#definitely have a preference for south american species

[archiepelago]

Out of curiosity what species do you guys think Sebastian would be as a furry i need ideas

[postmodernbeing]

Shingeki no Kyojin headcanons: 104th training corps (College AU)

Hello, Postmodernbeing here. This time I wanted to write about things that I actually know, since I’m a college student and I’m studing History and Social Sciences I found myself wondering about what would the 104th training corps focus their studies on if all of them had chosen humanities as their career. I hope you find this funny and at least a bit accurate.

IMPORTANT:  I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin, only these HCs are my own. // Might contain a few spoilers from the manga. // English is not my first language and I study uni at Latin America, so scientifical terms/words/concepts may vary. Anyhow, I thank you for reading and for your patience.

Eren Jaeger

He’s passionate about Military History, not to be confused with history of army. Eren’s rather focused in strategies, weapons and semiotics involved in military speech.

First started with books about great wars in modern era. The use of certain weapons took him by surprise due the technological development.

Then he took classes about discourse analysis, semiotics and such, and felt inspired by the discourse reflected in emblems, uniforms, flags, etc.

Eren doesn’t really have a preference between occidental or oriental, North or South, Modern or Ancient settings. He would simply devour all the books that deal with military strategy and warlike conflicts. Although he has more experience and information about great wars in modern era.

He’s fascinated with the inexhaustible human desire of freedom and the extent that it can reach. This fascination might not be very healthy, he concludes.

Also, finds a cruel beauty in violence when showed in freedom and ideals are protected over one’s own life. But he won’t tell his classmates or professors. He knows is a controversial opinion for he’s still aware the implications of massive conflicts and the abuse of power.

One thing led to another, Eren is now taking classes and reading about philosophy in war and anthropological perspectives about violence through time.

He’s so into social movements besides his main interest in college: “No one’s really free until all humanity is”, that’s his life motto pretty much.

Due his readings and researches he decided it was important to develop a political stance about the world’s problems. Eren strongly believes all lives worth the same, but systems and nations had imposed over others and vulnerated other human's lives.

Yes, Eren is anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist.

Mikasa Ackerman

Asian Studies Major / History Minor.

She thinks by studying these degrees, she pays honor to her heritage. Specially to her mother. Her family is the proudest for Mikasa is also the best student in her whole generation.

Mikasa received a scholarship thanks to Azumabito family, who are co-founders of an academic institution dedicated to Asian historical and cultural research. She might as well start working when she graduates.

Although she’s passionate about Japan’s history, she has written a few articles and essays about Asian Studies themselves and the importance of preserving but also divulging by means of art and sciences.

In her essays and research work, she likes to employ tools from many disciplines since she strongly believes all humanities and social sciences serve the very same purpose at scrutinize the social reality all the same. Might as well use demographics, ethnology, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, archeology, and so on. For it proves to bring light into questions that history by itself could answer unsatisfactorily (in Mikasa’s opinion).

Even her professors wonder how she manages to organize that much information and pull it off successfully. She might as well be more brilliant than a few PhD’s students.

Armin Arlert

Prehistoric studies / Archeology

He’s so into the studies about the prehistoric humans and routes of migration.

Passionate about the ocean and natural wonders since kid, Armin believed his career would be environmentalist or geoscience related.

That was the agreement he had with his grandad since middleschool, until he read Paul Rivet’s “The Origins of the American Man” book and captured him thoroughly. The way the book explained logically the diverse theories about global migration and enlisted the challenges of modern archeology -for there are numerous mysteries- simply devoured his conscience.

He knew from the books he’d read that most evidence of the first settlements are deep under dirt or far away in the ocean whose level has risen over the centuries leaving primitive camps – and answers – unreachable. 

That’s the reason he is so eager to study and give his best to contribute both archeology and history disciplines. Also, he’ll forever love the ocean and nature, just leave him do all the fieldwork, please.

Jean Kirstein

History of industry / Industrial heritage / Historical materialism

Jean first started interested in capitalist industries and production development in first world countries. Kind of rejected other visions and explanations since he’d read about positivism studies.

His interest in such matters started when he was a just boy. He often found himself wondering how things were made and that question captured him ever since. As he grew up, he realized that machines and industrial processes were highly involved in the most mundane objects creation.

Nonetheless, he learnt that not always the best machinery was used, nor the best work conditions were available for mass production. From that moment he’d started to read about the First Industrial Revolution and his mind just took off with questions. Invariably, he learned about labour struggle and the transforming power due workforce.

Between his readings and university classes, he’d knew more about labour movements, unions. And in the theoretical aspect, he'd learned about historical materialism analysis.

One could say that Jean possesses a humanistic vision of the implications in mass production under capitalist system along history and nowadays.

Marco Bodt

Royalty's history / Medieval Studies 

I wanted to keep his canonical fascination to royalty and the best way to do that was including Medieval Studies.

Marco would study since the fall of Roman Empire until the latest gossip of royal families all across Europe.

Might get a bit of Eurocentric with his essays but in real life discussions he’s always open to debates about decolonization. He has even read Frantz Fanon books and possesses a critical thinking about colonial countries and their relations with the so named third world.

Nevertheless, Marco finds a strange beauty in the lives of monarchs and he’s interested in study from their education, hobbies, strategies, relationships, everything.

I’d say that his favorite historical period is probably the establishment of the descendants of the barbarian peoples in the new kingdoms such as the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Franks, Vandals, Huns, Saxons, Angles and Jutes (holy shit, they're a lot).

Because this would transcend as the beginning of his favorite matter of analysis.

Sasha Braus

History of gastronomy, development of cooking, antropology and archeological studies.

Sasha’s interested in the history that shows human development of food and cooking. She finds wonders when she inquires into cultural aspects from the first farming till modern artistic expressions that would involve food.

Such as gastronomy. But her attention got caught in literature’s food representation too, with its symbols and allegories, also in paintings that belong in still life movement, but also Sasha finds interest when food is used as rhetorical devices (for example: the apple in Adam and Eve’s myth).

She’s curious about primitive systems of irrigation, cultivation, food distribution, adaptation of wild species; as well as the domestication of animals, the diversification of the diet and its link with sedentary life, as well as the subsequent division of labor once the need for food was assured in humanity’ first cities.

Sasha’s convinced that alimentation is the pilar of civilization as we know it. For it involves cultural, artistic, economic, emotion and social aspects. Food is a microcosm of analysis of humanity.

Sasha hasn’t a favorite historical period or setting. But she definitely has a special fascination for first civilizations and their link with alimentation. Also, she likes to study the development gastronomy in occident world around different regions, social classes, and time.

Although, let’s be honest, Sasha would devour (lol, couldn’t help it) ANY book about agriculture, cattle raising, cooking or gastronomy. 

Connie Springer

Micro-history / History of everyday life.

Connie loves his hometown, has a deep respect to his family and traditions. That’s why he finds himself wondering about the most ordinary events that developed in his dear Ragako. 

The book “The Cheese and the Worms” by Carlo Ginzburg changed the way he used to understand history and capture him into meaningful discussions about what he learned was called micro-history.

His favorite quote from that book is: “As with language, culture offers to the individual a horizon of latent possibilities—a flexible and invisible cage in which he can exercise his own conditional liberty.”

Once deep into studying the Italian historians and their works, he decided to give it a try, and ever since he’s mesmerized with the mundane vestiges craftsmen that worked in his village left behind.

Connie’s parents are so proud of him and his achivements, but mostly because he became a passionate academic over human and simple matters, (so down to earth our big baby).

His attitude towards his essays and research works truly shows his great heart and humility. Connie is aware that academic works have no use if they are not meant to teach us about ourselves too and current times.

Empathy and hard work, that’s how one could describe the elements that integrate his recently started academic career.

Historia Reiss

Political History / Statistician

Her father’s family pressured Historia since she was a little girl into studying History just like his dad. For he’s a very famous historian that had made important researches and books about the greatest statesmen of Paradis.

She thought in numerous ways that she could sabotage her career or study any other career without her family’s consent and end with her linage of historians. But she ended up enrolling in tuition and so far, she is trying her best in her studies. Historia swears this is the right path for her.

But don’t let the appearances fool you, even thought she studies her father’s career and the very same branch of history’s discipline, she has her own critical sense and she’s so talented on her own, very meticulous with her research papers.

Definitely wants a PhD about women, power and politics. We stand a Gender Studies Queen.

Her complementary disciplines are Political Sciences. Historia also has a talent for philosophy and owns a diary with all her thoughts about them. She hopes one day she would write a book or a manifesto about an innovative methodology for research and teaching History of Politic Thinking.

Ymir 

Religion’s History / Theology

Just like Historia, Ymir was pressured into studying History. And if she’s totally honest, she still has some doubts about it. Even if she couldn’t imagine herself studying anything else.

Anyways, Ymir thought that she could build her career around topics that she enjoys. So, she finally chose theology for unusual reasons.

Her classmates had grown up in religious families or had experience studying the doctrines they practiced. But she, being an agnostic, found satisfaction in unraveling belief systems in different cultures and time periods.

Albeit she studies in Paradis’ University, she currently has the opportunity of taking an academic exchange at Marley’s University. This only made Ymir more conflicted about her future, for she wants to stay (near Historia) but she’s aware that Marley would offer her more academic opportunities for her specialization.

Nowadays she’s working in some collaborative research paper with some people from Mythological Studies from the Literature department. She’s nailing it, writing some historical studies about titans in Greek mythology and its impact in shaping neoclassical poetry. Her brains ugh, love her.

Reiner Braun

Official History / Biographies of heroes and great wars.

His mother convinced him with numerous books about great national heroes, but mostly because she knew that would mean sure job to her son. All political administration in every level requires of an official chronicler. 

When he started his college courses, Reiner felt motivated and he was actually convinced that he had the vocation. But the more he read the less sure he felt that the academic world was for him. He wondered if he made the right choice. If he did it for him or for his mother.

Stories and myths about heroes have always cheered him up. That gave him purpose and consoled him when feeling down. Or at least it was like that when younger. Reiner truly didn’t feel like himself when regretting his choices, but he couldn’t help it for he was changing in more than a way.

That’s why he decided to experiment with other disciplines and with time he would find joy in historical novels. He would analyze them just as good as a litterateur and research about historical context in the written story AND study the artwork’s context itself.

His favorites theorical books are: “Historical Text as Literary Artifact” by Hayden White and Michel de Certeau’ “The Writing of History”.·        

Heroes stories would always accompany him, just differently now.

Bertolt Hoover

History of mentalities / Les Annales

Intimate relationships, basic habits and attitudes. / Culture

Bertie has always been a much reticent and shy guy. As he grew up, he consolidated his sullen personality, but maintained a friendly attitude towards anyone who needed him. That’s why he thought that the priority in his studies was to be at the service of his classmates.

So, although he was passionate about research and was a fan of the French Les Annales current, he considered his mission to be in the Archive. As a cataloger, organizer and curator of ancient documents.

But the ways of History are always mysterious, and Doctor Magath showed him that other way of being was possible. Before Bertolt picked his specialty, he met Theo Magath, a professor who recently had finished writing a book: “The Idea of Death in Liberio’s Ghetto in Marley During its War Against Eldia (Paradis)” (long-ass titles are historians specialty btw). After Magath ended his book’ presentation, Bertolt reached him. They talked for hours and finally, he felt inspired into pursuing his true passion. Magath gifted him “The Historian’s Craft” by Marc Bloch as a way to reminding him his way.

By the time Bertolt took History of Mentalities as optional class, he already had some basic notions about Les Annales, Lucien Febvre, Marc Bloch, Fernand Braudel, Jacques Le Goff and such. 

Being the gentle giant he is, Bertolt finds joy in reading about different lifestyles in diverse cultures. He constantly wonders about the origin of social constructs and the way they shape thinking as much as identity.

This boy is a wonder, he might not be the best in oral presentations or  extracurricular activities but sure as hell he’ll graduate with honors.

Annie Leonhart

Oral history, about institutions. Particularly, police and justice system in early XXs.

Albeit she got into the same University than Bertolt and Reiner, even shared classes and hopes, Annie regularly felt disconnected from her studies. With time she realized it wasn't due her career itself but rather because of the currents that her professors had suggested her taking. Until now.

Talking with Hitch and Marlow about their doubts concerning subjects and departments it came up the topics of history and present time but also oral history. She’d never heard something like that before. So, that very same week, Annie started searching for information about that.

She ended up with more questions: is it all of this just academic journalism? Or maybe sociology? When we can talk about regular history and when it starts being present time? If she introduces interviews due oral history, then that makes it an interdisciplinary work? Which are the best systems for analyzing data? Definitely, she’ll need help from anthropology and sociology departments if she wants to keep going. 

Contrary to her initial prognostic, philosophy and history of historic writing became her new allies, and the text “Le temps présent et l'historiographie contemporaine” (Present Time and Contemporary Historiography) by Bédarida among others, provided Annie another perspective. 

Regarding her favorite topics, she wouldn’t say that she selected them freely. They were just practical preferences. For institutions own extensive archives and numerous functionaries. One way or another, she ended up tangled in judicial system and police issues.

With new tools and object for studying, one could find Annie having a blast as detective too. Even if her academic essays focus on institutions’ history and configuration, she’s also working in corruption and more. She doesn’t do it because she believes it’s the right thing, but besides, the thrill of the tea is spicy. Although she won’t admit it. 

[plaguedocboi]

I'm considering getting a leech for a pet, but I live in Arizona so for around half the year our house temp can be up to 82F.

I've read that leeches should be kept in 63F, or anywhere from 40-80F, and I wanted to know if it would be possible for me to keep a leech. I don't want them to live in a stressful environment, and I think they would get hurt if I got a tank chiller.

Could you set up a fan to blow on the tank during the summer? That might cool it down enough.

Although leeches do prefer cool, dark places, they’re very adaptable and their natural ranges put them in places that get pretty hot during the summer.

H. verbana (the most commonly kept pet leech species) can live as far south as the Mediterranean, so they would probably be alright in warmer weather. Macrobdella decora (the North American medicinal leech) live from Canada to Mexico, so some populations can be found in subtropical areas. Buffalo leeches are fully tropical and would love 82 F temperatures!

So, all things considered, I think it’s definitely possible for you to get a leech! Just have a fan handy for days where it gets really hot.

[fatehbaz]

why are you against the use of the term anthropocene

Well, I’m not totally against its use; I think it can be useful, especially in discussions in popular mediums outside of academia. But I do think that academic discussion of and much of the popular discourse around and involving that term, especially among Euro-American scholars, is Eurocentric and pedantic. Eurocentric, in the sense that the discourse ignores Indigenous criticisms while simultaneously appropriating Indigenous cosmologies and accepting funding/concessions from (neo)colonial institutions. Pedantic, in the sense that the discourse is too focused on finding a specific start-date; too focused on fossil fuels and not enough attention is given to the arguably more-influential role of industrial-scale agriculture throughout human history; and not enough discussion of the human institutions (social hierarchies built to facilitate empires and resource extraction) that inflict social and ecological destruction. I do sometimes like the term as a rhetorical device, but prefer terms like “Plantationocene” which are more specific about which institutions and imperial cosmologies are most influential in provoking both violence against humans and ecological change and apocalypse.

