The woods in the rain
Jun. 11th, 2026 03:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
puddlesharkI have ordered a new PC. Of course, as soon as I did so my old PC started working perfectly again. This is the Way of Things.
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puddleshark
Good!
Jun. 10th, 2026 11:56 pmeve_primeThis week has been going great – the grass pollen isn’t bothering me as much as the tree pollen did; J is between trips and I’m making a point not to think about the others coming up (although we did do his travel arrangements for Worldcon today); and I’m reasonably relaxed. And productive! It’s great to be making progress on all the interminable projects.
(no subject)
Jun. 10th, 2026 09:10 pmflemmingsVery warm dry blowy day, bearable enough when just going out to physio. But in the evening, heaving to the curb three bags of garden waste and one of garbage had me running with sweat. I've never needed two showers a day since I got back from Japan but evidently we're at two showers a day now, unless I go back to sitting on the sofa with beanbags and the fan on. I have vacuumed the downstairs and swiftered the kitchen-- which is not enough: must take a brush to it square by square, ouch-- so maybe I can couch potato until Sunday when it will be cooler.
Don't think I finished anything new last week. All I want to do is read Murderbot, so I finished my reread of System Collapse and then went back to my favourites, All Stations Red and Exit Strategy. Will finish rereading Platform Decay now that I've found where I put it along with the bag for carting my breakfast upstairs. And ohh do I miss the convenience of the bar fridge now we're in 'everything hurts all the time' mugginess. One of those tiktok medical reels had a 'doctor' cautioning seniors not to jump out of bed the minute they wake up because... heart attacks, I think, or was it stroke, from changing position too quickly. And guy, who the hell jumps out of bed at our age? Am recalling an interview with William Hutt, one of (our) Stratford's warhorses, who came out of retirement to play Lear when he was in his 80s. He described getting up as a process of first flexing his toes, then his ankles, then his feet, then bit by bit the rest of him to make it movable, and *then* he sat up and got vertical. I'm not there yet, but I'm also not in my 80s either.
Don't think I finished anything new last week. All I want to do is read Murderbot, so I finished my reread of System Collapse and then went back to my favourites, All Stations Red and Exit Strategy. Will finish rereading Platform Decay now that I've found where I put it along with the bag for carting my breakfast upstairs. And ohh do I miss the convenience of the bar fridge now we're in 'everything hurts all the time' mugginess. One of those tiktok medical reels had a 'doctor' cautioning seniors not to jump out of bed the minute they wake up because... heart attacks, I think, or was it stroke, from changing position too quickly. And guy, who the hell jumps out of bed at our age? Am recalling an interview with William Hutt, one of (our) Stratford's warhorses, who came out of retirement to play Lear when he was in his 80s. He described getting up as a process of first flexing his toes, then his ankles, then his feet, then bit by bit the rest of him to make it movable, and *then* he sat up and got vertical. I'm not there yet, but I'm also not in my 80s either.
Answering the Friday five on a Wednesday
Jun. 10th, 2026 12:00 pmmilovioletOkay I did actually start this on time. But then in the middle of writing I had to go do something and then I completely forgot that I started this until now.
Anyways, It’s been quite a while. A few things have happened which I’ll hopefully talk about in a different entry soon. But for now I’m going to answer this weeks Friday five since it seems interesting.
1. Do you enjoy reading?
Yes I love to read now. However fun fact about me, I used to really dislike reading when I was growing up.
2. What is the first book you remember reading?
Well it was probably a short picture book but I don't remember exactly which one. The first longer book I remember reading was a Frog and Toad story.
3. Who is your favourite author?
Honestly I don't really have one. I'd like to explore more authors, but at the moment I just read what sounds interesting and don't pay attention to the author much.
4. What is your favourite book?
Even though I've read a lot of great books, I think my answer would have to be The Hunger Games.
5. What is the last book you read and the first you'll read next?
The last book I read was Green by Alex Gino. Now I am reading The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monae. I don't know what I'll read next since I've just started the current book. Since it is pride month I am going to read more LGBTQ books, so the plan is just to see what books my library has in that section and read any that sound good to me.
