You wouldn’t think that flamingoes are extremophiles just from looking at them. It’s like somebody tried to build the vertebrate equivalent of that fungus that lives inside nuclear reactors, and ended up with a gangly pink dinosaur with a spoon for a face.

For everyone in the comments asking how flamingos are extremophiles:

Flamingos can survive in low oxygen, high altitude, high temperatures, low temperatures, high alkaline, they can and will drink boiling water and they can be completely frozen at night and still get up the next morning

Don’t fuck with flamingos

….. Didn’t know most of that

Huh… so that’s why zoos don’t put them somewhere warm during winter.

Oh yeah, this leaves out what I *did* know about them–they can also survive hypersalinity. That is, water so salty it kills practically everything else–water so salty it burns your skin.

American flamingos just drink that shit

(animal death) this is a real undoctored photograph (*though the body was stood up for the shot) of a dead flamingo on the surface of lake natron, a lake so salty and so alkaline that it’s naturally carbonated like soda and would eat through your stomach lining if you drank from it.

When this photo went viral years ago, most people assumed this poor flamingo must have been killed by the lake.

It is actually the lake where 75% of its global population are hatched. This is a photo from the same lake:

Some species of flamingo actually subsist almost entirely on a diet of bacteria! In other words, there is a species of dinosaur that eats only bacteria and lives in lakes so toxic they would kill almost anything else—and it is best known to the average person as a kitschy lawn decoration.

Earth is an amazing place.

Give him the stick

(via)

my school librarys copy of dracula has bite marks on it???

I love it when dogs try to help but the task at hand requires zero dogs so they just kinda stand in front of you and look serious.

middle aged men do this too

Supersonic Art’s: "Gifts Artists will Actually Love!" (Holidays '22 Gift Guide!)

Here’s a little list of gifts artists will actually love.  

The list isn’t comprehensive by any means - in fact it’s quite brief considering how long it could be - but these are a few personal favorites which I think are important and was led to by talking to other artists, learning what their favorite art supplies and tools are, and many years of trial and error on my own.

So take a look below and hopefully find something for that hard to shop for artist or artists in your life (Or something for yourself).

(Some of these links below are monetized and I receive a small percentage of the sale if you decide to purchase something.)

Sketchbooks & Journals:

Maruman MNEMOSYNE Notebook - My personal favorite journaling notebook.  This larged-sized notebook has incredibly smooth paper and is just an extremely nice notebook to record anything.  It’s the best one I’ve come across and I journal in mine daily.

Moleskine Large Size Sketchbook - An unequaled sketchbook that has been hard to come by for the last few years.  Smooth paper that is thick enough and sturdy enough for a wide variety of media, but the truly special distinction of Moleskine’s sketchbooks are how wonderfully the paper accepts graphite.  The sturdy construction means you’re able to draw anywhere.

(Pro-tip: If you paint in your sketchbooks, use heavy duty binder clips to close the sketchbook.  It will keep the pages pretty flat!  But be careful not to smudge undried acrylic or oil paints.)

Pencils

Mitsubishi Hi-Uni Pencil Set - The Bugattis of pencils.  These are better than any others.  I use them personally and have never come across a better set of pencils.

Mechanical Pencils

Staedtler 925 95 - At nearly $300, the Staedtler 925 95 is the Holy Grail of mechanical pencils.  It is the best mechanical pencil ever made and was discontinued because it was too well made (Seriously).  You can only find them on eBay these days, but if you have the money and want something truly special, these are worth it.

(Please note - This mechanical pencil is so sought after that there are often imitations being sold.  Currently there is only one available on eBay.  They show up from time to time.  Also please note that this is the “925 95.”  There are also 35s and 25s; which are somewhat good.)

Platinum Pro-Use 171 Matte Black - An acceptable (and affordable) replacement for the Staedtler 925 95.  Extremely well made and a well-weighted mechanical pencil.  It also has a tip protector - which the 925 95 lacks.

Paper

Fabriano Artistico Extra White Watercolor Paper 22” x 30” 140 lb or 300 lb Hot Press - Professional paper for a multitude of mediums.  By far the best paper I’ve ever come across.

(“What are you talking about?  Arches paper is the best!” – Look, Arches paper is great and I’ve used it plenty of times before, but the moment I started using Fabriano - I never looked back.  It is the far superior paper in my opinion.)

Canvas & Stretcher Bars

Artel - I suggest cotton canvas from Artel - An affordable company based out of Belgium that makes truly excellent canvases.  Their metal stretcher bars are by far the best stretcher bars I’ve ever had the pleasure of using.

Wood Panels

If you use them or know an artist who needs some, wood panels should be custom built and there’s no one better out there at making them than Craig Hejka at Hejka Studios based in Detroit, Michigan.  Craig’s craftsmanship and knowledge is unmatched and exceptional.  Seriously: The.  Best.  You’ll need to contact him directly about having them made, but he has a nice contact form on his website.

Acrylic Paints

Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylic Paints - These are the best acrylic paints out there.  I’m not sure why you would use any other brand other than price.  They offer acrylic sets and up to multiple gallons of specific colors.  Have fun! 

