#monacelli

[mtaartsdesign]

It is our great pleasure to announce that “Contemporary Art Underground,” a new book by MTA Arts & Design director Sandra Bloodworth and deputy director Cheryl Hageman, will hit the shelves this April!

The book is a celebration of the more than 100 #MTAArt works completed between 2015 and 2023. The Arts & Design collection has made museum-quality experiences part of the daily commute for NYCT, MNR, and LIRR riders. Focused on MTA Arts & Design’s most recent projects, “Contemporary Art Underground” is an exploration of the collaborative process behind this collection (now with nearly 400 permanent projects!) – from artist selection through the translation of original artwork into a site-specific installation – including proposal images, behind-the-scenes insights, and lots of photographs.

Take the journey with us across the city’s boroughs, from Manhattan and Queens to the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and beyond. Learn how art in MTA stations and reconstruction initiatives uniquely engages with and informs its surroundings. View the fabrication of art in materials chosen for their resilience in the transit environment. Discover new appreciation for these incredible artworks and a diverse collection that has become symbolic of New York City.

#ContemporaryArtUnderground is available for pre-order now! https://www.phaidon.com/monacelli/art-and-photography/contemporary-art-underground-mta-arts-and-design-new-york-9781580936422/

[sheltiechicago]

A New Book Celebrates the Exquisite Patterns and Glowing Colors of Glass Maestro Lino Tagliapietra

Lino Tagliapietra: Sculptor in Glass, a new book published by Monacelli, an imprint of Phaidon, chronicles the story of the artist, from apprentice to maestro to one of the foremost glassblowers in the world, surveying his extensive career with hundreds of photographs of his captivating, luminous compositions.

All images © Lino Tagliapietra

[umbriasud]

Perugia: in memoria di Marcello Monacelli, maestro di giornalismo

Marcello Monacelli Perugia ha, con una cerimonia, intitolato una rotatoria in via Settevalli (vicino al nuovo comparto commerciale) a Marcello Monacelli, professionista ricordato come indiscusso maestro di giornalismo e perugino appassionato della sua città. “Siamo qui per celebrare una figura importante del settore dell’informazione locale che, attraverso le sue cronache, ha raccontato le…

[bellysoupset]

Sick at Home - Part 3

@beanizsmol

----------

Vince slept past his alarm. He never did that, no matter how tired he was, the noise always managed to wake him up. But this time, he slept past it and then past a phone call from Wendy at seven thirty and then past one from his mother at 8 AM.

He woke up with coughing, eyes peeling open like they had been glued down and for a second he just sat there, rubbing at his face and trying to pinpoint what exactly was going on.

He was freezing and his stomach hurt like he had swallowed nails. His head was pounding and there was an incessant noise that took Vince a second to realize was Sophia heaving over her bucket.

He jumped up and immediately regretted it when the room spun around him and caused his knees to buckle. Vince grabbed her desk, bringing a bunch of glittery pens and notebooks to the ground, but managing to stop himself from faceplanting her floor.

Behind him, Sophia let out a wet belch and he heard another heave, followed by her hyperventilating. Vince swallowed a heave of his own, stumbling towards her bed. He wasn't able to stand upright, so he crawled on it and flinched as he saw just how red Soph's face was. There weren't tears running down her cheeks, but she was clearly sobbing, a rope of saliva hanging from her bottom lip and her blue eyes all bloodshot.

"Vin-" Her voice came out hoarse and Vince scooted up on the bed so he managed to sit almost behind her. His movements were jerky and uncoordinated, but he managed to hold back her hair with one hand, the other one rubbing her back up and down.

"My head is killing me, Vin..." Sophia whined, turning so she could bury her face against his chest. Normally he'd be over the moon with such affection, but at that moment all that the gesture caused was more pressure on his stomach and Vince pressed a fist to his mouth, muffling a gag against it.

"Water," he grumbled, squeezing her, "you need water."

"Can't- Won't stay down..." Sophia sniffled pathetically and Vince pressed his eyes closed, trying to muster up energy to force her to drink something. Hell, he needed to check on Livia, the panic was starting to cling to him like cold sweat and making him claustrophobic.

"Stay- Stay here..." Vince rolled off the bed and stumbled up, bracing against her wall and taking shallow breaths.

"Vin?" Sophia called in a little voice and he forced his eyes open, ignoring the little colorful pulsating spots that were dancing around her head. His sister was curled up as much as she could, frowning at him and he wasn't entirely sure why she was angry. He hadn't done anything- "are you okay?"

"Liv," Vince answered instead, taking deep, steadying breaths and forcing his legs to keep moving, "gotta check on Liv, high fevers are dangerous with little kids," and if something happened to Livia because he was too sick, he'd die.

Vince nearly went down to his knees when he entered Livia's bedroom and she was starfished in bed, peacefully asleep. Vince sat at the foot of her bed and let out a relieved sigh when he touched her and she felt cold to the touch. The seven year old had sweat through another set of PJs, but she seemed sound asleep and Vince grabbed the thermometer abandoned on her bedside table, holding it to her ear.

"How high is it?" Sophia asked, startling him. Vince stomach soured up even more at the mild jump, causing him to gulp down.

"Hmm-" he swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth, "101ºF.... That's good, right?"

Sophia nodded, then let out an exhausted sigh and climbed Livia's bed, wrapping herself up around her little sister as if the kid was a teddy bear. Vince felt almost envious, that was exactly what he wanted to do, but his stomach had other ideas.

"Give me that," Soph opened her hand to grab the thermometer, then held it to her own ear, "you look like shit, Vin."

He huffed out a breath, staring at his shoes. The room was pulsating, he wasn't sure how that was even possible.

"Uhm... A little under 102," Sophia announced, holding the device for him to read, but Vince couldn't even begin to put the numbers together, "your turn."

Vince shook his head, then ignored Soph's complaints as his belly flipped. He slammed a hand to his lips, but didn't have any strength to get up.

Instead, he collapsed out of Livia's bed, to his hands and knees, and gagged fruitlessly. His senses were tricking him, his stomach felt full and his head was swimming, he was freezing as if he had dipped into a frozen lake and Vince wanted to cry...

"Shit, you're super warm," Sophia was draped on his back all of sudden, her voice filtering through the ringing in his ears. Vince coughed, managing to bring up a splash of bile, all over the floor. What a mess.

"Sophie..." Livia sounded pitiful and terrified and he had no idea when she had woke up, "Soph, I don't like this, I want mamma-"

"I don't like this either," Sophia scoffed, shaking Vince a little, "Vin? Vin, please, I'm scared, what do I do? I'm going to call mamma-"

"No," Vince managed to say, shaking his head. He dizzily reached behind him, grabbing the bed to pull himself up and Livia promptly latched on his wrist as if she could be of any help. He took a breath, wiping his mouth, "get my phone, please."

Sophia was happy to be bossed around and she bolted out of the room, while Livia crawled on his lap, puke be damned, her little fingers all over his face, "Vin?"

"I'm'kay," he turned his head to kiss her palm, closing his eyes for a second-

"Is he passed out!?" Sophia's voice was too loud and Vince frowned, forcing his eyes open. He was flat on his back now, although he didn't remember lying down at all. Livia was sitting by his side, curled up, bottom lip trembling, face all red as she was clearly crying.

"Not-no..." Vince squeezed his eyes shut and open again, staring at the ceiling, "call Max."

