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i’m done!!!

today, a year and a half after reading hamlet and first falling in love with shakespeare, i completed my goal of finishing the complete works before my high school graduation. it’s been an amazing journey and talking to all of you and feeling at home in such a wonderful community has made it ten times better. if you follow this blog it probably goes without saying that shakespeare has changed my life, but damn, i’m really feeling it today. i’m just so incredibly grateful to have read each and every one of these plays (yes, even henry viii….kinda). here’s to starting my english degree in the fall and reading them all again. 💕💕💕

Sometimes we look at bizarre catwalk fashions like…

“What was that designer ON?? Nobody would ever wear that!!!”

…But sometimes I stop and think about what fashion designers have to work with.

I mean, as animals, we did not develop a very design-able shape.

(^THIS is a designable shape.)

We developed these weird, organic shapes and then decided we wanted to put things ON our shape. And that was hard.

(^This is NOT a designable shape, especially since the arms don’t just stay up like that and the whole thing’s always moving…)

I mean, think how hard it was to come up a way to put on clothing that would stay on your body while you’re hunting and gathering and keep you warm, made mostly out of the skins of OTHER animals, which ALSO do not grow in nice, flat, straight-edged pieces:

(^Working out THIS would have been very difficult. We’ve got ideas now to work with, stuff like “neck hole” and “arm holes” and “sleeves” and “loincloth”… but they had to figure that shit out from SCRATCH.)

And then different groups of people in different areas decided that certain things in clothing were “normal”. People in Polynesia were like, “Hey, clothing can be grass!”

And people in Europe were like, “Hey! Clothing can be pointy shoes!”

And people in east Africa were like, “Hey! Clothing can be big flat collars!”

And now people in western culture are like, “Hey! clothing can be double-breasted suit and tie!”

And avant-garde designer are like, “Hey! clothing can be… whatever the fuck this thing is!”

And honestly, when it comes down to it, that’s not any weirder than the stereotyped shape of the double-breasted suit and tie, or the pointy shoes you trip over, or the skirt made of grass. Human bodies are weird, and the things we wear on our bodies are also weird. It all just comes down to what you’re used to seeing.

Small Ways To Improve Your Life

make your bed to immediately make your room look more put together

water first, then coffee or tea

pray or meditate, even just for ten minutes, to set the tone for your day

browse the news headlines ( & read the articles that interest you when you’ve got time)

wear something you feel b o m b in

listen to music while doing your daily activities-commuting, cleaning, cooking, exercising

smile at at least two people

smile at YOURSELF

call or message someone you love

eat food that makes you feel radiant

make lists of things you need to accomplish for the day

stretch for 10 minutes

record in your phone the positive thoughts you have so you can remember them

carry water with you (always always always)

shut off your phone for an hour and have some ME time

take a hot shower or bath at the end of a stressful day

try to make plans to spend time with someone at least once a week

think about 3 things you are grateful for at the end of each day

do something calming, relaxing, and non-electronic 30 minutes before you sleep

sleep pants-less

The director of cybersecurity from the Electronic Freedom Foundation is offering to help women who have been threatened with compromise of their devices.

You know exercise is good for you, but do you know how good?

No. 1: Exercise controls weight

No. 2: Exercise combats health conditions and diseases

No. 3: Exercise improves mood

No. 4: Exercise boosts energy

No. 5: Exercise promotes better sleep

No. 6: Exercise puts the spark back into your sex life

No. 7: Exercise can be fun

Professional Tai Chi Swords, more on http://www.icnbuys.com/tai-chi-swords.

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Maybe check out my other posts too!

30-day Journal Prompt

Tips for Remote Learning from Home    

Mini guide to Dalgona Coffee    

Stress Detox for Online Learning                                                                            

seems that Chrome has around 60-65% market share, so it’s not totally dominating the market yet but it’s worrying that we’re basically reliant on Apple and Microsoft to hold the line.

Ariel did not simply ‘give [her] voice up for a man.’

