#like. the south african

[lynxgirlpaws]

I don’t understand your joke about Turks and Romanians being cissy. What do they have to do with cis?

Transylvania -> Cisylvania Transcaucasia -> Ciscaucasia Trans just means across, and so there's tons of regions named after being... across a mountain range or other region. Like Transylvania, being across .. well this one is across the woods [I had assumed an area of the Carpathians was named Sylvania, although apparently that just means 'the woods' or something of that matter] ... meaning Cisylvania would just be. On the same side of the woods that whoever named it is from. Same with Transcaucasia being the name for countries on the other side of the Caucasus mountains, Ciscaucasia would be on the same side of the Caucasus as whoever named it. Although I had assumed it was the Romans that named it [meaning 'our side' would be in Turkiye/Anatolia] but apparently after a quick google search Ciscaucasia is actually the NORTH Caucasus, meaning it'd be the Russian side. The same with Italy. Transalpine is north of the Alpine mountains, Cisalpine is south of the Alpine mountains. For the South African bit, there was the province of Transvaal in South Africa which was... across the Vaal river. And so - Cisvaal would be south of the Vaal river. If I remember the post I said it on, it was someone saying that Cis is a slur... but like. That is just the word for 'on this side' in latin. And there are places... just. Named that. Because it's "on this side" of whatever power named the region. Hope this is mildly helpful 👍

[violentdevotion]

still very funny to me. no offence but everyone I know who's ever met a white south african has hated the white south african. you guys just suck immensely

[almondpiglet]

kabru wips as i figure out how i wanna draw him...

[1tbls]

Esprit de Corps - When [Kim's] finished with the front page, he scans the local box scores. The Stormers lost again, 17-32. He shakes his head and checks his watch. It's time to get back to it...

Kim Kitsuragi - "*You* could reach the Coalition and have your talk about *la responsabilité*... *I* could grow 10 centimetres and become a flanker for the Stormers."

Titus Hardie - "The Stormers can't play for shit."

so kim is canonically a fan of a team called the "stormers"? guessing rugby based on "flanker".

mileage may vary on "fan". based on titus' line too, i am envisioning them as revachol's absolutely dogshit home team that every vacholiere has a long-suffering fondness for...

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

south africa but i've never been there also i'm drinking

HELLO MAGGOTS this is the good omens mascot here hello hello. my psychiatrist just spent today telling me how I won't be able to be out in college when it starts in May and I'll be misgendered etc etc it's all a good time. So my solution:

My darling cousin @imchronicallyonlinesowhat (the one who thought Sir Terry Pratchett looked like Sudha Murthy, was a kindly old woman and was married to Neil Gaiman because their book cover fonts were similar, OG maggots know the PAIN) who lives in South Africa asked me to make a South Africa post. FYI, she's moving to Australia for college, so you can be assured I shared my Australia posts with her she is SO prepared she won't say marmite instead of vegemite and she knows the Wibbles are inherently sexual. SOUTH AFRICA (I've only had a teeny weeny bit of cheap ass wine so far):

There a lot of white people there it's ineffable. There are enough of them there that my cousin regularly talks about not ever marrying someone who doesn't have some masala.

Afrikaans is a gorgeous language. I thought my cousin was showing me her Afrikaans notes once. She wasn't. It was her English notes, she just has the most illegible yet neat handwriting in the world.

They don't say yo but they say YOH and it sounds very much like a bass drum.

People at my cousin's school pump their hands in the air while saying jesus-jesus.

There's a trio of white boys that rule the school kind of like a genderswapped mean girls. They all look the same haircut-wise, they're Catholic and they're called the Triumvirate.

I'm realising here that my knowledge of South Africa is limited to cuzzy's school. But the wine is shit and I promised my blood-relative so I am continuing.

The books are fucking expensive and so everyone has to pirate shit. This sounds like the US.

Everyone is TALL. Like VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY TALL. The standard of height is insanely different from India. TALL.

If you don't have a last name you're going to get into legal trouble.

The no hat no play rule applies here as well as Australia apparently.

The wine cost like 2.5 dollars in USD if my conversion rates are correct, it smells like battery acid and tastes of rotted grapes. Nothing to do with South Africa, it's just that I cannot remember a single other thing about South Africa other than it's a country in Africa that's presumably in the South.

