i’m watching this documentary about halloween and there’s a part where they’re explaining that ghost stories got really popular around the civil war no one could really deal with how many people went off and died and
the narrator just said
“the first ghost stories were really about coming home”
IIRC, the Civil War also played a huge part in forming the modern American conception of heaven as this nice, domestic place where you’re reunited with your loved ones. People (particularly mothers) responded to the trauma of brother-killing-brother by imagining an afterlife in which families would once again be happy together.
(also not doing this in the correct tag-style, because I wanna KNOW— )What documentary is this? Or is there more than one? Any books on the subject? THIS IS FASCINATING.
cool (ghost) story, bro.
reblogging because, as a us history phd student, i want to say YAY for how much of this is totally on point. i also want to rec the book where a lot of this is covered very, very well, which is Drew Gilpin Faust’s “This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War.”
a lot of books on the Civil War are deadly dull because they’re about battles and shit, but as a transformative moment in mindset and ideology, it becomes *fascinating*
the other book I’d even more highly rec is David W. Blight’s “Race and Reunion,” which is about how the “(white) brother against (white) brother” image of the war was invented and how throwing African Americans to the merciless viciousness of post-Reconstruction racist whites was part of constructing this “oh everybody was white men and everybody was noble let’s celebrate them all” approach to Civil War remembrance
very good stuff
Thank you! This looks like exactly the sort of reading I’m after! *adds to wish list*
Also, look for David Blights recordings of his Yale lecture series on The Civil War. 21 hours of class lectures, and its FASCINATING. He barely touches on the battles other than to use them as timestamps as to what was going on. Most of it focuses on what the mindset of everyone was going into the war, and what happened on the way out. It’s an amazing series that will change your entire perception of the war – how it happened, and how it wasn’t going to be possible to avoid it, because of the inherent evil of slavery and how it was destroying damn near *everyone* except rich white people.
I didn’t know about the free Blight lectures. You can listen to them here:
Set #1: Most recent version (V4). Shortly after posting V3 (set #2) I realised the spiral section around the
pendant needed to look more warped. Managed to make 1mm PETG work for the entire piece this
time, looks consistent now. Merged the previous pattern pieces into one
for a cleaner design. Video of it on youtube: https://youtu.be/nCKk30X4bM0
Set #5: Heat-shaped PETG strips to form a half-sphere structure to support organza, all attached together by tape. The most vivid sheen swirls in the bottom left photo were created by a torch. Set #6: I later found another organza (it was labelled ‘dance organza’ – bought it at Spotlight) with a more vivid sheen than the type featured in the 4th set of photos. Video showing the organza fabric in motion: http://youtu.be/RkYFXwSOWTE
Sometimes, writers find it necessary to add more depth to the world surrounding their characters. I’ve collected a few links that should be helpful in this process. Some of these are better for a fantasy stories, but have ideas that could prove useful for writers of all genres, in one way or another.
MAP GENERATION If you have decided to create your own land mass for the sake of your story, you may be grateful to have this link. Users should read the description below before using, but it is easy to use and helpful for anyone wanting to create a new island or continent. I prefer using this tool over any others I’ve seen online. This website only contains the demo. The full version has more ways to edit the map, but getting the full version requires downloading and having proper software. I’ve found that the demo, on its own, should be enough for anyone who can’t get the full version for one reason or another. However, the link for full version is also on the page, should you want it.
WEATHER AROUND THE WORLD Knowing weather details of areas can be helpful when writing about an area, especially if it’s one you’re not familiar with. This website has the recorded weather of pretty much everywhere on Earth, and even provides averages for the past year in specific areas. It’s great for writers who want an understanding of how the weather in their story might affect the characters. For instance: if the summer heat in an area is consistently over 100 degrees, the characters might be less willing to go outside, and be in need of constant hydration.