He wanted Wendy, but she was 4 hours away and even feverish as he was, Vince knew they needed someone now.

"Who?"

"Max," Vince rolled on the bed, his face met Livia's lap and he couldn't bring himself to move when his baby sister wrapped her arms around his head like an octopus, "Daniels."

"Mr. Daniels?" Sophia held the phone to his face, so she could get the face ID, before snatching it back, "my chemistry teacher?"

"Yea-" Vince muffled a sick burp against Liv's lap, "tell him to come over."

He was floating in and out of consciousness. Half listening as Sophia stammered and nearly died of embarrassment as she called Max, then as she peeled off Livia from him, ignoring the kid's complaints.

He was drifting, sinking into the dark, when suddenly he was shaken harshly, "Hey, Monacelli," Max's voice was rough, alarmed, "man, wake up. C'mon, don't have me call an ambulance."

Vince frowned, forcing his eyes open.

Daniels was standing over him, looking more than a little pissed off. His blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail, so the undercut was showing, and he was wearing what Vince assumed were gym clothes, although he'd never peg Max as the type to frequent one.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Max huffed, "can you sit up?"

Vince nodded, although he wasn't so sure. He looked around the room, dizzily, "where- Where-"

"Livia and Sophia are in your bedroom. The bed is bigger and its not as messy. Livia is having breakfast, I got her some cereal. Sophia is sleeping."

"Fever-" Vince slurred, trying and failing to push himself up. He was flooded by a sense of relief that his sisters were taken care of, which was a bad thing, since panic was the only thing holding him together. It was suddenly much harder to keep his eyes open.

"Livia's fever is almost gone," Max moved and grabbed Vince's hoodie by the front with both hands, using all his force to pull the other man sitting up, "Sophia took some Tylenol, I'll check on her in a second. None of them are half as bad as you- You're burning up."

"Hmmm," was Vince's sleepy answer, all fight leaving him. Max slapped his cheek, not too kindly.

"Wake up, don't pass out on me-" he pushed something against Vince's lips and the man frowned, forcing his eyes open again. He didn't remember closing them. Max was suddenly really close, forcing a straw in his mouth, "drink up, you're super dehydrated. Sophia said you didn't drink anything."

"Snitch," Vince scoffed, then took a gulp and immediately groaned as it settled like a punch in his stomach. He didn't even quite swallow it down, before his belly was squeezing with a retch, rejecting it. Max barely had time to scramble back, as Vince puked the little splash of Gatorade on his front and let out a sob, "fuck-"

"Shit, Vince," Max chewed on his lip, worried, "I think you need a hospital, man."

"No," Vince shook his head, grimacing at the wet spot on his hoodie, "help me-"

"Oh yeah, yeah, sorry-" Max cringed at his own lack of action, helping Vince strip off the piece of clothing, "don't go anywhere, I'll be back in a second."

Vince let out an amused huff at the prospect of him moving, when he could barely stay awake. He closed his eyes once again, hating the way the room was spinning and the heavy weight in his stomach... Something like ice touched his face and Vince scrambled, only for Max to grab him by the shoulder.

"HEY! Stay put!" Max's bedside manners were atrocious, as he all but shouted at Vince in order to snap him out of the fever induced panic. Nevertheless, it worked. Vin settled back down against the pillows, his heart hammering, eyes darting around in a paranoid way until he realized Max was simply holding a wet towel to his face.

"Christ, you're a mess," Max pouted, wiping him face and chest, "we need to cool you down, your brain is probably melting..."

The visual caused Vince to grimace and gag and the blonde widened his eyes, "oh, for fuck's sa- Vince!" he snapped his fingers in front of the other man's eyes, "stop that. No more puking."

"Check on the girls," Vince rasped out, "Sophia's in bad shape..."

"Sophia is fine," Max glared at him, "her fever was going down and she managed to keep down water, unlike you. Livia-"

"She doesn't like cereal," Vince let his eyes slip closed again, turning his head so he could press his forehead to the inside of Max's wrist, "she'll puke again."

"You're insufferable," Max scoffed, draping the wet towel over him like a blanket, "I'll be right back."

Next time Vince woke up, he was alone in the room. The towel draped over him had changed into a different one and it was dry by then. He could hear giggling down the hall. Vin's throat was scratchy and he had a killer headache, but the floaty feeling from before had diminished.

He stumbled up, using the wall as support and forcing himself to get out of the room.

Max was sitting with his legs crossed, boots gone and just in his socks, in Vince's bed. Livia was sitting on his lap and Sophia lying down, rolled on her side, they were playing UNO cards.

Vince braced against the threshold, squinting at how bright the room was. All windows were open in the house, which caused him to shiver.

"You're such a cheater, Daniels," Sophia said in a raspy voice, although it sounded amused. Max rolled his eyes, noticing Vince in the doorway, but all he said was:

"No, I'm not," he kissed Livia's head, "are we cheating, Liv?"

"No, we're not!"

"See," he grinned at Sophia, smugly, before grabbing Livia's waist and planting her sitting on the mattress, "keep kicking your sister's ass. I'll be right back."

Vince moved out of the doorway before the girls could see him and Max met him in the hallway, planting his hands on his hips and looking a whole lot like a worried mother, "the fuck are you doing out of bed?"

"Thirsty," Vince whispered and Max rolled his eyes.

"You could've asked for water," he said, grabbing Vince's arm and shoving him in the direction of Livia's room, only for the other man to stop moving altogether.

"Tired of the bed," he rubbed at his forehead, grimacing at his greasy hair, "need a shower."

"You're gonna slip and die," Max glared at him, "you can barely stand."

"I feel gross," Vince groaned, wrapping an arm around his stomach - Since when he was shirtless? - "I wanna shower."

Max stared at him, seemingly not sure of what the hell to do, before sighing and nodding, "okay... You're gonna leave the door open," he steered Vin back in his own bedroom, where the girls were.

As soon as they stepped inside, Livia was rushing up, squealing "VINNY!" and hugging him by the legs. He wanted nothing more than scoop her up, but just the idea of bending to pick her up was enough to have his head swimming again. Max's grip around his arm was iron tight.

"Hey bambi," he messed Livia's greasy curls, she needed a shower as well. Sophia didn't get up from the bed, but she sat up, staring at him worriedly.

"You sure you should be standing?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"I'm fine," Vince said, at the same time as Max answered:

"No, he shouldn't."

"I'm fine," Vin insisted, stroking Livia's face when she hugged his stomach, "I just need a shower and some water."

Daniels scoffed, but didn't say anything, only crouching down and grabbing Livia by her armpits, stopping her from attempting to climb Vince like a cat would, "c'mere, little monster," he threw her up, hugging her closer, then pointed at Vince, "keep the door open, go."

"He's bossy," Sophia giggled from her spot and Vince nodded, stumbling forward.

Showering proved to be a bigger challenge than Vince was expecting and he was panting and dizzy by the time he managed to wash his hair. He didn't have any energy to get out of the shower, so he only braced against the wall, pressing his forehead to the cold tiles and trying to will his stomach to stay in place as the nausea returned with vengeance.

He ended up stumbling out of the shower in order to lean over the toilet, still naked, and retch weakly until his body managed to bring up a splash of bile and trickle of red. Vince's head swam and he slumped forward, hugging the toilet, just as Max said, "What the- Is that blood?!"

