Doktor Archeville's Laboratory

Hi!  I am a fat 40-something white introvert in NC.  I worked in the NCSU Libraries for 13 years, then was an insurance agent working with Aflac (quack!) for about 9 months, and currently work as a substitute teacher in Roxboro & a repairer/maintainer of sewing machines out of my home. My preferred pronouns are he/him/his; my preferred nicknames are Doc or Dok, or Science Squid (or Jon). I am a fan of... things.  So many things. * Comics (DC Comics, Marvel Comics) * Tabletop RPGs (Dungeons & Dragons/D&D/DnD, Eclipse Phase, GURPS, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, World of Darkness) (My OCs, my games) * Video Games (Elder Scrolls series, Fallout series, Minecraft) * Podcasts (Binging with Babish, Critical Role) * Webcomics (Order of the Stick, Oglaf, SMBC, Schlock Mercenary, xkcd) * Geek Culture /  Geek Life /  Misc. Geekery (including memes) Basically, if it's got cosplay, fantasy, horror (esp. body horror and zombies), science (or SCIENCE!) & sci-fi, steampunk, or superheroes (or supervillains), I'll probably love it. I also try to keep up with actual science and technology, especially body modification and transhumanism. I also blog about libraries and library- & librarian-related things (including books), in part because I'd worked in a library for thirteen years, and about education (especially education in NC and education in America) due to my work in academic libraries and as a substitute teacher.  And about language and linguistics, as those fascinate me. Also about jobs and job hunting, since I've been unemployed or underemployed for an uncomfortably long time, and we could all use a little help there. I also enjoy cooking (and food), which is a type of science.  Here are some recipes I've collected. This being the internet, I also reblog posts with cute animals.  I'm especially fond of bats.  And squid, cuttlefish, and other cephalopods. While I'm listing animals, I may as well provide a link to my cat posts.  It is the internet, so there are a lot of them. I'm a big fan of/believer in people being themselves, and of consenting adults being able to do whatever they want however they want with whoever they want, no matter what others think.  (I.e., body positivity, sex positivity).  I try to keep this blog SFW -- the only porn I'll be posting here are food porn and technology porn -- but I do sometimes talk about sex (esp. sex education) and burlesque (there are some great burly troupes in the Triangle & Triad area). I struggle with mild depression and anxiety issues, so sometimes my blog may get a bit maudlin.  But I also try to give advice on dealing with those, too. ----------------------- Things I've Liked (Note: May contain some NSFW posts) My Tumblr Crushes My personal blargings About Me / It Me Getting To Know Me My TMI Tuesday blargings My Feels Conventions! * Animazement * ConCarolinas * ConTemporal * Cosplay America * Dragon*Con / Dragon Con My Face My Facebook Art-related blargings Music-related blargings Most Fridays nights I’m at the Retro Film shows at the the Carolina Theatre in Durham.  Come join me!

[wolfmons]

[the-evil-skull]

When I was growing up, my childhood best friend and I used to joke about the "Tom Baker pain expression." Watch any story during this era, usually around the cliffhanger of episode three, and you'll see it. The Doctor appears to be not simply in discomfort, but in horrible, writhing, unendurable agony. His face is contorted, his teeth are showing, and his eyes are screwed shut.

It's glorious.

For me, the "Tom Baker pain expression" pretty much, says everything about why I love this era of Doctor Who so much. The central character is played by a man who just goes for it, every single time. That pain the Doctor is going through? It's real. It's horrible. It's terrifying. I think the word I'm searching for is... visceral.

The Doctors Are In: The Essential and Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who's Greatest Time Lord ( Graeme Burke and Robert Smith)

[escuerzoresucitado]

[bearcatcatbear]

Today is the only day you can summon the energy to reblog this.

[lillie-garden]

kissing you on the forehead

[increasingpanic-deactivated2024]

with tongue?

