Cats and the Occasional Opinion

I'm confused about what Beethoven was doing in the black composers post. He was German.

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 11:04:35 -0400

By golly gee! I keep forgetting that Black people didn’t exist until the Fresh Prince of Bel Air came on television! Or that Black people existed in anywhere else than Africa even with slavery going on :) My apologies.

Anyway, here’s proof that Beethoven was Black:

“… Said directly, Beethoven was a black man. Specifically, his mother was a Moor, that group of Muslim Northern Africans who conquered parts of Europe—making Spain their capital—for some 800 years.

In order to make such a substantial statement, presentation of verifiable evidence is compulsory. Let’s start with what some of Beethoven’s contemporaries and biographers say about his brown complexion:

(Louis Letronne, Beethoven, 1814, pencil drawing.)

“Frederick Hertz, German anthropologist, used these terms to describe him: ‘Negroid traits, dark skin, flat, thick nose.’

Emil Ludwig, in his book ‘Beethoven,’ says: ‘His face reveals no trace of the German. He was so dark that people dubbed him Spagnol [dark-skinned].’

Fanny Giannatasio del Rio, in her book ‘An Unrequited Love: An Episode in the Life of Beethoven,’ wrote ‘His somewhat flat broad nose and rather wide mouth, his small piercing eyes and swarthy [dark] complexion, pockmarked into the bargain, gave him a strong resemblance to a mulatto.’

Beethoven’s death mask: profile and full face

C. Czerny stated, ‘His beard—he had not shaved for several days—made the lower part of his already brown face still darker.’

Following are one word descriptions of Beethoven from various writers: Grillparzer, ‘dark’; Bettina von Armin, ‘brown’; Schindler, ‘red and brown’; Rellstab, ‘brownish’; Gelinek, ‘short, dark.’

In Alexander Thayer’s Life of Beethoven, vol.1, p. 134, the author states, “there is none of that obscurity which exalts one to write history as he would have it and not as it really was. The facts are too patent.” On this same page, he states that the German composer Franz Josef Haydn was referred to as a “Moor” by Prince Esterhazy, and Beethoven had “even more of the Moor in his looks.’ On p. 72, a Beethoven contemporary, Gottfried Fischer, describes him as round-nosed and of dark complexion. Also, he was called ‘der Spagnol’ (the Spaniard).

Other “patent” sources, of which there are many, include, but are not limited to, Beethoven by Maynard Solomon, p.78. He is described as having “thick, bristly coal-black hair” (in today’s parlance, we proudly call it ‘kinky’) and a ‘ruddy-complexioned face.’ In Beethoven: His Life and Times by Artes Orga, p.72, Beethoven’s pupil, Carl Czerny of the ‘School of Velocity’ fame, recalls that Beethoven’s ‘coal-black hair, cut a la Titus, stood up around his head [sounds almost like an Afro]. His black beard…darkened the lower part of his dark-complexioned face.’

Engraving by Blasius Hofel, Beethoven, 1814, color facsimile of engraving after a pencil drawing by Louis Letronne. This engraving was regarded in Beethoven’s circle as particularly lifelike. Beethoven himself thought highly of it, and gave several copies to his friends.

Beethoven, the Black Spaniard

(read more here)

tygermama: helico-ptera-ursarum: s3venpounds: yourestillliving:...

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 18:00:48 -0400

tygermama:

helico-ptera-ursarum:

s3venpounds:

yourestillliving:

scarlet-benoit-is-my-rolemodel:

And my weak ass elementary school got rid of our jungle gym because Ella was too weak to hang on and sprained her wrist

That is a death trap

ok fun but like… how do you stop?

I feel like this cannot possibly be the intended usage but also I can’t imagine any other possible intention for this contraption??

it could be a kind of giant swift for winding large quantities of string, yarn, rope, etc

favabean05: uglyreckless: I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW SHE FOUND...

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 12:00:56 -0400

favabean05:

uglyreckless:

I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW SHE FOUND OUT SHE COULD EVEN DO THAT

topsecretespeonage: neurofancier: khirsahle: newtsckamander: suaimhneas-peace: emeraldboreas: ...

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 06:00:41 -0400

topsecretespeonage:

neurofancier:

khirsahle:

newtsckamander:

suaimhneas-peace:

emeraldboreas:

a-windsor:

mellivorinae:

a-windsor:

mellivorinae:

OH MY GOD whyyyy did no one tell me you’re supposed to send thank-yous after interviews?? Why would I do that???

“Thank you for this incredibly stressful 30 minutes that I have had to re-structure my entire day around and which will give me anxiety poos for the next 24 hours.”

I HATE ETIQUETTE IT’S THE MOST IMPOSSIBLE THING FOR ME TO LEARN WITHOUT SOMEONE DIRECTLY TELLING ME THIS SHIT

NO ONE TOLD YOU???? WTF! I HAVE FAILED YOU. Also: Dear ______: Thank you so much for the opportunity to sit down with you (&________) to discuss the [insert job position]. I am grateful to be considered for the position. I think I will be a great fit at [company name], especially given my experience in __________. [insert possible reference to something you talked about, something that excited you.] I look forward to hearing from you [and if you are feeling super confident: and working together in the future]. Sincerely, @mellivorinae

THIS IS A LIFESAVING TEMPLATE

YOU ARE WELCOME

My brother got a really great paid internship one summer. The guy who hired him said the deciding factor was the professional thank you letter my brother sent after the interview.

should it be an email? or like a physical letter?

email, you want to send it within a few hours at max after the interview if you can so it’s fresh in their mind who you are.

