sraun | Reading

Um.

I tried to write an intro for this, but all I can do is gesture incoherently. No, I wasn't a Baldy, I wasn't a skinhead, but the milieu affected my life for Reasons. If you watch this documentary it may give you a better understanding of (some of) what made Minneapolis in the 80s what it was. Or maybe you were there too, and this will be an interesting tour of byegone days.

I really want to get together and share stories of those times. For now, here, have a pretty good documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=8BSDZ1DIEIQ

mpr_daily_download_feed

Tomas Luis de Victoria - O Magnum Mysterium

Oxford Camerata

Jeremy Summerly, conductor

More info about today’s track: Naxos 9.00100

Courtesy of Naxos of America Inc.

You can subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts, or by using the Daily Download podcast RSS feed.

Purchase this recording

Amazon

rmjwell

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textsfromsuperheroes_feed

https://textsfromsuperheroes.com/post/802871207829635072

Texts From SuperheroesFacebook | Threads | Patreon | Instagram | BlueSky

https://textsfromsuperheroes.com/post/802871207829635072

billroper

The outside temperature is in single digits and falling. Happily, the central heating is working nicely.

Today's major accomplishments were three loads of laundry and moving cash around so that I can pay my ginormous property tax bill on Monday. The Cook County property tax bills were *very* late this year. The good news is that the bill was ginormous, but it was not a lot larger than last year, which puts me in a happier position than a lot of people around here.

samuraiter posting in

prompt_dump

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ndrosen

This week, I finished an Office Action on my oldest amendment, after which two more amendments showed up, so there are now five on my Amended docket.

Also, someone filed a Request for Continued Examination with an amendment, and that showed up on my Regular New docket. Yet further, I confirmed that a case which I rejected more than six months ago was abandoned.

I have done a little work on one of my amendments, and I have also been working on a case which my supervisor returned to me because she wasn't satisfied with it.

A new biweek begins in a few hours, so I expect to have another Regular New declared by oldest Regular New, together with the RCE case. I am in no danger of being left with nothing to do.

sharonlee_feed

Posted by Sharon

https://sharonleewriter.com/2025/12/twistin-the-night-away/

https://sharonleewriter.com/?p=14792

Saturday. Cloudy, not as cold, but it ain’t summer.

Breakfast was hummus, naan, and grapes. Yes, I’m eating a lot of hummus, but it’s So. Good.

Lunch will be fish on an onion roll with cheese.

Wrote a little this morning, did my duty the cats, PT homework Session I, took a walk. After lunch? More writing!

Oh, you know the thing, that gay people were invented by the libs sometime during the past 20 years, and the other one, that songs and stories never had a “liberal agenda” until, I dunno, last Wednesday?

Well. Here I was, minding my own business, listening to 60s Gold, and on comes that fun-time dance song, “Twistin’ the Night Away,” by Sam Cooke, in which we celebrate the peaceful coming together of All Peoples at the Sugar Shack before the B52s got their residency — in order to do the twist, and I’m singing along, as one does, and grinning at the man in the evening clothes, and how he got here, I don’t know, and then I hear this come out of my mouth:

Here’s a fella in blue jeans
Dancin’ with an older queen

1962. Here’s a link

#
About 1800 words written today, bringing the WIP to +/-102,700. Tomorrow, I write again.

So, on the idea of The Author Reads Her Own Works in 2026 — a Question for the Group Mind: How many of you would like to do a Read Along? I can dust off Splinter Universe and we can carry on as a group over there if there’s enough interest.

Please let me know in comments if this is something you’d like to be part of.

Deets: I’m planning to start in January, and I’m planning to read the novels only, and in Publication Order*. I have my reasons for doing it this way, and if you don’t agree, that’s fine; don’t take part.

All that said, everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll look in tomorrow.

___________
*Publication Order = Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors, Carpe Diem, Plan B, Local Custom, Scout’s Progress, I Dare, Balance of Trade, Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, Fledgling, Saltation, Mouse and Dragon, Ghost Ship, Dragon Ship, Necessity’s Child, Trade Secret, Dragon in Exile, Alliance of Equals, The Gathering Edge, Neogenesis, Accepting the Lance, Trader’s Leap, Fair Trade, Salvage Right, Ribbon Dance, Diviner’s Bow

https://sharonleewriter.com/2025/12/twistin-the-night-away/

https://sharonleewriter.com/?p=14792

james_davis_nicoll

I am not aware of any big name authors who got their start with a work published by Baen Books after 2006. If there are recent analogs of Bujold or Weber, I do not know of them.

rolanni

Saturday. Cloudy, not as cold, but it ain't summer.

