#pps grape

[duckapus]

Stupid Princess Peach: Showtime!

SMG3 and Mario are trying their hands at theatre again (this time with no petty revenge or cats, thankfully), and it's opening night for [INSERT NAME FOR NEW PLAY HERE] at the prestigious Sparkle Theater. Notable attendees are Tari and Saiko (no one outright says it's a date but the implication is there), the Robotnik family, and Peach, Franky and Desmond. Unfortunately, before the play can begin the theater is attacked by the mysterious Grape and her Sour Bunch, who capture 3, Mario, and the lead actors, blow all the audience members except Peach, Saiko, Franky and Sage out of the building, and magically seal the place.

So now the four of them have to work together, with the help of the Theater's mystic guardian Stella, to save their friends and kick Grape's ass out'a there.

(let me rephrase that: Peach and Saiko have to actually work together)

[pixiedustandfairypowers]

Crack theory for Princess Peach Showtime

[dragon-fly34]

SMB: Madade Grape

My God, what a new game on the track there and I didn't even know about it! but as I'm going to watch the game for a few days, I made the game's main villain

[trashraccoonking]

one of these days i wanna see them do bottom surgery on a grape

[najia-cooks]

[ID: A pyramid of crystalline snow topped with deep orange syrup on a bright blue plate. End ID]

بقسمة / Buqsuma (Palestinian snow dessert)

بُقْسُمَة ("buqsuma"), or بوظة الشتاء ("būẓa shitā'", "winter ice cream"), is a dessert, possibly of Aramaic origin, eaten in cold and mountainous rural regions within Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. It consists of freshly fallen snow topped with grape molasses (دبس العنب; "dibs al-'inab"), date molasses, pomegranate molasses, or storebought snow syrup (شراب الثلج ; "shrāb aṯ-ṯalj"). In Lebanon it may be topped with honey or orange syrup; and in Syria and Lebanon it may also be called سويق or سويقة ("sawīq" or "sawīqa").

Buqsuma is eaten for only a few days a year at the end of the snowy season in February. An old rhyme cautions against eating snow too early in the season:

أول تلجة دم تانية تلجة سم تالتة تلجة كل ولا تهتم

("ʔawwal tallaja damm "tānya tallaja samm "tālta tallaja kul wa lā tahtamm")

("The first snowfall is blood "The second snowfall is poison "The third snowfall, eat and don't worry")

Journalist Hussein Saqr speculates that the intention may be to allow the first snows to clear the air from summer and fall dust and other pollutants before the snow is safe to consume.

During these late winter days, eating and sharing buqsuma becomes a social ritual; guests are invited to share the dessert from a wide platter, or given individual bowls to dress to their taste with syrup, milk, and sugar. Children bring bowls of snow inside and eat buqsuma by the fire to warm up and recuperate from a day at play.

In Syria, buqsuma is prepared especially in the مُحافظة السويداء ("Muḥāfaẓat as-Suwaydā'"; Suwayda Governorate) in the south; in the طرْطوس ("Ṭarṭūs") and إدلب ("'Idlib") Governorates in the northeast; and along the جبال لبنان الشرقية ("Jibāl Lubnān ash-Sharqiyya"; Anti-Lebanon mountain range) from جبل الشيخ ("Jabal ash-Shaykh"; Mountain of the Sheikh / "Mount Hebron") to the جبال القلمون ("Jibāl al-Qalamūn"; Qalamoun Mountains) in Damascus Governorate.

In Palestine

Within Palestine, buqsuma is eaten only in الخليل ("Al-Khalīl" / "Hebron"), in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian food writer Reem Kassis points out that the regional specificity of the dish is due to the nature of the land: Al-Khalil is one of the few places in Palestine to receive snow.

Al-Khalil is also famous for its viticulture. "It is well known among Palestinians that Al-Khalil grows the best grapes," according to embroidery artist Wafa Ghnaim. Though grape vines have existed in Palestine since antiquity, Al-Khalil was one of the few locales to maintain them even during the Crusades, which caused the abandonment of olive and grape orchards elsewhere. As with oranges and pomegranates, an association between terroir, agriculture, and design reveals itself in Palestinian art: the قطف عنيب ("qiṭf 'inab"; "bunch of grapes") motif is common in Al-Khalil embroidery (تطريز; "taṭrīz"; often transliterated "tatreez").

Around 1700, Rabbi Gedalia mentions Al-Khalil's grapes as being particularly praiseworthy:

ויש בא"י הרבה פירות האילן, כגון ענבים, תאנים, ורמונים, זתים […]. והענבים הם גדולים ועגולים בירושלים. אבל בחברון תוב"ב הם מרובים וגדולים מן הענבים אשר בירושלים. וכשמוכרים את הענבים של חברון בירושלים משבחים אותם וצועקים: בואו ותקנו הענבים של חברון ! ומענב אחד מתמלא הפה ממשקה. And there are in the land of Israel many tree fruits, such as grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives [...]. The grapes are big and round in Jerusalem, but in Hebron they are more numerous and larger than the grapes in Jerusalem. And when vendors sell the grapes of Hebron in Jerusalem, they praise them and shout: Come and buy the grapes of Hebron! And one grape fills the mouth with nectar. (pp. 337-8)

Al-Khalil's viticulture is closely integrated with Palestinian food culture. Three distinct harvests yield different products. In the early spring, some of the leaves from the grape vines (وَرَق الدوالي; "waraq ad-dūwāli") will be harvested, when they are young, tender, and sour: good for stuffing with rice, meat, and vegetable fillings to make several popular Palestinian dishes.

