Art and Stuff

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[pearlescent--skies]

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Some examples of what’s available:

[todays-xkcd]

As a side effect of the research, mice are now the only known animals other than humans to have developed a Backrooms mythology.

Maze [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

[A lab scene showing a large table on which is a maze, with walls about 3" (8 cm) high and open on the top so you can see the maze. Cueball, wearing a lab coat, is standing next to the table, looking at a small mouse that he is holding high in his right hand. Next to him is Megan, also in a lab coat, holding her left hand in the air and standing behind a podium as if speaking to an audience.]

[Caption below comic:] Research breakthrough: After over a century of trials, scientists have finally found a mouse that can solve the maze.

[cumaeansibyl]

Any story which refers to Haiti as an impoverished nation, which is all of them, should also mention that when Haitians won their independence from France, French gunships showed up and demanded they pay something like 22 billion dollars in today's money to compensate France for the stolen land and enslaved people they could no longer exploit

It took Haiti over a hundred years to pay that ransom and it's difficult to explain just how badly that fucked up their entire development, especially since France also demanded a 50% discount on everything they bought from Haiti just to make it harder. Like! No wonder they're impoverished!

Anyway if France would like to assist Haiti in its current difficulties they could always pay back the fucking money they extorted

[lost-lycaon]

Scrub hare, De Hoop Nature Reserve

[homunculus-argument]

God will see you at the lowest point of your life, and say "what the fuck I thought I killed that thing." But you skitter too fast and you are too creepy.

[wizard-council-bureaucrat]

that’s why you should bite god and give god a nasty rash

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

OP: Are you familiar with China’s silk fabrics?

Cnetizens: I know there are ling, luo, chou, duan.

OP: It's actually eight major categories, ling, luo, chou, duan, jin, xiao, sha and juan, and countless variations exist under them in history. (绫ling，罗luo，绸chou，缎duan，锦jin，绡xiao，纱sha, 绢juan) (cr珑师傅)

绫(Líng): It adopts twill or modified twill weave. The fabric bears clear mountain-shaped diagonal lines, featuring light, soft texture and subtle luster. It was the designated fabric for officials’ daily uniforms in the Tang Dynasty. The varieties of Ling appearing in Tang dynasty — Pattern Square Ling, Fish-Mouth Ling, White Braided Ling, Water Wave Ling and Checkerboard Ling(方纹绫、鱼口绫、白编绫、水波绫、方棋绫) — were all recorded as imperial tributes in the Tang Dynasty.. After the Song Dynasty, it was mainly used for mounting calligraphy and paintings.

罗(Luó) adopts a unique twisted warp weave. Intertwined warp threads create star-shaped holes, making it highly breathable, known as "the natural air conditioner of silks". Four-warp twisted luó demands 30 procedures. Weavers can only produce a few centimeters a day. Suzhou patterned luó is an intangible cultural heritage craft.

The fabric worn by ladies in Beauties with Flower Hairpins is luó. It is the top sheer silk fabric with outstanding transparency, yet extremely costly. Handwoven four-warp luó is priced above 10,000 RMB per meter, harder to get than an Hermès bag. What makes it expensive? Thirty elaborate steps. Threads are twisted manually, with only 5cm woven each day. It was royal exclusive. In the Zhou Dynasty, only emperors could wear it. Noble ladies in Tang and Song loved luó, including Yang Guifei. Covered with star-like holes, it is breathable yet not see-through, keeping you cool in summer.

绸(Chóu): Simple interlacing, tightly woven like a fine sieve. A major category of silk, using plain or modified plain weave, referring to silks without the special structure of luó, líng or duàn. Medium weight, tight, smooth surface with soft luster, prone to creasing. Thin chóu for blouses and skirts. Thick chóu for coats and trousers, widely used as embroidery base fabric and decorative material.

缎(Duàn): Long silk threads rest on the surface, creating a mirror-like glossy sheen. It adopts satin weave. One set of threads stretches across the surface with long floats, covering evenly distributed interlacing points.

