the meaning of life (part 2)
Mar. 23rd, 2026 12:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
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March 23rd, 2026: Hey, I've got a store - perhaps some DINOSAUR COMICS MERCHANDISE would interest you?? – Ryan | ||
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March 20th, 2026: Hey, I've got a store - perhaps some DINOSAUR COMICS MERCHANDISE would interest you?? – Ryan | ||
Clearing Out
Mar. 19th, 2026 05:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterfirelight posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
gardeningThis past weekend the weather was lovely, so I took on the project of taking out the massive, invasive butterfly bush that was planted by the previous owners. It's been on the to do list for ages, and I'm very happy to have it finally done! We've so much more space now, and we won't have to worry about constant pruning to keep it from growing over the garden path. I thought for sure I was going to have to take up part of the path to dig it out, but somehow the roots were positioned such that it barely disturbed the path at all. I did relocate a number of strawberries and a few bulbs, but I had been planning on moving them anyway, so no loss there.
I also cleared out dead growth from the square plot and found a lot of new calendula coming up, which is always exciting to see. I'm hopeful that I won't need to plant anything new in that bed, and that everything will have either self-seeded or will come back up on its own as the weather warms. My goal is to have most of the garden full of perennials and self-seeding annuals so I've less to do in terms of planting every year, but there's still lots of space to fill, so it'll be a couple of years yet before that's realized.
And in the backyard, I got the nettle potted up! It would be exciting to see that flourish this summer - safely far away from places people walk, and helpfully contained so as not to cause A Problem. I still want a few more pots out there for other aggressive spreaders - I have lemon balm I need to relocate from the front, and various other seeds in the mint family I'd like to plant without them taking over.
I also cleared out dead growth from the square plot and found a lot of new calendula coming up, which is always exciting to see. I'm hopeful that I won't need to plant anything new in that bed, and that everything will have either self-seeded or will come back up on its own as the weather warms. My goal is to have most of the garden full of perennials and self-seeding annuals so I've less to do in terms of planting every year, but there's still lots of space to fill, so it'll be a couple of years yet before that's realized.
And in the backyard, I got the nettle potted up! It would be exciting to see that flourish this summer - safely far away from places people walk, and helpfully contained so as not to cause A Problem. I still want a few more pots out there for other aggressive spreaders - I have lemon balm I need to relocate from the front, and various other seeds in the mint family I'd like to plant without them taking over.
wednesday reads
Mar. 18th, 2026 05:13 pmisisWhat I've recently finished reading:
Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang. I'm a sucker for technology-infused magic, and I really liked the sort of computer-programming-magic here; in general the worldbuilding reminded me a bit of the TV show Arcane, which of course has its "magitech", but the main similarity is the elite vs the underclass (who they exploit), and the dark truths behind the marvels of the city. However, the characters are one-dimensional, with stereotypical views that either clearly cast them as the villains or that make it obvious the narrative will be about their realizations that change their views. I will say, though, that I was (pleasantly) surprised by the ending, as I applaud the writer for choosing the more realistic and interesting path over what you might expect from YA.
Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes by Leah Litman, who is a law professor and co-host of the podcast Strict Scrutiny, which I've never listened to, but I have heard her on NPR and other people's podcasts. I agree with her main thesis, that the Court has gone off the rails by picking and choosing their "legal principles" by whether or not they agree (ideologically) with the outcome that will result, which frankly stinks. It's well-researched, with lots of cites and notes. However, each of the five chapters is presented using the conceit of a particular show or movie, and as I was only familiar with most of them through osmosis, this didn't really work for me and sometimes seemed overly pop-culture-cutesy. (Like, Barbie - the movie, not the toy - is used as the lens to examine overturning Roe vs. Wade; Game of Thrones tells us that Winter Is Coming For Voting Rights; Mean Girls don't want to sit with LGBTQ people.) For an old Gen-X-er like me it seems like unnecessary metaphor, but maybe it will land better with people who want more glitz and meme in their nonfiction...but in that case, maybe a relatively dense book about law is not what they will be reading? I also will gripe about the editing, which seems particularly poor in the last chapter where Litman misspelled Ronald Reagan's surname and gave the same Neil Gorsuch quote twice within a few paragraphs.
