Faves of the year
Flops of the year
DNF With Prejudice: Book(s) you didn't finish on purpose
DNF With Regrets: Book(s) you didn't finish but want to get back to
Crowd Pleaser: Book you would recommend to almost anyone
Dead Dove Do Not Eat: Book you would recommend to a select audience with a mountain of caveats
Wasted Potential: Great premise and/or characters but fell down on execution
Blorbo Of The Year: Perhaps not your favorite of the year, but contains The Character
Compels Me Though: Okay, maybe not all of it made sense, but you had a great time anyway
Sleeper Hit: Not a book that you have to force into people's hands, but well-executed
Favorite non-fiction of the year
Favorite series of the year
Favorite standalone of the year
Most anticipated—did it live up to the hype?
Biggest disappointment?
Biggest surprise?
New author (either to you, or with a recent debut) you're hoping to read more of?
Favorite recent release you read this year
Favorite old(er) book you read this year
Did you re-read any books? Were they what you expected?
Best recommendation from a friend
Best book you found in the wild
Free space--talk about any book you read in 2024 not otherwise covered
Do you have any goals for your reading in 2025?
What's on the top of your list for 2025?
Beware!
This is for those who would like sources on real clown knowledge, how to be a clown, different types of clowns, etc. Because of my own love for performance arts like the art of clowning, I wanted to share the info I managed to dig up. Maybe it'll help people notice it as an art again, who knows. Clowns are terrific!!!!!!!!!
Some of these videos are VERY old. So apologizes for some are worse for wear videos of makeup 'n such.
CLOWN ETIQUETTE - Very important rules about being a real clown. Though some could change since it is now a different era!
CLOWN GUIDE - Guide on most things clown.
Clown History - This website has much info on clowns in general, as it was run by a real clown :oD
Types of Clowns - There's so many to choose from when it comes down to it. :o) This site has lots of other info too!!!
How to be a Clown - This video is a little old, but the info is still relevant I believe! I loved this one, very very cute. Teaches juggling too!!!
More under the -keep reading- line vvvvvv
Whiteface Clown - Make-up 1 - Make-up 2 - Make-up 3
The Auguste Clown - Make-up 1 - Make-up 2 part 1, 2, 3
The Tramp/Hobo Clown - Make-up 1 - Couldn't find a second one...this one is kind of rare to see much of in the clowning world.
How to dress - Mainly based off of what type of clown you are.
Character of a Clown - A list of all kinds of tips on how to design yourself a proper clown.
Clown noses - A list of helpful tricks up your nose.
Clown wigs - How to care for your wigs/pick one out.
How to juggle - More juggling
How to make balloon animals - A playlist of many tutorials :D
Circus Clown Skit/Performance - Clowns usually have a specific thing they do every performance that will make them recognizable. An example of this is the main clown pulling up his pants over and over.
Clown props and skit routines -
The Clownantics website was a huge source for most of the clown information that I found!! I hope this helped any clowns out there who are struggling to get a grip on the art of clowning!
hi! i am germ/luckie! since i was little ive been interested in all of the arts. one of those was the art of clowning!
this large post of info was only possible for my lack of self control when it comes to finding interesting info. so much so it is currently 1am. i have spent around 2 hours on this.
nighty!!!!
hello i am here today to not lose track of the art cheats i have discovered over the years. what i call art cheat is actually a cool filter/coloring style/way to shade/etc. that singlehandedly makes art like 20 times better
80’s anime style
glitch effect
glow effects
adding colors to grayscale paintings
foreshortening ( coil )
foreshortening ( perspective )
clipping group (lines)
clipping group (colors)
dramatic lighting ( GOOD )
shading metal
lighting faces
that is all for today, do stay tuned as i am always hunting for cool shit like this
Bras last longer if you let them air dry. Don’t put them in the dryer.
If you have a problem with frizzy hair, don’t dry your hair with a towel. It makes the frizzies worse. (I recently read an article that said to use a t-shirt? I brush mine out and let it air dry.)
Whites wash best in hot water. Everything else can be in cold - save on your electricity bill.
