“One day the sadness will end.

But I don’t think today’s the day.”

David Lynch

Goodbye Mr. Lynch I’ll see you in my dreams

I don't really believe in separating the art from the artist, but I remember how much it hurt when I found out Rowling was an absolutely shit person and so I do worry about the Gaiman fans out there who are in pain because of the article that was dropped today. I hope this helps.

A PSA about the latest Vulture article to drop about Neil Gaiman -

Do not fucking read it if you are not in a stable state of mind.

Triggers include, but dare I say, are not limited to -

• Sexual assault and misconduct
• Anal, digital, oral, and vaginal rape
• Forced urine/faeces consumption
• Vomit/forced vomit consumption
• Financial abuse
• Gaslighting and manipulation
• Sexual conduct in front of a minor
• Sexual humiliation and degradation
• Disordered eating, anorexia, and bulemia
• Suicide, suicidal ideation
• Self-harm
• Child abuse
• Scientology
• Cult abuse
• Drowning
• Corporeal punishment
• Intentionally painful penetration
• Exploitation
• Grooming

Most of these things are discussed in explicit detail multiple times.

It's harrowing and heartbreaking to read. Even if these are not specifically triggers of yours, I beg, take a second to really have a think about whether you're in a place to take this on.

If the paywall comes up, try to put the link into this: https://www.removepaywall.com

Posting in the spirit of not staying quiet about this.

I strongly suggest you read this—all of it, because it’s long. Lila Shapiro is the journalist who wrote the investigation into Joss Whedon btw and won an award for it, so maybe people can finally stop making this all about Tortoise Media.

A cylindrical silver tea caddy and cover. The raised design with many fish among foaming waves. Signed Masayoshi. Japan, Meiji period. 9.5 cms x 7.5 cms Brandt Asian Art

@roger1952.bsky.social‬

"Ram in the Thicket" Statuette from Ur (Iraq), c.2600-2400 BCE: this statuette is made of lapis lazuli, shells, gold, silver, limestone, copper, and wood

This sculpture is about 4,500 years old. It was unearthed back in 1929, during the excavation of the "Great Death Pit" at the Royal Cemetery of Ur, located in what was once the heart of Mesopotamia (and is now part of southern Iraq).

Sir Leonard Woolley, who led the excavations at the site, nicknamed the statuette "ram caught in a thicket" as a reference to the Biblical story in which Abraham sacrifices a ram that he finds caught in a thicket. The statuette is still commonly known by that name, even though it actually depicts a markhor goat feeding on the leaves of a flowering tree/shrub. Some scholars refer to it as a "rampant he-goat" or "rearing goat," instead.

It was carved from a wooden core; gold foil was then carefully hammered onto the surface of the goat's face and legs, and its belly was coated in silver paint. Intricately carved pieces of shell and lapis lazuli were layered onto the goat's body in order to form the fleece. Lapis lazuli was also used to create the goat's eyes, horns, and beard, while its ears were crafted out of copper.

The tree (along with its delicate branches and eight-petaled flowers) was also carved from a wooden base, before being wrapped in gold foil.

The goat and the tree are both attached to a small pedestal, which is decorated with silver paint and tiny mosaic tiles made of shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone.

This artifact measures 42.5cm (roughly 16 inches) tall.

A second, nearly-identical statuette was also found nearby. That second sculpture (which is also known as the "ram in the thicket") is pictured below:

There are a few minor differences between the two sculptures. The second "ram" is equipped with gold-covered genitals, for example, while the first one has no genitals at all; researchers believe that the other sculpture originally had genitals that were made out of silver, but that they eventually corroded away, just like the rest of the silver on its body.

The second "ram" is also slightly larger than the first, measuring 45.7cm (18 in) tall.

Both statuettes have a cylindrical socket rising from the goats' shoulders, suggesting that these sculptures were originally used as supports for another object (possibly a bowl or tray).

The depiction of a goat rearing up against a tree/shrub is a common motif in ancient Near Eastern art, but few examples are as stunning (or as elaborate) as these two statuettes.

Sources & More Info:

• Penn Museum: Collections Highlight
• Penn Museum: Ram in the Thicket
• Expedition Magazine: Rescue and Restoration: a History of the Philadelphia "Ram Caught in a Thicket" (PDF version)
• The British Museum: Ram in the Thicket
• A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Art: Statuary and Reliefs
• World Archaeology: Ram in the Thicket
• Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Colour in Sculpture: a Survey from Ancient Mesopotamia to the Present (PDF excerpt)
• Goats (Capra) from Ancient to Modern: Goats in the Ancient Near East and their Relationship with the Mythology, Fairytale, and Folklore of these Cultures

Inanna / Ishtar Queer History <3

In my recent masterpost on Inanna, I forgot a major part of her story, and rather than just tack it on as an after thought, I figure I'd make a whole post.

First and foremost, Inanna has always been a feminine goddess, but more than just feminine, she was also seen as the god who could change someone's sex, and wears the armor of a man in most depictions.

Because of this, her cult of followers was predominantly people outside of the binary. She had transgender and "drag" prostitutes working as her priests and priestesses, who often had sex with each other as a ritual to the goddess, regardless of biological sex. Her high priestess would mate with new kings to ensure their fortune, and her other "lesser" priests and priestesses were musicians, singers, and dancers.

Though it is disputed whether or not these prostitutes actually engaged in sex, or if it was symbolic, there were men who started dressing in feminine clothing and using the feminine only dialect, and women assuming the masculine. The "male" would castrate themselves, and were known as Kurgarra, and "female" were known as Galatur. Both were seen as being transformed by the goddess herself, or being created by the god Enki to rescue Inanna from the underworld (see the Descent Of Inanna).

She has always been a young woman, she has never been mythologically depicted as a mother figure or a faithful wife. She has always been true to herself, regardless of how she will be perceived by anyone, especially men.

Despite eventually the ancient civilization succumbing to a patriarchal society, they were not always. Not to say the roles were perfectly equal, or that it was originally a matriarchy, but eventually many female deities turned to male. Inanna managed to withstand this, surviving as the Akkadian Ishtar, the Hittite Suarte, and the Phoenician Astarte. This decline in femininity started with the rule of Hammurabi. Before this, they had significant female deities, and they seemed to have a vast understanding of femininity with the variety of deities, and having one (Inanna) with such a bold personality.

Within her mythology, she is brash, independent, vindictive, impulsive, but also calculating and manipulative. In Inanna and The God of Wisdom, Inanna purposefully goes to Enki with the intention of stealing the Meh, and then purposefully gets him drunk so that he will be compliant, and eventually she becomes Queen. In the Descent of Inanna she has her husband imprisoned in her stead after she finds him with other women when he should've been mourning, and then later decides she misses him, so she forces his sister to take his place for half the year so that she can have him back. Inanna made people want to serve her because of who she was, not what she had to offer, that's why she survived.

She has had multiple lovers throughout mythology, including her husband Dumuzi, but also Sargon of Akkad, and Zababa.

Despite being a highly sexual goddess, her assailant in Inanna and Su-Kale-Tuda is not seen as a lover. In fact, he was regarded as a coward, and her level of consent was never in question. A goddess fell asleep beneath a tree and a human man saw her and assaulted her. And then he hid. He ran away and he hid. And she reigned terror down on the world until she found him and killed him, telling him that he will be forever be remembered as a coward. Not once did anyone say that she was asking for it. Not once did anyone ask what she was wearing. Not once did anyone say that she has sex all the time. It was seen as divine justice for a heinous crime.