#dara recommends

[hobis-hope94]

if you love father brown, i’m recommending a few tv series and books that you might love after watching father brown:

1): Death in Paradise -BBC tv series. Really good Murder mystery series, set in the Caribbean. Very good, highly recommend.

2): The Thursday Murder Club book series -Richard Osman, really clever stories and funny and great characters with great murders.

3): Shakespeare and Hathaway -BBC TV day time crime drama. Really good series, cosy much like father brown. All the characters are named after Shakespeare characters, clever murders, fab characters too.

[watchingalotofmovies]

Falling in Love Like in Movies

Falling in Love Like in Movies    [trailer]

A screenwriter reunites with his high school friend and crush, who is still grieving from the loss of her husband. He wants to convince her to fall in love once again, just like in the movies.

Turned out to have more story "levels", and overall also be more interesting than expected.

There were still a few things that bugged me. For example, taken together the director-screenwriter conversations were just too clichéd. And at times the story/film felt just too self-conscious, which took you out of the movie.

I also think the movie should've ended when Bagus enters the office of the producer again. But it's still a very worthwhile watch.

I also want to point out that Bagus' friends are named Cheline and Dion.

[wi11owbird]

If you’re more interested in preserving the memory of dead Jews than protecting the safety and happiness of living ones… well.

Tykocin Synagogue in Poland

[storyhorny]

Nimatnya Sekolah part2

"hahhh, buat apa tu?" Terkejut aku.. rupanya aku disergah akak senior... "Akak jangan tengok" sambil aku mendepa tanganku melindungi pandangannya "lah apa nak kisah, sekolah ni dah biasa dah kes sex open ni... Ada yg buat dalam class time cikgu mengajar pon ada... Awak ni mesti pelajar baru yang heboh orang ramai cakap tukan". " Haah ye, nama saya zul kelas 4 influence". "Owh, saya bella dowanna, tapi orang panggil bella atau kak bella, 5 influence". "Jom saya bawa awak jalan port orang selalu buat sex kat sekolah ni" aku termenung kejap melihat body bella ni... Sunggu anggun dan mantap biarpun dia chubby sikit, dapat henjut mesti kuat jerit... Tetiba batangku naik... Bella perasan batangku timbul di seluar. "Aik, stim ke tengok saya?". Aku pandang seluar aku dan terkejut batangku jelas timbul... "Nak tengok ke? Kalau nak jom kita gi tempat yang private sikit" aku pon ikut belakang bella...

-belakang blok makmal-

tanpa fikir panjang bella menyelak rambutnya sehingga nampak lehernya yang putih dan gebu... Bella membuka butang bajunya satu per satu sehingga nampak branya... Besar betul tetek bella, bertambah stim aku.. bella berbogel hingga tinggal bra dan seluar dalamnya... Bella minta aku keluarkan batangku tapi aku malu sebab tak pernah buat... Bella datang dekat padaku dan berbisik "can i suck your dick?" Sambil buka seluar aku dan keluarkan batangku... Terkejut bella lihat batangku yang berukuran 7 inci di usia muda... Tanpa melengahkan masa bella membuat jilatan pertama di kepala batangku, sungguh aku merasa ngilu... Inilah kali pertama batangku disentuh dan dijilat wanita ... Bella mengolom batangku dengan rakus seolah dia banyak pengalaman mengolom batang lelaki, aku tetiba merasakan aura baharu seolah-olah aku rasa nak fuck bella tapi aku tak reti... "Pernah having sex tak?" Aku terkedu dengar soalan tu dan gagap jawapanku "err ta...tak". "Nak try tak sebab saya jadi horny pulak tengok batang awak dengan saiz gini. Takpe saya akan ajar awak. Sekarang buka seluar and baring". Aku akur dan baring. Bella membuka bra dan pantiesnya, terus duduk atas aku dan masukkan batangku kedalam lubang pussynya, aku merasakan nikmat yang aku tak pernah rasa... Inilah kali pertama aku fuck anak dara orang... "Arghh...arghh sedapnya arghhh... Senak perut saya sebab batang awak panjang sangat" kami hanya bermain satu position sebab aku masih tak tahu sex.. bnyak kali aku dengar bella menjerit tersangkut-sangkut rupanya dia dah klimaks dua tiga kali, penuh juga pussy dia dengan air nikmatnya... Hampir 40 minit bertarung aku dah nak capai klimaks "awak saya rasa mcm nak kencing"."awak nak pancut ke? Jap, pancut kat muka saya" aku bangun and berdiri di depan muka bella sambil batangku digosok olehnya... "Arghhhhhh" aku memancutkan air nikmatku buat kali pertama... Agak banyak air yang aku keluarkan... "Tq tau puaskan saya. Bolahlah saya recommend kat kawan-kawan saya yang nak rasa batang panjang kat awak" aku hanya senyum kepenatan. "Oklah, saya dah lambat kena masuk kelas ni. Nanti kita jumpa lagi. This is my number. Anything just WhatsApp ok" kami sempat bercium sebelum masuk kelas masing-masing

-kelas-

"awak pergi mana zul, class dah start 30 minit lepas"." Maaf cikgu, tadi saya pergi tandas sakit perut"." Harini semua tak boleh ke padang bersukan sebab awak sorang. Sekarang saya denda awak ketuk ketampi 10 kali" aku kena denda dengan cikgu pj cikgu azira shafinaz sebab lambat masuk kelas...

