#indigenous kid lit

[sassafrasmoonshine]

Remember by Joy Harjo, illustrated by Michaela Goade

[arcann]

I had a horrible dawntrail revelation

You see how the king of tUrAL has several kids who are not of his blood? How there's a petite young woman in the poster?

My theory is that there's going to be five children and they're going to have the most basic personalities. We already have twitterbutch catgirl which fits the fiery one, there's gonna be the serious responsible one, the shy one, the one that gets gored for being suspect of gay activities and the Girl tm.

And the villain guy that CANNOT SHOULD NOT win is going to be just. An asshole who should be in a comedy if he wasn't torturing others to the point where its cringe.

[madsmilfelsen]

Hello! I'm really curious, what books/authors would you recommend to someone who's new to writing horror?

Hi! Here is what I have on hand (minus my loaned out copies of my favorite book ever Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones and Never Whistle At Night: an indigenous anthology of dark fiction which made me cry on an airplane and made the person next to me very uncomfortable, like she was just trying to build a cart at banana republic, apologies to seat 17B)

God’s Cruel Joke Lit Mag because I’m in them and will be in issue 4, too :) published either mid-January or February 2024– @labyrinthphanlivingafacade is in issue 3 with a great short story that I won’t spoil ***right now the magazines are available to purchase in physical copies but I was told all issues will be free to download as pdfs pretty soon!

Severance by Ling Ma (body horror but not in the way you think, the real horror is repetition and loneliness)

Wilder Girls by Rory Power (body horror)

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (adjacent the horror genre but a hell of a read)

ANYTHING BY STEPHAN GRAHAM JONES ANYTHING

We Have Always Lived in a Castle by Shirely Jackson (I read this for the first time last spring boy howdy, I also included The Lottery for its suspense)

Dean Koontz because my husband suggested it for the list— this was just the first title I grabbed, I think he said Patrician Crowell too but I was busy looking for Mongrels

A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans (I didn’t finish this because depression set in shortly after I started but the first chapter plays with second pov which I really liked, I’m determined to read it this year)

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (I really enjoyed HBO’s adaptation)

The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey (likely the only zombie stories that made me weep uncontrollably)

Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein (non-fiction: explores modern young women navigating sexuality and because I have a thing for loss of autonomy— it’s been a few years since I read it but there is discussion of sexual assault, but I appreciate the expanse of her research and even included a conversation with someone who is asexual)

Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James (got a chill just typing this out— the audio book is exquisite)

You’ll notice some nonfiction because, as a historian undergrad, nothing scares me more than man. The battles of Leningrad and Stalingrad are particularly stomach churning. America’s Reconstruction Era is full of acted out malice and under taught in my opinion.

An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

The 900 Days, The Siege of Leningrad by Harrison E. Salisbury

Enemy at the Gates by William Craig

(On the other side of WW2 I have a book of the experiences of German solider’s left over from a paper I wrote on the inadequacy of Nazi uniforms and how it expedited their failure in Russia, Frontsoldaten by Stephen G. Fritz)

Stony the Road by Henry Louis Gates, Jr (one of my favorite authors, try finding “How Reconstruction Still Shapes American Racism” Time Magazine, April 2, 2019, I used it as a source for a paper on the history of voting rights)

Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers— folk tales of Canadians, Lumberjacks & Indians by Richard M. Dorson (published around 1952 but content collected from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the 40’s)

Raven Tells Stories: An Anthology of Alaskan Native Writing (I’m Alutiiq and the museum on Kodiak has a lot of stories recorded under Alutiiq Museum Podcast— my kids and I listen on Spotify)

I think the genre of horror is really mastering tension and playing on peoples fears which is why I included old school folk stories (An Underground Education had a great write up on the Grimm Brothers and the original fairy tales from around the world such as the Chinese and Egyptian Cinderella, as well as several different sections of funny tales, torture techniques, absolute weirdos etc etc) in this vein of thought The Uses of Enchanment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim could prove to be useful

If you’re writing a character with Bad Parents— Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents and Toxic Parents (it has a longer subtitle but I don’t see my copy anywhere) might be able to help you shape character traits

I reached out to @littleredwritingcat who has a mind plentiful in sources who recommended

The Gathering Dark: an anthology of folk horror (I will be picking this one up asap)

Toll by Cherie Priest (southern gothic)

Anything by Jennifer MacMahon

The Elementals by Michael McDowell

[greeds]

wish me luck im going to call out my prof for being all decolonial theory and no decolonial practice in his teachings. pussy bitch using decolonization for his own benefit and to maybe look cool and hip and in with the kids of color but hes fooling no one. white boy teaching almost exclusively courses on caribbean lit and african lit and indigenous australian lit and has not done anything to alter the curriculum to include discussion and education on the literal fucking genocide in palestine. could have had us read palestinian poetry. could have had us watch a palestinian film instead of fucking barbie. fucking barbie bro. people literally dying and you throw in a lil oh man white people amirite and you think your job is done. my god. im gonna tell him off in front of the whole class bro. im so gonna fail this shit

[pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop]

Pichu, Pikachu, & Raichu

Pichu (#172)

Fulgamus parvus

General Information: Pichu are the baby stage of Pikachu and Raichu! They have difficulties controlling their electrical build-ups, and are known to injure themselves when attacking. Pichus average at 1 foot tall (0.3 M) and 4.4 pounds (2 kg).

Habitat: Native to the New World and Polynesia, Pichus are found in lush temperate forests within colonies of Pikachus and Raichus. Forests with these colonies (called “thunders”) are significantly more prone to electrocuted trees, random burnt berries, scorches marks on the ground from Raichus, and the uncontrolled chaos of Pichus unable to control their powers.

The Pichu eggs are typically placed safely in tree burrows or rocky outcroppings—though, this is not common knowledge.

In recent years, large cities have noticed wild Pichus amongst its residents.

Life Cycles: Pichus hatch in late May (or late November in the Southern Hemisphere) in a small litter with a couple other siblings. These Pichu are then heavily protected by and guarded and loved by the colony until they eventually evolve into Pikachu. Unfortunately, Pichu are the most likely to be picked off by predators (birds, spiders, snakes, cats, or dog Pokémon tough enough to handle its uncontrolled electric shocks!) and are unable to survive in the wild without a parental figure. Galvantulas are the biggest threat to any Pichu’s short life. Shockingly, Manectrics/Boltunds rarely go for Pichus and typically only prey on Pichus when the individual is too old or weak to go after larger prey, since Pichus are small and not worth the effort.

Note: Pichu is a baby-stage Pokémon, meaning it cannot breed at all.

Behavior: Pichu are playful and sociable, but easily startled. They will touch tails with other Pichus as a display of courage, which shocks the participants. They will accidentally electrocute things from being amused or startled, and are capable of inflicting harm even to adult humans, which is startling to both parties involved! They have a hard time discharging their own electrical build ups without external triggers and need to be shocked, either literally or figuratively.

Diet: They eat fruits, nuts, and berries.

Conservation: Threatened, Endangered in some parts, but Least Concern in captivity

Relationship with Humans: Pichus are cute creatures of the forests and cities, and often the subject of children’s literature (akin to how mice are in our world). They’re popular figures of children’s media despite not actually being suitable for small children, given the whole uncontrollable electric shocks. Even if one takes cartoon physics into this (and we should), that’s still not a safe environment for little kids! Still, Pichus are cute, loveable, and sociable Pokémon. They are occasionally given out as starter Pokémon, but the line is not recommended to children under the age of 13. Municipalities that do this tend to be large cities or districts with a wide selection, so the Nurse Joys in charge of giving starters out can be choosier about who the Pichus are given to. This is important since Pikachus are known to be temperamental, so ensuring that the Pichu is raised well from the start is important to the well-being of both Pokémon and trainer!

Classification: Pichu are in the genus Fulgamus, which is shared with its nearest relatives, Plusle and Minun. It is strongly believed that Plusle and Minun stem from a neotenous Pichu or Pichu-like ancestor within the past 500,000 years.

Given that Pawmis are found in the Old World, and Pikachus, Plusles, and Minuns are indigenous to the New World and Polynesia, scientists speculate that either humans brought Pikachus into the New World with them or a handful were brought there by ocean debris rafts (much like rodents in the real world) from Polynesia.

Pikachu (#25)

Fulgamus ordinarius

General Information: The beloved franchise mascot: Pikachu! You probably want a Pikachu, right? Who could blame you, what with their cute little chubby cheeks! Well that’s too bad for you, because they’re rare in the wild and the best way for any trainer to get one is to obtain one as a Pichu/egg from a breeder.

They average at 1’2 feet (0.4 M) and 13.2 pounds (6 kg).

Pikachu has a Gigantamax form! This monstrosity is at least 68’11 feet tall!

Habitat: Pikachus are found in the same lush temperate forests (or large cities) as Pichus and Raichus. They especially like places with rocky outcroppings, such as abandoned quarries, for they’re excellent places to safeguard eggs.

