#okay technically I think 1930 is part of the 20s but...

[sydney-carton-of-sour-milk]

The Many Illustrators of A Tale of Two Cities 4: Curtiss Sprague

...& a guest book editor...

This week's is a special one. We'll dive right into this 1930 edition by first admiring all the silhouette art of its illustrator, Curtiss Sprague - but see if you notice something extra along the way:

And to highlight the last one for its marvelous misquote:

Alright, have you noticed it? There's more than just ink coloring some of these pages!

Yes, this week we're not just taking a look at this 1930 edition - we are taking a look at this particular copy of this 1930 edition, which features not just Sprague's beautiful work...

...but also the work of William*, a high school sophomore 92 years ago who clearly learned the lesson from my last post! *although perhaps not clearly enough because I personally can't tell for certain what his surname is by his signature😅

Besides his coloring in Sprague's silhouettes, there isn't a lot more of his work written throughout the book - he did make sure to take plenty of notes in the blank pages, though!

There is also this brief note (please comment if you can make out the word above the date!):

As well as this subtle substitution (whoever C.E.S. is...oof!):

William's work made searching through and scanning this particular book an absolute delight - it was a grounding and beautiful reminder that students have been idly writing in their schoolbooks for as long as school has existed.

Thank you, William!

& the standard endnote for all posts in this series:

This post is intended to act as the start of a forum on the given illustrator, so if anyone has anything to add - requests to see certain drawings in higher definition (since Tumblr compresses images), corrections to factual errors, sources for better-quality versions of the illustrations, further reading, fun facts, any questions, or just general commentary - simply do so on this post, be it in a comment/tags or the replies!💫

[digitalis-obscura]

I posted 24,379 times in 2022

218 posts created (1%)

24,161 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@iamjessemccartney

@voidofthestars

@maandarinee

@iamalivenow

@kahtiihma

I tagged 2,606 of my posts in 2022

#our flag means death - 384 posts

#grey speaks - 230 posts

#malevolent podcast - 127 posts

#black sails - 82 posts

#wwdits - 72 posts

#ofmd art - 60 posts

#the sandman - 57 posts

#asks - 40 posts

#dracula daily - 36 posts

#soft tag - 29 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#so everyone claiming they didnt is either full of fucking shit or one of those assholes who pretends not to have learned anything in school

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

i interrupt my pirate related screaming to do more malevolent related screaming, because coda (part 20.5) just released publicly and this is the episode that literally made me vibrate at high speed in my bathroom so go listen right the fuck now, it’s so good and will make you feel better about 20 (sort of)

34 notes - Posted March 27, 2022

#4

even if you have already listened to malevolent, all of the episodes just got updated with new music (that’s fucking amazing) and the first couple of episodes got a little shinier so if you have been thinking of relistening now is the time baby

34 notes - Posted April 25, 2022

#3

okay i was being unwell about this on the discord but i’m also going to do it here

the fucking. symbolism of arthur washing his hands before eating, of that detail being included, like yes, from a practical standpoint of course he had to wash his fuckin hands he was gross

but like also the physical act of washing the blood from his hands representing the metaphorical act of washing the blood from his hands and letting go of a little bit of his guilt. the food as a metaphor for healing! of course he couldn’t heal eat until he had let go of some of his guilt washed the blood off

just like, harlan is such a good fucking writer im insane i cried for like an hour

68 notes - Posted September 28, 2022

#2

Okay you got me hooked. Tell me a little about malevolent podcast?

hell yeah! malevolent is a horror podcast set in the 1930s about a private investigator who wakes up in his office with a voice in his head that now has control of his vision. the show is his attempts to find out what the fuck happened to him, and who or what exactly the entity controlling his eyes is, with or without said entity’s help. it’s technically based in the call of cthulhu ttrpg universe, but game knowledge isn’t needed to get into the show.

there’s a lot of excellent horror, and also a lot of feelings to absolutely rip your fucking heart out because that’s how i roll. and from a technical angle the editing and soundscaping for the show is absolutely amazing, if that’s something you take into consideration. the whole thing is done by one guy (including all of the voice acting, not that you can tell) and it’s extremely good.

i like this show a normal amount, obviously.

71 notes - Posted February 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

i think my absolute favorite thing about stede is that he’s not nice he’s polite. he is a classic example of the difference between the two, he’s a bitch but he also has manners and i love him.

2,248 notes - Posted April 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[hibisha]

Hello, a friend of yours said you might be able to recommend some radiodust fanfics, and it can be anything im not picky

RadioDust fanfics you say? Alright *cracks knuckles* here we go.

1.) The Charismatic Cannibal’s Guide to Self Care

Rating: E

Summary: Alastor chuckled around a hand. Angel would never get over how shark-like he could look. Fangs were the norm here, but Alastor’s had a certain animal quality that fit strangely in a humanoid face. Too big and too many. And right now they were tinged with a hint of red from his choice of drink.

“So what,” he said, “would liven up the place for you, sport?”

You might assume that Angel Dust is the bad influence in every situation. You would be wrong.

The Radio Demon has plans for Hell, and plans for Angel. And they aren't pretty.

Will contain gore/cannibalism/murder and plenty of fun, bad people. Please read the tags and content warning. Plot now, smut to follow.

Personal thoughts: It only one chapter so far but I really like the premise.

