#in the damaged society in glasgow

[ssphiree]

if the dude who recognised my red dwarf jacket in a damaged society the other day is out there somewhere pls reveal urself to me i am absolutely kicking myself for not getting ur socials

[scotianostra]

March 15th 1921 saw the first women jurors in Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Dates are all over the place with this one, the 10th and 19th are given elsewhere, they all agree it was March of this year. The extract from The Herald gives the 15th. I think what we have here is different courts in Scotland with dates for women's involvement. Anyway a wee bit background;

Ladies have been able to sit on juries in the UK since the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 came into force, but it only governed women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we in AScotland have a, largely, different law system that was agreed at the time of the acts of union in 1707.

On August 9th 1920, a Bill was introduced to regulate how “Scottish women jurors” would be introduced and managed in the courts . The resulting Jurors (Enrolment of Women) (Scotland) Act was given Royal Assent on 16th August 1920, with a timescale of no more than 6 months for it to be brought into effect: “new lists of jurors shall be prepared and come into use in every county within six months after the passing of this Act”. The Court of Session passed an Act of Sederunt regulating the procedure for juries with women on 7th February, and in advance of the February 1921 deadline, in Edinburgh in December 1920 Sheriff Crole instructed the Sheriff Clerk to create a new jurors roll for the city and county, including eligible men and women, and 27,500 circulars were issued. The citations for the Edinburgh Sheriff Court were the first to be issued, and there was discussion of the potential for lady jurors to be cited for duty on 14t March 1921 trial of “the alleged Sinn Fein prisoners”

As I said the different courts have different dates and one source has the first trial as March 10th The case involved the theft of grain from a warehouse in Leith.

Female jurors were expected to first sit in Glasgow Sheriff Court on the 15th of March 1921 and the first lady jurors in the Court of Session sat on the 17th of March 1921 , before Lord Sands. “The case submitted to the jury, whom counsel addressed as “members of the jury” had reference to a claim for damages arising out of a Leith tram-car accident.” This case appears to be unreported, notable only for the jurors rather than the legal points.The first mixed jury sat in Glasgow Sheriff Court on the 21st of March 1921 .

The first murder trial with female jurors in Scotland was heard in Perth on the 5th of April 1921

Although there is regular reference to the belief that women sitting on juries is an experiment, and that it would be “reconsidered by Parliament”, it soon became settled that women were regular participants in juries. The advent of women jurors seems to generally have been received with equanimity in Scotland. Which is more than could be said about the public's reaction to women studying to become doctors in the case of the Edinburgh Seven some 32 years before.

It appears that sitting as a juror was initially something that ladies could excuse themselves from when asked by the judge if they wanted to do so, but this was not something that was occurring in Scotland. Those being tried also apparently had the right to object to female jurors hearing their case, and if this happened, they were dismissed. Again, this does not appear to have happened in Scotland, with mention of defendants objecting to female jurors all relating to English cases. Another concern was how to address female jurors, as “gentlemen of the jury” was no longer accurate, so “members of the jury” seems to have taken its place

By 1923, female jurors seems to be firmly established as a part of normal court business in Scotland, sitting on a variety of cases. The Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Alness, praised female jurors in a speech to the Associated Societies of the University of Edinburgh in January 1923.

On a lighter note by January 1922, you could have placed a bet on a Lady Juror…in the Victoria Cup at Hurst . She appears to have had quite a successful career: by September 1922 she won the Jockey Club Sweepstakes at Newmarket and was still winning five years later at Lingfield in 1927.

It looks like the Lady Juror was definitely a good long-term bet 😉

[daggerzine]

MY FAVORITE RECORDS OF 2023! (lists in no particular order....well, sort of)

MY 20 FAVORITE RECORDS OF 2023  

Anna Hillburg- Tired Girls (Speakeasy Studios)

RVG- Brain Worms (fire) 

The Tubs- Dead Meat (Trouble in Mind) 

Seablite- Lemon Lights (Mt St Mtn)

The Reds, Pinks & Purples- The Town That Cursed Your Name (Slumberland)

Lewsberg- Out and About (12XU)

Melenas- Ahora (Trouble in Mind)

Blues Lawyer- All in Good Time (Dark Entries) 

Colored Lights- S/T (Bobo Integral)

Doe St- Stepping Stones (Legless) 

Guardian Singles- Feed Me To The Doves (Trouble in Mind) 

Corvair - Bound To Be (WIAIWYA)

The Garment District- Flowers Telegraphed To All Parts of the World (HHBTM)

Royal Ottawa- Carcosa (self released)

Tough Age- Waiting here (Bobo Integral)

Soft Science- Lines (Shelflife)

The Midnight Sailors- S/T (self released)

Robert Forster- The Candle and the Flame (Tapete) 

Civic – Taken By Force (ATO) 

Sumos- Surfacing (Meritorio) 

WAIT….HERE’S 20 MORE!

Connie Lovatt- Coconut Mirror (Enchante’)

En Attendant Ana- Principia (Trouble in Mind) 

Withered Hand- How to Love (Reveal) 

The High Water Marks- Your Next Wolf (Minty Fresh)

The Feelies- Some Kinda Love: Performing the Music of the Velvet Underground (Bar-None)

Connections- Cool Change (Trouble in Mind) 

The Ex Bats- Song Machine  (Goner)

The Photocopies- Top of the Pops (Ultra Modern)

Amanda Brown- Eight Guitars (Lillipilli) 

Arthur Alexander- …Steppin’ Out!  (Big Stir Records)

Eyelids- A Colossal Waste of Lights ((Jealous Butcher) 

Panic Pocket- Mad Half Hour (Skep Wax)

Yo La Tengo- This Stupid World (Matador)

Swansea Sound- Twentieth Century (Skep Wax)

Kevin Robertson- Magic Spells Abound (Futureman)  

Super 8- Hoopla (The Beautiful Music) 

The Radio Fields- Dos and Dont’s (Subjangle)

Joe McAlinden- Where The Clouds Go Swimming (self -released)

The Black Watch- Future Strangers (ATOM) 

Rob I Miller- Companion Piece (Vacant Stare)

….AND HERE’S 10 MORE

The Lost Days- In the Store (Speakeasy Studios) 

Life Strike- Peak Dystopia (Bobo Integral)

Belle & Sebastian- Late Developers (Matador)

Lauds- Imitation Life (Fort Lowell) 

The Hepburns- Only the Hours (Lavender Sweep) 

Lomma- Torrey Pines (self released)

C.O.F.F.I.N.- Australia Stops (Goner)

Special Friend- Wait Until the Flames Come Rushing In (Skep Wax)

Burning Ferns- World of the Wars (Country Mile)

Wojtek the Bear- Second Place on Purpose (Last Night From Glasgow)

I ALSO REALLY LIKED ALBUMS BY:  Diners, Moving Targets, Bill Orcutt, Skull Practitioners, the Suncharms, Divine Horsemen, The Flashcubes, Hurry, Teenage Fanclub, Lydia Loveless, The Make Three, Shana Cleveland, The Ekphrastics, Ryan Allen, Fruit Bats, Nicole Yun, Dippers, Lost Film, Tony Jay, Cindy, Class, The Clientele, Lemon Twigs, Sweeping Promises, The National Honor Society, The Whiffs, Infinite River, Silver Biplanes, Jason Isbell, The Cuticles, Mudhoney, Alex Lahey, Crocodiles, Peter Hall, Cherry Fez, The Angles, Scott Gagner, Mainland Break, Christian Kjellvander, Sick Thoughts, Grand Drifter, The Motifs, The Sunshine Convention, The 1981, Roy Moller, Youth Valley, Soft Covers, Deadlights, The Smashing Times, The Spires, Helen Love, Motorbike, Silverstiles, Water Damage, Uni Boys, The Royal Arctic Institute, Gina Birch, Gee Tee, etc.

MY  10 FAVORITE REISSUES OF 2023 

The Chills- Brave Words (Fire)

The Replacements- Tim (Sire)

The Ocean Blue- Davy Jones Locker (Korda)

Wild Carnation- Tricycle (Delmore) 

Neutral Milk Hotel- The Collected Works of Neutral Milk Hotel (Merge)

Das Damen- 1986- Keeps Me Wild (Dromedary)

Heavenly -Le Jardin de Heavenly (Skep Wax) 

The Verlaines- Bird Dog (Schoolkids Records) 

The Toms- S/T (Feel It) 

Celibate Rifles  Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Bang!)

