jack

Posted by fromtheheartofeurope

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-enchantments-of-flesh-and-spirit-by-storm-constantine/

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/?p=64246

Second paragraph of third chapter:

When Seel and Orien arrived they were dressed splendidly for the occasion. They seemed taller than I remembered, proud and graceful, and treated me like a bride, which I supposed, in a sense, I was. Seel put white lilies in my hair, avoiding my eyes, and offered me a goblet of blue glass. The liquid inside it looked murky and tasted foul. I downed it as quickly as I could. They would take no chances with me; I would be drugged almost senseless.

A lot of people really love this book. I didn’t. The protagonist is adopted into the superhuman, supersexy Wraeththu, who are crushing the inferior homo sapiens (that’s people like you and me) and yet spend a lot of time violently arguing internally about power structures and the sexual pecking order, which are basically the same thing. It’s Storm Constantine’s best known single book, but I don’t think the racial and gender politics work for today. You can get it here.

This was my top unread book acquired in 2022. Next on that pile is Vanishing Point, by Michaela Roessner.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-enchantments-of-flesh-and-spirit-by-storm-constantine/

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/?p=64246

vivdunstan

Been having some extra foot problems, so decided I needed to get some better softer slippers. Treated myself to a couple of pairs of Moshulu ballerina slippers, different colours. They arrived in the post a little while ago, and wearing them is like wearing cushions all around, front and behind. I think this will really help. Delighted. Moshulu is a Devon-based company, and has more physical shops in the West Country than anywhere else. The nearest to Martin's Somerset home village is in Sherborne, Dorset. Here in Scotland there's just one Moshulu outlet, inside Stirling Dobbies. But mail order works well. And the sizing is good, though note their shoes are sized a little bit wider than normal, which works well for me.

maju

Well, I survived the wait for the blood draw and was very happy to sit down to my belated breakfast afterwards. Of course things didn't go completely smoothly getting there; I knew exactly where the entrance to the carpark was, but it was blocked off as they are resurfacing the area so I had to go past and find the next entrance, but since I'm not familiar with getting to that lab I overshot the next driveway and had to go quite a bit further along to find a place where I could turn around and go back. Then, inside the lab, there was no receptionist, just a couple of machines where you were supposed to check in. I couldn't find my appointment number but I could use my phone number and date of birth so that was ok, except that the machine was extremely slow and at times just seemed to freeze up. The final step was to scan your driver's licence and I wasn't sure that mine had been scanned because it's a photocopy and didn't fit exactly into the space. However, eventually I got myself checked in. There was another woman next to me having exactly the same problems and muttering "I hate these things!" but she eventually got through the process as well.

When I came out of the lab and approached my car, I saw that there was an identical car parked a couple of spaces further along (with no cars in between), so I was checking the other car to see if it really was identical. Then when I went to get into "my" car I saw an unfamiliar drink bottle in the holder and realised that the "other" car was the one which was mine. I don't often see cars exactly the same as mine; there are plenty of the same model Honda Accord but not many in burgundy like mine.

A bit later, just after I'd finished my breakfast, I had a call from the lab to say I'd dropped a copy of my driver's licence so I went back to get it, and once again, overshot the necessary driveway and had to find a place to turn around.

I think the rest of the day should be uneventful.

needlenthread_feed

Posted by Mary Corbet

https://www.needlenthread.com/2025/11/twinkle-twinkle-3-errata.html

https://www.needlenthread.com/?p=65107

Please take a moment, if you are following Twinkle, Twinkle and received Part 3 in your email inbox, to visit the website to see the UPDATED post. The email newsletter contains the wrong color information, but the article for Part 3 of Twinkle Twinkle on the website is the correct color information. Thanks!

Part 3 is also listed in the Project Index for Twinkle, Twinkle here.

https://www.needlenthread.com/2025/11/twinkle-twinkle-3-errata.html

https://www.needlenthread.com/?p=65107

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Tom Ambrose (now) and Jakub Krupa (earlier)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/21/europe-latest-news-russia-ukraine-war-updates-zelenskyy-putin-g20

Ukrainian president warns that next week could be ‘very difficult’ for his country as he stresses he will not betray its national interests

German Bild tabloid is also reporting that Merz is expected to hold a phone call not only with Zelenskyy, but also with the US president, Donald Trump.

