“we can’t call most historical figures things like gay or lesbian because those terms didn’t exist in their times/cultures and if you ever call them that you’re a bad historian and/or just projecting”

“while it is important to be aware of the differences in how sexuality existed in other time periods and cultures, and using modern terminology is generally inappropriate in an academic setting, our terminology is still a convenient way to speak about historical figures who would likely have those identities in our own time. a historian should always be conscious of those differences, but that does not mean that it is wholly inappropriate to use our modern terminology in a casual setting for historical figures who had same-sex relationships, especially since, for many queer people, these historical figures can be a source of inspiration as well as a connection to the past”

modern horror story: a single 200 chapter fic on ao3 summarized as a “collection of drabbles.” it is tagged for 200 different fandoms and every single character who so much as breathes in any of the chapters. it takes you an hour to scroll past. it is always at the top of your search results because it updates three times a week.

I beg of you, writers, please stop making those! You alienate, disappoint, and/or mislead some readers in each of the 200 fandoms.

Imagine being a refugee and waiting for years and years, jumping through every ridiculous hoop, then being arrested when you land. Fuck everyone who told me to be calm

Moreover, Customs and Immigration has been ordered to ignore the emergency stays granted by the judiciary.  Hundreds of people were stuck in airports this weekend, unable to board planes to the US or leave US airports.  These are people with legal visas, people who live and work in the US.  (Not to throw refugees under the bus - they’re screwed even more.)

This is a constitutional crisis - when the executive branch is no longer subject to checks and balances, we have a dictatorship.

sad? watch lord of the rings. happy? watch lord of the rings. sick? watch lord of the rings. sleepy? watch lord of the rings. dying from a festering wound? watch lord of the rings. have homework to do? watch lord of the rings.

watching lord of the rings solves 100% of all problems. trust me i am a medical doctor.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, this twitter account is posting the names and photos (when available) of refugees turned away from America who became victims of Naziism. #NoBanNoWall #RefugeesWelcome 

(Please leave this caption in place.)

Relevant

And unfortunately, he’s not just our problem when you consider global warming, trade, Russia, foreign aid and the complete balls-up he’s going to make of the Middle East.

Personally, I’m still trying to figure out how $12/hr is considered “competitive pay”???? ????

I keep seeing this, and I'm finally going to have to answer.

Yes, we did have $100+ loan payments in 1995.  My repayment plan was $400 per month over ten years, and the only way I could consolidate for a 20-year plan was to make full payments for six months.  I was making $7.50 an hour.  You do the math.  My loans went into default, and I have repaid three times the amount of the original loans. All the profit went to private banks, even though the government guaranteed the loans and the only way to avoid repayment is to die.  (Thanks to President Obama, the final $7,000 was forgiven and the loans are finally paid off.  I'm almost 50.)

We did have internet bills. We paid by the minute for dial-up access - I had 10 hours per MONTH for $20, and given that I had no money, I was careful not to go over that limit.

That said, the job market was better, and you could rent a decent apartment for $300 a month.  (I ate a lot of mac-cheese and tuna.)  The problem is that wages haven't kept pace with costs, and outside the service sector (minimum wage), entry-level jobs have disappeared.  Some of that is off-shoring, but many jobs have also been lost to automation.  Increasing the GDP has a climate-change penalty - we can't just make more crap that people don't need.  A universal minimum income is the only sensible way forward.

the two brothers were constant companions 

Tolkien’s world is like a song, with repeating scenes and themes throughout the ages. Events repeat themselves with new characters, relationships are formed anew (Beren & Luthien, Aragorn & Arwen). The Ainulindalë plays forever. Which makes it all the more enjoyable to think that Maedros casting himself into a fiery chasm holding a Silmaril was repeated millennia later as Gollum, falling into Mt. Doom, holding the One Ring. 

This is what I love about Tolkien's legendarium:  the way the themes repeat across the span of time.  It's even more remarkable considering that the Silm was never more than a work in progress.  I'm not sure that he even realised the serendipity of his narrative, or how all the pieces would fit together so beautifully.

Sir Ian showed up to the #WomensMarchLondon 

Image Credit: Top | Bottom

Is it possible to adore him more?

You have two cows: Silmarillion edition

Warning: has very little to do with economics (or anything really).

Feanor: You have three cows. Morgoth steals all of them. You vow revenge.

Maedhros: You have two cows. You give them both to your uncle.

Caranthir: You have two cows. You charge people a lot of money for the milk.

Fingolfin: You had two cows. You wish you hadn’t been so quick to eat them.

Turgon: You have two cows. No one else knows where you hid them.

Aredhel: You have no cows and you don’t care.

Finarfin: You have two cows. You decide to stay home to take care of them.

Galadriel: You have no cows. You leave home to find some.

Thingol: You have two cows. Your wife builds a magic enclosure for them.

Sauron: You have two cows. Both are were-cows.

Maglor: You have one cow. You throw it into the sea. Celebrimbor: You have three cows. You hide them away to keep them out of your terrible ex-colleague’s hands who’s coming after them with stakes and pitchforks. The Valar: You have an entire continent full of cows and people fighting over them. You sink the continent.

Curufin and Celegorm:  You have no cows.  You steal your cousin’s cow and send it to slaughter and then kidnap the neighbour’s cow.