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Monica Vale

@themythicglass.com
291 followers 315 following 1K posts

🪞🐍 Writing articles about how myths, religion, and history create identity and cultural systems on Offprint. 💻 Hosting Co-Working & Studying livestreams on Substack. 🌈 Personal blog on Pckt. LINKS TO ALL↓ lnk.bio/themythicglass

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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 21/09/2026
This piece put to words something I've been thinking about recently. I'm not a university professor or a cyclist like the author of this essay is. But I *have* been thinking lately about how much I value my yoga sessions at an actual yoga studio. 🧵
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 19/09/2026
I now log into Bsky maybe once or twice a week and looking at the Trending is exhausting. KKK converse ad? Sounds about 2026 honestly.
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 26/08/2026
Ugh yesterday Dolly, today Tim Curry? Noooo :(
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 20/08/2026
Pomodoro style livestream tomorrow (8/20/26) at 5pm CST! I'll be spending the time getting some reading and research done. If you have some things to mark off your to-do list, feel free to join!
open.substack.com
LIVE SOON: Co-Work & Study Hall Livestream
Starting Aug 20 at 6:00 PM EDT
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 17/08/2026
At one point, the book, Yesteryear, says something about twisting something repulsive or sick into a delicacy and that is how I’d describe the book. Sick, but you can’t help but consume it. Devour it. A very interesting read..
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Eduardo García-Molina @egarcmol.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Given the amount of Telemachus/Antinous art I've seen on my feed, it appears it’s actually Robert Pattinson whose face launched a thousand (online) ships.
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 15/08/2026
Going live soon with a pomodoro-style co-work and Study Hall session!
mythicglass.substack.com
LIVE NOW: Research & Marginalia ✒️ 📖 | Co-work and study mythology & ancient history with me!
Monica Vale on Substack
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 13/08/2026
With Twitch essentially forcing streamers to share their videos to train Amazon’s Generative AI models, I’m done with doing my Study & Co-work sessions there. (I know, I know.. Substack is also bad, but there's not a great Twitch alternative yet). open.substack.com/live-stream/...
open.substack.com
LIVE SOON: Research & Marginalia ✒️ 📖 | Co-work and study mythology & ancient history with me!
Starting Aug 14 at 9:00 AM EDT
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 12/08/2026
I set out today to write an article about Dante’s circle of Heretics and how it shows up in social media today. I titled it “Dante’s Heretics are in the Comment Section,” and I was SO excited about it. 🧵
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 10/08/2026
Spoiler alert: I don’t use AI in my writing, and the more and more I hear about the effects of AI, the less and less desire I have to use it under any circumstances. 🧵
themythicglass.com
My Writing Process & Stance on Artificial Intelligence
As artificial intelligence continues to change at a breakneck pace, I'll continue to edit this essay as appropriate. Thanks for reading! -M
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 08/08/2026
Going forward, I think I’m going to make a concerted effort to say or type out “Artificial Intelligence) rather than referring to it as AI. 🧵 1/2
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 08/08/2026
Because I’m usually late to trendy titles, finally starting Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. I’m only about 15% in but this is a **very** interesting book so far. I see why it got so much buzz!
Holding yesteryear
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Peter Morley ♿️ @petermorley.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
This is the ONLY Blanche I recognize.
static.klipy.com
Blanche Devereaux Golden Girls Retro TV
ALT: Blanche Devereaux Golden Girls Retro TV
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 06/08/2026
I saw “Kit Conner cast as Cyclops” trending and my brain is still in Odyssey mode and I genuinely thought for a second that another Odyssey adaptation had been announced
Screenshot of Blueskys trending page
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Dr ShinyGoth @ghostingdani.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Emily Wilson set the entire world to arguing how to properly interpret an ancient poem and a modern blockbuster but sure, this is a failure of public engagement.
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 06/08/2026
A part of England has the chance to do something absolutely hilarious today. Go, Count Binface!
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 05/08/2026
I’ve never looked at a Michigan Map so intently before today, and I’ve never noticed how many lake islands there are in that state. Nothing like an election to get a better sense of a state’s geography 🤪
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 05/08/2026
Hooray, my state actually doing something good. Too bad that the politicians that put shit like this on the ballot keep getting elected… Missouri keeps electing progressive policies but anti progressive politicians—it’s infuriating.