Later in the spring, grape farmers harvest early, sour grapes (حصرم; "ḥiṣrim"; Levantine dialect "ḥuṣrum"). Some of these will be pressed to make عصير حصرم ("'aṣīr ḥuṣrum"; "juice of sour grapes"), a tart liquid that may be drunk plain, or used to give acidity to soups or salads. Others will be pickled in brine, or dried and ground to make a sour condiment called "سماق الحصرم" ("sumāq al-ḥuṣrum," "sour grape sumac").

The third harvest is in the late summer, when the grapes have fully ripened. Grape farmers in Al-Khalil may sell some of their summer harvests to Palestinian wineries and arak distilleries. Other ripe grapes will be pressed and their juice boiled down and dried to produce مَلبَن ("malban"), a Levantine fruit leather. And still more of this juice will be reduced into dibs al-'inab, which is then used to make buqsuma, added to tea as a sweetener, or mixed into tahina and scooped up with bread; it is especially popular during Ramadan as a quick way to boost energy.

Dibs al-'inab has been produced in Palestine for hundreds of years. Rabbi Gedalia describes grape molasses, which he calls "grape honey" ("דבש של ענבים"; "dvash shel 'anavim"):

שמבשלים את התירוש היוצא מן הענבים מיד כשסוחטין אותן, והוא אז מתוק מאוד כדבש ממש, וכ"כ מבשלים עד שנעשה עב כמו דבש. They cook the must which is expressed from the grapes immediately after they are squeezed. It is then very sweet, like real [bee's] honey. Then they cook it again until it becomes thick as honey. (p. 338)

The recipe below is for buqsuma with Al-Khalil-style grape molasses.

[ID: An extreme close-up on snow crystals topped with syrup in bright white and various shades of orange; bubbles are trapped throughout the syrup. End ID]

Viticulture Under Occupation

Today, the tending and harvesting of grapes in Al-Khalil take place under the shadow of Israeli settlements. Israel encourages the transfer of settler populations to settlements in Al-Khalil—including particularly fervent Israeli nationalist cells in the middle of Palestinian areas—with financial incentives and the creation of infrastructure that only settlers can move through freely. Palestinians are forbidden to drive in the "H2" area of Al-Khalil, which encompasses the central Old City and the الحرم الإبراهيمي ("Al-Ḥaram al-Ibrāhīmī"; Sanctuary of Abraham), and has been under Israeli military control since 1997. Israel conducts regular raids in the nominally Palestinian "H1" area, forcing people to leave their homes, destroying property, and committing arbitrary arrests and imprisonments.

The rapid expansion of settlements in the areas around Al-Khalil, such as those in what Israel calls גּוּשׁ עֶצְיוֹן (“Gush Etzion”; Etzion Bloc) and גִּבְעַת חַרְסִינָה ("Givat Harsina"), pushes Palestinians into ever-smaller and denser areas surrounded by settlements, rendering them still more vulnerable to Israeli control.

Alessandro Petti describes the strategy by which Israel fragments and isolates Palestinian areas, while allowing flow of movement between territories for non-Palestinians, as a distinction between free-flowing settler "archipelagoes" and Palestinian "enclaves." Infrastructure such as patrols, roadblocks, barriers, curfews, strip-searches and thorough searches of luggage—to which only Palestinians are subjected—make travel a time-consuming, nerve-wracking, and uncertain process: one that may end with being denied a permit, turned back from a border, or jailed for driving on a road which turns out to be prohibited to Palestinians. Because the rules are constantly changing, Palestinians may continue to avoid a road that is no longer actively barricaded out of fear that attempting to traverse it will lead to arrest.

Official Israeli military policy and settler violence alike cast a pall on Palestinian agricultural tradition and innovation. Farming and shepherding communities in the southern hills of Al-Khalil have been subjected to harassment, home demolition, and forced displacement at the hands of settlers and military bulldozers. Settlers burn grape and olive orchards and cut down mature grape vines. Palestinians are no longer allowed to access ancestral agricultural land that has been overtaken by colonists. Israeli military orders and settler harassment emptied Al Khalil's Old Souq of its vegetable and fruit markets in 2000; in 2019, plans were made to raze Palestinian shops and build a new settlement atop them. These plans would move forward in July of 2023.

Reprisal and collective punishment in the wake of militants' October 7th attacks on settlers have been felt in the West Bank and also impact agriculture in Al-Khalil. Grapes rot on the vine with farmers forbidden to tend them. Streets have been closed, shutting Palestinian farmers into their homes, while Palestinian shepherds in villages in the Al-Khalil area have been displaced and harassed with drones. Settler attacks and destruction of crops, already on a continual uptick for the previous several years, increased to a new high in 2023.

Olives, Grapes, and Resistance

Agriculture has been an important site of Palestinian resistance to settler incursion as, despite harassment, surveillence, and violence, Palestinians insist on staying on their land and in their homes. The Palestinian minority who inhabit the H2 area of Hebron, continuing to tend their olive trees, prevent the area from becoming settler-only and keep alive the hope that Al-Khalil will not become a "ghost town."

Various projects based in Al-Khalil combat settler technologies and strategies. Farmers in Al-Khalil launched the Cooperative Society for Agricultural Marketing and Processing in 1984 to increase grape farmers' self-sufficiency, reduce produce waste, and contribute to the production of Palestinian grape delicacies. The 2022 Counter Surveillance project, launched by Palestinian activist Issa Amro and artist Adam Broomberg, meets the Israeli security cameras stationed among Al-Khalil's olive groves with its own video feed, livestreamed online and to art museums.