You can kill 99.9% of germs in a sponge by putting it in the dishwasher for a cycle or by microwaving it for 2 min (be sure to make the sponge damp before microwaving and to put a cup half full of water in with it and please DO NOT squeeze the sponge until it has cooled off)
Airing out your room/house and letting sunlight in every so often can decrease the number of household pests like silverfish and ants.
Black underwear is best during your period as stains are less likely to be visible.
To save money, put aside 10% of each paycheck into a savings account. It’ll add up.
Unless your hair has something on/in it (like grease or mud or something), using conditioner first can actually be the better choice. The conditioner holds in the good oils that help you hair look sleek and beautiful, which shampoo would otherwise wash away.
Speaking of shampoo - if you have long hair, washing just the bits that touch your scalp is generally enough. The rest of your hair gets cleaned with just the run off from your scalp.
If you put a tampon in and it’s uncomfortable/you can feel it, you didn’t do it quite right. A properly placed tampon is virtually unnoticeable by the wearer.
Apply deodorant/antiperspirant a couple hours in advance of when you need it. This gives the product the chance to block your sweat glands. Using deodorant just before going somewhere where you’ll sweat (this means walking outside for people in high humidity places) results in your sweat washing the deodorant off and starkly limiting its usefulness.
After running the dryer, use the dryer sheet from that load to brush out the lint catch - it gets everything off in a fraction of the time it’ll take you to get it clean with your bare hands. Paper towels also work well.
Wash your face everyday, or as often as possible. Forget which brand of cleanser is best. Just washing your face everyday will guarantee you clearer skin. And do you best not to pop pimples, as tempting as the urge may be.
Fold laundry asap after taking it from the dryer to avoid wrinkles. This may seem obvious for dress shirts and silly for things like t-shirts, but you’ll notice the difference even then once your shirts stop looking like unfolded paper balls.
The shit just never ends huh
Send an ask with OC + emoji (or the corresponding text), get a short ramble about the relationship of that OC with the corresponding side/background characters!
🎲 - Biological parents
👑 - Person who raised your OC and/or was important during their formative years
❓ - Estranged family/relatives they've never met
📎 - Siblings/close family
✨ - Children (current or future)
💎 - Chosen family (including warband)
🧸 - Childhood friends
🏆 - Best friends (past, current or future)
💌 - First crush/love
💋 - First kiss
🌹 - First relationship
🌶️ - First intimacy
💍 - Partners (current or future)
💔 - Exes
🍑 - Notable flings
✏️ - Classmates (including other cubs at the fahrar for charr)
⚙️ - Coworkers/boss (krewe/other charr outside of warband)
🐾 - Pets
🔪 - Enemy/nemesis
💢 - Person they can't stand
⚰️ - Someone they lost (not necessarily dead)
🩹 - Someone who was a source of trauma
🗑️ - "It's complicated"
©️ - Bonus: Canon NPC important to them
[Note: doesn't have to be in-depth, and if something is not applicable to an OC, you get to reroll!]
Surnames are just as important as given names. So, I compiled a list of the websites I use to find my surnames.
English Surnames
Dutch Surnames
Spanish Surnames
Scottish Surnames
German Surnames
Italian Surnames
Irish Surnames
French Surnames
Scandinavian Surnames
Welsh Surnames
Jewish Surnames
Surnames By Ethnicity
Most Common Surnames in the USA
Most Common Surnames in Great Britan
Most Common Surnames in Asia
Native or chosen language songs! (anything but English basically)(because spyld :))
Song about love
Song about sex
Song about friendship
Song about a hobby/art
Song about sadness
Song about anger
Song of happiness
Song that helps with letting go/healing
Song that is/was a top hit
Song about history/a story
Song fit for a revolution
Song for drinking/party
Best sing-along
Meme-worthy song/jingle
Children's song/lullaby
Most poetic lyrics
Favourite duet
Song in multiple languages
Song that's a translation of a song from an other language
other song category of choice 🎵
It seems like self-sufficiency and homemaking skills are blowing up right now. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic crisis, a lot of folks, especially young people, are looking to develop skills that will help them be a little bit less dependent on our consumerist economy. And I think that's generally a good thing. I think more of us should know how to cook a meal from scratch, grow our own vegetables, and mend our own clothes. Those are good skills to have.