Breakfast was hummus, naan, and grapes. Yes, I'm eating a lot of hummus, but it's So. Good.

Lunch will be fish on an onion roll with cheese.

Wrote a little this morning, did my duty the cats, PT homework Session I, took a walk. After lunch? More writing!

Oh, you know the thing, that gay people were invented by the libs sometime during the past 20 years, and the other one, that songs and stories never had a "liberal agenda" until, I dunno, last Wednesday?

Well. Here I was, minding my own business, listening to 60s Gold, and on comes that fun-time dance song, "Twistin' the Night Away," by Sam Cooke, in which we celebrate the peaceful coming together of All Peoples at the Sugar Shack before the B52s got their residency -- in order to do the twist, and I'm singing along, as one does, and grinning at the man in the evening clothes, and how he got here, I don't know, and then I hear this come out of my mouth:

Here's a fella in blue jeans
Dancin' with an older queen

1962. Here's a link

#
About 1800 words written today, bringing the WIP to +/-102,700. Tomorrow, I write again.

So, on the idea of The Author Reads Her Own Works in 2026 -- a Question for the Group Mind: How many of you would like to do a Read Along? I can dust off Splinter Universe and we can carry on as a group over there if there's enough interest.

Please let me know in comments if this is something you'd like to be part of.

Deets: I'm planning to start in January, and I'm planning to read the novels only, and in Publication Order*. I have my reasons for doing it this way, and if you don't agree, that's fine; don't take part.

All that said, everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I'll look in tomorrow.

notalwaysworking_feed

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/charity-begins-somewhere-but-not-here/399152/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=399152

Read Charity Begins Somewhere… But Not Here

Coworker: "Oh, come on! It’s just a dollar. Don’t you care about kids learning to read?"
Customer: "I care very much. I donate plenty to charities."
Coworker: "Then one more dollar shouldn’t be a big deal, right?"
Customer: "It is when that dollar ends up being part of a corporation’s tax write-off so your bosses can all pat themselves on the back."

Read Charity Begins Somewhere… But Not Here

https://notalwaysright.com/charity-begins-somewhere-but-not-here/399152/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=399152

lsanderson

The great outdoor freezer has roared back to life! Stay warm!

Subzero temperatures are on their way to the Twin Cities this weekend, and it could be the coldest December day in decades. If “the temperature drops to -11 or colder Saturday night, that will be the earliest we’ve seen that kind of reading or colder since 1996. If we can slip to -12 or colder, that bar is even farther back, 1989,” according to Bring Me The News. And while that’s cold, it’s also worth noting that we had much colder Decembers in decades past: “December as a whole has warmed an eye-popping 5.5 degrees in just 50 years, our fastest warming winter month.”
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-weather/deep-freeze-could-bring-cold-the-twin-cities-hasnt-felt-this-early-in-30-years

There’s finally a plan for George Floyd Square. The Minneapolis City Council approved the “flexible-open” option for the intersection of 38th and Chicago, KSTP reports. This option “will keep Chicago Avenue open to traffic — including buses — but will allow for temporary closures for special events.”
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/minneapolis-city-council-finalizes-plan-for-george-floyd-square-that-allows-through-traffic/

If you’re willing to brave the cold, Racket offered their weekly compendium of free things to do this weekend. You’ll find plenty of holiday-related activities to do gratis. Via MinnPost
https://racketmn.com/freeloader-friday-163-free-things-to-do-this-weekend

The level of disfunction in Twin Lakes has grown such that many townsfolk are calling for the city government to be dissolved, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. “The shouting, threats and sarcastic barbs have been flying for months at city meetings in this town of 130 near the Iowa border. There are complaints about tap water running black, fights over city hiring and multiple allegations of misdeeds. … In a small-town smackdown, 34 residents have signed a petition to take Twin Lakes off the map by dissolving the city government.” This piece reads with all the intrigue and tension of a reality TV drama. Via MinnPost
https://www.startribune.com/twin-lakes-minnesota-dissolve-city-township/601536850?utm_source=gift

