[image description: plain black text on white background (I have no idea why this was posted as an image instead of text in the first place) reading, “Damn boy are you the sun because you need to stay 92,960,000 miles away from me” lack of punctuation as in the original. metric equivalent = 150 million km] I’m almost looking forward to using this sometime when I’m presenting as female enough to draw some street harassment. Almost.
View Separately

[image description: plain black text on white background (I have no idea why this was posted as an image instead of text in the first place) reading,

“Damn boy are you the sun because you need to stay 92,960,000 miles away from me”

lack of punctuation as in the original. metric equivalent = 150 million km]

I’m almost looking forward to using this sometime when I’m presenting as female enough to draw some street harassment.

Almost.

(via teland)

Source: shamedate

[image description: A deep-space telescope image, showing, at the bottom of the image, a cavernous nebula with stars visible inside; the upper half of the image, “above” the nebula from our perspective, contains several very large and very bright stars, surrounded by increasingly smaller and less bright stars, against a backdrop of deep black peppered with the lights of still-smaller and more-distant stars.] This was NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day on the 18th of November 2012. The text of NASA’s write-up accompanying the image: NGC 6357: Cathedral to Massive Stars Image Credit: NASA, ESA and Jesús Maíz Apellániz (IAA, Spain) Explanation: How massive can a normal star be? Estimates made from distance, brightness and standard solar models had given one star in the open cluster Pismis 24 over 200 times the mass of our Sun, nearly making it the record holder. This star is the brightest object located just above the gas front in the above image. Close inspection of images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, however, has shown that Pismis 24-1 derives its brilliant luminosity not from a single star but from three at least. Component stars would still remain near 100 solar masses, making them among the more massive stars currently on record. Toward the bottom of the image, stars are still forming in the associated emission nebula NGC 6357. Appearing perhaps like a Gothic cathedral, energetic stars near the center appear to be breaking out and illuminating a spectacular cocoon. ESA is the European Space Agency, a multinational cooperative that has increasingly stepped in to pick up the slack as the U.S. guts NASA’s budget. Go here for the current day’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APoD homepage) or scroll down to browse the archives or search for a particular kind of image.
Pop-upView Separately

[image description: A deep-space telescope image, showing, at the bottom of the image, a cavernous nebula with stars visible inside; the upper half of the image, “above” the nebula from our perspective, contains several very large and very bright stars, surrounded by increasingly smaller and less bright stars, against a backdrop of deep black peppered with the lights of still-smaller and more-distant stars.]

This was NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day on the 18th of November 2012. The text of NASA’s write-up accompanying the image:

NGC 6357: Cathedral to Massive Stars
Image Credit: NASA, ESA and Jesús Maíz Apellániz (IAA, Spain)

Explanation: How massive can a normal star be? Estimates made from distance, brightness and standard solar models had given one star in the open cluster Pismis 24 over 200 times the mass of our Sun, nearly making it the record holder. This star is the brightest object located just above the gas front in the above image. Close inspection of images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, however, has shown that Pismis 24-1 derives its brilliant luminosity not from a single star but from three at least. Component stars would still remain near 100 solar masses, making them among the more massive stars currently on record. Toward the bottom of the image, stars are still forming in the associated emission nebula NGC 6357. Appearing perhaps like a Gothic cathedral, energetic stars near the center appear to be breaking out and illuminating a spectacular cocoon.

ESA is the European Space Agency, a multinational cooperative that has increasingly stepped in to pick up the slack as the U.S. guts NASA’s budget.

Go here for the current day’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APoD homepage) or scroll down to browse the archives or search for a particular kind of image.

To brief or not to brief: Oh, DC, how is this a question?

dcwomenkickingass:

First look at cover for the new 52 “0 issue” collection


DC has announced it is going to put all their 0 issues in giant book like they did last year with their first issues. Given the standalone nature of these stories, or so I suspect, this actually makes more sense than the collection of #1s. 

Here’s the cover for the book which is the “mock” cover for the Justice League 0 issue at least I assume since that is how the file is named.

It is indeed pleasing to see Wonder Woman here in full glory, art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, and that Trinity pretender and usurper Hal Jordan nowhere to be seen.

I’m joking. Maybe.

I found my way here via my Te’s reblog,* where she drew our attention to the effect of the Superman uniform redesign.**

And.
Well.

