#and i am not very super educated on polish history

[cirillafionaelenriannon]

hi i have a burning hatred for the witchery netflix while everyone around me adores it to the core and it makes me go INSANE so seeing your opinions on it and knowing that there's someone out there who thinks like me makes me feel very validated and happy. have a nice day and take care may we be able to ignore the amount of hype and talk about s2

i'm so sorry this took me so long to get to, i've been really busy 😵

i'm really glad to have curated a space for people who also love books and also felt very let down by the netflix adaptation !!! i also know a few people who like it and its really frustrating because the novels meant/mean so much to me and it's aggravating to see so much praise for it when the writing is absolutely horrendous lol !!!

as for the second part of your message: this is something i've seen a LOT of people mention and rightfully so. i am also so sick and tired of the amount that media is centered around america and in this case twisted into an americanized tv show. i know a lot of polish and slavic people who were fans of the witcher felt very upset over the complete lack of respect toward many aspects of polish culture such as setting, clothing, MUSIC!!!! etc. and has instead gone in the direction of slapping on the most ridiculous costume design ive ever seen (there is NO consistency????) as well as the music being so....and the setting so dim (when the novels at certain points always felt so bright and lively to me)

i definitely think the creators are going for a GOT theme like they can deny it alllll they want. its the truth.

also a little off topic but i think i read somewhere once that sapkowski wrote aspects of the novels based off of parts of polish history, that being its fight for independence & the wars it went through. i always felt that netflixs creative decisions for ciri felt so Against what sapkowski was trying to represent, which was the horrors of war for children, and specifically for ciri, the horror of being hunted down in a war. but im not sure if this is true or not so ���

if you'd like to come off anon to share more go ahead! or if u make ur own posts dm them to me !!!!! i know my friend maj has said a few things on the lack of slavic rep in the show but <3

[benevolentbirdgal]

9. If you want to get married, what Jewish wedding practices are must haves and what are must have nots?

27. What is your ideal synagogue like?  

31. Have you been to any Jewish spaces while traveling, and if so where? 

(very cool ask game btw, thank u :D hope ur passover is going well!!!)

Thank you for asking! My Passover is going well, lots of scrambled eggs and salads. 

9. If you want to get married, what Jewish wedding practices are must-haves and what are must-have nots?

Must-haves: 

My new spouse must step on the glass/shard/whatever, regardless of whether they’re Jewish or not. 

Getting married under a Chupah. Some people have friends make them one and I think that sounds super cool. 

Not getting married on Shabbat, holidays, or the omer. Seems like bad luck anyways and I don’t want my anniversary to forever be “3rd day of Pesach” or whatever. 

Commemorative kippahs (yes, this is a modern tradition but I still hold it sacred).

Also modern: programs that have explanations of the Jewish traditions, because I have a ton of goyish relatives (and statistically, so will my future spouse). 

Absolutely nots:

Traditional Ketubahs. I object strenuously to the traditional ketubah’s wording and intent. 

Head shaving or wig-fitting. This is a thing is *some* orthodox communities do, so not quite my frame of reference anyways, but not something I’m interested in. 

Lukewarm:

Sheva Brachot and circling - I don’t object to either of these traditions, I’m just not that into it. 

If my partner really wanted a ketubah, I could compromise for a modern one but I’m not actively interested.

I was dropped at my sister’s Bat Mitzvah, so while I’m lukewarm about the Horah itself, I’m not going up in the chair. 

27. What is your ideal synagogue like?  

I LOVE PLAYING FANTASY SYNAGOGUE. I could literally write a thousand words on this and get incredibly specific, but in “brief:”

I’m not terribly picky about denominational labels, but I like the reconstructionist ethos and my personal practices and beliefs fall somewhere in the upper-Reform or lower-Conservative range. What this means in practice: 

Medium-length services, not so short I feel like I just arrived and not so long I’m reading the end matter at the back of the siddur. 

Mostly in Hebrew, particularly the Torah service. Full ceremony to take out the Torah and return it. 

Inclusive of women and LGBTQ+ people as full members of the congregation who can do all the things. 

Welcoming to interfaith families. 

Kosher kitchens, separate for meat and dairy. 

Services for holidays, Shabbat, Friday night, and regular minyans. 

Inclusive and demographically diverse (ethnicity, JOC, JBC, interfaith families, sexualities, gender identities, geographic origin, income, etc). Actively strives to avoid Ashkenormativity, proactively inclusive of LGBTQ+ folks, welcoming JBC, understanding that not all American Jews are from NYC (or adjacent).

Financially accessible:

Programming that is free or cheap for dues-paying members (not built around assumptions of massive disposable income).

Sliding scale for dues.

Scholarships for more expensive programs. 

Age-related:

Has good mix of different age groups, but skews a bit to young professionals. Has stuff specifically for said young professionals (disclosure: I am a 20-something and a recent grad). 

Separate kids services for most of the service. 

Programming for teens that is separate from kids, maybe some overlap with adults. 

Takes care of community: 

Checking in on people in vulnerable stages or transitions, like lonely seniors, kids going away to college, and families who have recently experienced a loss or gained a child. 

Relief program to bring food to those who need it. 

Ability to produce minyan for mourners to say kaddish. 

Social Stuff: 

Fun social events outside of services. 

Good place to hang out with Jewish friends. 

Dating/matchmaking/young adult mixers specifically for young professionals/singles. 

Educational stuff: 

Classes on Jewish topics (history, religion, culture). 

Judeo-language classes, especially Hebrew. 

General classes (philanthropy, food, travel, interfaith). 

Guest speakers on a variety of topics. 

Group trips to museums and other cool places. 

Adult classes as separate from kids’ classes. 

Classes specifically on how to do Jewish skills, like wrapping tefillin, kashering a kitchen, putting up a Mezuzah, etc. 

Good relationships with other nearby Jewish institutions, friendly relations with other nearby houses of worship (for interfaith and joint charity efforts). 

Up to date website with calendar and clear explanations of dues, events, and expectations. 

31. Have you been to any Jewish spaces while traveling, and if so where?

Oh, a whole bunch! The three I’ll answer about today are Savannah, George, Berlin, Germany, and Warsaw, Poland: 

Savannah: I visited the third-oldest active synagogue in the U.S. and the only gothic synagogue remaining in the U.S. It was built (mostly) by Sephardim fleeing the Portuguese inquisition, although it now affiliates with the Reform movement. It’s an active synagogue, but they have tours and a lot of information about their history visible as you walk through it. It was super interesting and I’d definitely go back. 

Berlin: 

I went to the Berlin Jewish Museum and did not like it. It felt like it was by and for goyim, not us, and was really a Holocaust museum for the most part (and I object to the Holocaust being presented as the whole of the Jewish or Jewish-European experience). 

I liked the Chabad of Berlin, which was a bit difficult to find but super welcoming. 

Warsaw: I’m really not a fan of Warsaw on the whole, but I LOVED the Polish Jewish museum. They advertise as “1000 years of Polish Jewry” and they really freaking mean it. It was fun, educational, and super well-curated. It balances modern history with medieval history, has some incredible artifacts, and is designed so you walk forward through time. It isn’t shy about the (many) traumas of Polish Jewry, but it also talks about the joys and triumphs as well. The design of the building and the progression of the exhibits really works, and the cafeteria was pretty good too.  

[121distractions]

22- BANLIEUE (housing estates)

My years in college are of no use to me. I do not like what I am learning, I do not like the people I am learning with and I do not understand what I am doing there. All I want is to fuck, dance and get well dressed. I let others decide for me and I ended up with an economy bachelor’s degree and now I am trying to learn law. The law (except the history of law) and the economy, are boring me to death. I like to draw women’s shoes, pants or hats; but even for that, I do not take myself seriously, it is a hobby, it is not a job. One must do law when one do not know what to do because it leads to everything. Lawyers, clerks of notaries, bailiffs, they are characters from Balzac novels, it is not my future. The students, there, behave like fascists and are homophobic. They are surprised that I do not want to do “military preparations”. They spend every weekend at the barracks and when they will do their military service, they will already be officers. No, I will not be a just a stupid soldier, because my military service, I will not do it. The faith in which I grew up forbid to do military service, non-violence was basic. Objectors of conscience must spend twice as much time in prison as they would have spent in military service. When a “brother” went off to do his two years in prison, there was a farewell party, gifts and a lot of prayers. We were all very proud. Some made the effort to visit them in Fleury-Mérogis and had to share their experience on the stage with the microphone at the desk. Even if the speech was spontaneous and would not be judged, it was necessary to pay attention to the gesture, the contact with the auditory and the construction of the message. The prisoners’ letters were read in front of the whole congregation. New prayers would follow. I have never been to Fleury, I was too young. Faith has become superfluous to me, but disgust for the primitive male universe has remained. The uniforms are beautiful and the adventures of Jeff Stryker in prison are very exciting but nothing works, I would do anything to be discharged, P4, psychologically disturbed!

The lesson is really too annoying, Nathalie offers to go to her home to listen to records. Nathalie was Catherine’s best friend at the Émile Dubois High School. They wanted her to repeat her 11th grade so her parents put her in an expensive private school. Catherine partied too many with me and did not get her baccalaureate; I had it in extremis and so did Nathalie. We are now together studying law. Nathalie’s world is very different from Catherine’s. She also lives in a recent building of the 13th arrondissement, but not in a project. It is a residence with intercom. Nathalie uses only her particle for her name but on the bell, there is her full name “Brugerolle de Fraissinette” It does not leave much room for first names. I finally understand why sometimes she initials with a BdF. I never dared to ask. So chic! The apartment is huge but with low ceilings. It is dark, the Venetian blinds are just slightly open, Chinese furniture in black enamel occupy all the space. Nathalie’s mother is Eurasian of Vietnamese origin. She is very typical. Very skinny with a lot of very black hair, she is doing her nails with a small YSL bottle. She really looks like Eartha Kitt! She does not get up to say hello, she does not want to ruin her nail polish. Nathalie teaches me the word “quadroon”, Nathalie Brugerolle de Fraissinette is very proud to be quadroon. For me it sounds more like a descendant of Crusaders knights, but it just means she is a quarter Asian. Nobody could imagine it. Nathalie is a little round and very white, there may be in her eyes a little sign of bridle but you really have to know. The father is an engineer on an oil platform in Abu Dhabi and is never there. We head giggling down the hall. Eartha Kitt understands right away that it is not today that her daughter will finally have a boyfriend. Nathalie’s room is tiny, but she has, for herself, a compact Philips Hi-Fi with record player, FM radio and “auto-reverse” cassette player. She loves “Mad World” from Tears for Fears. I had the feeling that last week when I told her that I did not have the money to buy it, that she had never heard of it, I am intrigued. Will she offer it to me? No, she offers me to share her “Ham-mashed potatoes.” There are so few, I leave her the only calories that she is allowing herself. It is time to go to the Luco. I say it is a good idea but what is the Luco exactly? I keep that silly question for myself. “Au revoir Madame”. Eartha Kitt has a nail that worries her a lot and launches a “Goodbye, Philippe” without lifting her head. We prepare our orange cards, the metro pass for the zones 1 and 2. We have “the ticket chic and shock” as the advertisement says and we leave for the garden of the Luxembourg; the “Luco” in student lingo.

The cheapest orange card is always zone 1 and 2. Zone 1 is Paris “Intra Muros”, zone 2 is the very near suburbs. I know that the real Zone is Malakoff and everybody in the suburbs are zonards. Less than 50 years ago, the former site of the fortifications of Paris was a gigantic wasteland covered with shantytowns. The border of Malakoff had nothing to envy to the Brazilian favelas. I read Celine’s “Journey at the End of the Night” (but in the edition of the Pleiades) and the hell he describes is my suburb, it is Malakoff, gloomy and sordid. Malakoff is in Zone 2, what a luck, nothing differentiates me from real Parisians. Zone 3 is too much of shame! Zone 4, it may be well if you live in Versailles or Le Vésinet but zone 5 is again the horror. Anyway, I also know that leaving Malakoff means having to provide for myself, and I am not ready for it yet. I must still endure the stepfather.

In zone 3, there had been the year before Gilles. Gilles was only 16 years old, and I was not adult yet, we met in The Broad. He lived with his parents in Noisy-le-Sec. We waited until nine in the morning to have no one at my house in Malakoff. I was super tired but Gilles was very cute and a slut in bed. It was worth staying awake, three hours of fucking before having to go off again. I just had a single bed and it is in pretty jolly mood that I was driving Gilles in the big parental bed, the ultimate blasphemy. A bed made of rosewood with floral inlays, a legacy of Granny, the stepfather’s grandmother. After adding positions to the Kama-sutra, the sheets were not always very clean. We were leaving to the bathroom looking for a sponge, hot water and a hair dryer and it looked like nothing happened. It made us laugh so much. Gilles adored me, I think I was his first love. After a few weeks of our insomniac loves, I had to meet his best friends in Noisy. It was far but how to resist the curiosity to discover his home. Arriving in his housing estate, I had already the feeling that despite our identical proletarian social origins, our environments were very different. The north of Paris was much more “violent” than the south. My religious education had been very strict but had been an education. I had learned to read, alone, in conversation or in speech before an assembly, I had a vocabulary. Having read the Bible three times from top to bottom had eventually changed my view of the world. The representation of the blinds of Jericho by Nicolas Poussin in the Louvre, that was fascinating for me. Gilles’ 5 friends listened to rap that I never heard, … in French. They had looked at me, dismayed, I was just clean on me and a little classy. They wanted to shout, “Shit, what are you doing with a bougie?” but had only asked how we had met. It had not been a question, it had been an accusation. Gilles had tried to come out with me, but it was not going as planned. I had seen their universe collapse before their eyes, their childhood friend had just become a fag. Only the curvy girlfriend seemed a little interested in my presence and ready to adopt me. I had invented an excuse to slip away, … forever. It was really too complicated. If I had decided to disappear from Gilles’ life, he had not said his last word. I had found him back recently, more beautiful than ever, successively at the door of The Broad and then of Les Bouchons. He had seen me, talked in a low voice with the other bouncer and left a little while before allowing me to go inside. Was I dreaming? Another time, while Yves the door guy was alone, he told me he liked me but that I had not been nice with Gilles at all. He had been kicked out of his house after coming out, tried to reach me but I ignored him and he had very difficult moments. Now everything was better, but he was mad at me for it. I did not know yet that it would go even further. Two years later, he would have the main role in Jean-Daniel Cadinot’s new X movie “Under the sign of the Stallion” with, as a commercial, a beautiful picture of him in bleached blonde. I would watch the movie, but I would not recognize his cock, it was as if he had a stunt for the sex scenes. I knew his cock well enough! Later, he would die of AIDS, like everyone else. I DID NOT KILL GILLES! The suburbs killed Gilles.

Malakoff is still communist but more and more annexed by the capital. The Theater 71 is supposed to attract all the Parisian intelligentsia, the National Institute for Statistics has the largest building since 74 and the law section of the famous medical school Paris V is overflowing since 1976. Yes, I find myself in college 10 minutes walk from my home. Each train of the Métro delivers its hundreds of beautiful speakers apprentices but I arrive from the other side. I did not cross the ring. I hate not being Parisian. Jimmy Sommerville sings: “Run away, turn away, run away …” But how to survive? I think I am a suburbanite but I am wrong, I am already the worst Parisian. I suffocate as soon as I see these lamentable little pavilions and want to throw up in front of the projects. That is why, Gilles was not possible. My world is civilized, I do not get thrown out, it is me who decides when I go!

The stepfather, he works for TF1, the national television, in Paris rue Cognacq-Jay. He is a kind of a storekeeper. One day he brings back an ad from the collective notice board. A film director exchanges an independent room, not under the attic, in the 15th arrondissement for some hours of babysitting. Mom does not cry, Mom never cries, but she is sad. She did not see much of me anymore, but I was still living there. The former communist woman was so proud to have a son who was studying. Jimmy continues to sing: “You leave in the morning with everything you own in a little black case, Alone on a platform, the wind and the rain on a sad and lonely face”. I am not on the platform of a train station, but on the Métro platform and I am leaving only 3 kilometers away. I will come back for the Friday night dinners, those with the snails and the beautiful porcelain.

[sarahtaylortraveladventures]

Week 3 (Jan 21 - 27)

Dzień dobry! Not German - keep reading to find out what language! :) 

This post isn’t as long because I’ve actually been doing a lot of schoolwork (really putting the “study” in study abroad) and getting into a routine, which is really comforting. But I had some great experiences this week that I’m excited for you guys to read about!!

On Monday I mainly did some homework and went to class, but that night my friend Steph from Elon and I had dinner. She is on a J-term trip and they spent a night in Berlin so we got to meet up! It was so so wonderful to catch up and spend time together and definitely the piece of home I needed!!

On Tuesday, a few friends and I really wanted to check out the thrift and vintage stores in our neighborhood. There was so much stuff in them and one of them was so well laid out it felt like a museum you could touch. The clothes and other items were from all kinds of decades and was really interesting to look it. Tons and tons of fur coats too - guess they used to get fashionable for the cold Berlin winters!

On Wednesday, my International Finance class got to go to the Deutsche Bundesbank, which is the central bank of Germany. The head of their Political Relations department spoke with us about the role of the Deutsche Bundesbank in Germany in addition to the EU money market. It was very interesting to learn more about how their banking and money system is different than the US and his opinions on the economy. And, they had a pretty nice set-up for us with coffee and a bunch of snacks!

That night, one of my friends and I decided to try a Korean place nearby. He knew that I love different asian foods and I’ve never had Korean so I was super excited. I got Bi bim bap, which is apparently a pretty common dish, and it was so!!!!! incredible!!!! It’s a rice dish with beef and different vegetables on top and I'm pretty sure it’s my new favorite asian dish (except for Taipei - don’t worry.) They also serve kimchi beforehand and it was like a spicy sauerkraut and it was also so good. Hite is a Korean beer, which was also good :)

On Thursday, two of my friends and I went to the Kennedy Museum in Berlin. The museum is all photos and focuses on JFK’s visit to Berlin in 1963 where he did his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. I am so glad we went - the photos were fascinating and it gave such an interesting perspective in terms of Cold War history. They had a lot of photos of JFK in Berlin, but they also had a lot of photos of his entire life which was also fascinating, including a lot on Jackie whom you all know is one of my role models. The reason we went, though, is because they had a special exhibition on First Ladies with pictures and information on not only Jackie O, but also Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama. This was so so cool for me becuase I admire them all and loved seeing all the great things they accomplished through photos. They didn’t allow us to take pictures, but I did take a photo outside of vines growing on some buildings that I thought was cool!