锦 (jǐn)/Brocade is the most sophisticated silk textile. Its weaving consumes massive time and raw materials, resulting in exorbitant costs. Constructed with multi-layer warp and weft threads, it forms patterns with colored silk yarns through figured weaving techniques. It boasts raised three-dimensional motifs and a dense, heavy texture, making it the most technically challenging type of silk. It feels substantial and stiff, featuring dazzling, luxurious luster, intricate elaborate patterns, strong wear resistance and great shape retention. Laws in the early Ming Dynasty strictly restricted commoners from wearing high-grade brocade, which was mainly supplied to the imperial court and officials. By the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, the booming commodity economy fostered extravagant customs in the Jiangnan region(generally refers to the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in eastern China). Violations of dress codes became widespread. Numerous wealthy landowners, merchants and affluent commoners ignored the regulations and wore brocade, figured flower brocade and gold-thread brocade. In short, it was prohibited by law, yet wealthy civilians could acquire and wear such fabrics in practice.

绡 (xiāo) took shape in the Shang and Zhou dynasties and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Extremely thin like cicada wings, it became the iconic fabric for overgarments worn by noble women in Tang China. It adopts plain weave or modified plain weave, featuring low warp and weft density, few interlacing points and neat, clear mesh openings. Xiao is usually woven from raw silk, granting the fabric inherent stiffness and structure. Lightweight and translucent, it holds its shape well without sagging, with open, breathable pores. In ancient times, it was used for outer cover gowns. Today, it is made into wedding veils and sun protection blouses.

纱 (Shā) is matured in the Han Dynasty and remained popular from the Tang and Song dynasties through the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was widely used for summer court robes, official garments and noblewomen’s attire. Generally woven in plain weave with sparse warp and weft threads, the fabric features evenly distributed tiny openings. It represents the lightweight, thin and sheer category of silk. Extremely light and breathable, it feels soft and flowing with natural drape. In ancient times, it was used for veils and outer overgarments; today it is crafted into lightweight dresses and veils. They may look alike, yet Shā is soft and supple with little rigidity. By contrast, Xiāo is woven from raw silk, firm and shape-retaining, and does not sag easily.

绢(Juàn) is one of China’s oldest silk fabrics and a vital carrier of cultural heritage. It served as the base material for many famous ancient paintings handed down through generations. Woven in plain weave, it features warp and weft threads of similar thickness arranged in neat, uniform intersections. The fabric boasts high density and a solid, stable structure. Varieties include plain juàn, dyed juàn, and juàn specially made for painting and calligraphy. It has a fine, smooth, firm texture and great durability. Soft against the skin, it balances suppleness and structural rigidity. Its applications cover painting and calligraphy, cultural relic restoration, and minimalist luxury apparel.

There is another fabric category not covered in this video.

绉 (zhòu) (ancient name 縠hú) first appeared before the Qin Dynasty and matured in the Han Dynasty. In ancient times it was called hú. It is the earliest silk fabric made with highly twisted yarns. Mostly woven on a plain weave base. Yarns are tightly twisted in alternating directions. After degumming, the threads shrink and twist, forming natural fine ripples across the fabric. It features inherent subtle crinkles and soft matte luster. Elastic and breathable, it does not cling easily to skin. In ancient times, it was used for summer overgarments and scarves. Today it is made into blouses, dresses and silk shawls.

[bot]

[strictlyquadrilateral]

anyway. once more. if you are hungry all the time no matter how much you eat, that is indicative of a medical problem and you need to tell a doctor and do whatever you need to get tested for celiac. probably also other things, there are other possible causes, celiac is just the one i'm intimately familiar with. but it's not a personal failing. you deserve to know what's happening in your body. you deserve to feel full.

[narcicious]

There is a clinical term for this as well: hyperphagia (also called polyphagia) is the condition of "extreme, insatiable hunger" and is most commonly associated with undiagnosed or untreated diabetes. It is also sometimes associated with hyperthyroidism and other hormonal conditions like premenstrual syndrome (PMS), some mental health conditions (including stress and "atypical depression"), and several others rare conditions like Kleine-Levin syndrome.[1][2][3]

So yeah, if you are experiencing something like this, is is a common symptom of a fair number of serious conditions, many of which are treatable and more easily treatable the sooner they're detected.

