Food on St Patrick's Day (in the USA)...

...is usually Corned Beef & Cabbage, which is the Irish-American version of the original Irish boiled bacon & cabbage, but while the celebratory Irishness is still going strong, try something a bit more authentic.

A nice warm coddle. Not cuddle, coddle, though just as comforting in its own way. (Some sources suggest it's a hangover cure, not that such a thing would ever be necessary at this time of year, oh dear me no.)

Coddle is a stew using potatoes, onions, bacon, sausages, stout-if-desired / stock-if-not, pepper, sage, thyme and Time.

You'll often see it called "Dublin Coddle", but my Mum made Lisburn Coddle lots of times, I've made West Wicklow Coddle more than once, and on one occasion in a Belgian holiday apartment I made Brugsekoddel, which is an OK spelling for something that doesn't exist in any cookbook.

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I do remember one amendment I made to Mum's recipe, which met with slight resistance at the time and great appreciation thereafter.

Her coddle was originally cooked on the stove-top, not in the oven, and nothing was pre-cooked. Potatoes were quartered, onions were sliced, bacon was cut into chunks and then everything went into the big iron casserole, then onto the slow back ring, and there it simmered Until Done.

However, the bacon was thick-cut back rashers, and the sausages were pork chipolatas.

Raw, they looked like this:

...and the bacon looked like this:

Cooked in the way Mum initially did, they looked pretty much the same afterwards. The sausages didn't change colour. Nor did the bacon.

While everything tasted fine, the meat parts always looked - to me, anyway - somewhat ... less than appealing. "Surgical appliance pink" is the kindest way to put it, and that's all I'm saying. This is apparently "white coddle" and Dubs can get quite defensive about This Is The Way It SHOULD Look.

I'm not a Dub, so I persuaded Mum to fry both the bacon and sausages first, just enough to get a bit of brown on, and wow! Improvement! I remember my Dad nodding in approval but - because he was Wise - not saying anything aloud until Mum gave it the green light as well.

Doing the coddle in the oven, first with lid on then with lid off, came later and met with equal approval. So did using only half of the onion raw and frying the other half lightly golden in the bacon fat.

Nobody quoted from a movie that wouldn't be made for another decade, but there was a definite feeling of...

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There are coddle recipes all over the Net: I've made sure that these are from Ireland to avoid the corned-beef-not-boiled-bacon "adjustment" versions which are definitely out there. I've already seen one with Bratwurst. Just wait, it'll be chorizo next.

Oh, hell's teeth, I was right. And from RTE...

Returning to relative normality, here's Donal Skehan's white coddle and his browned coddle with barley (I'm going to try that one).

Here's Dairina Allen's Frenchified with US measurements version. (I feel considerably less heretical now.)

And finally (OK, not Irish, but it references a couple of the previous ones and is a VERY comprehensive write-up, so gets a pass) Felicity Cloake's Perfect Dublin Coddle (perfect according to who, exactly...?) in The Guardian.

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Returning to the beginning, and how boiled bacon became corned beef (a question which prompted @dduane to start an entire website...!)

The traditional Irish meat animal for those who could afford it was the pig, but when Irish immigrants (even before the Great Famine) arrived in the USA, they often lived in the same urban districts as Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.

For fairly obvious reasons pork, bacon and other piggy products were unavailable in those districts, but salt beef was right there and far cheaper than any meat Irish immigrants had ever seen before.

Insist on tradition or eat what was easy to find? There'd have been contest - and do I sometimes wonder a bit if sauerkraut ever came close to replacing cabbage for the same reason.

The pre-Famine Irish palate liked sour tastes: a German (?) visitor to Ireland in the mid-1600s wrote about about what were called "the best-favoured peasantry in Europe", and mentioned that they had "seventy-several sour milks and creams*, and the sourer they be, the better they like them."

* Yogurt? Kefir? Skyr? Gosh...

Corned beef and Kraut as the immigrants' celebratory "Irish" meal for St Patrick's Day? Maybe, maybe not.

Time for "Immigrant Song" (with kittens).

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Corned beef got its name from the size of the salt grains with which the beef was prepared. They were usually bigger than kosher salt, like pinhead oats or even as large as grains of wheat, and their name derived originally from "corned (gun)powder", the large coarse grains used in cannon.

BTW, "corn" has been a generic English term for "grain" for centuries, and "but Europe didn't have corn" is an American mistake assuming the word refers to sweetcorn / maize, which it doesn't.

Lindsey Davis, author of the "Falco" series, had a couple of rants about it and other US-requested "corrections". As she points out, mistakes need corrected but "corn" is not a mistake, just a difference in vocabulary.

