#baseline research

[aguineapigcouldntdothis]

no one is allowed to argue with me about zionism unless they can:

explain the difference between zionism and kahanism

name and describe at least 3 distinct branches of zionism

name and describe at least 2 distinct fringes of zionism. I will accept fringe groups that existed in the past but are no longer here.

properly explain the difference between zionism, nonzionism, and antizionism

explain the difference between zionism as a political movement and zionism as a cultural/spiritual aspect of judaism.

be able to explain at what time zionism (political) and zionism (cultural/spiritual) began. no need for exact dates bc this isnt history class, but a knowledge of the general time period is necessary.

tell me how many jews, percentage-wise, feel as if israel is important to them in some way. a range of numbers is acceptable.

name one jewish prayer that has the word "israel" in it (hint for goyim: if you have to think too hard, maybe you dont know enough about judaism)

you must be able to articulate all of this in your own words. using sources is heavily, heavily encouraged as well as providing the sources that you used. however, if I find youre taking your answers from the first result on google or the AI overview without even opening a singular article, the conversation ends immediately.

[serpentface]

how do you come up with the ways cultures in your setting stylize people/animals/the world in general in their artwork, i.e. jewlery, rock carvings, statues, etc? Each culture in your world seems to have a very unique "art style" and I love it a lot - makes them seem that much more 'real'. This is something I struggle with a lot in my own worldbuilding and I'd love to pick your brain if possible 😁

I think a starting point is to have a research process based in the material realities of the culture you're designing for. Ask yourself questions like:

Where do they live? What's the climate/ecosystem(s) they are based in? What geographic features are present/absent?

What is their main subsistence method? (hunter gatherer, seasonal pastoralist, nomadic pastoralist, settled agriculturalist, a mix, etc)

What access to broader trade networks do they have and to whom? Are there foreign materials that will be easily accessible in trade and common in use, or valuable trade materials used sparingly in limited capacities?

Etc

And then do some research based on the answers, in order to get a sense of what materials they would have routine access to (ie dyes, metal, textiles, etc) and other possible variables that would shape how the art is made and what it's used for. This is just a foundational step and won't likely play much into designing a Style.

If you narrow these questions down very specifically, (ie in the context of the Korya post- grassland based mounted nomads, pastoralist and hunter-gatherer subsistence, access to wider trade networks and metals), you can direct your research to specific real world instances that fit this general idea. This is not to lift culturally specific concepts from the real world and slap them into your own setting, but to notice commonalities this lifestyle enforces - (ie in the previous example- mounted nomadic peoples are highly mobile and need to easily carry their wealth (often on clothing and tack) therefore small, elaborate decorative artwork that can easily be carried from place to place is a very likely feature)

For the details of the art itself, I come up with loose 'style guides' (usually just in my head) and go from there.

Here's some example questions for forming a style (some are more baseline than others)

Are geometric patterns favored? Organic patterns? Representative patterns (flowers, animals, stars, etc)? Abstract patterns?

Is there favored material(s)? Beads, bone, clay, metals, stones, etc.

When depicting people/animals, is realism favored? Heavy stylization? The emotional impression of an animal? Are key features accentuated?

How perspective typically executed? Does art attempt to capture 3d depth? Does it favor showing the whole body in 2 dimensions (ie much of Ancient Egyptian art, with the body shown in a mix of profile and forward facing perspective so all key attributes are shown)? Will limbs overlap? Are bodies shown static? In motion?

Does artwork of people attempt to beautify them? Does it favor the culture's conception of the ideal body?

Are there common visual motifs? Important symbols? Key subject matters?

What is the art used for? Are its functions aesthetic, tutelary, spiritual, magical? (Will often exist in combination, or have different examples for each purpose)

Who is represented? Is there interest in everyday people? Does art focus on glorifying warriors, heroes, kings?

Are there conventions for representing important figures? (IE gods/kings/etc being depicted larger than culturally lesser subjects)

Is there visual shorthand to depict objects/concepts that are difficult to execute with clarity (the sun, moon, water), or are invisible (wind, the soul), or have no physical component (speech)?

Etc

Deciding on answers to any of these questions will at least give you a unique baseline, and you can fill in the rest of the gaps and specify a style further until it is distinct. Many of these questions are not mutually exclusive, both in the sense of elements being combined (patterns with both geometric and organic elements) or a culture having multiple visual styles (3d art objects having unique features, religious artwork having its own conventions, etc).

