well you see I was a very sad child and then I was a very sad teenager and now I am still very sad

I walk an old town road

Upon the only horse I’ve ever known

Hi I live in Richmond VA and I love my city so much, this morning 60 people woke up to find old television sets just sitting on their porches or lawns. Even better, those with security cameras recorded the person(s) responsible and they cannot be identified because they were wearing a jumpsuit and tv on their head

A new local cryptid I’m so stoked

honestly missionaries are evil. the idea of traveling the world to tell people Who Didnt Fucking Ask that their beliefs are wrong in the hopes that theyll adopt your beliefs seems sinister

An Inuit hunter asked the local missionary priest: “If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?” “No,” said the priest, “not if you did not know.” “Then why,” asked the Inuit earnestly, “did you tell me?” ~Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

my question is, does Mamma Mia take place in

1) a universe where ABBA doesn’t exist and they’re just making up the songs as they go? 

2) a universe where ABBA DOES exist and everyone has rehearsed and memorized all of their songs just in case the situation arises where they might need one?

So I work at a video game store in a mall and across the hall from us is this really nice suit shop. One day one of the guys came in an asked if they could use our microwave (the store they used to go to closed down) and we bargined for use of their bathroom in return since the mall bathrooms are like a 5 min trek.

So for like three months now we just have these men in really nice suits come in and talk while using our microwave and teach them about nerdy shit? Then I, the goblin king in various shitty tee shirts and paint stained pants, walk into their super expensive store and just get greeted with “Yo dude what’s good?” and talk about the pains of steaming silken dress shirts properly and it’s my favorite business interaction every day

A new jewelry store opened up right next to our store and when I used the bathroom today we were talking about it. I hate it on principle (they flooded our systems closet during building) and immediately both Suit Guys™ working went on mini rants. “Their suits are baggy as hell, I wouldn’t trust them to sell me a $9,000 ring when they can’t get a fitted jacket. They look so unprofessional, ” and “I saw one of the dude’s wearing a teal shirt. It’s fall, and you go with teal? At least get a color to match your store if you’re gonna ignore the seasons like that, Christ, but teal is awful.”

I live for this commentary fam.

#flower shop/tattoo artist au is out #suit shop/nerd store au is in

“Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy confirmed to be in a relationship in Gotham City Sirens movie.”

I’m enjoying so much the fact that this is only happening because Jared Leto made such a creepy dickhead of himself filming Suicide Squad that Margot Robbie basically went “Welp, time to figure out a way NEVER TO LET THAT MAN NEAR ME AGAIN”.

So she went off, found a scriptwriter to write the Gotham City Sirens movie, sold it to DC and Warner Brothers and is executive producing it.

Thank you, Margot Robbie, from the bottom of my heart. You truly are the hero that DC deserves.

Yes. I’m ready for this.

good thing about the hurricane though is its making all of those fun facebook hurricane event groups

this is facebooks only contribution to society. the ability to make events to stop the weather

While I think it’s great seeing all the excitement and press coverage about India legalizing gay sex, I think it’s really important to remember that this is NOT India progressing due to Western influence. This is India decolonizing.

The homophobic statute that was overturned is a product of British colonialism in India. Prior to that, India had a rich and vibrant queer community that played important functions in society. There were queer Hindu gods and hijras serve as an example of how queerness in society was venerated. This is not something to patronize India over and congratulate ourselves in the West for. This is a victory for India reclaiming their culture.

Oh my god. If i see one more of these posts in my dash I will murder someone.

Okay, let’s see:

True. Section 377 was implemented by British Raj in India, possibly as an effort to safeguard Victorian mores.

Say, what??????

Can you please tell me what the “important functions in society” were, my dear fella? Contrary to tumblr’s belief, homophobia was not a western (or christian) invention. We were plenty homophobic on our own, thanks. Literally, the only acceptable ‘queerness’ in society was a laundebaaz (aka, one who does it to men/boys) whereas the gandu (aka the one who takes it up the ass) was considered the lowest of low in society. Even now, gandu is a derogatory word similar to faggot. Does that sound like “venerating queerness” to you dear?

Also, lesbians? LOL. What lesbians?? Funnily enough, even in “a society venerating queerness" lesbianism is practically unheard of. Furthermore, the ‘celebration of queerness” in these cultures is mostly male receiving partners being pushed to the margins of society.