Palestine's annual grape festival at حلحول ("Ḥalḥūl"), just north of Al-Khalil, took place in 2023 as scheduled; farmers displayed boxes of grapes of all colors and varieties, and sold dibs, malban, raisins, and jam. And Palestinian farmers and activists contribute to resurgences of indigenous seed varieties—such as the دابوقي ("dābūqi") grape, historically particularly prominent in Al-Khalil—in an effort to preserve Palestine's biodiversity and economic self-sufficiency.

Buy seeds from the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library

Help Palestinian families evacuate Gaza

Contribute to an eSIM donation drive

Ingredients:

For the syrup (makes 2/3 cup):

2.5kg (5.5lb) tart green grapes, stems removed

For the base:

A large bowl of fresh snow

If it doesn't snow where you live, you can try making shaved ice using a snowcone machine; putting water in an ice-cream maker until you achieve a slushy texture; or running ice cubes through a blender.

Instructions:

For the syrup:

1. Remove grapes from their stems and rinse.

2. In a large bowl, mash and muddle grapes with your hands or a potato or bean masher; or pass grapes through a blender, food mill, or juicer.

3. Strain mashed grapes through a metal strainer, and then a cheesecloth (if you used a juicer, skip right to the cheesecloth). I had 4 cups (1 litre) of grape juice at this point.

4. Pour grape juice into a thick-bottomed pot with a large diameter, preferably one with a light-colored bottom. Heat on medium to bring to a boil.

5. Continue simmering juice, skimming scum off the surface as it arises. Occasionally wipe down the edges of the pot with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar from sticking and burning.

6. Eventually scum will stop rising. Continue to simmer until several shades darker in color and bubbling vigorously. Syrup should still pour freely, and just barely coat the back of a spoon. I had just over 2/3 cup (160 mL) at this point.

7. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before pouring into a jar. Allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. If you want to keep the syrup for multiple months or at room temperature, use a sterilized jar.

Compost the grape peels, or reserve to make fruit scrap vinegar.

For the dish:

1. Set a large bowl out several hours into a heavy snowfall; or collect just the top layer of freshly fallen snow after it has been snowing for several hours. Snow that falls earlier in a snowfall, or that has been sitting out for a longer period of time, is more likely to contain pollutants.

2. Compact the snow with a spoon to make the texture homogenous. Some people run it through a blender. Fill individual serving bowls with snow.

3. Pour cooled molasses to taste onto the snow and mix.

[gothhabiba]

The immediate impact of the Israeli occupation was to exacerbate unemployment: service jobs for the Egyptian army and UN forces vanished, trade with Egypt halted, and the port was closed. Moreover, since the combined GNP of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip was only 2.6 percent of the Israeli GNP in 1967, they faced inevitable integration into the Israeli economy as the occuption continued. Furthermore, Israeli policies increased the Strip's dependency. These practices included permitting only certain Gaza products to be sold within Israel, flooding the Gaza market with Israeli goods, restructuring Gaza's agriculture, and encouraging Arab laborers to work in Israel.

The Balance and Composition of Trade. After only one year of occupation, 72 percent of Gaza's imports came from Israel; no imports were allowed from Egypt, and 1 percent of its imports came from Jordan (the balance came from Europe). This represented a dramatic shift, since all the prewar trade had been either directly with Egypt or with Europe and Asia through the Gaza port. [...]

A decade later the shift in trading patterns was even more pronounced. [...] 91 percent of imports came from Israel, and nothing was imported from Jordan or Egypt. [...] Dates, strawberries, and vegetables were also sold to Israel, and local industries engaged in subcontracting for Israeli firms.

Agriculture and industry were both hard hit by Israeli competition. Israeli eggs, poultry, and even vegetables sell at lower prices than local produce, and virtually all canned and bottled goods come from Israel. [...]

A 15 percent excise tax and soaring inflation erode the profits of merchants and factory owners. Gazans have no way to hedge against inflation, since the Israeli shekel is the only legal tender on the Strip.

Restructuring Agriculture. Israel has prevented farmers from exporting to Israel any items that compete with Israeli produce and has imposed restrictions on the planting of certain crops. As a result, the output of melons, onions, grapes, almonds, olives, and fish has decreased. Farmers need permits to plant trees and vegetables.

[...] The government has encouraged production of some specialized crops, such as strawberries and dates. Farmers in Beit Lahiya village say that they were ordered to grow strawberries and would otherwise have been prevented from using their land and well. These strawberries are marketed exclusively through Ashkelon port by the Israeli export firm Agrexco. No permits, however, have been given to farmers to plant such crops as mangoes and avocados, which are also grown in Israel.

Arab Labor in Israel. In 1970, 10 percent of the Gaza labor force was employed in Israel, but at present approximately 40 percent (35,000 persons) work there. This includes 25,000 workers who are registered with the official labor exchange and another 10,000 who work illegally. The high unemployment within the Strip and the fact that wages inside Israel were five times those in the Strip made such employment irresistible.

[...] Even those holding regular jobs face difficult conditions. For example, it is illegal for them to remain inside Israel from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. But employers and workers collude in circumventing the law so that the workers will not have to spend several hours every day commuting. Farmers let laborers sleep in huts, abandoned buses, or even in the open under the orange trees. In town, workers jam into hostels, sleep on construction sites, or spread out on the floor in restaurants. There have been cases of disasters when workers locked into factories at night were unable to escape when fires broke out. [...]

The overall impact of Israeli economic policy is to turn the Gaza Strip into a large labor camp. The Strip is a source of cheap labor for Israel and its internal economic base is continually eroded.

– 1985. Ann M. Lesch, "Gaza: Forgotten Corner of Palestine." Journal of Palestine Studies 15.1, pp. 43-61. Emphasis mine.