There are also plenty of other conditions, medications, and environmental factors that can affect your appetite (stimulating or suppressing), even if it doesn't feel "extreme or insatiable". I have a condition exacerbated by some of my medications that means I'm nauseous fairly often, and while addressing/alleviating the root problem is ongoing, I have a prescribed medication that helps relieve nausea that is relatively safe for routine use (with some side effects).[4]

All of which is to say, in OP's words "It's not a personal failing. You deserve to know what's happening in your body. You deserve to feel full."

[1] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/24637-polyphagia-hyperphagia

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphagia

[3] https://hpo.jax.org/browse/term/HP:0002591

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondansetron

[thenixkat]

In a setting where unicorns are like sapient people and integrated into society I imagine there's social pressures for unicorns to go into jobs like water treatment and food health and safety.

...

And/or depending on how unicorn horns work in the setting [actual horn? like an antler? big ass fucking tooth?] individual unicorns might be able to make money selling bits of horn for the purposes of water purification and food safety.

If the horn is like actual horn with a keratin sheath that grows then bits can be shaved off from the end. Possibly providing a steady source of supplemental income.

If the horn works like antler the unicorn could be seeing an annual large lump sum of funds when it drops and then have a brief period of hornlessness until it starts growing again.

Big fucking tooth like a land narwhal? ...well, that kind of unicorn likely isnt selling off bits of a very sensitive tooth. If it works like an actual tooth.

...

I do invite folks to picture the mental image of a unicorn clip clopping into a restaurant, wearing a full body hairnet-suit to inspect the kitchen and fridge of the place after complaints of food poisoning. Using a pen held and manipulated by the lips to make notes on a notepad strapped to their knee on how many times they feel the magic in their horn activate as they sweep over the food containers in the restaurant's fridge.

--

[do not add undescribed images to my post]

[natequarter]

not only are most people completely unaware of the devastation of indigenous languages in the americas, most people are completely unaware of the devastation of indigenous languages in europe. never mind occitan, they don't know about basque! it's wild! bleak! existentially horrifying!!!

[natequarter]

the last few centuries of french history involved, amongst other things, a concerted effort to establish "french" as a legitimate country and cultural identity, and crucially as a language, which sounds like an absurd statement if you know nothing about the languages of france. french is a language, yes; it exists and existed in the late eighteenth century. but it was limited primarily to the north of france and was certainly not spoken or even understood across the country. other languages within france were banned and french was enforced following the french revolution and even to this day other languages indigenous to france have very little legal protection and are not recognised as official languages.

that's just one country in europe. one. and many people straight up have no idea about any of this!

[natequarter]

did you know france has celtic languages? breton is the only celtic language spoken outside of the british isles. did you know france has germanic languages? alsatian, for example, is spoken in the east of france, unsurprisingly in alsace. it's not even the only french germanic language. did you know france has a number of languages and dialects known as langues d'oïl closely related to french? norman and picard, for example, are spoken in the north of france. did you know that france has gallo-romance languages? franco-provençal (which has a number of dialects) is spoken in the east of france, as well as parts of switzerland and italy. did you know that france has a language most closely related to catalan, the langues d'oc? occitan is spoken in the south of france and has a rich literary history. did you know france is home to basque, or rather euskara, a language isolate which predates indo-european languages? romani dialects! corsican! so much more than just french! there are even extinct jewish dialects of occitan! extinct langues d'oïl like angevin! so much linguistic diversity and all anyone talks about is french.

[prismatic-bell]

If you want to go on a similar trip sometime, look up pre-Columbian French food. The diversity was incredible.

[fluffysheeple]

christian bad driver: my guardian angel watches over me, I don't need to look before I merge

atheist bad driver: I will rely on my own skill to see myself safely home after a mere 8 drinks

agnostic bad driver: no one knows where all these dents and scratches came from

[truelovevip-deactivated20190324]

being as i am an idiot, and having been one my whole life, i just wanna say that i find it very easy to do nothing, and go nowhere. i eat chocolate late at night in the dark. i stand in the garden also. and i’m often waiting for something to happen. and i’m stupid.

