#and he was criticizing that Americans have English muffins

[jrwiyuri]

I hate it when people are like ‘why is x called that it’s soo stupid it doesn’t even make sense’ GOOGLE IT. FUCKING LOOK IT UP. 9/10 IT WASN’T JUST NAMED THAT FOR SHITS AND GIGGLES BRO.

[magnoliawhetstone]

— && guests may mistake me as ( blake lively ), but really i am ( magnolia “lia” barnes + cis-female + she/her/hers ) and my DOB is ( 05/17/1989 ). i am a ( personal assistant ) and would like to stay in suite ( 306 ). i won’t be much of a bother because i am ( + hardworking, compassionate, bubbly ), but i can also be ( - perfectionistic, critical and people pleasing ) at times. personally, i like to ( bake and write ) when i have the time to relax, and my favorite snack is ( pumpkin muffins ) to have in my suite. 

hello hi yes, its me, nika, here you share with you the one, the only, the boring: Magnolia Harper Barnes. I am working on creating lots and lots of things for you to get to know our graceful Lia Barnes here, but in the essence of giving you things to connect to so we can plot, I have compiled the important things you must know about our lovely babe here. (tw: eating disorder)

b a c k s t o r y

Born into a very traditional, southern family. Socialite mother from Charleston, Political father from Mount Pleasant--it was perfection or bust for them

Lavish childhood--only grew up with the “creme de la creme” of families (her mother’s words, not her’s) and participated in every activity ever created it seemed. 

Her mother’s favorite--and the one that would stick--was pageantry. Magnolia would be well accustomed to the scene by an early age.

Magnolia was a very kind and compassionate child, making friends with most everyone she met. She was very determined though, and had a real fear of disappointing others. She was excellent in school and especially loved the English. She had dreamed of going to college to be a writer--a job quickly swept aside by her mother. 

For her mother, Magnolia’s only job was to get married, make children and raise them the way she had been raised--perfectly. This put Magnolia under immense pressure as she got into high school. 

Her older brother, whom she adored, was completely oblivious to all of this though, as was her father. So while she loved them both dearly, they couldn’t support her when things got bad.

(tw: eating disorder) And they did get bad. During the quarterfinals of Miss Teen American, after an intense few months of training, Magnolia had collapsed during taping--leading the competition, her mother and much of the local town to find out that she had been hiding an eating disorder for months

Her mother was ashamed and to save face, sent her off to London to finish high school instead of getting help. Magnolia opted to stay out there after high school ended, finding a job as a secretary. Eventually, she worked her way up to being the personal assistant of someone very important--a job that would let her travel the world on his behalf. It was also in London she changed her name from Magnolia--a remnant of her past--to Lia, something she had gotten to choose on her own. 

 (tw: eating disorder) She quite likes her job, though she worries that she’s never truly meeting standards--as a worry she has yet to outgrown from her childhood. She also fears that, since never receiving proper treatment for her eating disorder she will one day lapse into it (though she is working on figuring out how to manage it on the daily)

f a s t  f a ct s

Lia loves people--loves talking to them, meeting them, hearing about their lives. She felt very sheltered growing up, so her new freedom has really allowed her to take advantage of listening to others. In fact, you can often catch her people watching from a local cafe, especially when she’s on business for her boss. 

She also has a (maybe unhealthy) love of Target. Please don’t tell her mother. 

Speaking of her mother, Lia doesn’t have much contact with her family anymore--mostly her mom and dad. Her brother and her chat occasionally--but he’s busy with his life and as is Lia. But she does relish those conversations especially. 

Lia really did love pageant life, though, and often spends time working with local girls as they start their first steps into the world. She sees it as a way to help them see the joy in it, rather than let it become overwhelming like it did for her. 

She is looking forward to the day she can have her own dog--not that she can’t yet but she knows that her traveling schedule is a little hectic for one right now. But if she could have one--oh, it’d be a cute cocker spaniel. 

And yes, she does have a slightly southern accent--though her years in London made it fade. 

p l o t s

Chemistry is always a plus. Never gonna shy away from that one. 

FRIENDS! Oh lord give her friends--real, true friends. She hasn’t had many of those.

Clients for her boss--I’d love to plot something around that. Still trying to figure out who her boss is and what he does (like a WC coming soon) but clients are fun. 

Uhm, honestly really anything. I’m excited to see where this could go!

[nikachuwrites]

— && guests may mistake me as ( blake lively ), but really i am ( magnolia “lia” barnes + cis-female + she/her/hers ) and my DOB is ( 05/17/1989 ). i am a ( personal assistant ). i won’t be much of a bother because i am ( + hardworking, compassionate, bubbly ), but i can also be ( - perfectionistic, critical and people pleasing ) at times. personally, i like to ( bake and write ) when i have the time to relax, and my favorite snack is ( pumpkin muffins ) to have in my suite.

tw: eating disorder

b a c k s t o r y

Born into a very traditional, southern family. Socialite mother from Charleston, Political father from Mount Pleasant--it was perfection or bust for them

Lavish childhood--only grew up with the “creme de la creme” of families (her mother’s words, not her’s) and participated in every activity ever created it seemed.

