Monday, February 14, 2022

Writing Research Vs Stalking Online

Researching characters using real people you know is a fine line and involves a lot of playing dumb, as well as making sure you don't smash that like button. Writers, we've all done it. Even people who aren't writers do this out of boredom. Let's look at where the fine line is - you know, the one you cross and people start suddenly screaming. 

Photo by Social Media Marketing - RG Pacific


Stalking is defined as:

1. to pursue or approach stealthily (hunting and animals,  so unrelated to us)

2. harass and persecute someone with unwanted and obsessive attention

3. stride somewhere with a proud, stiff, angry manner ("she stalked off into the room.")

Only one of those definitions should be avoided by researching writers. The online definition of this is getting hazy due to social media. You can now look months back into someone's profile in a mere click or two. Technically, it is public information if posted on a public profile. You don't need much more than an hour to find months of posts, maybe even years. This is where we find the fine line getting a bit blurry. Curious people can stumble over it out of boredom, character research, or pure curiosity about how someone has been doing. Today I highlight the differences between legit stalking on social media and just looking around. 

One Time or Ten Million Times

If this person has indeed friended you and you need to know the colors they commonly wear for the sake of a Christmas gift or character profile you are not suddenly an evil stalker. Scanning through their albums at one point for a bit less than an hour thinking about what colors to make their Christmas sweater is not legal stalking. No lawyer can put you in jail for that. 


Photo by kiles.homeunix.net
What is wrong is checking the profile of a stranger, ex, or anyone else every minute of the day to keep track of what they are doing when. That is abuse. Stop. That isn't research, so don't call it research. The bottom line is that it has to be constant and obsessive to count as stalking. Most of us do not obsessively research like this when writing a character to life. If you do, go get counseling. 

Use of Information

What are you using the info you found for? Color of wardrobe? Assessing the character of the person you just agreed to date? It matters what you are using it for. If you are using it to track someone this is unhealthy. If you are using it to create a likeness of someone in your next novel and only look at their photos when you are writing the character profiles out, you are fine. Just play dumb later or you might freak them out. Looking for information only when you need it is definitely research and is not constant, not unless you are the FBI and someone is wanted dead or alive. Detective agencies are a whole different ball game.

Social media is also a lot less creepy if you are friends on the platform. Seriously, just hit follow for your writing inspiration. The posts come to you, straight to your newsfeed. It is easy and takes less effort. I said in a previous blog that people-watching can also lead you over this fine line, so I'll repeat some of that information here. Do not ever tail anyone you people watch. Never is that acceptable. Never even consider it. You wait until after they leave the coffee shop, finish your drink, then go home. Follow someone on their social media, not to their work or their home. 

Everyone Knows Vs Hush Hush

It helps to be upfront and ask friends while researching something. Also, being friends on the platform means they know you are looking at their page. Open and honest is far better than hiding in the walls like Bruno (I only know about Bruno from the hype about the movie, FYI). You can even tell them you are basing a character off of them and consult with them openly, if you are that close. 

Did I mention playing dumb earlier? Yes, but you can stop playing dumb to something when someone tells you the information you already know. I will tell you right now that some humans don't like when they have been analyzed based on their social media or people-watched. Some are a bit easy to spook. Avoid those humans when researching. You will run into that at times, but remember who you need to not spook. 

Spooking vs stalking is a matter of how often you people-watch and research. Again, tailing someone daily is stalking. People-watching while you eat lunch is not stalking. Spooking someone happens when they suddenly notice you and get the wrong impression. It happens. That is when you avoid that person. Even then, they might still be spooked by you. Just try not to let it happen. Artists are people who aren't easily spooked, generally. 


The Fine Line

Let me give you just a few rules of thumb before you stop reading. 

1. Only look when you need the information and don't like any posts you find.
2. Never use the information you find to track anyone or anyone close to them. 
3. If a person is easy to spook you should not be researching them. 
4. Be sure they are your friends and be open about what you are doing and why. 

These four guidelines will keep you from crossing that fine line, a line that gets harder to see as we post more online. Be careful out there writers. 

 Using Social Media Responsibly

Social media is an inanimate object we use daily. We have a choice of using it for good or evil. Stalking is misusing it. Research is not. Looking at someone's profile over social media and doing nothing cannot be held against you in court. It is when you use it to track someone or harm someone that you will be in trouble. Please be mindful of what you post publicly online. Everyone can see it. You have the power of good or evil in your hands. Be responsible. 





Sources:










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Monday, February 7, 2022

Corsets Worn Correctly

 Shaping devices are nothing new. They were also complicated. Some people also misused them or gave them a bad name. Not everyone tight-laced and most did not. After some deeper research on the topic, I'm going into the upsides and downsides of corsets.



I did some deeper diving into this. While there are downsides to this type of support, they were not as toxic as some humans portrayed them. Part of the reason for this is that we see people in edited photos and forget that padding was sold for body shaping. Also, women-owned businesses were often in the fashion industry and men going against suffragettes did not like that. That doesn't mean all women liked corsets, but those going against them screamed their message to the world. 

Modern corsetry is careful to size corsets to you, but way back when they sized them, too. Waist training is common now. Wearing corsets for cosplay is also common. Cosplayers will tell you to only wear them for so long. People with back problems wear something similar to a corset. We see ball gowns with support in them on the red carpet. They have not died. Are they the same? No, but they have not completely disappeared.

The Correct Way to Wear a Corset

First of all, there is a way to break them in. Second, they are sized to you or should be. Third, you should be able to breathe in it even if you can't move as freely. Fourth, wear a layer of fabric underneath it. 

To put one on (after you have sized it to you!) Hourglass Angel brand of corsets suggests this:

"It’s a little tricky to lace up in a corset, so we advise using a mirror or getting assistance from someone. First, gently unroll the corset so that the laces are facing up. Pull them apart, loosening the X’s starting from the center. When you put it on, you know that the correct side is up when the hooks that clasp in front are on your right. It should be very loose when you clasp it; never pull or tug on the hooks when you fasten the front. Next, pull the laces starting at the top and bottom and work your way towards the middle, pulling the loops as you go. The pull loops should be at the natural waist. Tie them when you’ve reached the desired tightness."

