#read in st louis

[allweknewisdead]

Fates and Furies (2015) - Lauren Groff

His eagerness, his deep kindness, these were the benefits of his privilege. This peaceful sleep of being born male and rich and white and American and at this prosperous time, when the wars that were happening were far from home. This boy, told from the first moment he was born that he could do what he wanted. All he needed was to try. Mess up over and over, and everyone would wait until he got it right.

#fates and furies #lauren groff #book #literature #reading #american literature #read in september 2023 #read in st louis #quote

[libraryleopard]

I have two book recommendations for people who recently finished the first season of AMC’s Interview With the Vampire and may find themselves in withdrawal for media about fucked-up queer vampires!

The first is A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson, which is a novella about Dracula’s first bride, Constanta, told in the form of a letter addressing her late husband after she murdered him. It’s both a haunting tale of abuse and a lush gothic story, using vampirism as a vehicle to explore an obsessive, controlling romantic relationship. It’s also very queer, as Constanta is bisexual and the relationship between Dracula and his spouses is a M/F/F/M polyamorous relationship. Gibson’s prose is deliciously gothic and I really enjoyed the way that the story plays with the epistolary form, such as Constanta refusing to grant her husband the privilege of a name in her narrative. (Originally released by a small publishing house in 2021, it was picked up by a larger publisher and rereleased with the new cover pictured above.)

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson just came out a few weeks ago and is another deliciously dark gothic fantasy. It follows Marion, a poor girl from the slums who answers a newspaper add seeking a “bloodmaid” and ends up in the service of Lisavet, a countess who feeds on human blood. In the service of her new mistress, Marion is drawn into both an obsessive, passionate relationship and a tangle of dark intrigue and secrets that threatens to destroy her new life. Henderson’s writing is both atmospheric and gory while the relationship between Marion and Lisavet is tense, sexy, and vicious. Marion is also a Black lesbian and the novel is steeped in commentary on vampires as members of the upper class who exploit and literally feed off of the lower class.

They’re both excellent books and I think if you’re looking to scratch an itch for gothic horror and queer vampire romance they might do the job! (Edit: they are also both adult novels, not YA, and have a fair amount of violence, sexual content, and gore.)

#interview with the vampire #iwtv #amc iwtv #amc interview with the vampire #house of hunger #alexis henderson #a dowry of blood #st gibson #louis de pointe du lac #lestat de lioncourt #vampires #lulu speaks #lulu reads #lulu reads a dowry of blood #lulu reads house of hunger #books

[yellobb]

Y’all I just found out about the 1904 Olympics marathon and I am losing my mind over how batshit insane it was. Buckle up y’all because this is one hell of a story

For some historical context, the 1904 Olympics were held in St. Louis and it was the first Olympics hosted in the U.S. It was paired up with the 1904 World’s Fair, so there was a hell of a lot going on in the city at the time

First, let’s meet some of our contestants:

American Thomas Hicks and four other Americans were all experienced marathoners

American Fred Lorz, who was able to compete after placing in a “special five mile race” sponsored by the Amateur Athletic Association. He did all his training at night

Ten Greeks who had never run a marathon before

Two South African men from the Tsuana tribe who were in St. Louis as part of the World’s Fair. They were apparently the first black Africans to compete in the Olympics, which is super cool. Less cool was the fact that they weren’t wearing any shoes

Cuban Félix Carbajal, a 5ft (1.5m) tall man who had fundraised his journey to the Olympics. This man got to New Orleans, lost all his money on a dice game, then had to walk and hitchhike his way to St. Louis. Mind you, that is almost 700 miles. He shows up to the race, having not eaten in 40 hours, dressed like THIS:

This man gets another bullet point because apparently his trousers were all the way down to his boots when he got there. Another Olympian took pity on him and cut them with scissors

Now for the race itself. It is in the 90s (32 degrees Celsius) and humid. For some god awful reason, they decided to start the race at 3pm, so it’s the hottest part of the day. The course is only 24.85 miles (40km) long instead of a standard 26.2, but that doesn’t mean this was an easier race. On the fucking contrary, it was hellish. I’ll let the Smithsonian article about this explain it because they do it much better than I ever could:

Now, I’ve never ran a marathon before, but I looked it up and the current recommendation is that water stations are placed every two miles.

The race is a go and things are off to a nasty start. American William Garcia almost becomes the first fatality of an Olympic event because he inhaled so much dust that his stomach was hemorrhaging. He was found unconscious by the side of the road by a local couple and had to be hospitalized. Apparently he would have bled to death if he’d been left for an hour longer.

