gemini, 27, AuDHD is a bitch, she/her, bi-ace, Chile🇨🇱, this is a personal blog so you'll find only random shit and things like that so.... enjoy I guess (header by bispiders)
that "pear shaped" is an idiom meaning "something has gone wrong" is a scathing indictment of the british people, and their lack of proper respect and appreciation for a "thick bitch"
As someone who’s been learning to throw pots on a wheel lately, I read that and thought, ‘Ha! You’d call a cockup pear-shaped, too, if you’d ever had a pot get a torque twist and go from lovely cylinder to fat-bottomed mess!’ And then I realised that was too perfect to be a coincidence and looked it up and that is 100% the probable origin of that phrase.
washing dishes is evil because you go "oh fuck there's so many dishes this is gonna take foreverrr" and then you enter the dish abyss and emerge with your abdomen somehow covered in water and your hands all wrinky and then you look at the clock and what felt like half an hour was actually 10 minutes
I won't publish the ask (they asked me not to), but I thought I'd still answer it publicly!
no, royalties are not a significant source of income for most authors. if you wrote something like Project Hail Mary, then absolutely, the royalties would be substantial! but that's like winning the lottery. Ryan Gosling is not starring in the movie adaption of most books.
when you sell a book to a publisher, you get what's called 'an advance against royalties'. it's usually split into multiple parts, so you might get one third for the initial sale, one third for the final revised manuscript, and one third on the publishing date.
an advance against royalties is the publisher saying "we believe you will eventually make X amount in royalties, so here it is ahead of time." and then you don't actually see any money from royalties until the advance is paid off. most books do not make enough in royalties to pay off the advance (I have two children's books and one fiction book, and have yet to see royalties for any of them).
advances are still great, but you need to make them stretch! for instance, last year my net income was about 30k Canadian (21k USD), which is fantastic when you consider that I mostly made it through writing. but I'm definitely not a millionaire. I can live off my writing (not trying to undersell that!) but I'll probably remain in a low income bracket for the foreseeable future.
this isn't meant to discourage anyone from seeking out writing as a career! however, there is a reason that many authors have alternate jobs with writing on the side. or, you know, rich spouses.
this isn't me making a fuss about pirating (I've pirated way too many shows to run my mouth on that lmao), but there IS actually a financial incentive to having people buy your books!
buying books shows the publisher that they can make money off you, which means they're more likely to give you advances for future books. and advances are what authors live off (if they don't have a side job). that's why I always push pre-orders so hard! you have to be a racehorse worth betting on, or else they send you to the glue factory....
if I can offer one alternative to pirating: asking your library to stock the book also helps authors, and doesn't cost anything. the only downside is the patience required.
OOPS yes, @stjohnstarling makes a good point! everything I'm saying is from the perspective of traditional publishing, but it's a very different game if you're a self-published author
I will also add that this is why pre-orders can make a HUGE difference to authors - because if there's enough hype, publishers can pull more levers to build that momentum and reach more readers to help authors earn out their advance faster.
sometimes i see takes about arthur’s behaviour toward merlin being this uniquely specific thing he only does for merlin but it’s like . he literally does this for everyone he loves. that’s just his personality, he is just built like that. he would do this for anyone he loves. he literally DOES do crazy shit just as quickly for gwen and lancelot too. and this trait of his is actually more interesting than making it about one ship but here we are :///
“Here’s a letter for you, old man,” I announced as I sifted through the morning post one grey day in October. “Not a lot else, I’m afraid.”
Holmes folded down the top of the newspaper he was reading so he could see me. “A letter from whom?”
“Not sure.” I turned it over to study it as best I could. The envelope was thick and expensive, postmarked from America. The ink was rich and black, and it smelled unexpectedly floral, with an odd sulphuric note underneath. “Looks to be a woman’s writing, I’d say.”
“If you would.” He held out a pale hand. I passed him the envelope and he neatly sliced it open with his pocket knife. A single page slipped out onto his breakfast plate. He unfolded it with a flick of his wrist, then smiled. “Ah! Morticia.”
“Morticia?”
“Addams. She is my second cousin.”
I was immediately intrigued, for Holmes so rarely talked about his relatives. It had taken several years after our meeting for him to bring up the subject of his elder brother, who lived and worked barely an hour’s walk away. I wasn’t surprised that a second cousin in America had gone unnoted until now.
“Unusual names run in the family, I see.”
Holmes smirked. “Her grandmother was my great-aunt Séraphine, who met and married a quite singular gentleman named Algernon Frump while travelling. They settled over in the States many years ago, and dear Morticia now resides there with her husband.”
“Why does she write you?”
“She is arranging a sort of family reunion on All Hallow’s Eve. Apparently it has been far too long since we have all seen each other.”