Since childhood, Ariel has been among my favorite Disney princesses. I connect with her deeply – and whenever someone (like Keira Knightley recently) brings up the old line that she is a ‘bad role model’ for young girls because she ‘gives up her voice for a man,’ my heart breaks. 

That reading of Ariel’s character is reductive and inaccurate.

Everyone always mentions that Ariel was interested in the human world before meeting Eric, but not as many people point out how radical that makes her in the context of her own society.

Ariel lives in a society that is xenophobic towards humans, Triton at various points calls them “barbarians,” “savage,” and “incapable of any real feeling.” She lives in a society that constantly tells her that her interest in the human world is wrong and bad, something she struggles with at the start of Part of Your World: 

By seeking a fuller understanding of the human world, Ariel actively challenges her father’s xenophobia, thinking for herself instead of accepting her society’s fears and prejudices.

The film goes out of its way to establish Ariel as an outsider within her own society. Think for a moment about the opening lines of Part of Your World: 

Look at this stuff. Isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete? Wouldn’t you think I’m the girl The girl who has everything? Look at this trove, Treasures untold How many wonders can one cavern hold? Lookin’ around here you’d think Sure, she’s got everything…

People who criticize Ariel so often mis-characterize her as simply a spoiled teenager. The very statement, “She gave up her voice for a man!” implies she’s a foolish girl who throws her life and agency away in a fit of pique.   

 Yet, the opening of Part of Your World anticipates that certain members of the audience will have a superficial understanding of Ariel’s pain and directly addresses that. On a superficial level, Ariel does seem like “the girl who has everything.” She is the daughter of the most important merman in Atlantica, she has countless treasures hidden away in her grotto…

But that’s the thing, you see. They’re hidden in her grotto. Ariel may be the daughter of the sea-king, but the sea-king hates and fears humanity. Part of Your World is the most heartbreaking rebuttal to anyone who sees Ariel as a shallow teenager because it shows how alone she truly is. Except for Flounder, she has no one under the sea she can genuinely confide in. (She confides in Sebastian, of course, but he was sent by her father to spy on her and he does betray her trust – by mistake, but he does). Her sisters and the rest of Atlantica presumably do not question the prejudices that cause the human world to be forbidden to the sea folk.

Ariel is an outcast, forced to hide who she is from the people who should love her unconditionally.

The more Part of Your World goes on, the more devastating and resonant Ariel’s collection of artifacts becomes.

These artifacts represent a void in her life and, at the same time, are the only means she has of filling that void.

She longs to have knowledge, but her society imposes ignorance on her. She longs to see the human world herself, to ask questions and finally be answered – but it is all denied her. The imposed ignorance forces her to live vicariously through the artifacts she collects.

She cannot see a couple dancing, so she must content herself with a music box.

She can only experience the shadow of fire on oil and canvas.

Her collection perpetually reminds her that there is a world beyond her reach. At the same time, it is her central way of interacting with that world. Yes, she can go up to to the surface and talk to Scuttle, but her collection is something so much more personal. These are items she saved from the ruins of ships, sometimes at the risk of her own life… so she could study them, learn from them, and lament the unjust rules of her society that prevent her from learning more…

Her courage, her curiosity, her thirst for knowledge are all bound up in these precious possessions.

And yes, they are objects. Yes, she wants more than a collection of objects. But this collection is all she has. And, as far as Ariel knows, it is all she will ever have…

When you’re all but alone in the world and you have only meager scraps to cling to, those scraps mean the world to you.

And, I remind you, Ariel cannot even openly enjoy her collection of scraps, the shadows of a world she cannot touch. She has to hide even them, guard them, keep them secret.

Ariel’s grotto is a place of solace and security where she can be herself without fear of judgment.

There is a reason the destruction of Ariel’s grotto harrowed me more as a child than any other scene in a Disney film. I could hardly watch it. I hid my face. I begged my family to skip scene. I was reduced to a sobbing mess. On a personal level, it harrowed me more than the destruction of Cinderella’s dress.   

