Latest Posts by the-beginning-of-somewhere - Page 2

god this scene i haven’t written would be so emotional if it came with 50k words of context i also haven’t written

Oh hey it's the 2nd of August. It's international Romani genocide memorial day. 79 years and still the vast majority of countries don't give a fuck about it nor recognize it. Hell on Earth everywhere

As a Jew, I love going to shul every week and smiling at everyone even if I don’t know their names and having them smile back. As a Jew, I love learning Jewish history from people who are passionate about preserving our culture and teaching Jewish history to people who haven’t had a chance to hear it. As a Jew, I love spending Friday nights after shul talking and giggling about life in the dark with my best friend because we forgot to leave a light on. As a Jew, I love playing Jewish geography. As a Jew, I love singing at Havdalah, whether it’s with my friends or my family or strangers.

As a Jew, more than anything, I love being a Jew. 💙

Why is it that the words “as a Jew…” are always followed by the most rancid, idiot takes possible?

Hi :) This is my little intro post

I'm Anne (not my real name, just the one I use online). I'm a Conservative Jew (raised Reform) currently getting a degree in Judaic studies.

I'm also getting a degree in medieval studies, and if anyone wants to scream about how amazing Julian of Norwich is, I will be more than happy to hit reblog.

My username is from a Tedx Talk given by Tyler Dunning entitled "A Field Guide to Losing Your Friends;" "the middle of nowhere is always the beginning of somewhere."

So that's it. Welcome to my Tumblr. Hope you enjoy your stay.

It isn't letting me comment, so I'll reblog with my answers. To be clear, I'm not an expert of any sort in folklore, Jewish or otherwise, but I have some sources that might be helpful.

If you're looking for non-fiction, I would start with Rootsmetals, an instagram activist/educator. Her recent posts are all I/P focused and I think she is incredibly biased, so I wouldn't cite her on anything like that, but her earlier posts about Judaism on her website can provide a good starting point to help you figure out which parts of Jewish folklore you like best and want to research more. Here are some:

https://www.rootsmetals.com/blogs/news/ancient-jewish-magic?_pos=14&_sid=7224c01f1&_ss=r

https://www.rootsmetals.com/blogs/news/judaism-vampires?_pos=6&_sid=7224c01f1&_ss=r

https://www.rootsmetals.com/blogs/news/judaism-witches?_pos=2&_sid=fe71083eb&_ss=r

https://www.rootsmetals.com/blogs/news/the-jewish-soul?_pos=22&_sid=bf015af62&_ss=r

https://www.rootsmetals.com/blogs/news/a-history-of-jewish-dance?_pos=2&_sid=d8de33d9b&_ss=r

Once you have more specific topics in mind, you can hopefully do some digging on those!

If you're looking for fiction, she also has a book of Jewish fairytales (https://www.amazon.com/Witches-Escaz%C3%BA-Other-Jewish-Fairytales/dp/B09JVFR7R2). I also highly recommend Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes, especially the stories "Among the Thorns," "Lily Glass," and "Burning Girls," although these stories are all pretty dark, so be careful, especially if violent antisemitism is triggering for you. This author also has a page of other fiction books of Jewish folklore (https://electricliterature.com/stories-books-about-jewish-magic-folklore-mythology/).

And of course, feel free to message me or send me an ask if you want any help researching :)

I’m a Jew who is interested in learning more about Jewish folklore and Jewish folk practices, as I am super interested in Jewish spirituality and mysticism but am not at a point in my life where it would be appropriate to do anything with Kabbalah. Does anyone have any good resources for that? I’ve been trying to avoid sources that are basically Jewish things repackaged as new-age/pagan.

(In case it’s relevant for FOR, I am Ashkenazi)

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jewish culture is constantly having the v'ahavta stuck in your head

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*goes on sefaria dot org*

a man takes off his kippah to reveal another, smaller kippah

My Jewish Learning

Where Do the Notes In the Western Wall Go? | My Jewish Learning

Each year, countless notes are stuffed into the cracks of the Western Wall, the last remaining wall of the Temple ...

