mj-dilettante - Tumblr blog

[mj-dilettante]

ok i just wanna check something.... reblog if you've never watched/opened tumblr live

[mj-dilettante]

If I could power the world using the emails I receive from Tumblr telling me that another spam bot has followed me, I could solve the power crisis.

[mj-dilettante]

[mj-dilettante]

CAN'T WAIT FOR MY COPY!!!

The Werewolf: Past and Future (non-fiction) - book proof!

The first proof of my upcoming first non-fiction book, The Werewolf: Past and Future (was going to be called Death of the Werewolf until I realized it’s already been cited in several werewolf studies publications!), arrived a few weeks ago!

I have made several modifications and ordered a second proof, which should arrive next week. With any luck, that will be the last one before I finalize the project and make both the paperback and the ebook available for sale online!

If you don’t know what this book is…

Since before recorded history, werewolves have captivated human imagination. Simultaneously, they represent our deepest fears as well as our desire to connect with our primal ancestry. Today, werewolves are portrayed negatively, associated with violence, cruelty, cannibalism, and general malevolence.

However, in ages past, legends depicted them not as monsters, but as a range of neutral to benevolent individuals, such as traveling companions, guardians, and knights. The robust legacy of the werewolf spans from prehistory, through ancient Greece and Rome, to the Middle Ages, into the Early Modern period, and finally into present-day popular culture. Over the ages, the view of the werewolf has become distorted. Media treatment of werewolves is associated with inferior writing, lacking in thought, depth, and meaning. Werewolves as characters or creatures are now generally seen as single-minded and one-dimensional, and they want nothing more than to kill, devour, and possibly violate humans.

Hollywood depictions have resulted in the destruction of the true meanings behind werewolf legends that fascinated and terrified humans for so many ages. If these negative trends were reversed, perhaps entertainment might not only discover again some of the true meanings behind the werewolf myth, but also take the first steps toward reversing negative portrayals of wolves themselves, which humans have, for eons, wrongfully stigmatized and portrayed as evil, resulting in wolves receiving crueler treatment than virtually any other animal.

To revive the many questions posed by lycanthropy, entertainment must show respect to the rich history of so many cultures all around the world – and rediscover the legend of the werewolf.

This book represents a lifetime of work, research, and argument. It’s the centerpiece of, essentially, who I am and what I want to fight for in my life. This underwent very close scrutiny by a board of distinguished professors and I had to defend my research and my arguments before them.

If you enjoy my werewolf facts, you’ll enjoy reading this, I can guarantee it, especially if you want to hear my side of things. It won’t be a guide to werewolves, though it’ll certainly have plenty of useful information on various legends (all with proper professional attribution, footnotes, discussion, citation, etc.).

Later down the road, I plan to publish a book that is much more like my werewolf facts - more of a guidebook. But, for now, I think this is a great place to start to get my perspective on things while also learning about almost all the werewolf legends and info I’ve covered in various facts.

I’m really looking forward to getting this book out there - stay tuned! The Werewolf: Past and Future is coming this month!

[mj-dilettante]

Can't wait to have to daily "drone attack" statistics.

Documenting the Cyberpunk Dystopia, Part 314

more from the story on CNET:

Logistics convoys and retreating forces were "hunted down and remotely engaged by lethal autonomous weapons systems such as the STM Kargu-2," the report reads. "The lethal autonomous weapons systems were programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true 'fire, forget, and find' capability."

The creator of the Kargu drone, STM, says the device "can be effectively used against static or moving targets through its indigenous and real-time image processing capabilities and machine learning algorithms embedded on the platform."

The UN in 2018 attempted to begin working on a treaty that would ban autonomous weapons, but the move was blocked by both the US and Russia. Human Rights Watch has been campaigning against such weapons since 2013, and has backed a campaign to stop their spread. 

"Killer robot proliferation has begun," tweeted Max Tegman, a machine learning researcher at MIT. "It's not in humanity's best interest that cheap slaughterbots are mass-produced and widely available to anyone with an axe to grind. It's high time for world leaders to step up and take a stand." 

from the company's website:

but wait! it gets better - let's swarm these bad boys:

so. killer robots.

