watervole | Reading

Eirenicon: A proposal to resolve disputes and reconcile differences in order to advance peace, strengthen or establish unity, or foster solidarity.

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puddleshark

Another overcast grey morning. Made the most of the soft light to head over to Holme Gardens for some flower photography.

( Another floral interlude )

selenak

( Spoilers do wonder whether they they teach Goethe and Marlowe at MIT. )

Current Mood: calm
Current Location: Kampen

igenlode

I do not recommend playing a concert on 3 hours' sleep (and a twelve-mile cycle ride following a similar one returning at 11pm the night before).
I got through it, but it was a bit unfair on the rest of my section -- of which I'm supposed to be the leader! The effects are of course similar to drunk driving; habit gets you through the actual notes and dynamics, but reaction speed and concentration are affected. I kept losing my place in the complex/repeated passages, which is pretty much my job to keep...

I had been to see 'The Final [restored] Cut" of "The Wicker Man", although it is still apparently missing 7 minutes or about 50% of the shortened material. https://www.rogerebert.com/features/the-wicker-man-the-cut-may-be-final-but-the-film-is-still-incomplete I had just been reading Christopher Lee ("Tall, Dark and Gruesome"), who talks about all the little character parts having been cut, the butcher, the chemist etc., while the archive video introduction warned us that the crucial scene establishing that the protagonist 'had never known a woman' was missing and needed to be inferred in order to understand the plot. I could well imagine that a significant proportion of the film's intended charm might have lain in the background detail (as with the abridged translation of "The Phantom of the Opera"), so this seemed like a good opportunity to see it.( Read more... )

pensnest

Tunnel of Love
Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.

Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like

I'm going to be a bit wayward over the Journalling part of this challenge, but I think a bit of romantic fiction does squeeze into the category, so here goes.

Beast and I have lately started watching Bridgerton. I don't think it was the reason we decided to spend a little while chez Netflix, but it was one of the first things that sprang to my mind, at least.
( Not spoilers, probably, since this is old news, but anyway.... )

The love poem is going to have to wait.

vivdunstan

Just blogged about this on my academic musings blog.

vivdunstan

Had another dream about my long ago lost PhD this afternoon. This time a viva dream. Though I think it was going well! Anyway it prompted me to blog about the protracted mourning for my lost Computer Science PhD ...

conuly

Holy fuck that’s awful :(

puddleshark

A walk across the heath on an overcast morning, with a cold unsummerly west wind blowing. Sun or no sun, the paths are very beautiful in July, lined with purple Bell Heather and golden grasses.
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conuly

( Though, upon reflection, it's surprising that this hasn't happened before in 30+ years of menstruation )

I'd say that was the worst thing to happen this weekend, but then I glanced at the news, and how do things keep getting worse? I thought we might at least get a reprieve over the holiday weekend, Congress would all go on vacation and not pass any terrible bills in the interim, but I guess not.

I'm not linking to it, not today. I know how to take a break, even if they don't. Take this article on amenorrhea instead.

selenak

Aka a 2022 novel set in the Appalachians during the late 1990s and early 2000s with the euphemistically called "Opiod Crisis" very much a main theme, and simultanously a modern adaptation of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. The last Copperfield adaptation I had seen or read was the Iannucci movie starring Dev Patel in the title role which emphasized the humor and vitality of the novel and succeeded splendidly, but had to cut down the darker elements in order to do so, with the breathneck speed of a two hours mvie based on a many hundred pages novel helping with that. Demon Copperhead took the reverse approach; it's all the darkness magnified - helped by the fact this is also a many hundred pages novel - but nearly no humor. Both adaptations emphasize the social injustice of the various systems they're depicting. Both had to do some considerable flashing out when it comes to Dickens's first person narrator. No one has ever argued that David is the most interesting character in David Copperfield. As long as he's still a child, this isn't noticable because David going from coddled and much beloved kid to abused and exploited kid makes for a powerful emotional arc. (BTW, I was fascinated to learn back when I was reading Claire Tomalin's Dickens biography that Dickens was influenced by Jane Eyre in this; Charlotte Bronte's novel convinced him to go for a first person narration - which he hadn't tried before - and the two abused and outraged child narrators who describe what scares and elates them incredibly vividly do have a lot on common.) But once he's an adult, it often feels like he's telling other people's stories (very well, I hasten to add) in which he's only on the periphery, except for his love life. The movie solved this by giving David - who is autobiographically inspired anyway - some more of Dickens`s on life and qualities. Demon Copperhead solves it by a) putting most of the part of the Dickens plot when David is already an adult to when Damon/Demon is still a teenager (he only becomes a legal adult near the end), b) by making Damon as a narrator a whole lot angrier than David, and c) by letting him fall to what is nearly everyone else's problem as well, addiction.

