a

[balkanradfem]

Ladies I need you to write me a list of your favourite female youtubers because I am struggling! I need women telling me things!

Mine are: 

Jess (Roots and Refuge farm aka all my gardening knowledge)

李子柒 Liziqi (separatist heaven, magical food growing and cooking)

STRANGE ÆONS (lesbian content)

Jenny Nicholson (fun analysis of media + themeparks)

Lindsay Ellis (in-depth analysis of media)

Melissa Norris (homesteading content)

I also like SarahZ, tiffanyferg, Karolina Żebrowska and Bernadette Banner but I need MORE and youtube algorythm is giving me NOTHING 

[balkanradfem]

Update with my new faves! 

Last few weeks I’ve only watched women-made content and I’ve seen women build a house, build every piece of furniture imaginable, build a sink, care for a food forest, carve utensils, chop and store wood, grow and process so much food, clear areas after a flood, plant and care for trees, go together on adventures. I am honestly so high on women content right now, I don’t think there’s a single thing women can’t do, even the tiniest, weakest-looking women can do more than a non-women can. Here’s some of that with links!

GET HANDS DIRTY :  She will build anything and my lesbian heart is weak for her: Watch her build the most beautiful sink you’ve ever seen!

Anne of All Trades: She has spoon carving classes! She will show you how to make utensils out of wood! Also watch her build a whole tiny house in 7 days! + Garden and fermenting content

HannahLeeDuggan: Life in a cabin and van-travel content, but she also shows you how to make paper, how she builds shelving, cabinets, fixes up her entire off-grid cabin by hand!

PlantAmnestyBrand: I cannot stress this one enough: TREE CARE!!! How to properly prune and care for trees, how to have healthy and productive environments, how to maintain native plant gardens, I learned all my tree facts here! If you ever plan to grow a tree watch this!

Mother The Mountain Farm: how I imagine separatism would look like, I am living my dreams in these videos, two sister care for a food forest in Australia, make their own food and care for the land and create art and clothing

[balkanradfem]

New favs!

Emmymade : She makes all kinds of old and exotic recipes! There’s a lot of recipes from depression era and poverty era, real study into how people used to eat! And cool food reviews.

Cruel World Happy Mind: Exposes all the scams, MLM’s, pyramid schemes, and abusive or exploitative work practices, even fake and biased journalism! Amazing resource to have in late capitalism, to be aware of scams!

Isabel Paige : Lives on the mountain and is absolutely incredible with what she can do, every video has a from-scratch recipe made out of natural ingredients, she spun and created blankets from scratch, makes her own soap, shampoo, deodorant, kitchen tiles, is currently cooking from her own garden, and makes music! I’ve learned tons from her.

Haphazard Homestead: This woman will teach you how to forage ANYTHING, if a plant is only edible for 5 minutes in one day she will HUNT IT DOWN and show you how to safely cook it, priceless foraging resource! You listen to this lady, you will never go hungry again.

She is of the Woods : Herbalism, precious medicinal plant info! Follow her advice with caution bc I did almost get poisoned, but I am here for everything she knows about plants.

Her86m2 : Urban food growing, endless recipes and tips for growing food indoors, recipes, and creating very beautiful lamp shades and updates in her space! Her bread-making video sent me years forward!

FairlylandCottage and TheCottageFairy are both very soothing with women living in nature, sharing tips and advice for natural life!

Emily Artful: She will tell stories from her life while you watch her paint! The stories are absolutely wack and I love listening to her talk, also watching her paint is extremely soothing

Wild She Goes : Van-lifer who settles in a small isolated village in Italy, you get to see her start up a life in nature, work on her house, make food and furniture! 

Acre Homestead : This woman has amazing ideas about growing, storing and cooking food in bulk! She shows you how she grows, cans, dries and cooks massive amounts of food and uses every single plant to the fullest. I’d never think to make onion-top pesto! And her voice, gods, I could listen to her talk forever.

[balkanradfem]

Thank you for everyone who added new recs in the comments and replies, every single time I want to see some new stuff I check the comment section and it’s an absolute treasure of resources there. Here’s my newest recs:

How to Cook That : She makes historical food and debunks all kinds of fake baking and cooking content! Surprising amount of information on what is going on behind the scenes in the world of internet

Not even Emily : I feel like we all know her, absolutely hilarious sketches and comedic content, she’s often including gay and bi characters in her jokes!

Rachel Makesy : Soft, gentle and easy-going sewing content, I really warmed up to her, she makes costumes, second-hand things and often cosplays of her favourite shows! Feels peaceful to listen to her speak.

Aurikatariina : She cleans people’s houses for free, makes intensely satisfying deep-clean videos where you see her transform places from dumpster-infestation into home. Very kind and understanding towards people with mental health issues, never indulges in any shaming.

Dani Connor Wild : She is a wildlife photographer, and her favourite are squirrels. I’ve never been as mesmerized and awed by photos as I’ve been on her channel, she’s absolutely incredible and I love her calming voice as she talks about animals. Absolutely amazing experiences of squirrels and other animals up close.

Jonna Jinton : Cinematic videos of life in the North Sweden, absolutely beautiful cinematography and beauty of the northlands, she was my first real insight into how it is to live in very cold weather, without sunlight in the winter, and just how beautiful it could look.

[balkanradfem]

Thank you to everyone who commented, replied or reblogged the list of their faves, this post became a valuable resource to me, and I go thru it often! Here are my new faves:

Leena Norms - She talks about climate change, but in the most encouraging, productive and uplifting way I’ve ever seen. She analyzes many aspects of life and how we could change them to consume less or in a less destructive way, what can we do to save life and the environment in the future, and she talks about books written by women! I find her videos uplifting and encouraging.

Gab Smolders - She streams video games, and my favourite videos of her are Nancy Drew streams, I have never in my life seen someone figure out Nancy Drew games so quickly, she will solve a puzzle I’ve agonized over for a week in 5 minutes. Also her vibe? So soothing and relaxing, brings so much joy to me!

Jenna Phipps - She sews, she crochets, she even made her own shoes from a kit! She has her own style of pastel colors and handmade clothing that I adore, and I also believe her to be a creative genius, because she will go and wing it and do patterns out of thin air and then the result is the most gorgeous dress you’ve ever seen. She also makes clothes so fast I can’t even keep track of it.

Mia Maples - Okay, so, this is 70% comfort consumerist content, she buys clothes and brand stuff and tries them on, this is NOT my usual go-to content, but HEAR ME OUT. This woman.. has a good relationship with her mother, and I am here for it. Her mom appears in her videos to comment, help, be the target of her pranks, and to try stuff on! Her mom is the most positive, validating, uplifting, kind and funny person I’ve ever seen and I am comforted and delighted every time I see her. Also, Mia will post videos of her doing home renovation, teach you how to tile your kitchen, sewing, re-creating popular clothing and exposing brands sometimes! So I like to believe there’s a balance (her vibe is so good I got sucked in after 1 video and keep making excuses. She looks like a princess in all of those gowns okay).

Izzzyzzz - She makes content about creepy old video games, old online games, doll collections, and any other creepy rabbit hole a little girl who is into horror would like, I found out so much lore about the old internet and old websites from her! Her voice is so soothing and her essays extremely enjoyable to watch.

Merphy Napier - She’s a booktuber, but I love her for her One Piece videos. If you liked One Piece at any point in your life, you will absolutely love her analysis and commentary. She is the most passionate person who explains to me what actually happened in One Piece while giving me the life-saving criticism of all of the misogynistic bullshit happening in there. I was dying before I found her feeling that nobody would call that shit out. She also talks about fantasy books a lot!

Bailey Meyers - I originally adored her because she will read Goosebumps books to you, while adding her own hilarious commentary, but now also, I’ve discovered that she has a whole lot of Nancy Drew streams on twitch and that shit had me screaming in laughter, immediately addicted. Also she recently did a DND campaign with Jenny Nicholson so you can see Jenny if you watch it!

The Icing Artist - she makes, incredibly professional cakes, I’ve learned to make better looking cakes just by watching how she does it, but, tw her husband is in the videos, especially newer ones, so that is a bummer, but nevertheless, amazing cake art, if you wanna learn about cakes this is where it’s at.

[balkanradfem]

I just got an anonymous submission of a great collection of female youtubers, she put them all into a playlist and just looking at it, I can already see some extremely valuable and educaional female-made videos! Thank you so much anonymous tumblr user, and for all of you here’s the LINK

(this playlist is an endless source of female-made videos, there’s over 1000 female youtubers in there!)