Anyways, It’s been quite a while. A few things have happened which I’ll hopefully talk about in a different entry soon. But for now I’m going to answer this weeks Friday five since it seems interesting.
1. Do you enjoy reading?
Yes I love to read now. However fun fact about me, I used to really dislike reading when I was growing up.
2. What is the first book you remember reading?
Well it was probably a short picture book but I don't remember exactly which one. The first longer book I remember reading was a Frog and Toad story.
3. Who is your favourite author?
Honestly I don't really have one. I'd like to explore more authors, but at the moment I just read what sounds interesting and don't pay attention to the author much.
4. What is your favourite book?
Even though I've read a lot of great books, I think my answer would have to be The Hunger Games.
5. What is the last book you read and the first you'll read next?
The last book I read was Green by Alex Gino. Now I am reading The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monae. I don't know what I'll read next since I've just started the current book. Since it is pride month I am going to read more LGBTQ books, so the plan is just to see what books my library has in that section and read any that sound good to me.
Wednesday's weather has been annoyingly ambivalent
Jun. 10th, 2026 05:22 pmoursinWhat I read
Finished Blight, and hope that this series is planned to continue.
Alexis Hall, Father Material (London Calling, #3) (2026) - thought this was rather a slow starter and seemed a bit repetitive at first but then picked up, but honestly, could it get over Luc being absolutely hopeless?
KJ Charles, How to Fake It in Society (2026): um, I'm not sure I'd quite go so far as to say 'phoning it in', but this seemed to adhere to a rather familiar formula?
John Wyndham, The Chrysalids (1955), a recent Kobo deal, and I rather enjoyed The Midwich Cuckoos, but although I did read this ages ago a bit under-impressed. Though did think that these days it would probably be a massive 3-volume at least saga? points for economy.
Slightly Foxed #90: 'Sailing On'.
On the go
Paul Baker, Camp!: The Story of the Attitude that Conquered the World (2023): had enjoyed his book on Polari but I'm a bit less taken with this - I've just come across a passage where he remarks upon Ru-Paul's Drag Race having a fanbase of butch working-class straight males, and I think, 'hello, come on, what about working men's clubs going back decades?' this is hardly a new thing (but can I lay my hands on my copy of Jacob Bloomfield, Drag: A British History, which I suspect has something to this point, not at the moment).
Up next
Probably the latest Literary Review.
Tags:
- books,
- drag,
- dystopia,
- histfic,
- homosexuality,
- litcrit,
- meme,
- performance,
- queer,
- reading,
- romance,
- sff,
- slightly-foxed
The 'indigineity' of Celtic peoples
Jun. 9th, 2026 05:29 pmsmmgI do think Wales and the other Celtic nations could/should engage with Indigenous peoples around the world more. I've seen some people from Celtic nations describe themselves as Indigenous peoples (as well as other Indigenous peoples call us Indigenous too), and I think maybe we could call ourselves that?? (Especially I have been thinking about it in terms of Ireland and the Irish people in the north being described as Indigenous people in territory occupied by British settlers) But I also think that maybe we need to engage with the wider global Indigenous community more and acknowledge our own complicity in colonialism better before we can call ourselves that. I think some people can't grapple with our status as colonised and coloniser (e.g. Wales and y Wladfa, Scotland and Gaelic-speaking parts of Canada, etc). And it's not like there aren't other Indigenous peoples across the world who have been complicit in colonialism, genocide, etc. (e.g. the M
Also it's not uncommon for white supremacists to be obsessed with our 'indigeneity' or whatever and to use the term to weaponise our marginalisation against immigrant/non-white members of our nations, so I think we definitely have to be careful with applying the term Indigenous with a capital I to ourselves. Of course 'indigenous' with a lower case i is frequently used to describe our languages and peoples and cultural practices from pre-Anglicisation/-Francisation.
