i was very sleep-deprived

“What if Japan took over the US during WW2?”

Japan didn’t want to take over the US. They wanted to eat the Pacific Ocean. They had a very specific plan in mind and were mostly just mad at the US for cutting off their oil supply.

“What if Hitler had taken over the world?”

As crazy and evil as he was, Hitler didn’t want to take over the world. He also had a very specific plan involving what he wanted. And taking over the world would be a lot of work. Likely impossible, actually.

“What if Alexander the Great had taken over Europe?”

Even if they had the technology to make the trip the Aztecs wouldn’t have wanted to take over Europe. The Aztec empire was more of an empire of influence and fear than an empire of direct control. Traveling that far to collect tribute and capture people for state sacrifice wouldn’t have been worth the trip when there’s neighboring city states and tribes right there next door.

“What if the Spanish caliphate had taken over all of Europe? Or even what if the eastern Muslims had taken over China?”

2nd base: exist in a public space together

3rd base: you witness me have a real, candid emotion

Ladino, otherwise known as Judeo-Spanish or Judeo-Espanyol is a minority language spoken almost exclusively by Sephardic Jews. It’s main influence is Old Castillian Spansih, and anyone who speaks Spanish won’t have too much difficulty in understanding it, but it is also influenced by Hebrew, Turkish, and Arabic. Because it is only spoken by between 60,000 and 400,000 people, resources for learning Ladino are scarce, so I wanted to share the online (free!) resources I’ve found for those who would like to learn

Online Courses

Endangered Languages Online Course - a series of videos that take you through conversational Ladino

A Beginner’s Course to Ladino - I cannot recommend this course enough, the lady who does the videos is so sweet and helpful. There is homework and resources. If you want to learn Ladino, you should definitely check this out

Ladino Language and Song - this course is being run at the moment so if you’re quick you can be a part of the live sessions!

Social Media Accounts

@ladino_hoy on Instagram is a Spanish account aimed at teaching common Ladino phrases

@SephardicBrothe on Twitter often posts resources in Ladino and is definitely worth following to stay updated on new resources coming out

@SarahAroeste on Twitter makes music in Ladino and often posts resources as well

Basics

Getting started - an introduction to grammar and phrases in Ladino

Diksionario de Djudeo-Espanyol a Inglez - an essential resource, this is a PDF Ladino and English dictionary

Ladino Phrasebook - A very basic introduction into greetings in Ladino, helpful for beginners

Kan Ladino - A regular radio programme in Ladino, complete with music and conversation, very helpful

Obvious disclaimer that you shouldn't have wild animals as pets.

But like, cheetahs are the only large cats that keepers will do free contact with. Hell, even most small cats don't get free contact. (Because small cats can be VICIOUS. They'll have a baby pallas cat wearing thicker gloves than when handling an owl. Because small cats can just be vicious.)

Like I think the only other cat at our zoo where I've seen free contact with was servals? Because I know they've used servals in shows to demonstrate their natural jumping ability. But I know servals can sometimes have a mean temper as well. Meanwhile they'll do the cheetah run and afterwards put the mic by the cheetahs and it's just like an engine with them purring. It's fascinating to watch when the message in every other large animal is "no free contact because it's dangerous even when they're born in captivity".