Charisma

Aug. 30th, 2025 08:58 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
Charisma is such an interesting thing. I rarely run into it but, man, when I do... Jeff Jackson (the attorney general of North Carolina) has it. He posts videos online that force you to watch to the end. It's not so much what he's saying but the way he says it. His manner, his eyes.

I saw it again this morning. Maria has lived here for a long time. I know her to see her but we've never met. She's not very mobile. Her son, Chris, lives in Atlanta and comes about twice a year. He usually plays volleyball with us and is great fun to have in the game. This morning, mid-game, he showed up pool side to say hi. He is here this time because his mother is dying - 2 or 3 days. There were 8 of us in the pool at the time. He squatted down and explained the situation. I was on the other side of the pool so ended up in the back of the pack. So I watched and it was fascinating. He doesn't really know these people. And, yet, he spoke so kindly and clearly and patiently and answered all the questions and I'll bet you every single person thought he was talking directly to them. I sure did. Doesn't help that he's very pretty. I don't know what he does for a living but I'll bet he's spectacular at it. Really interesting. I am sure sorry he won't be playing volleyball with us ever again.

My Apple+ and Masterpiece subscriptions are up, so it's time for another month or so of Netflix. I have accumulated a lot of Nexflix titles I wanted to see so it was time. And, then, I discovered another round of British Bake off is starting soon! So okdokey! Last night I watched the first few episodes of a show that I didn't know anything about. I have no idea how it even got on my list. BUT it's fun. Leanne. I think there are 12 or more 30 minute episodes and it has a nice cast and some great lines. I literally laughed out loud more than a few times.

I need cucumbers and peanut butter so I might venture out today. The dining room is serving some fabulous lamb chops this week and some very good scalloped potatoes but their salads kind of suck. So I need something to go with.

Dick made meatloaf earlier in the week. He came down yesterday just as I was, out of desperation and poor planning, getting ready to have another peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. He wanted some stuff printed and copied and as he was leaving he said "If you want some cold meatloaf for a sandwich, come on down." Honestly, it was probably not the best meatloaf when it was hot but damn that was a fabulous sandwich. And I have enough for a repeat today. I told him now that he knows the price mi printer es su printer.

Time to get dressed for Elbow coffee.

A new take on old artworks...

Aug. 30th, 2025 03:23 pm
kazzy_cee: Art picture (art)
[personal profile] kazzy_cee
On Thursday, I visited The Wallace Collection in London to see their exhibition, Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur.

Sir Grayson Perry is an English artist who has always challenged the 'prejudices, fashions and foibles' of the art world. He works in ceramics, paint, needlework, tapestry and pencil. He identifies as a transvestite, frequently appearing as his alter-ego 'Claire' in public (who also features in his artwork along with childhood teddy bear Alan Measles). Married to a well-known author and psychiatrist (Phillipa Perry), he also looks at the psychology behind art.

For this exhibition, he created a character, Shirley Smith. I love how he explains the concept behind the exhibition here (it's a couple of minutes long, but it gives you a real flavour of what he set out to achieve in the exhibition). Also, I love Sir Grayson Perry - he's bonkers, but he has a very interesting 'take' on art which is always worth listening to.

Under the cut for photos of the artwork from the Wallace Collection, which was displayed alongside the new artwork by both Sir Grayson Perry (and 'Shirley Smith' *wink*).
Read more... )

A very eclectic selection of items inspired by a whole Collection of things - it was an interesting exhibition and worth visiting.
shadowkat: (Default)
[personal profile] shadowkat
Lovely day, almost spoiled by annoying request by super. I have to stay home all day on Tuesday, in order for the building inspector to do a 10-15 lead paint test in my apartment.

This is the aggravating text thread from super, who is Polish, and fluent in Russian but not really English. (Honestly, I feel at times that I'm living in a foreign country when I'm in NYC.)
it may be humorous...in an absurdist theater sort of way. )

I basically gave up. I don't know why I'm annoyed that I have to stay home on Tuesday - when I do that on a lot of weekends? Although I could use the time to clean out my fridge or closet?

***

I took a lovely long walk after I got my hair done, with lots of photos to share. But too many for one post? Maybe I'll split them up among various posts.

And accomplished a lot - usually when I intend on going shopping, I can't find a thing? This round, I didn't really intend on finding all that much - and scored.

