#this can be interchangeable between i made this at like...11..

[sh8rks]

careful zhu yuan!!!! ur gna burn ur hair !!!!!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Europe takes a big step towards a post-dollar world

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/02/11/post-dollar-world/#de-dollarization

There's a reason every decentralized system eventually finds its way onto a platform: platforms solve real-world problems that platform users struggle to solve for themselves.

I've written before about the indie/outsider author Crad Kilodney, who wrote, edited, typeset and published chapbooks of his weird and wonderful fiction, and then sold his books from Toronto street-corners with a sign around his neck reading VERY FAMOUS CANADIAN AUTHOR BUY MY BOOKS (or, if he was feeling spicy, simply: MARGARET ATWOOD):

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/19/crad-kilodney-was-an-outlier/#intermediation

Crad was a hell of a writer and a bit of a force of nature, but there are plenty of writers I want to hear from who are never going to publish their own books, much less stand on a street-corner selling them with a MARGARET ATWOOD sign around their necks. Publishers, editors, distributors and booksellers all do important work, allowing writers to get on with their writing, taking all the other parts of the publishing process off their shoulders.

That's the value of platforms. The danger of platforms is when they grow so powerful that they usurp the relationship between the parties they are supposed to be facilitating, locking them in and then extracting value from them (someone should coin a word to describe this process!):

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/07/usurpers-helpmeets/#disreintermediation

Everyone needs platforms: writers, social media users, people looking for a romantic partner. What's more, the world needs platforms. Say you want to connect all 200+ countries on Earth with high-speed fiber lines; you can run a cable from each country to every other country (about 21,000 cables, many of them expensively draped across the ocean floor), or you can pick one country (preferably one with both Atlantic and Pacific coasts) and run all your cables there, and then interconnect them.

That's America, the world's global fiber hub. The problem is, America isn't just a platform for fiber interconnections – it's a Great Power that uses its position at the center of the world's fiber networks to surveil and disrupt the world's communications networks:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden

That's a classic enshittification move on a geopolitical scale. It's not the only one America's made, either.

Consider the US dollar. The dollar is to global commerce what America's fiber head-ends are to the world's data network: a site of essential, (nominally) neutral interchange that is actually a weapon that the US uses to gain advantage over its allies and to punish its enemies:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/10/weaponized-interdependence/#the-other-swifties

The world's also got about 200 currencies. For parties in one country to trade with those in another country, the buyer needs to possess a currency the seller can readily spend. The problem is that setting up 21,000 pairwise exchange markets from every currency to every other currency is expensive and cumbersome – traders would have to amass reserves of hundreds of rarely used currencies, or they would have to construct long, brittle, expensive, high-risk chains that convert, say, Thai baht into Icelandic kroner to Brazilian reals and finally into Costa Rican colones.

Thanks to a bunch of complicated maneuvers following World War II, the world settled on the US dollar as its currency platform. Most important international transactions use "dollar clearing" (where goods are priced in USD irrespective of their country of origin) and buyers need only find someone who will convert their currency to dollars in order to buy food, oil, and other essentials.

There are two problems with this system. The first is that America has never treated the dollar as a neutral platform; rather, American leaders have found subtle, deniable ways to use "dollar dominance" to further America's geopolitical agenda, at the expense of other dollar users (you know, "enshittification"). The other problem is that America has become steadily less deniable and subtle in these machinations, finding all kinds of "exceptional circumstances" to use the dollar against dollar users:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/11/26/difficult-multipolarism/#eurostack

America's unabashed dollar weaponization has been getting worse for years, but under Trump, the weaponized dollar has come to constitute an existential risk to the rest of the world, sending them scrambling for alternatives. As November Kelly says, Trump inherited a poker game that was rigged in his favor, but he still flipped over the table because he resents having to pretend to play at all:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/26/i-dont-want/#your-greenback-dollar

Once Trump tried to steal Greenland, it became apparent that the downsides of the dollar far outweigh its upsides. Last month, Christine Lagarde (president of the European Central Bank) made a public announcement on a radio show that Europe "urgently" needed to build its own payment system to avoid the American payment duopoly, Visa/Mastercard:

https://davekeating.substack.com/p/can-europe-free-itself-from-visamastercard

Now, there's plenty of reasons to want to avoid Visa/Mastercard, starting with cost: the companies have raised their prices by more than 40% since the pandemic started (needless to say, updating database entries has not gotten 40% more expensive since 2020). This allows two American companies to impose a tax on the entire global economy, collecting swipe fees and other commissions on $24t worth of the world's transactions every year:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/europe-banks-launching-product-break-101215642.html

But there's another reason to get shut of Visa/Mastercard: Trump controls them. He can order them to cut off payment processing for any individual or institution that displeases him. He's already done this to punish the International Criminal Court for issuing a genocide arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, and against a Brazilian judge for finding against the criminal dictator Jair Bolsonaro (Trump also threatened to have the judge in Bolsonaro's case assassinated). What's more, Visa/Mastercard have a record of billions (trillions?) of retail transactions taking place between non-Americans, which Trump's officials can access for surveillance purposes, or just to conduct commercial espionage to benefit American firms as a loyalty bonus for the companies that buy the most $TRUMP coins.

Two days after Lagarde's radio announcement, 13 European countries announced the formation of "EuroPA," an alliance that will facilitate regionwide transactions that bypass American payment processors (as well as Chinese processors like Alipay):

https://news.europawire.eu/european-payment-leaders-sign-mou-to-create-a-sovereign-pan-european-interoperable-payments-network/eu-press-release/2026/02/02/15/34/11/168858/

As European Business Magazine points out, EuroPA is the latest in a succession of attempts to build a European payments network:

https://europeanbusinessmagazine.com/business/europes-24-trillion-breakup-with-visa-and-mastercard-has-begun/

There's Wero, a 2024 launch from the 16-country European Payments Initiative, which currently boasts 47m users and 1,100 banks in Belgium, France and Germany, who've spent €7.5b through the network:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/europe-banks-launching-product-break-101215642.html

Wero launched as a peer-to-peer payment system that used phone numbers as identifiers, but it expanded into retail at the end of last year, with several large retailers (such as Lidl) signing on to accept Wero payments.

Last week, Wero announced an alliance with EuroPA, making another 130m people eligible to use the service, which now covers 72% of the EU and Norway. They're rolling out international peer-to-peer payments in 2026, and retail/ecommerce payments in 2027.