Also it's not uncommon for white supremacists to be obsessed with our 'indigeneity' or whatever and to use the term to weaponise our marginalisation against immigrant/non-white members of our nations, so I think we definitely have to be careful with applying the term Indigenous with a capital I to ourselves. Of course 'indigenous' with a lower case i is frequently used to describe our languages and peoples and cultural practices from pre-Anglicisation/-Francisation.
An outing with threads and cutlery...
Jun. 10th, 2026 12:31 pmkazzy_ceeYesterday, Mr Cee and I decided to brave the heavy rain showers and visit a couple of free exhibitions in London. We started by going to the Saatchi Gallery to catch Perspicere: States of Transition before it closes at the weekend.
Perspicere is a street artist who uses sewing thread wound around nails to form pictures. These aren't the nail and thread pictures you might remember from the 1960s and 1970s - these are stunning works of art produced with thousands of threads like this:
More amazing thread art under the cut (including a link to a short video on how he does it).
( Read more... )
We also popped into the small Inflorescence exhibition in a next-door room to check out this fun wall of smilie flowers by RYCA (aka Ryan Callanan)
From there, we jumped on the tube to head for The Goldsmith Centre in Islington to see their small free exhibition The Culture of Cutlery. The display covers European cutlery from 1425 to the present day. It's easy to forget that cutlery was not always provided by the host, and back in the medieval or Renaissance era, guests would bring their own knife, even if the spoon was provided by the host. Knives would be used to spear meat and take salt from the saltcellar. More under the cut about the history (including when forks started to be used) with photos (which get bigger with a click) under the cut.
Knife and fork with their travelling case from 1577, with figures carved on the handles. (from Germany or the Netherlands).
( Read more... )
It was a fun outing, and we managed to completely miss the downpour of heavy rain while we were inside looking at things (which was a bonus).
Perspicere is a street artist who uses sewing thread wound around nails to form pictures. These aren't the nail and thread pictures you might remember from the 1960s and 1970s - these are stunning works of art produced with thousands of threads like this:
More amazing thread art under the cut (including a link to a short video on how he does it).
( Read more... )
We also popped into the small Inflorescence exhibition in a next-door room to check out this fun wall of smilie flowers by RYCA (aka Ryan Callanan)
From there, we jumped on the tube to head for The Goldsmith Centre in Islington to see their small free exhibition The Culture of Cutlery. The display covers European cutlery from 1425 to the present day. It's easy to forget that cutlery was not always provided by the host, and back in the medieval or Renaissance era, guests would bring their own knife, even if the spoon was provided by the host. Knives would be used to spear meat and take salt from the saltcellar. More under the cut about the history (including when forks started to be used) with photos (which get bigger with a click) under the cut.
Knife and fork with their travelling case from 1577, with figures carved on the handles. (from Germany or the Netherlands).
( Read more... )
It was a fun outing, and we managed to completely miss the downpour of heavy rain while we were inside looking at things (which was a bonus).
(no subject)
Jun. 9th, 2026 06:26 pmflemmingsT'other day when I was shopping for berries, Some Man parked his cart in front of the section and proceeded to examine the plastic clam shells one by one, opening each and inspecting it until he found, I assume, what he wanted. This was a new trick by me, and, since people who believe themselves to be the only person in the universe are annoying, an annoying one. I know people will open egg cartons to check for intactness, though you don't really need to count them, as I saw one woman doing. Like, the box says one dozen and you can see all the eggs are there, so umm why are you counting them?
Joke was on me of course, because when I went to wash my raspberries last night, most of them were mouldy. Lesson learned, which is mostly, don't buy your fruit from Loblaws.
Warm and muggy today, and less wind than recently so the mug registered. Did bag up the vines from yesterday's endeavours, which filled a bag to capacity. Seems I wore a hat yesterday too and took it off at some point and then covered it with vines and forgot all about it. Ah well. It could have used a wash anyway. Sweated through the everythings, of course, and must drag bag around to the front before the rain starts.
An oddity I never noticed in my forty-odd years of acquaintance with Turandot. The three ministers's song, which is possibly my favourite bit, starts with the dreamy Ho una casa nell'Honan, con il suo laghetto blu. Uhh,, since when has blu been an Italian word? But it is: adopted at the end of the 17th century. Has to be a loan word, surely, but what did Italian use for deep blue before that?
