Reading

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Books

Author outfits old pickup truck to be traveling banned bookstore: 'A rolling rebellion in the Deep South'

The work she’s doing now? Converting a rusty 1940 Ford pickup truck into a traveling banned bookstore. She calls it “The Banned Wagon.”

“I was originally thinking of opening a regular bookstore, but after the fight over banning books in Fairhope, I was inspired to go this route instead,” Fugett shared with the Alabama Political Reporter.

Her goal with The Banned Wagon is to put banned and challenged books “back into the hands of the people who need them the most.” That includes LGBTQ+ youth, and other marginalized communities. But Fugett also knows that everyone needs access to books that challenge their worldview.

This is a replicable tactic for dealing with censorship.

Another option is to stash diverse titles in Little Free Libraries, in BookCrossing, in any swap shelf you see, and so on. Poke a bigot in the eye, share banned books! Here are some ideas.

(no subject)

Name: Nora Neurosismancer (they/she)

Age: 41

I mostly post about: Whatever is on my mind, also my daily poetry when I'm happy enough with it to share.

My hobbies are: Poetry, paganism, witchcraft, and so much music. I'm big into all things gothy: darkwave and coldwave, post-punk, synthpop, new wave, industrial, metal, and just outright werid shit. Oh, and I do competitive air guitar.

My fandoms are: Star Trek and Trek-adjacent stuff, also I'm deep in the fandom for various bands, especially DEVO.

I'm looking to meet people who: Post interesting stuff. Bonus points if you're trans or some other flavor of queer.

My posting schedule tends to be: I'm aiming for a couple posts a week.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: No minors, no TERFs, no Nazis, no Evangelical Christians, no Harry Potter.

Before adding me, you should know: I write some pretty emotional, and sometimes sexually oriented poetry. I've precious little filter about adult topics.

Album Of The Day

This is a classic prog rock alobum from 1969. Its 40th annoversary edition is just awesome. CD and DVD double in a slipcase style.

King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crrimson King

In The Court Of The Crimson King - An Observation By King Crimson, Primary, 1 of 19

In The Court Of The Crimson King - An Observation By King Crimson, Primary, 1 of 19

In The Court Of The Crimson King - An Observation By King Crimson, Secondary, 2 of 19

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Birdfeeding

Today is partly cloudy and mild. It rained a little yesterday, enough to leave small puddles in the road, but the ground is still bone-dry here. Further predictions for rain continue to fluctuate wildly, but hopefully we'll get some more eventually.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I watered the old picnic table, patio plants, irises, and a few others around the house yard.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I watered the new picnic table, septic garden, telephone pole garden, and a few savanna seedlings.

EDIT 9/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

Cicadas and crickets are singing.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

They Used To Take His Calls

I have a friend who used to be a bit of a mover and shaker, but he's an old chap now and has been out of action for a while. Wanting to get back into the game he rang a magazine whose editorial staff he'd once have been pally with and they put him on hold and played muzak at him until he went away.....

And the moral of the story is.....

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Interesting Links for 20-09-2025

1. Popper was right about the link between certainty and extremism: (tags:politics psychology belief )
2. Plastic from takeaway containers may fuel Alzheimer's risk (in mice): (tags:mice alzheimers plastic )
3. Is it cheating if your illicit affair is with AI?: (tags:relationships ai )
4. The US "healthcare" system is not fit for purpose.: (tags:healthcare USA OhForFucksSake )

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Book 50 - John Boyne "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas"

John Boyne "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" (Definitions)

I reread The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas before starting All the Broken Places and it had an even greater impact on me second time round.

The stark contrast between Auschwitz seen through the eyes of a naïve, 9-year-old forced to leave the luxury of his 5-storey home in Berlin when his father is promoted to the rank of camp commandant and the vivid images stamped on my mind from newsreels showing the liberation of the camps and the horrors of the atrocities committed there, from documentaries about the holocaust and the final solution and from interviews with survivors made this book a chilling and compelling read.

When Bruno innocently ponders why the hordes of passengers being forced to board an already packed train on the opposite platform can’t just cross over and join him on his empty train going in the same direction, I pictured the grim reality with a sick feeling in my stomach.

The characters are all really well drawn: the repetition of phrases, mispronunciation of key words and gripes over the lack of playmates, lessons and The Hopeless Case perfectly portray Bruno as a self-preoccupied and privileged young boy while the depiction of his new friend Schmuel on the other side of the fence is simply heart-breaking. The coldness and cruelty emanating from Lieutenant Kurt Kotler send shivers down the spine while Mother’s medicinal sherry and Father’s iron fist create a real impression of home life.

