Psocoptera

Librarian by Day, sleepy Librarian by night

[aredhel-of-doylkien]

Happy Friday the 13th, don't forget to Do the D'Dew today

[glendathegoodone]

[enchantingcheesecakepersona]

[rosesonkittens]

I've always written everything by hand before typing. Staring at a blank word document doesn't inspire the words to come.

But a blank paper and a blue pen and the words come at a steady pace.

[panaeolus-fimicola]

Frontiers | Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the class

As traditional handwriting is progressively being replaced by digital devices, it is essential to investigate the implications for the human

aaaand here's a link to the paper :)

[depsidase]

[rincewizard]

spent ENTIRELY too much time this evening laying out both my watsonian And doylist reasonings as to why i firmly believe, wholeheartedly, that vetinari had been patrician for like less than a year at the time of sourcery, and therefore that one of the first things to actually happen to him as ruler is that he got turned into a lizard for a fucking week.

[rincewizard]

okay look.

tcom patrician is definitely 100% Not vetinari and i can explain why. it's obvious that the idea for vetinari existed at the time (we do even get a "Capital!" out of the man!), but vetinari is not eating preserved starfish and asking a random advisor who the president of the assassins guild is. particularly the candied starfish. that's what seals it for me. tcom patrician is definitely definitely Not havelock "a glass of boiled water and half a slice of dry toast is a luxurious fare" vetinari. i could veer off into the actual thematic importance of this but for the moment, this is textually important so therefore case made. this is also completely consistent with like. many characters in Titled positions who are mostly just referred to by title because pratchett isn't really planning on bringing them back in early discworld, only for a recurring character of a distinct enough description to not be that throwaway guy to fill the post once we get to a point with a more solidified world state. many such examples. sometimes but usually not they do have names but we never hear those names again, or they're used so that we know for sure that that guy died (ex. every archchancellor before ridcully). it tracks that this is the case for the patrician in tcom.

wizards series - at least from tcom to sourcery - Does have a timeline if you're hyperxifated on it hard enough. tcom takes place over a 6 month span, tlf takes place over a 2 month span, and sourcery happens about a yearish after tlf. this timeline is based 100% on things said in the text of each book (rincewind reflects on how he's changed "over the past 6 months" towards the end of tcom, the spells of the octavo must be said in exactly two months time in tlf, "last year the luggage ate a book" in sourcery referring to the events of tlf). therefore, if vetinari IS patrician in sourcery but NOT in tcom, there's like maybe about a year in there where a transfer of power could have happened.

early watch series does not have a timeline but there are significant time jumps. no idea how many years have passed between g!g! and men at arms but like. some. and it especially doesn't have a timeline in relation to the wizards series. HOWEVER we know that edward d'eath is like. maybe in his mid-20s given that he's a graduate student at the assassins guild who started his graduate studies like the day he completed his undergrad because he didn't know what else to do with his life (mood). and he very much has this idea of politics that indicates that by the time he became like, Aware of them in a conscious way, vetinari was either coming into power or had been in power for some amount of time, contrasted with the older lords he fails to sway because they not only remember Politics before vetinari, they've lived through and were Politically Aware Of multiple patricians who all sucked and they can explain why. as someone in my late 20s, and maybe therefore just a little older than edward d'eath, yeah okay that tracks with the guy not having been in power suuuuuper long, but for a number of years by the time of men at arms, at least on vibes. which to me, at least thematically, backs up the timeline given by the wizards series.

i just think it would be really, really funny.

[baltharino]

Star Trek: The Original Series 1x03 - Where No Man Has Gone Before

[insomniac-arrest]

[evergreen-femme]

had to share this

[wizardshark]

In every way this is set up to be a joke like any other short video, it even uses the trope of main character in a wig to represent their mom, but it isn't funny at all. It's just sweet and nice

[victusinveritas]

[punished-venom-solitair-e]

@wooftphr

[mr-puff]

it continues

[mr-puff]

[wellntruly]

“Many reviews are useless because, while purporting to condemn the book, they only reveal the reviewer’s dislike of the kind to which it belongs. Let bad tragedies be censured by those who love tragedy, and bad detective stories by those who love the detective story. Then we shall learn their real faults. Otherwise we shall find epics blamed for not being novels, farces for not being high comedies… Who wants to hear a particular claret abused by a fanatical teetotaler, or a particular woman by a confirmed misogynist?”

— C.S. Lewis, “On Science Fiction”

[spockslash]

I would love to know more about when you first started thinking that there was more than friendship between Kirk and Spock and when fans first started talking about it. Was it Amok Time that first gave you the idea?

I started thinking about it before Amok Time aired.

In the summer of ‘67, watching the reruns of the first season, I very clearly remember a growing sense of, “They really love each other.” I did not jump to “they are in a romantic/sexual relationship,” but I was increasingly aware that there was love and devotion between them. I wrote a speculative essay about their platonic love in our summer fan club newsletter, which I remember being well-received.

With the start of Season 2, our whole fan club (and often others) watched the show together, at the house of the one person we knew with a color TV. The show was on Friday nights, so we would start the weekends by piling into her living room and watching “in living color” for the first time. Afterwords we would stay and discuss.