This is so beautiful I’m gonna cry

The I Claudius fandom has like a total of three people, without counting me, and I love imagining what it would look like if suddenly this old book/series would get the popularity of GOT/HOTD or something like that.

So here are my theories:

Tiberius would have a fanbase and would be considered a “poor little meow meow”

People would make girlboss fancams for Livia

Messalina apologists

Herod would be the fandom bicycle

Herod/Castor would be one of the top 10 ships on AO3

Herod/Claudius would also be up there on the top 10 ships.

Some people would also ship Agripina/Tiberius and they would be deemed as problematic

Agripina/Germanicus Girlboss/Malewife

Edits of Antonia and her children to “I bet on losing dogs” and other Mitski songs

Fan casts for all book characters that didn't make it to the show.

YouTube compilations of “Caligula being a mood”, “Caligula being Caligula”, “Caligula being a menace”, etc.

Happy tumblr day

just had to take a fucking second and close my eyes because i remembered that on the night of november 5th tumblr had convinced me, an outsider, that this was an actual gif of Castiel Supernatural being sent to mega fruit hell

Going to Target feels like I’m a woman in rural Maine in the 1700s and I can usually only get like cheese and shit from my own cows but then every month I go to The CityTM and get sweets and delicacies etc

(x)

I’m the original question asker, but I couldn’t find a way to tag joyousgard in a comment so I’m reblogging from them to say thank you. This answer is so encouraging, thank you so much for writing this out. I’m super excited to dive deeper into Arthuriana now :D

Hi! I’m a teen, and I’m really interested in Arthuriana, but I’m not in a position to take college courses on it or anything at the moment (hoping to in the future tho!!!). I’m trying to read and annotate SGatGK, but I have a host of executive dysfunction problems (and starting college) that make it difficult. My question is, how do I make sure I don’t seem like I’m pretending to know more than I am when I tell people about it (I just get so excited!!)? And at what point can I say I know a lot about it (this one is just to motivate me to finish the book lmao) ? Anyway, thank you for reading this :) your master list of the texts is very useful :)))

Firstly, I’m so glad my list had been helpful!

Secondly, PLEASE do not worry about this. You don’t have to pass a test or read a certain number of texts to be able to tell people about a cool thing you are excited about!! Arthuriana is so vast, no one can know anything. Theres so much I don’t know and tons of texts I haven’t read yet, which is awesome I think! Theres so much out there!

As far as being a self proclaimed “arthuriana knowing about-er” goes, like, youre reading medieval literature for fun. you are already beyond general knowledge of arthuriana!

Also, you dont have to read tons of texts to enjoy arthuriana or engage with it! You dont have to read quickly, read untranslated, etc if that isnt what is fun/doable for you. I read a lot but i also really struggle motivating myself to read when im doing it because i feel like i *should*, not because i enjoy it and am interested. so go at your own pace!!

Currently feeling feelings over Peter’s Denial

We now shift outside the high priest's house to an apostle in trouble. This is "Peter's Denial."

I've grown less self-conscious about repeating myself with recordings, so here again is the live Australian cast from 1973 with an interesting, string-laden, fast-paced take on this little scene.

You know the drill...

The Lyrics

MAID BY THE FIRE I THINK I'VE SEEN YOU SOMEWHERE I REMEMBER YOU WERE WITH THAT MAN THEY TOOK AWAY I RECOGNISE YOUR FACE

PETER YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN LADY I DON'T KNOW HIM AND I WASN'T WHERE HE WAS TONIGHT NEVER NEAR THE PLACE

SOLDIER THAT'S STRANGE FOR I AM SURE I SAW YOU WITH HIM YOU WERE RIGHT BY HIS SIDE AND YET YOU DENIED

PETER I TELL YOU I WAS NEVER EVER WITH HIM

OLD MAN BUT I SAW YOU TOO IT LOOKED JUST LIKE YOU

PETER

(ad lib shout)

I DON'T KNOW HIM

MARY MAGDALENE PETER DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE SAID YOU'VE GONE AND CUT HIM DEAD

PETER I HAD TO DO IT DON'T YOU SEE OR ELSE THEY'D GO FOR ME

MARY MAGDALENE IT'S WHAT HE TOLD US YOU WOULD DO I WONDER HOW HE KNEW

The Plot

He ran away from the scene of the arrest, but he couldn't bear not knowing what was happening to his teacher. Small surprise, then, that Peter followed the arresting party to the house of Caiaphas. Unable to enter himself, he warmed up by a campfire outside.