Counterpoint: Ranked-choice voting didn’t fail Minneapolis
RCV has ensured majority winners, given voters more meaningful choices, eliminated low-turnout primaries and opened the political process to a broader, more diverse field of candidates.
by Michael Minta
https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2025/12/counterpoint-ranked-choice-voting-didnt-fail-minneapolis/

Trump attacks old foe Biden – but presidential parallels hard to avoid
US president finds himself shouldering same burdens of affordability crisis and the inexorable march of time
David Smith in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/13/trump-biden-rivals

Epstein Pr0n
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2025/dec/12/jeffrey-epstein-released-photos

Our 25 favourite European travel discoveries of 2025
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/dec/13/travel-writers-top-25-favourite-travel-discoveries-europe-2025

Not automagical and quite hard:
Dorothy Parker ‘fwowed up’ in a 1928 review of which children’s classic? The Saturday quiz
From demon, equal and encyclopedia to The Tour of Life and Before the Dawn, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz
Thomas Eaton
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/dec/13/dorothy-parker-fwowed-1928-childrens-classic-book-review-saturday-quiz

A Quiz for the Rest o' Us
Why do moths eat clothes and how old is the universe? The kids’ quiz
Five multiple-choice questions – set by children – to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/dec/13/why-moths-eat-clothes-how-old-universe-kids-quiz

Automagical Quiz and hard:
Weekly quiz: Which countries said they would boycott Eurovision?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1j9867wppxo

notalwaysrelated_feed

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/dessert-or-meltdown/395366/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=395366

Read Dessert Or Meltdown

Mom: "Dad, how can you even think about ice cream after all that food!"
Grandpa: "There's always, always, ALWAYS room for ice cream. See. It melts so it fits in between the cracks!"

Read Dessert Or Meltdown

https://notalwaysright.com/dessert-or-meltdown/395366/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=395366

notalwaysfriendly_feed

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/birds-bees-and-bs/399984/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=399984

Read Birds, Bees, And BS

One day, a chap, aged in his fifties, who was watching the bees flying around, decided to enlighten me about something.
Man: "I’ll bet you never get women standing here. You know, women are genetically predisposed to throw themselves to the ground when things fly over them."

Read Birds, Bees, And BS

https://notalwaysright.com/birds-bees-and-bs/399984/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=399984

james_davis_nicoll

So, I asked on Bluesky:

Aside from Larry Correia, are there any big name Baen authors who debuted at Baen, after Jim Baen's death?

(So, Tim Powers wouldn't count because he debuted not at Baen and also long before JB died)

I got three names: Chuck Gannon, Jason Cordova and Mike Kupari. Gannon actually debuted at Baen in 1994 but only two (I think) short pieces, after which there was a long delay until his novels began appearing. I don't know the other two but SF is huge and it's perfectly possible for me to overlook BNAs. Still, granting all three, with LC that makes four... and in 2028, Toni Weisskopf will have been running Baen for as long as Jim Baen did.

This could, of course, be the natural consequence of the Del Monte approach.

[added later]

notalwayslearning_feed

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/when-cheering-reaches-critical-mass/401193/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=401193

Read When Cheering Reaches Critical Mass

My Grandpa is a retired physics professor, and he was quite good at it, too. One of his favorite complaints that he got on the physics book he published was "Physics is supposed to be hard, and he's making it too easy!"

Read When Cheering Reaches Critical Mass

https://notalwaysright.com/when-cheering-reaches-critical-mass/401193/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=401193

mrissa

We've all heard it a million times: baking is precise and cooking is loose. Cooking is jazz, baking is classical. Cooking has room to improvise, but with baking you have to follow the recipe to the letter.

This is, of course, nonsense. For one thing, you can't control every variable every time. If baking required everything to be utterly precise, it would never work, because air temperature, pressure, and humidity all vary; you have to be able to work around those major variables. If it was true, you'd never see experienced bread bakers frown and throw another handful (or three) into the recipe. And most importantly, if this was true......how would we ever get new baked goods?

I think this is a mistake we make too often when we're thinking about bringing light into dark times for each other. We think of it has having to be precise and perfect for it to work. If we're not winning every struggle, we must be doing something wrong and should just quit. If we can't come up with the perfect phrasing to offer comfort to worried or grieving friends and neighbors, why even try? Maybe tomorrow we'll be warm and witty and precisely right. Or someone else can do it. Surely someone else has the right answer, and we can just use that.

