Oooh Shiny!

- human young will turn anything into a weapon to mock battle their peers, broom sticks, straws, even their food

- when in large groups human young will display games of mock hunts against each other. The two most common being “tag” where one young will try to catch the other young acting as prey, and “mob” where all of the young will try to catch a single young who acts as the prey. This suggests an instinctive ability for both pack and solo hunting

- human young will often hone their stalking and hunting skills by hiding or attempting to sneak up on others and pouncing with loud sounds meant to intimidate and frighten. This is considered amusing for the attacker and victim  

- adult humans will often mock attack their young with their hands or objects to train the young to protect their vital areas and avoid injury. The young find this amusing and will quickly learn to train each other in this manner

- young humans will often attack and attach themselves to an older human’s legs, arms, or back, hanging on despite being dragged or carried while the adult human walks away. Both humans seems to find the experience entertaining 

- young humans are extremely territorial and will attempt to drive off others from food, toys, and areas they have claimed as theirs with physical and verbal attacks. Fortunately, most adult humans actively try to train this behavior out, insisting the young come to an agreement or share resources and territory. 

- young humans constantly search for new territory, dens, and resources. They will climb trees, shelving, anything they can reach. They will climb under and behind things. If there are no suitable hiding areas they will construct them out of blankets and cushions or any other available item. 

- young humans display a strong pack instinct, quickly forming social groups and defending their group against other groups. Often they will split their own group in order to mock battle each other in contests

- HUMAN YOUNG WILL BITE IF DISTRESSED OR ANGRY AND EMIT LOUD NOISES THAT CALL MATURE HUMANS TO AID THEM

- human young will beg for domesticated carnivores as companions, and if gifted with one will pack bond with it to an extreme point.

- human young will carry a toy and try to protect and nurture it as if the toy was their own young

- human young require constant stimulation in the form of games or information. They will constantly question things and can spend extraordinary amounts of time asking “why”, often while poking the subject in question

- human young will try to eat anything at least once. Anything. If it will fit into their mouth they will attempt to eat it. If it will not fit into their mouth they will lick it. 

-human young will voluntarily deprive themselves of oxygen to the point of unconsciousness in an attempt to trigger protective instincts in older humans so they get their way

- human young display great interest in mimicry, often dressing up as different professions, species, and objects. They also display great skill in mimicking the calls and body language of other species.        *Example: one human young had me quite concerned there was another Treawalbil in distress and I searched for quite some time before I discovered that the young was mimicking a Treawalbil distress trill with complete accuracy.       *Second Example: Human young have begun to wear wear “hats” with artificial crests similar to a Treawalbil and some have begun painting colorful patterns to their arms in imitation of our camouflage. 

- human young communicate constantly and spread information quickly not only among their own social group but other social groups as well.     *Example: The human young who mimicked a Treawalbil distress trill taught their social group and soon I was surrounded by human young calling out in distress. This caused the Treawalbil researchers much anxiety so the adult humans suggested teaching the young other calls. The human young learned enough for basic communication at an astonishing rate, but then other social groups we had not taught began using the same calls as well. Even adult humans began using the calls to communicate with us without translators. 

It was one of the proudest days of our research group when we were the ones selected to be allowed to observe a group of human young. Over all the time since we had first made contact with the humans, we had learned that they were, as a species, very protective of their young. We had clearly been selected for a great honor, and we knew that this could lay the groundwork for remarkably better understanding of the human psyche.

We were informed that we would be allowed to watch a group of young at a “pivotal developmental stage”, in a “normal setting”. We were taken to “Darmen Elementary School’s First Grade Class”. This is a group of young aged around five or six Earth-cycles [years]. They are taught how to express themselves through written symbols, and how to mimic the speech patterns of adults. They also learn how to better interact with other humans, through what appears to mostly be a trial-and-error process.

We learned a great deal about how human young interact, and it was mostly new to us, but there was one event that shocked us all - in the best of ways.

It was the final day of research, we were packing up our notes to analyze back with the rest of our team.

The research group of human young [*henceforth referred to as “class”. This was their chosen moniker, unrelated to their task in the human hierarchy] were excited, we had noticed it earlier that day, but as such bouts of strong group-moods were fairly common as a phenomenon (they appear to help the young sympathize with and relate to one another, useful for encouraging pack-bonding) we simply noted the mood and moved on.

It was only when we were letting one of the adult humans know we planned to depart that it happened.

The children, excitement reaching the peak that always made Xlix’an agitated, swarmed us.