Not the world's smartest decision. Three onlookers (a maid, a soldier, and an old man) all recognize Peter as one of the men who were with Jesus earlier. Each time he vehemently denies his association, just as Jesus said he would, to the dismay of Mary, who wonders how Jesus knew that would happen...

The Analysis

Aside from the soldier becoming a generic "Solo from the Mob" in the currently licensed score, everything has stayed the same in this scene, lyrically and dramatically, since 1970, so time to once again chart the recurring motifs musically.

We've got:

Peter denying Jesus three times (as predicted), to the main theme from "Strange Thing, Mystifying," which originally accompanied Judas' criticism of Jesus' relationship with Mary -- thereby connecting Peter musically with Judas, both of them now betrayers of Jesus, and...

...when Mary points out that Peter did as Jesus said he would, she sings this to the betrayal motif from the Last Supper, even further underscoring Peter's betrayal.

Let it never be said Andrew Lloyd Webber didn't have a purpose in choosing a cyclical nature for these melodies!

Mildly Unrelated Op.-Ed.

In marked contrast to how he's described in the Bible, Peter kind of gets the short end of the stick in JCS. He doesn't have a lot to do as a solo vocalist, aside from "Peter's Denial" and "Could We Start Again Please?" He's pretty much just "one of the boys" in any staging; it's usually hard to even identify who Peter is unless he's singled out from the start, until his big moments in the second act.

Audition notices, no doubt building on what scripture makes him out to be, tend to describe him in terms like "gentle" or phrases along the lines of "slow to find his strength, but when he does, he becomes a stabilizing force among the apostles." But I gotta tell ya... I don't see it. There's not enough material there on paper to cover that ground.

When I've contemplated directing the show over the years, I've begun to pay special attention to the roles of Simon Zealotes and Peter. Simon's sole major appearance is in Act I, and Peter's couple of big scenes are in Act II, both without set-up or real follow-through. Can you see where I'm going with this?

Taking my cue from the recent European tour featuring Ted Neeley, I've thought of casting one performer to play both parts, billed separately due to contractual obligation but essentially a single role. It cuts costs (remember, I'm a producer first and foremost), creates a useful character arc out of two thankless ones without changing a word or note, and as long as there are twelve bodies (and one Jesus) around the table in Act II, those in the audience versed in the source can simply infer that Simon became Peter over the show's course, just like the notoriously temperamental Peter was originally called Simon in the Bible.

Let me go back to that second thing for a moment: "creates a useful character arc out of two thankless ones without changing a word or note." I want to unpack that to further sell my point.

What is Simon, really? He's exuberant, he's militant, someone who clearly jumps in before he really understands what's going on. He calls on his master to overthrow the Romans, only to be told he doesn't get the picture. Maybe, like Judas in The Last Temptation of Christ ("...only you understand it? Well, you'd better make me understand it too!"), he decides to wrestle with that, but he's not quite there yet. When the cops break up the scene, he reverts to form, only to be told, "Dude, not only are you wrong, it is way past the time what you're offering would be helpful. Don't quit your day job." How do you react to that? Maybe you discover you're not the Zealot you thought you were, and when the chips are down, out of both frustration and self-preservation, you deny you even know the guy when cornered by the opposition. And you still cling to the faint hope that this will change: "Alright, you've made your point. Time to unleash the fury, right? ...RIGHT???" Very powerful, fully-realized character there.

It's worth a thought, anyway...

Coming Up Next:

They said "take him to Pilate," and that's where he's headed for a showdown: "Pilate and Christ."

I hate when Inst*gram inf*graphics or social justice posts say stuff like “this is NOT political, it’s a human rights issue!!!” Bestie, it IS political!! Human rights issues are almost always political! They have to do with politics. They have to do with politicians. The actions they require are political in nature. Something having a clear moral right and wrong does not equal it not being a political issue!

