#fermented-poet

[petejj]

these rotting ruins

of my shame

ferment

in the corridors

of my mind

I am stagnating

fluid in

my fear

I am muted

I am immobilised

I am gulping

these

my breaths

my last hope

into

this nothingness

of my

dying

days

[hersurvival]

Fervere -

A cold boil, bubbles on the surface.

A manifestation, transformation,

An intrinsic hopefulness

That change is happening,

The only indication is ebullition.

I remind myself,

"Purity is impossible, contamination is inevitable,"

Accecpt what needs to happen outside of control.

Give in to the process, let go of inhibition,

Say an incantation and place a bit of faith -

Things are fermenting, metamorphosizing.

This is fact as much as it is divine -

For the blood of Christ is not grape juice,

It is wine.

@nosebleedclub April 22nd - Ferment

[toastful]

Gut Healthy

By Greg Schmitty

(Dedicated to Jeshastevens on TikTok… you have led me astray for the last time)

it was Sunday night

You wanted another

Iced cream

Sandedwhich

You were craving

Two soft and chewy

Chocolate chip cookies

A layer of

Vanilla ice cream

In between

The cookies were sour dough

And naturally fermented

So they were

Gut healthy

Gut healthy

For you

But not for me

Your gut biome rejoice

At the blessing of

Fermentation

Your crops flourished

Your nations grew healthy

Gut healthy

My gut biome wept

Pillaged

Crops salted

Land flooded

The balance upset

As an upset stomach

Cursed with disease

I

B

S

Nation collapsed

Torn asunder

Only darkness

A war cry

A hurricane

Then nothing

But it was gut healthy

She said

Naturally fermented

Gut healthy

Two soft and chewy

Chocolate chip cookies

With a layer of vanilla ice cream

In between

It was gut healthy

For who?

What is gut healthy for God

Makes humanity weep

[writinginnorthnorfolk]

The Fervour of Fermentation

The Fervour of Fermentation

[honourablejester]

Okay. Wow. Okay. So. Max Miller has a new video out revisiting garum, the ancient roman fish sauce/condiment, because he finally had the time and space (especially space) to properly ferment some garum himself in the roman style. And it's all very cool, and go watch it. But. I have to mention this, because it's fantastic and I nearly threw up, and I want other people to suffer with me. He has a lovely little quote from the 1st century roman poet Marcus Manilius describing the process of making garum (which is, again, fermented fish juice made in salt), and it's fantastically horrid:

“Their inward parts melt and issue forth as a stream of decomposition … Here a precious exudate flows out, which vomits up the flower of the gore, and mixed with salt, balances taste in the mouth.”

Astronomica, Marcus Manilius

Now. I don't know who translated that to English, and how much they were embellishing in their turn, but whatever combination of original poet and later translator put that sequence of words together in that order, that is horrendous, no notes, absolutely excellent job. I nearly threw up. Good god.

I just want people to suffer with me. What a spectacular sequence of utterly horrifying words.

[olipopsoda]

Excuse me Dr. Olipop soda, I have a question about your product. You see, I am a 35 year old man I have some stomach issues. As I age, the issues get worse and I can not eat many things because of it. Your soda promotes gut health. Will it help with my IBS? I had an incident awhile ago and now my friends and acquaintances won’t speak to me. IBS has ruined my life and I need a solution and fast. Will your product save my gut? Will it reverse the pain and suffering this terrible disease has caused to myself and the people around me? At the very least, will it not mess with my gut? Another question, does this help with concentration? I am a very prolific writer and poet. I’m sure you’ve heard of my work before. I could use the boost. Please help me Dr.Olipop! My life is in you Olipop hands! Also, can you send me some pop for free? I’m a little short on cash this month. Please help me. Please. Please……please

Hello, Anon. The OLIPOP Customer Relations Department cannot legally provide medical assistance, and none of the team members are medical doctors. Please speak to your PCP before making any changes to your diet.

That being said, we’d be happy to explain how OLIPOP Supports Digestive Health so you and your doctor can make an informed decision about whether OLIPOP is right for you.

OLIPOP combines prebiotics, soluble plant fiber (from a number of different plants including Chicory Root, Jerusalem Artichoke, and Cassava), and botanical extracts to support your digestive health--with 9g of dietary fiber, just 2-5g of sugar, and 45 calories or less in each can.