But hey, why consider boring things like reality… when you can have Cool-Tumblr-Version-of-Queer-Feminist-Utopia-Before-the-Whiteys-Fucked-Everything-Up™ brand of history?

Firstly, there “were queer Gods”? What happened to them? Did they die when colonialism happened? Did they go, “Ah… those dastardly British have set foot on India and are imposing their Victorian mores, perhaps we should pack up our bags and leave”? I might be a tad bit uninformed in my “queer Gods”, considering the fact that I was born into and practicing Hinduism since my birth and so has all my forefathers, but according to my knowledge those “Queer Gods” still remained in society. Yet, homophobia persisted. Heck, Sabarimala is one of the most pilgrimage sites (that has the son of ‘Queer Gods’ as the deity), and even now “youthful females” (i.e., women of ages from their first menstruation till menopause) are NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER.

Despite being the son of queer gods, Ayyappa still seems to be misogynistic as fuck.

Secondly, you might wanna brush up on those queer gods and legendary figures… almost in all of them one of the couple gets magically changed to other sex and begets a biological child. Biological procreation and production of progeny - it seems as if even the Gods have to perform and conform to heteronormativity.

Now,

I wish I got dollars for every time a White Ally™ misused or misrepresented hijras. Contrary to popular belief, hijras are not transexuals (at least not all of them). There are different types of hijras - those who were born hermaphrodites, those who castrate themselves and proclaim to be neither man nor woman, those who are homosexual men who crossdress, and those who are men who do not perform masculinity to society’s standards. They are literally gender non-conforming men : either their homosexuality is a deviancy that needed to be corrected; or their lack of assertion of heterosexuality was a mistake to be corrected, or they just liked “girly things” too much.

So, these “venerated positions” that they supposedly held was quite literally the only option left to them - they were kicked out of society and jobs. I know a lot of people on tumblr would say “but they were in kings’ courts and all”. Guess why? They were either entertainers (a part of the dance troupe) because that ‘girly’ job was seen apt for them. Generally, dancers were not seen in positive light. They were considered at best as courtesans and at worst as prostitutes. Even now, “attakari” (dancer) is a term used to say a woman is a slut. 

Second option for them was as guards or companions (sahelis). This was to ensure “the purity of noble woman”. After all, when the “purity of the womb” is of the utmost importance, a king/noble wouldn’t even trust male guards with their women. Heck, there are even legends of gnc men being coerced into castration so as to make guards for ladies. That is why they were the guards of many noble’s harems - not because they were valued for their capabilities, but because they couldn’t “damage the property” (i.e., have penetrative sex with the royal’s women). 

Nowadays, most of them cannot get a decent jobs, and literally have to beg in trains and buses to get food on their tables. Oh, this is also a part of the “veneration” : they have no livelihood, so they go and threaten people with curses (their otherness makes them freaky, and according to superstition gives them supernatural powers), so that people will donate some money in fear.

This is not including the young boys and men that were pushed into sex mafia and trafficking.

So, miss me with that “veneration” bullshit.

Do you know what I find patronising? White allys who has read Buzzfeed articles on ‘hijras’ or ‘queerness’ somehow pretending to speak for us. Lauding us  for our extremely open/feminist/queer Culture™ that they know of through exoticized magazines and power yoga videos.

I once read an essay on how Indian patriarchial system countered westernization (in an effort to prevent women from going outside their homes) by claiming that while British might  be materialistically more advanced than Indians, ~spiritually Indians are better than British~.

The same exotic bullshit is repackaged here, using liberal buzzwords to please tumblr crowd.

The really ironic thing is that this whole ‘other cultures were 100% pure and enlightened before contact with the white man’ thing is pretty, guess what, racist. It’s a variation on the ‘noble savage’ stereotype, and do I really have to go into what is wrong with that?

The Kama Sutra provides input into the Indian history of homophobia and transphobia

The Kama Sutra is a very useful source of information on Ancient and Medieval Indian beliefs on sex, gender and sexuality. You need to find an unabridged and uncensored version, though. The illustrated coffee table versions depicting amazing sexual positions will not do the trick. 

Alain Daniélou’s version contains a complete translation of the Kama Sutra, as it was compiled and written down in Sanskrit by Vätsyäyana somewhere between 200 and 500 AD. This version also has the advantage that it includes a medieval commentary on the Kama Sutra, written by a scholar called Yashodhara. In this way we have two windows into Indian views of sexuality, one from around the fourth century, and one from the twelfth century.