Any moderately skilled trainer is likely to recognize a forest inhabited by a thunder of Pikachus because of all the electrical marks that they leave behind. However, finding them is the tricky part, for wild Pikachus are very shy and prefer to hide from humans.

Life Cycles: Pikachus and Raichus mate for life in the wild, laying 2-3 eggs in early March that hatch in late May. The Pichu are heavily protected and guarded by the colony until they eventually evolve into Pikachu. Unfortunately, Pichu are the most likely to be picked off by predators because they are not able to defend themselves well. Pikachu are sometimes snagged by predators, and Raichu are rarely eaten due to the powerful electrical attacks that they store. The Pikachu family is known to live up to 35 years in the wild, and in captivity they have been known to live as long as 50 years, with historical records suggesting even as high as 70 years! But realistically, you can expect your finicky but adorable companion to reach 40-45 years.

Behavior: Pikachus are loyal, amicable, but temperamental creatures. They communicate with each other using squeaks and tail touches, and they greet each other with sniffs and tail rubs. To each other and with other electric types, they communicate through electric shocks—unfortunately, scientists have tried understanding the electric language, but its complexities have eluded many. Sometimes, when sticking their tails up to communicate or check its surroundings, they get struck by lightning!

At night, their electrical reserves recharge, though stress and lack of sleep can impact this restoration period. They need to release their electricity periodically (or else they get medical complications), and their tails act as grounders.

Diet: Berries, nuts, and fruits, which they enjoy roasting with electricity to make tender. In urban areas they’ve been seen trying to eat telephone wires and other electrical equipment! This is actually a significant source of power outages in cities, and the contents can make the Pikachu ill.

Conservation: Threatened, Endangered in some parts, but Least Concern in captivity

Relationship with Humans: Despite their shyness, humans go out of their way to find Pikachus and capture them from the wild, reducing wild numbers even more. Fortunately, the family is very intelligent, and in response to human activities have been finding clever ways to hide their nests, but that doesn’t stop humans from trying to capture them for themselves. Because of the high rate of wild captures, conservationists are trying to get the Pikachu line listed as a protected species, thus banning or severely limiting the capture of wild individuals.

Pikachu and co. make great pets, companions, and battlers, but are known to be finicky and a bit temperamental. Due to their temperamentality and poor electrical control as Pichus, the Pikachu line is actually not recommended for children.

Classification: The genus Fulgamus is in the same family as Pachirisu and the other electric rodent Pokémon! Other than Plusle and Minun, the Pikachu line’s next nearest relative is the Pawmi line, which are also in the genus Fulgamus.

Raichu (#26)

Fulgamus fulgamus regula ((OG) Raichu) Fulgamus fulgamus tropica ((A) Raichu)

General Information: Raichu is the final Evolution of Pichu and Pikachu. It generates a metric shitton of electricity, able to store up to 100,000 volts at a time, and its electric shocks are even capable of knocking out a fully grown Copperajah! It uses its tail to ground its discharging electricity, so its nests have scorch marks around them.

(OG) Raichu average at 2’7 feet tall (0.8 M) and 66.1 pounds (30 kg), while (A) Raichu is 2’4 feet tall (0.7 M) and 46.3 kg (21 kg).

Habitat: Raichus live in lush temperate forests with the rest of their colony. Of note, a significant population of the Raichu line thrive in Polynesia across the islands, where a unique subspecies of Raichu (called hodad by many local peoples) has evolved.

Life Cycles: Raichus have the same life cycles as Pikachu! They are fairly rare in the wild because they utilize Thunder Stones (or other places with strong electric magicks) in order to evolve. Those that are present effectively function as much bigger Pikachus in a colony, who often use their extra strength to defend the colony from attacks.

Behavior: Raichu are strong, valiant, sociable, and loyal Pokémon that don’t take shit from others. They will aggressively defend their colonies and their babies! On teams, Raichus are valuable companions, and rangers utilize them often.

Diet: Berries, nuts, and fruit.

Conservation: Threatened, Endangered in some parts. No exception made for the captive population.

Relationship with Humans: Raichus are the less-loved Evolution of Pikachu, though this is a more modern phenomenon than in the past. Historically, Raichus were valued over Pikachus because of their excellent offensive capabilities compared to a Pikachu (standard practice), but as society has changed so have our preferences. Western influences, especially in the United States and Canada, have turned Raichu into the ugly cousin of the Pikachu line, at least in pop culture. Raichus make for good educational Pokémon in schools, and they’re useful in power plants.

The (A) Raichu has a more positive pop culture placement in its home countries, where its much beloved by local peoples.

