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nothorses · 3 years

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Top Surgery Journal

I figured it was time to share my top surgery experiences, so folks can potentially learn from them! I'll be updating this as I have more to add.

For context, I am in the U.S. (specifically Washington state), and a legal adult. A lot of my process may not apply to everyone.

Getting Coverage

The first step to scheduling top surgery is getting insurance coverage for it. Talk to your insurance first to figure out if they do cover top surgery, and what you need to do in order to obtain coverage. Oftentimes it won't be listed officially on your plan, but you can get coverage as long as you can prove you need it.

I was lucky enough to have good insurance with trans healthcare included, so all I needed was a letter from my PCP, and a letter from a behavioral health counselor specializing in gender dysphoria. I didn't need any diagnoses, any specific length of time on HRT, any particular presentation, etc.

(If you live in Washington, state law requires that top surgery be fully covered under Medicare. It might be worth it to check your state's laws as well!)

Referrals

I tried to schedule with a surgeon myself, thinking it was my responsibility to get the documents sent over and everything, but my PCP actually referred me when I first told her I had gotten coverage from my insurance.

I ended up going with that referral because the other surgeon was so hard to get ahold of, but my PCP did also send a referral to the surgeon I'd chosen before. I recommend going through your PCP for referrals first, as it takes a lot of the workload off of you- and they'll likely write a referral anyway when sending the documents needed for coverage over.

You may also find that the surgeon you talk to has different requirements than your insurance before performing top surgery. A referral from your PCP might bypass these requirements, but be sure to call them yourself and double-check. Your surgeon's office is supposed to call you to schedule a consultation, and they may not call you at all if you don't have all of those documents in- which means you can be left in limbo indefinitely, not knowing you need to send them more than you already did.

The Consultation

I was able to get a consultation about 5 weeks after calling, which was great! The consultation is your opportunity to ask the surgeon any questions you have, for them to evaluate your chest and what methods might work for you, and for you to see their results (most surgeons do not post result photos online for privacy reasons).

Come into the consultation with all the questions you have written down somewhere, so you don't forget. I asked:

If I could see photographs of his top surgery results

Which incisions he thought would work for me, stressing the things that were important to me: minimal recovery time, no free nipple grafts (I wanted to keep mine, but without risking a failed graft), and minimal chance of needing revisions

What my recovery would look like for the recommended incisions

Whether I will be getting drains (ideally, yes: drains reduce recovery time and the risk of needing revisions)

If he's had patients who have had complications (failed grafts, infections, need for revisions, etc.) and what he's done to reduce the chances of that happening again

My surgeon's results looked good (scars were even and symmetrical, healed nicely, etc.) and he answered my questions really well, so I was happy to go with him!

He recommended the fishmouth method for me, because recovery time would be minimal, there would be no need for nipple grafts, and my chest was small enough for it to work really well.

Scheduling the Surgery

My surgeon didn't have a very long waitlist, but it still took about 3 weeks for the clinic to process my request with my insurance (yes, even though I already had coverage). Once they'd processed that, they called me with a window of time I could schedule within; after a few months, insurance would no longer cover the surgery.

I got an extension, as I was working an intense summer job that I couldn't really take a few weeks off of to recover, then scheduled my surgery over the phone. They asked if I wanted a pre-op appointment, and I declined, as it'd mostly be information covered in the consultation or that could be given to me over the phone.

Preparing for Surgery

I wasn't given a check-in time for the hospital until about 2pm the day before, but they finally did call me and give me some instructions, including:

My check-in time and place

The hospital's phone number, to give to my ride/caretaker in case they had questions

That I was not to bring visitors (cause covid)

To bring my ID, insurance card, and credit card

That I was not to eat or drink anything after 12am that night (I did drink a bit of water with my meds, which they seemed fine with)

To shower with antibacterial soap the night before, and the morning of the surgery

Not to wear hair or skin products like deoderant or gel

Not to wear any jewelry, or anything else removable that wasn't just a clothing item.

When I checked into the hospital, they had my fill out some paperwork including the name and number of my ride and caretaker (which could be the same or separate people; they called the ride number when it was time to pick me up, and the caretaker number with detailed updates on my progress). Then they had me change into the hospital gown and answer some medical history questions, prepped me with an IV, and had a nurse, both anesthesiologists involved in my surgery, and my surgeon check in with me for more information and to answer any last questions I had.

I was told to use the bathroom about 20 minutes before I would be going under for my surgery (to avoid needing a catheter), and once I did, they injected some anesthetic into my IV and I passed the fuck out.

After Surgery

I showed up to the hospital at about 9am, and the prepping ended around 11am. The surgery was scheduled to end at 2pm; I wasn't conscious until about 3pm.

They had me use the restroom again (I passed out on the floor of the bathroom because it was way too soon, lmao), and I was in and out of sleep until I finally used the bathroom on my own at about 5pm. At that point I was a lot more lucid; I had some toast and pudding, and the nurse called my caretaker to go over post-op instructions with us both.

After that I dressed myself, was wheeled out to pick up my pain meds at the in-hospital pharmacy, then hopped in the car with my ride (the wonderful @lillia-pad) at about 5:30pm.

Recovery

I have a pretty high tolerance for anesthetic, so I was mostly just tired during the 36-ish hours the anesthetic continued to wear off. I didn't experience any nausea or lightheadedness either, but I was given an anti-nausea patch behind my left ear, plus some anti-nausea meds, just in case.

My post-op regimen sort of looks like this:

Take 1-2 tablets of oxycodone every 4 hours (for pain)

Take 2 tablets of laxative meds twice a day (cause pain meds cause constipation)

Empty drains twice per day, and record how much was in them

Get up and walk around every couple of hours to reduce the risk of blood clots

Ease into eating again: start with clear fluids, and work up to crackers/bread/etc., to avoid nausea and vomiting.

Lay down propped up on plenty of pillows, and only on your back (no side-sleeping!)

Keep the compression binder/gauze on for the first 48 hours, then remove them to shower as needed (but put them back on after!)

I was pretty lucid by the third day post-surgery, and was able to scale my pain meds down pretty quickly from 2 tabs on the first day, to 1 tab for the next two days, to 1/2 tab. Meds are much more important at night, when there's nothing to distract you from the pain- don't be afraid to ration them for nighttime.

Oxycodone also definitely causes drowsiness, so I took a lot of "oxy naps" about 45-60 minutes after I took my meds, which last between 20 minutes and 2 hours depending on how tired I am.

I have my post-op this week, so I will update this post with more details on my scars and healing then!

#top surgery #trans #transgender #ftm #transition #trans men #trans man #transmasc #transmasculine #nothorses #resources

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random-thought-depository · 4 years

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In another post I wrote:

“Like … right now I’m planning out a story I intend to write in January; it’s supposed to be a kind of deconstruction of the Fremen mirage, and very much one of the thoughts going into it is “yo, a Proud Warrior Race would be a horrible society to live in or have as neighbors, we shouldn’t romanticize them!” and yet … I feel that the “bad guy” culture in it is much better, from a literary viewpoint, for me having given some thought to the material base of their society and how that would shape their culture. I could have just written them as flat edgelordy-grimdark barbarians, but thinking about their culture in materialist terms gave me a more complex and nuanced picture that I think will make for a more interesting and nuanced story and a fictional society that feels more interesting and human and alive.”

So, I want to infodump a little about this fictional culture I’ve thought up! I decided to split my infodumping into three posts, of which this is the second. In my previous post, I talked about the material conditions and subsistence strategy that shape this culture. If you haven’t read it already, I suggest you click that link and read my last post before you read this one, as it’s important context for what I’ve written here. In this and my next post I’ll talk about these people as a culture instead of just as an economy. I was originally going to make this whole thing two posts, but there’s so much stuff that could go in the culture part I decided I better split that up. In this post I’ll make a broad outline of the less “where does the food come from and where does the sewage go?” aspects of these people’s social structure, try to give you a general picture of how their society works. In my next post I’ll try to give you a more intimate “human” picture of what these people’s lives are like and what sort of people they are; talk more about relationships and attitudes and so on.

History and context:

The ancestors of these people were abducted from Bronze Age Earth by imperialistic aliens and used as basically slaves and slave-soldiers by these aliens. Some time in the last millennium BCE these imperialist aliens and their enemies blew each other up in the interstellar empire equivalent of a nuclear apocalypse. In the aftermath of this war the alien civilizations never really recovered, but the descendants of the human slaves built their own interstellar civilization, and the space nomad raiders I’ve been talking about are one branch of that civilization (the surviving aliens now mostly live on a small number of their planets that avoided destruction during the big ancient war, while nowadays most inhabited worlds in local space are populated more-or-less entirely by humans). There’s complexity here I’m not going to get into now, but as I said in my previous post, a significant point is these space nomad raiders I’m talking about mostly interact with other humans; the foreigners they interact with are mostly other humans, and the victims of their raiding are mostly other humans. The location of Earth was lost in the chaos of the big ancient war, and Earth continued its independent cultural development (i.e. real history) and was isolated from the rest of the setting and the rest of humanity for about 3500 years or so, with re-contact between Earth humanity and the rest of humanity happening maybe around 30 years before the story I’m planning to write (which takes place some time in the twenty-second or twenty-third century CE).

The story I’m planning takes place against a background of a utopian-ish future Earth society that was in the process of colonizing the solar system fighting an “alien invasion” of these space nomad raiders.

Gender weirdness:

These people went straight from Bronze Age to space age, they completely missed the Enlightenment etc., and their former alien masters had little interest in giving them a more “progressive” culture (and were kind of too starfish alien to even really think in those terms; e.g. they were genderless hermaphrodites, so why wouldn’t they more-or-less just shrug and accept a Bronze Age human’s ideas about human gender?). So, to us these people’s culture would look like a strange mix of the very primitive and the space age, with the two combining in strange ways.

These people have strong gender roles and no concept of gender equality in the sense we think of it. Their society still runs on a “men are warriors, women are non-combatants who at best get patronizing protection and at worst are part of the spoils the men fight over” paradigm. Most younger men are more-or-less full-time warriors; their lives are more-or-less completely dedicating to raiding, defending the community from raids, and preparing for doing these things. If they survive long enough to become too old to fight they usually “retire” and then spend their time doing maintenance work on the weapons and passing on their knowledge to the younger generations of warriors and warriors-in-training. Women do most of the non-combatant work.

This might sound like a recipe for a rather brutal patriarchy, and in a way that conclusion isn’t wrong, but... This means women are doing most of the work of keeping the space habitat running. And remember, much of the labor of keeping a space community alive is specialized skilled labor; the sort of work where trying to extract labor through simple brutality wouldn’t work well. Women are most of the machinists and the repair technicians and the nuclear reactor operators and the doctors and so on. As I said in my last post, you really don’t want to anger the person who fixes the machine that makes the air you breathe, one of the people who tend the nuclear reactor that provides energy to your community, or the person who might do surgery on you. So this is a society with lots of female power (which coexists with horrifying institutionalized abuse of other women).

Now, in my last post I stressed how a society like this will be labor-limited and want to make efficient use of labor, so you may be thinking that having half the population be full-time warriors sounds extremely inefficient. And it would be! But that’s not what these people do. For one thing, that’s a simplification of their system; there are gender-variant male eunuchs and enslaved men who do “women’s work,” and as I said retired warriors do maintenance work on the weapons and raiding ships. But what really helps in making their system viably efficient is their population isn’t 50% male. This is where it gets weird.

Remember when I said earlier that a small almost-self-sufficient space community would have tightly controlled reproduction? Among these people, there’s a powerful order of priestesses that does that. They regulate reproduction to prevent over-reproduction or under-reproduction and to minimize the effects of inbreeding ... but they’ve also spent the last couple of thousand years doing eugenics and genetic tinkering on these people. Partially they’re into creepy fascist trying to breed superior warriors stuff, but also at some point they fiddled with the human meiosis process to give these people a naturally unbalanced sex ratio. I’m thinking they got it to the point where something like 60% of the children born among these people are female. The sex ratio among adults is even more skewed because of higher male early mortality rates, a tendency to ritually kill male captives while keeping female captives, etc.. This gives maybe 20% of the adult population being active warriors (remember, the retired warriors are mostly functionally maintenance workers until they get too old and feeble to do that too), which is probably still inefficiently big but manageable.

So these people have some of the social structures and cultural attitudes of a patriarchal society, but they’re a society where men are a minority and masculinity is defined by doing something socially prestigious but economically marginal (and, incidentally to this point but important to understanding their culture, they’re a society where warrior vs. almost everything else is heavily gendered).

Tribal warrior barbarian hordes IN SPACE:

Another aspect of these people being a weird mix of the extremely primitive and the space age is that they have advanced technology but they are basically a patriarchal clan rule society.

The basic social unit of this society is the patrilineal kin-group, i.e. the patriarchal clan. Inheritance is patrilineal and marriage is virilocal; when a woman marries she moves into her husband’s family’s dwelling, she becomes part of her husband’s clan, and her children “belong” to her husband’s clan. Because social kinship is basically unilineal, these clans become quite big; a normal size is thousands of people (and that’s if you don’t count non-kin dependents). A typical habitat community contains maybe five or six of these big clans. Usually the most powerful clan (usually the biggest) is the “royal family” and exercises hegemony over the habitat, while the other clans are allied to it in an arrangement similar to feudal vassalage. Attached to these clans through various vassalage-like and slavery-like arrangements are a large number of non-kin dependents, who usually make up the majority of the community’s population (more on them later). These clans are very much families in the Mafia sense of the word. So, I said earlier that the mobile space habitat community is the basic political unit of this culture, but most of those communities are more like five or six allied big Mafia gangs/families in a trench-coat.

