Reading

Weekend Update 33

Posted by Chris ODonnell

https://odonnellweb.com/pelican/sunday_links_33.html

Happy first weekend in December to all who celebrate. We had our first snow of the year this week. It snowed 2.5 inches (6.3 cm) on Thursday night and Friday morning. They shut the city down on Friday. All schools, government offices, etc., were closed. As I type this on Sunday morning, all the snow is already melted. Winter in the South...

Snow in the backyard

We went to the Richmond Ballet production of The Nutcracker last night. We saw the Atlanta Ballet production in the previous century, but I remember absolutely nothing about it. I did read the Wikipedia page on The Nutcracker this week so I would have some idea of the story. I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. In fact, I would go to another ballet. I don't know if it was opening night jitters, or this is just what you get with the local ballet company, but in the group dances the symmetry was often noticeably off and the lines frequently not straight or evenly spaced. I'm not complaining; this is RVA, not NYC. Just something that I noticed. And let's face it, I really don't know the difference between good and bad ballet.

We dressed up for it. I'm about the least formal person around, but I am also old enough to remember when people generally didn't wear jeans or shorts on airplane flights. The airplane industry treats us like bus passengers, so I think reacting by dressing like it's a low-budget bus trip is a reasonable response. But when we had Broadway in Richmond tickets for a couple of seasons, I was surprised by how casual many people were. So I was pleasantly surprised last night that the vast majority of patrons at the ballet dressed like it was a special event.

I told Michelle that maybe we should make 2026 a year of the arts and try to get out to the ballet, the symphony, gallery shows, etc.

Also, NPR called me again to check in and ask if I'd done anything or made any changes since they interviewed me. I told them that I'm at the acceptance stage of the stages of grief on this. I don't expect Congress to do anything useful. I did die a little inside though when the reporter commented that she was glad she was still on her parents insurance.

Reading

I've also started A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway, and I find the primary characters annoying and his writing style weird. Maybe there is a reason this is my first Hemingway book. I'm about 1/3 in, so I'll probably force my way through it to check it off the reading list, but so far, I don't get the hype around it as one of the all-time greats.

Watching

We finished binging The Beast Inside Me, the Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys miniseries on Netflix. It is very entertaining, as you would expect with those two actors in the leading roles. We also watched our first cheesy Christmas movie of the year, Champagne Christmas. Minka Kelly and Paris scenery are a winning combination. It's cheesy, schmaltzy, and 100% predictable, which is why we watch these movies. However, there is a 90-second bit involving Die Hard in the movie that had me rolling.

Listening

I had two new-client pitches this week, so my work week was intense without a lot of time for background music. I mostly streamed That Station after hours, and as I type this, I've got The Red Clay Strays Live at the Ryman on the MP3 player.

Links

In Grow Slowly, Stay Small, Herman (the Bear Blog developer) shares his philosophy of running a small, sustainable business. I wish this approach was the default in the US, instead of the grow fast and break things ethos that has taken over the country.

Anil Dash on the power of not just telling stories but sharing stories in a way that amplifies them to spread beyond you, because you alone can never reach everyone in the target audience.

I haven't had time to go through Bitter Southerner's list of best Southern albums yet, but I'm sure there are several gems in that list.

And that is it for this week. Remember, in a world where you can choose to be anything, you can choose to be kind.

https://odonnellweb.com/pelican/sunday_links_33.html

Weekend Update 32

Posted by Chris ODonnell

https://odonnellweb.com/pelican/sunday_links_32.html

How the hell is it already December?

It was Thanksgiving weekend here in the US. So a lot of us had 4 days off. All my other long weekends this year have involved travel, so although they were often fun, I typically came back tired. This 4-day weekend was 4-days of staying close to home. I got so relaxed that I spent most of Saturday thinking it was Sunday. There is probably a lesson here but I'm sure it's going over my head.

Thanksgiving was chill for us. Just us and a roast turkey breast with mashed potatoes, balsamic and honey glazed roasted carrots,dinner rolls, and a fruit salad. On Black-Friday we went out to 2 local vendor fairs and an art gallery. We spent $9. Take that capitalism! On Saturday we did more local vendor fairs, and Sunday I went out birding in the AM. I got 46 species and one lifer on Sunday, putting me at 213 species for the year.

We also put up the Christmas tree and I put up the exterior lights. I feel a little like Charlie Brown. I'm not going to let the state of the world ruin my mood any longer. I'm going to enjoy life in spite of the bastards in charge.

On Thanksgiving Eve I wanted to watch the WKRP Thanksgiving episode, which I own in the I paid Amazon money for it sense of ownership. Amazon lost the rights to it (Apple has it now) so it's gone from my Amazon account. And that dear readers, is how I came to acquire all 4 seasons of WKRP, now safely stored on my computer.

Links

"...I remain unconvinced that I am any better off having posted all of the stuff in all of those places over the last thirty years than had I just written it down on paper."

An animated meditation (is that a thing?) reminding us that it's the journey, not the destination, that counts.

Overthinking A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Watching

We binged season 2 of A Man Inside, the Ted Danson cozy mystery on Netflix. If you enjoyed season 1 you'll enjoy season 2. We also watched Carry-On, a Netflix only movie (I think) starring Jason Bateman has a terrorist hell-bent on destruction on Christmas Eve at LAX. The movie is trying a little too hard to be Diehard, but I was entertained, which is all I ask of a movie. So two thumbs up from me. I also discovered Tasting History, a YouTube channel where the host cooks 50-500+ year old recipes and weaves in a history lesson in 20-30 minutes. They are very entertaining, and educational.

Reading

I finished up A Shattered Piece by John Scalzi last night. It's the first book in the Old Man's War universe in 10 years. If easy to read space opera with a side of snark is your thing, you'll enjoy this. But it is book 7 in this universe. It's a stand alone story, but I think you'll enjoy it more if you go back and start at the beginning.

listening

Tesla - Mechanical Resonance Live is currently "spinning" in the MP3 player on my computer. I also listened to quite a bit of Jukebox the Ghost this week. And Christmas music, because it is that time of year.

And that is it for this week. Remember, in a world where you can choose to be anything, you can choose to be kind.

https://odonnellweb.com/pelican/sunday_links_32.html

Look! I remembered to post before December started this year!

Hello, friends! It's about to be December again, and you know what that means: the fact I am posting this actually before December 1 means

karzilla reminded me about the existence of linear time again. Wait, no -- well, yes, but also -- okay, look, let me back up and start again: it's almost December, and that means it's time for our annual December holiday points bonus.

The standard explanation: For the entire month of December, all orders made in the Shop of points and paid time, either for you or as a gift for a friend, will have 10% of your completed cart total sent to you in points when you finish the transaction. For instance, if you buy an order of 12 months of paid time for $35 (350 points), you'll get 35 points when the order is complete, to use on a future purchase.

( The fine print and much more behind this cut! )

Thank you, in short, for being the best possible users any social media site could possibly ever hope for. I'm probably in danger of crossing the Sappiness Line if I haven't already, but you all make everything worth it.

On behalf of Mark, Jen, Robby, and our team of awesome volunteers, and to each and every one of you, whether you've been with us on this wild ride since the beginning or just signed up last week, I'm wishing you all a very happy set of end-of-year holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and hoping for all of you that your 2026 is full of kindness, determination, empathy, and a hell of a lot more luck than we've all had lately. Let's go.