At the Mountains of Madness, Laura Bifano (because)

Hands up if you’re still mad that Christianity took over most of the world, displacing the ancient local religions and destroying records of them so we’ll never know the details about them

I realllly love loishs color palettes and this turned out better than i thought, i am really enjoying the draw in your style challenges especially since im art blocked and lost lots of motivation lately

avocado layer

y’know, I know that tumblr gets a lot of shit for being obsessed with a Persephone, how they make her into something that she’s not supposed to be and misinterpret the actual myth etc. etc, but honestly? The fact that the people who are changing Persephone into who she has become to tumblr– the young woman who claims agency over herself and isn’t half so helpless as men would make her out to be, the woman who licks her fingers after every pomegranate seed, the woman who walks into hell with sunlight in her eyes, flowers in her hair, and hard ambition in her heart, –the people who do that are most often teenage girls themselves. It’s an act of reclaiming a piece of what’s practically pop culture and adapting it to the times, just like myths have always meant to be. It’s taking the story of a victimized girl and making it the story of a queen.

i think many people’s problem with the (re)interpretation of the persephone myth to involve a consensual relationship is not pedantry about the “original” myth – as op mentions, that’s not the way mythology works – or aversion to seeing an empowered woman in this narrative. it’s the decision that, in order to make persephone an empowered woman, rape and abuse have to be edited out of her story. it’s the assumption that a girl can’t be a victim and a queen at the same time. 

in my experience, many of the people who take issue with the reimagination of persephone and hades as a healthy, loving couple are themselves survivors (which is not at all to say that there are no survivors who find the reimagination powerful and affirming!). the sticking point in this case is the idea that persephone cannot be a rape or abuse victim/survivor and a powerful queen at the same time, so her story has to become one of consent.

there’s nothing wrong with people reimagining the myth in this way – and as op mentions, it usually isn’t gross dudebros with a rape/abuse apologist agenda but young women and teen girls who want to see a powerful female figure in myth. the thing that isn’t so great, and that stings for survivors to see, is the underlying assumption that persephone cannot be both a powerful female figure and a rape or abuse victim/survior, that there is no hope for empowerment after trauma.

— Mandy Hale (via wnq-anonymous)

breaking bad, fight club, rick and morty, clockwork orange, and the catcher in the rye are all arguably good things - but if a man says they are his FAVORITE book/movie/tv show? RUN.

Can someone explain this to me?

They’re all works that are examinations of compelling but deeply flawed (usually narcissistic and violent) men. People rightly like all these works because they are good, but the implication of the original post is that if a guy says they are his favorite work, he is probably misunderstanding the point of the work and instead idolizing the male protagonist and is unable to recognize their flaws.

Basically, ask why they like it. If they like it because they think it’s well-written and made, you’re probably good. But if they want to be like Walter White, or Tyler Durden, or Rick Sanchez, or Alex DeLarge, or Holden Caulfield: yeah, RUN.

Finally I can reblog this post.

Reblogging this rn for my new readers!!

Exist, eliminate, and bring it back because now it’s American

As we all know, traditions around the world are getting lost with globalisation (or anglo cultural hegemony). But I would like to talk about a special case: when our own tradition existed, was eliminated because of disprestige of the local culture, and after a couple of generations the same exact thing was brought back as innovative and prestigious because it’s American, and no one remembers it was an important part of our culture only a few decades ago.

I could mention many examples, from the old creepy All Saints traditions that are now coming back rebranded as Halloween, to music. A good example of this is guitarró, which is basically an ukelele.

[Photo: a Valencian man playing a guitarró femella. Source: caramella]

Guitarrons are a traditional small type of guitar from the East of the Ibearian peninsula, especially important in the folk music of the Valencian Country, the Terres de l’Ebre (south of Catalonia), and the Balearic Islands, but also present in similar forms in many other places like Aragon and Murcia. It is an instrument that has always been played by the lower classes, and was frowned upon and ridiculed by the upper classes.

The songs played with it were mostly improvised, and an important part of folkloric celebrations. Until the 20th century, people still celebrated many traditions linked to improvistion with guitarró and singing. An example is weddings, when this songs are not sang anymore nowadays. But some survive, even if not as popular as before, like the “aubades” in the south of Catalonia, where people go all night improvising songs around the streets until the sunrise.

