• Reading Light From Uncommon Stars reminded me of a quote from Le Guin’s Orsinian Tales: πŸ“š

    What good is music? None … and that is the point. To the world and its states and armies and factories and Leaders, music says, ‘You are irrelevant’; and, arrogant and gentle as a god, to the suffering man it says only, ‘Listen.’ For being saved is not the point. Music saves nothing. Merciful, uncaring, it denies and breaks down all the shelters, the houses men build for themselves, that they may see the sky.

  • After a busy few days at work (including last week), today has no projects due, no issues pressing. I can work on tidying up loose ends, filing notes and trackers away, and organizing my projects. It’s pretty calming, to be honest.

  • The Web That Never Was

    An hour long walk down an alternate timeline of the web. Good for an entertaining distraction as you relax or catch up on paperwork. πŸ’»

  • Aristophanes, in his theory of love from the Symposium, wrote that in the miraculous event that a person finds his or her other half-the same half she was ripped away from when the gods split every essence into two bodies-she knows it. “When one of them meets with his other half, the actual half of himself… the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and one will not be out of the other’s sight, as I may say, even for a moment,” Aristophanes argued. “These are the people who pass their whole lives together, and yet they could not explain what they desire of one another.”

    This metaphor goes deep when you think about it. Ripped edges are rarely neat and tidy, and when torn, sometimes pieces fall away. The connecting edges may never be a perfect fit for their other halves, but they’ll almost match with others. The missing bits, overlapping pieces, and mismatched patterns are made whole by our actions, and the skill of doing this is what we call the intersection of maturity and love.

    Also, why does it have to be one two halves? Why can’t it be multiple pieces? That’s polyamory, or what happens when we meet multiple loves at different times in our lives.πŸ“š

  • Currently reading: Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki πŸ“š

  • Finished reading: Sex with Shakespeare by Jillian Keenan πŸ“š

  • Like @maique, I’ve been trying out Firefox and found a lot of friction points. Their post and conversation about browsers has me thinking of switching to Vivaldi. Maybe later this week, when I have time to also sign in to my services so the switchover is less painful.

  • We don’t really read literature. We only read ourselves, and each new book is another chapter.

    Sex with Shakespeare by Jillian Keenan, pg. 182. πŸ“šπŸ’¬

  • ChatGPT as a writing partner

    Ben Werdmuller on using ChatGP as a writing reviewer:

    I guess what I’m saying is, sometimes I need a robot cheerleader. And I’m going to say that’s okay.

    Honestly, this kind of rubber duck might make my job more pleasant too!

  • Raise your hand if the lost hour has totally thrown off your groove. πŸ™‹πŸ»

  • Red Line Thoughts

    Back when I was really into Buddhism and actively considering taking vows, one lesson stuck in my mind: you should wish everyone you meet in the public peace and contentment. Not actively say it to everyone, that would be invasive and weird, but walk down the street and holding that wish and intention for everyone you see. It was suggested as a practice for developing metta, but as a general idea, it fits too.

    I’ve grown away from Buddhism[1], but lately that lesson has stuck in my mind. When I read the vitriol online on any issue, the snap judgements sneering with poser snobbery, it exhausts me rather than invigorates me. This lesson, holding metta for everyone, isn’t just good practice, it’s less tiresome. It hasn’t given me energy through my day, but it costs me less, which amounts to the same in the end.

    I think before, I thought the practice of metta meant a lowering of boundaries, limits I wasn’t willing to change as I was unskilled in how to manage violations of them. The message usually came from monks and established practitioners who were much more skilled than I; it felt like being told to use Vim by old school hackers when I could barely write a for loop. Age has shown me that holding an actively charitable point of view towards others isn’t a lowering of my walls, it’s leaving an open gate. I can still protect it if needed, but why presume everyone approaching is an enemy?