At first we were concerned that they were mock-attacking our researchers. We had been assured early on that all attacks were mock, and not intended to hurt us, and even so the adult humans had been trying to discourage them since we had informed them that we felt it violated our ability to research objectively. (It was more to do with the anxiety-inducing effects of such attacks on several of our researchers, including Xlix’an and Daa, but we did not wish to offend the humans.)

After a few moments, however, it was clear the swarm was not an attack formation. Instead, each young was holding out their hands, and resting on top of the open hands was a small clay object.

Each child had a different object, and they were baring their teeth in the human gesture of excitement and friendship.

I personally looked down to see the small young named “Sidney” jumping up and down in front of me, holding out a small object that passingly resembled a flower.

I shook my head, a gesture we had learned in order to refuse the requests of the young.

It worked remarkably well usually, as they had been instructed to respect our authority and relative objectivity.

When I performed the gesture to refuse Sidney whatever it was xe was requesting, xe stopped jumping.

Seeing my results, my fellow researchers performed the same gesture at the young around them.

But Sidney did not leave. Instead, xe stopped baring xir teeth, and xe stared at me for a long moment, before water started to overflow from xir eyes.

I had seen this reaction before, when a small young had fallen and injured themselves earlier in our research period.

The adults had informed us it was a response to pain that was common in young.

Immediately my spinal feelers began to vibrate with the stress I was feeling, unsure of how I had injured the young in front of me.

I hadn’t wanted to injure them! For a moment I was terrified that I had ruined all Quarlian-Human relations for millions of years to come.

Luckily, that was not the case.

The adults quickly hastened around to soothe the injured young, and one of the adults, displaying a human expression we were mostly unfamiliar with, gestured for us to follow xir into a hallway.

“I’m so sorry,” xe said with xir portable translator, “we didn’t explain. They just want to give you a going-away gift.”

We were confused. Finally I spoke up, not even really needing my portable translator to communicate a message I heard plenty of times from the young. “Why?”

Xe bared xir teeth in the friendly gesture. “It’s something our [human young] do.” Xe explained. “It means they like you.”

I exchanged a look with Hurvii, the one on our team who had been most interested in this particular phenomenon. Neither of us quite believed what we were hearing.

“They are pack-bonding? With US?” I asked. “We are not even of your species!”

We’d seen the young pack-bond with other terrestrial species than their own, but with US??

The human’s mouth opened, baring xir teeth even more, and xe made the barking noise that humans use to indicate amusement.

“They’re [human young].” Xe explained. “They’ll ‘bond’ with anything.”

We accepted the gifts.

I’ve been crazy excited to do Tiana- she’s not my favourite princess, but I started researching her dress in the very early stages of this project and got pretty hyped up about it. Most of the dresses in Princess and the Frog do have some historical basis (lots of dropped waists and slinky chemises), so I thought it would be fun to tackle Tiana’s magic-kiss-swamp-frog-something gown during the climax of the film. It’s the one dress that's clearly meant to just be a standalone “princess” dress, but I liked the idea of a challenge and decided to drag it kicking and screaming back into the 20’s. I based the dress on Lanvin's robes de style, which were- unlike the flapper dresses most people associate with the Jazz Age- fitted in the bodice with a wide, panniered skirt. The robe de style was considered a relatively conservative dress choice so you probably wouldn’t have seen a hem hiked up this high, but COME ON HOW OFTEN DO I GET TO DRAW THEIR LEGS. Not often enough, I’ll tell you that. -C (Photoshop CS5)

Kilroy Was Here!

He’s engraved in stone in the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC – back in a small alcove where very few people have seen it. For the WWII generation, this will bring back memories. For younger folks, it’s a bit of trivia that is an intrinsic part of American history and legend.

Anyone born between 1913 to about 1950, is very familiar with Kilroy. No one knew why he was so well known….but everybody seemed to get into it. It was the fad of its time!

          At the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC

So who was Kilroy?

In 1946 the American Transit Association, through its radio program, “Speak to America,” sponsored a nationwide contest to find the real Kilroy….now a larger-than-life legend of just-ended World War II….offering a prize of a real trolley car to the person who could prove himself to be the genuine article.

Almost 40 men stepped forward to make that claim, but only James Kilroy from Halifax, Massachusetts, had credible and verifiable evidence of his identity.

“Kilroy” was a 46-year old shipyard worker during World War II (1941-1945) who worked as a quality assurance checker at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts (a major shipbuilder for the United States Navy for a century until the 1980s).  

His job was to go around and check on the number of rivets completed. (Rivets held ships together before the advent of modern welding techniques.) Riveters were on piece work wages….so they got paid by the rivet. He would count a block of rivets and put a check mark in semi-waxed lumber chalk (similar to crayon), so the rivets wouldn’t be counted more than once.

