November 17th, 2025
posted by [syndicated profile] xkcd_feed at 05:00am on 17/11/2025

Posted by Jack Izzo

According to the United States flag code, the national flag should never be allowed to touch the ground.

Posted by Nur Ibrahim

The two presidents were photographed together at the U.S. Open in 2000.
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith at 04:44pm on 17/11/2025 under , , , ,
Satellite images reveal the fastest Antarctic glacier retreat ever

Hektoria Glacier’s sudden eight-kilometer collapse stunned scientists, marking the fastest modern ice retreat ever recorded in Antarctica. Its flat, below-sea-level ice plain allowed huge slabs of ice to detach rapidly once retreat began. Seismic activity confirmed this wasn’t just floating ice but grounded mass contributing to sea level rise. The event raises alarms that other fragile glaciers may be poised for similar, faster-than-expected collapses.


Just because something is big, doesn't necessarily mean it's always slow. Climate change can move blindingly fast.

If I were there, I'd be crawling over that exposed plain searching for signs of life.  Antarctica is waking up.
Mood:: 'busy' busy

See the Helen furnace, a relic of Clarion County’s iron-powered past.

Between the 1830s and the 1860s, Clarion County, Pennsylvania, was known as “The Iron County,” thanks to its booming iron industry and many cold-blast iron furnaces. For a stretch of time, at least one new furnace was being built each year. And each new furnace meant many new jobs: the largest employed 75 to 100 men each, while the smaller ones employed 25 to 50. These furnaces became, literally and figuratively, pillars of the community.

The Helen, or “Heiland,” Furnace still stands relatively intact: in the village of Helen Furnace, just off a quiet country road, this nearly 200-year-old furnace has remained throughout the region’s changing seasons. The Helen Furnace was built in 1845 on the Alexander McNaughton Farm, where it operated until 1857. At the height of its production, it generated 1,000 tons of iron per year—and that’s within a 26-week operational window. While its name has been Americanized, the original name—Heiland—came from Scottish people who settled in the area.

The 32-foot-high furnace is still in impressive condition, unlike many of its peers who have become ruins or been demolished altogether. Its masonry walls stand tall and intact, and visitors can even step inside the furnace and look up the tall, narrow chimney that offers a small window of sky above. Visiting the furnace offers a glimpse into the industrial history of Clarion county, which was booming in the mid 19th century. It’s also still set on a beautiful, quiet piece of land, between a small stretch of rolling grass and some trees behind it, proving that even the small, historic, industrial bits of this county are swathed in natural splendor. 

 

 

Taking a photo with Blossom gives you a sense of her size.

Along a rural highway just south of the town of Sligo lives one of Clarion County’s most unique attractions: a giant black-and-white cow (specifically, a Holstein) made of fiberglass and steel and named Blossom.

This striking heifer was built and installed by local farmer Vern E. Over, to advertise his business, Over’s Dairy. While the dairy shut down decades ago, Blossom remains as a reminder of the region’s farming history, and a time when local dairies dotted the countryside and family-owned businesses were more prevalent. She has also become a beloved landmark and a point of both pride and nostalgia for the local community. 

Blossom plays the role of mascot for locals, who dress her with the seasons: scarves in the fall, Santa hats in winter. Around the holidays, she’s often lit up in colorful lights, too. She’s also a handy landmark, as people often direct others to, for example, “turn right at the big cow.” 

For a 50-year-old gal, Blossom is looking pretty fresh: Her paint is well preserved, her ears still perky, her smile mild. While there isn’t a local organization who cares for her, her good condition has led most curious onlookers to believe that there’s someone—or a group of someones—who have taken on her upkeep. So when you pull over on Route 68 to take a photo, you’ll have these mystery elves to thank for keeping Blossom as fresh as she was in the 1970s. 

 

 

The Sutton-Ditz House reveals history through its themed rooms.

The Sutton-Ditz House in Clarion, Pennsylvania, is a home that has been lovingly preserved and turned into a small museum. The 2½-story, revival-style brick house was first built in the 1840s by local attorney Thomas Sutton, Jr., one block south of the Clarion courthouse. In 1909, local hardware store owner John A. Ditz bought and renovated the house, inspired by late Victorian and early Arts and Crafts movements. Ditz added the impressive columned porch and balcony, as well as handmade woodwork and lighting fixtures. 

Today, the house is home to the Clarion County Historical Society and its collections. Inside, you’ll find themed rooms, bedecked in era-specific decor, with both permanent and temporary exhibits. These rooms include the Military Room, the DAR Women’s History Room, the “General Store” Room, and the Business & Industry Room, all of which give visitors a deeper look at Clarion County’s community history. 

Some believe that there are other “historical” features of the house—namely, ghosts. Three years after Thomas Sutton built the house, he and his six-year-old son both died there. According to Mary Lea Lucas, director of the Historical Society, the house welcomed paranormal investigators a few years back, who brought a “spirit box” to help them communicate with potential spirits. The box—which kept bringing up the word “bear”—led the investigators and museum staff to discover a silver Art Deco ring trapped inside the lining of a brown bear fur coat from the 1920s. 

Lucas has also experienced her own hauntings in the house: Once, while staying late to prepare for an exhibition, she randomly stopped on the second floor and asked aloud if anyone wanted to communicate. Later, she heard a never-used antique phone (with an unlisted number) ringing from the kitchen. When she picked it up, she heard a small child’s voice calling for his mother. She later learned that Sutton and his son had died on the same calendar day that she’d heard the call—March 24. Others have claimed to see a young, sick boy roaming the house. 

Take trail to the fire tower for spectacular views.

Cook Forest offers choose-your-own-adventure sightseeing. One option is to park in the ADA-compliant lot and walk a short distance to the Seneca Point Overlook, which gives gorgeous views of the Clarion river from a vantage point of 1,600 feet. You’ll be able to take in the natural splendor of Cook Forest and the river valley below, which is dotted with “Indian mills.” These small, bowl-shaped indentations in stone were used by local Indigenous peoples, predecessors of the Seneca tribe, to grind seeds and grains. 

The area is an ancient forest and national landmark that has been named one of “The Best Old-Growth Forests” in America and rightly so, as Cook Forest is home to some of the tallest trees east of the Rockies. Its patches of old growth trees are variously known as “The Ancients” and a “Forest Cathedral.” Whatever you call them, once you see them, you’ll understand the awe that they impart.  

If you want to add a little adrenaline to your sightseeing, you can climb the 87.5-foot fire tower at Seneca Point, which will offer you even better views—and the thrill of climbing the structure that was once used to spot forest fires.

For a mobility friendly experience, the Cook Forest Sensory Trail is a one-quarter-mile paved loop designed for wheel-chair ease with guide cables for visually impaired visitors. The park also has a driving self tour.

As you take in Cook Forest and the river below, you can reflect on the park’s long history. Before Europeans arrived in the area, the Seneca Nation of the Iriquois confederacy used these lands for hunting. After the French and Indian War, the English purchased the land from the Iroquois, eventually naming the woods after John Cook, the first American to settle in the area in 1826. His sons ran various mills that ran on water power from the river, and many of the nearby properties are still maintained by the Cook family. In the 1920s, the Cook Forest Association was established to protect the old growth trees that remained. The firetower was built in 1929.

conuly: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] conuly at 05:40pm on 17/11/2025
DEAR HARRIETTE: My boyfriend recently moved in with me, and ever since then, my cat’s behavior has completely changed. She’s been acting out: scratching furniture, hiding for hours and even refusing to eat sometimes. She used to be calm and affectionate, but now she seems anxious and territorial. My partner is trying to be patient, but I can tell he’s getting frustrated, especially since the cat hisses at him whenever he walks by or tries to sit near me. It’s creating tension between us, and I feel stuck in the middle trying to keep everyone happy. I’ve tried introducing them slowly, giving the cat space and even buying new toys to distract her, but nothing seems to help. My boyfriend thinks I’m overreacting and that the cat will “get over it,” but I know she’s genuinely stressed.