Mind you: there’s been no official confirmation yet.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/21/europe-latest-news-russia-ukraine-war-updates-zelenskyy-putin-g20

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Michael Butler (now), John Brewin and Barry Glendenning (earlier)

https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2025/nov/21/premier-league-returns-wolves-to-unveil-edwards-and-more-football-news-live

⚽ Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
⚽ Sign up for Football Daily | Follow on Bluesky | Mail Michael

Chelsea: It seems Palmer’s toe is broken. Jacob Steinberg has the latest from Enzo Maresca’s press conference: “Bad news for Chelsea fans, who have been left reeling by the revelation that Cole Palmer’s comeback from a groin injury has been delayed by the forward fracturing a toe in a freak accident at home,” he writes.

”Speaking ahead of his side’s trip to Burnley, Enzo Maresca said: ‘He is not available for tomorrow for sure, Barcelona for sure or Arsenal for sure. Unfortunately, he had an accident at home where he hit his toe but it is nothing important but he won’t be back in the next week. It’s fractured.’ I’m reminded of this …”

Chelsea: Enzo Maresca has revealed that Cole Palmer’s eagerly awaited return to the Chelsea line-up following his recovery from a groin injury will be delayed because the midfielder has hurt his toe in some unspecified accident at home. The Chelsea head coach says he doesn’t know whether or not the little piggy in question is broken.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2025/nov/21/premier-league-returns-wolves-to-unveil-edwards-and-more-football-news-live

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Martin Kettle

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/21/partenope-review-handel-london-coliseum-english-national-opera

London Coliseum
Nardus Williams is stylish as she is swept up in a maelstrom of passions and longings while pursued by three suitors in a revival of Christopher Alden’s 2008 production

Resonantly, English National Opera dedicates this run of Handel’s Partenope to Sir Charles Mackerras, who would have been 100 this week. More than anyone else, Mackerras was prime mover of the ENO’s pioneering reimaginings of Handel’s operas. This Partenope, first seen in 2008, is a brave reassertion of that treasured inheritance. Sadly, though, the ENO itself is now a shadow of what it became in Mackerras’s day; its chief exec Jenny Mollica quit earlier this week.

Still, it remains cheering to see ENO can still turn in a high-class Handel show. In Partenope the characters may be classical staples but the superficially political plot is really more of a domestic comedy. Partenope herself, supposed founder of modern Naples, is being wooed by three princely suitors, one of whom, Arsace, is pursued by his former lover Rosmira, thinly disguised as a man. The maelstrom of passions and longings this gang can generate between them, though, are believable enough, sometimes searingly so.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/21/partenope-review-handel-london-coliseum-english-national-opera

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Oliver Milman (now) and Matthew Taylor (earlier)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/21/cop30-live-fossil-fuel-phaseout-final-text-brazil-belem-latest-news-updates

André Corrêa do Lago issues plea to preserve Paris agreement with countries far from reaching agreement on scheduled final day

An informal stocktake plenary is now underway [see live feed at the top of the blog]. Here the presidency will update parties on the state of the negotiations.

My colleague Damian Carrington will be keeping across the main developments.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/21/cop30-live-fossil-fuel-phaseout-final-text-brazil-belem-latest-news-updates

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Clive Paget

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/21/lso-pascal-review-barbican-hall-london

Barbican Hall, London
This programme featured the LSO Futures at its best – three world premieres by Omri Kochavi, Sasha Scott and Donghoon Shin, whose piano concerto was brought to sparkling life by human dynamo Seong-Jin Cho

This was a concert rich in contrasts, from Sasha Scott’s eerie exploration of the borderland between sleep and waking to Pierre Boulez’s juxtaposition of directed music with freeform improvisation. It was LSO Futures at its best, with three world premieres – two of them commissioned by the far-sighted Helen Hamlyn Panufnik Composers’ Scheme, now in its 20th year – and featuring South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho as part of his LSO Artist Portrait series.

