Walking on the WEird side

[calamitys-child]

Listening to a podcast discussing conspiracy theories and deconstructing the ideas behind them and it's reminded me of the coolest practical lessons in critical thinking I ever got, both in high school, both from the same teacher. One was a month long project on who killed jfk in which we could basically present any theory as long as we cited all our reasons and it got us really excited about research and interpretation, but it was the follow up that I liked best.

Our next project she brought us into class and showed us a documentary claiming the moon landing was faked. Gave us worksheets to do that sided with that stance. And at the end of class a bunch of us were like miss wait this doesn't seem right?? and she said okay, we'll discuss that next week. The next lesson, she showed us a mythbusters episode countering all the claims of the original documentary and gave us worksheets for that, and another bunch of people went wait miss you can't teach us two opposing things, which one is right? What do we put on the exam??

So she split the class in two and told us each to present a case based on each side, and to explain why our source was or wasn't the more reliable of the two. Got us to debate each other directly and use additional sources to back us up and explain why those sources were reliable and should be believed. And because they were randomly assigned there was no guarantee you'd agree with the stance you were presenting, but you had to present it like you did. At the end of the project she asked us all which stance we found more convincing and why, and the majority of us basically said "we think that the moon landing is real because most of the arguments against it seem like someone reacted to a confusing thing without testing it, but when you test it and ask the person running the test to explain the science it makes sense once you have more information. Also, one documentary was made with the help of scientists with qualifications and experience and the other was made by people who don't have that but like to write mystery books, which looks like a less reliable way to get an answer. But we still dont understand why you showed us both if one is wrong."

And she was like excellent. You've done exactly what you should do. At high school level, we as teachers are expected to filter for the reliable sources for you, so you know to repeat that to pass an exam, but if you want to be historians on your own, I won't be your teacher any more once you graduate. Lots of people have opinions and theories and research about times in history, and it's your job to learn how to look at them and decide who you want to trust. This won't be on the exam, but I need you all to know it. You all did a great job following the school's instructions to repeat information you were given, but for some of you, that information wasn't on a reliable foundation. I know you all know how to pass an exam. You're smart and you've been trained to follow these instructions. What you deserve to be taught is how to use all this once you don't have to do exams any more.

And then as a reward for us doing a good job at figuring out the value of checking your sources' sources she let us watch Bush get hit in the face with a shoe before we had to go to maths. Shoutout to you Ms Hannah you were a good'un I hope you're doing well ten years on from that class

[only-tiktoks]

[nowthisnews]

Thanks to a pair of a bionic gloves, this 80-year-old classical pianist can finally play the piano again. The maestro, João Carlos Martins, had lost dexterity in his hands due to aging and health complications. His face at being able to play piano again says it all. 🎶

follow @nowthisnews for daily news videos & more

[supreme-leader-stoat]

Sometimes the future is pretty cool, actually.

[urbanfantasyinspiration]

Bro he’s so happy he’s crying and that’s making me cry he gets to play piano again after so long I

[redchrominance]

João Carlos Martins isn’t just any pianist, he’s one of the best pianists alive today. The dude has been playing piano for over 70 years (his career started when he was 11, but by the time he was 8 he had already won a contest playing Bach), and out of those 70, 56 years he spent playing with some kind of disability in his hands.

By the time he was 20 years old, João Carlos had already been invited by Eleanor Roosevelt to play at the Carnegie Hall, played with the biggest north american orchestras, and recorded the entire work of Bach for the piano. At the height of his skills, he could play 21 notes per second.

In 1965, at 24 years old, he suffered an accident during a soccer match which ended up causing an injury on his right elbow, damaging his ulnar nerve and atrophying 3 of his fingers. This caused him to stop playing for a year, and to play with difficulty until his 30s.

After long periods of physical therapy, but still with much difficulty, he returned to the stages and was received several positive reviews and was acclaimed by the public. However, he ended up developing a work-related musculoskeletal disorder, which forced him to stop playing again.

This wasn’t enough to make him give up on his musical career, and even with atrophied fingers and paralyzed hands, he still managed to play and record all basically of Bach’s work from 1979 to 1985, still being wildly popular despite his difficulties.

However, the worst would come in 1995: at 55 years old, during a robbery in Bulgaria, João Carlos was struck in the head with an iron bar, resulting in neurological sequelae which paralyzed his right arm. After a lot of physical and neurological therapy, he managed to move his right hand again enough to play the piano with both hands, but due to a worsening of his condition, at 58, he started to develop troubles not only moving his hand, but also speaking, so he had to go through another surgery. It didn’t seem like he would recover much movement in his hand after surgery, however, so he used the short time he had before his hand atrophied completely to record one last CD with both hands.