I feel guilty because I was so excited for us to finally live together, and now it feels like we’re both walking on eggshells around my pet. I love them both, but I’m starting to wonder if this living situation is sustainable. How can I help my cat adjust to this big change without it putting more strain on my relationship? -- Standoff


Read more... )

Bus Terminus in summer

After the journey through the winding roads of Hong Kong Island's verdant south side, the first sight that greets visitors to the popular beach town of Shek O is the much-loved bus terminus. Though many beachgoers will make a beeline straight for the golden sands of Shek O beach, the delightful terminus building is worth more than a mere glance.

The building was designed by Su Gin Djih of Hsin Yieh Architects & Associates. Su was part of the first wave of Chinese architects to study in the U.S., and the influence of the American modernist movement can be seen in the terminus building's clean, straight lines and horizontality.

Completed in 1955, the design of the two-storey building features its signature cantilevered balcony running the full length of the upper level. On the lower level, the recessed waiting area is on one side, the old stationmaster's office on the other, defying the commonly held architectural notion that symmetry equals beauty.

In 2013, despite having fallen into a state of decay and disrepair, the bus terminus was granted Grade 2 historic building status by the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO). Deeming the building worthy of 'special merit', owing to its status as a rare, surviving building from the 1950s and its design in a style seldom seen in modern day Hong Kong.

Finally, in 2020, having consulted with the AMO on how to correctly carry out the restoration works to uphold the building's authenticity, the New World First Bus Company began the process of renovating the terminus building. During the renovations, an old well that was originally used as the building's water supply was discovered, as were several vintage bus stop signs.

In the lightning paced, ever-evolving metropolis that is Hong Kong, little attention is paid to conservation. Shek O town and the bus terminus continue to serve as reminders of past eras and to reinforce that Hong Kong doesn't consist solely of glass, steel and concrete reaching skyward.

The Vanna Venturi House appears large from certain angles and small from others.

On a quiet street in Chestnut Hill, you’ll find a small grey-green home that, on first glance, might look quite ordinary. Keep looking, however, and you’ll begin to notice unusual specificities in its design; some subtle, some less so. The more you observe, the more unconventional architectural details you’ll see, from the massive offset windowed chimney to the numerous plays on scale throughout the structure.

The Vanna Venturi house was built by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Robert Venturi as a residence for his elderly mother. Widely considered the exemplar of postmodern architecture, the structure juxtaposes generic design features with postmodern elements like a dead-end staircase.

Venturi’s body of work is highly concerned with the tensions contained by complexity and contradiction. At a certain point, architectural theory merges with philosophy, as occurs in Venturi’s book of essays, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, where he questions what a sheltering space is and how its design impacts the lived experience of those who exist within it. In this work, he expounds on his feelings about modernism, which can be boiled down to a critique of the Modern obsession with precision and functionality in the name of purism.

To view the Vanna Venturi house is to understand how these theories and abstract concepts show up in the built environment. The 1,800-square foot structure is informed by the geometry of modernism and features Modernist details like ribbon windows, but rejects the modernist tenet that form must follow function. “I am for messy vitality over obvious unity,” wrote Venturi. Thus, the structure features unusual installations like an oversized fireplace that competes for centrality with a staircase in the living space. The negative space of the fireplace is juxtaposed—with complexity and contradiction, of course—to the solidity of the staircase. 

Vanna Venturi lived in the home until 1973, when she entered a nursing home and it was sold to new owners. Since then, the house has changed hands just once. Today it is occupied by a resident who locals say cheerfully greets the streams of architecture students and fans as they pass by, sometimes by the busload, to check out the house.

The Philadelphia Merchants’ Exchange Building façade is an iconic fixture in the Old City.

The Philadelphia Merchants’ Exchange Building is a prominent site in American history. Once the location of the nation’s first stock exchange, one of Philadelphia’s early post offices, and the headquarters of the Philadelphia Board of Trade, the marble building also served as a common space for civic and industry business. 

Prior to the erection of the stately Greek Revival structure in the late 1890s, negotiations and transactions took place in coffee houses and taverns. But without widespread telephone adoption, this nodular setup made coordination and communication difficult. 

In 1831, a group of citizens led by prominent banker and philanthropist Stephen Girard envisioned a civic space that would contain multitudes, cohering Philadelphia’s business processes—from contracting to commodities trading—in a single space. They tapped Philly architect William Strickland, who designed many of the city’s most notable buildings, for the job. 

Strickland was apprentice to Thomas Jefferson’s architect of choice, which afforded him a strong reputation among early Philly’s movers and shakers. When he was appointed to the Merchants’ Exchange job, he was faced with the uncommon architectural challenge of designing a rectangular-footprinted building on a triangular plot of land. The back side of the Greek Revival structure demonstrates his solution: a semicircular façade that follows the curved line of Dock Street to the building’s rear. 

Today, the Merchants’ Exchange serves as headquarters of Independence Historical Park, a campus of historical sites and buildings in a federally protected historic district of Philly’s Old City. On a visit, check out architectural details like imported Carrera marble from Italy alongside local Pennsylvania blue marble, an ornate Corinthian portico inspired by Athenian architecture, and the cornerstone that was laid to commemorate the 100th anniversary of George Washington’s birth.

The star of David at the south end of the park.

For the first two centuries of its existence, the story of Riga’s Old Jewish Cemetery was like the story of any other Jewish cemetery in Europe.  The cemetery was established in 1725 at what was then the outskirts of Riga, and it was desperately needed by the local Jewish community, who previously needed to transport people 40 km to the nearest Jewish cemetery in Jelgava.  The cemetery saw a lot of use over the centuries, and it was even expanded twice in the 19th century.

Then, with the advent of World War II, the history of the cemetery became complicated. Following the invasion by German forces in 1941, the cemetery was incorporated into the Jewish ghetto used by the Nazis to control the movement and activities of Riga’s Jewish population.  At this point, the location ceased to function as a normal cemetery.  The occupying forces burnt down a prayer house and mortuary within the cemetery and proceeded to use it for mass burials.

After the war, when Latvia had been incorporated into the Soviet Union, the cemetery’s grave markers were either taken away to be used as construction material or were otherwise allowed to crumble.  Eventually, the cemetery was converted into a park with the name “Park of the Communist Brigades”.

In 1992, after the Soviet Union had collapsed and Latvia had regained its independence, the park was renamed as the “Old Jewish Cemetery” (or “Vecie ebreju kapi” in Latvian), and a few small commemorative monuments have been placed in the park.  Otherwise, no sign of the old cemetery remains in this small patch of trees in Riga’s southeastern suburbs.

wychwood: Trip staggering (Ent - broken)
First day back at work fairly whizzed by; between catching up with email, Teams messages, and the spam queue, redoing and circulating all the team monthly reports because it turned out we didn't have any data for 30 or 31 October when I did them, and my interim PDR I was fairly bushed by the end of the day. The PDR went well, but was quite intense. Then I staggered off to my singing lesson, but surprisingly was somewhat revived by Schumann, who is not normally that inspiring for me.

Then I came home and tackled a pile of evening tasks. The cleaner is coming tomorrow, and I had an accumulation of things in my to-do list that I hadn't got to. There's still quite a few left, but I have least ordered the things I wanted from Boots. Or Miss H did it for me, at least, after a catalogue of disasters including six successful orders cancelled immediately after I placed them, Paypal getting into a loop where I had to input a 2FA code in order to be shown a captcha which then told me I had completed it successfully and hung indefinitely (at least three times), attempts involving two payment methods, three computers, two different web browsers, on multiple days... all of them identically unsuccessful. As I said despairingly to Miss H, I just wanted to buy some insoles, how could it possibly be so hard.

It worked fine for her, anyway, and I've paid her back so soon I will have my spare hot water bottle etc.

And on that note of triumph I am going to transport myself to bed where hopefully the current hot water bottle will have made everything lovely.
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
posted by [personal profile] redbird at 03:03pm on 17/11/2025 under ,
I just had a phone appointment with someone, funded by the state of Massachusetts, to help decide between basic Medicare plus a Medigap plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan. I have gotten some useful information, but am going to double-check everything, because in at least one case what she told me contradicts what the official Medicare.gov site says. It's a relatively minor point--the existence of a roommate discount for some Medigap plans--but I asked about which plans it applied to, and she said it doesn't exist.

