My partner and I both needed new rain boots. I was not prepared for the deeply stark contrast in packaging, let alone the design of the actual boots.

Somehow, I don't think this is what the Greeks meant with the fable of Echo.

All it takes for evil to thrive is for mediocre world leaders to say “I’d rather not say”

I started studying International Relations a decade ago, so I'd say I was exposed to an overall fairly up-to-date curricula, modern scholarship, fresh perspectives, the works. I'm pretty sure all the books and papers I read were rendered obsolete by the last two years and 24 hours. To the last one.

Waking up to the news that the US' dying empire has decided it is not, in fact, dying was a very unhappy experience as an indigenous Latinx.

📣 NUEVO ARTÍCULO: "Los cuidados retroceden: las políticas de cuidados en la Argentina reciente (2019-2024)". Comparto un artículo que publiqué en una revista Estado, Gobierno y Gestión Pública, sobre los cambios en las políticas de cuidados en los últimos dos gobiernos. 🧵👇

The disrespect was absolute. Also hi, I'm back round these parts.

How dare July think I'm in any way ready to accept this year being half done. The lack of respect.

Israel isn't in control of the United States. This is just who the US is and has always been. Saying we're controlled is just a way of saying we're victims. We're not. We're an imperial power that likes war because it's profitable and enriches our oligarchs. That's it.

Why tho

Where's the lie?

On the left, Popes Francis and Leo XIV preaching together in Buenos Aires 20 years ago. On the right, the Federal Police and the Coast Guard attacking a Catholic priest who was supporting a peaceful demonstration by Buenos Aires retirees, who every week protest Milei's extreme austerity policies.

My grandpa passed away a few days ago. Spotify seems to consistently know what's up with my shuffle queues for my Sad/Angry Girly playlists.

So the IMF just blatantly confirmed what we've always known: that they interfere with the sovereignty and the democracy of indebted countries. Today, Kristalina Giorgieva said the quiet part out loud by calling for Argentines to vote for Milei's party in our legislative elections.

Came across a prompt on the other site asking for the best album artwork of all time. For me it's gotta be Aurora's The Gods We Can Touch.

Word of the day is ‘bugiard’ (17th century): one who distorts the truth beyond all recognition to fit their own agenda.

The average Argentine tends to be convinced that racism isn't a structural issue here, and that it has no bearing on systemic economic and class disparity. I just saw a team of 10 men trimming the trees in my block. 9 were brown and only 1 was white. A literal 1/10 ratio. But sure, it's not an issue

Faced with strikes by the transportation unions, Milei has decided to go full on 1984. This was displayed and broadcast through train stations' loudspeakers: "ATTACK ON THE REPUBLIC: The union caste attacks millions who want to work. If they're extorting or forcing you to strike call this number"

More than valid for every Argentinian opposition party, all of which seem intent on failing to stop Milei from selling the country for parts and destroying our rights.

Spotify is telling me I should go back to my moody high school self. Spotify may have a point.

Also, hi. I've been busy planning a trip back to my hometown with my girlfriend, so she can meet my parents. My sister had a few somewhat connected thoughts on the matter:

This right here is why I pay for internet. To see my favorite authors just, livin' y'all.

Last night I went to a trans/enby poetry slam. Three times some neighbor called the cops on us for "annoying noises", and three times the cops came, even though there was nothing they could do. They just stood there, while the poetry of my brave cousins echoed on in downtown Buenos Aires.

Polyamory means, among other things, receiving messages from both my partner and their husband at the exact same time, first thing in the morning. What a time to be alive, folxs.

Last night, president Milei gave his first interview after the crypto fraud scandal he's implicated in. Among other dumb stuff, he said that it wasn't 44k people that got scammed, "at most it was 5000". As if that makes it any better. Guess which numbers I focused on with my A1 ESL students today.

You know, I'm here for it

Entirely ignoring my country's reality, I'm here to say I did my and my partner's nails following the colors of the enby flag and we went out to dinner dressed very manly indeed for Valentine's. People stared, it was a great time.

