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yr-obedt-cicero · 1 year

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you’re the only one I can think of that would know most about this, but is it true William S. Hamilton was gay? or what started the rumors?

The speculation of William's sexuality rose to question because William - unlike the rest of his family - never married and remained a bachelor throughout his life. With that being said, the whole discussion boils down to nothing but mere speculation. There's no actual evidence, or anything notable that could slightly confirm it.

Theodore Rodolf, a political rival of William's, wrote that; “He was a confirmed bachelor, and did not seem to care much for female society.” [x] Although Rodolf's account should be taken with a grain of salt due his evident bias against William as a political competitor. And historian A. K. Fielding tells a different perspective of William's regard to women, claiming;

Multiple accounts indicate that William had a soft spot for the ladies. Considering the rough frontier society he lived in, it is possible that he was involved in a tryst or two himself. Yet it is difficult to ascertain whether any such interludes left him yearning for matrimony, because he left no records on the subject. Did he prefer his freedom? Was he spurned by someone? Did he recall his father's adultery and the shame it had brought on the whole family? Without concrete evidence, it is difficult to prove any given theory. One can only conclude that if there was a special romance, William chose not to pursue it and remained a bachelor all his life.

Source — FIELDING, A. K. Rough Diamond: The Life of Colonel William Stephen Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton’s Forgotten Son. Indiana University Press, 2021.

I think if anything, Rodolf may have been referring to William's lack of special or flattering attitude to women, that he didn't alter his character or appearance for them. William led a very rugged and shameless life; chances where higher-class women would not fancy his lifestyle. When William moved from Illinois to Wisconsin in the late 1820s, he had established a mine known as Hamilton's Diggings, to which he later renamed Woita. In the March of 1831, Juliette Kinzie described the conditions as “shabby” and “unpromising”, [x] she was also appalled by the foul language of the miners and described them as; “roughest-looking set of men I ever beheld.” [x] Although William's closest family members were some of the only women in his family, like his mother and youngest sister. Both had traveled west to see him, and he had one day hoped to have them as part of his household.

Sylvan Muldoon makes a bold claim in his biography about William with the statement that apparently there were rumors of an affair between William and a family member of the opposite sex. Even going as far as to claim that his brother's believed such, and resented him for it;

It is true that many writers have expressed their opinions concerning Hamilton's morals in a critical manner, some even going so far as to accuse him of living too intimately with a certain member of the opposite sex, who was married to one of his relatives.

There I believe, an alienation between William Stephen and a couple of his own brothers on this score which we will not enter into here, for the simple reason that the charges brought against him were preposterous and based upon nothing more than supposition. Suffice it to say that Mrs. Alexander Hamilton, his mother; Mrs. Holly, his sister; James Hamilton, his brother; and several other of his relatives were entirely in sympathy with his action in allowing the wife of one of his nephews to keep house for him during a time when she was estranged from her husband.

Source — Alexander Hamilton's pioneer son; the life and times of Colonel William Stephen Hamilton; 1797-1850. Early New York, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and California, by Sylvan J. Muldoon

Then goes on to say he; “lived and died without ever marrying, and, so far as is known, he never participated in a love-affair.” I've found no evidence of any unpleasant feelings between the brothers concerning this particular matter, but William does seem to have been a bit alienated from them—Although it is more likely due to their differing political beliefs (A similar aspect in James's feud with Alexander Jr). Most of Hamilton's sons were Jacksonian Democrats, while William was a Whig. Additionally, William did not find himself comfortable in the wealthy aristocratic class that his family were associated with. Also, because William decided to move half across the country, so it would have been hard to contact him or see him. Some have speculated that William may have distanced himself from his family due to their unaccepting nature had he truly been gay, but all the priorly mentioned reasons are the solidly confirmed ones.

One event that did contribute to some friction between John Church and William was concerning the female family member Muldoon references as being rumored to have had a love affair with him. Although it wasn't due to the supposed allegations that Muldoon mentions (That I'm not even sure existed), JCH's third child, John Cornelius Adrian Hamilton, was becoming more and more estranged from his family due to his disapproving actions and soon William took him in, only angering John C. more. I delve more into this here, but basically after Cornelius went against his father's wishes and married Angeline Romer, John was likely too embarrassed to introduce his new daughter-in-law to his friends in the New York elite society, so he sent Cornelius and Angeline out West with promises of giving them property there. And so, the newly wedded couple traveled from New York to Springfield, Illinois, where Cornelius worked as an engineer until August 19, 1839. It is there, the two likely met their uncle William. Sometime in 1839-1840, William took in Cornelius and his family in Woita at Hamilton's Diggings, after the birth their firstborn son, named after William Stephen Hamilton in 1839. Cornelius only became more defiant against his father, to which John faulted William's influence for. In 1844, Cornelius followed his father's orders and left his wife and children, after he and Angeline had become strained with time. Angeline and her children stayed with William, and she was likely the woman many had rumored to have been William's “mistress”.