But the dust isn’t the only issue. Apparently, Len Taunyane, one of our South African participants, gets chased a mile off course by wild dogs. He still placed 9th.

Probably my favorite participant is our boy Félix. Félix was stopping to chat with spectators in the middle of an Olympic race. At one point he stopped a car because he saw that the riders were eating peaches and asked if he could have some. They refused, but he snatched two anyway and ate them while he ran. He later came across an orchard and stopped to eat some apples, but apparently the apples were rotten, so he got stomach cramps and took a nap. HE STILL GOT FOURTH PLACE. That’s how much of a shitshow this race was, and we’re not even done.

Fred Lorz starts getting cramps around the 9-mile mark and decides to hitch a ride with one of the cars that is guiding them. He’d been leading the charge for a while and was a crowd favorite to win.

The other leader of the pack and favorite to win, Thomas Hicks, started having to use a support crew at the 10-mile mark. He was begging them for water, but they refused. He somehow managed to keep trucking along, though.

Seven miles from the finish line, Hicks’ handlers started feeding him egg whites mixed with strychnine, which is literally rat poison. There were literally no rules against performance-enhancing drugs yet, so this was apparently above-board.

Lorz gets out of the car he was riding in after 11 miles and just,,,, kept running????? He finished the race and was declared the winner. He was about to be given a gold medal when “someone called an indignant halt to the proceedings with the charge that Lorz was an imposter.” Lorz claimed it was all a joke and that he wouldn’t have actually accepted the award, but was still banned from competing in future marathons. That is, of course, until this decision was overturned in time for him to run in and win the Boston Marathon the next year.

Now Hicks had seen Lorz pass by. He was not doing too hot at all, but finding out that Lorz had been disqualified and he was still in the lead helped his motivation. He was given another dose of egg whites and strychnine with some brandy to wash it down, which, sure. Why the fuck not at this point?

At this point, he began to hallucinate. He started to believe that he had 20 more miles left to go instead of just two. He kept begging for food and rest, but his handlers just gave him more brandy and two more egg whites because of course he was. By the time he made it to the finish line, he was literally being carried by his handlers while his feet shuffled, but that was apparently good enough and he was declared the winner.

It took four doctors and a full hour for Hicks to recover enough to even leave the area after the race. He apparently lost eight fucking pounds during the course of the race. Hicks pretty much retired from racing after that (I wonder why) and became a professional clown, which really is just the cherry on top

Of the 32 people who competed in the race, only 14 finished. After everything, they literally almost removed the marathon as an Olympic event because it was deemed “indefensible on any ground but historic,” and honestly? After reading all that fuckery, I can’t even blame them.

Another note about Félix, because this man baffles me: apparently he was sponsored by the Greek government to compete in a 1906 marathon in Athens, but he never turned up. Newspapers in Cuba claimed he died, but he just??? Showed up a year later in Havana perfectly fine. Turns out he managed to get the date of the marathon wrong.

Sources:

#m rambles #long post #history #Olympics #st. louis #circa 1904 #the more you know #I just needed to share this with you all #I almost just linked the articles I read but I felt impassioned to type everything out #what a wild ride

[fatehbaz]

when you’re reading about the most despicable revolting outrageous inhumane shocking horrific maddening worst things human beings have ever done and you ask “who was responsible for this violence?” and the answer is very often “the scientists of the atomic energy commission” and "scientists working on behalf of colonial British/US governments" and “medical doctors in the United States”

#reading about chariman of stanford university chemistry department testing radiation on thousands of black families at pruitt igoe st louis #or ecologists of AEC joking about testing radioactive fallout on indigenous micronesians by saying #that indigenous people are more closely related to US americans than rats at least #and then micronesian babies were born without skeletons and with transparent skin and missing limbs #and these ecologists are just laughing it up and advancing their careers #vomited while reading an article today #rage and profound sadness

[whilereadingandwalking]

Had a great day last weekend touring Budweiser and meeting one of their clydesdales! (And I love how they’ve supported the NWSL in recent years.) My favorite part (other than the horses of course) was trying beer directly from one of their ice cold finishing tanks.

