#research
I didn’t. I didn’t want to be this person. But Aziraphale is sitting RIGHT THERE looking like A TOTALLY RESPECTABLE Roman citizen circa 40 AD. Maybe the hair might be unusual, but the Romans LOVED blonde hair. They thought it was cool and foreign and exotic in sort of a sexy way.
But Crowley isso historically confused. And I think the production design is too good and Neil Gaiman is too on top of his game for this to be accidental. It must mean something.
I - HAIR
What is on your head Crowley. Are you the emperor? Are you a victorious general currently participating in a victory parade?
Sure, you sometimes see laurel wreathes in portraits. But FUNERAL portraits.
That crown is a symbolic thing, to celebrate your victories in life. It’s not STREET WEAR.
And okay. It’s 40-41 AD. Caligula is emperor. Military chic is in. If you’re a guy, you’re wearing your hair short and un-styled (LIKE AZIRAPHALE.) Those dramatic little spit curls wouldn’t show up until at least Nero.
But actually, pulling back for a second - are you appreciating the absurdity that is this hairstyle? Because it took me a second to notice that only the FRONT HALF is curled.
Whichisa Roman hairstyle. But it’s a Roman LADY hairstyle.
(It tends to get called ‘Flavian Hair’ because the Flavian era ladies of the 70s-90s got pretty extreme about it, but you still had less… dramatic versions in the 40s.)
That’s you, Crowley. That’s your style reference. Honestly, if you had just kept your hair long everybody would have thought you were a cool barbarian chieftain or something.
II - CLOTHES
The black is fine. It’s eccentric, but fine. Romans wore black. Wearing black was Cato the Younger’s *thing.* It gets associated with mourning and/or protest, but it would have been really visually confusing to have Crowley wear some other color. This gets a pass.
Nope, my question is about his articles of clothing. There’s a charcoal grey garment that seems to be a toga + undershirt. It’s looped over Crowley’s arm, which is a classic toga give away.
That part’s fine. But over the top, he’s wearing a true black… short cape? Shawl? it’s really hard to tell, because whatever it is, he is NOT wearing it correctly (is it folded in half?) Also, that irregular red zigzag pattern is very strange and I do not recognize it from anywhere.Seriously, I can’t even decide on a continentfor this garment.
III - JEWELRY
Emperor Nero usually gets credit for inventing the first sunglasses, after he started watching gladiators fight though a green gemstone. He won’t be emperor for about ten years. But hey, he probably got the idea from somewhere.And dark glasses are just a really sensible way to hide your snakey eyes. This is also the first time we see Crowley put up some proper emotional barriers, so it’s a good place for the glasses to be introduced. (@theladyzephyr has a wonderful meta that goes into a lot more detail here.)
So the sunglasses are good. BUT THAT BROOCH.
Okay. This is Aziraphale wearing a fibula plate brooch
It’s a really Roman style, and a really Roman shape (a “pelta”)
I’ve never seen one that looks like angel wings, but a Roman citizen is going to look at that and see a soppily patriotic Imperial Eagle. How nice that this lovely man from Germania/Greece has made some money and become such an exemplary citizen!
But Crowley is wearing a penannular (pin-and-ring) brooch
That’s not roman. That’s a style from the British Isles (Irish, Pictish, Scottish, Welsh.) It says barbarian, boonies, outskirts of the civilized world.
And nobody @ me with pictures of pin-and-ring brooches from Rome. Those are small, cheap, and undecorated. They’re the cultural equivalent of safety pins. Thisis patterned like a snake, and it’s the size of Crowley’s palm.
AND THAT’S ANOTHER THING. They didn’t do snake-themed jewelry in the British isles. Snakes didn’t have the best cultural associations there, and there weren’t too many of them there to begin with. This isn’t something Crowley picked up because “hey, a snake, cool,” and then got attached too. This must have been commissioned special.
But you know who LOVED snake jewelry?
ROMANS.
Romans associated snakes with healing and rebirth - clinics sometimes had lil snakes crawling around on the ground to give the place good vibes.
You cannot tell me that Crowley could have existed in Rome for any length of time and not picked up some of this jewelry. Which leads me to my conclusion:
IV - CROWLEY IS EXTREMELY NEW IN TOWN
The unfashionable pin and hair? The clothing draped the wrong way? The cultural colorblindness of wearing a laurel crown when you’re not supposed to? Crowley looks like a tacky tourist because he is one. He’s not staying here long, he “just nipped in for a quick temptation.”
He’s in a bad mod because he’s had an awful day, everyone keeps looking at him funny, the temptation was a complete bust, he has culture shock, and now he’s just trying to get a drink. But they don’t have any PROPER drinks like ALE or MEAD here, so he just orders “whatever’s drinkable.” He’s even not sure what they drink in Rome.
But then Aziraphale shows up and invites him to lunch some place fashionable. So everything’s going to be okay.
Good Omens fandom is the Best Fandom.
