Boy Scouts Handbook - First Edition

Oct. 31st, 2025 12:49 pm
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] books
Boy Scouts Handbook - First Edition

The first edition. A hodgepodge perhaps chiefly of interest in what is included. Games. Short history and civics lessons. Discussions of wildlife and tracking. First aid. How to earn badges.

Some articles show that science has marched on from the day.

Sayings from Indians are invariably in crude English, but also invariably are to teach wise things to the boys.

I noted that in the fire section, they discussed the danger of wildfires, but didn't mention that first of all, you ensure you build your fire on bare earth. Anything burnable will carry the fire away, and roots are particularly dangerous. So, health and safety information may also be out of date.
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Posted by Gideon Marcus

by Gideon Marcus Painting the Town Red On October 18, Soyuz 9 cosmonauts Andrian G. Nikolayev and Vitaly I. Sevastyanov arrived in Washington, D.C., to begin 10-day goodwill tour in the U.S. as NASA guests.  Here they are being greeted at Washington National Airport by Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong: A few days later, they … Continue reading [October 31, 1970] In the Wabe (November 1970 Analog)

The post [October 31, 1970] In the Wabe (November 1970 <i>Analog</i>) appeared first on Galactic Journey.

fridi: (Default)
[personal profile] fridi posting in [community profile] talkpolitics
Heavy metal may sound loud and aggressive, but research says it actually makes fans happier. Psychologist Nico Rose, in his book Hard, Heavy and Happy, explores how metal music boosts well-being, helping listeners manage anxiety and depression. Even Wacken, one of the world's biggest metal festivals, has become a haven for happiness, showing that for many "heavy metal" really means "happy metal":

In short, the reasons:
Reason 1: Metal fans have a strong sense of community
Reason 2: Metal provides an outlet for stress and anger
Reason 3: Metal leads to feelings of joy and empowerment

VIDEO HERE

podcast friday

Oct. 31st, 2025 07:17 am
sabotabby: (possums)
[personal profile] sabotabby
HAPPY SPOOOOKY DAY and blessed Samhain if that's your thing.

This week's podcast episode sure is spooooooky! It's It Could Happen Here's "Occulture, William S. Burroughs, and Generative AI," and the moment that title popped up in my feed, I knew I'd be talking about it (even though I Don't Speak German covered Mother Night, this week, which is my favourite Vonnegut book. Maybe I'll talk about that one next week). 

I had never heard of the Occulture conference, which is...what you think it is. As a good little Marxist materialist, I am not a chaos magick practitioner or believer as such except that definitely magic and the occult are a terrain we should not cede to the enemy so I am not not a chaos magick believer, y'know? At the very least as a philosophical and narrative system it's something that I'm quite interested in.

And of course for all his being one of the most Problematic Faves of all my Problematic Faves—he killed his wife ffs—I never really got over my teenage obsession with William S. Burroughs. As the episode points out, he's lumped in with the Beats but more properly belongs with the Surrealists (and the Dadaists) in terms of what he was doing. And y'all know how I feel about the Surrealists and the Dadaists. So there's an unexpected amount of discussion of Burroughs as a magickian at the the conference and his techniques (some of which were extremely funny, such as cursing a restaurant that took his favourite thing off the menu) and particularly his use of technology to channel the non-human.

Which brings me to the argument that I get into way too fucking much, which is "well isn't GenAI basically the same as cut-up poetry," and that's apparently something that was asked repeatedly at this conference. Spoiler: No it is not. Like, neither artistically nor magickically, which is a relief as that wasn't necessarily where the discussion might have gone. The short version has to do with Third Mind theory, which is quite interesting, and again, I feel there's a much more materialist explanation for why it's not the same but I also appreciate the occultist explanation. 

Anyway it's a big meaty feast for my special interests and apparently there will be a second part dropping this weekend, so yay!

The war no one wants to fight

Oct. 30th, 2025 03:52 pm
abomvubuso: (Groovy Kol)
[personal profile] abomvubuso posting in [community profile] talkpolitics
Three years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both sides of the front are facing a silent but devastating battle - not over territory, but over the will to fight.

A recent investigation by the independent Russian outlet Verstka paints a harrowing picture of violence within the Russian army. Commanders have reportedly executed, tortured, and even forced their own soldiers into "gladiator fights" to enforce obedience. According to Verstka, more than a hundred Russian servicemen have been accused of murdering or torturing comrades, with at least 150 confirmed deaths - and likely many more unreported.

