#Census Study

[oynonrings]

ok im doing another poll because ive received some. very positive feedback. and im curious how my followers on the whole feel about me writing patho omo

[dkettchen]

Annoying Orange creator nonbinary let's gooooo!!! We got another one

[rightnewshindi]

साल 2080 में कितनी होगी धरती की जनसंख्या? नेचर कम्युनिकेशन स्टडी में चौंकाने वाला खुलासा

World Census: भारत में इन दिनों जातिगत जनगणना को लेकर राजनीतिक हलचल तेज है। नेता आए दिन इस मुद्दे पर बयानबाजी कर रहे हैं। इसी बीच, वैश्विक जनसंख्या को लेकर एक हैरान करने वाली स्टडी सामने आई है। नेचर कम्युनिकेशन जर्नल में प्रकाशित इस शोध में दावा किया गया है कि धरती पर इंसानों की आबादी की गिनती में बड़ी चूक हुई है और अरबों लोग इस आंकड़े से गायब हो सकते हैं। आइए जानते हैं कि साल 2080 तक दुनिया की…

[yhebrew]

Biblical Insights: Lessons from the Tribes of Ya'cov FOR TODAY.

A STUDY ON MEMBERS OF The Tribes of Ya’cov, written at The Dire Straits 2024. Gen 2:9  Out of the ground Adonai, God, caused to grow every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  RUEBEN – See Leah’s firstborn was Reuben, meaning to see. Her second born was Simeon meaning hear. Her…

[tmblrplsdonutbanme]

Statistics- Again

men constitute 97% of (non fatal) strangulation attacks

men constitute 99% of acid attacks

men constitute 99.99% of child pornography

men constitute 98% of mass shootings

men constitute 99.8% of rapists

men constitute 86% of homicides

men constitute 95% of forcible incest

men constitute 99.99% of child sex abuse

men constitute 99% of molesting cases

men constitute 96% of domestic violence/abuse

men constitute 99% of drugging

men constitute 90% of stalking

men constitute 99.99% of human trafficking perpetrators

men constitute 99% of sex trafficking abuse

Men constitute 99% of animal abuse

Men constitute 98% of bestiality

_________________________Original Post_________________________

92.6% of makeup companies are male

97% of all creative directors are male

98% of modeling agencies are male

92% of fashion media is male

96% of the fashion industry is male

___________________________Rape_________________________

Women are 21x more likely to get raped, yet this is seriously underreported considering the dead bodies

1/3 of all women internationally report being sexually assaulted. we know this number to be much higher due to autopsies reported in the census

Women are 400,000,000x more likely to DIE from RAPE than a man

not one man has ever died from rape, accounts for no coroner report ever, whereas tens of thousands of women and children die a year.

i tried to find a statistic refuting this but i could not

________________________Sex Trafficking________________________

50 million women are sex trafficking victims

women make up for 95% of labor trafficking

70% of child labor is FEMALE

25 million women are forced into child marriages

650 million girls are in arranged marriages/ marriages consummated below the age of consent

_________________________Fetish / Kink_________________________

Men make up most 98% on average of every fetish community

Men make up 99% of pedophilia.

10% of men are pedophiles

_________________________International_________________________

in 70 countries - that comprise 26% of the world population, women need men's permission to learn, work, or travel.

There are 50 countries in which the law states you can sell and buy women into marriage. - These countries, including India and Pakistan, make up 38% of the entire world.

There are 178 countries that do not have the same legal rights for women, where written law specifically excludes women from freedom.

There are 2.4 billion women globally who are born in countries that have written law that restricts them completely, but even more so without a man.

6 billion people believe in a religion that states that women are less human than men

_________________________Original Post_________________________

Infographic Sources

_________________________More Studies_________________________

Study on objectification

Study on empathy

Some Fashion Industry Stats & Sources

Infographic

[queerum]

Free (mostly academic) aro theory resources

On Amatonormativity

Amatonormativity, Aromanticism, and What Defines a Relationship - Rilee Granger

Amatonormativity in the Law: An Introduction - Silver Flight

"Allonormativity and Compulsory Sexuality" (chapter 6 of Encyclopedia of Queer Studies in Education) - Stephanie Anne Shelton

'I Dont Want To be a Playa No More': An Exploration of the Denigrating effects of 'Player' as a Stereotype Against African American Polyamorous Men - Justin L. Clardy

On Relationship Anarchy

The short instructional manifesto for relationship anarchy - Andie Nordgren

The Relationship Anarchy website

Thinking Relationship Anarchy from a Queer Feminist Approach - Roma De las Heras Gómez

Beyond romantic love – an analysis of how the dilemma of closeness vs. autonomy is handled in relationship anarchy discourse - Ricardo Guillén

The Ethics of Relationship Anarchy - Ole Martin Moen

On community

Examining aromantic and asexual inclusion in queer-serving organizations - based on Lauren Lichty's work

Exploring Aromanticism Through an Online Qualitative Investigation With the Aromantic Community: “Freeing, Alienating, and Utterly Fantastic” - James Fowler et al.

Community Listening Sessions with Aromantic People: Summary and Recommendations Report

Aurea Aro Census

Sexuality, romantic orientation, and masculinity: Men as underrepresented in asexual and aromantic communities - Hannah Tessler

On QueerPlatonic Relationships

Queerplatonic Zucchinis: A Short Primer - Omnes and Nihil (unsure)

Queering the Nuclear Family - Katie Linder

Queer(ing) consensual nonmonogamies, queering therapy: queer intimacy, kinship, and experiences of CNM in LGBTQIA+ lives - Christian Klesse et al.

