The diplomatic "achievement" of the ceasefire was to recalibrate the tempo of the genocide sufficiently to get it off the front pages and the news bulletins, thus alleviating the political pressure on Israel's western accomplices. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Ahead of our Make Freedom Ring concert in Munich on 30th November, I speak to BR-Klassik about the situation in Gaza, the silence of the classical music industry, the responsibility to speak out as a German citizen, and the question of justice for Palestine www.br-klassik.de/aktuell/news...

@naomiaklein.bsky.social: ”For the Surrealists, the slide from military horror to full fascism took a couple decades, and even longer for the imperial boomerang to return. Now there are no delays, everything is synchronous.” www.equator.org/articles/sur...

Thanks! Junk Birds is my compilation of published short stories. Cover by my daughter Clarissa! www.six18sfoundry.com/work-1

At least, this doesn't seem to be ignorance of beauty but rather its pursuit (could still be idiocy or feigned affection, though!) : CHOKHA (India, active 1799 – ca. 1826) Escapade at Night, ca. 1800-1810 (www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...)

Before you indulge in any holiday mirth, remember that Peter of Damascus (12th century) warns against 298 passions mentioned in the Bible: harshness, trickery, malice, perversity, mindlessness, mindlessness, licentiousness, enticement, dullness, lack of understanding, idleness, sluggishness (1/?)

Revolutionary ghosts are always helpful. So I turned to the Surrealists for tips on fighting fascism. Stay for the ending about @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social surrealist campaigning... Enjoy!

European complicity in coloured dots

“Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble that he knows no more.” William Cowper, English poet, author of The Task, born #OTD 1731; admired by Wordsworth, Jane Austen, William Blake. National Portrait Gallery London | Cowper & Newton Museum Olney

That's a wonderful reply to @ianfjanssen.bsky.social 's question, book here:

…she does not say to believe in God. She says, “Cultivate a place inside yourself that tyranny can’t reach.” and “They cannot rob us of anything that matters if we have a life inside.” You already know well how I feel about Herbert and Miłosz. Add to those Václav Havel’s letters to his wife. 2/2

I hope for books in the replies while I cannot contribute anything: 📚 At first, I thought maybe Stefan Zweig's "Welt von Gestern"/"World of Yesterday" but, thinking about it, it's not a good example, I fear.

Perfect:

I've been falling into the rabbit hole of a particularly complex conspiracy theory for two hours now (the bottom of that hole cannot be reached yet, I guess, the story is still developing). So far it's an interesting study because it shows how only slightly distorted sources seem to be enough ...

H. Y. Summons Gruyères, ca. 1930 (collections.artsmia.org/art/30753/gr...)

This is what we should be talking more about.

In case you missed it, Prof. Imani Perry and author Tananarive Due discussed a titan of Afrofuturist fiction, Octavie E. Butler, and her masterwork, "Lilith’s Brood: The Xenogenesis Trilogy", hosted by @libraryofamerica.bsky.social .bsky.social #Lit #BlackSky #SciFi #SpecFi

November (must be!): H. Y. SUMMONS Vesuvius, 1939 (collections.artsmia.org/art/30754/ve...)

Hey authors! Check to see if Anthropic stole your book to train their slop generator on. You’re entitled to $1500 per stolen Work. Look up your work, and if you’re in the database, file a claim secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/

This sounds really interesting, I like the review by Giuliana Chamedes which provides an overview that makes me want to read the book: 📚

The pledge they had to read aloud: “We trade dopamine for daylight, doom scrolls for detours, pixels for paper maps. Here’s to boredom, to wrong turns, to fruitful friction. To shared growth, spontaneous encounters, and Life beyond the screen.” free link: archive.ph/2025.11.20-1... #MonthOffline

Am 1. Dezember um 19 Uhr in Berlin! Diffrakt - Zentrum für Theoretische Peripherie Crellestr. 22 10827 Berlin

Almost all paintings that show a mirror and a reflection get the optical relations wrong - to see the image as unlikely is to miss its point, it's practically the only way to compose a two-fold image to reveal a hidden face, as Walter Sickert does here in this work from 1906.

