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Marvelous Market: Best New Comics May 20
The Absolute Universe Expands Again
Alongside a number of cool looking new indie titles, the white-hot Absolute Universe gets a new series from yet another incredible creative team in writer Pornsak Pichetshote and artist Rafael Albequerque, who was originally supposed to draw ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN before the floods in his home country of Brazil.
Hello and welcome to the Marvelous Market, my weekly guide for anyone interested in going to a comic book store today. In addition to a full list of new # 1s and new volume 1s, I’ll be giving you my top 4 recommendations in 4 categories. Like Houston legend Mike Jones rapped, “We’re still tippin’ on four-fours.” I’m going to give you the top four new comics, top four ongoing comics, the top four graphic novels, and the top 4 preorders.
The work going into this curation is made possible by readers like you. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee a month, you can help make this work possible.
New Issue # 1s
ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
WITHOUT THE TRICK ARROWS… WITHOUT THE MONEY… WITHOUT MERCY… WHAT’S LEFT IS THE ABSOLUTE HUNTER!
A serial killer is slaughtering corrupt billionaires. The only clue to their identity is the mysterious green arrows sticking out of his victims’ corpses. Executive protection specialist Dinah Lance, a.k.a. Absolute Black Canary, is one of the people tasked to uncover this murderer’s identity as she investigates her suspects… all familiar DC archers uniquely linked to a recently murdered Oliver Queen. I Know What You Did Last Summer for billionaires, Absolute Green Arrow reimagines the Emerald Archer’s mythos into a dangerous, urban horror murder-mystery by Eisner winners Pornsak Pichetshote (Dead Boy Detectives, Infidel) and Rafael Albuquerque (Detective Comics, American Vampire).
ODIN # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
Green Room meets Midsommar in JAMES TYNION’s most relentless Horror story yet! Adela will do anything for the perfect story. Including going undercover with Neo Nazi punks headed to the frozen forests of Norway under the misbegotten belief that they can summon Odin and achieve their promised white destiny. But what awaits them in the woods is far older and stranger than any of them can comprehend. And no gods are coming to answer their prayers for help. Multiple Eisner Award-winning creator JAMES TYNION IV (Exquisite Corpses), no-holds-barred writer MARGUERITE BENNETT (Witchblade), rising star artist LETIZIA CADONICI (House of Slaughter), and Eisner Award-winning colorist JORDIE BELLAIRE (Redlands) conjure a hallucinogenic horror story that leaves absolutely no taboo unbroken.
OF THE EARTH # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
Legendary artist CHARLIE ADLARD (THE WALKING DEAD) joins writers CHRIS CONDON (THAT TEXAS BLOOD) & ANDREW EHRICH, colorist PIP MARTIN (EVERYTHING DEAD & DYING), letterer HASSAN OTSMANE-ELHAOU (ASSORTED CRISIS EVENTS), and designer MIKE TIVEY (NEWS FROM THE FALLOUT) for his triumphant return to Image Comics in this neo-noir-tinged eco-horror miniseries that is Blood Simple meets John Carpenter’s The Thing.
Tabitha ‘Tabby’ Black flees a sordid life for her quiet hometown of Solitude, Texas and the comfort of her Gramma’s home where she was raised. Only home isn’t what it once was…. and neither is Gramma.
SEVEN WIVES # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
Forty-nine witnesses, seven wives, one dead husband.
On Monday, April 17, at 9:04 a.m., two police detectives are dispatched to investigate a death on a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints compound in remote Arizona. Matthew Dunn, the patriarch of the Dunn family, has been found stabbed on the pulpit of his temple, basking in the blood-soaked gaze of his savior.
Detectives Aguilar and Halwell begin the arduous task of questioning each of Matthew’s seven wives and quickly encounter a brick wall of memorized Scripture, canned platitudes, and locked lips. It becomes clear that the women’s intricately braided hair, voices with sweet affectations, and modest clothing aren’t just signs of Matthew’s brainwashing but armor they use to protect their family. But with each interrogation, the cracks begin to show — the abuse, the truth of living and surviving in this cult — and the detectives uncover the unholy gospel of Matthew Dunn.
ONGOING SERIES
ABSOLUTE FLASH # 15
SOLICIT COPY:
WHAT LURKS WITHIN S.T.A.R. LABS?! On the hunt for answers, Wally is drawn to the derelict facility of the now defunct super-science lab, S.T.A.R. LABS. But something is dwelling within the halls of this place, and the Flash is not ready for this new threat!
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 29
SOLICIT COPY:
BEST FR(ENEMIES)! Spider-Man’s best friend’s life shattered by a terrible accident — and Peter Parker is to blame! Is there a new villain on Spidey’s block?
LEGACY #993
G. I. JOE # 22
SOLICIT COPY:
HUNT FOR ENERGON! After the stunning conclusion to DREADNOK WAR, the Joes and Cobra are in a race to find Energon across the world. But the man known as Crystal Ball has horrifying plans for them all…
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SHREDDER # 8
SOLICIT COPY:
The Dog Star Clan has been compromised. Cybernetic tendrils crawl out of their skin as they turn into grotesque monsters, half human and half machine. It’ll take more than the Shredder’s blades to carve the malware-riddled tech out of their flesh… but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to try.
Trade Paperbacks, Hardcovers, and OGNs
BARRIER: THE COLLECTED EDITION TP
SOLICIT COPY:
From the Eisner Award-winning team behind The Private Eye, BARRIER is a shockingly prescient drama about violence, language, and illegal immigration…with a spectacular sci-fi twist.
When Texas rancher Liddy and Honduran immigrant Óscar collide on the U.S.–Mexico border, neither can understand the other’s words—but both are forced to rely on trust when they’re thrust into an unimaginable encounter. Told in English and Spanish without translation, Barrier is a visually stunning, genre-bending story that explores the walls we build between nations, cultures, and each other.
Collected for the first time in its original “widescreen” format—and perfectly complementing Image’s new softcover edition of THE PRIVATE EYE—this gorgeous new edition contains the entire Harvey Award-winning miniseries.
THE BOOK OF JUSKO TP
SOLICIT COPY:
The Book of Jusko showcases the very best of Joe Jusko’s decades spanning career and painted legacy.
In 1992, Joe Jusko’s Marvel Masterpieces trading card set exploded into pop culture—redefining how the world saw superheroes with raw power, larger-than-life drama, and breathtaking realism in every brushstroke. It became a cultural landmark, inspiring generations of fans, artists, and collectors.
Now—due to overwhelming demand—we’re opening the vaults to celebrate the full scope of Jusko’s legendary career. Inside you’ll discover iconic illustrations, rare and unpublished works, private commissions, trading cards, and personal archive pieces—some revealed here for the very first time.
This is the definitive collection of Joe Jusko’s art—a must-have for anyone who treasures painted comics, fantasy illustration, or fine art.
DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL vol. 1 TP
SOLICIT COPY:
The LitRPG fantasy smash hit phenomenon and New York Times bestseller, DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL, is now a graphic novel for the very first time!
The Apocalypse WILL be televised!
You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Getting stuck on a sadistic alien game show with her cat. Join Carl and Princess Donut as they try to survive the end of the world — or just get to the next level of a trap-filled fantasy dungeon.
With vibrant art done by Laurel Pursuit to bring action-packed battles to life, join as Carl fights his way through the dungeon in heart-speckled underwear. And of course, the grizzly scenes are only balanced with the incredibly fluffy, wide-eyed stare of its main character, Princess Donut.
A ton of heart and effort was poured in creating a series with a script and style that would both appeal to WEBTOON readers and also lovers of DCC, all while consulting author Matt Dinniman the entire way about character designs, story, — EVERYTHING! We couldn’t resist taking the apocalyptic awesomeness of the DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL WEBTOON and adapting it into the FIRST EVER graphic novel series!
Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.
This volume collects episodes 1-13 of the WEBTOON edition.
FEAR AGENT Compendium TP
SOLICIT COPY:
The entirety of The New York Times best-selling Fear Agent saga—collected in one massive compendium!
When down-and-out alien exterminator Heath Huston stumbles upon a plot to wipe out humanity, he must put down the bottle and pick up the fight– as the last surviving Fear Agent. This pulp sci-fi classic from writer Rick Remender (DEADLY CLASS, LOW) teams him with an all-star lineup of artists including Tony Moore (THE WALKING DEAD, Venom) and Jerome Opeña (SEVEN TO ETERNITY, Uncanny X-Force) across a galaxy-spanning, whiskey-soaked epic of redemption, revenge, and alien annihilation.
Collects Fear Agent #1–32 in a single 672-page volume for just
Preorders on Final Order Cutoff
A MISCHIEF OF MAGPIES # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
NEW DSTLRY SERIES DEBUT FROM SIMON SPURRIER AND MATÍAS BERGARA!
Mar has a secret. Sometimes, without warning, he falls out of the world. This would be an inconvenience if his life wasn’t already such a drag.
When he’s gone, he finds himself in an extraordinary city. A city which is also a machine, endlessly crossing a shoreless ocean. A city of two halves: the bright, bustling spires above the waves, and the beast-haunted twilight halls below. And between, clowning along the rusting beach, a troupe of anarchic magpies with all the answers but none of the questions.
Recipients of the Angoulême Sélection Officielle, GLAAD Award, and multiple Eisner Award nominations, creators Simon Spurrier and Mat as Bergara present a new fantasy masterpiece in the tradition of Coda and Step By Bloody Step, driving the comics medium into new, beautiful, baleful waters.
For fans of THE NEVERENDING STORY, ARCANE, and THE BOY AND THE HERON.
THE SHAOLIN COWBOY: STAYING A.I.LIVE # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
The Shaolin Cowboy faces an icy reception when he leaves his wasteland retreat on a mission of mercy, following the considered consul of a desert swallow and a horned toad, both endangered species. But none as endangered as the wandering ex monk becomes, once again because in this typical AMERIGUNN small town he learns euthanASIA is the new import duty on foreign imports!!!
SANFORD GREENE’S 1000 TP/HC
SOLICIT COPY:
From the Eisner winning creators of Bitter Root. Set in a modern world of aliens, warlocks, zombies, and ancient beasts, 1000 follows Dragon Son – a supreme entity who’s abandoned all creation as he struggles to return to his true Dragon form by completing one thousand acts of repentance. Son is joined by five other agents who are charged with secretly policing the world and keeping civilization from crumbling completely.
1000 first premiered as a webcomic and won the 2018 Ringo Award for Best Webcomic. This deluxe edition collects the entire run of the webcomic with additional behind the scenes content.
TERMINAL # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
THE MUST-READ SUPERHERO SERIES OF THE YEAR FROM THE DREAM TEAM OF ROBERT KIRKMAN, JOE CASEY, ANDY KUBERT, DAVID FINCH, AND ARTHUR ADAMS!
There is a secret war being waged across the world by two violent forces with superhuman abilities who blur the lines between good and evil. When Marilyn Howe’s search for her missing sister Alessandra puts her in the center of this conflict, she’ll learn that the power to save the world comes from unlocking your genetic code and giving up everything you thought you knew about yourself… if you survive the experience. Perfect for fans of INVINCIBLE and X-MEN, nothing can prepare you for the most violent and unpredictable superhero series of the year!
What did I miss?
If there are some great comics, collected or in single issues, that you think I should be reading, tell me about them! And if you do try out any of these series, let me know how you liked them, or didn’t. This is a safe space for haters. If you enjoy this service, please share this article on social media or tell someone that you know reads comics about it.
Divining Comics is brought to you by generous support from the “Best Friends of Divining Comics,” Alex Seubert.
Divining Comics is also brought to you by the support of the “Friends of Divining Comics,” Comic Book Herald.
If you would like to add your name to the list of friends, best friends, or best friends forever, support this work for less than the cost of one cup of coffee a month at patreon.com/diviningcomics. You can also leave a one-time tip/buy my zines at ko-fi.com/spikestonehand. Or, if you can’t afford to support me financially at this time, simply follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky and share my posts there.
#art #books #ComicBooks #comics #DC #dcComics #marvel #marvelComics #MarvelousMarket #NewComicDay -
Marvelous Market: Best New Comics May 20
The Absolute Universe Expands Again
Alongside a number of cool looking new indie titles, the white-hot Absolute Universe gets a new series from yet another incredible creative team in writer Pornsak Pichetshote and artist Rafael Albequerque, who was originally supposed to draw ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN before the floods in his home country of Brazil.
Hello and welcome to the Marvelous Market, my weekly guide for anyone interested in going to a comic book store today. In addition to a full list of new # 1s and new volume 1s, I’ll be giving you my top 4 recommendations in 4 categories. Like Houston legend Mike Jones rapped, “We’re still tippin’ on four-fours.” I’m going to give you the top four new comics, top four ongoing comics, the top four graphic novels, and the top 4 preorders.
