(no subject)
Jan. 1st, 2020 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* "Thousands flee to beach to escape bushfires:" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50952253
* "Protesters Attack U.S. Embassy in Iraq, Chanting ‘Death to America’:" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/world/middleeast/baghdad-protesters-us-embassy.html
* "Hong Kong's protest movement continues into 2020:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/01/asia/hong-kong-new-year-protests-intl-hnk/index.html
* "Bolivia Expels 3 Diplomats in Tiff With Mexico and Spain Over Morales Aides:" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/world/americas/bolivia-mexico-spain-diplomats.html
* "Trump’s lawyer and the Venezuelan president: How Giuliani got involved in back-channel talks with Maduro:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-lawyer-and-the-venezuelan-president-how-giuliani-got-involved-in-back-channel-talks-with-maduro/2019/12/29/289dc6aa-235f-11ea-86f3-3b5019d451db_story.html
* "Man charged after five stabbed at rabbi's home in New York:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/multiple-victims-reportedly-stabbed-rabbi-s-new-york-home-n1108271
* "From Taiwan to Botswana, LGBTQ Equality Made Huge Progress in 2019:" https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/12/30/taiwan-botswana-lgbtq-equality-made-huge-progress-2019
* "The Top LGBTQ Stories of the 2010s:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/2019/12/31/top-lgbtq-stories-2010s#media-gallery-media-18
* "Pro-Trump judicial candidate who claimed gays ‘face eternal damnation’ suspended:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/12/30/pro-trump-judicial-candidate-who-claimed-gays-face-eternal-damnation-suspended/
* "Band cancels gig after transgender guitarist is denied access to women’s toilet:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/12/30/band-cancels-gig-transgender-guitarist-denied-access-womens-toilet/
* "What School Could Be If It Were Designed for Kids With Autism:" https://theatlanticeducation-feed.dreamwidth.org/153779.html
* "Police, victims warn against firing guns on New Year's Eve:" https://apnews.com/863d241a47712981abb75ad12f94b33f
* "The global soda tax experiment:" https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/12/the-global-soda-tax-experiment/
* I'm still dealing with the foot thing, because this normally takes an age to resolve, but today was a more bearable level. The generally feeling crappy thing seems to be pathogen instead of allergen or just a chronic illness thing. Probably.
I did not go out. I did not even try to put togetheer a gathering. I think this was the right choice. As I wrote this, I was setting up the mummer's feed. I've no idea how long I'll manage to stay up, but *fingers crossed.*
* Figure skating Thoughts:
I am rather miffed Alexandra Trusova beat Evgenia Medvedeva at the Rostelecom Cup. Trusova is my least favorite of the new young Senior skaters out of Russia. I'm not against jumps, really I'm not, but allTrusova has is jumps. She skimps everything else and the result is not entertaining for me. Evgenia Medvedeva is one of my all time favorite skaters because she's the complete package and she was really skating well in this event. It concerns me that we're in for a repeat of the Evgeni Plushenko era of skating only on the women's side. If Trusova keeps getting rewarded for skimping spins, choreography, and basic skating skills, she'll never be motivated to improve them and the result will be an unbalancing of the whole field.
The Ladies short programs on the NHK cup were sort of brutal. A lot of them popped, fell, and/or missed requirements in essential places and it was heartbreaking to watch. I felt particularly bad for Maé-Bérénice Méité, who's program I really like and who I've seen do so much better, but really I felt terrible for so many of them.
It was really nice seeing Karen Chen out and about and skating on form again, though.
Hands down Alena Kostornaia is my favorite of the new Russian women's skaters. She really is bringing both the technical and artistic side. Her short program is a pleasure to watch and I remember liking her free in a previous competition. She's got some growing to do still artistically, but she is already half way there, I think and I have great hopes for her blowing us all away near future.
* ...And they've decided to broadcast the Mummer's Parade without sound on Mr. Mummer, while Phil17 has chosen to just have a non clickable screen where the live stream should be. Fuckssake!!!
This is a parade that foregrounds music and dance. *headesk*
Update: Rebooting didn't help, nor did trying various browsers, but it turned out using a different lap top did! I still have the fundamental probem that i can't resize Mr. Mummer and he has helpfully made the picture larger than the unencumbered screen so I lose the dancing feet if I want to see the whole back piece. Phil17 is still down. Sigh.
Update: Got sound back, but it froze just as the comics are starting.