[balkanradfem]

Anti capitalistic methods of self reliance!

Everyday items:

Plasic bags can be replaced by cloth bags you can sew, without any prior knowledge of sewing, from any old shirt you were going to throw away

Toilet paper can partly or completely be replaced by 'Family cloth', which is a series of cloth napkins cut to the size you like, which are then washed after each use! There's no risk of disease if only used for number one, for number two they need to be submerged into peroxide liquid in order to be safely cleaned. Even if you only use them for number one to stay safe, being reusable and costing nothing they will save you a lot in not having to buy toilet paper

Paper towels can be replaced by little cut-out cloths you can easily wash after use, or a simple kitchen and bathroom cloth for cleaning

Paper tissues have originally been handkerchiefs, washable and reusable, zero waste option (and they can be very pretty too!)

Laundry detergent can be replaced by horse chestnuts, or conkers! If cut open and submerged in water, they will produce soapy water, which is equally good at cleaning as your laundry detergent, completely environmentally friendly and free if you foraged the chestnuts. They can be collected and dried to use for the entire year, and you can tie them up in a sock to put in your washing machine.

Cleaning products can be replaced by vinegar, and if you hate the smell you can change it by infusing citrus peels in it! It will smell like oranges and lemons after you leave them in there for a few weeks

Cleaning products can also be self-made, by fermenting food scraps, it's called 'enzyme cleaner' and it can clean most of things in a completely environmentally friendly way!

Shampoo can be self-made, or replaced with options like herbal teas, which will also ensure that your hair no longer gets greasy, as grease is the result of using shampoo

Menstrual pads can be sown from any discarded pieces of cloth, they only need to be submerged in cold water after use in order for blood to wash out. Additionally you can make washable menstrual panties, which make sure your pads don't move in there!

Simple medicine for aches like stomach cramps, headaches, anxiety, sore throat can be found in the basic knowledge of herbalism, and simply making teas from herbs that soothe these issues. They will not be able to cure a heavy disease, but are able to provide momentary relief from annoying aches!

Immunity booster syrup can be made out of elderberries, if you're careful about not getting any seeds or stems in!

if you're growing food, you can grow your own dish sponges, and washing sponges, the plant is called 'Loofah' and you can grow a whole lot in one season then use them for years

Reuse plastic items for as long as you can, to lessen the amount being thrown into landfills, and if you need new items, aim to get a not-plastic one

If you have lots of paper trash or newspapers, you can learn to make baskets from it.

Instead of throwing away food scraps, you can try setting up a simple composting bin and also get some valuable free soil, that is great for growing little plants and herbs in it

If you're composting on a big scale, the heat compost produces can be used to heat a room

getting into hobbies like soap making, pottery, woodcarving, sewing, knitting  or weaving can also save you a lot of purchasing because you realize you can simply make that thing yourself, and in better quality than it would be available at the store

Saving water and energy:

Accumulating water in a big pot while you're washing dishes, then using that water to water your houseplants is safe, especially if you're not using a lot of detergent, and it saves a lot of water

To save energy when cooking in a pot in the stove, wait until your pot starts boiling, then take it off the stove, and wrap it in a cloth, then a towel, then a blanket, and leave it wrapped up. The layers of cloth are making it difficult for the heat to escape the pot, ensuring it will keep very high temperature for half an hour, cooking as if it was on the stove. If it needs to cook longer, you can just put in on the stove for a minute to get it back to boil. You can cook pasta, rice, beans, potatoes, soups, stews, risotto, pretty much anything with long cooking time like this.

If your water boiler is big, you don't need to leave it on at all times, I've reduced my electricity bills by a lot by turning it on only when I intend to use the hot water. In the summer, if you have access to a natural body of water, use that for washing!

If you own a property, watch where the water is naturally going and accumulating; you can collec t this water and set up a system to use it for gardening/any outdoor use

if you're building a structure, making sure that the sun hits the windows in the winter, and that the place is protected from the wind by growing trees as a wind shield, will save loads of energy in heating and cooling it, as well as making sure the structure is well insulated

Heat/cool only the parts of the structure/house that you're using, making it both environmentally friendly and ensuring you don't have a too big temperature difference when you go outside, making you healthier

Try an experiment were you go a day without electricity and see what you can use as alternative in this situation; it's okay if you fail, it will provide you with knowledge of how dependant you are on the energy, and the ideas of what you can possibly do when without!

Clothing:

If sewing clothing from scratch is something that appeals to you, that is ideal for self-reliance! It is likely that after just a bit of practice, you'll be able to sew more quality items than are sold, because current fashion items are made to fall apart, and you can make your clothing strong and durable.

Sharing clothing you no longer want to wear, and letting others know they can offer their unwanted pieces to you can provide you not only with practical clothing, but you can use all fabric, buttons, zippers and other materials to sew! You can, again with minimal practice and even by hand-sewing, make your own bags, tablecloths, placemats, pillows, blankets, decorations, hats and scarfs

Visible mending, embroidering, adding details or creating your own little alterations on clothing will not only provide a sense of accomplishment, but enrich your life in the way of skill development and being able to make and mend things with little resources

Learning about history of textiles and what fast fashion is doing to the environment provides appreciation and love for sewing and creating textiles, and could inspire you to try and see how it feels to do!

Any piece of clothing that is no longer fit to be remade into something new, can still be cut into pieces and used for cleaning, as a paper towel replacement, for wiping the floor or wiping your shoes, and if it's soft, for pillow filling!

For extra clothing or furniture, you can join online groups named 'buy nothing' and 'sharing is caring', where people will often gift extra clothes and furniture for free, sometime appliances and electronics too

Food:

If any outside space is available, learning to garden is an excellent investment in food security

Seeds can be harvested from plants you already have, gifted from neighbour or friend gardeners, and some can even be taken out of store-bought produce

Soil can be taken from the forest ground which has composted leaves as topsoil, dig under a tree for best results

If no outside space is availabe, dwarf plants, herbs, and greens can be grown in containers, clean your air while they also provide food

Learning to forage for wild edible plants will provide both entertainment and free food! Any wild plant you find is likely to be more rich in nutrients than a cultivated plant, making your diet well rounded and healthy

Learning to grow trees and care for them will provide free food not only for you, but for generations to come, as well as offset the damage from the climate change. Knowing how trees work and how to prune and nourish them is powerful knowledge.

Preserving food:

Ways of preserving your food long-term are curing (for onions, potatoes, garlic, pumpkins), canning (tomatoes, peppers, fruit), fermenting (cabbage, hot peppers, turnips), dehydrating and sun-drying (tomatoes, fruit, herbs, hot peppers, mushrooms)

Growing and collecting food during warm months and then saving them for winter was done by people for centuries and it provides a safe and reliable access to food all year round

Buying cheap produce when it's in-season and preserving it can save you a lot of money and bring you far in self-reliance

Making your own recipes and then getting to eat them later in the season bring a sense of accomplishment and pride, as well as providing a zero waste food option

Cooking food from scratch is made easier by having some of your food preserved, because a lot of the time you've already prepaired most of your ingredients, and only have to place them in the pot

If you already know to make your own bread, you can also try making your own yeast, by mixing flour and water, and letting it ferment while adding more flour and water every day. It can last forever.

If you're interested in knowing more about gardening, herbalism, tree care, and foraging, check the 'Homesteading Survival Knowledge' masterlist, filled with links on these specific topics!

These are not ideas that anyone should quickly or immediately integrate in their life; instead, trying whatever seems interesting and appealing, slowly learning about it and trying one thing at the time is more encouraging and sustainable! I myself have spent years learning and integrating these, enabling me to feel happy and confident doing any and all of this. If this is overwhelming, pick whatever feels appealing and do only that! Forget the rest until it feels easy and fun thing to try out.

[i-was-today-years-old-when]

i learned about Marion Stokes, a Philadelphia woman who began taping whatever was on television in 1979 and didn’t stop until her death in 2012.. The 71,000 VHS and Betamax tapes she made are the most complete collection preserving this era of TV. They are being digitized by the Internet Archive. (x)

[followthebluebell]

i feel like this is selling her a bit short tbh.  It’s not like she was a random woman who decided to tape ‘whatever’ was on television.  She was a civil rights activist and archivist, who was extremely concerned about preserving history.  She believed that, by taping television, she would be preserving history EXACTLY as it was perceived at the time; she didn’t want the detail in the news to disappear with time.  And she was RIGHT.