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG

[mj-dilettante]

me walking into the grocery store to buy everything bagels

[mj-dilettante]

I found a company called “Frantic Meerkat” who makes journals whose sole purpose is to call me out

[mj-dilettante]

Two Crows on a Branch Overlooking Asakusa at Dawn, (1883) — Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831-1889)

[mj-dilettante]

Because everyone keeps asking about it.

These Bastards are available as prints, cards and postcards over on RedBubble.

I’ve had a go at making stickers out of these and it’s bloody horrendous. So I hope you all can suffice with prints for now.

Please also have a look over on my INPRNT store for more artwork x

[mj-dilettante]

New (free) Chapter - The Hunt Never Ends, part 5

The next installment of Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends, “Waking the Dragon, Part I,” is now available for free on Wattpad and Royal Road!

This is an important one - Caiden will meet, for the first time, Tom Drake: someone who will be… very important to his future - and vice versa.

I have plenty more writing on the way and, if you don’t want to wait so long to read new installments, this complete book is available on Amazon as both paperback and ebook!

Enjoy!

The Hunt Never Ends on Wattpad

The Hunt Never Ends on Royal Road

[mj-dilettante]

Just had someone walk into my job wearing cat ears, a Chesire cat smile mask and reffered to the employees as, "Humans"....

[mj-dilettante]

Tag game!

I was tagged by @maverick-werewolf, thanks BB!

1. Why did you choose your url?

Well, this isn't my usual online moniker to be sure... But also there are some people in IRL that really don't need to see my tumblog so I went with something a little different.

MJ are two of my initials, as for "Dilletante"

[ˌdiləˈtänt, diləˈtäntē] NOUN:

a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge. "a wealthy literary dilettante"

synonyms: dabbler · potterer · tinkerer · trifler · dallier · amateur · nonprofessional · nonspecialist · layman · laypersonarchaic a person with an amateur interest in the arts. I'm certainly not a master of anything, much more of a petty dabbler, so it fit.

2. Any side blogs?

I used to run a wordpress to host my photography but that has long gone into the wayside and this is the only one I run here on Tumbles. Although technically this is my second blog here... but I barely keep up on this like I should...

3. How long have you been on Tumblr?

Well, I had a previous blog here, but I don't remember when I deleted that one. This blog was started Jan of 2018.

4. Do you have a queue tag?

I... uh... had to look up what this was... that's how little I post here. For shame, I know.

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I was going through a really rough patch at the time. Ya know the usual, heart break, healing from child hood trauma, eating disorders, anxiety, alcoholism, I had nearly lost one my sisters in a car accident, the whole nine.

This became a place I could seek solace, post my poetry, be myself and generally express what I felt I couldn't to people I actually knew.

I still struggle with some of those things and this page has always been a reminder of how far I've come, as well as still being that open notebook I can right in when I need to.

I've recently realized I've lost a few of my outlets when it comes to things so I've started up poetry and writing again and will probably post here more often in the coming weeks.

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

Well you see... I am *obsessed* with Uncharted's Nathan Drake's aesthetic: Everything from his wry wit to his Henley's and deep knowledge of things ancient. I did a whole photo shoot where I ran around old shipping containers and hung off them and other such nonsense. That picture ended up one of my favorites.

7. Why did you choose your header?

Well, I've a healthy obsession with ancient history. Especially things with columns.  Always have. This was a picture I took of some ruins in Capharnaum when I was in Israel.

8. What’s your post with the most notes?

Well... This is hard. Because while I think I'm funny enough to be tumblr famous my follower and note count say different... But I have two. One was posted after a particularly trying time in my life which is when I posted an Eminem lyric and it got 38 notes. But since it wasn't my lyric I won't take credit. The other was a snippet of a poem I wrote after I spent a summer night just feeling too many emotions.

https://mj-dilettante.tumblr.com/post/177452778662/there-are-days-that-etch-themselves-into-your

Soooo angsty...

9. How many mutuals do you have?

Like... 2?

10. How many followers do you have?

35. Which doesn't sound like a lot until I imagine them following me around like ducklings and then suddenly that's a lot! How do I keep them from running into traffic??? I would be a terrible mother duck.

11. How many people do you follow?

46. But I definitely see more than just their content so I really should  follow more.

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

No just shitty posts.

13. How often do you use Tumblr each day?

More like once every 2 days. Or whenever @maverick-werewolf posts.

14. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

Nah. Who has time for that drama?

