Recently updated blogs

by Cláudio Alves As in real life, Jack Nicholson takes a Best Supporting Actor prize during the 1980s. But not for TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, however. November is coming to an end and so is our 80s throwback celebration. That means I have to wrap-up these alternative Oscars posts. After sharing personal ballots for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, it’s time for the other acting categories, starting with the thespians …

The most common entry point for Grateful Dead listeners is the acoustic folkie material, especially “Uncle John’s Band”. That makes sense; the song is fun, memorable, and relatively accessible. It seems like it would make a good campfire singalong. But then you get in there to try to learn it, and the song turns out to be extremely odd. Like a lot of Dead tunes! This excellent episode of the …

Anyone who grew up in England and who is of a certain age will remember the children’s TV series Bodger & Badger. The latter was rather fond of mashed potato, I seem to remember. The series came to mind after I prompted GPT-4o to come up with an image “based on our conversations… using an appropriate illustration style.” It came up with this monstrosity, complete with reference to DIGITAL BODGES: …

Well it didn't take quite as long as most of us would have imagined, but the inevitable has happened. Carsberg Marstons Brewing has decided, after announcing the closure of Banks's Brewery and saying that it would not result in a loss of brands - also known as someone's beloved beers - that they are discontinuing no less than eight cask beers and three others. As Pub Curmudgeon remarked, "it might …

Some bullshit Google app is now rewriting web pages and injecting links back to Google's own ad-stuffed pages.

Unwed women in China’s Canton Delta found autonomy and sisterhood in gupouks, innovative communal homes that emerged in tandem with the industrialization of silk-making. Read on Places Journal

From Derek Powazek, from over on Bluesky: If you want to own your name and everything you post under it in a way nobody can take away from you, register a domain and start uploading html. If you post to someone else’s social media thing, you are playing on someone else’s server, and they always hold the keys. Yes, even here Amen. Sign my Guestbook | Contact Me | Book …

Compiling Compile’s Creations Developer: Compile Publisher: Compile Release Date: May 5th, 1996 (via Disc Station Vol. 10) Available On: PC-98 Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up In the 80s and 90s, there was an ol’ proverb you’d hear every so often: “In life, three things are certain: death, taxes, and Compile putting out more shoot ‘em ups”. I just made that up, but it feels like something that should be true, both …

How doth our Hollyhocks grow? Of all the plants in our garden the Hollyhocks are the most striking. This one is still flowering in late November. And it withstood Storm Bert! Quote of the Day ”Dystopias may sometimes be grimly funny—but rarely from the inside.“ Henry Farrell Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Mozart | Laudate Dominum, KV 339 | Patricia Janečková Link Long Read of the Day The …

I’ve been playing a little guitar again, after not being inspired for a while. Jag har spelat lite gitarr igen, efter att jag inte blivit inspirerad på en tag.

Late last year I got back into miniature painting, something I hadn’t done since I was in college. I was living on my own in the middle of nowhere for most of 2024, and painting miniatures was a nice way to spend time, especially when I was snowed in. I even made a few YouTube videos about painting.Here’s everything I painted in 2024, along with a few notes on the …

Remember when Mistborn: House War made the uncomfortable decision to cast its players as the eugenicist oppressors of Brandon Sanderson’s much-loved fantasy series? Oh, you don’t. Well, I do, and that’s the first thing John D. Clair’s Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game has going for it. This time around, you’re an actual mistborn, a metal-guzzling, glass-dagger-stabbing, high-flying superhero in a goofy tassled cape. That’s all good stuff, but the real draw …

I think the My New Character/Chill Guy meme is the fastest I’ve turned on a meme. Indifference to loathing in days flat.

In the past week I had two people separately tell me what they thought the PSF Conduct WG did and both were wrong (and incidentally in the same way). As such, I wanted to clarify what exactly the WG does for people in case others also misunderstand what the group does.⚠️I am a member of the PSF Conduct WG (whose membership you can see by checking the charter), and have …

I just spent four days in Kansas City with a Kia EV6 rental car. It's something I've always wanted to drive and frequently considered as my next daily driver someday.Upfront, I want to state that I don't have any reflexive disgust for Kia that a lot of people I know do. They remember early Kias that hit American shores in the early 2000s and how cheaply made and unreliable they …