2.) Their Arrangement

Rating: E

Summary: Alastor and Angel Dust have come to an agreement after Angel pushes the Radio Demon's buttons a little too far and inadvertently awakens the long forgotten urges buried under decades of bloodlust.

Personal thoughts: One of my literal favorites. Alastor and Angel’s evolving relationship from sex friends to ‘oh shit I have feelings’ *chef’s kiss*.

3.) Absolute Territory

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust is an absolute terror for Absolute Territory.

Alastor never knew he had a thing for stockings until Angel decides to flaunt a pair, matched with a pleated skirt and an oversized sweatshirt.

Personal thoughts: Have some good ol’ smut.

4.) Heart Between His Teeth

Rating: E

Summary: So maybe there are better things to life than being drugged and fucked so hard you can't even think for yourself.

Personal thoughts: OMFG. I CAN NOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS FIC.

5.) Angel Dust’s Not So Illustrious Life

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor isn’t sure why he’s become Angel’s primary target, but the more he attempts to dissuade Angel’s advances, the more fervent they seem to become.

And maybe Alastor likes that...maybe...Yet it seems there’s more to Angel than innuendos and a quick romp.

Personal thoughts: I kinda love this fic a lot where Angel and Alastor respect each other’s boundaries.

6.) Caught In His Own Web

Rated:E

Summary: "So when the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never. Because the dance with the devil might last you forever."

Redemption is hard when you don't want to do it. Redemption is even harder when a certain Radio Demon keeps enabling your sinful behavior.

Personal thoughts: My favourite trope, bad people being worse together.

7.) I Thought I Knew You 

Rated: M

Summary: Angel Dust can't ruin the hotel's reputation if he can't go outside. Or, at least, that's what Alastor says. Of course, it's all a ploy to torture Alastor's least favorite spider demon, but maybe he doesn't know Angel Dust as well as he thinks he does.

Personal thoughts: I really like this one especially since it feeds into my “Alastor is a dick in all AUs.”

8.) Sex, drugs and radio host

Rating: E

Summary: For some ungodly reason, Alastor decides to keep Angel safe and sound - meaning no sex, prostitution and certainly no drugs. Of course, this wild idea is met with more than a little resistance. But... no one ever cared if Angel was safe. And sometimes, all he would like is a hug. Sex sure is nice, but he is more than willing to explore the possibilities.

The trouble is, it doesn't seem like Alastor is offering anything specific. Keeping things strange and vague is not helping, especially when a new guest catches Alastor's attention.

Personal thoughts: Its cute and theres feelings involved is all I’m saying.

9.) Gentleman's Wager 

Rating: None

Summary: Sick of listening to Angel Dust's crass and vulgar language, Alastor makes a bet with him. If Angel Dust can remain absolutely silent for one whole week, he'll give in and kiss him.

Personal thoughts: *inhales* JVKJGCHJCHJCVJHVJHGCJHCJHCGFD I LOVE THIS SO MUCH PLEASE READ IT.

10.) Triggered 

Rating: None

Summary: Angel Dust had never really thought too much about the static hum surrounding Alastor wherever he went... until now anyway.

Personal thoughts: It's a very good fic about ANgel dealing with PTSD. Def check it out.

11.) Dinner and Drinks 

Rating: None

Summary: Alastor and Angel Dust can barely tolerate each other and Charlie seeks to fix that.

Personal thoughts: Again, a slow development of Angel and Alastor’s relationship.

12.) You Do Something to Me 

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor's radio signals go both ways, and for the past few decades he's tuned into the most beautiful voice. What a surprise to find the source in the Happy Hotel right under his nose.

A relationship that grows through music.

Personal thoughts: AGAIN, PLEASE READ THIS IT IS CUTE HECK AND WILL CLEAR YOUR SKIN. Also, its part 2: No One Knows Anything But Us 

13.) 1932

Rating: M

Summary: The 1930s are the for perfect time to nurture any up-and-coming radio host or serial killer alike. Alastor is no exception.

Set in New Orleans in 1932, Alastor is living his best life. Broadcaster by day and home chef by night, he's learned that Jumbalaya is best served with a side of human liver and a still beating heart. That is until he brings the wrong meal to his table, a member of the Italian mafia, and ends up biting off more than he can chew.

With his latest meal escaping the table and his identity running the risk of being found out, Alastor faces his biggest hunt yet. The streets of New Orleans are his forest and this time, it's his head on the platter.

AKA Alastor screws up and now has to fix his mess in Dixieland while balancing his day job, cannibalistic hunger, and learn how to be a decent human being for once along the way. Should be fun.

Personal thoughts: I absolutely adore this fic. Please give it a shot.

14.) Contracts and Deals Series

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust, Hell's number one porn actor.

Alastor, Hell's most renowned overlord.

The two cross paths.

Angel makes a deal with Alastor to get out of his contract with Valentino. One thing leads to another.

Personal thoughts: It’s a good series that eventually gets really fluffy.

15.) Good Management

Rating: M

Summary: Alastor thought he had Angel Dust filed away into his niche box in the Hotel. He was wrong. But he's a good enough manager to fix his responsibilities.

Personal thoughts: Its AngeliaDark. You know it’s good.

16.) Anything for you

Rating: M

Summary: Valentino faces the consequences of hurting someone that Alastor deeply favors

i.e. Val fucking dies

Personal thoughts: Any fic where Val dies is a good fic.