OLIPOP incorporates a variety of clinically-tested prebiotics to give your friendly gut bacteria the nutrients they need. Prebiotics are nutrients that are undigestible by humans. They pass through the digestive tract into the large intestine, where they are fermented and broken down by our beneficial gut bacteria into useful compounds that support overall health.

There is research suggesting that digestive system activity and health may affect cognition, but I will have to forward your query to our Research Partners before I can make any claims about how OLIPOP may affect concentration specifically.

As for free OLIPOP, please reach out off anonymous through our DMs or askbox so we can discuss.

[starz-saintz]

Lovely's Lineage

I am a sucker for reincarnation and incarnate tropes, so obviously I had to make my Lovely a reincarnation of an OP vampire hunter type. Some context from MFW, reincarnated souls can be signified by the left eye having a white natal star as a pupil. When the soul leaves the body, the pupil will go black.

"Róża Zima" (that is not his real name, but a title bestowed upon him) was a sorcerer of high esteem in [the ice region]. When the [vampires] had made their way to the region, Róża had led the nation's army and dissipated most of the invading [vampires]. When the second wave hit, Róża sent his pregnant wife to [the light region] to live with his younger brother.

Generation I -> "Róża Zima"

Generation II -> Lyalyechni Ruza / Puppet

Róża, as you can probably imagine, dies in the second wave by an [original vampire]. His soul doesn't go to purgatory to be processed but instead inhabits the body of his unborn child.

In this life, Róża serves as a paladin’s adjunct in [the light region]. His body is named Lyalyechni (born in [the ice region], migrated to [the light region]) and is a lot more meek than his original self. He's at his master’s beck and call, going above and beyond to please him. He did it due to his sympathy. Paladins in [the light region] were constantly called to fight invading [vampires], and with each wave, they seemed to get stronger. He just wanted to help his master relax a bit and let him know that he was there to assist. 

His master didn’t like the pity he was getting. When Lyalyechni was appointed to the paladin, he was told that Lyalyechni overpowered. His core radiated and his aura was almost menacing and intimidating to be in. He didn’t understand why someone so powerful submitted to him so easily. 

Generation III -> Borislav Roza / Pauper

Lyalyechni died on the battlefield, protecting the paladin and his army. An [an original vampire] drained him of his blood in exchange for letting his paladin live. 

In this life, Róża lives in the slums of [the light region] by the name of Borislav. He was a freelance worker just trying to make ends meet. But, while on a job, he meets a [vampire]. You see, Borislav and all of the other reincarnations of Róża are extremely beautiful and charming. This vampire takes an interest in Borislav and his starry eye. To all “feeder” species, reincarnations taste the same way marinaded or fermented food does. This one described his blood as a fruity, aged wine.

Borislav began to work for the [vampire] and while he was paid a fair day's pay, Borislav couldn’t help but snatch a few relics for extra cash bonuses. 

Generation IV -> Anstasiya Troyanda / Pirate

His employer didn’t take the stealing thing lightly and slowly killed Borislav. Róża ended up abandoning the body before Borislav could actually die at his employer's hands. This is truly the worst life Róża has lived. 

In this life, Róża started the same way he did in generation four but as a female this time. He decided to go ahead and use the skills of thieving they had learned from a past life. Anstasiya was still Róża, so compassion was running through her veins. She would steal from rich homes and pawn whatever she got. 80% of funds go to her, 20% go to the less fortunate. Robin Hood-type stuff. 

Generation V -> Roza Troyanda / Poet

Anstasiya was hunted down by the police of [the light nation] and stowed away to [the nature region] by boat. Anstasiya lived a good life in the nation and eventually met her husband. Life is a bitch though even if Anstasiya’s life was looking up, she ended up dying during childbirth.

Generation VI -> San Porastao-Jye / Pawn

Róża didn’t bother finding a new host and just entered the body of his? child. The first happy life Róża has led. Roza was a poetic bard. He sang and performed for people at bars and in those walking the streets. This wasn’t a starving artist type thing, passers-by and barkeeps paid him for his services. Roza published a book of poetry and a memoir. He met his wife, a beautiful extrovert to match his humble introvert, and had three kids. Roza died old, warm, and happy.

