our NYE movie was A Simple Favor, which was a lot funnier & more fun than it seemed from the trailer. recommended 🎬

two dark beers with orange labels, one slightly more fabulous than the other 1: Shiner’s S’more, ⭐️/3 (#blesstheirhearts) 2: Goose Island’s Midnight Orange Stout 2018, ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 #newyearsbeer

last sunset of 2018

Baltika Breweries’ Russian Imperial Stout ⭐️⭐️/3 #saturdaybeer

just watched a full play-through of a new Switch game called Gris, and it was a legitimately lovely cinematic experience

Oskar Blues Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #christmasevebeer

want a project for the holiday break? Micro.blog is giving away 3 free months ($5/mo), now through Jan. 2 (via invite; DM me your email address if you’re interested). there’s a way to be online without being a giant tech company’s livestock.

Middleton Brewing’s Galena ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

Firefox is my primary browser and has been for years. slash (/) to search (except on sites that hijack it) is my oldest favorite thing, and the Containers add-on is my newest. Containers are a little fiddly to set up but super handy.

Jeremy Keith on browser diversity in a Chromium-dominated world:

"which browser you use no longer feels like it’s just about personal choice—it feels part of something bigger; it’s about the shape of the web we want"

happy Texan holidays

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (again; & sometimes the drinkware doesn’t live up but what can you do) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

the collected-tweet genre of article is usually disappointing but this one cracked me up: Londoners troll New York Times with deluge of ‘petty crimes’

beautiful: actual good environmental news

“It’s amazing … with limited budgets and widespread poverty, [Native American tribes] are the leader in wildlife restoration when compared to the state wildlife agency”

utterly damning summary from The New Yorker:

“The President of the United States knowingly & eagerly participated in a scheme with a hostile foreign leader who he knew was seeking to influence the Presidential election.”

Founders’ Canadian Breakfast Stout ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer #mlscup 🍺

tonight’s the night: the championship match of the top soccer league in the U.S.: MLS Cup. tune in to regular Fox at 7 CT to see 70k fans going nuts in the brand new, sold-out stadium in Atlanta

merry gritchmas

recommended: good gifts & fresh pecans at the seasonal 38 Pecans shop in northwest Austin

man it’s so great how we have limited meetings at my company! really frees my time to –checks Slack– conduct six simultaneous, asynchronous, & disconnected Slack conversations strung out across the entire frickin' day

this is it, the Big 0x32.

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (2018) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #birthdaybeer 🍺

at Jacob’s Well Natural Area – natural spring, mouth is 23’ straight down, then a 140’ deep, mile-long underwater cave system. but no swimming till May

Wimberley Brewing Co’s Ghirardelli’s Chocolate Oatmeal Stout ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer 🍺

Middleton Brewing

Rahr & Sons’ Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

not to brag (yes to brag) but I’ve received 0 (zero) “Black Friday” emails this year #unsubscribe

appreciating English sports coverage, even on a day with no football

“there’s one thing that unites us all…” classic SNL: Thanksgiving miracle (from 2015!)

The Guardian: Is Donald Trump an authoritarian? tl;dr - yeah, pretty much

Northstar’s Imperial Porter ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

(P.S. I’ve started using Untappd, too; cgraysontx if you’re on there)

view from the balcony #OtelloATX 🎵

the show before the show, a “staged concert” performance of Otello, with the orchestra & choir right onstage with @austinopera performers 🎵

DVR set: Janelle Monáe on Austin City Limits. looks like a similar set as what she performed at ACLFest; looking forward to seeing it again 🎵

SNL: HuckaPM

"People are always asking me, "how do you sleep at night?" In fact they scream it at me all day long."

