#more spanish literature for me

[beeari]

"Spanish Piggy can't hurt you, he is not real".

Spanish Piggy:

[tootditoot]

How a Ship having passed the Line was driven by storms to the cold Country towards the South Pole; and how from thence she made her course to the tropical Latitude of the Great Pacific Ocean; and of the strange things that befell; and in what manner the Ancyent Marinere came back to his own Country.

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

Here's this version with a little pirate on the prow!

[layraket]

i can't stop thinking about that my literature teacher today told us that a lot of people (including my class) was loosing the ability of reading comprehension and he has a really strong point

i feel like more and more people take the words more literally, not really stopping to imagine and try to comprehend the meaning behind them. Not all words will mean the same or be used in a literal way

You, as a reader, have to imagine the scene and try to put in place the word and its meaning to fit in a logic way into a specific action or dialoge

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

I don’t get why people feel like the Duolingo owl is threatening, if I ever feel like he is I just get mad at him. I could fight an owl. I don’t know if I’d win, but I don’t think I’d lose (two things that can apparently coexist). I think I’d survive at least and that’s not really winning but also not losing.

You wanna be so threatening? Da bør du drepe meg!

[killmymind]

back to uni next week!!!! very excited!!!!! <- not sarcasm i’m actually excited lollll

[c-u-c-koo-4-40k]

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They are relatives of Osama Basil, a web developer who is managing his own campaign to repair his web design business and establish a stable wifi connection to the besieged Gaza Strip.

He's also trying desperately to help his younger relatives escape Gaza and improve their lives.

Please share so more people can see their need, and the progress of their campaign!

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[thespaceantwhowrites]

you know i love physics, i love solving problems aplicating the formulae and theory. what i dont love is having to solve those exercises in an average of one answer per minute. because that doesnt evaluate my knowledge, that evaluates how fast i can solve them. and in real life i most likely wont be in a situation where i need to solve a problem with one of twenty three subjects in under a minute. so fuck you cambridge and pay the therapy ill need after i fucking slay your stupid exam. you are making me hate physics and i fucking love physics. so fuck you igcses. evaluate my knowledge not my speed.

[veryintricaterituals]

When I was in school I went to a friend's house to work on a project on a Friday afternoon. At about 6 or 6:30 when the sun was about to set her mom called us over to the livingroom. She lit two candles with my friend and then they proceeded to put the lit candles inside of a little cupboard so no one could see them. Me, a young jewish teenager asked her, my catholic friend, why they did that and she shrugged, said it was a family tradition to bring peace and prosperity, that the women of the family did it every friday evening and then hid the candles. They were very catholic, so I bit my tongue and we went back to her room to study.

This is just one of many, many, crypto jewish traditions that still exist in my hometown of Medellín, Colombia and I want to share a little bit about them with you.

Medellín is the capital city of a region called Antioquia and it is currently the second biggest city in my country. Now the weird thing about my region and my city more specifically is that it is in the middle of fucking nowhere, like we are in a valley in the middle of the andean mountains and it would take over two weeks by river, horse and river, and dunkey and mule to even get here before the invention of cars or trains.

Now Medellín was founded over 400 years ago, and families had been coming to the region for way before then, so that means that for centuries getting to my city from the sea or from the other big cities in the country was incredibly hard. This was by design, because Medellín itself was founded by about 28 families and we know for a fact that alteast half of them were crypto jews hidding from the Spanish Inquisition, and both before and the foundation more and more jewish families arrived to the region.

This is a known fact, the DNA of the people from the region has a lot of sepharadic jewish mixed in there. Early Colombian literature dating up to the 1845 would call the people of my region the Neogranadine Jews or the Colombian Jews. But because they were crypto jews the religion and most of the traditions were lost during the 400 years that have passed, now over 90% of the population is catholic and don't really know about their origins.

But some things stuck. And I want to tell you about them.

