A wild fan appeared! @distract-me-plz - Tumblr Blog

How do I get better at parsing through information?

Short answer: Be critical of the source of the information, and verify from more than one place.

Longer answer: Figure out if information on social media has any citation. If it seems to be a game of telephone where people repeat something that someone else on social media said (for example: someone in a short form video reading a Twitter thread or social media post), try to track down a source outside of that.

If it is something you see on a website, make sure that it is something with credibility and citations and not just someone's blog. If it is just a blog, find another source. If you can, read the study or primary source yourself.

If it is in a book or a journal article, that's a good sign. But make sure to check how old it is, because old enough scholarship may be disputed or outdated entirely.

Maybe the most important one: Try to remain aware of your own emotional investment. Do you like the thing you're reading because it is well-sourced or because the conclusion conforms with what you want to be true? Emotional investment is normal, but it is also a good sign to double-check that the information is also backed up elsewhere. And the opposite is also true: try not to reject information because you don't want it to be true.

kaiserin-erzsebet

Me: I don't really believe in gatekeeping a field where anyone can learn with enough work. The training we get in academia isn't impossible to self-teach.

Also me: The number of people calling themselves "historians" or pretending to educate about history on social media when they're just reading Wiki or telling you fun facts is way too high. The job title has meaning. You wouldn't call yourself a mathematician for knowing how to make your graphing calculator make graphs.

kaiserin-erzsebet

Do I want to add tags to this? No, it will reach my intended audience of "people who are tired of history fun fact Tik Tok videos" anyway

bnprime

i don’t think high level academia can be self-taught for most people. i think the disciplines and their traditions coalesced over centuries or millennia, through the work of dozens, or hundreds, or thousands a careful thinkers scraping away and adding to the traditions. which isn’t to say that the traditions are universally good. there’s a lot of unnecessary. there’s a lot of bad. there’s a lot of unhelpful. but there’s also some good and necessary steps that build people into discipline experts which is more than just “remembering fun facts from wikipedia.” some rare people do exist who can quietly and patiently use the books to shape themselves into academics without the system. but they are so rare.

kaiserin-erzsebet

That is actually exactly what I meant by it not being impossible. Thank you for putting it well.

There is a rare person or two who actually can do all the reading and engage with the theory and match the rigor of academia. But they do have to recognize the level of work necessary first and then do it.

lotusdumpling

My favorite pastime is taking two characters that canonically don’t like each other, shipping them because they don’t like each other, then liking it so much I forget they don’t like each other.

distract-me-plz

I’m back after a year because I got a need for rusprus out of fucking nowhere

I was enjoying being in the JoJo fandom tf happened in my brain

thatswhywelovegermany

Rhabarberbarbaras leckerer Rhabarberkuchen

Zutaten Mürbeteig

250 g Mehl

130 g Butter oder Margarine

1 EL Milch

100 g Zucker

2 Eigelb

1 Prise Salz

Zutaten Belag

500 g Rhabarber

1 EL Butter oder Margarine

100 g fein zerbröselter Biskuit oder Semmelbrösel / Paniermehl

140 g Zucker

1 reife Banane

1 Ei

etwas Hagelzucker

Aus dem Mehl, dem kalten, in Stücke geschnittenen Fett, Milch, Zucker, Eigelb und Salz schnell einen glatten Teig kneten, in Frischhaltefolie einschlagen und mindestens 30 Minuten kühl stellen.

Rhabarber waschen, wenn nötig die Haut abziehen, in ca. 1 cm lange Stücke schneiden. Das Fett schmelzen, mit den Biskuit- oder Semmelbröseln und dem Zucker vermischen.

Teig aus dem Kühlschrank nehmen und in drei gleich schwere Stücke teilen. Ein Drittel dünn ausrollen und damit den Boden einer Springform auslegen. Mit dem zweiten Drittel den Rand der Springform auslegen. Den Boden mit der Hälfte der Bröselmischung bestreuen.

Banane schälen, in 1 cm dicke Scheiben schneiden. Bananen- und Rhabarberstücke gleichmäßig auf dem Boden verteilen, dann die restlichen Brösel darüber streuen.

Ofen auf 225 °C vorheizen.

Das letzte Drittel des Teigs zwischen zwei Lagen Frischhaltefolie dünn ausrollen. Dann die Folie auf einer Seite abziehen, den Teig wenden und über die Springform legen und die Folie auf der anderen Seite abziehen. Den Teigdeckel am Teigrand festdrücken.

Das Ei verquirlen und die Teigoberfläche damit bestreichen. Dann die Oberfläche ein paar Mal mit einer Gabel einstechen. Zum Schluss etwas Hagelzucker auf die Oberfläche streuen.

Im Ofen auf der unteren Schiene ca. 25 min backen. Dann 10 min auskühlen lassen und vorsichtig von der Springform lösen.