Afterward, we went to this cafe near my dorm. I got a friend chicken sandwich with mangoes on it, and I had to talk about it on the blog because those are two of my favorite foods combined and it was amazing. Also I was so excited about it that I forgot to take a picture until halfway through, so here’s a picture of a half-eaten but very delicious sandwich. 

On Friday, I unfortunately had to go to two classes. Usually I don’t have class on Friday, but twice a block we have to go an extra day of the week and this was the day. BUT IT STARTED SNOWING THAT MORNING!!! It hasn’t snowed since we’ve been here and it was a beautiful, light, powdery-dusty snow.

My History class went on an excursion to the Topography of Terror, which is a museum housed in the former headquarters of the Gestapo. Inside, they have pictures and information about the Nazis in Germany and around Europe, concentration camps, and WWII in Berlin. The museum is laid out very well - they show all of the major cities and towns in Germany and give information on what they call “the survivors, the perpetrators, and the aftermath” for each place. They also give information about each country in Europe that was affected by WWII, which allowed us to see how far reaching the war was. One of the things I have been the most interested to learn about here is how Germany has handled their past in terms of the Holocaust and WWII. This museum is a perfect example of how the country pays homage wherever they can to the victims of the holocaust and WWII in an informational and respectful way. In my opinion, they have done an incredible job of making their memorials and museums educational and interesting, not just heavy, sad monuments that people forget about or don’t want to accept as they walk by. In class, we also read an article about what Germany has done with all the buildings that were prominent Nazi establishments. They country has worked really hard to turn almost all of them into some sort of educational memorial/museum, in an effort to "accept the burden of our history but we also intend to write a new chapter in our history," as the article stated. In no way does it feel like they’re trying to erase or cover up their past, but it’s very evident that they want you to learn from it. I don’t have any pictures from the exhibit, but it was a really great experience. 

On a lighter note of German history, that night we went to a traditional Bavarian beer hall. It’s based on a famous one in Munich and I think they now have the same one in different parts of Germany, so it was kind of touristy but definitely fun. I don’t think they sold anything less than a liter of beer, but I actually really liked the beer I got (which was good because a liter is a lot.) They have big communal tables, live music, and all the waiters wear lederhosen and traditional Bavarian clothing.

And then, I got the currywurst of all currywursts. It was amazing.

Poznań, Poland

On Saturday we took a bus to a small Polish town called Poznań. It was about a 3.5 hour bus ride, but the bus was a coach bus, so I got homework done while riding and it was actually really nice. 

This little town was one of the cutest and coolest places I’ve been. Poland is such an interesting country with a lot of history, and Poznań was a perfect place to just do a one-night weekend trip. Once we got there, we went to the Rugalowe Museum. Rugalowe is a croissant-like pastry that Poznań is known for and the museum shows you how they’re made and gives a little history about the town. The guys who did the presentation were really funny and we had so much fun. They let the audience help with the different steps of making the croissants, and my roommate and I got to roll the croissants! We did a pretty good job, in my opinion. The croissants look a lot like regular croissants, but they have a raisin, cinnamon, almond filling and a glaze on top and are so yummy!!

The sample:

Afterwards we walked about the Old Town Square, which was absolutely beautiful. It snowed the morning before we got there, so there was little dusting that made it even more gorgeous. And we went around sunset so the lighting was really cool.

We had dinner at a local Polish restaurant. I got the fried pork, which was basically schnitzel. The Polish and German foods are pretty similar. Afterwards we walked around the square at night, which was also really nice. And then we went to a really cute cafe for expresso. I know, so European of us :)

On our way back to our Airbnb, we wanted to walk past this big castle that was built by the Germans during 1905, making it the youngest castle in Europe. It was then supposed to be one of Hitler’s residences but renovations were stopped in 1943 because Germany wasn’t doing well in the war. It was later turned into barracks used by the Polish People’s Army. They also have a memorial on the outside for three mathematicians who were students at Poznań University. They were working with the Polish government and basically cracked important parts of the Enigma code, which was a complex cipher used by the Germans so that the Allies couldn’t read their messages. It’s the same basis as The Imitation Game movie, but these three students don’t get any credit even though they made really important strides before the guy in the movie. It was really interesting and cool that it happened in this little town! There was also a statue of the numbers 1956, which symbolizes the year of the Poznań Protests, which were against the communist government of the Polish People’s Republic. 

Sunday morning, we went to a really cool cafe with records on the wall. 

Then we walked around the square a little more to see it in daylight. We also went inside the pink church, which was much larger than I was expecting!

We promise we didn’t intentionally plan to match each other or the church!! :)

That afternoon, we went to a really cute place that served only Pierogies, which is a traditional Polish dumpling. The ladies were making them right there in the store and they were so so sooooo good. I got a traditional potato one, a duck one, and a pumpkin filled one. 

After that, we took the bus back to Berlin. It was such a great trip and I’m so glad we got to experience another culture for the weekend! I really loved seeing a smaller town and learning a little more about Poland. 

It was a great week! I miss you all!!!

[garden-of-succulents]

Ask I got: So with your post on your writing and Kent its like yeah I usually love a lot of your stuff but whenever Ngozi's line about "Kent getting all he wanted and not getting to grow and Jack getting all he feared and growing" I'm just kind of shocked you agree with that cause I mean you know Kent didn't want Jack to OD and I bet losing Jack in anyway was one of Kent's biggest fears.

plus like here the idea of growth ends up being tied to being out or closeted. Jack's maturity and self acceptance ends up being reflected through how open he is, the high point of his arc and growth as a player ended with him coming out to the world. Which unfortunately bounces back and frames Kent as immature and ties that immaturity to being closeted. [SOME BITS TRIMMED FOR LENGTH] And then make him an antagonist and frame all of his interactions with Jack/Bitty and all of his victories as negative just kind of burn my tongue

even more so when fans intentionally or not run with all that framing and end up connecting all of Kent's issues with his choice to be closeted for his career condemn his choice and point to it as evidence of immaturity or lack of self love or warped priorities, when that choice isn't just the norm but literally the only one any NHL player has ever made at this point and a choice millions of us make each and every day for our own safety, success, and happiness.

My reply: People criticizing the link between immaturity and closetedness are really on point, I think. When I was supporting N's comments about "Kent got everything he wanted, and didn't grow, while Jack got what he didn't want, and grew", I didn't know the full content of 3.26, especially the fact that Jack was going to come out on television and that Kent's teammates were going to be pretty LGBT-hostile.

I mean, I do think that Kent is immature, especially in the sense that his social and emotional development is stunted, and that his immaturity is the result of his decision to go into the NHL and be a professional player from age 18, while Jack's relative maturity is the result of his time in rehab and at Samwell. However, I don't think Kent is uniquely immature in the NHL, and his immaturity isn't linked to him being queer—I think, rather, that immaturity is a result of the incredibly toxic masculinity an NHL career demands, and the effects of that toxic masculinity. Jack's unique because his talent, family history, and financial privilege have given him the advantage of being able to fight that toxic masculinity in the way few professional hockey players have been able to.

So, I'm from Alberta. Small town with a hockey rink and not much else. Major oil-producing sector. Grew up around hockey players. I did part of my practicum as a mental health therapist at a university counselling centre in Vancouver where they had a really strong athletics program, and I had hockey players on my caseload. And the hardest thing for me to communicate to people from elsewhere about hockey culture is how relentlessly, insistently hypermasculine it is. Everything you've heard about a "man box", everything from The Mask You Live In or Men's Work or I Don't Want to Talk About It. That's what gets pushed by coaches, by commentators, by everybody—toxic masculinity is how you play. Dominate, suppress your emotions, overcome pain, win at all costs.

I am honestly saying that the entire feeder system for men's professional hockey is fucked up on a very fundamental level. From elementary school-aged kids getting up at 4am for practice and doing hockey every day and having no social lives outside of hockey, to teenagers leaving home before they're developmentally ready to be away from their families, having substance abuse issues at a grossly disprortionate rate to their peers, shortchanging their educations, and earning very little money. The system produces top players by getting them to focus on hockey at the expense of everything else, which includes their social and emotional development.

I'm talking about basic shit like "realizing when you are feeling an emotion and being able to identify what emotion it is". The inability to do this is called alexithymia, and it often comes from growing up in an invalidating environment where your emotions are never recognized, acknowledged, or accommodated. I'm talking about stuff like "not being able to tell someone about your basic wants and needs"—something that is really hard when the least expression of emotion is seen as "weak" or "gay".

So when I say that Kent "hasn't grown" or is "immature", I mean that things went so bad at the Epikegster because these are skills he hasn't developed. When he spits out, "I miss you," it comes out like it's the absolute limit of what he's capable of saying. His entire sales pitch to Jack has been in terms of money, power, and dominance—You'll be on a great team; you'll earn lots of money; you'll be better than before. It's not until he's at the end of his rope that he admits to wanting Jack back because he misses him. And therefore he doesn't see why he's failing at persuasion; he doesn't realize that Jack has an emotional attachment to the Samwell players, that his priorities for joining a team aren't just about prestige and money.

Because here's the thing about toxic masculinity: there are the things Kent really feels and wants, and the things he is allowed to admit he feels and wants according to toxic masculinity.

Acceptable masculine interests according to toxic masculinity:

Money

Power

Violence

Dominance

Competition

Prestige

Sex

Unacceptable masculine interests according to this system:

Emotional intimacy

Intellectual curiosity

Artistic expression

Play

Authenticity

Personal fulfillment

Safety

According to the system, Kent was only allowed to want to be rich, famous, and successful. Those were the only things he could admit to without being lambasted in international press outlets, because hockey media is sooooo fucked up.

Jack's OD emotionally devastated Kent Parson—and he would have been pilloried for letting it show. In that moment, he wasn't expected to feel anything except humble, grateful, and happy. So that's how he acted. Being closeted is such a secondary concern here.

So in some ways "immature" is the wrong word because Kent is an incredibly mature public figure, polished and good at keeping his mouth shut; he's mastered the art of being what he's expected to be, at being what will let him succeed at his chosen profession. It's kind of like how PTSD is a disease, a dysfunctional set of behaviours, in a peaceful, prosperous society, but it's what keeps you alive in a warzone. It's why I don't counsel hockey bros as a chosen profession: I don't respect their athletic and professional achievements enough to work with them every day. I don't think it's worth winning a trophy if you were never home and ruined your marriage and failed to look after your children, and I'm not good at honouring a belief system that says it is worth it.

But I would define "maturity" as the ability to understand your own needs and fulfill them; to live your own reality and express it in a way that satisfies you.

The ways Jack "grew" were when he admitted that something was wrong and accepted convalescence and treatment instead of skating through the pain. When he got to know himself as an intellectual and artistic person as well as an athletic one. When he made space in his life for empathy and play. Because when you see NHL players being criticized on a personal level, what's it for? For having "big personalities", for being "unprofessional" and "unserious", for being "girly". For celebrating too much, dancing too freely, being political, intellectual, for questioning power hierarchies, and for putting their personal welfare ahead of their teams' success.

(Hockey players' compliance to power hierarchies is valued above all things, but that's a different rant)

Jack's moment of maturity wasn't kissing Bitty on the Stanley Cup ice; it was a year earlier, in his own room, when he understood how he felt and acted on it, and communicated it to Bitty, thereby achieving an emotional intimacy that was more important to him than hockey. In that same room, Kent struggled so badly to understand what he wanted and why, and to express it to somebody else, that he backfired in his intended aim, injured his friendship with Jack more deeply than ever, and hurt the person he wanted to express love for.

So the dichotomy of closeted/out is super new in the comic, and super new to analyses of Kent. A lot of what we've been talking about, and the theories we've evolved, have really not been based on 3.26.

And yes, like you, I'm really leery of letting that be a consistent part of the analysis. We don't know why Kent isn't out yet (my personal theory is that it was strategic) and I'm way more willing to say he's immature because of the way that interaction with Jack went to shit, than to say he's immature because he's doing the smart thing and surviving in a homophobic-as-fuck industry.

And, as always, a lot of my fic about Kent is about him developing those things his industry wants to punish him for having--why I write about him escaping to music festivals with queer pagan poets, respecting and supporting female athletes, caring for helpless animals, developing strong aesthetic tastes and artistic hobbies, finding spirituality, fighting back against his hierarchies, admitting his problems, or quitting to raise a baby. Because I want him to develop too. But I think the draft sent him to the desert in more ways than one, and it’s a struggle for him to thrive.

[freshginandtonic]

I Just Haven't MET You Yet: Thoughts on the Super Bowl of Fashion

The Met Gala is the the Olympics of fashion. As my title suggests, it has been called the Super Bowl of fashion. Athletes train for years - buffed and polished to an inch of their life to go out there and achieve excellence in sport. For the Met it’s excellence in fashion. Once a year, we (or at least my mother and myself) wait with bated breath to see what everyone wears.

As many of us are currently, I am working from home at the minute - today before I started my commute (15 seconds from my bed to my desk), instead of activewear I decided to put on my designated fancy ass velvet dress I bought about four years ago that I now wear to any vaguely formal occasion (with an abundance of tape to deal w how low cut it is) - and a puffer jacket (it’s cold af in my room) to commemorate the gala.

This year’s theme was supposed to be ‘About Time: Fashion and Duration’ I googled this concept and found the following information on the Met’s website: “it will explore how clothes generate temporal associations that conflate past, present, and future. Virginia Woolf will serve as the "ghost narrator" of the exhibition.”

My thoughts on this are as follows: firstly, ‘About Time’ is a great film if you haven’t seen it. Secondly, clothes conflating the past present and future - it’s a big yes from me. Thirdly, can Virginia Woolf serve as the ghost narrator of my entire life? What an idea.

The co-chairs this year were going to be Anna Wintour, Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Nicolas Ghesquiere. I mean, that list in itself is like a dream party list because you just know you’ll be getting a Streep-Stone-Miranda musical number in between drinks and dinner. I also don’t really know what being a co-chair of the event MEANS, but I’m guessing its some kind of vague organisational role where but you defer to Anna on everything - basically a school captain and principal set up.

For those of you who want a quick crash course in the, who, the what and the why I’m even talking about this gala thing here’s the tea: The Met Gala is the annual fundraising gala for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City and marks the opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit. Vogue have just done a video to explain the history so pls get enlightened.

However if you want more than 6 minutes and 50 seconds of how it all works, look no further than the 2016 documentary ‘The First Monday in May’. The film covers the months leading up to the 2015 Gala and the night itself. The theme that year was ‘China: Through The Looking Glass’, and it was all about the impact of Chinese design on Western fashion over the centuries.

The film is a huge eye opener into the pressure, time constraints, and sheer elbow grease that goes into the event. It’s also the closest thing to The Devil Wears Prada I’ve seen since ‘The September Issue’ . Anna Wintour flits around the museum with her sunnies and her giant cup of Starbucks, and scenes of Anna’s assistant and event organisers excessively vetting people from the guest list (“Josh Hartnett? What has he done lately?”) are amazing but also can you IMAGINE watching it and seeing them bitch about you?! Quelle nightmare.

Also if you’re a nosy Parker like me fun fact you can pause on the shots of the seating charts, and see who’s sitting next to who - I managed to squint and see Baz Luhrmann next to Jennifer Lawrence, Amal Clooney next to Tom Ford, and‘Jared Leto TBC’. How ominous.

As I mentioned earlier the show I work on covers the Met Gala - and yes, thanks to the time difference ‘the First Tuesday in May’ really doesn’t have the same snazzy ring to it. So come last year we were prepared to report on it - in 2020, I recalled it fondly, and also stressfully with my bosses video calling me at 7:30 this morning to remind me it was Met Gala Day and giving me a triple bypass in the process.

From my memory, the Queen of Camp at the 2019 gala was Lady Gaga - I remember watching her pink carpet entrance at work (I was the Met Gala producer that day - definitely not a real thing) and realising that every time I looked up at my screen she had a different outfit on - I believe there were four in total, which gave me palpitations at the time as I had to have three separate slabs of overlay to show the transition between her looks - but now a full year later I can appreciate her sheer artistry.

The 2019 theme was ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion.’ The exhibit was inspired by Susan Sontag's 1964 essay that defines camp as "love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.” It’s something that Sontag describes as “esoteric - something of a private code, a badge of identity even, among small urban cliques.” It seems to me that’s the best way to describe the Gala itself? Something out of the ordinary, opulent and pretty much unattainable to normal people looking in from the outside that manages to seduce us all every year.

There were so many great looks last year I can’t possibly go through them all, so quick honourable mentions to the following: Harry Styles , Ezra Miller, Lily Collins, Irina Shayk, Kim Kardashian, and Hamish Bowles to name far too few. Also some great online stuff came out as well: this movie trailer for the event and this brilliant video showing how the Vogue social media team handled the event.

Despite all this, I have to say that yes, while the ‘Camp’ year was, indeed shit hot, and I lived for every moment of it, my favourite year was in fact 2017.

The theme was ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’, and after 13 years of Catholic education and living with a deeply religious grandmother who keeps a bunch of icons around our house I can firmly say Alleluia and Thanks Be to God. The main thing I remember from this year was this amazing video that Vogue put up (and apparently took down as I had to find it on Facebook) showing celebrities flouncing around the museum in their finery.

My friend Georgie and I were going through our favourite looks from previous years over Zoom last night, and while she had gone for looks from like 1974 to present day, literally all of mine were from 2017 bc I loved them all so much. Plus looking through I remembered that Shawn Mendes and Hailey (now) Bieber were a couple for about 30 seconds.

I must particularly make mention of Zendaya, Emilia Clarke, Greta Gerwig, Ariana Grande, Bella Hadid, Rihanna, Kate Bosworth, Blake Lively, Lily Collins, Kim Kardashian, Chadwick Boseman, Cardi B and Priyanka Chopra who, although perennially irritating since becoming Priyanka Chopra Jonas, cannot be ignored for her excellent use of red velvet here. As you can probably tell I found it REALLY hard to narrow that all down.

I am someone who decided at least five years ago that they would one day attend the gala (I haven’t quite figured out why I would be invited, but even Kim Kardashian started as a plus one so there’s hope for me yet). Every year I look at red carpet as my altar, the stars the saints and angels (yeesh, can you tell I went to Catholic school - and I actually believe this garbage). I don’t know how a short walk up some stairs to a museum became so fraught with power but there it is. Every time I go out in something approximating a ballgown (bringing it back to the red dress, people) I imagine how I would walk, who I would talk to, what my hair would look like (very important), and who I would have at my table (slightly less important than hair). And of course, addressing Anna (through her all things were made, for us and for our salvation, maker of Heaven and Earth, of all that is seen and unseen etc).

