Uplifting Christmas tale about the vast generosity of humanity and… No, just kidding. The Soviet Politburo sounds like MAGA. Loyalty is rewarded, knowledge is silenced and ignored. Lies spread en masse, and bullying to ensure the compliance of the people. Inevitably, all is lost. The future of all authoritarianism.
In case you haven‘t been following my #wordoftheday posts, my mom @Doll8455 is continuing her dramatic story using each word of the day. I look forward to her next post in the saga everyday!
#wordoftheday
“The most prestigious posting was to Spain, the greatest supporter of the Vatican. Spain controlled large chunks of Italy—the duchy of Milan in the north, and the kingdom of Naples, which shared the southern border of the Papal States. The second most important posting was to France, Spain‘s inveterate enemy and historically a far less supportive ally of Rome.”
pickWish I‘d heard more about this very well-researched and -written book (which did win some awards and was nominated for others). It‘s such a window into undocumented life in LA. Hard to imagine anyone not growing in empathy after reading this (and it holds special meaning for me because I began teaching sociology to incarcerated men in SoCal this year). Great audio narration by the author.
It's a palette cleanser reading month for me, so I'm reading the tagged book and listening to music. Here's a top 50 list from Questlove, and a playlist of the songs mentioned in the 1979-1982 section.
#tuesdaytunes @TieDyeDude
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/questloves-top-50-hip-hop-songs-o...
https://tidal.com/playlist/ae1ff1c5-514f-4f47-83a1-096720e7daec
#wordoftheday There‘s censorship and then there‘s burning at the stake
“Most popes usually let Pasquino [a gossiper about all things Vatican] and his friends have their say as a means of venting popular discontent against high taxes and injustice. But a few particularly annoying pasquinade writers had been incinerated at the stake. Even an execution didn‘t seem to dampen the ardor of would-be political columnists,… ⬇️
pickThis was a very unique read! I hadn‘t read anything like it before.
It blends fact and fiction to create a “history” of animals starting from the Paleozoic Era all the way to present day and beyond. Basically it personifies animals and tells their story in relation to humans. The animals are presented in a very human way.
Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/12/08/review-animal-intelligence/
Random book from our personal library.