( Spoilers ensue about both novels )

In conclusion: this was a compelling novel but tough to read due to the subject and the unrelenting grimness. I'm not saying you should treat the horrible neglect and exploitation of children and the way a rotten health system allowed half the population to become addicts irreverently, but tone wise, this is more Hard Times than David Copperfield, and sometimes I wished for some breathing space in between the horrors. But I am glad to have read it.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: Kampen

ranunculus

Carrie called around 9am and asked if I'd like to do a short ride. Yes.
I groomed and saddled Firefly, putting her bridle on over her halter, then moving the reins to the halter, not the bit. We walked out a little way to meet Carrie and I got on. For the first few yards Firefly was a tiny bit fussy. We were headed back toward home and she DID NOT want to go home. The minute it was clear we were going somewhere else she perked up. Honestly, for most of the ride I felt like I was on an old experienced trail horse. She was as good as gold. She looked carefully at the bank we had to walk down and then went down quietly. She looked carefully at the rather steep stream crossing and then walked quietly and carefully across, no jumping, no trying to move fast, just perfect. At one point she did spook a bit at a particularly black and suspicious cow pat. When I say "spook" I mean she stopped, looked at the cow pat , tensed up a tiny bit, looked at it again, put her head around to my boot to ask me if everything was ok, and when I said it was and encouraged her; she sniffed it, relaxed and walked on. That is the first time she has clearly asked for reassurance from me while I was mounted. Perfect. We rode through the herd of cows, passing several within a few feet with no incident. We watched the flock of turkeys without a spook or moving away, or any drama except stopping and looking. I never for an instant felt I needed to move the reins to the bit for more control, in fact quite the opposite. She accepted light contact with the reins and went where I directed her.
I'm thrilled. Maybe we will have issues next time, but for the mile we rode she was delightful. Very slow when we turned for home, but that was enough for one day.

ranunculus

Lots of tomatoes have set. Far more than last year at this time. I think it is because it has been quite cool all the way through June and the first few days of July. I'm expecting, and dreading, the arrival of very hot temperatures. I still have lettuce in the garden!
The first okra will be ready tonight or tomorrow morning.
Picked the first cucumber today, it was a pickling cucumber. The lemon cucumber, which was planted quite late, has started blooming. Meanwhile one of the Japanese thin skinned varieties, Shinto Kiwa has tiny fruit all over. Somehow I planted two of that kind and both vines are growing vigorously.
I'm ready to pull out the "Smooth Criminal" yellow squash. I don't like it's flavor or size. Ditto another summer squash, Zucchinio. Zuchinio is supposed to be both a summer squash and, if allowed to get big, a winter squash. As a summer squash it just tastes like it is green, with no other redeeming qualities. I'll replace it with another Butternut.
This morning, pre-snake activities, I added some big logs to the bottom of the 6' tank. Over the top of the wood is lots and lots of old potting soil and coconut coir mixed together. All that got wet down a little and then I added a nice layer of moisture holding, native soil that is rich in clay and mixed it in a little. Next: drip irrigation followed by planting, followed by horse manure for moisture retention.

history_monk

The former Conservative MP Matt Hancock was the UK's Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 2019-21 and thus responsible for much of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As one would expect, he has been called to give evidence to the enquiry into the handling of the pandemic. Two issues have been quite controversial:

One was awarding many valuable contracts for vitally needed supplies and equipment to Conservative Party members with no obvious capability to fulfil them, without and transparency. That piece of corruption will be held against the Conservative Party for a very long time. He wasn't responsible for all of that: the entire Cabinet were involved.
The other was the decision to discharge many hospital patients into care homes for the elderly without testing them for COVID-19. That was his decision, and it resulted in the residents of those care homes being placed at very high risk of infection. And being elderly and frail enough to require care home residence, a great many of them died.

This week at the enquiry, he was questioned by lawyers for a bereaved families group. It rapidly became clear that his claim of protective measures for the care home residents was pure fiction. He claimed that nobody cared, apart from campaign groups.

That's a degree of selfishness fully consistent with his decision to use social distancing to undertake an extra-marital affair with one of his senior staff. That forced him to resign as Health Secretary, and he left parliament voluntarily at the last election. However, he's not yet been held to account for his terrible, heartless decisions while in charge of the nations' health.

More details and donations here.