Blood over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang. I'm a sucker for technology-infused magic, and I really liked the sort of computer-programming-magic here; in general the worldbuilding reminded me a bit of the TV show Arcane, which of course has its "magitech", but the main similarity is the elite vs the underclass (who they exploit), and the dark truths behind the marvels of the city. However, the characters are one-dimensional, with stereotypical views that either clearly cast them as the villains or that make it obvious the narrative will be about their realizations that change their views. I will say, though, that I was (pleasantly) surprised by the ending, as I applaud the writer for choosing the more realistic and interesting path over what you might expect from YA.
Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes by Leah Litman, who is a law professor and co-host of the podcast Strict Scrutiny, which I've never listened to, but I have heard her on NPR and other people's podcasts. I agree with her main thesis, that the Court has gone off the rails by picking and choosing their "legal principles" by whether or not they agree (ideologically) with the outcome that will result, which frankly stinks. It's well-researched, with lots of cites and notes. However, each of the five chapters is presented using the conceit of a particular show or movie, and as I was only familiar with most of them through osmosis, this didn't really work for me and sometimes seemed overly pop-culture-cutesy. (Like, Barbie - the movie, not the toy - is used as the lens to examine overturning Roe vs. Wade; Game of Thrones tells us that Winter Is Coming For Voting Rights; Mean Girls don't want to sit with LGBTQ people.) For an old Gen-X-er like me it seems like unnecessary metaphor, but maybe it will land better with people who want more glitz and meme in their nonfiction...but in that case, maybe a relatively dense book about law is not what they will be reading? I also will gripe about the editing, which seems particularly poor in the last chapter where Litman misspelled Ronald Reagan's surname and gave the same Neil Gorsuch quote twice within a few paragraphs.
The Secrets of Story
Mar. 18th, 2026 12:27 pmmarycatelli posting in booksThe Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers by Matt Bird
A how-to-write book. Despite the title, mostly for TV and movie writers, down to and including explaining that a prose writer has it easier.
Nevertheless, some useful ideas, particularly about irony, such as the character's flaw should be a flip-side of a strength to add reason to not want to fix it. None of the jargon was impenetrable.
A how-to-write book. Despite the title, mostly for TV and movie writers, down to and including explaining that a prose writer has it easier.
Nevertheless, some useful ideas, particularly about irony, such as the character's flaw should be a flip-side of a strength to add reason to not want to fix it. None of the jargon was impenetrable.
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March 18th, 2026: Like few but not zero other people, I learned the word "coquettishly" from the disturbing early CGI - I wanna say "dog"? - the CBC had run ads during the credits of shows in the 90s, the late and lamented "Coquette". – Ryan | ||
The Snake Prince and Other Stories
Mar. 16th, 2026 10:46 ammarycatelli posting in booksThe Snake Prince and Other Stories: Burmese Folk Tales by Edna Ledgard
A varied collection. I think a little overwritten, but the tales are a new slice, fitting a new culture. Fairy tales, including a kind and unkind girls featuring a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and a unique take on burning the skin of the shape-shifted: the Naga prince is not killed but he is rendered mortal to live and grow old and die with his bride.
Also tales of fools and clever men, and animal tales.
Most are recognizable types, but not close to other variants.
A varied collection. I think a little overwritten, but the tales are a new slice, fitting a new culture. Fairy tales, including a kind and unkind girls featuring a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and a unique take on burning the skin of the shape-shifted: the Naga prince is not killed but he is rendered mortal to live and grow old and die with his bride.
Also tales of fools and clever men, and animal tales.
Most are recognizable types, but not close to other variants.
BATMAN FACTS featuring A TALKING DINOSAUR who you should TRUST
Mar. 16th, 2026 12:00 amdinosaur_comics_feed| archive - contact - sexy exciting merchandise - search - about |
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March 16th, 2026: This comic is inspired by BATMAN!! – Ryan | ||
Urbana Free Library Seed Exchange
Mar. 14th, 2026 09:48 pmysabetwordsmith posting in gardeningYesterday I discovered the Seed Library Network. I was delighted to find one near me.