For a relatively short book The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas packs a powerful punch and poses many questions for adult and younger readers alike. A harrowing and haunting work of fiction, a tense and atmospheric read and a unique perspective on this unforgettable period in history.

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Book 49 - Jacqueline Harpman "I Who Have Never Known Men"

Jacqueline Harpman "I Who Have Never Known Men" (Vintage)

For years, 39 women and 1 younger girl have lived in an underground bunker in a cage. Patrolling guards are their only contact with the outside world, and at this point they despair of ever escaping, resigned to death in prison. Most of the women can remember their former lives, but the younger girl remembers nothing but the cage. But one day, a mysterious siren goes off just as the guards are opening the hatch to deliver them food, and after the guards disappear, the women are able to escape. But will they find freedom outside of the bunker?

This is a bleak dystopian novel that is less about what happens to its characters and more about the human spirit in the face of despair. The writing is beautiful, and every word is tense. My only complaint was that I desperately wanted to know more, to understand why and how, but Harpman does not answer these questions and leaves them to her protagonist and the reader to ponder.

Muddied

In the few days since he is alleged to have killed Mr Kirk the shooter has been MAGA, a Guyper, a liberal, a closet gay, a trans activist, a loner, a conspirator, a patsy, a CIA and/or Mossad agent- and probably other things as well. Every faction in US politics has claimed him for the group they hate the most- and now the water is so muddied it may prove impossible to establish the truth.....

Current Mood: busy

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Philosophical Questions: Society

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Has social media been a net positive or a net negative for our society? Why?

( Read more... )

back again!

name: squid

age: 21

location: midwestern united states

i post about: i'm into a lot of things but what i end up posting about are monthly periodical-types of the music i discover and listen to (free for anybody to access) and the general musings and feelings of an anxious college guy (behind an access lock). i might someday make a dedicated post about history or politics or literature but i rarely feel like i have any meaningful contribution to what could be said. that's a very broad characterization but check my about me on my profile for a slightly more detailed synopsis

my hobbies are: my whole life revolves around music, more or less :] i listen to music extensively (squid771 on last.fm and rateyourmusic), collect vinyl records, and go to college studying sound engineering (i'm a senior!). i have an off-again, on-again recording project that i'll someday release something under. i play guitar, i'm an untrained singer, and i play various keyboard instruments. i always try to watch movies but usually that means i'll just gather a bunch, watch 2 in one night, and then go 6 months without watching another. i'm trying to read more (5 books read this year; infinitely times more than the past couple of years), i'm big into history (currently researching the george mcgovern 1972 campaign, and concurrently the history of how the word socialism/communism got such a negative connotation in the U.S.), and i like to walk around at night, or in the rain, or both. i try to appreciate the little things. i want to write, and learn esperanto, but i've never found enough consistent motivation to try either

my fandoms are: i haven't really considered myself to be really big enough on anything to be part of a fandom, but some of my favorite bands/artists are fishmans, stereolab, broadcast, nick drake, elliott smith, the radio dept., the field mice (all of sarah records really), brian eno, yo la tengo, ichiko aoba, and many many others! i could talk about music for days and days. as far as like forms of media go i'm big into the trails series (games 1-5, trails and crossbell; cold steel ruined the franchise), deltarune (haven't played undertale but i generally know what happens by osmosis), off, team fortress 2, and disco elysium; and then cowboy bebop, samurai champloo, NGE, general 2000s adult swim-core type stuff for anime

i'm looking to meet people who: i put a post up here about 6 months ago when i first started this account and i did get a lot of responses but nearly all of the people that replied to me aren't active anymore. i'm looking for people to really connect with and are in this site for the long haul (or at least for a while). i'm not too picky about sharing interests but having mutual appreciation for something always helps. the main thing though is that i'm just trying to make more friends :]

my posting schedule tends to be: whenever i feel like there's enough going enough in my life to post about something. this is usually like 2 to 5 times a month. i do tend to get wordy in my posts for what that's worth

when I add people, my dealbreakers are: i'm a very vague socialist so i'm not particularly chill with MAGA types or people who are just unnecessarily rude but i think there's like only 2 people on this site with those beliefs anyways

before adding me, you should know: i don't really comment much but i read everything that's posted. i get in my own head about responding to/posting comments and not feeling like i have enough to say. but i'm always looking to talk to more people and come out of my shell
i'm very depressed and mildly autistic and can be in my head a lot of the time, so the posts behind my access lock can get mopey and despondent. i'm doing the best i can to grapple with my emotions and the world around me so a little bit of empathy goes a long way. we're all going through something

Current Mood: amused

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Books

10 Queer Pirate Books for Talk Like a Pirate Day

Ahoy, mateys! Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and we be celebratin’ with a heapin’ pile of queer piratey books we fished up outta Davy Jones’ locker. Aar, I be shuttin’ up now, so as not to be subjectin’ ye’ll to more of me aaaatrocious pirate talk. The contributors to this here list be: Nina Waters, Dei Walker, Terra P. Waters, theirprofoundbond, Rascal Hartley, Linnea Peterson, Neo Scarlett, and Sebastian Marie.

