minty fresh!

ripley, he/him :: creative nerd studying biology yaps about music, books, and more

[fillamintal]

⋅˚₊‧ ଳ ‧₊˚ ⋅ welcome to my blog ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ 𓇼

── ripley, '05, he/they, arobi, self-diagnosed philomath, college student majoring in biology and minoring in geology

this blog is part shrine and part dumping ground for all of my many many many passions. very much open to asks, suggestions, etc!

☀︎⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ about me :

interests : sci-fi media (esp. optimistic sci-fi like Star Trek, PHM, and Monk & Robot), sustainability and environmentalism, all things fish, deep sea science, vintage menswear (esp from the 1940s but like in a transgender way, not a WWII way)

music : all things indie, twee pop, synth pop, indie folk/folk punk, gay eldest daughter, slowdive, ethel cain, dolly mixture, leah lou & the 2 left shoes, hemlocke springs, x-ray spex, paper jam, sobs, and more! (bandcamp my beloved <3)

hobbies : mending, thrifting, sewing, crochet, cooking, (being bad at) gardening, singing, sim games

fav topics : ecology, fashion, anti-doomerism, environmental studies, library science, astronomy, body neutrality, amatonormativity

current goals : learn to balance academics with my personal life, decreasing consumption in favor of creation, be more active

⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ my tags :

personal rants/nonsense posts: #just yapping

daily summary: #another day in the life

studyblr posts: #back on that grind

lab/field work and other research: #like some sort of scientist

book reviews/discussions: #reading writing blogging

music reviews and recs: #that tragedy you call a song

all media discussion: #don't change that channel

[fillamintal]

7.16.26 - 40 DAYS LEFT OF SUMMER

a whole load of housework and some lab time

-> finished the last of the crayfish dissections and started disassembling the tanks; sad to see them go but happy to be moving on to DNA extraction

-> shallow cleaned the bathroom

-> deep cleaned the kitchen (seriously, it looks like I've got a brand new sink, s/o barkeeper's friend fr)

-> paid tuition for the fall semester. financially and emotionally devastating

[fillamintal]

7.14.26 - 42 DAYS LEFT OF SUMMER

a very lab- and housework-heavy day

-> conducted ~30 crayfish dissections (i'm pretty sure i could do it in my sleep now)

-> made multiple liters of LB + sulfonamide liquid broth for cultures

-> did a couple much-needed loads of laundry and dish-washing

-> read some papers for my review and compiled pics for my research presentation

-> made a very tasty cherry tomato vodka sauce w/ tiny shell pasta for tonight's dinner/tomorrow's lunch :P

[wizardarchetypes]

People leaving comments on my posts about Indigenous knowledge as a science and its relationship with Western science like, "I know Indigenous knowledge is extremely valuable and important, but I only trust verified science." You're just racist. I'm not going to be polite.

Today, many scientists acknowledge the troubling attitudes that have long plagued research projects in Indigenous communities [...] But some Indigenous groups feel that despite such well-intentioned initiatives, their inclusion in research is only a token gesture to satisfy a funding agency.

That's you. You only want tokens for optics. You can't say, "I respect Indigenous knowledge but—" No, you don't respect Indigenous knowledge. Western science is not the only "real" science and your attempts to argue otherwise are racist. There is no argument.

[wizardarchetypes]

It's like I'm talking to a wall. All the time when I discuss my work as a wildlife & fisheries biologist, I discuss what I have learned directly from Indigenous people in my everyday work yet it's so clear that so many people hear that and think I'm bringing it up for what reason? To appear somehow progressive?

Has everyone just believed this whole time that I bring it up for optics?

Everyone nods, "of course he mentions Indigenous people," because they believe it would simply look bad for me if I didn't.

In fact Indigenous knowledge is a constant topic of conversation and point of reference when I discuss my work as a scientist who uses Western science because my work is useless without it.

I work with endangered species which are endangered solely due to continual colonial violence against people and the land. I can follow the Western scientific method all I want and publish 100 papers on how to fix salmon populations—and get nowhere without Indigenous knowledge and sovereignty.

Indigenous knowledge is not an afterthought to reference as back up to Western science. Believe it or not, we can and should lead any number of scientific projects with Indigenous knowledge.

You need to change how you regard Indigenous knowledge on a fundamental level.