A Conspiracy of Cartographers

It’s easy to forget JRR Tolkien was a fairly prolific academic translator with an interest in early medieval literature and philology. It’s so inspiring that he found time to write The Hobbit while fighting for his life over Beowulf.

JRR Tolkien’s introductory notes for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight are like “This is a superb little poem. I really enjoy the author’s ability to weave existing narratives within folklore into one cohesive tale. This was fun!” and his lectures and notes on Beowulf are lowkey like “Translating and analyzing this was my Waterloo. I have been looking at it for 40 years. I am Sisyphus and this poem is my burden. All of you are misinterpreting it. Me too probably. God help us all.”

I read his translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and even though it was correct, his translation of "midgard" as "middle earth" made me double-take every time.

the thing is you're like obviously Austen was spectacularly talented at lampooning the worst kinds of people in a universal way that is still deeply relevant today and then you actually read some Austen again and you think wow she really was spectacularly talented at lampooning the worst kinds of people in a universal way that is still deeply relevant today

Hollywood actor Michael Sheen is funding a new theatre company to fill the gap left by the folding of National Theatre Wales.

He will be the artistic director of Welsh National Theatre, which will aim to tell "big stories on big stages for big audiences".

The first production, due in autumn 2026 and starring Sheen himself, will be announced in the coming months.

National Theatre Wales said it had "ceased to exist" last month after £1.6m in cuts to its core funding from Arts Council Wales.

“Z punched a hole in the wall. Then, instead of, oh, calming him down or helping patch it up, S turned it into this. Now I’s pissed off about the vandalism, L’s feelings are hurt, and J is threatening to stab S on her behalf. And, since you don’t give a rat’s ass about any of it—”

“Not even a mouse’s ass, to be honest.”

“—now I have the world’s shittiest job, running around getting everyone to kiss and make up before the drama bleeds into our next mission. I need more coffee. Dammit, there’s still no sugar! Maybe I’ll mix in some of those stale M&M’s. Do you think they’ll melt?”

“You know, I’m starting to see why your Hold has a gag.”

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inspired by @ashfae's Give Me A Break which is in turn inspired by @mumblesplash's tetris spoilers

Don't hide details like this in the tags @melibemusca ! And HAH I love it!!

i feel like this is important enough to put on here.

if you have any videos on youtube make sure this is unchecked

You can't tell me straight to my face this man wasn't replaying it over and over in his head

Mf realised this is all he ever wanted.

Crowley's love.

he was STARVING

one of my worst writing sins is abusing my power to create compound words. i cannot write the sentence "The sun shone as bright as honey that afternoon." no. that's boring. "The sun was honey-bright that afternoon" however? yes. that sentence is dope as fuck. i do not care if "honey-bright" is a word in the english dictionary. i do not care if the sentence is grammatically correct. i will not change. i will not correct my erred ways. the laws of the english language are mine.

If he can do it so can you

btw while people continue to fight the system don't forget about Undue Medical Debt (formerly RIP Medical Debt), a charity that buys and forgives medical debt. on average a donation of $10 will forgive $1,000 of medical debt.

I'm fairly confident that this is now the one original post I've made that has gotten the most notes, and I honestly couldn't be happier. the more attention we give this, the higher the chances that someone will see this and donate. medical debt is both one of the most crushing things a person can deal with and one of the stupidest things humanity has invented. and if you live in the US, I have no doubt that you've had to deal with medical debt in your life, either for yourself or a loved one. even a small donation can do so much good, and now is the time of year when we are encouraged to think of others.

as much as i understand being a hater you have to offset that shit with genuine, sincere enjoyment & wonder sometimes lest YOU become the one who is corny. and sad. imo.

where’s your fucking whimsy, jackass? your compassion? is it only irony and judgement 24/7 for you? booooo

Other people have said this better but Trump is yet again going to inherit an economy that Dems have spent the last four years building and helping to flourish and he's going to yet again be given credit for it while he drives it into the fucking ground just in time for it to crash and burn the moment he leaves office. I am going fucking insane.

Republican presidents fuck the economy, Democrat presidents fix it, Republicans criticize the Dems for supposedly ruining the economy (either by lying or by blaming Dems for things their own party caused), Republicans get voted into office when the economy is doing well from the Dems' work, the Republicans get credit while they wreck it again. Rinse and repeat.

an angel and a demon ✨

Also remember that letting people cover their faces in public did not lead to everyone getting robbed

And also remember that letting people work from home, and attend virtual concerts, and go to meetings via zoom, and go to conferences virtually, and go to religious services virtually, and go to all kinds of other events virtually and thus, allowing for disabled and chronically ill folks to participate in society like never before…

But now, folks want to take so many of those options away all over again…isolating disabled and chronically ill folks from society again. It’s cruel…taking something beautiful like that away from us after showing us that something like that was possible this whole time since we have had the technology. And now that we know for a fact that the technology exists, non-disabled and non-chronically ill people want to take that away from us?

It’s beyond cruel.

If you’ve never been house bound or bed bound for months or years on end like I have? Or like others like me have? Then you have no idea what this feels like. None.

Likes to charge reblogs to FUCKING cast

Please for the love of god. You should be able to change controls WITHOUT TAKING YOUR EYES OF THE ROAD. There is no reason to have to look at a SCREEEN while DRIVING

Flame-faced Tanager (Tangara parzudakii), family Thraupidae, order Passeriformes, NW Ecuador

photograph by Jorge Luis Cruz Alcivar The Magic Birding and Bird Photo Circuit of Ecuador