The new and interesting information is that apparently, because I am under 65 and disabled, I'm eligible for a Medicaid plan, without an income limit. It's called CommonHealth, and seems to be part of the state's "Commonwealth Care." If I understand correctly, after Medicare paid 80% of a bill, it would cover the rest, but only at providers that take MassHealth.

If I got basic Medicare (parts A and B), a part D drug plan, and a Medigap plan, I could see any provider that takes Medicare, without worrying about what's in-network. However, a Medigap plan would cost significantly more than this CommonHealth thing.

Or, I could sign up for another Medicare Advantage plan. The advantage there is there are some that would cost no more than the Medicare Part B premium. The disadvantage is being limited to in-network providers unless I'm willing to pay significantly more for that service.

I thought the question was, is it worth $250-$300/month (Medigap + prescription coverage) more to not have to worry about being in-network and prior authorization. It sounds like this CommonHealth plan would cost significantly less per month, but if the provider doesn't take MassHealth, I'd be paying 20%. Which gets back to the larger problem that there's no way to find out what number that will be 20% until after the visit.

If I understood correctly, all these options have copays for some things, and CommonHealth may require prior authorization for some things.
Mood:: 'confused' confused

Posted by Anna Rascouët-Paz

The claim spread after a House committee released thousands of documents related to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Konkan region along the western coast of India has a rich cultural history and is popular for its beaches, temples and forts. The region is dotted with idyllic coastal towns and villages where tourists come to relax and enjoy the sea.

One such town is Harihareshwar, known for its iconic temple complex. It is also called Dev-Ghar, or "House of God," and Dakshin Kashi, or "Kashi of the South," in reference to the northern holy city of Varanasi, regarded as India’s spiritual capital.

Next to the Harihareshwar temple complex, there is a canyon with stone steps that descend towards the sea. At the base of the hill are fascinating rock formations shaped like honeycombs. These are called tafoni, clusters of cavities that develop in granular rocks due to centuries of weathering by natural elements, in this case, the sea.

These tiny rock cavities lend the place an almost supernatural, other-worldly atmosphere.

ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith at 01:50pm on 17/11/2025 under , , , , ,
Today is partly sunny and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large flock of sparrows.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 11/17/25 -- I trimmed brush along the south edge of the house.

EDIT 11/17/25 -- We cleared the rest of the brush from in front of the garage.

EDIT 11/17/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 11/17/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 11/17/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
Mood:: 'busy' busy

Posted by Laerke Christensen

Trump allegedly also wrote, "ALL THAT STUFF WITH EPSTEIN WAS A LONG TIME AGO!! EVERYONE JUST NEEDS TO MOVE ON!!"

In 1963, Bristol’s streets became the stage for a collective stand that would capture the nation’s attention—a boycott against an unspoken rule that had kept Black and Asian workers off the city’s buses.

The Bristol Omnibus Company, despite facing a labor shortage, flatly refused to hire non-white drivers and conductors. But a group of determined activists had other plans. Led by Paul Stephenson and the West Indian Development Council, the Bristol Bus Boycott galvanized the city, lasting 60 days and spearheading national discussions about racism in the country. Inspired by the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the United States, it gained support from politicians, churches, and civil rights advocates across the country. Even then-Labour leader Harold Wilson voiced his backing.

By the time the boycott ended, the company had lifted its discriminatory hiring policies, and Bristol welcomed its first non-white bus conductor. The protest’s ripple effects reached Parliament, influencing the groundbreaking 1965 and 1968 Race Relations Acts, Britain’s first legal steps toward banning racial discrimination.

Today, a plaque at Bristol Bus Station commemorates the campaigners who fought for justice. Among them, Paul Stephenson, Roy Hackett, Guy Bailey, and Barbara Dettering have since been honored for their pivotal roles in reshaping British society. Decades after the boycott, even the union that once upheld the “color bar” formally apologized. The plaque was unveiled in August 2014, with Bristol’s mayor, George Ferguson, in attendance. 

Posted by Emily Greenberg and Cliff Mayotte

Early in President Trump’s first term, McSweeney’s editors began to catalog the head-spinning number of misdeeds coming from his administration. We called this list a collection of Trump’s cruelties, collusions, corruptions, and crimes, and it felt urgent to track them, to ensure these horrors—happening almost daily—would not be forgotten. Now that Trump has returned to office, amid civil rights, humanitarian, economic, and constitutional crises, we felt it critical to make an inventory of this new round of horrors. This list will be updated monthly between now and the end of Donald Trump’s second term.

- - -

These lists, along with everything McSweeney’s publishes on this site, are offered ad-free and at no charge to our readers. If you are moved to make a donation in any amount or subscribe to our website’s Patreon, please do. This will help support this project and our other work.

- - -

ATROCITY KEY

– Constitutional Illegalities, Collusion, and/or Obstruction of Justice
– Environment
– Harassment, Bullying, Retribution, and/or Sexual Misconduct
– Lies and Misinformation
– Musk Madness
– Policy
– Public Statements and Social Media Posts
– Trump Family Business Dealings
– Trump Staff and Administration
– White Supremacy, Racism, Misogyny, Homophobia, Transphobia, and/or Xenophobia

- - -

September 2025

Main Index

Trump’s first term

- - -

OCTOBER 2025

  1. October 1, 2025 – Vice President JD Vance laughed off two racist AI-generated videos of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that Trump posted earlier in the week. “Oh, I think it’s funny,” he said. "The president’s joking, and we’re having a good time.” The videos portrayed Jeffries, who is Black, with a mustache and sombrero while mariachi music played in the background; the first video also falsely accused Democrats of trying to give free healthcare to undocumented immigrants. When asked to respond to Jeffries’s statement that the videos were racist and bigoted, Vance responded, “I don’t even know what that means.”


    Trump’s Post of Rep. Jeffries with Sombrero is ‘Funny,’ Vance Says (PBS)

  2. October 1, 2025 – In retaliation for the government shutdown, the Trump administration canceled over $27 billion in funds for Democratic states. The denied funds included $8 billion in climate-related funding and $18 billion for two major transportation projects primarily in New York City. Voice of America broadcasts were also suspended, and its journalists were placed on furlough. Partisan language blaming “the Radical Left Democrat Shutdown” for slow responses was also inserted onto federal agency websites and into the out-of-office email replies of furloughed federal workers, a possible violation of both the First Amendment and the Hatch Act. “Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate, which has led to a lapse in appropriations,” read one version of the message. Matthew Lawrence, a law professor at Emory University, said Trump’s response to the shutdown was unprecedented: “I can’t think of a historical parallel of an administration cutting funds in a shutdown like this,” added Don Kettl, an emeritus professor at the University of Maryland, “We have had lots of shutdowns … [but] never before have top officials tried to use their employees as human shields in a partisan battle.”

  3. October 2, 2025The New York Times reported that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. fired Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo from the NIH three weeks after Marrazzo filed a whistle-blower complaint. In her whistle-blower complaint, Dr. Marrazzo, who had directed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had claimed she was demoted after objecting to Trump administration actions that endangered research subjects, defied court orders, and undermined vaccine research. “The Trump administration terminated Dr. Marrazzo for her advocacy on behalf of critical health research and for her support of the overwhelming body of evidence that shows vaccines are safe and effective,” said Debra S. Katz, a lawyer for Dr. Marrazzo, who argued that her client’s removal was retaliatory. Three other NIH directors and one NIH deputy director—Diana Bianchi, Eliseo Pérez-Stable, Shannon Zenk, and Tara Schwetz—were first placed on administrative leave and then fired. Some of the fired directors claimed they were targeted because their institutions funded studies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as HIV.

  4. October 2, 2025 – Facing pressure from the Trump administration, Apple removed ICEBlock and similar apps that alert people about ICE sightings in their area. Apple told ICEBlock’s creator, Joshua Aaron, that the app violated app store guidelines and that its “purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group,” a claim Aaron called “patently false.” Aaron has said that the app, which had over 1 million users, was instead intended to help people avoid contact with ICE. “Our mission has always been to protect our neighbors from the terror this administration continues to (rain) down on the people of this nation,” said Aaron. “ICEBlock is no different from crowdsourcing speed traps, which every notable mapping application, including Apple’s own Maps app, implements as part of its core services. This is protected speech under the First Amendment.”