[lillie-garden]

with tongue. 🥰

[just-taking-adam-break]

[bogleech]

I know it's unfair vilification and stuff but it's also a lot of fun to see old media and stuff where people were SO scared of big animals like lions, sharks, crocodiles and wolves were fully expected to just come and eat you the moment you stepped into their territory. In older media we also made that assumption about gorillas and in still older we thought it'd be whales. But some animals that will actually fuck you up got left behind. Boars will kill you and eat you. They're way more likely to do so than any of those other things actually. Hippos, obviously, got off like bandits always being depicted as cute and dopey. And then there's the squids. Not giant kraken size squids. The eight foot squids that hunt in packs and will fuck you up if you fall in the water at night. I can't BELIEVE people slept on that. It's like all they cared about were the huge deep sea ones we never see. The medium size wolf pack squids were right there.

[bogleech]

Oh some of you don't know about the squids. I talked about them in another thread that went kinda viral somewhere or other but one of the reasons you should not swim in the open ocean at night in many parts of the world is that the water starts teeming with these:

And as you can see it is not like instant death, they too are just animals and they are often just gently curious about the presence of humans! But people who study and dive with sharks will tell you you're safe as long as you stay calm and know what you're doing. The world's leading professional night divers and experts on these squids, specifically??? Stress in every interview and article and paper they write in that you simply do not fuck around with these squids. They know what they're doing and they still all have at least one story of being attacked, in some cases having to be hospitalized. Considering just how rarely anybody puts themselves in the pitch dark nighttime ocean on purpose, let alone during a squid feeding frenzy, it sounds like they're quite a bit more likely to consider you potential food than other marine predators. We also don't know how many fatal attacks might have ever happened, because what humboldt squid like to do with large prey is just drag it away into the darkness forever. The two worst attacks ever proven involved two or three squid at a time latching on to a diver (in BOTH cases they were professionals and knew the risk!) and jetting straight downward with enough force that both divers suffered injury from the sudden pressure change alone, including burst eardrums, nearly passed out and they probably would have died if they hadn't broken free. In general, people who die drowning in the dark open ocean are either never found, or they're found in pieces picked over by enough scavengers that the precise cause of death can only be narrowed down to "the sea." But now you know ONE of "the sea's" possible murder weapons :)

There's a short section on Humboldt squid in Wikipedia's entry for Cephalopod attacks on humans:

Cephalopod attack - Wikipedia

And if you can get past some of Animal Planet's hokey presentation style, this video includes a bit of interview with one of those professional experts who still got nearly squidded from existence:

There is of course some debate about all this, with some arguing that all proven documented attacks occurred on people with reflective diving equipment, which they say the squid must have mistaken for the shine of fish. However, there are lots and lots of people who have to fish around these squids to survive, who do not have access to that kind of equipment, and also have a consensus that if you fall in the water when big squids are out hunting you might disappear without a trace or perhaps just get your head bitten open. With many modern science guys agreeing with this sentiment, this is one case where the "they're just misunderstood sea friends" crowd is kind of outnumbered. The sea at night is theirs and not ours is all. It's not ours during the day either but since we are neither marine nor nocturnal animals we are double fools in the eyes of the squids, which by the way are these eyes:

No for real:

[my-ants-are-anxious]

Absolutely! Also, the Humboldt squid will hunt in packs, sometimes with one flashing brightly to draw attention while the others approach in near unseeable camoflage!

[bogleech]

Beautiful footage of the nefarious sea demons also :)

Also because I can't reblog every addition together:

Okay where's the other 1199

[spiralshellsreblogs]

I absolutely adore Humboldt squid. I saw a doc once where a scientist was cage diving to study them, and one of the squid squeezed it's entire massive body through the cage bars, bit the guy and squeezed right back out.

[bogleech]

Why isnt this an animal that's already long gone viral like honey badgers once did. This is the animal that actually gives no fucks. People really are just that obsessed with bigger squids I guess? But the bigger ones frankly come across as big softies in comparison. One big sea monster can never be as intimidating as a thousand coordinated man sized sea monsters.

