Pope Paul III and His Grandsons is an oil on canvas painting by Titian, housed in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples. It was commissioned by the Farnese family and painted during Titian's visit to Rome between autumn 1545 and June 1546. It depicts the scabrous relationship between Pope Paul III and his grandsons, Ottavio and Alessandro Farnese. Ottavio is shown in the act of kneeling, to his left; Alessandro, wearing a cardinal's dress, stands behind him to his right. The painting explores the effects of ageing and the manoeuvring behind succession; Paul was at the time in his late seventies and ruling in an uncertain political climate as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor came into ascendancy.

Paul III was the last of the popes appointed by the ruling Medici family of Florence. He was socially ambitious, a careerist and not particularly pious. He kept a concubine, fathered four children out of wedlock and viewed the throne as an opportunity to fill his coffers while he placed his relatives in high positions. A talented and cunning political operator, Paul was precisely the sort of man the Florentines needed to assist them in their defence against French and Spanish threats.

Annibale Carracci was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of the Baroque style, borrowing from styles from both north and south of their native city, and aspiring for a return to classical monumentality, but adding a more vital dynamism. Painters working under Annibale at the gallery of the Palazzo Farnese would be highly influential in Roman painting for decades.

Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an interlocutory appeal June 17, on the same day a trial centered around the validity of Project Connect’s funding structure was set to begin. The attorney general’s initial claim argued the Austin Transit Partnership — the organization tasked with designing and constructing the Project Connect light rail system — didn’t have the jurisdiction to bring forth a bond validation lawsuit, filed in February.

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The 15th Court of Appeals dismissed Paxton’s appeal, citing “lack of jurisdiction.” The case was originally punted from the trial court to the Third Court of Appeals before landing in the 15th Court of Appeals, which began operating Sept. 1.

I think they've been watching too much porn.

I picked this up yesterday and checked out a few games in the collection. What I've played so far has been a blast.

The canvas is filled with multiple mini-scenes including a Punch and Judy, the coach of a newly married couple, and a funeral procession. In the background on the right is St Marylebone Church.

Here is the painting that was based off the drawing, but I really like the drawing so I made that the main post.

I put some asparagus in vinegar with garlic, red pepper flakes, and pickling spice a couple weeks ago. I just cracked it open, and they're fantastic!

I also started a batch of sauerkraut today with garlic and caraway seeds in a brine. Gonna keep an eye on it and hope it comes out alright. I like that it's a live fermentation, and will hopefully be full of good probiotics.

What's your favorite thing to pickle, and in what?