Be prepared to have your hair on both ends of you to blown back and rearranged into a merkin. The History of Sex is like one prolonged literary orgasm and I mean that seriously. It’s a delight and a treat, a flirtatious and salacious journey into the history of sex by sassy and feminist sex historian Dr Kate Lister.
There are some eye-wateringly cringey, embarrassing and downright gross parts as well – because after all, we are charting the history of our own pink wobbly bits and all that is squirted out of them…which in the harsh light of day is less elegant and Hollywood sexy, but rather a bit of a vulnerable and pathetic sight. When they are not throbbing with turgid ardour that is.
Enough of that nonsense, this book is incredibly witty, hilarious, informative and riveting from the first page until the last. Chapters are organised by topic rather than chronological history and this adds to the engaging nature of the book.
Japanese sex toys from the 1930sShunga netsuke showing a couple having sex 18th century
Freedom and whores are the most cosmopolitan items under the sun.
Topics include: gay male sex, lesbianism, cross dressing and trangenderism, prostitution, contraception, periods, menopause, bondage, BDSM and fetishes, vibrators and sex toys, aphrodisiacs and anaphrodisiacs, penises, vulvas, a history of the word cunt, sex and cycling as a form of Victorian feminist rebellion, virginity tests, douching and smelly fadges, hairy clutches, sex and language…and on and on. If it sounds exciting and intriguing to you and maybe a little bit daunting….then I’m sure you will like it.
Crowd-funded and self-published by a massive swarm of Twitter supporters and fans from Kate Lister’s immensely popular Twitter channel @WhoresofYore – The History of Sex is a triumph and I highly recommend it. Although not a book for prudes or religious folk you know, they will no doubt object to the tawdry literary porn laying within its covers. I found this delightful, playful, rebellious and enchanting.
Dr Haare Williams MNZM has been Dean of Māori Education and Māori Advisor to the Chief Executive at Unitec. He was General Manager of Aotearoa Radio. He set up a joint venture with the South Seas Film and Television School to train Te Reo speakers as producers and operators in film and television. He has worked closely with iwi claimant communities and was responsible for waka construction and assembly at Waitangi for the 1990 commemorations. He has published poetry, exhibited painting and written for film and television. He was a cultural advisor for the Mayor of Auckland and is Amorangi at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Hello dear friends and intergalactic time-travelling pirates, welcome to edition #74 of interesting things on the internet. Below learn about the carbon capturing capabilities of cetaceans, vedic cosmology, how a frog magically morphs into a man, spicy vegan drinks and more. Pull up a pew and stay a while.
The carbon capture by whales is truly astonishing…
The carbon capture potential of whales is truly startling. Whales accumulate carbon in their bodies during their long lives. When they die, they sink to the bottom of the ocean, sequestering 33 tons of CO2 on average.
This beautiful infographic guide to this the deities of this ancient religion really captured my imagination! Via Reddit
planetary Vedic Hindu Cosmology: A Visual Guide
Because You are unlimited, neither the lords of heaven nor even You Yourself can ever reach the end of Your glories. The countless universes, each enveloped in its shell, are compelled by the wheel of time to wander within You, like particles of dust blowing about in the sky. The śrutis, following their method of eliminating everything separate from the Supreme, become successful by revealing You as their final conclusion.
For Lavater, the series of images leading from frog through “primitive man” to Grecian god, demonstrated rigid and unchanging taxonomic divisions between humans and animals, and also between some humans and other (in his view) lesser humans.
Like the ancients before him, Lavater believed that, after careful examination, the disposition of every human and animal would reveal itself through the proportions of the head. In his writings, the angle of the neck corresponds to sincerity; the chin to sensuality; and the lips to a mixture of anger, love, or hate. Small nostrils are notorious for denoting timidity, and the bridge of the nose speaks to tranquility versus brute strength.
I only just recently discovered this band. They sound a bit like Oasis, The Strokes and Joy Division combined. There is a real menacing dark edge and emotional intensity to their music. They are from Ireland and they are amazing! In the video clip (which is really trippy and reminds me of a David Lynch film) is the actor Aidan Gillan who played the villain in Game of Thrones.
The deep bass-heavy didgeridoo and the background river sounds create a flowing and hypnotic rhythm, I hope you enjoy it.
The ancient Egyptian sense of humour…
These 3,000 year old fragments of papyrus show scenes of animals taking on human roles; a hippo makes beer, a lion and gazelle play a board game and a cat waits on a mouse. c.1250BC-1150BCE. Images and artefacts (stolen) by the The British Museum.
