trying to get away @snowflaked23 - Tumblr Blog

Frosty (1995-2019), a serval with white feet that resided at Big Cat Rescue

One of my favorite tricks for designing alien species/cultures is to take a real animal with an interesting lifecycle and think about what that biology would translate to if they had human intelligence

xenosaurus

Example: silk moths as a base species

Because the moths themselves don’t eat and only live long enough to mate and then starve to death, the entire culture is made up of children and adolescents. The older children raise the younger ones, with families being made up of hatchmates from different years.

Because molts and eventual transformation into a short lived adult happen on a set schedule, families have a cycle— when your oldest set of siblings cocoon to become adults, you wait at the mating grounds and try to adopt their newborns after they pass. If that fails, you take any ‘orphans’ you can find.

Because death and birth are nearly simultaneous, they have a religion based around reincarnation, and infants with markings similar to a parent are often given their name. Claiming the offspring of a beloved family member is vitally important, because you want to be able to protect their soul and keep them close.

Because it’s hard to track the offspring of your male family members, there are sometimes major fights when a family sees an infant with familiar markings in another family’s clutch.

Between mating seasons, their culture is extremely food-oriented, because everyone is growing and silkworms eat nigh constantly. They spend most of their lives outdoors but sleep and shelter from bad weather in large family dwellings made from wood and the remains of the silk cocoons of prior generations.

xenosaurus

everyone is really vibing with the silkworm aliens I see

luciferlaughs

Scientists have discovered how to make glow-in-the-dark cats by inserting the jellyfish genes that create fluorescent proteins into feline eggs.

wordswithkittywitch

I needed to check that this was real, and apparently, it is. What’s more, the end goal in these experiments was to fight feline AIDS, creating glow-in-the-dark cats was a side effect. That might be the greatest sentence I write this year.

supersciencegeek

Ok, so the short version is that scientists want to insert a Useful Gene. But they have no way of knowing if the Useful Gene actually got incorporated into the cat’s (or other animal’s) DNA. So they glue the Glow Gene to the Useful Gene. If the animal glows, both genes got inserted successfully.

the-floral-skeleton

Yes! Pretty much every glow in the dark science animal is that way because of the above! A lot of people don’t get that, and think scientists are just screwing around and doing slightly irresponsible things with animal DNA just cuz they can. That’s not the case at all

funnytwittertweets

valtsv

furu-aka-saber

Drawing bulls is kinda fun ngl

kaity--did

Do you know how hard it is to live with a cat that has the intelligence level of literally like a 3 year old but the pure chaos of a high ranking demon?

He’s learned to open the lazy Susan and won’t stop clawing open the flour and rolling in it like a little chinchilla

kaity--did

Criminal charges

kaity--did

Hey hey hey HEY

He’s been CRAWLING INTO THE BOTTOM CABINETS to TEAR OPEN THE INSTANT POTATOES and EAT BAGS AND BAGS OF THEM I’m livid but also impressed.

pigcatapult

Do you have anything with that kind of texture that he can safely play with? This sounds like an understimulation issue.

kaity--did

He’s not playing with it

He’s eating it.

I can tell because the bags are nearly empty except for a few small clumps.

I knew he loves mashed potatoes. I just didn’t know the extent he’d go to to get them.

kaity--did

We had him tested and in the course of that vet visit he stole

6 tips

3 of the ear light cover things

Our other cats collar

the ear bud of the vets stethoscope

several hearts

a plastic glove

the vet techs hair tie

Also yeah he’s fine he just likes to steal

synebluetoo

Not guilty by reason of deficiency of other people’s stuff

kaity--did

This is his ledge

His ledge is taller then my husband who is 6’2”

I am 5’5”

I have to get the step ladder out once a week and see what Orange Sherbert has taken to his ledge for safe keeping. It’s usually the remote.

cryoverkiltmilk

Narratively speaking, ending this saga with the reveal that his name is Orange Sherbert was a masterstroke.

buttpoems

a drawing about optimism

lbm11-archive

I don’t know why but that last line made me laugh really hard

shesaysisweartoomuch

this is one of my favourite comic strips of all time

loloftheday

Energy company has got some sass

bransrath

Duke Energy Fined $102 million for Polluting Rivers with Coal Ash

hawkeabelas

This is the best summary of the corporate deflection of blame for environmental destruction onto the consumer to save face I’ve ever seen

transmasckurapika

A terf posted this calling it "gaslighting" and "terrible" but I thought it was sweet so I'm reposting it from them.

jabberwockypie

People really do just throw around “gaslighting” to mean “making me consider how my actions impact other people” and “telling me things I don’t like hearing” and “calling me on behavior that harms other people”, huh?

spoopy-story

No hatred allowed "This is gaslighting!"

val-thomas

was researching anatomy for purposes and i am inexplicably angered by this discovery. what the fuck.

bunjywunjy

PS IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE THIS YOURSELF BEFORE YOU BELIEVE IT: stand up straight and let your Left arm drop naturally straight down next to your body, with your palm facing forward and your thumb pointed out.

next, take your right hand and grip your left forearm three or four inches below your elbow, and squeeze just until you can feel the bones of your forearm.

now, maintaining your grip, twist your left arm so that your palm is now facing back behind you and your thumb is facing inwards, without moving your wrist.

you’ll feel your bones rearrange! the process is so smooth that you literally never notice it unless you know to look for it.

mugwomps

#cool

thenightgaunt

Fuck this one hits home.

demolitionmuses

[start ID: A series of tweets from verified Twitter user The_Weed.