                                     A warship hull with rivets

When Kilroy went off duty, the riveters would surreptitiously erase the mark. Later, an off-shift inspector would come through and count the rivets a second time, resulting in double pay for the riveters!

One day Kilroy’s boss called him into his office. The foreman was upset about unusually high wages being “earned” by riveters, and asked him to investigate. It was then he realized what had been going on. 

The tight spaces he had to crawl in to check the rivets didn’t lend themselves to lugging around a paint can and brush, so Kilroy decided to stick with the waxy chalk. He continued to put his check mark on each job he inspected, but added ”KILROY WAS HERE!“ in king-sized letters next to the check….and eventually added the sketch of the guy with the long nose peering over the fence….and that became part of the Kilroy message.

   Kilroy’s original shipyard inspection “trademark” during World War II

Once he did that, the riveters stopped trying to wipe away his marks.

Ordinarily the rivets and chalk marks would have been covered up with paint. With World War II on in full swing, however, ships were leaving the Quincy Yard so fast that there wasn’t time to paint them. As a result, Kilroy’s inspection “trademark” was seen by thousands of servicemen who boarded the troopships the yard produced.

His message apparently rang a bell with the servicemen, because they picked it up and spread it all over the European and the Pacific war zones.

Before war’s end, “Kilroy” had been here, there, and everywhere on the long hauls to Berlin and Tokyo. 

To the troops outbound in those ships, however, he was a complete mystery; all they knew for sure was that someone named Kilroy had “been there first.” As a joke, U.S. servicemen began placing the graffiti wherever they landed, claiming it was already there when they arrived.

As the World War II wore on, the legend grew. Underwater demolition teams routinely sneaked ashore on Japanese-held islands in the Pacific to map the terrain for coming invasions by U.S. troops (and thus, presumably, were the first GI’s there). On one occasion, however, they reported seeing enemy troops painting over the Kilroy logo!

Kilroy became the U.S. super-GI who had always “already been” wherever GIs went. It became a challenge to place the logo in the most unlikely places imaginable. (It is said to now be atop Mt. Everest, the Statue of Liberty, the underside of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and even scrawled in the dust on the moon by the American astronauts who walked there between 1969 and 1972.

In 1945, as World War II was ending, an outhouse was built for the exclusive use of Allied leaders Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill at the Potsdam Conference. It’s first occupant was Stalin, who emerged and asked his aide (in Russian), “Who is Kilroy?”

To help prove his authenticity in 1946, James Kilroy brought along officials from the shipyard and some of the riveters. He won the trolley car….which he attached to the Kilroy home and used to provide living quarters for six of the family’s nine children….thereby solving what had become an acute housing crisis for the Kilroys.

                     The new addition to the Kilroy family home.

                                        *          *          *          *

And the tradition continues into the 21st century…

In 2011 outside the now-late-Osama Bin Laden’s hideaway house in Abbottabad, Pakistan….shortly after the al-Qaida-terrorist was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs. 

>>Note: The Kilroy graffiti on the southwest wall of the Bin Laden compound pictured above was real (not digitally altered with Microsoft Paint, as postulated by some). The entire compound was leveled in 2012 for redevelopment by a Pakistani company as an amusement park….and to avoid it becoming a shrine to Bin Laden’s nefarious memory.

                                         *          *          *          *

A personal note….

My Dad’s trademark signature on cards, letters and notes to my sisters and I for the first 50 or so years of our lives (until we lost him to cancer) was to add the image of “Kilroy” at the end. We kids never ceased to get a thrill out of this….even as we evolved into adulthood. 

To this day, the “Kilroy” image brings back a vivid image of my awesome Dad into my head….and my heart!

Dad: This one’s for you!

FIRST! The inner flap:

oh dear indeed… 

some people crayons are jerks.

:’(

:D

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :’’’’) :’’’’’’’’)))))))))))

“How do libraries stay relevant in the age of Google?”

“Do we still need libraries?”

“What can libraries offer that Google can’t?”

- Encourage literacy in children. My library and most other libraries have huge sections entirely for children as well as a ton of programs to encourage children to use the library. I would probably not have the same love for reading that I do today, if not for the amazing library near my house.

-Builds communities. My library and most other libraries will frequently sponsor community events to bring people together and make their city a more friendly place. Some of the things my library does it: organise a marathon; participate in parades; two used book sales each year; host local documentary showings; etc.

-free books and resources for anyone to use. I can read any book I want for free!!!! It’s awesome. And anyone can do it.