Classification: Despite (OG) Raichu being named Fulgamus fulgamus regula and (A) Raichu named F. fulgamus tropica, it’s entirely unclear which one is derived from which. The names were given by Western scientists, and some taxonomists in Polynesian countries believe (A) to be the original version of Raichu. The debate has some passive aggressive literature behind it!

~~~~~~~~

Hey guess what, if you like my stuff, this is my website where you can find other Pokémon I've written on and more information about the game that I’m slowly making! Check it out! I write books sometimes too.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 8.1

Holidays

African Emancipation Day (Trinidad and Tobago)

Air Force Day

Armed Forces Day (China, Lebanon)

Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day

Basil Day (French Republic)

Battle of Athens Day

Bitcoin Independence Day

Caribbean Day

Chopsticks Day

Clergy Sexual Abuse Awareness and Prevention Day

Cross-Quarter Day

Cycle to Work Day (UK)

Day of Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet

Day of Pachamama (Peru)

Day of the Rear Services of the Armed Forces (Russia)

Day of the Telephone Operator (Mexico)

DOGust

Earth Overshoot Day 2024 (a.k.a. Ecological Debt Day)  [ website ]

Ectopic Pregnancy Awareness Day

801 Day

Emancipation Day (UK; British Commonwealth)

Freedom Day (Belize)

Freedom to Marry Day (Minnesota)

Friendship Day

Gold Star Children’s Day

Girlfriends’ Day

Good Sportsmanship Day

Grain Marketing Freedom Day (Canada)

Guca Brass Bands Day (Serbia)

Harriet Quimby Day

HitchBOT Remembrance Day

Homowo (a.k.a. Hooting at Hunger; Ghana)

Indigenous Peoples Day (Taiwan)

International Adaptive Activity Day

International Can-It-Forward Day

International Childfree Day

International Mahjong Day

International Marine Protected Areas Day

International Sri Lankan Leopard Day

International Woo-Ah Day

Jerry Day

Laa Luanys (Isle of Man)

Laughter Day (Southern California)

Led Zeppelin Day

Liberation of Haile Selassie Day (Rastafari)

Memorial Day for the Victims of World War I (Russia)

Minden Day (UK)

Minority Donor Awareness Day

MTV Day

National Alpaca Day (Peru)

National American Family Day

National Andrew Day

National CBD Day

National Girlfriends Day

National Huddle Ledbetter Day

National Mahjong Day

National Minority Donor Awareness Day

National Mountain Climbing Day

National Non-Parent Day

National Poll Worker Recruitment Day

National Promise to Care Day

National Spritz Day

National Waifu Day

National Warsaw Uprising Remembrance Day (Poland)

National Wedding Day (UK)

National York Day

Odaiba Day

Oxygen Discovery Day

Parents’ Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo; Zaire)

Planner Day

Play Ball Day

Pod Body Day (Portland, Maine)

Respect For Parents Day

RNA Day

Rounds Resounding Day

San Francisco Cable Car Day

Scout Foundation Day

Scout Scarf Day

Social Resistance Day (North Cyprus)

Spider-Man Day

Sports Day

SSN 801 Day

Startup Day Across America

Swiss National Day

Technical Support Worker Day (Russia)

Treida de Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Nicaragua)

Thoroughbred Birthday (Southern Hemisphere)

Victory Day (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam)

White Rabbit Day

Wipe the Slate Clean Day

Woman Astronomers Day

Women’s Day (Thailand)

World Breastfeeding Day

World Day of Joy

World Fintech Day

World Lung Cancer Day

World Middle Finger Day

World Naked Sailing Day

World Scout Scarf Day

World Wide Web Day

Yaoi Day

Yorkshire Day (England)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Belgian Frites Day (a.k.a. International Day of Belgian Fries)

Homemade Pie Day

International Albariño Day

International Can-It Forward Day

Mars Bar Day

National Nutritional Yeast Day

National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

Old Vine Day

Independence & Related Days

Benin (originally Dahomey; from France, 1960)

Colorado Statehood Day (#38; 1876)

Guadalcanal Province Day (Solomon Islands)

Jennytopia (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Switzerland (a.k.a. Confederation Day; from Holy Roman Empire, 1291)

Toku (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Vodopol (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

1st Thursday in August

August Thursday (Anguilla) [1st Thursday]

Emancipation Day (Bermuda; 1st Day of Cup Match) [Thursday before 1st Monday in August]

Kid Lit Art Postcard Day [1st Thursday]

National Dash Cam Day (UK) [1st Thursday]

National IPA Day (f.k.a. International IPA Day) [1st Thursday]

Weekly Holidays beginning August 1 (1st Week of August)

Brat Days (Sheboygan, Wisconsin) [1st Thursday thru Sunday]

Carnaval del Pueblo (London, UK) [1st Week]

International Assistance Dog Week (thru 8.7) [1st Week]

International Clown Week (thru 8.7)

International Mathematicians Week (thru 8.9)

National Albariño Week (thru 8.5)

National Cleanse Your Skin Week (thru 8.7)

National Fraud Awareness Week (thru 8.7) [1st Week]

National Minority Donor Awareness Week (thru 8.7)

National Scrabble Week (thru 8.7) [1st Week]

National Video Game Week (thru 8.7) [1st Week]

Satchmo Days [begin Thursday nearest 8.4 thru Sunday]

Simplify Your Life Week (thru 8.7)

World Breastfeeding Week (thru 8.7) [1st Week]

Festivals Beginning August 1, 2024

American Cured Meat Championships (Omaha, Nebraska) [thru 8.3]

August is Maine Lobster Month (Statewide, Maine) [thru 8.31]

Bear Lake Raspberry Days Festival (Garden City, Utah) [thru 8.3]

Castlefest (Lisse, Netherlands) [thru 8.4]

Clam Festival (Highlands, New Jersey) [thru 8.3]

Denver Burger Battle (Denver, Colorado)

Eden Corn Festival (Eden, New York) [thru 8.4]

Empire Farm Days (Pompey, New York) [thru 8.3]

Estherville Sweet Corn Days (Estherville, Iowa) [thru 8.4]

Gen Con (Indianapolis, Indiana) [thru 8.4]

Green Gathering (Chepstow, United Kingdom) [thru 8.4]

Houston Restaurant Weeks (Houston, Texas) [thru 9.2]

Katahdin Sheep Show (Mexico, Missouri) [thru 8.3]

Klamath County Fair (Klamath Falls, Oregon) [thru 8.4]

Lollapalooza (Chicago, Illinois) [thru 8.4]

Mammoth Festival of Beers & Bluesapalooza (Mammoth Lakes, California) [thru 8.4]

Mile of Music (Appleton, Wisconsin) [thru 8.4]

Minnesota Fringe Festival (Minneapolis, Minnesota) [thru 8.11]

Mobile Motion Film Festival (Zurich, Swizterland) [thru 8.31]

Official Star Trek Convention (Las Vegas, Nevada) [thru 8.4]

Outer Banks Watermelon Festival (Nag's Head, North Carolina)

Owensville Watermelon Festival (Owensville, Indiana) [thru 8.3]

Phelps Sauerkraut Weekend (Phelps, New York) [thru 8.4

Pol’and’Rock Festival (Woodstock Festival Poland; Czaplinek, Poland) [thru 8.3]

Saint Dominic Days (Managua) [thru 8.10]

Saskatoon Fringe Festival (Saskatoon, Canada) [thru 8.10]

Spicemas (Grenada Carnival; St. George’s, Grenada) [thru 8.13]

Sumner County Fair (Caldwell, Kansas) [thru 8.4]

Toronto Caribbean Carnival (Toronto, Canada) [thru 8.5]

Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge (Minneapolis, Minnesota) [thru 8.31]

Washington Wine Month (Washington State) [thru 8.31]

Wisconsin State Fair (West Allis, Wisconsin) [thru 8.11]

World Lumberjack Championships [thru 8.3]

XIT Rodeo & Reunion (Dalhart, Texas) [thru 8.3]

Zanzibar International Film Festival (Zanzibar City, Tanzania) [thru 8.4]

Feast Days

Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)

Alan Moore (Australian War Artist; Artology)

Aled (a.k.a. Eiluned or Almedha; Christian; Martyr & Virgin)

Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori (Christian; Saint)

Æthelwold of Winchester (Christian; Saint)

Bernard Võ Văn Duệ (Christian; One of Vietnamese Martyrs)

Betty Lou’s Dad (Muppetism)

Cartoon Day (Pastafarian)

Chantal Montellier (Artology)

David Gemmell (Writerism)

Day of the Dryads (Macedonia)

Dormition Fast (Orthodox Church) [thru 8.14]

Drug Side-Effects Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Ethelwold of Winchester (Christian; Saint)

Eusebius of Vercelli (Christian; Saint)

Exuperius of Bayeux (Christian; Saint)

Faith, Hope, and Charity (Christian; Virgin Martyrs)

Feast of Faith, Hope, Charity, and their Mother, Wisdom (Christian; Martyrs)

Feast of Kamál (Perfection; Baha'i)

Feast of Ninlil (Sumerian Goddess of the Grain)

Felix of Girona (Christian; Saint)

Festival of Lugh (Celtic here god)

Festival of Xiuhtechuhtli (Aztec God of the Calendar)

Gerhard Hirschfelder (Christian; Blessed)

Herman Melville (Writerism)

The Holy Maccabees (Christian; Saint)

Imps Charity Scramble (Shamanism)

Isobel Lilian Gloag (Artology)

Jackie Ormes (Artology)

James Henry Govier (Artology)

Jan van Scorel (Artology)

Kalends of August (Ancient Rome)

Lammas (a.k.a. ... 

Feast of Bread (Neopagan)

Feast of First Fruits (England, Scotland)

Feast of the Wheat Harvest

Festival of Albina (Irish White Barley Goddess; aka Alphito)

Festival of the First Fruits

Gule of August (England, Scotland)

Imbolc (So. Hemisphere; Neopagan)

Lady Day Eve (Neopagan)

Lammas, Day 2 (Celtic, Pagan) [5 of 8 Festivals of the Natural Year]

Lammas Eve (a.k.a. Lughnassad Eve)

Lammas Sabbat

Luanistyn (Manx Gaelic)

Lithasblot (Norse Harvest Festival)

Loaf Mass

Loki and Sigyn’s Day (Norse)

Lugh (Celtic Book of Days)

Lughnasa

Lughnasadh (Grain Harvest) [Ends on Samhain]

Lúnasa (Modern Irish)

Lùnastal (Scottish Gaelic)

Sexon Hlafmaesse

Lobster Boy Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Mati-Syra-Zemlya Day (Slavic Goddess of the Earth)

Pachamama Rayni (Festival Celebrating Mother Earth) [Ecuador; Peru]

Pellegrini (a.k.a. Peregrinus), Hermit (Christian; Saint)

Peter Apostle in Chains (Christian; Saint)

Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodox)

Quarter Day (Scotland)

Richard Wilson (Artology)

Rose Macaulay (Writerism)

Sebastiano Ricci (Artology)

