1289 letter of Arghun to Philip IV of France, in the Mongolian script, with detail of the introduction. The letter was conveyed to the French king by Buscarel of Gisolfe.
Translation: “Under the power of the Eternal Heaven. Under the majesty of the Khan (Kublai Khan). Arghun our word. To the Rey da France (King of France). Last year you sent your ambassadors led by Mar Bar Sawma telling us: “if the soldiers of the Il-Khan ride in the direction of Misir (Egypt) we ourselves will ride from here and join you”, which words we have approved and said (in reply) “praying to Tengri (Heaven) we will ride on the last month of winter on the year of the tiger and descend on Dimisq (Damascus) on the 15th of the first month of spring.” Now, if, being true to your words, you send your soldiers at the appointed time and, worshipping Heaven, we conquer those citizens (of Damascus together), we will give you Orislim (Jerusalem). How can it be appropriate if you were to start amassing your soldiers later than the appointed time and appointment? What would be the use of regretting afterwards? Also, if, adding any additional messages, you let your ambassadors fly (to us) on wings, sending us luxuries, falcons, whatever precious articles and beasts there are from the land of the Franks, the Power of Tengri and the Majesty of the Khan only knows how we will treat you favorably. With these words we have send Muskeril (Buscarello) the Khorchi. Our writing was written while we were at Khondlon on the sixth khuuchid of the first month of summer on the year of the cow.”
The other day my friend and I watched Thor and she remarked that Loki is unique from other Marvel villains because while you can see in their eyes that they simply ooze pure evilness, Loki’s eyes had this permanently mischievous look in them no matter what kind of nefarious act he was committing, almost as if he didn’t really mean them to be evil but as petty tricks. And this is almost a measure of skill because apparently Tom is such a good actor that he can simply compress the character of a person into his eyes. I mean I read somewhere that he could have just portray Loki as a two dimensional villain but he choose to look deeper instead. I threw in Captain Nicholls because he had a 360 character change in Warhorse:D
Edit: Apparently I’ve posted a major spoiler, I do apologize I’ve removed it and I truly am sorry for any major shock I might have caused:P
(Source: sherleck)
and we all trust this man with our lives
The smallfolk say it was King Renly’s ghost, but wiser men know better.
(Source: matafari)
“Cool is not just one type of cool. Cool is confidence and knowing, I guess, what you are and being fine with it. Some people can be what people call ‘nerds’ and they’re cool because they know they’re nerds. They know what they are and they’re so confident in knowing what they are that that makes them cool, and somebody aspires to be like them, because they’re fine with it. It’s confidence, you know.”
Happy 38th Birthday to rapper, actor and fashion designer, André Lauren Benjamin, better known by his stage name André 3000 (b. May 27, 1974)
Cape
Maria Gallenga, 1920s
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Scarlet: You have to start thinking like I’ve had to. We’ll do it together. First just think about what you already know— Ah! Cop with six hundred bucks in his pocket? You know what a cop makes a year?! Yeah, so what can we deduce from that? And what’s a Portland plain clothes detective doing in a slop alley with a girl like me? Yhea, okay, so I’m not miss America super hottie, and I’m not seventeen, but I am a girl with all my body parts. Point is, what’s he doing back here with me?
Well, we’ll get to that later…but let’s just assume he was abusing his position of authority. Last thing he said to me before he died? (You know other than GGKK!!) He told me he was going to bust me unless “I did him a favor.” He actually said that. Those exact words. So I did him a favor. I did the whole fucking world a favor. You’re welcome. I’m Scarlet. And if this world has to burn to the ground before all these fuckers learn to stop being fuckers… …Then that’s what it’s going to do.
Scarlet #1 (July 2010)
O hai, Bendis and Maleev, you didn’t need long to convert me to you two.
Sfdjkhfghgxghgjhl
ffjkghjl
agsfhjgaghjqjdhgffdjfcgfhdgfjghdgfjshtjgjlkdlmkmjdkjl
heads up!
So most of you know by now that Marvel and DC Comics are both taking steps forward in their representation and portrayal of LGBTQA characters.
Both franchises already have gender and sexual minority characters (Northstar, Rictor, Shatterstar, Courier, Batwoman, Voodoo, Bunker, Icemaiden, and so on), but they’re making news this week because Marvel are featuring the wedding of Northstar (Jean-Paul Baubier) and Kyle in Astonishing X-Men, whereas DC have just announced that the Green Lantern of the New 52’s Earth-Two, Alan Scott, will be officially and openly gay.
Naturally, One Million Moms objects.
They even have a convenient form letter set up for members and other interested parties to contact Marvel and DC to express their horror. The pre-printed text includes phrases like (trigger warnings for homophobia):
- “I am extremely disappointed that you would use a children’s superhero character to help endorse same-sex marriage and glorify the homosexual lifestyle.”
- “It is disgusting that your company would participate in introducing sexual orientation to children…”
- “Your company is damaging impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light.”
According to One Million Moms, “Your email letter will be sent to key executives at DC Comics (Warner Bros. Entertainment Company) and Marvel (Disney).”
The wonderful thing about this form letter is that the entire text is editable and deletable. I just used it to send a letter of high praise to both companies for their representations of gender and sexual minorities (along with apologies for the campaign that provided me with a quick and convenient way to contact them in the first place).
Why not join me in using One Million Moms’ awful form letter for good? Send a letter thanking Marvel and DC for their recent actions! Send a letter requesting more of them! Do as you like, but hey, let’s corrupt the original purpose of that letter beyond recognition. Let’s show Marvel, DC and anyone else out there just how much of a minority bigots like One Million Moms are.
Here’s the direct link to the form letter:
Done!
sonder
n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.
The dictionary of obscure sorrows delivers again.
Oh my god! I’ve been doing that consciously these past months (imagining strangers’ lives and psychological complexity, trying to focus on what makes them persons) both because it pleases me and because I realized just how efficient it was to make me perceive EVERYONE as a full, subtle, extremely valuable human being. I don’t get how it is a sorrow though - well, I get how it could be. But to me it mostly creates immense joy.
Is there an etymology of this? Because all I can find is the one for the French word.
This came across my FB feed. Had to share it.
This Is Not a Film (Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, 2011)
If you haven’t seen this, you might want to…
It’s learning how to live for a living
Cap’s road-trip after the film
She (she needs a name, he thinks) never runs out of fuel but he stops at gas stations anyway, the gasoline carrying different topnotes, no acrid, heavy lead anymore. It’s been replaced with other things, just another one of the small changes his enhanced senses can’t ignore. It shakes him, catches him off-guard sometimes like the constant drone of electricity all around, a heavy buzz that nobody but him seems to notice.
…
Excuse me, I think I just had senses!gasm.