These successes are all the more notable for the failures they follow, like Monnet (born 2008, died 2012). Even the EPI has been limping along since its founding, only finding a new vigor on the heels of Trump threatening EU member states with military force if he wasn't given Greenland.

As EBM writes, earlier efforts to build a regional payment processor foundered due to infighting among national payment processors within the EU, who jealously guarded their own turf and compulsively ratfucked one another. This left Visa/Mastercard as the best (and often sole) means of conducting cross-border commerce. This produced a "network effect" for Visa/Mastercard: since so many Europeans had an American credit card in their wallets, European merchants had to support them; and since so many EU merchants supported Visa/Mastercard, Europeans had to carry them in their wallets.

Network effects are pernicious, but not insurmountable. The EU is attacking this problem from multiple angles – not just through EuroPA, but also through the creation of the Digital Euro, a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Essentially, this would give any European who signs up an account with the ECB, the federal bank of the Eurozone. Then, using an app or a website, any two Digital Euro customers could transfer funds to one another using the bank's own ledgers, instantaneously and at zero cost.

EBM points out that there's a critical difficulty in getting EuroPA off the ground: because it is designed to be cheap to use, it doesn't offer participating banks the windfall profits that Visa/Mastercard enjoy, which might hold back investment in EuroPA infrastructure.

But banks are used to making small amounts of money from a lot of people, and with the Digital Euro offering a "public option," the private sector EuroPA system will have a competitor that pushes it to continuously improve its systems.

It's true that European payment processing has been slow and halting until now, but that was when European businesses, governments and households could still pretend that the dollar – and the payment processing companies that come along with it – was a neutral platform, and not a geopolitical adversary.

If there's one thing the EU has demonstrated over the past three years, it's that geopolitical threats from massive, heavily armed mad empires can break longstanding deadlocks. Remember: Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the end of Russian gas moved the EU's climate goals in ways that beggar belief: the region went from 15 years behind on its solar rollout to ten years ahead of schedule in just a handful of months:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/02/05/contingency/#this-too-shall-pass

This despite an all-out blitz from the fossil fuel lobby, one of the most powerful bodies in the history of civilization.

Crises precipitate change, and Trump precipitates crises.

[katerinaaqu]

heyy!! I'm an artist and I'm really curious about the type of clothes the heroes/heroines etc wore during the Iliad (except armor of course). I usually get confused between Minoan clothing and Ancient Greek clothing. Also, some people associate the Ancient Turkish clothing/Hittie clothing with the Trojans, so I am curious about that as well. Can you help me out? ^^

Hello dear Anon and yeah of course this question comes way too often haha from time to time I am called to answer to an ask in regards to clothing of bronze age haha which is an ever fascinating subject

For armors for instance I had made several posts like this one:

Post by @katerinaaqu · 1 image

💬 10  🔁 107  ❤️ 231 · Don't wanna sound disrespectful guys but I think the Samurai armors are cool and all but THESE bad boys do not get NEA

and recently answered an ask you can see here

Post by @katerinaaqu · 13 images

💬 0  🔁 8  ❤️ 22 · Hello! Question: Do the clothings and accessories of each kingdom like Ithaca, Sparta, Mycenae, Argos, and etc. differ in

Now on clothing and the like is interesting how oftentimes we revert back and forth to the Cretan/Minoan vs Mycenaean/Mainland styles of clothing in the bronze age. Personally I have a confession to make, I sometimes even see them interchangably at this stage. We can see differences of course for instance differences in hairstyles:

Post by @katerinaaqu · 16 images

💬 0  🔁 4  ❤️ 4 · Hii!!! I was wondering if you knew the difference between minoan and mycenean hairstyles. ive been trying to make some char

(ask by @mt-isnothere12)

But the styles and layering of clothing between Crete and Mainland is very similar to the depictions at least. I guess one can say that as a general rule (not absolute of course) Mycenaean/Mainlanders tend to keep a simpler line to their dresses and styles and even if they do keep a similar style they keep it in a simple essence. Some other asks I have replied to:

Post by @katerinaaqu · 5 images

💬 2  🔁 2  ❤️ 10 · Might be a weird question but what did the dress that women wore in minoan/ Mycenaean Greece that has fun patterns and oft

Post by @katerinaaqu · 5 images

💬 0  🔁 2  ❤️ 11 · What did the kings and queens of Mycenaean Greece wear? And what about their families, like if the king or queen had a bro

we also see the phenomenon of mainland Greece slowly adapt more "modest" lines to the dresses and for instance as you see above even if we have depictions of ladies with their chest open to the bodice, images like the famous "Mycenaean lady" with closed bodice or bolero for more coverage also exist. We also see depictions of coats or cloaks and others.

And of course jewelry like earrings

Post by @katerinaaqu · 10 images

💬 0  🔁 3  ❤️ 7 · Post by @katerinaaqu · 13 images · (piercing anon) I’d read that ear piercings were associated with foreign men, which may

Now for everyday people things get trickier because quite frankly we do not have as many depictions. I had a quick ask a while back

Post by @katerinaaqu · 5 images

💬 2  🔁 1  ❤️ 9 · Hello! I’ve recently been doing research on Mycenaean clothing, but everything I’ve read has only analyzed clothing with r

However as many more experienced than I have pointed out before, a very good example from at least the island area that can speak on different classes of people and their depictions would be the famous frescoe of the Ship Procession in Akrotiri of Santorini.

For example some images of people holding rods and wearing a full fleece on their bodies so potentially shepherds

or this figure that is naked (in many cases nude figures are associated with working classes which probably is not always realistic unless we speak on younger children but is also on the table)

Now also some women sitting on their balcony wearing some kind of cloak or shawl or dress

Some warriors:

(image from the research of Alfons Jesus Trevino)

Women carrying water and stuff

(Ibid)

And so on and so forth. Personally I think Minoan and Mycenaean contexts of bronze age Greece have similar iconography and potentially similar style. However I would take a wild guess that Mycenaean mainland has started to focus on simpler lines and styles. Lower classes as I mentioned above probably would have much simpler dress-code while people who worked might as well even work naked or with some basic cloth to protect themselves.