We are nearing Redacted territory and MFW Canon. This body is POET’s grandson. San is a lot weaker mentally than the other reincarnations. He is kind and soft and that leads him to being taken advantage of and being used for everyone else‘s gain. He was powerful magyk wise and people would always go to him for help. It wore him down and since “no” wasn’t being taken seriously, he left. 

Generation VII -> Jane Doe / King

He left the [state] altogether and moved to one near the west. Since there was no one to be worried about, he began to prioritize himself. He had fun and met a life partner. Róża had fun in this life. He made it work and enjoyed it, but when the time came, he left and found a new host.

Generation VIII -> Lovely / Usurper

We made it! This host equates to the roller coaster buddy from Vincent's first audio. She was a very hard worker who was working toward something great. A [ethnically from the ice region] college student who wanted to go into bounty hunting. She was a leader and was wise and calculated. She was an amazing friend and reflected the values of Róża. Her death was untimely and unprecedented. Her head came clean off in the crash and the soul popped through the hole of her throat.

Lovely. The reincarnation of King to most, the reincarnation of Róża to all. Lovely was born the day after the crash. What makes Lovely special is the turning. 

In MFW, [vampires] are devoid of a soul, and the core, where the soul is held, is filled with the blood of the [vampire]. It supplies power and personality. For almost everyone who is turned, the soul is effectively drowned by the invading blood and goes to purgatory. The only reason [vampires] have a semblance of the personality of their past life is because the soul left an imprint on the core. It is slowly washed away with time from the blood. 

When Lovely was turned, the body was already dead. The blood didn’t kill her like it would anyone else, Róża abandoned the body. In MFW, dead bodies are covered in a balm that hardens them, so reanimations and turnings can’t happen. The turning only succeeded because the soul imprint was still there and there was no hardening balm. 

............................................................................................................................

This was a lot and it is all relevant. In future posts, I will reference this guide and it will all come full circle. Thank you for reading or skimming, I don't mind. Also, Slavic Lovely? I love the idea of it.

In order of Generation,

Polish

Belarusian

Russian

Ukranian

Croatian

Serbian

If there are any mistranslations, please let me know and I will fix it!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Image: Wound in Christ's side from the Psalter of Bonne de Luxembourg, circa 1349. This is not the only Medieval manuscript portraying Christ's wound as a vagina, showing the feminine aspect of his fully human nature, the Holy Spirit as divine mother. Unlike contemporary fundamentalists - and atheists - who insist on reading the scripture literally, either to reject it as absurd, or turn it into a bludgeon, Medieval Christian artist/mystics contemplated the mythic symbols of the Easter story as portals to the collective unconscious, the realm of the archetypes. The cross of Christ was the central archetype of all, the convergence of opposites. For where opposites converge is the only locus of truth. No compassion, and no transcendence, without bearing the pain of creation. Selah.

+

"Holy places are dark places. It is life and strength, not knowledge and words, that we get in them. Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water, but thick and dark like blood." ~ C.S. Lewis

In the core of your heart is a black hole, where fierce immaculate silence submerges the antipodes before they can escape into creation. The portal you've been searching for is the infinitesimal bindhu between breaths, drowning all the words you used, like "left" and "right," "doing" and "not-doing," "suffering" and "God,” in the primordial flood. Worlds bubble out of your loss. Immerse in the bee-drowning cup of this wound. Deeper than sadness, deeper than sin, the darkness you have fallen in. Neither retribution nor injustice have any meaning here. The vulva laceration in Christ's side, leads to the kingdom of the unborn. Pain and beauty comingle in one nectar. Love's vintage ferments. The poem keeps starting over. In the core of your heart is a black hole, a cauldron of swirling stillness. It is the agony of Spring, the passion of petals in a bud. No one can imagine their sorrow. Wine pours from the gash in the ribs of the dead poet, Jesus. You thought you might rise and soar, but you sink into a secret well of prayer, your tiny feet, your wings dragging you deeper through the sweetness, as you struggle to make a humming sound, but cannot even say, "Thank You."