Again, tight-lacing for long periods of time is dangerous. Though the myth that all corsets are dangerous is not correct, there is some medical evidence of young women who tight-laced and pushed lungs into ribs. Don't do that. Please only tighten to a safe waistline. Women wore pads and other undergarments to get to the shape they wanted to be, so it wasn't all the corset. Hourglass Angel also suggests that if you feel pain, shortness of breath, or that it is not comfortable after tightening and seasoning to take it off immediately. 

As for breaking it in, "seasoning", you start by not pulling it as tight as it will go. Wear it an hour each day or 2 to 3 days to allow it to adjust to your body. Then you can lace it tightly (but not so tight you can't breathe or it hurts). Your body should become used to it. There is a lot of compression. For this reason, people who wear corsets unlace them slowly and allow their bodies to adjust to the lack of compression as they take them off. Don't just throw it off from the front or your body and the corset will not react nicely (depending on corset type). The video below will show you visually how to take off and put on a corset correctly.

You will find that waist training and tight lacing are different. Some people will tell you tight lacing can be done every once in a while for only short periods of time. I advise you just don't do it at all, but you are making that choice for yourself and taking on any risks that includes if you do. Tight lacing is around 4 inches in reduction or more, approximately. Waist training is just a few inches and wearing consistent corsets for a period of time. I'm going by Lucy's Corsetry advice. She recommends custom fit for daily use due to health safety and comfort.

Not all Corsets are okay to wear

Modern corsets, for medical or fashion reasons, are not the same as the old corsets of the 18-1900s. Different designs evolved and changed as fashion and propriety shifted. Short version, not all of them were safe then or now. Buy it custom, please, and do your research. I'll let someone else explain it in their words. She tells the reality of corsetry better than I can.

As the lovely human above explained, it is complicated. Historical dramas have, thus, gotten it wrong on many occasions (like every costume department often has in Hollywood). Women did adjust to their body shape and use pads to create optical illusions. Even puffy sleeves helped that illusion. Remember this when attempting a body that has a tiny waist. Also, altered pictures don't help us create accurate costumes. Real women had real bellies and real boobs. 

Is this woman scrunched in like a wasp? No, she's not, and she looks perfectly wonderful. And she is wearing a corset. Little Women didn't show women looking like wasps, either, though they did leave out some undergarments when it came to characters that were tomboyish. What I'm saying is that the Gibson Girl was not always the fashion and not everyone wore it. If you did you likely had servants and were rich. Women in the position of the March family needed functional clothing. It was considered a functional undergarment for most women and it had a variety to it. They even created dance corsets.

Many YouTubers will tell you all about how inaccurate the corset myths in Bridgerton and many other dramas are. Just look it up and you'll find it. 





The Most Common Inaccuracies

If you can believe it, some have shown actresses wearing them backwards and upside down. Oops! People don't know what is up and down when it comes to corsets on some sets. That just sounds dumb, truly, but Westworld was the one that dressed their ladies with upside down corsets, so, let's go check on their wardrobe department. 

Another one you see in Bridgerton is no undergarments under the corsets. One, you ruin the corset faster that way, and two, that looks like it hurts. Anyone who knows how to wear a corset has underneath slips for it. That was what layers of undergarments did (as well as body shaping). 

Another one is using the wrong time period corset. Another oops. Most viewers won't know the difference at all. I won't know the difference. Just the historical experts will know the difference. This is why Hollywood often doesn't worry about it unless they are dealing with an intense fandom. It is the lowest priority on their list and where liberties are taken, especially if no one will notice.

Similarly, corsets in time periods that didn't use them are a common whoopsie. Again, only historians will notice. It is something your common audience won't notice while they sit in the theatre. Only history buffs will be upset. Liberties will be taken vigorously for the sake of sexy costuming. Look online and you'll see so many sexy costumes with corsets worn incorrectly.

The myth that all corsets are bad, as broken by the research of people who have worn them correctly, is there. Tight lacing is shown in several movies to be painful. What has been said, though, is that a filming schedule does not allow time for seasoning corsets. Unfortunately, this makes it somewhat painful for the actresses. If you can't season a corset to fit your body you will likely not like wearing it. Some feminists will also claim it is oppression, but I have no opinion on that because I'm being objective here. Also, women made them, so I'm not so sure that's correct.

What About The Medical Evidence?

Yes, medical evidence, let's get to it. I'm going to surprise you with what I found. Corsets got the blame for a lot of medical problems, yet, we cannot prove all those problems to be corset-given medically. Tuberculosis was originally thought to be corset issues and - ta da! - they were wrong. Breast cancer caused by corsets? Nope, still exists and most of us are wearing bras. 

An actual ribcage of a tight-laced
woman
What can be said is that tight lacing is not a good idea and they condemned the practice. The use of elastic started to take hold around this time. Front laced corsets were also medically endorsed to help posture without causing injury. Highly laced corsets also caused some back problems, which made you depend on the corset for your back because it weakened muscles. Tight lacing was mostly what concerned doctors due to the constriction of it. 

Tight lacing was a bad idea for a real reason and I don't like to see anyone try it for even short periods of time. "Chicken breast" is not just a meal for dinner; it is when ribs fractured and you got lung atrophy, which required healing via being immobile. The pressure of the corset could cause this. Despite this, doctors did not believe women who came for treatment of corset injuries. Organs did move around and women in the time were told to be pale and frail to be attractive. The louder men shouted about corsets, the more some women tight-laced. Did it cause ribs to compress? Yes, it did. We have skeletons to prove it. It was said to have caused trouble giving birth, but I don't know if that was just genetics on some ladies or the effects on soft tissue and tight lacing. Childbirth and pregnancy are not quite proven as parts of tight lacing by medical evidence.
Pictures:
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Monday, January 31, 2022

Victorian Servanthood

 Life below the stairs during the Victorian era was not glamorous. If you think working for the public in a restaurant or store puts you in contact with ungrateful people, consider what the servants of the ungrateful rich dealt with. Service jobs were done by "inferiors" who were supposed to be invisible unless needed. If you were treated well you were lucky, but not everyone worked for people as nice as the Bridgertons. 


