Monthly Archives: December 2022

Today’s Announcement of a New Twitter Policy May Be Even More Terrifying Than This Week’s Mass Suspension of Journalists Was—Yes, Really / Post.

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On Twitter, a new algorithm will allow far-right trolls to band together en masse—something they have already been shown to have done repeatedly and systematically over the last 24 months—to make the tweets of Twitter Blue–verified left-leaning accounts disappear from public visibility permanently simply by muting or blocking them.
— Read on post.news/article/2J3AloOm0Fho4H1A0YFAy9nU3fS

The Lord Of The Rings Has Never Been Sexier Than Galadriel’s Temptation Scene In The Rings Of Power

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Spoiler alert: ROP is sexy.

Someday, maybe, we can all forget about Space Karen and his tantwums, or Biden’s Biggest Loser and his ridiculous copyright-infringing cringe cards.

And then we can all get back to the important business of minutely dissecting our favorite fantasy/science fiction shows, scene by scene.

There’s a busted-up raftload of people on YouTube who created tons of videos on Rings of Power, some of which are very well produced and informative. I mostly watched without commenting. But recently on Twitter a “Galadriel is actually pretty hot, and so is Halbrand” discussion made it to my feed, a welcome change from my navel-gazing, political snark, and “should I get in the lifeboat, or sing the alto part of ‘Nearer My God To Thee?’”

The best discussion I saw recently was on the rather fierce woo-pitching scene. You know the one if you’ve seen the entire season. 
Eye Of Sauron Silhouettes With Galadriel

Did you notice the dark silhouettes reflected in the water? The crowns, Galadriel’s pose, and her arm cradling her belly? That was a moment of truly visceral horror for me, especially in 2022. There’s a very in-depth discussion (with full spoilers) on Screen Rant. 

Imagine the temptation to remake the worst person in the world as the best person in the world, if offered to someone whose PTSD has raged since the First Age and well into the Second? Imagine the “oh he’s a good person deep down, just misunderstood” in council with the High King and Elrond, with Celebrimbor adding support?

This story doesn’t mention that aspect, but for some reason that Twitter discussion popped into my head today. And I wonder how the show runners will handle the on-screen interactions between the characters in the next season. She can expose him, but he can mess with her mind because she doesn’t yet possess her own Ring. 

All that aside, I did have questions about how they met and how he managed to show up at that specific crisis moment. Was he already subtly messing with her mind from afar, literally trying to turn her into a powerful ally? Or was it just a big meet-cute friggin plot hole?

I also have questions about what Celeborn, her husband, is doing, since she thinks he’s dead? 

Held captive and tortured and in need of rescue, or…something far more terrible? Season 2 may tell.

— Read on www.slashfilm.com/1058257/the-lord-of-the-rings-has-never-been-sexier-than-galadriels-temptation-scene-in-the-rings-of-power/

What A To Do

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A quilted table runner

On my to-do list tomorrow:

  • Pack up the gift for Gloria and Mitch and get it in the mail
  • Ditto Jen
  • Work on other gifts
  • Walk outside if not too wet
  • Add decorations to tree (Christmas is very low key
  • Sort some laundry

On my not-to-do list:

  • Lie around all day playing the damn game

UPDATE:

It’s still not in the mail, because of course I started a second, longer one. Also didn’t get Jen’s in the mai. Did sort some laundry. Did not work on other gifts. Damn game.

My Post-Twitter Post Post

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Last week I cleared the waitlist for Post.News and I must say it’s a pleasant place, although it’s still in beta. I also have a Counter.social login, but I don’t like it and don’t like how the anonymous creator of Counter constantly snarks on how bad Post and Mastodon and the other post-Twittter social media sites are. 

It’s a different vibe and the culture is still shaking out. EM is doing a great job ruining Twitter as a global resource and it’s probably just a matter of time before he gets bored and gets an incentive to go away, but at the moment he’s being Chief Executive Shitlord and directing his ebil meeenions to attack people like Dr Fauci, and also random people that say anything critical about him. Yet another damn narcissist rich baby man.

I had lunch with a friend today who got all in my face about health, fitness and nutrition, and I have other bad habits I’d like to shed in 2023, and one of them is to spend less time with my face in my phone while lying on the couch. So we’ll see how that goes.

There Goes Salt Lake, Bulldozing My Memories Again. / Post.

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The church I attended as a kid is being torn down, the people are now renting space from the Episcopal church down the street. As I’m now Episcopalian, but taking a break from weekly attendance, I’m feeling very off-balance about this.

They sold the property to an apartment developer, no surprise there. Salt Lake is undergoing a housing boom.

My mom served on the board for years; we were deeply involved with youth group, the annual picnic, the annual rummage sale and other events. My school years were the “high point” era, and I knew everyone quoted or given a photo credit in the article. It’s weird seeing those names in print.

Mom would be outraged by the one old stained-glass window being sold “across the divide,” but she’d be pragmatic about getting the best price.

She stopped attending regularly in about 1995, mostly because her friends had passed and she didn’t bond with the newer people and the new pastor. And she cut back on driving, too.

What social life I had in school was because we had a fun youth group; we went on trips and did service projects.

All that is long gone, and soon the building will be gone, too. It’s funny that some of the same people are there, though.

Click to open external link The Salt Lake Tribune As LDS and other Christian congregations shrink, what happens to their empty buildings? The First Congregational Church of Salt Lake City, started in 1865, has been housed in three different buildings. At its height in the 1970s, it had between 350 and 450 members. Now it’s fewer than 100, with average Sunday attendance between 25 and 30. Read the article on www.sltrib.com »
— Read on post.news/article/2IqdXlPy6gxZUanXchNhk17aaLI

Easy Fat Quarter Friendly Gift Bags

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Make reusable gift bags instead of buying gift paper bags on the way to the event and frantically performing Carigami while your spousal/partneric unit drives. More sustainable, but you do need to plan a bit further ahead than “do we have time to stop at Da Jool for a card?”

Fabric gift bags

I made these for my adult nephew for his son, and my adult niece for her daughter. Successfully handed the first one off, then got into Procrastination Mode for the second one, as in “Oh, I want to put more stuff in it before I pack it up and mail it to her down there in WTF Jesusland, IL.”

So it’s still here, and I still don’t have it packed with more stuff. And I’m wondering if she’s in town this weekend, or if I’ll just have to send it priority mail because of course, it’s an 8-day holiday.

But definitely feeling this now, as there are candles in the bag:

Read on Post.news

Cut 2 outer, 2 inner, 2 Craft Fuse or light fusible 10H X 13W. Fuse outer first, then sew. Notch 2” bottom corners.

I used plain white flannel that I had kicking around for the lining to make a nice soft feel, The outer fabric is stiffer due to the fusible interfacing. Sew 3/8” side seams on outer, 1/2” side seams on inner, can choose to do 1/2” or 1/4” on the very bottom seam for both.

Based on a deconstructed paper bag for the proportions and scratch measurements and this tutorial from Handmadiya.com.

I thought about adding some sew-in hook-and-loop fastenings or a button/elastic closure, but in the end I liked how they looked like Southwestern luminaria with a Judaica twist. A friend gave me the fabric, which was by Riley Blake according to the selvage label.