Latest Posts by calamansis - Page 2

I am interested in learning how to grow plants in space. How can I be involved in this as a college student, or independently?

Researchers unveil oldest evidence of human activity in African desert cave

Few sites in the world preserve a continuous archaeological record spanning millions of years. Wonderwerk Cave, located in South Africa’s Kalahari Desert, is one of those rare sites. Meaning “miracle” in Afrikaans, Wonderwerk Cave has been identified as potentially the earliest cave occupation in the world and the site of some of the earliest indications of fire use and tool making among prehistoric humans.

New research published in Quaternary Science Reviews, led by a team of geologists and archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) and the University of Toronto, confirms the record-breaking date of this spectacular site. “We can now say with confidence that our human ancestors were making simple Oldowan stone tools inside the Wonderwerk Cave 1.8 million years ago. Wonderwerk is unique among ancient Oldowan sites, a tool-type first found 2.6 million years ago in East Africa, precisely because it is a cave and not an open-air occurrence,” explained lead author Professor Ron Shaar at HU’s Institute of Earth Sciences. Read more.

This vein visualization technology uses near-infrared light, which is absorbed by blood but reflected by the surrounding tissue, to locate veins up to 15mm deep, and then projects the results back on the skin | source                          

the astrologian

Pelagic Sea Cucumber (Unknown sp.)

(source)

An otherworldy attraction that combined the beauty of a tropical flower garden and the serenity of the lake🌸 🎥@polly_por

mustdotravels

Witch gathering, this is what I meant by ‘the wait is over’. Thank you very much :)

miss athena

"Why are you so obessed with found family?"

I watched this as a kid and internalized it for forever

🐱 Studio Ghibli + Cats 🐈

Dr. Salima Ikram talks about cemeteries at Amarna (Akhetaten).

Octopus filmed changing colours while sleeping.

have you ever noticed you pick up little habits and phrases from the people you love? it’s no wonder our hearts are so easily broken when people leave. we become a reflection of the people that we care about and those personality traits stick with us even if the people don’t

Adventure Time: Distant Lands - Obsidian (Trailer)

Warsaw makes history tonight as millions of women revolt against the government’s control of female bodies.

aquarryl on ig

The Tumblr writing community is dying.

It’s something I’ve noticed over the past two years of using this site. It was gradual, imperceptible at first, something that most would brush off as a silly concern, or fault Tumblr algorithm for. While it’s true that Tumblr’s engine leaves a lot to be desired, I’ve noticed that even popular blogs have started to dwindle in terms of interaction or motivation. There could be a lot of reasons for this, but the biggest two I’ve noticed, experienced myself, and asked fellow writers about is this: (1) content being stolen, and (2) lack of feedback or interaction. I’ve never seen any logical person defend content being stolen, so I want to address point 2 instead.

Lack of feedback and interaction. I’m not saying this on my behalf so much as I’m saying this for friends and smaller blogs who have lost motivation to write. I was looking at my yandere writing blogs list the other day and noticed that a good majority of them no longer write. I usually update the list every few months, and by that point, more and more writers have stopped writing entirely. This isn’t a problem confined solely to the yandere fandom; in fact, there’s less writing blogs in general these days, especially ones that are active. I used to run a very popular BNHA blog with some friends, but that dissolved after our content was stolen and our followers stopped interacting as much. Out of our 8,500 followers, we hardly got 0.015% notes (~128 notes) on an average post. Tumblr is to blame for the lack of eyes seeing our posts, for sure, but that also means that at least 128 people saw one post and didn’t leave a comment or ask. We were considered a big blog; imagine what it’s like on a small blog.

My friend recently made a post that summed this up perfectly: 

“I’ve seen people say “Be grateful that people even lurk on your page.” and, while I get the message they’re trying to say, it’s more dismissive and hurtful in my opinion. Like you’re saying, “Oh your writing is mediocre, you should be grateful people even LOOK at it.”

