clay envelope!!!

Protest scene with masked individuals holding Palestinian flags, one with a "Free Gaza" sign. Overlay text: "British universities paid to ‘spy’ on pro-Palestine students" by Al Jazeera.

British universities paid security firm to ‘spy’ on pro-Palestine students
URL: www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/...

Queering Chinese in Africa: The Unintended Sexual Migration of Chinese Gay Men Are there any Chinese gays in Africa? This is a question I am frequently asked—by colleagues, friends, and especially those familiar with my earlier research

In this new essay, Cai Chen recovers the queer lives hidden inside Chinese migration to Africa. Following three gay men across multiple countries, he develops the idea of 'unintended sexual migration', journeys where sexuality wasn't the motive but reshaped the path. Global China can be queer.

The Gate of the Sheepfold A sermon for the fourth Sunday of Easter, April 26, 2026 St. John’s Episcopal Church, New City, New York “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.” Each year, the fourth S…

The contrast between Jesus—the Model Shepherd—and corrupt rulers is that the true shepherd doesn’t burst in by force & seize the sheep—that's what a robber does.The true shepherd approaches gently & knows his own sheep.And the sheep trust and follow him.
drewkadel.wordpress.com/2026/04/21/t... ⚓

Saint Francis before the Pope: The Granting of the Indulgence of the Portiuncula
Sassetta

Part of the series San Sepolcro Altarpiece
1437-44

(National Gallery, London)

Thanks to a massive baby bust in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, exacerbated by Trump immigration crackdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic, US schools will see major declines in enrollment, with some states seeing *double-digit* declines.

1/

Wow.

The Hit Erotica Writers Outwitting Nigeria’s Religious Censors

this is so cool www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/w...

😂……

The bishop of Rome can have a little jurisdiction, as a treat

Today I heard a Boomer call a manhole cover a theyhole cover because “everything just HAS to be politically correct now,” and I literally can’t stop thinking about it

Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection

Cubs need to hand out copies of the 95 Theses.

Poli sci went so wrong when it stopped being political theory with a splash of history and instead turned into economics but with anthropologist’s datasets

I'm one of those trans women. I worked ground ops for Artemis I.

I am torn between celebrating the success of my friends and peers and grieving how my dream of working for NASA was shattered by hateful assholes in Tallahassee

"Magataotao" on Twitter writes: "I am Catholic. This👇is not my Pope." Attached is a video of the Pope saying that we should search for peace and reject war. A community note under their tweet says: "You are not a Catholic if you do not accept the Pope, but rather a schismatic. Canon 751: “Schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff,” ie. the Pope. https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib3-cann747-755_en.html"

first in my bloodline to see someone get excommunicated by a community note

Tuesday night (China Time) I went to sleep fully believing I might wake up to a new reality.

The President had threatened to end a civilization.
The Defense Secretary believes protecting civilians is Politically Correct nonsense. It felt grim.

Today, it's old news with no consequences.

The American regime has alienated us from the Pope.

Let that sink in.

ICYMI: I made an interactive map for yall to explore all the cherry blossom, magnolia and crabapple hotspots across NYC! 🌸 with @lillysabs.bsky.social!

bonus: there's also a tool in here to search how your neighborhood ranks in terms of flowering tree density

www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/08/s...

A ginger cat recoiling from a human hand in a Hong Kong store.

Please don't.

📸 Ms Cat And Friends

Many may not realize that none of us are reading "direct" translations of Sun Tzu. We are reading interpretations--even the Chinese. What Sun Tzu conveys in four characters, a contemporary Chinese translator, like Guo Huaruo, needs to use 16 characters to make this intelligible.

镇镇的彩虹｜资源发布 ！第六版多元性别暴力干预服务资源地图上线 面对家庭暴力、关系伤害或其它暴力时，如何求助、去哪求助是亟需回应的问题。资源地图或许无法解决所有困难，但我们希望它能够在某一个时刻，为需要的伙伴提供方向和安全感。

面对家庭暴力、关系伤害或其它暴力时，如何求助、去哪求助是亟需回应的问题。资源地图或许无法解决所有困难，但我们希望它能够在某一个时刻，为需要的伙伴提供方向和安全感。

My wife: what is the Avignon Papacy?

Me, raised Catholic, history nerd and CK player: MY TIME HAS COME

Moreover, ICE must be destroyed

Could we have a whip-round to buy a “best prophecy in class” prize of some sort?

Exploring Political Power and Religion in Medieval Music Mss An exploration of medieval music and the intertwined powers of politics and religion. Through vivid manuscripts and wild tales of saints, kings, and even a corrupt horse, discover how song shaped…

From crusade songs to royal devotion—explore the power of medieval music manuscripts! ⚔️✨ medievalstudies.thinkific.com/courses/anoi... #medievalmusic #medievalstudies

The Black Death by Thomas Asbridge review – a medieval horror story A magisterial history of one of the worst ever pandemics focuses on the individuals caught up in the chaos

Brilliant review of Thomas Asbridge's 'magisterial' new book on the #BlackDeath. We'll hear from Thomas in this year's Derek Keene London Lecture - part of the 2026 @ihr.bsky.social Summer School on 'Sickness and Health'. Info: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...

Trump alternates between threat and promises of peace while making what are fundamentally threats, just as China does. And though China sometimes promises peace, there is discourse about wiping Taiwan off the map too as in that of “Keep the island but not the people” (留島不留人)

Excited for the usual suspects to use Trump’s threats of wiping out the Iranian people to claim we should be closer with China——which has threatened death and destruction with thousands of missles pointed at Taiwan for decades—than note say, they are two sides of the same coin

Lrp "Most people have religion" would be an accurate statement applied to the entire world population (even a socialist country like China has a large and growing religious population) not just those in the developed world/Global North