The Once and Future Martian

peaceheather: izkim: Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended 10 years...

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:42:00 -0500

peaceheather:

izkim:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended 10 years ago; May 20, 2003

But the fanfic world lives on.

whedonesque: The last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired...

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:36:00 -0500

whedonesque:

The last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired ten years ago today on May 20th, 2003

Goddamnit, Marvel

Sun, 19 May 2013 13:25:23 -0500

Goddamnit, Marvel

Making an Arc Reactor

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:01:00 -0500

hawkstudios:

scienceing: mybluedecember: princess-munchkin: How the fuck...

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:46:00 -0500

scienceing:

mybluedecember:

princess-munchkin:

How the fuck does Bill Nye expect this to happen? What do you want to do, force women to enroll in science courses, regardless of whether or not they want to do it? Just for the sake of having “enough” women? Why the fuck do these fractions matter so much? It’s not like people are holding guns to our head and threatening to kill us if we become interested in science.

Maybe, just maybe, a lot of us DON’T FUCKING WANT to be scientists. Is that a crime?

Hi there, princess-munchkin. Female engineering student here.

Bill Nye is not saying that you HAVE to be a scientist, and you are right that no one is holding a gun to my head because I am interested in science, but let me tell you some of the struggles of being a woman in the STEM fields.

1) Because I am a woman, I am not expected these fields. I first fully realized this when I was in high school, on my robotics team. See, although my robotics team was about 50% female, most of the women were part of the “business administration” side of things: finance, marketting, PR, membership, etc. Was this a problem? Absolutely not. But I was there to be an engineer, and specifically, to be the robot programmer. This was met with a lot of hesitation at first from some of the other students (all of whom happened to be male. This is not necessarily a bad thing.) You see, all of the robot programmers before me were guys. Computer programming is just a thing that guys do, or so they thought. Even after I had proved myself to the mentors on the team, many of the students still underestimated my abilities. There were rumors going around that I wouldn’t have been able to program the robot at all if the lead software mentor wasn’t there to help me. This was just flat-out false, but it wasn’t until I won an award for the team that the other students actually saw my merit.

2) There is not a lot of encouragement for women to go into these fields. I first noticed this when I was in elementary school. I was always interested in math, science, you name it, but many of my teachers and family members pushed that to the side for a long time. When I asked for legos for christmas, I would get ballet slippers. In fact, for a long time, I was training to be a professional dancer. I loved to dance. I loved math more, but no one seemed to notice that about me. It wasn’t until I had a long conversation with one particular teacher in high school that I decided to look into engineering. I had never even considered it as an option before, because no one decided to encourage me to pursue my interest in science. If it hadn’t been for that teacher, I would probably not be at the school I am at right now.

3) For a long time, Engineering/Science/Math WAS a “boys only” club. Let me tell you when some of the top technical schools and societies started letting women in:

RPI, The oldest tech school in the country, founded in 1824. Started admitting women in 1942 to “replace men called to war.” Campus housing for women wasn’t constructed until 1966.

Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honors Society - Founded in 1885. Started admitting women in 1968.

Caltech - Currently rated #3 in undergraduate engineering. Founded in 1891. Started admitting women in 1970.

Georgia Tech - Currently rated #5 in undergraduate engineering. Founded in 1885. Started admitting women in 1952.

Do you see the implications of this? Engineering has been a part of our society since around the late 1800s (in the case of RPI, since the 1820s), but women weren’t even allowed in for the most part until the 1950s, regardless of their merit.

4) Because of the fact that it was a “boys only” club for such a long time, there are not a lot of women engineers and scientists to look up to. When you’re reading your physics, chemistry, and math text books, the majority of those theories were came up with by men. It is true that much of our history was written by White Men, but this does not mean that the fact that there are few women scientists to look up does not matter.

So, as you can hopefully see, princess-munckin, or anyone else that shares the opinions of princess-munchkin, Bill Nye was not arguing that women that are not interested in STEM should go into those fields anyway. But he IS arguing against all of the systematic barriers set up against women who ARE interested in engineering and science. There are several women out there who are just as good as the boys at math and science, but will never pursue their interests because it just doesn’t seem like an option. That was me for a long time. I am super grateful for the fact that I fought against that, and that I ended up where I am.

if you don’t like science, fine. Don’t be a scientist. But if one day you have a daughter and she shows interest in being a scientist, PLEASE encourage her. Because Bill Nye is right, there needs to be more women scientists in the world.

A+ comment

Do you ever find yourself home alone doing cross stitch while eating a pudding cup and catching up...

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:16:45 -0500

Do you ever find yourself home alone doing cross stitch while eating a pudding cup and catching up on doctor who and think

life choices: nailed it

scifigrl47: dr-kara: marielikestodraw: AGENTS OF SHIELD FULL...

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:55:21 -0500

scifigrl47:

dr-kara:

marielikestodraw:

AGENTS OF SHIELD FULL TRAILER.

DON’T TOUCH LOLA.

LOLA

You know Clint has been naked on the hood of that car. At least once.

Probably way more than once.

danisnotonfire: Dan discusses the danger of being addicted to...

