i just want one of the eight simultaneous chapter update

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i just want one of the eight simultaneous chapter updates i’m trying to work on to be fucking done already please jesus let me focus long enough to finish one goddamn fucking thing

ughhhh

Thoughts on Kirsten Gillibrand:This is sort of a placeholder; I want to think, research, and write..

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Thoughts on Kirsten Gillibrand:

This is sort of a placeholder; I want to think, research, and write more about her. She’s doing her damnedest to rise up and be the next Hillary Clinton. It makes sense, and might even be something Clinton herself asked her to do: she was handpicked, after all, to succeed Clinton as the junior NYS Senator when Clinton ascended to Secretary of State. (She was appointed by the then-governor, Patterson, and then later won an election for the seat.) Clinton has worked extensively with her, and has advised her on a number of career moves; Gillibrand says she was directly inspired by Clinton to seek a career in politics. 

And the kernel of the idea I want to explore is that, if we want this to work (which, we probably should start deciding that now, you know?)– we have to work so that what happened to Clinton doesn’t happen to her. We’ll have to protect her and keep her from becoming an ugly meme or easy target. Clinton’s name was so heavily besmirched by– nothing– there’s no substance– it was all just bad feelings– nothing substantive– and so we have to be ready to protect Gillibrand. 

Anyway. I’ve started thinking about this. I’ve been following her career for quite some time; I’m from New York. Specifically, from the Congressional district adjoining the one she was a representative for (to get from the house I grew up in to the high school I attended, you drive past her predecessor’s house). And, beyond that, she’s an alum of my high school. (I graduated 13 years later than she did, but she wasn’t politically active yet when I was there; I met her at an alum thing in ‘07 or so, though I don’t think we spoke directly. She gave a speech, and Hillary Clinton gave a speech remotely via satellite, which was pretty awesome.)

So– kind of a placeholder, reminding me that I’m preparing myself to be a Gillibrand superfan for the future, but I need to start paying attention now, you know? 

Awesome Megafauna Skulls!

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artful-purgatory:

madsciences:

My last weird and awesome skull post was really popular, so I decided to do one about something else I’m excessively interested in: Megafauna! This isn’t at all a comprehensive list of the coolest ones, not by a long shot, so you should definitely look up some of the BBC docs on Youtube or google ones from your continent!

The cave bear! (N. America)

Hell Pigs (N. America) Dat sagittal crest amirite

The Stag Moose (N. America’s only known Cervalces!) Hard to tell size in this pic, but it stood over 8 feet tall

Platybelodon (widespread) Google artist renditions of these guys, you won’t be disappointed

Barbourofelis! (N. America) Like a smaller smilodon, with much cooler teeth. Look at those incisors!

Megatherium (S. America) Primitive sloths the size of elephants!

Titanus Walleri (N. America) Other continents had equally large if not larger ‘terror birds’

Paraceratherium (Eurasia) One of the largest terrestrial mammals we’ve ever discovered. It was actually a species of hornless rhino! Google artist recs of these guys, too

Diprotodon (Australia) The largest known marsupial, which was the size of a hippopotamus and stood 6 feet tall

I saved Glyptodon (S. America) for last, because these things have some of the weirdest skulls I’ve ever seen. They were technically armadillos, but reached the size of a Volkswagen Beetle!

GIANT SKULLS