Mars
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marsxstars.blacksky.app
Mars
@marsxstars.blacksky.app
280 followers 550 following 1.1K posts
Reader. TV watcher. Anti-all of the isms that plague us. Fan of blueberry muffins & general badassery. Happily married recovered undercover overlover. She/Her. Pan. Book curator. Wanna talk about sci-fi tv, speculative fiction, music, art & corny jokes?
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marsxstars.blacksky.app
Preorder came in the mail 🙌🏾 Gonna settle in with some tea and read it tonight
A brown paper bag lays on top of a floral notebook, the top folded down and sealed with a piece of yellow piece of tape, and contains Kelly Hayes’ new book “Read This When Things Fall Apart”. The yellow tape is stamped with a small drawing of a flower in red ink. The bag has also been stamped with an image of a rose in blue ink and the words “Pilsen Community Books” arch over it. Beneath the rose are the words “A better world is possible” Read This When Things Fall Apart on top of the brown paper bag it came in and a forest green blanket. A green envelope sealed with a gold sticker sticks out of the side of the book. It contains a note written by the author.
November 5, 2025 at 8:36 PM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
This kinda reminds me of when D'Angelo briefly mentioned the punk/rock/metal scene in DC & VA in an interview and how down in Richmond they would have a battle of the bands and he just wanted to be good enough to be in a band
An excerpt from Ralph Ellison's Shadow and Act essay: "Some of the most brilliant of jazzmen made no records; their names appeared in print only in announcements of some local dance or remote "battles of music" against equally uncelebrated bands. Being devoted to an art which traditionally thrives on improvisation, these unrecorded artists very often have their most original ideas enter the public domain almost as rapidly as they are conceived to be quickly absorbed into the thought and technique of their fellows. Thus the riffs which swung the dancers and the band on some transcendent evening, and which inspired others to competitive flights of invention, become all too swiftly a part of the general style, leaving the originator as anonymous as the creators of the architecture called Gothic."
October 30, 2025 at 9:58 PM
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I wish we had a full, polished version with D'Angelo. Would've loved to hear his vocals with the lyrics Musiq sang in the Phrenology version. Also would've loved if the Soulquarians album came to fruition.
October 29, 2025 at 7:04 PM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
She really ate this. And him playing the guitar behind his own back is 🔥
October 24, 2025 at 6:34 AM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
"I want to be famous to shuffling men who smile while crossing streets, sticky children in grocery lines, famous as the one who smiled back.

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do."
A poem, "Famous" by Naomi Shihab Nye, that reminds us to never forget what we can do. It reads: The river is famous to the fish. The loud voice is famous to silence, which knew it would inherit the earth before anybody said so. The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds watching him from the birdhouse. The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek. The idea you carry close to your bosom is famous to your bosom. The boot is famous to the earth, more famous than the dress shoe, which is famous only to floors. The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it and not at all famous to the one who is pictured. I want to be famous to shuffling men who smile while crossing streets, sticky children in grocery lines, famous as the one who smiled back. I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do.
August 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
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"I know you expect me to bless you in the mysteries of God, but I prefer the strangeness of each other, darlings.
Look around.”
A poem (from the book "Kitchen Hymns" by Pádraig O’Tuama) entitled "Opening Words at Ash Wednesday Mass". It reads: Darlings, look around. Next to you's the nurse, the cleaner, the doctor, the child-minder, the waiting, the hoping, the barely surviving, the can't-get-out-of-bed-can't-sleep-can't-cope. There's the teacher out of work, the disaffected priest, the taxi driver, the shopkeeper, broke shareholder, tourists, retirees, waitresses, bankers, administrators, the tired and committed, the excited and the stressed. I know you expect me to bless you in the mysteries of God, but I prefer the strangeness of each other, darlings. Look around.
August 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
"Ask yourself and ask each other:
Of what future are these the wild, early days?

Let us braid all the threads between us into a wick. Let the fire that was always there, waiting for this moment, finally find its way home."
Excerpt from a piece titled “Blessing (All the Threads Between Us)” from the book “Not a Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough” by Kyle Tran Myhre. It reads: We choose to fight, not because we have done the math and know what is going to happen tomorrow. We choose to fight because we do not know. We choose to fight because doubt is real, and faith is real, and hope is real, and none of them are as real as our hands, as the neighbor standing next to us, as the ancestors watching over our shoulders. It is possible to walk right up to oblivion, spit over the edge, and not fall into it. And the only heroes I've known did that, every day: wore their doubt not as armor but as ornament, a taunt aimed at all who would devour them, saying I have felt this poison inside for so long; swallow me and taste it. It's not much of a battle cry. But words matter less than the lungs that move them. Fighter isn't a philosophy. Organizer isn't an aesthetic. Ally isn't an identity. Tomorrow, what we should have done will be worth exactly what it's worth now: wind, and not even enough wind to move a piece of ash from here to there. So tonight: Be real. Tell your story and listen to oth-ers. Feel what you feel, and choose to act anyway, to show up, to resist. Ask yourself and ask each other: Of what future are these the wild, early days? Let us braid all the threads between us into a wick. Let the fire that was always there, waiting for this moment, finally find its way home.
