ThePrettiestOne

huffingtonpost:

Because one is too many.

“So number one, Reading Rainbow was not cancelled because it was not effective. Reading Rainbow was the most used television resource in our nation’s classroom. In 2009, it was [cancelled] due to No Child Left Behind. That government policy made a choice between teaching the rudiments of reading and fostering a love of reading. So the idea that I am trying to somehow revive a failed endeavor is bullshit. That’s right. I said it. Bullshit.”

- LeVar Burton (via franfinethesecond)

eerieearthling:

This particular moment in Star Trek is actually quite important. A lot of people don’t realise that understanding something is not the same as approving of something. This particular episode (A Taste of Armageddon) had a civilization where war was fought on computers instead of on the battlefield and instead of people dying in combat they would send the calculated amount of “casualities” into a camp to die. Kirk is outraged completely by this and rightly should be, but Spock is not so overtly disapproving. He understands why they might think their solution is better for their civilization and takes the time to think about why they are doing it. Even though he can understand why, he still believes it is wrong for them to be doing it. 

There is a separation between understanding something and  approving of something that a lot of people seem to miss. 

Dog Eat Doug by Brian Anderson for June 07, 2014

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fuck-benedict-cumberbatch:

thewhisperinglady:

flowerfistandbestialwail:

In a simple experiment, researchers at the University of Chicago sought to find out whether a rat would release a fellow rat from an unpleasantly restrictive cage if it could. The answer was yes.

The free rat, occasionally hearing distress calls from its compatriot, learned to open the cage and did so with greater efficiency over time. It would release the other animal even if there wasn’t the payoff of a reunion with it. Astonishingly, if given access to a small hoard of chocolate chips, the free rat would usually save at least one treat for the captive — which is a lot to expect of a rat.

The researchers came to the unavoidable conclusion that what they were seeing was empathy — and apparently selfless behavior driven by that mental state.

“A New Model of Empathy: The Rat” by David Brown, Washington Post

OH MY.

this just in: rats are more humane than humans

toughlovemuse:

naamahdarling:

vixyish:

constant-instigator:

I get why a lot of people hate the whole princess culture aimed at little girls. There’s a hell of a lot of toxic bullshit in there.

But when I was a tiny princess, my dad used to be my royal advisor. He would come to me, and over tea we would discuss the problems of the kingdom. He would tell me that new people wanted to move to the kingdom, and ask me what we should do. Or he would tell me that the teddybears and the dolls were fighting over the enchanted forest, and ask me what to do. Basically, he took the trappings of the princess culture, and used it as a tool to teach me about leadership, civic responsibility, and compassion. 

So if you have a little princess around, consider helping her figure out how to run her kingdom. There’s no sense in telling a kid they can’t be a leader, or that they can’t wear sparkles while they do it. 

THIS IS THE BEST POST. Also A+ Dadding!

This is wonderful.

This is a fantastic idea.

This is what I’ve been trying to say about princess culture omg I love it.

peoplemask:

sourcedumal:

The Stars Of ‘X-Men: Days Of Future Past' Play Fuck, Marry, Kill +

Loool Peter Dinklage is a treasure

I was reading these gifs like, whatever, until I got to Dinklage, and then I was so happy.

“Except you can’t show a topless woman on TV - and you can’t defibrillate a woman in a bra. So victims of heart attacks on TV are always male. Did you know that a woman having a heart attack is more likely to have back or jaw pain than chest or left arm pain? I didn’t - because I’ve never seen a woman having a heart attack. I’ve been trained in CPR and Advanced First Aid by the Red Cross over 15 times in my life, the videos and booklets always have a guy and say the same thing about clutching his chest and/or bicep.

And people laugh when I tell them women are still invisible in this world.”

-

distractedbyshinyobjects

re: feministing - for women, heart attacks look different

Things I did not know, but should.

(via elfgrove)

wormwoman (via alex-v-hernandez)

We didn’t know until the early 90s that women experience heart attacks differently than men because all the studies were on men.

“

“If you really believe that representation doesn’t matter, then why the fuck are you threatened by it? If not seeing yourself depicted in stories has no negative psychological impact - if the breakdown of who we see on screen has no bearing on wider social issues - then what would it matter if nine stories out of ten were suddenly all about queer brown women? No big, right? It wouldn’t change anything important; just a few superficial details. Because YOU can identify with ANYONE.

So I guess the problem is that you just don’t want to. Because deep down, you think it’ll make stories worse. And why is that? Oh, yeah: because it means they wouldn’t all be about YOU.”

”

- fozmeadows (via kawaii-afro-fluff)

seifukucat:

sir could you just calm down for a second

“Taibbi’s core hypothesis is that, just like the widening wealth-gap, America has a terrible problem with a widening justice gap. Since the Clinton years, the American state has treated poverty as a crime, turning the receipt of state aid into a basis for the most invasive intrusions into your personal life, for a never-ending round of barked accusations and cruel threats to your freedom, your family, and your future. Meanwhile, Eric Holder’s “Collateral Consequences” doctrine — conceived under Clinton, revised under GWB, and perfected under Obama — tells federal prosecutors to punish big companies carefully, even for the worst crimes imaginable, in order to protect the innocents who work for those companies and rely on them.
 
The net effect is a society where HSBC can be found guilty of laundering billions for brutal Mexican drug-cartels who torture and murder with impunity, pay a fine equal to a few weeks’ profit, and partially defer bonuses for a few of its executives. But on the same day, across America, poor and mostly brown people are locked into inhumane prisons for selling a joint or two of the weed those cartels control.”