Now for the Trojans I remember I had been asked some stuff some of them are seen summarized here:

Post by @katerinaaqu · 2 links

💬 0  🔁 1  ❤️ 13 · Post by @katerinaaqu · Do you happen ro know how trojan clothing would like during the bronze age? Also how similar cultur

(ask by @cinematropes)

Now to my knowledge is more accurate to refer to the Trojans with the Hittite Empire people rather than Turkish because to my knowledge turkish-spoken languages and dialects arrived at the area later. The area was mostly inhabited by various language groups like Hittite, Assyrian, Accadian etc to the bronze age but I think some Hittite people would be more accurate for Homeric poems depictions.

Now of course as I mentioned before I still approach the Trojans with some Greek aesthetic too (not completely of course) mainly because at least as far as Homer is concerned, they do seem to have similar customs and similar cult of the same gods and no language barrier is mentioned between them not to mention that many characters have Greek names instead. Now that of course is the mythical context

The historical context would lean towards primarily Hittite outline from what I understand and maybe it would include some minor influences from Greece but probably not full on cults of Greek gods as mentioned in Homer so probably we will expect some religious synchretism than anything else take place (I am no expert on Hittite cults but I am sure one can find amazing imagery from some early Hittite cities to compare) The language spoken we expect it to be some form of Accadian, which was de-facto the diplomatic language of the time so maybe both Greeks and Trojans might as well be conversing in Accadian for better understanding with each other.

So yes I believe for a mythical outtake, to make the Trojans in a mix of Anatolian and Greek characteristics sound valid but at the same time from a historical point of view I would say focus on Hittite counterparts more. Eric Shanower and his comic "Age of Bronze" does a very decent job to portray the differences between the two peoples and includes extensive bibliogaraphy to his comics if you want to check them out

[notevenawellknownclown]

Some Light Reading - Gale x tav/reader drabble

a continuation of this post that I haven't stopped thinking about...

tav is a flirty nerd and a yearner, what can I say

'tav' x gale -- I used 'tav' as the character's name as well as gender neutral pronouns, but this could easily be x reader (reader and tav are interchangeable, at least that's what I was going for)

just some fluff

plus an appearance from my favorite pale elf because I love him and want to try to depict him well and I need practice

just a clarification... no, I have not played bg3 -- my interpretation of the characters is based on playthroughs I've watched, lore I've read, and an 11 hour youtube video of Gale voicelines, in tandem with my passion for gorging my brain on fan made content

happy reading!

It was a drizzly evening, carrying a chill in the air and a tingle of cold on tav’s skin. Their joints ached, muscles tensing uncomfortably from weeks of battle. Adventuring is exciting. It’s also exhausting. The weather, dreary and damp, weighed heavily on tav’s mood. Each of their companions seemed to be facing the same plight. 

Astarion sat on a log dangerously close to the campfire. He leaned forward, amber light dancing across his face. His jaw was clenched. A shiver shook his shoulders, barely perceptible thanks to his efforts to keep up his suave appearance. It is easier to look suave, tav thought, without a blanket wrapped around one’s shoulders. Astarion didn’t seem to be worried about that detail.

Shadowheart had retreated to her tent after declaring it was “too dull to be worth standing around outdoors.”

Lae’zel was seemingly unaffected, sharpening her blade in silence.

Karlach seemed to be the only happy camper. Besides Wyll, that is. They stood nearby, chatting about and ignoring the weather as best they could. 

And then there was Gale. Gale, standing near the opening to his tent and practicing some incantations. Every now and then, a shimmer of light would dance around his hands. He’d murmur something to himself, write something down on a notebook he had laying next to him, then try something else magical. He was too focused to notice the goosebumps prickling his neck. These goosebumps, however, were exactly what tav was focused on.

Tav had been watching Gale, unsurprisingly. There was a certain charm, they thought, in the way his brow would furrow or his nose would scrunch up when he was displeased with a result. He was just as charming when his expression turned smug, one brow raising and a huff of air leaving his nose as a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. Tav had been looking at his mouth quite a bit, as it were. He’d draw his bottom lip between his teeth when he was scribbling notes, nibbling at it before humming as he reviewed his writings. Tav could watch him for hours. The good thing about people like Gale, who are so richly invested in the worlds within their minds, is that they scarcely realize when they’re being watched by admirers. 

“You really should mind your shameless ogling, dear. It’s becoming embarrassing.” Astarion had joined in on the staring, it seemed. He was in the mood for gossip…. there had been too much ‘sad, hopeless pining,’ as he would call it, between Gale and tav. It would be fun to stir things up, he thought.

“You’re certainly right about my being shameless, Astarion.” Tav grinned as they looked the wizard over, studying the way his robes hugged his figure-

“My, my… it seems I’m not the only one with a hunger for their prey.” Astarion quipped right back, matching tav’s tone. He waited for them to continue the banter, but sighed when he realized their attention was firmly placed elsewhere.

“The question now is whether either of you lovesick buffoons will do anything. I’ll soon have to find some other drama to sink my teeth into, since you’re both taking your sweet time. How boring.” He walked away before tav could respond, muttering something about how hard it is to find suitable entertainment and how “a group full of such strange people really ought to have more interesting things going on.” 

A faint blush made its way to tav’s face, along with a soft smile. They had been doing something to move things along…

Tav walked back to their tent, rummaging through stacks of tomes and scrolls from their travels. They found the book Gale had lent them just nights ago. Picking it up, they let their fingers trace over the worn spine. That smile of theirs grew as they flipped through the book, noting the pressed wildflower and small notes tucked away within the text. The scent of their perfume tickled their nose when they perused the pages. Tav’s plot was moving along just fine…

They took the book, checking themselves over in a small mirror as they exited their tent, and walked over to Gale. He was in the middle of one of his spells. A small canopy of stars twinkled in front of him. He studied them, seeming rather pleased with himself. 

“A pretty sight…” Tav spoke softly, appearing behind him. He jumped a bit, letting out a strangled ‘oh!’ before turning around to see tav. He paused for a moment, then cleared his throat. His ears were tinted pink, his eyes drifting over Tav’s form. 

“A simple spell of illusion. I would have hoped this evening would provide such a tapestry on its own, but nature doesn’t always give us what we want, it would seem.” Gale smiled warmly at tav. He saw them holding their hands behind their back, but before he could ask–

“I wasn’t talking about the stars, though they were quite pretty, too.” Tav grinned as Gale’s blush spread from his ears, faintly dusting his cheeks and note. His eyes widened slightly, as if he were quite flustered. He let out an awkward laugh before collecting himself as well as he could.

