Reenactor Throws A Spear At A Drone

Note to vacationing non-Americans: while it’s true that America doesn’t always have the best food culture, the food in our restaurants is really not representative of what most of us eat at home.  The portions at Cheesecake Factory or IHOP are meant to be indulgent, not just “what Americans are used to.”

If you eat at a regular American household, during a regular meal where they’re not going out of their way to impress guests, you probably will not be served twelve pounds of chocolate-covered cream cheese.  Please bear this in mind before writing yet another “omg I can’t believe American food” post.

more people should talk about dan reynolds

in case you dont know who that is hes the lead singer of imagine dragons and an amazingly outspoken lgbt ally who specifically focuses on trying to help lgbt youth and i never see anyone on tumblr mention him or the work he does.

dan reynolds was raised mormon and in 2012 the first major imagine dragons single “its time” was on glee, and he started receiving letters from gay fans saying that they loved him and his music but that he probably didnt accept them because he was a mormon. he says that this broke his heart and he knew he had to do something.

not only is he really vocal about lgbt support and issues (which is more than i can say about a lot of people in the spotlight like he is) he created the loveloud foundation last year which is dedicated to supporting and helping lgbt teens and educate people about the things they go through, aiming to lower the rates of suicide, mental illness, drug use, etc.

the foundation puts on the annual loveloud festival in salt lake city, and the second one happened this past july. its an all-day music event that donates all of its profit to lgbt organizations (actually good ones, not shitty fake ones) and this year they raised ONE MILLION DOLLARS in one day.

but he and the people in charge of the festival actually GIVE A SHIT. a trans woman was harassed at the festival when she tried to use the restroom, being told she was in the wrong bathroom, and the loveloud festival not only immediately acknowledged it they ENCOURAGED other people to share any unpleasant experiences they had at the festival so they could reevaluate and figure out how to do better next year.

heres his speech from this year’s loveloud:

“…i wish you could understand… i wish you could see how much we care about you, how much we love you, how much we support you, how much we stand with you. i hope that tonight, and today, you know… you know that your sexuality is pure, and its true, and its clean. i hope that you know you are needed; we need you. i dont wanna hear any more stories of youth taking their lives in utah. we must change our culture. we must change the way we see each other. i know this culture! i know these people! i was raised in this world. i know it. i understand religion. i identify with the beautiful aspects of how i was raised. i cherish many of those things today as part of my life, but one thing that will not be part of my life, ‘cause it does not align with my heart, is to tell someone how to love, and who to love. it’s the most simple concept! its the first thing we’re taught! from a young age! all my girls [he has three daughters] know it. they come out of the womb, and they know, you love. you dont tell someone how to love; you just love. let… love and let love, thats it.

i accept you, i see you, i stand with you, i fight with you. til the end, i will fight with you. i love you all.”

i think allies could learn from him and the way he talks about being gay. its not just okay, its pure. its true. its clean. its perfect. specifically addressing the way gay love and sexuality is demonized and slandered.

idk. i just love dan reynolds and i think more people need to know about what he does.

The Spider Queen

They were the one thing her mother hated and her father loved, the three tarantulas that had come to visit the little girl with the pink toy teapot that poured out real tea. She was always happy to see them, would get out her mismatched teaset and hand out cups - light pink for Jer, hot pink for Kei, and yellow for Mey. 

She had always been a rather odd child. Her mother a bitter human and her father an elven druid in search of knowledge, and herself a half-elf. She had a proficiency for accidental magic, even before the expected age. Yet no one could explain how she conjured tea into her little pink teapot, fresh and steaming. She refused to say, simply smiling and saying that the spiders had taught her. 

When she started school, both parents were relieved, hoping their daughter would begin to make friends with other elves or humans, or half-elves. For a bit, they thought it was working. Their daughter spoke of three little ones that she enjoyed spending time with, named Jer, Kei, and Mey. She came home with various gifts gift from the three, from a beautifully and expertly crafted white silk hair tie to a dress woven in patterns that even the most professional seamstress hadn’t seen before to a simple black friendship bracelet woven from what looked hair. Her parents were willing to ignore these strange gifts in favor of being happy that their child was interacting with other humans. 