Now, whenever anyone asks me my opinion on the question of briefs-outside-the-tights vs. briefs-inside-only-if-at-all as pertains to costumed superheroes, I’ll be able to honestly and forthrightly answer:

Depends.

* I reblogged this direct from dcwomenkickingass’s post both in order to switch from reblog-as-link to reblog-as-text — so that the image would actually show up on my post without everyone needing to click through; I’m not calling anybody lazy, just saying I use tumblr too — and also to draw attention to dcwomenkickingass’s tumblr masthead, which is the best masthead I’ve seen on any tumblr, and most any non-tumblr space.

** Her exact words were:

I have nothing to say about this save that the cover is a perfect illustration of why I have a love/hate relationship with Bruce’s and Clark’s new uniforms. I mean, look at Clark.

Look at Clark’s crotch.

LOOK AT IT.

Click ↓↓↓ to read the rest…

(via teland)

awidesetvagina: “Romney’s family misspell their last name in the greatest Freudian slip in history.” HAD to reblog for the Photoshop of the “R. Money” rap album cover with the parental-advisory label. (Though I’d expect to see more bling on MC Mitt.) R M O N E Y works on another level, too, of course: R-money = Republican money; and, they want “R” (our) money because they apparently actually believe they don’t already have enough. (Also, Snopes says the apparent transposition is also a Photoshop job — and I have to admit that, on close examination, it looks fake to me, too — as well as pointing out that the kids on stage aren’t the Romneys’ offspring… even the youngest of their five sons is over thirty. But that doesn’t mean we can’t keep mocking how much of a 1%er Romney is. He is, after all, the guy who said he’d “get rid of” Planned Parenthood, yet accuses President Obama of keeping women down! And the ‘shop-job is well-done enough that most people unskilled in digital-image trickery probably wouldn’t spot it, so if anyone knows who created the more-honest version, speak up; they deserve the credit!)
View Separately

awidesetvagina:

“Romney’s family misspell their last name in the greatest Freudian slip in history.”

HAD to reblog for the Photoshop of the “R. Money” rap album cover with the parental-advisory label. (Though I’d expect to see more bling on MC Mitt.)

R M O N E Y works on another level, too, of course:
R-money = Republican money; and,
they want “R” (our) money because they apparently actually believe they don’t already have enough.

(Also, Snopes says the apparent transposition is also a Photoshop job — and I have to admit that, on close examination, it looks fake to me, too — as well as pointing out that the kids on stage aren’t the Romneys’ offspring… even the youngest of their five sons is over thirty. But that doesn’t mean we can’t keep mocking how much of a 1%er Romney is. He is, after all, the guy who said he’d “get rid of” Planned Parenthood, yet accuses President Obama of keeping women down! And the ‘shop-job is well-done enough that most people unskilled in digital-image trickery probably wouldn’t spot it, so if anyone knows who created the more-honest version, speak up; they deserve the credit!)

Source: memewhore

Does anyone else periodically get struck with overwhelming feelings of sad that Dwayne McDuffie is dead?
I know it’s been over a year but I’m still not over it.

—bigbardafree

Only ALL the TIME. T_T

(via stefanyd)

Source: bigbardafree

BUN BIT FIRST!                                                                           ?

(via bunnyfood)

Source: nyawe4ka

inappropri8: WHY is this tagged Indian? Just WHY?? Because the ignorant girl who tagged it that way (it’s neither her in the photo nor her who took it, judging from the Google search-by-image results which show it’s been extensively posted and reposted all over the world with no credit that I could find) probably thinks anything that looks like turquoise jewelry — such as that tacky hunk of what’s more likely blue-dyed howlite on the pictured woman’s hand — is “Indian.” And while actual Native-made silver-and-turquoise jewelry does exist, albeit much rarer than mass-produced crap that’s sold for a fraction of what silversmiths’ work (whether Native or otherwise) commands? I’m sure at least some of that mass-produced crap is made with either stone mined out of land that was stolen from indigenous* people, designs stolen from Native artists, or both. So sure, those chunky rings on display in this hopelessly tacky photo might come from Native sources… pretty sure that isn’t what the fan of “boho” “hipster” “fashion” meant. * A lot of the real turquoise, real-stone-that-isn’t-turquoise, and real-stone-dyed-to-look-like-turquoise comes from places other than the Americas, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the land it’s mined from wasn’t stolen from indigenous people from somewhere else in the world, such as has been happening in Tibet for decades. Not far from Tibet, there’s also some turquoise mined in north India, though as I understand it those mines aren’t commercially profitable and most of what comes out stays in the south- to central-Asia region; but it is possible that the stone is thus Indian, if in fact it’s turquoise at all.
View Separately

inappropri8:

WHY is this tagged Indian? Just WHY??

