Loft Post

My personal blog for shit I like

[rederiswrites]

There really really ought to be a book about how the staple crops of different civilizations shape and influence those civilizations, and I really want to read it.

[alexseanchai]

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky and A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage (three are alcohol, three have caffeine) are not quite that, but may still be of interest?

[rederiswrites]

I read Salt back in the day and it's so so good, second the rec. I have heard of 6 Glasses and not read it but I am sure I would probably love it. Gotta see if the library has it. Thank you!

[pandorasquillandquotes]

Gonna throw Empire of Cotton by Sven Beckert in the ring here! You'll never see the modern world the same way again.

[vaspider]

A Short History Of The World According To Sheep by Sally Coulthard blew my mind. So many things are tied to wool and sheep and weaving and so many words and phrases are tied to wool, people have no idea.

Example words which come from textiles/weaving, if not specifically wool (go look them up!): subtle, shoddy, tabby, Brazil, rocket, twit, warped, going batty, on tenterhooks, text...

[foxofninetales]

I'll throw in a rec for Pickled, Potted, and Canned by Sue Shephard - a very interesting look at food preservation and how the availability of different types of food preservation shaped cultures and cuisines.

[electronsprotonscroutons]

Sweetness and Power is this but for the topic of sugar

[magneticdeclination]

The Lost Supper: Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past might also be up your alley. It's about "forgotten" foods and staples. They talk about different types of wheat, sauces, veggies, etc and a little about the cultures from whence they come

[doctornerdington]

Also: Much Depends on Dinner by Margaret Visser. One of my favourite books.

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

DO I HAVE A SERIES FOR YOU. University of California Press has a gift for you and it is a 80+ book series on food studies. There are even some that are open access (legally free), but the rest are in libraries.

I also highly recommend Frostbite by Nicola Twilley. It’s about the impact refrigeration has had/is having on food preservation and culture, globally. It was one of my favorite books of this last year.

[calystarose]

Also, The Rice Theory of Culture https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1172&context=orpc By Thomas Talhelm

[loftpost]

The Canadian propaganda got me. I spent two hours last night watching hockey videos on youtube.

[angelfrommontgomery]

Anybody else got like,, rlly random connections to famous ppl?? Like my older brothers were friends w Jennifer Lawrence when they were like 12 and I just found out I’m friends w the cousin of the girl who voiced honey lemon in big hero six like, idk what I’m supposed to do with either of these tid bits I feel like I was supposed to live my life in ignorance of them

[beepbeepboopbeepboopbeepbeepbee]

the tags on this are so funny because they range from “my neighbor went to school with tom cruise” to “my dad is best friends with macklemore”

[sonicrainbooms]

[alexaloraetheris]

What I’m hearing is that Six Degrees of Separation might have been an overestimation

[quantum-dragon]

[verkomy]

treebeard and the hobbits

you can get a print here

[blogaboutyafavbirdboys]

Taking quizzes on Tumblr are either:

Yes, my opinion has been totally justified.

Wow, everyone else has the worst opinions, only my opinion is correct.

Voting ended onJan 30, 2025

[ajloun]

what I wish people would understand about fundraising for gaza is that while everyone is desperate and I would never say not to fundraise for or donate to individual families-- I currently fundraise to support multiple friends' families-- the overwhelming narrative I see on Tumblr that the best and most ethical thing you can do is send money to individuals and there is no option for anything else is so so incredibly damaging and inadvertently lends support to the marginalization and distrust of any remaining communal social infrastructure. the sameer project, which you should donate to, talks about this in a recent video they put out. the situation in gaza is unimaginable and everyone is in need of a huge level of support, and yet this fundraising discourse by well-meaning people in the west that donating money to individuals is the only moral way reproduces societal divides wherein resources are directed to people who speak English, who have relationships with people outside of gaza, and who have internet access while hundreds of thousands are left behind.

there ARE non-ngo locally based grassroots initiatives working to meet those needs however they can, and your small donation goes a lot further with them because they are able to buy food/water/supplies in bulk at a reduced price and reach more people with less money. again I'm not saying people shouldn't fundraise for individuals because these initiatives are so limited and many people cannot access them -- but as an example, the group I fundraise with is currently serving people fleeing north gaza who are starving and have nothing, and when we fundraise enough to do cash aid distribution there's so much need that our partners can only distribute 100-200 per large family. and then I go online and see people who have absolutely no understanding of this context at all exclusively working towards raising tens of thousands for just a few people when evacuations haven't been possible for months. it's good to do whatever you can but please consider how this narrative being reproduced among westerners trying to help that there are no other options has the potential to damage groups working towards equity and wider reach however is still possible