Gin & Tacos, on why I’m sad:

“You wanted to see some evidence that corruption, venality, bigotry, and proud ignorance are deal-breakers for the vast majority of Americans. And now you're sad because it's obvious that they aren't.”

that Texas movie last night, where a band of smart, scrappy, & charming upstarts took on the status quo and up against long odds took on a bunch of greedy & unpleasant villains who’d cheated their way into power, well, #spoiler but that ending really sucked

too real: SNL on anticipating a blue wave 🌊

Boulevard’s Bourbon Barrel Quad ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

just finished The Sisters Brothers, a book I liked so much the first time that I not only intended to reread it, I actually did! Just in time for the movie to be gone from theaters, lol/sob. but what a great book, I enjoyed it as much as I remembered. 📚

went out canvassing with the missus this morning in northwest Austin, & then who do we see doing the same at our neighbor’s this afternoon but @manton himself

Tom

@ Epoch Coffee for NaNoWriMo, day 1 (kind of; going for 50 hours of revision rather than 50,000 words)

…& on Sunday, more of the same but with Indivisible Austin. there’s exactly one thing I want to do less than knock on strangers' doors to talk politics.

that one thing is: regret not doing more for the 2018 election.

I’m volunteering to #TakeBackTheHouse on Saturday, Nov 3. join me!

there’s not just total chump incumbents to vote out because of their complicity and cowardice, there’s also some 100% great candidates to vote in. like these badasses. #beavoter

Courtney Barnett 🎵

I do, for real, have a winning Mega Millions ticket.

your respect for our privacy at this time is appreciated. I swore this wouldn’t change who I am. after having a little fun with it, I plan to put the remainder of my $4 back into the world to help others. god bless

my favorite performance of my favorite song by (one of) my favorite bands: Wussy, Teenage Wasteland

Deschutes’ The Abyss ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer 🍺

wow, the Houston Chronicle endorsed Beto

"Kay Bailey Hutchison… once reminded [us] that Cruz would have to decide where his loyalties lay: with Texans or obstructionist ideologues. Six years later, it's obvious he's decided."

disgusting. Trump praises Gianforte for assault on Guardian reporter

"Trump’s comments mark the first time the president has openly and directly praised a violent act against a journalist on American soil."

St. Arnold’s Divine Reserve ‘18 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

another day, another reason to love Beto

five years ago today I started a goofy project that I thought would never be more than a short-lived lark that nobody but me would read or like. and I was right. An Unicks Bestiary

Austin, TX – #nofilter

hilarious, Richard Linklater-directed anti-Cruz ad, “Tough as Texas?". the last few words couldn’t be more perfectly delivered #ComeOnTed

Janelle Monae, life-sized & big screened

?

Brewtorium’s Brewtoberfest, canned in a #crowler for me yesterday ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

lots of music being streamed free from this weekend’s ACL Festival on Red Bull TV. bonus: there’s a Red Bull TV channel on Roku

WaPo: Vote ‘no’ on Kavanaugh

"He provided neither evidence nor even a plausible explanation for this red-meat partisanship, but he poisoned any sense that he could serve as an impartial judge."

Heather Havrilesky, Mediocre White Man Falls Apart and Is Promptly Put Back Together:

"A woman who conducted herself in that manner couldn’t get an assistant-manager job at Forever21, let alone on the Supreme Court."

The Decemberists @ Bass Concert Hall 🎵

Texas Craft Beer Festival ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer 🍺

Lola Tried @ Texas Craft Beer Fest

Interpol

today’s the day! buy some music & help protect voting rights. for me that was the brand new Joy Formidable and the latest Lola Tried & Waxahatchee releases 🎵

I believe survivors. I believe there’s got to be a better conservative nominee than this. I believe I’ll work my ass off to elect Beto and defeat @TedCruz (& then you’re next, @JohnCornyn). #IBelieveSurvivors

great excuse to buy some new music on Friday:

"we'll donate 100% of our share of the proceeds to the Voting Rights Project, a program led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to advance & protect the right to vote"

Nebraska Brewing’s Responsibly ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer #drinkresponsibly

finished The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead. Another gripping & masterfully written story from an author I like a lot, though for me, imagining the railroad as a literal underground construction didn’t add as much to the story as I’d expected.

2/2: & at the risk of discouraging you: this is a long one, & hard to read at times. but if you truly wonder, “Why didn’t she say anything sooner?”, then this tragic story will 110% answer that question: What Do We Owe Her Now?