Because the ignorant girl who tagged it that way (it’s neither her in the photo nor her who took it, judging from the Google search-by-image results which show it’s been extensively posted and reposted all over the world with no credit that I could find) probably thinks anything that looks like turquoise jewelry — such as that tacky hunk of what’s more likely blue-dyed howlite on the pictured woman’s hand — is “Indian.”

And while actual Native-made silver-and-turquoise jewelry does exist, albeit much rarer than mass-produced crap that’s sold for a fraction of what silversmiths’ work (whether Native or otherwise) commands? I’m sure at least some of that mass-produced crap is made with either stone mined out of land that was stolen from indigenous* people, designs stolen from Native artists, or both.

So sure, those chunky rings on display in this hopelessly tacky photo might come from Native sources… pretty sure that isn’t what the fan of “boho” “hipster” “fashion” meant.

* A lot of the real turquoise, real-stone-that-isn’t-turquoise, and real-stone-dyed-to-look-like-turquoise comes from places other than the Americas, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the land it’s mined from wasn’t stolen from indigenous people from somewhere else in the world, such as has been happening in Tibet for decades.

Not far from Tibet, there’s also some turquoise mined in north India, though as I understand it those mines aren’t commercially profitable and most of what comes out stays in the south- to central-Asia region; but it is possible that the stone is thus Indian, if in fact it’s turquoise at all.

