apsies:

RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2009 - A young girl jumps rope on the sidewalk next to her family’s belongings after she, her parents, and her four brothers and sisters, received a court order of eviction that was carried out by McLennan County Deputy Constables in Waco, Texas, December 31, 2008. (via)

 The incredible resilience of children at work…

allcreatures:

benhasten:

The Last Wild Wolves

Photo by Ian McAllister

“For seventeen years, Ian McAllister has lived on the rugged north coast of British Columbia, one of the last places on the planet where wolves live relatively undisturbed by humans. This book describes his experiences over that period following two packs of wolves, one in the extreme outer coastal islands and another farther inland in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest.

The behavior of these animals - which depend on the vast old-growth forest and its gifts - is documented in words and pictures as they fish for salmon in the fall, target seals hauled out on rocks in winter, and give birth to their young in the base of thousand-year-old cedar trees in spring. Most interestingly, scientific studies reveal a genetically distinct population of wolves - one that is increasingly threatened by human incursions.”

Image via Design You Trust

thanks to wolfandfox and loups

apsies:

thepoliticalpartygirl:

President Obama reacts beside daughters Malia and Sasha and First Lady Michelle Obama as they light the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse in Washington December 3, 2009. (via)

roads2roam:

(via meltinyourmouth)

fuckyeahlgbt:

lemiaou:

shaanmichael:

ihatethismess:tiredofbeingignored:loki1181:crannybananny:

At 15, Lawrence King was small—5 feet 1 inch—but very hard to miss. In January, he started to show up for class at Oxnard, Calif.’s E. O. Green Junior High School decked out in women’s accessories. On some days, he would slick up his curly hair in a Prince-like bouffant. Sometimes he’d paint his fingernails hot pink and dab glitter or white foundation on his cheeks. “He wore makeup better than I did,” says Marissa Moreno, 13, one of his classmates. He bought a pair of stilettos at Target, and he couldn’t have been prouder if he had on a varsity football jersey. He thought nothing of chasing the boys around the school in them, teetering as he ran.

But on the morning of Feb. 12, Larry left his glitter and his heels at home. He came to school dressed like any other boy: tennis shoes, baggy pants, a loose sweater over a collared shirt. He seemed unhappy about something. He hadn’t slept much the night before, and he told one school employee that he threw up his breakfast that morning, which he sometimes did because he obsessed over his weight. But this was different. One student noticed that as Larry walked across the quad, he kept looking back nervously over his shoulder before he slipped into his first-period English class. The teacher, Dawn Boldrin, told the students to collect their belongings, and then marched them to a nearby computer lab, so they could type out their papers on World War II. Larry found a seat in the middle of the room. Behind him, Brandon McInerney pulled up a chair.

Brandon, 14, wasn’t working on his paper, because he told Mrs. Boldrin he’d finished it. Instead, he opened a history book and started to read. Or at least he pretended to. “He kept looking over at Larry,” says a student who was in the class that morning. “He’d look at the book and look at Larry, and look at the book and look at Larry.” At 8:30 a.m., a half hour into class, Brandon quietly stood up. Then, without anyone’s noticing, he removed a handgun that he had somehow sneaked to school, aimed it at Larry’s head, and fired a single shot. Boldrin, who was across the room looking at another student’s work, spun around. “Brandon, what the hell are you doing!” she screamed. Brandon fired at Larry a second time, tossed the gun on the ground and calmly walked through the classroom door. Police arrested him within seven minutes, a few blocks from school. Larry was rushed to the hospital, where he died two days later of brain injuries.

McInerney has been charged as an adult with premeditated murder with enhancements of discharge of a firearm and a hate crime. He is being held in lieu of US $770,000 bail, and faces a minimum sentence of 53 years imprisonment to a maximum life sentence.

Yes, stories like this are heartbreaking. But I want it to be known that there is much more to it. Very few people talk about Lawrence’s wrongdoing, such as a constant harrassment towards mentioned assailant. While that obviously shouldn’t be grounds for murder, one has to keep in mind the ages and mental maturity of these two boys…along with the stigma places upon the young men of our generation. I ask that people take the time to read the ENTIRE story from BOTH perspectives before having a pity party for King. It’s sad he died, of course, but in a sense it was his own fault. It wasn’t just some random hate crime. There was fuel, there was pain, and there was reasoning.

I hate that this happened, but at the same time, I refuse to listen to anybody try to make him the posterchild for LGBTQIA rights advocacy. If somebody ‘normal’ were to antagonise another person repeatedly and god their ass beat down, nobody would think twice of it. But because he happened to cross dress, people try to idolise him.

Being yourself is one thing. Rubbing it in other peoples face who you are is a completely separate thing. My gay friends don’t walk around getting all up in the kool-aid (oh god i haven’t said that since like 2000) of every guy they meet. If you just do what you do without FORCING the attention on yourself, you should be fine. Should be.

Also, today, if I remember correctly, is supposed to be the beginning of the McInnery trial. JS.

Not exactly our poster child.

I am astounded at the victim blaming that is occurring here. It’s analogous to the victim blaming our society does when a severely abused woman is murdered and it’s discovered that she had commited violence against her abuser who has acted out of power, privilege and misogyny. “She provoked him to abuse and then murder her”…? Not only does society blame her if she had committed violence, but the crime is mitigated somehow if she was anything but a stereotypical “victim” and never fought back. There is absolutely no justification for this heinous act. It is most likely that Larry’s behavior had everything to do with the oppression and stigma that he experienced at school for defying gender norms. This is a hate crime and is not mitigated in any way by the fact that Lawrence was “rubbing it in people’s faces”. That phrase is so often used to justify bigotry, fear and hatred toward LGBT people, including justification to deny gay people marriage equality. I find it shameful that a gay person would not get this obvious point.