Definitions by Lorelili
horticulture
A subsistence pattern distinguished by intensive gardening. Essentially small-scale farming, growing all manner of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and other plant products.
In societies that subsist on horticulture, there is a strong association with matrilineal families; daughters inherit the land from their mothers. The men clear a patch of forest for a garden and the women take over. This is usually accomplished by slash-and-burn.
The most important relationship in a horticultural society is usually the bond between brother and sister (as opposed to between father and son in many farming societies); a woman marries and her husband is recognized as the father of her children, husband and wife generally live separately and the main father figure for her children is their maternal uncle.
In societies that subsist on horticulture, there is a strong association with matrilineal families; daughters inherit the land from their mothers. The men clear a patch of forest for a garden and the women take over. This is usually accomplished by slash-and-burn.
The most important relationship in a horticultural society is usually the bond between brother and sister (as opposed to between father and son in many farming societies); a woman marries and her husband is recognized as the father of her children, husband and wife generally live separately and the main father figure for her children is their maternal uncle.
Among the societies that practice horticulture are the Maroons of Suriname, the Mosuo and Naxi of China, and numerous indigenous peoples in Indonesia and the Americas, like the Iroquois, Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and Zapotec. All of these nations are traditionally matrilineal.
horticulture by Lorelili November 7, 2012
toga
An often understood garment from ancient Rome; the "toga" of a toga party is much scantier and flimsier than the toga that ancient Romans wore.
The toga was basically a large wrap worn over a tunic.
The toga was basically a large wrap worn over a tunic.
In the early days of the empire, the toga was worn by both sexes, but after 200 BC the toga was reserved for men while women were expected to wear the stola; a woman wearing a toga was generally a prostitute or an adultress, to distinguish them from "respectable" women.
hunter-gatherer
Somebody who still practices the oldest known subsistence method for humans: gathering plant foods and hunting animals. Also known as a forager. For 99.9% of human history, virtually all humans lived in small, semi-nomadic bands who foraged for food. Now only .1% of humans hunt and gather.
Hunter-gatherer societies are the most egalitarian societies known; since the group size is rarely more than one hundred to two hundred, there is no room for sexual division of labor or social strata because everyone must look out for each other. Men hunt while women and children gather roots, leaves, fruits, eggs, seeds, and trap small animals. Males and females are recognized as different but equally important; since hunting is difficult and unpredictable, the women provide about 80% of the food. While women could hunt, that they nurse babies and small children keeps them from joining stressful, difficult hunts; gathering plant foods is far easier on the women and children. While the men must use sign language and hand signals to communicate while hunting, the women are free to chat with each other as they gather all manner of plant products.
Foragers depend heavily on the reproductive capacities of their territory and the local climate/ ecosystem must change very little, if at all; a tiny shift could mean disaster.
Hunter-gatherer societies are the most egalitarian societies known; since the group size is rarely more than one hundred to two hundred, there is no room for sexual division of labor or social strata because everyone must look out for each other. Men hunt while women and children gather roots, leaves, fruits, eggs, seeds, and trap small animals. Males and females are recognized as different but equally important; since hunting is difficult and unpredictable, the women provide about 80% of the food. While women could hunt, that they nurse babies and small children keeps them from joining stressful, difficult hunts; gathering plant foods is far easier on the women and children. While the men must use sign language and hand signals to communicate while hunting, the women are free to chat with each other as they gather all manner of plant products.
Foragers depend heavily on the reproductive capacities of their territory and the local climate/ ecosystem must change very little, if at all; a tiny shift could mean disaster.
The hunter-gatherer culture is very difficult to preserve now, with such pressure to assimilate. But then, Jared Diamond has argued that agriculture is the worst mistake that humans have made.
Where foragers eat at least 200 species of plants and a similar number of animal species, industrial cultures barely eat a tenth of that; foragers are far healthier while farmers now live with very little crop diversity and are thus vulnerable to famine and have lived close to animals and exchanged pathogens with them.
Women in foraging societies have the most autonomy; women’s control of production, marriage, and reproduction is the norm in hunter-gatherer groups.
Hunter-gatherer groups include the Bushmen, Mbenga, and Hadza peoples of southern Africa; the Yupik and Gwich'in of Alaska; the Beaver Nation of Canada; and numerous indigenous tribes in Indonesia, Australia, and the Americas.
Many of America's First Nations have been forced to leave hunter-gatherer lifestyles, including the Miwok, Ohlone, Chumash, Paiute, Cheyenne, Shoshone, Penobscot, and the many Plains Nations.
Where foragers eat at least 200 species of plants and a similar number of animal species, industrial cultures barely eat a tenth of that; foragers are far healthier while farmers now live with very little crop diversity and are thus vulnerable to famine and have lived close to animals and exchanged pathogens with them.
Women in foraging societies have the most autonomy; women’s control of production, marriage, and reproduction is the norm in hunter-gatherer groups.
