#ii acorn paper

[arandombirdie]

Whiteboard doodles

[cookieseals]

welp since the finale is coming out soon, why not drop this during the meantime

Og screenshot below read more:

[quietblueriver]

Part II of the Camp Prudaj AU, featuring equine therapist Imogen and children’s vlogger Laudna. Part I here.

In which Laudna appears and charms Imogen through a phone screen.

-

The episode opened on a tiny animated paw batting at a skein of red yarn, which unraveled to spell Crafting Creatures as a melody, something that sounded like it was coming from a phonograph, played in the background. It was cute and seemed fairly normal for a show aimed at children, even if the paw was a little gaunt.

And then the creature to whom the paw belonged came running out after the yarn, scruffy black rodent body and bone-white bird skull head skittering across the screen, a small with Laudna and Pate scrawling in black font behind its tail as it moved.

“What the fuck?”

The words escaped on an exhale, low and reflexive, her head moving away from the screen of her phone, like she might see something different than a half-living, mutant rat chasing a ball of yarn if she gave it a little distance.

She did not see something different.

The creature turned to face the camera and titled its head as it said, “Well, what’re you waitin’ for? Stop starin’ and come on in.” The accent was absurd, something from a community theater production about a chimney sweep in Whitestone, and Imogen huffed a laugh, torn between revulsion and amusement.

And then the camera zoomed out and faded to black, opening again on a woman—Laudna, she assumed—sitting in a worn, ornate rocking chair that looked as though it could’ve been pulled from a few centuries back. Its occupant might’ve come with it. She was all delicate, high cheekbones and big, dark eyes. The tilt of her head and the cut of her jawline, the way her hands moved effusively and still somehow gracefully with her words, which were, themselves, lilted out in a distinctive accent (Whitestone, she thought, but about as far from Pate’s overexaggerated growl as possible)–all of it was classic and classically feminine, a match to her chair and the lace of her high collar.

“Hello, there. Welcome to Crafting Creatures. I’m Laudna and…” Her hand disappeared for a moment over the side of her chair and when it appeared again, it was maneuvering the wooden sticks of a puppet, a familiar and horrifying rat thing coming to sit on its hind paws (Haunches? Her rat anatomy was lacking.). “You’ve already met Pate.”

The rat took a bow, tiny front paws dipping low as its body tilted. “‘Ello. Pate de Rolo at your seeervice.”

Laudna made a small effort to hide the movement of her mouth but seemed much more concerned with Pate’s movements, and, Imogen imagined, maintaining that fucking accent. She was smiling, really smiling, as Laudna drawled, voice unnaturally low, “What’re we up to t’day, boss?”

Laudna’s eyes met the camera directly again, and in her own voice, she offered, body moving side to side very slightly in what might’ve been anxiety but which seemed much more like irrepressible delight, “Well, I thought we’d make some acorn dolls.”

The screen shifted to a list of materials, ones that had also been posted in the description, Imogen noticed, and Laudna read them and then said, easily, “And if you don’t have these, don’t worry! You can pause here to go find some acorns or draw the dolls on paper or just imagine on your own!”

The screen shifted again and Laudna tapped a long, bony finger against her temple, black nail a stark contrast to her pale skin.

“Remember, your mind is a wonderful thing. It can take you wherever you’d like to go. And anytime you’d like! So, today, if you’d like to make dolls the same way that Pate and I will or differently than we will—with shells or pen and paper or in your fantastic imagination—please do! We’re excited to make something with you.”

“Enough talkin’,” Pate said, dancing across Laudna’s lap to perch on an arm of the chair and stare at the camera with the black holes where its eyes should be. “Let’s get to it.”

Imogen followed along as Laudna and Pate decorated their acorns—faces with various expressions, pants and skirts and dresses of every color—and then stacked them together to form little dolls. The camera shifted occasionally, shots from above of the decoration and process, Pate’s little claw making an appearance every now and again, and wider shots of the small table where they worked.

She tuned out after a few minutes, caught in watching Laudna. Her mannerisms and tone and vocabulary all made Imogen feel like she might be watching one of the classic movies her math teacher had loved so much, one well-worn copy or another in the old VHS player on an afternoon close to a holiday break.

It took her a few minutes to notice, because Laudna was incredibly charming and incredibly gorgeous and because, relatedly, Imogen was incredibly gay, but there was something different about Laudna, something that made Imogen’s brain whisper, Look again, although she hadn’t, from the moment Laudna appeared on screen, considered looking away.

She was alluring in the same way all of those actresses had been to (equally incredibly gay) teenage Imogen, undeniably beautiful and out of her time.

But unlike the lead in An Evening in Whitestone, there was something just slightly too much about Laudna. Her skin was too pale, too thin, her eyes too wide and too dark, her hands moved just this side of too quickly, closer, upon examination, to anxious than ethereal. The smile stretched too far across her face and the features were too sharp, sliding from delicate to the kind of worrying thinness that warned of illness.

It didn’t make her less gorgeous. Not to Imogen, anyway, who appreciated unique features and who, with her own scars climbing from her fingers to her sternum, liked to believe that imperfect didn’t mean unattractive. (It didn’t, on other people. The opposite really. She was a sucker for a scar and a story. As for herself, well. She was trying.)

It did, though, make her different, and it made Imogen, who understood very well how differentness could shape a person, consider her (examine felt too clinical and also at least a little creepy but was probably, if she were honest with herself, the best word for what she was doing)—the way she moved, the way she dressed, the musicality of her voice, Pate. Laudna seemed so wonderfully herself, but Imogen wondered how much of the way she carried herself was meant to distract, whether Laudna had always been built for a different time, what made her want to make a children’s series with a nightmare puppet. She wanted to know her, she realized. And she might get to.

As Laudna and Pate settled back in the rocking chair and began to discuss next week’s project—some furniture for the acorn dolls—and what materials they would be using, Imogen found herself looking forward to coffee.

Laudna laughed at something Pate said, which Imogen considered, after this brief time watching, to be endearing rather than disconcerting. She took a look at the time and plugged in her phone. There was a whole playlist of these videos, and she had a whole evening of nothing.

“What do you say to a quick story, before we go?”

“Yeah! What abou’ the one with the crickets?”

“Wonderful choice. Do you know, I made some finger puppets that will work beautifully for this.” She rummaged in the basket beside the chair and emerged with a handful of small, knitted multicolored creatures. “Alright. Ready, then?”

Imogen kicked off her shoes and settled back into her bed. Ready.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

When the Russian Mafia Learned Not to Mess With Artemis Fowl II

I've been an Artemis Fowl girl (not the movie) for a long time, and while I think the first book in the series is literally a perfect first book, it's not my favorite in the series. That honor goes to book two, Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident. And I think that the key points that really make this my favorite book are the shift from brilliantly executed archetypes to genuine characters, the fact that a 12-year-old absolutely OWNS the mafia, and the expansion of the worldbuilding in Haven and the Lower Elements generally. Oh also, this is where we get Opal Koboi for the first time. *Screes in best villainess ever* Let's Talk Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident.

There will be light spoilers below the break, as is pretty standard for all books second and later on this blog, so be warned.

