Recently updated blogs

In the past few years, I’ve put together a series on the first three published short fictions by female authors who are completely new to me or whose most famous SF novels fall mostly outside the post-WWII to mid-1980s focus of my reading adventures. Today I’ve selected the first four stories by an author I’ve only recently started to read–Leigh Kennedy (1951-). I’d previously reviewed “Helen, Whose Face Launched Twenty-Eight …

Hope you had a blessed Sunday! Time for another Catholic Meme Monday. Did you watch the big fight? On a scale of one to ten how over-hyped do you think it was? Let’s get down to business! I was today year’s old when I discovered there was a specific feast for Carmel saints. And all my theology books when I bring home new theology books. Gotta sneak in real quick… …

We sat in the belly or the shadows of our Atlantean gods. Their stories had been lost to time, yet we knew we could still uncover them. Using surrational methods we channeled their myths, we collected and synthesized them. What follows is the result of our search. PEACHTREE CENTER STATION Before the gods was a time of blackest void. And all was of the primal heart rock then, and all …

In October I attended the Fantastic Futures conference in Canberra. Fantastic Futures is organised by AI4LAM, and brings together people from archives, libraries and museums to talk about how they are, or could be, using machine learning and other "AI" tools in their work. When I arrived – indeed even when I booked to attend – I was feeling pretty jaded with AI. It has, of course, been the unavoidable …

I’ve written the second in a series of six posts that will be coming out with the Streit Council, on the problem of economic integration without political union. There’s no paywall. You can read it here: https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/why-federalism-creating-the-cataracts

Starring Felicity Kyle Napuli, Angeli Bayani, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, James Mavie Estrella, Beauty Gonzalez and Shion Hayakawa. Written and directed by Kenneth Dagatan. Produced by Bianca Balbuena, Stefano Centini and Junxiang Huang Epicmedia. Do not trust this ‘fairy’! During the Second World War in the Japanese-occupied Philippines, a well-off merchant, who is accused of hiding a stash of gold, decides to seek help, leaving his wife, daughter and son to fend …

At work I've been putting together a plan for running an accessibility champions network to share with senior leaders. There's a fair amount of activity across all the teams I'm working with currently, that's becoming somewhat difficult to keep track of for various reasons, inconsistent communication approaches being one. On Thursday I attended Techshare Pro conference hosted by HSBC in Canary Wharf. Rather more corporate than what I'm used to …

Hello everyone! I apologize again for my lack of recent posts. I am still devoting most of my available writing time to working on my novel, which is slowly, but surely, progressing. I am no longer confident that I will have a complete draft by the end of 2024 due to the amount of revising I have been doing, but I am still expecting to have a complete draft by …

July 1959 Matter of confession In the darkness… Lord, my God, who am I that You should forsake me? The child of your love—and now become as the most hated one—the one You have thrown away as unwanted—unloved. I call, I cling, I want—and there is no One to answer—no One on Whom I can cling—no, No One.—Alone. The darkness is so dark—and I am alone.—Unwanted, forsaken.—The loneliness of the …

As a dangerous and evil man drives people away from Xitter, many stories are talking up Bluesky as the destination for the diaspora. This piece explains why I kind of like Bluesky but, for the moment, have no intention of moving my online social life away from the Fediverse. (By “Fediverse” I mean the social network built around the ActivityPub protocol, which for most people means Mastodon.) If we’re gonna …

“The Living Mountain”, Nan Shepherd

Chikuzenni is a traditional Japanese dish that is both hearty and flavorful. This stew-like dish features a healthy mix of vegetables and chicken simmered in a savory shiitake dashi broth. The colorful medley of ingredients and the rich and comforting flavors makes it a go-to celebration dish for new year’s day in Japan. It’s also ... The post Chikuzenni ( Japanese Chicken & Vegetable Stew) appeared first on Chopstick Chronicles.

Here are our hand-selected favorites from eBay for this week, plus a heads-up on recommended sales. If you’re a member of the Inside Track, log in with your CrateJoy username and password. If you’re not a member, you can join now for just $5 a month. You’ll get access to one of these members-only lists every week, and your membership supports Put This On! The post Inside Track: November 17th …

Dismissing gives me a quick little lift. “That guy is an idiot!” “That place sucks!” There. Now I feel superior. Now I don’t have to think about it. I don’t even need first-hand experience. I can just echo any complaint I’ve heard. I’ve done this with restaurants, religions, political ideologies, and entire countries with millions of people. Pffft. Dismissed! It works best if done publicly, to signal my status. “Look …

For our wedding anniversary last year (30 years!), Fiona gave me the very wonderful Lego 21320 kit, Dinosaur Fossils, which builds into impressive skeletons of Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops and Pteranodon. This is a truly great kit and I’d encourage anyone to go out and find one. But you know what’s even better that Lego Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops and Pteranodon? Lego Giraffatitan. This is not a kit you can buy, but a rebuild …