  5. October 2, 2025 – President Trump referred to Project 2025, a radical right-wing policy plan he claimed he “had nothing to do with” and had not read while running for office. “I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent,” Trump wrote on social media. Although the president appointed Vought to lead his budget office and quickly began implementing a number of Project 2025 proposals, he never directly admitted he was involved with Project 2025 until the social media post. “This was always the plan. Project 2025 was Donald Trump’s blueprint to seize unchecked power within the federal government and restrict Americans’ freedoms. And he is implementing it right in front of our eyes,” Kamala Harris wrote on social media.

  6. October 2, 2025 – The Trump administration sent letters to nine universities asking them to pledge support for Trump’s political agenda in exchange for access to federal research funds. A “compact” attached to the letters outlined the administration’s education policy goals, including freezing tuition, providing free tuition to students studying “hard sciences” at select schools, capping international student enrollment, committing to binary definitions of gender, and prohibiting pushback against conservative ideas on campus. “This is a power play, and it’s designed to divide the higher education community," said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education. “I hope institutions do not sign this compact. I do not think it’s in their best interests individually, and collectively, it’s a horrible precedent to cede power to the federal government.”

  7. October 2, 2025 – Todd Arrington, the head of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, resigned following a fight with the Trump administration over a sword. State Department officials wanted to gift King Charles III an original Eisenhower sword from the library, but Arrington pushed back, arguing that the sword had been donated and was the property of the American people. He offered to find an alternative gift or a replica, but was eventually told to “resign or be fired.” “Apparently, they believed I could no longer be trusted with confidential information,” said Arrington, who previously worked for the National Park Service and National Archives and Records Administration.

  8. October 2, 2025 – The Trump administration sent a confidential notice to Congress stating that the United States was engaged in a formal “armed conflict” with “terrorist” drug cartels and that it considered suspected smugglers for such groups to be “unlawful combatants.” The notice set the stage for Trump to claim extraordinary wartime powers as a legal rationale for the American strikes on three Venezuelan boats that killed seventeen people. Geoffrey S. Corn, who formerly served as the Army’s senior advisor for law-of-war-issues, said drug cartels were not engaged in “hostilities,” the legal standard for an armed conflict, because selling dangerous drugs is not the same as an armed attack; Corn also noted that it was illegal for the military to deliberately target civilians, even suspected criminals, not directly participating in hostilities. “This is not stretching the envelope,” said Corn. “This is shredding it. This is tearing it apart.”

  9. October 3, 2025 – The United States struck a fourth Venezuelan boat allegedly carrying drugs, killing four. “The strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics—headed to America to poison our people," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on social media without providing evidence for his claims. "Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking route. These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!” In his own social media post, Trump also claimed without evidence that the boat was carrying enough drugs “to kill 25 to 50 thousand people.” Former government officials and legal experts have questioned the legality of the deadly strikes.

  10. October 3, 2025The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration was offering migrant children $2500 to self-deport. Although DHS officials defended the program as “strictly voluntary,” immigration rights advocates swiftly pushed back, arguing that the administration was violating federal law by pressuring minors to surrender their rights to immigration proceedings and humanitarian protections; further, many of the children had fled oppressive regimes, violence, or hunger in their home countries. “Safe voluntary departure requires legal counsel—not government marketing or what amounts to cash bribes for kids,” said Melissa Adamson, senior attorney at the National Center for Youth Law. “This administration’s actions again prove it cannot be trusted to protect children.” During Trump’s first term, more than 4,000 migrant children were separated from their parents, and over Labor Day Weekend, the administration attempted to deport dozens of Guatemalan children in the middle of the night.

  11. October 3, 2025FEMA said it was withholding more than $300 million in grants from states until they could verify their population estimates accounted for recent deportations. “This grant is awarded based solely on population data, and FEMA must ensure it is awarding the corrected funding levels,” wrote Daniel Llargues, a FEMA spokesman. It is unclear whether deportations have led to meaningful population changes or how states will confirm the number of deported immigrants. A group representing state emergency management agencies said the move would result in “further delaying resources intended to strengthen disaster preparedness and emergency response.”

  12. October 4, 2025 – A Chicago woman was shot by federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation in Brighton Park, where agents also fired chemical irritants and stun grenades into a crowd of protesters. Many of the agents had arrived in unmarked cars without license plates. After driving herself to a hospital, the woman, a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody by the FBI. Several hours later, against Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s wishes, Trump authorized the activation of 300 National Guard troops in Chicago. “President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities,” a White House spokesperson said. Pritzker pushed back against that narrative, arguing that the move was more about “control” than “safety.” “They will pull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance—not a serious effort to protect public safety,” said Pritzker.

  13. October 5, 2025 – A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from deploying hundreds of out-of-state National Guard troops to Oregon. The Trump administration had previously tried to send hundreds of California National Guard troops to Portland. California and Oregon quickly filed lawsuits to stop the administration’s move. Immergut told Justice Department lawyers that “The relocation, federalization or deployment of members of the National Guard of any state or the District of Columbia in the state of Oregon … was in direct contravention” of her order. California attorney general Rob Bonta, told reporters, “It’s our National Guard—California’s National Guard. Not Trump’s Royal Guard, as he seems to think.”

  14. October 6, 2025 – Trump told reporters that he would consider invoking the Insurrection Act. “I’d do it if it was necessary,” he said. "If I had to enact it, I’d do it, if people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up.” The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows the president to mobilize the U.S. military to conduct civilian law enforcement activities under certain circumstances. Trump stated, “If you take a look at what’s been going on in Portland,” Trump said. “it’s been going on for a long time, and that’s insurrection. I mean, that’s pure insurrection.” Outside the Portland ICE facility the previous day, about seventy protesters chanted, barbecued, and passed out bottled water as passing motorists honked in mutual disapproval of the Trump administration.


    Protests outside Portland ICE building (KATU News)

  15. October 6, 2025 – According to a report from consumer advocacy and ethics nonprofit Public Citizen and corporate watchdog group The Revolving Door Project, the Trump administration placed 111 employees deemed “fossil fuel insiders and renewable energy opponents” in his administration. Among them are senior officials such as Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the former CEO of the fracking company Liberty Energy. Report author and Revolving Door Project senior researcher Toni Aguilar Rosenthal said, “It is often specific actors coming from specific moneyed interests that are carrying out this disastrous deregulatory agenda.” Interior Department spokesperson Aubrie Spadie said of the report: “it’s clear that this progressive group pushing an entire climate cult program, among other radical policies, would like to see American taxpayer dollars wasted on the Green New Scam.” Fossil fuel donors poured $96 million into Trump’s 2025 presidential campaign and contributed $11.8 million to Trump’s second inauguration.

  16. October 7, 2025 – In the midst of the government shutdown, the Trump administration warned of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers. The announcement reversed a longstanding policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees. After the shutdown in 2019, Trump signed legislation into law that ensured federal workers received back pay during any federal funding lapse. In the new memo, Trump’s Office of Management and Budget said back pay must be provided by Congress, as part of any bill to fund the government. The move was seen as a tactic to pressure Democrats in Congress. Trump said he would “follow the law” on back pay for federal workers, minutes after saying the compensation “depends on who we’re talking about.” He added, “There are some people that don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”

  17. October 8, 2025 – Trump said that Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, should be jailed for their opposition to his deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. Johnson declared, “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested. I’m not going anywhere.” On X, Pritzker wrote, “Trump is now calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power. What else is left on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?” When asked what crimes the president believed Pritzker and Johnson had committed, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson failed to identify any.

  18. October 9, 2025 – A federal grand jury charged New York Attorney General Letitia James with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a home purchase in Norfolk, Virginia in 2020. The indictment came after steady pressure from Trump to prosecute one of his longtime political foes. James denied any wrongdoing and said the charges were “baseless.” In 2022, James investigated and sued Trump and his company for inflating the value of some of its properties. The civil business fraud case jury awarded New York over $450 million. While the conviction was upheld, the financial penalty was later thrown out on appeal. Since taking office, Trump has been persistent in his calls that James “be arrested and punished accordingly.” In a recent Truth Social post directed at U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump wrote, "JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED.”

