![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
synagogue alternatives
Jun. 16th, 2025 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioMy synagogue is being acquired [1] and this was the final nudge to find an alternative. This past Shabbat they cancelled our services in favor of the other place, so I went to Beth Shalom, which I last visited during Pesach. Beth Shalom is a large congregation, which is a little challenging for this introvert, but I assume that if I go there regularly I'll gradually meet people and maybe even be able to learn their names.
Their service is uplifting and pretty efficient. They're Conservative, so they include a lot of things that my current (Reform) congregation doesn't do, but it didn't make the service that much longer. I will need to practice the Hebrew in some unfamiliar sections so that I can sing the songs with them; I was kind of singing this time, hitting maybe one word in four and faking the rest. (I know how to read Hebrew; I'm just slow.)
I had not noticed that they had designated this week as Pride Shabbat until the rabbi spoke. I mean yes, I saw some pins and rainbow talitot and stuff, but I saw those the last time I was at Beth Shalom too, so that's just ordinary support/visibility stuff. And there'd been some signs outside, but I hadn't noticed dates. In other words, they integrated the already-welcome queer community into the Shabbat service, honoring people without replacing the whole service with a bunch of creative readings. (Temple Sinai's Pride Shabbat feels more like a poetry slam; Shabbat barely makes an appearance.) I haven't been to a bar or bat mitzvah at Beth Shalom yet, but I imagine it's the same idea there: celebrate together in the context of Shabbat. Conservative and of course Orthodox synagogues tend to prioritize the community, and Shabbat itself, integrating celebrations into the whole instead of carving them off as separate things as Reform is wont to do. It's refreshing.
They have a kiddush lunch every week, which is presumably the best way to meet and get to know people. During Sukkot I went there and ended up in a lunch conversation with another Babylon 5 fan who was explaining the show to a third person. (I haven't seen the fan again yet, alas.) This week I couldn't stay because we had a friend coming, but there'll be a next time and probably soon.
There was a passing comment about the senior rabbi's upcoming sabbatical. I don't know more than that, and I'll want to have a chat with him before, or as part of, joining there, but it's not urgent. There is also an associate rabbi who I like so far; I plan to soon start going to a weekly class he teaches. While exploring their web site I discovered that both rabbis have blogs, which I'm now subscribed to.
Beth Shalom, not unusually, does not publish their dues expectations; you need to have a conversation with someone. Large old congregations with large old buildings tend to have high dues, which I might not be able to afford, especially if they don't have the concept of an individual membership. It can be worked out I'm sure, but it's a little awkward and embarrassing to have that conversation, and I wish I had some data going into it. Oh well; we'll get there. The high holy days (the one time a year when this really matters) are not for a few months yet.
Rodef Shalom (the synagogue Temple Sinai cancelled services for) puts their services on YouTube, so I skimmed that service yesterday. I knew they were having a guest musician, Dan Nichols, as part of celebrating their rabbi's retirement. I knew from a past Dan Nichols visit that he leans toward creative songs and less liturgy (more of a concert than a service), but I was still surprised by what I saw. How do you have a Shabbat morning service that goes almost two hours and not do Kri'at Sh'ma or the T'filah?! By caring I am a minority in the Reform movement, I know, and while this is extreme, it's also a hint of where Rodef Sinai is going. It's time to be elsewhere.
[1] This is not how the leaders characterize it, but I have seen some of the sausage-making and I stand by this description.
FAPA blues
Jun. 16th, 2025 08:39 amelfGot the most recent FAPA mailing, #351. It's fewer than 60 pages. While we're up to 21 members I think (I don't have it with me right now) - up from the 14-ish when I joined a few years ago - the page count has dropped recently, possibly in part because the Org Editor can no longer print people's entries for them. (He retired and no longer has access to the work printers.) So the overseas members are no longer sending in quarterly submissions.