Since the last decades of the 20th century, all this traditions have been looked down upon as “backward”, “rural” and “old-fashioned” and are disappearing in many places. But, at the same time, a new instrument has become trendy: the ukelele, which  many young people who don’t know what a guitarró is are learning how to play.

What makes the ukelele different from the guitarró? Physically, not much. Guitarrons sometimes have 6 strings, but others have 4 strings just like ukeleles. The difference is what people associate it with.

The guitarró is linked to the past, to our old culture which we have been taught to hate or make fun of. If I told my friends I’m learning how to play the guitarró, first of all most of them wouldn’t know what it is, and those who do would probably make a joke of it and ask why would I ever want to learn that. On the contrary, when my friend said she’s learning to play the ukelele, everyone found it cool, trendy, and modern. Because it’s sold as American (even though it originates from the contact between Poruguese merchants and Hawaii’s indigenous population, it’s commercialized as American).

As an occupied nation, we have to deal twice as much with prejudice than “normal” countries. First, we have to deal with what all the world does: the trend that we have to become as similar as the USA and the England as possible. And second: we have to deal with the internalized self-hatred which results from 3 centuries of occupation and ethnocide. But in a world where cultures are dying day by day and USA/UK’s culture and language are being imposed through propaganda everywhere, we should all make a collective effort to preserve the cultural and lingistic diversity that makes the Earth such an insteresting and beautiful place. Of course, sharing cultures is woderful and it’s great that we can learn about others, but that shouldn’t make our own be forgotten.

As our elders close the traditional instrument shops, and as ukeleles are being more and more sold by inhumane companies like Amazon, the very least I can do is this post in rememberance of the guitarró, hoping that someone will read it and decide to encourage the traditional music.

how have i never heard of archive.org until today.. it’s an internet library that functions just like a real one, as in you borrow the books for 2 weeks and then they are returned to the archive. you can dl pdfs as well, but you’ll lose access after the 2 week period. it’s all free tho, literally just like a real library. i was searching for a cheap copy of this serial murder book from the 90s for my thesis and i found it for free on here. there’s like.. no gimmick at all? i’m so amazed. i literally just signed up and now i’m reading a super hq scan of this book for free. i love libraries.

*rejected women’s rights.

https://www.newsweek.com/woman-dies-after-using-parsley-induce-miscarriage-first-death-argentina-1073864

The rejection has already had consequences.

deedeedeeddee

ive said it once and ill say it again but if you live in like . california or another state where lgbt shit is decently accepted please be mindful of the fact that others have it worse than you. Indiana very recently tried to pass laws that allow for same sex couples to be banned from restaurants, in lots of states conversion therapy is still legal, and gay people are still beat for simply existing. think about that please

not to mention in lots of countries its still very much illegal and people are killed for being lgbt

yes this is fine to rb. if u live in a privileged place id appreciate it.

lol “privileged place” like sorry to break it to you but white non-GNC LGBT people being accepted doesn’t actually mean those freedoms or visibility apply to anyone else. white gays walking around in SF and LA doesn’t change all the violence LGBT people of color face nor does it change the ostracization that gender non-conforming people/people of color face.

y’all really lack the ability to approach these convos with any nuance. the whole “uwu this entire state is a progressive haven” is garbage.

Someone looks very well rested, judging by your bedhead.

the moon & venus

Details: Landscape with Tourists at Loch Katrine, 1815, by John Knox.

Geirangerfjord, Norway

July, 2017

Oren Darling

Fuji X-Pro2, XF 23mm @ f/6.4, 1/3000s, ISO 800

A List of Foreign Magazines

Language Learning Tip: The majority of major fashion and lifestyle magazines have many international editions in many different languages! I’ve found reading these magazines in my target language to be really helpful, especially as a beginner. Not only does it allow me to read in my target language and learn words and grammar in context, but the text tends to be a bit lighter and less complex, so I don’t feel entirely overwhelmed. Many will also have social media accounts that are good to follow (and sometimes they have a youtube channel!). 

If anyone’s interested, I’ve compiled a list below of international editions of various magazines. Enjoy!

FRENCH

SPANISH

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