So, I finally tried The Flavor. It was genuinely bizarre, because there is a taste but it's not really anything that's meaningful. It is like drinking "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously".
Which, actually, brings me to my conclusion of why it is like this. It's genuinely kind of interesting. There are no real disparate elements between the two beverages, nothing that would expressly taste bad if mixed. But, also, cranberry and cucumber aren't really good together, or bad, just weird. Then there's the makeup of it all. Salt, sugar, and alcohol. I genuinely think that when these things combine in this way they actually do sort of short out your brain and get NULL as a response. Because you do taste something, it's just nothing.
My primary reaction to it was that it was heavy. Not the way cream or oil is heavy, but the way a small weight in your mouth would be heavy. My brain prioritized the mass of The Flavor before it could work out what it tasted like.
Like I said, this is "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" of drinks. There is nothing wrong with the actual composition of the beverage, but it is incoherent nonsense the second it has to stand up to actual review.
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Poems/books for being seventeen?
Silas Denver Melvin, from Grit
I saw an exquisite pink and blue shell on the sea-bottom. I dove for it, and held it, smooth and hollow in my hand all the morning. I decided it was a lucky charm, and that I would keep it. I am surprised that I have not lost it, for I lose everything. Today it is still pink and warm as it lies in my palm, and makes me feel like crying.
Françoise Sagan, from Bonjour Tristesse (1954) // movie still from Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
Kara Jackson, Teenagers Are Not Exempt From Poetry (read full prose piece here)
Some recommendations of books I’ve read that deal with girlhood or being a teenager (not my faves, but enjoyable. Probably wouldn’t read them again, but objectively literature that might be of interest to you):
Brutes — Dizz Tate
The Virgin Suicides — Jeffrey Eugenides
The Ice Palace — Tarjei Versaas
Teenage Wasteland — Anne Tyler
Normal People — Sally Rooney
My Dark Vanessa — Kate Elizabeth Russell
We Were Liars — E. Lockhart
my notes on each recommendation:
SEVENTEEN: Exactly what being seventeen felt like to me. He has absolutely beautiful poetry on age, Seventeen is the first of those in the collection. I’ve loved measuring my growth by how I relate to these poems. You can download the entire collection for free, just check out his account @sweatermuppet, I’m sure he has a link somewhere (or drop him an ask)! One of my favourite collections, it really embodies the feeling of being young, so the rest of the poems might also be of interest to you. I find myself rereading them all of the time. Love your work, Silas! Can’t wait for more poetry
BONJOUR TRISTESSE: I don’t remember the protagonist’s age exactly, but the author was seventeen when she wrote it. Very breezy, very summery, contains the whole spectrum of teenage emotions, from raging anger to audacious freedom. The protagonist is both astute and very childish. This book is so obviously written by a teenager, and I mean this as the highest compliment. You don’t get adults writing about being seventeen like that. She is seventeen. Seventeen is this story’s essence. I haven’t seen the movie, but it’s on my watchlist. Heard it’s good though!
TEENAGERS ARE NOT EXEMT FROM POETRY: I read this the other day and think it would have been very affirming for teenage me, who felt insecure about reading and writing poetry. Some lines really stuck with me and I think the writer’s youthful voice captures the solace teenagers might find in poetry very well. There is a freshness to that discovery. I remember reading Ginsberg for the first time and life feeling ten times wider even though my English was not broad enough for me to understand his work in its entirety. Discovering art at that age is a privilege, I believe most people will struggle to feel the same awe and wonder in later years. The author of this prose piece mentions many different poems that might interest you!
BRUTES: Read it last year and honestly found it kind of disappointing. Very interesting style, though, as most (all?) of it is written from the perspective of a group of teenage girls, using ‘we’ and ‘us’ instead of ‘I’ and ‘me’. I think I would have liked it a thousand times more, had I read it earlier in life. Fantastic book cover
THE VIRGIN SUICIDES: Very obviously written by a man, but nevertheless an interesting study of teenage love and obsession (there’s an excellent movie adaptation by Sophia Coppola!)