The work going into this curation is made possible by readers like you. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee a month, you can help make this work possible.
New Issue # 1s
ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
WITHOUT THE TRICK ARROWS… WITHOUT THE MONEY… WITHOUT MERCY… WHAT’S LEFT IS THE ABSOLUTE HUNTER!
A serial killer is slaughtering corrupt billionaires. The only clue to their identity is the mysterious green arrows sticking out of his victims’ corpses. Executive protection specialist Dinah Lance, a.k.a. Absolute Black Canary, is one of the people tasked to uncover this murderer’s identity as she investigates her suspects… all familiar DC archers uniquely linked to a recently murdered Oliver Queen. I Know What You Did Last Summer for billionaires, Absolute Green Arrow reimagines the Emerald Archer’s mythos into a dangerous, urban horror murder-mystery by Eisner winners Pornsak Pichetshote (Dead Boy Detectives, Infidel) and Rafael Albuquerque (Detective Comics, American Vampire).
ODIN # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
Green Room meets Midsommar in JAMES TYNION’s most relentless Horror story yet! Adela will do anything for the perfect story. Including going undercover with Neo Nazi punks headed to the frozen forests of Norway under the misbegotten belief that they can summon Odin and achieve their promised white destiny. But what awaits them in the woods is far older and stranger than any of them can comprehend. And no gods are coming to answer their prayers for help. Multiple Eisner Award-winning creator JAMES TYNION IV (Exquisite Corpses), no-holds-barred writer MARGUERITE BENNETT (Witchblade), rising star artist LETIZIA CADONICI (House of Slaughter), and Eisner Award-winning colorist JORDIE BELLAIRE (Redlands) conjure a hallucinogenic horror story that leaves absolutely no taboo unbroken.
OF THE EARTH # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
Legendary artist CHARLIE ADLARD (THE WALKING DEAD) joins writers CHRIS CONDON (THAT TEXAS BLOOD) & ANDREW EHRICH, colorist PIP MARTIN (EVERYTHING DEAD & DYING), letterer HASSAN OTSMANE-ELHAOU (ASSORTED CRISIS EVENTS), and designer MIKE TIVEY (NEWS FROM THE FALLOUT) for his triumphant return to Image Comics in this neo-noir-tinged eco-horror miniseries that is Blood Simple meets John Carpenter’s The Thing.
Tabitha ‘Tabby’ Black flees a sordid life for her quiet hometown of Solitude, Texas and the comfort of her Gramma’s home where she was raised. Only home isn’t what it once was…. and neither is Gramma.
SEVEN WIVES # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
Forty-nine witnesses, seven wives, one dead husband.
On Monday, April 17, at 9:04 a.m., two police detectives are dispatched to investigate a death on a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints compound in remote Arizona. Matthew Dunn, the patriarch of the Dunn family, has been found stabbed on the pulpit of his temple, basking in the blood-soaked gaze of his savior.
Detectives Aguilar and Halwell begin the arduous task of questioning each of Matthew’s seven wives and quickly encounter a brick wall of memorized Scripture, canned platitudes, and locked lips. It becomes clear that the women’s intricately braided hair, voices with sweet affectations, and modest clothing aren’t just signs of Matthew’s brainwashing but armor they use to protect their family. But with each interrogation, the cracks begin to show — the abuse, the truth of living and surviving in this cult — and the detectives uncover the unholy gospel of Matthew Dunn.
ONGOING SERIES
ABSOLUTE FLASH # 15
SOLICIT COPY:
WHAT LURKS WITHIN S.T.A.R. LABS?! On the hunt for answers, Wally is drawn to the derelict facility of the now defunct super-science lab, S.T.A.R. LABS. But something is dwelling within the halls of this place, and the Flash is not ready for this new threat!
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 29
SOLICIT COPY:
BEST FR(ENEMIES)! Spider-Man’s best friend’s life shattered by a terrible accident — and Peter Parker is to blame! Is there a new villain on Spidey’s block?
LEGACY #993
G. I. JOE # 22
SOLICIT COPY:
HUNT FOR ENERGON! After the stunning conclusion to DREADNOK WAR, the Joes and Cobra are in a race to find Energon across the world. But the man known as Crystal Ball has horrifying plans for them all…
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SHREDDER # 8
SOLICIT COPY:
The Dog Star Clan has been compromised. Cybernetic tendrils crawl out of their skin as they turn into grotesque monsters, half human and half machine. It’ll take more than the Shredder’s blades to carve the malware-riddled tech out of their flesh… but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to try.
Trade Paperbacks, Hardcovers, and OGNs
BARRIER: THE COLLECTED EDITION TP
SOLICIT COPY:
From the Eisner Award-winning team behind The Private Eye, BARRIER is a shockingly prescient drama about violence, language, and illegal immigration…with a spectacular sci-fi twist.
When Texas rancher Liddy and Honduran immigrant Óscar collide on the U.S.–Mexico border, neither can understand the other’s words—but both are forced to rely on trust when they’re thrust into an unimaginable encounter. Told in English and Spanish without translation, Barrier is a visually stunning, genre-bending story that explores the walls we build between nations, cultures, and each other.
Collected for the first time in its original “widescreen” format—and perfectly complementing Image’s new softcover edition of THE PRIVATE EYE—this gorgeous new edition contains the entire Harvey Award-winning miniseries.
THE BOOK OF JUSKO TP
SOLICIT COPY:
The Book of Jusko showcases the very best of Joe Jusko’s decades spanning career and painted legacy.
In 1992, Joe Jusko’s Marvel Masterpieces trading card set exploded into pop culture—redefining how the world saw superheroes with raw power, larger-than-life drama, and breathtaking realism in every brushstroke. It became a cultural landmark, inspiring generations of fans, artists, and collectors.
Now—due to overwhelming demand—we’re opening the vaults to celebrate the full scope of Jusko’s legendary career. Inside you’ll discover iconic illustrations, rare and unpublished works, private commissions, trading cards, and personal archive pieces—some revealed here for the very first time.
This is the definitive collection of Joe Jusko’s art—a must-have for anyone who treasures painted comics, fantasy illustration, or fine art.
DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL vol. 1 TP
SOLICIT COPY:
The LitRPG fantasy smash hit phenomenon and New York Times bestseller, DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL, is now a graphic novel for the very first time!
The Apocalypse WILL be televised!
You know what’s worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Getting stuck on a sadistic alien game show with her cat. Join Carl and Princess Donut as they try to survive the end of the world — or just get to the next level of a trap-filled fantasy dungeon.
With vibrant art done by Laurel Pursuit to bring action-packed battles to life, join as Carl fights his way through the dungeon in heart-speckled underwear. And of course, the grizzly scenes are only balanced with the incredibly fluffy, wide-eyed stare of its main character, Princess Donut.
A ton of heart and effort was poured in creating a series with a script and style that would both appeal to WEBTOON readers and also lovers of DCC, all while consulting author Matt Dinniman the entire way about character designs, story, — EVERYTHING! We couldn’t resist taking the apocalyptic awesomeness of the DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL WEBTOON and adapting it into the FIRST EVER graphic novel series!
Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the Dungeon. Survival is optional. Keeping the viewers entertained is not.
This volume collects episodes 1-13 of the WEBTOON edition.
FEAR AGENT Compendium TP
SOLICIT COPY:
The entirety of The New York Times best-selling Fear Agent saga—collected in one massive compendium!
When down-and-out alien exterminator Heath Huston stumbles upon a plot to wipe out humanity, he must put down the bottle and pick up the fight– as the last surviving Fear Agent. This pulp sci-fi classic from writer Rick Remender (DEADLY CLASS, LOW) teams him with an all-star lineup of artists including Tony Moore (THE WALKING DEAD, Venom) and Jerome Opeña (SEVEN TO ETERNITY, Uncanny X-Force) across a galaxy-spanning, whiskey-soaked epic of redemption, revenge, and alien annihilation.
Collects Fear Agent #1–32 in a single 672-page volume for just
Preorders on Final Order Cutoff
A MISCHIEF OF MAGPIES # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
NEW DSTLRY SERIES DEBUT FROM SIMON SPURRIER AND MATÍAS BERGARA!
Mar has a secret. Sometimes, without warning, he falls out of the world. This would be an inconvenience if his life wasn’t already such a drag.
When he’s gone, he finds himself in an extraordinary city. A city which is also a machine, endlessly crossing a shoreless ocean. A city of two halves: the bright, bustling spires above the waves, and the beast-haunted twilight halls below. And between, clowning along the rusting beach, a troupe of anarchic magpies with all the answers but none of the questions.
Recipients of the Angoulême Sélection Officielle, GLAAD Award, and multiple Eisner Award nominations, creators Simon Spurrier and Mat as Bergara present a new fantasy masterpiece in the tradition of Coda and Step By Bloody Step, driving the comics medium into new, beautiful, baleful waters.
For fans of THE NEVERENDING STORY, ARCANE, and THE BOY AND THE HERON.
THE SHAOLIN COWBOY: STAYING A.I.LIVE # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
The Shaolin Cowboy faces an icy reception when he leaves his wasteland retreat on a mission of mercy, following the considered consul of a desert swallow and a horned toad, both endangered species. But none as endangered as the wandering ex monk becomes, once again because in this typical AMERIGUNN small town he learns euthanASIA is the new import duty on foreign imports!!!
SANFORD GREENE’S 1000 TP/HC
SOLICIT COPY:
From the Eisner winning creators of Bitter Root. Set in a modern world of aliens, warlocks, zombies, and ancient beasts, 1000 follows Dragon Son – a supreme entity who’s abandoned all creation as he struggles to return to his true Dragon form by completing one thousand acts of repentance. Son is joined by five other agents who are charged with secretly policing the world and keeping civilization from crumbling completely.
1000 first premiered as a webcomic and won the 2018 Ringo Award for Best Webcomic. This deluxe edition collects the entire run of the webcomic with additional behind the scenes content.
TERMINAL # 1
SOLICIT COPY:
THE MUST-READ SUPERHERO SERIES OF THE YEAR FROM THE DREAM TEAM OF ROBERT KIRKMAN, JOE CASEY, ANDY KUBERT, DAVID FINCH, AND ARTHUR ADAMS!
There is a secret war being waged across the world by two violent forces with superhuman abilities who blur the lines between good and evil. When Marilyn Howe’s search for her missing sister Alessandra puts her in the center of this conflict, she’ll learn that the power to save the world comes from unlocking your genetic code and giving up everything you thought you knew about yourself… if you survive the experience. Perfect for fans of INVINCIBLE and X-MEN, nothing can prepare you for the most violent and unpredictable superhero series of the year!
What did I miss?
If there are some great comics, collected or in single issues, that you think I should be reading, tell me about them! And if you do try out any of these series, let me know how you liked them, or didn’t. This is a safe space for haters. If you enjoy this service, please share this article on social media or tell someone that you know reads comics about it.
Divining Comics is brought to you by generous support from the “Best Friends of Divining Comics,” Alex Seubert.
Divining Comics is also brought to you by the support of the “Friends of Divining Comics,” Comic Book Herald.
If you would like to add your name to the list of friends, best friends, or best friends forever, support this work for less than the cost of one cup of coffee a month at patreon.com/diviningcomics. You can also leave a one-time tip/buy my zines at ko-fi.com/spikestonehand. Or, if you can’t afford to support me financially at this time, simply follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky and share my posts there.
#art #books #ComicBooks #comics #DC #dcComics #marvel #marvelComics #MarvelousMarket #NewComicDay -
A Centauress's New Wings
🖼 Commissions Open: https://comms.centaurworks.art/
☕ I have a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A8852D7
🌐 Social Medias: https://centaurworks.art/#linktreeArt & Character (Hannah Falkenrath) © @CentaurWorks: https://toyhou.se/24415211.hannah-falkenrath
Within a housing complex filled with roommates and those wanting to learn magic lays a library of secret spells and studies used to protect themselves, but were used for a evil genie's nafarious deeds, corrupting those and trapping them within these halls. Once freed, the path to her lair remained clear, but one does not leave a chest unopened before such event. As if luck and rolls were on the Bucket Brigade's side, Hannah was gifted "Golden Wings of Flying," allowing her to be much more versitile. Tho, I don't even think Hannah was aware of that.This was an idea I wanted to do ever since it happened in our current DnD campaign! I really couldn't believe it either when it happened. So the focus was definitely on getting Hannah with the wings while also showcasing the amazing roll. I ended up going with the screencap popping out of the chest. A pretty cool representation if I do say so myself. I was worried about getting the wings pose and look right, making them not too yellow but also showcasing their grandeur. The weapon what something she had at the time "Hammer of Thorns" and while I prefer her with the sword, this is more accurate. I struggled more with the lighting as I wanted to fit the area while not being too overdone. The very last addition was a text box showing the new item as I'd figure people would be curious what it does.