The Spanish Romancers (Positivist; Saints)

Vhrsti (Artology)

Warsan Shire (Writerism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 15 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [15 of 24]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [15 of 24]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [35 of 60]

Unlucky Monday (when Eve gave birth to Cain; Philippines) [1st Monday] (3 of 4)

Premieres

Alfred, by Thomas Arne (Opera; 1740)

Alice the Peacemaker (Disney Cartoon; 1924)

American Graffiti (Film; 1973)

Bargain Daze (Heckle & Jeckle Cartoon; 1953)

Being and Time, by Martin Heidegger (Book; 1927)

Big Chief No Treaty (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1962)

The Big Money, by John Dos Passos (Novel; 1936)

Burning Love, by Elvis Presley (Song; 1972)

Cape Kidnaveral (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1961)

Charley’s Aunt (Film; 1941)

Cook and Stagger (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1956)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi and Ron Barrett (Children’s Book; 1978)

Concert for Bangladesh, hosted by George Harrison (Charity Concert; 1971)

Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti, by Squeeze (Album; 1985)

Cowardly Watchdog (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1966)

Crazy with the Heat (Disney Cartoon; 1947)

Crusader Rabbit (Jay Ward Cartoon TV Series; 1950)

The Dog Show (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1950)

Driven to Extraction (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1963)

Dune, by Frank Herbert (Novel; 1965)

The Dusters, featuring the Mighty Heroes (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1971)

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, by Tom Wolfe (Novel; 1968)

Eric, by Terry Pratchet (Novel; 1990) [Discworld #9]

Everybody’s Rockin’, by Neil Young (Album; 1983)

The Fabulous Firework Family (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1959)

The Final Countdown (Film; 1980)

Flebus (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1957)

Flight of the Navigator (Film; 1986)

The Four Musicians of Bremen (b Iwerks Cartoon; 1922)

A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin (Novel; 2000) [A Song of Fire and Ice #1]

Gangsta’s Paradise, by Coolio (Song; 1995)

Generals and Majors, by XTC (Song; 1980)

The Genie with the Light Touch (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1972)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson (Novel; 2008) [Millennium Trilogy #1]

Give Me Liberty (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1967)

Golden Egg Goose (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1951)

Guardians of the Galaxy (Film; 2014)

Heaven Can Wait (Film; 1943)

The Highwayman, by Alfred Noyes (Poem; 1906)

The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle (Novel; 1901)

House Busters (Heckle & Jeckle Cartoon; 1952)

Howard the Duck (Film; 1986)

How to Catch a Cold (Disney Cartoon; 1951)

Jeremy, by Pearl Jam (Music Video; 1992)

Judo Kudos (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1968)

King Tut’s Tomb (Heckle & Jeckle Cartoon; 1950)

The Littlest Bully (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1960)

The Lyin’ Lion (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1949)

Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey (Children’s Book; 1941)

Meat, Drink and Be Merry (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1961)

Modern Man in Search of a Soul, by C.G. Jung (Philosophical Book; 1933)

Money (That’s What I Want), by Barrett Strong (Song; 1959)

The Monkey Wrench Gang, by Edward Abbey (Novel; 1975)

Mrs. Jones’ Rest Farm (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1949)

MTV (Cable Network; 1981)

MySpace (Social Media App; 2003)

96 Tears, by ? and the Mysterians (Song; 1966)

North Dallas Forty (Film; 1979)

Nothing in Common (Film; 1986)

Oil Through the Day (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1964)

Open House (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1953)

Paul Bunyan (Disney Cartoon; 1958)

Porky the Rain-Maker (WB LT Cartoon; 1936)

Pride of the Yard (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1954)

Rain Dogs, by Tom Waits (Album; 1985)

Rear Window (Film; 1954)

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier (novel; 1938)

The Road Not Taken (Poem; 1925)

Robots in Toyland (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1965)

Rule Britannia, by Thomas Arne (Song; 1740)

Señorella and the Glass Huarache (WB LT Cartoon; 1964)

Shadows on the Rock, by Willa Cather (Novel; 1931)

Shootin’ Stars (Modern Madcaps Cartoon; 1960)

Shotgun Shambles (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1962)

Sick, Sick Sidney (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1958)

The Snows of Kilimanjaro, by Ernest Hemingway (Short Story; 1936)

Steel Wheels, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1989)

Superiority, by Arthur C. Clarke (Short Story; 1951)

A Swiss Miss (Mighty Mouse Cartoon; 1950)

The 39 Steps (Film; 1935)

Tot Watchers (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1958)

Trouble in Baghdad (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1963)

Truant Officer Donald (Disney Cartoon; 1941)

The Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White (Children’s Book; 1970)

Turning the Fables (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1960)

The Twist, by Chubby Checker (Song; 1960)

Video Killed the Radio Star, by The Buggles (Music Video; 1981)

A Wedding Knight (Modern Madcaps Cartoon; 1966)

The Wiggles, by The Wiggles (Album; 1991)

Wild and Woolly Hare (WB LT Cartoon; 1959)

Witchy Woman, by The Eagles (Song; 1972)

Today’s Name Days

Alfons, Kenneth, Peter (Austria)

Alfonz, Jonatan (Croatia)

Oskar (Czech Republic)

Maira, Maire, Mairi, Maris (Estonia)

Maire (Finland)

Alphonse (France)

Alfons, Kenneth, Peter, Uwe (Germany)

Efkleos, Elesa, Markelos, Solomoni (Greece)

Boglárka (Hungary)

Alfonso, Giacomo (Italy)

Albīna, Albīns, Dags, Jarmuts, Spekonis (Latvia)

Almeda, Bartautas, Bartautė (Lithuania)

Peder, Petra (Norway)

Brodzisław, Justyn, Konrad, Konrada, Nadia, Piotr (Poland)

Božidara (Slovakia)

Alfonso, Caridad, Esperanza, Fe, Pedro (Spain)

Per (Sweden)

Charissa, Charity, Chasity, Cheri, Cherie, Cherry, Cheryl, Esperanza, Faith, Faye, Hope, Nadia, Nadine (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 214 of 2024; 152 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of Week 31 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 27 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Xin-Wei), Day 27 (Ding-You)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 26 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 25 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 4 Purple; Foursday [4 of 30]

Julian: 19 July 2024

Moon: 8%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 17 Dante (8th Month) [The Spanish Romancers]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 43 of 94)

Week: 1st Week of August

Zodiac: Leo (Day 11 of 31)

Calendar Changes

August (Gregorian Calendar) [Month 8 of 12]

[sarahhillips]

Ok Class is Back In Session Cause I’m Drinking Boba Tea and Watching Liberty’s Kids

Bostonians

I just chocked on my boba

What if James and Sarahs first time boning was in a coach while the soldiers were asleep?

“You’ll see them after we’re married.” She tells him to make him anticipate the wedding day even more

BEN CAN WIGGLE HIS FUCKING EAR?

JoHn QuInCy

Henri burned his finger lmfao

Cute little family reunion that Sarah watched from a window

“What do you know about French?” BECAUSE HE IS FRENCH DUMBASS

Henris found his match with John Quincy.

So James is cool just traveling the colonies by himself for newspaper articles.

Yeah Abby is disappointed with John

James is just casually riding with men burning wheat fields

Make Henri and John Quincy look more like teenagers, it will instantly become the hottest ship of the fandom

Wow, Abigail is giving off Eliza Hamilton. Take a fucking break John.

Oh fuck they burned that village tf

Attacking an indigenous village over some misinformation is so fucked up

Alright were catching toads now

“You see with a white mans eyes” BURN

“I will fill your belly with a tale if the English”

This could have been a moment where Abigail started praising Sarah for being so brave all her life despite everything she had been through.

Wait Indigenous people went to Europe?

How in the FUCK did they tie a fucking FLY to a twig!

“I dub thee King George” RIBBIT 🐸

Well at least John asks his wife for her opinion

And she lets Henri read her letter

And then John said bye fam it was lit

Benedict Arnold

*internal screaming*

The villain of Sarahs story

SPIES

That reminds me, I just started watching Turn and I love it so far. I still haven’t gotten to any Benedict or Peggy scenes yet.

Peggys wig

“How many rats is in that nasty weave of yours”

Ah so they’re splitting up

James is fascinated af with spies probably thanks the Nathan

Omg I’ll totally have breakfast with you George

Benedict Arnold could definitely be a Disney villain.

Gaston combined with Frollo

God damn it Arnold.

Oops, bye Andre

The moment James realizes Arnold switched sides, he realized he would need to protect Sarah from him.

“I never argue with my wife” I think you do

“Why did General Arnold just ride off now?”

That gasp

Imagine the shot where you see Sarahs reaction to Arnolds betrayal and you can see angry tears

And then she goes on to write one of the most passionate articles in American history where she compares Arnold to Judas.

“He seemed so thrilled when I told him I had become a patriot. I wonder if he had already become a traitor.”

“You did it for liberty. Arnold did it for money and ambition and he didn’t care who would suffer or die for it.”

