Jesus when he comes back to Earth:
Emerald Fennell gonna Emerald Fennell
(of course, it all clicks into place when you find out that a) the novel authors were in the writer's room throughout and b) one of them was GRRM's PA for the first 3-4 seasons of GoT)
One reason I find (what I've seen of) The Expanse so fascinating is that it's an adaptation that hews very close to the *feel* of the books while being *extremely* pragmatic about sequencing, character, and actual plot.
And with March coming first, all of the 'number months' fall neatly on their numbers before January and February (likely the two months added to get to 12 way back when) come last as months 11 and 12. 12/
I love this joke. You love this joke. We all do. It is hilarious.
Buuuuuut...you know we're about to discuss Roman calendars, right? And that this joke isn't quite right?
SO! Let's talk about Roman calendars and why the 'number months' (Sept-Dec) do not match their numbers (7-10)! 1/
Mother's Day lunch. Most civilised.
The Conservative tactic of running a campaign entirely targeting Texas Republicans may run into some issues if it turns out that, as has been leaked to me, it turns out that Texas isn't part of the UK.
"Some purrsonal mews..."
Am in Edinburgh and I have ordered a latte with oot milk, as is the law.
A slightly earlier one I remember a friend who's a regular reader of early 20th century detective fiction was struck by is one where the juge d'instruction needs to be told explicitly told that no one involved in the case is Jewish and it isn't going to lead to the proof Dreyfus was guilty
when you’re referring to the Jewish President of Ukraine who had no ties to Epstein and his circles as a “member of the Epstein Class” and suggest that he is sex trafficking Ukrainian children you aren’t being particularly subtle.
Tbc, the ultra-wealthy now supposedly fleeing Dubai are a relatively small part of the UAE's economic relevance
The mostly South Asian middle class 20-30 times their size and the presence of literally over a trillion dollars in sovereign wealth will likely keep it a regional pole of accumulation
Is "young men are turning right" similarly overegged everywhere else or is it genuinely different here?
That Late Ottoman map is *1910*!
Fun how you can still see the Theodosian Walls in the layout of the modern city
Crazy innit
I’ll save you a click it’s public speaking
Istanbul public transit is fascinating. A huge amount of private buses, two competing metro systems, an the national railway system. And for how large of a city it is, surprisingly low ridership. About as much metro transit ridership as Munich, a city of 2.7 million
Security implications aside. Not sure a pager is a thing to accept as a lovely gift from Mossad...
Correction: he carried the bullion to Halifax for eventual transfer to the US under cash and carry
Fun fact: Gus Agar got his second DSO for carrying gold bullion to the US under cash and carry!
(His first was for his involvement in the Kronstadt Raid in 1919; he got a VC anonymously for sinking ships under Stalin's personal command some weeks earlier)
Really wanna go someday. Both for the history and the food.
Quite funny how even by 1910 the city hadn't expanded westward beyond the Theodosian Walls, just over the Golden Horn and the Bosporus
Repost of the Roman Constantinople map in non-potato quality
Strictly speaking not all of that conurbation in the last one is part of Istanbul proper but You Get The Idea
Here's Roman Constantinople vs Late Ottoman Constantinople vs Modern Istanbul
Relatedly I only recently realised how McFucking Huge Istanbul is.
Population 15 million!