Sixteen Mills Bakery had been highly recommended to me by various folks, but alas, it's on Union and 3rd Avenue, which is a ways and not convenient to get to from my home. Read more... )

Afterwards, I headed up to 4th Avenue and walked towards The Old Stone House Museum and Washington Park - I'd never been, and saw that it was on the way back to the subway on 4th Avenue. But, you have to walk halfway up to fifth avenue to get to it, since Washington playing fields and park is in front of it. (This is a fake grass field for kids to play soccer and various sports on - it leads up to the Old Stone House Museum, with its gardens.) This is another post - because I went inside, took photos, and outside and took photos. And there's no room for it in this one. Also I have to go to bed - because I got a Dental appointment tomorrow morning. (I also went to a flower store - got a container for paint brushes, and a shoe store - got shoes, and home.) Show those in another post as well. It was a total of 2-3 miles altogether.

So, to be continued?

Here's a photo from my walk.

double_dutchess: (Sunnydale Herald)
[personal profile] double_dutchess posting in [community profile] su_herald
Sunny: So, where did you learn to fight all bad-ass like that?
Connor: In Quor-toth.
Sunny: Quor-toth? That's in Mexico, right?

~~A New World~~


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Aug. 29th, 2025 10:37 pm
badfalcon: (Daniel Jackson What?)
[personal profile] badfalcon
 I’ve been thinking (dangerous, I know) about the whole concept of “having a type.” People will ask you what your type is and expect, like, tall, dark, and handsome or short girls with tattoos or something quantifiable in the visible spectrum.

I keep saying I don’t really have a physical type, and that’s mostly true, but then I remember that I am extremely predictable when presented with:

  • boobs (yes, thank you. approved)
  • arms/shoulders/hands (the holy trinity, sculpted by the gods, perfect for hugs, holding, etc.)
  • and a cute smile with dimples (instant death, funerals on Tuesday.)

but honestly? my real type, the one that has haunted me across fandom after fandom like some eldritch repetition compulsion, is not about looks. it’s about vibe. it’s about the socially awkward nerd/geek archetype.

like:

  • the stammering genius who can calculate orbital trajectories but cannot flirt to save their life.
  • the bookish disaster whose entire love language is handing you lore.
  • the character who absolutely panics when someone sits too close to them but will recite a 40-minute lecture on obscure historical trivia if you so much as make eye contact.
  •  the ones who have arms, yes (thank you again), but also the emotional range of “confused owl who has never been in public before.”
so like, the ur-text for this type, the primordial soup from which all my future attractions would crawl out, was Willow Rosenberg. tiny hacker witch, babbling her way through sentences, nerdy sweaters, devastating magical power, zero chill when faced with a cute girl. that’s the blueprint right there.

and then it just… kept happening.

  • Sam Carter (Stargate SG-1): astrophysicist, genius, blows up suns in her free time, still somehow flustered when someone gets personal.
  • Daniel Jackson (also Stargate): the man who will translate a dead language on the fly but forgets how to hold a conversation with a living person. glasses, floppy hair, emotionally constipated: chef’s kiss.
  • Penelope Garcia (Criminal Minds): maximalist hacker chaos gremlin, dresses like she’s powered by rainbows, says the most unhinged things with absolute sincerity.
  • Abby Sciuto (NCIS): goth lab queen, talks a mile a minute about forensics, deeply earnest under the eyeliner. if she doesn’t count she should.

and it spirals out from there. every fandom has one. the genius who trips over their own words, the hacker who overshares, the scholar who forgets to eat, the witch whose spellbook is better organized than their life.

yes, I like boobs. yes, shoulders/hands/arms are my eternal weakness. yes, dimples will ruin me every time.
but the real through-line? the thing that never changes?
give me the socially awkward nerd archetype and I will imprint like a baby duck.

(and then, as I said on Tumblr
#yes i have a type your honour #and it’s willow rosenberg with different hats #sam carter blew up a sun and my heart #daniel jackson tripped over his own shoelaces and i imprinted #penelope garcia maximalist chaos gremlin supreme #abby sciuto forensic goth princess #nerds my beloved #boobs are great but have you considered lore #dimples are fatal shoulders are eternal #socially awkward archetype continuum #from hacker witches to stargates to crime labs to the atp tour #tennis fandom dont look at me #actually do look at me #yes this is about jannik #gangly apologetic owl boy who calculates everything #sports but make it nerdy #my narrative gravitational pull remains undefeated)

Fannish50 #26: NCT 127

Aug. 29th, 2025 02:36 pm
andersenmom: SungJong winking (WINK!)
[personal profile] andersenmom
I like VERY few songs by NCT (WayV is an exception), and there are maybe two by 127 in that few songs. 127 debuted in 2016, the lineup changing (as far as I can tell, they didn't ever seem to have a steady one).

