Pablo Hidalgo was having a semi-breakdown on his twt yesterday because of people using words based on things that only exist in our world (milestone, dumpster, etc) and tbh this was so real of him he might be one of my favorite Star Wars creators

@tremendouskoalachild here!

and a link https://x.com/pabl0hidalgo/status/1732151343366975889?s=20

Three Things: 1. I wrote "a dime a dozen" into a book specifically to mess with Pablo, 2. This man told me with COMPLETE SERIOUSNESS that people in Star Wars do not send texts or emails, and 3. I had to take the word "canape" out of Crimson Climb, and I forget what we ended up using, because one of the direct translation options was "Force meat" and every time I think about it, I pass out a little bit. I do love the vibes, though.

I attended a seminar on Legal Issues and the LGBTI community and one HILARIOUS side effect of same sex marriage getting legalised was in reality…horrible for estate planning and property disputes, but also sounds like an incredible fic premise

Before same sex marriage was legal a fair few gay couples got married in foreign countries; it had no effect in Australia but it was the principle of the thing. When it became legal, their marriages took effect in Aussie too.

This was wonderful for couples who were still together, but for couples who had broken up, and hadn’t bothered to go back to that foreign country to get divorced (and they rarely did)…they suddenly found themselves married again.

Oh, it gets better than that!! There was a panel on a similar topic at Lavender Law a few years back. In the US specifically, we had that time period where there were just a few states that had legalized same-sex marriage, and then Obergefell happened and it’s legal everywhere! Yay! EXCEPT. A very similar problem cropped up.

See, people had gotten married in Massachusetts when it legalized same-sex marriage, but then they broke up with that person and didn’t get a divorce because it wasn’t really real, right? So they got together with someone else, maybe moved in between, and decided to get married when California legalized. And then they broke up. And didn’t get a divorce. Because it wasn’t really real; it’s only in that state, right? (And no, there isn’t a good country-wide system to check these things.) So then they got together with someone else, and hey, it’s legal to get married in New York, we’ll do that! …and then they broke up. (Sensing a pattern yet?)

But then. Obergefell. Your marriage is recognized in EVERY state! Yay! Except… you have three or four marriages, actually. Concurrently. Which is, y’know. Illegal. AND one or more of your spouses could now be also married to yet another person, or people, if they did the same thing. Who could then also… (you get the picture).

Apparently there were a NUMBER of VERY BUSY family lawyers and estate planners untangling the absolute mess people created by getting married in multiple states to different people during that period.

So basically: Someone PLEASE give me the ensemble cast who are all, somehow, simultaneously married to each other. It is my dream, okay. XD

[Image description: A photograph of a page from a spiral-bound sketchbook. The page has an illustration of the covid-19 virus and overlaid text that reads, "If I die of Covid-19 - forget burial - just drop my body on the steps of the C.D.C." A caption on the bottom of the page reads, "Ren Basel 2024. In memory of David Wojnarowicz and everyone killed by AIDS, COVID-19, and the government's negligence. Fight back!" End description.]

In 1988, AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz was photographed in a now-famous image, wearing a jacket that read, "If I die of AIDS - forget burial - just drop my body on the steps of the F.D.A.." I am far from the only person to adapt Wojnarowicz's words to COVID-19, but today I am feeling especially angry at the world. Holding the rage in my chest hurts--it hurts so fucking much--so instead, I've put it on paper.

Living through government negligence and community indifference during COVID-19 in 2024 fills me with rage and grief in equal measure, and as a queer person who studies queer history, I can see the echoes of AIDS in the way marginalized communities are being left to die.

As a disabled person who lives in a household that is very high-risk for COVID-19, the C.D.C.'s recent decision to shorten the COVID-19 isolation period feels like a slap in the face.

COVID-19 is not over, and it is vital to take steps to protect yourself and others. Please, follow the work of the People's CDC, an organization dedicated to COVID-19 safety, activism, and education.