This is why I thought that if mermaids had a cultural equivalent to lycanthropy it'd be weresquids. Fun fact nocturnal marine life increases activity on the brightest nights ie the full moon.

[lasrina]

This is all fascinating but I'm reblogging it exclusively for the phrase "got nearly squidded from existence."

[hellenhighwater]

I forgot to eat dinner so I'm having 11 pm corn on the cob. This counts as a meal

... It's possible that I really need to do some grocery shopping

[hellenhighwater]

Okay for those of you living in pitiful ignorance, take a raw ear of corn with the husk on and cut all the way around the base (as pictured: above the point where the husk meets the cob, so that the entire husk is severed but still wrapped around the corn. Do not cut through the cob.) Then, with the husk still on, microwave it for 5-7 minutes. It'll basically steam it inside the husk. Remove from microwave --it will be hot, so use a mitt or a towel--and firmly pull the top of the husk/silk, which should come off easily in one piece, unsheathing a flawless corn on the cob. If it doesn't, you probably need to cut a little higher around the base, so all the leaves are severed. No picking off silk!

[hellenhighwater]

For the nonbelievers (and for me, a second corn)

[hellenhighwater]

This website works so well

[undeadentropy]

Cornographic Content

[dr-archeville]

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

Us, arriving to Austria to a tiny family hotel owned by an elderly lady

Us: speak only limited German

Lady: barely speaks English

Us:

Lady:

Lady: Czech? Slovak?

Us: Czech

Lady, to herself: Czech, that's a Slavic language right

Lady: understand Yugoslavian?

Us:

Us: yeah that works

[eastern-lights]

Shit like this can really only happen in Europe. Reminds me of the time I took my best shot at ordering at a restaurant in Spain in spanish. The closest language to spanish that I actually speak is latin.

Waiter: Germany?

Me: No, Czechia.

Waiter, in a heavily accented but intelligible Czech: Why didn’t you say so before! We get you guys here all the time!

[krcmelound]

Já v roce 2019 na Ukrajině: OK, takže když použiju tohle staročeský slovo, přidám polský sloveso, své chabé znalosti záhoráčtiny a řeknu to s ruskym přízvukem, tak to projde.

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

[Me in 2019 in Ukraine: ok so if i use this Old Czech word, add a Polish verb, my poor knowledge of the Záhorie dialect of Slovak and say it with a Russian accent, it might pass]

Reminds me of the time when we were in Poland and I tried to order a burger using a truly unholy mix of Slovak, Russian and Ostrava dialect (which in itself is like an unholy mix of Czech and Polish).

I did get the burger

[orion-the-onion]

[mmaurysiek]

[#my grandpa called this "Slavic Esperanto"]

I know Ukrainians who can do this on purpose and masterfully, and it was mind-blowing to hear a speech as immediately understandable to an audience of native speakers of three different native Slavic languages, not just two languages as is common

[alamuts-lair-of-madness]

During one student exchange I (a Pole) got acquainted with two students from Czechia and Russia. At first we talked in English or German, but after a while we’ve noticed, that we could understand each other’s native languages just fine. And if some word was unknown in one language, another one had the right synonym.

*Each of us talking in their mother tongue*

Me: Bla bla bla.

Russian: I don’t know this “bla”.

Czech: Oh, we have “bla”! We also call it “that”!

Russian: Oh I know “that”! It’s a very old version of “this”.

Me: Oh, we have “this” too, but it means something slightly different.

German acquaintance: Was für nen Scheiß zieht ihr da ab? o_O

[leseigneurdelorage]

the reason there aren't slavic people in the bible is that they wouldn't have been surprised or awed to hear the disciples speak in tongues and be understood by people of many nations at once

[alexfeelyx]

Slavs walked away from the Tower of Babel mildly inconvenienced.

