A la croisée des parfums

78 years of the ongoing Nakba.

Not sure what to write, so have a couple of links:

For people in the UK: Write to your MP
We need your support for a new Early Day Motion (EDM) marking 78 years since the start of the Nakba, which has been tabled by Iqbal Mohamed MP with cross-party sponsorship.

And if you ever wanted to buy a kufiya, this is the place to get one:

Hirbawi Shop

Should you watch?

- If you loved S1 because it's near-perfect TV and left it at that, stay where you are.

- If the show became your obsession ('Everything is meant') and you fell head-first head-first into fic and meta and analysing everything (*cough* my Good Omens Master Post has links to my other Good Omens Master Posts), then you might hate S3 (those that hate it have good reasons), but it does tie things up.

Personally, then - despite how clunky the plot of it was (more on that in my main post) - then I rather loved it. Even if it wasn't at ALL what I expected.

Its Bisan From Gaza, This Is Life After 'Ceasefire'


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BBC: Return of Palestine Marathon attracts thousands of runners

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Resources for Palestinian Liberation

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And a useful link for anyone wanting to contact politicians, national or local (about anything):

https://www.writetothem.com/

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And finally, maybe this fits here too:

“There’s no hope for the future.” And that’s how they felt during the Atomic Age, during the World Wars, during the Enlightenment Revolutions, during thr plagues, during the Viking raids, during the fall of Rome.
Yet, we persisted.

CS Lewis had something to say about this <- excellent Tumblr post

When the President Declared Martial Law in South Korea!

In this video, Hana from Korea shares a "Survival Manual" from South Korea to the U.S.
From the "Silver Siege" tactics to the "Philosophy of Joy (Heung)," here is how ordinary citizens defeated the army and the elite cartel.
Don't trust the system. Don't wait for heroes.
Trust your neighbor and yourself.

What I didn't have on my bingo card for 2026 was AI LEGO videos from Iran... (Probably the only use of AI slop that I would defend.) I hope they have educated many people on issues they might otherwise not know. (Yes they're propaganda, but when speaking about the rot in America they are not wrong.)

Now there are many, many videos, but this one's my favourite:


Same sun rising, but we're living in hell,
while the leaders are ringing the funeral bell.
Love for the people, but the system must cease,
from Tehran to DC, we're screaming for peace...

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I don't feel like writing any essays on the situation, but I still vividly remember the Green Movement in 2009. (Just follow the tag to see my posts from back then.) It's where this icon is from. Remember watching the news with hope and terror, seeing the sea of people protesting and thinking that surely they would win?

And then they didn't.

I have re-uploaded a video from back then (8.81MB):

My Elementary Schoolmate.flv

My Elementary Schoolmate.mov

My Elementary Schoolmate.wmv

Content/trigger warning: The footage is exclusively from the 2009 protests. Very raw and powerful, and a lot of violence and injury.

The song is from 1979, and apparently they were singing again during the Green Revolution. (Lyrics here.)

So yeah. The Iranians know a lot about living under a repressive regime... A regime that America/the West is responsible for.


ETA: The sophistication of the LEGO videos is what gets me. America (and Israel, let's not forget) is trying to bomb a people into submission or rebellion. (Bombing a school is... not the way to achieve this.)

Whereas Iranian creators are doing something much cleverer: They are not only exposing the elites and the crimes, but highlighting all the flaws in the system, the bloodstained history of the colonisers: You are a victim too. ('We share the same pain...')

More videos, but I am putting them under the cut:

( Read more... )

Happy Birthday Sir David Attenborough! Congratulations on the century. 👑

A couple of things from the BBC:

King and Queen lead tributes for David Attenborough's 100th birthday

Attenborough: The risk-taker who changed how we see Earth

April was a busy month... In the best possible way, but I barely glanced at Dreamwidth in weeks.

Firstly, then the wedding went very well indeed (I will probably do a separate post, but it was a wonderful day in every way), and we also had my parents staying + more, so the house was very full.

Then at the end of the month Darcy & I went to Athens for a 6 day mini break which was absolutely wonderful.

And now I am slowly trying to get to everyday life... I have caught up with DW, but if I missed something, please leave a comment!

I will do my best to post more. 🤞