donated to: Protect Reproductive Rights
UEFA Womens Champions League final just kicked off, Lyon v Barcelona, and it’s actually available to watch online! it’s streaming free on B/R Live, which I just found has a Roku channel, w00t ⚽️
a random thing I (very belatedly) realized after years of seriously watching soccer: women don’t get to swap jerseys after the game like men do. ugh. wonder if they can or do later, after the danger of corrupting and/or blinding everyone with their sports bras is past ⚽️
just about three weeks until kickoff, starting to think about schedules and time off during the World Cup! it took some searching around but I found what looks like a good, accurate iCal calendar with all the matches ? ⚽️
I’d planned to spend the whole day at work troubleshooting a couple of hairy database problems, only to have neither of them manifest again in the slightest. even when I want them to break, I can’t get computers to work ?
having trouble finding good WordPress themes for a micro.blog-based site. especially want good, lightweight styling for status/micro-posts. but searching for themes is hard due to aggressive SEO everywhere. anyone have any suggestions?
Megan Rapinoe is a ‘walking protest’
“I feel like it’s kind of defiance in and of itself to just be who I am and wear the jersey, and represent it,” she continues. “Because I’m as talented as I am, I get to be here, you don’t get to tell me if I can be here or not.
⚽️
Rogue Ales’ Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout 2019
⭐️__ __
#saturdaybeer
I recently started The Library Book by Susan Orlean, via an audiobook that somewhat ironically I bought, rather than getting from the library. (This title was also just selected as this year’s Mayor’s Book Club book, so I have a head start there, ha ha.) It’s really good so far, a unique blend of LA history, in broad strokes and small ones, with a little mystery and a huge dose of detailed examples of how awesome libraries are.
And they really are. They’re kind of a miracle, in many ways. I spent the afternoon yesterday working at our big, beautiful new Central Library, and then attended a wonderful talk with Rachel Kushner, author of the excellent The Mars Room. The circumstances that led me there last night were Byzantine, when I thought about it, but it was so nice. I feel happier just being at the library, and I should make the effort to get there – including branches – more often.
librarians should “read as a drunkard drinks or as a bird sings or a cat sleeps or a dog responds to an invitation to go walking, not from conscience or training, but because they’d rather do it than anything else in the world.”
- Susan Orlean, quoting Althea Warren, director of the LA Public Library 1933-47, in The Library Book
view from today’s remote workspace @ Austin Central Library (ahead of a Rachel Kushner author appearance tonight)
this, from The Atlantic, pretty well nails my experience (though the author just scaled back their Twitter use, vs. leaving entirely):
It’s faintly ridiculous just how much my quality of life has improved as a result. I now know much less about the latest controversy—but have much more time to read that book I’ve been meaning to turn to for ages. I miss out on a few good jokes or interesting links—but have started to detox from the feverish anger that reigns supreme on the hyper-political corners of the Twitterverse.
really enjoyed this post by @herself on Tarot for writers. always interested to learn new ways to spark creativity. plus now I know about Oulipo, what a cool, crazy thing
how in the world am I supposed to keep acting like my mind is on work after watching that mind-blowing performance from Liverpool FC? another European night for the ages ⚽️
Evil Twin Brewing’s Bible Belt
⭐️⭐️⭐️
#saturdaybeer
congratulations to The Guardian for hitting the huge milestone of breaking even financially, without having to use a paywall. their excellent, professional coverage has become my primary source of news, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a paying subscriber
@ Oakwood Cemetery
Prairie Artisan Ales’ Bomb!
⭐️⭐️⭐️
#saturdaybeer
search on YouTube is such a wreck. I searched for “joe biden 2020 announcement video”, & all the results were news & pundit videos about it. same with “joe biden for president”. even “joe biden” even though that’s the exact name of his channel! this is extra frustrating via the (crappy) Roku app UI. if only YouTube were run by a search company.
happy Independent Bookstore Day from Libro.fm – sign up, support a local indy bookstore, & get some free books today, April 27!
I agree with the argument and conclusion Gruber lays out here regarding impeachment: DO IT.
Democrats tend to overthink things, to succumb to indecision… Fuck that. If the president has committed impeachable offenses it is Congress’s duty to impeach. It’s that simple.
I haven’t read any of the books in the Very Short Introductions series yet, though I had a couple on my list. I was perusing the full catalog today, & found it so fascinating. tempted to try to read them all! or else I may just read Nothing
one of the biggest bummers of the 2018 election results, despite the blue wave nationally, was the handful of truly great candidates in Texas that didn’t quite make it. Beto, obviously, but another was MJ. so happy she’s taking on that trash-bag John Cornyn
Untitled Art/Crooked Stave’s Coconut Cream Pie Blonde Stout
⭐️⭐️__
#saturdaybeer
even aside from how the hell a bill could be unconstitutional, this is a chillingly autocratic rationale
“This resolution is an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities…” Trump wrote in explaining his veto [on the bill to end US support for war in Yemen]
(from The Guardian)
when you order the cheapest used book you can find and it winds up being signed by the author (if barely) & has his business card tucked in the back ? ?
Great Divide’s Chocolate Cherry Yeti
⭐️⭐️⭐️
#saturdaybeer
come for the word “nobble”, stay for the excellent metaphor: Trump and his imitators are out to nobble the world’s referees
those with wealth or power see the rules, or the referees who enforce them, as an inconvenience, a restraint to be pushed out of the way
very happy to see no less a heavyweight than Zeldman on A List Apart discussing the problems of Twitter, as well as the solutions based on the open web. bravo. Nothing Fails Like Success (via @brentsimmons)
The Onion is almost always genuinely funny but this one made laugh out loud: Bird Reflects On Frailty, Impermanence Of Life After Finding Dead Human On Sidewalk
Tom
test post to verify my WordPress xmlrpc is working again after upgrading PHP to 7 like the dashboard kept nagging me to (the fix turned out to be apt-get install php7.0-xml). so, ok, indie social networking is kind of a PITA sometimes ?
added to my to-read list: a new book from Mike Monteiro: Ruined By Design. as evidenced by the sample chapter (“Ayn Rand is a Dick”), it clearly (and typically for Monteiro) pulls zero punches (via Jen Myers’ email newsletter)