Like I said, she didn’t just tape ‘whatever’ was on television.  It was extremely targeted towards news stations.  There were 8 VCRs running at all times in her home.  Her life—-and her family’s lives—-were centered around 6 hour blocks, since that was the amount of time that a tape would record for.  Her collections were also extremely organized. 

[archivlibrarianist]

The Marion Stokes Movies and Video Collection may be found on the Internet Archive here.

Wikipedia’s article on Marion Stokes may be found here.

A documentary of her life, Recorder: the Marion Stokes Project, was released in 2019, and seems to have good reviews, though I have not yet seen it.

[aliensexdream]

From archive.org (Internet Archive) - The Marion Stokes Papers contain documents related to the life and activism of Marion Stokes (1929-2012), civil rights activist, feminist, and news archivist. Stokes’ social activist career began in the 1950s, and encompassed many areas of left politics during a particularly transformative time in America. Her groundbreaking television show (co-produced with her husband John S Stokes Jr), Input, addressed many pressing issues, and much of it remains relevant today. Additionally, Stokes amassed a huge archive of videotaped television news, which is slowly being made available through the work of the Internet Archive.

[orisnitsa]

This site has a lovely bunch of Eastern European movies with subtitles, so you can enjoy them dispite not speaking the language

[poisoncherrywine]

this site also has hundreds of Polish films with English subtitles!

[simplestudentplanning]

100 Hobbies To Try

Hobbies are a great way to practice self-care, and to have as a stress reliever. As uni students, we often find ourselves stressed out about our academic responsibilities, projects deadlines, and even financial concerns. We need some way to let out those stresses, and hobbies are one way to do it. You don't have to be good at them, you just have to enjoy doing them!

Here's a list:

Acrylic pouring

Antiquing

Archery

Astrology

Astronomy

Baking

Beekeeping

Bird watching

Bookbinding

Calligraphy

Canoeing

Candle making

Cartography

Chess

Checkers

Collecting coins

Collecting crystals

Collecting funko-pops

Cooking

Crochet

Crossword puzzles

Cycling

Dancing

Diving

DIY electronics

DIY home improvement

Drawing

Embroidery

Fencing

Filming

Fishing

Frisbee golf

Gardening

Genealogy

Geocaching

Glassblowing

Guitar

Homebrewing

Hiking

Horseback riding

Hot air ballooning

Ice skating

Inline skating

Jigsaw puzzles

Juggling

Kayaking

Kite flying

Kite surfing

Knitting

Lego building

Letterboxing

Magic tricks

Martial arts

Meditation

Metalworking

Model airplanes

Model building

Model rockets

Model trains

Mountain biking

Origami

Paper folding

Painting

Paragliding

Parkour

Piano

Photography

Podcasting

Pottery

Programming

Puzzle solving

Quilting

Rappelling

Reading

Rock climbing

Rollerblading

Running

Sailing

Sculpting

Sculpture carving

Scrapbooking

Scuba diving

Singing

Skiing

Soap carving

Soap making

Stand-up comedy

Stand-up paddleboarding

Stained glass crafting

Stargazing

Surfing

Traveling

Urban exploration

Urban farming

Virtual reality gaming

Web design

Wine making

Wine tasting

Writing

Yoga

[artemisarticles]

How to Stock a Modern Pantry

“Pantry” is an antique word with an eternal logic: Cooking is simpler and faster when you already have the ingredients. We’ve identified thr

Getting Started

Clear the decks. Take everything out of your pantry, give it a hard look and decide what you can get rid of. Be ruthless. If you haven’t used it in a year, get rid of it.

Keep what looks and smells good. “Expiration,” “sell by,” and “best by” dates are not good guidelines. Some are determined by regulators, others by manufacturers, and almost all are arbitrary. Properly stored, some (unopened) ingredients, like canned fish, can last for years; others, like dried herbs, start declining in quality the moment they are sealed in a container.

Assess what remains. Then organize it according to the logic that makes sense to you: There’s no single best system. Your nut butters might be with the condiments, or the breakfast items, or the baking supplies.

Fill in the blanks with food that will make you a better cook. Each of the pantry lists below is a proposal, not a prescription. There’s no reason to stock black beans if you only like red. There’s no need to have everything here available at all times. You’ll know your pantry is well stocked for your purposes when most of the time, you need only add one or two fresh ingredients to cook one of our recipes from scratch. Or even better, none.

The Essential Pantry

The foundation layer for all three pantries, this is where everyone should start. There’s so much to be done with these basics. The rule here is stock your pantry mostly with what you’re confident using, and what you love to eat. You’ll turn to it again and again.

Oils and vinegars: Extra-virgin olive oil, neutral cooking oil (such as canola or grapeseed), red-wine vinegar, white vinegar or white-wine vinegar.

Cans and jars: Tuna in olive oil, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken stock or vegetable stock (box-packed tastes better than canned). A good-tasting, simple tomato sauce can become a soup or a stew, or make a quick dinner with pasta or polenta.

Spices and dried herbs: Kosher salt, red-pepper flakes, ground cayenne, curry powder, bay leaves, black peppercorns, sweet paprika, ground cinnamon, ground cumin, garlic powder or granulated garlic, dried thyme and dried oregano. This selection will take you through everything from a basic beef stew to Saturday morning pancakes to Thanksgiving dinner.

Grains and starches: Long-grain white rice, one or two other grains (such as quinoa or farro), dry pasta (one long, one short and chunky), plain bread crumbs, crackers, canned beans (white beans, black beans and-or chickpeas), dry lentils.

Nuts and nut butters: Walnuts, almonds, roasted peanuts, peanut butter (smooth and crunchy).

Sweeteners: Honey, maple syrup, granulated sugar.

Preserves and pickles: Fruit jams and preserves, anchovies.

Condiments and sauces: Basic vinaigrette, mustard (yellow or Dijon), mayonnaise, ketchup, hot sauce, salsa, soy sauce.

Produce: Garlic, onions, all-purpose potatoes (such as Yukon Gold), lemons, shelf-stable tofu (Essential for vegetarians, Expanded for others).

Dairy: Eggs, unsalted butter, cheeses (Cheddar, Jack or Colby, Parmesan), milk or cream for cooking (not skim).

Freezer: Chicken parts, sausages, thick fish fillets, shrimp, thick-sliced bread (for toast), spinach (and other vegetables such as corn and peas), berries (and other fruit such as peaches and mango). Some fruits and vegetables take particularly well to freezing — and in most growing seasons, the quality is better than fresh. Frozen fruit is useful for baking and smoothies.

Baking: All-purpose flour, cornmeal, rolled oats, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, pure vanilla extract, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, confectioners’ sugar, bittersweet baking chocolate, semisweet chocolate chips, raisins or another dried fruit, cocoa powder. With these ingredients on hand, thousands of cookies, brownies, cakes, muffins, quick breads and other sweets can be produced without a trip to the store.

The Expanded Pantry

For the cook who has a grasp of the basics, but wants to be able to stretch toward new options and flavors. Here, long-lasting, punchy ingredients like tahini, hoisin sauce, coconut milk, sherry vinegar and capers are stocked alongside classics: limes with lemons, jasmine rice as well as long-grain, almond butter in addition to peanut butter.

Oils and vinegars: Peanut oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, sherry or balsamic vinegar, apple-cider vinegar.

Cans and jars: Sardines, unsweetened coconut milk, whole Italian plum tomatoes, beef stock (box-packed tastes better than canned). Whole plum tomatoes are rarely called for in recipes, but they tend to be the ripest and best-quality fruit. They can be diced or crushed to use in a recipe — or drained and slow-roasted for an intense topping on omelets, salads, grain bowls or pizza.

Spices: Flaky salt, single-chile powders (such as ancho and pasilla), ground coriander, turmeric, smoked paprika, cardamom, za’atar, allspice, fennel seeds, dry mustard, garam masala (a basic Indian mix of warm spices), five-spice powder (a basic Chinese mix of spices), whole nutmegs.

Grains and starches: Rice noodles, basmati or jasmine rice, brown rice, panko bread crumbs, dry beans.

Nuts and nut butters: Almond butter, tahini, pecans.

