Lorelili's definitions
Somebody who still practices the oldest known subsistence method for humans: gathering plant foods and hunting animals. Also known as a forager. For 99.9% of human history, virtually all humans lived in small, semi-nomadic bands who foraged for food. Now only .1% of humans hunt and gather.
Hunter-gatherer societies are the most egalitarian societies known; since the group size is rarely more than one hundred to two hundred, there is no room for sexual division of labor or social strata because everyone must look out for each other. Men hunt while women and children gather roots, leaves, fruits, eggs, seeds, and trap small animals. Males and females are recognized as different but equally important; since hunting is difficult and unpredictable, the women provide about 80% of the food. While women could hunt, that they nurse babies and small children keeps them from joining stressful, difficult hunts; gathering plant foods is far easier on the women and children. While the men must use sign language and hand signals to communicate while hunting, the women are free to chat with each other as they gather all manner of plant products.
Foragers depend heavily on the reproductive capacities of their territory and the local climate/ ecosystem must change very little, if at all; a tiny shift could mean disaster.
Hunter-gatherer societies are the most egalitarian societies known; since the group size is rarely more than one hundred to two hundred, there is no room for sexual division of labor or social strata because everyone must look out for each other. Men hunt while women and children gather roots, leaves, fruits, eggs, seeds, and trap small animals. Males and females are recognized as different but equally important; since hunting is difficult and unpredictable, the women provide about 80% of the food. While women could hunt, that they nurse babies and small children keeps them from joining stressful, difficult hunts; gathering plant foods is far easier on the women and children. While the men must use sign language and hand signals to communicate while hunting, the women are free to chat with each other as they gather all manner of plant products.
Foragers depend heavily on the reproductive capacities of their territory and the local climate/ ecosystem must change very little, if at all; a tiny shift could mean disaster.
The hunter-gatherer culture is very difficult to preserve now, with such pressure to assimilate. But then, Jared Diamond has argued that agriculture is the worst mistake that humans have made.
Where foragers eat at least 200 species of plants and a similar number of animal species, industrial cultures barely eat a tenth of that; foragers are far healthier while farmers now live with very little crop diversity and are thus vulnerable to famine and have lived close to animals and exchanged pathogens with them.
Women in foraging societies have the most autonomy; women’s control of production, marriage, and reproduction is the norm in hunter-gatherer groups.
Hunter-gatherer groups include the Bushmen, Mbenga, and Hadza peoples of southern Africa; the Yupik and Gwich'in of Alaska; the Beaver Nation of Canada; and numerous indigenous tribes in Indonesia, Australia, and the Americas.
Many of America's First Nations have been forced to leave hunter-gatherer lifestyles, including the Miwok, Ohlone, Chumash, Paiute, Cheyenne, Shoshone, Penobscot, and the many Plains Nations.
Where foragers eat at least 200 species of plants and a similar number of animal species, industrial cultures barely eat a tenth of that; foragers are far healthier while farmers now live with very little crop diversity and are thus vulnerable to famine and have lived close to animals and exchanged pathogens with them.
Women in foraging societies have the most autonomy; women’s control of production, marriage, and reproduction is the norm in hunter-gatherer groups.
Hunter-gatherer groups include the Bushmen, Mbenga, and Hadza peoples of southern Africa; the Yupik and Gwich'in of Alaska; the Beaver Nation of Canada; and numerous indigenous tribes in Indonesia, Australia, and the Americas.
Many of America's First Nations have been forced to leave hunter-gatherer lifestyles, including the Miwok, Ohlone, Chumash, Paiute, Cheyenne, Shoshone, Penobscot, and the many Plains Nations.
by Lorelili November 6, 2012
Get the hunter-gatherermug. A beautiful, seductive, and usually evil female character in drama and literature. She is usually shown as a cruel, man-eating seductress. (Straight) men fall victim to her beauty and are eventually brought to ruin by her. The femme fatale is often a secret agent and/or a spy.
Another word for femme fatale is vamp; due to the fact that the femme fatale is often a sexual vampire, the term "vamp" stuck when introduced by the silent movies.
The femme fatale is usually played by a strong mezzo-soprano in opera and musical theater.
Another word for femme fatale is vamp; due to the fact that the femme fatale is often a sexual vampire, the term "vamp" stuck when introduced by the silent movies.
The femme fatale is usually played by a strong mezzo-soprano in opera and musical theater.
Femme fatales show up often in film noir, James Bond stories, and murder mysteries.