First of all, in the first Artemis Fowl book, the characters are--with the exception of Artemis and Holly--largely archetypal. That falls apart here, because the story isn't trying to be a fairy tale or a heist so much as it is Opal Koboi and Briar Cudegon trying to start a war that Artemis has to stop in order to get fairy help to rescue his father from captivity by the Russian Mafia. Book 1 Butler is your standard bodyguard with a heart of gold, Commander Root is a standard grouchy police chief, and Trouble Kelp is basically ye olde marine. Briar Cudgeon is power hungry, and that's about it.

By book 2, Bulter is getting more personality and a low-key understanding with Holly and Root because they're all "old soldiers" in his book. Root gets to actually have some personality and is a damn good field commander--can we just take a sec to appreciate how much he cares (gruffness notwithstanding) about Holly and the fact that he super did not care that the sealed acorn was blasphemy because it worked!? He becomes more than just a hardass vaguely sexist archetype, and I have SUCH a soft spot for Julius Root. We also get some more of Trouble and Grub Kelp. Briar Cudgeon stays pretty simple, but that's fine because we have Opal goddamn Koboi for a more complex and also very classical villainess--she is LOVING being evil and frankly she is never not a joy to watch. Opal knows how to lean in to sheer joyous villainy.

I'm also just a fan of Artemis actually running into the real world with his planning. Our boy can absolutely sketch out an on-paper plan that is brilliant, but then you get things like gaps in train tracks, fairy politics, dwarf reflexology, and humans reacting in weirdass ways and suddenly Artemis has to get his hands a bit dirty and he has to improvise. Our boy grows and STILL hands the Russian Mafia its collective ass on a radioactive submarine hatch. Artemis Fowl's character growth in this book is great.

Book 1 was very limited to Fowl Manor and its grounds. We got a bit of Haven and the Lower Elements in book 1, but book 2 is mostly in the Lower Elements and Russia, and the expansion of what Haven is like, what shuttleports are like, what Koboi Labs is like, what Howler's Peak is like, is incredible. We get more fairy lore, fairy life, and more LEP. This keeps expanding in later books, but this is our first really close look at the world beyond what was strictly necessary for the kidnapping and rescue plot of the first book, and that's very fun.

I know I've already mentioned Opal Koboi and her gleefully unhinged joy at her seemingly imminent rise to Empress, but honestly I love her to little tiny peices. She is too samrt for her own good, she girlbossed her own father into literally insanity, and her college-era feud with Foaly is just peak "the smartest kids in class have extremely different skillsets and they hate each other for it". Opal starts off very evil kitten, but kitty has claws and she's just waiting for a chance to unsheath them.

The Artemis Fowl series is improbably good, and I cannot recommend it enough. Especially this fozen, slightly radioactive entry in the series that is very much my favorite book.

[branzycrafted]

CERTIFIED BRANZY FICTIVE PLAYLIST(TM)!!

This is just a mix of mostly songs I like and maybe a few I apply to myself or c!branzy!! But mostly just songs I like. Not all of the songs are on spotify but they ARE on YouTube that's why I have both :D

[Spotify playlist]

[YouTube playlist]

Tracklist:

1. Welcome To The Trading Hall (Branzy)

2. Dr. Sunshine Is Dead (Will Wood)

3. Thermodynamic Lawyer Esq, G.F.D. (Will Wood)

4. BlackBoxWarrior - OKULTRA

5. Turn Off The Lights (P!ATD)

6. A Gorey Demise (Creature Feature)

7. The Room Where It Happens (Hamilton)

8. Devil's Train (The Lab Rats)

9. We Both Reached For The Gun (Chicago)

10. ENTER: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO FAKING YOUR DEATH (Jhariah)

11. DEBT COLLECTOR (Jhariah)

12. Whose Eye Is it Anyway??? (Jhariah)

13. BAD LUCK! (Jhariah)

14. Flight Of The Crows (Jhariah)

15. Just Gold (Caleb Hyles)

16. Punk Tactics (Joey Valence & Brae)

17. Told Ya So (Get Scared)

18. Bad Romance (Halestorm)

19. Combat Carousel (Nombra101)

20. ClownPierce's Theme (Nombra101)

21. Born To Win (Nombra101)

22. NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO BE A (Toby Fox)

23. Hello Kitty (Jazmin Bean)

24. KAWAII (TATARKA)

25. Ghost Rule (Defoko, but I also like the crossover/mashup version with Meiko and Araki)

26. Honey I'm Home (Ghost and Pals)

27. ECHO (Crusher-P)

28. Wildfire (Crusher-P)

29. Roki (mikitoP)

30. KING (Kanaria)

31. Hai Domo (cao white)

32. Welcome To The Internet (Bo Burnham)

33. Mary On A Cross (Ghost)

34. Running Up That Hill (Loveless)

35. Blow My Brains Out (Tikkle Me)

36. Bitchboy (The Oozes) ((<- shameless)

37. Scotty Doesn't Know (Lustra)

38. End In Tragedy (SIO)

39. sugar honey ice & tea (BMTH)

40. Uma Thurman (FOB)

41. (Coffee's For Closers) (FOB)

42. 20 Dollar Nose Bleed (FOB)

43. West Coast Smoker (FOB)

44. Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time (P!ATD)

45. Emperor's New Clothes (P!ATD)

46. Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off (P!ATD)

47. There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Figured It Out Yet (P!ATD)

48. Victorious (P!ATD)

49. House Of Memories (P!ATD)

50. Golden Days (P!ATD)

51. Ruler Of Everything (Tally Hall)

52. & (Tally Hall)

53. The Bidding (Tally Hall)

54. My Alcoholic Friends (The Dresdin Dolls)

55. Bleed Magic (IDKHOW)

56. Absinthe (IDKHOW)

57. Hayloft (Mother Mother)

58. Hayloft II (Mother Mother)

59. World's Smallest Violin (AJR)

60. Wow, I'm Not Crazy (AJR)

61. Burn The House Down (AJR)

62. Bang! (AJR)

63. Eleanor Ribgy (Remastered 2015) (The Beatles)

64. King For A Day (PTV)

65. Black Cat (Never Shout Never)

66. Partners In Crime (SIO)

67. The Last Of The Real Ones (FOB)

68. You're Gonna Go Far, Kid (The Offspring)

69. Angel With A Shotgun (The Cab)

70. Icarus (Bastille)

71. Crazy = Genius (P!ATD)

72. Fear & Delight (The Correspondents)

73. Paper Planes (M.I.A.)

74. Do It All The Time (IDKHOW)

75. Enjoy The Ride (Krewella)

76. Devil I Know (Allie X)

77. Carousel (Neoni)

78. Wonderland (Neoni)

79. Royalty (Connor Maynard)

80. Looking Like This (Lyre Le Temps)

81. Build Our Machine (DAGames)

82. The Devil's Swing (Fandroid & Caleb Hyles)

83. Casino Royale (Derivakat)

84. Posin' (Peggy Suave)

85. Tangled Up (Lokee Remix) (Caro Emerald)

86. Booty Swing (Parov Stelar)

87. Chillout Swing (HAVEADREAM)

88. Electro Swing! (Runaway 404)

89. Peeping Tom (Jamie Berry)

90. Sweet Rascal (Jamie Berry)

91. Lost In The Rhythm (Jamie Berry)

92. Jericho (Grant Lazlo)

93. Dixie Biscuit (Tape Five)

94. Kiss Me (Jazzotron vs Jamie Berry)

95. Time For Tea (Melbourne Swing Mix) (11 Acorn Lane)

96. Swing What You Got (5 IN LOVE vs Can Canavaral)

97. The Devil's Swing (SirensCeol)

98. Swagger Stagger (Lucas Pittman)

99. Mama Swing (Lucas Pittman)

100. Casino Swing (Drum Swing)

101. Die House (Electro Swing remix) (The Musical Ghost)

102. Black Betty (Caravan Palace)

103. Play Roulette (HD Studio)

104. Poker Face (HD Studio)

105. Royal Flush (HD Studio)

106. Poker Cheater (HD Studio)

107. Excitement (HD Studio)

108. Feeling Victory (HD Studio)

[twistednuns]

October 2020

To buttress - increase the strength of or justification for; reinforce / to mollycoddle - to give someone too much care or protection. 

