*touching his extremely defined six pack* who did this to you.....

this post hasn't left my mind since i've first saw it

redemption arcs that double as tragedies!! you're a better person than you've ever been and you have nothing left to your name!!you have to rebuild yourself and your life from the ground up and you're smiling in the ashes!! you were devastated your life is ruined!!! nothing is ever going to be the same ever again you are never going to regain what you had you are never going to be free of the guilt you are never going to be able to go home there is nothing left for you!!! you are free you are more yourself than you've ever been!! fires help forests grow!!

Do you have a favorite musical composer or director? If so, why are they your favorite!

Tough question, but I do maintain that I do, genuinely, like Frank Wildhorn's work.

Okay -- Pretty much all the critical reviews of his stuff are 100% accurate. The man often sacrifices plot and characterization to spectacle and pop ballads, but...there's something to be said for SPECTACLE, isn't there? We're living in an age where Broadway is increasingly....un-ambitious. Which you could argue has been the case for ages now, but it's not getting *better*. I grow weary of the endless putting down of jukebox musicals; I think they're a valid art form and a valid approach to musicals, but the truth is that we DO currently have no fewer than three currently on Broadway at the moment. The age of the overblown gothic spectacle has been swept away by this sleek, modern musical that is increasingly embarrassed of the fact that it's a musical to begin with.

And...Frank Wildhorn is many things, but chief among them is EARNEST. He genuinely BELIEVES in his musicals and in romance and in love ballads and sword fights and adventure, and it shows. Yes, the time I spent with Wonderland was 2 hours of my life that I'll never get back, but STILL. He *cared* about it. He LOVES spectacle, he loves over the top stagings that draw you into the world of the musical, he loves period settings and that scratches a specific place in my id.

He also, genuinely, LOVES villain songs, and it shows. His most iconic songs are, overwhelmingly, the villain songs -- "Life after Life" from Dracula, "The Reign of Terror" from Robespierre, "I Will Prevail" from Wonderland, "Falcon in the Dive" from Scarlet Pimpernel, "Monster Inside of Me" from The Man Who Laughs, "A Story Told" from The Count of Monte Cristo, either "Hurricane" or "The Game Begins" from Death Note (depending on if you view a "villain song" as belonging to a villain or an antagonist), "You belong to me" from Carmen (though imo, Zuniga is Wildhorn's most vile and terrifying villain, yes, even in competition with Hyde), "You and I" from Svengali...the man GETS villain songs and how they work, and it means that his villains, imo, are often more charismatic and interesting than his leads (who are often, again, imo, bland self-inserts who hurt the women around them, who take it with a loving smile because they are the Madonna in the Madonna-Whore dichotomy...which could be interesting if it was explored more but is often taken for granted.)

This is especially true with his female villains which...I know we've discussed this before, but it's so GREAT to see female villains get VILLAIN SONGS. There truly aren't that many female villains in musical theatre, fewer who actually...are allowed...to be villains. It feels sometimes like, even though we've improved so MUCH even since I first started being a musical fan, about....14 years ago...there's still an expectation that women's songs in theatre should be Girl Power songs, or sad, or soft, and...that's great, but sometimes, *I* want to be the badass, powerful one. Also pretty lady step on me. Morgana from XCalibur (even though she suffers from some tragic writing in both versions of it) and Hatter from Wonderland, even though they're not EXEMPT from sexist writing decisions, ARE badass, when they're allowed to be. Likewise, Lucy from Jekyll and Hyde (again, who isn't exempt from sexist decisions) gets some of the most iconic songs from the musical. Mina from Dracula, ditto-- "Please Don't Make Me Love You". Carmen and Mata Hari (and, again, ditto for not being exempt from sexism) both have their OWN shows, and, imo, are presented in a way that tries to understand them and gives them some really strong songs that get to the heart of why they are the way they are. I'm forever in MOURNING for "If you Only Knew" from Jekyll and Hyde, since it REALLY got to the heart of Emma/Lisa's character in an interesting way (likewise for "Lisa Carew" from the concept album). "Viva" from Carmen is a great example of a woman just...enjoying life and enjoying living life, while "I Can't Go Back" from Mata Hari is a great exploration of Mata's fears, her anxiety over being dragged back into a life she's terrified of leaving behind.

The man is a middle aged straight white male composer -- fine, but also...how many composers are perfect? It's a matter of choosing what flaws you're willing to live with and which ones you aren't. Plenty of people are fine with, for example, Kunze and Levay's, and I feel like they do less but claim more re: their depictions of women. I feel like Frankhorn...does *try*, especially since marrying Wao Yoka, and I think that he does love her. I think that she's really helped him expand his repertoire and his range as far as his subject matter, and I think that his move to Japan (specifically, Takarazuka) and Korea as far as his focus is probably for the best, as it allows him to do what he wants with an audience who will actually appreciate him.

