February Pieces Of My Mind #2

“I usually paint slim young men, but this time the customer asks for a neckid lady, so I’m just going to paint one of my usual boys with a girly hairstyle and enormous fake-looking boobs”
(Lekythos by Alkimachos, 470/450 BC, Museo Archeologico di Siracusa)

• In the 70s, adopting an orphaned child was cheaper from a poor country than from a rich one. For this reason, skin colour in 70s adoptees correlates with family income and social class in Scandinavia. (Possibly later and elsewhere too.)
• For the first time, one of my same-age buddies has become a grandparent. If my son follows my own schedule, then I’m a bit less than four years from becoming a grandpa.
• I haven’t written any fiction in years and years, and here I am now, having a blast writing an RPG scenario for Ashen Stars!
• Received a silly news update. “THE VIRUS MUTATES EVERY SECOND”. Should have been “ALL VIRUSES MUTATE EVERY SECOND AND STILL WE’RE FINE”.
• Meteorological spring reached Stockholm on 15 Feb last year. And now the forecast promises a minimum night temperature above freezing from Sunday on. Can’t wait!
• Suddenly remember this US election where one candidate counted on the voters being a) homophobic, b) ignorant, and accused the other candidate’s sister of being a THESPIAN! (shock, horror)
• The petty royals at Aska played hnefatafl with gaming pieces made from Norwegian whale bone. And there are identical gold foil figures at Aska in Östergötland and Borg in Lofoten on Norway’s North Atlantic coast.
• Wonder if game developers and players know that Valheim means “Home of the Slain” and is a rare Norwegian surname.
• “Rihanna sparks backlash after wearing Ganesha pendant in topless photo”. Yeah, because nudity is completely unheard of in traditional Indian religious art!
• [posh accent] Two slightly… DISTORTED guitars!
• Yay! New Mars rover landed safely and is talking! Full of new instruments with better capabilities to look at traces of past life!
• Another reason to be happy: the ICU admissions for COVID-19 in Sweden’s most populous county were about 15 people last week. At the peak of the first wave in April, that number was 124. And at the peak of the second wave in December, it was 57.
• The weather forecast for Sunday predicts a top temperature of 7°C. I’ve celebrated Midsummer at that temperature. Mixed feelings between my longing for spring and my concern over climate change.
• I think it’s pretty science fictional that when the Dean sends everyone email in Polish, I can just click one button and get the whole thing in Swedish.