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[kikithings]

The Making of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

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[kikithings]

aimless efforts

[kikithings]

Really? You’re really going to say this? 

First off: see this? 

This is my masters’ degree in anthropology. I’d show you my BA, but it’s at my parents’ house. I’m three and a half years into a PhD in physical anthropology. I’ve been employed to do physical anthropology at one of the world’s best natural history museums. My area of study? Teeth and diets. I’m not here to argue veganism or vegetarianism, I’m here to tell you, point by point, why you’re devastatingly misinformed about our place in the primate family tree, along with my peer-reviewed sources behind the jump. I know we live in a “post-truth” society so maybe being presented with the overwhelming consensus of the scientists who currently work with this material is meaningless to you, and honestly, this probably isn’t going to make a bit of difference for you, but I can’t let this slide. Not in this house built on blood and honor. And teeth.  

1. The evidence for being closely related to chimpanzees is vast and well-understood thanks to advances in DNA analysis. We share a huge amount of DNA with them, and not just repeating patterns in non-coding DNA. We have numerous genes that are identical and likely diverged around 7 million years ago, when Sahelanthropus tschadensis was roaming the earth. S. tschadensis was a woodland species with basal ape and basal human-line traits. The most notable was the positioning of the foramen magnum towards the central base of the skull and not emerging from the back suggests bipedality. This, along with other traits such as small canines worn at the tip, which implies a reduced or absent C/P3 honing complex (the diastema), suggests that this is actually a basal trait and the pronounced diastema we see in other species was a trait that came later. But more on that later- back to chimps and what we mean by sharing DNA. Our chromosomes and chimp chromosomes are structured far more like each other than other mammals. Furthermore, the genes located on these chromosomes are very similar. Chromosome 2, for instance, is nearly identical to two chimpanzee chromosomes. (Chromosome 2 in humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans is different from Chromosome 2 found in apes and is actually the remnant of an ancient mutation where Chromosome 2 and 3 merged- you can see that from its vestigial centromeres and the genes found on it. We can’t get DNA from fossil material, but Neanderthal and Denisovan subfossils have demonstrated that this reduced chromosome count- we have one fewer pair than apes- is a typical trait of the Homo genus). Here’s a side by side comparison of Human and chimpanzee chromosomes. 

Gene coding regions are colored- bands at the same place mean that there’s two identical genes at that locus. Our similarities to lemurs, on the other hand, aren’t on homologous chromosomes. We have similar coding around the centromeres but the genes express themselves differently. The structure of non-ape primate genes is also significantly different; when the first chromosomal comparisons were done between humans and lemurs back in the 1990s, it was discovered that lemurs have much more highly-concentrated heterochromatin at their centromeres, whereas the structure of human and chimpanzee centromeres is similar. The major differences in chimp and human DNA are in the noncoding regions; most of our genes have identical structures. 

2.  All primates evolved from a lemur-like organism, not just humans. Here’s one of them. I’ve seen her in person. Pretty cool, huh?

Her name is Ida and she’s a member of the genus Darwinius. But that’s just like saying all primates evolved from something that was basically a tree shrew- which is also true. See, one of the main points of evolution is that organisms are continually changing throughout time. We didn’t jump from lemur-like organism to human; changes were slow and gradual and the lineage isn’t really a straight tree. The fossil species we have and know lead to different lines branching out. Some things died off, some things flourished. Heck, look at the Miocene- twelve million years ago, there were hundreds of ape species. Now there’s twenty-three. (Sixteen gibbons, two chimp species, two gorilla species, two orangutan species, and one human species. There’s also some subspecies of gorilla and gibbon, but I’m only counting the primary species.) It’s hard to trace things back, but saying that we evolved from lemur-like species is obtuse and obfuscates the real point, which is that Homo and Pan descended from a relatively recent-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things common ancestor. 

3. Our dentition is unique to the extant primates, but not australopithecines. Our teeth look very much like other members of the genus Homo, the extinct ones, as well as many of the australopithecines. We also have very similar enamel proportions to gracile australopithecines; apes have much thinner enamel overall.

But what did australopithecines eat?

Everything. We know they were eating fruits and nuts based on microwear analysis and strontium analysis, but we also know they were eating meat- and in pretty decent quantity, too. We’ve found all kinds of butchering sites dating back millions of years and in association with Australopithecus garhi, the earliest tool user, but we can also see this in tapeworm evolution. There’s many, many species of tapeworm in several genera. But three of them, in the genus Taenia, are only found in humans. And these species diverged from… carnivore tapeworms. Their closest relatives infect African carnivores like hyenas and wild dogs. 