( defining terms )
FAPA's contribution requirement is 8 pages a year, which can be 1 double-sided sheet of paper per quarter. This was not particularly onerous even in the days of hectographs. It is, however, apparently enough of a hassle that several current members only technically meet it - sending in that single sheet a quarter, and it's only a page and a half, and it's in 14-pt type and includes a picture covering a quarter of the page. If there were still a waiting list, they'd be bumped for failing to meet the contrib requirements. Since there hasn't been a waiting list this century, this is not an issue.
There are scans of some past mailings (or rather, parts of them) and scans of Fantasy Amateur, the official org zine (aka, the index & list of members), which stops right at the point where membership started dropping below the max of 65.
...Anyone want to join a venerated scifi institution that's been fading since the dawn of the WWW?
Requirements:
* Send 25 copies (currently) to the OE, minimum 8 pgs/year; can be sent quarterly, annually, or anything in between. ( More details inside )
( defining terms )
FAPA's contribution requirement is 8 pages a year, which can be 1 double-sided sheet of paper per quarter. This was not particularly onerous even in the days of hectographs. It is, however, apparently enough of a hassle that several current members only technically meet it - sending in that single sheet a quarter, and it's only a page and a half, and it's in 14-pt type and includes a picture covering a quarter of the page. If there were still a waiting list, they'd be bumped for failing to meet the contrib requirements. Since there hasn't been a waiting list this century, this is not an issue.
There are scans of some past mailings (or rather, parts of them) and scans of Fantasy Amateur, the official org zine (aka, the index & list of members), which stops right at the point where membership started dropping below the max of 65.
...Anyone want to join a venerated scifi institution that's been fading since the dawn of the WWW?
Requirements:
* Send 25 copies (currently) to the OE, minimum 8 pgs/year; can be sent quarterly, annually, or anything in between. ( More details inside )
"And Though The Static Walls Surround Me." (Vorkosigan Saga) G
Jun. 15th, 2025 09:41 pmlannamichaelsTitle: And Though The Static Walls Surround Me.
Author:
lannamichaelsFandom: Vorkosigan Saga
Series: Part 11 of Are You Out There, Can You Hear This?
Rating: G
A/N: The title is from Are You Out There by Dar Williams.
Archives: Archive Of Our Own, SquidgeWorld
Summary: Miles is hanging out with mercenaries. Gregor has a headache and would rather be listening to the radio. Or: Warrior's Apprentice in radioverse.
( Let's do the time skip again! )
Melancholy Memories
Jun. 15th, 2025 06:43 pmsinanjuI hadn't posted to this journal in about seven years until the other day. So I went back to the archives and started re-reading all my posts from the beginning. I've only gotten through about a year and half so far, but it's...sad.
I see posts from the days when Snippy and I were happy. I see me talking about that. I see comments she made on my posts, joking sometimes, offering sympathy or encouragement or insights sometimes. I see posts I made about dealing with raising the kids, cars or appliances breaking down, about health--the kids or Snippy or me, or some combination of us being sick. I see posts about dealing her mother's terminal illness and death. I see posts about being tired, worn down, ill, stressed and dealing with it.
Posts about life, because that's all that was. Things often didn't go smoothly. But we were happy. I loved her. She loved ME. And somewhere along the way, we lost that. And I regret that very much, and feel guilty for not being the partner she needed, for making her feel eventually that her life would be better without me in it. (And I know from things she said since our divorce, that I'm not alone in that.) It's just heartbreaking to read those posts from a guy who had no idea that in fourteen years he'd be separated and living alone again, and eventually divorced.
I'm remarried now, and I'm very happy with her. And if that first marriage had worked out, I'd never have met her. But I'm also aware that I felt that way the first time and I let complacency steal it from me. I could have been a better husband. It's a strong motivation to make sure I don't let that happen again.
I see posts from the days when Snippy and I were happy. I see me talking about that. I see comments she made on my posts, joking sometimes, offering sympathy or encouragement or insights sometimes. I see posts I made about dealing with raising the kids, cars or appliances breaking down, about health--the kids or Snippy or me, or some combination of us being sick. I see posts about dealing her mother's terminal illness and death. I see posts about being tired, worn down, ill, stressed and dealing with it.