Some days are better
I always complain so today I’d like to say something positive. I got through the wash day of ChIP and got a western to primary antibody before 1pm! That’s pretty awesome. So, some days are still exciting
I’m not anywhere near a gun specialist, but I’ve been raised around them and I know enough that I can tell you most things on tv you see guns doing is bullshit. So here are some simple tips:
- There is no muzzle flash when a shot gun or hand gun is fired. Never. Not once. Not on hand guns or shot guns have I ever seen a muzzle flash in real life.
- Guns are fucking loud. Shot guns are louder than hand guns, but if you’re not wearing protective gear, even hand guns are fuck all loud and can blow out your hearing for a while.
- Bullet shells are hot. If they come out of the gun and touch you, on clothes or not, they will burn you. They literally just went through a mini explosion and came out of hot metal.
- On that note: After firing, the barrel of a gun and the muzzle of a gun are hot. Hot enough to burn you. No one experienced with guns is going to grab the barrel of a shot gun after it was just fired in their face.
- Contrary to Wanted you can not bend the trajectory of a bullet. Like, that literally doesn’t make any sense if you know anything about any sorts of physics.
- Fucking aim. Like, very very experienced shooters can whip a gun out of a holster (or lord forbid the waist line of their pants) and maybe shoot somewhere near where they intended, but that’s also if they know their gun. But, yeah, there is no instinctual dead shot in the heart. Hence why hunting is fucking hard and why shooters that have been hunting/shooting for twenty to fifty years have a hard time dropping a buck.
- There’s this thing called a kick back. So, the way guns work is that their is basically a mini explosion that happens in the gun and propels the bullet or shell forward through the barrel and out the muzzle. This explosion, in all guns, not just shot guns and high caliber rifles, can cause the gun to jerk back and can push back the entire body of an unexperienced shooter. It really hurts your shoulder, too.
So, there you go. If you have any questions you can ask me and if I don’t know the answer I can ask my dad or grandpa.
Dreams and Dream Interpretation in Judaism
This is the first of a two-part post exploring how to pull from my Jewish roots to make working with dreams a bigger part of my witchcraft practice. This first post will focus on examples of the belief that dreams hold significant spiritual meaning and of dream interpretations in Jewish tradition. My second post will focus on specific practices I use to induce or interpret dreams. (more…)
We already knew that vegan was best, now we break down some myths.
Sticking to a low-fat, vegan diet may help people with multiple sclerosis fight fatigue, according to a new study presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.
The study, which began in 2008, is the first randomized-controlled trial to examine the effect of a low fat vegan diet on managing MS, an…
Be part of an important study on the genetics of sexual orientation
· Have you had your DNA analyzed by 23andMe or Ancestry?
· Are you 18 years or older?
If you answered YES to these questions, you are eligible to participate in a study on sexual orientation.
The purpose of this research study is to understand how genetics may influence people’s personalities and sexual orientation. If you take part in this online study, we will instruct you how to find your genetic data file on your 23andMe account and upload it to our secure website. We will also ask you to complete a series of questionnaires on your personality and sexual behavior.
Time required to complete the study should be about 15-25 minutes.
Anyone 18 years or older who has been sexually active and has had a 23andMe or Ancestry analysis is eligible to participate, regardless of sexual orientation.
Please follow this link to begin the study:
https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_e5Vi2kF7dFeGGr3
This study is being conducted by the Department of Anthropology at Penn State University, 409 Carpenter Building, University Park, PA.
Please contact the study coordinator Heather Self ([email protected]) or the principal investigator David Puts ([email protected]) for further information.
Be part of an important study on the genetics of sexual orientation
· Have you had your DNA analyzed by 23andMe or Ancestry?
· Are you 18 years or older?
If you answered YES to these questions, you are eligible to participate in a study on sexual orientation.
The purpose of this research study is to understand how genetics may influence people’s personalities and sexual orientation. If you take part in this online study, we will instruct you how to find your genetic data file on your 23andMe account and upload it to our secure website. We will also ask you to complete a series of questionnaires on your personality and sexual behavior.
Time required to complete the study should be about 15-25 minutes.
Anyone 18 years or older who has been sexually active and has had a 23andMe or Ancestry analysis is eligible to participate, regardless of sexual orientation.
Please follow this link to begin the study:
https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_e5Vi2kF7dFeGGr3
This study is being conducted by the Department of Anthropology at Penn State University, 409 Carpenter Building, University Park, PA.
Please contact the study coordinator Heather Self ([email protected]) or the principal investigator David Puts ([email protected]) for further information.
Be part of an important study on the genetics of sexual orientation
· Have you had your DNA analyzed by 23andMe or Ancestry?
· Are you 18 years or older?
If you answered YES to these questions, you are eligible to participate in a study on sexual orientation.
The purpose of this research study is to understand how genetics may influence people’s personalities and sexual orientation. If you take part in this online study, we will instruct you how to find your genetic data file on your 23andMe account and upload it to our secure website. We will also ask you to complete a series of questionnaires on your personality and sexual behavior.
Time required to complete the study should be about 15-25 minutes.
Anyone 18 years or older who has been sexually active and has had a 23andMe or Ancestry analysis is eligible to participate, regardless of sexual orientation.
