Yup! I Went To The Theater With My Husband And Our Two Sons, Behind Me There At Least 10 Guys Watching

That's the most beautiful about this show. It isn't about the magic for us, well, maybe a little but mostly the fact that the writers are writing about real people, and that I think is more intoxicating in a good way because they screw up, they learn, get up and keep going. Although some of their stories carry heavy burdens, that doesn't deter them from trying to do good. One can relate with them. I love that about the show mostly.

So let’s talk about how The Magicians as a show about for with depression and/or trauma. Nearly everyone has a weight that’s constantly pushing them down, and they have to keep going and fighting anyway.

Quentin has literal, diagnosed depression, keeps losing people, is unable to fix things, and kind of had to pull the plug on his father in order to bring magic back - and it still didn’t fix things. Eliot is an abuse survivor who grew up in a toxic environment, doesn’t let himself be happy, is an addict and lives inside walls he’s built because of it. Alice’s family never allowed her power to grow, were selfish and sex-obsessed, and she’s so powerful it’s a burden, and was once pure magic, brought back, and now she has to remember, and now has to figure out to be a person. Penny’s abilities are a constant curse, both in never getting a silent day as long as there’s magic, and in either being in constant danger or tied down because of his travelling, and now he has to make sense out of a life after his life. Julia is a rape survivor who lost her soul for a while after her demon baby abortion and was tormented by her rapist nearly constantly, and then lost her god powers after working so hard to heal and find a way towards the light. Kady’s upringing was toxic, she didn’t let herself love anyone for the longest time - and once she did, he died and now she has to watch her love’s dopple ganger love someone else. Margo’s all armor, hard and glossy and so very angry because the world is undercutting her at every turn, trying to diminish her power, and even the one man she learned all that from, her dad, couldn’t handle it.

And then, there are the fights. They never cease, the bad guys are always upping their game, it’s from monsters to gods to uber-gods.

Which is not to say that there’s not joy. Or love. Or laughter. Or silliness. Or sex. Or bland old boredom. But there’s always something there with you in the room, or in your head, or in your arms, you don’t get to check out.

And magic comes from pain, right? And also, magic is a part of you. You don’t get to choose it. So maybe them being at the centre of all of these stories is really about them being cursed, cursed with power and rage and suffering. But they also need their respective curses to have a shot at fighting back. 

And I guess I’m writing this to remind myself how much everyone carries at all times in this show, and how that’s informing their actions. It’s not about doing the perfect, the perfectly right, or the perfectly moral thing. Usually, it’s about making it through, surviving to fight for another day. And I find that really complelling, true to reality and actually kind of beautiful.

We Found the Universe’s First Type of Molecule

For decades, astronomers searched the cosmos for what is thought to be the first kind of molecule to have formed after the Big Bang. Now, it has finally been found. The molecule is called helium hydride. It’s made of a combination of hydrogen and helium. Astronomers think the molecule appeared more than 13 billion years ago and was the beginning step in the evolution of the universe. Only a few kinds of atoms existed when the universe was very young. Over time, the universe transformed from a primordial soup of simple molecules to the complex place it is today — filled with a seemingly infinite number of planets, stars and galaxies. Using SOFIA, the world’s largest airborne observatory, scientists detected newly formed helium hydride in a planetary nebula 3,000 light-years away. It was the first ever detection of the molecule in the modern universe. Learn more about the discovery:

Helium hydride is created when hydrogen and helium combine. 

Since the 1970s, scientists thought planetary nebula NGC 7027—a giant cloud of gas and dust in the constellation Cygnus—had the right environment for helium hydride to exist. 

But space telescopes could not pick out its chemical signal from a medley of molecules. 

Enter SOFIA, the world’s largest flying observatory! 

By pointing the aircraft’s 106-inch telescope at the planetary nebula and using a tool that works like a radio receiver to tune in to the “frequency” of helium hydride, similar to tuning a radio to a favorite station…

…the molecule’s chemical signal came through loud and clear, bringing a decades-long search to a happy end.

The discovery serves as proof that helium hydride can, in fact, exist in space. This confirms a key part of our basic understanding of the chemistry of the early universe. SOFIA is a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that allows astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes. Find out more about the mission at www.nasa.gov/SOFIA

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Some Alien and Prometheus gifs

This is the Annie we will all remember.🤍

A Cameo from the Borg Queen herself, the wonderful Annie Wersching!

So, I run a gay little Discord server created during Star Trek: Picard Season 2 to discuss Dr. Jurati & the Borg Queen. (shameless plug, y’all should join: https://discord.gg/gTtw5fTjbX)

Aaaaand we may have pooled some money for a Cameo, as inspired by the U.S.S. Saffi doing the same with Michelle Hurd and Jeri Ryan. Here stands the result.

🏳️‍🌈 Happy pride month, the Borg are gay 🏳️‍🌈

Now you just walk around like you’re in pumps.

The Expanse | 3x03 Assured Destruction

Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!

by  Heather Theurer

Brilliant book cover design for Orwell’s 1984

Neither of us was strong enough. There might not be anyone in Middle-earth who is. But perhaps, the Elves need only remember that it is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light. Armies may rise, hearts may fail, yet still, light endures, and is mightier than strength. For in its presence, all darkness must flee.

CHARLES EDWARDS as CELEBRIMBOR THE RINGS OF POWER 2.07: DOOMED TO DIE.