Month: May 2013

thefingerfuckingfemalefury:

IT’S SO FLUFFY

We interrupt this blog to warn you about the dangers of malamute ownership. I own one of these beasts, I rescued it from a life of abuse and neglect and don’t regret my decision for a second. However, these are not easy dogs to own. Yes they are fluffy, and that means they shed, constantly. In the spring and fall, a blizzard of hair follows this animal around my house. 

For her size, (100 lbs, way above breed standards for an Alaskan Malamute, which many asshole breeders do intentionally) she is the most gentle animal I have ever known.

They may look like a wolf to you, but they are not. They are goofy, playful, often stubborn animals. Do not buy a malamute unless you are an experienced dog owner, and know what you’re getting into.

Get a rescue dog, and if you really want a malamute look for a breed specific rescue group in your area like Northern Lights. 

Want to help an indie author? Book One of my series of novellas, My Babylon is free today on Amazon Kindle. Just downloading a FREE copy helps move it up on the Amazon rankings so others can find it.

Even better, please leave an honest review of the book on Amazon after you read it. Indie authors can’t afford to pay the established review sites to read their books. (That’s right, many “respected” journals of review expect them to pay them to do a review, how dishonest is that?)

When you help indie artists, you take away the power of the media conglomerates that control what we see and hear. You get a fresh perspective that may have otherwise been overlooked. I know my book would not appeal to a big publisher. They would never take the risk on something so different.

Today, you can do it for free.

Please reblog this so others can see.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me spread the word.

mortisia:

The Styx (Ancient Greek: Στύξ, also meaning “hate” and “detestation”)  is a river in Greek mythology that formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld (often called Hades which is also the name of this domain’s ruler). The rivers Styx, Phlegethon, Acheron, and Cocytus all converge at the center of the underworld on a great marsh, which is also sometimes called the Styx. The important rivers of the underworld are Lethe, Eridanos, and Alpheus.

click photos for larger size and notes

The gods were bound by the Styx and swore oaths on it. The reason for this is during the Titan war, Styx, the goddess of the river Styx, sided with Zeus. After the war, Zeus promised every oath be sworn upon her. Zeus swore to give Semele whatever she wanted and was then obliged to follow through when he realized to his horror that her request would lead to her death. Helios similarly promised his son Phaëton whatever he desired, also resulting in the boy’s death. According to some versions, Styx had miraculous powers and could make someone invulnerable. According to one tradition, Achilles was dipped in it in his childhood, acquiring invulnerability, with exception of his heel, by which his mother held him. This is the source of the expression Achilles’ heel, a metaphor for a vulnerable spot.

Styx was primarily a feature in the afterworld of Greek mythology, and similar to the Christian area of Hell in texts such as “The Divine Comedy” and “Paradise Lost”. The ferryman Charon is believed to have transported the souls of the newly dead across this river into the underworld, though in the original Greek sources, as well as in Dante, it was the river Acheron that Charon plied. Dante put Phlegyas over the Styx and made it the fifth circle of Hell, where the wrathful and sullen are punished by being drowned in the muddy waters for eternity, with the wrathful fighting each other.

In ancient times some believed that placing a coin in the mouth of the deceased would help pay the toll for the ferry to help cross the Acheron river which would lead one to the entrance of the underworld. If some could not pay the fee it was said that they would never be able to cross the river. This ritual was performed by the relatives. The variant spelling Stix was sometimes used in translations of Classical Greek before the 20th century. By synecdoche, the adjective stygian came to refer to anything dark, dismal, and murky.