Merf. Thinking is Hard.

"“Amazon Publishing will acquire all rights to your new stories, including global publication rights,..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:41:16 -0400

“

“Amazon Publishing will acquire all rights to your new stories, including global publication rights, for the term of copyright.” What this means is that when you publish a story on Kindle Worlds, you’re giving Amazon the right to do whatever they want with your story, forever. They can sell it electronically, digitally, carve it into a rock, or give it away. It’s up to them, and you have no say. Ever.

“You will own the copyright to the original, copyrightable elements (such as characters, scenes, and events) that you create and include in your work, and the World Licensor will retain the copyright to all the original elements of the World.” Awesome! Exactly the kind of license I would want. Except …

“When you submit your story in a World, you are granting Amazon Publishing an exclusive license to the story and all the original elements you include in that story.” Want to publish your fan fiction on FanFiction.net? Tough. Amazon is the only entity legally allowed to publish your material. And if they decide that they want to stop publishing your material? Sucks for you. You have no other outlet.

“This means that your story and all the new elements must stay within the applicable World.” This is a huge, flashing warning sign, a big neon Danger, Will Robinson! When you submit a story to Kindle Worlds, you give Amazon all of the rights to your new ideas, even ideas that came solely from your head. Come up with a concept for an awesome new character who just happens to interact with a Salvatore Brother? You can never use that character anywhere except within a Kindle Worlds story.

“We will allow Kindle Worlds authors to build on each other’s ideas and elements.” This means that people get to write fan fiction about your fan fiction. Kindle Worlds is essentially a viral license. I don’t exactly have a problem with that. It would be cool if there was a way to be compensated when another author uses some or your original ideas, but I honestly don’t know how that would even be possible.

“We will also give the World Licensor a license to use your new elements and incorporate them into other works without further compensation to you.” One of the big issues authors have traditionally had with fan fiction is the possibility that a fan fiction writer would claim the original author stole the fan’s ideas and incorporated them into their work. This is why even authors who explicitly allow fan fiction almost never read fan fiction. This sentence does away with that fear entirely. If you submit a story to Kindle Worlds, the original creators can use it however they want. Just think! The next season of Vampire Diaries could be based on your story! Except you won’t be paid for it.

…

The exception is the license to new concepts developed within a Kindle Worlds story. That is uniquely the author’s own, and submitting to Kindle Worlds locks it up forever. Stories are an author’s lifeblood, and you should never give that kind of control over your ideas to someone else. Fifty Shades of Gray would have never happened under Kindle Worlds, because Amazon would own all of the rights to that story, not EL James. She wouldn’t have been allowed to change the character names, flush out the story, and publish on her own. Amazon would have owned that work, not her.

”

- Pretty sure all the awesome fandom folks I know are smart enough to have realized what a steaming turd the new Amazon thing really is, but just in case you have to get into an argument over it with someone (yes, these are things I legitimately prep for) here are some clear talking points.

Also, no porn, graphic violence, crossovers or’excessive’ use of curse words. So, like, all the fun stuff about fanfic.

(via bewaretheides315)

Dear Zack Snyder and all the good people at Warner Brothers

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:55:17 -0400

ultralaser:

redcloud:

fancycwabs:

Why is Superman’s cape fluttering in the vacuum of space?

Superfarts.

mythbusters covered this when they tried to fake the moon landing. the theory was that the flag shouldn’t have flapped while it was being planted bc no wind. they put a flag in a vacuum chamber and it moved //more// in vacuum, bc there was no air pressure to hold it in place. so every movement of clark’s shoulders which in atmosphere would result in a fractional shift would.be exxagperated in space.

SCIENCE

PoC Safer Space @ WisCon37! Signal boooooooost!

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:54:22 -0400

HALLO, WISCON POC!

This is a general service announcement that the People of Color Safer Space will be available for your use throughout WisCon during most of the day, when programming starts and closing around midnight! Your hostesses are K. Tempest Bradford and Jaymee Goh, so if you have any issues, look for us!

Things you can do in the Safer Space:

- meet other POC in a white-free space

- hold breakout sessions of your own if you feel a panel / topic needs it

- vent about stuff at the con

- share lab plans, monster recipes and sekrit technology so we can plan for world domination!

Some of our best conversations have happened in the Safer Space spontaneously during after-panel venting sessions, so Tempest and I encourage you to have or continue conversations in the space as needed.

We’ll be in the Solitatire room again. Come look for me or Tempest if you need to find where it is! It’s a little out of the way space behind the hotel restaurant so we can avoid gawkers. Last year we had the hotel bring in cushy chairs, and had the hotel move the furniture to the side for roominess.