You have probably heard of alternate proposed names for the same era of human influence: Plantationocene, Capitalocene, Cthuluscene. I agree that the distinction matters, and many people (especially Indigenous people and others from Latin America and the Global South) have written about the importance of this name. Indigenous writers and scholars have, in my opinion and not surprisingly, offered the most biting criticisms of Anthropocene discourse. From the perspective of North America, I enjoyed the writing of Dwayne Donald (Papaschase Cree); Zoe Todd (Metis); Kali Simmons (Lakota); and Kyle Whyte (Potawatomi); all of whom write explicitly about the Anthropocene, the ethics of ascribing a name to this era, its Eurocentric discourse, and alternative Indigenous interpretations of global environmental history. And if my rambling is annoying and if this post seems too absurdly long to read, then I would recommend reading what Zoe Todd has written about the importance of how the name of the era influences narratives told about human social and ecological stories; she also addresses other shortcomings and Eurocentric aspects of the Anthropocene concept: Heather Davis and Zoe Todd. “On the Importance of a Date, or Decolonizing the Anthropocene.” December 2017. 

—–

Here’s how I feel about the term “Anthropocene”:

Assuming we agree that the intertwined forces of colonialism, imperialism, industrial-scale agriculture, resource extraction generally, and the hierarchical social institutions which support them (including forced labor, severance of community connection to ecosystems through closure of the commons, racial and gender hierarchies, and Indigenous dispossession) are basically the major influences on global ecological change now and over the past few centuries or millennia (including the present-day, the era of overt European colonization across the globe, and earlier manifestations in historical “classic” state-building and early ancient hydraulic civilizations): Instead of looking for a specific date sometime around 1822 in Europe when fossil fuel emissions scarred the soil, like a technical geologist might, I instead try to ask at which point industrial-scale resource extraction (especially including agriculture and deliberate devegetation campaigns even in its ancient manifestations), supported by and to the benefit of social hierarchies and imperial worldviews, begin to alter soils at vast continent-wide scales enough to be the planet’s leading driver of change in soils, vegetation, oceans, and atmosphere?

Did it begin with the advent of industrial specialist guilds in Mesopotamia, when kings would bribe irrigation engineers not to help a farmer water their fields until the farmer had paid tribute or rent? Did it begin in Zhou-era or Warring States period China when deliberate devegetation campaigns, large forest-clearing projects, and flood-prevention dam infrastructure installation led to local extinction of tiger, rhinos, and elephants? Rome? The Columbian Exchange, institutionalized slavery, and plantations in seventeenth-century European colonies in the Americas?

Is an Isconahua community in Amazonia’s forests equally as responsible for global ecological change as a multi-billion-dollar American mining corporation?

This is an example of what might be the most common criticism of the term: The Anthropocene term, by invoking “anthropos,” is imprecise because rather than identifying the actual source of global ecological change (certain systems, institutions, and practices) it implies that blame be ascribed to humans-as-a-species for provoking this global ecological apocalypse. This criticism (”Anthropocene obscures responsibility”) is just one of many.

These are probably my major issues with Anthropocene: (1) According to Indigenous scholars and many writers from the Global South and especially Latin America, the name obscures responsibility and doesn’t adequately imply which human systems and institutions are responsible for global ecological catastrophe, erasing and obscuring the ongoing violence which those same institutions continue to enact, both upon ecosystems and human lives. (2) And given geologists’ common focus on fossil fuels as the key indicators of Anthropocene start-date and human influence on environment, I think that this distracts from the arguably more influential and more important role of agriculture (and associated devegetation for purposes of settlement, rangeland, etc.) as perhaps the more dramatic human influence on global ecological history. Fossil fuels didn’t kill the bison and change the entirety of the Great Plains from boreal climates to the subtropics. Empires seeking resource extraction, accomplished through violence and dispossession, killed the bison and changed the continent. (3) The concept is the result of Euro-American academic discourse and does not adequately incorporate Indigenous and non-Western criticisms. And while paying superficial lip-service to “decolonization, the same academic departments maintain relationships with (neo)colonial nonprofits and government agencies while the discourse also simultaneously engages in continued appropriation of Indigenous concepts. (4) Finally, if we agree that industrial-scale resource extraction (including agriculture) and its associated social institutions are (or at least were, for most of the past) the major human influence on altering ecology, then assigning a specific start-date is extremely difficult and probably just an exercise or thought experiment, because at what point in history did these extractivist cosmologies reach “critical mass” and become the leading worldview through which (some) humans disproportionately exercised so much power over altering landscapes?

—–

I’ll recycle something I’ve previously said:

“Did the Anthropocene begin in 1821, or 1822? Did the year 1821 mark the definitive shift into a global expansion of urbanization and monoculture plantation crops, or was it the year 1822?” These are, to some degree, technicalities. This is not, or should not, be the point of “Anthropocene.” I mean, it is often important to know some specific dates; like the specific date that Russian settlers first encountered Steller’s sea cow; the specific date that English authorities issued permits for corporate monopolies on guano trade in Peru; the specific date that deliberate fire-setting dispossessed Indigenous people in Borneo and signaled arrival of palm oil plantations; the specific dates that certain agricultural, colonial, and imperial institutions invaded, expanded, or consolidated their power. But “the single date when imperial cosmologies achieved critical mass as the dominant ecological force”? I think that’s more ambiguous.

I appreciate that some popular venues or forums like academia, occasionally, are at least attempting to openly discuss a 12,000-year-old trend towards imperial power consolidation which relies on social hierarchy, disconnecting communities from local native species and landscapes, Indigenous dispossession, and the commodification of ecological systems. Glad it’s being discussed. But the discourse has issues and I think we can do better than “Anthropocene” as a term. Even if we treat Anthropocene more like an informal thought experiment, and improve it by renaming it “Plantationocene” or something, I still don’t think formally defining a specific date or “Day 1 of the Anthropocene” is as important as clearly identifying which systems and institutions actually provoked centuries of dramatic ecological change and the current ecological collapse. I think that identifying a technical start-date for a geological epoch is comparably a distraction from the discussion of ecological degradation and extinction; a distraction from the concept’s implied-but-inadequate criticism of imperial cosmologies; and a distraction from how global ecological collapse and crisis is closely related to and deeply intertwined with social hierarchies, institutions, and violence against other humans. 

–

Thank you for the question :)

[sweetescapeartist]

MY VIEWS OF BLACK & LGBTQ STUFF

If you don't care about this stuff, skip over it. I don't like talking about this often but at times I speak about it. I'd rather talk about anime & DBZ, but this is one of those times I don't.

I at times speak on stuff that ppl may consider political. I see it as logical or historical. First is...

LGBTQ

I honestly think its too confusing and I don't have time to try to keep up with all the terms and definitions because I don't care that much. It was supposed to be about unity but all it has done is caused more division because there are too many labels. How many sexual preferences and identities are there? Idk but there's more than the amount of fingers I have.

I don't hate ppl who are part of it because only an idiot hates ppl. Besides, I have relatives that are gay or lesbian. I simply disagree with the act for my own personal reasons. Some of it has to do with being a black man. That leads into racial relationships.

BLACK (& other "races")

Most ppl say racist things out of ignorance or because they like to purposefully be ignorant. I'm multi-racial, so I respect all "races" especially since race is truly just a construct that doesn't actually exist because we are of the human race/species. Do animals divide by race or is it only ppl who do that to take advantage of another person?

And I may be "multi-racial" but I have the appearance of a black man, thus I am black to society. Despite that I have European and Native American ancestry. Think about Latinos. Aren't they just ppl with South American Indian ancestry? The Americas were the land of the natives, so all of the descendants currently are of Native American ancestry. Why is race there to divide?

I choose to learn and not be ignorant and let society tell me what to think about race or sexuality. Their standards change all the time and society will give ppl the illusion of change to shut them up.

Now my thoughts about LGBT in the black community... I don't like the action because I'm straight, BUT I ain't gonna treat others with hate. Naturally, humans have a need to reproduce. There's nothing wrong with being straight because if straight ppl did not exist, there would be no lesbian or gay ppl. We would all die out. Now back to the black community...

Do your reseach of the effect homosexuality has had on black ppl throughout history. Slaves in the Americas specifically (& other places too) were "buckbroken." Don't know what that is?

BUCKBREAKING

Imagine your child is being beaten up by adults or being sold off and you are restrained and forced to watch. Imagine your wife or mother or sister or daughter or son or brother or father or even you yourself are raped in front of everyone by a man or group of men & they humiliate you (or your loved ones) over and over.

Buck - blacks weren't viewed as human & dehumanized.

Breaking - break the will & spirit of the strong with inhumane tactics.

All of this is to break your will power so you don't fight back for your freedom. If you fight back, you will be publicly raped, beaten, sold away from your family, limbs amputated, murdered, eaten by slave owners, and other kinds of torture.

There were many gays involved in slavery & even a trans-woman slave owner increased slavery in the U.S. All of this plus more is ignored. Why don't the LGBTQ community address and try to solve these traumatic issues that still affect the black community today? Because they don't care to fix it OR they are not told about it. (Not every individuals, but the group as a whole. I ain't a fan of groups.)

Even the rainbow flag was used by black ppl first. The Rainbow Coalition. Uniting ppl of all colors to stop oppression. Then the leaders were assassinated by the government, the Rainbow Coalition was sued, then the rainbow flag was adopted as the gay pride flag (a.k.a. the LGBTQ pride flag in current day).

CONCLUSION

I can't side with any group of ppl that disrespects the group I am a part of. I respect individuals who show they are deserving of respect & I don't promote hate. Why treat ppl the same or worse than I & my people have been treated? That's stupid to do so & shows that a person has fears of the other person being better than them, so they attack them. I fear no man. Each individual is better than each other in some sort of way. That's what makes ppl unique. Fearing & hating a group of ppl is just silly to me. Ppl change so I won't hate a person.

I like to know things so history doesn't repeat itself with me. Being informed is very important. Otherwise, you're following someone blindly & you don't even know who you're following. THAT sounds foolish to me.

[firstginger]

Hi, sorry to bother you, but I'm a type 9 INFJ Hufflepuff, and I was wondering if you had any ideas what daemon might suit me?

yes!! so many!

kinkajou came to mind early. the coati is also an option but might be too sociable. kinkajous are going to be tight-bonding who enjoy both time with loved ones and time alone, but are at their core independent people who don’t readily depend upon others and like to retain their personal life. they’re not terribly assertive about it; this is someone who’s going to be very easy-going, affectionate, and communicative, playful but not very ambitious and likes their creative comforts. anxious when outside of their comfort zone and definitely prefer to have a plan. for the coati i recommend looking between the white-nosed coati and the ringtailed (south american) coati. both coati species are going to be more group-oriented and dependent on friends than the kinkajou, very tolerant, expressive, and communicative. they just really thrive in being part of a community. they’re relaxed people and are much more adaptable than the kinkajou. differences between the species are that the white-nosed is going to be much more spontaneous and curious than the ringtailed, who has more of an anxious streak and like to plan ahead.

also check out lagomorphs! all of these species i think would fit a sociable INFJ well (which IMO most are because of high Fe... lone artists are usually INFPs mistyping but i digress), as lagomorphs are group animals who are the very least are going to be socially tolerant. i’m feeling a species like the pygmy rabbit (introverted and appreciates quiet alone time, yet appreciate the company of their loved ones and their support, anxious and cautious, sensitive, modest yet hardworking, tactful) or volcano rabbit (very private and anxious, deeply loyal to friends, specialized and doesn’t do well with change, diligent but easily discouraged).

i feel like a few dove species fit very well too. columbidae is just huge, so to pluck out a few species i feel might fit, i’d consider the mourning dove (one of my favorite animals so i’m biased in always thinking of it!), wood dove, or fruit dove. these species are all going to be individuals who are socially tolerant and fine around others, and even devoted to their close few, but also fit the bill of an introvert. as you’d expect of an individual with a dove, they’re all going to fit someone who’s generous, soft-hearted, habitual, and anxious. in a few words — the mourning dove is to be loyal, selfless, but perfectionistic and can be hard on the self; the wood dove is introverted, sensitive, plans ahead, self-preserving; and the fruit dove is focused and devoted, very much a specialist.

the raccoon dog (tanuki) i think is also pretty emblematic of your type of personality. they're someone who takes a while to befriend someone else but is very devoted to their loved ones, cooperative people who value hard work and are likely seen as selfless, and value being calm and keeping the peace — very conflict-avoidant and unobtrusive. they prefer to stay in their own lane and take things as they come; they're not at all fussy and very easy-going and quietly passionate.

okay before this gets crazy long i gotta suggest some species of deer! the mule deer and white-tailed deer i think would be my top suggestions. all deer are going to be extremely alert, observant, and aware people who don't like spontaneity; if you're not someone who prefers the familiar and your routines, these guys are probably out. the mule deer is someone who values their social group and is very loyal to those people, but doesn't require them for constant emotional support. they can be rather proud and stubborn at times, but not at the detriment of being rather unobtrusive and tactful people. the white-tailed deer is actually someone who’s going to be much more willing to adapt and be flexible — definitely not their preference, but they’re good at dealing with what life gives them. they’re also going to have less of an even temper than the mule deers when under stress. they’re prone to anxiety and don’t have that same proud tact... can be rather feisty and snap when their boundaries are pushed.

and last one i promise is potentially the american black bear. a very easygoing and socially tolerant person who is loyal to their companions, but definitely capable of being alone and doesn’t feel the need to lean on others. very passive and relaxed people who work slow and steady, and generally just prefer to work with what life gives them. you could definitely characterize someone like this as very approachable and friendly; they honestly can be rather playful people who are driven by a sense of fearless curiosity.

[cryptidarticles]

Cryptid Article’s Cryptid Categories

The definition of cryptid is, “Any creature that may or may not exist. Sightings of various cryptids have been reported, but their reality has not been proved”. Which leaves a lot of room for creatures and sightings to be labeled as a cryptid! 

If you ask people’s personal opinion on what a cryptid is you’ll get all sorts of answers. Some will say it’s creatures reported extinct that are still seen, or perhaps an undocumented new species, some will say urban legends, and some will say supernatural creatures! What people focus on is usually personal preference, but plenty of people are like me, I love to hear about all of them!

I love hearing about new species, misplaced animals, the supernatural, the extraterrestrial, everything! 

The purpose of this article is to write down all the different categories of cryptids I’ve noticed, and tell you some examples! 

The Science Side

The science side is composed of different creatures and theories that are based on things we already know. They’re not more likely to exist, it’s just every theory is based in the natural and explained. The science side falls into (three) categories:

The End? 

These creatures are real creatures! Documented even! The problem is that these creatures were reported extinct (sometimes millions of years ago), but sightings are still being reported! The most famous of these creatures is the Thylacine, also known as the tasmanian tiger, a marsupial that went extinct in 1936. It was still considered endangered until the 1980s, and many people believe the creature still exists today. There have been many sightings, even a few blurry photographs, all the way up to 2019! 

Other cryptids that fit this category include Megalodon, an ancient giant shark that went extinct millions of years ago; the American Hyena, a type of hyena in america that went extinct over 700,00 years ago; the passenger pigeon, a bird that went extinct in 1914; the Dodo Bird, a flightless bird that went extinct in 1681; and the eastern cougar, reported extinct in 1938. All of these have reported sightings ranging from very recent to relatively recent. 