The social glue of this society is blood ties, marriage, vassalage, slavery, and other forms of what can broadly be called fictive kinship style relationships. The line between marriage, vassalage, slavery, and other forms of fictive kinship is often blurry - indeed, these are basically Earth Western concepts that I’m imposing on this society to communicate what it’s like; these people would not carve their own social reality at the places I’m carving it by using these terms. As I said, this is a clan rule society; your social position is basically entirely a question of who your relatives and in-laws are or who you are affiliated with or owned by; the concept of an individual having legal rights (or even really legal personhood) separate from their clan affiliations basically doesn’t exist.

Status and rank within a clan is mostly hereditary, though it’s mediated by gender and age, and there’s also a significant “meritocratic” charismatic component (e.g. a younger son of a previous patriarch who’s a distinguished warrior and popular with the cousins may be chosen for leadership over a less distinguished and less popular older son who all else being equal would have been ahead in the succession order). The clan overall functions as a disciplined hierarchical organization with a delegation of authority and duties that’s orderly enough to be more-or-less functional (patriarch bosses around his brothers and sons, who boss around his cousins, who boss around their cousins, etc.), but there’s a significant amount of jockeying and potential for overlapping conflicting authority within that. Note: I’m making this sound like a basically male hierarchy, but remember that this is a society with lots of female power, the wives of high-status men tend to be high-status themselves and often have significant power bases of their own, so high-status women are very much big players in this.

These communities are economically egalitarian but socially inegalitarian. Your clan leader isn’t much richer than you; he probably has some servants and a somewhat bigger apartment and somewhat nicer clothes and furniture and somewhat better food and so on, but that’s about it - but he can control your life in more-or-less the same way your parents controlled your life when you were 14, you must show him deference, and if he wants almost any sort of favor you’d better give it to him. Power in this society isn’t about having stuff, it’s about being respected and obeyed.

The clan is responsible for the conduct of its members and your conduct reflects on your clan, so this is an “honor culture” where reputation is very important; you can expect to get killed by your own relatives if you harm or embarrass your own clan badly enough, and on the flip-side if you do something heroic your whole clan gets a boost to its reputation and “soft power” by association with you. Between this and what I said in the rest of this section, this is a society where most people (of any gender) have little personal freedom.

One thing these people mercifully mostly don’t have is the spiraling inter-clan blood-feuds that often happen in clan rule societies on Earth. You really, really, really don’t want gloves-off open gang warfare in a space habitat. So, these people have developed powerful social mechanisms for resolving disputes before they get to the blood feud stage. Unfortunately, these dispute resolution mechanisms themselves include lethal violence, i.e. there’s a tradition of often lethal dueling. These basically controlled murders are a significant cause of male early mortality among these people, so in that sense this is a very violent society even internally, before you get to all the violence they inflict on outsiders. However, this violence is very gender-asymmetric; among these people the taboos against killing women are stronger than the taboos against killing men, and there are especially very strong taboos against killing female skilled specialists (doctors, engineers, etc.). Ironically, as a consequence of the way male eunuchs and enslaved men are considered not really men, they are more-or-less grouped with the women for purposes of these taboos, so they are often actually safer from intra-community violence than higher-status men are.

This basically fits with men in these communities doing something that is prestigious but economically marginal; they get some prestige and power and privilege, but they are treated as disposable, and you can interpret the dueling as them having internalized this collective judgment on them. Mind you, it’s mostly not the same people getting both ends of this deal; it’s mostly the high-status men who get the “prestige and power and privilege” end of the deal, and the low-ranking warriors tend to get more of the “treated as disposable” end of the deal. Though in fairness this society is one with an idea that a leader is supposed to actually lead in battle, so high-status men often do take the same sort of risks as their subordinates (on the other hand, the strong hereditary element of power in this society means it trends toward gerontocracy, so the guys at the very top are often “retired” from direct participation in fighting).

In my previous post I said that humans usually prefer sharing or trading to violent theft because violent theft means risk of injury or death. That’s kind of true of these people, but with these people there’s an internal social pressure that acts in the opposite direction. In this society, heroic deeds in battle reflect positively on your clan and increase its prestige and “soft power,” and also because of the charismatic “meritocratic” component of their hierarchy impressing people by performing heroic deeds in battle is one of the few avenues of social mobility available to men in this society (note: “heroic deeds” in this context often means things like pulling off some particularly audacious heist; things that directly benefit the community if they succeed, so in a sense this is a smart incentive system). So this society will have a lot of ambitious young men who at least kind of want battles to happen so they have opportunities to prove themselves, and clan leaders will similarly often want battles to happen so they have opportunities to increase the prestige and influence of their clan. Also, individuals and clans who contribute to a successful raid often get to keep some of the loot or have the right to control how some or all of it is distributed, and that makes raiding tempting to people who aren’t satisfied with what they have in the status quo even if the community as a whole has enough resources. So this is a society that’s likely to be more violent than is “rational,” if you define “rational” as “acts like a hive mind instead of like an actual human community made up of people who have their own goals.” Their whole social structure basically reflects that sort of dynamic; their warrior class is probably inefficiently big, but masculinity and participation in the raiding have become so entwined that they can’t shrink it without facing ferocious resistance from people who have their whole identity invested in being warriors; you can’t take somebody who’s been literally raised from birth to do one thing and has their whole sense of self-worth bound up in it and just casually reassign them to a different job (I’m thinking the man = warrior thing started when these people were slave-soldiers + logistical support “camp followers,” and survived a transition from “we’re an army with some ‘live off the land’ short-term self-sufficiency capacity” to “we’re space nomads who use violence as part of our survival strategy”).

“Women’s spaces” and non-kin clan dependents:

Societies with very strong gender roles often have lots of homosociality, and these people very much fit that pattern. Because women do most of the productive work among these people, most of the habitat community’s work-spaces are female majority spaces that the male warriors don’t directly interact with much (there are male eunuchs and enslaved men working in there with the women, but in these people’s gender system those hardly count as men, and anyway the women outnumber them quite solidly). So, basically, this society has a more-or-less separate majority female social world that has its own social networks, its own strong affiliation/friendship groups (mostly work gangs), and its own centers of power.

Being a clan-based patriarchal society, these people also have a marriage system that’s kind of a bad deal for women (patrilineal and virilocal marriage strengthens male-centered social networks while disrupting female-centered social networks, and makes wives vulnerable to abuse). This is a society where patriarchal family institutions coexist with a semi-separate female-majority social world and lots of female power, so a lot of women respond to the former by never marrying. If this was a more conventional patriarchal society this might mean lots of childless spinsters, but this is a society where maintaining high genetic diversity is a community survival imperative and where a female majority population and high female homosociality makes it easy to create all-female cooperative child-care arrangements, so the result is lots of unmarried mothers.

Note: “unmarried” may be a simplification here, I’m thinking there might be a sort of “marriage lite” where the woman gets some of the benefits of marriage (e.g. her husband has “honor code” obligations to protect her and her children from harm and take revenge on anyone who harms or kills her or one of her children) but she and her husband keep separate residences and her husband and his kin have no authority over her. But if this status exists it’s basically a formal recognition of a boyfriend/girlfriend type relationship and the woman can “divorce” the man whenever she wants. Possibly the line between boyfriend/girlfriend and husband/wife in this culture is fluid (IIRC in a lot of past societies all a heterosexual couple had to do to be considered married was live together and call each other husband and wife, and I could see the sort of “marriage-lite” I’m talking about here being similarly fluid, though since the couple not living together is part of the point of it the details of how it works would have to be different).

Children of unmarried (or “married lite”) mothers are for purposes of clan affiliation considered to have no father. This means they’re by default more-or-less outside the clan system, especially if the mother doesn’t have a patrilineal descent connection to one of the local clans (e.g. if she’s an abductee who was taken in a raid). Because being an unmarried (or “married lite”) mother is a better deal for the majority of women, offspring of unmarried (or “married lite”) mothers are usually a majority of the habitat community’s population. So in a typical community of these people, the local big clans dominate the community politically but are actually a minority of the community’s population.

I’m thinking the way this is usually handled is legally fatherless people legally directly “belong” to the “king” (the leader of the community’s most powerful clan). But in practice legally fatherless children are usually raised by majority-female cooperative child-care groups in majority female social spaces that have a lot of independence, and if they’re female they’ll usually spend their entire lives in those spaces and follow the same reproductive strategy their mothers did. So the effect is to strengthen the semi-separate social world character of these female majority work-spaces.

That’s how it works with legally fatherless girls and women, with legally fatherless boys and men things are more complicated. If you’re a legally fatherless boy among these people you spend the first 11-12 years of your life with your mother, and then you’re given various aptitude and fitness tests, and if you fail you’re left with your mother to be raised to be a worker, and if you pass you’re taken away from your mother and given to a group of legally fatherless warriors and retired warriors to be raised by them and if all goes well ultimately become one of them. It’s a bit like what the Spartans did, though thankfully the training is actually significantly less nasty than what they did in the agoge; I’ll talk about it more in my next post.

I’ll generally talk more about the details of what life in this society is like in my next post!

#my writing #worldbuilding #warning: long #cw: slavery #cw: sexism #cw: rape #Artemis of the airless vastness

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eldritchsurveys · 4 years

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790.

Have your parents ever tried to control your relationship? >> ---

Have you ever had to give someone directions before? >> Yeah, I gave them a lot when I lived in New York.

Speaking of which, are you good at understanding driving directions? >> I don’t drive, so it’s irrelevant. Also, if I need directions somewhere these days I just use Google Maps. (I don’t always use the GPS itself because I enjoy figuring it out on my own as if the app were a paper map.)

How many people do you text daily? >> One at most, but usually zero.

Do you have an iPod or an MP3 player? Which brand? >> No, I use my phone as a music player.

What was your favorite television show as a child? >> I don’t recall having one.

Do you play any instruments? Which instruments do you play? >> No.

Is there anyone who you call by their last name? >> No.

What did you do on your last birthday? >> I don’t remember. I don’t think we went to Chicago on that weekend, mostly because we did two Chicago day-trips last year to get my suit and couldn’t really budget in a third.

Which of the Seven Deadly Sins do you commit the most? >> Sloth.

Has anyone ever told you that you're incapable of whispering? >> No, but I’ve known a fair few people that fit that description.

What is your least favorite subject in school? >> ---

Have you ever been involved in a custody battle before? >> No. I was technically the subject of one as a baby, but it really isn’t much of a battle if one party doesn’t even bother showing up to fight...

Do you know a couple who constantly sucks on each other's face? >> That’s... such a disgusting turn of phrase, please spare me.

Who was the best kisser you've ever dated? >> ---

When was the last time you watched a YouTube video? >> This morning, with my breakfast. Watched Wisecrack’s new video about comedy news, which got me interested in Patriot Act (which I think is on Netflix?).

Have you ever babysat a newborn baby before? >> No.

How many times a week do you usually see the person you love? >> I see the important people in my life every day.

When was the last time you held someone's hand? >> ---

How many meals have you eaten today, so far? >> I ate one actual meal. Nothing else I ate today would qualify as a full meal to me.

Do you think it's stupid for people to call others "hot?" >> Uh, no?

Do you personally think Wikipedia is a reliable source? >> No, it’s a reliable springboard. The sources in the References section, on the other hand, can often be really useful.

Are you someone who listens to more girl or guy bands? >> Most of the artists I listen to are male.

Have you ever shopped at Wet Seal before? Did you like it? >> I know I’ve been inside one, back when there was one on Bleecker and Broadway, but I don’t remember if I bought anything.

Do you care about spending money if it's someone else's money? >> Of course I do.

What is your favorite Disney movie of all time? >> Lilo and Stitch, probably. I want to rewatch that soon, but I’m guessing everything Disney is on Disney+ right now (and streaming from torrents is an incredible pain in the ass in my experience).

When you were a child, did you ever want to become a wizard/witch? >> I don’t recall that ever coming up in my daydreams.

What are the color of your walls? Do you want to repaint? >> Off-white. They’re not my walls to paint (it’s an apartment complex).

Would you rather have hardwood floors or carpet? >> Hardwood, absolutely.

Do you have any siblings you neglect you? >> ---

Who would you say is the most selfish person you know? >> I wouldn’t say that about anyone I know.

Who was the last person you yelled at? Why? >> ---

As a kid, did you ever go to camp? >> Once, to church camp. I’ve gone to camp far more as an adult.

What were the last three movies you watched in theaters? >> Birds of Prey, uhh... fuck. Oh, right, Jojo Rabbit. Don’t remember anything beyond that.

Have you ever made out in a movie theater before? >> Yeah.

Are you currently trying to learn to play any instrument? >> No.

Do you believe in ghosts, spirits or demons? >> I’m open to the experience.

When was the last time you went somewhere you thought was haunted? >> I don’t usually think that about places. I don’t think I have much of a sense for that kind of phenomena.

