#rotterdam know what’s up

[mousemannation]

abnamroopen | [x]

Boy, you don't want to miss out on what we have in store on Monday. Luckily there are still tickets available for former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas during the day session and former number 1 and 2023 #abnamroopen champion Daniil Medvedev at night! Link to tickets in bio! 🎫🔗

#tennis #rotterdam #atptour #ontopoftennis #daniilmedvedev #stefanostsitsipas

[maivalkov]

Me: I'm going to visit a new country this year

Also me: What if I went to Belgium—say, Antwerp—then accidentally took a train north :v

[siriaeve]

Riffing on a Guardian Blind Date column; for @sheafrotherdon

If Joe's first instinct hadn't been to laugh, the whole evening might have gone very differently. But he laughed, belly-deep and genuine, and after a startled moment, Nicky laughed too, and whatever awkwardness or prickliness might have been on the verge of springing up between them ebbed away. 

"What are the chances?" Joe said, scooting along the blue velvet banquette to let Nicky join him in the booth. "It's been what, a decade?"

"Nine years," Nicky said, smiling up a quick thank you to the waiter who set a water jug on their table before turning his full attention back to Joe. His eyes were a far more startling, sea-glass colour than they had been in Joe's memory. "It was the first summer I lived in London."

Two years after Joe had moved here himself, then—a newly-minted graduate who'd been determined to see the world beyond Rotterdam but then had liked his first stop so much he'd stayed. 

"Nine years? Wow." Joe found himself fiddling nervously with the edges of his menu and made himself put it down. It wasn't as if he didn't already know what he planned to order—he'd been wryly amused at the fact that out of all the places in the city the newspaper could have sent them for this blind date column, the choice had landed on a Middle Eastern restaurant that Joe came to semi-regularly. He busied himself instead with pouring out water for both of them. "Time flies, I guess."

"Yes, you did not have this…" Nicky gestured towards Joe's face. "... this beautiful beard, when last I knew you."

Joe bit back another laugh because this was flirting, this was definite flirting, there was already a warmth kindling between them, and that wasn't at all what he'd expected in the first moments after the waiter had led Nicky over to the table. They'd gone on two dates back in the day—the second somehow even more awkward than the first—having been gently bullied into it by a coworker. Two dates had been more than enough then. Joe had no recollection of any spark between their younger selves, no instinctive pull towards the new guy on the fourth floor with the bad haircut and the strong Italian accent. 

With a few years of hindsight, Joe had been able to recognise that maybe trying to date a guy who had moved to the U.K. less than a month ago and who had only come out publicly the week before had always been doomed to failure. With a couple of more years' experience under his belt after that, Joe had also understood that his mid-twentysomething self had been self-righteous in a way that made him cringe now to recall. 

"Looking this good takes time," Joe said, with a mock toss of his curls and a flutter of his lashes. Then he grimaced and said, more seriously, "I guess I should apologise for the last time and the, uh, respectability politics stuff." Joe's younger self had had strong views on the only right way to be a gay man and hadn't been shy about telling Nicky what he thought he was doing wrong. 

"Only if you'll let me apologise for my behaviour as well," Nicky said. Joe didn't understand any Italian beyond gelato and ciao, bella, so he had no clue what Nicky had said to him back then, but tone and volume had conveyed enough. They'd come very close to being kicked out of the coffee shop. "I shouldn't have been so…" His broad shoulders rose and fell in a helpless shrug. "I wasn't so long out of the seminary, then. I was very—I was inflexible."

The waiter picked that exact moment to come and ask for their orders, which was deeply frustrating but Joe made a conscious effort to be on his best behaviour. He had no desire to be kicked out of here unnecessarily, not when Nicky was unexpectedly sitting next to him, looking at him with those beautiful, changeable eyes and with that tiny hint of a smile playing around his lips. 

Their drinks came out promptly, the food not long after, and they ate and drank and talked and talked and talked. Joe barely registered the fact that the restaurant was slowly emptying out around them, because how had he not known before that Nicky was fascinating? Conversation flowed between them with an ease and a warmth that would have been remarkable on any first date—a TV show they'd both been watching, their respective experiences visiting Istanbul, their thoughts on urban chicken keeping, where each of them worked now and what they'd been up to the past few years, the time Joe and a cousin visiting from the Netherlands had accidentally ended up at a BAFTA afterparty and Joe's picture had appeared in a tabloid newspaper with the caption 'Mystery Man Woos Soap Star?'

By the time they had finished their bowls of baklava ice cream and pot of mint tea, they were the only diners left and the staff were clearly longing for them to leave.  Joe left them a hefty tip in apology, though he didn't feel too repentant as he followed Nicky out into the London night. 

The weather had turned, and something heavier than mist and lighter than drizzle was falling around them, catching the light from the streetlamps and gilding the tips of Nicky's hair. He'd brought his bike with him, which he unlocked before offering apologetically to walk Joe as far as the tube station with it. 

"It's just that I was not very optimistic when I let Nile talk me into this," Nicky said. "Although I try to bike when I can, anyway."

"I see," Joe said, sticking his hands into his coat pockets and aiming as best as he could for casual. "And  your optimism levels now are?"

Nicky looked at him sideways through his lashes and there was that tiny smile again. "Rewarded, I think."

Under the light of the last streetlamp before the station, Joe and Nicky paused to swap phone numbers and for one tentative, hopeful little kiss. It was one of the most chaste kisses Joe had had in years, but when it was over he felt his breath hitch and he opened his eyes and blurted out, "Are you free for dinner tomorrow night?"

Nicky laughed, but he was—tomorrow night, and so many others after that. 

[echotunes]

Fit talking about him and Pac "sitting on grass" in a park in Rotterdam

Fit: So anyway, I spent the whole morning just bummin' around. Waiting for Pac to get there. And in the afternoon, Pac finally arrives, right? Pac fi— Pac finally arrives, right. And you know, we chit-chat a little bit, we catch up… And then since it's pretty much just us, and then, uh. Pac was going to introduce me to some of his Brazilian friends and some content creators later in the day. We had some time to kill. We had some time to kill, and we are in the Netherlands, right? So... We… found a public park with a lot of grass. And we sat down and we enjoyed the grass. It just— they got a lot of public spaces, beautiful public parks… It was, um. It was great! It was very relaxing. This is 11pm, by the way. (laughs) This picture was taken at 11pm, because the sun never goes down in the fuckin' Netherlands this time of year. No no, this was actually like, I think this was at… five pm, this photo was taken? Yeah, like 5pm. Yeah, but we touched the grass, it felt very good. It felt very good. Yeah no it was good, it was good, like I said, we are family friendly Christian Minecraft streamers, we were just sitting, on grass. I don't know what you could possibly be insinuating. By us sitting on grass for multiple hours and not getting bored. You know? I—I don't know what— I don't know what you're insinuating, stream chat, you know, that just sounds like a little bit of silliness.

[604to647]

Gouda Girl

1.3K / Modern AU Din Djarin x fem!reader

Summary: On a lazy Sunday afternoon, Din learns a few things about the Netherlands, and you learn a little something too.

Warnings: None - fluff! Bad puns! Established relationship, nicknames (pretty bird, pretty girl, baby).

A/N: This is for @happypedrohours' Charcuterie Board Challenge – I chose 1A and got Din and Gouda!  I legitimately tried to play around with ways that 'Grogu' could be mispronounced as 'Gouda' before settling on a kind of cheat and writing the story in the Safest with You universe with Modern!Din 🫣  (You don't have to read SwY - just know it's a modern au! If you do read SwY - here's a little fluff before we embark on some angst in the series 🫣) If there are any Dutch people reading this, I love you please don't be offended if I got anything wrong, and shout out to Mr. 604 who did in fact go to school in Rotterdam! Please see #happypedrohours for all the other wonderful works!

Orange divider by @saradika-graphics; all moodboard pics are from Pinterest, but I suspect the top and bottom Pedros are from the same source/edit. I’m sorry I didn’t have more info to go on but if you recognize your work, pls let me know so I can credit you properly 🥰

“Hey pretty bird, do you know it’s not actually pronounced ‘Goo-dah’?

“Yup.  It’s pronounced ‘How-duh’.”  You add a little roughness from the back of your throat over the H.

“How did you know that?” The truth is, Din is hardly ever surprised by the things you know – you’re generally a fountain of information; what he can't usually guess is how you come to know the things you know.

“The Dutch pronounce their hard Gs with an H-like sound.”

The two of you have very tentatively been talking about taking a trip to Europe, and a lazy Sunday with no definitive plans but to stay in seems as good a time as any to do some casual trip research.  You’re on opposite ends of your couch, you lazing on one end, one knee propped up against which you balance your sudoku book - twirling your pencil as you study the numbers in the grids.  Din’s extended his long legs on the L-shape end of the sectional, with his laptop open on his lap.  Alfredo the dog stretches out in between the two of you, his furry snoot and one of his paws curling over your calf.  Din was just reading an article entitled “10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Netherlands,” but apparently the proper pronunciation of Gouda, the Netherland’s most popular cheese, was something you knew.  Hmmm, he realizes that you didn’t exactly answer his question. 

