#wikipedia rabbit hole

[burningvelvet]

reading about edmund curll, an important figure in erotic literature, and didn't know i was about to stumble across the most chaotic wikipedia page ever... i love historical literary drama

critics have always been the same

and of course where there is 1700s literary drama, alexander pope is always involved. no wonder byron idolized him and was involved in a seven-year long public debate concerning him... honoring him the way he'd like to be remembered (see: the pope-bowles controversy). don juan rly was a tribute to him. we need a series about the restoration era (behn/wilmot/dryden/etc) & of course the young romantics (byron/shelleys/keats/etc) and now we also need the augustan era (pope/montagu/now curll, etc.). someone please pplease please let me do an anthology series (in the vein of ahs or black mirror) about literary communities throughout history already!

cartoonish levels of opportunistic behavior. manipulating every situation to work in his favor like a sitcom character...

the most informative thing i've learned from edmund curll's wiki page is that in the 1700s, the name of the U.S. state "maryland" inspired a whole genre of erotica novels based on puns of the idea of a "[woman's name]-land," as evidenced by "bettyland." staples of the genre included colonization as a metaphor for patriarchal sexual conquest, & erotic descriptions of the female body which borrow from descriptions of natural landscape. much to think about re: postcolonial feminism - this quite literally proves the idea that colonization is inherently patriarchal

[synovialmatcha]

i’ll never get over how helen fielding saw the 1995 series of pride and prejudice and fangirled over colin firth as mr darcy so hard that she decided to write bridget jones’s diary loosely based on the plot of p&p and make the love interest named mark darcy and describe him exactly like colin firth and then he found out about it and agreed to play that character in the movies

[arcsin27]

So I was browsing the wikipedia list of lgbt video game characters as one does and

Ladies and gentlemen

We got em

[lilyminer]

Sometimes I like to go down internet rabbit holes about the lives of various interesting writers. Nothing scholarly, just blogs and Wikipedia, just picking through scraps of info. I start with an author I’m familiar with, I see “their openly gay friend ______” and one thing leads to another and I’m reading an entire Wikipedia page, fascinated, and come across something like this:

Damn, one minute I’m reading normal life stuff the next I get to learn that gay poet W.H. Auden entered a marriage of convenience with a bisexual lady because the fucking Nazis were after her!? Then ya know, I gotta read about her and then her whole anti-Nazi social group seems interesting and- . . . Yeah, you can see how this turns into a rabbit hole.

[hrair-metal]

In the horror franchise "Chucky," the voice of the titular haunted doll is the actor who played Grima Wormtongue in the LoTR franchise.

His name is Brad Dourif, born 1950 and 1 of 6 siblings, whose father died in 1953. His mother then got remarried to William C. Campbell, a Princeton grad, a WWII vet, and a 6'4" professional golfer.

I say "professional," because at least one Wikipedia page labeled him as such but more because he stated he never liked the idea of going pro. Instead, he ran his family's insurance firm for almost more than 50 years and did a whole bunch of public service roles while dabbling in politics.

More accurately, he was the one of the most distinguished amateur golfers of all time. He qualified for 19 Masters Tournaments and played in 18 of them from 1941-1977. In '56 he earned the Bob Jones award and in '90 inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Guy was accomplished.

He was also from Huntington, West Virginia.

You know who else is from Huntington? The McElroy brothers.

You know, the ones with the segment called "Haunted Doll Watch?"

Like Chucky?

Who was voiced by the actor who played Grima Wormtongue in the LoTR franchise.

His name is Brad Dourif, born 1950 and 1 of 6 siblings, whose father died in 1953. His mother then got remarried to William C. Campbell, a Princeton grad, a WWII vet, and a 6'4" professional golfer.

[laurenfoxmakesthings]

I was looking up Atlantis since the last* Man From C.A.M.P. novel had Atlantis (and I will include it in my book in a different way), and I stumbled upon...something.

See, I want the world of my book to balance in between plausible and implausible, and so sometimes I worry if I'm being too unrealistic (even with making Atlantis as the ceiling of believability for my Agents of C.A.M.P. series). And then reality goes 'no, I'm that weird, libertarians tried to make their own capitalist Atlantis'.