Me personally? I’ve heard the argument that AO3 is a better place to post fanfics, and while that might be true, I’ve had friends experience firsthand the lack of interaction there too. I’ve heard the argument that interacting with some writers is intimidating (me included). I’ve heard that argument that followers might be too shy to interact. I’ve heard the argument that writers should write for themselves and not for views / likes / reblogs / etc, and while that’s ideal, it’s not sustainable for everyone. What works for one writer won’t work for another, but you know what will? Interaction.

That comment or ask that took you 2 seconds to write? We remember it. That reblog with the compliments in the tags? We remember it. Every single ‘named’ anon we get (heart anon, sunflower anon, etc)? We remember them. And the best part is? It’s actually easier to do these things on Tumblr since you have the option to send anonymous asks or make a sideblog specifically for reblogs! Trust me, whether the lack of interaction is the cause of a lack of motivation or what have you, every writer appreciates feedback (don’t be shy to offer some critique or compliments) or even a simple keyboard smash with some emojis. Even sitting down for 5 min a day per week to comment on your favorite writers’ new pieces makes a huge difference. Personally, since Tumblr’s activity feed is beyond terrible and I have over 1,500 posts, I don’t always see new reblogs or comments on my content; asks though? Always see those, can never go wrong with those. If you don’t want to reblog or leave a comment, then you can never go wrong with an anonymous ask. 

As my wise friend says: writing is an art, and in order to improve that art, we need other people’s eyes to see what we don’t.

For the sake of every writer (past, present, and future) on this platform, please share this post.

Ancient Egyptian Artifacts That Should be In Egypt

These have been taken from their homeland and we’d like to have them back.

The Rosetta Stone [In London,UK]

Nefertiti’s Bust [In Berlin,Germany]

The Great Sphinx of Tanis [Paris,France]

Colossal Granite Head of Amenhotep III [London,UK]

The Dendera Zodiac Ceiling [Paris,France]

Seated Statue of Ramesses II [Turin,Italy]

The New York Needle [New York City,USA]

The London Needle [London,UK]

The Luxor Obelisk [In Paris,France]

UK Trans Rights

WHAT'S THE CURRENT PROCESS FOR LEGAL TRANSITION IN THE UK?

Currently, if you wish to legally change your gender in the UK, you must:

-get signatures/letters from 2 doctors, usually your GP (general practitioner) and your psychologist at a GIC (gender identity clinic) who has diagnosed you with gender dysphoria

-Live as your gender for at least 2 years AFTER diagnosis

-Undergo a rigid mental health background check to rule out mania or psychosis (rather ableist in itself; mentally ill trans people are still trans!)

-Go in front of a panel of strangers and prove you are "trans enough".

WHAT HAVE THE UK GOVERNMENT DONE TO CAUSE OUTRAGE?

There were recently plans in place to repeal this process and allow trans folk to self-identify their legal gender (to change it without doctors and the panel). Today (20/9/20), the government announced they will scrap this plan this week, despite a survey saying 70% of people are in support of repealing the current process.

This process is severely taxing for us. It ends lives, it ruins lives. It's not acceptable. We need a change to the process, and we need it now.

WHAT'S THE ISSUE WITH THIS PROCESS?

-It is extremely difficult to get a diagnosis under the NHS (the UK'S mostly free healthcare system). Due to chronic underfunding, waiting lists for an initial assessment are 2-5 years long a lot of the time, particularly in Northern Ireland where there is only one doctor who can diagnose GD. This is just for an initial appt, let alone future appts to diagnose and determine the right course of action. Furthermore, if your GP is transphobic, they may not vouch for you being trans.

-Most trans people have lived as their true gender for many many years before being able to legally change their gender. This only adds usually unnecessary waiting time, likely worsening many's gender dysphoria as they will still legally be being referred to as the wrong gender.