FANTASY JOBS THAT AREN’T KNIGHT OR PEASANT Anyone who is writing a story that takes place in a less developed civilization, be it medieval times, or a fantasy world that hasn’t quite hit its industrial revolution, should probably have this list. It’s a simple list of a 100 jobs that you might consider giving to the characters in your story to make them seem like real people. The creator of the list even adds a few at the end for younger characters. Choosing any of them for your story may take some added research, but will be worth the depth added to your story.
FAMILY TREE TOOL If you’ve ever read the series “Lord of the Rings”, you may know that pretty much everyone in the books has a long list of ancestors. While I would never endure such an endeavor, if you feel so inclined to come up with a lineage for your character, this is a tool you can use. It’s easy to use, and allows for adding information beyond name and year of birth/death. You’re able to change what information shows up on the table, and when finished you can even print it out.
HOME DESIGNER So this is good if you have time to kill and really want to do some in-depth building. This tool will let you be the designer of the home of your characters. You’ll get out what you put into it, so if your character lives in a three story, 10 bedroom home, you may have to put in a bit more effort to use this tool effectively. You can also simply create individual rooms, if that’s more along the lines of what you want. Over all, while this tool may take a bit of time to learn, it isn’t very complicated. I suggest it to everyone who wants to explore how the home of their characters looks.
LANGUAGE CREATION If you were thinking about writing your own language, this link will make you decide whether you really want to create your own language, or if you want to give up on the idea entirely. It’s a long process, but is completely spelled out in this link, and the additional pages that the website provides links to. You can also buy the book by the same author for $0.99; but all the information is available for free. Either way, it should be an easy choice to make after reading through what the website has to offer. I think creating a language is for people with more time, patience, and understanding of their own language than I have, but it is certainly fun to think about. The author also discusses different methods people use to create languages, and what is wrong with those methods. I believe this is, by far, the best resource for creating a language.
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even if you get along great with your family you will get along even better with them after moving out
generic is almost always just as good as name brand. But there are some things you never buy generic, including: peanut butter, ketchup, liquid NyQuil, Chips-Ahoy chewy chocolate chip cookies
just imagine the person on the other end of the phone hates talking on the phone as much as you do. Even a receptionist. I worked as one and I hate talking on the phone
at least once in your life you will go to Wal-mart to buy something under $20 like an ironing board or something and your debit card will get rejected. No one will judge. Everyone at some point in their lives has had $2.98 in their bank account.
thrift stores
everyone else is too busy panicking about everyone else noticing every tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about them to notice any tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about you
you will screw up. a lot. you live and you learn. and when you start to think too hard about that embarrassing thing that happened and how you wish you could change it, just tell yourself that what’s done is done. There’s no changing it, so just forget it and move on. It’s the only way to stay sane.
do the dishes before the sink grows its own ecosystem
you can’t put Dawn dishsoap in the dishwasher.
if you are the only one in the aisle at the grocery store, and you need to get from one end to the other without even looking at anything in that aisle, then you should totally cart-surf down the aisle. Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Hold on to the little things. They make all the difference.
never try to make cake from scratch at 3am. You end up with a topographical map of Middle Earth.
15% tip.
the best way to get money for food is to tell your grandparents about how you basically live on microwaved mac and cheese. Their horror may result in twenty bucks and orders to go out and get yourself “a real dinner”.
sometimes life sucks, and knowing that it might get better doesn’t always make it suck any less, but you’ll never get to the non-sucky days without enduring the suckiness.
no seriously, NEVER put Dawn in your dishwasher
Do not buy generic brand spaghetti sauce either.
Always check the type of light bulb that goes in lamps. A 60w is not interchangeable with a 40w.
Dollar store batteries work just as well as store brand.
Reward yourself from time to time when you do things that you needed to get done. It’s a good way to remind yourself to do them. Going out to pay a bill? Get Starbucks or something you don’t get often. Rewards don’t have to be huge, they can be small things like that.