On intersectionality

Intimacy and Desire Through the Lens of an Aro-Ace Woman of Color

Being Aroflux & Black - Kimberley Butler

Transitioning into Aromanticism as a Trans Student - Amethyst

Existing and Defying Stereotypes as an A-spec Disabled Person - Sapphire Crimson Claw

A Reflection on the March Carnival of Aros (several testimonies by aros of color and non-cis/non-het aros are linked in this article)

Other aro-related interesting reads

New Dimensions, New Directions: Asexualities and Aromanticism in the 21st Century - Megan Carroll et al.

Enriching the Story: Asexuality and Aromanticism in Literature - Adrienne Whisman

The Importance of Representation for Lesser-Known Sexual Identities on the Example of Asexuality and Aromanticism - Jasmin Kiechle

Experiences of Italian Asexual and Aromantic Individuals in Healthcare Settings: from Explicitly Aggressive to Affirming Interactions

Other lists of aro-related ressources (not all sources listed in these are free though)

by Aurea

The Asexuality and Aromanticism Bibliography

If you know of any other free ressource about aromanticism please consider adding to this list

[newsfromthelaundryroom]

Understanding Hojŏk (census register) entries

Since I am working on my MA thesis again and finally got back to one of my favorite sources, I got inspired to actually blog about it for once!

So here is a little introduction into how to read census entries from Chosŏn.

Hojŏk (census registers) were recorded every 3 years, aiming to register every household (in theory) in one county for taxation purposes. Household were registered using the "five household system" (oga-t'ong, 五家統), which registers the population according to their location within one village, with every five households (ho, 戶) composing a unit (t'ong, 統). In the register the households in one unit are given a number, with the head of the unit (t'ongjang, 統長 or t'ongsu, 統首) being recorded first and the rest appearing in sequence of their numbering. The register goes through every unit like this until the village is complete, then moving onto the next village.

Now for the individual entries, each consists of the name of the head of the household, occupation or title, age, clan seat (pon, 本), and four ancestors (sajo, 四祖) of the household head and his wife. Then follow the names of the children, ages, occupations or titles, wives etc. If a household owns any nobi, names and ages are recorded, names and status of their parents and children, as well as name, status and residence of the owner. In the case of woegŏnobi (nobi who live outside their owner's estate), they usually have their own entry.

Let's look at one of these entries together because there are some peculiarities to still understand.

This is the 1717 census entry of Kim Hŭng-bal, a commoner from the village of Koŭptae in Tansŏng-hyŏn, Kyŏngsang-do. The book I am pulling this entry from kindly provides a transcription into Han'gŭl for us non-Hanmun-reading plebs:

고읍대촌 제1통 통수 어영청 보인 김흥발

제1호 어영청 보인 김흥발 나이 49세 기유생 본관 김해

아버지 납속통정대부 수봉 조부 어련 증조부 이동 외조부 이금금 본관 영동

부인 변소사 나이 43세 을묘생 본관 초계

아버지 통정대부 해금 조부 해룡 증조부 덕수 외조부 사노 정립

아들 벽계역 김귀봉의 보인 김이달 나이 17세 신사생

며느리 주소사 나이 17세 신사생

아들 금철 나이 5세 계사생

Now going from what we said above, this entry starts out with the village (Koŭpdae-ch'on), the unit (unit nr.1) and the name of the head of the unit (Kim Hŭng-bal). It then proceeds with the details for this specific household, the household of the t'ongsu Kim Hŭng-bal of household nr.1. It gives us the occupation or title (Ŏyŏngch'ŏng poin, a type of military official) and the name of the head of the household (Kim Hŭng-bal), his age (49) and clan seat (Kimhae).

The age is not recorded with the usual number Hanja (which would be 四十九), but with a separate set of Hanja (肆拾玖), which also have secondary meanings of numbers but primarily mean something else. I do not know why this is but this seems to be the case for all recornings of ages in Hojŏk at least. After the age they also record the specific year in which someone is born. For Kim Hŭng-bal he is born in the kiyu year, which is the 46th year in the sexagenary cycle, the year of the earth rooster, which would be 1669. (Now do keep in mind though that the recorded birth year and ages can vary between different census years, as this is self reported and falsification of ages was a very popular tactic to shave off some years from the military service one still had to serve.)

Another thing to know is that wives were recorded with their last name only. In the above entry we have two examples, one is Kim Hŭng-bal's wife recorded as Pyŏn-sosa and the other one is his son's wife Chu-sosa. As Chosŏn society considered the public to be the male domain and the private the female domain, it was usually not seen as proper for the names of women to be recorded in official documents, as those were a part of the public domain. Because of this, every woman of the yangin (良人), the "good" people as opposed to the ch'ŏnin (賤人, low/vulgar people), would be recorded as "last name + class signifier". There were three different class signifiers to differentiate between the three main classes which comprised the yangin: ssi, 氏 for yangban women (of the upper class), sŏng, 性 for chungin women (of the "middle" class comprised of physicians, interpretors etc.), and sosa, 召史 for p'yŏngmin/sangmin/yangmin women (of the peasant and artisan class) ((there is too many goddamn words for this class)). Kim Hŭng-bal's wife is recorded asPyŏn-sosa, denoting her as his wife of p'yŏngmin status, same as his daughter-in-law.

The last interesting thing from this entry is the title of Kim Hŭng-bal's father Su-bong being Napsokt'ongjŏngdaebu. T'ongjŏngdaebu is a civil official title of the senior 3rd grade (정3품), but the napsok at the beginning indicates, that this title was acquired through a substantial donation of grains (napsok) in famine times. The prefix "napsok" was added to differentiate those with "real" titles from the ones with honorary titles. From this we can learn that although Kim Hŭng-bal was a p'yŏngmin, he came from a family wealthy enough to donate significant amounts of grain to the government.

