Optimism and Honesty

My name is Lila! I study ecology and biochemistry. Learn to conquer your fears and be your truest you.

[takeasunbreath]

Thoughts

I would like to leave my mark in history cause I think it's a good one.

[mackseptiplier-blog]

This is my favorite picture

[takeasunbreath]

Yeah me too!

[takeasunbreath]

"How's the swooping going Lila?" "Great! The swooping is coming to a close!" "See, Lila's a badass cause, the first lesbian she finds, she comes swooping in, even though the girl's taken. There's no out lesbians at MSU so she chases the first one she sees and swoops her up. Fuck."

Bryce

[takeasunbreath]

My favorite thing about being back on campus is being surrounded by people who want to make the world a better place.

[takeasunbreath]

Playing my guitar is one of my most satisfying activities right now. I'm finally starting to sound good and still have so much room to grow. Music is fantastic.

[compoundchem]

Hello! Happy holidays! My question is: how does the enzyme (or enzymes) bromelain actually interacts with meat? Thank you!

Thanks for the question, and happy holidays to you too!For anyone who doesn’t know, bromelain is an enzyme found in pineapples, which can also be used to tenderise meat. It actually hydrolyses the protein collagen, which is a major component of connective tissue in the bodies of mammals, separating it into its component amino acids.On an interesting note, bromelain’s also the reason why you can’t make jelly from fresh pineapple. It interacts with the gelatin, a form of collagen, and prevents it from setting. You can make jelly with canned pineapple, however, as the heating during the canning process denatures the enzyme, meaning it will no longer act on the gelatin.

[takeasunbreath]

Childhood memory

When I was a little kid, my mom would listen to a lot of CéIine Dion so I would belt out obscure Céline Dion lyrics in the middle of conversations because I thought everybody listened to her.

[birdandmoon]

Here are some field guides you will (probably) never see.

original on my site | my new comic, Wild City

[incorrectbeefacts]

Bee Fact #324

If you shove bees down your throat you will achieve flight and grow honeycombs in your stomach

[takeasunbreath]

Thoughts

Wouldn’t it be nice if, when we’ve got good feelings, we could collect them and save them for later when we need them again? Maybe that’s just what meditation and favorite songs are.

[quotemadness]

You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself.

John Steinbeck (via quotemadness)

[tastefullyoffensive]

(photo by SassyHusky)

[photos91-blog]

View from the Hengill mountain. Amazing valley with snaky rivers.

[takeasunbreath]

Yesterday, I learned that I will be working with one of the Ph.D students here at MSU to develop a summer research project in Iceland, studying the streams around the Hengill volcano. It’s still a ways out, but I’m excited and nervous and kind of want to throw up if I think about it too much. So much adultness all of a sudden.

[takeasunbreath]

I made you something pretty with my words today. I heard you gasp because you lacked the words to say something you were feeling in the worst of ways. I made you something pretty with my words today.

Milo “Objectifying Rabbits”

[longrunsaturday]

[rosemaryandparentheses]

This weekend, I bought skis. I’m very excited to get to go skiing this season. But next week, I have 3 exams and a number of homework assignments to get through, and it’s probably going to be the most stressful asskicking week of my life. Chin up, head back, going feet first. 

[takeasunbreath]

YEAH skiing is the best way to recover your brain!

[birdstoconsider]

Let’s talk about Nightjars

they are these wonderful tiny predatory birds

With great camouflage for multiple environments

And lovely plumage dependent on their species

BUT BEST OF ALL IS THEIR MOUTHS, which look small when their beaks are closed (they’ve even got cute lil’ whiskers!)

BUT ARE ACTUALLY HUUUUGE

BEST BIRD

[thalassarche]

Let us also be sure to mention that the scientific name for the group of nightjars is Caprimulgiformes. “Caprimulgus” is Latin for “goatsucker,” a name they still have, and they were so named because in their twilight flights to catch insects attracted to livestock, it seemed to humans that they were drinking the milk from their goats. And you know what the word for “goatsucker” is in Spanish? “Chupacabra.”

Oh, also, if you shine a light into their large eyes at night, they reflect back red.

[takeasunbreath]

Heck yeah, coolest birds!