The Friday
Joyce Carol Oates, Silver Horse, JD Vance's book "Hillbilly Elegy" by Michael Mohr, Great Endings by Rose Hurst, Rebecca Holden's Sketchbook Practice, GK Chesterton, David A. Hughes, "Citizen Kane"
The Joan of Arc figure on the mechanical silver horse was Morgane Suquart with armor designed by Jeanne Friot: https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/news/olympic-games-paris-2024/articles/317857-paris-2024-olympics-who-was-the-rider-on-the-silver-horse-at-the-opening-ceremony
Doubts about whether it would work made me think the horse is an automaton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automaton
Not a pale horse of death at all — scripture says the 4rd horseman of the Apocalypse (which just means revelation, nothing scary) is pale green, not pale (but that’s what some English translations go with). If anything, the Olympic horse represents the 1st horse, the white one. In the Bible, white represents goodness 100% of the time. The 1st horseman carries a bow or crossbow and wears a crown, but it is not Jesus (Jesus wears many crowns and carries a sword). It could well be a horsewoman since both small bow and crossbow require little strength to use (unlike the longbow which takes 10 years for a very strong man to master). The white horse represents the last effort to spread the gospel to the final reaches of the world that do not know the name of Jesus.
“Citizen Kane” (1941) by Orson Welles is one of the greatest films ever made. It has very long unbroken scenes, hauntingly beautiful lighting, and an important message about what evils result when people feel unloved and set out to ambitiously manipulate others in an effort to ‘earn’ their love:
7 Writing Tips from Best-Selling Author Lady Colin Campbell
Did you know Lady Diana was biracial? Her great-great-grandmother Eliza Kewark was the daughter of a father from Armenia and a mother from India. Read more here. King Charles, too, is descended from Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. She was descended from a Moorish branch of the Portuguese royal house. Additionally,
Thanks Laura, for including me in the Friday round-up. After writing about endings, maybe I should tackle beginnings in some other post. I would have the sequence a bit cart before the horse, but perhaps it would be good to see it from both ends.
Oh Laura, thank you so much for linking to my newsletter, and for providing such a terrific list of recommended reading for me to dive straight into! 😀