Feels like they’ve been building this park since Verdi was born, but now it’s finally taking shape. This picture was taken from the roof of the Opera House.

“How could she ever understand that there isn’t any way I could be disappointed since I no longer find anything worth looking forward to?”

— Patrick Bateman in Bret Easton Ellis’s novel American Psycho.

Right-wing activists tore up news headlines and ejected journalists from their conference in Hungary on the same day that they highlighted the importance of free speech. Ah, the not-so-amusing stupidity of the extreme right.

I’m not really against a constitutional monarchy. I find it quite charming to have a person symbolising a nation, rather than a flag or politician, but there’s something utterly ridiculous about the coronation that took place in London this past weekend. Look at the crown in their heads! It’s like something from a bric-a-brac shop.

This article in The Economist highlights a severe problem.

“Just 14 months into Russia’s war on Ukraine, Moscow’s military has become so degraded that it could take up to 10 years for its forces to recover,” Caitlin Doornbos of the New York Post writes.

I hope their military never recover.

Methane leaks alone from Turkmenistan’s two main fossil fuel fields caused more global heating in 2022 than the entire carbon emissions of Britain, according to an article in the Guardian.

Miss Addams deserves some special attention.

It’s Friday night.

I haven’t been to the theatre for quite some time, but about three weeks ago, I saw Richard Strauss’s Elektra in Copenhagen. The director made something completely new of this opera, and it’s been with me since then. I love to get surprised unexpressed takes on by plays and operas I’ve seen many times.

Drove through Helsingborg today. Stayed for a while at Vikingstrand to snap a photo of Øresund. Love the spring. And the sun.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed bills that ban gender-affirming care for minors, target drag shows, restrict discussion of personal pronouns in schools, and force people to use certain bathrooms. As always when bigots attack minorities, he claims to protect children. He even says trans children are being mutilated by their parents. In my ears, it echoes what anti-Semites say when they want to ban Jewish circumcision. Different groups attacked—same rhetoric.

He has never been my favourite novelist, but the books gave me a few laughs. The novel I’ve enjoyed the most is probably London Fields. Mr Amis is now gone, but his books are still alive.

The private dancer is no longer dancing. The Guardian runs a nice obituary that tells her life story.

It’s Friday night. Shabbat is about to begin. I’m still working, though.

“A clear majority of British voters now favours building closer relations with the European Union, according to new polling that highlights a dramatic reversal in the tide of public opinion since Brexit,” the Guardian reports. “Even in those constituencies that recorded the highest votes to leave the EU in 2016, more than twice as many voters now believe the best route forward is to move in the opposite direction - and forge closer ties with Brussels.”

Apparently, it’s today. It’s a public holiday in Denmark, which means extra money for me since I’m working. Yeh!

Turkey for sale. Cheap bargain. Come and buy. Authoritarianism didn’t work this time either. Bummer.

It’s disgusting, but it’s what can be expected from Jamal El-Haj. I don’t know why people are surprised considering his track record.

Bryan Pietsch of the Washington Post writes:

The alleged former Russian spy has spent the past few years bumming around the Norwegian coast, where he made friends with locals and became known for his toothy grin. He’s recently turned up in Sweden, where local authorities have welcomed him even as they figure out what to do with him. He’s also a whale.

The beluga whale, named Hvaldimir—a pun on his ostensibly Russian heritage and “hval,” the Norwegian word for whale—was spotted in Swedish waters, according to the nonprofit OneWhale, which advocates for Hvaldimir.

Gay people in Florida, fearful of repercussions, are fleeing as multiple homophobic bills, DNYUZ* reports.

* Please note that DNYUZ has been linked to Russia, so it’s reliability is questionable.