[imdressinguplikeacat]

The Sameer Project | Instagram | Linktree

We are a donations based aid initiative for Gaza led by Palestinians,

bigger link to get more eyes on it

[motheatenmoonlight]

women in PHLEGM (poetry, history, language, english literature, ghost stories, music)

[fortheammonites]

Falling for scams does hurt people, actually

TW: Human trafficking, SA, torture, discussion of scam farms

I see a whole bunch of people arguing that they would rather risk giving to a scammer than ignore someone's gofundme. I also see people saying things like "I can't believe some sick people are profiteering off genocide" and like, me neither, but I feel like you guys really don't understand who actually runs these kinds of scams and what they are.

Scams of noticeable scale-- like scam asks being sent from hundreds of accounts to every user on Tumblr!-- are typically related to organised crime in poor countries, not Susan from Milwaukee who wants a new coat and has no scruples. People get trafficked by gangs to scam farms in Asia and Africa where they're worked to the bone and tortured trying to get idiots in wealthy countries to part with their money. Genocide profiteering is pretty much the least evil thing these people do.

Here's a UN article on it. Obvious warnings for content related to human trafficking and SA.

Southeast Asia: Torture rooms and karaoke bars in gang-run ‘scam farms’

Transnational crime syndicates based in Southeast Asia are fuelling the trafficking of people, either forcing them to commit crimes or for s

When you donate to a scammer, you fund these organisations and give them a reason to exist. It's possible some of the fundraisers are legit. I honestly find it unlikely given I'm not seeing any from any other countries where urgent fundraisers would seem to have great reason to exist but which haven't captured the same level of attention on Tumblr-- the number of Sudanese, Congolese, Ukrainian, Burmese or Uyghur fundraisers in my DMs is a fat 0. In any case, there are safer ways to help.

If you want to help (which is great!) you don't have to take the risk of paying for human trafficking. Donate to legitimate charities which have the resources to safely and effectively ensure the money and help is getting to the right people. Funding human trafficking rings in Myanmar is not a good risk to be taking while trying to help.

14 Trusted Charities Helping Civilians in Palestine

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has caused immense suffering, with countless individuals displaced, harmed, and killed over the years. Tens

[weeklycandacedrawings]

I really do want to keep this blog lighthearted and art focused and avoid current events as much as possible but this has been driving me absolutely bonkers and I think it needs to be said somewhere. Please be scamwise.

[lierdumoa]

I have been blocking and reporting at least one scam message a day for the past 2 months and they haven't slowed down. This is not like donating to some guy on the street who weaves a fake story, because he probably really needs the money even if the story is fake. This is not some guy. This is an industry.

And even if all these gofundmes were real, donating to a reputable organization does more good than donating to an individual.

Donating to a medical debt relief organization that buys off entire CDO's worth of medical debt from creditors at a fraction of the value is going to do far, far more good than giving the same amount of money to an individual trying to pay off a bill at full value plus interest.

Donating to a food kitchen that buys non-perishable foods in bulk at a fraction of the retail price is going to do far, far more good than spending the same amount buying one meal for a homeless person.

If you give more charity to gofundmes than you do to reputable organizations, just because it feels good to imagine a specific human face is benefiting from your charity, then you care more about feeling good than doing good.

[the-final-sif]

I want to add further information:

A random tumblr user is not qualified to "vet" fundraisers. If you do not personally know them, even if they are a popular blog or "well-known" they are equally capable of being a scammer, not knowing how to properly vet a fundraiser, being scammed themselves, etc. Even if you do personally know them, they can very easily be scammed.

Anyone that you do not follow or know, who randomly sends you a message asking for donations to a fundraiser is a scammer/bot. 100%, without doubt. This is a well known scam bot behavior on tumblr, and it has been here for ages. The old version of it would be "my sick cat". They just changed the message sent.

"I couldn't find the image after reverse searching it" is not in any way meaningful for vetting scams. There are a million ways to get unique photos/videos of children in bad circumstances, including paying very small amounts for them, or as explained by the link above, human trafficking.