Let's look at one more entry, this time from the 1678 census of Su-bong, Kim Hŭng-bal's father, where we will find something interesting.

The entry reads:

사노 수봉 나이 32세 정해생 본관 김해 주인 단성현 거주 심정량

아버지 사노 갓봉 조부 증조부 모름 어머니 사비 숙향 외조부 사노 단문 본관 안동

부인 사비 자목 나이 27새 임진생 주인 성주 거주 군관 도시담

아버지 사노 금금이 어머니 사비 애춘 조부 이생 외조부 금복

아들 반노 금학 나이 4세 을묘생

From this entry we learn, that Su-bong was actually a nobi, making this family a case of recorded upward mobility in society with hereditary status. We know this because in place of a title or occupation in front of Su-bong's name it says sano for "private nobi" (no being a male nobi and bi being a female nobi). His wife was also a private nobi, as indicated by the sabi in front of her name. Their son Kŭm-hak is indicated as banno, which to my knowledge means a yangban's nobi and should be referring to his mother's military official owner. Though I am quite unsure about this and the author of the book doesn't explain it to my knowledge.

As you can see, in the case of nobi, who made up the bulk of the ch'ŏnmin class (the rest comprising of butchers, shamans, entertainers and such), the names of women were recorded. This had on one hand to do with confucian principle surrounding "vulgar" people not falling under the same societal notions of propriety and thus women's names being "fair game", but on the other hand was also important because of ownership law and the general lack of surnames in nobi. For nobi, the mother was actively recorded (which is not done for yangin in the most part), which we can see above in the case of Su-bong's mother Suk-hyang. for yangin, the name of the father-in-law would suffice. But in the case of nobi, the mother's name being recorded is important, as her children go to her owner and not to the owner of her husband (in the case that they are from different households). It is also important to record the names of female nobi for the case of runaways and the subsequent search for and collecting of these runaways.

Another common thing in nobi household census registers is the absence of names for grandparents, as those were often forgotten quickly over the generations. They then get recorded as puji, 不知 (unknown), which you can see in the case of Su-bong's grandfather and great-grandfather (transcribed as 모름 in the Han'gŭl version). In the case of paternal lines with surnames, the surname is frequently added like this "Chŏn puji".

Now getting back to why Kim Hŭng-bal is not registered as a nobi, considering the whole ilch'ŏnjŭkch'ŏn thing and both his parents being nobi. Kwŏn Nae-hyun (the author of this book I am pulling these entries from) explains it like this:

Su-bong must have had a substantial amount of land to cultivate for himself, as nobi were also allowed to purchase and own land (which makes them different from the western concept of slaves and is also the reason why I and many other scholars refrain from using the word slave when we mean nobi) and could procure wealth in this way. His title of Napsokt'ongjŏngdaebu shows that he had enough wealth to contribute a lot of grains to the government and thus also enough to buy his way out of servitude. Kwŏn Nae-hyun also talks about the reality of Su-bong having to pay his owner in labor and surpluss grain, since he married a nobi woman from a different household and thus lost his owner a few more nobi children. I assume that the escape from nobi status through substantial compensation for his owner was a better alternative than this, and the official title bestowed on him by the government only helped to cement the new commoner status for his family. Kim Hŭng-bal and his brothers then went and changed some information in their family tree (like adding last names to their father, making up new names for their grandfather etc.) over a few iterations of census registers and thus could more easily sustain their new status as commoners.

----------

Ok so this post kind of got out of hand and is now way more than just a simple "how to read census registers", but I still hope this conveyed some usefull and interesting information! I also managed to procrastinate reading further sources for two hours so I count that as a win as well.

(Admin S)

----------

Sources:

Karlsson, Anders. „Famine Relief, Social Order, and State Performance in Late Chosŏn Korea“. The Journal of Korean Studies 12, Nr. 1 (fall 2007): 113–41.

Kwŏn, Nae-hyŏn. Nobi-esŏ yangban-ŭro, kŭ mŏnamŏn yŏjŏng: ŏnŭ nobi kagye 2-paek nyŏn-ŭi kirok. Sŏul-si: Yŏksa Pip’yŏngsa, 2014.

Somerville, John N. „Stability in Eighteenth Century Ulsan“. Korean Studies Forum, Nr. 1 (Autumn-Winter 1976-77): 1–18.

[archivyrep]

Arrogant curators, a pine-cone shaped vault, and a magical scroll in "Tangled" [Part 2]

Continued from part 1

Inside of the Spire shown in "Keeper of the Spire"

As for the Spire, it is an ancient museum atop a winding mountain. It contains many artifacts and is a "massive pine-cone-shaped structure covered with light blue and medium blue rocks", with a spiraling staircase inside, with various artifacts decorating the walls. Calliope, for her part, is not a professional with "expertise in the management of records of enduring value", the first definition of an archivist in the aforementioned dictionary. But, she is "an individual responsible for records of enduring value", i.e. the artifacts in the Spire.

Reprinted from my Wading Through the Cultural Stacks WordPress blog. Originally published on May 17, 2023.

Furthermore, she is not a records manager, records analyst, or records officer. She also is not what the aforementioned dictionary defines as a librarian: "an individual responsible for acquiring, providing access to, and managing collections of published materials." On the other hand, she fulfills common characteristics of an archivist. The recent A*Census II stated that 66% of those surveyed are working as archivists or memory workers, and noted that commonly those surveyed work with textual archival records such as documents, manuscripts, photographs, and objects. [1] The survey further said that almost half of White people felt included in the profession, compared to 25% of BIPOC (Black, indigenous, (and) people of color). In terms of Calliope, she is in line with 71% of archivists who are women and 84% who are White. She likely is straight or heterosexual as well, just like 69% of archivists who identified as such in the survey.

