#pygmy three-toed sloth

[daily-xenarthra-posting]

Pygmy Three-Toed Sloth, photographed by Lucy Cooke, (source)

[twilightofthesandwiches]

[pigeonfancier]

I hate how the darkskinned indigenous-coded man with more "nonwhite" features is written with no characterization other than being violent and abusive while the more light-skinned native man with light hair is shown as gentle and understanding. The scene where the indigenous women are shown staring in awe at Shuna drawing a bow feels particularly bad, I feel like it promotes the idea of white women being the ones who can introduce change and "save" women of color.

I got some hate on the elfquest forum for posting my criticism, ppl were telling me my opinions are "ill-conceived" and "dont like dont read".

This was sent November 2023, and I'm replying now, because I just remembered.. I wrote a response and then drafted it for all of eternity? I am truly a paragon of communication.

But yeah, everything about Shuna's books and plots is just shit. I was a bit more mealy-mouthed about this last year, but: the Pini's love their blonde, blue-eyed saviours, and the Sun Villagers' position as a rare exception feels largely like they were just trying to make their product stand out among other comics of the time. Once it did, the job was done, and they got to lean back into the white saviour shit. Antagonists look more ethnic, protagonists look more white (or will gradually shift to looking more white over time).

I'd add more analysis but you caught it basically on the nose. Shuna's entire narrative is not great, and it is an example of why having an editor to rein in creatives is generally a good idea. Most people need someone who is not invested in your story or your characters to produce objective criticism, because that editor is a hell of a lot closer to how your readers will perceive your work. I don't think the Pini's think of any of their writing preferences as racist, nor do they really care if they are - they are in their mid 70's. But it might have been a different story back in the 90's or 2000's.

Or might not have! Who knows?

Also, yeah, that's the Elfquest forums for you. The Father Tree Holt one born after the closure of the original might be better, but I doubt it - I know I joined when it began and was not impressed. It's a lot of the same people from the official forums, and subsequently, it's largely just a continuation of the same problems. The problem with older fandoms tends to be people largely wailing 'don't like, don't read' when it comes to criticising works. Which I almost understand, when you've been reading a series for the last forty five fucking years: for some people, that level of investment will come with a certain amount of defensiveness. I do not have that with media, but I can understand where it comes from.

But it seems very silly to me. Not everyone likes analysing media, and that's perfectly fine! Forums are great for that conflict, because instead of trying to shut down a discussion, you can just simply not click the thread. You don't have a feed that'll try to shove shit at you, you can literally just not click the fucking thread.

I still side-eye the fact I made a thread on the original forums discussing the biomes of Abode as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed teenie, full swing into my obsessive EQ stage, and was promptly told by multiple people that I was overthinking it, I shouldn't bother, and it was silly to focus on shit like on the feasibility of biomes / speculate on how the biome could've ended up in the canon way over how it would appear irl. But that was the response to almost any variety of genuine analysis of the material on the forum, tbh, even down to things as relatively easy as "is Strongbow an asshole?", or "how long do the wolves actually live for?", or "do you guys think that the narrative has a weird take on consent?". I'm still slightly salty over that years later, obviously, haha, so not surprised that "but WHY are you trying to engage with the material instead of just fawning over it?" mentality carried over to the new forum.

[honeytama]

Date w/ Matt in Dallas, TX Headcanons

Matt Dierkes x Reader

A/N: I made my first moodboard?? Wild. This is dedicated to Matt being a proud Texas man 🫡

Content: Pure fluff, established relationship, some suggestive content, Matt and you being cute at the Dallas World Aquarium and Serious Pizza in DTX

Word Count: 1.1k

This is for the Matt lovers out there: whether you’ve been to Dallas, are from here, or haven’t been. For the sake of these headcanons, where Reader lives is open/undetermined.

Matt gets excited when he hears you haven’t been to the Dallas World Aquarium. 

“It’s like my fourth favorite place ever.”

You ask him what his first favorite place is.

“Probably, in bed, with you,” he winks.

You blush and slap his bicep.

“I was going to take you on a date there tomorrow, but I guess not,” he jokes, shaking his head.

You beg him to take you.

“Alright, alright. Just make sure you wear some comfortable shoes,” he constantly teases you about choosing to wear Dr. Martens with every outfit. They’re comfortable, what can you say?

The next afternoon, you’re in his car with his hand on your thigh as he drives you to the aquarium. The radio blasts with a blended playlist of your two’s favorite music.