Possibly

These creatures have little documentation and are not proven to exist, but the main theory is that they’re a new/unique species. Tons of sightings have poured in for these creatures, photos and videos have been taken, but their existence is still up for debate. The most famous of these is the Sasquatch, also known as BigFoot, and is described as a bipedal hairy creature assumed to be a unique species. 

Other cryptids include the Loch Ness Monster, a large creature residing in Loch Ness, there are actually lots of lake, river, and ocean monsters that fit this category; the skunk ape, similar to BigFoot except with black hair and very stinky and spotted in the south eastern US; Ahool, said to be a giant bat/ape-like creature that flies and attacks people in Indonesia; this is also a popular theory for the Beast of Gevaudan, a creature that attacked and killed many people in France; the Cactus Cat, a prickly cat that loved to drink cactus juice and emitted a haunting wail; There’s also multiple sightings of Dogmen, the most popular being the Beast of Bray Road. All of these have a main theory being they’re a new species. 

Wrong Place Wrong Time

These creatures have plenty of sightings, quite a few pictures, even some videos. Some of these creatures are even well known! The problem is these creatures were spotted in the wrong place, by that I mean they were found far away from their natural habitat. The most popular theory is that these animals were taken as exotic pets, but then were released when the burden became too much. The most popular of the is Alien Big Cats, these are lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, etc. seen throughout Britain. 

Another creature of this type is the Phantom Kangaroo, typically described as a normal kangaroo, sometimes described as a giant kangaroo. It’s been spotted all over America and even a few times in Britain. There’s been quite a few photos and sightings but none have been captured. The most popular theory is that it’s an abandoned exotic pet or an escaped zoo animal. 

You Ain’t From Around Here

These cryptids have lots of sightings, pictures, and videos, and the most popular theory is that they’re not of this world! Just like science side they’re not more likely to exist, there just based on something we’re not 100% sure about but plenty of people are trying to understand better. 

Creatures From Outer Space

This is probably an obvious one, extraterrestrial life is life not from earth but presumably outer space. Many people believe aliens exist, as massive and expansive as our universe is it’s hard to believe we’re the only alive and conscious beings. There have been dozens upon dozens of sightings, pictures, and videos, some of these sightings dating back centuries. There is still debate about whether or not we’ve actually been visited by aliens. 

It’s hard to pick a most popular or well known alien, they’ve become very mainstream and are probably the most well known cryptid alongside bigfoot and nessie. A very popular alien is The Grays, the aliens described in the Roswell UFO Incident, when reportedly there was a UFO crash near Roswell, New Mexico. A witness reported seeing aliens corpses, and described them as short, gray, large heads, slitted eyes and nose, and usually naked. 

Other well known aliens include The Flatwoods Monster, a strange creature that appeared in the woods where something crashed; The Hopkinsville Goblins, after seeing something crash into the woods a group of small creatures appeared and harassed a family; the Dover Demon, a small humanoid creature that multiple people reported seeing; the Fresno Nightwalker, strange tall figures that have been seen walking around; Indrid Cold, a strange human-like figure with a wide grin, he stalked quite a few people; The Brown Mountain Lights, strange lights in north carolina that are believed to possibly be aliens; Pascagoula Elephant Men, strange creatures that abducted two men. All of these have the main theory of being creatures from outer space. 

The Multiverse 

These are creatures that have been sighted that are believed to be from an alternate dimension. For some reason, or maybe by accident, these creatures have appeared in our world. Some of these creatures disappear as soon as they appear, believed to have gone back to their own dimension. Some of these creatures bring chaos with them, reports will pop up of supernatural and extraterrestrial encounters in the area. Not much is known about these creatures or where they come from, but it proposes a possible answer to why it’s so hard to find anything out. 

The most popular creature is the Mothman, a winged creature that terrified West Virginia and captures many people’s attention today. There are many theories for what exactly Mothman is but one that has emerged and gained some traction is that he’s an interdimensional creature. Some people suggest that he is a creature more powerful than anything in this dimension, and is able to travel back and forth between different dimensions. Some people have also suggested his strange nature is what caused so many poltergeist, UFO, and alien encounters in the area at the time, and also tons of electrical and radio malfunctions. 

Another popular creature is the Grafton Monster, a strange white creature with no apparent head. A man spotted the Grafton Monster on the side of the road and quickly sped off, when he came back with his friends the beast was gone, only an indent in the grass where it sat was left. The men couldn’t find any footprints. People wonder if this is because the creature vanished into another dimension.

A lot of creatures with extraterrestrial as their most popular theory are starting to be considered for the interdimensional theory. The Dover Demon, mentioned before, is being considered; the Chupacabra, a creature that feeds on the blog of livestock, is being examined; Dogmen, also mentioned before, are also being reviewed; The Flatwoods Monster is being evaluated; even Bigfoot is being assessed to see if there’s a possibility he’s from another dimension. 

The Supernatural Side

These creatures fall into what we know even less about, something beyond our understanding. These sightings and theories aren’t based on science, or are at least based science we don’t understand yet. These creatures come from mythology with modern sightings, or just come from unexplainable sightings. These creatures are reported to have strange attributes and abilities, and can be incredibly dangerous. 

Ghosties

This is sort of a square and rectangle situation, some cryptids are believed to be ghosts but not all ghosts are considered cryptids. These cryptids have strange attributes, sometimes being see through or randomly disappearing, and sometimes bringing bad luck and fear. The first creature that comes to mind is the Black Shuck, haunting the british isles the Black Shuck is a large black dog with one red eye. Said to appear and disappear randomly, if you see the Black Shuck you’ll either perish soon or have terrible luck. 

This follows closely with the tale of the Black Dog, a similar ghostly canine but with both eyes. It can bring death and misfortune, but it can also guide and protect people. This apparition has been seen all over. One notable instance is the Tennessee Ghost Dog, a large black dog known to growl and bite people. Locals report hearing its howls at night. 

There’s also the red ghost, a strange camel typically seen with a creature on it’s back. It’s said to appear and attack people, leaving only trampled bodies and cloven hoof prints behind. It’s said the footprints soon stop, like the creature vanished in mid air. 

Then there’s the Black Cat of Killakee, a black cat who haunted people living and working on a house. The cat would appear in places it shouldn’t, locked rooms and random hallways. The cat would hiss and growl at anyone who looked at it. The couple who owned the house did an exorcism and the cat disappeared, until someone held a seance and the cat came back full force. 

These creatures are sometimes believed to be strange species, or merely superstitions and hoaxes, but many people believe these are haunting creatures. 

Hey Demons, It’s Me, Ya Boy

I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself

These are creatures that are typically believed to be violent and dangerous creatures, even more so than Ghosties. They’re typically described as terrifying demons with strange appearances and powerful abilities. These creatures are also known to attack people on sight. One of the most famous creatures in this category is the Jersey Devil, a creature in sighted in Pine Barrens, New Jersey. The creature is described as having a goat head, bat wings, arms with clawed hands, legs with hooves, and a forked tail, it also has a piercing scream. Legend has it that Mother Leeds was a witch, and when birthing her 13th child she cried out and cursed it. The child was born normal but soon changed into a terrifying creature, cursed to roam the Pine Barrens. 

Another creature that fits this category is the Lone Pine Mountain Devil, spotted in the mountains of the southwest. It’s described as being large, furry, multiple wings, and multiple sharp fangs. The most clear description came from a priest who survived an attack on his convoy. He was the only survivor, and described the creatures as horrifying demons who slaughtered everyone except him. 

Goatmen have been spotted in multiple areas, but many people assume they’re demons. What they all have in common is appearing as half-men, half-goats, and being very aggressive. The Pope Lick Monster, one of the more popular goatmen, is said to attack people. Legend has it that it used to be a man who sold his soul to satan for power. 

There’s also The Nameless Thing of Berkeley Square, a strange creature hiding in a building on Berkeley Square. It’s described as a cosmic horror, a strange slimy and formless creature, the only defining feature being tentacles. It tends to burst into people’s rooms and strangles them and drags their corpse to the basement. Many say it’s a demon infesting the building. 

So these are my cryptid categories! Obviously these will be interpreted differently from person to person, and what seems more likely to exist will change from person to person too! 

I always love to learn about other people’s opinions and beliefs on cryptids, feel free to share yours! Do you have different categories that weren’t included in this post? Do you have a favorite cryptid that falls into these categories? What’s your favorite category?

[pyrimid1ne]

50 questions

I was tagged by @hayley-the-comet thanks heaps!! This looks fun

What is the colour of your hairbrush? Umm, yes... my hairbrush

Name a food you never eat: Besides all animal products... mushroom. Can’t stand em. Wish I liked them, they’re a pretty versatile food.

Are you typically too warm or too cold? Too warm. It’s changing a bit now because the weather’s so cold but compared to other people too warm definitely.

What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Chilling on the couch with family, pretty sure that was 45 mins ago as of writing this

What’s your favourite candy bar? Vego bar

Have you ever been to a professional sports game? yeah

What is the last thing you said out loud? I think I said “see you tomorrow” to a family member, unless you count just laughing at a YouTube video which was more recent

What is your favourite ice cream? Probably chocolate or mint. I like the vegan cornettos too

What was the last thing you had to drink? Water

Do you like your wallet? Yep it’s a batman wallet

What is the last thing you ate? A complete cookie

Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? Can’t remember if it was on the weekend but I’m waiting on a tee shirt and bomber jacket to be delivered

What’s the last sporting event you watched? Couldn’t say, I don’t watch sports

What is your favourite flavour of popcorn? Probs just salted or buttered/salted (vegan butter obvs)

Who is the last person you sent a text message to? A work colleague

Ever go camping? Very occasionally 

Do you take vitamins? Usually but I’m being slack rn, I’m waiting on some of those to be delivered too. Normally I take B-12, omega-3 algae oil, D-3, iron, zinc, and magnesium

Do you go to church every Sunday? Never been

Do you have a tan? Not in this weather

Do you prefer Chinese or pizza? Pizza

Do you drink your soda through a straw? I’m sensing these questions were written by an American... nope I don’t drink that stuff

What colour socks do you usually wear? Black

Do you ever drive above the speed limit? See, here’s the thing. I use cruise control fanatically to avoid getting a speeding fine. So far so good. But a month or two ago I got done by the cops for speeding, but it’s because they got me just as I’d finished overtaking someone. That’s literally the only time I’ll drive faster than the limit. To overtake someone. Not because of the law or anything, I couldn’t give two shits what the law says (I mean look at my Tumblr name lol), I just don’t want them taking my money. Lucky for me when I got done the cop was one of the few reasonable ones and let me off with a caution because he knew I’d just overtaken someone and saw that I’d had a flawless record prior.

What terrifies you? Not having properly lived before I die. The animal holocaust going on every minute of every day. The fact that the environment is getting fucked and all people seem to care about is the economy. We’re one species of ten million. Sometimes I just wish the events of the day the earth stood still would happen. Probably not quite what the question was asking but that is honestly what terrifies me. Anthropocentrism.

Look to your left, what do you see? My bedside table with various items on it (lamp, Apple Watch, cologne, deodorant, drink bottle, tissues, etc.)

What chore do you hate most? Probably vacuuming

What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? Yep, definitely written by an American hahaha, I think “oh someone’s saying something in a normal sounding voice” lol... wait no I wanna change my answer to Chase from House

What’s your favourite soda? N/A mate

Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive through? Usually drive through but depends

What’s your favourite number? Don’t have one

Who’s the last person you talked to? Think my dad

Favourite cut of beef? No cutting, just a live, happy cow allowed to live its life is my favourite :)

Last song you listened to? I’m good? by Hilltop Hoods

Last book you read? I think 12 rules for life? I have very mixed opinions on it but at the very least Jordan Peterson has some motivating things to say

Favourite day of the week? Friday or Saturday for obvious reasons

Can you say the alphabet backwards? Probs very slowly haha

How do you like your coffee? Strong French press with 1 sugar and a lil soy milk 👌

Favourite pair of shoes? I have like 1 pair of shoes I wear 95% of the time they’re just black nikes with the white sole and nike tick

Time you normally get up? If I’m working then like 90 mins or so before I start work, if I’m not working then more like 11am, love my sleep ins :)

What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? Sunsets

How many blankets on your bed? 1 quilt

Describe your kitchen plates. Um mostly just white but a few with a blue ring halfway to the edge, like if you drew a radius line the blue bit would be in the middle of the line

Describe your kitchen at the moment. Messy

Do you have a favourite alcoholic drink? I usually have like a vodka/soda/raspberry thing or vodka dry or if its beer then corona

Do you play cards? Badly

What colour is your car? Red

Can you change a tyre? Haven’t before but how hard can it be

Your favourite state? If you mean Aus then I very much like my state South Australia but if you mean in the US I have no idea

Favourite job you’ve had? They’ve all sucked equally haha

[internationalqueenscollege-blog]

Why Study at Queens College While Working in Australia?

When people know that you are an Australian, they’d probably  ask about the kangaroos, koalas and other exotic animals in the country. It is true that Australia is a haven to many species and is rich in biodiversity. But more than that, Australia is also home to students all across the globe.

According to the University College of London’s Centre for Global Higher Education, Australia is set to take over the spot of the United Kingdom as the world's leading and second most popular study destination. While an increasing number of students, both foreign and local, desires to study and work in Australia, it is important to note that there are many factors to consider before choosing your next university.

There are countless possibilities to think about when choosing where to study, may it be in your home country or another. Plus, there are a lot of highly reputable colleges and many beautiful countries to explore. To help you make a pick from the overwhelming choices, we give you some reasons why we think Queens College is one of the best places for you.

Queens College is an institution for higher education that caters to foreign and domestic students.

In Queens College, you are set to avail of an affordable education with a guaranteed unique learning experience.

In Queens College, we have full time, part time and short courses that suit your interest in business and English.

With our adept and expert educators, we are certain to provide you with high quality  education.

Why Queens College?

For Local Students

Unlike many other places in Europe and America, Australian students show little to no interest in studying outside their own country. Many of them prefer to stay at home and study in colleges and universities in major cities like Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney as it is more convenient. They feel like it’s always a better option to study and work in their hometown, Australia.

That said, it is safe to assume that the Australian Educational System is  really effective in making sure that the nation would not be threatened by the culture of brain drain.

If you’re a local and you’re finding your future university, look no further. Queens College is a great place for you to start your education. Having doubts and second thoughts? Let this list clear your mind.

1. We Have an Excellent Education System

Australia takes pride in their best practices and education systems. Australian colleges and universities offer a wide range of courses and degrees, so every student can easily find the school and field that are fit for them. Students can choose between universities and enroll in vocational courses that cater to their interests, without compromising the quality of education. For English and business courses, it is good to note that Queens College is one of the leaders in providing affordable and excellent education.

2. Satisfactory Student Experience and Graduate Outcomes

Learning and education are always expected to translate better opportunities for students. In the 2018 Department of Education International Student Survey, international students report 90% satisfaction rating for their living and study experience in Australia. That number is only for international students, what more for local who have better access and understanding of the Australian customs and culture.