1/2: The Atlantic gives an overview of a key question intended to undermine the allegations against the nominee to a lifetime seat on our nation’s highest court: “Why didn’t she say anything sooner?"

had a great picture of the sun all lined up & then this dumb cloud got in the way

shot on iPhone (si)X

The Onion, on Ted Cruz’s new look: “He’s honestly never looked better… Even with the stench of decomposition, most people we talk to remark upon how Sen. Cruz doesn’t make them feel as nauseous as he used to.”

Rogue’s Double Chocolate Stout ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

just finished Godless. set in the Old West, it’s an intense, gripping 7-episode miniseries with a fantastic cast of characters (and a lot of guns). recommended.

playing hooky at Zilker Botanical Garden

The Bruery’s Midnight Autumn Maple ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

finally read through what this UEFA Nations League deal is all about, & it sounds pretty cool. makes this #FIN v #HUN match on ESPN+ a little more interesting, anyway ⚽️

anyone else thinking about checking out Lager Jam 5 this Saturday?

finished reading God Save Texas, by Lawrence Wright. I enjoyed the mix of history, personal anecdotes, and political analysis. some of the stories cast recent events – in Texas & the US more broadly – in an interesting, some-of-this-ain’t-all-that-new light. 📚

mammoth scarfing at CVG #fccincinnati ⚽️

extra interesting episode of The Allusionist podcast: A Novel Remedy: why a clinical psychologist prescribes novel-reading to her patients, & how post-WW1 Britain was soothed by Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries 📚

(I love The Atlantic & often want to share their excellent journalism online, but I do hesitate to send people to their site because of the trashiness of the ads and online experience. /cc @TheAtlantic)

…and the second: The Refugee Detectives - “Inside Germany’s high-stakes operation to sort people fleeing death from opportunists and pretenders”. no simple answers to tough, life-or-death problems

catching up on old issues of The Atlantic, a couple of really good articles from the April issue. first, The Last Temptation - the fascinating history & politics of Evangelical Christianity…

finished Functional Thinking by Neal Ford for yesterday’s @atxcompbookclub. I found juggling examples in several different languages to be more work than it was worth, but as an intro, background, & argument in favor of functional programming, it nailed it. 📚

6%. tragic.

"With participation rates at such dire levels, politicians might be expected to try with equal urgency to boost voting. But at both national & Texas state level, the response from Republicans has been quite the opposite"

…then we watched Deadpool 2 tonight, obviously a very different style, but even with lower stakes I felt like it had more emotional impact

Bosteels’ Pauwel Kwak ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

& I’m sure this is naive foolishness, but I wish the stakes didn’t have to be higher every. single. time. how about a hero preventing an assassination or a subway bombing or something, instead of saving THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE & ALL (or 50% of) LIFE WITHIN IT

finally saw Avengers: Infinity War (at the dollar theater, because MoviePass sucks and didn’t support any of the several, not-brand-new movies we were up for), and: I didn’t love it. maybe if it had 18 more characters & 6 more climactic fight scenes

I read the news today, oh boy

Beto:

"The freedoms we have were purchased not just by those in uniform – & they definitely were – but also by those who took their lives into their hands riding those Greyhound buses, the Freedom Riders, in the deep south, in the 1960s"

in which I try to process my city (maybe) gaining a team while another city (maybe) loses theirs, and the range of emotions therewith: Relocation Grudges Past & Future ⚽️

Ommegang’s Abbey Ale Dubbel ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

remember those stories a few years ago about how organic food wasn’t “more nutritious”? of course it’s not, it was never supposed to be. but it is less tainted by poison, which is a good and cool thing for food to be

from today’s Statesman:

We stand in solidarity today with the editorial boards of hundreds of U.S. newspapers defending the rigorous, truth-driven work by journalists & opposing Trump’s cynical efforts to dismiss that reporting as “fake news.”

interesting and level-headed analysis by Pete Reid on today’s historic council decision for #MLS2ATX:

"with that sort of settlement, Austin gets a team immediately, and the Crew would be #saved."

⚽️

that article by Stephen Miller’s uncle is great.

"Laws bereft of justice are the gateway to tyranny… the normalization of these policies is rapidly eroding the collective conscience of America."