"Uhm," Vince answered unhelpfully, as Daniels stepped around him to close the shower and threw a towel over him. The blonde crouched down next to him, a hand squeezing Vince's nape.

"God, Vince, how- Yeah, I'm dragging your ass to the emergency room," Max decided, "c'mon, get up. Hope keeping your curls pretty was worth it, you idiot."

"No- No'spital..." Vince slurred, leaning against Max's arms and nearly sending the blonde flat on his back, "I'm not... Not puking blood," his stomach flipped once more and he groaned, swallowing down the nausea, "scratched throat."

"Yeah, I don't believe you," Max sighed, forcing him to sit up right, "up, get up. You need some clothes, I don't want you to catch pneumonia on top of this plague."

"Gon... Gonna be sick again," Vince groaned, feeling dangerously close to tears. He was tired of being strong, he wanted to be in bed and feeling fine, "sorry."

"You don't have anything to bring up," Max's voice was strained as he threw one of Vince's arms around his neck and used his whole body to pull him up, "Girls, close your eyes."

Vince cringed in embarrassment as he stumbled in the room, naked, the towel had already slipped down his waist and was on the ground, and saw Sophia with her eyes shut and covering Liv's with a hand.

"Sorry..."

"Vinny," Livia grabbed Sophia's wrist, "are you-"

"I'm not dying," he scoffed, already knowing what she was going to ask. He was going to find whoever taught his baby sister about death and strangle them.

"He's just stubborn and annoying and-" Max dropped him on the bed, causing the whole thing to jostle and Sophia to let out a squeal, "really fucking heavy."

"I keep telling him to go on a diet," Soph said unhelpfully, causing all three of them to let out a scoff.

"He doesn't need a diet," Max said, at the same time that Liv exclaimed, "Vinny is fluffy! Stop being mean!" and Vince answered, "fuck off, Sophia."

She let out a little whine at all three answers and Vince struggled to sit up as Max let go off him in order to dig up a fresh set of sweatpants.

"We're getting way too friendly here, Monacelli," Max teased him, as he had to crouch down and help Vince slide up the pants. He straightened up, patting Vince's thigh, "alright, you can open your eye- Livia!"

Livia had jumped Vince the second Sophia let go of her, causing her brother to let out a groan and squeeze his mouth in a tight line. Max let out a tired sigh, feeling a wave of sympathy for his...Friend? Yeah, Vince was his friend, he decided. He had just hauled the guy around naked, they were more than acquaintances, they were friends.

He had been in the house for around six hours now and he was already done for, he couldn't fathom how Vince was able to keep up with the girls while so sick himself.

"It's okay," Vince breathed out, moving on the bed so he was in the middle of it and Sophia, for all her attitude and bark, promptly curled up against his side, just like Livia was, "I'm alright, Max, relax."

"You're insane," Max breathed out, circling the bed to grab the Tylenol and a bottle of Gatorade. He figured it was fine if Vince shared with Sophia, since they were both sick, "drink."

"No, man, I don't-"

"Drink," Max's patience was gone, "drink or I'm calling an ambulance, do not try me."

Vince let out a groan, but gave in as soon as Livia lifted up her head from his chest and said, "no hospital, Vinny."

"Fine," he said sourly, taking the pills with a small sip and planting the bottle on his bedside table, "happy?"

"Ecstatic," Max replied just as sharply, then sat on the foot of the bed, fishing out Vince's phone from his own pocket, "you should call your girlfriend, she called like 3 times already. And your mom-"

"Did any of you tell mamma about this?" Vince looked between the girls and they all shook their heads, "good. We're not gonna."

"Very smart," Max said dryly and Vince opened a sheepish smile.

"It's their anniversary, man, I don't want to ruin it. Besides, everything is fine here, right?"

"Now that Daniels is here," Sophia scoffed, but didn't move her head from where she had her cheek pressed to Vince's bicep, yawning. Vince let out an amused huff, noticing Max's face turning all red.

"You hear that? She likes you better than me," he said, then his call connected and he said, "Hey, honey-" and Max could clearly hear Wendy going frantic over the line.

He lied down on the foot of the bed himself, looking up at the ceiling and rubbing his face, trying to fight the horrible warm feeling that was washing over him. It shouldn't feel this nice to be surrounded by three sick people.

[germanpostwarmodern]

With the Robie and Farnsworth Houses Chicago and „Chicagoland“ are home to two icons of 20th century domestic architecture. At the same time these two houses also epitomize two important strands of Chicago architecture, namely Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School and Mies van der Rohe’s glass-and-steel universalism taught at Armour Institute (later IIT). Unsurprisingly these two heavyweights of 20th century architecture had a lasting impact on Chicago’s architects as Susan S. Benjamin and Michelangelo Sabbatino demonstrate in their book „Modern in the Middle: Chicago Houses 1929-1975“, published in 2020 by Monacelli Press, in which the authors zoom in on four-and-a-half decades of domestic modern architecture in and around Chicago. In their comprehensive introduction Benjamin and Sabbatino go into detail about the book’s title which refers to Chicago’s geographical location, the chosen time frame as well as the predominantly middle and upper middle class clients. Furthermore they recount the development of modern residential architecture in the area and embed it within 20th century modern architecture.

In the catalogue part the authors present 53 houses by well-known names like Harry Weese, Bertrand Goldberg, Stanley Tigerman, FLW and Mies but also by largely unknown local architects. This carefully selected range of buildings and architects brings to light numerous gems like Clarence Krusinki’s Walgreen House (1970) or Jacques Brownson’s and Le Roy Binkley’s own houses (1952 and 1950), all presented in predominantly historic photos, plans and an essay shedding light on the architect and the building’s history.

„Modern in the Middle“ is rounded out by Benjamin and Sabbatino reflecting on their own (modern) houses, a personal touch that again emphasizes their love for modern residential architecture in Chicago, an appreciation the reader will easily subscribe to after finishing the book.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

An exploration of the toxic brew of the white Evangelical pastors who form the hardcore base of the Trump supporters. They have concocted a new theology: fifty percent "prosperity gospel" and fifty percent white nationalism with very strong overtones of fascism as it manifested itself in Europe between the wars. These views are essentially heretical from the perspective of Roman Catholic, Orthodox and mainstream Protestant Christianity, and indeed, the Gospel of Jesus Christ plays only the most peripheral role.

[valtoybob]

Claudia Monacelli: The Power of Self-Preservation

What is power? In this episode, Claudia Monacelli enlightens us on the power of self-preservation from her work as a professional interpreter for the United States Department of State and from her spiritual journey.