Confirmed! I interviewed for a job right after arriving in NY. The interview went incredibly well, and I went home and immediately wrote a thank you letter and put it in the mail. I had a super good feeling about this interview.

I didn’t get the job.

However, a few weeks later, I was called in to interview with another editor in the same company, and I did get that job. I found out later from the initial editor (the one who didn’t hire me) that he had planned to offer me the job, but since I didn’t follow up with a thank you letter, he assumed I didn’t really want it. He offered the job to another contender–but when he got my letter in the mail shortly after the offer had already been made, he went to HR and gave me a glowing recommendation. It was based on that recommendation that I got called in for the second interview.

So: send an email thank you immediately (same day!) after the interview. If you’re feeling extra, go ahead and send a written one too. OR go immediately to a coffee shop, write the letter, and return to the office and give it to the secretary.

Either way, those letters are important.

Pro tip: If you really want HR to develop a personal interest in your application, publicly thank them on linkedin. Just make a short post telling your network about how X recruiter really went above and beyond to make you feel welcome, or about how be accommodating and professional they were, or whatever. Make sure to use the mention feature so they’ll get a notification and see it.

Flattery will get you everywhere… and public flattery that might make its way back to their manager, doubly so.

Obligatory plug for one of FreePrintable.net’s sites: ThankYouLetter.ws. They have a whole section with interview thank you letter templates, and a page with specific tips for interview thank you letters. (There are also tons of other letter templates if you browse around a bit.)

littleredsparks: srsfunny: Oh, This Is Going To Get Ugly

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 22:58:09 -0400

littleredsparks:

srsfunny:

Oh, This Is Going To Get Ugly

thetasteoffire: rlyehtaxidermist: prokopetz: Just as the phrase “what the entire fuck” implies the...

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 18:00:48 -0400

thetasteoffire:

rlyehtaxidermist:

prokopetz:

Just as the phrase “what the entire fuck” implies the existence of fractional fucks, the phrase “what the absolute fuck” implies the existence of both positive and negative fucks (or else there would be no need for an absolute value operation). Taken together with the phrase “what the actual fuck” (which implies the existence of imaginary fucks), we may thus conclude that fuckery is isomorphic with the complex field.

Technically, we can only conclude that “a fuck” is an element of some norm space over a field containing fractional values; the space being isomorphic to ℂ is a substantially stronger claim.

If anyone ever said “what the rational fuck” we would have a stronger basis for ℂ, as that would imply some irrational fucks. We could then generously assume completeness and thus a Banach space that is at least a subset of ℂ. However, no mention has also been made of whether this is a bounded space (”what the finite fuck?” could be taken as implication of infinite fucks on at least some axis), so there are many unexplored areas of research in fuck-topology.

I don't get the thing you said about people being able to grow beyond the terrible things they've done. How? A murderer doing good things won't bring his victims back to life. And if no one is obliged to forgive people, then how can revenge be wrong? How can it be wrong for these people to bear crushing guilt all their lives? (For instance, I used to believe in some very fascist things and once said to a girl I found ugly that she needed plastic surgery. Surely MY crimes are beyond forgiveness!)

Sat, 23 Jun 2018 18:00:37 -0400

A murderer doing good things won’t bring their victims back to life.

A murderer doing good things still means that good things happen. If a murderer tutors a fellow prisoner in reading and writing, then a person learns to read and write, and has access to more ideas and more experiences and more ways of expressing them. If a murderer runs a great DnD game and everyone sitting around the table has a good time, then people had happy experiences, and people having happy experiences that don’t harm others just, straightforwardly, is a good thing. Nothing a murderer can do will make the world okay again, but nothing a murderer can do will make it bad for a person to thrive, or good for a person to suffer.

It’s not wrong to feel crushing guilt but it’s not right either, not unless it’s making the world better (and often people believe it is when it clearly isn’t). Guilt that drives you to become a better person, to change so that you couldn’t make the same mistakes again, can be healthy. Guilt that drives you to fix harms that you caused, when they’re fixable, can be healthy. Guilt can let you know when you’re not being your best self, and sometimes it’s worth listening to.

But it’s worth listening to because it can teach you to do better, not because it hurts to listen to. People hurting is actually bad. And eventually, you have learned everything that you can possibly learn from your past mistakes. Eventually, you get to a point where you will learn more, and grow more, as a person from doing new things than from living with overwhelming guilt over the old ones. And when you get to that point, you need some kind of tool to pry your brain loose of guilt and move forwards. I don’t think our society has a very good idea of what those tools are, right now. I think big parts of my community, of the social justice community especially, are actually totally disinterested in this.

