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Apr. 16th, 2026 11:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mergatrudeReading: I finished listening to the audiobook of Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch, after having read the text version last year. I'm wondering which almost unintelligible accent Aaronovitch is going to make Kobna Holbrook-Smith do next. ('Straya, please! We have so many ancient places the genius loci would be amazing!) I thought Shvorne Marks did an amazing job, and it was fun to hear Abigail's version of Nightingale's accent as compared to Peter's. ( cut for possible spoilers and self-indulgence )
Currently, I'm listening to the audiobook of Project Hail Mary, and I'm glad I saw the movie first. I think I would have struggled with the amount of maths and science without the context of the film, and without my pre-established fondness for the characters. It's a reminder (to myself) that the 'book vs film' debate is mostly wind as both mediums have different strengths.
Watching (and listening): I haven't been watching anything with intent recently. We bought a huge-ass TV with our leftover christmas fund (we put money every fortnight into a christmas club account which can only be accessed in Dec/Jan) and I find it kind of repelling. Dude has been playing me a bunch of Gorillaz videos on youtube, catching me up on the lore following the release of The Mountain. I love the album (I've always had an interest in Indian music) and have been listening to it quite a bit. Dude is currently into collecting CDs and has bought a couple of earlier Gorillaz albums, which have been fun to listen to.
Making: I've been slowly working on a sweater for my brother, but it's lots of boring knitting. I'm itching to spin something, but I don't know what. I used up some leftover multi-coloured yarn with some white Cormo to make fingerless mitts for a colleague and they turned out well. The (free) pattern is Prisma Mitts and is great for a gradient yarn.
I need to do more two-colour knitting rather than trying to dye all my colours into a single yarn. *g*
Other: We're upgrading our solar system, adding more panels and a larger battery which we hope will zero-out our electricity bill. The feed-in tariff has dropped to 4 cents/kW and we expect it to drop further, so more storage is our goal.
Work is still a schmozzle. The Uni featured heavily in a recent Four Corners exposé about governance in the tertiary sector, however I don't see them rolling back the (ridiculous, terrible) organisational changes any time soon. Sigh.
Autumn is finally here. After a long summer the nights dropping to below 5C is a bit of a shock. The cat is unimpressed and insists on being wrapped in her blanket.
Currently, I'm listening to the audiobook of Project Hail Mary, and I'm glad I saw the movie first. I think I would have struggled with the amount of maths and science without the context of the film, and without my pre-established fondness for the characters. It's a reminder (to myself) that the 'book vs film' debate is mostly wind as both mediums have different strengths.
Watching (and listening): I haven't been watching anything with intent recently. We bought a huge-ass TV with our leftover christmas fund (we put money every fortnight into a christmas club account which can only be accessed in Dec/Jan) and I find it kind of repelling. Dude has been playing me a bunch of Gorillaz videos on youtube, catching me up on the lore following the release of The Mountain. I love the album (I've always had an interest in Indian music) and have been listening to it quite a bit. Dude is currently into collecting CDs and has bought a couple of earlier Gorillaz albums, which have been fun to listen to.
Making: I've been slowly working on a sweater for my brother, but it's lots of boring knitting. I'm itching to spin something, but I don't know what. I used up some leftover multi-coloured yarn with some white Cormo to make fingerless mitts for a colleague and they turned out well. The (free) pattern is Prisma Mitts and is great for a gradient yarn.
I need to do more two-colour knitting rather than trying to dye all my colours into a single yarn. *g*
Other: We're upgrading our solar system, adding more panels and a larger battery which we hope will zero-out our electricity bill. The feed-in tariff has dropped to 4 cents/kW and we expect it to drop further, so more storage is our goal.
Work is still a schmozzle. The Uni featured heavily in a recent Four Corners exposé about governance in the tertiary sector, however I don't see them rolling back the (ridiculous, terrible) organisational changes any time soon. Sigh.
Autumn is finally here. After a long summer the nights dropping to below 5C is a bit of a shock. The cat is unimpressed and insists on being wrapped in her blanket.
