Let’s say you wanted to glue fabric to wood, but what do you use? What about glass to paper? This to That lets you choose two things you want to glue and lists what types of glue is best. (Because people have a need to glue things to other things!)
This is one of the first websites I was told about in props. It also has information about the toxicity, adhere time, price, and other stuff about the glues.
I used to be *good* at search. It was a whole thing - I found people's "lost songs" or their unknown-source childhood stuffed toy or whatever from Google.
Now, you can't search for the exact brand/design name of something and get accurate answers. It drives me spare on Amazon - if I search for XYZ and you don't have any, or you only have 2, tell me that.
I wouldn't mind if it said "Here are 2 XYZ. Shoppers also searched for..." Instead it'll just throw a random, barely-linked pile of results and you have to wade through every single one to see if the thing you want exists.
THIS. For ages I used to say that I had "high Google-Fu". I could find *anything* because I knew how to use strings to enhance searches. The string commands haven't even worked for well over a year or more, far before they put in this infernal (and often wrong!) AI BS on top.
I used to be able to search for recipes and easily eliminate unwanted ingredients with a -. For example I'd look for low-carb desserts but without the zillions that use peanut butter simply by searching for something like:
low carb chocolate dessert recipe -peanut
And I'd get a slew of on-point suggestions. For some time now if you do -peanut Google ignores the - and assumes you want recipes stuffed with peanuts.
Where it's even worse now is now you get directed to sites full of bogus AI recipes that don't even make sense. But they have peanuts in them.
I used to be able to use reverse image searches to find out who made that awesome art so I could give credit in my share. They've removed that ability entirely and replaced it with Lens, which is AI BS just showing you more like what you looked for. (Rebecca Watson complained about this in her recent video about JD Vance jizz cup rumours and I apologise for that sentence but...yeah. Watson is great, go find her on Youtube and subscribe because she went into detail about how Google has become less and less useful for debunking.)
This isn't just about Google inserting shopping ads instead of what you wanted to learn about. That's bad. But the results now are just *broken*. The tools we used to have to make searches better have been removed. Google no longer wants us to find the answers we seek, but the answers they want us to have, and that's super creepy and dangerous.
And the alternatives are either using Google in the back end or have other significant barriers to use.
This addon forces 'Verbatim' search on Google - removing all bs personalization and localization and letting you find results for what you type, not what Google thinks is in your head.
It also forces "Sort by Date" on Google News search.
In the flood of bad search results, I had forgotten about Google News giving me 2012 articles related to high-profile drama instead of whatever happened last month that I was actually looking for.
Animals of the Lunar Mansions: Black Tortoise (Part 2)
The 28 lunar mansions are a Chinese astronomical concept. Basically, they function like a zodiac for the moon, where the moon passes through a different mansion each day of the month. While India also has a concept of nakshatra, the asterisms are not strict equivalents.
The Chinese Lunar Mansions are aligned with seven "planets" of seven elements: Jupiter (wood), Venus (metal), Saturn (earth), Sun (light), Moon (darkness), Mars (fire), and Mercury (water). They also each have a guardian animal. The guardian animals are based on an expansion of the Chinese zodiac called the 36 Animals of the Hours (三十六禽). Days and hours were placed first in a cycle of 12, and then each unit was separated into three decans for a total cycle of 36, with an animal assigned to each decan. This system was used for divination, and then with the coming of Buddhism, for times of prayers. However, because there are only seven elemental planets, 8 animals were removed to leave a total of 28 animals for 28 mansions.
Each direction holds seven lunar mansions. Added together, they each form one mega-constellation. The constellation and guardian god of the North is The Black Tortoise (玄武/Xuanwu).
While the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger are the oldest Chinese constellations, being used to mark the changing seasons, in the modern day, the Black Tortoise is the most prominent. He is regularly worshiped in the personified form of 真武大帝/Great Emperor Zhenwu. He is a powerful guardian god that commands mighty demon-slaying troops. His bestial side is set aside as the Generals Snake and Turtle, which either stand at his side, or are placed under his feet.