They are often much stronger and more cunning characters than their foils; the often inept damsel in distress and the sweet, fawn-eyed, but naive ingenue.
They are often much stronger and more cunning characters than their foils; the often inept damsel in distress and the sweet, fawn-eyed, but naive ingenue.
by Lorelili December 30, 2005
Get the femme fatalemug. From South Park. In the jargon of Chef's parents, it means three dollars and fifty cents.
Tree-fiddy is usually what personalities such as the Loch Ness Monster want.
Tree-fiddy is usually what personalities such as the Loch Ness Monster want.
Hmmm, so the Loch Ness Monster wanted tree fiddy... maybe that's what alien invadors want! And terrorists! And monsters! And stupid U.S. presidents called George Dubya!
That's it! That's what they want!
That's it! That's what they want!
by Lorelili December 28, 2005
Get the tree fiddymug. Of an age suitable for marriage, especially used to refer to a woman at the beginning of her childbearing years; nubile.
For most of recorded history in Asia, Africa, and Europe, men could be considered marriageable at 14 years and women at 12 years, although usually both parties had to be physically mature enough to consummate the marriage.
The bride is usually between 12-25 years of age, traditionally; depending on where and when the setting is, a bride 18 years of age can be seen as too young, too old, or perfectly marriageable; Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans and Ancient Hebrews, like much of Africa and South Asia today, wanted to marry their daughters off before she gave into physical temptation and had sex before she was married. Vikings, on the other hand, preferred a bride closer to age 20, in full bloom.
The groom, on the other hand, can be any age from a few years younger than the bride to roughly her age to at least a decade older than her.
Until recently, the quinceañera and sweet sixteen parties marked a young woman's entry into adulthood and marriageable age; now that so few women are married that early, both have lost some meaning and degenerated into excess.
The bride is usually between 12-25 years of age, traditionally; depending on where and when the setting is, a bride 18 years of age can be seen as too young, too old, or perfectly marriageable; Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans and Ancient Hebrews, like much of Africa and South Asia today, wanted to marry their daughters off before she gave into physical temptation and had sex before she was married. Vikings, on the other hand, preferred a bride closer to age 20, in full bloom.
The groom, on the other hand, can be any age from a few years younger than the bride to roughly her age to at least a decade older than her.
Until recently, the quinceañera and sweet sixteen parties marked a young woman's entry into adulthood and marriageable age; now that so few women are married that early, both have lost some meaning and degenerated into excess.
by Lorelili November 30, 2013
Get the marriageablemug. Anorexia Nervosa is a severe eating disorder that afflicts primarily young women, although men are also known to suffer from it.
Anorexia (from the Greek a- without; and orexis- appetite) is merely a symptom of Anorexia Nervosa in which the victim feels, largely from poor role-models, that they must become bone-thin in order to be considered attractive or to be accepted. From there, they abolutely refuse to eat, for fear of gaining too much weight and then being unable to lose it; they excercise constantly, trying to flush the fat (or lack, thereof, in most cases) from their bodies.
In some extreme cases, a layer of fur will grow on the sufferer's body to keep him/her warm; because they have lost so much body fat, they can no longer insulate themselves.
Many sufferers even hear a voice in their heads telling them how fat they look (despite the obvious fact that they are sickly and wasted away to almost nothing), thus further discouraging them.
Anorexia (from the Greek a- without; and orexis- appetite) is merely a symptom of Anorexia Nervosa in which the victim feels, largely from poor role-models, that they must become bone-thin in order to be considered attractive or to be accepted. From there, they abolutely refuse to eat, for fear of gaining too much weight and then being unable to lose it; they excercise constantly, trying to flush the fat (or lack, thereof, in most cases) from their bodies.
In some extreme cases, a layer of fur will grow on the sufferer's body to keep him/her warm; because they have lost so much body fat, they can no longer insulate themselves.
Many sufferers even hear a voice in their heads telling them how fat they look (despite the obvious fact that they are sickly and wasted away to almost nothing), thus further discouraging them.
Like depression, anorexia nervosa and bulimia are not things that one can "get over". They are illnesses that require help. And poor role-models from the media, from peers, and from parents make the problem worse.
Barbie would be anorexic if she were a human... she wouldn't even have the 17 to 22% of body fat required to menstruate. If she were human, she'd have to be 7'2'', 130 pounds, and 40-18-33. Hell, she'd have to crawl on all fours just to support her unnatural proportions.
Misinformation: Anorexia was the ancient Greek goddess of withering and starvation.