Hunter-gatherer groups include the Bushmen, Mbenga, and Hadza peoples of southern Africa; the Yupik and Gwich'in of Alaska; the Beaver Nation of Canada; and numerous indigenous tribes in Indonesia, Australia, and the Americas.
Many of America's First Nations have been forced to leave hunter-gatherer lifestyles, including the Miwok, Ohlone, Chumash, Paiute, Cheyenne, Shoshone, Penobscot, and the many Plains Nations.
hunter-gatherer by Lorelili November 6, 2012
redhead
Somebody with red hair, ranging from ethereal strawberry blond to sensuous dark auburn. Red hair is a recessive gene and often skips a generation in families.
Blue, green, or grey eyes and peaches-and-cream complexion often go hand-in-hand with red hair, often with freckles. Redheads almost always burn in the sun and are thus vulnerable to skin cancer.
While redheads are admired in the United States, in Britain there's a strange hostility to them; perhaps because of historic association of red hair with the Irish and Scottish (whose populations are porportionately 10% and 13% of natural redheads, respectively), "gingers" are often openly insulted and treated with disdain, plus there's the bizarre claim that "gingers have no souls" (although given the "comedian" Carrot Top, it's understandable).
Still, redheads are also stereotyped as fiery-tempered and very lustful. This is part of the adoration of redheaded women, although redheaded men don't get enough attention.
Blue, green, or grey eyes and peaches-and-cream complexion often go hand-in-hand with red hair, often with freckles. Redheads almost always burn in the sun and are thus vulnerable to skin cancer.
While redheads are admired in the United States, in Britain there's a strange hostility to them; perhaps because of historic association of red hair with the Irish and Scottish (whose populations are porportionately 10% and 13% of natural redheads, respectively), "gingers" are often openly insulted and treated with disdain, plus there's the bizarre claim that "gingers have no souls" (although given the "comedian" Carrot Top, it's understandable).
Still, redheads are also stereotyped as fiery-tempered and very lustful. This is part of the adoration of redheaded women, although redheaded men don't get enough attention.
Depending on where one is, a redhead is often called "carrot top", "ginger", or "rusty"; the association with the "comedian" is unwanted, "ginger" can be comedic or insulting, and "rusty" hardly sounds like a compliment.
Some nice alternative adjectives for redhead include: cinnamon, nutmeg, copper, russet, gingerbread, turmeric, fox, burgundy, cayenne, pomegranate, fiery, flame, scarlet, crimson, carmine, saffron, and titian.
Famous redheads include: Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Ewan McGregor, Maureen O'Hara, Katherine Hepburn, Prince Harry, Rupert Grint, Bonnie Wright, Elizabeth I, Conan O'Brien, Vincent Van Gogh, Eddie Redmayne, Winston Churchill, Shirley Manson, Molly Ringwald, Marilyn Monroe, Eric Stolz, J K Rowling, Karen Gillan, Ron Howard, Jennie McAlpine, Michael C. Hall, and Tori Amos, among others.
Some nice alternative adjectives for redhead include: cinnamon, nutmeg, copper, russet, gingerbread, turmeric, fox, burgundy, cayenne, pomegranate, fiery, flame, scarlet, crimson, carmine, saffron, and titian.
Famous redheads include: Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Ewan McGregor, Maureen O'Hara, Katherine Hepburn, Prince Harry, Rupert Grint, Bonnie Wright, Elizabeth I, Conan O'Brien, Vincent Van Gogh, Eddie Redmayne, Winston Churchill, Shirley Manson, Molly Ringwald, Marilyn Monroe, Eric Stolz, J K Rowling, Karen Gillan, Ron Howard, Jennie McAlpine, Michael C. Hall, and Tori Amos, among others.
erotic
Something that is sexually arousing, sensuous.
The main difference between erotica and pornography seems to be that erotica is closer to fine art and of a romantic nature while pornography is seen as crass and degrading.
The main difference between erotica and pornography seems to be that erotica is closer to fine art and of a romantic nature while pornography is seen as crass and degrading.
The Song of Songs is among the most erotic passages in the Bible (or in any literature).
Romantic literature is often erotic:
"...their lips rosy and swollen in delight... Tatiana's honey-colored skin was flushed pink as she collapsed against the luxuriously full pillows on the bed, her obsidian hair spilling in all directions, the hillocks of her bosom peaked with excitement. Felipe's sinewy, barrel chested form and his smouldering coffee eyes gazed upon her eagerly as his strong, cinnamon hands gently caressed her silken thighs, like two gazelles, and the fullness of her hips. His breath caught in his throat as he beheld the blossom of her loins in its nest of curls, the petals dripping with the nectar of her desire, her pearl awaiting his kiss. Felipe's bull shoulders trembled, the head of his soldier rose and peered through its hood..."