15. How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

Depends on the content. Like I said, this blog was spawned out of a desperate time in my life so some things fit the blog and some don't.

16. Do you like tag games?

Yeppers!

17. Do you like ask games?

For sure! It's fun to see what some people come up with for prompts!

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

@maverick-werewolf

Feeling the love yet, Mav? XD

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual? I always crush on my bestiessssss

Tagging people is weird and stuff, but @tolivenotonlytoexist if you're still around!

[mj-dilettante]

Book Preview: Death of the Werewolf (non-fiction)

(title page mockup, not final cover)

Since before recorded history, werewolves have captivated human imagination. Simultaneously, they represent our deepest fears as well as our desire to connect with our primal ancestry. Today, werewolves are portrayed negatively, associated with violence, cruelty, cannibalism, and general malevolence.

However, in ages past, legends depicted them not as monsters, but as a range of neutral to benevolent individuals, such as traveling companions, guardians, and knights. The robust legacy of the werewolf spans from prehistory, through ancient Greece and Rome, to the Middle Ages, into the Early Modern period, and finally into present-day popular culture. Over the ages, the view of the werewolf has become distorted. Media treatment of werewolves is associated with inferior writing, lacking in thought, depth, and meaning. Werewolves as characters or creatures are now generally seen as single-minded and one-dimensional, and they want nothing more than to kill, devour, and possibly violate humans.

Hollywood depictions have resulted in the destruction of the true meanings behind werewolf legends that fascinated and terrified humans for so many ages. If these negative trends were reversed, perhaps entertainment might not only discover again some of the true meanings behind the werewolf myth, but also take the first steps toward reversing negative portrayals of wolves themselves, which humans have, for eons, wrongfully stigmatized and portrayed as evil, resulting in wolves receiving crueler treatment than virtually any other animal.

To revive the many questions posed by lycanthropy, entertainment must show respect to the rich history of so many cultures all around the world – and rediscover the legend of the werewolf.

Another update on The Death of the Werewolf! I come this time with a preview of the book’s introduction! And a few notes from the announcement post, for those who didn’t read it:

This underwent very close scrutiny by a board of distinguished professors and I had to defend my research and my arguments before them. This book represents a lifetime of work, research, and argument. It’s the centerpiece of, essentially, who I am and what I want to fight for in my life.

If you enjoy my werewolf facts, you’ll enjoy reading this, I can guarantee it, especially if you want to hear my side of things. It won’t be a guide to werewolves, though it’ll certainly have plenty of useful information on various legends (all with proper professional attribution, footnotes, discussion, citation, etc.).

Coming this summer!

( Patreon — Ko-fi — Wulfgard — Werewolf Fact Masterlist — Twitter — Vampire Fact Masterlist )

Be sure to follow me on all those various media places for more updates on this, the resuming of my blog itself, and both my non-fiction and fiction publications.

Preview of Death of the Werewolf’s “Introduction” below the cut!

Keep reading

[mj-dilettante]

FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT! And thank you for your sources! And when it comes to what is scarier - I couldn't agree more - the idea of something transforming into a beast, that is so justly terrifying that it would scare men witless and then for them to turn around and have some bare ass ass cheeks is just ridiculous. Especially since for some reason the hair only goes to mid thigh so it ends up looking like some assless chaps which really is very silly and really detracts from what would be and should a monster of nightmares.

Werewolf Fact #60 - Werewolves Have Tails

Unbelievably, I never actually did a werewolf fact on this. But… Well, it disturbs me just how many random people on the internet I see making the utterly baseless assertion, as if they actually know, that “werewolves in folklore didn’t have tails.”

That is categorically untrue.

(Although plenty of things in Hollywood spurned tails on their werewolf designs for various reasons, Underworld remains the primary culprit for popularizing the concept of “my werewolf is too edgy and unwolfish to have a tail”)

Do werewolves in folklore have tails? The answer is so simple it can be shortened to just one word:

Yes.

Now, if you ask me, I think it looks totally ridiculous to have a werewolf with a wolf (or whatever modern designs pretend passes as something remotely wolfish; let’s face it, most werewolf designs, especially movie ones, have basically nothing in common with a wolf) head and/or digitigrade legs that doesn’t have a tail. Those need tails. But don’t get me started on werewolf designs.