To be clear I am not talking about slavery. This is paid servanthood that is not forced. This is comparable to being an employee in personal maid services or a kitchen worker (though today you won't be treated like you are inferior unless you have a crappy boss). The rich employed people to bend to their every whim. While Cinderella may have technically been a slave, most domestic servants were paid money. If they weren't it was slavery.

The Roles and Duties

The wages of servants were different based on roles. The butler had the benefit because he had no expenses except clothes, got discounts from tradesmen, collected the end of candles, and collected one bottle of wine for every six bottles served. Below is a range of wages (1890s) in today's money based on my research. In America today these are below the poverty level. In between this range is the butler, cook/housekeeper, lady's maid, parlour maid, cook, housemaid, kitchen maid, and scullery maid. All of these people have no money for leisure by today's standards. Some of them work for next to nothing. 

Housekeeper - 9,139.00 per year  to  Between Maid - 1818.00 per year

The duty of house staff will revolve around the family. There is also a social hierarchy within servants. A butler and housekeeper, for instance, are higher above other staff members. Uniforms were only 1900s creations. It is basically loyalty to a family for a long time.  The chores the upperclass wouldn't do were done by the house staff. 

Maid duties vary based on how many maids there are. Scullery maids did dishes. Laundry maids did -obviously - laundry. Parlous maids maintained the drawing and sitting room. Chamber maids maintained bedrooms. A lady's maid was the private maid of the lady of the house. Between maids ran from the garden to the house. Kitchen maids helped the cook. 

The kitchen also included the cook and under cook, employed by the butler and housekeeper. The cook managed all the kitchen staff. Their job was essential to impress guests. The footmen represented the estate. They accompanied the lady of the house on trips, served meals, and assisted the butler. They were generally well dressed. They held doors open and helped at meal times. The Butler was the highest rank and ran the staff. He oversaw all of it. The housekeeper helped him run the female staff and decor in the home. She would have been a high ranking servant. 

The grounds keepers included head gardeners. Grooms and stable boys cared for the horses and were often young boys as young as ten. Game keepers maintained the bird population for hunting purposes. A governess and nurse looked after the children. If more than one nurse was there, it'd be a head nurse overseeing other nurses. You could be around 15 years old to be a nurse. Governesses taught female children (Meg and Jo March as an example). Boys were sent to boarding schools (like what Jo ran). She'd be in a difficult status position due to being higher than a servant and lower than her employer. This was caused by a governess being educated while most servants weren't.  


The Upsides

Despite the hardships of the job, the service people took pride in their work. At first, they had to ask for even short periods of time off (and that was frowned upon). However, just like now, they could get days off. It was sometimes given as a reward and taken away as punishment. The 1880s began a half day off after lunch on Sundays. Once each month was a trend at that time, too. Provided chores were finished, they got these days free. The 1900s introduced an evening off a week, but often only in households with many servants that covered each other. Time off was a thing even then. It was provided and it was worth more than gold to someone who worked for so much of their life. The 1890s even offered them holiday leave for one to two weeks, which they used to see family. They often saved wages for a good while to afford the train travel. 

While no one was looking the servants let their hair down. Like I'll mention in the next section, forbidden visitors often came when the master and mistress were away. It was also not uncommon for some family members to get cozy with servants. It caused some scandal if it created a child out of wedlock, but often it was on the down-low. Large households that required more servants had "the high life" downstairs. This was playing cards, secret visitors (forbidden, obviously), pillow fights, music, dancing, getting drunk, and practical jokes. Life was not always dull and boring. I'm willing to bet that servants probably created a family-like bond in the process of working in the same house for years. 

Depending on your master or mistress, they might have a kind heart and provide a piano or reading and sun room for you. You could have relationships with your family. Most were not denied trips to town and walks in gardens. All this was yours for the use, provided you got back on duty on time (9 or 10 pm). While that cuts leisure time short, I will say a kind employer did give you at least some time to enjoy yourself. 

Servants had an advantage when it came to family secrets and closet skeletons. Being invisible unless you are needed has a weird benefit that allows you to hear and see what others don't. In short, you have more gossip fuel than you know what to do with (which servants got known for). The servants know the family better than they ever dreamed. If I were investigating a murder I'd go escort myself down the stairs and get the goods on everyone while nobody was home. I'd become a forbidden visitor for evidence. I'm not actually sure if being invisible is a good or bad thing in this case, so I'll say it just is (neutral). It depends on the situation. 

A living space and a meal were guaranteed if you served a wealthy family. If not, you were in a bad spot. The worst of everything if you served someone who barely had enough money to pay you. But in the case of a wealthy family, you had a roof over your head and food to eat. It was good to not be on the street. It was better than selling yourself for money. If your employer cared for you they treated you well. After years of loyalty to a family, some of them might take care of your needs later on in life. 

The Downsides

If you wanted your own personal space to be sacred, you were mistaken. Consider Harry Potter sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs and Cinderella in the attic. Consider going to bed in the kitchen area. An undeniable fact was that early in the 1800s servants did not have their own space. You were not to be seen when you were not wanted. Harry Potter and Cinderella slept where 1800s servants would have. Men tended to guard the plate down in the kitchen, though, so they bedded down in the kitchen often.

