#preservation practices

[perchanibly]

Thought this scene was very funny so I made a little sketch of it! Can you tell I got lazy at the end? 😞

fic by @thewitchwholivedao3, go check it out, it’s really really good!

(Quality is nerfed on tumblr so click for it to be better)

[daguerreotyping]

Absolutely stunning post-mortem daguerreotype of a young man with killer cheekbones and haunting eyes, c. 1850

[fox-bright]

So I was helping a friend figure out what to do with a wealth of tomatoes. She wants to dehydrate them and pack them in oil, and I thought, wait, that's really unsafe, right? But I've never tried it, so I went to the https://nchfp.uga.edu/ website, and a couple of Extension Office sites, just to make sure I had it right. I did: you can not preserve tomatoes long-term in oil safely. Throw them in olive oil, put the bottle in your fridge, eat within two weeks.

But the internet is FULL of well-paid garden bloggers who post exquisite photographs of food they will never actually eat alongside shit text like this:

Fun fact--this will kill you if you're not really lucky! Botulinum needs two things to be happy: A low-acid food source, and a low-oxygen environment. Bacteria that makes mold lowers the acidity of the tomatoes, basically clearing ground for the botulinum to flourish! And even better, it's not visible, it has no taste or smell; you won't even know you're consuming it.

This is my seasonal recommendation-slash-plea to only use tested recipes for your food preservation. When We Know Better, We Do Better--even if Nonna did it this way because her Nonna did it this way, we know better now. Botulism used to kill entire farming families, and their loved ones never knew why. The "why" was frequently something like this.

[deathandnonexistentialdread]

this implies that according to YuGiOh lore, Atlantis tried to invade America and ended up getting defeated by the Native Americans

[hellshandbasket]

they deleted that one house/wilson scene from the pilot because there’s no plausible deniability at all that this isn’t flirting

[danishphoner]

recalling that one time when i got obsessed with tlsp interviews and might have gathered (almost) all of them for further cataloguing on tumblr but wasn't quite sure if they'd still be somewhat relevant in the present day lmao:

[dykedvonte]

I beg people in the MW to think very carefully when they talk about mental illness and physical disability cause it’s not as straight forward and easy to diagnose/depict as you think…

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Chinchorro Mummies

Chinchorro mummies, including the example you mention from around 5020 BC, in the Atacama Desert, represent some of the oldest known intentionally preserved human remains in the world.

These mummies predate the more famous Egyptian mummies by thousands of years, showcasing the advanced mortuary practices of the Chinchorro people, a preceramic culture that lived along the coasts of present-day northern Chile and southern Peru.

The extreme dryness of the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, played a crucial role in the natural preservation of these remains.

The lack of moisture in the environment inhibited the growth of bacteria, which are typically responsible for decomposition, allowing soft tissues, hair, and even clothing to survive for millennia.

What sets Chinchorro mummies apart is that this culture practiced intentional mummification, beginning as early as 5000 BC.

They developed intricate techniques that included removing the skin and organs, reinforcing the body with sticks and clay, and sometimes painting the exterior, often with black manganese or red ochre.

This practice suggests that the Chinchorro people had a profound respect for their dead, possibly seeing mummification as a way to maintain a connection with their ancestors.

The mummy in the photo is a poignant example of how the Chinchorro culture intertwined with the unique environmental conditions of the Atacama Desert to create a lasting legacy.

These preserved individuals offer a rare and invaluable glimpse into life and death in the ancient world, as well as the technological ingenuity of a civilization that thrived long before written history.

[arolesbianism]

One thing I find very fun abt Siffrin and the King is how Siffrin projects onto him when trying to assume what his wish was. Because while yes it's true that the King wants to preserve vaugarde and keep it from meeting the same fate as the forgotten country, to me at least it seems implied that the wish itself was more so tied to the country, more specifically remembering it. I have thoughts and hcs abt the specifics, but the fact that when the King is finally defeated for realsies it's through being frozen by his own curse, and how he remembers it all in his final moments, yet for the rest of time, makes me Really think this was all some really fucky roundabout way of achieving a wish relating to that remembering (plus him every other time he's defeated saying not yet not when I still cant say it or whatever)

Siffrin meanwhile Never assumes that's what the wish was about. He figures it was to preserve vaugarde, create a perfect picture in time, to avoid a future where he loses it all. It's the difference between clinging to the past and fearing the future, and while to some extent both probably apply to the both of them, they weigh much more heavily in one direction than the other, and yet they can still find much of what they desire in the other's version of stilling time

[bonzlydoo]

He sleeps in a coffin, bro.