Angeline seemed to enjoy her time living with her children, her uncle, and his slave. Edgar Hamilton wrote that “his kindness to them, especially to my mother was a theme she never tired to tell to my brother and myself when young” and he “always looked upon my father and mother and we babies as his special heirs and expected to educate us and leave his property to us.” [x] Even when Cornelius had abandoned his family, William's generosity and protection never left Angeline and her children. She looked after his house, even sewing suits and linen shirts for him to wear to legislative sessions in Madison, Wisconsin. Loss of a child, marital strife, and news of an ailing father all prompted Angeline to consider returning to New York by 1843. William at the time was running for elected office and hoped to become the new governor of the territory, he asked Angeline to postpone her travels until after the election. But she took her children and went home to be with her father. Even until the end of her life, Angeline held the deepest respect for William and never remarried. She considered him her; “truest friend in the family.” [x] and William had wished to invite her back to his household, alongside his mother and sister had he won the election. [x] Fielding makes the remark that; “If any romantic involvement between William and Angeline may have caused a strain between William and his brothers, no such evidence exists in primary sources.” Angeline's son, Edgar Hamilton - who grew up in William's cabin - continuously praised his great-uncle and worked in favor of preserving his memory and memorial.

Although, it is also likely William's only intent and nature with Angeline was to help her. Later Edgar describes his great-uncle as; “ever espoused the weaker party and his feelings always were quickened in behalf of the poor and distressed.” [x] Which we can see is evident in other events through William's life that weren't with romantic intention at all; William was once passing through the country in a sleigh with several friends, when he saw a Native American man riding on horseback alongside a native woman making her way laboriously on injured foot. William interfered when he saw the man take a whip and beat the woman; “cruelly with it while he uttered curses at her for not hurrying.” [x] He then took the woman in his sleigh and tried to remove her from immediate danger, the man followed William and tried to shoot him but missed. Before the man had time to reload his rifle and fire again, William turned around and fought with him, before he took hold of the horse whip and tremendously thrashed him and then took off in his sleigh.

Like Fielding initially suggested, if William truly had romantic feelings for another, it is likely he refused to commit to them. He was restless, and constantly moving, making it hard for him to maintain relationships and friendships—And being born at the same time as the Reynolds Pamphlet release, to losing his father at six years old and witnessing all that it had put his mother through, likely distorted his vision of love or romantic relationships. But it is not the first historians, or even people from the time period, assume bachelor men to be of homosexual inclinations. Not that it isn't ever true, for instance Baron Von Steuben was a gay man who never married. But I'd argue there is more substantial evidence surrounding his sexuality. John Gilbert McCurdy, who often writes about the revolutionary period in America, says;

Although this conclusion yields considerable insight into the evolution of sexual identity, it underestimates the complexities of the bachelor's masculinity and sexuality. It is certainly true that some colonists saw the bachelor as effeminate and morally depraved in a way that implied homosexuality, but the bachelor could also be the manliest of men and heterosexual to a fault. The bachelor's gender identification certainly could be problematic, although sometimes it was because he was too manly and at other times it was because he was not manly enough. As a result, we have to be careful about asserting that the bachelor was a proxy for the homosexual in early America. Beginning with Michel Foucault, historians of sexuality have largely accepted the social constructionist view that while some men in the ancient, medieval, and carly modern world had sex with other men, they were not homosexuals.

[...]

Sexuality was undergoing tremendous change in the century before the Revolution. Americans had begun to decouple sex and procreation but Freud had yet to formulate an understanding of desire as being determinative of sexual identity. The early American bachelor's sexuality straddled this divide and often created as much confusion as it did clarity. It had long been considered problematic by moralists and lawmakers who demanded total abstinence for all unmarried people. However, as the bachelor emerged as a unique identity, Americans reconsidered single sex and asked if one variation was more depraved than another. They did worry that bachelors were sodomites, but they also worried about bachelor fornicators. Indeed, far more ink was spilled by moralists agonizing over a new breed of bastards bankrupting taxpayers than was invested in innuendos about effeminate men. In time Americans would conclude that heterosexual bachelor behavior was preferable to homosexuality, but in 1800 this was far from assured.

Early American bachelor sexuality thus cannot be confined to a simple homosex ual/heterosexual dichotomy because it often contravened and confused this anachronistic division. Instead, we have to consider bachelor sexuality as a whole and understand how the perception of different sexual acts evolved over time. At the same time, the unsettled sexuality of the early American bachelor may offer some insight into the evolution of the modern-day homosexual. Historians seeking a gay American history have often looked to sodomy trials, curiously affectionate correspondence, and attacks on effeminate men to find the roots of the modern gay identity. Yet being a homosexual is not simply about sex acts and gender inversion. It is also about the disavowal of traditional marriage, the building of a subculture made up almost entirely of other men, and the assertion of a greater degree of sexual license. In this, the emergence of the bachelor is integral to the history of gay men.