A few fan fiction writers have mentioned Calliope. In various chapters of LokoteiBex's "Sunshine", she is described as knowledgeable, charming, and noted as a street musician, and cursed by Gothel so she doesn't sense Rapunzel. In Chapter 5: "The Keeper of the Spire", the fifth chapter of green_tea_and_honey's 14-chapter work, "Beyond the Corona Walls", she describes herself as the Keeper of the Spire, saying she was "entrusted wardship over the Spire’s artifacts", with a sworn duty to "prevent these items from falling into the wrong hands...[or] protect the outside world from them". She also adds:

"The Spire’s Vault holds some of the rarest, most abstruse artifacts from all over the world...Oh no, silly! It’s at the top of the mountain in a vault called the Spire...Kirlock, Protector of the Spire! It is I, Calliope! The, uh, Apprentice of the Keeper of the Spire!” [3]

In others, it is noted that Calliope has an annoying voice, is caught by Raps after almost being hurt, gives a message to Raps about Cass trying to seize a magical artifact. She remains cocky, is shown as a guise for Cass to get the key she needs, has magical powers, and helps translate a scroll. Then there are those when she is noted as egocentric or good at examining artifacts. [2]

Examining fanfiction depictions of archivists or characters who act like archivists is important. As Sam Cross put it in August 2019, websites like AO3 (where these works were published) are "becoming the norm and the archival community needs to look to them as part of the future of our profession", and argues that fan-created community archives, like AO3, are "worthy of out attention and investment." Unfortunately, apart from the aforementioned chapter by green_tea_and_honey, she doesn't get as much character depth as she should. Most writers seem to pass her off as annoying, precocious, and arrogant. While that falls in line with the show's canon, it doesn't tell as much about her as a person, her motivations, or anything like that. Instead, her role is more like the video game, Mass Effect 3, when characters use an ID to access the archives and fight within the archives itself.

Calliope's character is annoying, unlikable, and aligned with stereotypes, but this ends up being a cover in order to impress others. Her real personality is different, at least from what I have gathered. Her voice actor, Natalie Palamides, has sometimes had bit roles, apart from voicing an exaggerated masculine character named Nate in a 2020 TV special, Nate – A One Man Show. She is also a comedian and a writer, but I'm not sure that came through with her character. It doesn't seem that she posted about it on her official Twitter account, her official website, or her Instagram. Despite that, and the fact that fans of Tangled may not like her character (personally, I'm not totally sure about her), she still is worth writing about and examining, especially when it comes to her connection to archival concepts. After all, the two episodes she appears in are written by the same people. [3]

As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

© 2022 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[e-adlirez]

This is gonna sound weird, but for me, Max’s usage of Biblical references are way too natural for him to have learned them just to impress Grace. That and he drops them even when Grace isn’t around, most notable being his god complex speech at Pasqualli’s, where his monologue is an uncannily intimate distortion of God’s love as a God of unconditional love.

“You’re not a nerd because of your glasses or your pimple-dick. You’re a nerd because I said so. I willed it into existence. I’m your God.”

I don’t have an exact Bible quote right now, but it is established that God doesn’t love Man because of his traits or achievements— He loves Man because He created him, the definition of unconditional love. That kind of theological distortion, especially said in such earnest to me feels like Max definitely got that from his religious background as opposed to him learning them from a Bible cram sesh, but that’s just me

Max Jägerman makes several Biblical references throughout the show, so do y’all think Max had a religious education as a kid or that he went out of his way to Read the Bible to Impress Grace Chastity?

[theglowsociety]

10 Fascinating Facts About Black Irish History

When people think of Irish history, they often imagine fair-skinned Celts with red hair. But Ireland has a long and rich history of Black presence, dating back centuries. From African merchants in medieval Ireland to Black Irish revolutionaries, here are ten key facts that highlight the deep and often overlooked connections between Black history and Ireland.

1. Black People Have Been in Ireland Since at Least the 3rd Century

Historical records suggest that people of African descent were present in Ireland as early as the Roman era. The Romans never invaded Ireland, but trade and migration brought people from North Africa and the Mediterranean to Irish shores.

2. The First Known Black Irishman Was a 9th-Century Scholar

One of the earliest recorded Black individuals in Ireland was Firmanus, a scholar who lived in the 9th century. He was described as “a man of Africa” who studied and taught in an Irish monastery. This suggests that Ireland had connections with the wider world far earlier than many assume.

3. Irish Pirates and African Connections

During the 17th century, Irish and African histories intertwined through piracy. Irish pirates and privateers frequently raided North African coasts, capturing people to sell into slavery, while some Irish were also taken by Barbary pirates and enslaved in North Africa.

4. Olaudah Equiano, a Former Slave, Was a Prominent Abolitionist in Ireland

Olaudah Equiano, one of the most famous formerly enslaved Africans and an early abolitionist, visited Ireland in the 1790s. His autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, was widely read in Ireland and helped build support for the abolitionist movement.

5. Ireland Had a Role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Although Ireland never had large-scale slavery like the Caribbean or the U.S., Irish merchants and settlers were involved in the transatlantic slave trade. Cities like Cork and Dublin profited from goods produced by enslaved Africans, and some Irish individuals owned plantations in the Caribbean and America.

6. Frederick Douglass Found Refuge in Ireland

Frederick Douglass, the famous African American abolitionist, visited Ireland in 1845 to escape the dangers of being recaptured in the U.S. He was deeply moved by the poverty he witnessed during the Irish Famine and found an ally in Irish leader Daniel O’Connell, who was a vocal opponent of slavery.