Her mother’s favorite--and the one that would stick--was pageantry. Magnolia would be well accustomed to the scene by an early age.

Magnolia was a very kind and compassionate child, making friends with most everyone she met. She was very determined though, and had a real fear of disappointing others. She was excellent in school and especially loved the English. She had dreamed of going to college to be a writer--a job quickly swept aside by her mother.

For her mother, Magnolia’s only job was to get married, make children and raise them the way she had been raised--perfectly. This put Magnolia under immense pressure as she got into high school.

Her older brother, whom she adored, was completely oblivious to all of this though, as was her father. So while she loved them both dearly, they couldn’t support her when things got bad.

(tw: eating disorder) And they did get bad. During the quarterfinals of Miss Teen American, after an intense few months of training, Magnolia had collapsed during taping--leading the competition, her mother and much of the local town to find out that she had been hiding an eating disorder for months

Her mother was ashamed and to save face, sent her off to London to finish high school instead of getting help. Magnolia opted to stay out there after high school ended, finding a job as a secretary. Eventually, she worked her way up to being the personal assistant of someone very important--a job that would let her travel the world on his behalf. It was also in London she changed her name from Magnolia--a remnant of her past--to Lia, something she had gotten to choose on her own.

(tw: eating disorder) She quite likes her job, though she worries that she’s never truly meeting standards--as a worry she has yet to outgrown from her childhood. She also fears that, since never receiving proper treatment for her eating disorder she will one day lapse into it (though she is working on figuring out how to manage it on the daily)

f a s t  f a ct s

Lia loves people--loves talking to them, meeting them, hearing about their lives. She felt very sheltered growing up, so her new freedom has really allowed her to take advantage of listening to others. In fact, you can often catch her people watching from a local cafe, especially when she’s on business for her boss.

She also has a (maybe unhealthy) love of Target. Please don’t tell her mother.

Speaking of her mother, Lia doesn’t have much contact with her family anymore--mostly her mom and dad. Her brother and her chat occasionally--but he’s busy with his life and as is Lia. But she does relish those conversations especially.

Lia really did love pageant life, though, and often spends time working with local girls as they start their first steps into the world. She sees it as a way to help them see the joy in it, rather than let it become overwhelming like it did for her.

She is looking forward to the day she can have her own dog--not that she can’t yet but she knows that her traveling schedule is a little hectic for one right now. But if she could have one--oh, it’d be a cute cocker spaniel.

And yes, she does have a slightly southern accent--though her years in London made it fade.

[bizarropurugly]

Discrimination/Grossness Myths

This list finally has reached significant length, so I’m proud to introduce a Read More.

The list is about debunking, explaining, or confirming myths that make it around Tumblr that concern social justice issues, primarily.

Content warning for appearance of, mention of, and discussion of:

Ableist slurs, ableism, racism, antiziganism, antiziganist slurs, queerphobic slurs, queerphobia, antisemitism, racial slurs, audism, sexism, patriarchy, uncensored slurs, Five Nights at Freddy’s, the Holocaust, Nazism, anti social justice, doxxing, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the character Derpy Hooves, rape jokes, audism.

“Derp” began as a way to describe Down’s Syndrome kids.

“Derp” was invented by the South Park creators, originally appearing in their movie Baseketball, and then later re-emerging in South Park several times where it eventually caught on from. It refers to people being stupid, akin to “durr” or “duh”. South Park commonly makes characters use slurred, ridiculous gibberish to showcase stupidity.

“Faggot” comes from the bundle of sticks used to burn homosexuals at the stake.

There are very few instances of gay men being executed in this manner, although laws did exist stating this. Additionally, this term was never used for queer people until relatively recently.

The term does come from its original definition of “bundle of sticks”, but it became used for people when it was used to describe women who collected them, primarily old, poor, widowed, and “ugly” women. If it had anything to do burning at the stake, it would instead reference witches.

It continued being used as a slur for women similar to spinster or shrew, or in other words as something relating women to being unwanted by men.

In the 20th century, “faggot” can be found slowly replacing “sissy” as an insult for boys who were deemed “too feminine”, and eventually both words can be found being used to imply that said boy is therefore gay. In the 60s and 70s, “faggot” boomed into being a slur for gay men in general. Modernly, it has become used for all queer people.

In relation, “fag” as a slur, can possibly be traced to the 17th century, when a practice among school boys in which boys did favours, often sexual, for senior male students was possibly coined as “fagging”.

“I came out to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now” is making fun of people with anxiety.

The phrase actually comes from a personal post made by a Tumblr user in which they bragged about drinking a specialty drink, implying it was high class alcohol, but was rained on by another person, and they made this response after a pause.

The meme is about being called out or corrected; a person says this phrase after being criticized or challenged.

Five Nights At Freddy’s creator made an anti-choice game.

The game in question potentially has anti-choice sentiment, and the creator has considered himself as very religious. 

However, he comments that the game didn’t have abortion in mind, but leaves a vague answer about whether it is pro-life or not. Comments on another post that is no longer accessible state the game is not pro-life.