No one say anything but I think I'm developing a Stockholm Syndrom-esque affection for the 2023 production of 1789.

the communal jaywalk is a powerful thing

If you're struggling with the cost of living right now (reasonable), this is your PSA to...

Google universities/colleges near you.

If you can't get out to more than one, look up which one has the highest tuition.

Look-up when the graduation date is

Drive neighborhoods near the university the week before graduation

So much stuff gets left out on the curb. Wealthy college students tend to prioritize convenience over money, so instead of carefully reselling their perfectly good stuff, they frequently give it away or put it out with the trash because that's easier than moving, reselling, or donating. Take advantage of this.

I furnished pretty much my entire apartment from college giveaways and yardsales.

What I got for free:

Mattress and box springs

2 10 ft area rugs

The massive 9-drawer chest (that has a label on the back that it was custom-made and shipped across the country) that my TV sits on.

Two 13 x 2 ft raised garden beds

My desk - just sanded it down and refinished it.

Three short stools

An organizer rack

Watering can

Tommy Bahama outdoor cooler (retails for $350)

Chairs

Shelves

What I got for cheap:

Two futons for $50

Custom coffee table with storage for $25

Three tall stools for $30

Submitted by @sky-the-snail-fanatic

Jane Graverol - Le bon bout de la raison (1962)

hello character who is desperate to be a good person; i want to play a game. in front of you is the one person you will never be able to save. you have the rest of your life to make peace with this. there are no defined repercussions if you fail, but we both know you're going to attempt to win regardless. your time starts now

In which I try not to be That Guy TM when it comes to Irish ancestors: An exploration of ancestry, diaspora and culture

Because of The Horrors TM in my life atm I've been looking into my biological family tree. I'm adopted but estranged from my adoptive family and I never met my biological family since I was adopted just short of my 2nd birthday. I've been tracing my ancestry for about 3 years now and it's genuinely quite stress relieving to me. It's also fun and challenging from a research standpoint - putting together my own family tree gave me the skills to write articles like this one I wrote in 2022 about historical Welsh queer people, for example.

Lately, I've been finding out more about my Irish ancestors while an adoptee (and thus not knowing any of my biological family) - but also doing this as a Celticist and tired of people doing the 'my sister's friend's cousin's father's mother was Irish' thing. This has created an almost unbearable tension between curiosity at my own ancestry while trying not to be That Guy who finds out about one (1) Irish ancestor hundreds of years ago and is weird about it.

Especially since mine are quite distant ancestors - my great, great, great grandparents were born in Dublin and in a tiny village in County Down called Dunnaman (near Kilkeel). However, they were Irish Catholics and emigrated to Liverpool in the 1870s - all of their subsequent children and grandchildren were born in Liverpool and all of the above + great grandchildren were raised Catholic - including my grandmother (who died before I was born). So there was an obvious attempt to maintain that heritage. There's even evidence my great, great, great grandmother at least spoke Irish (which, as she was born in County Down, would have been Ulster Irish).

The problems with uncritically throwing oneself at an ancestor's nationality:

Now, not all North Americans of Irish (or Welsh, Scottish, Italian, Scandinavian, German etc.) descent do this - but there's a very vocal set of North Americans of Irish descent who find awe and interest in their ancestry - which is actually quite a positive thing! - however, due to either temporal or cultural disconnect, they may end up doing or saying things (and not necessarily with bad intentions) which can have a negative impact on the Irish and the Irish language (or [nationality] and [language(s) associated with that nationality].

I'm reminded of the time an American commented on a Welsh language rights post I made in support of Welsh speakers, but they accidentally ended up using a white nationalist slogan by mistake. It can be a minefield - and with regards to Ireland specifically, mistakes like that can be so much worse. To literally give my own (mild) example, today I decided to relearn Irish (since I haven't spoken any in years since being taught basics at undergrad) and picked up a blank notebook I bought at Tesco the other week, while completely forgetting the inside cover of the notebook was orange. I was planning on decorating the notebook anyway and painted it a different colour. While I know that nobody would really hold it against me if I didn't change the colour, I just know that walking around with an orange notebook filled with Irish I'm relearning because of interest in my Catholic ancestors could be a confusing set of messages, at the very least. If you don't understand why this is, look up the meanings of the colours on the flag of Ireland.

Which is to say, even those of us in Northern Europe who have significantly greater physical proximity to Ireland than North America (and therefore should know better) still can and do get things wrong. And not just benignly wrong like in my case.

The tendency for some North Americans of Irish descent (Canada isn't exempt from this) to conflate Irish ancestry with a contemporary connection to the modern countries located on the island of Ireland as a whole can have results ranging from 'a bit weird' to 'jesus fucking christ'. As a Celticist, I've seen far, far too many Americans of Irish descent try to weigh in on modern Irish politics without any background knowledge or tact at all - and naturally they stake their claim on modern Irish politics entirely on the premise of having distant Irish ancestors. Or, even worse, things start to get all phrenological.