Source — McCurdy, J. G. (2011). Citizen Bachelors: Manhood and the Creation of the United States. United States: Cornell University Press.

When regarding queer history, I would also advise being open-minded about aromantic or asexual figures. Undoubtedly, if a person did not marry it did not mean the only single cause had to be because they were gay but could have also been aromantic. In many cases, people tend to limit it down to so few options, it plays an effective role in queer erasure. In any case, I don't have any substantial opinions regarding the debate, it's all purely supposition and there is scarcely preserved material to call evidence or come to any true settlement outside of carefree head cannons. While William did live in the West, of predominantly male dominated areas, and did not marry—That is the only evidence we have in regards to this speculation. In the end, it's just another mystery surrounding William that we'll never know for certain about. I think William is an interesting individual on his own, and the need to try and determine a hypothesis that is so trivial in the wider picture due to its lack of standing ground seems fruitless. Especially when William has so many other complexities and intriguing characteristics outside of his love or sex life. I understand the desire to explore the censored field of queer history that is often ignored by historians, especially in the search for representation, but William isn't your best choice for that. I would suggest looking to several other queer figures with more opportunities for research and more solid confirmation.

#amrev #american history #jackson era #queer history #william s hamilton #william stephen hamilton #angeline romer hamilton #edgar augustus hamilton #history #hamilchildren #hamilton family #hamilton children #hamilton kids #hamilkids #queries #sincerely anonymous #cicero's history lessons

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larkandkatydid · 1 year

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The Know Your Enemy dudes are not, at their deepest, most spiritual core, fundamentally different from Snapewives or people in love with the Vampire Lestat. However, my point in saying this is that the new J Edgar Hoover biography is so, so good and I hope it begins a trend of people getting super into J Edgar Hoover in a way that is just shy of erotic. The KYE dudes are already half-way there. I unironically love that for them.

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behind-the-screen-of-bangtan · 1 year

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Real name: 김남준 (Kim Namjoon)

Birth date: 12 September 1994

Home city: Ilsan

Former stage name: Runch Randa (....-2013), Rap Monster (2013-2017)

Studio name: Mon Studio, Rkive

Instagram account

BU character: Kim NamJoon

BT21 character: Koya

(src)

Biography

RM started as an underground rapper in Seoul, where he gained popularity to the point of being noticed and recruited by Big Hit Entertainment. A hip-hop group that then evolved to be a K-pop group was formed around him and he was appointed the leader.

While slowly but surely leading BTS at the top of the musical world, he shared his view on life and empathized with oppressed communities, from his inclusion of the LGBT community in song lyrics to his speech at the UN. He has always been invested in the writing, the composition and later the production of BTS songs. Yet, he still found the time for more personal projects, especially in 2015, the year he did the most solo activites.

For a more complete biography, you can check these resources:

Pre-debut history: details RM’s activity as an underground rapper since 2007

biography from volume 7 of the Japan Official Fanclub magazine (trans by kocchi)

autobiography (part 1, part 2, part 3) for 힙합하다 (Hip-Hop Hada, meaning Do hip-hop)

4 Things Show: a documentary made by Mnet where RM tells his hardships during his trainee and debut days

Over 10 bytes of message, a Korean magazine made by the fansite SpectRuM/Hegemony about RM’s activities in 2015

RM has also shared tidbits of his daily life:

he used to post pictures of himself, the #김데일리 (KimDaily) series, where he showed his outfit of the day

new Mon studio 🎵 (he introduces his new studio)

Rkive 😍😜 and Rkive 2 (he introduces his Rkive studio)

[VLOG] 9 days of travel to Europe (2019)

미술관 VLOG (art museum vlog) (2022)

All Day (with 김남준): Part 1, Part 2 (2022)

Birthday albums: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Recommendations

Music

RM’s Spotify playlist

RM used to share songs he likes through the #RMusic series, on Twitter (Youtube playlist). Nowadays, he rather uses his Instagram stories.

There are Youtube playlists of the songs he shared on Spotify and on Vlive/Weverse.

Books

Namjoon's Library

Movies/Series/Artists/places

R(eco)M(mendations)

Art

Weverse magazine: “Getting to know Korean modern and contemporary art with RM”

RM visited a lot of museums and regularly share pictures of art he likes on Instagram.

