Ancient writing in Japan: men were from China, women used sylabic writing

post from Linfamy:

Because the Japanese elites modeled themselves after China, official documents were written in Chinese characters, or kanji. Kanji was called “man’s hand.” Women could not step foot into the realm of politics and government, so women of the court wrote in hiragana, a cursive script invented in Japan that makes me think of the path of a cherry blossom petal floating in a tranquil pond. Now this did not mean men only wrote in kanji and women only wrote in hiragana. It depended on what was written rather than the writer’s chromosomes. For example, government decrees and records were written in kanji, but Japanese waka poetry was written in hiragana, even if the writer was a man. Men wrote love letters to women in hiragana.

nnnnn

Narcissists forever

we just watched the first season of the White Lotus, which the youtube commenters assure us is about Americans.

my take?

it is the X rated version of most of the Hallmark movies.

the Berkshire hermit: O.B. Joyful

LINK

Poem about him:

HIS Name WAS O.B.
his Name wasAlbert Franklin Tyler, I knew him as O.B. Joyful
he oftenLived lived on my street, A Strange man when you first meet.
He had long stringy hair with bones and bobby pinsTied In his hair
"NOT Very Neet", He was a man of nature and he lived on my street
as a kid back thenThen I would often see him coming up my street at first
I was a little Standoffish Because He gave me the creeps.so as I grew and got to know him Back then I Began To Realize that his
Philosophy Was kind ah deep this bearded Long haired Man with worn out
Clothes and bailing twineUsed for a belt would often geet me and
ofer me a peanut As a treet then he would ask me if I Was a Vegatarian and tells good things that I should eat that eccentric  old Man (O B Joyful) That lived at the end of Irwin St in an old delapated shack
(A Junk Yard IF I MAY) Covered himself up with any things that he could find,
Cardboard Was his favorite to cover himself
To sleep.
A lonely man that carried his Feeling so Deep..A Complecated man that march to his own beat. he would sometimes go to Someone garden on our street and would help himself To a treet but always leave a few cents at there door step to let them know he took somthing from there garden to eat. I Knew This man that Sometimes lived on My street , I Guess I was one of the ones that knew this man that marched to his own beat.
I

Akenaten: no it was not a good place to live

 TeaAtTrianon posts a link to an article about Amerna, the ciity of the heretic pharoah 

The city’s layout indicates a well-organized community. Recent excavations have uncovered buildings that may have served administrative functions, including structures resembling an early town hall or police station. Hawass noted that the city offers rare insight into daily life and suggested that its artisans and workers lived comfortably. He said, “We found many showers inside the houses.”

sorry guys but the skeletens showed a different picture: From Sci American:

3,300-Year-Old Egyptian Skeletons Reveal Lower Classes' Hard Lives More than three quarters of the adults showed signs of degenerative joint disease, likely from hauling heavy loads, and about two thirds of these adults had at least one broken bone....While an Egyptian pharaoh built majestic temples filled with sparkling treasures, the lower classes performed backbreaking work on meager diets, new evidence suggests.

black teeth

.......

more here:

Teeth blackening was practiced by numerous cultural groups, including the Austronesian, Austroasiatic, and Kra–Dai-speaking peoples. It was also prevalent in regions like Southeast Asia, Oceania, and parts of the Americas. Each culture had its reasons, often linked to beauty, maturity, or social status. Methods of Dyeing Teeth Black Across Cultures

 

The methods of achieving blackened teeth varied widely. In Vietnam, for example, people used charcoal and salt, while in Islamic South Asia, a substance called missī was applied.

 

Despite the different techniques, the underlying symbolism of beauty and maturity remained consistent.

 

The traditional ohaguro mixture was made by dissolving iron filings in vinegar, creating a black liquid that was applied to the teeth. This concoction was not only effective in dyeing the teeth but also helped prevent decay, serving a dual purpose of beauty and health.

from Isabella Bird's book:

 

The barber’s work was only partially done when the hair was dressed, for every vestige of recalcitrant eyebrow was removed, and every downy hair which dared to display itself on the temples and neck was pulled out with tweezers. This removal of all short hair has a tendency to make even the natural hair look like a wig.

Then the lady herself took a box of white powder, and laid it on her face, ears, and neck, till her skin looked like a mask.

With a camel’s-hair brush she then applied some mixture to her eyelids to make the bright eyes look brighter, the teeth were blackened, or rather reblackened, with a feather brush dipped in a solution of gall-nuts p. 202and iron-filings—a tiresome and disgusting process, several times repeated, and then a patch of red was placed upon the lower lip. I cannot say that the effect was pleasing, but the girl thought so, for she turned her head so as to see the general effect in the mirror, smiled, and was satisfied.

 

The remainder of her toilet, which altogether took over three hours, was performed in private, and when she reappeared she looked as if a very unmeaning-looking wooden doll had been dressed up with the exquisite good taste, harmony, and quietness which characterise the dress of Japanese women.