MY 15 FAVORITE EPS OF 2023 

Lightheaded- Good Good Grief (Slumberland)

Minor Threat-  Out of Step outtakes (Dischord)

The Cucumbers- Old Shoes (self released)

The Reds, Pinks & Purples- Unloveable Losers (digital) 

The Vapour Trails- On a Beautiful Day (Futureman)

Blues Lawyer- Sight Gags on the Radio (Dark Entries)

Deary- S/T (Sonic Cathedral)

The Wends- Better Will (WWNBB) 

Te Vista- S/T  (Cripes) 

Red Sleeping Beauty- From Sarah With Love (Matinee)

Letting Up Despite Great Faults- Crumble (S/T) 

The Prize- Wrong Side Of Town   (Anti Fade) 

Touch Girl Apple Blossom- S/T (self released)

Galore- Blush (Paisley Shirt) 

Lost Tapes- Crossing Towns (Shelflife)

MY 5 FAVORITE COLLECTIONS OF 2023 

The Particles- 1980’s Bubblegum (Chapter Music)

Primal Scream- Reverberations (Travelling in Time) (Acid Jazz/XTRM/Young Tiki)

The Shapiros- Gone by Fall: the Collected Works of (World of Echo) 

Dot Dash- 16 Again (Country Mile)

Comet Gain- The Misfit Jukebox (Tapete) 

Eric "Eggman" Eggleson's favorite records of 2023!

A Colossal Waste Of Light - Eyelids

Aeterna - Vinyl Williams

Away From The Castle – Video Age

Babydoll – Rat Columns

Bananasugarfire – Golden Apples

Careless By The Coast - Marvin Powell

Cartwheel - Hotline TNT

Colored Lights

Compact Trauma – Ulrika Spacek

Continue As A Guest – The New Pornographers

Disenchanter - Alaska Reid

EP IV – Yumi Zouma

Flowers Telegraphed To All Parts Of The World – The Garment District

Henry St. - The Tallest Man On Earth

Hindsight is 50/50 – Ghost Woman

I Held The Shape While I Could – Bodywash

Javelin – Sufjan Stevens

Left Hand - Becca Mancari

Life and Life Only - The Heavy Heavy

Love as Projection – Frankie  Rose

May Cause Dizzy Ness - The Musical Chairs

My Entire Life – SUSTO

Pearlies – Emma Anderson

Perennial - Woods

Pictures – Dean Owens

Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) - Yves Tumor

Prize - Rozi Plain

Radio Red – Laura Groves

So Soon Now – Trillion

Strange Loops and Outer Psyche – Andy Bell

Suntub – ML Buch

The Greater Wings - Julie Byrne

The Natural Lines

The Queen Is Not Dead – Spiritual Front

the record – boygenius

The Sunshine Convention

The Twits - bar Italia

This Candle Is For You - Spearmint

Waiting Here – Tough Age

We Live In Strange Times – Ian M Bailey

When Horses Would Run - Being Dead

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 12.14 (before 1950)

557 – Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake, which cracks the dome of Hagia Sophia. 835 – Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled. 1287 – St. Lucia's flood: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people. 1542 – Princess Mary Stuart becomes Queen of Scots at the age of one week on the death of her father, James V of Scotland. 1751 – The Theresian Military Academy is founded in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. 1780 – Founding Father Alexander Hamilton marries Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York. 1782 – The Montgolfier brothers first test fly an unmanned hot air balloon in France; it floats nearly 2.5 km (1.6 mi). 1812 – The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia. 1814 – War of 1812: The Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne, Louisiana. 1819 – Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state. 1836 – The Toledo War unofficially ends as the "Frostbitten Convention" votes to accept Congress' terms for admitting Michigan as a U.S. state. 1863 – American Civil War: The Confederate victory under General James Longstreet at the Battle of Bean's Station in East Tennessee ends the Knoxville Campaign, but achieves very little as Longstreet returns to Virginia next spring. 1896 – The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company. 1900 – Quantum mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law (quantum theory) at the Physic Society in Berlin. 1902 – The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco to Honolulu. 1903 – The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 1907 – The Thomas W. Lawson, the largest ever ship without a heat engine, runs aground and founders near the Hellweather's Reef within the Isles of Scilly in a gale. The pilot and 15 seamen die. 1909 – New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signs the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory. 1911 – Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole. 1913 – Haruna, the fourth and last Kongō-class ship, launches, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War I and World War II. 1914 – Lisandro de la Torre and others found the Democratic Progressive Party (Partido Demócrata Progresista, PDP) at the Hotel Savoy, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1918 – Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Väinö I, renounces the Finnish throne. 1918 – Portuguese President Sidónio Pais is assassinated. 1918 – The 1918 United Kingdom general election occurs, the first where women were permitted to vote. In Ireland the Irish republican political party Sinn Féin wins a landslide victory with nearly 47% of the popular vote. 1918 – Giacomo Puccini's comic opera Gianni Schicchi premieres at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. 1939 – Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland. 1940 – Plutonium (specifically Pu-238) is first isolated at Berkeley, California. 1942 – An Aeroflot Tupolev ANT-20 crashes near Tashkent, killing all 36 people on board. 1948 – Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann are granted a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the earliest known interactive electronic game.

[agrisprayerindia]

How Can Boom Sprayers in Agriculture Contribute to Sustainable Farming Practices?

One of the most widespread myths about organic and sustainable farming emerges as the agriculture sector gradually adopts more environmentally friendly practices, especially given the threat of global warming and climate change. At first glance, both organic and sustainable agriculture seem to be ideologies that, at the very least, share the same objective of supplying society's needs for agriculture while minimising environmental damage. Both strategies are gradually gaining acceptance among farmers and international leaders.

For instance, 45 nations, including India, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Ghana, and Vietnam, pledged more than $4 billion to support sustainable farming at the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow last year. Similar to this, there is a steady increase in the amount of land used for organic farming in European Union (EU) nations.

Why is organic farming not a long-term solution?

An industrialised agricultural system's niche segment of organic farming functions reasonably well. By forgoing chemical inputs, producers save money, and higher selling prices offset the lower yields of organic produce. However, one cannot ignore the role of synthetic fertilisers in lowering labour costs and pest infestations while raising yields when it comes to feeding a growing population with a small workforce engaged in agriculture. The long-term advantages of organic farming are comparatively limited when it comes to meeting the enormous agricultural needs of a country like India, aside from a small population of privileged consumers willing to pay a slightly higher price for products labelled as "organic".

The ongoing disaster in Sri Lanka demonstrates why it is impossible to feed large urban populations solely through organic production. According to the majority of estimates, even a long-term switch to organic farming would result in yield reductions for every significant crop in Sri Lanka, including drops of 35% for rice, 50% for tea, 50% for maize, and 30% for coconut.

What exactly are sustainable farming methods?

Sustainable farming practises, also referred to as sustainable agriculture, are a collection of farming practices that aim to increase agricultural productivity while minimising environmental impact, protecting natural resources, and ensuring the long-term viability of farming systems. These methods support a holistic approach to food production by taking into account the economic, social, and environmental facets of agriculture.

Agriculture Boom Sprayers: What Are They?

Agricultural boom sprayers are tools used in agriculture to apply liquid pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers, or other agricultural chemicals on crops or fields. They are also known as crop sprayers or field sprayers. They use a boom that typically extends horizontally from the sprayer to efficiently and uniformly distribute these substances over a sizable area.

The following are a boom sprayer's primary parts:

1) Tank: Whether it's a pesticide, herbicide, or fertiliser, the tank is where the liquid solution is kept. The size of the sprayer and the demands of the particular application can affect the tank's capacity.

2) Pump: The pump presses the liquid inside the tank to generate the force required to spray it through the nozzles. Sprayers use a variety of pumps, including piston pumps, centrifugal pumps, and diaphragm pumps.

3) Boom: The horizontal arm-like structure that extends from the sprayer is known as the boom. It is divided into several sections, each with a spray nozzle. Depending on the size of the machine, the boom's length can range from a few feet to several metres.