For International Students

Australia is regarded for its diverse and hospitable people - a melting pot of cultures. It is also recognized in 2015 by  Legatum Prosperity Index as the #1 country in the world for education. Hitting all three key indicators: access to education, quality of education, and human capital,' the Australian educational system assures international students a high-quality education.

If you're planning to study abroad, make Australia a part of your shortlist and you would definitely not regret it.

Still not sure as to where you'd study? The list below will be of great help.

1. We Are the World’s 3rd Most Popular Student Destination

It could sometimes get lonely when you're in a foreign country. Well, if you're in Australia you'd be sure to meet other international students like you. Being a friendly country and a multicultural society, Australia values individual freedom, acknowledging diverse cultures all over the world. With over half a million international students from 192 countries, you'll earn friends and gain a huge network throughout the globe. For instance, Queens College has 7 distinct nationalities - Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Eastern Europeans and South Americans. Thismix of nationalities makes our colleges vibrant venues of culture and relativity.

2. We Have the Most Breathtaking Landscapes

If you're an adventure jock planning to study internationally, Australia could offer an experience of a lifetime. With a great mix of the urban and regional centres, Australia sets you in a mood to crave for learning beyond the corners of your institution. Being in Queens College, you’ll get to be a part of a bigger community with three campuses: Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Our Campuses

Sydney

Sydney is the largest city in Australia. It is famous for its beautiful beaches, notable landmarks, and sophisticated culture.

Located in the heart of Sydney's Central Business District, Queens College Sydney campus is accessible to different public transports in convenient locations. If you like the metropolitan life or the laid back environment, Queens College definitely suits your  lifestyle.

Melbourne

Known as the cultural centre of Australia, Melbourne is the second largest city of the country.

Queens College is an international college in Melbourne. Other than English and business courses, our Melbourne campus offers diploma, certification, English, and online courses across our different campuses

Brisbane

Sustainable and green - we are proud to have our third Queens College campus. Brisbane is home to dozens of flora and fauna.

Our Brisbane campus in our region, Queensland Country gives every student an interesting experience as this country is renowned for its four distinct seasons.

Enquire about our enrollment process now and experience excellent quality education in our Queens College campuses.

[formerly-rosaline]

About Axe

Full name: Axelle Rose Nelson (named after Axl Rose of Guns n Roses)

Date of birth: November 28, 1989

Place of birth: NYC

Hometown: Jericho, NY, a suburb of NYC

Signs: Sagittarius (fire), Earth Snake, Owl

Parents: Estrella Mariam Nelson (born 1972, died 2001, née García) and Leonard Earl Nelson (born 1971)

Siblings: Kailene Renae Nelson (born 1993) and Kalise Rae Nelson (born 1998)

Ethnicity: Spanish, English, Welsh, Indigenous American

Height: 5'7

Species: vampire and human from her father's side, werewolf from her mother's

Personality: Axe has a dark side. It's hard to peel back her layers and get passed it. Manipulative and a liar to boot. Some would call her evil. Loyal to a fault to those who have earned her trust - which is a slow, arduous process. Axe tends to trust the wrong people though, and has fallen into plenty of abusive relationships - platonic and otherwise. She herself is very toxic and conniving. Macabre sense of humor. Kinky. Loves to dance.

Backstory: Axe grew up relatively normally, the oldest of three daughters. Her parents were loving enough to each other and the girls, although her father was emotionally abusive to all four of them and physically abusive occasionally to their mother. He blamed it on being in a house full of women and having nowhere to escape to, but really it was the alcoholism combined with generally being a jackass. If asked, Axe would insist it didn't shape who she was at all.

A couple months before Axe's 12th birthday, a tragedy that shook America hit particularly close to home for the Nelson family. Estrella was a custodian in the Twin Towers. At 9:03 am, They were supposed to be watching a DARE video in health class, but instead, Axe watched live as the South Tower was hit, killing her mother though she didn't know it at the time. There was stunned silence from the 8th grade class - Axe was bright, and had tested out of 6th grade - of Jericho Middle School, and the teacher promptly shut off the TV.

Axe had no idea this moment would change not just her family's lives, but the lives of all Americans. School was let out at about 11 am that day, and Axe walked home. Her father had picked up Kailene from elementary school, and Kalise was only a toddler at the time. They couldn't possibly understand what was happening - or what it meant. Mom is gone. Axe couldn't break it to them though, as her father kept attempting frantically to make phone calls. All lines were jammed.

They were huddled in the living room of a neighbor's home, the neighbors praying and crying, and Kalise began to fuss as well. Dissociating, Axe held the child and tried to soothe her. That was the day it all changed forever. That was the day Axe took on a role she shouldn't have ever had to, the day the alcoholism spiraled, the day that destroyed the Nelson family's already cracking foundation. She couldn't hear the news over the sounds of bodies thudding live in the background.

Since that loss, Axe turned to unhealthy coping mechanisms. She was never really one to overindulge in drugs and alcohol, though she did partake; instead, she let bloodlust consume her. She manipulated plenty a man into feeding the monster that consumed her... the monster she had become. Axe raised her sisters, as her father continually let them down, though he never did raise a hand to them outside of spanking.

When she was 17, Axe was ready to move on. She applied for the Biomedical Engineering program at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and she got in. Kailene was just starting high school, and Kalise was doing well in elementary. It was time for her to move on. Besides, Baltimore was less than 200 miles away. Tinged with guilt, Axe still took the chance to improve her life. She couldn't play mommy forever.

No child should be forced to go through what Axelle did; no child should have to raise their siblings, however common it is. Axelle never got the chance to be a teenager. She never even partied until Johns Hopkins. Unfortunately, she spent so much time finally getting to be a teen that she failed two classes her first semester and lost her scholarships. Axe decided to continue moving on with her life, though.

Without telling her father, Axe moved to Detroit and worked three jobs until she had enough for an online semester at Wayne State University as a biology student. Living paycheck to paycheck, Axe put herself through a year of college there before she was able to apply for financial aid once again. When she did, her father found out where she was. She didn't let his anger shake her, though.

Eventually, she was able to quit two of her jobs and rack up a lot of student debt to attend in-person classes. She dreamed of being able to get back into Johns, but they rejected her every time she reapplied. Instead, she attended Wayne State's School of Medicine. By the end of her college career and residency, she was in over 300,000 dollars of student debt. She also developed alcoholism during her stint in med school.

Graduating in 2019 with a Ph.D. in immunology and microbiology, Axe finally felt like she'd made something of herself. She refused to change her name for her degree, despite plenty telling her she should. Besides, now she was Dr. Nelson, and that sounded plenty professional to her. She returned to the Big Apple to find a job as an immunologist. Doctors had access to plenty of blood, after all.

Kailene had already graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a Bachelor's in Accessories Design and Kalise was partying it up in her third year at LaGuardia Community College where she had changed her major from Social Science and Humanities to Business Administration. She had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, and who could blame her. She never knew their mother, and it had led to her being really stunted in life. Axe felt partially to blame; she had left when Kalise was so young, after all, and stayed gone for eleven years. Now that she was back, she wanted to spend time with her family - even their father. She had forgiven him a long time ago. Besides, he'd had to have done something right since all three of them had attended college.

Kinks: shibari, daddy doms, footplay, bloodplay, asphyxiation, breath play, choking, knifeplay, barebacking, CBT, exhibitionism, anal. Switch, primarily sub. Loves being yanked by the hair, slapped around, and generally manhandled. If it's BDSM, she'd definitely try it twice before deciding if she's into it or not.

Turn-offs: pet play, collaring, hard degradation, age play - regression, diapers, begging, CNC.

Sexuality: pansexual (open to threesomes/orgies), polyamorous

Relationship status: single and not looking for serious commitment; prefers fwb. You won't hear her dropping the L bomb any time soon.

Current age: nearing 30

[drtanstravels]

When I finished my previous post we had wrapped up the Midwest Ocular Angiography Conference at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences in Jackson, Wyoming the previous night and were just about to begin the holiday leg of our trip through the Pacific Northwest of the USA.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019 We had our lunch at the Four Seasons with Tony, the pharmaceutical representative from Chicago we had met at the conference, and now it was time for us to hit the road. We got in our white, rental Toyota Corolla and it needs to be said, Anna does a great job of driving on the opposite side of the road and there were some confusing roads and intersections to deal with in this area. Wifi was almost nonexistent so we had to either try and make the most of the one bar of connection we had while in a town to find our destination on Google Maps or simply resort to paper maps, something I would have to do a lot over the coming days in order to navigate, making me sometimes feel more than a little carsick. In fact things were so remote we couldn’t even get a radio reception and it looked like we’d just be listening to static for the next couple of hours until I was finally able to get my phone to pair with the car’s stereo via bluetooth, allowing us to listen to the music I had saved on iTunes. If we had to rely on Spotify, we would’ve been screwed. It really didn’t take that long to make our way deeper into Grand Teton National Park, where we would be spending that night:

Grand Teton National Park is an American national park in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately 310,000 acres (480 sq mi; 130,000 ha; 1,300 km2), the park includes the major peaks of the 40-mile-long (64 km) Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Along with surrounding national forests, these three protected areas constitute the almost 18,000,000-acre (7,300,000 ha) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the world’s largest intact mid-latitude temperate ecosystems.

The human history of the Grand Teton region dates back at least 11,000  years, when the first nomadic hunter-gatherer Paleo-Indians began migrating into the region during warmer months pursuing food and supplies. In the early 19th century, the first white explorers encountered the eastern Shoshone natives.

Grand Teton National Park is an almost pristine ecosystem and the same species of flora and fauna that have existed since prehistoric times can still be found there. More than 1,000 species of vascular plants, dozens of species of mammals, 300 species of birds, more than a dozen fish species and a few species of reptiles and amphibians inhabit the park.

One of many meese in the area

To be honest, neither Anna nor myself is particularly interested in fly-fishing, which is extremely popular there, but we do like the outdoors, hiking, and checking out the wildlife so we would be doing plenty of that over the coming days. In fact, we learnt an easy way for spotting animals almost immediately; if you see a whole heap of cars pulled over on the side of the road and a bunch of people staring and pointing into the distance, there is usually something worth pulling over and seeing. On the first occasion it was a female moose (above, right) grazing in a small body of water. It was obviously female, because it didn’t have antlers, but this got us immediately wondering if there might be more moose around, particularly male ones. Then I got a little irritated when it occured to me that the moose is a member of the deer family so the name is an invariant, the plural form still being “moose”, not “meese.” It seemed like such a wasted opportunity, but never mind, that wouldn’t stop me from referring to them as “meese.” Nothing could.

Another stop en route to our destination would be Jenny Lake, a popular hiking area through some of the tallest peaks in the Teton Range, in order to trek a portion of the Cascade Canyon Trail. We would take a boat, the humorously named “Beaver Dick Leigh” (which I later discovered was named after Richard “Beaver Dick” Leigh), from South Jenny Lake across to the the entrance of Cascade Canyon and hike up to the well-signposted Hidden Falls, then past the Jaw and the Rock of Ages, down to Lake Solitude, along the way passing that family from Oregon with whom we went whitewater rafting the previous day and Anna having to keep the sole attached to a busted hiking shoe with a hair-tie, before finally making our way back down to Jenny Lake and catching the “Beaver Dick Leigh” back across to our car. Besides squirrels, we didn’t really see any wildlife, but the scenery was pretty spectacular. See for yourself:

Entering Grand Teton National Park

Token panoramic shot

Our ride across the lake

And we’re off

It looks cold but it surprisingly wasn’t

I guess that’s one way to stop lake pirates

Almost there

following the river

Hidden Falls isn’t all that hidden

I’m dressed like I work there

The beginning of the trail

Still going

Anna getting a bit ahead of me

Not a bad way of spending an afternoon

One of many squirrels we would see

Looking down on some trees

Teton Range

We didn’t encounter any bears… yet!

To say the water is clear would be like saying it is also damp

Now that we were done with the hiking we had to find our way to the ranch where we were staying. That’s right, ranch. We were staying at the Heart Six Guest Ranch, which claims to be “One of the oldest dude ranches in America,” located just outside Grand Teton National Park and right near the south gate of Yellowstone National Park. Another fact to add was that the ranch stunk strongly of horse manure, an odour that you could almost taste, one that never disappeared, but also one that permeated everything until you just became acclimatised to it. One good thing about staying in this region is that it stays light until about 9:30pm each night so we didn’t have to worry about locating the ranch in the dark, but when we eventually found it, we were surprised to also see covered wagons and teepees on the grounds. We would definitely have to explore them a bit more in the morning, because I want to know how Native Americans could tolerate the cold nights here in just a teepee! When we arrived we checked in, noting the wildly swinging ceiling fan in the ranch’s reception, along with the multitude of mosquitoes and other insects in the general vicinity. Once done we didn’t go to our room, instead opting to drive down to a nearby river in the hope of seeing some animals, as dusk is apparently the prime time for spotting wildlife. Unfortunately, we didn’t encounter a whole lot, just a couple of female deer enthusiastically spotted in the distance by some fellow tourists, a large, slowly moving mound on the opposite bank of the river that was apparently a beaver (but realistically it could’ve been almost anything), and some spiders. I did, however, manage to snap the photo of the mountains with the purple sky that I used for the featured image for this post while we were there.

We returned to the “Dude Ranch” and asked the guy working in reception where there was to eat. There were apparently two options, one of which the receptionist said in no uncertain terms was “shit.” We walked outside and there was a man in a cowboy hat passing us so we asked him for his recommendation, to which he replied the other option out of the two was “shit.” We weren’t expecting to find ourselves in a culinary hotspot, but in our experience there people were more willing to tell you which was the worst out of the two restaurants, as opposed to which one they preferred, and thus far the consensus was split 50/50. Not a good sign so we opted for the closest which was on the grounds of the ranch — It was shit. There was probably only about 15 minutes until the kitchen closed and there was a family on a table behind us where the mother, similar in appearance to what you see in ‘Karen’ memes, was going to snap. She was constantly complaining to our waiter and bitching at her kids, but it was the waiter that I felt bad for. This tall, gangly guy with long, blonde hair in a ponytail with a fringe, a curly moustache, and suspenders over a t-shirt was frazzled — It can’t be easy being the only hipster in a tiny town, as well as the only employee in the town’s restaurant. When the family was ordering, the mother asked if there were any gluten-free options, to which the waiter replied that nothing they serve would be truly gluten-free, because they cook everything on the same grill and don’t really clean it. She just let out an audible, dissatisfied sigh and ordered a random dish. I’m not sure if he was cooking the food too, but it took quite a while to come out and it most likely wasn’t because they were busy cleaning in the kitchen. That family were there first so their food arrived before ours and the mother still wasn’t happy, going on a rant about the poor quality of their dinner. Ours eventually arrived and it was pretty bad too; a tough steak each and french fries that weren’t just crunchy, but hard as if they had kept all of the leftover, uneaten fries aside over the course of the evening and then refried them all at the end for our meals — It’s pretty hard to screw up fries, but they managed somehow. Still, we just smiled and gnawed on our steaks and crunched our fries, because we didn’t want to ruin the waiter’s night any further, he seemed close to tears.