“How long is that?”
“Several years at least. It was certainly before you and I met.”
“And will you oblige her?”
“I suppose I will.” He folded the letter and placed it neatly back in its envelope, tucking it into his inside pocket. “You’ve been angling for a holiday, my boy. Would this satisfy you?”
“Wouldn’t it be terribly rude?” I asked, startled. “She has invited you, not me.”
He tutted. “Nonsense, Watson! Morticia knows we live together, of course.”
“How?”
“She will have read your book.”
“Oh! Well that is kind of her. But a family reunion, Holmes, I am not—”
“You are my partner and intimate friend. I assure you there are members of the Addams clan with far more tenuous connections, and many of them also of no blood relation. You will not be out of place, and they will be glad to meet you.”
I'm sure I've reblogged this with an addition something to this tune before, but I'll do it again because this is one of my favourite dance videos of all time!
This very talented group is Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, a performing group of professional swing dancers formed by Herbert "Whitey" White in the late 1920s. The group toured internationally and appeared in several films and Broadway theatre productions. This video is from the 1941 musical comedy film Hellzapoppin'. You can find the full clip here.
Among the dancers featured here are Norma Miller, who became the youngest member of the group at the age of 14, Al Minns, who frequently partnered with another man (Leon James) during the 50s and 60s to promote their dances on TV, and Frankie Manning, a choreographer who had a very influential role in the Lindy Hop revival.
Most social swing dancing doesn't involve aerials, but - as should be fairly evident from the video - these are professionals who are very good at what they do and are absolutely going to flaunt their skills. It's hard to find a group as well renowned as Whitey's; in the world of swing, these people are legends.
also another meaning for this art: as a black person especially, I won't let anyone tell me to my face that we need to handle things "peacefully" we got our rights in the first place by physically fighting for it. I hope every other minority understands.
before anyone else has a clearly ignorant opinion, the reason this quote is said is because libs have a history of not only being complicit in the oppression of minorities, but the reason Malcolm x said they are worse is not because he's hypocritical but because they lore minorities in with promises only to fail us miserably and prop themselves up more. it's a false promise. to be a better ally you stay committed to the voices.
I am hoping that this is some sort of exaggeration or oversimplification because this is just blatant erasure of a major element of Greek culture and replaced by a more Christian version and I want to bang my head into a wall. That’s not what xenia is, and you just erased a major part of the Odyssey.
@watchanddream Sure! This got a bit lengthier than I intended, but I wanted to try and be thorough.
Put far too simply, xenia is the practice of hospitality, but it's also a ritual and in a sense a contract between guest and host. When a stranger arrives at your doorstep, you're expected to feed them and give them a gift as the host. Typically, you're not even supposed to ask them their name until they've finished their meal. Once you've done this as the host, the guest is now expected to share stories and information about themselves, and not burden you or your household. Typically, people focus on how hosts violate xenia, but guests can also violate xenia.
This is called a guest-friendship, and once it's established, you are expected to offer the same to your host should they ever visit. It's a ritual of hospitality, yes, but it's also used to establish alliances and can be passed down through generations. For example, in the Iliad, when Glaucus and Diomedes discover that their grandparents were guest-friends, they decide not to fight, but rather exchange armor.
Theoxeny is a common story you see in myth where a god (typically Zeus) disguises themselves as a mortal and requests to be hosted by someone. Should the host follow the rules of xenia, they'll be rewarded, but if they fail, they'll be punished or killed.
This is important to the Odyssey, as it comes up multiple times, but in particular, the cyclops, and the suitors. In both these instances, Odysseus arrives disguised and gives a false name, the practices of xenia are failed, and Odysseus reveals himself and punishes the one that failed to follow xenia. The suitors in particular fail xenia, as they both fail as hosts, AND as guests, for burdening Odysseus's household.
Xenia being treated as the golden rule comes across to me like a Christian reinterpretation, as while many Greek philosophers did have something similar to the golden rule, those were philosophers, and the idea that it's a religious command from a god seems much more in line with a Christian idea of where the rule comes from. (Note, I'm aware that other religions had something similar, even as a command from a god, but I highly doubt Nolan is drawing inspiration from those instances)
I got a job at a gas station across from a casino and a guy keeps coming in to buy whole cartons of cigarettes and talks in the third person calling himself "snake eyes pete" and every time I tell him his total hes like "tell ya what if old Pete rolls a snake eyes why dont you give it to him for free?" and he rolls the same set of loaded dice on the counter and it does not matter how many times he rolls snake eyes I will not give him the cartons for free he gets so mad
I got a job at a gas station across from a casino and a guy keeps coming in to buy whole cartons of cigarettes and talks in the third person calling himself "snake eyes pete" and every time I tell him his total hes like "tell ya what if old Pete rolls a snake eyes why dont you give it to him for free?" and he rolls the same set of loaded dice on the counter and it does not matter how many times he rolls snake eyes I will not give him the cartons for free he gets so mad
Damian, raising his eyebrow, unimpressed: What about them?