[paganimagevault]

Female Europid Mummy from the Necropolis of Subexi III, Grave M6, Turfan District, Xinjiang. 5th-3rd C. BCE. Source: Baumer, Christoph.The history of Central Asia. Vol.1. The age of the steppe warriors. London : I.B. Tauris, 2012. pg. 218 left DS329.4 .B38 2012. Image via University of Pennsylvania. See maps in the post before this one for a better understanding of the geography discussed.

"Section 26 – The Kingdom of Nearer [i.e. Southern] Jushi 車師前 (Turfan)

1. ‘Nearer Jushi’ 車師前 refers to the kingdom or state centered in the Turfan oasis or, sometimes, to the tribe which controlled it. There can be no question that Nearer Jushi refers here to the Turfan Oasis. See for example: CICA, p. 183, n. 618; also note 1.5 above. For the etymology of the name Turfan see Bailey (1985), pp. 99-100, which is summed up in his sentence: “The name turpana- is then from *druva-pāna- ‘having safe protection’, a name suitable for a walled place.”

“One other oasis town is currently under excavation. At Yarghul (Jiaohe), 10 km (16 miles) [sic – this should read 10 miles (16 km)] west of Turpan, archaeologists have been excavating remains of the old Jushi capital, a long (1,700 m (5,580 ft)) but narrow (200 m (656 ft)) town between two rivers. From the Han period they uncovered vast collective shaft tombs (one was nearly 10 m (33 ft) deep). The bodies had apparently already been removed from these tombs but accompanying them were other pits containing form one to four horse sacrifices, with tens of horses for each of the larger burials.” Mallory and Mair (2000), pp. 165 and 167.

“Some 300 km (186 miles) to the west of Qumul [Hami] lie [mummy] sites in the vicinity of the Turpan oasis that have been assigned to the Ayding Lake (Aidinghu) culture. The lake itself occupies the lowest point in the Turpan region (at 156 m (512 ft) below sea level it is the lowest spot on earth after the Dead Sea). According to accounts of the historical period, this was later the territory of the Gushi, a people who ‘lived in tents, followed the grasses and waters, and had considerable knowledge of agriculture. They owned cattle, horses, camels, sheep and goats. They were proficient with bows and arrows.’ They were also noted for harassing travellers moving northwards along the Silk Road from Krorän, and the territories of the Gushi and the kingdom of Krorän were linked in the account of Zhang Qian, presumably because both were under the control of the Xiongnu. In the years around 60 BC, Gushi fell to the Chinese and was subsequently known as Jushi (a different transcription of the same name).” Mallory and Mair (2000), pp. 143-144.

“History records that in 108 BC Turpan was inhabited by farmers and traders of Indo-European stock who spoke a language belonging to the Tokharian group, an extinct Indo-Persian language [actually more closely related to Celtic languages]. Whoever occupied the oasis commanded the northern trade route and the rich caravans that passed through annually. During the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) control over the route see-sawed between Xiongnu and Han. Until the fifth century, the capital of this kingdom was Jiaohe.” Bonavia (1988), p. 131.

“Turpan is principally an agricultural oasis, famed for its grape products – seedless white raisins (which are exported internationally) and wines (mostly sweet). It is some 80 metres (260 feet) below sea level, and nearby Aiding Lake, at 154 metres (505 feet) below sea level, is the lowest continental point in the world.” Ibid. p. 137.

“The toponym Turfan is also a variation of Tuharan. Along the routes of Eurasia there are many other place names recorded in various Chinese forms that are actually variations of Tuharan.” Liu (2001), p. 268."

-Notes to The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. Second Edition (Extensively Revised and Expanded). John E. Hill. University of Washington.

[megafaunatic]

Half an hour before sunset I came to a pine wood. It was already dark under the trees, but there was light in the ride as I walked along it from the west. Outside it was cold, but the wood was still warm. The boles of the pines glowed redly under the blue-black gloom of their branches. The wood had kept its dusk all day, and seemed now to be breathing it out again. I went quietly down the ride, listening to the last rich dungeon notes of a crow. In the middle of the wood, I stopped. A chill spread over my face and neck. Three yards away, on a pine branch close to the ride, there was a tawny owl. I held my breath. The owl did not move. I heard every small sound of the wood as loudly as though I too were an owl. It looked at the light reflected in my eyes. It waited. Its breast was white, thickly arrowed and speckled with tawny red. The redness passed over the sides of its face and head to form a rufous crown. The helmeted face was pale white, ascetic, half-human, bitter and withdrawn. The eyes were dark, intense, baleful. This helmet effect was grotesque, as though some lost and shrunken knight had withered to an owl. As I looked at those grape-blue eyes, fringed with their fiery gold, the bleak face seemed to crumple back into the dusk; only the eyes lived on. The slow recognition of an enemy came visibly to the owl, passing from the eyes, and spreading over the stony face like a shadow. But it had been startled out of its fear, and even now it did not fly at once. Neither of us could bear to look away. Its face was like a mask; macabre, ravaged, sorrowing, like the face of a drowned man. I moved. I could not help it. And the owl suddenly turned its head, shuffled along the branch as though cringing, and flew softly away into the wood.

— The Peregrine, J.A. Baker (pp. 78-79, 2005 NYRB edition)

[telomeke]

Current Tag Game

Tagged by @colourme-feral in this post – thanks dearie! 💖

Current time: 9:59am (when I started this! it's now much later but I'm not gonna re-write...).

Current activity: Had a work deadline last night so tidying up the aftermath (deleting unwanted files, etc.).

