everythingimnot

[everythingimnot]

when I was a kid I read a sci-fi story where some researcher discovers that all crocodiles since prehistory have had the same congenital heart defect, so they set about curing it. when they do, suddenly their research specimen starts getting stronger and healthier and growing rapidly and developing new appendages, and it turns out all crocodilians were actually stunted sickly forms of dragons. that story really stuck with me because it's basically an expression of the "what if I went to the doctor and they discovered I was deficient in one special vitamin and then I took a pill and all my problems and ailments vanished immediately" fantasy.

unrelated, I started taking daily antihistamines this month for the first time in my life,

[everythingimnot]

The haunting ancient Celtic carnyx being played for an audience. This is the sound Roman soldiers would have heard their Celtic enemies make.

[everythingimnot]

"today" is kind of future-tense

[everythingimnot]

[everythingimnot]

what are we even saying anymore

[everythingimnot]

Okay, another little lesson for fic writers since I see it come up sometimes in fics: wine in restaurants.

When you buy a bottle of wine in a (nicer) restaurant, generally (please note my emphasis there, this is a generalization for most restaurants, but not all restaurants, especially non-US ones) you may see a waiter do a few things when they bring you the bottle.

The waiter presents the bottle to the person who ordered it

The waiter uncorks the bottle in order to serve it

The waiter hands the cork to the person who ordered the bottle

The waiter pours a small portion of the wine (barely a splash) and waits for the person who ordered it to taste it

The waiter then pours glasses for everyone else at the table, and then returns to fill up the initial taster's glass

Now, you might be thinking -- that's all pretty obvious, right? They're bringing you what you ordered, making sure you liked it, and then pouring it for the group. Wrong. It's actually a little bit more complicated than that.

The waiter presents the bottle to the person who ordered it so that they can inspect the label and vintage and make sure it's the bottle they actually ordered off the menu

The waiter uncorks the bottle so that the table can see it was unopened before this moment (i.e., not another wine they poured into an empty bottle) and well-sealed

The waiter hands the cork to the person who ordered the bottle so that they can inspect the label on the cork and determine if it matches up; they can also smell/feel the cork to see if there is any dergradation or mold that might impact the wine itself

The waiter pours a small portion for the person who ordered to taste NOT to see if they liked it -- that's a common misconception. Yes, sometimes when house wine is served by the glass, waiters will pour a portion for people to taste and agree to. But when you order a bottle, the taste isn't for approval -- you've already bought the bottle at this point! You don't get to refuse it if you don't like it. Rather, the tasting is to determine if the wine is "corked", a term that refers to when a wine is contaminated by TCA, a chemical compound that causes a specific taste/flavor. TCA can be caused by mold in corks, and is one of the only reasons you can (generally) refuse a bottle of wine you have already purchased. Most people can taste or smell TCA if they are trained for it; other people might drink the wine for a few minutes before noticing a damp, basement-like smell on the aftertaste. Once you've tasted it, you'll remember it. That first sip is your opportunity to take one for the table and save them from a possibly corked bottle of wine, which is absolutely no fun.

If you've sipped the wine (I generally smell it, I've found it's easier to smell than taste) and determined that it is safe, you then nod to your waiter. The waiter will then pour glasses for everyone else at the table. If the wine is corked, you would refuse the bottle and ask the waiter for a new bottle. If there is no new bottle, you'll either get a refund or they'll ask you to choose another option on their wine list. A good restaurant will understand that corked bottles happen randomly, and will leap at the opportunity to replace it; a bad restaurant or a restaurant with poor training will sometimes try to argue with you about whether or not it's corked. Again, it can be a subtle, subjective taste, so proceed carefully.

In restaurants, this process can happen very quickly! It's elegant and practiced. The waiter will generally uncork the bottle without setting the bottle down or bracing it against themselves. They will remove the cork without breaking it, and they will pour the wine without dripping it down the label or on the table.

[everythingimnot]

One of my favourite bits of media history trivia is that back in the Elizabethan period, people used to publish unauthorised copies of plays by sending someone who was good with shorthand to discretely write down all of the play's dialogue while they watched it, then reconstructing the play by combining those notes with audience interviews to recover the stage directions; in some cases, these unauthorised copies are the only record of a given play that survives to the present day. It's one of my favourites for two reasons:

It demonstrates that piracy has always lay at the heart of media preservation; and

Imagine being the 1603 equivalent of the guy with the cell phone camera in the movie theatre, furtively scribbling down notes in a little book and hoping Shakespeare himself doesn't catch you.