[invisiblefoxfire]

As a non-native speaker of Czech who is only conversationally proficient and has terrible grammar, let me tell you, no one was more surprised than I was to discover that I can understand Slovak just fine. And when the two moving guys finished hauling my furniture to my new apartment and we were chatting a bit before they left, I discovered that the reason I'd had a little trouble understanding one of their "accents" was because he was speaking Ukrainian the whole time.

[treba-neco-napise]

"Slavs walked away from the Tower of Babel mildly inconvenienced." killed me

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

[skaldish]

I think about this a lot.

[computationalcalculator]

may I add also “butt dial” vs “booty call” vs “bottom text”

[clitorius-maximus]

Hand job vs manual labor

[ohgreatblackbunny]

Tags deserved to be seen

[dr-archeville]

"cottage in the forest" vs. "cabin in the woods"

also, this gem:

"sirens" vs. "mermaids"

[hateusandseeifwemind]

[pinene]

Can anyone explain wtf is going on here especially a Korean speaker

[tadeadshihamurder]

someone on reddit explained 😭

[no-one-offical]

‎

[desmolbean404]

That is one of the most astronomical fuck up translations I have ever seen.

[teaboot]

Remember! When companies lay off all their staff because AI is cheaper, this sort of shit is what you can leverage for a better contract when they are inevitably forced to hire everyone back :)

[three-semicolons]

Okay so, I know everyone and their mother has seen this panel. And it is very funny.

BUT. Now that I’ve just come off the original Teen Titans run, they all seemed quite progressive (for the time), Wally included.

This could be gleaned from:

Opposition to war during the Vietnam war era

Opposition to anti-immigrant rhetoric

Aiding the reclaiming of stolen land from native peoples

And even the less plot-relevant but still pervasive themes of tolerance and acceptance, both of then-modern culture and the hippie movement. Silly, I know, but genuinely contentious.

So I’m not quite sure why it was established that Wally was some hard conservative. Maybe this was always a thing? While I’ve read a lot of Wally in the context of team books, in Titans and later in the 90s JLA run, I’ve never read much in the way of his solos. It just doesn’t strike me as consistent.

[iconuk01]

There had been a bit of friction between Kid Flash and Red Star in his only previous appearance. Kid Flash made it clear he didn't trust a Communist "superhero".

So I think they're just amping that up a bit, to add a little depth to Wally, who had never really had that much done to develop his character in the past. (NTT #21 is the first time I think any Titans discuss their religious beliefs. When asked if he's religious, Wally replies "I guess so. I don't go all the time, but I believe." and Dick says that "I haven't thought about it much")

His conservative phase didn't last long but then, it was something like 1982 and Reagan was on the ascendant, so perhaps Wolfman felt a less liberal POV was an interesting way to go?

[grazztthedark]

The only other time I can remember Wally's conservative characterization coming up is to contrast with the liberal Pied Piper in his solo book. Especially when the latter came out of the closet, right while Wally was in the middle of a homophobic diatribe.

[iconuk01]

I'm not quite sure I'd call it particularly homophobic, especially for 1988, and the first actual coming out as gay said out loud in a Big Two mainstream comic We'd had subtext and hints all over the place of course (Byrne with Maggie Sawyer, Claremont with... well.. everyone) , but even Marvel's Northstar wouldn't publicly describe himself as gay until 1992 in a far more laboured and tortuous story than this one.

So Wally is being a bit of an asshole definitely, but more out of outdated assumptions, than actual ingrained homophobia (at least the way I read it, YMMV of course)

Wally's discombobulated reaction is hilarious (and one I think many people who come out get from at least one person), and it's clear Piper knows that Wally isn't being homophobic,, juts a little surprised and he'll get over it, but that doesn't mean Piper didn't LOVE being able to blow Wally's mind like that.

