Rachael Arsenault's Blog - Posts Tagged "blogs"
April Wrap-Up (+ a free book!)
April has been a strange month for me, one in which I found it hard to read or create as much as I normally would. But everyone has ups and downs, and there was still quite a lot I enjoyed this month, so here's my second monthly wrap-up.
What I've Enjoyed:
Books:
Moonflower by Sabina Laura
I cannot recommend this poetry collection enough. I love short, free-verse poems but always have a hard time finding ones that actually manage to be vivid and emotional within just a few lines. Sabina Laura does that masterfully, and I definitely see myself coming back to these poems over and over to bask in their beauty.
Articles:
The Woman Who Smashed Codes: The Untold Story of Cryptography Pioneer Elizabeth Friedman
There are a lot of unsung women who were hugely important to their fields but are largely forgotten by history – or outright erased. This article is about one such woman, Elizabeth Friedman, giving an overview of her life and her accomplishments, while also pointing readers to where they can learn more about her.
Why Cats Do the ‘Slow Blink’ at Their Owners
Look, I’m a simple woman: I see cute cat facts, I click. This is one I had already heard a little bit about before, but it’s nice to reconfirm my understanding of how cats communicate. Plus, the article includes some cute cate pictures. Who doesn’t want to look at cute cat pictures?
Beyond Dungeons & Dragons: A Guide to the Vast, Exciting World of Tabletop RPGs
About three years ago, I started playing D&D with my husband and was almost instantly hooked. It’s an awesome game for someone like me, who loves storytelling and magic and fantasy, but it is admittedly a bit overwhelming when starting out. This article has a great list of recommendations for games to check out if you’re new to RPGs, or even if you’ve been playing for a while but want to try out something different. Definitely taking note of some of the games listed here.
An Open Letter to Women in Tech
I’m not in any STEM career myself, but this was still an encouraging read and full of important tips and reminders for all women in all fields.
What Is It About Yawning?
There’s a lot of oddities in human behaviour that we don’t quite understand, including – apparently – yawning. I like seeing the hypotheses for weird stuff like this, even when it’s still unresolved – and the inclusion of studies about yawning in dogs is just bonus points.
Beyond Ishtar: The Tradition of Eggs at Easter
This article does a nice job debunking the commonly spread myth that Easter eggs and bunnies and even the name Easter itself come from the fertility goddess Ishtar. It explains the importance of eggs in a variety of different creation myths, which – as someone who likes history and mythology – is pretty cool.
Why 40% of Vietnamese People Have the Same Last Name
The title drew me in, and boy did the article deliver. I knew Nguyen was an extremely common last name, but I didn’t realize how common, nor did it ever occur to me how different the function of surnames is in other cultures. If you have any interest in etymology or history, this is a great read.
Remembering Nüshu, the 19th-Century Chinese Script Only Women Could Write
When I first saw the title for this article, I expected something clandestine and badass and amazing. A secret language! Just for women! What’s cooler than that? But instead, Nüshu was actually very mundane and commonly known – it wasn’t kept secret from men at all. And in some ways, that’s cooler. This script was a normal part of everyday life for women in Jiangyong, and there is art and stories and personal letters written in it, detailing and highlighting women’s experiences from the time it was still commonly used. The fact that it’s a dying script is bittersweet: It’s good that women have no need for it anymore now that they aren’t largely excluded from formal education, but it’s sad to see something with so much cultural and historical resonance falling out of use.
Other:
Harvest by Rebecca Roanhorse
I absolutely love the Sixth World series by Rebecca Roanhorse, so when I saw her announce on Twitter that one of her short stories was available online for free, I immediately went to read it. Harvest certainly didn’t disappoint, though fair warning: It’s graphic. I won’t say more, lest I spoil it.
What I’ve Created:
Books:
She Who Rises [A New Age of Magic]
This wasn’t published this month – it actually came out last year – but it is on sale right now! More specifically, it’s available for free for the next several days, so if you’ve been wanting to check it out but haven’t had the means to buy it, now is the perfect time to grab a copy.
Articles:
The Badass Histories of 3 Warrior Queens
I’ve been trying to make a point of writing fun, short little articles like this focusing on historical women, and the theme as of late has been warrior-types. I would be remiss not to include brief examples of a few of history’s incredible warrior queens, and hence this piece was born. I may write a sequel of sorts later, because there have been a LOT of incredible queen’s throughout history.
10 Famous Bisexual People From Throughout History
There were a lot of people in history who kept their sexuality a secret, as well as those who were publicly bisexual but have had their sexuality covered up/erased by history books. Just like I enjoy looking back and learning about awesome women throughout history, I love to learn about queer people from the past, too.
Does Metagaming Have a Place in Dungeons and Dragons?
I’ve played at a variety of D&D tables over the last few years, and in that time I’ve noticed some discrepancy in how different parties play the game – and sometimes that involves metagaming. So I have some thoughts on metagaming’s place in D&D and how to navigate different play styles at the table.
