Friday, August 26, 2016

Petunias


19 comments:

  1. Petunias are first!

    Bill, Gardner Dosois is understandably depressed at not having been able to attend WorldCon. He was saying the other day that his con days are over. Everyone was very encouraging, and I pointed out that you have been working accessibility at WorldCon for a few years now and he has nothing to worry about as far as that's concerned. Haven't been back to look at his FB page for a couple days, so I don't know if he saw the comment. But it really upset me that he doesn't realize what is possible.I don't really have a point... Obviously, you know about his broken ankle - That's a whole saga in itself. His insurance has run out but he still needs extensive PT... So, that's a mess and meanwhile he's desperately worried about Susan. So, everything looks pretty bleak to him at the moment. I want to let him know that with all his worries, accessibility at the next WorldCon shouldn't be one of them. But I'm just a fan on his page, not a friend, someone he actually knows, so he may not read my comments when I make them.

    I donno. Please forgive my rambling. Feeling pretty scattered today. Though I got a CD reissue of The Chet Baker Quintet's 1965 album "Smokin" and, I must say, if that fabulous music doesn't cure what ails ya, or at least make you feel a whole lot better, you're pretty far gone! Man, it's just magical!

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    1. I will have to look up the album, Cat--it doesn't ring a bell, but I am culturally deprived in some ways.

      --Alan

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    2. Oh, Alan, you have no idea! There's sooooooooooooooooooo much I don't know Pop culture-wise!

      Technically, the album in question is called Smokin' with the Chet Baker Quintet. If you have a phonograph, you can probably find a secondhand copy of he LP. The CD reissue is both hard to find and a touch pricy. Here's the link to it at amazon.com:

      Smokin - Click

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    3. I looked up Dozois's public Facebook page. Didn't see anything there about missing the worldcon. Indeed, his only posts were comments on what others had said. I didn't know about his broken ankle, but that shouldn't be a problem. He has rented mobility scooters before -- I know because I have handled the paperwork. And if he's thinking he's too old --- My God! He's *11 years* younger than I am. Not even 70 yet!

      {Shaking head] Hope your comment helped him see the light.

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  2. Bill--Thanks to Arnold Schwartzenegger, no thanks to Dem politicians, we got a non-partisan commission to draw electoral districts in California, but intensive lobbying about definitions of "communities of interest" resulted in many (most? all?) major cities being joined with rural districts and divided like pies--so urban areas' political power was seriously diluted, afterwards just as before. I live in a conurbation that is easily big enough to have its own representative in Congress, but am still gerrymandered into a mostly rural district where a Republican candidate can win without campaigning. It may be less so than it was, but it is still basically the same.

    Back to the salt mine....

    Alan

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    1. I have heard that non-partisan districts don't look as much different from party-drawn districts as you might expect. But still, you know they haven't been drawn to give one party an advantage.

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  3. Re France’s attempts at a burkini ban, it seems to me that some good capitalist ought to be able to make some money recreating and selling modest
    Western bathing suits. [Click] Surely that would satisfy evernyone, ne cest pas?

    —Alan

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    1. Aha! That would be the victorikini, would it not?

      --Alan

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    2. Thanks for adding a touch of levity, Alan. As you might expect, yours truly got quite exercised over the whole thing. Here's what I wrote on my re-post of a BBC article to my FB page:

      I think this ban is a terrible thing, very disrespectful and even bullying of Muslim women whose perception of modesty is stricter than the norm. How would it be if French beaches required all women to wear micro bikinis and banned one piece bathing suits? Would this violate the modesty of a lot of 'secular' women? You bet your sweet arss it would! I hope the ban is struck down decisively, since it is at bottom an attack against women.

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    3. Upon reflection, perhaps "at bottom" was not the most Felicitous choice of phrase. Ahem.

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    4. Ha! Good point!

      I agree it's a terrible ban. My goodness, whose business is it if someone wants to wear something? The really absurd thing (from ANY perspective) is that it's a topless beach that is the center of the burkina ban. Talk about the pendulum swinging a bit far!

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    5. This is obviously an attack on Muslims. No one would complain if nuns walked on the beach in their habits, because they're Christians.

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    6. I see that the Victorikine does include a hat or headdress that covers the hair, which is one of the main points of the burkhini.

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    7. One could always wear a bathing cap.

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    8. That particular one did not include hair/head covering, but there were others that did. And I am reminded of an article in the Sunset Magazine of February 1915 (in a book I have), by Miriam Michelson, titled "The Terrible Consequences of Clothing--With Women Inside of It." I don't find it online, but could send copies if desired. It isn't directly relevant to the burkini bans, but indirectly is. Hey, if they want to ban an article of clothing, how about the necktie [cravate]?

      --Alan

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  4. Today was a good day. About to have two days ALONE with Mah*Sweetie. (Son is going sailing for the weekend.) Then a few more days with VT*Grand, a brief visit with our 3 year old Grandson and his little sister, who turns ONE next month, then clean, do laundry and pack, then birthday party for VT*Grand, then leave (Thursday morning) for Maine...stopping at the Puzzle Store in NH, then overnight with Daughter and baby Grandson (7months), as well as Son, DIL, Eldest Granddaughter (10) and her younger sister, who just turned 7years...during which time I will tend Grandson while Daughter and Mah*Sweetie do more wallpapering. Then! On Friday, at last we blast north to Camden, Maine for two nights in a B&B to walk the streets again, enjoy the Schooner Festival and (most of all!) hear Paul Stookey sing live! Whoo hoo! Might be a little more wallpapering on the way back through, but we'll see.

    I will be soon far behind in blogs and gardening and much more by the time we return. But I think it will be worth it.

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  5. Just about three quarters the way through the second time for The English Patient. What an utterly lovely film! And Voldemort makes a fine hero!

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