Dear I am a pest ok that was funny

[firespirited]

Yesterday’s film was Avatar, the way of water.

I saw the first one ages ago and mostly forgot the details except “noble savages, white saviour” “guy in a wheelchair gets his wish to be an able-bodied blue sphinx catboy” “wonderbread!guy level deforestation kink”.

I’d seen reviewers i usually respect who found part 2 delightful and fun, ok so a JCameron sequel flips the script on the first (think Aliens and Terminator2) so we’ll get some sort of deeper exploration of the themes right? If it’s getting decent reviews, it can’t just be as clunky as Avatar 1? I decided to go in without researching anything or watching any trailers.

It’s bad. Sure it’s pretty but I’ve seen children’s tv offer more nuance on a topic.

Review: half a star out of 5 for the pretty nature graphics, the mixed emotion and action pacing and the single line indicating that the sentient whales used to be belligerent.

A lot of terrible choices were made here. You’d think there would be idk, consultants for the whale CGI who might also know a little about whale behaviours, a consultant for where to put the lit up parts on the brain scan CGI when you have epilepsy to give the basics. Maybe some language and accent consultants?

I mean yes this is Avatar2, the “dead dove” is right there so yeah what was I expecting? This is somehow more racist and ham-fisted 13 years after.

About four minutes in there’s a kid who hasn’t been taught how to brush his hair that’s hint 1, a minute later Zoe Saldaña is playing yet another grieving strong warrior woman: hint 2, a few minutes later marines think vengeance is a good tactic: hint 3, then you hear Sully’s Na’vi sons be like sir, yes sir... That is where my brain went from enjoying seeing non muted colours on screen for the first time in ages to “oh no. oh. no. this movie is going to be wrongTM on so many levels” and I think the fact that it’s colourful and we’ve missed that counts for so much. If they’d released GOTG with proper colour grading I’m pretty sure it’d get even better scores. Our eyeballs are hungry for anything but grey-blue.

It’s a film that makes you care about these caricatures and their caricature world while also repeatedly whacking you over the head with A Singular Message and I’m afraid that specific message is 35 years too late (yep once upon a time, people actually cared enough to ban CFCs) and too blunt and is used to hurt indigenous hunters. Analysing the ways this film is insulting to biology, ecology, sociology, pharmacology and our understanding of our relationship to the environment would take as long as the film and is not worth the effort of me ranting and you reading.

It’s insulting to many specific groups and to any viewer, including children, and it’s a waste of money (New Zealand’s money in particular) and time.

[ghostlightreviews]

DISCLAIMER: The Barbie movie has one of the most tasteless and out-of-line jokes about Indigenous folks and smallpox, it’s dropped around 3/4 of the way through the film and is sincerely tactless in its use. To my knowledge, neither Greta Gerwig nor Noah Baumbach have yet apologized for or disavowed this line. To use Indigenous trauma as a cheap punchline is truly abhorrent and unless this line is visibly removed for digital and home release, along with a vocal apology from Gerwig, Baumbach, and WB I will not be purchasing.

Let’s start here, it feels like a miracle that this film even got made. But as a final product, Barbie is just a complex beast. Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have written one of the funniest, snappiest, and most enjoyable scripts for a long time. However, as a tool of Social Commentary, it cuts a little dull in places but excels in many many others.

I think as far as Corporate and Capitalistic commentary goes, Barbie is a bit of a Wolf in Sheep’s clothing. It’s the narc at the party, sneaking around wearing a big Hemp Hoody saying things like “Hey, this party is sick bro who deals the drugs here I would like a one drugs to really get lit fam yeah”

It’s all been so clearly sanctioned by Mattel before making it to Final Cut that it’s clear how much they stand to gain by making themselves “the butt of the joke.” Akin to writing all the jokes for your own roast and then playfully acting coy when your friends start bringing things up. There is nothing truly anti-corporation about Barbie but because they play it like it’s some big fuck you to the Upper Crusts of Elite Society, it comes across as creepy and disingenuous at times.

When it comes to Social Commentary, Gerwig knows what she’s doing. For all of the pants pissing certain men on the Trad Right have been doing about Barbie, so many of them have been missing how beautifully it lifts men up too. Barbie tells us how men should be defined by more than just romantic conquest and relationship or by the things they own or have to pretend to like, and instead find identity in themselves and be comfortable in who they are without having to conform to the rigid standards of traditional masculinity and the Patriarchy. We also get a wonderful empowerment of women here too, exploring the vast beauty and majesty of womanhood as well as a pretty lovely introspection into motherhood too, with a remarkably moving montage towards the film’s climax.

On a technical level, the film slaps incredibly hard. A big shining star in Barbie is the Production Design, a massive and impressive set with a ton of Practical Effects sprinkled in to really give everything that toy come to life feeling that the story requires, even “the real world” has this plastic gloss to it that feels almost uncanny to watch, particularly prevalent in Mattel HQ.

Talent-wise this is a true ensemble production for the most part, everyone is playing their part with dedicated gusto and energy and nothing feels too out of place, Simu Liu is a little wooden as per usual, but even he does pretty well for the most part.

But really, who the fuck are we kidding, Ryan Gosling gives the performance of a lifetime here, perhaps only just rivalling his STUNNING performance in The Nice Guys. There isn’t another actor out there right now who has a better sense of comic timing and understanding of metaphysical and physical comedy. Ken is almost too good a character, to the detriment of the film, because Margot Robbie is just so wonderfully nuanced in the role that she plays so straight next to Gosling, we lose a significant amount of her talent when she’s playing Barbie so gorgeously organically. America Ferrera is also wonderful, I haven’t seen her in much since Ugly Betty and I wish she got more work unless I have missed a lot from her.

Everyone else is great too, really lovely to see a Trans woman in a key role front and centre in arguably the biggest film of the year and even better, front and centre for Warner Brother’s biggest film ever, get fucked, Joanne Kathleen Rowling.

With a score that’s barely there but a soundtrack fit to bursting with curated original tracks, for sure there are at least 4 songs on here to dangle in front of the academy during voting time, but if it isn’t I’m Just Ken then everything is bad, but fuck me if Billie Eilish didn’t make me weep with What Was I Made For l?

In a world of stale blockbuster hits with half-arsed visuals and cowardly politics, Barbie manages to entertain and hold itself high in progressivism, although occasionally leaning a little heavy into Neo-Liberal Wine Mom mode, but hey general audiences eat that up, and who am I but a silly little movie Ken to speak on that anyway, my job is just Cunt.

Michael Cera’s fight scene is possibly one of the best fight scenes of this year no fucking dip.

4.5/5

Follow me for more reviews here

[lightpossession]

15 questions for 15 mutuals

Thank you @shiveringsoldier for tagging me :)

1. Are you named after anyone?

no.. just me

2. When was the last time you cried?

probably recently but i dont remember!

3. Do you have kids?

lol! no

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

normal amount

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

soccer as a child.. now i just like yoga and weightlift <3 thinking of getting into a martial art though

6. What’s the first thing you notice about other people?

feel like it depends on what stands out about a specific person—huge glasses? sparkly boots?—but often hair i guess?

7. What’s your eye color?

brown :)

8. Scary endings or happy endings?

idk what this means... i like when stories end in a way that is satisfying and suits the themes and tone of the story.. i think most good endings are a mixed bag

9. Any special talents?

being so sleepy

10. Where were you born?

vancouver area, canada

11. What are your hobbies?

i've been trying to get into sewing, but i've been too busy to do anything fun ever, so i mostly just read... watch movies sometimes

12. Do you have any pets?

no :(

13. How tall are you?

5′2

14. Favorite subject in school?

in high school probably english lit, in my undergrad i liked plant bio, invertebrate bio, queer film, and indigenous lit... and classical studies lol cringe but true 😔

15. Dream job?

you know you would think i would've left my stable job to pursue my msc with a career trajectory in mind but i have no idea :| kind of imagine myself back going back to the public service and trying for research positions...

tagging @nbfarlyn @mosquitogirl @honey--hearts @iseeyoupan @thbstvrdthmtlbndndntn Well that's enough now i'm not tagging 15 of you <3

[sassafrasmoonshine]

Birdsong by Julie Flett

[bookclub4m]

Episode 160: Biographical Fiction & Fictional Biographies

This episode we’re talking about Biographical Fiction & Fictional Biographies! We talk about metafiction, superhero origins as cover songs, spaceship detectives, cat biographies, amendments to amendments, alien abductions, and more! 