Source: venushaynes

shadowen: stickthisbig: royalfan: benito-cereno: calamityjon: The Avengers opens in theaters in the US on May 4th, and it’s going to do blockbuster business. The individual films featuring these characters have already  grossed more than $2.2 billion dollars - that’s greater than the Gross National Product of almost half the countries on Earth - and it’s not unlikely that The Avengers will earn a hundred million dollars on its opening day alone. This represents a pretty big payday to a lot of people - the actors, obviously, will take home pretty big paychecks. The director and the writers are well-compensated, and certainly the executives who greenlighted this project get to sit back and rake in large bonuses and healthy salaries. Well, you know where this is going; shamefully, the people who aren’t making a big profit from these movies are the people (and the families of the people) who did the essential work of creating them in the first place. It’s not just Jack Kirby, either, or (Black Widow and Hawkeye co-creator) Don Heck, but also Steve Engelhart, Peter David, Herb Trimpe, Jim Steranko, Roy Thomas and dozens more - the artists and writers who refined and defined the characters appearing in this movie, who fleshed out the original creations and molded them into the figures we cheer for when we see them on the screen. Some very sensible people are calling for a boycott of this film on those grounds, but I think it’s fairly obvious that a boycott of idealistic comic fans isn’t going to accomplish much - it’s not only comic book fans who’ll be dropping a collective billion dollars over the next eight weeks to see this movie, it’s going to be a lot of movie-goers who haven’t read a comic since they were kids, much less know anything of the controversy. Plus, of course, you - the collective “you”, representing comic book fans all over the world - want to see this movie. And you’re going to, most likely, right? Even though you know of the morally shady practices of Marvel towards its creators, they’ve got you hooked. Don’t be ashamed, they’ve had you hooked for years. It’s what they do. So how about this: You’re probably going to go see The Avengers and, judging by the early reviews, you’ll probably enjoy it. How about - as a thank you to the creators who brought you these characters in the first place, who gave you something to enjoy so much - you match your ticket price as a donation to The Hero Initiative?  THI is a charity which provides essential financial assistance to comic book professionals who have fallen on hard times; for decades, the comic industry provided no financial safety net to its employees, most of whom it regarded only as freelancers and journeymen, meaning they were offered no health insurance, no unemployment insurance, no retirement plans - none of the financial support most of us enjoy from our jobs and careers. A small donation will help this agency provide a valuable safety net in times of need to these beloved entertainers. I don’t plan on seeing The Avengers, but I’ve donated $15 - the price of a 3-D ticket - to Hero. If every concerned comic fan - every superhero aficionado who learned to live by the lessons of altruism and sacrifice taught by these comics - donated the price of their ticket, well, it may not hit a billion dollars but it’ll bring in a lot of money for a good and relevant cause. One last note: Remember what Spider-Man always says? “With great power comes great responsibility”. The lesson in that is that everyone has great power. Spider-Man’s great power is being able to lift a bus. Your great power is the ability to help good causes do good work for good reasons - so why not go be a superhero instead of just watching them on the screen… (PS: “Liking” this post is nice, thank you, but reblogging/retweeting it helps get the message out and would be even more appreciated) Fully endorsed. Not going to lie, I don’t know much about this issue but I wanted to reblog this so people in the fandom can check it out for themselves. This is something to keep in mind- and something that I, admittedly, don’t. This has been going on since, uh, Siegel and Shuster, and it absolutely hasn’t gotten better with age. If you want to support THI and like fancy things, they also have a partnership with BPAL: the profits from Heroine, Sachs and Violens go to them (and let me note that Sachs is my favorite scent ever, and that, at least last year at D*C, if you bought the set they would go find Peter David and George Perez and have them sign it for you, and yes, I FLIPPED MY SHIT). I’d also like to put in a PSA for the CBLDF, another important organization for comics creators that could use your support. We now return you to your regularly scheduled Jeremy Renner gifs. THI also has two TPBs out featuring collections of short comics from different creators. The books are good and proceeds benefit THI. I chose shadowen’s reblog specifically for the ‘Buy Cool Stuff and Do Good At the Same Time! angle. Hi, tumblr stranger! Thanks for adding more helpful info to this post. For convenience, all the links from above grouped together & annotated: The Hero Initiative, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to helping comics creators in need due to the lack of health and disability insurance availability/affordability in the comics industry; Heroine, Sachs and Violens, 3 perfume-oil blends created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, with proceeds to benefit THI; the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, providing legal assistance to readers, retailers and creators of comics facing comics-related prosecution, and educating law enforcement and the public about the legal status of comics art; and finally, Graham Crackers Comics, THI’s official retail partner, lists a few dozen TPBs, individual issues and related merchandise whose sales benefit THI (though I couldn’t identify the specific TPBs shadowen was referring to). After a few days of my darling dearest growling about how making the very good point that many appeals for grass-roots donations seem to cluster and/or increase in frequency at the end of the month, precisely when many of the poorest Americans can least afford to donate, I decided to schedule my reblog for the beginning of the month, even though it’s still the 29th as I write this. ;·) Also, for those of us to whom it makes a difference: The majority of the comics creators who The Hero Initiative has helped found themselves in dire financial straits due to unforeseen physical disability — and, as most PWDs know (at least here in the States), getting financial and medical aid in situations like that takes so long we’re typically ruined by the time the help comes through… and, even then, what help we get is based on politicians’ guesses and compromises about how much help people ‘should’ need, rather than how much anyone actually needs. THI keeps roofs over creators’ heads and food on their tables in addition to ensuring they can pay for whatever medical care they need, and doesn’t make them wade through months of paperwork first. [image description: a promotional image for the Avengers film, showing, from left to right, Scarlett Johannson as Agent Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow; Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury; Robert Downey, Jr. (unseen inside costume) as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man; Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner, depicted in Hulk form (Hulk voiced by Lou Ferrigno); Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, aka Captain America; Chris Hemsworth as Thor; and Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye.]
Pop-upView Separately

shadowen:

stickthisbig:

royalfan:

benito-cereno:

calamityjon:

The Avengers opens in theaters in the US on May 4th, and it’s going to do blockbuster business. The individual films featuring these characters have already  grossed more than $2.2 billion dollars - that’s greater than the Gross National Product of almost half the countries on Earth - and it’s not unlikely that The Avengers will earn a hundred million dollars on its opening day alone.

This represents a pretty big payday to a lot of people - the actors, obviously, will take home pretty big paychecks. The director and the writers are well-compensated, and certainly the executives who greenlighted this project get to sit back and rake in large bonuses and healthy salaries.

Well, you know where this is going; shamefully, the people who aren’t making a big profit from these movies are the people (and the families of the people) who did the essential work of creating them in the first place. It’s not just Jack Kirby, either, or (Black Widow and Hawkeye co-creator) Don Heck, but also Steve Engelhart, Peter David, Herb Trimpe, Jim Steranko, Roy Thomas and dozens more - the artists and writers who refined and defined the characters appearing in this movie, who fleshed out the original creations and molded them into the figures we cheer for when we see them on the screen.