That reason is because, in watching the scene, I felt the pain of a place of refuge being invaded.

By the time we reach the destruction of the grotto, we are as emotionally invested in Ariel’s collection as she is because we see that the objects are more than objects. They are extensions of herself, encapsulating all her feelings of hope and hopelessness.

Destroying those items is like annihilating a part of her soul.

That is why I hate the “she gave up her voice for a man” line of thought so much. Because it so blatantly disregards the context of the film. Because it paints Ariel as a shallow teenager. Because it places blame for what follows solely on Ariel’s shoulders and absolves Triton of any wrongdoing.

I want to tread carefully here because, like Ariel, Triton is a nuanced and complex character. He has good intentions and cares about his youngest daughter. 

Yet, even a well-intentioned individual can be in the wrong. Even an individual who is right about certain things (Ariel is indeed impetuous and reckless at times – though I hope my analysis reminds readers that those are not her sole character traits), can be wrong about other things.

And Triton’s confrontation with Ariel highlights his failings and his faults.

Look at Ariel’s face when she first sees her father in the grotto:

The enhancement of expression in animation allows the audience to clearly see the fear in her face.

Triton has created an environment where his own daughter is afraid of him.

No parent should do that to their child.

Confronting Ariel, Triton says, “I consider myself a reasonable merman. I set certain rules and I expect those rules to be obeyed.”

On one level, Triton is right to expect his children to respect the rules he sets in place.

 What I feel Triton misses, however, is that respect is not the same as intimidation.

Since Triton wants Ariel to accept his rules based solely on his authority as her father, he makes it impossible for there to be any communication between himself and his daughter.

This dynamic means that he will not listen to Ariel even when Ariel is in the right and he is not. Children should listen to their parents, but in the same way, parents should listen to their children.

Triton may be in the right to worry about his daughter’s safety, but his fear is still born of bigotry – bigotry that Ariel recognizes and rejects.

Triton, after all, grows angry at his daughter because she wouldn’t let another living being die. He specifically calls her out because she “rescued a human from drowning.” When Ariel counters that allowing someone helpless to miserably drown is cruel, he shuts her down with: 

When Ariel points out the illogical nature of her father’s brutal line of thought and says, “You don’t even know him!”, Triton responds:    

Even if a viewer is largely sympathetic to Triton, that viewer cannot ignore Triton’s prejudice in this moment.

He generalizes millions of people.

And if the rules he sets down include the tacit understanding, “Let innocents die because, by virtue of their humanity, their lives have no value,” then maybe those rules deserve to be broken. Maybe those rules need to be changed. 

Ariel may be a teenager, but she is wiser than her father here.

(Also, can I say that Ariel’s body language here breaks my heart every time I see it? She’s swimming away from her father, recoiling… 

…until she’s cowering behind Eric’s statue. She looks like she’s about to cry as her father pours forth more vitriol… 

…and after she bursts out with the exclamation, “Daddy, I love him!”, she’s terrified that she’s said it.)

Triton believes that he alone is in the right and destroys the grotto because he feels it is “the only way” to “get through to” his daughter. He believes he must be cruel only to be kind.  

Yet, in the end…

…he only succeeds…

…in being cruel.

Triton’s unwillingness to listen to his daughter – his unwillingness to treat her with the same respect he demands of her – only widens the gulf between them.

 Ariel does not go to the sea-witch because she has been mooning over a man.

Ariel goes to the sea-witch because she has no voice in her own home. Becoming human, she gains the ability to live life on her own terms. Becoming human, she ironically gains the voice she has been denied for so long.

Ariel goes to the sea-witch because her father sends a message to her – a message that she does not matter, that there is no place for someone like her in Atlantica.

Triton may never have meant to send that message, but send it, he did… and he should be held accountable for that.

Indeed, the film does hold him accountable for that.

After destroying the grotto, Triton realizes he has done a horrible thing.

Look into his eyes after Ariel falls to weeping:  

Look at the regret in his eyes. Look at the remorse. He knows he has gone too far. He never meant to hurt his daughter like this.