“Do you… speak Dutch?”

“Ik doe niet. (I do not)” you grin playfully, still not looking up from your puzzle.  You don’t actually speak Dutch, but like a lot of other languages, you know a random phrase or two.

Din scrolls slowly through the listicle and picks a few that he thinks are the harder ones:

“Do you know what the iconic windmills are used for?”

“To pump water from the land.  A quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level.”

“Why is the national Dutch colour orange?”

“The Dutch royal family is from the House of Orange.”

Din smiles - looks like his smart, pretty bird knows all of these.  He’s now super curious just how familiar you are with Holland, and he knows the exact question to ask to get some additional insight. Pulling up a new web search, he asks, “What would you say are some common Dutch foods?”

“Stroopwafels, bitterballen… and kapsalon?” You look wistful at the memory of these dishes, clearly having actually tried them.

Clickity click click tap tap tap.  After a few seconds, Din’s eyes widen at his screen, “Oh wow, that does look delicious.”

Ok, this is fun, thinks Din – he’s not trying to stump you, he’s happy learning new things about this country and you.  And even though you haven’t actually looked up, he can tell by the way the corners of your mouth are curving and the shine of your eyes, though they remain focused on your puzzle, that you’re having fun too.

Click clack clickedy clack.  Din’s quiet for a few minutes while he reads.  Apparently not satisfied, he enters another search and reads through the new results before throwing out, “Do you know what they call peanut butter in the Netherlands?”

“Pindakaas,” you grin, “it translates to Peanut Cheese.”

“Do you know why?”

You do, “They can’t call it Pindaboter because only things that are actually butter can be called butter.”

Din scrolls, thoughtfully, “Do you know that the Dutch are the tallest people on Earth?”

“I think it has something to do with all the dairy in their diet? The Netherlands has the 3rd highest per capita milk consumption in the world.”  The truth is your knowledge of random Dutch facts is super limited, but by some hilarious coincidence Din is asking you the exact few things you know.  You can’t help but continue to tease him – he’s looking at you with a mixture of wonder and suspicion.

“Did you used to date a Dutch hockey player or something?”

“Don’t be silly, everyone knows that the Dutch winter sport of choice is speed skating.”

Again, it didn’t actually answer his question; Din’s sure that by now you’re just playing around, but he can’t help but picture you with some impossibly tall blonde with thick tree trunk thighs named Jan or Piet or whatever.  Involuntarily, he makes a face as he looks back down at his laptop, typing stoically.

You giggle - you’re out of facts and you want to give you big, pouting boyfriend a hug.  You and Din don’t have any secrets about your respective past relationships, and moreover, Din isn’t prone to jealousy or insecurity, but you feel the strong urge to reassure him nonetheless.  Putting your sudoku down, you hold out your arms, “Come here, baby.”

Din closes his laptop and wedges it against the back cushions before crawling over to your side of the couch; careful not to disturb Al, he comes to a rest between your legs, laying his head against your chest as you run your fingers through his soft curls, lightly scratching your nails against his scalp, “My firm sponsors an MBA program at Erasmus in Rotterdam, and I visited one year with my boss to give a talk.”

“Oh cool,” Din mumbles against your chest, “did you have fun?”

“I did!  We were given a lot of tours and did a few orientations with the students – that’s where I picked up a few Dutch facts and a little bit of nederlands.  It’s really such a lovely place - we should go together, Din.”

“We should, pretty girl,” and after a pause, “so, no 6’8” blonde speed skating paramours?”

“No, baby, I find that these days I only have a thing for brown haired boxers,” your eyes full of love when they meet the soft brown pair that peer up at you.  Then suddenly, those same eyes crinkle in mischief,

“What you’re saying is you’re my gouda girl?”

It takes you a beat before you get the good girl pun and you groan, but Din’s not done yet,

“And that I’m the only one who gets to stroop your waffle?”

You roll your eyes hard and attempt to push Din off, “Omigod, stahhhp.” You giggle as he settles more of his weight on you.

“Hang on, I almost had a good one for ‘bitterballen’ – it was right there.  Boter give me a minute.”

You shriek in laughter as Din lifts up and peppers your neck and face with a flurry of butterfly kisses before he gets off the couch.  Once he’s rounded to the other side, he leans over the back and peers down at you, still with a shit-eating grin on his face, “I’m going to get dinner started.  You gouda with that, pretty bird?”

Din narrowly dodges the swat of your book before chuckling all the way to the kitchen.  He’s ducked into the fridge, pulling out ingredients when you remember something, “Oh!  Can we do something new with the potatoes tonight?  I saw this recipe that I think you might like – and we can use up that dill we have.”

You phone is just out of reach on the coffee table and Al’s snoozing head has your lower half pinned down; you reach over by your feet to grab Din’s laptop so you can find the recipe you were looking at earlier.

Opening up the search engine, you click into the search bar and snicker at all the most recent searches:

Netherlands hockey team

hard little known facts about the Netherlands

Random facts about the Netherlands

How to spell capsulon Dutch food

common dutch foods

travelling to the Netherlands

2 week trip Europe best places to go

But when you get to the oldest recent search, you let out a little gasp that you hope Din doesn’t hear from the kitchen and your eyes widen to the size of saucers:

romantic European proposals

[elljayvee]

Today I'm more than usually annoyed with a pop science article, so I'm going to talk about reading these sorts of articles, why you should always be skeptical of claims in them, and some of the ways you can tell the article's author didn't understand what they were reading and told you the wrong thing.

I clicked on an article in Eating Well about low bone density and dementia, because my mother has both. There's not a lot we can do for her now, but I am a curious person. I know Eating Well isn't great at science interpretation and communication, so I'm anticipating that I'm going to need to read the original study already, going in. (How do I know Eating Well isn't a great source usually? Well, I have read it before, and it has some really clear biases if you read a few articles that aren't science communication, and so you get to know a source over time like that. Regardless of how, I'm already suspicious they're not going to do a great job.)

The article is talking about research that shows low bone density may be predictive of dementia risk. It is written by a journalist and reviewed by a dietician. Now, I don't know what review the dietician did, but she did a bad job, and also, so did the journalist, because THE FIRST red flag that goes up is pretty quick: the math is very, very clearly wrong.

This says there are 3651 participants, and that over 11 years, 688 of them developed dementia. This is 18.8% and the article calls it 19%. That's fair! Not a red flag so far, just rounding. Then it says that of the 1211 people with lowest bone density at the start, 90 people (7.4%) developed dementia, and of the 1211 with highest bone density, only 57 (4.7%) did.

This IS a red flag. It's a GIANT red flag. This red flag can be seen from SPACE by anyone who knows how percentages work.

Here's how: You have 3651 people. 1211 of them are in the low bone density group, 1211 of them are in the high bone density group, leaving 1249 people. You have 688 total dementia cases, but your high and low groups account for only 147 of them, leaving 541 cases for that middle group. That's a LOT of cases. That middle tertile, just eyeballing it, has to have about 40% of its people with dementia -- that makes low bone density look like it predicts LOWER dementia risk relative to the middle group.

I can write out the equations for you two ways:

3651 - 1211 - 1211 = 1249 688 - 90 - 57 = 541 541/1249 = 0.433 0.433(100) = 43.3%

Because I am someone who does a fair amount of stats for a living, though, what I noticed was pretty much this equation:

0.074(1211) + x(1249) + 0.047(1211) = 0.19(3651) and I knew immediately that x had to be MUCH bigger than it should, which indeed the math bears out: x(1249) = 0.19(3651) - 0.074(1211) - 0.047(1211) x(1249) = 694 - 90 - 57 x = 547/1249 = 0.438 0.438(100) = 43.8%

That 694 is because the authors rounded 18.8 to 19 earlier, not because I can't math. So, due to rounding, you get slightly different answers -- but BOTH of them point to something SERIOUSLY WRONG with the reporting. What is actually going on in that middle tertile? Where do these numbers come from? Well, lucky us, they mention the name of an author, a journal, and a date. Always be wary of pop sci articles that don't give you a way to track down the original, but giving you that way to track things down doesn't mean they aren't still doing a crummy job with their reporting, as we see here.

The original paper is Association of Bone Mineral Density and Dementia: The Rotterdam Study, published March 2023 in Neurology. This is a pretty technical article with a fair amount of math and things in parens etc. etc. and tables and lots of measurements. The table captions are often not the greatest, which makes it a bit harder to read and interpret. For example, in Table 1, items are listed as number(number) and this can be any of:

count (percent) -- this one's usually labeled in the table itself

mean (standard deviation)

median (interquartile range) -- these last two are NOT labeled in the table, so we don't know which set of numbers is which.