Posts about life, because that's all that was. Things often didn't go smoothly. But we were happy. I loved her. She loved ME. And somewhere along the way, we lost that. And I regret that very much, and feel guilty for not being the partner she needed, for making her feel eventually that her life would be better without me in it. (And I know from things she said since our divorce, that I'm not alone in that.) It's just heartbreaking to read those posts from a guy who had no idea that in fourteen years he'd be separated and living alone again, and eventually divorced.
I'm remarried now, and I'm very happy with her. And if that first marriage had worked out, I'd never have met her. But I'm also aware that I felt that way the first time and I let complacency steal it from me. I could have been a better husband. It's a strong motivation to make sure I don't let that happen again.
Midieval Swordsmanship by John Clement
Jun. 15th, 2025 12:16 pmsinanjuI've been looking into historical forms of swordplay partly for my own education, but also as background information for Highlander fanfic. I mostly write about Michelle Webster, who appeared in a single episode of the Highlander tv series, but who grabbed my attention. I've played her in a number of online RPGs, and written a little fic over the years. I've got quite a lot of headcanon about what she's been up to for the thirty years(!) since that Highlander episode in 1995.
( Read more )
( Read more )
Wuxi, Return to Melbourne, Doctoral Progress
Jun. 15th, 2025 10:49 pmtcpipThe third part of the conference proceedings involved two nights in the nearby city of Wuxi, which I had visited only several days prior on holiday. Staying at the rather impressive Juna Hubin Hotel, a morning was spent at an industrial park, specifically for electric scooters and bikes of various makes and models, which are widespread throughout the major cities. I was particularly impressed by one which had the capacity for self-driving! I can imagine a future where we'll simply zip around in a self-driving easychair with a coffee and book whilst our vehicle takes us to our destination. After that was a visit to a precision textiles company, which, whilst being the manufacturing centre for some major name brands, didn't quite interest me at the same level. In the afternoon, we finished our conference with a very enjoyable visit to Wuxi's Huishan Old Town and gardens.
With a car deciding to merge into our bus the previous day (our bus was scratched, the car lost three panels), it made narrative sense that, following a return to Nanjing, that the airline company cancelled my flight from to Guangzhou, and then couldn't find my initial booking when arranging a replacement. When I was finally booked on a late-night plane, we found ourselves stuck on the tarmac due to inclement weather. Never mind, everything sorted itself out and I finally made it in their air with a three-hour layover at Guangzhou airport in the middle of the night, before taking the nine-hour flight back to Melbourne town.
I took this window of opportunity to finish the final written requirements for the second course in my doctoral studies (I still find doctoral coursework strange at best). This was a major project on a public debate in New Zealand between two opposing views in climate science, with my former professor and IPCC lead author, James Renwick, debating a soil scientist and AGW "sceptic", Doug Edmeades. Whilst trying to be as charitable as possible, Edmeades engages in extremely sloppy cherry-picking of data and shows a profound lack of understanding of even the basics of climate physics. It is so bad that I am tempted to suggest that he is engaging in malice rather than ignorance, as it seems perplexing that one could complete a scientific doctorate whilst being at odds with scientific methodology. I think I will be writing to him to find out why.
With a car deciding to merge into our bus the previous day (our bus was scratched, the car lost three panels), it made narrative sense that, following a return to Nanjing, that the airline company cancelled my flight from to Guangzhou, and then couldn't find my initial booking when arranging a replacement. When I was finally booked on a late-night plane, we found ourselves stuck on the tarmac due to inclement weather. Never mind, everything sorted itself out and I finally made it in their air with a three-hour layover at Guangzhou airport in the middle of the night, before taking the nine-hour flight back to Melbourne town.