Once we had got through the bulk of our dinner we decided to have a look around this part of the ranch, including the lounge area and the bar. As had been the case in Jackson and is probably a theme running through all ranches, there was a heap more taxidermy within those walls. Inside the lounge there was a kid being shown how to play pool by an older man, people sitting around reading books, and a stoned-looking guy admiring a stuffed animal head mounted on the wall, looking at it in the same way that a person takes in a renaissance masterpiece in a European museum. He giggled and pointed out to me that it had a weird horn in the middle of its head that would block its vision when it looked to the side. I mentioned that its eyes were on the sides of it head so it probably wouldn’t have had true peripheral vision anyway and the horn could just be the result of poor taxidermy. He seemed to take this onboard and continued to study this felled beast. Anna and I decided to take in other areas of the building such as the small bar with incredibly uncomfortable looking saddles on top of the barstools, when the guy staring at the head came running up, appearing relieved to have finally located me. “It’s a caribou!” he yelled while laughing hysterically, obviously having asked someone else, because he wouldn’t have been able to Google it unless he could get on one of the two occupied computers in the lounge.

We weren’t going to be staying in a teepee or a covered wagon, we just went up to our ugly room and hit the sack for the night. We were told when we checked in that the rooms in the part we were staying had only just been completed and when we got up there we saw that it was really basic; the walls were just plywood and everything appeared to be unfinished and really cheaply done so we could hear everything happening in the neighbouring rooms, all the while trying to make contact with as few surfaces as possible in order to avoid getting splinters. It also smelled of turpentine and there wasn’t a TV or wifi for a distraction so we just showered and went to sleep. A look around the ranch and our room:

Part of the outside area of our ranch at dusk

Me in the ranch’s restaurant with the angry mum behind me

Anna from the other side of the restaurant

Inside the lounge area

Some heads on the wall

The caribou with its weird centre horn

Inside the bar

Those stools don’t look comfortable at all

Our bed for the night

Thursday, July 11, 2019  Maybe it was just the jet-lag catching up with me, but I had a mild epileptic seizure that morning in my sleep. It wasn’t anything major, I still remember waking up immediately afterward and snoring heavily while trying to get back to sleep, but it would leave me feeling kind of lethargic, however, I wasn’t going to let it prevent me from making the most of the day. We also couldn’t sleep much, because there was construction going on outside our room from the early morning onward, as well as people speaking loudly just outside.

We knew that the restaurant in the ranch was terrible and we hadn’t heard sparkling reviews about our only other option so we didn’t bother with breakfast, we just went down to a convenience store, breathing in the fragrance of horse shit the entire way and passing our waiter from the previous night, a defeated-looking man now hanging out towels. We just hoped for better results than the last time we were in a convenience store and we didn’t do too badly, just a couple of average cups of coffee and I grabbed a Hunter’s Reserve Roadkill meat stick. It may sound like a bad double entendre and due to the word “roadkill” being a registered trademark, I have my doubts that it did contain any actual roadkill, however, “meat from feral swine” was one of the listed ingredients. Anyway, I ate the roadkill stick and stuck the wrapper in my pocket, because there were no bins around. We did one last look around, taking in the covered wagons and teepees around Heart Six Ranch and was surprised to see that they were actually quite modern on the inside, almost to the extent of our room, except for the fact that the people staying in them needed to use a communal toilet, something that is kind of a dealbreaker for Anna and I. A better look around the ranch in the light of day:

This doesn’t just apply to cowboys, there is crap EVERYWHERE!

The wagon accommodation

That’s where the smell is coming from

Some of the teepees

I don’t think it would be big enough in one of those for the both of us

So long, poop ranch

About to gnaw on some “Roadkill”

Before long we were back in the car, bound for the world famous Yellowstone National Park (no, not Jellystone):

Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful geyser, one of its most popular features. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion.

Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles (8,983 km2), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-elevation lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. The caldera is considered an active volcano. It has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years. Half of the world’s geysers and hydrothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism. Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone.

Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous megafauna location in the contiguous United States. Grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in this park. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States.

That all sounds pretty cool and if you took the time to read that Yellowstone background information, you would have seen that it mentioned a geyser called Old Faithful, the eruption of which we wanted to witness that day:

Old Faithful is a cone geyser located in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, United States. It is a highly predictable geothermal feature, and has erupted every 44 to 125 minutes since 2000.

Eruptions can shoot 3,700 to 8,400 US gallons (14,000 to 32,000 L) of boiling water to a height of 106 to 185 feet (32 to 56 m) lasting from ​11⁄2 to 5 minutes. The average height of an eruption is 145 feet (44 m).

The time between eruptions has a bimodal distribution, with the mean interval being either 65 or 91 minutes, and is dependent on the length of the prior eruption. Within a margin of error of ±10 minutes, Old Faithful will erupt either 65 minutes after an eruption lasting less than ​21⁄2 minutes, or 91 minutes after an eruption lasting more than ​21⁄2 minutes.

The drive to Yellowstone took us through some gorgeous scenery, bringing us within six miles (10 km) of the Idaho state line, through mountains and alongside rivers until we were finally where we needed to be. Old Faithful wasn’t due to erupt for another 30 minutes or so when we arrived, but remember there is a ±10 minute margin of error, meaning it could be anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes. We had a look around the stores nearby, used the bathroom and grabbed a drink, then we went outside and pulled up a seat on the wooden, colosseum-like benches and waited for the show to begin:

Anna killing time

A lot of people show up to see this thing erupt

Once the geyser had finished doing its thing the bulk of people watching began applauding for some reason, however, a lot of people here do that when their plane lands as well and you know for a fact that that pilot has successfully landed every single flight he’s flown. Others complained that the geyser was three minutes early which was kind of amusing, mainly because it doesn’t follow a set schedule, rather people make educated guesses with reasonable accuracy as to when it will erupt and within three minutes is a pretty decent guess.

We then spent the bulk of the day hiking around the grounds, although this left me a little breathless at times, probably a combination of the altitude and the seizure that morning, but we saw some incredible sights. Photos don’t do justice to hydrothermal features so before I post the pictures from around the park, I’ll add some more videos of individual ones we came across:

Anna and a pool

Me on a pathway

A closeup of the pool

Looking over the general vicinity

Another closeup

Something erupting

Overlooking some of the pathways

That’s a really bright flower!

Once we were done in Yellowstone National Park it was time to start driving toward the state of Montana, our home for the next couple of nights, and twice along the way we saw a bunch of cars pulled over to the side and people staring out at something. As I mentioned, that means there is something worth seeing and we wouldn’t be disappointed on either occasion.

First we would be stopping by one of the numerous geyser basins that follow Firehole River to see yet more hydrothermal spots. This area was crowded and the features there were incredible yet again. On this occasion I had a middle-aged guy with a big beard start laughing at my “Let’s Summon Demons” t-shirt, asking his 14-year-old daughter over to admire it. As it would turn out, she and a group of friends had recently got in a bit of trouble with both teachers and police for conducting satanic rituals and dad was more than proud, both him and his daughter wanting to find where they could get the shirt as well. Ultimately just settling for a picture with me.

We ended up stopping further along the river, this time to stop and watch and entire herd of elk that were making their way upstream. At this point we hadn’t seen a whole lot of wildlife so it was a sight for us to behold:

At the geyser basin

Flowing into the river

This shirt got me a bit of love

A panoramic shot of the area

Another part upriver

Just a small portion of the elk from a distance

Some of them feeding

The next stop would be our last one for the day, we would be traveling to Bar N Ranch, but we wouldn’t be staying in their regular accommodation, not by a long shot. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, or May 23 until September 8, when there isn’t too much snow, the ranch opens Under Canvas and Anna had booked for us to go glamping in a tent in the middle of nowhere. That’s no typo, for those unaware of the term, “glamping” is a conjunction of “Glamorous Camping.” I mentioned earlier that Anna doesn’t tend to like roughing it and despite the fact we were going to be staying a tent, she would by no means be getting in touch with nature. We were going to be staying in a Stargazer tent, described on their website as:

Stargazer

The Stargazer has its own viewing window above the king bed to stargaze at night. The ensuite bathroom in your tent includes a shower, sink and toilet. A wood stove keeps the tent warm at night and a private deck allows you to enjoy the outdoors.

Sleeps up to 4

Private bathroom

Key Features

Superior view with night sky viewing window

King size bed with luxurious linens

Private bathroom complete with shower, sink & flushing toilet

Additional camp cots and bedding can be provided for up to 2 people

Definitely an upgrade from staying in a sleeping bag under a tarpaulin, the type of camping that I was used to. Hell, it turned out our tent even had its own indoor fireplace with a sealed flue going outdoors. We drove down there, but there are a lot of cattle surrounding the entrance due to a cattlegrid stopping them exiting the premises so we couldn’t enter until a woman coaxed all of the cows away from the road. Once down the path we checked in and were chauffeur-driven in a golf cart, along with our luggage, to our super-luxurious tent and this wasn’t like anything I was expecting. We got everything arranged, then went to the main area of Bar N Ranch to have dinner, which turned out to be a great meal, and then it was back to our tent. It was a cold night and our shower had hot water, but it took a little while to kick in. Also, the only way to keep the hot water running was to be continually pulling down on a handle, otherwise it it would just cut off, leaving you standing there naked and wet on a freezing night. Anna discovered the best approach was to put soap on the sponge and toothpaste on the brush before getting in, that way you never had to release your grip on that handle. While I was in the shower, she also thought she had found some biscuits on the fireplace, but wasn’t really hungry — It was a good thing, because they turned out to be firelighters. I was pretty tired by the time I got into bed, our tent had a clear panel above the pillow area so I put on an eye-mask and we both went to sleep. This is where we would be spending the next two nights:

Waiting for the cattle to move

Anna out the front of Bar N Ranch

The view from our tent

Inside the restaurant

Another area of the restaurant

…and another

Glamp Montana

Inside our tent

Looking toward the bathroom

Anna ready for bed

Our shower

Pretty luxurious for a tent

Another part of the bathroom

Anna’s biscuits

Friday, July 12, 2019 Anna was already awake and reading by the time I awoke, which was still quite early. She hadn’t worn her eye-mask to sleep so she woke as soon as the sun rose over the clear panel above us in our tent, but no mask could block out the glare, waking me not long after and helping me avoid getting sunburnt. Factor in the jet-lag that was still affecting us and it becomes clear we yet again weren’t really destined for a long sleep.

The plan for the day was to do a little backtracking from Montana into Wyoming to Gallatin National Forest, an area near where we were the previous day, first stopping off at Gibbon Falls and then making our way down into the Mammoth Hot Springs area of Yellowstone National Park for some hiking, hopefully encountering something a little bigger than an elk this time. Before we left we took a look around where we were staying, this time in the broad daylight, me realising as we were walking that the previous day I hadn’t discarded of the wrapper of my roadkill jerky, instead just stuffing it in my pocket. This wasn’t a particularly bright move because, although we were hoping to see some bears from a reasonable distance, I didn’t want the smell of meat attracting any to me directly. I’ve never even really been in a fight before so I don’t like my chances of fending off a grizzly bear, I’d more than likely just instinctively play dead. Probably should pop that wrapper in a bin. The place where we were staying felt bad about some of the food we had been served in the area so far so they allowed us to buy packed lunches from their really good restaurant and we were off. We drove down to Gibbon Falls, a waterfall currently with a drop of approximately 84 feet (26 m) and constantly growing as it erodes the rock below, and we noticed what we had seen time and time again not only the day before, but had also noticed on several previous trips spent exploring the outdoors — That a lot of women traveling from a country that shares its name with the material from which fine teacups and saucers are made choose fashion over function. We particularly noticed it in Turkey where these women would be walking around caves and other geological features wearing high end dresses and heels when hiking attire is far more appropriate, preventing injuries and allowing you to access more areas. Now a lot of them had been wandering around Yellowstone, some even rocking a pair of stilettos, and we hadn’t seen the last of them. Anyway, Gibbon Falls was really nice, here’s a look at our morning up until that point:

Anna waiting outside our tent

Some of the other tents in Under Canvas

An area for outdoor dining

Not the worst heels we saw, but still not appropriate outdoors footware

Gibbon Falls from the side

Looking over the falls

Gibbon Falls from the front

Next we were going to make our way to a kind of unnamed town in the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District, first to eat our packed lunches, then to go to the Horace Albright Visitor Center to get us some information about where we could go hiking and potentially see some big furry things. A little more about the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District, an area that looks a hell of a lot like a town, operates like a town, but apparently isn’t a town:

The Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District in Yellowstone National Park comprises the administrative center for the park. It is composed of two major parts: Fort Yellowstone, the military administrative center between 1886-1918, and now a National Historic Landmark, and a concessions district which provides food, shopping, services, and lodging for park visitors and employees.

Fort Yellowstone is a carefully ordered district of substantial buildings that clearly indicate their military origins. The U.S. Army administered the park from 1886 to 1918 when administration was transferred to National Park Service. The park headquarters is now housed in the original double cavalry barracks (constructed in 1909). The Horace Albright Visitor Center is located in the old bachelors’ officers quarters (constructed in 1909).

The concessions district contrasts with the military district, with a less formal arrangement and style and includes the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Dining Room, a gas station, and retail stores. The Yellowstone Main Post Office, itself on the National Register of Historic Places sits just north of Fort Yellowstone. The residential area includes houses designed by architect Robert Reamer.

So despite having a residential area, retail stores, and even a post office, it still doesn’t qualify as a town, just a “Concessions District.” That explains why I was so confused trying to figure out the location when I first started writing this part of this post, even the locations on the photos I took aren’t accurate.

Anyway, as we were driving into the town concessions district our path to the main parking area was obstructed by a couple of deer making their way across in front of us, which was not a bad start. We ate our packed lunches from Under Canvas then, as we were making our way to the Visitor Center we had to walk pass the town concessions district square, a patch of grass between the two main streets that was teeming with female elk, all just hanging around, some laying down, others eating. I took some pictures, but as I went in to get a slightly closer shot I was accosted by a park ranger. “You must remain 25 yards or 22.8 metres away from all wildlife at all times!” he screamed in a well-rehearsed fashion, but you would think that if it were really that important they would put up at least one sign in the town concessions district. In fact, the only place it was even mentioned was on a flyer from the Visitor Center, however, you needed to walk past the animals to get the flyer. Once in the Visitor Center we stocked up on some supplies such as sunblock and insect repellent as the mosquitoes and horseflies in this area are awful! Anna wondered whether we should get some bear spray, but to me it all seemed like a bit of a scam; the stuff is US$50.00 (currently about AU$72.50) per can and we hadn’t even seen any bears! It was also possible to rent bear spray from some places, but the stuff doesn’t act as a repellent, more like a form of mace for use on bears, and I figured if a grizzly bear was intent on attacking you, spraying mace in its face would only piss it off more so we opted against it.

We got ourselves some maps and were soon on our way, hiking on an uphill path, walking for about 15 minutes when we were approached by an excited looking tourist from New Zealand and her two young children coming the opposite direction. She told us that just a bit further up the hill was a female grizzly bear with two young cubs and it was a bit angry, scaring her kids. We asked her if she thought it was safe for us to continue and she replied, “Oh, sure, you’ll be fine as long as you have your bear spray.” Shit. We walked back down into the town concessions district, forked out the US$50.00 and got us some bear spray.