A letter from Nina. One of those weird internet connections. Not my first one, certainly not my last one.

Frank’s DnD backstory reads quite insightful/poetic to me as he has taken so much from his life. He might have done it without intent but it’s quite obvious to me. I’ve agreed to make a character sketch for him. I’m looking forward to the challenge but I’m also afraid of starting the project because obviously I want it to be perfect. Anyway so the other night I sat at his kitchen table and started drawing a facial composite for his goliath. Lots of sketches actually with him giving me some prompts and ideas. I think he loved watching me do my magic. What a peaceful moment.

Applause from some students. Simply for entering the room. They must really hate their English teacher, eh?

I’ve started forming the habit of drawing tarot cards on a full moon and new moon night. It helps me set an intention for the following two weeks. So on the first of October I drew the Queen of Wands to represent me and I’m loving it. It’s the perfect choice.

The fabric dyeing process for the Plot exhibition at Haus der Kunst

Inviting warmth into my life. Wearing appropriately warm clothing. Even hats. Drinking tea all the time. Turning the heating on even though it’s only September. Warm breakfast. Ayurveda inspiration. Hot baths. Thinking about buying an electric heating blanket for my bed.So far I’ve been taking a hot water bottle to bed with me pretty much every night.

Finding one of those Barts woolly animal hats online. This one came with tigers. And the seller sent me a cherry marzipan teabag. I enjoyed it on a cold and rainy Saturday morning.

FAQ: The Status of the Shits Women Have Left to Give

Reading the final scenes of Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy. I actually took the wrong bus one evening and ended up in front of one of the Pinakotheken instead of Villa Stuck. I must have been quite immersed. I’m very happy with the ending. I mean, the main character is walking around the house barefoot with the smell of fresh paint following her, her hair loose. What a wonderful image.

The wind blowing through the maple trees outside my living room window. I’m just going to quote a Wikipedia article to explain what happened next: The distinctive fruits are called samaras, “maple keys”, “helicopters”, “whirlybirds” or “polynoses”. These seeds occur in distinctive pairs each containing one seed enclosed in a “nutlet” attached to a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue. They are shaped to spin as they fall and to carry the seeds a considerable distance on the wind. People often call them “helicopters” due to the way that they spin as they fall. During World War II, the US Army developed a special airdrop supply carrier that could carry up to 65 pounds (29 kg) of supplies and was based on the maple seed.

Monsieur Wiener - I’ve paid him a visit when I had problems with my analogue Pentax camera!

I don’t know why but one dark Friday evening I slipped into the empty church at Odeonsplatz. I loved the peaceful atmosphere, the specific smell and the red church candles flickering.

I loved meeting Flo. We had such a great time, constantly joking, talking about this and that. Sailor Mercury, Hades, our family. His wink. He said that I had been exactly right but in the end apparently I wasn’t. It stung because he had been one of the rare guys in the last months (years, actually) I actually liked. Oh well. I guess it wasn’t meant to be after all. This is what the Universe had to say about it the other day: There are no accidents. If it’s appeared on your life’s radar, this is why: to teach you that dreams come true; to reveal that you have the power to fix what’s broken and heal what hurts; to catapult you beyond seeing with just your physical senses; and to lift the veils that have kept you from seeing that you’re already the person you dreamed you’d become.

Videos of Marno and Erin together. Also: she is so freakin’ beautiful as a marauder.

A surprise call from Ann-Katrin.

Sweet chai tea with milk.

The bright moonlight making the neighbours’ roof look like fish scales.

Forensic linguistics. I listened to a podcast episode about the Unabomber who was only discovered after his brother had noticed some stylistic irregularities in his manifesto. You can’t eat your cake and have it too.

Autumn leaves. Especially when it’s just the outer leaves turning red or yellow while the rest of the foliage is still green.

Sitting next to my ten-year-old student Ella on the bus on our way home on a Friday afternoon. She’s a very chatty Gemini and even though her self-importance and constant talking can be quite annoying I’ve kinda taken a liking to her.

A bunch of Alstroemeria in my dark green glass vase on the desk. A pretty image.

I still appreciate how beautiful my LuLuLemon thermos bottle is after all this time.

I should probably mention my new hair (extensions). Well, it looks absolutely gorgeous from the front. But I already know that I won’t get them again because you can see the glue in a few places, it’s quite hard, often painful and feels unnatural. And of course it’s much too expensive.

Baby carrots with King hummus.

My lunch dates with Becky.

Making my favourite sour thai curry. With rice noodles. And peanuts and cilantro. Yum.

Starting to work on a big soapstone sculpture. It’s going to be a hand! I love it when I have a group of calm students. It allows me to work on a project with them.

Making delicious pumpkin lasagna.

Visiting Manu’s mum. Making plum dumplings together. A fun afternoon in their kitchen.

A very cosy Sunday. Waking up at 5:30am. Watching Practical Magic in bed. Having a slice of pumpkin lasagna for breakfast. A sudden urge to get out, dressing up to keep out the cold, going out, early, streetlights still on. A walk through the woods. I loved how calm everything was. Being out before all the others had a chance to disturb the stillness with their kids and dogs and bicycles. Making lebkuchen. Lots of pecans. Having a nap. Writing a letter. Drawing weird mushrooms and bugs.

Autumnal smells. The moist smell of the forest ground, mushrooms, the smell of chimneys on a cold Sunday morning. Incense, gingerbread spices. Facial oil with lavender and iris. Roasted pecans.

A crafty day. I made a haunted house, some ghosts, spiders, bats, skulls and pumpkins out of paper.

Schlurp.

Meeting Frank in front of Residenztheater. The whole square was empty, he was the only person there. Waiting for me. Looking up to the opera roof. What an impressive building.

Talking about living life in story mode and action mode. I feel so stuck in action mode at the moment and desperately want to switch to story mode. Fantasy, magic, coincidences and meaning.

Spicy pumpkin recipes in the current issue of Schrot und Korn.

Rice and hazelnut milk as a bedtime treat.

Collecting autumn leaves. Chestnuts, acorns, feathers, beechnuts. Making a little autumnal alter with some crystals.

Thursday mornings. So much time for myself. Lots of tea, warm breakfast.

