Shelter for an Empyrean

Photo

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:19:45 -0400

fishingboatproceeds: TRIGGER WARNING: Rape, misogyny, general...

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:40:59 -0400

TRIGGER WARNING: Rape, misogyny, general horribleness

I am asked all the time why I think Professional Internet Types tend to be male more often than female. Is it because women aren’t as aggressive about building an audience and so struggle amid the media saturation? Is it because women aren’t as funny, or aren’t as talented, or blah blah blah?

Maybe we need to consider that one of the central reasons women artists/vloggers/musicians/etc. are less likely to rise to prominence online is that whenever women build an audience online, men threaten those women with rape and murder. And unlike traditional celebrities, most of these women do not have the resources to hire the kind of lawyers and bodyguards that one needs to stay safe.

Like all misogyny, and I want to emphasize this, this is bad not just for women but also for all human beings. We are better off as a species if everyone has a chance to be heard, and we are worse off if talented people like Kitty Pryde don’t have the basic safety and security that one needs in order to effectively make and share stuff.

But it’s not just these kinds of horrifying threats (which as pointed out above is “the most normal thing”).

I also want to say something to all those guys who are like I was as a teenager: You’re not a sick person trying to get someone’s attention by harming or threatening them, but you do have a weird relationship with the women who make work you like. You think that if this person knew you, you could be friends…maybe more than friends. And so you want to get her attention, so you can get to know each other, because then you’ll definitely become friends or maybe—

Stop.

When you start falling down that rabbit hole, stop. I know it’s hard. But stop.

What we love—even if these people make highly personal and confessional vlogs or whatever—is the stuff they make, not the people themselves. And what we really want is for more of that stuff to exist in the world. So the only proper way to be a fan is to let them be, so that they can bring more good and useful stuff into the world for us to enjoy.

the-science-llama: Super Moon— June 23, 2013Be sure to look out...

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:13:58 -0400

the-science-llama:

Super Moon
— June 23, 2013

Be sure to look out for the Moon these next few months as it approaches Perigee, because the full moons during these times will appear exceptionally large. The Moon will be at its Perigee, or closest approach, in July 23 and it will reach full moon only a few minutes after it passes this point in its orbit.

These ‘super moons’ not only appear larger because they are physically closer but, combined with a full moon, the mind can play tricks on you to think they are much larger. This phenomena is called the Moon Illusion. Try to catch these full moons as they rise/set because the illusion works when there is an object in the foreground, like a tree, building or mountains.

Stargazing Events for 2013

Hank's Tumblr: Thoughts on the Yahoo! Thing

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:43:30 -0400

Hank's Tumblr: Thoughts on the Yahoo! Thing:

edwardspoonhands:

First, I love Tumblr and want to keep loving it. And yes, it is immediately terrifying to hear that Yahoo (which, from a lot of our perspectives, is a laughably backwards and culturally irrelevant company) is going to own Tumblr. I sympathize.

But there are a number of circumstances in which…

fishingboatproceeds: #sass

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:54:30 -0400

fishingboatproceeds:

#sass

Daughter - Get Lucky (Daft Punk cover)

Sat, 11 May 2013 19:43:14 -0400

Daughter - Get Lucky (Daft Punk cover)

leanpox: sweet-bitsy: dietchola: JESUS CHRIST I LOVE THIS...

Tue, 07 May 2013 23:38:15 -0400

leanpox:

sweet-bitsy:

dietchola:

JESUS CHRIST

I LOVE THIS VIDEO

wow THIS MAKES ME REALLY SAD BUT IT’S SO CUTE TOO

pandyssian: OH MY GOD APPARENTLY TAKING AN ARROW TO THE KNEE WAS AN OLD NORDIC SLANG FOR GETTING...

Mon, 06 May 2013 23:58:58 -0400

pandyssian:

OH MY GOD APPARENTLY TAKING AN ARROW TO THE KNEE WAS AN OLD NORDIC SLANG FOR GETTING MARRIED

I THOUGHT THAT ALL THOSE GUYS IN SKYRIM HAD LITERALLY BEEN SHOT IN THEIR KNEES WITH ARROWS BUT I GUESS NOT

nezua: titlefightclub: iu2: Coffee stain portrait by Hong...

Mon, 06 May 2013 15:14:56 -0400

nezua:

titlefightclub:

iu2:

Coffee stain portrait by Hong Yi

are you serious

She’s awesome

reformationx: This is Adelaide, the niece of one of my really...

