There is no question that the last century, and particularly since the end of the Cold War, the world has been characterized by US hegemony exercised through its military and economic power, and control over financial institutions. But in a long article in Wired with the above title, Henry Farrell and Abraham L. Newman argue that under the Trump regime, the US is starting to follow the pattern of big tech entities like Google and Facebook and that this is eventually going to lead to a decline in US power and influence in the world.
Everyone needs contact comfort sometimes. Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime. So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace. Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.
I've been trying to turn the frown upside down and dragging a little joy back in my life.
Yesterday I decided to get a strawberry milkshake with my burger. The milkshake was delicious, but somehow when I was walking out of the joint the half cup I had left managed to leap from my hand and spread itself all over the pavement. I don't usually do this sort of clumsy thing. As I was looking down at the mess thinking what the fuck come on, a guy passing by into the same shop was like I got you for a free one, which was very kind of him and lifted my mood back up. I told him it was all good and the thing was almost done anyway (it wasn't really but there was still some left in the cup) and anyway I was full enough.
The place I've moved to is not bad but it doesn't have air conditioning, and we've been in the middle of a pretty brutal heat wave. So today I figured instead of suffering in my room I would suffer in a theater and see Superman, since I was seeing good things about it.
The theater was actually not nearly as cold as I anticipated, which was great, it was just comfortable for once instead of frigid, and I enjoyed Superman a lot! There are elements of the Superman mythos that seem impossible to extricate from the American mythos, and I am currently even more sensitive than usual to this for obvious reasons, but at the same time I think there's value in going for something aspirational rather than cynical. I did not like the Snyder Supes at all, so at the bare minimum it was so refreshing to see a good, kind, earnest Superman again. It felt a bit like I was watching a particularly long episode of the old cartoon in ways and that was exactly what I wanted.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day (merriamwebster_feed) wrote2025-07-3001:00 am
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 30, 2025 is:
doppelgänger • \DAH-pul-gang-er\ • noun
A doppelgänger is someone who looks very much like another person. In literary use, doppelgänger refers to a ghost that closely resembles a living person.
// I saw your doppelgänger at the movies yesterday and almost waved hello before I realized they weren’t you.
// In one of the creepiest parts of the story, the main character is haunted by a doppelgänger.
“When [Timothée] Chalamet himself briefly appeared at his own [celebrity look-alike] contest, popping up between two of his doppelgängers, the crowd was thrilled, but the contestants were somewhat diminished, all of the discrepancies emphasized between his face and their own.” — Amanda Hess, The New York Times, 22 Nov. 2024
Did you know?
According to German folklore, all living creatures have an identical, but invisible, spirit double. These second selves are distinct from ghosts, which appear only after death, and are sometimes described as the spiritual opposite or negative of their living counterparts. English speakers borrowed both the concept of the doppelgänger and the German word for it (from doppel-, meaning “double,” and -gänger, meaning “goer”) in the mid-1800s, but today the English word typically has a more quotidian use, referring simply to a living person who closely resembles another living person.
I don't want to get my brows laminated before Sardinia because she made them kind of thin (and it's costly), but I bought a "freeze gel" to keep them tamed. We'll see how well it works.
Um. Gracie is eating the grass on the little grass mat thing. I told her that’s for peeing on, but she’s not getting it. She peed on the bed. Now she’s trying to “bury” it. She got her e-collar off. I gave her a munchie bone. I finally fell asleep.
Got up a little before 7 AM. Took Gracie and Bella out. Ordered another e-collar.
I’m feeling like crying. I can't get the e-collar on Gracie. I'll need to tie her on a short leash to get it on. And I haven't heard from the vet. I'm feeling like a failure as a dog mom. We have an appointment for 3 PM today. I ordered a "recovery suit" for dogs on Amazon. She might like that better.
I want to write an app that serves up one item from your to-do list at a time so that you don't get overwhelmed. It would also randomly include a breaks or fun tasks too to keep your interest. Something for retirement.
Heat advisory again.
My boss just gave me a bunch of new things to add to my slides.
I tried to lie down at lunch but Gracie is being totally manic. She needs to run around with Bella.
I made an appointment for a pedicure this Saturday. I tried to make a hair appointment, but my stylist isn't available until September. Oh well.