LINK (ru)

The report details systematic brutality: soldiers thrown into pits, beaten for hours, or used as human shields in suicidal missions. Those who refused to obey were labeled "zeroed" - a grim military slang for elimination. Despite thousands of official complaints submitted to Russia's military prosecutor’s office, almost no senior officers have faced accountability.

On the other side of the conflict, a different form of despair is taking shape. Nearly 100,000 Ukrainian men aged 18 to 22 have reportedly left the country in just two months after Kyiv relaxed border restrictions this summer. The policy change, intended to encourage voluntary service and address a shortage of troops, may instead have spurred a quiet exodus.

LINK (en)

For both Russia and Ukraine, the war has become a test not only of military strength but of moral endurance. Many Russian soldiers appear trapped between fear of their own commanders and fear of the front. Many young Ukrainians, meanwhile, seem unwilling to sacrifice their futures in a war that shows no sign of ending.

As these two nations continue to bleed - one through coercion, the other through flight - the conflict reveals an unspoken truth: this is the war no one truly wants to fight.

Vertigo writing workshop!

Oct. 29th, 2025 04:01 pm
mrissa: (Default)
[personal profile] mrissa
 Exciting news! I've been working all year on a vertigo arts project, collaborating with people in academia, physical therapy, puppetry, and dance. Now I'm running a creative writing workshop for people directly or indirectly affected by vertigo to process some of their experiences through the written word.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 23 at 1100 a.m. Central Standard Time (5 p.m. GMT). This workshop is FREE TO ATTEND with funding provided by the Impact and Innovation Fund of the University of St Andrews, Scotland--but we do ask that you register in advance! For more questions or to register, please email ar220@st-andrews.ac.uk

We will draw on some of the complexities, difficult symptoms, and feelings that characterise the condition such as loss of balance, mobility, disorientation, dizziness, anxiety, impact on social relationships, etc. You will be given some prompts to work with, but you will be encouraged to write at your own pace, using forms or technique that are most comfortable to you.

I know that this doesn't apply to many/most of you, but please spread the word to anyone you know who DOES live with vertigo or someone who has vertigo. This is not the last thing I will get to tell you about from the vertigo arts project--this is just the beginning of the cool stuff we've been doing.

Pikmin Icons

Oct. 29th, 2025 07:09 pm
purplecat: A purple pikmin in a airplane costume. (Pikmin)
[personal profile] purplecat

Purple Pikmin in an airplain, next to a pikmin with a Carreg Dhu mountain badge. Photo of Grafitti saying Peace Monkey Graffit, Withingon, Manchester, with two pickmin with yellow flowers on their heads down the front. Bunch of Mii's in a mixture of outfits, most with sunglasses, celebrating 100063 steps. View of a road layout showing a red mushroom, and various planters. A blue pikmin an a 3 cupcake holding a cherry

It's remarkably difficult, at least I find it so, to take screenshots of one's iPhone. As a result capturing good images of Pikmin proced challenging.

Something of Myself

Oct. 29th, 2025 11:15 am
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] books
Something of Myself by Rudyard Kipling

An autobiographical account.

Read more... )

Reading Wednesday

Oct. 29th, 2025 06:50 am
sabotabby: (books!)
[personal profile] sabotabby
Just finished: The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults by Cheryl B. Klein. I don't really have a lot to add: This was good and useful, especially if you're in the revision stage of a project, which I am not. It weirdly made me want to read a few of the books that it talks about as examples, though with my TBR list as it is and a general disinterest in YA literature, I likely won't.

Currently reading: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. It's time, fuckos! I've had a hold on this one since I read a bad review of it. I have heard that Kuang often doesn't land her endings, which I hope is not the case, because this has one of the best openings I've come across in a good long time. It begins with Alice Law, a postgrad in linguistic magick, preparing a chalk circle to go to Hell to retrieve the soul of her recently dead advisor, Professor Grimes, because he's on her dissertation committee and is her only chance to get tenure. The cost for going to Hell and returning is half your remaining lifespan, but Alice is more than willing to pay that in exchange for having a stable job, making her possibly the most relatable character in genre fiction. Her plans are interrupted by Peter, her hated academic rival and the department's golden boy, who insists on coming with her even though his prospects for career advancement are much better than hers.