  19. October 10, 2025 – Despite Trump’s lobbying, his bid for a Nobel Peace Prize fell short. The Nobel committee awarded the prize to the Venezuelan opposition politician María Corina Machado. On hearing the news, Trump said, “The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called me and said, ‘I’m accepting this in honor of you because you really deserved it.’” He added, “I didn’t say, ‘Then give it to me.’ I think she might have. She was very nice.” Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., said he would introduce a resolution in Congress saying Trump deserves the honor in 2026. Carter said, “He’ll be a strong candidate, and he should have been a slam dunk this year, but unfortunately, the committee got it wrong.” Foreign policy analysts weren’t so sure about Trump’s chances. Nina Graeger, director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, said if the recent peace deal in Gaza doesn’t hold, Trump isn’t likely to get credit for raising false hopes. She also said it didn’t help Trump that he threatened to acquire Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal.


    Trump Says Nobel Peace Prize Winner Machado Accepted the Award for Him (NBC News)

  20. October 10, 2025 – According to a court filing, more than 4,000 federal employees received layoff notices as part of the Trump administration’s effort to reshape the government during the shutdown. On X, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought posted, “The RIFs (Reductions in Force) have begun.” According to department spokespeople and union representatives, RIF notices had gone out to employees at the departments of Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security and Treasury. Trump said that he planned to fire “a lot” of federal workers in retaliation for the government shutdown, vowing to target those aligned with the Democratic Party. “We figure they started this thing, so they should be Democrat-oriented,” he said without providing details on what qualified the affected workers as “...
ffutures: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] ffutures at 06:43pm on 17/11/2025 under
This is an all-new bundle of Salvage Union, a game about post-apocalytic mech warriors trying to keep their machines running, from Leyline Press

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/SalvageUnion

  

This is a genre I'm not incredibly fond of, but it's made more interesting by there not being apparently limitless supplies of shiny new guns, missiles and mechs. Instead everything is collapsing, and a good set of tools and the knowledge of how to use them is probably worth more than any weapon. It might be good as a change of pace for mech fans, a "this is what's really going on as a background to the battles" dystopia. It's reasonably priced and I think it's worth a look.
mallorys_camera: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] mallorys_camera at 01:20pm on 17/11/2025 under


Interesting what you pick up along the highway. Cigarette butts, mostly—disheartening because this part of New York has had fire advisories in place throughout the summer and fall due to near-drought conditions, which have dried up all the grass. It's depressing how many morons ignore reasonable precautions. Like I don't care if you smoke, but don't set the world on fire because you're jonesing for a nicotine fix.

People like to toss beer cans and fast food wrappers out car windows. Less frequent are the glass flasks of the hard core boozers. We found a couple of condoms. (I like to think they were filled with rainwater run-off.) A set of keys. Someone also deliberately or inadvertently tossed a full dossier of court documents—they were scattered over about half a mile and mostly reduced to pulp, although you could make out occasional words, complaint... allege... Docket No: 4329...

We found a lot of bones, too, but since none of them looked to be human, I refused to touch them. I figured they were biodegradable.

###

It's been windy. Very, very windy. The wind pokes the occasional hole in the thick cloud cover but those holes fill up quickly. The wind kinda spooks me. I'm not sure why.
ljgeoff: (Default)
Here's a couple of updates on this year's Arctic freezing season:

09/16 Glen Koehler:

The graphs show that while we were carefully discussing how far the wind would spread the sheen of remaining Arctic Sea Ice rubble for the September 2025 Extent minimum, the ice is dying.

09/17 The Walrus:

Based on Glen's post, thickness must have decreased from an average of 1.46M in 2012 to 1.01M this year.

11/01 binntho:

Refreeze has been below average, and this year is now 4th lowest in the satellite era for the date. Extent is currently almost 300k below the average of the 10 previous years.

The 3 day median concentration animation from Polar Python shows how the Siberian side is almost completely frozen, but there is still a narrow band of open ocean on the Alaskan side and the Atlantic front is still further north than usual.

But what is usual? The 10 year animation showing the University of Bremen concentration maps on October 30th shows that there is quite a lot of variability in how freezing progresses. Remember that we are now past the peak freezing period as shown by the 10 year 7 day average.

The years 2016 and 2020 clearly stand out, 2020 was 732k lower than 2025 on this date, and 2016 was 545k lower. In third place, 2024 was 112k lower than 2025

11/02 uniquorn:

Can still see ice melting in the warmer water north of the Voronin Trough oct28-nov1

11/5 Jim Hunt:

The minimum modelled sea ice volume was 3.87 thousand km³ on September 12th. (edit comment, this is 2nd lowest in historical record)

11/17 binntho:

JAXA extent 16-Nov is 8,573,901 km2, an increase in extent of 39,516 km2
which is 20,921 km2 less than the 10 year 7 day running centered average of an increase of 60,437 km2

Extent is second lowest in satellite record, 109k above 2016 in #1 and 193k below 2020 in #3

(my emphasis)

The Pulcinella installation unfolds along a route illustrating the multiple origins of the mask and brings together original documents relating to Pulcinella’s popular, literary, and theatrical traditions. It features costumes, masks, and photographs of the actors who have portrayed Pulcinella. The exhibition also contains rare objects and examples of ancient and modern Campanian craftsmanship and a Pulcinella nativity scene, along with a traditional “guarattelle” puppet theatre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If the fiberglass rendition of Louie the Lumberjack outside the Walkup Skydome looks familiar, that's because it is actually one of around two hundred Muffler Men found across the United States. International Fiberglass constructed the Muffler Men in the 1960s and 1970s for various roadside businesses across the country. Most have identical faces with or without a beard, and typically hold some object in their hands. Although many of the businesses that originally commissioned them have closed down, they often remain as tourist attractions and symbols of their local communities.

In 1962, the very first Muffler Man was constructed by International Fiberglass's predecessor, Prewitt Fiberglass Animals. It was meant to be a statue of legendary giant Paul Bunyan for a customer in Sacramento. When the statue went unpaid for, however, it was sold instead to the Lumberjack Cafe in Flagstaff. International Fiberglass would go on to use Paul Bunyan's mold for all the other Muffler Men.

After the Lumberjack Cafe rebranded in the late 1970s, it was donated to Northern Arizona University, who repainted it in their own livery. Eventually, the statue and the university's mascot acquired the name Louie from the 1963 song “Louie, Louie.” NAU also acquired a second lumberjack Muffler Man from the Lumberjack Cafe, built several years later. It now lies on the south side the Walkup Skydome, further away from the main entrance and box office. A third smaller wooden lumberjack statue from the cafe also stands at 218 S Milton Road.

posted by [syndicated profile] sciam_feed at 01:00pm on 17/11/2025

Objects including a crocheted figure of Castro himself.

Born Sergio Arturo Castro Martínez in 1941 in the city of Delicias, Chihuahua state and then raised in an orphanage, Sergio Castro trained as agronomer, veterinarian, civil engineer and teacher. He moved from his birth state on Mexico's northern border to Chiapas, a state bordering Guatemala, in 1964. Chiapas has many superlatives among Mexican states, having one of the highest percentage of population belonging to an Indigenous group, it is considered to one of the richest in natural resources but also being the economically poorest. In this context, Castro assisted in building basic facilities like schools and outhouses in indigenous-majority communities.

Through this work, he picked up on a few things. For starters, he became fluent in Toztzil/Tsotsil and Tzeltal/Tseltal, the languages of the Mayan family which are the most widely-spoken among the state's Indigenous populations. He also realized the failures of Mexico's healthcare system towards disadvantaged communities, often based on systemic racism, which lead to a significant percentage of these people to have little access to or trust in mainstream medicine. Traditional medicine remains commonplace for many indigenous populations in Mexico, but Castro's veterinarian training allowed him to use his knowledge to treat some injuries and burns on people that traditional remedies had not managed to cure.

Doing this work free of charge and across large swaths of land also lead to Castro picking up nicknames like "El Andalón" (The Walker or Wanderer) in Spanish and two in Tzotzil: "Bankilal" (Big Brother) and "YokChij" (Deer Leg), with this last one seemingly being his favorite as it is also the name of his charitable organization. "El Andalón" would become the title of a 2010 documentary about his life and work. Castro's collection was amassed during his travels as well, since many people would gift him clothing and artifacts to thank him for his services.