4) Spray Nozzles: These are affixed to the boom and are in charge of evenly dispersing the liquid solution. To achieve the desired spray pattern and droplet size for efficient and effective application, the nozzle type and configuration can be changed.

5) Control System: Modern boom sprayers frequently have sophisticated control systems that let the operator change spray parameters like pressure, flow rate, and nozzle choice. For precise spraying, some systems even use GPS technology, allowing for precise application and reducing chemical drift.

6) Filters and Agitation: Sprayers are fitted with filters to get rid of any debris or particles that could clog the nozzles. Additionally, agitation systems are present to maintain a consistent application by keeping the liquid solution thoroughly mixed inside the tank.

Where are boom sprayers employed?

1) Field Crops: Boom sprayers are widely employed in the production of field crops such as corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton, canola, and rice. Agriculture Boom sprayers make it possible to apply agricultural chemicals efficiently and consistently across the fields of these crops, which frequently cover large areas.

2) Orchards and Vineyards: Boom sprayers are used in orchards and vineyards to control pests, diseases, and weeds, as well as to apply nutrients. The adjustable booms minimise spray drift and maximise coverage while enabling precise targeting of trees or vines.

3) Vegetable Production: Boom sprayers are employed in extensive vegetable farming operations where crops like lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers are grown. They aid in the uniform application of foliar fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides across the vegetable fields.

4) Pastures and Forages: Boom sprayers are used in livestock farming to treat pastures and forage crops, which are pastures and forage crops, respectively. They are employed to apply fertilisers to promote better forage growth, herbicides for weed control, and other treatments particular to pasture management.

5) Golf Courses and Turf Management: Boom sprayers are used in the management of turf on golf courses, athletic fields, and other turf areas. They are used to apply nutrients, fungicides, and herbicides to maintain healthy turf growth and control weeds and diseases.

6) Forestry: Boom sprayers are used in some forestry practises to apply herbicides for vegetation management, particularly for site preparation and reforestation purposes, via aerial spraying from helicopters or ground-based sprayers.

How Can Boom Sprayers in Agriculture Contribute to Sustainable Farming Practices?

1) Precise Application: A precise application of agricultural chemicals is possible with boom sprayers that have cutting-edge control systems, such as GPS technology. This accuracy lowers the possibility of overlap or excessive application, resulting in less chemical waste and potential environmental contamination.

2) Reduced Chemical Drift: Chemical drift, or the movement of sprayed substances outside the intended target area, is minimised by modern boom sprayers. Boom sprayers can lessen off-target drift by using the proper nozzle selection, spray patterns, and spray droplet sizes, thereby reducing the impact on non-target plants, water bodies, and nearby ecosystems.

3) Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Boom sprayers can be used as part of an integrated pest management strategy, which focuses on combining different pest control tactics to reduce the use of chemicals. Farmers can lessen their reliance on pesticides while managing pests and diseases by using boom sprayers in conjunction with cultural practices, biological controls, and monitoring techniques.

4) Optimal Timing: Boom sprayers let farmers use agricultural chemicals when they are most effective, focusing on pests or nutrient needs at crucial growth stages. By reducing unnecessary applications and minimising chemical use, this precision ensures that crops receive the necessary treatments at the optimal time.

5) Efficient Resource Management: Agriculture Boom sprayers and uniform coverage of the fields makes it possible to manage resources more effectively. As a result, waste is minimised and the efficacy of agricultural chemicals is maximised. Resource efficiency is further improved by sprayers with adjustable booms and section control systems that enable on-the-go application adjustments.

6) Environmental Protection: Boom sprayers contribute to environmental protection by lowering the possibility of chemical drift, applying agricultural chemicals precisely, and handling them correctly. They promote biodiversity and ecological health on the farm and in the surrounding area by reducing the potential adverse effects on water sources, wildlife habitats, and non-target organisms.

7) Economic Benefits: In the long run, sustainable farming methods frequently improve cost effectiveness and profitability. Boom sprayers can help maximise crop production, minimise crop losses from pests or diseases, and improve overall farm productivity, all of which help to support a sustainable economy.

About Us: Dolls Agrose

Dolls Exports has received high praise for being a reputable name in the industry of agricultural products like Argo Chemicals, bio-fertiliser, and sprayers. We provide a wide selection of agricultural sprayers. Particularly, tractor sprayers, tractor-mounted sprayers, boom sprayers, turbo atomizer sprayers, air misters, tractor-trailing sprayers, roller-mounted sprayers, air blast sprayers, mounted high-pressure sprayers, orchid sprayers, vineyard sprayers, and field sprayers European standards are met by the high quality of our sprayers.

Our company, which was founded in 2002, has quickly become one of the industry's most capable exporters, importers, and suppliers. Our brand, "DOLLS AGROSE" has been able to become the most preferred because of our in-depth understanding of the customer's basic requirements and better understanding of the dynamics of export and import.

[iwrotesomeofitdown]

Also the austerity measures in the UK a couple years ago were deemed a humanitarian crisis by the UN. At least 20 THOUSAND people DIED immediately after having their benefits cut and being declared „fit to work“ when they weren’t.

They died of hunger and cold because they couldn’t pay for food or their heating bills, as well as by suicide.

Studies have shown 335,000 excess deaths caused by these measures.

These figures are not only shocking but shameful. And we must remember that these are more than just statistics: they represent hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been cut short, and hundreds of thousands of families who have had to deal with the grief and aftermath of those deaths. The tragic thing is that these deaths did not have to happen. In the words of the United Nations, in a society as wealthy as the UK, ‘poverty is a political choice’. The UK Government needs to understand the damaging impact of austerity and respond with policies that put us back on the path of improving, not worsening, life expectancy for all.”

Fuck these eugenicist assholes. They’ve already killed tens of thousands of disabled people.

[steamship-historical-society]

#OnThisDay in 1940, the Veendam left New York on her last crossing to Rotterdam before being seized by the Germans. The Veendam was a 15, 450 gross ton passenger liner built in 1922 for Holland-Amerika by Harland & Wolff in Glasgow. She had passenger accommodation for 262-1st, 436-2nd 1,200-3rd class. Her maiden voyage from Rotterdam to New York started on April 18, 1923 and she continued this service until leaving New York on her last crossing to Rotterdam on March 30, 1940. In May 1940, she sustained fire damage at Rotterdam and was seized by the Germans and used as an accommodation ship for submarine crews at Gdynia and Hamburg. After the war she was reconditioned at Amsterdam in 1946 and given accommodation for 223-1st and 363-tourist class passengers, she resumed Rotterdam - New York sailings on February 21, 1947. Her final voyage on this service was on October 30, 1953 and she was then scrapped at Baltimore. Image: Poster for Holland-Amerika line featuring the ship Veendam advertising services between Rotterdam and New York via Boulogne and Southampton. The ocean liner is illustrated under sail and centered, with a stylized map in the background highlighting New York and the Statue of Liberty. Stephen Barrett Chase Collection, SSHSA Archives. See more than 200 digitized posters from this collection at bit.ly/ChasePosters. (at The Steamship Historical Society of America) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqatGGjM-9w/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 30 November 1923, Scottish socialist John Maclean died of pneumonia following repeated incarceration. Born in Glasgow, Maclean trained as a teacher and then became a Marxist and taught free economics classes to local workers. He was an implacable opponent of World War I and organised dozens of anti-war protests. In 1916, Maclean was sentenced to three years’ penal servitude for sedition, where his health deteriorated as he was forced to work outside in all the weather that struck the Buchan Coast. But following a mass campaign, he was released early in June 1917. In 1918, he was appointed as Bolshevik Consul to Scotland, and although the UK government refused to recognise the new Soviet Republic, Maclean established a consulate. In April 1918, he was arrested again, this time for arguing that Scottish workers should follow the example of the Russian Revolution. This time he was sentenced to five years’ penal servitude, and he spent three months on hunger strike, being force fed via a nasogastric tube. Once again, he was released early, but his mental health was damaged and he began to suffer from hallucinations and paranoia: he believed, for instance, that prison staff injected conscientious objectors with a particular bacillus that caused pneumonia. He was re-imprisoned in 1921 for encouraging miners to lead a revolution, and again in 1922 for saying that the unemployed should steal food rather than starve. Maclean died in poverty in 1923, aged just 44. He had been unable to work since his expulsion from the teaching profession, and his mental and physical health had been destroyed by repeated incarceration. But to the end he remained a passionate advocate of a fairer and happier society. Fittingly, when he collapsed with pneumonia he was speaking at an open-air public meeting. A few days earlier, he had loaned his only coat to Neil Johnston, a Black socialist who was visiting from Barbados, whom Maclean had noticed shivering in the November cold. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1865650453620096/?type=3

[art-damaged]

On June 30, 2022, two environmental activists from the group Just Stop Oil staged an on-site protest by gluing themselves to the frame of Vincent van Gogh’s Peach Trees in Blossom (1889) where it hung at London’s Courtauld Gallery.