#nwsl #budweiser #budweiser clydesdales #books and brews #bookworm #reader life #reading while wandering #st louis mo

[redpool]

#you think this is real? #you think colton actually knew all those numbers? or was he reading off of something?? #colton parayko #st louis #st louis blues

[reybonne]

#black stories #design #fashion #aesthetic #good omens #daddy's good girl #genshin impact #gif #money #motivation #motors #moodboard #movies #maureen starkey #st. louis #ringo #landscape #lit #lol #long reads #love #life #literature #misa amane #death note #русский tumblr #русский блог #русский тамблер #русский пост #русский текст

[matthewliberatore]

forgot to show u guys this but this is my cardinals board for the year

i update trades, injuries, prospects, managers (hopefully that gets updated soon lol), and the record almost everyday

#i spend sm time on this its not even funny #love looking at the cards twitter to see who's injured this time!! #sry if u rly can't read some of it (bad lighting and i have an android lol) #st louis cardinals #stl #mlb baseball #baseball #adam wainwright #paul goldschmidt #major league baseball

[allweknewisdead]

The Unbelievable Truth (1989) - Hal Hartley

Thanks for lending me the book. I have a library card now.

#the unbelievable truth #hal hartley #film #watched in st louis #criterion channel #reading #books in film #watched in september 2023

[sunshineandlyrics]

❗️FYI This happened at St Louis Music Park / FITFWT Maryland Heights on 9 June 2023. Fans tweeted the venue about this staff member and this is the response from the venue x

The thread if you want to read more about what happened x

#St Louis music park #rude staff #FITFWT Maryland Heights #9 June 2023 #fan stories #I was so mad when I read what happened and how that guy insulted Louis his security and were rude to fans and I tweeted & RTed some tweets #mine

[risingleomoon]

A Return to Reading

Since realizing that I have not one but two libraries barely a stones throw from the Paul Brown Lofts, I've been taking some time to fall in love with books again. Oh, don't get me wrong, I never stopped reading! Once a Kindle was placed in my hands, I never stopped! But the truth is, I started reading exclusively ebooks and lost the passion for reading. Prior to moving, I had relied on old stand-by's like 'Survivor' (Tabitha King) or the Beautiful Creatures series. Anything I already knew because I had enough guessing going on in my real life. Toward the end, I devoured the Fear Street saga by R.L. Stine (which started a whole new rabbit hole of mental clarity) and was "in between books" at the time of my move.

Week one Downtown I stumbled upon the Central Library Annex; or as I call it the "little library". This pocket-sized land of books is no bigger than my entire loft x 2 and situated in Post Office Square. Other offices for FOCUS St. Louis and people like the Secretary of State plus a small gallery paying tribute to bald men in power share space with the newest and greatest tomes of knowledge and entertainment. That first day I was with Kiki. We tiptoed in through the revolving door, quietly past security and into an enormous atrium. It was there I smelled the paper. I followed my nose. The selection is small, as I prefaced. We were able to get our accounts all set up in minutes and walked out an hour later with the best credit limit I can receive from anyone: 100 books at a time. Each!

This initial visit yielded a powerful boon. I stumbled upon the phenomenal Tina Turner's newest title; "Happiness Becomes You". The dam broke. I read this book everywhere. At work, in the bath, lounging in bed on Sunday, over coffee and a Jay in the morning. Everywhere. It isn't a particularly long book and my nose only remained stuck for 3 or 4 days, but I absorbed so much more than words on pages. Everyone knows the Tina Turner story. That isn't what her new book covers. This book is different from "I, Tina". In "Happiness", Tina teaches us to look inward for the peace and balance we all seek so desperately. These were not new words to me, mind you. I've heard them before. Buddhist teaching crosses over my own Witchery pretty much regularly. When it doesn't it crosses over with my Jewish Mysticism and bounces off Scientific Theory quite nicely. I'm well rounded like that. I was also unsurprised that Tina "The Goddess" Turner was teaching Buddhism. After all, Angela Bassett basically just chanted her way through the second half of the movie. Maybe this time I was ready to listen.

My return to reading had less to do with enjoying books and more to do with getting my shit together. Circumstances aside, my one true soulmate has always been books. I outlined my grand plan for Bookstagram and reviews on Goodreads while registering my SLPL accounts. Nowhere in my plan did I specify enjoying it. As I'm sure you can tell, I never made it past the outline and brainstorm and managed to wrap up whatever had been lingering from JeffCo but failed to execute the new plan. I did post a few sporadic 'Grams. Still not ready to actually begin drafting (let alone publishing) my own content, I took this new creative passion to the back burner and returned for inspiration in books.