By the 1970s, he turned part of his San Cristóbal home and clinic into a museum where he could showcase the cultures of the state he loved, while collecting for donations to maintain his work. In addition to the Maya languages, he knows several European ones, which he used to provide tours of the collection, with Italian, French and English joining his native Spanish. As of mid-2025, visiting the museum might no longer include a tour, but it is still possible to get a glimpse into the life of and likely meet the man that was recognized in 2023 as "Living Immaterial Heritage" of Chiapas state.



Last time out, the Weird dramatically flushed a toilet, implying to “the Jason,” “See what I did to this poo? This is you in five more seconds.”

''*I* am your porcelain god now!'' )
posted by [syndicated profile] nicolagriffith_feed at 05:00pm on 17/11/2025

Posted by Nicola Griffith

Today is the Feast Day of Hild of Whitby,1 patron saint of learning and culture (including poetry), who died on this day in 680, having spent 66 years kicking ass and not bothering to take names. We believe she was originally buried at her main foundation of Streoneshalh, now known as Whitby, but sometime after Whitby was destroyed by Viking raids, her remains were, apparently, translated to…well, somewhere else. No one knows. Various religious foundations have claimed her—not unlike Arthur; saintly relics were (and still are) big business—but no one knows for sure.

There are several grave markers from Whitby though I have images of none of them (and none are for Hild). However, there are also several from Hereteu, or Hartlepool (where Hild was abbess for a while before founding and moving to Whitby). One intriguing stone, dated ‘mid-seventh to mid-eighth century,’ was found under the head of some skeletal remains. The runes spell out hildi þryþ, that is, the feminine personal name Hildithryth:

Dressed and incised square stone showing runes and a cross

As we don’t know Hild’s full name, it might be tempting to assume this is our Hild’s stone.2 But I doubt it. For one thing it was part of a group of similar burials, and as abbess, saint, and royal advisor I doubt she would have been buried among others. Plus, of course, she was more than likely buried at Whitby. And as Hartlepool was also most likely destroyed by Vikings (as with mos records of this time and place, much was lost in the Viking raids from the late eighth through ninth centuries—all we know is that, after Hild, Hartlepool essentially vanishes from history) no one in their right mind would have transferred her there.

So here’s how I imagine her pillow stone3:

Oblong dressed stone, pitted with age, incised with a rectangular border, inside which are cut runes spelling out HILD, and an equal-armed, Celtic-style cross

You’ll see I’ve made her cross round-ended and equal-armed, more like the kind of cross I think she would have worn, rather than the more traditional long upright and shorter crosspiece of the Hartlepool marker.

Enough about her death. Back to her life: Why is Hild patron saint of learning and culture/poetry? Learning, because she trained five bishops who became renowned for their own erudition—one of whom, John of Beverley, was the one who ordained and mentored the Venerable Bede—the only British person ever to have been learned enough to be honoured as a Doctor of the Church. Poetry, because she pretty much midwived Engish literature: the earliest surviving piece of Old English is Cædmon’s Hymn, composed at Hild’s behest at Whitby.

I’m not religious but I mark the day because Hild—and Whitby, its abbey, and ammonites—marked my life, in particular my writing life, indelibly.

My first novel was Ammonite, which was published when I was 32. The author photo I used for that book was taken at Whitby Abbey when I was 30. You can tell from the look on my face how much the place affects me. (And in fact I like this photo so much it forms the basis for the cover of my upcoming book, She Is Here.)

Black and white photo of a young, short-haired white woman standing in the ruins of an abbey and staring into a future or past only she can see
Nicola Griffith, Whitby Abbey, 1991. Photo by Kelley Eskridge.

In my third novel, The Blue Place, Aud talks longingly of Whitby—now mostly known for the abbey founded by Hild in 657. In Whitby you can commonly find three species of fossil ammonites, or snakestones—the beach is littered with them. A whole genus of ammonites, Hildoceras, is named for Hild. This is Hildoceras bifrons. It’s what I think of when I think of ammonites.

old ink drawing of an ammonite

Ammonites fascinate me. Their shell growth—developing into that lovely spiral—is guided by phi. And phi (Φ = 1.618033988749895… ), the basis of the Golden Ratio or Divine Proportion, has all sorts of interesting mathematical properties. The proportions generated by phi lie at the heart of myriad things: the proportions of graceful buildings4, the orderly whorl of a sunflower, ammonites, Fibonacci numbers, population growth, and more. (If you’re interested, a good place to start is Wikipedia.) Phi is what creates the underlying pattern in much of nature. I think phi is responsible for what Hild may think of as God.

There is a legend that ammonites result from Hild getting pissed off one day and turning all the local snakes to stone. The legend was so well-established after her death, that, in the later middle ages and even up until Victorian times, enterprising locals carved heads on the stones and sold them as the snakes she petrified.5

Here’s what H. bifrons looks like as a snakestone:

Ammonite crudley carved to look as though it's a curled up snake
H. bifrons as snakestone

And here’s a much more finely carved specimen:

Two aspects of the same carved ammonite, cut to look as though it has a snake's head.
Victorian snakestone—not sure which species of ammonite

When I was working on my black and white zoomorphic series, I tried to draw a snakestone. It turned out to be remarkably difficult to get the proportions mathematically pleasing. I started with a different genus, a ceratite, with a kind of wavy division to each of its segments, because they seemed to grow in more mathematically predictable ways. They’re just not what I think of as a classic ammonite; they seemed a bit, well, boring. I tried jazzing them up a bit—make them look as though they’re dancing to form a kindof ammonite triskele inside a Lindisfarne Gospels style interlace wreath. Better—but not great.

So then I tried yet another genus, a…well, actually I forget what it’s called, maybe a baculite? Anyway:

photo of a large ammonite

You won’t find these in Britain, but I like the crinkly look. It had possibilities. So I copied that, and then turned it into a snakestone. Much better!

A bw drawing of a baculite ammonite carved with a snake head
Crinkly baculite snakestone

Earlier this year we were at Worldcon, where we bumped into a friend, Wendy, aka MaudPunk, and got talking about all things metal work—Wendy loves to forge Early Medieval replicas from bronze, silver, copper, etc. (She’s made me several things, including this brooch.) She was wearing a great pendant she’d made, based on the Fairford Duck. Kelley really wanted one. No, she wanted two—one silver, one copper.

I like the duck well enough, but that’s not what fired up my neurones. Ever since Tor commissioned a lovely enamel brooch/pin for Spear, I’ve enjoyed wearing it on my jacket lapel. I get many compliments (“Is that Tiffany?”). The Spear pin is boldly coloured, which I love, but it does occasionally limit my sartorial choices. So I’ve been subconsciously looking for something more neutral. And I thought: A snakestone! In silver! And wouldn’t you know, Wendy had already designed a snakestone pendant; it did not take much persuasion to commission one as a pin.

And, lo, just in time for our birthdays, we got a package with what we’d asked for:

Three newly forged bits of Early Medieval style jewellery against a red background: two ducks flanking a snakestone
Birthday!

And here’s the pin in all its glory—straight out of its lovely linen pouch:

Snakestone cast in silver to form a pin, resting against natural linen

It’s hand-carved in wax then cast in the metal of your choice, then ground and polished by hand. Here it is on my jacket lapel, where it will stay for at least a couple of weeks, after which I’ll probably alternate with the enamel pin:

Silver snakestone pin on the lapel of a grey suit jacket

So Hild and her ammonite are still bringing me enormous pleasure, and still—as is only fitting for the patron saint of culture and education—helping me learn new things.

