Fireworks in/of/out the brain

[jesse_the_k]

I had one truly glorious day, when the sun was shining, and I tested euthyroid, and everything seemed possible. But then I made the mistake of reaching too high. I must remind myself that small steps are my friends. My next goal is "slightly shitty," not "fabulous!" One of the pluses helping me get through has been avidly following my droll/flist. I promised myself I'd post tonight, that "good enough" was an improvement over "perfect next year."

I did manage to make some new icons; the one on this post is proof positive that I've always loved hats! It's me, age 10 in a cozy beaver my father brought home from the USSR.

Adam Gopnick's excellent survey review of eight books pondering the changes wrought by the web in the past twenty years prickles with useful reminders that history is broader than the focus that supports our cause:

begin quote  Of course, if you stretch out the time scale enough, and are sufficiently casual about causes, you can give the printing press credit for anything you like. But all the media of modern consciousness—from the printing press to radio and the movies—were used just as readily by authoritarian reactionaries, and then by modern totalitarians, to reduce liberty and enforce conformity as they ever were by libertarians to expand it. As Andrew Pettegree shows in his fine new study, “The Book in the Renaissance,” the mainstay of the printing revolution in seventeenth-century Europe was not dissident pamphlets but royal edicts, printed by the thousand: almost all the new media of that day were working, in essence, for kinglouis.gov. quote ends

I'm excited about FOGcon next weekend! I will be staying in the hotel. I won't be net-connected, so if you'd like to contact me use my cell number (in my sticky identity post).


I'm twenty pages away from finishing Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor and it is the very best magic book I've ever read. I hope hope hope the movie captures this creepy and hyperrealistic world, where people live with the searing consequences of weaponized rape.


You may have heard there's been some public outcry ongoing in my neighborhood. If you want to stay totally up-to-date on what the folks who work in the Capitol are saying, The Wheeler Report is the place to go.

You may have seen viral video of deputized Capitol security blocking a a legislator trying to enter the Dome. I think his press release illustrates why I'm proud of my neighbors:

begin quote  Last night, I was aggressive in attempting to re‐enter the Capitol and law enforcement was aggressive in trying to keep me out. But no harm was done, and other officers worked to defuse the situation. I was eventually allowed in and watched as other law enforcement, like Capitol Police Chief Tubbs, skillfully worked to clear the building during closed hours so access can return to normal. Overall, law enforcement has done an excellent job in a ridiculous situation. They are simply following the orders of Governor Walker. quote ends

I must admit, however, that I was surprised that in both points-of-view the police managed to interpose a pillar to hide their takedown. Are police trained to duck the cameras now?

I spent some time inside the dome and was happily reminded of my sunny activist days, when I believed world-changing was not only possible but imminent. Lesson number one: make common cause with the police/military.


Finally, gawked from someone on my droll and I can't remember who: here's what happens when you tickle a camel!

ETA: YouTube code fixed thanks to capri0mni -- Before copying YouTube vids over to DreamWidth, tick the "Use Old Embed Code" box.

Comments

[lilysea]

Your icon is lovely, and made me smile. ^_^

[capri0mni]

Just FYI: I can see the camel vid on LJ, but not here. Was that intentional?

Oh, and I grew up with goats -- they laugh too, but not as loud.

Never tried tickling either of them though.

[jesse_the_k]

Not intentional at all; if I get an energy spurt I'll file a support request.

[capri0mni]

I had the same problem... and then, some kind person pointed out that YT had changed their embed code, and it runs afoul of dw's security codes, or something. But there is an option you can click when you grab the code from YT to "use old embed code."

And that worked for me...

[jesse_the_k]

Yeah! Worked for me as well. This is one of the frustrating DW features. You and killing_rose somehow knew the answer. I'd checked the FAQ, in particular known issues, with no joy. Is there a way to search the completed support requests?

[susanreads]

It will be fixed at some point. The new embed code uses iframes, which can be used for nefarious purposes, so DW blocks them. There's a consultation in the latest dw_news post about creating a whitelist of sites to allow embedding from.

[littlebutfierce]

My next goal is "slightly shitty," not "fabulous!" One of the pluses helping me get through has been avidly following my droll/flist. I promised myself I'd post tonight, that "good enough" was an improvement over "perfect next year."

Yes, all of this!!

[killing_rose]

Use the old imbed code from YouTube---the new one doesn't work here as of yet.

I have no extra spoons for the rest so I'm just going to say that I'm glad that you posted especially because the icon is awesome.

[jesse_the_k]

Thanks for the tip -- works like a treat. (but *why*?) (don't answer that).