Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

@edgwareviabank.bsky.social

260 followers 410 following 390 posts

Italian-born, raised all over the place, wound up in London for better or worse. Also: 🇮🇹 🇬🇧 translator & writer, hobby photographer, cat person, here for books & food. She / her.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · May 27

Today is for good (no, great) writing news: the opening of Olga Campofreda's Ragazze Perbene, my first book-length translation project, is on the Asymptote blog. I'd love for the full novel to reach English-speaking readers, so if you enjoy this, tell your publisher friends!

Translation Tuesday: “Good Girls” by Olga Campofreda - Asymptote Blog

That ... is how snakes leave their old skins behind: they crawl out of their nest and keep rubbing against the ground, until they’re finally free.

www.asymptotejournal.com

2 2 3

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 12h

Ok, that's more like it. This batch of cream split right when it was meant to be ready, but a Reddit baking thread saved the day. In case you've been wondering, which I'm sure you were.

Well done me for craving a cake only a random Italian blogger with a 2000s-looking site ever wrote a recipe for.

It appears we are going to have cake for tomorrow, after all. After my vegan filling substitution fail, I turned back to the original recipe and...nearly botched that too. A few drops of hot milk and the split cream came back together. The magic of Reddit threads. We're back in business, baby.

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 13h

If this thread made one person laugh today, my job is done. And as cooking experiments go, it was nothing - nothing - compared to every attempt I've made at decorating a cake.

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 20h

Pitch: a column called "No But Seriously", where a woman who thinks she can cook follows recipes to the letter and can't see why they fail, and everyone who ever doubted their skills feels less alone by the end.

I'll actually write it if you publish it, this is the food writing gig I was born for.

1 3

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 20h

Exhibit 1: the photo from the recipe.
Exhibit 2: cold hard reality.

Good thing I have little to no self esteem left. Good for your entertainment, I hope, at least. And now, off to Sainsbury's to get milk for a different recipe, since vegan spread won't make the creamy pie filling I thought.

The picture from the recipe I followed. Thick, creamy chocolate spread, a vibrant brown colour, ready to be eaten by the spoonful or poured into a pie crust. HOWEVER.

I can confirm my hazelnut and cocoa paste is edible, but it looks nothing like Nutella, nothing like the recipe post, and pie filling it is not. I inscribed the word "FAIL" across the top with a spatula, because if I can't even laugh at myself, what do I have left?

2 1

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 22h

The longer this takes to become a "smooth hazelnut paste" (picture me growling as I type), the less likely I'll do any exercise or cleaning next, because my patience is the opposite of a bottomless well.

But I'm scribbling bits of novel between cooling breaks for the blender, so that's something.

1 4

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 22h

Today's challenge: reading this beautiful novel that sounds just like what I want mine to be, and thinking "if they could do it, so can I" instead of "shit, I could never".

That, plus cracking the "15-minute homemade Nutella" recipe that is taking 1h and counting and looks nothing like the photos.

1 2

Reposted by F.

Sam Benc 🐟 @nonvieta.bsky.social · 3d

People who think the idea of "give me ideas" is something genuinely creative people want have literally never experienced the absolute EUPHORIA of a brainstorming breakthrough, either solo or with a human collaborator. They don't understand what is happening when artists create, on a basic level.

Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 4d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

10 200 680

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 11d

September reads on @thestorygraph.com. A month of big emotions I tried to sum up in the alt text. One of these books drained my heart of all hope and filled it with despair, and it's not the one about the IRA (that was no piece of cake either, but it's also the best book I've read this year so far).

Books I read in September:

1) "Say Nothing" by Patrick Radden Keefe. Excellent storytelling, very accessible even to a reader like me who wasn’t very familiar with the subject matter. Perfectly gets across the price of violence and the toll conflict takes on every individual involved.
2) "How to be a French Girl" by Rose Cleary: a sort of coming-of-age story that starts with beautiful writing about aspirations and identity, and spirals into a stalker / obsession narrative that left me cold by the end.
3) "I Shouldn't Be Telling You This (But I'm Going To Anyway)" by Chelsea Devantez. This may just be the first celebrity memoir I never once felt like throwing out a window. Which is funny of me to say, given there’s a whole chapter dedicated to how much the author loves celebrity memoirs. Her life story isn’t easy reading, and while there’s obviously humour throughout the book, none of the subject matter is handled lightly. A few sections about family bonds and talking to her younger self had me shed a little tear, which brings the number of books that made me cry in my whole life to a total of 3.
4) "La Sconosciuta della Senna" by Guillaume Musso (English title: "The Stranger in the Seine"). A mystery set in Paris, with interesting characters and a promising premise. I didn't love the mystic turn it took, but the writing was good enough to get me to the end.
5) "Rejection" by Tony Tulathimutte. What a wild ride. There's nothing I could ever write within a character limit that would do it justice. It's 4 stars with a grudge. I get what the author was going for, and he resoundingly achieved it. At the same time, I've gone through pages upon neverending pages that exuded misery so contagious I felt the need to wash it off. So can I really say I enjoyed it? It made me feel similarly to Patricia Lockwood's "No One Really Talks About This": talented writer, excellent grasp of their generation, but it takes a terminally online soul to fully appreciate, and that's not me.

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 16d

Your Italian friend is back to remind you that you should never underestimate the power of a cup of espresso and a little treat from the bakery.

The power multiplies tenfold if the treat is a custard bun from Tetote Factory. This is the rule, which I just made up and completely stand by.

Tetote Factory in South Ealing make buns with the best, smoothest, most delicate custard I ever had, and I'm probably lucky their opening hours are not very work-friendly, because otherwise they'd likely be the main beneficiaries of my salary. Bun pictured with my post-lunch espresso in a red-and-white Julius Meinl branded cup salvaged from the in-laws' restaurant in Italy, because I'm vintage.

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 18d

Oh but I'm a paradigm of gentleness, the poster child for women socialised to be deferential and meek at the office.

The flashing red alert emoji is a stand-in for the sailor-grade swear words I am not allowed to deploy in the workplace.

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 18d

Always a joyous day at work when I have to send a Slack message with the @ channel tag, several bolded sentences, and a flashing siren emoji that means YOUR COMMENTS NOW (which I'm ready to bet people will either not read or take a week to reply to).

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 21d

I too grew up with moka, and went straight back to it when my capsule machine broke. It always impresses guests and I get asked a lot what brand I get. It's Lavazza Rossa, bulk-bought online from wherever the best deal is. Coffee snobs can say what they like, I love it because it tastes like home.

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 22d

The other cassette I loved was Whitney Houston's first album, which dad got when we lived in South Asia in the '90s. I learned English very young, so picture a 4-year-old singing along, getting 1 word out of 10 right and making a mess of it all (untangling misheard words as an adult was great fun)

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 22d

My mum's dubbed cassette of Simon & Garfunkel's Concert in Central Park, which somehow was in his car while they were separated.

He won't remember the rainy night he was driving me home from Germany and we got lost on Austrian back roads, but I do - it's when I heard The Boxer for the first time.

Carlos Estrada @ctothelos77.bsky.social · 24d

What is Dad playing?

1 2

Reposted by F.

Jonathan Edward Durham @thisone0verhere.bsky.social · 25d

How is it possible that feeling bad makes me want a little treat but also feeling good makes me want a little treat this is rigged

19 62 530

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 25d

This is brilliant. I love the water-themed pictures and the flowers especially - the water drops on the roses are gorgeous. And I admire the way you captured contrast so much, those dark spaces veering towards a stark black.

1 1

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 25d

Slim chance, but if we're very lucky the weekend might not be doomed! Feeling stuck in both work and writing plans isn't helping, and these photos are lifting my mood up a little. There's some real crap in that roll, to be sure, but I feel more strongly about the ones I like than those I don't.

1 1

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · 25d

More shots from my Possibly Cursed Film Roll, because my week's shaping up to be a wreck, and I want to remember I'm capable of making stuff I like. Vibe: the long peaceful park walk I wish I could have today.

📷 Pentax Spotmatic F
🎞️ Kodak T-MAX 100
📍Giardini di Boboli, Firenze, Italy
#believeinfilm

Giardini di Boboli, Firenze, 2025. One of two dog statues guarding a pathway that leads away from a small lake. I was standing at the back of the statue, to make it look as if the dog was peering into the hedge next to it, staring at who knows what. In black and white, the statue and the hedge are almost the same colour, the dog almost camouflaged. It's exactly what I was hoping for and I'm so happy to have achieved it.