- Matt Taibbi’s The Divide: incandescent indictment of the American justice-gap

N.K. Jemisin was a guest of honor last week at the feminist science fiction convention Wiscon, and delivered a stirring speech about dealing with racism in genre fandom and publishing. She also told a very disturbing story about her own experiences of racism over the past year.

Read more...

uss-sasserprise:

webothsoldit:

cwtae-withthataxeeugene:

A delicately choreographed whatever the hell it is they’re doing.

Is this a Cats rehearsal?

basedheisenberg:

Neo-Nazis get their shit pushed in by native american grandmothers, who then capture their flag, take selfies with it, and then burn it.

Neo Nazi status: Wrekt.

You probably heard about the Facebook executive who complained about the proliferation of “stupid stories about how you should wash your jeans instead of freezing them.” It’s almost too easy to be snarky about a Facebook guy who worries the Internet is awash in silly sponsored content. 

Besides, we know that silly sponsored content is not a benign issue. MetaFilter founder Matt Haughhey has written thoughtfully about how Google’s opaque and inscrutable ranking systems have been killing his business. He admits that, “we were doing nothing in terms of SEO, as I find the whole business kind of gross." But because MetaFilter won’t play the ranking game, ad revenue has collapsed. Having thoughtful, high-quality content isn’t enough to get read.

The Internet is still full of great content. The problem is that the big Internet companies don’t do a good job of facilitating it. Well, that and advertisers and shameless self promoters are finding new and annoying ways to get in your face.

Last week, we wrote in defense of publishers’ right to get paid for advertising. But that’s just one part of the equation. The other half is providing a better way for quality content to be found. Or at least found without having to tart it up with stupid SEO tricks. 

I know that content syndication can be used and abused by some people for link building. But RSS is not an algorithm that can be gamed by advertisers and content hucksters. I know that it is still the best mechanism to find the content you want. You’re not going to be tricked into clicking on a link and you’re not having your newsfeed polluted with promoted content. 

And I think it is time to start talking about this. Sometimes I get the feeling RSS developers think of themselves caretakers of an established and respected institution. You know, the kind of institution that can keep catering to a dwindling number of dedicated and sophisticated followers but doesn’t bother attracting new users. RSS is not new technology. But it is outside of the mainstream content delivery that’s increasingly compromised by someone’s desire to sell you something. 

And if a Facebook executive is recognizing the mindlessness, other people are too. It’s time to reintroduce RSS to the world. How about telling people that there is a way to actually ask for content you want to see and actually have it delivered to you. It’s not a miracle or weird trick. Although it will probably seem that way to a few people. 

“

What happened to the slave in America is an interesting thing because it was a different kind of slavery. It was not for the purpose of domestic slavery as most slaves historically had been. This was for the development of a market economy. So the slave had to face other things in America that were unique to slavery in the world as we know it. One of those things was the absolute destruction of your own self and your relationship to your history and yourself.

I always tell people: Where is my song? Where is my dance? Where is my country? Where is my flag? Where is my language? Where is my religion? Where is my clothing? Where is my cuisine?

All of it erased. Period.

And nothing to replace it because the institution of slavery as it grew up in America became an institution in which the slave didn’t have a relationship to the community in which the slave found himself. That’s an incredible statement when you think about it because it means not only are you not an African, this generic “African”, but you’re not anything else. You’re a piece of property. What does that do to you? What kind of wounds does that do to you ontologically? What kind of wounds does that do to you psychologically?

Well, it has a tremendous effect. So when people talk about the break down of the black family today, I say you got a lot of nerve. I’ll tell you when the black family got broken down, it was the 1600s, 1700s. When mothers and fathers were being sold away from each other and given new names, new identities and nothing else in return except a lifetime of labor, free labor.

”

- Elaine Brown, from UC Santa Barbara talk "New Age Racism" (via femmefluff)

photo via Not Just Marbles

Glass artist Mike Gong makes marbles with mind-bogglingly complex designs that range from planetoid to psychedelic. Some of his most sought after marbles feature his signature “Acid Eater,” a cartoony face with swirling eyes and a protruding tongue. Gong’s work is available for purchase through Not Just Marbles and Glass Orbits.

photo via Not Just Marbles

photo via Lakeshore Glass

photo via Glass Orbits

photo via Glass Orbits

via reddit, My Modern Metropolis

A couple months ago we came across a new technology called Spritz. It’s a tool that helps you read faster. Given how far behind I typically am in my Old Reader queue, we thought it would be a good thing to try out in the application. We were so happy with the results that we’ve decided to roll out the beta Spritz integration to our users today.

To enable Spritz, you’ll need to go into your settings and click the Spritz checkbox. You’ll then see the Spritz icon in your feeds which you can click on (or use the ‘i’ hotkey). The first time through you’ll need to create a Spritz account, but after that it should be clear sailing and fast reading.

Here’s an article about the new functionality on TNW.

Let us know what you think!

thefrogman:

World’s Best Father by Dave Engledow
[tumblr | twitter | facebook | fotoblur]

lindseyaustinson:

These #YesAllWomen posters are proving to be viral, here on Tumblr at least. Goes to show how powerful a little illustration can be! It’s a shame there’s no designer signature though. Does anyone know who originally made these?

itsmamrie:

In which William Haynes is spot on.

stardust-and-fish:

smolderingtroyler:

heartyglobe:

nobody says it but we all know what this is about

This picture is weirdly genius

LOL

pupchuck:

I want this on a t shirt.

[via]

[polka_dotter]

montagemode:

roachpatrol:

oliviawhen:

A solid way to accept someone’s feelings.

i’m gonna die still laughing at this

I gleefully showed this to at least four people and nobody got the joke so