#26 )

The feet knew

Aug. 29th, 2025 10:52 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
I've only been in a few orthopedic shoe stores but every one of them was WEIRD. This one was a little less weird except. There was a big yellow piece of paper taped to the front door that said YOU MUST SIGN IN. It was curling at the sides like it had been there forever. One step into the store there is another yellow sign repeating the demand and explaining it was because they were short staffed. I am so so so tired of hearing how everyone is so short staffed. Hire more people, people!!

Anyway, the kid who waited on me was about a 5 out of 10. But, he was a solid 5 and with attitude counseling, he could be an 8 or 9. But since they don't know how to hire people... I digress.

He shouted at me as I was doing the required sign in 'You don't have to sign in!' OK WTF?

It was a rocky start.

He listened, he measured, he recommended and his recommends were pretty spot on. I tried on about 4 pair and 3 of them were almost acceptable. I was hopeful. And then he brought out a pair of David Tate's (Evita) and put them on and before I even stood up I knew... Winner Winner chicken dinner.

I tried on more. Then I tried on a different size of the winner but, nope, perfect. Seriously my feet were just giddy. I told him I'd wear them out. He tried to put the shoes I'd worn in into the box and I said nope, I'd carry them. 'All sales final without the box! Also if you wear them outside.' You ain't gettin' these back, dude. Quit trying.

But he did have the last word... As I got out of the car at home and walked to the garage door, I kept hearing this noise. I looked down and that rascal had let me walk out with the tag still on!! So glad I didn't go shopping or a walking tour.

PXL_20250829_174257260

But, I have such happy feet.

(no subject)

Aug. 29th, 2025 07:41 pm
angrboda: Viking style dragon head finial against a blue sky (Default)
[personal profile] angrboda
Husband made fried halloumi with mashed potatoes, French beans and parsley sauce.

I am. So full.

what the????

Aug. 29th, 2025 09:10 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
I got dressed and brushed my teeth and reached for my pills and discovered I had not taken them on Wednesday OR Thursday!! I was sneezing all day yesterday and thinking the allergy pills had quit on me again. I sometimes forget a day every couple of months but never two!

If I die today, you'll know why.

Off to buy shoes in case I don't die today.

What's the plan, Stan?

Aug. 29th, 2025 07:36 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
This will not be an entry about my new phone BUT the first couple of paragraphs will be. The good news is... I love it. It's got a lot of updated tweaks and tricks that I didn't expect and are hard to describe in a meaningful way. But outside of the fact that it is not cracked like my old one, it's even way better so I'm delighted.

BUT... yep, there is a but. Audible. This has happened before to me more than once. I do not remember what fixed it other than maybe Audible did an upgrade. Unless you have the audible app open, the book stops every 2 or 3 minutes. It resumes again when you go back to the app but seriously. I think Audible hates Pixels. Reddit does back me up with this ongoing issue. Every year there is at least one, maybe two threads about the problem. This morning I started this year's by linking to last year's and saying my new Pixel 10 had the same problem and I'd tried all the tweaks in the linked thread. I got a fast response asking what OS and what version of Audible. Now... new Pixel 10 - what the fuck os and version do you think I might have?????

I am considering a divorce from Audible. My annual membership renews in September. I have no more credits to spend. Maybe this is a good time to call 20 years a good run. Libby gives me lots of books. I changed my membership to monthly for the time being. If they fix the problem, I'll likely re-up. If not, then, nope.

But, speaking of customer experience... Bonny went to Fred Meyer on Wednesday. She wanted to find some step in sneakers. And she found the perfect pair of Skechers but they did not have her size. She found a Fred Meyer person and asked if there were more in the back or a different store. She said English wasn't his first language but she finally understood that they did not have more and would not because it was an older style. She took a photo of it and mentioned to him she'd see if she could find it on Amazon. He asked for her phone, she unlocked it and when to the Amazon app. He found the shoes on Amazon in her size and asked 'buy?' and she said YES! And he did. And yesterday afternoon she discovered they had been delivered to her apartment and they were perfect. She was so delighted. And so in love with that Fred Meyer guy. And Amazon. I think she's only ordered from Amazon about twice in her life. It was pretty hilarious.