'Irish blood' and the nonexistence thereof:

'Irish blood' is continually evoked by some to validate their sense of 'Irishness' and the obsession with '[insert nationality] blood' is a distinctly North American phenomenon- likely related to or an offshoot of the concept of 'blood quantum', in which enrolment into some Native American nations and tribes is determined by how much 'Native blood' a person has. Notably, many people who would ostensibly have been described under this system as 'full blood' were registered by the US as 'half blood'. This is a method of genocide intended to wipe out tribes and nations by imposing strict measures of who does or does not qualify to enrol into a tribe or nation. This concept seems to have been extrapolated over time (in a North American context at least) into the idea of descent from other nationalities' being measured in a similar or adjacent way. This is how you end up with some North Americans declaring they are '1/8 Italian and 1/4 Irish' on their dad's side etc. While in Europe (where these nationalities hail from, crucially) this practice is seen as a really weird way to describe your ancestry. In general, it's simply 'my 4 times grandfather came from Spain' or 'my great great grandfather on my dad's side came from Finland' etc. if it comes up at all. For various political reasons, many Europeans with descent from multiple other European nationalities may choose to omit to mention descent from certain nationalities, especially if in recent history there has been conflict between their birth nation and an ancestor's nation. The most famous example of this is literally the British royal family changing their surname from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the more 'British sounding' Windsor in 1917 due to the onset of the First World War.

Where it gets really weird (and also very offensive and rude) is when cultural stereotypes get invoked alongside the whole 'blood' thing in usually quite damaging and/or disparaging ways. I've seen way too many North Americans of Irish descent claim they're alcoholics because they have 'Irish blood' or even worse, claim it's normal to domestically abuse their spouses because of it!! (Genuine thing I have seen btw). Same goes for claiming to be a naturally good chef because of 'Italian blood' and so on. As a general rule, people from the place where your ancestors were from don't generally like to be inherently be considered drunks or prone to violence due to their nationality. Or have weird and inaccurate idealisms projected onto their language or cuisine.

Aren't there any positives?

It wouldn't be fair to make a post like this without mentioning some of the positives that can come from interest in an Irish ancestor. Like I mentioned at the start of this post, I myself felt inspired to relearn Irish because of my own Irish ancestors. I was taught the Connacht dialect at undergrad, however, since my ancestor was from County Down, I'm going to try and learn Ulster Irish instead. One doesn't need Irish ancestors to learn Irish of course - when I learned I wasn't aware I had any Irish ancestors. But being inspired to learn Irish because of an ancestor can't hurt and directly increases the number of Irish speakers in the world (provided you keep at it). This is a net positive for the language as a whole.

Similarly, people who have educated themselves on Irish politics because of their ancestry and genuinely learned something are also a positive thing to come out of discovering Irish ancestors. In my experience, these people are the kind of people I enjoy talking to about being a Celticist because they actively want to learn and respect the cultures being talked about. Which is huge to me!

Conclusion:

As a Welsh speaker whose national identity is more-or-less Jan Morris-esque, my Irish ancestry is an interesting facet of my ancestry I simply didn't know about before. And being an adopted person, I can sympathise with the general sentiment of a lot of white North Americans of feeling disconnected or alienated from any ancestral heritage. The conditions which create That Guy TM as described above rely on that sense of alienation to propagate a very ineffective, tactless and often very insensitive approach to Irish and other European cultures. But the important thing is that that approach can be challenged by people genuinely interested in their ancestry who are also conscientious of the living versions of the cultures their ancestors hailed from.

For me, that means learning Irish in a dialect my ancestors are likely to have spoken. I also visited the library today to check out some books on the Irish emigration to England and the sociopolitical reasons behind that emigration. I know the broad strokes, but the details are desirable to know to get a better idea of the why and how the country of my birth had a hand in creating the conditions which led my ancestors to emigrate in the first place. I think the world would be a better place if people took the time to understand the history and politics of ancestors which don't share their nationality.

As always, reblogs and thoughts are welcomed and encouraged!

Thank you for reading to the end - and if you'd like to support me, please see my pinned post. Diolch!

I’m so emotional about dinosaur stuffed animals,,, there are these creatures, extinct long before any of us were alive, but we found their bones and their eggs and their footprints. And we made drawings and models of what they could’ve looked like. And we made them into stuffed animals so we could hold them. We made them soft so we could love them. I’m sobbing

do you guys ever think of like. old timey feedsists. not in the fantasy sense but real people with weird ass kinks and no way to even know if anyone else thought when their friend’s mom was churning the milk and she was a lil chubby so her booba probably jiggled with her plump belly in her high neck dress and she would take a swig of rich thick milk and you know she was well off bc of how that dress hugged her hips and ass wait what was I talking about