skull.on.a.string

Writings. Ramblings. Ravings.

[noirandchocolate]

At this initial visit [in April 2008] we did some standard tests of memory and thinking processes.  The tests predicted that Terry had, as expected, an above-average IQ.  His scores on most of the tests were absolutely normal, scoring 29 out of 30 on one of the standard tests.  More detailed testing showed very minor mistakes in memory, normal judgment and attention, but some clear mistakes in perception and drawing.

The drawings from that first visit are shown in the [top figure above].  In the top drawing, Terry is trying to copy the two intersecting pentagons and to leave a four-sided diamond figure in the middle, but this is slightly incorrect.  Below, he is copy a spiral which has one loop missing, while the bottom picture is meant to be reproduced as a 3D drawing of a house–although the drawing is quite good, it is clearly not in three dimensions.  In addition, at this visit he was able to draw a clock face and put all the numbers in, but made a mistake at setting the hands to a specific time.

…

Over time, his testing did deteriorate, as can be seen from the drawings from July 2010 [in the second figure above], which contrast with his drawings from 2008.  But this time his drawing of the clock face was clearly highly abnormal and his writing was also very poor.

–Professor Roy Jones, Director of RICE (taken from “Terry Pratchett: His World”)

(I posted many illustrations drawn and painted by Pratchett earlier in my content posts from this book but I want to include another one in this post to show how starkly it contrasts with the PCA tests above, because it’s also a black and white ink drawing:

It’s an elven horseman Pratchett drew in 1971.  My photos are terrible because it is spread across two pages in the book but I think you get the idea.

We all know PTerry was a writer, and Professor Jones says repeatedly in his chapter that it took quite some time before his skill with words and expressing himself with them began to deteriorate because of the PCA.  But Pratchett was also a visual artist, and unfortunately that skill was one of the first things he started losing.)

[skull-on-a-string]

Saw the first two drawings at an exhibition a few years ago. I never realised how badly his mind had been affected and it broke my heart. Truly awful for anyone, but especially someone with such a great mind. RIP Sir Terry. 

[claysalive]

At the end of Guards! Guards!, Vetinari tells Vimes that the world is full of banal badness.

“Sin, you might say, without a trace of originality. They accept evil not because they say yes, but because they don’t say no.”

In Feet of Clay, Vimes says no. Small no’s that build to bigger no’s. He says no to the alcohol in his desk. He says no to arresting Mildred Easy at the funeral on Cockbill Street. He says no to the temptation to kill Dragon King of Arms. He says no to Vetinari’s face about destroying Dorfl.

“However,” he said, “in order to keep the peace, the golem will have to be destroyed.”

“No, sir.”

“Allow me to repeat my instruction.”

“No, sir.”

“I’m sure I just gave you an order, Commander. I distinctly felt my lips move.”

“No, sir. He’s alive, sir.”

Three times the Patrician repeats his order, and three times Vimes says as bluntly and honestly as he can: “No, sir.” They’re small, but they matter, and there is a little less evil in the world than there would have been otherwise. It’s about saying no when it is easier to say yes, or worse, and easier still, to say nothing at all.

Which, and the end of scene, leaves us here.

“The thought occurs, sir, that if Commander Vimes did not exist you would have had to invent him.”

“You know, Drumknott, I rather think I did.”

[one-time-i-dreamt]

Sometimes I have nightmares about a deer with human eyes and teeth. I don’t know what it means. It doesn’t ever do anything, never tries to hurt me, and I can’t look at it directly because it always stands behind me and moves away if I try to turn and take a glance.

[skull-on-a-string]

The storm had brought them as you sheltered in the trees. Tall distant figures, almost human if they were not grossly, mockingly distorted, too-long arms and crooked, arching backs. Across the blasted tundra they keen in high, wavering voices, so beautiful. Sometimes they howl; sometimes they say your name. Beautiful. So, so beautiful.

[glumshoe]

hrrgnh muad’dib im trying to sneak around but im dummy thicc and the clap from my feces-filled thigh pads keeps alerting the harkonnens

[glumshoe]

this post will really take off in late December 2020 

[skull-on-a-string]

Literally just started reading Dune Messiah and this is the first post I see. Huh.