Dipper/斗
Element: Wood
Guardian: Wood Goat-Unicorn (Xie) of the Dipper (斗木獬)
The Dipper asterism covers Kaus Borealis and other stars of the back half of the "teapot" of Sagittarius, as well as parts of Aquila and Telescopium. In Chinese Astronomy, Sagittarius is the Southern Dipper, not Ursa Minor. The Big Dipper and Polaris are considered the absolute center of the sky, while the more southward Sagittarius is the first among the Northern asterisms. The Southern Dipper controls the time of a person's birth, as opposed to the Northern Dipper, which controls the time of death. It is the second most important asterism in Chinese astrology. Obviously, it is an extremely auspicious star, controlling everything from lifespan to market profits to test scores. It represents the head of the tortoise. Like other wood element stars, it is a protective deity. Its personality is stubborn but demure, with a rigid sense of morality. The corresponding animal, as seen in the 36 Animals of the Hours, was originally a crab. However, the unwritten rule of the 28 Lunar Mansions is that animals in groups of Wood-Metal, Earth-Sun-Moon, and Fire-Water should resemble each other. Thus the assigned animal became the Xiezhi/獬豸. Xiezhi/獬豸 is a mythical single-horned creature which serves as a symbol of justice. It gained draconic traits in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but originally, it was a goat. The oldest way of writing Xiezhi is 解廌. The second part, Zhi/廌 means any sort of wild-goat, antelope, or goat-like animal, while the first part refers to a court summons. Thus the Xiezhi is a Trial Goat. According to legend, the earliest mode of judgement in China was Trial by Goat, an ordeal where a goat was led in front of conflicting parties, and the one the goat butted was the guilty one. Western Law has the Eagle of Justice, China has the Trial Goat. In time, this Trial Goat was mythologized into a unicorn creature. The Siberian Ibex and Tibetan Chiru are popular guesses for its real-life counterpart.
Stubby little Han Dynasty Xiezhi
Tibetan Chiru
Siberian Ibex
Wood Goat-Unicorn of the Dipper: First depiction from Liang Lingzan's Tang Dynasty copy of Zhang Sengyou's The 5 Stars and 28 Heavenly Abodes. Second from the 28 Asterism statues of Fucheng Jade Emperor Temple.
Ox/牛
Element: Metal
Guardian: Metal Ox of the Ox (牛金牛)
The Ox asterism is located in the "tail" of Capricorn, while also including stars from Lyra and Aquila. It is the location of the famous Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars, and while these lover gods have plenty of salacious myths, this post isn't about them. The Ox represents the tortoise's front limb. It is an unlucky star associated with toil and disease. Its god is a master healer and fortune-teller, but also a gossiper inclined to rile up crowds. Its associated animal is the ox, of course. In Chinese culture, oxen are known as beasts of burden, which is why overworked employees refer to themselves as "牛馬"/"Ox or horse". If someone is willing to "be an ox or a horse"/"做牛做馬", it means they're desperate enough to do anything or accept any type of work. However, oxen are also respected for their patience and loyalty. They pretty much are the farmer's best friend. On top of that, oxen are known to be stubborn and strong, but are also regarded as dimwitted, leading to phrases like "吳牛喘月"/"a buffalo panting at the moon", meaning someone panicking, and "對牛彈琴"/"playing the zither for a cow", meaning "casting pearls before swine".
Chinese Ox
Metal Ox of the Ox: First depiction from Liang Lingzan's Tang Dynasty copy of Zhang Sengyou's The 5 Stars and 28 Heavenly Abodes. Second from the 28 Asterism statues of Fucheng Jade Emperor Temple.