Take two. We started to make our way uphill again, this time equipped with our bear spray in a hip holster, a liquid with its ingredients listed as 2% capsaicin and 98% “Other ingredients”. This stuff must be pretty strong, possibly even working on the power of suggestion, because after over an hour of anticipating encountering a defensive grizzly bear and its cubs we came to the conclusion that there were now three possibilities:

The bears were substantially further away than the woman had led us to believe,

The bears were gone, or

The woman was working for the bear spray company

I even began to wish I had now kept the Roadkill wrapper in my pocket in the hopes of attracting one. Still, we kept going, hiking for about five hours, covering over 15 km (9.3 miles) of rugged terrain, getting caught in the rain and mauled by mosquitoes, just to see a couple of does, which quite possibly could’ve been the same one multiple times, one male deer, plus a couple of squirrels here and there. As our hike continued, I became more and more annoyed at how anticlimactic it had been; I was now exhausted, wet, and extremely itchy, yet we had seen hardly anything, encountering not only more wildlife, but cooler-looking animals in the town concessions district! We stopped off briefly to have a look at the Mammoth Hot Springs and then decided to head back. To add insult to injury, there was a female elk sitting right next to our car, but screw that 25 yard rule, I wasn’t in the mood to let this thing stop me from getting in our car. If I needed to be 25 yards away from the wildlife, it could do its part on this occasion and move away from me. Some scenes from the town concessions district centre and the little we saw on a disappointing, albeit trying, hike:

Parking the car

Interesting name

The centre of the “Concessions District”

A closeup of some elk

Looking over the concessions district as we begin our hike

Heading back to the store

Now equipped with bear spray

Seems like there’s some around

It’s all good, I’ve got bear spray

2% capsaicin, 98% other ingredients

Safety first

How to use our spray

A small portion of the area we hiked

A doe we saw

Possibly the same doe later

Mammoth Hot Springs

A nearby deer

Mammoth Hot Springs from a distance

She can get 25 yards away from me

That night we went into a real town, West Yellowstone, Montana for dinner with the intent of eating a bison or bear steak out of spite, because we sure didn’t encounter any on our hike. Instead, we settled for a ribeye and some damn good devilled eggs, all of which we shared between us, and then we headed back to our tent for a final night before moving on to the next stop.

Initially I was going to try and tell the story of this trip in two parts, but it turns out I will need a third and final post in order to tell it properly. Where would we be staying next? Would we encounter any wildlife worth writing about? And would I have to wear that hideous cowboy shirt again to a rodeo? Stay tuned for the conclusion of our journey through cowboy country!

Embarking on the vacation leg of our trip through Wyoming and Montana When I finished my previous post we had wrapped up the Midwest Ocular Angiography Conference at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences in Jackson, Wyoming the previous night and were just about to begin the holiday leg of our trip through the Pacific Northwest of the USA.

[theliterarywolf]

In 1685, are there different subspecies for monsters such as western (lizard) and eastern (dog) kobolds? I know you have Abelard as a European Wendigo for example.

First and foremost, thank you for sending this because I was just thinking ‘God, I wish I had some asks to answer tonight’. 

Anyway, subspecies: 

Definitely a thing, especially in cases of mermaids (selkies, sirens, ningyo; along those lines), dragons (oof, I can’t even go into all the major species and subspecies here), witches (ex: Witches of Life, Witches of Sight, Kitchen Witches...)

And, of course, more obvious sectors like the undead: western (zombies), Egyptian/various South American cultures (mummies), French-specific (revenants), and so on.

In 1685, admittedly, I do lean moreso towards Western-influence in regards to Kobolds out of preference, but I do acknowledge the Eastern-influence ones.

[skullcap0]

Skullcap (Scullcap) Made Use Of For Sleeplessness, Stress, Muscle Spasms, Exhaustion and also Even more

Mad-dog skullcap was the historic name for this native seasonal herb, an early folk remedy for rabies. The name skullcap originates from the blossoms, which resemble a sort of army headgear worn during the early american duration, when Europeans were learning of as well as calling most indigenous natural herbs. The category name, Scutellaria, originates from the Latin definition "drinking growl," a shape comparable to a skullcap; and lateriflora, the types name, means "flowering on the side." Found growing throughout the East in abundant forest openings and also damp hedgerows, skullcap is grown in numerous herb yards. It will grow up to three feet tall with opposite fallen leaves (oval to lance-shaped) as well as branching racemes of violet-blue blossoms flowering from May through September. It can usually produce large colonies in positive locations. 

Of some three hundred species of skullcap all informed, there are 9 significant wild types in the eastern states, and each holds some native medical worths. All blossom in late spring and also summertime in tones of violet to blue, with periodic ranges of pink or white blossoms. Hyssop skullcap, S. integrifolia, has slender, untoothed leaves and expands from six to thirty inches high in cleanings as well as woodland edges from Connecticut to Ohio as well as Missouri and south. Heart-leaved skullcap, S. ovata, is a robust, softly downy types favoring limestone dirt and woody shores from Connecticut to Minnesota and Wisconsin to West Virginia, and also south. 

It can grow from one to three feet high. Downy skullcap, S. incana, is specifically fuzzy as well as can establish lots of branches. This types prefers dry timbers and also clearings from New Jersey to Iowa as well as southern, withstanding three or even more feet tall. Hairy skullcap, S. elliptica, is far more hirsute, branched, as well as favors comparable soils as well as the exact same basic variety as the downy Skullcap Scutellaria galericulata. Snazzy skullcap, S. serrata, is a smooth, slender herb that grows up to 2 feet high in timbers and also along stream-banks from New York southern along the Appalachians, while the tiny smaller skullcap, S. parvula, barely twelve inches tall, favors limestone soils from Quebec and Maine south as well as west to Minnesota. Veined skullcap, S. nervosa, can get to 2 feet tall in wet dirt of thickets as well as timbers from Ontario southern to Pennsylvania, and west to Indiana and also Illinois. Prevalent throughout eastern damp areas from Canada to Delaware to Missouri, marsh or typical skullcap, S. epilobiifolia, can grow from one to 3 feet high. Strong teas of skullcap were used by the Indians to treat headaches, epilepsy, sleeping disorders as well as for basic pain relief. The blossoms as well as fallen leaves additionally went into tonics, salves, and tinctures. 

The Cherokee made use of skullcap to promote and also eliminate aches menstrual cycle, along with to alleviate specific taboos. Modern herbalists remain to make the most of the healing powers of these native seasonal herbs. Our indigenous skullcap, S. lateriflora, and also Baical skullcap, S. baicalensis (huang quin), are the principal medicinal natural herbs of commerce. Their infusions, capsules, as well as casts, with a bitter, astringent taste, serve to treat conditions from migraines as well as headaches to anxiety attack, stress, and also depression. It is mostly used as a nerve restorative as well as sedative. Skullcap medications have corrective residential properties that aid to nurture and also sustain the nerves. Usually suggested alone or in formula with various other natural herbs, they likewise assist alleviate insomnia and menstrual discomfort. Teas, pills, as well as tinctures made from S. lateriflora serve as an antispasmodic for all types of anxious conditions, specifically asthma.

[theexleynatureblog]

Yet another horse post

Przewalski horse (pshuh - vahl - skeez)

Smithsonian National Zoo article

The ‘Mongolian horse’ is a small, stocky animal that was once native throughout Europe and Asian, preferring the grassland of the steppes. As human population increased, the horse (along with other large bodied mammals) became endangered. Farmers with livestock competed with the horse for grazing territory and water resources. In 1969, the last wild horse was seen in Mongolia, and later pronounced extinct. Captive breeding programs managed to save the species, now reintroduced into sights in Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan. They are the only true ‘wild’ horse, because the species evolved to live in their current habitat, and continued living there with little human interference until the past 2,000 years, when we nearly drove them to extinction.

The Przewalski is the only true wild horse? What about the Zebra? Well, let’s look into it!

Zebras

The three species are the Grevy’s, Plains, and Mountain zebra. Each have a similar built to the Mongolian wild horse, as in a stocky build and short main, but slightly taller - perhaps an adaption that allowed it to see over tall grasses. Zebra’s are considered wild horses, but they are a different species than the horse. (Our domestic breeds of horses original from the Przewalski horse, while over in Africa, the Zebra cousins were doing there own thing. The Zebra and domestic horse are now two different species, though genetically similar enough to hybridize).

That’s it. Those are the only truly wild species of horses. Everything else you see are ‘feral’ species - domesticated species released into the wild by European explorers. Including these ones.

Mustangs

Despite their history in the western United States, mustangs are not truly wild species. Nor are they even native. That’s right - the iconic symbol of the American West is not suppose to be there! It is true that the genius Equus original on the North American continent. Over a million years ago! Here is what they looked like:

These early horses had a lot more in common with modern day deer. They lived in grasslands throughout the continent, gradually migrating north into Alaska and Asia, and south to South America. The Northern branch evolved into the Mongolian horse. The groups left in north and south America died around the same time as mastodons, saber-toothed cats, and giant ground sloths. Over thousands of years, the North American ecosystem changed with new animals on the landscape, like bison, elk, and deer. 

Why do mustangs look so much different than their wild ancestors? Humans! The only reason mustangs exist as they do today is because they are a product of human breeding! And because of this - they are an evolutionary mess (just like humans). Any honest vet will say the same!

First of all, they are too big. Horses were breed bigger in the Medieval Ages to carry heavily armored knights, and pull bigger loads. Big bodies on little legs are prone to bone injuries. Domesticated horses are also prone to problems with their digestive system - their excessive amount of guts will flip into knots due to lots of unnatural activity!

Mustangs also have different behaviors then their ancestors. They interact with the land different, eat different plants, and will actively exclude native pronghorns and mule deer from limited water resources.

Brumbies

Brumbies are the Australian version of the Western Problem. Like the mustangs, these horses are not. Native. To. Australia. They originated from domesticated breeds released by careless European explorers who didn’t know squat about ecosystem health!

These horses are an even more sensitive problem in Australia because NO NATIVE HOOFED MAMMALS EVER EVOLVED TO LIVE ON THE ISLAND. 

For some background - animals evolve to best survive in a habitat, and the habitat evolves right alongside them. Though they may look similar on the outside, a grassland that has evolved with hooved animals (like those in North America and Africa) are very different then those that evolved without hoofed mammals (Australia). If you all of a sudden place a hoofed species into a habitat not evolved to deal with them, you are going to F*** S*** up.

The horses are going to trample very delicate plant species. If given time, they could eventually adapt stiffness or protection, but only if some survive the trampoline! An organism cannot survive an environmental change if the change wipes them out before they can react! And keep in mind Australia is a island - a very isolated and more delicate - then - normal ecosystem than cannot rely on new species periodically showing up. If a plant species goes extinct - that’s it! No coming back. But horses don’t care about a rare plant species going extinct! Why should they? They have more important things to worry about, like getting enough food to survive the day!

Also, in regards to Brumbies and Mustangs - THERE ARE NO NATURAL PREDATORS. Especially not in Australia. Dingoes (another introduced exotic species that helped the extinction of the native thylacine) eat small to medium prey, kangaroo’s and wild pigs. They are not going to risk getting kicked in the head by a giant horse - especially ones that are always found in herds. Herds specifically designed to protect each other from predators.

In North America, we do have animals like mountain lions and grizzly bears capable of taking down large mustangs. Except - here’s the kicker - THEY WERE KICKED OUT OF THEIR NATIVE RANGES WHERE THE MUSTANGS NOW LIVE!!! Maybe a bear will occasionally kill a feral horse, but definitely not as often as in a healthy predator - prey relationship.

Basically, for both the Mustangs and the Brumbies, there are no natural population barriers. They can reproduce exponentially. The only thing that kills them is old age, injuries, starvation/dehydration, and infections - all slow and agonizing ways to die. Horse herds can check themselves by competition, but the thing about competition is it effects native species. If there’s no grazing left in an area for another herd, there’s nothing left for the mule deer or grassland birds either!!!

As I said in my previous post, I love horses, and I wish to adopt my own someday. We can simultaneously respect and love an animal while being a responsible human being and not letting them run wild and ruin our ecosystems.

 Articles and sources:

Article covering the feral horse controversy.

Effects of Hoofed animals on grasslands

Mustang impacts in North America

Over-grazing effects on river beds

Wildlife Society PDF

Wild horses are Terrible for the West

Overpopulated herd in Nevada

[restoringsanity]

What's your thoughts on poc thinking they can't be racist?

Not sure if you’re going to like what I’m going to say - but, you asked for my thoughts, so you’ll get my thoughts.

First, I need to admit that I’m one of those people who prefer dictionary definitions of terminology. If we want to have conversations, we need to agree on what words mean, and that their definitions apply indiscriminately, following the same logic. We can’t have productive conversations any other way, because everything would get lost in semantics otherwise. Our definitions need to be globally applicable to some extent, as well. If ‘racism’ means something different in North America than it does in South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe - the entire rest of the world essentially - we’re going to keep running into an abundance of obstacles, as well. As far as I (personally) am concerned, racism doesn’t need an updated or more specific definition. It’s plenty specific already.

But,I understand the need to specify the impact racism has on different groups of people.

This is important, so please pay attention.

Definition of Racism

Racism is the belief in the superiority of one race over another, which often results in discrimination and prejudice towards people based on their race or ethnicity. Today, the use of the term “racism” does not easily fall under a single definition.[1]

The ideology underlying racist practices often includes the idea that humans can be subdivided into distinct groups that are different due to their social behavior and their innate capacities as well as the idea that they can be ranked as inferior or superior.[2] The Holocaust is a classic example of institutionalized racism which led to the death of millions of people based on race.

While the concepts of race and ethnicity are considered to be separate in contemporary social science, the two terms have a long history of equivalence in both popular usage and older social science literature. “Ethnicity” is often used in a sense close to one traditionally attributed to “race”: the division of human groups based on qualities assumed to be essential or innate to the group (e.g. shared ancestry or shared behavior). Therefore, racism and racial discrimination are often used to describe discrimination on an ethnic or cultural basis, independent of whether these differences are described as racial. According to a United Nations convention on racial discrimination, there is no distinction between the terms “racial” and “ethnic” discrimination. The UN convention further concludes that superiority based on racial differentiation is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous, and there is no justification for racial discrimination, anywhere, in theory or in practice.[3]

Racist ideology can become manifest in many aspects of social life. Racism can be present in social actions, practices, or political systems (e.g., apartheid) that support the expression of prejudice or aversion in discriminatory practices. Associated social actions may include nativism, xenophobia, otherness, segregation, hierarchical ranking, supremacism, and related social phenomena.

(source)

Stipulative Definition of Racism

Prejudice plus power is a stipulative definition of racism often used by anti-racist educators, including the American pastor Joseph Barndt.[1] The definition was first proposed by Patricia Bidol, who, in a 1970 book, defined it as “prejudice plus institutional power.”[2]According to this definition, two elements are required in order for racism to exist: racial prejudice, and social power to codify and enforce this prejudice into an entire society.[1][3] Reasons cited in support of this definition include that power is responsible for the creation of racial categories, and that people favor their own racial groups over others.[4] The reaction of students to this definition tends to be mixed, with some thinking that it makes sense, and others perceiving it as an unfair redefinition of racism to portray whites in an unfairly negative light.[5] In 2004, Beverly Tatum wrote that many of her white students find it difficult to relate to this definition on a personal level, because they do not perceive themselves either as prejudiced or as having power.[3] The definition has been criticized by some academics for relying on the assumption that power is a zero-sum game, and for not accounting for the lack of uniformity in prejudicial attitudes.[6] Critics have also noted that this definition is belied by the fact that except in absolutist regimes, minorities, however disadvantaged they may be, are not powerless, because power is organized into multiple levels.[7]

(source)

What is a ‘stipulative definition’?