Treating myself to massages and nice facial creams and serums. Ya Yah is such a gifted person. I love her massages the most. The other day I also got a facial for the first time in many many years. It was nice to be wrapped in an extremely fluffy blanket. When the bright lights were on I could see different colours after closing my eyes and imagined being at a tropical beach. Unintentional ASMR sounds from the rubber gloves. Cosy.

Spicy winter tea in my new thermos bottle. The steam swirling up from my favourite mug (the moon phase mug I bough in Canada).

Buying cheap sparkly stickers, washi tape and stamps. Just because.

Pecan nuts are the BEST. Crazy delicious.

Porridge with coconut milk and mango for breakfast. Persimmons. Candles in the morning.

Gloomy twilight. The dark hour right before sunset/sunrise. Spooky black silhouettes against the ink blue or greyish white sky. Fairy lights. Memories of spending Halloween at Greyfriar’s Kirkyard in Edinburgh.

Finding yet another woolly hat for my collection. This time with pheasants.

Deltavenus’ Instagram feed.

Cutting open a fresh lime.

Happily singing along to my two favourite mantras (Jai Mata Kali / Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha) while making apple galette. Trying to harmonise in different ways.

A very surprising call from Claudia. She ended up in my kitchen, drinking half a bottle of wine.

A lovely Sunday with Sash. A walk through the English garden.   Watching the waterfall, falling leaves, backlit by the afternoon sunlight. Haus der Kunst. Getting in for free (art teacher bonus). I really liked the Michael Armitage exhibition and the enormous dyed curtains in the hall. Franz Erhard Walther’s Dust of Stars autobiography was impressive as well. I just ordered the book online; I’m looking forward to reading it. We also had a drink at Goldene Bar and enjoyed a late lunch at Baoz Bar.

Becky leaving me a lovely note and an English magazine on my desk.

Fink’s Knödelstube with Lena and Sash. We had 13 different kinds of dumplings. Heavenly delicious.

I came to realise that mornings are my favourite time of the day. I love gloomy, dark sunrises and my usual productivity highs.

Writing limericks with the kids.

Getting lost in the woods after dark which might not look like a good think at first glance but I uncovered a little secret - some bee hives I had never seen before!

A mild obsession with The Corrs’ song Old Town. I didn’t even know where it came from. It’s not a song I’ve ever actively listened to.

Learning about sesame plants. Another one of those plants I expected to look completely different.

I can smell mushrooms. On Saturday morning I went to the forest again early in the morning and whenever I would get a whiff of mushrooms and look down there they were.

Dog owners wishing me a good morning on my walk. Interestingly only men, the women tend to ignore me.

Wicked! - Modern Art’s Interest in the Occult. Learning about Leonora Carrington.

James’ chameleons in art class. He drew one representing each of his family members. He was the one licking a bat. Bold.

Buying far too many books. But I found out that Naomi Novik just published a new novel about a school of magic. And within two days I came across the writer Ursula K. Le Guin three times so I took it as a sign and got one of her books as well.

Prepare for the Roaring Twenties - The human desire to socialize will survive the pandemic.

A deep talk session with Jonathan about getting old, having children, self-worth, dating, obeying rules.

Finding my favourite pair of jeans on Kleiderkreisel for a fraction of the original price. And a baseball jacket with a Strange Ladies Society print on the back.

A walk in the forest before work. Something I’ve never done before I think. So good for my nerves, really.

The art of decision-making.

Joy praising me for my authoritative voice (effectively making the fifth-graders do what I want).

Decorating the classroom with the fifth-graders. I love my haunted house on the window pane, their lovely spiders, ghosts and bats. I should probably mention that our class mascot is a cute spider named Crawley so we’re all quite into spooky stuff. On the last day before the holidays we all showed up in costumes, played a Halloween quiz, listened to creepy music and I brought some candy, too. Fun!

Meeting the gang on Halloween. Japanese-inspired dinner and a board game.

[upbeatee]

Six uplifting facts to put a smile on your face

Watching the news on TV or our smartphones can sometimes be a very sobering experience and it can be very easy to feel down about what’s happening in the world these days.

However, it is important to find little nuggets of happiness where we can. To help you along, here are some little uplifting facts to put a smile on your face:

1. Penguins and puffins ‘propose’ to prospective mates by giving them a pebble as a gift. Once they find a mate, they stay with them for life. Cows are pretty loyal creatures too and have best friends. When they are apart from their friends, they have been known to get stressed.

2. A man in Salem, Oregon in the US goes around hiding $100 bills in toilet paper to surprise strangers. No-one knows who the mysterious philanthropist is.

3. Every year, the Netherlands sends 20,000 tulip bulbs to Canada as a way of thanking the country for their help and support during World War II.

4. There are vending machines in Turkey which give out food for stray dogs and cats when people put empty bottles into them.

5. Most countries in the world use Gross National Product (GDP) as a metric for measuring their prosperity, but in Bhutan, they also use Gross National Happiness as a key indicator of how they country and its people are doing.

6. Forgetful squirrels who can find where they put their acorns end up inadvertently planting thousands of new trees every year.

Find more uplifting content with the books from www.upbeatee.com.

[scotianostra]

On 4th February 1818 Sir Walter Scott supervised the rediscovery of the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish Crown Jewels, in Edinburgh Castle.

The story of him rediscovering, or finding the Honours is a bit of nonsense, they always knew where they were but after the union there was no further need for them. Scott petitioned the Royals to bring the jewels out rather than have them hidden away in a chest.

After the union of the parliaments the Honours were no longer needed, even beforehand, since Charles II coronation they had only been used as a symbol of the crown during such times laws had to be passed, the sceptre and possible the sword taken down the Royal Mile to Parliament House every so often to touch a piece of paper ad acknowledge the said bill had Royal ascent. so or 110 years they hadn't seen the light of day.

The story goes that during the winter of 1817-1818, Walter Scott charted the history of the “lost” Honours and by the end of January in the latter year he announced that they were concealed in a box in a strong room deep in Edinburgh Castle.

On February 4, 1818, Scott and a team of workmen went down into the bowels of the Castle to a strong room in which lay an old wooden box. Breaking open the box was “neither an easy or a speedy task”, as Scott himself put it.

Eventually the lid was raised and there lay the Honours, wrapped in the same linen cloths which had surrounded them for 110 years.– the Sword of State with its scabbard, the ruby-topped Sceptre and the magnificent Crown, the first two papal gifts, he reported back to John Wilson Croker, the Prince Regent’s close friend. Here are the transcripts of the letter he sent him. As you would expect from a talented man of the pen, he does wax lyrical, especially in the second letter where he tells a wee bit about the history of the Honours and the events at Dunnottar Castle when Cromwells men came to seize the jewels and destroy them.