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In Ancient and Medieval Ireland pig would have included wild boar, the hunting of which was a suitable pastime for warriors and heroes, because Mr Boar took a very dim view of the whole proceeding and wasn't shy about showing it (see "wild boar" in my tags and learn more).

Cattle were for milk, butter, cream and little cattle; also wealth, status, and heroic displays in their theft, defence or recovery. It's no accident that THE great Irish epic is "The Cattle-Raid of Cooley" / Táin Bó Cúailnge (tawn / toyn boh cool-nyah).

Killing a cow for meat was ostentation on a level of lighting cigars with 100-, or even 500-, currency-unit notes. Once it had been cooked and eaten there'd be no more milk, butter, cream or little cattle from that source, so eating beef was showing off And Then Some.

Also, loaning a prize bull to run with someone else's heifers was a sign of great friendship or alliance, while refusing it might be an excuse for enmity or even war. IMO that's what Maeve of Connaught intended all along, picking undiplomatic envoys who would get drunk and shoot their mouths off so the loan was refused and she, insulted, would have an excuse to...

But I digress, as usual. Or again. Or still... :->

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For the most part, "pig" mean "domestic porker", and in later periods right up to the Famine, these animals were seldom eaten.

Instead, known as "the gentleman who pays the rent", the family pig ate kitchen scraps and rooted about for other foods, none of which the tenant had to grow or buy for them. These fattened pigs would go to market twice a year, and the money from their sale would literally pay that half-year's rent.

For wealthier (less poor?) farmers, pigs had another advantage. Calves arrived singly, lambs might be a pair, but piglets popped out by the dozen. A sow with (some of) her farrow was even commemorated on the old ha'penny coin...

What with bulls, chickens, hares, horses, hounds, pigs, salmon and stags, the pre-decimal Irish coinage is a good inspiration for some sort of fantasy currency.

But that's another post, for another day.

I feel like a lot of people unfortunately need this to be explained, given how they try to "debate" the topic: If you tell a conservative that their policies harm transgender or nonbinary minors, they are absolutely never, ever going to think "oh no, what have I done?!" What they already chose to believe is that everyone by default is born comfortable with their assigned gender role, and only becomes transgender or otherwise nonconforming when exposure to the concept itself essentially poisons and warps their mind. They don't think it's "real" that anyone starts questioning their gender from an early age; they think it's a delusion planted in them by just seeing trans people at all. These people, therefore, believe your liberal ideas already "harmed" those kids by injecting them with the dreaded gender-questioning psychic virus, and they believe kids can be saved from this hideous fate if the culture they grow up in simply hides the existence of trans people as anything other than a punchline or a villain, despite the fact that decades of precisely such a culture did nothing at all to stop trans people from existing. You CANNOT reason with this mindset or appeal to its nonexistent compassion. They are not "uninformed" or "misinformed;" they've already heard all the information you could ever want to give them and they deliberately chose to reinterpret it this way. Begging them to care about trans youth is not only useless but just incites them harder, because they're already angry and disgusted with you for thinking that trans youth EXIST.

Mom. Get out. I'm doing spells.

I moral lesson I wish literally everybody would learn is this: the very same actions that keep you safe when you are powerless can be abusive when you hold power over someone. The difference between resisting subjugation and subjugating others is often more a matter of context than anything else. And when context changes, it can be hard to relearn one's behavior—it requires an active effort. Probably all of us have hurt others needlessly, in some way or another, by doing things out of a reactive instinct for self-preservation. Probably all of us have been hurt by others, sometimes very deeply, when they were acting out of the same instinct.

I don't like speaking about ethics in the language of blame, but insofar as blame is a coherent notion to begin with, I'll say this: neither is anyone evil for the failure to fully rework themselves and free themselves of bad habit after struggle, nor does the difficulty of reworking oneself excuse the abuse of others. Nor, though we may wish otherwise, is it always epistemically possible to our own actions with confidence in one camp or the other. We can only do our best to treat others well and at the same time ourselves, though it is often not clear how.

I was thinking of adding an example and was browsing the tags, and saw you ask for one, so here:

My mother was raised by two actively abusive parents. One of the things they did to her was classic gaslighting -- not only refusing to listen to her and lying to her, but doing so in a way that undermined her sense of reality and trust in her own memory.

The defense mechanism she developed to deal with that was an extremely staunch belief that her memory was the correct one. In particular, she would always say "that didn't happen" rather than "I don't remember that", because that protected her from other people from taking advantage of her not remembering. This was helpful when she was being abused, because it helped her resist being lied to and manipulated.

The problem is that she kept doing this once she got out of her abusive home, and specifically that she kept doing it once she had me -- a child she had power over. When you respond to any disagreement of memory between you and your child with "that didn't happen", you are training your child not to trust their memory.