Dalam masa yang sama, aku sempat melihat bentuk badan cikgu azira yang melentik dari luar pakaiannya yang serba ketat maklumlah namapon cikgu pj... Tetiba aku rasa stim, aku ketuk ketampi sambil menutup mata sambil membayangkan aku melakukan sex dengan cikgu azira... Habis je aku ketuk ketampi aku pelik tngok semua pelajar tekaku melihat padaku termasuklah cikgu azira..." Kenapa semua pandang aku, aku salah buat ke?"." Awak cuba tengok bawah tu" qis yang duduk di meja hadapan di depanku menegurku sambil kenyitkan matanya... Aku terkejut dan baru perasan aku tidak zip seluar dan nampak batangku keluar menegak yang dialasi dengan seluar dalamku... "Nak bagi siapa tengok burung awak tu?" Merah mukaku dengar teguran cikgu azira... Aku cepat-cepat membetulkan seluarku dan terus duduk di tempat belajarku... "Dah pukul berapa dah ni takkan morning wood lagi?" Satu kelas menggelakkan aku... Qis memandang ke arahku sambil mengenyitkan mata sambil menggigit bibir bawahnya kepadaku... Aku hanya membalas dengan senyuman... Namun pandanganku terpaku kepada mia... Dia seolah tiada reaksi seperti takde apa yang berlaku

Comment for part 3

[queer-geordie-nerd]

In my ongoing effort to be as effective an ally and advocate for Jews and for Israelis as I can, I have been doing a lot of reading. I’ve read some of the books on this list and some of them are a work in progress. I would be happy for input and further recommendations:

Everyday Hate: How Antisemitism Is Built Into Our World and How You Can Change It by Dave Rich.

The Left’s Jewish Problem: Jeremy Corbyn, Israel, and Antisemitism by Dave Rich.

People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn.

Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel.

Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories by Mike Rothschild.

Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth by Noa Tishby.

Israelophobia: The Newest Version of the Oldest Hatred and What to Do About It by Jake Wallis Simons.

Jerusalem: The Biography - A History of the Middle East by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

Long Journey Home: A Young Girl’s Memoir of Surviving the Holocaust by Lucy Lipiner.

The Holocaust: A New History by Laurence Rees.

Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Persecution - 1933-1939 by Saul Friedländer.

Nazi Germany and the Jews: The Years of Extermination - 1939-1945 by Saul Friedländer.

[edenfenixblogs]

hello! I’m not a Jewish person (ethnically or religiously), but I was wondering if you know of any ways that I can help Jewish people right now? Like if you know of any donation programs or volunteer work or food drives or anything of the sort that I could do to help? I want to help fight antisemitism and help Jewish people beyond simply spreading awareness on Instagram, but I’m not exactly sure how or where to start. This is a very dumb question, I’m so sorry, you can ignore this if you want

(CONT'D) also, I have another question, I’m so sorry To preface this question, I’d like to say that I’m a very stupid individual who knows absolutely nothing about anything. So the question is, do you have any book or article recommendations that showcase Jewish people’s experiences, values, perspectives, etc. Like for example, are there any books written from the perspective of an Israeli/jewish person who had moved from wherever they were to the state of Israel in 1948 (I apologise if this is a horrible example, I just know absolutely nothing about anything and everything, but I’m open to learning)

Thank you so much for asking these valuable questions!!!!! (And thanks for being patient until I was able to answer!)

Neither of your questions are dumb, and you don't need to be sorry! You're not stupid and I hope you can be as kind to yourself as you have been to me and my community in your questions.

I was wondering if you know of any ways that I can help Jewish people right now?

Truly the very best thing you can do to support Jews at this time is routinely check in on us, speak up for us, and correct misinformation or antisemitism if you see it happening. This means not running away if your Jewish friends mention two antisemitic experiences they've had in one week. This means adding a media bias/fact check link when someone sends you antisemitic propaganda from Al Jazeera. This means saying "Hey. That doesn't help Palestine. That just hurts Jews," when someone's "activism" veers too far in the wrong direction. That means that you don't just shout ceasefire now without also acknowledging that Hamas and Hezbollah also need to cease firing. This means making sure your donations and your links to donations go to sources that do not fund Hamas, like Anera. It also means making sure your donations for the I/P conflict support interfaith efforts whenever possible. I routinely promote the interfaith and intercultural organizations represented within AllMEP; https://www.allmep.org/ Also, steer clear of culturally expropriating organizations like JVP.

Like if you know of any donation programs or volunteer work or food drives or anything of the sort that I could do to help?

Ones that specifically help Jews, you mean? I don't actually! Unfortunately, the international conversation since 10/7 has had very little to do with how to help Jews in Israel or in diaspora. I would say that you should look into and perhaps even email or call your local synagogues and see if they have any kind of fund for their buildings or if they're trying to raise money to pay security and donating to them. Aside from that, I'd love for my followers to weigh in on this, as they'll know better.

Book Recommendations!

These aren't exactly what you're looking for. But I believe deeply in my heart that every single non-Jewish person should read:

Jews Don't Count by David Baddiel

People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn

Night by Elie Wiesel

There are plenty of other books that are less of a bummer to read than those, too. But I think for any non-Jew to truly understand us they need to understand the unexamined antisemitism they carry with them and they need to have true, first-hand accounts about the holocaust to understand the legacy it left to us as well as what it took away.

Followers with more specific recommendations, please offer your advice in comments or replies or reblogs or tags! I'm just one person. I don't claim to speak for my entire community, nor have I ever. But I think, as a larger community, we can all steer you in the right direction, Thank you!!!!!