Rice, pasta, flour, sugar, cheese, eggs, milk, a pack of chicken, a pack of frozen veggies and a well stocked spice cabinet go a long way food-wise. Splurge and get the biggest container of rice you can. You don’t have to go back and buy it again anytime soon and it makes a TON of meals in the meantime.
Rice can be cooked on the stove. You don’t need a fancy rice cooker. Two parts water to every one part rice (two cups water for one cup of rice for example). Get your water boiling, add rice, put a plate or lid on it, put it on low for 20 minutes. It should be done.
Keep a calendar on your pc of bill due dates. If your bills are set up at inconvenient times, like all of the services started on the first or something, then call up the company and find out if you can get your billing date switched to something more manageable. A lot of places do try to work with you.
There is no shame in calling a company and asking for an extension on a bill. Let them know what you can pay, pay that amount, and they arrange when the rest of the payment is required. This can stop you from having services shut off man. It shows responsibility on your part.
Take time to eat, even when you don’t feel like eating. Your body needs energy to live.
Wash or rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. It prevents gross caked on junk.
“The Works” is an excellent cheap toilet cleaner.
MAGIC. FUCKING. ERASERS. THEY WORK ON EVERYTHING JUST DON’T SCRUB HARD. I took the ring out of our bathtub with one. Also generic ones work just as well.
Keep some bleach around but if you use it for cleaning? Dillute it. There’s rarely ever a case where you need to pout straight bleach on anything. A cap full or two in a bucket of water works just fine.
DO NOT MIX CLEANERS. Chemical reactions are can be very dangerous. Here’s a good list. (Note that vinegar and baking soda can actually be a good combo for removing smells from things but it’s not very good at actually -cleaning-.)
If you drink? Don’t take meds at the same time it’s just not good.
Make sure you check the dosages on your pill bottles. No one wants to accidentally overdose on cough syrup or ibuprofen.
If you have a uterus make sure you have a heating pad and ibuprofen on hand for the pain. Hot baths also generally help and Ginger Tea is excellent for any nausea.
Buy a first aid kit. It’s worth it in the long run.
You can often do your taxes online at places like TurboTax.
Petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) is good for chapped lips and you can get a decent sized tube or tub of it (generic brand version) for cheaper/same price as Chapstick.
KEEP TRIPLE ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT IN YOUR HOUSE FOR CUTS AND SCRAPES AND SORES.
~~Medications~~
Over the counter medications (stuff you can buy right off the shelf no prescription needed) have a name brand and a generic name. ALWAYS buy generic if it’s available it is literally the same thing and way cheaper usually.
Some names to remember when you’re looking for meds!
Acetaminophen = Tylenol
Used to treat pain and reduce fever. Do not take with Ibuprofen.
Ibuprofen = Advil, Midol, Motrin
Used for pain and fever, is an anti-inflammtory. Is good for period cramps because it is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug).
Naproxen = Aleve, Naprosyn
Treats fever, pain, arthritis pain, gout, period cramps, tendinitis, headache, backache, and toothache. Is also an NSAID.
Acetaminophen + Asprin + Caffeine = Excedrin
Usually marketed as “Migraine Relief” as a generic.
Asprin = Bayer
Use for pain, fever, arthritis, and inflammation. Makes you bleed easily so should not be used for periods. Might reduce risk of heart attacks.
Triple Antibiotic Ointment = Neosporin
Used on cuts, sores, and scrapes to reduce risk of infection and promote healing.