Our government has failed us. Our communities have failed us. For those of us who are immunocompromosed or otherwise high-risk, we only have each other.

Remember us. Fight with us. Mask up, get vaccinated, get boosted.

Please.

[Image description: A screenshot of a comment left on this post by tumblr user azalyza. The comment reads, "Comparing covid to aids is seriously stupid and disrespectful." End description.]

Instead of leaving this ignorant comment, you could have considered my words, and thought about why I, a queer disabled person, might be feeling the way I do. You could have thought critically about why I might be drawing this parallel, and maybe done a little research into how many others have also made the same comparison.

I said in my original post that my artistic inspiration was specifically drawn from the way COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS affect marginalized communities most severely. If you search for articles on that topic, you'll find plenty.

If you didn't feel like doing that level of work for a tumblr post, fine, I get it, we're all busy and tired. In that case, you could have privately disagreed with my stance but kept scrolling along, no harm done and no time wasted.

Instead, you decided to be a douchebag. And I have such little tolerance for douchebags in my space.

I'm tired. I'm having a high-fatigue, high-pain day. I really shouldn't waste my time on you. But I've also exhausted every scrap of my patience for people who want to act like COVID-19 isn't a big deal.

You are wrong, you are ignorant, and I have supporting sources for my stance. Unlike you.

Here are some links to studies and articles supporting my argument, which is that COVID-19 has many parallels to HIV/AIDS, in both physical effects and social response.

Read these articles, print them out at your local public library, and shove them up your ass.

[Image description: A gif taken from Disney's Lilo and Stitch. The character Pleakley shoves a View-Master at the character Jumba and says, "Here. Educate yourself." End description.]

If you like my art or learned something from this post, consider supporting me and my household of disabled queers. We've barely left the house since 2020, and struggle constantly with being left behind by our community. We have to beg for grocery and bill money every single month, because COVID-19 and disability limit our ability to work outside the house.

We have a household wishlist, and I have a Patreon to support my artistic and academic pursuits. You can also kick me a tip via Ko-Fi.

Mask up, preferably with high-quality N95 masks or better if you have access to them. Get tested. Stay home if you feel sick. Avoid superspreader events and crowded indoor locations. Advocate for better ventilation, mask policies, and community care.

We're all in this together.

A Look into Freddy Carter's Part in "Masters of Air"

Because I was bored, I decided to take a look into who Freddy will be playing in Masters of the Air.

He plays David Friedkin, born March 8th 1912, in Kanas City, Missouri to Russian Jewish immigrants. His education was pretty impressive, graduating high school at 15, attended Julliard on a violin scholarship, but decided to study acting at 17. After collage, he focused on writing and directing.

When the war hit, he joined the Signal Corps, a branch of the Army that pretty much was responsible for the Army's entire system of communications. After the war, went on to be a writer, director, and producer, most notably "I Spy", "The Virginian", and "Kojak", and over the course of his career he would win six Emmys.

He married only once, to Audrey Westphal, born October 17th, 1922 in Buffalo, New York (which is very close to where I live!), a former actress and dancer. They met in 1944, the how is unknown, they married on March 31st, 1945, and have two sons together, Gregory, an actor/playwright, and Anthony, a notable photographer. They remained married until his death on October 15th, 1976 from cancer. She stayed a widow until her death on February 6th, 1999.

Interesting to see, but when looking at the extended cast list, they have an actress named Nancy Farino playing a character simply named Audrey, this may or may not be the same Audrey. More information on Audrey, and a little on David, can be found here (x).

Pop Culture Victorians:

Actual Victorians:

“If your eyes aren’t bleeding, it’s not historically accurate.”