[bells-lettres]

local matchmaker losing it over yet another unrealistic demand from the clientele 🤣🤣

Translation by me. :))

[barkingbarghest]

[ID: Video of a person speaking to camera:

After working as a matchmaker for so long, I've started to doubt science a bit. Because you never know what kind of outrageous demands your next client will make. Yesterday, a 32-year old female boss who owns her company contacted me. Elementary school graduate, earns 6 million RMB annually, owns a house and a car, and with an attractive appearance. She said, Teacher Hei, I have no financial requirements regarding the man's financial situation; an annual salary of over 100,000 RMB is sufficient. I can buy the house and car, but I have three hard conditions; they must all be met. I said, as long as it's not illegal or against the law, I'll try my best to help you meet them. She said, firstly, the man must be born on the second day of the second lunar month, on the day the Dragon Raises its Head. Even a day off is unacceptable. I said fine. Second, the man's name must contain the character for rain or water. I said fine. Third, and most importantly, he must be able to summon rain. I said, what? She said, he must be able to summon rain, the kind of ability that can make rain fall from the heavens. I said, do you mean you want me to help you find a Dragon King? She said, "Are you crazy? I'm seriously looking for a partner." To be honest, after she yelled at me like that, I couldn't tell for a moment who was the lunatic. She said, her grandma said she was lacking the element of water in her life, so she must find a man who can call the wind and rain, or else she will not live well in this lifetime. I said, Lady, is there a possibility that rain isn't something you can simply pray for? It is part of a hydrologic system that will only happen when the cycle is complete. She said, I've been to school, so of course I know. I'm not looking for someone who can 100% call the wind and rain. That would be too difficult. I said, so what do you mean? She said, I only require that the likelihood of rain be higher whenever I'm with him. I said, isn't that still asking for rain? She said, I already said it's not about controlling the weather absolutely. It's a kind of metaphysics, a feeling, a probability. Are you unable to find a candidate that meets my requirements, which is why you're going around in circles with me? I said, Lady, is this still only a matter of whether I can meet your requirements or not? I need to confirm whether you're looking for a human being or a deity? She said, I'm looking for a human being. I said, "Then tell me, besides the director of the Bureau of Meteorology, who else can fit your requirements?" She said Jam Hsiao (Taiwanese singer nicknamed 'the Rain God'). I said, "Damn it! Don't I know he's the Rain God? If I could recruit Jam Hsiao to be my male client, would I still be beating around the bush with you? I'm a matchmaker. My male clients still need to eat at lunchtime when they are hungry, work overtime in the evening, and drink soda when they are thirsty. They're ordinary people, not gods or dragon kings, and certainly not people who can summon wind and rain. "Even if there is a Dragon King, none of his nine sons meet your requirements, because their names don't contain the character for water!!"

End ID.]

[oddarette]

Yep, I made a frutiger aero soft soap alien… 💧🐠🤍🫧🧼

[celaquinn-ichard]

The cleanomorph

[tam--lin]

(7/30/26) The Red Cross just declared the second US blood crisis in its history.

Summer sees both a drop off in donations and, at least for our trauma center, a spike in traumas. Trauma centers across the US are in danger of running out of blood for our trauma patients TODAY, which is very scary but, unlike much of the other scary national news coming across our screens these days, is something you can help fix immediately and directly.

We need ASAP donations of blood, for people to spread the word, and for manager types to help facilitate others' donations. All blood types are needed, but universal donor blood (type O) is especially dire.

[prideprejudce]

so today a public health official guy came into my class to give a lecture on disaster awareness and he was talking about house fires and mentioned that the reason people most likely die during a house fire is because they refuse to leave their pet inside or they go back to get their pet. and right when he said this my friend immediately turned his head and looked at me and in that moment I had the most complete and genuine acceptance take over my body. I would 100% in front of my family and Jesus himself walk straight back into some raging inferno that was once my house to go get my fat cat. I nodded back

[prideprejudce]

the best part of this post is reading all the tags from animal people who would also go back to save their pets. like no hesitation. walk backwards from heaven straight back into hell. someone even said they would go back for their fish. amazing

[sterna-hirundo]

If you are a person who would walk into a blazing inferno for your animal, and your pet has free movement around the house, here’s a training exercise that could help save you both:

1) Set off your smoke alarm or play the sound on your phone (if your home has no smoke alarms, pease get some!)