The questions become instead: 1. Do we believe these comments are his? After all, these comments are on a random, small blog that popped up very conveniently after the backlash, and the post no longer exists.

And 2. do we believe he is telling the truth now that he’s experienced backlash? After all, his statements are vague in the official articles, neither saying yeah or nay to a pro-life message, and stating people are mad, rather than addressing why and whether or not they are right.

The word “Holocaust” specifically refers to Jewish deaths in Nazi Germany only.

Holocaust is actually Greek and technically has been used for a few different genocides. The Jewish term is Shoah.

Many claim the political aim as being a conscious effort to refuse the acknowledge other victims and the widespread role of Nazism against multiple oppressed groups, and to deny the further subjugation of all victims, for example how LGBT+ victims remained imprisoned and unpardoned for decades. supposedly, a few Holocaust museums have aggressively denied to represent LGBT+ victims in particular.

Additionally, many Jewish people find this belief offensive, because they find it insulting to be described by a Greek word when Greece has had a history of antisemitism, and the term “holocaust” originally referred to Greek religious practices that were not Jewish.

That isn’t to say the Holocaust didn’t primarily affect the Jewish (it did) nor that Holocaust denial and general denial of antisemitism don’t exist (they do). Nazism is no different than any other brand of christianity-backed white supremacy.

The original Statue of Liberty was of a black woman who escaped slavery.

Snopes.

Spook and all derivatives are anti-black slurs.

At one point in American history, spook was used against black people.

Spook has always meant something along the lines of a ghost (hence its outdated use for spies - they are like ghosts). I haven’t found any reference as to how this definition was decided to be a way to slander black people, but it may have to do with Tuskegee-trained black pilots in WWII being referred to as “spookwaffe,” which the pilots reclaimed in pride (as American pilots often did). Additionally, some etymology dictionaries suggest it may be because “black people are hard to see at night”, thus, the term relates this to ghosts’ invisibility, or their being incorporeal.

As it has obviously been relatively unknown that this was ever a thing, it may mean that the slur wasn’t very popular, or that this is another example of whitewashed history.

It is outdated as a slur. It’s been at least 50 years since “spook” has been considered a slur for black person, and as a slur had a very short life (possibly being used only around the 20s-50s, at the longest). A great many black users have spoke out against posts demanding the purging of spook and its derivatives, because of this. Spook still means ghost (or spy), spooky still means… well, spooky, spooked means scared.

However, it is always important to note that using a word with a history as a slur, regardless of how outdated, as a derogatory noun against someone that slur affects, is, well, obviously using a slur.

“Fuckboy” is a slur for queer/trans men.

“Fuckboy” is African American Vernacular English for a guy who is one or more of the following: an alpha male, a misogynist, a tryhard edgy tough guy, a tool, and other such similar labels. Basically, it’s “black” for a shitty dude.

It did not originate with the Skeleton War meme. It has never been meant as a queer- or transphobic slur.

Hasbro plans to remove Derpy Hooves. They changed her because of Internet SJWs/Yamino.

Hasbro has not announced such plans and continues to market merchandise with this character, as well as produce episodes with her in them. They have officially named her as Muffins.

Hasbro also cited a few concerned parents contacting them over her character, and denied that they knew anything about an Internet campaign or Yamino.

Derpy Hooves vs Ditzy Doo vs Muffins

The gray pegasus pony whose eyes sometimes cross has finally been given an explicitly official and permanent name, and it’s Muffins.

Originally, the name was intended to be Ditzy Doo, a name stated to an offscreen character in Winter Wrapup. However, due to fans quickly assigning the name Derpy Hooves to her as they noticed her in the background, a last minute change was made to the script as a nod to the fans. Due to the above, the episode stating this name was withdrawn and re-released with edits omitting this name. In 2015, merchandise was labeled with Muffins and crew members stated this was her name, and the decision was potentially made to make clearance items more easily marketable.

http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Derpy

The “Name” section details the history behind Muffins’s name.

SJWs/pinkiepony made Tumblr take down Molestia

Hasbro has a record of making legal moves to protect the kid-friendly image of their products. So, of course, a very popular blog featuring one of their high-market characters as a rapist would find itself in their gaze.

Hasbro sent Tumblr and/or Molestia’s mods/creators legal threats if the blog was not removed.

As with the issue of Derpy Hooves, Hasbro has made no admission that Internet campaigns or users have had anything to do with their actions. They have only confirmed that they were the ones who forced the decision to have the blog removed. Despite this, bronies have continued to try and suicide bait, doxx, and send death and rape threats to pinkiepony and others.

Plebcomics/CommunismKills were doxxed by SJWs

Both these people posted their personal information themselves.

Additionally, plebcomics actually dared Tumblr users to utilize her information.

She was fired for posting her employer’s information, not for her comics, and she was eventually given her job back.

“Gypsy” is derived from/refers to “Egyptian” [and is thus a compliment]

This is true but doesn’t actually change its status as a slur, and in fact is part of the reason it is a slur. Please don’t mock the severity of antiziganism.

“Neurodivergent” is meant for autistic people only.