Tapeworms that are adapted to the specific gut of their host species need a certain environment, as well as a specific cycle of infection so that it can reproduce. A tapeworm that infects hyenas is going to be less successful if it somehow makes the jump to a horse. But if the hyena tapeworm was able to adapt to our gut, that suggests that our stomach was hospitable enough for them chemically to survive- which brings me to the intestines.

4. Our intestines are also unique. Yes, we have longer intestines than carnivores, but we also don’t have cecums like herbivores. We are omnivores and that means we still needed to retain the ability to digest plants. 

The key to being omnivores is omni. All. I’m not saying we should only be eating meat, I’m saying our ancestors ate a varied diet that included all kinds of things. If we weren’t omnivores, why would we have lost the cecum’s function? Why is the human appendix only a reservoir for the lymphatic system, as it is in carnivores? The cecum is an extremely important organ in herbivores, as it houses the bacteria needed to break down cellulose and fully utilize fiber from leaves. But we don’t have that. Instead, we compensate with a long gut. Our ancestors absolutely did eat fruits and nuts and berries, but they also ate other stuff. Like scavenged carcasses and bugs and probably anything they could fit in their mouths. Which- actually, primate mouths are interesting. Humans and chimpanzees have enclosed oral cavities, thick tongues, and jaw angles much more like herbivores than carnivores- suggesting a herbivorous ancestor. That’s not something I’m arguing against at all. But again, we have adaptations for eating meat and processing animal protein because we are an extremely opportunistic species. 

5. Our canines are true canines. First, semantics: having a diastema does not canine teeth make. We refer to the canine teeth by position- even herbivores, like horses, have them. They’re the teeth that come right after the incisors. All heterodonts have the potential same basic tooth types- incisors, canines, premolars, molars- in various combinations and arrangements. Some species don’t have one type of teeth, others don’t have any- but it’s silly to say that the canine teeth aren’t canine teeth just because they don’t serve the same function as a gorilla’s or a bear’s or some other animal’s. It’s basic derived versus primitive characteristics. 

Now that we’ve got semantics out of the way, let’s talk about that diastema. The lost diastema is a derived trait, which means that our ancestors had it and we lost it over time. All other extant non-Homo primates have a canine diastema. All of them. However, when you look at australopithecines, we see that many of them either don’t have it or have it in a reduced capacity. At the earliest known hominin site, Lukeino, we see Orrorin tugenensis with reduced canines compared to ape fossils and modern apes- and… you do know that apes don’t use their canines for eating meat, right? Like, primate canines serve a very different purpose than carnivorans’ canines. It’s suggested that the large canines are for social display moreso than anything dietary- bigger, more threatening teeth are useful if you’re a gorilla or chimpanzee fighting to the top of your group’s social structure. 

I’m going to refer you to a blog post written by Dr. John Hawks, a good friend of my advisor and generally a pretty cool guy. He’s got a nice writeup on the evolution of hominin teeth and how the human line’s teeth have changed through time. 

Also, of course our teeth are going to be smaller. When we compare archaic Homo sapiens fossils to modern skeletons, their teeth and jaws are much more robust. This is likely related to the introduction of soft foods- and by soft, I mean cooked grain mush- to the diet around the time of domestication, right before the population explosion that happened about 10k years ago. In general, post-domestication human jaws are much smaller and more crowded than any other humans and hominins that came before.

6: Neanderthals did die out, but not in a catastrophic event like we think of with dinosaurs. While there are no living Neanderthals today that we would classify as Homo neanderthalensis, there is plenty of evidence that we interbred and likely outcompeted them as a species due to our overwhelmingly large population size (hypothesized based on number and locations of remains found). While there’s only a small percentage of Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA lines in human populations today, it’s quite likely we lost a lot of that due to genetic drift and population migration- Neanderthals, after all, had a much more limited range than Homo sapiens sapiens. Their eventual extinction is a mosaic of events- outcompetition plus assimilation. The line between Homo sapiens sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis/Homo sapiens neanderthalensis is blurry- there’s some physical anthropologists who actually think we should be including them within our species as a subspecies- but they are extinct in that the specific subset of hominins with distinct karyotypes and potential phenotypes no longer exists.

And if you don’t know, now you know.

Keep reading

[kikithings]

also guys i think it’s time to start spelling ‘small’ right again,, it’s been long enough

[kikithings]

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my neighbourhood has never had an ice cream truck. in the summer, we have the knife sharpening truck. it slowly circles the block and rings its ominous bell. i have never seen someone interact with it. it may be that only those marked by death can see it

[kikithings]

Source For more facts, Follow Ultrafacts

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Spirit of the Staircase: Better Call Jed

[kikithings]

This is awful. I hope Leto gets blackballed he is doing the fucking most.