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Today's Adventures

Today we went to the Autumn Fest in Marshall. It was an evening event, and the day had cooled off considerably, so it was quite pleasant. We were lucky to miss the rain there -- it rained a bit at home and we drove through several showers. This event continues on Saturday and Sunday if you want to catch it, and it is well worth attending if you're in Illinois this weekend looking for something to do.

( Read more... )

Book 48 - Terry Eagleton "After Theory"

Terry Eagleton "After Theory" (Penguin)

When the very foundations of your civilisation are literally under fire, however, pragmatism in the theoretical sense of the word seems altogether too lightweight, a laid-back response.

After Theory begins as an intellectual history and concludes as a cautionary tale. Unfortunately, in between there is a messy didactic midriff where Eagleton labours to define Truth and Morality. Such an exploration undercuts the wonderful narrative of the opening chapters, where Eagleton paints with tremendous skill and never avoids landing a quick jab:

The most avant-garde cultural journal of the period, the French literary organ Tel Quel, discovered an ephemeral alternative to Stalinism in Maoism. This is rather like finding an alternative to heroin in crack cocaine.

and

Fate pushed Roland Barthes under a Parisian laundry van, and afflicted Michel Foucault with Aids. . .It seemed that God was not a structuralist.

Eagleton weaves his history of Theory and points out that its time has now passed. It thrived from 1965-80 and compares these fifteen years with the rupture of High Modernism from 1910-1925. He argues that Barthes, Derrida and others were the Joyce and Schoenberg of this later, messier time. He also notes how most of the Theory Gang were left-leaning, if not further radicalised. The proximity to May '68 isn't really confronted subsequently, nor the spot of bother which was both the Cultural Revolution as well as the Islamic Revolution of Iran 1979, the latter of which proved to be a pickle for Foucault. I suppose this is picking battles, but such remains distracting, especially given the strange turn the book takes to epistemology and ethics, which comprise chapters 4-7, nearly half of the text. Slightly flawed perhaps, but still a recommended read.

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

Today is partly cloudy and warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 9/19/25 -- I did a bit of work around the yard.

I picked half a dozen groundcherries.

EDIT 9/19/25 -- I watered the irises.

EDIT 9/19/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

The sky has clouded over, air is cooling a little, and I heard thunder. I'm not sure it'll amount to anything, though.

EDIT 9/19/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

James Wolery

James Wolery
BORN 1943 DIED 2025

( Read more... )

L.M.A.O......

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Interesting Links for 19-09-2025

1. Labour's plan to jumpstart city building after Rayner's 1.5m homes drive stalls: (tags:housing uk )
2. Chimps consume a pint of lager's worth of alcohol every day in fruit: (tags:alcohol chimpanzees )
3. Man with Covid for over two years became virus incubator, as it evolved into new variants of concern: (tags:pandemic virus evolution )
4. Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads (and so I will never buy one): (tags:advertising Samsung technology OhForFucksSake )
5. Early dropoff in girls' school sports linked to new gender confirmation forms (in Canada): (tags:Canada girls sports school LGBT transgender bigotry )
6. Trump Spends Entire U.K. Trip Trying To Figure Out Where He Knows Prince Andrew From: (tags:politics Child_abuse satire usa uk royalty )
7. An "At The Mountains Of Madness" game, where you play as a penguin.: (tags:penguins hplovecraft games wtf )

By Bye, Birdie

I dreamed I was in an antiques emporium offering an object for sale. The thing I was selling was a small replica of the Mayan Calendar- or was it a Yorkshire pudding? Anyway it had shiny glass objects buried inside. The stallholder who bought it didn't offer money. Instead she gave me a flute or whistle that had a small bird-cage built into it. "Is there a canary? " I wondered. But, no, there wasn't.

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followfriday

Follow Friday 9-19-25

Got any Follow Friday-related posts to share this week? Comment here with the link(s).

Here's the plan: every Friday, let's recommend some people and/or communities to follow on Dreamwidth. That's it. No complicated rules, no "pass this on to 7.328 friends or your cat will die".