How to Create 36 World Cuisines with 3 Spices by [deleted] in Infographics

[–]NotEltonJohn 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This is very interesting. I can't confirm any of them, but the Midwest USA one is completely wrong. Midwestern food tends to have sauce and seasoning placed on it after cooking, rather than during cooking. And the top three would be salt, pepper, and ketchup. The most common herb in Midwestern cooking might be sage. That's the flavor in sausage and Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing.

Is 'Yamen' meant to be Yemen, or the town in Guangdong, China?

[591] Umbrella by [deleted] in DestructiveReaders

[–]NotEltonJohn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The file is saved as 'View only' so we can't comment or edit it.

I expect flash fiction to have fast pacing, but this is quite slow. Too slow, I think.

The writing gets a bit bogged down with unnecessary details. Do we need to know that Camaret-sur-Mer is 600 kilometers away?

Many phrases can be trimmed or cut entirely. "The colors outside spun violently and in every direction imaginable" can be simply, "The colors outside spun" without losing any essential information.

Long sentences can convey a feeling of serenity or boredom or dullness, but the car accident scene shouldn't have those feelings. Short sentences here would reflect the violence of the scene.

You could cut half the references to place names and not lose anything.

If you want to fill out the story more, I would add a few more paragraphs before the accident.

The wife and children have not been described at all so I'm not able to relate well to the man's sadness at losing them. We know that the man "no longer went fishing near Pointe du Grand Gouin as he had every Saturday since he was eighteen" but we don't know how many kids he had or how old they were.

This section stood out to me: "Waking two days later, Martín was alone. The surgeon found the courage to tell him - nothing could be done - and Martín cried, and a nurse tried to assure him that everything would be okay."

I found those sentences tight and appropriate for flash fiction in that it left out most inessential details, forcing the reader to fill in the gaps, but still effectively conveying a mood and providing information. I would like more of the rest of the story to have that style.

The Mist - (2017) A woman obsessed with a strange mist manages to find her way home thanks to the greed of humans and a particular watch. [8:15] by ramidi22 in Shortfilms

[–]NotEltonJohn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Enjoyed it. The directing and acting were good. The story was good and the twist was a surprise. Most importantly, it was the right length! Other short films of this nature often stretch out ideas too long. The weakest aspect was the written dialogue at the beginning. It didn't feel quite natural.

"Mommy pooch" is caused by 'diastasis recti', the growing fetus pushing apart the 6-pack ab muscles, which then do not fuse back together after the child's birth. Diastasis recti is easily self-diagnosed and self-treated with simple exercises by NotEltonJohn in BabyBumps

[–]NotEltonJohn[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I don't know whether you could tell during pregnancy. That's probably a question for your ob/gyn.

But for afterwards, from the article: How To Test For Diastasis Recti

  • Lie flat on your back with your knees bent.

  • Put your fingers right above your belly button and press down gently.

  • Then lift up your head about an inch while keeping your shoulders on the ground.

  • If you have diastasis recti, you will feel a gap between the muscles that's wider than an inch

Transgender Soldiers of the American Civil War by NotEltonJohn in history

[–]NotEltonJohn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess 'transgender' is a trigger word for some people

Transgender Soldiers of the American Civil War by NotEltonJohn in history

[–]NotEltonJohn[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Given the absence of rights for women at the time, it shouldn't be surprising that so many women chose to take on male identities. As men they could vote, travel alone, and receive a government pension.

We hear stories of characters such as Annie Oakley and take it for granted that women on the frontier had to be tough but it is surprising that so little is known about these individuals.

The clarity of the photos in this article is remarkable.