17.) Predator and Prey

Rating: M

Summary: Every couple of years, Angel Dust goes through a change that makes him a lot less tolerable to be around, for many more reasons than one. The staff of the Hotel are about to learn that the hard way, none more so than Alastor.

Personal thoughts: Okay so, slight dubcon, would recommend checking the tags before going into it. Though I love how it tackles on the story of Alastor being a deer which is technically a prey animal and Angel being the predator for once. Absolutely love it.

18.) Good Tidings 

Rating: T

Summary: A Christmas party in Hell isn't the big selling point for the Happy Hotel (For Hazbins), but Charlie feels that the holiday season is just what her friends need to open up to and help one another.

So what better way to do it than with a Secret Santa?

When Angel Dust draws none other than his crush, the Radio Demon, he knows he has one shot to not eff it up.

Personal thoughts: Really fluffy, a good read. Highly recommend it.

19.) Vanilla Bean

Rating: T

Summary: Alastor decides to try his hand at pet names and inadvertently offends Angel Dust. Rated T for swearing and there's suggestive content if you close one eye, tilt your head, and squint.

Personal thoughts: Okay so i loved this one because of how badly these two handle communication.

20.) For Auld Lang Syne, My Dear

Rating: M

Summary: Alastor's solitude is interrupted by Angel Dust who has just escaped a rough client and the two spend the last moments of 2019 together.

Personal thoughts: Love love love this. I just love Angel and Alastor dancing together okay.

21.) I Like It Better When I'm With You 

 Rating: M

Summary: Angel deals with feelings. Alastor deals with feelings. Just a whole lot of pining.

Personal thoughts: Summary says it all.

22.) Technical Difficulties

Rating: M

Summary: The hotel is running relatively well. Relationships between Alastor and the rest of the staff are budding surprisingly smoothly. And then the rainfall starts up, threatening all of it.

Alastor's out of tune.

Personal thoughts: I love how this is written. Slowburn but worth it.

23.) Lurking in the Shadows 

Rated M

Summary: 5 instances where a curious and head-over-heels shadow follows Angel Dust around and 1 time where Angel decides to follow it instead.

Personal thoughts: It’s very cute how Alastor’s shadow pines after Angel.

24.) Crossroads

Rating: M

Summary: A mafioso’s and a murderous radio star’s paths collide in New Orleans in the winter of 1933.

Personal thoughts: OKAY SO I REALLY LOVE THIS BECAUSE HUMAN AUS ARE MY JAM AND THEN ALASTOR AND ANGEL BEING TERRIBLE HUMANS TOGETHER IS EVEN BETTER.

25.) Needle Through a Bug

Rating: E

Summary: Angel wakes up in a hospital after a party. His doctor is very strange, worryingly so. Still, he can't help but be intrigued.

Personal thoughts: Doctor AU. Alastor is insane. I love it because Alastor manages to be as creepy as possible while saving lives.

26.) My Roommate's a Demonic Deer 

 Rating: M

Summary: Don't you hate it when you "accidentally" summon a demon to fix a problem within your home, only to find out that they don't do that, so now you're stuck with a cannibalistic demon that constantly tracks blood onto the floor, brings other unholy beings into your apartment, and makes amazing jambalaya? It's amazing insanity!

Personal thoughts: Lmao I love demon summoning gone wrong so this was really an amazing read. Angel being a true himbo is always the best.

27.) Human Hazbin Roommates AU series

Rating: E, M

Summary: A series of porny RadioDust one-shots depicting modern human AU roommate life.

Notes:

Glimpses into the human lives of insufferable roommates.

(AKA This was supposed to be a practice at writing present tense smut and it devolved into sex and feelings)

Personal thoughts: Dive in for the smut, come out with the feels.

28: Darker Side of Hell series

Rating: E

Summary: Follow Charlie and later Alastor as part of my Story for the Hazbin hotel... It ain't pretty, so enjoy!

Personal thoughts: Not everyone’s cup of tea so i suggest reading the tags but I really love this series a lot. Angel being awkward and in love is the best shit ever. Its an amazing series.

29.) Scorched, Uninhabited, Rejected

Rating: M

Summary: When Hell suddenly loses all working functions, and angels start dropping from their overhead perches to attack the underworlds population, Charlie has no idea what to do before she's suddenly face to face with a Archangel. Though something, clearly, isn't right about the air the angel assures her to keep those who are dear tucked tightly by her side as the disaster struggles to fix itself.

But nothing is as it seems, Overlords' powers are dwindling and even her own is becoming strained as she struggles to protect her beloved hotel and friends from the Exterminators outside.

Personal thoughts: *vibrates* Can’t say much without spoilers so I’m just gonna beg ya all to read this.

30.) The Thin Line

Rating: None

Summary: Studies say it takes fifty hours of interaction before you consider someone a casual friend and two hundred to be a close friend. Alastor and Angel Dust manage to skip right past close friends to something more without either even noticing they've crossed the line.

31.) La Vie En Rose

Rating: G

Summary: Alastor learns that Angel is afraid of thunderstorms, and Angel in turn learns about the Radio Demon.

32.) falling 

Rating: M

Summary: "You're hot as fuck, be my boyfriend."

That was perhaps the worst thing he could've possibly said from that standpoint.