Edinburgh, 4th Feb. 1818

My dear Croker, - I have the pleasure to assure you the Regalia of Scotland were this day found in perfect preservation. The Sword of State and Sceptre showed marks of hard usage at some former period; but in all respects agree with the description in Thomson's work. I will send you a complete account of the opening tomorrow, as the official account will take some time to draw up. In the meantime, I hope you will remain as obstinate in your belief as St. Thomas, because then you will come down to satisfy yourself. I know nobody entitled to earlier information, save one, to whom you can perhaps find the means of communicating the result of our researches. The post is just going off. Ever yours truly, Walter Scott

Edinburgh, 7th February 1818

My dear Croker, - I promised I would add something to my report of yesterday, and yet I find I have but little to say. The extreme solemnity of opening sealed doors of oak and iron, and finally breaking open a chest which had been shut since 7th March 1707, about a hundred and eleven years, gave a sort of interest to our researches, which I can hardly express to you, and it would be very difficult to describe the intense eagerness with which we watched the rising of the lid of the chest, and the progress of the workmen in breaking it open, which was neither an easy nor a speedy task. It sounded very hollow when they worked on it with their tools, and I began to lean to your faction of the Little Faiths. However, I never could assign any probable or feasible reason for withdrawing these memorials of ancient independence; and my doubts rather arose from the conviction that many absurd things are done in public as well as in private life, merely out of a hasty impression of passion or resentment. For it was evident the removal of the Regalia might have greatly irritated people's minds here, and offered a fair pretext of breaking the Union, which for thirty years was the predominant wish of the Scottish nation.

The discovery of the Regalia has interested people's minds much more strongly than I expected, and is certainly calculated to make a pleasant and favourable impression upon them in respect to the kingly part of the constitution. It would be of the utmost consequence that they should be occasionally shown to them, under proper regulations, and for a small fee. The Sword of State is a most beautiful piece of workmanship, a present from Pope Julius ii to James iv. The scabbard is richly decorated with filigree work of silver, double gilded, representing oak leaves and acorns, executed in a taste worthy that classical age in which the arts revived. A draughtsman has been employed to make sketches of these articles, in order to be laid before his Royal Highness [the Prince Regent]. The fate of these Regalia, which his Royal Highness's goodness has thus restored to light and honour, has on one or two occasions been singular enough. They were, in 1652, lodged in the Castle of Dunnottar, the seat of the Earl Marischal, by whom, according to his ancient privilege, they were kept. The castle was defended by George Ogilvie of Barra, who, apprehensive of the progress which the English made in reducing the strong places in Scotland, became anxious for the safety of these valuable memorials. The ingenuity of his lady had them conveyed out of the castle in a bag on a woman's back, among some hards, as they are called, of lint. They were carried to the Kirk of Kinneff, and intrusted to the care of the clergyman named Grainger and his wife, and buried under the pulpit. The Castle of Dunnottar, though very strong and faithfully defended, was at length under necessity of surrendering, being the last strong place in Britain on which the royal flag floated in those calamitous times. Ogilvie and his lady were threatened with the utmost extremities by the Republican General Morgan, unless they should produce the Regalia. The governor stuck to it that he knew nothing of them, as in fact they had been carried away without his knowledge. The Lady maintained she had given them to John Keith, second son of the Earl Marischal, by whom, she said, they had been carried to France. They suffered a long imprisonment, and much ill usage. On the Restoration, the old Countess Marischal, founding upon the story Mrs. Ogilvie had told to screen her husband, obtained for her own son, John Keith, the Earldom of Kintore, and the post of Knight Marischal, with £400 a-year, as if he had been in truth the preserver of the Regalia. It soon proved that this reward had been too hastily given, for Ogilvie of Barra produced the Regalia, the honest clergyman refusing to deliver them to any one but those from whom he received them. Ogilvie was made a Knight Baronet, however, and got a new charter of the lands, acknowledging the good service. Thus it happened oddly enough, that Keith, who was abroad during the transaction, and had nothing to do with it, got the earldom, pension, &c., Ogilvie only inferior honours, and the poor clergyman nothing whatever, or, as we say, the hare's foot to lick. As for Ogilvie's lady, she died before the Restoration, her health being ruined by the hardships she endured from the Cromwellian satellites. She was a Douglas, with all the high spirit of that proud family. On her deathbed, and not till then, she told her husband where the honours were concealed, charging him to suffer death rather than betray them. Popular tradition says, not very probably, that Grainger and his wife were booted (that is, tortured with the engine called the boots). I think that the Knight Marischal's office rested in the Kintore family until 1715, when it was resumed on account of the bearded Earl's accession to the Insurrection of that year. He escaped well, for they might have taken his estate and his earldom. I must save post, however, and conclude abruptly. Yours ever, Walter Scott.

Scott’s discovery was absolutely sensational in its day, and sparked widespread displays of Scottish patriotism which never really went away. Despite 201 years of the Union since then, that patriotism, like the Honours of Scotland, has never really disappeared.

The pics black and white pics are from 1927 in Edinburgh Castle, the last pic is quite interesting as it shows the crown without the "bonnet".

The crown was first used on 22 February 1540 and worn by James V at his new wife, Mary de Guise’s coronation at Holyrood Abbey. John Mosman, the Edinburgh jeweller commanded to make the King’s new crown, had less than six weeks to complete the task.

The finished article looked (and still does look) magnificent but apparently, those few who can look closely at the inside of the gold circlet would see rough file marks and hastily attached jewels – tell-tale signs of a rush job. The only time the crown leaves the castle now are when the Queen attends the opening of the Scottish Parliament.

[bahamutgreen]

A hyper analysis of the Mario Stages in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Hey I took the liberty of spending too much time of my life going through some of the Mario stages in Ultimate to find pretty scenes and interesting secrets. I go through each stage one by one in this MASSIVE text post so it’s all hidden under this readmore link! Enjoy the post if you have the time and energy to read it all, haha!!

Super Smash Bros. 64 (2 stages)

Peach’s Castle

As one might expect, the Smash 64 stages don’t have too much to talk about. But I tried to find as much as I could! For starters, here’s a very pretty scenic shot of the background, which is a bird’s eye view of the starting area in Super Mario 64.

Secondly, there are these trees, which are taken directly from Super Mario 64 smushed down a little bit, and had the colors desaturated a bit.

And, just for fun: This isn’t the first time this tree appears on the Nintendo Switch, as this same tree sprite was used in the recreation of the courtyard in Odyssey!

Mushroom Kingdom

Again, not much to talk about but hey here’s something everyone already knows: You can see the blast zones in this stage. I believe this is actually in each iteration of this stage (64, Melee, Ultimate) I also think the fake 2D pipe is a little interesting to look at. It doesn’t blend in very well but it’s cute.

You can also get a glimpse of how far down the vines and mushrooms go

And lastly, here’s a picture of the cute Buzzy Beetle on a spring. Rumor has it that this was added in by a developer without permission in the N64 version? I don’t know if that’s true but it’s a neat story. Also, Buzzy Beetles don’t usually appear above ground, so there’s some trivia for you

Super Smash Bros. Melee (4 Stages)

Princess Peach’s Castle

This is the first stage to get an HD remaster! Look at the beautiful recreation of the Peach Mural in front of the castle!

You can also see the bridge over Peach’s Moat, which I don’t think you could see before

Also, this isn’t intentional and is surely a coincidence but if you clip under Peach’s castle, it looks like there’s a hole in the water which is almost what it looks like if you clip under Peach’s Castle in Super Mario Odyssey.

Lastly, here’s a nice scenic shot of the waterfall behind the castle

Rainbow Cruise

So, this stage opens up with a really beautiful scenic shot. And to the left of the lake, you can see a little town! This was also in the original Melee version of this stage.

Interestingly, if you move the camera you can see that the whole stage is already loaded while you’re on the airship, and the airship is actually stationary.

