Reading Wednesday 2/12
Dec. 2nd, 2020 06:17 pmRecently read
Skiing uphill: a personal reflection on Anglo-Irish relations, by Kate Ewart-Biggs. This is an account by the daughter of a British ambassador to Ireland, who was assassinated in the 70s. It's about her life after her father's murder, and somewhat about the British Council who are hosting the article, but also about tolerance and diversity:
Book burning, womb burning by Rachel E Moss. It is somewhat a response to a horrible transphobic book published recently, but also the first actually philosophically cogent take I've seen on free speech I've seen in ages, including the quoted thread by Grace Lavery. I'm not completely sure I agree with either Moss or Lavery, but they both made me think rather than repeating platitudes. And the conclusion is amazing:
As a chaser for two rather sombre articles, here's a delightful little piece about a Scots spoken word piece that went viral. A video of Pennie reciting her poem is included. And along similar lines, video clips of Scots words being used in Parliament, mostly in the service of insulting corrupt and venal politicians.
Currently reading: Not really. I've started a couple of books both novels and non-fiction but I don't have the concentration or the commuting time to stick to anything. I am somewhat randomly learning Kiddushin, the section of the Talmud that deals with marriage contracts, though. Which reminds me that a few of my friends are doing Daf Yomi, the method of studying Talmud where you read one page every day on a set schedule. So here are two amazing blog posts about Pesachim 9, on the topic of, what if a weasel?! CW: pregnancy loss.
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lannamichaels: the hypothetical chometz weasel that you don't have to worry about is my favorite forever
seekingferret (no relation!): with the hypothetical weasel that might be a ninja who knows if it eats bread or not?
Prejudice is always personal – as I learned as a child, it does not happen to someone else so that you can walk away from it.
We do not have to make radical choices only if the alternative is despair. Burning does not have to be destructive. Sometimes it is the best way to clear ground to allow new growth. If you want to, you can burn yourself down, phoenix. I can’t wait to see what comes out of the ashes.CW: transphobia as you've probably guessed from the description, but also historical Nazis and issues of fertility and reproductive justice.
Currently reading: Not really. I've started a couple of books both novels and non-fiction but I don't have the concentration or the commuting time to stick to anything. I am somewhat randomly learning Kiddushin, the section of the Talmud that deals with marriage contracts, though. Which reminds me that a few of my friends are doing Daf Yomi, the method of studying Talmud where you read one page every day on a set schedule. So here are two amazing blog posts about Pesachim 9, on the topic of, what if a weasel?! CW: pregnancy loss.
lannamichaels: the hypothetical chometz weasel that you don't have to worry about is my favorite forever seekingferret (no relation!): with the hypothetical weasel that might be a ninja who knows if it eats bread or not?