animatedamerican

[animatedamerican]

god I love etymology

Starkey Comics

Old post:

"The etymological tree of Genh"

I made this one 6 years ago now, making it one of my oldest etymology infographics, and I think it shows.

Some elements I have used consistently since that time, like the rounded squares and garamond font. The colours I assign to each language are also basically unchanged.

But other things have evolved as I've developed my style:

-None of my recent images use a key like this, instead just having the names of the languages incorporated in the image.

-This image has no way to distinguish borrowed words and inherited words: these days I always have the words crossing a white gap when they are borrowed across languages, rather than inherited from ancestor languages.

-The bold arrows also stand out (these days I used translucent ones). More recently I've also started having the definitions slightly translucent to easily distinguish them from the vocab.

It's the creator's curse to always look back on your old work and see everything you'd do differently now. But all in all I think this is still a fascinating image, and it's incredible how many English words that stem from this one root.

[animatedamerican]

Many many years ago, when I was first starting to date, my mother (ז״ל) made what she really intended to be a helpful suggestion, along the lines of: "When you're first meeting someone you're interested in, maybe consider ... toning it down a little? Just at first, until you get to know each other?"

And I said "Mom, if he's not going to like the full weird me, I want to know that as soon as possible. What's the point of even starting to get close to someone who's going to be turned off as soon as I start acting like I really am? Isn't that just setting us both up to be disappointed?"

To her credit, once I put it that way, she reconsidered and agreed with me that it was a bad idea. It didn't occur to me until years later to wonder, and I wish I could have asked her, whether her mother gave her any similarly well-meant advice when she was first starting to date and how she felt about it at the time.

Anyway, when I met the guy who is now my husband of twenty-six years and counting, we spent the first several hours of our acquaintance mutually nerding out about comic books and cartoons (including, specifically, finding out that Disney's Gargoyles had been created by the same Greg Weisman who used to write for Captain Atom), and that worked out pretty well I think.

'dating rules' are so fucking stupid btw. "don't talk too much about your hyperfixation on a first date, it'll scare them off!!" it'll only scare them off if they're a coward. Someone worthy of my affections will listen to me talk about my goal of visiting every whale exhibit with a life-sized effigy of a whale in it in the world for a solid half-hour and come away from that experience desiring me carnally.

[animatedamerican]

(As has been pointed out already, it's meant to be "Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain".)

When I was younger, the order-of-planets mnemonic we learned was My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas (and occasional variations thereof).

The year that Pluto was officially reclassified from planet to dwarf planet, a great friend of mine (whom I first met in college astronomy class) came up with one I still think is brilliant: My Very Excellent Mnemonic Just Seems Useless Now.

been reminded that mnemonic sentences exist

things like "Mary's Violet Eyes Make Jack Stay Up Nights (Perhaps)" to remember the order of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the Perhaps was added for Pluto but is no longer necessary, although I suppose it'd be hypothetically possible to construct a sentence that includes every dwarf planet)

or "San Mateo Horses Eat Oats" for the Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario)

or my own favorite, for the Mohs scale of geological hardness, "The Girls Can Flirt And Other Queer Things Can Do" (talc, gypsum, calcite, fluorite, apatite, orthoclase, quartz, topaz, corundum, diamond)

anyway do you know any others? tell me about them please

[animatedamerican]

the purge but in reverse

What is shabbat? Wrong answers only

[animatedamerican]

Some more Jewish-specific things that aren't in the actual text:

The manna miraculously tasting like whatever one wanted to eat / liked best

Joseph's famous coat being "of many colors" (The Hebrew word is pasim, which may have meant "multicolored" but may as easily have meant "striped" or "ornamented" or even "patchwork".)

Vashti's refusal to appear at the king's banquet being due to a miraculously sudden disfigurement, such as boils or a tail

Haman wearing a three-cornered hat

Noah being instructed to tell everybody that the Flood was coming and they should repent

(The translation question of Joseph's coat aside, most of these are out of midrash and can be found in very old Torah commentary. I think Haman's hat isn't even midrash but folklore, as an invented reason for the shape of hamantaschen.)

Things that aren't in the bible:

The serpent in the garden being Satan

Cain killing Abel with a stone

Jesus being a carpenter

Pestilence being one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse

Baby Moses being put in the river

Solomon speaking to animals

[animatedamerican]

Courtesy of Rafe on the filkhaven discord, when I shared this there:

Mothers, tell your children Not to do what I have done Don't go down to New Orleans There's bugger all there, son.