What I'm Doing Wednesday
Apr. 15th, 2026 07:09 pmsagegnu MinoanMiss/Rubynye/Ny
The memorial was so lovely. I cried a lot. I miss her so much.
books
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq by Stephen Kinzer. 2006. Imperialism is so gross.
The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles & Their Secret World War by Stephen Kinzer. 2013. These guys were such jackasses. I only knew about their Latin American horrors, not the rest of it.
Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. 1934. My Wodehouse is all over the place and I didn't keep track of what I read when, so I'm rereading. This was cute and fast-paced.
The Jeeves Omnibus Vol. 1 by P.G. Wodehouse.
Thank You, Jeeves: Really pissed off at Bertie's repeated "n-word minstrels", and the disaster blackface, augh, though Jeeves at least uses "negro." SIGH. I guess it was 1934, but GAH.
The Code of the Woosters: a bit tedious. Needed more Dahlia. 1937.
The Inimitable Jeeves: Needed more Jeeves and less gambling. 1923.
healthcrap
Had an allergy shot Monday and I need one more to get back on maintenance after falling behind.
taxes
I tried twice today to free-file my taxes, only to get to the end of the long long long process and have then say, no, this isn't free after all. So I paid a semi-random amount and got an extension. I think I got an extension. Did I get an extension? Now I need to double check. Gah.
#resist
May 1: No Kings 4
I hope you're all doing well! <333
The memorial was so lovely. I cried a lot. I miss her so much.
books
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq by Stephen Kinzer. 2006. Imperialism is so gross.
The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles & Their Secret World War by Stephen Kinzer. 2013. These guys were such jackasses. I only knew about their Latin American horrors, not the rest of it.
Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. 1934. My Wodehouse is all over the place and I didn't keep track of what I read when, so I'm rereading. This was cute and fast-paced.
The Jeeves Omnibus Vol. 1 by P.G. Wodehouse.
Thank You, Jeeves: Really pissed off at Bertie's repeated "n-word minstrels", and the disaster blackface, augh, though Jeeves at least uses "negro." SIGH. I guess it was 1934, but GAH.
The Code of the Woosters: a bit tedious. Needed more Dahlia. 1937.
The Inimitable Jeeves: Needed more Jeeves and less gambling. 1923.
healthcrap
Had an allergy shot Monday and I need one more to get back on maintenance after falling behind.
taxes
I tried twice today to free-file my taxes, only to get to the end of the long long long process and have then say, no, this isn't free after all. So I paid a semi-random amount and got an extension. I think I got an extension. Did I get an extension? Now I need to double check. Gah.
#resist
May 1: No Kings 4
I hope you're all doing well! <333
This Year: 365 Songs Annotated: A Book of Days, by John Darnielle
Apr. 15th, 2026 07:47 amrunpunkrunThe lyrics to 365 songs written by John "The Mountain Goats" Darnielle, including some that are unreleased, accompanied by musings on their poetics, musicality, and personal meaning. Darnielle is a thoughtful, funny, devout man who has lived a lot of different lives, and while he resists making this a memoir, it is, though you just as often see him decline to explain the personal significance of a song. I respect his honesty, and his self-reflection, and even his coyness. If he were a character in a book, I'd say he had interiority, which isn't something you can say about everyone who's written a memoir.
I really enjoyed this, even as it's basically just really, really thick liner notes. The book gave me a new appreciation for my favorite songs and even introduced me to some new ones. I bought "Horseradish Road" after reading the lyrics and listening to it on YouTube; I learned he had an album that came out in 2022 that I'd never heard of—probably because we had some other stuff going on at the time—and which I will be buying soon, and in the four months it took me to read this, I've been listening to the albums I already knew I enjoyed (Transcendental Youth, All Eternals Deck, We Shall All Be Healed) and those I never quite clicked with (Beat the Champ, Get Lonely). I did not listen to Goths, Jenny From Thebes, Dark in Here, Getting Into Knives, In League With Dragons, All Hail West Texas, or Ghana, but there's still time. And I don't need an excuse to listen to Tallahassee, The Sunset Tree, The Life of the World to Come, or Heretic Pride, as they are my absolute favorites and I'm listening to them all the time anyway. Also do not sleep on the Babylon Springs EP.