* Mummer Observations, Pt. 1:
Fancies: I thought the commentator was going full sexist on the glorious Medusa entry, but it turned out he was trying to euphemistically explain that they had to attatch the back piece differently because she has breasts without dirrently mentioning the breasts in question. *ahem*
Medusa is hands down my favorite fancy this year but props to the Peacock for going all out on the dancing in a backpiece that heavy. I also loved the knighting, the Rock lobsters, and the high School girls with the elephant.
Wench Brigades:
Oh man that Alice in Wonderland one! And the Sweet Shoppe! My dad used to love the multitiered parasols. It was really nice to see some in the froggie one.
Comics:
Murray: The Jurrasic Meltdown and the knights were the best ones. I really love that they added the drumline a while back. I love that the parade keeps evolving. Props to the group that does animal rescue doing a hound dog theme. I liked the Austin Powers dance battle one, the Roaring 20's one, the Sponge Bob Ocean Trash one. The Firemen Impeachment one had pretty elaborate choreography for a comics brigade.
Good Timers: I really loved the bones one. 2 Street had a really large number of dudes and wenches for a non-wench brigade! The 1969 and Bartman ones were kind of cool.
Landry: I liked the Rocket man Captain's presentation best of the captains. The drag Queens doing the Hollywood walk of fame and the Queen/GoT crossover were my favorite. Okay the kettle band was cool.
I think Landry was the best of the comic clubs as a whole with Murray second and Goodtimers third.
* I napped during the live String bands, caught the replay of the fancies I missed thanks to technical problems, then went to rescue a stranded friend. She had gas money, so that's okay. I visited with her and her cats for a bit, then came home to eat and lung and Mummer. I had written up a bunch of Mummer stuff when Squirrel's cat helpfully erased it all. I'll do my best to reconstruct.
* Mummer Observations, Pt. 2:
String Bands: I had a play by play on the bands before the great cat disaster, but I'll have to summarize the highlights and lowlights. They really, really have an appropriation problem in string bands that makes me wince, but at least everyone got the no black/red/etc. face memo this year.
-I know Jersey is mostly old Mummers reconstituted in to one band after some old ones collapsed, but they really aren't up to the level of the others musically. Lets hope given more time to jell they'll improve.
-South Philadelphia blew me away with the intricacy of their choreography with the backgrounds, props, dancers, and musicians. Their costumes were stunning, and musicianship excellent.
-Fralinger: I'm a sucker for a space theme and this one had lovely musical references to diverse franchises, LED Predator costumes, Baby Yoda, a Giant Xenomorph float, and Storm troopers dancing to the Cantina theme.
-Polish American: This is one of the best sea themes I've seen, with creative use of materials, really lovely costumes, and first rate musicianship.
-Aqua: I'm usually a sucker for horror themes, but they whiffed their music and this one was not well executed.
-Greater Kensington: Really elaborate choreography and music. A well executed witch theme. The broom dancers were a creative idea. Small band, but big sound and back drops.
...And it's 10:30PM west Coast time and all I'm still getting are reruns of the earlier parade where the Fancy Brigades should be. %$&%@!!! Frankly, I'm tired and getting a headache. If they don't sort out the technicals for the fancy brigades by the time I post the dreawidth digest, I'm giving up and going to be. I can try to hand reconstruct off youtube tomorrow maybe.
I keep thinking how much better the parade is than when I was a kid. The production values are geometrically better. The comics are where the string bands were when I was a kid. The String bands are where the fancy brigades were when they were still marching only with live fucking music. The string band music is a hundred times better. As hard as I took it when they first moved the fancy brigades inside, they really are better in there and the quality there is way up. The parade still has a racism/appropriation issue, but it is so much better than it was. Hell it is better this year than it was last year. The only things that are worse are the shrinking of the fancies to a nubbin and the loss of most of the political/social commentary out of the comics. I am glad the parade is evolving.
* "10 Great LGBTQ Novels for Young Adults:" https://www.advocate.com/books/2019/12/31/10-great-lgbtq-novels-young-adults
* "22 LGBTQ Books About Sex, Feminism, and Intersectional Desires:" https://www.advocate.com/books/2019/12/31/22-lgbtq-books-about-sex-feminism-and-intersectional-desires
* Me watching V Wars: Gets attached to a black woman character.
Show: Fridges her.
*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.