-Again, mentally ill trans people are still trans. In rare cases, serious MH issues may be the reason someone believes they are trans, e.g. we see many people with body dysmorphia mistaking this for dysphoria. However, to say disorders like psychotic disorders and bipolar disorder usually mean the person is not really trans is both ableist and transphobic.

-You know yourself better than anyone. These people will be looking for signs of distress and suffering in childhood, which is not present for many trans people. You do not have to know young to be trans, or be miserable. Strangers will NEVER know you better than yourself; to allow them to play such a huge role in a pivotal, life-changing (and possibly life-saving) moment is absurd

Source:

UK trans rights

UK trans rights

what's happening?

UK followers please i urge you to sign this petition so this issue can be debated in parliament. Non UK followers please DO NOT fill this out but share it. Parliament will use outside interference as an excuse to make the petition invalid.

Petitions - UK Government and Parliament

Petition: Reform the Gender Recognition Act.

Reform the GRA to allow transgender people to self-identify without the need for a medical diagnosis, to streamline the administrative proce

this is fantastic now children in Puerto Rico wont be able to receive the education they deserve thanks to their messed up government

OK So with the shit with the USPS going on:

1. Check your Voter registration to make sure everything is up to date.  If you can, request a Mail-In Ballot.  I live in CO, where all elections are Mail-In only now, so I get one anyway.

2. Fill out your ballot per the instructions on your Ballot.  Some Notes:

Read Instructions thoroughly, and fill out your Ballot in private.

Do NOT post pictures of your Ballot as this may invalidate it.  DO Post pictures of your “I Voted” sticker.

Make sure to vote for all the offices up for election- as important as the presidential election is, your mayor, governer, local school board and sherrif have a MUCH bigger impact on your immediate safety and quality of life.  Google your candidates, look up the Leauge of Women Voter’s Guides for a reliably Impartial rundown of your local candidates. 

Remember also that it is better to have someone in office that is only moderately incompotent, than it is to have someone that actively wants you dead.  It is the first step to having someone worthwhile next time.

If you wanted a third party option, your local elections are the best place to do this- my own city council has several Green Party members and it got me city-sponsored single-stream recycling! Its also moving the state legislature significantly farther left.

3. INSTEAD OF MAILING IT- LOOK UP WHERE YOUR BALLOT DROP-OFF LOCATIONS ARE. 

They’re boxes you drive or walk or bus or bike or whatever up to and drop your ballot in, and the elections officials will have it that evening. Pros of Ballot Drop-Off:

Can be turned in the same day you reccive your ballot, if you want to get this over with ASAP

Open 24/7, so you can drop it off whenever

Absolutely guaranteed to get your vote counted, regardless of what Donald does with the Post Office.

No waiting in line

No exposing yourself to the coronavirus

Most cities will have several ballot Drop-Off locations, at places like the grocery store, the county courthouse, city hall, at high schools etc.  Google your town or county name and “Ballot Drop Off Locations” and it’ll give you directions even.

Absolutely Save the USPS, but this is the BEST way to make sure your vote gets counted this

So after days of pleading with other countries to spred awareness about the current situation in Serbia, a tweet with a video showing police brutality got spread:

And a lot of the responses were:

Apparently only problems worth talking about are those of first-world countries. And it seems that to a lot of people Europe will always remain just England, France, Germany and Italy. And let all of us living in small countries oppresed by totalitarian regimes rot ig.

I am sick of this selective activism.

And Fuck America.

Man found the stoplight cameras were activated during yellow lights and decided to cut the wires of it.

Really happy to see this at my local library

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “Black Lives Matter is doing something really important.”

Nigerian novelist and short story writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is sharing her thoughts on the striking difference between how Black people are seen in Nigeria and America and the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement on Channel 4 News.

Full video

#BlackLivesMatter

Virginia Hall (1906-1982): The Most Dangerous Spy of All 

Book 2 available here. Full entry on the website - with footnotes and citations  - available right here. Art notes after the cut.

Keep reading

“Africans go to jail for poaching, white men go home with trophy”