Joke was on me of course, because when I went to wash my raspberries last night, most of them were mouldy. Lesson learned, which is mostly, don't buy your fruit from Loblaws.
Warm and muggy today, and less wind than recently so the mug registered. Did bag up the vines from yesterday's endeavours, which filled a bag to capacity. Seems I wore a hat yesterday too and took it off at some point and then covered it with vines and forgot all about it. Ah well. It could have used a wash anyway. Sweated through the everythings, of course, and must drag bag around to the front before the rain starts.
An oddity I never noticed in my forty-odd years of acquaintance with Turandot. The three ministers's song, which is possibly my favourite bit, starts with the dreamy Ho una casa nell'Honan, con il suo laghetto blu. Uhh,, since when has blu been an Italian word? But it is: adopted at the end of the 17th century. Has to be a loan word, surely, but what did Italian use for deep blue before that?
That was very pleasant
Jun. 9th, 2026 08:47 pmoursinBus and Windrush line from N London to the southern peripheries to foregather with kake and friends for sociability, which was very agreeable indeed.
Also boo to miserable ol' Matthew Arnold dissing on the growing London railway network of his day as enabling people to merely move between 'a illiberal, dismal life in Islington to a illiberal, dismal life in Camberwell'. Sad git.
***
In other news: have received A Very Odd email alleging that The Textbook (of all things) is now listed on Bookbub.com. It is not entirely easy to ascertain the truth of this, as the site has no search function whereby one can locate specific titles, but searching under possible categories has not shown it up. I am not going to page through the alphabetical list of titles! What is this thing that this thing is? Spam? Phishing?
***
I actually have some passing acquaintance with Prof King (as usual, archives were in the mix): Turi King: ‘The Knox case shows there was a misunderstanding about what DNA can tell you’. I loved this:
You led the DNA verification of Richard III. How important was that project scientifically and culturally?
What I loved about it was that it wasn’t just the genetics. There were lots of different strands of evidence – genetics, osteology and radio carbon dating – and it involved people from lots of different areas, all bringing their expertise to make it a wonderful project.
....
I think one of the things that was missed in the film is that no one person could have done it on their own. Philippa Langley [from the Richard III Society] absolutely got the project off the ground, but didn’t have the expertise to lead it. Another thing the film didn’t capture was all of the women who led various aspects of the science. I’m not worried I wasn’t in the film, but it was two years of work. Nor did all the money come from the Richard III Society. Some of it did for the excavation, but the vast majority came from Leicester University.
And she doesn't say in any answers in so many words 'It's All More Complicated', but it's very much implied, no?
Tags:
Need some OT3 fluff? New release, MASQUES
Jun. 9th, 2026 08:34 amsartorias
 |
This romantic comedy of manners features the next gen from
Here's the blurb stuff for Masques:
“Disguise your passion in masque; when the dance ends, peril begins.”
It’s nearly fourteen years since the Norsunder War ended on Sartorias-deles.
Sky Szinzar, Princess of Ralanor Veleth, has loyally insisted on the betrothal she made to Lexan Glenereth, a landless boy with no prospects, made when they were kids. Her peers utterly scorn a “betrothal” she formed at age twelve—a scorn led by sarcastic Prince Garian-Rafael.
Now it’s fourteen years later, and Sky is finally holding her coming-of-age ball, which is spectacularly ruined by her abduction. On horseback. Right off the ballroom floor . . . by the prince she hates most. A wager or a lark?
When courtship between him and her and him (or is that him and him and her?) wears the guise of high politics, the dance soon gets wild.
It's romantic fluff with some action here and there, lots of screwball interactions, as the new generation copes with (or ignores) the memory of war. The war is over, Norsunder is gone, and everyone is working vigorously on leading happy lives, but what really is 'happy? Come inside and find out!