What is your favorite breakfast meal? >> Veggie burger and chips, apparently, since that’s what I eat every day.

What does the lead singer of your favorite band look like? >> ---

Who was the last person to compliment you? >> I don’t remember the last compliment I got.

How old were you when you got to go on your first date? >> I was eighteen the first time I went on a date.

Would you call your parents over-protective or under-protective? >> ---

Did your parents ever let you play in the pits of those multicolored balls? >> No. I also just don’t think I encountered any of those.

What is the best movie you've seen in the last five years? >> I’ve seen at least like 60 movies in the past five years, how could I possibly choose.

Has anyone ever called you a good kisser before? >> Maybe.

Have any of your siblings ever had a crush on your significant other? >> ---

Are you the jealous type? >> Not at all.

Does life ever seem overly ironic to you? >> Not... really?

When was the last time you felt like you were high on life? >> I’m not familiar with that feeling.

Do you know someone who cares about themselves more than their child? >> I’m sure I do, somewhere. There are a lot of people in this world that behave in ways that suggest this. I mean, my own mother was one.

Do you still watch cartoons on television? >> I watch them on streaming services, but yeah.

What do you usually order at Taco Bell, if you go there? >> I don’t usually go there. I do sometimes like that caramel empanada thing they sell, though.

Is there anyone currently annoying you? >> No.

What's your favorite hairstyle you've had so far? >> ---

Do you have freckles? >> No.

How many dogs do you have, if any at all? >> Zero.

Have you ever witnessed someone being beaten up? >> Yep.

Do you think biting is weird or sexy? >> Depends on the context, don’t it? It’d be weird as fuck if a stranger came up and bit me, for example.

Would you rather be called hot or beautiful? >> No.

Have you ever had a pet turtle before? >> Nope.

Do you still sleep with your parents when you're scared sometimes? >> ---

Have you ever met someone with two different color eyes? >> No.

Have you ever felt like someone was following you? >> Probably.

How many surveys on average would you say you've done in your lifetime? >> Oh, god. Like... a couple thousand at least.

What color shirt are you wearing at the moment? >> Black.

Do you enjoy going school shopping? >> ---

Do you think Pug dogs are adorable or just plain ugly? >> I think they’re a pretty disturbing mutation of dogness, but I wouldn’t treat them poorly because of it. It ain’t their fault humans are weird.

Have you ever met someone who completely resembled their pet? >> No, but I’ve seen listicles like that, lol. They’re always funny.

Has anyone ever knitted you something before? >> No.

What was the worst substance you've spilled on yourself before? >> I don’t recall ever spilling anything heinous on myself. Alcohol can be bad because then you smell like booze and that’s just not a good look.

Have you ever made out with more than one person in one night? >> Yeah.

What three words would describe the person you love? >> ---

Do you think their is a soulmate out there for everyone? >> I don’t find the concept of soulmates useful at all. I guess you could use that word for how I feel about Can Calah, but there are too many awkward (for me) connotations attached to that word by now and I would just rather not.

Do you like short or long surveys the best? >> Longish. This is kind of too long for me, tbh, but I soldier on.

Do you think hairspray is more helpful or annoying? >> I don’t use hairspray.

Have you ever bought fake money and tried to make it pass for real? >> No.

Are your siblings nice the majority of the time? >> ---

How many uncles do you have? >> ---

What would you say is the worst movie you've ever seen? >> All of the movies I really didn’t like, I didn’t finish, so I can’t remember them now.

Do you freak out when a thunderstorm comes along? >> I freak out in excitement, lol. I did freak out pretty badly when I was a child, though. And then one day in adolescence the switch flipped. *shrug*

What is something you'd consider yourself obsessed with? >> Mythology.

How often do you shower? >> Every couple of days.

Have you ever had to sell something for a school fundraiser? >> No.

What is the absolute worst thing about high school? >> What isn’t.

How many sodas do you usually drink in one day? >> Zero.

What kind of cheese do you like the most? >> Pepper jack. Also goat cheese.

Have you ever met someone who was completely weird all-around? >> I wouldn’t describe anyone like that, it doesn’t convey any actual information.

Have you ever met an annorexic pregnant woman? >> What the fuck. What is your favorite lyric of all time? >> ---

Do you know someone who has made their Xbox their best friend basically? >> No???

Do you ever watch any soap operas? >> I mean, I watch Grey’s Anatomy.

Have you ever met someone who was mean to everyone? >> Sure.

If you had to get a tattoo, what would it be? >> I would love to get another tattoo, but seeing as that’s not going to happen any time soon, I don’t have any ideas firmly in mind right now.

If you have any piercings, who did them? >> I don’t remember where I got my nose piercing. Probably at that one spot on St Marks Place. (My ears were done as a baby.)

Do you usually have a low tolerance for pain or high tolerance? >> I have a pretty decent tolerance for most physical aches, but not any kind of abdominal cramp.

Do you give into peer pressure easily? >> That’s not really an issue for me.

Have you ever simply looked at someone & could tell they were homosexual? >> Not unless they were wearing gay pride attire at the Pride parade, or something. Even then they could just be a really exciteable ally, lol (or an otherwise not-cishet person but not necessarily a gay person).

Do you have the ability to read someone without even knowing them? >> No.

Would you rather eat or sleep? >> Er... whichever one I needed at the time?

Are you one of those die hard Twilight or Harry Potter fans? >> No.

Have you ever cried while watching a movie trailor? >> Yeah, they do shit with the music that gets to be painfully identifiable after a while but my brain is still a sucker for it.

When was the last time you changed your hairstyle? >> I don’t remember. I’ve been buzzing my head for years.

Do your parents ever force you to talk to your grandparents? >> ---

If you were a crayon, what color would you be? >> Meh.

Do you think long surveys are broing or entertaining? >> Well, most of them are boring because the questions start to flag in quality. Do I still take them? Yeah. You do what you gotta do.

Have you ever learned that someone had lied to you all along? >> Yup.

When was the last time you had a physical injury? >> I don’t remember.

Have you ever wanted to be a lawyer? >> Not at all.

Have you ever had to bail someone out of jail before? >> No. I don’t even have that kind of money.

Is there anyone in your imediate family who was adopted? >> ---

Do you know anyone who doesn't have any common sense? >> I don’t think common sense is a thing. There are people I know who are not experienced in the same ways I’m experienced; when they are clueless about a thing I’m intimately familiar with, then it sometimes strikes me as odd, yeah. But that doesn’t mean my sense is “common” or that they’re stupid, it just means I’m used to knowing what I know and I often assume other people do too (which is what I get for assuming).

When was the last time you bought something? >> Saturday, at the farmers’ market.

Do you think you look anything like your parents? >> ---

Who is the skinniest person you know? Is it because of a disease? >> I don’t know, man, I’m not keeping track.

Do you know someone who is discustingly obese who wears G-strings? >> Wow.

Do you know someone who insults themselves to get attention? >> I know a lot of self-deprecating people, but far be it from me to assume that they’re doing it for attention. Some might be, but that’s not up to me to determine.

Is this year the best one you've had so far? >> LOL

What are your plans for this weekend? >> This coming weekend? I have no idea.

What color is your significant other's hair? >> Sparrow’s hair is currently a burgundy-type red. Can Calah’s hair is white. King Crimson’s hair is kind of the same colour as Sparrow’s, incidentally.

Have you ever applied for a job at Walmart before? >> Maybe.

Do you know anyone who does drugs currently? >> Sure.

Would you ever become a foster parent? >> No.

Are you ashamed of anyone in your family? >> ---

What jobs do your parents have? >> ---

Would rather talk to someone on a landline or a cell phone? >> I’d rather not talk to anyone on a phone, period.

Have you ever had a Tumblr account? Are you devoted to it? >> What’s tumblr? (I don’t know if “devoted” is the word I’d use, but I’m pretty fond of my blogs and the fun I have putting stuff on them.)

Has anyone ever given you a psychiatric assessment? >> Yes.

If you got pregnant right now, would you abort the baby? >> Of course, but see, I avoid that situation entirely by just not doing anything that could possibly get me pregnant.

Speaking of which, are you for or against abortion? >> Take a wild guess.

What is your favorite amusement park? >> I don’t have one. Well, does Luna Park at Coney Island count? Lot of good times there.

What was the best Christmas gift you've ever gotten? >> ---

Has anyone ever called you jealous of them before? >> Sure.

Did you ever have braces? >> Nope.

Who is your favorite actor or actress? >> It varies.

What is the most important date in your life so far? >> ---

How many people your age do you know who are pregnant? >> Zero.

What is cuter: kisses on the forehead of the cheek? >> ---

Do you believe in evolution or creation? >> I stand pretty firmly on the side of evolution. I do love a good creation myth, though.

Would you rather take a bath or a shower? Why or why not? >> I will never take a bath if I can help it. I just have a strong aversion to them, take it up with my neuroatypical brain matter.

What group would you say you'd normally fit into the most? >> Bold of you to assume etc etc

As a child, what game did you want to play the most? >> ---

Does it bother you when people touch your personal items? >> It really does. Unless I’ve given express permission, of course, but that doesn’t really happen with anyone except Sparrow.

When was the last time you did something sexual? >> Er... about a week ago? Something like that?

Where was the last place you went on vacation? >> Texas. Kind of a vacation. Mostly a day-and-a-half trip for the purpose of attending a wedding.

Do you collect anything? What? >> No.

What kind of Pringles do you like the most? >> I don’t.

Are you better at hand-drawing things or painting? >> I assume I’m slightly better at drawing than at painting, simply because I actually have a background in drawing (although my muscle memory is pretty atrophied).

Have either of your parents ever called you a failure before? >> Not in so many words.

What do you think is the grossest taste in the world? >> Oh, I don’t know.

#surveys #survey #random survey

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terramythos · 5 years

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TerraMythos' 2020 Reading Challenge - Book 3 of 26

Title: Shriek: An Afterword (Ambergris #2) (2006)

Author: Jeff VanderMeer

Genre/Tags: Weird, Memoir, Historical (like... in a fictional world lol), Horror, Fantasy, War, Mushroompunk (yeah), Postmodern, Female Protagonist, Disabled Protagonist, First Person, Unreliable Narrator.

Rating: 7/10

Date Began: 1/19/2020

Date Finished: 1/29/2020

Shriek: An Afterword is a pseudo-memoir by a woman named Janice Shriek about the troubled lives and relationships of her and her brother Duncan Shriek in the strange, fungus-riddled city of Ambergris. While Janice believes Duncan is dead, he's apparently found her manuscript and makes extensive edits and commentary throughout the story. (This is indicated in parenthetical sentences, like this one.)

The closer I get to the end, the closer I get to the beginning. Memories waft up out of the ether, out of nothing. They attach themselves to me like the green light, like the fungi that continue to colonize my typewriter. I had to stop for a while -- my fingers ached and, even after all that I have seen, the fungi unnerved me. I spent the time flexing and unflexing my fingers, pacing back and forth. I also spent it going through a box of my father’s old papers -- nothing I haven’t read through a hundred times before... On top, Duncan had placed the dried-up starfish, its skeleton brittle with age. (I kept it there as a reminder to myself. After your letter to me -- which, while reading this account, I sometimes think was written by an entirely different side of your personality -- I wanted to remember that no matter how isolated I might feel, separated from others by secret knowledge, I was still connected. It didn’t help much, though -- it reminded me of how different I had become.)

To qualify my rating, I have to be honest. This book is officially separated into two parts, and I found Part I -- which makes up about 60% of the novel -- pretty boring. On the other hand, Part II is brilliant, and everything coalesces beautifully in this second act. Is it worth it? I thought it was, but I understand anyone who tries and gives up.

Even though Shriek is technically a standalone, I would strongly recommend you read City of Saints and Madmen (#1) first. Both Duncan and Janice are key characters in two of those stories (The Hoegbotton Guide to the Early History of Ambergris and The Transformation of Martin Lake, respectively), and there are references and connections all over the place. I’m not sure if Shriek does a great job introducing Ambergris to new readers, so people starting here will be pretty lost without reading the first book.

Just to clear the air, I really liked this book... overall. As I said, the first half-or-so of the book was pretty rough, but the second half redeems it in a lot of ways, even justifying certain writing/plot decisions that didn’t gel with me at first. However “it gets good eventually” is not really an excuse for the rough first half. Hence the mediocre rating. I was close to giving this book a 6/10, but I found that I appreciated the first half much more by the time I got to the ending, so that bumped it up a little. Maybe I’ll enjoy this book more on a reread when I can see the patterns and know where they’re leading ahead of time.

Before I dive into my issues with it, I’d like to discuss the strong points of this novel.

At a base level, VanderMeer is a great writer. He has a mastery of the English language that always delights me when I read his stuff. So even when I struggled to like this story in the first half, his wordplay and prose were entertaining and thought-provoking.

I loved the format. The story basically has two protagonists, since you see things from Janice’s point of view and then Duncan’s interpretations-- but it’s in a very postmodern way, not just a perspective switch like most novels do. Duncan’s commentary often brings much needed humor or heartbreak, depending on the situation.