Barbie would be anorexic if she were a human... she wouldn't even have the 17 to 22% of body fat required to menstruate. If she were human, she'd have to be 7'2'', 130 pounds, and 40-18-33. Hell, she'd have to crawl on all fours just to support her unnatural proportions.
Misinformation: Anorexia was the ancient Greek goddess of withering and starvation.
by Lorelili December 28, 2005
Get the anorexiamug. The medium female singing voice in opera and non-classical music (although in the choir, the mezzo-soprano and the contralto are lumped together as altos). The mezzo-soprano has a range of two octaves from A3 (below middle C) to A5 (just two notes short of high C). This is the most common female voice.
Situated between the soprano and contralto, the mezzo-soprano typically plays supporting roles (mothers, maidservants, friends of the heroine) as well as villainous women like the femme fatale (the saying among mezzo-sopranos and contraltos is that they play "witches, britches, and bitches").
Many pop singers are mezzo-sopranos, although the vocal subcategories used in opera are not applied to them. Examples include Madonna, Beyonce, Patti Lupone, Ethel Merman, Tori Amos, Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, Whitney Houston (since the mid-1990s), Enya, Janet Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Alanis Morissette, and Sarah McLachlan.
Situated between the soprano and contralto, the mezzo-soprano typically plays supporting roles (mothers, maidservants, friends of the heroine) as well as villainous women like the femme fatale (the saying among mezzo-sopranos and contraltos is that they play "witches, britches, and bitches").
Many pop singers are mezzo-sopranos, although the vocal subcategories used in opera are not applied to them. Examples include Madonna, Beyonce, Patti Lupone, Ethel Merman, Tori Amos, Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, Whitney Houston (since the mid-1990s), Enya, Janet Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Alanis Morissette, and Sarah McLachlan.
Based on vocal weight/voice type, mezzo-sopranos re divided into three subtypes:
Coloratura mezzo-soprano: Light, flexible, pure, very agile and sings very ornate passages (very rare voice). Examples include Cecilia Bartoli, Marilyn Horne, and Jennifer Larmore, and Vivica Genaux.
Lyric mezzo-soprano: Light, mellow, strong and often plays trouser roles (a woman who plays boys and adolescent males) as well as perfectly feminine characters. Examples include Frederica von Stade, Anne Sophie von Otter, Tatiana Troyanos, and Katherine Jenkins.
Dramatic mezzo-soprano: Powerful, rich, warm and with a stronger (and seductive) lower range than a soprano, she is reserved for the roles of villains (temptresses, femmes fatales, witches) as well as mothers and friends of the soprano. Examples include Grace Bumbry, Dolora Zajick, Denyce Graves, Olga Borodina, and Viorica Cortez.
Mezzo-sopranos can't sing high notes as easily as sopranos (they sound appropriately wild and crazed when they do), but they get their revenge by playing some of the spiciest roles ever.
Coloratura mezzo-soprano: Light, flexible, pure, very agile and sings very ornate passages (very rare voice). Examples include Cecilia Bartoli, Marilyn Horne, and Jennifer Larmore, and Vivica Genaux.
Lyric mezzo-soprano: Light, mellow, strong and often plays trouser roles (a woman who plays boys and adolescent males) as well as perfectly feminine characters. Examples include Frederica von Stade, Anne Sophie von Otter, Tatiana Troyanos, and Katherine Jenkins.
Dramatic mezzo-soprano: Powerful, rich, warm and with a stronger (and seductive) lower range than a soprano, she is reserved for the roles of villains (temptresses, femmes fatales, witches) as well as mothers and friends of the soprano. Examples include Grace Bumbry, Dolora Zajick, Denyce Graves, Olga Borodina, and Viorica Cortez.
Mezzo-sopranos can't sing high notes as easily as sopranos (they sound appropriately wild and crazed when they do), but they get their revenge by playing some of the spiciest roles ever.
by Lorelili July 7, 2011
Get the mezzo-sopranomug. A shampoo that somehow makes women experience a sexual orgasm. One major reason why the birth rate has fallen.
(heavy moaning and delighted shrieks in the bathroom)
Teen: Oh god! Mom's using the Herbal Essences again!
Mother: Oh Yes! Yes!!! Yes!
Shampoo making people orgasm? It doesn't make me that happy and I usually have to fake it.
Teen: Oh god! Mom's using the Herbal Essences again!
Mother: Oh Yes! Yes!!! Yes!
Shampoo making people orgasm? It doesn't make me that happy and I usually have to fake it.
by Lorelili December 29, 2007
Get the herbal essencesmug.