I took this window of opportunity to finish the final written requirements for the second course in my doctoral studies (I still find doctoral coursework strange at best). This was a major project on a public debate in New Zealand between two opposing views in climate science, with my former professor and IPCC lead author, James Renwick, debating a soil scientist and AGW "sceptic", Doug Edmeades. Whilst trying to be as charitable as possible, Edmeades engages in extremely sloppy cherry-picking of data and shows a profound lack of understanding of even the basics of climate physics. It is so bad that I am tempted to suggest that he is engaging in malice rather than ignorance, as it seems perplexing that one could complete a scientific doctorate whilst being at odds with scientific methodology. I think I will be writing to him to find out why.
Nanjing City Wall, Sun Yat Sen, Grand Baoen, and Conference
Jun. 13th, 2025 09:34 pmtcpipThe second part of my visit to Nanjing was now more formally part of the Jiangsu People-to-People Conference. Whilst other conference attendees made their way to the truly impressive Nanjing City Wall and Zhonghua Gate I went to Zhongshan Mountain Park instead, as I visited the Wall the night before on my back to the hotel from the Confucian temple and academy area of Fuzi Miao. The evening visit was helped by meeting two young mechanical engineering students from Yunnan province, extra-memorable as we almost managed to get ourselves stuck on the wall's confines as we travelled so far engaging in excellent conversation on China, Australia, and scholarship.
The practical upshot was that I had a morning spare, and the visit to the Zhongshan Mountain Park was glorious in its beauty. There are several notable attractions at the Park, all of which are deserving a visit, but I had a particular priority to pay homage and go to the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, "father of modern China", first president of the Republic. Sun Yat-Sen was a practical revolutionary and a highly nuanced political, economic, and national theorist whose views, drawing on liberalism, socialism, and anarchism, have certainly been extremely influential on my own. The grounds of the Mausoleum, buried according to his wishes, provides an astounding view of Nanjing.
After our hosts provided a banquet lunch (which would be followed by a banquet dinner, and then another banquet dinner the following day), I rejoined the international guests for a visit to the Grand Baoen Museum Buddhist Temple. The museum part included a good number of relics and in situ archaeological digs, along with some delightful modern artworks. The reconstructed pagoda temple is an attraction in its own right, but it is difficult to capture the original porcelain beauty that captured the imagination of so many visitors; alas, it was destroyed in the Taiping Revolution.
The following day was a more formal part of the conference. Moderated by the vice-governor of Jiangsu Province, Fang Wei, an excellent opening speech was given by the governor, Xu Kunlin, and was followed by a variety of former politicians and ambassadors from around the world, because that's the sort of people I sometimes run with. There were over 40 countries represented by some 145 attendees, with 17 international speakers, including yours truly. I spoke about the history of the Australia-China Friendship Society, our work in building cultural ties and understanding, and the formal relationship that the state of Victoria has with Jiangsu Province. It was particularly notable that some speakers made a point of China's commitment to "green technology"; despite being the world's biggest manufacturer, and producer of greenhouse gases, China already has falling GHG emissions, along with massive implementation of renewable technologies, forestration, and electric vehicles. We could certainly learn from them.
The practical upshot was that I had a morning spare, and the visit to the Zhongshan Mountain Park was glorious in its beauty. There are several notable attractions at the Park, all of which are deserving a visit, but I had a particular priority to pay homage and go to the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, "father of modern China", first president of the Republic. Sun Yat-Sen was a practical revolutionary and a highly nuanced political, economic, and national theorist whose views, drawing on liberalism, socialism, and anarchism, have certainly been extremely influential on my own. The grounds of the Mausoleum, buried according to his wishes, provides an astounding view of Nanjing.
After our hosts provided a banquet lunch (which would be followed by a banquet dinner, and then another banquet dinner the following day), I rejoined the international guests for a visit to the Grand Baoen Museum Buddhist Temple. The museum part included a good number of relics and in situ archaeological digs, along with some delightful modern artworks. The reconstructed pagoda temple is an attraction in its own right, but it is difficult to capture the original porcelain beauty that captured the imagination of so many visitors; alas, it was destroyed in the Taiping Revolution.