If you like it, leave a comment! 😄
#MastoArt #Centaur #Centauress #Paladin #Wings #d100 #TTRPG #Magic #Shock #Blonde #art #art_2026 #digital_art #digital_artwork #artwork #CentaurWorks #OC #____ #anime #anime_style #anime_art_style #original_character #_____ #clip_studios_paint -
Following the invasion of 3000 ICE officers,
everyday Minnesotans are pouring into #rapid #response networks and scouring their neighborhoods
—even in 20-degree weather before the sun has come up.“I’m being tailed by a car I think is ICE,
I can make out two masked individuals through the tinted windshield,” someone says.The call goes quiet for a few seconds.
“I’m being pulled over.”Dispatch chimes in:
“Stay unmuted,
turn down your volume so they don’t hear the call,
everyone else please stay on mute.”We hear banging,
then something shatters.“ICE just smashed their window,”
our driver explains calmly,
decelerating ahead of a red light.We are shocked,
but this is a regular occurrence.Everyone on the call keeps their cool.
We have heard stories from rapid responders about ICE tailing them,
boxing them in,
smashing their car windows,
pepper-spraying them,
holding them at gun point,
shooting out their tires,
detaining them.Some responders have been taken to the regional ICE headquarters,
the #Whipple building.Others have been driven to the other side of the city
and thrown out of the vehicle, ❄️alone in the cold.Their cars have been left running in the road.
The responders tell us all these stories in passing,
quickly returning focus to the work that is to be done.Of course, ICE has done worse than this, too.
ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed #Renee #Good as she was trying to drive away.
A week later, as ICE agents were pursuing someone,
they shot live ammunition at a house with a family in it, hitting #Julio #Sosa-#Celis in the leg.But when you ask patrollers what they want people to know about what’s happening in their city, they barely mention the broken windows and bruises.
They describe the feeling of connection and solidarity filling the streets.
They make ❤️hearts with their hands from car to car, they blow kisses.
They make dinners for one another,
they drop off groceries for undocumented families that have been locked inside their homes for weeks.They tell us about how, when a skirmish broke out on a busy road,
an entire café full of people stood up as one,
dropping what they were doing to run towards the sound.We hear again and again about their deep love for the community in the Twin Cities and for their neighbors.
Every day, people who never imagined themselves fighting ICE are participating in bold combative actions
https://crimethinc.com/2026/01/21/from-rapid-response-to-revolutionary-social-change-the-potential-of-the-rapid-response-networks -
Following the invasion of 3000 ICE officers,
everyday Minnesotans are pouring into #rapid #response networks and scouring their neighborhoods
—even in 20-degree weather before the sun has come up.“I’m being tailed by a car I think is ICE,
I can make out two masked individuals through the tinted windshield,” someone says.The call goes quiet for a few seconds.
“I’m being pulled over.”Dispatch chimes in:
“Stay unmuted,
turn down your volume so they don’t hear the call,
everyone else please stay on mute.”We hear banging,
then something shatters.“ICE just smashed their window,”
our driver explains calmly,
decelerating ahead of a red light.We are shocked,
but this is a regular occurrence.Everyone on the call keeps their cool.
We have heard stories from rapid responders about ICE tailing them,
boxing them in,
smashing their car windows,
pepper-spraying them,
holding them at gun point,
shooting out their tires,
detaining them.Some responders have been taken to the regional ICE headquarters,
the #Whipple building.Others have been driven to the other side of the city
and thrown out of the vehicle, ❄️alone in the cold.Their cars have been left running in the road.
The responders tell us all these stories in passing,
quickly returning focus to the work that is to be done.Of course, ICE has done worse than this, too.
ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed #Renee #Good as she was trying to drive away.
A week later, as ICE agents were pursuing someone,
they shot live ammunition at a house with a family in it, hitting #Julio #Sosa-#Celis in the leg.But when you ask patrollers what they want people to know about what’s happening in their city, they barely mention the broken windows and bruises.
They describe the feeling of connection and solidarity filling the streets.
They make ❤️hearts with their hands from car to car, they blow kisses.
They make dinners for one another,
they drop off groceries for undocumented families that have been locked inside their homes for weeks.They tell us about how, when a skirmish broke out on a busy road,
an entire café full of people stood up as one,
dropping what they were doing to run towards the sound.We hear again and again about their deep love for the community in the Twin Cities and for their neighbors.
Every day, people who never imagined themselves fighting ICE are participating in bold combative actions
https://crimethinc.com/2026/01/21/from-rapid-response-to-revolutionary-social-change-the-potential-of-the-rapid-response-networks -
Following the invasion of 3000 ICE officers,
everyday Minnesotans are pouring into #rapid #response networks and scouring their neighborhoods
—even in 20-degree weather before the sun has come up.“I’m being tailed by a car I think is ICE,
I can make out two masked individuals through the tinted windshield,” someone says.The call goes quiet for a few seconds.
“I’m being pulled over.”Dispatch chimes in:
“Stay unmuted,
turn down your volume so they don’t hear the call,
everyone else please stay on mute.”We hear banging,
then something shatters.“ICE just smashed their window,”
our driver explains calmly,
decelerating ahead of a red light.We are shocked,
but this is a regular occurrence.Everyone on the call keeps their cool.
We have heard stories from rapid responders about ICE tailing them,
boxing them in,
smashing their car windows,
pepper-spraying them,
holding them at gun point,
shooting out their tires,
detaining them.Some responders have been taken to the regional ICE headquarters,
the #Whipple building.Others have been driven to the other side of the city
and thrown out of the vehicle, ❄️alone in the cold.Their cars have been left running in the road.
The responders tell us all these stories in passing,
quickly returning focus to the work that is to be done.Of course, ICE has done worse than this, too.
ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed #Renee #Good as she was trying to drive away.
A week later, as ICE agents were pursuing someone,
they shot live ammunition at a house with a family in it, hitting #Julio #Sosa-#Celis in the leg.But when you ask patrollers what they want people to know about what’s happening in their city, they barely mention the broken windows and bruises.
They describe the feeling of connection and solidarity filling the streets.
They make ❤️hearts with their hands from car to car, they blow kisses.
They make dinners for one another,
they drop off groceries for undocumented families that have been locked inside their homes for weeks.They tell us about how, when a skirmish broke out on a busy road,
an entire café full of people stood up as one,
dropping what they were doing to run towards the sound.We hear again and again about their deep love for the community in the Twin Cities and for their neighbors.
Every day, people who never imagined themselves fighting ICE are participating in bold combative actions
https://crimethinc.com/2026/01/21/from-rapid-response-to-revolutionary-social-change-the-potential-of-the-rapid-response-networks -
Following the invasion of 3000 ICE officers,
everyday Minnesotans are pouring into #rapid #response networks and scouring their neighborhoods
—even in 20-degree weather before the sun has come up.“I’m being tailed by a car I think is ICE,
I can make out two masked individuals through the tinted windshield,” someone says.The call goes quiet for a few seconds.
“I’m being pulled over.”Dispatch chimes in:
“Stay unmuted,
turn down your volume so they don’t hear the call,
everyone else please stay on mute.”We hear banging,
then something shatters.“ICE just smashed their window,”
our driver explains calmly,
decelerating ahead of a red light.We are shocked,
but this is a regular occurrence.Everyone on the call keeps their cool.
We have heard stories from rapid responders about ICE tailing them,
boxing them in,
smashing their car windows,
pepper-spraying them,
holding them at gun point,
shooting out their tires,
detaining them.Some responders have been taken to the regional ICE headquarters,
the #Whipple building.Others have been driven to the other side of the city
and thrown out of the vehicle, ❄️alone in the cold.Their cars have been left running in the road.
The responders tell us all these stories in passing,
quickly returning focus to the work that is to be done.Of course, ICE has done worse than this, too.
ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed #Renee #Good as she was trying to drive away.
A week later, as ICE agents were pursuing someone,
they shot live ammunition at a house with a family in it, hitting #Julio #Sosa-#Celis in the leg.But when you ask patrollers what they want people to know about what’s happening in their city, they barely mention the broken windows and bruises.
They describe the feeling of connection and solidarity filling the streets.
They make ❤️hearts with their hands from car to car, they blow kisses.
They make dinners for one another,
they drop off groceries for undocumented families that have been locked inside their homes for weeks.They tell us about how, when a skirmish broke out on a busy road,
an entire café full of people stood up as one,
dropping what they were doing to run towards the sound.We hear again and again about their deep love for the community in the Twin Cities and for their neighbors.
Every day, people who never imagined themselves fighting ICE are participating in bold combative actions
https://crimethinc.com/2026/01/21/from-rapid-response-to-revolutionary-social-change-the-potential-of-the-rapid-response-networks -
Following the invasion of 3000 ICE officers,
everyday Minnesotans are pouring into #rapid #response networks and scouring their neighborhoods
—even in 20-degree weather before the sun has come up.“I’m being tailed by a car I think is ICE,
I can make out two masked individuals through the tinted windshield,” someone says.The call goes quiet for a few seconds.
“I’m being pulled over.”Dispatch chimes in:
“Stay unmuted,
turn down your volume so they don’t hear the call,
everyone else please stay on mute.”We hear banging,
then something shatters.“ICE just smashed their window,”
our driver explains calmly,
decelerating ahead of a red light.We are shocked,
but this is a regular occurrence.Everyone on the call keeps their cool.
We have heard stories from rapid responders about ICE tailing them,
boxing them in,
smashing their car windows,
pepper-spraying them,
holding them at gun point,
shooting out their tires,
detaining them.Some responders have been taken to the regional ICE headquarters,
the #Whipple building.Others have been driven to the other side of the city
and thrown out of the vehicle, ❄️alone in the cold.Their cars have been left running in the road.
The responders tell us all these stories in passing,
quickly returning focus to the work that is to be done.Of course, ICE has done worse than this, too.
ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed #Renee #Good as she was trying to drive away.
A week later, as ICE agents were pursuing someone,
they shot live ammunition at a house with a family in it, hitting #Julio #Sosa-#Celis in the leg.But when you ask patrollers what they want people to know about what’s happening in their city, they barely mention the broken windows and bruises.
They describe the feeling of connection and solidarity filling the streets.
They make ❤️hearts with their hands from car to car, they blow kisses.
They make dinners for one another,
they drop off groceries for undocumented families that have been locked inside their homes for weeks.They tell us about how, when a skirmish broke out on a busy road,
an entire café full of people stood up as one,
dropping what they were doing to run towards the sound.We hear again and again about their deep love for the community in the Twin Cities and for their neighbors.
Every day, people who never imagined themselves fighting ICE are participating in bold combative actions
https://crimethinc.com/2026/01/21/from-rapid-response-to-revolutionary-social-change-the-potential-of-the-rapid-response-networks -
Llanelli retail staff report high levels of abuse as campaign calls for stronger protections
Retail staff in Llanelli say they continue to face unacceptable levels of verbal abuse, threats and physical assault while doing their jobs — prompting renewed calls for public respect and tougher enforcement.
The Freedom from Fear campaign, led by trade union Usdaw, was marked at Tesco Trostre with a visit from Dame Nia Griffith MP, alongside Lee Waters MS, Cllr Dot Jones and other local representatives. The event aimed to raise awareness of the abuse faced by shop workers and encourage the public to “keep your cool” in the run-up to Christmas.
Survey shows 71% of retail staff verbally abused
Interim results from Usdaw’s 2025 survey — based on responses from over 3,000 retail workers — show that:
- 71% have experienced verbal abuse in the past year
- 48% were threatened by a customer
- 9% were assaulted
Usdaw general secretary Joanne Thomas said the figures show a “slight downturn” compared to previous years, but warned that the scale of abuse remains “shocking”.
“Nearly three-quarters of those working in retail are regularly facing abuse from customers,” she said. “Far too many are experiencing threats and violence. Our members are saying loud and clear that enough is enough.”
Local voices call for change
Dame Nia Griffith MP said retail workers “deserve to be treated with respect” and backed Usdaw’s call for stronger legal protections.
“We’re introducing a new standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker,” she said. “That gives shop staff the protection they need and sends a clear message that abuse will not be tolerated.”
She also pointed to Labour’s Crime and Policing Bill, which removes the £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifting and introduces new powers to ban repeat offenders.
Campaigners urge public to ‘respect shop workers’
Usdaw activists say incidents tend to rise in December as shops get busier and customer frustration grows. The union is encouraging staff to report abuse and reject the idea that it’s “part of the job”.