And when Ariel vanishes from Atlantica, Triton takes responsibility for his actions. What does he say when his daughter cannot be found? Does he say, “What folly has my daughter gotten herself into now?”

No. He says: 

Simply saying that Ariel ‘gave up [her] voice for a man’ ignores the painful complexity of the situation in which she finds herself. It ignores the depth of her motivation. It ignores Triton’s culpability. It ignores her best character traits and only highlights her flaws (and yes, she has flaws, for she is a multifaceted, well-written character.)

But Ariel’s rejection of prejudice, her ability to see beauty in a group that nearly everyone around her demonizes, her courage and determination and love, are all venerable traits…     

…and Ariel’s courage, determination, and love are what inspire Triton to open his heart and change.

Some people say that The Little Mermaid is more Triton’s story than Ariel’s. I disagree and feel that assessment unfairly dismisses Ariel’s emotional journey. Triton has a compelling arc in the film – but that arc is only set in motion because of Ariel’s agency.      

He learns from his daughter’s example.

He grows because of her.

Why don’t we talk more about Ariel, the young woman who always challenged her father’s prejudice? Why don’t we talk more about Ariel, who actively spoke out about the flaws she saw in her society? Why don’t we talk more about Ariel, whose actions helped change that society for the better? Why don’t we talk more about Ariel, who formed a bridge between two worlds and enacted positive change?

Why don’t we talk more about that Ariel?

I know Ariel can be impulsive, but she is sixteen years old, and her impulsiveness only makes her character realistic. She makes mistakes but, like her father, she owns up to those mistakes and learns from them:

There are critics of Ariel’s character who want to make the story of The Little Mermaid black and white. Because Triton recognizes Ariel’s impulsiveness, they ignore Triton’s faults and trivialize Ariel.

Yet, the story the film presents is not so black and white. Ariel and Triton are not so one-dimensional.

They both learn from each other and grow together.     

This embrace is so meaningful because, by the end of the film, Triton finally shows Ariel the same respect he asks of her and in so doing, he earns her respect.

Ariel, meanwhile, recognizes her own mistakes and gains a new appreciation for her father.

The Little Mermaid is a beautiful film and Ariel is a brave, inspiring, complex heroine. 

The Necromanteion or Nekromanteion was an ancient Greek temple of necromancy devoted to Hades and Persephone. According to tradition, it was located on the banks of the Acheron river in Epirus, near the ancient city of Ephyra.

The ancient Greeks believed that the souls of the dead entered the underworld though subterranean fissures, and that in special cases like this, arrangements could be made to communicate with the dead. This was used as an opportunity to commune with lost loved ones, and also to seek out the future telling skills of the dead.

Visitors wishing to communicate with the dead would have entered the dark chamber and followed specific rituals outlined for the protection from and communication with the dead which would have taken several days. When ready, a priest would usher them deeper inside for a ritual animal sacrifice, and through three gates symbolic of Hades.

Pilgrims expected to see the images of the dead as shadows against the flickering lantern light. These visions may have been enhanced by the special diet recommended in the days before entering the sanctuary, which some have described as including hallucinogens. Interestingly, inside the underground chambers, archaeologists have found mechanical contrivances which may have been used to enhance the appearance of animated dead. After a session with the dead, pilgrims were forbidden to talk about what they learned for fear of Hades claiming their own lives in exchange.

More recently a Greek-American study of towers in the area suggested that the ruins may have been the base of an agricultural tower, and the underground chambers storage areas for water or grain, rather than mystical communication with fortune-telling dead.

At least for now, the place remains officially identified as the Necromanteion, and has been preserved as such.

(Extra Source)

Random Fact #915

According to Ancient Greek myth, the first spider was a woman named Arachne who bragged she could spin better than the goddesses themselves (which, if you’re not familiar with Ancient Greek culture, is a big no-no). As punishment, she was transformed into the first spider.

Spiders’ class name in taxonomy, Arachnid, is a reference to Arachne.