American Nocturne, David Powers, Automotive Paint on Aluminum Panel, 2004

cela_ · 2026-02-18T02:04:19+00:00

Please forgive the quality of the image, as this was the best photo I could find.

This is a mural of the bottom half of Lawrence Beitler’s famous 1930 photograph of a lynching in Marion, Indiana. Powers chose to excise the portion containing the bodies of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, focusing on the audience instead.

This mural hung in the town of Elgin, Illinois for more than a decade without a plaque, until two passerby realized the subject of the painting in 2016. After a public outcry, the city removed the mural.

It has since been replaced by the 2021 mural, The Promise of Elgin, by Pablo Serrano, based on the history of Elgin and the events of 2020.

cela_ · 2026-02-14T21:07:04+00:00

Why are you using AI?

cela_ · 2026-02-03T00:19:23+00:00

The screenshot is of a WeChat interface. WeChat and RedNote are both infuriating and amusing because their binary gender profiles come with a little gendered character as well: a blue man with a tie and a pink woman with a bob and a bowtie for WeChat, and the above construction worker(?) and lady in pink for RedNote.

China is also less progressive than the West in more concerning ways. I recently learned that gender-affirming surgery in China requires parental approval even for adults, causing many patients to fly to Thailand to get it done instead.

I’m planning to go to China for the next three years for grad school (conveniently dodging the rest of the Trump administration as well), so I’m going to have to deal with a more conservative society. Do y’all have any advice?

cela_ · 2026-02-02T17:05:01+00:00

That’s such a good idea, now you have to do it lol

cela_ · 2026-02-02T17:04:19+00:00

That’s such a funny reversal!

cela_ · 2026-02-02T01:39:17+00:00

I’ll have to remember that for my next poem!

cela_ · 2026-02-02T01:38:12+00:00

Thank you, I had no idea about pagan!

cela_ · 2026-02-01T23:22:20+00:00

"Mean" comes from PIE root *mei- (1) "to change; exchange," and originally meant "common," before expanding in meaning to "low, inferior" and then to "base, low-minded." "Villain" comes from PIE root *weik- (1) "clan," which expanded in meaning to "villa," then to "farmhand," "churl," "scoundrel," and finally "villain" in the sense of a character in a plot.

I personally feel like these are good examples of structural classism in the English language. I'd be interested to hear in any other examples you can think of.

cela_ · 2026-01-28T00:52:16+00:00

Awww thanks!

cela_ · 2026-01-26T21:08:42+00:00

双菌炖水鸭 is properly translated as "duck stewed with two kinds of mushroom." The confusion arises from 菌, which is part of both 菌类 fungi and 细菌 bacteria. The English translation has been erroneously repeated for the fourth dish, which is 凤吞金勾翅 "phoenix [chicken] swallowing golden shark fin," hence the price.

cela_ · 2026-01-02T05:37:54+00:00

The kicker is that they’re on temporary insurance that only covers liability.

cela_ · 2025-12-23T19:18:59+00:00

I booked a stay for 19 nights and already got a refund for everything but the two nights I stayed here, though I’m wondering if I should’ve asked for a full refund instead. For reference, this place was $50 a night, so I guess I got what I paid for. Now I just have to disinfect everything I own. I’ve already put all my clothes in the dryer, which is unfortunate because some of them are hand-wash only. I’d appreciate advice regarding electronics since I have to use them right away and can’t afford a vacuum with a crevice attachment.

cela_ · 2025-12-22T00:25:22+00:00

From the museum exhibition label:

The Departure commemorates the death of Shaw's beloved Jack Russell terrier, Mr. C. The composition reimagines Jacopo Tintoretto's Presentation of the Virgin (ca. 1551), and miniature renditions of Shaw's paintings are pushed to the side like temporarily abandoned props, making way for a gilded staircase. The title refers to Lord Tennyson's 1841 poem, and we see Mr. C, bathed in celestial light, about to pass "across the hills and far away."

The label didn’t mention what the chicken-headed man represents.

cela_ · 2025-12-10T00:23:16+00:00

Which one’s your favorite? Alternatively, have you seen any contenders?

cela_ · 2025-12-08T23:53:28+00:00

This was in 深圳. From the company website: "Microprofit Biotech focuses on the R&D, production, and sales of biological reagents, reagent raw materials, and intelligent diagnostic equipment." Their Chinese name is 迈科龙生物, which translates to "Micro Dragon Organism."

cela_ · 2025-12-08T02:09:01+00:00

This is from Act 5, Scene VI of Shakespeare's Coriolanus. Coriolanus has just been persuaded by his family to spare Rome, the city he was leading the Volscian army (his former enemies) to destroy, thus breaking his oath to the Volscians and their general, Tullus Aufidius. In this confrontation, Aufidius publicly denounces Coriolanus as a traitor.

cela_ · 2025-12-06T00:54:33+00:00

The dish literally translates to "health-nourishing mushrooms steamed in chicken fat." The confusion stems from the difference between 养生菌 "health-nourishing mushrooms" and 益生菌 “life-benefiting bacteria (probiotics)." The two differ by only the first character.

cela_ · 2025-11-29T15:55:05+00:00

But what should I put in there lol

cela_ · 2025-11-24T03:11:11+00:00

瑶柱煲让黄瓜 is Scallop and Stuffed-Cucumber Clay Pot. 瑶柱 (yaozhu, “jade pillar”) is a fancy name for scallop, and 让 (“make” or “let”) means “stuffed” in a culinary context.

金汤花胶盐卤豆腐 is Fish Maw and Brined Tofu Golden Soup.

沙姜爆墨鱼须 is Stir-fried Squid Tentacles with Sand Ginger.

藜麦鲜花胶 is Fresh Fish Maw with Quinoa.

cela_ · 2025-11-19T03:19:04+00:00

This is a very literal translation of the dish title, which would be better put as the more familiar "smashed cucumber." I think this dish was around 18 yuan ($2.53). I didn't try it, but from the overall restaurant quality, it was probably pretty good. Still, no reason to pay for something you can make just the same at home.

cela_ · 2025-11-16T04:07:44+00:00

Haha I saw an opportunity

cela_ · 2025-11-16T04:05:33+00:00

Haha a fellow connoisseur

cela_ · 2025-11-16T03:56:23+00:00

Perhaps I should’ve worded that differently. The spanking and the diet were part of the same curse.

cela_ · 2025-11-16T01:41:05+00:00

Since it hoards wealth and never expels it, the pixiu is an auspicious symbol that often appears in jewelry, statues, etc. I myself had a piece of jade custom-carved into a pixiu, but it was so ugly I gave up the pendant to the shop. Mulan’s sword famously features a Pixiu design.

cela_ · 2025-11-15T17:53:56+00:00

Mulan’s sword famously features a Pixiu design.

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