7. The Black Irish of Montserrat Are Descendants of Irish and African Slaves

The Caribbean island of Montserrat has a unique population of Black individuals who proudly identify as “Black Irish.” This stems from the 17th century, when Irish indentured servants and African slaves were forced to work on plantations together. Montserrat even celebrates St. Patrick’s Day as a nod to its Irish heritage.

8. Phil Lynott, the Black Irish Rock Legend

One of Ireland’s most famous Black figures is Phil Lynott, the frontman of the legendary rock band Thin Lizzy (“The Boys Are Back in Town”). Born in 1949 to an Irish mother and a Guyanese father, Lynott helped shape rock music and is celebrated as an Irish music icon.

9. Emma Dabiri is Leading Conversations on Black Irish Identity

Irish-Nigerian author and academic Emma Dabiri has been at the forefront of discussing Black identity in Ireland. Her books, including Don’t Touch My Hair, explore race, culture, and the often-overlooked history of Black people in Ireland.

10. Ireland Is Becoming More Diverse Than Ever

Today, Ireland is home to a growing Black community, with many people of African descent contributing to the country’s cultural, political, and artistic landscape. The 2022 Irish Census recorded over 70,000 Black Irish residents, showing that Black history in Ireland is far from over—it’s still being written.

Black Irish history is rich, complex, and deeply interwoven with global movements of people, power, and culture. Recognizing this history helps break stereotypes and highlights Ireland’s long-standing connections to Africa and the African diaspora.

Did any of these facts surprise you?

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from the Las Vegas Sun:

A population spurt for the Devils Hole pupfish, a critically endangered fish at Death Valley National Park, is giving scientists cause for optimism, the National Park Service said.

Scientists from the park service, the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counted 191 pupfish at Devils Hole over the course of their spring study April 5 and 6, officials said. That marks a 25-year high, they said.

“Increasing numbers allow the managing agencies to consider research that may not have been possible in the past, when even slight perturbations of habitat or fish had to be completely avoided,” said Michael Schwemm, senior fish biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We’re excited about the future directions with respect to managing this species.”

Many pairs of the fish were found courting and spawning in their 92-degree habitat, officials said.

The species fully resides in Devils Hole, a water-filled cavern near Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Nye County. Officials say Devils Hole is the smallest habitat of any vertebrate species on the planet.

The fish are found in the upper 80 feet of the cave and depend on an 11-by-16-foot sunlit shallow shelf at the cavern’s entrance for food and spawning, officials said.

Historically, the pupfish’s population ranges between 100 to 200 in winter and 300 to 500 in late summer — an all-time low of 35 fish was recorded in 2013.

The tiny fish, averaging less than 1 inch in length, lived in relative isolation for between 10,000 and 20,000 years after periods of flooding and dryness created the cavern they call home, the park service said.

Flooding last summer from Hurricane Hilary was a benefit to the fish’s ecosystem, officials said, because it added nutrients that washed off the surrounding land surface in a fine layer of clay and silt.

[memories-of-ancients]

For the last 14 years, when it rains in Lowndes County, Alabama, contaminated standing water builds up around Annye Burke’s home. When the septic tank breaks down, raw sewage backs up into her toilet, she said. 

Although “frustrated” by the unhealthy and inconvenient conditions, Burke said she doesn’t let it get her down. Human wastewater contaminating homes and yards in these rural parts of central Alabama “has become a way of life,” she said. The problem has existed so long and was so pervasive that a 2017 study determined 1 in every 3 adults in the county had the intestinal parasite hookworm.  

The Biden administration investigated and allocated nearly $26 million to rebuild Lowndes County’s water infrastructure, with the Department of Justice declaring the majority-Black area was suffering from “environmental racism.”   

But earlier this month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to kill the deal, calling it “illegal DEI.” 

The DOJ’s Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights under Trump, said the agency “will no longer push ‘environmental justice’ as viewed through a distorting, DEI lens,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion programs. 

A 2023 investigation sparked by environmental activist Catherine Coleman Flowers and conducted by the DOJ found that low-income residents of the county, most of whom are Black, have lacked basic sanitation services for generations. Given the area’s especially hard, impermeable soil and the high cost of installing private wastewater systems, many residents have resorted to straight piping to deal with human wastewater. This method involves guiding human wastewater away from the home into a series of ditches and crude piping systems, according to the DOJ report. That water collects in nearby yards, open areas and woods. 

In more recent years, heavier rainfall related to climate change has meant that contaminated water floods into the home, spills across open areas, and contaminates local vegetation and water, exposing residents to illness.   

And so, Burke and more than 300 other families in Lowndes County — located about 40 miles southwest of Montgomery — are forced to live with a failing water infrastructure that has led to serious health concerns, including hookworm, which at one point had been thought to be eradicated from the United States, according to a 2021 study by the Baylor College of Medicine and the Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise. 

Hookworms are mainly contracted by walking barefoot on soil contaminated with infected feces. It can cause abdominal pain, skin rashes, diarrhea, fever and other ailments. 

“We have to be extra sanitary because people getting sick can be a problem,” Burke, 58, said. “The health concerns are real. In 2025 we shouldn’t have to deal with this, but it is what it is.”  

She said she uses various disinfectants multiple times a day to clean her home and protect her family, which includes her children and grandchildren who come to visit. 

This environmental quagmire has persisted for more than 20 years in this rural part of the state, where 72.4% of the population is Black and the median household income is $35,160, according to the latest census; one-third of residents live below the poverty line. Flowers said that much of the problem started back in 1866 with the passage of the Southern Homestead Act, when Black people were first allowed to purchase land there and were offered mostly places that were environmentally unsafe. 