And so people suffer forever, and suffering is bad, and they fail to grow as people, and we need the people they have the potential to grow into. We need them at their fullest best selves to help us fix the world.

It sure doesn’t sound like guilt is making anything better for you right now. It sounds like guilt is standing between you and other things that’d help you grow. So - yeah, I think you should actually just forgive yourself. You believed awful things. You don’t anymore. You treated someone badly. Come up with a plan not to do it again. Think about what would have prevented you from having horrible fascist beliefs, and get it out there on the internet to keep someone else from falling into the same trap.

And then, you know, buy malaria nets! Malaria nets are not less good at protecting children if you buy them instead of someone who has never done anything bad in their life! Don’t buy malaria nets as penance. Buy malaria nets because then children will fall asleep under malaria nets. Figure out what you care about and how to best achieve it, whatever it is, and do that. That’s the fundamental project of being human and everyone can do it, no matter what they were doing before it, and the good it does is just as good whoever the doer.

killapunk: wraithsonwingsposts: sugarpiss: ebilflindas: flesh...

Sat, 23 Jun 2018 12:00:47 -0400

killapunk:

wraithsonwingsposts:

sugarpiss:

ebilflindas:

fleshcircus:

The sound my stupid cat makes when I move him from his favourite spot (on top of my jackets)

what kind of camera are you using this is like movie quality god damn

HE SOUNDS SO SAD PUT hIM BACK

@hexadecimal00 @jadegreenworks @fragile-teacup @thisismydesignhannibal @madaboutthis

@kingsash

shanandwords: octoberreads: bmwiid: danisontnonfire: allodiscourse: anyone else really happy...

Sat, 23 Jun 2018 06:00:31 -0400

shanandwords:

octoberreads:

bmwiid:

danisontnonfire:

allodiscourse:

anyone else really happy they got over their “i hate the color pink” phase

Why were we all so extra

Internalised misogyny

Dude, companies are baffled by this everything available in pink is selling no matter what the colour of the year is or what other colours it’s available in. They’ve dubbed it “millennial pink” and they’re scratching their heads over this and it’s legit just that everyone is getting over their internalised misogyny and being like “yes pink is a happy colour I need happy give me more pink”

Hell yes to the pink revival

thenatsdorf: Supportive dad cat being there for his wife and...

Fri, 22 Jun 2018 11:02:30 -0400

thenatsdorf:

Supportive dad cat being there for his wife and kids.

Hi! For the plot bunny challenge: Redeemed Vader travels to post-Bloodline Galaxy and wrecks terror in his typical Skywalkery fashion.

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 02:51:18 -0400

When Leia had first heard the rumors she had dismissed them as propaganda. Or that cult, Vader Lives, indulging in wishful thinking. Her contacts in the New Republic certainly thought so. Vader, alive? It was either fake, or they had stuck some poor Force-sensitive in a replica of his suit.

Unlike her contact and her allies in the Resistance, there was no denying the reality of the situation when a month into the galaxy spinning itself into choas on the rumors of a fake resurrected Sith Lord, a presence brushed up against her mind in her sleep.

“Lei-Your Highness,” it said. For a moment Leia allowed herself to hope it was Luke. Or even more improbably Ben. They were the only ones who would even think to reach out to her like this.

Then her sleeping mind recognized the title, not her name. She puzzled over that for a moment, sleep-fogged brain trying to figure out who would start to call her by her name, then switch to a title she hadn’t answered to in four years.

She reached out, trying to get a sense of the presence waiting patiently at the edge of her mind, and everything in her snapped to immediate attention. Even in her sleep, she recognized him. She might not have been aware of what caused the feeling of danger dancing along her skin in her youth. But she knew enough about the Force to know what that meant now. Vader. It was Vader, who had so softly been saying her name. His presence was still like a large moon, blocking out all light, but she thought she caught the glimpse of warmth, here and there. She didn’t remember that from before. All she could recall was the frightening cold and dread whenever he was near her.

“Wonderful,” she hissed, mind coming awake, even if she didn’t consciously leave the dream state “So the rumors aren’t just rumors. You really are here.”

“Yes,” he said in a hesitant sounding voice. If it weren’t for the uniqueness of how he felt in the Force, Leia would have doubted this was him. Vader didn’t do hesitant. “And I have something to offer you.”

“You have nothing I want,” she told him, shouting in as loud as a mental voice as she could manage. “Go away.”

“I have your son,” was all he offered in return.

“Ben?” Leia’s heart skipped at the thought. “You have Ben?”

“Is that his name?” he sounded amused “All he tells me is that he is called Kylo Ren. I was wondering about that. You don’t strike me as the type to give such a pretentious name to a child.”

Leia’s eyes snapped open, and she sat bolt upright in her bed. She didn’t sever the connection to him “If you hurt him, I swear by all the gods-”

“No, Your Highness,” now his voice sounded regretful “the boy is not seriously injured.”

Leia’s eyes narrowed, thinking of Luke’s missing hand. “Define seriously injured.”

There was a wave of sorrow and regret from him “He has a few bruises, but the only major injury is to his pride.”

“Where do I meet you?”

A long pause, then “I will allow you to pick the meeting place. I am not as familiar as I should be of the current planets that would suit best.”