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

Nat Tate: An American Artist: 1928-1960 by William Boyd

Wikipedia

Maigret's Memoirs by Georges Simenon, translated by Howard Curtis

Matthew was wrong about how many books in this series came out in one month, but based on the French Wikipedia article four titles (including this one) were released in 1951.

Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg

Jack Sheppard (Wikipedia)

The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan and Peter Sís

Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf (Wikipedia)

Summertime by J.M. Coetzee

Other Media We Mentioned

Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries Series by Gyles Brandreth

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life by Philip José Farmer

What Is the What by Dave Eggers

Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (Wikipedia)

Blonde (2022 film) (Wikipedia)

Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates

Smile (2022 film) (Wikipedia)

Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

The Limits of Autobiography: Trauma, Testimony, Theory by Leigh Gilmore

The Sot-Weed Factor by John Barth

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (Wikipedia)

A Field Guide to the Aliens of Star Trek: The Next Generation by Joshua Chapman (zine series)

We can’t find a good link for the zines, but it’s been collected as a book

Interview with the Vampire (film) (Wikipedia)

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

The Big Lebowski (Wikipedia)

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

Links, Articles, and Things

Episode 143 - Amish Romance

Episode 119 - Regence Romance

Episode 094 - Chick Lit Romance

Episode 070 - Erotic Romance

The 7 Best Library Podcasts 

Fictionalized biography (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Autofiction (Wikipedia)

Isekai (Wikipedia)

Oliver Cromwell (Wikipedia)

Epistolary novel (Wikipedia)

Episode 111 - Happy Birthday Dracula

Episode 128 - Plucky Kid Detective

Episode 136 - Hearts of Magic: Threads Entangled

List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources (Wikipedia)

List of Dewey Decimal classes (Wikipedia)

National Library of Medicine classification (Wikipedia)

Zaphod Beeblebrox (Wikipedia)

“Vell, Zaphod’s just zis guy, you know?”

False memory: Mandela Effect (Wikipedia)

17 Fictional Biographies books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Carolina Built by Kianna Alexander

Clotel: or, The President's Daughter by William Wells Brown

Pocahontas by Joseph Bruchac

American Woman by Susan Choi

The Black Rose by Tananarive Due

The Reason for Crows: A Story of Kateri Tekakwitha by Diane Glancy

Stone Heart: A Novel of Sacajawea by Diane Glancy

Driving the King by Ravi Howard

Delayed Rays of a Star by Amanda Lee Koe

Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf, translated by Peter Sluglett

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

Dancing in the Dark by Caryl Phillips

Douglass' Women by Jewell Parker Rhodes

I the Supreme by Augusto Roa Bastos, translated by Helen Lane

Empress by Shan Sa

The Book of Salt by Monique Truong

Black Cloud Rising by David Wright Faladé

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, October 18th for our SpoooooOOOoooky Halloween episode we’ll be talking about the concept of Hate Reads!

Then on Tuesday, November 1st we’ll be discussing the genre of Investigative Journalism!

[brookston]

Holidays 9.5

Holidays

Achalasia Awareness Day

Amazon Rainforest Day

Beard Tax Day

Be Late for Something Day

Bill Murray Day (Canada)

Clifford the Big Red Dog Day

Day of the Languages of the Peoples of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan)

Dia de Santiago Iglesias Pantin (Puerto Rico)

Engineer’s Day (Egypt, Tanzania)

Entrepreneur Day (Finland)

First Day of School (Vietnam)

Flag Day (Mozambique)

Flag-Flying Day (Denmark)

Freddie For A Day

Freddie Mercury Day

Gaura Parva (Nepal)

Hassaku-sai (Kyoto, Japan)

International Day of Charity

International Day of the Vaquinta Marina

International Indigenous Women’s Day

International Multiple Myeloma Day

International Pierre Robin Sequence Awareness Day

Jury Rights Day

Mexican Marigold Day (French Republic)

National Actdumb. Day

National Cellulite Day

National GIF Day

National Shrink Day

National White Cat Day

On the Road Day

Red Cross Day

Regata Storical (Historical Regatta; Venice, Italy)

Scouts’ Day (Argentina)

Straight Story Lawnmower Day

Teacher's Day (India)

Tweet Like Werner Herzog Day

Working Mothers Day

World Day of Siblings

World Day of Tourism Journalists

World Spinal Cord Injury Day

Yrittäjän Päivä (Entrepreneur Day; Finland)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Bitter Beer Day

National Cheese Pizza Day

World Samosa Day

Independence & Related Days

Bir Tawil Empire (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

1st Thursday in September

International Day of the Orchid [1st Thursday]

Jeûne Genevois (Geneva, Switzerland) [Thursday after 1st Sunday]

Kid Lit Art Postcard Day [1st Thursday]

Thankful Thursday [1st Thursday of Each Month]

Therapy Thursday [1st Thursday of Each Month]

Thin Crust Thursday [1st Thursday of Each Month]

Thirsty Thursday [Every Thursday]

Three for Thursday [Every Thursday]

Thrift Store Thursday [Every Thursday]

Throwback Thursday [Every Thursday]

Festivals Beginning September 5, 2024

Ayden Collard Festival (Ayden, North Carolina) [thru 9.7]

Berlin International Literature Festival (Berlin, Germany) [thru 9.14]

Clinton Lions Agricultural Fair (Clinton, Maine) [thru 9.8]

DOKer Film Festival (Moscow, Russia) [thru 9.15]

Farm-to-Fork Festival (Sacramento, California) [thru 9.21]

Grape & Fall Festival (St. James, Missouri) [thru 9.7]

Greek Festival (Union, New Jersey) [thru 9.8]

Marion Popcorn Festival (Marion, Ohio) [thru 9.7]

Montgomery Turkey Trot Festival (Montgomery, Indiana) [thru 9.8]

New Mexico State Fair (Albuquerque, New Mexico) [thru 9.15]

Niagara County Peach Festival (Lewiston, New York) [thru 9.8]

Oktoberfest (Helen, Georgia) [thru 10.27]

Plattsmouth Harvest Festival (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) [thru 9.8]

Time-Based Art Festival (Portland, Oregon) [thru 9.22]

Tipton County Pork Festival (Tipton, Indiana) [thru 9.7]

Toronto International Film Festival (Toronto, Canada) [thru 9.15]

Utah State Fair (Salt Lake City, Utah) [thru 9.15]

Vancouver Fringe Festival (Vancouver, Canada) [thru 9.15]

The WhiskyX (Nashville, Tennessee)

Feast Days

Abdus of Susa (Christian; Saint)

Alto (Christian; Saint)

Bertin (Christian; Saint)

Caspar David Friedrich (Artology)

Cathy Guisewite (Artology)

Charbel (Christian; Martyr)

Day of Ganesh (Everyday Wicca)

Day of the West Wind (Pagan)

Duhamel [du Monceau] (Positivist; Saint)

Frank Armitage (Artology)

Gargling Day (Pastafarian)

Genebald (Christian; Saint)

Genesia (Day of the Dead; Ancient Greece)

Gregorio Aglipay (Episcopal Church)

H.L. Mencken Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Janmasthami (Birth of Lord Krishna; Hindu)

John Cage (Writerism)

Jupiter Stator (Ancient Rome)

Laurence Gustiani (a.k.a. Laurence Justinian; Christian; Saint)

Maurice Quentin de La Tour (Artology)

The Moes (Muppetism)

Ralston Crawford (Artology)

Teresa of Calcutta (a.k.a. Mother Teresa; Christian; Saint)

Three Candles Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Ursicinus of Ravenna (Christian; Saint)

Wag and Carrot Fancying Day (Shamanism)

Yodeling Day (Pastafarian)

Zechariah and Elisabeth (Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Church)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Premieres

Batman: The Animated Series (Animated TV Series; 1992)

Blue Christmas, recorded by Elvis Presley (Song; 1957)

Bonanza Bunny (WB MM Cartoon; 1959)

The Chain Gang (Disney Cartoon; 1930)

Citizen Kane (Film; 1941)

City of Illusions, by Ursula K. Le Guin (Novel; 1967)

The Criminal, by Jim Thompson (Novel; 1953)

Dr. Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak (U.S. Novel; 1958)

Gnomes, by Wil Huygen (Art Book; 1976)

Greenpernt Ogle, Part 1 (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 105; 1961)

It (Film; 2017)

Just Ducky (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1953)

Louder Than Love, by Soundgarden (Album; 1989)

The Mail Animal or Bullwinkle Stamps His Foot (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 106; 1961)

No No: A Dockumentary (Documentary Film; 2014)

The One-Man Navy (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1941)

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac (Novel; 1957)

Ping Pong Playa (Film; 2008)

Sherman’s March (Documentary Film; 1986)

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (WB MM Cartoon; 1931)

A Street Cat Named Sylvester (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

Trolley Troubles (Ub Iwerks Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Disney Cartoon; 1927) [1st Oswald]

The Wrestler (Film; 2008)

Today’s Name Days

Albert, Larentius, Roswitha, Teresa (Austria)

Elisaveta, Hari, Zahari (Bulgaria)

Borko, Eudoksije, Lovro, Roman, Tereza, Terezija (Croatia)

Boris (Czech Republic)

Regina (Denmark)

Preedik, Priidik, Priido, Priidu, Priit, Reedik, Vidrik (Estonia)

Mainio, Roni (Finland)

Raïssa (France)

Hermine, Roswitha, Urs (Germany)

Zacharias (Greece)

Lőrinc, Viktor (Hungary)

Vittorino (Italy)

Klaudija, Perse, Persijs, Vaida (Latvia)

Dingailė, Erdenis, Justina, Stanislova, Stasė (Lithuania)

Brede, Brian, Njål (Norway)

Dorota, Herakles, Herkulan, Herkules, Justyna, Laurencjusz, Stronisława, Wawrzyniec (Poland)

Regina (Slovakia)

Obdulia, Teresa (Spain)

Adela, Heidi (Sweden)

Elizabeth, Raisa, Raya, Zachary (Ukraine)

