🕺Happy Harry Styles day to all who celebrate🕺
➕ A historic agreement to protect the world's oceans, a fire in the biggest refugee camp in the world, & meet my current fave TikToker 🐙
Mōrena my angels!!!! WOOOOOSH it feels like it’s been a sec since I’ve chatted to ya properly - how are you??? Rubes is living with me for the week before we go to Sydney to drop her off (forever) and we’ve been doing the MOST (I’ll fill you in properly in my diary edish on Friday for all our paying supporters!!)
We went to Lorde on Saturday night with Liv (hope you all loved reading our interview we did with her in 2021 yesterday) and TONIGHT WE’RE GOING TO HARRY!!! HUGE NEWS FOR THE US!! Unforch we will NOT be interviewing/ meeting him, but we will be attending the concert and loving him, and that’s more than enough.
Also - as if I wasn’t already as OBSESSED with you as I could be, look at what Tamara sent through!!! One of her besties embroidered our fave saying around here:
Ugh love u all so much, and PLEASE send me pics of ur Harry outfits!!!!
Harry Styles accidentally uploaded a picture of him in a 1D shirt to his story
Alabama girls' basketball team denied championship after being forced to play in boys' league, then winning it
🗺Around the world🗺
A historic ocean agreement is reached after a decade of talks, a fire in Cox’s Bazar, & an update on the Greece train collision
Meet my new fave TikToker
A mundane question: what’s a word you’ve always pronounced wrong?
Harry Styles accidentally uploaded a picture of him in a 1D shirt to his story
It only feels right that I start today with a story on Harry Styles, and this one is CUTE! Yesterday arvo I saw that he’d uploaded a story to Instagram (unusual for him) of him wearing a ONE DIRECTION SHIRT (even more unusual for him) and then he VERY QUICKLY deleted it. Most people reckon he was supposed to add this to his ‘close friends’ story (he’s accidentally done this before) but I reckon he could have been baiting us….
I can’t remember if I saw it on Twitter or TikTok but I did see someone claim that they’d thrown it on stage at one of his shows and it was a KIDS SIZE MEDIUM!? Cannot for the life of me find the link backing that up, so take it with a grain of salt will ya?
In other Harry Styles fashion news, he was also seen getting off the plane in New Zealand (AH) carrying a pink ‘Daddy’ hat that someone had thrown on stage. God help us all.
Alabama girls' basketball team denied championship after being forced to play in boys' league, then winning it
Absolutely COOKED story coming out of Alabama this week - an Alabama youth girls’ basketball team was told that they would lose their practice facility unless they agreed to play in the boys’ league (wtf) and then after they went on to win the whole thing, were denied the trophy. The trophy was instead given to - you guessed it - the boys team that lost.
Here’s what the mother of one of the 5th-grade players on the girls’ team, said on Facebook:
“These girls have played together for 3 years for a competitive girl’s league representing Spain Park. All are 5th graders in the Hoover school system. Half way through their season they were told they could not use the Hoover gyms for their practices unless they paid to play in the Hoover rec league. They were told to stay together as a team they had to play up a level in competition and play the 5th grade boys. The girls were middle of the pack throughout the season losing several close games by 1 point. Playing the boys was a challenge they rose to meet. It made them better players and a better team.
They were told before the championship that they could play in it but if they won they wouldn’t be allowed to have the trophy. “Excuse me? What?” What did they do to get disqualified? Did they not pay their dues? Did they not play up a level in competition? Oh, it’s because they’re GIRLS?!?!
So sure enough these 5th grade girls played their hearts out, left it all on the floor and battled their male counterparts only to be told, “No, I’m sorry you don’t count.”
Since this was posted a man called Jason Jordan commented on it, offering somewhat of an explanation:
“I’ve coached both boys and girls in Hoover for years and can assure everybody that they don’t discriminate against girls.
This policy has been in place for years. Hats off to this team for winning the championship. It is unfortunate they couldn’t get the trophy but it sounds like Hoover is going to make it right by honoring the girls. The same thing happened to a boys team.
In the past and I’m sure here too, the league tells the coaches well in advance that you can sit out the tournament or you can play but you will not get a trophy. In the 15 plus years I have coached, I’ve never seen a team win it all playing up, so congratulations to these girls and the coaches for winning the championship. Trophy or no trophy, they are the champions.”
Even with this explanation (of a bad policy leading to bad outcomes), it still feels stupid as fuck that you literally won’t give the trophy to the winner. And if you’re a fifth-grade girl I can promise that all you’re going to remember is the fact that you won the championship, yet the trophy still went to the boys, and how that made you feel - not the policy that explained it away.
I’ll leave you with this paragraph from Julie DiCaro in Deadspin:
The lesson, it would seem, is that even when women are more qualified, work harder, and achieve more than men, they still are not as worthy. It’s a lesson too many Americans have learned too well, given the number of men who decry equity and inclusion with the old trope, “hire the most qualified person!” while refusing to consider that anyone who is not a cishet white male could ever be the most qualified for the job.
🗺Around the world🗺
Conservation
Ocean treaty: Historic agreement reached after decade of talks (RNZ)
After about 10 years of negotiations, nations have reached a historic agreement to protect the world's oceans!! The treaty - called the “High Seas Treaty” aims to put 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030, puts more money into marine conservation and means new rules for mining at sea. It’s all to “safeguard and recuperate marine nature.”
“That agreement established an area called the high seas - international waters where all countries have a right to fish, ship and do research - but only 1.2 percent of these waters are protected.
Marine life living outside of these protected areas has been at risk from climate change, overfishing and shipping traffic.”
Greece
Stationmaster charged in Greece train crash that killed 57 (AP News)
A Greek Stationmaster has been charged with causing the deadly train collision in Greece that killed 57 people.
“The 59-year-old stationmaster allegedly directed the two trains traveling in opposite directions onto the same track.
For 20 minutes, he was in charge of (train) safety in all central Greece,” the lawyer said of his client.”
Greek media have reported that the automatic signalling system in the area of the crash was broken, which could have also been a factor in the accident.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh investigates huge fire at world's largest refugee camp (BBC)
Authorities in Bangladesh are investigating a fire in Cox’s Bazar (the world’s largest refugee camp) which has left at least 12,000 people without shelter. The camp homes over one million refugees (most of whom are Rohingya people who’ve fled from Myanmar), yet there are said to be no casualties. Police are looking into whether it was an act of sabotage. More here!
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Meet my new fave TikToker
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His name is Jake Shane (aka octopusslover8) and people ask him to react to famous events in history (Pluto finding out it got kicked out of the planets) and it’s made SO much better by the person filming him struggling to hold it together in the background. Over the past few days, he’s FULLY taken over my feed and I certainly ain’t mad about it. Here are some of my faves:
Rubes and I have been pissing ourselves at EVERY video of his that comes up, and when I asked her why she reckons we love him so much she said it’s so nice when you find someone who’s really just carved out a niche of their own (not saying he’s the first person to ever do it, but the first to do it THIS well!!) On the internet where everything feels like it’s being copied and pasted, seeing something original (and hilarious) like this is just the best. Please go an watch all his vids and let me know what you think!!
Today’s mundane question:
What’s a word that you’ve always pronounced wrong? (Perhaps because you’ve only ever READ it??) For me it’s ‘awry’ - I’ve never said it correctly ever.
Drop your results in the comments!!!!
I aspire to one day be able to walk off a plane with no carry-on except a pink hat
For years I thought gargantuan was said like orangutan like the primate but with a G on the front. Also can’t wait for the full diary entry of your Harry experience!!!!