Currently thinking about: How the project submission for work went. Annoyed that I skipped gym this morning just in case there were last minute changes to the project submission and we'd have to re-submit today; but now that's not needed I'm missing legs day. Also thinking about munching on something extra because breakfast was too light (hardboiled eggs, grapes and blueberries – all originally meant as a post-swim snack, re-purposed to become breakfast since gym was canceled). Maybe fry up an omelet and sausages, or grill some salmon? 😋 Or shall I just munch on some creamy Whittaker's milk chocolate since lunch will be soon and anything heavier might spoil it? 🤔  

Current favorite song: I don't know if they qualify as favorites, but songs will enter my brainspace and then swirl around in there for a while, refusing to leave. So I'm constantly listening to them (on YouTube, not Spotify; don't have a smartphone) and/or singing along in an effort to exorcise the earworm. At the moment the playlist in my head is:

I Don't Think That I Like Her Anymore (Charlie Puth)  Charlie constantly amazes me with his superhuman ability to churn out catchy melodic turns and unusual aural takes on percussion sounds for his backing rhythms (e.g., the light switch in Light Switch). This song continues with his quirky stylings, and I'm loving the pounding bass coming in to frame the heavyweight sock-it-ta-ya message of the song's chorus after the light plaintive vocals of the introductory and intervening verses. The second (melodic) line of the chorus ("Cause they're all the same") is so simple and yet so perfectly fitting after the bold hook of the first line – I find myself asking each time I hear it how could anything else ever fit better? And then it builds and builds to a big finish, at the end of each chorus and also at the end of the song – that key change from B Major to C# Major is quite a genius step, retro yet so fresh. (But still... C sharp? 👀 OK if your electronic thingamajig can auto-transpose but hell on a trad keyboard.) I know this song is from a year ago but I'm not simply wallowing in nostalgia (oh all right, so yes I am a bit) – there is nonetheless a BL connection that first got me hooked on this. The cast of my current fave I Feel You Linger in the Air did their own take on the TikTok Kpop dance challenge of this song (linked here, with other TikToks here) and they're just so cute dancing along. Nonkul attempts a little elbow jab in homage to the original choreo, while Bright gives up after a couple of bars and just goes on doing alternating wrist twirls like those you sometimes see in Southeast Asian dance… 🤣 Alee and Tian seem like they're having fun, as does Attila, but who knew Khun Robert could actually look this good, all goofy and charming when he smiles doing a silly little jig?

‌

All I Want for Christmas is You (Mariah Carey)  Ever since Ms. Mariah broke her icy containment after Halloween (see this video here 😂) I've been singing along, getting in the mood for carols, fruitcake and Christmas decorations because it reminds me of time spent with (departed) family. Happy because those are happy times worth recalling, but also bittersweet because those loved ones are no longer around.

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One of Your Girls (Troye Sivan)  While I tend to feel a pinch of resentment whenever Aussies of European origin seem to get opportunities in the West more easily than non-white people do, I have to remind myself it's the system and not the talent that is at fault. So credit where credit is due and I'm a fan of what Troye has done with this and his earlier releases (like his video with PP Krit 😃😍). One of Your Girls is just so beautiful and languid as it teases with its message, and consistently Troye is breathtakingly beautiful and languid in the video, teasing us with an offering of the forbidden. I'm feeling things I never thought I would. 😮 The choreography is pretty daring too. (Especially that crotch flare – where did they tuck the dangly bits? I'm wincing as I watch.) Also shout-out to all the different representation with the models. 😍

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Then I'm Gonna Give You Up (Rick Astley)  This is Rick Astley spoofing Rick Astley (more explanation linked here) and just so funny. Especially since the original song is already iconic on Tumblr.

‌

Fast Car (Luke Combs)  Another nostalgia trip, this is an absolutely stellar rendition of the already phenomenal original by Tracy Chapman. Almost like Marc Cohn's Walking in Memphis with its sense of urgency and of bottled emotions about to explode, maybe just a shade less of Marc's full-throated growl in Luke's voice, but earthshaking nonetheless. In these 21st century times (and in my corner of the world where BL and queer rep cross my dash all the time) I love that Luke (a married man with a wife and two kids, looking for all we know like the straightest of the hets) didn't change Tracy's line "So I work in the market as a checkout girl", paying homage to the original and smashing at the gender-obsessives everywhere in a quietly powerful way.

‌

Currently reading: My language study textbooks; not much time for anything else though I do miss having a good work of fiction to keep me company whenever the slate of Thai drama dips in quality.

Currently watching: I Feel You Linger in the Air – a really impressive work, solidly-grounded in its universe with overhanging familial, social and political intrigue that threatens to overshadow (but never really does) the chemistry between Khun Yai and Jom.

I've fallen in hard love with this and just hope that Tee Bundit will display the wisdom associated with his name (for those as linguistically-obsessed as I am, Bundit is the homologue for pundit in English, pandit in Hindi and pendita in Malay) and wrap up the finale with more finesse than he has done on his other shows. (Something tells me though that the sense of foreboding you get while watching IFYLITA is partly due to the dread that Tee is going to rush and stumble through the last bits, leaving viewers less than satisfied with the ending like he did with Lovely Writer, Hidden Agenda and Step by Step.) However this goes, I'm a new fan of Nonkul and Bright's acting, and can't wait to see more of them.

As to what else I'm watching – I'm still trying to finish Only Friends, if only to be able to say that I've finally watched a Jojo show all the way to the end. It's not for me, though it has some moments that shine (like Neo's performance, and all the shirtless scenes) but I struggle to find anything that satisfies on a more cerebral level. I'm not opposed to sensuality and messy drama being foregrounded over more intellectual underpinnings (all hail KinnPorsche) but for me it doesn't go earthy and raw enough to make up for whatever else it doesn't do.