[ice-block]

You might have a crush on them if

You try to call them every day

You’re rehearsing what to say

You’ve been working on a unified theory

You are the right one on your touch tone telephone

You are the only one on their AM radio

[skull-on-a-string]

The truth seems to have come out

[ourravenboys]

every time rick does something i get more pissed off bc i know most people will continue to support him and like not acknowledge his flaws….they’re like “he’s better than jk r*wling” OKAY BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN GOOD!!! IF YOU THINK RICK IS “THE BEST AUTHOR OUT THERE” AND “THE MOST DIVERSE” I AM BEGGING YOU TO DO SOME RESEARCH ABOUT THE THINGS HE’S SAID AND DONE. YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE TO DISLIKE HIM, JUST BE ABLE TO SEE THE FLAWS IN HIS BOOKS.

[skull-on-a-string]

It’s far more nuanced to like something whilst still seeing the flaws in it and holding both the material and the creator accountable.

[jesiluv]

I've said it before and I'll say it again

Stan Rick Riordan

Stan wlw authors

Support diverse voices

[skull-on-a-string]

There are many problems with Rick and his work but we should remember and respect that he is using his not-insignificant platform for good by boosting own voice works.

[skull-on-a-string]

Nico finding out that not only do we have weapons that destroy entire cities, but that there are literally thousands of these deathballs, and that the second half of the 1900s was America and Russia arguing over who could destroy earth with said deathballs the most.

[skull-on-a-string]

Anger

Anger is rich and potent, powerful enough to sustain you for days yet always threatening to choke you in its endless churning. Some say that Anger is red, and this is true, for Anger burns as the fiercest fire. Yet Anger is also the deepest black, for in its depths the world itself can drown

[skull-on-a-string]

Dark columns of smoke rise from the factory; only scrubland for miles around. There is nothing good beneath those black clouds; do not linger in their shadow.

[glumshoe]

Straight people will meet a single very accommodating gay person with no boundaries and will latch onto them as their metric for what is acceptable forever.

[glumshoe]

“Oh, well, [name] didn’t mind when I told strangers he was gay. I don’t see why you have to get so uptight about it.”

Yes well [name] sleeps almost exclusively with repressed homophobic Trump supporters because he has chronic Bad Decisions Syndrome and no sense of self-preservation. He is not the LGBTQ Diplomat or representative.

[gaymenaredivineincarnate]

Literally,

How the fuck do you go from a gay guy being okay with his friends telling strangers he’s gay to that?

Really?

[skodasforge]

Tumblrites will see one conservagay and will latch on to that as their metric for what gay men are like forever

[project-helix]

the appropriate comparative format was “yes well [name] lives alone or with accommodating family and decided it wasn’t a risk to him for you to do that” but yeah gotta fuckin turn this relatively relatable fact about the ignorance of straight people into a Good Gays Bad Gays diatribe.

[glumshoe]

Most of my coworkers know one other gay person–a previous employee who no longer works with us. Each time questions like “should we have Chick-fil-A cater our meeting or should we find a less homophobic company to purchase food from?” come up, they say things like, “Well, I think it’s fine to support Chick-fil-A, because [former employee] is gay and he eats there all the time.” My input is ignored because they have already picked a different, easier gay person to base all their opinions on.

When I told one coworker that I did not appreciate how he had immediately outed me to the entire workplace behind my back and almost certainly gossiped about my sexuality and gender with customers, he insisted that I was overreacting and unreasonable because “Well other LGBTQ people don’t mind when I out them! [Former employee] was fine with it!”

The former employee in question is someone who sleeps with Trump supporters because he finds danger and intrigue exciting and takes pride in being friends with anyone and everyone, including white supremacists. My coworkers choose to use him as the beginning and end of their LGBTQ input because he is apolitical and asks nothing from them.

I don’t know how the HELL you got “OP hates gay men and thinks sex is immoral” out of this. Someone with no boundaries or expectations of good behavior from other people should not be held as the standard to which all other gay people should be held or dismissed as demanding and unreasonable.

I don’t care what the former employee does. I only hope he stays safe. My problem is that his own self-endangering apathy towards homophobia is embraced by straight people as more acceptable and reasonable than my desire for respect. 

[gaymenaredivineincarnate]

Save us the paragraphs because you’ve missed the point:

The gay guy’s sex life is fucking irrelevant. It has nothing to do with your coworker’s homophobia.

Putting the onus of your coworker’s lack of respect for your boundaries on this random gay guy is fucking stupid.

He didn’t force your co-worker to out you.

Because in your head, he’s not living a good life, you’re going to blame the homophobia of straight people on him?

So what was the point of bringing up his sex life and going on about him not being an up standing citizen have to do with the fact that your coworkers are homophobic?

Like what? If that one gay guy lived a better life your coworkers would be magically not homophobic?

[glumshoe]

Are you being willfully obtuse, or did you really miss the entire point of my post that badly?