Great. Thanks guys. Assuming what's called a "normal distribution" mean (SD) and median (IQR) numbers will be similar, but they're not the same and I'm irritated they're conflated but OK. Soldiering on!

The original study looked at several different measures of bone density, and found only ONE of them to show predictive ability for dementia: the density of the femoral neck. This means that for their article, Eating Well should have looked at the results for femoral neck bone density, which we find in Table 2:

You have the actual numbers for 5 years, 10 years, and study end, as well as the hazard risk (HR) for each bone density tertile, with the highest tertile set as the standard. Numbers in the HR column have 1 as a reference point -- lower than 1 is lower risk than the highest tertile, and higher than 1 is higher risk.

The first thing I noticed is that neither 57 nor 90 occur in the femoral neck section at ALL. Those numbers from the Eating Well article are just not there. I also notice that the other numbers don't align even one little bit -- the number of total cases of dementia is different, for example. I do notice that the column with the 10 year followup has numbers in it close to 57 and 90 (49, 67, 86, totaled to 202) and that the overall numbers for the total study are much higher -- 201, 236, 229. Interesting.

At this point, I just straight-up search the paper for "90", and I find it in Table 2....in the total bone density section, which the paper's authors have said is NOT the section that showed possible predictive results. I search for "57", and also find that in total bone density, and also....wow the EW author straight up failed to read. This is actually worse than I thought.

Read across, these are the 5 year followup numbers (first 2 columns - count and HR), 10 year (middle 2 columns), and total followup numbers (last 2 columns).

We see our friends 57 and 90 in the 10 year columns. 90 is, as described in the EW article, in the lowest bone density tertile, but 57 is NOT in the highest bone density tertile. It's in the middle tertile. The actual number for the highest tertile is 68. Additionally, the total cases for 10 years is nowhere near that 688 number -- it's 215. We only get total case numbers close to 688 when we look at the study end numbers: it's 686, in this particular group. If we look at the study end case numbers for highest, middle, and lowest tertiles, we see WHY this particular measure can't be used to predict anything: they are 227 (highest), 227 (middle), and 232 (lowest) -- not significantly different from each other.

We can also see here that this group of people -- people who had total bone density measurements -- is not 3651, but 3633, which is listed across the bottom row. The overall STUDY had 3651, but not all of them had total bone density recorded.

Now we know that the author of the EW article did all of the following:

read the wrong part of Table 2

mixed up middle and high tertile results

reported 10 year results mixed with total followup results (this resulted in the weird math that alerted me something was very very wrong in the first place).

and the person who was supposed to review the article didn't have even the basic math skills to catch the problem -- which she absolutely should have, as a registered dietician. For giggles, I looked up program requirements for a BS in Dietetics. Programs require things like statistics and precalc -- not math heavy, but the math that alerted me to this problem is VERY basic statistical knowledge, like the kind they teach in 6th grade level statistics, which I know because it was literally in my 6th grader's curriculum this past school year. So a registered dietician DEFINITELY had enough math to catch this problem, and should have, and Eating Well should be ashamed of itself.

SO. What can we learn from this?

Well, science communication is a skill set. Some people have worked very hard to develop that skill set and are excellent at it -- but lots of people do not have it, and even those who do can make mistakes. Many, many pop sci articles are not written by trained science communicators, or people with any education in how to read scientific articles, or people with good reading comprehension, even. It's very common for pop sci articles to have these sorts of errors in them. Therefore:

Always read pop sci articles with a skeptical eye. Ask yourself:

Do these numbers line up? Usually the math in pop sci articles is not very complex -- you can often do some basic arithmetic to make sure it even makes sense, as was the case here.

Does one part of the article seem to contradict another part of the article?

Do I feel confused about what exactly I'm being told? What's not clear about it?

Am I being told about HOW something works or WHY it works or both? Are those two things being conflated somehow?

Is there a link or way to find the original research? If not, my advice is to throw the whole article away. If yes, you can go check it out -- often just looking at the abstract or results section will be enough, and abstracts usually aren't paywalled even if the rest of the article is. You would be surprised how many times the abstract says "we found X" and the pop sci article says "the researchers found Y".

Could I explain this article to someone and have it make sense? If not, why not?

Is the article confusing correlation (these things happen together) with causation (one of these things causes the other)?

Pop sci articles, like other journalistic articles, are extremely subject to bias issues from the publication they're in. A lot of people tend to read pop sci articles as neutral, factual reporting, but they aren't! I mentioned EW's biases earlier -- the one I think is most relevant to how their article is written is a pervasive belief that if you just eat the right things in the right amounts you will be thin and healthy and stave off all kinds of problems. They close their article by mentioning that, although the study's authors are clear that this connection is unlikely to be causative, and that risk factors for low bone density and dementia have substantial overlap, readers should act like it might be causitive with diet and exercise choices that promote bone health. They were so excited to get to their point about fixing your diet that they didn't pay attention to the actual science they were reporting on. (Sidenote: actual scientific journal articles are supposed to be neutral, factual reporting. They also aren't actually that, but there are some measures in place around this to try to prevent the worst effects of bias.)

It's worth brushing up some basic math skills. You don't need to know a lot! Very basic information will help you better understand a lot of articles -- both ones that are accurate and well-written, and ones that are shoddy and should not have been published. I really like Larry Gonick's The Cartoon Guide to Statistics but if your grasp of percentages is shaky, it will be too advanced. A good option might be something like The I Hate Mathematics! Book, which is pretty old but really accessible, but there's probably some newer great ones out there that I just don't know about.

[xanderjkz]

Charlie Dalton- Life after Welton

The boy who broke free from his chains while the closest to him sufficiently died has a lot on his mind as if he hasn't completed his story.

Which he hasn't. He experienced Denial with packing everything up and being there for his friends, he has enabled his anger by punching his roommate, the one who watched him in his most secure moments but the Depression hits after that.

But why did I skip bargaining?

People in their grief are always different. For a person like him, so caged yet now so free to simply bargain is not easy to come by. Not to mention that he got expelled and now is back home, with half of a school year uncompleted. There's no time for him to ask God that if he gets this right evil Tom gets the punishment deserves. For a bird that has always been caged and now has freed himself, to be now caged again would rather send you into a wave of depression.

For charlie to drag himself out of the depression hole would be too hurtful for every bone he has left in his body. But he has to. If he took on the role of the matured friend of the group, he needs to do the same to him. Your mirror image is the one that has seen the worst of you and doesn't vanish. If you manage to bring people glory, you can do it with yourself!

So for 6 months, charlie is at a new school. Isolated from his friends. Somewhere new than the last 5 years he spent in welton. And what does he do? He, who swore to take care of himself? He let's himself fall. Why? Because every time he gets to a point of gaining something like friends, he gets reminded of the ones he lost. It's grief it's normal.

But I don't think that just because he is in a hole that he would force his fresh transformed body back into the shell his parents wanted him to stay at. Fuck that, just because he is in this hole doesn't mean he gets on their nerve.

His parents are like Evil Tom after all but that doesn't mean that he has to loose hope. So what does that guy do?

Go to a ivy university and be an English Major.

For the fucks of it...right? I mean, that's what he tells others who ask? The people that are around his parents, who hold power and are quick to gossip. He *wouldnt* lie to them, right? He did.

His real reason lies in the way weltons' most glorious teacher and students shaped him. In the most glorious time this school ever received, he got shaped into a person who knows what's holding him back. And he expressed all of this through the language they all played with. So, being an English major doesn't mean just a revolution against his parents' views but also tribute to what is past. Through this period, he is actively trying to reach out. How could he not? He is now legally free from his parents, so he has the chance to do what he wants to do. So he did.

The first was Todd

Why? He was in the same university as him. And not just that, they were in the same major. Both had different directions they wanted to go after Welton but they still managed to end up together. The atmosphere was intense considering that Todd, the closest person to Neil up until his death, definitely couldn't process his death upon college start.

(Like just imagine losing the only person who made you realise that you have a voice and who saw you as yourself. Well not since the first time they met but that's another point for the Neil essay in my mind)

But they managed to live beyond the tragedy they shared. They're friends before they're witnesses. So they talk, exchange pieces they wrote and do everything American college boys do in the 60s. Not to say that they're close to each other's hips, their dynamic will never be as close as Neil's and Todd's but it's close enough for them to see the other as they are. So through Todd he begins to talk to...

Pitts!

Oh boy, do I love that boy! This pile of awkwardness found himself in a university out of the country, let's say Liverpool or Rotterdam. Why do I think this is possible? Because I said so. Anyway, over Todd who has a neat overview of what the poets do, Charlie got the motivation to write to Pitts. Charlie probably complained about him feeling lonely and bored even when he was with Todd before the blonde (TODD IS A BLONE OKAY?!) gave him Pitt's address.

But why pitts? Because he is away and doesn't have the opportunity to actually be in a room with Charlie. Why is this important? Because Charlie, as much as he doesn't want to admit it, is scared of seeing the others. Todd is easy because Todd sees him like Neil did. But the others may changed their views. Or have different ones. After all, he last saw them when he punched Cameron which they were against. So Todd did the thing he thought was best.