* A small, cheap thing to help climate change if you have little money to spare: https://onetreeplanted.org/products/amazon-rainforest-peru
* How to donate to Rainbow Road: https://www.rainbowrailroad.com/donate
* Here are a bunch of state level links to help people in immigrant detention: https://taibhsearachd.tumblr.com/post/186058182962/woundability-this-4th-of-july-celebrate-the
* Angry about the concentration camps on our Southern Border? Here is a list of useful things you can do: https://medium.com/@togetherandfree/feel-helpless-amidst-the-horrific-immigration-news-youre-not-how-you-can-make-difference-today-108dc42de88e
* "More Organizations to Support Helping Kids in Concentration Camps:" https://thisfinecrew.dreamwidth.org/201920.html
* Here is a massive list of things you can do to help refugees inside and outside of the Camps: https://s-leary.tumblr.com/post/185783586806/so-youve-probably-seen-the-post-going-around
* A list of organizations to help you run for office: http://lovingmyselfishard.tumblr.com/post/167330144634/psst-hey
* The Indivisble guide exists to help you organize effective resistance: https://indivisible.org/
* Want to support Christy Smith in the primary for Katie Hill's seat?: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dw_ca25
* Want to get rid of Mitch McConnell? Help Amy McGrath: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/am-website?refcode=website-nav
* Want to get rid of Lindsey Graham? Help Jaime Harrison: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_harrison_fr_q12019_jaime-a?refcode=MS_AD_D-DD_2019.03.08_X_GG_KW__X__eyJjcmVhdGl2ZSI6IkFkZCBEb25hdGlvbiBOb3ciLCJhdWRpZW5jZSI6IkphaW1lSGFycmlzb24ifQ&recurring=TRUE&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn4a_583I5gIVC8RkCh0MowFeEAAYASAAEgIXZfD_BwE
* Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can not protest in person, here are some other options:
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.
This App phones your rep for you: http://takeastance.us/
Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resistbot.io/
* Some RL friends of mine who were barely scraping by just lost one of the part time jobs they collectively hold and it's really fucking things up for them. These are good people, who do so much for others. Want to help? https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-gig-worker-get-through-the-winter/share
* HorrorMux is currently running a Max Mad type thing. Available Archetypes are here. I'm Martyr if you want to find me.: http://horrormu.com/index.php/Available
* Help pay for cat food, litter, meds, medical copays: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com or paypal.me/Gwydion
* If you are interested in helping, right now the Cat thing we need most is:
https://www.chewy.com/wellness-core-signature-selects/dp/147047
The dry food I was going to try (less urgent) is this one: https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-wilderness-flatland/dp/176663
Or possibly this: https://www.chewy.com/instinct-by-natures-variety-limited/dp/44654
* Birthday/Solstice master list: https://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/2108835.html
* "Protesters Attack U.S. Embassy in Iraq, Chanting ‘Death to America’:" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/world/middleeast/baghdad-protesters-us-embassy.html
* "Hong Kong's protest movement continues into 2020:" https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/01/asia/hong-kong-new-year-protests-intl-hnk/index.html
* "Bolivia Expels 3 Diplomats in Tiff With Mexico and Spain Over Morales Aides:" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/world/americas/bolivia-mexico-spain-diplomats.html
* "Trump’s lawyer and the Venezuelan president: How Giuliani got involved in back-channel talks with Maduro:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-lawyer-and-the-venezuelan-president-how-giuliani-got-involved-in-back-channel-talks-with-maduro/2019/12/29/289dc6aa-235f-11ea-86f3-3b5019d451db_story.html
* "Man charged after five stabbed at rabbi's home in New York:" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/multiple-victims-reportedly-stabbed-rabbi-s-new-york-home-n1108271
* "From Taiwan to Botswana, LGBTQ Equality Made Huge Progress in 2019:" https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/12/30/taiwan-botswana-lgbtq-equality-made-huge-progress-2019
* "The Top LGBTQ Stories of the 2010s:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/2019/12/31/top-lgbtq-stories-2010s#media-gallery-media-18
* "Pro-Trump judicial candidate who claimed gays ‘face eternal damnation’ suspended:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/12/30/pro-trump-judicial-candidate-who-claimed-gays-face-eternal-damnation-suspended/
* "Band cancels gig after transgender guitarist is denied access to women’s toilet:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/12/30/band-cancels-gig-transgender-guitarist-denied-access-womens-toilet/
* "What School Could Be If It Were Designed for Kids With Autism:" https://theatlanticeducation-feed.dreamwidth.org/153779.html
* "Police, victims warn against firing guns on New Year's Eve:" https://apnews.com/863d241a47712981abb75ad12f94b33f
* "The global soda tax experiment:" https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/12/the-global-soda-tax-experiment/
* I'm still dealing with the foot thing, because this normally takes an age to resolve, but today was a more bearable level. The generally feeling crappy thing seems to be pathogen instead of allergen or just a chronic illness thing. Probably.