[etz-ashashiyot]

About Me/FAQs

You can call me Avital. I am a non-binary traditional egalitarian Jew living in the US. Any pronouns except they/them are fine. (!היא/את בעברית, בבקשה. תודה)

I really appreciate human interaction. That being the case, if you follow me and I don't already follow you, please send me a DM with the following:

What you want me to call you (internet name, username, nickname, whatever)

What brought you here and made you want to follow me

Something random about you that you feel comfortable sharing (pet pics are always welcome too <3)

I had a whole lot of other rules on my previous blog to weed out the faint of heart, but I genuinely don't know how well that worked, so instead I will simply put roughly the same information below as resources and recommended reading. Fair warning: I will operate from a baseline assumption that you've done the reading and therefore will not be explaining anything in them.

I also had a listing of my firm opinions and other miscellaneous information. That got long and unwieldy, but a lot of people seemed to appreciate it, so I will post roughly the same list under the cut.

The current username refers to my current symbol of a tree of lanterns in the starlight. This is related to my desire to create self-symbolism, old school style (like I really want to create a family crest, a flag, a seal, and other heraldic nonsense. Why? Because it delights me, of course.)

This page is under construction and subject to change at any time.

B'vracha,

Avital

Recommend Reading

For followers who are Christian, were Christian, are non-Jews who grew up in a Christian culture and/or have only learned about Judaism through Christianity, these links are very helpful in unpacking some of the antisemitism you were taught:

Better Parables (specifically the article about Pharisees, but read the rest of the site too, it's great)

Antisemitic readings of the Temple table-flipping incident in the New Testament

The current Israel-Hamas war and just המצב discourse in general require a lot of background knowledge to discuss intelligently, and not just propaganda. There is a LOT of antisemitism in the public around this topic and it is having serious real-world consequences for Jews all over the world. The mis- and disinformation is causing problems for everyone involved. Islamophobia in the West has increased as well. If you're going to engage in this discussion, I am respectfully but forcefully asking you to read the following sources. They are useful regardless of where you fall on that political scale.

There Is No Magic Peace Fairy

Ways to help: [1], [2], [3]

Muslim organizations advocating for peace, education, positive interfaith relations, and fighting antisemitism

This is perhaps my best summary of my own feelings on the whole thing

Is your pro-Palestine activism hurting innocent people? Here's how to avoid that

Please learn what Kahanism is, because it actually is what people think Zionism is. Zionism is simply a desire for Jewish self-determination in our ancestral homeland of eretz Yisrael. Kahanism is a type of racism that cloaks itself in Zionism but is fundamentally bigoted.

A non-exhaustive list of antisemitic incidents, attacks, and pogroms during [OP's] lifetime

An exceptionally long and thorough explanation of antisemitism and antisemitic violence throughout history

Why The Most Educated People in America Fall for Antisemitic Lies by Dara Horn (tumblr link in case the article link gets broken)

This explanation of the atrocities endured by Soviet Jews and how the legacy of Soviet antisemitism undergirds western "antizionism-not-antisemitism." If you call yourself an anti-Zionist, this is required reading.

An excellent overview of the basics

This is nowhere near complete information, but it's an important start. I will very likely continue to add resources as they become available and would love to create a primer on this topic more generally.

If you don't believe that October 7th happened or wasn't that bad, or really any atrocity denial please read this article from a reporter who was shown the actual footage, as well as this article documenting its effects on him.

If you are still in denial about the pattern of gender based violence, sexualized torture, and widespread rape as a war tactic committed by Hamas on 10/7, you are legally required to read this article.

About the blog:

I’m going to try my best to keep this blog to primarily Judaism, comparative religion and theology, with the occasional side sprinkling of queer & trans stuff, BUT it is absolutely a personal blog at the end of the day.

I talked about Israel and המצב stuff a lot on my previous blog and will likely continue a bit over here too. I welcome a broad swath of opinions, so long as they objectively treat all parties involved as human and deserving of safety, stability, freedom, dignity, and peace. That is apparently a large ask these days, and a not-small part of why I keep talking about this issue. Please be part of the voices that give me hope for the future, okay?

Minors can follow and interact but please keep in mind that I’m probably closer to your parents' age than yours if you do want to interact with me directly.

Interactions:

Rude asks will be deleted. Harassing blogs will be blocked and probably reported.

I consider anything even remotely in the vicinity of trying to proselytize to me to be “harassing,” or at a minimum, rude. Just FYI.

Otherwise, nice interactions are welcomed.

Banter is encouraged; trolling will be ignored

If you are a goy and want to argue with me about Jewish theology, you have to match my perfect score on this popquiz, no cheating by looking things up during the quiz. I learned Judaism as an adult mostly through self-study so you have no excuse. If you're invested enough to argue with me you're invested enough to do the reading homework. (To clarify: I'm happy to explain Jewish stuff to anyone who is sincerely asking or just have a friendly comparative theology discussion or whatever. But I have zero patience for those who want to argue with me about basic shit claiming they know more than me, especially if what they're claiming they "know" is not only wrong but antisemitic and wrong.)

If I don't respond to your interaction, there's a strong chance that I (a) have no idea what to say and am thinking about it, (2) totally meant to respond and just forgot after the notif disappeared, and/or (3) got incredibly busy. It's not personal! Please don't be shy about following up with me if you like. I promise that if we have a problem that is fixable, you'll know. If we have a problem that is not fixable, you'll be blocked.

I am currently learning Ivrit and am delighted to have interactions in Hebrew. Please feel free to message me, reply to posts or reblog, submit asks, etc. in Hebrew and I will do my best to read and respond to it. (Responses will be slower, but not for lack of appreciation of your thoughts!)

