Category Archives: online learning

A quick post about Post

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I’m thrilled to discover that POST, the new “twitter substitute,” is clean, intuitive, and easy to use. You can easily find and follow folks (unlike on Mastodon). They are committed to civility. #Twittermigration is underway!

As long as enough Black people find their way over, it’ll be a fine replacement.

It’s still in beta, so it’s glitchy. But better to bear glitches than fuckwad Musk’s sophomoric exchanges and his wanton, dangerous re-admission of haters, right?

It gives me hope.

You have to be admitted from a waiting list, so if you’re interested you want to get on that list ASAP.

PS I tried Mastodon and found it clunky.

The demise of twitter

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People smarter than me are observing that the only way Elon Musk’s actions make any sense is if his game plan is to dismantle twitter. Then there’s how he probably means to court the right and China, which makes his “incompetence” look like something else altogether. Even if his massive ego and whack-job decisions were ONLy a distraction a week before what are arguably the most important elections of our lifetimes, that would be bad.

Twitter for me has mostly been a place to glean news. I read some of the linked articles, but mostly I’m looking for the summaries and opinions of the super-smart and well-informed. Former prosecutors (Andrew Weissman, Harry Litman, Joyce Vance), former FBI agents (Frank Figliuzzi), lots of Black commentators, Allison of MuellerSheWrote. I come to the news through their takes and in almost real time. It’s an absolutely perfect venue for someone with ADD.

Without the granular observations of some of these experts, I would have given up on trump ever being held accountable. So many have. But they haven’t and they know how to read the tea leaves better than I, so I haven’t. Do you know how critical this is to my mental health?

K. can’t understand why this loss upsets me so much. He’s not on twitter. But you know, it’s the West’s largest public square and many journalists, writers, medical professionals, and politicians have relied on its reach. And poof?

I see some are setting up alternate accounts on other apps. Mastodon seems popular. Right now it is beyond my capacity to set up an account there. Today I have to remember to archive my twitter account. That will task me enough.

I hate this. I just hate this.

And to be powerless to yet another narcissistic wealthy asshole? Really? I spend a fair amount of time considering how Musk’s brand of megalomania differs from trump’s. Mostly I notice that Musk tweets like an eighth grader — the one in the class that absolutely no one likes. Such a jerk. So sophomoric. Made all the worse by his obvious belief that he’s funny, incisive, and clever. NOT.

This is so distressing.

Gratitude and the Color Blue

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A good long walk. A full fridge. Healthy fam.

That’s it, really, a gratitude post.

But here are some collections of BLUE*

* prompted by Acey at SparklingLotus

She asks, among other things: what blues are you drawn to and what blues do you avoid?

** Harriet Tubman print of a painting by Natalie Daise aka GullahMama on Instagram

December 22, 2020

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Learning a new craft means more mess. For needle felting: wool rovings, specialized needles, finger and thumb protections, foam pads to perform stabbing operations on.

But I am having so much fun!

The end of the year brought some formalized goodbyes: to corruption, duplicity, psychopathology, sexism and racism. LIES.

And of course, COVID-19.

And now we must add: and mutations. (Did you hear the one about Ireland? After centuries of oppression, they can finally keep the British out! Ar-ar)

More personally, as I’ve stated elsewhere, I want to spend less time in grievance. And, I want to read more this year. Both feel do-able.

Today: pin wheel cookies and a dog walk at Cutler Park.

Have you ever seen Stevie the Wonder dog on Instagram? He’s adorable. Lives with some nerve disorder that makes walking difficult, but he is famous and beloved and everyone sends him packages. So many videos of him opening packages. Stevie_the_wonderdog

Above, is Finn’s version. Unfortunately what he is dispatching at the outset was a household gift. I thought it was a dog toy. (Oh well! Sorry, MR! He DID enjoy the treat inside!)

(In case you’re wondering about the clumsy links, the updated WP makes selecting text nearly impossible, especially if near a line break or photo. Errr. But on the positive tech-front, K figured out how to download photos from iPhone to Lenovo laptop. It requires a format change on the phone end and takes a LONg time — because along with innovating to a stellar degree, Apple also spends a fair amount of energy crafting intentional ill-ease across platforms — but wait! I hear farting sounds. Is this grievance? The good news is I’ve already deleted 1,000 pictures off my phone).

Speaking of farting, if you haven’t seen this, you’re welcome!

A way to go

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In the past, the chakra work I’ve done was in-person and not just in-person, but in-person with people I knew and trusted over a span of many years.

We called it Sacred Meditation, as devised by Richard Moss. It both started and ended with the heart center.

A very different enterprise! I wasn’t quite prepared for how an unbounded exercise working from the root up would go. And even more, I wasn’t sure how much to share about what was arising. This is a public forum, after all.

Meanwhile, out in the world, a new confederacy was forming and the number of bodies falling from Covid kept escalating. Both staggered the mind.

I’ve emailed Acey. Let her know. Also suggested that my overwhelm was a testament to her intuitive power and how she communicates.

Would it make a difference if there weren’t absolutely catastrophic news stories unfolding like tidal waves? Perhaps.

After some more thought, however, I realized that I am brave and curious enough to keep doing these exercises.

Hear that? I’m pretty brave.

What I’m not prepared to do with any amount of ease or elegance right now is talk about any of it. So what? I’ll dip in and out and share the pictures. See how that goes.