In recent decades, it’s not uncommon for untreated sewage to flow from some residents’ toilets into their yards or back up into their homes through sinks or bathtubs. Drinking water from the tap is out of the question. Some residents have dug ditches in an attempt to drain rainwater away from their homes. 

Flowers, who grew up in Lowndes, has been fighting for 23 years to fix the water infrastructure in the county. Her efforts led to the Biden administration’s $26 million commitment. She said Trump’s cancelation of the agreement did not surprise her. 

“There are some people who are not going to make it a priority to get this work done,” Flowers said. “That’s the way it’s always been.” 

Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat who represents the area, said in a statement that the DOJ’s reason for abandoning the deal was weak.  

“This agreement had nothing to do with DEI,” Sewell said. “It was about addressing a public health crisis that has forced generations of children and families to endure the health hazards of living in proximity to raw sewage, as the DOJ itself documented. By terminating it, the Trump Administration has put its blatant disregard for the health of my constituents on full display.” 

When announcing the results of the 2023 investigation, former Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said the Justice Department found evidence that suggested Alabama’s Department of Public Health showed “a consistent pattern of inaction and/or neglect concerning the health risks associated with exposure to raw sewage.” 

Sewell added that the burden to “remedy this injustice” fell to the Alabama Department of Public Health. But the ADH said in a statement to NBC News that “the installation of sanitation systems and related infrastructure is outside the authority or responsibilities.” 

A second statement from ADH said the department had received $1.5 million of the funds from the Biden agreement and used it in part to pay for three septic tank installations. With the remainder of that money, ADH will pay a contractor to complete more work by May 2026, according to the statement. Trump killed the agreement before any additional funds could be distributed toward fixing the water infrastructure. 

Annye Burke said her daughter, who lives next door, is in a dilemma because she was hoping to receive a new septic tank when hers recently collapsed. She’s lived the last four years with her water issues. 

“Being raised in the country and at one point of having to use outside facilities, I know how to make do,” Burke said. “I just take one day at a time and pray about it and keep moving on. I don’t let it get me down. But my daughter grew up differently, so I worry about how she deals with this stuff.” 

Flowers, the activist, said that while she hopes the agreement will be reinstituted, she has seen communities come together to make change. Last week, she pointed out, she was in Mount Vernon, New York, where sewage issues were resolved with the combined work of the city, county and state government. 

“They fixed it because they should have,” Flowers said. The problem was discovered in 2021  “and it’s fixed five years later. I’ve been working on this in Lowndes County since 2002.” 

Some families have been able to afford to move away, but many cannot. Then the connection to the land is also a factor, said Flowers, who spent her childhood there and whose father was raised in Lowndes County. 

“My family has been in Lowndes County since slavery,” Flowers said. “It’s home for people. Why would we want to move? That’s where our people are buried.” 

Changing homes is not just about occupying another house.  

“We’re talking about giving up a culture,” she said. “So, we will continue this fight.” 

[synticity]

Can you please, pretty-please do a "3 linguistics papers to read" about neopronouns? I'd love to get some academic perspectives on them! :)

Ooh, yes, I can do this!

Three papers to read about neopronouns

The first one I'm linking is by Em Miltersen from 2016, which I am highlighting because the data comes specifically from tumblr!

Miltersen, E. H. (2016). Nounself pronouns: 3rd person personal pronouns as identity expression. Journal of Language Works-Sprogvidenskabeligt Studentertidsskrift, 1(1), 37-62. Open access to the paper here

Next, a very short paper by Rose et al., 2023, which is just looking at whether people even find neopronouns acceptable / grammatical:

Rose, E., Winig, M., Nash, J., Roepke, K., & Conrod, K. (2023). Variation in acceptability of neologistic English pronouns. Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America, 8(1), 5526-5526. Open access paper is here

And then finally, I'd recommend this super cool paper by Laura Hekanaho, 2022, looking at the metalinguistic commentary and ways people talk about neopronouns - overlaps a bit with Rose et al.'s paper, but goes into much greater depth:

Hekanaho, L. (2022). A thematic analysis of attitudes towards English nonbinary pronouns. Journal of language and sexuality, 11(2), 190-216. Author's copy of the paper here

One thing about neopronouns is that there's comparatively little linguistics research published about them, and what does exist is very focused on English. Part of this is because the ways neopronouns are cropping up in English speech communities (especially online) are different than in other language communities, and the other part of the reason is that they're just super rare -- best estimates of how many people use neopronouns are very very low (the US Trans Census and the Gender Census report numbers <10%, and that's out of only trans people), and their appearance in every day language appears to be very rare.

What this means (frustratingly! and I hope this is changing!) is that at best neopronouns are mentioned in footnotes of linguistics articles and books about other stuff. There's also Dennis Baron's 2020 book, What's Your Pronoun, which is a really thorough documentation of historical attempts to coin gender-neutral pronouns in English... but Baron kind of comes to the conclusion that singular 'they' has 'won' the competition, and that none of the neopronouns he tracks have become mainstream.

Anyways, my personal opinion as a linguist is that I get frustrated with linguists who dismiss neopronouns because they're rare. Just because something's rare doesn't mean it's not a part of the language, and therefore a real part of the phenomenon we've decided to study! Devil's hole pupfish of english, tbh.

(Previous "3 papers to read" post was "3 papers to read about singular 'they'." If you like these posts, you can request a topic in linguistics and I'll do my best to recommend 3 open-access published papers to read!)

