This is an illustration I did for my friend, Dai’s, PhD thesis. A part of his thesis involved a study around how some gay men (particularly those of a minority status) negotiate being gay outside of mainstream gay culture. One story that really stood out to me as being quite unique and touching involved a middle-aged fellow who has never been intimate with another man, doesn’t necessarily identify as being gay, but spends his days knitting baby socks on park benches and on the train as a way to perform his ‘gayness’. As he still lives at home with an extremely conservative family this is essentially the only way he knows to express his sexuality.
Though best known for her illustrations of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, Pauline Baynes (9 September 1922 – 1 August 2008) first professional commission came from J.R.R. Tolkein, who saw her work in a publisher’s office and demanded she illustrate his forthcoming Farmer Giles of Ham. He was so delighted with the results that he stated her artwork reduced his text to a mere commentary of her illustrations. She would go on to become a popular and beloved book illustrator, contributing her distinctive artwork to both the outside covers and inside pages of numerous titles, as you can see from the images we’ve presented here.
Oh my goodness, I had no idea one person illustrated all of these. A fundamental part of my childhood imagination.
Oh, wow, YES! I didn’t have Lorna Doone, but I think I had all the others! Amazing!
Narnia of course, but I also had/still have those editions of Watership Down and Tales of the Greek Heroes, and I didn’t know they were her!
oh my i had several of pauline baynes’ covers! all the narnia books, tolkien, watership down–i still have them although they’re falling the hell apart
So remember how I bought a motion activated night light for the toilet? Well the cats seem to have discovered it. So I went to for a late night piss and was greeted to an ominous sight
My dog has a habit where, right before a walk, she just takes a mouthful of kibble and keeps it in her mouth. Then, during the walk, she would decide on a good spot and just spit the kibble out and then eat it.
OMG everyone I know the ACTUAL story behind the gif this time!
Yes, it’s in Australia– that’s a big angry goanna that wandered into a popular restaurant. All the Australians in the vicinity went OH FUCK NO and cleared off, because goannas are mean.
The waitress you see there is a French exchange student, who was quoted as saying something to the effect of “I thought it was a weird ugly dog” and had no idea it was a reptile that wanted to rip her arms off. She’s been hailed as a hero who saved diners.
It’s amazing what power “not knowing” has.
The thing I especially love about this is this is a pretty dangerous animal, except she managed to defeat it by just fucking grabbing it by the tail and walking too quickly for it to turn around. Once again the animal kingdom is thwarted because we evolved opposable thumbs, long limbs, and reckless bravery.
weird, ugly dog thwarted by foreign exchange student and polished floors
my take-home lesson here is that nobody in france has ever first-hand seen a dog
wupacing 