The tumblr of the purple chicken

Parallels Fanworks Exchange: Signups are Open!

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:13:46 -0400

Parallels Fanworks Exchange: Signups are Open!:

Signups are now open!

This year, I have raised the possible number of requests, offers, and characters. Instructions are contained within the form. As always, please let me know if anything about the form looks weird or isn’t working how you expected.

The request part of your signup will be…

In case anyone else forgot to keep track :)

[An EDI cosplay so convincing I thought it was...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:51:14 -0400

[An EDI cosplay so convincing I thought it was fanart]

poupon:

demonsee:

EDI by anatomic-latex

WHAT

[Delenn looks...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:34:43 -0400

[Delenn looks dubious]

aristgd:

avelera:

inamedmycomputerbones:

fuckyeahdelenn:

fuckyeahsinclair:

Delenn as she partakes in Centauri religious customs.

#Delenn isn’t quite sure how this is different from Londo’s regular Tuesday night #Ambassador Mollari must be the most religious Centauri on their planet

#omfg those tags #laughing my ass off #puts a whole new spin on his sudden sobriety

#he lost all faith in his gods #well that’s nice and depressing in its own way

[Babylon 5 Laughtears]

Also, I was partially joking before but you made me realize something:

At the Centauri religious festival, getting drunk was referred to as becoming “one with your inner self.” It had a pretty positive connotation certainly Vir didn’t feel any embarrassment on Londo’s behalf when he passed out. But if we follow that getting drunk is actually a Centauri religious rite, and Londo (all jokes aside) is pretty devout (which we do have evidence for at least when it comes to Li), then flash forward to him pouring the alcohol back in the flask…

I made a post some time ago about how Londo was an interesting character to me because he has a lot of traditionally “bad” qualities - drinking, womanizing, gambling. But its when those qualities go away and he becomes ambitious, hard working, sober, and (as far as we can tell) chaste is when he commits his most heinous crimes. Putting the Centauri religious spin on it though, he really did lose his faith during that time.

And I find it quite telling that he had no interest in becoming one with his inner self.

… interesting take. I will totally go with that.

"Be kind to yourself. Stop telling yourself that whatever you are struggling with “should” be easy...."

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:32:34 -0400

“

Be kind to yourself. Stop telling yourself that whatever you are struggling with “should” be easy. If something is hard for you, it is hard for you. There are probably Reasons, though those may just be how you are wired. Acknowledge these things. When you finish something hard, be proud! Celebrate a little.

And really, just stop saying “should” to yourself about your thoughts and feelings in any context. You feel how you feel. The things in your head are the things in your head. You can’t change either directly through sheer force of will. You can only change what you do. Stop beating yourself up for who and what you are right now–it isn’t productive. Focus on moving forward.

”

- How to keep moving forward, even when your brain hates you. (via mindovermatterzine)

vchronicles: So, to all of you who follow me and who are not...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:48:48 -0400

vchronicles:

So, to all of you who follow me and who are not from Brazil, you should read this, and please reblog, if you can.

These are some photos of what is happening to our country today. São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are facing protest all over the cities. To fight for their rights. Our country is living a hidden dictatorship. The protests started because the bus fee raised 20 brazilian cents. Which doesn’t seem that much, but you all should know that millions of brazilians live with a monthly income of no more than 700 brazilian reais (something like 350 american dollars). Some people live and raise families with that money. Monthly. To these people, $0,20 for each bus means a lot.

But the thing is: what initially was intended to be a protest against the bus fee turned into a protest against the dictatorial government. A government that every year, steals millions of dollars of their people, in their own benefit. A government so corrupt, the population got used to it, and make jokes about it. In this country, a school teacher has a yearly income of $8400. The governors, on the other side, earn, for the same time, about $300.000. To work less. And they don’t even show up to work. And besides that salary, they steal.

