#ugly history

[mimi-0007]

My hometown. Ada Oklahoma. Sundown town. Now the whites and Indians run it. Freedmans are left out. Well black people are left out. Article is from Durant oklahoma

[dathen]

Hitting the California agricultural industry portion of The Grapes of Wrath and am bouncing off the walls and breathing fire

[astronomodome]

grian just hatched ...

[yesterdaysprint]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri, October 25, 1903

[lemonerix]

"...and when I'm gone, will you remember me?"

"When you're gone? I doubt someone like you would be going anywhere anytime soon."

"Haha, you're right. I suppose I'll be stuck here for a while."

"Good, because I need someone to keep praising the awesome me!"

[deep-space-lines]

Full-Size / True Color Version

Sometimes I think about the fact that first living being to orbit the Earth couldn't understand what was happening to her, couldn't understand the history she was making. Laika wasn't a volunteer. The technology to bring her back alive didn't exist. They sent her up anyway. She died, scared and alone, in a malfunctioning spacecraft hastily built to meet a political deadline.

When her heart rate tripled from the stress of acceleration, did she understand the magnitude of what she was experiencing? When she saw the stars outside her little window, did she believe the world had gone dark? In her final hours, did she feel wonder, or just fear?

"The more time passes, the more I’m sorry about it. We shouldn’t have done it. We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog. When you understand that you can’t bring back Laika, that she perishes out there, and that no one can bring her back…that is a very heavy feeling." Oleg G. Gazenko

For me, there's some small consolation, at least, in knowing that although her death was unnecessary and cruel, Laika will never be forgotten. I love you, Laika. May you find peace among the stars.

Prints are available here.

[fashionsfromhistory]

Mantle

Early 1870s

This mantle appears to have been made from a wool shawl woven with broad bands of boteh motifs, originally with a central medallion now cut in half at the base of each side to fall attractively over arms in wear, and quarter medallions at each corner that are now placed at each side of the centre front and back of the garment.

Shawls striped with pattern, sometimes known as zebra shawls, were an alternative to the ubiquitous style of broad borders to a plain ground or central motif. Particularly popular from the 1820s to the 1860s they were produced by European manufacturers as well as the original Indian avid Kashmiri centres.

John Bright Collection

[chrisbangs]

Bang Chan .:. My Pace MCountdown [180823]

[marzipanandminutiae]

Murder Baronets Make Passes At Girls Who Wear Glasses

when I bring up the fact that it's weird that Edith can instantly read the text on Enola's trunk key in Crimson Peak, even though it's like three feet away from her on a table and she doesn't have her glasses on, I often get a response of "well, her vision's probably not THAT bad- she only needs them to read small print!"

au contraire, my friends. because Edith not wearing her glasses all the time doesn't mean her vision is mostly fine- it means that she lives in 1901

it was very common at the time to only wear glasses/spectacles when you absolutely had to, even if your vision impairment was more intense than just Reading Issues. indeed, Outlines of Practical Hygiene from 1894 recommends that "when the work is finished, for which glasses are needed, these should be taken off," and the Medical Times of 1901 said that, "Glasses help overworked or inadequate focusing muscles [seldom actually how near- or far-sightedness works, as I understand it] to overcome imperfections, but if overworn, they may help too much."

on the surface, this had to do with the above, mistaken belief that wearing them all the time would make your eyes even weaker- in practice, especially for women, it also had a lot to do with the preferred aesthetics of the time. glasses were not the fashionable look, generally speaking. while Edith would probably like to imagine herself above such petty concerns...I'd be willing to bet she's more swayed by them than she'd admit. after all, she didn't grow up in a vacuum of pure intellectualism

so, how bad IS her vision? well, she needs glasses to read the titles of the books in Alan's study fairly close-up. one might then argue that she's far-sighted, but she appears to be holding the newspaper with the article about Beatrice's death very close to her face to read it sans glasses

so therefore: I conclude that Edith is pretty seriously nearsighted, she only doesn't wear her glasses all the time because of then-conventional wisdom, and how the hell did she notice that damn key. filmmakers, don't write a myopic character and then forget she has vision issues!