Pitts replied about 3 weeks later. Well, this is how long it took for it to arrive in Europe and back. But Pitts was happy that he reached out. His time in Europe has also been lonely even tho Meeks was with him. Pitts never stated it but Charlie got the confirmation that the others don't see him differently. But in the meantime, he picks up quirks that he never noticed in Pitts. The topics he often talks about, words he often spells wrong or the way he writes his sentences. It makes the reading extremely interesting. (Is it noticeable that I love this boy very much?) Through every letter they wrote his confidence arose to talk to someone else...

Meeks!

The thing with Meeks is that he is extremely clever and someone who can give the most brutal advice possible. Through the years they've known each other, Charlie learned that if he ever wants to be saved, he should come to meeks. But Charlie picked himself up. He learned to save himself on his own. He took on the responsibility that probably would've laid on meeks. But now that Charlie is slowly getting himself out of the depressive episode he's having, he wants to have meeks great mind back. But like Pitts, meeks is in Europe. Meeks would be idiotic to leave his best friend in Europe while going to the same boring American college as the others. Tho he's away, Charlie tries to bring this connection back that they once had. Since Pitts and Meeks were at the same university, he'd know where to write. But I'm not here to repeat what I said before with Pitts. As the weeks go by and the Anniversaries of...certain things come close Charlie feels extremely low. So in a quick action, he begins to write and send a letter filled with emotions...

Dear Meeks,

There is really a lot going on. In all of the moments I have shared with you and the other 2 I never felt the need to actually express my emotions like this. But it's really shitty here. Well, not economically but in the way that all of my feelings of Neil come crushing on me. Not like a warm blanket that reminds me of love but rather a rumble that welton and Mr. Perry threw at me. I know I'm not alone in this, I know that I shouldn't be in the spotlight but it hurts so fucking much. I'm all over the place and I feel like I didn't done enough. Normally I don't feel like this but tonight it's just too much. You're usually the one who understands the human emotions. And I shouldn't lay this upon you but to burden Todd, the closest person to Neil, that's something not like me. But I don't know how to live like this for longer.

Yours sincerely Charlie

For weeks he wouldn't hear from it and he moved with it but never away from it. But faithfully the words he begged for landed in his hands again.

Dear Charlie,

While i understand the human mind, i might not get the right words. To say that I don't understand what you're feeling at your worst, would be a good lie. To think that you can forget everything once you're in Europe is almost contently. But I do understand you. You in your best moments are a light people pull themselves to but in your worst moments it seems like your hope is gone. But it's not, you see it yourself that times get better. You dragged yourself out of this hole and began reconnecting. You did it once, you know the steps back. In those wonderful years I've been in your presence I never stopped believing in you. You changed and did the right thing! For you to now feel like this is normal, but Charlie: you did what you could've done. You succeeded, so make yourself brighter independently. If you ever need help, I'm here.

Yours faithfully, Meeks

Charlie slightly tensed up when the letter came back, knowing what he wrote but when he read the words, he felt content. It might not cure the issue he has but he knew that he was allowed to move forward.

Todd noticed that he clearly felt better. He smiled more, talking more in his classes. Even if Todd has his own problems about death, he likes that at least someone manages to look on the brighter side of life. And when he received a letter from Meeks where he talks about helping Charlie, he knows that there's indeed something. He can't tell what it is, but it is something.

Knox!

Knox isn't one to go against the system in a way that may disadvantage him in the future. But we can assume that something changed within him that accepted different ways of life. And maybe he likes them. And maybe like every college student, he may go down a path that leads him to find new things that he likes. A questioning mind might look into it and what do we find? The clubs? Isn't that something Charlie would do?

Indeed they both would.

Around a year after both started college, they'd find themselves bumping into each other while...doing what people do in clubs around 1961. At first, they both didn't realise who the other was but when they glanced at each other again, both boys' eyes just widened. Yet it took them a minute before actually approaching the other.

It wasn't extremely awkward but it was deeply unsettling like it was with Todd as well. Instead of writing to Knox, he is now next to him. But like the man he now is, Charlie just went with it and had these thoughts locked in his mind. Knox doesn't deserve to have his image of Charlie's companionship ruined just because Charlie is feeling weird. No, instead they decided to go outside and talk. About the school, old memories and what plans they could make to meet each other in the future.

But Knox changed a lot in those 1.5 years they last saw each other. Knox was alone, on his own, experiencing new things that society looks at weird. And he learned to let go of the thought that every girl he talks to is obviously agreeing to something romantic (*cough* Chris *cough*). Knox himself doesn't know how it happened but he blames it on the new friend group he now has.

Let's just say that Knox often gravitates towards progressive people whose minds shatter his perspective of the world. But for him to change is a decision he made, the others just made him understand what was going on in his mind. And it's kinda shocking to Charlie just how much his demeanour changed. This is a man in front of him. Not the little knoxious that he teased from time to time. Does that change how he views Knox? No, that man is still treated with respect. Does that make Charlie think he as a person isn't flowing with time?...yeah? I already talked about his highs and lows but this isn't a hole he gets himself out of. It's more of a...realisation that starts as a question.

But besides that, both meet up regularly. Sometimes Todd comes with them but sometimes not. Todd is is own person afterall

But there's someone missing aren't I right?

Road to Cameron

Let's skip ahead of time. Mr Dalton managed to get his Degree in English. While Todd is an author who frequently writes about the meaning of life, Charlie is a journalist who mostly writes about politics or niche things that happen in small towns. Like he goes around the area where his work is (preferably New York), meets other people and just lives somewhat peacefully. It's been a long journey but he managed to find acceptance when it comes to his best friend's death. Not only that but he is still in contact with others. They remained in a close radius of each other so physically seeing them isn't that impossible.

I'd like to say that Charlie is romantically involved with someone but I'd like to not state who (to ofc not shatter my own heart). Maybe it's a dude, maybe it's a gal. But what is important is that Charlie has managed to assemble himself in a lifestyle where he is no longer bound to any pressure of society. Over his college years, he builds up a new personality with parts being added and parts of Welton staying. But he is now allowing himself to be himself.

His life is normal, his life is healthy, right? Well, what if I say it isn't? What if there's one thing he hasn't been able to progress after he got expelled from Welton? Something he thinks he did right but still can't make amends with? Something he can't explain....or someone?

Imagine the pure horror when this dude who you repressed for so many years just sits across you in the subway. The way he just reads a book while not noticing you. You'd brush it off but still stare holes into that book he has. Yet he leaves as quickly as he came.

But did Cameron do that? Not if you ask Charles Dalton. For him, Cameron was now all around New York. Outside his office, around the corner of his apartment and even in the grocery store Charlie often buys in. Slowly but surely he realises that Cameron is gonna stay in his vision. And that makes the man extremely irritated. Vexed. Confused. Angry? Nah let's stick with irritated.

I mean everybody would be like Charlie if your worst enemy and ex-roommate was constantly in your damn glances.

This irritation would be even worse once he has to see him every day. Why? On the subway on his way home, Cameron lifted his glance from the book and saw Charlie's brown eyes. And like he always is, he hasn't figured out that what he did with snitching about Keating wasn't right. So he went up to Charlie. And what did Charlie do? Be mean, like he always was with Cameron.

Look Cameron is different from the other poets. He was friends with Neil, not the others. He's a case of people who are just trying to be alive in the quietest way possible. So he doesn't go against the stream. Instead, he is one of the many who fuel it. And that's okay, he's allowed to do that. He's just trying to help himself. But this need is buried so deeply within him that he doesn't question what the true essence of life is. And maybe that was the thing that Charlie pissed off. Charlie isn't one to belittle someone based on looks if the personality is a much harder hit. Charlie our dear boy is the representative of freedom in the movie, Cameron the one of content cagement. And these ideologies clash together and caused the end of the movie. While Charlie found himself at the end of the movie, Cameron caged himself even more.

Because Neil is dead. We know that Neil is the stronghold that brought him to the poets and when Neil died he had no reason to be there anymore. But people forget that he grieved. He grieved the death of his friend and so did what he always does. What every human does. Go back to his habitat. And that one is the cage. Cameron manages to live on this life. Get a girlfriend, maybe a wife. Maybe an interesting life for himself. But when he crosses Charlie. The one who knows him more than his biological brothers, he yearns for a reunion. Even if Charlie was the biggest asshole. Losing charlie was losing the only person who can read him blind.

So what does he do?

Is this a gay romance or just therapy done without a therapist?

Oh Cameron, you'll make charlie wish he was dead.

Instead of being in Charlie's mind 24/7 Unintentionally, he now does it intentionally. He looks around his surroundings more and manages to find Charlie easily. Cameron doesn't go over, he's too Cameron for that but he stares holes into Charlie's eyes. And charlie doesn't do anything about it. Not even when he received a letter from meeks, telling him that Cameron asked him about charlie. He finds it weird but he knows deep down that he needs this to fully move on.