The vet said that Gracie had the beginning of an infection, but we caught it early. They sent us home with an antibiotic and trazodone to sedate her. (I told them that she was bouncing off of the walls.)
Hmm. I'm wondering if I could take a quick trip down to Mobile next spring, using the airfare for which I have a credit. When do trees blossom? Google says late March or early April in Alabama.
I’m feeling sorry for Bella. “Finally you get it right Mom and get me a friend, but now I can’t play with her!”
Ordered more puppy food. Fed us all. Gracie got throw-up (?) on the cone, so I washed it and now it’s drying.
I have four more payments on my phone, and then I’ll unlock it and try Mint Mobile.
Got the garbage out. I'm tired, so I'm going to go to bed soon. I hope that the trazodone has made Gracie settle the fuck down :)
Title: Someone You Can Build a Nest In Author: John Wiswell Genre: Fiction, fantasy, romance
A+ Library is my bit where I review books with asexual and aromantic characters.
Went on a weekend trip with the squad this weekend and we had to stop at the local Barnes and Noble (It's been a while since I was in one that big! Ours in my town is now in the mall, so it's quite small.) where I spent too much and picked up some things on my TBR plus my own copy of Our Wives Under the Sea. We had some downtime on the trip and I managed to finish the first of the new books while we were there. This was Someone You Can Build a Nest Inby John Wiswell.
I wanted so much to like this book, and not just because I was charmed by the purple-themed Barnes and Noble-exclusive cover and edging. It landed on my TBR for being an asexual romance (sapphic, if you take Shesheshen for female, which you don't have to do), and I enjoyed the plot concept. Unfortunately, I did not like the book. If I had not paid for it I probably would not have finished it. The following review is not to say it's a bad book—it has an average rating of 4.05 stars on StoryGraph based on over 6,000 reviews, so obviously people like it—but to say that it specifically had a number of things that made it a big thumbs down for me.
The character: Shesheshen, asexual; Homily, asexual
After breakfast I called the AC repair guy that we've worked with before, but his number is no longer in service so instead I picked a bigger company. Our AC has only been cooling to 80°F (26.6°C) no matter how we set the thermostat. We flush the lines regularly and Jameson just changed the filter a week or so ago. It's not obvious what's wrong, so time to call someone in.
Once Jameson was up I let him know the AC people would be coming today, then practiced bass trombone early and with a mute because Jameson had THREE work meetings today. After practicing, lunch, then I went for a walk even though it was blazing hot (temps around 98°F / 36.6°C, which with humidity is a "real feel" of 108°F / 42.2°C.) With an Epic Universe day on Wednesday I want to be acclimated to stretches of physical activity in the intense heat.
Back home a quick shower, then meal planning and looking up old circus photos for an upcoming podcast and waiting for the AC guys to show up. They were supposed to come at 6pm and didn't arrive until 7, but the diagnosis didn't take long: the unit is 18 years old, it's leaking a LOT of coolant somewhere, and ultimately it's past time to replace it. The average lifespan of an AC unit here in Florida is 8-10 years. Our unit has lasted twice that, and has served us very well.
The cost to replace it: $12,000.
It's a hell of a financial punch, but that's what saved money is FOR. Unfortunately I'm on a financial downturn at the moment, so Jameson is covering this one all on his own, which upsets me but when I offered to pay a portion he wouldn't hear of it. I'll have to swallow my pride and contribute or "make up for it" in some other way.
This is one of those times that I'm really grateful that both of us are...who we are. Jameson is a bada$$ who never gives up no matter what and constantly raises his own net worth. I'll never make as much money as Jameson but I always hold multiple jobs and never stop hustling and saving. The thing I'm grateful about is that either of us could have single-handedly covered this. It just would have hit me harder this time because although I save more than Jameson, I earn less. If that makes sense. Anyway, what I mean to say is I'm proud of us for being prepared for this.
That was pretty much the end of the night. It'll be an uncomfortable night without AC, harder on Jameson than me. I grew up without the luxury of air conditioning and slept on the hardwood floor with a box fan and a sheet and all the windows open, for months at a time. One night of doing that again is nothing to me. But poor Jameson runs hot, and has had AC since he was born! But it's only one night, we will be fine :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TUESDAY - New AC Install
I was up very early at 5:30am, reason being Jameson had to leave for work at 8am which was also the earliest the AC installers might arrive. I needed to hit the grocery at some point today and didn't want to leave the house unattended while strangers are here. That meant my only solid window to grocery shop was 7am-8am. And so, early breakfast and to Publix and back.