Some very sensible people are calling for a boycott of this film on those grounds, but I think it’s fairly obvious that a boycott of idealistic comic fans isn’t going to accomplish much - it’s not only comic book fans who’ll be dropping a collective billion dollars over the next eight weeks to see this movie, it’s going to be a lot of movie-goers who haven’t read a comic since they were kids, much less know anything of the controversy.

Plus, of course, you - the collective “you”, representing comic book fans all over the world - want to see this movie. And you’re going to, most likely, right? Even though you know of the morally shady practices of Marvel towards its creators, they’ve got you hooked. Don’t be ashamed, they’ve had you hooked for years. It’s what they do.

So how about this: You’re probably going to go see The Avengers and, judging by the early reviews, you’ll probably enjoy it. How about - as a thank you to the creators who brought you these characters in the first place, who gave you something to enjoy so much - you match your ticket price as a donation to The Hero Initiative? 

THI is a charity which provides essential financial assistance to comic book professionals who have fallen on hard times; for decades, the comic industry provided no financial safety net to its employees, most of whom it regarded only as freelancers and journeymen, meaning they were offered no health insurance, no unemployment insurance, no retirement plans - none of the financial support most of us enjoy from our jobs and careers. A small donation will help this agency provide a valuable safety net in times of need to these beloved entertainers.

I don’t plan on seeing The Avengers, but I’ve donated $15 - the price of a 3-D ticket - to Hero. If every concerned comic fan - every superhero aficionado who learned to live by the lessons of altruism and sacrifice taught by these comics - donated the price of their ticket, well, it may not hit a billion dollars but it’ll bring in a lot of money for a good and relevant cause.

One last note: Remember what Spider-Man always says? “With great power comes great responsibility”. The lesson in that is that everyone has great power. Spider-Man’s great power is being able to lift a bus. Your great power is the ability to help good causes do good work for good reasons - so why not go be a superhero instead of just watching them on the screen…

(PS: “Liking” this post is nice, thank you, but reblogging/retweeting it helps get the message out and would be even more appreciated)

Fully endorsed.

Not going to lie, I don’t know much about this issue but I wanted to reblog this so people in the fandom can check it out for themselves.

This is something to keep in mind- and something that I, admittedly, don’t. This has been going on since, uh, Siegel and Shuster, and it absolutely hasn’t gotten better with age.

If you want to support THI and like fancy things, they also have a partnership with BPAL: the profits from Heroine, Sachs and Violens go to them (and let me note that Sachs is my favorite scent ever, and that, at least last year at D*C, if you bought the set they would go find Peter David and George Perez and have them sign it for you, and yes, I FLIPPED MY SHIT). I’d also like to put in a PSA for the CBLDF, another important organization for comics creators that could use your support.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Jeremy Renner gifs.

THI also has two TPBs out featuring collections of short comics from different creators. The books are good and proceeds benefit THI.

I chose shadowen’s reblog specifically for the ‘Buy Cool Stuff and Do Good At the Same Time! angle. Hi, tumblr stranger! Thanks for adding more helpful info to this post.

For convenience, all the links from above grouped together & annotated:

  • The Hero Initiative, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to helping comics creators in need due to the lack of health and disability insurance availability/affordability in the comics industry;
  • Heroine, Sachs and Violens, 3 perfume-oil blends created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, with proceeds to benefit THI;
  • the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, providing legal assistance to readers, retailers and creators of comics facing comics-related prosecution, and educating law enforcement and the public about the legal status of comics art;
  • and finally, Graham Crackers Comics, THI’s official retail partner, lists a few dozen TPBs, individual issues and related merchandise whose sales benefit THI (though I couldn’t identify the specific TPBs shadowen was referring to).

After a few days of my darling dearest growling about how making the very good point that many appeals for grass-roots donations seem to cluster and/or increase in frequency at the end of the month, precisely when many of the poorest Americans can least afford to donate, I decided to schedule my reblog for the beginning of the month, even though it’s still the 29th as I write this. ;·)

Also, for those of us to whom it makes a difference: The majority of the comics creators who The Hero Initiative has helped found themselves in dire financial straits due to unforeseen physical disability — and, as most PWDs know (at least here in the States), getting financial and medical aid in situations like that takes so long we’re typically ruined by the time the help comes through… and, even then, what help we get is based on politicians’ guesses and compromises about how much help people ‘should’ need, rather than how much anyone actually needs. THI keeps roofs over creators’ heads and food on their tables in addition to ensuring they can pay for whatever medical care they need, and doesn’t make them wade through months of paperwork first.

