Why “Donald Duck” is Bad: Assimilation, Alliteration & How to Create a Name Whether you are an author, inventing names for the characters of your next novel - or you are a future parent, considering names for your yet unborn children – you should be aware of assimilation and alliteration, and what they do to a name. A lot of people are fond of alliteration, and it is fine, as long as it is not exaggerated. Ending up with 10 children, all with names beginning with the same…
Milk, Life or Death? The general public and the public society at large tend to think of milk as unquestionably healthy food; a belief which is not based on knowledge, but on propaganda. The dairy industry is commercially important - too important to be allowed to be challenged in a serious way. Within certain circles, however, dairy products are controversial. Milk, especially industrial milk, is questioned for a number of reasons. We will look at some of them here. In this…
Retrospection 1 The last few weeks I have seen some retrospective articles; that is, posts where the author in one way or another says something about their time on this platform, what it has meant to them, which have been their greatest successes, and so on... At first it occurred to me as an author lacking something to write about, someone who desperately grabbed for a new topic – but after a while I saw a value in these posts. They could be an encouragement to newbies,…
About Zodiacs & Astrology (Egyptian, Babylonian, Indian, Chinese) I. The Zodiac The Zodiac probably provides the first "months" of history, at least the oldest still known, although they are not based on the moon. The trail leads via Babylonia and back to Sumer, one of the two oldest civilisations known. Many call them "the oldest", but in my opinion Egypt is another strong candidate. It is also clear that the knowledge of astronomy and astrology, which were one and the same…
Retrospection 2 *In* *Retrospection 1**, I explained why I am writing this series, and I brought up my old topic, Japanology. This time we will look at another large topic in my production here,* ***Egyptology*** *- and on my series about* ***coffee****.* https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/retrospection-1-a78bc572 Egyptology The first article in my series about Egypt was "The Sacred Crocodiles of Egypt". After that I built further on the theme of crocodiles and Egypt, which…
Symbols & Their Opposite: Mathematics & Music Symbols are important. They do not only convey signals whose meaning is understood by those taught of them; some symbols go deeper than that, their understanding being universal, an inherent part of our psyche as a species, of our genetically based mental organisation. All of us deal with symbols all the time, whether we are aware of it or not. Words are symbols for what they mean, letters are symbols for sounds, and figures are…
Art as Visual Music & The Importance of Form Art During history, pictorial art has had different functions and served different purposes: decoration, education, mnemotechnical tool (support of memory), etc. Its earliest use, however, most probably was for symbols, and there is not much doubt that the oldest symbols served the oldest lore, magic. I am bold enough to claim that symbology is still the most important part of art. Not necessarily quantitatively, but as the part…
Practising Art: The Art of Seeing & Beyond Mere Seeing By drawing and painting I'm learning ***the art of seeing***. Not only to get a vague idea of what's around me, but really seeing. I can explore the visual reality and my visual imagination: the outer world, and the inner. This is a creative activity for my own sake, with no concern for the presence of a viewer. Whether I create immortal art or not is irrelevant. If I do, fine, but it is just a side-effect; that's not…
Animal Teeth, Sabre-Toothed Tigers & Dragon's Teeth In palaeontology, the study of prehistoric life, teeth provide a lot of information. They reveal information about the animal's diet, its age, and perhaps even its nutritional status. Of course that goes for contemporary animals too. Carnivores (meat-eaters), past and present, do not normally chew their food. Their digestion is purely chemical. Their teeth are for sawing or cutting off pieces and slices they can swallow…
Nietzsche: Selected Quotes & Brief Comments Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900, a long time with his reputation soiled by a supposed connection to Nazism, was in reality one of the most important Western thinkers of the second millennium. Hitler appropriated Nietzsche posthumously, but Nietzsche himself would have shuddered at Hitler's nationalism, collectivism and glorification of The Reich. He hated the State and all its manifestations. Indeed, he hated all institutions; also…
