awesomeSwordfish

Students grow rare squash from seeds 800 years old

Students in Winnepeg, Canada have grown squash from 800 year old seeds and brought back a type of plant thought to previously have been extinct!

The seeds were give to the students to grow by Canadian Mennonite University that had been storing them. They were found at an archeological dig on indigenous land in Canada.

They have collected seeds from the squash that they successfully grew so that they can continue growing more. 

“She deserves to be punished too.”

“I’m not saying I support rape, but-”

“Sorry to say - she deserved it.”

“She put herself in harm’s way”

“But if she was fingered, then that’s not rape.”

“She ruined their lives.”

“Yea, but did you see what she was wearing?”

“Boys will be boys!”

“She should know better than to drink at a party…”

However I think it’s rather odd to see these kinds of shows get produced so much, especially when three of these examples are what I see as “cartoons for adults” that shows like Family Guy popularized, I also think its safe to assume the people who do actually watch “cartoons for adults” aren’t typically cartoon fans, they likely watch it for the commonly low brow humor (despite how poorly written it can sometimes get) where as hardcore adult animation fans (18-30) typically seem to enjoy watching cartoons developed for a significantly younger audience (usually the 10-14 bracket, some even younger) this can clearly be seen by the enormous adult following of shows like Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Gravity Falls.

Furthermore these shows typically deal with far more mature (some may suggest “darker”) adult themes. I can’t actually think of many past complexity in relationships, the meaning of family, and the concept of humanity (credit to SU on that last one) but I’m sure there are plenty of fans that can back me up on this claim. These younger audience cartoons typically handle these themes far better than most “cartoons for adults” do, and also show much more creativity in their art direction. Additionally these cartoons have far better written, far more interesting characters with plenty of depth and development as their individual series progress, not something commonly found in “cartoons for adults” but I think a fair exception to this Rick and Morty

On the surface it looks like another “MacFarlane Baby” but is a much better animated and SIGNIFICANTLY better written series with plenty of character development, and themes that are more mature and important than what most “MacFarlane Babies” put out for viewers. Now historically cartoons were nothing more than slapstick humor and witty jokes because those were easy to convey through animation and were entertaining. But since animation is much easier to produce in the digital era people can start telling stories through animation, and I mean like actual stories, with drama, conflict & resolution, character growth, over arching plot lines and narratives, and even controversial subject matter. And I think that’s what many adult animation fans really want from cartoons, A good story.

But there’s this lingering stigma attached to animation, that it’s “just for kids” and that “cartoons are childish” which is something that will hopefully disappear in the near future as more cartoons that appeal to adult audiences get produced.

I personally feel like the 18-30 age group is a relatively untapped demographic for western animation, though I feel that shows like Rick and Morty and even The Legend of Korra fit inside this demographic quite nicely. Japan seems to cover the young adult demographic far better however. Anime appeals to young adults very well, especially in the west. So why is the young adult demographic for western animation so stagnant?

I could be missing something but I think it’s safe to say that the average western network executives idea of “cartoons for adults” would be heavily influenced by Family Guy and that’s probably why so many “MacFarlane Babies” get green-lit for production. It’s definitely something I’d like to see change in the western animation scene.

So much so I’ve been playing with some ideas for an animation pilot but it’s the kind of project that I’d need to set aside a lot of time for.

Who alway got in trouble? Me.

They would call my mother and she always came in and lectures my teachers and threatened to sue for making her miss work and treating me poorly.

She always taught my brothers to respect women. The only fights my brothers ever got in was defending women from someone else.

So naturally, I end up in the principal’s office, refusing to apologize. 

“He shouldn’t have put his hands on me and I wouldn’t have hit him!” That’s the only thing I was saying.

These people had the unfortunate luck of catching my dad at home, instead of my mom. So he comes fucking sauntering in there, like he’s Clint fucking Eastwood in some western movie and looks at me. 

“Melissa, did you punch him?” 

“Yes.” I said. 

“Why?” 

“Because he snapped my bra strap.” 

And he turns his squinty eyed glare to the principal and says, “You’re telling me my daughter is in trouble because that squirrely looking kid put his hands on her and she chose to defend herself? That’s what you are saying to me.” 

“Well, sir-” The man kind of stuttered because my dad is kind of intimidating in the quiet sort of way that kind of whispers in the back of your mind that this person could be dangerous. “Melissa did make it physical.” 

“No. That kid put his hands on my daughter. Are you saying my daughter cannot defend herself when some boy decides to put hands on her? Is that what you are teaching my girl?” 

• Make a fist with your thumb outside, not tucked inside. If it’s tucked inside your fist, when you punch someone, you might break your thumb. The thumb goes across your fingers, not on the side.

• Don’t be like in the movies—don’t aim for the face. Face punches don’t usually stop people, and you can miss when they duck their head or break your hand on their jaw. If you want to get away quickly, or end a fight, aim for the chest, or the ribs. If you really want to do some damage, e.g., you’re being attacked, aim for the throat, which will make it hard for your attacker to breathe for a hot minute.

keep your wrist straight.

if your attacker is male, go for his junk - especially if he’s wearing loose pants. There’s no sportsmanship when it comes to assault so fuck them balls UP

punching pretty much ANYWHERE in the face is going to actually hurt you a LOT (just think - you’re punching your bones into their bones and ow). If you’re going for the face, my suggestion is to strick upwards with your palm.

see that meaty portion highlighted in red? There’s a lot of muscle and fat right there which makes it excellent for striking. Hold your hand as shown and aim for the nose or chin (though I’ve been told in extreme circumstances, doing this to the nose can be fatal but I’ve never really heard if this is true or not) and just aim upwards

other delicate areas: 

the shin (hurts like a bitch if you kick it right - also, you can hit this spot if you’re being held in a choke-hold and if your attacker has to move in order to stop you from kicking him, he’ll have to angle his body so as to expose his stomach and crotch to the wild spastic jabbings of your elbows)

the solar plexus (either jab while holding your hand in a sort of spear position or use your elbows - unless you’re super strong, your punch probably won’t wind your attacker. Your elbow or a spear hand will, however)

Originally in (most) martial arts, you hit the solar plexus because it supposedly contained an important chakra. Now we know that it actually also contains like a bunch of necessary organs that are exposed just below your ribs and is also (roughly) where your diaphragm lives so getting punched there is not pleasant.

the clavicle (from experience, getting hit in your clavicle HURTS LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER. If you strike downwards with your knuckles, the person might just cry. Like I did.)

the ear (this is probably the best place to punch besides the throat. It’s all cartilage so it probably won’t hurt you all that much and most people will be like “DUDE YOU PUNCHED ME IN THE EAR WHAT THE HELL”)

the kidneys (this is harder to hit without training but if you somehow get your attacker’s back to face you, try to hit’em in the kidneys. Again, from experience, this FUCKING HURTS. You can’t really hit the kidneys from the front with any effect but from the back it is super painful)

-Draw blood if you can, especially if you can draw it from the face or the eyes. Blood in the eyes is not just a good way to impair your attacker’s vision, it’s also a really good way to freak them out and let them know that they might be getting more than they bargained for by picking a fight with you.

-Elbows and knees are really powerful weapons. Elbows are very sharp and very strong and if you are in close-range they are often more effective than trying to throw a punch. 

Death and the Maiden.