On the 7th night of December there is this pre-christmas festival called "El día de las velitas" or the little candle night that started and was unique to Antioquia. It's supposed to commemorate the candles that people had in the streets and the windows on the night Jesus was born and that helped Mary and Joseph to find their way. Do you know how this unique festival is celebrated in my city? People take to the streets to light candles, small colorful candles that they put in wooden planks or directly on the streets, it's the night that people decorate and turn on the christmas lights and it is so important and popular that we have an actual day off on the 8th of december.

Let me show you a few pictures

I don't think I need to explain this one. Even most goyim will know about Hannukah. But it is the weirdest thing when the dates coincide and we are all lighting candles together.

My dad was in the Jewish community board and we needed to rent a place to put our jewish daycare. They found this beautiful old house that had belonged to a family in colonial times but needed a little TLC. We had them remove some wooden floors because they were too old and rotting and found a huge Magen David made out stones in the center of the floor. The house also happened to have two separate kitchens and a mikveh or immersion bath in one of the rooms. These a very traditional things that colonial houses have in my region.

My grandmother converted to Judaism so I have a side from my family that is 100% from here and didn't arrive during the 20th century. I had the pleasure to meet both of my great grandparents from that side though they died when I was young. My grandma tells me that my greatgrandmother used to have one of these immersion baths in her house when she was growing up. Women were supposed to bathe in them after their periods had ended, my catholic great grandmother respected the mikveh traddition more than I ever have.

(I wish I had photos from that specific house but this happened over ten years ago, I'll show you some immersion baths from a different colonial houses that are also in my city)

Now how about we talk about traditional clothes. I'm sure most of you have heard of Ponchos, which are traditional in the Andean region, well the one from Antioquia is a little different and it's always supposed to be worn with a hat. Let's see if you can spot what I mean.

A few years ago Spain decided to grant citizenship to the descendants of the Jewish people that they had exiled in 1492. To get it you had to prove through family trees that your family had been Jewish. My city got the most ammount of passports out of everyone in the world, more than Israel. I could have applied from both my family that came from Egypt in the 20th century (we still have the keys to our house in Spain) or through my catholic side, as both of my grandmother's last names applied. I didn't but I could have.

I don't really know why I decided to finally write this post. I have so many more stories. I just think it's both incredibly sad that so much Jewish culture and people were lost but also it's a little heartwarming to see what survived even centuries down the line.

[elbiotipo]

I'm not a linguist and I find the whole excercise of conlanging, while I love it and respect it, beyond my abilities, but I do have one thing or two to say about linguistic diversity and how boring is to have a "common" or "basic" language in fantasy or science fiction without exploring the implications.

Being a bilingual speaker of Spanish and English, and someone that because of work reasons and entertaiment tastes interacts a lot with English, I tend to see English as the equivalent of those "common" or "basic" languages of speculative fantasy. As a useful tool for communication, science technology and commerce. In real life, however, as you are aware, the expansion of English tends to undermine local languages, it's considered more valuable to know English that to know the language of your grandparents, or learn any other language you just feel curious about.

The experiences of every multilingual person are different, but in mine I know English, I write and read and listen to English a lot. But I don't consider myself an English *speaker*, I speak Spanish and more to the point Argentine Spanish, that's the culture I identify with, and it's the language I use to express my feelings and inner thoughts. I can't imagine saying "I love you" to anyone in English, to me it's just a tool I use to access to knowledge or communicate through language barriers ("basic", "common"). But interestingly, by both writing and participating in the wider English-speaker internet culture, isn't it part of my own culture, as an individual, too?

The fact is that English also has a culture(s) and a history and a corpus of literature. So when we write about "Common" or "Basic" languages in fiction we need to ask ourselves: where did they come from? How did they become the standard? Is there a literature, a canon, a culture of "Common" in your fantasy world? What about other languages, other cultures that aren't raised learning it and see it just as a tool? Because no matter the strenght of Anglophone cultural imperialism and the social value of learning English, I don't see Argentines, or for that matter Chinese, Italians or Russians abandoning their first language. And yet even in English and in all other languages (ESPECIALLY other languages, English is remarkably uniform) there is a variety of dialects. And we need to remember, once Latin was spoken only in a village in central Italy, and English in a rather remote rainy island. They weren't destined to have their future roles, history drives language.

