cw: WoT show criticism! (cause I know some people (including me, mostly) just wanna enjoy it and have fun!) I love the show and I'm sure I will continue to love it whether or not Rafe reads this and takes my advice 😜

Ok, but--

Now that I've watched E8...three times 🙈 the choice of making Mat a former Hero of the Horn feels weird to me (even though it's a valid suspicion based on the books!). It's because the central fixation of Mat's character is that he is no hero, despite always ending up being heroic.

Book!Mat does not 'identify' as a hero. Like all the other main characters, he finds himself constantly put in situations where duty and his own moral compass require heroic or brave acts, but he sees them as undertakings of duty or necessity. The last thing book!Mat would do when meeting the Heroes of the Horn is give an excited "I'm one of you!" As Brigitte makes clear multiple times, to be a hero of the Horn is to be tied to the Wheel in a similar manner to being ta'veren, and there's nothing book!Mat hates more than feeling trapped by Fate. The show has set up his arc as "I'm a bad person > actually I'm awesome!" whereas in the book it's more like "I don't want anything to do with this magic shit > I am, begrudgingly, embroiled in this magic shit but I don't like it!"

In fact, if I had to sum up The Wheel of Time in one sentence(!) it would be something like Being a hero sucks. RJ's central exploration is of small-town people being told the weight of the entire world rests on their shoulders. As Siuan says in the show, "The Wheel calls you to this, whether you can bear it or not." No one in the books wants to be a hero (except maybe Egwene? Discuss.)

I think that to really capture the feel of the books, the show is gonna have to lean into this more. They have tapped into it some, but the weight of duty, and especially in Rand's case, the enormity of being the Dragon Reborn, really hasn't been communicated in my opinion. Rand spends most of The Dragon Reborn in a walking fugue state, and so far, show!Rand's main concern has been rescuing Egwene from Ishamael.

I think they really need to dig into the complexity and horror of both the figure of the Dragon Reborn, the depression and angst that taking on that mantle brings to Rand, and the intensity of the madness. In the show Rand and Lan are having a loud discussion about him being DR in front of a Cairhien castle guard for goodness sake! Whereas in the book, Mat thinks Ingtar will kill Rand just for being able to channel, let alone being DR, and Perrin is just like, "yeah I bet he would."

I think the show can go along as it is being fun and a good fantasy show, but to truly capture the essence of Jordan's books, it needs to continue to cleave to the grim fate of being woven against your will into the Lace of Ages.

you are important and special and loved even when your mind tells you you’re not

🚨[FREE BABY SEASHELL PATTERN!]🚨 Once upon a time, in the deep blue ocean, there was a tiny Baby Seashell. She lived among the mermaids 🧜🏻‍♀️ crabs 🦀 and octopuses 🐙 in a beautiful underwater world 🌊 The Baby Seashell loved to play hide-and-seek with her octopus friends and listen to the beautiful songs 🎶 of the mermaids. She would also often explore the nearby coral reefs 🪸 marveling at the vibrant colors and the exotic sea creatures that called it home. Despite being small, the Baby Seashell had a big heart ❤️ and always looked out for her friends, whether it was helping a crab mend a broken shell or sharing a tasty seaweed snack with the mermaids. Life was full of adventure and wonder in the deep ocean, and the Baby Seashell couldn’t wait to see what each new day would bring! 🥰 Baby Seashell is a FREE addition to my Kawaii Ocean Minis crochet pattern that includes Mermaid, Triton, Octopus, Hermit Crab and Seahorse and is available here -> https://etsy.me/41Oz4GU 😊 FREE Crochet pattern for amigurumi Baby Seashell is available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese and Danish, browse through the gallery to see all of these languages! 🤗 Happy crocheting and have a wonderful weekend, dear friends! 💛💙

The nativity scene at Claremont United Methodist church

okay, yeah, you know what claremont united methodist church, i can respect that nativity.

you have to add this

Source

Activism works

Me: *picks up “dead” bat in my yard so my dog doesn’t eat it*

“Dead” bat: O_O

Me: O_O

Me upon realizing I am holding a very not dead bat and not dead bat realizing it has been picked up by a large creature at the exact same second: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

He scream

You want rabies? That’s how you get rabies

1.I picked it up with a towel and gardening gloves and never once touched it with my bare hands.

2.

3.The bat was at the bottom of my porch where I have to take my dog out but I guess I should have just left it there for her to eat right?

4.It was in a position that made it clear that it was most likely hurt from hitting my house and not just sick. It’s warming up in my area and they are just coming out from the winter and it was most likely confused because I live right next to the highway and there’s a lot of noise.

5.You can only get rabies from a bat by being bitten or otherwise getting its saliva in your bloodstream. And it was two inches long and I’m a grown ass adult with a towel and gardening gloves and a thick ass sweater.