Maybe she would look at me and nod approvingly with a wry smile (please refer to the end scene of the Devil Wears Prada to see exactly how this would happen, but hopefully the smile would be a bit warmer than what you would give an ex-employee) and I would walk on, secure in the knowledge that Anna and I had connected on a deeply spiritual level. Then I imagine I would head straight to the bar to recover.

NOW KEEP READING HUN

A quick note for people who want to read fun stuff/watch fun stuff about the Met Gala to compensate for this trash year, here are some funky links to what Vogue has going on:

Anna Wintour Addresses the Met Gala and Florence + The Machine Performs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HptQEYkMrVQ

Thinking of the Met on a Not-So-Typical First Monday in May https://www.vogue.com/article/moment-with-the-met-vogue-global-conversations

25 Years of Met Gala Themes: A Look Back at Many First Mondays in May https://www.vogue.com/article/met-gala-themes

Only at the Met: An Oral History of the World’s Most Glamorous Gala https://www.vogue.com/article/the-complete-met-gala-oral-history

See the Costume Institute’s New (Though Postponed) Show About Time https://www.vogue.com/article/costume-institute-about-time-preview

The Most Unforgettable Met Gala Beauty Looks—According to the Hair and Makeup Artists Behind Them.                             https://www.vogue.com/article/met-gala-makeup-artists-hair-stylists-instagram

Naomi Campbell Breaks Down 30 Years’ Worth of Met Gala Magic https://www.vogue.com/article/naomi-campbell-life-in-looks-met-gala-video

A Look Back at a Decade of Stunning Met Gala Interiors https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/a-look-back-at-a-decade-of-stunning-met-gala-interiors

Sarah Jessica Parker Shares a Playlist Inspired by the Met Gala Theme ‘About Time: Fashion and Duration’                              https://www.vogue.com/article/sarah-jessica-parker-met-gala-about-time-playlist

[martinezgaming]

Development Blog - Week 2

This week, I felt like I had a better grasp of the class. There was several things I focused on this week. First, I focused on this week’s material regarding aesthetics, then I thought about game ideas for my final project, and finally I created a Game Development Teardown video for a solid 300 points (hopefully).

Our discussion on aesthetics this week was very interesting. We looked at what aesthetics are and how they should be used. I always thought about aesthetics as a strictly visual thing. However, aesthetics are much more than just visuals. It’s about the whole way a piece of art affects your senses. A sound effect at the right time, feedback coming from your controller, etc. We also discussed how aesthetics should be used. Everything that is part of your game should make sense under the greater context of your game and should work towards a coherent user experience.

Additionally, I started thinking about the game that I want to make for the class. I took INFV 405 last year, so I do have a game concept that I came up with for that class. The concept was pretty simple, the game was set in the Warsaw ghetto and it followed this fictional family as they try to survive through fascist oppression. The game was supposed to be mostly for educational purposes to showcase the cruelty inflicted upon Polish Jews during World War II. The gameplay was very simple it was mostly a choose-your-adventure game with some resource management mechanics. I still like this idea, but it’s very simple.  So for now, I will keep this idea as a parachute just in case I am not able to land on a more complex idea.

When I began thinking about another game idea, I started by first thinking of what setting I would like my game to be set in.  The first thing that came to my mind was Cold War-era U.S intervention in Latin America. Lately, I have been really fascinated by this period in history and all the atrocities and cruelty we facilitated in the region while trying to crush even the most mild left-wing governments. So, my first idea was a Civilization-type game where you play as a Latin American nation during this time period. The idea is that the game is super hard and you have to constantly deal with U.S-backed military militias. By making the game hard, I could really deliver the critique I am trying to build into the game. However, this idea can become incredibly complex and maybe way too much for this class. My second idea was a 2-D flying game where you play as a CIA gun runner and you have to avoid several obstacles while dropping packages in specific spots throughout the level. This idea seems more doable, but I feel like it lacks any type of critique. Maybe I could include the connection between the CIA, the Contras, and drug-trafficking in the U.S to solidify that critique.

The last thing I did this week, was that I created a Game Development Teardown of a game development commentary for Wolfenstein: The New Order. This and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus are two of my favorite new FPS games, so I was very excited to do this assignment. For the teardown, I basically went through the commentary and wrote down my thoughts on it as a script. I then took the video and edited so that I could narrate over the video at the correct times to deliver my thoughts on the game and the commentary. I thought the video came out well, but I am not sure if this is what the instructor wanted from this assignment. Hopefully it is.

So anyway, that was my week. It was pretty busy but pretty fun and educational. I will keep posting updates on my game ideas for the next few weeks.

[allbeendonebefore]

@ask-aph-acadia, @lilcutiebear, I’m making a new thread to reply to you both here p:

lilcutiebear: I took French immersion from k-12 so I’m very much in support of learning a second language and not monolingual. Personally I think there are two big factors in animosity towards French immersion in the west that have nothing to do with dislike of francophones. One is that I have seen articles complaining that it is like having a private school within the public school system (I’ve seen articles like that from basically every part of the country not just the west). More particular to the west is that many ppl here aren’t French Canadians or English Canadians and think it would make more sense to teach another language like German or Ukrainian or Chinese or Cree since more people here have those kinds of ancestry. So sometimes it feels like the east is pushing its linguistic divide onto us. I also feel like Anglophones here are different from Anglophones out east because a lot on Anglophones here are only Anglophones because their ancestors were forced to attend school in English rather than their native language. (I.e. My grandpa’s first language is Polish and even though he grew up in a community that was evenly split between poles and Ukrainians (with most kids understanding at least part of both)and his teacher was Ukrainian she wasn’t allowed to teach in any language other than English).

yes absolutely, this is another aspect of the issue that gets totally glossed over in the anglo/franco division. I don’t know about my personal family line but certainly people with my ancestry were discriminated against, forced to learn English, and also put in internment camps for their heritage and speaking Ukrainian. Canada making everything into a Catholic/Protestant or a French/English binary really does not evenly apply to the history of the West in particular but also can cause similar rifts elsewhere. Like we recognize bilingualism is good but 1. our educational systems are often garbage and 2. finding exposure to a native speaker of a target language can vary wildly, and learning French across Canada can be difficult if you are learning International French at School and Quebecois, Acadian or backwater prairie French at home. and 3. it’s always been grating that French (and English) are always prioritized over languages people already speak- we recognize Canada is a bilingual country, but there is not enough motivation or access to materials or native speakers in all locations unless you’re Really Super Determined to get a government job and can afford to move to a city with the programs. Canada is also a country of immigrants, and multilingualism should be celebrated beyond French and English.

ask-aph-acadia: For the criticism: I do remember seeing a few people draw the territories with darker skin, but since I couldn’t really see a big difference in their traits and the other provinces’ in the old art, I really had a hard time seeing if they were white or not, even though I know that First nations and Métis can have paler skin ( One of my characters is actually Métis and has pale skin, but I tried to make it easier to see with the other traits. ) I should maybe watch more of the ProCan videos though, just to make sure I don’t say things that were changed.

Lol i mean good luck, we basically do one video every three years and the projo has come to a standstill but yes Attempts Were Made 

I think that if PEI didn,t exist as a province at all I wouldn’t have had that much problems with NB and NS being a couple. I remember thinking that making it this way was excluding PEI from Acadia ( I can’t really say the Maritimes for this situation, since Newfoundland doesn’t have much to do with all of that ), forgetting that it’s been a part of NS too, maybe for a smaller time, but it still happened and gets forgotten a lot in designs for Acadia. PEI was also there when NB and NS talked about becoming one colony, so again seeing them as a couple made me feel like the smaller one was being kind of forgotten. I usually see people making PEI Nova Scotia’s sister/brother, while leaving NB and NS as a couple and I’ve always wondered what made them that different from Prince Ed for other people. 

Obviously I’m not a Maritimer, and I do tend to have my reading of the history shaped by what people have done in the past so I can absolutely see that there’s ambiguity in those relationships. I can’t speak for Sherry’s interpretations, I can only attempt to justify them in my own readings. I did get the sense that PEI has a very strong little sibling vibe i.e. the strong independence streak without wanting the responsibility, but I can read NS as the long suffering big brother figure for either of them. I think it’s the strong Scottish heritage that tends to tie NS and PEI together more than NS to NB, but I could be wrong.

As for Alberta and Saskatchewan, I think a lot of people see them as “sister provinces”, me included, and that’s why we usually see them as siblings, without mentionning the project of “Buffalo” ( I think that’s what it was called? Correct me if I’m wrong ).

Buffalo is correct: nowadays we tend to see each other as sister provinces but it can also depend on the reading of the history- Wilfrid Laurier dividing the provinces up can be seen as completely arbitrary with little regard for the people already living there, as an eastern imposition etc, but it rubs me the wrong way to just throw them together because they share a birthday (because I’ve got a personal Dislike of using Confederation as a literal birthday rather than a symbolic birthday and I really don’t like AB/SK portrayed as identical and interchangeable twins (even though lately our politicians have been playing that game loll a story for ANotHER Time). It’s definitely a close relationship that I tend to at least read as adoptive siblings since I’m Not a fan of literal biological relationships- they are definitely the closest out of the former Rupert’s Land territories fam.

For Poutines: I can tell you that when the cheese curds are fresh from today, it’s even better. I live in an area where the milk industry is very big and we’ve got that company called Chalifoux that makes the best cheese curds I’ve ever tasted. A lot of our restaurants use them in their poutines and it’s amazing. I know a few people that prefer shredded cheese but they obviously didn’t taste the best poutine in the region.

Another day another reason to be sad and lactose intolerant ToT and yet i regret nothing

For Alberta: I see that Quebec and Alberta have a very different version of the story. Honestly, I never saw Quebec as a province that tried to bother Alberta, we’re so concentrated on our own politics  that we hardly notice what happens in the rest of the country most of the time. I think the last time I heard about Alberta in the news was during Fort Mac’s wildfires, and a lot happened since it started. But again, we’re so focused on complaining about Phillipe Couillard that we don’t even see what he does, for the most part ( Doesn’t change that he’s a shit PM to me, but that’s a story for another day. ) The only other time I’ve heard about AB in the news was for the pipeline and I can say it’s at that moment that I’ve heard the most people going against the prairies. 

That’s regionalism for you, most of us tend to only focus on our own affairs until the minute someone releases some bad poll data about how much one hates the other online and then everyone goes ballistic. p: Pipelines again are a nuanced issue and while I personally am anti-pipeline i understand the reasons AB doesn’t see it that way, again we just got over a long 44 year political dynasty headed straight towards economic dependence on a single resource that our current government is trying to undo, and frankly it’s overly simplistic to just paint us as the bad guys because we’ve made some dumb decisions and backed ourselves into a corner here. We’re dumb, we get it, but don’t say it to our faces lol. Again if you are interested in this stuff I try to reblog news articles frequently on my personal blog under the yeah y yeah alberta tag  (my political bias is Obvious)

The other part of the story is the federal government is built on pitting regions of Canada against each other, and right now the West is the favourite scapegoat. Former PM Harper did not help our image at all in the 2000s-2010s and I take IMMENSE satisfaction knowing that he’s now got to answer to a Muslim mayor and a New Democrat premier, you have no idea. But it’s fear mongering like that where ohhh the west is all about oiiillll and then ignoring the history of Eastern Canada literally just taking it from us and the federal government making it our current major export etc etc is really hypocritical at best (the scapegoating Alberta for the oil and saying ohhh it’s so baaad and unenvironmental and then wanting to live off the profits is something that really is an easy way to piss us off, and the federal government does it all the time. 

We really saw Alberta and Saskatchewan as the big bad guys and a girl I knew started to DESPISE the provinces, even though she also hated Quebec? ( She’s the one we had drama with when creating our version of the provinces, she hated Alberta so much that she wanted my character to die… That’s a lot of hatred, but that is also a story for another day. ) I think a lot of Quebeckers are not over that yet, it’s probably time for us to go complain about something else than that ahah.

This is one of those touchy subjects and it Really Pisses me Off when people like to use aph Alberta OCs as their stereotypical villain character without ever considering our perspective or history, it’s happened enough that I’ve not been seeking out ocs for my province anymore for that reason. We already get that enough in mainstream politics, and all it does is make us angrier and act even more out of spite. I’ve seen Quebec and Ontario both treated the same way, of course, but QUON is such a popular pairing that more often than not its just Oh here is Loud Obnoxious Alberta Here To Ruin Everything for Us Once Again. They’re all such good and nuanced characters that it makes me real sad to see them reduced like that. I’ve always seen the relationship as playful banter/teasing between the three of us (and really four because BC is up there with us) and I kind of feel partially responsible for my adlibbing in old IAMP episodes being taken Too Seriously.

Also hating a character is once thing, hating them to wanting them to die is beyond rude, and hating an aph oc for representing a place with real people is Beyond offensive to me, sigh... 

For French: I can get why a lot of people complain about having to learn it, it’s a hard language, even for native speakers. We’re also guilty of blaming the “anglos” for making us learn English. I do see how Quebec and Ontario look like they have been working together, but we don’t see it from inside Quebec, since we complain about Ontario as much as we complain about the rest of the provinces ( Ontario is actually our biggest target, it’s easy to do, since we’re so close. ) I don’t mind people complaining about French outside of Quebec, but it’s when people do it inside the province that it bothers me. I already see so many people choosing to speak English instead of French, thus loosing what’s supposed to be their native tongue that I and a lot of other people get on the defensive when we talk about language issues, like when we don’t know what language to speak in in Montreal. Remember when I talked about Phillipe Couillard? Well, he recently asked for English people to come back in the province and I can tell you that it wasn’t welcomed as a good thing by most Quebeckers… ( I could rant about Couillard for hours but I think it’s better if I stop it there) We’re welcoming of tourists but when we hear them complain about how everything’s written in French, it’s at that moment that we get a lot more like the stereotype.I would love to visit one day, and maybe these English class will finally be useful somewhere else than on the internet ahah

(of course once again see Amy’s response above for the western perspective on this issue) 

there’s a lot of common jokes that the only unifying thing about canada is everyone’s hatred of ontario and that the best thing to solve everyone’s problems would be if ontario were to separate and leave the rest of canada alone xDD but of course at the end of the day it’s still nothing personal and as much as I can’t quell the Stereotypical Albertan gut reaction to shake my fist at all things Ontarian, I am very fond of this place and have been treated exceedingly well whenever I’ve visited and I hope my good fortune will continue. But of course I understand wanting to protect French within Quebec, and I do really wish it was a more accessible language in other parts of Canada. But yeah, travel, education, all that gives me hope for the future (too bad Canada is so Damn Big or I’d be all over it already). 

[papersandkeyboards]

4/11-17: The Spring Break Series; Part 5 (End): Ended Spring Break with Something Grand

FRIDAY, APR 15, 2016.

(^calon paparazi)

Sitting right smack in the middle of probably the driest states of the United States, people who didn’t know a lot about the Grand Canyon would assume that the place was dry and hot all year round.

However, I found out that the top of the Grand Canyon—logically—was situated high above the sea level. The South Rim, in which most of the tourist activity took place, stood in an average elevation of 6800ft (that’s more than 2 kilometers, if you don’t mind, Americans), and the canyon itself went as deep as 2400ft (700m) above sea level.

If we had the right page on Geography, we would know that as elevation rises, temperature decreases, and vice versa. With that in mind, it can be safely stated that the temperature at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is always gonna be hotter than the temperature above.

Thinking about this, now it made sense to me why Karen and Eric hiked down the Grand Canyon in January. It might be dead cold at the top of Grand Canyon in January, but down at the bottom it was pretty warm. Wise decision to make, instead of climbing down Grand Canyon in, say, June, because if it was already hot at the top of Grand Canyon, people might as well bring raw meat to cook over a mere rock down at the bottom. Very hot.

But hiking down the Grand Canyon was supposedly an activity that should be well-prepared—physically and logistically—which was exactly why we weren’t doing such thing in this occasion. Like I said, just touristy things. Guided tours, information boards and pamphlets, and pictures. And cheap souvenirs. #sorrynotsorry for being a tacky tourist, really. Kapan lagi.

We drove for around an hour or more from Flagstaff to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Flagstaff already stood in high elevation to begin with, but the road we took to the Grand Canyon was a dead-straight road that wasn’t steeply inclined it didn’t feel like we’re gaining so much altitude. When we got there, it was so chilly it didn’t feel like spring break. In fact, the high elevation did kill the ‘spring break’ vibe, kind of like what Flagstaff did to me the night before, because this was what I found on the ground:

But I wouldn’t complain. I like snow. Gotta enjoy its existence while I still got the chance.

The Grand Canyon was… well, grand. The weather was perfect: it might be chilly, but it wasn’t raining. The skies were bright blue with big blobs of white clouds. The air was fresh and breezy. I haven’t experienced being in such a big open space in a long time. And it felt refreshing.

I might have about a hundred pics of the Grand Canyon, but I didn’t have a lot of words for it, except that… nature really was magnificent. Way to go, God.

There were so many ledges and spots that would have been seriously beautiful to watch the whole canyon from or to get my picture taken from, but those spots were mostly unfenced, and none of us would like to risk it, so we went to the safe spot, the designated viewing ‘balcony’ for tourists. But even the view from there was amazing enough already.

What a pretty layer-cake-like structure. Unlike the tan lines of the Hoover Dam, these layers of the Grand Canyon should have been shaped over millennia.

And being a nationalist exchange student I was, of course I just had to do a mandatory pic of me with my flag in an American landmark.

(I probably shouldn’t have worn green hijab because that combined with the flag made me look somewhat Hungarian)

We could also see the bottom of the rim, where people go to camp for days. Karen told me people usually hire a mule to bring their stuff down and up, since it’s kind of exhausting to bring two-three-day camping supplies, including food and water, down and up the rim for miles. Heck, it should have taken way longer than just some miles because it was ALREADY ‘some miles’ if you pull a line straight down from the top to the bottom of the rim, let alone the walking trail which should take many more miles to avoid steepness. I saw at the bottom of the rim, somewhere, ran the Colorado River—or maybe a branch of the Colorado River—along which sides the trees were growing much greener than the other greens in the surrounding area.

We walked this trail called “Trail of Time”, which purpose was to walk the visitors through the journey of the Grand Canyon, geologically. The trail entirely was 2.83 miles (4.56 km), but I personally didn’t think I walked THAT much. But then again, if I try to remember, I was pretty tired and the trail was waaaaay longer than what I expected.