My braincells are already frying. For my cousin's sake, I'm going to compile all my Australia posts here so that she knows what to expect! Australian maggots your continent is about to be graced with the Good Omens Mascot bloodline. Notably the one with the Sudha Murthy fuck up so that's doubly fun. @howmanyholesinswisscheese, @im-a-sentient-magic-carpet, @madfangirlontheloose @obsessed-sketches @drconstellation and any other Aussie maggots be prepared and welcome her.

Toot Toot Chugga Chugga by the Wiggles is an Ineffable Husbands Song

Deaths in Australia in 2015, an ask

VEGEMITE IS NOT MARMITE, another passionate ask

Pt I Australia but I've never been there

Pt II Australia but I've never been there

Oh I hate cheap wine. @imchronicallyonlinesowhat I hope you appreciate this, blood of mine. I'm such a great cousin.

[ef-1]

[gingermintpepper]

hi, i haven't read the iliad and the odyssey but want to - do u have a specific translation you recommend? the emily wilson one has been going around bc, y'know, first female translator of the iliad and odyssey into english, but i was wondering on if you had Thoughts

Hi anon! Sorry for the somewhat late response and I'm glad you trust me with recommendations! Full, disclosure, I am somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to translations of the source text of the Iliad + Odyssey combo wombo, which means I tend to prefer closeness in literal verbiage over interpretation of the poetic form of these epics - for that reason, my personal preferred versions of the Odyssey and Iliad both are Robert Fitzgerald's. Because both of these translations (and his Aeneid!) were done some 50+ years ago (63 for his original Odyssey tl, 50 flat for his Iliad and 40 for his Aeneid) the English itself can be a bit difficult to read and the syntax can get confusing in a lot of places, so despite my personal preferences, I wouldn't recommend it for someone who is looking to experience the Iliad + Odyssey for the very first time.

For an absolute beginner, someone who has tried to read one or both of these epics but couldn't get into it or someone who has a lot of difficulty with concentrating on poetry or long, winding bits of prose, I fully and wholeheartedly recommend Wilson's translation! See, the genius of Emily Wilson's Iliad + Odyssey isn't that she's a woman who's translated these classics, it's that she's a poet who's adapted the greek traditional poetic form of dactylic hexameter into the english traditional poetic form of iambic pentameter. That alone goes a very very long way to making these poems feel more digestible and approachable - iambic pentameter is simply extremely comfortable and natural for native english speakers' brains and the general briskness of her verbiage helps a lot in getting through a lot of the problem books that people usually drop the Iliad or Odyssey in like Book 2 of the Iliad or Book 4 of the Odyssey. I think it's a wonderful starting point that allows people to familiarise themselves with the source text before deciding if they want to dig deeper - personally, researching Wilson's translation choices alone is a massive rabbit hole that is worth getting into LOL.

The happy medium between Fitzgerald's somewhat archaic but precise syntax and Wilson's comfortable meter but occasionally less detailled account is Robert Fagles' Iliad + Odyssey. Now, full disclosure, I detest how Fagles handles epithets in both of his versions, I think they're far too subtle which is something he himself has talked at length about in his translation notes, but for everything else - I'd consider his translations the most well rounded of english adaptations of this text in recent memory. They're accurate but written in plain English, they're descriptive and detailled without sacrificing a comfortable meter and, perhaps most importantly, they're very accessible for native english speaking audiences to approach and interact with. I've annotated my Fagles' volumes of these books to heaven and back because I'm deeply interested in a lot of the translation decisions made, but I also have to specifically compliment his ability to capture nuance in the characters' of these poems in a way I don't often see. He managed to adapt the ambivalence of ancient greek morality in a way I scarcely see and that probably has a hand in why I keep coming back to his translations.

Now, I know this wasn't much of a direct recommendation but as I do not know you personally, dear anon, I can't much make a direct recommendation to a version that would best appeal to your style of reading. Ideally, I'd recommend that you read and enjoy all three! But, presuming that you are a normal person, I suggest picking which one is most applicable for you. I hope this helps! 🥰

[philsmeatylegss]

Okay, idk if anyone will see this, but it’s driving me nuts how Zionists are using the situation in Syria to say “why are no pro-Palestine people talking about this? It’s because no Jews are involved.”