Taking its name from the Hebrew for “carvings”, Omri Kochavi’s Gilufim is a likable work, its limber profile hewn from a denser original. Discordant orchestral slabs were whittled away by the insistent tap, tap, tap of an effervescent marimba. A nut shaker representing a crackling fire did the rest, the music emerging from the flames with a newfound harmonic solidity. Scott’s unsettling Sly featured woozy wodges of sound interrupted by sinister slitherings and a panicky orchestral nightmare before a vibraphone chimed in triggering an uneasy state of awareness. On the podium, Maxime Pascal was the most unflappable of guides.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/21/lso-pascal-review-barbican-hall-london

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Patrick Wintour Diplomatic Editor

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/21/dubai-islamic-bank-british-businessmans-30-year-jail-sentence

Ryan Cornelius was arrested in 2008 over a bank loan and will be 84 years old when he is due to be released

A Dubai bank is instrumental in the long-running detention of the 71-year-old British businessman Ryan Cornelius who is serving a 30-year sentence that will keep him in jail until he is 84, his brother-in-law claims.

Recent accounts show the Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), which claims to be the trailblazer in championing Islamic values in banking, is on course to make more than $2bn in profit this year.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/21/dubai-islamic-bank-british-businessmans-30-year-jail-sentence

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Lauren Cochrane

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025/nov/21/paddington-bear-duffel-coat-fashion-moment

Worn by everyone from Tyler, the Creator to Cole Palmer and Joe Wilkinson, duffels are back in demand

It’s the coat most associated with a beloved children’s character, so it makes sense that the duffel is a familiar sight in playgrounds across the country. But this year it is also – once again – quietly enjoying a moment on grown-ups.

In the Christmas advert for Waitrose, comedian Joe Wilkinson wears a duffel coat while in the supermarket with Keira Knightley. Footballer Cole Palmer wore one in 2024’s Burberry campaign, subtitled “It’s Always Burberry Weather”, and Tyler, the Creator wears a short one in the recent video for Darling, I. Meanwhile, Paddington Bear is sporting his on stage in the West End at the moment.

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025/nov/21/paddington-bear-duffel-coat-fashion-moment

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Paul MacInnes

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/nov/21/premier-league-clubs-reject-anchoring-agree-new-financial-rules-squad-cost-ratio

Moves prevented as part of new spending rules
Clubs overwhelmingly reject anchoring plans

Premier League clubs will no longer be able to sell hotels or their women’s teams to get around spending controls after the competition agreed to a new financial rulebook.

At a meeting on Friday, 14 of the Premier League’s 20 clubs voted in favour of a Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) system to replace the existing profitability and sustainability rules (PSR). The clubs also voted overwhelmingly against the introduction of controversial anchoring plans.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/nov/21/premier-league-clubs-reject-anchoring-agree-new-financial-rules-squad-cost-ratio

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Ed Aarons

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/nov/21/mikel-arteta-confirms-gabriel-injury-arsenal-tottenham

Defender ‘out for weeks’ and will now have further scan
Ødegaard the only injured player set to return for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta expects Gabriel Magalhães to be out for weeks with the thigh injury sustained on international duty and admitted losing “the leader of our backline” was a blow to Arsenal’s title aspirations.

The Brazil defender was sent back to Arsenal for treatment after picking up the injury in a friendly against Senegal at the Emirates last weekend. Arteta revealed Gabriel was due to have further scans on Wednesday, the day Arsenal host Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/nov/21/mikel-arteta-confirms-gabriel-injury-arsenal-tottenham

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Jedidajah Otte and Michael Goodier

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/21/nhs-gps-cutting-hours-stress-childcare

Just one in 13 early career GPs work full-time, NHS figures show, with job stress and childcare significant factors

Much of the health secretary’s plans to reinvent the NHS hinge on moving services from bed-blocked, overstretched hospitals to “neighbourhood health centres” where possible, and to general practice.

However, while Wes Streeting hopes to make it easier for patients to see their doctor, thousands of GPs have been dramatically cutting back their surgery hours in recent years.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/21/nhs-gps-cutting-hours-stress-childcare

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Jeremy Barr US media correspondent

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/21/jimmy-kimmel-donald-trump

‘You’ve done this before,’ comedian told president, who ranted about Kimmel online and demanded his firing

Early on Thursday morning, Donald Trump made another plea for ABC to fire the late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, writing on his Truth Social platform that he has “NO TALENT” and “VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS”.

On his show later that night, Kimmel was defiant, poking at the president for his previous attempt this fall to get him fired and suggesting that Trump had clearly been watching his show.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/21/jimmy-kimmel-donald-trump

aam_feed

Posted by Ask a Manager

https://www.askamanager.org/2025/11/open-thread-november-21-2025.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=32108

It’s the Friday open thread!