[wortcunningwitch]

i work with my ancestors. for this reason, as painful as it is to see my grandma decline mentally and become increasingly brainwashed by her far-right church, i still try to keep up with her life.

the whole concept of being able to love people that spew hatred towards my identity would have been a lot harder to embrace at the beginning of my practice. now, though? if they're part of my family, nothing, to me and my current practice, is more important than connecting with them.

talking to my grandma -- really relating to who she is outside of her church -- has strengthened my bond with my ancestors, which is crucial to my veneration of them. she was born just before the post-ww2 baby boom; many of her childhood memories, which she gladly shares with those who listen, are of people like my (2x-great-) grandma "goldie": born in the late 19th century, raised in the rural midwest.

my ancestor goldie is someone that i would've learned jack shit about if not for my own grandma. if i hadn't dedicated myself to pushing through the frustration of hearing my grandma's right-wing word vomit, i wouldn't even know this ancestor went by one of her middle names. i wouldn't know that she never cut her hair, and that she always wore it in a bun at the nape of her neck. i wouldn't know that she read bible stories to her grandchildren -- my grandma and her siblings -- in her living room. i wouldn't know that she used to sit under a tree with my grandma and prepare green beans to be used in stew -- a memory that my grandma shared while i was doing the exact same thing with her one day. if not for my grandma, i wouldn't get to call my ancestor goldie my grandma, too. i wouldn't be growing out my hair in her memory.

it's difficult. i know it is, especially at this super tense moment in our history. i'm a queer, disabled leftist, and to some extent, my grandma knows this. but i understand why she is the way she is. i understand, through talking to her, why she copes with her trauma through religion. she can be incredibly rude, inconsiderate, and bigoted; but somewhere underneath that front is a kind, vulnerable woman that was manipulated by a religious institution.

you can cut ties from your bigoted family. you can remove yourself from their life. none of this is wrong, unjustified, or bad. but if you're a bit like me, and ancestor work is a priority in your practice, please never underestimate the resources -- memories, heirlooms, stories -- that your relatives can provide (and google can't). your ancestors are more than a name, birthday, and death date on a page.

[borgeslabyrinth]

Like, I'm sorry, but some traditional practices are WORTH preserving even if it's hard work.

[spencersk]

Part of the Time Capsule Project, tin with dried flowers and paper.

[molagboop]

Mawkin children undergo several maturity rites before they're granted full tribal citizenship. The first occurs around eight years old, involving a basic academic evaluation and the child's choice between a physical fitness test or a dream-walk.

The evals are simple: how much has the child learned, what do they know, where can we supplement their education, etc. How can we stimulate their curiosity and foster a lifelong love of learning? Have they displayed any skills or passion for any particular subject? How can we encourage their hobbies and interests? Those are the kinds of questions the adults involved in carrying out the evaluation are asking themselves.

The evaluations help parents figure out (or reaffirm what they already know) ways to engage their childrens' interests in a fun or productive way, and how to help their child along the path to success, academic or otherwise. Every child is different: they have their own needs, and while 8 years old isn't old enough for anyone to ascertain exactly what they wanna be when they grow up, the evaluation is a good starting point for the rest of their academic track until their next formative rites.

The next part of the rites is a branching path. The fitness test is typically favored by more outdoorsy or athletic types, as well as children who are afraid of specters or arent very interested in the old ways. That's fine: old people stuff can be boring! The priests go on and on about the ancestors during holidays, but you're eight years-old and you've never seen the ancestors show up before, so big whoop. You've got toys to play and things to learn.

Another general assumption is that children who are likely to grow into steadfast warriors or athletes may pick the fitness test enthusiastically and without thinking about it, but again, this is an evaluation, and the kids are like, eight. Nothing is set in stone. Eight year olds also typically love playing outside.

A number of kids, hearing about all the cool things their elders know and are capable of, or just being curious about what their ancestors might have to teach them, opt for the dream-walk.

The dream-walk involves exposure to psychoactive fumes, but is nonetheless completely safe: the kid is monitored and made as comfortable as possible.

The dream-walk is overseen by priests and doctors. The burners are lit and the trial-goer falls asleep, entering a state similar to lucid dreaming.

Everyone's experience is different. Some kids have profound surreal experiences: others spend the entire time sitting at a table with a long-dead ancestor having a meal. Some kids are shown events from the past by an old ghost: some even experience said event from the perspective of someone who was there when it happened.

For others, the dream is of an old-fashioned hunt, typically guided by a departed grandparent or neighbor. It's not unusual for Mawkin kids to have experienced the act of hunting for food or sport by this point in their lives: many who hunt take their babies out with them on their backs. The quarry during the dream-walk, however, is typically more than your mundane game beast.