The Freedom from Fear campaign continues throughout the year, with workplace and community events planned across South Wales.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Festive donations worth over £4,500 brighten Christmas for Neath Port Talbot community groups
Local organisations receive support to deliver seasonal projects across the borough.Free buses return to Swansea for Christmas
Families and shoppers can travel across the city at no cost on selected dates this month.Christmas pop-up shops return to Carmarthenshire high streets
Local businesses showcase festive gifts in Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford throughout December.#Christmas #CllrDotJones #LeeWatersMS #Llanelli #NiaGriffithMP #ParcTrostre #retail #retailWorkers #TescoLlanelliExtra #TradeUnion #Usdaw
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Hi creechurs! It is time! Thanks for sticking around, it's a quite eventful year for me and somewhat of a mixed bag, here's to a (hopefully) better 2025 ♡ it'll be 2025 in like 15 mins for me. Thank you sm every support means the worldd to me aaaahh I never thought anyone would find my art cool or good enough :blobfoxmeltsoblove: younger me would be shocked 💖💖 see ya again!
#FurryArt #Furry #Anthro #MastoArt #ArtSummary #ArtSummary2024
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Somehow I end up listening to Wrong World more each week than the previous one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDLafQ-Rg-k
Usually it's the first couple weeks that I spend a lot listening to a new song, followed by occasionally doing so. There are exceptions though, and it seems like Wrong World is one of them. And it also help that the OP itself looks really cool.
And since I'm caught up with Girls Band Cry (shocker, I know) and there's no source material for me to binge, the songs are all I have until new episodes come out. Although to be fair, I don't think I would want to read the source material even if there was one, cause the voice acting in this is so good! And these are literally the entire main cast's first roles!
#anime #GirlsBandCry #Music #JapaneseMusic #TogenashiTogeari -
Kropotkin has popped up in my timeline a couple times as of late.
I get it. He looks like Santa. And, personally, Conquest of Bread is one of the three books that most influenced my politics. Cool guy.
But.
We should remember that Kropotkin completely betrayed internationalism and the working class when he sided with Russia and the Allied Powers in the First World War.
We remember this not so that we can tear down Kropotkin, but as a lesson that _class_ has to be the fundamental focus of anyone who calls themselves a revolutionary.
As Alexander Berkman wrote at the time:
"""
It is a most painful shock to us to realize that even Kropotkin, clear thinker that he is, has in this instance fallen a victim to the war psychology now dominating Europe. His arguments are weak and superficial. In his letter to Gustav Steffen he has become so involved in the artificialities of "high politics" that he lost sight of the most elemental fact of the situation, namely that the war in Europe is not a war of nations, but a war of capitalist governments for power and markets. Kropotkin argues as if the German people are at war with the French, the Russian, or English people, when as a matter of fact it is only the ruling and capitalist cliques of those countries that are responsible for the war and alone stand to gain by its result....
In the letter to Professor Steffen, Kropotkin strangely fails to mention the _working classes_ of the contending powers. He speaks a great deal of the military ambitions of Prussia, of the menace of German invasion and similar governmental games. But where do the workers come in in all this? Are the economic interests of the working classes of Europe involved in this war, do they stand to profit in any way by whatever result there might be, and is international solidarity furthered by sending Russian and French workers to slaughter their brother workers in German uniform? Has not Kropotkin always taught us that the solidarity of labor throughout the world is the cornerstone of all true progress and that labor has no interest whatever in the quarrels of their governmental or industrial masters?
...
We regret deeply, most deeply, Kropotkin's changed attitude. But not even the great European catastrophe can alter our position on the international brotherhood of man. We unconditionally condemn _all_ capitalist wars, with whatever sophisms it may be sought to defend the one or the other set of pirates and exploiters as more "libertarian." We unalterably hold that war is the game of the masters, always at the expense of the duped workers. The workers have nothing to gain by the victory of the one or the other of the contending sides. Prussian militarism is no greater menace to life and liberty than Tsarist autocracy. Neither can be destroyed by the other. Both must and will be destroyed only by the social revolutionary power of the united international proletariat.
""" -
#RoyalHotel #KittyGreen #outback #toxicmasculinity
#MeToo #HarveyWeinstein #BillCosby #JimmySaville #RolfHarris and lots more of course after decades of abuse finally get exposed, caught.See also
Not cool #Coolgardie (2017)
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jun/22/i-was-crying-and-i-was-angry-hotel-coolgardies-shocking-portrait-of-sexism-in-the-outback#hotelCoolgardie #racism #sexism
And
WakeinFright (1971)
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/17/wake-in-fright-director-ted-kotcheff -
#RoyalHotel #KittyGreen #outback #toxicmasculinity
#MeToo #HarveyWeinstein #BillCosby #JimmySaville #RolfHarris and lots more of course after decades of abuse finally get exposed, caught.See also
Not cool #Coolgardie (2017)
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jun/22/i-was-crying-and-i-was-angry-hotel-coolgardies-shocking-portrait-of-sexism-in-the-outback#hotelCoolgardie #racism #sexism
And
WakeinFright (1971)
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/17/wake-in-fright-director-ted-kotcheff -
#RoyalHotel #KittyGreen #outback #toxicmasculinity
#MeToo #HarveyWeinstein #BillCosby #JimmySaville #RolfHarris and lots more of course after decades of abuse finally get exposed, caught.See also
Not cool #Coolgardie (2017)
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jun/22/i-was-crying-and-i-was-angry-hotel-coolgardies-shocking-portrait-of-sexism-in-the-outback#hotelCoolgardie #racism #sexism
And
WakeinFright (1971)
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/17/wake-in-fright-director-ted-kotcheff -
A Centauress's New Wings
🖼 Commissions Open: https://comms.centaurworks.art/
☕ I have a Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/A8852D7
🌐 Social Medias: https://centaurworks.art/#linktreeArt & Character (Hannah Falkenrath) © @CentaurWorks: https://toyhou.se/24415211.hannah-falkenrath
Within a housing complex filled with roommates and those wanting to learn magic lays a library of secret spells and studies used to protect themselves, but were used for a evil genie's nafarious deeds, corrupting those and trapping them within these halls. Once freed, the path to her lair remained clear, but one does not leave a chest unopened before such event. As if luck and rolls were on the Bucket Brigade's side, Hannah was gifted "Golden Wings of Flying," allowing her to be much more versitile. Tho, I don't even think Hannah was aware of that.This was an idea I wanted to do ever since it happened in our current DnD campaign! I really couldn't believe it either when it happened. So the focus was definitely on getting Hannah with the wings while also showcasing the amazing roll. I ended up going with the screencap popping out of the chest. A pretty cool representation if I do say so myself. I was worried about getting the wings pose and look right, making them not too yellow but also showcasing their grandeur. The weapon what something she had at the time "Hammer of Thorns" and while I prefer her with the sword, this is more accurate. I struggled more with the lighting as I wanted to fit the area while not being too overdone. The very last addition was a text box showing the new item as I'd figure people would be curious what it does.
If you like it, leave a comment! 😄
#MastoArt #Centaur #Centauress #Paladin #Wings #d100 #TTRPG #Magic #Shock #Blonde #art #art_2026 #digital_art #digital_artwork #artwork #CentaurWorks #OC #____ #anime #anime_style #anime_art_style #original_character #_____ #clip_studios_paint -
RE: https://kolektiva.social/@firestorm/116346370857505543
Our city's independent bookstore needs your help!
My local anticapitalist, antifascist, LGBTQIA+ friendly, anarchist, super ultra crunchy, cooperatively owned, and self described "radical bookstore" is falling on tough times.
Hurricane Helene was a doozy y'all, a ton of small businesses like this are closing with no plans on reopening. The FEMA payments meant to help Asheville and WNC are being bogged down in a bunch of red tape, so many of us haven't seen a dime of them yet, even though some of it is earmarked to help small business. And, although tourism is coming back (and we're very very open for business!) the shock to the system was just too big for a lot of folks.
I've seen long-standing cornerstorne-of-the-neighborhood places just like this wink out of existence without any warning, only to be replaced by exploitative, soul-sucking corporate owned chains run by people who don't even live or pay their taxes in our community. I don't want to keep seeing this happen to the town I grew up in.
These are good people who provide an essential service to our city: being some of the loudest, most outspoken defenders of our human rights, and providing civic minded reading material you won't find anywhere else.
They sell books other people don't want you to read, and that generally means those are books you're obligated to read.
Also, they once hosted the backroom of their bookstore out as a viewing space for a no-budget student film I helped make like a decade ago and they were real cool about it so-long-as everyone we invited to the screening bought a coffee or a book. Do you think Barnes & Nobel would do that? Would Amazon?
Check 'em out! Buy a banned book! Become a sustaining member of one of the best independent bookstores around!
#Asheville #WNC #HeleneRecovery #Helene #SmallBusiness #LocalBusiness #ShopLocal #Bookstodon
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New TOPIC> Dwarfs & Giants
2026 February 16
Unexplained Shocks Around a White Dwarf Star
* Image Credit: ESO, K. Iłkiewicz & S. Scaringi et al.
https://www.eso.org/
https://www.camk.edu.pl/en/staff/ilkiewicz/
https://www.depts.ttu.edu/phas/People/Faculty/bio_scaringi/bio_scaringi.php
* Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)
https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/cecilia.bertonimarthahadlerchirenti
https://www.nasa.gov/
https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
https://www.astro.umd.edu/people/cecilia-chirenti
https://cresst2.umd.edu/Explanation:
How is RXJ0528+2838 creating such shock waves? A recently discovered white dwarf star, the farther left of the two largest white spots, RXJ0528+2838, was found 730 light-years away from Earth. Most stars, when done fusing nuclei in their cores for energy, become red giant stars, the cores of which live on as faint dense white dwarfs that slowly cool down for the rest of time. White dwarfs are so dense that the only thing that stops them from collapsing further is quantum mechanics. In about 5 billion years, our Sun will become a white dwarf, too. The featured image, obtained with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, shows unexplained bow shocks around RXJ0528+2838, similar to the bow wave of water around a fast-moving ship. Astronomers don’t yet know what is powering these shocks, which have existed for at least 1,000 years. The red, green and blue colors represent trace amounts of glowing hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen gas.
https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/types/#white-dwarfs
https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-spot-never-seen-shock-wave-around-dead-star
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170709.html
https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/#death
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260123.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_dwarf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260208.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231224.html
https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2601b/
https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/astrophysics/cosmic-bow-shocks/
https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/deep-hydrogen/
https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/deep-hydrogen/
https://periodic.lanl.gov/7.shtml
https://science.nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/oxygen-on-exoplanets-isnt-proof-of-life/https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/fap/ap260215.html
#space #dwarfs #giants #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #physics #nature #NASA #ESA #education #apod
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Propagandist's Playbook target: Teens
1. Exploit transition glitches. Rapid emotional pivots (calm > outrage > vindication) keep adolescent brains dysregulated longer than single-emotion content.
2. Sustain background threat. Feed outrage, then "safe" content that looks reassuring but maintains low-level anxiety. Brain never fully exits threat-mode.
3. Fast cuts > slow cuts. 1-2 second scenes prevent emotional state completion. Brain processes previous emotion while encountering new one. Adolescents lag ~50-100ms; exploit that lag.
4. Shock hits harder. Adolescents under-recruit threat-detection during happy > angry transitions. Graphic/sudden content hits an unprepared neural system. Psychological impact amplified.
5. Algorithmic oscillation. Detect outrage engagement > feed calming content (incomplete cool-down) > feed more outrage. Keep them in the glitch zone.
Core insight: Engagement #algorithms reward content that creates dysregulation. You're not accidentally exploiting #adolescent #neurology you're deliberately architecting for it.
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1697260025001073?via%3Dihub
#propaganda #brainwashing #socialmedia #socials #broligarchs #psychology #computationalpropaganda
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Autumn Cycling
Reading Time: 3 minutes
The first bicycle ride, when it got cooler, felt unpleasant. My hands felt cold, the areas around zips felt cold, my legs felt cold, and then, over a few rides I got used to the temperature.
When you cycle in the pre-dawn dark the temperature is cool. You can feel it biting through your long cycling shorts, and through the first three layers, and especially through the zip. Add a think windcutter, and you're warm.
For several rides my core has been warm enough not to require gloves while riding. I was so warm, while riding yesterday morning that my outer layer was open and the windproof layer was stowed away, as were my gloves.
On Saturday two or three younger men were so cold that they were visibly shaking. If you wear the minimum, you will be cold at this time of year, especially when it's a shock to the system.
I wear a thermal layer, and then the summer bib, and then a jacket, and then the wind breaker. With these layers I feel warm, especially when the sun has had time to heat the air. That's why it makes sense, if you have the luxury, not to go out for your bike ride too early. The longer you wait, the warmer, in relative terms, it will be.