How to make money as a scammer - same logic: A job that wouldn't have payed a decent wage turns into a lucrative business once "AI" is employed (link to quote in 2nd post): "Freelance journalism in 2025 is an incredibly difficult place to build a career. But, it turns out, it’s a decent enough ...

Someone here posted this article but I forgot who and I cannot find the post - thank you! "Every media era gets the fabulists it deserves. If Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair and the other late 20th century fakers were looking for the prestige and power that came with journalism in that moment, then ...

"Mere Christianity" now on my reading list. 📚

"If people don't want to do the work, they should do something else." I've been thinking about this a lot lately because more and more I see how professionals one could have thought should know better devalue their own work, the work they've been doing for decades by using "AI". If one ...

November personified: JEAN-FRÉDÉRIC BAZILLE (1841-1870, born in Montpellier, died in Beaune-la-Rolande) Portrait of Auguste Renoir, 1867

AI is a massive boon to the fly-by-night vanity publishers and high-output KDP book content. Even big 5 publishing has embraced AI for covers for their republished fanfiction. It's more important than ever for real independent presses to stress the human-made, anti-algorithmic nature of our work.

Qobuz is good if you want a non-genocidal (and less terrible for musicians) streaming service

"Israel does not try to hide these killings.Instead, it often smears its victims in advance – branding journalists as “terrorists”,accusations that are rarely substantiated. These labels serve a clear cause: to strip reporters of their civilian status & make their killing appear morally acceptable."

Roland Barthes on who’s allowed to appear on postage stamps:

I cannot read a single title but I enjoyed scrolling through those gorgeous old book covers because I believe that the art of the book cover is a dying one:

Good and short explanation of thhe Greek Orientalizing Period (mid 8th to mid 7th centuries BC) with links to examples:

Take yourself to sunlit places this winter with James McConachie’s ‘Consolamentum’ - evocative, punchy, loaded poetry 🔥 www.blackboughpoetry.com/consolamentu... @jamesmcconachie1.bsky.social

Poet Paul Celan was forced in a Cernăuți ghetto in July 1941 where he translated sonnets and wrote poetry. Celan remained imprisoned in a work camp until February 1944. en.wikipedia.org/wik...

There seems to be a fool-proof way to become dumb if one desires to lose a fair share of one's mental capabilities:

Now all LIVE here: victoriaroserichards.co.uk/collection/a... : these sales are going towards my top surgery in January so any shares would be very appreciated! #embroidery #art

This is an outstanding new documentary about the AfD, particularly strong (and shocking) on the party's skill at mobilizing the youth vote via social media. I'll be showing it in my Resisting Fascism class. www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontli...

Ornella Vanoni died, I've come to love her music so much. There are many alba/albums on Youtube to get to know her a little:

Interesting titles in the replies! 📚 I'm particularly intrigued by "Close Reading for the Twenty-First Century" and "The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan".

"I asked [AI] about the history of the Palestinian people, and it wouldn’t give me an answer no matter how I rephrased the question . . . When I asked it about the history of Israel, it had no problems giving me a very extensive rundown."

Someone here posted this link inadvertently, as it seems, but it's a good summary of how damaging ultra processed foods really are:

📚

Germany 2025:

Sharing a practice of reading with children is also a practice of listening to children: “What are you thinking about? What are your questions?“ @lalouverouge.bsky.social

I repost this in case I have a follower who is as illiterate as I am when it comes to these things (link in next post) :

BARTOLOMEO CAVAROZZI (1587-1625, born in Viterbo, died in Rome) Grape Vines and Fruit, with Three Wagtails, 1815-18

Masking makes sense. SARS-CoV-2 can persist, and new evidence from France shows infected megakaryocytes + platelets — meaning real blood involvement. This virus isn’t just respiratory, and protecting your air protects your blood. Don’t know anything about viral persistence? Know that it’s the norm👇