[nanamineedstherapy]

Indisputable Evidence of Baby Girl Behavior

Gojo Satoru x F!Reader

Summary: ✨Welcome to the National Baby Girl Census, where we gather empirical evidence on how quickly Gojo Satoru folds when you say one-just one-magic word. This is a scientific study (real). Read responsibly. Or don’t. I know y’all are feral. As usual, no physical details for the reader—like race, eye/hair color, skin tone, complexion, or body type—have been used. 🎭✨ So enjoy! 🥳📖 Fluff + Suggestive

You barely get one foot through the door before you’re launching yourself at Gojo, limbs wrapping around him like you’re some kind of deranged koala. He doesn't even stumble—just lets out a soft ‘oof’ as you cling to his back, your arms locked around his shoulders, legs dangling behind him.

"Well, hello there," he hums, tilting his head as if he can see you despite the blindfold. "Climbing up my back like a little Axolotl. Aren't you clingy today?"

You tighten your grip, smushing your cheek against the back of his head. "Nooo, I just musssssed you."

He laughs, the sound deep and amused, and shifts his weight so he can support you better. "Missed me? That's adorable." His hands slide under your thighs, effortlessly hoisting you up. "But I'm guessing there's more to it than just missing me, isn't there?"

You don’t respond immediately, just press your face into his shoulder, inhaling the faint lingering scent of his cologne. He’s warm, ridiculously so, and solid beneath your touch.

Then, with a carefully calculated move, you let one hand wander—discreetly, of course—towards his chest.

Gojo stills for half a second before his lips curl into a knowing smirk. "Now, now. What are you up to, baby? You trying to get a feel of something there?"

You blink innocently. "I'm just a baby."

He snorts, finally turning so he can pin you with an amused expression. "Oh, you're a baby, huh? A little innocent thing that can’t control her impulses?"

"Nooo."

His grin sharpens. "Then what are you doing, baby?" His voice drops, low and teasing, his breath fanning over your skin. "Trying to touch me so boldly? You aren’t as innocent as you claim to be, are you?"

"Sorry."

You’re not sorry. You prove that immediately by sneaking another grab and squeezing.

Gojo laughs outright this time, the sound rich and indulgent, and he doesn't bother stopping you. "Still at it, are you?" He tuts, shaking his head. "You're a sly little thing, aren’t you? Trying to act all innocent, but your hands tell a different story."

"Boobies," you mumble shamelessly.

His shoulders shake with laughter. "Boobies, huh? You’re really not holding back, are you?" He shifts his grip on you, hands tightening around your thighs. "Can’t keep your hands to yourself, baby?"

You pout, your fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. "You are so, so cute and..." You swallow, feeling your face heat up. "Hot."

Gojo chuckles, clearly reveling in your flustered state. "You think I’m cute and hot, huh? Well, I can’t blame you for being attracted to all this." He gestures to himself grandly, like he’s presenting a gift to the world.

You make the mistake of looking at him—the smirk, the tousled white hair, the sheer Gojo-ness of him—and immediately combust. Die blushing.

His laughter is immediate—the kind of unrestrained joy that makes your heart flip. "You're so easy to tease, you know that?" He nudges your forehead playfully with his own. "All it takes is a few words, and you're blushing like a schoolgirl."

"Aaaah," you wail, shoving your face into his chest, pretending it can somehow shield you from his relentless teasing.

"Aww, hiding your face now?" Gojo coos, tilting his head to try and peek at you. "Too flustered to look me in the eye?"

You grumble into his boobies. "Y… yes."

He hums, clearly savoring the moment. "That’s adorable, baby. You’re so cute when you're all flustered like this." His lips brush against your temple, a whisper of warmth. "It just makes me want to tease you even more."

You groan, smacking your forehead against his chest. "You're the worst."

"Mm, but I'm your worst," he purrs.

You hate that he’s right.

---

Dinner had been eventful—mostly because Gojo had spent half of it going on a tangent about some new cursed technique theory, and the other half stealing food off your plate like he was entitled to it. Now, you were both sprawled out in bed, full and content, except Gojo was still talking.

He was lying on his back, gesturing as he rambled about something you stopped following ten minutes ago. You were curled up beside him, facing his chest, blinking sleepily as his words blurred into white noise.

"—and then I told Jogo, 'Please, do you really think you can outmaneuver me?' Like, the audacity of some people, right, baby?" He huffed, as if personally offended. "Honestly, I think I should start charging people just to be in my presence—"

"Daddy."

You said it absentmindedly—mostly an intrusive word, stretching slightly against the sheets, your voice soft and lazy. It wasn’t meant to be anything special—just a single word slipping past your lips in the middle of his monologue.

“Hm, yes baby?” He always paid attention to whatever you said, no matter how much he was busy rambling.

But then Gojo froze.

Mid-sentence. Mid-breath. Mid-existence.

His entire body tensed as if you had just activated some forbidden cheat code.

Slowly, so slowly, his head turned toward you, his bright blue eyes piercing through the dim lighting of the bedroom.

"...What did you just say?"

You blinked up at him, confused. "Huh?"

His smirk was gone. This was new territory now.

"You called me Daddy," he murmured, voice dropping an octave.

Oh.

Oh.

You had expected him to barely notice; maybe hum in acknowledgment and keep talking.

Not this. Not the intensity that was suddenly crackling in the air like static electricity.

You swallowed. "I—uh, yeah?"

Gojo propped himself up on one elbow, his full attention now locked onto you like a moth to a flame. The lazy amusement that was always in his expression had shifted into something… different. His fingers brushed against your jaw, tilting your face up.

"You do realize what you just did, right?" His voice was smoother now, quieter—like he was savoring the moment.

You squirmed under his gaze. "I mean… I just said it…"

He let out a slow chuckle. "Oh, baby," he drawled, his fingers trailing down your arm, featherlight. "You can't just drop that on me and not expect a reaction."