People's accounts can and do also get hacked/stolen/etc and then used to link to fake scams. It's terrifyingly common.

Yes, it is gross as fuck for scammers to exploit horrific situations, it is also incredibly common. Fires, mass shootings, wars, etc. It happens for all of them.

GOFUNDME ONLY ALLOWS WITHDRAWALS FROM CERTAIN COUNTRIES, IF A PERSON DOES NOT HAVE A BANK ACCOUNT IN ONE OF THOSE COUNTRIES, THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET FUNDS. ANYONE WHO IS ORGANIZING A FUNDRAISER OUTSIDE OF THOSE COUNTRIES IS EITHER A SCAMMER OR WILL HAVE TO REFUND DONATIONS.

You'll notice that Egypt, Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, etc are all not on this list. The majority of gofundmes I've seen, largely from people claiming to be one of those locations, are either scams or will be forcibly refunded since according to their own story they are not in a place where they could withdraw the money being sent.

Fake GoFundMe page collected $15K for phony Rochester Hills splash pad victims

The phony site was created by "scumbags" trying to benefit from tragedy, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a Sunday alert.

Bay Area man lost his wife, then got scammed. Now Facebook won't stop the hacker

A grieving Northern California husband found a hacker locked his Facebook account and began taking GoFundMe donations in his late wife's mem

Rise of GoFundMe scammers: Victims facing fresh blows by fraudsters

From fabricated medical emergencies to fictitious charitable causes to imitation pages, UK cases of GoFundMe scams have increased over the y

TikTok profits from livestreams of families begging

Children are among those pleading for hours for digital gifts, as the company takes a cut of up to 70%.

[ettawritesnstudies]

READERS: FYI BOOKSHOP.ORG HAS FREE SHIPPING FOR ANTI-PRIME DAYS

This is a cool platform that gives back to local and small businesses so I'm affiliated with them. If you want to use my link to buy anything I'll get a small cut which is appreciated, but regardless this is still a neat opportunity to dodge Amazon's monopoly especially if you don't have prime.

[bogleech]

[madmaudlingoes]

It’s not just that the leaves will break down on their own (and enrich the soil while they’re at it!). During the winter, all sorts of insects use leaf litter for shelter, and they’re the first food available to larvae in early spring. Leaves also insulate the plants under them during the winter, which is important if you’re in an area prone to frost heaving.

One of the best thing you can do for native pollinators in your area is Leave the Leaves!

[diggingforkuponuts]

My mom stopped raking her leaves when she found out about this but her neighbor used his leaf blower to clear out her yard the first year she decided to try. So she started posting a Leave the Leaves sign in the yard each year with an explanation about why it’s good and two winters later only one house still rakes their lawn each year.

We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the biodiversity in the neighborhood since. We have birds that we haven’t seen since we moved into the city from living rurally and those birds are starting to nest in the trees and gardens in spring. The swallows and bats are back at night. The single woodpecker we would only occasionally see visits daily and even has a friend that has joined it. We have more squirrels and rabbits and shockingly fewer moles and voles. We heard an owl outside last fall.

Leave the leaves indeed.

[fast-and-fit-sam]

Hey runners (and walkers)! Thought this might be helpful :)

[motivationforfitness]

Shoelace Voodoo

[coconuts-and-crunches-deactivat]

The heel slipping one is awesome if you have to wear orthotics because it stops them from slipping round inside your shoe

[thededfa]

Oh! I’ll have to try this

[feanor-the-dragon]

oh my god. oh, oh my god. the wide forefoot one… oh my god bless you you beautiful hero

[white-throated-packrat]

Ian’s Shoelace Site – https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ – is the page for all these lacing patterns and more.

[ms-demeanor]

He’s got specific lacing advice for skates and tall boots and there are decorative patterns and I recently relaced my skate shoes for both a wide forefoot and less friction on the laces so it’s easier to tighten and loosen them but he also has lace-locking patterns so that shoes stay exactly as tight as you laced them the first time and it is just a VERY GOOD website.

Like. I’ve been buying shoes the wrong size because it’s often hard to find wide shoes but the lacing pattern for a wide forefoot means that my big hobbit feet actually fit into the previously too-tight running shoes and sneakers I had.

[dramatic-dolphin]

i think some of you guys are insane 👍 it's actually possible for a 16 year old to be online friends with someone in their 20s. source: teenagers are actually people who can talk to other people about shared interests.