-seriously, I see homeless people at my library all the time reading books, and enjoying the free resources. Without the library, they would not have access to those books.

-awesome study spot. Seriously, great. As someone who lives with a very large, loud, busy family, the library is awesome for providing a productive peaceful place to study and get away from my hectic house.

-Librarians. are. the. greatest. Really, these people are so nice, and cute, and so hard-working, and I just love and want to be friends with them all, because they are awesome. 

-What are you gonna do when you need help with your English paper, and the internet isn’t working? Google it?

Immigrants studying for the citizenship exam, trying to find jobs, and looking for English conversation groups.

Those who are incarcerated – we bring books to them but also allow incarcerated parents to read to their kids via a live video feed.

Amazing cultural events that feature everyone from Pulitzer-prize winning authors to flamenco groups to art critics to teenage metal bands.

Job-seekers who need one-on-one resume help and interview prep.

Senior citizens who want to stay active – we have dance classes, a bowling league, and all kinds of activities.

For artists, we offer free Photoshop, Illustrator, photography, and art classes taught by professionals.

Every summer we provide free lunches to kids in low-income families.

All kinds of language classes for those looking to learn, and of course, all classes are free!

So yeah, the library is pretty bad ass.

* 3D printing services.

* Internet access - it’s not just for research these days, it’s for applying to jobs. Yes, even fast food jobs.

* Cake molds and cookie cutters.

* Energy meters so you can work out how much juice various appliances use.

* Scientific equipment - for that science fair. Another library has telescopes, and works with the local astronomy club to teach people how to use them.

* Gardening tools and even heirloom seeds (you return what you didn’t use).

* Toys and dolls.

* Artwork that you can borrow to keep in your home for a bit.

* Audio production studios.

* Fully equipped maker spaces with all kinds of DIY tools.

* Musical instruments - maybe yours is damaged or you want to try a new one real quick without outlay (instruments are expensive).

* One on one research sessions with trained librarians. In at least one rural area they do house calls.

* Digital media labs with all the software you need to do your design project. Some even have green screen walls.

* Technology instruction, especially for older adults.

* Santa suits.

* Nurses. Seriously, there is actually a library in Arizona with a public health nurse - remember those homeless people who hang out at the library?

* Naturalization assistance

* A karaoke machine.

* Portable exercise equipment.

* Reading magnifiers

* Kids’ fishing tackle

* Workshops, craft workshops, seminars, etc.

* Yoga and exercise classes.

* Museum passes

* Sports equipment, particularly if the library is in a park.

* Coupon exchange/donation.

And I found those in five minutes.

Libraries are very important for books, but they go far, far beyond that.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/09/04/opinion/the-truth-of-black-lives-matter.html?referrer=

(via

perpetualtoska

)

This is why #AllLivesMatter is marginalizing and insulting to black citizens of this country - who, historically, have not mattered, and have been discounted and devalued. #AllLivesMatter says, we choose not to hear of your pain, and what you are saying, because both do not matter to us.

I don’t use it as much now because my friends are all in different fandoms, but if you joined fandom only in the Tumblr/Twitter era YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MISSING.

1. Threaded comments that don’t have to be replied to with a whole separate post

2. Profile pages so you could find out about a person and also check out their followers to see if you know people in common/find other people into what you’re into

3. Communities for fic, and newsletter communities for fandoms that rounded up daily news (actor stuff, pics, videos, etc)

4. Much better signal to noise ratio (not seeing the same thing 15 times or having to install xkit just to make your dash readable and filter out fandoms you aren’t in)

5. Just a way, way more grounded sense of where and who people are, instead of shouting into a crowded room all the time

This is my third go-around with Tumblr and fandom, and it’s only manageable now because I’m following hardly anyone (sorry guys). I really cannot wait until somebody makes something that combines the ease of image-posting on Tumblr with the actual content of LJ, because I feel like this place encourages you to be silent.

Shhh, don’t make an original text post, no one wants to read that, especially if it’s just about your personal life (which you couldn’t lock/filter anyhow). Shhh, don’t add text to that reblog, just hide your comments down in the tags, where people have to scroll to see them. Shhh, all you can contribute is a picture of an actor that’s probably already been posted with six different edits to the tag. Just reblog, baby.

Follow the flow chart to pick your next webseries binge!

I want to go to this exact point and run around it saying “I’m in Sweden!” I’m in Finland!” “I’m in Norway!” until I get tired

http://www.shakesville.com/2015/07/sandra-bland-case-updates.html

Melissa McEwan sums up how the police are responsible for Sandra Bland’s death no matter how she died. They need to be held accountable.