There will be a POC dinner, but we haven’t figured out the details yet and might end up doing a pizza party ^_^ People are also encouraged to take meals into the Safer Space for further funsies. We’re not allowed to bring in our own snacks because of hotel rules, but we can bring in meals.

Come hang out!

cypheroftyr: I was with tis till the last panel :| it shoulda...

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:55:54 -0400

cypheroftyr:

I was with tis till the last panel :|

it shoulda ended with that happy dragon smile ;_;

picturesque-scene: they saw the chance they took the chance

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:41:43 -0400

picturesque-scene:

they saw the chance

they took the chance

saharareporters: Prof. Chinua Achebe’s Body Arrives In...

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:10:27 -0400

saharareporters:

Prof. Chinua Achebe’s Body Arrives In Nigeria

The body of late Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe arrived in Nigeria earlier today in Abuja. Prof. Achebe’s body arrived in a Nigerian flag-draped casket which was received at the airport by Nigerian officials

led by the Secretary to the federal government.

READ MORE…

Stephen Colbert [TW FOR TRANSMISOGYNY AND RELATED SLURS]

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:00:25 -0400

girljanitor:

schakall:

yourfaveisproblematic:

on pink slime “Yes, LFTB because our beef now has so many hormones it’s a member of the transgendered community.” (“So I just want to get out in front of this and say that I, Stephen Colbert, apologize to any of my transgender bovine viewers that may have been offended.”)

“That’s why, fellas, always look for the adams apple! That’s a pro tip. Then, look for the adam’s penis”

“Nation, President Elect, Obama is meeting every day with his transition team, or in beltway lingo, ‘tr***ies’.”

“But these days, chewing gum is as supple and flamboyant as a Saigon Ladyboy.”

“Oh, and the next time you’re waltzing with Matilda, you might wanna check out her adam’s apple, ‘cause she’s a dude!”

“I’m not talking tasteful private ceremonies, I’m talking parades with floats, throbbing disco music, and sh*m**es tying the knot on preschool playgrounds!”

“Now, I already an advance copy of the Deathly Hallows and Spoiler alert: Hermione’s a dude…”

“If you ask me, we can’t trust any of these tr***ies.”

“You see, I didn’t come here to criticize anyone. I came here to praise one man, one Her-man. Important note: a her-man is not the same as a sh*m**e.”

“Gee, I wonder how a man called “Hilary” became so obsessed with names… …but, what would this limey sh*m**e have us call the war on terror instead?”

“I believe that “the Man” is keeping the California republicans down. And, being from California, “the Man” is probably a tr***y.”

“So, was this just a simple case of a panda that was a female and all along was misidentified due to the breed’s ambiguous sexual characteristics, or is the simpler answer that we’ve got a tr***y panda? Now, I never thought I’d give advice to bears, but here you go. Chinese pandas, here’s how you can tell the difference: if you show up to your breeding pen and your lady’s got a an adam’s apple and big paws, get the hell out of there!”

“Left to their own devices, these brave young souls could fall prey to some very dangerous characters…” cuts to clips of Sex and the City “…by which I mean tr***ies.”

“Now, we’ve all been fooled by these tr***y reptiles before…You’re out in the desert with a few friends having a few drinks. You see a lizard sunning itself on a rock. You go over to strike up a conversation. The lizards plays it cool, doesn’t respond. So you drink more to fill the awkward pauses. Next thing you know, you’re back at her place and suddenly you realize what you’re caressing isn’t a cloaca, it’s an enlarged femoral pore! And you just get the hell out of there! Or so I have read.”

“C’mon democratic party. Play along! If your party does not implode, we’ll have to go with our backup scandal. Ed Rendell is a tr***y!” (screen shows photoshopped image of Ed Rendell) “Hello! I thought we were going to put up a picture of Ed Rendell, not this lovely lady right here.”

“To get this protection these fair-weather-females and fence-sitting-fellas will have to identify themselves. They will no longer shock and confuse young reporters on assignment in a new town who happen to appreciate ladies with big hands.”

“Oh, you mean the place of Queens…I thought maybe you were gonna reveal something! that perhaps we had a sh*m**e on our hands, here.”

This tweet

This facebook post

“But, here’s my biggest problem: this race was for female leatherback turtles. What kind of girl’s name is Billy? Ok. Know what I think, folks? Billy is a dude! A turtle tr***y! You can tell by the size of the flippers. And the adam’s apple. Trust me, I’ve been burned too many times. Evidently, I am not alone. They are a menace! Here’s my theory. While Stephanie and all of the other real gals were actually laying eggs on the beach in their nests, Billy fooled the judges by popping ping-ping balls out of his behind. And now he wants a trophy! Well, your little crying game is up, William! No no no, I demand that race officials verify the sex of this turtle, by checking the concavity of its plastron! Oh yeah, I’ve done my research. I do the same thing to all of my dates. And if that plastron is not concave, I am out of there.”

