193. Copper Blangonga

this clip from this streamer fucking up his streamdeck buttons has got me sobbing

192. Shamos

I know it's unfair vilification and stuff but it's also a lot of fun to see old media and stuff where people were SO scared of big animals like lions, sharks, crocodiles and wolves were fully expected to just come and eat you the moment you stepped into their territory. In older media we also made that assumption about gorillas and in still older we thought it'd be whales. But some animals that will actually fuck you up got left behind. Boars will kill you and eat you. They're way more likely to do so than any of those other things actually. Hippos, obviously, got off like bandits always being depicted as cute and dopey. And then there's the squids. Not giant kraken size squids. The eight foot squids that hunt in packs and will fuck you up if you fall in the water at night. I can't BELIEVE people slept on that. It's like all they cared about were the huge deep sea ones we never see. The medium size wolf pack squids were right there.

Oh some of you don't know about the squids. I talked about them in another thread that went kinda viral somewhere or other but one of the reasons you should not swim in the open ocean at night in many parts of the world is that the water starts teeming with these:

And as you can see it is not like instant death, they too are just animals and they are often just gently curious about the presence of humans! But people who study and dive with sharks will tell you you're safe as long as you stay calm and know what you're doing. The world's leading professional night divers and experts on these squids, specifically??? Stress in every interview and article and paper they write in that you simply do not fuck around with these squids. They know what they're doing and they still all have at least one story of being attacked, in some cases having to be hospitalized. Considering just how rarely anybody puts themselves in the pitch dark nighttime ocean on purpose, let alone during a squid feeding frenzy, it sounds like they're quite a bit more likely to consider you potential food than other marine predators. We also don't know how many fatal attacks might have ever happened, because what humboldt squid like to do with large prey is just drag it away into the darkness forever. The two worst attacks ever proven involved two or three squid at a time latching on to a diver (in BOTH cases they were professionals and knew the risk!) and jetting straight downward with enough force that both divers suffered injury from the sudden pressure change alone, including burst eardrums, nearly passed out and they probably would have died if they hadn't broken free. In general, people who die drowning in the dark open ocean are either never found, or they're found in pieces picked over by enough scavengers that the precise cause of death can only be narrowed down to "the sea." But now you know ONE of "the sea's" possible murder weapons :)

There's a short section on Humboldt squid in Wikipedia's entry for Cephalopod attacks on humans:

And if you can get past some of Animal Planet's hokey presentation style, this video includes a bit of interview with one of those professional experts who still got nearly squidded from existence:

There is of course some debate about all this, with some arguing that all proven documented attacks occurred on people with reflective diving equipment, which they say the squid must have mistaken for the shine of fish. However, there are lots and lots of people who have to fish around these squids to survive, who do not have access to that kind of equipment, and also have a consensus that if you fall in the water when big squids are out hunting you might disappear without a trace or perhaps just get your head bitten open. With many modern science guys agreeing with this sentiment, this is one case where the "they're just misunderstood sea friends" crowd is kind of outnumbered. The sea at night is theirs and not ours is all. It's not ours during the day either but since we are neither marine nor nocturnal animals we are double fools in the eyes of the squids, which by the way are these eyes:

No for real:

Absolutely! Also, the Humboldt squid will hunt in packs, sometimes with one flashing brightly to draw attention while the others approach in near unseeable camoflage!

Beautiful footage of the nefarious sea demons also :)

Also because I can't reblog every addition together:

Okay where's the other 1199

Carnarach from Iron Meat cosplay.

Hi. Things are bleak, I know that. I know that we paid for Trump's last term with blood and it is likely the price will be blood again.

But listen to me. LISTEN.

You do not have to force yourself to witness horrors as an act of activism. It is not a form of activism. You can put your phone down, you can block that horrific video. We cannot win if you cannot fight and you will not be able to fight if you are hopeless.

Do not let them guilt you into this. People who are exhausted are easier to walk over. Take care of yourself, find community where you find joy.

You do not have to force yourself to witness horrors as an act of activism. It is not a form of activism.

^^^ remember this. do not exhaust yourself into hopelessness. take care of yourself and stay strong.

I know I've recced it before, but if you want a place to monitor the news while avoiding getting caught in the horrors, What The Fuck Just Happened Today is a really useful resource. They summarize political (& adjacent) news so you can remain aware of what's going on while still minimizing the emotional energy you expend on any one issue. (And they provide links and sourcing if you need to know more.)

Traumatizing yourself won't open cages.

Traumatizing yourself won't fill bellies.

Traumatizing yourself won't make others less cruel.

Suffering won't reduce suffering in the world.

You cannot abuse yourself into being sustainably industrious.

This, however, doesn't mean to do nothing. There is indeed an important need to be involved in helping one another, but the helping is what helps. There is a strong pressure from others to "not look away." This doesn't mean to literally watch every piece of media that comes out. At its core it means to not give way to apathy for personal comfort. The ways you help can be profound and personal without needing to traumatized yourself (and those around you.)

One thing a lot of people forget is the kinds of horrors that get shared come with their own risk to traumatize those most affected by those depictions of violence. If you have BIPoC, Queer, Jewish, or even just women friends in general, chances are they don't need convincing of the horrors in your life, and in these cases, showing them traumatic videos won't help them. It'll just traumatize them more.

I'm some ways, the best help you can provide may well be found in shielding them from these horrors. It is, in fact, a radical act to become a refuge your friend needs in these times. If you're not sure what you can do, look for others helping, and help in the same ways as them.

And if you do burn out don't try to abuse yourself into keeping up. Rest when you need. Grieve when you need to. Celebrate any way you can. There will be others to take up the mantle. For every awful person out there, there can be found good people also, if you seek them out.

Stay safe.

my piece of shit son who i despise

Incredible artist Julia Stoess makes these giant 100:1 insect models, I have never seen something more beautiful !

Definition of mastering your craft, they are PERFECT

Last one by the way is a beetle that typically preys on snails (almost any carabid will but there are even specialized snail-hunter carabids) so unfortunately little guy there would be SUPER fucked

please watch this raw, unedited 2 minute clip from Bill Nye the Science Guy (1995) it is on some next level shit that is so far ahead of its time 

libsoftiktok going after a beloved inventor furry for some reason

if you're wearing a fitbit, you're using spottacus's technology. be grateful.

oh boy

This guy seems extremely fucking based

so it takes "inventing the technology behind FitBit" money to own that many fursuits.

✨🦄🐬🦖🌊 I JUST WANNA BE PART OF YOUR SYMPHONYYYYYYY✨🦄💖💕🐟🐬

who was gonna tell me there's an extension of the picture and it's a DINOSAUR????? WHAT??

175. Equal Dragon Weapon