Jun. 25th, 2025

Good News

Jun. 25th, 2025 12:19 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Good news includes all the things which make us happy or otherwise feel good. It can be personal or public. We never know when something wonderful will happen, and when it does, most people want to share it with someone. It's disappointing when nobody is there to appreciate it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our joys and pat each other on the back.

What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today is partly sunny and sweltering.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 6/25/25 -- It's raining, quite vigorously. :D So I won't need to water plants later.

EDIT 6/25/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 6/25/25 -- After it quit raining, I did some more work around the patio. I can still hear thunder around, so it may rain again.

EDIT 6/25/25 -- I sowed the Shithouse Marigold seeds from the Litha ritual in a trough pot and a few other pots around the new picnic table garden. I also did some weeding in the septic garden.

Fireflies are starting to come out. I've heard cicadas singing.

EDIT 6/25/25 -- I went back out to watch the fireflies.

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

Exoplanets

Jun. 25th, 2025 01:00 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Mojave lichen defies death rays—could life thrive on distant exoplanets?

Lichen from the Mojave Desert can survive, and replicate, under levels of extreme solar radiation found on Earth-like planets in other solar systems.
Lichen from the Mojave Desert has stunned scientists by surviving months of lethal UVC radiation, suggesting life could exist on distant planets orbiting volatile stars. The secret? A microscopic “sunscreen” layer that protects their vital cells—even though Earth’s atmosphere already filters out such rays
.

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Crafts

Jun. 25th, 2025 01:07 pm
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Off Center Ceramics will be at art festivals in Oregon.  If that's your locale, watch for the stoneware painted with wildlife.  :D 

Books

Jun. 25th, 2025 01:21 pm
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A Rainbow of Queer Books for Pride 2025: Indigo

HAPPY PRIDE 2025! For Pride this year, we’re changing up our usual rec lists. Instead of doing books with specific identities or themes, we’re focused this time on cover color! Throughout the month of June, we’ll be doing 8 rec lists, each with covers inspired by one of the colors of the original Gilbert Baker Pride Flag. We drew a little additional inspiration from the meaning behind the color and why it was included in the original LGBTQIA+ flag (in this case, indigo = serenity), but we prioritized color over meaning. The contributors to this list are: Shadaras, polls, Shannon, Linnea Peterson, Nina Waters, and Tris Lawrence.
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Latest new exhibits in the LLM-Generated Garbage hall of shame

Featuring Santa Claus and reindeer.

Warning: Do not read with mouth full!

Ceramics

Jun. 25th, 2025 06:12 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
I spotted this video about harvesting, shaping, and firing wild clay. I did that back in high school at Ancient Lifeways Camp. It was a lot of fun to dig and clean the clay, then make things. Our theme was Sumeria, so we made oil lamps (harder than you'd think) and cuneiform quotes. I also made a ceramic goddess figurine. We used a pit fire, which helps keep the temperature more stable. If you have a source of natural clay, this kind of project is well worth trying.
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
How Earth's First, Unkillable Animals Saved the World
Sponges have survived every catastrophe and every mass extinction event that nature has thrown at them. And by being the little, filter-feeding, water-cleaning creatures that they are, sponges may have saved the world.

How Volcanoes Froze the Earth (Twice)
Over 600 million years ago, sheets of ice coated our planet on both land and sea. How did this happen? And most importantly for us, why did the planet eventually thaw again? The evidence for Snowball Earth is written on every continent today.





That's reassuring given the poor life choices of Homo sapiens today.

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