Beautiful Things

There are some things people just don’t think can be made at home. I suppose the thinking is that the tools and/or setup will be too expensive or difficult (or unavailable), or the process is not suitable in some way. Some seem to think that about marshmallows, but there’s nothing terribly tricky or challenging about making those. (Our last effort yielded some delicious chocolate ones—too bad I didn’t write down how much cocoa powder I used.)

That successful endeavor emboldened me to try others. And, as Snolf the First is interested in chemistry, I now have a handy excuse for trying more weird things. (No, no thermite yet, Uncle Carl!)

I am not a pagan of any formal variety; and partly because it can be hard to separate out the capital-P Pagans from little-p pagans (much like libertarians, I suppose), I do not feel comfortable applying either label variant to myself. But as my desires grow to commemorate and celebrate days that actually mean something in the natural world, I find a sense of communion with at least part of part of their formal celebrations. Thus I was entranced by the video below, which came to my attention courtesy of my massage therapist.


(Direct link for those who prefer to watch it at YouTube)

And now I have my own musical program for the rest of the evening, as I enjoy the candlelight and do some knitting: piano pieces from Edvard Grieg. I hope you enjoy your celebrations, whatever form they may take—and whenever (and whyever) you choose them!

At least it was for a while in a Philadelphia restaurant.

Bill St. Clair very kindly emailed me this morning, bringing my attention to an addition to one of his web sites that he thought I would particularly appreciate. Even though we’ve not yet met in person, he knows me well.

Some of you might think I mean this site; and indeed, my quietude has again continued for longer than I wanted. I continue to be busy offline and mostly happy with all that’s going on; and I am frustrated by my efforts to try to organize and express some thoughts on substantive matters for sharing here.

I know today is the obligatory day here in the USSA for giving thanks; and while I am commemorating it in offering mine, I want it to be clear that my gratitude runs deeper and wider than simple holiday offerings.

I’ve been tinkering with my computer some, and think I have regained access to my permanent GPG keys. For those who need to reimport my public key, or anyone who’s unsure which key he has, I have posted my public key on the “About Sunni” page. If you have sent me something encrypted recently (within the past two weeks) and did not receive a reply, I almost certainly was unable to decrypt it; please snag the updated key, re-encrypt, and resend. Thank you so much for your patience with me throughout this adventure!

I had been slowly working at cleaning and organizing my desk area [yes, again!] ... but with my computer out of commission I have more time offline than I’m accustomed to. So, over the weekend I started to get serious about organizing my mess—and in the process, rediscovered gold: a disc of music Warren Bluhm gave the snolfs and me some years back, titled The Will to Fly.

I’ll get it later is the photographer’s worst enemy. We ended up returning via a different route, and I wasn’t able to get the photo I wanted. My first lesson learned: never ever think “I’ll get it later”.

This comes from an article on photographing disaster scenes. In this case he (Neil Creek) was shooting the devastation of the recent fires in Australia, but no matter...

Several days back, Peter Saint-Andre made an excellent point in response to much of the rising concern people have regarding the state of this country and the global economy. In Where Are the Scenarios?, he observes:

... I rather doubt that a new Dark Ages is right around the corner. Sure, it’s possible, but what are the probabilities, based on current evidence, historical extrapolation, and scientific reasoning? Pointers are welcome. :)

At first I was all ready to fire back, emphasizing that even though a worst-case scenario may not happen, it is still a good idea to prepare for some hardship ahead ... but I didn’t. That would have been an aside to his point, and would have suggested I did not grok his point. I do. Survivalism seems to have become a popular angle for the fear-mongers in the media of late; and I have no interest in feeding the trend.

Just when you thought life could not POSSIBLY get any better... I just came from the grocery store wherein there was on display, for my and other potential consumer's consideration........ a Lindt Gourmet CHILI infused chocolate bar. Say WHAT??? Yes. You read that right, Chocolate AND Chili in one convenient package. Damn but it was good.

I claim no responsibility for what anyone may do with this information.

- NonE

More so than robins—although they’re what I grew up with as a harbinger of spring—the return of the peepers signify spring for me. Darlin’ Daughter adores them too, because they’re cousin to her animal totem, the tree frog ... so I can’t allow their return to pass uncelebrated.

Today Strike the Root published an essay by NonEntity, titled Ego/Rights/Resentment/Entitlement, which I found very thought-provoking. But I’m also a little bummed.

[4:13, Snake rushes in from a last-minute errand, tosses down keys and leaves jacket and boots on ... plops into computer chair] Late, late, always late—even for my own party!

At least, the purple haze I experienced last night was ...