I didn’t quite know what to make of this song. It’s sort of like Marmite, after you see it a few times it grows on you…or you keep on hating it. The video clip looks home made and crappy. The falsetto singing reminds me of the BeeGees. There is narrative here…a weird James Brown/Parliament kind of guy with strange clothes goes out of his backyard onto the street and tries to pick up girls, who are absolutely horrified by his creepy dance moves and who run away in fear…until…[suspense builds]
Thank you I hope you enjoyed this intergalactic carpet ride and you are suitably confused by what you have seen above. Let me know what you thought about it below…
Dr Haare Williams MNZM has been Dean of Māori Education and Māori Advisor to the Chief Executive at Unitec. He was General Manager of Aotearoa Radio. He set up a joint venture with the South Seas Film and Television School to train Te Reo speakers as producers and operators in film and television. He has worked closely with iwi claimant communities and was responsible for waka construction and assembly at Waitangi for the 1990 commemorations. He has published poetry, exhibited painting and written for film and television. He was a cultural advisor for the Mayor of Auckland and is Amorangi at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Robert Greene has written best-selling books on seduction, power, war, self-mastery and now knowledge. Although the sum and total of his output of books gives the wrong impression about the man. He’s not an evil and Machiavellian type jockeying for power – rather his books are about understanding the lesser-known shadowy parts of ourselves to better master the complex demands of living in the world – and to still remain healthy and alive. A feat at times!
In his latest book The Laws of Human Nature, Robert Greene wants you, the reader to fully expose your own self-destructive and myopic patterns of thought and behaviour to the light of day. In so doing, you will be able to accurately anticipate and annul all sources of chaos, disorder and unhappiness in your life.
Greene’s The Laws of Human Nature is his magnum opus of psychology. It’s an antidote to the trashy online world of quacks, fakers and new age hippy-dippy bullshit spinners who have nothing new to offer the world, and yet claim to have all the answers.
The Laws of Human Nature, is far superior to any
other book written on psychology. It’s a methodical and multi-disciplinary distillation
of the past 3,000 years of human history that draws upon the vast wells of
knowledge in philosophy, psychology, spirituality and biology.
Green highlights how to avoid mistakes and
roadblocks in every aspect of life, breaking these down into bite-sized chunks
in his chapters. He offers practical, actionable steps to know yourself better,
and therefore make the world a better place for everyone who knows you.
It is both disconcerting and comforting to knowing that
every other Homo Sapien walking around on the planet has a cumbersome, ancient
and wayward brain that is weighed down by these same afflictions, insecurities,
trigger points and weaknesses. It’s what you consciously do with these brain
farts that matters.
Throughout the book, Green uses notorious examples
where the shit really hits the fan for well-known and lesser-known individuals
and groups that he cherry-picks from throughout history. He highlights the Mao
revolutionists in China; Russian writer Anton Chekhov and his family, Cut-throat
executives in the Disney Corporation in the 80’s; the rags to riches tale of fashion
icon Coco Chanel; and much more.
These potent
and well-constructed examples of epic failure and epic success in the book
serve to cement its knowledge and lessons.
Although this structure may sound slightly
patronising or allegorical, Greene’s writing and persona is anything but. Watching him being
interviewed about the book is a lesson in how to be a humble, likeable and
interesting person without thinking you have all of the answers.
This book is like a hypodermic needle injecting you
with the sum and total of knowledge on human psychology in one weighty tome –
if you are open-minded and ready enough to receive it.
Rather than wade through the 624 page written
version, I recommend getting the audio book and doing some walking or cycling
while listening to it. At about 20 hours in length, the audiobook was highly rewarding
to listen to and incredibly rewarding to finish while doing exercise, with so
many mind-boggling insights as to be worthy of several re-reads/re-listens.
Below is a brief summary I found of The Laws of Human
Nature on the website 12
Minutes. Apologies that I didn’t create this summary of chapters myself, I
simply don’t have time right now.
Although please beware of thinking that this summary
accurately reflects all that there is to learn in this book. It is a completely
superficial treatment of the most extensive book on human nature in the history
of the world.
I know – that’s a big call, but I have read a fair bit on this subject and I would like to say this is better than anything else I’ve ever read. The below will give you an idea of what to expect. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Here’s a link to get it on Audible or Book Depository.