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 31/07/2026
Seems like an appropriate way to wrap up a wild week in classics is an Onion article about ✨the discourse✨
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 30/07/2026
I read Discontent by Beatriz Serrano in one afternoon. I really enjoyed this book, and may identify with this protagonist than I’d like to admit. 😅 It truly put to words the existential dread of having to work in a capitalist world with such snark. I definitely recommend! #booksky
Me holding “Discontent” up against my shelf
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Dr. Sarah Parcak @indyfromspace.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Wait-film people are mad about Wilson's review? When a movie is called "The Odyssey" and is based on the poem, it deserves critique for how it failed. Nolan had NO expert ancient world consultants-major hubris on Nolan's part...
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Boy do I have a deal for this guy.
store.theonion.com
Demon Guard
Are demons preventing you from liberty and happiness? It’s nothing to be ashamed of, the wicked often prey on the righteous. Demon Guard is an easy-to-wear patch that secretes holy water and minerals ...
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 29/07/2026
I heard someone on a podcast essentially saying that if you call yourself a feminist and anti-imperialist but found anything enjoyable or worth praising in Nolan’s Odyssey then you’re a traitor to both feminism and anti-imperialism. 🧵
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 27/07/2026
Robert Pattinson's Antinous is definitely one of the best parts of the movie The Odyssey. I'll be the annoying friend in the group chat using this GIF to death:
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 25/07/2026
"I have learned that you get a lot more out of classics if you allow it to be a disruptive challenge to self-serving modern certainties, rather than turn it into an untouchable ancestor in whose shadow you should count yourself lucky to sit." Seems poignant to remember as folks watch The Odyssey.💙📚
Me holding up My copy of Mary Beard’s “talking classics”
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 22/07/2026
Another great thread from a translator of The Odyssey, this time on the cover which features the “Ladies in Blue” fresco from Crete.
Ladies in Blue Fresco
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 22/07/2026
Well no matter how you feel about Nolan’s Odyssey, you know it’s 100% better than a Musk made Grok slip fest
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 21/07/2026
The belly-aching, whining shade of Homer's Agamemnon in the Odyssey thanks Nolan for his service to revamp his cool factor:
menshealth.com
Benny Safdie Does Some Major Aura Farming as Agamemnon in ‘The Odyssey’
The actor-director explains how he embraced the aggressive physicality of the Trojan War commander in Christopher Nolan’s new epic.
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Supergiant Games @supergiantgames.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
🚨Get HADES II for 30% off, and the original HADES for 70% off, now till next week on Steam!🌖 Now's a great time to battle beyond the Underworld and get to know that Odysseus guy everybody's been talking about, plus dozens more from Greek myth.⛵️ Links in the replies⤵️
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 20/07/2026
My mom died two weeks ago, and while I'm not ready to get into *all* the ways that impacts me, I DID want to briefly talk about how I wasn't anticipating how damn *exhausting* the grief process is, at least for me. I'm feeling it accurately as the beginning of a new week is here, yet again.
monicavale.com
My mom died two weeks ago, and part of me went with her.
CW: parental death (obvi) but nothing in detail. Still, take care while reading if you need. 💜
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 20/07/2026
Finishing this weekend by continuing “Son of Nobody” by Yann Martel—which I’m enjoying immensely. It’s one thing for a novelist to retell a Greek epic, but another thing to create their OWN epic *and* tell the story of the translator at the same time. #booksky #currentlyreading
Me holding My copy of son of nobody by Yann Martel
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 19/07/2026
All translations of literature should be critiqued, but there's a unique flavor that a lot of the criticisms of Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey have. They read like butthurt elites pissed at the audacity to let the plebs in the ivory tower, but they bury their big feelings in jargon.🧵/1
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 19/07/2026
Ooo boy, this Odyssey discourse is wild. From the criticism & praise for the movie to translations of the poem, from right to left wing politics, it’s interesting to see how many people tie their identity to this story.
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 17/07/2026
A timely thread considering a certain recently released movie 🏺
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 17/07/2026
Just got back from seeing The Odyssey in theaters. There’s a lot that I really liked and some changes from the poem that make sense for the film. The only thing I *loathed* was what the film did to Helen (and not because of who played her! Lupita Nyong'o is wonderful!)
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 14/07/2026
I’m always excited to see a detailed thread from Emily Wilson. And this time she comes through in a thread before Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey comes out! 🧵
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 07/07/2026
Maybe it's internalized misogyny mixed with some old-fashioned self-deprecation, but I can't help but call my inner critic a sarcastic bitch. As I've gotten older, I've become better at dealing with her, no matter how mean she is to me. And by deal with, I mean blog about on my @pckt.blog
monicavale.com
Apologies to the self-love advocates, but ngl, my inner critic is a sarcastic bitch.
