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I tried to forgive them
I triеd to forget
Though they had forgotten
I am sorry I can't
Now I'm both thе victim
And I am to blame
For all the things that I am
I am🎤
Kalandra - I Am

the weather today is tired

tags:

I'm easing back into doing things. Technically I'm still barred from doing much of anything until I see the doc on Friday but I can feel that my eye is settled and quickly healing so I'm moving with less care and more confidence. I'm still wearing the eye cover at night so I don't scratch but fortunately my eye does not itch so I'm not too concerned.

Since my right eye has always been my best for long distance vision I don't see much change and doubt I will. But I can see out of it now and things are in focus so I'm back to double eye'd vision which is nice.

The entire process was way more than I'd anticipated. But it is behind me and it appears that all is well.

Tomorrow my two granddaughters, 17 and 15 year old women, arrive for a couple of days. They go back on Thursday. It will be more time by far than I've ever spent with either of them. The visit is the brain child of my son's fairly new wife and is a really considerate thing to do.

Apparently the two of them like museums and bookstores and dinosaurs. We have the Blanton museum in Austin, one of the best book stores in the U.S., Book People and the Whole Foods mother ship complete with an amazing cafe full of every kind of food one might desire, right between the two. So that is the plan on Tuesday.

I'd like to take them to the Waco dinosaur museum. It is a dig that is still in progress albeit very slowly as funds are available. A bunch of mamoths got stuck in a flood and died in a patch of water than turned into mud trapping them and saving them for us to see. It is a facinating place but is nearly an hour and a half north of us. I'm a bit concerned about that much car time. Three hours round trip. I did just check, though, and there is a Buc-ees half way between the two so maybe it would be worthwhile. It may be a time for a vote.

The alternative would be a day in downtown Georgetown which has a lovely mid 19th century square and nice shops. And a trip to the boot store. That might be better.

Fortunately both of them want steak and barbeque and I've been tasked with providing the best Texas has to offer. I think we can find some.

It is weird that it is two days. They leave at 1:45 on Thursday so not much to do that morning. We'll have to leave the house at 10:30 or so. On the one hand that is so short that it is destined to leave us all wanting more. On the other hand that is probably a good strategy.

It is going to be exceedingly weird to be in a house, even for a couple of days, peopled by all females. Well, actually, Beaux, Toby and me vs the three women. Still.

I'll give my my office as a place they can spread out to. Also weird. But manageable for a couple of days.

The weather will be cool and perfect for whatever we want to do.

And two weeks following full of stuff to do that requires thought and action.

Finally starting on the 10th things will be dull, uneventful, and perfect for a few weeks.

The Party Crasher by Sophia Kinsella

Blurb:

It's been over two years since Effie's beloved parents got divorced, destroying the image of the happy, loving childhood she thought she had. Since then, she's become estranged from her father and embarked on a feud with his hot (and much younger) girlfriend, Krista. And now, more earth-shattering Greenoaks, the rambling Victorian country house Effie called home her whole life, has been sold. When Krista decides to throw a grand "house cooling" party, Effie is originally left off the guest list-and then receives a last-minute "anti-invitation" (maybe it's because she called Krista a gold-digger, but Krista totally deserved it, and it was mostly a joke anyway). Effie declines, but then remembers a beloved childhood treasure is still hidden in the house. Her only chance to retrieve it is to break into Greenoaks while everyone is busy celebrating. As Effie sneaks around the house, hiding under tables and peeping through trapdoors, she realizes the secrets Greenoaks holds aren't just in the dusty passageways and hidden attics she grew up exploring. Watching how her sister, brother, and dad behave when they think no one is looking, Effie overhears conversations, makes discoveries, and begins to see her family in a new light. Then she runs into Joe-the love of her life, who long ago broke her heart, and who's still as handsome and funny as ever-and even more truths emerge. But will Effie act on these revelations? Will she stay hidden or step out into the party and take her place with her family? And truthfully, what did she really come back to Greenoaks for? Over the course of one blowout party, Effie realizes that she must be honest with herself and confront her past before she'll ever be able to face her future--

I got this book because the library had it tagged as 'humor' and I needed something for the bingo square. Also, I read "Confessions of a Shopaholic" a long, long time ago and enjoyed that. This book didn't seem very funny at first, because the protagonist is NOT OKAY. Her inner monologue is pretty tragic, actually. I think this book would be much better as a movie - the screwball comedy type. However, as the book went on and Effie starts to get over herself, the story became laugh-out-loud funny.