[kikithings]

Ever needed to hear about mad dad birds with enormous feet? Try THESE on for size:

What’s that you say? These are clearly the feet of a dinosaur, not a bird? WHY NOT BOTH?

This is Australia’s very own dinosaur, the second-largest bird in the world, the emu. Say hi!

They roam around Australia making ‘wonk-wonk’ noises under their breath and glaring at everything. And the dads take care of the babies! They sit on the eggs…

They look after the tiny stripey adorable things….

They look after the less tiny less adorable things…

And they even look after the great big menacing things that are almost as big as they are.

But here’s the catch. All emus look pretty much alike. Especially when you are a tiny stripey adorable thing. All you can see of your dad is is great big dinosaur feet (see picture #1). So there is one very unrealistic thing about all the adorable terrifying dinosaur family photos above:

I have never seen an emu family in the wild where all the babies are the same size.

Here is the reason!

Emu dad and his emu babies are roaming about wonking and glaring at everyone. Suddenly emu dad sees another emu dad! A threat!

Emu dads do some display threats with dancing and bouncing and fluffing and… look, it’s very serious business, okay?

If this does not work to see off one emu they might progress to actual fighting.

Oops, sorry, you wanted the dignified version. Here, have some ART:

MAGNIFICENT.

Either way, this encounter will end up with one or both adult emus zooming away as fast as he can run. This is very fast.

This is the other thing they do besides wonking and glaring, by the way. They run. Fear the running emu.

Anyway, this leaves all the tiny and medium-sized and semi-large stripey things milling around making confused tiny “cheep? wonk?” noises and basically just following whichever pair of large feet they can find.

HI DAD

And so mostly when you see a male emu with a gaggle of youngsters at heel, they are all different sizes. Who knows whose they are? Not him! But he’s going to look after them anyway.

Fear him.

[kikithings]

@grim-patron Just wanted to point out its REALLY creepy to pick up photos of someone to make a point about their ethnicity, especially in a post that had been shit talking said girl. Anyway, I didn't assume her race because I worked with her for over two years. Also race isn't always visual. You'd probably see a photo of my boyfriend and call him Asian, but SURPRISE, he's from Siberia, so he's Russian. Also mixed kids exist. Even if I DIDNT know her and just went by the fact Yoshi lists herself publicly as Yoshi Yoshitani, and half Japanese I'll take her at her word without trying to find photos to prove it. ICK.

Bitch Please: Sailor Senshi – Business cards for every occasion Order some of your very own here https://yoshiyoshitani.storenvy.com

[kikithings]

Being a nature photographer seems great, maybe I should try…

[kikithings]

Okay so I’m watching my friend’s cats while she’s away and she left me descriptions so I could tell who’s who

They’re pretty accurate 

[kikithings]

This... is about the mansplaining card, isn’t it?  Is that what you’re mad about? Because nothing else on this references gender at all, and surprise!  Women can mansplain, too, and the thing is that there’s a huge difference between “Not wanting a dude to talk down to you” and literally everything else you seem to have assumed every lady who’s ever made a joke about mansplaining is. Like, if you’re a dude, or a lady who wants to stand up for dudes, this is all ya gotta do:  Don’t be a douchbag.  Don’t be an asshat, and don’t be a turd.  Don’t be a dick, don’t boil over with indigestion every time you’re worried a lady is out to speak out against you. If you’re not a complete ass, you wouldn’t have to be up in arms and defense about these very humorous cards (which are in the same vein as a “you park like an asshole” bumper sticker or “Nag notes” or those fake parking tickets.  Joke gifts, really).  If you’re not treating ladies like shit, you need not have any worry that someone would consider REALLY handing you one of these cards.  If you’re just being a regular stand up person, you can probably see these for the humorous bullshit they are, laugh it off, and go have a good time. I can bet that like 80% of the angry notes on this are because of the mansplaining card.  Cool thing is you can order the rest of these silly cards and not that one if that’s what bothers you :p  Or, just not.  It’s pretty easy to not purchase something if you don’t like it.  I don’t like a lot of art I see, and it’s pretty easy to ignore it, or take a breath, and go on a walk, if it gets me worked up, and ask what it is that’s REALLY bothering me.