So, when an author goes for the "universal language" explanation to avoid linguistic misunderstandings, for me, it raises more questions that I believe are worth exploring.

[gracefireheart]

Some nordic folklore creatures, but in (at least sort of) Gravity Falls style! :]

Got them here in separate pics + notes I tried to somewhat write as Ford. Though, I probably have massively failed 'cause I just can't replicate the fancy literature speak he does :')

Nisse

Might be related to Gravity Falls' own Gnomes, but with a few variations to them. For one, they are a little bigger than our resident Gnomes and have pointed ears instead of rounded ones. They also are more chaotic, but can become docile when given porridge of all things. And they tend to reside inside barns instead of the forest.

Such an interesting creature I wished I could speak to. However, whenever me and S have encountered one, they only speak in one of the languages of the nordic countries. They seem to understand us- calling us "turister," which a local have told us meant "tourists"- and absolutely despise us. Unless- like I mentioned earlier- we give them porridge. I would have to talk to the Gnomes and see if they have the same fascinations with porridge as these Nisse do.

Huldra

The locals I have talked to about Huldra have told a few different tales that either go one way or the other. Either they just want to get married, resulting in their cow tail popping off of them. Or they want to lure men away so they can kill them.

In a way, Huldra could be classified as a land version of a Siren. The only real big difference between one of these ladies and a regular woman is the cow tail I mentioned.

From what I have gathered, the Huldra have adapted a bit over the years to not only know the nordic languages, but also many other languages like English, Spanish, German, Hebrew, and so on. I do hope me and S can find one of them while we're here, I just hope it will not end in another rescue mission.

Nøkk

Nøkk- or Nøkken as some locals call them- is a creature that resides in lakes and sometimes rivers. Although it is probably one of the easier creatures to try and look for, we did not have the time to rent a car or walk all the way to one of these lakes that people had seemingly seen one in. Maybe some other day.

The descriptions of this creature, however, was still nonetheless interesting. It is mostly made out of algae and seaweed, has bright yellow eyes that gaze at you, and- during the full moon- can transform into a shining, white horse. The locals that have told me about this "horse form" have spoken about Nøkken luring people onto it's back before diving right into the water to drown them.

Draug

Draug- or Draugen- is a creature I have been advised to not encounter at all. The few that knew of it told of tales of sailors, fishermen, and seafarers alike stumbling upon this creature, then soon after meet their demise. Some have said Draugen is the one that kills them, some have said Draugen is simply there to warn of their upcoming death. No one is sure which is true as no one has met it and survived.

Another thing a select few locals have mentioned is how Draugen might have been once a human itself, but then met a tragic end out on the ocean. It would've been nice to try and speak to it, but considering the possibility of S and I dying as a result, I would rather not take the risk.

[dontexpectmuch]

i know how much you guys love this series, so i give you a new part. this one how ever will be;

comments/feedback is highly appreciated! please, im getting desperate :d

Habits Jude Bellingham might develop before you guys get into a relationship!

(a Lost in Madrid drabble!)

it is no secret that jude just loves to talk. he genuinely enjoys it so much to share any and every thought that goes through his mind, no matter how small it might be. he couldn’t tell when it started exactly, but suddenly he found himself on his way to you, a tired student that just wants to finish their work. as soon as he lifts his hand, knocks on your door and enters the room his lips start moving, talking so lively and fast that you need some time to register what is even happening.

“what do you mean ‘m talkin’ your ear off? you literally study literature and shit!” - “it’s more about reading, jude.” you sigh, wishing for any kind of help at this moment.

it is also nothing new for you to receive messages from jude during your quiet evenings when you decide to stay home. jude recently got into sending audio messages, you being his number one victim [forced] friend, whom he shared this new passion with. and most of the times he won’t even say anything important. he’ll just sing a new spanish song he has learned that past week. and he will sing. no matter how terrible it sounds and how much it makes your ears bleed. though, you also always listen to those audios, even though you know what the content will be.