The following day was a more formal part of the conference. Moderated by the vice-governor of Jiangsu Province, Fang Wei, an excellent opening speech was given by the governor, Xu Kunlin, and was followed by a variety of former politicians and ambassadors from around the world, because that's the sort of people I sometimes run with. There were over 40 countries represented by some 145 attendees, with 17 international speakers, including yours truly. I spoke about the history of the Australia-China Friendship Society, our work in building cultural ties and understanding, and the formal relationship that the state of Victoria has with Jiangsu Province. It was particularly notable that some speakers made a point of China's commitment to "green technology"; despite being the world's biggest manufacturer, and producer of greenhouse gases, China already has falling GHG emissions, along with massive implementation of renewable technologies, forestration, and electric vehicles. We could certainly learn from them.
That you live and let die
Jun. 15th, 2025 02:53 amviridian5
With the Boot on my left foot, I can't run the uneven ground of cemeteries, but I can still do window displays in the city. I'm interested in seeing if any of the stores do their usual Pride window displays. So far, no, but it's still early June.Saks and Bergdorf Goodman Men's had some Father's Day windows, while Bergdorf Goodman itself put up some new stuff. I've posted 19 photos up to my Flickr.
I have a week or two more in the Boot.
+++
Mickey 17 was a somewhat confused mass of interesting ideas with a lot of them left dangling and an ending that didn't land for me, but I can't stop thinking about it. The director said that Mark Ruffalo's character wasn't only based on Trump, but did anyone tell Mark Ruffalo that? Sometimes he was so Trumpy, he was distracting. Some people complained about how cartoonishly evil the character and his wife are, but in our current cursed timeline I don't think it's OTT. Some people felt that Pattinson's voice as 17 was too weird, but it grew on me. Mickey has been used, abused, beat down, and then constantly reprinted back to life by people who are far from conscientious. (I still don't know how he can remember all his deaths though. The movie doesn't say if they can manage to get a memory read from the corpse before they recycle it.) In my opinion, Robert Pattinson had pretty good chemistry with himself as different versions of the same character. The comedy is bleak, but I'm up for that.
I wonder how this movie would've felt if Trump hadn't won a second term.
Plus, Mickey 17 is not an adaptation of an already popular IP, a sequel, or a reboot, and I fully encourage thinky, weird movies.
By contrast, We Live in Time didn't work for me at all. Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh are great, but the writing didn't do much for me and the narrative being nonlinear didn't help or add anything for me. What I mainly got out of it is that I felt bad for Garfield's character.
+++
This is the twin of my other birthday gift keychain. I have keys I don't use as often, store loyalty cards, and my NY voter tags that let me check in faster to vote on it.
Sinanju breaking radio silence!
Jun. 14th, 2025 09:50 pmsinanjuYeah. It's been...years since I last posted to this journal. And I don't know if I'll continue, but I figured I'd give it a try.
So...when last we saw our intrepid hero, he was newly divorced and living alone in the aptly-named Fortress of Solitude apartment. In the seven years or so since then, I've remarried. It took a couple of years before I felt ready to venture into the dating pool again, but I did, and I found my new wife and I'm very happy with her. We've been married three or four years now. (I forget exactly, though I know that we got married on October 31st--Halloween!--to make it memorable. So, the date? Yes! The year? Not so much....
I'm still working for OHSU, but I'm working remotely from home and have been for going on five years now (since Covid in 2020). I love it. It enabled me to move out of the cesspool that is, sadly, now Portland and move to a small town in Washington state about an hour's drive from OHSU. I only go into the office about once every six weeks to do things that have to be done on-site (we take it turns to do so weekly).
I went to the Oregon Renaissance Faire today. It was a 90 minute drive there and back, and while the Faire was...okay* I'm glad I went. It got me out of the house for the day. More specifically, it got me out of my office and off of the computer, away from Tumblr and X, upon which I spend too much time. It also got me away from the nagging feeling that I should be working on a couple of works of fiction. One is erotica on Literotica that is well over 200,000 words at this point, but every chapter takes longer than the last. So I'm trying to wind it up, but I feel bad when I don't work on it often. The other is a Highlander fanfic focusing on Michelle Webster. I've written thousands upon thousand of words about her, mostly in online panfandom RPGs, but some fic as well. But this one...it's like carving a statue out of marble. It's going...slowly. I'm not sure why. But getting away from all of that was good for me.
