State of Emergency

itismycoolname: Аbandoned houses

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:42:12 -0700

itismycoolname:

Аbandoned houses

deducecanoe: This is contrary to everything I was taught...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:36:43 -0700

deducecanoe:

This is contrary to everything I was taught growing up.

okaysional: princessjayycera: OMG IM IN LOVE EXCUSE ME WHILE...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:33:17 -0700

okaysional:

princessjayycera:

OMG IM IN LOVE

EXCUSE ME WHILE I CRY OVER THIS CUTE

Photo

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:24:31 -0700

rolling—-stoner: kaimitch: rurone: justjasper: siamese...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 06:52:20 -0700

rolling—-stoner:

kaimitch:

rurone:

justjasper:

siamese cats getting really fucking distressed at their owner being in the shower

“Operation: Save the human from the loud spraying water box of death” is my favorite thing

cats that actually say meow

Lol funny cuz my tortie isn’t nearly as bad but still whines a bit when I shower and stands on the ledge and waits for me to get out..

I had a black cat that would do this, and like the other person’s tortie would get on top of the shower door and meow down at me with a horrified expression. He never fell in, luckily. Our cats right now just sit on the toilet patiently and wait.

biitumen: unicorn-meat-is-too-mainstream: strange...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 18:45:26 -0700

biitumen:

unicorn-meat-is-too-mainstream:

strange clouds

Various cloud formations might be one of the most beautiful and romantic sights in nature, but these masses of liquid droplets is also a complex and scientifically interesting phenomena.

ahhh fuck

This was so wonderful to read: "A dwarf's perspective on Tyrion Lannister"

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:23:15 -0700

theongreyjoy:

This is a post I found on Reddit’s /r/asoiaf section. While it’s more of a feelings post rather than meta, It was a really rewarding post to read through because I am pretty sure this is the only time i’ve been able to read a post where the author can actually attest to experiencing what Tyrion has firsthand. Almost all posts regarding the character come from able bodied people, and on tumblr they can be particularly ugly/gross/dismissive. I thought that some of you on Tumblr might like to read it as well. The OP/source is here

A few years ago I was out to coffee with my mother. We each brought a book as we usually do, and I was diving into a fantasy novel recommended by a friend. I read for a while, thoroughly engaged until I stopped abruptly. Well Shit A dwarf character. This did not bode well. I’m a dwarf, to be more specific I’m a picky, cantankerous dwarf. I’ve read dozens of books that tackle disabled characters, most of which were laughably terrible at capturing our experience. Some chose to fetishize the disability, contorting the character into some barely recognizable stereotype. Others de-emphasize the disability to the point that it may as well be hair color, some irrelevant trait of little interest. Neither does justice to the dwarf experience. So, when I discovered Tyrion I proceeded with trepidation, a hesitancy which lasted all of half a chapter. After only a few pages I realized I was reading perhaps the greatest, and most realistic disabled character I’ve ever read.

Tyrion’s experience, his language, his perspective was so shockingly true that I was taken aback. Throughout the book, Tyrion deals with issues intimately familiar to dwarfs. He struggles with self-hate, frustration, humiliation, an intense desire to be loved, prevailing feelings of otherness. Tyrion demonstrates traits so often cultivated by the dwarf experience, wit and self-deprivation, an insatiable desire to fill a space with one’s personality. More than anything else, one line of advice in the series speaks to the most frustrating, sometimes heartbreaking aspect of life as a dwarf:

Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.Game of Thrones-Jon (I)

*The truth of it is this: To be a dwarf is to be burdened with certain preconceived cultural conceptions of dwarfism, making it in some ways a continual performance. *This performance is in my experience unavoidable. The dwarf as a source of tragedy or comedy is a very, very old idea. Going back to the origins of modern drama with Commedia Dell Arte, the dwarf has served as a source of either comedic relief or poignant tragedy. The Italian playLes Gobbiin the 1500’s utilized a variety of dwarf actors, each serving as absurd caricatures of difference preconceived elements of the dwarf. The tropes are many and enduring.

The dwarf as the sexual deviant, a conniving Imp driven by lusts and a gross desire to possess and destroy the beautiful. The dwarf as a tragic figure, god’s cruel jest, a pitiful creature who may find some semblance of revenge in the third act. The comic dwarf, the happy sprite who spreads cheer and lightens dramatic tensions, magical and sexless, perhaps offering some encouragement and inspiration as needed. These shallow dramatic conventions endure, and have seeped into the zeitgeist. In fact, these dramatic conventions are so well established people seem to expect to see them exhibited in real dwarfs, both in RL and in ASOIF. A dwarf can never just buy some socks, no act is neutral. A dwarf must either comically struggle in a mis-sized world, or buy socks as a heartbreaking testament to the unbreakable nature of the human spirit. The first seems more popular in Westeros, the latter the narrative of choice in RL. Dwarfs, disabled people in general are never allowed an act of banality. Everything is either comic, tragic, or an inspiration, we are perpetual actors in narrative not of our making. We are continually cast in these roles, and in modern life we all seem to cope in different ways. (As opposed to what dwarfs did for most of history IE. Get eaten or thrown down a well.)