“jude?” opening your door after hearing a desperate knock, you did not think that you would see your [not] friend standing there. he looks tiredly at you, clothes wrinkled and sandals on, “mum wanted me to bring you some cake she baked.” he gives you the tupperware filled with slices of cake, energy low. you feel your shoulders relax as you look up at him, “tell her i love her, please.” he just nods. and even though he always complains to you about how he is not some delivery boy, he can’t help but get excited at the thought of seeing your soft eyes when you receive food his mum made. it makes him feel giddy inside.

he makes you trip purposely whenever you walk in front of him, and then giggles and jogs away to join the others on the field when you send daggers his way with your glare.

he forces you to play two-touch, even though you have told him multiple times already that you cannot play really well. he quite literally forces you to become better, giving you tips while making you pass the ball against the wall back and forth. “i don’t want to do this anymore, jude.” - “well, that’s too damn bad.” his gaze serious as he corrects your form once more. “bitch.” you murmur under your breath, praying for him to just disappear somewhere and leave you alone.

“what?” you ask as you look up from your notes, eyes wide as you watch jude place a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll onto your desk. “i heard that you like sweets, or whatever.” he says, [desperately] wanting to look cool. your heart starts to pick up in speed when you look back and forth between jude and the things he just gave you, warmth spreading through your body. “thanks.”

“watch me.” he smirks at you, who looks quite annoyed tired at him. “i’ll hit this first time.” - “like you did to me on my first day here?” - “dude! i told you not to talk about it anymore, ‘t’s a sensitive topic for me, ‘kay?”

heartfelt conversations between you are not as rare as one might think. whenever jude comes to you to talk your ear off while toi work on your research, you sometimes tell him about your own stuff. that leads to various topics you two discuss, which also results in sharing some intimate thoughts. it makes jude, who usually looks so confident and well put together, look more human, like a 20 year old guy who also learns something new every day.

—————————————

surpriseee! hope you like it!! :)

[wisteriagoesvroom]

waittttttt your brain is so bodacious vampire frando sounds so interesting

if you’re comfortable/want to, tell me more ? ���

ok i rly was supposed get some stuff done before fp1 later, but since you are ENCOURAGING me...

NORPINTO-FRANDO VAMPIRE AU

lando has been a vampire for like. a relatively long time by human standards. make of that what you will

he lives in an apartment, what we do in the shadows style, with... carlos and oscar

lando generally tries to be really clean with his feeding and take only enough blood out, so that the folks he bites wake up with a headache and minor anaemia

however. he drags unsuspecting graduate student franco into an alley and bites him, but gets distracted because franco TALKS the whole time.

turns out franco is like. a literature student who has always had an overactive imagination. he quickly puts the dots together and is like "OH, MY GOD, ARE YOU... A VAMPIRE" before lando is like "shush this won't take long if you stay still" and sinks his fangs into franco

franco yaps at length about how "at home in argentina there are witches and el familiar, in fact the idea of good and bad is very fluid in argentina and there is intercreature harmony, and oh! do you maybe know some of the witch clans from catamarca or salta?" and lando is like "??? how do you know all this ???" but by then he also realises his teeth have been in franco's neck for way too long, and oh shit franco is passing out and ahhhh---

franco is accidentally turned 🧛

lando is like "CRAP what do i do with this baby vampire wth ???" and he fireman carries him back to the house to try and figure it out. he spends half the time googling how to un-turn a vampire because oscar told him that like, google can tell you lots of stuff now

blablabla franco cannot be un-turned, so the rest of the fic is probably lando teaching franco how to do Vampire Things.

except franco just TALKS the whole time through EVERYTHING, including: how to feed, how to fly, how to stay out of trouble with the supernatural creatures international tribunal etcetc.

franco asks a lot of questions like "is it true you hate garlic" to lando and oscar is like "no he just hates fish, that's different".