With that, I have my third bingo:

the weather today is weird
with a hint of Hollerado - Juliette

tags:

I'd been hearing talk about how good Frieren was for a while. It seemed to have come out of nowhere to instant acclaim, and to actually be about things. So a month ago, when I was looking for something to watch during the occasional 20 minutes when I get lunch alone, I thought I'd give the first episode a go. And while it didn't make me cry it came very close, and it had an atmosphere I hadn't encountered anywhere else, so I was completely grabbed from the beginning, and now that I've finished the first season I feel somewhat bereft.

It is, in background, a bunch of totally standard fantasy tropes. But it does something interesting with them, which is to base itself after the point most stories end. This is the story of what happens to Frieren, an immortal* elven mage, after her adventuring party defeat The Demon King. And how she lives in a world where the friends she makes live much shorter lives than her, how she connects with the people around her, and what she does when she realises that this matters to her.

There is plot, and action**, but mostly not that much of it. The point is the people, and watching them orbit each other, learn from each other, or completely fail to. The characters are interesting, and I love feeling that there is much more to most of them than is obvious on the surface. I particularly loved the first few episodes, which set everything up, but even once we get past past these in to the ongoing arc*** I have found myself looking forward to the next episode more than in almost any TV I've seen in the last decade.

I suspect some people will get put off by some of the tropes, both the ones taken straight from fantasy/roleplaying and the ones that are stock anime conventions. But I could happily look past those and enjoy the meat of the show, which was excellent. I eagerly await season 2. The only nervousness I have is that the original manga has been on hiatus since October, and the creators have clearly struggled with the production schedule, so I don't know whether it will ever be completed. But, frankly, it's not (at this point) the kind of show where I need an ending, I'm delighted just to be along for the ride.

* It is not clear how long elves live. But it is clearly at least thousands of years.
** And when it happens it is gorgeously animated
*** I'm not sure it's a plot, as such. Things are happening, but I'm not convinced that it's going somewhere in particular more than it is just following characters around to see what they get up to.

Posted by josie

https://blog.flickr.net/en/2026/04/19/find-your-instant-film-community-spring-roidweek-has-arrived/

https://blog.flickr.net/?p=92717

Spring ‘RoidWeek 2026 is here and it’s time for instant film to take center stage. ‘RoidWeek – shorthand for “Polaroid Week” – is a celebration led by a group of instant film enthusiasts on Flickr, dedicated to showcasing the beauty, fun and creativity that instant film offers. Since 2006, photographers have gathered on Flickr to connect over their shared love of instant film. From Polaroid to Fujifilm Instax and beyond, all instant film is welcome during ‘RoidWeek. More than just a showcase, it’s a biannual tradition that connects instant film lovers worldwide. Here are some quick rules before you get started snapping.

‘RoidWeek rules:

The photo pool is open from April 19th to April 24th.
Submit photos that haven’t been shared to Flickr before.
Keep your submissions to TWO photos per day throughout the 6 day event.
This is a film-only group. No Faux-laroids are accepted. A “faux-laroid” is a digital image edited to look like an instant photograph.
Participation is encouraged! Sharing your photos is important but you are also encouraged to fave, comment and interact with other group members to help build community and support around a shared love of instant film!

Want some inspiration? Check out this gallery from ‘RoidWeeks past to see some of the great images that are shared to the group. For more group details, join the ‘RoidWeek 2026 group now. We can’t wait to see your instant creations!

https://blog.flickr.net/en/2026/04/19/find-your-instant-film-community-spring-roidweek-has-arrived/

https://blog.flickr.net/?p=92717

There’s something magical about hunting for signals in the fog. This morning, I stumbled upon "Hello World Radio" on WRMI 15770 kHz.

The ionosphere isn’t playing nice today, but I managed to lock in the signal using the ECSS trick, stabilizing the carrier just enough to let the music breathe. What a find! The host is spinning incredible electronic dance music—massive, driving beats and soaring synths cutting right through the atmospheric noise.