Also when you're getting in depth, you should have cultural syncretism in mind. Cultures that routinely interact (whether this interaction is exchange or exploitation) inevitably exchange ideas, which can be especially visible in art. Doing research on how this synthesizing of ideas works in practice is very helpful- what is adopted or left out from an external influence, what is retained from an internal influence, what is unique to this synthesis, AND WHY. (I find Greco-Buddhist art really interesting, that's one of many such examples)

Looking at real world examples that fit your parameters can be helpful (ie if I've decided on geometric patterns in my 'style guide', I'll look at actual geometric patterns). And I strongly encourage trying to actually LEARN about what you're seeing. All art exists in a context, and having an understanding of how the context shapes art, how art does and doesn't relate to broader aspects of a society, etc, can help you when synthesizing your own.

[hiraeth-daydreams]

Fellow mythkin, cryptids, other nonhumans of the like, urban legend enthusiasts, and people in the anthropology (such as myself) or religious sciences fields:

[seraphim-soulmate]

when my roommates put things back in the kitchen incorrectly it makes me frustrated and angry. apparently, did you know, this is not a thing all or most humans experience ? some people don't have an intense emotional reaction to things not being stacked in the optimal way, or pans not being put back in their "usual" spot. did you know this. did you.

[shredsandpatches]

tfw the visiting researcher comes in and asks you if you watched the debate last night and you answer affirmatively but do not go into detail lest you be told that the Democrats would be right-wing in Europe

[beingatoaster]

did a bunch of research today about living gluten-free while sharing a kitchen with someone who isn't and am preemptively exhausted at the idea of talking about this with Mom and how much pushback I'm going to get (who already, the day I told her about the celiac diagnosis, went "that's only really an issue if it's very severe, and of course yours isn't" as if I haven't been in miserable pain for the past 8 months)

[kaurwreck]

may i suggest you IEUqLL8J4gI on youtube? spoiler: it's not actually about killing gods in jrpgs

I don't love video essays because of how they tend to conflate, oversimplify, and often misstate or misrepresent information. They also tend to be poorly organized/structured. I think this video falls into similar issues, and its framing of Japan is infantilizing and orientalist at times.

Your summary is a good example of why it's not well constructed— the essay should, actually, be about killing gods in jrpgs. Context isn't supposed to distract from the thesis; it's supposed to support and provide an analytical lens. Nothing exists in a vacuum (not even American video game tropes, despite what the intro implied, or even the outro with its overextension of classical theology). But I think the creator misses background context relevant to the point, overattributes to the West (and in doing so, strips substantial autonomy, sovereignty, and culpability from Japan), and conflates Eastern philosophies and religions (and attempts to compare both to the West without considering comparably influential Western philosophy at all). The essay also suffers from a common issue in media analyses online in that the essay contains very little actual analysis (the analysis doesn't begin until after 1 hour into a 1.5 hour video— and is very rushed with only thin connections made to only some of the background information).

But, I do appreciate the recommendation, and it was definitely interesting. I can only be critical because of the sheer amount of background I've inhaled and because I don't think I'm necessarily the target audience. I also struggle to critique anything unless there's something substantial enough to latch onto, and so, as far as I'm concerned, the fact I have specific criticisms at all speaks well of the recommendation.

[blujayonthewing]

small brain: melliwyk likes a lot of pickled foods because pickling is really common in traditional gnomish cuisine for [worldbuilding spiral] reasons

big brain: melliwyk likes pickles because they're very forgiving of being purchased and then forgotten about

[thespacesay]

ID: a tag. #this is actually how the CDC makes decisions i believe / end ID

the CDC has declared THE MIASMA harmless after extensive research by Subway Fresh™ scientists. “if THE MIASMA were dangerous,” say researchers, “no one would be able to Eat Fresh™ this summer”

[turtlemagnum]

sometimes you can really tell when somebody who doesnt really know shit about guns is trying their damndest to make an educated guess on something related to it, and it can honestly be really cute when they're not being insufferable about it

[irkendogma]

i need to go into freaklore more on this blog. i need to say more about the fucking mountains of detail i've ended up spitballing

[shdwtouch]

once again thinking about shade making content about her life and being goth in her modern universe. idk I just like both the "get goth with me" and "ungoth with me for xyz" videos and she would do both tbh. I also just. kick my feet imagining a young shade learning to do her makeup from watching tutorial videos. being a baby bat. ; w ;

also not me forgetting that medieval goth is a thing

[faggling]

superficial analysis of music annoys me deeply

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

I promised you some lions! Let's talk about manes, males, and management.

This is Tandie, the current male lion at the Woodland Park Zoo.

Notice anything odd about him? He's got one of those hilarious awkward teenager manes. Except... this cat is nine years old.

I was, of course, immediately curious.

Manes serve a lot of purposes for male lions, including being an indicator of health and fitness - it's actually a sexually selected trait and a social signal. Mane texture / hair quality / length is dependent on nutrition and the body having energy to grow (and carry around!) that much hair! The color is also a signal: males with darker manes have been found to have higher testosterone levels.