Preserves and pickles: Olives (oil-cured and-or in brine), capers in brine. These ingredients, served with good bread and butter, make an elegant appetizer with wine, or everyday snack.

Condiments and sauces: Worcestershire sauce, hoisin, Thai red curry paste, fish sauce, anchovy paste, harissa.

Produce: Russet potatoes, carrots, celery, limes, ginger, avocados, parsley, cilantro, scallions, jalapeños. Keeping chiles, aromatics and herbs on hand gives you instant access to intensely fresh flavors, even for — maybe especially for — the simplest dishes you cook.

Dairy: Plain full-fat yogurt, more intense cheeses (pecorino, feta), salted butter.

Freezer: Pancetta, artichoke hearts, homemade stock, homemade bread crumbs, fresh pasta, vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, cut and peeled winter squash, chopped onions), cooked grains. Prepared ingredients like chopped onions and cooked grains speed your route to dinner.

Baking: Cake flour, whole-wheat flour, dark baking chocolate, vanilla beans, almond extract, powdered gelatin, molasses, light corn syrup, buttermilk powder, active dry yeast.

The Expert Pantry

For the cook who likes taking global flavors, new methods and viral recipes for a spin. Here, the chiles get hotter, the chocolates darker and the cheeses funkier. These ingredients are just a fraction of what’s out there, but by stocking them, you will be able to cook almost any recipe you come across and experiment with creating your own.

Spices: Hot smoked paprika (pimentón), sumac, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, flaky dried chiles (such as Aleppo, Urfa or Maras), dried whole chiles (like ancho and arból), marjoram, dukkah, baharat, shichimi. Whether you stock spice mixes like baharat (a mix of warm spices used in the Middle East) or shichimi (a Japanese blend of ground chiles and sesame seeds) will depend on the global flavors that most appeal to you.

Grains and starches: Short-grain rice, dried pastas (bucatini, mezzi rigatoni or farfalle), spelt, pearl barley.

Nuts and nut butters: Pine nuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), pistachios. Toasted nuts like these (not as everyday as almond and peanuts) are good in salads and granola, on roasted fish, or just with olives for a classic pre-dinner snack.

Preserves and pickles: Pickled hot peppers, cornichons, kimchi, preserved lemons, roasted chiles, horseradish, caperberries, dried sausages such as saucisson sec and chorizo. The intense flavors of pickled and salted ingredients can be a great pick-me-up for mild dishes. In cooking, you can often substitute a bit of preserved lemon for regular lemon, or use the brine from cornichons as part of the liquid in a recipe.

Condiments and sauces: Gochujang, mango chutney, miso, wasabi, dark soy sauce, Chinese oyster sauce, Asian chili bean pastes.

Produce: Shallots, fresh mint, fresh rosemary, lemongrass, fresh Serrano and Thai bird chiles, fresh bay leaves.

Dairy: Ghee, crème fraîche, aged cheeses (Gruyère, blue cheese). Ghee (Indian-style clarified butter) and crème fraîche can reach much higher temperatures than butter, yogurt and sour cream without burning or breaking, so they are useful in cooking.

Freezer: Edamame, curry leaves, makrut lime leaves, merguez (spicy lamb sausages from North Africa). Fragrant leaves like makrut lime and curry (not the spice mix, but an Indian tree with scented leaves) are much more powerful in frozen form than dried.

Baking: Bread flour, pectin, almond flour, tapioca pearls, rose and orange flower waters, gelatin sheets, black cocoa, currants, fresh yeast, sparkling sugar, pearl sugar, candied citrus rinds

Best Practices

Once you have your ingredients, remember that cooking will always create change and disorder. Cans of tomatoes may never match, spices may never live in matching containers, and your hot sauce collection may always try to take over the condiment shelf. But here are a few final thoughts on how to keep your pantry well stocked and well organized enough to be truly useful.

ORGANIZING TIPS

Cooks with different styles need different systems. Some people store the jam with the dried fruits and maple syrup; others associate it with peanut butter, mustard and mayonnaise. The best logic is your own, and it may take some time to figure that out.

If you can’t see it, you’re probably not going to use it. A storage space with more shelving is the most efficient configuration for ingredients. Drawers or slide-out shelves also help tremendously with visibility.

Store everything you can in clear containers. Airtight plastic ones are best, and available in many shapes, sizes, and systems. Rectangular shapes make the best use of space.

Keep a roll of painter’s tape and some permanent markers in a kitchen drawer. It’ll help you make quick labels.

MAXIMIZING INGREDIENTS

Be realistic about your habits. It’s great to clean and trim a week’s worth of vegetables at once — but if you’re not going to do that, buy smaller quantities.

Buy ground spices in the smallest quantities you can find (except for spices you use regularly). Specialty companies will ship as little as an ounce, about 3 tablespoons. You’ll save space and produce better, brighter flavors in your food.

Buy fresh herbs. Dried herbs used to be a pantry essential, but most start out with very little flavor and lose it quickly in storage. (A couple of exceptions are dried oregano and dried thyme.) Pick up fresh herbs when you need them for a particular recipe; it’s a better investment of money and storage space.

Buy heavy, shelf-stable ingredients like boxed broth and canned tomatoes in bulk; better yet, order them online to save time and irritation. Almost any delivery service or website will offer a better price on these items than a brick-and-mortar store.

Cooked ingredients are much easier to use up than raw ones. Whether you steam, boil, pan-fry or roast, cook anything in your refrigerator that looks tired. You can always use it in a salad, a grain bowl or a pasta.

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

folding a butterfly of autumn

[cendrillonmedousa]

Incomplete Masterpost on Radical Feminist Literature

This is an incomplete list of literature associated with radical feminism. Currently, it dates back to the late 1960s and goes up to the 2010s. Since this list contains historical readings, some books discussed were written by women who have done actions that ranged from questionable to the absolute immoral. In regards to the latter, I believe it would be incredibly irresponsible to pretend that radical feminism have not allowed these women a space in a community that is supposed to condemn those behaviors and actions. If you are interested in reading the literature created by any of the authors who participated, endorsed, or did unforgivable things, I urge you to find a means of accessing those works in a way that would not result in them or their foundations receiving compensation. Also, please remember to read their works with a very critical lenses. Thank you.

SCUM Manifesto (1967)

SCUM Manifesto argues that men have ruined the world, and that it is up to women to fix it. To achieve this goal, it suggests the formation of an organization dedicated to overthrowing society and eliminating the male sex. Author Valerie Solanoas, a lesbian, also urged women to "overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and eliminate the male sex." It's currently debated whether SCUM Manifesto is satire or parody, due to its parallels with Freud's theory of femininity. NOTE: Author Valerie Solanoas is known for her stalking and attempted murder of Andy Warhol. The motive for the attempt on his life was decided to be due to undiagnosed mental illness that convinced her of conspiracy between Warhol and another artist to steal her works. Warhol developed PTSD after the incidents, according to his lover(s) and friends. Personally, it is up to yourself whether or not this information sways your decision to buy a copy or access it for free.

Notes From the First Year (1968)

New York Radical Women complied a group of feminist texts and speeches from their work in 1968. The compliation included texts from Shulamith Firestone, Jennifer Gardner, Kathy Amatniek, and Anne Koedt.

The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution (1970)

Described as a classic of feminist thought, Jewish author Shulamith Firestone argues that the biological division of labor in reproduction in the root cause of male domination, economic exploitation, racism, imperialism, and ecological irresponsibility. She argues that goal of the feminist revolution must be not just the elimination of male privilege but of the sex distinction itself, so that genital differences no longer have cultural significance.

Sexual Politics (1970)

Based on her PhD dissertation, Kate Millett's book is regarded as a classic of feminism and one of radical feminism's key texts. Dr. Millett argues that sex has a frequently neglected political aspect and discusses the role that patriarchy plays in sexual relations. She argues that authors such as D.H. Lawrence, Henry Miller, and Norman Mailer discuss sex in a patriarchal, sexist way. Meanwhile, she endorses the more nuanced gender politics of gay writer Jean Genet. Note: Kate Millet has endorsed pedophilia, excusing her endorsement by pretending it is for the liberation of children. If you have a desire to read Sexual Politics, please find a means to access it without contributing to her. Read the book with a VERY critical lenses due to what she endorses.