THE ICE PALACE: If I remember correctly, the protagonists are younger than seventeen, but it’s a very moving story about how young people grieve. Norwegian author, which I found very interesting, as I haven’t read a lot of Scandinavian literature
TEENAGE WASTELAND: Not for me, this one! But you might have different taste. After reading some reviews, it seems like people either hate or love this short story
NORMAL PEOPLE: I am not a huge Sally Rooney fan, but I do understand why people adore her so much. I thought Conversations With Friends was a better book, but that’s partly because I found it more relatable. Normal People is a very intelligent story on young love, class differences and the reality of many relationships. The opposite of a ‘happily ever after’ book, left me feeling unresolved and unsatisfied, as I believe it intended
MY DARK VANESSA: I’m not sure if recommending this too a teenager is wise, but it is certainly a very good book. Heavy stuff, though. Deals with emotional manipulation and violence directed at a teenaged girl in form of a predatory relationship. Rarely read something that made me feel so uneasy by manipulating me as the reader. I read it as a teen and it impressed me very much! Be safe, please. If you are easily disturbed, check any content warnings!
WE WERE LIARS: Something suspenseful that will suck you in, a summer-y and kind of light book. Definitely entertainment literature, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Probably won’t change your life, but also won’t bore you. Cool friendship dynamics between teenagers!
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URL Music
Thanks for tagging me @bi-stander!
K: The Koi Story (锦鲤抄) performed by Jiaju and Zongli
R: Renn by :LOR3L3I:
I: In And Out Of Love by Armin van Buuren feat. Sharon Den Adel
S: Surrender by The Birthday Massacre (cw: lyrics about stalking)
M: Middle Of The Night by Elley Duhé
A: Arise by CLANN
G: Good Behavior by Plumb
E: Everytime We Touch or Evacuate The Dancefloor by Cascada (Sorry I can't choose!)
F: Flower Maiden by Dzivia
I: I Miss You by blink-182 (cw: flashing lights, disturbing imagery, depictions of drowning, and spiders)
C: Concomitance by Anton Belov (bandcamp link since I couldn't find it as a single on youtube)
S: Show Your Fangs by The Crane Wives
By the way, a lot of these videos have the lyrics in the CC, description box, or in one of the top comments. Though I know some of the lyrics for "Good Behavior" are wrong.
Tagging @yuuugay (three U's might be hard, but I believe in you, Yuki!), and @georgiedoesntfloat (I'm sure you'll find some awesome songs!), and anyone who'd like to do this too! (Sorry for not tagging anyone else, I actually did like 96% of this two days ago then my brain decided it couldn't think of more people who like music and it hasn't been cooperating with me since. :/ Did I go overboard with the colors? Idk, but I'm leaving it.)
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Have you hit Ryukyu with the DFO stick?
not yet but now i want to and its extremely tempting to do it in the au where Hana, Fuyumi, and Nagant are running the league because what a place to cast AfO's daughter as a dragon hero there... but on the other hand, i do like shipping ryukyu with fuyumi and i couldn't resist doing that in a dfo setting.... so a different au....
Ok so what if, a fantasy au, AFO an old tempered dragon and Ryukyuu his equally dragon daughter who keeps trying to get him to hibernate so she can get the humans to chill a bit, perhaps. he can respect what's in her hoard due to instincts but hers is much smaller, which he doesn't question since she's young and she figures is because she has a very good lesson of why to never go overboard in her hoarding talents as a father. But also she's gotta swoop up the fair princess of the Todoroki kingdom and can point to hoarding to keep her father's teeth away, at least. i will have to think more about this
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I won’t lie, my mental health has deteriorated to a rather crippling stage these last few months. All current work and projects had eroded my energy levels to rock bottom and my mood has reflected that.
I woke up early this morning, sleep deprived and in a rough mood, had a series of small mishaps, pulled myself together to begin my 14 mile bike commute aaaaaand… immediately ran over a small metal spring in the road that ripped through my back tire, more than a mile from home. And that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I walked my bike back home and got back into bed, after calling in for a mental health day (my boss gets it, thankfully).
Eventually I was able to compose myself and made efforts (with J’s help) to find productive things I could do. So I took the bike into another bike shop to fix the flat, and asked if they could solve one other nagging issue, a skipping chain. Dude was awesome, fixed my flat on the spot, confirmed my suspicions on the other issue and installed a brand new cassette, all while we had a good bike chat. Thankfully this solved my biggest problems and I gave it a test spin to make sure, ending up at an old haunt by the river. I watched warblers, mining bees, and a man walking his cat on a leash. I tried thinking happier thoughts.
It’s true, a lot of things in my life are still broken (both physically and emotionally) but some things are okay, good even. The cat (Zelda), who had been sick for a month and a half and on antibiotics, is finally appearing to be fully recovered. I have Hoyas blooming. I saw the first dragonfly of the season. And I’ve finally bitten the bullet to have a first session with a psychiatrist at the end of the month. I just have to keep making it somehow, even if I need help every day to do it.
Anyway, long post, but thanks for sticking around!
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