In one research report, wild males were much more likely to avoid a lion decoy when it had a longer or darker mane - but the girls really loved a dark mane. It's thought this is because a long, dark mane is an indicator of mate quality. Males with longer, darker manes have higher testosterone and were pretty healthy: meaning they had more energy for fighting, had a better chance of recovering if they got injured, and generally had a higher rate of offspring survival. Manes matter!

So, back to Tandie. He was actually born at the Woodland Park Zoo in 2014 alongside two brothers, to dad Xerxes and mother Adia.

This was Xerxes (rip).

Obviously, a very large, dark, lush mane on Xerxes here. So where did these blond muttonchops come from on his son?

I asked the zoo docents and got an answer that didn't make a lot of sense. They told me that after the three cubs grew into adolescents, they were moved to the Oakland Zoo together. But living together suppressed his testosterone, and he never grew a mane.

Hmmmm.

Here's a photo from 2016, when the brothers debuted at Oakland. They're a year and a half old in this photo.

(Photo Credit: Oakland Zoo)

And here's from an announcement for their third birthday.

(Photo credit: Oakland Zoo)

Okay, so these dudes obviously all were growing manes as of 2017. I think Tandie is the one on the left in the first photo, and laying down in the middle on the second. What happened?

I was just in the Bay Area for a zoo road trip, of course I went to Oakland and tracked down a docent to ask some questions.

It turns out that shortly after the brothers turned three, they started acting like adult male lions: they started scuffling regularly. It's a normal social thing for male lions to live in groups, called coalitions, but according to my lion experts there's generally a baseline level of some social jostling within them. It wasn't quite clear from what the docent said if they couldn't manage the boys together, or if they just wanted to avoid the scratches and small wounds that result from normal lion behavior. Regardless, they put all three of the boys on testosterone blockers in order to be able to keep them together as a social group.

Now, I don't know a lot about the use of hormone alteration as a form of captive animal management, except in the case of birth control. I don't think it's something that's unethical - there was just a webinar on it that I saw go by - but I don't think it's commonly done with big cats. Lions have kind of complicated reproductive cycles, and for instance, we've been learning that female lions can take much longer to come into estrus again than expected after coming off hormonal birth control.

In males, testosterone blockers (or being neutered) means they lose their manes. This is why a lot of rescues will do a vasectomy on their males instead of a neuter - it allows them to keep their mane and the social signals that accompany it.

Tandie returned home to Woodland Park Zoo after Xerxes passed in early 2022, and the docent told me all of the lions had been off their blockers "for while." I'd guess those things happened around the same time, since bringing the trio down to a duo at Oakland would reduce some of the social tensions.

Hormones are such interesting things, though. One of Tandie's brothers has a full mane again, and the other is still totally mane-less.

As for Tandie, his mane is growing back in, and it looks like he might rival his dad for length and coloration.

He started here, in February:

Yesterday:

What a difference four months (and maybe proximity to a girl) makes!

[the-casbah-way]

i already hate the “octavius is an emperor” thing with all my being but when people explicitly write him to be emperor augustus (which i already do not like) and try to act like he was a good person ???? like having octavius talk about how he’s trying his best to be a good emperor for his people and blah blah blah girl fucking EMPEROR AUGUSTUS ?????? MR PROSCRIPTIONS ????? A ROMAN EMPEROR ?????? come on man

[bread-tab]

Today in Mysterious Undiagnosed Hypermobility Issue Adventures...

My feet are two different sizes. I recently changed jobs and have to wear the most protective shoes I have on hand, aka, my old hiking boots which require a different type of sock on each foot to fit right. I'd previously been wearing work shoes that are more comfortable (but too flimsy for this job) and don't have the sock problem. So, I forgot. I wore the same thickness of socks on both feet for a few days.

This has resulted in a mild injury to my larger foot, which I didn't actually notice until today because my feet were both so sore yesterday from constantly walking around for 8 hours. It feels more or less okay, and then I put weight on it and it sparks a dull pain in the ball of my foot and feels like one or two of my toes are being bent in a way they're not supposed to.

The natural impulse I've experienced all day is to fix this by pulling on my toes. Didn't work. Eventually I had to start telling myself, "stop messing with it, if you actually tore or bruised something that's just going to irritate it." But the feeling persisted...

I must pop my toes.

So at last I gave in. After a few hours, I gently pulled on each toe and popped the joints. As expected, it had very little effect. Until the ring toe. Then all of a sudden something went clunk and popped very loudly and the pain stopped for a good couple of minutes.

Unfortunately I did take this to mean "pulling on toes is the solution!" and managed to aggravate some other part of my foot, so it's back to square one. But I could swear, that one misaligned toe feels like it's finally back in place after being messed up somewhere down in the phalange/metatarsal hookup zone. Still a little tender, but the main problem (weight-bearing issue) seems to have at least migrated to a different toe.

In conclusion: What the fuck?