Available from: Kindle Kobo Book View Cafe (cheaper!) B&N Print at Amazon (also at IngramSpark, which can be ordered through any bookstore)
(no subject)
Jun. 8th, 2026 08:46 pmflemmingsToday was cool-for-June which means muggy. I would have been perfectly happy sitting on the couch, only what I did was go out and hack vines in the back yard. I had this brilliant idea of buying a 100 ft extension cord and taking my hedge trimmer to the great growth down by the garage. Which might have worked if I could get the uhh female end of the cord into the prongs of the trimmer. But I couldn't. Not enough upper body strength to push it snug. So I attacked them with the edged saw with a handle thingy, and slew them in great numbers, and filled a whole garden bag: and sweated several litres of water out of me. This was after I'd had my shower, naturally.
Then went up to the LCBO for vodka because everything hurts in this weather, and Farm Boy for dinner, various items from their Moroccan menu except they thought a Moroccan couscous would be improved by corn, most jnauthentically. Which I can't eat, of course. So I picked the niblets out as best I could but that put me off the thing
Came home, drank a cooler, went out to retrieve my tools: and of course had to hack away at more vines even though I know mosquitoes come out in the evening. It's going to rain the rest of the week, starting tomorrow night, and I want to get the uhh tree dust, whatever that is properly called, swept up before it all turns to paste. And I need more garden bags, though I finally figured out how to get them open. Upend them and put them over your head, and bang the unmoving last foot from inside. I'm sure it looks odd but it works.
But now I need another shower.
Then went up to the LCBO for vodka because everything hurts in this weather, and Farm Boy for dinner, various items from their Moroccan menu except they thought a Moroccan couscous would be improved by corn, most jnauthentically. Which I can't eat, of course. So I picked the niblets out as best I could but that put me off the thing
Came home, drank a cooler, went out to retrieve my tools: and of course had to hack away at more vines even though I know mosquitoes come out in the evening. It's going to rain the rest of the week, starting tomorrow night, and I want to get the uhh tree dust, whatever that is properly called, swept up before it all turns to paste. And I need more garden bags, though I finally figured out how to get them open. Upend them and put them over your head, and bang the unmoving last foot from inside. I'm sure it looks odd but it works.
But now I need another shower.
Wow!
Jun. 8th, 2026 03:39 pmeve_primeMy friend Jenny had mentioned that her brother Stan, the astronaut, is into anime... I had no idea how much he is into anime! This video came out today. My jaw dropped open when I saw his car.
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2026-06-08/the-astronaut-who-loves-anime/.238185
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2026-06-08/the-astronaut-who-loves-anime/.238185
Book completed
Jun. 8th, 2026 01:47 pmeve_primeDragons on the Edge, by Maria Grace. Jane Austen’s Dragons #16. The newest book in the series is great fun; I could hardly put it down. It’s great to see characters who were quite immature (either emotionally or physically) in earlier books come into their own.
I do hope a future book will let the neurodivergent-but-highly-irritating dragon in their community likewise grow and gain acceptance. It would be unfortunate if she stays so problematic. My friend reminds me that an author is often several steps ahead of the reader, and she (the author, not the dragon) probably has this all planned out.
I do hope a future book will let the neurodivergent-but-highly-irritating dragon in their community likewise grow and gain acceptance. It would be unfortunate if she stays so problematic. My friend reminds me that an author is often several steps ahead of the reader, and she (the author, not the dragon) probably has this all planned out.
Fundación Ángeles de 4 Patas
Jun. 8th, 2026 03:00 pmasakiyumeOne cool thing I did on my last trip to Leticia was visit a foundation that a woman (Johana) had set up, all on her own, to take care of stray dogs and cats (but especially dogs) in Leticia. Of which there are many. She has two locations where she houses the animals she takes in, and I got to visit one.
--And I want to take a moment to say, Johana not some wealthy woman doing this with her spare pesos. No: she's one of Colombia's many many internally displaced people, who, with her parents, had to flee her home due to the civil war (which was mainly, but not 100 percent entirely, brought to a close in 2016). She ended up in Leticia. What I'm saying is, she started with nothing, no anything.