[urban-lad]

ғᴏʀ ᴀ ғᴇᴡ ᴅᴏʟʟᴀʀs ᴍᴏʀᴇ 1965

[shima-draws]

THE WAY RYAN SAYS HIS NAME AND THEIR HUG AND THEM APOLOGIZING TO EACH OTHER AND REAFFIRMING THEIR FRIENDSHIP AND. I’m normal about this. NORMAL

[todayinhiphophistory]

Today in Hip Hop History:

Atmosphere released their second studio album God Loves Ugly June 11, 2002

[dollypopup]

"Colin should have grovelled more!" "Penelope folded too easily"

I think statements like this typically come from people who like Penelope. . .but don't really understand her. And don't really understand just why she cares for Colin, and just why him groveling would not in any way bring her peace.

Penelope and Colin are kindred spirits in their loneliness, in season 3 more than any others. Penelope had lost her friendship with Eloise, and Colin didn't really have a close friend circle to begin with. Except with Pen. Pen was the person he could put the mask down for, could open up to, (in particular with their 'dreams' discussion) and that's why he couldn't even entertain the idea of giving up talking to her in Season 2. She is a vital part of his life, and holds so much significance and importance to him.

I imagine that's what made their silence over his travels especially painful for him. They spent such a long time talking after Season 1, and he even informs her that her letters were so encouraging, that it helped him heal something inside of himself. That if she could see him in a gentle way. . .so could he. (And he repays this, because he is honest to god out here acting and looking at her like she hung the moon in the sky). But without her presence in his life, he spiraled. Didn't feel confident in being who he is, and thus put on his persona more firmly. We know this because he wrote in his journal that "I want to be less needy, less insecure, while still maintaining the core of my vulnerability that makes me who I am". That he misses his family, that he misses home.

And we know, from the books, that Home? Home is Penelope. Penelope is his North Star, is his guiding force, and who I argue he feels he needs. In his very first scene, he looks toward her house, tries to find her in the window. When he does not, he returns to his family. In the outdoor gathering, he looks for her and finds her, eager to talk. He states aloud that he misses her, and I imagine he wrote it, too. Not hearing back from her over the course of his travels was surely something that hurt him, but he doesn't hold any ill will toward her for it, only wants to reconnect again. In fact, the one and only time he brings up how he misses her and that she didn't respond, she makes very clear the reason why: she heard what he said and it hurt her. And he's ashamed of it.

Colin hears her call him cruel, and instead of ruffling his feathers about it, instead of getting upset, instead of having a chip on his shoulder as I feel so many men would about it. . .he understands why she does so.

Penelope is a woman who has been largely treated poorly in her society. She feels unheard, she feels undesired, and in her circumstances, and I can't help but ask myself. . .has anyone ever truly apologized to Penelope for hurting her, before? Her mother? Her sisters? Eloise, likely, but. . .anyone else? And the way Colin did? Because of all the characters in the show, Colin? Colin knows how to apologize. He has a lot of practice in it. And very importantly: Colin, a man of privilege in his society, apologizes. . .predominately to women. To Marina, to his mother, and multiple times to Penelope.

Ultimately, Penelope wants to be heard, Penelope wants to be understood, Penelope wants to feel desired.

And Colin checks every single one of those boxes. He informs he is not who he was before, and then he proves it to her. He hears that he hurt her, and he comments on it directly. An entire night apart, and he comes back to her 'Because I embarrass you' with 'I am most certainly not ashamed of you', replies to her 'I am a laughingstock' with 'you are clever, and warm, and I am proud to call you my good friend'. He hears her proclaim her own insecurities, and empathizes so deeply with her. He listens. He understands. He makes clear that he cares for her, and that she *is* desired. 'You lift my spirits' 'I seek you out at every social assembly'. That she helps him see the world in ways he loves, that he sees HER and how much she has cared for HIM, that she makes him feel appreciated, that he appreciates her, in turn.

And then? Then? He shows her. He tells her, and he shows her. His actions all throughout Season 3 reinforce this apology. He continues looking for her in every corner of every ballroom, he continues complimenting her, he laughs at her jokes and respects her boundaries, he is ever so gentle with her, he listens to her with an attentiveness that no one else has ever given her. To Lady Whistledown? Sure. But to Penelope? Who else in the entirety of that ton has listened to Penelope the way Colin has?