Sisterhood is Powerful (1970)

An anthology of feminist writings, it was edited by Robin Morgan and is one of the first widely available anthologies of second-wave feminism. The anthology calls for consciousness-raising and a call to action. The collection addresses several major issues, including "the need for radical feminism, the discrimination women experienced from men in the political left, and the blatant sexism faced in the workplace. Also, the collection most notably included Black Women's Liberation Group.

The Myth of Vaginal Orgasm (1970)

Essayist Anne Koedt responded to the sexual revolution of the 1960s by addressing both the myth of vaginal orgasms and previous thoughts about female orgasms in general. Her article played a vital role in feminist sexual revolution and draws on research done by Alfred Kinsey about human sexuality.

The Female Eunuch (1970)

This is a key text of the 1970s feminist movement, a mixture of polemic and scholarly research. An important text in the feminist movement, Germaine Greer's thesis is that the traditional nuclear family represses women sexually. She argues that men hate women, though the latter do not realize this and are taught to hate themselves. Note: Germaine Greer created and distributed a book that she claimed was "to advance women's reclamation of their capacity for and the right to visual pleasure." The cover of the book was a shirtless picture of 15-year-old boy, who discovered the use of his photo for this photobook in his early 30s. The contents of the book have been described as pedophilic. During the height of #MeToo, Germaine Greer called for women to show solidarity when other women are sexually harassed, but then went on to say: "But if you spread your legs because he said 'be nice to me and I'll give you a job in a movie' then I'm afraid that's tantamount to consent, and it's too late now to start whingeing about that." She also said that some women's disclosure of their assaults and harassment was "dishonorable" because some of the victims had been paid to sign non-disclosure agreements and only spoke out after the statute of limitations. If you have a desire to read The Female Eunuch, please find a means to access it WITHOUT contributing to her and keep in mind these events.

Off Our Backs (1970-2008)

Off Our Backs was a collective of women who practiced consensus decision-making. Consensus decision-making are group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the requirement of acceptance by all. In the first issue, the editorial statement states that Off Our Back is a paper for all women who are fighting for the liberation of their lives and we hope it will grow and expand to meet the needs of women from all backgrounds and classes. They ask readers to use this paper to relate what you are doing and what you are thinking, for we are convinced that a woman speaking from the agony of her own struggle has a voice that can touch the experience of all women.

Lesbian Nation (1973)

In this book, lesbian separatist Jill Johnston outlines her vision of radical lesbian feminism, writing that women should make a total break from men and male-dominated capitalist institutions. She believes that female heterosexuality was a form of collaboration with patriarchy.

Woman Hating (1974)

Women Hating delves into the topics of misogyny and sexuality. Written by Jewish writer Andrea Dworkin, she examines the place and depiction of women in both fairy tales and pornography. She then compares and contracts between Chinese foot binding and European witch burning. The final section discusses the different cultural concepts of androgyny. Note: In Women Hating, Andrea Dworkin's use of the word erotic makes her sections on bestiality and incest upsetting and potentially triggering to read. Andrea Dworkin is using her self definition of erotic. She does defines erotic as non-sexual and similar to how intimate means close social relations, which is different to how we commonly define the word.

Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape (1974)

Jewish author Susan Brownmiller argues that rape is a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear. She criticizes men such as Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engels for their oversights on rape, especially challenging the Freudian concept of rape fantasies. Her book is credited with inflencing changes in law regarding rape.

Pornography: Men Possessing Women (1981)

Andrea Dworkin argues that pornography dehumanizes women and that the industry itself is implicated in violence against women. She analyzes the contemporary and historical pornography industry in how it abuses women, both in production and consequences from consumption by men. This leads to humiliation and abuse of women.

Ain't I A Woman? (1981)

Titled after Sojourner Truth's speech, Black writer bell hooks examines the effects of misogynoir on Black women, the civil rights movement, and the feminist movements from suffrage to 1970s. She argues that the convergence of sexism and racism during slavery contributed to Black women having the lowest status and worst conditions of any group in American society. Furthermore, she argues that the stereotypes during slavery allowed white society to justify the devaluation of Black femininity and rape of Black women. She also argues that Black nationalism was a largely misogynist movement and the feminist movement did not articulate the needs of poor and non-white women.

Against Sadomasochism (1982)

An anthology with multiple authors, they critique sadomasochism and BDSM from a feminist perspective. Sadomasochism is described as being rooted in patriarchal sexual ideology. Three pieces cites the movement as insensitive to the experiences of black woman, citing "master/slave" relationships. Susan Leigh Star cites the use of swastikas and other Nazi imagery by BDSM practitioners as inherently antisemitic. Marissa Jonel and Elizabeth Harris give personal accounts of their experiences with sadomasochism, while Paula Tiklicorect and Melissa Bay Mathis use satire in their pieces.

Sweet Freedom: The Struggle for Women's Liberation (1982)

Anna Coote, Beatrix Campbell, and Christine Roche look at the progress of women's liberation so far and examine the the reasons for its achivements and failures. As active feminists since the early days of the movement, they provide a unique historical account and strategy for the future. She critiques The Feminine Mystique (1963) as being a limited perspective on women's reality despite its usefulness about the impact of misogyny on housewives, since it did not include non-white women. She uses the term "white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy" as a lens through which to both critique American culture and to offer solutions to the problems she explores. She addresses the goals of feminism, pacifism, solidarity, and the nature of revolution.

Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (1984)

A feminist theory by bell hooks, bell hooks wrote the book as a response to the need for theory that took into account gender, race, and class.

Sisterhood Is Global (1984)

Edited by Robin Morgan, this anthology of feminist writings is the follow-up to Sisterhood is Powerful (1970). It was hailed as a historic publishing event and the definitive text on the international women's movement. It is typically a course text in women's studies, international affairs, global economics, and other disciplines. After its release, Sisterhood Is Forever was published in 2003.

The Spinster and Her Enemies (1985)

Lesbian author Professor Shelia Jeffreys examines feminist involves in the Social Purity movement at the turn of the century. Note: Shelia Jeffrey advocates for political lesbians, albeit her definition of a political lesbian is a "woman-identified woman who does not fuck men." Definitely not the worst of what I've written in "Note:" but I thought it should be mentioned as it is in many of her works as well as political lesbianism being lesbophobic.

Intercourse (1987)

Andrea Dworkin provides a radical feminist analysis of sexual intercourse in literature and society. She argued that the depicitions of intercourse in mainstream art and culture consistently emphasized penis-in-vagina intercourse as the only, most genuine form of "real sex." This kind of depiction then enforces a male-centric, coercive view of sexuality, thus making heterosexual intercourse itself become a central part of men's occupation of women. Although often read as her arguing that heterosexual sex is always rape based on the quote "violation is a synonym for intercourse", Dworkin had stated that "What I think is that sex must not put women in a subordinate position. It must be reciprocal and not an act of aggression from a man looking only to satisfy himself. That is my point."

Feminism Unmodified (1987)

Preceded by Sexual Harrassment of Working Women (1979) and followed by Pornography and Civil Rights (1989), legal scholar Catharine A. MacKinnon archives her collection of critical essays about pornography and liberal feminism. This book is one of the most widely cited books on law in the English language.

Toward a Feminist Theory of the State (1989)

Catharine A. MacKinnon argues that feminism had no account of male power as an ordered yet deranged whole. She proposes her book as an answer to this problem. She takes Marxism as the theory's point of departure. Unlike liberal theories, she states that Marxism confronts organized social dominance, analyzes it in dynamic rather than static terms,identifies social forces that systematically shape social imperatives, and seeks to explain social freedom both within and against history.

Only Words (1993)

Catharine A. MacKinnon contends that the U.S. legal system has used a First Amendment basis to protect intimidation, subordination, terrorism, and discrimination as enacted through pornography. She believes this violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment. Her book is divided into three discussions: defamation and discrimination, racial and sexual harassment, and equality and speech.

Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed (1996)

This collection reveals the global reach of radical feminism and analyze the causes and solutions to patriarchal oppression. Author Diane Bell shows how radical feminist analysis cuts across class, race, sexuality, region, and religion. She makes visible how male control is exercised in every sphere of women's lives. Contributors to this book include Robin Morgan, Catherine MacKinnon, Marcia Gillespie, and Andrea Dworkin. The editors also asserted that radical feminism should always welcome and acknowledge the diversity of women while stressing commonality. Note: There is a section on therapy and how it is believed to undermine the practice of radical feminism. Do not think this means you are a "bad activist" by going to therapy. If you are interested, there is a type of therapy known as feminist therapy.

Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel, and Women's Liberation (2000)

Andrea Dworkin begins with an analysis of antisemitism and misogyny in world history, making a comparison between the persecution of Jews and the oppression of women. She discusses the sexual politics of Jewish identity and antisemitism, and called for the establishment of a women's homeland as a response to the oppression of women. Note: There is discussion of present-day Israel in this book and the book was found offensive to both Zionists and non-Zionists when it was published. Although Andrea Dworkin stated she supported the Jewish right to have their own state, she described Israel as a male-dominated, militaristic society built on a form of "near apartheid" against Palestinians and Arab Israelis. I recognized that the subtitle is controversial, so I thought fit to include this Note: here.

Sisterhood Is Forever (2003)

The final anthology to the Sisterhood Is series, it has more than 50 women contributing 60 essays. It discusses feminism's emphases and accomplishments as of 2003. Essays range in tone from scholarly to narrative and provide both conservative and liberal viewpoints. The focus is in the United States, addressing why feminism is still needed by providing alarming statistics from the United States.

Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975 (2006)

Lesbian editor Barbara J. Love created a comprehensive directory to document many of the founders and leaders of second wave feminism in America. It tells the stories of more than two thousand women who made permanent changes to customs and laws. She briefly discusses women's liberation to the earlier first wave feminism and presents a brief overview of what second wave feminism means.

The Industrial Vagina (2008)

Lesbian author Professor Shelia Jeffreys writes how prostitution has become a burgeoning and immensely profitable global market sector. She describes the globalization of sex markets, saying: "the right of men to women's bodies for sexual use has not gone, but remains an assumption at the basis of heterosexual relationship." She also draws links between marriage and prostitution, such as mail-order brides. Note: Shelia Jeffreys does advocate for political lesbianism, although she defines it as a "woman-identified-woman who does not fuck men". Very very tame in comparison to about Notes: on this list, but I thought it was important to mention as political lesbianism is lesbophobic.

The Silencing of Feminist Criticism of "Gender" (2013)

Written by thirty-seven radical feminists from five countries, the publication concerns itself with the rise of "gender theory," which avoids naming men and the system of male supremacy as the beneficiaries of women's oppression. It details how organizations tied to radical feminism have been treated by certain proponents of gender theory, such as individual Deep Green Resistance members being threatened with arson, rape, and murder. It also compares the similarities of reactions to feminism by transgender male-to-female individuals and Men's Rights Activists.

[armandeos]

Video essays that make me go “oh, so you’re like smart smart”

Elon Musk and Grimes: A Retrospective

Bo Burnham vs. Jeff Bezos

The Systemic Abuse of Celebrities

Lana Del Rey: the pitfalls of having a persona

we need to talk about Call Me By Your Name

MYTH OF THE AUTEUR: Stanley Kubrick vs David Lynch

In Search Of A Flat Earth

Envy

The Commodification of Black Athletes

The Lies Of The Lighthouse

The Green Knight: The Uncanny Horror of Masculinity

Time Loop Nihilism

How Bisexuality Changed Video Games

The Golden Age of Horror Comics - Part 1 (Part 2)

Weighing the Value of Director’s Cuts | Scanline

The True Horror Of Midsommar

Keep reading

[daphnedauphinoise-deactivated20]

It’s time for video essays recommendations!✨

Socialism: an indepth explanation

Loneliness, emptyness and anxiety in the modern world

Spirituality in Call me by your name

Why the Music in Les Misérables (2012) is Worse than you Thought

It's Embarrassing to Die: The Immortalist Story

The Wendy Theory is Bad

Jennifer's solution

The hidden rules of modern society

Frog and Toad: the philosophy of simple living

[s-n-arly]

Skip Google for Research

As Google has worked to overtake the internet, its search algorithm has not just gotten worse.  It has been designed to prioritize advertisers and popular pages often times excluding pages and content that better matches your search terms 

As a writer in need of information for my stories, I find this unacceptable.  As a proponent of availability of information so the populace can actually educate itself, it is unforgivable.

Below is a concise list of useful research sites compiled by Edward Clark over on Facebook. I was familiar with some, but not all of these.

⁂

Google is so powerful that it “hides” other search systems from us. We just don’t know the existence of most of them. Meanwhile, there are still a huge number of excellent searchers in the world who specialize in books, science, other smart information. Keep a list of sites you never heard of.

www.refseek.com - Academic Resource Search. More than a billion sources: encyclopedia, monographies, magazines.

www.worldcat.org - a search for the contents of 20 thousand worldwide libraries. Find out where lies the nearest rare book you need.

https://link.springer.com - access to more than 10 million scientific documents: books, articles, research protocols.

www.bioline.org.br is a library of scientific bioscience journals published in developing countries.

http://repec.org - volunteers from 102 countries have collected almost 4 million publications on economics and related science.

www.science.gov is an American state search engine on 2200+ scientific sites. More than 200 million articles are indexed.

www.pdfdrive.com is the largest website for free download of books in PDF format. Claiming over 225 million names.

www.base-search.net is one of the most powerful researches on academic studies texts. More than 100 million scientific documents, 70% of them are free

[snookersneek]

Darkly academic research ideas for your time indoors (because you're not a heathen):

The lives of great classical composers.

Ancient Egypt's social hierarchy and attitudes towards women, homosexuality etc.

Poisons.

The tea trade, and how it became so important to British culture.

18th century fashion and the production of clothing.

How corsets aren't the terrible patriarchal torture devices everyone thinks they are.

The use of recreational drugs in the late 19th century.

The French revolution.

Methods of forensic investigation at crime scenes.

Controversy in psychological studies.

Matriarchal societies.

How nostalgia influences fashion, media, and literature.

The nature versus nurture argument.

The history of trains and railroads.

Symbolism in art.

Just a few research rabbit holes to throw yourself into if you're bored. :)

[dogdayafternoon1975]

Film Analyses/Reviews

The Sacraments of Genre: Coppola, DePalma, Scorsese

Operatic Style and Structure in Coppola's "Godfather Trilogy" (Pt. I) (Pt. II)

The Tragedy of Michael Corleone in "The Godfather: Part III"

Animated Nature: Aesthetics, Ethics, and Empathy in Miyazaki Hayao's Ecophilosophy

The Precarious Politics of Precious: A Close Reading of a Cinematic Text (X)

As I Lay Dying: Violence and Subjectivity in Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (X)

Shifting Gears and Paradigms at the Movies: Masculinity, Automobility, and the Rhetorical Dimensions of "Mad Max: Fury Road"

Review: Godfather: The Intimate Francis Ford Coppola

Two Thousand Light Years from Home: Scorsese's Big CASINO (X)

TIME PIECES: WONG KAR-WAI AND THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY (X)

Matter out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" (X)

Disney's Moana, the Colonial Screenplay, and Indigenous Labor Extraction in Hollywood Fantasy Films

Viewing Sinophone Cinema Through a French Theoretical Lens: Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood For Love" and 2046 and Deleuze's "Cinema" (X)

The Parallelism of the Fantastic and the Real: Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth/El Laberinto del fauno and Neomagical Realism (X)

"Back to the Future": Oedipus as Time Traveller ("Retour vers le futur": Oedipe, voyageur du temps)

Beyond the Male Romance: Repetition as Failure and Success in Apocalypse Now

Beautiful Friendship: Masculinity and Nationalism in "Casablanca"

GIRL POWER: BACK TO THE FUTURE OF FEMINIST SCIENCE FICTION WITH INTO THE FOREST AND ARRIVAL

"Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli." How Machiavelli's The Prince Exemplifies the Gangster in The Godfather and A Bronx Tale

Film as Literature: TWO SCREENPLAYS (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas)

Where Did the Goodfellas Learn How to Cook? Gender, Labor, and the Italian American Experience

Goodfellas Review (1991)

Where is the Bawdy? Falstaffian Politics in Gus Van Sant's "My Own Private Idaho" (X)

The Filmmaker as DJ: Martin Scorsese’s Compiled Score for Casino (1995)

EAST Meets WEST: "Casablanca vs. The Seven Samurai"

The Power of Adaptation in "Apocalypse Now"

Animalizing "Jurassic Park's" Dinosaurs: Blockbuster Schemata and Cross-Cultural Cognition in the Threat Scene

Review: American Psycho

The Feminine Hero of The Silence of the Lambs (X)

"Fight Club'"s Queer Representations (X)

