Not pertinent to anything in particular but I do think it’s kinda weird that we keep depicting cavemen in media crawling around on all fours covered in dirt with tangled, matted hair, speaking in broken, cobbled-together toddler language when like.
They were us.
Like literally genetically they were US, just like. A while ago.
Like
Would you trust a TV caveman with a baby? Probably not
A real life caveman though??? I think they’d be at least okay at it
This is actually really important and comes up in Anthropology classes all. The. Time.
As long as homo sapiens have existed, we have had the same emotional and mental capacity as you and I do today. You nailed it. They were US. Even Neaderthals existed alongside and had offspring with Homo Sapiens for many thousands of years.
There’s much evidence that cavemen would have had complex spoken language, culture (learned information passed down), symbolic interpretation, and I think they most certainly would have been able to handle holding a baby. In fact I have my suspicisions that an ancient homo sapiens mother may be a more present, attentive, and knowledgable mom than I could be today.
Do not let media trick you into believing we are the pinnacle of humanity. Unilinial evolution theory (google it quick I beg) is BUNK, GARBAGE, and the root of so much evil.
We’ve been human for a long, long time, and we are not inherently better than all those who came before.
One the most profound experiences of my life was visiting Font de Gaume, which has 12 thousand year old paintings. They use a technique where the horses appeared to run across the wall when seen in flickering firelight. There was a bison the wall staring at us with such attitude, I could practically hear him. I had the most profound feeling of those ancient artists reaching forward to lay their hands on my shoulders. To say, “This was my world.” It was a profoundly moving experience.
Some years later, I went to the Orkney islands where we visited a tiny family run museum of artifacts from the chambered tomb at the other end of the farm. They handed me a pestle once held by some neolithci human.They’d worn groves where the thumb and forefinger would be for better grip.
One time, in a French history class, my teacher randomly at the end of the class had all of us draw a sketch of a horse. And we were all like ??? Okay???
At the beginning of the next class, my teacher showed us a cave painting of a horse. And then he showed all of our horses, which he had scanned and put into the presentation.
He then pointed out all the ways that our horses looked similar to the prehistoric horse. Same features, drawn from the same angle, etc.
And then he asked us, “Isn’t it cool that you draw horses the same way as someone who lived 20,000 years ago?”
This is not the article I was searching for, but it’s on a closely related topic.
The article I was thinking of mentioned cave art made by people making “Fluting marks” made by people tracing their fingers through soft clay which has since hardened.
And the archeologists who found this realized 2 things:
One set of marks was made by a child.
And a grownup must have lifted them up, so they could reach.
It's hard to pick this week again, as there's been a lot of good stuff, but I've harped on about AI and Peter Thiel a fair bit so how about a throwback series? Sarah Marshall has been killing it on The Devil You Know (among CBC's last gasps before complete enshittification), which is a really cool take on the Satanic Panic. It's a story I know quite well, having, well, been around back then, and also read and watched a lot about it after the fact. Her approach is different, though; she interviews people who were not main characters in the drama but were nonetheless affected.
My favourite episode so far has been the second episode, "Marylyn Remembers." I knew the story of Michelle Remembers, the book responsible for the idea that Satanic ritual abuse victims were repressing their memories, and of the relationship between Michelle Smith and her psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder, who grossly abused his professional responsibilities and ultimately married her. What I didn't know was anything about his wife at the time, Marylyn, who Sarah tracks down for her take on the story. She's clear-eyed and insightful after all these years about her experiences, and despite the true crime label on the show, Sarah's interview is warm and compassionate, telling a very human story of betrayal amidst an imaginary epic battle of good vs. evil.
It's funny to think of this as a history podcast (again, since I was around for it!) but of course there are modern parallels, and Sarah is not subtle about drawing them.
These are active communities in Dreamwidth from Fall 2025. They include things I've posted, but only the active ones; the thematic posts also list dormant communities of interest. This list includes some communities that I've found and saved but haven't made it into thematic posts yet. This post covers A-I.
Highly active with multiple posts per day, daily posts, or too many to count easily Active with (one, multiple, many) posts in (current or recent month) Somewhat active (latest post within current year, not in last month or few) Low traffic (latest post in previous year) Dormant (latest post before previous year, but could be revived because membership is open and posting is open to all members or anyone) Dead (not listed because there are no recent posts, plus membership and/or posting are moderated) Note that some communities are only active during a limited time, or only have gather posts on a certain schedule.