[an-actual-attack-helicopter]

Just went down a mildly interesting Wikipedia rabbit hole. Would like to report it so it doesn’t feel completely pointless.

Heard the song “Hold me Forever” in wwdits and thought it was cool. Saved it.

Heard the song “Field” by Evgeny Grinko and saved it.

Noticed that the melodies in both of these songs are literally the same and assumed it was a classic case of old tunes being repurposed in modern music.

Found that this melody is from Polyushka Polye, a Soviet army song. Also the tune is apparently used in Cast Away and many other pieces of media.

Anyway apparently his definitely not famous composer pal Shostakovich wasn’t a fan of this piece. Whatever.

Ok but bro get this:

“Knipper continued to compose during the Second World War, though much of his time was devoted to extensive travel for the NKVD, which he continued to serve until 1949. According to secret intelligence documents released in 2002, Knipper and his wife were to play a key role if the Nazis should capture Moscow: Under the elaborate plan, ballerinas and circus acrobats were armed with grenades and pistols and ordered to assassinate German generals if they attempted to organize concerts and other celebrations upon taking the city. Knipper was personally charged with the responsibility of killing Adolf Hitler if he got the opportunity, an opportunity the NKVD suspected might arise due to Knipper's sister, Olga, having social connections with high-ranking Nazis, including Hermann Göring.”

Ballerinas tossing grenades. What a vibe. Such bimbocore.

“Knipper was prolific. He wrote 5 operas (including one on The Little Prince), 20 symphonies, ballets, pieces for piano and other film musics.”

Might continue this rabbit hole if I feel like it.

[thepartyponies]

autogyros are so weird

[sharkthinker]

conclave and the terror sharing a director makes a lot of sense if you think about it bc they both occupy the same niche ..... bitchy workplace politics and miserable old men finding yaoi in some of the most awful inhospitable places on earth (the arctic) (the vatican)

[holocyclic]

went down a wikipedia rabbit hole about plants in the genus Solanum

For those who aren't horticulturally inclined, Solanum includes the fan-favorites tomato, potato, and eggplant.

HOWEVER it also contains an assortment of species with the funniest common names I have ever heard in my entire goddamn life.

some of them start out cute and fun, such as

It gets a little more cursed from there...

Most species of Solanum are quite toxic, being in the nightshade family, which explains the following

and then, of course, there's this:

[websurfingspider]

So I was looking at a timeline of food history on Wikipedia and--

Like, 10 out of 10 excellent decision making on Canada's part, but why such a quick (and harsh) judgement? What happened in little baby margarine's 17 short years of life to incite Canada's wrath?

[crawthornsharkinson]

Had a very autistic one this evening

I got distracted by this and missed the rugby

[sboochi]

sooooo what's this new fic idea you have in mind? 👀

*Twirls hair*

Soooo are you familiar with the myth of Eros and Psyche?

I was playing around with this idea a while ago, but only recently it clicked when I thought...... what if I combined it with Norse mythology instead of Greek

Basically Hiccup is brought by Jack to his house (for.... ReasonsTM) away from Midgard, for his own safety

The most interesting factor to me is that Hiccup can't ever look at Jack, cue fun scenes where Hiccup has banters with an invisible entity

...until it's night time and ooops to get back to a physical form and sleep Jack has to become visible again, and the problem is that for plot reasons Hiccup can't know who he is

So they form a weird dynamic: Hiccup trusts that Jack is protecting him and not lying, Jack trusts Hiccup to not open his eyes when he's visible

And...... you know where this is going if you know the myth hehehe

[crown-of-everest]

Paralysis

[fuzzytheduck]

wait do reform Jews not recognize kohanim??

[grand-theft-carbohydrates]

Ye Olde Historical Leader: i really like the cut of that guy's jib! Make him the HORSE MAN.

Henchman From the Old English hengest, meaning "horse", notably stallion. Loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Originally referred to one who attended a horse for his employer.

Constable from the Latin comes stabuli (literally 'count of the stable') and originated from the Roman Empire; originally responsible for keeping the horses of a lord or monarch.

Field marshal  Second most senior military rank. Origin dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses (from Old German Marh-scalc = "horse-servant").

司馬" (sima) Eastern Han dynasty China. One of the Three Excellencies who is in charge of the country's military affairs.  Literally means "master of horse", and later became a two-character surname.