Why is it so hard to do the thing you wish you had more time (or more energy) to do? That thing is different for each of us, but there's a common string that connects them all. My thing is writing about a subject extremely important to me, but another person's thing could be painting, sewing projects, or creating music. Maybe yet another person's thing isn't so traditionally creative as producing art or creating a tangible object; maybe this person's thing is coding or programming.
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 07/07/2026
I see that Athena not only beautified Penelope in the Odyssey, but that extended to Anne Hathaway as well because she looks absolutely gorgeous.
Anne Hathaway in a blue gown holding her bump looking gorgeous
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 06/07/2026
There's a part in the book "Careless People" where the author beats Zuck at Settlers of Catan, and he is absolutely wrecked by it. Someone pulls her aside to explain everyone else has been letting him win for years. I think about this a lot re: why tech bros think everyone will love AI chatbots.
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 06/07/2026
I found a letter I wrote to myself as a freshman in high school. (2007) It brought tears to my eyes...until I read that my favorite band was Nickelback. Out of curiosity, I refreshed my memory today by listening to the '01-'05 albums. It's amazing how well the brain can retain song lyrics.
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 06/07/2026
Come join “one of the most intellectual channels on Twitch” today (7/6) at 6:00 pm CST (4:00 pm PST / 11:00 pm GMT) for a Co-Working and Study session! 🧵 1/3
Banner image with the divine comedy translated by Michael Palmas in the back ground with two comments from recent viewers that reads, "This is one of the most intellectual channels on Twitch." with a response that reads, "Yess, I felt like I have found gold. I even told her too"
With text at the bottom that reads, "Research & Marginalia co-working stream on Twitch. twitch.tv/themythicglass "
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 03/07/2026
Obviously Swift is better than Elon Musk (not sure why everyone always jumps to that anytime someone criticizes Swift) but her donations are drops in the bucket for her. Yes it’s better than nothing, and obvi better than musk, but that also doesn’t give her a free pass to avoid all criticism ever
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 03/07/2026
The ancient Phoenicians didn’t just give us the alphabet, but they’re using it to control us from Hell. 😆 Thank you @realinfowars.bsky.social and I hope Alex Jones is absolutely hating what's happening to Info Wars now youtu.be/tnz6PTSXiI0?...
Screen grab from the new infowars video  from the Onion “Phoenicians control the world from hell”
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 02/07/2026
Oh hello my beautiful new friend! My collection of @princetonupress.bsky.social books continues to grow! #booksky #currentlyreading
How women became poets: a gender history of Greek literature by Emily Hauser
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 02/07/2026
It's usually never a good thing when something's trending on Bsky. So, seeing Obsidian on the list freaked me out. I use @obsidian.md to store ALL my notes and writing projects. Thankfully, it seems like it was for a different Obsidian than the notetaking software! 🙏 Crisis averted.
A screenshot of Bluesky's "Trending" featuring: 1. Google Fine, 2. Obsidian 3. AnthroCon 4. Democratic Primary and 5. Israel Opposition
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 01/07/2026
Ok, well that seals it. I was already thinking about getting "Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep," but with this review from @gabino.bsky.social, I'm *definitely* getting it. #booksky #tbr
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 01/07/2026
A very important update:
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 01/07/2026
"Reflection involves a sort of doubling for aesthetic effect. It works a little like an echo, in case you’re familiar with that." Narcissus would know about echoes.
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 01/07/2026
Gilgamesh, a king seeking eternal glory, killed Humbaba under the guise of slaying a monster. But Humbaba wasn't a monster; he followed the gods' will to protect his native land. Millenia later, "kings" still create "monsters" to slay. - An article I'm migrating from Substack to @offprint.app
themythicglass.com
The Creation of Political Myth: MAGA, Monsters, and Trump as Hero
A tale as old as time: A powerful man puffs his chest, promises to slay the monsters, and solidifies power one dehumanizing myth at a time.
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Monica Vale @themythicglass.com · 30/06/2026
Last month, I went on a book-buying ban, and now, for "July" (even though it's still June), I basically got more than I would have in a normal month. 😳 Welp, at least I love being surrounded by books and don't mind the possibility of actually drowning in them. #tbr #booksky
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