Today I think I'm going over to that shoe store the podiatrist recommended. I looked online. They don't have many non-ugly shoes but they do have a few pair. So I'll go give them a shot.

And maybe do laundry. Baseball isn't until 4. Both my teams play at the same time for the next few days.

Oh one more camera thing. It has the most amazing zoom I've ever seen.

I just took these two photos sitting right here at my table. See the table I circled in red?

PXL_20250829_150558211.jpg

I zoomed in on it.

PXL_20250829_150609707.jpg

Isn't that wild???

Just next to that table, last night, some folks were set up for a little outdoor dining. With my new zoom, I could tell what they were eating!!! That has to be a football field away from here. Amazing.
lirazel: the worlds "care and freedom" in various shades of blue ([misc] care and freedom)
[personal profile] lirazel
I am starting to collect songs that I think of as "Songs That Are Actually More Relevant Now Than They Were When They Were Released Many Years Ago." These are the ones on the list so far:








`










And then there's this one, which would need to have its references updated and would be more like "The Revolution Will Not Be Online" but whose central premise is still so relevant:

Fannish50 #25: Moonbin&Sanha

Aug. 28th, 2025 11:14 pm
andersenmom: Highly interested Gaon (Raised Eyebrows)
[personal profile] andersenmom
Vic has been a fan of Astro for a long time - since they realized Sanha was only a year older than them. These two debuted in 2020, and the subunit ended with Moonbin's death in 2023. Sadly.

The one song that Vic always insisted that I needed to hear was Who. It's a fun song, and brings out their voices, both of them.

fancyflautist: (Editor 3)
[personal profile] fancyflautist posting in [community profile] su_herald
Buffy: You mean, like that intervention thing that you guys did on me? As I recall, Xander and I nearly came to blows.
Xander: Uh, *you* nearly came to blows, Buffy. I nearly came to loss of limbs.

~~Consequences~~




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And all is done

Aug. 28th, 2025 11:31 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
The phone came with a nice USB c to USB c cable but I don't know why. I'll just add it to my collection.

I just put the old phone next to the new one on the table and tapped a few buttons and done. sim card was even, magically turned into an esim. Even my wallet was set up with my credit card.

The only glitch. Really the only one was the watch. A Pixel watch. This took way too long and too many tries to get connected. Left hand right hand clearly the Pixel department has gotten too large.

Now my old old phone is packaged for return which I will do right now.

My new phone is very pretty.

GOT IT!!

Aug. 28th, 2025 10:27 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
I remembered this morning that UPS used to give me a map when it got close to delivery and, then, I found out, it still does! So I watched the truck til it got close and then speedwalked down to the front door. I sat there a few mins when Martha came up from her yoga class and kept me company.

Do you get a new phone every couple of years or so????? Oh Martha.

Why don't you just wait until they guy comes around with packages this afternoon? Oh Martha.

Then he drove in and I snagged the goods.

PXL_20250828_172131459.jpg

p.s. My grand plan to 'share' photos to Flickr is a fail. Turns out that option works only once in a while and has been a 'known issue' for years. Sigh.

p.s.s. Guess what I'm going to do next???

New phone day

Aug. 28th, 2025 08:49 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
UPS says it will be here by 11:30 and I can get it at 1, assuming Timber Ridge's delivery service works as designed which it most likely will.

We had clouds the whole time for volleyball this morning which makes for such a nicer game. Sadly, for the first hour, we also had TheAsshole. But he left after an hour so the second hour was great fun. We didn't have that many players so those of us who were there got lots of exercise.

A resident just drove into the parking garage in a gynormous pickup truck. The door opened automatically which means it read his license plate which means he actually does live here and the truck is not borrowed or rented. It's pristine, like never used. And it's huge. Now, what the fuck would an old retired guy who does not own a home need with a giant truck and why does he not use it. I have actually seen it parked in the garage and it is way too big for our parking spots so it sticks out. I'm surprised one of these other old people haven't rammed into it.

At the RUM yesterday, the facilities guy announced they are going to rename our parking spots. Right now, everyone's spot has their apartment number on it which is very handy if you are nosy like me. Very handy. But, alas, if you are trying to manage assigned parking spots, it's a stupid system. Like with Myrna. She gave up her car and so her spot. They gave it/rented it to someone who needed another spot. Then she died and they sold her unit and they had to kick out the one who had been parking there so the Dick and Jan could park there cause it had their apartment number painted on it.

