Hmmm… teenaged protagonist is generally a deal-breaker for me these days. How much does the author seem to know about the Greco-Roman world based on the setting? I don’t mind fantasy versions of historical settings, but the author needs to get the values right. Happy to give it a try, though!

I saw it recommended by this BookTok guy who started turning up in my FB Reels. It sounds intriguing. How do you like it?

That’s so kind! What a nice surprise to come home to!

The key to see seems to be ongoing large scale immigration. Black people are the obvious exception. They have to deal with a seemingly unique degree of outsider status in American culture.

I’d say non-Spanish speaking southern Europe feels pretty final as well, as does Eastern Europe. Our current contingencies seem
to rest on Black, Asian ( broadly construed) and Latino people. I just don’t see us going back to the anti-Italian sentiments of the first 2/3 of the 20th c.

Good point! Although it’s also important, I think, to distinguish those groups for whom the deal of whiteness feels final (I don’t see “No Irish Need Apply” ever coming back) and those, like Jews, for whom it always feels contingent.

Now you’ve got, for example, Bill O’Reilly, Sam Alito, Nick Fuentes

That’s an important point. Adding to it, we should keep in mind that “Whiteness” has always had permeable boundaries, with select groups offered conditional admission for their support (and the cover they offer) for white supremacy. Irish, Italians, Latinos, all once regarded non-white in the US.

Excellent - thanks!

I haven’t, but it sounds like a delightful mind-blower.

I’ve always followed the head-canon suggestion that “James Bond” is a work name that HM Secret Service has assigned to a variety of agents over the years, with a new Bond created as the old one ages out, retires, or dies in the field. Hence the different portrayals in the movies.

Looks like fun! Minor league games are great for excellent seats at a reasonable cost.

And one out of one commentators on this post agree.

Schrödinger’s protesters.

Caveat: How well-deserved those reputations are is a separate matter from the fact that both men (and their wives) have great standing in the popular historical imagination.

Happy you’re okay! I’m old enough to recall many residential streets posted vehicle weight limits. I never see them anymore, and don’t think it’s because asphalt has become more durable. Can’t help but wonder if rising weights of personal vehicles, especially on the luxury end, played a role in it.

We are! The latest collection of furry freeloaders includes elder black cat Fergus, fluffy gray tabby Frisbee, lithe and athletic gray tabby Penelope, who we got in April, and newest addition Bentley, a fluffy little orange ginger hobbit of a kitten we got in August.

Aww! I’m so happy for all of you! You’re doing good stuff, friend.