Tonight I will raise a glass to Hild, to ammonites, to Whitby, and to all things beautifully made and perfectly proportioned. wes þu hal! Or maybe wæs hæil! I dunno, Old English is not exactly my forte—but drinking and merrymaking is :)

  1. At least it’s her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church. The Anglican Communion celebrates on the 18th. I’m not a practising Christian but was raised Catholic, so tend to follow their dates. No one knows when Hild was born, but long ago I decided it was some time in the last half of October. At some point I’ll pick a day, and then I’ll have two dates to celebrate! ↩
  2. Hild means ‘battle’, and thryth translates to something like ‘strength’ or ‘power’, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility. There again, I’ve always preferred the idea of Hild being Hildeburg, that is Battle Fortress: obdurate, adamant, immovable. ↩
  3. Yep, it would have made more sense for it to be square, or more landscape than portrait format, but, well, I didn’t think of that until just now… ↩
  4. Ever wondered why Georgian mansions feel so gracious and pleasing? Their formal rooms follow the Golden Ratio. ↩
  5. The legend is so well established that it forms part of Whitby’s coat of arms. ↩

tamaranth: me, in the sun (Default)
posted by [personal profile] tamaranth at 05:10pm on 17/11/2025 under ,
2025/182: Strange Pictures — Uketsu
Adults can draw what they see, the real thing, in their pictures. Children, though, draw the “idea” of what appears in their heads. [p. 82]

Translated from the Japanese by Jim Rion, this short illustrated novel seems at first to be three tenuously-connected novellas. The first begins with a blog on which a man posts some pictures drawn by his wife, who died in childbirth. Each picture has a number... The second story is about a small boy who draws a picture of the apartment block where he lives, and scribbles out the windows of his home. And the third pertains to a grisly unsolved murder mystery, and the implications of the sketch found with the corpse. Gradually, it becomes clear that these are all the same story, or at least all revolve around the same individual.

Read more... )
Mood:: 'thoughtful' thoughtful

Posted by Zach Weinersmith



Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
Do what I want, not what I said.


Today's News:

Pre-orders for my new book Sawyer Lee and the Quest to Just Stay Home have begun!

Sawyer Lee is an illustrated middle grade novel starring an unadventurous kid who'd rather dig a deep dent in the couch than make a mark on the world, as many in his illustrious family of astronauts, scientists, spies, champion athletes... blah blah blah... have. He has decided that after generations of effort, it’s time to spend one lifetime relaxing. 

The problem is that Sawyer keeps getting caught up in the exhausting expectations of his wicked aunt Celia, his complex relationship with his ambitious other friend, Angela, and the shenanigans of every else in town hoping to win the yearly Gourd Thump festival celebrating nature’s dullest vegetable.

In this tale of mystery, treachery, conspiracy, plant husbandry, and an imaginary love triangle, Sawyer knows it will take a regrettable amount of energy to escape these entanglements and find a way back to his happy place on Gary’s couch, with a cozy throw blanket, a steaming mug of chamomile tea, and an empty schedule.

You can check out the first chapter here along with pre-order links!



minoanmiss: Nubian girl with dubious facial expression (dubious Nubian girl)

In the plazas of Catalonia, a centuries-old tradition continues to defy gravity and unite communities: the castells, or human towers. These awe-inspiring structures—reaching up to ten levels high—are built not with scaffolding or steel, but with the synchronized strength of people climbing atop one another, forming a living monument to balance, teamwork, and daring. Declared a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2010, castells remain a vital part of Catalan cultural identity.

While the tradition is practiced across the region, the city of Tarragona holds a special place in its history. Every two years, thousands gather in its grand Tarraco Arena Plaça for the Concurs de Castells, the most prestigious human tower competition in the world. Teams—called colles—train year-round to perfect their technique, hoping to achieve the elusive tres de deu amb folre i manilles, a ten-level tower requiring extraordinary coordination and courage.

In Tarragona, castells are more than a spectacle—they're part of the city’s heartbeat. The tradition is deeply woven into local festivals, schools, and neighborhoods, bringing together people of all ages, from toddlers who climb to the top as the agile enxaneta, to seasoned veterans forming the sturdy base. The communal spirit behind each tower is a reflection of Catalonia’s resilience and solidarity.

At the center of Rambla Nova, Tarragona’s main boulevard, stands a striking tribute to this tradition: a bronze monument capturing a frozen moment of ascent. Created by artist Francesc Anglès in 1999, the sculpture immortalizes the unity and tension of a castell that has just been crowned. Look closely and you’ll see individual expressions rendered in vivid detail—straining muscles, clasped hands, and upward gazes—each one part of a collective reaching higher, together.

tamsin: (Default)

Embedded within a residential zone of Toronto’s Christie Pits area, a full-scale African elephant sculpture has been strategically positioned in the front yard of a standard brick dwelling. Constructed from fiberglass and measuring approximately 9.5 feet in height, this installation has produced notable behavioral responses among pedestrians and motorists, including visual double-takes and hesitation, indicative of its high-impact presence within the local environment. Over time, it has evolved into an unofficial landmark with significant recognition among area residents.

The distinguishing feature of this installation lies not solely in its dimensions or context, but in its sheer incongruity within the urban landscape. There is a deliberate absence of interpretive signage, guided explanations, or commercial elements. The juxtaposition is immediate: a series of uniform residential facades interrupted by an anomalous, hyper-realistic pachyderm. Such an abrupt visual anomaly is statistically rare in metropolitan settings characterized by architectural homogeneity.

Originating as an art school project in the late 1990s, the elephant was relocated to its current site in 2003, where it has since remained stationary, effectively serving as a static sentinel on Yarmouth Road. The sculpture is not enclosed or otherwise inaccessible, permitting unrestricted visual engagement by the public—rendering the location an informal, open-air exhibit.

Historically, the installation included supplementary components—specifically, concrete sheep and a bronze red herring—though these have since been removed, resulting in the elephant’s solitary presence. This reduction arguably intensifies the symbolic impact and the interpretive ambiguity of the piece.

In summary, this object functions not merely as public art but as a persistent stimulus for inquiry and social interaction within its community. It exemplifies the potential for unexpected, site-specific installations to disrupt routine visual experiences and catalyze public dialogue, serving as empirical evidence that urban environments can accommodate elements of unpredictability and whimsy.

minoanmiss: Minoan woman holding two snakes (House snakes)
rebeccmeister: (Default)
I want to get a 20" x 30" photo collage poster printed out and framed, and I want to make sure it looks GOOD (and of course that the price is right!). (the photo image resolution is high, so that part itself should not be a problem)

Do any of you have experience with a similar sort of project, and know a place that would do a good job with it? I just put in one inquiry to a local printing company, but want to explore options.

I tried asking about this on some other social media site, but got...crickets. I guess the algorithms didn't like my question there.
rebeccmeister: (Default)
So many little projects and chores. My usual Sunday routine is to get up, start laundry, cook breakfast (often with leftovers for the week), clean litterboxes and toilet, then vacuum.

Last week, I missed the vacuuming because of too many other projects, so there was extra debris and crumbs to deal with this week. Out of the usual chores, the vacuuming is the one that's easiest to punt, skipping out on litterboxes is definitely not a good idea. So, extra vacuuming on Sunday. Then I did a deep clean of the kitchen cupboard doors and a thorough mop of the kitchen floor and a couple other spots that desperately needed it. It is just SO NICE to have a kitchen floor that is clean enough that if I drop something on it, I can pick it up again and consider eating/using it still. There are still some walls in the kitchen that could stand to be cleaned off, and one of these days I swear I will actually clean out and come up with a better organizational system for the grocery pantry.

But yesterday was not that day.

In the early afternoon I managed to get outside when it wasn't too windy or rainy, to dig up the Dark Dahlia, which is now nestled away in the basement for the winter. I turned off the faucet for the outdoor hose, and got the hoses coiled up. I didn't get them put away, but that means the garden is almost completely all the way to bed for the winter.

Then, a cooking bender. I roasted up some beets and cauliflower. The beets went into a lentil-beet salad with arugula, feta cheese, and hazelnuts, yum. The cauliflower went into a curry soup with chickpeas and pumpkin puree and coconut milk. I'm not sure I have that recipe quite where I want it, yet, but it'll be dinner food, at least. I used the rest of the pumpkin puree to make some apple-pumpkin-pecan turnovers, which are super yummy and not too sweet, but in the future I think I'll use the filling in a pie instead, because pie is less fussy to make than turnovers.

I also got more orange oar paint mixed up, for teammates who are helping with that project, and got the third full coat of paint onto the first set of oars. I am still feeling like I'm making more drips than I should be, but also in the near future I am going to mostly focus on oar blade prep and repairs rather than painting. So maybe the finicky aspects of painting will become someone else's problem.