August 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
Like, okay. Got all that. But you can’t make (good, effective) satire about giving up rights when 51% of y’all voted to give up rights in real gotdamned life and physical abuse shouldn’t be diminished and in a fucking punchline. Don’t pmo.
A shot of Tami Roman, wearing a bonnet & smoking a cigarette, pointing and saying “you don’t say it either!” to her Latina reality tv castmate who had just used the n-word when admonishing a WM for using the same word. Aside from familiarity of Tami’s body language, the meme is fitting because even if we set aside WW’s long history of being the opps, trading their agency for love & proximity to power, etc. to give this one WW the benefit of the doubt that she wouldn’t be willing to give up some rights for “love”…nobody wants to hear that shit from them.
July 23, 2025 at 9:12 PM
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Tried listening to last week’s new music Friday playlist on Spotify and a song called 1965 came on
Jose Mourinho, a soccer coach, ripping off his headset in disgust like I did with my headphones when I heard that song
July 23, 2025 at 9:12 PM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
HR from Bad Brains is def one of those artists that have such a foundational impact on a genre that they become obscure (aside from people deep into the genre). There’s a documentary about his music and life that is free.99 on Tubi
Promo photo for the documentary “Finding Joseph: The HR From Bad Brains”. It is composed of two striking portraits of HR that have been merged equally, and transition smoothly, to create a singular image. One side is his closeup of his face as a young man. The other is him as an older man. The juxtaposition & smooth transition is symbolic of the change in his personality throughout his life and his deepening Rastafari beliefs throughout his life. He is staring straight forward to the camera which highlights the dramatic lighting of the photo. There’s a green, yellow, and red filter that reinforces the Rastafari theme. The movie is available to stream for free on Tubi or rent/buy on Apple TV+.
July 8, 2025 at 7:44 AM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
DC didn’t come to play!!
July 6, 2025 at 4:43 PM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
Wish I had the money & connections to make a drama with Mahershala and Jeffrey cause it would def be this. Daniel Kaluuya & Brian Tyree Henry would provide a little comedic relief.
Screenshot of a post from Twitter calling for Mahershala Ali and Jeremey Wright in an intellectual, brooding romance (or maybe with an element of like thriller or sci-fi involved) where they are both deep thinkers who have created a small, safe friend circle and a love that stands the test of time.
May 22, 2025 at 7:13 PM
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This thread is a masterclass in self-archiving. It’s so important for non-academics to do this as well. Reminds me of this:
"Start thinking of yourself as the archivist of your life. Reflect on and write about your beliefs and experiences. Collect sentimental things, label and organize them for generations to come. You happen to exist at this moment, the world will never be like this again. Cherish and archive it."
April 9, 2025 at 2:49 PM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
I hate when a scientist with an opposing view doesn’t give an alternative explanation. Like, okay, if it wasn’t brain tissue then what other organic material *inside someone’s skull* could have been fossilized/turned into glass? Lmk so I can go research and see if it’s plausible.
Screenshot from the CNN article that reads: Vitrification of soft tissue was "incredibly unlikely," said Alexandra Morton-Hayward, a forensic anthropologist at the UK's University of Oxford, adding that she was not convinced that the glassy substance was brain tissue. Morton-Hayward has compiled a unique archive of information about 4,405 brains unearthed by archaeologists. She was not involved in the research.
February 27, 2025 at 7:38 PM
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Spotify has THE worst music categorizations
A Spotify mobile app interface displaying a playlist called "Creamy Mix" with the tagline "Creamy music picked just for you" which is a weird way to describe the compilation of songs. The screen shows several tracks in the playlist including: - Baby Powder by Jenevieve - Room Of Fools by FKA twigs - Down4Me by jsilos - Le Départ by Adi Oasis - ur face (Indigo Eyes Remix)
February 25, 2025 at 11:01 PM
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The spirit of go lay down is moving through this place (my home)
February 8, 2025 at 9:15 PM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
Masking is solidarity and resistance. Sharing this masking zine with others (virtually or printing & giving it out) is one way to take action in these trying times. The maker has given permission for it to be shared and printed

drive.google.com/file/d/10EIU...
Cover of a zine featuring a photo of the sky as the background with the zine title made from cut-out letters in different colors and styles, arranged in a collage-like ransom note aesthetic. The title is “FIVE REASONS TO MASK IN 2025”.