“And I should have realized that creating such a sight was unnecessary, with you around. Your radiance far surpasses even the brightest of auroras.” Gale’s gaze lingered on tav, emanating warmth and appreciation. The two of them stood there for a moment, just looking at one another. Tav noticed the silvery streaks of hair that he’d swept back, wishing it was their hands that could brush through them. They noticed his smile lines, dreaming they could be the reason those creases became all the more apparent. Gale had similar thoughts. 

He noticed the soft vulnerability in their expression, the way their eyes wandered over his features. He indulged himself in that luxury as well, noting the shape of their lips, the shade of their eyes. Perhaps his yearning wasn’t unrequited. He realized how long he had been staring when tav held out their hands, offering the book he had lent them.

“I finally got to read this in full. You’ve got good taste, Gale.” Tav winked as they held out the book. A bright smile bloomed on the wizard’s face, his eyes lighting up even more brightly than the stars he conjured. There was certainly more magic in his gaze than in any spell. He let out a chuckle as he heard tav’s remark.

“It gladdens my heart to know you appreciated it! I’m eager to know your thoughts… it’s been far too long since I’ve had the chance to discuss a text like this with anyone.” His cadence changed as he spoke, a lightness in his voice and a smile in his words. He reached out to take the book and felt tav’s lingering touch, brushing over his fingers as they handed over the tome. They looked at each other once more when their hands met, feeling as though sparks emitted from the brief touch. 

“Thank you for lending it to me, Gale. I appreciate it.” Tav smiled warmly as they withdrew their hand, noticing the almost disappointed look that flashed across his face.

“I’m always eager to share with you what I hold dear. The trepidation of our journey becomes naught but a shadow, next to the light of your company.” He leaned in as he said that, voice smooth and sweet as honey. He stared at tav once more, eyes charting out their face as if it were a masterpiece he felt compelled to memorize. He caught himself staring once more, clearing his throat before straightening his posture. His face warmed as he clutched the book to his chest. Tav stood before him, beaming.

“I’m grateful to have met you, Gale. I’m glad you’re here.” Tav returned every part of Gale’s sincerity. It was important, they thought, for him to know he was appreciated. So many things had happened since the beginning of their quest. Knowing of the looming threat of the orb, of Mystra’s demand, of Gale’s willingness to put aside the worth of his life in pursuit of finding meaning in his death… it was all too much. 

Of course tav loved him. How could they not? But this was about more than mutual attraction. They didn’t know what they’d do if he chose the man he could be over the man he was. He needed to see that he was enough, that he was worthy of the love tav wanted to give. 

It seemed that Gale picked up on these unspoken words. They stood in silence together for a moment, each one appreciating the other. 

“Thank you. You’ve no idea how much that means to me.” Gale’s voice was softer now, reverent of the weight behind his sentiment. Tav smiled warmly, nodding. 

“Of course, Gale.” He held the book up, looking at the title. He saw a few notes sticking out from between the pages. He was delighted by that revelation. Before he could say anything else, he found that tav had wandered back to their tent. He sighed softly before turning his attention back to the book. He flipped through it, immediately overwhelmed by tav’s scent. The sensation made his head spin. He’d be in for a long night of reading, it seemed.

[sterlingarcher23]

The Speeding Falcon

This is actually a more convoluted topic than I originally thought, so forgive me if I jump between the different elements. Let's start with speed:

I: Speed

There's a constant association of Max, our Zoomer or speed queen, to a peregrine falcon.

(You see the toy, the poster a a few more details like that drawing on Max's left, or ducks and wheels in the other.)

The peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on earth.

And it has been talked about it in the link(s) (also see see down below) before, I believe we could take another look at it and it may have been overlooked.

The peregrine falcon/knight is Max in the chess game:

Here, here, and here (note that I incorrectly call the peregrine falcon a hawk in I think the first posts due to a translation issue)

The moment in which we see Max next to the falcon poster, saying "Holy shit this is insane" moment literally comes up in the revival which was never (directly) mentioned again though it's such a big moment for El, Max in S4 and seemingly for the story. (there's a fleeting nod made by Max saying that something called for her...that's it). And the peregrine falcon is a symbol of rebirth.

So, it doesn't come up and @anonymusauros pointed out here and here that the reason is that they are the key to restore/save (or get the characters back or whatever) the correct timeline is ElMax.

"Speed queen" can be seen after Max wakes up in the laundry room which in itself is a nod to the Argo which essentially means "switft"

Zoomer (it's seen from the perspective as "being fast" - aside from the zooming effect around El's head in S4 which is mostly ignored.)

Peregrine Falcon

Speed Queen

the Argo (which also stands for "ship" as in relationship)

Hence: the Millennium Falcon.

II: Millenium Falcon

We see El letting the toy of the Falcon fly in 1x3, so why use the Millennium Falcon other than to make a pop cultural reference? (btw I would have liked to see cultural references to the things like Franco-Belgian comics that heavily influenced Star Wars if not quite literally ripped it off as there are accounts of french artists who saw comic books in the art departments of Georg Lucas's oh so brilliant film production. They didn't understand the stories as these comics were in French but found the art of let's say Jean Giraud aka Moebius and others - but as these parallels show it's possible that the Duffers were aware of it) This could be part of my current sort-of-series: the Falcon from Star Wars is a ship, a vessel.

Let's talk about ships. What is the Millennium Falcon? A ship. A space ship as they connect the Mercury Project and the Pioneer One rocket.

A vessel. For whom?

We've heard of Eddie (Edward) being accused being a vessel for the devil, we had the characters named William (Will and Billy) being possessed.

What about God? El? - Yes, the God & Dog connection, the meaning of the characters in the show keep switching all the time. In this case El and Max. While I discussed the God and Dog allegory before, it kinda works the other way around especially in regard to the "name" Eleven in it's shortened form. And while the show clearly points to the two characters being interchangeable.

Max's body is a vessel, a ship for, well: ghosts and El is a ghost. (as described in the script of the finale)

A vessel or ship like the Argo. Like ElMax. Blue and Yellow.

Post by @sterlingarcher23 · 6 images

💬 7  🔁 7  ❤️ 57 · Backwards! · I just looked at this because someone posted the image and thought "How do they read "X a lie" when the lette

And this ship flies.