Current favorite character: Pat and Pran from Bad Buddy will always be on this list, but because I'm currently enjoying IFYLITA I'm sure I've been visited by Por Jom, Khun Yai, Khun Ueangphueng, Ba Prik, Ming and Khun James in my dreams lately (and also a certain racing piglet 🤣).

Current WIP: All in my head, but I have a final wrap-up post on Bad Buddy locations percolating, as well as one on the graphics in the show (that give us hints of Pat and Pran's interior worlds).

Tagging names I've seen more than once cross my dash and/or notes:

@neuroticbookworm @airenyah @alexis-mika @belladonna-and-the-sweetpeas @wen-kexing-apologist @twig-tea @pandasmagorica @respectthepetty @dribs-and-drabbles @waitmyturtles @dimplesandfierceeyes @writerwithoutsound @bengiyo @grapejuicegay @lamonnaie @lurkingshan @callipigio @italianpersonwithashippersheart @recentadultburnout @kattahj @theheightofdishonor @fiddlepickdouglas @dc-alves @brazilian-whalien52 @slayerkitty @silvercrystal1 @dudeyuri @ranchthoughts @suni-san @chawarin-panich @lurkingteapot @solitaryandwandering

and anyone else who'd like to play. 😍 Apologies if you've already been tagged; point me to your post if so! And apologies if I've forgotten to mention anyone; if I follow or if you follow me please know you are loved and do play along if you wish! 💖

Also a special tag carved out for the lovely @visualtaehyun as a part-apology; you've tagged me before on a couple of other games and I wrote out about half of my replies – but then work deadlines became urgent and got in the way. Ruefully I had to abandon those posts (especially since they're now weeks out of date). So this is my way of saying thanks for tagging me on those tag games, sorry for not replying, and I hope you'll play along with this one because I love getting to know like-minded people on Tumblr! 💖

[duckapus]

Okay, yes, That, all of my yes for That. But also,

Oh my god they turned Pearl into a marketable robot buddy.

DEDF1SH!!??

And...Dead...Fish...god this DLC gets creepier by the second and now I'm worried about Marina. (haven't decided if it's worry about what's happened to her or worry about what she may have done)

Everybody gets to find out that the Mini Mario games were good actually.

Peach slays in every outfit and Grape looks good too.

Oh hey F-Zero, we thought you were dead.

Trombone Champ living up to its potential by using the two dumbest control schemes the Switch has to offer. Glorious.

F U N K Y

Also I completely forgot that Diddy wasn't in the base game.

It's too late Wario, you have friends, there is no escape.

There's Fungus AmongUs! It Was Inevitable...

I'm sorry Sora, I'm happy for you, but I look at Amiibo and feel Nothing.

Everything else looks really good too! I just had less to say about it.

[alilrainboo2030]

GENERAL

Name/Aliases: Priscilla Purple, Purple girl (her fans) Grape juice (Her Mom and Grandma) Violet (Nickname and her girlfriend) PP (Misleading)

Age: 15

Birthday: July 4

Gender: Female ♀️

Place of Birth: Paris

Species: Neon Human

Sexuality: Lesbian

Nationality: French

Country: France

Ethnicity: Caucasian "White"

Color: Purple "CF00FF"

Language: French/English

Object/Weapon: Magical Broomstick as Weapon and other witches and athletic stuff

Personality Type: ESTP

Alignment: Good

Food/Drink: Grape and other grapes that came with PB Jelly, Cake, Pie, Flavors, and Juices. Eggplants, Red cabbages, and Lambs.

Body Type: Rectangle

Occupation: Karate

Weakness: Lightning, Earth, and Ice.

Status: Alive

Element/Power: Magic

Animals: Horse, Kingfisher, Tuatara, Caecilian, Seahorse, and Dragonfly.

Emblem Shape: Quatrefoil

Emotion: Brave "Courageous"

Super Abilities: Levitate, Shoot, Spin, Run, Throw, Teleport, Climbing

Height: N/A soon

Weight: N/A soon

EXTRAS

Like: Karate, Girls, Tomboy, Horses, Celebrities, Crossovers, Boys but just only friends, Sports, and Aesthetic Stuffs.

Dislike: Boys, Girly stuffs, Crimes, Diseases, Sexist, and Suspicious Sites.

Hobbies: Sports, Talents, Musics, and Aesthetic Stuffs.

Club/Group: Neon Wonders 01

Spouse: Paula Purple (Grandmother) Polly Purple (Older Sister) Phoebe Purple (Baby Sister) Paige Purple (Mom) Preston Purple (Dad)

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Physical Strength: 1.16xBW

Friends/Allies: Gaku Green, Oscar Orange, Penny Pink, Rafael Red, Brody Blue, and Yandel Yellow.

Enemies/Rivals: Willow White and Ben-zi Black.

Love Interest/Crush: Cindy Cyan

Flower Sign: Platycodon “Balloon Flower”

Gemstone Sign: Amethyst

Zodiac: Leo

VOICE SOUNDED TONE:

Cute, High and Sweet

APPEARANCE:

Priscilla Purple has some athletic looks on herself. She wears a plain purple Sports bra and she wears purple skinny sweat that has pockets on it. She is also wearing a dark belt with a Cutted-shape like Quatrefoil Amethyst on it and her purple hair clip has stripes. And last she wears purple socks and sparkly glitter Athletic shoes on her. Her shoes have dark Purple sole protectors in the bottom and her loosable buttons are shaped like Quatrefoil for shoelace. But to her DNA, Is completely Purple, especially her hair, mouth, blood, fingers and toenails, body waste, and eyes with Quatrefoil highlights on it. Except for her beige skin color but only if she's sick and conditioning.