Solo activity

Music (discography)

“Rap Monster” (2013)

“Where U At (cover)” (2013)

“Favorite Girl (cover)” (2013)

Rap Monster & 정국 - “Like A Star (cover)” (2013)

Rap Monster, Suga & 진 - “어른아이 (cover)” (Childish Adult) (2013)

“Something” (2013)

“Too Much” (2013)

“Monterlude” (2014)

“RM cyper ruff” (2014)

SOULSCAPE X RAPMONSTER - “Unpack your bags” (for the 4 Things Show documentary, 2014)

Rap Monster x Warren G - “P.D.D.” (2015)

MFBTY - ”부끄부끄 (Buckubucku)” (Feat. EE, RM of BTS, Dino-J) (2015)

RM (2015) (see this post)

Yankie(얀키) - ”ProMeTheUs(튀겨)” (Feat. Dok2, Juvie Train, Double K, 랩몬스터 of BTS, Topbob, Don Mills) (2015)

Primary (프라이머리) - ”U” (feat. 권진아, 랩몬스터) (2015)

“Fantastic” (Feat. Mandy Ventrice) (2015)

랩몬스터 & 정국 - “Fools (COVER)” (2015)

RM & JK - “알아요 (I know)” (for the Festa, 2016)

“always“ (for new year, 2017)

Gaeko(개코) - ”Gajah(코끼리)” (Feat. Rap Monster(랩몬스터)) (2017)

RM, Wale - “Change” (2017) (see this post)

R&V - “네시 (4 O'CLOCK)” (gift for the Festa, 2017)

Fall Out Boy - “Champion (Remix)” (2017)

RM, SUGA, j-hope - 땡 (Daeng) (for the Festa, 2018)

Mono (2018) (see this post)

Drunken Tiger (드렁큰 타이거) - “Timeless” (Feat. RM of BTS) (2018)

HONNE - “Crying Over You” (feat. RM & BEKA) (2019)

Lil Nas X - “Old Town Road” (feat. RM of BTS) (Seoul Town Road Remix) (2019)

Younha - “WINTER FLOWER(雪中梅)” (Feat.RM) (2020)

eAeon(이이언) - “Don't(그러지 마)” (feat. RM) (2021)

“Bicycle” (gift for the Festa, 2021)

--- Chapter 2 ---

Balming Tiger - “섹시느낌 SEXY NUKIM” (feat. RM of BTS)

Indigo (2022) (see this post)

So!YoON! (황소윤) - “Smoke Sprite” (feat. RM of BTS)

Colde - “다시는 사랑한다 말하지 마” (Don’t ever say love me) (feat. RM of BTS)

Right Place, Wrong Person (2024)

For more details about the songs that don’t have their own post, I listed all the info I had here. For Chapter 2 songs, please check here.

Shows

Mr. Mon’s 1minute English (2015, anchor)

episode 1 “Pardon”

episode 2 “July”

Problematic Men (2015, guest)

playlist of the episodes with English and Spanish subtitles

non-official masterlist

The Dictionary of Useless Human Knowledge (2022-2023, guest)

playlist on Youtube

non-official thread of the episodes

RM’s Instagram post

HYBE T&D Stories (2024, guest)

Youtube playlist

YOUNHA 20th ANNIVERSARY UNPACKED EVENT “Y” (2024, presenter)

Video

RM’s apparition in Younh’a event results from their collaboration on “Winter Flower” in 2020

Brands endorsement

K’hawah (2015): Teaser, 15s ver.

RM raps during this ad. All his rhymes end with “*a wa”, with the consonants in place of the * being listed in alphabetical order (src).

Bonetta Veneta (2023): RM’s Instagram post

iloom (2023) : Youtube playlist, official Instagram account, Taiwan Instagram account

Ambassadorship

Ministry of National Defense Agency for Killed In Action Recovery & Identification Honorary: ambassador appointment ceremony

Magazines

Vogue Korea June issue: official tweets, interview

DAZED KOREA 2023 October issue: tweets

GQ Japan: cover story (eng trans)

Interviews

BE comeback interview: “I spend a lot of time thinking about where I am now”

Weverse magazine: “Getting to know Korean modern and contemporary art with RM”

Butter release interview: “I hope I’m on my way somewhere”

Proof release interview: “It’s a given when you’re an artist: You have to be the one and only”

Rolling Stone: “‘What If I Don’t Like Music Anymore?’: A Wildly Honest Conversation Between BTS’ RM and Pharrell Williams” (video) (RM’s Instagram post)

Weverse magazine: “RM’s Bibilly Hills”

Trivia

RM’s parents had a dog they named Rapmon (nicknamed Monie) as a nod to his stage name at the time. He passed away in 2023.

#RM #Rap Monster #Kim Namjoon

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julianthompson · 26 days

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name: julian bentley thompson

nickname: jules, j

faceclaim: richard madden

gender & pronouns: cis man, he/him

sexual orientation: bisexual

age: thirty3

birthday: february 16, 1991

place of birth: wilmington, north carolina

occupation: entrepreneur...?

neighborhood: wrightsville beach

time in wilmington: born in wilmington, left in 2016, returned christmas 2023.

family: robert thompson (father, deceased), evangeline ashford (mother), rhys bradley (half-brother)

character inspo: roman roy (succession), phillip altman (this is where i leave you), tj hammond (political animals)

— biography.

trigger warnings: death, drugs.

it was sort of an open secret that, despite strained efforts keep up the picture perfect, picket fence image of an all-american family, robert and his wife evangeline had a more transactional type of relationship. robert was the ambitious type, a self-made man with a real rags-to-riches story and a nose for politics, whose apprenticeship to a vastly wealthy businessman had ended in a betrothal to said businessman's youngest daughter who, in saying her ghost-written vows to this smug-looking orphan from new england, had forever resigned herself to a life of bearing his children and believing his lies.