Even after the 1900s revealed servants' rooms that were an attempt to attract women into personal service, the personal space was still not there. You couldn't put up personal decor. Your space could also be raided at any time and you couldn't say no. Household guides suggested keeping servants on their toes. Sound fun? Yeah, I didn't think so, either. A bare-bones room with no personal effects that is hidden away from where guests would roam might be a servant's quarters in some old houses. Servants halls provided a social life, as limited as that was, for the staff. That, too, was a room that was particularly plain. If they had time to gather around a fire it was available. No gas lighting was provided downstairs in most households. This type of life required getting past a feeling of lonely isolation because most of your social contact was with fellow servants and your employers did not get friendly with you - although some employers and servants got friendly and had what is known as a "bastard" (an illegitimate child). 

I will note that making servant quarters plain is not dangerous. I will also note that, according to Timeline documentaries, they cut costs in the servant quarters in some houses that cost servants their lives or health. Stairs were sometimes only even where the guests were about and in the areas that were lived in by the family. Staircases in servant areas were sometimes not even. When you are carrying a plate of food or any heavy object that can throw a monkey wrench into your day faster than an avalanche with no rescue crew. Servants died on stairwells that didn't have even steps because it cost less to make servant stairs subpar. It extended the budget of the family to do this. Older stairs can be uneven anyways, yes, but if you notice that one area of an old Victorian era house has standard steps and the downstairs does not you are seeing the difference in status reflected into how the house was built. 

When I said it was lonely, I also mean romantically lonely. Unless you met your men in private and in secret you really couldn't have a relationship. They couldn't kiss you goodnight before duty because of a rule of "no followers" on the way back to your duties. Again, most of the relationships that happened were not spoken of and the strictest of secrets. Visitors to servants were forbidden. In some family closets you will also find a few skeletons. Children were had between a family member and a servant downstairs in some circumstances. In wealthy circles this was nothing short of shameful for both the servant and the family member, however, the servant would get dismissed and be unlikely to find work in that wealthy circle. It was worse for the servant. 

There were rules to follow by servants, generally summed up by being invisible unless needed. It was expected that you be calm and quiet. You basically have to do your job speaking as few words as possible and minding your Ma'ams and sirs. You are to keep your thoughts to yourself. Again, invisible is the expectation. Efficient, quiet service is what is asked of you. You are essentially part of the house itself. What this screams is that you are not equal. Does it sound like the worst job in the world? Actually, no, but depending on your employer it could be absolutely awful or absolutely wonderful. I put it under downside because it sounded so strict, yet, it depends on how strict your master or mistress is. Children actually related to servants more often due to the expectation of being seen and not heard. Governess and nurse bonded with the child more than some parents. 

Holidays were hard. Boxing day was for servants (giving boxes to servants). Sometimes they switch roles on that day. Servants had to run parties for the family. Wealthy families and upper-class families had many parties. You worked when others were off and free. You bent to the whims of your master and mistress for your paycheck.

A Bonus Section about Victorian Sexism


I hesitate to bring this one up, but I think it is worth noting. It is history and it is sexist, but it happened and I won't ignore it. Women were sometimes treated like children. What I hesitate to tell you is that women who did wrong in households were sometimes spanked. The guide to Victorian household management (written by Mrs. Beeton) suggested it. This was considered a wholesome book. Yes, I know, it's awful. Would you like an excerpt? 

“I am distinctly in favour of the rod, duty, obedience and discipline make for very good, well behaved girls. Even ladies of rank must on occasion be treated like a child and put across the knee. She must make her own arrangements for her punishment, as it is essential that she must loose all sense of power. Failing this the party administering the punishment should always part or lower the girl’s draws as this adds to the feelings of shame.”

This is a problem. This was only suggested for women. Did young boys get the belt for doing wrong? Sure, but no one suggested that they pull down their drawers and spank them with their drawers down when they were no longer children. Men got to grow out of childhood and women in that era did not. Let's not repeat the Victorian era, please! You even see this in some westerns.

*Here I will decline to put any pictures because the ones I found from the Victorian era were either erotica novels, showed a full butt to the world, or were children being spanked and not grown women. All of the pictures of women looked so sexualized that it made me sick.*

Sources:

Servants' Lives - Weddington Castle

On spanking and Victorian household management | A Voice in the Corner

Servants: A life below stairs - BBC News

The Servants of a Victorian Household (simplehistory.co.uk)

Victorian Era Servants in homes: Duties and rules (victorian-era.org)

What was it like to be a servant in Victorian times? (treehozz.com)

The Life of Domestic Servants in Victorian England (thegreatcoursesdaily.com)

Pictures:

https://austenauthors.net/regency-servants-valet-and-ladys-maid/

(510) Pinterest

Life in domestic service in the 1930s - 1939 Register | findmypast.co.uk



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Monday, January 24, 2022

Solving Puzzles 101

 As a Nancy Drew gamer, puzzles are an everyday part of my life. I think I'd go insane if I didn't have a jigsaw puzzle going or didn't have a game to play. I have so many sudoku books in my possession I may never finish them all. Today I'm going to talk about every type of puzzle I can and how to do them, including tips and tricks to solving them. 



Chris Ramsay and others on Youtube have channels that explore solving physical puzzles. So many Nancy Drew gamers stream and post on Youtube it'd take you months to watch them all. Markiplier and others play a variety of strange and fun games (horror and otherwise) consistently and for charity. Youtube is a treasure trove of people who solve puzzles for a living or just for Youtube in their spare time. I'll let you look these people up later, but for now, we'll start with categories of puzzles. 

The categories of puzzles I'll talk about today are physical, numbers, letters and words, logic, and jigsaw. Physical puzzles are described as puzzles you hold in your hand and play with using your hands. Number puzzles involve the use of numbers. Letter and word puzzles involve letter arrangement. Logic puzzles have to do with the use of logic and deduction. Jigsaw puzzles are interlocking pieces that create a picture. Most of these are obvious, but I include this breakdown anyway. 