Anything else, just ask.

Hard stances:

You're not going to change my mind on these things; I've looked at the evidence, my personal experiences, and thought about them long and hard, and I am not going to be swayed by an internet rando. I can (often, but not always) co-exist just fine with people who I disagree with, but if seeing my posts about this is going to upset you, just do us both a favor and block me now please.

I am deeply distressed at how many people are choosing to live in a "post-factual society" where the truth is based on truthiness vibes and the politics are based on the quippiest of slogans. I don't care who's doing it, misinfo, disinfo, propaganda, atrocity denial, and gaslighting are BAD. There is no nuance here; these are bad things. They are bad if they go against your cause and they are bad if they "support" your cause. No cause is better than the truth.

If we cannot have a discussion where we are operating from the same baseline reality of verifiable facts, we cannot have a productive conversation and I will not engage with you. We can agree or disagree on a lot and that is fine, but facts matter.

If you cannot be reasoned with in accepting verifiable facts as reality, you need help. I'm serious. That is cult behavior. Get off tumblr and get help.

I don't know how to tell you that you should care about other people. If you don't see the inherent worth in other human beings' lives, I can't fix that. Go take that struggle to G-d and heal your soul.

I support the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in our ancestral homeland of Israel, the same way that I support other indigenous groups' right to self-determination in their ancestral homelands. If you don't, I'm going to need you to examine why Jews should be singled out of every other group to be denied this right or denied support in seeking it. That said, I definitely do not agree with many of the decisions made by the Israeli government, especially (but far from exclusively) regarding their treatment of Palestinians. I think both Jews and Palestinians deserve to live in peace, safety, freedom, dignity, and self-determination for both. No one is going anywhere; any real solution must recognize that. I tend to favor this proposal by A Land for All as an ideal (and given the grassroots nature of this idea, I think it could work pragmatically too, if the political will exists on both sides.)

I reject the Zionist/anti-Zionist dichotomy altogether for a number of reasons: 1) It impedes conversation because too many people agree but will never know it because they refuse to talk about what they actually mean by those labels and instead make assumptions about the other group. 2) It inherently puts the validity of an existing state up for debate rather than looking at real solutions for the future. You cannot unmake the state of Israel without widespread atrocities, but you can figure out options for everyone to live together in peace and heal from the collective trauma. 3) It also makes it way too easy to play Good Jew/Bad Jew and "Zionist" has basically become the slur de jour for "Jew." It sucks that people took a Jewish word for an important Jewish concept and made it synonymous with "bloodthirsty racist," but personally I don't think arguing over that at this exact juncture in time is helpful.

Bottom line: I'm a humanitarian and a pragmatist, and I care about all the people who call that part of the world home.

Update: for real, if you have trouble seeing Israelis and Palestinians both as human and deserving of safety, dignity, freedom, and inherent worth as living human beings, I don't want to know you. I don't want to talk to you. Go fix yourself.

🌻 I stand with Ukraine 🇺🇦

Free Iran from the Islamic Republic // Women Life Freedom

Abortion is a human right and should be safe, legal, available on demand, and shameless. It's a necessary medical procedure and it's completely barbaric that we're still talking about it as anything else.

Birth control, abortion, and no-fault divorce are actively positive parts of society and building healthy families.

Transition care is healthcare and also a human right. Allowing people to transition prevents self-harm and suicide, and has an extremely high efficacy rate with an exceptionally low level of risk or regret. We now have well over a century of data on this.

That said, detransitioners who are still supportive of trans people/aren't transphobic are more than welcome here, as any exploratory process deserves the right to say, "Interesting! But nope!"

Transunity, ace/aro positivity, and just inclusionism in general, 100%. Fuck off with anything else.

Queer might be a slur in the mouths of some people, but my identity isn't. Don't reblog my posts if you're going to tag it with "q slur" or "q word" or censored in some way. I'm not Gay as in "I prioritize cis men over the entire rest of the community" but Queer as in "my personal labels are none of your business but my political stance on queer liberation sure as fuck will be."

If you don't vaccinate yourself and your kids for any reason other than medical necessity, and especially if you promote anti-vaxxer views and the associated pseudoscience, you are actively harming the most vulnerable members of society for entirely selfish reasons and that makes you a bad person. I hope your kids bypass you to get vaccinated.

Wear a mask 😷

[still-searching-for-something]

Hey I used to be in the pro palestine movement but stopped when someone spelled out an example of its antisemitism. Which made me realize; I have never had any jewish people in my life and no one ever taught me anything about judaism besides the symbols that represent it.

I wanna learn more so that I can actually have a reference to recognize antisemitism when its in front of me but I don't know where to start. Could point me in the right direction?

(No worries if you don't want to.)

Of course! I’ll be happy to help! Very nice to receive an anonymous ask that isn’t antisemitic hatred lol, very rare. But getting good questions like this is why I’ve started leaving it available. I invite my mutuals to also answer with any sources or ideas they may have!

Anyway, a good start might be the first few seasons of the podcast Jew Oughta Know. He discusses a few Jewish concepts like our calendar, various stories in the Torah, and the history of Zionism and Israel if you want to learn about that. Sam Aronow is a good source for learning more Jewish history too.

The best way I can recommend, though, and the way I’ve learned most of what I know about Judaism, is to just email a rabbi and ask about learning more. I don’t know where you are, but if you’re in the United States then look into emailing a rabbi nearby and asking about learning more about Judaism. Don’t be intimidated, rabbis love answering questions about Judaism, it’s kind of their catnip.