- Abby Cox

@thebibliosphere

can we all agree that being overdressed is a myth made up by boring stuffy people who are too worried about other people’s lives and don’t want you to have fun

conversely, can we all agree that being underdressed is a myth made up by stuffy classist people who are too worried about other people’s lives and don’t want you to be comfortable or happy

holy shit

I feel like I have to tell you all that is, in fact, historically the truth. While things like housedresses did serve a practical purpose (it doesn’t matter if you stain or tear cheaper, plainer fabric; you put on your best to go to town and then lay it away again so you don’t have to go through the backbreaking work of washing it by hand all the damn time), things like the concept of “tea dress,” “dinner dress,” “formal dress” were originally all a way to show off how much expensive fabric and fine tailoring you could afford. Comfort had nothing to do with it whatsoever. That’s why those stupid giant ruff collars were a thing for so long—that kind of fabric and painstaking hand-starching was EXPENSIVE. You’d change several times a day to show off that you could afford not just multiple ways to switch up your outfit (like different busks and whatnot), but a whole different outfit.

This wasn’t just limited to women, by the way. We just see it more obviously in women because men’s formal dress has remained almost unchanged for almost 150 years and so the massive differences in women’s clothing stand out.

It is LITERALLY stuffy classist people being too invested in other people’s lives. That’s it, that’s literally it.

why would they do that

Guy discovering it: wow it’s perfectly preserved!

Scientists, forks in hand: not for long

The LGBTQ community has seen controversy regarding acceptance of different groups (bisexual and transgender individuals have sometimes been marginalized by the larger community), but the term LGBT has been a positive symbol of inclusion and reflects the embrace of different identities and that we’re stronger together and need each other. While there are differences, we all face many of the same challenges from broader society.

In the 1960′s, in wider society the meaning of the word gay transitioned from ‘happy’ or ‘carefree’ to predominantly mean ‘homosexual’ as they adopted the word as was used by homosexual men, except that society also used it as an umbrella term that meant anyone who wasn’t cisgender or heterosexual. The wider queer community embraced the word ‘gay’ as a mark of pride.

The modern fight for queer rights is considered to have begun with The Stonewall Riots in 1969 and was called the Gay Liberation Movement and the Gay Rights Movement.

The acronym GLB surfaced around this time to also include Lesbian and Bisexual people who felt “gay” wasn’t inclusive of their identities. 

Early in the gay rights movement, gay men were largely the ones running the show and there was a focus on men’s issues. Lesbians were unhappy that gay men dominated the leadership and ignored their needs and the feminist fight. As a result, lesbians tended to focus their attention on the Women’s Rights Movement which was happening at the same time. This dominance by gay men was seen as yet one more example of patriarchy and sexism. 

In the 1970′s, sexism and homophobia existed in more virulent forms and those biases against lesbians also made it hard for them to find their voices within women’s liberation movements. Betty Friedan, the founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), commented that lesbians were a “lavender menace” that threatened the political efficacy of the organization and of feminism and many women felt including lesbians was a detriment.

In the 80s and 90s, a huge portion of gay men were suffering from AIDS while the lesbian community was largely unaffected. Lesbians helped gay men with medical care and were a massive part of the activism surrounding the gay community and AIDS. This willingness to support gay men in their time of need sparked a closer, more supportive relationship between both groups, and the gay community became more receptive to feminist ideals and goals. 

Approaching the 1990′s it was clear that GLB referred to sexual identity and wasn’t inclusive of gender identity and T should be added, especially since trans activist have long been at the forefront of the community’s fight for rights and acceptance, from Stonewall onward. Some argued that T should not be added, but many gay, lesbian and bisexual people pointed out that they also transgress established gender norms and therefore the GLB acronym should include gender identities and they pushed to include T in the acronym. 

GLBT became LGBT as a way to honor the tremendous work the lesbian community did during the AIDS crisis. 

Towards the end of the 1990s and into the 2000s, movements took place to add additional letters to the acronym to recognize Intersex, Asexual, Aromantic, Agender, and others. As the acronym grew to LGBTIQ, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIAA, many complained this was becoming unwieldy and started using a ‘+’ to show LGBT aren’t the only identities in the community and this became more common, whether as LGBT+ or LGBTQ+. 