The aim of the demonstration, according to the protestors (Louis McKechnie, 21, and Emily Brocklebank, 24), was to urge “art institutions to join them in civil resistance.” According to group members, van Gogh’s bucolic landscape was targeted because the region it depicts in Provence may soon experience severe drought. 

“It is immoral for cultural institutions to stand by and watch whilst our society descends into collapse,” McKechnie said in a statement issued after the incident. “Galleries should close. Directors of art institutions should be calling on the government to stop all new oil and gas projects immediately. We are either in resistance or we are complicit.”

Members of the group had staged a similar stunt at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow, where two demonstrators glued their own hands to the frame of Horatio McCulloh’s 1860 painting My Heart is in the Highlands while other members spray-paint the groups logo onto the walls and floor of the building. In both incidents, it appears that no damage was inflicted on the artworks themselves.

[sheanam]

Oh boy oh boy, I don’t need to be asked twice [rolls up sleeves]

Thank you, and thanks for the question! Since you asked, and since I’ve gotten a fair amount of new followers here and over at the webcomic itself over the past half a year, here’s a quick little rundown post!

Outliers is a webcomic about the people you never see in regular comic book stories. Most stories, really, but it tends to be particularly glaring in superhero and assorted other scifi/fantasy/etc. comic books. In a cliche comic world full of people with super powers and aliens and magic and mutant monsters and all sorts of other nonsense, it’s about people trying to live their dang lives without getting caught up in it all or becoming collateral damage.

Average human citizens, people with useless or unwanted powers who aren’t fit to be heroes/villains or who never wanted to be one in the first place, people who don’t have a chiseled superhero physique, people who aren’t straight or cis, people with disabilities, et cetera. A slice-of-life/romantic comedy comic about the, y’know, outliers of this society.

There’s an assortment of characters who star in it, but it mainly comes down to three main duos/groups as the main characters:

The main couple and stars of Outliers so far are Walter Corvi and Zachary “Chary” Milford. Walt’s a gay nonbinary man who has very strong super powers (he/they can turn into a giant wereraven bird monster) but who chooses to live as an ordinary citizen, and Chary’s a bi regular human dude who got caught in the crossfire of a supervillain attack and works as a lawyer who serves metahumans in need on behalf of their therapy group. They currently live in Port Exemplar, a big hub city and basis for metahuman law & regulation somewhere between Portland and Seattle. They’ve been dating for quite a few years now, are in their early thirties and are just trying to do their best, y’know? Please let them have a dinner date in peace.

Another main couple are Hector “Heck/Heckie” Barclay (née McCabe) and Jamie Barclay. They’re a Scottish married gay couple in their early forties, now living in the US. They’ve known each other since they were young children in a metahuman-prep school in Glasgow, where they were Sent Just In Case, though both of them have pretty useless powers and live as ordinary citizens. They’re asexual and Jamie’s intersex, and have A Lot of history together as they figured things out throughout their youth. Heckie teaches (very opinionated) UK history as a local community college a couple days a week, and Jamie was a rock musician with a bright shining future and rising star until his chronic pain & fatigue disability became too much and he had to retire.They’ve had some hard knocks but are pretty happy, and have a few kids to boot, Kirstie and Doug.

Last but not least, the third main group! Edmund Irving Rudyard Hawke II (more like 2.0) is the exact genetic clone of the original late Edmund Hawke, the very rich and very powerful and very evil CEO of Hawke Industries (think Lex Luthor and his ilk), artificially aged to twenty-something adulthood to take over the company, as per Hawke Sr.’s will. Much to the disappointment of HI’s Board Of Directors and assorted connected ne’er-do-wells, Edmund turned out absolutely nothing like his “father” personality wise. He’s sweet, cheerful, boisterously supportive, very aware of his privilege, and likes being with people and doing nice things for people. Grey-aro and extremely gay as well, but that’s beside the point. He has a rough time being stuck in a rough situation, but when a married trans couple consisting of Dustin Smalls and his best friend/wife/nesting partner Pam Flores cross paths with him and Dustin becomes Edmund’s personal assistant and Something More, things take a real turn.

These three different storyline threads will come together into one Some Day, which I hope I can manage before I’m old and decrepit! I haven’t drawn much recently and the Outliers comic hasn’t updated since December due to irl Reasons, unfortunately, but I can promise you all it’s still a thing. I think about these characters and my comic constantly, and have finally been getting into a place again where I can get back to working on stuff properly! Slowly, but surely.

Thanks y’all for the interest, and I hope you stick around to see what’s coming! I’m doing my best to make a comic about the sorts of characters and stories I want to see and that usually get pretty terrible rep, so here’s hoping it all goes well in the end!

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Tuesday 1 October 1839 Travel Journal

7 ½

1 ¼

fine morning but flags wet – F61 ¼° now at 8 55/.. am Reading Murrays’ encyclopaedia geography vol. 2 Siberia p. 1077. ask at the botanic garden for

Rosa berberifolia

Saxifraga geum

Tragopogon orientalis

Pedicularis Elata

P. proboscidea

Pinus cembra (from 4500 to 6500 Parisian ft. of elevation) what is the meaning and derivation of the word lychen what was Linnaeus’ favourite flower

Juniperus nana

Betula nana

Salix nana

Betula alba (common brich)

Pinus Siberica (p. 1078) ‘grows at the foot of the mountain with fir but more frequently with the Spruce [?] (Abies) and at 2000 to 3000 is very abundant’

SH:7/ML/TR/14/0027

October Tuesday 1  ask difference between Pinus and fir and what is the name [?] to fir

+ Chamissos’ flora of stamtschatka, Aleutian island and Beharings’ straits

Pinus cembra, seeds of eaten by the Russians

Sorbus aucuparia (mountain ash?)

Alnus incana

Populus aspen?

what 2 other sorts (p. 1079) grow on the banks of the river Siberia?

+ quoted much in Hookers’ botanical miscellany

Cornus Suecica

Urtica dioica   common nettle?

Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry?) bleau bery? cloud bery?

Sanguisorba Canadensis

Ferns (filices)

Geum (Fischer knows nothing about as a sacred architectural plant)

Oxycoccos (p. 1081)

Uva ursi

Fucus esculentus (sea kale of the Russians)

Pisum maritimum

Sphagnum

Pale and black lichens islands of St. George and St. Paul (p. 1081)

Mosses  

[Carices]

Spiraea chamaedrifolia [chamaedryfolia]

what is the red moss in Sweden? and the yellow on the oaks at Stockholm?

October Tuesday 1

Linnaea borealis (Handbook p.111) favourite flower of Linnaeus

Lantana and Vitalba what?

Lantana, Wayfaring tree – a sorb?

Kapusta white cabbages of enormous size in the Crimea.

Trifolium did not Mrs. Lawton mention a new sort brought to England growing 5 or 6ft. high?

breakfast at about 9 ¼ in about ¾ hour – before and after writing of foregoing notes of inquiries to be made and read Murrays’ encyclopaedia of geography etc. till had Dr. Lefevre for near ½ hour till 11 ¼ - out at 11 ¾ to the Library (Imperial) – at 12 Mr. de Moralt went round the 21 salles with us in ¼ hour – the new wing = 6 salles finished I think he said in 1832 and adjoined to the old part part part finished in 1812 –

a pupitre of 4 shelves on a moveable axes – no description or model of it to be had – the shelves seemed about 20in. wide and 4ft. long? this sort of thing might be contrived at home –

at 12 20/.. sat down to look at mss. – an artist here copying Alexander by Dove who did this and all the [generals] etc. at the Hermitage at 1,000 rubels each – I left A- to the mss., and looked over the folio ‘Voyage de Messrs. Humbotdt und Bonpland. Partie Botanique ........ in ordinem digessit Carol. Sigismund. Kunth. Fascicul 10. Figures colorieés – à Paris. Libraire de Gide fils. Rue St. Marc – Feydeau, no. 20. Planches de l’imprimerie de Langlois.