So she selected Crait. It was isolated, out of the way, and far enough into New Republic territory, that the First Order couldn’t easily strike at it with an aerial bombardment.

The Resistance High Command was sufficed to say, apocalyptic when she informed then where she was going.

Poe and Ackbar were both convinced that it was a trap, laid out by her son. Leia shook her head “It’s Vader,” she said, “I don’t know how or why he is here, but it is Vader.”

Amilyn was silent during most of the shouting, but when things quieted down she asked in a soft voice “Do you believe him?”

Leia blinked “Vader?”

Amilyn nodded “Do you believe him when he says he has your son?”

Leia nodded. Amilyn looked thoughtful “Do you think he means you harm?” she asked.

“Means to harm me?” Leia chewed her lip, thinking about that cautious voice in her head “No, I don’t. Doesn’t mean he won’t, but I don’t think that is his goal.”

Amilyn nodded, “Then you should go. At the very least we might learn what his intentions are.”

So Leia left, alone. Vader hadn’t specifically put that as a condition, but she wasn’t willing to risk anyone’s life over her son. She wished briefly she knew where Han was, she could use his support, but he had disappeared from her life as thoroughly as Luke had. And Luke, while ideal to deal with their father, wasn’t someone she wanted near her son. For both their sakes.

Leia entered the system and landed near the old Rebel base. All the while she continually scanned the planet and surrounding system. There was nothing there, except one shuttle, exactly where it was supposed to be.

As she landed across from it, she drew in a deep breath. She could feel both of them, her son and her father, she didn’t need to look through the viewscreen to know they stood not fifty feet from her. The Force moved between the three of them, in ways she didn’t understand, but could feel the pull of in her bones. Leia moved to the back of the cabin, and flicked the ramp, descending down into the salt surface.

Vader was standing there, silent except for his respirator. His armor didn’t have the dark gloss polish that she remembered. In fact, it looked downright scruffy, and there were several rips and tears in the cape billowing in the wind. What ever he had been up to, he hadn’t had an easy time of it.

Her son, on the other hand, was anything but quiet. He was bound in cuffs, standing on Vader’s right. He was yelling about how Vader was a traitor, that this was not what he was brought here for, that Leia had denied him and their legacy.

Vader only watched as Leia approached, and then said in a rough voice as she came to within feet of them “I tortured your mother boy. Twice. That gives her the right to do whatever she wishes in regards to me.”

Ben fell silent at that and turned wide amazed eyes at Leia. She gulped at the betrayal in them. Another secret she had kept from him.

Vader’s voice was quiet “You didn’t tell him?” he asked Leia.

Leia’s gaze never left her son, but she did answer the Vader “Would you?”

“No,” he said.

Ben’s face twisted, and Leia’s heart broke “Are you going to save my soul grandfather?” he asked in a sneering voice.

Vader gave out a bark of laughter at that. “No,” he said, “I cannot even save my own.”

Leia finally managed to tear her gaze away from Ben, “Then why are you doing this?”

Vader shifted on his feet for a moment, then said “Snoke is dead.”

Leia’s mind blanked at that “What?” she whispered.

“Snoke is dead,” he repeated, “Hux is now in the Supreme Leader, but I imagine he will not hold the position for long.”

Leia gaped at him. At the careless tone as he described how he had just set another system-wide government into chaos.

“Your Highness,” Vader said respectfully, “Snoke thought he could use me as my Master had once done. That is the reason behind my ‘resurrection.’” He sounded tired then, even though the vocoder. Leia wondered if this Vader remembered his death, and the peace he found there. “He underestimated me, and himself.” Leia snorted in derision at that. Snoke really thought he could hold Vader’s leash?

Vader nodded his head in acknowledgment of her derision. “Then what is your goal?” Leia asked.

“My only goal, as you say, is to see to your, and your brother’s, happiness and welfare. What do you wish of me now?”

Typical Vader, Leia thought, of course, he would make such an offer. When had the man ever done anything half-assed?

“I don’t know where Luke is,” she said softly.

He nodded his head, “Then may I suggest you see to your son, and I will look for him?”

“He killed you!” Ben howled “Just like he tried to kill me!”

Vader sighed “I don’t know the circumstances of your encounter with Luke grandson, but I can most assuredly tell you Luke did not kill me.”

Ben fell silent at that.

Leia looked into those red-rimmed eye lenses, debating with herself. A Vader without a guide was a Vader who would careen through the galaxy with no thought of the damage he would inflict. She wondered at how far his offer really went. If she asked for his life, would he give it to her?

No, Leia dismissed the thought. No, that was not the way now. That was not the way to repay him for bringing Ben here. And if there was one thing she knew, it was that Vader would tear the galaxy upside down in an effort to find Luke. Give him that goal, and when Vader found him, let him be Luke’s problem. “First we get you out of that suit,” she decided.

“Concerned for my welfare?” he sounded disbelieving.

Leia shook her head, “You are not what I would call ‘inconspicuous’ in that thing. If you really want to help me, I need you to be able to go places without people breaking out into mass hysteria everywhere you go.”

