Non Illegitimi Carborundum

[dennybitte]

a comfortable day on the coast

Lofoten / Norway

by Denny Bitte

[aethelfleds]

tbh I think if we saw a neanderthal on the street we probably wouldn’t know they weren’t quite…us…we’d just be like “huh, that guy sure had a broad face also he must deadlift”

[mybookswerealltome]

The newer reconstructions that they are doing show this so clearly. Both men and women, they looked….pretty much like us. Just heavier bone structure. Clearly Not Quite Us if you studied closely, but put on modern clothes, modern hairstyles, and…. yeah, they’re human.

[aethelfleds]

They just look like us if we had slightly thicker bones and bigger skulls.

I love the facial expression! 

Grandpa about to tell me a story about mammoth hunting……

And they were so much smarter than we’ve given them credit for in pop culture. They were capable of creating art, which has been confirmed with cave paintings. Neanderthals had imagination. And a Neanderthal skeleton was found with an intact hyoid bone that showed they were probably capable of speaking, so they may have had language too! 

I know I bring him up a lot but I have to talk about Shanidar 1. He is a Neanderthal man who lived in what is now Shanidar, Iraq. At some point in his early life he suffered a serious blow to the head,possibly leading to paralysis on the right side of his body that caused him to lose the use of his leg and arm, and he might also have been blinded in one eye. Around 40,000 years ago that would’ve been an immediate death sentence unless he was cared for by his tribe, and he was. He was cared for so well that he lived to be 35-45 years old, an advanced age for Neanderthals. They were capable of compassion, perhaps even love. This also means that “survival of the fittest” is a bit bullshit imho.   

[lavalampgay]

this is a really good post but i have a few things i’d like to point out:

experts have been speculating that neanderthals were capable of speech since at least the 1970s-80s. a fully preserved neanderthal hyoid bone was discovered in 1989, but it wasn’t until recently that we have the non-destructive analysis tools to determine that the specimen is virtually identical in shape and function to the hyoid bone of modern humans, meaning neanderthals likely spoke, and may have been capable of complex language. because of the dimensions of their vocal tract, though, they probably couldn’t produce the same quantal vowel sounds as anatomically modern humans, making their speech sound different than ours. (fun fact: this study also found that because of their relatively short vocal tract in comparison with that of homo sapiens, neanderthals may have had higher pitched voices, in the soprano range)

neanderthals could most definitely experience emotions, including compassion and love. they buried their dead. they cared for their disabled and elderly. they used feathers and bird claws for personal ornamentation. all of these things are very human things. compassion and love are also very human things.

and there’s a reason for this–neanderthals were extremely closely related to us. while recent research has upheld their status as a separate species (homo neanderthalensis) instead of a subspecies of homo sapiens, they could and did interbreed with our anatomically modern human ancestors. almost all modern humans carry a small percentage of neanderthal DNA (about 2% for people of non-african descent).

so yeah, they aren’t quite us. but they’re very, very close.

[fyoured]

“10 BETTER BODY AFFIRMATIONS FOR YOUNG WOMEN1. Your body is in flux for the rest of your life. Think of your body as fluid instead of static — it’s always going to change. So get comfortable with those changes.2. No one will love you or not love you because of your body. You are lovable because you’re you, not because your body looks a certain way.3. The most intensely personal relationship you’ll ever have is with your body. It’s a lifelong relationship that’s well worth investing in and nurturing the same way you would with loved ones.4. You don’t owe your body to anyone. Not sexually, not aesthetically. Your body is yours. Period.5. What someone else says about your body says more about them than it does about you. Look past the actual snark to the person who’s saying it, because it’s only a reflection of what they think of themselves. That’s when you’ll see how little power their words have.6. Your body is not a reflection of your character. It’s a physical home for the complex and wondrous and unique being that is you.7. Take up as much space as you want. You don’t have to be small, or quiet, or docile, regardless of your physical size.8. Everything you need to accept your body is already inside you. There’s no book, or diet, or workout routine or external affirmation that you need to feel good about your body right now.9. Your body is a priority. It’s always trying to tell you things. Taking the time to listen to is of the utmost importance.10. Wear whatever you want. Your body shape does not dictate your personal style, and fashion rules that say otherwise are wrong. Dress yourself in a way that makes you feel happy and confident and beautiful, because guess what? You are.”

