Marie
booksanddeath.bsky.social
Marie
@booksanddeath.bsky.social
📚 & 💀, obvs.

Fortunately escaped the US in 2000, been in NL ever since. Trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
My right forearm is internet-famous! 😂 It appears in this video by the Universiteit van Nederland about "evolutionary remnants". I'm apparently in the 16% of people who don't have an unnecessary muscle in my arm. The link goes to that section of the video but I recommend watching the whole thing.
Verstandskies verdwijnt: 20% wordt geboren zonder. Dit is waarom
YouTube video by Universiteit van Nederland
youtu.be
October 15, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Ah, it hasn't been since my pre-2020 commuting days that I've had the train not fully pull into the station. Good to know it still happens. 😆 @ns.nl #mindthegap
August 14, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Dudok opened in Leiden's station this week. Controversial stance: I don't like their famous appeltaart. It's too mushy and not appley tasting. Their other desserts are ok though. #dudok #sweettooth #gebak
July 17, 2025 at 7:48 AM
What do *you* hear the girl singing in Air's Sexy Boy? I'm of the opinion that people hear anything but "sexy boy". To me, she's saying "sexy Merlin" or "sexy monkey", though there's not really a "k" sound in there. (Heh, I seriously didn't realize that a toy monkey is involved in the song's video.)
AIR - Sexy Boy (from Moon Safari - Official Audio)
YouTube video by AIRfrenchbandofficial
youtu.be
July 7, 2025 at 9:11 AM
One of the best, most fascinating episodes of 99% Invisible I've listened to, about the challenges for Zoroastrian traditions in the middle of Mumbai. Ancient death rituals + species near-extinction + urban development = a very difficult problem to solve.
Towers of Silence - 99% Invisible
Situated right near downtown Mumbai, India is an area of about 55 acres of dense, overgrown forest. In one of the most populous cities in the world, this is a place where peacocks roam freely — a spac...
99percentinvisible.org
June 17, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Damn, this was so good. I'm sorry I waited so long to read it. #booksky
June 16, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Caaaats iiiin spppaaaacce... Thank you, @fryrsquared.bsky.social, for sharing this bit of history. I feel a whole documentary should be made about cat mechanics and the weightless experiments.
107K views · 2.6K reactions | I feel like 'offended dignity' is basically a cat's standard resting face. Sources: Photograph | I feel like 'offended dignity' is basically a cat's standard resting fac...
I feel like 'offended dignity' is basically a cat's standard resting face. Sources: Photographs of a Tumbling Cat, by M. Marey (1894) A dynamical...
www.facebook.com
June 15, 2025 at 9:41 AM
It's not a Flaming Lips concert if you don't go home with confetti down your shirt and hiding in various nooks and crannies. Also many inflatable things and an overwhelming amount of lights are a must.
June 3, 2025 at 10:10 AM
🤣😂🤣 A guy crawled into one of those swings for little kids, that you have to put your legs through, and, yeah, got stuck. At about 3:30 in the morning. The firemen cut his pants off, so there were numerous photos of the guy in his underwear trapped in the tiny swing. 🤣
June 1, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Looove the colors for my next #embroidery project...
May 31, 2025 at 1:23 PM
The peregrine falcon chicks have turned into birds and are spending more time on the ledge thinking about flying off. It looks like they'll be gone soon. 😥 It always goes so fast, less than 3 weeks ago they were still fluffballs & they were born only 6 weeks ago. #urbanwildlife
May 31, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Via The Cobain 50 podcast I learned about the Shaggs and if you haven’t listened to their album, it's a... trip. It's like if Phoebe Buffay had a band with 2 women like her. I can get into it's vibe though and I'd rather listen to this than EDM.
Philosophy of the World, by The Shaggs
12 track album
theshaggs.bandcamp.com
May 30, 2025 at 1:19 PM
I recently checked on the Leiden peregrine falcon chicks and instead found a bunch of upside down people. I eventually realized the chicks were being tagged. The birds were placed back in the box, the camera was swung back in place, and the chicks were back with "WTAF??" looks #Leiden #urbanwildlife
May 15, 2025 at 1:57 PM
To paraphrase protest signs: there aren't enough characters for this post, or in the world, to list the many ways these fuckers can fuck right off.