Physical

The types of physical puzzles out there are vast and priced in many ranges. My husband loves these. I am incredibly frustrated by them. It takes someone who plays with everything in front of them to love these brilliant little and big objects. I don't exaggerate when I say that you have to find every button and moveable piece possible to solve some of these complicated physical puzzles. They come in metal, wood, and lego. Chris Ramsey says a puzzle is solved not only by taking it apart, but by also putting it back together like you found it. The latter part of the process sometimes takes the most time. These are known as brain teasers, technically. 

I said I'd include tips and tricks to these puzzles. The best advice I have is to find whatever moves and go from there. This really is messing with an object until you find the answer. Don't think too hard or you'll miss it. They are vast in form, too, so if you are truly stuck you can contact the company or find a tutorial online (hopefully). Some have pins that need to be moved and switches in them. Some are slider puzzles that create images.

It would take forever to categorize the variety of these things, so I won't. I'll put a link to Chris Ramsay instead and let you explore the rest of his channel to find that variety on your own. Click here for Chris Ramsay's Youtube channel! Happy exploring!

Numbers

Sudoku, Hidato, Nonograms, and Yohaku are all number-related puzzles. They all include logic, too. Sudoku is putting numbers in a square so that none repeat in any line. Hidato is putting all the numbers in the box in a way that creates an unbroken string of numbers diagonally, horizontally, and vertically. Nonogram solving is coloring in specific boxes specified by numbers on the side (no, not color by number). Yohaku is newer and I don't have a simple explanation for it. It is, and I quote, "a new type of number puzzle that will test your number sense and problem-solving skills. Each yohaku is either an additive or a multiplicative puzzle (as indicated by the symbol in the bottom right of the grid). Your task is to fill in the empty cells such that they give the sum or product shown in each row and column." 

Given Yohaku was last described, the tips and tricks for that involve being good at math. I am not. I found a good description of this, however, from somewhere else, and here it is. I know I have seen this puzzle in one nancy drew game somewhere. I purely guessed at it or cheated. All it is, truly, is basic math and time. 

Sudoku is one of my favorites. You start by looking at what numbers can't be in certain squares. Go square by square until you can logically eliminate what numbers can't go in a space and what can. Usually, they give you enough set numbers in an average puzzle to put at least a few numbers down. If you are doing a sudoku with five connected puzzles that share corners, do the corners first and then finish the middle. I do these rather well, but everyone has their own strategies to use, which you can find several of in this link. There are fancy and complicated versions if you need more challenge than the average human. 

Sudoku Example
Nonograms are a pain to do, at least for me. What I do know is that you do the rows that indicate a whole row of colored squares first. Then you logically deduce where the rest go based on that. Even then, you can find yourself guessing and checking the back of your book or cheating on them (cough couch, Shadow At Waters Edge, cough cough). The bigger it is, the harder it is. Someone explained this rather nicely in the link here. They even give you a sample one to try that isn't massively hard to do. 

Hidato, also known to Nancy Drew gamers as "renograms", is creating that string of numbers based on where the set numbers are placed. My husband also loves these. I literally bought him a book of them for Christmas because he exhausted the supply of them in Shadow At Waters Edge. This is basically logical reasoning. The shape of your box can be anything, so some are rather creatively shaped. I found a tutorial for a small hidato, should you want to try it. This is the tutorial. 

To be fair, a lot of these do go in the logic category, too. Some Sudoku also begins including letters. Challenge levels of these go from beginner to massively creative large ones that are nearly impossible. You can find the level you want. Start with beginner, though. Don't overwhelm yourself with a task that takes practice when you didn't start with the basics. 

Logic

Here we have chess problems, grids, brainteasers on paper, and visual trick puzzles, as well as many other types. 

Chess puzzles require you to know how to play chess, obviously, so I'm going to go ahead and assume you know how to play chess if you are doing these puzzles. I have a video below that will give you a bunch of chess tactics. Chess is logic with long-term thinking. I do know how to play, but this man in the video below is much better than anything I can come up with on my own. 


Visual trick puzzles have to do with illusions. These are something related to how many triangles are in a picture, and you have to count the tiny triangles within the bigger ones. You have to think outside the box. Not too many tricks for this type of puzzle, sadly, so I can't give you much help. This is the one puzzle that has no tip with it. 

Logic puzzles go broadly in many directions, and yet, I can give you one guideline on multiple types in one shot. Eliminate the impossible and you're left with the possible. Start by eliminating what can't be the answer and go from there. I notice that some people are shockingly good at logical thinking and others miss what I see as the obvious. No one is stupid, to be clear on that, but not everyone has a natural inclination for logic. 

Logic is important for many reasons, one of which is that everyday problems can be solved using it. An example from my work is people asking where a resident sits, even though they (except for a few new ones) have name tags on their tables. When one is given a table number and a name, logically they could reason out who at the table it should go to (minus those without name tags). That is an everyday logic problem. You can find more in adult life all the time. Adult life is a series of logic problems, even down to prioritizing stuff on my office desk.

You'd be surprised who's not strong at logic and who is. Those who have that strength are generally not asking questions that can be answered by basic logic (especially introverts). We simply figure it out ourselves and go, rather than ask what we know the answer to. We may doublecheck sometimes, though, just to be safe when something is critical. Pay attention to the use of logic around you today.  You can Sherlock Deduce about anyone through learning more about logic and observation.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Another favorite of mine is jigsaw puzzles, particularly in 500 to 1000 pieces. You can find challenging and extra challenging ones in pieces into the 1000s and puzzles with no edge. Some are all corners or all black and solid colored or with transitioning colors. Again, whatever challenge level you want is out there. I adore the mystery puzzles that have no image to go off of and have a mystery booklet to read. 

Here I count mechanical puzzles as related to Jigsaw. This is still interlocking pieces and creates something. It may be slightly different. All the same, I consider it the same strategy, especially with jigsaw puzzles that create buildings and 3D images. It is the same concept. The only difference is sorting is only by shape.

My strategy is simple. I also have a patience level that allows me to counted cross stitch and embroider for months. It takes patience and time to do this type of puzzle. If you have no patience or attention span you shouldn't start a puzzle (and ditto for counted cross stitch). 