In particular, any scene in which Janice and Duncan interact directly is brilliant. Janice recalls a scene, but her memory is faulty (like anyone’s), so sometimes she forgets what they talked about, or interpreted an interaction in a certain way. Then Duncan dives in with his own commentary, supplying information Janice didn’t include or forgot, or correcting something she said, or offering an alternate interpretation... these scenes were fascinating to read and some of my favorite parts of the novel.

There’s a lot of fun revelations and Easter eggs for people who read City of Saints and Madmen. In particular:

My favorite story in the first book was The Cage, which is a work of fiction within the universe of Ambergris by a man named Sirin. In particular there is a very creepy and distinct monster that plays a pivotal role in the story. However, since it’s technically fiction within fiction, that monster and the events didn’t really happen in canon... right? Imagine my surprise in this book when Janice encounters and describes a very similar monster. This struck me as odd, until I got to epilogue/afterword at the end... written by Sirin, and everything clicked. He got the idea for his “fictional” monster from Janice’s account in this story. He doesn’t state this outright, but it’s the only explanation that makes sense. I loved that. It was like putting a puzzle together and it would have been so easy to miss. And there’s the extra horror that something like that really exists in this world. There was other stuff like this but this one stood out to me, and I’m sure there’s other things I missed.

This mostly concerns the second half, but the war sequences and memories are horrific and brilliant. It's very World War II-esque with a unique twist to it (the awful fungal bio weapons one of the sides uses). In particular, the war is introduced with a chapter about a ceasefire opera staged in the broken city... without spoiling it, it’s an excellent and intriguing self-contained story.

And the horror chapter about the Festival, which is conspicuously absent in the rest of the story? Just so goddamn good. VanderMeer strikes just the right chord with me when it comes to horror. It’s always fresh and intensely creepy.

If you told me this during the first half, I wouldn’t believe you -- but I ended up loving the characters and finding most of their relationships fascinating. This is a heartbreaking story and it really hit home by the end.

With that lofty praise, what’s my issue with Part I? The simplest way I can put it is that the struggles Duncan and Janice face are so mundane. They would maybe be interesting in a generic work of fiction, but here they felt out of place. For example, Janice’s arc concerns her rise to fame, which leads to success, which leads to lavish parties and orgies, which leads to excesses and a drug addiction, which leads to a suicide attempt, which leads to rehab, which leads to a diminished life of poverty. Yes, these can be interesting and harrowing problems in the right context, but the strongest point of these books is the setting, and there was nothing that tied these events to Ambergris. You could easily go through and change the character/place names and it wouldn’t seem off.

Duncan is a little more interesting in this regard, because his is a story of obsession. In particular, he’s obsessed with the gray caps (strange humanoid mushroom creatures that haunt the pages of these books), and it takes over his life until he becomes totally discredited as a historian. But even he falls into this trap when he becomes a college professor and has an affair with one of his much younger students (Yikes! Though it is treated as creepy within the story, at least). That takes over most of his character’s emotional core from that point.

Said student -- Mary Sabon -- is a core antagonist in the story. Janice in particular obsesses over her and her personal vendetta against her, and honestly even with the second part I was never really sold on this or cared about it all that much, so I was disappointed it took up so much of the story.

All of this would be one thing, but there’s all sorts of tantalizing hints about more interesting things. The gray caps probably have some ulterior motive that no one knows! There’s this crazy eldritch Machine hidden underground! Duncan is sort of turning into a mushroom! But these are only teased before the story pivots back to something comparatively uninteresting. Rather than encouraging me with the cool foreshadowing, it just got grating because it meant there were more interesting events and stories going on that I didn’t get to see for some arbitrary reason. Janice also rambles and goes back and forth quite a bit. This is clearly intentional (after all, you learn in the end this is a mostly unedited draft -- at least in the fiction of the story), but even so, it can be hard to follow at times.

Part II justifies a lot of this because these hints do pay off. You DO get to see a lot of the interesting stuff in detail at this later point of the story, and it’s not always what you expect. There’s overt and subtle dramatic irony and contrast between what characters go through in the first half versus the stranger, more profound traumas of the second half. You learn Janice is suffering from some severe PTSD and it explains a lot of the manic style in the first half. But again, is it worth 245-ish mediocre (to me) pages? I think that probably depends on the reader. I had a problem with it-- but clearly a lot of people don’t, based on reviews I’ve skimmed. Many put the book down and don’t finish it, but that’s true for any book. Hell, lots of people preferred the first half, so who knows.

Ultimately, I’m glad I read this book. For me it really does come together in an amazing way toward the end, and I found myself really caring about Janice and Duncan. If you read City of Saints and Madmen and want more of the characters and the world, then definitely give this a try. But it is a pretty niche book as these things go, so I can’t recommend it to everyone.

Anyway, I’ve come this far -- so I’m going to read Finch, the final (for now?) installment in this universe.

#taylor reads #7/10 #2020 reading challenge

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theliberaltony · 4 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

The COVID-19 pandemic has been equally defined by how much we don’t know as how much we do. That vacuum has been quickly filled with bullshit. The United Nations secretary-general has warned we’re living through “a pandemic of misinformation,” and the head of the World Health Organization said it’s an “infodemic.” In the midst of battling a global health emergency, we find ourselves fending off another scourge of conspiracy theories and misinformation.

It certainly feels like there’s a lot of fake news swirling around about the coronavirus, but how does it compare to another major misinformation magnet: the 2016 election? Research on coronavirus misinformation is largely limited to public opinion surveys and preprint research that has yet to be peer-reviewed. But when we compare those preliminary findings to research on the 2016 election, they suggest that more people are seeing — and believing — misinformation now, and it may have something to do with the challenge of understanding a new disease.

Measuring exactly how much bunk is out there to begin with is a challenge, in part because so much misinformation is shared through social media, said Gordon Pennycook, a behavioral psychologist at Canada’s University of Regina who studies fake news. It’s possible to measure, for instance, the number of tweets linking to specific fake news websites, but no way to see every instance a particular false claim is made on Facebook, especially when those claims can take many forms, including memes, Pennycook said.

An easier measure is how many people recall having seen fake news. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in the second week of March found that 48 percent of Americans reported seeing at least some made-up news about the outbreak. Only 20 percent of respondents said they had seen no fake news; the remaining 32 percent said they had seen “not much.” In a preprint paper from researchers at Cornell University, respondents were simply asked if they remember seeing certain claims about coronavirus, some of which were true and some of which were false. About 7 percent of respondents accurately recalled seeing a false claim.1

But just because you’ve seen fake news doesn’t mean you believe it. I’ve seen plenty of bogus claims on my Facebook timeline, myself, and I haven’t started drinking bleach yet. So far, research indicates the number of people who actually believe these ideas is dependent on the claim. In that Cornell paper, the percent of respondents who both recalled seeing fake news and believing it ranged from 14 percent to 19 percent. This represents a higher percentage of the population actually believing fake news than we saw in 2016. One study published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives found that only 8 percent of Americans both recalled seeing and believing a piece of fake news about the 2016 election.

“So, on average, double the rate of people recalled and believed in fake news in the COVID context compared to what we saw in 2016,” said Douglas Kriner, a government professor at Cornell and one of the authors of the preprint.

Other studies have found a wider range in how willing people are to believe in something. A preprint from Pennycook asked Americans2 in late March whether they believed specific claims about COVID-19, without indicating whether they were true or false. The percent of Americans who said they believed false claims ranged from less than 1 percent (the claim that eating garlic can cure the coronavirus, even though it cannot) to just over 20 percent (the claim that seasonal flu was just as dangerous as COVID-19, even though the flu is far less deadly). And a survey from Pew Research Center conducted in mid-March reported nearly 3 in 10 Americans believe the coronavirus was created in a lab, either accidentally or on purpose. (The evidence heavily points to the virus emerging naturally.)

Many Americans are also having difficulty discerning accurate information. For example, in the Cornell paper, when shown headlines about treatments for COVID-19, 40 percent of respondents, on average, judged real headlines in this category to be true, and the remaining 60 percent were “almost evenly divided between identifying the headline as false or acknowledging that they were unsure.”

“If people are unable to discern and say that true information is true, that is a real problem from a public health perspective,” said Sarah Kreps, a government and law professor at Cornell and a co-author of the paper.

In another preprint co-authored by Pennycook, respondents were able to distinguish between accurate and false information about COVID-19 pretty well when prompted to. But when asked only whether they would share the information on social media — and not if they believe it to be true or not — more were willing to share fake news.

“They still only believe true content like 65-ish percent of the time and the false content they believe like 25 percent of the time, so not great but at least there’s a difference,” Pennycook said. “If instead you ask them which ones they would share on social media, they’re terrible at discerning between them. They don’t, basically.”

One of the reasons we might be seeing more people falling for misinformation is the knowledge gap that comes with an emerging disease like COVID-19. There’s a lot we still don’t know about this virus, and that lack of understanding can create a vacuum that is all too easily filled by conspiracy theories and misinformation.

“An analogy that might be helpful here is autism: science still doesn’t have a clear explanation of why autism occurs,” said Brendan Nyhan, a government professor at Dartmouth College who studies disinformation. “That’s created a demand for explanations of why children develop it that anti-vaccine activists have taken advantage of. They’ve provided a simple story of why children develop autism, taking advantage of the coincidence in time between when autism manifests and when children get vaccines.”

So what do we do while we wait for better scientific answers on COVID-19? Social media sites, for their part, have enacted measures to limit and remove false information about COVID-19. Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo, for example, all removed the viral video “Plandemic” that claimed a shadowy group of elites was using the coronavirus to gain power. But an analysis from the nonprofit activist organization Avaaz found that it can take up to 22 days for Facebook to label fact-checked COVID-19 misinformation on the site, and that it can spread to millions of users in the meantime. And MIT researchers have found that misinformation peddlers can get around Facebook’s efforts to quell fake news by using an archived version of a URL via the Wayback Machine.

Studies have also found mixed results when it comes to issuing corrections on misinformation. One study on disinformation around Zika and yellow fever outbreaks in Brazil, published earlier this year in Science Advances and co-authored by Nyhan, found that priming people with a factsheet of accurate information had no significant impact on people’s beliefs in subsequent false claims.

One of Pennycook’s papers suggests that merely prompting people to think about the fact that not everything online is true can be enough to reduce the amount of misinformation they share. But each of the researchers I spoke to expressed concern about people’s ability to discern accurate information in a pandemic, and what impact the deluge of bunk might have on making sure the truth gets communicated.

“The problem is we can’t say how much fake news is reinforcing beliefs and entrenching beliefs and causing people, almost, to enter this domain of nihilism where they just throw up their hands,” Kreps said. “They don’t know what to believe, so they’re not going to believe anything. Not believing anything can be as pernicious as believing fake news.”

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Kaleigh Rogers

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fan-think · 6 years

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SKAM FRANCE LANGUAGE & CONTEXT S3E4

Hello ! Once again, let’s give some more details about the vocabulary used in Skam France, and what tone it gives to the show and this very teenage world. Find the previous Language & Context for Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 Mika 02:05 “Ok chaton, slow down” - “Ok darling, slow down” Chaton literally means “kitten/kitty”. Very cute nickname. And “slow down” is used in english, to add some cool vibe to Mika’s personality. He would have said “calme-toi” or “doucement” in a regular french conversation. I saw someone on Twitter asking about the ponctuation. In French, it’s different than in english. Between a word and “ ! ? : ” you have to put a space. Actually, it was really weird to me at the beginning to have no space in english. So, nothing extra enthusiastic in the texts, this is how ! ? and : are suppose to be incorporated. Lucas 3:54 “C’était un pote” translated as “It was a friend” In french there is a real difference between “un ami” and “un pote”. Pote is closer to “a buddy” but not so far either. Un ami, is someone you trust, you’re close to. By using “pote” he is saying that he is not a real friend, just someone he happened to hang out with, that’s it. Lucas 4:43 “C’est le big come back là” Lucas uses english words to sound cooler, but an adult would have used something in french rather like “c’est le grand retour là” Same thing with Daphné for “le foyer est devenu the place to be” She uses a cool english expression instead of french. You’ll hear very often the word “grave” placed in a lot of sentences. Literally, it means “serious”, “severe”. But it’s definitely not a high level of language kind of word. You use this word only with friend and when you’re pretty young (once again, my father barely, or never use this word). But in our generation, it’s a word we use all the time to emphasize on what we’re saying or the situation we’re describing. Just like a “really” Ex : “C’est grave la merde” (we’re really screwed), “Elle est grave bonne” (she’s really hot) “Mais grave !” (Totally !) Daphné 05:47 “On peut plus vraiment dire que j’ai mytho le proviseur” - “So we can’t really say I lied to the headmaster” The short version of the word “mythonner”, comes from “mythomane” (to lie/tell fake things). The short version used as a past participle is used only my teenagers/young people. Now, I need to explain the expression “c’est chaud”. It’s used in the show pretty often as well. It’s a common expression, not vulgar, not high level either, and it’s used multiple times per episode by different characters and in different situations. It’s translated as “It’s a real mess” or “That was close” depending on the context. First and literal meaning is : “it’s hot”, but figuratively speaking, it’s as if something is burning and it’s close to become a mess or not manageable. Exemples: C’est chaud cette histoire. It’s crazy this story/This story doesn’t look good Mais non ? C’est chaud ! What ? It’s insane ! or What ? That’s rough ! (once again, depending on the context and the tone used)

Lucile 14:05 “Je l’ai binge watché” “I binge watched it” Very, VERY new english expression we use in a french conversation. 40 years old, or even some friends who don’t watch tv shows would not understand it. Thanks to netflix and streaming, it’s becoming an english expression we are slowly starting to use. As “we” I mean young people, teenagers and “cool” people (like hipster parisian... haha) Lucas 18:30 “Pas peur” “Not scared” Just to be clear, those only two words are said in a kid-ish way. No verb, no conjugation because peur is an adjective, not a verb like ‘scared’. It’s just 2 syllables, so it’s really cute how he’s saying it. Just like a kid trying to impress an older person who knows a lot more than he does... See ? The word MEC Depending on the context, it means : a boy, guy, dude or boyfriend. -C’est un mec ou une fille ? It’s a boy or a girl ? Today, we also use the word mec to say boy, in addition to “garçon” -C’est qui ce mec ? Who’s that guy ? Everyone, even 60 yo use mec in those 2 definitions of the word -Allez mec ! Come on dude ! This is how you call your friends, buddies, mostly young but not only -C’est ton mec ? Is he your boyfriend ? + Friendly way to say bye to friend/family/people you’re pretty close to : Salut ! A plus ! A tout’! (short version for “à tout à l’heure) Ciao ! You can hear all of them in the show. Very young words used in the episode, explained in the previous #Skamlanguage : pécho, chelou, meuf PS: I’ll be at the 2nd Skam France screening in paris next Friday, if you haven’t seen, I’ve posted a long recap of the 1st projection.