If you're a The Mountain Goats fan, or a fan of Darnielle's social media presence, and/or a poet, songwriter, or storyteller, there's plenty to think about here. Darnielle shares what he finds interesting as an artist, the phases and trends he's gone through in his career, and the echoes he finds in his work. He recommends reading one entry a day, thus the format, but I had to read several a day because this was a library book, and huge, but it definitely benefits from being read in small bites, like poetry, so you can sit with it a while.
Contains (in part): references to child abuse, drug use, addiction, overdose, suicide. The ebook duplicates the print book's index, but does not bother to link any of the song titles to their entries, which is bullshit.
( Status Updates from Goodreads )
I really enjoyed this, even as it's basically just really, really thick liner notes. The book gave me a new appreciation for my favorite songs and even introduced me to some new ones. I bought "Horseradish Road" after reading the lyrics and listening to it on YouTube; I learned he had an album that came out in 2022 that I'd never heard of—probably because we had some other stuff going on at the time—and which I will be buying soon, and in the four months it took me to read this, I've been listening to the albums I already knew I enjoyed (Transcendental Youth, All Eternals Deck, We Shall All Be Healed) and those I never quite clicked with (Beat the Champ, Get Lonely). I did not listen to Goths, Jenny From Thebes, Dark in Here, Getting Into Knives, In League With Dragons, All Hail West Texas, or Ghana, but there's still time. And I don't need an excuse to listen to Tallahassee, The Sunset Tree, The Life of the World to Come, or Heretic Pride, as they are my absolute favorites and I'm listening to them all the time anyway. Also do not sleep on the Babylon Springs EP.
If you're a The Mountain Goats fan, or a fan of Darnielle's social media presence, and/or a poet, songwriter, or storyteller, there's plenty to think about here. Darnielle shares what he finds interesting as an artist, the phases and trends he's gone through in his career, and the echoes he finds in his work. He recommends reading one entry a day, thus the format, but I had to read several a day because this was a library book, and huge, but it definitely benefits from being read in small bites, like poetry, so you can sit with it a while.
Contains (in part): references to child abuse, drug use, addiction, overdose, suicide. The ebook duplicates the print book's index, but does not bother to link any of the song titles to their entries, which is bullshit.
( Status Updates from Goodreads )
Farm update - RIP Egon
Apr. 12th, 2026 11:27 pmluzulaToday Egon was taken by a goshawk, which ate at his body for a while before we discovered it had happened. I hope he died quickly. We will mourn you, Egon: you will never again cuddle with Eva, nor mate with a flirty female. I have tears in my eyes as I write this.
E and I took what was left of his body and salvaged his heart, liver, kidneys, one half of his breast, and one leg for us to eat. Although afterwards we discovered this page and realized there was more we could have used. I also examined what I realized must be the gizzard, which was quite interesting--I totally see now how they can swallow whole oat and barley grains and have them be crushed by the gravel in that strong hollow piece of muscle. It's strange to look at the other ducks now and know what they look like inside.
I made a three-course meal tonight, containing four things I have never cooked before, marked by numbers:
Starter: Duck heart, liver, and kidneys (1), fried with soy sauce, sesame oil, Sichuan pepper, garlic, rice wine, and a little bean paste. Thank you, Egon, it was delicious.
Main course: Hamburgers with acorn patties (2) and homemade French fries (3), with carrot slaw, homemade mayonnaise, grated homemade cheese, and chili sauce. The acorns had been leached for a long time and made quite a good base for minced "meat".
Dessert: Crème brûlée (4) flavored with rum, seared with E's new gas burner. It is really for killing weeds that have just sprouted, but why not take advantage?
E and I took what was left of his body and salvaged his heart, liver, kidneys, one half of his breast, and one leg for us to eat. Although afterwards we discovered this page and realized there was more we could have used. I also examined what I realized must be the gizzard, which was quite interesting--I totally see now how they can swallow whole oat and barley grains and have them be crushed by the gravel in that strong hollow piece of muscle. It's strange to look at the other ducks now and know what they look like inside.