The Law of Irrationality
The first
law interprets our emotional attachment to the decision making. Instead of
perceiving the world through the lens of rationality, we lean toward emotions
as a way of expressing our dismay over the issues that grab our attention.
Unfortunately,
this is one of those things that we can’t inherit or adopt. It’s a mindset that
must be cultivated in order to achieve a maximum effect.
The Law of Narcissism
It goes
without saying that we are all narcissistic, at least to some degree. Anyway,
to lower people’s resistance when introducing your agenda, you ought to
redirect that self-appreciation outwardly.
On top of
that, pay heed to narcissists who are either passive or active aggressors and
want to drag you into their endless drama. Beware of their hidden intentions
and envy.
The Law of Role-playing
You don’t
need anyone telling you that people love to wear masks, one for each occasion –
metaphorically speaking. Nonetheless, they often reveal their true intentions
through various non-verbal cues such as facial expression, body posture,
nervous gestures, etc.
By being
able to spot these signs of insecurity, you’ll able to outmanoeuvre and be one
step ahead of them at all times. It’s an opportunity one must not take for
granted, to say the least.
The Law of Compulsive Behaviour
Honestly,
people’s character is tricky to understand. It is often the real pillar of the
rinse and repeat process. To put it differently, people tend to sing same old
song throughout their lives.
You
should bear this in mind, and grow fond of individuals who show signs of
strength and courage. Being aware of your negative patterns will help you keep
toxic people at a distance. If you don’t comply, this law will get the better
of you.
The Law of Covetousness
It’s
strange but true that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. A
philosophical illustration that shows why humans bend over backward to obtain
something slipping from their grasp. You can use this momentum to create a
mysterious aura around your presence and leverage that position.
It’s a
great way to become an intellectual lodestar and earn some respect. People love
to explore the unknown, and playing by those rules could give you the upper
hand.
The Law of Short-sightedness
The idea
of maintaining long-term vision is too much for most people. They are lured by
recent trends, opinions, and backlashes. These people who can’t see beyond
their nose, often fall under the short-sighted category.
Keep your
distance and associate with individuals whose goals are governed by a long-term
perspective. They rarely become victims to some brinkmanship and prefer
calmness over reaction.
The Law of Defensiveness
It’s
needless to say that over time people take up a defensive stance, and react
fiercely when someone advocates for change. If you want to ease off their
resistance, you must urge them to alter their viewpoints but not by offending
them.
If you
want to take gigantic strides towards achieving your goals, one must strive for
creativeness. Explain your noble intentions, and make them feel like they are
in control of their opinions and patterns.
The Law of Self-sabotage
Whatever
you feel, you radiate. By confining solely to negativity and fear, all the
people with whom you share as much as a word will sense the habitual scepticism.
Such an attitude will lower your chances of success, and make you more
vulnerable.
It starts
to sound a bit like a cliché, but a positive attitude is the only bridge
standing between you and success. Cultivating such a mindset will help you to
get the best out of everything, and see opportunities where others see a trap.
The Law of Repression
People
are not who they pretend to be. It’s in their nature to try and conceal the
darkness that prevails in their heart. Before you embark on a journey to
observe the overall ignorance, one must become acutely aware of its shady
urges.
By
consolidating your enigmatic side into your personality, you’ll get to a
vantage point from where you can act as an observer. This action ultimately has
a pivotal role in your efforts to draw people to you.
The Law of Envy
The
social construct of today endorses the struggle for position, status, and
achievement. This, however, often stipulates a dose of stubbornness, which
could be the fundamental basis for deep envy. Some individuals only wish to
emulate the success of others, but not all of them.
Stay on
full alert for unwanted attention and try to avert a potential conflict.
Comparing yourself with others will only lower your self-worth and jeopardize
your position in the societal circle.
Remember,
actions speak louder than words!
The Law of Grandiosity
By all
means, humans have a tendency to ponder about a lot of things. This includes
our perpetual lust for success associated with the elevation to higher societal
status. Nonetheless, most of the time these thoughts take the shape of
grandiosity – a far cry from the actual truth.
We strive
to gain superiority, and in the process, we lose contact with reality. As a
result, we form irrational judgments and confine solely to fictional limits.
Your attitude toward success must be brought into line with your overall
contribution and the value you bring to other people.
The Law of Gender Rigidity
Truthfully,
it’s not as straightforward as using a magic wand to subdue all masculine and
feminine qualities. You have to work on your urges, and understand how this
affects your thinking mechanism, and make you predictable and rigid in
day-to-day encounters.