Jameson left for work and the AC folks arrived about an hour after that. I got them situated and then puttered around nervously while they worked. It was a very boring 4.5 hours for me, not being able to go anywhere or practice. The house was hot and uncomfortable but cooler than outside by 20 degrees. I tried to practice but was worried that if I was too loud I might not hear the techs. Packed my lunch and clothing for Epic, read my book and watched anime and played solitaire until I was tired of all three. Brought cold water and snacks to the techs close to lunchtime, which they very happily and gratefully accepted, which in turn made me feel happy to do a good turn for these guys slaving away in the heat for our comfort.
I checked in on them about every 45 minutes or so and took a few pictures throughout the process so that Jameson could see what was going on. One guy worked on the inside unit and the other on the outside box (thankfully Outdoor Guy was working under a UV umbrella.)
I won't bore you with the process photos, but here is the 18-year-old unit before removal:
...and the new unit installed:
Old outdoor unit uninstalled and sitting in our driveway:
New outdoor unit:
They did such an excellent job, and cleaned up every speck of debris and packaging and trash, and hauled away the old unit. They tested everything and made absolutely sure that everything was working before they left. And everything comes with a 10-year warranty. When they left the house was at 85°F, and just three hours later it was at 76°F (24.4°C!!) Replacing the whole AC was an incredibly expensive process, but in my opinion well well WELL worth doing. In Florida with the heat getting more and more intense and long-lasting each year, a working AC is not just for comfort; it could save your life.
After the guys left I practiced halfheartedly but didn't accomplish much, and started making dinner once Jameson was on his way home. It was a simple buffalo chicken and roasted potato casserole topped with bacon pieces, cheese, chives, and sour cream. I was worried that using the oven would make the temp in the house rise again but this new AC is awesome, it didn't even flinch and held at 76F until Jameson got home. He was SO HAPPY! In addition to the cooler temps I can also feel that it's drawing more humidity out of the air. And since it can maintain temps better than the old one it cycles off more frequently, so we will hopefully see a modest difference in the power bill too.
That was it, just dinner and chilling out for the evening. In our pleasantly chilled house :)
Wednesday: Half-day at Epic Universe. Looking forward to seeing some friends and catching up...not really looking forward to wearing makeup and running around in this heat!
Thursday: Nothing planned except chores, practice, and making dinner for us.
On the DEWLine 2.0: Dwight Williams (dewline) wrote2025-07-2908:19 pm
And now that I'm here, I've learned that Pat Augustine has finally passed away.
We knew each other from Mike Norton's Comic Book Crossroads fanzine as contributors. A few years back, as part of his downsizing efforts in the wake of his cancer diagnosis, he sold me his Wacom Cintiq, which I'm still using as of tonight. It's been incredibly useful in my art hobbies. (We were both annoyed at the import duties I had to cough up in addition to what I paid him as I recall.)
A good guy, and I miss him.
(And I note that his Discord account is still logged in as I type this. Not a complaint.)
The School Reader, Fifth Book: Designed As A Sequel To Sanders' Fourth Reader by Charles Walton Sanders
An 1859 book presenting texts for elocution classes. Probably mostly of interest for the selections, chosen for the edification of the young as well as the elocution -- and to keep them interested. Often has several selections on the same topic. For instance, at one point, the condor. Eulogies on Thomas Jefferson and John Adams -- both, considering their common death date -- and on John Quincy Adams. Among many other topics.
[Major Tom, a big grey tabby, lounges on his side under a camping chair. Sparse, yellow-green grass grows around him. He’s staring just to the right of the camera, whiskers perked but ears at ease.]
Major Tom did really well, & I’m proud of him! But it took him a couple of days.
He didn’t want to leave the van at all, during setup. He was perfectly happy there — purring, kneading, entirely content with his life — but actually _leaving_ the van was apparently Right Out. I had to pry him out eventually, of course, but I waited til it was time to park the van, & he had his Uncle Ivar to keep an eye on him. Once I was back, he actually came out far enough to realize that Uncle Ivar has a vardo, & decide that it was just as congenial a spot for a tomcat as my vardo is.