And now, people are going to the streets. And the response is photographed. The government is brutally attacking everyone. I mean everyone. Protesters, pedestrians, reporters, photographers. Everyone. For no reason. They just attack. And bomb. And hurt.

The media is absolutely corrupted. The brazilian media makes it look like a violent act, that has to be fought with equal violence. That is a lie. 15 thousand people are going to the streets of Sao Paulo with no guns, no fire, no weapons. And they are being hurt, persecuted, and arrested. Some of them have to pay bail fees up to $20.000.

If you came all the way down here, please, reblog this. Help making the world know what is really going on here. This country, this beautiful country, with beautiful beaches, and women, and music, is now screaming in protest. This is the country in which the World Cup will be in 2014. A country that worries about the World Cup much more than it worries about the welfare of its citizens.

It’s sad being here. But we’re fighting.

danceanthems: monotomy: 2NE1 | I’m the Best #if anyone out...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 21:22:37 -0400

danceanthems:

monotomy:

2NE1 | I’m the Best

#if anyone out there still thinks they wouldn’t like kpop they can put an end to that nonsense by listening to this song #nobody dislikes i am the best and if they say they do they’re a liar a damn liar #accept it into your hearts

I normally have trouble getting into music without lyrics I can understand (and I don’t even understand German lyrics much any more ;_;) but this was pretty darn catchy.

News sources.

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 21:17:23 -0400

trojanphoenix:

Where do my lovely peoples get your news from?

Cos I’m so fed-up of the braindead banality of both the BBC and The Guardian lately. The Guardian used to better than it is, but they are both terrible lately.

I need an English language international on-line news site that isn’t just British/European/American-centric and which is written for grown ups and isn’t a bunch of fauxgressive white middle class people patting themselves on the back about how smart they are when they are dense as fuck.

I tend to just skim headlines in my feed reader unless something jumps out at me (in my defense I have brain fog and anxiety, trying to read ALL THE NEWS isn’t good for me) Also I have a very Australian focus for obvious reasons.

But to get some variety in my headlines, aside from the ABC (our equivalent of the BBC) I am subscribed to:

Ahram online: Egyptian international news

Al Jazeera: Middle Eastern based international news

Crikey: Australian subscription-based “independent” news, a bit Guardian-esque

Ramp Up: Disability news and opinion from the ABC

unofficial check in

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:59:25 -0400

lifeofkj:

dragonagebb:

Hello, authors and artists! How’s it going so far?

We’ve found we’ve had some problems with our emails going astray (or into the junk mail folder of the damned), so if you haven’t gotten a reply from us, or haven’t gotten your initial email for some reason, let us know!!

If you’ve tried to contact your author/artist and haven’t had any response, let us know that as well, and we can try to help you get in contact.

Remember, authors, your official check-in will be on June 28th; your stories will be due by July 18th.

Check-in, everyone!

Myself, things are going slowly, but well. I have about a thousand words, good ideas, and a lot of gaps to fill. Fortunately, I have some time. :)

One of my authors contacted me and I emailed her back, she hasn’t contacted me again since then but for the moment am assuming she’s going ok and will email me if she needs to.

"The idea that politics could or should have any input into science is anathema to skeptics. They..."

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 07:44:23 -0400

“The idea that politics could or should have any input into science is anathema to skeptics. They often bring out the examples of Lysenkoism in the Soviet Union, or the racial science of Nazi Germany, to illustrate the dangers of allowing science to be contaminated by political ideology. They less often acknowledge that racial science was not unique to Nazi Germany, and that the same kind of racist garbage was enthusiastically pursued by scientists in the most enlightened liberal democracies of the time, and found in all the standard British and American anthropology textbooks. Eugenics, including racial eugenics, wasn’t just supported by Nazis, but by people who considered themselves among the vanguard of all that was good and progressive. Liberal democracy was no guard against the influence of political ideology on scientific thought. (On the contrary, liberal democracy is a political ideology that influences scientific thought.)