What is power? In this episode, Claudia Monacelli shares her experience working as a professional interpreter for the United States Department of State. She enlightens us on the effect of power in our lives and our relationships. She walks us through embracing and dancing with our shadow as well as falling in love with whom we see in the mirror. “It is all about your thoughts.” Kindly support…

[cetaceous]

Steel Mill, Ukraine

Petroleum Field, USA

Extraction of Minerals, Ukraine

photographs by Cédric Delsaux from the photobook 'A Common Destiny: A Photographic Journey Through a Changing World' by Cédric Delsaux published by The Monacelli Press, New York via: The Atlas of Places

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Elon Musk: "Free speech absolutist"

Shame on the supposed leftists and "anti-imperialists" who promoted his bullshit.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Steven Monacelli and Tristan Lee at Texas Observer:

Under owner Elon Musk, the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, has become a hotbed of white supremacist and neo-Nazi content. A recent headline in the Atlantic doesn’t mince words: “X is a white supremacist site.” Musk has allowed formerly banned far-right and neo-Nazi accounts back on the platform, and, in some instances, he’s directly responded to accounts that traffic in white supremacist and neo-Nazi rhetoric. Meanwhile, anonymous accounts that regularly promote racial hate on the platform have seen their follower counts grow substantially as Musk has taken a more hands-off approach to moderation compared to the social media network’s prior owners.  Anonymity has long been a tactic used by extremists to spread their ideology while avoiding consequences, from Klansmen hoods to online pseudonyms. With such ideas spreading rapidly on X, the Texas Observer has identified the operators of four anonymous accounts that regularly share racist, antisemitic, and neo-Nazi content on the platform. Three of the operators appear to live or have claimed to own property in Texas, where X moderation operations are based and Musk resides.

Through reviewing posts on X, web archives, leak databases, and other social media profiles, the Observer identified the following individuals as the anonymous operators of neo-Nazi X accounts, which had a collective 500,000 followers at their peak: Cyan Cruz, a 40-year-old marketing professional who appears to have lived in Austin and Amarillo and operates the X account TheOfficial1984; Michael Gramer, a 42-year-old retired mechanical engineer who has lived in New Hampshire, operates the X account 9mm_SMG, and has claimed to have a house in Galveston and to be spending time in Dallas; Robert “Bobby” Thorne, a 35-year-old vice president at JP Morgan Chase in Plano, who operates the account Noble1945 and previously operated the account Noble_x_x_; and John Anthony Provenzano, a 30-year-old who appears to live in Virginia, operates the account utism_ (formerly known as JohnnyBullzeye), and, according to a tip and a records request response from the U.S. Navy, works at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, Maryland—where the Navy manufactures explosive ordnance.

These individuals are part of a broader ecosystem of far-right accounts that have rapidly expanded their reach in recent months. They are among the most popular white nationalist and neo-Nazi accounts on X whose operators have not yet been publicly identified. (While this article was in production, the Anti-Defamation League also identified Cruz as the operator of TheOfficial1984.) Their rise to prominence tracks with a dramatic decrease in moderation of hateful content on the platform, which dropped from 1 million moderated accounts in 2021 to only 2,361 accounts in the most recent 2024 X transparency report. Posts from these individuals have received tens of millions of views over the last year and a half. The accounts have also attracted the attention of major public figures. Two of the accounts have received replies from the X account of Elon Musk, who has said he writes all of his own X posts and who, as reported by Mother Jones, has amplified users who promote pseudoscientific arguments that those of European descent are biologically superior. Three of the accounts are followed by a sitting congressman, and many other right-wing media figures and outlets follow at least one of the four accounts.

All four accounts follow the other three, and all four have interacted with at least two of the other three in posts, replies, and spaces on X. The host of a June 2024 X space, an online voice chat room on the X platform, focused on “JQ 101”—“JQ” being an abbreviation used by anti-semitic extremists for the “Jewish Question”—tagged all four of the accounts in a post promoting the gathering, in which three of the four accounts participated. Nearly 17,000 listeners tuned into the conversation. On July 9, Musk posted two replies to Cruz’s account TheOfficial1984, which Cruz has used to post pro-Hitler, Holocaust denial, and other antisemitic content. Musk’s posts were in response to TheOfficial1984’s call to reinstate a prominent neo-Nazi account, Lucas Gage, who had been banned for six months. In the replies, Musk explained that Gage had been temporarily banned for “repeated and clear calls for violence” and identified one of Gage’s many antisemitic posts as the specific reason. While Gage cannot currently post, his virulently antisemitic posts from prior to the ban remain visible on X, with many having hundreds of thousands of views. On July 23, Musk replied to Gramer’s account 9mm_smg, which Gramer has used to make posts referring to neo-Nazi tropes such as the “14 Words” and “blood and soil” and identifying himself as a white nationalist. Musk’s reply was a laughing emoji in response to a post about a community note—a feature that allows users to add context under a post if enough users vote on it—that described Vice President Kamala Harris as former TV host Montel Williams’ “main hoe,” which 9mm_smg described as “the greatest community note of all time.”  Musk’s engagement with these accounts may fit a pattern of the mogul amplifying far-right views on X, including promoting Tucker Carlson’s interview with a Nazi apologist, in a since-deleted post, and explicitly agreeing with an antisemitic conspiracy theory, for which he later apologized. 

Texas Observer doing the Lord’s work in exposing the people behind the four Neo-Nazi accounts that have major followings on X.

[mariacallous]

X has locked and suspended the accounts of journalists and researchers who shared the alleged identity of a neo-Nazi cartoonist known as Stonetoss after the cartoonist appealed to site owner Elon Musk.

The incident, critics say, highlights once again how Musk has not only welcomed extremists onto his platform but has repeatedly boosted their conspiracies, engaged with their accounts, and seems to have protected them from scrutiny.

A lengthy X thread posted by the antifascist research group Anonymous Comrades Collective last week claimed that Stonetoss is a man named Hans Kristian Graebener from Spring, Texas. Stonetoss cartoons, which feature simple and colorful imagery coupled with racist, homophobic, and antisemitic language, have become hugely popular among right-wing communities since they were first published at least seven years ago.

In its telling, the antifascist research group linked the Stonetoss cartoonist to another anonymous racist cartoonist known as Red Panels by comparing their voices from appearances on extremist podcasts. The researchers say they found an email address linked to Graebener that was used to register the Red Panels accounts on the far-right social media platform Gab. Then, the group says, it was able to match up comments made by Stonetoss with events in Graebener’s life. In one case, Graebener took a trip to Japan in 2019 with a Houston IT company he then worked for; at the same time, Stonetoss posted a picture on X of a “welcome to Japan” sign with the comment, “Finally made it to the ethnostate fellas.” The research group has been doing this kind of work for years and has been credited with unmasking numerous other extremists, including those involved with a neo-Nazi homeschool network.

Graebener has not disputed anything the researchers uncovered. He did not respond to requests for comment from WIRED to his personal email address nor to the email address on the Stonetoss website, and he did not pick up calls from phone numbers associated with his name.

The Anonymous Comrade Collective thread got a lot of attention on X, racking up at least 13.5 million views. On Thursday, the Stonetoss account appealed to X users who have “a direct line” to Musk, X’s owner, to help to get the thread deleted. Musk has, in the past, shared an altered version of a Stonetoss cartoon about the collapse of society. “If Elon's idea of a ‘free speech’ website is one where people can be intimidated into silence, the outcome will be a site where the Stasi will drive out all dissent,” Stonetoss wrote. The account also tagged Musk and offered to share a list of people to target.

In a subsequent post, Stonetoss said this appeal was not about him but about other “artists.”

“This is about others I know personally,” Stonetoss wrote. “There is a whole ecosystem of artists out there who cannot (or have stopped) making art because of people on twitter organized to punish them IRL for doing so.” The cartoonist also added that sales of his plush toy were “going gangbusters” since his alleged identity was revealed.

Hours later, the account associated with the Anonymous Comrades Collective that posted the thread was deleted, and the account was suspended. On Friday, dozens of users, including a number of researchers and journalists, began discussing the incident and posting some of the details of the research, including Graebener’s name.

