I don’t like sports, but the Bearcats are my new favorite team.

I don’t even know what sport this is, but I think I like them.

I love how it gets more elaborate each time. These boys are thinking this through.

There’s a video!

oK But thisss

European raven

Turkish raven

North African raven

Himalayan raven

Western (American) raven

AUSTRALIAN RAVEN

look at it look at that weird birb it doesn’t know how to raven

other ravens: caw caw

australian ravens: aUGH AUUuuuGH AAAAUUUUUUughhhhhHHHhhhhhhh

it genuinely didn’t occur to me that this was weird that i’d never heard a crow or raven caw in my life and frnakly the australian raven noise is the most common noise to me and it means “it’s the morning now”. i can’t imagine life without it. its background noise i didn’t even think to identify as coming from somewhere. it’s just There.

quoth the raven, “aUGH AUUuuuGH AAAAUUUUUUughhhhhHHHhhhhhhh”

it sounds like a depressed kazoo.

Wait a minute… how do non-Australian ravens sound? Do they not sound like this?

@derinthemadscientist

That’s what the European one sounds like

There are still dinosaurs living among us…

This giant gator was seen taking this leisurely stroll through Circle B Bar wildlife reserve in Lakeland, Florida, on Sunday. The video was recorded and shared by Kim Joiner. 

I love him.

This is not TOO far from me.

Look at that big old Swamp Kitty!

He’s gives zero flips about anything, and all you kids can get off his lawn.

Everything movies taught me about archery is wrong. This is a complete mind-blower. 8D

If you are even remotely interested in archery or medieval combat, check this out, it’s just great!

OMFG EVERYONE PLEASE DROP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND WATCH IT RIGHT NOW O_O

HOLY HELL

Not only is this fascinating, there are a lot of images from art history here. It just goes to show that what you can learn from the past isn’t limited to facts you can know, but things you can do.

My favorite part?

He learned this doing research for LARPs (Live Action Role Playing):

The time benchmark he was trying to achieve, according to the video, was the expectation of the speed at which “Saracen" archers were expected to shoot. In fact, most of the source material as far as I can see isn’t European.

A lot of the techniques described are also used in Mongolian Archery, which requires being able to shoot from horseback, and is traditionally practiced by men and women. You can see a video here.

With regard to this video, this is an article that strongly disagrees with it, I think fairly convincingly, especially with regards to historical facts and the historical knowledge and basis of modern/western/sport archery. http://geekdad.com/2015/01/danish-archer/ Of particular interest “’He uses forgotten historical methods…’ No, they were not forgotten. They just weren’t European. Archery is one of the oldest human activities, found in virtually every culture on Earth… Andersen’s “discoveries” are well-known to anyone who has ever studied Asian and Eastern European archery, such as Mongolian, Tibetan or Hungarian styles. The famous Native American archer Ishi was known for shooting in a style very similar to Andersen’s… in the style of the Yahi People of the Pacific Northwest… Patricia Gonsalves (archery consultant for Arrow) is currently making a documentary about precisely these allegedly “forgotten” techniques as they are currently being practiced around the world.”

As always, medievalpoc is fantastic!

Thank you for the additional information!

I will say that the first article above is overly pedantic and corrective, and makes some points that are addressed in the video itself (while claiming it doesn’t). It’s a video voice-over, not a dissertation. It’s going to be oversimplified, have unmentioned caveats, and be accessible to an audience that knows almost nothing about archery. That’s sort of the point. Also to the point-that Andersen himself was someone who knew almost nothing about archery, and wanted to learn. It’s easy to throw around terms like “fraud”, “howlers”, and “gullible”, while making quite a few of the same unsubstantiated claims and mistakes he’s raking Andersen over the coals for.

I also bolded the link above about Patricia Gonsalves’ documentary. People should really check it out, it looks awesome! I may have done some looking around at various non-Western archery “technical” videos after posting this, myself, but most of them were weirdly ethnographic and I didn’t care for their overall tone, so I left them where they were. That, however, looks like something I can get into.

How the new Ms. Marvel is changing comic books and media for the better. (via @pbsideachannel)

In our latest Tropes vs Women video, Women as Background Decoration, we use examples from 52 different video games released between 1986 and 2014. The majority of which were published within the past 5 years. You can find the complete list as well as additional resources and some of the studies cited in this episode on the Feminist Frequency website.

PS: The video now has English subtitles on YouTube and a full transcript is available on my website.

John Oliver explains why net neutrality is really important, as only John Oliver can

Maybe John Oliver has found his post–Daily Show niche: Explaining boring or uncomfortable subjects in a way that makes sense and makes you laugh. 

This Is What Happens When You Replace The Women In Ads With Men

Georgian traditional dance is crazy

I know very little about dance but I know this is awesome.

This is the third installment in our three part mini-series exploring the Damsel in Distress trope in video games. In this episode we examine the rare Dude in Distress role reversal and then take a look at the use of “ironic sexism” in retro inspired indie and mobile games. We conclude with an investigation of some titles that attempt to subvert or deconstruct the traditional damsel narrative. Watch The Damsel in Distress Part 1 Watch The Damsel in Distress Part 2 Links, resources and a full transcript is available at FeministFrequency.com You can also watch and share the stand alone version of our “The Legend of the Last Princess" animation on YouTube. Captions and Subtitles coming soon!

an important graph for everyone to see thank u

the fact that this chart is necessary saddens me

Bill Rinaldi just sent me this video from the weapon-making series Man At Arms. At viewers’ request, Tony Swatton forges Sokka’s “space sword” OUT OF METEORITES! The results are incredible.

Mind blown. So… how do I buy this thing? Maybe a custom pleather version?

Whoa, this is amazing on so many levels.

This is the second in a series of three videos exploring the Damsel in Distress trope in video games. In this installment we look at the “dark and edgy" side of the trope in more modern games and how the plot device is often used in conjunction with graphic depictions of violence against women. Over the past decade we’ve seen developers try to spice up the old Damsel in Distress cliche by combining it with other tropes involving victimized women including the disposable woman, the mercy killing and the woman in the refrigerator.

Due to the nature of the topic, this video comes with a trigger warning for violence against women.

For more information and a full transcript visit: http://www.feministfrequency.com/2013/05/damsel-in-distress-part-2-tropes-vs-women/

The most amusing thing is this IS exactly how the BBC report on practically everything.

For any guy that responds to women’s objectification in any media (yes, this video pertains to video games specifically, but it still applies to all other forms of media.) with “well men are objectified too!”, sit the fuck down and watch.

Reblogging this because I’ve had this video submitted to me a bunch, and I conveniently saw this on my dash. :)

Jim makes the important distinction between idealization and objectification.  Male characters are idealized in some ways, but as a power fantasy, are much more varied, and are created for straight cis men to see themselves as.  They are idealized, but as the subject.  Mainstream gaming is still typically created by straight men for straight men.  It doesn’t mean there are never any problems with the way that’s done, how characters portrayed, or that that can’t be addressed, but it’s still an important distinction.

Female characters are made for men to want sexually, to look at, fantasize about, and to be attractive to the male gamer, even if they’re the protagonists.  They’re meant as objects for the straight male audience.  An example of this is when Jim pointed out in a previous video that publishers don’t want developers to have female characters in straight relationships because they’re meant for the (presumed to be straight male) player to think of as a potential girlfriend, and they fear the players would be turned off if she displayed sexual agency of her own. 

Once it got past the host being annoying, I liked what this video had to say.