Tribal scholars and doctors of psychology have posited that the dream walk largely reflects the experiences of those involved. Formative memories and strong feelings, they believe, greatly affect the appearance of conjured apparitions in the dream. If a kid is fighting any demons at eight years old or harbor any powerful fears, they may very well be forced to face them head-on during this trial.

Therein lies the value of the dream-walk: it's not just a curiosity to get the kids to engage with cultural practices of yore, it has utility in teaching children valuable lessons through experience without actually making them fight the six-eyed serpent of a hundred and seventeen mouths. And they're usually not facing it alone: the ancestors quite literally walk with plenty of kids during these trials.

There are some truths a given child must face alone, and plenty do. But when they wake, they will find themselves among familiar company, the sweet smell of wood smoke permeating the air and a feast awaiting back home to celebrate their first milestone towards becoming an adult.

Some kids don't fight any major bosses or experience the heat death of the universe through the eyes of a slug, instead deriving value from the dream-walk in the form of sensory-guided introspection. The lesson they learn may not even be apparent to them until six years down the line. It doesn't have to be deep: it can just be an experience that gives then a new perspective on the world.

The senses are heightened supremely during the dream-walk, allowing the dreamer to experience the world in a whole new way. Tasting color, feeling the vibration of every sound beneath one's skin, perceiving the shape of every smell. Even if the kid walks away thinking "huh, I've never experienced the world that way before", the trial will have been a success. In the very least, a child should come out of that dark room with a unique memory for them to examine later on.

Several minor rituals and evaluations occur around twelve and fifteen years, but the foremost citizenship rites occur around seventeen, when an individual's stomach is strong enough to handle sap wine in greater quantities without suffering catastrophic liver failure. The dream-walk is a requirement this time around, as well as a combat test. The combat test is the actual rite that determines one's status as an adult: the mandatory dream-walk occurs beforehand as a way to shed all doubts about the strength of one's resolve if they have any insecurities, and perhaps gain some personal insight in the process. Introspection assisted by psychoactive substances.

You may be wondering how those with varying degrees of disability come of age if they can't engage in the rite of combat. There are alternatives to the combat test if the participant doesn't feel able enough to fight, or otherwise can't exert themselves without experiencing undue pain and discomfort.

There are alternative rites for individuals of every combination of physical and cognitive impairment, and all are treated with the same gravity and dignity afforded to the typical rites. Poetry recitals, music, research projects, an oath of maturity: these are a few examples of things disabled Mawkin have done to establish their claim to adulthood in place of the rite of combat. An individual doesn't have to be "good" at something: they just have to show that they accept the responsibility that comes with being an adult, or are otherwise committed to their community and the tribe at large.

For some people, that commitment comes in the form of thriving to the best of their ability. Surviving to the next day, striving for tomorrow to hurt a little less than yesterday. It doesn't matter whether they can "contribute" or be a "productive member of society": all are one, and one serves all. The Mawkin take community very seriously. There's an age-old adage that says something to the effect of "if one is suffering, all are injured", and "when one is deprived of dignity, we are all cast naked face-down into the mud".

Anyways, that's how juvenile Mawkin are granted all the rights, responsibilities and privileges that come saddled with being an adult. It's worth noting that most of these rites line up with a typical Chozo's molting cycle, with the final rites occurring just as young warriors are shaking off the last loose feathers of their old coat and displaying their first (clear) adult patterns.

[kkkkkkkitty]

[wonder-worker]

Any judgement on [Richard III's] reign has to be seen as provisional. The critic of the reign only has to consider how the Tudors would now be regarded if Henry VII lost at Stoke, to realize the dangers of too many assumptions about the intractability of Richard’s problems. But it would be equally unrealistic to ignore Richard’s unpopularity altogether. The fact that he generated opposition among men with little material reason for dissent, and that the disaffection then continued to spread among his own associates, says something about what contemporaries regarded as the acceptable parameters of political behaviour. There is no doubt that Richard’s deposition of his nephews was profoundly shocking. To anyone who did not accept the pre-contract story, which was probably the majority of observers, the usurpation was an act of disloyalty. Gloucester, both as uncle and protector, was bound to uphold his nephew’s interests and his failure to do so was dishonourable. Of all medieval depositions, it was the only one which, with whatever justification, could most easily be seen as an act of naked self-aggrandizement.

It was also the first pre-emptive deposition in English history. This raised enormous problems. Deposition was always a last resort, even when it could be justified by the manifest failings of a corrupt or ineffective regime. How could one sanction its use as a first resort, to remove a king who had not only not done anything wrong but had not yet done anything at all?

— Rosemary Horrox, Richard III: A Study of Service