This is very similar to the Jesus at the Cuzco Cathedral, except that one had much, much more fake blood.

Altar at St. Mary-the-Virgin Church, Reading, UK (date unknown)

- Historical accuracy: suppedaneum, crown of thorns, no INRI, very white, just like so white (4/10)

- Physical appearance: buff Jesus strikes again, look at those clear blue eyes, my, my, he’s almost dreamy if you’re into that (7/10)

- Aesthetic appeal: it’s kind of over-the-top in a good way? Like it’s good and striking (8/10)

- Accessories: so I can’t actually tell if there are any nails, it’s possible that they are there and invisible, but his feet are on the suppedaneum, separated, so we can assume it’s probably 4 nails, nice crown, very skilfully woven (like who made it, honestly? They did it as a kind of joke but like, someone had to weave a crown made out of thorns, that would have hurt!), loincloth that looks like a poorly-tied towel (7/10)

- Cross: it’s gold and it has a floral motif, it’s basically the tree of Jesse flowering again oh wow (6/10)

- Emotional appearance: Jesus is stoic and impassive, as are Mary and John? The angels are just chilling (3/10)

Bonuses: the angels are pretty and they carry the attributes of Christ, like the crown of thorns, the vinegar-soaked sponge on a stick, the (3?!) nails… (+4)

Note: this church is also known as St. Mary’s Butts. The bus stop nearby is called this, as is the square (pictured is NOT the church):

Total rating: 6.8/10

Are you sure that’s a gold cross, and not a brass one? And whatever it is, it’s wearing off in a lot of places, not sure I’d rate it 10/10.

Church of St. Germain, France (date unknown)

- Historical accuracy: no wound, 4 nails, suppedaneum (5/10)

- Physical appearance: he’s not too skinny and not too buff, he’s just right (9/10)

- Aesthetic appeal: splendid cross m8, but JC himself looks a little out of place (6/10)

- Accessories: cruciform nimbus woohoo, suppedaneum, not sure if there’s a crown of thorns tbh, he’s wearing a really nice skirt held up with rope (8/10)

- Cross: it’s so gold and shiny. Also it’s a celtic cross, so cool, nice finials (10/10)

- Emotional appearance: he’s a sleepy Jesus, not too interested in the fact that he’s hanging on a cross because it’s a GOLD cross (2/10)

Bonuses: cruciform nimbus, destroying gender norms (and being a fashion icon), also bonus glowy mural Jesus +8

Total rating: 7.1/10

I enjoy this attempt to justify affiliate links as a radical step towards a post-capitalist economic order, and not the easy cash-grab that they are (and which I in no sense begrudge).

We're getting into affiliate links

In a couple weeks we’re going to start adding something called “affiliate codes” to links on Tumblr that don’t already have one. Questions are healthy and natural, so let’s go through some:

What are affiliate codes? Basically, they tell a merchant that a customer came from Tumblr. And if there’s a sale, Tumblr may get a commission for the referral.

What’s going to change? Not much, really. Links will look and function exactly as they do now. Even personal affiliate codes, if you use them, will keep working normally.

Why are you doing this? One might argue that affiliate links can help slow or even reduce the cost of goods and services to zero as required for a truly post-capitalist economy.

Can I opt out? Of course. We wrote that right into our TOS. There’s a switch in settings that keeps Tumblr’s affiliate code off of links you post.

I have more questions. That’s why we wrote this FAQ.

ding ding ding 

Decisive proof that Stannis remains the One True King.

he muttered, grinding his teeth.

This is the most serene and majestic picture of a missile test that I think I've ever seen.

looking at a rodong missile test

I need this book in my life.

John describes the FIRST ENDING he wrote for TFIOS

S O O N

I hate those black people, destroying Pure Aryan rap music.

I think it's supposed to be that borrowing elements of other culture is necessarily racist because white people (it never works in reverse, strangely enough) can't possibly understand the significance and deeper meaning of clothing/hairstyles/instruments from other cultures. It started out, as far as I can tell, with condemning actions that really are racist/offensive, like white Americans wearing Native American headdresses and war paint to baseball matches or students blacking up to dress as African tribesmen for parties, but then extends to cover all instances of white people borrowing any element from another culture, regardless of whether doing so is actually offensive or not. Although you'll probably find it hard to find anybody who thinks that Greeks and Italians should not be allowed to wear trousers, or the it always racist for a Japanese person to wear a tie, even though this also 'cultural appropriation'.

.

You have just described exactly what I intend to do with my life.

i wish i could have a million degrees i just want to learn all of the things

I am at home on my own with nothing to do except revise.

It would appear that everyone on my newsfeed has or is seeing fall out boy, HA HA HA HA

King Narmer, Terror of the Seas.

Interesting but wrong.

Most Egyptian mummies are not new discoveries, almost all of the individuals in museum collections were recovered in the 19th Century, and examined, unwrapped, analysed, and moved multiple times since they were extracted from their tombs. Traces of nicotine and coca are common in Egyptian mummies, probably as a result of contamination by 19th and early 20th century Egyptologists, for whom smoking and cocaine use would have been pretty common, before issues of contamination and proper post-excavation preservation were fully understood. Contamination by researchers is a much more likely explanation for the presence of coca and nicotine than pre-Colombian trans-Atlantic trade.

Also, Egyptian kings made a massive show of how widely they traded and how many different kinds of luxury goods they were able to acquire. Had tobacco and cocoa been imported from the Americas to Egypt they would have been immensely valuable goods, and the import of such goods into Egypt would have been depicted or mentioned in texts, temple art, or tomb paintings. The absence of such depictions, when just about every other kind of commodity traded with Egypt is present, is highly conspicuous, and suggests that there was no contact between Egypt and America.

And now some other things that came up here: 1) It is pretty firmly established fact that the Egyptians had boats, and participated in maritime trade in the Mediterranean. The suggestion that historians are still struggling to process the idea that ancient Egyptians could build boats is totally incorrect. It has also been proven by Heyerdahl et al that Egyptian boats could have successfully crossed the Atlantic, but something being possible does that mean that it happened (Heyerdahl was pretty famous for proving hypotheses that later turned out to be false). 2) Europeans are in no way a uniquely violent group. All human societies are violent and war-like, everywhere in the world at every period in history. The idea of the 'Noble Savage', and that foreign peoples are somehow peaceful and utopian, has been conclusively debunked.

Traces of coca and nicotine found in Egyptian mummies - WTF fun facts