Some dwarfs ignore these tropes, instead living their lives simply as they would, with little concern to what others expect of them. Others still passionately hate these stereotypes, and try to living in opposition to them. They strive to break preconceived notions, to present a decidedly different idea of what being a dwarf means. Yet another sub-group takes a unique approach, the approach I have endorsed my whole life.

Tyrion knows his lot. He understands what being a dwarf means in his world. He has decided to embody these tropes, to accentuate the very real elements of comedy, tragedy and perversity which are inherent to the disable experience. He has adopted these roles, as protection in a world full to the brim with inhumanity. He becomes what others believe him to be, thus protecting the most vulnerable parts of himself. Tyrion is heart-breakingly lonely, profoundly unsatisfied with life, desperate to be seen as a full person. Yet as a kind of consolation, he has come to find some enjoyment in playing the motley fool, the perverse and lustful Imp, a fearless half-man of infinite wit. I think he even performs for himself, indulging in melodrama within his own internal monologue. (Ask “Where do whores go?” one more goddamned time…)

Now I’m no Tyrion. I’m obviously far less intelligent, if not slightly redeemed by my having a nose. We do share a great deal however. I too have found a kind of peace in embracing the roles others would force on me. If I am to be cast as the jester, then I shall play the role as best I can. There is a kind of refuge in embracing and transforming expectations, filling a role that is larger and older then yourself. Public attention and gawking is just a part of being a dwarf. It is far better than to yell “Look at me!”, command a room, and seize control of the moment. I’m intrinsically tragic, intrinsically comic, these are true element my life extended to their greatest extent. I can no more escape these roles then escape my disability. I’ve tried to explore these expectations, and turn them to my advantage. Learning to play with this narrative, to inhabit all that comes with this role is deeply satisfying. It is appropriation of a sort. That I imagine is a part of the appeal for Tyrion.

There is a form of liberation to be found in performance, even if it is in a role forced upon us. It is better to make people laugh then be laughed at, to attract attention by our words then our form. Agency is an infinitely valuable commodity, an all too rare thing for people with disabilities during any time. It allows for a transformation, a special kind of magic unique to being a dwarf. The world is our audience, paradoxically quick to listen intently to what we have to say, and just as quick to dismiss it.

Every dwarf may be a bastard, but we are all equally the clown, the tragic foil, the monster, and yes the Imp. I feel as if I’ve inherited a unique role, passed down for centuries. An odd sort of inheritance I’ll grant you, but one that can be absurdly fun. So when I saw George R.R Martin’s take on the dwarf experience, I immediately placed him as one of the greatest writers of our time, possessing a unique creative empathy so central to this series.

Tyrion as a character has made me better understand being a dwarf, and come to more fully appreciate its unique value as an experience. He has taught me to better appreciate my gifts, and cultivate them. For better or worse, my disability dominates who I am. I am a dwarf. I’ll play the role as best as I am able, enjoy every capricious minute, and ride my dog into the sunset.

TL’DR: Tyrion is easily one of the best representations of the dwarf experience precisely because he acknowledges the roles others would place on him. His life becomes in essence a performance, transcending and transforming the tired tropes forced upon him by the ignorant.

Edit: Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this. I know its a bit long, but your guys have been incredible. Night!

Edit Again: I thought this was incredibly relevant, The Original Lion of Lannister: Dwarf sitting on the floor by Diego Velazquez (1645)http://i.imgur.com/0TWowPH.jpg

popculturetart: HOLY HELL IT’S MISANDRY FISH

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:36:42 -0700

popculturetart:

HOLY HELL IT’S MISANDRY FISH

dellamore-: Omggggggggggg💕💕💕

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:32:12 -0700

dellamore-:

Omggggggggggg💕💕💕

China's One-Child Policy Affects Personality

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:18:33 -0700

neurosciencestuff:

In 1979 China instituted the one-child policy, which limited every family to just one offspring in a controversial attempt to reduce the country’s burgeoning population. The strictly enforced law had the desired effects: in 2011 researchers estimated that the policy prevented 400 million births. In a new study in Science, researchers find that it has also caused China’s so-called little emperors to be more pessimistic, neurotic and selfish than their peers who have siblings.

Psychologist Xin Meng of the Australian National University in Canberra and her colleagues recruited 421 Chinese young adults born between 1975 and 1983 from around Beijing for a series of surveys and tests that evaluated a variety of psychological traits, such as trustworthiness and optimism. Almost all the participants born after 1979 were only children compared with about one fifth of those born before 1979. The study participants born after the policy went into effect were found to be both less trusting and less trustworthy, less inclined to take risks, less conscientious and optimistic, and less competitive than those born a few years earlier.