#skam #skam france #skamfr #skam season 3 #skamlanguage #french #elu #lucas x eliott

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arabellaflynn · 5 years

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If I read one more article on "Marilyn Monroe's dress size", I am going to roll my eyes so hard I will be stuck staring at my own frontal lobe. Marilyn Monroe did not have a dress size. She had a range of measurements which would not have fit into any commercial garment, or commercial garment pattern, then or now, without extensive modification. The reason she looked so good all the time is that literally everything she wore was either custom made for her, or tinkered with by a dressmaker who knew their stuff. You will not look like that in anything you buy from a store. Marilyn Monroe would not look like that in anything she bought from a store. Clothing just does not come in that shape. This rant is inspired by a shopping trip I took last week. I went to buy jeans, because A) it's my birthday on Monday, and B) all of my pants are falling off again. I blocked out an entire afternoon for this. Partly that was me assuming that if I wanted to get a pair of jeans that would last more than a month for under $10, I was going to have to embark on an epic quest through every Goodwill in Boston. But also that was me armed with the knowledge that when I try on clothing, I don't get to ask, "Does this fit?" It does not. I get to ask, "Can this be fixed to the point where it fits, and how long would it take?" The reason for this is because of fit models. A fit model is the standardized body shape that a designer drafts all of their sizes to fit. Fit models are why women's fashion has divisions like juniors, misses, women's, and plus -- all of these ranges overlap in physical size, but they're all cut for different body types. Juniors, for example, is theoretically designed for teenage bodies. For a given hip measurement, a juniors garment will generally assume a straighter figure (less of a hip/waist and bust/waist difference) and a higher bustline than a misses garment, which is aimed at women in their 20s and above who are statistically more likely to have had children, with all the bodily changes that entails. Women's lines are, or were originally, aimed older than that, for a more traditionally middle-aged figure. A 16W in the women's section will allow greater room in places like the upper arm, thigh, and bust, than the same garment in a 16 misses. Structured garments in plus sizes -- as opposed to, like, caftans -- are a relatively new thing, so the fit models for plus sizes are all over the place. One of the greater challenges in designing a garment that fits a plus figure is that, while skeletons all tend to converge on the same average shape, adipose deposits go wherever the hell they want. A lot of plus lines have subdivided their collections into top-heavy, bottom-heavy, middle-heavy, and hourglass shapes, because it's nigh impossible to design one line that will do well with all of those. Different companies use different fit models for their designs. They vary pretty widely. Topshop (aimed at juniors) shows a pretty consistent 7" bust/waist difference, and 9" waist/hip difference in their size charts. So does Rodarte for Target. XOXO for Macy's assumes an 8.5" bust/waist and 10" waist/hip difference. These differences are sometimes graded down for smaller sizes; in general, patterns err on assuming that people who are smaller have less flesh on an average bone structure, rather than an average amount of flesh on a smaller bone structure. Or, to put it more bluntly, that the thinner you are, the less T&A you're going to have. I have an 11" difference for both bust/waist and waist/hip. Nothing fits me. Ever. And nothing would have fit Marilyn Monroe, either. Based on personal experience, she probably had her swimsuits tailored. I've had to alter both leotards and leggings to make them fit. There is a limit to stretch; if it's got enough give to get over my backside easily, then it might not have enough elasticity to hug my waist. Stretch things that are loose at the waist very quickly become stretch things that are trying to roll down your hips as soon as you move at all, so they can hang at the widest point of your body. [I have also altered bras. Yes, you can tailor bras. No, you shouldn't. Bras should fit as purchased and be replaced as either you change sizes or the elastic wears out. I just bought more of the damn things, and the good news is that one of them actually fits. The bad news is that it's the 30E, and I would probably need a 30F if I wanted one that wasn't a plunge. Those of you who own and maintain boobs may correctly translate that size as 'fuck my life'. It is a magical unicorn bra size that almost doesn't exist. It means that all of my bras are going to be in completely deranged colors from now on, because black and ivory don't survive long enough to go on clearance, and full retail for these things is $60-80 a pop. If anyone feels the need to throw money at me for surviving to 38, a gift card to Bravissimo would be great. If you do want to spend money but don't want to buy me underwear, then please direct it to the MSPCA. Their Angell clinic down on Huntington has helped me with many a rat. They are good people.] The jeans I eventually came home with were American Eagle Outfitters bootcut stretch, size 2, and they needed to come in about 2" at the waist. I considered this a victory, because I did not have to take the garment completely apart to fix it. As a rule, you can take something down a maximum of 1-2 dress sizes before you're just disassembling it to make new clothes out of the pieces, and there are some lines I just can't buy from at all because they make assumptions (e.g., a long torso, where I am very wasp-waisted) that just can't be fixed without just hacking the entire thing to bits. Making clothing is not necessarily a better solution. Unlike commercial dress sizes, pattern sizes are standardized, so they do in fact mean something. A size 14 Butterick pattern should fit pretty much the same as a size 14 Simplicity pattern, at least in theory. Like commercial patterns, however, they assume a lot less than 11" of difference between B/W and W/H measurements. Moreover, they are almost all drafted for a large-ish B cup, which makes the back too big and the bust darts too shallow for me even if the overall measurement is right. I've made lots of clothes and purchased fewer than half a dozen commercial patterns in my life, because frankly I find it a lot easier to just trace something that actually fits and then pick at it until it works. In summary, Marilyn Monroe's "dress size" was a random number from 2 to 16 depending on your context, which wouldn't have meant anything anyway because everything she wore was extensively and professionally altered to fit her. Also click bait is annoying, and I hate having to buy replacement pants. from Blogger https://ift.tt/2PULFYX via IFTTT -------------------- Enjoy my writing? Consider becoming a Patron, subscribing via Kindle, or just toss a little something in my tip jar. Thanks!

#IFTTT #Blogger #Unsolicited Advice

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palemoonpersephone · 5 years

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60 Question Tag Challenge

So I’ve been tagged by @kaffeinic to answer these questions. Here we go!

1: Selfie.

Gonna have to decline this one as I’m very shy but I’ll describe myself a little to make up for it - very long dark reddish-brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, fun size.

2: What would you name your future kids?

Can’t say for certain, I feel it would depend on what name felt right for that baby but I like many Italian and Celtic names.

3: Do you miss anyone?

Yes, definitely. Old friends, old pen-pals/online friends who just seemed to disappear. And I miss my partner and my friends when we’re apart.

4: What are you looking forward to?

the weekend Seeing my partner again, working on my writing projects, starting third year of uni, and unashamedly the new Witcher series on Netflix!

5: Is there anyone who can always make you smile?

The lovely @kaffeinic for a start! My best friend, my partner, my doggy 🐕

6: Is it hard for you to get over someone?

All depends on the context. I’ve had crushes in the past that have been relatively easy to get over but then I’ve lost a couple of close friends and that had a pretty traumatic affect on me. Other times it’s been very easy because it’s been the right thing to do because the person I cut off was very toxic/bad for me.

7: What was your life like last year?

In some aspects very similar, my interests are all pretty much the same, my mental health was still difficult to manage and I was looking forward to my upcoming year of uni. But this time last year I wasn’t in a relationship and hadn’t began a really amazing journey of self-discovery.

8: Have you ever cried because you were so annoyed?

feel so attacked rn yes, I very much have. Crying tends to be my natural response to most high-running emotions.

9: Who did you last see in person?

Within my household, my mum as I’m currently home for the summer. Outside of that, my partner when he last came down to visit

10: Are you good at hiding your feelings?

I can be. I’ve found it depends on how well other people can see. Over the years I’ve had to hide all sorts of things, especially from my family. For years they didn’t know I was severely ill with anxiety and depression but that might be testament to poor observation and parenting skills, or maybe I just became that good and hiding things. I’m striving now to be more open about how I feel rather than bottling things up because it’s like drinking poison.

11: Are you listening to music right now?

Not at this minute.

12: What is something you want right now?

a hug a life without crippling mental illness probably inspiration to work on my novel

13: How do you feel right now?

Quite tired, a bit lonely. Really craving some energy and pizzazz

14: When was the last time someone of the opposite sex hugged you?

Probably the Monday before last at 4-ish in the morning when my partner had to leave for work.

15: Personality description?

Shy, careful, introverted, open, understanding, affectionate, creative

16: Have you ever wanted to tell someone something but you didn’t?

Pretty much the story of my life. For the last 10-12 years I’ve had to keep so many things to myself, especially regarding my family. I could never say what I thought/believed because it would all spiral into a catastrophe, wasn’t a very safe environment emotionally-speaking. There have been so, so many things I’ve wanted to say but haven’t for the risk of rocking the boat.

17: Opinion on insecurities?

Most people I know have them, including myself but I think people can be misled to think that others don’t have them because of the outward images they display. And from my experience they’re usually there for all the wrong reasons (if there’s such a thing as a right reason to have an insecurity)

18: Do you miss how things were a year ago?

No, I’ve only gained things since then.

19: Have you ever been to New York?

Not so far but I can’t say I have any desire to

20: What is your favourite song at the moment?

Perhaps Ring of Fire by In This Moment

21: Age and birthday?

21, born 18/09/97

22: Description of crush?

(also my partner) 6″1, dark/black hair, brown eyes, built like a brick shit-house, tan skin. He’s intelligent, considerate, honourable, principled, fierce, indomitable, funny, supportive and respectful.

23: Fear(s)?

I’m just gonna say most things

24: Height?

5″3

25: Role model?

Not sure I have one. I aspire more to qualities like goodness, kindness and innocence

26: Idol(s)?

see above

27: Things I hate:

Small mindedness, cruel/selfish/narcissistic people, exclusion, organised religion (as more of an abstract concept), people not getting what they deserve, when people aren’t willing to listen and learn, having plans ruined, seeing people upset, people who don’t put in effort/only take and never give back

28: “I’ll love you if...”

Lots of possible answers as there lots of sorts of love. In short, if you give back. But then love shouldn’t be conditional, so I guess I should say I couldn’t love someone (in any way) who never gives back.

29: Favourite film(s)?

Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, The Lion King, The Other Boleyn Girl, most Marvel movies

30: Favourite tv show(s)?

Call the Midwife, Brooklyn 99, QI, The Last Kingdom, Doctor Who

31: 3 random facts.

I’ve been writing for almost 12 years now. I sleep with cuddly toys and make bed forts. I use fantasy to cope with reality.

32: Are your friends mainly girls or guys?

Right now, girls but when I was in secondary school most of my friends were boys.

33: Something you want to learn.

In a physical/skills sense I’d like to learn how to dance. In an emotional/mental sense I want to learn how to unburden by troubles and let go of things holding me down.

34: Most embarrassing moment?

With an anxiety disorder many, many things feel hideously embarrassing. Don’t think I could pick out one exact moment.

35: Favourite subject?

History

36: 3 dreams you want to fulfill?

Becoming a successful author. Make lots of money so I can give it to charities. Overcome/beat my mental illnesses.

37: Favourite actor/actress?

Probably Tom Hiddleston

38: Favourite comedian(s)?

Stephen Fry, Dara O’Brian, Sandi Toskvig, Aisling Bea

39: Favourite sport(s)?

Riding, archery, yoga (still physical activity so I guess it counts), swimming, running

40: Favourite memory?

Right now I think it’s when my partner told me he loved me for the first time

41: Relationship status?

If you haven’t guessed by now I’m concerned 😋

42: Favourite books?

Too many to choose from.

43: Favourite song ever?

Probably Lithium by Evanescence

44: Age you get mistaken for?

Always younger than I am. I really haven’t changed much since I was about 16. Still get ID’d almost everywhere because I look younger than 18 apparently

45: How you found out about your idol.

Not really applicable.

46: What my last text message says.

That’s no one’s business.

47: Turn-ons?