Please follow this link to begin the study:
https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_e5Vi2kF7dFeGGr3
This study is being conducted by the Department of Anthropology at Penn State University, 409 Carpenter Building, University Park, PA.
Please contact the study coordinator Heather Self ([email protected]) or the principal investigator David Puts ([email protected]) for further information.
I get a lot of Asks from people who say they Googled their topic but didn’t find anything. Then I Google it and find a ton of resources. I prefer to think that this is because internet research can be daunting, so I am putting together this little guide in hopes of making internet research a little easier.
Step One - Reduce your topic to the fewest number of words you can and try Googling it. For example, if your protagonist is a fireman, try Googling:
- Fireman
- Firemen
Step Two - Put the information you need into question form and Google it. For example, for your fireman character, you will need to know what it’s like to actually be a fireman. Try Googling:
- What’s it like to be a fireman?
- What does a fireman do?
- What is a fireman’s life like?
Step Three - Think of different statements that describe the information you’re looking for. For example, if you want to know what it’s like in a firehouse, try Googling:
- Life inside a firehouse
- Fireman daily routines
Step Four - See if there are any alternative words you could use to describe your topic and Google those. For example:
- Fireman/Firefighter
- Firehouse/Fire Station/Fire Department
- Fire Truck/Fire Engine
Step Five - Search for personal points-of-view by searching for blogs, interviews, forum posts, and experience essays. Using a fireman as an example, you could search for:
- “Fireman Blog”
- “Interview with a firefighter”
- “My experience as a firefighter”
You can also search for an IamA (I am a…), which is a form of Ask Me Anything on Reddit. IamAs are posted by people with interesting jobs or careers who open themselves up to questions from other Reddit members. Reading through an IamA on your topic (if there is one) is a great way to learn from the personal point-of-view of an expert.
Step Six - Search for your topic on YouTube. I know it sounds crazy, but just do it. You never know what you might find. Case in point:
- “Fireman” brought up “Life of an FDNY fireman” as the 12th result.
- “What does a fireman do” brought up “You can be a firefighter” as the second result.
- “Life inside a firehouse” brought up “Life in the Firehouse-WFRV” as the first result.
Now, Let’s Talk About Results:
When you type a search term into Google, you’re likely to get millions of results. That can be very daunting if you’re not entirely sure what you’re looking for. So, how do you wade through all of that information to find what you’re looking for?
To start with, you should be able to find enough information to help you within the first three pages of results. As you read down each page of results, just ignore things that obviously don’t pertain to your search, and when you see something that might pertain to your search, right-click on the result and then left-click “open in a new tab.”
Let’s take a look at what comes up for “fireman”:Clearly, we’re not looking for a Little Wayne song, so we can ignore that. Definitions might offer helpful information, but you probably already know the definition of your topic. Images can be helpful, but ignore them unless you need a visual. Wikipedia links, though not always accurate, are always worth opening. The article will give you a helpful overview of the topic—just make sure to double-check any facts you note down. So, one result for the first page isn’t bad. Pages two and three offered a few more worth opening.
Now, let’s look at the results for “interview with a firefighter”:Any search for a career plus “interview” is likely to bring up tips for people who are interviewing for a job in that career. In this case, most of the results on the first page were interviewing tips for prospective firefighters. However, there was one helpful hit—a video interview with a firefighter. That is exactly what we were looking for, so we’ll open up that tab. Once again, pages two and three had a few more links to actual interviews with firefighters as opposed to interviewing tips.
Once you have three to five tabs open, you can start looking through each one to gather information on your topic. You can jot the notes down in a notebook, or you can open up a Notepad document (just be sure to save it a lot) and jot down your notes in there. It is also helpful to print out articles or interviews if you can, and then use a highlighter to keep track of important information.
The three most important things you can do when doing internet research are:
1) Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by all the information. Just take one result at a time and keep going until you have enough helpful information.
2) Be patient. While you should be able to find a lot of helpful information within the first few pages of results, sometimes you may need to look at several pages or try several different search terms.
3) Don’t give up! Research is important to your novel, and you’re really the only one who knows exactly what information you need. It may take hours or even days, but stick with it until you find the information you’re looking for. Sometimes a new search term to try will hit you out-of-the-blue, and that’s the one that brings up all the information you could want.
Good luck and happy researching!
THANK YOU SO MUCH
Research != practice
This is a reminder to myself because I often get caught up in my own deep lore and neglect to study other cultures.
There’s a part of me that’s strangely afraid of researching other magical cultures as much as I research my own. It’s an irrational fear I have that I’d be somehow disturbing or dishonoring that culture by simply looking into its knowledge - like a fear that my brain might be “appropriating” their tradition simply by knowing anything about it.
So I have to remind myself, that looking at intentionally-written existing resources in order to see new perspectives is actually the opposite of “appropriating” that culture - if a resource was intentionally given to the world from people of that culture, then I’d actually be doing a disservice to those who cared enough to document and share their lives.
My magical investigation should, and must, go beyond self-understanding. There is a massive difference between learning and practicing; and I can practice my existing framework without ever feeling a need to “adopt” other frameworks just because I am learning lessons from other people who do practice those frameworks.