To learn more about antisemitism, there are some books which are good which might help. Jews Don’t Count is a great one, approachable and short. Dara Horn’s book People Love Dead Jews is also extremely good, or so I’ve heard. I need to read it at some point too lol. And I’ve heard the David Nirenberg book Anti-Judaism is a bit thick, but very comprehensive.

I think the best thing you can do to learn more is to try to listen to Jews and what we describe as antisemitic or not. And don’t feel too bad about having once been ignorant of it—I used to be as well, and used to lean towards the pro-Palestine side for a time.

Thanks a lot for asking, by the way!

[a-very-tired-jew]

We have to talk about Leftist Antisemitism

One of the things I have been grappling with since Oct 7th is the rise of antisemitism in Leftist spaces. Often we find ourselves falling into the same old position of blaming the Right for these issues. However, over the past few decades minority voices have pointed out that the Left has issues with bigotry in its own way. For myself, and likely many other Jews, growing up in Leftist spaces I heard antisemitic jokes and lines all the time. However, they were never the overt hate fueled rhetoric I would hear from the Right. Conspiracies were relegated to "The Rothschilds control the world" rather than "The Jews control the world." Regardless of how you feel about the rich, the Rothschilds are a dog whistle for Jews. Hell, my own family members would say this same line because the majority of us are on the Left. So obviously we take a position regarding the ultra rich. However, this Rothschilds line isn't the only dog whistle. Often there were jokes at your expense from outside your in-group. Common refrains that *insert Jewish dog whistle* couldn't be trusted due to *insert conspiracy coded in Leftist language*. That's the issue... The antisemitism on the Left is coded in a language that makes it more subtle than overt rightwing antisemitism. But how did we get here? It definitely predates Oct 7th. We can partly lay blame at this at the feet of something that feels like an old and tired trope at this point: Russia. In particular, the good ole USSR. You see, dear reader, regardless of how you describe your sociopolitical and economics leanings, and regardless of whether or not you reject USSR style Communism, their style and impact still influence you and the rest of the world. As Leftists we often stand opposed to many aspects of Western capitalist ideals, which in turn exposes us to many of the anti-Western writings, philosophies, beliefs, etc... The issue is that the USSR has a very sordid history with antisemitism. Some of you may be saying "but wait! There were Jewish Bolsheviks! Stalin even supported Israel!", don't you worry. We'll get there. While there may have been Jewish Bolsheviks and members of the party post revolution, it does not change the policies and actions that preceded and followed. Robert Weinberg, Dara Horn, David Nirenberg, and other historians have all written extensively at some point or another about this very issue. I highly recommend Dara Horn's latest piece for the Atlantic "Why The Most Educated People in America Fall for Antisemitic Lies". She briefly covers this topic. If you can't access it, well here we go. Zionism as a concept had already been around for a few decades by the time the Communist Revolution occurred, having been solidified by the Dreyfuss Affair in the late 1800s. Zionism is/was also considered Jewish nationalism. While a Jew could be a Russian Jew, German Jew, or any other "nation" Jew, they were still considered an other and thus they could never truly be a nationalist for that country. Only for Israel/Zion. As such, Jews in the USSR were not trusted as it was argued they could not be truly devoted to the Party. Jews were then labeled as Zionists. Zionism was considered anti-Communist, and racist due to the Party purposefully putting out that the "chosen people" line meant that Jews were supremacists and believed themselves to be better than others (The chosen people line actually refers to us choosing to adhere to certain laws). As such, Zionist activities were shut down as they were an act of treason and betrayal. This means that synagogues, shuls, business, and more were shut down as a means to disrupt the "Jewish conspirators". It did not matter that Jews were involved in the revolution, if you were Jewish you were an other and could not be trusted. pt 1.

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

a bit of a weird ask hello !! i’m a little new to the black clover blog scene; do you have any blogs that you recommend following? :0 (im reaaalllyyyy into everyone’s ocs, but i really just wanna follow cool people & dont know where to start sksks)

Hiya! :3

I don't think it's a weird thing to ask! No worries

Let's see... Well, obviously it depends on what kind of works/blogs/fanworks you're looking for, but I'll throw some blogs

A disclaimer, I might skip some moots who I do know have ocs, but most of the content/fanworks/etc is elsewhere/discussion happens on discord. So, this is by no means a comprehensive list!

@lyranova - Has reader inserts and a ton of OCs! Including next gens. You'll also find moodboards and occasional colourings

@loosesodamarble - A lot of OCs! As it stands in the description, also meta knowledge, occasional Japanese-English translation discussion and incorrect quotes

@the-black-bulls - Incorrect quotes! But is BB centric as the title says

@kalolasfantasyworld -Also OCs! And OC x CC, and CC x CC fics, but she writes out of her own whims. You'll also find art

@acacia-may - OCs and fics, a lot of platonic relationships! She explores friendships and family dynamics in her works more than most blogs I follow (I think); she is at the time of posting this, on a hiatus due to a family emergency

@yellowgreendinno - OCs, art, headcanons; Ginny is a newer mutual of mine, but an absolute sweetheart

@t-f-t - Fics and art! If you're looking for crack fics and fun/chaotic content (/pos), I do suggest you check them out. There's also a masterlist for content

@funky-sea-cryptid - Fics, art and a lot of OCs! Writes with @/t-f-t

@f-oighear - Fics! A big Nozessa shipper if that's your jam. But she has written a lot of quality content for the fandom

@mamavino - Fics and some OCs! She also writes out of her own amusement, but you'll find writing here

@vilandel - Fics and some OCs as well! Also writes out of her own amusement

@bowandcurtsey - Reader insert fics! She's been mostly MIA, but you'll find a ton of content there too

@valtoswife - Colourings! Posts aren't frequent, but you'll get nice art ^^

@clovernero - Art and colourings! Mostly reblogged (but this is a reblogging site), so if you want the occasional nice work of visual art, I suggest a follow

@wildflowerwoodsworld - A lot of fics! She explores mostly the Black Bulls (Finral) in her writing, but there are also a lot of good fics there!