— Ami Angelowicz and Winona Dimeo-Ediger

[coolsaddad-blog]

Roses are red, that much is true, but violets are purple, not fucking blue.

[feels-for-the-fictional]

I have been waiting for this post all my life.

[marzipanandminutiae]

They are indeed purple, But one thing you’ve missed: The concept of “purple” Didn’t always exist.

Some cultures lack names For a color, you see. Hence good old Homer And his “wine-dark sea.”

A usage so quaint, A phrasing so old, For verses of romance Is sheer fucking gold.

So roses are red. Violets once were called blue. I’m hugely pedantic But what else is new?

[ineptshieldmaid]

My friend you’re not wrong About Homer’s wine-ey sea! Colours are a matter Of cultural contingency;

Words are in flux And meanings they drift But the word purple You’ve given short shrift.

The concept of purple, My friends, is old And refers to a pigment once precious as gold.

By crushing up molluscs From the wine-dark sea You make a dye: Imperial decree

Meant that in Rome, to wear purpura was a privilege reserved

For only the emperor!

The word ‘purple’, for clothes so fancy, Entered English By the ninth century

.

Why then are voilets Not purple in song? The dye from this mollusc, known for so long

Is almost magenta; More red than blue. The concept of purple is old, and yet new.

The dye is red, So this might be true: Roses are purple And violets are blue

.

[squeeful]

While this song makes me merry, Tyrian purple dyes many a hue From magenta to berry And a true purple too.

But fun as it is to watch this poetic race The answer is staring you right in the face: Roses are red and violets are blue Because nothing fucking rhymes with purple.

[banozac]

I think it’s cute that thing humans do when they see a boat pass and the people on the boat wave at them and they wave back. For absolutely no reason. They don’t know each other they’re not trying to communicate anything other than “LOOK! I am on a boat!!! Hello!!!!” “I see you!!!! On the boat!!!! Hello!!!!!!!!!!” in a genuine moment of wholesome human connection and excitement.

[cakesandsnouts]

The best of Superintendent Ted Hastings

[bookmania]

Brooklyn-based designer Sebastian Errazuriz’s “Tree Shelf”. Errazuriz utilizes art and design as a vehicle for social exegesis.

[aaronmarquis-deactivated2017110]

[radivs-deactivated20210526]

Iceland by Heikki Leis

[thrice-widdershins]

At that stage of the essay writing process where I’m just waiting for the apathy to end and the intense panic and self-loathing to take over.

[thefilmstage]

R.I.P. Alan Rickman, who has passed away at the age of 69 following a battle with cancer, The Guardian reports.

[thrice-widdershins]

I have spent far too much time lately moping around presuming I can read other people’s minds. I have come to realise that this is an irrational and unhelpful practice, and so henceforth swear my allegiance exclusively to the mad cat lady sisterhood, resolving not to concern myself with the messy business of human relationships any longer.

[anatoref]

Skulls by Mikołaj Cielniak 

[travelingcolors-deactivated2020]

AntiRoom II in Valletta | Malta

Elena Chiavi + Ahmad El Mad + Matteo Goldoni  · Photos by Ahmad El Mad

Antiroom II is a floating island on the sea of Malta. It’s an unreachable surface from the ground, only accessible by swimming or by boat. The wood structure creates a space separated from the vastness of the unlimited sea. Its center is defined as a small secure water pool.

[ifitgivesyoujoy-blog]

concept: space pirates who sound exactly like regular pirates, except replace all references to “the sea” with “the void”

“aye, the void is a harsh mistress,” the captain said, gazing out the window of her ship into the vast starry expanse. “she’ll take more than she gives, in the end. but those who are called to life in the void don’t know any other way.”

[marlenichen]

[beeftea78-deactivated20200113]