When Amok Time aired, we definitely had a lot to talk about. I am pretty sure no one suggested that they were gay – that would have been quite a scandalous suggestion at that time; and I don’t think I thought it myself.  But we did have quite a discussion about how much Jim was willing to sacrifice for Spock, Spock’s reaction to seeing Jim alive, and what did Spock mean by “having not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting…?”

Did Spock … want Jim?

Two camps formed: one believing that Spock was in love with Jim and was pining for him, the other believing no way! that’s ridiculous!

Single copies of “Spock pines for Jim” stories started appearing and being circulated hand-to-hand. Two other women and I were doing most of the writing in my circle of fan friends, and because distribution was so difficult, we started having Thursday night gatherings. Anyone could come and we would read the latest installments in our Spock-loves-Jim stories out loud to the group.

Sometime between the second and third season, my primary writing mentor – an established, published sci-fi writer who was much older than me – told me in private conversation that she thought their love was mutual, quite possibly physical, and that she thought their relationship was worth exploring in writing.

She and I each started working on long pieces exploring the Kirk/Spock relationship, and it was the first time I had seriously entertained the idea that their love was also physical. That was a very secret project. We only ever shared our work with each other for comment / revision, and never mentioned it to anyone else at the time.

The first time I realized that the K/S relationship – which was called “The Premise” in those days – was being explored by other writers and even artists was in the summer of ‘69. Star Trek had been cancelled and I went to another state to meet with a handful of people who were forming a fan network to try to get Star Trek back on air. While there, a fellow fan showed me a set of drawings, all very tame by today’s standards, that depicted a physical relationship between Jim and Spock.  I remember how shocked I was — not by the subject matter, but by the fact that someone had dared depict it.

Slash stayed very much underground until late 1974, when the first published K/S story used very coded language to suggest a love relationship between them.

[elfwreck]

Additional history note, for people who aren’t aware of it: In 1973, homosexuality was removed from the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder) as a mental illness. Before that time, it was officially listed as, and treated as, a psychiatric disorder, like schizophrenia: a condition that requires treatment, with the goal of removing it, or minimizing its effects if that wasn’t possible.

How happy someone was with it wasn’t important - it was considered a disease. Anyone who was happy being gay was considered to ill to realize how damaged they were.

Claiming that Kirk and Spock might have those feelings for each other was a hard clash against mainstream psychology. It was a very controversial opinion, because it meant not only looking at the series and saying, “I’m seeing a relationship that I’m pretty sure the writers didn’t consciously intend,” but also, “oh, and the entire AMA and the combined wisdom of its doctors are clueless about how human relationships work.”

Believing that two people of the same sex could have a healthy, loving relationship was an act of defiance all on its own.

[spockslash]

I see that this post is trending today, so I’m going to take this moment to reblog it myself with the important addition of the comments from @elfwreck (Thank you for these, @elfwreck !)

I’d like to add a bit more historical context myself. Until the 1970s, years after TOS had finished its run, sodomy was a felony in 49 out of 50 states of the US – a felony which was punishable by prison or death. Throughout the 60s and into the 70s, I can remember reading carefully-worded news stories about gay men being arrested and given decades-long prison sentences.

For being gay.

Think about this for a moment. When TOS was on the air, not only was a white man kissing a Black woman a crime in a third of the country – but one man in a consensual, loving sexual relationship with other was committing a crime so serious he could be imprisoned or killed in every state but one.

I’ve seen tags from people and received questions about why Spock and Kirk were not allowed to be out on TV, since they were so clearly in love.  This was not remotely possible at that time. The average American understood a man who loved another man to be mentally ill and his behavior to be criminal.

@elfwreck put it beautifully above: “Believing that two people of the same sex could have a healthy, loving relationship was an act of defiance all on its own.”

In the early years of writing slash, one had to be very, very careful about who knew you read or wrote such material. Women and men both went to jail for violating obscenity laws. Just letting people know you entertained the idea of “The Premise” of K/S love could (and did) have people openly questioning your mental health, your morality, your character, your ability to do your job, and the safety of children in your presence. I know a woman who lost all rights to visit her own children in a divorce, when the court found out she had K/S slash material in her home.

[kari-izumi]

This entire post is great, but that last sentence…OOF.

This is why we don’t take kindly to “fiction reflects your personal morality” very kindly ‘round these parts. Because THIS sort of thing is what it leads to.

Be thankful the world has changed considerably from this.

[findingfeather]

I’m just gonna pull that out here:

In the early years of writing slash, one had to be very, very careful about who knew you read or wrote such material. Women and men both went to jail for violating obscenity laws. Just letting people know you entertained the idea of “The Premise” of K/S love could (and did) have people openly questioning your mental health, your morality, your character, your ability to do your job, and the safety of children in your presence. I know a woman who lost all rights to visit her own children in a divorce, when the court found out she had K/S slash material in her home.

Emphasis mine.

[dougielombax]

Largest whale ‘graveyard’ discovered, with skeletons spanning 5 million years

The fossilized remains of more than 450 whales have amassed along a 750-mile-long stretch of the Indian Ocean floor

GRAVEWHALE!