Bert, Bertha, Bertie, Bertin, Berton, Burt, Burton, Rigoberto (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 249 of 2024; 117 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of Week 36 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 5 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Guy-You), Day 3 (Red-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 2 Elul 5784

Islamic: 1 Rabi I 1446

J Cal: 9 Gold; Twosday [8 of 30]

Julian: 23 August 2024

Moon: 5%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 25 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Bouguer]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 14 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 78 of 94)

Week: 1st Full Week of September

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 15 of 32)

Calendar Changes

Rabīʿ al-ʾAwwal [ٱلْأَوَّل or رَبِيع] (Islamic Calendar) [Month 3 of 12] (First Spring Month)

[weywardwisdom]

Here's a heads-up for First Peoples—people who've died are named in here.

Dear sight-seers, cruising life’s highways and byways,

Is it time to change down a gear? Not every road is straight. I know I’m not!

Curious thing—from the city of Tarndanya, it’s right-hand turns, all the way to Narrung. So if you do chuck lefties, you could end up anywhere.

Enter my eldest sibling. He haughtily said anywhere else was better than ‘this hell-hole’. To be fair to Narrung, I'm guessing his visit did not make him an expert on the place.

So, born on Kaurna Lands, how did I end up here?

Enter Ngarrindjeri elder, Matt Rigney. He kindly let me stay in his family shack. He took me walking on his people’s lands. He lit a fire and we bathed in the warm spicy smoke. We drank from fresh rock pools. We breathed in clean cold air. The sun turned the waves on the lake into a trillion shining stars. He said, ‘I had a dream last night. You are walking these lands and your hair is white, and you pick up rubbish.’ My health got better. I found my own place.

But then—whose eyebrows were raised? Who chucked this little leftie? Socially speaking, that is.

Enter the local police officer who questioned me:

‘Why are you here?’

‘Why do you not have your friendly hat on?’ I wanted to say. The law-abiding me said:

‘Because my kids and I like camping’.

We were making the most of the last weekend of the summer holidays. I had no idea that the Narrung Reserve would be so crowded. There were over fifty campers. The place was packed with tents and vans, with beer-cans and stubbies strewn about. No doubt, a lot of alcohol had already been drunk.

So I was puzzled. Why was the long arm of the law singling out cold stone sober me? Then the penny dropped—we were the only ones camping in a tipi.

Why was the tipi a problem? Yes, I confess to cultural theft. But back in the 1990s I was clueless and just loved how it felt.

I looked about. For the first time, I saw people wearing bilious blotchy warrior green. I saw rifles leaning against utes. I saw lots of hunting dogs. My spirits fell. Did all these people come here for the duck-shooting season? Did we fit the profile of protesters?!

Ok, the right-wingers didn't physically chuck us out. But they tossed dead stinking carp into the tipi. Yes, in stinking hot weather. They cut the tipi's ropes too. Did they hope it would fall down and we'd go away?

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Narrung is still a craven haven for humdinger right-wingers. How do I know? I confess. I do belomancy—which I take to mean finding out stuff by bellowing!

Also. I read. Here’s few fun facts. Did I say ‘fun’? Delete 'fun'. Replace with 'bum'.

~ No one but stinger right-wingers have been voted into the Australien Parliament from the Narrung polling booth (Division of Barker). No one else.

~ In 1998 voters at the Narrung polling booth moved even more to the right. Most people voted for ‘One Nation’. The party’s leader doesn’t like lefties:

‘For too long conservative Australian values have been undermined by woke, lefty-Liberals’ (2023, Pauline Hanson Targets Woke Lefty Liberals).

~ In 1998, Ngarrindjeri elders went to the Highest court in the land. Why? They were looking after their lands and waters. They lost. Out of 7 judges, only Justice Michael Kirby ruled the ‘race power’ should not make things worse for First Peoples. He said:

‘It seems unthinkable that Nazi race laws could be enacted under the race power and that this Court could do nothing about it’ (2012, ‘Hindmarsh Island Bridge case’, Kartinyeri v Commonwealth, quoted in Removing Racism from Australia’s Constitutional DNA).

~ Give First Peoples a Voice to Parliament ? ‘No!’ said 78% of voters here in 2023. Yet 72% of First Peoples across this land said, ‘Yes’! (2023, Booth by booth, Indigenous Australians backed the Voice).

~ If voters at the Narrung polling booth move any more to the right, they can jump in the lake. Really, they can!

Can a bird fly with only one wing? No, but it can still do shit.

Enter a couple doing just that at the Narrung Hall:

Narrung is over-run with fierce little white aunties. Like Aunty Gay, Aunty Green, Aunty PC, Aunty Book, Aunty Sook, Aunty Art, Aunty Smart, Aunty Migrant and Aunty Making-Time-To-Sit-And-Study-The-Ants. The noisiest of all those white anties is Aunty Leftie. Ok, ok, that pun doesn’t work if you’re speaking King’s English.

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Do you ever wonder when the right became damn-well right, and the left became a threat?

No? That’s ok. I’m going to tell you anyway. The right-wing / left-wing thing has been in English since the 15th century.

How do I know? Ambulomancy—which I take to mean finding out things by ambulation. Not by chasing ambulances. That’s just silly.

The first ambulances, by the way, were used for carting blood-spurting, hurting soldiers off the battle ground. It’s from the French ‘hôpital ambulant’—walking hospital (OED).

(Image of ambulance, by Jeanette Rowe; feet by Freepik; & text added by my Wyrid elf; fair use)

And snap—the right-wing / left wing thing began in battle too. The killer command of the day was:

‘Þan assayle þou his lyfte wynge wiþ þyriȝt’—Then you attack his left wing with your right (1450, my translation of the English translation of the 4th century Latin, De Re Militari, by the Roman war expert, Vegetius, OED).

And yes, the English were copycats. So. Enter the Roman commanders who started it. How? They put their top Roman troops into the thick of things—centre stage, so to speak. They didn’t trust the armies of their allies. The weakest links were sent to the ‘alae’—the wings. In Latin, that’s ‘dextera ala’—right wing, and ‘sinistra ala’—left wing. Also.

~ The English ‘dexterity’ first meant ‘on the right’, And ‘sinister’ meant—bad evil scary horror movies! Oops, no. It meant on the left (OED).

~ Back then turning ‘sinister’ was not such a bad thing. It meant going against the sun. Or anti-clockwise—as in:

‘A hundred Knights Circling the sad pile with sinister rites’ (1615, Relation of Journey, George Sandys, 84, OED)

So who made the right good and the left downright dodgy?

Are you sitting comfortably? It’s a story—of killer kings and starving bird-lovers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enter the right royal spoiled king of France, the one called Louis. The name means ‘warrior’. There had been 15 other Louis before him. So Louis 16th had a lot to live up to. But going to war needed money—a lot of money that Louis 16th didn’t have. Nor did his people. But he made them pay more tax anyway. One problem. It was 1789.

The French people swore they’d have no more war. They wanted to make the world a better place—for everyone. They wanted peace. And they wanted to keep pigeons. Who doesn’t love pigeons? They are cute coo-ers.

In France, those mini dodos were prized as powerful poo-ers. Prized for poo? Yep! Pigeon droppings were high in saltpetre, needed for gun-powder. Who needed the most un-powder? Their wicked warrior King Louis.

Thing is, in France, only the king’s cronies had the right to keep pigeons. And they built very fancy pigeonniers to keep them. Thing is, flocks of pampered pigeons get very hungry when there’s drought and the crops fail. That took place in 1788. Those feathered free-loaders would fly down and feast on meagre grain crops. Bread prices rose sky high:

‘Common people spent 88 percent of their income on bread compared to 50 percent in normal times’ (Drought and the French Revolution: The effects of adverse weather conditions on peasant revolts in 1789).

It was illegal to shoot them—the pigeons, that is. So guess who went hungry! Not the king and his cronies. They had plenty of pigeons to feast on. In 1789, the people wanted to eat. They wanted the high-taxing king and his cronies off their backs.

(‘Le Tiers-État portant le Clergé et la Noblesse sur son dos’)

The people wanted the right to keep pigeons too. But did Louis 16th agree? No. He belonged to a long throng of rulers who saw pigeons as their crowning glory. He locked the people out of ‘the traditional meeting hall’ (2013, Turn left for the revolution).

So the people said phooey to King Louis! But the only place they could find for their own meetings—their awesome dawning democracy—was a Paris tennis court.

To be fair, they did invite the nobs too. But the score was not love-all, when all important votes were taken at their ‘Assemblée nationale’. If you backed free pigeons for all, you went to the LEFT WING. If you wanted private pigeon-keeping to remain, you went to the RIGHT WING—whereupon a fat-cat aristocrat spat his comforter and confessed his anti-left bias:

‘Those of us attached to their King and their Religion positioned ourselves to the right of the presiding member, in order to avoid the shouting and the indecent language coming from the other side…I absolutely could not sit on the left’ (Turn left for the revolution).