Founders KBS & Ruta Maya ⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeers

really interesting consideration of software not as craft, art, engineering, etc. I was really struck by this:

"The output of everything we do is some side effect on the world and the next version of ourselves."

Karbach’s Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

I’m volunteering on #TheLastWeekend before midterms. I want a blue wave, you want a blue wave, THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENS. not watching tweets or frowning at your computer screen. connecting with real people, in real life. this is it, let’s go.

new (to me) coffee shop, Barrett’s Micro Roast Coffee

Nick Heer, on The Bullshit Web:

"You know how building wider roads doesn’t improve commute times, as it simply encourages people to drive more? It’s that, but with bytes and bandwidth instead of cars and lanes."

bought a handful of @cardpool cards the other day, they all have $0 credit. multiple attempts to contact them have gone completely unanswered. an auto-reply email, a useless chatbot, and years-old FAQs; avoid this scammy ghost company at all costs

may be reading too much into these statements by Garber, but the very notion that both #SaveTheCrew and #MLS2ATX could happen is genuinely blowing my mind ⚽️

Mateo & Bernabé and Friends’ 29 Daniel ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

heard the first episode of this new podcast, Everything Is Alive, via 99% Invisible. “an unscripted interview show in which all the subjects are inanimate objects”, funny & clever.

morning

…adding: if you don’t use your library or haven’t been lately, you should check it out! (pun intended.) quiet workspace w/wifi (& no purchase expected); downloadable ebooks, audiobooks, & movies; branch transfers; it’s more than old cookbooks! but also: old cookbooks!

just now seeing some of the (intentional, I’m sure) uproar about libraries. spent a day last week reading & working @ Austin’s big beautiful new one; it was awesome. libraries are fucking magical, you keep your filthy damned capitalist hands off ’em

Freetail’s Local Coffee Stout ⭐️__ __ #saturdaybeer

heard this as a substitute episode in another podcast, it’s odd and really really excellent: “S.E.I.N.F.E.L.D.” on Imaginary Advice. link to Soundcloud (bleh) here or search for it with your podcast app (which should be Overcast btw).

finished reading: The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller. I really enjoyed this modern telling of The Iliad story, which I knew broadly but have never read. This is so well written, evocative, with superb characterization. highly recommended. 📚

@manton you probably saw this but in case you didn’t, thought you might find the arguments interesting: The Case Against Retweets, from The Atlantic

Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

happy birthday (estimated) to this handsome fellow who is three years old (estimated) and who has three legs (estimated)

…though on the other hand, I typically drink a lot more #BEL beer, by style if not actual imports, than #ENG beer. so: back to just hoping for good games 🍺⚽️

I even like #CRO; also think it doesn’t really matter who #FRA get to beat on Sunday, but: still pretty bummed that #ENG aren’t going to be in the final. hope I’ll at least be able to celebrate a third-place win with my other English #saturdaybeer 🍺

six activists displayed the rainbow flag across Russia in a clever, creative way to avoid arrest: The Hidden Flag

disgusting. U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution Stuns World Health Officials

“The confrontation was the latest example of the Trump administration siding with corporate interests on numerous public health and environmental issues.”

Samuel Smith’s Yorkshire Stingo ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer #itscominghome ⚽️🍺

nobody writes about soccer like Brian Phillips: Kylian Mbappé Bends Time & Space, Leads France Past Argentina

"the ball finds him & the lights in your head do the stretchy hyperspace thing that the stars outside the windows of the Millennium Falcon do."

Galveston Island Brewing’s Mr. Bill’s Imperial Wheat ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

Morning again.

Morning.