Yoshi’s Island

OKAY this is a Yoshi Stage cause it’s based on Dinosaur Land but it comes from Super Mario World which is a Mario game so I’m putting it here.

The walk off part of the level actually has grass on it

And the level has been updated to have cute New Super Mario Bros. flowers!

And this stage has cute 2 paintings of the Sprites from Super Mario World AND a shot of nice HD Yoshi Fruit. These fruits have a much more berry or persimmon look in modern Mario titles but the apple look isn’t too far off.

Mushroom Kingdom II

A sequel to the first Mushroom Kingdom Stage, this doesn’t have a lot to talk about either but there is some stuff! It looks very pretty with the All-Stars sprites

And if you look, the tops of the platforms are just a very... neat looking solid green color

And you can even get a peek at where the stage’s background cuts off!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (4 stages)

Delfino Plaza

My favorite Smash Bros. Stage ever! I love all the detail put into this stage, particularly all the stages you can see from the plaza itself. Like Ricco Harbor and Bianco Hills

Pinna Park and Sirena Beach

And even the Airstrip!

There’s also tons of cute details in the Plaza, like the manhole covers and the overhang that contains the Pachinko stage!

Even the open windows have been updated to have fully rendered rooms inside them! Although the camera can’t zoom in very far to see them.

And here’s a fun glitch, you can clip the camera underwater just like clipping Mario under the water in the original Sunshine!

Also I noticed that the fire from Mario’s Final Smash leaves a special burning effect behind when it touches grass

Mushroomy Kingdom

The spinoff to Mushroom Kingdoms I&II, it has a TON of fantastic visual detail. Being a realistic, worn down reimagining of the original 1-1

You’ll notice in the last one that the pipes have covers on them, so you can’t enter them. The castle itself also has a fantastic visual wear and tear

Here’s a cute detail! 6 blocks away from this pipe is a hidden box. Just like the original Super Mario Bros.! In the original game it had a hidden 1-up inside!

Also here’s a nice shot I got of Mario grabbing the flag pole!

Figure-8 Circuit

Most people already know this but you can almost see the full track just out of reach of the screen

You might notice a cute garage and even stands for the audience! However, the stands are filled with humans instead of Mario characters. I think they’re recycled from the Punch Out arena stage. But there’s a screen that keeps track of where the Shyguys are in real time! Neat!

Speaking of which, here’s a close up on the Shyguys. They use the Standard SG Kart just as they would when playing multiplayer mode with 1 cartridge in Mario Kart DS. Which is where Figure-8 Circuit comes from, of course.

Lastly, one of my favorite details in this track is it’s use of Mario aesthetics and platforms as set pieces to build the environment. You can see large mushrooms, hills, checkered floors, and the block platforms seen in Mario Bros. 3!

Luigi’s Mansion

A really nice detail in this stage is that all the rooms you can see are actual rooms from Luigi’s Mansion! In order, left to right, top then bottom, the rooms are: Nursery, Foyer (1F), Study, Kitchen, Foyer, Ballroom.

And by stepping out of the Mansion you get a good look at the front!

But don’t worry, you can still see the cross section if you turn the camera

Some other cute details include the well where you first see Mario’s fate in Luigi’s Mansion, there’s a lot of tombstones around the mansion which take designs from Luigi’s Mansion’s graveyard. And even the chimneys at the top of the mansion are right where they should be!

And lastly here’s some of the Boos that spawn when you destroy chunks of the mansion

Mario Bros.

I only have one thing to talk about with this stage, and it’s that the POW Block has a strange amount of detail to it. It’s updated with this cool, cybernetic design.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (3 Stages)

3D Land

This stage is GORGEOUS, in my opinion. Here’s some good shots that show the detail of blocks, flip panels, Peach’s castle, and spike pillars, all with their 3D Land designs

You can also see a little visual thing where this mountain isn’t exactly in the water

An interesting developer trick is that when you go into the pipe to restart the stage, tilting the camera will show you that almost the whole stage unloads around you

And now... Here’s just a ton of really pretty scenic shots I got from this level. I just think it’s a really nice looking stage. It also does a good job of incorporation Mario elements and platforms into the environments.

okay I’m done sorry

Golden Plains

Some really nice recreations of Mario props in this stage. Here’s the 3 types of coins that appear in the stage, Gold, Red, and Blue. Gold/Blue count as 1 and Red counts as 5.

The little sign at the bottom appears when the stage starts scrolling. Also here’s some other Mario set pieces.

Also this stage isn’t as pretty as 3D Land, it does have some nice background shots

And here’s a screenshot of the stage gimmick, getting 100 coins will turn you into a gold version of your fighter!

Paper Mario

this is another stunning stage to look at. The detail in the paper and crafts are so amazing. 

In the first area, based on Hither Thither Hill, if you look to the side the walk off part of the stage actually has the same walk off between areas that Paper Mario games have!!

Here’s a close up of the fan

The 2nd area, based on the S.S. Flavion, has a super cute references to the reoccuring Big Blooper bosses in Paper Mario and the Whale from Paper Mario 64

The 3rd area, based on Bowser’s Castle in Sticker Star, is just pretty. And when the stage transitions back to the 1st area it actually closes like a story book, how cute!!

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Wii U (4 Stages)

Mushroom Kingdom U

A really underrated stage in my opinion. This is the most recent entry in the Mushroom Kingdom series of stages, based on the New Super Mario Bros. series this time. The first area, based on Acorn Plains, has some very cute environments in it.

You can even see trees containing Super Acorns, which naturally grow in this area! The 2nd area is based on the Meringue Clouds world. It’s so pretty and I even got a shot of the icicles that fall periodically through this stage. Sadly I couldn’t get the beanstalk to spawn? Maybe it’s not in Ultimate’s version of the stage. But I don’t know.

The next area is based on the games’ fortress stages! It has REALLY complex machinery for the center platforms, and you can even move the camera to see down the tower. It’s a LONG drop. I also got close ups of the multiplying blocks

The final area is based on Sparkling Waters and Rock-Candy Mines. It has pretty backdrops and sea urchins!

Lastly, some nice pictures of Kamek!

And Nabbit! Who, interestingly, has a visual glitch on his bag. The top of the Mushroom emblem is incorrectly doubled right underneath it.

Mario Galaxy

Another super pretty stage. It has gorgeous set pieces

Here’s a closeup of Starship Mario and one of Bowser’s airships. Starship Mario has Lubba, the Lumas, and all the trimmings. The airship doesn’t seem to have many crew members, though.

And here’s a closeup of a falling starbit

Mario Circuit

This, like Figure-8 Circuit, is a recreation of Mario Kart 8′s Mario Circuit. It has all the same details (minus an audience to watch)

Also, some of the towers you land on have staircases that go a lot further than you’d think

And lastly, here’s a close up of the shyguy racers. They’re now decked out with the Standard Kart design from Mario Kart 8. If you look closely, the Shyguy’s clothes are also far more detailed than the Shyguys in Figure-8 Circuit.

Super Mario Maker

This is a neat stage because it can shift artstyles mid battle. Here’s a picture of the 4 art styles: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U!

I also got some shots of the hands that will appear to fix parts of the stage you break during combat! I’m sure there’s more hands but we do have human hands, animal hands, and Mario hands!