[everythingimnot]

if it just says spice I'm assuming it's that thing they were smuggling in star wars

I am begging the FDA to require that companies CANNOT just put "spices" as an ingredient but have to label the spices.

"Spices" can mean "this has some oregano and black pepper in it" or it can mean "this has cumin cayenne and paprika and if you eat this you will be sick in bed in pain for a week" for me.

Seriously, this is an allergy issue and a huge oversight on the part of corporations.

Require detailed labeling of spices used in packaged foods NOW.

[everythingimnot]

happy PRIDE i’m here i’m queer and i believe the land should be given back to the proper indigenous stewards.

[everythingimnot]

I have a scar between my knuckles from accidentally punching a concrete wall

but it is actually very interesting how it happened because I have no idea because see the thing is that the scar is not in a place that should've made contact with that wall and yet it was the only injury I got from it

can we give characters lame scars. boring scars. sometimes you dont need to have a big mystery for it. i have a scar on my hand from scratching it on a plastic donut container. lifes full of surprises like that.

[everythingimnot]

So anyways with the rapid rise of fascism I feel it’s a good time to point out that it’s perfectly legal to follow unjust orders slowly, badly, or inefficiently

[everythingimnot]

[everythingimnot]

me: i don’t want to see jellyfish so i will blacklist the tag #jellyfish

people with no common sense: je11yf1sh, je11¥fi5h, j*llyf*sh, je//ÿf!sh, j3ï||yf¡sh, gel lee fisk

result: cannot account for the sheer amount of possible ways to alter the word jellyfish

conclusion: i have to see jellyfish now.

Once again, tumblr is not tiktok, tag properly.

[everythingimnot]

I’m so glad that things like survivorship bias and statistical outliers became memes I wish more critical thinking skills would become widely-understood this way, I’m not kidding let’s get on this

[everythingimnot]

somehow instead of saying "as a treat", I've started using the phrase "for morale", as if my body is a ship and its crew, and I (the captain) have to keep us in high spirits, lest we suffer a mutiny in the coming days.

and so I will eat this small block of fancy cheese, for morale. I will take a break and drink some tea, for morale. I will pick up that weird bug, for morale.

I'm not sure if it helps, but it does entertain me

[everythingimnot]

then I shall be awaiting those videos

you remind me of the colour blue, genshin, yaoi and being a mean little brat (in a friendly way)

my first tag game!

what does ur moot who mentioned you on this post remind you of?

tags: no pressure!

@binibby @7975348473 @hopeless-umii @balladofareader @talahsaudiobooklibrary @lyrakanefanatic @sheisntyouspam @lila-77 @elysianwayy77 @shattermelyhfmlblog @prettylikethestars @foreverwinter22 @musiwashere @liaisbroke @whoo0sh @sweetreveriee @acad3miawhore @jjsblueberry @thesingerinthewoods @thecircularlibrary @shattered-glass-roses @anintellectualintellectual @welcome-to-chiles @bookworm-fangirl1 @book-nerd-emi @sarastellasari @lunarlee101 @mxst3rmind @gigigraysonenthusiast @21sbaby @tig-bun @lovethornes @xoxoavry @caramelmiacchiato @haeerizm @lovely-dragon-of-mine @where-is-the-angst @beautifulmusicengineer @we-were-born-to-be-free @laufeysgoddess @kiraandhervibes @shefollowedthestars @reminiscentreader @wish-i-were-heather.

[everythingimnot]

white kitty cats, pink, kindness, talking about things we love

@mmaurysiek @bluexxdumpling

my first tag game!

what does ur moot who mentioned you on this post remind you of?

tags: no pressure!

@binibby @7975348473 @hopeless-umii @balladofareader @talahsaudiobooklibrary @lyrakanefanatic @sheisntyouspam @lila-77 @elysianwayy77 @shattermelyhfmlblog @prettylikethestars @foreverwinter22 @musiwashere @liaisbroke @whoo0sh @sweetreveriee @acad3miawhore @jjsblueberry @thesingerinthewoods @thecircularlibrary @shattered-glass-roses @anintellectualintellectual @welcome-to-chiles @bookworm-fangirl1 @book-nerd-emi @sarastellasari @lunarlee101 @mxst3rmind @gigigraysonenthusiast @21sbaby @tig-bun @lovethornes @xoxoavry @caramelmiacchiato @haeerizm @lovely-dragon-of-mine @where-is-the-angst @beautifulmusicengineer @we-were-born-to-be-free @laufeysgoddess @kiraandhervibes @shefollowedthestars @reminiscentreader @wish-i-were-heather.