Beim Genießen die Geschichte von Rhabarberbarbara auswendig lernen.

Rhubarb Barbara’s delicious Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients for the dough

250 g flour

130 g butter or margarine

1 tablespoon of milk

100 g sugar

2 egg yolk

1 pinch of salt

Ingredients for the topping

500 g rhubarb

1 tablespoon of butter or margarine

100 g finely biscuits ground to crumbs, or breadcrumb

140 g sugar

1 ripe banana

1 egg

some coarse sugar

Make a shortcrust dough from the flour, the cold fat cut into pieces, milk, sugar, egg yolk and salt, wrap in cling foil and plac into the fridge for at least 30 min

Wash rhubarb, peel if necessary, cut into approx. 1 cm long pieces. Melt the fat and mix with the biskuit or breadcrumb and the sugar.

Take the dough out of the fridge and divide into three equal pieces. Roll out one third thinly and cover the bottom of a spring form with it. Use the second third to cover the rim of the spring form. Cover the bottom with one half of the crumb mix.

Peel the babana, cut into 1 cm thick pieces. Distribute banana and rhubarb pieces evenly on the bottom, then distribute the remaining crumb mix over it.

Pre-heat the oven to 225 °C.

Roll out the last third of the dough thinly between two layers of cling foil. Remove the upper cling foil, turn the dough upside-down and place it over the spring form. Then remove the other cling foil and gently press the dough lid onto the dough rim to fix it.

Scramble the egg and coat the upper dough layer with it. Prick the upper layer a few times with a fork. Finally, sprinkle some of the coarse suger on top.

Bake in the oven on the bottom shelf for approx. 25 min. Then let cool for 10 min and loosen the cake carefully from the springform.

Enjoy while trying to memorize Rhubarb Barbara’s story in German.

Bonus: Brit in Germany hilariously struggles through the story of Rhabarberbarbara

sciencebelongstoallofus

Maki Naro @ The Nib

lexolearnus

Signal boost!

thatswhywelovegermany

This not a genuinely German / Germany topic. But I reblog it anyway. The anti-vaccination movement has also caught on in Germany to such an extent that is one of the developed countries that is going to make the attempt to wipe out measles fail.

It has been the case that the influence of anti-vaccination activist parents in child care facilities has caused the immunization rate to drop to such low levels that these facilities have become hot spots of the disease, putting life and health of siblings too young to be vaccinated at risk. The German policy of trying to wipe out measles without forcing immunizations is on the brink of failing.

distract-me-plz

Although the little flying needle person is pretty creepy, this comic is spot on.

archive-snowbunny

The Soviet Files: Loyalty

-June 16th, 1953-

There was unrest and anger in the streets, and Prussia could not deny any of it. All the government’s assurances that this would be nothing more than passing strikes were ringing more and more hollow.

After the strikes and protests had begun to grow, Prussia felt a growing discomfort with himself. He had promised Russia that he would be loyal, and that he would never waver in his support of their cause. But, as he looked out of the window and saw the rabid unrest, he was torn.

Keep reading

#aph ruspru #prussia x russia #ruspru #rusprus #russia x prussia #ropu #snowbunny

ahoge-sensei-deactivated2014121

i was snooping around on Himaruya’s blog, and i found something that’s really convenient for you hetalia fanart-ers.

so apparently, Hima-papa made a eye color-hair color chart thing for most of the Hetalia countries~

and then i found this:

can someone please explain what that is. it looks like mochi mitosis.

askimperialludwig

You obviously miss Gilbert, but what do you miss most about him?

“I hate still making him responsible for my wellbeing, he doesn’t deserve that on top of everything. But I just– miss his support, so badly. As if I were still a child.“

[1985 Takeover]

thatswhywelovegermany

German National Monuments (X): Deutsches Eck (German Corner), Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate

The headland where the rivers Mosel and Rhine join as been decorated with a giant equestrian statue of emperor Wilhelm I. in 1897. It has become the landmark of the city of Koblenz and a major tourist attraction. The statue itself is 14 m tall, the whole memorial 37 m.

After world war I., the rhineland was first occupied by the USA, then by France. When the last French troops left in 1929, tens of thousands of people gathered at the monument to see the German flag rise again. About half a year later, the ceremony was repeated when Reich President Paul von Hindenburg visited Koblenz. Again, masses of people gathered and eventually caused a desaster: A ponton bridge collapsed, killing 38 people.

The monument survived the repeated bombings of Koblenz and remained intact until the very last phase of the war. In the last days of the war, it was hit by an American artillery shell, toppeled over and remained hanging down towards the Rhine. American troops suspected that German soldiers were hiding inside. People came to steal some of the valuable copper. As soon as possible under the chaotic circumstances, the remains were removed, other smaller statues were stolen. Some of them appeared decades later from private collections.