A stipulative definition is a type of definition in which a new or currently-existing term is given a new specific meaning for the purposes of argument or discussion in a given context. When the term already exists, this definition may, but does not necessarily, contradict the dictionary (lexical) definition of the term. Because of this, a stipulative definition cannot be “correct” or “incorrect”; it can only differ from other definitions, but it can be useful for its intended purpose.[1][2]

For example, in the riddle of induction by Nelson Goodman, “grue” was stipulated to be “a property of an object that makes it appear green if observed before some future time t, and blue if observed afterward”. “Grue” has no meaning in standard English; therefore, Goodman created the new term and gave it a stipulative definition.

Stipulative definitions of existing terms are useful in making theoretical arguments, or stating specific cases. For example:

*Suppose we say that to love someone is to be willing to die for that person.

*Take “human” to mean any member of the species Homo sapiens.

*For the purposes of argument, we will define a “student” to be “a person under 18 enrolled in a local school”.

Some of these are also precising definitions, a subtype of stipulative definition that may not contradict but only extend the lexical definition of a term. Theoretical definitions, used extensively in science and philosophy, are similar in some ways to stipulative definitions (although theoretical definitions are somewhat normative, more like persuasive definitions).[2]

Many holders of controversial and highly charged opinions use stipulative definitions in order to attach the emotional or other connotations of a word to the meaning they would like to give it; for example, defining “murder” as “the killing of any living thing for any reason”. The other side of such an argument is likely to use a different stipulative definition for the same term: “the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought” or “the premeditated killing of a human being”. The lexical definition in such a case is likely to fall somewhere in between.

When a stipulative definition is confused with a lexical definition within an argument there is a risk of equivocation.

(source)

Now, what is the purpose of the stipulative definition of racism? I would conclude it’s to highlight the origin and impact of racism in the United States specifically. The stipulative definition of racism benefits the argument that people of color in the United States suffer more (and have suffered more) from racism against their group, than white citizens suffer (and have suffered) from racism against their group.

Personally, I don’t think whether or not people of color can be racist is a necessary question. It’s detrimental to the overall conversations we need to have, and the questions we need to answer. By lexical definition - yes, they can. By stipulative definition - their racism, while not defined as such in this specific instance, has a lesser impact in countries where white citizens are the majority.

The lexical definition of racism describes the act of racism within a sociological and anthropological context.The stipulative definition of racism describes the act of racism against a specific historical background, while highlighting prejudice as a motivator and power imbalances as an enabling force.

“I believe white people are collectively inferior and I hate every single one of them, but I’m not racist.” -> incorrect according to lexical definition-> ‘correct’ according to stipulative definition

We have to acknowledge that the stipulative definition of racism perhaps shouldn’t be abused to excuse unbridled hatred, seeing as how it benefits nothing and no one to do so, other than people who seek to excuse their hatred. I don’t think hate needs an excuse. It speaks for itself, regardless. Do I have empathy for a person of color expressing their frustration in a vitriolic manner? Yes. Without a doubt. Do I have sympathy? To a lesser degree. Do I choose to take their anger personally? No. I don’t have to. (I’m not a white American, anyway. But even if I was, I’m much less interested in getting upset than I am in bettering the world for everyone.)If someone tells you “I’m in pain, and it’s your fault!” the moral thing to do would be to find ways to address their pain first, then deal with their accusations later, if it’s at all necessary. Your methods should be rational, reasonable, and compassionate.The response of some white Americans to certain accusations is, quite frankly, embarrassing. If your response to someone expressing pain is self-flagellation, self-loathing and overabundant expressions of guilt - you’re not helping. Your pain doesn’t lessen the pain of others, it just adds to it. Your response has to be dignified and concise. I find it quite irritating to witness that political/societal discourse has become further obsessed with ‘whiteness’ in their attempt to deconstruct it. Just … focus, for fuck’s sake. Stop getting distracted by masturbatory hyper-wokeness. You can have all kinds of discussion on campus, that’s what it’s for, but outside of that bubble, you have to focus on the issues that many Americans still struggle with. (Yes, this entire post is US-centric, because the initial ask is.)The issues marginalized Americans deal with are issues of racism and classism - which, interestingly, is included in the stipulative definition of racism. It’s a matter of prioritizing according to impact. Poor white Americans have it rough, but poor people of color living in America are just profoundly fucked. You can, and you should address both. If your goal is 1, and you have two lesser instances, one at 0.75 and one at 0.25 you need and want to elevate both to 1. It just takes more effort to elevate one instance. Of course, either instance might elevate themselves by reducing one another to 0, but the total sum would be lesser. Or maybe I’m just bad at math, and this example sucks. Who knows.

There’s really no point in pushing each other down in our attempt at finding equal standing. Same as it’s useless to point fingers. It doesn’t really matter who is racist, or sexist, or anything like that - it’s about addressing the issues stemming from racism, sexism, etc. If a patient arrives in critical condition, your approach is symptomatic initially. As soon as their condition isn‘t critical anymore, then you can address the core problems.

Continuing on with the US-centrism - the American body still isn’t in stable condition. A festering infection has broken out recently (cough white supremacy cough), which is going to slow down the process of healing to a considerable degree. It can’t just be cut out, either. Whatever it has infected is part of the system, too. That’s why all of this is so fucking complicated.

Anyway, at this point I’m just rambling. It’s just very frustrating to observe, and while I have lived it to a certain degree, I certainly haven’t experienced it the exact same way. These are my thoughts on the issue.

To boil it down to a simple statement: What are my thoughts on people of color (in the U.S.) thinking they can’t be racist? Who cares? That’s not the issue. It’s a petty question, it’s a petty issue, it benefits no one.

[crstapor]

Why I am so Cynical

“I say unto you: one must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.”  - Zarathustra

Part 3

Let me stop shouting - sometimes I get carried away. Because it needs be clearly stated that my perspective on the matter at hand is not based solely on 'personal' experience (of course one can never deny the importance such datum possess!) but also 'phenomenological' experience, which is, clearly, a different animal altogether. That this menagerie has informed my thought will surprise no-one who's ever tried it; thinking, I mean. How else, if one is being as honest as possible, can one arrive at any conclusions whatsoever? While the first part of this essay waxed rather subjectively poetic, allow me to offer this third as a sort of empirical respite. Facts, good reader, let me proffer facts to further found my cynicism most severe.

But let me first define the scope these facts will express. The working title for this missive to minds who want to think was 'A Polemic against American Modernity'. Allowing that my interests, here, lie not north to Canada or south of Texas, the parameters of this diatribe should be well understood by all with even meager cartographic skill.  

Superficial perhaps I've structured these facts into three distinct phenomena; the surface, the self, and the symbol. I do so not to make any sweeping ontologic distinctions or assertions, rather, to help me think through them. System-building is not my purpose here - system-analysis is. The facets of modern America culture were well in place before I came along, and, unless I'm completely mistaken, I've done little to add to or enhance any of them. Apart from the clear truth of my having lived with and through them the vast majority of my mortal years. This 'truth', my citizenship and biography, allow me credence to present what follows as 'fact'; though of course it's still just one man's opinion!

Knowledge!

The Surface

Politics. Democracy. American Exceptionalism. Yeah right. So, help me out here, we have a great democracy because we vote for other people to get to vote on who actually becomes leader? Unless of course nine robes get that special privilege - based off of their admitted political preferences naturally! - like back in 2000. How the legislature is just a club for the privileged, connected, and the rich (which is almost redundant). How once 'money' became speech only those with 'money' had speech. The Founders are grave-rolling and Mussolini's having a laugh - fascism much? Let's remember Benito's definition of the term; which is when State and corporate interests converge (more or less). And we find that just about everywhere we look up in DC these days. Apparently we have the 'political will' to help banks, big oil, agribusiness, gun manufacturers, and all the other consolidated purveyors of terror, hate or control (sure, tobacco had to be sacrificed - occasionally you must throw the peasants a bone to keep the lie alive) but can't find the time to help out 'we the people': see continuing cuts to social programs; see the limp-dick governmental response to the housing/mortgage crisis of 2008 - ?; see the student loan pyramid scheme; see a 'minimum' wage that consistently fails to keep up with inflation; see a 'healthcare' plan that mandates private citizens purchase a product from non-governmental, for-profit companies - and taxes them if they don't; see how prohibition (here considered against natural, earth-born narcotics) continues to fuel a for-profit prison system and further erodes race relations; see how the gravest existential threat to the species (climate change, for realz) is perpetually laughed off and ignored; see how we lecture others on human rights while keeping Gitmo open and denying homosexuals equal protection under the law; see how NASA's (quite possibly, from a historical perspective, the greatest achievement of our modern society) budget keeps getting gutted while their priorities are schizophrenically re-ordered with each administration; see how children keep slaughtering children with weapons of war and no one can even attempt to do anything about it; see how voter ID laws are passed like Jim Crow; see how the innate sovereignty of the nation has been torn asunder now that private corporations can be 'to big to fail'; see an ever increasingly militarized police force; see the constitutional absurdity of 'free speech zones'; see democratic campaigns where one guy runs but once elected that guy's nowhere to be found and in his place is a carbon copy of the last guy who held the office ... See how our 'political parties' are two sides of the same coin ... But let's stop here and consider that last point in greater depth, as it is so vital to any understanding of 'democracy' in America ... Republicans, Democrats; Jefferson has been famously remembered, quoted, as saying once our (more properly his) democracy devolved into a two party system it would be a democracy no more. And I've certainly been a witness to that in my life. Sure, America isn't a dictatorship, but it sure as hell isn't the country Jefferson helped forge. And the main reason for that, to my eyes, seems to be the consolidation of power in the hands of politicians with more in common with each other than their constituents. R or D you can bet they're there for Wall Street or the military-information-industrial complex. Anyone else? Good luck with that citizen ... And while they're both complicit in gutting the middle class, let's take a moment to reflect, ethically, on that matter ... You can't blame the snake for its venom, but you can sure as hell blame the snake-oil salesman for shilling his bullshit wares. In case that metaphor wasn't clear enough allow me to decode it for you:

R = snake. D = snake-oil salesman.

Switching gears - though not by much! - let's shift to the state of modern American entertainment. To the uninitiated possibly a trite transition, any who've watched politics lately will surely see the connection. And just as our politics smell rotten, the main complaint with what passes as entertainment these days is how bad it tastes. Yes, it's a question of taste, as it seems most Americans have none. From 'reality TV' (which is surely anything but - though let's not forget Barnum's maxim!), to a pop-music ecosystem that's cannibalized itself to the point of parody, a movie industry that can seemingly fill ten months of releases with one script, the apotheosis of sport, the devolution of literature into a hobby for diarists, the way the performing arts are continually hoarded into smaller and smaller urban green zones, well, it's just hard to swallow most of that without gagging. Or throwing up. Yet a more concerted analysis along these lines is not called for here - we have much too much ground yet to cover.

Speaking of ground and covering it why not mention war? That old playground of glory now some video game where you might win many things; though honor's not among them. The full transition here is yet to occur, but we're definitely in the middle of it. Drones, air strikes, GPS targeting and bombs dropped from orbit (sure, not yet - wait for it!). The complete impersonalization of the other; that total objectification of the enemy (you better believe the pornographers have drone-envy). Let's not equivocate; it's one thing to look someone in the eye and take their life - quite another to push a button sixteen time-zones away and watch an image of indiscriminate carnage. How long will it be before we don't even let a homo sapien sapien push that button? How long before the machines are killing us on their own .?. Nothing to be cynical about here!

And if killing our 'enemies' has/is becoming so much more impersonal healing our 'own' has a fortiori. I'm not even going to start bandying about statistics but it's well known that of the 'first-world', 'post-industrialized' countries we're the only one that still considers healthcare a cash-grab instead of a human-right. And to what wonderful affect! Go ahead and try to ignore all the horror stories of your fellow Americans who lost it all because they couldn't pay their medical bills, or because they did. Pay no attention to record profit margins at insurance companies while the poor forgo all but emergency treatment and the wealth of the middle class is bled out and transferred to HMO executives. Sure, Uncle Tom tried to change all that - by passing a Republican plan even though the Ds had two branches of the federal government! - but when I tried to sign up for 'Obamacare' I still couldn't afford it even though I had $200 in the bank, no assets, and had been unemployed for over two years. If I lived in any other country where English is the primary language I'd be covered without paying a dime. My solution? To use the actual Republican plan - don't get sick!

But that should be easy since we all know of the three pillars of good health (diet, exercise, genetics) eating right is the easiest of all ... Hell. No, sorry, I was about to go all sarcastic and make it seem America knows nothing about sugar overload, HFCS, preservatives, the increasingly and horrifying inability of urbanites to access fresh foods (specifically the poor ones!), pesticides, pink slime, corn or corn or more corn or when will there ever be enough corn already, price gouging on foods that were produced the way they've been produced for centuries (read: organic, grass-fed, free-range), trans-fats, GMO proliferation in our breadbasket without an honest debate on the merits or looking at the science past what some corporation's panel has assured us is true, sodas, the food-gap, throwing away enough food daily to feed the world's hungry cuz it wouldn't make a dime, slaughterhouses like Auschwitz or Dachau ... That Quite Barbarism ... But that would be foolish - America knows all about that ... Why shouldn't it? America invented most of it …

And we invented the largest consumer-driven transportation system the world has ever seen to move all that food around. Sure, China will catch up with us eventually (if not already), but for the better part of three generations the US led the world in road-building and car-buying. Quite apart from the environmental effects this produced there was a profound psychological positive feed-back loop involved as well: one justifying the pre-dominate narrative of our consumer culture. Choice is sacred; you are special and unique and can reflect that through choice; so choose this product or this other one and express your uniqueness through possessing any one of these infinitely similar products; the choice is yours. Perhaps nowhere else in the market was this ‘story’ sold as diligently and aggressively than in the automobile industry. While it is true the US is, spatially speaking, a very large country, it is not true that every adult American needed or needs their own set of wheels to connect it. There are other options, other technologies that could’ve been employed to bring the masses together with more energy efficiency and communal cohesion. I admit it’s no Copernican Revolution, but the thought that Americans are so stubbornly self-interested and quick to discriminate opposed many of their European or native counterparts can not be divorced from the fact we all love to be in the driver’s seat. That commodified ‘freedom’ we are told awaits us on an open road with our very own internal combustion engine humming along in front of our feet; a freedom trains, buses, or carpooling can never provide. Again, notwithstanding the ecological impact of all this, the psychological dimension is impossible to ignore: even if we all owned Tesla’s that were powered by clean fusion charging stations it would still be me, me, me … which is quite naturally a completely uncynical disposition from which to hold a society together …

American’s fascination with their own value and freedom has of course been a dominate theme in the grand narrative of the country for some time; and while cars and roads were the major technological expression of that for much of the twentieth century, we have turned the corner here, in this regard, finding ourselves lost amid tiny little shiny screens that put the whole world inches from our eyes. With the advent of mobile computing the freedom so many seek isn’t conceived any longer by MPG rather MPBS. The new speed of information, and the promise of perpetual access, have enchanted the newer generations in much the same way vehicles did their antecedents. The technology is different while the story remains the same. It is still a self-centered freedom underlying the need, desire, to own the newest, quickest, coolest gadget. A freedom of information surely, yet one closely connected with the freedom cars brought their older relatives; it is as much economic as it is self-satisfying. The internet changed the game, naturally - and hail and well met etc. etc.! - but a claustrophobic observation remains … for a technology that has brought so many people together - and it has - it sure as hell does an awful good job sundering them as well … for you can’t find a public space anymore where a near-majority of your fellow citizens aren’t more interested in their precious little screens than those flesh and blood humans nearby. Perhaps this is just the necessary evolution of the social fabric - perhaps resistance is futile - though a social contract that has more to do with Facebook’s TOS opposed a Bill of Rights just (and forgive me for being so cynical) doesn’t seem like much of a society worth bothering with to this writer. Certainly not one worth the name.