SH:7/ML/TR/14/0028

October Tuesday 1 Layards the name of the author of the Handbook signing himself E.L. Mr. Moralt said he was introduced to him by Brieffy the bookseller – at the library till 1 ¾ having latterly had Mr. Atkinson the English librarian for the modern works – very civil – the library not rich in English works – neither Captain Cochranes, nor Bremners’ –

at the Botanic garden at 2 5/.. – Mr. Fischer, on the lookout, came to us immediately and took us to the serres a verst long! the Berlin garden the richest in Europe – Kew not much now – the Edinburgh botanic garden the best in Great Britain – became a royal garden and became tho’ Dr. Graham less scientifie (savant) than Sir William Hooker the Edinburgh Gardener Mr. MacNab is one one of the best in England in Great Britain – the Glasgow garden is by subscription and the college had 10 or 12 shares (actions) but tho’ this give some weight at Hooker (the college professor) yet he has not weight enough – spoke of Knights? exotic garden at Chelsea -

for £2,000 a year more – F- would make this the finest richest botanic garden in Europe – he would have jardins [filials]  

Crimea

Rio Janeiro

at the mouth of the Amazon Maranham [Maranhão]

Demerara

Cape of good hope

New Holland

California

Preserve gardens at the 7 places named – I had said I thought the emperor ought to have a [?] garden in the Crimea

Mr. A- said 7 librarians and 4 under ditto at the Imperial library

here 120,000 rubels per annum 400,000 from Jardin des plantes – the fault of the English gardens (Liverpool the best (ranks with Edinburgh and Glasgow) is that the old plants are thrown away for new ones – novelty is too much sought after – Loddiges establishment costs £10,000 a year –

Lambert on the genus Pinus  vice-president of the Linnean society – 8vo. edition 4 vols.

F 20 years at Moscow with............ the hothouses separate – lost his health in going from one to the other by the sudden changes of temperature .:. here had all the houses under one roof – the flood in 1824 did great damage – the water 2 or 3ft. high in the serres – the emperor once thought of removing them to the Taurida [Tauride] palace garden – but now the plants so well rooted etc. it would not be advisable –

1839

Marshal Bieberstens’  [Marschall von Bieberstein] flora Tauro-Caucasia. 3vols. 8vo.

à son Altesse

Mr. le prince Volkonski  ministre de la maison de l’Empereur

he would [was] the man to apply to for leave to see the the favourite flower of Linnaeus Andromeda polifolia F- thinks Ficus sarmentosa or stipulate the beautiful little creeper in my favourite serre when concrétionnés lime stones are piled up for the rock plants – very pretty and natural looking

the son or nephew of the French ambassador was there with F-‘s belle soeur and F- introduced us to her en passant – saw her afterwards – very civil – came away at 4 ¾ - home direct at 5 ½ - dressed – dinner over at 6 50/..

Krusenstern 51/426 ‘La méthode d’Enseignement est celle de Lancastre dans toutes les écoles paroissiales des villes, bourgs ou villages’

Each school has ‘cartes géographiques etc. (books maps and other objects d’instruction’ approved par le ministère 52/426. at the District schools (p. 55)

Les Gymnases p. 57 more particularly destined for the education of gentilshommes – Latin Grammar and French taught – Greek (for want of masters) only taught in the university-town gymnases

p. 64 young peasants free or not, inadmissible now to the gymnases – Education should be suited to the position of the person – those overeducated found the state to which they must return insupportable – ‘et l’expérience a prouvé que ces hommes out tombaient dans une noire mélancolie, ou se livraient à des, excès qui finissaient ordinairement par les perdu’

p. 67 according to the new règlement of 1835. German French English and Italian taught – and vid. p. 66 Arabian, Turkish, Persian, Mongole and Tartarian taught

p. 70 every professor after 25 years of service obtains the title of Emeritus and his chair is considered vacant – but may be re-elected for so long as he is able –

SH:7/ML/TR/14/0029

October Tuesday the professors who have obtainted the title d’émerite after 25 years service have a pension égale a leur traitement annuel – ½ for 10 years – ¾ for 15 years – vide

p. 74. vide salaries of professors – at Petersburg and Moscow 5,000 R-

p.79 at the university de Casan particular attention paid to the Arabic, Persian, Tartar, and Mongol to prepare young men for being employed as dragomans and translateurs.

Mongole grammar par Schmidt. p. 81.

5 young Buriates one of them a Lama, studying at Casan - .:. hope to rapprocher ‘des trésors de la littérature tibétaine, restes inaccessibles jusqu’ à présent aux recherché des Européens, car c’est entre les mains des Lamas Buriates que demeurent ignorés de précieux monumens de cette littérature’ p. 82/486

Dorpat p. 87 et seq. ‘les travaux scientifiques de l’université’ sont ‘trés étendus’ e.g. the Atlas Zoologique de professor Eschholtz who accompanied Captain Kotzebue in his voyage round the world.  and the expeditions of professor Engelhardt in the government of Olonetz  [Olonec] and the east parts of the Oural [Ural] chain – his mineralogical works known to all the mineralogists of Europe –

Struve for his astronomical discoveries

Ratke histoire naturelle in his travels on the north of the Black sea

Göbels’ scientific travels in the Steppes of this part of the empire

Ledebur’s Flore des monts Altay [Altaj]

Parrot’s voyage à l’Ararat.

October Tuesday 1 ‘De plus il y paraît chaque mois une publication sous le titre de Chronique de Dorpat.

Odessa p. 97 et seq. – p. 100 ecole at O- for the oriental languages –

Gymnases at Tiflis [Tbilisi] etc. etc. Kouba, Bakou, Derbent, at Erivan. o. 105

p. 109 et seq. on private schools and private tuition no Russian allowed to leave Russia to study abroad before aet. 18

académie Impériale des sciences p. 123 – among its members (p. 124) were Euler, Gmelin, Pallas, etc.

p. 124 vi. Scherers’ Aperçu historique des travaux de l’académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg depuis 1726 jusqu’ à 1826’.

p. 125 the académie has 206,000 R. (Ukase du 30 Janvier 1830) per annum

p. 126 ---------- 239,400 R. per annum

p. 128 the 6th series of memoires (faisant suite à 73 vols. published before) was commenced in 1826 (since 1826?)

For an account of these memoires vid. Receuil des Actes de l’ académie vid. particularly

p. 128 Mr. Krug sur l’origine des Slaves

Mr. Fraehr’s important discoveries dans les auteurs arabes vid. an earlier part of  Krusenstern the old Russian letters resemble those on the rocks in the desert…….

p. 130 Flore Russe published par les soins de l’ académie and ‘Dessins appartenant à la zoographie de la Russia d’Asie.’

p. 131 Description statistique de gouvernement de Vologda par Mr. Broussiloff.

SH:7/ML/TR/14/0030

October Tuesday 1

p. 133 L’expédition archéographie de Mr. Stroïeff Stroïeff

p. 134 this work will = 10vols. folio (from 1340 to 1700)

this work completed Stroïeff/2 and the academy/1 will s’occuper d’un travail plus vaste – ‘la publication d’un receuil systématique de totues les sources de l’histoire de la Russie’

p. 137 the academician Dr. Mertens in 1826 from Russia in North west America and Asia brought 2500 plants etc. and 100 dessins –

p. 338 magnetic observation made at Pekin by the astronomer Fuss and Dr. Bunge at the same time explored le règne végétale de la Chine -  

p. 339 Ermanns’ voyahe sur le Lena and Bunge explored also les mountains Altai [Altaj]

p. 140 on the level of the Caspian – Parrot now thinks no difference between level of Caspian and Black sea?

p. 142. Atmospheric pressure varies – doubts as to infallibility of the barometer as a measure of heights

p. 143 Mr. Sjogren agrees with Klaproth that the Ossètes are Indo-Germanic –

p. 145. Catalogue = 100+ of ouvrages Arabian Persian and Turc that are to be sought for –

p. 146 a limited no. of persons admitted to some of the Séances of the academy

p. 148 17 April anniversarie de la [?] de [?]  le Cesarewitch is the day the academy prizes are given

p. 150. 151. Le musée asiatique ‘le cabinet est unique dans son genre en Europe: Mr. Fraehn en fait un catalogue raisonné.

