tested positive for Cyclospora - collected at the border during targeted import surveillance, as a result of this very investigation. Taylor Farms confirmed the positive product is not part of its current recall. The lot is detained, and the company is still working out whether any of it reached commerce or people's kitchens. Read that twice. The parasite turned up on product still being shipped into this country, outside a recall the company itself drew, after that same company told the public this traced to one independent farm and represented under one percent of the U.S. iceberg supply. Either the recall is scoped too narrowly or the contamination ic hrader than one

And the fix that Congress pushed to
2028. FDA had to run border surveillance to find this parasite on a bag of lettuce, and even then the company got to decide whether that bag fell inside or outside its own recall.
The Food Traceability Ruleaddresses exactly this - lot-level records, key data elements at every critical tracking event, electronic production within twenty-four hours, leafy greens squarely on the Food Traceability List.
It was finalized in November 2022.
Compliance was to begin January 20, 2026.
FDA moved it thirty months, and last November Congress made the delay binding through July 20, 2028. Walmart didn't wait — it imposed its own supplier traceability requirements in August 2025 and has been assessing chargebacks since. So the technology exists and retailers can demand it.

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jul 4

All beds are small to Ben! Even human beds! But for a spin on the genre—does he fit? Is he exploding out? It’s a Schrodinger’s cat tree situation

Fluffy orange and white cat oozes heat and feet out of a cat tree

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jul 4

Sang the demons Shalom Aleichem when I realized it was still Shabbat—induced demon-free sleep in three verses!* *prefer shuvchem to tzeitchem because I want them to come back, not just leave

Orange and white Maine Coon cat curled up in a dark red cat bed

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jul 4

The unrepentant face of someone who just tried to steal the corn, because corn husks make his demons flare. Gotta have another long conversation with ha-Satan about this.

Unrepentant cat’s face wide open with tongue out after trying to steal corn

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jul 4

I also had 4th of July cats as a kid! This is Halloween (we got them in October). She was 18, I was 24, and she’s considering murdering me for taking her outside for costume pics.

White woman in long black and green Halloween wig and costume cradles a black cat outside

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jul 3

There is a great new book about how this works in the brain! It’s really fascinating stuff, how music gives us the power to time travel

Book cover of TRANSPORTED
The Everyday Magic of Musical Daydreams
By ELIZABETH MARGULIS

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jul 3

What does it mean if you see a groundhog on a really hot day? I want the answer to be “it will be cool here soon” but I fear it’s “six more weeks of death summer.”

Picture from iNaturalist app that reads:

YOU RESIGHTED A SPECIES!
Groundhog
You first observed it on:
Jul 3, 2026

With my picture of the groundhog

Groundhog peering over a very green world

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jul 3

Miggy is so beautiful! Why is Ben so plaintive in this old pic when I had an art studio? Because SOMEONE thinks paint brushes are toys, and won’t let me paint in peace. He’d rather paint his tail then the walls in acrylics! That towel next to him was his lounge spot when he had to watch me

An aggressively fluffy white and orange Maine Coon cat stares aggressively through a baby gate meant to keep him out of an art studio.

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jun 25

But also la Fête de Musique is awesome and how dare he bother the people with his trash during it? From 20 years ago, when I didn’t realize I shouldn’t leave Paris yet. Dude deserves to be devoured by lionesses

Blurry picture from 2006 of a group of Parisian musicians gathering and rehearsing by the Seine

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jun 13

It would be better if I wasn’t melted goo and able to be offline in a peaceful cathedral in time. But given the horrifying heat+humidity, this ain’t bad as a picture of Shabbat! shabbat shalom y’all—for once, the news is fine.

Video of Trump’s name coming off the Kennedy Center livestream with Shabbat candles in the background

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jun 7

I just made an art catio—so good to see actual cats enjoying theirs 😎

Art of four white cats in a wooden catio against a green house. One chases a butterfly, one’s butt is facing viewer, one is asleep in a round nook, another plays with a toy in the other round nook. Art account is @reveandbloom on instagram

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jun 1

Plus four Van Gogh painting posters and a Howard Dean sign=my dorm room in 2004

Yellow poster on yellow tagboard reads “a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” And has a detailed drawing of a large fish on a small bicycle

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· May 21

Oh I miss my Austin air—they tried so hard to keep me alive through a mold house, but had to abandon them when I got free. My cat loved them too!

Giant white and orange Maine Coon cat sits on an Austin air filter with his nose out an open window

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Apr 4

Yes and it’s fantastic! (I may be in my 40s now, but seriously counting is one of my favorite times of year—made a counter!)

My handmade rainbow Omer counter board—a stitch a day till Shavuot!