[grazztthedark]

Oh yeah, for its time it isn't that bad. They were going to include the f-slur in children's movies for the next few years, so Wally's little bit about gay supervillains isn't really going that far.

That said, I think it's still fair to call it homophobic. Even by the standards of the time: Wally clearly realizes the things he's said are pretty insulting to his friend, which is most of the reason why he's so eager to get out of there. So even Wally, at this moment, understands that he's crossed a line. Hartley, for his part, has probably dealt with worse.

Honestly, the word I regret using is "diatribe". A diatribe is more of a monologue, and Wally is clearly trying to include Hartley in his little "Which supervillains are gay?" game. The fact that he doesn't take the hint that Hartley doesn't want to play this particular game is part of what makes the whole scene so fun when Hartley decides to change the script on him.

[iconuk01]

Those are eminently fair points :)

[lovers-and-dreamers]

going absolutely bonkers insane over these sesame street photoshoots

these are just functioning members of society. i love them so much. my babies.

[lovers-and-dreamers]

since you guys loved this post so goddamn much (6k?????????) heres some more for you to look at

[dr-archeville]

Knight Rider: Declassified | Official Trailer (4K) [link]

"Knight Rider: Declassified is an epic five-part five-hour documentary featuring new interviews with the cast and crew who created one of television's most iconic series. Experience the untold stories, rare behind-the-scenes footage, and an unprecedented look at the making of KITT, Michael Knight, and the phenomenon that captivated millions."

[dowereallyneedthis]

“I don’t do math because I’m gay” “the gays can’t do math” “If I explain math on tumblr I’ll lose my gay card” all of you apologize to Alan Turing right now 

[myfootyrthroat]

The “+” in LGBTQ+ is for math.

[dowereallyneedthis]

It’s literally been years since anyone added something slightly clever or original to this post, so I would like to congratulate you and maybe even bestow some kind of award. I don’t have anything to give you though

[moran-with-a-g]

It was simple addition, really.

[dr-archeville]

Clayface | Official Trailer [source]

DC Studios’ “Clayface” is a horror thriller from director James Watkins, starring Tom Rhys Harries in the title role of the cult favorite villain from Gotham’s rogues gallery. Matt Hagen’s meteoric rise from Gotham street kid to Hollywood leading man is tragically cut short when a local crime boss’s actions leave him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by his team and with nothing left, Matt seeks out a cutting edge treatment that miraculously returns him to his former self… but also unexpectedly affects his grip on reality, spiraling him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge. The film also stars Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan, as well as Nancy Carroll and Joshua James. James Watkins directs from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, story by Flanagan, based on characters from DC. The film is produced by Matt Reeves, Lynn Harris, James Gunn and Peter Safran, with Michael E. Uslan, Chantal Nong Vo, Lars P. Winther, Rafi Crohn and Paul Ritchie executive producing. Watkins’ creative team includes director of photography Rob Hardy, production designer James Price, editor Jon Harris and costume designer Keith Madden. Music is by Volker Bertelmann.

"DC Studios Presents a 6th & Idaho Production, a James Watkins Film, Clayface. The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and released only in theaters in North America on October 23, 2026, and internationally beginning 21 October 2026."

[justdealingwithsomeissues]

Excuse me... your parlor made of what now? Living Flesh?

[iconuk01]

How very..... Clive Barker

Or possibly 1989's movie "Society" (You can google and find the rabbit hole that leads you down yourself, because I ain't going there..)

[dr-archeville]

So I immediately recognized this page, because the comic it's from -- Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, vol.01:no.81 (1995 September), written by Warren Ellis -- is the very first Doctor Strange comic I'd ever bought!

Also: I see eight mouths in this page. Eight mouths with full, sensual lips. What are you meditating on in there, Stephen?

(He meditates on Syzygy, on change & coincidence, because this was a time when he'd forsaken the Vishanti and all other mystical entities, and instead used "Catastrophe Magic.")