carlos is like "i didn't know ur new sire speaks SPANISH" and then he actually gets rly excited to have a yapyap friend too

at some point oscar gets sick and tired of people not doing the dishes when they're supposed to in the house, so he turns into a bat and flies off in a huff

anyway idk how it ends but franco enjoys being a vampire somehow and they have a little vampire coven and lando gifts franco a little onyx hellhound figure to remind him of home

franco definitely asks lando "can i fly to argentina faster now" and lando is like. "no. you definitely need a rest stop somewhere further north like... mexico or smth, pls don't attempt that, also we have heavy regulations now because of the huge volume of air traffic in the sky so, pls just take a plane. here have the keys to my jet and tell them the code is ln4, they'll take you anywhere."

franco: YOU HAVE A PRIVATE JET WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO? WHY DO WE LIVE IN SUCH A DUMP?

lando, carlos, oscar (altogether): oi/hey/excuse me mate this is our dump 😠

edited to add: a carcar moment, and part 2

[higuchisora]

Adding onto my headcanon about Zaun culturally valuing art and literature:

The names in Zaun have meanings. Not just in the "Oh, my name means 'flower'" way. These names are primarily references to poetry or music or literature in some way.

This idea comes in combination with my headcanon that Zaun has a different dialect/sister-language to Piltover (like how the Romance languages share a common origin but are different, or how there are a bunch of different types of Spanish but they're all still considered Spanish).

The Zaunite characters' names seem strange to us because they're either a reference to something, or are transliterated Tolkien-style from Zaunite/old Piltovan (at some point League said Zaun was the original Piltover before it sank).

Which is why we see names like Powder and think, what the fuck? It's because it's a transliteration of a name that doesn't really make sense in our IRL languages. In reality, it's probably considered a pretty normal name. Just like how straight up naming someone "beautiful" doesn't sound normal in English (whereas "Hope" does), but is fairly standard in plenty of other languages (ex. Belle/Bella).

Similar to Ekko and why it's spelled this way. It's not "echo but more masculine/quirky," it's actually a name with an entirely different meaning that HAPPENS to sound like our English word "echo." We see phenomena like this IRL all the time (called "false friends"), of words in unrelated languages sounding similar even though they developed entirely independently.

Vi (short for Violet) works fine because it is, in fact, an easily translated name. But the name itself is also in reference to a classic book/song/poem.

Names like Silco, Vander, and Claggor either couldn't be transliterated/localized or sounded even weirder in meaning than Powder. Mylo either is another "false friend"/cognate name, or is a localization of his actual name. Regardless, all of their names are in reference to literature, poetry, and/or some other artistic expression.

(I'd like to add, before I forget- that Vander's name IS real- according to the Internet, it's Greek for "good man", which might not be real but I'm taking it and running with it as a name from an old play or something).

Googling Sevika's name gave a pretty straightforward meaning- it apparently means "female servant"/maid in Hindi (please correct me if I'm wrong, those who know Hindi). Which. I'm not trying to think about the negative implications of that, though there are many. So I'll try to make a positive spin on her name and say she's another "false friend" name, and it means something entirely different in the Zaunite/ancient Piltovan language.

[spanishskulduggery]

You're probably familiar with the cardinal directions in Spanish (and they're usually cognates with English):

(el) norte = north

(el) sur = south

(el) este = east

(el) oeste = west

However there are other more literary terms that you will see from time to time for using the directions as adjectives. This is different from something like norteño/a "northern" or "northerner" and sureño/a "southern" or "southerner"

And sometimes people will say del norte / sur for "from the north/south" as an adjective though it can translate as "northern/southern" regardless

...