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:58:54 -0400

reformationx:

This is Adelaide, the niece of one of my really good friends. She was born 3 months prematurely and after struggling for about five months, she’s passed away May 4th. Addie never left the NICU, and in her five months she had about four surgeries. Although she was always in pain she was always smiling and happy- she was definitely a fighter. In the end the hospital bills really piled up so the family is trying to raise money to help with the cost, and even the smallest amount helps. I’m not associated with the family but I would really appreciate if Tumblr could help out even just a little bit; it would mean everything and more.

Click here to donate

Even if you can’t donate, please take two seconds to pass this on. Thank you very, very, much.

Eve Fiction: Fifteenth of May - Prologue

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:05:00 -0400

“We’re broadcasting live from the inside of Ishukone headquarters in Malkalen where the scene is utter chaos. This summit was suppose to bring hope to Gallente-Caldari relations-”

I think I stopped paying attention to the broadcast from The Scope network right then through my mobile comms. device plugged onto my right ear. Everyone inside the station knew what was happening: a Nyx-class mothership was heading straight for the station.

I was separated from my family, who I left behind in the level below me in the station. I was looking for something to eat, but there were no good place to grab a quick snack back there. When the first call for evacuation went out, my mom called me over the mobile device, saying that they were safe. My mom, my father, and my brat of a sister. They were safe. They got onboard a Caldari freighter and were undocking soon. When mom asked me where I was, I told her I was on-board a cruiser that was just about to undock.

But in reality I was still inside the station after being turned away from another evacuating shuttle. I saw people pounding on the airlock as it closed, desperately pleading to the Empyrean pilot to take their children at least. But she said no. She had to go or let the ones inside the shuttle die with the rest.

I could only hear the screams of children looking for their parents, and parents looking for their kids. Other people looking for their friends, their boyfriends and girlfriends, in all the languages that was spoken in the galaxy. Some were on their knees and praying to their God, and I only assumed they were Amarrians. Godless or not, at the time I thought we all shared the same fate - we are all going to die and there is nothing we can do.

I remember sprinting away from the shuttle bay after hearing someone say that there was a cruiser taking in evacuees right until the last moment. But on the opposite side of the station. I didn’t know whether I was going to make it or not. I didn’t know if the cruiser was still taking evacuees or if was still there. I ran as fast as I could toward the connecting elevator to get to the other side of the station.

Upon reaching the elevator and mashing the recall button repeatedly, I fell a shudder and then the floor below me seems to collapse downward. Was it the mothership? Did it collide into the station already? Screams of the people seem to amplify then. They didn’t know either on why the station started to shake so violently. A sudden gust of wind blew me right against the elevator door along with two other people, a man and a woman. I think they were Achuras. The woman was screaming something in a language I couldn’t understand to the man. I looked toward the airlock where people were still standing and saw a large fireball came down from the level above us and consumed them whole. Some of them were still screaming as the fireball pass them by and a large piece of dark green coloured debris crushed them. The fireball came toward where I was and I could see was a bright orange wall then I was pushed away from the elevator by another concussive force.

A strange thing here.

When I woke up this morning, I was told by my parents that I should dress formally because father wanted us to look more fancy. His words, not mine. We were meeting an important businessman who represented Ishukone. So when I was dressed in my formalwear along with newly shined brown shoes, probably shined by a Gallente-made drone, I remember how I hated wearing black pants. And the damned shoes too.

As my head was turned toward the elevator shaft and saw the Achura couple crushed by another piece of dark green coloured debris, all I was wondering of how that bloodied severed leg, covered in a black-coloured fabric with a shiny brown shoe, looked a lot like my leg. I didn’t even feel a shrapnel from the explosion sever my leg clean off. I didn’t know that at the time. All I could wonder whether that severed limb was mine or not as I was flying across the floor.

And when I landed hard on the floor, I think I blacked out. I could have thought about how my family had made it out of the station in time, or how long were those people alive for when the fireball consumed them, or whether those Achura couple felt anything when they were crushed by the debris.

No. I remember all I could think of at the last moment was how I was going to afford new pairs of pants and shoes.

——-

This is a prologue for an Eve fiction I’ve been thinking about for a while. The title, Fifteenth of May, refers to the Malkalen Incident that occurred almost five years ago, a catalytic event that lead to the start of the Empyrean Wars (aka, the Faction Warfare). The story will be told through four major characters. Some are capsuleers, some are not. But they all share a similarity: they were there when the FNS Wandering Saint crashed into the Malkalen station and witnessed how one man’s action reignited wars and hatred amongst humanity and capsuleers alike. And how old wounds just don’t close so easily…

This is just a taste: I don’t plan to use tumblr to continue to publish my work. I got another website I’m thinking of using.

Comments? Questions? You can reach me on twitter @whistlerbean.

fishingboatproceeds: wilwheaton: Somebody made this, and now I...