A college setting where Angel gets suddenly awful at flirting when it comes to the face of his crush, a cute library assistant that goes by Alastor.

Personal thoughts: COLLEGE AU COLLEGE AU. 

33.) Old Habits Die Hard

Rating: G

Summary: Angel decides to bring back a little habit of his after having a rough time.

Personal thoughts: Hella soft, please read.

34.) Handwritten 

Rating: None

Summary: Alastor imagines Angel must be lonely in heaven, he writes to keep him company.

 A series of letters addressed to Angel.

Personal thoughts: Hi, do you like crying into your pillow at 2 AM? You do? The look no further, this is the fic for you! Now, with extra heart wrenching feels!

35.) Relapse and Recovery

Rating: T

Summary: Going clean was never going to be easy, but easy was something Angel Dust never expected going into this anyway. At least he has a good support system to help him along the way.

Personal thoughts: I just really like AngeliaDark’s fics okay.

36.) Catalyst

Rating: T

Summary: All couples have their downfalls, and an event that should have been celebrated only drives Alastor and Angel Dust apart.

Personal thoughts: Love love love this. It’s very well written, reads easy and you’ll feel fluffy for days.

37.) Dinner Date: A RadioDust Tale

Rating: E

Summary: Angel Dust finally finds a way to get Alastor to agree to a 'date'. After all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Sometimes literally.

Personal thoughts: One of my favourite stories about RadioDust.

38.) This One's Dedicated to [static interruption]

Rating: M

Summary: A couple of years since the hotel's opening, the residents have settled down into a fairly tolerable routine. Recently, some of them have begun experiencing peculiar symptoms which become more noticeable as time passes. To his dismay, the Radio Demon finds that he is not immune.

A chance encounter with Angel Dust propels the two demons together as they attempt to answer what's behind the unusual phenomena, while rediscovering all the things they thought dead and buried along the way.

Personal thoughts: Slowburn but definitely worth it. I love the story and how it’s progressing with a certain mystery surrounding the whole plot.

Also slight self plug I guess:

39.) 14 ways to say “I Love You”

Rating: T

Summary: Just a collection of small drabbles I’m writing on based on single word prompts.

Please check it out if you’re a fan of odd AUs.

Wowee, that’s a lot. I’m gonna call it a night and say that’s all for today. I hope you enjoy these! 

[astrofireworks]

ALL OR AT LEAST ONES THAY HAVENT BEEN ANSWERED I LOVE U

WHEEZES OH MY GOD WORM OKAY HAHAHAH under the cut!!!!

1. favourite place in your country?

anywhere with wifi and aircon wheezes but i like the west aye

2. do you prefer spending your holidays in your country or travel abroad?

i’ve had the privilege of going abroad!!! singapore is boring wheezes in new york you get to pick any direction and just walk and you’d end up somewhere with things to do and things to see but in singapore you can’t even walk like 20 minutes without melting into the pavement 

3. does your country have access to sea?

yeet

4. favourite dish specific for your country?

WAH HOW TO CHOOSE SIA listen singapore has so much food and like 80% of them aren’t even local they’re just stolen from malaysia or india or china and then modified to fit whatever ingredients we have  

5. favourite song in your native language? answered! 

6. most hated song in your native language?

i’m taking this to refer to national day songs and i hate this song and i never want to hear it again thank u 

7. three words from your native language that you like the most? answered! 

8. do you get confused with other nationalities? if so, which ones and by whom?

malaysian and taiwanese! singaporean english accents sounds a lot like malaysian accents, and our chinese accents sound like taiwan’s so i can see the confusion. it’s mostly us three confusing ourselves with each other asjdfkajasd

but also white people have just called me all sorts of variations of asian and i’ve given up on correcting them 

9. which of your neighbouring countries would you like to visit most/know best?

singapore is hella close to johor bahru so a lot of singaporeans drive up to shop or eat or just hang out!! so i guess i’m most familiar with jb?

10. most enjoyable swear word in your native language?

WAHHAAH OKAY i’m technically the teochew branch of ‘chinese’ but for some reason singaporeans curse more in hokkien so here’s a list because i don’t want to type them out wheezes

11. favourite native writer/poet?

okay so it’s a tossup between stella kon (who wrote emily of emerald hill, a one-woman play about a nyonya matriarch and peranakan culture in 1930s singapore!!) and jean tay (who wrote everything but the brain, a play about physics and family and i ?????? love it so much heck)

12. what do you think about English translations of your favourite native prose/poem?

ah it’s all in english, we good

13. does your country (or family) have any specific superstitions or traditions that might seem strange to outsiders?

oKAY SO I DIDN’T KNOW THIS UNTIL I CAME TO NEW YORK but apparently ‘lo hei’ is something only south east asian chinese people do??? so ‘lo hei’ is this thing during lunar new year where everyone holds a little container of ingredients like shredded radish or carrot or deep fried crackers or raw fish or peanuts and then as they add their ingredients to a tray in the centre of the table they say wishes for the new year!! 

then when everyone adds it in they attack it with chopsticks and mix everything up :’) apparently the higher your toss the stuff the more luck you’ll have in the new year aye

lowkey sad nobody else does it in new york so i can’t do it when i’m here sighs

14. do you enjoy your country’s cinema and/or TV?

it’s actually terrible wheezes i can’t even name one good movie

15. a saying, joke, or hermetic meme that only people from your country will get?

