“I realized that the music needed my time and attention if it was going to be any good. Learning to live with the state of the world’s a daily practice. Everything we do, we do against the backdrop of global warming and fascism. I never dreamed I’d live in a world this chaotic and discouraging, and I’m overwhelmed but I’m also a great believer in denial—I think that’s where you have to be in order to create, or have fun or dance—providing that we set aside a certain amount of time to come out of denial and actually do something to help.”
Some things I’ve seen and read lately about the campus protests for Palestine:
And finally, this essay by David Roth in Defector spells out the ironies between non-violent protests with clear goals and the violent institutional responses. It’s not a good look for the institutions.
There is something terribly clarifying in how eager the people in power at these universities have been to betray the trust of everyone invested in those institutions. Institutions that otherwise exist from one exploratory committee to the next will change university policies on the fly so that their local uniformed violence workers will get their chance to thump some young skulls; administrators whose notional jobs are upholding communities of learning and care gladly consent to being upbraided by clownish golf hogs and half-fascist nullities in Congress and then do exactly what they were told to do, whatever the damage to those communities.
It’s International Workers Day and never forget that the fight to get the work week as we know it now cost lives. Also never forget that companies (and billionaires) aren’t your friends, work doesn’t happen without workers, and that there’s power in a union.
Our nephew is 13 today and truly, how did that happen? Who is this adult in this picture, piloting a literal airplane?!!
He’s been involved in Civil Air Patrol for a little under a year and has already flown Cessnas and gliders and drones, gone on encampment, and done leadership training. He hasn’t stopped ranking up, either.
CAP is a really great example of this kid knowing what he wants–he wanted to fly planes, so here he is thriving in a cool organization. He’s always been like that, even when he was little and trying to figure out how to keep the iPad all to himself.
He’s alarmingly smart and got his parents’ curiosity: In the course of a Sunday afternoon, he asked Grandpa to explain the difference between analog and digital radio scanners and had Matt tell him how DNS works. He’ll explain things to me that I’ve never even thought about and I always learn something new when we hang out.
He may be flying planes, but I still remember these days:
Someone is doing well again after a week of what seemed like really high blood sugar … so someone gets to go to the vet for a 6-month checkup and glucose monitor tomorrow.
At least he’s feeling sassy again, though (and showing off his manicure!).
Here is a list of “101 Additional Advices” from Kevin Kelly, the 74 year old co-founder of Wired magazine. It’s a good mix of practical and psychological:
Three situations where you’ll never regret ordering too much: when you are pouring concrete, when you are choosing a battery, and when you are getting ice for a party.
Don’t work for a company you would not invest money in, because when you are working you are investing the most valuable thing you have: your time.
Avoid making any kind of important decision when you are either hungry, angry, lonely, or tired (HALT). Just halt when you are HALT.
To tell a good story, you must reveal a surprise; otherwise it is just a report.
Get good at being corrected without being offended.
(Do we think the plural on “advice” is a typo or an homage to Arnold in Pumping Iron? Let’s hope it’s a typo and Kevin isn’t giving us … “the wrong advices.”)
Predictably, it’s late spring and I’m thinking that classic button-ups would be a good summer uniform. Unlike the last Summer of Shirts, I’m a lot faster now so I might be able to get a few made before I realize yet again that they’re TOO hot for real summer.
But for now, the timing works: Closet Core launched a new pattern just in time for Summer of Shirts 2.0 and I have a lot of shirting in my stash to sew through. This is their Jenna Shirt and it’s 90% great:
The pros: The details are great, very classic menswear. The tower placket instructions were clear and the collar stand instructions were brilliant–they use a whole new order that gives a beautiful finish.
The cons: I had to reduce the curve radius on the hem to get a smooth finish and now that the shirt is done, I’m not loving the small collar and how it all sits. The shirt wants to pull to the back, which RTW shirts do on me too, so it might be that the drafting is fine and I just need to do a forward shoulder adjustment. However, all the pattern photos show the collar either popped or buttoned all the way up, so I’m a little suspicious …
The fabric was from my stash, originally from Farmhouse Fabrics. (I think I moved it to this house from my apartment, it’s that old). I had a three yard cut because I bought it in my dress era and just never used it, thinking “someday” I’d need a shirt dress to wear on the Amalfi coast or something. In the spirit of dressing for the life I have NOW, I used the extra fabric to make a pair of shorts for a matching set, like I see on Pinterest.
I used the LearnMYOG DIAS pattern for the shorts, because I knew they fit and had excellent pockets. (I never blogged them but I made a pair in Supplex last summer, seen here.) In a nice shirting vs a technical fabric, they read more “boxer,” which is just what I wanted, and the back welt pocket adds a nice touch.
Hopefully the shorts help me keep Summer of Shirts going a little longer into the actual summer. I can always wear the shirt as a jacket, too.
We’re at the point in the season where I realize it probably isn’t going to snow again, and a “cold” day means it’s in the 50s. Hooray! Here are some shots from Red Butte yesterday; it was so warm that I think the bulbs will be done after this week.