I made a three-course meal tonight, containing four things I have never cooked before, marked by numbers:
Starter: Duck heart, liver, and kidneys (1), fried with soy sauce, sesame oil, Sichuan pepper, garlic, rice wine, and a little bean paste. Thank you, Egon, it was delicious.
Main course: Hamburgers with acorn patties (2) and homemade French fries (3), with carrot slaw, homemade mayonnaise, grated homemade cheese, and chili sauce. The acorns had been leached for a long time and made quite a good base for minced "meat".
Dessert: Crème brûlée (4) flavored with rum, seared with E's new gas burner. It is really for killing weeds that have just sprouted, but why not take advantage?
i wonder where the birdies is
Apr. 12th, 2026 12:09 pmwychwoodGoing back to work was a bit of a horrible shock. Why must we work, why can I not merely lie around all day doing nothing.
However, before that time I did manage to get the sewing machine out and fix things, and also wash the second net curtain. And I'm wearing the repaired NASA hoodie right now! Not too bad for a week off. Now I just need to make the cookies I've had ingredients sitting on the side for, for the last, uh, several weeks. And maybe the pancakes I bought (and froze) milk for, for Shrove Tuesday, since we're currently up to the second Sunday of Easter.
I've also prodded various social things; as ever, it is a terrible balance between my desire to stay at home and do nothing, and my desire to hang out with cool people who I like. I did finally send out the invite for the David Attenborough Centenary Dinner I decided needed to happen - cool people don't turn 100 every day! And I've been vaguely planning a large group invite to the local food truck place for a while, so this seemed like a good excuse. I've invited twenty-odd people, and am hoping for maybe half-a-dozen - I booked Miss H in advance, so at the absolute worst I would have someone to eat with! And one other person has already signed up, so that seems like a success. If it goes well, perhaps I will repeat the concept (although probably without the Attenborough theme!); I really like the idea of regular social things with a bunch of people, but it's always so complicated (and see above re: staying at home forever). But this is extremely low-key, and doesn't require coordinating anything much, which might make it more sustainable. We'll see.
It's really getting quite spring-like now; still cold overnight, but the sun can be properly warm, and we've had a few really nice days; I'm keeping my windows open a lot because I can although am also sneezing a lot, corroborating the "very high" pollen forecast. But everything is green, the grass is growing, there's blossom and new leaf buds on the trees, flowers are popping up around the place, and a new spider has spent several days hanging around in my room (got me out of bed early one day, when it decided to pop up next to my pillow!).
However, before that time I did manage to get the sewing machine out and fix things, and also wash the second net curtain. And I'm wearing the repaired NASA hoodie right now! Not too bad for a week off. Now I just need to make the cookies I've had ingredients sitting on the side for, for the last, uh, several weeks. And maybe the pancakes I bought (and froze) milk for, for Shrove Tuesday, since we're currently up to the second Sunday of Easter.
I've also prodded various social things; as ever, it is a terrible balance between my desire to stay at home and do nothing, and my desire to hang out with cool people who I like. I did finally send out the invite for the David Attenborough Centenary Dinner I decided needed to happen - cool people don't turn 100 every day! And I've been vaguely planning a large group invite to the local food truck place for a while, so this seemed like a good excuse. I've invited twenty-odd people, and am hoping for maybe half-a-dozen - I booked Miss H in advance, so at the absolute worst I would have someone to eat with! And one other person has already signed up, so that seems like a success. If it goes well, perhaps I will repeat the concept (although probably without the Attenborough theme!); I really like the idea of regular social things with a bunch of people, but it's always so complicated (and see above re: staying at home forever). But this is extremely low-key, and doesn't require coordinating anything much, which might make it more sustainable. We'll see.
It's really getting quite spring-like now; still cold overnight, but the sun can be properly warm, and we've had a few really nice days; I'm keeping my windows open a lot because I can although am also sneezing a lot, corroborating the "very high" pollen forecast. But everything is green, the grass is growing, there's blossom and new leaf buds on the trees, flowers are popping up around the place, and a new spider has spent several days hanging around in my room (got me out of bed early one day, when it decided to pop up next to my pillow!).