[Words through Fred LaMotte ]

[madamlaydebug]

On this day, remembering James Baldwin

Happy Heavenly Birthday to the profound, brilliant author and activist Mr. James Arthur Baldwin!

James Arthur Baldwin was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.

Baldwin's essays, such as the collection Notes of a Native Son (1955), explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th-century America, and their inevitable if unnameable tensions.

Some Baldwin essays are book-length, for instance The Fire Next Time (1963), No Name in the Street (1972), and The Devil Finds Work (1976).

His novels and plays fictionalize fundamental personal questions and dilemmas amid complex social and psychological pressures thwarting the equitable integration of not only blacks, but also gay men—depicting as well some internalized impediments to such individuals' quest for acceptance—namely in his second novel, Giovanni's Room (1956), written well before gay equality was widely espoused in America.

Baldwin's best-known novel is his first, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953).

SOCIAL & POLITICAL ACTIVISM:

He wrote about the movement, Baldwin aligned himself with the ideals of the Congress of Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee(SNCC). In 1963 he conducted a lecture tour of the South for CORE, traveling to locations like Durham and Greensboro, North Carolina and New Orleans, Louisiana. During the tour, he lectured to students, white liberals, and anyone else listening about his racial ideology, an ideological position between the "muscular approach" of Malcolm X and the nonviolent program of Martin Luther King Jr..

By the Spring of 1963, Baldwin had become so much a spokesman for the Civil Rights Movement that for its May 17 issue on the turmoil in Birmingham, Alabama, Time magazine put James Baldwin on the cover. "There is not another writer," said Time, "who expresses with such poignancy and abrasiveness the dark realities of the racial ferment in North and South."

[lovejustforaday]

Shoegaze Classics - Ferment

Ferment - Catherine Wheel (1992)

Main Genres - Alternative Rock, Shoegaze

A decent sampling of: Noise Pop, Dream Pop

Oops, I got lazy and procrastinated the last regular "classics" review. Well, better late than never.

For my final entry on this retrospective, before I move on to my select few magnum opuses of first wave shoegaze, I wanted to cover another band that I feel I could recommend to most casual listeners of alternative rock. So today I'll be taking a closer look at the moonlit melodies of early shoegaze's gruffest band, Catherine Wheel.

The Band

Catherine Wheel formed in Great Yarmouth, U.K. in 1990.

They were probably the biggest band of the first wave not signed to Creation Records or 4AD, though Creation Records' Alan McGee certainly tried. Instead, they got signed to American label Fontana Records.

The band's lineup for the vast majority of its duration was Rob Dickinson on vocals and guitar, Dave Hawes on bass, Brian Futter on guitar, and Neil Sims on drums.

When referring to this band as "early shoegaze's gruffest band", I was especially referring to Rob Dickinson's vocals; less of the typical semi-androgynous, zoned out 20 something year old stoner dude, and more like your cool heavy metal uncle singing lullabies to you.

Rob's gentle but husky voice was often placed rather high in the mix when compared to most other shoegaze acts of the time, giving his lyrics more of a central focus. His general musings involve cerebral, abstract mystical-isms, while sometimes being the brooding, angsty kind of poet that was very much dominating the grunge music and alternative rock airwaves in the United States in the early 90s.

In fact, again I have to say that I would've expected these guys to be a lot more successful in the United States given what was happening overseas at the time. Much like Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel were a bit more hard-rocking than their other peers in the scene that celebrated itself, though not really in the same way as the former.

If Swervedriver's thing was shoegaze mixed with noise rock distortion and post-hardcore levels of intensity, then Catherine Wheel's sound was more of a kind of shoegaze rock and roll, more indebted to the hard rock of the previous few decades than other bands. A lot of their melodies have kind of a timeless feel to them.

Their sound is also distinctly nocturnal, even more so than most other shoegaze bands. Ferment and Chrome are LPs meant to be listened to on night walks and bus rides, especially the latter.

EPs happened. Then came the debut record.

The Record

Ferment is Catherine Wheel's journey into the foggiest recesses of the half-waking, half-asleep mind, with loud, opaque walls of sound and glistening electric guitars.

The production of this record has a very washed-out quality, like the entire record was given the acid wash treatment. If that's your kind of thing, you'll love this record. It certainly lends itself well to the "heavy rocking slumber" quality of Catherine Wheel's general musical aesthetic. That being said, one or two tracks here may sound a bit flat by modern production standards.