Chanea's message is powerful, and it resonates with me. Recognizing the struggles of our fellow teachers must be a transnational effort. Especially for those of us who are minoritized and living under oppressive governments that not only hate us for our identities, but also for our role as educators

Listen, folxs, you know I'm not one to brag. But I simply must brag about the delightful drawing of us my girlfriend surprised me with last night. Our hair and clothes even make up the non-binary and pansexual flags. I died.

Sometimes I love reddit

Millions of us marched today in the first ever Argentine Anti-fascist & Anti-racist Pride Parade, in 130 cities in Argentina and 15 cities abroad, to protest against the hateful rhetoric of Milei and fascists like him who would force us all back in the closet. Never again.

Wow. it must feel terrible when someone takes something you made and uses it without permission or payment

All the cool cats come to AskHistorians!

The Argentine ambassador to Israel, an Orthodox rabbi, says that Musk's nazi salute was "a clear gesture of love and emotion due to the triumph of freedom in the world" and that "he is an incredible person who defends liberty and human rights". I'm laughing to avoid crying.

Tom Morello 🫡

My hot take as a historian who happens to be an anti-Zionist Jew and whose work interjects heavily with national identity, symbolism and politics is that I still can't understand how anyone over the age of 14 can be a fan of Musk.

Someone please tell me that starting a rewatch of Twin Peaks when I'm living through the hottest summer in history while swimming in deadlines might be A Bad Idea, Actually.

The millennial experience is growing up with the internet, and watching it go from a free, open, democratic, and eclectic ecosystem to a wasteland of five websites controlled by billionaires, and now seeing it quickly fill up with AI-generated slop. I want our World Wide Web back.

Next time someone talks to you about 'protecting children', tell them Milei's government censored the Argentine Sex Ed curricula and enabled minors over 13 to open bank accounts and conduct financial transactions, without their parents consent, in the midst of a gambling epidemic. In the same week.

See, when I said "possible" I meant exactly this. I had no proof but very few doubts that Netanyahu would come up with some kind of excuse to not stop the genocide.

In light of the possible ceasefire agreement, I will add one more name to the long list of those who supported Israel's genocide in Gaza: Regina Spektor. One of my favorite artists during my formative years, she didn't waste a moment before turning into a mouthpiece for Netanyahu's rhetoric in 2023.

Post your favorite #DoctorWho. Wrong answers only.

I discovered Nelly Sachs' death poetry through the wonders of a secondhand bookstore. And lo and behold, I've just done my nails in a way that matches this delightful poem about amethysts, oblivion and all things violet.

Gay people kissing or holding hands in public is “gay ideology.” Gay teachers being visible in school is “gay ideology.” Gay couples raising kids is “gay ideology.” Some politicians dismiss gay lives as an “ideology.” But we’re people. And we will keep existing despite the political trashing. 🌈🎓

My book on the origins of the Argentine working class (in Spanish, published in 2014 and reprinted in 2015) has been out of print for a while. It's accessible for free here: archive.org/details/luca... I'm working on an English version!

There's something very refreshing about this site being disentangled from the traditional expectations of social media. Do I have deep and meaningful and scholarly things to share? Of course. Will I instead say that I found a great garlic hummus at the supermarket? You betcha.

It's "video game history is too USA-centric" discourse, so let me post four stills from Argentinian games in case they might arouse the curiosity of any inquisitive foreigner.

This looks like a fantastic opportunity for any Latinoamericanistas out there! If you're lucky, you might even get to meet Ernesto's dog.

My super standard take on James Carter, leftover from my International Relations days, is that any US president can get a Nobel peace prize if they ensure enough turmoil engulfs the developing world in the name of their dying empire. The ones who didn't get it just weren't paying attention to optics

Today's update from my mother: a storm is coming so they're allowed to be inside. Dalí, the one at the bottom, is the youngest, so he always seeks to be close to Camille Saint-Saëns, his grumpy but kind older brother.