Vasse's Trinkets and Curiosities

> I ask if the Zone is creepy or wet

> He doesn't understand

> I light a cigarette and make my speech about what constitutes something being creepy or wet

> He does not laugh and says "The Zone demands respect"

For personal context, before I went to the '98 Burning Man festival, one of the things I'd read from a couple different journalists was that "everybody" runs around naked. Which, fine by me, I'd already spent a lot of time in clothing-optional spaces, I'm not fanatic about it but it's nice.

So I got there early and set up a public shade structure on one of Black Rock City's main roads and spent most of each afternoon just watching the crowds go by. I don't remember seeing more than one actually naked person the whole week. I think a topless woman passed by my intersection maybe every half an hour, sometimes once an hour. So why in the hell were people, normally pretty smart and observant writers, coming away with the impression that everybody was naked?

Then I remembered an unrelated passage from Joel Garreau's great book about the history of the outer-ring suburbs, Edge City. Mall developers told him flat-out that they tried to keep the crowds in their malls less than 5% black. Not because they themselves were racist, but because they had determined, experimentally, that if more than 5% of the people in the mall are black, the median white shopper will wrongly describe the mall as at least half black, as mostly black. And not a few of them would describe it, at 6% black, as a mall where "only black people go." Why?

Because, emotionally, they were still upset over the last one when the next one came into view.

consistent practice opens up whole worlds of skill that you couldn't imagine

making mistakes in the process of learning is not only natural, it is also essential

activities that you enjoy can give you more energy back than you spent on them

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It may seem like it should be a pepper, since that would go better with the flavour of a tomato (and the mass produced modern ones are admittedly more pepper shaped), but it is and has always been a strawberry. Here are some antique emery strawberries, which are much more strawberry shaped, and some of them have seeds.

(source)

(source)

(Home Needlework Magazine, 1899)

And it's for cleaning needles, not sharpening them. I can't imagine how jamming a blunt needle point around in a bunch of loose grit could possibly sharpen it in any significant way, and all the historical sources I've seen only talk about cleaning.

"Every sewer's work basket or work box should contain an emery bag, as shown in Fig. 2, through which to push a needle when it becomes rough, squeaks, or sticks in the material. An emery bag is usually shaped like a strawberry and consists of a rough denim bag filled with emery powder, which is a very hard material used for polishing metals. Such a bag may be purchased for 5 or 10 cents in any store that sells sewing materials. Needles often become rusted from the perspiration of the hands or from being left in damp places. The beginner may use a small emery bag to remove rust; or, a small piece of emery paper may be used instead."

-Woman's Institute Reference Library, 1916.

"Use an emery whenever your needle does not slip through the cloth easily."

-The Improvement of Educational Administration in Massachusetts, 1916.

"An emery bag is inexpensive and is useful to keep needles polished and smooth. If the hands perspire and it is difficult to push the needle through the cloth, running the needle through the emery will relieve the condition."

-Boys' and Girls' Clothing Club, 1915.

"It was very hot to sit and sew. The needle would get sticky in spite of all the little emery strawberry could give it, and Beth's fingers had never felt so clumsy and uncomfortable."

-The Unitarian Register, 1908.

"She polished her needles to nothing, pushing them in and out of the emery strawberry, but they always squeaked."

-Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, 1910.

This patent from 1873 mentions an emery slab for sharpening pins, which is quite different from a cushion, and which sounds like it actually would work for sharpening.

"C is a slab of emery or other sharp and fine grit, for sharpening needles or pins"

Then later down the page it also says

"E is an emery cushion, secured in the body of the holder A, and is used for polishing needles and keeping them smooth."

So. Strawberry for cleaning. Not pepper for sharpening.

what adventure games softlock you like that?

I beat Shadowgate and Final Fantasy and boys were more likely to accept me as a man/one of them/an exception, rather than accept the idea that the game "wasn't hardcore." But that's when I was apparently the only assigned-f-at-birth gamer on the planet. I was treated like a rarity.

But when the captain of the cheerleading squad started playing Heretic, that's about the time the discussion of whether games were hardcore enough came up.

I Am A Lazy Asshole With No Motivation Because the World is Broken Potato Soup

This is a great, comforting, extremely low effort soup. Who among us has any motivation right now? I like to serve it with a buffet of toppings, by which I mean go ahead and dig around in your fridge for anything to put on top of it. I’ll give you some ideas! 

3-4 pounds of potatoes, cubed into about 1-2 inch cubes. Not to go full Cooking 101 with Holligay, but there are two major types of potatoes, starchy and waxy, and you want waxy type for this or the texture will be off! Easy to find waxy types are Yukon Gold and Red. 

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cloves of garlic, chopped lazily. 

2 tbsp of dried thyme or dill or basil or whatever your herb of choice generally is

2 tsp (or more) smoked paprika

4 cups chicken or veg broth. 

A heaping spoonful of whole grain mustard

Salt and pepper (Or Alpine, which is the greatest choice. I use alpine and pepper) 

1.5 cups heavy cream. 

Toppings! Anything you like, but ideas: chopped green onion, bacon, cheese, sour cream, sauteed mushrooms, go nuts. 

Toss everything but the cream and toppings into a slow cooker. Cook on low eight hours or high for four hours if you MUST but it tastes better on low for eight. 

Also...these panels

Tempted to actually put this on spotify so I can secretly stream it at work...