Primarily what you will see for the fancier or more literary/geographic terms is:

septentrional = northern

meridional = southern

oriental = eastern

occidental = western

Particularly oriental and occidental get used with geographical terms, like el Medio Oriente is "the Middle East" or something like el hemisferio occidental "western hemisphere"

It's also common to see el Oriente as "the East" or "the Orient", and el Occidente as "the West"

I'd say oriental and occidental are much more common than septentrional for example... Largely you can consider them synonymous, but I think of septentrional as more formal than del norte and meridional feels more formal than del sur to me

These terms may also be used in relation to nautical things, or astronomical terms like constellations or the stars in the night sky, especially septentrional being used for the constellation Big Dipper [called (La) Osa Mayor in Spanish as Ursa Major, or "big bear"; sometimes called El Carro being "the Chariot" or "Wagon/Cart"], and sepentrión or septentrional also applies to stars near the North Star/Polaris and the Little Dipper [(La) Osa Menor or Ursa Minor; "smaller bear"]

Unrelated but Osa means "she-bear" literally; el oso is generally "male bear"

...But in etymology septentrional means "(related to) seven oxen", as the old word for the Big Dipper was "the Plow/Plough" or "Wagon", and it was said that the Seven Stars were the oxen pulling the plough; that sept- is related to "seven"; so again septentrional came to be related to "north" simply because that's what you'd look for as a sailor because that's where the North Star was

In other words, "north" was related to "the North Star and where you'd find it and what other stars were around it" hence septentrional

-

The other important directional words you'll want to know are:

el Levante = the East

el Poniente = the West

You may have heard the term "Levant" used for the Middle East; these terms come from Latin but have to do with the rising and setting sun

levantar is "to raise/rise", and poner(se) el sol is "for the sun to set"; thus el Poniente is "where the sun sets" for example and viceversa el Levante is "where the sun rises" which is more based on the old world knowledge of the East being more like Persia, Mesopotamia, and what the Ancient World called Asia [today we'd say "Asia Minor" now that we know fully about China and the Far East]

-

Other words to maybe just be aware of:

boreal = North / North wind

austro/a, austral = South / South wind

These you won't see too much except for something like la aurora boreal for "Northern lights" or just the Latin aurora borealis or when you look into the etymology of places like Australia as literally being "southern" [the north wind was el bóreas related to Boreas from Greek mythology]

And maybe be aware of el céfiro "zephyr" which was linked to the west wind; not that you necessarily need to know it for "west wind" unless you're reading Greek mythology or fancy literature, but they do use it when discussing the wind every so often

-

Side Note: el norte is also related to the ideas of "finding one's way"; like perder el norte can be "to lose one's way" which is literally "to lose north" - but it's related to nautical terms where people would follow la Estrella Polar "North Star / Polaris" and compasses facing north

A lot of directional vocabulary is related to wind and stars; which does make sense since it features heavily in navigation and nautical terms

[star-riding-through-clouds]

Uhh hello…?

“It’s not hell if you like the way it burns”

I’m Amelie

From Nicaragua (in Central America)

Eng/esp

Im underage, (14)

Intp, sx4

(Stats under cut)

I have an 3at1ng d1sorder and it’s not a secret that I often post about it. Block me it’s fine.

Dm me if you wanna talk,, please.

Also for heaven sake spam my acc. Send me asks, anons, text me. Anything I’m always bored

Me and art are one , all kinds, literature, painting, music. I’m a creature of obsession. Self destructive tendencies are natural to my existence, and I will probably post about this from time to time. I never EVER will say I’m pro any of this, please, stay healthy if you can. I just need a place to be me.

Im pretty nerdy, I don’t really care if you like that or not I adore classic literature, Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, 1984, any Virginia Woolf book tbh but mostly the waves , Alejandra pizarnik, the metamorphosis, the Iliad and odyssey, the divine comedy, a bit of Dostoyevsky (I wanna read more Russian literature), and a bunch of other old books

I love classic rock, the doors, the velvet underground, the Beatles, love of my life David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie nicks etc. I also like pop in Spanish mainly Mecano, Jeanette and some Shakira and ofc your typical indie pop like tv girl, marina, and this British band called black box recorder. Recently the Dresden dolls.