JASDHFJKASD OKAY THIS IS IT THIS IS MY FAVOURITE THING I WENT TO LOOK FOR IT AND LISTEN THIS ONE IS MY FAVE

THIS ONE MADE ME CRY BYE

16. which stereotype about your country you hate the most and which one you somewhat agree with?

wah okay the stereotype that we’re all “oppressed” by our government like ????? listen just because the government is less liberal about things and they have a tighter control on the concept of free speech doesn’t mean it’s reached the level of “oppressive” take your white ideas somewhere else thank you 

but also the stereotype that we’re insanely competitive (kiasu: scared of losing) ajsdhlfksd it’s sometimes unhealthy how competitive everything is in singapore, especially the education system since it more or less forces you to be on top of your shit from the age of 9 wheezes

17. are you interested in your country’s history?

nah i’m not even interested in history in general ajdfhalsjkd i dropped history and geography so i could take literature wheezes in Y3

18. do you speak with a dialect of your native language?

teochew!! since my parents are teochew :’) but all singaporeans are forced to learn a second language and since i’m chinese i had to take mandarin so that’s what i use more often jskdfhaksjdf

19. do you like your country’s flag and/or emblem? what about the national anthem?

it’s fine,,,,,, i guess,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, idk i have no opinions about it HAHAHH it’s just Been There but also at some point in primary school i just stopped singing the national anthem out loud wheezes 

20. which sport is The Sport in your country?

i don’t follow sports but wheezes i guess swimming????? since that’s what we’ve been winning medals for i think????

21. if you could send two things from your country into space, what would they be?

sambal belacan (shrimp paste, lime juice and ground chili) that shit is great i love it !!!!! also kaya (pandan coconut jam) i would eat it out of the jar if i could

22. what makes you proud about your country? what makes you ashamed?

wow okay i guess i like that we’re really clean??? there’s little to no trash on the streets?? you can get arrested if you get caught littering fun fact !! 

also that we’re really really homophobic fun fact it’s illegal in singapore to have gay sex you can get arrested too woop also singapore tries to have this gay pride thing every year but religious organisations always kick up a huge homophobic fuss and i always want to tear my hair out and scream and long story short that’s why i’m in new york gay capital of the world 

23. which alcoholic beverage is the favoured one in your country?

probably beer HAHAH idk i don’t really know much about drinking culture 

24. what other nation is joked about most often in your country?

wow uh china or malaysia probably i’m not sure

25. would you like to come from another place, be born in another country?

nah i like being singaporean we don’t have to apply for a lot of visas since our passport is approved in a lot of different countries so that saves a lot of money!!! also fun fact we’re allowed in north korea

26. does your nationality get portrayed in Hollywood/American media? what do you think about the portrayal?

if you’ve ever heard of crazy rich asians, it does NOT represent all of singapore all it shows is the chinese privileged part (since it was meant to be a satire) and it’s nothing like the heartlands so really fuck the people taking it seriously 

27. favourite national celebrity?

wow uh okay JJLin what a guy good ass emo songs HAHAH but also i think ?? benjamin kheng is p good looking i don’t really follow singaporean celebrities because honestly,,,, they’re not really,,,, that good,,,,,,,,,, so

28. does your country have a lot of lakes, mountains, rivers? do you have favourites?

nah HAHAH we have one (1) river and it’s called the singapore river for obvious reasons wheezes we don’t have mountains either i believe we only have hills jdhfakjs

29. does your region/city have a beef with another place in your country?

singapore is one country/island thing so nah we don’t have regions to fight with!! also nah i think we’re pretty chill since singapore is really small so the moment we have beef with other countries we’re more or less guaranteed to die so yeet

30. do you have people of different nationalities in your family?

my maternal grandpa is from shanghai (so my mum speaks english, chinese, teochew, cantonese, hokkien and shanghainese wheezes she’s amazing) and my paternal grandma is from malaysia! 

WEW THAT WAS A RIDE WORM but now i want to know your responses too ;0;

[starlightomatic]

Passover + Goldsteins

@ravens-and-writings asked me some questions about Passover for a fic she’s writing, and I decided to answer with a post in case other people had similar questions (or was curious about Judaism for other reasons).  Also, people are welcome to add anything I missed or correct anything I got wrong!  For people reading this, the Jewish characters in question are Ashkenazi young women in the 1930s, one in New York and one in England

1. Is a Passover Seder held every night or just the night before the holiday starts? If so, what does a ‘normal’ Passover dinner look like? The first two nights.  Jewish holidays begin in the evening, so technically yes, it’s the night before the first day (as well as the night of the first day).

A Passover seder involves a series of rituals (mostly eating various foods), reading from the Haggadah and telling the Passover seder, a meal, and then songs.  Here are some links: Passover 101 The Passover Seder Haggadah (the book used as a guide for the Seder)

In terms of food, I believe brisket is pretty commonly served.  Matzah ball soup is popular as well, as is roast chicken.  Most importantly, as it is Passover, there would be no bread, or anything made from wheat, barley, oats, rye or spelt other than matzah or things made from matzah meal.  Ashkenazi Jews (those of Eastern European descent) traditionally also don’t eat peas, chickpeas, rice, corn, soybeans, green beans, and beans (among a few other things) on Passover.  

If there are any England-specific traditions, English followers please let me know!