Tiny Life: Technology and Masculinity in the Films of David Fincher (X)

Complex Design in "The Empire Strikes Back" (X)

SAVAGE PLACES REVISITED: CONRAD'S "HEART OF DARKNESS" AND COPPOLA'S "APOCALYPSE NOW"

PORTRAITS OF THE POSTMODERN PERSON IN TAXI DRIVER, RAGING BULL, AND THE KING OF COMEDY

(Taxi Driver) (Raging Bull)

Homosexuality in "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975): Televisual Surfaces and a "Natural" Man (X)

Where Did All the Heroes Go? (Dog Day Afternoon)

Italian-Americans in Film: From Immigrants to Icons

God's Lonely Man: "Taxi Driver" in Script and Screen

A Slice of Delirium: Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" Revisited

Kafka on the Screen: Martin Scorsese's "After Hours" (X)

Stalking 'The Deer Hunter'

Gender, Genre, and Myth in "Thelma and Louise" (X)

Restaging the War: "The Deer Hunter" and the Primal Scene of Violence

"The Godfather, I and II": Patterns of Corruption (X)

Making the Milk into a Milkshake: Adapting Upton Sinclair's "Oil!" into P. T. Anderson's "There Will Be Blood"

Child of the Long Take: Alfonso Cuaron's Film Aesthetics in the Shadow of Globalization

THE SWOLLEN BOY: Paul Thomas Anderson's BOOGIE NIGHTS and Diggler Days

Love in Time: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, and Richard Linklater's "Before" Films

Other

Al Pacino (X)

Lies and Loneliness: An Interview with Tony Leung Chiu Wai

Wong Kar-Wai (Interview)

Imagism and Martin Scorsese: Images Suspended and Extended

Docufictions: An Interview with Martin Scorsese on Documentary Film

Orson Welles: The Human Side of Genius

Eavesdropping On Female Voices: A WHO'S WHO OF CONTEMPORARY WOMEN FILMMAKERS (1987)

Disappearance of Elaine May

THE NON-DIEGETIC FALLACY: FILM, MUSIC, AND NARRATIVE SPACE

Hollywood Movie Dialogue and the "Real Realism" of John Cassavetes

THE WORK OF JOHN CASSAVETES: SCRIPT, PERFORMANCE STYLE, AND IMPROVISATION

The Adventure of Insecurity: The Films of John Cassavetes

Prospero's Muccs: The Meaning of Martin Scorsese's Italian American Dialect

Between Colorblind and Colorconscious: Contemporary Hollywood Films and Struggles Over Racial Representation

The Militarization of Marvel's Avengers

BEFORE AND AFTER "JAWS": CHANGING REPRESENTATIONS OF SHARK ATTACKS

Sound Doctrine: An Interview with Walter Murch

Made Men (Goodfellas, Mean Streets, Scorsese Interview)

Beautiful Resistance: The Early Films of Wong Kar-wai

Who Knew It Could Get Worse? When Nixon Haunted the New Hollywood

TV

Sticking Together, Falling Apart: "The Sopranos" and the American Moral Order

"Mad Men"'s Color Schemes: A Changing Palette of Working Women

ETHICAL UPLIFT, "NOT FOR NUTHIN" (Review: The Sopranos)

Writing

Story: Substance, Structure, Style by Robert Mckee

Dialogue - Robert McKee

THE WRITER’S JOURNEY Mythic Structure for Writers

The Art of Dramatic Writing

Anatomy of Story

Into the Woods

—-

(X) = corresponding tumblr post

[diabolicjoy]

Do you have any tips to get into ceramics? I've been thinking of trying it but I have no idea where to start and some guides are so overwhelming :( Like what clay & paint do you use? Do you need a special surface or other materials for it? (If it's alright to ask! No presh to answer btw)

Your works are so lovely, I'm always looking forward to what you make next! 💗

hi beloved. my first advice usually is to find a pottery studio where you can take classes... a teacher’s guidance + every material you need available to you will make things way easier for you in the beginning. but assuming that you’re trying to learn by yourself at home because you can’t take classes right now for your own reasons... i’ll try to give you the most basic guide on ceramics here, hopefully it will clear a few questions you might have? btw i feel the need to point out that i only started making ceramics less than a year ago, so there’s still a looooot that i don’t know yet. technicalities like firing & glazes i’m a bit ignorant of, so i won’t be covering much of that :s again, this is very basic! i’m simplifying it just to help you feel less overwhelmed c: <3

1. ok first thing first, you asked about the surface. at home i placed a sheet of unvarnished wood over my table & that’s where i do all my pottery work. of course there are many other options, you can read more about this topic here

2. there’s a few different options for clay, differents colors & types that you might like more. it’s explained perfectly on this video :^) i personally use white stoneware.

3. you need to wedge your clay!!! this is crucial. do it on the surface you picked from #1. here’s a very good tutorial.

4. ok now you can build whatever you want!

• you take your clay (you can use a wire to cut it from the big block of clay), wedge it, & start your work. i always have a small bucket of water & a small sponge with me when i’m working. use a humid sponge to smooth the clay if needed.

• i usually leave it at a shelf to dry a bit for a day or two, then it’s a bit more hard & you can’t make many changes (as in, adding new stuff to it) but it’s a good moment to carve it a bit more if necessary & smooth it out with the humid sponge. sculpt the little details etc. i recommend buying a tool set like this, it’ll make your job easier for this part

5. firing. like a said before i’m still not very familiar with the technicalities since i don’t own a kiln & my teachers are the ones handling that part :p but what you need to know is that your piece will need to be fired twice in order to become actual ceramic. your clay needs to be dry to go into the kiln. the first firing is called bisque. after that, you need to glaze your piece & then fire it a second time. the glaze will basically turn you work glass-like & food safe. here’s a very informative guide on firing <-

6. there’s are many (many!!) different colors & types of glaze. you can go to the amaco website & look at their charts just so you can have an idea. you can use either colored glazes or a transparent one. underglazes are used to ‘draw’ on & decorate you work. i personally use underglaze to paint before bisque firing bc i feel like the colors looks less faded that way. after bisque, i simply retouch little areas if necessary before applying the transparent glaze over it. you can use the underglaze only after bisque as well. there’s also a bunch of underglaze transfer sheets on etsy that looks super cool & fun to try! one thing you’ll notice about both glazes & underglazes is that the colors do not look nearly the same before & after firing. the colors look rather dull & opaque, but they’ll be vibrant after firing. it’s my favorite surprise heh

ok i think that’s it! this is obviously super SUPER basic, there’s so much little details that you’ll eventually learn but i just wanted to help you situate yourself a bit because i understand how overwhelming it can be when you’re learning something from scratch & alone. my tip is: join facebook groups for pottery, there are SO many & people are always happy to help if you have any questions. i also recommend that you go buy your materials in person if possible instead of online, surely the worker helping you will be able to guide you better on the many products that are out there & answer the questions you might have about it. & about the kiln, most pottery studios offer their kiln for people that aren’t students. the one i go to price it based on the total weight of the pieces i bring.

hopefully that was helpful! 🥰🙏

[escapetoluna]

How to learn a language when you don’t know where to start:

General Plan:

Weeks 1 and 2: Purpose:

Learn the fundamentals sentence construction

Learn how to spell and count

Start building a phrase stockpile with basic greetings

The Alphabet

Numbers 1 - 100

Subject Pronouns

Common Greetings

Conjugate the Two Most Important Verbs: to be and to have

Basic Definite and Indefinite Articles

Weeks 3 and 4: Purpose:

Learn essential vocabulary for the day-to-day

Start conjugating regular verbs

Days of the Week and Months of the Year

How to tell the time

How to talk about the weather

Family Vocabulary

Present Tense Conjugations Verbs

Weeks 5 and 6: Purpose:

Warm up with the last of the day-to-day vocabulary

Add more complex types of sentences to your grammar

Colours

House vocabulary

How to ask questions

Present Tense Conjugations Verbs

Forming negatives

Weeks 7 and 8: Purpose:

Learn how to navigate basic situations in a region of your target language country

Finish memorising regular conjugation rules

Food Vocabulary and Ordering at Restaurants

Money and Shopping Phrases

Present Tense Conjugations Verbs

Weeks 9 and 10: Purpose:

Start constructing descriptive and more complex sentences

Adjectives

Reflective verbs

Places vocabulary

Weeks 11 and 12: Purpose:

Add more complex descriptions to your sentences with adverbs

Wrap up vocabulary essentials

Adverbs

Parts of the body and medical vocabulary

Tips for Learning a Foreign Language:

Learning Vocabulary:

What vocabulary should I be learning?