It was discussed to remove the base as well, but it was decided to leave it as a memorial to the lost German unity, carrying the German flag on top of the empty base.

Two years before the German reunion, an initiative had formed aiming to recreate the equestrian statue, but their request was turned down by the government of Rhineland-Palatinate, which owns the property, although more than 80 % of the residents of Koblenz approved of a reconstruction.

After the German reconstruction, however, the function of the empty base had lost its meaning and the government finally agreed to a reconstruction of the statue. But one year later, the government had changed from a conservative CDU-led administration to a social democratic one led by the SPD. They wanted to pull out of the deal, causing a heated debate whether the emperor cult was still timely. Finally, the state government pulled out of the affair by donating the area to the city of Koblenz. Meanwhile, the new statue was finished and had arrived at the port of Koblenz. The city council agreed to take over the cost for the renovation and reinforcement of the base. In 1993, the new statue was finally lifted on top of the base using Europe’s biggest mobile crane. The reinforcement of the base was necessary because the new statue is no longer made from thin plates, but from cast bronze pieces stitched together, which makes it much heavier than the original. To commemorate the German division, three pieces of the Berlin Wall were placed next to the memorial.

kaiserin-erzsebet

My Prussia Fics in Chronological Order

Birth Right

Child King

Midnight Duet

Weine nicht um mich

Imperial Ambitions

A Winter of Possibilities

Unification (Prologue, Chapter 1)

Warning Shots

Precipice of Oblivion

distract-me-plz

reblogging so I can read ALL OF THEM when I have time.

weeb-kat

Don’t let you New Years distract you from the fact it’s Jojo Day

littleartistthings-a

A product of extensive reading on Brandenburg-Prussia. Decided to finally draw what Mr. Brandenburg looks like in my head and I really do think he was Gilbert’s big brother figure in his life. He gave Gilbert the foundation to be great, the same way Prussia would do later for little Ludwig - AGH PARALLELS JUST MURDER ME ;w;

Plus, have Gilbert carrying his little Crown Prince Fritz on his shoulders on the side. :)

#aph prussia #aph brandenburg #hetalia

fujo

SenshiStock’s gallery consists of millions of pictures that are free to use as reference.

General Drawing Poses Sit and Kneel Dramatic and Reaching Drawing Poses Magic and Hogwarts Drawing Poses Staff Weapon Pose Reference Hammer, Axe and Bat Pose Reference Sword Weapon Drawing Reference Small Bladed Weapon Pose Reference Gun Weapon Pose Reference Bow and Arrow Archery Stock Foreshortening and Perspective Poses Dynamic Flying Falling Action Poses Deafeated or Laying Drawing Poses Magic Crystal Magical Girl Wand Weapon Transformations and Dance Cards Back Pose Reference Pin Up Inspired Poses for Drawing Performances Poses Life in General Poses Fights and Fighting Pose Reference Leaning Poses Classic Sailor Senshi Poses Wings Sailor Moon Villains Pairs Romance or Couples Pose Reference All the Male Stock Hanging Stock Drawing Reference Three or More Groups Instruments Mirrors Whip Technobabble

dogstickz-deactivated20161113

THIS IS A LIFE SAVER

lithefider

One of my fav reference sources!

jamesgrim-me

Oh… I’m gonna use these.

ellawritesficssometimes

APH England

APH Australia

APH America

APH Germany & Prussia

APH Netherlands

athenastudying-deactivated20220

Hi 💕 How are you? Could you please share some a) secrets of the German language b) best ways to learn the German language c) the greatest way to keep going, not feeling sad and frustrated when you're 1. Trying to speak and can't make the words go out because your brain is -blank- 2. Looking forward more vocabulary and don't know where to find a lot of it 3. Understanding the whole grammar situation. Sorry for the long ask, I just have a lot of questions 🙎

Hi! I’m well, thank you! Let’s tackle your questions - I’ll make this ask my future reference ask for any questions I get about German, so I’ll try to be thorough. Also thanks for your outline, makes things a lot easier for me haha!

German

A.) Secrets of the German Language

Let’s start with the linguistic secrets-that-are-not-really-secrets:

German is a Germanic language (surprise!) with about 95 million native speakers, mainly in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It’s estimated that there are around 220 million German speakers worldwide.

More specifically, German is a West-Germanic language, meaning that the languages most closely related to German are Dutch, Afrikaans, and English. (Yes, English.)

Austrian German, Swiss German, and “German” German are all referred to as German, but I think you’ll find that even though they (mostly) adhere to the same grammar rules, they sound very different and also differ slightly in vocabulary. Here’s a video in Austrian German, one in Swiss German, and the German news from yesterday, and of course each has many many different dialects in itself. We can communicate with each other if all parties make an effort towards mutual understanding. If not, then… not.