2. Would it be okay for Jacob to keep his bakery running during Passover? (Since he’s not Jewish, but his wife and children are and they all live in the flat above it)

I think so.  I’m not really sure the halacha (Jewish law) when a non-Jew and a Jew co-own property or goods (since Jews are prohibited from having chametz -- leavened bread -- on their property, or owning any chametz, during Passover).  If anyone knows the answer to this, please let me know.  (However, I’d venture a guess that Queenie is probably not religious enough to care about the legal specifics and would just figure it was okay).  It might be fine if they just decide that Jacob is the sole owner for the duration of Passover.  Also I’m not even sure if they’d have a conceptualized a man’s wife as a co-owner of his business in the first place.

3. Any advise on writing Jewish people attending an Easter celebration during Passover? (They're visiting Newt's family for Easter brunch ^^)

Basically, just keep in mind that things that seem familiar to you about Easter would be unfamiliar to Jewish people.  I only know the basics of Easter and its traditions -- I know it’s a celebration of Jesus ascending to Heaven, that it often involves an Easter egg hunt, and that people (especially little girls) wear fancy dresses.  That’s about it. Also, Jewish people might have some level of discomfort with the actual service -- specifically with the parts that directly are about Jesus’ divinity.  I’m not sure how to explain this, but participating in a Christian religious ceremony might feel a little wrong.  Which isn’t to say they wouldn’t do it -- I’ve definitely attended church services before, either with friends or just because I was interested.  But this is definitely something I’ve felt.  Though if she’s just attending a brunch and not a service, that feeling would be very much lessened.  I do think there’d still be a feeling of being an outsider, and perhaps apprehension about making sure to do and say the right things -- though it’d very much depend on how well she already knows the family.

4. Any special wellwishes I could/should include when Queenie finds out Tina is pregnant? ;) We don’t say mazel tov or congratulations, because of superstition -- you don’t want to temp the Evil Eye into making you lose the pregnancy by assuming you won’t lose it (weird, I know), so instead we say “in a good hour.”  Nowadays we say it in Modern Hebrew, but I doubt that was the case in the 20s/30s; they’d have used Yiddish.   The internet informs me that the corresponding Yiddish expressions were "in a guter sho" or "in a mazeldiker sho.”  (Even though most Yiddish words are Germanic, some are from Hebrew -- that would be why you wouldn’t recognize “mazeldiker” or “sho.”)

[katrinadizzle-blog]

History Challenge, rebooted.

Now that I learned some things about cc & have been thinking about history (BECAUSE MY SIMS GAMES AREN’T FUNCTIONING RIGHT AND TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM EA, but... different rant:), I’ve decided to restart my beginner family! I am crazy. Legitimately crazy. I’m going to do 15 generations, people. Maybe even more than one generation in each era. Why am I a history and literature nerd? :(

Disclaimer: Eurocentric, cause that’s what is taught in schools, and I’m more familiar with it. :/

Stone Age!

North Africa somewhere, the Neolithic Era only. Flintstones-flavored. Pastimes: survival, making the babehs, fishing, farming.

Bronze Age!

Egypt c. 2000 bc

Writing focus. Farming, etc. Apparently when Egypt was most famous. Lots of kitties. :D

I didn’t really want to play this era just because there’s already a (current day) Egypt in game, and I think it’s weird to do both past and present, when I’m not even planning on landing there in the future generation. But I can’t think of another culture that exemplifies the Bronze Age writing better. But also, it’s very late and I’m tired. Suggestions?

Celts c. 500 bc

Polytheism and witchy stuff! The Island of women!! Boudica and so on. Or, I could cut this and replace my “island of women” want with making Valhalla down with the vikings. But, I feel like this is the closest culture to my own culture on this list, as Damion is pagan with lots of druid-influences and we are married and I have studied/considered the religion myself. Also, how cool would a bagpipe be for custom content?! Does that exist?! Can someone make it?! 😍

Greece, c. 320 bc

Logic, sciencey stuff and aliens. Cool temples. 

Rome, c. 40 bc

I didn’t want to play this one, because the cultures are so similar due to assimilation but I think I have to, unless I can come up with some sort of cultural transition. I could maybe do Mount Olympus though, out of a giant mountain, which could be fun. I could play with gods here, but keep them silent in the Greece era so it’s somewhat different gameplay. Or, play somehow with Jesus? Lol, but I don’t want him or his dad to smite me for being a snit ⚡️

Iron Age!

Scandinavia, c. 1000 ac

The vikings! I am going to make a legitimate longboat here using Island Paradise. Might be setting some random villages on fire with witches.

Late Middle Ages! 

England, c. 1450

You guys know about my Henry VIII obsession? Well. I’ll leave it at that.*

*Henry VIII was technically born outside of this era but it’s so close and history ages aren’t always exactly right and did I mention I love the morbid Henry VIII era for some reason?!*

Early Modern Age!

England, c. 1590

Shakespeare! Renaissance! Art! Writing! Queen Elizabeth! Peace, finally.

Some western state, America c. early 1800s

The old west!* Lawlessness! Probably based off West World because I’m so original like that.