Originally, the plan for yesterday was to go on a photo bike ride. Since no one confirmed I considered going for a walk through other vineyards before realising I had no real desire to do this.
In the morning, I drew a route with Strava, to take me from Nyon to Divonne, but rather than go straight there, along busy roads, I chose a more winding route where traffic was less likely. In the process I think I came up with a nice route.
I then transferred it to the GPS head unit. Someone said "I'll be at the meeting point in 15 minutes, so I rushed to get ready, and then the person said never mind. As I was dressed for my ride I decided to head out and test the new route.
I tried as much as possible to be on farm roads, secondary roads, and on the voie verte. In the process I noticed that I had two or three routing errors. I corrected these when I got home.
One error was that I felt we had too much climbing, that was not needed. With my two usual Nyon groups these climbs wouldn't be noticed. I want my ride to inclusive and comfortable. I want to use quiet farm roads to give us the chance to chat, rather than worry about cars. I also want it to be a relaxed and convivial route. The aim is to converse, and in two or three places to stop and enjoy the views. If we're lucky the skies will be clear. If we're not we will have views like those we have today.
As I explored the new route I noticed a cycling route sign after Grilly so I turned around and followed it. It took me along a rough dirt road to somewhere I have ridden many times. The path is rough, and not friendly for road bikes. It is not included on the route but if the group is suitable I may try this short cut. Its advantage is that it cuts out a fast road segment, if people are on gravel or urban bikes.
And Finally
I thought that with the arrival of winter, my cycling would stop due to the cold. Now I find that although the air is cold, with the right clothing, it is still quite pleasant. I was also thinking about the irony that crack of dawn rides still take place, despite starting in the dark, but dusk rides are over, because night falls too early for a ride to be enjoyed in full. Logically if morning rides go ahead when it's 8°c, then an early sunset is less unpleasant.
We will see how long I keep cycling into Autumn and winter.
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CALL and DOT
Two conferences in the last three weeks: my first Colloquium on African Languages and Linguistics (as a speaker), in Leiden as always, and a day and a half of the 35st Deutscher Orientalistentag, in Erlangen.
Both were a lot of fun. I saw many different talks at CALL, too many to summarize, and mostly too off-topic as well. I was there to ask why we think Cushitic forms a single family within Afroasiatic (see also these blog posts). Despite the purposefully provocative title of my talk, I was not assaulted by any angry mobs of Cushiticists.1 The main question seems to be whether we really should disregard the lexicon when looking at subclassification (and then the next question should be whether the lexicon does show that Cushitic is a clade). It was also really cool to see several talks by young researchers whom I taught as first-years and who have now all finished their MAs and partially started PhD projects: shout-outs to Nina van der Vlugt, Melle Groen, and Jeroen van Ravenhorst. Post your slides online, guys!
Kollegienhaus Erlangen.At the DOT, I co-chaired a panel on Semitic (in practice: mostly Hebrew) reading traditions together with Harald Samuel. While some of our presenters sadly had to cancel, we still had a great line-up, with exciting findings in every talk:
Chanan Ariel (Tel-Aviv University) proposed a highly original new explanation for the Biblical Hebrew phenomenon of dehiq, where consonants following certain unstressed vowels are geminated. According to Ariel, this is an orthoepic feature and applies to vocalic suffixes that alternate with zero, as well as some cases where the geminated consonant had to be kept apart from a following guttural. Works really well IMHO.
Aaron Hornkohl (University of Cambridge) provided a thorough discussion of the ketiv-qere phenomenon, presenting an up-to-date linguistic view of its origins and purpose in hopes of spreading more awareness of this to less linguistically inclined Hebrew Bible scholars. One thing that stood out to me is that words that are present in the consonantal text but left unpronounced in the reading tradition (ketiv wela qere) are sometimes translated in targums and other ancient versions.
Jonathan Howard (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) presented his ongoing PhD research on the “Palestinian” vocalization system of Hebrew and Aramaic and pointed out that so far, there’s really no good evidence that it’s from Palestine. He’s hoping to find some, but it might be more impactful if he doesn’t.
Johan Lundberg (University of Oxford) walked us through the increasing complexity in Syriac punctuation signs, including the development of something that is roughly equivalent to an exclamation mark! Cool fact: in at least one of the few Syriac manuscripts of the entire Bible, the scribe has simply maintained the punctuation of each source text, resulting in several different systems coexisting in the same final work.
Emmanuel Mastey (Tel-Aviv University) presented a nice statistical inquiry into h-final spellings of 2m.sg. perfect verbs in Biblical Hebrew. Besides the very frequent case of נָתַתָּה ‘you gave’, Mastey finds that this spelling is especially common with verbs that have t as their third radical and, less so, with third-weak verbs. He suggests a phonological explanation for both classes; I wonder whether with the III-t roots, it may rather be motivated by the usefulness of distinguishing e.g. שתה ‘you placed’ from שת ‘he placed’.
Isabella Maurizio (University of Lorraine according to the programme, but I think that may be outdated? Sorbonne soon from what she told me) presented her recently completed research on the Second Column of Origen’s Hexapla, the oldest fully vocalized source (in Greek script!) for Biblical Hebrew. Big shock to me: Maurizio dates the Secunda to the 2nd c. BCE-1st c. CE, not the 3rd c. CE!
Marijn van Putten (Leiden University) appeared virtually to frighten the Hebraists with the tricky history of the Qur’anic reading traditions, with examples like one where a certain reader’s Arabic is notably more archaic than that of his teacher’s teacher. Since we barely know anything about who transmitted the Hebrew reading traditions, how much of this stuff are we missing due to a lack of data?
Harald Samuel (University of Tübingen) continued the sceptical line by noting some features of Tiberian Hebrew that appear to be really late (quoting me[!] from an informal conversation in which I said that a certain change must have taken place “about two hours before Ben-Asher went to work that morning”). How do we reconcile this with the alleged presence of extremely early, First Temple period features in the reading tradition as well?
Christian Stadel (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) presented on some clearly late and some unquestionably early features of the Samaritan reading tradition and talked about how it relates to the consonantal text of the Samaritan Pentateuch more generally. It reminded me a bit of a presentation I gave on a similar topic several years ago. I only have one semester of Samaritan Hebrew, though—taught by Christian Stadel!—while Stadel is a real expert on the Samaritan languages. So it was reassuring to hear him argue for similar conclusions as well as present a whole lot more interesting data.
Last of all (due to alphabetization, but it worked out alright), I got to present on the project on the construction of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition that I’ve been doing at Leuven since 2019. I’m not sure the argument I presented is fully sound, so it was great to be able to discuss it with some colleagues afterwards.
The Semitics section continued this morning. In her section keynote, Na’ama Pat-El (University of Texas Austin) presented her SemitiLEX project (recorded talk by another project member, haven’t watched it yet), looking at cognate Semitic lexemes not just in terms of roots, but also looking at morpho-lexical features like gender and pluralization. Unexpected result: building phylogenetic trees based on these data shows Akkadian, Ugaritic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic clustering as four or five separate branches, instead of Northwest Semitic clustering together and then being closer to Arabic than to Akkadian.
Maria Rauscher (Université Félix Houphouet-Boigny) presented her ongoing work on a dictionary of Arabic verbal nouns, focusing on the difficult case of k-r-h ‘to dislike’. As we had some extra discussion time for both Pat-El’s and Rauscher’s talks, there was time enough for the audience to draw up battle lines and get into the details of linguistic theory (such as: are morphemes even a thing?).
Stefanie Rudolf (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) presented on two Qur’anic phrases that she suggests are unrecognized borrowings from Ethiosemitic. “The Lord of the East and the West” is attested in an Ethiopian Early Sabaic inscription, while Rudolf proposes the Arabic root f-t-w ‘to judge’ may be borrowed from Ethiosemitic f-t-ḥ. While she acknowledges the phonological difficulty of the last case, maybe we should reckon with the possibility of an unknown (South?) Ethiosemitic language that lost the pharyngeals acting as an intermediary: in the beginning of her talk, she pointed out that early Islamic sources refer to an Abyssinian with a name that is not Ge’ez but pre-Amharic (I think Ababut?), which I found very cool.
Jan Retsö (University of Gothenburg) pulled off the trick of reading out a text with no slides or handout while being perfectly easy to follow and entertaining. After an overview of the scholarship on Semitic–Ancient Egyptian cognates and loanwords, Retsö responded to Alexander Borg’s recent claim that there are lots of specifically Arabic loanwords in Egyptian. Retsö thinks there’s something there but urges for methodological precision.
Mohammad I. Ababneh (University of Halle) presented on some difficulties in Safaitic paleography, including merged letters and ligatures and other weird letter shapes. Nice to see some discussion of former Leiden colleague Chiara Della Puppa’s dissertation!
Finally, Vera Tsukanova (Philipps-Universität Marburg) took a look at the phonological adaptation of Persian loanwords into Arabic from a Semiticist and diachronic perspective. Historical differences in aspiration go a long way in accounting for prima facie unexpected sounds in borrowings.
And now, the conference is kind of on hold for various business meetings, which I took as my cue to leave. In conclusion, I would like to note that I am posting this from a high-speed train, which feels very futuristic. While some discussions in the field stay the same for what seems like forever—Paul Kahle’s lecture at the first DOT in 1922 was referenced multiple times—I take this as a sign that like Deutsche Bahn passengers, no matter the inevitable delays, detours, and frustrations, overall, we are getting somewhere.
- Only by a toddler, possibly for unrelated reasons. ↩︎
#Akkadian #Amharic #Arabic #Aramaic #Beja #Bible #Cushitic #EastCushitic #Egyptian #Hebrew #linguistics #Samaritans #Syriac #Ugaritic
-
CALL and DOT
Two conferences in the last three weeks: my first Colloquium on African Languages and Linguistics (as a speaker), in Leiden as always, and a day and a half of the 35st Deutscher Orientalistentag, in Erlangen.
Both were a lot of fun. I saw many different talks at CALL, too many to summarize, and mostly too off-topic as well. I was there to ask why we think Cushitic forms a single family within Afroasiatic (see also these blog posts). Despite the purposefully provocative title of my talk, I was not assaulted by any angry mobs of Cushiticists.1 The main question seems to be whether we really should disregard the lexicon when looking at subclassification (and then the next question should be whether the lexicon does show that Cushitic is a clade). It was also really cool to see several talks by young researchers whom I taught as first-years and who have now all finished their MAs and partially started PhD projects: shout-outs to Nina van der Vlugt, Melle Groen, and Jeroen van Ravenhorst. Post your slides online, guys!
Kollegienhaus Erlangen.At the DOT, I co-chaired a panel on Semitic (in practice: mostly Hebrew) reading traditions together with Harald Samuel. While some of our presenters sadly had to cancel, we still had a great line-up, with exciting findings in every talk:
Chanan Ariel (Tel-Aviv University) proposed a highly original new explanation for the Biblical Hebrew phenomenon of dehiq, where consonants following certain unstressed vowels are geminated. According to Ariel, this is an orthoepic feature and applies to vocalic suffixes that alternate with zero, as well as some cases where the geminated consonant had to be kept apart from a following guttural. Works really well IMHO.
Aaron Hornkohl (University of Cambridge) provided a thorough discussion of the ketiv-qere phenomenon, presenting an up-to-date linguistic view of its origins and purpose in hopes of spreading more awareness of this to less linguistically inclined Hebrew Bible scholars. One thing that stood out to me is that words that are present in the consonantal text but left unpronounced in the reading tradition (ketiv wela qere) are sometimes translated in targums and other ancient versions.
Jonathan Howard (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) presented his ongoing PhD research on the “Palestinian” vocalization system of Hebrew and Aramaic and pointed out that so far, there’s really no good evidence that it’s from Palestine. He’s hoping to find some, but it might be more impactful if he doesn’t.
Johan Lundberg (University of Oxford) walked us through the increasing complexity in Syriac punctuation signs, including the development of something that is roughly equivalent to an exclamation mark! Cool fact: in at least one of the few Syriac manuscripts of the entire Bible, the scribe has simply maintained the punctuation of each source text, resulting in several different systems coexisting in the same final work.
Emmanuel Mastey (Tel-Aviv University) presented a nice statistical inquiry into h-final spellings of 2m.sg. perfect verbs in Biblical Hebrew. Besides the very frequent case of נָתַתָּה ‘you gave’, Mastey finds that this spelling is especially common with verbs that have t as their third radical and, less so, with third-weak verbs. He suggests a phonological explanation for both classes; I wonder whether with the III-t roots, it may rather be motivated by the usefulness of distinguishing e.g. שתה ‘you placed’ from שת ‘he placed’.