So yeah, the lussekatter--you know what day it is--rose despite the plummeting temperature (and with it the plummeting humidity, oh physics why do you do us like this). They rose and rose and rose. Friends, they are mammoths. They are lusselejon this year. I forgot the egg glaze--I told you last year that I shouldn't mention that remembering it was unusual, and ope, it was an omen, I did not put egg wash on. They are still great. They are still amazing. What they are not--what they don't have to be--is perfect.

Last week one of my friends wrote to me to say that she'd made calzones but they'd turned out denser than usual. And you know what I thought? I thought, "Ooh, her family got calzones, I should make calzones one of these days!" And not in the "I'd do it better than that loser" way, either. Just: yay homemade calzones, what a treat. I watched her doing it. I remembered that I can do it too. Dense or not. Egg washed or not. Perfect or--let's be real, perfect isn't available, what we have is imperfect, and it turns out that's what we need. Lighting one imperfect candle from another, all down the chain of us, until the light returns.

2024: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=4078

2023: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=3875

2022: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=3654

2021: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=3366

2020: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=2953

2019: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=2654

2018: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=2376

2017: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=1995

2016: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=1566

2015: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=1141

2014: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=659

2013: https://marissalingen.com/blog/?p=260

2012: https://mrissa.dreamwidth.org/840172.html

2011: https://mrissa.dreamwidth.org/796053.html

2010: https://mrissa.dreamwidth.org/749157.html

2009: https://mrissa.dreamwidth.org/686911.html

2008: https://mrissa.dreamwidth.org/594595.html

2007: https://mrissa.dreamwidth.org/2007/12/12/ and https://mrissa.dreamwidth.org/502729.html

2006: https://mrissa.dreamwidth.org/380798.html — the post that started it all! Lots more about the process and my own personal lussekatt philosophy here!...oh hey, this is the twentieth year I've posted about this. Huh. Huh. Well, isn't that a thing.

mindstalk

So I've privately called my downstairs store the world's shittiest Lawson's, but I owe it an apology. Today I checked out several other conbini, and mine is unique in being able to pass for a grocery store.

( Read more... )

On to today's explorations in Chigasaki: ( Read more... )

Yes, I just discovered I can embed Flickr images and Google Maps.

rmjwell

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sraun

November 2025

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Page Summary

elisem - Twin Cities history: 1980s, ARA (Anti-Racist Action), Baldies, punk, music, Uptown
mpr_daily_download_feed - Tomas Luis de Victoria - O Magnum Mysterium
rmjwell - Burlesque Picture of the Day, 2025-12-13: Nuts 'n' Cherries!
rmjwell - Burlesque Picture of the Day, 2025-12-14: Honey Lawless & Gigi d'Flower!
textsfromsuperheroes_feed - Texts From Superheroes
billroper - Darned Cold
samuraiter in prompt_dump - 13 December 2025: Playing Cards
ndrosen - The Red Queen’s Race
sharonlee_feed - Twistin’ the night away
james_davis_nicoll - After some digging
rolanni - Twistin' the night away
notalwaysworking_feed - Charity Begins Somewhere… But Not Here
lsanderson - 2025.12.13
notalwaysrelated_feed - Dessert Or Meltdown
notalwaysfriendly_feed - Birds, Bees, And BS
james_davis_nicoll - Huh
notalwayslearning_feed - When Cheering Reaches Critical Mass
mrissa - Exactly what we needed
mindstalk - Conbini groceries and Chigasaki beach
rmjwell - Burlesque Picture of the Day, 2025-12-12: The Stripping Granny!

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Who I'm Reading Today

Reading

Twin Cities history: 1980s, ARA (Anti-Racist Action), Baldies, punk, music, Uptown

Tomas Luis de Victoria - O Magnum Mysterium

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Burlesque Picture of the Day, 2025-12-13: Nuts 'n' Cherries!

Burlesque Picture of the Day, 2025-12-14: Honey Lawless & Gigi d'Flower!

Texts From Superheroes

Darned Cold

13 December 2025: Playing Cards

The Red Queen’s Race

Twistin’ the night away

After some digging

Twistin' the night away

Charity Begins Somewhere… But Not Here

2025.12.13

Dessert Or Meltdown

Birds, Bees, And BS

Huh

When Cheering Reaches Critical Mass

Exactly what we needed

Conbini groceries and Chigasaki beach

Burlesque Picture of the Day, 2025-12-12: The Stripping Granny!

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November 2025

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