But it still makes him feel like he's an inch away from hell. Because Charlie knows he did everything wrong with Cameron. To believe that he ever let Cameron down lightly is a lie. He sees it but he can't bring himself to just say sorry. Because Cameron took away his last glimpse of hope.

Mr. Keating.

And like Charlie always does in his misery, he writes to the person who he thinks can give him advice. But even when he sent the letter to wherever Mr. Keating lived, it couldn't calm him down. Who would calm down when so many emotions come back like a boomerang? I wouldn't. I would let it consume me and lead me to do stupid shit. Like showing up to that dude's home, with no hesitation whatsoever and just start talking in hopes that he just does what he always does. To know that he is that horrible person Charlie made him out to be.

But Cameron has learned to form sympathy for those who like to leave a perfectly comfortable cage. When Charlie came to his house, fully spaced out, he let him in. He offered kindness and charlie finally accepted it. And they talked. For a long while.

I won't completely state what they said, this would make this even longer but what I can state is the fact that Charlie and Cameron both apologised. They managed to finally let the other speak without disruption. And both now understood the other. But they won't change their way of living simply because of that. They gained reflection, they gained peace. But they don't want to be around each other so much that this feeling could turn into disrespect again.

But whenever they cross at the grocery store, maybe one with a kid in his arms, they'll try to wave at the other. And if their paths sometimes come close again, they'll have a small talk. But that's it.

The successful Charlie Dalton?

In my headcannon, I'd like to say that Charlie managed to live a long life. Not over a hundred but he definitely cracked the 75 mark. This is unexplainable but I don't see him marrying. After all, being able to be in a relationship for so long and just exist as two in one orbit, I think that's even more romantic. But then my thoughts on relationships are extremely radical so there are people who might shake their heads.

Maybe he has a kid or more. It's a part I can't fully picture since his character is still one that was only represented as a TEENAGER.

But if I had to choose what would happen I'd say he had a privileged life. But that doesn't mean that he won't be active to help others. Part of the movie's message was to get out of the norm and find yourself being different. So helping those who share the same mind as you should be expected.

Charlie is a thinker, he's clever. He stays in his space of creating and helping art because it's what he loves.

And maybe that's what Charlie could be.

Art.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Rod Liddle

If only our TV news programmes and politicians could bring themselves to call it all ‘Far-Right Terrorism’, then something might get done – because we all know that Far-Right Terrorism is the biggest threat to our democracy. But they don’t. Even though it is, of course, far-right terrorism, lower case – the real far-right terrorism which our politicians do not want to think about and indeed lock people up when they complain a little vociferously about it.

A week or so back the Dutch football club Ajax of Amsterdam played a cup tie against the Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv and as a consequence what the media carefully call ‘pro-Palestinian’ thugs attacked the visiting Jewish supporters, with five hospitalised and 20 to 30 more injured. Many of the attacks were carried out by young men on mopeds – according to one Dutch politician, Moroccan young men on mopeds, which is about as close to actually identifying who these perpetrators might have been as you will get. The Israeli government reacted with shock, booking two planes to bring the football fans home from the fetid ghetto that parts of the decent, liberal Netherlands has become. Dutch politicians lined up to do the platitude stuff. The reliably witless Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, was among the first out of the blocks: ‘I strongly condemn these unacceptable acts. Anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in Europe. And we are determined to fight all forms of hatred.’

Just read that vacuous bilge again – the bloodless and vague ‘unacceptable acts’ and ending with a commitment she does not remotely mean to keep. Oh, and anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in Europe? Au contraire, Ursula. It has many, many places, largely as a consequence of policies enacted by people like you. So, in that crescent (fittingly) of Europe from north-west France, through Belgium to Rotterdam and the Hague – and now arcing further north, to Malmo – these are the places where a large diaspora of Muslims from the Maghreb and the Levant have settled. Hey, it’s just occurred to me – gee, could there perhaps be some connection? If there is you can bank on the mainstream politicians and the mainstream media not to make it.

[xxepherr]

.ೃ࿐IF WALLS COULD TALK | CL16

summary — in which pillow talk leads to wondering if the growing feelings charles has for his best friend’s sister is worth bringing up

pairings — charles leclerc x fem!unnamed!verstappen!oc

pronouns — she/her

word count — 1276

note — i'll eventually learn to write in second person or smth some day. im so used to third person that anything else makes me feel so cringe but im working on it! hope you dont mind the unnamed ocs for now <3

WALLS HOLD SECRETS, MEMORIES, dreams and nightmares in the intricate confines of the gyprock and paint, locking themselves into the framework inside like the padlocks once on the pont des arts in paris. they hold conversations and phrases and sounds as if caught in a spider web, and the longer charles stared at the wall across the room, the more he reflected on the past. 

the past two years where he’d been trying not to cross the line, and the past year he had finally given into the insatiable need clawing in his stomach. he was finding it easier to breathe again, to sleep again, especially when the spot beside him in his bed was no longer cold and lifeless. 

she was the warmth taking up space on the left side of his bed, tucked up under all the blankets even though it was hardly cold. she wore just his shirts to bed, and the only time she would be able to sport ferrari was in the confines of his place in monaco, hidden away from the world so it was just them and their little puppy, leo. leo, who was thankfully still snoring in the other room so that they could enjoy the peace for just a little bit longer.

if the walls could talk, they would scream. they knew things others didn’t, secrets strung together and tangling to form unbreakable bonds, and if it were to get out there . . . neither of them wanted to find out. the thought was frightening enough.

she had her brother to worry about, and charles also shared that worry. max verstappen was one of the loveliest people in the world, but he had one rule: and that was that his baby sister wasn’t to get involved with his friends and coworkers. charles had thought nothing of the rule at first, always remembering her to be this little bubbly girl with her head in a book whenever he caught sight of her when they were kids. with the two years between them and the fact that he was always busy battling max for championships in karting, charles never had time to think about her until she’d started showing up to max’s races in 2021. 

“you’re thinking about it again,” she hummed softly, and charles’ trance was broken. her accent never seemed to thin out like her brother’s had, with her whole life still set in the netherlands, not too far from her mother’s place. he liked the thickness of her accent, especially when she was tired, no matter how much she claimed it wasn’t as pretty as his was. little things. “you think too much, charles.”

“it always surprises me how casual you are about all of this,” he sighed quietly. he tightened the arm he had thrown over her side, pulling her into him so that she was a little bit closer than she was before. 

“i just do not care much for it anymore,” she responded in her usual buttery tone, more words for the walls to catch in their wake. “i don’t want to care what max thinks anymore . . . i just want to enjoy the time i have with you before you go away again.”

the summer break was almost over, it was almost time to come out of hibernation again. they’d spent this last week of the break cooped up in his home, basking in the calamity of closed doors and hushed secrets, away from prying eyes and tabloids. as far as anyone else knew, she was back home in rotterdam, and her sister victoria had been covering for her because she was the only one to truly know what was going on. 

“mhm . . .” charles hummed in reply, eyelids fluttering shut to ignore the strips of sunshine starting to peek through the curtains. he felt her turn in his arms, her hushed breaths tingling the bare skin of his chest with the closeness. “i could stay here forever,” he whispered like anything louder would shatter their walls, airing them out for the world to see. “would you like that?”

“more than anything,” she lifted her head slightly to take him in. with his eyes closed, he didn’t even flinch as her gentle fingers brushed his hair back from his forehead, lingering longer to trace his cheekbone down to the smile lines painted delicately into his skin. “then you would have to give up your career for me . . . would you do that?” and charles swore his heart stopped, she watched his lips part but no words could form in his throat to spill. she giggled softly, kissing his jaw before settling back down until her head was back on the silk pillowcase. “please, charles, i’m joking, you should say no to that. i wouldn’t give my career up for you, so . . .”

sighing, charles let amused chuckles escape him. his eyes flickered open, adjusting to the lightening room for a moment before resting back down on her. “you had me scared, ma chérie,” his voice rumbled over the nickname, the hours of not talking prior to waking up strumming at his vocal cords and producing a honeyed rasp. “i wouldn’t give up racing, but i would make more opportunities to see you whenever possible,” he said honestly, and the intensity of the gravity his seriousness held had her wide awake. “it is hard because it’s so,” he felt blindly for her hand, lacing their fingers together, “secretive, but i would do it. i would fly you out to me or i’d travel back home to you . . . i’d do anything.”

there was a moment of silence between the two, broken only by the streets below starting to come to life and the birds flying past the balcony in song. “but i would start by telling max about us.” it took courage to say. keeping this secret from one of his best friends was eating at him, gnawing through everything in its path until it reached his heart. he was running out of time until it stopped beating, but what did time care? time takes you, drills you, drives through bone and vein until you are rendered useless and devoid of what once was. the clock was ticking; not telling max was going to tear him apart, and it would break him further if it damaged the relationship between a brother and sister. “i think i should be the one to.”

she understood why – chances are, if she were to, max would immediately be upset and go straight to finding charles rather than hearing her out. at least if it came from charles in the first place, he had more reason to listen before deciding if he wanted to knock the monegasque out or not. “you are very sweet,” she wanted to cry, just pure tears of happiness. the most kindness she had ever been shown had been at the hands of charles leclerc, and him only. he just kept one-upping himself, forever his own competition, and each knew thing made her heart melt until it was nothing but a puddle. “so very sweet. i adore you so much, charles. so, so much.” “aw,” charles cupped her face for a moment, eyes shining with an emotion she couldn’t comprehend. “i adore you. now,” he let go quickly, rushing to kick the blankets off him. it was in such a hurry that all she could do was sit there and laugh, quite confused. “i’ll be right back!” he was into the adjoining bathroom, undoubtedly to quickly brush his teeth so he could return to pepper her face with minty kisses until they both forgot about the world, just for another day.