Not Only Beta-Carotene: Carotenoids (Carotenes & Xanthophylls) Carotenoids are a class of fat-soluble pigments found primarily in plants, algae and photosynthetic bacteria, where they play a role in the photosynthetic process. They can occur in non-photosynthetic bacteria and fungi as well. One of their functions in plants is to protect them against oxidation. Many of the yellow-orange-red colours of fruits, flowers and plant leaves are caused by carotenoids. The aroma of…
Retrospection 3 In this retrospection we will discuss Quotes, Sayings and Proverbs. I have written a number of posts with small collections of these, but I also quote amply in my other articles. One reader, @wakeupkitty, once asked from where I got the quotes, my answer now is the same as then: *“I make notes of interesting lines I read, and since I read copiously, and have done since childhood, I have thousands of quotes in small notebooks.“*…
The Kreutzer Sonata: How Art Inspires to Art, which Inspires to Art... One of the greatest classical composers created a violin sonata, which was dedicated to a French violinist, after whom it has been named. Actually, it was first dedicated to another violinist, but the composer changed the dedication after one performance. A famous author, as great within world literature as the composer is in music, wrote a story with the same name. What name? Beethoven composed the…
The King & Queen of Spices: Turmeric & Ginger Turmeric is the root of ***Curcuma longa***, growing in the East Indies. It is used as a spice, alone or as the main ingredient in curry; as a medicine, especially against liver diseases; as dye, to colour silk, wool, etc.; and to produce turmeric paper, which is paper impregnated with turmeric and used as a test of the alkalis (turning it brown) and for boric acid (turning it reddish). The yellow pigment is curcumin, and it is…
Supplement to Teeth: Etymology & Glossary *When I had finalised the articles of the series about teeth, human and animal, I realised that a glossary would be needed. So here it is, along with a brief comment on etymology. I might add to the glossary later, if there is need for that.* This is a supplement to the series: 1. Dentistry - A Modern Luxury? Why Do We Need It? https://read.cash/@Mictorrani/dentistry-a-modern-luxury-why-do-we-need-it-357f88b3 2. Preserve Your Teeth:…
Retrospection 4 In this retrospection, we will look at dinosaurs, reptiles, dragons and to some extent birds - a number of seemingly related topics, which are not necessarily as related as they seem. In my first period at read.cash (which ended in August 2020), I wrote two articles about palaeontology (the study of extinct life), particularly about dinosaurs. One was "How Can We Know Anything About Dinosaurs?”, in which I explain how we can draw (quite many) conclusions from…
Tusks & Ivory *"Out of a dog's mouth will never come ivory tusks."* (Chinese proverb) I. Tusks & Ivory: the Material Tusks are teeth of certain mammals, canines or incisors, growing out through the mouth and protruding considerably from the mouth and face. For elephants and narwhals tusks are incisors, for walruses and various boars they are canines. They are used as weapons, tools, and for demonstration of dominance. Elephant tusks give ivory, an exclusive material which…
Spices & Health: Cumin, Anise, Star Anise, and Fennel Almost everything with a strong taste or smell, or a strong colour, contains biologically very active substances. Mostly they are either very healthy, or they are poisonous - or both. What is poisonous in large amounts can be beneficial in a small dose. To utilise the medical properties of spices to their full extent, they are to be used unheated. Generally it is better to spice food at the table, not while cooking. Many…
Fenugreek, Lactation & Male Libido Fenugreek (***Trigonella foenum-graecum***) has been used for millennia. Seeds have been found in tombs from Old Egypt and in Mesopotamia, the latter dated to about 4000 BC. The word “fenugreek”, means Greek hay, just as Latin ***foenum-graecum***, which refers to its use as fodder, common amongst Greeks and Romans of Antiquity. Charlemagne introduced this use to his lands north of the Alps by a decree, ***Capitulare***, in 812. All parts…
The Three Most Expensive Spices *The three most expensive spices are saffron, genuine vanilla, and cardamom. Let's take a look at their medical effects.* Saffron From old French ***safran***, originally from Arabic ***za'faran***. ***Crocus sativus***, a low ornamental plant, which has crocus-like purple-coloured flowers, provides saffron. The dried, orange coloured stigmas of the flowers are (and have been), used as a dye, for seasoning and in medicine. Saffron is mentioned…
How I Discovered Science Fiction: A Green Brain & Dune One of the most interesting and innovative genres of literature from the last 70 or so years, is so-called speculative fiction. Two of its main branches are Fantasy & Science Fiction. While fiction being speculative has existed at least from old Athens in the 5th century BC, the modern use of the term, ”speculative fiction”, can be traced back to 1947, when author Robert A. Heinlein used it in ”The Saturday Evening…
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