X locked down many of these accounts and ordered them to delete the offending tweet to get full access to their accounts back. Among those targeted were Jared Holt, a senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, who covers right-wing extremism; Hannah Gais, a senior research analyst at Southern Poverty Law Center; and Steven Monacelli, an investigative journalist for the Texas Observer. (WIRED has also published Monacelli’s work.)

X also imposed a ban on sharing the link to the Anonymous Comrades Collective blog detailing its research. WIRED verified this on Monday morning by attempting to post the link, only to be met with a pop-up message that read: ‘We can't complete this request because this link has been identified by X or our partners as being potentially harmful.”

Even with the crackdown from X, people kept sharing details of the Stonetoss investigation.

“We all just started posting his name; it was like a Streisand effect,” Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical instructor at the Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic, tells WIRED. “They're just trying to censor his name, and then everyone started getting their accounts locked.”

Caraballo, who shared screenshots of the messages she received from X with WIRED, managed to circumvent the initial ban by appealing it and claiming, ironically, that she was the victim of mass reporting from antifa who were attempting to silence her right-wing viewpoint.

While that appeal was successful, Caraballo was quickly locked out of her account again when she changed her username to “Hans Kristian Graebener is stonetoss.” That resulted in a 12-hour suspension, and when her account was reinstated she was soon punished for earlier posts that shared screenshots of information about Graebener. Caraballo’s account has now been suspended for seven days. Shortly after this article was originally published, Caraballo’s account was restored by X, without an explanation.

An X representative says that the company, following a review of the actions taken against the accounts of Anonymous Comrades Collective, Holt, Gais, Monacelli, and Caraballo, stood by its decision.

“The posts that were removed were all actioned correctly,” says Joe Benarroch, head of business operations at X, adding that the posts violated the company’s “posting private information policy” for “outing the identity of an anonymous user.”

While X does have a policy around sharing private information, the company’s terms of service on March 20 did not mention a policy related to outing the identity of an anonymous user, and Benarroch did not respond to a request for clarification. On March 21, after WIRED published this story, X updated its privacy policy to specifically prohibit posting the ”the identity of an anonymous user, such as their name or media depicting them.”

“According to X’s terms of service, posting someone's name does not constitute doxing, but, many accounts, including my own, have been made to delete posts that merely mention the name of the racist and antisemitic cartoonist Stonetoss,” Monacelli told WIRED before the change. “I've never seen enforcement like this before.”

This policy change could possibly be in response to a post last month from Musk when he wrote, “Any doxxing, which includes revealing real names, will result in account suspension.” Still, in an interview with Don Lemon released on Monday, Musk said that moderation of hate speech is akin to “censorship.”

There are now hundreds of posts on the platform which name Stonetoss as Graebener. There are also numerous accounts on the platform that changed their profile name to “Hans Kristian Graebener is stonetoss”—and they haven’t all been suspended.

“This is completely arbitrary and under Twitter's own community standards it says that a name is never considered private information,” Caraballo tells WIRED. “There's an immense double standard here of the neo-Nazi comic guy being protected” by X. But then, she says, “The people that do this to anyone on the left are not only followed by [Musk] but are boosted by him. It's completely inconsistent.” To her, it seems that whoever Musk favors gets protected, and anyone else is banned. “This is also a pretext for them to be able to go after anyone that they dislike,” Caraballo says.”

Caraballo and others have pointed to accounts like Libs of TikTok and far-right troll Andy Ngo, both of which have shared private information about trans people but have not had their accounts suspended. Musk has also engaged with posts that doxed individuals on X, with seemingly no recourse for those accounts.

For anyone who has tracked Musk’s actions since taking control of X in October 2022, this incident is no surprise. Musk has systematically removed the guardrails the company had put in place to prevent hate speech on the platform and has welcomed back racists, antisemites, and transphobic posters who had been previously banned.

In recent months, Musk has repeatedly endorsed racist conspiracies like the great replacement theory and has engaged with numerous accounts spreading disinformation and hate speech. Just this weekend, Musk interacted with Martin Sellner, the founder of a white ethnonationalist group in Austria who previously communicated with and accepted a donation from the man who shot and killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.

After they deleted their posts, most of those restricted for sharing Graebener’s name have had their accounts unlocked. However, the Anonymous Comrade Collective account that shared the details about Graebener is also suspended, and a representative tells WIRED they are unsure when or if it will come back.

[bellysoupset]

Sick at Home - Part 2

-

Vince woke up a little past midnight, with the noise of the front door opening and closing.

There was giggling down the hall and Vince sighed, peeling Liv off of him — she was knocked out and still burning up, but not quite as much as before.

Downstairs, the living room lights were off, but the kitchen was on and Vince leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed, watching as Rita and Maryann, Sophia's friends, scoured the fridge for food. His own sister was slumped over the kitchen island, head in her hands and clearly drunk.

"Uh-hum," Vince cleared his throat and the two girls squealed, jumping up. Sophia simply lifted up her head and let out a groan.

"Mr. Monacelli-" "Mr. Moan- I mean, Monacelli!"

Vince stared at them, amused, before rolling his eyes and looking at Sophia, "what happened to I'm not gonna drink, Vince?"

"Uhhhm... M'not drunk," Sophia slurred, which would've been a lot more believable if she wasn't hugging the counter. Vince scoffed, walking further into the kitchen.

"What about you two?" he squinted at the girls and Maryann wavered, while Rita's face turned beet red.

"We're not drunk! We're not!"

"Yeah, there wasn't even anything to get drunk on," Maryann pouted, "they bought a two pack, for twenty people. I told you, Josh is super cheap," she turned to glare at Rita and the girl waved her off quickly, still looking mortified Vince was standing in front of her.

"I'm not sure I believe you," Vince groaned, then jumped as Sophia slid down her stool, falling on her ass on the ground. He couldn't help but cackle, crossing the room to help her up, "not drunk, uh?"

"Not- no," Sophia whined, she wrangled herself away from him, stumbling and bracing against the counter, "not drunk..."

Vince's amused smile slipped and fell as her friends chirped in, "yeah, she had like one beer. Hey bitch, sit down, you're gonna fall again."

"Lang-" he started to say automatically, before pausing, "one beer? Nothing else?"

"Nope," Maryann popped the P of her word, turning to Rita, "let's go?"

"Did anyone hand her any other drink?" Vince had completely tuned the teenagers out, his blood suddenly going cold. A memory of Wendy sitting in her bathtub looking completely destroyed flashed before his eyes, "anything? Even water?"

"No..." Rita frowned, "why? What's wrong?"

"You don't see- She's acting- Bambi, c'mere," Vince stepped closer despite his prickly little sister jumping back, "look at me, Soph," he cupped her face to force her to look at him, fully expecting to find her pupils blown, only to startle as his hand met burning skin, "Aw, Sophia..."

"What's going on?" Her best friend stepped closer, "Soph?"

"She's okay," he breathed out relief and nearly melted on a puddle as Soph lowered her head to his shoulder and whined: "Vin, I don't feel well..."

"She's just sick," he reassured Rita, the girl's big brown eyes squinting at her friend in concern, "I think you two should go, before you end up catching this... Do you want me to call you an Uber? Or drive you home?"

"We're not drunk, Mr. Moan," Maryann rolled her eyes, fishing out the car keys from her purse. Her personality was sarcastic and prickly like Sophia's, but Vince felt a vindictive sense of relief at the fact he knew Mary wasn't Soph's closest friend, "we can drive ourselves."