Good thing you tagged it as “stupid people” because you obviously don’t know enough about the situation

I’m sorry I tagged it that way. That was incredibly childish of me. I’ve just had it pounded into my head that you don’t mess with sick or injured wildlife because of the risk of exposure.

I’m a registered Veterinary technician and I’ve worked with a rabid cat and it was terrifying

I’m sorry I got so defensive. I’ve seen a lot of bats killed in my area because people are misinformed about the rabies situation. I used to play with them as a kid by throwing sticks in the air and watching them swoop to get them and each year they were noticably fewer until they were just gone.

That was the most adult way I’ve ever seen an argument addressed on the internet.

Made these hobbit houses a couple years ago as a Christmas gift for a friend. They might be my favorite needlefelts I’ve ever done.

These are wonderful!!

I think I need one...

Dragons, with jobs

Artist credit to Flamecraft!

Cory Lee has visited 40 countries on seven continents, and yet the Georgia native has never explored Cloudland Canyon State Park, about 20 minutes from his home. His wheelchair was tough enough for the trip to Antarctica but not for the rugged terrain in his backyard.

Lee’s circumstances changed Friday, when Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources and the Aimee Copeland Foundation unveiled a fleet of all-terrain power wheelchairs for rent at 11 state parks and outdoorsy destinations, including Cloudland Canyon. The Action Trackchair models are equipped with tank-like tracks capable of traversing rocks, roots, streams and sand; clearing fallen trees; plowing through tall grass and tackling uphill climbs.

“I’ll finally be able to go on these trails for the first time in my life,” said the 32-year-old travel blogger, who shares his adventures on Curb Free with Cory Lee. “The trails are off-limits in my regular wheelchair.”

Georgia is one of the latest states to provide the Land Rover of wheelchairs to outdoor enthusiasts with mobility issues.

In 2017, Colorado Parks and Wildlife launched its Staunton State Park Track-Chair Program, which provides free adaptive equipment, though guests must pay the $10 entrance fee. Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources has placed off-road track chairs in nearly a dozen parks, including Muskegon State Park. In 2018, Lee reserved a chair at the park that boasts three miles of shoreline on Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake. “It allowed me to have so much independence on the sand,” he said.

Mobility FTW

I haven’t yet seen a tumblr post with these resources so I am making my own and hoping it shows up in the tags. I ASK EVERYONE WHO SEES THIS TO PLEASE REBLOG THIS.

THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT (ICWA) IS UNDER ATTACK. AND WE NEED HELP TO PROTECT IT USING THE RESOURCES BELOW.

I am not going to go into heavy detail on the bill, on its history, anything like that, the resources have a lot of information, but as a little bit of background:

It is a bill passed that forbids Native children from being adopted by non-Native families. This is for a good fucking reason, there have been historically large scoops of children taken from their Native families, at a much higher rate than white children (see the 60s scoop in Canada). These children are often abused in these homes, and their entire culture is taken from them (many end up not even knowing what tribe/nation they came from), hence the point of why they were taken in the first place (forced assimilation). Now, this does still happen through the foster care system, but this has protected in the case of adoption. It makes it that only Native families can adopt Native children.

White people hate this and have been smearing it for years (think of the whole Lexi Choctaw/Alexandria P. situation, which was so fucked how they used that little girl). Now, the state governments of Texas, Louisiana, and Indiana have taken it to the Supreme Court to be ruled unconstitutional. This case is called Haaland v. Brackeen. Because white people … really want to steal Native children. This is being heard by the court, oral arguments start WEDNESDAY. ICWA could be overturned in the matter of weeks or even days.

PLEASE USE ALL OF THESE TO PROTECT ICWA:

Petition that will involve you sending messages to your Congressional leaders through their text automated system, only available to those in the US (BUT NOTE YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A CITIZEN, OR ELIGIBLE TO VOTE TO SIGN, JUST NEED TO BE IN THE US):

https://resist.bot/petitions/PCCPGW 

Petition to send a message to President Biden and leaders at the Department of Justice, this does have a place to put in your country so seems like it may be available for those outside of the US but I am unsure (consider also donating to the Lakota People’s Law Project if you are able to):

https://action.lakotalaw.org/action/protect-icwa

Petition to be sent to the Attorney General and Secretary of the Department of the Interior, since it is through change.org it likely can be signed from outside of the US:

https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-indian-child-welfare-act

PLEASE SIGN AS MANY AS YOU ARE ABLE TO. PLEASE REBLOG IF YOU SEE THIS. PLEASE HELP US PROTECT ICWA.

We need like “unclench your jaw” posts but for eye strain. Like

Go look at something 20ft away for 20 seconds.

take off your glasses if you wear them for 20 seconds

Recommended by my optometrist

Look at something 20 feet away, then 10, then 5, then one, then if you can your nose.

