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[be_compromised]
15 September 2012 @ 04:57 pm
Helpers Helping the Helplessly Helped  
There is nothing that I dislike more than not knowing how to do something. Like tying my shoes. For years (and I was a slow learner so we are truly talking years), I had to wear velcro shoes because I couldn't tie my own shoe laces. It was horrid. And then one day, a nice person finally showed me something that clicked and VOILA! I could get shoes with laces again!

This community seems to have become a sort of gateway into LJ from the larger interwebz around us and there are things that some of us take for granted because we've been here a really long time. At one time, we didn't know how to do certain things. None of us is born with this knowledge in our brains. It doesn't happen overnight. Unfortunately, it needs to be learned.

So I've decided to make a post where questions can be asked (anon or not) and answered. Not necessarily by me but by EVERYONE in this cool bar! If you see a question that you have an answer to, please feel free to answer it! We are a surprisingly intelligent group of people when you come right down to it!

This is a place for all the questions that have ever kept you up at night! They can be related to canon (How old is Natasha? What is her real hair color? What is that specific line from the movie that I want to use in fic but can't because I know I'm not getting it right.) or fandom (What came first - Harry Potter or Star Trek? If I want to make a Clint cosplay costume, should I have sleeves or no sleeves?) or technical (How do I make an LJ cut? What is the correct story header to use for most every community? Where are good places to post my fic?) or anything else that hits you.

Come here to ask questions. Come here to answer questions.

To help everyone's brains out, if you are asking a question, please put QUESTION in the subject line. Conversely, if you are offering up an answer, please put ANSWER in the subject line. Clear as mud?
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Helga Winter[identity profile] helgawinter.livejournal.com on September 16th, 2012 04:46 pm (UTC)
Answer. One more :)
De-lurking here. :)

Hi from Russia! :) Just to point out a couple of things.

Um, to me, personally, Natasha doesn't seem like a Vodka person. It may be my personal prejudice and I know that it's a drink most commonly associated with Russia but it really has some rather ambiguous connotations. For a long time it's been the cheapest and the most available strong drink so drinking vodka is a bit... low-class, maybe? Not necessarily, of course, I'm not even sure most of my friends would agree with me but there's this nuance to consider. Sorry, my English seems to really get away from me today

Also, I don't know if this thing is common knowledge outside of former USSR but... If Natasha wanted to really impress someone with her drinking skills or to get drunk really fast on something really strong she might drink... pure alcohol, I suppose, it is in English? The alcohol that is used for medical purposes? It's not really pure, it is usually diluted with water but it's stronger than Vodka, it's tasteless and it hits really hard. It also may have this funny effect when a person drinking it seems totally lucid but can't stand up or walk because the legs won't hold them.
[identity profile] oresteia.livejournal.com on September 16th, 2012 04:59 pm (UTC)
Re: Answer. One more :)
I don't know um maybe spiritus? (not to be confused with its other religious meanings) The closest I can get to that and that's latin...

between the two of us we could make a guessing game out of what pure alcohol stands for. Ethanol I believe is a term but it's for the arc of it which probably has more medical meaning behind it as well as drinking?
[identity profile] cybermathwitch.livejournal.com on September 16th, 2012 05:22 pm (UTC)
Re: Answer. One more :)
Here that's normally called PGA (which stands for "Pure Grain Alcohol").

In the US it's commonly associated with either very low-class (because it's what "moonshiners" - illicit alcohol makers in the southeastern mountains - make and sell illegally. You can buy legal versions, of course.) It's also associated with college parties/binge drinking.

Hard "I want to get drunk" or competitive drinking seems to normally be associated with whiskey or tequila in the US.
[identity profile] oresteia.livejournal.com on September 16th, 2012 05:35 pm (UTC)
Re: Answer. One more :)
I know a little about the tequila thing from Grey's Anatomy which I may or may not be confessing to being a fan of but whiskey being a hard drink I definitely did not know. And I think I know little about the word moonshine just from old movies.
Helga Winter[identity profile] helgawinter.livejournal.com on September 16th, 2012 08:44 pm (UTC)
Re: Answer. One more :)
*looked it up on Webster*
Yes, I guess this must be it, thank you. :)

Now I'm trying to find a way to distinguish between the home-made stuff (what my dictionary tells me is called "moonshine" and is considered very law-class here, too) and the ethyl alcohol produced industrially. The latter isn't a high-class drink either (obviously) but it's better quality and was harder to come by because it wasn't sold freely. I don't think a lot of people drink it now because other strong alcohol is easily available but about forty or even thirty years ago it was quite a common thing. I think now it's mostly associated with something you drink for warmth when camping out (because, you know, cheap and strong) or some home-made herbal potions.
Ashen Key: books books books[personal profile] ashen_key on September 17th, 2012 08:51 am (UTC)
Re: Answer. One more :)
It is an interesting nuance! So, goood to note (for the record, I tend to see my Natasha as a drinker of other things, usually (her and Clint, when kicking back at each other's places, tend to go beer, as an example, but she's not above a glass of wine at dinner, either) but when she wants to get drunk and thus forget everything for a while, then she tends to go cheap and strong, and her mind goes 'vodka'. Which I hope makes some sense? Hopefully.)
Helga Winter: facepalm[identity profile] helgawinter.livejournal.com on September 19th, 2012 09:43 pm (UTC)
Re: Answer. One more :)
Sure does. :)

And I finally figured out where this "pure alcohol" idea came from.

There's this novel, "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov. Part of the plot is, the main female character is looking to save the man she loves who's been taken away from her and she's offered help by... well, basically, the Devil. But first he invites her to be the hostess of his annual spring ball, and there's this scene after the ball where his servants offer Margarita a drink, it goes like this:

“Nobless obleege,” the cat observed and poured some transparent liquid into a goblet for Margarita.
“Is that vodka?” Margarita asked weakly.
The cat jumped up on his chair in resentment.
“Good heavens. Queen,” he croaked, “would I allow myself to pour vodka for a lady? It’s pure alcohol!”

I guess that's the reference I was thinking of. And now I'm not sure how much sense I'm making. *facepalm*

Edited 2012-09-19 09:43 pm (UTC)
Ashen Key: books books books[personal profile] ashen_key on September 19th, 2012 09:51 pm (UTC)
Re: Answer. One more :)
Yay!

And ohh, I have that book around, I should read it (so. many. books.) But anyway - yes, I think that (and you!) makes sense.
Helga Winter[identity profile] helgawinter.livejournal.com on September 20th, 2012 11:06 pm (UTC)
Re: Answer. One more :)
That's great, then :)

I know what you're talking about! There's never enough time to read everything you want to.
But if you have a chance to read "The Master and Margarita", do. :) It's really great.