When I woke up this morning, the thermostat looked like it had run out of batteries. None of the batteries I put into it got it to turn back on again, so then I just abandoned the project and left for rowing practice. Hopefully the house doesn't get too cold today. If things get desperate I do have an electric space heater.

And when I got to work, I learned that Gari's tumor is a squamous cell carcinoma, i.e. an aggressive form of skin cancer. I'm not sure we can financially justify chemotherapy for a reptile, but I guess I'll learn more when I bring him back in to have his suture removed.

Anyway, I hope your week has gotten off to a less eventful start than all that!

Posted by Matt Hyams

Everyone’s got their thing. For some, it’s baking. Others, gardening. Me? I like to take a modified Honda Accord, drive over 100 mph, and swerve between cars, almost killing entire families, babies, men, women, whoever.

That’s my thing. Gets my balls rolling. Sometimes I’ll almost kill a family by swerving in front of them at 125 mph with just barely enough room to squeeze in, and then I’ll immediately swerve all the way over to the right and get off at the exit. I could have just slowed down and changed lanes and calmly exited, not almost killing anyone, but then I wouldn’t have almost killed an innocent family, and almost killing them is what gives me something to do when I’m bored.

By the way, I’m not trying to actually kill one. That’s not my thing at all. If that’s what you’re getting from this, then I don’t know what you’re reading or how you thought that, but you’re totally off base.

My thing is that they’re thinking they might die, but really I’m just driving as fast as possible because I don’t fully understand the purpose of life. I have, like, a general sense? I know we’re supposed to have money and live somewhere, and we need to eat food, but after that, I don’t really get the rest of it.

But the one thing that really makes sense to me is coming out of nowhere in my jacked-up Honda Accord with purple lights, serving so fast in front of cars that people have mini heart attacks where they die, but it’s so fast they don’t actually have time to die, and when they come out of it, I’m already a mile away.

I’ve done this to, like, twelve families so far.

One thing I should make clear, though, is that I’m not a jerk. I don’t have to have my way. I’ll do this in a Kia Forte too. In fact, I have. My buddy has a Kia Forte, and he likes to almost kill families, too. So we’ll go out together, and sometimes we switch cars.

I don’t vote in elections. That feels relevant for some reason. I’m also not a good boyfriend. I try to be, but honestly? I don’t. She’s always saying things like “You care about your Honda Accord more than me.”

This court-ordered therapist I had to see once said I had trauma, and I was like… so? The therapist told me that I drive fast on the highway because I’m searching for an identity. File that one under “who gives a shit.” The therapist asked me how I feel when I swerve fast between cars, nearly killing people, and I said, “happy.”

It really is my happy place. My meditation. If I’m almost killing you in my modified Accord (or Toyota Corolla or Nissan Sentra), then I feel happy. You might be thinking, “Why doesn’t he just go to a race track if he wants to drive that fast?” Look. Put a few families with young kids on the track, let me swerve around them at 125 mph, and I’ll gladly drive on a track.

I can only imagine when I fly past a family, who is now catching their breath and feeling the fleeting nature of life, they think, “How did he get that Honda Accord to go so fast???” Well, I had a dream, and when you have a dream, you do what it takes. So I stopped paying child support or my rent, stole parts from other cars, and now I’m living the dream. My dream.

Oh, before I forget, I also like to go as fast as possible on an off ramp where it’s going from two lanes to one and I have a narrow opportunity to speed past the person in front of me to get in front of them before we both stop at the red light shortly thereafter, and almost make them crash into the side wall and go up in flames, myself included. Sometimes life gives you an opportunity to almost die in a heap of fire and wreckage, and I’ll take that opportunity. I’m willing to throw it all away and destroy someone else’s life in the process if I can get in front of them before the red light, even if we both have to burn to death.

Why? Can’t say. It just feels right. And it’s something to do.

posted by [syndicated profile] sciam_feed at 12:00pm on 17/11/2025

The same brain areas that help us map physical space help us chart social connections, and the best relationship cartographers have most clout

Posted by Laerke Christensen

According to the story, a local farmer one night "heard panicked squeals and a roar echo through the trees." Then, he checked his trail camera.
lsanderson: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] lsanderson at 06:59am on 17/11/2025
Trump urges Republicans to vote for release of Epstein files in surprise U-turn
US president says he backs efforts to release documents related to late sex offender because ‘we have nothing to hide’ -- I assume this means they've destroyed the real damning evidence?
Oliver Holmes and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/17/trump-tells-republicans-to-vote-to-release-epstein-files-saying-we-have-nothing-to-hide

Charlotte reels as immigration raids bring North Carolina city to a ‘standstill’
Thriving business districts in North Carolina city now at a ‘standstill’ after at least 81 were arrested over the weekend
Victoria Bouloubasis in Durham, North Carolina
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/17/charlotte-nc-immigration-raids-business

Paul McCartney joins music industry protest against AI with silent track
Former Beatle and artists including Sam Fender, Kate Bush and Hans Zimmer record silent LP Is This What We Want
Robert Booth UK technology editor
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/nov/17/the-sound-of-silence-why-theres-barely-anything-there-in-paul-mccartney-new-release

White nationalist talking points and racial pseudoscience: welcome to Elon Musk’s Grokipedia
World’s richest person wanted to ‘purge’ propaganda from Wikipedia, so he created a compendium of racist disinformation
Jason Wilson
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/17/grokipedia-elon-musk-far-right-racist

These rare whales had never been seen alive. Then a team in Mexico sighted two
The search for a gingko-toothed beaked whale had taken five years, when a thieving albatross nearly ruined it all
Fanni Szakál
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/17/rare-gingko-toothed-beaked-whale-science-cetacean-research

Undisciplined? Entitled? Lazy? Gen Z faces familiar flood of workplace criticism
Younger employees establishing themselves at work continue to face relentless criticism from the higher rungs of corporate America.
A new generation of younger workers are being derided as delusional and unreliable, just as millennials were
Jenna Zaza
https://www.theguardian.com/money/ng-interactive/2025/nov/17/gen-z-workplace-criticism

The one change that worked: I had Sad and felt desperate – until a scientist gave me some priceless advice
Since I was a teenager I had struggled in winter, experiencing excessive tiredness and low mood. A specific instruction lifted the gloom
Jessica Furseth
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/nov/17/the-one-change-that-worked-i-had-sad-and-felt-desperate-until-a-scientist-gave-me-some-priceless-advice

Here in Sweden, the Vikings are back. And this time they’re searching for stability in a chaotic age
Siri Christiansen
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/17/sweden-vikings-chaos-sacrifice-ritual-norse-pagan

Interview
Russell Tovey on pride, sexual power and politics: ‘The Green party slogan – make hope normal again – is what we need’
Michael Cragg
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/nov/17/russell-tovey-pride-sexual-power-politics-green-party-interview

Poem of the week: Now winter nights … by Thomas Campion
A song to the consolations of winter is delivered with the grace and precision typical of this intellectually ambitious poet
Carol Rumens
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/17/poem-of-the-week-now-winter-nights-enlarge-by-thomas-campion

In central Chișinău, two bronze children sit side by side on a bench, caught in a moment of innocent curiosity. The boy points excitedly toward a rooftop where a group of bronze animals—a cat ready to pounce and pigeons fluttering just out of reach—belong to the same sculpture group and could be easily missed without his gesture. Though many people call it the Cat Chasing Pigeons Sculpture, its real name is Copii pe bancă—Children on a Bench.

The artist behind the sculpture is Veaceslav Jiglițchi, who was made an honorary citizen of the Moldovan capital for his work around the city. He makes the figures look real but adds a playful, slightly kitschy touch. They feel like characters from a storybook, which makes people want to sit down and be part of the scene. This mix of real and fun is why locals like the sculpture so much.

The city hasn’t had an easy history—war, earthquakes, and years of tight budgets have left their mark. It’s not a place people usually call beautiful. Lately, though, local leaders have been adding public art to brighten things up and give residents something to connect with. Copii pe bancă is part of that effort, bringing a small moment of warmth and playfulness to a community still working on its future.

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