Mario also has a cute Mario Maker alt. to go along perfectly with this stage!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (1 Stage)

New Donk City Hall

We finally made it! Here’s the end of this massive, way too long post! Here’s some nice shots of the city, a shot of the park, and I even tried getting most of the sky scraper in one shot

Here’s some nice shots of the Odyssey! You’ll notice it has 21 Power Moons, as the official art for the Odyssey has. But it actually takes 55 Power Moons to reach the Metro Kingdom.

Some bonus stuff: A lightbulb, the New Donk City players (plus poster), and even a shot that shows how much of New Donk City was rendered.

And look! It’s Captain Toad!!! I love this fella so much!

His arm looks very weird and long when he puts it in front of his face. But you wouldn’t notice that during normal gameplay anyway

And now... I have no other way of saying this. I have a million shots of Pauline. She’s so gorgeous. I love her so much.

A really nice detail about this is that we get a good shot of Pauline’s back! You don’t get a good look in Odyssey because when you get to her during the festival the camera is locked.

AAAAAAND that’s it! That’s all the little snacks and secrets I found in the Mario stages. This was very fun and very tiring. I hope you enjoyed what I found. I know there’s a ton more stuff I missed. I do also have screenshots from the Mario spinoffs, like Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Wario. So if people wanna see that too I can share them. But hey, for right now. I’m going to sleep. Let me know if you wanna see the spinoff stages or if I should share nicer quality pictures of the environments. That’s all for today. See ya later!

[historysisco]

Yesterday the subject of fake coffee came up at the bar. My friend @brooklyn_flag_guy spent some time in Germany and told me about a coffee substitute called Mukkefuck. The term raised some eyebrows and cause the 10-year old version of me to giggle. To find out more about what this is, I went to the Walled-in-Berlin website. Here is what I found out:

"Muckefuck is a non-coffee product intended to imitate coffee. Coffee substitutes are also often chosen by individuals who wish to avoid caffeine or are given to children. Ingredients used in coffee substitutes frequently include almonds, acorn, asparagus, barley, beechnut, beet root, carrot, chicory root, corn, soybeans, cottonseeds, dandelion root, figs, roasted garbanzo beans, okra seeds, persimmon seeds, potato peels, rye, sassafras pits, sweet potato or wheat bran.

Postum, an instant coffee substitute made from roasted wheat bran, wheat and molasses was popular in the United States during World War II when coffee was rationed. Caro and Pero made from roasted barley, malted barley, chicory and rye were popular in Germany for the same reasons. In addition to being a coffee substitute, the term Muckefuck is also used for very weak coffee, which is often referred to as Bluemchenkaffee (flower coffee). "

The term derives from the French term "mocca faux" (false coffee.)

The Walled-In-Berlin website has a recipe to make your own Mukkefuck.

Ingredients:

2 cups of coarsely ground bulgur

1 cup of coarsely ground corn meal

¼ cup molasses.

Process: Combine all ingredients and rub them between your palms until well mixed. Place the mixture on a cookie sheet and brown in a 250°F oven, gently stirring every 20 minutes. Do this until the mix has a rich, dark color. This will take a couple of hours.

Store the mixture in an airtight container. Pour 2 tablespoons of mixture per 1 cup of water into the filter paper of an electric coffee maker. Perk and voila! Your Muckefuck is done. Enjoy!

Its a very interesting product. But I think I'll stick to my daily cuppa joe.

#Mukkefuck #MochaFaux #FalseCoffee #CoffeeSubstitute #CulinaryHistory #FoodHistory #GermanHistory #History #Historia #Histoire #Geschichte #HistorySisco https://www.instagram.com/p/CcncRjmuvbl/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perlasbinocular]

March II

Sometimes nobody says anything good. You wedge your way back into your acorn and close the lid. It’s official: You are not going anywhere, anytime. You are destined to disappoint everyone by refusing to dance. 

A tail wags in the periphery, but you are already drifting to 18th & Van Ness, chilly and lined with dollar store delights. There was once a day where you cleaved through these dreary slides. Sent a mob of pigeons fluttering into the fried onion haze.

Never forget how you breezed into soundcheck with a bloody wad of cotton taped to your head. Turned up to dates with damp helmet hair, and a Toys R Us ten speed. A radiant factory of collagen in the same gray shirt and stack of paper bracelets, your Olympic metabolism hurdling whatever single malt you could afford. You kept awake wringing your hands under the table, getting to know so many sticky pews. 

When did this era start to feel like a distant dimension? And is there a way back? You could spend all night drawing a map, but you’d probably do better to make yourself a tomato daiquiri and kick a pumpkin off the roof. 

[germaicanlady]

Each year I make a calendar of my work. For 2020 I just made a review video talking about my watercolour paintings on YouTube (link in bio). Please take the time to check out the video. Here in IG I will be posting the individual calendar pages over the next days:⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Front Page: Acorn Leaves – Ahorn⁣⁣⁣  ⁣⁣⁣ I used are Schmincke Horadam Aquarell, Daniel Smith Watercolors, Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolour Pencils on Hahnemühle Expression Watercolour paper 100% cotton at 300 gsm, 24 x 30 cm, mainly with DaVinci Casaneo brushes.⁣ ⁣ Perhaps you are asking yourself why I am publishing this only now. I am still painting the calendar for next year and it is meant to be a surprise for everyone. So in the past I have always done it this way. Let me know if I should change this for 2022 or if you would like to see the 2021 calendar here when it is finished! 😊⁣  ⁣⁣⁣ •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••⁣⁣⁣  ⁣⁣⁣ #Aquarelle #Watercolour @schmincke_official #watercolor #schminckefan @danielsmithartistmaterials #DaVinciArtistBrushes @davinci_artistbrushes_official #watercolorpainting #watercolorartist #Aquarellepainting #artoftheday #artofinstagram #instaart #watercolorsketch #watercolordrawing #watercolorillustrator #watercolorillustration #watercolourillustration #sketching #floralart #Flowers #flowerpower #flowerstagram #flowersofinstagram #flowerstalking #flowersmakemehappy #flowersofthemonth #flowerslover #Wasserfarbengemälde #Calendar #Kalender #Blumenbilder⁣⁣⁣  ⁣⁣⁣ •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••⁣⁣⁣  ⁣⁣⁣ Camera used is the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II Digital Camera @canon_photos @canondeutschland https://www.instagram.com/p/CH0fu4Fhvp_/?igshid=1p2090ol09sg1

[jacquehealyrinehart]

Neuschwanstein Castle

 If you have ever visited Disney and walked through Cinderella’s castle one might contemplate where the idea originated from. While we give Walt Disney a lot of praise and kudos for the creation of Mickey and the other characters that enchanted all of our childhoods, we cannot give him the praise for the original design of the castle. For you see the Castle was a mere image of the original thought of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Neuschwanstein Castle built in the 19th century served no defensive purposes but instead fed the greed and imagination of what was later referred to as Mad King Ludwig’s castle.

Regardless of the amount of expense and the taxes that the Bavarian citizens paid, he still wanted more. During the building of the castle upon a rocky cliff, millions was spent even in those times to excavate the property and begin the building of the castle. The original idea and even down to the illustrations and architectural concepts were drawn up and supervised by King Ludwig.