Stats

This are just numbers that help me understand myself, honestly they don’t mean anything anymore (feels like they do)

Height: 166cm (5’5 1/2)

Cw: 95.6lb(43.4kg)

Gw: 95Lb (43kg)

Ugw: 91Lb (41kg) (possibly lower)

Bmi: 15.7

I’m pro recovery I can’t stress this enough. I’ve just always had a tendency to almost enjoy hurting myself.

I do sh but not often and not heavily, don’t post abt it often, but that doesn’t mean never

I have a very messy internal world, I change often I don’t like to define myself

Oh I’m bi

Socials: Pinterest, Spotify (moots ask for other socials)

So I guess that’s it, like I said I’m looking for friends but I don’t have the guts to dm people so you dm me

Love, Amelie

[ms-demeanor]

sorry if you've answered this before, and i hope you don't mind me asking, how do you know so much about computers and what seems to me like everything in the world? how did you become so knowledgeable? it's amazing

i just know a little about a lot of things and I probably have a fair number of things that I've dug into more than most people and less than people who actually focus on that stuff! It's kind of an illusion!

I do know a lot about computers and that's because I've worked at a computer company for 12 years and have been deep into a computery subculture for about 20 years - I do genuinely know a lot about consumer computers. That I'll own and that's experience.

I know a fair amount about literature because I've got a degree in it!

I know a fair amount about journalism because I've got most of a degree in it and I worked with journalists for a long time!

I know a fair amount about nutrition because I've got most of a degree in it and because I've been focused on reading a lot about nutrition for more than a decade because of my own food issues!

But mostly I'm just someone who falls down rabbitholes and has a decent ability to recall what I find when I run down them.

Also I get curious about things and will just go. Experience them.

Like at some point i came across a site for people who own and use RealDolls and I got interested in learning more. The site required an application because they didn't want people just trolling so I applied and I ended up reading through the whole site and reading the magazines they sent out for years after because it was just interesting. The way these guys bought clothes or compared repair techniques and cleaning techniques, the way they constructed identities for their dolls - it was all interesting! So now I know about the proper way to store a RealDoll and how their skeletons are put together and the best way to prevent rips or clean inserts.

Now imagine that with everything.

I got interested in quack medicine so I ended up reading the entire back catalogs of quackwatch and science-based medicine.

I got interested in the history of aspartame as a scare-word and I ended up reading a couple of books, SEVERAL entire blogs with decades-long runs, purchasing a military magazine from the 90s, and submitting a FOIA request.

But, like. I don't own a RealDoll or work in that industry. I am not a medical professional. I am not a chemist who works with aspartame. So I get these weird little collections of information where I know what *seems* like a lot to someone who hasn't looked into it but I know a lot less than someone who has taken the time to actually dedicate themselves to that topic.

And sometimes it's a years-long dive and sometimes it's a months-long dive and sometimes it's a few hours of me digging online until I feel satisfied with what I've learned and I never come back to it, but I've got three more talking points than your average joe at a party would.

(Also though I've attended various colleges at various levels for ten-ish years now and I've taken probably more college-level classes on a lot of subjects than most people have because I've now spent several years just kind of kicking around at community colleges and deciding that a cartooning class sounds fun or that a mesoamerican art class fills certain transfer requirements or that I might as well brush up on spanish, french, and german. Access to low-cost college classes in california is a big part of this, and having the time and money to take classes while i'm working is something that I've been very lucky with)

I've also worked pretty much continuously since I was 18, sometimes holding multiple jobs at once, and I know a lot of interesting people who do a lot of interesting things and I ask them about their interesting experiences and if they offer me a chance to go do cool shit with them, like launch a high altitude balloon or blow up some dynamite that's about to expire or join a band, I do it!

I was also one of those kids who had no friends and spent too much time at the library so I'd do things like read through medical textbooks or pull a book of home chemical formulas out of the trash and read it or take it into my head that I was going to read all of Shakespeare before I got to high school so I was a really annoying twelve-year-old and that kind of thing never really let up.

I don't know! I don't think it's that unusual and I think most people do this kind of thing I just happen to have less focus than a lot of people and talk a lot more.