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:07:29 -0500

danisnotonfire:

Dan discusses the danger of being addicted to fictional universes and how they betray you.

if you guys help me out by reblogging this i’ll look through the notes and follow a bunch of you to say thanks! :D

killjoywhatsername: lonewolfed: #coulson lives [x] I’m never...

Sun, 12 May 2013 19:53:00 -0500

killjoywhatsername:

lonewolfed:

#coulson lives [x]

I’m never gonna stop reblogging this. It makes me so damn happy.

sairobee: but i wanted to use that thing in my hands: a memoir

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:34:20 -0500

sairobee:

but i wanted to use that thing in my hands: a memoir

catsandthelaw: So much lust for the Folio Society edition of...

Wed, 08 May 2013 08:43:00 -0500

catsandthelaw:

So much lust for the Folio Society edition of His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. Illustrated by Peter Bailey

ladymalchav: doublemooncrab: undergrounduno: catboatventure: ...

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:13:15 -0500

ladymalchav:

doublemooncrab:

undergrounduno:

catboatventure:

asgardreid:

wadesdeadpoolparty:

syngeist:

Ironpool

OH my sweet jesus

This is simultaneously the worst and best idea ever.

YES let’s give the guy with voices more power. This would be awesome.

To deny Wade this armor would be like denying him a chimichanga.

Don’t be the guy who denied Wade the chimichanga.

This reminds me of the time DP was contracted to turn Iron Man back into an alcoholic but couldn’t do it (because he felt bad) so instead he knocked out Stark, put on his armor, and flew around drinking booze so he’d get paid. Bless you Deadpool. Bless.

What issue was this I need this issue

The Bard of Eccentricity: scads-of-panache: schnickledooger: writer-on-fireee: I am a reader. I...

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:06:38 -0500

The Bard of Eccentricity: scads-of-panache: schnickledooger: writer-on-fireee: I am a reader. I...:

scads-of-panache:

schnickledooger:

writer-on-fireee:

I am a reader. I am a writer. People assume I do these things to escape. You couldn’t be more right. I’m escaping a world I don’t like. A world I have no control in. In this world, I am nothing. I am a color, a height, a…

cupcakereaper: My favorite part about seeing Marvel movies in the theater is when the credits come...

Tue, 07 May 2013 09:33:00 -0500

cupcakereaper:

My favorite part about seeing Marvel movies in the theater is when the credits come on and the majority of people just get up and leave and it’s like YES THE WEAK ONES HAVE BEEN WEEDED OUT NOW BRING ON THE EXTRA SCENE

edwardspoonhands: I was on conference calls all day today,...

Tue, 07 May 2013 08:35:28 -0500

edwardspoonhands:

I was on conference calls all day today, which I sometimes find is a very good time to mess around in illustrator.

And Then I Fangirl off into the Sunset...: The Anti-Resume: Things I can do that will never get me hired.

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:51:03 -0500

And Then I Fangirl off into the Sunset...: The Anti-Resume: Things I can do that will never get me hired.:

peaceheather:

madlymel:

peaceheather:

deeniselouise:

b3lawgirl:

madlymel:

peaceheather:

steelheartsavior:

celticvampriss:

peaceheather:

The job search sucks. I hate looking for work, I hate the mindset I get trapped in that makes it feel like I’m begging other people to like me enough to give me a chance (as opposed to the mindset where I show people what I got and they convince me that I should like them …

I can pop my pinkie out of joint and then back…

I can find four-leaf clovers like you would not believe.

I can remember the last place I saw something, even if it was days, even years earlier. (Helpful for locating lost keys.)

I’m a good sniper in zombie shooting games. (also…MADLYMEL WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE, YOU HUMAN GPS?!? :D )

I can purr like a kitten (also am job searching right now too, it’s entirely miserable).

You all are cracking me up… Um… I can do a really good Indian accent. Which would be marketable if I were an actor and wasn’t the whitest white-bread white girl you’ve ever seen.

Hey, it worked for Jennifer Anniston in “Dream for an Insomniac.” (My accent mimicry skills are marketable so … )

I can find patterns and symbolism and parallels in stories and tv shows the way Sherlock can put together clues from crime scenes. As of yet, this skill isn’t really marketable.

I can write calligraphy upside down. The calligraphy may or may not be marketable. The upside down thing is just awesomeness bleeding through.

I can climb things really well. I discovered this in high school theatre, where I was the go to person to find a way to paint/screw in something that was out of reach. Now I specialize in trees.

Photo

Mon, 06 May 2013 09:29:01 -0500

potatofreek: We’re connected.

Mon, 06 May 2013 09:16:00 -0500

potatofreek:

We’re connected.

ianmckellening: i like that part in iron man 3 where the whole movie

Sun, 05 May 2013 09:54:46 -0500

ianmckellening:

i like that part in iron man 3 where the whole movie

celticruinsdesigns: lascocks: inebriatedpony: assassination-fo...

Sat, 04 May 2013 08:48:00 -0500

celticruinsdesigns:

lascocks:

inebriatedpony:

assassination-for-beginners:

The Princess Mononoke stage adaptation has opened in London to sell-out performances and rave reviews. The play’s puppets and costumes are made out of recycled material, reflecting Miyazaki’s environmental message.

whoa how did I not know this was a thing?!?

WOAH HOLD THE PHONE

I can’t believe this is a thing o_o.