@crazedstoryteller - Fics! (Dara I know you're not really active in the fandom anymore, but I wanted to give a shout out to your fics)

@crazycookiemaniac - Art! Cookie does commissions, and posts a lot of BC related art; the comms ^^

@koneko-pi - Art and writing. Also posts very little here these days due to irl as one thing, but there's a lot of nice content as well (and I do adore Briar)

---

I know I'm forgetting some people, and as said, some of those I interact with have their BC content in the depths of their blog, or post regularly about other things and aren't "BC centric" in that sense, which is why I'm not listing them here

But here you might find a lot of different kinds of posts, works, OCs, and vibes. These are just some names I would consider myself to be in ... "speaking terms" with /lh (shhhh... my tumblr "wives" I know I know it's much more than that :P )

I hope this gets you started! I thought I'd give you some different kinds of options as well, since you're only getting started and will find something you gravitate towards eventually ^^

[fandom-friday]

Thank you so much to everyone that submitted recommendations this week! A comprehensive list of this week’s submissions can be found under the cut! Recommendations are organized by show/media, and any main pairings will be listed after the title.

✨ = 18+ content

Fics:

The Clone Wars: ✨ In Command (Captain Rex x OFC Senna Aven) by @wild-karrde ✨ Walk Me Home (Commander Wolffe x OFC Cherise) by @cyarbika Dominoes by @meridiansdominoes

The Bad Batch: ✨ Quiet Corners of the Galaxy (Crosshair x OFC Dara) by @badbatchposts Fools Errand (Crosshair x OFC Doc) by @staycalmandhugaclone Brother, My Brother by @iiidunno He's Not Heavy, He's My Brother by @therisingdarkness The Hardest Word by @therisingdarkness How Long Will it Take for You to Learn to Slow Down? by @saturn-sends-hugs

Star Wars Prequel Series: ✨ Unbreakable Bonds (Obi-Wan Kenobi x OFC Cressida Vox) by @thegreatwicked ✨ Memories of Chocolate Laced Kisses (Obi-Wan Kenobi x OFC Cressida Vox) by @thegreatwicked Lover, Fighter (Obi-Wan Kenobi x f!Reader) by @thegreatwicked

Republic Commando: The Revenant (Sev x OFC Kiva) by @mikaiyawa

Batman: Where the East and the West Meet by CassowaryFinch (AO3) Rules Were Made Because of Dick Grayson by KitsuneThorn (AO3)

Art:

The Clone Wars: Captain Rex Art by @catd3mon Commander Wolffe Art by @chyarui Shaak Ti Art by @coldbrewarts OC Grim Kennet Inquisitor AU Art by @thechaoticfanartist

The Bad Batch: Tech Art by @vimse Crosshair Art by @forcesavetheclones

Rebels: Kalluzeb Art by @designsbyjoe

Miscellaneous: Horse Art (1 2) by @sometimesanequine

[achillessulks]

We would all like to know the top 25 books you’ve read this century please pleaseeeee 🙏🏽

(Context.)

OK, so the limitations I’m setting for myself are that these books must:

have been published some time after 1st January 2000 (in the edition I read them);

be good.

That’s it. The books are in alphabetical order by author’s surname, because there’s enough variety here that I wouldn’t feel comfortable (or rational) trying to rank each book objectively.

Fiction:

Bloodchild and Other Stories (2005) by Octavia E. Butler - The eponymous story is one of my favourite short stories of all time, and it counts within the time constraints because this is the second edition, with additional stories added. Butler’s commentary on her own works is always insightful.

Gone Girl (2012) by Gillian Flynn - Iconic story of an apex predator who wasn’t getting enough enrichment in her enclosure.

The Vegetarian [채식주의자] (2007) by Han Kang - Specifically the original version in Korean, not the translation.

Slave Play (2020) by Jeremy O. Harris - Very unsettling! The double (triple?) entendre in the title is a good summation of the play entire, I think.

OUT (2004) by Kirino Natsuo tr. Stephen Snyder - Often described as ‘feminist noir,’ Kirino’s writing explores the grimy underbelly of the daily lives of women and girls in modern Japan. Predictably, I have enjoyed all of her novels I’ve read.

The Sympathizer (2015) by Viet Thanh Nguyen - This novel is to me what Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ is as a poem to me. That will make sense if you’ve read both.

Theory of Bastards (2018) by Audrey Schulman - I adore every novel by Schulman I have read so far, but this one is definitely my favourite.

Impératrice (2003) by Shan Sa - I read this book as a teenager and was absolutely obsessed with it. Wu Zetian is boss.

Terminal Boredom (2021) by Suzuki Izumi tr. Polly Barton, Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph, Aiko Masubuchi, and Helen O’Horan - I also recommend the sequel collection by the same team, Hit Parade of Tears (2023).

Nonfiction:

Voices from Chernobyl (2005) by Svetlana Alexievich tr. Keith Gessen - Originally published in 1997, but I read the English translation first. I recommend everything Alexievich has ever written, honestly.