No, it’s because western media rarely reports on tragedies and foreign conflict that they can’t make money off of. And, more unfortunately, the media is aware that most westerners don’t care about humanitarian crises that don’t involve them (or their money).

It’s why you hear very little also about the Sudan war, Ethiopian humanitarian crises (especially with Tigrays and other territories and ethnicities), the very active military dictatorship is Burkina Faso, Haiti becoming a failed state and being abandoned by everyone, the (hopefully soon ending) war in Myanmar/Burma, the dictatorships in Eritrea, Venezuela, Belarus, Turkmenistan, and Equatorial Guinea, the civil war in the Central African Republic, protests in Georgia, the complete stripping of rights for women in Afghanistan, and the humanitarian crises (other than Sudan, DRC, and Palestine) in so many places including but not limited to South Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia, the Rohingya, Venezuela, Central African Republic, Somalia, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Lebanon, Mali, and Sahel.

It’s not an antisemitism problem. It’s a problem of westerners not giving a shit about developing countries and conflicts that involve our allies/don’t involve us. Which should make you fucking angry.

Palestine, Sudan, and DRC are the tip of a devastating iceberg that includes the current situation in Syria and thousands of other entries. It’s not a competition.

So instead of complaining about who cares about what, use your platforms to spread information about these events. Don’t complain about certain people not talking about Syria, start posting and talking about Syria.

Or will you just admit you are using humanitarian crises and the devastation of millions to further you opinion?

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are fleeing on top of the millions of Syrian refugees who also have fled in the past years. If that bothers you, talk about them, advocate for them rather than wasting time attacking others for not caring.

Incase anyone is interested in any of the stuff I mentioned above, here’s a few sources:

Syria:

What’s happening in Syria? A simple guide

What’s happening in Syria? How an old conflict in the Middle East erupted again

What's happening in Syria? What to know about the complex, long-simmering civil war

(Video) What is happening in Syria?

Who are the rebels who have seized control of Aleppo, Syria?

Sudan:

Civil War in Sudan

Crisis in Sudan: What is happening and how to help

(Wikipedia) Sudanese civil war (2023–present)

Ethiopia:

Conflict in Ethiopia

Tigray: the war the world forgot

Crisis in Ethiopia: What you need to know and how to help

Desperation in Ethiopia as hunger crisis deepens

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):

Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo

A guide to the decades-long conflict in DR Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo crisis, explained

Burkina Faso:

What Burkina Faso’s Tragic History Teaches Us

(Video) Burkina Faso: The World’s Most Neglected War

Once again, Burkina Faso is the world’s most neglected crisis

Haiti:

Haiti crisis: Facts, FAQs, and how to help

What’s Happening in Haiti? Explainer on Gang Violence, Hunger Crisis and Humanitarian Aid to Civilians

Myanmar/Burma:

Nine Things to Know About Myanmar’s Conflict Three Years On

Myanmar, ravaged by civil war, teeters on the edge of famine

UN accuses Myanmar's military of mass killings, torture since 2021 coup

Eritrea:

(Video) Isaias Afwerki: Dictator who has ruled Eritrea for 31 years

Eritrea: Events of 2022

Venezuela:

Venezuela: Reversing the Slide into Dictatorship

Evidence shows Venezuela’s election was stolen – but will Maduro budge?

Belarus:

After 30 years in power, 'Europe's last dictator' remains firmly in control

Why Belarus is called Europe’s last dictatorship

Turkmenistan:

Here's what it's like inside Turkmenistan, the secretive Asian dictatorship

(Video) The Weirdest Dictatorship on Earth: Turkmenistan

Equatorial Guinea:

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: ‘The government uses violence to dominate through fear’

The politics of autocratic survival in Equatorial Guinea: Co-optation, restrictive institutional rules, repression, and international projection

Central African Republic:

Conflict in the Central African Republic

(Wikipedia) Central African Republic Civil War

Georgia:

Georgia is being rocked by growing protests. Here’s what you need to know

Why protests in the country of Georgia matter

Afghanistan:

Afghanistan: Taliban rule has erased women from public life, sparked mental health crisis

Back to basics: Fighting for women’s rights under the Taliban

South Sudan:

South Sudan Refugee Crisis Explained

Instability in South Sudan

Yemen:

Yemen Crisis Explained

Yemen humanitarian crisis

The Rohingya:

Rohingya Refugee Crisis Explained

Far from the Headlines: Myanmar – The Rohingya crisis

Somalia:

Crisis in Somalia

Somalia: Climate change, conflicts and rising cost fuels humanitarian crisis

Lebanon:

What’s happening in Lebanon

Far from home: inside Lebanon’s displacement crisis

Mali:

Crisis in Mali: What you need to know and how to help

Do not ignore Mali’s multifaceted humanitarian catastrophe

The Sahel:

A call to action: The humanitarian crisis in the Sahel is worsening

Violent Extremism in the Sahel

Responding to neglected crises in the Sahel

[meowierz]

I got an idea to draw Earth in cultural Kenyan clothing! Tbh, I think it's a way great to do more research about my culture since I've been Americanized / White-Washed. Plus, Earth has the hair type yall.

Somebody gotta remind me at 2:00 please 🙏

[notbecauseofvictories]

I tried to watch season 2 of the bear, and flamed out tragically when I saw all the famous people in episode 6. I'm sorry, those are Faces, I know who they are and therefore the illusion is broken entirely and completely.

[dromaeo-sauridae]

natural history museum sketches. the bison was the last one i did and you can tell lol

[loving-n0t-heyting]

appreciate that you've been talking about contemporary South African politics recently. it often goes very unremarked upon.

god like, i know only enough to know that

ik barely anything

holy shit everything is sooooo fucked down there like idek what a path forward could BE

apartheid was worse, which feels like it should be a gimme but a really alarming number of ppl dont seem on board :/

[sunshineandlyrics]

The crowd sound amazing

Ireland beat South Africa 13-8 at Rugby World Cup, 24 September 2023.

[ladychandraofthemoone]

In my au Stanley (narrow gauge) has a special interest in insects (I hc him as being into animals, they don’t judge you for your “jinx” and he’s got a soft spot for critters that are seen as “bad luck”) and tends to blurt out the most detailed information, he often info-dumps with and to Nia who encourages it cause it makes him happy once he’s freed from his “jinx” and she know every single insect name alphabetically along with their scientific names and nicknames Here we have Duke immediately regretting asking them if they can name every single species and ends up sleeping when they’re engrossed in their conversation before leaving when they were in the mid section of the e category (Nia gave him “the disappointment older sister look” awhile back so the poor guy can trapped there and wondered how did he got ever himself into this situation)

Basically it’s just Stanley to Duke in alphabetical order: Alderflies Angel Insects Anoplura (Sucking lice) Ants Antlions Aphids Archeognatha (Bristletails) Barklice Bees Beetles Bird lice Biting lice Blattodea (Cockroaches) Booklice Bristletails Bugs Butterflies Caddisflies Chewing lice Cicadas Cockroaches Coleoptera (Beetles) Collembola (Springtails) Crickets Damselflies Diplura Diptera (Flies) Dobsonflies Dragonflies-

Nia joining in cause she was mad at Duke: ah yes the alderfly which are megalopteran insects of the family Sialidae. They are closely related to the dobsonflies and fishflies as well as to the prehistoric Euchauliodidae. All living alderflies – about 66 species all together are part of the subfamily Sialinae, which contains nine extant genera. Sialinae have a body length of less than 25 mm (1 inch), long filamentous antennae, and four large dark wings of which the anterior pair is slightly longer than the posterior. They lack ocelli and their fourth tarsal segment is dilated and deeply bilobed. Dead alderfly larvae are used as bait in fishing-

duke:shooketh (Nia’s is basically the train version of a encyclopedia also her design is based off of MrTerrier673 on Twitter)

[ef-1]

[kawaiibarty]

james have you heard about the placebo documentary idk how much you keep up with them on social media but i watched it in a cinema the other day it was soooo good you have got to watch it as soon as you’re able to