He parks and you both make the walk to the front entrance to buy your tickets. You’re astounded at the detail of the building and it’s HUGE. Fronds of leaves and bamboo make the entrance immerse you into a rainforest jungle. It even felt a little more humid than outside.

Matt notices you looking around in awe as you wait in line.

“You’re going to love it as much as me. There’s penguins, alligators—,” he stops when you put a finger to his lips.

You tease him about giving spoilers.

Matt’s not too much into PDA, but he’ll hold your hand shamelessly. He does judge the “Disneyland-waiting-line-couples” that “choose to have each other's hands all over each other and their tongues fighting a war in each other's mouths.”

You lean in close enough so only he can hear and tell him that he didn’t judge you when you had your tongue in his mouth last night.

“That’s different! We were in the privacy of my own home,” he defends himself.

You two finally reach the ticket booth and he pays for you, of course.

He takes your hand, again. You figure he should lead you throughout the experience so you follow close behind him.

You two stop at the penguin exhibit first. There’s a door to step outside and a nice-sized area where small, Black-footed penguins swam and played.

Matt immediately releases your hand to take pictures. He spots a squirrel in a tree that somehow entered the exhibit, and takes a picture of that too.

“I just wish there was a raccoon exhibit here,” he frowns.

You warn him again about giving spoilers.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he groans, taking your hand to lead you back into the building.

You end up on a walkway on the second floor that looks over a lagoon below. The aquarium continues its rainforest theme with trees, mist, and birds able to freely fly around the building.

A toucan flies up to you both and lands on the fencing before you. It hops onto Matt’s shoulder and he carefully hands you his phone to snap a picture.

“Can you tell I’m trying not to freak out?” Matt says softly with a smile.

The rest of the rainforest-themed area you two hold hands through is gorgeous and super fun.

You two get the opportunity to feed a three-toed sloth and it’s Matt’s favorite part of the day.

You see some Pygmy marmosets, stingrays, bats, and otters, among many other animals that Matt got cutely excited over.

Then it was on to the classic aquarium area. You two walked through rooms together filled with tanks of fish from around the world. 

Once you're in the area where it’s dark and the fish tanks glow, Matt gets more comfortable and pulls you in by the waist so he can be close to you as you wash the fish swim by.

You tell him how beautiful he looks in the blue light.

“Stop,” he pretends he hates when you compliment him, but loves it. “You’re the most beautiful person in here, baby.”

He leans down for a kiss and his pink lips feel as plush as ever. He pulls you in close; his hands roam your waist and travel down the small of your back to your ass, causing you two to get a little carried away.

You lightly detach from the kiss and warn him that people could be watching.

“They can mind their own business,” he says with a smirk.

Your face flushes at him being surprisingly so bold.

You two finished off the aquarium with a stop at the gift shop on the way out.

“I’ll get you one thing. One,” he holds up his forefinger.

He buys you everything you ask for. Including a baby otter plush that you told him you couldn’t live without.

“Are you hungry? It’s almost dinner time,” he checks his phone.

You agree and you take his car less than ten minutes away to Serious Pizza in Deep Ellum.

You two walk in and Matt points out the pizza chefs tossing giant pizza doughs in the air. Holy shit.

Matt orders one slice of cheese and one pepperoni for you two to share and pulls out his card to pay for you. (Matt paying for everything is just so hot to me.)

You wonder if two slices will be enough for the two of you, but you trust him.

He leads you to a booth at the back of the shop and you sit down.

“What was your favorite part of the aquarium?” He asks you.

You tell him it was the otter exhibit. They just looked so cute swimming around.

You two talk back and forth about your day while you wait. 

“I got a ton of photos of you when you weren’t looking by the way,” he looks at his phone. “I’ll post them on Instagram tomorrow.”

When the pizza gets to you, your eyes widen as slices big enough to be one meal are placed in front of you.

Matt laughs and rubs his hands excitedly before picking up his cheese slice. 

“You take the first bite,” he raises the pizza to your mouth. You bite down and it’s delicious.

You two spend an hour at the pizza shop eating. laughing, and chatting away. Once you two are almost the only people there, Matt reaches across the table to hold your hand in his and laces his legs with yours underneath the table.

Once you're back in his car, the sun having fully gone down, he rubs his hand on your inner thigh again. 

“Want to finish off this date by sleeping over tonight?” He asks.