Hearing high-energy club tracks via shortwave on a quiet Sunday morning feels utterly surreal. It’s the perfect, unexpected spark for a gray day.

Last week had some high points: reading the draft of N's next book, and a nice zoom reunion-ish thing. (I initially thought there were two of those, but the other was last Saturday.) Also sent several emails and made two phone calls following up (well, one and a half -- I abandoned the second after looking in my spam folder and finding the reply I was hoping for), paid our property tax, and got my US taxes done to the point where I could have filed for an extension, but determined that I didn't need to because I'm living overseas.

I'm supposed to celebrate accomplishments, even small ones. Right?

On the other hand, I only took five walks (skipping one because of pain and the other because of timing) and two short guitar-practice sessions. I can try to blame the latter on hand issues, but really (on the gripping hands?) it's mostly just laziness.

I am not at all happy with my body. See above under pain, and here under diclofenac. I'm not all that old, am I? Not happy with my brain, either -- see next paragraph.

Getting back to the zoom reunion-ish thing(s): there was a 65th reunion of my high school class last year; it was in Norwalk, Connecticut on the day after Thanksgiving, and I didn't go. Which was painful, because I'd ghosted the 50th for reasons I still don't entirely understand, although suffering from burnout may have had something to do with it and makes a convenient shorthand excuse. Anyway, enough people complained about not being to go for some other classmates of mine to organize a zoom version, which was last night. It was pretty good, although I lost the thread of what I was about to say at one point, resulting in an uncomfortable pause. See above about brain.

The reunion-ish thing Saturday didn't get called out last week, so I'll mention it here. Seems every year Carleton College has a "Coffee With Carls" event, and this year they had a virtual version for people who couldn't make it to one of the cities where versions of it were hosted. (There must be a briefer and less awkward way to phrase that.) Not bad, but it got cut short by a power outage before I had a chance to speak. Maybe next year.

Huge congratulations to this year's Filk Hall of Fame inductees: Margaret Davis, Tim Griffin, and Amy McNally! 🎉

Linkies: The system prompt for Meta’s AI model got leaked in 2 hours. The two Greatest Software Systems ever built: NASA Shuttle vs TeX.

And finally, Born on [April 15] in 1921, the Singer-Songwriter Behind the Most Famous No. 1 Hit Novelty Song of the 1950s. See Wednesday for spoiler.

( Notes & links, as usual )

the weather today is unhappy with myself
coordinates Schildhaven in Den Haag
with a hint of not enough

tags:

The husband is off with his sister for their annual remembrance of their mother, who died of COVID this weekend in the first wave back in 2020. So I'm on my own, and taking a quiet weekend of it. Catching up on comics - I had a month plus backlog that I'm about halfway through as of this morning. Not helping has been a sore throat that popped up yesterday with a mild fever. Still sore this morning, but no fever. Bodies are such fun.

Did manage to solve a longstanding eyesore of cables and needed accessories by the TV yesterday, relocating and hiding them all inside the entertainment center. This has long been an issue, and was one of the first things you saw when you came around the corner and saw the TV setup. Now, no more loose wires and doodads hanging out, and all the peripherals that needed them are working. Yay!

tags:

A stalwart trader sets out to recover a lost probe on behalf of feeble space giants.

Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement

tags:

The important thing is they have to be accessible, beginner-level poems for people who don't "get" poetry in English (or, perhaps, in any language).

Though I will say now what I only sort of suggested then, which is that I've never thought the point of reading anything is to understand it all. Sometimes it's enough to enjoy it, even if you miss a thing or ten. (This may be why I know so many Shakespeare quotes - from the age of six onwards I made repeated dives into our big copy of his collected works, and you know for sure I did not understand Elizabethan English at that age!)

Me hearties, yo ho.

🔊 Daily music

More comfortable

Book Bingo: 04 | Humour | The Party Crasher

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End: A review

Find Your Instant Film Community: Spring ‘RoidWeek has arrived!

‘RoidWeek rules:

Static, Synths, and Sunday Bliss

Done Since 2026-04-12

Quiet weekend in

Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement

This person is looking for English-language poems and poetry collection recs

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