And here it gets interesting. Han claims that the Falcon made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. And, yes, a parsec is measuring distance, not velocity, and exactly 3.26 light-years. You are probably already guessing where this is going.

1) 3.26 light-years. - 3+2+6=11

2) What's less than 12 parsecs? Um, let's say... 11? So, let's do a bit of advanced algebra. 3.26x11 = 35.86 Hm, let's see, 3+5+8+6=22. Oh.

Catch 22 if you can:

Post by @noreasontobeupset · 1 video

💬 0  🔁 5  ❤️ 27 · Post by @sterlingarcher23 · 1 video · Nancy seems a tad bit skeptical... oh, yeah and outraged. I wonder why... Strap in

"I felt so free. It's like I could fly, you know?", Robin. Another proxy dialog - Seriously, are the Duffers one trick ponies who can only tell the true story of characters through other characters? Because this is an annoying pattern.

Also on side B, I guess. Where is it? The same salt mine in Transylvania as the 30 minutes of cut scenes of Event Horizon?

Speaking of side B. Which song is on side B of "Running up that hill" again? Ah, yes, "Waking the witch" (like the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull that transforms into a falcon)

Like a witch that can turn into a peregrine falcon and manipulate time? (Post that inspired this thought) Miss Peregrine.

The fastest animal on earth. Manipulate time. Come on! Wouldn't be surprised if there's a deeper connection with this movie/novel and Stranger Things. After all the Duffers like to use seemingly random references that are telling completely different stories.

“Stars, too, were time travelers. How many of those ancient points of light were the last echoes of suns now dead? How many had been born but their light not yet come this far? If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realize we were alone? I had always known the sky was full of mysteries—but not until now had I realized how full of them the earth was.”, Miss Peregrine's school for peculiar children.

Fun fact about peregrine falcons. Aside from being the fastest animal on earth, they have binocular vision.

Eyes of a Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest animal alive diving at speeds faster than 180 MPH and capable of seeing its prey to lock in and snatch i

III: German

Now you may have been wondering why the title of this post was "The speeding falcon".

The German translation of the Millennium Falcon is actually different than other languages from what I found. Most other translations use their version of "millenium".

Nobody can say for sure why but one idea suggests that because the ship was originally "inspired" by the one from Space 1999, yoz only need to add a year and you are in another millennium. - Now the Falcon has a closer resemblance to Valerian's ship from the Franco-Belgian comics.

Okay, but what do we Germans call the Falcon then?

Der rasende Falke = The speeding Falcon.

Granted it has a different ring in German than in English but calling a fast ship, this fastest hunk of junk, is in my opinion a bit more fitting. In German it works, English...not so much in my ears.

But it doesn't stop there. Let's talk about the Kessel Run. And not the distance/math as above, which in itself already fits like a glove, but the term.

Kessel (in German it was changed to Kossal Flug because calling it "Kessel Flug" would have confused the audience I think) is mostly used as the term for cauldron. It is also the word for a valley surrounded by hills or mountains - a Hill Valley so to speak. You can say Kessel but it's more common to say Talkessel (Tal=valley) to distinguish it from the term for cauldron.

Sidenote: there's another term for cauldron. Crucible which also has a different meaning but literally it's actually a melting pot, in which you fuse things together.

Post by @sterlingarcher23 · 10 images

💬 5  🔁 10  ❤️ 36 · ElMax: Linking arms and fusion · "Like a string between two tin cans.", Dr Walter Bishop. I try to point out the several

Interestingly there's a place called Kesseltal near the federal route 47.

So, Kessel is a place surrounded by mountains or hills which makes also sense in Star Wars as the planet Kessel is within a maelstrom. Interesting. More interesting is that the traditional route looks like a spiral.

How about this: spirals that you see in ST isn't this evil deity/demon (forgot his name and I'm to lazy to look it up) or whatever but point to this? Not to mention the Ethereal Plane. Or, wait for it, space. You know like a galaxy?? The space theme is everywhere and hinges on/is connected Sara(h). Everything points to her.

The topic of spirals came up in a chat with @nuffit and I'll probably talk about it in detail in another post.

I talked about a space walk a long time ago:

Post by @sterlingarcher23 · 1 video

💬 0  🔁 5  ❤️ 22 · A space walk....cosmic love. · (fair warning that this can be a bit convoluted because I try to connect references and som

Also, right now it feels as if fans see more villains than we have actual characters. Can we deal with the evil guys we have first?

A literal 'Hill Valley'. Running up that hill. RUTH.

You see where I'm getting with this? The Falcon isn't just your typical Star Wars reference just because they like it, it's more. And drawing the connection early on between El, the Millennium Falcon and the peregrine falcon which is then associated with Max as a zoomer/speed queen, space, high speed, rockets etc isn't a coincidence. Not at all.

El is Max.

Max is a Zoomer.

Suddenly the Kessel Run feels different.

Or spirals:

Post by @o11yradio · 1 video

💬 2  🔁 2  ❤️ 13 · The New Movie about the Theories You've Been Posting · I am putting the end at the beginning to grab your attention. Rue,

Additional links:

Post by @anonymusauros · 10 images

💬 2  🔁 9  ❤️ 55 · Vecna created a new timeline so he could have full control over it. · Season 5 is a new timeline, and the first scene with

Post by @anonymusauros · 8 images

💬 3  🔁 9  ❤️ 70 · Elmax is the Key to Restore the Original timeline · I made 2 posts recently, theoryzing about a possible alternate timelin

Post by @noreasontobeupset · 28 images

💬 2  🔁 2  ❤️ 14 · A trip to China sounds nice · Blue and Yellow... I think it's safe to say that, we've found the Fenghuang [ElMax], and

Reblog by @sterlingarcher23 · 6 images

💬 4  🔁 2  ❤️ 26 · The fact that Max is doing this with the Hawkins lab right behind her. X marks the spot! Total coincidence I guess. But

Special thanks again to @o11yradio @noreasontobeupset @anonymusauros @nuffit

I probably have forgotten potential links, so here are the links to my

Primary Master Post

and

Secondary Master Post

[vyladerz]

WE ARE SO BACK!!! Sorta. Not really but I don’t want to dismiss this season completely. Season 11 did restore my faith a bit (especially after season 10). I mean in just the first episode we finally get to have a discussion about the whole point of hunting. To save lives. It’s so refreshing to start this season from this point, I just wish we could have ended on the same note.