[image description: a promotional image for the Avengers film, showing, from left to right, Scarlett Johannson as Agent Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow; Samuel L. Jackson as Director Nick Fury; Robert Downey, Jr. (unseen inside costume) as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man; Mark Ruffalo as Dr. Bruce Banner, depicted in Hulk form (Hulk voiced by Lou Ferrigno); Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, aka Captain America; Chris Hemsworth as Thor; and Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye.]

Source: calamityjon

Small Rant on Body Typesby CanecaDePapel at DeviantArt [Image description: Alternating rough anatomical sketches and hand-written notes. At the very top of the image is the header “IN ANIME”; the left-hand column begins with two anatomy sketches representing female anatomy as typically depicted in Japanese animation, while the right-hand column similarly begins with two examples of anime-typical male anatomy. The type of anatomical sketch used does not depict hair, nor any more facial detail than — sometimes — a centerline and/or eye or mouth latitude lines. Each figure is a different color than those adjacent to it, but none are realistic human skin colors, as opposed to bright pastel hues. Left-column text: Frail-looking Short Small Build Skinny, not athletic. We can only tell them apart because of slight height variation and cup / waist size. :/ Fat GIRLS? Blasphemy. Right-column text: We can only tell them apart because some are skinny and some are muscular. Tall Always the same build (i.e. large shoulders, tucked-in ass.) We only see short / frail looking guys in yaoi manga / anime No young and fat / chubby guys Following the two columns of text, halfway down the page, a second header reads “IRL:” (abbreviation for in real life). Six figures with varying heights, breast shape/sizes, body types and postures follow, followed by the caption, “Women come in all sizes and shapes.” Another six figures, displaying varying heights, genital shape/sizes, body types and postures appear next, with the , “Men come in all sizes and shapes.” beneath the second line of figures.] runesby: mangalho: I guess when I watch too much animu, I get irritated about the lack of variety. Don’t even get me started on ”gender roles”. That could take five full sheets of this. i need this. Some men have breasts and/or vaginas, of course, and some women have penises, and some people identify as neither wholly male nor wholly female (not to mention that there are any number of examples of individual manga and anime series which feature occasional or even regular characters with heavier or otherwise different body types, albeit usually restricted to ‘ugly’ and/or comic-relief characters); but this is a good rebuke of typically-problematic ways anime and manga stylize bodies, as far as it goes.
Pop-upView Separately

Small Rant on Body Types
by CanecaDePapel at DeviantArt

[Image description: Alternating rough anatomical sketches and hand-written notes.

At the very top of the image is the header “IN ANIME”; the left-hand column begins with two anatomy sketches representing female anatomy as typically depicted in Japanese animation, while the right-hand column similarly begins with two examples of anime-typical male anatomy. The type of anatomical sketch used does not depict hair, nor any more facial detail than — sometimes — a centerline and/or eye or mouth latitude lines. Each figure is a different color than those adjacent to it, but none are realistic human skin colors, as opposed to bright pastel hues.

Left-column text:

  • Frail-looking
  • Short
  • Small Build
  • Skinny, not athletic.
  • We can only tell them apart because of slight height variation and cup / waist size. :/
  • Fat GIRLS? Blasphemy.

Right-column text:

  • We can only tell them apart because some are skinny and some are muscular.
  • Tall
  • Always the same build (i.e. large shoulders, tucked-in ass.)
  • We only see short / frail looking guys in yaoi manga / anime
  • No young and fat / chubby guys

Following the two columns of text, halfway down the page, a second header reads “IRL:” (abbreviation for in real life). Six figures with varying heights, breast shape/sizes, body types and postures follow, followed by the caption, “Women come in all sizes and shapes.” Another six figures, displaying varying heights, genital shape/sizes, body types and postures appear next, with the , “Men come in all sizes and shapes.” beneath the second line of figures.]

runesby:

mangalho:

I guess when I watch too much animu, I get irritated about the lack of variety.

Don’t even get me started on ”gender roles”. That could take five full sheets of this.

i need this.

Some men have breasts and/or vaginas, of course, and some women have penises, and some people identify as neither wholly male nor wholly female (not to mention that there are any number of examples of individual manga and anime series which feature occasional or even regular characters with heavier or otherwise different body types, albeit usually restricted to ‘ugly’ and/or comic-relief characters); but this is a good rebuke of typically-problematic ways anime and manga stylize bodies, as far as it goes.