She takes animals in--again, mainly dogs--and a lot of time they're in pretty rough condition, but she nurses them back to health, and then they are as healthy and happy/bouncy as any dog you could imagine. If you can tolerate looking at pictures of a very poorly-off dog if you know at the end you are going to see pictures of a happy, healthy dog, this video montage from the foundation's Instagram shows the healing.
She also arranges sterilization clinics that people can bring their pets to--and it's free. There was one going on during the time I was there, and the receptionists at the place where I was staying knew about it and knew about the foundation.
So one evening I hopped on the back of L & R's motorbike, and we visited one of those houses. The mural was painted by volunteers from a local cell phone carrier:
There were so many dogs! So many! I didn't get a picture, but here is one from the Instagram:
( three more photos under the cut )
Johana has trouble getting dogs adopted out because there are so many dogs in Leticia, and someone's dog is always having puppies. But she's committed to taking care of those she can't find homes for. Needless to say, all this takes funds, and Leticia is not Cartagena. There aren't bunches of wealthy people around. I promised a donation when I got home (she has a PayPal account for overseas donations), and I said I'd spread the word on social media.
People who donate to animal shelters are, in my experience, super generous, but also they already have many, many places they donate their funds. BUT. If you are such a person, and if maybe it would tickle your fancy to support a very underresourced animal shelter in the Amazon, here is your chance.
To pay by PayPal, go to PayPal, and type @ fundacion09 --but all closed up.
(If I type it closed up here, it will end up pointing to a nonexistent Dreamwidth account.)
[Thank yousovay for pointing out this problem!]
And this is a link to the Instagram post that gives that information.
And lastly, here's a link to the overall Instagram
PS! If you visit the Instagram, the most recent post is in Portuguese, because Leticia and the Brazilian town of Tabatinga are right next to each other, the borders are open, and people go back and forth all the time--sooo... it's good to speak to people in both Spanish and Portuguese.
--And I want to take a moment to say, Johana not some wealthy woman doing this with her spare pesos. No: she's one of Colombia's many many internally displaced people, who, with her parents, had to flee her home due to the civil war (which was mainly, but not 100 percent entirely, brought to a close in 2016). She ended up in Leticia. What I'm saying is, she started with nothing, no anything.
She takes animals in--again, mainly dogs--and a lot of time they're in pretty rough condition, but she nurses them back to health, and then they are as healthy and happy/bouncy as any dog you could imagine. If you can tolerate looking at pictures of a very poorly-off dog if you know at the end you are going to see pictures of a happy, healthy dog, this video montage from the foundation's Instagram shows the healing.
She also arranges sterilization clinics that people can bring their pets to--and it's free. There was one going on during the time I was there, and the receptionists at the place where I was staying knew about it and knew about the foundation.
So one evening I hopped on the back of L & R's motorbike, and we visited one of those houses. The mural was painted by volunteers from a local cell phone carrier:
There were so many dogs! So many! I didn't get a picture, but here is one from the Instagram:
( three more photos under the cut )
Johana has trouble getting dogs adopted out because there are so many dogs in Leticia, and someone's dog is always having puppies. But she's committed to taking care of those she can't find homes for. Needless to say, all this takes funds, and Leticia is not Cartagena. There aren't bunches of wealthy people around. I promised a donation when I got home (she has a PayPal account for overseas donations), and I said I'd spread the word on social media.
People who donate to animal shelters are, in my experience, super generous, but also they already have many, many places they donate their funds. BUT. If you are such a person, and if maybe it would tickle your fancy to support a very underresourced animal shelter in the Amazon, here is your chance.
(If I type it closed up here, it will end up pointing to a nonexistent Dreamwidth account.)
[Thank you
sovay for pointing out this problem!]And this is a link to the Instagram post that gives that information.
And lastly, here's a link to the overall Instagram
PS! If you visit the Instagram, the most recent post is in Portuguese, because Leticia and the Brazilian town of Tabatinga are right next to each other, the borders are open, and people go back and forth all the time--sooo... it's good to speak to people in both Spanish and Portuguese.