By
eradicating these signs of masculine and feminine energy, you’ll introduce an
authentic version of yourself to the world. You’ll no longer be obliged to act
in a specific manner based on the features imposed upon you.
In other
words, resisting the temptation to play gender roles will put you on the fast
track to success.
The Law of Aimlessness
In the
digital age, people have to outdo themselves on an occasional basis in order to
deal with the temporary disappointments and setbacks in life. On top of that,
we fail to acknowledge the fact that a sequence of defeats is merely the end
result of lacking direction.
Our
judgment and decision are formed to fill in the short-term quote, leaving us
exposed to potential threats that may hamper our chances for success. We know
ourselves better than anyone, and we ought to use this knowledge to eradicate
this sense of aimlessness.
The Law of Conformity
People
want to give the impression of confident and self-sufficient individuals, but
that’s rarely the case. We tend to pattern our choices after the group’s
strides and inclinations. This social construct makes us adjust our mindset,
and imitate the mob.
As much
as we want to pull back from this group mood, our lives are already infiltrated
to the point of no return. In doing so, we end up deprived of our uniqueness
followed by an impaired thinking mechanism.
The Law of Fickleness
When you
absorb the role of a leader, prepare yourself for special treatment. Each
mistake you make will be recognized as a chance for someone else to step up and
take your crown. If you withstand these attacks, you’ll tackle all suspicions
and maintain your status.
The best
tool for such an endeavour is the authority. A wielder of legitimate power must
help people to see him/her as the rightful leader. Proficient leaders practice
this craft from early on because they are aware of its side-effects.
The Law of Aggression
The world
needs your energy, and people feel disposed to try every trick in the book to
get the better of you. They try to fulfil their longings by outmanoeuvring
different persons and assert their superiority on them.
Dealing
with this group takes a bit of expertise and composure. If you remain only the
observer of these aggressive moves, you’ll be able to stand your ground when
things get out of hand.
Passive
aggressors can be spotted from a mile away if you know the array of cues which
correlate with their behaviour. Aggressive energy is by no means bad! If you
know how to channelize it, it will help you to remain bound and determined
regardless of the temporary setbacks.
The Law of Generational Myopia
The
generation gap is not a myth, because each new generation creates its own
separate values and agendas. It forms the behaviour of its members and compels
them to exert a powerful influence on the world.
The
problem is that yet again we are doing this at the cost of our innateness. We
are restricting ourselves, without casting a shred of doubt on these concepts.
Make
strides toward uniqueness, not mediocrity! Leave the generational
narrowmindedness aside!
The Law of Death Denial
Death
smiles at us all, and that’s the truth. Being aware of the unpredictability and
shortness of this existence is truly a powerful tool one can embrace. It will
help you to create a sense of urgency that will fuel your day-to-day
activities.
Training
your mind to think and act in a similar manner is undoubtedly a great way to
achieve results much quicker. Don’t be obsessed with overshadowing others; just
remain keenly aware of the mortality as an integral part of life.
Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?
“Memories lie slumbering within us for months and years, quietly proliferating, until they are woken by some trifle and in some strange way blind us to life.” ― W.G. Sebald, The Rings of Saturn
Hello pretty parrots and wide-eyed, long-lashed possums, take a trip down a dimly-lit neon alley where there’s mysterious armour, trip-hop, coral babies, wind phones, a guide to misbehaving foster dogs and much more.
One recipe used to protect against curses required a sou coin, nine grains of salt and nine stems from nine plants, namely: ground-ivy, common fumitory, spotted medick, common daisy, chickweed, greater celandine, dovesfoot geranium, pilewort and verbena. It was first necessary to pronounce the invocation ‘Doue Araog Oll’ (Breton for God Above All) into a linen pouch and recite the Pater Noster and Ave Maria prayers three times without taking a breath.
Billions of coral babies are born on the Great Barrier Reef
In an explosion of colour, billions of coral babies were born on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Cairns, Australia, marking another milestone in the ongoing story of life on the Reef.
In Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture Japan, a ‘wind phone’ is perched on a hill overlooking the ocean. This allows people who lost their loved ones in in the Japanese Tsunami of 2011 to call them and have one-way conversations with loved ones. This was created by garden designer Itaru Sasaki in 2010 to help him cope with his cousin’s death. The wind phone waswas opened to the public in the following year after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami killed over 15,000 people in the Tōhoku region. The wind phone has since received over 30,000 visitors. A number of replicas have been constructed around the world, including one in Ireland. Via Wikipedia and Reddit
A wind phone 風の電話, kaze no denwa for contacting people who have crossed the veil A wind phone 風の電話, kaze no denwa for contacting people who have crossed the veil Wind phone in Ireland
The Finfolk, in the folklore of the Orkney Isles were a mysterious race of amphibious beings often presented as having a dour and sinister character with a reputation for the abduction of unwary islanders. The males of the race are known as Finmen and the females as Finwives who can resemble mermaids. Both were believed to be responsible for abducting islanders they take a shine to having a liking for a human spouse. They had a magical city under the sea in an unknown location where they tended to spend winter. In the summer they spent time on hidden islands such as Hether Blether, Hildaland or Eynhallow before it was taken from them by humans.
This handy guide for new dog owners – adopted dogs take a while to settle in and settle down, especially when they may have come from a less than kind household. Via Reddit
Don’t give up on an adopted dog! Give them a chance to settle in!
Tilly turns around
A beautiful, mythical and highly sensitive green sea turtle Tilly was released into the ocean [beeee freee little one], after being rehabilitated after being captured by a fishing trawler in the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. Once released, Tilly made a daring 1,867 km/47 day journey deep into the Pacific ocean. Then she did a sharp U-turn and returned back to Queensland.
Tilly the turtle did a giant U-turn days before a volcanic eruption in Tonga that triggered a tsunami.(Supplied: Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef)
This happened a few days before the catastrophic eruption on a volcanic island north of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa on January 15. In total the little beauty made an incredible 2,700km journey. Nemo would be proud. Did she sense the volcanic eruption coming? Is Tilly psychic? Did she just not enjoy being out in the ocean? It’s a nice story anyway.
There was some wonderfully bizarre creatures to offer. A surprising number of these animals look like moas or emus! There’s also a lot of slothbears and even hippos…sad they are no longer around! If you want to stop the tide of extinction, make sure you join the #Boycott4Wildlife.
Genre: Non-Fiction, History, Australian History, Aboriginal History, Archaeology
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a hidden book about hidden Australian history.
Written by esteemed and respected Aboriginal elder, historian and author Bruce Pascoe, Dark Emu tells an alternative version of how pre-European Australia looked according to the original and rightful owners and custodians of the land.
Large populations of Aboriginal people were manipulating the Australian environment and husbanding plants to produce surplus food of such great quantity that populations could lead a more or less sedentary lives in close proximity to their growing crops.
This is a stark contrast to the historical narrative perpetuated by white Europeans about Australia’s true and original custodians of the land. That Aboriginal people were nomadic hunter gatherers who lived a basic subsistence lifestyle and were driven to keep moving and hunting to survive.
The ignorance began with the first Europeans to visit the country. Even men as enlightened as Sturt and Mitchell, despite having seen Aboriginal villages of over 1000 people and grain fields reaching to the horizon, lapse into imperial euphemism, by referring to those people as ‘children of the soil’, ‘sable friends’ and ‘knights of the desert’. On seeing houses built to accommodate forty people, both explorers resort to words such as ‘huts’ or ‘hovels’ to describe buildings that in rural Ireland would have been called croft houses.
Dark Emu
The determination of the colonial governments, surveyors and explorers to discount Aboriginal achievement has persisted into contemporary Australian society.
Dark Emu
Unseen Art from Australia’s First Fleet http://wp.me/p41CQf-8hA gravity-defying python grapples with a dead wallaby.
Any country can have naysayers among its citizenry, be it regarding climate change,birth control, taxation, gun control or speed limits. However if the general population persists in hiding from the obvious facts of history, we are destined to repeat the selective opinions of the colonialists.
Dark Emu
Racial bias can cloud observation and reasoning when looking at history
This is a revelatory and shocking book, almost painful to read in terms of understanding the bias and academic short-sightedness and racist ideas that excluded Aboriginal culture in Pre-European times from the full recognition that it deserved. As Pascoe explains:
It would seem that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander civilisation was on a trajectory towards greater and more sophisticated use of pottery, but many of the societies claimed by anthropologists to have left the era of hunter gathering and joined the march towards agriculture never used any form of pottery. We have to be careful that we are not deciding on markers of civilisation simply because of the historical path followed by Western Civilisations. As Gavin Menzies, author of 1421 has pointed out, if you proceed on the assumption that only Western European nations had reached the stage of civilisation, you have to behave as if the Chinese were not the first to invent gunpowder, pottery and celestial navigation techniques.
