She’s amazing.

a soft looking and somewhat worn felt swan with a big beak and trailing feathers

thinking about this 1500 year old plush swan made of reindeer wool

Iris DeMent - No Time To Cry YouTube video by hmc1410

I saw her perform live once and she asked “which song now?”

I said this one and she turned to me, very serious, and said: “far too sad. Not tonight.”

youtu.be/AdmFAmATWZo?...

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt."
April 21, 1838, birthday of Scottish-American naturalist, explorer, writer and conservationist John Muir
...

Also, fuck cancer.

Lifting a glass to loved ones who fought like hell and still died too young.

Life is too short. Kiss your pets; take that trip; embrace one another until life forces you to stop.

"The wages of dying is love"
— Galway Kinnell

Large white cat under the covers lies on his human

One vote for ‘Hooman stay in bed.’

could making a serial rapist the figurehead of the modern right have pushed women left?

no, it's the hysterical broads who went crazy

I’m reading M Gessen’s biography of Putin now and part of what makes it so depressing is the memory of the wild surge of hope when the walls came down.

Oh yes, pensions.

Every single article I read about Madonna at Coachella mentioned that she’s 67. Not one article I read about Nine Inch Nails at Coachella mentioned that Trent’s 60.
ISN’T THAT WEIRD?
It’s almost as if everything Madonna has ever said about misogyny is true, or something. 🤷‍♂️

unsurprising, but also depressing

Misericords provided some support for perching choristers; they could take the weight off their feet during long services but still look like they were standing, hence 'misericordia' from the Latin for mercy. It is thought that this carving was made by Claes de Bruyn, a master woodcarver working in the Southern Netherlands.

This barn owl decorates an oaken misericord, a little ledge found on the underside of hinged seats in choir stalls. Providing relief for religious rumps, they were often carved with impious figures. This carving is from Belgium c. 1441-1445 #OwlishMonday #medievalsky

I thought it would be a good follow up to the book I just finished on the Russian Revolution. And in a way it is. Just so depressing-- all those hopes.

Is it worth reading?

idk exactly why this book on Putin is so depressing. It isn't the writing. M Gessen is a good writer.

It's just somehow the exercise of hearing about a terrible person whose biography is largely lies who goes on to do so much damage is life-sucking.

I'm going to finish it, but...

#booksky 💙📚

I have spent hours writing a presentation which doesn't quite work. Going to call it a night and hope the muse of business strikes me in the morning.

Yes. I’ve cracked ribs twice and it is distinctly unfun

My insurance has finally approved the repairs to my kitchen from the flood. That only took four months...

Since this has blown up, the piece is Seduction (2021) by Koen Vanmechelen

White cat laying tummy up on a bed with a gray fleecy. He has 1 paw outstretched and is absolutely adorable.

Stretchies feel so gud!

WATCH: Researchers at Stanford University modeled how many people could die or be disabled in 25 years if vaccines for polio, measles, rubella or diphtheria were no longer available.

Why Japan has such good railways - Works in Progress Magazine Japan's railways are the finest in the world. Other countries can copy its formula.

Good read for my urbanist peeps out there:

It really is. So lucky to live close.

I keep looking for it in thrift stores, and have never found it. It would be funny if I've been wearing it around my neck for 12 years.

A friend will lend me her black light later in the week. It will be really cool if they're uranium glass.

I won't get rich if I sell the necklace, but it's apparently worth a good bit more than I paid. Which is kind of nice. And there's a story to the brothers, which is even nicer.

3/3

"Without black light, I can't be sure," she said. "But I'm willing to bet those green beads are uranium glass and that they were likely designed by the Neiger brothers. Very nice piece."

I thanked her and went on to the exhibit. On the way home I looked the name up. And I think she's right.

2/3

Today at the museum I wore a string of old beads I bought in Hong Kong-- all I really knew was they were glass. I'd had them restrung because the old string was so rotten. I'd spent about 10$ on them plus the restring.

A woman in the bathroom asked me if I knew what I was wearing. I said 'no'

1/X

I'm reading M Gessen's biography of Putin right now, and the best word I can find for it is 'disheartening'.

#booksky 💙📚

A statue of a kneeling human with a Buffalo head in a crowded art gallery

Metamorphosis exhibit at the Rijksmuseum worth fighting the crowds.