Repeat twice, then again without glasses.

Face forward look out of the corner of your eye. As far as you can look. Slowly move to the other corner. Repeat twice.

Look down as far as you can. Slowly look up. Repeat twice.

Roll eyes twice.

Close eyes for five minutes.

I do this every day usually at my halfway point. My migraines went away. My vision go better. Honestly stretching my eyes as she put it feels great too.

Anything is worth a try, right?

Let me tell you about the magic position. When I hold my body very still in the magic position, the pain stops! We love the magic position. The only problem is that the magic position changes every day - sometimes multiple times a day - and I get no hints as to what it might be :(

A 3D Printed Sundial Displays Time Like a Digital Clock

NOW THAT’S JUST SHOWING OFF

My favorite quote: “Badgers are what happens when evolution wants to make an alligator, but all it has to work with is a weasel”

Badgers can also outrun horses in a sprint. They give zero fucks and are just amazing critters.

We could have just let badgers have this planet, why didn’t we do that?

the thing about make an alligator but used a weasel is that otters are weasels evolved for water and… they will 100% destroy an alligator

I’m not done, actually, because they in the weaselle family and I can’t not.

 Badgers are in the weasel family right along with otters, mink, ermine, stoats, and honey badgers (tho, interestingly, the honey badger is not in fact a badger).

So firstly, to address the q in the op directly, let’s look at what happens when a coyote decides to tackle the much smaller cousin of the badger, a mink (skip to 30 seconds in)

okay, so, that mink idk which species it is off the top of my head but it weighs pretty close to two pounds. Three and a half pounds if it’s huge for a mink. An american badger averages 20 lbs. So imagine how the above would have gone if the mink was ten times larger. And twice as mean (and mink are already vicious).

I have seen footage of TWO large coyotes making a try for an american badger, and they even get him in their mouths from either end and try to tug-a-war him, but they can’t actually injure him much because his hide is too thick and loose. One coyote takes a strong hit and gives up and the other thinks about it for 20 seconds and in that time (i swear to all gods it only took literally 20 seconds on the video) that badger dug himself some damn fortifications: a tunnel in the icy dirt that he could retreat out of reach into, or threaten with  his teeth from the entrance while the rest of him was under cover. He stuck his head out and let the coyote realize his new position, then he came slowly out and stalked toward the coyote until the coyote’s nerve broke and it ran, and that badger scored one final bite on its ass.

Altho it is worth noting, in case anyone reading this was unaware, american badgers and coyotes have been observed in cooperative hunting, as in teaming up to hunt together, which I assume was the context of the implied exchange in the op.

I keep saying american badger because that’s what is pictured, and that is what is likely to interact with a coyote.

European badgers are like the very polite cousin of the american badger. The european badger lives in communal burrows where they dig a separate bathroom to use, and they eat a lot of earthworms and tubers and some lizards or whatever. Civilized.

American badgers live alone in burrows they’ve taken over by murdering and eating the previous occupant, and they eat literally anything they can bite enough times to kill. They will bury an entire cow carcass to save it for later.

Like, please do not mess with a european badger, they are still weasels and not to be trifled with, but oh my goodness what a demon the american badger is. 

And whatever ancient weasel evolved into the american badger also went up north and became the wolverine.

And if you want to know what a wolverine is like, you should know three things.

One: this is the live trap biologists use to tag and study wolverines. Only you don’t really trap a wolverine with this, more like inconvenience it; once set, biologists have to check it often. That’s because when a wolverine digs it digs in frozen earth and when it eats a goat or an elk, it eats all the bones, hooves and horns — their claws and teeth will just saw right through that wood.

Two: They can dig into the frozen earth like I can dig in sand. They can climb a tree as fast as I can run. And they’re much better swimmers than I am. Btw I love climbing trees and I was on the competitive swim team in school. Oh, and while they can’t fly, they have been known to hunt and eat eagles. Nowhere is safe.

Three:

though it is extremely rare, wolverines have been observed killing both grizzly bears and adult moose.

they hunt alone or sometimes in pairs and are this size

which is terrifyingly large for a weasel, but SO small compared to moose and brown bears. And yet they can and will murder those animals. r. 

wolverine

american badger

I bring up the wolverine because, a case can be made that an american badger is to a wolverine what a coyote is to a grey wolf. And wolverines have been known to kill and eat wolves.

So yeah, badgers and coyotes actually make great hunting partners and sometimes cooperate, and otherwise tend to leave each other alone, but if it came down to a 1v1 coyote vs badger… either the coyote runs away or the badger takes it out.

Oh and, one very last important point

this is my dog, whose name is Badger, and who is the same general size and shape as a coyote