sunt lacrimæ rerum

our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction

[luckykittycolor]

[ooppo]

[lesbiancaptainkirk]

this episode is why people call it hatecrimes m.d

[jyslacefront]

#remember when queerbaiting was done with a passion for fhe craft

[strictly-insomnimaniacal]

Baudrillard is unbearably funny. Every sentence in this passage is golden

[throbbinggristle]

19th century mother of pearl hand-carved with the crucifixion

[findchaos]

We visited an old glass factory that was converted into a park and the photos can get very surreal.

[mossgirl]

[door]

this is great. slowly we will build a house

[positivelyqueer]

”I have this artistic idea but not the skills to achieve it to the standard I want.”

congrats! Now you have a motif! A recurring theme! A focus for your art! Something to haunt you!

Seventeen still lives of dandelions? Three hundred poems about grief? A sketchbook dedicated to your grandmother’s house? Two books trying to unravel the complexities of familial relationships?

Don’t let the fear of it not being perfect on the first try stop you from being Weird About It!

[jaseroque]

Please view Hokusai's gradual working towards The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, over a period of 39 years.

An early exploration of the themes Hokusai would keep coming back to is Spring in Enoshima, done in 1793 when he was 33. The wave is small and there are no boats, but Mt Fuji is clear in the background, and Enoshima is in Kanagawa, so we are clearly beginning to work towards something here.

A second pass, eleven years later in 1803 when he was 44. The title of this one begins to get more familiar: The View of Honmoku Off Kanazawa. It has a towering wave over a smaller boat, but Mt Fuji is not present, and the boat is considerably larger and has a sail. But the feeling of danger in the wave and the smallness of the boat are here, and of course the general composition is definitely recognizable.

This is A View Of Express Delivery Boats, done in 1805, merely two years later at age 46. Here we find the wave and the boats almost exactly as we'll find them in The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, though Mt Fuji isn't present, and the location is uncertain. And it's a good picture! The wave is threatening, the boats are small -- but the feeling of "ocean" isn't really there yet, is it? It's unlikely this picture would have become a classic for the ages. But that's okay, there's still time.

And here we have it, a full 26 years later, done by Hokusai in 1831 at the age of 72. The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, one of the most recognizable pieces of art in the world. The boats are there, the mountain is there, the wave is there, and the FEELING is there. He did it! He reached the apex of his ongoing motif and theme!

Or did he? Because the whole point of a motif is not that you're striving to get to the perfect version of it, the one idealized image you carried in your head all along, and when it is done, you are also done. Hokusai is on record at the age of 73 saying he'd only just begun to feel like he was learning how to draw things properly, and that "if I keep up my efforts, I will have even a better understanding when I was 80 and by 90 will have penetrated to the heart of things. At 100, I may reach a level of divine understanding, and if I live decades beyond that, everything I paint — dot and line — will be alive." He had drawn The Great Wave, but he didn't believe he was finished -- he thought that he was still just beginning to get started.

And he wasn't finished with his ocean motif, either. Please check out his Mt Fuji At Sea, done in 1834 at the age of 75.

It's all there; Mt Fuji, the ocean, the wave. The boats are gone, but replaced with birds, flying with the wave instead of fighting against it. It's not as famous as The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, but that's not what motifs are for -- each successive work does not have to surpass the previous in terms of success, especially in terms of external success. They're there for you to keep playing with, keep remixing and re-experiencing, for as long as you think you have something to say.

[jaseroque]

I also want everybody to know that Google and most of the internet think that all of those paintings bar the last one are called "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa", so I had to do a sort of middling deep dive just to find their actual names. And then I was like "I don't think those translations are very accurate", so I went on a second quest to retranslate them, which was particularly difficult with painting three (A View Of Express Delivery Boats) because for some reason he titled that one entirely in hiragana, and it's all archaic words that were very hard to chase down without their corresponding kanji. Google suggested "the push-off is a transportation route", which wasn't particularly helpful.

All of which is to say that I probably spent a bit too much time on all of that, but it was fun; and at least I know what those paintings are called now.

[jibunbosh]

if you think about it, the social contract of the Car largely mirrors antiquated notions of patriarchial chivalry... the Big, Strong Automobile, which inherently has the power to maim and kill, must yield the right of way to the misogynized pedestrian, as a show of the Automobile's power & potential lethality. "ladies first," all in a world where more and more space is carved out day by day for the Automobile... now, contrast this with the locomotive, where all passengers are equal... thus you can see that not having a car is emasculating, having to ride public transportation with other people is emasculating, and women are even derided as being poorer drivers. Men do not like the train because it renders them effectively homosexual; they thrive on the upper end of inequality and feel like nothing without it. Taking the train is essentially lesbian frotting

[gothicenjoyer]

some of the asks you guys send me make me feel like i'm sitting the all souls exam

[gothicenjoyer]

average day in my inbox

[sybaritick]

ask game: these questions

[tsarina-anadyomene]

I found the list this was taken from here. There are a bunch more!