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:33:40 -0400

fishingboatproceeds:

wilwheaton:

Somebody made this, and now I have something in both of my eyes.

(via The Wisdom of Wil - Imgur)

It’s not about what you love. It’s about how you love it.

30 Days Of Sexism | Kotaku Australia

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:44:32 -0400

30 Days Of Sexism | Kotaku Australia:

wilwheaton:

thisfeliciaday:

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF A WOMAN IN GAMES AND/OR ON YOUTUBE!

Outraged comments from men who live their lives on the lowest difficulty setting in 3…2…

edwardspoonhands: OK, but Cersei Lannister is TERRIBLE. She is...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:27:55 -0400

edwardspoonhands:

OK, but Cersei Lannister is TERRIBLE. She is not any more or less terrible because she is a woman, she is A TERRIBLE PERSON, and I don’t know where the show is at in the series, but I assume that you know this by now and if you say that hating Cersei is mysoginist, then that’s cray.

jakesidwell: My week: I broke my keyboard - the only instrument...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 03:28:27 -0400

jakesidwell:

My week: I broke my keyboard - the only instrument I have to make music with. I broke my car - the only vehicle I have to get to my job. I broke my friend’s car - the vehicle he loaned me for a day to get to my job. I’ve been working for a week straight with no day off, most likely to pay for all of these catastrophes. On my days off and with what little money I possessed, I was pouring everything that I had left(literally) into my album, which will release in 21 days. I am now hilariously broke and often hungry. Last night I hit an all-time low when I left work(with my dad’s minivan) around 3:00am, and drove to the only open gas station, so I could buy a sandwich - a gas station sandwich.

Suffice it to say, I’ve had a really rough week.

However, with all this said, I am only upset about one thing…

Olan poured his heart into this series and especially this second part, and he gave me an opportunity to really open my writing wings for this particular episode, showing me for the first time how much I really enjoyed writing for characters and massively helped developed my writing style.

If anyone understands the amount of time, money, and energy Olan put into this project, it’s me - the guy who lived with him for the better part of production and post, watching from the sidelines or standing with him on the front line as he meticulously pieced his epic story together, from budgeting to day-long render times.

Most of you will never realize how much came out of HIS pocket to support this project. The amount of literal blood, sweat, bruises, and tears he put into making his vision and YOUR trust a reality astounds me. So… when I hear someone complaining about their money not being spent well, I don’t have the same downtrodden compassion that Olan does.

Let me make this very clear:

If you think your money isn’t being spent well, then you CLEARLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT. I mean that with the same sincerity as I would have talking about my faith.

Olan created, almost completely alone, what it would take dozens if not hundreds of people to accomplish in likely a similar amount of time. His budget was a hilarious joke in comparison to what needed to be done, especially in comparison to what some of these people are asking for on kickstarter and indiegogo for SHORT films. Olan shot a FEATURE LENGTH in 16 days with a skeleton crew. Most indie film projects(not even counting sci-fi) are asking for 30-100 THOUSAND dollars.

He asked for an exact number: $16,751. When we planned out the budget, that was the exact number we came up with - to the dollar what we needed. He didn’t ask for a cent more. As it turns out, that barely covered the essentials.

I could go on and on about the sacrifices that he made during the production of this project, from plane tickets and hotel rooms to buying my meals, because I had no money, but I will just say this:

Your contributions made a huge impact on the reality of this project, so don’t think for a second that Olan didn’t labor and lose sleep over how best to utilize the funds he had been given. He lives and breathes creative work, and frankly I’m furious that someone would treat him with such disrespect after the immensely difficult and lonely work he’s done to give you something he should be damn proud of.

Photo

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:19:52 -0400

lightningnymph: Friendly reminder that with one click, you can: Give free food to the hungry. Help...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:18:51 -0400

lightningnymph:

Friendly reminder that with one click, you can:

Give free food to the hungry.

Help get a woman in need get a free mammogram.

Give free food to shelter animals.

Give a free meal to a homeless and hungry veteran.

Help a family receive therapy for an autistic family member.

Help provide a child with life-saving health care.

Help give a child a free book to read.

Protect 11.4 square feet of wildlife habitat

timgspears: Window Socket - Kyuho Song & Boa Oh So this is...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:43:15 -0400

timgspears:

Window Socket - Kyuho Song & Boa Oh

So this is an absolutley brilliant idea! Just attach the plug on to a window and it will harness solar energy. A small converter will convert it into electricity which can be freely used as a plug when you are in the car, on a plane or outside.

Love this design and I really think it has a great potential.

beeishappy: TDS | TCR 2013.04.22 [x]

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:47:54 -0400

beeishappy:

TDS | TCR 2013.04.22 [x]

Photo

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:23:43 -0400