"Uh-hum," he wasn't sure he believed them, but there were more pressing issues at hand. They seemed very alert, so Vince sighed and gave in, "alright, uh- Get home safe."

"Feel better, Soph," Rita waved to her friend, while Maryann grabbed her by the wrist to drag her out, with a stolen bottle of juice in her hands.

"Your friends are so weird," Vince whispered, turning to face his sister. She let out a huff, cheek pressed to his bicep and eyes shut, "let's get you to bed, kiddo."

"My head's hurting," Sophia groaned and Vince wrapped a hand around her elbow, guiding her out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"You got a fever," he explained, a hand hoovering behind her back as they climbed up the stairs, "I think you caught Liv's bug."

"Liv- Liv's sick?" Sophia frowned, stopping at the landing of the stairs and glancing at Livia's white door, covered in pink stickers, just ahead of them, "I thought she was just being whiny because Ma and Babbo are gone..."

"She's got a stomach flu," Vince cringed, grabbing Sophia's shoulders and steering her away from their baby sister's room, "and she's finally sleeping now, so leave her be. I'm gonna get you some meds... Are you feeling nauseous at all?"

She shook her head, falling sit on her bed and groaning, "just a headache and dizzy..."

"Alright," Vince shuffled uselessly, wanting to fuss over her in the same way he did Liv and knowing full well Sophia was going to bite his head off, "I'm gonna get you some Tylenol for the headache and a bottle of water. You need anything else?"

"No," she yawned, starting to remove all of her rings and chains.

Instead of just grabbing the pills in his parent's first aid kid, Vince grabbed the whole plastic case, as well as a bucket downstairs and Gatorade. Sophia didn't seem nauseous, but he thought that was a matter of when, not if.

He stepped back in her room and let out a chuckle, "where the hell did you find that, Soph?"

His sister was wearing a combo of her own PJs little shorts, with one of his big team uniforms on top, back from his high school days, fitting on her like a dress.

"It's comfy, Ma said I could keep all of them," Sophia yawned, slipping under the covers and rolling on the bed so her face was buried in the pillows. On her back Monacelli was written in big white letters against the black fabric.

"Well, not all of them, I wanna frame one," Vince pouted, planting the Gatorade on her bedside table and the bucket next to her bed, "take your meds," he poked her shoulder and Sophia let out a groan, but grabbed the pills he was handing her without a complaint and swallowed them with a Gatorade gulp.

"Can I sleep now?" She yawned again and Vince sighed, nodding and lingering like a worried mother. He hadn't taken her temperature and Sophia was going to be mad if he insisted on it now... "Are you gonna just stand there? Don't be a creep, get out of my room."

Point in case.

Vince rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna be in my room, just yell if you need anything. I'm leaving all doors open."

"Okay," she huffed, sounding exhausted, then turned her head, blue eyes piercing him, "go away."

He didn't bother answering, flipping her off and walking out of the bedroom. Before going to his own, he sneaked inside Liv's bedroom to check on her. The little girl was still sound asleep and still had a fever, so he dug through the first aid kit until he found the old ear thermometer and waited for it to beep.

Still a 101.5 ºF....

He flopped down in his own bed with a sigh, vision blurring with exhaustion as he texted Wendy, despite the fact it was nearly 1 AM. Vince never felt bad about texting his girlfriend late at night, since she wouldn't wake up with something as simple as a text notification anyway.

"Liv's sick, puked the meds twice already. Can I feed her more??"

He dropped the phone on the pillow and rolled on his side, muffling a tiny burp against the fabric. His own upset belly wasn't over, intestines still squeezing and cramping, making him feel slightly queasy.

It was almost 3 AM when he woke up with his phone screen lighting up. Wendy had sent an answer, so she was probably on shift instead of home.

HoneyBee: when did you give her the meds?

He was too sleepy to type an answer, instead hitting the voice note button, "hey honey, sorry for bothering you. It was around 9 PM."

Wendy didn't answer him, instead the phone switched into call mode and Vin let out a yawn, picking it up, "Hi..."

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" she sounded wide awake and Vince shook his head, before realizing she couldn't see him.

"It's fine, I have to go check on her ag-" he yawned, "again... How are you?"

"I'm fine, it's been a hectic night. I got pulled as an assistant into surgery, was super cool," she was speaking a mile a second, "if you fed it to her around 9 PM, it's safe by now. How high is the fever?"

"Nearly 102," Vince sat up slowly, his whole body felt heavy, "should I wake her up to feed her more meds?"

"Take her temperature again, if the fever went up then yeah. Fevers are dangerous with little kids," Wendy sounded almost excited, but he knew it was just the adrenaline still going through her.

"Mmm'kay," Vince pulled the phone away from his face as he let out another burp, this one not so tiny. When he pressed the device back to his ear, his girlfriend had been stunned into silence, "Wen?"

"You're feeling sick, aren't you?" He could almost see her glaring at him and Vince shrugged.

"I think I'm just tired," he said, which wasn't a lie, more like wishful thinking, "I'm gonna go check on them..."

"Them? Sophia is down as well?"

"I think so," he rubbed a hand over his face, "she had a fever, but wasn't puking like Liv."

"Do you need any help?" Wendy sounded concerned, "Vince, if you're sick-"

"I'm not sick," he insisted, "and you're at your job and four hours away. Relax, I can handle my sisters, I've done it a bunch of times before," granted he never had both of them sick at the same time.

"Alright... Call me later, I'm not gonna go home until 6:30," Wendy sent him a kiss and he promised her that he would, before mumbling an i-love-you and hanging up.

Livia's fever had climbed to 101.9, that he didn't like one bit, so Vince was back to crouching down next to her bed, shaking her awake. This time, he was prepared, with a bucket in his free hand and had left a bunch of towels on her bedside table as well.

His baby sister whined and tried to roll away, so he shook her once more, "Liv," he brushed the dark curls away from her face, "Livia, wake up..."

As soon as she did, her eyes welled up with tears and he sighed, "hey... Shh, baby, I'm here. What's wrong?"

"I want mamma," Livia pouted, her voice all hoarse, causing Vince's heart to squeeze.

"i know, I'm sorry," he pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry."

She sniffled pitifully against his neck, pressing her overheated forehead to his shoulder, "my head hurts..."

"I got you some meds," Vince peeled her off gently, "can you take them? How's your tummy?"

"Hurts too," her bottom lip was trembling, dangerously close to tears, "I don't like this..."

"It's gonna be over soon," he pressed a kiss to her brow, grabbing the children's syrup and a spoon, "just one big gulp and you can go back to sleep, alright?"

"Okay," she made a face at the medicine, but took it without much whining and Vince helped her lie back down, freezing as she gagged and burped at the taste, but nothing came back up.

"Vinny," Livia pouted, "cuddle?"

"Cuddle," he agreed, smiling at her, "I just gotta check on Soph first, bambi."

"Sophie's sick?"

"Yeah," he fluffed Livia's blankets, "bucket is right here, okay? I'm gonna be back soon."

"Okay," she curled up, but simply shut her eyes, seeming ready to sleep once again. He left her door open, then walked to Sophia's bedroom.

Unlike Livia, who was a perfect doll, Sophia had kicked out all blankets and was currently sitting up against the headboard, the bucket on her lap as she drooled.