With the floodgates now wide open, I decided to go further. I'd finished my stack from "Pan's Labyrinth" to "The Essential Anthony Bourdain" and it was time to refill. I returned Julie Andrews and Greta Garbo along with Kiki's finished books and during week three we found SLPD's Central Library (or the "big library". I'm not clever and witty all the time, you know). This time I was prepared and took my shopping cart. Gathering a few comfort reads (Cassandra Clare. New Book. Not my fault.) led to "The School of Good and Evil". Shameless brag: by the time you read this I may or may not have met Soman Chainani. Day and night my world expanded again. I continued to read my Kindle exclusives and download my Amazon First Reads because one doesn't turn away from free books. Yet my heart has been in the turning of real pages.

I'm not sure how many weeks in we are now but I know I still haven't been to every section. From classics to science, a media center and kids wing with climbing chairs, I was mostly blown away by my ease and comfort inside. I never felt that way when visiting the Arnold Library in Jeffco. I was happy to collect any holds and leave. Eventually we stopped going altogether Now I'm becoming a local "Belle"

"I've come to return the book I borrowed! Got anything new?"

"Not since yesterday, Belle!"

I'm sure at some point I will unpack the psychology behind my stasis and frenetic return to reading. But for today, I'm going to enjoy another book.

#bookish #books & libraries #booksbooksbooks #bookaholic #booksarelife #reading #long reads #read in 2022 #library #librarylife #public libraries #st louis #slpl #st louis libraries

[faithandarisadventures]

Reading Mural Rolla, Missouri May 14, 2022

#missouri #st louis #rolla missouri #mural #reading #colorful #bookworm #compass #our adventures

[whilereadingandwalking]

I hate the heat but I love the sun!

#summer vibes #sunny day #bookworm #bookish love #reader life #book love #reading while wandering #st louis mo

[jacquelyneclarke]

First show in St. Louis. With @savythecreator for Epilepsy Awareness. I had so much fun working with the designers and models. St. Louis will see me again! Please believe me!!

Currently got things cooking for a new collection 😈👩🏾‍🍳

Thanks and love to everyone who supports JClarke. 🫶🏾

#fashionshows #fashionshowroom #fashionshow #st. louis #epilepsy #awareness #designers #modelshoot #modelstyle #thanks for reading #support #loves #loveyourself #in love with this #love

[trendfag]

something so funny about seeing a girl whose sister i was friends with in high school is following the local psl branch on instagram

#grace if you are reading this somehow i love you wife ❤️ and i love that your sister follows st louis psl

[opencommunion]

this call was released anonymously (understandably) but my local Palestinian organizers who I literally trust with my life have endorsed it, and it seems to be gaining momentum in multiple cities, so I encourage you all to get involved:

"A proposal to coordinate a multi-city economic blockade on April 15th in solidarity with Palestine recently received overwhelming commitments to participate around the US and internationally.

The proposal states that in each city, we will identify and blockade major choke points in the economy, focusing on points of production and circulation with the aim of causing the most economic impact, as did the port shutdowns in recent months in Oakland, California and Melbourne, Australia, as just a few examples.

There is a sense in the streets in this recent and unprecedented movement for Palestine that escalation has become necessary: there is a need to shift from symbolic actions to those that cause pain to the economy.

As Yemen is bombed to secure global trade, and billions of dollars are sent to the Zionist war machine, we must recognize that the global economy is complicit in genocide and together we will coordinate to disrupt and blockade economic logistical hubs and the flow of capital."

ETA: since I posted, organizers in St. Louis, Seoul, Brussels, and the Netherlands have signed onto the agreement, so if you saw this before and your city wasn't listed look again. anyone with the capacity to do some outreach, and a few connections to start with, could take the initiative to bring their city or region on board. read the solidarity agreement and check out the resources, and if you know trustworthy people in your area who might be interested in this sort of thing, talk to them about it.

remember that this isn't a series of protests (although some cities are organizing protests in conjunction), it's a commitment to take mass direct action and to maintain a united front in the face of any state repression. many organizers are (and have already been) using an affinity group model to actually coordinate those direct actions. autonomous groups can take action on April 15th whether or not others in their city/region have committed to this agreement. just do your homework (look up know-your-rights info specific to where you live + general direct action safety tips) and take good care of each other Blockades: a short guide to getting in the way Basic blockading Practical Protest Techniques: using your body Blockading: a guide ACT UP civil disobedience guide

#palestine #action