Maturity, experience, intelligence, someone who knows themselves and is in control, someone who can give care and guidance, someone who can bring my out of my shell.

48: Turn-offs?

Idiocy, lack of self-care/hygiene, someone who isn’t willing to listen, entitlement, intolerance, confidence when it hasn’t been earned.

49: Where I want to be right now.

The New Forest

50: Favourite picture of your idol?

Kinda need an idol first...

51: Star sign?

Virgo

52: Something I’m talented at.

anxiety? I’m quite good at riding and hopefully my writing isn’t too shabby

53: 5 things that make me happy.

Animals, people I love, random acts of kindness, smells that awaken nice memories, creative passion

54: Something that’s worrying me at the moment.

Guess at random and you’ll probably be correct.

55: Tumblr friends?

@kaffeinic I feel we clicked really really fast and they are possibly the bravest person I’ve ever met and I hope we stay friends.

@alittleandherdaddysworld they’ve been really kind to me and we seem to have some things in common, I hope we get to know each other better!

@xxdaddyslitttleprincessxx they’ve also been really kind to me when I needed someone to turn to and I hope that we too can turn our acquaintance into a friendship!

@thorkingofasgard I think we’ve known one another for just over a year and have had many lovely talks over that time, they’re always a friend I can turn to.

@mblargh-its-me-loki a friend who I sometimes don’t hear from for long periods at a time and I often miss them and hope they’re doing okay

@c0ffeebee their artwork and dedication is second to none and I like to think we got on well when I commissioned them for some art

56: Favourite food(s)?

Love curries and stir-fry, anything involving noodles, Italian cuisine and I’ll never say no to cake

57: Favourite animal(s)?

Dogs, horses, deer, bunnies, foxes, otters, dolphins, mice (I really could go on so I’ll stop myself)

58: Description of my best friend.

5″5, dark blonde hair, brown eyes, tan skin. She’s lovely, intelligent, determined, hilarious, gorgeous and we know each other back to front

59: Why I joined tumblr?

At first it was to connect with more people and spread my fanfiction work but over time it’s become more about just sharing and interacting with what I like and trying to make more and more lovely friends

60: Ask me anything you want.

Hold nothing back

I’m going to tag my listed tumblr friends so that’s @alittleandherdaddysworld @xxdaddyslitttleprincessxx @thorkingofasgard @mblargh-its-me-loki @c0ffeebee and any of my followers are welcome to take part

#60 question challenge #ask me anything #answered

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tannie-bell · 5 years

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100 Questions!

thanks to the lovely @chioo92 for sending this my way~! 💕💕💕

edit: putting this under read more bc it’s looooong 😂😂

1. What is you middle name?

Elizabeth

2. How old are you?

3. What is your birthday?

october 16

4. What is your zodiac sign?

libra

5. What is your favorite color?

in general black, but i do really like teal and deep greens

6. What’s your lucky number?

i don't really have one, but i like 13 and 16 and 3116

7. Do you have any pets?

yep! two dogs~

8. Where are you from?

a little italian town in the lower half of illinois

9. How tall are you?

technically 5' 1&¾". please feel free to round up to 5'2"

10. What shoe size are you?

depends on the brand, mostly between 8 and 9 u.s. sizes—they have to be wide though, or i have to get bigger sizes and just deal with the looseness 😅

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

i think 8?? but i only actually wear like 4

12. What was your last dream about?

in the last dream i *actually* remember, i was a character from my wip and she was with her husband in like this cozy, dim-lit room filled with furs and ancient pieces and neat stuff and she was moderately pregnant so i just remember feeling so warm and loved inside. looking back it's kind of weird bc i've never been pregnant or in love romantically, but it's still heartwarming

13. What talents do you have?

um, I bake well i think 😂 so far i haven't had any bad feedback...😅

14. Are you psychic in any way?

nope.

15. Favorite song?

gaaaaaaah why is this always so hard mikrokosmos ~ bts or lucid dream ~ monogram

16. Favorite movie?

singin' in the rain, howl's moving castle, moana, all mcu movies i've seen so far

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

someone who shares my beliefs/morals and who supports my passions/interests (and i would do the same for him). has a few quirks he needs a few to survive me lol and is musical, respectful, and romantic. also has a sense of humor i appreciate and vice versa. there are other qualities, but that's the gist 😂

18. Do you want children?

yes! not necessarily biological though, i am very open to adoption

19. Do you want a church wedding?

most likely yes

20. Are you religious?

it depends on your definition of religious. in the sense of believing in a particular faith/religion, then yes

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

yes 😫

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

nope!

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

if you count the drummer from a now-disbanded band, then yes

24. Baths or showers?

showers most times

25. What color socks are you wearing?

plain white—they're extra thick ones though! 😁

26. Have you ever been famous?

in what sense? 😂 locally or within a specific community of people, then i think so??

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

nope. i used to dream about what it would be like, but i seriously value my privacy and i would feel like i had none if i was famous

28. What type of music do you like?

pretty much anything and everything—except country 😅😂

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

nope...

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

three

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

this weird twisted position on my side. it usually ends with my shoulders hurting 😅😅

32. How big is your house?

it's decently large, but we just updated our tiny two bedroom, one bathroom house (for five people for 15+ years 😳) to a five bed, two bath with an open living area/dining room/kitchen. we made it big enough to accommodate both sides of my family around the holidays (bc we have a decently large family that's only growing 😂)

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

cereal or a fruit smoothie with either coffee or black tea (preferably earl grey) assuming i even eat breakfast

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

not yet, but i would eventually like to! thinking about a concealed carry permit as well depending on circumstances

35. Have you ever tried archery?

yess, and i love it!! it always makes me feel like some woodland elf heroine or something 😂

36. Favorite clean word?

like just regular words? pretty much any soft-sounding, flowy word with l’s, like melody or lucent

37. Favorite swear word?

i don't swear so none

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

like 36-ish hours

39. Do you have any scars?

yep

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

...not that I'm aware of??

41. Are you a good liar?

.....i do my best to be honest, but.....i can be....😅 just don't tell my mom

42. Are you a good judge of character?

i think so? i'm not going to be right 100% obviously, but most of the time i think i am

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

yeah, but they're not very good 😂

44. Do you have a strong accent?

depends on where you're from tbh

45. What is your favorite accent?

i reeeaaally like australian accents...

46. What is your personality type?

INFP-T

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

a top and skirt set someone i know bought for a wedding and never wore again. i think she paid $100+ for it?? so i got it for nothing which was amazing

48. Can you curl your tongue?

yep!

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

innie~

50. Left or right handed?

right~

51. Are you scared of spiders?

most of the time no

52. Favorite food?

i'm just gonna go with italian beef with mozzarella bc it always sounds good

53. Favorite foreign food?

ramen, bingsu, turkish delight, gulab jamun, and this one chicken rice dish that i have no idea what it's called but it's a.maz.ing.

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

in general? clean. my room? the best way to describe it is definitely-not-so-organized chaos

55. Most used phrase?

oh my goodness or oh my word

56. Most used word?

like or eyyy

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

......depends. literally anywhere from 5 to 45+ mins...

58. Do you have much of an ego?

i don't think so

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

both

60. Do you talk to yourself?

if i didn't i'd go insane

61. Do you sing to yourself?

^ see above

62. Are you a good singer?

i'm decent if my vocal chords are warmed up enough 😂

63. Biggest Fear?

failing/disappointing others. that and falling from heights

64. Are you a gossip?

no. i do my best not to be, anyway

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

i literally don't know what's considered dramatic anymore

66. Do you like long or short hair?

for my hair? long

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

give me a piece of paper and a pen and yeah 😂

68. Favorite school subject?

english and music

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

introvert~

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

nope

71. What makes you nervous?

being put on the spot

72. Are you scared of the dark?

not really, but it also depends on where i'm at and who's around

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

if it's one of my really close friends I'll jokingly correct their grammar, but that's it

74. Are you ticklish?

.......sometimes.

75. Have you ever started a rumor?

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

a couple times, yeah

77. Have you ever drank underage?

78. Have you ever done drugs?

79. Who was your first real crush?

this one kid when i was like four or five. his name is tyler. he actually just got married! random i know

80. How many piercings do you have?

none

81. Can you roll your Rs?”

no 😥

82. How fast can you type?

not terribly

83. How fast can you run?

slower than my 70 lb. dog

84. What color is your hair?

dark brown with some blonde and red hints

85. What color is your eyes?

dark chocolate so brown

86. What are you allergic to?

pollen 😥 i think i also have oral allergy syndrome (but that's purely self-diagnosed 😂), so there's that too

87. Do you keep a journal?

i have the past couple weeks for a class, but otherwise no

88. What do your parents do?

my mom is a nurse and my dad is a letter carrier

89. Do you like your age?

ehh, ish

90. What makes you angry?

things taken out of context of conversations, situations, etc. and twisted to portray something else entirely

91. Do you like your own name?

yes~

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

yes! these are just some of my favorites

for girls: lacie everest, elizabeth marie, roselyn chae (or chaela rose)

for boys: vincent alexandre, killian gray, quinton james

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

both~!

94. What are you strengths?

um....i'm very musical 😂

95. What are your weaknesses?

i procrastinate too much and i don't really know how to work on a project with a group

96. How did you get your name?

my mom knew someone with the name (but they shortened it). she later found out that my dad's great- or great-great-grandmother had the same name

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

like seeeeeeeeveral hundred years back, but yes

98. Do you have any scars?

some

99. Color of your bedspread?

off-white/cream and a purple-y maroon

100. Color of your room?

off-white/cream

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

not tagging anyone bc this is like super long 😂😂 if you see this and want to fill it out, go ahead! you brave soul 😂

#thank you~!!#gtkm #if you read the whole thing #i admire your tenacity

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unlimitedskyeproductions · 6 years

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100 Random Things About Daisuke Okana