2) stand BY THE FRONT DOOR to hand out treats

Do this a couple times and then keep it up NO EXCEPTIONS. Accidentally set the alarm off cooking? Treats by the door. Smoke alarm sound on TV? Treats by the door. Changing your smoke alarm batteries twice a year like you’re supposed to? Give them a test run and your pets get treats by the door.

Most dogs and cats will clue in VERY quickly that hearing that specific sound means go to the front door and wait for treats.

If there’s an emergency and even if you leave by another way, you will still know the most likely place your pet(s) is and can direct first responders to help.

You can also do this for any other kind of emergency alarm. My friend had both her cats trained to go to the front door for a tsunami siren.

[go-learn-esperanto]

Hey. If people aren't aware, Microsoft admitted they know who you and where you are at all times and will give your info to the police.

They have a Global Device Identifier (GDID) Tracker that functions as a fingerprint for your PC that can surpass VPNs, proxy servers and countries. Although it can't survive a clean reinstall of Windows (it can survive updates), because Microsoft forces you to go to the internet and log in into a Microsoft account, they will be able to get to you.

Microsoft kept it secret and it was only found out when the FBI tracked a hacker thanks to the information Microsoft gave them.

You should be paying attention to this, and possibly consider moving away from Windows. If a government, especially the US government, doesn't like you for some reason, this could be seriously concerning.

This article specifically notes:

For journalism, activism, or domestic abuse situations, skip Windows and use Linux routed through Tor instead of a commercial VPN. A GDID doesn’t care which VPN you use, only that it’s still the same Windows installation.

Microsoft admits Windows 11 has a GDID tracker with no off switch, first documented publicly in an FBI hacker complaint

GDID is the persistent Windows ID that helped FBI trace a Scattered Spider hacker despite VPNs. Here's how it works and how to limit it.

Other important quotes:

What has researchers uneasy is everything else the case reveals. Costin Raiu, a well-known malware researcher, asked on the Three Buddy Problem podcast how much of this exists on other platforms, and whether it is linked more permanently to hardware. Matthew Hickey, another security researcher, called Windows “surveillance software”.

Two things back that up:

There’s no consent screen. A GDID gets assigned when you sign into a Microsoft Account. Apple’s advertising identifier needs an App Tracking Transparency prompt and a visible reset; Android’s works the same way. GDID has neither, and a Windows reinstall only gets you a new number Microsoft can still get back to the same account.

Then there’s activation. Massgrave, the group behind Microsoft Activation Scripts, notes that Windows setup sends hardware info to Microsoft and gets identifiers back, the same tokens later used for Store access and licensing: “It’s impossible to prevent Windows from getting a GDID without breaking activation and UWP app[s].” Anyone who lost a license after swapping a motherboard has already met a smaller version of this.

Here's the complaint filed to the court, the primary source for the case mentioned in the article. You can find mentions of GDID on page 30 of the document or 34 of the PDF.

Thank you @just-call-me-zinnia for finding it!

[saturniandragon]

Tumblr people!! I've figured out a way to delete GDID from your computer!

GDID Removal and Blocking Guide - SaturnianDragon.docx

Removing and Blocking Global Device Identifier (GDID) – A Guide for Better Privacy in Microsoft Windows 10/11 Written by saturniandragon@tum

I also made a PDF version!!

Please do me a favor, reblog for reach!! This went through several days of research and testing!! THANKS

[ryanthedemiguy]

You can get and use windows 11 without logging in with a microsoft account, as of five days ago. I am a local user on my computer. Don't ask me how to do it, because my computer repair guy did it when he reinstalled windows, but there are tutorials out there. Refuse to connect to internet until you're set up and can use the computer freely.