Trump Aides Solicit Ideas to Raise Birthrate, From Baby Bonuses to Fertility Planning
Baby bonuses and menstrual cycle classes are among the ideas pitched to Trump aides as they consider plans to try boosting the birthrate.
www.nytimes.com
April 22, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Recent activity in the #Leiden peregrine falcon box. During feeding time, was able to confirm that 4 eggs were laid and 2 have hatched! (You'll just have to take my word that there are 2 chicks there. 😅) Webcam at rtsp.me/embed/Q79AFA.... #slechtvalk #urbanwildlife
April 21, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Was hanging out in the local cemetery, discovered that flowers near me were wild garlic, so I harvested some and made garlic butter out of it. I learned later that the flowers are apparently bitter, so I just made a little bouquet it of them. #foraging #urbanforaging
April 20, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Ugh, this AI-training nonsense... I'm still on Instagram regularly because I enjoy the contact with the people I follow. My heart goes out to the artists and businesses who need it as a marketing tool and now are getting plundered for Meta's shit. They get stolen from enough as it is. #fuckmeta
April 18, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Finally finished this #embroidery piece, Market Day, by Cozy Blue. #mandala
April 17, 2025 at 1:34 PM
We need to quickly realize the midterms aren't going to save anything. There's no way a Democrat win will be accepted or allowed. We need to start planning for or trying to prevent that scenario.
Two months later, I think it’s pretty clear this has already happened. It’s happened very fast, and is very sad.
Some early “America on the precipice” has been overblown, but it’s already very plausible - maybe probable - that the US is going to become like Hungary: a place where all state institutions are controlled by a strongman, and someone else winning an election is almost unthinkable.
April 16, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Saw Eraserhead last night for the 1st time, at a sold-out, late, weeknight showing. My partner warned me about it but I didn't find it that disturbing. As someone not into kids, I totally got it. And Lynch definitely set his vibe right from his 1st film. 📽 #filmsky #riplynch
April 16, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Reposted by Marie
Ravens have 17 primary wing feathers, called pinions. Crows have 16 primary wing feathers.

So the difference between ravens and crows is a matter of a pinion.
April 13, 2025 at 2:49 PM
In "tolerant" Holland: "Growing homophobia in Leiden high schools. 'People think: if (Geert) Wilders can say this, so can I.'" Queer students, esp trans kids, are regularly bullied and not finding much support from their teachers or school. #Leiden #Netherlands #Holland #homophobia
Groeiende homohaat op Leidse middelbare scholen. ’Mensen denken: als Wilders dit mag zeggen, mag ik het ook’
LHBT-jongeren kunnen op school niet zichzelf zijn zonder gepest worden. Voor een transgenderleerling van het Visser ’t Hooft Lyceum in Leiden is een reguliere schooldag een regelrechte hel. Op andere Leidse middelbare scholen blijkt de situatie net zo alarmerend. Wat gaat er mis en hoe kan het beter?
www.leidschdagblad.nl
April 14, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Further things I got last weekend at Leiden's #swanmarket: stickers and postcards from Atomic Geisha. Japan + cats + goth vibe = I wanted to buy everything. www.atomicgeisha.com
#leiden #catart #cats #Japan #fortunekitty #manekineko #Halloween
April 12, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Some of the things I picked up last weekend at Leiden's #swanmarket: teeny succulents/cactuses in tiny pots that are recycled Nespresso cups. All of the maker's items use Nespresso cups: www.instagram.com/made_by_smile/ #leiden #upcycling #cactus #succulent #socute
April 11, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Circe is the most enjoyable novel I've read in a long time (though, yes, ok, the material isn't new). I loved the imagining of her life and the last few pages are so beautiful. #books #booksky
April 10, 2025 at 3:10 PM