I begin by dumping the puzzle pieces out of their box/bag and sorting the edge pieces out. I often have to do so again while constructing the edge of the puzzle (the missed-a-piece curse). After the edge is all nicely constructed and correct I sort them by color or pattern or both. I suggest getting a bunch of bowls to sort pieces into or investing in a simple, cheap puzzle sorting set. You take one color/pattern and put together all the pieces you can, repeating that process for all of the sorted bowls. You do this until you are stuck with a bunch of pieces that are multiple colors or you finish the puzzle. In the case of multiple colors, sort them by shape and try to fill the holes in the puzzle using shape. Eventually, you'll get there and have a beautiful image on your table or surface. 

You can frame it, put it away for future solving, or pass it on. When I solve it I give it a victory lap (aka leaving it up for a day) and then put it away, making sure the corner pieces are in a bag for when I solve it next. If I didn't love it the puzzle goes to one of my relatives. Much like books I dislike, puzzles I dislike leave my personal collection.

Words and Letters

The arrangement of words and letters involves crosswords and word searches, as well as board games like Scrabble. It comes down to how big your vocabulary is and knowing what your words mean in some cases. Scrabble boils down to knowing exactly what words can be placed in valuable spaces (which takes talent). In the general sense, avid readers and writers ace these types of puzzles. Also in this category, codebreaking is a real thing. Ciphers and anagrams are word puzzles. 

Codebreakers that broke Enigma machine codes used the art of arranging letters to do so. Some of our puzzles today and fun codes we know about were used during the war for real message sending. Ciphers are challenges that real men and women faced for the sake of war and espionage, which is amazing. Word puzzles were actually useful. Ciphers involve a keyword and shift in letters. You'll find tips for that type of puzzle right here. 

Crosswords are all about knowing what your words mean and arranging them in the correct spaces. This blog is getting a bit too long, so I will let you explore this link of tips yourself. When it comes to word searches you simply have to be observant. For more pointers, click here. Anagrams are word scrambles. Click here for some help on anagrams.







Sources:
https://www.yohaku.ca/

Pictures:


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Monday, January 17, 2022

illegitimate children - a history


I talked about fallen women already here, but we have yet to talk about the shame connected with being an illegitimate child. What happens when it isn't your fault you were born outside of marriage? Let's find out. 

Photo by legalnaija.com

First of all, you couldn't inherit any title or anything. Daughter of a duke? Means nothing. No status or inheritance for you. Basically, you would be a dirty secret that got swept under the rug by most people. Even if you didn't have a parent with a title it was bad. You represented the sin of your mother. Some women ditched their children at churches in the area in order to spare themselves shame. Some even killed their own children. The term for an illegitimate child is still in use today as an insult - bastard. At this point in time, you do not have to endure abuse for being born out of wedlock (thankfully for many children), but it has not always been so. 

Society's Flawed View 

The father was considered the leader of the household. Without the man of the house, it was thought that illegitimate children on the street became criminals. Often, a woman with an illegitimate child was not given aid (as established in my blog on poorhouses) due to her immoral reputation. Again, the child was proof of her sin at that time. The woman and child ended up on the streets without help in many cases, thus the possibility of turning to crime was high for both mother and child. In my opinion, this was more of a problem society created, but society at that time thought immoral people shouldn't be given extra help. In summary, it wasn't your fault and now no one will help your mother, thus you get punished for being born. Your reputation is mud already. 

In wealthy families you might be sent off to be a skeleton in a closet metaphorically. One Bridgerton novel covers this. The mother dropped her off to be a ward of the father, who cared for her rather well, but kept her origin a secret. Is that better than the streets? Yes, but if anyone finds out your origin you are still mud. Rich families had plenty of these secrets going around. You could also be given up for adoption, which was probably better than the streets, too. Mistresses had children, just like other women, and some families did care for the illegitimate children that came from them. Skeletons in closet secrets are often illegitimate children.

How do you know?

How could you tell in historical documents that someone was illegitimate? The lack of a father's name on a marriage or birth certificate. Easy as pie. Age is also a sign in census records. Sometimes grandparents got the child. If the youngest child has a whole lot of older siblings and the age of parents is a little older you can figure it out. The church baptism certificate might also straight up say "bastard" on it. Yep, it's mean, but they sometimes put it bluntly. When looking for the father of a child, check to see if the household servants are connected or the mother married the father shortly after (thus step-father is the biological father). Poor law records and parish records might actually tell you who the father is. Earlier illegitimate children were cared for by the church, which took care of poorhouses and workhouses. 

A woman drops her child off as a "foundling" 
Photo by BBC history

Lies breed stories that don't make sense. People will hide family history for various reasons. If you had an ancestor that was illegitimate you might find this out real quick. Be tactful if you look into that bit of family tree. Aside from the records, a story might not make sense and your common sense might tell you someone lied. Did someone pass off a child as a sibling when they weren't? Did someone disappear to a nursing home and come back with a weird depression? If someone was a foundling, you might have a real clear clue. Believe it or not, women killed their children out of shame, too. 


Strangely, the law still has some weirdness for illegitimate children. Click here for details. It is a bit complicated. I'll let you look at the link in this paragraph. Laws change. Back when there wasn't equal protection men were not entitled to help the child. The child was no one's child because legally a man's child was his property and not the mother's property. Which was terrible. 

Famous illegitimates

In the case of William the Bastard, he did inherit - but only because there were no legitimate children of his father. He was the eldest, so he got to be Duke. He also led a successful invasion of England. After this successful invasion, he was known as (drum roll please!) William the Conqueror. While his barons took advantage of him earlier on, he was a hard man due to his childhood and resorted to cutting off the hands and feet of rebels to gain control back. 