    I’m thinking of this as I ride the red line to do some errands and enjoy some lunch in Boston, and experiencing the wide array of people riding with me. I wish them all contentment and peace, I hope they all get what they need to find the same, and the ride isn’t nearly as overwhelming as in years past. I can handle the sensory stress and press of bodies, because I have more energy for it. I’m not a bodhisattva, but I’m picking up a trick from them, and I don’t think they’d mind.

    [1] The theology it was taught to me in was a struggle at times. Reading Stephen Batchelor’s work was the final nail in the coffin.

  • But maybe love and family are like eyebrows: you notice when they’re not there.

  • Jo Walton’s Reading List: February 2024 - Reactor

    Once again, i wish i had the reading discipline and speed of Jo Walton. And this was a slow month for her! πŸ“š

  • I finally did it. Last night, I switched all my browsing, tabs and setup to Firefox on all platforms. I’d been thinking about it for a while, but the plugins I use on mobile seemed to be Safari only. Last night I checked again, and the one I really use (1Password) does work. So, here I go!

  • I can’t promise to satisfy everyone with my word choices. I have to write from my own perspective, and in my own voice.

    But I can promise to avoid the word spanko. I don’t want to think about cans of spray cheese.

    I’m one-tenth of the way through, and I already like this author. πŸ“š

  • I got a surprise wedding invite in the mail yesterday. My friends Alex and Bill are marrying next month; I was on the waitlist. I get to celebrate my friends’ union, and because they’re awesome nerds, the ceremony is timed to conclude just before the eclipse, which the venue is in the path of! πŸŒ‘

  • Today is a two-teabags-in-your-morning-tea kind of day. β˜•οΈ

    At a table in a cafe, the view looks down a large paper cup tilted towards the camera. The cup is empty and holds two used tea bags.

  • But maybe love and family are like eyebrows: you notice when they’re not there.

  • Finished reading: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson πŸ“š

  • I feel amazing this morning because I walked away from a new interest.

    I don’t want to get into what the interest was - this blog isn’t the place for it. It began as an evening’s way to occupy my mind while too sick do anything substantial. Soon it became a new obsession for my autism and ADHD to fiddle with, and I started to plan time to indulge it among my other responsibilities.

    What I realized last night was it was starting to take over everything else. It had supplanted everything else I do - my hobbies, my plans, my interests outside of it. And it wasn’t making me feel good, either, nor was it leading to anything useful or necessary in my life. I was hunched over a screen micromanaging lists and repeating tasks, and paying money for the privilege, without feeling the joy and accomplishment that comes when I finish a good book, say, or finishing a movie trilogy. Hell, a terrible book left me feeling better than this interest.

    Part of learning about my ADHD and autism has been accepting that it’s ok to have new interests that seem weird and may only be brief flashes in a pan. That’s how my brain works, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s important that these aspects of myself help me flourish, though, and to walk away when they don’t.

    So, I zipped everything into a folder, stashed it in my archive drive, deleted my browsing history and cancelled my accounts, then went to bed. This morning, my shower felt amazing, and this overcast day shines brightly through my windows. I’m going to tackle the rest of this work day, then settle back into my groove with interests that serve me. I’m almost done with The Well of Ascension; I hope I can finish it tonight!

  • Arrived at my cafe, ordered my favorite orange and cranberry muffin and some tea, settled at a table by the window… and found I’d forgotten my book at home. Bloody hell. πŸ˜€πŸ“š

  • Babylon 5 Was the Ultimate Exercise in Plotting vs. Pantsing - Reactor

    A fascinating recap of Babylon 5s production and narrative choices. If there’s anyone I trust to reboot this it’s Straczynski. To the doubters, “faith manages.

  • Wonder Blind - Karen Elson

    A morning music surprise. It’s bittersweet “Tender hearts were made to wander blind” pairs well with the harp and flute mixed with the usual guitar and drum. I hope you enjoy!

  • How to Keep a Zibaldone, the 14th Century’s Answer to Tumblr - Atlas Obscura

    As @manton and Micro.blog opens up private notes, Austin Kleon reminded his readers about Zibaldones, a variation and precursor to commonplace journals. I think these two can go together well, don’t you?

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