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Apr 3

We can be German together!(though I have actually suffered through reading Kant, so clearly the test does not understand the fullness of my self)

Result of a German v autistic test:
“YOUR RESULT
German
Probably not autistic. Probably.
GERMAN
47%
AUTISTIC
36%
Scores are independent — they don't need to add up to 100%.
Your patterns are cultural, not..”

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Mar 24

@postingtreyf.bsky.social Got one for the list—Gd do I hate alt texting antisemitism, especially since the US was eugenicist long before medinat Yisrael existed.

neglectsound @neglectsound.bsky.social
Follow
1.5 million (probably much more) killed by Covid-19 in the USoflsrael and people are annoyed that they were
"forced" to wear a mask and think about death for the first time in their sacred lives.
March 23, 2026 at 11:34 PM @ Everybody can reply

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Mar 16

This isn’t so much about CWG as other outlets (hence screenshot) but my real problem is how fucking gleefully most weather reporting anticipates the carnage. This was such a problem with the snow this winter, was a huge problem with today’s potential tornadoes, and loses a ton of trust

Capital Weather Gang 1h
We understand the concerns about the predicted storms not reaching their potential today. That said, we still have one more evening round to come, which may bring a burst of wind. Tomorrow, we'll post a discussion on what limited some of the storm activity today.

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Mar 10

I have a special little comb, like the ones from school picture day, that is used just to comb Ben’s forehead while he sighs in bliss. (Obviously with a cat this fluffy he’s known his hard-core metal comb all his life or he’d be matted but!)

White and orange Maine Coon cat relaxes in his dark red cat bed, paw tucked, staring up at the camera

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Mar 7

I have owned many delightful velvet dresses, including my high school concert dresses that I adored (we chose our own, but somehow everyone else hated theirs?). My most recent iteration here, somehow now 11 years ago, but I am my best self in velvet.

Me, a white woman with a brunette pixie and tortoiseshell cat eye glasses, wearing a dark green sleeveless velvet dress, seated at a piano but with her head turned backwards to face the camera with a saucy expression (someone else’s shitty work party in a blah hotel in the background)

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Feb 23

This pleases me! Marmalade, meet Ben, who is more like mashed potatoes. He watches the snow

White and orange Maine Coon cat looks away from window snow

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Feb 16

This guy, licking his lips to prove he’s never been fed!

Orange and white Maine Coon cat named Ben licks his lips while staring imploringly up at the camera

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jan 9

My #artvsartist2025 as a timeline cleanse, because I just realized I was holding my breath scrolling. Check out my website at www.reveandbloom.com if you need some art! I do licensing, commissions, and just added a blog. #sciart #illustration #art

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Jan 2

I am improving my sewing skills as we speak—made this almost-finished jacket in December for my bday and have a thimble attached to my finger as I type this to get used to it to learn proper hand sewing technique (instead of the slapdash I’ve always done).

A dark green with flowers everywhere me-made bomber jacket hanging on the back of q door

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Dec 27

Alt text on image below

Reductress screenshot:

Title: “Reverse Hallmark Movie? Woman's Home Town Visit Reaffirms How Much She Loves Career and Big City”
Print Edition - Dec 2, 2025
By: Isabella Reish

Picture of a woman in a city below

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Dec 21

I am feeling a lack of Hanukkah cats—anyone know of anyone posting them? Putting out the cat signal, so to speak! Here’s one of mine from some years back

Me holding Ben a safe distance from a 4th night Hanukkiah somehow without tin foil?

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Dec 17

i use those candles too! From last night

A bird and a flower hanukkiyah lit for the third night on tin foil

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Dec 15

Still can’t believe my amazing bird hanukkiyah is from Target (circa 2023)! Chag sameach y’all 🕯️. 🕯️

Wonky Target bird and flower art hanukkiyot, reporting for first night lit

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Dec 3

Brought to us by the same folks that gave us “things being less expensive would be bad really” earlier this week…math isn’t mathing at WaPo

Screenshot of Washington Post headline this week:
Why you may not want lower prices as much as you think you do
Though Americans might be clamoring for relief on groceries, housing and energy costs, economists say there's a bigger downside to falling prices.

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Dec 1

This would be great for running a hostel for cats? If they like sink and counter lounging, potentially need separate quarters with doors to separate them, and giant windows—it’s kind of an ideal cat palace! Cats don’t need to cook or store very much in closets, after all.

AI created floor plan I saw that includes at least 6 bathrooms (some with sinks only, others for coats, one with two bathtubs), several kitchen islands with no context, and a truly wild number of doors (15 doors for a three bedroom apt!)

Dr Lena H@lenarivkah· Nov 29

Those are such sad orange-cat eyes! This is mine yesterday upon learning he could not have a second dinner