Liberal and egalitarian values - Art - Music - Literature - Philosophy - Film - Politics - “ life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards “ ( Kierkegaard ) Miami Beach , Floridahttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mm2n4aiyys2m“Carrington’s style is wholly her own. Though her paintings possess that dreamlike quality of the Surrealists, their Freudian obsessions, her work is grounded in a different plane. “ https://libertiesjournal.com/online-articles/leonora-carrington-at-last/17 May 2026 15:04 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm2n4aiyys2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mm2mitrh7k2m“She served as Henry’s mistress prior to his marriage to Anne, then supported her sister as a lady-in-waiting. Mary left court in disgrace after marrying beneath her station, but she avoided Anne’s fate: beheading on charges of treason in 1536. “ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-remembers-mary-boleyn-as-the-scandalous-other-boleyn-girl-new-research-debunks-the-myths-surrounding-the-tudor-mistress-180988703/17 May 2026 14:53 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm2mitrh7k2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mm2mfn2pgk2m“The Hours, & my discovery; how I dig out beautiful caves behind my characters; I think that gives exactly what I want; humanity, humour, depth. The idea is that the caves shall connect, & each comes to daylight at the present moment — Dinner! “ https://lithub.com/this-week-in-literary-history-virginia-woolfs-mrs-dalloway-is-published/17 May 2026 14:52 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm2mfn2pgk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlvdsjzlns24“A man who finds it entirely natural to denounce other men cannot have our conception of humanity,” he wrote. “He does not see even those whom he aids in the same light as we do.” https://daily.jstor.org/why-do-people-embrace-hate-sartre-has-an-answer/15 May 2026 12:35 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvdsjzlns24https://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlvdnpyj6s24“a new perspective on the dynamic tension between beauty and ugliness, exploring their most compelling expressions from the late 15th to the end of the 16th century—a pivotal moment in history.” https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/renaissance-art-linked-beauty-with-virtue-and-ugliness-with-vice-see-how-painters-from-leonardo-da-vinci-to-botticelli-viewed-physical-attractiveness-180988584/15 May 2026 12:32 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvdnpyj6s24https://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlvdkpxjas24“the reaction from his peers was shock, horror and disgust.French painter Georges Braque reportedly compared the experience to drinking petrol, Henri Matisse is said to have called the women in it "hideous". It wouldn't be shown publicly until 1916, almost a decade later” https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20260506-the-controversy-over-picassos-most-shocking-painting15 May 2026 12:30 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlvdkpxjas24https://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlswdbjdoc2d“It gives a glimpse of everything from its signature red-hued courtyard to its ornate kitchen, complete with cups, bowls, and furniture, evoking the way it looked when Frida visited her sisters and her beloved niece, Isolda. “ https://mymodernmet.com/casa-kahlo-rizzoli-book/14 May 2026 13:28 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlswdbjdoc2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlsw6zgwu22d“Carrington first gravitated toward sculpture when she was around 18 or 19. One of her first sculptural works was a concrete bench in the form of a horse’s head, created for her home in Ardèche in the south of France “ https://mymodernmet.com/leonora-carrington-shape-of-dreams-exhibition/14 May 2026 13:26 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlsw6zgwu22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlsw3ylces2d“For some it was desperate hedonism, for others pure escapism or cold comfort amid despair. For many, though, it was a way to tune out the horrors unfolding around them “ https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/dancing-volcano14 May 2026 13:24 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlsw3ylces2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlqaxgk4gc2y“Though not Woolf’s most experimental or critically acclaimed work, in 2025, Mrs. Dalloway may be her most beloved. “ https://lithub.com/across-the-clarissa-verse-on-100-years-of-mrs-dalloway/13 May 2026 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlqaxgk4gc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlqarl4dpk2y“Synthesizing artistic influences she encountered along the way to create her own signature style, Lempicka’s art is immediately recognizable: part Cubist, part Futurist, part Art Deco, all of it glamorous and larger than life. “ https://hyperallergic.com/the-larger-than-life-art-of-tamara-de-lempicka-de-young-museum/13 May 2026 11:57 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlqarl4dpk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlqaoqpigc2y“When Basquiat and Adler lived together in the East 12th Street apartment that Adler still resides in, the artist was using anything and everything as a surface for his work, including the apartment itself. “ https://hyperallergic.com/rare-early-basquiat-works-return-to-brooklyn-after-hbcu-tour/13 May 2026 11:55 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlqaoqpigc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mllbyrbbhk2a“Frankenstein is a product of its era, rapid advances in science and industrialization reshaping how people imagined limitations of human life. Fusing modern anxieties with a timeless myth, Shelley created a tale whose resonance only increases with the centuries” https://www.thecollector.com/true-meaning-frankenstein/11 May 2026 12:36 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllbyrbbhk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mllbtb33lk2a“sometimes he indulged in painting witty and unusual subjects that can only be recognized as belonging to the Dutch artist because of his unique style. One such painting is the Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette” https://www.thecollector.com/van-gogh-smoking-skeleton/11 May 2026 12:33 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllbtb33lk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlisfh5qak2j“Dunn showed a surprising empathy for the women who struggled in this rough environment. He painted a lovely series of personal paintings showing the ladies of the frontier from a different perspective.” https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/05/the-art-of-the-post-harvey-dunns-frontier-women/10 