Twitter Thread

God, the Devil, and Franklin Graham. 

Do not read with mouth full.

The Well-Man

A medieval saga told of a man thrown in a well. Scientists found him.

A team of researchers found the remains of the "Well-man" from an 800-year-old Norse saga and used ancient DNA analysis to reconstruct who he was.
[---8<---]
To be clear, the dead guy in the well was not a major figure in the annals of medieval Norwegian history. He gets a single line: "They cast a dead man into a well, and then filled it up with stones."


A historic form of germ warfare, in case you're curious, dropping a dead body (usually animal) into a water supply to contaminate it. Closely related to lobbing bodies of plague victims over the castle walls. In both cases, it makes the territory essentially unlivable.

Philosophical Questions: Improvement

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Are people ethically obligated to improve themselves?


No. What you do with your own life, learning, body, etc. is your free choice. It is both ethical and advisable to improve yourself, but you don't have to. Maybe you're happy the way you are, maybe you don't have the resources for self-improvement, whatever. Don't should on yourself.

Note that this is a general parameter. Some ethical systems may place additional requirements on people who choose to follow them -- in which case, this comes under "choosing to improve yourself."

The House of Silk

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz is a new Sherlock Holmes novel, very much in the style of the original ones.

Poetry Fishbowl Report for October 15, 2024

The Bonus Fishbowl theme was "Quixotic Ideas." I wrote from 1:45 PM to 2:15 AM, so about 10 hours 30 minutes, accounting for breaks. I wrote 3 poems in A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows while waiting for prompts to arrive, then 4 poems in Quixotic Ideas, all on Tuesday. \o/ That doesn't happen much anymore!

Participation was low, with 5 comments on LiveJournal and another 13 on Dreamwidth. A total of 5 people sent prompts.


Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the October 15, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Begin in Chaos"
"Between Childhood and Adulthood"
"Funkenzwangvorstellung"
"Gobo"
"Harmonoia"
"The Key to Unlocking the World"
"Not Just Shopping, But an Adventure"


Buy some poetry!
The October 15 Bonus Fishbowl has sold out! \o/ Thank you all for your support. I do still have "The Assumed Male Ear" ($15) in Quixotic Ideas if you want more of this series. Also, there are still unsold poems from the October 1, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl.

This session's donors include: rix_scaedu, fuzzyred, and janetmiles. All sponsored poems from this fishbowl have been posted.


The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

Vocabulary: Neuroprivilege vs. Neuroppression

Recently I posted about self-improvement, and arlie commented about how it is often forced on people.  In my reply, I used two words that just popped into my head as I was typing: neuroprivileged and neuroppressed.  It's not about what you can or can't do.  It's not about being "divergent" from the "typical."  It's about whether society likes  the kind of person you are and the brain you have, or disdains you because you're not what they wanted.  People with a popular kind of brain and personality are neuroprivileged -- tools and processes are designed with their needs or preferences in mind, they are welcomed into activities, and they are praised for being "good."  People with an unpopular kind of brain and personality are neuroppressed -- tools and processes are rarely if ever designed for them, and those designed for others often harm them (rather like left-handed people suffering more accidents in a right-biased world), they are shut out of activities by force or self-preservation, and they are constantly told how "bad" they are.

You're not good; you're privileged.  You're not bad; you're oppressed.

Feel free to use these terms if you find them helpful.

Birdfeeding

Today is sunny and cooler, a beautiful fall day.

I haven't fed the birds yet. I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches. There was a goldfinch on the thistle feeder.

I started planting a bag of 25 Blue Jubilee Dwarf Iris Mixture, putting about half of them in front of the log garden in the house yard.

EDIT 10/26/24 -- I planted 5 dwarf irises in the amethyst garden, and the rest along the front of the tulip bed.

I've heard a tufted titmouse but didn't see it.

EDIT 10/26/24 -- I fed the birds.  I've seen a male cardinal.

I put out water for the birds and watered a few plants.  Honeybees are at the watering stations again.

EDIT 10/26/24 -- I planted 12 daffodils, half plain and half mixed, around one of the seedlings in the savanna.

EDIT 10/26/24 -- I watered the patio plants, picnic table, septic garden, amethyst garden, maple garden, and house yard plants.

EDIT 10/26/24 -- I watered the savanna seedlings, prairie notch, white garden, telephone pole garden, and tulip bed.

I heard a woodpecker drumming, looked around, and spotted a downy woodpecker high up a tree over the driveway.  :D

EDIT 10/26/24 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I watered the prairie notch a second time.

I gathered seeds from the northern sea oats and sprinkled them along the same prairie strip as the little bluestem.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

Poem: "The White Feather"

Based on an audience poll, this is the free epic for the October 1, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl reaching its $200 goal. It is spillover from the July 2024 crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from see_also_friend. It also fills the "Trouble" square in my 7-1-24 card for the Games and Entertainment Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the series Peculiar Obligations.

( Read more... )