Honestly, it’d be a lot weirder if there wasn’t a house in New Orleans.

[animatedamerican]

... I somehow missed "fandom edition" in the original post. Let me try that again:

"I don't get why any adult would ever consume any media produced for children. Especially cartoons."

"My favorite Star Trek series? Probably Enterprise. I can't stand any of the novels though."

"Honestly I don't see the point of musical episodes. They're a bit silly, aren't they?

What's the one thing you could say to someone on a phone call so they'd know you were being held against your will? Fandom edition.

I'll start.

"I've been rewatching Teen Wolf, and you know, Scott really isn't that bad."

[animatedamerican]

"No artichokes or tomatoes, please, you know I can't stand them."

"Well, obviously I'm not going to sing in public ..."

"I'm doing great! Everything's totally Cloud City."

What's the one thing you could say to someone on a phone call so they'd know you were being held against your will? Fandom edition.

I'll start.

"I've been rewatching Teen Wolf, and you know, Scott really isn't that bad."

[animatedamerican]

See, with the autism speech, my take on the fact-checking has not been "no, autistic people really are worthy of life and respect because they do all those things!" at all. It's been "here's a guy making decisions about autistic people at a federal government level who blatantly has no fucking clue how autism actually works."

On reading this post, however, I certainly agree that it's unhelpful at best and harmful at worst to correct the verifiable facts while allowing even an implied opinion of "and therefore they are less worthy of life and respect" to pass unchallenged. So thanks for the needed perspective shift.

I fucking hate that the general response to RFK Jr's eugenist take on autistic people is "autistic people do pay taxes, autistic people do work, autistic people do date!"

Some autistic people don't and that shouldn't make them less worthy of life. Some autistic people do need constant help and support and that shouldn't make them less worthy of life.

Once again we're falling in the right wing trap of :

They make a hateful, fascist statement

Instead of focusing on the fact that it is hateful and fascist we try to show them that they are factually wrong

We throw our own allies and the most vulnerable of us under the bus in the process

We legitimise an only slightly less hateful, fascist view as we go

They have completed their goal of making us accept the still hateful, fascist second version, hurrah. What a victory.

Right now what we're getting to with that is that autistic people who can work and pay taxes are okay, and the others aren't. Fuck this shit.

Same thing happens with the people who are being deported ("they have a visa!", "they didn't even have a criminal record!" -> even if they didn't have a visa, even if they did have a criminal record, deporting them and detaining them in what's essentially a concentration camp wouldn't be okay, you absolute tools of fascism.)

[animatedamerican]

Actually ... I could really see him playing The Lone Power, as he appears in So You Want To Be A Wizard. Perfectly normal-seeming businessman right up until he's suddenly absolutely terrifying.

(And I'm not just saying that because of his fabulous turn as Asmodeus in the Exandria Unlimited Calamity and Downfall games, but it doesn't hurt.)

Hi, Diane! I was recently in a Reddit thread about casting Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor/Dropout fame, and I had the notion he might make a decent Carl. Do you have an opinion?

(If you have no idea who I'm talking about, search "brennan lee mulligan yes or no" on Youtube. :) Not the best Carl audition, but it's an absolutely legendary rant. )

You know, I had a look, and... No question that it's a fabulous rant. But not quite the way I see Carl.

Thanks for bringing this guy up on my radar, though! He does rant well. :)

[animatedamerican]

-approximately, but not precisely, the current phase of the moon

-what kinds of fruit grow on trees* as opposed to bushes or low shrubs or vines

*exceptions apply due to varying definitions of "tree"

"Niche" knowledge that immediately outs you as someone who grew up Orthodox:

-all the steps of grain harvest and processing

-all the steps of textile making

-all the steps of hide tanning

-which animals are ruminants (and what a ruminants is)

-which animals have split hooves and which do not

-the porosity of various kitchenware materials

-always know when sunset is

-always know where East is

-what a heddle is

-what rennet is

-what cochineal is

-what murex dye is

-where the sciatic nerve is in an animal

-that gelatin is in *everything*

[animatedamerican]

Since I'm reblogging this from @dduane ... when I first read her excellent Star Trek TOS novel My Enemy, My Ally, I had heard of but never yet seen the episode that the above gifs are from. And it wasn't until I saw it for the first time that I really understood the description of the Horta crewmember Naraht as "someone who looked like a giant pan pizza (sausage, extra cheese)."