The coiner of the term says otherwise

Spoon Theory only applies to people with chronic physical disabilities.

“I think it isn’t just good for understanding Lupus, but anyone dealing with any disability or illness.”

Self diagnosis is dangerous [and/or other negatives here].

Here’s my post dissecting the issue of diagnosis.

Here’s some more helpful posts about the psychiatric field and its relationship to diagnosis.

“Butthurt” has origin in anal rape jokes.

Butthurt actually refers to the concept of a child crying after being spanked. It’s still a shitty thing to mock but not nearly as shitty as mocking rape.

Christophobia is a major issue as bad as islamophobia and antisemitism.

Christophobia is only a major issue in select parts of the world, which completely excludes the west, with the reverse being true in the cases of islamophobia and antisemitism. Western Christians are a high privileged group and quite frankly Christians suffering in religiously suppressive countries often find themselves outright insulted by privileged Christians laying claim to an oppression they don’t actually experience.

Christians die in Egypt.

Christians are considered the only ones you can trust to hold political office in the US.

“Dumb” is an audist slur. / “Deaf and dumb” is a phrase insulting the deaf for being unintelligent.

Yes and no. “Dumb” in this phrase and in origin actually refers being mute. “Blind, deaf, and dumb” means a person can not see, hear, or speak, not that they can not see, hear, and they’re not smart.

However, there is definitely a relationship between speaking ability and assumed intelligence, which definitely connects “dumb” with being an ableist slur.

[newyorktheater]

Some shows you leave needing to tell people about; some shows you leave thinking about what you are going to have for dinner. A few shows ruin your dinner. If you’re a drama critic, you are likely to find all of these relatively easy to describe both what happened on stage and how you reacted. But what if a show leaves you….without words? Not necessarily dumbfound, but dumb – or at least struggling to summon up something to say. Three I saw this week fit this category, each of them an hour long. I probably should not write about them at all.

Cezary Goes To War

This show from Poland, directed by Cezary Tomaszewski, ran recently at La MaMa for four performances. (Link to the digital program) It was in Polish with English surtitles, and featured four men who each told us they were Cezary Tomaszewski at different ages of his life. They danced around a lot, singing songs while a woman pianist, Weronika Krówka, played music composed by Stanisław Moniuszko, the father of Polish national opera, as well as Händel, Debussy and Shostakovich. Other than the songs, the text consisted mostly of a 1994 decree from the Polish Ministry of National Defense describing at length the different categories of fitness for military service, from A. “impeccable physical condition” to E. “abnormal tendencies detrimental to bodily function and long history of disease.” Various of the Cezarys object to his classification, and appeals to his draft board to reclassify him from E to A. The dancing was well-coordinated and often looked like calisthenics (as military trainees might perform?) Other people in the audience responded with great enthusiasm.

From the website: “Cezary Goes to War subverts gender norms and exposes the fragility of the patriarchy.” Ok.

As Long As It Lasts

Running at the Cherry Lane Theater through February 8, this almost solo show features a bathtub, a timer, and a projection of an eye, as well as two blackboards with 50 sentences or phrases chalked on them, like “1. Love is not love.” And “31. Feeding the pigeons.” Erik Borsuk sits at a table and picks numbers at random from a bingo bin, at which point Eileen Kelly tells a story prompted by the numbered phrase, and then Borsuk rings a bell and goes to the next number. The audience members were each given bingo cards to fill out, but it all went by too quickly for me to fill out my card. The idea apparently was to get through all 100 phrases on the blackboard in an hour. Most of what Kelly said for each phrase lasted way less than a minute and would be hard to describe as a story; some were non-verbal. Occasionally she stood on the edge of the bathtub, or jumped inside of it. She changed her outfit a few times. She looked as if she was having fun.

Must Go On

Billed with As Long As It Lasts as part of “American Dreaming lovelust + disastering,” but with separate admission, this show (also through February 8) features Patrick Quinn dancing to a variety of canned music, while he changes costumes with the help of Jeremiah Oliver. The promise according to the website was to thrill with “100 costume changes in exactly 60 minutes.” , I doubt it was 100 changes, although I didn’t count, but it was more than 60 minutes (I did count that.) The costumes were, on the whole, so unremarkable as hardly to qualify as costumes (mostly t-shirts), although he did struggle into a memorably tight-fitting head-to-toe outfit with a paisley design that made him look like a suburban mummy. At one point he picked up a banana as if it were a telephone receiver, and then brushed his teeth with whiskey. At other times he started eating a cantaloupe, and a muffin. He stirred an egg and put it in a microwave. There was an uncredited cameo by somebody in what looked like a Halloween costume that obscured his or her face.

Can self-indulgence be art?

When a play leaves you speechless: Cezary Goes To War, As Long As It Lasts, Must Go On Some shows you leave needing to tell people about; some shows you leave thinking about what you are going to have for dinner.

[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

6 Things People with Celiac Disease Need More Than Advice

New blog post! When you have a chronic illness, it's pretty common to get a lot of advice on how to feel better - whether you ask for it, or not. Living with celiac disease is no exception. I've been told stories about relatives with celiac disease healed through prayer. I've heard I can only thrive with celiac disease if I eat no grains, only soaked and sprouted grains or only nutritious whole foods. And when celiac left me quite underweight, even strangers gave suggestions of what I should or shouldn't eat.