The record opens with "Texture", a menacing 6/8 splattering of radioactive glowing guitar chords creating a radiant, moonlit shoegazing mosaic. A very bold opener with possibly the most aptly titled song for a shoegazing band ever.

"I Want To Touch You" is, also true to its name, a nervously erotic track that is both enticing and surreal. There's about a hundred ways that a track with this title could go wrong and turn into failed-seriousness or something off-putting, but somehow this ends up working really well with its breezy melody and flashy guitar leads over tingling shoegaze drones. It's a certified banger.

If ever there was a song worthy of the moniker "shoegaze" in its most literal interpretation, then that song would be "Black Metallic". The drowsy-eyed, cerebral introspection of this behemoth of a song is communicated through sonic timbres of pleasantly tender abrasion, perfectly capturing what it would sound like to be quite literally lost in a labyrinth of your own thoughts while staring absently into the apparent abyss of one's own shoes. "Black Metallic" is a masterclass in evoking a state of mind for the listener through well-crafted, gorgeous guitar soundscapes. This is probably among the first two or three tracks that I'd recommend to any of the uninitiated.

Sadly, my one major gripe with this record is that it starts with the excellent three track run that I just mentioned, and then never comes close to picking up that momentum again. And at 38 minutes onward of mostly by-the-numbers shoegaze-alt. rock, the record becomes a bit of a slog to get through.

Mind you, by-the-numbers shoegaze is still something I could very comfortably put on and just vibe to, enjoying it for what it is, but the promise of the first three tracks leaves something to be desired from the rest of the record. Ferment is honestly one of the most front-loaded rock LPs that I can think of.

The title track "Ferment" is fairly transcendent for me until it gets to that effing jumpscare at two minutes and forty eight seconds in (maybe I'm exaggerating for most listeners, but that shit certainly made me jump).

Unfortunately, much like Drop Nineteens' Delaware which I reviewed much earlier on in this series, Ferment is more of a record that I recognize as a classic because of its importance to the scene and the reputation it holds versus my own personal enjoyment of the project as a whole.

I can see why this record really does it for some folks who like their shoegaze loud and heavy, and I do really love those first three tracks and "Black Metallic" in particular is probably one of my most played shoegaze tracks period, having graced me with its blissful textures on many a zero-sleep bus rides into uni after pulling an essay all-nighter (cuz I'm trash like that sometimes). But the rest of it just never lives up to what it could have been for me.

But like I said in the Drop Nineteens review, a lot of shoegazers love this record. So again, I implore you to listen and form your own opinion. All in all, this is still a solid record by my tastes, but then I'm also very biased in favour of shoegaze as a genre of music.

What Came After That?

Catherine Wheel is yet another shoegaze band that did not survive of the turn of the century, though they did release four more records in the 90s.

Truthfully, I'd definitely recommend their sophomore LP Chrome over the debut album, because I feel that it's a more fully-realized project, with a track listing that flows better and contains overall better songwriting ("Black Metallic" notwithstanding).

The only real reason why I didn't opt for covering the follow-up record instead is because I wouldn't exactly call Chrome a shoegaze record in the primary sense; more of a heavy, dreamy alternative rock record with its roots in the scene, with roughly three or four actual shoegaze tracks here and there.

After dropping three more records, Catherine Wheel disbanded in 2000. I haven't really checked the rest of the records out, but going off of the RYM genre tags at least, it would seem the band never really put out another full-on shoegaze record.

Rob Dickinson released one solo record in 2005 after the group disbanded. Nowadays, the dude seems...very much into cars? Not exactly what I would expect from the usual shoegazing crowd, but then there was that one Lush song on their last LP.

Brian and Neil went on to form their own indie band called "50ft. Monster", which funnily enough immediately calls to mind the similarly titled PJ Harvey single. Again, haven't bothered to check this out yet.

I know it may sound like I'm not a big fan of this band based on the score I end up giving this record, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't more than a few great gems in this bands discography. Both of their first two records have a small but pretty loyal following, so I'm gonna strongly recommend you check both of them out and see if either of those records tickles your fancy. Regardless, "Black Metallic" at least is basically god tier shoegaze.