[womensworldtour]

Tour de France Femmes begins Monday!

After the long pause from the 2024 Paris Olympics (which has been pretty great, tbh) we finally begin the Tour de France Femmes on Monday, August 12!

We're looking at eight stages, with the riders rolling out from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, where they will spend most of three days on 2.5 stages around Rotterdam. We say 2.5 stages, because Tuesday features two different stages, a short sprint stage and then an evening time trial. We don't know how we feel about these types of stages, but at least it will showcase different riders' talents.

Stage 4 on Wednesday will see the riders cross into Belgium and travel parts of the routes for Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, including the famous hills like the Cauberg and the Cote de la Roche-aux-Faucons. And then finally, on Thursday, the Tour de France actually reaches France, and we will see increasingly mountainous stages that should determine the general classification, including finales on Le Grand-Bornand and the infamous Alp d'Huez.

As for GC, the odds-on favorite has to be defending TdFF champ Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime), who as we have said this year, is the best climber and stage-racer in the world right now. Cycling News has a great run-down for the other challengers, however, which we recommend.

It will be interesting to see how other strong teams like Canyon-SRAM and Lidl-Trek can put SD Worx under pressure. We've seen that in the Tour de Suisse and it can be done, but frankly, Vollering is so dominant right now that she might still win even if she's isolated on half the stages. She is just that good. Keep an eye on riders like Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) or Evita Muzic (FDJ-Suez) as possible spoilers, and definitely contenders for the podium.

We honestly don't know how the fight for the points jersey will go, and we're excited to see how that plays out across the stages. Defending green jersey wearer Marianne Vos (Visma Lease-a-Bike) will want to repeat, but she'll have some serious competition from Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), who is still the fastest pure sprinter in the world and has shown she can get over the hills remarkably well. We'd love to see Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) back to winning ways after being off the bike due to injury.

We are less optimistic about the competition for the polka-dot jersey, and think it will likely be swept up by the GC winner. But that isn't always the case, like in the Giro this year, and we'd love to see some breakaway action and a non-GC rider try to hold onto that jersey.

We also expect several teams to hunt stages and keep several of the stages entertaining. EF-Oatly-Cannondale has been on a rampage this year, scooping up stages in the Vuelta Feminina and the Giro d'Italia Women, and they have the firepower to do it again with Alison Jackson, Kim Cadzow, Clara Emond, or Kristen Faulkner. Another team to watch is AG Insurance-Soudal, which has options in Tour Down Under champ Sarah Gigante, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, and Giro mountains classification winner Justine Ghekiere.

And finally, we expect to be surprised! We'd love to see a new talent announce herself on the biggest stage of the season, that's part of what we love about bike racing. This year's course is less likely to be an SD Worx show like last year (5 out of 8 stages), particularly with Lotte Kopecky not on the start list, so we are looking forward to some surprise moves and performances that will keep the racing interesting all the way to the top of Alp d'Huez!

[fatehbaz]

In August 1963, the Dutchveterinarian Dan (E.H.) Kampelmacher stepped on a plane to Lima, the capital of Peru. His destination: smelly factories in Lima’s port city which ground up tiny anchovy fish from the Pacific Ocean into huge amounts of animal feed. Peru exported one fifth of this ‘fishmeal’ to the Netherlands, where farmers used it to feed their quickly rising numbers of chickens and pigs in new intensive livestock or ‘factory’ farms. [...]

The ports of Lima and Rotterdam connected the ecosystems of Peruvian fishmeal plants and Dutch farms. [...] [H]ardly anyone showed any interest in what the stuff was made of. Although Dutch farmers had started to refer to their new industrial poultry and pig farms as ‘landless’ at this point in time, they did not intend this phrase to mean their growing dependence on oceans rather than land. Rather, it characterized a fundamental change in livestock farming: in the postwar era farmers could increase their numbers of animals independently of the area of land they had for growing feed. The phrase ‘landless’ erased from view that these farms in fact depended on places elsewhere on the planet. [...] [T]he fish, called “anchoveta” [were] from the Humboldt Current ecosystem [...].

Fishmeal was invisible, despite its crucial importance for two interrelated major changes in the Netherlands and the global north in general: the rise of intensive livestock farming, and the unprecedented increase in the consumption of meat and eggs. [...] How did fishmeal and its environmental impacts connect industrial livestock farming in the global north to its production places in the global south [...]? [...]

---

Shadow places are ‘all those places that produce or are affected by the commodities you consume, places consumers don’t know about, don’t want to know about, and in a commodity regime don’t ever need to know about or take responsibility for’. It is very similar to the ‘ghost acres’ concept used by environmental and global historians: the acres of land countries used elsewhere on the planet [...]. Cushman analyses the rise of the Peruvian fishmeal industry as another case of what he calls ‘neo-ecological imperialism’: the ‘Blue Revolution’ [...], to stress the connection between fishmeal production in the Pacific World and the rise of industrial livestock farming in the global north. [...]

Fishmeal fed the twentieth-century shift to industrial livestock farming – the Netherlands was among the top three fishmeal importers internationally from 1954 to 1972. [...] Animal proteins – and fishmeal in particular – played an essential role in this shift to industrial livestock farming [...]. But for poultry and pigs, animal proteins were an ‘indispensable ingredient’ [...]. Internationally, fishery landings tripled in the period 1950–1973 due to the rise in fishmeal production for animal feed. [...] During the Peruvian fishmeal boom from 1958 until 1970, [...] [t]he livestock sector started to refer to it explicitly as ‘Peru fishmeal’ [...]. The Netherlands was the second-largest importer after the USA in 1955 [...].

---

According to Cushman and Wintersteen, the spectacular rise of the Peruvian fishmeal industry was the result of [...] international interest in the Peruvian stocks of small fish suitable for fishmeal production, interest from the USA in particular.

After the collapse of the Californian fishmeal industry shortly after the Second World War, industrial fishmeal plants in Peru were realised with American marine expertise, investments by American industrialists, subsidiaries of American companies like Cargill and Ralston Purina, and second-hand American fishmeal equipment and technology. [...]

As a result, the Peruvian fishery industry changed radically during the 1950s. Rather than a being a by-product of fish canneries, fishmeal became its core focus. [...] [A]nd industrialists moved in entire fishmeal plants from the USA and Scandinavia. These plants could turn 5.4 tons of fish into a ton of fishmeal at the peak of the industry [...].

---

Angola exported fishmeal under Portuguese colonial rule (until 1975), and South Africa exported fishmeal during Apartheid (until 1994). In Chile the neoliberal dictatorship of general Augusto Pinochet (1973–1990) gave fishmeal industrialists free rein again from 1973 onwards, and Chile had replaced Peru as the major fishmeal exporter by 1980.

Social inequality was exacerbated [...]. Fishmeal industrialists made enormous amounts of money, and stock exchanges in the global north enabled speculation on fishmeal. Simultaneously, workers in the fishmeal plants were poorly paid and lived in slums with no paved roads, running water or electricity, unhealthy conditions and polluted air. Fishmeal’s volatile market resulted in labour unrest during the 1960s in Peru, and during the 1980s in Chile. [...] Many factories were moved to less-regulated places along the coast, taking the air pollution and resulting public health problems with them. One of these places was the city of Chimbote, which quickly grew into the largest fishmeal city of Peru, and became ‘one of the nation’s … most polluted cities’. [...] One place impacted by the feeding of fish to farm animals was in particular in shadows: the marine ecosystems from which the tiny fish were taken, like the Pacific Humboldt Current along the coast of Peru and Chile. [...]

The ocean ecosystems in the global south exploited to feed the industrial livestock sector in the north remained largely invisible. [...] The disappearance of the Peruvian anchoveta also made the ‘protein crisis’ move north. The Dutch livestock sector referred to the ‘true emergency situation’ of the Peruvian fishmeal crisis as the ‘protein crisis’ (‘de eiwit-crisis’). [...] But in 1972–1973 the Humboldt Current marine ecosystem created its own shadow places in both the north and the south. The extraordinary strong El Niño led to the sudden disappearance of the anchovy population [...].