Most of the time, this advice comes from a very kind and well-intentioned place. But that doesn't mean it's not frustrating - especially if the advice is not nearly as helpful as the speaker believes. That's why I thought it would be interesting to reflect on six things people with celiac disease really need waaaay more than advice! If you have celiac disease and are getting suuuuper tired of relatives' suggested "cures," I hope this post lets you feel less alone - and reminds you of people in your life who actually give you everything you need. And if you know someone with celiac disease and often find yourself giving advice...maybe this post will help you discover even better ways to help them thrive. So without further adeiu...let's dive on in! We - people with celiac disease - really need...

1. Understanding when we turn down dinner invitations or take forever to talk to the waiter about our gluten free meal.

Like I've written about before, we're not trying to be high maintenance when we take forever to talk about a restaurant's gluten free protocol or ask to speak to the manager before ordering our meal. We're also not being rude if we turn down an invitation to eat out.

Sure, I'm super grateful when friends offer to go to a restaurant with gluten free options so I can dine with them. I'm also not afraid to call ahead and ask to bring my own food to a restaurant that can't serve me safely, or eat ahead of time and just enjoy the company. However, sometimes, I just don't feel like going out to be surrounded by a bunch of food I can't eat...and it means the world to me when friends understand and just ask to hang out another time! And I've talked to many other celiacs who feel the exact same way.

2. Time to recover when we do get glutened - and forgiveness if we have to cancel plans.

I'm fortunate to say that I can't remember the last time I was majorly glutened. However, when it does happen, the side effects are anything but fun...and our recovery is a lot easier when we can cancel plans without worrying about letting people down.

(Source)

Everyone's reaction to gluten is different, and everyone will need a different amount of time to recover from being glutened. So the number-one thing you can do if a loved one with celiac disease gets glutened is ask what they need and be flexible with your plans! Sure, maybe y'all can't go on that epic 8-mile hike you planned...but that doesn't mean you can't watch Netflix together on the couch or get together for a delicious (and celiac-safe) homecooked meal. And even if we'd prefer to just sleep our way through being glutened and catch up on plans later, know that your offer to help is still majorly appreciated.

3. Greater awareness that our dietary limitations are not a fad or fodder for jokes.

I try to keep my blog and social media accounts positive and focus on the bright side of life with celiac disease (like all the ways going gluten free has made my life waaaay better). However, it's impossible to ignore the fact that we still have a loooong way to go before the average person on the street is educated and aware of celiac disease. Honestly, raising celiac awareness and connecting with people going through the same struggles and victories as me is the main reason I blog. But here's the awesome news: anyone can help raise celiac awareness in suuuuper small ways.

The next time a co-worker or a friend says gluten free options are "dumb" or "just diet food," remind them that people with celiac disease actually need to eat gluten free to survive. If you hear someone making fun of dietary restrictions or gluten free eaters, tell them their joke isn't actually that funny and move the conversation along. And if you hear someone ask what "the gluten free diet is all about anyway...", don't be afraid to give a short answer! This doesn't mean that you have to turn into a celiac superhero who advocates for the gluten free community every chance you get. But if an opportunity arises and you feel comfortable stepping in...do it. The 3+ million Americans with celiac disease will thank you!

4. More gluten free options...that are actually tasty and celiac safe!

One of my favorite parts about following gluten free bloggers like Erica from Celiac and the Beast or Taylor at Hale Life is that they always seem to have alllll the dirty details about new gluten free products. And when I first heard about Schar’s new gluten free puff pastry or Quinn Snack’s gluten free peanut butter pretzels or Canyon Bakehouse’s gluten free English muffins...I squealed, jumped up and down and immediately texted the good news to my gluten free mom.

‘Cause, yeah, I feel super fortunate with how many gluten free options there are nowadays. But there is always room for improvement. And especially as someone who was diagnosed with celiac disease as a teen, I can say that having access to gluten free alternatives to “normal” foods or old favorites makes life with celiac disease so much easier. So if you see a loved one with celiac disease fangirling over new gluten free products or a new gluten free, celiac-safe restaurant, know they're happy about more than the food. They're happy about having part of their old life back. And if you have celiac disease and feel a little silly getting teary-eyed over a delicious gluten free cookie...know that you ain't alone!

5. Less judgment and more fact-checking in many celiac support groups.

During my journey with celiac disease, there have been times when online support groups helped me learn about delicious gluten free alternatives or safe places to eat. It's also really helpful to be able to post about being glutened or having people not understand your "special diet," and have people respond, "Been there, done that! So get what you're going through!" Nowadays, though, misinformation and judgment can be about as common in online gluten free support groups as gluten in a traditional pizza parlor. Need some examples? I’ve seen people posting about all grains being “poison” to people with celiac disease or that envelopes contain gluten (this is a myth and not true). I’ve seen waaaaaay too many questions that should really be sent to a doctor, not posted for people on the internet. And many posts featuring processed gluten free foods (like corn dogs or freezer meals or cakes) have at least a few comments about how unhealthy those foods are and why people should never include them in their diet.