The highs this season have reached heights I haven't seen since season 5. My patience has been so worth it. Visually the ranking here looks bottom tier heavy but the fifth tier is only C tier and there are moments in those episodes that I can say I did enjoy. The second to last tier can be ranked on it's own cause the Mytharc episodes have me scratching my head. Anyway who's up to reading paragraphs (I'm going to use Chuck and God interchangeably in this post).

-Chuck is God or God is Chuck. You know what? What the hell, go for it. No but I actually fuck with this. It just makes sense, out of anyone it would be Chuck. Episode 20, "Don't Call Me Shurley" blew me away. I want to dissect this episode in its entirety so badly but I will only share a quarter of my thoughts here for now. I'm so happy Metatron wasn't killed off before this episode. A few seasons ago I would have rolled my eyes at the thought of him returning but his presence was so deserved here. His whole writing 101 lesson to Chuck was such a clever way to get some much needed introspection into God and his many complicated relationships. Of course Metatron would be the only one able to truly get God to see how much of a utter coward he is. Metatron's devotion to advocate for humanity despite all it's faults he himself has witnessed and has been apart of is so dear to me. Especially considering his previous distain for anything to do with humanity. I find it so interesting that although Metatron is a scribe who has read the ins and outs of every book ever written, it's not until he became human that he came to appreciate all of humanity. And he did not live a pretty life either, no he was in the dumpster digging for scraps in the beginning of this episode. He was finding his way to survive as a human, the same as Castiel before. Honestly Metatron is a one of a kind type of character in this show and I couldn't see anyone else be able to fill his shoes. Okay this turned into Metatron the novel rather than it being about Chuck like it was meant to be oh well. I will say it is a ballsy move to have God be this grounded but damn did they do it so right. Well, in this episode at least. Plus the addition of Light vs. Darkness within the Supernatural lore felt inevitable. I do think they fumbled with it towards the end but I don't think it should be counted as a total loss. I'd have to make a separate post to speak my thoughts on the Mytharc overall this season if anyone cares to read about it.

Anyway Chuck/God is bisexual so cheers.

-Baby and the amulet mentioned!!! A Baby centric episode has been long overdue and boy oh boy did it have me falling in love with this show all over again. I know I made a post before about my favorite Supernatural episode being "Changing Channels" and the others happening to be Gabriel episodes but I think I have to pass the crown to "Baby." I love it so much I get so giddy when I think about the many layers that all come together to make such a beautifully cohesive story. It has heart, drama, great fight scenes, creative camera shots, silly brother bonding, and still pushes the main narrative along. What more could I ask for?? (Balanced storytelling will always win me over). I never thought I'd see an episode like this after season 5. I'm so glad they proved me dead wrong. I didn't realize how much I missed Baby, she's truly her own character in this show. Speaking of missing prominent objects that symbolize familial love and the brotherhood between Sam and Dean...yes the amulet. I've had this sore spot in my heart ever since I witnessed Dean throw it out all the way back in season 5. Then it was mentioned in the episode "Fan Fiction" last season which just hurt me even more. Now here it is after so much heartache, it's back and with a fair explanation to where it's been. I've always half joked with my sibling that Sam picked it up after it was thrown away and I'm sticking to that interpretation even more so now since the show seems to support it. Now if Dean and Sam could mention it in conversation...then I'll be free.

-Casifer was fun lol. I mean Misha Collins you've done it again. I saw recently on Twitter that people were saying that his depiction of Lucifer was too over the top and that it was his acting choices that made this character nothing more than a joke. I’d have to disagree, yes his performance was very expressive and leaned into a comedic portrayal of the character but he was still entirely in character. Lucifer using comedy to be an overall unhinged menace has been a thing since season 7 (Back then he was only a hallucination so I let it slide with little thought). So Misha’s performance doesn’t come out of nowhere, this characterization, whether we agree with it or not, has already existed and is accurate. This is purely a writing issue and not one that falls on the actor. And man do I personally not care for the writing choices made this season when it comes to Lucifer. This season has pushed its limits to how far I’m willing to take his comedic aspects because I find it has overshadowed the parts that make him compelling and sinister. I don’t know why the writers neglected these sides of him in favor of being a comedic relief which just has me rolling my eyes. Yes I like Casifer, as a one off thing that was very entertaining to watch but I know that this is going to be the direction they continue in and that bugs me. Anyway, Misha’s performance helped make Lucifer way more palatable and likable to the audience. Which is important because this character we are meant to despise is on screen for basically the whole season. I also do think Casifer did go on for a bit too long, there's a reason Souless Sam and Demon Dean don't last for entire seasons. It gets draining to watch real fast. This trend of having nothing for Castiel to do for basically a whole season is still continuing and I'm so over it. How long has it been since a true Team Free Will moment? Not saying Cas can only do something when it involves the brothers but come on it's been a long dry spell without an episode focused on the main three.

-This next part is in relation to episode: "We Happy Few." The whole "God is a deadbeat dad" thing was used as an analogy to describe what is a very complex relationship between a God and an archangel but now here it's so literal. You've got to be kidding. Why are we dumbing down Lucifer to a stubborn whiny bratty child?? (Again to reiterate, I don’t blame Misha’s performance, he was working with the script they gave him). They somehow had these larger than life entities' lore be devolved into some shitty reality tv show. You will not make me believe the relationship between God and Lucifer can be resolved through a sit down conversation (To be fair, it doesn't get resolved but it's sorta baffling that I have to watch them even try). How am I supposed to take any of these characters who are supposed to be menacing and these grand imposing figures within this show when they pull things like this?? I know I previously sung praise for this creative decision however, the lack of nuance between these pivotal character interactions just ends up make everything so cartoonish. For example, I would have thought there was going to be some engaging conflict with Sam and Dean's perspectives regarding faith once God, excuse me, Chuck, was in the picture. However, there was no questioning whatsoever this time around. For some unknown reason they decided that the whole emotional core of Supernatural, that being faith, shouldn't be a part of the story at that crucial moment. There's a huge opportunity here for even just a simple conversation between the brothers and Chuck. I mean, Sam and Dean are in the same room as God and NOTHING comes of it?? Sam especially should have had a voice here. Ugh it hurts to see the brothers being so docile and blindly following them. What a waste of an opportunity and now that Chuck's gone I'm just going to have to turn to fan fiction to get what should have been canon.