Bitch Please: Sailor Senshi – Business cards for every occasion Order some of your very own here https://yoshiyoshitani.storenvy.com

[kikithings]

These are great, and the hate messages on them are some of the funniest things I’ve read in a long time, and 90% of them could be responded to with these same cards. Also, people don’t know what jokes are. My fav are the parts where people are accusing the very Japanese artist of whitewashing, and the parts where people continue to scream that art is “The Tumblr Style” because it offends them in some way. That, or the people who probably reblog countless fanart trying to rally with how THIS FAN ART IS TOO MUCH! because they don’t like the message.  Like, OK, but I don’t see you re-blogging sailor moon porn and saying/discussing how that’s against the creator’s wishes, ok then.

Bitch Please: Sailor Senshi – Business cards for every occasion Order some of your very own here https://yoshiyoshitani.storenvy.com

[kikithings]

LMAO I’M DYING 😂😭

[kikithings]

Plus even MORE fun! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CkNdRrMUgAA3nIm.jpg:large I won’t support a con with a primary staff member who misstreats people so badly. The image I shared was an artist POLITELY asking what to do when they find out the day before con that they can’t show up for their table share which had been approved by email. The staff member comes forth accusing them of twisting words, and when he’s called on it, accusing them of editing comments (which of course, none are edited).  This doesn’t even START to delve into some horrible stuff I’ve heard about him/how the artists are chosen/banned that I’ll only share via PM.  As always, what you see on the public surface is the tip of the iceberg and there’s much worse stuff underneath.

Reasons why you shouldn’t support Colossalcon, part one.

Do you love and support your convention’s AA? Do you believe that people should be treated fairly, especially by a professional organization?

Then please, please spread the word about this unfair treatment. Things need to change, and we have the power to change it.

I am writing this post not only because Colossalcon used to be my favorite convention, which I have been attending for six consecutive years to cosplay and volunteer at my (now)girlfriend’s art table… but also because a great injustice has been done to the hard-working artists who attend. This con has had our love, our praise, and constant support.

But this year, we refuse to support them back.

Note: Mister Donnell Shoffner’s name has not been edited out of the above images, as he has been posting publicly on the Colossalcon FB page… as well as handling all of the AA public relations. He has been commenting as his personal FB page, which is also for  public viewing. All of this information can be seen publicly. I am merely spreading the word.

Here are some general points that I’d like to make clear regarding this whole fiasco. As you may have heard, the AA was switched to a jury system this year. The artists who applied for tables were all aware of this information. However, the artists were not informed how they would be juried… and this has caused a great deal of distress, and mistrust, among the artists. Naturally, people have been left wondering why they didn’t get a spot. These are artists who have supported this con for many years,and whose art was always accepted…  “always good enough” and who have developed convention-specific fanbases. They are now completely left in the dark… people who look forward to this convention, who work hard, and even some who travel from out of state to attend. Was the art actually judged? Was it judged fairly? Did personal biases come into play, both to the artists themselves or their artwork? There is no way to know… especially given how the jury has reacted once artists started sending in their inquiries. Now, a jury system is all well and fine. Rejection happens, and that’s certainly life. We would never deny that. But the way that the situation has been handled has been strictly unprofessional, and oftentimes downright rude. It’s one thing to be told that you didn’t receive a table, it’s another thing entirely to be told why… which is what the artists want. That’s a simple enough task. Instead, the artists received a rudely written email, simply explaining that all artists were ranked, but their ranking (or reasons for their ranking) couldn’t be known… Here’s what it said: “The top 30 average scores were accepted right away. The next 30 were wait-listed. The final 200, while possessing scores, were not ranked in any order, because what would the point be? No one wants to be #230 on the wait list. “ It would have been a lot simpler to simply say “Here’s who got in, and who didn’t…and here are the reasons… thank you all and good luck ” rather than this very strange and shady-sounding ranking system… which is still not described in any way. Why is all of this unfair, you might ask? BECAUSE THE ARTISTS WERE NEVER INFORMED ABOUT THE CRITERIA UPON WHICH THEY WERE JUDGED. And as it stands, still haven’t been. What good is a system if it can’t even be elaborated upon? What exactly was scored? What did this system involve? Were only certain genres accepted? Was it all new blood being brought in? Was it actually just personal bias, being covered up by a professional nature? We have gotten nothing.  Instead of a little information, the artists have received defensive, poorly-written, rude, and condescending responses… none of which actually answered the artists questions. All the artists require, is a bit of information as to what they can improve upon in the future for a possible AA spot… is that truly so much to ask?