where julian figures in all of this is that he was, in fact, your classic 'last ditch effort to save a loveless marriage' baby, and the ironic part was that it wasn't really an effort so much as it was an accident. postpartum illnesses would render the child in the care of the nannies, not unlike those that came before, and it wasn't long after that evangeline would undergo a procedure that would deprive robert of any more children. from her, at least, though not that it mattered much in the grand scheme of things; she would find her husband dead in their too-large and seemingly always empty home when julian was only three.

it was difficult, growing up in the shadow of your late father; many expected robert thompson's children to follow in his footsteps, or to at least take a shred of his brilliance towards something great, something worth writing in the front-page columns about. once he was able to gain consciousness of what kinds of standards his own family had set for itself, julian strove to become something his mother could at least mention in her country club meetings, though he knew early on that he would always fall short, that he had no innate talents to show off, no skills he could master. he would always find everything too interesting and none of it within his reach. he developed a habit of constantly comparing himself to everybody, especially his siblings, which fed the hungry desperation to be noticed, for better or for worse.

void of any direction in his life, julian often floated into random hobbies and interests, casting a wide net into his future and hoping that something would stick. his endless curiosity and stubborn nature had him discovering weed at the age of thirteen, which would spark the entrepreneurial spirit within the high schooler, enough to pursue it as a part-time means of making some extra cash. upon getting caught, he would immediately be shipped out to boarding school, which wasn't of much help, but it did clear the streets of wilmington from any unsightly deeds and dispel terrible rumors from the late mayor's son.

he was twenty-two and barely just out of college when he made the grand announcement that he wanted to go to law school. in spite of his lackluster collegiate career, he managed to weasel his way into an institution not above accepting a little tip, as it were, from a family friend. unsurprisingly, he would drop out of law school (not that anyone ever expected him to finish, let alone make it to his second year) to purchase a mediterranean food truck in partnership with a friend, and that was only the first of many bold business decisions he would make in his adult life.

he'd been living in los angeles since he was twenty-five, gambling his trust fund into a variety of enterprises with his 'business partner' and none of them ever making any real profit. eight years later, it would take going bankrupt, his property in silver lake seized, and his business partner vanishing into thin air, for him to move back to his hometown, into a more modest place in wrightsville beach (temporarily financially assisted by his grandmother, much to his mother's chagrin) where he hopes to find a new adventure, one that does not require confronting the past thirty-something years of his life.

— headcanons.

julian is a jack of all trades and master of none. no one, not even himself, knows what he's actually good at; he passes for so-so at pretty much everything. he doesn't suck, but he's certainly not good.

he's a people person, and meeting new people, getting to talk to them, pick their brains, see what makes them tick, are probably some of his favorite things about being an 'entrepreneur'.

he's an avid gamer, plays a variety of games, from team-based fps games to sim racing to more casual titles.

since discovering weed at the age of thirteen, julian's had a pretty rough relationship with drugs, developing a nasty coke habit and pill dependence throughout his adulthood. a lot of the projects and businesses he'd ventured into (and consequently failed at) could actually be attributed to his persistent drug use. he's only ever been in rehab once after nearly ODing the day after his 28th birthday. he stayed in an in-patient facility for 1 month and called it quits. he still uses, he's just gotten a lot better at not overdoing it.

absolutely loves animals and volunteers at the shelter as much as he can during his free time (of which he has a lot) but just doesn't trust himself nor does he think he's ready to be a furparent at the moment.

#wnc.intro

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deadcitygazette · 11 months

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“I am, at the moment, stunned and emotionally recovering from having seen it,” Bird said. “I think it is going to be a stunning artistic achievement, and I have hopes it will actually stimulate a national, even global conversation about the issues that Oppenheimer was desperate to speak out about — about how to live in the atomic age, how to live with the bomb and about McCarthyism — what it means to be a patriot, and what is the role for a scientist in a society drenched with technology and science, to speak out about public issues.”

That's historian Kai Bird who co-wrote the Pulitzer-winning “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,” working alongside the late Martin J. Sherwin. The screenplay for Nolan’s film is adapted from the book, which serves as a biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist who led the Manhattan Project in the creation of the atomic bomb.

That's the whole article & you can watch the trailer for Christopher Nolan’s OPPENHEIMER, coming to theaters on July 21st, below.

youtube

#oppenheimer #christopher nolan #cillian murphy #coming soon to a theater near you #movie trailer #Youtube

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literary-illuminati · 2 years

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favourite books, or favourite books from this year?

This is too difficult to narrow down to one or two, so here's a top five? (As of the start of September, because this has been sitting in my drafts for a WHILE)

In no particular order

Circe, by Madeline Miller - in terms of prose, Miller might literally be my favorite author writing today. She needs to have written more, please. Just perfectly beautiful and tragic and properly mythic and altogether sublime. Lodged in my head as the canonical telling of the myth of Circe to compare others to.