Also a general mutli-vitamin isn’t a bad idea and if you don’t get a lot of fruits or milk/sunshine in your diet you might want to get vitamins C and D specifically for daily use.
if you do accidentally lapse and put dawn in your dishwasher, run it empty and put hair conditioner where the detergent goes. that’ll clean it out (tip given to me by dorm custodian when roommate did the thing).
if you live off ramen, add stuff to it! add veggies you like, don’t use the whole flavor packet to cut down on sodium and msg or don’t use it at all and add your own spices.
if you’re making something with potatoes in it (beans, stew) potatoes are done when you can easily stab a fork through them.
you can microwave a hotdog as long as you put it in a microwave safe container of water. microwaves work by making water molecules vibrate. also, when reheating rice leftovers, add a small amount of water, like maybe a spoonfull, so it doesn’t get hard and crunchy.
the rice cooking advice above is for long grain rice. if you’re making short or medium grain rice, a 1:1 ratio (one cup water for one cup rice) is better, so the rice doesn’t come out too mushy.
buy a few cans of chicken. wholesale club stores like sam’s, costco, or bj’s tend to carry multipacks for a good price. they’re incredibly useful for when you forget to defrost meat.
buy meat on sale and put it in the freezer. buy vegetables on sale, and put them in the freezer. frozen veggies are often as flavorful and good as fresh ones, keep longer, and often come in microwaveable bags or with microwave directions.
soak ink stains in milk to help get them out or at least lighten them.
soak blood stains in water as soon as possible, with a bit of detergent or stain remover. scrub at them. use cold water, heat binds proteins to fabric. tbh, there’s no real need to change the washer from cold-cold setting unless the thing you’re washing says to wash in warm water.
acetone, found in most nail polish removers, dissolves super glue.
YOU’RE ALL DOING GOD’S WORK BLESS YOU
Takes pictures, have prints made and put them in photo albums. Be IN the pictures, have someone take pictures of you and your friends. Get over not looking perfect in thw picture. Someday that friend might be gone and those pictures might be all you’ll have, you will want to be in them. I made that mistake with my best friend, i always felt weird asking for a picture together… he died of cancer January of 2014 and now i have no pictures of us together. Its my only regret in life.
This is really helpful, thank you all!
I’m the newest of new adults but I’m gonna throw these little tips in there. IF YOU HAVE AN OLD CAR:
-coolant or water if your car overheats (coolant is preferable cause it won’t hurt the engine in the long run but hey i know money is tight)
-flashlight in case you break down at night and need to check under the hood and your phone is dead
-SPARE TIRE.
-jumper cables.you will at some point leave your lights on. you just will.
AAA or any other road side service is never a bad investment i swear. (try to mooch it off your parents as long as you can though)
Know how to change a tire. You’re going to need to do it at some point in time and you can’t always rely on someone else to do it for you.
Don’t be afraid to go to your local food bank. They are there for a reason.
Don’t be ashamed to ask for help period. Life is hard, everyone needs help occasionally.
You can put a LOWER wattage bulb in a lamp that says it’s for a higher one, but don’t put a HIGHER wattage bulb in. Also, watts refer to the amount of electricity used. LUMENS refers to the amount of light put out, and can vary quite a bit between brands, even though the wattage is the same. Look for the one with the highest lumens unless you actually want a slightly dimmer bulb in a certain location.
Those dollar store batteries? Fine if they’re alkaline. “Heavy-duty” batteries, however, won’t last nearly as long.
You can microwave a hot dog and bun simply by wrapping them in a toweling for a minute, less if you don’t want them scalding hot.
Reblogging to save lives.
Two adulting (kitchen-related) tips from me!
1. Buy a roll of parchment paper from the cooking shit aisle. A big roll will last you for-fucking-ever. Pretty much any time you’re using a baking pan you can line it with that stuff and save yourself A: food sticking to the pan and B: it’s a quick rinse and it’s clean.
2. Bread can get fucking expensive, so make your own. A bigass bag of flour and a bag of active dry yeast (store it in the friiiiidge!!!) works out a FUCK of a lot cheaper than buying bread at the store, and you can do so much more with it. Bread, pizza, rolls, cinnibuns, homemade pizza pockets. It seems intimidating but it’s stupid easy.
