gay bird

Hey artists, C. Spike Trotman, founder of Iron Circus Comics, just posted an invaluable thread on depicting different types of black hair. I’d do the thing where you screencap the whole thread and post it but it’s just too long (which is great because it’s a whole lot of useful information!) Give her a follow while you’re there.

Use the medications properly to prevent interactions with healthcare providers. The pills are very effective, but they have to be used right. Carefully follow the instructions provided on the How to Use Abortion Pill website. Note that misoprostol tablets should always be taken by dissolving them under the tongue. Do NOT insert misoprostol vaginally if you are self-managing an abortion. While this is medically safe, it can leave incriminating pill remnants that can be detected in the vagina during a pelvic exam if you end up needing to seek medical care. 

If it’s not an emergency but you need expert health advice, use a free calling service like Google Voice to call or text the Miscarriage + Abortion Hotline at 1-833-246-2632. Medical complications are very uncommon with abortion pills, but they’re not impossible. The M+A Hotline is safe to use and is staffed by trustworthy clinicians who volunteer their time to help those who choose SMA. Do not use your own phone number to call as this will create a record that is visible to your cell service provider. 

Don’t disclose any information about SMA to emergency room staff if you do need to seek medical care. This is how most people who are arrested for SMA are reported. Healthcare providers are almost always who calls the police in cases of SMA criminalization. Contrary to popular belief, HIPAA does not protect your private health information from being shared with police if you are suspected of doing something that could be considered a crime. If you believe you need to seek urgent medical care, do not hesitate to go. Say “I think I’m having a miscarriage” and provide your symptoms. Do not mention any use of or purchase of abortion pills. There is no widely available test to detect misoprostol in your bloodstream. If you do not disclose it, there is no way for a medical provider to tell the difference between a medication abortion and a spontaneous miscarriage.

Chinese Tiger Gecko (Goniurosaurus araneus), family Eublepharidae, China

Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

I'm a paleoartist looking to get more serious about my art's accuracy and stuff. Do you have any advice for 1. researching for paintings and 2. getting your work noticed by paleo workers/doing reconstructions for paleontologists?

Thanks for your time!!!

Hi there!

Glad you like my work, I honestly also sometimes wonder how I got here, so this is a complicated question.

In short it's usually a mix of networking and "try to do things different from other people" that gets you noticed, but also being in the right space. Social media platforms are quite different in their audiences, not just what gets noticed but also, in this case, how many scientists there are. Tumblr for example doesn't have that many paleontologists (as far as I know).

It was the same with DeviantArt back in the day, I got my first commission 5 days after getting an account on Facebook. :P It's weird like that sometimes. When it comes to research... it depends a lot on what you wanna do. Best you can start with is usually looking at sources cited on Wikipedia, especially less obscure topics usually have pretty good sources and links to pdfs are often provided. On Google scholar you can get a much broader overview but it might need some sifting to find what you are looking for.

The Paleobiology Database, especially it's map/filter function can also be an immense help in finding information!

Beyond that it's largely a "learning by doing thing", you pick up more and more of the jargon, you learn how to filter out information that are relevant for you ect.

What can help along the ride is having friends or joining a community that is already along for the ride for a while, not just to better get access to old or paywalled papers but also because people with niche interests can help with interpreting works you struggle with. Knowledge in this community is usually shared pretty freely (unless nda) and even professional scientists often have no issue with providing information on their work. It's far from perfect, there is nitpicking and annoying discussions but personally I have learned most of what I know today through careful reading/listening/observing what more experienced members of various communities communicate about. It sped up my personal academic growth much more than going in alone.

most inspired i have felt in weeks

A pair of Brancasaurus take advantage of Egertonodus's tonic immobility to have some good wholesome fun!

Also featuring a solo Coelodus and a small school of Ionoscopus