#balconyview #nofilter

North Coast’s Brother Thelonius ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

fascinating example of implicit bias in reporting on the #WorldCup teams from Africa:

"If you take away the words “pace” and “power” from writers and commentators, they would be utterly lost trying to describe black players."

trying to unplug completely when I’m watching #WorldCup games each day, but the heavy rotation of Slack ads during halftimes are stressing me out. OMG LEAVE ME ALONE FOR A TWO MINUTES SLACK

Hop Along @ Barracuda 🎵

Unibroue’s Grand Réserve 17 ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

#nofilter

having fun writing spoiler-free coverage of #WorldCup games (and glad to be watching a good game after the two less-than-gripping ones earlier)

Harpoon’s Super Dark ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

Speedy Ortiz, amazing as always 🎵

great set by Anna Burch (do yourself a favor: “Tea-Soaked Letter”) 🎵

Founders Brewing’s Dankwood ⭐️__ __ #saturdaybeer

attn: fellow micro.bloggers - I’m experimenting with another account for soccer-specific (really, for now, World Cup-specific) posts: @VioletCrownSoccer

Karbach’s Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer (on Sunday)

new Neko Case? yes, please 🎵

903 Brewers’ Bordeaux Barrel Aged Imperial Stout ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

Rebecca Solnit: “If someone had pitched [the current situation of the U.S.] for a thriller novel or film a few years ago, they would’ve been laughed out of whatever office their proposal made it to because fiction ought to be plausible”

new podcast to start getting hyped for the World Cup next month: We Came to Win. here’s hoping the rest of the episodes are even half as good as the first one

at The Blanton Museum of Art – Ellsworth Kelly’s “Austin”

Stone Brewing’s Totalitarian ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

Charly Bliss #slaying

Deep Ellum’s Darkest Hour ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

this pre-event email from @austinopera is so great. schedule, parking details (❤️!) including a plan B (❤️!!), timings, tacos (?!), pre-show, after-show… bravo!

I suppose there’s hardly a day that goes by lately where this couldn’t be said, but on this I cannot stay silent. Mr. Trump, sir, please shut the hell up before you ruin this for all of us.

just finished Play It as It Lays, by Joan Didion. a short, gripping novel of lost souls living lives of excess in mid-1960s Hollywood. not usually my thing but her style is absolutely masterful (& the audiobook narration was excellent) 📚

“A frank and honest description of who [Sarah Huckabee Sanders] is and what she does would be much more harsh…” indeed.

full video of Michelle Wolf’s set at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. file under “ruthlessness”

Gigantic Brewing’s Most Most Premium Russian Imperial Stout ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

well, crap. I think my MacBook might have just started having this problem. the up-arrow works about 1/3 of the time. you might think that sounds like the first-world-est of first-world problems, and that’s not wrong. but still: it really sucks

if you’re as easily amused as I am then you may enjoy this, from Buzzfeed: 100 Hilarious Posts That Prove Tumblr Is An Absolute Goldmine

dear @medium, I’m about done pardoning your interruption. I will never, ever “make things official”, just to read an occasional blog post on your cramped & crappy site

nailed it as usual, Siri. just one thing: does the “$$” rating include airfare to Malaysia

happy birthday, Shakespeare. you know it was hard to be the bard

“Then there’s Austin, which is totally crazy. If you walk from one end of downtown Austin to the other, you cross three different congressional districts” @TexasObserver, on gerrymandering ahead of Texas' appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve racist districts

Karbach’s Brandy, You’re A Fine Girl ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

book review: Under the Lights & in the Dark, by Gwendolyn Oxenham. I thought I’d like it, but I loved it. I recommend this compelling, inspiring (but not pollyannaish) collection of stories not just to soccer fans, or women’s soccer fans, but to anyone. fantastic. 📚

I know, it’s just one poll. but for Beto to be in “too close to call” range of Cruz? in mid-April? hell. yes.

(brb, getting some merch to help boost that name recognition)

this essay on echo chambers as cults is a long one, but the key point (made in the first half) about the difference between “echo chambers” and “epistemic bubbles” is really interesting

new Tolkien? yes please

Stone Brewing’s Mikhail ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

The New Yorker: “There are lots of details and surprises to come, but the endgame of this Presidency seems as clear now as those of Iraq and the financial crisis did months before they unfolded.”

