drive dumb mankind dizzy @verysongof - Tumblr Blog

Putting the term "Catholic guilt" on a high shelf where fandom can't reach it until everyone learns how to identify characters who are very very clearly coded as Protestant.

#on fandom

galileosballs

I don't know a good term for it, but there's a certain quality a work of fiction can have or fail to have, where, as a reader, you have some faith that the themes present in the work are there because the author knowingly put them there. That the curtains are not just blue, that you're reading something that has been written with intent. You can, of course, still do a death-of-the-author read on that kind of work, and no work only contains that which the author intends. But there are some works in which you look at even the most surface-level thematic content and wonder 'are... are you doing that on purpose? It kind of doesn't seem like you're doing that on purpose. I hope you're not', and it's very hard to express the difference between that kind of thing and an author who is clearly very intentionally exploring something a little uncomfortable.

#on media

peaceandlovetechnology

Every single day this month has been like Okay sure. Okay sure what the hell. Okay sure. I guess

#true facts

A Royal Experiment: the Private Life of King George III, Janice Hadlow

Read: 30 May - 11 June

Published: 2014 First Read: 2021

Nonfiction: Biography, History, Royalty (Great Britain)

Victoria and Albert get all the credit for reforming the British monarchy into a moral force but they were building on already laid foundations. George III came to the throne determined to learn from the mistakes of his fore-bearers, turning the Hanover dynasty from a national joke to a model family, above politics, united and loving. Hadlow starts with George I and George II, setting the scene to show exactly what George III was reacting to and how his early experiences shaped his every action after.

This isn't quite a joint biography of George and his family. He is the center of the story but Hadlow doesn't neglect the rest of the family. She does an excellent job laying out the complicated threads entangling such a large group. But their stories cannot be told on their own - George ensured his authority over them would last far past childhood with the Royal Marriages Act 1772 even as he failed to make any effort to help them achieve satisfactory adulthoods. Hadlow strikes a good balance in her writing - she has an obvious sympathy for her subjects but she never shies away from discussing their flaws. She recognizes their humanity without denying their privileged positions.

George came to the throne determined to be good in all things, and that started with the right wife. Charlotte came to Britain determined to be a good wife and for her that meant subsuming herself in her husband's will. And as they started, so they went until madness shattered their lives. Hadlow is particularly sympathetic to Charlotte, balancing her good qualities - her loyalty and intelligence stand out - with what would crystalize into her worst. Many of their problems stem from a refusal to acknowledge problems and find solutions, preferring to carry on as if everything is still going to plan. The isolation George preferred to live his life in exacerbated problems, never giving any of the family the chance to become individual - they are too firmly shaped by their relationship to him. The princes were thrown from the nest too soon and the princesses held at home, all at the whims of their king and father, with the only options to buckle under or rebel, creating the same frictions George had been determined to destroy by trying something different from his grandfathers.

Rating: ****

#book thoughts #a royal experiment #janice hadlow

detournementsmineurs

"Hawthorn Blossom" brooch by René Lalique in glass, enamel, diamonds and gold.

#jewelry and gems

michaelnordeman

Red Fox/rödräv. These two fox cubs live near our house, and they've visited our garden several times. Värmland, Sweden (10 June 2026).

#foxes

shranstan

Reading any historical fiction and non-fiction set in I century B.C.E. and Cicero my friend Cicero is always there <3 #mycicero

#laugh tag

queenbruv

the power of hitting 'end task' on a glitchy program in task manager is intoxicating. i feel like an assassin. i feel like a tyrant. you don't want to work properly? begone. off with your head. i need to kill my apps with a guillotine

b0nkcreat

eyes emoji was the perfect invention for nosy people. like 👀 whats going on over here 👀👀 i just wanna know #LetMeKnow 👀👀👀

#about me

sesiondemadrugada

Thomas W. Schaller.

#art

ltwilliammowett

thisusernameisunique

Ooh this put me down a wiki page

Larboard from loadbord or the side things are loaded from the dock at the port

Starboard from steerbord or the side the steering oar is at, from a time before rudders where a thing

the-golden-vanity

#i’ve always wondered about this switch#but never did i think it would be because the us navy kept getting confusing and one day just went#ok new word everyone (via @even-in-arcadia)

This is more or less what happened, but the date when it happened is especially significant. By the mid-19th century, most naval vessels were steam powered. (The final sail-only vessel of the US Navy, sloop-of-war USS Constellation, was completed less than 10 years after this order was given.)

Now that naval ships had engines, the level of ambient noise on board was much higher. When shouted over the sounds of a whirring engine, “starboard” and “larboard” sound very much the same, so the Navy needed a new word that would sound different even when a ship’s steam engines were on and active.

And that’s why the change from “larboard” to “port” happened when it did!