---

All text above by: Floor Haalboom. “Oceans and Landless Farms: Linking Southern and Northern Shadow Places of Industrial Livestock (1954-1975).” Environment and History, Volume 28, Number 4. November 2022. DOI at: doi dot org slash 10.3197/v096734 020X15900 760737202  [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism purposes.]

[o-uncle-newt]

FOUR: it's just so funny, guys

When last year I was doing my listenthrough, at a certain point I stopped including mentions of how funny a particular episode was because... of course they all were. In fact, there are only a couple of episodes that I could name as having plotlines that, IMO, aren't funny and yet even those episodes have some of the most classic joke sequences in the series.* If I sat here and listed every good joke, I'd basically just be reproducing 3/4 of the scripts.

*Qik has a not very funny plot anchored by a not-funny-at-all character, Nancy Whatsherface, but Le Bear Polar is legitimately iconic. Kuala Lumpur even JF doesn't like very much, but Arthur's steward training sequence is basically perfect.

He's just so so good at including the humor in the narrative, is the thing. I did a post last year about Ipswich that was about how good JF is, or rather grew to be, at plot, in particular seamlessly integrating plot and theme and humor. The thing is, even in episodes that aren't as brilliant as Ipswich, the humor is always amazing, and as is obvious given his simultaneous and ensuing comedy career in other formats, he just really gets comedy. But I'd argue that while lots of writers are good at writing jokes, he's really good at writing the RIGHT jokes and putting them in the RIGHT storylines in the mouths of the RIGHT actors.

I think it comes down to a few things-

He's SO good at mining existing situations and limitations for comedy. (Also for plot, which is separate but certainly related.) Obviously this would be a skill that would serve him in good stead in his sketch comedy career, but it's especially good here because instead of circling a sketch around a particular joke, the jokes have to be part of the broader plot, and so he has a more constrained field of search and takes the maximum advantage of it. According to an interview of him on a podcast, the entire conversation with Qik where Douglas convinces Martin that their plane can, in fact, do a polar expedition is essentially JF's replay of a conversation with his dad about whether the kind of plane he chose for GERTI to be back in Ipswich could do a polar expedition- he wanted to do the plot but was worried he'd hamstrung himself by defining the plane he was using, but instead he was able to take that exact limitation and make the actual situation far funnier (though again, I think Qik as an episode has limitations). (Incidentally, while on that subject I want to take the opportunity to appreciate his attention to detail overall. Recently I've been reading Admiral Cloudberg's series on air disasters and I recognized a shocking number of terms from lines that were essentially just him setting the scene for unrelated plots. No idea how overall accurate all of his plane-flying asides are, but the parts that matched up are super cool especially now that I know what a lot of it means.)

At the same time, he has such a great imagination and knew how to cleanly insert the products of it into an episode- obviously he repeats some standard sitcom beats (I think that Rotterdam, one of the funniest episodes, escapes classic status just because "characters get confronted with the cooler versions of themselves" is such a well-worn sitcom-episode plot) but even when he does he can be really original. Not sure where he got the idea of strafing a children's party with a hard-candy bomb and killing a koi from, but it was a stroke of brilliance. He's also surprisingly good at taking previously-written imaginative/comic sequences and putting them very deftly into his scripts- basically the whole "can you imagine 100 otters" scene is from a blog post and you can see exactly how he adapted the exact phrasing but it doesn't matter because he made it fit seamlessly into the new scene and into the overall plot. On a similar note, he's great at using his imagination to come up with different kinds of joke styles- for example, the running joke of them playing games in the flight deck, but then going wild with a) what kinds of games and b) how to mine maximum humor from them. There are just so many classic, brilliant games and he's so good at it that he'll even construct whole episodes around series of games (like Limerick).

He's so good at writing for particular people's voices! He's mentioned that for JFSP he will sometimes call the actors in to do a "silly voices day" and then write sketches based on it, and it's such a cool concept and also so clear how good he is at it. For some TV sketch shows, it can feel like someone wrote a sketch without knowing who in the cast would be available for filming and then they cast whoever would fit the parts- JFSP basically never feels that way, and on the sitcom side, neither does Cabin Pressure. He doesn't nail the voices immediately on day one but it's pretty dang close. And when he goes on to write jokes, not only do they work perfectly for the actors' ways of speaking, but they're nearly always funnier for having been said by that particular actor. The words "you mulled it?!" in context are already funny, but it wouldn't have been as hilarious if not for Roger Allam's impeccable delivery. JF knew he had a five star cast and knew exactly how to take advantage of their gifts- and, of course, he'd had plenty of experience writing for himself and so knew how to give himself jokes and dialogue that would sound perfect coming from his mouth.

The storyline thing... I mean, functionally, it comes down to what I was saying above about how good he is at combining plot arc, themes, and comedy. It's so good that it can be both hard and satisfying to dissect exactly how it was done, but suffice it to say, I think that's the thing that's his real talent. This week I had a few exchanges with a fellow fan on here about some limitations I have noticed in his sketch comedy- nothing major, but I think the thing that elevates him from being a good-to-great sketch comedian to being a sublime comedic-plot writer is his deftness with construction. Lots of people are funny, lots of other people are good at creating well done plots that incorporate theme, he's fantastic at both and at their integration and it's a really special gift.

[somediyprojects]

Free Palestine designed by Jacob de Graaf of Modern Folk Embroidery.

Today I want to share a pattern with you that uses Tatreez embroidery elements in support of the people of Palestine struggling through one of the most difficult times in their lives. I am aware that this is a highly divisive and contentious issue for a lot of people. Some people might be shocked or hurt by me sharing this design. I do hope on the other hand that by speaking out, others will do the same and will not be afraid of any backlash that might be there.  Sadly, the world has become more and more polarised – you are either this or that, and if you’re pro-this, you must be anti-that. The world is a more complex place and though I might be pro-this, it does not mean that I am anti-something-else. I hope you can see that side of me. We should not be scared to stand up for what is right, and to speak about such things without the fear of polarisation getting the better of us. For now, the text below as it appears in the booklet plus download links for the pattern.. Rotterdam, May 8th 2024 Lately, my great-uncle Jacob de Graaf and his wife Trijntje de Kroon have been on my mind. Three years ago, they were posthumously awarded the Yad Vashem award for bravery displayed during the Second World War by hiding Jewish citizens in their homes and saving them from certain death at the hands of the Nazis. I never got to know them as they passed just before and after my birth, but I admire their bravery in doing what they felt was right at a time when it was not only difficult but potentially life-threatening. They stood up for people they could help. I thought of it again yesterday when I saw a young man (@samih.madhoun on Instagram) playing a borrowed oud and singing songs in the refugee camp in Rafah, lifting the spirits of fellow refugees through his art. As I tearfully watched the video, I got angry at myself for not doing more besides weeping at my phone. For months, I have been shocked into a state of numbness by the genocide playing out on my TV, computer and phone. The annihilation of Palestine by the Israeli army is being broadcast to us live, and for too long, I have been struggling with how to express my fear, my anger, my frustration, and my support for the Palestinian people.We cannot turn a blind eye to what is currently happening. Our political leaders need to take action and speak out against the current genocide. I do not have the bravery of my great-aunt and uncle, but I can design patterns and share them with others—and hopefully inspire folks to speak out, too. My great-uncle did what was right during WWII. Will we do the same for our brothers and sisters in Palestine? ABOUT THE DESIGN This design uses Tatreez motifs found on traditional Palestinian dress. The central motif, called Scissors and Roses (Muqass wa Ward ), comes from Gaza. As the land is torn apart, I split the design into two, placing the question “Are we not their brothers and sisters” between them. On the sides is a rose border found on a dress from Ramallah. The doves at the bottom are found on many Palestinian embroideries. TECHNICAL DETAILS This design uses two colours: Black (2224 crosses) and Red (4226 crosses). It measures 113 crosses in width and 153 crosses in height. It features only full crosses and no specialty stitches. From the second page of the pattern onwards, you will notice a greyed-out area of 3 crosses wide — this indicates an overlap with the previous page to make it easier for you to continue stitching. The graph below gives size- and floss estimates for a wide range of materials. Floss calculations are based on working with 2 strands on 28- to 36-count linen (14- to 16-count aida). Higher counts use a single strand. You are free to stitch with as many strands as you like. The first floss estimate is for black, the 2nd for red. For instance, on 32-count linen, you would require 1.1 skein of black floss (standard 8 metre length skeins such as DMC and Anchor), and 2.1 skein of red floss.