Seriously. It’s stupid simple to make, and most of the “3 hours” to make it is sitting around surfing the internet or doing whatever the fuck you want while the dough rises. If you have an afternoon free once a week to sit and play video games or surf the net, you have the time to make your own bread on the cheap. Here’s my simple-as-fuck recipe:
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (You can buy a bag of this stuff CHEAP in bulk stores, the little packets are hella stupid priced) 1 cup warm water (think a hot bath) 1 ½ teaspoons sugar 2 tablespoons oil (any kind works for the most part) 2 ¼ cups flour 1 teaspoon salt
1. Stir the yeast, water, sugar, and oil up in a bowl. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. It will foam up VERY high, this is the yeast getting happy! If it doesn’t get all foamy, the water may have been too hot or not hot enough. Remember, Yeast is alive! Treat it like a nice girlfriend!
2. Mix your flour, salt, and the yeast concoction up in a bowl.
3. Knead that shit for about 5 minutes. It will start sticky as heck, but will come together into a nice dough. If it’s still super sticky, toss in a bit more flour. Here’s how to knead it:
4. Put your dough in a covered, lightly oiled bowl and leave it someplace warmish for an hour. At that point it will have roughly doubled in size, give it a gentle punch to release the gasses that have built up inside. Cover it again and let it sit for a bit longer.
Boom. You have bread dough. Here are some baking times and uses for ya:
Optional egg-wash: Just crack an egg into a bowl, add a pinch of salt, and mix the bejeebus out of it with a fork. Brush (or if you’re like me, goop it on with said fork) that shit thinly on bread before baking for a nice crust.
Pizza: Stretch it on a pan, stab the fucker all over with a fork, add toppings, bake 425*F 15-20 minutes.
Bread Sticks: Make snake-shapes, let rest on pan 10-ish minutes, bake 400*F 10-20 minutes.
Dinner rolls: Make ball-sized (yes those balls) balls. Place on greased pan, let rest 10-20 minutes to rise. Egg-wash and bake 375*F 25 minutes.
Bread: Lightly score (cut) the top, let sit for 20-ish minutes on/in whatever you’re using to bake it, egg-wash, bake at 375*F for 20-ish minutes. It’s done when it sounds hollow if you knock on the bottom.
You bet your ass you can deep-fry this shit for cheapie yeast doughnuts. Roll that shit in sugar or dip it in whatever, it’s fucking tasty.
Bagels: YES. YOU. CAN. Form bagel-shapes out of the dough and boil them in salty water for about 2 minutes. Egg-wash them and bake them at 400*F for 10 minutes.
Cinnamon Rolls: Roll that shit out into a rectangle. Brush it with a mix of butter, cinnamon, sugar, and a pinch of salt (no exact amounts here, do it to your taste). Roll it up into a log, and cut it into discs. Let them sit 20 minutes in a pan and then bake at 375*F 15-17 minutes.
You can add whatever you want to the dough for some variety, just if it’s dried spices remember you really only need 1-ish tablespoons. I personally like making bread with about 1 tablespoon of dill in the dough. Roll it out flat, sprinkle it with cheddar, roll it into a log, squeeze the ends shut, and bake it like a regular loaf of bread. Cheesy dill bread OMNOMNOM.
*ahem* That got a bit long. But yeah. Bread’s expensive, yo. Save your wallet.
(Also it’s ridiculous amounts of therapeutic to bake, for me anyway)
about the medicine: know the difference between ibuprofen and paracetamol!! paracetamol is a painkiller and is probably the way to go if you have a headache or period pain since it’s easier on the stomach, while ibuprofen is anti inflammatory! that means it will work well as a painkiller, but it’s also good for common colds – just take it two times a day (make sure to check the dosage with a pharmacologist or read the instructions that come with the medicine tho) for up to three days to lower your temperature (if it lasts longer than that pls go see a doctor) another tip: always have a few painkiller pills on you they will save your life and last thing: take the medical advice on tumblr with a grain of salt most of us aren’t specialists so please double and triple check all the info
Answer all these questions and you should have a fully-developed character for your audience to connect with. A strong character can carry a weak plot; but a strong plot can’t carry weak characters
There’s been a lot of posts going around lately about Paypal and their policy on fees, and I’ve seen a lot of people suggesting you move to invoices. What you might not realise unless you have a closer look at these payments once you receive them, is that Paypal is expecting you to ship an item. This remains the same regardless of whether you use the default form, the ‘services’ form and charge by the hour, and whether you put 0.00 in the postage section.