Your heart did an embarrassing little flip. "I didn't think you'd—"

"Pay attention?" He smirked, leaning down until his lips hovered just over yours. "Oh no, sweetheart. Now you have my full, undivided attention."

You could feel the warmth radiating off him, the weight of his gaze, the way his hand lazily traced patterns on your hip like he was waiting for you to make a move.

It was unfair how fast he could flip the script.

"...Oops?" You tried, voice smaller than you intended.

Gojo grinned, his free hand slipping under your chin, tilting it up further. "Oops?" he echoed. "That’s all you have to say?"

You bit your lip, trying to play innocent. "I'm just a baby."

His smirk widened. "Oh, you are playing dangerous tonight, huh?" His fingers trailed lower, teasing, deliberate. "You think you can just say that and not face the consequences?"

You had severely underestimated the power of that single word.

And now you were at Gojo Satoru’s mercy.

The air—now thick with warmth, the kind that settled deep into your bones, making your body sink further into the plush mattress. The room was quiet now, except for the faint hum of the city beyond the windows and the sound of Gojo shifting beside you.

You could feel him still watching, eyes lingering, fingers tracing mindless patterns against the sliver of skin exposed beneath your shirt. There was something undeniably smug about the way he held you—loose enough to let you breathe, but firm enough to remind you exactly who had the upper hand.

You swallowed, willing your pulse to slow. "I—"

"Shhh," Gojo cut in smoothly, pressing a single finger to your lips. "You seem nervous, baby."

"I'm not…?"

He grinned. "Lying already? You do know I can hear your heartbeat, right?"

You glared, but it lacked real heat in the dark, especially when his hand dragged lazily over the hem of your bra.

The silence stretched, thick with unspoken words, until your mouth moved before your brain could catch up.

"Daddy."

It wasn’t calculated this time—like hadn’t been before. Not a tease. Just a quiet, automatic murmur as you shifted against him, stretching your limbs.

And without hesitation—without even thinking—Gojo responded.

"Yes, baby?"

Your breath caught.

He hadn’t paused. Hadn’t even blinked. The words had slipped from his lips like second nature, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

His hand was still tracing your bra, fingers curling slightly, and when you lifted your head to look at him, he was already smirking.

"Something wrong?" he asked, tilting his head like he didn’t just casually obliterate your entire sense of composure.

"You—" You blinked, heat rising to your face. "You responded so fast."

Gojo chuckled, shifting in a way that he was hovering too close to your body. His hand trailed under your bra, playing with your left breast, kneeding the soft skin with a touch so gentle that it made your stomach drop as you bit your lower lip to stifle a moan.

"Of course, I did." He leaned in just enough for his breath to ghost against your lips. "What, you think I’d ignore my baby when she calls for me?"

The words coiled around your spine, pooling low in your stomach, and you had to physically stop yourself from squirming.

His fingers slid to your nipple, warm against your skin, slow and deliberate. "You sound so sweet when you say it, too," he mused, voice dropping to that dangerously smooth tone. "Like you don't even realize what you're doing to me."

You swallowed hard. "I—"

He tutted, fingers flexing against your hard nipple. "Don't back down now, baby."

Your throat went dry.

It was impossible to argue when his hands were on you like this, lazy and teasing, like he had all the time in the world to unravel you.

---

A/N: Congratulations. You have successfully witnessed Gojo Satoru’s immediate and catastrophic shutdown. 🎉 I left the ending ambiguous on purpose. Feel free to hallucinate that you either A) topped like a menace to society or B) got backshots so violent, with Gojo's hand around your throat, that you briefly entered the astral plane and shook hands with God. (Totally not because I think I write smut like an AI trying to generate Shakespearean erotica.)

All Works Masterlist

[spaceexp]

NGC 2566 (MIRI image)

The galaxy filling the frame in this NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month is NGC 2566, a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Puppis. In this image Webb’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) puts the thick clouds of interstellar dust that suffuse NGC 2566 on display, as well as the galaxy’s compact, bright core.

At 76 million light-years away, NGC 2566 is considered a nearby galaxy, making it an excellent target for studying fine details like star clusters and gas clouds. The new Webb images of NGC 2566 were collected as part of an observing programme (#3707) dedicated to understanding the connections between stars, gas and dust in nearby star-forming galaxies. NGC 2566 is just one of the 55 galaxies in the local Universe examined by Webb for this programme.

To gain a full understanding of the star-formation process in nearby galaxies, astronomers will combine Webb data with observations from other telescopes. At the long-wavelength end of the electromagnetic spectrum, the 66 radio dishes of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) provide a detailed view of the cold, turbulent clouds where stars are born. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has also cast its gaze on NGC 2566, and a new Hubble image of this galaxy was released earlier this week. The Hubble data will help researchers take a census of the stars in nearby galaxies, especially the young stars that are bright at the ultraviolet and visible wavelengths to which Hubble is sensitive. Together, the Webb, Hubble and ALMA data provide a rich view of the cold gas, warm dust and brilliant stars in NGC 2566.

The Webb data are part of a Treasury programme, which means that the data may help answer multiple important questions about our Universe. Treasury data are available for use by scientists and the public without a waiting period, amplifying the scientific impact and allowing exploration to begin immediately.

[Image Description: A spiral galaxy, seen close-up. Its core is a round spot that glows intensely bright, crowned by eight long and spikes that extend across the galaxy, artefacts of the telescope’s structure. Its disc is an oval shape with edges made of very thick and cloudy arms of gas and dust, mostly blue but paler and brighter around patches of stars. Wisps of darker dust also fill the inner disc and swirl off the ends of the arms.]

Credits: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Leroy;