@AngelHaze: kota and i shot something v v special today.

Angel Haze has Edgar Allan Poe tattooed on her thigh (and also apparently “nevermore” on her arm).

That is all.

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wow I don’t even need to see that link your commentary is great. you are really johnning it today.

I am, aren’t I? I mean, how awesome a compliment is that? To be told I’m being myself, with the implication being that that’s a praiseworthy thing?

I am. I really am being me today. Damn, I’m so me right now.

I’m gonna hurry up and get off tumblr before the feeling fades. Thank you for that act of kindness. You are really echoing it today.

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“Is politically motivated reasoning rational?” A fragment …:

From something in the works … My goal in this paper is to survey existing evidence on the mec…

Heh. In which man-crush Prof. Dan Kahan violates Betteridge’s Law, because it turns out that the answer is yeah, believing wacky untrue things (like, climate change is a conspiracy, or GMOs are more dangerous than non-GMO foodstuffs, or ghosts/angels/Jesus are real entities with whom we can meaningfully interact) can sometimes confer benefits in terms of group identity and in-group status that outweighs any cost of being wrong about something so unimportant in the individual scheme of things.

I think it’s actually kind of cool that our brains have evolved the ability to do that, to believe untrue things, and go to some length to retain those beliefs in the face of conflicting evidence, at least when it’s in our individual interest to do so. It’s like our brain has a little Lizzy inside it, one who has no problem sending inconvenient truths packing like so many Lady Catherines.

I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.

You tell them, Lizzy. Screw them and their scientific consensus.

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_{“But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass.”}

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I propose we treat this as an empirical question, and devise and carry out an experiment to discover the answer. I nominate you as principal investigator.

As your experimental subject I’m not sure it’s methodologically sound for me to give you advice on how to proceed. But setting that aside, I suggest you expose your experimental subject to a series of requests that he give up the URL, observe and record his responses, then conduct a statistical analysis to see if any meaningful correlations can be identified in the data.

I look forward to hearing your results. Science is so cool.

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Totally don’t need the excuse, but I’d be posting this anyway under the “lol reblog” rule. Because: Jack’s face.

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-kimt:

Found a really cool poem today! It was written by Emily Graslie and is about women in the scientific field of careers as well as societal expectations (and she encouraged someone to record it!). I like it a lot.

(Here is a link to said written piece! Please do check it out.)

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I really miss Mitch Hedberg. Which is weird, seeing as I didn’t know he existed until I heard people talking about his death.

But it’s true.

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urbpan:

theraptorcage:

Merlin with prey

YES nabbed a freaking starling

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strle:

Public Service Announcement: IcelandAir has some pretty sweet deals going on flights to Reykjavik.

Love u, AirfareWatchdog!!!

Whenever I see a screenshot like this the low battery makes me anxious. It’s probably similar to not wanting to let the gas gauge in the car get too low, which is also a thing I have.

My wife has teased me in the past about that.

“Are we going to have enough gas?”

“We’re fine. The manual says once the light comes on we’ve still got 60 miles, and it just came on when I was driving home yesterday.”

I think we each just have a different emotional response to that situation. She lives in the moment, is open to exciting possibilities. I want to plan everything out and make sure all contingencies are covered. She routinely has her phone or her iPad die from lack of charge; I almost never have that happen. But is it worth the anxiety?

Twice while we were driving somewhere after having the conversation above we’ve actually run out of gas. It was a pain to get stranded in each case, but if I’m being honest, it was also really satisfying.

See? See?

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Saying I got to be where I am because I was lucky makes me feel kinda bad – I worked hard. It wasn’t like I was putting in the time hoping a famous YouTuber was going to “find” me – I was looking for any opportunity to publicize the Museum, to talk about the work we were doing. I was putting in 40+ hours a week at a museum while still working a job 35 hours. I cared.

 Instead of regretting or lamenting doing something you felt was right for you at the time, use your knowledge as a beneficial tool to get ahead. Seize opportunity. Put in the time to the thing your passionate about, don’t cut corners, don’t slack off, don’t wait for accolades to be your encouragement. Do it for you.

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sylvia-morris:

(what I am doing all winter)

See gif version here.

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windandwater:

Purple Aster Meadow

My dad was stalled taking pictures, swearing we would turn around soon, but I just wanted to know what was over the next hill, around the next corner. So I kept going, until I was entirely alone. I found myself here, in this meadow of purple flowers spreading out around me, with mountains in the distance.

The trail was just off the road but I’d finally lost the sound of traffic and it was quiet, except for the wind blowing. I sat down to take a few pictures, then kept sitting, staring out into the distance, feeling the tension leave my shoulders. All my fears and and anxieties drain away. It only lasted a moment, but in that moment there was nothing, and it was quiet in my head.

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thesciencestudio:

The Weight of Mountains

Here’s a short film by a children’s book illustrator about “the processes by which mountains are created and eventually destroyed, based upon the work of British geographer L. Dudley Stamp.” It’s eye-meltingly gorgeous and starkly scientific. The tone is meditative and incantatory, turning geological terms into epic poetry. If you’ve ever wanted to read John McPhee’s “Annals of the Former World” but only have 11 minutes, watch this.

This week’s picker is John Pavlus — a designer on the inside and a writer/filmmaker on the outside. He makes things that make things make sense for places like NPR, HHMI, Scientific American, Fast Company, Nautilus, and others. 

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I got busy and didn’t follow through on getting caught up on NMTD over the weekend. But that’s okay; just because I follow a bunch of wonderful obsessives doesn’t mean my dash will continue to be full of meta and squee now that The Thing has already happened, right?

Um, no. Definitely still need to get caught up.

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northeastnature:

I spent a blissful morning hanging out with dozens of Baltimore checkerspot butterflies (Euphydryas phaeton). Their caterpillars generally feed on a flower called turtlehead, but about 40 years ago they expanded their tastes to include a widespread invasive plant from Europe called English plantain.

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That is very kind of you to say. Thank you.

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