What’s more, skeptics never acknowledge that racial science was defeated by political ideology, and not by science itself. In fact, there was nothing that could have defeated it within the empirical framework of racial scientists. Their racist experiments confirmed their racist hypotheses based on their racist observations.”

- Stephen Bond, “Why I Am No Longer a Skeptic” (via wretchedoftheearth)

On the one hand there is a lot to like about this article. On the other hand the way he used “capitalist” as a straightforward synonym for “terrible” reminded me of the sort of dogmatic socialists I have seen be just as pigheadedly sexist/racist etc in defense of the “cause” as any skeptic. He says some hinky things in his comments too.

None of which entirely undermines his argument I guess. It just leaves me feeling uneasy. *has a complicated, somewhat Freudian relationship with left wing rhetoric that may be clouding my judgement*

Anonymous asked you: am tentatively excited for transistor myself. fingers crossed.

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:58:20 -0400

“Transistor? What do they mean…Oh. Transistor: http://supergiantgames.com/index.php/2013/03/first-look-at-our-next-game-transistor/”

I had totally forgotten about it! Now I want it to be here already, THANKS, ANON. Yeah, it looks pretty good :)

(Also thanks tumblr for cutting off my thoughts on my last post and not letting me add links to this one, hmmph)

aristgd: sqbr: nods A while ago I came to the conclusion that US fantasy writers seem to be the...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:14:54 -0400

aristgd:

sqbr:

*nods* A while ago I came to the conclusion that US fantasy writers seem to be the most in love with kings, and I think it’s a result of (a)Not having an actual monarchy around to remind you they’re just people and (b)The idealisation of the President and the ideal of the Lone Superior Saviour. From all accounts The Wheel of Time is the epitome of this.

I’m never sure if I’m crossing the line into being an obnoxious foreigner when I say stuff like this but…

It feels to me that there’s a tension in many white middle class Americans between having an ideal of equality but also deep down liking the idea of being objectively superior aristocracy who get to make decisions by fiat and have fawning servants. Fantasy (and pseudo fantasy like Star Wars/the Liaden Series/Vorkosigan Saga etc) allows them to have their cake and eat it too. (this tension exists in Australia/England etc too, but it seems particularly pronounced in the US)

I don’t think you’re off base at all; it’s definitely been the case historically that the American class system has been used to sell really terribly regressive policies to the American middle class and working class to give them someone to feel superior to. And it’s used in racial politics here all the time. The fact that Americans don’t talk about class and don’t believe it impacts them but we all like to pretend we’re middle class no matter how much money we do or don’t have, and then use that as a dual “Shucks just good ol’ boys/better and more deserving than THEM” club… I almost wish it were institutionalized just so we could have something to point to.

… Anyway, I think the rest of your analysis is basically spot on, a lot of Americans want to be lords/ladies/royalty because they want all the privileges and to be recognized for being condescendingly nice to their inferiors. I… recognize this fantasy in myself way too often, so I can’t exactly call my fellow citizens out for it too hard, but yes. It’s kind of ridic.

anghraine: awomanongont: A herd of teal deer: hands of a healer I think you’re probably onto...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:25:44 -0400

anghraine:

awomanongont:

A herd of teal deer: hands of a healer

I think you’re probably onto something there. For all the talk about being anti-monarchical, I think the idea of the chosen king—or the chosen one, functionally it’s not much different—ties in very neatly with the US American cult of individualism.

Because with the magical kingship arc, it becomes less about the ensemble efforts than that one guy who through hard work and grit and innate virtue rises from obscurity to be the Most Important Person Ever and fixes everything and the monarchy is perfectly okay, this one time, because that one guy is in charge, without a lot of thought given to how much he’ll realistically be able to accomplish or what his great-great-grandchildren will be like. Mix it up with the exoticism of ritual around that kind of supreme individualism and validate it all with TOG’s benevolence, and there you are.

(Even Narnia wasn’t willing to leave it all up to one person, and kingship in Tolkien is so ridiculously complicated that it’s hard to get a single message out of it.)