The trail was filled with information boards and polished model of different kinds of rocks. I’m not a person of Geology, but these rocks did have interesting patterns of layers and curves and colors. Each meter walked on the trail marked one million year of the Canyon’s geologic history, like this:

I didn’t read through all of the information on the boards, but it was fun with the viewing tube that gave you a real-life sight of what kind of rock layer was being talked about on the information board. The tubes were specifically set to one point of target, which were specific part of rock of the Canyon that correlated to the rock explained on the board.

This is what I like about making public facilities educational with effort not to make it boring, instead of, say, copy-and-pasting information straight out of Wikipedia and put it on a board for people to read.

We found a quite pretty unfenced place where we could take pictures too, though. Haha.

We walked some (and by some, I meant quite some) distance until we found a restaurant at the end of the trail. Ta-da! Stomach is hungry.

A classic log cabin design, with the deer head mounted on the wall and all (wait are those creatures with huge antlers called deers too bc i’m not sure). After that we took the bus back to our parking lot (because nope, no more walking thank you) and hit the road to Phoenix, AZ.

(not after an effort to find cheap souvenirs—I didn’t remember what they were selling but somehow I walked our of the store with nothing because, apparently, nothing in the store fit my criteria) (ya)

If the way across Nevada was a hot desert with patchy bushes, the way across Arizona was a hot desert with bunches of huge red rocks.

Beautiful.

Well, not that our trip all the way from Grand Canyon to Phoenix was all red rocks, but when we reached the city of Sedona and the sun started to glide westward approaching the horizon, the scene got real pretty.

Wish it was in Utah, which supposedly specialized in cool red rock boulders. Well, gotta save some things for later, am I right?

(menunggu hujan duit)

And we finally reached the city of Tempe, Arizona, and had our dinner there.

Kalau saya bilang ke orang-orang saya pergi ke Amerika dan mengunjungi kota Tempe, yang ada kayaknya malah diketawain ya.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, APR 16-17, 2016.

Real quick. Visited Karen’s uncle in a retirement home (is that the correct term?), then went to his house to help cleaning up his house. It’s pretty obvious that Phoenix stood right smack in the middle of a huge desert, with the adobe buildings and all, so I wonder why was I surprised when I found a LOT of jerrycans full of water hidden all over his house (“in case of a drought,” Karen said, emphasizing the water shortage problem experienced by the state and surrounding states despite the Hoover Dam’s existence). We ended up using the water for plants.

Also, Phoenix was hot. If I were to compare, it was probably as hot as Duri (>30 Celcius in the middle of the day), but it was so... dry, like, so different from Indonesian hot. I couldn’t even understand how to explain it, but the sun was so intense and it was so dry. Oh, and, no wind, at all. Plus, what made it so extreme to me was the fact that I had just been through my past 7 months living in cold weather. I was at a point of life where 15 Celcius counted as ‘warm’ and 20 Celcius means ‘real hot and sunny yay let’s play outside all day’.

The next day we went to Scottsdale for none other than *drumroll* souvenirs! Then caught the plane back to Seattle in the afternoon. For some reason, when we arrived in the evening, I got this crazy headache, so I went straight to bed.

...yeah. That was all.

Incredibly exciting spring break, and most definitely super-duper-out-of-this-world unforgettable half a month. Demi apa kayaknya baru pertama kali ini jalan-jalan panjang ke mana-mana selama dua mingguan. Sempat ketemu artis lagi. cihuy.

Absolutely couldn’t thank enough my parents (both natural and host), but this time their kindness and love couldn’t save me from what’s coming the next day.

But for now, need sleep. Headache.

Adios.

[babbushka]

hey!! i know that you’re jewish and i was wondering what your opinion on the israel-palestine conflict was? i’m sorry for bringing politics to this probable safe place for some, but i’m really passionate on hearing about jewish and muslim opinions on the conflict. a lot of my jewish mutuals tell me that opposing israel is anti-semetic, and that being pro palestine is wrong and that i should be ashamed of my beliefs (as a pro palestine muslim myself), but i just wanted to know your opinion since you are a jewish creator whose opinions i hold as valuable! is it really anti-semetic to be anti-israel, and is it bad that i am a pro palestinian woman?

hope this isnt too dark or deep! im just really passionate and would love to hear your opinion!

xoxo!!

Hello! I have a very long answer to this, which I'll put underneath the cut so that anyone who wants to read why your other Jewish mutuals might say that it's antisemitic to oppose Israel, and the long complicated history of it all, but if you don't want to read the super long version, here's my TLDR:

I personally am extremely against the Israeli occupation of Palestine. I don't believe it is a "conflict," but rather an imperialist attack on Palestinian lives by the Israeli government. I believe we need to put political pressure on the Israeli government by means of putting political pressure on the United States' government, who supplies them with weapons and $$ to continue their occupation. And I wholly, completely, and proudly support my Muslim brothers and sisters, as well as the Arab-Jewish population living in Jerusalem.

(a much longer and deeper explanation under the cut for those who are interested)

One of the reasons why this is such a touchy topic for many Jewish people (whether they're pro-Israel or anti-Israel) is because the Jewish community across the globe has been raised to believe that Israel is our first, last, and sometimes only place of safety. The Jewish population of the world belongs to something called the Diaspora, which is the word used to describe a large population who have been forcibly removed en masse from their home country. Many African-Americans are also part of their own Diaspora, as a result from slavery.

But unlike the African-American Diaspora, Jewish people have throughout history been either forcibly removed from their homelands, enslaved, or executed en masse for being Jewish, for thousands of years. And for much of our history, it felt as though there was nowhere for us to belong, until Israel.

So there's a lot of national pride tied up with Israel for many people, and for good reason. Israel provided the Jewish Diaspora a place that they can finally call home without fear of expulsion, genocide, or discrimination -- and in the Holy Land no less. According to the Law of Return, if you can prove you are Jewish (usually by blood relatives) then you automatically qualify for citizenship, so Israel, for many many years, became a haven for Jewish people longing to put down roots that they never were able to before because, well, we just kept getting murdered.

HOWEVER, what is happening right now in Israel is not a Jewish-motivated problem. It is an imperialism-motivated problem. The actions of the Israeli government actually go directly against Jewish ethics, morals, and teachings. I want to make it very very clear that this is a Government using its power to forcibly remove a people from their homeland -- the very same thing that other countries have done to us. It's hypocritical, but it's also just plain wrong.

So for that reason, it is not antisemitic to criticize Israel. In fact, when governments commit heinous acts, we must call them out, regardless of who the country is. The problem is, many non-Jewish people see these acts and associate them with the Jewish Diaspora, and they take that as an excuse to commit hate crimes against Jewish people all around the globe (we're currently seeing a huge spike in antisemitic attacks in America, London, Paris, and Germany).

So it's understandable for Jewish people to say that criticism against Israel = criticism against Jewish people = antisemitism. You can criticize Israel without criticizing Jewish people, and you should. That is not antisemitic, that is just calling out a government for the crimes they are committing.

What is antisemitic (and I mean this in no way shape or form to be an attack on your question, I am merely trying to shed light on this issue!!) in addition to blaming Israel's problems or the occuption on Jewish people across the globe, is assuming that every Jewish person you know has an educated opinion on what's happening with Israel and Palestine.

For many Jewish people, especially American Jews, we have no connection to Israel at all (my family for example is entirely of Russian, Polish, and Czech descent, but we've been living in America for at least 100 years). Questions like these can also veer into the antisemitic belief of "dual citizenship", which is the false notion that American Jews have a secret loyalty to Israel and aren't True Americans. Jewish people have to work so hard to avoid getting hate crime-d in our own countries as it is, adding the extra pressure of responsibility for another country's acts really gets exhausting.

While I am more than happy to share my opinions because I know that I have a platform and I want to use my space for good, I am not a news correspondent, or a journalist, nor am I working in a political position. I am just a girl who lives in South Florida who happens to be Jewish, you know? I know a lot of Jewish people who don't know anything about what's going on in Israel or Palestine, because people can't be expected to have an encyclopedic understanding of all the problems of countries across the globe.

But what I do know, and what I hope that you take away from all this, is that the actions of the Israeli government need to be condemned, stopped, and that peace needs to exist.

It is not wrong to be Pro-Palestine, and it is not wrong to criticize a government. What is antisemitic is blame all Jewish people around the globe, attacking Jewish people, or using nazi rhetoric and propaganda to enact violence against Jewish people, in response to this government's actions.

I can't speak for other Jewish people, and their relationship to Israel is their own. But for me, personally, I stand by the Jewish mitzvah of Tikkun Olam in regards to the liberation of Palestine -- that is, I believe no one is free until we are all free.

I hope that this helped in some way, and I'm sending you all my love!

[spicygingerthings]

Trump Pro Gay

A few weeks ago, my partners relative sent her a video on how President Trump is the most pro-gay president ever. I will link the video here: https://youtu.be/gvpkr3x5AbM

I responded to the video and my partner sent it off to her relative and we had an exchange about LGBTQ issues. This was my response:

The video you sent was basically about Biden and his history on LGBTQ rights. Other than Trump “saying” he was for gay rights there are no facts presented in the video. Just some token gay guys opinions. I know more about Biden's history with LGBTQ rights than I do about Donald Trumps, based on the video. Other than appointing a gay ambassador and “saying” he wants to eliminate laws that criminalize being gay, what has he actually done to help the LGBTQ community?

Here are some of Trumps policies on LGBTQ issues.

In 2019 Trump claimed in his Union speech that he was going to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030. Sounds super promising! Why the late date, though? In 2018 the United Nations said they want to eradicate HIV/AIDS around the WORLD by 2025. That means the hardest hit regions like sub-Saharan Africa. Why wouldn’t the United States be able to do this before 2030? Hollow promise.

Trumps claim to fight to end the criminalization for homosexuality also isn’t what it seems. Under the Obama administration since his policies are under more scrutiny than Trumps, the United States took a leadership role on the concept that LGBTQ people are entitled to the same rights as everyone else. Trump says he wants to crack down on countries that criminalize homosexuality. However, he has only cracked down on countries the United States would consider “enemies”. Countries like Iran while the Trump administration seems cozy with places like Poland, Hungary and Brazil… not to mention Russia. Trump administration has yet to crack down on countries he seems okay with.

In 2017 the Trump administration rolled back an Obama era protection that directed schools to protect trans students from discrimination. I am not here to argue on whether trans people exist. They are part of the LGBTQ community so an attack on them is an attack on the whole community. Also, in 2017 the Trump administration announced that he would order the military to ban trans people from serving in the military. That meant kicking out already “out” trans people.

In 2018 the Trump administration went after trans prisoners which has them housed based on their biological sex and only based on gender identity in “rare” cases. Before it was based on gender identity and would be accommodated unless there was a specific reason not to, like the crime committed. This is so dangerous and puts so many trans people at risk. Trans people are at a higher risk of discrimination in everyday life not to mention more likely to be assaulted for being Trans. About a month ago he proposed a rule allowing homeless shelters to turn away trans people or house them according to their birth assigned sex. While “passable” trans gendered people may be able to skirt this, it puts those who do not conform to the societal image of what gender looks like. A trans-woman being housed in a male facility? Yeah.

The Trump administration has also attacked the LGBTQ protections in the Affordable care act… aka Obamacare. May 2019 the rule would reverse and Obama era protection, meaning doctors and hospitals could discriminate against trans and other LGBTQ people. In 2010 a study showed that Trans people who sought medical help one in five were turned away. The Obama era policy that Trump reversed made it illegal for doctors to discriminate against LGBTQ people. It would even allow hospitals to condition treatment based on stopping sex hormone treatments. It would allow insurance companies to put blanket bans on transitional related care. These policies seem counterproductive to his claim that his administration will eradicate HIV/AIDS by 2030. How? Because how do you expect to address health disparities in a particular community, if that community is afraid to be harassed or discriminated against. People seeking medical care is kind of important when preventing the spread of HIV.

Trump administration proposed a rule that would allow adoption agencies to deny LGBTQ people from fostering or adopting. Also proposed a plan to cut information collection on the sexual orientation of foster children and foster or adoptive parents. This prevents data collection on LGBTQ which could affect their care while in foster care. Could open them up to more discrimination while already in foster care.

Trump signed an executive order that would make it even harder for LGBTQ people from very hostile anti LGBTQ regimes to seek asylum. Noticeably quiet and very chummy with the Polish President who pledged to ban same sex marriages, prevent same sex couples from adopting and ban education on LGBTQ issues. Has yet to condemn Brunei which imposes a law that punishes LGBTQ people in barbaric ways, including death by stoning, torture and whipping. Even the Daily Beast which heavily right winged seems to think the Trump administration is doing little to uphold their claim to end criminalization of homosexuals.

He appointed Jeff Freaking Sessions. Who has a long, long, long history of anti LGBTQ actions and even supports criminalizing homosexuality. He has appointed anti LGBTQ judges: Gorsuch, Kavanaugh both have anti LGBTQ records.

I mean I guess he is the most pro-gay president if all that qualifies him is him saying things on National TV and then doing the opposite. I literally googled Trumps pro-gay policies and did not find one non opinion piece about his policies. Opinions are not facts. Sorry but that video is garbage, it does not present facts. Other than Biden's unfortunate history but it also talked about his evolution.

  Sources:

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/06/11/republican-party-issues-brief-on-trumps-lgbtq-achievements-seriously/?fbclid=IwAR3JoVQlvZ7i955QRgoArNQ0GunR9h3d13FkqU88IgCKzfIam5dJWN3-0v8

https://www.hrc.org/news/the-list-of-trumps-unprecedented-steps-for-the-lgbtq-community?fbclid=IwAR1bbN4aOAbEpPok5XHkUK0Axc73PeLE5dW4fLK_5DC1gxhChIHK1x_igAM

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pompeo-and-trump-admin-silent-on-bruneis-law-to-stone-lgbt-people-to-death?fbclid=IwAR2XfdhZXjYxBByyRdb_hDATiImFdzNt62WPv0dCRdTR-b2pc2V7KG9bSnY

[mastcomm]

France’s Unofficial Minister for Fashion Isn’t Afraid of a Redesign

In France, where fashion is considered part of the patrimony and first ladies have been front-row regulars (and supermodels), the government has long treated the industry with kid gloves. Then, in 2017, Brune Poirson arrived.

“In the beginning, everybody thought I was crazy,” said Ms. Poirson, who is officially one of three secretaries of state to the minister for the ecological and inclusive transition and, unofficially, France’s de facto minister for fashion.

Both a champion of the industry and its rare critic, Ms. Poirson, 37, is playing a role in negotiations regarding President Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on handbags and other luxury goods, also known as the “handbag war.” Last year, she also spearheaded wide-ranging legislation that included banning brands from destroying an estimated 630 million euros (or $700 million) of unsold goods annually, a common practice in the industry. Prime Minister Édouard Philippe has said France would be the first to formally adopt this measure.

“When you’re a young woman in government — or in general, in life — and you decide to tackle a topic like fashion, everybody goes after you,” she said in an interview. “It’s almost the end of your reputation. If I were really a politician, I would have taken nuclear energy or something. But I think there is more to do in the field of fashion. I know we need to do something about it.”

It is, after all, France’s second-most profitable sector, worth an estimated €150 billion. (The first is aeronautics.)

And Ms. Poirson isn’t your typical French politician.

“Brune Poirson has a very important mission for the government and for France,” said Pascal Morand, executive president of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, the industry organization for French fashion. “She considers that fashion is essential and should be exemplary, and she brings conviction and determination to promoting the circular economy.”

Seated before a coffee table in a corner of a grand but sparsely furnished ministry office on the boulevard St.-Germain, early in the evening of yet another long day of transport strikes, Ms. Poirson made no secret of her impatience with a sclerotic French system of government and business, or the way things have functioned for years (and even centuries).

“We need to change the way we work,” she said in polished English. “In politics, what’s terrible is that things take time not because it’s difficult, but because people are unwilling to change things for petty reasons. It looks good on TV for a week if you can say you implemented something 10 years after it was planned. It’s completely depressing. So sometimes, if you want to change things, you can’t rely too much on politics.”

Her press officer, seated nearby, squirmed and reached for his smartphone; she burst out laughing. “He’s dying,” she said. “But it’s true.”

She is also nothing if not outspoken. A video shot on the Senate floor in November 2018 captures for posterity her lightning takedown of an older, male colleague. Gérard Longuet, a conservative senator, had addressed her with a patronizing “ma chère amie,” or “dear friend.”

“Call me Madame la Ministre,” she shot back, coolly raising her tone as hoots from other senators echoed in the background.

Ms. Poirson’s clothing style is likewise to the point: She favors minimalism, with the occasional whimsical earring. “I have to be super-simple because that’s who I am,” she said. “No prints, because you get bored and then you want to buy more, and I try to wear exclusively nonsynthetic materials because of all the micro plastics, unless it’s second hand, and clothes that are only made of one fabric.”

In the three years since her appointment, she has championed France’s embrace of a more circular economy, and drafted the zero-waste law that is moving through the legislative system and is expected to be signed by President Emmanuel Macron. In addition to banning incineration of unsold products, the law phases out all use of disposable plastics beginning January 2021; bans microplastics in cosmetics; and makes filters mandatory on industrial washing machines.

Ms. Poirson worked with François-Henri Pinault, chief executive of the luxury group Kering, to shape details of the “Fashion Pact,” an industry initiative that seeks to curtail its environmental impact. The document was signed by 56 companies — though not by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the French luxury conglomerate that owns 75 brands — and was presented at the Group of 7 meeting in Biarritz, France, in August.

The pact is not legally binding and was decried by critics as toothless because it lets signatories pick and choose guidelines rather than setting goals, and sidestepped the problem of overconsumption. “Well, it’s the French way of approaching things,” Ms. Poirson said, with the faintest hint of exasperation.

Ms. Poirson has no truck with some luxury brands’ argument that they represent only a tiny fraction of the fashion sector. “That’s like France pointing the finger at China as the bigger polluter,” she said. “I refuse to hear that argument. Everyone should work to maximum capacities to find a solution to climate change. ”She was born in 1982 in Washington, D.C. to French parents — her father worked for the World Bank; her mother restored paintings — and the family returned to France before she could walk. She and her two younger brothers grew up in Apt, in the Vaucluse, part of the then-grittier, pre-Peter Mayle Luberon region in Provence.

She knew from childhood that she wanted to work in the public sphere. But, unlike most French politicians, Ms. Poirson is not an énarque, as graduates of the École Nationale d’Administration, the primary vivarium for French political life, are known.