I'M GONNA B ESICK

[cksmart-world]

SMART BOMB

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

By Christopher Smart

December 31, 2024

IT'S FOR REAL — KIDS PICTURE BOOK ON MORMON POLYGAMY

Good news Wilson, the LDS Church has just released an illustrated cartoon book about the history of polygamy among Mormons. No, it's not like the Kama Sutra. Church leaders call it an illustrated version of “Doctrine and Covenant Stories.” For all you heathens out there, the “Doctrine and Covenants” is LDS scripture along with the “Book of Mormon,” and “Pearl of Great Price.” Church founder Joseph Smith got a message from God sometime around 1831 that Mormon men should take more than one wife. Smith is said to have had some 30 wives, although they're not all there in the cartoons. It would be hard to keep track of that many wives. “Joseph didn’t want to marry other wives,” the children's book says. “But he knew it was a commandment from the Lord.” No Wilson, it really says that. He didn't want to marry all those young woman, but what could he do. Lo and behold God changed his mind about polygamy and told a new prophet, Wilford Woodruff, so in 1890. And that was that, except where it wasn't. The prophecy ending polygamy came as the Mormon Territory of Deseret was seeking statehood and the United States did not condone plural marriage. It was probably just coincidence Wilson. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Anyway, it's important for youngsters to learn about polygamy even though sex ed is not mandatory in Utah. Go figure.

DUCK AND COVER — IGNITING A MAGA CIVIL WAR

Make America Great Again with foreign workers. Them's fightin' words and fly in the face of Donald Trump's promise to expel immigrants so real Americans can have their jobs. But Elon Musk, a South African native, has a different take and recently squared off on Steve Bannon, among others over H1B visas for skilled workers. “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B,” Musk tweeted, adding “Take a big step back and F--K YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.” Whoa mamma, where's the bomb shelter. Bannon quickly hit back: “Someone please notify ‘Child Protective Services’- need to do a ‘wellness check’ on this toddler.” Bannon had complained that American engineering schools are full of people from South Asia and East Asia. Americans can't get engineering degrees and can't get into graduate schools, he said, because of all the foreigners. Musk's co-director in the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DODE), Vivek Ramaswamy, also took a shot across the MAGA bow: “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.” That doesn't include the popular TV show Duck Dynasty, does it?

GREENLAND HERE WE COME!

Hey Wilson, have you made your reservations for Greenland yet. We hear it's pretty nice this time of year. They have giant icebergs breaking off glaciers and cool stuff like that. And the capital of Nuuk (pronounced nuke) is like the Panama City of the Arctic. The cuisine is out of this world: Mattak - whale skin and blubber; musk ox, and seal meat used in Suaasat – a hearty stew. Makes your mouth water, doesn't it Wilson. And lucky for us it could become the 51st state if Donald Trump has his way. Oh no, wait — that's Canada. It's true Denmark doesn't want to sell its former colony that is now an autonomous region. And speaking of Panama we could soon be beaching it on the Central American isthmus because Trump wants to take back the Panama Canal. The U.S. completed the ditch in 1914 and turned it over to Panama in 1999. Panama has cool stuff, too, like pygmy three-toed sloths, giant anteaters and kinkajous. You can relax on the beach with a nice glass of Chicheme (corn milk) and Porotos con Rabito (red beans and pig tail). Hard to beat that. And get this Wilson, Panama City has casinos and nightclubs. Little wonder Trump wants the canal back. No Wilson, Trump would never manufacture all this stuff about Greenland and Panama to cause anxiety and confusion, while behind the curtain scheming to make “America great again.” He would never do that.

Post script — That's going to do it for another fun, fabulous year here at Smart Bomb where we keep track of higher education so you don't have to. Wilson did you know professors are evil. Yep, that's the word from Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and he always tells the truth. And wouldn't you know it, Utah state legislators seem to agree. They're aiming to cut higher ed to the bone like a surgeon cutting out a tumor — only more like with an axe than a scalpel. See Wilson, they're still all up in arms about DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs that discriminate against white men and have been banned by Gov. Spencer Cox from all state-funded schools and universities. But they're not done. There are university students who are racking up tremendous debt to become intellectuals who don't do any real work. Why study philosophy, literature, art, music, theater — some students even take a major in Recreation. Can you believe it, recreation for God's sake. Instead of working, those students are being trained to be liberal elitists. And don't forget the protest in April when students pitched tents in President's Circle at the U of U to protest Palestinian carnage in Gaza. Who do they think they are, anyway. Luckily police in riot gear put an end to that. The crackdown was lauded by the governor as he praised the First Amendment. And so it goes.

