Little Details

15 new authors added to The White List, plus a few corrections made. Two things to note about this update:

1. The List has finally become to big for one post, so it is now split in two. The original White List post covers A-M. You can find The White List N-Z here. The two posts do link to each other.

2.Some very weird coding showed up somewhere between the last update and this one (I didn't do it, honest -- and not at all sure what LJ did to make the oddities show up). I've attempted to fix it, but an author or two may have accidentally been dropped off the list in the process. If you were on the list the last time you checked, please check again and make sure you are still listed. Please reply to the list (NOT HERE) for any corrections. Thanks.

If you aren't listed yet, just post a comment to the list to be added in the next update! :)

Enjoy!

What would clothing have been like for a prostitute in Paris when she was ... plying her trade? What about when she wasn't? What was the clothing like for her clientele and those she lived around?

Would she have been able to afford food and her own living space? Or would she have lived in a brothel?

As an afterthought, can someone point me to a good page on the true effects of Absinthe and how it was viewed culturally the 1890's in Paris?

Thanks!

Wasn't thinking properly when I posted this, so here it is again with a bit more detail. For fashion, I tried looking in a variety of fashion history books, but found mainly what respectable women and girls would have worn; this isn't precisely appropriate as my characters are independent street girls in the 1890s. As for absinthe, I had no idea where to look as it is a rather touchy and debated subject. I was leery to simply Google it as a majority of sites are somewhat tainted.

Sorry for the confusion!

I'm writing a modern-day story wherein a man from India (whose religion is Hinduism) has to kill someone he respects.

Are there any Hindi blessings or sayings that he could ironically say afterwards to express his respect? A saying in an Indian language that is said after someone dies, etc? If there's any saying or phrase that could fit here or would be spoken at a funeral-type event, etc, it'd work well.

Thank you in advance!

Is it true that the US Air Force and Navy now have optional all-black dress uniforms for flag officers only?

I am writing something and while a real-world precedent for such uniforms is not necessary, it would be good to have. Also, are there any other uniform options (aside, of course, from thier rank insignia) availible only to flag officers?

Thanks!

I'm trying to decide when a story ought to be set. In the story, two people, both elderly Russians, meet up in St. Petersburg sometime in the 1990's. They are brother and sister and have been seperated since the sister defected to the west in the 1950's. I would like to know when people were able to and started going to visit St. Petersburg as tourists after the USSR fell, and, if you have some idea, how long it would take someone who had defected to the west and thus might be afraid to return to Russia, how long it would take her to decide that it was safe to return for a visit. (I'm assuming that after the Soviet era ended people who had defected didn't still have to fear consequences if they returned -- at least only to visit -- so please correct me if I'm wrong.)

I've done research on wikipedia's St. Petersburg page and in some books I have on Russian culture but I'm not quite sure how to research this. I have a feeling there's not a strict answer, so what I'm asking is, like, if I set it in 1993, for instance, would that seem unrealistic? And, if so, what would you suggest instead?

Thanks!