Anyway, they are going to a much better system of name/assigning spaces and are going to clean up and repaint all the garages. This is going to piss off the half of the population who still drive and the other half don't care. There's a middle group, not small, of people who have cars and don't/can't drive them. On my tiny hall alone, there's Joan, Jim, John... None of their cars have been driven in months. Batteries RIP

There were no other giant revelations at the meeting. The boring people were as boring as ever. The best ones are always the Director of Housekeeping and the Facilities Director. They are always interesting and entertaining. And, they were yesterday, too. Smartly, they put them at the end so we all stay.

I've got one more episode of Code of Silence (Britbox) and I need to watch it this morning to find out what happens. But, probably, I should get dressed first.

a bouquet of links

Aug. 28th, 2025 11:02 am
lirazel: The three oldest sisters from Fiddler on the Roof dancing in a field ([film] like ruth and like esther)
[personal profile] lirazel
+ 404 Media out here doing the Lord's work, in this case talking about how the tariffs are going to affect hobbying in the US through the lens of eBay. Trump Tariffs Cause Chaos on Ebay as Every Hobby Becomes Logistical Nightmare. NIGHTMARE! NIGHTMARE!

+ A Dubai Chocolate Theory of the Internet is so good. Ryan Broderick's position is that video on the internet has become primarily a vehicle to spread pornography--not pornography in the sense of sexual content (necessarily), but that video has gone from telling a story (even if it was 8 seconds long, like in a Vine) to people vicariously watching other people have sensory experiences--eating things, touching things, etc. Narrative is no longer necessary at all and in fact is at a disadvantage. TikTok, according to this theory, does not want to create culture, it just wants to get people to buy stuff. Quote: "If we can get everyone to make ads, then those ads can become culture. Instead of making culture to sell ads...it's the total inverse....TikTok is competing not with [other social media sites], it's competing with Amazon."

I found this theory very compelling from what I can tell of the TikTok/Reels-dominated internet that I do not participate in. I would be interested to learn if those of you who are more familiar with that side of the internet agree.

This episode also goes into detail about how influencers end up with various products, which is a process that I find really depressing and cynical--I am one of those people who thinks we should stop using "influencers" and go back to using "shills" but that's just me.

This theory even explains how Gen Z is defining "cool." Basically, this is the most interesting theory of the current moment of the internet that I have ever come across, and it's going to shape how I think about the most popular parts of the internet going forward.

+ My friends over at Invisible Histories have produced an online zine entitled How to Spot AI Images Online (you'll need to scroll down to access it). On the other hand, I appreciated this artist on Tumblr talking about how we shouldn't worry ourselves to death when we can't tell what is and what is not AI.

+ Peter Shamshiri is one of my favorite grumpy dudes on the internet, and I really enjoyed this Is Activist Vocabulary Hurting the Democrats because he reports on some very basic fact-checking of the type that we desperately need more of.

+ For those of you who need it, reactions to the death of James Dobson. (The last one is on Substack if you--understandably--want to avoid that site.)

+ This macro is my favorite reaction to the news about a certain person's engagement. I don't know if it's genuinely hilarious or if it's just so tailored to my individual interests (Judaism, musical theater, Judaism in musical theater) that I was just carried away, but I love it even though I care zero percent about said engagement.

Another Hostile bundle - Hot Zones

Aug. 28th, 2025 12:37 pm
ffutures: (Default)
[personal profile] ffutures
Many apologies, this offer launched last night but I was very busy and forgot it was happening


HOSTILE HOT ZONES (new)
       https://bundleofholding.com/presents/HostileHotZones




Eventually remembered this - various supplements for military and civilian adventures, with quite a lot of material included if you go for the full package. Not sure it's for me, but there might be stuff of interest if you're into the game and setting.

burnhername: Faith pic with the word editor (SH editor Faith)
[personal profile] burnhername posting in [community profile] su_herald
(Everyone is in Xander's apartment and Dawn is talking about Glory.)
DAWN: ... all skanky and blonde and thinking she's all that just 'cause some bumpy heads kiss her stinky feet ... (lowers her voice) She does have nice feet.
(Dawn raises her voice back to normal and continues) A-and she's comin' right at us, and- Buffy's just standing there not even blinking, like "Bring it on," and then, wham! (smacks one fist into the other hand)

~~Spiral~~




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