The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on any work-related questions that you want to talk about (that includes school). If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to take your questions to other readers.

* If you submitted a question to me recently, please do not repost it here, as it may be in my queue to answer.

The post open thread – November 21, 2025 appeared first on Ask a Manager.

https://www.askamanager.org/2025/11/open-thread-november-21-2025.html

https://www.askamanager.org/?p=32108

snickfic

I have a big of a rec backlog now and am trying to work through it, so: here are a bunch of art recs from last year! (One of these days the little AO3 symbol will return from the war.)

Batman: Rainy Knight by

Reused, Batman, SFW. Incredible black-and-white digital piece. The composition!!

Wednesday Addams: Lazy Wednesday Afternoon by

Reused, Wednesday/Enid, very cute.

Cult of the Lamb: Two Bishops by

fayharley, SFW. Two very cool eldritch monsters on traditional media!!

Dredge: No one has ever asked by

araydre, Collector/Fisherman, SFW. Gorgeous colors and shadows in this.

Dredge: Sunset scene by

armadillomania, gorgeous impressionist scene of the fisherman by the lighthouse.

Stardew Valley: late night conversation by Anonymous, Krobus, SFW. Very cute pixel art of Krobus, some junimoes, and a fish.

Original work: anglerfish by

bittercape, NSFW. MERMAID ANGLERFISH. And it's in WATERCOLOR.

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Matthew Taylor (now) and Oliver Milman (later)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/21/cop30-live-fossil-fuel-phaseout-final-text-brazil-belem-latest-news-updates

André Corrêa do Lago issues plea to preserve Paris agreement with countries far from reaching agreement on scheduled final day

An informal stocktake plenary is now underway [see live feed at the top of the blog]. Here the presidency will update parties on the state of the negotiations.

My colleague Damian Carrington will be keeping across the main developments.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/21/cop30-live-fossil-fuel-phaseout-final-text-brazil-belem-latest-news-updates

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Michael Butler (now), John Brewin and Barry Glendenning (earlier)

https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2025/nov/21/premier-league-returns-wolves-to-unveil-edwards-and-more-football-news-live

⚽ Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
⚽ Sign up for Football Daily | Follow on Bluesky | Mail Michael

https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2025/nov/21/premier-league-returns-wolves-to-unveil-edwards-and-more-football-news-live

guardianworldnews_feed

Posted by Jakub Krupa

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/21/europe-latest-news-russia-ukraine-war-updates-zelenskyy-putin-g20

Ukrainian president warns that next week could be ‘very difficult’ for his country

German Bild tabloid is also reporting that Merz is expected to hold a phone call not only with Zelenskyy, but also with the US president, Donald Trump.

Mind you: there’s been no official confirmation yet.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/nov/21/europe-latest-news-russia-ukraine-war-updates-zelenskyy-putin-g20

Network

The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, by Storm Constantine

Moshulu

(no subject)

Twinkle, Twinkle 3 Errata

Ukraine facing choice between losing major partner or its dignity, says Zelenskyy as he considers US

Palmer breaks toe in mishap; Celtic AGM cut short amid jeers; Liverpool injuries: football news – li

Partenope review – edgy and erotic Handel update

Cop30 live: summit president warns ‘everybody will lose’ if countries fail to cooperate

LSO/Pascal review – from an effervescent marimba to funeral gongs in compelling new music concert

Dubai bank is behind British businessman’s 30-year jail sentence, family claims

Not just for Paddington: is the humble duffel coat having a fashion moment?

Premier League clubs can no longer sell hotels or women’s team to comply with PSR

Mikel Arteta confirms Gabriel injury and rues losing ‘leader of our backline’

Why thousands of NHS GPs are cutting their hours despite plan to increase access to doctors

Jimmy Kimmel accuses Trump of trying to get him fired and tells him: ‘Quiet, piggy’

open thread – November 21, 2025

fanart recs

Cop30 live: summit president warns ‘everybody will lose’ if countries fail to cooperate

Palmer breaks toe in mishap; Celtic AGM cut short amid jeers; Liverpool injuries: football news – li

Ukraine facing choice between losing major partner or its dignity, says Zelenskyy as he considers US