Upon receiving so-called “hatemail” from upset artists and con-goers, the first image was how Donnell responded… as you might agree, it was written towards “the few” who had sent hatemail, rather than “the many” who did nothing at all.. They contradict themselves by saying that “being in the bottom 200 doesn’t mean your art sucks or that we think your art sucks” (in those exact, and quite unprofessional terms) directly after saying “the overall quality of art was exponentially better this year.” They go on to include all accusations thrown their way, in a defensive and downright rude tone… even going as far as to deny any bribes that may have occurred, in which judges could have slept with the artists for an in. Wow. Even more, to add insult to injury, they encourage the rejected artists to show up at the Thursday Craft Fair… at the cost of admission, of course… and to “walk past us with your twenties fanned out and make us extremely jelly.” This isn’t professional. This is dealing with children. Who wants to support this sort of behavior? Certainly not me. But it gets worse. Mister Donnell Shoffner seems not to know what “privacy” means, and has left his FB open to the general public… so that people can see how truly unprofessional he is. The last two images in the photoset show  what he and his friends really thinks about artists… here are some highlights:

Threatening to abolish the artist alley entirely because that’s the only way to be “fair” to everyone

Referring to not getting a table as some sort of “defeat”rather than a growing or learning experience

Insinuating that all artists are “entitled children” who have no concept of the world… and who only want an art table to get free admission to the con itself.

Undermining the value of artists and their hard work, by stating that artists clearly “don’t make a living” off of conventions that they attend (and if they think they do, they’re fooling themselves)

Treating the entire situation as little more than a joke, and posting the status on his personal FB page so that “his friends could get a chuckle out of it.”

Insisting that “any response” regarding the rejection is better than no response… because “when you apply for college, they won’t give you as much.”

Stating that dealers would gladly pay 4 times the amount that artists pay for an artist spot.

I repeat. He actually stated… that he feels no sense of loss from artists no longer supporting this con, because the dealers pay more. DEALERS PAY MORE. Is that what this is about? Is it all about the money?

A dismissive and defensive rejection letter is one thing… but this sort of mindset just illustrates how narrow-minded, opinionated and uninformed people can abuse a position of power.

This ignorance and staggeringly childish behavior saddens me deeply. Many artists, my girlfriend for example.. are on the pro-level (college graduated, published, the works). She’s not a baby, she doesn’t want to get into the con for free. She simply wants to support this con, as she has for many years now, and be supported in return. She wants to be treated fairly.  She’s brought money and customers to this convention… family and friends and loved ones. She believes in new artists being brought in, as well as the old ones staying… as that is how conventions thrives. And in response, she hasn’t even been given the valuable information regarding how precisely she can improve in the future, or what her portfolio should include, to be considered once again someday. Insinuations that she’s a “butthurt child” or that her spot isn’t nearly worth the same value as a dealer’s table… are all simply insulting. And we refuse to support this kind of behavior from such a “professional” group of individuals who claim to have the proper mileage and credentials to judge the work of the attending artists. In closing, a jury system is based on trust. The way these people are acting, and their disgusting behavior towards the artists who support their con with their time and money, is destroying this trust. All people wanted to know, was the basic info regarding the criteria upon which their artwork was judged.. so that they may know if it’s worth trying again in the future, or if they should not bother at all. Criticism is part of growing. Artists know this. But they are not able to grow when the information won’t be disclosed. Instead they get defensive responses and a “shut up and deal with it, that’s life, so stop being butthurt” attitude. Why is it unfair, you might ask? BECAUSE THE ARTISTS WERE NEVER TOLD ON WHAT CRITERIA THEY WERE SO HARSHLY, AND RUDELY, JUDGED. Instead, we get poorly-written, rude, condescending responses… when all the artists require, is a bit of information as to what they can improve upon in the future for a possible artists spot… To quote my very knowledgeable friend, who has worked AAs fairly for many years now: “The judges MUST be impartial and fair, and they MUST have a clearly defined set of criteria to choose from that is made public well before the deadline for application. Anything short of this will breed doubt and mistrust among ALL of the artists, even those that got in. Without either of these, artists who didn’t get accepted will wonder whether the system is rigged or if the judges are competent. Artists who do get accepted run the risk of looking like they might have done something underhanded to get past the judges. Only when the judges are fair and the criteria is public can the art community clearly see why someone made it in and why someone didn’t. Even if only the most pro artists made it in, at least everyone would understand WHY that happened.” This con has not been impartial, and quite frankly, I’ve lost all respect for them. They are losing my respect, my business, my vacation plans… which I have planned excitedly with for many years now.

Goodbye, Colossalcon. And good riddance until you clean up your sorry act.