January 25, 2025 at 10:13 PM
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Repeating here:

This book is worth reading even if climate change isn’t at the top of the list of the (interconnected) crises we currently face that are causing you anxiety. Reading it with friends/family/a book club is a great way to process w/ others who may be looking for actionable steps too.
Book cover for “Lessons from the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth” by Kate Schapira. The cover has a minimalist design with text in black against a cream background, with green and blue accent bars. The subtitle reads “How to Live with Care and Purpose in an Endangered World” and features a small illustration of a counseling booth with vertical green slats. Interior page of the book showing descriptive text and bullet points. The top includes a subtitle in green text: “A PRACTICAL, ACCESSIBLE, AND NECESSARY GUIDE FOR MEETING A CLIMATE-CHANGED PRESENT AND FUTURE.” The page contains an overview of the book's purpose and lists actionable steps for readers, followed by background about Kate Schapira's climate anxiety counseling booth in Providence, Rhode Island. Praise page from the book featuring three endorsement quotes. The quotes are from Sarah Jaquette Ray (author of “A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety), LaUra Schmidt (founder of Good Grief Network), and Eleanor Davis (author of “The Hard Tomorrow”). Each quote discusses how the book offers practical strategies and guidance for dealing with climate anxiety and environmental concerns.
January 21, 2025 at 8:44 PM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
Installed a bidet seat today
A white TOTO Washlet control panel with four illuminated buttons showing power, bidet functions, and cleaning modes. The buttons have LED indicators in green and blue. A meme featuring Bob the Builder, an animated construction worker, with large breasts. The nipples/areola are covered by fire emojis
January 9, 2025 at 5:48 AM
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It’s so bad. Wdym you have birds, cows, and pigs (who specifically are noted as the last mixing ground before easy transmission between people) on the same farm where you’re having people come cuddle said cows???
A promotional image for a farm showing text overlaid on a background photo of brown chickens in green pasture. The text reads 'We raise a variety of livestock, all free to roam in pasture or woodlands, including:' followed by a numbered list of six items: 1. 100% Grass-Fed Beef Cattle, 2. Woodland-Raised Pigs, 3. Pasture-Raised Layer Chickens (for eggs), 4. Pasture-Raised Broiler Hens (for chicken meat), 5. Pasture-Raised Ducks (for eggs), and 6. Pasture-Raised Thanksgiving Turkeys. The background shows chickens foraging among lush green vegetation under a blue sky.
January 2, 2025 at 11:13 PM
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Was kinda tired of my winter scents so I went for a peachy vibe and this was the fragrance layering bodycare line up. The scrub is a very pretty white peach. I tend to like a very lush, sweet peach so this is a departure for me but it’s so good
December 31, 2024 at 1:44 AM
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Them getting along very well without her in their lives
A close-up, cropped image of a white and brown cat's face with teary eyes giving a "thumbs up" with its paw. The cat, like Boyz II Men, is clearly not doing just fine.
December 8, 2024 at 9:12 PM
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I'll be listening to a different holiday album each day in December until Christmas. Join me and post what you listen to with #25DaysOfChristmasAlbums
November 30, 2024 at 10:30 PM
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Not the Orcas reviving 80s trends like us humans
A screenshot of a Twitter thread by @marcia_too (Geriatric Emo) discussing the rapid evolution of Y2K fashion trends and mentions that the 80s were a reference point for Y2K fashion. The thread includes a quote tweet from @Ariellex1_ explaining how fashion cycles moved through different decades (80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s) in just 6 years. Features a photo of a colorful 80s-style outfit: teal windbreaker with pink/purple accents, yellow turtleneck, and cuffed jeans with white sneakers. A screenshot of two follow-up tweets by @marcia_too (Geriatric Emo) expanding on fashion trend cycles. The first discussing how fashion becomes more experimental during good economic times and more conservative during downturns, followed by a darkly humorous tweet about future fashion trends assuming various global catastrophes don't intervene.
November 29, 2024 at 8:58 AM
marsxstars.blacksky.app
Current audiobiography:
A book cover showing a young Black chef looking straight ahead with a confident expression, wearing glasses and a white chef's coat. The photo is in black and white, popping against a bright red background. The title "Notes From a Young Black Chef" is written across his chef's coat in what looks like handwritten style font. Under that, it says "A Memoir" in smaller text. At the bottom is author's name, Kwame Onwuachi, below that "with Joushua David Stein”. The whole image has this cool, documentary-style vibe to it, like a snapshot of someone who's got a story to tell. The way they've done the high-contrast photo against the bold red background really makes it eye-catching - kinda like classic mixtape covers but for a chef's memoir instead.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
November 26, 2024 at 6:26 AM