The next day he barely left the sleeping tent, but I hadn’t expected him to. He peeked out a couple times, & ventured over to Ivar’s vardo again, thus setting the pattern for the rest of the week, which was ‘spend as much time in a vardo as he’s allowed to’. Alas, the vardo in question is enough smaller than Tyrava that it heats up quite a lot more, so we had to pry him out in the early afternoon every day. He didn’t love it, but he accepted his fate.
… what worked to get him to actually stand up & head outside every time? Me telling him that his public was waiting for him.
He’s getting the hang of it.
[Major Tom, seen from above, is flopped on a pile of red, white, and grey fabric. His ears are firmly stuck out to the side.]
He also, of course, interfered with my sewing, but that’s what he’s a cat for.
Loiosh had his usual excellent time, spending most of his days asleep, & also a lot of his nights, but then, he’s an old man.
[Loiosh, an orange tabby wearing a green harness, is half-curled up, asleep, on top of a patchwork wool blanket. The end of his tail is curled round til it’s almost a spiral.]
He did have his usual shenanigans, which I mostly failed to get pictures of, but he did enjoy thwarting CJ’s attempts to keep him from being A Pest.
[CJ is sitting between the display tables; he’s wearing a long blue tunic and a white linen coif. Loiosh is standing on his lap, wiggling to try to get free of CJ’s arms, which are loosely wrapped around him. One of Loiosh’s forepaws sits right at CJ’s elbow, a claw stuck in the fabric; his head, twisted around to stare grimly away from CJ, is all the way over at CJ’s hand.]
But then, that’s the boy.
[Loiosh has unstuck his claw, and is now leaning dejectedly against CJ’s arms, head turned just far enough that he’s still not looking at CJ’s face.]
He also got to meet Marisol’s sister Alexx, who travels with Morgyn’s mom, & instead of promptly chasing her out of the booth he gave her a good long sniff — she actually growled at him first! So she absolutely smelled familiar. Alas that Alexx wasn’t feeling near so potentially friendly …
originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!
In a study, published in Ecology and Evolution, the research team released findings on two new species of kultarr (“cool-tar”), a carnivorous marsupial.
“Prior to this study, Antechinomys was considered to contain two species: A. laniger and A. longicaudatus,” wrote Cameron Dodd, lead author and a PhD student from UWA’s School of Biological sciences.
“With the description of A. auritus and resurrection of A. spenceri, A. laniger is now recognized as a species complex comprising three distinct taxa.”
The Gable Wrap is an easy, meditative knitting pattern where slanted parallelograms meet in graceful peaks, like the rooftops of a storybook village. Cast on with Oleander, our breezy cotton-linen yarn that brings this simple pattern to life with striking clarity and form.
Built from a strong foundation of knits and purls, the Gable Wrap is equally beautiful on both sides. You knit the long parallelograms vertically in columns, but when the wrap is worn, they stretch across the fabric like the rooflines of neighboring houses, side by side and row after row. The interplay of raised and recessed stitches gives the fabric a dynamic, architectural feel, and gentle pleating where the shapes meet adds subtle dimension and movement.
With your choice of written instructions or a chart to guide you, the Gable Wrap pattern is straightforward to follow. Simple stitches and a logical, repeating pattern make it a relaxing and satisfying project from start to finish.
This light summer wrap is just perfect in Oleander, our lovely fingering-weight yarn that combines linen’s natural breathability and moisture-wicking with cotton’s soft, supple feel. Smooth and cool to the touch, this very beautiful yarn has a subtle luster from the linen, but an overall matte finish.
Oleander’s palette is inspired by sunlit days and blooming hillsides, with three lively new colors perfect for warm-weather projects. Among them is this deep Teal Sea, like a window flung open to the coast… Tranquil yet energizing!
Cast on for this generous wrap or a smaller scarf version and enjoy the elegant stitchwork of Oleander as the converging angles of the Gable Wrap begin to unfold, every rooftop leading skyward in quiet, deliberate beauty.
Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!
Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho. We can’t wait to see what you make!
Want to print this pattern? On desktop, find the “print” icon in the right margin, and on mobile, scroll to the end of the pattern for it. Use the on-screen instructions to remove anything you don’t want to print!
