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That's a baby garthim.

weevil 645

by @ben.j.curry on instagram

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omg imagine a cat-sized peacock jumping spider but it reacts to music the same way parakeets and stuff do. I would die.

glimpse into my beautiful imaginary world where arthropods are really big and we domesticated them

edit: people are starting to say some "my worst nightmare" or "eeeww no that one is yucky and scary" comments on this like they do on any bug post and id like to say. it's fine if you don't like bugs it's fine if you're scared of bugs but don't put that on MY post clearly talking about how much i like them and how cute i think they are. you can make your own damn post about how much you hate wasps or spiders or whatever. i'm blocking people who make these kinds of comments.

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Easy. You can buy mine as a LEGO set.

I love when a city has a Big Dumb Thing in it.

The quintessential Big Dumb Thing is the St. Louis Arch, which was built to commemorate westward expansion and is almost exclusively there for tourists, but also gives an otherwise kind of mid city a little bit of identity. I have to imagine that as soon as it was built, people started talking about it, which is one of the things I like. When practical considerations dominate how cities are built, it's great to have someone's creative vision writ large on the horizon, even if it's not the most beautiful thing ever constructed.

To qualify as a Big Dumb Thing, the structure in question needs to have no practical purpose for being built how it was, or at least minimal purpose. Most of its shape should be aesthetic, though as buildings involve engineering, I'm willing to give a lot of leeway. Most often, they'll be towers, because those stick out, and you get more bang for your buck with a tower.

Not all landmarks are Big Dumb Things. There are plenty of bridges and buildings that are pretty but functional, and the functionality comes first, because they were built with that function in mind. So the Golden Gate Bridge? Not, in my parlance, a Big Dumb Thing, even if it's nice to go up and look at, and dominates the popular understanding of San Francisco's identity.

But San Francisco also has Coit Tower, which was built because someone wanted it to exist and had the money to make that happen. This very much gets at the heart of why most Big Dumb Things are built, and if not for the Golden Gate Bridge, I think it would have found a more prominent place in the city's cultural identity.

I would like to hear about your local Big Dumb Thing. Something that someone built mostly because they thought that it would be cool to have around, either built by a benefactor or commissioned or just a building made into art. Might be a monument, might be a tower, might be a building, it just needs to be Big and also Dumb (affectionate).

And also include a picture, if you can.

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Animated scrap metal figures by Guillermo Galetti

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The patron

The alien came to the library again, shortly before closing time, and quickly found a book.

"May this entity borrow The Complete History of Knitting?"

They always return the book they borrow after five minutes, but the ritual of checking it out seems important to them. 

"Of course. Did you bring your card?"

I looked them up, after the first time I saw them for real. They first registered with us over ninety years ago. The senior librarian who first told me about them said I shouldn't stare, or pry.

"Whatever else they are, they are a patron, and should be treated as such," she said. "If they seek knowledge, it is our duty to help them find it."

There isn't an ancient and secret code of librarians, but that is definitely a core part of it. If such a code existed.

I scan the card and the book. "There you go," I say and hand them over. "Please return it within two weeks."

They tilt their head. "This entity will honour your terms."

"Oh! That reminds me, we have updated the terms since your last visit." I hand them the pamphlet we got from the printers last week. "It's mostly about internet usage, but I'll need you to read them and agree."

They study the pamphlet.

"These are terms this entity can abide by." They pause. "Is there no requirement to keep your existence secret?"

"Of course not," I say, "we always welcome new patrons."

They stand silent, long enough for me to realise the implications of what I have just said. 

"This entity had made an assumption, based on prior experiences on countless worlds, where knowledge is always closely guarded and costly to obtain" they say at last. "You will provide knowledge for free to all who seek it?"

In my mind, I weigh humanity's ignorance of those countless worlds of alien civilisations against the code.

"Yes," I say, "this is a library."

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So sick of dog motif what about cat motif.

I love you but we don't love the same. I can't be near you when you want me to be. Your love is smothering and your need to keep me safe is trapping me. I'm my own person but I don't know how to show you that. I lash out and hurt you even though I don't mean to. I need you to move slowly around me or I'll bolt. I love you, even though I don't say it. If you stay still I'll sit next to you, and even though we don't understand each other we can be together like that.

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This is me

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Some concept art and redesigns inspired by the Commodore 64 game Paradroid, drawn by Android Arts / Arne Niklas Jansson.

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No one is wholesome. No one is "pure." Such expectation wears away at a person's soul. It is like handing someone a magnifying glass, and with that glass, they look at their life. The previous actions in their life. Sorting such actions into pure (precious, worth protecting) or evil (wrong, worth eliminating), and after measuring the weight of the actions, they decide if they themselves are good or bad. "Am I still pure? After looking at these actions, am I still wholesome enough to receive care and love?"

I've seen it and felt it. I recoil when I see others call people wholesome as a result. (Actions can be in good faith. That is 'wholesome'. But an entire person...?) It is a comforting word for some, however.

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litter box warning

spreading this person's PSA here onto tumblr bc this seems very important for everyone to know if you're not on Twitter: here's the link to their full post.

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Doing a few more of these today

Shop

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I firmly believe that some stories can never be translated into a different medium and that's okay

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Someone teach this turnip about dual-wielding. It will blow their mind.

Read the adventures of Quest Sprout (and friends): https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/swords-the-webcomic/list?title_no=198852

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I love Calvin and Hobbes but there are definitely a few strips like this. Today we have the internet and you can just look it up, but when I was a kid you had to ASK SOMEONE and that was... well it was just awful.

calvin and hobbes

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really helpful technique ^ once you know how to divide by halves and thirds it makes drawing evenly spaced things in perspective waaay easier:

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As an adult you must cultivate the skill of “Gross! Oh, well. Not my business.”