I did not go out. I did not even try to put togetheer a gathering. I think this was the right choice. As I wrote this, I was setting up the mummer's feed. I've no idea how long I'll manage to stay up, but *fingers crossed.*
* Figure skating Thoughts:
I am rather miffed Alexandra Trusova beat Evgenia Medvedeva at the Rostelecom Cup. Trusova is my least favorite of the new young Senior skaters out of Russia. I'm not against jumps, really I'm not, but allTrusova has is jumps. She skimps everything else and the result is not entertaining for me. Evgenia Medvedeva is one of my all time favorite skaters because she's the complete package and she was really skating well in this event. It concerns me that we're in for a repeat of the Evgeni Plushenko era of skating only on the women's side. If Trusova keeps getting rewarded for skimping spins, choreography, and basic skating skills, she'll never be motivated to improve them and the result will be an unbalancing of the whole field.
The Ladies short programs on the NHK cup were sort of brutal. A lot of them popped, fell, and/or missed requirements in essential places and it was heartbreaking to watch. I felt particularly bad for Maé-Bérénice Méité, who's program I really like and who I've seen do so much better, but really I felt terrible for so many of them.
It was really nice seeing Karen Chen out and about and skating on form again, though.
Hands down Alena Kostornaia is my favorite of the new Russian women's skaters. She really is bringing both the technical and artistic side. Her short program is a pleasure to watch and I remember liking her free in a previous competition. She's got some growing to do still artistically, but she is already half way there, I think and I have great hopes for her blowing us all away near future.
* ...And they've decided to broadcast the Mummer's Parade without sound on Mr. Mummer, while Phil17 has chosen to just have a non clickable screen where the live stream should be. Fuckssake!!!
This is a parade that foregrounds music and dance. *headesk*
Update: Rebooting didn't help, nor did trying various browsers, but it turned out using a different lap top did! I still have the fundamental probem that i can't resize Mr. Mummer and he has helpfully made the picture larger than the unencumbered screen so I lose the dancing feet if I want to see the whole back piece. Phil17 is still down. Sigh.
Update: Got sound back, but it froze just as the comics are starting.
* Mummer Observations, Pt. 1:
Fancies: I thought the commentator was going full sexist on the glorious Medusa entry, but it turned out he was trying to euphemistically explain that they had to attatch the back piece differently because she has breasts without dirrently mentioning the breasts in question. *ahem*
Medusa is hands down my favorite fancy this year but props to the Peacock for going all out on the dancing in a backpiece that heavy. I also loved the knighting, the Rock lobsters, and the high School girls with the elephant.
Wench Brigades:
Oh man that Alice in Wonderland one! And the Sweet Shoppe! My dad used to love the multitiered parasols. It was really nice to see some in the froggie one.
Comics:
Murray: The Jurrasic Meltdown and the knights were the best ones. I really love that they added the drumline a while back. I love that the parade keeps evolving. Props to the group that does animal rescue doing a hound dog theme. I liked the Austin Powers dance battle one, the Roaring 20's one, the Sponge Bob Ocean Trash one. The Firemen Impeachment one had pretty elaborate choreography for a comics brigade.
Good Timers: I really loved the bones one. 2 Street had a really large number of dudes and wenches for a non-wench brigade! The 1969 and Bartman ones were kind of cool.
Landry: I liked the Rocket man Captain's presentation best of the captains. The drag Queens doing the Hollywood walk of fame and the Queen/GoT crossover were my favorite. Okay the kettle band was cool.
I think Landry was the best of the comic clubs as a whole with Murray second and Goodtimers third.
* I napped during the live String bands, caught the replay of the fancies I missed thanks to technical problems, then went to rescue a stranded friend. She had gas money, so that's okay. I visited with her and her cats for a bit, then came home to eat and lung and Mummer. I had written up a bunch of Mummer stuff when Squirrel's cat helpfully erased it all. I'll do my best to reconstruct.
* Mummer Observations, Pt. 2:
String Bands: I had a play by play on the bands before the great cat disaster, but I'll have to summarize the highlights and lowlights. They really, really have an appropriation problem in string bands that makes me wince, but at least everyone got the no black/red/etc. face memo this year.
-I know Jersey is mostly old Mummers reconstituted in to one band after some old ones collapsed, but they really aren't up to the level of the others musically. Lets hope given more time to jell they'll improve.
-South Philadelphia blew me away with the intricacy of their choreography with the backgrounds, props, dancers, and musicians. Their costumes were stunning, and musicianship excellent.
-Fralinger: I'm a sucker for a space theme and this one had lovely musical references to diverse franchises, LED Predator costumes, Baby Yoda, a Giant Xenomorph float, and Storm troopers dancing to the Cantina theme.