Materials
5 (8) balls of Purl Soho’s Oleander, 50% cotton and 50% linen. Each ball of this fingering-weight yarn is 205 yards/ 50 grams; approximately 860 (1535) yards required.
Starting in the bottom right corner of the Charts below, work right-side (odd number) rows from right to left and wrong-side (even number) rows from left to right.
Work Section A and Section B 5 five times total, then repeat Rows 1–16 of Section A one more time.
Go on to Finishing, below.
KEY
CHART
NOTE: Want to see it bigger? Download these charts (and key) as a PDF!
FINISHING
With right side facing you, bind off knitwise to end of row.
Weave in ends and gently wet block.
LEARN ABOUT OLEANDER + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS
We used Oleander for this project because of its alluring earthiness and fine, soft touch. A fingering-weight yarn, Oleander is made in Italy from 50% Turkish cotton and 50% Belgian linen. It is the ultimate warm-weather knitting yarn, as light as a summer breeze and as lovely as an Italian hillside in bloom!
- woke up just after 08:00, but didn't manage to roll out of bed till almost 09:30
- still did my 30 minutes pilates workout before eating breakfast, packing lunch, changing to Viking clothes etc.
- arrived at the museum just before our shift started at 12:00. Checked the long house, my soapstone pot in progress was still there. Checked the barn, the pallet we had prepared yesterday to be delivered down the hill to our work station was still there.
- walked down the hill, no sign of anyone who might know anything.
- Keldor walked back up the hill to fetch his axe and a few useful items
- while he was gone I ate my pastie. Then one of the guys working for drift drove by, so I chatted with him. He suggested I just call Elisabeth, so I did.
- a bit later she sent a message saying that stuff was on the way.
- Keldor returned just before the pallet of stuff arrived, so we unloaded it, put the pallet in the little viking storage tent we put up yesterday, then put the boxes of metal bits for forging, and the bags of charcoal inside on the pallet, to keep everything dry if it rains. We put the benches and my box of tools in my work area, and hid my sandals and our lunch bags inside. (I changed into my viking shoes after we arrived. I know they will eventually wear holes in the soles, but I would like to put that day off as long as possible, so I use my Birkenstocks for the 1 km walk down the hill)
- then we checked that it would be ok, and got out the tent that they discovered had gotten moldy and opened it up to make a large, oddly shaped, flat roof over the stack of syones that is the forge.
- to do that he used his axe to cut poles with a forked ends. They worked very well.
- the anvil delivery happened directly after the pallet, and they said they would be back with the bellows and my soapstone. They were. At 16:30.
- the time between finishing the roof and getting that delivery went slowly. The time after went much faster, as I was both working on my stone carving and occasionally lending a hand as he worked on getting the bellows set up.
- when I started making this pot, I added a bit of a rim around the edge to make it easier to hold and lift. However the museum bought a handle for the pot, so it can be suspended over a fire. In order to rivit that to the pot I have to take away that rim and make the top of the pot flat. Luckily, I hadn't finished the inside, so I have enough stone available to do this.
- our shift ended at 19:00, and we walked back up the hill to where we had parked the car, then stopped by the store on the way home, where we picked up cat sand (which he will use to get the smithy working tomorrow), yoghurt so I cam make naan bread, and baking paper to roll out the almond paste we had coloured last night.
- after a short break we went to work on our cake for tomorrow, the *300-gram anvil.*
- the anvil is cut from layers of pound cake wirh raspberry maremlade between, and covered with a bluish grey almond paste. It sits on a tree stump, also made from layers of pound cake and raspberry marmlade, but covered with brown almond paste, and with bark made from chocolate sprinkles. We also lay bits of green almond paste around the base of the tree stump.
- now it sits in the fridge and waits for tomorrow evening's cake decorating contest. The name? Because my pound cake calls for 1 pound each of butter, sugar eggs, and flour, but i chose to use 300 grams of everything, as that is an even 5 eggs.
Genius (1643 words) by all_and_sundries Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Great Mouse Detective (1986) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Basil of Baker Street & David Dawson Characters: Basil of Baker Street, David Dawson (Great Mouse Detective) Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Friendship Summary:
Basil knows that Dawson is cleverer than he gives himself credit for, and he sets out to prove it, but things don't go exactly as planned.
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