Jon: Well, you know a lot about them so...
Damian: Spit it out, dancing around the subject, as you are, is unbecoming!
Jon: Th-Theres a guy I really really like and he loves dogs, and is even looking into adopting one or getting one from a good breeder, and I offered to help him because I just wanted an excuse to talk to him! But I don't know anything about dogs! I mean, there's Krypto but does he even really count as a dog? I guess also Titus and Ace but I'm only around them when I'm with you, and all I ever do I pet them!
Damian: You can not be serious.
Jon: This dog thing is really important Damian! Apprentantly he couldn't have any pets when he lived with his parents, but there was this wild dog that he would play with sometimes. He, like, really loves dogs, he gets so excited when he so much as catches a glimpse of them! His eyes get all soft and his smile is so-so bright! And he is, like, obsessed with Krypto whenever Krypto is around, its so cute!
Damian, less judgemental: You are serious.
Jon: I just want his experience with his first dog to be perfect, yaknow? Sorry, I know I'm being unreasonable.
Damian: What is he looking for?
Jon: Huh?
Damian: This guy, what is he looking for with a dog? Does he have a specific breed in mind? Any allergies? What is his house like? Does he have a yard or live in an appartment? Does he live near a park or forest if he doesn't have a yard? Does he have any physical limitations? How much time can he alot to grooming? If we're going to help him, we need to know this information so we can help him properly.
Jon, tearfully: Damian! You're the bestest friend ever!*hugs him*
Damian, embarrassed: Unhand me!
Bonus
*6 weeks later*
Jon, postmission: Agh what are we going to do with this beast? Danny is going to be here in 5 minutes! He can't see this thing! He'll freak out!
Damian, pouting: If father would just see reason and let me keep him, we wouldn't be in this situation.
Jon: What even is it? It looks kinda dogish? Maybe it already has an owner?
Beast in question: *towering golden colored animal with a wrinkled dog like snout, massive dog like paws, scales going up its limbs, long, slightly curled fangs, a curly lion-like mane, and a long curly furred tail*
Jon: I don't see a collar, do you?
Damian: No. Perhaps-
Beast: *perks up*
Danny: Hey, sorry I'm a bit early, astronomy club let out early because Michael was stupid and did a back flip off the- *stops as he makes eye contact with the "beast"*
Jon: Uhhh Danny, listen this this is-is uh-
Damian: A statue. I had it commissioned and it just arrived-
Danny: How in all the afterlives did you find a Fu Dog puppy in America!*eyes glittering in awe*
Damian: Fu Dog?
Jon: Puppy?!
Danny: Hi baby! Oh you're just the cutest thing aren't you?
Fu Puppy: *wags and shoves his nose in Danny's hand, having decided Danny wasn't an evil spirit*
Danny: So how did you find him? Fu Dog breeders are suuuper touchy about where they send their puppies, they're almost unseen outside of China! *happy petting the massive puppy, ignorant to the bewildered looks he was getting*
Jon: Oh uh we jus-
Damian: Jon told me you were in search of a dog. My father has a friend that pulled some strings. He was supposed to be a surprise, but due to some miscommunication the puppy was delivered early.
Danny, eyes soft: Really? Jon thats the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me.
Jon, blushing: Oh uh it was-it was nothing!
Danny: Oh but this must have cost a fortune! How much do I owe you?
Damian: No need, my father happily payed, it barely made a dent. You can repay us by taking good care of him.
Danny: If you're sure. *laughs as the puppy licks him*
Jon: So, uh, not to be a party pooper but how is he going to fit in your house?
Danny, laughing: Uh, spirit shifting silly! All mythical dogs are able to do it, its how they blend in with their owners when they're masquerading as human or living. Its taught to all puppies as soon as they're old enough to be taught, since its so important to our part of the worlds secrecy. Watch, *clicks his tongue to grab the puppy's attention* P̸͚̦͌͆u̴̘̠̞̒͌p̸̡͖͛̈́͊͜p̸̠͉̠̒͘͘ÿ̵̫͚͓́̾͝,̴͕̼͖̓͌ m̸̺͕̘͋͠͝á̵̻͙͐́s̸̙͇̫̓́̚k̸̟̝͛̕͝.̴͓̠͉̐͌
Fu Puppy: *starts shimmering gold, and shinks down. the light dissipates revealing a tiny apricot colored Shar-Pei puppy*
Danny: See? *happily picks up his new puppy* Its fine!