Actually this is kind of also in the Victorian Age but I wanted to portray both sides :x

America or England, c. late 1800s/early 1900s

The Victorian Age! Combined with Edwardian. My favorite. Maybe modeled after the American Girl doll Samantha (don’t hate 😂) if in America or Frankenstein (maybe?) if in England. OR BOTH. F it. Either way, fascination with the supernatural for sure. :3 And prudishness. And all the pretty dresses and houses! 😍

New Orleans (probably), 1920s

Dancing, mixology and woohooing. My people are going to have so much fun.

+ (or separate)

America, 1930s

The Great Depression. Because hardship builds character! Mostly because I like to torture my sims, though. :) I’m thinking 1920s could be my generation’s young adult years and then adult would be The Depression?

Washington, DC, 1950s

Because they were all wholesome and stuff. Most of my motivation for this comes from the cute 50s diner custom content I have found, honestly.

America, somewhere, 2016

I could put Trump as president! And everybody so sad, etc.

America, somewhere, future

I could play the dystopian future from the game. :3 Maybe rocket science, cause space! Should I separate the races out too, into Eloi and Morlocks? 😂But, also this seems like a pessimistic ending and it’s pretty depressing to let my poor sims suffer so bad after playing them for centuries. I mean, at least during the other sucky parts of history, there will be a happier part of history to look forward to, right? 

OR. I could do this, and then someone, maybe a Doctor Who character? could activate the time machine and save the sims and make it the happy future. And then they figure out that sucks and it goes neutral again. It gets pretty timey wimey in that scenario though, and then that makes like 20 million generations, so I guess we will see how I feel at that point. I am protesting EA for at least a couple of expansions, so I’ll be playing ts3 for a while though anyway.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Also, I skipped the Enlightenment Era, because I just don’t care for it much. It’s okay, but it’s... like a Wednesday: it’s not terrible Monday, but it’s still not close enough to the weekend to feel happy. 👎

[colinreviewsmovies]

November 16, 2018

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

It’s been quite a while since my last movie review - being in a PhD takes up quite a large amount of time, who knew? But I have some serious thoughts on this movie and needed to share them.

This is a warning - there are spoilers ahead. So if you haven’t seen this movie yet and do not want to get spoiled, stop reading now.

################################################################

OK, let’s get into this.

Let’s start this off with some the disclosure that I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I have read the books through at least 15 times. I have two tattoos related to Harry Potter - the Deathly Hallows symbol and ‘expecto patronum’ in Jo’s handwriting. With that, it pains me to say this - but what in the world has Jo been smoking? There are so many things that do not make sense about this movie.

1.) Where the ever loving eff did another Dumbledore family member come from? If you’ve read the book then you know a significant amount of pages are dedicated to explaining Albus Dumbledore’s past. So out of nowhere she’s just going to throw in another long lost Dumbledore sibling? Okay - so then let’s take that at face value - he obviously isn’t around in the Harry Potter story line - so I guess it is safe to assume he dies at some point during this Fantastic Beasts story line? And if he is indeed a sibling of Albus’, he never once mentions him to Harry? Aberforth never mentions him to Harry when he’s railing to Harry about how terrible of a brother Albus was? Yeah OK, I just do not buy it. So either it’s a really shitty story line, or Grindelwald is lying to Creedance. Either way, I don’t understand what this does to the story line. I feel like Jo is treating her fans like idiots. Like, we don’t need this ridiculous interconnections to the Harry Potter story line. Which brings me to point number 2.

2.) Why the hell was Minerva McGonnagall part of the flashback with Newt and Leta at Hogwarts? Let’s dissect this a bit. This movie takes place in 1927. Let’s say that flashback was ten years prior, so in 1917. The flashback cleared showed and mentioned Professor McGonnagall. “Oh but Colin, maybe it was just some other professor McGonnagall?” No, it wasn’t! Because they even had her speak and had a pretty clear Scottish brogue going - so they clearly meant it to be the Minerva we all know and love. But here is the problem. MINERVA WAS BORN IN 1935, NEARLY 20 YEARS AFTER THIS SCENE COULD HAVE TAKEN PLACE! So can someone explain that one to me?

3.) This is super nitpicky - but during the scene with the circus guy and (the human form of???) Nagini, he explains that she comes from the jungle of Indonesia. Again, this movie takes place in 1927. Indonesia didn’t officially become a country until 1945 and the name “Indonesia” didn’t really get popular until the 1930′s. Before then, it was a very unused name for the region only within Dutch Academic Circles. Yes, I looked this up.

Okay, other than that, did I like this movie?

Uh, no, not particularly. Let’s look at from a more technical point of view.

The score was mundane at best - the highlight being the recycled Harry Potter theme when they first showed Hogwarts.

The cinematographer could not decide what kind of movie they were shooting. It started with their weird, super close ups - then wide sweeping shots, then handheld at some points, the frame rate sped up at random times. Pick a freaking lane.

The acting was...ok? Eddie Redmaybe was charming as always, as was Dan Fogler. Katherine Waterston was tragically under utilized.

And here is what really gets me. Those allegations against Johnny Depp came out and the producers of the movie and JK Rowling herself made a big to-do about why they felt they should keep him on in the role. At the time I thought he must be putting in one hell of a performance. And now, all I can think is, why not use that as an opportunity to get someone better? Johnny Depp was awful in this. Completely one note the entire time. No depth, no character development. Just truly terrible.

It was also really boring. This movie dragged for quite a while.

If you haven’t seen this yet and have read this far, maybe go if you’re a huge HP fan and curious to see where the story goes? Otherwise, don’t waste the money.