Can we talk for a second about how Hamlet is only sympathetic if he’s like, 19? That’s not to say you can’t make a good Hamlet with a 32 year old actor, but the main character Will Not be sympathetic if you do that. Which is fine, you can make an interesting movie with that, just don’t expect people to like Hamlet in it.

Feed them grapes cut in half!

Need to be mindful for our feathered friends!

the next time you think you’re lonely, just remember you have about 25 billion white blood cells in your body protecting your sorry little ass with their life. you have 25 billion friends who would die for you. no need for tears.

I feel like practicing any skill would be way more fun if I could have a lil level increase thing that pops up in front of me every time I do good like in Skyrim

A glass that pushes cat off of counters

Morgana absolutely wasn’t and she never let him forget

thinking about how arthur was a virgin for 4 seasons

It amuses me just how unhinged Merlin is as Dragoon, he gives zero shits and fears no god and it shows. Sassy boy becomes an even sassier old man and roasts people with the confidence of a youtube commenter who knows they have the benefit of anonymity

If you ever need cheering up, just think about immortal Merlin taking all his newly resurrected friends on a road trip around the world to show them all the culture and technology they've missed while they were dead, taking them to each of the places he used to live and all the major historical sites he's been.

Think about Leon insisting on driving whenever possible, and no one except maybe Gwaine having the heart to tell him that he is a terrible driver.

Think about Arthur invoking his status in order to get shotgun rights, and always grumbling because everyone else takes turns stealing the spot from him.

Think about Gwen packing a big DVD binder full of movies for them to watch during the long hours, but accidentally spills her lemonade on it and then cries a little while Merlin awkwardly comforts her.

Think about Percival and Elyan constantly bickering in the back of the van because Percival keeps stretching his legs into Elyan's side and Elyan keeps elbowing Percy in the ribs, meanwhile Lancelot is just awkwardly pressed against the window with everyone else's luggage piled on his lap.

Think about them all getting pulled over because their van shouldn't be able to fit that many people, and Merlin is most definitely sitting on Gwaine's lap, but Merlin uses magic to Jedi-hand-wave the cop into letting them pass.

Think about Lance quietly doing sudoku in the back seat, until Gwaine gets a hold of it and writes "69" in all the squares with permanent sharpie.

Think about the car breaking down, but they don't wanna wake up Merlin and ask him to use magic to fix it because he hardly ever sleeps anymore and the poor guy could really use a few winks, so instead they spend the next four hours scratching their heads over how the hell to fix a radiator.

Think about them going to the beach and going to art museums and eating at crusty roadside diners, throwing french fries at each others' heads and watching Percy get sad because the napkins won't hold shape very well when he tries to fold them into origami dogs.

Just...think about the Round Table going on a road trip.

*Arthur and Merlin sneeking around the castle at night* uh yeah we’re doing.........poetry

Leon: uhhh ok...I’ll leave you to your...poetry... *leaves*

Arthur to Merlin: YOU DUMB FUCK NOW HE THINKS I LIKE POETRY

Meanwhile...

Leon to Gwaine, Percy, Elian, Gwen, and Mordred: yeah they’re definitely fucking

*Elian hands money to Gwen*

Everyone agrees that if Merlin and Arthur were together, the entire kingdom would know and everyone would be chill with it, and I have no problem with Merthur (I mean have you seen the way they look at each other), HOWEVER I do think it would be a million times funnier if everyone assumed they were together (because Merlin totally gets mistress treatment) and they actually weren’t. I just think that would be really, really funny.

Everyone agrees that if Merlin and Arthur were together, the entire kingdom would know and everyone would be chill with it, and I have no problem with Merthur (I mean have you seen the way they look at each other), HOWEVER I do think it would be a million times funnier if everyone assumed they were together (because Merlin totally gets mistress treatment) and they actually weren’t. I just think that would be really, really funny.

Having sensory processing issues is like if every app on your phone was sending unnecessary notifications including apps you never installed & you don't have permission to change the settings. Do Not Disturb is a myth made up by neurotypicals