October Tuesday 1 vid. at the observatory Dopat (p. 155) la fameuse lunette de Frauenhofer, un des instrumens le plus parfaits qui existent. vid. [Observation] central (1st stone laid in the spring of 1834) sur la montagne de Pulkowo no buildings houses allowed to be erected with a verst of it –

p. 159 the academy has published ‘Notices de l’academie 1815-1823 4vols. – Publication periodique 1829-1832. 4vols. memoires 1834-1836. 3 vols.

sat reading so far of Krusenstern to p. 160 and making the above notes till now 12 at night

p. 225 Le genre du vie des élèves vid. 8 hours for sleep

p. 130 et seq. vid. ecole des mines – fine day

[scotianostra]

On 11th January 1841 the Scottish inventor Alexander Bain was awarded a patent for the electric clock.

Bain was born in the Caithness village of Watten near Wick, one of thirteen children. Never a success at school, he moved to Wick as an apprentice clockmaker. Having completed his apprenticeship he moved to work in Edinburgh, and then, in 1837, to London. Here he worked as a clockmaker while studying and establishing his own workshops.

By 1840 Bain was working on an idea for an electric clock, but had insufficient funds to develop it. He was introduced to the eminent scientist Sir Charles Wheatstone, who advised him that the idea was not worth pursuing. Three months later Wheatstone demonstrated an electric clock to the Royal Society, claiming it to be his own invention. Unfortunately for Wheatstone, Bain had already applied for a patent. The legal wrangle that followed caused great damage to Wheatstone’s reputation and led to a compensation payment to Bain large enough to securely set himself up in business.

Bain was granted a patent for the electric clock on 11 January 1841. His first clock used a pendulum kept moving by electromagnetic impulses and he later improved it by the addition of a battery. Bain’s second most important patent was granted in 1843 and covered the use of a clock to synchronise the movement of two pendulums so that a message could be scanned line by line, and printed remotely. In essence he had invented the fax machine.

In 1846 Bain, by now living in Edinburgh, invented a “chemical telegraph” which improved dramatically on the speed of transmission of Samuel Morse telegraph technology. However, this became embroiled in a patent dispute with Morse, and never took off.

In later life Alexander Bain was granted a public pension in recognition of the importance of his inventions. He died in 1877 and was buried in Kirkintilloch. He is remembered in the name of a pub which stands close to where he served his apprenticeship in Wick, and in the name of British Telecom’s main building in Glasgow, Alexander Bain House.

[snapsbysio]

Analysis of Topics for Reportage

Recycling

‘The action or process of converting waste into reusable material’. Recycling is more essential now than it ever has been. We as a society must learn to adapt and really embrace reusability and all it’s benefits. Recycling results in less waste, meaning less need for land sites and overflowing rubbish. Reusing materials also means less consumerism of natural resources. There are a number of centres in and around Glasgow for use:

Face Masks

During this pandemic, the use of face masks has been incredibly important to out health. However it has been detrimental to our environment. With the need to use multiple face masks a day, the number of these masks on our streets, in our oceans and piling up our bins has been frankly ridiculous.

Poverty 

Millions of people up and down this country are under what is known as the “Poverty Line”. Households are considered to be below the UK poverty line if their income is 60% below the median household income after housing costs for that year.  In 2018/19: 11.0 million people were in relative low income BHC (17% of the population), at a similar level to the year before. 14.5 million were in relative low income.

Street Dumping

Street Dumping involves making a general mess of our streets. This is not only an eyesore, but can lead to unpleasant odours and can drastically decrease the value of a neighbourhood. It can attract rats and other vermin which then poses a serious risk to public health. 

Green Travel

The travel industry plays a huge role in pollution. The fumes emitted from planes, cars and lorries further damage our planet. But in recent times, companies have been striving to make their products more green. The eradication of diesel cars is coming soon to make way for hybrids and electric cars. 

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 12.14 (before 1920)

557 – Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake, which cracks the dome of Hagia Sophia. 835 – Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled. 1287 – St. Lucia's flood: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people. 1542 – Princess Mary Stuart becomes Queen of Scots at the age of one week on the death of her father, James V of Scotland. 1751 – The Theresian Military Academy is founded in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. 1780 – Founding Father Alexander Hamilton marries Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, New York. 1782 – The Montgolfier brothers first test fly an unmanned hot air balloon in France; it floats nearly 2.5 km (1.6 mi). 1812 – The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia. 1814 – War of 1812: The Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne, Louisiana. 1819 – Alabama becomes the 22nd U.S. state. 1836 – The Toledo War unofficially ends as the "Frostbitten Convention" votes to accept Congress' terms for admitting Michigan as a U.S. state. 1863 – American Civil War: The Confederate victory under General James Longstreet at the Battle of Bean's Station in East Tennessee ends the Knoxville Campaign, but achieves very little as Longstreet returns to Virginia next spring. 1896 – The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company. 1900 – Quantum mechanics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law (quantum theory) at the Physic Society in Berlin. 1902 – The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco to Honolulu. 1903 – The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 1907 – The Thomas W. Lawson, the largest ever ship without a heat engine, runs aground and founders near the Hellweather's Reef within the Isles of Scilly in a gale. The pilot and 15 seamen die. 1909 – New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signs the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory. 1911 – Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole. 1913 – Haruna, the fourth and last Kongō-class ship, launches, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War I and World War II. 1914 – Lisandro de la Torre and others found the Democratic Progressive Party (Partido Demócrata Progresista, PDP) at the Hotel Savoy, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1918 – Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Väinö I, renounces the Finnish throne. 1918 – Portuguese President Sidónio Pais is assassinated. 1918 – The 1918 United Kingdom general election occurs, the first where women were permitted to vote. In Ireland the Irish republican political party Sinn Féin wins a landslide victory with nearly 47% of the popular vote. 1918 – Giacomo Puccini's comic opera Gianni Schicchi premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

[mckinnon-mp4]

second sucks: remus and sirius think they’re arguing over the war, but they’re actually arguing over how worth it is to fight for a status quo that forces them to keep their relationship a secret. 

3k words

tw: internalized homophobia

it’s angsty be warned

remus lupin was angry. he didn’t know how to deal with it, but he had all of this aggression bubbling up in him. what was he supposed to do– how was he supposed to cope– when everything was broken and angry and red with hatred? he didn’t know. he felt like he’d probably never know. not when sirius black was around every corner, reminding him of all the things he couldn’t have. he was reminded of all of the things he had been robbed of, when Fenrir greyback forcefully entered his life. it was tiring. he knew that he wasn’t pretty like marlene, or funny like james, or loyal, like peter. but it was exhausting to live like this. because sirius was the keeper of his heart, and he didn’t even know it. it was like they were constantly playing footie, but sirius was a trained player and remus was in the rec league. all of his advances went unseen, all of his work towards building this relationship went unnoticed. and could anyone blame him for being angry when sirius was constantly putting him in second place? second sucks.

it’s probably why he gets frustrated, with the façade sirius wears all of the time. because sirius said he wanted to keep it real with everyone. sirius was twenty years old and had faked his way through every fucking relationship. but here was remus, loyal to a goddamn fault fighting a war he didn’t want, and too afraid to keep it real because of the war falling apart all around them. is anybody else watching? they’re falling apart in a way that remus never anticipated. he wants to shake all of them, james, lily, peter, marlene, dorcas, and scream is anybody else watching? does anyone see that he’s been faking for years, but couldn’t reach this level? doesn’t anyone else see that sirius is HIS and he BELONGS to sirius? does anyone even notice that they need to back the fuck off? but of course they don’t, because he and sirius have become such seasoned liars, they’ve hidden everything away. and sure, sirius isn’t as good at this as he is, but shouldn’t sirius know that remus is only doing this for him?  