“I wanted to do the exact opposite of E.N.A. It was a project,” she said. “My roots are really strong. I know exactly where I’m from. It gives you a lot of strength to go anywhere else, anywhere in the world. And I went with the intention of coming back, always.”

That path led to the London School of Economics; Laos — where she spent a year working on education, particularly of young girls, among the Hmong ethnic minority; and, by 2008, New Delhi, where she worked in the public and private sectors, for the Indian cabinet minister Satyan Pitroda and the French company Veolia.

In 2016, she studied political science and sustainability at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, but the combination of the American and French presidential campaigns, Brexit and new motherhood brought her back to France to run for office.

“People often say that when you have a family, you just want to protect them,” she said. “For me, it was the opposite, in a way. I had a daughter, so I had to work twice as hard.”

She ran for local office in the Vaucluse area and used a grass roots campaign to beat the far-right candidate Marion Maréchal Le Pen (niece of Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front and Mr. Macron’s former opponent). Within 48 hours, Mr. Philippe, the prime minister, invited her to join the government.

Ms. Poirson said her next steps are “not necessarily legislation, but keeping the fight on sustainable fashion.” She said she would like to establish a fund for innovative fashion brands working to change the production system, though has few specifics.

Her position on handbags getting swept up in a possible trade war? “Getting into logistics of commercial sanctions will only create losers,” she said. “Commercial conflicts are just a source of uncertainty and weigh down global growth.”

And she wants to revive sectors like France’s lace industry now hanging by a thread.

“I want to go back to the areas in France with a strong textile history and see how we can actually return to local production,” she said. “I believe in path dependency — when a place is good at one thing, I think you can really rebuild on that.”

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/event/frances-unofficial-minister-for-fashion-isnt-afraid-of-a-redesign/

[rodrigohyde]

Watch Snob Dives Into the Dangers of Trying to Be Cool

Watch Snob on Classic Versus Edgy

A Tale of Two Watches

Thank you for your weekly education sessions. They have been invaluable.

I seek your thoughts on a choice between two very different watches. I wish to emphasise that I feel that I do not have any gaps in my collection and these are purely for self indulgence (although I am very aware that having a collection is self indulgence in itself).

RELATED: Last Week: Watch Snob on In-House Movements and Classic Watches

I love both the Datograph and the Ulysse Nardin Freak Out (which is at least a bit more affordable than the Cruiser). I would like to think that I appreciate the histories and horological significance of both watches — the Datograph shook the chronograph world and the Freak gave us silicon and a fun form factor.

To give you some context: I already have a A. Lange & Söhne 1, so I have Lange's beautiful finishing to admire. I also have a Rolex Batman as a tool watch. I have a Speedmaster Pro, so I have a chronograph.

Which of the two should I get? The Datograph will give me many hours of enjoyment admiring the movement and that clean classic dial, but the Freak Out is a fun, eye catching (my own eye, not others) watch which can work very nicely in a casual environment. It also feels extremely comfortable to wear.

Which of the two would you consider the more satisfying to own?

I don’t think there is any question that the Datograph is much more apt than the Freak to offer you perennial enjoyment. It’s as much a classic as the Lange I, if not more so, in some sense — one of the very, very few truly great modern manually wound, lateral clutch, column wheel chronographs, and so much more than the sum of its parts. The fact that you are even asking the question is a bit mysterious to me — they are two vastly different watches and one has the feeling that perhaps you are a bit tired of your own classicism (which is very much evident in the watches that you already own) and want something that is a bit less universally admired — something which is, for lack of a better word, “fun.”

The Freak certainly is that. Now lest I be misunderstood, the Freak is in its own way, as much a modern classic and as much a defining watch as the Datograph. The two watches came out within a few years of each other, more than twenty years ago and just as the Datograph set a new standard for the highest level in refined, classical watchmaking, so the Freak virtually single-handedly gave birth to the genre of the super-watch — the watch as a form of postmodern art, if you will.

It’s a worthy timepiece but, as you have to choose between it and the Datograph (at least that is how you have framed the matter) I can’t help but think that unless you are really determined to do something that surprises yourself, and upsets your own expectations of yourself, the Lange will prove the more enduring choice.

Total Blackout

Thank you for a most entertaining and informative column which has become a weekly reading staple. I am looking at replacing my highly appreciated SKA389 with a similar look and type watch.

The black look appeals to me as it tends to be different from the much more common polished steel employed in everyday watches.

For financial reasons the watch will also have to serve as my dress watch, and again the black bracelet in my opinion makes this watch versatile by providing a nice contrast to a light coloured shirt. I have identified two candidates:

Sinn UX S Tudor Black Bay Dark

I realize these watches represent different technological solutions, so my question: Is the Tudor sufficiently superior from a horological point of view to justify paying a premium?

RELATED: Watch Snob: Best Watches of Baselworld 2019

Also, are there any other possible candidates in this price bracket that I may have overlooked?

I have a special loathing in my heart for all-black watches, in general. They have always seemed to me to be a terrible affectation — the sort of thing a person buys who wants to be flashy, but is either too timid or too poor to buy a gold watch and be done with it. It is unfair of me and I am sure that there are many fine individuals who like all-black watches but even when they come that way from their manufacturers they always look as if they were once perfectly respectable plain steel watches before their owner chose to “mod” them.

If you absolutely must have one of these, I think the Tudor is certainly a better watch to some degree from a technical standpoint but not so much that that would be the definitive element in selecting one. If you’re looking at all-black watches at all, cosmetics mean much to you and the Sinn is perfectly respectable wristwatch with, I happen to think, somewhat better aesthetics as an all black watch than the Tudor. Still, though, both have the same effect on me as any all black watch — they make what’s left of my hair stand on end.

Tracking Down a Tank

Could you please offer me any advice on my possibly buying a used Tank Basculante, a model on which I don’t recall you ever commenting?

I’ve worn a steel Reverso 1931 as my daily work watch for years and would like a second two handed manual winder. I’ve tried on a Saxonia Thin 37 (perfect except way out of both my budget and my comfort level) and a Master Ultra Thin (don’t like the thin-edged case). The Basculante seems to be exactly what I’m looking for, with its Cartier looks and style, its Tank heritage, and its presumably respectable Piguet movement. Thanks.

I can’t quite believe I’ve never written anything about the Basculante because it is one of my favorite wristwatches, with all of the charm of the Reverso and all of the Gallic elan that is Cartier at its best. The only problem with the Basculante is that you may have to hunt a bit to find one with the Piguet movement. There seem to be a plethora of the quartz models out there, which is fine if you don’t object to quartz but so much of the interest of the Basculante derives from the fact that it integrates that wonderful Piguet calibre so nicely to the idiosyncratic design.

If you can find one in good condition, as with all vintage watches it is reasonable to expect you will need to have it serviced and moreover, by someone who has their wits about them (you could do worse than to just have Cartier take care of it, as it is very much a specialist’s job) but I can think of no reason whatsoever why you shouldn’t enjoy the hunt, and having found one, having this very beautiful and characterful watch on your wrist. Good hunting.

Send the Watch Snob your questions at editorial@askmen.com or ask a question on Instagram with the #watchsnob hashtag.

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[melledotca]

Podcasts

I ported Parts 1-5 over from my old WordPress blog, and have updated those since. From then on has been added anew as I’ve started listening to new stuff. First post was back in 2010, so some of these I stopped listening to (or they ended) years ago. YMMV.

Part 1

A History of the World in 100 Objects

Andrew turned me on to this one, which comes to us from the BBC. If you've ever watched a show like Britain's Secret Treasures, this is quite similar, and one of the objects featured so far is one that was also on the show.

Each podcast they feature an item from world history and talk about what it is, when and where it came from, what it was for, and other socio-cultural contexts, often with interviews with really interesting folks. And there is some Attenborough. :)

Answer Me This!

Two British people get questions in from all over the world, though mostly from other British people, about anything and everything, and then they endeavour to answer them. Some of them relate to trivia, some actually require a bit of research about origins and such, and some of them are filthy and funny. Cuz, y'know, it's the internets. Host Olly really, really loves his cat, Coco, and Helen hates cats.

How Stuff Works

These were some of the first podcasts I started listening to. Stuff You Should Know has been going for a decade now, and while I listened to hundreds of episodes, I stopped listening some time ago. The landscape just filled up with too much more interesting stuff. I still listen to Stuff You Missed in History Class and Stuff Mom Never Told You, though I moved on from BrainStuff, TechStuff, and Stuff to Blow Your Mind, etc. some time ago. There have also been some video ones that I would catch up on while painting, doing dishes, etc.: Stuff They Don't Want You to Know, Stuff of Genius, Stuff From the Future. With various partnerships, etc., How Stuff works has a bunch more podcasts now, but I am kind of overflowing, so haven’t spent much time looking into them.

Fw:Thinking

This was a How Stuff Works/Discovery show (from when Discovery had acquired them, which has since been un-done). The two hosts from TechStuff and another guy hosted this one. Longer format, and tech topics that cover a potentially broader range – e.g. science that's not necessarily tech, as well as social implications and things like that. Lasted a few months on this one.

The Memory Palace

Publishing is a bit inconsistent, but I’ve had this one on the list for years, and it will stay. Interesting little vignettes from history. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, often presented from a really unique and brain-twisting angle. And Nate diMeo rivals Roman Mars for Most Soothing Voice. 

Savage Lovecast

Dan Savage's advice show, which goes along with his column, wherein people call in and leave questions, comments, rants, etc. It's human sexuality-centric, though there are cultural aspects as well, particularly those relating to non-vanilla, monogamous, heterosexual relationships and interactions. I didn't listen to this one regularly, but would binge listen for a week or two until I was tired of the weird problems of the young/old/gay/straight/bi/trans/kinky/etc. I don't always agree with Savage's perspectives or advice, but I learned a fair bit, too, which is even better than just being entertained. Gave up on it some time back.

Sawbones

The husband, Justin, plays the dumb everyman to his wife, Sydnee, who is a doctor. They (mostly she) present a medical condition, phenomenon, etc. and discuss how it was perceived and treated throughout history. As you can imagine, many of them are rather horrifying from a modern perspective, but can also be kinda funny, hence the tagline, "A marital tour of misguided medicine". Everything from headaches to fertility issues shows up, and if you're the kind of person who makes it a point of visiting 19th century surgical museums while on vacation (yup), you'll dig this. That said, eventually it started to annoy me (him, particularly), so I gave up on it.

Welcome to Night Vale

This is weird. That cannot be overstated. Ostensibly it's a community updates radio broadcast from a desert town in the US. Except there are angels and aliens and wild dogs and homicidal wheat and wheat byproducts. There's not just a local constabulary, but a Sheriff's Secret Police. There's a long and expensive boardwalk, except there is no water anywhere near the town. There's an eccentric old woman and a dreamy scientist, and random shadowy characters who come and go. Occasionally people get vaporized. Or there's a bake sale. Anything could happen. That was just the first season. Like I said, weird. But with fun music and compelling overall. I never got around to following up on succeeding seasons, but I know some people remain big fans.

The Moth

The Moth is a series of storytelling events that go on around the US, and are semi-professional. A lot of the speakers present more than once, there are awards and a championship and such. A lot of the speakers are also professional writers, and I gather you call a hot line to pitch your story idea and they work with you to polish it up and get it ready for prime time. The podcast is a distillation of these stories (which are also played on the radio in the US, I gather), and rarely disappoint. In fact there've been a couple of times when I probably shouldn't have been driving while listening, they're that engrossing. There's a book, too, of hand-picked stories. Highly recommended, but eventually I just kinda lost interest, like with TED Talks, etc.

This American Life

Was the number one podcast in the US for a long time. Don’t know if it still is. I am not a fan of the host, Ira Glass', voice, but you get used to it. It's a bit like The Moth, in that it contains in-depth stories about lives often very unlike your own. But it's also journalism, too, to get these stories, with a fair bit more socio-political commentary, whether it's about a Chicago school with a lot of gun deaths, or just how dangerous acetaminophen is. The topics cover an amazing wide range, and some shows are a lot more heart- or gut-wrenching than others, which is cool. The amount of work that must go into making these shows is staggering. All that said, I didn’t stick around very long.

Quirks and Quarks

From the CBC, podcast version of the radio show. All manner of science, and plenty of dinosaurs – everyone likes dinosaurs! I've also noticed that there tends to be a lot of women among the scientists they interview, which I appreciate. Eventually moved on from this, too. 

Ontario Brewer

A great way to get to know the breweries and beers of Ontario, and the people who make them. (Craft brewing folks tend to be a lot of fun.) I find Mirella Amato, the host, to be fairly pretentious, but it's not really about her. I also tend to only listen to every other podcast. They do two per brewer, first picking a couple of their beers and talking about them, as well as the brewery history and whatnot. Then in the second one they pair the beers with cheese, chocolate, etc. A podcast about people talking about tasting things strikes me as a bit dumb. Not sure if they still make this one.

99% Invisible

Originally recommended by two very different friends, which is a good sign, and remains a staple. They had a clothing mini-series called “Articles of Interest” that was super interesting not long ago. It's about design in the world, architectural and otherwise. It looks at things you may never have seen, and things you look at every day. They could cover a specific iconic building, or a chair design that’s been ripped off a million times, or the history of pockets. A good way of shifting your perspective a bit. And Roman Mars rivals Nate DiMeo for Most Soothing Voice.

The Nerdist

I find Chris Hardwick a little annoying sometimes, and things can get pretty in-joke-y when Matt and/or Jonah are there. However, they also interview really cool people, so those are fun. I don't listen to all of them, and skip the ones where it's only Chris and co. talking, or when the guest is someone I don't know or care about. Plenty of great geek culture, though. Gave up on this one a long time ago, and turns out Hardwick IS a dick, so done with that genre.

StarTalk Radio

Neil DeGrasse Tyson's space-y show/podcast. He gets some really cool guests, but the musical bits are really annoying. Includes both Tyson talking science, and discussing with the guests. The cool part is that they're not all boffins. Could be Dan Aykroyd or Tony Bourdain or Joe Rogan. Didn’t last very long with this one. Just didn’t click.

Crash Course World History

Video series. John Green delivers the history of the world in 10-ish minute chunks. He explains the what, where, when, etc., as well as how those things affect the world now. He also has mad love for the Mongols, which never stops being funny. Aside from learning a more inclusive, less west'n'white version of history, you'll also get fun tidbits, like how the Silk Road (which wasn't just one route) helped bring the plague (Black Death, anyone?) to Europe from Asia.

Thug Notes

Big props to Dave for turning me on to this one. Sparky Sweets, PhD (alias), delivers book/play summaries and analysis on classic works of literature, from Austen to Shakespeare, in 5-ish minute increments, accompanied by entertaining animations and charmingly colloquial language. Frankly, his summaries and analysis are better than a lot of the formal education in lit that I've received. And way funnier. I don’t think many of these get made anymore as they got acquired and he’s been doing other projects.

Part 2

CANADALAND

News, media, and criticism about Canada. Jesse Brown is the guy who broke the Ghomeshi scandal. It's opened my eyes to how little I knew about what's going on, news-wise, in the country, and who's making the news (and what their agendas are).

Caustic Soda

Violence! Disaster! Weirdness! Big time geeky, lots of science, lots of grossness, sometimes really interesting guests. Plus the Muppet Show cover theme song for when they have guests always makes me grin. Has been over for a while, but the archive is worth a listen.

Criminal

In keeping with the true crime vein, stories recounting actual crimes with interesting details, weird twists, or lingering mysteries. Fits in well for folks who like Serial and such.

The Truth

Short radio plays/vignettes that are odd, affecting, and strangely engaging. It's really hard to describe, but hooks you quickly. I tend to go a while not listening to it, and then I’ll catch up and an episode will totally grab me.

Part 3

CANADALAND: COMMONS

COMMONS is the second podcast CANADALAND started producing, covering Canadian politics and related topics. It initially drew me because it was sort of a “politics for people who aren’t into politics” twist. In addition to covering news and issues, they would get into things like what the Senate is and how it’s for, or dig into terms like populism or what a fiscal conservative is, which is handy. The podcast has cycled through several sets of hosts and with each iteration has had a very different focus and flavour. The second group focused a lot more on social justice issues. They have mostly had hosts who are relatively young and people of colour, which I think helps expand the perspectives. With the most recent iteration the host is a journalist who has been exploring corruption in Canada.

Freakonomics Radio

Same schtick as the books, etc., and one I'd listened to some time ago, but then it seemed to disappear. Back now and enjoying it. Economics isn't really my thing, either, so it's interesting to see it approached from angles that do interest me, or have a certain "WTF?" aspect, like an episode on the economics of being a sex offender (it's a really bad idea - aside from being punished for the crime, you're going to be punished socially and financially pretty much forever). Stephen Dubner has since gone out kind of on his own, and I think has plans to take the production in new directions, so we’ll see what they get up to.

All the Books

This one’s great because it’s about books and I get lots of recommendations and I like the hosts. It used to be frustrating because it was expanding my TBR list too quickly, but I learned after a while that the hosts and I don’t love the same things, so most of what they love/recommend isn’t going to be a huge priority for me. There’s a backlist show/episode interspersed with new releases, too, which I don’t really follow, but it’s an interesting rabbit hole. They get a nice variety of genres, author types, etc. as well.

Gastropod

This one is one of my favourites. It’s about food, but explored via science and history. And of course there’s the odd weird taste test, because food and entertainment. There's some cute "friction" between the hosts sometimes, as Nicola is British by birth, and so has very across-the-pond opinions on many things related to cuisine, manners, etc. Whereas Cynthia is American and Jewish and her east coast experiences reflect that, too. The ladies are both writers and journalists and have gone on some amazing adventures. And hey, what better way to learn all about a gazillion varieties of potato than to go to Peru and attend a festival for them. WILL make you want to eat and drink all the things.

Invisibilia

This one's about unseen factors that shape our world, though that sounds pretty vague, and if you just start listening to episodes things can seem kind of random. They will cover huge topics, like how humans' tendencies to assign (or chafe against) categorization shapes our world, or how our expectations of "disability" may be off base. Sometimes the approach is a bit more sideways/quirkier, though. I really like the combination of stories and anecdotes focused on the topics, but also how they blend that with science and studies and all that other rigorous stuff. They’re longer episodes, and seasons are spread out pretty far (I think the hosts have a lot of other projects), but good for a long walk and a think.