-The ending. The ending wasn't totally hopeless. Sam letting go of Dean was emotional in a very subdued way. It wasn't over the top like it was trying to force tears or convince me this was totally the end. It wasn't for the audience but it was just for them. This proves Sam has grown so much even just from the last season. Which is so refreshing to see because I wanted to let go of season 10’s characterization. The setup for the Men of Letters and the resurrection of Mary had me intrigued. I mean I did get spoiled before, I saw a clip of Mary with the boys at one point so I can't lie and say I'm shocked. I'm sure if I wasn't already aware I'd be losing it a little. I'm ready for something new that has nothing to do with Lucifer or Gods. If things can go down a notch as far as grandeur storytelling is concerned for just a season or hey just a few episodes then I'll be good.

I wouldn't say this season is a step down from season 10. There have been glimpses of the show remembering what works and finding it's sweet spot throughout this season. Overall I liked this season and what it had setup for the most part. Now on to season 12 with hope that some good has stuck.

[freshthoughts2020]

Producer vs. Beatmaker A Classic Topic Revisited

Producer vs. Beatmaker

A Classic Topic Revisited

June 11, 2026

Years ago, my cousin, who is a producer, asked me to write about the difference between a producer and a beatmaker. At the time, it was one of those conversations that kept coming up in music circles, especially among artists, engineers, and people trying to understand the roles behind the the records they loved. I never forgot that discussion, and with so many people still using the terms interchangeably today, I felt this was a good time to revisit the topic and share my thoughts.

What makes this topic even more interesting to me now is that I have experienced both sides of it firsthand. As an artist, some of the most valuable production I have received did not come from someone making a beat for me. It came from people helping me make better decisions.

Two of my go-to collaborators, Mike Jack and Ricemasteryen, have produced me through conversations and messages more than once.

Mike Jack once told me:

“I like lookin silly but on your verses it feels like the vocals running and tripping over the beat. Listen to the rough draft and record the verses and use that smooth laid back flow. The hook sound cool.”

Notice what he was doing there. He was not talking about changing the drums, adding a synth, or swapping out a sample. He was listening to the performance and identifying a problem with the delivery. He heard that my flow was fighting the beat instead of riding it.

Ricemasteryen gave me a different kind of feedback:

“Man, I also felt like, the RISK ASSESSMENT beat somehow does not fit your style 100%, I think it’s too slow. Why you did not make the beat faster like you did on the first EP? haha”

Again, that is production. He was not criticizing the beat itself. He was evaluating the relationship between the beat and the artist. He recognized that the tempo was not bringing out the strongest version of my style.

Neither of those comments involved making a beat.

Both of them involved producing.

The Difference Is Not Ego. It’s Vision.

When most people hear the word producer, their first thought is usually simple:

“That’s the person who made the beat.”

Sometimes that is true.

However, that definition only tells part of the story. It is similar to saying a movie director is simply the person holding the camera. While there may be some overlap, it overlooks the larger responsibility.

A producer can absolutely make beats. They can be skilled with drums, samples, keyboards, software, and every tool involved in creating music. But a producer does not necessarily have to touch a keyboard, drum pad, or mouse to produce a record.

The reason is simple: producing is not just about creating sounds.

Producing is about understanding what those sounds are supposed to become.

A beatmaker creates the foundation.

A producer sees the entire building.

What Is a Producer?

A producer is the person who understands the record beyond the beat itself.

They often hear the song before it fully exists. They know when an artist should pull back emotionally, when a hook needs more energy, when a verse feels overcrowded, or when a bridge is missing altogether. They can recognize when a beat is excellent but simply not right for a particular artist, project, or moment.

A producer understands placement and direction. They think about where the vocals should sit in the mix, whether a hook should be layered, how an artist should deliver a line, and whether the overall record should feel warm, cinematic, aggressive, emotional, polished, or raw.

Producing is decision-making.

A producer often serves as a coach, architect, executive, creative director, and translator of ideas all at once. Their role is to help transform a good concept into a complete record.

Sometimes the producer creates the beat.

Sometimes they select the beat.

Sometimes they tell the beatmaker to remove a drum sound.

Sometimes they ask the artist to redo a verse.

Sometimes they are the only person in the room willing to say, “This song still is not finished.”

That perspective matters.

That vision matters.

It is why legendary figures such as Quincy Jones and Dr. Dre are recognized as producers. It is also why someone like DJ Khaled can still be considered a producer even when he is not building every beat from scratch. Producing is about understanding records, artists, energy, sequencing, presentation, and execution.

Producing is not simply pressing buttons.

Producing is making the right decisions.

What Is a Beatmaker?

At the same time, calling someone a beatmaker should never be viewed as an insult.

A great beatmaker is a highly skilled creator.

Beatmakers are craftsmen, builders, and musicians who understand rhythm and emotion. Whether they use FL Studio, Logic, Ableton, Maschine, MPC, GarageBand, or any other platform, they know how to create something that moves people.

A good beatmaker understands drums the way a tailor understands fabric. They know which kick drum shakes a car, which snare cuts through a mix, and which hi-hat pattern creates movement.

They understand how certain samples evoke pain, how specific synths create excitement, and how a bassline can completely change the mood of a record. They know how to turn emotion into sound.

That skill should never be minimized.

A beatmaker studies feeling. They can take a simple loop and make it feel like an entire world. They can create something so powerful that an artist instantly knows how they want to perform on it. They can create something so soulful that everyone in the room stops talking and listens.

The beatmaker gives the artist a universe to step into.

At its most basic level, a beatmaker makes beats.

At its highest level, a beatmaker creates the emotional atmosphere of a record.

That is a powerful contribution.

So What’s the Real Difference?

The difference is not talent.

The difference is scope.

A beatmaker is often focused on the beat itself: the drums, melodies, samples, arrangement, bounce, and overall musical foundation.

A producer is focused on the complete record: the beat, the artist, the vocals, the structure, the mix, the audience, the project, and the final impact.

A beatmaker might say:

“This beat is hard.”

A producer might say:

“This beat is hard, but it is not the right beat for this song.”

That distinction is important.

A beatmaker creates the canvas.

A producer decides what belongs on it.

