Evan Rail

More or less the same at the edge of 31, very different by 36 or so. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Ain’t no ibuprofen gonna fix that

A simple German woodcutting from 1490 showing a Renaissance dude on the right who is having a lower back spasm so bad his right shoe was blown clean off. On the left is a witch (“eine Hexe") with a bow and arrow who just shot him in the back. (Otherwise, why would his back hurt? Hexenschuss!) The engraving is credited to Johann Zainer as was taken from the book “Tractatus von den bösen weibern, die man hexen nennt,” or “Treatise on evil women, who are called witches,“ by Ulrich Molitor.

The Czech word for lower back pain or lumbago is hexenšus, which is borrowed from a German word, Hexenschuss.
The first time I heard it I was like, “Oh, like a witch just shot you in the back? That’s what you think happened?”
Dear reader, at one point, that’s exactly what they thought.

One response linked to Martin’s bottle at Zufanek.cz. That bottle found at the same time as the example in the museum and dates to the same era. Personally, I believe it’s closer to 1848 than 1800, but that’s about as good as it gets.

A photo of the oldest known bottle of pre-ban absinthe, made by Dubied Père et Fils à Couvet, identified as from before 1848 and believed to be “probably at the start of the 19th century,” at the Maison d’Absinthe in Môtiers, Switzerland.

Hi, author of “The Absinthe Forger” here. I’ve looked through a few books, my own photos and the replies to this post so far. The oldest bottles we know of are Swiss vertes, like this one, from before 1848 and “probably from the start of the 19th century,” at the Maison d’Absinthe in Môtiers.

I finished “Uncertain Sons and Other Stories” by Thomas Ha last night. This is excellent, hitting a real high point with the long title story at the end. Amazing stuff: creepy, to be sure, and plenty weird, but also deeply moving and just beautifully written. I’m wowed.

One of the best things @gregpak.net did tonight was to unite a shit ton of Bluesky nerds by getting us all to realize the sheer magnitude of people who loved this series as children and didn’t realize we had that in common.

Oh, good to hear! Enjoy the riffs and weirdness.

Fabienk, by Angine de Poitrine track by Angine de Poitrine

If you enjoyed Angine de Poitrine’s KEXP show, you can currently get their full discography from Bandcamp for $6.76 CAD, or about $5 USD / $3.70 GBP / €4.20.
anginedepoitrine.bandcamp.com/track/fabien...

Please join me on 24 February at 6 pm Polish time (5 pm British time) for the Gender and History hybrid seminar. I will be talking about my latest book project @ncn.gov.pl , 'Prodigal Wives: Women, Alcohol and Legal Incapacitation in Nineteenth-century Poland'. @drinkingstudies.bsky.social 1/2

A mortadella and smoked provela sandwich on a portico in Bologna, Italy.

No prizes for guessing where I’m spending this weekend.

Looks like mailed on Friday, received on Wednesday. A bit of joy at the best possible moment. Thanks.

"Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it. Don't wait for it. Just let it happen.” — Agent Cooper

This week I got CARNATION by @wordkunst.bsky.social aka Alexander Booth in the post. Easily the best part of my week.

Order someone’s book. It’s super fun when it shows up.

which one of you fucking jazz nerds gave the french artists more access to amphetamines smh

Twelve-tone scales and standard time signatures are OVER

Raising my glass. Well done.

The week’s bestselling books, Feb. 22 The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction.

Nothing like this has never happened to me so this is quite cool: THE LAST KINGS OF HOLLYWOOD is a Southern California best-seller!

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Not every day I get to drink yuzu saison from Godspeed in Prague.

Obviously, Scandinavian wine production won't make up for losses in France. Sweden currently has just 185 hectares (457 acres) devoted to wine grapes. France is planning to destroy at least 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of vines.

To compare: Napa Valley has some 47,216 acres of grapevines.

As France Tears Out Grapevines, Winemaking Expands Across Scandinavia With cratering domestic wine consumption, the uncertainty of on-again, off-again tariffs on exports to the U.S., and serious challenges from climate change, many French winemakers and grape growers ar...

Things are weird in the wine world: In France, the government is paying growers to tear out vines. Meanwhile, wine grapes are expanding into other regions — including Scandinavia. In Sweden, wine grape acreage could jump by 20% this year.
Read more at @vinepair.com.
vinepair.com/articles/fra...

Looks like overinvestment across the industry and across countries and regions.

That’s definitely not helping, but it’s not the root cause. The decline started years ago.

Last fall, I wrote to a winemaker in Sonoma to ask how things looked.

“The wine industry in California is pretty dismal. Sales are down. Growers are ripping out acres of vineyards. I drive past blocks that should have been harvested a month ago and are rotting on the vine.”

We have this expression in English, “Quelle coïncidence.” 🫠

Really thought more people would get this Lautréamont joke. Disappointing.

A half-empty jar of honey, deep gold in color, with sticky bits and crystals on the inside of the glass. If you were a small, silly little bear, you might get your head stuck in this jar!

We have two. One local honey lady trades her “med” for my wife’s pottery. This half-finished jar is linden-blossom honey from a church parish garden in the Bohemian village of Dražice. My favorite, though the acacia honey is great, too.

Looks just like you!

I'm looking to interview some non-American musicians or bands who've decided not to tour in the U.S. this year because of ICE. Please hit my DMs if you are willing to chat about this decision.

if an adult plays the trombone in the peanuts universe it sounds like words