Downbelow Station, by C. J. Cherryh - I've rambled on about this at length already, but this is the rare piece of SFF that really feels plausible to me? Like, not in the sense of technology, but that there's no main character, that chance and contingency and weight of history matter more than the grand destiny of any individual or family, that the world is fundamentally amoral without being fundamentally malevolent, and just, it reads like it could be the history of the future. That's a really rare accomplishment. Also for what a cultural wasteland the 80s are supposed to have been it really didn't feel dated at all. (I've got two other Cherryh books that have been sitting on my dresser for six months I should really get to)

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, by Siddhartha Mukherjee - The acknowledgements for this book mention it was inspired by The Making of the Atomic Bomb, and you can tell (in the best possible way). One of the rare pop-sci books that really feels like it expands you understanding of the world and lifts some small few of the scales from your eyes. Also oddly hopeful and inspiring, for all the horrors (the very, very well-described horrors. I went form barely knowing what leukemia was to having nightmares about it).

Radiance, by Catherynne Valente - I do adore Valente's writing, but this is probably the first full length work of hers I've read that lives up to the novellas and short stories. It coasts by almost entirely on style and aesthetic and how perfectly aimed the character and arc of the protagonist is at me in particular, but my god the style and aesthetic are worth the price of admission. The whole thing should really fall apart under the weight of its pretension, and I really love it for the fact that it doesn't.

India in the Persianate Age, by Richard M. Eaton - A rather dry history text, really, and not one I'd really recommend to someone who just asked me for a book to read. But I've got at least a vague view-from-ten-thousand-feet idea of the shape of history from the medieval era on, and India was (and to a lesser extent is) one of the main remaining gaps. So I'm deeply appreciative for providing an organizing narrative of the region's development to use. And just generally, one of those books that really feels like its filling in little blank spots on the map? Sure it's dry, but just incredibly interesting subject matter and well-argued thesis.

(Honorable Mentions: The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo, The Causal Angel by Hannu Rajaniemi, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri)

#anon #book review #India in the Persianate Age #Richard M. Eaton #Radiance #Catherynne Valente #The Emperor of All Maladies #Siddhartha Mukherjee #Downbelow Station #C.J. Cherryh #Circe #Madeline Miller

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deadpresidents · 2 years

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I'm interested in hearing any new reading suggestions or updates on what you've been reading lately?

My reading tastes have been all over the place during the last two months, but here's what I've been reading since Labor Day or so:

•The Long Alliance: The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama (BOOK | KINDLE) by Gabriel Debenedetti A fascinating look at one of the closest relationships between a President his Vice President in American history, why their dynamic was so successful, and how the Obama-Biden partnership was sometimes much more complicated than we realized.

•Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America (BOOK | KINDLE) by Maggie Haberman It's no surprise that Maggie Haberman was able to fashion her top-notch reporting and unparalleled access into one of the better overall biographies of who Donald Trump is and has been his entire life -- and how it has helped tear our country apart.

•The King: The Life of Charles III (BOOK | KINDLE) by Christopher Andersen

•United and Independent: John Quincy Adams on American Foreign Policy (BOOK | KINDLE) by Patrick J. Garrity & Ben Judge [Editors]

•The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson (BOOK | KINDLE) by Jeff Pearlman Pearlman's sports books are always difficult to put down, and it was easier to tackle the legendary Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl than it was to put down this in-depth biography about him.

•James K. Polk and His Time: Essays at the Conclusion of the Polk Project (BOOK | Kindle not available) by Michael David Cohen [Editor]

•War Songs [Library of Arabic Literature] (BOOK | KINDLE) by 'Antarah ibn Shaddad

•Salman's Legacy: The Dilemmas of a New Era in Saudi Arabia (BOOK | KINDLE) by Madawi Al-Rasheed [Editor]

•Nasser: The Last Arab (BOOK | KINDLE) by Saïd Aburish

•The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition: A Compendium of Knowledge from the Classical Islamic World (BOOK | KINDLE) by Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Nuwayri

•A Gift of Joy and Hope (BOOK | KINDLE) by Pope Francis

Beginning in July, I also decided to try to read as much of Sir Richard Francis Burton's complete works, in unabridged form, as I possibly could. Last year, I read the three-volume, unabridged edition of his Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah -- originally published in 1855 -- and it was pretty challenging, but also an extremely captivating account of his journeys and observations, and finishing the series felt like an accomplishment along the lines of climbing a mountain or something. So, I set out to try to read as many of his other (many, many, many) books. I've finished a couple of them over the past couple of months, but let's just say that the overall goal is a work-in-progress. As long as "progress" isn't defined as actually completing my goal anytime soon.

