words go here

Sephardi & Romaniote Jewish Women's Clothing in the Byzantine and Ottoman Periods, illustrated by Nikos Stavroulakis

nature plissée

© pet_foolery

you can't predict the thematic twists and turns of my blog

I know most people don't care about anything unless it has to do with the U.S. but can we please start talking about the Canadian election.

Please don't vote for Poilievre. He's basically the Canadian Trump and plans to put in place laws that harm trans youth, and lots of other shit.

Please vote istg this is the only way anything will get better. Poilievre has been kissing millionaires and billionaires asses. He'll make life even harder, and he loves Trump.

Reblogs are appreciated, especially if you aren't Canadian.

I was gonna put stuff in the tags but no actually:

Please don't put that man in office. Please vote, and not for him.

If you're thinking of not voting, let me say this: someone is going to win, and whoever it is will be making decisions in your name. You have the opportunity to have an effect on who that person is. Don't you want it to be someone who agrees with you, at least a little bit?

If that thought (or another) compels you but you don't know who to vote for, first of all, not Poilievre and the Conservatives (blue), as mentioned above. Second of all, let me put you onto votemate.org. You just put in your postal code and it will tell you what district you're in, and then you can view the candidates for your district. Many of the candidates have info up about themselves and their platform (some don't—it's a new project and this election was called fairly suddenly, but keep an eye out because more profiles will be added as we get closer to polling time). If you want to find out more about a candidate, now that you have the name you should be able to search them up and find further details about their party and platform.

Once you've done your research and made your decision, make a plan to vote.

I for one will be very proud of you.

Adding to the chorus, please vote. Check out smartvoting.ca as well, it will let you know not only who is in your riding but also what their chances are against the conservative nomination. In some ridings that will be the Liberal candidate, in others it will be the NDP. The main goal is to block a majority for the conservatives and block as much as we can right now for what they're trying to do.

Poilievre is not only kissing Trump's ring, he and his ilk are actively using project 2025 as their playbook. I know the stats look like he's lost a lot of favour, but that only sticks if we all go to the polls and act on it.

The world right now is terrifying, and I don't want it to get worse and Poilievre is objectively worse. Find a candidate who has a platform you're interested in and vote for them. Find an MPs email and yell at them every chance you get to do the things you need them to do.

Engagement in politics and civics is down everywhere. The widespread disenfranchisement by the billionaire class has been so effective that voter apathy is the reason we are eeking out such dismal numbers in the polls generally. I know it feels like a piece of paper won't make a difference, but honestly, it absolutely does make all the difference in the world.

I don't hate the conservative party, but this crew they have now has consumed so much of the billionaire Kool aid that they are speed running authoritarian thinking. The whole point of government is to push and pull with alternating ideas. Fiscal responsibility is important, but so are social programs and the arts.

Please become interested and invested not only in your community but in the people we vote to put in charge.

Yeah Mr. Darcy’s proposal was a complete turd and a half but you gotta understand. You got your life together. A good career, stable income, retirement plan, all that shit together. And you meet this girl. And she’s everything. Clever, outspoken, funny, calls you on your bullshit. Grade A cutie, right? And she doesn’t go out of her way to spend time with you but she’s nice, and sometimes you catch her looking your way in a way that makes you think you might have a shot.

But her family. Holy shit.

First off, it’s p much ALL women, and mostly UNMARRIED women, which at this time means of something happens to her dad then you’re financially responsible for like. Four grown ass adults, potentially forever

Because mom in law is DEFINITELY gonna need someone to take care of her when dad in law kicks it, and they have like. NO money. So already you’re accepting that if all goes well, you’re gonna be one random old bag’s retirement home. That’s expensive and exhausting, yeah? Imagine asking someone on a first date knowing that if they say yes and things go good her high-strung chihuahua mother is gonna move in with you. IMAGINE.

And girly’s other sisters. Well, one is a sweetheart, yeah, so she probably won’t be an issue, but that still leaves three more, and two of those ones are INSUFFERABLE. Never went to school, dumb as rocks, spend cash like it’s toilet paper

And while one of the two is young still and might grow out of it the OTHER one is actively torpedo’ing her entire family’s reputation by wandering off with random dudes and chasing ass. She’s never gonna work, she can’t build connections, she’s a fucking sinkhole, and she’s being led on by the same goddamn con man ass leeching tit who’s been bleeding you dry while telling anyone who’ll listen that your family is full of ratty thieving bastards.