First tweet: A message I want to share with adults who work with #ADHD kids is: pushing them the way that you push neurotypical kids harms them for life. Here’s what I mean. When I start working clinically with an adult who has ADHD, one of the first things we do /1

Second tweet: is we start to map out their trauma history. And I don’t mean non-adjacent childhood traumas (which are also relevant, but we get to those later) I mean their #ADHD-specific, childhood-based traumas that result from having ADHD while growing up in an ableist society. /2

Third tweet: As you can imagine, this is really sad stuff. Bright kids who were called lazy because they literally *could not* complete tasks the way teachers/parents wanted; hyperactive kids longingly watching their peers run and jump at recess while they sat staring at a math worksheet; /3

Fourth tweet: Worse stuff too— kids *abused* for not finishing chores or not getting A’s or forgetting— all while their brain will *literally* not let them— which creates this horrific feedback loop: fear causes more forgetting, which brings harsher punishment, causing more fear, and on and on /4

Fifth tweet: But the most pernicious phrase that tends to wreck kids, and then seems to ruin things past childhood, past college (if that happens) and into their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and beyond, is: “you have SO much potential!” This phrase can be deadly for #ADHD kids and we need to stop. /5

Sixth tweet: Here’s why. When the phrase “you have so much potential” is shared with a neurotypical kid, it is a message of hope. It’s an adult seeing a child who has the capacity to do great things if they follow certain steps and make certain choices. It’s nurturing. It’s lovely! /6

Seventh tweet: But when the phrase “you have so much potential!” is used with a kid with #ADHD, whether intended or not, it is most often an ablist, micro-aggressive dig at their disability that tells the child that they should be striving for things that are actually impossible. /7

Eighth tweet: And then when the kid with #ADHD tries with ALL THEIR MIGHT to bridge the gap (examples below) to please the adult— to “meet their potential” in other words— they fail. Predictably. Naturally. And tragically. And the adult is disappointed in them. /8

Ninth tweet: And the problem is, it doesn’t stop there. Because at that point, often the adult is invested, and the adult’s ego is also on the line. So they say “okay, try again! Don’t give up! You can do it!” And the kid tries harder. And fails again. And again. And again. /9

Tenth tweet: And THEN the adult starts providing lots of ideas that help neurotypical folks saying “you can meet your potential if you just use these tools!” (Alarms, planners, apps, schedules, reminders, whatever.) And the kid has hope, and tries AGAIN. And fails AGAIN. And at this point /10

Eleventh tweet: The adult is exasperated and doesn’t understand why their “help” as a teacher or parent or counselor isn’t working. And the kid doesn’t understand either. And that’s when other horrible messages really take hold. Like “lazy” and “messy” and “unmotivated” and “disobedient.” /11

Twelve tweet: And the adult actually believes those labels because the adult really *could* see “potential” (like high IQ, or amazing musical aptitude, or incredible athletic ability) and now really believes the kid must just not *want* to get to rehearsal in time (or whatever) / 12

Thirteenth tweet: And that kid… that poor #ADHD kid is SO confused. Because they DO love the sport or skill or interest and they really DO love the adult and want to please them. And they didn’t. Over and over. So they really MUST just be lazy. Or unmotivated. Or careless. Or inconsiderate. /13

Fourteenth tweet: And now take that, and multiply it by every school year, by every class, by every teacher that sees something in them, by every unmet goal or hope or dream, year after year, situation after situation, disappointment after disappointment. What you get is an adult in despair. /14

Last tweet: What you get is an adult who actually believes they’re lazy and good for nothing. What you get is an adult who’s deeply depressed and unable to like any part of themselves, who has no idea the real truth that’s been their all along: They have an ADA-recognized disability. /15

end ID]

mugwomps

#ouch

guerrillatech

forgotn1

I’ll never understand why Disney is so focused on live-action remakes when they literally own the rights to the Muppets. I would take a Muppet remake of a Disney Animation classic over a live-action remake all day every day.

You can’t tell me Muppets Fantasia wouldn’t be the greatest crossover event of our lifetimes. Muppets Black Cauldron would SLAP.

magic-and-moonlit-wings

Muppet Beauty and the Beast where the Beast is played by the only human actor and he turns into a Muppet at the end.

ckerouac

The Beast should be a conventionally attractive actor whom the Muppet townspeople continually call hideous until true love releases him from this curse and he shows true beauty - blue felt and plastic eyes.

howlpendraig

The assassin you sent after me is part of my found family now

I’m a little bit obsessed with makeover/dressing scenes where the reveal is an undeniable downgrade from what the character started out with. Top tier comedy