pun queen

Photo

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:25:49 -0500

alwaysadoptngovegan: Koala Photo Shows Forest Destroyed By...

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:54:11 -0500

Koala Photo Shows Forest Destroyed By Loggers, Animal’s Heartbreak After Losing Home

This koala had the worst day ever.

The little guy wandered back to his home in New South Wales, Australia last week only to find it had been cut down and chipped by logging operations. A volunteer with WIRES, a rescue operation licensed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, said the koala had been sitting on top of the wood pile for over an hour looking confused, the Daily Telegraph reported.

He was later taken to a local veterinarian and released near an established colony, but the heartbreaking photo shows some of the hardships faced by the animals over the past few years.

Severe habitat destruction and the spread of a deadly chlamydia outbreak have decimated populations and the Australian government declared the species threatened in some areas for the first time last year.

"There were no sex classes. No friendship classes. No classes on how to navigate a bureaucracy, build..."

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:43:46 -0500

“There were no sex classes. No friendship classes. No classes on how to navigate a bureaucracy, build an organization, raise money, create a database, buy a house, love a child, spot a scam, talk someone out of suicide, or figure out what was important to me. Not knowing how to do these things is what messes people up in life, not whether they know algebra or can analyze literature.”

- William Upski Wimsatt (via littlebirdsings)

tayalldaynyc: theuppitynegras: world history In one sentence

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:10:49 -0500

tayalldaynyc:

theuppitynegras:

world history

In one sentence

we-are-star-stuff: Who says North is up? Upside Down maps (also...

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:05:50 -0500

we-are-star-stuff:

Who says North is up?

Upside Down maps (also known as South-Up or Reversed maps) offer a completely different perspective of the world we live in.

Technically speaking, even referring to the earth with words like “up” or “down” or comparing places with words “above” or “below” is flawed, considering that the earth is a spherical body (it’s actually slightly “fatter” at the equator) and flying through 3 dimensional space with no reference of up or down. However, the issue of “up” and “down” does become an issue when viewing the surface of the earth projected onto a flat piece of paper (a map). And the effect of the orientation of a map is more significant than you might realize.

As all maps require orientation for reference, the issue of how to layout the map orientation is as old as maps themselves. As map orientation is completely arbitrary, it is not surprising that they differed throughout time periods and regions.

The convention of North-up is usually attributed to the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy (90-168 AD). Justifications for his north-up approach vary. In the middle ages, East was often placed at top. This is the origin of the term “The Orient” to refer to East Asia. During the age of exploration, European cartographers again followed the north-up convention…perhaps because the North Star was their fixed reference point for navigation, or because they wanted (subconsciously or otherwise) to ensure Europe’s claim at the top of the world.

In modern times, reversed maps are made as a learning device or to illustrate Northern Hemisphere bias. Different from simply turning a north-up map upside down, a reversed map has the text oriented to be read with south up.

The famous “Blue Marble” photograph of the Earth taken from on board Apollo 17 was originally oriented with the south pole at the top, with the island of Madagascar visible just left of center, and the continent of Africa at its right. However, the image was turned upside-down to fit the traditional view.

While the orientation of a map might seem harmless, it can have a significant effect on one’s perception of the world, and the relative importance of the different place in it.

In speech, we often refer to places being “above” or “below” others. Think of how you would say you’re about to travel to the state or country to your north or south (to go “down” to Kentucky from Indiana, or “up” to Canada from the US). Without even mentioning geography, ask any grade school student whether Mexico is “above” or “below” the United States. We’re all familiar with the “land down under”. As we often correlate importance to relative height (think how a citizens of a country will fly their flag higher than all other flags), the north-up convention reinforces the idea that northern bodies are more important than their southern neighbors. Suddenly, traveling “down” to the South might have an inference much deeper than geographic location.

After looking at the map more closely, you may realize that the South-Up orientation may change your perception of the relative status of different places. For example, South America suddenly looks to have more prominence, and Africa and the Middle East completely dwarf Europe. Likewise, tucking Northern Europe, Canada, and Russia away at the bottom of the map, subconsciously takes away their status.

To summarize, unconditionally accepting the north-up map convention without at least appreciating the effect stands at odds with viewing all people and places within the world equally. x x

ikenbot: cultural appropriate 101

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:53:31 -0500

ikenbot:

cultural appropriate 101

aliensandpredators: h/t sharkchunks

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:31:29 -0500

aliensandpredators:

h/t sharkchunks

STFU, Conservatives: I’m tired of people shitting on liberal arts degree types. This...