The Captive Woman’s Lament in Greek Tragedy (2006) by Casey Dué - You know when you read a book and it makes you feel like your entire body has been transferred to a different plane of existence? I love Dr. Dué’s writing about Euripides and Greek tragedy so freaking much.

Delusions of Gender (2010) by Cordelia Fine - If you’ve ever been trying to explain to a bigot that ‘basic biology’ is not as straightforward as ‘male brain’ vs. ‘female brain,’ this is the book for you. Dr. Fine is super knowledgeble, and the book is excellent at explaining the relevant neuroscience while debunking misogynistic and transphobic misconceptions about how the human brain functions.

How To Survive a Plague (2016) by David France - Really comprehensive book on the history of the AIDS epidemic and how it was solved.

The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories (2007) tr. Andrea Purvis ed. Robert Strassler - The entire Landmark series is excellent, and I highly recommend it. I chose the Herodotus because the maps really are invaluable, but the Thucydides and Arrian were close seconds.

People Love Dead Jews (2021) by Dara Horn - My favourite joke from this book is when Horn describes Anne Frank as ‘everyone’s second-favourite dead Jew... after, of course, Jesus.’

Arguments with Silence: Writing the History of Roman Women (2014) by Amy Richlin - Really I recommend everything Richlin has ever written, but I would like to specifically acknowledge her essay ‘Hijacking the Palladion’ (1992), which remains one of the best articles I’ve ever read on feminism and classics.

Appropriate: A Provocation (2021) by Paisley Rekdal - Really really interesting thinky book about cultural appropriation, appreciation, and interaction.

19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei (with More Ways) (2016) by Eliot Weinberger - OK, this book is from 1987, but the expanded edition is eligible. This is a delightful and informative, albeit short, explanation of (some of) the difficulties inherent in translation.

Poetry:

The Collected Poems (2010) by Ai - This is also kind of cheating… Ai’s best poetry can be found in her Killing Floor (1973), which is included in this anthology.

The Iliad (2015) tr. Caroline Alexander - I enjoyed Emily Wilson’s translations of Homer as well, but Alexander’s translation of the Iliad is the first complete translation into English by a woman, ever. That’s really cool. Also, it’s a very good translation; I definitely prefer it to Wilson’s translation of the same. (I could go on for hours about the differences in translations of Homer.)

Phone Bells Keep Ringing for Me (2020) by Choe Seungja tr. Won-Chung Kim and Cathy Park Hong - My absolute favourite poetry by Choe Seungja can be found in her book ‘내 무덤, 푸르고’ (1993), some of which can be found in this collection of translated poetry.

Unfortunately, It Was Paradise (2003) by Mahmoud Darwish tr. Munir Akash and Carolyn Forché (with Sinan Antoon and Amira El-Zein) - This is cheating, somewhat, since I originally read most of Darwish’s poems in Arabic, and those versions were published mostly before the relevant time period. However, I do consider this translated collection of his works to be one of my favourite books, especially now that I have ‘edited’ it by hand-writing the Arabic versions of the poems in the margins. It counts.

Li Shang-yin (2018) tr. Chloe Garcia Roberts - Li Shangyin is one of my favourite Tang-dynasty poets, and this bilingual(!) edition of his poems is an excellent read.

Ilias und Odyssee (2008) tr. Johnn Heinrich Voß - Yes, another translation of Homer. Voß’s translation is from the late 18th century, but this particular edition has a bunch of specific appendices and stuff...! Anyway, this translation rocks.

Yi Sang: Selected Works (2020) tr. Jack Jung, Sawako Nakayasu, Don Mee Choi, and Joyelle McSweeney - Once again this is on the line, because I definitely prefer Yi Sang’s writing in the original Korean/Japanese... no translation adequately captures his style, in my opinion, but this one comes the closest.

Closing thoughts:

I do not usually read a lot of newer books (backlog, you know how it is), so I am extremely out of touch with the current literary zeitgeist. This is mostly by design. All of my favourite books in French, for example, were published before 1990, and my single favourite book (Les Misérables) was published in the mid-19th century.

Several of the books on this list I originally read in a different language (mostly French), but I’ve included the English version here if it’s the original OR if it’s the relevant edition for the timeframe.

This was incredibly difficult. Mostly because I had to flip through each book to see if it fit the requirements. I would be much better at curating a list of my favourite 100 books of the 20th century, I think. Or of the 19th century. Or even further back.

Everything about this list is subject to change 😅

[isaacsapphire]

This is why the het that I like is very limited. BTW I do suggest Dara Joy's Ritual of Proof for anyone who wants to read essentially a gender swapped lightly sci-fi Regency Romance, with chocobos.

New top/bottom discourse-concept: "It's boring to write a fixed top/bottom pattern... In het!" Let's throw this discourse hand-grenade!

--

All you're going to get is every one of my readers going "Yeah, this is why I don't usually read het" or something.