May 2026 12:51 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlisfh5qak2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlisaeec3s2j“Overall, older people weren’t nearly as affected by recent regrets as younger people. And while both old and young reported similar levels of long-term regrets, the older people had less anger, irritation, and embarrassment over what had gone wrong.” https://time.com/article/2026/05/07/benefit-of-aging-fewer-regrets/10 May 2026 12:48 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlisaeec3s2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlgg4uj7hc24 “Kafka’s vision of Lady Liberty was all too clear, that the United States has become the land of the fearsome blade rather than the affirming flame. Has the immigrant experience during the era of Donald Trump turned from one of welcome to terror? https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/torch-or-sword-rodden-kafka-amerika-trump09 May 2026 14:06 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgg4uj7hc24https://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlgfyfw7tc24“Even as a child, Margaret Knight preferred tools to dolls and tea sets. “As a child, I never cared for things that girls usually do. The only things I wanted were a jack knife, a gimlet and pieces of wood,” https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/05/missing-in-history-the-woman-known-as-lady-edison/09 May 2026 14:04 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgfyfw7tc24https://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlgfucarqs24“Microplastics seem to be everywhere—from our oceans and air, to drinking water and cosmetic products. Researchers have even found evidence of microplastics, and smaller nanoplastics, throughout the human body. “ https://time.com/article/2026/05/07/airborne-microplastics-climate-health-impact/09 May 2026 14:01 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgfucarqs24https://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlgfo5eu3s24“Under the guise of selling images of a simple if picturesque reality, both Venetian artists were painters of the ideal. “ https://engelsbergideas.com/reviews/canaletto-and-bellotto-painters-of-the-ideal/09 May 2026 13:58 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlgfo5eu3s24https://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mldpaxg52c2f“contemporary accounts consistently describe Anne as dark-haired, slender, and strikingly elegant, with a long neck and darker complexion. “ https://mymodernmet.com/ai-anne-boleyn-portrait-holbein/08 May 2026 12:12 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mldpaxg52c2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mldp54z6bk2f “death was always on her [Monroe’s] shoulder – always”. He had believed that if he did not “take care of her life” she would come to a “catastrophic end”. “One time I brought doctors to pump her out because she had swallowed enough stuff [drugs) to kill her” https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/may/07/arthur-miller-opens-up-about-marriage-to-marilyn-monroe-in-newly-unearthed-recordings08 May 2026 12:09 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mldp54z6bk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mldowi6b2k2f“In the UK, sorry is not simply an apology, it's a cultural reflex – a five-letter pressure valve used to soften requests, smooth over awkwardness, fill conversational gaps and avoid the national horror of seeming rude.” https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260506-what-british-people-really-mean-when-they-say-sorry08 May 2026 12:06 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mldowi6b2k2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlbakyi4ps2w“The overrepresentation of the elderly in political office is hazardous beyond the most obvious risks. Political theorists would call this situation a failure of “descriptive representation”: ideally, a political class resembles the people it serves.” https://harpers.org/archive/2026/05/the-old-guard-samuel-moyn-gerontocracy/07 May 2026 12:43 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlbakyi4ps2whttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlbacvi2x22w“From childhood tragedy to freakshows and medical curiosities that amused and baffled Victorian England, Joseph Merrick endures as a symbol of resilience and dignity.” https://www.thecollector.com/real-elephant-man-joseph-merrick/07 May 2026 12:39 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlbacvi2x22whttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3mlb7xm3tbs2w“Monroe is famous for her mix of irrepressible sexuality and childlike innocence, but those who knew her in life found her less girlishly naive than tragic and wounded. “ https://www.bookforum.com/print/3204/blond-ambition-6280107 May 2026 12:33 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlb7xm3tbs2whttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3ml7bs2l73s2p“Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera stands as one of the Renaissance’s most captivating artworks. Celebrated for its poetic beauty and mythological symbolism, the painting portrays a world where philosophy and nature converge. “ https://www.thecollector.com/primavera-botticelli-primavera/06 May 2026 18:00 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7bs2l73s2phttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3ml7bpvp5sc2p“In 1870, Woohull and her sister used their newfound wealth to open a Wall Street brokerage firm called Woodhull, Claflin, and Company. They were the first women in the country to ever do so. “ https://www.thecollector.com/victoria-woodhull-first-woman-run-president/06 May 2026 17:59 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7bpvp5sc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3ml44dklxyc26“psychologist Joyce Brothers: “Adults, when under severe emotional distress, turn to what may be called ‘comfort food’ — food associated with the security of childhood, like mother’s poached egg or famous chicken soup.” https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/food-environment/2026/why-we-crave-comfort-food05 May 2026 11:44 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml44dklxyc26https://bsky.app/profile/bludrone.bsky.social/post/3ml44babins26“Trump was able to gain power by addressing a structure of feeling — a profound alienation from capitalist modernity. He is the perfect resentment entrepreneur, both as a producer and as a representative. The Left has not yet found an effective, durable response. “ https://jacobin.com/2026/05/democracy-fascism-trump-far-right05 May 2026 11:43 +0000at://did:plc:fzsapig4il2wgikf72lrqgnh/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml44babins26