“And after that?” he asked.

She looked at her son, who was pale and shaking “Then we see.”

Vader bowed, “Thank you, Your Highness,”

Leia shook her head “I’m no longer a Princess anymore. Please call me Leia.”

There was a flicker of shock, and then an almost shy “Thank you, Leia.”

Leia looked at her son and her father and sent a prayer to every god willing to listen that she hadn’t just doomed them all.

I wish you would write me a fic where Vader does see Padme's face when he's torturing Leia! :)

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 02:35:24 -0400

This child had unexpected depths, Vader thought, as again he sliced into her mind, looking for the Rebel base. In other circumstances he would marvel at the novelty of it, so few people took him by surprise anymore. But here and now, it was just another annoyance in a string of them concerning this project.

The Princess let out another scream of pain, and Vader’s teeth clenched in agony as it vibrated along his own senses. She was strong, so much stronger then he had been excepting, and it was difficult for him to block out her reactions. He pushed again, ignoring both of their agonies, as he felt her desperately shift under that strong wall. He was so close to the base, she was frantic under all that pain, if he just pushed a little bit harder…

An image slipped out. There was a feeling of self-castigation from the Princess. Vader turned to glance at and caught the image of a woman. It only took him a moment to determine that this had nothing to do with the Rebel base. Why go to such lengths to protect this? Who was the woman to the princess?

Vader dug a little deeper and the answer was vibrating along with the image. Her birth mother. This was an image of her birth mother, who was long dead. Vader paused for a moment in his astonishment. This is what her Highness had deemed more important than her Father’s activities in the Rebel Alliance. This? A woman long dead?

He thought to taunt her with this. To show her efforts were futile, even in an attempt to protect someone who was long beyond Vader’s reach. To show her there was no fighting him on this. That he would learn the location of the Rebels’ secret base.

Then, unexpectedly, the Force whispered, Look, look, look. He almost missed it, he was so caught up in his own surprise at her Highness’s useless sentimentality and his annoyance of how long this was all taking, but he did heed the words.

He turned to study the image. It was of a woman, laying out on some sort of medical bed. She was a brunette, and in a great deal of pain, but looked at her Highness with such love as she whispered in an exhausted voice “Leia.”

The woman was Padme.

Vader’s mind stopped. He stared at his wife, frozen in that image as she called out her Highness’s name. This was impossible. This was a trick of some kind. His wife was dead, she had been dead long before this princess could have possibly remembered her.

Forgetting caution in his rage, he bellowed deep into her Highness’s mind “HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT FACE!?!”

Her Highness only curled around herself, giving him nothing in reply. Furious, he threw himself at the wall in her mind, heedless of the damage he could do to her. Heedless that he needed her sane. Heedless of everything but that taunting image of that most beloved face.

“HOW!?!” he demanded.

The Princess’s wall held. Oh, it wobbled, but after absorbing his blow, the walls tightened in response. He gathered himself again, infuriated by her defiance. He was beyond reason, beyond thought, all he knew was he needed to know how he was attacked with that most loved face.

Before he could strike, the Princess gathered herself, and bellowed “SHE IS MINE! NOT YOURS!”

Vader’s mind almost shattered under the full emotions she was broadcasting at him. For a second he was lost in the whirlwind of her rage and possessiveness, backed by a protective streak to rival his own in regards to his wife and the memory of her.

Shaken, that had hurt, he demanded “Yours?”

“MINE!” The Princess snarled back “My mother!”

Her mother….her mother??? Vader stopped, just stopped. The Force swirled around him, and this Alderaanian princess, quietly humming along in his mind with a joyful “Yes, yes, yes.”

This was the truth. Padme was this Princess’s mother. And if Padme was her mother, that would make Vader her…

“MY FATHER!?!” Leia’s voice slashed into him, echoing horror and disgust.

Vader snapped himself out of her mind. She was sitting on the bench, pale and exhausted, her eyes unfocused from the drugs. Even in that state, there was no missing the contempt and hatred in his child’s eyes.

Vader just stared at Leia, his mind whirling uselessly as he tried to understand what he had just learned. His child was alive? His child was here?

His child who he just tortured? At the behest of Tarkin and his Master? A child he could have protected if not for Organa’s lies?

Vader was aware of something like a snap occurring in his mind. He was too lost in the haze of the Dark Side to pay it much mind. Turning from the fear in eyes that now that he was paying attention, looked remarkably like his mother’s, he left the cell. It was time to deal with all who had brought this about.

eustaciavye28: snh-snh-snh: queensabriel: remo-ny: This is a...

Sat, 16 Jun 2018 19:17:11 -0400

eustaciavye28:

snh-snh-snh:

queensabriel:

remo-ny:

This is a cake.

This was made by Zhou Yi, a famous Chinese cake artist (nicknamed “Sugar King”) whose team just won several medals at the largest cake competition in the world.

This exquisite cake, called “Lady in the Palace,” depicts Empress Wu Zeitan and (understandably) took home the top prize at the competition.

[source]

THIS IS A CAKE?!?!?

I thought this was a porcelain figurine!