I charted this in black and red, but feel free to choose your own colours. If you stitch on white, you could add some green to the design for instance to reflect the colours of the Palestinian flag. Thank you so much for downloading this free pattern and showing your support for Palestine. If you can, please make a donation to organisations who are actually doing amazing work in physically helping the Palestinian people. Two organisations that I have donated to are unwra.org and pcrf.net – but there are many bigger and smaller initiatives worthy of your support. Click on one of the links below to download your pattern. Feel free to share, print, and redistribute this design. When you do, I would ask not to change the booklet itself. Free Palestine – A4 format Free Palestine – Letter format With love, Jacob de Graaf

[p-redux]

Bonjour, mes amies, I've got a #samtana update, and très interesting! An eagle-eyed follower spotted proof that Monsieur Heughan did indeed spend some romantic time à Paris with our Mademoiselle Montana a few weeks ago. Check it out! 👇

Let me present the evidence. So, apparently every Hyrox Fitness Challenge finisher gets a patch with the year they participated, some also add the city. This year it's a 2022/2023 aka 22/23 patch. 👇

Some participants put them on backpacks 👇 This is the patch from Rotterdam Hyrox, which was this past weekend.

Now, please pay close attention. This is what the Hyrox Glasgow patches looked like. 👇 Hyrox Glasgow was held about 14 weeks ago.

Here is a close up of the Hyrox Glasgow patch. 👇

Like I said, that was 14 weeks ago, and we know Sam participated 👇

Weellllll, here's the kicker. 6 weeks ago, Chloé posts about Paris. The post is a multi pic post. As you scroll through, one of the posts is a video of Chloé panning around her Paris hotel suite. And LOOK at what is on the ground, next to her bags, a black backpack with the 22 23 Hyrox Glasgow patch on it! 👀🤗

Closer look 👇

Even closer 👇

Here's a side by side comparison of the Hyrox Glasgow patch Sam received and the one on the backpack in Chloé Montana's Paris hotel suite. 👇

C'est la même chose, n'est ce pas? AKA Samesies. 🤗

And Mademoiselle M was definitely enjoying Paris à deux. There are two place settings on the table. Rumpled bed on both sides and multiple bottles of water, as well as a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne. Voilà 👇

Sooooo, unless Chloé likes to drink whole bottles of champagne by herself, has room service set a second place setting for an imaginary friend, and has suddenly taken up fitness competitions, the evidence, mes chéries, points to #samtana being real after all...or at least as of a few weeks ago. Oh là là and all that French jazz.

PS. For the inevitable frothers who will gnash, "But he was in England, or Scotland, or Belgium, or Holland, he couldn't have been in Paris!" Um, there's these new things called AEROplanes and they take you from any of those locations to Paris faster than you can order up an oeuf à la coque..that's a French soft boiled egg in its shell, you perverts, hahaha. 😋

Until next time, mes petits chous....oh l'amour, toujours l'amour...

[starkraivennemad]

Imagined Scenarios

“So…” Gregory turned to Mycroft as he glanced around the busy Markthal, “not exactly alone but…”

“…at last,” Mycroft finished the thought as they exited into the night.

Flurries had begun, and Mycroft smiled as they swirled around Gregory’s windswept hair.

“Marcus pointed out something I also observed…you kept stroking this.” Mycroft stopped and touched the hem of Gregory’s jumper, “On anyone else, I would have immediately known it was a sign of thinking of the giver with love. But I gave you this. You know who I am, Gregory, what I am. I did not dare to hope someone like you could care for someone like me.”

“And after the many times of hearing, caring is not an advantage… I hid how much I love you, thinking someone like you would never want someone like me.” Gregory admitted.

HE LOVES ME!

“May I ask something?” Gregory reached for his hands.

“Of course!”

“You don’t mince words and rarely make verbal mistakes…”

“True…” Mycroft said warily. Where is he going with this?

“Your exact words earlier were …to offer you a proposal you truly desire…” Gregory breathed, "Not option, not offer -either of which would have worked, but proposal - did you mean it?"

You noticed! Of course you did!

“Seeing Marcus make overtures was enough to know I had to act. I could not risk losing you because of cowardice.” Mycroft spoke softly, “I don’t know how or why it happened, and frankly, I do not care. I only know that I love you, Gregory.  Yes, I meant it.”

“Oh, Mycroft! And I love you!” Gregory’s breath caught as he grabbed Mycroft’s hands.

“I must say confessing my love and proposing, in Rotterdam nonetheless(!), was never a scenario I imagined.” Mycroft glanced up at the surprisingly clear sky despite the flurries.

“I’ve also imagined a scenario with you…”

“Oh? What scenario?”

“Kissing you in the snow, three days before Christmas…”

Mycroft gasped, whatever words he had forgotten in Gregory’s tender kiss.

Does this mean…?

“Yes,” Gregory read him perfectly, “The answer is Yes, but you…”

“…must ask first? Fine…” And Mycroft read him perfectly.

“Will you marry me, Gregory?”

-------------------------------------------------------------

What was supposed to be a one-shot unexpectedly turned into a 7 part series is now complete.

Read Comment on AO3

Start from the beginning Ex Ante Et Post series

@mystradeholidaycollection

@notjustamumj

[sanacore-wp]

PAIRING. thomas raggi x fem!reader

SUMMARY. måneskin is competing in eurovision and thomas’ girlfriend surprises him with the help of their friends, to support her lover who thought that she would be staying home because of work.

WORD COUNT. 897

Y/N L/N WALKED around the airport after her flight finally landed and she gathered her luggage. She had flown to Rotterdam in order to surprise her boyfriend Thomas. The grand final of Eurovision was later on and there was a specific time that she needed to meet her friends at the venue. She made plans with Victoria, Ethan, and Damiano to surprise the youngest member but she also wanted to be there to support her friends.

She had a taxi take her to the place and she was met by Victoria who ushered her to the backstage area. She would be sitting in the green room with them once the finals actually started, but for now she was ready to see her partner. The two girls walked for a little longer before the H/C haired girl came to a stop. She could heard Thomas’ voice speaking to Ethan and Damiano most likely.

“What is this surprise?” Thomas asked, a tiny bit annoyed that his friends were trying to keep something from him and would not tell him. He had asked about it like fifty times, yet he still got no straightforward response.

“We will tell you soon, just be patient!” It was the singer who spoke up this time, his voice being louder than he intended. “You are going to love it, that’s all I can say for now.”

Thomas rolled his eyes at the two other males, not wanting to talk about it anymore because of the fact they were so hush hush. He wondered what could be so important but everyone in the band could be a little on the unpredictable side sometimes. Who knows what they had in store for him.

“Stay right there for a second,” Victoria’s words were more quiet so that Thomas was unable to hear. She turned and walked back into the dressing room with a smirk present on her face, not attempting to hide anything from the younger male.

Her slight mischievous energy gained his attention, causing him to focus on Victoria completely. “Why do you look like that? Did you do something you shouldn’t have?” His words held a teasing tone to them.

“Why do you assume I did something?” It wasn’t long before she feigned offense, not able to do it for too long though.

She glanced at Ethan and Damiano, who had the same type of expressions on their faces. It was time for them to reveal the big surprise. The bassist was excited to see how her friend would react. His girlfriend had been working a lot recently and originally thought that she wouldn’t be able to go to Rotterdam, but fate had different plans.

The de Angelis started explaining what she and the other two had been keeping from Thomas. “We are finally ready to tell you about your surprise. You’ve seemed a little…disappointed recently, so we wanted to cheer you up with someone special.”

This was Y/N’s cue to made her presence known so she joined the band in the room and her eyes immediately landed on the guy she loved so much. A look of disbelief had flashed upon his features but it was soon replaced with happiness. Thomas walked over to his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her, feeling tears in his eyes that he tried to keep at bay.

“What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t able to come because of work. Are you staying for the finals?” There were so many thoughts in his brain that he almost couldn’t keep up.

Y/N laughed, finding his reaction a little funny but more-so precious. “Yes, I am staying for the finals and afterwards. I’ll go back home with you guys. I honestly thought I wouldn’t but I worked something out with my boss and she let me take a couple of days off. I talked with these three about surprising you and hopped on the first flight here that I could get.”

She rubbed his back once she felt his hands fidgeting, which was a habit that he had picked up because of her. He was the happiest person and it was obvious in that moment. The girl stepped back a bit and it didn’t take long for their eyes to lock with one other’s gaze. He had a couple of tears that escaped, which made Y/N frown for a split second.

She wiped them away before kissing his cheeks. “Angel, I’m here, okay. I came here to support you guys. I could never miss out on something as big as this.”

“I was convinced that I’d have to do this without you, but I’m happy that you’re here now.” Thomas’ confession almost broke the L/N’s heart but she was over the moon that she could be here in person to cheer him on like he and their friends deserved.

“I hate to break up this sweet moment but we have to finish getting ready,” Damiano reminded his band mates.

Y/N placed a hand on her boyfriend’s arm and smiled once more. “I’ll be here all night so go and get ready, rockstar.”

Thomas playfully rolled his eyes but did as she and Damiano said, going to change into his outfit for their performance. It was going to be a crazy night but he felt like it would be ten times better now that Y/N was with him.