[canaryatlaw]

Well, before I start taking about my day I suppose I should acknowledge that I'm 4 years self-harm free today. I had to go back and edit my Instagram post because I originally put 3 years cuz I can't fucking count, lol, but it is 4 years. I made a habit of making an Instagram post of my tattoo on the date, but of course it looks a bit different now being that it's kind of overshadowed by the big red scar on my wrist from surgery this year (the ironic placement of which never ceases to amaze me). I'll post the picture after this so you all can see. I got the tattoo 3 years ago, on the one year date, so it seems like an appropriate thing to mark it by. I don't know if I have any new real reflections on it at this point. I mean, it's not something I really struggle with anymore, at all- which is amazing, really. Just looking back I have to take notice of how foolish I really was. I was so immersed in this emotional hell, with the smallest thing setting me off into a turmoil that could last days. I didn't know any other way though, it was all I had known for 10 years. But then just a few months after that last time, 4 years ago, everything changed and I thought my life was over, but then I woke up two days later feeling like a giant weight had been lifted off my shoulders, one I hadn't realized I'd been carrying around for as long as I could remember. Really, him leaving was the best thing that could've happened to me, maybe one of the best things that's ever happened to me. It was just like all of a sudden, the spell was broken and I wasn't in that place anymore, that place I'd been in all this time. Looking back I just wish I could've seen that coming, could've known that would happen, because I think it would've changed a lot of things. People told me of course that things would get better, but I never believed them. How could I? They didn't know what it was like for me. They didn't have the childhood hell I had. I was permanently fucked up, there was no getting out of that....until there was. I never could've imagined it, but then it happened. And if you're reading this and you're in one of those places, I promise you, it will get better. Hold on. The world still needs you. Things won't always be this way, even if it's all you can remember. Things change, people change, life gets better and you should be there to see it, okay? Anyway. I'll start my day post now that I've sufficiently emoted on that subject. Alarm went off at noon, got up and started reading pretty quickly. I only had like 50 pages of crim pro tonight as opposed to the 70-something I've had for the past two days, and there was two cases in there so it went faster that way. Strangely I think this might be the only class I have this semester that actually has cases in it, which is quite odd for law school but it seems to be happening that way. I finished by 3:30 though and I was able to relax and read some fan fic for about half an hour, lol, which was very nice. After that I got ready for class and headed out. I was debating what route I should take cuz it was kind of raining, but I just said fuck it and walked to my usual train because it was really just drizzling, though by the time I got there 20 minutes later I was fairly wet, but it wasn't a big deal. Train to school, we're in the same room I was last semester for crim pro I, and this is crim pro II. I only covers investigation, II is "from bail to jail" so really the technicalities of trial, not just what evidence is admissible at trial. A lot of people were in the class, which makes sense. The prof seems cool, she's an adjunct not terribly old but with short white hair not all that different from my own. While introducing herself she mentioned she was originally a dance/theatre major in college but had to drop out and returned later for something with literature I think, so that was cool to hear. She works at the state appellate defender, and she was saying you know how a lot of the people taking the class were either working at or going to work at the state's attorney's office or the public defender's office, and how their views tend to inform how they handle the class, and how she wanted to get a good exchange of views and such. It was a pretty interesting class, the two cases we read had to deal with right to jury trial and a case out of Alabama in the 1930s where like 9 black boys were accused of raping two white women and all sentenced to death after a sham trial, so then the Supreme Court stepped in and were like uh no you can't do that, you have to actually provide them lawyers, but the sad part was that when they went back to trial pretty much all of them were convicted again, though none were sentenced to death and most of them eventually pardoned. It was an interesting discussion on when the Supreme Court could step into such state decisions and what defines due process. I raised my hand at two points, one having to do with why legislatures don't want to fund public defender's offices (I said because they probably trust the police because they've never been falsely accused of a crime, which she seemed to like) and the other having to do with what an "Allen" charge is (which is when a jury is deadlocked and the judge basically says "reach a verdict or else" and it's a whole bunch of bs). She let us out by 8, so that was nice. Train back, I was pleased that by the time I got off it wasn't raining and it wasn't too cold, so my walk back was mostly pleasant, though I did step in a puddle and get my boot wet at one point which I wasn't terribly happy about, but small potatoes. Got home and turned on blindspot that aired tonight, interesting episode if a bit complex. I'm kind of sad we didn't get more of Nas, but I understand what they were doing with the episode structure. I don't know where they're going with the whole Roman situation, although it looks like next week might provide some answers to that according to the preview. Overall pretty good, I did get a tiny bit emotional at the end when the guy's kid was being held at gunpoint and she was sobbing and I was just like ffs if they kill this girl I'm gonna hurt somebody, but they didn't do that was good. After that I basically just chilled out for a while and that was about it. Improve should be good, I don't have class at night (just mock trial practice) so I don't have to worry about reading during the day, which means I can finally go grocery shopping and try to clean up my room, both very essential projects as I've literally been surviving on oatmeal and easy mac because I have like zero perishable food right now and there's actually a mountain of clothing in my room right now and it's pretty much a disaster area that needs to be handled, lol. So that should be good. And yeah, that's about it, and I'd like to get to sleep now, even if I can sleep in as long as I'd like tomorrow, I am still tired so I'm gonna do that now. Goodnight my loves. Sleep tight.