Absolutely no one.

Penelope Featherington ghosts Colin Bridgerton for months with no explanation, and Colin comes back wanting to reach out to her, and she finally tells him why.

And he apologizes. Because he listens. Really, truly listens. And really truly cares.

I need you to understand how rare that is, even nowadays, but especially back then. That Colin is the kind of man who can put his hurt to the side and realize he made a mistake, that he said something callous, and he adores her, and he can't lose her, and he has to see her and make it right.

Because that's why Penelope fell for Colin. Not because he's beautiful, not for his charm, not for his family. But for his heart. Because he shows her kindness in a world that so often disregards her. Because he seeks her out and tries to understand her, truly hears what she has to say and compliments her, says he's sorry and looks at things from her perspective.

Because he saw her when she was invisible.

Penelope Featherington, who grew up in a house that made cruel jabs at her, has Colin Bridgerton come to her and say he regrets what he said, and that he was wrong, and that he understands why she's mad at him. Penelope Featherington who has so rarely had much of anyone tell her that they're sorry for what they said about her, sits before Colin Bridgerton as he professes how much she means to him. That he cannot even spend a full day away from her knowing they're on bad terms with each other without making it right. That he sees how she is hurting and he has to in any way he can amend it. She is lonely, with no one really in her corner at the start of season 3, and she feels like she lost it all, and Colin comes to her and says 'no, I'm here and I appreciate you and you are special to me, please let me in and let me prove it'. Is it any wonder why after she shakes his hand, she stands in the sun, and she feels the warmth of it, she can smile? That she can breathe, again? That she can be truly content for the first time in the season?

Because Penelope Featherington does not want Colin to beg. She knows him. She knows the tender, full heart he hides behind the new cavalier persona. She knows the soft underbelly of Colin Bridgerton.

He never had to grovel. All he had to do was love her. Assuredly. Fervently. Loudly. Unapologetically.

And he does.

[luxe-pauvre]

Plus, humans are by nature “just a little bit gross,” McClain says. Like civets, musk deer, and whales, we shit, we secrete, we mate, and sometimes we vomit. But we also give birth and create beauty, and for McClain, it’s this life-giving ability that links blossoms and humans. “I think there is a depth to anything that is made of life and creates life. There’s something inherently sexual in that,” she says. “Even though something like civet will smell gross on its own, it adds an element of reality.” When layered properly with other olfactory delights, this can create an evocative smell, one that you want to return to, to interrogate with your nostrils the same way you might pore over a painting. Through layering pleasure on top of disgust, perfumers can create something that resembles life — exquisite, fleeting, and mysterious.

Katy Kelleher, The Ugly History of Beautiful Things: Perfume

[bonefall]

On the topic of Flight Rising (as a fellow FR enjoyer) I'm curious what flight(s) you've been in? If you dont want to share thats fair but it's interesting to hear peoples reasonings. I joined in the early days of sign up windows, didn't have internet and got put in Lightning by a friend who made the account for me. It has been years and years, don't even know that friend anymore and am still a die hard Spark.

I was actually a Light flight to begin with! Which is another thing that must be an Absolute Shocker, I'm sure. Girlboything who likes writing was in the flight well known for being full of weird writers.

My move was to the Wind flight because minty green is my favorite color. I do love the aesthetic of the wind, the kites, and the traveling, but I'm actually saving up gems to go to Earth next. I think I vibe the most with its lore, even though its scenery is a little uggo. I love how many cities are there, I love the idea of the crypts and the hidden treasures, preserving and documenting history.

I kinda wish you got a free flight change every like... 5 years. That's more than long enough to be fair I think. I've been playing since 2016 which is actually 8 years so... idk give me free flight change. let me out. im literally from the travel guys let me travel

[rolandkaros]

lol it’s a fucking joke. instead of actually going through with the trial and most likely being found guilty he’ll pay the tennis player equivalent of loose couch cushion change. and he’ll gain the rapport of a grand slam final and possibly title. and all these fans will think that means he’s been cleared. so cheers. great job everybody.