Girl/女
Element: Earth
Guardian: Earth Bat of the Girl (女土蝠)
The Girl asterism is located around Albali and other minor stars in Aquarius, as well as bits of Draco, Delphinus, and Cygnus. It derives its name from its shape, either similar to the character for "girl" or a silkworm rearing room. Its full name is 須女/Xunu, or "working girl". Traditionally, fieldwork was considered men's work, while harvesting silk and crafting textiles was women's work. It is not the location for the Weaving Girl star (Vega), but it functions as her assistant, being a patron of textiles, tailoring, and weddings. It represents the front of the tortoise's shell. It is an unlucky star. Its god is lustful and greedy, and is skilled in healing, fortune-telling, and lying. While the lunar mansion itself is unlucky, its animal, the bat, is a symbol of good luck. In Chinese, the bat is called 蝠/Fu, a homonym for the word for good luck. As a result, bat imagery is used as a good luck charm.
Bat
Earth Bat of the Girl: First depiction from Liang Lingzan's Tang Dynasty copy of Zhang Sengyou's The 5 Stars and 28 Heavenly Abodes. Second from the 28 Asterism statues of Fucheng Jade Emperor Temple.
(Don't ask me why neither resembles a typical working girl.)
Emptiness/虛
Element: Sun/light
Guardian Sun Mouse of Emptiness (虛日鼠)
The Emptiness asterism occupies stars in Aquarius and Equuleus, along with a few stars in Pisces Austrinus. The word 虛 means emptiness or weakness, but can also refer to a mound or ruin. Thus, this asterism is the inside of the tortoise's shell. It is an unlucky star associated with death and mourning. Its god knows all lucky and unlucky days. Its guardian animal is the mouse. The mouse is considered vermin and connected with theft, greed, cowardice, and villainy. "Thief's brows and rat's eyes"/"賊眉鼠眼" describes a person with a shifty appearance, and "as cowardly as a mouse"/"膽小如鼠" is used to describe cowards. However, mice can also be good luck charms, as they are believe to help the houses they inhabit hoard wealth. Chinese superstitions speak of how mice become swallows if they climb onto the roof and how swallows become mice if they enter the house. A mouse could also evolve into a bat if it studied the mystic arts or if it ate salt.
Mouse
Sun Mouse of Emptiness: First depiction from Liang Lingzan's Tang Dynasty copy of Zhang Sengyou's The 5 Stars and 28 Heavenly Abodes. Second from the 28 Asterism statues of Fucheng Jade Emperor Temple.
Roof/危
Element: Moon/darkness
Guardian: Moon Swallow of the Roof (危月燕)
The Roof asterism covers stars in Aquarius and the "head" of Pegasus, as well as stars in Cygnus and Cepheus. 危 originally meant a high ledge, as well as the fear associated from being on said ledge. Thus it evolved to mean a roof ridge, but the most common meaning is "danger". This asterism is the slope and back edge of the tortoise's shell. As indicated in the name, it is an unlucky star, associated with danger and disaster. Its god is a crybaby, but violent and stubborn. Its associated animal is the swallow. Like the bat and the mouse, the swallow is considered lucky while the asterism is not. Swallows are harbingers of spring and a symbol of joy. Ancient scholars believe they inspired the myth of 玄鳥/the Dark Bird, the protector of the Shang Dynasty.
Swallow
Moon Swallow of the Roof: First depiction from Liang Lingzan's Tang Dynasty copy of Zhang Sengyou's The 5 Stars and 28 Heavenly Abodes. Second from the 28 Asterism statues of Fucheng Jade Emperor Temple.
(Don't ask me why this one is a tiger-man)
Encampment/室
Element: Fire
Guardian: Fire Pig of the Encampment (室火豬)
The Encampment and the neighboring Wall used to be part of a single asterism, the Walled Room, which covered the "square" of Pegasus, but was separated into two asterisms to meet the need for 28 mansions. The modern asterism is half of Pegasus, also containing stars in Cassiopeia, Aquarius, Cetus, Pisces, and Pisces Austrinus. This mansion represents the back and tail of the tortoise, containing the sub-asterism 騰蛇/Flying snake. This snake is the very snake pictured as the Black Tortoise's tail. The Encampment is a lucky star. Its god speaks with a thundering voice and understands the transformations involved in the eight trigrams. Its associated animal is the pig. However, the earliest meaning of 豬 is a wild boar, a meaning it retains in Japanese, and in the 36 Animals of the Hours, the boar rules one decan of the Pig zodiac while the domestic pig rules another. The domestic pig has a reputation for stupidity and laziness, but is also a symbol of prosperity and fertility. The wild boar is renowned for its ferocity and strength.