The two editors of the Kama Sutra make desperate attempts at reconciling the different belief systems of both eras, and parts of the text does confirm that there were periods of time and areas of India where some “queer”, “gay” and “transgender” people were tolerated (I am using quotation marks here, as modern terms do not necessarily fit with the concepts of those times). 

However, it is also full of the most toxic, hypermasculine, sexist, homophobic and transphobic bigotry, and in no way does the tolerance of those “queer” align with modern, liberal, values.

I have written a post about the place of transgender and gender variant people in the Kama Sutra, which you can read here.

Could you imagine if edward had just been some regular dude like fucking around with bella and she said with the utmost confidence “i know what you are…..you’re a vampire” and he’s just out there alone with her in the middle of the forest like

Jake Peralta singing “I want it that way” with the line-up has the same energy as Ann, April, and Donna singing “time after time”

as a bisexual, some of the shit y’all try to claim is “bi erasure” is just fucking BANANAS 

I AM ON THE FLOOR

mater has given dobby a gun

I FUCKING SPELLED MASTER WRONG

I’m sorry, are you here to see me? No, silly! I go here. Legally Blonde (2001) dir. Robert Luketic

kimberly yam summing up what it’s like to live as a POC kid in America and making this Asian Latina cry

this subway crowded as fuck, thanos was right

Hi! I am not sure if any of my followers saw, but I’ve been saying it is pretty bad for Kerala right now. (PS: I’m safe right now, and my family has moved to shelters or high-level areas).

Just in case, if you didn’t know, Kerala is a small state in the south-west part of India. We are mainly known for our cynicism, sarcasm, and our love of going to “The Gulf”. We are that part of India that had Muslims before the Mughals Invasion and Christians before the British Invasion and lived more-or-less in harmony with each other throughout. We love our socialism, our love of eating beef, and generally trying to resist the majoritarian principles of rest of the country.

And currently, Kerala is trembling under the fury of the monsoon. 

There has been incessant rain for the past three weeks, and most parts of Kerala are flooded. Till yesterday , 12 out of 14 districts were on Red Alert. All 44 rivers on this small strip of land was overflowing. As the rains continued, most lakes, reservoirs, and dams got filled and 33 dams were opened. And the outflow of these dams combined with rainwater rushed through towns and cities alike.

There has been landslides, sudden top soil movement and road collapses throughout the state, but especially in hilly areas. Most bridges, roads (including National Highways) are either completely destroyed or flooded beyond use.

Ten thousands of homes have been inundated and families have moved away.  People and entire cities & towns have been marooned.

This man is inside his home; neck-deep in water [he made this video and shared it through social media in an effort to get noticed and rescued]:

The Kochi International Airport is flooded and would be shut down for ten days. Railways are jammed and most roads are flooded. Most dams are open and cities have turned into lakes and rivers. The fact that there are water disputes with neighbouring states and state-level & national-level politics involved doesn’t help the common people of Kerala either.

This is not a water-tank over-flowing. It’s an entire dam that is overflowing (the Peringalkutthu dam, to be precise): . 

The death toll is currently estimated to be about 300 and over 3 lakh individuals have been displaced. It is only because of high inter-connectivity and an educated population that the death toll has been under control.

And this is just the beginning:

 Large sections of Kerala is flooded. Kochi has come to a halt.

Seriously, we are in big trouble. So, if you can donate, please do. Small acts of kindness goes a long way. If not, please signal boost.

It’s August 19, 2018, and rescue efforts are only just getting serious as the rain slows down. Your help is still needed!

this is the same man who did not mention that he was having another baby until the day the baby was born

tbh the real advice I’d give to anyone is, do shit alone. go to a museum & go at your own pace & leave the instant you’re done. go somewhere you’ve never been and just wander around, duck into & out of places as it pleases you. linger as long as you’d like.

I’m so sick of villains doing their villain thing like torturing or killing characters while having classical music plays in the background. Why not play country or rap or fucking vocaloid when torturing others. Hatsune miku’s rolling girl playing in the background while you’re getting drugged is infinitely more terrifying than hearing Beethoven’s 5th

new personality-defining question: what song would you play during your villain scenes?

i’m either africa - toto or what’s going on - four non blondes