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:25:02 -0500

STFU, Conservatives: I’m tired of people shitting on liberal arts degree types. This...:

i have an engineering degree but i agree with all of this. education is important PERIOD. people should do what they’re most passionate about and receive the fullest education to do so, no matter what field it is.

stfuconservatives:

I’m tired of people shitting on liberal arts degree types. This includes President Obama. Math, science, and engineering aren’t the only degrees of value. I’m tired of people saying a degree is only useful for teaching. That idea demeans the field AND teaching. Don’t pretend history, literature,…

porn4ladies: Age 20

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:21:30 -0500

porn4ladies:

Age 20

WOOT ILLINI!!! way to represent on tumblr :) allcreatures: A...

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:18:22 -0500

WOOT ILLINI!!! way to represent on tumblr :)

allcreatures:

A young woman and her service dog caused quite a stir over the weekend when they both showed up to her college graduation ceremony dressed in matching caps and gowns.

Click through for full story.

(via Service Dog Arrives At College Graduation In Cap And Gown, Becomes A Celebrity (PHOTOS))

Photo

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:17:06 -0500

agypsysoultoblame: But this is true

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:15:59 -0500

agypsysoultoblame:

But this is true

deepwithfuture: soubresauts: holyharam: ….and lynse showing...

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:13:50 -0500

deepwithfuture:

soubresauts:

holyharam:

….and lynse showing white kids across the United States and Canada how to Bankhead bounce

I loved this show so much when I was little, but Zoe always really annoyed me for some reason.

PABLO! MY NIGGA!

Jared is dead.

flozac: the principal at my school made an announcement...

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:11:48 -0500

flozac:

the principal at my school made an announcement yesterday that the girls need to start covering up and then i found this in the hallway

thedailywhat: Coming Soon of the Day: Neil Degrasse Tyson Will...

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:57:35 -0500

thedailywhat:

Coming Soon of the Day: Neil Degrasse Tyson Will Host the Sequel of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos

Though it’s been quietly in the works since 2011, Fox has officially confirmed that Carl Sagan’s monumental 1970 sci-ed miniseries Cosmos: A Personal Voyage will be getting an updated sequel next year, which will consist of 13 episodes produced by Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane and hosted by one of the Internet’s most celebrated astrophysicists, Neil Degrasse Tyson. Fox is hoping the show will have as much as of cultural impact as Carl Sagan’s original series, which still remains one of the most watched PBS series in the world to this day.

(Image by Richard Davies)

transportationnation: The city of Minneapolis lit the I-35...

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:54:03 -0500

transportationnation:

The city of Minneapolis lit the I-35 bridge was lit like this Tuesday night to celebrate the passage of marriage equality in Minnesota.

Photo

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:52:08 -0500

New App Lets You Boycott Koch Brothers, Monsanto And More By Scanning Your Shopping Cart

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:42:41 -0500

New App Lets You Boycott Koch Brothers, Monsanto And More By Scanning Your Shopping Cart:

stfuconservatives:

A new app allows you to scan a product in the supermarket aisle and learn who exactly is behind that box of cereal. More impressively, you can join user-created campaigns to boycott groups of companies who may have lobbied against a cause you believe in.

I couldn’t scream SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY fast enough at this. And it’s free! Due to all the traffic, the app is down right now - the developer says he’s getting more than 10 new users every second. Download it! Vote with your wallet!

thenewwomensmovement: andyouhavetogivethemhope: motherjones: n...

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:27:02 -0500

thenewwomensmovement:

andyouhavetogivethemhope:

motherjones:

nickbaumann:

Awesome icons of the Female Saints of Television, by Spencer Salberg. Prints are available here.

“Our Lady of Having it All”

this is pretty sweet, but i am seeing a lot of white faces here.

That’s what I was thinking. I’m pretty sure Nikita, Joan Watson, Olivia Pope, and Michonne are perfect for this.

"Your ability to heavily arm yourself and publicly call Obama a gun-grabbing tyrant pretty much..."

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:17:38 -0500

“Your ability to heavily arm yourself and publicly call Obama a gun-grabbing tyrant pretty much proves he’s not.”

- John Fugelsang (via jordanleeemerson)