Babey Boy, Babey,,,

🌙🤲🏽RAMADAN FOR DUMMIES🌙🤲🏽

❌ islamophobes begone❌

Ramadan is super close!!! - and I’m so excited. Every year I get tonnes of questions from my non-muslim friends and even muslim friends who want to know better. So I’m compiling it all here in this post.

~ I’ve been fasting each year for more than ten years and I’ve been a student of Islamic studies more than 13 years. So yeah I know what I’m talking about.~

What is Ramadan?

It’s the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and a pillar of Islam. It has extreme significant importance to Muslims as it is the month in which the Quran was first revealed. A very holy month in which Shaytan ( the devil) is said to be locked in chains and each good deed and prayer blesses a Muslim 70 times more than any normal month of the year.

Muslims all around the world spend each day fasting from dawn till dusk. We celebrate the end of this blessed month - the first three day of the next month, Shawal - in a celebration known as Eid-ul-Fitr. It’s a really big deal for us.

How do you know when Ramadan is? Does it have a fixed date? When is Ramadan this year?

Ramadan does not have a fixed date! It depends on physical sighting of the moon or the Saudi Arabian declaration of Ramadan ( which is then again, by sighting of the moon but some countries avoid the hassle and follow that. Or if it’s a non-Muslim majority.)

The moon cycle is different for many parts of the world, hence the beginning and end of Ramadan is different - usually no more than one day - for each country.

Ramadan 2k18 is estimated to begin on 15th May! -confetti burst-

So all you do is just abstain from food and drink from dawn till dusk in Ramadan?

No! We also abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn till dusk. After breaking fast most Sunni Muslims also attend series of special prayers in congregations called ‘Tarawih’ which are specific to Ramadan only. Some Muslims segregated themselves for a few days in mosques of their homes - not engaging in talking or listening to music etc - and spend the time secluded in prayer. This is not specific to Ramadan but most Muslims prefer it during this Ramadan. This practice is called ‘I’ttekaaf’.

In Ramadan the Muslim community gets together, we break the fast together as family and friends. Some hold feasts at the end of Ramadan. Nearing the end of Ramadan and throughout Ramadan able affording Muslims give money to the poor and destitute from their property, money, jewellery. This practice is called Zakat. It is not an option, every able Muslim must give Zakat in Ramadan.

Not even water?

Yes, not even water. Nothing can go into your stomach or out of it during fast. Yes, you read that right. Voluntarily vomiting breaks the fast! ( I take ten minutes brushing my teeth during the fast…careful to not let water into my throat.)

If you’re sick, do you still have to fast?

It depends on the sickness itself. You may not fast if your sickness becomes worse with fasting - however if you are a well-off Muslim - you are to feed a poor person three meals for one day for each fast you miss for your sickness/any other reason from which you recover.

If it’s a mild sickness, take a break from fasting until you get better but you are required to complete your fasting after Ramadan.

Children smaller than ages 13-15 are not allowed to fast. If you are travelling a hard and long journey, you are not required to fast. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding - you are not required to fast but you are to make up the days you missed after Ramadan is over. And you can’t fast at all when you’re menstruating. Menstruating breaks your fast.

Do medical injections, drips, eye drops, nose drops break a fast?

It’s important not to swallow any of the nose drops etc. Otherwise it’s a-okay to use. Injections and drips as long as they aren’t of glucose/nourishing stuff are permitted during fasting.

Fasting is such a good way of losing weight lol. You all must get real skinny after Ramadan!

HAH. Listen, Muslims gain more weight during Ramadan than any other month. That’s because we party after dusk and we eat a lot of fatty stuff to keep us going throughout the day. And a lot of Muslim countries have special non-alcoholic sugary drinks that we drink so. Much. After breaking the fast.

Also that’s really fucking disrespectful, we don’t fast to diet, we fast as a religious duty and to practice patience and steadfastness. The whole Muslim community comes together during this month.

How can I be behave as a Non-Muslim during Ramadan?

Be respectful!

Don’t make a big deal out of eating infront of us - most of us have been fasting for ages.

Tag tumblr content like food, porn etc as #nsfr ( not safe for Ramadan)

Don’t call Eid, ‘The Muslim Christmas’ just…don’t.

Remember that Ramadan is for all Muslims. That includes minority Muslim sects ( wahabis don’t interact ), LGBT Muslims, Muslims suffering in war zones, disabled Muslims, new converts. Ramadan is for all of us.

Please, consider donating to the people of Syria, Palestine and the Rohingya Muslims this Ramadan. They are as much as part of this Ummah as we.

Ramadan Mubarak everyone. 🌙

Science of everyday life: 5 essential reads

by Maggie Villiger

One of best things about my job as a science editor is that any crazy idea I start wondering about – whether triggered by something I see on my commute, a current event that’s in the news, or best of all a conversation with my young kids – I can call up an expert and ask her or him to break it down for me, and you.

It seems like our readers enjoy this type of “I’ve always wondered … ” article too. My most-read story of the past year was by an entomologist making the case to bug-haters that by killing a spider they might actually be making their homes more hospitable to insects the spider would have eaten and eliminated for them.