Mystery Show

Defunct now, but was super quirky and charming. The premise is that the host and chief investigator takes on a mystery for each episode. Something that's been bothering someone for some time (could be weeks, could be decades), and solves it. That could mean finding out something, returning something to its owner, etc. It can't just be something solvable by using the Internet, as we're so prone to doing these days. (I will note that my perception of the host based on her voice was SO completely off base when I finally saw a picture of her.) It’s one of those story-centric podcasts where the premise seems frivolous, but  totally isn’t in the fullness of time, as it were. One of the earliest episodes I listened to was about returning a unique belt buckle to a chef. Turned out to be an amazing chase and surprisingly poignant. Certainly unique, and really gets you pondering unknown or unsolved things in your own life and how one would go about solving them (especially without the internet).

White Coat, Black Art

This one’s from the CBC, and the host is Dr. Brian Goldman, who’s a long-time ER physician in Toronto. The premise is looking at healthcare from “all sides of the gurney”. It goes well beyond emergency medicine, though, and tackles issues like wait times, marginalized or ageing populations, managing disabilities, the opioid epidemic, and broader ties to history, politics, and society. In a country where we have a huge Baby Boomer cohort getting ever older, and the challenges that brings, there's a lot to talk about. He also has some fantastic and intriguing guests, and some fascinating glimpses into how healthcare gets handled elsewhere (like the US and Europe), for better or worse.

Part 4

The Allusionist

Helen Zaltzman from Answer Me This talks about the English language. Quirks of words and phrases, where sayings came from, invented languages, colloquialisms and slang, history and evolution, you name it. She has some great guests from other relevant podcasts, too, which make for some fun times. Good stuff for word nerds.

Another Round

Another now defunct Buzzfeed podcast, but was really excellent. American, and largely focused on Black culture. (Both hosts are Black women.) Highly irreverent, and regularly makes fun of white people and mainstream culture - moments in white history are some of the funniest stuff I’ve ever heard. It's not all goofing off, though. There's a lot of discussion of race and related issues, gender, socioeconomics, straight up pop culture (it is from Buzzfeed...) and some really great interviews from people like Hilary Clinton, Valerie Jarrett, Anil Dash, and Hannibal Burress. You never quite know what you're going to get, which makes it more fun. Archive recommended.

The Black Tapes

I started listening to this one because Paul Bae of You Suck, Sir is one of the producers. I gave up after the first season. It was just trying too hard and dragging out waaaay too much. It’s a radio drama about investigations of the paranormal, a bit X-Files-y. The idea being a serialized investigation of an unsolved case each episode, but they got away from that pretty quickly. The dialogue is also a bit rough sometimes, and they go way over the top with the soundscaping for suspense and drama, which I found really distracting.

Death, Sex & Money

Does what it says on the tin, though depending on the interview, focus, and stories, might get more or less of any one of those foci. Mostly interviews and discussions with really interesting (sometimes famous) people about the stuff we don’t talk much about openly. And of course there’s plenty of, “I can’t believe I said that!” The one with Jane Fonda was excellent.

Lore

History, folklore, and stories woven together. This was Aaron Mahnke’s first podcast, and it has since spun out into a media empire with books, a TV show, and more podcasts, etc. Mahnke’s delivery style has smoothed out over time. He was a bit... Shatneresque for a while there. The stories are true, with a hint of mystery and plenty of the unexplained. But Mahnke does a good job of weaving in myth, folklore, the supernatural, and other relevant things to give richness and context to the stories. And they never entirely wrap up tidily. His Cabinet of Curiosities is a good, shorter sister accompaniment to this.

Planet Money

A bit similar to Freakonomics... but not really. All manner of finance-related topics covered from a variety of angles, though US-centric, unsurprisingly. Sometimes more finance-centric, but other times gets way more into psychology, anthropology, etc. There was an episode on the anatomy of a scam was fascinating and heartbreaking. Great investigative work. But then there are others like the one about "delicious cake futures" that're just irreverent and hilarious. 

Reply All

"A show about the Internet". Which it is, but... that doesn’t really tell you anything. This one is often SO much fun, and they go down some incredible rabbit holes, whether they’re explaining internet culture to their boss by unravelling a tweet (”Yes, Yes, No”) or exploring a weird tech mystery, like a phishing incident. You will definitely learn things you had no idea about, become fascinated by fraud, and realize you barely know anything about the breadth and depth of internet culture.

Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project

Another round of serious geekery. Mythbusters' Adam Savage and friends just... talk about stuff. Projects they're working on, particularly Adam's, geeking out over... things. Things they like, things they've made, things other people made that they wish they had... There's a definite maker bent and a geek pop culture bent. Like The Martian has gotten a lot of love over the past while. But they talk about everything from billiards to camping, and it goes along with the Tested show as well. For science! I didn’t end up keeping up with this one for long, since I’m not that kind of maker and the shows were fairly long.

Stuff Mom Never Told You

This one I've been listening to for years, through several iterations of hosts. The focus was a bit more political and career-centric with the last hosts, and a bit more cultural with the current ones. All things feminism and gender, and the related issues where those things are concerned. It’s US-centric, so some of the content isn’t always entirely relevant outside the country (like healthcare and reproductive rights), but good to be reminded that Gilead isn’t entirely fictional...

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Like the above, have been listening for years, so time to give it its due. It is an American podcast, so there's plenty of US history on offer, but they do cover plenty of other countries, time periods, and types of history. Everything from fashion, to art, to great dynasties, to titillating scandals, to amazing characters, to disasters (both ancient and modern-ish). They try to include plenty of history that’s not just white and male-centric (though they get plenty of complaints about “too many women”, because people are assholes. They also have really interesting interviews, often with authors. This Day in History Class is their little sister podcast, which is a 5-minute daily on what happened that day historically.

Part 5

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Coming to us from the BBC World Service, this one reminds me somewhat of my much-loved A History of the World in 100 Objects. It considers a wide range of products and services, from barcodes to insurance to paper. They explain where these things came from, why they were revolutionary, their broader influence and importance, and their ongoing value and evolution in today's world. Episodes are fairly short, so good for a quick hit thought provocation, or you can save them up for a fascinating topical binge (and see how some threads of history, business, tech, etc. fit together).

Crimetown

Exposes the seedy underbelly of various places and people. Season one was Providence, Rhode Island (including infamous mayor Buddy Cianci and New England crime boss Raymond Patriarcha). Season two will focus on Detroit. The first season had characters and stories that were straight out of the movies, including the wise guy accents. Classic mobsters and mayhem. Great for true crime fans, but with a bit of a twist.

The Infinite Monkey Cage

The longer format of the weekly BBC Radio 4 show, with Robin Ince as the straight man, and British science's favourite media son, Prof. Brian Cox. Each episode irreverently tackles a science topic, from sleep to gambling to climate change, assisted by a panel of scientists, academics, writers, and comedians. The schtick wore a bit thin for me after a while, though one Christmas episode on ghosts was a particular highlight.

Longform

As advertised, these are long interviews (typically an hour or a bit more) with a variety of interesting folks, the key connecting thread being that they're all writers or editors (or both). That's a pretty broad category, though, as interviewees range from Ta-Nehisi Coates to Nate Silver to Malcolm Gladwell. I don't listen to every one, but when you get a good one, man, is it interesting stuff. Problem is you don’t know before you listen what ones will be gold, and it’s a lot of time to commit.

Note to Self

Defunct now, this one styles itself as "the tech show about being human", which is true, though it leans heavily at times on lifehacking and projects - things like making ourselves more efficient, establishing good habits, etc. None of that was really my thing and I tended to skip those episodes. It also learned a lot toward issues and lifestyles of the modern family, which can either be interesting from a peripheral perspective (since I don’t have kids) or more blablah I don’t care about. Stuff about digital privacy, racism online, etc. were pretty universally interesting and useful topics, though.

Only Human

This one wraps science and humanity around politics and currently events (US-centric). Like US "bathroom laws" and how they tie into real families with trans kids, and the clinics and medical staff that work with and treat those kids. Or medical care on Native reservations accompanied by centuries old well-earned mistrust of the establishment. Or accompanying a doctor whose mission it is to provide safe abortions in the south, and how increasingly difficult that's become. I thought this one was defunct, but looks like I just stopped listening after a while. (I know they went through a pretty intense self-improvement project phase, which was of zero interest.)

Revisionist History

Malcolm Gladwell’s first dive into podcastland, and definitely one of my favourites. After the 2016 US election, this show and Tony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown kept me sane. In each episode, Gladwell takes a historical event, recounts it, then deconstructs it and re-recounts it from other angles, shedding new light and context on it. In certain ways it’s classic Gladwell. It tackles racism, sexism, homophobia, and all the other big -isms. It gives names to issues and societal quirks you’ve always been aware of but never had definitions for. Some stuff is broadly culturally or historically fascinating, but I guarantee something will hit you way closer to home than you ever expected. So far this one’s three seasons in, and he’s how started a network, Pushkin Industries, which also now includes the Broken Record music podcast.

See Something Say Something

Buzzfeed used to have some fantastic content by great diverse voices. I’m not sure how much of it is left now that this, Another Round, and probably others have ended. This one is about being Muslim in America, and is an instance where I have no issues with stories, perspectives, and content from Millennials and those younger. Mixes pop culture with religion, intellectual discourse with goofy irreverence, and you’ll definitely learn stuff every episode. The number of smart, successful female guests was also always a highlight.

Weekly Infusion

Didn’t last long with this one, but checked it out since Nicole Angemi, who I follow on Instagram, was a guest. It ended up a bit slick and overproduced for my taste, though it did dig into medical issues, pathology, etc., which is up my alley. They did make things really accessible, perhaps almost too much so. And they had celeb guests or other notables who either have a stake in the medical issues being discussed, or are experts in that field. I listened to episodes about anaphylaxis to epilepsy to synesthesia, so something for everyone if the format is cool with you.

You Must Remember This

The first couple seasons were a great binge for me, covering all the fascinating stories, scandals, juicy trivia, and big characters in the first century of Hollywood. There were some fantastic series, like Charles Manson's Hollywood, the Blacklist/McCarthy Communist witch hunts, Hollywood during WWII, or “Six Degrees of Joan Crawford”. But since then it’s gotten more meh. Just topics or series that don’t interest me or that feel like they’re getting a bit too peripheral. May still be fascinating to super hardcore movie history buffs, though. The most recent series was really side content to go along with the book she has coming out, so we’ll see if future seasons are any more like the older stuff or not.

Part 6

Aaron Mahnke’s Cabinet of Curiosities

This is the same guy who does Lore and Unobscured. These episodes are shorter, each with a couple of stories about a wide variety of people, places, things, events, etc. that are unique, odd, or generally unexplained. Because they don’t have to fill out a longer episode, you’re more likely to hear about things that weren’t covered in a bunch of other podcasts.

Broken Record

Malcolm Gladwell’s second podcast outing, in addition to my beloved Revisionist History. It’s only a few of episodes in so far, and music podcasts haven’t really been my thing, but the first episodes have been super interesting. I did skip the third one since I don’t like Rufus Wainwright. Definitely willing to give this one a few more episodes to see how it plays out. The guests are the folks who’ve been there and done that and have all the stories.

Committed

This one’s a season in, and it’s about relationships, but it’s wide and deep. Getting pregnant at 14, infertility, a terminal brain tumour, lost at sea, second marriage, life sentences in prison... these are not your average suburbanites. Or they are, but it’s parts of their lives you’ve never known. Elevated snotbomb risk from time to time, but really well done and there’s something relatable in every episode.

Bodies

Also one season in. By women, for women, about women (though anyone else listening in will learn A LOT). Stories of health and issues and the struggles of getting correct diagnoses and treatment and how life and bodies change. I suspect most women would relate to something in every episode, even if it’s not specifically about an issue you’ve dealt with. Men would probably have a lot of holy shit moments listening in.

No Such Thing As A Fish

The researchers for the UK quiz show QI sit around and riff on their four favourite facts of each week, along with supplementary facts and random anecdotes, bad puns, dumb jokes, and taking the piss out of each other. It’s very nerdy and a lot of fun and will fill your brain with excellent trivia. They do a lot of live shows as well, so many of those are a bit themed to wherever they are on that week.

OPPO

Another CANADALAND podcast, which I have recently gotten rid of due to overload. Jen Gerson and Justin Ling basically spend each episode kvetching at and interrupting each other regarding politics and issues of the day. Not sure how well they actually represent particularly opposing political views, but she’s a woman and lives in Calgary and he’s a gay dude in Toronto, so, okay? I do find out about issues I hadn’t heard much about, so that’s good. I think it’s more just YMMV re. the hosts. 

The Secret Life of Canada

This one was picked up by the CBC and I am still kind of bitter that I missed the ladies at the Kitchener Library a while back (I wasn’t listening to the podcast yet, but still). Basically, stuff you never learned in school about our country’s history, and which, frankly, should pretty much just replace our still very white, patriarchal, colonial history teachings. 

Sidedoor

From the Smithsonian, the podcast covers all kinds of stories, people, events, and things from the museum. A bit hard to pin down, but super interesting, and talks about everything from a famous skeleton in their collection (the guy used to work for the Smithsonian!) to Gullah cuisine. Very American-centric, unsurprisingly, but enjoyable for history/anthropology nerds.

Small Town Dicks

True crime stories, but the twist is that the detectives who investigated them are the ones talking about them. The hosts are Yeardley Smith (best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson) and Zibby Allen, who I wasn’t familiar with. Then they usually have one or both of Detectives Dan and Dave, who are twins and cops (though one’s retired now and the other’s been promoted to Sergeant), as well as frequently guests who are other cops talking about the specific case of the week. I’ve found the handling of the subject matter both really in-depth (and sometimes pretty horrific or even comical) but also respectfully done, which is more than I can say for some other true crime podcasts I’ve tried.

Sold in America

A fairly new 8-part series about sex work in the US with a focus on trafficking and the many issues directly entwined with it — previous trauma, poverty, unemployment, addiction, etc. I’m almost to the end, and it’s been excellent, and often quite uncomfortable. It is US-focused, but the issues there are no different from here or anywhere else. The host Noor and her team travel a lot of talk to a lot of people whose lives this is or has affected, so these aren’t third-hand stories; this is lived experience, from women at the Bunny Ranch in Nevada to trans youth trying to overcome homelessness.

This Day in History Class

The little sister of Stuff You Missed in History Class, a daily, five-minute quickie of what happened on that date historically. Good snack for history nerds. Sometimes ties into longer episodes on the same or related topic that SYMIHC will be covering as well.

Unladylike

The two former co-hosts of Stuff Mom Never Told You went out on their own and are working on a feminist media empire (their book came out last month). Same topics re. feminism, gender, politics, sexism, diversity, culture, etc. Sometimes lighter, sometimes super heavy, but really interesting and they have some fantastic guests. And they can swear now. In addition to all the doom and gloom out there, they do also try to bring the good news (and diversity), too.

Black Tea

Former CANADALAND: COMMONS co-host (and current Melle coworker) Andray Domise and his friend (lawyer and activist) Melayna Williams get into culture, issues, and current events, particularly relating to Black communities in Canada (and somewhat the US as well). A lot of it goes over my head (big reveal: I am not Black, and I am old), but it’s cool to learn about stuff I know nothing about, and a common complaint I have is that too much of the media I consume, especially podcasts, is US-made/centric, so the CanCon is refreshing. Also at times very funny, though when there is a rant to be ranted, they don’t hold back.

The Butterfly Effect

Author/journalist/film maker Jon Ronson did this one-off series investigating the effects of the explosion of the online porn industry on the legacy porn industry. He was fascinating by the idea that online porn as we now know it is basically attributable to one guy in Belgium (and one company), and wanted to know what the far-reaching effects of that have been. It’s fascinating, and weird when you end up having moments almost feeling sorry for people and producers in a business that is, to put it mildly, problematic and exploitative. However, at the same time, it is a fascinating dive into human psychology.

Death in the Afternoon

New podcast by the ladies behind The Order of the Good Death, including Caitlin Doughty, its founder, who has written two books and has a popular death-positive YouTube series; Sarah Chavez, who you have very likely come across online as she’s widely involved in death education, culture, etc.; and Louise Hung, their coworker, who has also written broadly and extensively online. Typically they start off digging into some story/urban myth about death (or a sensational death) and breaking down the truths and fallacies and intricacies of the story. Then Sarah will tell a longer story of death relating to the issue at hand, which often involves mystery, folklore, etc.

Dirty John

This was originally an LA Times series, which was turned into a podcast, and is now being made into a TV series. True crime story centring around a truly horrific dumpster fire of a human being and the family he terrorized. Sensational, certainly, but also mind-blowing that it actually happened, and a lot of psychological explorations. Big time potential triggers for mental and physical abuse, drug addiction, violence, and other issues.

Ear Hustle

All about life inside San Quentin prison in California, and hosted by Nigel Poor, who volunteers there, and Earlonne Woods, who has been incarcerated there, but whose sentence was commuted as of US Thanksgiving 2018, so he’ll be free shortly. One imagines things will change somewhat with him shortly being on the outside, though he’ll remain a producer on the show and will report on post-prison life. The show does a good job of fleshing out and humanizing the inmates and stories, though doesn’t sugar-coat that some of these men are in for really bad stuff. It also sheds light on broader issues like the prison pipeline, over-representation of people of colour, and challenges of life after prison. 

My Dad Wrote A Porno

There are three hosts, all friends, and host/story reader Jamie’s dad “Rocky Flintstone” is the writer dad in question. Apparently a while back he learned of and/or read 50 Shades of Grey and figured he could do that. (Given how terrible it is, who couldn’t?) So he took himself to the garden shed and wrote... Belinda Blinked. The resulting podcast is Jamie, James, and Alice reading the book(s) and talking about it (mocking it savagely). It’s filthy, the writing is terrible (and Mr. Flintstone seems to lack even basic understanding of female anatomy, among other things). The commentary is hilarious and frequently includes education about things like female anatomy (as much for James, who is gay, as anyone). They just finished the fourth book as of November 2018, and will return with the fifth next year. After the annual Christmas special, of course.

Taste Buds

Another offering from the CANADALAND folks. One season so far, and I won’t be tuning in for a future one. The premise of a former restaurant critic sitting down with restauranteurs is potentially interesting, but nothing about the actual execution of it really grabbed me. It’s also all in Toronto, so places I’ve never been and mostly people I’ve never heard of (and don’t care).

Thunder Bay

Also a CANADALAND offering, and the result of hitting their crowdfunding goal last year. A five-part series hosted by former COMMONS host Ryan McMahon (who is an Indigenous person) about the city, people, politics, and culture of Thunder Bay, ON. Accompanied, unsurprisingly, by the corruption, racism, social issues, and deaths of a number of Indigenous youth over the last few years. It’s a horror show, and not easy to listen to, but the degree of racism, sexism, and corruption shouldn’t really surprise anyone with their ears generally open. Or if it is surprising, then listen to it twice. Also a good thing to send to anyone who tries to argue that Canada doesn’t have the same kinds or level of issues as the US.