[dramatic-dolphin]

21 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 that 18 year old is literally your college classmate. you are the same age. You Are The Same Age

[dramatic-dolphin]

like, the moral panic about age gaps in dating is one thing but this reddit thread was literally about Being Online Friends. you can be online friends with a teenager. they are actually people you can talk to. i promise.

it's very easy to not be a creepy adult when talking to a minor. step one: don't act creepy. that's it. that's all you need to do.

[seananmcguire]

When I was sixteen, I and my boyfriend (eighteen) and his little brother (fourteen) all belonged to the same gaming group, which had been started by his father's friend Steve. We played twice a week with a bunch of people twice and even three times our age, and we learned that adults weren't aliens, they were people with their own feelings and fears and they weren't always right about everything.

Those years at Steve's table were incredibly important to my development as a person. And we had something in common: the game.

[fallenstarworkshop]

Here's the truth: when you grow up, as you go through the various developmental stages, there are things which are vital to happen for proper psychological and cognitive development. For example, when you're very young it is absolutely vital that you are exposed to language. A lot of language. Of varying levels of complexity and formality. That's vital for the healthy development of the language centers of the brain and for early socializing. It must happen. If it does not, you see severe dysfunction as they get older.

This is basic psychological and cognitive development theory. It's taught in pretty basic level Psych courses. This is known science.

Socializing with adults, of various ages, both related to you and not related to you, in various social situations from social equals to authority figure, is one of those vital landmarks. And it comes up over and over and over during development. As a young child you must interact with adults, who care for you, so you can understand care and safety. And it gets more deep and more complicated as you develop.

Preteens and teens must interact with people older than them, significantly older, in various ways, up to and including casual friendly socializing as equals, or they will not develop properly. This is absolutely vital. Your ability to function in the real world socially depends on it.

We are fucking destroying our young people with this bullshit.

Source: Majored in Psychology with a focus on childhood development in university. This is what I went to school for.

[sea-salted-wolverine]

I'd like to point out that those stages of development and crucial periods of interaction don't stop at some magical arbitrary definition of adulthood. Young adults, middle aged adults and senor adults, need to have interaction with children and teens and people who are younger than they are or they lose their grip on reality and ability to communicate with people who don't share their privileges and abilities. Source: can you fucking hear yourself?

[moniquill]

The deliberate dismantling of intergenerational society by capitalism is one of the most damaging things to happen in the 20th century.

Humans evolved with alloparenting. You are supposed to have meaningful relationships (friendship, mentorship, tutelage) with extraparental adults and older kids.

[waterhobbit]

Hey so fun new scam just dropped! I got a call earlier today from someone spoofing the local police department's desk number, asking me if there was a reason I'd missed my jury summons this morning.

Friends, I had not received a jury summons for this month. Which I told him, at which point his previously clear diction suddenly turned into a rapid mumble, only becoming clear for scary words like 'federal' and then asking to confirm my address, at which point I hung up and decided to call the police department later.

When I called the police department the desk officer sounded so tired y'all. All I had to say was "Hey I got a call earlier saying I missed jury duty this morning?" and she immediately sighed and told me that yes it was a scam that was going around and thanked me for calling to confirm.

So this is your periodic reminder that law enforcement agencies will not call you to tell you that you're in trouble. If you need to pay a fine of some sort they will mail you a physical invoice. Anyone calling you saying they're from the police or any other law enforcement organization (up to the CIA and yes I have heard of scammers attempting to impersonate CIA agents over the phone) who then tries to get financial information from you over the phone is a scammer.

I know I actually bang on about this a weird amount, but it is my fervent hope that the information will stick in peoples' brains if they get randomly selected for the adrenaline spike lottery. Scammers use scary words to get you to panic in order to shut down your critical thinking, and if even one person's brain spits out "Tumblr user waterhobbit said the cops/CIA/federal marshalls don't call about this shit" before their bank account routing number is in the hands of assholes I will consider it a job well done.

[nitw]

i fucking hate being an adult with a slowly increasing number of responsibilities its like one day you wake up and youre like aw fuck when was the last time i descaled the coffee machine

[loftpost]

Look at my orange son.

[escuerzoresucitado]

[vrumblr]

Just because I crave knowledge does not mean I retain it