Below, a handful of my favorites from 2018. But curiosity isn’t bound by the calendar, so here’s to a new year of everyday science.

Keep reading

Grandpa fights/arguments in the context of Germania×Rome? (If that makes sense?)

I think I got what you meant?…maybe…let me know if I got it wrong. -Admin Jay

Germania and Rome

Rome: “Well back in my day-”Germania: “We are from the same day!”

Germania: “These damn kids and their technological fruit.”Rome: “For the last time, it’s a phone, not food!”

Rome: “I demand a carriage!”Germania: “It’s a taxi, dammit.”

Germania to Prussia: “Back in our day, we didn’t have these fancy doctors and medicine. We just died.”Rome: “But we died drunk!”

All the way from Virginia to Oregon! How long was that trip? Overland or did you take the Panama route?

Which went a little something like this:

^Richmond VA.

Then down to a Virginian port city.

Where he would travel by boat,

Down to Panama, where he would take the trans-Panamanian railway to the Pacific coast,

In a train that probably looked like this one^. Then back on a boat up to-

San Fransico. Where he stayed for a few weeks with a friend looking for a job.

And when he did, probably caught a steamer up the coast and upstream like this one^. To Kinnik, which looks kinda like this:

He’s ready for it to be over.

The overland route to Oregon was the more popular, but Alfred’s got a bit of money; so he can afford to go the less physically grueling southern passage. Can’t find a source, but it probably took at least/more than a month.

((all links are to related articles. (photos not mine)))

OKAY I have been meaning to do this for MONTHS but hey, there’s no better time than the present so buckle up, here we go! THESE BOOKS ARE A GODSEND. I am ALWAYS on the lookout for writing aids that ACTUALLY HELP. If you’re like me, and occasionally venture out to buy books on, let’s say, showing vs telling - you will always get the same rehearsed speeches on what that means. -summons pretentious writer’s voice- You’ve got to shoooooow what’s happening in the scene, not teeeeeeell~~ BAH! What you NEVER get, however, is how to do it, or how do it better.

THESE BOOKS ARE THE STUFF OF DREAMS

Each of these is so freaking helpful, I can’t even convey. They all follow the same format as the pictures I’ve shown above, so you get one detailed page of descriptions followed by tons of more in-depth, thought provoking concepts. I’ll do my best to lay out the five that I have and if you are interested, hop on over to Amazon and buy these suckers up because they are AMAZING; I have NEVER used a writing resource more than I use these. Negative Trait Thesaurus & Positive Trait Thesaurus -gives you a definition of said negative trait -gives you similar flaws also found in the book -gives you possible causes of WHY the character might have this trait -gives you a list of other behaviors the chara might have -gives you examples of the chara’s thought process -gives associated emotions -gives positive aspects of the trait, as well as negative -gives examples of well known chara’s that have this trait -talks about how the chara might overcome it -gives traits that, when combined with this one, might cause conflict How I use this information: Chara building, or when I get stuck on what I want a character to do. Man, I just can’t decide what they WOULD do. Well, awesome, I have a little guide to help me think through the character’s possible motivations. Also, I get help building a potential backstory because I get a framework of which to think, why is the character this way? Urban Setting Thesaurus & Rural Setting Thesaurus -gives a whole lot of examples of sights, smells, tastes, and sounds -gives examples of textures and sensations (ie at an ‘antique shop’ you may encounter chipped paint, distressed wood, etc) -gives you possible sources of conflict (ie at a ‘hotel’ you might have noisy neighbors) -gives list of people you might expect to find at said location -gives related settings -gives tips on this type of setting -gives a setting description example How I use this information: IMAGERY IMAGERY IMAGERY Emotion Thesaurus (aka MY FAVORITE) -gives a definition of the emotion -gives physical signs and signals (ie chara may look pale, might fidget, etc) -gives internal sensations (aka, blood pounding in the ears, dry throat, adrenaline rush) -gives mental responses (ie fight or flight) -gives cues of acute or long-term impacts of the emotion -gives ‘may escalate to _______’ and directs you to other emotions -gives cues of suppression (ie cues of suppressed rage) -gives writer tips How I use this information: I love this book so hardcore, it’s so helpful with internalizing. It’s great because I get to step outside of that box of using the same five responses to a certain emotion and start really thinking about, what can a character do instead to show that they are feeling this, rather than me using adverbs or his adrenaline pumped fifty gazillion times. These books are all co-written by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi (bless their souls) and if this sounds of interest LOOK INTO IT!! I get such buyer’s regret after buying writing guides but these are legit the best ones I have found and I reference them so, so, so much. Hope this helps anyone out there looking for something life-changing!!

Mei: Hey, Wanna join me in Birds Club?

“I’M INTERESTED” @askbadlydrawnasianstigers

Lukas: go take a break…

im hecka salty.

i aint a prequel fan. im just a Padme fan.

disturbing picture of Prussia

who thought it was a solid plan to put Anakin in charge of thousands of impressionable 12-year-olds honestly i ask you