But here's the thing about eating a gluten free diet - or, heck, eating any diet: everyone thrives on different foods. As I've written about before, people can eat a gluten free diet in so many different ways, like by eating more plant-based foods or by eating paleo or by eating more processed foods. As long as people are eating in a way that's safe and healthy and satisfying to them (celiacs who cheat on a gluten free diet is a whoooole other topic to tackle), I say, "Good for them!" And I hope that in the future, gluten free and celiac support groups offer more encouragement and (accurate) information than judgment or criticism for not living and eating gluten free in a certain "right" way.

6. A cure...or at least improved protection against cross contamination. (And this need really is on the way to being fulfilled!)

A few weeks ago, I was talking with my boyfriend when he asked me: "If they invented some drug and you could suddenly eat gluten again...would you?" And even though that was not the first time I heard that question, I didn't have an easy answer. At this point in my life, I don't think I'd ever go back to eating gluten all the time. But one thing I really do want is protection against cross-contamination, and for my children (if I have any...and if they inherit celiac disease from me) to have fewer worries and more freedom with their food. And I know that many people in the gluten free community are equally torn but also excited at the prospect of progress in celiac disease treatments - or even a cure.

From my blog's Facebook page...

Which is why articles about therapies that could help people with celiac disease tolerate gluten again - like this one or this one - are blowin' up on my blog's Facebook page! So if you hear a loved one with celiac disease getting excited about the prospect of a vaccine, get excited with them! And until a new "cure" to celiac disease is available...help us thrive on the only "treatment" we have right now: a gluten free diet.

The Bottom Line of What People with Celiac Disease Really Need

Seeing a loved one suffer or struggle is not easy. So when you see someone with celiac disease not thriving on a gluten free diet (like I initially didn't) or struggling to deal with the social aspects of eating gluten free, it's a natural instinct to offer them advice on how to feel better or live more happily. And, yes, sometimes this advice is helpful - even life-changing! However, at least in my experience, I'm not looking for loved ones to "solve" my celiac disease. At least for now, celiac disease is a chronic, lifelong condition. And beyond that, everyone's body is different, so a diet or exercise routine or *insert any other piece of life-changing advice here* may work wonders for one person...but do nada for the next. Here's what we - people with celiac disease - really DO need from our friends and family. Things like:

Support.

Encouragement.

Flexibility.

A willingness to learn.

Understanding (or, at the very least, attempted understanding!)

Love.

And I can say from experience. Even giving us one of those things is soooooo much more powerful and helpful than hours of advice will ever be. What's one way someone has helped you thrive with celiac disease? Or what's one piece of "advice" about your health that you'd be happy to never hear again? Tell me in the comments! via Blogger http://bit.ly/2TaxpIT

[seniorbrief]

Who Is the Benedict Behind Eggs Benedict?

Jennifer McCafferyDec 07

Several people lay claim to the distinction.

Stepanek Photography/Shutterstock

You can find eggs Benedict on most brunch menus, but uncovering the truth about who inspired the iconic dish is a much harder task. Served on a split English muffin, the dish consists of two slices of Canadian bacon topped with poached eggs, drizzled with tangy Hollandaise sauce. The New York Times has called it “conceivably the most sophisticated dish created in America.”

But who was the Benedict behind the dish that has accompanied countless Bloody Marys and inspired the McDonald’s Egg McMuffin? With many chefs experimenting with variations of eggs on toast throughout the ages, the answer, it turns out, is murky.

Some food historians think the concept of eggs Benedict may date back to the Benedictine monks of the Renaissance, who ate a dish of poached egg served on top of pureed salt cod, the Washington Post reports. Others who have laid claim to inventing eggs Benedict were far less monastic. In fact, they both involve wealthy New Yorkers who got inventive with the menu.

The first account dates back to 1894, according to a story that ran in The New Yorker. It said that when Lemuel Benedict, a Wall Street broker, was hungover one morning, he ordered some buttered toast, crisp bacon, two poached eggs, and a hooker of Hollandaise sauce at what was then known as the Waldorf Hotel. “The Waldorf’s legendary chef, Oscar Tschirky, was so impressed,” the article continued, “that he put the dish on his breakfast and lunch menus after substituting Canadian bacon for crisp bacon and a toasted English muffin for toasted bread.”

Or the inspiration for the dish could have been the wife of another well-known Wall Street financier, LeGrand Benedict. According to that story, Benedict’s wife wasn’t satisfied with the selection when she and her husband dined out for lunch at the famous Manhattan restaurant Delmonico’s. The wife reportedly held a brainstorming session with legendary Chef Charles Ranhofer or the maître d’, and eggs Benedict was conceived. Don’t miss these 10 things chefs never order at brunch.

To add to the confusion, Tschirky reportedly never confirmed the story, while Ranhofer published a cookbook called The Epicurean in 1894 that included a recipe for “Eggs a la Benedick.”