Giardini di Boboli, Firenze, 2025. My turn to peer inside a hedge and spy what's behind. In this case, it was a small square with a fountain. It looked so peaceful, no visitors around. It's a simple shot, framed by out-of-focus branches at the sides, and I don't know why I like it so much, but I do.

Giardini di Boboli, Firenze, 2025. A large grass expanse leading to a stone wall with an impressive view over the city. Naked branches to the left, a stone pillar to the right, and a tree right in the middle for a vague sense of symmetry. I wanted to embrace as much of the space around me as I could, and at the same time, the small groups of people sitting on the grass give the photo depth too. When the scans came back, my first impression of this one was timelessness. It reminds me of the sort of picture I might have found in my parents' archive of printed photos from the '70s or thereabouts. It feels like it could have been taken at any time.

1 6

Reposted by F.

Sardonicus @sardonicus.eu · 27d

man rolling rock up hill
how it started how its going

50 2.2K 8.1K

Reposted by F.

Jonathan Edward Durham @thisone0verhere.bsky.social · 27d

Man I am really going through it (a monday) right now (a monday)

3 8 110

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · Sep 11

So much kept going wrong with my B&W film roll, I thought it might be cursed.

The scans came back, and the only thing that's haunting is the "deserted 1900s buildings in the Italian countryside" vibe. Which luckily is what I was going for.

📷 Pentax Spotmatic F
🎞️ Kodak T-MAX 100
#believeinfilm

A black and white photo of a derelict three-storey building with the traces of an old painted sign. To its left, what once used to be a water tower. Taken from the main road just outside my partner's hometown, if it wasn't my photo I'd never guess it's been shot from the side of a busy road with speeding cars.

A close-up of the empty building in the previous picture. Two rows of windows show; all closed, aside from the top middle one. The pattern they formed was too good not to capture. How does this come about? A gust of wind? Does anyone ever go in there? And wouldn't I love to know.

A black-and-white photo of a covered walkway in a small, nearly empty countryside hamlet. I stood right in front of the entrance so I could center it in my picture, nothing but water-stained walls on the sides. In the distance, more arches, and the patterns of light and shadow they create on the ground. Welcome to Middle-of-Nowhere, North-Eastern Italy, Europe, World, Universe.

Same walkway as the previous picture, different spot. I walked through it a few metres until it crossed a gravel alley flanked by two rows of doors. One of the houses was surrounded by plant pots, on the ground, on the walls, everywhere. After shooting this, I lost my balance trying to get back on my bike and nearly fell with the camera around my neck, which is one of the many ways this film roll's curse has endured throughout the year. Just then, an elderly lady got out of the house, and I had to reassure her that I was okay a million times. The look on her face seemed to say "how are you so clumsy at your age", which is absolutely what any Northern Italian grandma would say to any complete stranger. I love the final picture, though.

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · Sep 10

Easy @thecatreviewer.bsky.social 10/10 to the tuxedo beauty who brightened yesterday's walk. Perfect Poirot moustache, friendly head bumps, what's not to love. Also 10/10 to its long-haired pal that arrived out of the blue, because what's better than a new cat friend if not two cat friends at once?

A tuxedo cat sitting on a wall. Outstanding Poirot moustache and permanently surprised expression. Better still, when I approached, it was clearly very keen to be my friend. Scritches and head bumps ensued.

Three is a party! A long-haired black cat pops up out of the blue right behind my new tuxedo friend. Not as bold in its search for affection, but what a beauty.

3 18 240

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · Sep 9

There are lessons somewhere here. About perfectionism, self-doubt, and how to untangle it from others' doubts that you grew up steeped in. But even as I learn to shutting up the "who, YOU?" voice, I sometimes do crave a little "yes, you, look what you're capable of" nudge from someone other than me.

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · Sep 9

Yes, and I think "expensive" can mean value as well as affordability. In my example, I would only think it worthwhile if people knew my work beforehand. Or it would be paying for the pleasure of sitting at home with no one knocking (I have a poor track record of people coming to things I arrange 😆)

F. @edgwareviabank.bsky.social · Sep 9

So I may never do a pop-up photo sale, because I don't know how to promote myself, but how will people know my work otherwise? Because pricing feels beyond me. Because my chosen [size, quality, technique] may be crap to others. And I'm starting to learn that working it out alone is a lot to expect.