Colbert: Is there a difference between male-bodied and male, or female-bodied and female?
Ketchup: Not all people with female bodies identify as women.
Colbert: So, if I meet somebody down there who says they’re a woman—
Ketchup: mmmhmm
Colbert: —I could be in for a rude surprise? Because they may not be female-bodied?

Colbert: Like What? What? What kind of jobs?

Cartwright: Like transient farm working jobs.
Colbert: I don’t care what sex they are, as long as the pick my vegetables.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

NEVER TRUSTING A WHITE DUDE AGAIN

Just in case people didn’t know.

It kinda sucks sometimes to be a fan of his show because satire is supposed to mock the powerful, not the oppressed. It’s frustrating and hurtful. This is one of the most painfully obvious ways that Colbert’s character goes beyond “I’m satirizing bigots by pretending to be one” and is just plain old being a fucking bigot.

Also notice the lack of hate for AFAB people.

"[Intellectuals] have succeeded in preventing a more direct democracy where problems are solved and..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:14:18 -0400

“[Intellectuals] have succeeded in preventing a more direct democracy where problems are solved and solutions judged by those who suffer from the problem and have to live with the solutions and they have fattened themselves on the funds thus diverted in their direction. It is time to realize that they are just one special and rather greedy group held together by a special and rather aggressive tradition equal in rights to Christians, Taoists, Cannibals, Black Muslims but often lacking their understanding of humanitarian issues. It is time to realize that science, too, is a special tradition and that its predominance must be reversed by an open debate in which all members of the society participate.”

- Paul Feyerabend, “Science in a Free Society”

Ouch.

shwetanarayan: And done!So this is my attempt at a steampunk...

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:50:33 -0400

shwetanarayan:

And done!
So this is my attempt at a steampunk Indian character. I was irritated into it by bad depictions of Western-aesthetic-pretty Indian Girlies in fake saris. Her hair is partly “inspired” by the Indian-rapunzels, because like Battameez, I cannot imagine an Indian woman with that much hair left unbraided.

I’ve tentatively named her Amrita Bai, but that’s probably not period-accurate so it’s subject to change as I do more research. Her family’s from Tamilnadu, & are Vishwakarma caste (specifically metalsmiths, I assume), but they moved to one of the forts under Shivaji’s control, and she’s training under a mechanical artificer there. — All subject to change as I do more research. (Plz do tell me if this is faily somehow…)

Real saris are hard. And group-specific; this is a Tamil-brahmin 9-yard sari, and probably not quite period accurate but I’m not sure how it’d be different. No blouse, because this is from my no-British-Raj alternate India. I haven’t actually worn a 9-yard sari myself, so I’m not at all sure I have the folds right on this one. But I did get input from my mother, who has.

Anyway ya know what’s not hard? Making her skin dark. I find that dark skin is so much easier to get looking human rather than zombie than pale skin is, so extra wtf to those whitewashers who say it’s haaaard.

And now I run off to the doctor.

reblogged it before, but always worth reblogging steampunk POC characters who lack Victoriana

"Sometimes, white privilege is as simple as knowing that, generally speaking, if you’re white, you’ll..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:47:14 -0400

“Sometimes, white privilege is as simple as knowing that, generally speaking, if you’re white, you’ll be perceived as competent and hard-working until proven otherwise, while people of color — even those who have proven themselves competent and hard-working — will still be subjected to presumptions that they just might not be, and that somehow, they (but not you) need to be reminded of the importance of hard-work and personal responsibility, lest they (but never you) revert to some less impressive group mean.”

- Tim Wise » Bullying Pulpit: Racism, Barack Obama and the Selective Call for Personal Responsibility

nope, that’s white supremacy. white supremacy. white supremacy white supremacy white supremacy.

knowing that you are perceived as “good descriptions” and people of color are perceived as “bad descriptions”? that is: white people being perceived as the superior race.

aka white supremacy.

WHITE SUPREMACY.

(via iinventedeverything)

Adventures of a Girl Janitor: Why aren't more people freaking out about the new Venezuelan labor law?

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:45:48 -0400

Adventures of a Girl Janitor: Why aren't more people freaking out about the new Venezuelan labor law?:

girljanitor:

bluandorange:

monetizeyourcat:

dancepunksnotdead:

You know, the one that gives housewives/full-time mothers a pension— wages for housework?