…Next was a title that’s been on my list since the 2011 Tournament of Books, where it got to the semis. This opening round review is a good one.

book review: Next, by James Hynes: really enjoyed this. I think I would have even if I weren’t so familiar with much of the setting (a bright, hot day in downtown & south Austin), but that was a bonus for sure. (and what a final act!) 📚

even apart from Mueller, Cohen, Stormy, etc., look what these sons of bitches are doing. “The new interpretation reverses decades of action by Republican & Democratic administrations to protect the animals as they navigate the globe… Oil companies are the greatest beneficiaries”

god forbid this happens, but if it does, I’ll protest it. will you? (P.S. the bigger that number, right now, the better)

McSweeney’s: “Some of those disclosures were repeated through other channels, at times using custom Print Shop banners taped to windows or bedroom doors.”

Sierra Nevada’s Ovila ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

Onion poll: “nearly 70 percent of respondents admitted having ‘some reservations’ or ‘very strong reservations’ concerning the malevolent emotional feedback machine relying on their deepest fears and insecurities to generate advertising revenue”

? brand new Wye Oak? yes please

Belô Petroleum ⭐️__ __ #saturdaybeer

saw Isle of Dogs today; loved it. a fun movie we were ready to watch again immediately

ladies & gentlemen, The Regrettes, in: Seashore and Fox on the Run, for A.V. Undercover

De Halve Maan Brewery’s Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

annual bluebonnet picture, as mandated by Texas state law

great interview. “In the early 70s, when I was more vulnerable in every way, it was really dangerous… I was an 18-year-old penniless girl in the middle of a dangerous city & I was never as afraid as these men in Texas, living in a state of terror”

“Cruz continued work with Cambridge Analytica for months after allegations surfaced that the Facebook data had been received illicitly. Recent revelations show the data harvesting was far more extensive… among the biggest privacy breaches in history.”

hey @amazon delivery drivers, buddies, especially in Austin when there’s a damn serial bomber on the damn loose: cool it with the drop & run. go ahead and ring the damn doorbell.

• love, people with video doorbells

dang frickin’ great: Very Bad Words, “the podcast about swearing and taboo language”

(via one of my long-time favorites, The Allusionist)

good day for a good game and a good result

Save the World’s Verbum in Tenebrio ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

A+++ would see live again #sxsw2018

“And I’m not in favor of the “nice sandwich” approach to criticism. Fuck the nice sandwich. Fuck the false balance of “impartial” journalism. I just didn’t like it and it didn’t move me.”

holy cats, a barnburner of a judgment indeed. GOD I love the ToB.

Woman Who Just Moved to Austin Excited to Complain About SXSW for First Time “Sorry if you don’t get that joke,” she added. “It’s a local, inside joke, because there’s this TV show called Austin City Limits here.”

“there is no Collusion with an ancient Lovecraftian horror that thrives on psychic discord! Or Russia.”

watching the Letterman “Needs No Introduction” episode with Obama. what a heartbreak to know who followed this intelligent, self-aware, and kind man into the White House

Save the World Brewing Co.’s Apocalypse Quadrapel Ale ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

that was a lot of fun

#hashtag #sunset with #hashtag #clouds in a #hashtag #roadpic with #hashtag #nofilter

at last, it begins! “Every day for the next few weeks a judge will read two of these novels and select one to advance. Then another set of readers will offer commentary… Eventually one novel reigns supreme & we award its author a live rooster” #ToB18

fascinating story about workplace meditation and more at an Alaskan shipyard: “Vigor considers itself a second-chance employer, forgoing background checks and giving felons - and anyone else who has struggled in life – a fresh start”

Alaskan’s Baltic Porter ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

we decided to watch all the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars tomorrow, & with the The Post last night, we did it! (MoviePass ftw.) no award predictions but my favorites were Get Out, Shape of Water, & Lady Bird.

#typical

the sun did not shine. it was too wet to play. so we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day

book review: Idaho by Emily Ruskovich. a haunting story, intricately told from the viewpoints of several deeply-developed characters. probably my favorite of the 3 #ToB18 titles I’ll read before Mar. 7. 📚

Préaris’ Quadrupel ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

garden, day 14: second planting & sprouts (shown: radish, spinach, & romaine)

stunning article based on first-hand experience of how the AR-15 is different, emphasizing the difference in power and damage caused compared to other guns. “Banning the AR-15 should not be a partisan issue.”

feel bad for everyone who wasn’t at this basically perfect Diet Cig show (temperature wasn’t perfect; almost ran A/C yesterday, then tonight I go to an outdoor concert & it’s 39°F)

book review: The Book of Joan, by Lidia Yuknavitch. a literary sci-fi apocalypse story with interesting ideas and moving scenes, undercut for me by some suspension-of-disbelief breaking aspects & a few gory moments 📚

an Army veteran on the automatic weapons he trained with (and loved shooting):

These are not deer rifles. They are not target rifles. They are people killing rifles. Let’s stop pretending they’re not.