7/10

Highlights: "Black Metallic", "Texture", "I Want To Touch You"

[garden-ghoul]

Happy Gushiwensday Shabbes! Tonight we have two weeks' worth of poem for you, the hefty "Changping Arrowhead Song" of Li He!

The artist's brush paints the Redwater sands in ash and powdered bone while the murky old blood in the soil seeds copper flowers. The gleaming gold white-feathered shafts are long eaten away by the rain and my search finds only broken wolf's teeth still standing upright in the ground. I search the field so long my horse is exhausted; I must ride the other east from the relay station, over rocky fields, to the old wall drowned under wormwood. The wind is ceaseless, the sun's warmth brief, and the stars are dull. Black flags of wet cloud hang in the air and render day night. Souls on one side, spirits on the other, wailing from mouths of wasted flesh--- I promise them an offering of fermented milk and roast mutton when I'm done. For now I search: a wild goose writhing with worms, blighted reeds and bamboo shoots. The wind rises to see off its visitor and my little fire gutters in fear. An ocean overflows my eyes. I search, and find a snapped-off arrowhead. The fractured point is crazed with red, that once cut clean through flesh. A child comes riding south along the old east wall of the city telling me to change my gold for a bamboo shaft.

Plenty of notes and original text under the cut.

长平箭头歌

漆灰骨末丹水沙，凄凄古血生铜花。 白翎金竿雨中尽，直余三脊残狼牙。 我寻平原乘两马，驿东石田蒿坞下。 风长日短星萧萧，黑旗云湿悬空夜。 左魂右魄啼肌��，酪瓶倒尽将羊炙。 虫栖雁病芦笋红，回风送客吹阴火。 访古丸澜收断镞，折锋赤璺曾刲肉。 南陌东城马上儿，劝我将金换簝竹。

This one was kind of a lot! As with a lot of Li He's work I prioritized atmosphere, and taking a little longer to finish it let me also do some stuff with nonliteral translations + consonance and mouthfeel. I also did some maybe slightly awkward stuff to ensure that I could get the word "search" in every pair of stanzas to kind of underline that the poet is here aaaaall day long. Here are my notes.

The artist's brush --- this first line has a LOT of words that suggest paint or pigment! 漆 paint 灰 ash or lime 末 powder 丹 cinnabar and 沙 powder again (sand in this case). To me it suggested mixing pigments on a palette, except the pigments are poison ash and bone dust.

Redwater --- it's just called the Cinnabar River (in Shanxi), but I thought "Redwater sands" sounded very nice.

broken wolf's teeth --- Li He goes into more detail about why they're like wolf's teeth; they're serrated! The literal line is a fairly dry description of arrowhead morphology.

drowned under wormwood --- it doesn't say "drowned under" it just says there's wormwood/mugwort growing there, but its habit seems drownsome and I'm goth.

and render day night --- arguably it just says "in the night air" but when I thought about it it didn't make a ton of sense that he would be looking for relics on the battlefield at night so I decided it's a very overcast day.

Souls... spirits --- 魂 is an immortal soul and 魄 is a mortal soul. I'm not an expert on the distinction but it sounds pretty gnarly on the ghost plane around here.

I promise them an offering --- it's not outright stated but heavily implied that this is a food offering for the emaciated dead who haven't received offerings in centuries because their bodies weren't recovered by family.

my little fire gutters in fear --- I'm not super sure about this one. It literally says 吹阴火 blow yin fire, and I don't know how to interpret "yin" here. Laurence had yin fire as "ghost fire" which is cool. I'm playing more in the space of yin as darkness or diminishing, but not in a way that's, like, grammatical.

An ocean overflows my eyes --- 丸澜 is a fun idiom for crying, consisting of 丸 round things [tears] and 澜 swelling water.

crazed with red --- this one puzzles me. We think it's more likely the arrowheads are bronze (maybe the 'copper flowers' mentioned above), not steel, so they wouldn't be rusting, and the red is 璺 cracks, not just dried blood. Maybe blood that has the appearance of cracks? I chose a somewhat nonliteral word for this reason.

change my gold --- otherwise known as "buying." I think the reason he didn't just say "buy" was probably metrical, but I feel like the exchange is kind of striking and wanted to draw attention to it; it has something to say about tourism, the commodification of emotion. It's a pretty striking end for this poem wherein the poet has spent hours listlessly haunting the battlefield with the rest of the ghosts, weeping, and now a kid is trying to sell him souvenirs.

bamboo shaft --- there's some debate about the identity of the souvenirs: are they arrowshafts, or are they offering plates for temple sacrifices of meat? I chose to go with arrowshafts because it feels more... kitschy and pointless.