#Books #Reading List #Book Suggestions #Book Recommendations #What I've Been Reading #Richard Francis Burton #Gabriel Debenedetti #The Long Alliance #Confidence Man #Maggie Haberman #christopher andersen #Jeff Pearlman #Bo Jackson #Pope Francis #Saïd Aburish #Michael David Cohen

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popentertainment-moviereviews · 10 months

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OPPENHEIMER (2023)

Starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Benny Safdie, Dylan Arnold, Gustaf Skarsgård, David Krumholtz, Matthew Modine, David Dastmalchian, Tom Conti, Michael Angarano, Jack Quaid, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby, Dane DeHaan, Danny Deferrari, Alden Ehrenreich, Jefferson Hall, Jason Clarke, James D'Arcy, Tony Goldwyn, Devon Bostick, Alex Wolff, Scott Grimes, Josh Zuckerman, Matthias Schweighöfer, Christopher Denham, David Rysdahl, Guy Burnet, Louise Lombard, Harrison Gilbertson, Emma Dumont, Trond Fausa Aurvåg, Olli Haaskivi, Gary Oldman, John Gowans, Kurt Koehler, Macon Blair, Harry Groener, Jack Cutmore-Scott, James Remar, Gregory Jbara, Tim DeKay and James Urbaniak.

Screenplay by Christopher Nolan.

Directed by Christopher Nolan.

Distributed by Universal Pictures. 180 minutes. Rated R.

J. Robert Oppenheimer was certainly one of the more complex men – with one of the more complex legacies – in modern history.

He was a scientist who believed in the sanctity of life, and yet his greatest discovery is forever linked to massive death. He was called both a war hawk and a communist, but in this film, he refers to himself as a New Deal Democrat. He created the most awesome weapon in American history (at the time), but he apparently sincerely hoped the specter of nuclear Armageddon would stop people from using it.

His invention of the atomic bomb certainly put an exclamation point on the end of World War II, and yet as Oppenheimer points out, it may not have even been necessary. Hitler was dead, Germany had fallen, and the Japanese were teetering. Chances are good they would have surrendered even without having two of their cities annihilated. (Oppenheimer actually tried to talk Harry S. Truman out of using the bomb on Japan, feeling that just the knowledge that it was there may be enough of a deterrent.) He spent much of his later life trying to protest the use of his greatest achievement.

He was a loving, doting husband and also a total womanizer. He was a good friend and at the same time he was rather self-involved. He became a scientific celebrity, but he was an intensely private man who rather hated the spotlight. He was a mostly non-political man who became entangled in several political morasses. He had passionately held beliefs, but he often was unwilling to fight the injustices going on around him, simply hoping against hope that the people on the other side would come to their senses. And he always overestimated the intrinsic good in people.

It perhaps makes a certain amount of sense that the film about Oppenheimer’s life would be helmed by Christopher Nolan, a similarly complex character. Nolan is a brilliant filmmaker (The Dark Knight, Inception, Memento), but not always all that good as a storyteller (Interstellar, Tenet, Batman Begins).

Well, with Oppenheimer, Nolan has one hell of a story to tell. It’s smart, thought-provoking, tragic, and intensely timely even decades after the action took place. And even though the film runs a little bit long (three hours!) and has occasional slow patches, it is quite probably Nolan’s best film.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, Oppenheimer takes a measured, scientist’s perspective to the life and times of a flawed but basically brilliant man. From his youth in university, through the Manhattan Project and his later time as an advocate against nuclear proliferation, Oppenheimer flips back and forth through the years and history, putting a microscope on a man who probably never totally wanted the scrutiny.

Framed around an attempted political takedown of the scientist in his later years, Oppenheimer is both a courtroom drama and a truly inspired celebration of science, both its good and bad aspects.

Along those lines, know going in that Oppenheimer is not going to dumb things down for mass consumption. It is often talky and takes on complicated scientific and philosophical concepts and respects the audience enough to assume that they will be able to keep up.

Oppenheimer is a thoughtful, intelligent and gorgeously shot snapshot of our recent history. Do not be surprised to see a lot of this film on Oscar night next year.

Jay S. Jacobs

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#Oppenheimer #2023 #Movie Review #Christopher Nolan #Cillian Murphy #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

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nirvanaxrhodes · 5 months

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"Said, I'd get sick of you, I kinda always wanted to" Let me die this little death

whoa! nirvana rhodes just stole my cab! not cool, but maybe they needed it more. they have lived in the city for three years, working as a/an occult researcher/therapist. that can’t be easy, especially at only 31 years old. some people say they can be a little bit intangible and sarcastic, but I know them to be adroit and dauntless. whatever. I guess I’ll catch the next cab. hope they like the ride back to the bronx !