Well Wilson, the more things change the more they stay the same. It's hard to know exactly what the New Year will bring but it won't be dull. Why don't you and the guys in the band ring in 2025 with a little something to celebrate all the good stuff that didn't make headlines in 2024:

Stand on a bridge before the cavern of night Darkness alive with possibility Nose to this wind full of twinkling lights Trying to catch the scent of what's coming to be (in this...) World of wonders... Somewhere a saxophone slides through changes Like a wet pipe dripping down my neck Gives me a chill, sounds like danger But I can't stop moving till I cross this sector (of this...) World of wonders... There's a rainbow shining in a bead of spittle Falling diamonds in rattling rain Light flexed on moving muscle I stand here dazzled with my heart in flames (at this...) World of wonders... Moment of peace like brief arctic bloom Red/gold ripple of the sun going down Line of black hills makes my bed Sky full of love pulled over my head

World of wonders...

(World of Wonders — Bruce Cockburn)

[animalclub]

Pygmy Three-Toed Sloth: An Icon of Evolutionary Adaptation

Hidden within the remote mangrove forests of Isla Escudo de Veraguas, off the coast of Panama, resides one of the rarest and most enigmatic creatures on Earth: the Pygmy Three-Toed Sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus). This diminutive member of the sloth family, known for its endearing appearance and fascinating lifestyle, represents a remarkable case study in evolutionary adaptation and the importance of…

[f4ndom-w3irdo]

My addition to this thread

The Muntjac Deer

The Star-Nosed Mole

The Pygmy Three-Toed Sloth

My Honorable Mention:

The Great Potoo

Mammals that are very much Creatures: a short compilation

Binturongs

Aardvarks

My main man mapache

South American Tapir

Dugong

Feel free to contribute

[erikacousland]

Pygmy three-toed sloth baby, Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Panama © Suzi Eszterhas/Minden Pictures

Featured on Bing- October 20, 2023 Pygmy three-toed sloth

Do you wanna hang? | EN-CA, EN-CN, EN-GB, EN-US

[bingwallpapers]

Pygmy three-toed sloth baby, Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Panama (© Suzi Eszterhas/Minden Pictures)

[birds-and-friends]

Full video: It’s time for a dip!, BBC Earth

[nico-lovesthe-sun]

So basically, the all sloths have three claws/ "toes" on their hind limbs, but they can have a different amount of claws on their front limbs!! So sloths with two claws are classified as "two toed sloths" which include Linnaeus' two toed sloth and Hoffman's two toed sloth, and as "three toed sloths", which include the pale throated sloth, the brown throated sloth, the Pygmy sloth, and maned sloths!!!

did you know that most sharks around Greenland are blind?

hi! i'm xeno:)

professors call me xenophilius (bc thas my name) but no one ever spells it right so everyone just calls me xeno. did you know the prefix xeno means alien? pretty cool.

i am particularly fond of neopronouns, but i can't decide any particular that i like. feel free to use any that sound interesting:)

what do i enjoy? hm. ancient runes. lots of poetry. gibran and neruda most oftenly. they feel like small adventures. oh, that's what i enjoy: adventures.

and animals. i know a lot of animal facts. did you know bees have five eyes? now you do! two are complex, like flies. yknow like fragmented? and the other three are normal, like spiders. pretty cool!

oh! i am a ravenclaw. i am 14. fourth year. i'll do a card reading for you if you ask. we can be friends, too, if you want. :)

hi, this is an rp blog! warning: mun is an adult! please don't be weird about things! also i'm not @ ing anyone, i'm too anxious for all that. also hii my name is hramn my main is @ravenintraining so i follow from there:)

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Pygmy Three-toed Sloth - Denver Zoo

Palm Done Right x Denver Zoo

[background-bing]

Pygmy three-toed sloth swimming near Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Panama

[lianagardner]

Distractions and Silliness

I’m currently in the middle of working on the first book in the Homeless Myths series (The Star Warriors and the Secret of the Red Key), which means unless I am in the zone, I am more distracted than usual. Most writers I know when settling in to write become fascinated by everything under the sun, except what they are supposed to be working on. So it was the other night … I thought, “Just a…

[feather-bone]

Pygmy three-toed sloth 🦥

[ID: an illustration of a sloth hanging upside down from a branch, on a green background. End.

[pastrygeckos]

Sleepy...