I usually don't call this gaslighting because it wasn't intentional, but it had basically the same effect; by the time I was a teenager, any time someone disagreed with my memory of events I would immediately believe them, no matter how much I disagreed. The defense mechanism she had created to protect herself from being abused created the same effect on me as her original abuse did on her.

Oof.

Hackers (1995)

Change your Tumblr password now.

Humongous data breach just happened, with loads upon loads of sites being affected. Tumblr's among those. Also on the list is Wattpad for you fanfic people out there- among many, many other places.

There's a searchable list at the bottom of the article. Highly recommend scrolling or searching through, seeing what places you may be on that have been affected, and securing all your accounts. This thing's kind of big.

If you know people on any of the sites affected, let them know about this too, and spread the article around.

So I actually took a moment to google this. AND to read the fucking article twice.

This is mostly old data braches, meaning from past incidents. This is still data, however we are talking data from god fucking knows how long ago within the past few years as well.

This is from an article by Brooke Wagner found here.

This is a database that researches have found

Davey Winder on Forbes here.

Does this mean you shouldn't be concerned? No, but you shouldn't panic.

There are ways to easily deal with things like this and I'm sure you've found this a 1000 times on articles but I'm putting it here.

These are just two steps that honestly help a lot.

Now, keep in mind im no fucking IT genius, I am just a fucking stranger on the internet who don't know shit about shit. Which is even more reason for you to look into this yourself.

Read articles regarding leaks like this, and look into them, because I'm already seeing people losing their shit about this all over and nobody seems to have read more than the headlines.

Many Tumblr users in my circle use Firefox, so it's good to know about its built-in password manager. This password manager allows you to see which of your passwords have not been changed since a known breach containing them. Firefox keeps tabs on recent breaches for you and links you to the website in question so you can change your password.

Here's what it looks like for my now-deleted DeviantArt login:

When I click on it, it shows me this notice above my username and password, informing me that it was not DeviantArt that was breached, but another website that the password manager knows had the same password. I'd still need to change my DeviantArt password!

This is why it's good to use a strong, unique password for every login. When Firefox suggests a "keysmash"-looking password for your next login, use it! It will be saved to the built-in password manager. The password manager can be password-protected too, if you have security concerns. Be sure to use a unique password!

reblogging this again bcs this is an AMAZING addition <3!!!

Please stop reblogging the original version and reblog this instead. I screwed up with the wording on the original post and not really looking into what was new and what wasn't enough- my apologies. I didn't intend to come off as fearmongering or wanting people to panic, just remind people to change their password and there was some stuff I misinterpreted about the article. It still is a good idea to change passwords when there's a breach though for exactly the reasons stated above- reusing passwords puts you at risk when this stuff happens.

Also these are really good tips.

I need additional Olds from my decrepit corner of tumblr to do this poll. Please and thank you; pass the geritol.

I love the uncertainty of any decade existing prior to 1980

Wealth, risk, and stuff

Via Anne Galloway on Twitter, I just saw Living With Less. A Lot Less, an opinion piece in the New York Times.

I run into some version of this essay by some moneybags twig-bishop about once a year, and it bugs me every time.

Here’s the thing. Wealth is not a number of dollars. It is not a number of material possessions. It’s having options and the ability to take on risk.

If you see someone on the street dressed like a middle-class person (say, in clean jeans and a striped shirt), how do you know whether they’re lower middle class or upper middle class? I think one of the best indicators is how much they’re carrying.

Lately I’ve been mostly on the lower end of middle class (although I’m kind of unusual along a couple axes). I think about this when I have to deal with my backpack, which is considered déclassé in places like art museums. My backpack has my three-year-old laptop. Because it’s three years old, the battery doesn’t last long and I also carry my power supply. It has my paper and pens, in case I want to write or draw, which is rarely. It has a cable to charge my old phone. It has gum and sometimes a snack. Sunscreen and a water bottle in summer. A raincoat and gloves in winter. Maybe a book in case I get bored.

If I were rich, I would carry a MacBook Air, an iPad mini as a reader, and my wallet. My wallet would serve as everything else that’s in my backpack now. Go out on the street and look, and I bet you’ll see that the richer people are carrying less.

As with carrying, so with owning in general. Poor people don’t have clutter because they’re too dumb to see the virtue of living simply; they have it to reduce risk.

When rich people present the idea that they’ve learned to live lightly as a paradoxical insight, they have the idea of wealth backwards. You can only have that kind of lightness through wealth.

If you buy food in bulk, you need a big fridge. If you can’t afford to replace all the appliances in your house, you need several junk drawers. If you can’t afford car repairs, you might need a half-gutted second car of a similar model up on blocks, where certain people will make fun of it and call you trailer trash.

Please, if you are rich, stop explaining the idea of freedom from stuff as if it’s a trick that even you have somehow mastered.