In 2001, at 61, he recorded the album Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, written by Maurice Ravel for Paul Wittgenstein, an austrian pianist who lost his right arm during World War 1.

His intention was to record 8 albums using only his left hand, however, his left hand developed a disease called Dupuytren’s contracture, causing his fingers to become permanently bent and contracted, as well as causing pain. He went through another surgery, this time in his left hand, but it didn’t prevent him from losing movement in his left hand, causing him to have to abandon the piano, seemingly for good.

This still didn’t keep him away from music, and after learning to conduct from a friend of his, he became a conductor in 2003, at 63 years old. Due to his paralyzed fingers, João Carlos couldn’t actually hold the baton or even turn the pages in the score (at least not fast enough to not stall the music), however, so instead the maestro simpy memorized every score note by note. He memorized, on average, 5000 score pages. (Unfortunately, he started to develop dystonia on his left arm, causing it to twitch, which caused him to have to stop conducting for a while, but he came back shortly after and has been conducting ever since.)

He went through another brain surgery in 2012, to recover the movements in his left hand, but at this point it was so atrophied he hadn’t even opened it in 10 years. He still occasionally played the piano in important events, and he even played at the opening of the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, but his playing was very slow and he could barely use his fingers, playing only a single note per second (compare with his 21 notes per seconds back when he was young).

(João Carlos Martins playing at an event in São Bernardo do Campo, 2013)

His bionic gloves were custom made by an industrial engineer, after said engineer saw him playing live and thought he could probably come up with something to help him. After he approached João Carlos to offer his help, the bionic gloves got ready just in time for him to play at the 466 anniversary of the city of São Paulo, in 2020, where João Carlos claimed “this is the first time in 22 years I place all 10 fingers in the keyboard”. Now, in 2021, he often posts videos of himself playing, and he always gets very emotional while doing so, and he is hardly seen without his new bionic gloves.

[eskiworks]

THIS is what technological advances are for. To enable us the soul fulfilling pleasures denied us by hardship. To make life easier and give us more time for happiness and pleasure.

[catchymemes]

Credit: @pet_foolery

[salted-delights-deactivated2021]

I think I already reblogged this but im gonna do it again because this is a good reminder on how toxic gatekeeping it.

[bowling-with-skulls]

I’m reblogging this for the amount of thought that was put into figuring out the necessary configuration for a mertaur wheelchair.

[shoelace-and-friends]

MMMMM, the LAYERS to this. 

She’s technically a monster too. She might not look it at first glance and seems mostly human, but it isn’t deniable even despite her looks compared to the other monsters. 

But she realizes that she is still not like the rest of the monsters either and may not have entirely the same experiences as them, which is why she feels that she might not belong to or deserve to go to the support group. By sometimes passing as human, she feels she isn’t worthy of the space. 

The sad reality though is even though she’s mostly human in appearance, that tail she has undeniably would still cause her some struggle. Humans are still gonna look at that tail and think she’s a freak. There are probably still accommodations she needs because of the tail that she may still struggle to have access to. Even if it is just the tail, that tail is still enough to other her from humans and cause her problems and discrimination. 

She should get to belong in that support group even if she gets told she’s not monster “enough”. She still shares some of the same struggles as them that are caused by being a monster, and needs support. 

This is an excellent demonstration of the flaws in the concept of passing privilege. Bravo to the artist. 

[thefolxawakens-deactivated20211]

when ur trying to reblog a post but it fails bc the op who uve never seen in ur entire life has u blocked

[bowlinebeth]

It’s always weird when my irl high school buddy shows up as a meme

[solarpunks]

This cargo ship from 1909 is starting to make zero-emissions deliveries again

Sailcargo doesn’t expect to replace the massive industry. But as companies look for ways to reduce emissions, it can offer a solution that works now. Because it doesn’t use shipping containers—goods are loaded on pallets—it also has some logistical advantages. “Some of these fast vessels have to wait at port often up to two weeks, because they’re dependent on the port infrastructure,” says Doggett. “They need the big crane to unload the container. We do not—we can unload ourselves.”

Doggett, who started sailing on tall ships as a 13-year-old, started thinking about the potential to revive traditional cargo shipping more than a decade ago. In 2014, she and two partners launched the company and later began working on building a traditional vessel from scratch. While traveling, Doggett had also run across the Vega. The ship, built in 1909, had been retired in the 1960s, as fossil-fueled container ships started to dominate trade routes. It was headed for the scrapyard when a family of Swedish shipbuilders rescued it and spent years restoring it; Doggett, who loved the design, stayed in touch with them and eventually made a deal to buy it.