[house-of-mirrors]

🏺— What is their soul like? Does it have any Flaws? :P

Oh this is fun I get to talk a bit about skies XD I had been thinking on this though. And I know the only way to stain your soul in FL is through smen but I'm choosing to ignore that:

A quick recap of the seven flaws: Clear: a disregard of death Cold: dispassionate, heartless Curdled: excessively eager to please Fermented: indifference to taboo Flickering: an uncertainty of self, dishonesty Lightless: wasted potential, a lack of ambition Stained: fatally curious

Orsinio: based on what he got at Burrow (the link above), I'd say he has a fermented (yummy putting weird stuff in his mouth) and flickering soul, though I'd disagree with flickering. In the past, especially when he first came to London, yeah probably. Now, he has a strong sense of self (though he does still use a pseudonym.) I think he'd have a stained soul after all he went through with the discordance and evolution, poking his nose where it shouldn't be. He also does not fear death, nor does he believe anything the boatman or judgements concoct is truly an afterlife - he's still religious, after all. Therefore, perhaps he also has a clear soul.

Miles: omggggg while typing this I realized Miles might legitimately have all seven. Worst oc ever (affectionate). Starting off with the core ones: curdled, lightless, flickering, fermented. They're a shameless social climber, a rich socialite who's never had any motivation to apply themself, and craves negative attention. They came to the Neath to escape rather than confront the fact they didn't like who they were becoming. If we consider smen as well, then yeah, stained too. Cold: during their ambition and after, they've made many heartless choices. Clear: Miles very much is not afraid of death, but in a "they really need therapy" way.

Samuel: from Skies, if you chose an origin as a zee captain whose primary goal was to explore, you get fermented and stained. Makes sense; Samuel almost went too far East, once. Since he spent almost a decade hiding out in his bar, I'd say he has a touch of lightless, willfully disregarding his talents.

Lucretia: she's my most well-adjusted oc and honestly none of the flaws really fit her. Congrats XD If I had to pick one I'd say flickering - she is not in tune with her emotions or her wants.

Captain Min: we're currently on the all 7 soul flaws speedrun but canonically they'd have fermented (tattoo from the halved baby), stained (allied with Winter's Reside), and clear (not afraid of the Azure :P). Early in their story, before I had decided their traits or goals, they had flickering (coincidentally I chose the poet background and started with it). They've since shed that flaw and are certain of who they are and want to be.

[dialogue-queered]

“The American poet Wallace Stevens suggested there were 13 ways of looking at a blackbird but with Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) that barely scrapes the surface. He was conductor, composer, pianist, writer of popular musicals, educator and celebrity. One might devote entire volumes to his identity as a Jew, a homosexual, or a political activist….Like so many creative giants he is clearly bipolar, subject to crushing depressions, bouts of self-hatred and sadness When the pendulum swings the other way, he becomes a social and artistic juggernaut overpowering everything in his path. While Bernstein was clearly homosexual, we can’t dismiss his marriage to Felicia as a cover story…[Nonetheless]….Cooper and his co-writer, Josh singer with help from cinematographer Matthew Libatique have chosen to view their subject through the lense of his sexual proclivities….Instead of seeing Bernstein as a great man or an artistic genius, we take these things for granted and look at the ferment beneath the carapace of fame….A great part of the bond between Felicia and Lenny is her belief in his talent….Apart from the concert sequences, the music is all by Bernstein, so we are subliminally absorbing his creative efforts while we watch the whirlwind of his life play itself out. Maestro’s patchwork narrative will polarise audiences, but…this restless montage…so perfectly echoes the personality of its subject”.

Source: John MacDonald (2023), ‘Maestro Is a Masterwork’, Australian Financial Review Weekend, 16-17 December, p39 (originally from the Washington Post).