Anyway this is completely hilarious and painful and only an inconvenient need to work and sleep is keeping me from it at the moment.
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Posted by Kris Vyas-Myall

By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall As regular readers of my pieces know, I have bemoaned somewhat the nostalgic country and folk stylings, where it can feel like everyone wishes they were living centuries ago. As much as I enjoy the countryside, I also don’t want to be cutting crops with hand tools all day, only to … Continue reading [October 28, 1970] Pop Goes the Science Fiction: The Futuristic British Sound

The post [October 28, 1970] Pop Goes the Science Fiction: The Futuristic British Sound appeared first on Galactic Journey.

Your moment of climate grief

Oct. 28th, 2025 07:20 am
sabotabby: (doom doom doom)
[personal profile] sabotabby
 Barely making headlines yesterday was the announcement that governments have failed once again to meet climate targets. As Hurricane Melissa barrels towards Jamaica, threatening to do catastrophic damage, it's important to remember that these governments had a choice, that we as so-called Western civilization had a choice, and we chose wrong every single time.

The thing you may not have heard of at all was the announcement yesterday of the extinction of the Christmas Island shrew. This little animal was a victim of an even older human-caused catastrophe, the colonization of Australia and its surrounding islands by first Britain, then Japan. The invasion of Europeans introduced black rats to the island, which in turn introduced a parasite that wiped out most of the population. 

With so many other horrors, including the continuing horrors perpetrated by colonialism, take a moment to grieve for this tiny, innocent creature, which was a unique being that in our carelessness and cruelty, we destroyed. Just another beautiful life lost to the gaping maw of capitalism. The people in charge think that they can cheat death by colonizing Mars or uploading their brains into a god-machine but there won't be any little shrews there, and also their fantasies are impossible. There is only this world and we're shitting it up like we have a spare one stashed somewhere.

Battle Beast - Black Ninja

Oct. 26th, 2025 10:00 pm
abomvubuso: (Over the Edge)
[personal profile] abomvubuso
 


That A-Z Meme

Oct. 27th, 2025 06:56 pm
purplecat: An open book with a quill pen and a lamp. (General:Academia)
[personal profile] purplecat
Goodness it is ages since I did a meme and, I suspect, even longer since I actually managed to write any fanfic, however the A-Z meme got me curious so without more ado.

the dots

Oct. 27th, 2025 06:35 am
frandroid: A key enters the map of Palestine (Default)
[personal profile] frandroid
The Legendary Pink Dots were a 3-piece band tonight. Once you removed Ka-Spel, the remaining two musicians formed "Orbital Service", which turns out played better LPD-style material than when Ka-Spel sang with them. LPD were also good, but nowhere as good as on some of their albums.

Showing how far down they've come, they were playing at the Dance Cave rather than Lee's.

Wow! That's a lot of words!

Oct. 26th, 2025 10:04 pm
brithistorian: (Default)
[personal profile] brithistorian

I stumbled on a list of word counts of famous novels and discovered that my longest piece of fanfic is approximately 16,000 words longer than Moby Dick!

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Posted by Winona Menezes

For our second Galactoscope of the month, we've got a much-awaited book from Larry Niven, and a lesser jewel from Damien Broderick.  Let's take a gander, shall we? by Winona Menezes Ringworld, by Larry Niven Niven's latest novel is a real doozy. Set in the same universe as Beowulf Schaeffer and (presumably) Lucas Garner, it … Continue reading [October 26, 1970] Ringworld…and beyond (October Galactoscope #2)

The post [October 26, 1970] Ringworld…and beyond (October Galactoscope #2) appeared first on Galactic Journey.

Night of Dread

Oct. 26th, 2025 08:19 am
sabotabby: (possums)
[personal profile] sabotabby
I faithfully go to the Kensington Festival of Lights every year, but I haven't been to its darker, spookier, sister festival, the Night of Dread, in forever. It's run by Clay and Paper out of Dufferin Grove Park (for non-Torontonians, this is one of the best parks in the city, though in recent years it has fallen victim to violent encampment sweeps over the protests of nearly everyone who uses it).

IMG_3287

what lies within? )

Database maintenance

Oct. 25th, 2025 08:42 am
mark: A photo of Mark kneeling on top of the Taal Volcano in the Philippines. It was a long hike. (Default)
[staff profile] mark posting in [site community profile] dw_maintenance

Good morning, afternoon, and evening!

We're doing some database and other light server maintenance this weekend (upgrading the version of MySQL we use in particular, but also probably doing some CDN work.)

I expect all of this to be pretty invisible except for some small "couple of minute" blips as we switch between machines, but there's a chance you will notice something untoward. I'll keep an eye on comments as per usual.

Ta for now!

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