Then in 1967, another theory emerged. The New York Times’s famous food critic, Craig Claiborne, wrote that an American living in Paris named Edward P. Montgomery had contacted him, expressing outrage at how Americans were preparing eggs Benedict: “A concoction of an overpoached egg or a few shards of ham on a—ugh!—soggy tough half of an English muffin with an utterly tasteless Hollandaise.”

Montgomery claimed that the dish was originally conceived by Commodore E.C. Benedict, “a noted banker and yachtsman who died in 1920 at age 86.” Montgomery wrote that he got Benedict’s recipes from his mother, who had gotten it from her brother, who had been friendly with the Commodore. Here are 55 more delicious ways to cook eggs.

What’s not in question is that people are passionate about their eggs Benedict. The son of Lemuel Benedict’s cousin, Jack Benedict, was reportedly upset in March 1978, when an article in Bon Appetit credited LeGrand Benedict and his wife with the creation of the breakfast staple, according to the New York Times. He eventually even opened a restaurant in Colorado dedicated to eggs Benedict, but it eventually closed.

One well-known Benedict who likely had nothing to do with inventing Eggs Benedict? Benedict Arnold, the Revolutionary War hero-turned-traitor who died in 1801. Next, find out how 16 more iconic foods got their names.

Original Source -> Who Is the Benedict Behind Eggs Benedict?

source https://www.seniorbrief.com/who-is-the-benedict-behind-eggs-benedict/

[metspacesolutions]

Daily Routines of Nikola Tesla, Mozart, Hemingway, Woody Allen, Maya Angelo, van Gogh, Stephen King, and Nabokov

There is no single path to insane greatness. Picasso and Gogh are both artistic geniuses, but they pursued very different routines to stay prolific. Success is more a deliberate practice of what works than a serendipitous streak of luck or privilege. The path to greatness is paved with tiny consistent rituals. Here are the self-described daily routines of some of the world’s most prolific minds in history — past and present. These routines and habits might inspire you to create your own. After all, we all aspire to be remarkable at what we do.

Nikola Tesla

“It is paradoxical, yet true, to say, that the more we know, the more ignorant we become in the absolute sense, for it is only through enlightenment that we become conscious of our limitations. Precisely one of the most gratifying results of intellectual evolution is the continuous opening up of new and greater prospects.” Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. Tesla gained experience in telephony and electrical engineering before emigrating to the United States in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison in New York City.

In his autobiography, Tesla describes how he works:

My method is different. I do not rush into actual work. When I get an idea I start at once building it up in my imagination. I change the construction, make improvements and operate the device in my mind. It is absolutely immaterial to me whether I run my turbine in thought or test it in my shop. I even note if it is out of balance. There is no difference whatever, the results are the same. In this way I am able to rapidly develop and perfect a conception without touching anything.

When I have gone so far as to embody in the invention every possible improvement I can think of and see no fault anywhere, I put into concrete form this final product of my brain. Invariably my device works as I conceived that it should, and the experiment comes out exactly as I planned it. In twenty years there has not been a single exception. Why should it be otherwise? Engineering, electrical and mechanical, is positive in results. There is scarcely a subject that cannot be mathematically treated and the effects calculated or the results determined beforehand from the available theoretical and practical data. The carrying out into practice of a crude idea as is being generally done is, I hold, nothing but a waste of energy, money and time.

He further talks about his brain training exercises as a child:

“Although I must trace to my mother’s influence whatever inventiveness I possess, the training he gave me must have been helpful. It comprised all sorts of exercises — as, guessing one another’s thoughts, discovering the defects of some form or expression, repeating long sentences or performing mental calculations. These daily lessons were intended to strengthen memory and reason and especially to develop the critical sense, and were undoubtedly very beneficial.”

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

“When I am … completely myself, entirely alone… or during the night when I cannot sleep, it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly.” A prolific artist, Austrian composer Wolfgang Mozart created a string of operas, concertos, symphonies and sonatas that profoundly shaped classical music. He composed more than 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, and his influence is profound on subsequent Western art music.

In a letter to his sister penned in 1782, Mozart outlines a routine so intense that it left him a mere five hours of night’s sleep:

“At six o’clock in the morning I have my hair dressed, and have finished my toilet by seven o’clock. I write till nine. From nine to one I give lessons. I then dine, unless I am invited out, when dinner is usually at two o’clock, sometimes at three, as it was to-day, and will be to-morrow at Countess Zichi’s and Countess Thun’s. I cannot begin to work before five or six o’clock in the evening, and I am often prevented doing so by some concert; otherwise I write till nine o’clock. I then go to my dear Constanze, though our pleasure in meeting is frequently embittered by the unkind speeches of her mother, which I will explain to my father in my next letter.

Thence comes my wish to liberate and rescue her as soon as possible. At half-past ten or eleven I go home, but this depends on the mother’s humor, or on my patience in bearing it. Owing to the number of concerts, and also the uncertainty whether I may not be summoned to one place or another, I cannot rely on my evening writing, so it is my custom (especially when I come home early) to write for a time before going to bed. I often sit up writing till one, and rise again at six.”

Ernest Hemingway

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”

Hemingway was an American novelist, short story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations.