no one has ever been a better liar than remus, and yet here he was laying his life on the line for sirius. sirius who was picking fights, who was swearing up a storm because of the stupid secret missions Dumbledore was sending him on. he wants to scream that he’s laying his life on the line, and he expects nothing less than the same from sirius. but sirius doesn’t understand the gravity of the war that they were fighting. he doesn’t know why remus wants him to keep their love close to his chest, he doesn’t understand how sirius doesn’t see that without him, he would not exist. because this bravado that everyone saw sirius as was frustrating and was something that remus had built up all across their time together, in the hallowed halls of their alma mater. he held this relationship so close to his chest, and he was tired of sirius not understanding the importance of the work that they were doing. he wanted to tell sirius off in a way he never had before, to shake him by his shoulders and scream GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF AND KEEP AWAY FROM ME. because sirius was a fucking fake, and it was all about what the people around them didn’t see. they didn’t see the love or the pain or the way this war was tearing them up. they didn’t see that he wanted to make a life with sirius where they could be happy, they saw an abomination. 

sirius would never reach the level that remus had achieved, lying to all of their friends about all of the things he kept inside. the only person who saw through all the lies was sirius. they’re friends didn’t think about them the way sirius deigned to think they did. they were out of sight, and out of mind, not existing in their minds outside of the order and their friendships. they didn’t see the screaming matches, the false loyalty, the guilt that remus was feeling by wasting his time on evil people in this war. evil people like greyback, like voldemort, like dumbledore. he was starting to feel like maybe sirius was a part of that group, and remus couldn’t tell if he was angry  that he was just beginning to see it, or if he was angry because sirius was becoming someone he didn’t recognize. how was he supposed to recognize his boyfriend, when all he could see was the flirting and the girls sirius kept on the line? how was he supposed to trust him like that? was any of this even real to sirius? 

the click of the front door sets his teeth on edge, and he already wants to scream at sirius to leave. but he can’t because sirius fucking lives here. here, where they share a bed even though there’s a second bedroom, here where sirius keeps his clothes separate should any of their friends come over. home was supposed to feel lived in, loved in, but all he could see was the space between them, and all of the hiding they did. remus hid so much, he didn’t want to hide this too. his shaking hands meet the pale expanse of his own skin on the underside of his wrist, trying desperately to remind himself that he needs to keep it together through the act of physicality.

“blimey, you look rough,” is the only greeting he gets, before sirius is off, fixing something in the kitchen. remus knows he does– it doesn’t shock him that sirius has pointed it out, he’s never really gotten past hiding his wounds from the moon, his hood pulled over his head constantly and swaddled in layers of soft clothing like some kind of barrier to prevent any more harm from coming to him. but the glasgow celtics jumper doesn’t eras the limp, it doesn’t change the slowly healing gash across his face.

“sod off” he bites back, even though he’s doing his best to make himself seem less angry than he is. the anger was too big, it was too much, and it wouldn’t fit in their little flat in shoreditch. 

“merlin, moons, what’s your damage?” sirius’s voice is laced with that same aristocratic judgement that he’s used to, and remus can hardly stand it.

“you, hurdie,” he spits. the cadence of his accent only intensifying with his irritation. he takes a long breath to steel himself against what he’s about to say, because it was about fucking time that he opened his mouth and told sirius how he felt.  “with your fuckin’ judgement and your lies and your fuckin’–“ he pauses, because there’s no way to put this where he doesn’t come off like a bad person “–why am I always coming in second to everyone else in your fuckin’ life, sirius? why don’t you ever stop to ask what I fuckin’ want or how I feel about doin’ something or– godric– you’re always talking about being real or being authentic when we’re lying to everyone! how do you think that shit is supposed to make me feel?”

sirius takes a step towards remus, closing the distance between them. there’s a thick tension in the air around them, but sirius’s hands rest, still as can be, on remus’s cheeks. “moonbeam,” he begins, his eyes darting around as he tries to collect his thoughts. “I know it sucks, but it’s not like we can tell them we’re fucking poofs.” 

“that’s not the point! the point is–“ remus begins to rebuke, but he’s cut off by sirius.

“but the point is you don’t think i listen to you or I care. moons, i’m sorry you feel that way– I’m fighting this war for you. I’d fucking die for this cause, for this war to be won, for us to be able to be ourselves, moony. you know I would.”

“sirius, no one wants anyone to die for this cause. have you ever even wondered why we’re putting our lives at stake for people who don’t even want us to be ourselves?”

“are you saying you wouldn’t?” 

remus pauses, taking a moment to consider the question. “no, sirius, I’m not fucking willing to die for a cause and a government that doesn’t think I’m a good enough wizard to fucking protect me or a group of people who refuse to acknowledge who we fucking are.”

“why the fuck are you here then?”

“did it ever occur to you that i don't want any part in this war! i want to have a normal fucking life with you where i don't have to worry you're not coming home every day. does it ever click in your brain that no one should have to do what we’re doing.” 

"we're fighting this war for you, and for lily," remus is quick to cut that statement off, because it’s simply not true. "don’t fucking say you’re fighting for us. you’re not fighting for us. you're fighting it for your egos and your righteous sense of fucking justice and you're fighting for james because if you were fighting for me or for lily you would have asked us and when we said we wanted to run you would have listened. but you never fucking listen." 

sirius’s expression shifts from irritation to shock and remus is watching in real time. he can see just how thrown sirius is by the statement. “don’t bring lily into this, you don’t know anything about what she wants. it’s not like you’re here enough to have any idea.” 

this time it’s remus’s turn to scoff in shock because HOW FUCKING DARE HE question remus’s friendship with lily and his loyalty to his friends. the only reason he was in this mess was because of his loyalty to sirius. sirius didn’t understand what was on the line for him, when there was an entire world just outside their door that they could hide in, one where he wasn’t as much of an outcast to society.

“right, like you or james know any better! you never fucking asked! you just keep saying this is for us because you think somehow that we're all gonna come out the other side just fine! chuffed that you think this whole thing is fuckin’ worth it, when some of us are bound to bite the dust.” 

sirius’s face swirls with something remus can’t quite place. but remus doesn’t care. sirius needs to face what he has to say, because remus is tired of hiding how useless this whole thing is to him. he’s tired of pretending that he’s scared out of his mind. 

“don’t say that remus–” sirius practically pleas “–no one’s gonna die.”

“you fuckin’ daft, mate? there's no way we all survive this, sirius! there's no fucking way i will! and even if i do my maw will be dead and i won't have been there to say good bye because i was too busy watching your ass because i love you too much to let you die at the hands of those fuckers. but you never asked what I wanted, you just crucified me for not wanting this. we’re fighting a war for people who don’t care about us.” 

sirius takes a deep breath, trying to collect himself. because he can see remus is at a breaking point, he can see that his hands are shaking and his eyes are welling with tears because something is wrong here and he’s never felt so wrong about joining the order before. he’s never felt like he’s fucked up this bad. but he doesn’t know what to do, not really. so he asks. “what the fuck do you want me to do remus? it’s not like we can just tell them and we can’t just stop now.”

remus knows exactly what he wants. he has since they were in school. his voice comes out thick and raw and rasping, and his hands collect around him. his eyes are boring holes in the man in front of him, and he knows that this is unfair because they’re just kids. they’re too young to be fighting this war, too young to be running from the world. and it’s unfair.  

 "i want you to meet my maw, i want to be in edinburgh, i want to smell the ocean when i wake up and i want to sit by the cliffs and read, i want you to see where i'm from, i want to have a home with you. but we can't have any of that anymore"

sirius is visibly perturbed, and remus can practically smell the guilt on him. "what the fuck why not remus?"

"because pads, there's a war on, and we picked a side. we won't be safe there anymore."

sirius doesn’t do what remus expects next. he doesn’t scream, he doesn’t yell. instead he pulls remus into his arms, and remus feels like he just came home. “I know you’re stressed, moonbeam. we all are. but you can do this. we’re alright, yeah?”

“siri– none of this feels alright. nothing feels alright anymore. I don’t want to die in this fucking war. I don’t want to die at all,” he doesn’t cry, he’s shed too many tears over this war. he’s spent too many nights alone, hurt too badly, to have any tears left in him.

