I think this book is marvellous and strange. I loved the unique prose. The chipmunk is a harsher critic, however. She says it doesn't taste nearly as good as peanuts.

“See here: a woman from Haarlem named Kennau, devout as a man, defeated many Spanish tyrants.”
“Age: 46, in the year 1573.”
I wish I knew more about this painting. What is the orb-shaped object on her belt?

Today’s Geopolitically Impractical Place I Desperately Want to Visit: the Yupshar Gorge, Abkhazia. mirplaneta.com/en/yupshar-c...

See also: Babak Fortress, Iran

I have a new item for my list of Dangerously Impractical Places I Would Like to Visit, But Not Just Now: The Shaharah Bridge, Yemen.

Speaking of Dagestan, just yesterday I finished High Caucasus, an account of a hike from Sochi to the Caspian in 2008. Not the usual gonzo tale of escapades in insurgent country. Parfitt was cautious, even timid, aware he was treading through the ashes of so many recent tragedies. Recommended.

My friend @rati.bsky.social launched her new novel Flower and Thorn this afternoon. YA fantasy adventure set in an alternate Gujarat Sultanate. Check it out! bakkaphoenixbooks.com/item/3Czr8Ta...

Bathurst Street, looking towards Bloor. I’m slowly turning into one of those old people who keeps saying, “Where did all those buildings come from? None of that was there last time I came through.”

One of the holidays in my personal religion is Trinity College Book Sale Week.

I wandered into a wing of the Newark airport that wasn’t on any of the floor plans. There was the strangest little restaurant there, serving the oddest menu. The price? It was terrible beyond nightmares.

When I was a teenager, this is exactly what I imagined my future home would look like. 😂 (Art by Randal Spangler, found on a wallpaper site).

Same energy!