My Top 25 Costumes from Star Trek : The Original Series

1. Horta

[animatedamerican]

A variation I suggested in the notes, to Russian it up just a bit more: top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of caviar.

(And you know what, yeah, I'm declaring this a candidate for my fictional foods tag.)

Penne alla Goncharova

Ever since Tumblr rediscovered the lost Scorsese classic Goncharov a couple years ago, I’ve been playing with the idea of Russian-Italian fusion food for a themed dinner accordingly. I recently learned of a retro version of pasta alla vodka with smoked salmon that was once popular at Italian discos, and it struck me as an absolutely perfect dish to go with your next showing of this iconic 1973 Mafia movie.

Ingredients:

1 box of penne (or other short, shaped pasta)

1 8-oz package of smoked salmon, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 ½ cups heavy cream

2 tsp concentrated tomato paste

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 tsp butter

2 shots vodka

Pinch or two of red pepper flakes, to taste

Finely minced chives, for garnish

Directions:

Boil a pot of salted water and cook penne to ‘al dente’ according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then add garlic and saute until the garlic shows a hint of golden color. Add red pepper flakes, if using.

Add the tomato paste and allow it to fry for one minute, then add the vodka and stir to deglaze the pan.

Next, add the heavy cream, stir to mix, and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Add the salmon and allow to cook for one minute, then add the cooked, drained pasta to the vodka sauce and mix. If sauce is too thick, add a little reserved pasta water to thin it and help it stick to the noodles.

Ladle generously into bowls and top with finely minced chives.

Serve with a nice Italian rosé or some ice-cold vodka, and dig in — remember, the clock is ticking.

[animatedamerican]

Hozier hadn't been born yet when I was in middle school.

just read the sentence “if you didnt listen to hozier in middle school-” and i stopped bc i blacked out. im loggin off. how fucking old are you guys

[animatedamerican]

Tagged by @captainlordauditor.

The rules: Post a picture of your OC and then 4 (or whatever number you'd like) random photos with no explanation that conveys their vibe.

I'm gonna give you Azimar, my tiefling bard, designed in HeroForge.

And some vibes:

Tagging ... @tanoraqui @bcgphoenix @acleverforgery

[animatedamerican]

Pesach Recipes: New for 2025

Once again it's time for a new round of additions to my tumblr collection of Pesach recipes! What have we got this year?

(Click through for: Velvety Mushroom Soup, Lox-Avocado Salad, Ground Beef Pie with Matzah Crust, Chicken with Tomatoes and Beef Bacon, Carrot Kugel, and Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse.)

Velvety Mushroom Soup (adapted from here)

Ingredients

6 tablespoon butter, margarine, schmaltz, or olive oil

2 tablespoon fresh sage chopped

1 lb mushrooms sliced

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk

Directions

In a large pot, heat butter over medium heat until it begins to brown and turns fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. (If not using butter, just heat fat of choice.)

Add sage and cook one minute.

Add mushrooms and stir to coat, then saute until mushrooms are tender and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir in stock and bring to a simmer. Cook 4 to 5 minutes more.

Transfer to food processor or blender (in batches, if your processor is not large enough). Blend until very smooth. Pass through a sieve if desired.

Return to pot and stir in cream. Serve immediately.

—–

Lox-Avocado Salad ("Lox & Friends") Serves 4 to 5 people as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

3 to 4 ounces of lox or smoked salmon

1 large or 2 small avocado, very ripe

Lemon juice

Tomato paste

Directions:

Finely chop the lox – not minced, but until each piece is not much bigger than a lentil. Set aside.

Finely chop or mash the avocado. Stir with a drizzle of lemon juice to keep the avocado from turning brown. Set aside.

To serve molded: Line a small ramekin or deep sauce dish with plastic wrap to serve as a mold. Spread a thin layer of tomato paste on the bottom of the dish. Press a layer of chopped lox onto the tomato paste, then a layer of avocado over the lox. Invert a salad plate on top of the dish and quickly overturn the entire assemblage, then carefully lift off the ramekin and leave the plastic wrap in place to cover the molded serving. Repeat for each serving.

To serve unmolded: For each serving, scoop a generous spoonful of avocado onto a salad plate or into a cocktail dish. Carefully press a layer of chopped lox onto the avocado, then spread a thin layer of tomato paste on top.

Serve alone or with crackers/matzah.