Current Mood: angry
Current Location: Home
Current Music: Tes

ranunculus

Firefly was being obstinate this morning. I called her to come in from the field and she turned her back on me. We had words. So I marched her into the corral and hurried around the shop to get some alfalfa for her.* I was about 8 feet from the hay pile, which is covered with a blue tarp, when I spotted the snake lying along the front of the tarp. I screamed, because snakes are what I'm scared of, and left the area. Dave gave us a shotgun a couple of days ago, but we didn't have shells for it yet; so I called Michael. Perhaps 25 minutes later Michael and his girlfriend showed up armed with a shotgun, shovel and metal rake. The snake hadn't moved. Michael carefully uncovered the snake's head, and shot it. Poor snake, it was never aggressive, even at the end. It had 10 rattles and was really fat. I fetched a bucket and they took the body with them. While I am quite relieved, I'm also still wary. Snakes often have a mate somewhere around, so caution is still warranted.

* Grass looses most of its protein when it dries. We feed alfalfa, which is a legume and very high in protein, as a supplement. Firefly had lost some muscle, which means she was protein deficient and her body was breaking down muscle to provide needed protein. I should have started a couple of weeks ago.

igenlode

Apparently Dumas can't decide on the appearance of the Vicomte de Bragelonne :-p

His characters, where it is mentioned, are all mainly dark-haired, with the notable and probably conscious exception of Milady and her son who are both described as distinctively fair( Read more... )

But we are told that d'Artagnan, on observing a rider making a stealthy exit from Athos' home at dawn, reconnut le justaucorps grenat et les cheveux bruns de Raoul, which struck me at the time as being unexpected in a world where practically no-one has plain brown hair... which is why I then noticed with some surprise that when Athos takes him to visit Madame de Chevreuse in Paris, the allusion there is to ses cheveux noirs[...] élégamment partagés comme on les portait à cette époque! However it seemed not implausible that 'cheveux bruns' could simply have been intended to refer to 'dark hair' in general, so I assumed I'd simply misinterpreted the original phrase.

Matters become completely confused, on the other hand, when we reach the epilogue and d'Artagnan refers fondly to the boy as cette chère tête blonde! So I think that all that can be concluded is that Dumas had no very fixed idea in mind and ascribed a random appearance to Raoul at various different points during the construction of his lengthy serial...

(Given that his father is consistently described as dark-haired and his mother fair an intermediate brown would presumably have made sense :-)

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3111/

Low gravity can cause bone loss, so we're pleased to report that, since we initiated capsule motion, the number of bones in each crew member has been steadily increasing.

https://xkcd.com/3111/

yarn_harlot_feed

Posted by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

https://www.yarnharlot.ca/2025/07/whats-math-for-anyway/

https://www.yarnharlot.ca/?p=9830

Well, spoiler alert… Ranunculus fits just fine. This was not at all a guarantee, despite the rather ridiculous number of times that I checked before binding off and going back to do the neck. I felt compelled to pop back and tell you all how it was fitting, not just because I mentioned that I was worried it was going to be too short, but because the very last picture I posted of it on instagram looked like this.

Let’s back up to how I got there – which I admit was a very dramatic moment – one where I went to pull a finished sweater over my head and lo, it did not go. On the upside, I did stop worrying about the length for a while. Here’s what happened. I told you all in the last post that since I changed the gauge on this sweater (I went down a needle size or so to make a fabric I like better. What the heck, it’s my sweater.) That meant though, that I wasn’t at all sure how many I wanted to cast on for a top down sweater, so I skipped it. I cast on provisionally after the neck, and just started working the sweater. When I was done, I came back, picked up all the stitches, and worked the neckband.

Here’s the thing though. Did I do any figuring? Did I follow up on my original thought and have a little chat with my inner knitter about how I was worried it would be too small because I went down a needle size, and perhaps reflect upon how none of that had changed? Yeah verily, did I look upon the knitting and think “Well Stephanie, this is exactly the moment one knits a swatch for” and having though that, picked up the swatch that I did indeed knit, and count how many stitches it would take to go around my noggin? Did I?

No, gentle knitter, I did not. Even though the swatch sat nearby, even though (sort of unbelievably) I had a tape measure nearby… nope. I just took a look at that neckline and decided to just smash the question with the weight of my experience and thought “Looks right.” and just went for it. It was not right. (See above.)

Anyway, obviously I ripped back the cast on, and all the ribbing, and then I did the math and NOW this sweater both goes over my head and …

It is the right length. I knew it.

Sweater: Ranunculus, Yarn; (Cottage Fingering, 50% Merino, 20% Linen, 15% Silk, 15% Cotton) Modifications, changed the gauge, provisional neckline, fewer stitches for the neckband itself – oh, and I only did the short rows in the back, and I made them wider. It fits me better that way.