1: goes by the name of Daisuke Okana 2: 21 years old 3: born on a Wednesday at 8:47 AM on February 29th 4: works as a detective 5: always has a way of fucking things up (and thus gained the nickname "Ohno" - used in the context of "Oh no, Daisuke!") 6: generally pretty chill and laid back about shit 7: always the calm one 8: despite this he gets really excited way too easily over the stupidest, simplest shit 9: smooth-talking charmer who's also kind of an airhead 10: knows he has a tendency to fuck shit up so he always goes out of his way to do better - though he usually just fucks up even worse than before 11: really great stamina 12: doesn't really care for material stuff at all, but when someone gives him a materialistic gift he cherishes that item like it's some kind of blessed artifact 13: spends about 10 hours a day just snacking or eating 14: generally whenever you see him there's a 70% chance he'll be eating something 15: sweet but very very clumsy 16: can't seem to get his shit together 17: the only kinds of music he ever listens to is either hardcore dubstep or really shitty pop music (Skrillex and Britney Spears come to mind) 18: lovES CATS 19: dedicated smoker and has been for 7 years 20: bisexual as hell 21: has a lot of really unusual quirks 22: his social cues are kinda fucked sometimes 23: he's either really great at reading people's emotions or absolutely hopeless at it, just depends on how his day's been so far 24: never goes anywhere without his lucky penny tucked safely into his coat pocket 25: he's a super sweet guy and he absolutely Can Not take it when people are upset with him because he feels so damn guilty about it 26: really fucking smart despite being such an airhead (university graduate with honors) 27: possibly might have some level of high-functioning autism but nobody's really sure 28: hates memes but at the same time is a total memelord 29: he has a really bad habit of using the office computer to send funny cat videos to his coworkers 30: His Voice Is Like Fucking Silk 31: if he hears one of his favorite songs on the radio he'll immediately start singing along no matter where he is 32: instantly becomes Illiterate without his reading glasses 33: manscaping expert (seriously this guy's entire body is fucking h a i r l e s s) 34: MASTER OF MARIOKART AND STREET FIGHTER 35: loves zombie horror movies (his favorite movie of all time is Shaun of the Dead) 36: afraid of thunderstorms and the dark (but shhhhhh that's a secret) 37: owns three cats - Mr. Pickles, Bowtie and Whiskey (whom was supposed to be named Whiskers but his phone changed it and it sort of stuck) 38: always seems to have exactly what you need at that exact moment - need a pair of scissors? he has em. need an extra sock? he has that too. also snacks 39: here's a secret - he has no idea how to tie a tie (all his ties are clip-ons) 40: here's another secret - he has a three year old daughter (the marriage didn't work out and now he's only allowed to see her three times a week because his ex is a spiteful bitch) 41: he's a very good daddy tho and his daughter practically worships him 42: can't cook whatsofuckingever 43: loves the wintertime because then he gets to run around in the snow 44: airheaded man-child 45: has a scar on his left shoulder from that one time he casually took a bullet 46: actually kind of artistic and doodles a lot 47: one time his neighbors called the cops on him because they heard him screaming and stuff getting broken and they thought he was being murdered - in reality a bat had flown in and he was having a very difficult time getting rid of it (the cops helped him out with that tho) 48: LOVES pulling stupid pranks on his coworkers, especially his partner 49: his partner kinda hates him apparently so he's always doing dumb shit to try and make him smile - often fails 50: collects socks (only the cool kinds with awesome patterns though) 51: he'll generally dress however you tell him to but you're in for one hell of a struggle if you tell him he can't wear his favorite coat and his favorite pair of fluorescent green glow in the dark socks 52: he'll get really aggressive when he's protecting his loved ones but most of the time he's just a gigantic marshmallow 53: he hates when he makes people upset with him and he'll pull out all the stops to get that person to forgive him 54: he watches a lot of cartoons with his daughter and long story short he's memorized every single fucking episode of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic (unintentionally, of course. dude ain't no brony.) 55: LOVES BOARD GAMES 56: super athletic and goes to the gym every night after work 57: will not hesitate to go on a 45 minute rant about why the best television show in history was Doctor Who 58: a bit of a slacker but dependable as fuck when it matters most 59: hates spiders 60: his hair is suuuuuuuuuper fluffy and soft 61: he'll let his daughter give him makeovers and dress him up like a princess 62: he doesn't mind this at all and the only thing that matters is seeing her smile 63: one time after a visit with his daughter he came to work he next day and completely forgot the fact he had a bunch of brightly colored hairpins in his hair and a Hello Kitty headband on (he was pretty chill about it when people told him this information) 64: his number one weakness is food 65: loves ramen noodles oh my fUCKING GOD he loves rame noodles 66: he loves getting praise and compliments from people because he knows he always messes things up so when he gets praised it makes him feel extra special 67: he'll usually let you say whatever you want to him and tease him to your heart's content - he generally just does not care if you're poking fun at him because he only wants to make people smile. and if you're at your happiest when you're making fun of him, well, he'll let it continue 68: 100% cannot function properly in his daily life without his morning cup of coffee (with whiskey added, obviously) 69: despite having an ex-wife and a kid he HAS actually been with dudes in the past (that's actually part of the reason why his wife left him) 70: WILL FUCKING NOT let people mistreat his loved ones 71: cancer survivor 72: generally lives off of McDonald's, rice, and ramen noodles 73: he'll go grocery shopping like a normal but usually not unless it's the day before his daughter gets dropped off (he's fine living off the bare minimum, but he'll be fucking DAMNED if he lets his daughter eat fucking ramen noodles for lunch) 74: he's actually SUPER ticklish 75: an expert at guns and shit 76: very knowledgeable about cheese????? for some weird reason????? 77: he can literally rant for two hours on all the types of cheese and how good or bad they are compare to others 78: recently he had to buy a new phone because he couldn't turn off the capslock and there was a whole week whrere he was just scREAMING AT HIS COWORKERS THROUGH TEXT and it was very awkward 79: he can and will fall asleep literally fucking anywhere 80: despite being a dedicated smoker he NEVER smokes around his daughter EVER 81: when he's not working a case he'll spend every second of his free time either working to get full custody of his daughter or trying to get his partner to open up more and be more sociable 82: loves singing and playing this prized guitar and he'll often do karaoke night at the bar on weekends 83: not an alcoholic but he will go to his favorite bar at least three nights a week because he's super great friends with the bartender (who also happens to be his best friend from high school) 84: he won't get drunk on those nights and while he may have a drink or two, but generally he just drinks water since he's there to socialize, not get wasted 85: loves sweet foods and desserts 86: juuuuuuuuust a little bit vain 87: also sort of flirtatious 88: just a little bit tho 89: always VERY enthusiastic about the smallest things (you could tell him to meet you at a fancy hotel and he'd literally just stand in front of the room's door for three minutes just staring at the doorknob like "check out this awesome doorknob! it's so shiny! i can see my reflection in it!") 90: just a big gigantic soft fluffy marshmallow up to 98% of the time 91: he loves showering his loved ones in compliments and random yet VERY EXPENSIVE BORDERLINE BANKRUPTING gifts 92: approximately 6-something-ish feet in height 93: really bad at swimming 94: master at playing pool 95: LOVES hugs and physical affection 96: has a secret manga collection but nobody knows this 97: sort of a dork 98: loves stupid comedy movies and silly tv shows 99: cannot ever resist the opportunity to make a cheesy joke or a pun 100: only true anime fans will get this but generally his ENTIRE character is a cross between Kotetsu Kaburagi, Dazai Osamu and Lockon Stratos (yes, I know, I'm VERY original here)

#unlimitedskyeproductions #daisuke okana #oc info

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easyfoodnetwork · 4 years

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How the Maxwell House Haggadah Found a Permanent Place at the Seder Table

Two editions of the Maxwell House haggadah from the 1980s (left) and from 1998 (right) | Joseph Jacobs Advertising

Since the 1920s, the coffee company has distributed more than 60 million copies of its now-iconic Haggadah

Passover Seder ends with the “festive meal” — matzo balls are ladled into broth, brisket is shredded, potato kugel sliced. A glass of wine is set out for Elijah. Before eating, however, guests read through their Haggadah, a booklet of prayers and practices that acts as a guide for the spiritual elements of the table’s Seder. Depending on how in-depth the host wants to get, this can last for hours. In its pages, typically printed in Hebrew and English, you’ll see when to dip herbs in salt water (before breaking matzo, after washing hands) and how often you should refill your wine glass (four times). You’ll also probably see Maxwell House Coffee’s logo smack dab on the cover.

Though Maxwell House is not a Jewish company, over the past nine decades the brand has distributed more than 60 million Haggadot, which remain the preferred version of the text at American Seders. “Consumers have changed over the years; some are less familiar with ritual practice and what goes on at the Seder. … They didn’t go to Hebrew school, or they didn’t listen when they were a kid,” says Eli Rosenfeld, CEO of Joseph Jacobs Advertising, the company that created the Maxwell House Haggadah, explaining that he continues to see an outpouring of emotion for the Maxwell House book. “This is a piece of Jewish Americana.” It’s also one of the most effective examples of direct marketing in history.

The brand’s Haggadah was born through a partnership with the advertising agency, which began working with Maxwell House in 1923 to run a campaign informing the Jewish public that coffee was kosher for Passover. Many ingredients are verboden during the holiday. Leavened grain products are the most significant category, hence a week of matzo brei and macaroons. Many people also avoid kitniyot, or rice, corn, seeds, and legumes. In the 1920s, some mistakenly characterized coffee “beans” as legumes; Maxwell House’s ad changed that perception.

“The original ad had it written in Hebrew and English, ‘It is a mitzvah to tell you that Maxwell House coffee is kosher for Passover,’” says Rosenfeld, who handles Maxwell House’s Haggadot ideation and marketing. The surge in coffee sales from the Jewish market inspired Joseph Jacobs to pitch a branded Haggadah in 1932, free with the purchase of Maxwell House coffee at grocery stores. It proved incredibly successful.

“You don’t have to go to synagogue or ask your rabbi. It’s a comfortable thing. You buy matzo at the supermarket, you buy coffee, the book is right there,” explains Rosenfeld, also noting how successful the concept proved for grocery stores. “Passover has become a very important piece of business.”

Following the success of Maxwell House during Passover, nondenominational companies like Jack Frost Sugar, Borden Dairy, and Crisco released cookbook pamphlets to remind consumers that their products were also kosher for Passover: “Mr. Peanut recommends: recipes for knoeidlach [sic], chremsel, latkes, knishes,” reads one book published by Planters to promote peanut oil in the 1940s.

Still, few brands (Jewish or otherwise) have published haggadot: ShopRite Supermarkets created several editions as recently as 2012 to promote its robust kosher product department, but most others are decades old. Manischewitz, which produces matzo, gefilte fish, and macaroons, as well as the infamous wine, put out a number of Haggadot in the 1960s through the ’90s.

“Manischewitz is the leader in kosher food… an ad ran calling us ‘the official sponsor of Passover.’ You can’t have Passover without a Haggadah,” says Shani Seidman, Manischewitz’s marketing director. According to Seidman, two companies now owned by Manischewitz’s parent company, Kayco, Horowitz Margareten (a matzo company) and Rokeach (a kosher food and products company), also released Haggadot in the 1940s, just a few years after Maxwell House’s first edition. Streit’s, an independent kosher foods company, published at least one, in 1961.

But when Manischewitz was sold in the 1990s, it stopped publishing Haggadot. “You don’t need to remind anyone [that Manischewitz is a Passover brand]; the perception is already there,” Seidman says. In recent years, Manischewitz has instead partnered directly with Maxwell House, giving out copies of Haggadot with the purchase of large matzo boxes. “Two Passover icons — it makes sense,” says Seidman.

It’s not surprising that Manischewitz prefered to leave the Haggadot to Maxwell House: It’s hard to get users to switch from their favorite brands, particularly for an item steeped in ritual custom.

Jake Cohen, editorial director at the food website Feed Feed and author of the forthcoming cookbook Jew-ish, grew up using the Maxwell House Haggadah: “To quote Fiddler, ‘tradition!’ When my grandparents hosted, we used them,” he says. “When my aunts hosted, we used them. When my mother hosted, we used them. Now that I host, I use them. This is the first year I’m entertaining veering from tradition.” Cohen also appreciates the ease with which one can obtain the book. “It’s hard to buy and store [Haggadot] for an entire family. It’s very easy to get 20 [from] Maxwell House for free and know that if they get ruined, you can get a new set next year.”

Maxwell House remains the prevailing brand to publish the text. Rosenfeld says Haggadot are still available for free with the purchase of coffee during the Passover season at grocery stores all over the country, in areas where Joseph Jacobs has identified a large population of Jewish consumers (he noted one would be more likely to find the haggadot at grocery stores in Chicago than North Dakota). They’re also available for purchase sans coffee on Joseph Jacobs’s website as well as Amazon. “Maxwell House made this program a hallmark of their brand and stays committed to it,” Rosenfeld says. “Some brands change marketing focus and lose patience for such long-term programs.”

To entice new customers, the company has made some changes. In 2011, Maxwell House edited the text’s section regarding the four “sons” to read “the four children,” and it changed “leavened or unleavened bread” to “bread or matzo” to modernize the language. In 2019, the company collaborated with Amazon to create a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-themed Haggadah. Unlike other Maxwell House Haggadot, this one contained a recipe card for “Midge’s Brisket.”

The Maisel version is similar to other playful Haggadot centered around pop culture or political phenomena printed in the past few years. These books are usually published by writers and educators, however, not brands: Martin Bodek published an emoji Haggadah (printed almost entirely in the colorful hieroglyphs) as well as the “Festivus Haggadah,” celebrating the sitcom Seinfeld; Dave Cowen wrote another Seinfeld haggadah, as well as a Trump-themed political parody version of the book. In 2017 Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg published “The (Unofficial) Hogwarts Haggadah,” putting the religious story in the context of Harry Potter. Haggadot.com lets people design their own version of the book, all of which are saved in an archive for anyone to use.

Like the authors of alternatively themed Haggadot, Maxwell House is honing in on the prominence of cultural Judaism. Many who identify as Jewish don’t keep kosher or attend temple, yet they engage with their background through ceremonial meals — a 2013 study found that while 70 percent of adult American Jews participated in a Seder in the year prior, only 31 percent are members of a religious congregation. And even with sitcom, hip-hop, socialist, and LGBTQ interpretations of the text, there’s steadfast loyalty to Maxwell House. When presented with a copy of the New American Haggadah, a well-regarded modernized translation of the traditional text, President Barack Obama (who is not Jewish, but who enjoyed hosting Seders during his time in the White House) flipped through and replied, “Does this mean that we can’t use the Maxwell House Haggadah anymore?”

Rebecca Firkser is a New York City-based freelance food writer and recipe developer.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2y1oseX https://ift.tt/3aVFda8

Two editions of the Maxwell House haggadah from the 1980s (left) and from 1998 (right) | Joseph Jacobs Advertising

Since the 1920s, the coffee company has distributed more than 60 million copies of its now-iconic Haggadah

Rebecca Firkser is a New York City-based freelance food writer and recipe developer.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2y1oseX via Blogger https://ift.tt/2Xecv0d

#Blogger #cooking #Eater #food #recipes

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spadetothebrain-blog · 7 years

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60 truths thing (or something I dunno)

I got tagged by @sunnytheunfunny (cheers mate) and thought “fuck it, why not?” So here’s so useless information about me that will never be helpful:

1) Nickname: Spade, H

2) Bias: I hate dickheads that can’t take jokes (AkA half of this hellhole of a website)

3) Blood Type: no clue

4) Relationship Status: I dunno, might be in one?

5) Birthday: sometime in the middle of the year.

6) Zodiac Sign: what the fuck is a zodiac sign?!

7) Pronouns: him (tumblr stop with this shit, no one gives a fuck that your some Demi helicopter trash)

8) Hair Length: used to be really long, but now it’s sorta medium-ish

9) Height: short-ish, but not loli sized

10) A crush: nah

11) What do you like about yourself: fuck all. (Go figure)

12) Right or left handed: depends on what I’m doing.

13) List three favorite colors: Green, purple and blue

14) Right now eating: Ethiopian food (simply put, nothing)

15) Right now drinking: water

16) I’m about to: probably do more work or play a game I dunno

17) Listening to: “Code Blue” by TSOL

18) Kids: no thanks you can keep the little bastards.

19) Recent phone call: called my boss at work. (What, expecting something exciting?)

20) Have you ever dated someone twice: no because I’m not a fucking idiot.

21) Been cheated on: hope not 👀

22) Kissed someone and regretted it: Yea, I was dating someone back when I was in high school who was shorter than me. Was not worth the back pain.