►GENERAL INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Nirvana Christine Rhodes NICKNAME(S): Vana, Ana, Rhodes LABEL: The Mystic AGE: 31 DATE OF BIRTH: October 30, 1992 ZODIAC: Scorpio Sun, Capricorn Rising, Leo Moon GENDER & PRONOUNS: Female; She/Her HERITAGE: English, Maltese SPOKEN LANGUAGE(S): English OCCUPATION: Occult Researcher/Therapist SEXUALITY & ROMANCE: Bisexual; Biromantic

► APPEARANCE

FACE CLAIM: Samara Weaving HEIGHT: 5'5" WEIGHT: 114 lbs. DOMINANT HAND: Right HAIR COLOR: Blonde (dyed from dark brown) EYE COLOR: Blue SCARS: None notable. TATTOOS: Black cat (right wrist), 'made of stardust' written in script (back of neck)

►PERSONALITY

POSITIVE TRAITS: Adroit, Dauntless, Beguiling, Open-Minded, Ambitious, Prophetic. NEGATIVE TRAITS: Sarcastic, Intangible, Arrogant, Sycophantic, Self-Sabotaging. LIKES: Stargazing, burning candles/incense, thunder storms, music on vinyl, horror movie marathons, deep conversations with strangers, solving a problem before everyone else, eureka moments, curling up with a book, conducting tarot card readings, making intention jars/journaling, baking. DISLIKES: Dogeared book pages, when people wave you off in the middle of passion-dumping, when people ask for advice but don't take it then complain.

►MENTALITY

PHOBIAS: None. DISORDERS: Not diagnosed. ALLERGIES: Seasonal (Pollen), Mold

►BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: Sydney, AUS CURRENT RESIDENCE: Bronx, NYC, NY EDUCATION LEVEL: MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling; is in a PhD program with an independent specialization/research in Parapsychology at NYU FAMILIAL CONNECTIONS: - Shayna Rhodes - 55, Mother, Not In Contact - Alexander Rhodes - 51, Father, Not In Contact

►FAVORITES

FOOD: Lavender shortbread cookies DRINK: English Breakfast Tea MOVIE: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Practical Magic, Scream TV SHOW: Bridgerton, Criminal Minds, Rick & Morty BAND/ARTIST: The Killers, Lana Del Rey, Nirvana, Fleetwood Mac SONG: Fall Out of Love - Salem

► EXTRA INFORMATION

JUNG TYPE: INTP ENNEAGRAM: The Troubleshooter (5w6) TEMPERAMENT: Melancholic MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral SIN: Ego VIRTUE: Wisdom ELEMENT: Air CHARACTER PLAYLIST

Well, there's a black hole inside of me, apathetic vacancy Even just a touch is war

► BIOGRAPHY

TW; Religion mention

Nirvana was born with a gift to appreciate the unusual. At least, that's how her aunt would explain her all-black attire and obscurely-colored hair phase at family events. She was always a square peg in a round hole. This was something she grew used to and actually favored her individuality. There was a part of her that pitied the other girls who attempted to fit in when she grew up being shamelessly herself. Though she was labeled as an outcast, she still had something about her that drew people in. She had a great group of friends, and her fair share of experimental relationships. In short: she didn't miss anything, but she wouldn't have cared if she did. Her aunt was the one who taught her about spirituality after Nirvana had a paranormal experience at the age of 5. Whilst being in a Catholic household, Nirvana and her aunt would often sneak in order to practice their own eclectic belief. Magic, tarot cards, seances, you name it - Nirvana has dabbled in it. What no one was expecting was for her to make a career move out of it. It started in high school, she helped assist her teacher in their paranormal investigation group. It was through this teacher that she learned about anomalies and the role of the paranormal in anthropology. Her job as an investigator was just the groundwork for her BA in Anthropology with a specialization in Women and Minority Studies where she learned more about the occult across various religions and cultures as well as witchcraft and the impact and power women have within interaction, at the University of Exeter. She then went on to gain a MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Stockon University in NJ. Currently, Nirvana is working on her PhD at NYU with an individualized specialization/research concentration in Parapsychology. At this point in her career, she can be seen as an expert in the occult. She actually works to help victims/survivors of cults, is still a researcher for a paranormal investigation team, and is also hosts a podcast about horror movies, the paranormal and the occult.

► PERSONALITY (DEEP DIVE)

Nirvana is one of those people who can attract and attract and attract, but still feel alone underneath the surface. She loves knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge; If she could be a student her whole life, she would. This combination of coming across as approachable but also seeming highly intelligent, is very intimidating to most. Though, if one were to sit and speak with Nirvana, they would see she has a heart big enough to match her mind and is just an obscure nerd in her own right. She can be sarcastic and condescending if someone asks a question she deems as 'stupid'. She's known to bully as her type of flirting. She's actually not online, and prefers it that way. She's clever and witty and goes on passion-dump sprees pretty often about a new book she's reading, or about her research or podcast. She loves people who have a sense of humor. Nirvana is more introverted than extroverted and also has a busy schedule, so it may be hard to reach her at times and she's well aware of this. If she values someone, she makes sure she sets time aside for them. She's really a big mushy nerd guys, but she has so many phases and you never know what you're gonna get when you meet her. She's moon-coded, okay?

#boroughs.intro #tw religion

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