-Polish American: This is one of the best sea themes I've seen, with creative use of materials, really lovely costumes, and first rate musicianship.
-Aqua: I'm usually a sucker for horror themes, but they whiffed their music and this one was not well executed.
-Greater Kensington: Really elaborate choreography and music. A well executed witch theme. The broom dancers were a creative idea. Small band, but big sound and back drops.
...And it's 10:30PM west Coast time and all I'm still getting are reruns of the earlier parade where the Fancy Brigades should be. %$&%@!!! Frankly, I'm tired and getting a headache. If they don't sort out the technicals for the fancy brigades by the time I post the dreawidth digest, I'm giving up and going to be. I can try to hand reconstruct off youtube tomorrow maybe.
I keep thinking how much better the parade is than when I was a kid. The production values are geometrically better. The comics are where the string bands were when I was a kid. The String bands are where the fancy brigades were when they were still marching only with live fucking music. The string band music is a hundred times better. As hard as I took it when they first moved the fancy brigades inside, they really are better in there and the quality there is way up. The parade still has a racism/appropriation issue, but it is so much better than it was. Hell it is better this year than it was last year. The only things that are worse are the shrinking of the fancies to a nubbin and the loss of most of the political/social commentary out of the comics. I am glad the parade is evolving.
* "10 Great LGBTQ Novels for Young Adults:" https://www.advocate.com/books/2019/12/31/10-great-lgbtq-novels-young-adults
* "22 LGBTQ Books About Sex, Feminism, and Intersectional Desires:" https://www.advocate.com/books/2019/12/31/22-lgbtq-books-about-sex-feminism-and-intersectional-desires
* Me watching V Wars: Gets attached to a black woman character.
Show: Fridges her.
*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.
* A small, cheap thing to help climate change if you have little money to spare: https://onetreeplanted.org/products/amazon-rainforest-peru
* How to donate to Rainbow Road: https://www.rainbowrailroad.com/donate
* Here are a bunch of state level links to help people in immigrant detention: https://taibhsearachd.tumblr.com/post/186058182962/woundability-this-4th-of-july-celebrate-the
* Angry about the concentration camps on our Southern Border? Here is a list of useful things you can do: https://medium.com/@togetherandfree/feel-helpless-amidst-the-horrific-immigration-news-youre-not-how-you-can-make-difference-today-108dc42de88e
* "More Organizations to Support Helping Kids in Concentration Camps:" https://thisfinecrew.dreamwidth.org/201920.html
* Here is a massive list of things you can do to help refugees inside and outside of the Camps: https://s-leary.tumblr.com/post/185783586806/so-youve-probably-seen-the-post-going-around
* A list of organizations to help you run for office: http://lovingmyselfishard.tumblr.com/post/167330144634/psst-hey
* The Indivisble guide exists to help you organize effective resistance: https://indivisible.org/
* Want to support Christy Smith in the primary for Katie Hill's seat?: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dw_ca25
* Want to get rid of Mitch McConnell? Help Amy McGrath: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/am-website?refcode=website-nav
* Want to get rid of Lindsey Graham? Help Jaime Harrison: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_harrison_fr_q12019_jaime-a?refcode=MS_AD_D-DD_2019.03.08_X_GG_KW__X__eyJjcmVhdGl2ZSI6IkFkZCBEb25hdGlvbiBOb3ciLCJhdWRpZW5jZSI6IkphaW1lSGFycmlzb24ifQ&recurring=TRUE&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn4a_583I5gIVC8RkCh0MowFeEAAYASAAEgIXZfD_BwE
* Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can not protest in person, here are some other options:
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.
This App phones your rep for you: http://takeastance.us/
Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resistbot.io/
* Some RL friends of mine who were barely scraping by just lost one of the part time jobs they collectively hold and it's really fucking things up for them. These are good people, who do so much for others. Want to help? https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-gig-worker-get-through-the-winter/share
* HorrorMux is currently running a Max Mad type thing. Available Archetypes are here. I'm Martyr if you want to find me.: http://horrormu.com/index.php/Available
* Help pay for cat food, litter, meds, medical copays: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com or paypal.me/Gwydion
* If you are interested in helping, right now the Cat thing we need most is:
https://www.chewy.com/wellness-core-signature-selects/dp/147047
The dry food I was going to try (less urgent) is this one: https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-wilderness-flatland/dp/176663
Or possibly this: https://www.chewy.com/instinct-by-natures-variety-limited/dp/44654
* Birthday/Solstice master list: https://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/2108835.html