China was probably the most advanced nation on earth until the 18th century, but arrived there without following all of the steps that Westerners consider the true path of civilisation. Racial bias can cloud observation.
Dark Emu
Right wing Christians and Conservatives in Australia call out Dark Emu as a lie – but why?
A vicious attack after the publication of Dark Emu in 2014 came from right wing journalists such as Andrew Bolt along with conservative media outlets: Sky News and The Herald Sun. Why? They claimed he wasn’t black enough and was too pale skinned to be Aboriginal. How pathetic!
Aside from the breathtaking racism of such a statement (denying someone’s race on the basis of skin colour). The reason many Aboriginal Australians are white is because their parents and grandparents were forcibly and illegally taken as children by white Australians under the ‘White Australia’ policy and forced to integrate into white society. This was so that the ‘black would literally be bred out of them.’
The dark past that ‘mainstream Australia’ wishes to ignore and forget
So this is a disgusting cheap shot against Pascoe. The investigative journalist in me wondered why the right wing media would even bother to do such a savage character assassination of Bruce Pascoe. The answer – it seems would be is because of LAND RIGHTS.
Always was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land
The longstanding image of pre-colonisation Aboriginal people as primarily hunter-gatherers has an expressly political purpose: it reinforces the legal fiction of terra nullius, skull-measuring race science and notions of ‘advancement’ used to justify British invasion. The framing of Aboriginal societies as solely nomadic, with lives that were based around finding and following food wherever it is available, ties into the flawed idea that because Aboriginal societies did not build huge Western-style cities, or transform the land to suit their needs in a way that European cultures recognised, their connection to and sovereignty over their land was somehow different, somehow lesser. Or worse, non existent.
If this is the case, that Aboriginal people stayed in place on the land in settlements, the original invalidation of their rights to the land could theoretically be overturned.
This is a fascinating and eye-opening look at an alternative version of Australian history that adds to the tapestry of richness of pre-European life on the red continent. The different version of Australian history should usher in a cultural renaissance, passion and interest from young people who are keen to know and understand their culture from the perspective of their forebears. I really hope so. I love this book. If you want to know about the REAL history of Australia this is it!
This is powerful essential reading for anyone who wants to understand history from a different point of view than the white Australian version taught in school curriculums that either white-washes the colonial history or denigrates the technologies and culture of the pre-European world completely. If you have read this, please let me know what you thought below..
“There are countries out there where people speak English. But not like us – we have our own languages hidden in our carry-on luggage, in our cosmetics bags, only ever using English when we travel, and then only in foreign countries, to foreign people. It’s hard to imagine, but English is the real language! Oftentimes their only language.
“They don’t have anything to fall back on or to turn to in moments of doubt. How lost they must feel in the world, where all instructions, all the lyrics of all the stupidest possible songs, all the menus, all the excruciating pamphlets and brochures – even the buttons in the lift! – are in their private language.
“They may be understood by anyone at any moment, whenever they open their mouths. They must have to write things down in special codes. Wherever they are, people have unlimited access to them – they are accessible to everyone and everything! I heard there are plans in the works to get them some little language of their own, one of those dead ones no one else is using anyway, just so that for once they can have something just for them.” ― Olga Tokarczuk, Flights
A darkly funny, quirky and insightful book that combines compelling short stories of wanderers and voyagers, with personal anecdotes and philosophical forays. Read my review
If you are an optimist about the capabilities of other people to overcome corruption, evil and injustice in this world, then this also means that you believe resistance and fighting back are worthwhile. This imposes an obligation to act.
What makes us so eager to believe in our own corruption? Why does the veneer theory (that humans submit to evil without thinking) keep returning? I suspect this has a lot to do with convenience. In a weird way, to believe in our own sinful nature is comforting. It provides a kind of absolution. Because if people are bad, then engagement and resistance aren’t worth the effort.
Belief in humankind’s sinful nature provides a tidy explanation for the existence of evil. When confronted with hatred or selfishness, you can tell yourself, ‘Oh well, that’s just human nature’. But if you believe that people are essentially good, you have to question why evil exists at all. It implies that engagement and resistance are worthwhile, and it imposes an obligation to act.
A hopeful history of humanity? During the time of COVID, climate change and mass animal extinction? However, there was a kernel of hope within me that really wanted for this concept to be true. This book delivers exactly what it says on the cover, it painstakingly uncovers the potential that humans have for creating love and beauty, instead of war and destruction. It’s superb and I recommend it wholeheartedly!
Content Catnip 
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