Romantic literature is often erotic:
"...their lips rosy and swollen in delight... Tatiana's honey-colored skin was flushed pink as she collapsed against the luxuriously full pillows on the bed, her obsidian hair spilling in all directions, the hillocks of her bosom peaked with excitement. Felipe's sinewy, barrel chested form and his smouldering coffee eyes gazed upon her eagerly as his strong, cinnamon hands gently caressed her silken thighs, like two gazelles, and the fullness of her hips. His breath caught in his throat as he beheld the blossom of her loins in its nest of curls, the petals dripping with the nectar of her desire, her pearl awaiting his kiss. Felipe's bull shoulders trembled, the head of his soldier rose and peered through its hood..."
Catherine Eddowes
(April 14, 1842-September 30, 1888) The fourth recognized victim of Jack the Ripper. Called "Kate" by her friends.
Born in Wolverhampton, Kate was one of twelve children and was raised between there and London. Intelligent and bubbly throughout her life, Kate, who was five-foot-two with hazel eyes and auburn hair, took up with ex-soldier Thomas Conway at age 21 and had three children with him (Annie, born 1865; George, born 1868; and Thomas, born 1873). Kate and Conway's marriage was common law and unstable to its end in 1881, due to Conway's violence and Kate's drinking; Conway took the boys and Kate left with Annie.
Soon after leaving Conway, Kate moved to Whitechapel and met John Kelly, with whom she would live until her death. She and John were apparently quite happy together and went together from dosshouse to dosshouse, with Kate occasionally prostituting herself to bring money. Annie, meanwhile, married and regularly moved around to avoid her mother's scrounging. Although Kate had helped Annie through her first pregnancy, Annie could not stand more drunken begging from her mother.
Born in Wolverhampton, Kate was one of twelve children and was raised between there and London. Intelligent and bubbly throughout her life, Kate, who was five-foot-two with hazel eyes and auburn hair, took up with ex-soldier Thomas Conway at age 21 and had three children with him (Annie, born 1865; George, born 1868; and Thomas, born 1873). Kate and Conway's marriage was common law and unstable to its end in 1881, due to Conway's violence and Kate's drinking; Conway took the boys and Kate left with Annie.
Soon after leaving Conway, Kate moved to Whitechapel and met John Kelly, with whom she would live until her death. She and John were apparently quite happy together and went together from dosshouse to dosshouse, with Kate occasionally prostituting herself to bring money. Annie, meanwhile, married and regularly moved around to avoid her mother's scrounging. Although Kate had helped Annie through her first pregnancy, Annie could not stand more drunken begging from her mother.
Catherine Eddowes spent September 29 trying to secure money, in the morning pawning a pair of John's work boots for food money. That afternoon, she set off to ask her daughter for money (unaware that Annie and her husband had moved again), reassuring John that she wouldn't meet the Ripper.
Kate never reached Annie, but somehow found some money, enough to become roaring drunk; she was found at 8:30 PM surrounded by a crowd in the middle of Aldgate High Street, giving them a drunken impersonation of a fire engine, after which she curled up on the pavement to sleep.
The police took an unwilling Kate to Bishopsgate Station, where she was locked in a cell to sleep off her stupor. At 12:15, she was heard singing softly in the cell and was judged sober enough. After a scolding about her drinking, Kate left the station at about 1 AM. Meanwhile, the body of Elizabeth Stride had just been found in Berner Street, a mile away.
At 1:30 AM, a police officer saw Kate in Mitre Square (in the City of London itself) speaking with a man; when he returned fifteen minutes later, he found Kate's mutilated body.
Her throat was cut, "V" shapes cut into her cheeks and pointing to her eyes, her eyelids split vertically, the end of her nose cut off, her right cheek gashed. Her skirts were hiked up to her belly and she'd been disemboweled, with her uterus and one kidney taken away.
Kate never reached Annie, but somehow found some money, enough to become roaring drunk; she was found at 8:30 PM surrounded by a crowd in the middle of Aldgate High Street, giving them a drunken impersonation of a fire engine, after which she curled up on the pavement to sleep.
The police took an unwilling Kate to Bishopsgate Station, where she was locked in a cell to sleep off her stupor. At 12:15, she was heard singing softly in the cell and was judged sober enough. After a scolding about her drinking, Kate left the station at about 1 AM. Meanwhile, the body of Elizabeth Stride had just been found in Berner Street, a mile away.
At 1:30 AM, a police officer saw Kate in Mitre Square (in the City of London itself) speaking with a man; when he returned fifteen minutes later, he found Kate's mutilated body.
Her throat was cut, "V" shapes cut into her cheeks and pointing to her eyes, her eyelids split vertically, the end of her nose cut off, her right cheek gashed. Her skirts were hiked up to her belly and she'd been disemboweled, with her uterus and one kidney taken away.
Catherine Eddowes by Lorelili October 9, 2012