Oil Paints

Well, this one is a hard one.  There is such a wide range in discrepancies of color and quality between brands and within brands that it’s hard to narrow it down to just a few items or a set of oil paints.

That being said, every artist who uses oil paints probably needs more white paint for mixing colors.  Here are a few of my favorite titanium whites:

Holbein Titanium White - If you’re unable to locate a lead based white from the olden days, this is a pretty good match.  (Don’t actually seek out a lead based paint please - They were really amazing, though and this is just sorta an artist joke).  This is a fantastic titanium white.

Grumbacher Titanium White - A more than suitable white for oil painting.  Probably the best?  I don’t know.  I use this one and Holbein’s.

Winsor & Newton Titanium White - Another, more than suitable, titanium white.

Please note if buying for someone else: ARTISTS ARE INCREDIBLY PICKY ABOUT THEIR PAINTS.  Please ask your artist what brand they prefer before buying them any paint.

Paint Brushes

Qualita Golden Taklon Brushes - You won't believe it, but these brushes by Qualita are spectacular! Not only that, but they won't bust the bank.

Painting Accessories

Silicoil Brush Cleaning Tank - Every artist needs a few!

Richeson Nesting Porcelain Palette Sets - Great for paint mediums .

Stainless Steel Brush Stand - I use this for holding brushes (Wash your brushes by hand).

Easels

Note: I am lucky enough to have built my own easel to my own specifications.  These easels have not been tested by me.

The Santa Fe II - This looks to be a fantastic professional easel.

Richeson Italian Field Easel - I hear this is a truly excellent field easel.

Blick Heavy Duty H-Frame Easel - This looks like an excellent beginner’s easel with everything you might need; plus it seems professional and that is great motivation to work more.

Books

The War of Art - A phenomenal book that can help you understand why art is so difficult and why it must be, at all costs, pursued.  

David & Goliath - Sometimes what we think are obstacles are actually extremely valuable tools for overcoming adversity.  A fascinating read.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich - Being an artist is incredibly expensive.  Learn about finances and set things up so that you can continue making art for a very long time.

Barbarian Days - Sometimes you just gotta go surfing.

Ephemera 

Retractable Utility Knife - I have at least 5 of these and still don’t have enough.  I prefer Milwaukees, but as of writing this Amazon is out of stock.

Wooden Drawer Storage Box - Invaluable and stackable!

Dewalt Cordless Circular Saw - If I didn’t have a circular saw, there would be endless times I wished I had one.  A truly excellent gift for any artist - seriously.

Empire Framing Square - A remarkably valuable studio tool.  Will be used countless times and will last forever.

Did I miss something or get something completely wrong? Let me know! zach@supersonicart.com!

yall are a little too good at replicating the old tumblr fandom posts please stop i feel like a veteran on the fourth of july

Team “I can hear the near silent hum of electrical appliances and the bubbles fizzing in the can of soda on the coffee table, but can’t watch tv without subtitles and processes conversation at 1/4 speed”

phone sex through walkie talkies call that radiohead

cooking while chronically ill

baking with arthritis or other chronic hand pain

living with chronic migraines

adhd meal plan

chronic pain tips

getting yourself to eat

foods to eat when nauseous

printable medication log

stretches to relieve back pain

safe foods for sensitive stomachs

heating pads vs ice packs

everytime I hear about children of the corn I think about the guy I met at comic con who actually lived in the town they filmed that movie at, and on the farm where they filmed in the corn. he was a teenager at the time and him and his friends would get drunk on moonshine and rustle the corn and let the air out of the tires of the production team’s trailers and shit. and now there’s Wikipedia pages about how the children of the corn set was haunted and they thought they angered god but it was really just drunk hillbillies

I don’t like adding to posts but I also have a funny story like this, so I was watching the movie the Blair witch which takes place in burkettsville maryland, which to me is so funny because that is were my grandfather lives and the town is literally just old people and cows with their main street consisting of a post office. Well anyway he told me that after it came out people were coming in like bus loads to the town to find the witch and my grandfather lives up in the Mountain area and people were up in his property trying to find the witch and it made him angry so he went out and hung up stick people and stacked rocks and it freaked the people out so they started thinking something was out there when really it was my 80 year old Italian grandpa who wanted people out of his woods.

We had ghost hunters come to a historic house in my town to film and if you think every high school kid in town respectfully stayed at home that night instead of going to fuck up that filming you’re dead wrong.

this is comforting, actually, sometimes paranormal things are just a bunch of bored people dicking around in the woods.

New favorite cryptid: locals

The Birth of Venus by Botticelli figure/bjd

Part of The Table Museum collection by Freeing

Link: |X|

It’s super breathtaking:

What a bizarre series, I love the way these are displayed

Vitruvian Man, Da Vinci

The Thinker, Rodin

The Scream, Munch

Moai (Easter Island)

Winged Victory of Samothrace / Venus de Milo

This is my favorite

Two vast and trunkless legs of stone...

It's a good thing Suki taught Sokka feminism in season one bc if she didn't it would've been up to Toph and I don't think Sokka could've survived that lol

Lil drawings of ghosts based on some synonyms for ‘ghost’ & what vibes I get from each one.

this is absolutely correct

[ID: a scan of a book, showing half a sentence: "The forces of faggotry," End ID.]