Then, of course, the school sent a letter telling them to visit the school while the children were at lunch. The teacher sat them down, explaining that the girl didn’t interact with other children, and at recess sat beside a tree and talked to three large, alarming spiders. No matter how hard the school had tried, they were unable to either get the tarantulas off of the premises nor were they able to convince her to get them to leave. Her parents were disappointed, watching throughout recess as their daughter ran off from the group of children heading for the playground to sit beside a tree and talk to the spiders that had grown exponentially. They were now half the size that she was, and clicking their pincers excitedly. 

The parents could do nothing, no matter what they tried - banishing spells, fire, forbidding her to ever see the spiders again. They watched as their daughter grew up, hitting puberty and pimples breaking out along her face, her insecurities arising, the spiders following her nearly everywhere; her first heartbreak, and the ensuing hug(?) that lasted forever; when she graduated, they were waiting offstage for her and clicking their pincers along with the rest of the crowd’s applause. By that time, they were as large as she was. 

She got all A’s in her classes, excelling most in nature magic, a battered little pink teapot in her backpack always. When she went off to college, they went too, and her parents frowned in disapproval at it, but said nothing. She studied history, memorizing tales of the Spider Queen, an evil woman taught and mentored by three spiders who influenced her to take over the world. 

It made her think of herself, to an extent, but never once had Jer, Kae, or Mey ever tried to tell her to take over the world. Instead, they told her that she could accomplish her goals, she was better than she believed herself to be, and listening to the bullies of her school was a bad idea. She trusted them, after they had kept her from losing herself to her own low self-esteem. So, when they told her that she was who she read about, she trusted them. She refused however, to do as her previous self had done, and rule the world. 

Instead, she pursued a career as a Shaman, a helper and selfless person who didn’t worry for herself and instead helped maintain the balance of light at dark, knowing that without one there couldn’t be the other. Her career led to her own writings, published works that gave her a name in the history books, one her past life had already had. The Spider Queen. 

Image Prompt

spiders.

I don’t believe in astrology but one time when I was in college I was complaining about how dumb astrology was and after a while someone on the train went “Shut the hell up and let people have fun you Capricorn sun, Virgo moon bitch” and I was like what the fuck

Then I went home and looked it up and they were right so I don’t say anything anymore

Basic Homesteading Skills

Crafts

quilting

embroidery

cross-stitch

knitting

crochet

sewing

Cooking and Baking

homemade bread

homemade butter

homemade extracts

dandelion jelly

Canning

26 canning recipes

canning jars 101

60 canning recipes

Gardening

edible trees to plant

what to plant to save the bees

cure and braid garlic

save seeds for next year

braid onions for long term storage

build a greenhouse

Animals

homemade chicken feed

raising mealworms for chickens

why to raise nigerian dwarf goats

Outdoors

starting a fire with sticks

trail signs

knotting

find true north without a compass

Medicine

homemade neosporin

all purpose healing salve

i’m going through some 19th century travel diaries of people traveling from england to australia, and there’s this diary dated 1835, by a woman called eliza taylor. she’s fascinated by flying fish and dolphins, sees seagulls (”they are like pigeons but make a similar noise to ducks”), stargazes “till tea time” with the captain and another woman passenger, describes the boatswain playing the violin very well. these two paragraphs struck me, this one she writes during some party on deck:

Their merriment accorded not with my gloomy reflections both for the past and the future. I am very melancholy this warm weather and often wonder whether in any future years I shall ever have a taste of the joys and scenes of happiness I had in my childhood. My evil genius whispers No.

(what happened to you, eliza? we won’t know. just a glimpse of her sadness in a travelogue is all we’re allowed to see)

and then, on another evening, she sees something that may be bioluminescence, or maybe just starlight:

In a fine blue sea, the foam caused by the vessel at night seems full of stars. The snow white ferment, with the golden sparkles in it is beautiful beyond description. You look over and devour it with your eyes, as you would do much etherial syllabub. Finalmente, the stars issue forth, and the Moon always more lovely the farther you get South, completed the magnificience of the imposing scene.

it’s such a lovely description, so full of wonder.

sometimes you just gotta go “eep eep eep!!!”

oh theres a witch in these woods??? is she single???