“In a 1958 interview with The Paris Review, Hemingway explains his daily routine and work habits.

When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write. You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there. You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again.

You have started at six in the morning, say, and may go on until noon or be through before that. When you stop you are as empty, and at the same time never empty but filling, as when you have made love to someone you love. Nothing can hurt you, nothing can happen, nothing means anything until the next day when you do it again. It is the wait until that next day that is hard to get through.

Woody Allen

“Seventy percent of success in life is showing up.”

Allen is an American actor, author, filmmaker, comedian, playwright, and musician, whose career spans more than six decades. Here is how Woody thinks about ideas:

“I’ve found over the years that any momentary change stimulates a fresh burst of mental energy. So if I’m in this room and then I go into the other room, it helps me. If I go outside to the street, it’s a huge help. If I go up and take a shower it’s a big help. So I sometimes take extra showers. I’ll be down here [in the living room] and at an impasse and what will help me is to go upstairs and take a shower. It breaks up everything and relaxes me.

The shower is particularly good in cold weather. This sounds so silly, but I’ll be working dressed as I am and I’ll want to get into the shower for a creative stint. So I’ll take off some of my clothes and make myself an English muffin or something and try to give myself a little chill so I want to get in the shower. I’ll stand there with steaming hot water coming down for thirty minutes, forty-five minutes, just thinking out ideas and working on plot. Then I get out and dry myself and dress and then flop down on the bed and think there.

Maya Angelo

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

Maya Angelou published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist.

Maya described her routine in a 1983 interview:

“I usually get up at about 5:30, and I’m ready to have coffee by 6, usually with my husband. He goes off to his work around 6:30, and I go off to mine. I keep a hotel room in which I do my work — a tiny, mean room with just a bed, and sometimes, if I can find it, a face basin. I keep a dictionary, a Bible, a deck of cards and a bottle of sherry in the room. I try to get there around 7, and I work until 2 in the afternoon. If the work is going badly, I stay until 12:30. If it’s going well, I’ll stay as long as it’s going well. It’s lonely, and it’s marvelous.

I edit while I’m working. When I come home at 2, I read over what I’ve written that day, and then try to put it out of my mind. I shower, prepare dinner, so that when my husband comes home, I’m not totally absorbed in my work. We have a semblance of a normal life. We have a drink together and have dinner. Maybe after dinner I’ll read to him what I’ve written that day. He doesn’t comment. I don’t invite comments from anyone but my editor, but hearing it aloud is good. Sometimes I hear the dissonance; then I try to straighten it out in the morning.”

Vincent van Gogh

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Gogh is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life.

In an 1888 letter to his brother, Theo, Gogh wrote:

“Today again from seven o’clock in the morning till six in the evening I worked without stirring except to take some food a step or two away. I have no thought of fatigue, I shall do another picture this very night, and I shall bring it off. Our days pass in working, working all the time, in the evening we are dead beat and go off to the café, and after that, early to bed! Such is our life.”

Stephen King

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”

Stephen’s books have sold more than 350 million copies, many of which have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television shows, and comic books. He is an author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy.

In his memoir On Writing, King reveals his creative writing process:

“Like your bedroom, your writing room should be private, a place where you go to dream. Your schedule — in at about the same time every day, out when your thousand words are on paper or disk — exists in order to habituate yourself, to make yourself ready to dream just as you make yourself ready to sleep by going to bed at roughly the same time each night and following the same ritual as you go.

In both writing and sleeping, we learn to be physically still at the same time we are encouraging our minds to unlock from the humdrum rational thinking of our daytime lives. And as your mind and body grow accustomed to a certain amount of sleep each night — six hours, seven, maybe the recommended eight — so can you train your waking mind to sleep creatively and work out the vividly imagined waking dreams which are successful works of fiction.”

Vladimir Nabokov

“Existence is a series of footnotes to a vast, obscure, unfinished masterpiece.”

Vladimir was a Russian-American novelist and entomologist. Nabokov was an expert lepidopterist and composer of chess problems. In a 1964 interview he shared his daily schedule:

“I awake around seven in winter: my alarm clock is an Alpine chough — big, glossy, black thing with big yellow beak — which visits the balcony and emits a most melodious chuckle. For a while I lie in bed mentally revising and planning things. Around eight: shave, breakfast, enthroned meditation, and bath — in that order. Then I work till lunch in my study, taking time out for a short stroll with my wife along the lake.… We lunch around one P.M., and I am back at my desk by half-past one and work steadily till half-past six. Then a stroll to a newsstand for the English papers, and dinner at seven. No work after dinner. And bed around nine. I read till half-past eleven, and then tussle with insomnia till one A.M.”

Turns out great minds don’t think alike.

Whatever you do, it’s important to find your ideal creative time and stick to it. Do your creative and meaningful work at your peak times when your energy is high and distractions are minimal.

By Thomas Oppong. Shared from Medium.

The post Daily Routines of Nikola Tesla, Mozart, Hemingway, Woody Allen, Maya Angelo, van Gogh, Stephen King, and Nabokov appeared first on metspacesolutions.

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