DESCRIPTION:

When Priscilla Purple was a 7 years old young child, she wanted to practice to do some sports and became famous as her inspiration dreams. She grew up in Paris, France. And her life is incredibly better than her old school. She's never been attracted to boys because many girls pick on her for being friends with the boy. This doesn't mean that she likes boys because many boys are using her. And so many girls are standing up for her and never messing with Priscilla again. Every day after school, she wanted to going out with her mom and walk places. Once that was over, she returned to her room upstairs and when she saw her new athletic clothes appeared, This was from her parents as a gift. Until she noticed something that her parents give her that they didn't know was from a Unknown strange Address to Priscilla.

She decided To open the unique box. It is the Cutted-shape like Quatrefoil Amethyst appears. And such as the flying Shapeshifter named “Quafoily” starts introducing her owner. This story ends now.

PERSONALITY:

Brave, Confused, Funny, Optimistic, Active, Sensitive, and Intelligent

TRIVIA/STORY:

Priscilla Purple is just the original character that I love to make her up in 2021. My inspiration is unknown to her. It could be because Kagamine Rin and Twilight Sparkle make her magic. That's why she have magic.

GALLERY:

N/A soon

[zumpietoo]

Oh the Irony....

And perfect timing!!! Cuz I'm SURE you sent similar to the BB with their latest waybackmachinings??? (to say nothing of, WTF do you care what I entitle or post it---tho, I do have nu inspiration--and I posted all kinds of positive Cole stuff just this AM):

Oh and to say nothing of, sure enough, I called EXACTLY what your transparent asses are butthurt about....

Ah yes, we begin with assorted racism, elitism and lookism....umm...she lives an easily drivable distance from NYC AND for all we know Mommeee sent her a ticket (that she grifted for freeeee!!!). Plus who knew A) I was an evvvolll Poor? B) being a Poor was a sin?

At least I know US geography.....even tho Silly is in Georgia, which is also a relatively drivable distance to NYC....so you'd think she'd know that, too....maybe Silly is Amab? She's in 'Bama and was remarkably ignorant about basic US geography....especially since she taught school, in a grade where that would be part of the curriculum.

Ahhh.....I fuckin' knew it! They're pissed that nobody wants to doubledate/be besties with CabanaPee for realsiessss.....

But SweatBoi will react like a pissy little bitch, which, ofc, makes him the awesomest awesome that ever awesomed!!! Perhaps Silly/janASS should look up, "I didn't want to be part of your stupid clubhouse, anywaaayyy!!!"/sour grapes?

Oh yes, bad grammar BB member (Silly foaming at the mouth), PP does indeed gives a MANY shit(s) about everything Cole's doing. BTW, since he and Ari have been together for nearly 3 years, live together and probably will eventually get married....I think it moved past "hooking up" quite some time ago.

That would be Peepster and CB. And FB. And Austyn. And Charli. And whomever she slipped a few extra $$$ to at The Box.

Meanwhile....while Cole HAD already stated he'd be attending many parties for Halloween (versus just one, while beating a very ded, now revealed as fully AN ILLUSION(ary) horse).....considering we had CB yet again cosplaying Cole and PP being with CB entirely because of that....if Cole DID "run away" (no), moar like "from his stalkers".....cuz I most assuredly did NOT notice any "hotties"....

Dude, she posed for group pics with Cabana Pee....maybe she just knows an asshole when she sees one. And to the OG anon----what was that about "almost a month ago"??? You're here still droning on about CB cosplaying Cole the first time. Which is why PP's with him (and the ONLY reason).

MM is ninety billion times prettier than PP, actually a better actress, has been with her BF for way longer, he's a bigger fucking deal than CB could even dream of and she's with him cuz she legit loves him, versus making him pretend to be Walking Tat....

Ummm....it would be two words, "dumb ass", not one....ignorant dullard, however......it's as if FB legit likes Cole better than PP (let alone Sweatboi) even if PP lets him fuck her from time to time.

And not "at", IN....and Fancee Nicola also visited Cole on set, were roomies with him during quaranteen, etc....plus, no, dude....PP doesn't "always support him".....Cole (and MM) were at FB's premiere, Cole made a speshul trip to DC to attend a different premiere of FB's back in 2019.....PP was also in NYC then and didn't bother herself.

And why would he "support PP's nu relationship"? He and PP aren't really friends (they're sidepieces, at best), especially anymoar and CB is a nobody asshole.....and his wife hates PP (and probably Sweatboi)....

However, I do love how y'all are admitting it, even as you attempt to twist it. Plus, again....did the OG anon talk to them about shit in the past?

Why TF would they "feel pity for Cole"? He remains 90 billion times richer and moar famous than all the rest of them combined....

Plus, PP's production company is dick (you really need to stop with that idiocy).....so has Cole (and is legit friends with Alisters), and, again, I don't see PP leading any successful theatricals....she scabbed a student project for her cult for less than scale cuz she needed $$$ that fucking desperately.

Love how they ignore how Cole spent the strike at A list fashion events in all Europe, while PP did a purse party.....and attends other A list events? PP? Does tiktoks with CB's loser friends (who still hate her), now....

And lastly....even if true? Doesn't matter. Cole could easily fade into obscurity and just sit around counting his $$$---PP remains a slutty, dimwitted, talent-free bimbo, up to her eyeballs in debt....and, again, then they wouldn't have tried the sad little threepeat costumey....

[tillman]

we only have grape jelly (worst jelly for a pp and j) but its ok because well what can be better than a pp and j while cozy next to the radiator as it snows .