It’s ONLY A HUGE VICTORY FOR FEMINISM, SOCIALISM, AND WOMEN OF COLOR. Not a big deal or anything. Tumblr is mysteriously silent about this.

http://rabble.ca/columnists/2013/05/venezuelas-new-labour-law-best-mothers-day-gift

holy shit!

fucking COOL

I never once in my life thought I would live to see this day in any country on earth. So much of my life has been spent doing unpaid work-cleaning, cooking, organizing, and household-running….whether or not I had a “real job”, no matter what other obligations I have had. I STILL do the majority of housework. There is more than one reason my url is what it is.

Never in all my days would I have imagined I would see the day that women of color are paid for this amazing contribution to the running of the world, in any country, at any time.

Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to go cry tears of amazement that this has happened for any of us, anywhere, until there’s snot.

"Black farmers and gardeners have been growing and raising food before it was cool, when it was what..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:43:26 -0400

““Black farmers and gardeners have been growing and raising food before it was cool, when it was what one did for survival. They were organic before organic–few could afford fertilizers and modern farm equipment; biodynamic before biodynamic–the earth-cosmos-animal-human connection has always been a major tenet of pre-Christianity African-centered spirituality and farming; sustainable before sustainable–can’t misuse what you ain’t got; local before local–black farmers’ had limited local selling power because of few profitable wholesale and retail opportunities and institutionalized racism; and, they are all small family farms.””

- Civil Eats » Blog Archive » A Place For Us: The Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference (via leeciaplease)

Why do you dress like that?

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:12:53 -0400

baroquewinter:

People really hate the answer, “Because I like it.” So I am done giving it. The next time I get asked this by someone who clearly sees me wearing it every day I am going to tell them that this is the outfit I fight crime in, turn dramatically, look off into the distance, narrow my eyes and say, “My people need me,” before running off.

girljanitor: [gore] Knights of Badassdom Trailer Ok so BF told...

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:15:57 -0400

girljanitor:

[gore]

Knights of Badassdom Trailer

Ok so BF told me this movie existed the other day, and apparently it’s in production hell and it probably won’t get released ever.

It’s basically Tyrion Lannister, Abed Nadir, and River Tam are LARPers who accidentally summon a sexy demon.

No matter how bad this is I would still pay money to go and see it…and it looks very, very bad.

this looks UNAPOLOGETICALLY AWFUL

i love it already

omg

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:35:54 -0400

girljanitor:

biyuti:

i just fired my bf ‘cause he has never seen the princess bride

smh

OMG DIVORCED

(that is what BF and I say when such travesties become apparent)

you need to fix him, b D:

les-simper: Can we just talk about Zaib Shaikh from Little...

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:18:15 -0400

les-simper:

Can we just talk about Zaib Shaikh from Little Mosque on the Prairie

Yes, can we?

"For those relegated to non-being, to even appear is a violent act."

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:54:10 -0400

“For those relegated to non-being, to even appear is a violent act.”

- George Ciccariello-Maher (via ninjabikeslut)

wait shit what? who is this person? where is this from?

(via mattachinereview)

This is a quote about cops arresting black teenagers in Philly for just being in public from one of my college professors.

(via telegantmess)

funfreacksnc: flomation: I thought I should share some things...

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:53:06 -0400

funfreacksnc:

flomation:

I thought I should share some things I’ve collected

yahoo paid $1.1 billion dollars for this

Star Trek Into Darkness: The Spoiler FAQ

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:48:30 -0400

Star Trek Into Darkness: The Spoiler FAQ:

horusporus:

http://io9.com/star-trek-into-darkness-the-spoiler-faq-508927844

honestly, just reading this in the sequence it’s intended is giving me life.

"Diffuse White anxiety, anger, and alienation over economic inequality and vulnerability, and the..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:33:00 -0400

“Diffuse White anxiety, anger, and alienation over economic inequality and vulnerability, and the apparent inability of government to address these concerns had two effects. First, they bolstered Whites’ susceptibility to anti-Black political appeals. Without a sophisticated understanding of such topics as labor economics, class mobility patterns, and public finance, the potential salience and apparent reasonableness of coded racial claims about wasteful welfare spending, high taxes, and threatening crime grew.

Second, White anxiety encouraged certain elites to mount an active racial project scapegoating Blacks (and, in some cases, other out-groups like immigrants). Here capital punishment and longer prison terms were cases in point. Whatever the effect of death penalties and stricter sentencing on Black crime rates, the crucial impacts of global competition, economic growth, and other such forces on employment opportunities and thus crime cannot easily be controlled or even discussed.

And the mainstream culture provides such a plentiful stock of myths, symbols, and homilies about individual responsibility. In this context, it made sense for some political leaders to craft a racial project emphasizing capital punishment and longer sentences, along with cutting welfare, affirmative action, and related policies that disproportionately affect Blacks—remedies conveniently congruent with some of the most vivid images on the nightly news..”

- Robert M. Entman and Andrew Rojecki, The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America (via wretchedoftheearth)