There are hundreds of thousands of words in every language, and the large majority of them won’t be immediately relevant to you when you’re starting out.Typically, the most frequent 3000 words make up 90% of the language that a native speaker uses on any given day. Instead try to learn the most useful words in a language, and then expand outwards from there according to your needs and interests.

Choose the words you want/need to learn.

Relate them to what you already know.

Review them until they’ve reached your long-term memory.

Record them so learning is never lost.

Use them in meaningful human conversation and communication.

How should I record the vocabulary?

Learners need to see and/or hear a new word of phrase 6 to 17 times before they really know a piece of vocabulary.

Keep a careful record of new vocabulary.

Record the vocabulary in a way that is helpful to you and will ensure that you will practice the vocabulary, e.g. flashcards.

Vocabulary should be organised so that words are easier to find, e.g. alphabetically or according to topic.

Ideally when noting vocabulary you should write down not only the meaning, but the grammatical class, and example in a sentence, and where needed information about structure.

How should I practice using the vocabulary?

Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check - Use this method for learning and remembering vocabulary. This method is really good for learning spellings.

Make flashcards. Write the vocabulary on the front with the definition and examples on the back.

Draw mind maps or make visual representations of the new vocabulary groups.

Stick labels or post it notes on corresponding objects, e.g when learning kitchen vocabulary you could label items in your house.

How often should I be practising vocabulary?

A valuable technique is ‘the principle of expanding rehearsal’. This means reviewing vocabulary shortly after first learning them then at increasingly longer intervals.

Ideally, words should be reviewed:

5-10 minutes later

24 hours later

One week later

1-2 months later

6 months later

Knowing a vocabulary item well enough to use it productively means knowing:

Its written and spoken forms (spelling and pronunciation).

Its grammatical category and other grammatical information

Related words and word families, e.g. adjective, adverb, verb, noun.

Common collocations (Words that often come before or after it).

Receptive Skills: Listening and Reading

Reading is probably one of the most effective ways of building vocabulary knowledge.

Listening is also important because it occupies a big chunk of the time we spend communicating.

Tips for reading in a foreign language:

Start basic and small.  Children’s books are great practice for beginners. Don’t try to dive into a novel or newspaper too early, since it can be discouraging and time consuming if you have to look up every other word.

Read things you’ve already read in your native language. The fact that you at least know the gist of the story will help you to pick up context clues, learn new vocabulary and grammatical constructions.

Read books with their accompanying audio books. Reading a book while listening to the accompanying audio will improve your “ear training”. It will also help you to learn the pronunciation of words.

Tips for listening in a foreign language:

Watch films in your target language.

Read a book while also listening along to the audio book version.

Listen to the radio in your target language.

Watch videos online in your target language.

Activities to do to show that you’ve understood what you’ve been listening to:

Try drawing a picture of what was said.

Ask yourself some questions about it and try to answer them.

Provide a summary of what was said.

Suggest what might come next in the “story.”

Translate what was said into another language.

“Talk back” to the speaker to engage in imaginary conversation.

Productive Skills: Speaking and Writing

Tips for speaking in a foreign language:

If you can, try to speak the language every day either out loud to yourself or chat to another native speaker whether it is a colleague, a friend, a tutor or a language exchange partner. 

Write a list of topics and think about what you could say about each one. First you could write out your thoughts and then read them out loud. Look up the words you don’t know. You could also come up with questions at the end to ask someone else.

A really good way to improve your own speaking is to listen to how native speakers talk and imitate their accent, their rhythm of speech and tone of voice. Watch how their lips move and pay attention to the stressed sounds. You could watch interviews on YouTube or online news websites and pause every so often to copy what you have just heard. You could even sing along to songs sung in the target language.

Walk around the house and describe what you say. Say what you like or dislike about the room or the furniture or the decor. Talk about what you want to change.This gets you to practise every day vocabulary.

Tips for writing in a foreign language:

Practice writing in your target language. Keep it simple to start with. Beginner vocabulary and grammar concepts are generally very descriptive and concrete.

Practice writing by hand. Here are some things you can write out by hand:

Diary entries

Shopping lists

Reminders

What could I write about?

Write about your day, an interesting event, how you’re feeling, or what you’re thinking.

Make up a conversation between two people. 

Write a letter to a friend, yourself, or a celebrity. You don’t need to send it; just writing it will be helpful.

Translate a text you’ve written in your native language into your foreign language.

Write a review or a book you’ve recently read or a film you’ve recently watched.

Write Facebook statuses, Tweets or Tumblr posts (whether you post them or not will be up to you).

Write a short story or poem.

Writing is one of the hardest things to do well as a non-native speaker of a language, because there’s no room to hide. 

There are lots of ways to improve your writing ability, but they can be essentially boiled down to three key components:

Read a lot

Write a lot

Get your writing corrected

[im-okay-unless-im-not]

Dear scientists,

Please, for the love of God, please, make your papers more understandable.

Fuck you

Sincerely,

A college student on the verge of tears

[learnyouabiology]

I’m writing a manuscript rn and every single piece of feedback i’ve gotten has boiled down to “use more technical language” and “be more formal”, and I have been actively going “i will not be doing that, thanks” but my GOD do they not like it.

[learnyouabiology]

update: i cant believe this is actual literal feedback i actually recieved

[gallusrostromegalus]

OK so this is a genuine issue in scientific communication where a paper requires very Precise language, and because people aren't really used to writing that, they crutch on rules of Formality, because they've never been taught how to write with Clarity.

In the above example, 'huge' is not a very precise term. Could mean anything from "lots" to "About the size of a battleship" to "bigger than expected". Not a very precise term. I'm not sure what OP's field is, but they should probably be using a word that's more specific like "Statistically Significant Differneces" instead of "Huge differences", or maybe "Widespread Impact" instead of "Huge Impact". Whoever is providing critique here should say "the use of 'huge' here is imprecise and can confuse what you're talking about, please use a more specific descriptor".

What people generally are asking for when they want something 'understandable' is Clarity. Complex topics are perfectly fine, but they need to be explained clearly. Purdue has a good guide here, which I'll share the outline of, because it's genuinely good advice for many genres or writing:

Go from old to new information and keep the timeline straight. No Dr. Who Plots.

Use Transitional words when bridging concepts. Words like however, therefore, in addition, also, but, moreover, etc.

Keep your sentence structure simple, and mind where you put subordinate clauses. This is really hard for ADHD people who srt of tend to zig-zag across concepts, but in general, it's better to have several simple sentences than one huge rambling one.

Use Active Voice. Good: "The Comittee decided to postpone the meeting". Bad: "A descision was reached to postpone the meeting by the comittee"

Use Parallel Contructions. If you're comparing several things, use the same gramatical structure to describe each thing.

Avoid Noun Strings. Good: "These projects will stimulate investments" Bad: "Investment Stimulation Projects"

Avoid using the noun version of verbs. Good: "The Plan was implemented sucessfully." Bad: "The implementation of the plan was sucessful."

Avoid Multiple Negatives. Double negatives are confusing as hell, triple negatives are worse.

Chose Action verbs over forms of "to be". Good: "TV can report on events much faster than newspapers." Bad: "One difference between TV and newspapers is the relative speed at which they can report on things."

Avid Unclear Pronoun References: If you use terms like It, They, He, She etc. make sure it's very clear who or what that pronoun is referring to.

[wingleader]

See, this is helpful advice. The prof above was just spouting the “you should do it this way” without explaining the “why you should do it this way” which is where a lot of the disconnect tends to be, I feel.

[hamletthedane]

Want to learn something new in 2022??

Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)

40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)

Excellent basic crochet video series

Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)

Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)

How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)

Another drawing character faces video

Literally my favorite art pose hack

Tutorial of how to make a whole ass Stardew Valley esque farming game in Gamemaker Studios 2??

Introduction to flying small aircrafts

French/Dutch/Fishtail braiding

Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)

Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)

Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)

Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:

Calculus 1 (full semester class)

Learn basic statistics (free textbook)

Introduction to college physics (free textbook)

Introduction to accounting (free textbook)

Learn a language:

Ancient Greek

Latin

Spanish

German

Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)

French

Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)