[100493503004422]

refusal to participate due to self consciousness is actually more embarrassing than participating. it took me a very long time to figure that out. abject fear of embarrassment is actually causing you to do things that are more embarrassing than what you fear. you are gonna be embarrassed anyway. let go and be free

[norahsdove]

Orson Welles on Woody Allen

[theinternetarchive]

california through the eyes of photographer sevilla brace shuey, american c. 1950s.

[violetsbookshelf]

The Lost Art of Compulsory Figures

Before the world of Quad Jumps and Biellmann Spins, Compulsory Figures were the basis of figure skating. Demonstrating immense control and skating skills these ‘figures’ made up a significant portion of skaters final scores. However, as one of the International Skating Union’s (ISU) ‘modernisation’ tactics, these gradually became less significant before being phased out entirely in 1990. This has been controversial with many arguing that it has caused a decline in skating skills of singles skaters and a reduction in overall technique, with some even campaigning for their return. But what are these ‘Compulsory Figures’?

Prior to the 1890s, figure skating competitions consisted entirely of skaters etching patterns made up predominantly of circles and figures of eight into the ice using the only blades on one’s feet. These would be judged for accuracy and consistency. By the early 20th century a ‘Free Skate’ had been introduced, allowing for skaters to perform choreographed, artistic routines including jumps and spins. Compulsory Figures continued to make up 60% of a skaters final score.

Judges would closely scrutinise the shapes skaters had made. They’d examine the symmetry and accuracy of the circles as well as the consistency of the skaters repetition of the figures. The first judges handbook for Compulsory Figures was created by the ISU in 1961 and listed the judging criteria as the following: flow of movement, accuracy of shapes of both bodies and figures, deepness of edges, and any double tracks, scrapes or deviations from perfect circles. The Compulsory Figure sections of competitions were notoriously long and boring for audiences to watch, often taking up to 8 hours to complete with only skaters and judges being able to see the final figures before the ice was reserfaced.

Skaters were required to change their edge and foot as well as complete the three turn, counter turn, rocker turn, bracket turn, and loop in order to create the figure assigned. They would then have to repeat the figure multiple times in the same spot to demonstrate consistency.

The decline of importance for compulsory figure began in 1967 when they reduced in value to 40% and a Short Program valued at 20% was introduced to bridge the gap. From the mid 1960s and throughout the 1970s and 80s figure skating competitions began to be televised more frequently, however the Compulsory Figures portions were almost never shown in their entirety. Skaters such as Trixie Schuba of Austria was known as an incredibly strong skater of Compulsory Figures; her Free Skates, however, were extremely weak in comparison. To audiences watching from home and less aware of how Figure Skating was judged and scored didn’t understand how she was winning competitions. There were multiple instances similar to this, such as skaters being poor at Compulsory Figures but stronger program skaters yet rarely medalling.

Towards the end of the 1980s was when conversations surrounding the retirement of Compulsory Figures entirely significantly picked up traction. The ISU wished to make Figure Skating more enjoyable for those watching on television as well as the practicalities of filming the Compulsory Figures competitions. Attempts were made to film the competitions at the Olympic Games throughout the 1980s, however it required suspending cameras over the rink. Even with this complicated camera set up, the figures themselves were almost impossible to see on a television.

In 1988, the ISU voted for the elimination of Compulsory Figures for singles skaters beginning in the 1990/1991 season in ISU sanctioned international competitions. The last season of Compulsory Figures (1989/1990) saw only two competed for the entire season and make up just 20% of skaters scores. Most other countries eliminated figures with the ISU, however US Figure Skating continued to compete figures in their national championship up until 1999.

Compulsory Figures are truly a lost art which demonstrated the skill and technique of skaters. Most singles skaters in contemporary figure skating will have never completed one of these figures in their time of skating. Although Ice Dance saw the maintenance of the Compulsory Dance until 2010 and then the inclusion of Compulsory Pattern Dances in the Short/Rhythm Dance until 2022, with the Pattern Dance making a return in the 2026/2027 season, subsequently maintaining somewhat of a stronger basis of skating skills for skaters, this has not been the case for those competing in the singles discipline. A heavy focus on jumps has caused coaches and skaters to pay less attention to the technical fundamental skills previously associated with Compulsory Figures and still needed for other elements, such as Step Sequences, alongside good jump technique.

Compulsory Figures are unlikely to make a return to competition any time soon, however they should still be recognised as the origin and basis for what we know as figure skating today. A skaters ability to complete figures would still demonstrate their technical skating ability today.