Vince grimaced, his own stomach flipping, "Aw, Soph," he crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed, gathering her long light brown hair into a ponytail, "so much for the medicine..."

"M'sorry," Sophia slurred, spitting in the bucket and curling up as much as she could, "I don't- My stomach-"

"I know, kiddo," Vince rubbed her back with the hand that wasn't holding her hair away from her mouth. He glanced past her shoulder and immediately regretted it. She had been sick already, an awful congealed mess was inside the bucket and his own stomach flipped at the sight. Vin turned his head, breathing through the nausea that was causing goosebumps to tickle at his skin and his mouth to taste weird.

Under his hold, Sophia convulsed and puked again. She was panting erratically now and Vince remembered his sister didn't do well with vomiting. She got sympathy nausea when others were sick and got really nervous when it was herself.

"Hey," he cupped her forehead with a hand, "hey, bambi, slow down. You're just gonna make yourself si-" she gagged and brought up another mouthful of acid and beer, letting out a pitiful whine.

"You're okay, I got you," Vince sighed, swallowing down the knot in his throat, "c'mon, one big burp, baby. Get it over with."

Sophia nodded, gulping down air and forcing up a burp that was deep and sickly, "God," she mumbled, spitting inside the bucket and belching again, "I feel gross..."

Vince patted her back like a baby's and it forced up another burp, that switched into a retch halfway through and Sophia buried her face back in the bucket, this time bringing up a powerful wave of vomit.

She started crying, still leaning over the bucket, words slurring into a pathetic chanting. Vince turned his head, moving his hand from her forehead to muffle a burp against his fist and gulping down when it brought with it a splash of puke.

Sophia let out a groan, "Vin..." she pulled back, "Vin, I don't- I don't feel well..." she straightened up fully, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, manners be damned and hyperventilating.

"It's the flu, bambi," Vince reassured her, "you're going to feel better by tomorrow, I promise-"

"No, I-" she squeezed her eyes shut, pushing the bucket in his arms and clearly trying to get up. She had a hand protectively on her belly and Vince grimaced as he realized why she was getting all frantic, "fuck, I- fuck-"

"Okay, c'mere," he planted the half full bucket on the ground, before jumping up and grabbing her by the elbow, "don't shit your pants, I got you."

"I'm- I-" she was getting all worked up and Vince cringed in worry and sympathy, "Vin-" Sophia never quite finished whatever she was going to say, because her belly let out a loud, upset gurgle and she folded in half, chest hiccupping as she brought up a mouthful of puke all over Vince's toes, her shirt and the hallway floor.

Vince jumped at that, his backburner nausea becoming pressing and urgent, causing him to clam a hand over his lips and close his eyes to avoid looking at the mess. Normally he was really good dealing with accidents, but tonight... The sensation of the liquid against his skin was more than enough to cause him to retch.

Next to him, Sophia grounded him quickly by letting out a sob. She curled up, hair getting in the way, and still hugging her belly fiercely, "M'sorry-Vin-" there was a desperate edge to her voice, and he wasn't sure if it was because of her normal reaction to puking or because she was about to mess herself up even more.

"I got you," his voice was a whole note deeper with queasiness, words sticking together, and Vince clammed his mouth shut, wrapping an arm around his sister's waist and all but dragging her to the bathroom she shared with Liv.

She was still crying, but conscious enough to shove him off the bathroom as soon as they were inside. Slamming the door on his face.

Vince wasn't offended, if anything he was relieved, as he sprinted down the hall himself and barely made it in time back to his suite, gagging over the sink.

The first retch left him breathless and deaf, but brought up nothing. However, the second one was accompanied by his stomach churning and Vince nearly projectile vomited inside the sink.

He opened the register to wash off the mess, trying not to think of the puke clinging to his toes or the clammy sensation all over him, or the way his lower belly apparently wanted to join in the mess by the fierce gurgling inside...

Vince collapsed sitting down in his toilet, grabbing the trash bin in order to puke at the same time his intestines emptied out once more, sending painful cramps that made him feel all jittery.

He wasn't sure how long it was until he felt wrung dry, head pounding from all the heaving, but he knew he couldn't let himself fall in bed like his body wanted to. There was a mess down the hallway that needed cleaning and Sophia who needed tending and Livia was still sporting a high fever...

Hell, did he have a fever?

Vince took a quick shower once again, spending most of it gagging fruitlessly over the drain, before forcing himself to keep going. Wiping down the puke from the wooden floors was a bigger challenge than he expected and he ended up dry heaving over the bucket half filled with water twice.

Just as he finished cleaning, he heard the bathroom door opening with a creak and Sophia's little voice, English lost as she had completely switched to Italian, "Vin?"

"Yeah?" He cleared his throat, trying to sound normal, "are you okay? Do you need help?"

"Can- Can you get me new pjs...?"

"Yeah, of course," he stood up from the ground with a grunt, wrapping an arm around his stomach and walking back to her room like an elderly man.

He was barely paying any attention as he grabbed a mismatched set of PJs from her first drawer, then stumbled back to the bathroom door and knocked, "Soph?"

"Just a second..." she sounded weak and it gave him a renewed strength to stand up straight. There'd be time to collapse later.

A minute later the door opened and his sister took the PJs, before shutting it again. She was wrapped in a towel, trembling like a leaf, her wet hair falling limply next to her face.

He heard shuffling around, then her retching once more and groaning, "oh no..."

"Soph?"

"Just a- Just a sec!" She yelled and Vince leaned against the door, trying to focus on her and not the fact his own nausea was building once more.

A minute later she opened the door, clad in her new PJs and grimacing as she saw the abandoned bucket near her door, "I'm really sorry about the mess..."

"It's okay," Vince breathed in, inspecting her, "how are you feeling?"

"Really dizzy," Sophia leaned against his side, uncharacteristically touchy and clingy. He hugged her closer and was about to guide her back to bed and go retrieve the thermometer, when Livia poked her head out of her bedroom.

"Vinny?"

Vince and Sophia both turned around, just as the little girl wrapped her arms around her belly, "I don't feel good..."

"God, don't puke now, please-" Sophia whined and Vince shot her a glare, crossing the hallway to scoop up his seven year old sister.

"That's alright, baby, let's get you to the bathroom..." he could feel the uncomfortable gurgling inside her tummy, pressed against his chest and Vince nearly gagged himself at the prospect of cleaning up more sick tonight, "Sophia, get in bed and take your temp, please. And some tylenol, it's all in Liv's bedroom."

"Uhmmmkay..." Sophia stumbled forward, then braced against the wall, breathing deeply, her skin deteriorating to translucent white. Vince stopped walking, only for Liv to let out a groan herself.

"Vinny-" there was an urgency in her voice and he wasn't sure who to even care to first. Sophia looked like she was going to collapse, but he decided he'd rather clean up puke than diarrhea as Livia's tummy let out another upset growl.

He sped up, planting her on the toilet just in time and grabbing the waste basket, holding it under her chin just as the kid's body decided to vacate of everything she had ever eaten.

Vince steadied her with one hand, the other one he pressed over his own mouth and nose and tried not to end up puking on his little sister's lap, since that would be a major dick move.

After what felt like an eternity, Livia stopped sobbing and vomiting and having the runs, so he flushed twice and closed the bin, putting it as far away as he could, "stay sit," he asked in a thick, nauseous voice, then leaned over the girl's sink and heaved himself.

