the mummer's folly

The police ruled it a suicide. The family and local community demanded an investigation. The police refused to change their ruling.

Juliana Nzita, A 16 year old Black girl, was just found hanging from a tree on church grounds in Charlotte, NC. Police have ruled it a suicide, despite hanging ourselves from trees being like the one communally agreed way Black folks ain’t killing ourselves.

Every time I go on Twitter or Facebook I learn about another recent lynching or missing Black person going mostly unreported. Half the reason I keep an active account on either of those sites is because they’re the only place I can find out about the violence happening to Black and Trans people reasonably quickly.

Kyle Bassinga's family has asked for space and privacy - this was the most recent article I could find on the subject. They have "praised investigators and urged the public to avoid speculation." The officials in question have acknowledged the history involved, which might be why the family called them "professional, transparent, and diligent" and said that everyone should rely on official updates.

*I could not quickly find Bueia Umba online; the best I can offer as verification is that the Union Star - a source I am unfamiliar with - cited the GoFundMe.

That said, this website provides very simple instructions on how to do everyday tasks such as making your bed, using a washing machine, cooking different foods, washing dishes, taking a shower, etc. All you have to do is use the search bar to find the task you're struggling with, and it'll come up with what you need + other related how-to's:)

If you're having trouble navigating it, let me provide you with some examples:

How to clean dishes by hand

How to make your bed (with visual demonstrations of each step!)

How to fold clothes (with visual demonstrations of each step!)

How to take a shower & dry yourself off (also provides ways to shave beards, armpits, legs and genitals)

How to shave legs, armpits, beards, pubic areas, etc. (a more in-depth guide)

How to mop the floor

How to sweep the floor

How to swallow pills

How to make small talk

How to make eye contact in different situations (or how to avoid it while still looking natural)

Throughout the movie, the story centers on the conflict between the young child Brendan who wants to learn how to create illuminated manuscripts, and his uncle the abbot who dismisses his art studies because he believes all their effort should be focused on fortifying Kells against an incoming invasion. The abbot is cold and harsh, and even though he used to make illuminated manuscripts himself he now cares for nothing except fortifying Kells to face a violent invasion. He obsessively fixates on constructing walls, and defense fortifications, improving the structure of the buildings, and focusing on defensive architecture. He coldly denies Brendan the opportunity to study art, instead urging him to continue helping with the walls and the architecture.

But interestingly, the film ends with….In the climax, Kells is attacked, and their defenses don’t hold. The refugees attempt to climb the ramshackle stairs that lead to a refuge; the stairs aren’t well constructed enough to bear the weight, and they collapse. Innocent people die, as the invaders swarm in and slaughter refugees. The abbot looks on in horror, clearly blaming himself for his own failure to fortify kells enough to resist the invasion.

It makes the film’s message so much more morally and emotionally complex. “What is the value of making art in a time where you’re facing massive existential/societal threats” is not a question with an easy answer, and the Secret of Kells doesn’t try to give it an easy answer. The abbot is fixated on his walls and construction and defensive architecture to the point where he completely denies the value of art—- at the same time, would more people have lived if they’d better fortified the stairs?

Despite that the film is ultimately very positive about the value of art. It’s important that Brendan escapes and Book of Kells is preserved, preserving important history, beauty, and memory. The abbot himself finally recognizes the art’s value, when Brendan’s illustration becomes the only thing he has to remember him by. After Kells has been ravaged by invasion, the book preserves some of its former beauty.