Lawrence of Arabia was illegitimate. He traveled around visiting castles, then the middle east. He joined the British war office during WWI. They sent him to Cairo, where he gave them maps and Turkish war positions. He later arranged an Arab revolt against the Turkish government and was instrumental in its success. Unfortunately, the allies carved up the middle east afterward. 

Alexander Hamilton is one we know well. He was the second child of a Scottish drifting merchant and a woman having an affair. He worked in a counting house first, then went on to go to college where his studies were interrupted by a revolt. He became captain of the artillery when fighting began and got Washington's attention, becoming his aide-de-camp. He made enemies of Arron Burr and eventually was challenged to a duel that ended in his death. 

Leonardo Da Vinci - Photo by discoverwalks.com
Lastly, but never least, is Leonardo Da Vinci. He was the product of a wealthy florentine man and a peasant girl with easy virtue. He painted the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. His seventeen siblings did not appreciate him and considered him a stain in the family. His success, however, made up for getting denied some of his father's estate. He got some satisfaction, too, out of getting all his uncle's estate (while everyone else was disinherited entirely). 


Sources:

 https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/apr/14/guardianspecial4.guardianspecial215

https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/inheritance-rights-for-legitimate-and-illegitimate-children-47186

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/illegitimate-child

https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/illegitimate-ancestors/

https://www.nature.com/articles/146298b0

Big Bastards: 10 of History’s Most Influential Illegitimate Children (historycollection.com)


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Monday, January 10, 2022

Creating A Writing Routine

 Writers and artists are probably the kings and queens of procrastination. We get distracted and end up somewhere on our social media scrolling or end up on Pinterest (where we originally went for inspiration). I am guilty of this all the time. Today we're going to explore how to create a writing routine that keeps you consistently writing and on track. This can go for artists, too.

Photo by greatspeechwriting.co.uk

A writing routine becomes a habit once you create it and use it consistently. I am not perfect by any means, yet I have finished drafts faster than I thought I would because I didn't wait for the muse to show up. I just wrote, whether it was a paragraph or a whole chapter. You can't wait for the muse to appear if you actually intend to go somewhere with your writing or art form. You'd never get anything finished if you did that.

As for editing, the same goes. Editing is exhausting. You need to schedule breaks in and schedule out what you are doing to your draft to keep it moving. It is not easy, especially when you get to beta reading and your beta readers are taking their sweet time (and this is why you hire an editor, ladies and gentlemen, and don't just hand it to your writer friends asking them for free editing).  Without further adieu, we start with writing - because a draft doesn't write itself!

Draft Writing

 The idea of writing character profiles, an outline, and then writing a whole draft is a lot- but not if you chunk the character profiles into smaller goals, write the outline (rough outline), and then make the goal a chapter a week. The shorter story is that you just chunk it into smaller goals per week. Make your writing goals manageable. It helps you move faster, as well as makes you feel accomplished. Reaching your goals gives you some reward psychologically, thus it gives you a bit of a boost mentally. 

Adapting to holiday schedules and chaotic family occasions can cause disruption to your writing routine. Given this, be prepared to adapt your routine or skip that week for writing goals. Even if you make your goal one paragraph instead of one chapter, you are still writing. Don't beat yourself up for a goal that is made impossible by situations outside of your control. Get back on and start again the next week. 

Find a space that you can focus in and make it yours. Upon doing just that, you can make it purely a writing zone. If possible, do this where and when you won't or can't be interrupted. Depending upon time of day, you might want to find a time where no one is in the apartment with you, your kids are at school, or when not many people have woken up. Unless, of course, activity gives you inspiration. Put that time in a planner or on a calendar and commit to that time of pure writing. In this way, set goals and deadlines for yourself (that are manageable) to keep yourself moving on drafts and projects. 

Photo by stevelaube.com
Log your hours for yourself. Start with 15 minutes and go from there. If you want to finish something fast you'll thank yourself. 15 minutes per day alone can get you at least two short chapters in a book finished. Even if you're using the time to research for a book it is worth it. Make it a page or word count log. Do what works for you, unit-wise. Prioritizing also helps with getting a draft out at a quick pace. When you cut out the time-wasting in your life it ends up creating time, which you can use to pop out the draft you are working on. 




Accountability may help your writing routine thrive. Grab a fellow writer or friend and tell them about what you do. Have them ask about your progress and projects. If someone is doing the routine with you, ask about their projects. It'll keep you both on track and writing. Make sure your buddy is committed, too, and can be honest with you. You may even use them for beta reading later (given you are both committed to writing and feedback). Be willing to do what they do for you. Partnering with someone is not a one-sided activity.

Editing

This is the worst part. You now have a draft, yet it isn't polished or ready to release into the known universe. So, how do you start? First, you plan out what aspects of your book to edit. You have grammar, plotline, plothole searching.....Just pick one at a time and take short breaks between. It is a good idea to save your editor some time (and yourself some money) by doing as much editing as you can before sending it to a paid editor. 

Start by leaving your draft alone for a week or so. Go take a break and relax, maybe work on another draft (like I do) to keep the creativity flowing. This will ensure you don't get blinded to some mistakes that your brain automatically corrects. Some people even put it in a different font and/or print it out. I go through several rounds of editing, so what I do is leave it alone for at least three days between rounds. 

Yes, beta reading is an aspect of this. You need feedback from fresh eyes. Find someone who has the time and will be honest. Accountability partner? Family members who love you and are retired? Many will volunteer, but in my experience, you find out time is an illusion. Those that think they have time will get hit by life - and so will you. Beta reading takes control from you. It is hard. It is necessary. Remember who was swift at beta reading and contact them again sometime. Rule of thumb, go for the people who have time to play with and care about you when choosing beta readers. 

Before beta reading, however, you correct the small typos and read through for plotholes. I do only one of these at a time and plug my chapters into my Grammarly app. It helps me correct sentence structure and find better words to use. I recommend it wholeheartedly, though you should see if it works for you by using the free version before paying for it. Get anything small out of the way in order to fix anything that is big. 