And then all the right-wingers moved to Narrung. So they could keep doing their right-wing thing without anyone stopping them. Sigh! Ok, I might have stretched the truth. Right-wingers live elsewhere too.

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~ NOTE to the groovy ‘oo’ in you—this travel guide is sponsored by nothing more than an old leftie's love of calling a spade a spade. After all, how many tools of cruel capitalist tyranny does a person really need in their shed? Or their head?

~ NOTE to the cheeky ‘ee’ in me—judging Narrung by its right-wingers is like judging the sea by pufferfish. Not everything is toxic.

~ NOTE to the esteemed ‘elves’ in ourselves—thanks for making time to come out and play.

And now, are you ready to chuck, ah, er, um, head to Narrung?

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 9.5

Holidays

Achalasia Awareness Day

Amazon Rainforest Day

Beard Tax Day

Be Late for Something Day

Bill Murray Day (Canada)

Clifford the Big Red Dog Day

Day of the Languages of the Peoples of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan)

Dia de Santiago Iglesias Pantin (Puerto Rico)

Engineer’s Day (Egypt, Tanzania)

Entrepreneur Day (Finland)

First Day of School (Vietnam)

Flag Day (Mozambique)

Flag-Flying Day (Denmark)

Freddie For A Day

Freddie Mercury Day

Gaura Parva (Nepal)

Hassaku-sai (Kyoto, Japan)

International Day of Charity

International Day of the Vaquinta Marina

International Indigenous Women’s Day

International Multiple Myeloma Day

International Pierre Robin Sequence Awareness Day

Jury Rights Day

Mexican Marigold Day (French Republic)

National Actdumb. Day

National Cellulite Day

National GIF Day

National Shrink Day

National White Cat Day

On the Road Day

Red Cross Day

Regata Storical (Historical Regatta; Venice, Italy)

Scouts’ Day (Argentina)

Straight Story Lawnmower Day

Teacher's Day (India)

Tweet Like Werner Herzog Day

Working Mothers Day

World Day of Siblings

World Day of Tourism Journalists

World Spinal Cord Injury Day

Yrittäjän Päivä (Entrepreneur Day; Finland)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Bitter Beer Day

National Cheese Pizza Day

World Samosa Day

Independence & Related Days

Bir Tawil Empire (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

1st Thursday in September

International Day of the Orchid [1st Thursday]

Jeûne Genevois (Geneva, Switzerland) [Thursday after 1st Sunday]

Kid Lit Art Postcard Day [1st Thursday]

Thankful Thursday [1st Thursday of Each Month]

Therapy Thursday [1st Thursday of Each Month]

Thin Crust Thursday [1st Thursday of Each Month]

Thirsty Thursday [Every Thursday]

Three for Thursday [Every Thursday]

Thrift Store Thursday [Every Thursday]

Throwback Thursday [Every Thursday]

Festivals Beginning September 5, 2024

Ayden Collard Festival (Ayden, North Carolina) [thru 9.7]

Berlin International Literature Festival (Berlin, Germany) [thru 9.14]

Clinton Lions Agricultural Fair (Clinton, Maine) [thru 9.8]

DOKer Film Festival (Moscow, Russia) [thru 9.15]

Farm-to-Fork Festival (Sacramento, California) [thru 9.21]

Grape & Fall Festival (St. James, Missouri) [thru 9.7]

Greek Festival (Union, New Jersey) [thru 9.8]

Marion Popcorn Festival (Marion, Ohio) [thru 9.7]

Montgomery Turkey Trot Festival (Montgomery, Indiana) [thru 9.8]

New Mexico State Fair (Albuquerque, New Mexico) [thru 9.15]

Niagara County Peach Festival (Lewiston, New York) [thru 9.8]

Oktoberfest (Helen, Georgia) [thru 10.27]

Plattsmouth Harvest Festival (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) [thru 9.8]

Time-Based Art Festival (Portland, Oregon) [thru 9.22]

Tipton County Pork Festival (Tipton, Indiana) [thru 9.7]

Toronto International Film Festival (Toronto, Canada) [thru 9.15]

Utah State Fair (Salt Lake City, Utah) [thru 9.15]

Vancouver Fringe Festival (Vancouver, Canada) [thru 9.15]

The WhiskyX (Nashville, Tennessee)

Feast Days

Abdus of Susa (Christian; Saint)

Alto (Christian; Saint)

Bertin (Christian; Saint)

Caspar David Friedrich (Artology)

Cathy Guisewite (Artology)

Charbel (Christian; Martyr)

Day of Ganesh (Everyday Wicca)

Day of the West Wind (Pagan)

Duhamel [du Monceau] (Positivist; Saint)

Frank Armitage (Artology)

Gargling Day (Pastafarian)

Genebald (Christian; Saint)

Genesia (Day of the Dead; Ancient Greece)

Gregorio Aglipay (Episcopal Church)

H.L. Mencken Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Janmasthami (Birth of Lord Krishna; Hindu)

John Cage (Writerism)

Jupiter Stator (Ancient Rome)

Laurence Gustiani (a.k.a. Laurence Justinian; Christian; Saint)

Maurice Quentin de La Tour (Artology)

The Moes (Muppetism)

Ralston Crawford (Artology)

Teresa of Calcutta (a.k.a. Mother Teresa; Christian; Saint)

Three Candles Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Ursicinus of Ravenna (Christian; Saint)

Wag and Carrot Fancying Day (Shamanism)

Yodeling Day (Pastafarian)

Zechariah and Elisabeth (Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Church)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Premieres

Batman: The Animated Series (Animated TV Series; 1992)

Blue Christmas, recorded by Elvis Presley (Song; 1957)

Bonanza Bunny (WB MM Cartoon; 1959)

The Chain Gang (Disney Cartoon; 1930)

Citizen Kane (Film; 1941)

City of Illusions, by Ursula K. Le Guin (Novel; 1967)

The Criminal, by Jim Thompson (Novel; 1953)

Dr. Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak (U.S. Novel; 1958)

Gnomes, by Wil Huygen (Art Book; 1976)

Greenpernt Ogle, Part 1 (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 105; 1961)

It (Film; 2017)

Just Ducky (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1953)

Louder Than Love, by Soundgarden (Album; 1989)

The Mail Animal or Bullwinkle Stamps His Foot (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 106; 1961)

No No: A Dockumentary (Documentary Film; 2014)

The One-Man Navy (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1941)

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac (Novel; 1957)

Ping Pong Playa (Film; 2008)

Sherman’s March (Documentary Film; 1986)

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (WB MM Cartoon; 1931)

A Street Cat Named Sylvester (WB LT Cartoon; 1953)

Trolley Troubles (Ub Iwerks Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Disney Cartoon; 1927) [1st Oswald]

The Wrestler (Film; 2008)

Today’s Name Days

Albert, Larentius, Roswitha, Teresa (Austria)

Elisaveta, Hari, Zahari (Bulgaria)

Borko, Eudoksije, Lovro, Roman, Tereza, Terezija (Croatia)

Boris (Czech Republic)

Regina (Denmark)

Preedik, Priidik, Priido, Priidu, Priit, Reedik, Vidrik (Estonia)

Mainio, Roni (Finland)

Raïssa (France)

Hermine, Roswitha, Urs (Germany)

Zacharias (Greece)

Lőrinc, Viktor (Hungary)

Vittorino (Italy)

Klaudija, Perse, Persijs, Vaida (Latvia)

Dingailė, Erdenis, Justina, Stanislova, Stasė (Lithuania)

Brede, Brian, Njål (Norway)

Dorota, Herakles, Herkulan, Herkules, Justyna, Laurencjusz, Stronisława, Wawrzyniec (Poland)

Regina (Slovakia)

Obdulia, Teresa (Spain)

Adela, Heidi (Sweden)

Elizabeth, Raisa, Raya, Zachary (Ukraine)

Bert, Bertha, Bertie, Bertin, Berton, Burt, Burton, Rigoberto (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 249 of 2024; 117 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of Week 36 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 5 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Guy-You), Day 3 (Red-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 2 Elul 5784

Islamic: 1 Rabi I 1446

J Cal: 9 Gold; Twosday [8 of 30]

Julian: 23 August 2024

Moon: 5%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 25 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Bouguer]

Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 14 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 78 of 94)

Week: 1st Full Week of September

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 15 of 32)

Calendar Changes

Rabīʿ al-ʾAwwal [ٱلْأَوَّل or رَبِيع] (Islamic Calendar) [Month 3 of 12] (First Spring Month)

[papersasquatch]

Saw a video from a pride parade and started crying. Everyone looks so happy... I wish I lived somewhere that we could have pride again.

I only went once and it was the last parade my city had. My dad drove me there (pre-transition when i was still a palatable lesbian to him). There were protestors for no cops at pride, and the parade got shut down. My dad said "that's what they get for trying to make a police-free gathering, who else was going to keep them safe?" I wanted to argue but was still too scared to talk back to him.

The next year pride was called off. The official statement was basically a very roundabout way of saying that it was because of the protests.

I've volunteered at queer homeless shelters in my city. Hell, I sought refuge in the same one once. I've seen cops throw my neighbours in tents out of their homes. I've watched a cop approach an indigenous kid on the subway, hand on holster, just because he had his feet up on the opposite seat. The cops in my city unabashedly hate the poor, the queer, and any who arent white.

We had a small pride festival once to make up for the fact that we could no longer have pride parades. My only memories were about how expensive the tickets were and how a man threw a lit cigarette at me while I was waiting in line.

I am a trans man who is straight and stealth. I have never felt at home in the online queer community, I'm simply not queer enough for that. I think maybe I could feel at home meeting more queer people irl, but my school's gsa club shut down after one year. We haven't had a pride parade for years, and as someone living in poverty, I can't afford to go to these "pay to enter pride festivals".

As this June ends without a single rainbow in the city, I watch longingly at the people who celebrate pride, together, stronger, happier, and I cry over what was stolen from us.