Reading

Created
Thu, 14/08/2025 - 04:05
The conflicting attitude towards Nietzsche is instructive. It indicates that the Dialectic of Enlightenment owes more to Nietzsche than just the strategy of a totalizing critique. It is still difficult to understand a certain carelessness in their treatment of, to put it quite blatantly, the achievements of Western rationalism. How can the two advocates of […]
Created
Thu, 14/08/2025 - 03:00

The rumors are true: I’m overjoyed and not at all ashamed to share that I’ll be joining the HBO Max Harry Potter family as Stickles the Gender-Policing Elf, a character created exclusively for this series to, in author J. K. Rowling’s words, “address the crumbling morals of a world I haven’t really interacted with since 1997.”

Of course, it’s a lifetime dream to be part of the Wizarding World. I loved the books as a child, and I’d say their message of friendship, courage, and imagination is more relevant than ever—please treat this as my official stance and disregard any contradictory statements I’ve made on social media, at least until my accounts are deleted.

From the start of the audition process, I had a good feeling about Stickles, described as “a mischievous, unpredictable creature who brings levity and chaos to the Hogwarts grounds while reminding students there are forms of self-expression so indulgent and dangerous, they make Avada Kedavra look like a nursery rhyme.” Also, he wears a jingly hat.

Created
Wed, 13/08/2025 - 23:00

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I’m flanked by them in most pictures. Perched atop a yellow parking curb in swimsuits and sneakers, we squint and smile for the camera, a mix of frizzy curls and stray hairs haloing our faces. It’s Memorial Day weekend 1986, and we’re minutes away from learning that Hands Across America will not solve the problem of hunger. But in this shot, we’re full of hope and sisterly adventure, and my diaper, bulging beneath my swimsuit, is, well, full.

In a photo from the previous year, the three of us pose in leotards, showing off our splits atop a gymnastics mat that’s covering shag carpet. Only Sienna, the middle sister, is a gymnast, but I’ll give it a try soon, and promptly quit. She can keep the hand chalk and stubborn wedgies. But I know exactly why I’m smiling in this picture. I can feel it blooming now in my chest, at forty-two: Safe. Complete. We’re all doing the same thing together.

Created
Wed, 13/08/2025 - 22:00

Don’t judge my book by its cover.
For the cover art of my debut novel, I envisioned a mysterious, foggy background with two shadowy figures grasping for each other but remaining barely out of reach. Instead, the publisher insisted on a pink background with an illustration of a baby giraffe next to a Ferris wheel.

Don’t judge my book by its publisher.
Romances ’R’ Us exclusively publishes contemporary romance, but my debut novel is hardly a romance. It’s an important work of literary fiction that just happens to feature a female protagonist, a meet-cute, an enemies-to-lovers storyline, a grumpy/sunshine couple, forced-proximity tropes, and a happily-ever-after ending.

Created
Wed, 13/08/2025 - 20:03
Liberalerna säger sig vilja helrenovera friskolesystemet. Det är ett välkommet uppvaknande från ett parti som länge varit med och byggt upp system som nu knakar i fogarna … Liberalerna har rätt i att dagens incitament leder helt fel. Det är alltför enkelt att spara in på kvalitet för att maximera vinsten. Men om deras helrenovering […]