the beautiful game & other obsessions

28. Celt. Nerd. AO3

[teamroscoes]

A local resident puts love hearts and slogans on the plastic that covers offensive graffiti on the vandalised mural of Manchester United striker and England player Marcus Rashford on the wall of a cafe on Copson Street, Withington on July 12, 2021 in Manchester, England. Rashford and other Black players on England’s national football team have been the target of racist abuse, largely on social media, after the team’s loss to Italy in the UEFA European Football Championship last night.

[teamroscoes]

[teamroscoes]

[teamroscoes]

[teamroscoes]

A defaced mural of Marcus Rashford is repaired by the artist Akse P19 on July 13, 2021 in Manchester, England.

[teamroscoes]

[teamroscoes]

People take a knee as they gather at the newly repaired mural of England footballer Marcus Rashford by the artist known as AKSE_P19. (13.7.21)

[spacefauxhawk]

One thing I love about Beauregard is that she totally thinks she's a fuckboy but her entire approach to casual sex with women is like ... "god I'm so impressed by how powerful and talented you are, I would love to have one night of meaningful erotic connection with you with the understanding that we are both on our own paths and may not meet again"

And then when she does want A Whole Ass Girlfriend she's like "I'm gonna let her take the lead on how things progress here because I'm sensitive to her emotional needs."

Like. Babe. Honey. Sweetie. That is NOT how fuckboys operate.

[dissonantwhisper]

She likes the aesthetic of the Average Fuck Boy but she drinks her Respect Women Juice daily 😤

[lilsunshiny]

Happy Birthday Marisha Ray! (May 10th, 1989)

Wishing a fantastic day to Marisha, actress, producer , gamer, geek, anti-sleeves gritty survivor and creative director for Critical Role. It’s her.

[eivoraddict]

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

[uniteds]

people that act like Britain’s colonial past is ancient history, here are some facts:

Afghanistan’s independence was in 1919.

Egypt was in 1922.

Iraq was in 1932.

Jordan was in 1946.

India and Pakistan were in 1947.

Myanmar and Sri Lanka were in 1948.

Libya and Oman were in 1951.

Sudan was in 1956.

Ghana and Malaysia were in 1957.

Singapore was in 1959.

Cyprus and Nigeria were in 1960.

Cameroon, Kuwait, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone were in 1961.

Jamaica, Uganda, and Trinidad and Tobago were in 1962.

Kenya was in 1963.

Malawi, Malta, and Zambia were in 1964.

The Gambia and the Maldives were in 1965.

Barbados, Botswana, Lesotho, and Guyana were in 1966.

Yemen was in 1967.

Eswartini (Swaziland), Nauru, and Mauritius were in 1968.

Fiji and Tonga were in 1970.

Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates were in 1971.

The Bahamas was in 1973.

Grenada was in 1974

Seychelles was in 1976.

Dominica, Tuvalu, and the Solomon Islands were in 1978.

Kiribati and Saint Lucia were in 1979.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were in 1979.

Vanuatu and Zimbabwe were in 1980.

Antigua and Barbuda and Belize were in 1981.

Saint Kitts was in 1983.

Brunei was in 1984.

In addition to that: Northern Ireland is still a British territory. So are the Falkland Islands and Bermuda.

This is in the lifetime of ancestors we have that are still alive. Many of these countries were left in financial ruination after colonization with their resources drained. Many of these countries have been repeatedly bombed by the UK and their allies since independence as well. The very act of independence often resulted in massive loss of life (see the partition of India and Pakistan which resulted in 2 million people dead, 20 million people displaced, and countless others never recovered). Calling it ancient history or underplaying the sheer cruelty of what the British empire did is such a slap in the face to the people who suffered for centuries.

[lilsunshiny]

THE LAST OF US PART II (2020) dir. Neil Druckman

[cranesofibycus]

just some BAAd sheep puns 

[queenmaj]

most realistic part of this is the aeorian scientists who discovered time travel and still couldn't get any fucking funding

[the-necessary-unnecessary]

SAVING FACE (2004) dir. Alice Wu

[mitchellsbeca]

 Jo, we’re being framed.

[paradoxspaceheater]

do you ever read a take on one of your favorite characters that like. isn’t technically wrong, but is just missing so much of their nuance and characterization that it feels like they’ve been bleached and fabric-softened?

[thelittlescrimshaw]

Me: wow I’m way too attached to fictional characters

Me: *sees y’all send death threats to writers because you didn’t agree with their decisions*

Me: never mind I’m attached the healthy amount

[theperksofbeingaperk]

[notemily]

Actual faith vs performative religion.

[sockdrawerdemon]

To shave your beard is a huge sacrifice for a devout Sikh. It is a sacrifice for the greater good, that many people will scoff at without understanding the amount of love it took, to give up part of your faith to serve the greater purpose of that faith. Bless them all.

[nyxelestia]

I’m an Atheist now, but I was raised in a Hindu household and I’d probably cry if I had to cut my hair.

I’d still do it, though, because my own feelings are not more important than other people’s literal, actual lives.

Hair can grow back; a life cannot.

God(s) proscribe certain standards and conduct, which is important…but saving god(s)’ children always takes precedence. Always.

[lilsunshiny]

[thatfunnyshitrightthere]

watching brandi carlile film her english wife as she crawls under their deck to retrieve their daughter’s dropped earring is therapy

[lilsunshiny]

I care about you so much.

