#the mushroom at the end of the world

[probablyasocialecologist]

Alienation is that form of disentanglement that allows the making of capitalist assets. Capitalist commodities are removed from their lifeworlds to serve as counters in the making of further investments. Infinite needs are one result; there is no limit on how many assets investors want. Thus, too, alienation makes possible accumulation—the amassing of investment capital, and this is the second of my concerns. Accumulation is important because it converts ownership into power. Those with capital can overturn communities and ecologies. Meanwhile, because capitalism is a system of commensuration, capitalist value forms flourish even across great circuits of difference. Money becomes investment capital, which can produce more money. Capitalism is a translation machine for producing capital from all kinds of livelihoods, human and not human.

Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[loneberry]

As biologist Scott Gilbert and his colleagues write, “Almost all development may be codevelopment. By codevelopment we refer to the ability of the cells of one species to assist the normal construction of the body of another species.” This insight changes the unit of evolution. Some biologists have begun to speak of the “hologenome theory of evolution,” referring to the complex of organisms and their symbionts as an evolutionary unit: the “holobiont.” They find, for example, that associations between particular bacteria and fruit flies influence fruit fly mating choice, thus shaping the road to the development of a new species. To add the importance of development, Gilbert and his colleagues use the term “symbiopoiesis,” the codevelopment of the holobiont. The term contrasts their findings with an earlier focus on life as internally self-organizing systems, self-formed through “autopoiesis.” “More and more,” they write, “symbiosis appears to be the ‘rule,’ not the exception…. Nature may be selecting ‘relationships’ rather than individuals or genomes.”  —Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins

[refrigeratorsong]

an extraordinary and important video essay by the incredible Sophie From Mars. this piece is on climate change, community, and fungi. it is overflowing with information and empathy.

humanity can and will kill the wyrm of capitalism.

[wellconstructedsentences]

Without collaborations, we all die.

The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Tsing

[fantomemangeurdelivres]

[underthepile]

To live with precarity requires more than railing at those who put us here (although that seems useful too, and I’m not against it). We might look around to notice this strange new world, and we might stretch our imaginations to grasp its contours. This is where mushrooms help. Matsutake’s willingness to emerge in blasted landscapes allows us to explore the ruin that has become our collective home.

— Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, The Mushroom at the End of the World

[thefiresontheheight]

“Even when disguised through other terms, such as agency, consciousness and intention, we learn over and over that humans are different from the rest of the living room because we look forward, while other species, which live day to day, are thus dependent on us.”

-Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, “The Mushroom at the End of the World.”

[galaxygermdraws]

So does anyone else think about what the Mushroom Kingdom must be like during the events of Super Paper Mario? Does anyone think about how the Void is basically a black hole and should probably mess with gravity and rip buildings apart? Does anyone think about the sky turning red as the wold begins to shake, and all of the Toads huddling together in the castle, boarding up the doors out of fear. Do you think that, during the final battle in Castle Bleck, if the castle is falling apart, Peach can see through the Void and see her kingdom being destroyed? Do you think it even existed anymore at that point? Do you think the Mushroom Kingdom disappeared like Sammer's Kingdom and the Land of Cragnons? Do you think Peach realizes this? Do you ever just. Think about the Mushroom Kingdom...?

(reblogs with tags/comments are appreciated. alternate versions under the cut. thankyu)

[rw-ascension-au]

THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO JUST BE A SKETCH AS A SNEAK CONCEPT ART THING FOR SOMETHING AND THEN I ZONED OUT

[katlyntheartist]

There's a couple of things the sequel could do with Daisy to differentiate her from Peach aside from their personalities: 1) she came across Sarasaland as an adult, and 2) over half the time she has no idea how to rule a kingdom

While these ideas aren't bad, I really like the idea that King Totomesu just found baby Daisy randomly one day and immediately took her in as his own cub. And the other three rulers react like that one scene from Sunny in Philidelphia-

But after five minutes they all vow to protect the baby with their lives.

[probablyasocialecologist]

A tiny Hawaiian squid, Euprymna scolopes, has become a model for thinking about this process. The “bob-tailed squid” is known for its light organ, through which it mimics moonlight, hiding its shadow from predators. But juvenile squid do not develop this organ unless they come into contact with one particular species of bacteria, Vibrio fischeri. The squid are not born with these bacteria; they must encounter them in the seawater. Without them, the light organ never develops. But perhaps you think light organs are superfluous. Consider the parasitic wasp Asobara tabida. Females are completely unable to produce eggs without bacteria of the genus Wolbachia. Meanwhile, larvae of the Large Blue butterfly Maculinea arion are unable to survive without being taken in by an ant colony. Even we proudly independent humans are unable to digest our food without helpful bacteria, first gained as we slide out of the birth canal. Ninety percent of the cells in a human body are bacteria. We can’t do without them.

As biologist Scott Gilbert and his colleagues write, “Almost all development may be codevelopment. By codevelopment we refer to the ability of the cells of one species to assist the normal construction of the body of another species.” This insight changes the unit of evolution. Some biologists have begun to speak of the “hologenome theory of evolution,” referring to the complex of organisms and their symbionts as an evolutionary unit: the “holobiont.” They find, for example, that associations between particular bacteria and fruit flies influence fruit fly mating choice, thus shaping the road to the development of a new species. To add the importance of development, Gilbert and his colleagues use the term “symbiopoiesis,” the codevelopment of the holobiont. The term contrasts their findings with an earlier focus on life as internally self-organizing systems, self-formed through “autopoiesis.” “More and more,” they write, “symbiosis appears to be the ‘rule,’ not the exception. . . . Nature may be selecting ‘relationships’ rather than individuals or genomes.”

Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins

[sofiasfanartcollection]

prompts are: “in the future” and “on a… cruise?”

more from that Draw Your Rise OC Challenge by @angellustrates

(previous, next)

River is not having a great time in these.

The first prompt gave the option for either the bad or good future, but since River was already an adult and I don’t see her changing much in appearance in the good future, I drew something from the bad future :( She would not do well in an apocalypse. She ends up getting stuck in her ghost-like form.

And on that “cruise,” well, she’s uncomfortable in a dress and overstimulated with the bright light and lots of people and smell of sunscreen and has no clue what’s going on. The reason she’s able to sort of keep it together is she remembers Warren. (Before this, the two of them had been searching for Hypno who’d been kidnapped.)

Also, the bad future one got me thinking about the movie, and I decided to try giving a design for a krangified River a try. (Don’t worry, it’s not canon to her story.) Under the keep reading in case anyone doesn’t want to see it.

cw for light gore/body horror/extra eyes

[r0tt1ngr4bb1t]

NEW EPISODE OF GARDENING WITH ARGOS JUST DROPPED AND I'M OBSESSED WITH IT AAA!!

Bonus:

The Flower's Face when he said that was Priceless 💀💀💀

[cali]

hike today there was 1 mouse many birds and 1 deer that kept playing infront of us like running on a narrow trail then stopping until we got close again and running again also do you see all those tracks in the last pic? everyone was there! everyone drank there

[anonymous-scapegoat]

almost 3 years ago i got a tattoo of a bunch of mushrooms around my left bicep which was meant 2 look like a fairy ring. what i did not expect as a repercussion of this was the sheer quantity of ppl 2 whom i wld have 2 explain what a fairy ring is. i didn’t think it was that niche as folklore goes but like. i literally feel like that comic that goes around here periodically like “well ur average person only knows of one or 2 natural phenomena once attributed 2 the fair folk” but apparently the actual number is zero!!