(via iamacoyfish)

Source: canecadepapel.deviantart.com

fairy-wren: european starling Photo by Michael Radloff (click here for the same page Google-translated into English) This is the starling species I’m most familiar with, since I live in North America; the common or European starling (Sturnus vulgarus) is native to Europe and western Asia, but was deliberately introduced into Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States, and has become a nuisance or pest species everywhere it was introduced. Starling populations in Australia are the most problematic, as they compete with many endemic (found nowhere else) birds, and also eat, damage, or contaminate (with their feces) many crops including feed meant for livestock. Only Western Australia has managed to keep starlings out, partly because they were recognized as a threat to agriculture and biodiversity in the late 1800s, shortly after starlings had been introduced to other parts of Australia. Happily, here in the northeast U.S., the European starling is merely a nuisance (and even that is a matter of opinion) found primarily in urban areas. Along with the smaller English sparrow (another introduced species) and the larger pigeon and crow, they feed largely on food waste. The window ledges of our apartment building are wide enough that one or more starlings will occasionally land there, giving us an excellent, close-up view of their lovely plumage — not as showy as that of many starling species found elsewhere in the world, it’s true, but I find that makes their plumage’s often-subtle iridescence feel like more of a reward for taking the time to observe them. In some individuals, the usually-black feathers are instead a dull brown, which is more translucent and creates an interestingly different effect when the iridescence manifests. And there’s a fair amount of variation in the size and number of white “star” speckles, and in which colors an individual’s iridescence displays, between individuals even in the same population. Sometimes starlings visiting our windowsill vocalize, which is a special treat, as they are talented mimics and often incorporate sounds they’ve heard into their own song; we’ve heard them imitate the cries of seagulls; various electronic noises made by cars, buses (especially the beeping that accompanies deployment of accessibility ramps or lifts), alarm clocks and cellphones; and even the sound of a balloon squeaking as it’s rubbed! In urban settings, these starlings have been observed to form highly complex communities, with some researchers even going so far as to describe groups of juvenile birds as organizing themselves similarly to the human street gangs they often share territory with. Herr Radloff’s photo above looks like it was taken on a cold day, since the starling’s feathers are fluffed out the way birds do to trap insulating layers of air between the outside air and their skin.
Pop-upView Separately

fairy-wren:

european starling

Photo by Michael Radloff (click here for the same page Google-translated into English)

This is the starling species I’m most familiar with, since I live in North America; the common or European starling (Sturnus vulgarus) is native to Europe and western Asia, but was deliberately introduced into Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States, and has become a nuisance or pest species everywhere it was introduced. Starling populations in Australia are the most problematic, as they compete with many endemic (found nowhere else) birds, and also eat, damage, or contaminate (with their feces) many crops including feed meant for livestock. Only Western Australia has managed to keep starlings out, partly because they were recognized as a threat to agriculture and biodiversity in the late 1800s, shortly after starlings had been introduced to other parts of Australia.

Happily, here in the northeast U.S., the European starling is merely a nuisance (and even that is a matter of opinion) found primarily in urban areas. Along with the smaller English sparrow (another introduced species) and the larger pigeon and crow, they feed largely on food waste. The window ledges of our apartment building are wide enough that one or more starlings will occasionally land there, giving us an excellent, close-up view of their lovely plumage — not as showy as that of many starling species found elsewhere in the world, it’s true, but I find that makes their plumage’s often-subtle iridescence feel like more of a reward for taking the time to observe them. In some individuals, the usually-black feathers are instead a dull brown, which is more translucent and creates an interestingly different effect when the iridescence manifests. And there’s a fair amount of variation in the size and number of white “star” speckles, and in which colors an individual’s iridescence displays, between individuals even in the same population.

Sometimes starlings visiting our windowsill vocalize, which is a special treat, as they are talented mimics and often incorporate sounds they’ve heard into their own song; we’ve heard them imitate the cries of seagulls; various electronic noises made by cars, buses (especially the beeping that accompanies deployment of accessibility ramps or lifts), alarm clocks and cellphones; and even the sound of a balloon squeaking as it’s rubbed!

In urban settings, these starlings have been observed to form highly complex communities, with some researchers even going so far as to describe groups of juvenile birds as organizing themselves similarly to the human street gangs they often share territory with.

Herr Radloff’s photo above looks like it was taken on a cold day, since the starling’s feathers are fluffed out the way birds do to trap insulating layers of air between the outside air and their skin.