The only way to own very little and be safe is to be rich.

love myself a cockroach of a character. i look at them and go ”how is that fucker not dead? they should be dead. they should be dead ten times over. how are they not?” and 90% of the time the answer is a combo of sheer stubborness and homosexuality

masks and helmets that hides someone's face in such a way that they become the face themselves my beloved

these are all creatures to me

Angel of War, angular and strange, gleaming silver and gold, Angel of Wonder, pure and one-eyed, looking to stars new and old, Angel of Harvest, simple and hidden, bring nature's sweetness to all, Angel of Health, mysterious and fine, beacon when life starts to fall, Angel of the Deep, crooked and cage-like, guide us across the sea, Angel of Solace, protect us from evil, lead us to where we are free.

Was inspired by the previous post a while back, and had been working on this on and off for a long while.

You can see the full-resolution versions on My Patreon.

@wearepaladin

the “bad guys” in hallmark movies end up always being the most respectful men ever.

because they will find out their girlfriend of 3 years (that they were about to propose to) went off to a random farm in minnesota, hours away from were the two of them built a life together, and she decided to just… stay there without even consulting him.

and then he decides to take a trip to make sure she’s okay, because this is generally alarming behavior, and then sees that she literally fell in love with her ex within one (1) week- and he wasn’t there, but you can TELL that they’ve made out a couple times.

and then she just strings him along for a few days, until fucking christmas eve, when she just breaks up with him and is like “i know we used to have the same values, but i’ve never loved you. mark makes me happier than you ever did. and you ONLY care about work, whereas i like christmas and fun, like a Good Person.”

and then, after finding out his entire relationship was a lie and he had his life turned upside down in a week and he got dumped on christmas, this guy’s just like “ok yeah that makes sense. i only wish you the best of happiness with mark. i hope you guys build a great life together in christmastreefarmville. thank you for everything.”

An AU where two Hallmark Christmas Bad Guys are both getting flights back to New York after being dumped by their respective Smalltown Blonde Girlfriends, and they bond over their shared experiences and fall in love in the departures lounge

@teashoesandhair your wish is my command :)

Probably, Levi should be more upset.

Probably he is still in shock. Right? He looks out of his taxi window (it's not technically a taxi, just some guy named Corey who offered him a ride to the airport, because Uber doesn't operate in fucking Tinyville, Bumfuck Middle-Of-Nowhere, Utah) and tracks water droplets racing each other down the glass, because of course it's raining, and his bad knee is killing him. 

Levi sniffs and rubs at his eyes and then pulls out his phone and books a ticket back to New York, wincing as four hundred and twenty-six dollars are deducted from his bank account. 

And, like, he should definitely be more upset.

He just got broken up with. He was engaged, for God's sake. A four-year relationship… over. Just like that. 

Corey says, "Ten minutes to the station." 

My elder daughter is in London and very excited to see her first professional production of "Noises Off" so I decided I wanted to watch the movie, which I'd not seen in ages, again. I call this piece "For we live in a world of madness and I, sadly, remain sane"

It was really satisfying to watch again, for the record

Who the hell can afford to replace these things that often? Being able to buy my FIRST couch is like a daydream I come back to?! (I don't want a used bedbugs one) Also what the fuck do you MEAN microwaves have removable filters somewhere

Here's a different edition

YALL BITCHES ARE REPLACING FURNITURE BECAUSE IT'S *OLD*????

The only two things I will push back on in the second image, speaking as an Official Old Person are the smoke detector and the non-stick cookware.

Smoke detectors really do have an expiration date, most often 10 years from manufacture, because they operate using a small amount of radioactive material to detect the presence of smoke, which becomes inert and ineffective after 10 years. You can still put new batteries in it and the test button may still work, but they are not actually functional. Replace your smoke detectors every 10 years. Trust me on this one, fire will fundamentally change or end your life. Every single time. So don't fuck around with this one.

As for non-stick cookware, replace it when the coating gets scratched. That coating can and will flake off into your food and that shit is no good for you. Better yet, if you're buying the cookware yourself, not receiving it as a gift, just don't buy non-stick. Some kind of bare metal pan will last you so much longer.

Matthew Lillard and Angelina Jolie as “Cereal Killer” and “Acid Burn” in Hackers (1995)

This image is the inevitable result of improper storage and transportation practices when dealing with High-Density Gender Concentrate™.

Its potency is constantly underestimated and spillage can have dramatic effects upon the unsuspecting.

I know that The Youth like to treat it like a party drug, and disregard the risks, but long-term exposure can result in serious consequences, including, but not limited to:

Please be cautious when handling High-Density Gender Concentrate™ and be sure to read the entire OSHA Safety Data Sheet (SDS, formerly known as MSDS - Material Safety Data Sheet). Link