I also personally think it’s much scarier for a werewolf to have a tail, and I don’t buy the arguments that they are “scarier without one,” because apparently startlingly bare werewolf butts sticking out like they’re begging to have a tail pinned on them are scary (?), and I’ll tell you why at the end of this post.

Before I get into the folklore meat of this, though, I will say that part of my personal stake in werewolf studies is to push for a less broad definition of the word “werewolf.” Personally, I don’t hold to many scholars’ ideas of calling every single person turning into a wolf a “werewolf,” and this applies doubly to things involving witchcraft.

Personally, I think a “werewolf” needs to fit a certain, meaningful criteria, instead of any old person or thing who has the ability to turn into a wolf.

To start off, I will open with the very simple statement that the overwhelming majority of werewolves in folklore turned into giant wolves. Yes, just wolves. Not wolves walking upright, not wolf-men, just wolves. And what do all wolves have? Tails. Case closed.

If that isn’t enough for you, though, there are many sources that detail exactly the how and why of werewolves having tails in folklore…

Firstly, there’s Henry Boguet in “Of the Metamorphosis of Men into Beasts,” from 1590 (my version was republished in A Lycanthropy Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture, edited and compiled by Charlotte F. Otten). On page 79 of this edition, Boguet marks a difference between werewolves and witches that have turned into wolves, repeating a common belief that, when witches turn into animals, they have “no tails.”

Notice that the witches do not have tails. The werewolves, however, do, and that is even specified as an identifying attribute.

Secondly, there’s the Malleus Maleficarum, specifically question X of part I, “Whether Witches can by some Glamour Change Men into Beasts.” I’m pulling this from Monatgue Summers’ translation.

They say that, “the devil can deceive the human fancy so that a man really seems to be an animal.” This specifically refers to deception. Thus, illusion. Not a true, physical change as we get with a werewolf.

Furthermore, however, they say that “when it says that no creature can be made by the power of the devil, this is manifestly true if Made is understood to mean Created. But if the word Made is taken to refer to natural production, it is certain that devils can make some imperfect creatures.”

“Imperfect,” in this instance, generally thought to refer to “tailless,” along with a few other legends, such as a witch in animal form still bearing human eyes. Again, witches.

Bear in mind that the Malleus Maleficarum was written and compiled during a time period in which werewolves were considered a form of witchcraft, although not equal to it. One could become a werewolf via a curse, without directly practicing that witchcraft. Long story short, werewolves and witches were NOT the same thing.

This also came from a time period when werewolves were considered negative (obviously), unlike in earlier time periods, and much more like today.

Moving on, we also have Albert the Great in his book On Animals, as cited by Montague Summers, who says that devils can indeed make animals: “they can, with God’s permission, make imperfect animals.” Again on the imperfection.

There is one scholar who disputes this very, very briefly in his writing, and that is actually one of my prime sources: Montague Summers. In his book The Werewolf, he remarks, “many–but not all– authorities hold that the werewolf has no tail.” Like, dude, what? We just established that they do.

Something to remember about Summers is that firstly, he truly believed in werewolves as a form of witchcraft. To him, werewolves are more closely connected with those aforementioned witches (that I think werewolves need to be separated from). Secondly, when he makes this sweeping statement, he provides absolutely no sources whatsoever and doesn’t really make any kind of argument to back up or to defend that idea. I’m calling his BS on that one.

Thirdly, we have an overwhelming number of other sources on werewolves being depicted with tails as opposed to without. We have imagery from various time periods (as appeared in my post on werewolf appearances; there are a few more images here), in which they are virtually always depicted with tails or mid-transformation into the form of a wolf, which would have a tail. One of the only depictions we have of a tailless werewolf is the wolf-man woodcut of the one eating the baby, which is in itself a rare sight, as werewolves weren’t generally “wolf-men” very often in folklore. And, frankly, I think somebody misnamed that woodcut, because I’ve never seen any sourcing on it and I don’t even know if it’s supposed to depict a werewolf in the first place.

Descriptions of werewolves in folklore frequently refer to tails, or else refer to the werewolf as simply a “wolf” and thus lead us to assume they must have a tail, or such a radical difference would’ve been noticed by the narrator (Niceros’s tale, Bisclavret, Melion, the curse of Lykaon, Chinese legends, and many more).

There are doubtless many more citations/discussions/arguments on this, but I think you get the picture.