Unobscured

Aaron Mahnke’s latest podcast, and a historical deep dive. (Kind of like the historical flip side to the cultural side that is Revisionist History). For the first season he’s digging into the Salem Witch Trials. It’s a degree of background and detail that very few people are likely to be familiar with, and it had way more to do with politics, power struggles, religion gone awry, misogyny, and other familiar social ills than with ergot poisoning, religious fervour run amok, the devil among us, or whatever else has become the pat stories in the succeeding few hundred years. As I understand it each season will be regarding one event and take a similarly deep approach. It’s at times a bit more detail than I care about, but I’m still curious about how it’ll wrap up and what next season will bring.

Part 7

Code Switch

One of the NPR family. Had to pick and choose of the backlist, since it’s been on the air for several years and there’s NO WAY I’d be able to listen to them all. However, it is really interesting to hear their discussions/insights of major events months or years later. The hosts are people of colour, as are the guests, so the focus is on race identities and issues. Being NPR, it’s pretty American-centric, but like most other things, that still affects the world beyond their borders. Sometimes hard to listen to, but I absolutely always learn something.

Dressed

This is one of those where, on the surface, it’s not my thing, but then I end up getting really engaged and learning tonnes. This one is from the How Stuff Works/I Heart Radio network, and is about the history of fashion. Now, fashion itself isn’t really my thing, but fashion is very much tied to history, politics, gender issues, the environment, global trade, race relations, and a million other things. I don’t listen to every episode, but I always learn stuff. The two-parter on the history of Black Dandyism is an excellent example of a topic that ties in all the subjects I mentioned and more, and was just super interesting.

Ologies with Alie Ward

Definitely a new favourite, though I’m still about a year behind in the backlog, and episodes tend to be 1-2 hours long. Host Alie Ward refers to it as a “science adjacent” podcast, though it is scientific and in the top 10 on Apple’s Science podcast rankings. Basically, Alie interviews an “ologist” in each episode, an expert on a given topic, anywhere from squids to crime to postcards. The personalities of the ologists really come through, which make it funny and quirky and sometimes things go down the strangest and most charming rabbit holes. A big bonus is that few of the ologists are old bearded white dudes. (Though the bearded old white dudes are delightful, too – mushrooms!) Alie’s asides and inputs take a bit of getting used to, but I enjoy them now. Sometimes they’re additional educational tidbits she researched, sometimes they’re just dorky moments. It’s one of those shows where, even if the topic doesn’t seem up my alley, I listen anyway, because I already learn and enjoy myself. And when there are topics like dogs I’m basically a slavering fangrrl. Also, excellent Instagram recommendations.

Terrible, Thanks for Asking

I was iffy about this one, though the host was a guest on another podcast I listen to and was really interesting, so I gave it a shot. It’s definitely not for bingeing, as it’s basically interviewing people and telling stories about the worst times in their lives. (There’s something of the flavour of Committed as well.) And the host, Nora McInerny, knows what she’s talking about in that realm. (She’s one of those stories that you would think was just too over the top if it was on TV.) Definitely shows you a lot of facets of life, though, and there’s much to learn and empathize with. Just... make sure you have something fun for a palate cleanser. 

30 Animals That Made Us Smarter

Also from the BBC, and I love their series. This one basically takes aspects of nature that we’re researching to benefit the human world and influence new tech. Kingfisher beaks for faster trains, tardigrades and vaccines, etc. Short, fun, fascinating. Around the same time I learned about this one I also learned that 50 Things That Made The Modern Economy is also back with a new season, so that’s back on the list, too. Definitely recommended.

Atlanta Monster / Monster: The Zodiac Killer

I’ll say right up front that I didn’t love either of these, but was in a lull where I needed more content. I’m not a fan of this style where they really try an manipulate episode to episode, where it’s like, “He totally did it!” followed by “They’re totally railroading him!” And so on. Plus, neither series has a conclusive answer, which... is that ever satisfying. But it’s got the expected stuff for the true crime junkies.

Crackdown

This is a really interesting piece of journalism. It’s a series about the drug war, opioid crisis, policy, and the real world of addiction as produced by people who have addictions. The host was a heroin addict for years and has been on Methadone for quite some time as well. They also lost one of their editorial board members to overdose basically between the production of the first and second episodes. It’s real, raw, and often very angry, as it should be. It explores a lot of angles, like the disaster that was replacing Methadone, and Portugal’s decriminalization of drugs, to the dangers of the supply and using these days. Not pretty, but should pretty much be required listening for anyone living somewhere with an opioid crisis... which is pretty much everywhere...

Disgraceland

Self-described as “rock ‘n’ roll true crime”. It’s pretty much pure voyeurism, and absolutely illustrates the worst of humanity, but also doesn’t let us off the hook for our complicity in how celebrities act and why they’re allowed to be (expected to be?) like that. I mean, the first episode was about Jerry Lee Lewis and how he pretty much got away with murdering his fifth wife. (His fourth died under pretty sketchy circumstances, too.) If you like (auto)biographies by 80s/90s metal band members and that sort of thing, you’ll love this one. I tend to really like the behind the scenes stuff of just about anything, including history, and this fits that bill.

The Dropout

Basically, if you would rather listen to the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos instead of reading the book, this is your podcast. Based on what a friend said about it I was expecting it to be a bit different. I didn’t love it, but it does have plenty of twists and turns and sketchiness and intrigue. Unlike my previous gripe, they really also don’t try and make you go back and forth on whether you think they committed fraud or not. Or, at least, if they were trying to, they really failed. This is a standalone series, so is a shortish binge, pretty much.

The End of the World with Josh Clark

They put a lot of resources into this one, but given how long Clark’s mainstay podcast Stuff You Should Know has been one of the top downloads overall, he knows what he’s doing and probably has some sway with a passion project. (And given everything is branded with the “with Josh Clark” bit, his involvement is very intentional.) Basically, this one looks into ways we might wipe ourselves out - rogue AI, biotech, natural disasters, etc. It’s interesting and well done, but I found myself zoning out from time to time. The sound design also gets a bit over the top sometimes, which bugs me. I also think they dragged it out too much. They didn’t really need the end episodes.

Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad

This is newish for me (and they’re only a few episodes in). It’s kind of an evolution in true crime programming. Jensen is a journalist and Holes is a recently retired investigator/profiler/scientist. His recent claim to fame is helping catch the Golden State Killer. (And Jensen helped finish Michelle McNamara’s book on the same subject after she died.) Both of them are specialists in unsolved and cold cases, and have decided to start focusing more on trying to get them solved rather than just reporting on and looking into them themselves. There’s a huge true crime fanbase with amateur sleuths out there, and this endeavours to harness that, along with new tech, social media, etc. Crowdsourced criminology, basically. Interesting idea, and I look forward to seeing how it plays out. Each episode they take a known killer, or known victims, and present what’s known about the victims, crimes, locations, killer, MO, etc. They interview people who were involved or investigated the crimes at the time. And they put the case information up on their website - facts, photos, maps, etc. and let the audience do their thing as well. So this one doesn’t talk about cases til the end of things, but if what they’re trying works, could be some fascinating stuff.

Lagered Tales

This one is put out by Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company out of Vankleek Hill in eastern Ontario. It features a rotating cast of hosts from among the brewery’s staff, and covers a variety of topics, from brewery news, industry events, local stories, deep dives on beer topics, chats with other folks who work at Beau’s, as well as Canadian entertainers and other interesting industry people. It’s folksy and well-produced at the same time, and while it won’t be up everyone’s alley, I find it fun.

This Podcast Will Kill You

LOVE this one. Haven’t been listening long, but totally binged the whole backlist. It’s two disease ecology grad students, both named Erin, and they talk about... diseases! They both have PhDs and one of the Erins is also in medical school, so they know their stuff re. infectious diseases. It’s both solidly scientific and accessible to the average person. They cover pathogens, parasites, etc. in depth, as well as what they do to people, how they spread, their histories, how dangerous they are to humanity overall, etc. They also have signature cocktails for every disease/episode. Perhaps not for the squeamish, but super interesting. Also occasionally dad-level bad jokes, which is just excellent.

Part 8

Everywhere

Fairly new and part of the I Heart Radio family (which bought the How Stuff Works family). Host Daniel is a travel writer, and he is intermittently joined by friends/colleagues (including Holly from Stuff You Missed in History Class). It is about travel, but also not. It’s not about “I went here and this is what it’s like and what I recommend”, though there are bits of that. It’s more about recommendations for how to travel well, both for your own enjoyment and the benefit of the people and places you see. He has an overarching “commandment” theme for each episode, but they’re positive, i.e. “Thou shalt” rather than “Thou shalt not”. Can get very philosophical and poetic, and his voice/manner of speech has taken me some getting used to. Not sure it’ll be a long term addition to my list, but still enjoying it half a dozen episodes in.

Solvable

Another from the Pushkin Industries stable (Malcolm Gladwell and co., so Revisionist History, Broken Record, and others). In this one several hosts take turns talking to experts in various fields working to solve the world’s big problems, from civil war to cervical cancer. It’s smart, deeply informative, and does leave you feeling more informed and, dare I say it, hopeful. Another one where, even if you don’t think the topic is right up your alley, you listen anyway because it’ll suck you in with learning and fascinating perspectives. And then there are some like the interview with former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard that are total “holy shit, YES“ experiences.

Your Undivided Attention

Fairly new, and I’m only abour four episodes in, but really enjoying it. Deep dives on the big platforms and technologies we use, and how they’ve been designed and built to control us, along with the lack of ethics and oversight going into how these companies develop tools and algorithms, because revenue and time on site and data mining is a bigger priority than actually not being evil. It’s hosted by Tristan Harris, who used to be a design ethicist at Google, and Aza Raskin, who has the dubious distinction of having invented infinite scroll. (His dad, Jef, worked at Apple and invented the Mac computer, Magic Mouse, and more, and wrote The Humane Interface.) At various points during their interviews with other industry experts (ranging from former YouTube developers to former CIA operatives) they also have asides where they do deep dives/discussions on various points or ideas that have come up in the interview. Doesn’t get overly technical for a lay audience, and will definitely get you thinking and paying more attention to how you use your devices and online services, and how you are being guided, manipulated, and used by the biggest companies in tech.

The Anthropocene Reviewed

Hosted by author and YouTube educator John Green, he picks two things that are part of the human-centered world (the anthropocene) and reviews them as a... human in the world, basically, and based on his life experience. He ends with giving each a star rating out of five. He has some method to the madness of the two things he picks, and how he feels they relate to each other, but he doesn’t really explain it. Teddy Bears and Penalty Shootouts, the Lascaux Cave Paintings and the Taco Bell Breakfast Menu – really anything is fair game. In his typical style, he relates personal memories and anecdotes, waxes philosophical, and wonders about questions big and small. He also at times goes mildly off-topic to address tougher issues, like depression and anxiety disorder, which he’s dealt with all his life, and which in one way or another relates to one of the topics he’s discussing. It’s strange and quirky and an enjoyable way to see the world through someone else’s eyes.

Hit Man

This one just got started, but so far has an interesting premise. The host heard about this small press-published book from years ago, which I’d also heard of, called Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors. It’s literally a murder manual, and has allegedly figured in an assortment of killings. In this case, though, there’s a specific multiple homicide that it gets tied to, and the eight-episode arc dives into that case and the surrounding story. Will probably appeal to true crime fans, but haven’t heard enough yet to determine if it’s a keeper.

Noble Blood

Another from the I Heart family, and it’s both historical and true crime, in a way. It’s also pretty new, so not a lot of episodes so far. Basically it’s about noble/royal and famous people from history who came to a bad end. The host kicked off with one about Marie Antoinette. Pretty sure you know what happened to her. There’s another about King Charles II, and one about an Australian butcher who claimed to be a long lost baronet. I like dirty history, so am looking forward to more of thing one.

Part 9

The Dream

Apparently the host wanted to call this something with “scams” in the title, but there were some legal issues there. But that’s what this podcast is about. Season one was about MLMs. Multi-level marketing, aka direct marketing, networking marketing, or, more closely accurate, pyramid schemes. Not only is it educational about what they are, how they work, and who they target, it explains a lot about who is susceptible (again, targeted) and why they persist, even though like 99% of people who attempt to get rich quick with them fail and lose money. Sometimes a LOT of money. The second season is about the “wellness” industry in all its predatory glory. Unsurprisingly, there’s a fair bit of overlap with MLMs, how women are disproportionately sucked in, etc. It’s pretty US-centric, but then, these scams exist all over the world, and I think we all know someone who’s tried to flog that crap at us, so super relatable.

Gravy

Created by the Southern Foodways Alliance, so pretty much entirely American-centric, but doesn’t lose anything for it, since there’s a tonne about culture, history, immigration, class issues, and other more broadly relatable topics. It’s all about the evolving American south through a food lens. It’s as engaging as it is hunger-inducing, and I guarantee you’ll be surprised at just how non-homogenous the South actually was and is.

mortem

This one’s new from the BBC, and is only a few episodes in so far. The host is Carla Valentine, who has a fair bit of a media presence already via her Instagram and TV work, among other things. It’s a semi-fictional, semi-scientific series, with the stories broken up into several chapters, one per episode. In each story, there’s a murder victim and a mystery about who done it. Could be an elderly woman found dead in her kitchen, or a discorporated jawbone found on the Scottish coast. These actual “murders” are fictional, but the processes and procedures Carla discusses are quite real, as are the medical, law enforcement, and forensic experts she talks to as if they were real investigations. Entomology, forensic odontology, a soil expert, you name it. Fortunately to date they have solved all the cases, so there is that pleasant sense of closure.

Make Me Over

This is a series presented by the maker/host of You Must Remember This, all about image and expectations in Hollywood. Weight, age, plastic surgery, drugs, racism - it’s got it all. It uses the same celebrity and Hollywood history lens as YMRT, and, for reasons that should be obvious, focuses on famous women from various eras, from Esther Williams to Vanessa Williams. Instead of Karina Longworth narrating these stories, she’s recruited a series of writers, journalists, and others to research and explore characters and stories that have interested them. It’s pretty damning, though I can’t imagine the realities of the Hollywood machine would be a surprise to anyone at this point.

27 Club

This one comes from Jake Brennan, host of Disgraceland, and continues the theme of celebrities behaving badly. Though in this case it ends up killing them, as each season will tell stories of one celebrity who died at the age of 27, hence the name. Season one is about Jimi Hendrix, and season two will be Jim Morrison. Presumably Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, and others will follow. Unsurprisingly, it’s a lot of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, though depending on your age and musical tastes, I imagine some featured performers’ stories will be more familiar than others. No shortage of crazy stories and self-destructive behaviour, with plenty of rock history in the mix.

Cautionary Tales

Tim Harford hosts this one, among many, many other things he does. (I also follow his 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy.) It’s been on hiatus a while. Or maybe he was only planning one eight-episode season. I don’t recall. Basically, it’s stories of mistakes, from the ancient world to modern times. Who did what, how decisions were bad, what went wrong, and what can we learn from that. There are often stories or parts of them we may know, from history, the arts, and beyond, but these are angles you’ve likely never heard of or considered. There are plenty of whoa moments when you realize how history would have been differently written without these errors.

Decoder Ring

From the website: “In each episode, host Willa Paskin takes a cultural question, object, or habit; examines its history; and tries to figure out what it means and why it matters.” Which does make it sound drier and more anthropological than it is to the ears. Like I guarantee you had no idea how long the song Baby Shark has been around, how many versions there are, and how many countries and origins can claim it. Or how ice cream trucks became a thing. Or the term “friend of Dorothy” and how it relates to the entirety of modern gay culture. Did you know “cancel culture” was as nasty as it is today back in the 1860s? And, near and dear to my heart... rubber ducks. History, anthropology, technology, economics, it’s amazing how interconnected things are, particularly those we rarely stop to consider.

Disorganized Crime: Smuggler’s Daughter

It may not be the case for everyone, but for me, definitely a glimpse into a world and someone else’s childhood that’s VERY much not like my own. The host and her parents are pseudonymous, but back in the 60s and for several decades, her parents (largely her dad) were fairly big time pot smugglers in California. It weaves together the 60s counterculture and its hippie proponents, the history of California and its regions and the people who’ve inhabited it before it became the sterile, exorbitantly expensive tech wonderland it’s become. And how those hippies built their thriving businesses. It ties in how the world changed over time and the business with it, becoming less of a gentleman’s game and more of a dangerous illegal business. And how the 80s war on drugs blew up everything and ruined a lot of lives. 

Dolly Parton’s America

An absolutely fantastic nine-part series from WNYC Studios, and largely thanks to the fact that Dolly Parton was in a car accident years back and befriended her doctor. (The main host is his son.) A lovely combination of history, tracing Dolly’s life and origins, her career, her business savvy and the empire she’s built. All woven beautifully together with her music, interviews with her and those around her, and related stories from modern history and culture that she influences, like how Dolly became a gay icon. A brilliant, talented, and fascinating woman and some of her stories beautifully captured.

Historic Royal Palaces

Recorded talks by British academics, sometimes on site where the people they’re discussing lived and historical events took place. Eg. talking about the Tudors at Hampton Court Palace. There are people and eras we know a lot about, like the Tudors, Henry VIII’s wives, etc. But also ones looking at medieval queens and their lives, power, and roles, through to Princess Diana and how she was different than anyone before her. Women’s roles, women in power, how being LGBTQ+ was looked upon and lived historically, fashion and its meanings and uses, and other fascinating and very human topics also get explored.

Outliers - Stories from the edge of history

In partnership with Rusty Quill, for each episode a writer or playwright creates basically a one-act play about a character of their choosing. Typically they’ve given a few options and select one whose history, location, and circumstances are interesting. The general idea is that the focus is on some “nobody” who happens to be present for and fictionally shed a light on much bigger people and events. They’re essentially two-parters, with the second piece being an interview with the playwright and getting into the history, what captured their imagination, issues with the process, and other interesting tidbits. Often, the scullery maid, the valet, the prison guard, and others, can have a fascinating “voice”, and a more interesting take on historical events than any scholar.