This is all pretty alien to me for several reasons
Jun. 8th, 2026 07:35 pmoursinThe Ph.D. Is Not a Pit Stop for Creative Writers: Don’t do a Ph.D. program because you want to work on your novel. (Well, with the proviso perhaps that you're not using the PhD programme as MATERIAL either for a campus novel or maybe a murder mystery or even a rom-com.)
But, okay, the UK system is different anyway (this looks to be very much about the US setup), and anyway I did my PhD in a history-related discipline Many Years Ago and I was basically Doing It For Fun, although my workplace also considered it a form of professional development and gave me study leave, paid fees, etc.
And at the same time I was writing fiction - sf and fantasy, i.e something pretty much unrelated to my research (though that, as it were, mulched down into the soil that nourished the roots of a much later fictional endeavour!).
So it was a break and something different using different mental muscles.
I am pretty much there with the author of the article that the anticipated synergy is unlikely to be there, and the credo that
I truly believe that one has a better chance of becoming a writer by working at a bakery, a coffee shop, a bookstore, a 9-to-5 corporate job, a blueberry farm, a publishing house, etc.
(I am reminded of a Jules Feiffer cartoon featuring a guy behind a bar who mentions all these guys who used to come into the bar he tended who had sold their novel on their basis of having done these various manly roughneck career things, like working on fishing boats and tending bar, and he pitched a novel on the basis that he has done all those things, taken the advance and set himself up with a bar of his own.) (If anyone can point me at this, please do.)
Also that 'Much of the performance of creative writing happens in moments of quietude and, quite frankly, daydreaming'.
We are given to wonder whether the people who undertake this rather ill-advised course are writing for FUN or is it srs bznz? Perhaps they would do well to consider the case of Carolyn Heilbrun/Amanda Cross and writing a kind of campus fiction that involves pushing pompous professors out of windows and finding out whodunnit.
Local music act. Continues…
Jun. 8th, 2026 08:58 amsoemandI appreciate the technical skill of La Famille LeBlanc, but their music feels more like a carefully curated museum exhibit than a living, breathing art form. For some, their strict 19th-century preservation is a beautiful tribute. For me, it lacks the emotional stakes and artistic friction I crave.
Folk music originally belonged to rebels and outlaws. When polished into polite family harmonies, the danger evaporates.
Don't just take my word for it, though. Head over to the La Famille LeBlanc Bandcamp Page, give them a listen, and see if you think my view is incorrect.
Folk music originally belonged to rebels and outlaws. When polished into polite family harmonies, the danger evaporates.
Don't just take my word for it, though. Head over to the La Famille LeBlanc Bandcamp Page, give them a listen, and see if you think my view is incorrect.
A quiet Sunday
Jun. 7th, 2026 11:41 pmeve_primeMy day – I wrote two long and relatively thoughtful e-mails, I watched an episode of Deconstructing the Beatles on PBS, and I went for a relatively long walk that included climbing the stairs through the forested neighborhood across the street from the elementary school and then walking back via the sidewalk/street. Oh, and I finally ordered a dress that I might wear to D’s wedding, if it looks good enough on me.
Also I chatted online with J as he made his trek back to SFO for his return flight. He had to leave his event earlier than he wanted, then take two BART trains instead of one (adding a bunch of waiting time in between) because they weren’t running the red line trains today. When he finally got to the airport, an hour and twenty minutes later, he learned that the flight departure was delayed. It got delayed several more times, and moved to an entirely different terminal (good thing he was looking at that info!), and finally took off nearly an hour and a half after it was supposed to. But in theory he’ll have landed in Eugene in about 45 minutes.
Also I chatted online with J as he made his trek back to SFO for his return flight. He had to leave his event earlier than he wanted, then take two BART trains instead of one (adding a bunch of waiting time in between) because they weren’t running the red line trains today. When he finally got to the airport, an hour and twenty minutes later, he learned that the flight departure was delayed. It got delayed several more times, and moved to an entirely different terminal (good thing he was looking at that info!), and finally took off nearly an hour and a half after it was supposed to. But in theory he’ll have landed in Eugene in about 45 minutes.