That's what I've been creating and enjoying this month. Any recommendations on what I should check out next?
What I've Enjoyed:
Books:
Moonflower by Sabina Laura
I cannot recommend this poetry collection enough. I love short, free-verse poems but always have a hard time finding ones that actually manage to be vivid and emotional within just a few lines. Sabina Laura does that masterfully, and I definitely see myself coming back to these poems over and over to bask in their beauty.
Articles:
The Woman Who Smashed Codes: The Untold Story of Cryptography Pioneer Elizabeth Friedman
There are a lot of unsung women who were hugely important to their fields but are largely forgotten by history – or outright erased. This article is about one such woman, Elizabeth Friedman, giving an overview of her life and her accomplishments, while also pointing readers to where they can learn more about her.
Why Cats Do the ‘Slow Blink’ at Their Owners
Look, I’m a simple woman: I see cute cat facts, I click. This is one I had already heard a little bit about before, but it’s nice to reconfirm my understanding of how cats communicate. Plus, the article includes some cute cate pictures. Who doesn’t want to look at cute cat pictures?
Beyond Dungeons & Dragons: A Guide to the Vast, Exciting World of Tabletop RPGs
About three years ago, I started playing D&D with my husband and was almost instantly hooked. It’s an awesome game for someone like me, who loves storytelling and magic and fantasy, but it is admittedly a bit overwhelming when starting out. This article has a great list of recommendations for games to check out if you’re new to RPGs, or even if you’ve been playing for a while but want to try out something different. Definitely taking note of some of the games listed here.
An Open Letter to Women in Tech
I’m not in any STEM career myself, but this was still an encouraging read and full of important tips and reminders for all women in all fields.
What Is It About Yawning?
There’s a lot of oddities in human behaviour that we don’t quite understand, including – apparently – yawning. I like seeing the hypotheses for weird stuff like this, even when it’s still unresolved – and the inclusion of studies about yawning in dogs is just bonus points.
Beyond Ishtar: The Tradition of Eggs at Easter
This article does a nice job debunking the commonly spread myth that Easter eggs and bunnies and even the name Easter itself come from the fertility goddess Ishtar. It explains the importance of eggs in a variety of different creation myths, which – as someone who likes history and mythology – is pretty cool.
Why 40% of Vietnamese People Have the Same Last Name
The title drew me in, and boy did the article deliver. I knew Nguyen was an extremely common last name, but I didn’t realize how common, nor did it ever occur to me how different the function of surnames is in other cultures. If you have any interest in etymology or history, this is a great read.
Remembering Nüshu, the 19th-Century Chinese Script Only Women Could Write
When I first saw the title for this article, I expected something clandestine and badass and amazing. A secret language! Just for women! What’s cooler than that? But instead, Nüshu was actually very mundane and commonly known – it wasn’t kept secret from men at all. And in some ways, that’s cooler. This script was a normal part of everyday life for women in Jiangyong, and there is art and stories and personal letters written in it, detailing and highlighting women’s experiences from the time it was still commonly used. The fact that it’s a dying script is bittersweet: It’s good that women have no need for it anymore now that they aren’t largely excluded from formal education, but it’s sad to see something with so much cultural and historical resonance falling out of use.
Other:
Harvest by Rebecca Roanhorse
I absolutely love the Sixth World series by Rebecca Roanhorse, so when I saw her announce on Twitter that one of her short stories was available online for free, I immediately went to read it. Harvest certainly didn’t disappoint, though fair warning: It’s graphic. I won’t say more, lest I spoil it.
What I’ve Created:
Books:
She Who Rises [A New Age of Magic]
This wasn’t published this month – it actually came out last year – but it is on sale right now! More specifically, it’s available for free for the next several days, so if you’ve been wanting to check it out but haven’t had the means to buy it, now is the perfect time to grab a copy.
Articles:
The Badass Histories of 3 Warrior Queens
I’ve been trying to make a point of writing fun, short little articles like this focusing on historical women, and the theme as of late has been warrior-types. I would be remiss not to include brief examples of a few of history’s incredible warrior queens, and hence this piece was born. I may write a sequel of sorts later, because there have been a LOT of incredible queen’s throughout history.
10 Famous Bisexual People From Throughout History
There were a lot of people in history who kept their sexuality a secret, as well as those who were publicly bisexual but have had their sexuality covered up/erased by history books. Just like I enjoy looking back and learning about awesome women throughout history, I love to learn about queer people from the past, too.
Does Metagaming Have a Place in Dungeons and Dragons?
I’ve played at a variety of D&D tables over the last few years, and in that time I’ve noticed some discrepancy in how different parties play the game – and sometimes that involves metagaming. So I have some thoughts on metagaming’s place in D&D and how to navigate different play styles at the table.
That's what I've been creating and enjoying this month. Any recommendations on what I should check out next?