Part 10

This is Love

From the folks who make Criminal, just, y’know, love-ier. I gave it a try when it was first launched, but it didn’t really grab me, so didn’t continue listening. Several seasons went by. And then to trumpet the arrival of Season 4, they did a crossover pair of episodes with Criminal, about some wolves in Yellowstone, and they got me. Season 4, you see, is all about animals, so I’m a half-dozen episodes in so far and really enjoying it. Because animal love stories! So far they haven’t been sneaky bastards with some “the dog dies at the end” twist, fortunately. Whether I’ll stick around for Season 5, who knows.

The Dose

Sort of a sister podcast in shorter form than CBC’s White Coat, Black Art, with the same host. It’s been COVID-centric since March, for obvious reasons, but did launch slightly before the pandemic, so early episodes were about things like aspirin and heart attacks, BMI and what it means and if it’s relevant, etc. I did some skipping over time when I was overdosed on COVID news, but they are broadening coverage again as time goes on, but keeping the topics very up-to-the-minute relevant, like discussing how racism in the healthcare system can affect people and make COVID treatment and outcomes worse.

Over the Road

By and about long-haul trucking (in the US), which may be a dying way of life, we’ll have to see. Hosted by “Long Haul Paul”, who’s been a trucker for several decades, and who is also a folk singer/songwriter (also intermittently featured). The stories are accompanied by a cast of characters, and truckers and those in their world are pretty much all characters. They cover a broad range of topics, like different kinds of trucking and how they’re perceived in the culture; how technology is affecting trucking and what that means short- and long-term; who chooses a career in trucking and why, and how that affects family and the the rest of life, etc. Since Dad drove truck for a bit, I’ve had a glimpse into that world, but it’s really engaging, whether you know anything about it or not. And it’s work that touches all of us, whether we know it or not.

Cool Mules

A six-part special series from Canadaland about ye olden days of Vice Media (around 2015), when coolness and exploitation were the name of the game, which ended up with cocaine smuggling-related convictions for “Slava P” and a bunch of young kids who made some really bad choices and were manipulated by people who shouldn’t be anyone’s role models. Proof that not all criminal masterminds are evil geniuses.

Home Cooking

Global treasure, chef, cookbook writer, columnist, and Netflix star Samin Nosrat and Hrishikesh Hirway (aka Hrishi, broadly talented media dude and most familiar to me as the guy behind the Song Exploder podcast), decided to make a podcast series for folks stuck at home during the pandemic, possibly with a limited pantry, and perhaps forced to cook more than they were used to. There’s a running joke about beans... There are delightful guests and it’s a lot of goofy fun. There are terrible puns, and solid cooking advice that anyone can use. Alas, to date it’s only four episodes, but savour them like a fine meal, my friends.

Permission to Speak

I didn’t think I was going to get into this one, but every episode has managed to bring something that held my interest or got me thinking. Host Samara Bay is a voice coach for everyone from Washington to Hollywood, so her work ranges from teaching accents and dialects to helping women in positions of power (or who want positions of power) to speak up, to helping leaders engage their audiences instead of desiccating them or putting them to sleep with dry speeches. Every episode she has a guest, usually women, from a wide variety of professions and backgrounds, and their discussions cover a lot of ground, but there’s are always useful and engaging nuggets of realization, learning, and things anyone can act on.

Part 11

The Last Archive

This one’s newish and from Pushkin Industries, whence comes favourites like Revisionist History and Broken Record. Professor and historian Jill Lepore tells stories, digs into history and artifacts, and endeavours to answer, “Who killed truth?” And yet, none of that really clearly explains the episodes, which remind me a bit of the Decoder Ring podcast as well. Each episode features a story from the past, some historical episode, tied to some tangible thing that draws us into the largely narrative and context. (These things are from the fictional Last Archive.) If you like the kind of history that ties in weird and wonderfully disparate aspects with unexpected threads right through to the present day, this one’s for you.

Tumanbay

A narrative fiction podcast, now three seasons in, and with some book tie-ins to date with other media in the works. While fictional, it ties to the real history of the Mamluks in Egypt, and some of the world’s very real histories, cultures, religions, etc. The intermittent narrator is a key character in all seasons, and very much an anti-hero with an abiding interest in self-preservation. Game of Thrones fans with a bit of a more Middle Eastern interest would likely enjoy it, though there’s definitely a lot about palace intrigues and sabre rattling and invasions and the like. 

My Funeral Home Stories

Grant, the host, is from a family that owns several funeral homes, crematories, and other death-related services. He started working part-time in the family business when he was 13, and while they didn’t immediately throw him into the deep end, he saw and experienced things at an age that would raise a lot of people’s eyebrows, I’d suspect. However, if you’re not squeamish, this is the guy you want to be seated next to at a cocktail party, because he has stories, and some of them are equal parts insane and horrific. Some of his descriptions are really graphic, so it’s definitely not for everyone. He also has sort of a running narrative/stream of consciousness thing going as he recounts what he was thinking during these events, and some of it is funny, dark, and at times weirdly random and unrelated. It tracks as very realistic for the average human in very non-average situations. 

[culturalventures]

Dark Tourism, (Eastern) Europe and Living in Different Cultural Settings

Have you ever heard about Dark Tourism as an alternative way of travelling? Read on in the interview with Sebastián from Between Distances.

Sebastián is a Mexican-American historian and travel blogger located in Hamburg, Germany.

Photo: © 2018 copyright Between Distances // All rights reserved

How do you feel as a person of Mesoamerican origin in Germany and during your trips in Europe?

Like a local in Germany and an observer in around Europe. I don't really feel different in Germany as I've been here for almost a decade that I am familiar with the culture and speak the language. I guess Germany is my home now. Abroad it's different because obviously I'm visiting different countries, and in many of them there is not as much migration as in Germany, which means that I do stand out, but just talking out of my own experience, being Mexican only gets people interested; depending on the location, many people will be surprised that a Mexican guy somehow ended up in whatever small town in Eastern Europe. I myself kinda like that.

How do you connect to your home country? What thoughts and feelings do you associate with Mexico (and California)?

Through friends, food and family, mostly. I'm not that in touch with Mexico actually (but was during the World Cup). Not that I don't like the place or anything but it just feels so distant now since I've been abroad for almost 15 years now and don't go back that often. Plus, there are other countries that I love and I usually find myself eating pierogi more often than tacos. As far as California goes, I didn't live there that long so I can't say am super close to that place, though I do miss it a bit.

Do you plan to return thither?

Maybe to the US at some point but not really to Mexico. I've gotta see because my life is here in Europe now.

Why did you decide to come to Germany especially?

I was studying German at Portland State University and got the opportunity to come to Germany to do an exchange semester in Heidelberg. After my semester abroad I transferred and ended up staying here.

How did living in different cultures influence you?

It's changed me a lot. First off, it helped me to realize that my country is not the center of the universe. Also, it helped me develop empathy and sympathy towards other cultures. It made me much curious person, though I owe that to my love for history as well. I know what it's like to learn a new language from scratch and to have to adapt, and that builds patience and resiliency. Most importantly, living abroad has made me adaptable.

Why are you particularly interested in Eastern Europe?

Europe is always associated with affluent societies, but that only represents a part of a continent that's otherwise always been ravaged by war and conflict. Eastern Europe is the most interesting part of Europe because it truly is a crossroads of cultures. The region has a tragic and very, very rich history, which becomes obvious when you look at the architecture, for example. So many influences have shaped the cultures of Eastern Europe, and there are so many different backgrounds present that make the region very rich, culturally speaking. Also, people in Central and Eastern Europe are a bit more relaxed and daring so that goes pretty well with my Latin American mentality. We are both compatible, and that's probably the reason why I get along with people from the East better than with anyone else.

“Live fast, travel slow”. Can you elaborate on that?

That's just a slogan that I came up for the blog based on my style of travel. I don't rush, I like to spend many days in a single place, but while I'm there I like to do stuff that's not that common. I like to find situations that throw me out of my comfort zone; I've found myself drinking with shady characters in Eastern Europe, hitchhiking before sundown in Turkey, and breaking into abandoned places in a bunch of countries. That's what it's all about.

Do you plan on extending your travel plans and making a living from it?

Would be great but I won't sacrifice the integrity or ethos of the blog to achieve that.

How do you value money?

Money is a great thing to have. Having money would allow me to dedicate all my time to myself and my projects, and go wherever I want without having to worry about things such as rent or whatever. It's not the most important thing but I wouldn't have anything against having a ton of it in the bank!

Have you ever thought travel is only a distraction?

I think of it rather as a learning experience and an investment. I'm investing my time and money into experiences that expand my understanding of the world grow through them. I travel to see the things I learned about at university, and for a change of perspective. The world fascinates me, and traveling is my biggest interest in life.

What does travel to you? What would you be without it?

It's shaped me into who I am today. Interested in the world, interested in people, always interested in new experiences. It's made me want to become fluent in languages other than my native tongue, which I managed to do. I eat Polish food for dinner, wear Ukrainian traditional shirts, speak German in my everyday life. I think without traveling I'd lose a lot of what makes me interesting (at least according to myself).

You blog a lot about Dark Tourism. Can you explain it shortly?

Dark Tourism is the type of tourism dealing with tragedy or darker episodes of a country's history. In a way, there is always a dark side to history, and for me dark tourism simply means learning about a country. I don't travel to see spooky things just for the sake of it; this is more about visiting sites that are both tragic and relevant to a country's history: It could be a monument, or an abandoned military base, or even something that is not as impressive as say a castle, such as a field, or the place where a house once stood. Dark Tourism often deals with aspects that shaped a country, so it helps you (at least me) understand it better. Dark travel can also be about spooky stuff, or simply melancholic—it could be the nostalgia for something that's gone. It can be a combination of all those reasons! I guess there are many ways to define it but that's how I look at it.

Why do you think this is a new approach towards getting in touch with a location in comparison to educational trips or excursions of e.g. educational establishments?

It's definitely not new. People have been fascinated by tragedy for centuries. In the Romanticism era many painters took ruins and melancholy as motif, and traveled to see many abandoned sites. In that sense, dark tourism is nothing new, just something that's becoming more mainstream. As a matter of fact, it is now even an academic field!

Photo: © 2018 copyright Between Distances // All rights reserved

[filmcave]

HBO’s Succession: TV or not TV

(Yes, there are spoilers in this)

This is a deviation vrom my stated purpose of this blog but without conventions there would only be a riot of non-conventional styles - which would in turn then be the convention.

I’ve already broken a maxim of my blog (no reviews) and now will be doubly at fault in reviewing a TV episode. Sacré bleu

Succession, season one episode seven - otherwise known as - Austerlitz was a virtuoso presentation. It was greek tragedy and Shakespearean drama all wrapped into one. It was a hologram of the history of a family, a Haiku and a stand alone “slice of life” movie at once. I haven’t seen this kind of high quality work on TV, behind and in front of the camera collaboration, since the early days of The Sopranos and the better days of Six Feet Under. SS1E7 might even surpass those.

Its not TV, its HBO in this instance is more than a catchy marketing line.

In SS1E7 we learn more about the characters, their relationships and dreams and fears than at any previous time. It was entirely captivating nearly start to finish. The characters really came to life because gone were the veils, deceptions, proxies and covers for the sublimated emotions that were hinted at in prior episodes.

We also have the pleasure to see the actors talents and the production skills, restrained and nuanced. At work is an incredible stylistic dynamic both the bold and raw set against a pastoral setting. A smoldering kindling on which a splash of psycho-therapy gasoline hogwash sets off a wild ride.

Logan, Marcia, Connor, Roman, Shiv and Kendall all have a new stage and unknown surroundings here in the middle of New Mexico - at Austerlitz, Connor’s newly renamed ranch. The familiar physical environment is no longer the polished steel city or lustrous posh of the Hamptons and we see how this new environs affects them. The environment is all highly symbolic but at the same time part of the natural aesthetic.

The dialogue is sparse but precise. The direction moves the story forward but doesn’t get in the way (There seemed to be far fewer annoying zoom jump cuts, for example). The dialogue was snappy, emotion filled, poetic and well balanced. The family joking and jostling ranging from mean and cutting to tender and toying.

What is most compelling and what elevates this simple TV episode to a higher level - nay a filmic level - is the extraordinary way it exists as a stand alone artistic entity while it fits in perfectly with the series narrative, arc and history. It advances the prior story lines yet could easily and satisfyingly be enjoyed as its own single entity,

What also helps this stand in stark relief are the fullness of the performances. We learn so much about each character and how they relate to each other. We see Logan railing, fuming, frustrated, patriarchal. Shiv - confused, frustrated, ambitious, Roman as lost, dismissed, sardonic, mean and desperate. Connor seeking solace and connection, peace and harmony, family unity and relationship building. Kendall as jilted, angry, posturing - and resentful. Deeply resentful.

This stew of these personalities are seasoned with the orbit of “satellite significant others” who play out their own personal turf battles. Tom Wamsgans, Marcia Roy and Willa

To this all we add in the “well known, highly respected, Harvard educated corporate therapist” Alon Parfit who does a fabulously good job of doing a fabulously terrible job. This performance by Griffin Dunne is understated, completely serious and comically perfect. He starts the session off with a ditty/limerick that is more stand up than kickstarter for insightful therapy.

While there are lots of rich and interesting moments in the “family unity event” but the one that really helps the wheels come off are when Logan, un-ironically states: Everything I have ever done, I’ve done in the best interest of my children.

It is one of the most stultifying and astonishing statements which no one but Logan believes is truthful. From here the kids start to figure out there is an alternative agenda. Pictures of everyone becomes pictures and interview (“its optional” says Logan) and as a fraudulent and deceptive connivance.

This whole vignette becomes a kind of “who’s afraid of Virginia Wolfe” for the whole family.

And then...things really start to unravel. Dr. Parfait (how symbolically perfect of a name) suggest they get into their “good bodies” and go for a swim and then everyone follows their genetic code. Shiv runs off to Santa Fe for a job interview as a political consultant,

Connor tries to corner Willa to kind of, sort of, maybe being together with him..in New Mexico, but no not maybe all the time - so she could be in New York, uh..and have an allowance,,,and uh, uh, uh...”we’d be together but in a different way”.

Roman hangs around for the photo op with Daddy (“sure, I give good cheek”) and Kendall (which just sounds so much to me like “Ken doll”) well, in addition to his aspiration of becoming a meth head decides he’s no wheres close to done with his failed palace coup in the boardroom.

But the pieces that really powers and accelerates this super charged race car of a family are the exceptional direction/cinematography/editing and Lucy Prebble’s script. Miguel Arteta‘s direction shows us what we need to see, how to see it and tells the visual story. Even simple moments like Kendall’s car rental and subsequent slide from sobriety at the bar tells us a lot about the character. There’s the aloof, voyeuristic distant camera shot and angle as he finishes up with the rental guy underscored with equally aloof and sarcastic throwaway lines:

Rental agent: “Its gassed up and ready to go. Big plans while you’re here?”

Kendall: “ Maybe. Patricide? Fratricide?”

In addition there is an incredible soundtrack that adds to the mood. Haunting, foreboding, lyrical, sad. The score too really adds to the flavor of this episode in a clear but subtle fashion.

The music and scoring is really complimentary to the entire aesthetic of Succession. Brilliantly done by Nicholas Britell (of Moonlight fame) it sets the mood for the soundtracks of the show episodes and the Roys family. As it should it adds to the storyline.

Its unfortunate that thus far the combo of Prebble and Arteta only collaborated in this one episode because their efforts truly reveal the inner lives of the story and characters versus the intriguing but more mundane soap opera like quality of most the other episodes. Prior to this episode the primary quality was a kind of prolonged exposition with the foreplay teaser of things to come. From SS1E1 through episode 6 each one ends with a kind of cliffhanger.

As I’ve already suggested even the non characters have meaning here. Austerlitz for example (Connor’s renamed house).

I had to look it up but was surprised and amused to learn it was the site of Napoleon’s greatest battle victory. According to Wikipedia:

also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. In what is widely regarded as the greatest victory achieved by Napoleon, the Grande Armée of France defeated a larger Russian and Austrian army led by Tsar Alexander I and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II

How perfect the symbol of a battle as foreshadowing for a family battle. That’s the historical part, even with echos of King Lear. The hysterical part is as Marcia and Willa explain:

Marcia: Austerlitz? Was this the name when you bought it?

Willa: Oh, it was racially insensitive, so he picked a new one.

Ha! How perfect, how prescient. They’re dropping hints before anyone’s even walked into the house (called a ranch but which is really an estate)

Its all brown, as Shiv puts it, but if you look a bit closer the accoutrements, nick-knacks and decorations are anything but vintage old world west. The furnishings, art work, ersatz homage to the history of the land, all “put together”. Very Pottery Barn meets Restoration hardware, meets Sam Shepard.

Connor, at this point the most self deluded of the bunch, even welcomes them by saying “Welcome to the real America”. How innocent and ignorant.

But Connor is an aspiring maven and bon vivant so he delights in his cursory knowledge of history.

So he doubles down as he proudly introduces everyone to his “humble” Abode and that the chapel next door dates to 1878. While he gives no context for the importance of 1878 (or his reason for mentioning it).

A bit of research seems to suggest this was an important period for New Mexico, commerce and local history. According to the National Park service and other online sources, this was the timeframe when the Santa Fe trail (the primary commercial route between Independence, MO and New Mexico) was being developed (possibly through hostile means) from “highway” to railroad way. The war with Mexico (over territory) had ended just thirty years earlier and the Republic of Texas had seceded from Mexico about a decade before (1836 Texas revolution). Again, signs of war, conflict, antagonism..could this be an over interpretation of a line of dialogue. Sure, but who goes to the length to not only name a house for Napoleon’s greatest victory but the entire episode and stop with the clues there?

Theres so much layering of elements in this episode, its hard to pick what to highlight.

However I am also drawn to another unique interplay of moments. There are two occasions when Shiv, beginning to sow her seeds, compares her father to the earthly elements of Fire and Water. At one point exclaiming in reference to the chapel: “do you think he can cross the threshold or will he spontaneously combust? And later explains why her father won’t take a dip in the pool, “he doesn’t even trust water..its too wishy washy”. But in the end we see the ramifications and scars from the encounters...

Shiv is brought to tears

Kendall climbs a mountain to gain perspective and snort some drugs

Connor realizes his illusion of family unity was never to be and

Logan, Logan goes into the pool (a very high end infinity pool) amidst the mountains, and cactus, tumbleweeds, dirt with steam rising to wash away the stress and as he emerges crawling out of the depths we see what appears to be lashes or scars in his upper back with Marcia there, his protector and defender to wrap him in a towel as an acoustic guitar melody plays under the scene.

Succession Austerlitz Haiku

Roys go West together

seeking salvation in sand

No one’s left unhurt