Chronic Illness Prep Kits

Sat, 16 Jun 2018 01:27:01 -0400

sapphic-pink-kryptonite:

These are things you’re going to want to build for yourself if you’re chronically ill. When you go out, you need to be prepared in case something goes wrong, to at least help yourself until professional help arrives or you can get to a safe space.
If you are a regular hospital visitor, you need to make an emergency overnight bag. You either grab it as the ambulance is arriving or you tell a loved one “I need X bag in X location” so that nobody has to scramble around for things and wasting time.
My Travel Bag (Purchased here)
If I leave the house, this bag does not leave my side.
It is big enough to contain (aside from my keys, wallet, and phone)
First Aid kit (grey cosmetics bag)
Water
Umbrella
Deodorant
Wheelchair gloves
eReader
Emergency phone charger
That charger lives with you. It does not leave your bag. If you need help and your phone is dead, you’re probably not gonna be able to easily get to a working phone or remember numbers, or potentially know your location if you need to call an ambulance. Make sure your phone is charged.
My First Aid Kit (Purchased here)
(Top) Medication, gels (heat/ice/anti-inflammatory)
(Middle) Tissues, bandaids (a wheelchair shreds your hands when you’re learning), and disinfectant
(Bottom) Vomit bag, wet wipes, mints (for nausea), more bandaids, inhaler, disposable heat pack, disposable ice pack, stim cube, migrastick (for headaches), ear plugs, jellybabies
The Hospital Bag
Ordinary gym bag.
Contains:
Change of clothes
Pyjamas
Sock
Bras
Underwear
Old running shoes
Thongs (flip flops you Americans)
Toiletries - tiny shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, toothbrush/toothpaste
Art book and pencils (hospitals are boring af)
Pack old clothes. Hospitals can be gross. I’ve bled all over mine, sweated etc. Not a fashion show. Old clothes you don’t mind getting ruined.
Things need to be loose. My jeans are jeggings (stretchy waist) because if I can’t wear normal pants from pain. You need things that allow doctors access (shirts easily moved for needles or what have you.)
Pack shoes for the shower (if you can shower.) Floors can be unsanitary and the last thing you want is a fungal infection.
Toiletries - tiny shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, toothbrush/toothpaste, baby wipes and hair treatment (if you can’t shower), moisturiser (cold hospital air dries out your skin), and lipbalm
Apps
ICE (In Case of Emergency) Card - lists your name, weight, height, emergency contacts, diseases, allergies, medication, and personal notes for paramedics. Can send out alarm calls or messages and is available on your home screen (if you want to set it up that way)
Medisafe - track your medication and set reminders. You can set it up to automatically text someone if you skip a dose.
FibroMapp - tracks chronic pain and sleep, and helps you illustrate pain levels, times, triggers, and relief
Emergency+ (Australian) - gives your exact location and surrounding streets to give to paramedics. You can call from this app.
First Aid (Australian) - gives you step by step instructions to help yourself or someone else
Even if you’re not disabled yourself, please rb this because it can genuinely help people who are

memecaptainsteverogers: infinitybooblog: memecaptainsteverogers:...

Fri, 08 Jun 2018 18:00:44 -0400

memecaptainsteverogers:

infinitybooblog:

memecaptainsteverogers:

john-constanmeme:

beejohnlocked:

superblyboring:

robotlyra:

Me: *watching* What the hell is the point of th- OH MY GOD

I thought this caption was being over the top, but… they aren’t wrong

I was not prepared for any of this. But least of all, the fucking parachute.

@memecaptainsteverogers

I bet I could ride one.

@memecaptainsteverogers Steve, you cannot even properly land a plane without destroying it or crashing it.

that’s the beauty of this vehicle, it comes pre-exploded!

Q&A: Eight Decades of Bats

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 06:00:56 -0400

howtofightwrite:

You’ve said in the past that Bruce Wayne having a job a job program for criminals was out of character. And even just watching the animated series again, I don’t think I agree. He has wanted to help people, even criminals, many times. Harley Quinn is a big one. Jason Todd tried to steal his tires and might have been able to get away with it. There’s Two-Face as well. Bats may not have the same views as, Nightwing, but to say he’s all about Tomas Hobbs and nothing else is missing some nuance.

It’s not nuance. The issue is that these characters have passed through the hands of many writers. That’s not a criticism of your position, per se.

You’re not wrong. Take Adam West’s Batman, and you have a character who truly looks for the best in everyone. Scattered through the years there have been a lot of truly altruistic versions presented. The key word there is, “versions.”

These are different writers takes on the character. We exist in a world where one set of writers looked at the character and created a lighthearted romp where the greatest foes he faces are lovable (if dangerous) buffoons. And another set of writers turned him, literally, into a vampire, who preys on the unwary. This can make life really tricky when you’re trying to offer up a concise critique of a character like this. It’s not just Batman by the way. Many comic book superheroes, and even most mythological figures suffer from this.

Now, obviously, if you’re wanting to talk about something like Thor, you can pick from a vast array of different, conflicting, sources, and (to some extent) chose the scope of your examination. The scope is actually pretty important. Do you look at the modern interpretations or a specific subset, (like “Thor in video games”), do you look at the actual myth, or the changes to the figure’s presentation over time as cultural and other factors changed? Do you intersect them with something else, for example, looking at “how Norse mythology interconnects with Arthurian myth.”