Heh, I hadn’t even thought about it in those terms - more a notion that people who already have a monarch aren’t really going to find kingship particularly special or interesting. (It must create a different perspective on the whole silly business when you grow up being told to be proud you haven’t had a king in two hundred years compared to growing up being told you put one on trial and then chopped his head off because he got too uppity.)

Very different. At least when I was a kid, there was all this sort of smug talk about it, like ‘we don’t have a king, we don’t have lords, we are just that special.’ (I remember signs that contemptuously referred to Bush as King George.)

There’s also the fact that - from an outsider’s pov - the US fetishises its presidents in a way reminiscent of a monarchy. I remember being at school and actually talking in class about power and satire and criminalising certain ‘types’ of political conversation back when the frigging Dixie Chicks were in the news for getting death threats for being anti-Bush. The obvious comparison was the old lése majesté one (I think I’ve forgotten an aigu there somewhere but what the hell, my French is terrible), which… was interesting.

Ugh, yeah. And I think that’s very true, especially given that a rather disconcerting quantity of Americans seem to be under the impression that the president is in fact an absolute monarch, all things good and bad that happen under his ~~reign~~ tenure are the consequence of his decisions, and if he so desires he can simply say ‘no, do that’—and that will happen. And it’s definitely focused on and glamorized above everything else (hence the limelight on presidential elections vs. midterm elections)

Coming from a culture that puts a lot of real power and influence into the hands of a single authority figure, and then adding to that the fact that someone doesn’t have a history of actual monarchy in their country: it doesn’t seem much of a leap from there to “well, the king is the best (most obvious) person to write a fantasy novel about. They see everything and go everywhere and do everything that’s in any way interesting!”.

Exactly! And simplifies things, since not many novelists have much interest in writing about elections or even much that’s remotely akin to them; making it a kingship, esp a divinely or narratively sanctioned kingship, bypasses all the downsides of a presidency. A plot about a good king who is trying to get all these worthy and necessary changes mind but it’s unpopular, people just don’t understand his genius or he has an obstructive council/parliament/whatever is going to speak pretty loudly to us. And one where nothing goes wrong and everything just works because kiiiiiiiiiing has a certain amount of wish-fulfillment to it.

*nods* A while ago I came to the conclusion that US fantasy writers seem to be the most in love with kings, and I think it’s a result of (a)Not having an actual monarchy around to remind you they’re just people and (b)The idealisation of the President and the ideal of the Lone Superior Saviour. From all accounts The Wheel of Time is the epitome of this.

I’m never sure if I’m crossing the line into being an obnoxious foreigner when I say stuff like this but…

It feels to me that there’s a tension in many white middle class Americans between having an ideal of equality but also deep down liking the idea of being objectively superior aristocracy who get to make decisions by fiat and have fawning servants. Fantasy (and pseudo fantasy like Star Wars/the Liaden Series/Vorkosigan Saga etc) allows them to have their cake and eat it too. (this tension exists in Australia/England etc too, but it seems particularly pronounced in the US)

The sexism and lack of representation of women in the gaming world.

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 20:59:34 -0400

theoreticalconstruct:

amondra:

Though this has been an ongoing issue it seemed to have really flared up this year’s E3.

Women are speaking out against the lack of female protagonist and getting the same old tired childlike responses from threats of rape to petty name calling and of course the age old lines that we don’t actually play games.

So women make posts on forums and complain about, but do we actually do anything about it? No.

And why aren’t we? we make up half of the gaming world, so why are we not hitting them where we can and where it hurts? The sales.

Big companies and publishers like EA want to ignore our cries or that there is a problem because they want to pander to young boys and immature men? Fine let them. Then we won’t buy their games.

If we actively stopped giving them money and settling for this shit things will change. If you really believe we make up 47% of the gaming population let’s show them what losing 47% of their sales will look like. This is something we can do, so why aren’t we?

