@corlin

Thank you for sharing that.

What a deep ache to carry.

I don't know if she reads much these days, but a potent tale of migration, Hala Alyan's THE ARSONISTS' CITY, has some excellent depictions of more recent Beirut, with all the complexity of art & minority subcultures woven in. The story follows a family in diaspora trying to keep the father from selling their ancestral home in Beirut. The book reflects on the complexity of longing for what's lost amid what's risen from the ashes.

@corlin

We build up.
We tear down.

Human ebb and flow.

@corlin

💛 Lovely choice. I had a suspicion from the title that this was inspired by Lebanon.

"The album is a reference to Jallad’s Historic Preservation ... thesis, in which she detailed the history of the “Battle of the Hotels”, a 5-months battle that took place in Beirut at the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War, from October 22nd, 1975 to March 29th, 1976. Jallad saw architecture as a main protagonist of the battle, as she discovered it was the first high rise urban battle in the world."

@stueytheround

Love the colours on your pumpkin, and the healthy plumpness of that Christmas robin! Really lovely work, Stuey. Thanks for sharing. 🤗

@tyghebright

Well done, Tyghe! I hope you enjoy the weekend pre-rest before your vacation.

House of Leaves is just a wonderful volume to inspire your own writing practice; I wish you great success with the work ahead.

And the Pacific NW is going to be so lucky to have you!

Be a nice gent, now, and don't sweep all the young lovers off their feet with your excellent taste in art, lit, and music all at once when you get there, eh? 😉💜

@Mauve_matelot @stueytheround

💛💛💛

There once was a Rafferty né Bryn
Whose birth brought pure joy to his kin--
When the rest came to visit
His little fingers were exquisite!
It was all they could do to stop nibblin'.

---

Happiest of days with new family, you two!

@stueytheround @Mauve_matelot

😬 How much of the baby did you leave for everyone else?

@stueytheround

Do we get to see some pieces, when completed?!

Now on route to a tourist zone to check that its acclaimed changes are "all that".

Hi CoSo!

I've been consumed by my ego this week.

How are you? How've you been keeping sane? (Or at least from going more nuts?)

What's one small triumph in your life as of late?

Name one (1) art that's moved you as of late.

If you had your druthers, where would you be today, and what would you be doing?

All right. Enough dawdling.

Out the door for the day. Two articles to finish before a class tonight. Hopefully the writing goes easier once I'm across town and huffing "life vibes" from my surroundings.

(After probably 45 minutes just to get to the metro, because I know I have to put in the time with some folks I haven't seen in over a week.)

Have a good one, all.

Take out your brains and give them a good dusting if they've been giving you guff as of late!

@Jorro

Before Melania, I recommend Peter Thiel - the tech giant born in Germany, who's dedicated his life as a "conservative libertarian" to stripping democracy from US citizens not only through think tanks that feed harmful pre-fabricated legislation to US lawmakers (e.g criminalizing the unhoused), but also through companies like Palantir, which trade on war for lucrative surveillance contracts that impact quality of life domestically and abroad.

#JustAThought!

@finkled

That is the appropriate sound for our decade, yes.

@DavidSalo @ReneeVoiceBrand

Preach it, David! 💯

@ReneeVoiceBrand

Thanks for asking, and creating an opportunity to say more!

The real gift of my time in Colombia is direct, everyday exposure to a very different political conversation than the one we're used to in Canada and the US.

The world is very big, and we are very small, but we still have to hope that we can put our votes and voices to good use!

@ReneeVoiceBrand

It helps to remember that the political conversation is different in every country.

For countries with leftist despots, many folks don't expect that there isn't going to be a despot - they just want to make sure that the next is a strongman from the *other* side of the ideological spectrum.

It's a little like when people leave a toxic religious household and still lean into toxic behaviours - but think they're in the clear because at least they're *secular* toxic behaviours!

#Democracy #Politics

A lot of migrants lean right-wing because

a) their last country had a despotic leftist,
b) they want to pass as just as 'Murican as their right-wing neighbours,
c) they buy into the myth that politicians are only going after "lazy" migrants, &
d) many are in church communities that advocate for right-wing leaders.

US friends, don't assume migrants in your life know they're in danger under T. Everyone thinks they have plot armour in their own life.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/18/election-trump-michigan-latino-voters

@CanisPundit

Nice captures! I don't even see a Starbucks cup on set, to break the mood!

@SECRET_ASIAN_MAN

I wonder about me too!

But I have to say, seeing you put in your health reps on a routine basis is always super inspiring, SAM, so thank you for putting your health and well-being first.

When you show up for yourself, you set a great example for others, too. 💪🏻

Thanks for being my accountability partners yesterday, folks.

I still can't seem to rise early, but I'm going to try being in the city today (I have a promo article to finish for TimeOut, so it's best to write it in a tourist-y area anyway). Just have to run the gamut of street friends I haven't seen in a week, & be present for all their stories, before I hit the metro.

Hopefully today will wear me out and I'll be leaping out of bed ahead of my alarm tomorrow. I do not like low energy moods.

@stueytheround

As Arendt noted, people who *weren't* intellectuals were sometimes better at responding to injustice, while her fellow academics found ways to spin what was happening into academic products.

That's something that happens to this day. People who stay in lives of literary or academic work sometimes confuse what they're doing with meaningful activism.

That's the danger I was working through: a world without enough moral action, but plenty of prose.

Thank you for sitting with it.