Modern franchise characters offer some similar options. You can look at Batman in specific eras, under certain writers, or how the character reflected changing social trends over time. In some cases you can even splice off specific pieces, such as reboots or alternate versions, and analyze those examples.

Fortunately, Batman makes this somewhat easy. Most of the time, the character is fairly consistent but there’s always going to be stuff like Stephanie Brown or Jean-Paul Valley that is not, and breaks character on his behavior. Batman hiring a brainwashed assassin and putting him in a powered armor batsuit was a fixture in the 90s in Knightfall after Bain broke Batman’s spine. We also have Batman killing the teenage girlfriend of Tim Drake through neglect after taking her on as Tim’s replacement and trying to use that event as a teachable moment. (See also, Batman: War Games.) DCUO’s Bats, who often sounds like he’s in the middle of a nervous breakdown while handing out quests to a number of nascent MMO heroes might be another.

Consider this, Grant Morrison, Alan Moore, Frank Miler, Mark Millar, Geoff Johns, Jeff Loeb, Chuck Dixon, Bruce Timm, Garth Ennis, Gail Simone, and many, many more have all written for Batman either in his own books or in other comic incarnations. If you haven’t been paying attention, these writers all have vastly different approaches and outlooks when it comes to presenting their characters. Grant Morrison honestly believes that Batman snaps and kills the Joker at the end of “The Killing Joke”, and he presents this as objective fact. Alan Moore, who wrote “The Killing Joke” thinks Grant Morrison is a moron. We haven’t even gotten discrepancies with the way Batman is presented on film. Remember, Batman and Robin is the film adjacent to Batman Begins, they’re both technically canon. Do you imagine Christian Bale grew up to be George Clooney or Adam West? The Adam West Batman is one of Batman’s most famous versions. There are lots of different versions of Batman to choose from.

As a fan, you might pick and choose your canon but many of the versions which don’t appeal to you are just as valuable from an analytical and critical perspective. So, keep that in mind as we move forward.

I did not say that it was out of character for Batman to seek to redeem people. The issue here is the methodology. At the core of Batman, you have a guy who dresses up as a bat to scare criminals into line and when that fails, he resorts to violence. I mean, at the extreme end, we’re talking about a character who kept a yellow power ring around, “just in case.” Except, sometimes, with some writers, he abandons this entire philosophy when convenient.

At this point, I should probably step back and abstract Hobbes a bit.

Thomas Hobbes wasn’t saying that it was impossible to govern, or that people couldn’t be productive members of society. He simply argued that, if left to their own devices, people suck. That they will do whatever they want to one another, unless kept in line somehow. That’s Batman; people suck, and the only reason they follow the law is because they’re afraid of what could happen if they don’t.

What’s not (usually) Batman, is Hobbes answer. He argued that the way to “deal” with people was to form communities, bound together by a social contract. While this is somewhat reflected by Bats, it’s not usually articulated as such. You can see this a lot more clearly articulated with the Adam West era stuff. While being one of the most optimistic versions of the character, he’s also, very strongly arguing that social structures need to be adhered to for the good of all. It’s still Hobbes’s commonwealth, just not how you usually think about Batman.

With that said, as cynical as Hobbes is about human nature, the overall tone of the Leviathan isn’t nearly as bleak. He is arguing that people can transcend, their state of nature. Put simply, “people suck, but they can be better.” He then goes into excruciating detail how he thinks that’s possible.

So, I said Bats’ outreach programs were out of character, and I stand behind that.

Let’s talk about the personal stuff. His relationships with Jason Todd, Harvey Dent, Stephanie Brown, Damion… those are consistent. They’re not completely out of character, though I have to wonder about Jason. The Red Hood murdering people with guns goes against everything Batman supposedly stands for, but DC has embraced Jason back into the Batfamily when he’d kick Damien out for doing the same thing… let’s move on.

Bats’ is forming, or trying form, a community. Dent is outside of that, but Bats desperately wants to believe reform is possible and (re)include him. This is arguably true with several of his villains. He does believe they can be reformed. That’s not in conflict with Hobbes. Hobbes believed that people could be better, and Bats follows that ideal. The issue is the exceptions he makes.

Most of the outreach programs Bruce Wayne runs build off of an idea that all someone needs to succeed is a little help. That normally, people are decent, and that when someone gets out of line, it’s a product of other factors pushing them to behave in that way. That’s not Hobbes. This is Superman. Superman believes that people are, by nature, decent. That they are driven to do bad things, either because they’ve become misguided, or because they’re forced to.

Now, the irony in this is that Batman is in a far better position to affect change from Superman’s outlook. He has the resources to engage in civic works. He could put money into Gotham in ways that would actually reduce crime and corruption. He could improve the city he lives in. This is the legacy of Thomas Wayne; a man trying to make Gotham a better place through strategic philanthropy. Bats doesn’t. At my most generous, I’d be inclined to chalk this stuff up as an element of his cover and as such, in-character. Because rich celebrities throw money at charity, Bruce Wayne does. And, there’s a potential to write this stuff off like that. It’s not something Bats believes in, but he does it to keep public opinion on Bruce’s side.