[dr-archeville]

Cronenberg-ian RimWorld Mods?

So I got an idea for a War Crimes Simulator RimWorld run. I know some of the mods I'd need for it, but some more suggestions would be nice.

The basic idea if a colony inspired by Cobra-La (from G.I. Joe and related franchises), focused on biotech & organic technology -- everything incorporates living (or once-living) materials, technologies using inorganic/lifeless substances are blasphemous. See also: Earth: Final Conflict (Taelon technology), Farscape (Moya and other Leviathans), Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series (The Darwinists), Lexx (the titular ship), Star Trek (Species 8472), Star Wars Expanded Universe/Legends (the Yuuzhan Vong), Starqate (the Wraith's organic technology), various RPGs (biotech from Aeon/Trinity, the Chiron Group's implants from Hunter: the Vigil, Splugorth bio-wizardry & symbiotes from Rifts, bioware from Shadowrun), and the works of David Cronenberg (eXistenZ, Naked Lunch). Body Horror galore.

I know the Biotech DLC is a must for this, what with all the genetic engineering it allows. The Anomaly DLC will also be needed, for all the fleshbeasts & gorehulks. And maybe Royalty, for psychic powers.

The Fantasy Biotech mod will allow for genetic modifications at a medieval/pre-Industrial level of technology. The quicker, the better.

Any mod that gives additional genes -- like Alpha Genes -- will help.

With Alpha Memes, the Flesh Cult meme allows structures and furniture to be made of -- or at least appear to be made of -- flesh & bone.

Vanilla Ideology Expanded: Memes & Structures has the Flesh Crafting meme, which allows you to remove healthy organs from one pawn and implant them into one of your colonists. Perfect for the Frankenstein look... but the implants organs still function as standard parts, you can't gain any new abilities from them, or add additional things like wings or extra limbs or whatever. But...

... Vanilla Genetics Expanded would allow for the creation of hybrid animals, and -- more importantly -- organic tech implants for both animals and human(oid)s. It also has the Mad Scientist meme, favoring the creation of hybrids & shunning failure (Cobra-La's "one unforgivable crime").

VIE:EM&S also has the Insectoid Supremacy memes, which lets you tame & train Insectoids. That would be useful for having buggos as defenders, and as a source of Royal Jelly. It also has Serketism, which appears to let you craft structures & furniture along an Insectoid theme (or maybe out of Insectoid chitin?).

Various Vanilla Races Expanded mods to add new xenotypes. Fungoid, Insector, and Saurid seem especially appropriate.

And maybe Vanilla Psycasts Expanded, for added psychic powers. But unless I can find an organic tech version of the psylink neuroformer, I'd have to have them gain their psychic powers via natural meditation around Anima Trees... which kinda fits anyway.

So, what am I looking for? A few things.

Mods that change the appearance of items (armor, weapons) to be more thematically appropriate. Teeth-shooting bone pistols!

Mods that add new materials -- bones harvested from animals (and humanoids), chitin from Insects -- for construction & crafting.

Mods that alter the construction requirements for certain things, so furniture & structures & etc. can be crafted from fungus, hides/leathers, meat, and wood (and bones and chitin?) instead of steel or stone.

Mods that provide an organic tech version of existing bionic (and archotech!) implants. Vanilla Genetics Expanded has some, I want MORE.

Organic shuttles and gravships.

Does anyone know of any mods like those? Or have any other suggestions for such a run?

[wheeloffortune-design]

at work they're showing us how to use AI tools like Copilot to help in our day to day tasks.

I have many reasons why I will not use those tools, going from lack of accuracy, lack of ethics, and a higher waste of energy.

But my main reason is this:

I will do things the hard way. I will learn how to do things the hard way.

Because AI is a subscription. And when the world is dependant on AI, they will raise the price of that subscription.

And when the company I work for decides that paying for AI is too expensive for their bottom line, they will remove it.

But I will still know how to work.