Photo by Wordpress.com

Collect your feedback here. Write it down. Keep track of it. This can be where you get fresh eyes on it (paid editor or beta reader). You take that feedback and make any changes you need to. Comb it a few times. An editor can guide this process with their thoughts. If using beta readers you should probably find the most common thoughts and mark them. Fix what is repeatedly mentioned most of all. By this, I mean easy fixes (grammar, spelling, format....), not hard fixes (plotholes that require thought). 

Now is the time to brainstorm ways to fix big plotholes. I suggest involving a paid editor at this stage. You need another head to help you. Still have that accountability partner? Go find them, too. Talk to other writers. No one is an island and no one can edit alone (despite your belief your draft is gold already). Then get to work using the advice you heard. Be aware that sometimes changing one detail can mess with an intricate plotline and make you change other details after that scene. 

Repeat. Do all this again until you have polished it to a point of beauty. Editing is a long process (and you have no idea how long until you do it). All those books on your shelf didn't start looking perfect and are not perfect by accident. Hours of editing took place. Your favorite authors have professional editors. Don't be fooled into thinking it magically comes out of a pen, then gets released. No, Rita Skeeter is not reality when it comes to writing a book. The same goes for any art form I can name. 

A Note For Artists

Artists, I know I just talked about writing, but you can still use the chunking method to do your art form. How you split tasks up depends on the art form. The basic concept is that you make a manageable goal and keep moving on the project. It does not matter what project or art form you choose. Muses come and go, but successful artists and writers consistently learn their craft. Practice creates more skill, skill creates better projects (notice I didn't say perfect), and better projects give you psychological reward. Don't give up. Don't leave a million great ideas undone in your basement or attic or workshop. Go achieve your end goals. I believe in you all!

Also, if you need to create a list of the projects you intend to do in order to keep track I'm right there with you. There is no shame in listing them and doing them one by one. A backburner list is a great idea and keeps you moving on your many dream projects without creating excess stress. Don't start ten million projects and overwhelm yourself. One or two at a time is fine (depending on how complicated they are). I care about your stress levels. Go easy on yourself. 



Sources:

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Monday, January 3, 2022

Long Hair Care

 I have long hair. When down and out of the braid I keep it in, it nearly hits my waist. I quite literally have it up or in a braid almost all week, with the exception of when I wash it. Today I have found some nifty tips on what to do with super long hair. 

Photo by The Freckled Fox


In the general sense, thick long hair is great to have, yet takes work to take care of. I love my hair being long and it makes different hairstyles possible. I only wash it once a week and have my husband braid it (because he's so good at making the braid last) to keep it from tangling. Even then it tangles after five or so days of being up. I sleep in this braid, for reference. (If I'm not supposed to do that, well, too bad. I work in foodservice. It makes it easier to wear a hairnet.)

I did some research on how we're supposed to care for long hair. This is everything that I found. 

General Care

When you brush your hair go from the bottom to the top, working your way up. It doesn't rip out hair nearly as much. Also, finding a brush that gets through your hair with minimal pulling is key. Quite frankly, my hair is so thick that I brush out my hair before a shower to make sure I don't have to detangle while my hair is wet. I may brush the conditioner through the hair, but by then there aren't tangles left to brush out. I have a paddle brush for my hair. 

If you use heat, get a protective spray before you do. Heat can do a lot of damage to your hair, especially when heat is used when your hair is damp or wet (don't do this). It's worth protecting your hair from heat. I think you can kill your hair with heat. 

Washing your hair is good, but not every single day. Don't overwash your natural oils out of your hair. They recommend 2 to 3 times a week. Speaking of how to wash your hair, shampoo only goes on your scalp. Conditioner is for the length of your hair. Rinse with cool water for less tangles and breakage. 

Sleep with it in a messy bun or a loose braid to prevent tangles. Sleeping with hair down will cause massive tangles (and I should know). You're also supposed to brush it out consistently. I kind of fail at that, but only because I keep it back and out of my face all the time. The research I found suggested braids for long hair. I did that right, at least.

Detangling is best done gently. For me, it takes a while. It was suggested that you distract yourself with music or audiobooks and do it, which means you don't yank your hair. Don't be afraid to use your fingers to detangle slowly. Wide-tooth comb from bottom to top. Do this before a shower or you'll find they are worse. 

 Simple Hairstyles

Photo by
love hairstyles
Keeping your hair out of your face is a struggle. You can't keep it down all the time. I found some cute styles that don't take forever to do. We're busy people and have places to be. I especially sleep in. Thus I stick to my braid. 

Bobby pins (the ones for thick hair) are great for pinning it out of your eyes. Pull it half-up using them or just pull back your bangs with them so you can see without brushing them away. 

You can literally dress up a ponytail with a bandana, ribbon, or colorful cloth wrapped around it. Add a flower and you achieve the same thing. Braids can get fancy with added ribbon, cloth, and clips (flowers or otherwise), so don't think too hard. A bow also looks cute with braids and ponytails. Buns and clips, ribbons, and scarves are cute, too. 

You can take a large clip and make it a ponytail or half-up (I suggest Lila Rose clips for thick hair). I discovered that you can create a bun by using one of those premade bun shapers. All you have to do is pull a ponytail through it, take a hair tie and secure the hair around it, then tuck in ends. I used to take a claw clip and use it to attach the bottom of my ponytail against my head (only now my hair is too heavy). 

Fancy braids like fishtail braiding are easy and look fantastic, professional even. I did that all the time for theatre - but never did I leave this one in for more than one day. 

Easiest one yet, flip your part and create more volume on one side than the other. Cute, nice, and even elegant. Just brush it out, in case of tangles. 

The Freckled Fox has some simple, bohemian hairstyles that I like, especially for long hair. They also don't take forever and a day. The bohemian side braid is my favorite. 



Sources:

https://www.luxyhair.com/blogs/hair-blog

30 Quick and Easy Hairstyles for Long Hair (byrdie.com)

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