[panelshowsource]

sorry i took a lil break from posting gifs and stuff, it was my birthday and then i went on vacation and then i went to the dentist and now it's father's day and asdfghjk real life whirlwind ugh i much prefer my internet bubble of self-indulgence!!!

anywayz i have still been working to keep my google drive updated and add a few new things :)

new have i got news for you

new i'm sorry i haven't a clue

standup specials by ardal o'hanlon, daniel sloss, fern brady, katherine ryan, romesh ranganathan, stewart lee

what's that lady doing? by lou sanders (audiobook)

mostly unrelated to britcom, i do have a googledrive linked on my main account and share films & tv there :) new series i added there that may be of interest is russell t davies' it's a sin

also want to shout out some things on the drive that i recommend or people may have missed!

with the taskmaster podcast wrapping up, there are tons of audiobooks in the books folder :')

for (mostly) wholesome buddy comedy stuff: dara & ed's road to mandalay and great big adventure, miles jupp and elis james travel wales, rob & rylan's grand tour, world's most dangerous roads (just watched the namibia episode with mike wozniak and ola labib and LMAO the concept of the show is just so bizarre i love it), not to mention the latest series of travel man!

campervan travel series british as folk with fern brady, ivo graham, and darren harriott

i have a feeling not every tm fan has seen the actual horne section tv show (+ the 2018 special) so here they are!

does anyone else miss charlie brooker as much as me... screenwipe rewatch marathon when?

[nonsenseofyesteryear]

So Dara Horn's been making the rounds lately with her spot-on commentary on antisemitism, but I'd also recommend checking out some of her novels if you get the chance! Both In the Image and The World to Come were very good!

[the-nosy-neighbor]

Tic-Tac_Toe (Part 1)

Throughout the website, we have found instances of Tic-Tac-Toe games, so I decided to write about it, to see if I couldn’t find some reasoning for the inclusion of this, beyond Julie’s love of games. 

(I have separated this into 4 posts because I write very long things that are bad for morale.)

Rules of Tic-Tac-Toe

It seems like this is something that everyone knows (though sometimes under a different name, like noughts and crosses or x's and o's).  We will look, though, in case it gives any clues.

Of course there is a wikihow.  Draw the board (9 spaces).  First player goes and can choose to be x’s or o’s (but it do believe there is a rule that x goes first).  The first recommended move is to take the center, as it gives more options in getting three in a row or diagonal (winning).  Second player goes. They go back and forth until someone wins or the board is full, which is a tie. 

Ancient Origins of Tic-Tac-Toe

Huh, the game dates back to Ancient Egypt, called “Three Men’s Morris” and consisting of each player having three pieces and trying to put them all on one line.  The board looks like this:

The Roman version was also played with three pebbles.  (Roman version is called “Three Pebbles at a Time”?).  https://www.coolmathgames.com/blog/tic-tac-toe-history-three-in-a-row-thru-the-ages  It is also found in Middle Eastern and American Indian culture.  From what I can tell, this version in ancient Rome was circular, with an unknown name, but we call it “Rota” the Latin world for “wheel.”  These gameboards can be found in the streets of Roman cities.  https://mythologycrafts.com/rota-a-game-of-roman-tic-tac-toe/

“Rota is a very fast and simple game and you can play it almost anywhere. Each player moved three pieces around on a circular board until they got three in a row. The reason that Rota is called Roman Tic-Tac-Toe is that it is played on a board that has nine spaces and the main objective is to get three pieces in a row. However,  these two games are different because Rota takes longer,  you can move the pieces from their original positions, and unlike Tic-Tac-Toe it cannot end in a tie."

According to the coolmathgames.com website, the most comparable thing about these games is a 3 x 3 board.

The American Indian version (Zuni or Pueblo) looks like this:

Other versions:

Tant Fant:  India

Nine holes:  England

Achi:  Ghana

Shisima:  Kenya

Dara/dili/doki/derrah:  West Africa

Wali:  Africa

Dama Tuareg:  North Africa

Tria/Tris/Grisia:  Italy

Each version in the top half is pretty recognizable as tic tac toe, but the second half are further away.

Just a note to include that humans attach a lot of importance to the numbers 3 and 9, but especially 3.  Humans can process around three things in our short term, it has become a waypoint in writing or speaking (example:  x, 1,2,3 essays), and in symbols.  Symbols relying on the rule of three:  heaven, earth, hell; the father, the son, the holy spirit; birth, life, death; youth, middle age, old age; mind, body, soul.  Because of this human tendency, lots of things have been categorized by threes, but importantly, it has achieve a mystical significance in magic and luck.  In the European tradition, three is used in casting spells (bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble).  Also, how many times have we seen three witches as a storytelling device or focus?  In numerology, 3 has an association with Jupiter.

The History of Tic-Tac-Toe after 1884

The first instance of the name “noughts and crosses” is from 1858, “tic tac toe” is seen in 1884.  Tic Tac Toe is a game used to test artificial intelligence.  From Wikipedia “Arcade games with tic-tac-toe playing chickens were popular in the mid-1970’s. Apparently this comes from an appeal for a mentally ill murderer in which they introduced chickens playing tic-tac-toe as evidence that it doesn’t prove someone is mentally sound." From r/todayilearned, “TIL that in the 1960s there were coin operated machines with live chickens that would play piano, ring a bell or play you in tic tac toe when you dropped in a dime.“

This would have been during the time of the show, but what it could mean is curious (I wonder if Mama Beagle plays tic-tac-toe.)  I thought they meant a graphic of a chicken playing this game, but they really mean live chicken:

There were several game shows that used the game as their format, notably “Hollywood Squares,” “Tic-Tac-Dough,” Secret X from “The Price is Right,” and “Minute to Win It.”

There is a connection between Muppets and Hollywood Squares.  It seems that Kermit, Big Bird, Elmo, Piggy, and Zoe have all been on Hollywood Squares.  Also, Bear from Bear in the Big Blue House.  I love Bear. 

There is a cipher related to Tic-Tac-Toe.  There is a letter associated with the placement of the symbols.  They use the grid to denote the position of the letter.