“I know Moony. I fuckin’ know you’re scared. this is all so hard. but we’re gonna make it through. i’ll keep you safe.” he can hear sirius’s voice quaking. he’s trying desperately to ignore it, but he can’t. his arms wrap tighter around sirius’s midsection, and merlin he’s trying to steel himself against all of his fears, against everything that scares him. but he can’t. because there’s a WAR on, and he’s too attached to sirius. he’s too lost without the smell of oak and cloves and parchment that follows sirius wherever he goes, he’s too lonely without the way his confident fingers parse through remus’s hair, he’s too tired without sirius to calm him and hold him through his nightmares. but they’re lying to everyone and hiding from everyone they love and remus is tired of being afraid. he’s tired of sitting as far from sirius as possible when everyone is together, he’s tired of only being able to hold his hand under the table or behind the backs of their friends. he’s tired of lying. he extracts himself from sirius’s arms like a wounded animal at the thought, because hiding is one of the only things that keeps them safe, and he’s tired of it. maybe this wasn’t meant to be, maybe it wasn’t meant to work? 

“I can’t ask that of you. this isn’t like school sirius, this isn’t a game or a sanctioned duel. people don’t just put their wands down when you surrender. this is a war. people are going to die. it makes the most sense to assume it’ll be me. and I don’t wanna die sirius. not like this.”

remus can’t help but feel trapped here, like he’s never going to be able to run from this.

sirius’s voice sounds rough and choppy, laced with indigence and fear. “why do you keep saying that? stop saying that!” he shouts, and remus can practically hear the guilt but somehow it doesn’t make him feel better. it never really makes him feel better, even when he thinks it’s what he wants.

“because I’m not like you or james or peter! I’m a half blood bufty werewolf,” he says it with such confidence and such an air of indigence that it’s a wonder they’ve never had this conversation before. “I’m the only thing people can agree on keeping out. i’m a traitor to my own fucking kind because they’re all fighting for him. I’m a fucking outcast here and I’m an outcast to them because I won’t fall in line with the pack and hunt and kill muggle borns for him. and the side we’re on? they’re no better! if everyone in the order knew what I am they’d cast me on the streets! I’m a liability to them, a monster that they’re waiting to kill. what’s one more werewolf killed in this war, other than a blessing?”

he can hear the air leaving sirius’s throat, and the way his heart rate picks up to a panic. he knows that sirius hasn’t considered this possibility. he knows that sirius doesn’t think like that. but sirius shocks him again, because remus never expects him to know how to react. they’ve spent so long getting to know each other, inside and out, and yet remus has never given him the credit of being able to put his catastrophic emotions on hold because remus needs something to break up the tension. “I won’t let that happen moony. you can’t die on me. who else is gonna keep my ego in check?” the wet laugh is enough to get remus choked up, and the distance between them closes again. no longer are they standing apart from one another, yelling about the war. instead, they’re back in each other’s arms, eyes glassed over with tears that they didn’t know they had left to shed. sirius’s arms are around him, and it feels like the only thing that’s holding him back from running back to gwynedd, back to the cliffs of the prosecution and the judgement of the stars, waiting for him to lay his sins out and beg for forgiveness.

“I love you, moonbeam. alright?” those three words are something remus has long abandoned hope for, yet here they are, laid out like an apology and a promise in front of him. for right now, it’s enough.

“alright, you bloody plonker.” it’s not an I love you too, because remus is too afraid to risk it– too afraid that when he says those word, he’ll lose sirius– he’s lost everyone else he’s ever loved. but for right now, it’s just as good. 

“we’ll figure this out moony. we always do. maybe– maybe we can run? just get out of London, get out of the world for awhile, drop off the grid, the whole nine. we could use the fidelius charm.” those words are music to his ears because he knows that sirius has never even considered it, yet somehow it’s the only solution remus can bare to think about. because he doesn’t want to think about this war, or how it will end for them, with his death at the hands of the man who ruined him before he was old enough to know what he had lost. 

“i’m so scared, pads.”

“me too, moonpie. me fucking too.”

it’s not another i love you, but for right now, it’s enough.

[lydiarosemakin]

Personal Liberation vs Public Objectification

It may not come as a shock to some, but in 2017, the binary notion of feminist vs. not feminist is still very much alive. Shock and scandal ensued this week when it was revealed that Emma Watson, feminist campaigner and UN ambassador, had posed nude in a spread for Vanity Fair. Some Twitter users were eager to hurl her into the ‘Bad Feminist’ bin for her failure to comply with her own feminist ideals, while others commended her for her sense of empowerment.

The photograph in question was one of many included in the in-depth profile which revealed several artistic takes on clothing and couture. Specifically, the only image which could be considered even slightly risqué shows Watson posing in a white lace skirt and a crochet open top by Burberry. Yet the world ignored the context of the article because of the visibility of her breasts. Of course, even if the photo had been intended to be sexual rather than artistic or if there had been ten other similar photos, Watson’s choice to express herself in such a way rests solely with herself, and is not incompatible with her previous decisions to speak out against the intrinsic sexualisation and objectification of the female body.

One of the first to take to Twitter to criticise the image was Julia Hartley-Brewer, a Talkradio presenter and Telegraph columnist. She questioned why posing topless for a “posh magazine” like Vanity Fair was “empowering”, yet doing it for page 3 signified “exploitation”. In other words, would Watson’s nudity really be deemed so liberating if she was a working-class woman from Glasgow on page 3 of the Sun, or is liberation only for the elite?

Perhaps, however, the nature of the photos themselves is more relevant than the subject’s social class. Have the critics considered it possible that, unlike those of page 3 models, the photo of Watson may not have even been intended to be sexual and to perceive it as inherently such is arguably sexist in itself? Should female nudity necessarily be equated with sexuality? Watson is not responsible for society’s preoccupation with such matters.

In a BBC interview earlier this week, the 26-year-old actress said that her decision to pose topless did not subvert her feminist beliefs, stating that “Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women. It's about freedom, it's about liberation, it's about equality.” Thus, Watson has firmly positioned herself as an advocate for choice and has appeared to suggest that feminists should not be undermining one another or dictating the attitudes of others. Individual and subjective reasoning is a necessary basis for gender equality. If Watson doesn’t feel objectified, who’s to say she has been? Her previous objections to the perceived public objectification experienced by other women who have been photographed topless should not prevent her from making her own choices about her own body and to suggest so would simply undermine the core concepts of feminism.

In light of the current institutional and structural barriers preventing women from progressing, mainstream feminism needs to encompass more than just white-washed discussions of gender stereotypes and body image. Of course, these are still relevant and important subjects but there are certainly more pertinent issues to agonise over than whether one particular woman is or isn’t a hypocrite. There should be a larger focus amongst feminists over issues such as FGM, police violence against women of colour and the shocking endemic of sexual assaults on college campuses. To expend energy on obsessing over the actions of a woman who is already making positive contributions to global gender politics through her role as a UN ambassador seems comparatively frivolous.

So, what is the difference between personal liberation and public objectification? The various different angles and belief systems within the feminist movement can be contradictory in themselves. For example, different forums and websites can show immensely different viewpoints between individual feminists on similar issues. However, the common goal remains the liberation of women and the achievement of equality in a society which is currently patriarchal. Watson’s branch of feminism seems to suggest that, rather than categorising an individual’s choices as examples of bad feminism or good feminism based on a one-size-fits-all philosophy, it is important to consider the personal perceptions of each individual woman and the impact her own choices have on her and her own physical and emotional wellbeing. Perhaps a woman defining her own boundaries of independent autonomy and freedom of thought despite the expectations of any one movement is a prime example of this branch of feminism. Thus, the real difference between objectification and liberation rests solely in the hands of the woman who is affected.  

One thing’s for sure: the fact that Watson receives so much criticism over every facet of her behaviour says something sad about the current climate of competitiveness amongst fourth-wave feminists. Twitter policing of the traits and actions of self-proclaimed feminists is becoming more and more pervasive and it's damaging the momentum and reputation of the movement. That's not to say that criticism within the feminist community shouldn't exist; it's always been prevalent and it's always been important because without discussion and continual questioning, how can we move forward, evolve and improve? However, the competitive and spiteful form in which this criticism and pedantry has begun to take shape in recent times amongst fourth-wave feminists is becoming increasingly concerning.

-March, 2017, The Gaudi