There’s probably something to be said, in the vein of Watchmen‘s thesis: You can’t really make the world a better place by punching muggers. It just doesn’t work. The problem is, that’s Batman’s plan. Beatings will continue until morale improves. At the same time Gotham is a complete mess, much like Watchmen‘s New York. To be fair, this is not an intentional correlation. Bats needs muggers to punch, so Gotham needs to be a hell hole.

When you’re writing, it’s very important to remember that you and your characters are different people. They (probably) have a different philosophical outlook from you. At that point, simply doing something because it would be nice, or because you want to is insufficient justification. It needs to be something your character would do. You need to justify their decision, at least to yourself; check that it is consistent with how they view their world.

When you are analyzing, it is equally important to asses the ideology a work, and its characters. Translating that to the author’s ideology can be tricky, even if you know what you’re doing. Understanding the ideology of a character comes from looking at their words and actions. Finding idiosyncrasies and discrepancies is a vital step in determining the nature of that character. Writers often look for behavior that may be considered out of character, because they are attempt to assess the work. It’s a literary acid bath. This isn’t malicious, it’s not trying something you love. It’s a writer looking at a piece and trying to learn from it. Eventually, it’s something you need to do as well, to grow.

Also, you can love something stupid. You can love something that doesn’t make any sense. There’s no accounting for quality. I’ve watched some terrible movies that I’m still quite fond of. But, it is kind of important, to be honest with yourself. Fandom can constrain your growth as an artist. You love a thing, and that’s good, but then you let that stake out your borders. Don’t let that happen.

I like Batman, but he is a mess.

-Starke

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Q&A: Eight Decades of Bats was originally published on How to Fight Write.

coolcatgroup: catchymemes: Funny Cat Pic Dump The second to...

Sat, 02 Jun 2018 18:00:42 -0400

coolcatgroup:

catchymemes:

Funny Cat Pic Dump

The second to last one I gasped

s-peak-in-tongue-s: cardboardfacewoman: rooksandravens: derinthemadscientist: thepioden: animated...

Sat, 02 Jun 2018 12:01:18 -0400

s-peak-in-tongue-s:

cardboardfacewoman:

rooksandravens:

derinthemadscientist:

thepioden:

animatedamerican:

nentuaby:

animatedamerican:

asexualbrittaperry:

ggiornojo:

asexualbrittaperry:

you can make nearly any object into a good insult if you put ‘you absolute’ in front of it

example: you absolute coat hanger

as well u can just add ‘ed’ to any object and it’s sounds like you were really drunk

example: i was absolutely coat hangered last night

#i was gazeboed mate #i was absolutely baubled

Meanwhile, “utter” works for the first (e.g., “you utter floorboard”) but somehow “utterly” doesn’t seem to work as well for the second (“I was utterly floorboarded”).

Utterly doesn’t work for drunk because it’s the affix for turning random objects into terms for *shocked*, obviously.

… huh. I thought that might just be the similarity to “floored”, and yet “I was utterly coat hangered” does seem to convey something similar.

I have to tell you, I am utterly sandwiched at this discovery.

Completely makes the phrase mean “super tired”.

“God, it’s been a long week, I am completely coat-hangered.”

Something is

Something is wrong with our language

Is it a glitch or a feature?

Feature

this neat feature is called collocative substitution, and it occurs when certain words are strongly linked to certain context and/or phrases. when you read/hear a pair of words that usually wouldn’t go together, your brain fills in the context with what would normally be inferred, given the originally phrased pairing. thus, finding out that there’s a term for this phenomenon may indeed leave you utterly sandwiched. lesser known or less strongly linked phrases and pairings may not be able to translate substituted words to appropriately fit the inferred context, so you were not utterly floorboarded at the club last night, but rather you were absolutely floorboarded, and as this explanation continues to drag on, you may by the end of it find yourself completely coathangered from read it all.

crofethr: raysdrawlings: At long last I’m excited to share my...

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 12:01:04 -0400

crofethr:

raysdrawlings:

At long last I’m excited to share my comic ‘Tinder’! I had so much fun on this project and it got me really excited to write more stories!
I sincerely hope you enjoyed the comic and have a great day! <3

If you want to help support the comic you can help by:
~ !! Reblogging this post !! ( a big please and thank you! <3)
~ Give the comic an ‘ol follow over on Tapas

Or if you have some extra cash you’re welcome to:
~ Buy a digital copy of the comic
~ Buy a physical copy of the comic
~ Support me on Kofi

OMGOMGOMG

the-mann-people: fuckery-intensifies: tyrannosaurus-rex: mirth...

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 06:00:39 -0400

the-mann-people:

fuckery-intensifies:

tyrannosaurus-rex:

mirthandir:

necrophilofthefuture:

Meet Pickles, aka “Catosaurus.” He was rescued in Boston and he’s over 3 feet long.

BIG BOY

Huge motherfucker

In awe at the size of this lad