Is it because we don’t actually believe there is that many of us, or that it won’t matter? Or are most us just lazy and rather complain than act?

So ladies, and men if you want in on this because you feel that you are secure enough to enjoy a game with a good female lead. Let’s stop buying the games. Let’s hurt their wallets.

Most AAA games from companies like EA need to sell 5-6 million copies to be deemed survivable, that isn’t even a success. Which means if we stop buying their games will start to fail and that hole in their pocket will get larger.

we can do this. It might be hard because of the game titles we really like will be coming out, but if we are pushed to the back seat for the demographic of boys who need their parents to buy the game, then DON’T BUY IT!

Seriously, it is time we stop settling….

I’d apply the same to games with POC protagonists. Of course, actively buying the games that *have* female and/or POC protagonists (and buying them new, to make sure the publishers get the money!) would need to be a part of this.
(I plan to buy Remember Me on this paycheck since I can at least afford one game, and I am very interested in it!)

…and I have more thoughts on this, but it’ll have to wait until after I’m home, if I can get them together.

I have issues with the idea that it’s women’s job to fix sexism in the games industry, as well as the idea that the only way we can affect change is with directed consumerism. But I do agree that where possible we should all try and support developers making the kinds of games we want to see more of. This is one reason I go on so much about Hanako Games since they are wall-to-wall female protagonists and make some effort wrt lgbt and POC characters. I’m unlikely to play Remember Me because jumping, but luckily Cam likes that sort of thing :)

Of course then I start wondering what message, if any, it sends to US games manufacturers if an Australian fan like me buys translations/localisations of Japanese made games with Japanese casts. Still, it at least sends a teeny message of “yay female protagonists” or whatever to the Japanese game manufacturers.

And then there’s free games: they’re not part of the “what sells” market, but affect gamers’ attitudes and experiences, and are a testing ground for developers. Also the only place I’ve really seen anyone put much effort into depicting disability or the trans experience.

*goes back to work on Copper Rose*

trojanphoenix: maysileeeabernathy: twoheartedalien: vampireplaya: numba1fangirl: just-for-the-re...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:46:56 -0400

trojanphoenix:

maysileeeabernathy:

twoheartedalien:

vampireplaya:

numba1fangirl:

just-for-the-reblogs:

timetravelingwinchesters:

just-for-the-reblogs:

wait so you’re telling me that americans don’t have house systems or house points

what do you do in school???

wait this is real. not like just something in harry potter and summer camps?????

[“Oh hon” gif]

wait are you serious?? I thought that was something JKR made up??

No… this 100% legit. My schools houses where based on famous mathematicians.

why i’m not british

We never had house points. We had groups so that they could split up assemblies so it wasn’t to crowded but that’s it haha

Only applies to posh-ass boarding schools though.

We had houses at my posh Australian partly-boarding highschool and factions at my not remotely posh Australian government primary (elementary) school. No sorting hats though.

the logistics of regency dressmaking; an infodump on behalf of tumblr user sunspeared, who is awesome

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 03:40:03 -0400

brsis:

the preamble, or, let’s get some shit straight before we start

the formal regency period is 1811-1820, but i’m boosting this out to the ‘popular’ span of time between high rococo and the georgian era and the start of victorian era sensibilities, so - 1795 - 1830 or thereabouts (victoria doesn’t take the throne until 1837 but the transition, from a fashion point of view, starts creeping in from about 1825 so run with me here) because the generalisations that can be made of the 1811-1820 period can also be made of the 1795-1830 period

i am also limiting myself to england and france, because let’s face it so does every other historian - admittedly for good reasons as from 1600 to 1955 or thereabouts england and france were the centre of the world for the western fashion industry - and mostly women, although i’ll try and chip in whenever i have some info on men

caveat; this is drawn from my own knowledge and what books i have available to me - i may have some bits wrong or not quite spot on, and some bits eg. time frames are educated guesstimates. but for the sake of fiction it should do the job

okay so what do

Read More

fuckyeahbioware: Huge LEGO “Mass Effect” Normandy Is Ready To...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 01:00:59 -0400

fuckyeahbioware:

Huge LEGO “Mass Effect” Normandy Is Ready To Fight The Reapers

All this Lego version of the Normandy SR-2 needs is a minifig version of Joker and it’s ready to go. Built by Ben Caulkins, it measures 4′ long with a 19″ wingspan! If you happen to be in Chicago, you can see the model live at the Brickworld exhibit this week.