These questions were originally suggested by the_heartless.
1. What were some of the smells and tastes of your childhood?
2. What did you have as a child that you do not think children today have?
3. What elementary grade was your favorite?
4. What summer do you remember the best as a child?
5. What one piece of advice would you give to your younger self, and at what age?
Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.
I was up early yesterday and it was lovely, so I decided to take some pics. It's all very lush as we've had a fair bit of rain, mixed with sunny days as hot as midsummer. I think it's going to be a hot one, this year. I tried to include slightly more panoramic shots this time to give you some idea of my small garden which is almost all in pots and wheelibeds, as my rented unit has largely concrete and asphalt around it. Click on each pic for full size.
I had a small but very successful Thanksgiving with my parents, with both of my husbands, and with nineweaving. I have been supplied with all the ingredients for a turkey terrific and a whole lot of apple crumble that doesn't need to be reconstructed into anything except me. My mother taped the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I leaned back into rushthatspeaks while we talked books and movies and theatrical stories. The photo was taken by spatch for selkie in condolence for the stressors of her holiday for which she was not the responsible party. The Sallust is from 1886, but I work with what I've got.
Current Music:Molly Donnery & The Ciderhouse Rebellion, "The Kilmacthomas Girl"
The paradox of modern life is that economies grow larger every year, yet most people do not feel more secure or more fulfilled. Global production has multiplied many times over in the last century, but inequality persists, and ecological systems face collapse. Growth is celebrated as the path to prosperity, yet its reality often means longer working hours, deeper debts, and fragile supply chains that make us more vulnerable rather than less.
Rising seas and human pressures are rapidly shrinking the world’s beaches and destabilizing the ecosystems that depend on them.
Human development and climate-driven sea level rise are accelerating global beach erosion and undermining the natural processes that sustain coastal ecosystems. Studies reveal that urban activity on the sand harms biodiversity in every connected zone, magnifying worldwide erosion risks.
This sounds overly optimistic. Beaches -- in the sense of pleasant sandy stretches -- are by definition shallow shorelines. Little if any of that will be left given the rapid rise of sea level. That's before factoring in other hazards such as sand theft, erosion, etc. Of course, there will always be places where land and water meet, but those won't be in the same places in the future, wherever there is a shallow slope of land facing a large body of water. Ironbound coasts, which have a high rocky cliff, are much less subject to inundation.
Do you have a rec for this week? Just reply to this post with something queer or queer-adjacent (such as, soap made by a queer person that isn't necessarily queer themed) that you'd, well, recommend. Self-recs are welcome, as are recs for fandom-related content!
Or have you tried something that's been recced here? Do you have your own report to share about it? I'd love to hear about it!
I was quite shocked to not only realize it was time to post over here, but that also this is my third year participating! Wowza! Anyhoodles, I'm wishing everyone a safe, happy, calm, and healthy holiday season! May 2026 be a great year for all of us. 💜💜💜
NGL, the bulk of my list is a reprise from last year's, though there's a new thing here and there.
NO COST AND/OR MINIMAL EFFORT
1. Leave comments on folk's fanworks. Don't stress abt how how old or recent the fic, fanart, fanvid, etc is because even a simple "I liked this!" will be v. welcomed. This is a link to my fanworks over at AO3 if you'd like to start with me. 😉
2. If you're a fanwork creator, please make sure to have a Blanket Permission statement on your profile at your preferred posting platform. This will help folks who might want to record a podfic, create fanart, etc inspired by your fanwork. Here's an explanation of what a BP is.
3. Would LOVE to get recs for romance novels featuring MCs who are 40-y.o. and older. I prefer to read abt queer pairings, btw.
4. Go check out and/or join these fandom reccing communities on DW: recthething (full disclosure: I'm one of the admins for that one), fancake (a monthly, theme based reccing comm), and fanart_recs.
COSTS MONEY (but let me dream big)
5. Amazon e-gift cards for any amount. They can be sent to mazingergirlie AT gmail (dot) com.
6. Donate to local food banks (preferably cash).
7. Donate to animal shelters if you've got some coin to spare.
8. Donate to women's shelters (money or items such as menstrual products if you prefer )
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