King Ludwig came to the throne at the mere age of 19 as a spoiled and indulged child who wander the areas with his father as a youth and always found peace within the solitude of the woods and the wild life that surrounded it. He always stated he would one day return to the land and build his home there. As a King he was not to be bothered with the state of concerns or the people in Bavaria and was an introvert who stayed away from people and never married. He never had children or family and was most at peace when even the servants were gone.

During the construction, 30 men fell to their deaths from either the ice-covered structures while building or the rotting of timbers due to the heavy snow falls, tumbling downward off the side of the cliff. But even then, Ludwig could only see the end result of his vision and had little concerns for the loss of life or even the destitute that he was placing Bavaria under.

During the reign of Hitler, he did not even fight to protect Bavaria and it soon fell into the hands of the Nazis. In order to remain in his still unfinished castle, he gave up his Kingship and the throne to Hitler and left the Bavarian people to the whims of the Nazi regime.

After a period of time, the state advisors who had been monitoring the activities of Ludwig decided that something had to be done before everything was lost that was Bavarian. With the help of paid and handsomely I might state physicians, he was interviewed over and over again until it was determined that he was crazy and should not be involved in anything that gave him rights to Bavaria. He was removed from his throne and was left in the castle in which he became a prisoner.

And although the mystery still continues, the death of Ludwig is still controversial even today, Many state that while on a walk in his peaceful woods with one of his physicians, that he took out a pistol and shot the good doctor in the head and then speculation is that he either tried to swim across the river and drowned or that he committed suicide himself falling into the river where his body was never found. Others state that he left the area under disguise and lived out his days as a recluse in some other country.

While the castle that once was to be his escape from the world and the Bavarian expectations of a King, a man who cared little for anyone but himself and would never have thought to allow the people to enter his castle for any reason, was turned over to the State and was opened to the Public. It is stated that while the castle costs millions and millions of dollars, it remained unfinished and even during his residency there, he only held himself to the upper chamber of one room which acted as his bedroom, sitting room and bath area and occasionally he would send down for food from one of the underservants.

I see this as a work of art not just because of the vision of one man but that of the dimensions in which the castle was built. With no expense spared the Neuschwanstein Castle became the model for other countries who wanted to show their royalty through the images of King Ludwig’s drawings. Even during his time in design, he used only a chalk pencil and white parchment paper in order to explain each and every timber, stone and intricate detail only sharing his imagination through his artistic talent to many workers who were mostly illiterate and yet the castle became another great wonder of the world. So much so that even Hitler could not see to destroying it or living within it during his rise to power even after he won Bavaria with so little effort.

I am attaching a link because there are just too many photos in which to show the elegance of the exterior and interior of the castle.

  Pictures of Neuschwanstein Castle., https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Neuschwanstein+Castle&FORM=IARRTH&ufn=neuschwanstein+castle+germany&stid=f7252488-468a-b9a7-572c-b7e41e72dafa&cbn=EntityAnswer&cbi=0&FORM=IARRTH

Visions of Germany, Bavaria and along the Rhine., A video by Acorn Media., 2004, New York, New York., Venice Public Library., 2/2020

[shattered-catalyst]

Isaslan III

Catalyst

Isaslan III

ISTJ

Catalyst’s Apartment

Acorn and Sesame

Capricorn

Superstitious

Paper Stars

Jurassic Park

Powers

Psychological Power Suppression

Difficulties adjusting

Headaches

Application of Abilities

Past

Childhood Gameshow Survivor

Open Ground Advantage

Becoming Shatterstar II

The Subtle Rebel

Isaslan IV

Scar References

Mojoworld

Attire on Mojoworld

Domed Cities

Cadre History

food and medicine

Echoes of the Past

Further details of the interior

Okay but its sweet X

Refusal To Sign

No Photos

Hand over ALL of your weapons

Holidays

Mechanical Skills

Tendency to Babble

Difficulties Sleeping 1 2 

Misc

Biggest Challenges

Languages

Detective Moodboard

Most likes fulfilling Duties

Transportation

Hot chocolate snob

Trying to be Taller

Pet stores hate him; rats love him

Major Milestones

Small fry

Catalyst and Children

Non-violent Confrontations

[vulturehead]

highlights from the environmental summit for high-achieving youth that i’ve been attending for the last week

after the gala, we all board the bus and sing like children at summer camp. my voice is husky from screaming and cheering all night, but i sing loudly anyways. my friend maggie, an aspiring primatologist who steals pro-trump signs in her neighborhood and replaces them with “love trumps hate” signs, turns around to smile at me.

viv holds my hand as we dance and i smile and smile and smile. i hip-check her and she laughs with surprise and delight and hip-checks me right back

we get back to the dorms at around midnight and mill around in the courtyard. someone shouts “THE FLOOR IS LAVA!!” and a hundred teenage geniuses as well as at least two scientists employed by the EPA scramble to climb on something. viv jumps into a trash can

i sprawl on the sun-warmed stone at the world war ii memorial with some other delegates, and we eat clementines slightly squished from being carried in bags all day. everything in me goes soft and mellow as i look at the way the golden light illuminates everything

a long, passionate discussion about the caloric value of the human body and it’s equivalent in various fast food items. this included some pondering on the edibility of various organs, and brief mentions of the red market

my meal comes very late at a restaurant and all of my friends chant feed! that! vegan!

security guard at the natural history museum thinks i am a staff member, because i am wearing a suit and a badge and exuding confidence, apparently. i almost get ushered into a meeting

viv gets kicked out of the natural history museum by a very aggressive security guard with a gun

“i’m so proud to be able to say i met you guys before you changed the world”

chilling with a group of incredibly bright teenagers who care deeply about things, and being so relieved that i can just talk to these people. there is no way to say this that doesn’t sound pretentious, but it’s frustrating and isolating to constantly censoring everything i say so people will understand what i’m talking about. so this is what it feels like to match wits / with someone at your level, what the hell is the catch / it’s the feeling of freedom, of seeing the light / it’s ben franklin with a key and a kite / you see it, right? i can just speak without censoring myself here and people not only understand, they add on!! it’s not that i’m bored by regular high school students, but this is a whole new level of stimulating and interesting and i love it i love it i LOVE it. these people get it. these people understand in a way i didn’t even know i was craving

a feeling that comes from the previous bullet point, and from being treated like a colleague and equal by several middle-aged scientists: i am very smart. this is a fact. denying this is a disservice to myself. i’ve never not denied it, out of fear of pretension or obnoxiousness or the feeling of otherness, but allowing myself to know that i am very smart hasn’t suddenly transformed me into an asshole. i just feel more confident and competent and sure of myself. less afraid. more proud.

before everyone says good-bye, someone reads the lorax to all three hundred of us, and we are all given a single acorn with a little paper tag that simply reads “UNLESS”. unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, things are not going to get better. they’re not. i start crying.

i’m ready to change the world. i’m ready to be better. i’m ready to make things better.

[aneddoticamagazinestuff]

New China goal: Long-distance Quantum Communication

New Post has been published on https://www.aneddoticamagazine.com/new-china-goal-long-distance-quantum-communication/

New China goal: Long-distance Quantum Communication

REFERENCES

Scott Aaronson on teleportation machines: http://www.scottaaronson.com/democrit…

The original quantum teleportation paper: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/…

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