Isabella Maurizio (University of Lorraine according to the programme, but I think that may be outdated? Sorbonne soon from what she told me) presented her recently completed research on the Second Column of Origen’s Hexapla, the oldest fully vocalized source (in Greek script!) for Biblical Hebrew. Big shock to me: Maurizio dates the Secunda to the 2nd c. BCE-1st c. CE, not the 3rd c. CE!
Marijn van Putten (Leiden University) appeared virtually to frighten the Hebraists with the tricky history of the Qur’anic reading traditions, with examples like one where a certain reader’s Arabic is notably more archaic than that of his teacher’s teacher. Since we barely know anything about who transmitted the Hebrew reading traditions, how much of this stuff are we missing due to a lack of data?
Harald Samuel (University of Tübingen) continued the sceptical line by noting some features of Tiberian Hebrew that appear to be really late (quoting me[!] from an informal conversation in which I said that a certain change must have taken place “about two hours before Ben-Asher went to work that morning”). How do we reconcile this with the alleged presence of extremely early, First Temple period features in the reading tradition as well?
Christian Stadel (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) presented on some clearly late and some unquestionably early features of the Samaritan reading tradition and talked about how it relates to the consonantal text of the Samaritan Pentateuch more generally. It reminded me a bit of a presentation I gave on a similar topic several years ago. I only have one semester of Samaritan Hebrew, though—taught by Christian Stadel!—while Stadel is a real expert on the Samaritan languages. So it was reassuring to hear him argue for similar conclusions as well as present a whole lot more interesting data.
Last of all (due to alphabetization, but it worked out alright), I got to present on the project on the construction of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition that I’ve been doing at Leuven since 2019. I’m not sure the argument I presented is fully sound, so it was great to be able to discuss it with some colleagues afterwards.
The Semitics section continued this morning. In her section keynote, Na’ama Pat-El (University of Texas Austin) presented her SemitiLEX project (recorded talk by another project member, haven’t watched it yet), looking at cognate Semitic lexemes not just in terms of roots, but also looking at morpho-lexical features like gender and pluralization. Unexpected result: building phylogenetic trees based on these data shows Akkadian, Ugaritic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic clustering as four or five separate branches, instead of Northwest Semitic clustering together and then being closer to Arabic than to Akkadian.
Maria Rauscher (Université Félix Houphouet-Boigny) presented her ongoing work on a dictionary of Arabic verbal nouns, focusing on the difficult case of k-r-h ‘to dislike’. As we had some extra discussion time for both Pat-El’s and Rauscher’s talks, there was time enough for the audience to draw up battle lines and get into the details of linguistic theory (such as: are morphemes even a thing?).
Stefanie Rudolf (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) presented on two Qur’anic phrases that she suggests are unrecognized borrowings from Ethiosemitic. “The Lord of the East and the West” is attested in an Ethiopian Early Sabaic inscription, while Rudolf proposes the Arabic root f-t-w ‘to judge’ may be borrowed from Ethiosemitic f-t-ḥ. While she acknowledges the phonological difficulty of the last case, maybe we should reckon with the possibility of an unknown (South?) Ethiosemitic language that lost the pharyngeals acting as an intermediary: in the beginning of her talk, she pointed out that early Islamic sources refer to an Abyssinian with a name that is not Ge’ez but pre-Amharic (I think Ababut?), which I found very cool.
Jan Retsö (University of Gothenburg) pulled off the trick of reading out a text with no slides or handout while being perfectly easy to follow and entertaining. After an overview of the scholarship on Semitic–Ancient Egyptian cognates and loanwords, Retsö responded to Alexander Borg’s recent claim that there are lots of specifically Arabic loanwords in Egyptian. Retsö thinks there’s something there but urges for methodological precision.
Mohammad I. Ababneh (University of Halle) presented on some difficulties in Safaitic paleography, including merged letters and ligatures and other weird letter shapes. Nice to see some discussion of former Leiden colleague Chiara Della Puppa’s dissertation!
Finally, Vera Tsukanova (Philipps-Universität Marburg) took a look at the phonological adaptation of Persian loanwords into Arabic from a Semiticist and diachronic perspective. Historical differences in aspiration go a long way in accounting for prima facie unexpected sounds in borrowings.
And now, the conference is kind of on hold for various business meetings, which I took as my cue to leave. In conclusion, I would like to note that I am posting this from a high-speed train, which feels very futuristic. While some discussions in the field stay the same for what seems like forever—Paul Kahle’s lecture at the first DOT in 1922 1921 was referenced multiple times—I take this as a sign that like Deutsche Bahn passengers, no matter the inevitable delays, detours, and frustrations, overall, we are getting somewhere.
- Only by a toddler, possibly for unrelated reasons. ↩︎
#Akkadian #Amharic #Arabic #Aramaic #Beja #Bible #Cushitic #EastCushitic #Egyptian #Hebrew #linguistics #Samaritans #Syriac #Ugaritic
-
CALL and DOT
Two conferences in the last three weeks: my first Colloquium on African Languages and Linguistics (as a speaker), in Leiden as always, and a day and a half of the 35st Deutscher Orientalistentag, in Erlangen.
Both were a lot of fun. I saw many different talks at CALL, too many to summarize, and mostly too off-topic as well. I was there to ask why we think Cushitic forms a single family within Afroasiatic (see also these blog posts). Despite the purposefully provocative title of my talk, I was not assaulted by any angry mobs of Cushiticists.1 The main question seems to be whether we really should disregard the lexicon when looking at subclassification (and then the next question should be whether the lexicon does show that Cushitic is a clade). It was also really cool to see several talks by young researchers whom I taught as first-years and who have now all finished their MAs and partially started PhD projects: shout-outs to Nina van der Vlugt, Melle Groen, and Jeroen van Ravenhorst. Post your slides online, guys!
Kollegienhaus Erlangen.At the DOT, I co-chaired a panel on Semitic (in practice: mostly Hebrew) reading traditions together with Harald Samuel. While some of our presenters sadly had to cancel, we still had a great line-up, with exciting findings in every talk:
Chanan Ariel (Tel-Aviv University) proposed a highly original new explanation for the Biblical Hebrew phenomenon of dehiq, where consonants following certain unstressed vowels are geminated. According to Ariel, this is an orthoepic feature and applies to vocalic suffixes that alternate with zero, as well as some cases where the geminated consonant had to be kept apart from a following guttural. Works really well IMHO.
Aaron Hornkohl (University of Cambridge) provided a thorough discussion of the ketiv-qere phenomenon, presenting an up-to-date linguistic view of its origins and purpose in hopes of spreading more awareness of this to less linguistically inclined Hebrew Bible scholars. One thing that stood out to me is that words that are present in the consonantal text but left unpronounced in the reading tradition (ketiv wela qere) are sometimes translated in targums and other ancient versions.
Jonathan Howard (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) presented his ongoing PhD research on the “Palestinian” vocalization system of Hebrew and Aramaic and pointed out that so far, there’s really no good evidence that it’s from Palestine. He’s hoping to find some, but it might be more impactful if he doesn’t.
Johan Lundberg (University of Oxford) walked us through the increasing complexity in Syriac punctuation signs, including the development of something that is roughly equivalent to an exclamation mark! Cool fact: in at least one of the few Syriac manuscripts of the entire Bible, the scribe has simply maintained the punctuation of each source text, resulting in several different systems coexisting in the same final work.
Emmanuel Mastey (Tel-Aviv University) presented a nice statistical inquiry into h-final spellings of 2m.sg. perfect verbs in Biblical Hebrew. Besides the very frequent case of נָתַתָּה ‘you gave’, Mastey finds that this spelling is especially common with verbs that have t as their third radical and, less so, with third-weak verbs. He suggests a phonological explanation for both classes; I wonder whether with the III-t roots, it may rather be motivated by the usefulness of distinguishing e.g. שתה ‘you placed’ from שת ‘he placed’.
Isabella Maurizio (University of Lorraine according to the programme, but I think that may be outdated? Sorbonne soon from what she told me) presented her recently completed research on the Second Column of Origen’s Hexapla, the oldest fully vocalized source (in Greek script!) for Biblical Hebrew. Big shock to me: Maurizio dates the Secunda to the 2nd c. BCE-1st c. CE, not the 3rd c. CE!
Marijn van Putten (Leiden University) appeared virtually to frighten the Hebraists with the tricky history of the Qur’anic reading traditions, with examples like one where a certain reader’s Arabic is notably more archaic than that of his teacher’s teacher. Since we barely know anything about who transmitted the Hebrew reading traditions, how much of this stuff are we missing due to a lack of data?
Harald Samuel (University of Tübingen) continued the sceptical line by noting some features of Tiberian Hebrew that appear to be really late (quoting me[!] from an informal conversation in which I said that a certain change must have taken place “about two hours before Ben-Asher went to work that morning”). How do we reconcile this with the alleged presence of extremely early, First Temple period features in the reading tradition as well?
Christian Stadel (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) presented on some clearly late and some unquestionably early features of the Samaritan reading tradition and talked about how it relates to the consonantal text of the Samaritan Pentateuch more generally. It reminded me a bit of a presentation I gave on a similar topic several years ago. I only have one semester of Samaritan Hebrew, though—taught by Christian Stadel!—while Stadel is a real expert on the Samaritan languages. So it was reassuring to hear him argue for similar conclusions as well as present a whole lot more interesting data.
Last of all (due to alphabetization, but it worked out alright), I got to present on the project on the construction of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition that I’ve been doing at Leuven since 2019. I’m not sure the argument I presented is fully sound, so it was great to be able to discuss it with some colleagues afterwards.
The Semitics section continued this morning. In her section keynote, Na’ama Pat-El (University of Texas Austin) presented her SemitiLEX project (recorded talk by another project member, haven’t watched it yet), looking at cognate Semitic lexemes not just in terms of roots, but also looking at morpho-lexical features like gender and pluralization. Unexpected result: building phylogenetic trees based on these data shows Akkadian, Ugaritic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic clustering as four or five separate branches, instead of Northwest Semitic clustering together and then being closer to Arabic than to Akkadian.
Maria Rauscher (Université Félix Houphouet-Boigny) presented her ongoing work on a dictionary of Arabic verbal nouns, focusing on the difficult case of k-r-h ‘to dislike’. As we had some extra discussion time for both Pat-El’s and Rauscher’s talks, there was time enough for the audience to draw up battle lines and get into the details of linguistic theory (such as: are morphemes even a thing?).
Stefanie Rudolf (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) presented on two Qur’anic phrases that she suggests are unrecognized borrowings from Ethiosemitic. “The Lord of the East and the West” is attested in an Ethiopian Early Sabaic inscription, while Rudolf proposes the Arabic root f-t-w ‘to judge’ may be borrowed from Ethiosemitic f-t-ḥ. While she acknowledges the phonological difficulty of the last case, maybe we should reckon with the possibility of an unknown (South?) Ethiosemitic language that lost the pharyngeals acting as an intermediary: in the beginning of her talk, she pointed out that early Islamic sources refer to an Abyssinian with a name that is not Ge’ez but pre-Amharic (I think Ababut?), which I found very cool.
Jan Retsö (University of Gothenburg) pulled off the trick of reading out a text with no slides or handout while being perfectly easy to follow and entertaining. After an overview of the scholarship on Semitic–Ancient Egyptian cognates and loanwords, Retsö responded to Alexander Borg’s recent claim that there are lots of specifically Arabic loanwords in Egyptian. Retsö thinks there’s something there but urges for methodological precision.
Mohammad I. Ababneh (University of Halle) presented on some difficulties in Safaitic paleography, including merged letters and ligatures and other weird letter shapes. Nice to see some discussion of former Leiden colleague Chiara Della Puppa’s dissertation!
Finally, Vera Tsukanova (Philipps-Universität Marburg) took a look at the phonological adaptation of Persian loanwords into Arabic from a Semiticist and diachronic perspective. Historical differences in aspiration go a long way in accounting for prima facie unexpected sounds in borrowings.
And now, the conference is kind of on hold for various business meetings, which I took as my cue to leave. In conclusion, I would like to note that I am posting this from a high-speed train, which feels very futuristic. While some discussions in the field stay the same for what seems like forever—Paul Kahle’s lecture at the first DOT in 1922 was referenced multiple times—I take this as a sign that like Deutsche Bahn passengers, no matter the inevitable delays, detours, and frustrations, overall, we are getting somewhere.
- Only by a toddler, possibly for unrelated reasons. ↩︎
#Akkadian #Amharic #Arabic #Aramaic #Beja #Bible #Cushitic #EastCushitic #Egyptian #Hebrew #linguistics #Samaritans #Syriac #Ugaritic
-
CALL and DOT
Two conferences in the last three weeks: my first Colloquium on African Languages and Linguistics (as a speaker), in Leiden as always, and a day and a half of the 35st Deutscher Orientalistentag, in Erlangen.