Brain Dead’s Hammer of the Gods ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

also hilarious: FAQ: Your New Cursed Instant Pot.

Due to our unique manufacturing process and uneasy accord with a heathen idol, you may occasionally hear the tortured & infinite wails of the damned emanating from within your cursed Instant Pot

this is hilarious, down to the sponsors: a limited series (with short episodes) Onion parody of true-crime podcasts like S-Town: A Very Fatal Murder. (just two episodes there but they’re all published on iTunes, et al)

Squatter’s Outer Darkness ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

first garden, built & planted, day 0

hey I was at this performance 🎵 First Aid Kit, It’s A Shame at ACLFest 2017. “Lately / I been thinkin' ‘bout the past / how there is no holdin’ back / no point in wastin' sorrow / on things that won’t be here tomorrow”

Atlantic City came up in iTunes shuffle today, reminding of this absolute masterpiece (best enjoyed while listening along; also, if the images seem like ancient history, note they’re from just 3 months ago) 🎵

a writer for The Atlantic on increasing the diversity of his sources. “I assumed that my passive concern would be enough. Passive concern never is.”

oh look a #nofilter #roadpic of a #sunset that’s a #first

this – about clapping (!) – is off the charts for both stupidity and repugnance. “Un-American. Somebody said treasonous. I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean they certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much."

Looking forward to our Super Bowl tradition tonight: going to a restaurant that’s normally too crowded to consider on a Sunday night, because at kickoff time it will be empty.

Sleigh Bells @ Mohawk 🎵

movie review: The Shape of Water - what a beautiful, funny, gripping, and human story. loved it. 🎬

movie review: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword - we were so excited when we first saw this trailer, then so disappointed to see the critics' reviews. finally watched it tonight, and it was a lot of fun! (weird to see Littlefinger as a good guy, though) 🎬

book review: Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. overall, not bad, but it didn’t meet the expectations I had after a truly great first chapter, some of the historical period parts struck me as awkward, and a patch or two were a slog 📚 #ToB18

The Guardian fact-checks last night’s speech. “The president’s claims linking immigrants to violent crime are baseless.”

Petrus’ Nitro Quad ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

512 Brewing’s Wild Bear ⭐️__ __ #saturdaybeer

draw me like one of your French girls

from one year ago today: Unhappy Inauguration Day. no surprise, it’s hard to maintain the energy from that time. but resistance, Indivisible in particular, is going strong and still needs every voice

need to do something about the bars on this inmate’s cell

agree with this: “you have to blog on your own domain. medium, facebook, linkedin, huffpo will do what are in their interests, not yours.”

“This is an unhealthy and dangerous dynamic, and it needs to change – but if our main approach is assigning facile labels to individuals rather than frankly examining root causes, it never will.” Guardian Opinion on the Aziz Ansari story

a good ol’ #sunset #roadpic with #nofilter

“Today is the day many American politicians pretend to care about the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr, one of the wisest souls who attempted to save this sorry nation. Don’t fall for their scams.”

Lakewood Brewing’s Saint Dymphna ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #saturdaybeer

aww

our windows cast weird (and warm!) light reflections when the sun hits them right

…and Huxley, our little quadrupod guy (thoughts & prayers for Hux, he gets snipped tomorrow)

Tombo, our little tripod guy

Founders’ Sumatra Mountain Brown ⭐️⭐️__ #saturdaybeer

here for this “A social network doesn’t have to be like this. Micro.blog is a way to post to a web site that you control, a place to discover & talk with other members of the community. Micro.blog is not a popularity contest“

yay, the Tournament of Books shortlist! now I have until 3/7 to read more entries than I usually do (average: approx. 0.214)