I walked around the faire for about three hours, which was good for me, too. Then I went and got a massage because why not? And then, while talking to the masseuse, I was reminded that I was in Tigard and not far from Buster's BBQ, which I hadn't had in...years.** So I drove over there and ate barbecue, and yea verily, it was delicious. Then home to mindlessly watch a few episodes of Mythbusters (it's one of my defaults when I'm too zoned out to choose something, or to pay a lot of attention.)
But now I've succumbed once more to the lure of the internet. But that's okay. I'm taking the day off.
And I don't remember offhand how to put a cut in the post, so here it is in all its wordy glory.
*I've been to MANY such faires over the years, as well as numerous SCA events when I was doing SCA, and a lot of the bloom is off the rose for me now. It was entertaining to see the crowds in costume, and to browse the merchant stalls but I bought nothing. Not even food or drink (the lines were ridiculous, and a lot of food vendors didn't sell drinks, so you'd have to stand in TWO long lines for both...no thanks). But I saw a couple of friends I hadn't seen in a while (we coordinated the day we went), so that was nice.
**I like my small town a lot, but it doesn't have a lot of the restaurant options the Portland metro area provides.
So...when last we saw our intrepid hero, he was newly divorced and living alone in the aptly-named Fortress of Solitude apartment. In the seven years or so since then, I've remarried. It took a couple of years before I felt ready to venture into the dating pool again, but I did, and I found my new wife and I'm very happy with her. We've been married three or four years now. (I forget exactly, though I know that we got married on October 31st--Halloween!--to make it memorable. So, the date? Yes! The year? Not so much....
I'm still working for OHSU, but I'm working remotely from home and have been for going on five years now (since Covid in 2020). I love it. It enabled me to move out of the cesspool that is, sadly, now Portland and move to a small town in Washington state about an hour's drive from OHSU. I only go into the office about once every six weeks to do things that have to be done on-site (we take it turns to do so weekly).
I went to the Oregon Renaissance Faire today. It was a 90 minute drive there and back, and while the Faire was...okay* I'm glad I went. It got me out of the house for the day. More specifically, it got me out of my office and off of the computer, away from Tumblr and X, upon which I spend too much time. It also got me away from the nagging feeling that I should be working on a couple of works of fiction. One is erotica on Literotica that is well over 200,000 words at this point, but every chapter takes longer than the last. So I'm trying to wind it up, but I feel bad when I don't work on it often. The other is a Highlander fanfic focusing on Michelle Webster. I've written thousands upon thousand of words about her, mostly in online panfandom RPGs, but some fic as well. But this one...it's like carving a statue out of marble. It's going...slowly. I'm not sure why. But getting away from all of that was good for me.
I walked around the faire for about three hours, which was good for me, too. Then I went and got a massage because why not? And then, while talking to the masseuse, I was reminded that I was in Tigard and not far from Buster's BBQ, which I hadn't had in...years.** So I drove over there and ate barbecue, and yea verily, it was delicious. Then home to mindlessly watch a few episodes of Mythbusters (it's one of my defaults when I'm too zoned out to choose something, or to pay a lot of attention.)
But now I've succumbed once more to the lure of the internet. But that's okay. I'm taking the day off.
And I don't remember offhand how to put a cut in the post, so here it is in all its wordy glory.
*I've been to MANY such faires over the years, as well as numerous SCA events when I was doing SCA, and a lot of the bloom is off the rose for me now. It was entertaining to see the crowds in costume, and to browse the merchant stalls but I bought nothing. Not even food or drink (the lines were ridiculous, and a lot of food vendors didn't sell drinks, so you'd have to stand in TWO long lines for both...no thanks). But I saw a couple of friends I hadn't seen in a while (we coordinated the day we went), so that was nice.