[uglyfruit]

small fabric zine about masking

[garadinervi]

Agnes Martin, Night Sea, (crayon, gold leaf and oil on linen), 1963 [The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA. © Estate of Agnes Martin / ARS, New York]

[aturinfortheworse]

I read a fair number of recipes on the ten thousand interchangeable recipe blogs that exist, and often they say something like "This recipe is a family favourite!" or "This a crowd-pleaser" etc. and I roll my eyes a little bit every time because of course they are, it goes without saying! People like food! Nearly any special-occasion home-cooked meal is going to be popular.

But there is one recipe, one cake, that has recontextualised all those comments for me and now actually I think those bloggers might be wrong about what a family favourite is. It sure as hell isn't Interchangeable Chocolate Cake No. 7.

I'm telling you this because I need you to know the seriousness of the power I am going to bestow on you. And hey, maybe your friends and family have different preferences than mine do. Maybe you need to find another recipe to fill this role. But you must know that there's a recipe out there, and not even a particularly alluring one or a particularly difficult one, which people will bring up in unrelated conversations to you four years later.

If I so much as say the word cake, my family all turn to face me like a pack of hungry wolves. Even the ones that don't like food!! Health nuts and people who simply don't enjoy eating and people with no appetite and people I have no goddamn memory of ever having cooked for, all of them come up and say to me "Hey remember that cake-" I asked my brother and his girlfriend what foods they're looking forward to, when they return home after three years in Japan, and they say "You know that cake?"

It doesn't sound particularly appetizing. I only made it the first time because it was gluten free and I had a bunch of lemons. Please don't let the name inform your opinion here. This is a fairly fast and simple cake that requires no special equipment and people will literally never stop asking you for it.

Lemon Polenta Cake

This cake is a sort of Anglo-Italian amalgam. The flat, plain disc is reminiscent of the confections that sit geometrically arranged in pati

It's not even my favourite cake! I'd rather have basque burnt cheesecake, which is harder and more expensive to make and consists almost entirely of fat and sugar but still manages to be a little savoury... But people want the weird corn one.

To be fair, this is the only cake that'll make me dip my fingers into boiling sugar without regret.

[passumbapper]

it's almost summer do you guys want my stupid hyperoptimized lemonade recipe that takes half a day to make and whips absolute ass

[passumbapper]

Fruited Lemonade That Makes You Reconsider It All

ingredience:

lemons/limes (this needs to make up the bulk of the fruit being used, like at least 80%)

whatever other fruits or fruit scraps you want, plus any herbs/other flavorings you want to try. by fruit scraps I mean things like cherry pits, apple peels, pineapple cores, strawberry ends, things like that.

granulated white sugar, the coarser the better, 50% by weight of total citrus rinds + 100% by weight of any additional fruit. you'll measure this after you prep the fruit.

water as needed

equipment:

a few nonmetallic mixing bowls

a mesh strainer

a chinoise, ricer or some cheesecloth

a kitchen scale

a citrus juicer or reamer (manual or electric)

a potato masher

juice the citrus through a strainer - saving all rinds -  and refrigerate the juice for the time being. dice the rinds and other fruits if any, keeping the rinds separate. make note of weights, and measure your sugar.

 Place sugar in a large nonmetallic bowl. If using non-citrus fruits and/or any other flavorings, mix them in with the sugar and mash with potato masher. add diced citrus rinds, mix thoroughly, and mash again. cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours. this allows the sugar to draw out flavors that would otherwise get discarded with the rinds, and the rinds' acids should be enough to dissolve the sugar into a syrup.

Afterward, mash one last time, then collect the syrup by pressing the macerated mixture through a strainer/chinoise or ricer, or squeeze it through cheesecloth. if you want, this can be saved as a standalone syrup at this point, for use in cocktails or desserts. if not, slowly pour the reserved juice through the solids to to help get the remaining syrup out, and squeeze/press again. do the same thing one more time with warm water (roughly the same amount of water as juice). discard solids (or try making sangria with them!).

taste the mixture and add more water if necessary. a stronger mix is totally fine if you anticipate serving over ice on a hot day, or adding booze, or if there was a lot of non-sour fruit. keep in mind that it will taste a bit less sweet once it's chilled. pour into a pitcher and refrigerate.

citrus oils will float to the top, so stir/shake before serving. love you. enjoy.

some tried and true flavor combos:

straight lemon or lime, or any combination of the two, is of course an untouchable classic

lemon & strawberries (that's pussy babe!)

lemon & orange with a hint of vanilla (creamsiclemonade...?)

lemon & apples or apple peels with cinnamon/ginger/allspice (for late summer)

some cocktail type combos, booze optional:

lemon or lime & berries with basil + gin

lime & mint + white rum

lime & ginger + dark rum

lime & cucumber + gin

lime & orange (berries optional) + tequila

lemon, orange & cherry + brandy, bourbon, or rye whiskey

[madgastronomer]

holy gods