Werewolves have tails. And not some funky little cut-off rat tail or some stub sticking out from their spine - a wolf tail.

And you know one reason why werewolves have tails? Because, ages ago, people didn’t see a terrifying werewolf and immediately go “omg puppy uwu must pet good boi” or “werewolves are so corny lol.”

Because, ages ago, the concept of a human turning into something so inhuman was terrifying. Unfortunately, everyone today has reframed like 90% of everything into “that is bad and corny” if it’s remotely fantasy. Regardless, the idea of a human turning into something with a tail - a tail being a markedly inhuman trait - was extremely scary and startling. A werewolf with a tail will always appear much less human than a werewolf without one, and that is something that brings them closer to being terrifying beasts as opposed to just hairy dudes.

So yes, sure it’s an aesthetic choice of the creator, but werewolves in folklore had tails, whether anyone likes it or not. And if they are anything beyond a wolf-man, they’re simply going to look better with tails, and if you ask me, that’s also something that will be the case whether anyone likes it or not. You hear me, Blizzard? 

(If you like my werewolf blog, be sure to check out my other stuff and consider supporting me on Patreon!

Patreon — Wulfgard — Werewolf Fact Masterlist — Twitter — Vampire Fact Masterlist )

[mj-dilettante]

Protocol 3: Protect the Pilot

[mj-dilettante]

I have, and so should you.

listen!!! normalize giving swords as romantic gestures!!!

[mj-dilettante]

The author is one of my longest standing friends and true pillar of human kindness! Her works of fiction are fantastical and beautifully written! Go check her out!

New Book Available NOW - Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends

Now is the hour! Seize your destiny - and discover a new world, a land of monsters and magic, of shape-shifters and beast-men, of danger and deceit - a world where all legends are true, where every myth is real and every fight could be your last, where darkness lurks in every corner… a world where only the bravest of heroes rise to answer the call of battle - and to the call of the hunt.

Discover the world of Wulfgard.

Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends is now available in ebook and paperback!

Available via Amazon - click here for the purchase page!

(please note that the previewer will be available in the coming days on the Amazon page; for now, for previews, see the link later in this post!)

In the civilized world of humans, ‘monsters’ have all but passed into legend. But when something goes bump in the night, when people begin to disappear, when a dark mystery begins to haunt even the most peaceful villages, there is only one organization to turn to: the Hunters. The Venatori. Having lived a life of discipline and service, former soldier Caiden Voros finds something even worse than the wars of humans: the monsters that hunt them. Horrors yet unknown even to him and his many scars await in the claws, talons, fangs, and mysterious powers of creatures so far beyond humans that he must dedicate himself entirely to the art of slaying them. Harboring a secret of his own and in a constant struggle to find answers while maintaining his sanity, however, Caiden begins to ask the age-old question… Who is truly worse, the monsters or the Men? Wulfgard: The Hunt Never Ends is a collection of stories, each of which stand on its own, but they also build upon each other in a consecutive order, bridging a gap between a novel and short story collection. These stories follow monster hunter Caiden Voros and his partner Gwen Vergil as they embark on tales of mystery, horror, and adventure to track down monsters - the living dead, beast-men, shape-shifters, spirits, and many more - that would do harm to innocent lives and, by whatever means necessary, put a stop to their terrors. Their motives, however, are not always what they seem.

Wulfgard is a historically inspired ancient/medieval dark mythic fantasy setting created by me and my brother. It is my answer to everything I want to see in these kinds of settings and the culmination of my lifetime of research in folklore, mythology, and medieval and ancient history put into its own fictional world with new elements combining all of these things in unique yet traditional ways. I have - very literally - worked on it for my entire life.

For book previews, more information, and previews of some of the interior illustrations, be sure to check out The Hunt Never Ends tag here on my blog!

I hope you’ll consider picking up a copy of The Hunt Never Ends and exploring my world of Wulfgard, meeting my characters, and discovering my writing: my greatest passion. It’s just in time to be spooky - or to be a holiday gift.

Happy Halloween!

(A reblog would mean the world to me. Being an indie author is very difficult, so you can help me so much just by reblogging this post! And please be sure to check out my other works and maybe come hang out on my discord server. Everyone is welcome.

Patreon — Werewolf Fact Masterlist — Twitter — Discord Server — Ko-fi)