Speaking of the modern technology we all now can’t live without, it seems to me a funny thing happened on the way to Google’s homepage … we now have access to all the information we can consume, on any topic, just a keystroke away, and look what we’re doing with it … I’m not just talking about social media or pornography, I mean the fundamental epistemological conundrum of an allegedly intelligent species that now has post-scarcity style access to information yet we’ve made of the web one colossal echo-chamber where the tribes huddle together in aggrieved resentment or ignorant bliss of the ‘others’ … look at it like this: in a day and age when the work of science (you know, that thing that made all this ((by which I mean ‘Modernity’ and all its toys)) possible) is more evenly, widely, and objectively disseminated than at any other time in history the public’s grasp and understanding of science and its work is at an all-time low. Basic data are disputed; empirical findings are called into question by anyone with a laptop, forget about a degree in the subject: what used to be considered non-issues, resolved subjects, are now argued over as if the Earth might actually be flat … all of which might just be good for a laugh if there weren’t actual existential threats to the species that only science can solve; yet we can’t even begin that discussion because some car salesman googled Glenn Beck and now we have legislatures that don’t think climate change is real; or they say the data doesn’t support an anthropogenic cause even though they never took a serious science course in their life; or that can’t be right because it doesn’t fit into our time-warp economy and a dollar today is obviously more important than our children’s future; or anyway shut-up idiot scientists just because you actually studied something other than law or business doesn’t mean you know any more than me because I have a high speed internet connection and I bookmarked the Drudge Report … how is it, philosophically speaking, tenable that the more information you have the stupider you become? I don’t know, but if you want a good example of the principle in action take a look at America today. Or just Google it …

Of course there is one thread that ties all these elements of ‘the surface’ together and that thread is consumerism as expressed by our current form of capitalism. The ascendancy of the dollar over all else (sorry God!). The desire to possess, acquire, consume. We are material creatures, we humans, and thus must consume to survive; fine: but do we have to do so in the manner we seem set on here and now? No, not at all, even suggesting that our’s is the only system, the only way to satiate the human hunger is absurd on its face as well as betraying an amnesiac’s conception of history. No, there are other paths, yet we have chosen this one, this ‘capitalism’ that mimics the terrors and rigors of the jungle at every turn. In the act of deifying money (more on that later) we have dehumanized ourselves. For the most part we are simple cogs in a vast machine that cares little or nothing for us; and so we care only for ourselves. The inherent egoism of the modern American psyche is spectacular to behold, certainly, in its primal vanity; at the same time giving the lie to any ethical system we still tenuously cling to as reminder of simpler days (sorry Christianity!). So we are, as a culture, no better than spoiled children grasping for another slice of pie. And while that’s certainly comical, it is also tragic, since such a system is not sustainable whatsoever (there is never enough pie). Neither history or science can provide any examples of such a system expanding into perpetuity (literature has given us a few but they are either satire or utopias ((same thing really))), and yet a sincere, concerted discussion on this issue has yet to percolate through the public sphere, or if so, only in the usual places and thus not given the sort of urgency it requires. But to have this conversation we all have to be ready to listen; it is not enough for the cynics and naysayers to keep shouting into the wild or the web: there has to be an audience, a receptive ear. Which brings us to our next section.

The Self

The problems elucidated in ‘The Surface’ are, to a great extent, symptoms of our sense of self, or, as is more often (if paradoxically) the case, our lack of one. While I am specifically referring to the modern American ‘self’, I’m going to be doing so with large brushstrokes; forming great swathes of colored splotches closer in kind to a rorscharch test than a pointilistic canvass. You may not see a reflection here so much as a sense of remembrance, or deja vu. That’s fine. I can’t be alone in thinking our lifespeeds have altered, and it’s just that alteration I want to discuss.

Lifespeed. Right. Let’s define that quickly so we can move on. By lifespeed I mean that facile quality of Being that tethers us to the ‘now’. Perceptually, our lives happen at a specific point in time, and I’ve conceived the word lifespeed to represent this point, as well as our conscious reaction to it. It’s just a word. Other than this meager definition it means nothing; has no other value. Right.

We were talking about choice earlier and there’s a clear connection between the act of choosing and the extant phenomena adjoining it. Just the relationship that lifespeed is meant to express. On its face, choice is neutral. Neither positive or negative, good or bad. The ‘designed’ choice of our consumer-driven society I find abhorrent, though not from some reactionary impulse, but a genuine longing for what it’s replaced. By making choices we define ourselves and I fear many of us are accepting a story that tells us we can only make this or that choice opposed to this that or the other. That we are told certain stories so many times we think we have no choice how they end; or wether to listen to them at all. In this way our lifespeeds have been damaged; like a bonsai pruned too severely.

Perhaps many are content defining themselves through ‘designed’ choice, or who ‘designed’ it anyway? Yes … there will always be sheep and lemmings in human form, and if that’s your angle you have my pity but nothing else. On the other hand, if you genuinely desire a leveling-up on the self-awareness front but have found this difficult to achieve thus far, you must realize two hard truths; the first that it is your business alone, none others - and the second, that it will be incredibly difficult to achieve because our society was not constructed to assist in this goal - quite the contrary! - it was designed to prevent it, at almost every turn. Here we return to the ‘designed’ component of American choice. Since the beginning the tiny tribes watching the throne have conspired to affect a marked class distinction in the land of the ‘free’. From the original agricultural workers of the new world, to the industrial workers who built a modern nation, to the current service sector workers slipping into poverty those with the firmest grip on the levers of power have continually strived to erect massive obstacles between those that labor for a living and those that live off that labor. Nor are these obstacles simply economic or aspirational in nature, no, due their pervasiveness through the generations they have percolated down into the most subterranean reaches of the mass conscious; into the very stories we use to define ourselves. Egads! a polite-hyper-modern-liberal-minded-triangulator might reply, don’t you know everyone has a TV! A refrigerator! Cheapest food ever! Why yes of course, there is an exception to every rule. While, for about thirty years in the middle of the last century, it seemed America was finally delivering on its promise, just look how long it took for us to devolve into another gilded age (the apparent default position of American society). It is foolish to define a thing based off aberrations, opposed its consistencies. In this way we clearly see the US for what it is … the second most successful marketing scheme in human history (naturally one must award Christianity top honors on that mark) … in the same way tobacco used to be good for you, that sodas were harmless, or how fast food is every bit nutritious as home-made, America cries ‘freedom’ when in so many ways the reverse is clearly the case. From ‘power’s’ perspective it’s nihilistically brilliant sure - give the people a semblance of freedom (in our case economic choice) and they’ll extrapolate that into a veritable cosmos of self-authorized-self-actualization - and you bet the monarchists, dictators, or petty politburos are jealous as hell at the level of control the political classes of America have been able to sustain generation after generation. A state of affairs that continues for no other reason than that an over-whelming majority of Americans keep believing the lies. We are forced to ask: why do they?

Let’s speculate wildly! Is it possible there exists some globe-spanning underground tributary of Lethe that constantly replenishes all the aquifers in the land? Or perhaps when we, on average a truly vain people, look into a mirror our historical consciousness is reset to zero? Or maybe we’ve all become so addicted to the stories we repeat about American Exceptionalism even the most destitute are content to sacrifice any chance they might have of another, better life, so as the stories can keep being told .?. the gyre is constricting at every turn, just like water flowing down the drain we’re becoming closer and closer to ourselves and ours; we’re losing a visceral sense of community and common cause through the ‘designed’ choices of a consumerist economy and specifically the newer technologies of self-absorption. So many of us don’t seem able to see past our own reflections, our problems, that even beginning to consider the larger problems facing our country seems as pointless as sending a manned mission to Mars.

The latent greed of the species is given free reign in America and this greed is destroying us. Making us sick. Stunted, withered, cloying little souls blighted with giga-myopia and eterno-amnesia. Greed. Most cultures have oft thought it a base emotion, one needing constant oversight - not the good ’ole US of A! We saw right through that ethical clap-trap - we saw that by harnessing the simmering greed of a people and putting them to work fulfilling that greed great things could happen … just absolutely amazing things … and we have accomplished quite a bit worth being proud over, and we sure have shown all those historical moralists just how wrong they were about the most solipsistic emotion … but this is a strange greed, our American one, one many may not even be aware of, so deep do its roots dive; a conniving greed that wraps in upon itself like a fresh burrito from Chipotle or those roller coasters you remember from Disneyland or Six-Flags … a greed that we have to learn to turn off, ignore, or quit seeing as so basic and benign in all our lives that there’s nothing you can do about it anyway - because it isn’t benign, it reacts to us and the environment as surely as we do it, and lately it’s been acting badly … yes, there are historical elements to this greed, there is also the question of personal responsibility, mutual complicity, systems of control and power as well - so many factors … I guess I’m nostalgic for another type of human being, one not fueled by avarice or beholden to the choices of others … qualities most seem to have lost somewhere on the way to Walmart … a human being that might never have existed except in a dream …

The Symbol

Human beings have long used symbols to represent value. Symbols are convenient, easy, and incredibly mutable. They can be transferred or translated almost infinitely. With a symbol ideas that might take an incredible amount of energy to explain or describe can be conveyed almost instantaneously. Logic and mathematics could likely not exist without them, nor, indeed, any language. And like any good thing, as is so often the case with any wonderfully useful thing, we humans have become dependent on them. Created for ourselves a world where we can not live without them. We are, in many ways, addicted to their utility. On its face there is nothing ethically challenging about this. Language and math are boons to humanity, practically describing our modern conception of ourselves. Symbols are naturally value neutral, like any high-level epistemological building block. And yet, we modern Americans have found ourselves in a tricky spot. We have crafted a society where one symbol is supreme. Where one symbol, and one symbol alone, holds all the power. A symbol that, if you find yourself without it, without access to it, without a stock-pile of it hiding somewhere, essentially makes you a non-entity. No longer part of the culture, the game. For it is certainly true that the only game in modern America is money. That collecting dollars has superseded all other activities; has supplanted any other endeavor as the only one with value. This state of affairs is the genesis of our cultural decline; of the death of the ideals that the Founders (who themselves were already playing the only game) attempted to instill in the New World: will in the end be understood by future historians as the single greatest crime of our time.

I say crime and I mean it. Don’t use the word for shock or awe. Nor do I want to dwell on this particular subject (not being the place for an extended analysis of this issue I will allow such a discussion its own essay, its own space, a place where it can be a bit more academic and dry, not so emotive or cynical) though we do have to mention a few more things before moving on. Crime. Yes. What was this crime? In short order here we go … it used to be the case that money was a symbol that referred to labor, actual work performed by one human that held value for another. So far as that is all money is, there is nothing ethically suspect about it. Then, at some point in the past, a few cunning paradigm-shifters saw an opportunity and changed the rules regarding what money was; they removed the labor as referent of value, replacing it with rare objects (typically gold) that few among any populace would ever see in their lives. Well, since the promise of alchemy was a lie, and the philosopher’s stone was never discovered, at least this money still referred to something real, something that couldn’t just be made up on the spot. Ah ha! the sons of the sneaky paradigm-shifters thought, that would just be the icing on the cake! Let’s remove the rare objects as value referent as well - let’s go all in on a communal mass delusion and see if anyone believes it … let’s just have money valued at whatever we say it’s valued at. Let’s create a massive shell game that only a very few will ever truly know the rules to, though the outcome, the results, will effect everyone … yes … let’s create the only game worth playing, and let’s give every live birth a turn … which leaves us with a system that, no matter how hard you work, no matter how industrious you are, if you don’t know the rules of the game (in modern America we can think of the Federal Reserve, Wall Street bankers, old money, select members of the Treasury Department etc. as the holders of the rule book) you will not win at it. You will play and play and play and keep losing and losing and losing all the while the rule keepers keep winning and winning and winning because for most players in this game the tokens of victory they collect (dollars) are bought at the hard price of actual labor, as if they never heard about how money grew up - no, they slave and slave for pennies without any chance of leveling up in this game and getting to that haughty echelon where money is no longer about work but having money make money off of someone else’s work … this little narrative I just outlined is a crime because there are clear stealers and victims (of course there are exceptions to every rule, but for every Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, there are a hundred and fifty million working at Walmart for a slave-wage). You see, the architects of the monetary symbol’s paradigm shift knew that by removing any referent to an actual act (labor) or object (gold) they were essentially hollowing out the natural relationship between the symbol and the symbolized, and in that empty space they would find their own El Dorado; their own little universe where they called the shots and none other. They essentially re-wrote the rules of symbolism, and clearly in their favor. And while symbols shift meaning all the time, especially in religious or political environments, these shifts are fundamentally harmless as neither religion or political discourse ever directly affects the physical well being of a human being as does their ability to acquire food, or energy, or health care, or shelter (I understand that by including ‘politics’ in this sense I might seem to be advocating a ‘post-history’ perspective; one where capitalistic-liberalism has won over all other political narratives, and while I hope that isn’t so, at the moment, and especially as an American author, one would be hard pressed to argue the point otherwise). To be clear, I’m not suggesting there was some shadowy cabal that gathered and planned out this great hollowing out of the monetary symbol; as is often the case it happened by fits and starts, here and there, as history would have it, propelled by the innate greed of the least amongst us. And yet they have scored a grand victory, these acolytes of avarice. Have pulled the proverbial wool over so many eyes - and in the process redefined a country that promised freedom into a vassal state completely enthralled to an ugly little strip of green denim that truly means nothing at all …

Of course this transformation did not just occur on American soil. But we sure as hell took the ball and ran it home. More than any other modern nation we are more readily defined by the empty symbology of the dollar than any others. This is not just an American problem; but we must be the first to address it …

America’s enslavement to the dollar is the singular cause of all the problems I put forth in ‘The Surface’, and, in many ways, ‘The Self’. We are a nation of suckers, rats, blind idealists, idiot sensualists, blatant thieves and the occasional dreamer … and knowing that, seeing my country in this way does nothing to alleviate my pathological cynicism … but allow me a query - do you still ask me why I am so cynical .?.