German is a fusional language, meaning that one morpheme (e.g. a case ending or a verb ending) carries several bits of information, e.g. about number, tense, case, and/or mode. For native English speakers, the inflections will be the most unknown part to learn as English hardly inflects at all (basically no cases, no verb endings, nothing. :(. )

For more secrets, see this post I wrote about what German is really like.

B.) Best Ways To Learn the German Language

There’s no single best way, but there are several approaches you can take (this goes for any foreign language tbh). Things to consider:

Is your native language or a language you’re already proficient in related to German? Native Dutch speakers will have it comparatively easy in vocabulary. If you know Latin, German grammar holds no more secrets for you.

Are you an apt foreign language learner? The more foreign languages you’ve already learnt, the easier it gets because you know how to use resources, what to look for in grammar and what your preferred learning strategies are.

Are you motivated and, to some degree, disciplined? If you just love German and really have the drive to learn it, you won’t get bored or frustrated as easily as someone who’s forced to learn it.

Things that might help, especially in the beginning:

Immersion. I made a whole post about this, but the mantra is always the same: Even if you don’t understand anything in the beginning, just being surrounded by as much German as you can will help you loads. Listen to German music or news or TV, watch German movies or shows, read German books/German translations of your favourite books, use German recipes, switch your phone and Laptop to German etc etc.

Get a Grammar Book. I found that this helped me most with my foreign languages. Having a grammar reference on hand is extremely valuable, and there are many awesome German inflection tables waiting for you!

Get a Textbook. You don’t have to do every single task and exercise in it, but it helps you to choose what to tackle next, and often provides you with texts specifically made for your level. If you’re a beginner, get one that says “A1″ on it (or, you know, “for beginners”).

Talk and Write. I know it sucks in the beginning because you don’t know the right words and everything sounds stupid, but it’s the only way to slowly become more comfortable with a new language and get out of the passive-language-learner-zone. Consuming (e.g. reading and listening) is much easier than producing (writing and speaking), and your goal is to do both equally well. I’m not saying you should write essays and prepare parliament speeches - just talk to yourself and write a couple sentences a day about whatever you like.

C.) Motivation and Resources for…

1. Trying to Speak

Don’t fear the dialects. Germans are capable of speaking in a way you’ll understand, especially if they know you’re not a native speaker. They’ll make the effort because you’re making one too!

You can mess up. We’re able to just deduce what you mean most of the time, even if your cases or sentence structure or noun genders are a bit messed up. Not even Germans are always in agreement of which gender or participle form is the correct one, and we can still talk to each other.

There are only 5 German sounds that don’t exist in English, which really isn’t that many: r, ö, ü, and two realisations of /ch/. (English also has sounds that German doesn’t have, e.g. /th/ and /w/, so it’s all fair.)

German is pronounced as it’s written. There are no weird though/through/tough and read/read situations. The only slightly inconvenient things are unmarked syllable breaks, but you won’t have to worry about those in the beginning and at some point you’ll just have a feeling for where they are.

For Resources: learn IPA, listen to news in slow German, discover some German youtubers, music, shows and movies. And talk to native speakers (or message them).

Listen to some people who can speak German: Sandra Bullock, Diane Kruger, Heidi Klum, for example, or Chris Pratt (he’s the best celebrity non-native speaker of German I’ve heard so far).

2. Trying to Find Vocabulary

As above, get a textbook with a good vocabulary section.

Look up everything you need. It’s the best way to learn words you actually use. Just write a little paragraph about your day or whatever you like regularly, and look up everything you don’t know.

German has extremely productive compounding, meaning you can just combine two or three or fifteen words to make a new one and everyone will understand it even if you’re the first person to ever come up with a combination. It’s fun and easy!

Read books. Especially one’s you already know because then you can just guess the meaning of words from the context. Every international bestseller has been translated into German, and we have some pretty good originals as well (Grimm’s fairytales, for example).

3. Trying to Understand the Grammar Situation

If you know Latin, don’t worry about German grammar. You’ll have heard it all before.

If you don’t, don’t worry either. Many people have learnt it, so you can too! Familiarise yourself with the terminology (verb, noun, declension, conjugation, numerus/genus/tempus etc) and keep your grammar book nearby. Don’t despair after two days.

Here’s a post I wrote about the case sytem, why we have it, and some basic explanations.

Some things are not as important as others for communication. As I said above, we’ll understand you even if you make mistakes. Begin with the essentials like verb tenses and person, and singular and plural. Whether or not you know how to correctly invert the sentence order in causal subordinate clauses isn’t that important. (We basically don’t use future tenses at all in spoken German.)

Sentence structure in German is very free because of all the cool inflections, so there aren’t as many rules as in English on where to put which object. There are certain rules and things that “sound weird” to native speakers, but we’ll still get it. Don’t worry.

Any more questions or on the brink of despair with a vocab/grammar problem? Send me an ask. I’ll do my best. :)