23) Lost someone special: Yup. Not talking about it. (Because it’s fucking boring)

24) Been depressed: I dunno probably.

25) Been drunk and thrown up: drunk yes. Thrown up? Nah

26) Had glasses or contacts: glasses, still do

27) Had sex on a first date: no, women fucking hate me

28) Broken someone’s heart: Nah, too much headache.

29) Turned someone down: Yup (begone, thot!)

30) Cried when someone died: yeah I guess.

31) Fallen for a friend: oh god no! Perish the bloody thought.

32) In the last year have you made a new friend: probably, it’s hard to tell.

33)Fallen out of love: no but I’ve fallen out of a chair.

34)Laughed until you cry:a few times.

35) Met someone who changed you: Yeah, mainly the people who changed my perspective on life. Made me a cynical arsehole in the process.

36) Found out who your true friends were: never needed to.

37) Found out someone was talking about you: were they? MOTHERFU…

38) Lips or eyes: eyes, I need them to see. 👁👁

39) Hugs or kisses: no.

40) Shorter or taller: in what context?

41) Romantic or spontaneous: no clue.

42) Sensitive or loud: bit of both

43) Hookup or relationship: I don’t know. I don’t give a shit about either.

44) First best friend: that one person I ran out of a class with that one time, that was ducking brilliant.

45) Surgery: not that I know of.

46) Sports: skateboarding and jogging

47) Do you believe in yourself: not really, considering where I am now.

48) Miracles: does getting a job in the 21st century count?

49) Love at first sight: Nah, not enough details about the other person.

50) Heaven: I’m an atheist so no (fuck off please)

51) Do you have any pets: Technically speaking, no.

52) Do you want to change your name: Nah

53) What did you do for your last birthday: fuck all.

54) What time did you wake up today: 5:55am

55) What were you doing last night at midnight: I don’t stay up that late.

56) Something you can’t wait for: the world to end (HURRY UP ALREADY)

57) Last time you saw your mom:dunno, don’t care enough to give a shit -_-

58) What is the one think you wish you could change about your life: I wish I questioned my parents more.

59) What’s getting on your nerves: life and existence

60) this question got lost…shit

I’m not tagging anyone because that would take an extra 6 minutes.

#60 truths #this was...interesting

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marvella15 · 7 years

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85 Statements Tag Game

Rules: you must answer these 85 statements and tag 20 people.

I was tagged by @elloette. Thank you!

Tagging twenty people seems excessive so I’m going to just tag a handful: @daddyorsonkrennic @randomthunk @thescholarlystrumpet @twelveclara @twelfthdoctvr @hanorganaas

The last…

1. Drink: Tazo Zen tea

2. Phone call: Someone at work.

3. Text message: My friend Krista

4. Song you listened to: Uhhhh, the Gilmore Girls theme lol?

5. Time you cried: Friday

6. Dated someone twice: No

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: Ugh yes.

8. Been cheated on: Not that I know of.

9. Lost someone special: Yes.

10. Been depressed: Yep, for sure.

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: Yes to the first, no to the second, and I plan to keep it that way.

Favourite colors

12. Blue

13. Yellow

14. Teal

In the last year have you…

15. Made new friends: Yes.

16. Fallen out of love: No, but I wasn’t in love to start with.

17. Laughed until you cried: Oh yes.

18. Found out someone was talking about you: No.

19. Met someone who changed you: Does my cat count? I feel like he’s changed me lol.

20. Found out who your friends are: Yes, the hard way in one case unfortunately.

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Nope.

General

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life? Almost all of them.

23. Do you have any pets? Yes. One adorable, four-month-old kitten.

24. Do you want to change your name? I like my name.

25. What did you do for your last birthday? I had dinner with my parents, went shopping with my mom, and my roommate at the time made me brownies.

26. What time did you wake up? 6 am

27. What were you doing at midnight last night? Sleeping, thank goodness.

28. Name something you can’t wait for: OCTOBER!!

29. When was the last time you saw your mum? This morning!

31. What are you listening to right now? My boss and coworker having a meeting. About to open up 8Tracks though.

32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom? Yep, he was the property manager at my last place.

33. Something that is getting on your nerves: My car insurance bill went way up and they haven’t called me back to explain why.

34. Most visited website: I hate to say it but... tumblr.

35. Hair colour: Brownish blonde?

36. Long or short hair? Short.

37. Do you have a crush on someone: Do celebrities count?

38. What do you like about yourself? I’m more adaptable than I used to be, I’m considerate but not a pushover, and sometimes I write things that I really like.

39. Piercings: 2

40. Blood type: B+

41. Nickname: I don’t think I really have one?

42. Relationship status: Happy cat owner

43. Zodiac: Aquarius

44. Pronouns: She/her.

45. Favourite TV show: Doctor Who.

46. Tattoos: None..

47. Right or left handed: Right.

48. Surgery: None.

49. Piercing: Ears

50. Sport: I loved playing a bunch but if we’re asking favorite sport to watch, it’s tennis.

51. Holiday: Thanksgiving. Lots of family, food, and Christmas build up.

52. Pair of trainers: Are Converse trainers? If yes, then my red ones.

More general

53. Eating: Toast this morning.

54. Drinking: Water.

55. I’m about to: do my work lol

56. Waiting for: A phone call from my car insurance

57. Want: October to come sooner.

58. Get married: Maybe probably

59. Career: Happy with what I’m doing now.

60. Hugs or kisses: Sure.

61. Lips or eyes: Eyes.

62. Shorter or taller: No preference.

63. Older or younger: I’m happy with my age rn and other people, I guess it depends in what context.

64. Nice arms or nice stomach: I’m pretty proud of my arms. I don’t know that I have a preference for other people.

65. Hook up or relationship: Relationship.

66. Troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant.

67. Kissed a stranger: Ish.

68. Drank hard liquor: Yep.

69. Lost glasses/contact lenses: No.

70. Turned someone down: Yes.

71. Sex on the first date: No no.

72. Broken someone’s heart: Potentially?

73. Had your heart broken: Yes.

74. Been arrested: No.

75. Cried when someone died: Yeah.

76. Fallen for a friend: Yes and it’s never worked out lol

Do you believe in …

77. Yourself: Usually

78. Miracles: Yes.

79. Love at first sight: Maybe? More like attraction or an intense feeling.

80. Santa Claus: No.

81. Kiss on the first date: Not if I’m just getting to know them.

82. Angels: Yes.

Other

83. Current best friend’s name: It’s a secret.

84. Eye colour: Blue/green

85. Favourite movie: Oh gosh, just going to say the first one that popped in my head, Singin’ in the Rain.

#tagged #about me

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likeathunderbolt · 7 years

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Tagged for a get to know.

1. What’s your favourite film? The Prince of Egypt. Or Kill Bill 1&2.

2. Favourite film in the past five years? I really enjoyed The Grand Budapest Hotel.

3. What was your first thought when you woke up this morning? Cheesy but I smiled at the sound of the birds & the rain outside.

4. A book you plan on reading? I plan on reading Michael W. Twitty - The Cooking Gene, as soon as it arrives.

5. What’s a skill learned in your youth that you still have now? I can cook Cantonese food really well because when I was a tiny child my nan had a lodger from HK called Jimmy Chan who was a chef & he used to let me help him in the kitchen at home, he taught me so much.

6. Favourite TV show that’s currently on? I’m rewatching BBC’s Planet Earth.

7. On a scale of one to ten how excited are you about life right now? Actually a 7, it’ll be an 8 in October when I start a course.

8. iPhone or Android? I’m still rocking an iphone 5s, in 2017, because I don’t understand technology…

9. Twitter or Instagram? Both? Instagram. Less drama.

10. Who should EVERYONE be following right now? Chrissy Teigen & John Legend, two of the greats for one. Also Tangela Ekhoff & Jo Rowling are like the world’s wise aunts.

11. What’s your favourite food? When I’m being sensible, peppers & humus. If not, garlic bread or corn chips.

12. Least favourite food? I can not do horseradish or Wasabi.

13. What do you love on your pizza? Spinach, weirdly, also mushrooms.

14. Favourite drink? Water.

15. Favourite dessert? Vanilla shake or shortbread.

16. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? Dark.

17. Coffee or tea? Tea. 18. What would you be the deity of & what time of year would you have your festival? Communication, & spring.

19. What’s your favourite band? No doubt, Chili Peppers, & blink-182.

20. Favourite solo artist? Britney Spears is my ORIGINAL crush & she’s actually so interesting & such a good person, imagine her autobiography. Wife goals.

21. Favourite song? Gwen Stefani’s Cool means a lot to me.

22. If you could sing a duet with anyone, who would it be? Nicki, obviously.

23. If you could master one instrument, what would it be? Harp or Piano.

24. If you had a tattoo, where would it be? I do have one, but I want another above that one & below my left shoulder.

25. What’s you motto? “To be rather than to seem.”

26. Dogs or cats? Why is the word or in that sentence?

27. Bird-watching or whale-watching? Both, depends where!

28. Best gift you’ve ever received? A blanket my mum crocheted for me or my first proper book, from my nan.

29. Best gift you’ve ever given? You’d have to ask my loved ones… I like taking people to my favourite places & writing them letters.

30. Last gift you gave a friend? A leather embossed notebook.

31. Which fictional universe book series do you think deserves a film franchise? The Old Kingdom Series or Artemis Fowl would be great to watch.

32. What’s your favourite country to visit? Other than places in the UK & France… I love Illinois & Honshu. I really wanna go to Hong Kong & back to Geneva. I have a soft spot for Spain.

33. What’s the last country you visited? Japan.

34. What country do you wish to visit? Other than the ones mentioned, Malaysia, Taiwan & Korea to visit friends but other than that, I have a weird thing for Budapest, so Hungary.

35. What’s your favourite colour? Brown, blue, or orange.

36. Least favourite colour? Any colour works in context.

37.Diamonds or pearls? Diamond is my birthstone but pearls remind me of my nan so I feel personally attacked by this question.

38. Trainers or dress shoes? Skate shoes, Es Kingpins are my staple shoe. 39. Speak every language or be able to watch historic events as if you were there? I’d speak every language. (That was really, really hard.)

40. Jogging or swimming? Swimming, I am a water baby, island child.

41. Best way to de-stress? Do something by yourself, for yourself & take time to appreciate it.

42. If you had one superpower, what would it be? Teleportation, or healing.

43. What’s the weirdest word in the English language? I like words from other languages that aren’t Romance or Germanic, like Futon, Ukulele, Behemoth or Mamba. Their etymology is doubly interesting.

44. What’s your favourite flower? Heather.

45. What’s your alcoholic drink of choice? It was Guinness, then whisky, then rum (dark, then spiced) & now it’s gin, these are the phases of my adult(ish) life.

46. Do you like your handwriting? I wish it was neater.

47. Do you bake? I love baking, I was taught to bake by my nan growing up, so I can do a lot.

48. What is your least favourite thing about yourself? My insecurities.

49. What is your most favourite thing about yourself? I always strive be kind.

50. Pick one US state & one Canadian Province to visit. State: Louisiana. (Illinois/Pennsylvania for the fam) Province: Quebec. (Ontario for the fam)

51. What are you listening to right now? I’ve been in quite a Taylor Swift mood lately with all her albums on shuffle.

52. Favourite smell? Okay weird but my cats. Or the sea.

53. What was the first album you ever bought? I bugged my parents into getting me No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom when I was an actual baby, by repeatedly singing spiderwebs at them all day long. I still have it . The first album I bought with my own (pocket) money was Avril Lavigne’s Let Go.

54. Which celebrity do you wish you could’ve hung out with growing up? blink-182, Mark & Travis would have been the perfect people to help me lighten up.

55. A sport you wish you could play? I’d love to be able to do Capoeira, or Northern Shao Lin Kung Fu, do those count? If not, just plain ol’ ice hockey.

56. Hair colour? Dark brown.

57. Eye colour? Blue.

58. Scary film or happy endings? I’m a sucker for a happy ending.

59. Favourite season? Spring.

60. Three people alive or dead that you would like to have dinner with? Rosalind Franklin, Amy Winehouse & Queen Victoria.

61. Hugs or kisses? Hugs.

62. Rolling Stones or the Beatles? Beatles. (Hendrix)

63. Where were you born? Born & sold out in the British Isles.

64. What is the farthest you have been from home? Honshu, Japan. I think?

65. Sweet or savoury? Savoury.

66. Sweet or earthy scents? Earthy.

67. Phoenix, dragon, kraken or unicorn? I feel like I should say Dragon, obviously but I’m gonna throw a curveball & say Kraken.

68. No Taylor or Kimye, fill your 5 celebrity squad slots. The squad idea isn’t really my thing but here are some people I can see myself being friends with:

HyunA & Hyoyeon Kim.

Harry & Zayn

Chrissy & John

Holly & Fearne

69. What would be the title of your autobiography? Alexander the Skate.

70. Favourite sound? Babbling streams, purring cats, quiet nights in the city or the countryside, cawing seagulls.

71. Favourite animal? Cormorants or otters.

72. Who is your celebrity crush? Someone I haven’t mentioned yet… Kat Dennings.

73. Last photograph you took? Jazz. From the womb to the tomb.

#asks #thanks #anon #ish #personol #personol ar gyfer ts

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