1. I eagerly look forward to all the stories in the New York Times and the Washington Post about people who voted for the Democrats in the midterms as a protest against Trump. You know, the sort of stories we have been fed for the last two years about Trump voters: what makes them tick and what they like to cook for dinner. Now I'd like the same for the other side. Or better still, perhaps the right-wing press should cover a few lefties with empathy and understanding?
2. Dear Concerned (from my mailbag): No, I don't really believe that I am a Greek goddess of snakes. My blog handle has to do with the story about Eve and the snake (which has been used to justify women's subjugation), the ancient belief that snakes were the messengers of the divines, the slipperiness of snakes (good for getting rid of problems by slithering away), and their fangs. They have nice fangs.
I'm still going to hell, most likely, as you warned.
3. The Finnish social media is now full of funny stories about Finns raking the forests, clipping evergreens with nail scissors and so on (my favorite is the woman who is out there vacuuming the forest floor)*.
This is a response to Our Dear Leader's theories about how one might care for forests so that they don't burn down. Raking is an important part of his theory.
Beside being hilarious to contemplate, Trump's comments reveal that he has never held a rake in his hand. But should he wish to try it, he should know that the wide end goes downward.
And no, being a rake is not the same thing.
4. The New York Times has a story about an African-American female composer, Florence Price, whose work is now being re-discovered. She wrote in 1943:
“Unfortunately the work of a woman composer is preconceived by many to be light, froth, lacking in depth, logic and virility,” she wrote. “Add to that the incident of race — I have Colored blood in my veins — and you will understand some of the difficulties that confront one in such a position.”
She was intersectional and disliked gender stereotypes. I look forward to hearing her music.
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* Here is one example which uses an old Finnish painting to show Trump among raking Finns in the woods.