Unfortunately, these "self-sufficiency" skills are often used as a recruiting tactic by white supremacists, TERFs, and other hate groups. They become a way to reconnect to or relive the "good old days," a romanticized (false) past before modern society and civil rights. And for a lot of people, these skills are inseparably connected to their politics and may even be used as a tool to indoctrinate new people.
In the spirit of building safe communities, here's a complete list of the safe resources I've found for learning homemaking, gardening, and related skills. Safe for me means queer- and trans-friendly, inclusive of different races and cultures, does not contain Christian preaching, and does not contain white supremacist or TERF dog whistles.
Homemaking/Housekeeping/Caring for your home:
Making It by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen [book] (The big crunchy household DIY book; includes every level of self-sufficiency from making your own toothpaste and laundry soap to setting up raised beds to butchering a chicken. Authors are explicitly left-leaning.)
Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair by Mercury Stardust [book] (A guide to simple home repair tasks, written with rentals in mind; very compassionate and accessible language.)
How To Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis [book] (The book about cleaning and housework for people who get overwhelmed by cleaning and housework, based on the premise that messiness is not a moral failing; disability and neurodivergence friendly; genuinely changed how I approach cleaning tasks.)
Gardening
Rebel Gardening by Alessandro Vitale [book] (Really great introduction to urban gardening; explicitly discusses renter-friendly garden designs in small spaces; lots of DIY solutions using recycled materials; note that the author lives in England, so check if plants are invasive in your area before putting them in the ground.)
Country/Rural Living:
Woodsqueer by Gretchen Legler [book] (Memoir of a lesbian who lives and works on a rural farm in Maine with her wife; does a good job of showing what it's like to be queer in a rural space; CW for mentions of domestic violence, infidelity/cheating, and internalized homophobia)
"Debunking the Off-Grid Fantasy" by Maggie Mae Fish [video essay] (Deconstructs the off-grid lifestyle and the myth of self-reliance)
Sewing/Mending:
Annika Victoria [YouTube channel] (No longer active, but their videos are still a great resource for anyone learning to sew; check out the beginner project playlist to start. This is where I learned a lot of what I know about sewing.)
Make, Sew, and Mend by Bernadette Banner [book] (A very thorough written introduction to hand-sewing, written by a clothing historian; lots of fun garment history facts; explicitly inclusive of BIPOC, queer, and trans sewists.)
Sustainability/Land Stewardship
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer [book] (Most of you have probably already read this one or had it recommended to you, but it really is that good; excellent example of how traditional animist beliefs -- in this case, indigenous American beliefs -- can exist in healthy symbiosis with science; more philosophy than how-to, but a great foundational resource.)
Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer [book] (This one is for my fellow witches; one of my favorite witchcraft books, and an excellent example of a place-based practice deeply rooted in the land.)
Avoiding the "Crunchy to Alt Right Pipeline"
Note: the "crunchy to alt-right pipeline" is a term used to describe how white supremacists and other far right groups use "crunchy" spaces (i.e., spaces dedicated to farming, homemaking, alternative medicine, simple living/slow living, etc.) to recruit and indoctrinate people into their movements. Knowing how this recruitment works can help you recognize it when you do encounter it and avoid being influenced by it.
"The Crunchy-to-Alt-Right Pipeline" by Kathleen Belew [magazine article] (Good, short introduction to this issue and its history.)
Sisters in Hate by Seyward Darby (I feel like I need to give a content warning: this book contains explicit descriptions of racism, white supremacy, and Neo Nazis, and it's a very difficult read, but it really is a great, in-depth breakdown of the role women play in the alt-right; also explicitly addresses the crunchy to alt-right pipeline.)
These are just the resources I've personally found helpful, so if anyone else has any they want to add, please, please do!