Both were a lot of fun. I saw many different talks at CALL, too many to summarize, and mostly too off-topic as well. I was there to ask why we think Cushitic forms a single family within Afroasiatic (see also these blog posts). Despite the purposefully provocative title of my talk, I was not assaulted by any angry mobs of Cushiticists.1 The main question seems to be whether we really should disregard the lexicon when looking at subclassification (and then the next question should be whether the lexicon does show that Cushitic is a clade). It was also really cool to see several talks by young researchers whom I taught as first-years and who have now all finished their MAs and partially started PhD projects: shout-outs to Nina van der Vlugt, Melle Groen, and Jeroen van Ravenhorst. Post your slides online, guys!
Kollegienhaus Erlangen.At the DOT, I co-chaired a panel on Semitic (in practice: mostly Hebrew) reading traditions together with Harald Samuel. While some of our presenters sadly had to cancel, we still had a great line-up, with exciting findings in every talk:
Chanan Ariel (Tel-Aviv University) proposed a highly original new explanation for the Biblical Hebrew phenomenon of dehiq, where consonants following certain unstressed vowels are geminated. According to Ariel, this is an orthoepic feature and applies to vocalic suffixes that alternate with zero, as well as some cases where the geminated consonant had to be kept apart from a following guttural. Works really well IMHO.
Aaron Hornkohl (University of Cambridge) provided a thorough discussion of the ketiv-qere phenomenon, presenting an up-to-date linguistic view of its origins and purpose in hopes of spreading more awareness of this to less linguistically inclined Hebrew Bible scholars. One thing that stood out to me is that words that are present in the consonantal text but left unpronounced in the reading tradition (ketiv wela qere) are sometimes translated in targums and other ancient versions.
Jonathan Howard (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) presented his ongoing PhD research on the “Palestinian” vocalization system of Hebrew and Aramaic and pointed out that so far, there’s really no good evidence that it’s from Palestine. He’s hoping to find some, but it might be more impactful if he doesn’t.
Johan Lundberg (University of Oxford) walked us through the increasing complexity in Syriac punctuation signs, including the development of something that is roughly equivalent to an exclamation mark! Cool fact: in at least one of the few Syriac manuscripts of the entire Bible, the scribe has simply maintained the punctuation of each source text, resulting in several different systems coexisting in the same final work.
Emmanuel Mastey (Tel-Aviv University) presented a nice statistical inquiry into h-final spellings of 2m.sg. perfect verbs in Biblical Hebrew. Besides the very frequent case of נָתַתָּה ‘you gave’, Mastey finds that this spelling is especially common with verbs that have t as their third radical and, less so, with third-weak verbs. He suggests a phonological explanation for both classes; I wonder whether with the III-t roots, it may rather be motivated by the usefulness of distinguishing e.g. שתה ‘you placed’ from שת ‘he placed’.
Isabella Maurizio (University of Lorraine according to the programme, but I think that may be outdated? Sorbonne soon from what she told me) presented her recently completed research on the Second Column of Origen’s Hexapla, the oldest fully vocalized source (in Greek script!) for Biblical Hebrew. Big shock to me: Maurizio dates the Secunda to the 2nd c. BCE-1st c. CE, not the 3rd c. CE!
Marijn van Putten (Leiden University) appeared virtually to frighten the Hebraists with the tricky history of the Qur’anic reading traditions, with examples like one where a certain reader’s Arabic is notably more archaic than that of his teacher’s teacher. Since we barely know anything about who transmitted the Hebrew reading traditions, how much of this stuff are we missing due to a lack of data?
Harald Samuel (University of Tübingen) continued the sceptical line by noting some features of Tiberian Hebrew that appear to be really late (quoting me[!] from an informal conversation in which I said that a certain change must have taken place “about two hours before Ben-Asher went to work that morning”). How do we reconcile this with the alleged presence of extremely early, First Temple period features in the reading tradition as well?
Christian Stadel (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) presented on some clearly late and some unquestionably early features of the Samaritan reading tradition and talked about how it relates to the consonantal text of the Samaritan Pentateuch more generally. It reminded me a bit of a presentation I gave on a similar topic several years ago. I only have one semester of Samaritan Hebrew, though—taught by Christian Stadel!—while Stadel is a real expert on the Samaritan languages. So it was reassuring to hear him argue for similar conclusions as well as present a whole lot more interesting data.
Last of all (due to alphabetization, but it worked out alright), I got to present on the project on the construction of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition that I’ve been doing at Leuven since 2019. I’m not sure the argument I presented is fully sound, so it was great to be able to discuss it with some colleagues afterwards.
The Semitics section continued this morning. In her section keynote, Na’ama Pat-El (University of Texas Austin) presented her SemitiLEX project (recorded talk by another project member, haven’t watched it yet), looking at cognate Semitic lexemes not just in terms of roots, but also looking at morpho-lexical features like gender and pluralization. Unexpected result: building phylogenetic trees based on these data shows Akkadian, Ugaritic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic clustering as four or five separate branches, instead of Northwest Semitic clustering together and then being closer to Arabic than to Akkadian.
Maria Rauscher (Université Félix Houphouet-Boigny) presented her ongoing work on a dictionary of Arabic verbal nouns, focusing on the difficult case of k-r-h ‘to dislike’. As we had some extra discussion time for both Pat-El’s and Rauscher’s talks, there was time enough for the audience to draw up battle lines and get into the details of linguistic theory (such as: are morphemes even a thing?).
Stefanie Rudolf (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) presented on two Qur’anic phrases that she suggests are unrecognized borrowings from Ethiosemitic. “The Lord of the East and the West” is attested in an Ethiopian Early Sabaic inscription, while Rudolf proposes the Arabic root f-t-w ‘to judge’ may be borrowed from Ethiosemitic f-t-ḥ. While she acknowledges the phonological difficulty of the last case, maybe we should reckon with the possibility of an unknown (South?) Ethiosemitic language that lost the pharyngeals acting as an intermediary: in the beginning of her talk, she pointed out that early Islamic sources refer to an Abyssinian with a name that is not Ge’ez but pre-Amharic (I think Ababut?), which I found very cool.
Jan Retsö (University of Gothenburg) pulled off the trick of reading out a text with no slides or handout while being perfectly easy to follow and entertaining. After an overview of the scholarship on Semitic–Ancient Egyptian cognates and loanwords, Retsö responded to Alexander Borg’s recent claim that there are lots of specifically Arabic loanwords in Egyptian. Retsö thinks there’s something there but urges for methodological precision.
Mohammad I. Ababneh (University of Halle) presented on some difficulties in Safaitic paleography, including merged letters and ligatures and other weird letter shapes. Nice to see some discussion of former Leiden colleague Chiara Della Puppa’s dissertation!
Finally, Vera Tsukanova (Philipps-Universität Marburg) took a look at the phonological adaptation of Persian loanwords into Arabic from a Semiticist and diachronic perspective. Historical differences in aspiration go a long way in accounting for prima facie unexpected sounds in borrowings.
And now, the conference is kind of on hold for various business meetings, which I took as my cue to leave. In conclusion, I would like to note that I am posting this from a high-speed train, which feels very futuristic. While some discussions in the field stay the same for what seems like forever—Paul Kahle’s lecture at the first DOT in 1922 was referenced multiple times—I take this as a sign that like Deutsche Bahn passengers, no matter the inevitable delays, detours, and frustrations, overall, we are getting somewhere.
- Only by a toddler, possibly for unrelated reasons. ↩︎
#Akkadian #Amharic #Arabic #Aramaic #Beja #Bible #Cushitic #EastCushitic #Egyptian #Hebrew #linguistics #Samaritans #Syriac #Ugaritic
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CALL and DOT
Two conferences in the last three weeks: my first Colloquium on African Languages and Linguistics (as a speaker), in Leiden as always, and a day and a half of the 35st Deutscher Orientalistentag, in Erlangen.
Both were a lot of fun. I saw many different talks at CALL, too many to summarize, and mostly too off-topic as well. I was there to ask why we think Cushitic forms a single family within Afroasiatic (see also these blog posts). Despite the purposefully provocative title of my talk, I was not assaulted by any angry mobs of Cushiticists.1 The main question seems to be whether we really should disregard the lexicon when looking at subclassification (and then the next question should be whether the lexicon does show that Cushitic is a clade). It was also really cool to see several talks by young researchers whom I taught as first-years and who have now all finished their MAs and partially started PhD projects: shout-outs to Nina van der Vlugt, Melle Groen, and Jeroen van Ravenhorst. Post your slides online, guys!
Kollegienhaus Erlangen.At the DOT, I co-chaired a panel on Semitic (in practice: mostly Hebrew) reading traditions together with Harald Samuel. While some of our presenters sadly had to cancel, we still had a great line-up, with exciting findings in every talk:
Chanan Ariel (Tel-Aviv University) proposed a highly original new explanation for the Biblical Hebrew phenomenon of dehiq, where consonants following certain unstressed vowels are geminated. According to Ariel, this is an orthoepic feature and applies to vocalic suffixes that alternate with zero, as well as some cases where the geminated consonant had to be kept apart from a following guttural. Works really well IMHO.
Aaron Hornkohl (University of Cambridge) provided a thorough discussion of the ketiv-qere phenomenon, presenting an up-to-date linguistic view of its origins and purpose in hopes of spreading more awareness of this to less linguistically inclined Hebrew Bible scholars. One thing that stood out to me is that words that are present in the consonantal text but left unpronounced in the reading tradition (ketiv wela qere) are sometimes translated in targums and other ancient versions.
Jonathan Howard (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) presented his ongoing PhD research on the “Palestinian” vocalization system of Hebrew and Aramaic and pointed out that so far, there’s really no good evidence that it’s from Palestine. He’s hoping to find some, but it might be more impactful if he doesn’t.
Johan Lundberg (University of Oxford) walked us through the increasing complexity in Syriac punctuation signs, including the development of something that is roughly equivalent to an exclamation mark! Cool fact: in at least one of the few Syriac manuscripts of the entire Bible, the scribe has simply maintained the punctuation of each source text, resulting in several different systems coexisting in the same final work.
Emmanuel Mastey (Tel-Aviv University) presented a nice statistical inquiry into h-final spellings of 2m.sg. perfect verbs in Biblical Hebrew. Besides the very frequent case of נָתַתָּה ‘you gave’, Mastey finds that this spelling is especially common with verbs that have t as their third radical and, less so, with third-weak verbs. He suggests a phonological explanation for both classes; I wonder whether with the III-t roots, it may rather be motivated by the usefulness of distinguishing e.g. שתה ‘you placed’ from שת ‘he placed’.
Isabella Maurizio (University of Lorraine according to the programme, but I think that may be outdated? Sorbonne soon from what she told me) presented her recently completed research on the Second Column of Origen’s Hexapla, the oldest fully vocalized source (in Greek script!) for Biblical Hebrew. Big shock to me: Maurizio dates the Secunda to the 2nd c. BCE-1st c. CE, not the 3rd c. CE!
Marijn van Putten (Leiden University) appeared virtually to frighten the Hebraists with the tricky history of the Qur’anic reading traditions, with examples like one where a certain reader’s Arabic is notably more archaic than that of his teacher’s teacher. Since we barely know anything about who transmitted the Hebrew reading traditions, how much of this stuff are we missing due to a lack of data?
Harald Samuel (University of Tübingen) continued the sceptical line by noting some features of Tiberian Hebrew that appear to be really late (quoting me[!] from an informal conversation in which I said that a certain change must have taken place “about two hours before Ben-Asher went to work that morning”). How do we reconcile this with the alleged presence of extremely early, First Temple period features in the reading tradition as well?
Christian Stadel (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) presented on some clearly late and some unquestionably early features of the Samaritan reading tradition and talked about how it relates to the consonantal text of the Samaritan Pentateuch more generally. It reminded me a bit of a presentation I gave on a similar topic several years ago. I only have one semester of Samaritan Hebrew, though—taught by Christian Stadel!—while Stadel is a real expert on the Samaritan languages. So it was reassuring to hear him argue for similar conclusions as well as present a whole lot more interesting data.
Last of all (due to alphabetization, but it worked out alright), I got to present on the project on the construction of the Biblical Aramaic reading tradition that I’ve been doing at Leuven since 2019. I’m not sure the argument I presented is fully sound, so it was great to be able to discuss it with some colleagues afterwards.