After a call to customer service this morning, I have confirmed there is actually no option on invoices for a seller to indicate that postage is not required if you are invoicing from the main paypal website (ie. you don’t do paypal checkout through your website, there may be a work around if you have a purchase button on your website, which isn’t entirely practical for commissions as prices can often vary and most do payments through the site directly). This means that if you don’t provide shipping / tracking information on that payment, Paypal may freeze the funds and/or your account.
Apparently the way to avoid this is to include in the notes section of the invoice that the invoice is for goods and services, and that no shipping is required.
They also said that the buyer should indicate in the notes when they pay that they have received the goods/service, however this is going to cause issues with commissions as most are either paid upfront or partway through.
If anyone has any further solution to this, reblog and or message me, but otherwise this has been a PSA about Paypal invoicing. Seller beware.
Guys the struggle is real and I am learning this now. Make sure you write that your goods are digital in your invoices so your account does not freeze.
The way I manage my invoices isn’t just to specify under the note,
But also to choose this option when the payment has been sent and the commission has been completed
So it can be counted as complete.
Seriously guys spread this, we all know invoices are safer but honestly I didn’t know about this really important step. This needs more notes
Imagine children of Hephaestus being born with parts of their bodies being made of metal. It varies how weird or horrific the placement of these parts are. Many children with born with metal limbs build better, more stylish ones for themselves
Imagine children of Aphrodite that are born with the power to change their appearance, but they can’t control it. They change when their emotions are high or just randomly throughout the day. Sometimes they’ll have two different faces and not be able to do anything about it
Imagine children of Apollo being literally made of light. There’s always a soft glow coming from their eyes, nose, and mouth. They get hard to look at when they’re mad but they also make good flashlights
Imagine children of Ares who just casually spill blood all the time. Out of their mouths, ears, eyes, and noses. Just randomly, no warning. Sometime random small wounds will open up on their arms, legs, and faces. New campers are very scared of them
Imagine children of Athena who physically shut down from information over load; they can’t move, can’t speak, don’t even breathe so their brains can review all the things they know. When they’re in this state you can literally see words and pictures flash across their eyes. Don’t disturb them in this state, it won’t be good for either of you
Imagine children of Demeter who have flowers and other flora growing out of their bodies. Little roses (thorns and all) growing out of their heads, lilies growing from their shoulders. Sometimes their hair will start turning green
Imagine children of Dionysus with grape juice for blood. When they get older, it ferments and turns to wine. They can will vines to grow out of their bodies, though the grapes on those vines will make anyone else sick
Imagine children of Hermes who talk so fast, their voice can’t catch up. They’ll be talking and suddenly, their voice gives out. But they still keep talking. When they stop, their voice keeps going once it’s able to catch up
Imagine children of Hades with see through skin. All the bones, veins, organs, and everything is visible. Sometimes, depending on a lot of things, their skin is more translucent than normal
Imagine children of Poseidon being born with aquatic features; scales, gills, webbed hands/feet, slimy skin, etc. Some are able to go fine without water, while some need it or they get sick. They won’t die but they will be quite miserable
Imagine children of Zeus who are made of lightning. You can see it under their skin, jumping from one body part to the next. Their eyes have lightning and them always look like colored storm clouds. Touching them is always an endeavor in trying not to get shocked too badly
Imagine really cool side effects to being half all powerful God
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