Zendaya wearing VIVIENNE WESTWOOD – Challengers Magazine (2024) photographed by Anthony Prince Leslie

I will never ever in my life get tired of the villain and their fiercely loyal second-in-command having weirdly intense sexual tension

I went to a restaurant with a friend yesterday and upon entering we saw these splendid blueberry tarts under bell jars on the counter and we made jokey small talk with the waitress like oh, people will fight over these if there's not enough for everyone, it'll tear families apart, are you making more later? and she said no, I'm afraid that's our entire stock for today, but there are 18 slices, it should be plenty! It was a small village restaurant with only one menu du jour so there weren't any other dessert options but they don't usually get that many customers—but then a couple of large groups arrived and most people noticed the tarts like we did, and went ohh blueberry tart, it's been a while, I can't wait, and it became clear that when we'd get to the end of our meal there would be winners and losers in the blueberry tart rush

But later as we were about to order dessert I wasn't hungry anymore and I was like well that's too bad but someone else will be glad to get 'my' slice of tart—and my friend said yeah, me :) You should order it anyway, I'll eat both! At first I thought she was joking, but no. I said, there's not enough for everyone, you can't take two, and she said, we were going to order two slices, what difference does it make? and I was baffled that she couldn't see the ethical difference between two people eating one slice of tart each vs. one person eating two, when there's a limited quantity of tart. I felt like we were in a simplistic social justice metaphor it was so obvious, but there was no changing her mind. When I said "it's just... not nice" she said "okay" with a shrug, and what can you say to that. She added, you don't know any of these people and I was like, why are we reverting to tribal dynamics in a non-apocalyptic setting, how would you feel if we'd arrived a bit later and seen others ordering two desserts knowing you'd get zero? And she said, I would think that's their right, and I felt kind of amazed.

I pointed out that if she didn't think it was a wee bit wrong, she wouldn't ask me to order her second piece as if it was for me, and she said yeah maybe we don't need to do that, there's no law preventing me from ordering two desserts. What about Kant's categorical imperative Okay I guess you're not breaking any laws by taking more than your fair share of a thing other people also want, just failing a kindergarten-level morality test. I felt embarrassed for sounding like an annoying preachy rigid person so I dropped the issue, and as she ate her two slices she'd smile at me every time we overheard someone order coffee without dessert—like "See? There'll be enough, no one will be deprived of tart because of me!" as if that cancelled the fact that she didn't care in the first place. I guess it was one of these tiny issues that can still significantly alter the way you perceive a person. I tried to tell myself not to be so bothered about this small thing but I was! so bothered. And I felt like writing a letter to some agony aunt like "should I end a friendship over irreconcilable blueberry tart ethics"

Easter postcards by Russian-Ukrainian artist Vladimir Kadulin

update on waiting for the flood: it's actually a novella and it was too short!! But perfect, in terms of tone and characters. It's about that juncture between finally moving on from heartbreak and falling in love again. And it made me feel warm and fuzzy. Such cute protagonists.

Then this new edition had a second novella, from the point of view of "the ex." That one was also good but I'd describe it as more challenging, with darker themes (lots of self hatred). Well worth reading but not really a straightforward feel good.

And the book ended on an epilogue that tied the whole thing together.

It’s Lesbian visibility week !!!

❤️🧡🤍💗🩷 (we also have some reading recs over on insta)

Listen if the study of ancient humans doesn’t make you at least a little bit emotional idk what to say.

I started crying today at the museum because they had reconstructed the shoes of Otzi the iceman.

Either he or someone he knew who cared about him made these shoes out of grass and bear skin and twine and he was wearing them when he died over five thousand years ago.

And a Czech researcher and his students did reconstructions of these shoes and wore them to the same place where he died to test them out and they were like yep! These shoes are really cozy and comfy and didn’t give us blisters while hiking!

Is that not just the coolest shit ever????

I've always been listening to foreign (to me) podcasts for escapism but finally figured out I could also just go to history podcasts from my own country for that.

Je recommande vivement cet épisode de passion médievistes, qui fait voyager non seulement dans le passé mais aussi jusqu'en italie!

Art by Lena Rivo

In the forest. Värmland, Sweden (April 14, 2024).

i am starting my third alexis hall book of the year (and month) and i love how he writes about mundane things and how real his characters feel. this one is about a (gay) book conservator underprepared for a flood, falling in love with a redhead from the environment agency. and honestly i'm excited about it.

here's some lines i like so far:

My own helplessness welled up inside me like dirty water. I hated this.

"Thank you," I said bravely, dropping the syllables cleanly, like marbles, and secretly full of the most pathetic pride imaginable. I had spoken to strangers.

He grinned, teeth and dimples and freckles moving, like dust in a ray of sunlight. "Ayup, petal."

Oh.

Ayup: from the Old Norse se upp, watch out, or look up. Usually a greeting.

Petal, most likely post-classical Latin. Even in remembering, slipping between the consonants, my tongue tastes the softness of the vowels.

Red fox/räv. Värmland, Sweden (April 13, 2023).

One of the best shot of Total Solar Eclipse from 08-04-2024.

Via @nasa-official

Just finished Beach Read by Emily Henry and... It didn't do it for me. I ended up frustrated and annoyed with it. I forced myself to finish it and didn't regret that decision, but yeah. I read 2 books I adored before that one so it was a bit jarring how little I connected to January. She never really felt like a person to me and I don't why. But for the record, I liked Book Lovers a lot more.

12.04.2024

Was in Paris & around for work reasons. Looked for greenery and found some.

All that time spent on trains and waiting for trains made me look at people with a certain fondness. Especially since I witnessed (some of) them being kind. There must be a german word for that. Idk I just really enjoy people-watching I guess. With so many people all at once, there's so many stories I can make up in my head about them. And while I can't imagine myself ever living there long term (also literally can't afford it), it's a fun break from my routine.

もちっとオヤツあってもいいですよ

You can give me some more yummies

Remember the first Flour Massacre? Well, CNN has finally dropped the official Israeli story to give you an investigation that basically repeats what Palestinians have been saying all along