The Black Death Is Older Than We Thought

Most of that is the same in the US, though we have slightly different divisions, and more dances because of the Arthur Murray-standardized American Style. I’m just a collegiate Silver Standard dancer, though someone please correct me if I’m off, and I’ll barely mention Open.

Dance Styles: International Standard (Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Viennese Waltz), International Latin (Cha cha, Rumba, Samba, Jive, Paso Doble), American Smooth (Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese), and American Rhythm (Cha cha, Rumba, Swing, Mambo, Bolero). The biggest difference between Standard and Smooth is that the couple can break frame in Smooth.

Divisions: There’s really two sets of divisions: Syllabus and Open. Syllabus divisions have specific figures they can do at their level, and go Newcomer, Bronze, Silver, Gold (or Newcomer, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced). Open has less restrictions on figures, essentially follows Syllabus once Gold starts to get boring, and goes Novice, Pre-Champ, Champ. USADance has also created Same-Sex divisions separated by gender of pairing and Open vs. Syllabus (these divisions would have Newcomer couples compete against Gold-level couples), but in collegiate competitions these couples are not separated out from the rest. For the most part the next division is achieved by points, but Newcomer at all competitions and Bronze at some collegiate competitions are also determined by time. 

The number of dances you compete per style increases as you ascend levels as dances become paired, though some like Viennese Waltz and Paso Doble are typically separated out on their own. Same-Sex dances are currently not paired.

Costumes are pretty much the same, though there isn’t a standard for non-traditional dance roles. I’ve seen lady leaders do black tops and leotards with either pants or skirts, and male follows typically follow leader costume rules.

Ballroom

@carmodance for your anon and for other dance fans who knows nothing about ballroom

I saw a lot of people asking about ballroom, so I’ll try to explain few things (it’s gonna be long).

I’m from Russia and I didn’t compete last 4 years, so rules maybe slightly different. Also I probably forgot a lot of things. And my english isn’t the best.

Read it all under the cut

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prayer circle for elder scrolls 6

Soooo many Pepakura at THIS deviantart.…will have to try this sometime.  Not just Skyrim, lots of your other favorite games too. 

Vote down ballot - the presidency isn't the only office of importance!

Time for another political essay. If you’re not an American citizen or able to vote in this upcoming election, my apologies.

I make no secret that I fucking despise Donald Trump. I actually like Hillary Clinton, which seems to be a weird rarity considering the amount of good work she’s done and the fact that all of the bad press about her is the result of the Republicans trying (and failing) to tear her and her husband down for thirty years.

Trump is now trailing far behind Clinton, which I consider a cause for celebration. But it is NOT a cause for complacency.

The biggest landslide election in US history was the election of Warren G. Harding in 1920, when Harding won with about 60% of the vote to his opponent’s 34.2%.

Some polls are reporting Trump with as little as 35% of the popular vote right now.

If turnout is large enough and loud enough, we can make Donald Trump the least supported major candidate in US history. Since the recording of him bragging about sexual assault came out, he has turned to dragging the whole election into the mud by striking back at Bill Clinton’s affairs; the usual goal of that kind of tactic is to drive down voter turnout. Trump’s band of Redcaps is pretty much guaranteed to vote, so they figure if they reduce turnout enough, they’ll win.

I want their plan to fail. I want their plan to fail so fucking spectacularly that NO ONE will dare to run for President on a platform of thinly-veiled fascism again.

The Republicans thought the House of Representatives was safe this year. In 2010, they gerrymandered the shit out of district lines to keep the House safe for them for at least ten years. But there’s a problem with gerrymandering: if the demographics shift unexpectedly between censuses, then suddenly a lot of districts wind up flipping against the party that the gerrymandering was meant to support. And Donald Trump is driving away the Republicans’ most secure core of voters, the evangelicals. And as I’ve said before: Congress is MORE important than the presidency.

If turnout is strong enough, and if people vote down ballot, the possibility exists for a massive upset. A Democratic presidency, a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate. They’re within our grasp. All you need to do, voters, is show up.

Motherfuckers don’t want you to vote. Young people, people of color, women, LGBTQ+ folks–they want you to be scared away, or to be convinced that voting doesn’t matter. They want your voice silenced. Don’t give the fuckers the satisfaction of letting it happen.

GO VOTE. VOTE DOWN-BALLOT. MAKE TRUMP THE BIGGEST LOSER IN US HISTORY.

IF YOU CAN’T BE BOTHERED TO VOTE OUT OF CONVICTION, THEN DO IT OUT OF SPITE.

Elytra Filament Pavilion / Achim Menges

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Forms of government in 2016

Like Britain, Seattle also takes it as a sign of weakness to use an umbrella

In the early 1750s, an Englishman by the name of Jonas Hanway, lately returned from a trip to France, began carrying an umbrella around the rainy streets of London. People were outraged. Some bystanders hooted and jeered at Hanway as he passed; others simply stared in shock. Hanway was the first man to parade an umbrella unashamed in 18th-century England, a time and place in which umbrellas were strictly taboo. In the minds of many Brits, umbrella usage was symptomatic of a weakness of character, particularly among men. The British also regarded umbrellas as too French—inspired by the parasol, a Far Eastern contraption that for centuries kept nobles protected from the sun, the umbrella had begun to flourish in France in the early 18th century when Paris merchant Jean Marius invented a lightweight, folding version that, with added waterproofing materials, could protect users from rain and snow. In 1712, the French Princess Palatine purchased one of Marius’s umbrellas; soon after, it became a must-have accessory for noblewomen across the country. Later British umbrella users reported being called “mincing Frenchm[e]n” for carrying them in public.

2,200 years ago in Turkey, this insane rental agreement was inscribed in stone

Written in Greek, the lease allows renters to use slaves that come with the property

No ripping up this rental agreement. And the punishments for not looking after the property, not paying the rent, etc. Nuts. Plus new legal terminology. Great stuff.