Agreed, fantastic story but I’ll be damned if I wasn’t moved to tears.

Hey, Robin! I know you have to vent sometimes into your works, but give the poor guy a break, won’t you?

• Hyperion Cantos.

• Neuromancer.

Thanks!

More interesting is the origins of that phrase to designate prostitution.

Fortunately, I found an article in worldhistories.net, that shows the first documented time of this phrase. The person who coined the phrase was none other than Ruyard Kipling (“The Jungle Book”):

Lalun is a member of the most ancient profession in the world. Lilith was her very-great-grandmamma, and that was before the days of Eve as every one knows. In the West, people say rude things about Lalun’s profession, and write lectures about it, and distribute the lectures to young persons in order that Morality may be preserved. In the East where the profession is hereditary, descending from mother to daughter, nobody writes lectures or takes any notice, and that is a distinct proof of the inability of the East to manage its own affairs.

- On the City Wall, in In Black and White (Allahabad: A. H. Wheeler & Co., 1889), page 78

If you want to know about actual prostitution, we should go far back to ancient Mesopotamian texts.

According to “The Epic of Gilgamesh” (the most ancient epic in the world), the gods created a savage man, Enkidu, who lived in harmony with the animals in the woods. Gilgamesh wants to tame Enkidu, and is told to bring a “harimtu” (a “sacred prostitute”) to him.

and he [Enkidu] possessed her ripeness. She was not bashful as she welcomed his ardor. She laid aside her cloth and he rested upon her. She treated him, the savage, to a woman’s task, as his love was drawn unto her.”

Later, as he regrets joining civilization, Enkidu curses the harimtu:

“I will curse you with a great curse… you shall not build a house for your debauch you shall not enter the tavern of girls…. May waste places be your couch, May the shadow of the town-wall be your stand May thorn and bramble skin your feet May drunkard and toper (ed note: someone who drinks alcohol to excess) alike slap your cheek.”

Researcher Gerda Lerner, in her article “The Origin of Prostitution in Ancient Mesoportamia” (Signs, 1986, pp. 245-6), says:

The nature of this curse tells us that the harimtu who mated with Enkidu lived an easier and better life than the harlot who has her stand at the town wall and is abused by her drunken customers.

This would confirm the distinction we made earlier between the women engaged in various forms of sacral sexual service and commercial prostitutes. Such a distinction was more likely to have existed in the earlier period than later.”

So yes, there were prostitutes in ancient Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization.

EDIT: typo

Even then, you’re still a bigot. Dude, grow up and touch some grass.

Thanks for the info.

Okay you’re being a bigot. You know why? Because people aren’t demanding to be called “your highness”. They are just asking to be called with their preferred probouns. Putting neo pronouns aside, it’s not a heavy burden to be called he / she / it / they.

And this is the internet! The are no bodies, only usernames. Why do you care if a person claiming to be a girl demands to be called a she? Oh my fucking god,what a scandal! The oppression imposed upon you, a free citizen, demanding that you have to use a pronoun different than “he” on the internet! The world is doomed! 😱 /s

What you’re really asking for is the “right” to harass trans people (by misgendering them) because you don’t like them and abhor the idea of women having something extra down there. (it’s not like they’re plotting to force sex you, just leave them be, okay?) Not only that, you’re so obsessed with hating them that you went out of your way to post your biased opinion ON A LINUX FORUM.

You’re being a transphobic asshole, and the mods were perfectly right in banning you.

Just accept that there are different people in the world. If you have a problem with that, maybe it’s you who needs professional help.

I read a Twitter post of hers a few years ago where she was extremely apologetic towards China, saying that Americans listened to a lot of propaganda and so on. Now I’m starting to wonder if it was really her who made that twitter post.

CW: Trump, uspol

Trump separating families at the border. Children being put in cages. Americans waving the fucking nazi flag.

It’s one thing to read about genocide. Another thing is to see it with your own eyes, even on TV.

And if any of you fuckers tries to tell me that both “sides are the same” or that “democrats did the same” or something in that vein, they are obviously doing this in bad faith and they can go fuck themselves. 🖕🤬

The very nature of the fediverse makes fragmentation part of it. Since it’s not centralized, control is distributed to the different instance admins. It’s only natural that people with different opinions will want to split from each other, and that’s without taking into account the levels of toxicity allowed by different moderators.

Is an instance allowing racists to thrive in there? Of course it will be blocked by leftists, since banning is a concept that no longer applies.

Let me repeat for clarity: You CANNOT ban someone from the fediverse, you can ONLY defederate from them.

And don’t tell me it’s that much different from reddit, I’ve seen political subs denying access to people simply based on what other subreddits they’re subscribed to.

Would you rather have a single hierarchical “network” where an asshole dictator decides who is and who isn’t allowed to post? Of course not, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.

Federation implies defederating instances you’re not comfortable with.

And that’s perfectly fine, because safety comes first.

My freedom of association necessarily implies that I’m free NOT to associate with people I don’t like, and my insurance admin should be able to make sure I’m free from harassment by those same people.

Want to solve this issue? Solve human nature first.

Fixed, thanks for the heads up.

It’s a matter of taste. I like his humor, but I do understand he’s not for everybody. Yeah, Anna Cramling is one of my favs, too.

Here’s some of my own, in no particular order:

Gotham Chess - also known for his catchphrase: “Sacrifices… THE ROOK!!!”. Yeah, that guy.

Kyle Hill is a science communicator and makes awesome educational content; he also debunks conspiracy theories.

Jeff Geerling is a RasPi aficionado who’s made tons of projects.

Louis Rossmann specializes in consumer tech (mostly computers); he’s a great critic of corporations and DRM.

Jenna Moreci is a published fantasy writer and has great videos on what to do and not to do when writing fiction.

One Topic at a Time - shares LGBTQ memes found on reddit. His voice may sound annoying. (What can I say? It’s an acquired taste)

Bits inside by René Rebe specializes in Linux and Open Source stuff.

Noralities is a girl who makes video essays about anime, and they’re not trivial opinions They involve writing, stereotypes, romance, society, and stuff. She’s done her homework.

EDIT: Added details.

deleted by creator

VShojo? 😛

youtube shorts. A friend described them as a “time vampire”.

“Lesbian.” I don’t hate the word, but the fact that it is considered dirty. Why is “brunette” or “blonde” perfectly acceptable, but “lesbian” or “gay” aren’t?

I’m trans and I like Sci Fi.

• Ace Attorney: Gyakuten meets orchestra
• Ace Attorney: Turnabout Jazz Soul
• Any Castlevania soundtrack

Congrats, Spez. You won the battle but lost the war.