More photos available at Nerd approved.

Mostly reblogging this for Cam :)

[Maybe we could get you in a nice dress one day. Silk… no,...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:29:55 -0400

[Maybe we could get you in a nice dress one day. Silk… no, maybe velvet. Velvet is heavier, better to guard against the cold in Ferelden.
Dark red velvet, yes… with gold embroidery… It should be cut low in the front, of course. We don’t want to hide your features.
Stop looking at my breasts like that. ‘Tis most disturbing.
You don’t think so? And if it’s cut low in the front, we must put your hair up, show off that lovely neck…
You are insane. I would sooner let Alistair dress me.]

[Morrigan from the Dragon Age Inquisition trailer wearing a low cut heavy red dress, with her hair up]

LELIANA/MORRIGAN CONFIRMED CANON

"It seems to me that on one page I recognized a portion of an old diary of mine which mysteriously..."

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 06:27:29 -0400

“It seems to me that on one page I recognized a portion of an old diary of mine which mysteriously disappeared shortly after my marriage, and, also, scraps of letters which, though considerably edited, sound to me vaguely familiar. In fact, Mr. Fitzgerald (I believe that is how he spells his name) seems to believe that plagiarism begins at home.”

- —Zelda Fitzgerald, in a review of her husband’s book in 1922 (via trishahaddad)

Reminder that F. Scott Fitzgerald stole his wife’s writing, many times, while suppressing her works. See “Save Me the Waltz”, which he forced her to revise so that he could use parts of it in his own book “Tender Is the Night”. And which author do we study in school?

(via rubyvroom)

I didn’t know this.

(via alienswithankhs)

He also encouraged her to have affairs so he could use that for inspiration, and when she wanted to leave him for a man she fell in love with, he locked her in their house and wouldn’t let her leave.

When she wanted to publish “Save me the Waltz,” Fitzgerald wrote in his diary about DELIBERATELY trying to TRIGGER her schizophrenic episodes and making her incapable of fighting that battle.

And Fitzgerald scholars KNOW all this. They write articles about how it was all okay because in the end, it inspired Fitzgerald to write Great Literature.

(via prozacpark)

knife his corpse

(via freedominwickedness)

that sounds about right

(via missleaves)

He was a shitty author, tho…

(via heirofmedusa)

Great American Male Novelists yay.

(via thewolverina)

sometimes-pizza-times-it-sometim asked you: Where do you get long stripey socks from? I've been wanting them but I can't find a decent pair anywhere. (sorry if this went through twice)

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:09:29 -0400

If you just want kneesocks (which go further on a shorty like me :)) Target and David Jones often have them, though not always in nice colours.

For a wide range of over-the-knee socks in different colours and sizes I recommend Sock Dreams: http://www.sockdreams.com/. They’re more expensive and you have to pay postage but the socks are very nice.

Anonymous asked you: sadfsf that averages thing is so weird, I would have pegged the "Taiwanese female" average as a Mainlander and filed the "Taiwanese male" average as ambiguous. I wonder what the methodology was and what sorts of sampling biases may have been in place

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:02:00 -0400

Yeah, I had similar misgivings and didn’t articulate them (partly because I am terrible with faces, so it’s all very gut instinct “is that really what the average Japanese woman looks like?” And maybe it is and my Japanese followers would be sad at me ETC), perhaps I should have. It’s better than nothing, but still.