A beatmaker may build the tool.

A producer ensures it is being used in the right way, by the right person, at the right time.

And that brings me back to Mike Jack and Ricemasteryen.

Neither one needed to touch the beat to help improve the record.

One focused on the flow.

The other focused on the tempo and artist fit.

Both were thinking like producers.

Which One Is Better?

Neither.

This is where many people get confused.

Some people avoid the title beatmaker because they believe producer sounds more important. In reality, both roles are valuable.

There is nothing small about being an elite beatmaker. Some beatmakers become so influential that their sound defines entire eras. Their drums become recognizable signatures. Their samples become part of a culture. Their production tags alone can command attention.

That is real influence.

Likewise, there is nothing illegitimate about being a producer who does not personally create every beat. If you can guide a record, shape its direction, develop artists, and recognize what is missing before anyone else does, then you are producing.

The title is not the issue.

The real question is whether you bring value to the music.

The Best Option: Be Both

If you can be both a producer and a beatmaker, you possess a powerful advantage.

When you can create the beat and oversee the entire record, you gain complete creative control. You are not only building the foundation; you are designing the structure, shaping the experience, and ensuring every detail serves the final vision.

That is when you become more than someone who simply makes sounds.

You become someone who creates worlds.

So no, a producer and a beatmaker are not always the same thing.

But both are essential.

The beatmaker gives the record its body.

The producer gives the record its direction.

And when one person can do both, the music often becomes something greater than a song.

It becomes a moment.

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[liu-anhuaming]

all my mandarin dictionaries (and dictionary-adjacent books)

Through chatting with @don-dake and @cherrymintvampyyri, I've come to realize that I might own a less than normal number of Mandarin dictionaries. So, here's a post about all of them.

I do have two basic bilingual dictionaries (Mandarin/English): the Langenscheidt pocket dictionary and the DK visual dictionary. These are quite easy to buy and not that interesting imo, so I'm not gonna talk further about them.

I'm also going to include a couple books that aren't technically dictionaries, but are rather about etymology of characters, and that's close enough to count for me.

Okay, let's get on to the interesting stuff!

1. What Character is That? An Easy-Access Dictionary of 5,000 Chinese Characters by Ping-gam Go (second edition, 1995)

bilingual

This strange little dictionary was gifted to me by a nun who went to high school with my grandma and later lived in China as a missionary. It's organized alphabetically based on the English translation of each radical?

I have not used this dictionary for actual reference ever, because I flipped through it once and realized that it was absolutely whack. But it's cool to have I guess.

2. 新华字典 第11版

monolingual

This little guy was gifted to me by a Chinese classmate back when I was in college. It's a 字典, so it's just focused on defining individual characters and providing some words featuring that character. Despite being a mainland dictionary, it also has 注音 next to each character for some reason.

It's got some neat stuff towards the back, like the periodic table and a chart of all the 節氣 solar terms.

3. 小学生全笔顺 同义词 近义词 反义词 组词 造句 成语 多音多义字 词典

monolingual

Whew, that's a mouthful. This is an actual 词典, so it defines full words. It also provides example sentences, synonyms, antonyms, and close equivalents. Then there's a section for idioms, and another section for 多音多义字.

There's also this nifty little insert with examples of words/phrases that follow common patterns of repetition.

4. 新现代汉语词典

monolingual

I picked up this chunky guy from a used bookstore down the street from me (the owner of the store passed last year, and the store is no longer there unfortunately). This is a fairly normal dictionary, it's just bigger than my others and has more words listed in it.

One thing I also noticed is that this chart towards the end of the dictionary apparently had a strip of paper pasted on the bottom. It doesn't seem like something I can peel up without damaging the paper under it, and when I shine a flashlight through the page I can't make out any major differences between what's on the sticker and what might be on the page under it. So my best guess is there might have been some damage to the text on the page?

5. 商务馆学汉语近义词词典 The Commercial Press Guide to Chinese Synonyms

monolingual

This book is easily the one I reference the most. As the name suggests, the book is all about synonyms. It takes sets of 2+ similar words and thoroughly explains the similarities and differences between them all. There's plenty example sentences, with notes about whether the synonyms can be used interchangeably in certain contexts.

It's a great resource, but I had a bit of trouble getting my hands on a copy. It's possible that in the years since I bought it there have been more copies made available for sale though.

these next two are books I haven't explored too much since they are old and the binding is incredibly fragile and starting to fall apart. just opening them is stressful.

6. 漢字分解 Chinese Characters Explained by F.X. Keelan (aka 康愛玲修女) (1967?)

bilingual

This book was also gifted to me by the nun who went to school with my grandma, and appears to also have been written by a nun! Based on what I've found from Google, this book was published in 1967.

Rather than a dictionary, this book is "a compilation intended as an aid in grouping and remembering [Chinese characters] with a view in acquiring a reading knowledge of Chinese"(p. iii). It aims to break down characters into radicals and giving similar/related characters. It's apparently the final installment in a 4 part Mandarin Course.

This book uses traditional characters. According to Google Books, the publisher is 光啓出版社, which is a Taiwanese organization. The book includes a very long table that has Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Hakka, Japanese, and Korean pronunciations for (what seems to be) every character mentioned in the book. The intro mentions that this is so the course is more "accessible" for speakers of other East Asian languages.

Also, look at that printing error in the third photo! The text got cut off at the bottom of the page.

7. The Structure of Chinese Characters by John Chalmers (second edition, 1911)

bilingual

This final book is the oldest of the bunch, and was gifted to me by my boss's boss for some reason? She found it in a used bookstore apparently.

This book also uses traditional characters, because simplified characters just weren't a thing yet in 1911. This book is falling apart, and opening it stresses me out. It creaks whenever I open it.

Going by the title page, the full title of this book is An Account of the Structure of Chinese Characters Under 300 Primary Forms; After the Shwo-Wan, 100 A.D., and the Phonetic Shwoh-Wan, 1833. It was published by Kelly & Walsh, which was a Shanghai-based publisher.

Someone very kindly penciled in the years the author was alive: 1825-1899. John Chalmers was apparently a Scottish missionary (bc of course he was) who apparently popularized the term "Cantonese". This book that I own in particular was originally published in 1882.

It is, as the very long title suggests, an analysis and etymology of 300 common components

It also has a nifty fold-out of all 300 "primary forms" in seal script.