[bigcatawareness]

i don't really understand why you would be pro-zoo. like i understand nature reserves and sanctuaries where people can observe from afar, but it doesn't seem right to me when they're locked up in generally small confined areas for people to watch them do nothing all day. idk maybe i'm getting this wrong, and i still really respect you, i just don't understand this. like i interned at a zoo and felt uncomfortable with how small their living areas were and how they had no stimulation

Zoos don’t look like this anymore.

They look like this:

Good zoos do not keep their animals in “tiny spaces” with no enrichment.  I’m not pro-roadside zoo.  I’m pro-accredited zoo.  Zoos are incredibly important for conservation and education.

Are Zoos Necessary?

The Importance of Zoos: Resource Post

Why Zoos and Aquariums Matter: Assessing the Impact of a Visit to a Zoo or Aquarium

Why I Want to be a Keeper

Why I Believe in Zoos

[useless-zoofacts]

There should be way more pictures of modern zoos so i just add some more

[merp-a-derp69-deactivated201808]

Seriously zoos do so much important conservation work as well I hate when people shit all over zoos as if the animals are locked up and not looked after

[nyxetoile]

The SF Zoo has two sea lions. Now, if you know SF, you know that sea lions are a Thing. They’re all over Pier 39 and various other beaches in N California. In fact, the zoo is near the ocean, so there are sea lions not 200 yards from the zoo entrance. So having sea lions in the zoo seems sort of superfluous.

Except the sea lions are blind. One was found as an adult after suffering a gun shot wound to the face that destroyed his eyes. The other was found as an adolescent, weak and starving because it had been blinded and unable to hunt. So they were rescued and introduced and the zoo built them a nice pool where they can swim and sunbathe and people toss them fish. It’s not the biggest exhibit, or the fanciest. But it’s a home for them, where they’re safe and well fed. Sea lions aren’t the most romantic of animals, but they’re a part of SF culture and a lot of us have a soft spot for the loud, bulbous things. And because of zoos, these two get to live long, happy lives.

Whenever anyone complains about zoos, I think about Silent Knight and Henry. 

[zoogeek327]

I think it’s St. Louis zoo that is saving big cats in Africa. Scientists couldn’t figure out what was killing off the local lion population. They were dying off from Canine Distemper. The local unvaccinated dogs of the towns would spread the disease to other animals or have it themselves. When the lions ate the infected animals they would catch it as well. You know what that Zoo is doing to stop this disease? They are going over to those towns and vaccinating the dogs for free. The community loves it and people from other villages comes for miles to get their dogs vaccinated as well.

They also do work with camel populations because the local human population use the camels for food sources the zoos help monitor the camels health.

Another zoo, I want to say it’s the Oregon zoo but don’t quote me on that, is helping female inmates. The zoo works with the female prisons by encouraging the inmates to assist in the breeding and raising of endangered species of butterflies. They plant the specific plants that the butterflies and catapillars need, raise them, and release them. These inmates get noted in any scientific journals that get published. They are giving these inmates a sense of accomplishment and validation.

Zoos not only save species but bring together and assist communities in an effort to save the environment. Zoos, good zoos, are essential to the future and I will fight anyone who tries to say otherwise.

PS you don’t see PETA doing any of this.

[oscarwetnwilde]

One of the local zoos in my area at one point rescued a bald eagle that had been shot and kept it in the zoo to let it recuperate until they freed it again. Some of the zoos in my state will keep injured animals there until they heal again.

[elenilote]

Helsinki Zoo is the world leader in snow leopard and Amur leopard conservation, in their care these endangered species have managed to breed more than anywhere else in captivity and this in turn has enabled the re-introduction of these animals back to their native habitats. https://www.korkeasaari.fi/helsinki-zoo/

[thekgalaxy]

I work at a zoo that is instrumental in the California Condor recovery program (among dozens of other conservation projects). We went from 42 surviving individuals left to over 400, over 200 of whom are in the wild. We’re part of the amur leopard species survival plan with two young animals who are eagerly attempting to make babies. We host one of North America’s only bachelor troops of western lowland gorillas, preserving the social structure of wild gorillas. All of our bald eagles are rescues who would not survive in the wild. All our keepers participate in field research and conservation work in addition to a full time team of conservationists. We host the most genetically valuable male Masai giraffe in North America, who has sired 5 offspring with 1 on the way, increasing the genetic diversity of his entire species. If you’re against zoos, you don’t know what zoos do.

[nazrigar]

Super, SUPER important thread.

[vet-and-wild]

Also zoos tend to do a lot of breeding and conservation work with smaller, less charismatic species like invertebrates and amphibians. Those species are extremely important in the ecosystem but don’t get the same notoriety as the charismatic megafauna.

[discipleofkleio]

Also zoos are the reason that the Przewalski’s horse, one of the last if not THE last wild horse subspecies in the world went from extinct in the wild to merely endangered.

[ohnoregard]

My local zoo, Chester Zoo does so much conservation and research. They have pioneered treatment for an otherwise deadly disease in elephants (Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus). They also spearheaded the reintroduction of Black rhinos from European zoos back to Africa and are the last hope for many of the invertebrates and amphibians who have become extinct in the wild but are being successfully bred at Chester. Zoos are, unfortunately essential in the modern world.