And if he dumps her after a week- WHICH YOU KNOW HIS BITCH ASS IS GONNA- you’ve got a SECOND UNMARRIABLE GROWN ASS ADULT TO PROVIDE FOR. And you KNOW she’s gonna be a tantrum-throwing little shit about it, and it’s not like you can lock her in the basement or something, you’re gonna have to bring her fucking. Everywhere. And give her an allowance and shit while she contributes zero, because again, she NEVER GOT EDUCATED AND HAS NO MARKETABLE SKILLS. She’s not even good to TALK to. FUCK

And you’re looking at this girl’s father like “please for the love of fuck get your spawn under control, marry them off, get them working on their résumé, learning to sew or be nursemaids or manage staff or SOMETHING, yall got no money and one foot in the grave” and that old man just laughs like “haha yeah, what can you do. lol”

So you’re looking to the mom and finally it’s making sense how she got that twitch in her eye and as MUCH as she is you’re starting to realize she’s the SMART one, desperately throwing her armloads of girls at random men like they’re a bunch of fucking lifeboats bobbing around a sinking ship, like yes Jesus Christ sweetly that life boat IS old and ugly and kind of boring but for FUCKS SAKE PICK ONE

And you look back at this girl who is ALSO REFUSING THE LIFE BOATS BY THE WAY and god damn it she’s still the most radiant thing you’ve ever seen so fine, fuck it, Christ alive, you’ll do it. You’ll shoot your shot. She’s everything you’ve ever wanted in anybody abut it’s not even just about that anymore, it’s about being her best fucking shot at a future, and even if she doesn’t like you all that much she’s still gonna say yes and that might break your heart a bit knowing it’s about the money but who knows, maybe it will at least be civil, or companionable, and even if she doesn’t LOVE you at least you’ll know she’s well and cared for

And so you’ll do it. You’ll take on the neurotic stress mess mother in law, the absent father, the broke ass wingnut no brain no money no future airhead sisters, the bad mannered relatives and the embarrassing behaviour and the impending future of sharing your entire shit with a clown parade of freeloaders, you’ll risk it all and accept the absolute certainty of financial ruin and emotional exhaustion for the rest of your whole ass life and you’ll make your own family deal with it too, you’ll do it, you’ll fucking DO IT, you stupid lovesick motherfucker

And so you go to this chick like “look. Your whole family’s a shitshow. You’ve got fucking nothing and you’re gonna die on the street. But for some reason- and I don’t get it either- I’ve fallen in love with you, and I wish I didn’t, but I did, so I’m telling you that whether you like me or not, I’ll give you everything. I’ll give you everything even if it’s the dumbest shit I ever done. Fuck my stupid Baka ass, I’ll marry you.”

And she looks at you- having heard or considered absolutely none of your months-long internal debate and monologue- and goes “The fuck did you just say about my family, you son of a bitch?”

And the shock of that is enough to jolt you back into a reality where you are able to actually hear and process what just came out of your damn mouth And yeah

Yeah, I think I kinda get it

(and the prev tags)

#Pride and prejudice#fuuuuuuuck#Yeah you both kinda stupid#I forgot some shit don’t hate me#Also yes I forgot Mary but I’m gonna say Darcy did too just to cover my ass

…Yeah. That’s just about it, isn’t it?

(And then she nukes him from orbit. Which, despite the absolutely correct summing-up of the background, is still deeply satisfying.) 😏

Happy birthday to all the geologists today!

by Marc Szeglat

emboidered wall hanging

yk what i hate though. is when i find a meme and im like THIS IS SO [cool intimidating mutual i never talk to] I SHOULD SEND IT TO THEM but then i remember ive never talked to them ever and so i cant just like give them a meme out of the blue and so the meme just withers and rots in my camera roll 😔

Reblog if a mutual who's never spoken to you can randomly send you memes that made them think of you.

Gather around, my young friends and fellow dinosaurs, let me tell you about some BULLSHIT no one ever tells you about. I'm talking about menopause and perimenopause. Now, menopause has a very stringent medical definition. You have to not have had a period for exactly 12 months and a day to be considered in menopause. All the bullshit before that day once you start going through The Change is considered perimenopause. Here's some bullshit you might experience that people actually talk about when you're in perimenopause:

- shorter time between periods

- irregular periods

- hot flashes and/or cold flashes

- fucked up sleep

- OMG NIGHT SWEATS

- Vagina as dry as the Sahara desert

- lighter periods and/or endless bleeding like it's The Flood but it's in your pants

- lack of interest in Adult Fun Times

This time of joy can last anywhere from a couple of years to a god damn decade and there's no medical way right now to predict it.