—–

Ground Beef Pie with Matzah Crust

Ingredients:

1 medium-large vidalia onion, chopped

1 spoonful minced garlic

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 small carrot, peeled and chopped fine

1 small zucchini or yellow squash, chopped (optional)

1 small bunch baby bok choy, chopped fine (optional)

8 to 10 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped

1.5 to 2 pounds ground beef, or beef and chicken mixed

black pepper, fresh thyme and/or rosemary, dried sage, dried savory, coriander, sweet paprika, smoked paprika to taste

3 to 4 sheets matzah, or more as needed

Olive oil, schmaltz, and/or margarine for frying and for greasing pan

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat cooking oil/s of choice. Cook onion over alternating high heat and low heat until deep golden and beginning to brown. Add garlic and cook a little longer, then pour off into large mixing bowl. Cook celery until deep green and fragrant, then return onions to skillet and cook a little longer before pouring off again. Repeat these steps with zucchini, bok choy, and mushrooms, before pouring all off into the mixing bowl.

Add ground beef to skillet and cook, stirring and breaking up with spatula or spoon to keep it from clumping. Season with spices of choice and continue until meat is cooked through. If skillet is large enough, return vegetables to skillet and combine with ground beef over heat; if not, pour off ground beef into mixing bowl and stir together there.

Dip the matzah into warm water and cover loosely with damp paper towels. Let sit for a few minutes until softened. Grease a deep baking dish.

Gently press the softened matzah into the baking dish, making a single layer (overlapping as necessary). Spoon the meat and vegetables into the dish until full. Add another layer of softened matzah over the top, and brush with more oil of choice; if desired, garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until top crust is crispy. Serve hot.

Cottage pie variation: If preferred, omit the matzah and instead prepare enough mashed potatoes to make a single layer over the top of the baking dish. Grease the baking dish, spoon the meat and vegetables in, press the mashed potatoes into a top layer, and brush or spray with oil of choice; if desired, garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until mashed potato layer is slightly browned. Serve hot.

—–

Sheet-Pan Chicken With Tomatoes and Beef Bacon (adapted from here)

Ingredients

1 chicken in parts or 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

9 whole unpeeled garlic cloves

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more for serving

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

½ teaspoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground coriander, or to taste

scant ¼ teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste

1 pint cherry tomatoes (preferably different colors), halved

4 ounces diced beef bacon

¼ cup (or more) chopped basil, parsley, and/or other fresh herbs, for serving

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Season chicken all over with salt, and place on a rimmed baking sheet.

Smash all the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and peel them. Finely grate or mince one garlic clove and put it in a small bowl. Stir in the 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1½ tablespoons lemon juice, brown sugar and spices. Pour over chicken, tossing to coat.

Add tomatoes and remaining smashed, peeled garlic cloves to baking sheet, spreading them out around the chicken. Season tomatoes lightly with salt and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Scatter beef bacon on top.

Roast until chicken is golden and cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes. After 15 minutes, stir the tomatoes and beef bacon, but don’t disturb the chicken.

Transfer chicken to plates. Stir the tomatoes and beef bacon around in the pan, scraping up all the delicious browned bits from the bottom and sides, and stir in the herbs and black pepper to taste. Taste and add salt, if needed, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, if you like. Spoon tomatoes, garlic and beef bacon over the chicken to serve.

—–

Carrot Kugel (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

5-6 cups chopped carrots, approximately 2 pounds

¼ cup honey or agave nectar

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon orange rind

3 large eggs

¼ cup almond flour

Directions:

Steam carrots until soft, about 20 minutes.

In a blender or food processor, puree carrots, honey, nutmeg, cinnamon, orange rind, eggs, and almond flour.

Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish, and spoon carrot mixture in. Smooth out and sprinkle additional cinnamon over the top, if desired.

Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, until browned around the edges and solid in the center.

Serve warm out of the oven, or allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight and serve cold.

—–

Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

10-12 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips (sugar-free if desired)

2-3 tbsp. hot water

1 tbsp. cocoa powder

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

6-8 jumbo eggs, whites and yolks separated

¼ cup sugar (or other granulated sweetener of choice)

Directions:

Melt chocolate with water, vanilla, and cocoa powder over low heat or in microwave. Remove and stir well until smooth.

Add the egg yolks to the chocolate, one or two at a time, mixing well after each one.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Add the chocolate and mix well; the mixture will be liquidy.

Pour into serving bowl or into individual cups and refrigerate until set.  Serve cold. (Optional: spoon over sliced oranges, fresh berries, and/or sliced bananas.)

[animatedamerican]

You've heard of the man, the myth, the legend. Now get ready for the woman, the omen, the portent.