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This so cool!

Thousands of years ago, the Egyptians created the world’s oldest known synthetic pigment: Egyptian blue. Despite its name, the mysterious material’s true color ranged from blue to green. Archaeologists have spotted it on ancient coffins, sculptures, murals and ceramics.

The oldest known sample of Egyptian blue decorates a small alabaster bowl dating to 3250 B.C.E. The pigment was later used by the Romans, who conquered ancient Egypt in the first century B.C.E., and then by Renaissance artists.

The color eventually faded into obscurity. But now, scientists have finally figured out how to bring it back to life.

...

“The production of Egyptian blue was a highly sophisticated process, made possible only within a well developed cultural and technological context,” Moujin Matin, an archaeologist at the University of Western Ontario who wasn’t involved in the research, tells Chemistry World. “Culturally, the prominence of blue in religious symbolism and daily life gave the pigment special significance, ensuring its sustained value and use.”

The ancient Egyptians were amazing materials scientists.

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Ideas are cooking for my pride outfit.

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I’ve noticed a particular formula among certain DS9 Cardassian episodes (it’s present among other Trek episodes, but the Cardassian episodes are by far the most notable.)

A character will spend an entire episode with a Cardassian, allowing them to pontificate and speak at length. The Cardassian in question will be found to have been lying or obfuscating the truth at the very least, forcing the DS9 main cast member(s) to jump through a lot of hoops, and finally reveals the truth at the end of the episode. Off the top of my head, the most notable examples of this formula are Duet (the paradigm), Waltz, and In the Pale Moonlight. The Wire is an variation in that the truth ultimately comes from another Cardassian, and Afterimage is basically a reiteration of The Wire adhering more closely to the basic formula.

My question is this: was this formula a conscious creation of the DS9 writing staff i.e. “this Duet episode was the highlight of the season so let’s go back to the well”?

Not really a conscious thing as far as I remember. Just sort of the way a lot of the Cardassian episodes take shape naturally, I'd say.

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“The collective power of trans-feminized people, including trans women, lies in how many others rely on us to secure their claim to personhood. In other words, the dolls hold all the receipts, and the time has come to call them in.” ― Jules Gill-Peterson, A Short History of Trans Misogyny (Affiliate link)

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Happy pride month specifically to folks on the asexual and aromantic spectrum who oftentimes feel isolated and left out of the conversation. You belong here as much as the rest of us and I hope that you are all loved in a way that is comforting to you.

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I don't know how to explain how dearly I love this crew. I didn't even have this kind of total love for my TNG faves, though I loved most of them! Still, everyone on this show is on another level. I'm so excite!

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sometimes i worry that *i'm* wrong and SU is bad/rushed/blah blah. then i remember whites fragile need to be perfect and ego defense of thinking she's fixing things. i remember how its perfectly mirrored by stevens need to fix others. how its both beautifully symbolic in CYM an made more explicit and heart-rending in future.

yeah that shit rules. white being reformed is great. its the ultimate rebuttal to the ideology that only good/useful/perfect people deserve to live- which is exactly the standard white held herself and everyone else to. it mirrors stevens arc of selfless heroism. it mirrors the toxic, insecure selflessness thats plagued everyone from pearl to jasper to rose about what it means to "deserve" to live it ties into "love like you" of how learning self-love is intertwined with loving others. it ties into how steven can't let go of his hero role until he's confronted by *literally* having his own mind in white's body, hating the idea of being like her yet ironically reacting exactly how she would - "this is someone bad for society, they should be shattered, this is what's best for everyone." trying to hurt her only hurting him. trying to help her helping all of gemkind - from the corrupted gems to dismantling a system that was held up by those exact ideals.

yeah no SU is fantastic. i'm so sad that its reputation is "oh well it wasn't that good, but it had some lgbt+ rep :)" which is just about the most condescending crap ever. i would gladly flip it. i think most cartoons that have come after SU haven't been that interesting, they've just been mostly generic stories with some lgbt+ rep.

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Happy Pride!

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You look GORGEOUS, dahlink!

An Incomplete Gallery Of Photos Of Me In Swimsuits In 2025

Why? Because

I am cute.

I am in my 40s and weigh over 350lbs* and there's nothing anyone can do to keep me out of a pool** in the summer and if you need some of that energy, HERE YOU GO.

*Fatphobes and dietmongers can go step on d4s and LEGO

**one that I'm allowed in, I'm not climbing fences to sneak into pools***.

***Currently this is not my hobby. Previously? What are you, a cop? COME BACK WITH A WARRANT.

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From the deep #24030 Raven Tastes the Rainbow by Olga Shvartsur

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pride month!!!

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Everyone is so weird about people who cry easily. Fellas, is it evil and manipulative to *checks notes* have an involuntary stress response?

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my sincerest wish for Cathy

16/30

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I want to apologise to

- Britney for making fun of her when she had her breakdown

- Monica Lewinski for judging her when she was a 22year old temp sexually assaulted by the most powerful man in the world

- Ke$ha for ever thinking she was trashy when all she wanted to do was make party music

- Kristen Stewart for ever thinking she was dumb when she’s actually one of the coolest people ever

- Megan Fox for ever thinking she was just a slut when actually she was an actress being harassed by her employer. 

- Hating all the women who made a career out of having a hot body. Being is shape is hard, beauty is a weapon and auto promotion is hard work. 

- All the Mary-Sues, who exist because young girls everywhere want to be part of a story they love so much

- All the female characters I ever snobbed because they got in the way of my ship.

- Hating the color pink during my teenage years, when it’s actually a lovely color and what I resented was society’s pressure to perform femininity. 

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Yearly reminder that Netjeru love Their LGBTQIA+ devotees and followers 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎

Wishing you all a happy - or at the very least, safe - pride month. Though things are scary in many places on earth right now, know that the gods love you, and though they may not be able to right all the wrongs as quickly as they happen, They work and pray alongside us for Ma’at to prevail.