Here's some of the REAL bullshit they don't tell you about but your dinosaur aunt is here to let you know:

- You can start perimenopause in your 30s, don't listen to idiot doctors who tell you you're "too young" because they don't know your body like you do.

- Perimenopause will make you HELLA DUMB. Seriously, I'm talking Bigly broken brain. Brain fog? Check. Short term memory? Wave goodbye to it. Ability to make words form out of thoughts? Yeah, good luck to you.

- Perimenopause can cause horrible fatigue because in addition to losing estrogen, you're also losing testosterone. Oh and that also leads to muscle wasting, cool cool.

- Things might suddenly hurt more because estrogen is known to be neuroprotective.

- If you're super lucky like I am, and like to collect rare illnesses, you might even get Burning Mouth Syndrome 💀

- And meanwhile, while you're going through this bullshit, you'll be getting gaslit by doctors who are operating based on 30 year old debunked data about how HRT causes breast cancer (not really) and that they shouldn't put you on it until you're in actual menopause. (Data shows starting HRT early can potentially prevent Alzheimer's in later years.)

- There are entire online clinics right now (I use Midi Health) focused on providing care for peri and menopausal patients and they will happily prescribe you HRT even if your regular PCP or OBGYN do not (if you meet the criteria). I've been pretty impressed with how holistically they view the patient. For full disclosure, I learned about them from my integrative health doctor and they do not accept Medicare (yet).

I'm 46 years old right now and I've been symptomatic for perimenopause for the last 8 years, although it's gotten the most dramatic in the past 2 years or so, which I hope means I'm almost done, holy hell. Yeah I was on the early side, but if it can happen to me, it can happen to you, so it's never too early to think about these things. And I hope to at least spare some of you the mind-fuckery I've been through because no one told me about most of this stuff, including my own mother who just DOESN'T REMEMBER what happened to her and now I completely understand why. And because I also have a connective tissue disease, I used to just dismiss my pain and fatigue as being caused by that illness rather than the loss of hormones.

Anyways, this is why we need Elders in our lives, so they can do Grandma Story Hour like I just did and validate you when the entire medical field tries to gaslight you. I hope you've found some or all of this educational/useful. Please share with your friends because we really do NOT talk about this stuff enough. (Ewwww Moon Blood!)

Stay well, and don't let the bastards grind you down!

Additional information from your 56 y.o Goth Auntie who is in menopause (Probably. My past endometrial ablation procedure makes it hard to be sure.)

Anyone who tries to tell you that perimenopause and menopause "are like going through puberty backwards" is uninformed. Puberty, while hell, was nothing compared to my experiences with perimenopause and maybe-who-knows menopause.

Can I talk about the headaches? because people who know me know I'm going to talk about the headaches.

See, as estrogen levels start to drop with the onset of perimenopause--often sharply a day or so before your now noticeably irregular periods start--the body basically experiences withdrawal from it. And! Estrogen is known to interact with serotonin and the trigeminal nerve in ways that influence pain reception! So it hurts more! And is more resistant to treatment!

(I have a high pain tolerance--I had a caesarean and stopped feeling a need for pain killers the next day--but two periods ago? that headache had me crying. at least the next period wasn't as bad. it arrived a week early, though.)

I also want to echo the stupidity. I was helping Husband work on the car today and he asked for the screwdriver. I picked up a wrench.

(I caught covid for the first time this year, and I thought the grasping for words, spotty memory, brain fog, and worse-than-ever typing were all long covid symptoms. then my period started getting weird, and, oh. perimenopause.)

Another prize you get in perimenopause, which I learned about this year:

-Estrogen is involved in collagen production, so your skin all over becomes less elastic and more easily irritated

-estrogen and progesterone also affects mast cells, important mediators of allergic reactions (and the lil shits behind MCAS). So allergies might get worse, and you might discover exciting new allergies, as your hormones go out of whack.

if you complain about this poll missing an option you are getting blocked. click the first one and explain in the tags. i only have 12 options and cannot change this after it is published. i tried to include the most substantial, unique cultural identities in the usa. if you are unsure, reference this

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