**I like my small town a lot, but it doesn't have a lot of the restaurant options the Portland metro area provides.
in conclusion, age is a number
Jun. 14th, 2025 06:55 pmthistleingreyStupidly, I keep referring to my age without meaning to in conversation, then catching it only afterwards. I already know I'm a bit insecure about the age I turn this calendar year; it'd be fine if my mouth would quit confirming it, repeatedly.
OTOH, though I still can't go for a walk without detectable negative consequences, core strength remains approximately intact: I've just carried one microwave across two rooms and a doorway gate (the one that keeps tiny housemate in the kitchen---her paws reach the top bar if she lunges upwards, and on me it's between knee and hip height), then carried another microwave the same distance in the opposite direction. ( short and boring )
*tilts head* That seems to be enough words. Far fewer than I used to lob at related topics.
OTOH, though I still can't go for a walk without detectable negative consequences, core strength remains approximately intact: I've just carried one microwave across two rooms and a doorway gate (the one that keeps tiny housemate in the kitchen---her paws reach the top bar if she lunges upwards, and on me it's between knee and hip height), then carried another microwave the same distance in the opposite direction. ( short and boring )
*tilts head* That seems to be enough words. Far fewer than I used to lob at related topics.
two some good things
Jun. 14th, 2025 11:59 pmkaberettItem the first: I have no idea what the hell made the ominous donk-slither-donk noise in the portaloo at about midnight last night, but the phone I'd convinced myself it was was in a neat little pile with my laptop, in the tent, in the morning -- after I'd spent some time being sad about inadequate backups of photos of tiny sleepy rhinos -- which was an enormous relief (though I am also very pleased with myself for how well I handled things). (Especially given that my conviction that this was what had happened was in part based on being as aware as I could be of how abruptly my cognitive function had deteriorated with Surprise Unscheduled Migraine Onset.) (Still haven't worked out what on earth the donk-slither-donk was, but it's none of the obvious Truly Upsetting things to have lost, so I'm Currently Fine With This.)
Item the second: it is hot. This field contains lots of chamomile, and also lots of people. I am really enjoying the way it smells.
Item the third: I am really enjoying the dark chocolate + salt + nuts snack bars that crew welfare is providing, which I'd not previously noticed.
Item four: THE HALBARD THAT IS A SHARK.
Hey AI — hands off my em-dash
Jun. 14th, 2025 02:03 amfirecatMy fave is the semicolon; however, I refuse to cede em-dashes or any other punctuation marks to ChatGPT.
These attacks on the em dash — a ChatGPT hyphen? How very dare you! — have in turn blazed across social media spaces populated by the kind of folks who will tell you, unprompted, that they have a favorite punctuation mark and what it is. (It is very likely the em dash.) — https://www.salon.com/2025/06/11/ai-cant-have-my-em-dash/
obviously
Jun. 13th, 2025 09:27 amthistleingreyWhen I was a kid, it was expected that the school-day began with the whole class standing to recite the pledge of allegiance. It was nearer the McCarthy era, and the Cold War was still a thing. One effect of doing this in greater Los Angeles is that when Spanish class was first period (the start of the day), obviously we recited the pledge in Spanish.
After Latin, dead French, and other dead languages with only intermittent use of diacritics, my sense of modern Spanish orthography is a bit impressionistic; I'm not checking where the acute accents would go. But my inner 12yo holds the sounds:
We landed hard on the first word, such that it sounded like juró, "one swore"; and dios mediante is for "under god" in English, but they aren't quite the same, are they. Anyway, para todos: sí.
After Latin, dead French, and other dead languages with only intermittent use of diacritics, my sense of modern Spanish orthography is a bit impressionistic; I'm not checking where the acute accents would go. But my inner 12yo holds the sounds:
Juro fidelidad a la bandera de los estados unidos de américa y a la república que symboliza---una nación, dios mediante, indivisible, con libertad y justicia para todos.
We landed hard on the first word, such that it sounded like juró, "one swore"; and dios mediante is for "under god" in English, but they aren't quite the same, are they. Anyway, para todos: sí.