One of my favourite historical phenomena is technology that’s based on a totally off-the-wall theory about how the world works, but ends up being sort of effective because it’s close enough. Like those old-timey plague doctor masks, whose enormous beaks are an enclosed breathing apparatus stuffed full of dried aromatic herbs on the theory that disease is communicated by the odour of decay - which is completely wrong, of course, but the masks ended up being reasonable effective at their purpose anyway because it turns out that sticking a big wad of dried plant matter in front of your airway is a pretty effective way to avoid inhaling aerosolised bodily fluids.
My favorite is the fact that scurvy was cured, and then un-cured because a bunch of perfectly sensible and intelligent people didn’t know what a vitamin was.
If you want to be friends with me you don’t have to be “Hi, um, can, ya know, we be friends?”
It is 1000000000000000000000% percent ok if you just go into my inbox can go. “Man, I am so fucking pissed off at fucking Michael.” And I’ll most likely respond with, “Oh shit! What did Michael do now?“
this is such a good post because asking ppl if you can be friends can make them feel so uncomfortable but if you approach them like this its SO EASY to start a conversation and let a friendship develop naturally
Don’t ask to be friends. Assume we’re friends and hit me up with anything ya got
Chunky neutral knits, toasty fireplace burnishing auburn hair, deep heather, slightly raised kilts, the smell of fresh cut herbs, hands stroking white cleavage, soft mussed up beds. Heart on sleeve, familial, deeply committed, creative, ROMANTIC. Feels, feels, feels.
American Gods
Quick, bright colors, global icons, the modern wrath of ancient Gods, sparking mythic hammers, fluid, portable moons. Flames in amber brown eyes, pastel petals showering down. Higher planes, angles, cutting edge, cerebral, Philosophical, very visceral reactions. Woke.
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
A peek of stocking, a naughty, frothy cocktail, pink feathers, a perfect wiggle, diamante sequins and wry one-liners. Exotic men in satin bathrobes tumbling out of a boudoir. Clever, elegant, eloquent, kick-ass women.
Black Sails
Simmering under the surface, a ship cutting through the waves, blood on the water, leather pants, skin of two women naked in flickering candlelight. Barely contained violence, Spanish gold in the sunlight, a vintage well-loved book. loneliness, thwarted connections, a rollicking good time; Sensual, emotional, gay or bi, real, and questioning the status quo.
Ripper Street
Dark, tangled back London streets, half-glimpsed streetwalkers in shadow, a corset flares in jewel tones,a lost girl with blue ribbons in her hair wandering the twisted streets with a broken mirror, the leg of a blue plaid suit. A field at dusk in purple tones. Cerebral, perceptive, devoted.
GOT
Metal, ice, fire, swords flashing, toxic green wildfire exploding…strength, singed, bitter smell on a battlefield, brutal cold, A haze of Smoke left from Dragon-breath, shaggy black furs, silver-white braids, restless stallions, shadows hiding little birds. Productive, driven, large, active, creative.
Alias Grace
Deceptively quiet with sharp bones, an intricate quilt, a slicing axe, mud on the bottom of a worn nightgown, a window that should have been opened. White sheets slung over trees in the dark, a bloodstained pink dress, a faded red petticoat smelling of old sachets.Shadows of fathers in doorways. Roses. Profound, female, literary.
Poldark
A sweeping Cornwall Moor at sunset, crashing foamy waves, long red hair, picked yellow and blue wildflowers, a Redcoats outfit, black curls framing fathomlessly deep brown eyes and an unbearably endearing crooked grin, open skies, intimate smiles in a simple, wood-floored sunny kitchen. A turquoise 18th-century country dress. Romantic, aesthetic, passionate, fervent.
Versailles
Wildly ornate gold halls, decadent salon parties, elegant smirks, long blonde curls, crushed velvet breeches, lace cuffs with metallic threads shimmering. Silky words, flowing fountains, flower drenched gardens. Long haired ethereal nymphs just out of sight. Frustrated power. Animated, open-minded, kind, friendly, lovers of beauty.
The Crown
Blue sash, running Corgis, set shoulders in determination, faded glory, tension, taut short sentences, overwhelming, dank churches, closed stuffy rooms with heavy furniture. Quickly burning cigarettes, frantic phone calls tearing through wires, stiff upper lip. A heavy jeweled crown throwing off balance. Proper, polite, thoughtful, knowledgeable, reliable.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Fearless, loud, red dress, Shabbat dinner, a vintage mic, fresh brisket, odd suspenders, a spinning record player, a rotary phone, in bed. A hyper bride. A claustrophobic cab. Upper West Side streets. Funny, unconcerned with social dictates, powerful, alive. Pissed off.
Penny Dreadful
A dark stairway, a scuttling scorpion, a cross on a white wall, deep night, poetry, intangible threads everywhere, a quiet dance in the abandoned sewers, a dark moon, an empty gallery of paintings, the pale shadow of a vulnerable monster, the singed smell of the real monster, a graveyard. Dark, mercurial, profound, literate, grieving, obsessed.
Victoria
Beautiful, rustling skirts, horse rides on green landscapes, thin, flowing white nightgown, Cream colored straw bonnet with violets, A soft Germanic accent, Canopy beds with sheer curtains, shining ringlets, a piano playing. A greenhouse with fragrant, rare plants, Classy, thoughtful design, lovers of vintage & Victoriana.Small, but lovely.
Stranger Things
Parallel Suburban streets, empty swimming pool at night throwing blue shadows. staticky walkie-talkies, Blue plaid blankets on bunk beds, gaming dice, flickering Christmas lights, a trickle of blood from a small nose, falling backpacks, a menacing hovering presence, cold fluorescent lab corridors. Excited, engaged, open, communal.
Black Mirror
Whirring metal, wastelands, shattering glass, ticking technology, Digital displays, android eye rolling & watching all. Frail human hope pervading all things. Soulless white interiors. Deep, evolved, anxious, rebellious.
Peaky Blinders
A gray tweed hat, a cigarette hanging from tight lips, a boxing ring in slo-mo with sweat spraying the air, bluest eyes under thick charcoal lashes. A cool blonde in a white suit passes by the corner of your eye, sparkling fringes, elegant lines, hoarse, husky voices Rolled white shirtsleeves, smoking guns. Minimalist, Cheeky, snarky, smart, confident.
Harlots
A lace fan over a low cut bodice, women’s rolling laughter, the smell of food and stale perfume, last night’s champagne and dirty sheets. Pretty golden hair in a ribbon, flushed freckled skin, steaming, filthy streets, doll-like girls in pastel dresses High powdered hair, dusty and hard. A heart-shaped mole playing at the end of sweetly smirking lips. A masquerade mask, a red dress to fight a battle. A weak dandy in too much brocade. A battle won that still feels like a loss. Black Hearts under manners too well-honed. Strong, smart, opinionated, tasteful, feminist. A little bawdy.
i like to think mexico definitely talks to her mom* now and then.
*(she’s got more than one mother, like most other nations, but i think she would have felt particularly close to mexica, who headed the triple alliance made up of multiple city states that we call the aztec empire. it’s who she got her name from, and mexico city was built atop tenochtitlan. mexico comes to represent much more, but she is in many ways very much her heir.)
Personal collection for hodgepodge interests: travel, nature, societal awareness, dark humor, spirituallity, multiculturalism, architecture, foreign languages, quotes, poems and prose, animations, paintings, sculptures, black tea and snark.