“Because of the one-child policy, parents are less likely to teach their child to be imaginative, trusting and unselfish,” Meng says. Without siblings, she notes, the need to share may not be emphasized, which could help explain these findings.

Only children in other parts of the world, however, do not show such striking differences from their peers. Toni Falbo, a social psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved in the study, suggests that larger social forces in China also probably contributed to these results. “There’s a lot of pressure being placed on [Chinese] parents to make their kid the best possible because they only had one,” Falbo says. These types of pressures could harm anyone, even if they had siblings, she says.

Whatever its cause, the personality profile of China’s little emperors may be troubling to a nation hoping to continue its ascent in economic prosperity. The traits marred by the one-child policy, the study authors point out, are exactly those needed in leaders and entrepreneurs.

Photo

Wed, 08 May 2013 10:09:55 -0700

Photo

Sat, 04 May 2013 09:49:35 -0700

labyrinth-of-butts: creepy but adorable cakes by Scott Hove

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 08:18:01 -0700

labyrinth-of-butts:

creepy but adorable cakes by Scott Hove

thatawkwardwritingmoment:

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:42:20 -0700

thatawkwardwritingmoment:

neuroconnoisseur: fairy-wren: Booted Racket Tail (photos by...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:40:09 -0700

neuroconnoisseur:

fairy-wren:

Booted Racket Tail

(photos by brodmann’s17)

Aw, look at its baggy feather pants.

zincfingers: mrffahrenheit: Vera Cooper Rubin (1928 - ) Vera...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:50:15 -0700

zincfingers:

mrffahrenheit:

Vera Cooper Rubin (1928 - )

Vera Rubin is credited with proving the existence of “dark matter,” or nonluminous mass, and forever altering our notions of the universe. By the late 1970s, after Rubin and her colleagues had observed dozens of spiral galaxies, it was clear that something other than the visible mass was responsible for the motions of the stars within them. Her calculations showed that, for the velocities measured, the galaxies must contain about ten times as much “dark” mass as can be accounted for by the visible stars. As a result of Rubin’s groundbreaking work, it has become apparent that more than 90% of the universe is composed of dark matter (as well as dark energy). Defining it is one of astronomy’s most important pursuits.

When Vera Cooper Rubin told her high school physics teacher that she’d been accepted to Vassar, he said, “That’s great. As long as you stay away from science, it should be okay.” Ignoring him, and the countless others like him, was truly a great idea.

Rubin graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1948, the only astronomy major in her class at Vassar, and went on to receive her master’s from Cornell in 1950 (after being turned away by Princeton because they did not allow women in their astronomy program) and her Ph.D. from Georgetown in 1954. Rubin made a name for herself not only as an astronomer but also as a woman pioneer; she fought through severe criticisms of her work to eventually be elected to the National Academy of Sciences (at the time, only three women astronomers were members) and to win the highest American award in science, the National Medal of Science. However, it is not the fame that Rubin values: “My numbers mean more to me than my name. If astronomers are still using my data years from now, that’s my greatest compliment.”

Rubin is also an observant Jew, and sees no conflict between science and religion. In an interview, she stated: “In my own life, my science and my religion are separate. I’m Jewish, and so religion to me is a kind of moral code and a kind of history. I try to do my science in a moral way, and, I believe that, ideally, science should be looked upon as something that helps us understand our role in the universe.”

an awesome person

also the namesake of our house’s cat (“his name is rubin.” “like the sandwich?” “no, now let me tell you about the galaxy rotation problem!”)

yourswearword: And then kill them all. Well, more like - leave...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:17:00 -0700

yourswearword:

And then kill them all.

Well, more like - leave one alive, and rope off a spot in the corner of the backyard for them.

stfuconservatives: confusedtree: alloutorg: Tumblr, we need...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:08:50 -0700

stfuconservatives:

confusedtree:

alloutorg:

Tumblr, we need you! A rogue Arizona State representative, John Kavanagh, wants to pass a bill that would thow trans people in jail for using public restrooms. Anyone could be asked for I.D. to “prove” their gender, and if there’s a discrepancy they could face a fine or jailtime.

When asked why the bill targeted trans people, Kavanagh explained that it’s because he thinks “they’re weird.” Outrageous.

We can stop this bill by taking action at www.allout.org/arizona and spreading the word far and wide. Will you help?

That quote sounds like something out of an onion article oh my god I can’t believe people are this awful

You should help and spread the word too

Signal boosting.

Photo

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:22:19 -0700

afternoonsnoozebutton: DID YOU SAY CARROTS?

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:01:26 -0700

afternoonsnoozebutton:

DID YOU SAY CARROTS?