In the 2010′s, the process of reclaiming the word “queer” that began in the 1980′s was largely accomplished. In the 2020′s the LGBTQ+ acronym is used less often as Queer is becoming the more common term to represent the community. 

My annotated Dracula has informed me that when Harker said his robber steak was “in the style of the London cat’s-meat!” he was referring to “A tradition in London was the “cat’s-meat man,” a vendor who sold little bits of meat on skewers for consumption by cats”

I am overjoyed by this knowledge that there were Victorians just randomly getting lil kebabs for their CATS

I am so happy to learn this was a thing, looks like they were door to door pet food sellers.

I didn’t see any new posts about it but it is VITAL that new readers know this.

Fragments of Iron Age textiles from the Celtic saltmines at Hallstatt, Austria

The Winnipeg Tribune, Manitoba, December 8, 1932

Be ungovernable, Gladys.

At first, I thought this was from Going Postal.

Ball gown, 1840-41

Maker: Unknown

From the collection of Wien Museum

So I had to get nosy and do some research because It's never occurred to me that this kind of effect was possible in the 19th century (upon reading the origins I was like "Oh Shit That's what that is??").

Fabric is made up of basically two parts while being woven, weft (which goes side to side), and warp (which goes up and down).

This dress is made of Shot Silk, so named because of how the weft bobbin of a different color is "shot through" the warp color while the fabric is being woven. The silk in the original post is probably "Dove silk", made of turquoise and magenta fibers which makes that striking iridescent grey color. It was popular all throughout the 18th century, especially in French fashions, and gained a popularity during the American Civil War (cotton production was disrupted and yielding smaller crops as the enslaved peoples involved with production of cotton were dealing with bigger fish to fry, like seeking freedom from slavery and trying not to die).

You might be more familiar with its use in cosplay spaces, specifically with One Disney Princess In Particular

This fabric has so much potential in modern garment making, and I'm so shocked no one else has latched onto it for period pieces. Especially when we have documents suggesting that this technique has existed in Noble and Clergy circles since THE 700'S

Shot silk! What a concept!

@nonasuch

yes! shot silk/changeable silk is so pretty. I see it fairly often in late 50s/early 60s party dresses, usually in really intense green/blue but sometimes in pink/orange or blue/purple.

This is what my university uses for the stoles of graduation gowns. Arts get blue-green, engineering gets red-orange, and science gets yellow-vomit

When I started studying the "Warring States Period", I was inundated with a lot of inventions made in China during this period, that would take centuries to be invented in some place in Europe. Being Brazilian, although we study History of other countries, unfortunately, our view are a lot Eurocentric due the colonization and the European/US influence in our academy and society. So it is only when someone gets a little crazy and decide to study something completely different and has a lot of trouble to find books, papers and has to learn 3 different languages in the process, is that we can learn about things outside the eurocentric view. Studying History is amazing because we start to notice that a lot of things that we think that are very modern, already existed in some place early than we believed.

You know how canaries were historically brought into coal mines, because if the mine was full of carbon monoxide the canary would die first and the miners would be able to escape before they died too?

I just found the greatest thing.

This is a canary resuscitator.

When the miners notice the canary getting sick with carbon monoxide poisoning, they can close that circular hatch so no more gas gets into the canary cage, and open the valve on that oxygen tank to keep the canary breathing. In other words, they made a spacesuit for birds.

By immediately giving the canary access to clean air, the miners can save it from the poison. The bird lives. To be clear, this is not for economic purposes, this was specifically created because the miners felt bad and wanted to save the bird.

Isn’t that just the perfect demonstration of what humans are like? We started sacrificing small creatures to save ourselves, and then felt bad and spent our valuable resources on saving the critters too. Because yeah the canary was the only way to test for CO, but it’s a living creature too, dammit!