Read more here

[bowlinebeth]

so cool!

[ladychlo]

this is comedy at its finest...

[bowlinebeth]

Pretty sure this is the same face and sequence when my kid broke her elbow by falling off a low ride at chucky cheese

[menfenced]

Why You Should Absolutely Be Watching Our Flag Means Death

Look, I thought this was just going to be a silly little pirate sitcom that I could sit down and binge and move on with my life. But seriously, it’s SO good! 

Now, if you haven’t heard of the show, let me start with the basics. 

This is Stede. 

He used to be a fancy foppish aristocrat. 

Then he left his wife and children to become a pirate. 

Well, a Gentleman Pirate. 

But he’s not really cut out for it and things go south. 

Fast. 

Enter Blackbeard!

(pause to admire the wigmaker who crafted his glorious beard…. and we’re back)

Blackbeard has heard all about Stede and, quite frankly, he’s fascinated. What the hell is a guy like this doing on a pirate ship? 

But the thing is, Blackbeard has been in a bit of a rut himself, and he’s ready to try something new, so they work out a bit of a deal. 

Ed will teach Stede how to be a better pirate

And Stede will teach Blackbeard how to be a gentleman.

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. 

Gee, this sounds like a silly little pirate show. Maybe I’ll get around to it eventually. 

Or maybe you’ve watched the first couple episodes and thought, “Eh, it’s alright. Kind of funny, but I’ve got limited time here and I’ve got a lot of other stuff to watch.”

But the thing is, this is SO much more than just a silly pirate show. It has hands down the best acting I have ever seen from Taika Watiti. He and Rhys play off each other with the silliness very well, but they also dive into some deep emotional stuff that is just phenomenal. 

Oh, and did I mention that this wasn’t a comedy? It’s actually a Rom-Com between Stede and Blackbeard. 

And no, it’s not subtext. It’s very much text. 

Like… Literally. The show’s creator (David Jenkins) has spent the last 3 weeks in every interview ever being like, “Hey, did you know that gay pirate marriage is a thing that existed? In actual history? Like they had a word for it and everything. Have you heard about this? If not, you should definitely hear about this, because this is a thing that 100% exists and is absolutely historical and you should all definitely know about for no particular reason.”

Anyway, I won’t spoil anything specific from the episodes because it’s all so wonderfully done, but… yeah. The creator ships it hard and he is fucking delivering with every new episode. 

And that’s not even getting into any of the wonderful side stories with the crew! 

There are multiple queer couples/romances there. Two of the characters create the first ever pyramid scheme. There’s a non-binary character with a amazing backstory and side quest. There’s roommate shenanigans, and… well, just all types of shenanigans really…  

The point is, this is seriously an amazing show and I highly highly encourage anyone who is not already on board to join in with the fun. 

EDIT: For those wondering where to watch the show, click here to see my second post about that. 

[soothifying-sounds-asmr]

Strawberry Shortcake & Lemon Meringue Cardigans by theycallmelash

[auressea]

those Grannysquare pockets tho! talent

[comfortabletextiles]

:o

[brattylikestoeat]

[angelsonthesideline-deactivated]

This looks more like a how-to by @5triderofthenorth or @instructor144

[5triderofthenorth]

One of the easiest and most gratifying restorations a person can do! About half my cast iron is salvaged, the rest was new.

[bethrogers]

A great YouTube channel for cast iron cookware, restoring, collecting, cleaning & cooking, is Cast Iron Cookware.   The guy is incredible.  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO7aRkmQGejiKrXhAniOVnw

[carnivalseb]

is that the reason that these oldschool pans never have a wooden handle? So you can treat them in the oven like this without destroying part of them?

[sassysousa]

Yes, thats why. Also so you can cook food in them in the oven or on an open fire without damage.

Always wipe clean with a wet rag or sponge after cooking, minimize scrubbing, simmer water in the pan to soften really stuck bits. Then dry fully and put just a smidge of your oil/fat of choice on it before putting the pan away. And liberally re-season (the coating with oil/fat and baking at 400 part) as needed if you notice things sticking more!

These pans will last multiple lifetimes, as evidenced by the video above.

[dduane]

This is always useful info. You never know when you’re going to come across a cast iron pot in need of a good home and some TLC.

[bowlinebeth]

saving for future reference

[youreastargirl]

So I’m at a library in a town I don’t live in to spend time with my nieces and I go to the bathroom and see this sign.

They turned their old card catalog into free supplies people can discretely take on their own.

This is the coolest thing ever, a great way to help people without making them ask, and an amazing reuse of a the card catalog. I’m seriously about to cry I love it so much.