For now, I’m off to bed. Jen and I are going on a training ride in the morning, and I have to get up at 5:30am to make it happen, and that is not a thing that is really in my wheelhouse without getting to bed early. If I survive, I’ll pop back and tell you a story about some socks.

(PS. If you wanted to sponsor me or Jen tomorrow to encourage two rather old soft women to ride like the wind, you can do it by clicking on our names. We start to ride at 7, and can use whatever encouragement you can offer. )

Stephanie

Jen

https://www.yarnharlot.ca/2025/07/whats-math-for-anyway/

https://www.yarnharlot.ca/?p=9830

lexin

My doctors have been in touch and I have an appointment with Scary Mary next week. So they will be looking at my feet.

The weird thing is that the podiatrist's poking at my big toe was completely painless. That is not a good sign.

Crossposts: https://lexin.insanejournal.com/325093.html

goddess47 posting in

little_details

I'm writing a story where my main character stops his friend, a dad to a 13-ish year old boy, from purchasing some ~~anime~~ manga books because the main character knows the book series is too adult (sex, violence, both) for a 13 year old. The main character then recommends a different series because the story line is more appropriate for the age of the teen.

The story is the relationship between the main character and the dad, so this is a small piece of the larger story. But I know absolutely nothing about anime (or manga, obviously!) and would appreciate some recommendations of titles that would fit those categories.

Thanks!

ETA: I'm looking for currently available titles and perhaps where they are best purchased (a bookstore, a comic book store, a specialty shop, online?)

ETA2: I'm looking US-centric here.

puddleshark

Took a walk along the underhill path, through the sunlight and the dappled shade. A narrow way, made narrower in summer by the grasses and nettles and the brambles. In the shade, near silence, but for the hum of insects, the flutter of songbirds.

( Read more... )

conuly

Moonpie's foot looks better, we didn't end up having to take her for an x-ray at all.

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( Read more... )

ranunculus

Picture a two car carport with a fully enclosed room (my shop) at the end of it. The roof over the top of this building extends out toward the garden about 4 1/2 feet on the south side. The carport hasn't been used for cars for years, though I do park the Gator in it most of the time. These days there is a tarp across the south facing side of the carport (but not the shop) and another tarp that goes halfway across the east facing side of the carport. This keeps the carport fairly dry except in the most violent storms. I've struggled to keep things tidy, especially as more and more stuff arrives from San Francisco. Here is a picture of the garden path leading to the door of the shop.

( Read more... )

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3110/

Starting a meta-leaderboard for tracking who holds the record for ranking behind the most distinct people on an online leaderboard.

https://xkcd.com/3110/

conuly

Ugh

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( Read more... )

conuly

On the day the world ends
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,
By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.

On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,
A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,
The voice of a violin lasts in the air
And leads into a starry night.

And those who expected lightning and thunder
Are disappointed.
And those who expected signs and archangels’ trumps
Do not believe it is happening now.
As long as the sun and the moon are above,
As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,
As long as rosy infants are born
No one believes it is happening now.

Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet
Yet is not a prophet, for he’s much too busy,
Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:
There will be no other end of the world,
There will be no other end of the world.

Warsaw, 1944

***

Link

watersword

Face of sadness & rage: the public library here has had to cut its streaming services, likely in part because of the destruction of the IMLS, which funded a lot of that. This is a fucking travesty.

It's been too hot to bake, so I picked up a loaf of bread and am basking in the season's first tomato sandwiches. Bliss.

One thing I want to do before the end of the summer is borrow the ice cream maker and dehydrator from the Thing Library; my ice cream quest continues (Dutch Chocolate is perfectly fine but not a standout); blueberrying has not been scheduled but I have agreement that it sounds like fun from the people I want to go with. I am up to H.M.S. Surprise in the Aubreyad and enjoying myself thoroughly.

I love summer so much. I feel like a person.

vivdunstan

The Venetian Tarot deck by Swiss-based artist Eugene Vinitski. This is stunning. With art inspired by Renaissance Venice. I also picked up a copy of his Golden Venetian Lenormand deck - different system from Tarot, but with similarly inspired stunning artwork.

A set of colourful artistic Tarot cards spread across a red cloth. All have atmospheric Renaissance Venice art, including a gondola for the Chariot card, and the Campanile San Marco being hit by lightning for the Tower card. Beside them is a sturdy box, as well as a signed certificate of authenticity from the artist.