Next to him he heard Livia let out a scared cry and Vince waved in her direction, grumbling between burps, "I'm okay- I'm alright..."

Vince coughed another splash of stomach acid, then washed the sink and his mouth, meeting his own gaze in the mirror. He looked a mess, "alright, baby, can you step in the shower, please?" he opened the warm water, "just wash up a bit, okay? I'll get you some PJs..." and check on Sophia. He was praying she hadn't puked in the hallway again.

"I- I- Are we dying?!" Livia sobbed, scared, and Vince had to force himself not to eyeroll. He kissed the top of her head, stripping her of her shirt — she had sweat through the fresh set of clothes — and grabbing her by the armpits, forcing her under the spray, nudity and water be damned.

"No, we're not dying, bambi," Vince stumbled slightly, shutting the toilet and handing Livia the soap bar, "wash up, okay? I'll be back in a minute. Sit down on the ground if you get dizzy, promise me."

"Okay," she was still crying and he hated that he had to step out of the bathroom, but those thoughts all but flew out of the window as he did and found Sophia curled up on the ground.

"Sophia!" He skipped to his knees, patting her cheeks, "Soph. Soph, open your eyes-" she was burning up, "Sophia, don't do this to me, open your eyes," Vince all but shook her like a rattle toy and his sister finally opened her eyes, dazed and in pain.

"Stop... Dizzy..." She slurred, letting her head fall forward, lolling like a broken doll. Vince cursed, throwing her arm around his neck and getting up, pulling her to his arms bridal style.

"Fucking hell," he cursed darkly, carrying her to bed and then running to Livia's room to grab the first aid kit, as well as the abandoned towels. He returned to the bathroom to wet them with cold water, only to remember about Liv...

"C-cold-" her teeth shattered and Vince grabbed her abandoned robe in one of the hooks, crouching down inside the shower area.

"C'mere, bambi, get your arms in- There you go, good girl," he kissed her temple, tying up the robe and picking her up like a toddler, "hold on to me, we'll go to bed in a second, let's just get this to Soph first..."

Livia yawned against his neck, still trembling and he wasn't entirely sure if he her fever had broken or his had risen to her level, because she felt cold to him.

He wet the towels, then walked back to Sophia's bedroom, sitting on the corner of the bed and starting to wipe his sister's face with the cold wet towels, sticking the baby thermometer in her ear, age be damned.

103ºF, fuck.

"Sophia," Vince shook her vehemently, "Sophia, wake up, I need you to take meds. C'mon, wake up," he dragged her half sitting up and his sister turned her face away with a groan as he pressed the pills to her lips, but Vince was scared and angry thanks to the panic cursing through him, "no, no drama. Drink up."

"Vin..." Sophia whined, opening her eyes, "please, don't- I don't feel well..."

His own eyes burned, he hated forcing them to do anything. He swallowed against the knot in his throat, "Soph, either you take the meds or we're going to the hospital," he said strongly.

The threat worked, because she opened her lips and swallowed the small pill, but it worked too well, since it caused Livia to pull back from her tight hug against his neck, horrified.

"Spital!?"

"Not you, bambi," Vince pressed the heel of his hand to his eyes, trying to rub his killer headache away. Wendy would be cursing him for not drinking any water. Had any of them been drinking water? He was a big guy, he could handle it, but Livia was tiny and Sophia was always on some bullshit diet, definitely prone to dehydration.

"Is Sophie dying?!"

"No one is dying," Vince groaned, pulling back so he could glare at Livia, "no one, you hear me? We just have a belly bug, it'll pass by tomorrow... I need you to drink some juice for me, Liv."

Her little face scrunched up in disgust as he picked up the abandoned Gatorade bottle on Sophia's bedside table, his teenage sister lying passed out between them, "I don't wanna..."

"I'm sorry, but you have to," he broke the seal and held it to her, "just one little gulp. C'mon."

It was with a lot of effort that he managed to get Livia to take two full gulps of it, then with even more so to have Sophia semiconscious enough to drink. He took a large gulp himself, despite it triggering his gag reflex, then yawned.

"Let's get you in bed, Liv," Vince stumbled up, holding his sister by the hand. She looked ready to fall asleep right there, in her robe, on top of Sophia.

They went through the third set of PJs of the night and finally Vince managed to tuck her in bed, dizzily trying to hold the thermometer to her ear. He lost it so many times that his little sister let out an annoyed groan and held it there herself, until they heard a beep.

101.2 Fº .... Was this good? Higher? Lower? He wasn't sure anymore.

Vince frowned, struggling to think, "did you take meds...?"

She nodded and Vince squinted at Livia, unsure if he believed her or not. Had it been before or after she threw up again. Could she take them again?

She yawned and Vince decided against the meds for now, hoping he was taking the right decision. He pressed a kiss to her brow, "I'm gonna be in Soph's room, okay? All lights are on."

"Okay," Livia was sleepy enough she didn't have any energy to ask him to stay.

It was a struggle to return to Sophia's bedroom. The hallway was spinning and he vaguely noticed he still needed to empty out the trashcan from both his and the girl's bathroom and get rid of the bucket filled with dirty water in the hallway...

Sophia's face was red thanks to the fever and Vince almost fell over her as he crouched next to her bed. She looked really warm, but when he pressed his hand to her forehead, she didn't feel all that warm. Her room was freezing.

Vince collapsed on her office chair, near her little study station and stretched out, planting a hand over his own unsettled stomach and trying to rub it. He still felt overstuffed and gross, even though he was more than empty. That one Gatorade gulp was sitting inside like a brick.

Vince dizzily fished out his phone from his sweatpants' pocket — had he gotten it wet? — then set up an alarm for 6 AM. He frowned at the hour, 4:40 AM.

He just hoped he felt better in two hours, otherwise they were doomed.

[yesterdayandkarma]

Gloire by Rinaldo Monacelli

[germanpostwarmodern]

A city of 50,000 in Southeast Indiana isn’t exactly where one would expect an agglomeration of high-profile modern architecture. But Columbus isn’t your average Indiana city: starting with Eliel Saarinen’s 1942 First Christian Church the city in the following decades saw the likes of Harry Weese, Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei or Robert Venturi add buildings to its fabric. The driving force behind this decided promotion of modern architecture was the Cummins Corporation and its CEO J. Irwin Miller in particular: convinced of the positive impact architecture can have on the lives of people, Miller fostered Columbus’s embrace of modern and qualitative architecture not only in terms of corporate buildings but also public infrastructure. In this transformative process Miller also involved other local businesses and corporations in e.g. the construction of housing, schools or community spaces. Of course this also was a means for attracting and securing skilled workers but the efforts towards a „total community project“ were primarily born out of a wish to form a strong community. This community explicitly included Black people since Miller and Cummins not only opposed segregation but actively supported the civil rights movement.

The remarkable history of Columbus and its modern architecture is the focal point of Matt Shaw’s book „American Modern: Architecture; Community; Columbus, Indiana“, recently published by Monacelli Press. In seven chapters Shaw, who grew up in Columbus, recounts the origins and history of the Columbus community project but also situates it within the larger context of American societal and political developments. Shaw amalgamates this history with key buildings and a broader architectural context beyond Columbus alone, an approach that results in a page-turning narrative. Moreover, Iwan Baan’s trademark photographs of buildings and people provide a lively picture of the city and its organically grown urban fabric. A fantastic and warmly recommended book!