Roar of Steven

regndoft:

The Middle Ages was a very exciting time in Europe.

Things were… different then

(via gingerhaze)

Oh shit! It’s the Avatar-Mobile!

Mako IS Batman!

tally-art:

So much yes.

-Bolin+Mako+Korra+Asami as Team Avatar
-Saying ‘Team Avatar’ again
-Using Equalist weapons and not refraining for some confused morality reason
-ASAMI BEING A FLUFFER MUCKING BADASS DRIVER
-Asami and Korra possibly being (BADASS) friends now

the-amateur-detective:

The Legend of Korra: “When Extremes Meet”: Travel in style

(For those who can’t view it out of the country!)

Wikipedia quote of the day:

Its concrete underbelly conceals tentacles of the University’s steam, electrical, and communications networks.

Wikipedia quote of the day:

Because of its non-linear structure, the villanelle resists narrative development. Villanelles do not tell a story or establish a conversational tone.

Nobody puts villanelle in the corner!

This is a fantastic, live, pervasive game that will be a Figment this year, and it needs and deserves your support!

This was a spam comment on Actually Happening, but given what the podcast is actually about, there was a chance it was real. (via kevinclarkcomposer)

Oh wow, I thought that was something Dennis had said!

And if you like this piece, let me know. I’ve got four others waiting to go.

Two news stories from last week, one big one small. First, Obama changed his position on marriage equality, from support of civil unions instead of full marriages, to full on support of the right of two people of the same sex getting married. Second, Romney claimed that, despite opposing the bailout of the auto industry, he’ll take a lot of credit for the recovery of Detroit.

As you might guess, if you know me (and judging by the readership of this blog, yes, yes you do), I approve of Obama’s change of mind and disapprove of Romney’s. But it’s not for partisan reasons. After all, in both cases, it’s a presidential candidate switching from a conservative to a liberal viewpoint. I should be happy about both.

In fact, I don’t really agree with the idea that flip-flopping is all that bad, in and of itself. People, and politicians especially, should be allowed to change their mind. As Emerson said, “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” It would be sad if people never changed their minds, no matter what facts are presented or arguments are made. To lock in your worldview at age fifteen and never veer from it, for some unreasonable devotion to consistency, is madness (or objectivism). 

So, yes, I’m glad Obama changed his stance on marriage. And I don’t care if it was a poll-driven change, or the result of a long night of the soul contemplation, or simply the logical result of too many smart people making too many good points, he came around to the right position.

Then why am I so hard on Romney for also changing his mind? Because, if it’s not clear, Romney never says he changed his mind. He simply says that because he favored managed bankruptcy, which was a part of the bailout, he in fact supported bailout, when the opposite was true. Not only supported the bailout, mind you, but deserves credit for it, which is, you know, ballsy.

Which is part of the pattern with Romney. He not only changes positions, constantly, on any number of issues, he refuses to admit he’s ever changed his position, and, therefore, refuses to explain why he’s changed his position. That’s why Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom’s comment about hitting the reset button, like an Etch a Sketch, for the general election hurts so much. Because he’s basically admitting that Romney changes his stance based solely on the audience he’s talking to.

And again, this shouldn’t be that hard. I don’t have a problem with Romney saying “I did not support the bailout four years ago, but it seems to have worked, so I’m glad about that.” OR, “I did not support the bailout, but I did support a managed bankruptcy, which was part of the deal, and so I’m glad Presidents Bush and Obama followed that much of my plan.” Or even the super ballsy “Yes, the auto industry is recording record profits now, but not because of the bailout. If they hadn’t been bailed out, think just how big their profits could have been!”

Any of those answers shows someone who thinks, who reasons, who looks at evidence and has theories and thoughts and wants to do something with all the power he has. The answer “I take credit for people doing the opposite of what I said” is… well, it’s insane. It’s egomaniacal, ahistorical, insultingly condescending, and just stupid politics. 

Look, when Republicans call Democrats flip-floppers, like the did with Kerry and now they’re trying to with Obama, they’re calling them weak. “Oh, look at Obama, pushed around by rich Hollywood gays into calling their perverted ceremonies ‘marriages’.” A flip-flopper, to them, is spineless, craven, and frankly effeminate. 

I don’t mean that when I call Romney a flip-flopper. I don’t think he’s weak. I think he’s hollow. He’s empty of any ambition other than ambition itself. I have no reason to believe anything he says, one way or the other, because he’s contradicted himself just a year ago, and is pretending that it’s just not so. It’s the worst and weirdest of both worlds, the desire to be seen as foolishly consistent, with the desperate desire to say whatever it is that his audience wants him to say. 

The fact is this: whoever wins in November is unlikely to face another collapse of the auto industry, or even need to take a firm stand on marriage equality. Whatever crisis or cultural movement that happens in the next four years is unpredictable now. So when we ask them how they dealt or would have dealt with the last crisis, their specific answer isn’t as important as the process they used to come to that answer. I want to know that my president has a brain, and isn’t the shell of some hobgoblin wearing flip flops!

rachelfershleiser:

“NO FLOWERS REQUIRED, in which a down-on-her-luck flower shop owner succumbs to a night of passion with a stranger, not realizing he’s the reluctant heir to the company about to destroy her business”

I trust that the subtitle is YOU’VE GOT MAIL 2?

Or the Shop Around the Corner, like 5?

republiccityartmuseum:

Legend of Korra, Episode 5 reaction comic by Natalie Nourigat.

(via tally-art)