[bowlinebeth]

awesome Idea

[sleepy-bebby]

Num Num Cat TikTok Chain

[lululawrence]

hi ok, so the skater from that santa tiktok that you reblogged, his name is Sean Rabbit, he made that video last year ( instagram com/p/CJCUD9xn8wq ), I know this because i follow on insta like every single skater that has ever competed internationally haha so when I first saw this video on here I was like "i know who that is!!! does anybody else on the 77k notes know who that is?" but i didn't want to be annoying on the post so instead i'm being annoying here. Haha sorry, have a nice day!

YOU ARE MY HERO!!! Thank you so much for knowing!!! I legit went on an hour long rant about his form and abilities to my husband after that and showed him videos of my fav skaters from the 90s doing my fav moves (Scott Hamilton and Suriya Bonaly for their backflips, Scott Davis and Paul Wylie for their scratch spins and Paul again for his Russian split jumps, Gordeeva and Grinkov for their lifts, throw jumps, and death spirals, etc) but I just was STILL wanting to know who Santa was!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

[hawt-me33]

Coming into a fandom late

[baxterdamus-deactivated20130513]

Coming into a fandom early and watching it become an angry clusterfuck

[valorious]

Being in a dormant fandom that suddenly comes alive again after a new book/movie

[leatherpatches-deactivated20150]

Don’t forget about those who come in the midst of a fandom war. 

[fauxmoux]

Accuracy at its best

[street-of-mercy]

Being in a fandom and not even knowing there’s a war going on…

[my-reylo]

all of this shit…lol

[nerdsagainstfandomracism]

When You’re Not In The Fandom But You’re Nosy AF

[not-so-secret-nerd]

When you get into a fandom only to discover it’s dead

[jupiter235]

This gets better every time I see it. 

[sageblackrose95]

@fuboos-mess

[inverted-mind-inc-sideblog-deac]

Being in a dead fandom…

[illogicalarchive]

Or being in such a tiny fandom that it feels like youre the only one

[erilias]

The accuracy hurts.

[fanfic-yes-please]

Being in a fandom that had a shit ending.

[it-is-bugs]

When you’ve been fangirling long enough, you’ve experienced all of the above.

[sweetferalbaby]

Being in a fandom meant for kids.

[teaganvamp]

This just gets better..

[hamboj2]

@mi-kleos

[thatcrazysonicchick]

When you realize that joining the fandom has ruined you

[knightofbloodcancer]

Fandom hell in general

[morathavictoria]

Yes.

[marvelanimelover]

This^^^ just… ALL OF THIS.

[stop-talking-babe-deactivated20]

Being in so many fandoms that you don’t even know what’s going on

[raise-cain-archived]

THIS IS THE SKULDUGGERY FUCKING PLEASANT FANDOM IN ONE POST!!

[crochanblackbeak]

Trying to recruit people to your fandom

[kateriverameliawolfe]

Annnnnnndddd it’s back

[ishipwhatiship247]

Being in a fandom which has so many antis

[ravenhilarious]

I’ve probably reblogged this before, but that was before these great additions.

[swanqueen-author]

Being in a fandom that actually works together

[commanderunhingedmongoose]

Why is this so true? All of it.

[pillowprincesslexa]

being in a fanbase but all your mutuals suddenly turn into Kpop blogs

[hangingfire]

I always enjoy it when a good post comes around again and has been improved by the reblogs like the years for a fine wine.

[priory-of-stars]

Being in a fandom when shit goes down and everyone has different opinions

[marianagmt]

When you are in a fandom and don’t care for others people opinion…..even if they are right…(believe me, I have met several of those)

[batbyte-alghul]

Being in a fandom you never meant to join

[tirnel-sutcliff-spears]

I love this. and it’s gotten better

[cartoonjessie]

After abandoning a fandom you’re still a little bit emotionally invested in….

[brit-is-bookish]

All of these are me. Lol

[thehikingastronomer]

Being in a fandom on Tumblr

[worldheritagepostorganization]

World Heritage Post

[wonderlandifulcat]

When a new character is added to the source material and the whole fandom accepts them as a baby/cutie

[tinydramatist]

Being in a fandom where some of the fans are super problematic and loud and your just trying to enjoy your thing

[wise1rabbity]

When you’ve been in fandoms most of your life and then The Children ™ try to tell you how fandoms work. 

[coldtofire]

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJsMrwMo/

[ladylike-foxes]

[changan-moon]

traditional chinese handicraft, ink making 制墨 by 彭传明pcm

[sosuperawesome]

A Perfect Pumpkin on Instagram / Etsy