Today we visited the Urbana Free Library Seed Exchange. It's on the second floor. We rode the elevator up, and the display was big enough to be seen from where the elevator lets out. Seeds are stored in drawers, sorted by type. There are sections for flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Some of the really popular ones have their own drawer; others are grouped together. Unopened packets of commercial seed are filed as they are, for folks who want to know exactly what they're getting. Opened packets or homegrown seeds are put in envelopes by library staff. With wildflower and landrace seeds, especially mixes, you may get more surprises.
( Read more... )
Today we visited the Urbana Free Library Seed Exchange. It's on the second floor. We rode the elevator up, and the display was big enough to be seen from where the elevator lets out. Seeds are stored in drawers, sorted by type. There are sections for flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Some of the really popular ones have their own drawer; others are grouped together. Unopened packets of commercial seed are filed as they are, for folks who want to know exactly what they're getting. Opened packets or homegrown seeds are put in envelopes by library staff. With wildflower and landrace seeds, especially mixes, you may get more surprises.
( Read more... )
Performing some traffic maintenance today
Mar. 14th, 2026 01:04 pm![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
mark posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_maintenanceHappy Saturday!
I'm going to be doing a little maintenance today. It will likely cause a tiny interruption of service (specifically for www.dreamwidth.org) on the order of 2-3 minutes while some settings propagate. If you're on a journal page, that should still work throughout!
If it doesn't work, the rollback plan is pretty quick, I'm just toggling a setting on how traffic gets to the site. I'll update this post if something goes wrong, but don't anticipate any interruption to be longer than 10 minutes even in a rollback situation.
Gardening
Mar. 13th, 2026 07:55 pmysabetwordsmith posting in gardeningSeed Library Network
This website has extensive resources on seed libraries and seed swaps.
Seed the Map
Is your seed library open? Take 5 minutes to get on the Global Seed Library Map.
Explore the Map
Search the map to find other folks in similar regions or at the same type of location.
Seed Library Networks
Check out the other seed library networks & learn about how you can create your own.
This website has extensive resources on seed libraries and seed swaps.
Seed the Map
Is your seed library open? Take 5 minutes to get on the Global Seed Library Map.
Explore the Map
Search the map to find other folks in similar regions or at the same type of location.
Seed Library Networks
Check out the other seed library networks & learn about how you can create your own.
Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt
Mar. 13th, 2026 06:54 pmmarycatelli posting in booksTemples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs: A Popular History of Ancient Egypt by Barbara Mertz
A light discussion of Egypt. Admittedly covering a long period of history and so necessarily cursory in place. Discusses what records we have and what archeological evidence we have found, and various Pharaohs and changes.
A light discussion of Egypt. Admittedly covering a long period of history and so necessarily cursory in place. Discusses what records we have and what archeological evidence we have found, and various Pharaohs and changes.
It's a Beginning;>
Mar. 13th, 2026 03:28 pmmdehners posting in gardeningGot some Garden-related stuff done the last 2 days. Planted a Saskatoon bush in a container and moved a few seedlings into 3" pots from the trays. My Fig cutting is showing buds along the stem but I'm not tempted to even look until April;>
Giant and Bronze Fennels, Variegated Lunaria(though no sign of it at present). The Giant isn't edible but looks really kewl the 2nd yr when it blooms about 10-12 ft tall! Next week a few more should be ready to bump up to larger pots just in time for the next batch of Stratified seeds to be ready to plant...
Cheers,
Pat
Giant and Bronze Fennels, Variegated Lunaria(though no sign of it at present). The Giant isn't edible but looks really kewl the 2nd yr when it blooms about 10-12 ft tall! Next week a few more should be ready to bump up to larger pots just in time for the next batch of Stratified seeds to be ready to plant...
Cheers,
Pat
no, it's hairy AND gary, not "hairy gary". look: gary only has the normal amount of hair
Mar. 13th, 2026 12:00 amdinosaur_comics_feed| archive - contact - sexy exciting merchandise - search - about |
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March 13th, 2026: Okay so Toronto's weather got colder EVERY SINGLE DAY LAST WEEK, thus, my earlier declaration that "spring in here" must be retracted. Only Fool's Spring was here, and true spring remains but a distant dream >:( – Ryan | ||