[7r0773r]

The Siege in the Room by Miquel Bauça, translated by Martha Tennent

These smiling, timeless girls have never played pétanque. They leave that to their crude uncles who get drunk for no reason, or dress up as Knights Templar to terrify people in houses far from the center of town. Girls from Perpignan always have clean fingernails, and nowhere else in the world can you encounter girls with such consistent, uniform enamel. Of course, not everything is charming. A secret part of their body soon dries up. A fact not often divulged. (Carrer Marsala, p. 40)

Effortlessly, I jump over the enclosure, careful to avoid making obscure gestures that would mark me as an outsider. I leave the master keys behind. We have entered—all of us together—the civilization of risk. Good deeds are not the right approach. It's the effect that counts. We have to maintain the balance between effects and chairs. If this balance were broken, what would we glimpse, other than harrowing dawns, charred logs, dead leaves, end-of-party confetti? ... Yes, we would march, but no one would know who we were without a clear insignia. We would be despondent, unable to see the mountain. It would undoubtedly be there, but the fog, smoke, and misery would contradict the evidence.

The warden is intimidated. She no longer dares to tense the cord and trip me. Instead, she spreads the word that I am one of the most curious prisoners she has had ... She doesn't hold me captive. I'm the one with my hand on the rope. She'll leave as soon as it's dark, shamelessly announcing that she's going to take a look around the countryside. Does she think I could possibly imagine her among the shrubs? Lying is such a poor artifice! She won't deny that she's gone beyond the walls. Probably stopped at an inn where grease and soot cover the napkins and blankets, the backs of chairs. I won't tolerate any more deceit. I will be the first to deceive. I'll put on clean socks without her knowing. The soles of my feet will notice. Could she possibly say anything comparable to that? I am blind to nothing... I know she has a friend, a woman who's a saint. But where is the saint known? On the outskirts of town, in houses filled with vicious brothers-in-law who never go out. Always seated, legs spread to show off their woolen socks. This saint was canonized, held in higher esteem than she deserves... Not even the bay leaf in the stew adds any taste. Both women have to suffer through it, till the warden finally gives in and dozes off. Sundays with the saint are like this. The warden thinks I don't know.

I've endured... endured the dust and the grease. I'm rough, austere; I'm aware of it. I understand the enthymemes and litotes, in space. I'm restoring order... I know that to build a grape arbor you have to keep the branches neat and not over-harvest ... just a little each time. (The Warden, pp. 119-20)

[xrskunkrx]

Yo’s & Ho’s galore! It’s the Santan Slayer Sled dashin’ red over the snowy blanket oh joy! Cuttin’ edge through fashion like Swiss cheese shooting Vatican out of U.S. !

Ok..

Gnarly, my dude. Almost forgot to fanboy Nintendo card game from the 1800s but I won’t. F it bro. They fkn boycotted it out of casino’s mfs. Wtf dude. Cmon man, fo real. Rig it all up like Fort Knox!?

W/e here it is.

After Korea, Anime!? You all just stop caring huh? You know they never fired a shot? If they didn’t, war would have kept goin’ on. Merica..

Moving on.

Ok I had this one in my portfolio, quick shill out. It’s coo, from your fav lesbos island bro! J/k

Ok..

Check this red mf out! You know it went straight red after the noise!? Whoa! Looks mad, nomad panda says you’re to blame. I just facilitate peace n’ sht. Can’t help it if I can fly, in my geno. Laws keep me from a lot so you’re fine until nearest fire tornado, sulfur rain storm.. I know, a lot firing, it’s called a corporate turn over rate. Kinda busted atm right now but I clean up piles at a time my dude. You be next episode they never get over…

Now we gives thanks to the Turkey the middle!?

W T F

You let them die!

Sick… bought aimless drills, over genocide!?

W T F

You killed Turkey.

Green eggs n’ Ham !?

W T F

Now they hostage anti regime side JaKo U.K. rian dumbo yongsan lard slurgants completely killing all humans. Why you all like this?

So, now we see ronin. Right hand gets burned up recently too!?

WTF

Hawaiian is gone but no one bats an eye!?

The hands, humanity let down by copy writing pedo star badazzling f…

Fury wild fiery elf shots, black man! Racist…

Kk, k where da feds at? Lulz they tried blaming COVID on me!!! Who am I?

Jonb, that’s me. You’ll never believe what complete disregard one has to go through once you see it through just one eye of mine homie. Yo a pile of child bones, yet finding them had everyone goes epidemics with outsourcing, imports oh & Walmarts off the chain. Equality!? You also killed mom n’ pops bro

Fo real w. T.. f…

Is the race over!? Na, but ya’ all on yo seconds. Eat it, you’re fryin’ beneath the ashes, gettin’ washed down. Check the label, dust it off. Poor ya down the world’s toilet bowl.

PS: whole wide world man made recipe. Ya folks go broke before you choke is a SYN you dug. Call me the gravedigger.

PPS: let me have your things, I need it. I live in a communist trash heap called Muskogee Oklahoma. I’m an American with no thin’ but a bunch of fiery twigs, AKA U.S. Gov slobs.

Oh! For warned they may kill ya, enslave ya or take ya grapes from ya. No joke homie. For what it’s worth, I give ya the grace of god. Figure that enough, you’re in for a surprise & theres something in there for ya if you know what I’m sayin’ bro I don’t fall, I leap. I can’t fear, I raise it out of no where. Exercising in a gym is for loosers ho ma yo to close, 6 feet or courts closed! Uhhhhh where every one go? First home buyers schism everyone that badly aye? Ddddddddd

….fin until then t(‘.’t)