A set of colourful artistic Tarot cards spread across a red cloth. All have atmospheric Renaissance Venice art, including a gondola for the Chariot card, and the Campanile San Marco being hit by lightning for the Tower card. Beside them is a sturdy box, as well as a signed certificate of authenticity from the artist.

paranoidangel

Since we're halfway through the year, let's look at how it's going. My goal was to reduce the number of unread books I have. I started at 38 and am now at 43. It's generally been around the same number, sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more. It was at 50 recently, so it's doing quite well in comparison...

I also have two squares left on my book bingo card. I could finish it off by replacing those two with something else on the list, but I'm determined not to. Not yet anyway. I have a book in my to read pile that will fit one of the squares. The other I haven't thought about yet.

What I Just Finished Reading
Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Sutanto
I read the first book in this series last year (I think) and then discovered there's another one. Vera Wong is so much fund and I love how she gets everyone to do what she wants to them to do.

Lost Property by Helen Paris
This is all about a character who it seems just needs to come out of her shell. And then you gradually find why she's in it.

How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell
This book is like a train wreck. I knew it from the title and description, but she just makes such bad decisions and takes a lot of drugs. I thought it would end in her getting clean and it ends with her thinking she does, but there's really no difference from the other times she gets clean temporarily.

Picnic on Craggy Island by Lissa Evans
This is a really short memoir from the producer of Father Ted from series 2. It was interesting.

How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
This is the story of a seniors club and the nursery that's in the same building and also mayhem. Since it started with a character turning 70 and being lonely I knew it would end in her making friends, but it still went in directions I didn't expect.

What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
This is a Japanese book that has five characters all of whom are dissatisfied with their lives and find the answers in the library. It was a nice easy read for hot weather, but uplifting because the characters all find a way to improve their lives.

What I'm Currently Reading
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino. I picked this because it's short, but it's a bit hard going. But it might just not be a heatwave book. Although when I acquired it I wasn't entirely sure I'd like it, so we'll see how it goes when it's less hot.

The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson. I've read two previous books of hers and enjoyed them and they weren't hard going. Although I'm not fond of the publisher's font on this. I can change the font on my ebook reader, but I couldn't get excited about the alternatives either.

What I'm Reading Next
Depends on the weather. If it's hot then it needs to be easy reading. If it's an easier to cope with temperature

Mirrored from my blog.

ffutures

This is a repeat of a 2023 bundle offering material for one of the oldest fantasy RPGs - The Dark Eye, a German system from from Ulisses Spiele, which has been in print since 1984 and has a ton of support material. This offer covers the 2016 English translation of the system, and is aimed at newcomers to the system. Some of it has been in previous bundles:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/2025DarkEye

In 2023 (and on at least one previous occasion) I said "I'm not hugely into fantasy RPGs, I played way too many in the eighties and sort of lost the plot, but this looks pretty good, the art is excellent, and you get a huge amount for your money. And some things look like some actual thought has gone into them - for example, most of the depictions of women show them wearing sensible clothes for adventuring, with the balance of the sexes roughly even. The rules look comprehensible, though a little more complicated than I like, and (I repeat) you get a hell of a lot for your money. Recommended!

I wonder if there has ever been a German version of this offer - it might be interesting for linguists etc. or (of course) for German gamers, but since these bundles are organised by Americans I won't hold my breath waiting...

I don't see any reason to change any of this - it's not a system I particularly want to use, but it's very good value, and well worth a look if you're into fantasy RPGs. My main caveat considering that it has been in bundles several times is that it may be worth checking how much of it you already own, and whether it would be cheaper just to buy the bits you don't have and will actually use. Incidentally, the current offer explicitly states that no German versions are included.

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Tales From the Riverbank

Reading

Oh, I like this word!

Holme Gardens, July

Ironheart Episodes 4 - 6:

The WIcker Man (1973)

Sunshine Challenge #2

Taking stock of academic research projects and papers in progress

A blog post about my lost PhD nearly three decades on

When I made my previous post I hadn’t heard about the flooding

On the heath

Well, that was unexpected and unpleasant

Barbara Kingsolver: Demon Copperhead (Book Review)

Firefly

Garden Notes

Matt Hancock tells the Covid Inquiry that only campaign groups . . . care about his lies

R.I.P. Snake

More inconsistencies in Dumas

Artificial Gravity

What’s math for anyway

Feet

Manga (Anime) series info?

Underhill path

Weather's cooled down a bit, that's nice

Cleanup Progress

Global Ranking

Bleeding

A Song on the End of the World by Czeslaw Milosz

(no subject)

Venetian Tarot

What I am reading Wednesday

Another Repeat Bundle - The Dark Eye

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