lara kelland - she/they

dios mio

in a nutshell

squeeeeee

i mean the pava hats! the jibaros! when they climbed the light poles during el apagón i nearly flew of my couch in a dancing fugue…

the math maths

i am aglow from bad bunny’s halftime show. as a scholar of puerto rican collective memory, it was beyond thrilling to see a global cultural juggernaut deploy semiotics of puertorriqueñidad towards redeeming US political culture. of course, celebrating latino joy was also glorious. i’m starstuck.

same. those kids slay.

it was SO GOOD. all the voices in my slate plus feed make my annual contribution a true bargain & my most valued journalistic expenditure. BUT, you & @lizzieohreally.bsky.social are national treasures & keep me on the path to sanity these days. please screen grab &
share with @slate.com leadership.

girl that’s some sci fi shit

the most useful outcome of this comparison, to my mind, is to both look to those moments and our understandings of them to better see where “they” might be headed and also where “we”’ might be most successful in our resistance strategies. for that we need nuanced comparison, too, not reductionism.

there has been discussion, for example, about whether or not our current horrors compare better to nazi germany or american slavery.

to me, it’s productive that we engage in rich civic dialogue about the lessons of the past. not to declare a winner for the most accurate historical comparison.

last night my partner & i were discussing attempts to reduce protests & histories of state sanctioned violence into one another. as a social movement historian, i have concerns about this. i see great value in public discussion that compares, say, our current political moment with other atrocities.

“nobody can outsuffer minnesotans”

as a member of the minnesotan diasporic left, this piece is poetic journalism.

@maryharris.bsky.social staying at a friend’s house & using a mr. rogers mug this am, which is giving me life. i’m reminded of your “what’s it going to take” speech, which became a 2026 grounding mantra for me & another dear friend; we wept together & i listened to it 4x all told. #lookforthehelpers

greyscale image of a wind turbine perched in a snowy crop field in winter. the entire image is awash in light snow, giving a hazy appearance.

oh the volumes of knowledge that the upper midwest in winter contains about greyscale beauty and texture.

members of congress are ensuring that the military aren’t being primed into the totalitarian project. that’s a comforting thing. of course, the fascists react.

STOP THE FEVER DREAM

(when exactly did i become a techno-pessimist?)

i too am always thankful for my professional community and organization! @ncph.bsky.social is more than an advocacy org. it’s truly a professional family!

i’m sure he could
find a few more countries on the continent to “reform” if he really tried.

and this is how you handle totalitarian dictators who don’t know when to go home. take note, fellow citizens.

new eyeballs! sweet victory!!!!

big props to @nitishpahwa for ensuring that the PETER’S FRIENDS gets any fresh eyeballs it can. it’s an annual viewing in my household, over 30 years running.

miss piggy standing with hands on hips against a red backdrop and pink star. she is wearing dll black, and the meme reads “we ain’t gonna stop asking questions, mr. president”

we are all piggy.

i was as surprised as you are!

scene in a butcher bloc counter top including plastic zipper bags, plates of dried seeds, spoon, small kitchen strainer.

am seed saving from my herb garden for the first time. i have to say this is one of the best antidotes to the emotional states rendered by late trumpian politics. sunday morning kitchen witch reporting for duty.

also, either dried shiso seeds smell like dr. pepper, or i’ve been at this too long.

future students of history will be asked to interpret 2025 with images like this.

we have learned absolutely nothing.

a grey and white mottled great dane attempts to play with a black and brown dachshund in a back yard with a curved sidewalk an grassy yard. there’s a table in the background and the dogs are wagging their tails.

this weekend my very neurotic and under-socialized rescue great dane had a successful hangout with my colleague’s very nervous and tremendously barky mini dachshund.

and if they can do THAT, eight fucking dems can hold their ground for struggling americans. HARD
THINGS ARE ACHIEVABLE.

this. plain and simple.

i follow a number of hourly animal accounts. what you don’t know is that my feed is filled with cuteness and this shit is the only thing that is propping me up in 2025. i was raised on 2008 twitter and you’ll never convince me that chronological feed social media can’t bring joy and frivolity.