Pig (boar)
Fire Pig of the Encampment: First depiction from Qiu Ying's Ming Dynasty imitation of Zhang Sengyou's The 5 Stars and 28 Heavenly Abodes. Second from the 28 Asterism statues of Fucheng Jade Emperor Temple.
Wall/壁
Element: Water
Guardian: Water Porcupine (or Badger) of the Wall (壁水貐)
The Wall and Encampment asterisms were once the same asterism, but later split in two. The current asterism occupies half of the Pegasus square, as well as stars in Andromeda, Cetus, and Pisces. Like its neighbor, it represents the tail of the tortoise. It is a lucky star. Its god is sensuous and familiar with every aspect of the entertainment industry, being a master flatterer and gambler. The associated animal found in the 36 Animals of the Hours was originally 玃/jue, a monkey or ape from the west of Sichuan. Typos caused the word to become 獗 or 獝, and in the Tangut kingdom of Western Xia, it became 猧, a breed of dog. Finally, around the Tang Dynasty, the animal 貐/yu was assigned to the lunar mansion. In the modern day, this animal tends to be confused with the mythical monster Yayu/窫窳, or the armadillo/犰狳, or even a fish/魚. However, in Tang Dynasty medical almanacs, this animal is clarified to be an abbreviation of 豲貐/huanyu, an archaic name for porcupine. In the modern day, a popular replacement for this confusing animal is the badger.
Porcupine
Badger
Water Porcupine of the Wall: First depiction from Qiu Ying's Ming Dynasty imitation of Zhang Sengyou's The 5 Stars and 28 Heavenly Abodes. Second from the 28 Asterism statues of Fucheng Jade Emperor Temple.
I always remember this moment because the soundtrack in the back goes *badump* like his heart is trying to cardiacally evade arrest every time he looks Johns way 😭
And then its whooshing silence every time he pans back to Irene…
It's so fun being an anime-only fan of witch hat and seeing Literally Every Fanart being orufrey because like given the information in the show so far I wouldn't even consider Olruggio a major character. Tartah has been more important to the plot by an order of magnitude by now. I swear the opening focuses on him so much just to remind watchers that he exists. I know he's important but in the way that an astronomer knows an astronomical entity exists only by the gravitational impact on visible objects. The meteorologists are forecasting a Category 9 Tragic Yaoi Event while I'm having a lovely sunny day on the beach. Fascinating experience, 10 out of 10
Being queer in a post colonial country sucks because in every family gathering you’re treated like the devil for breaking gender and romance constructs and then you look at your culture and religion centuries back and everyone’s androgynous mc guffin and taking it from the back
like this sentence from the introduction alone is fucking crazy. “approximately half of adults in the united states think that torture can be acceptable in counterterrorism.” what!
obsessed with the fact that hannibal is technically a horror show but half the fandom watches it like it’s a slowburn romcom with occasional cannibalism
Olruggio: I'm a gay man in a queerplatonic relationship. My partner is aroace. He's never told me, but he does not need to. He's not comfortable with touch, so we never kiss or have sex, but that's fine by me. It's not what matters at the end of the day, you know? We're in this until the end, sticking by each other's side through thick and thin. Do I want to kiss him or hold him sometimes? Of course, but everyone has boundaries, you gotta respect them. And honestly, I would not trade Qifrey for all the sex in the world.
Qifrey: Greetings, my name is Qifrey. I am a gay man, and every single day I am yearning