[a-queer-seminarian]

"Here We Will Stay" by Palestinian poet & politician Tawfiq Zayyad (1929-1994)

In Lidda, in Ramla, in the Galilee, we shall remain like a wall upon your chest, and in your throat like a shard of glass, a cactus thorn, and in your eyes a sandstorm.

We shall remain a wall upon your chest, clean dishes in your restaurants, serve drinks in your bars, sweep the floors of your kitchens to snatch a bite for our children from your blue fangs.

Here we shall stay, sing our songs, take to the angry streets, fill prisons with dignity.

In Lidda, in Ramla, in the galilee, we shall remain, guard the shade of the fig and olive trees, ferment rebellion in our children as yeast in the dough.

[themuseumwithoutwalls]

MWW Artwork of the Day (10/29/23) Alfredo Ramos Martínez (Mexican, 1872-1946) Los Pulqueros (c. 1935) Pen & ink, brush & ink & charcoal on paper, 38.1 x 53.5 cm. Private Collection

Considered by many to be the father of Mexican Modernism, Ramos Martínez was a celebrated artist and educator best known for his serene and empathetic portraits of traditional Mexican people and scenes. As the poet Rubén Darío wrote, "Ramos Martínez is one of those who paints poems; he does not copy, he interprets; he understands how to express the sorrow of the fisherman and the melancholy of the village.” Pulque is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional to central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, somewhat viscous consistency and a sour yeast-like taste.

[eddyteddy-678]

The history of Ghost writing: From ancient times to modern preactices

Unveiling the Veiled Pen: A Journey through the History of Ghostwriting

Introduction:Ghostwriting, a practice as ancient as storytelling itself, remains an enigmatic craft that lurks in the shadows of literary history. From the secret tomes of ancient scribes to the digital age of modern wordsmiths, the art of ghostwriting has evolved, leaving an indelible mark on literature, politics, and culture. Join me as we embark on a journey through the annals of time, uncovering the hidden hands behind the pen.Ancient Origins:In the hallowed halls of antiquity, ghostwriting took form in the shadowy figures of scribes and court poets. In ancient Mesopotamia, skilled writers were employed to immortalize the deeds of kings and heroes, crafting epics that echoed through the ages. From the hieroglyphs of the Nile to the scrolls of Rome, ghostwriters served as the silent architects of history, shaping narratives that defined civilizations.Middle Ages and Renaissance:As the medieval tapestry unfolded, ghostwriting found refuge in the cloistered halls of monasteries and the chambers of royal courts. Monks penned illuminated manuscripts under the guise of anonymity, while court poets breathed life into the verses of kings and queens. With the dawn of the Renaissance, the ghostwriter emerged as a trusted confidant, whispering secrets into the ears of patrons and princes, weaving tales of love, betrayal, and redemption.The Enlightenment and Beyond:With the Enlightenment came a new era of intellectual ferment, where ideas flowed freely across salons and coffeehouses. Ghostwriters, now cloaked in the mantle of philosophers and pamphleteers, lent their pens to the cause of revolution and reform. From Voltaire's clandestine collaborations to the political manifestos of the Founding Fathers, ghostwriting became a powerful tool for shaping public discourse and challenging the status quo.The Rise of Modern Ghostwriting:As the printing press revolutionized the dissemination of information, the demand for ghostwriters surged. In the 20th century, the allure of celebrity and the explosion of mass media catapulted ghostwriting into the spotlight. From Hollywood screenplays to presidential memoirs, ghostwriters became the unsung heroes behind the glittering facade of fame. Yet, as the digital age dawned, the lines between authorship and anonymity blurred, raising ethical questions about transparency and integrity in the age of clickbait and content mills.

Conclusion:From the illuminated manuscripts of medieval monks to the digital domain of contemporary content creators, ghostwriting has transcended time and space, leaving an indelible imprint on the pages of history. Yet, behind every ghostwritten word lies a story untold, a voice silenced, and a legacy obscured. As we reflect on the hidden hands behind the pen, let us remember that the true measure of a writer's legacy lies not in recognition or renown, but in the power of words to inspire, provoke, and endure.

https://aff.stakecut.com/432955/24108823