This post is criticizing straight people. It is not criticizing gay people. This post is criticizing the tendency of straight people to look for gay perspectives that support their own preexisting attitudes and don’t require them to change their behaviors in any way. Straight people will tokenize these permissive personalities and treat them like the only reasonable voices out there worth listening to. This is exploitative, nothing more than a way to shirk responsibility for homophobia by saying, “Well, it’s not bad, because this person doesn’t object to it!”

That’s on the straight person. That’s the person I’m angry with. They’ll be homophobic with or without a person to hold up as an “excuse”. 

I do not care who the former employee sleeps with. He is free to make those decisions for himself. Do I think that being friendly with homophobes and white supremacists is a shitty thing to do? Do I think that fucking someone who publicly claims to want you dead is a bad decision? Yeah, sure, on both counts. Sue me, but I think “people who are likely to murder you in a hate crime under the guise of a hookup” are bad choices in sex partners. You’re still not going to catch me interfering with this guy’s sex life. Don’t expect me to be his wingman, but if he wants to fuck neo-nazis, that’s his prerogative. Maybe this is a hot take, but do happen I think it might be better if he slept with people who aren’t likely to murder him. 

Maybe you’ll understand what I’m saying if I use an analogy. Let’s say I drive a Honda. Let’s say my neighbor also drives a Honda, but he happens to be a stunt driver, street racer, and demolition derby driver. His hobbies are obviously dangerous, but they seem to make him happy. That’s his business. Now, if I took my car to a mechanic, and the mechanic decided not to fix the seatbelts in my car and called me paranoid and unreasonable for wanting them functional because, after all, my neighbor is ALSO a Honda driver and HE never uses a seatbelt, that would be absurd, right? There may be many Honda drivers who don’t use a seatbelt, but if you are judging the safety expectations of all Honda drivers on the guy who drives his car off buildings for fun and profit while doing stunt work, you are latching on to an extreme outlier that is nowhere near representative of the average experience.

I really have no idea why you think I’m blaming the former employee on my coworkers’ homophobia. They are using him as a scapegoat for their own bad behaviors. I don’t like that. I think homophobia is bad. I think picking extreme outliers to speak for the whole is also bad. I think sleeping with Neo-Nazis is a bad idea and I am worried for that guy’s safety but I’m not in any fucking way claiming that he is responsible for people being homophobic. Get a grip.

[gaymenaredivineincarnate]

“I’m going to spend whole paragraphs talking in detail about this random gay guy’s sex life and then pretend its actually about calling out my random cowworker’s homophobia”

[glumshoe]

Hey shit-for-brains, the Department of Occupational Safety called… they wanted to know if they could use your tremendously thick and impenetrable skull as a prototype for a new kind of hardhat. 

They’re hopeful it will be useful blocking radiation from penetrating the wearer’s head, since apparently nothing else gets through it.

[skull-on-a-string]

As a bi guy, this is exactly right. Why is criticizing the fact that people impose one person's boundaries on another completely different person so controversial?

[skull-on-a-string]

For I have stood amidst the ruins of our world. I saw the shattered moons and the broken sky. I knelt before the monolith which stands, alone, against the black horizon; and I heard the silence of a hundred billion screams. Always there flickered the dim light of that crippled star. I shall not return.

[unspokengrief]

I am a servant for my mothers unhappiness. I can make myself smaller, mother, I can become quieter. I am a wound that you can’t stop picking. I take scraps from dinner as little parts of love. I know that I am not easy to love. I know I wear my sadness so visibly that you’ve become ashamed of me. Make me small, crush me up in the palms of your hands. Destroy me for breakfast and devour me for lunch, leave nothing left of me, not even for the birds. Eat me. Eat me up. It’s too late to apologise now, sorry means nothing when you’re choking on my leftovers.

— Hannah Green, from “Are you still hungry, Mother?”

[skull-on-a-string]

I am sick and tired of my organs slacking off and using gravity to do their work for them.

Swallowing? Gravity.

Digestion? Gravity.

Circulation? Yep, gravity.

From now on I’m going to hang upside down and make my organs pull their weight.

[skull-on-a-string]

You look into a mirror, seeing only yourself, alone. But yet from behind your cold reflected eyes you are being watched, a piercing gaze that strips away your frail skin and weak flesh until it can see your soft, simple mind and the chill worm of fear that coils within. You are not alone in the glass.

[skull-on-a-string]

Anxiety

Anxiety is a worm, small and twisting in your gut, writhing and trembling. It feeds on your thoughts, growing fat and strong, until it is big enough to swallow you whole.