A vast whale necropolis has been found

In the Indian Ocean, a deep-sea area roughly 1,200 kilometres long and 7 kilometres deep was found to harbour an ecological landmark site of

Okay seriously this is some fascinating shit.

And I don’t know shit about fossils, marine biology or ocean research.

Whale graveyard dating back five million years discovered

The Indian Ocean site is "far beyond anything we had imagined", one researcher says.

Fascinating stuff!

[psych-is-the-name]

[moonthymes]

anyway jeff bezos could eradicate homelessness. he could literally give each homeless person 100k and it would only take less than .5% of his entire wealth. what the actual god giving fuck

[the-prolefeed]

Why do you think they deserve it

[killin-the-machine]

Well shelter is a basic need, and would at the very least allow them a place where they can get back on their feet. Food water and shelter are necessary for a healthy body and psychology. There’s also the fact that they’re people too, and a little help goes a long way in making a decent community. There’s plenty of reasons

[the-prolefeed]

Yeah they need stuff, but why does every homeless person deserve 0.5% of someone’s income

[teaboot]

You have five hundred apples, and just one day to eat them all. 

You pass by a small crowd of hungry children, and decide you’d rather 455 apples go rotten than give them to some snotty brat who isn’t your problem.

It doesn’t matter how hard you’ve worked for your 500 apples, or that you aren’t the parent of any of those kids. in the moment you decide to walk away, it doesn’t matter why they’re hungry, or who owes who what.

You had the opportunity to help people, you had the ability to help people, you had the resources to help people. You had everything you needed to make a small, tiny little difference in someone’s life, and you decided not to.

What are you going to buy in your lifetime that’s worth more to you than your own humanity?

[just-queer-things]

What are you going to buy in your lifetime that’s worth more to you than your own humanity

[i-sold-my-soul-to-thefandom]

Reblogging for the very, very important lesson

[mariacallous]

This Jewish museum is lending art across America — with one condition

A quiet initiative is filling museums that don't have Jewish art, but only if they're displayed alongside the cultures that shaped them

[stars-inthe-sky]

A 50-year Trekkie bestows Star Trek history upon the next generation: How fandom and fanfiction sparked the galaxy’s most controversial romance

Beam me up, Grandma

A wonderful piece about fandom history, friendships, and legacies.

[legobiwan]

Dee called AO3 a “candy store,” and said the fan art she has seen, in particular, has been overwhelming. “I cannot get over the art,” she said. “We would have jumped at this. I would’ve given my right tit for all this art when I was in my twenties. Because you couldn’t reproduce it, you couldn’t send it out, but [now] there’s this fabulous art coming out every single day.”

[skyywalkerfen]

Yes. Yes. Yes.  This is how it happened.  Excellent article.

[spockslash]

Thanks to the author for permission to share this here, and for being just a really nice human being, and big thanks to the artist who did my mom’s portrait, above. -Zachary

[wintergrey]

Link as of April 2026

[speremint]

💞The start to a beautiful toxic yuri...

AKA I wanna show off one of my favorite page sequences from My Werewolf Girlfriend, sorry

[The full comic's free here]

[beardedmrbean]

Greater glider,

[moonlightredfern]

Thinking about how wild it is that enshittification starts as a way for the rich to squeeze the populace for more money but ends up infecting everything so even luxury products decline in quality. They’ve got more money than fucking God now and for what? Literally they can’t even buy fun nice stuff for themselves because they killed craft.

Anyway this post is about Dhaka muslin but it’s also about everything.

The ancient fabric that no one knows how to make

Nearly 200 years ago, Dhaka muslin was the most valuable fabric on the planet. Then it was lost altogether. How did this happen? And can we

[eldritchwyrm]

guess it's time to post agha shahid ali's poem about dhaka muslin

[the-final-sif]

Fun fact! Revival of Dhaka Muslin has been ongoing for quite some time. The headline of the above article is very very misleading, we know exactly how Dhaka Muslin was made. The process was very well documented. We know how it was made, but colonialism ruined the fabric's production area and devalued the skills needed to make it such that they no longer existed. But the process itself was not lost.

That being said, efforts to bring it back are underway, and they have been making amazing progress, and succeed in creating Dhaka Muslin yet again.

The Muslin Miracle: A passion for revival

It all began with a search for ‘phuti karpas’ – muslin’s unique cotton plant which is known to have become extinct. However, starting in 201

This is a pretty good updated article, it has a lot of the same info as the BCC one (which also discusses some of the revival efforts) but with more of a focus on that process, an update to the story, and it details some of the other ongoing projects working on the revival!

Here's the first weaver to manage to produce a finished piece in nearly 200 years, Al Amin.

His first piece was 300 threads, according to the article they have now been able to get into the 700s for thread counts, which is absolutely incredible.

Several projects are actually underway now each with different weavers and slightly different methods, producing fabric intended to meet or best the original!

And if you're curious, "okay but can it pass through a ring" yes! Yes they can!

All three of these photos are of pieces made in the modern century, photos by Wasiul Bahar!

It's a very time consuming process, and a very expensive fabric to purchase, but love and passion for it have been steadily bringing it back!