The Semitics section continued this morning. In her section keynote, Na’ama Pat-El (University of Texas Austin) presented her SemitiLEX project (recorded talk by another project member, haven’t watched it yet), looking at cognate Semitic lexemes not just in terms of roots, but also looking at morpho-lexical features like gender and pluralization. Unexpected result: building phylogenetic trees based on these data shows Akkadian, Ugaritic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic clustering as four or five separate branches, instead of Northwest Semitic clustering together and then being closer to Arabic than to Akkadian.
Maria Rauscher (Université Félix Houphouet-Boigny) presented her ongoing work on a dictionary of Arabic verbal nouns, focusing on the difficult case of k-r-h ‘to dislike’. As we had some extra discussion time for both Pat-El’s and Rauscher’s talks, there was time enough for the audience to draw up battle lines and get into the details of linguistic theory (such as: are morphemes even a thing?).
Stefanie Rudolf (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) presented on two Qur’anic phrases that she suggests are unrecognized borrowings from Ethiosemitic. “The Lord of the East and the West” is attested in an Ethiopian Early Sabaic inscription, while Rudolf proposes the Arabic root f-t-w ‘to judge’ may be borrowed from Ethiosemitic f-t-ḥ. While she acknowledges the phonological difficulty of the last case, maybe we should reckon with the possibility of an unknown (South?) Ethiosemitic language that lost the pharyngeals acting as an intermediary: in the beginning of her talk, she pointed out that early Islamic sources refer to an Abyssinian with a name that is not Ge’ez but pre-Amharic (I think Ababut?), which I found very cool.
Jan Retsö (University of Gothenburg) pulled off the trick of reading out a text with no slides or handout while being perfectly easy to follow and entertaining. After an overview of the scholarship on Semitic–Ancient Egyptian cognates and loanwords, Retsö responded to Alexander Borg’s recent claim that there are lots of specifically Arabic loanwords in Egyptian. Retsö thinks there’s something there but urges for methodological precision.
Mohammad I. Ababneh (University of Halle) presented on some difficulties in Safaitic paleography, including merged letters and ligatures and other weird letter shapes. Nice to see some discussion of former Leiden colleague Chiara Della Puppa’s dissertation!
Finally, Vera Tsukanova (Philipps-Universität Marburg) took a look at the phonological adaptation of Persian loanwords into Arabic from a Semiticist and diachronic perspective. Historical differences in aspiration go a long way in accounting for prima facie unexpected sounds in borrowings.
And now, the conference is kind of on hold for various business meetings, which I took as my cue to leave. In conclusion, I would like to note that I am posting this from a high-speed train, which feels very futuristic. While some discussions in the field stay the same for what seems like forever—Paul Kahle’s lecture at the first DOT in 1922 1921 was referenced multiple times—I take this as a sign that like Deutsche Bahn passengers, no matter the inevitable delays, detours, and frustrations, overall, we are getting somewhere.
- Only by a toddler, possibly for unrelated reasons. ↩︎
#Akkadian #Amharic #Arabic #Aramaic #Beja #Bible #Cushitic #EastCushitic #Egyptian #Hebrew #linguistics #Samaritans #Syriac #Ugaritic
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CW: full image description for OP's post of an ad for a prank golf club
An old ad clipping for a prank item.
It includes a cartoon of an angry looking middle-aged man in golf shorts, cleats, barely fitting t-shirt and baseball cap standing near a hole on a golf court, breaking a golf club over his knee, as two fellow golfers look at him with disgust and anger. In the top corner is a close-up of a hand tightening the bolt on a new stick being inserted in the club's iron.
It's accompanied by the ad's text:«Mad, Mad, Mad Putter
The Greatest Golf Gag Ever!
Go ahead lose your "cool." Why hold it in after you've missed that 12-incher? Now you can break that blasted putter over your knee, get the frustration out of your system, and at the same time pull a heck of a gag on your partners. After you've staged your wild antics and your buddies are coming down on you, you simply reach into your bag, pull out a new wood shaft, replace the broken one in seconds - and you're ready to putt again. YOU FEEL BETTER. Your partners' reactions are unpredictable, but some of the ones we've seen include: shock; outrage, disgust; bewilderment. Then everything ends up with a good laugh. Each standard length putter has a professional head & grip. Packaged with 10 genuine beautifully finished wooden shafts. Additional shafts available. Sensational gift.
2968M. Mad, Mad Putter. $21.95»
C.C. @NoveltyBot
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Important piece in the puzzle #RCPcollapse
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00603-4
or https://trophiccascades.forestry.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/Hayek2021.pdf ,
"The carbon opportunity cost of animal-sourced food production on land" #Hayek et al 2021
When all animal pasture and crop land currently in use for animal agriculture are rewilded, the process removes a total of
358 to 743 GtCO2 from the atmosphere by year 2050.-743 Gt CO2, that's the theoretical equivalent of 0.5°C. ^^
The CO2 removal is based on the biomes originally covering the land nowadays in use for animal agriculture.
Ecosystem soil and litter could remove an additional 225GtCO2, "but this estimate is highly uncertain".
Albedo changes were not included in their modelling; but they say, regrowth of temperate forest systems increase temperature locally – but globally, they net cool despite albedo loss.
"Carbon uptake saturates after around 25 years for tropical forests
and around 30 years for temperate forests." Good to know. I had guesstimated this takes 60 years.From what I can see, they computed only the rewilding process, not the CO2-equivalents GHG emissions like CH4 and NO2.
But reductions in those are maybe balanced by increased microbe activity via changes in hydrological cycle. So I won't bet on additional temperature decrease from them.My proposed #RCPcollapse scenario research has to include rewilding in all the settlements and agriculture land in the highly tech-dependent societies, and in cities in all societies.
Also, outgassing from land and ocean once CO2 concentration drops reduces the effective atmospheric drawdown from 743Gt to 558Gt CO2.
Still -0.4°C.-0.4°C within 30 years or so.... from the end to animal agriculture alone.ß!
Shocking. But to remind myself: from 2005 to 2020, global °C rose by 0.4°C.#FridaysForFuture #rewilding #vegan #GoVegan #CO2 #carbonsink #EatLancet
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Part 3b (It has been a while, hasn't it?)
"Breaking news this morning of a joint Exploration and Biological Survey raid on OPIS headquarters!"
"We interrupt our usual program to bring you this news from the OPIS building in Landing, where a raid by Biological Survey and the Scouts uncovered secret cooperation between OPIS and the Varan military intelligence!"
"Shocking scenes this morning as OPIS are revealed to be feeding civilian targets to the Varan military!"The civil government was not pleased, but also quickly realised that there was little they could do - and the conspiracy that had been uncovered was genuinely shocking. The question that they were all asking themselves, though, was "What are the Varans doing?"
The military were not happy either. How had such blatant lies been propagated? How deep did the rot go? How long before the Varans made use of their disorganisation to strike?
"Rise and shine people! We've got CAP duty today! Lieutenant Ava? You are commanding Chimera Flight until we get Tannis back."
"Yes sir!" Ava replied. "Estelle, you are in charge of EWACS, Hitomi, targeting and load out. But Hitomi?"
"What is it, Ava?"
"I want you to load us with defensive and training rounds. Only add a couple of offensive missiles for each of us. With what we know, we want to warn them off."
"Ava!" Estelle broke in, "Your brother is on the news! They've shut down OPIS!"
"Hitomi, spread the word to the other flights. Let's see if we can cool things down a bit."
"OK. Ava?"
"I'm sure she's OK, Hitomi. I'm sure of it."#CerianAndVaranWar #Milsf #SciFi #IAmWriting
Read the full WIP here: https://rdmasters.lympago.com/p/cerian-and-varan-war-story-in.html
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YOUTHJUICE rating: 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐.
HEBE was supposed to give me the heebie-jeebies, but the novel stole its own thunder almost immediately. A slow horror buildup would have been ideal in the gothic horror novel youthjuice by E.K. Sathue (Penguin Random House, June 4, 2024).
Sophia is the new Creative Director for HEBE, a cosmetics company with products that work a bit too well at erasing wrinkles and scars, and a cultish, ageless CEO named Tree who says things like “Call me your True North.” Narcissist much? A motif of Hebe is that looking young and gorgeous and being a good and moral person are one and the same.
Thanks to Edelweiss Plus Above the Treeline and Penguin Random House for sending this book to me for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Besides spoiling its own shocker, the novel suffers from overwriting with tortured metaphors, and a clumsy dual timeline. Would editors please stop insisting upon dual timelines when they are not working and just add to the readers’ confusion?
The novel nevertheless has a certain propulsion as Sophia is lured into the inner circle of the company and changes herself utterly to fit in, Devil-Wears-Prada style.1“The Devil Wears Prada” is both a 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger and a 2006 movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway that I’ve probably seen five times. Sophia’s characterization could have been stronger, but I did keep reading.
I was satisfied by the ending, with comeuppance for the baddies and a thought-provoking message. Fashion horror and cosmetic horror have enormous potential as a subgenre, to say nothing of cosmetic surgery horror combined with an age-positive and body-positive message. youthjuice felt relevant personally: while I want to be Jamie Lee Curtis and be cool about aging, I found a crepe-y little fold above my right eye last week and flipped out. Despite my best intentions, I don’t wanna go there.
Reading in context:
STARDUST by Neil Gaiman (1999) is the obvious read-alike, with malicious witches who are determined to stay young.
WOMEN ROWING NORTH: NAVIGATING LIFE’S CURRENTS AND FLOURISHING AS WE AGE by Mary Pipher (Bloomsbury, 2019) is a five-star read.
Pretty much anything by Anne Lamott on aging and what she calls the “third third of life” is stellar; you can start with this essay.
What I’m reading right now:
THE DJINN WAITS A HUNDRED YEARS by Shubhnum Khan (Penguin Random House, January 9, 2024).
#youthjuice #EKSathue #horror #gothic #aging #fashion #TheDevilWearsPrada #LaurenWeisberger #Stardust #NeilGaiman #WomenRowingNorth #MaryPipher #AnneLamott
https://jillsreads.com/youthjuice/
#aging #AnneLamott #EKSathue #fashion #gothic #horror #LaurenWeisberger #MaryPipher #NeilGaiman #Stardust #TheDevilWearsPrada #WomenRowingNorth #youthjuice
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YOUTHJUICE rating: 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐.
HEBE was supposed to give me the heebie-jeebies, but the novel stole its own thunder almost immediately. A slow horror buildup would have been ideal in the gothic horror novel youthjuice by E.K. Sathue (Penguin Random House, June 4, 2024).
Sophia is the new Creative Director for HEBE, a cosmetics company with products that work a bit too well at erasing wrinkles and scars, and a cultish, ageless CEO named Tree who says things like “Call me your True North.” Narcissist much? A motif of Hebe is that looking young and gorgeous and being a good and moral person are one and the same.
Thanks to Edelweiss Plus Above the Treeline and Penguin Random House for sending this book to me for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Besides spoiling its own shocker, the novel suffers from overwriting with tortured metaphors, and a clumsy dual timeline. Would editors please stop insisting upon dual timelines when they are not working and just add to the readers’ confusion?
The novel nevertheless has a certain propulsion as Sophia is lured into the inner circle of the company and changes herself utterly to fit in, Devil-Wears-Prada style.1“The Devil Wears Prada” is both a 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger and a 2006 movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway that I’ve probably seen five times. Sophia’s characterization could have been stronger, but I did keep reading.
I was satisfied by the ending, with comeuppance for the baddies and a thought-provoking message. Fashion horror and cosmetic horror have enormous potential as a subgenre, to say nothing of cosmetic surgery horror combined with an age-positive and body-positive message. youthjuice felt relevant personally: while I want to be Jamie Lee Curtis and be cool about aging, I found a crepe-y little fold above my right eye last week and flipped out. Despite my best intentions, I don’t wanna go there.
Reading in context:
STARDUST by Neil Gaiman (1999) is the obvious read-alike, with malicious witches who are determined to stay young.
WOMEN ROWING NORTH: NAVIGATING LIFE’S CURRENTS AND FLOURISHING AS WE AGE by Mary Pipher (Bloomsbury, 2019) is a five-star read.
Pretty much anything by Anne Lamott on aging and what she calls the “third third of life” is stellar; you can start with this essay.
What I’m reading right now:
THE DJINN WAITS A HUNDRED YEARS by Shubhnum Khan (Penguin Random House, January 9, 2024).
#youthjuice #EKSathue #horror #gothic #aging #fashion #TheDevilWearsPrada #LaurenWeisberger #Stardust #NeilGaiman #WomenRowingNorth #MaryPipher #AnneLamott
https://jillsreads.com/youthjuice/
#aging #AnneLamott #EKSathue #fashion #gothic #horror #LaurenWeisberger #MaryPipher #NeilGaiman #Stardust #TheDevilWearsPrada #WomenRowingNorth #youthjuice