Blimix

I made a short, silly video. (Warning: Puns.)

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cpQ-DQ3ktBE
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKGYLrYid0s/
https://www.facebook.com/blimix/videos/715033420918052/

When I climbed Crane Mountain this fall, I raced ahead of the group to have a secret part of the summit to myself. I recorded a short music video, which is now on YouTube and Instagram.

It consists of a bit of showing off: I sang three harmony lines in one recording, so that the track could be played over itself, offset, to combine the harmonies. Normally, anyone accompanying themselves would have digital assistance such as a backing track or looping, to hear what they're singing with. I included a long shot of my recording it, to help show that I had no such tools.

A recent conversation about trying to get things done inspired me to write up a list of tips. It focuses a lot on overcoming inertia, anxiety, and lack of energy.

Last night, I wrote to Lowe's about ceasing their support for social justice, scaling back their DEI program, and ceasing participation in the Human Rights Campaign's survey of LGBTQ+ inclusion. "It is clear to all that this represents Lowe's caving and pandering to a handful of right-wing extremists whose only power is the ability to annoy." I explained that my circles of friends used to shop there preferentially, due to ethical concerns about their largest competitor, and that we no longer do. I posited that we are far from alone in this. "Clearly, the corporate decisions of Lowe's are not influenced by the harm they cause. I wonder whether they are affected by the customers they have lost."

Not that I expect it to make a difference. Cowards gonna cow.

I made a video. This is a sympathetic love letter to all my chronic illness / rare illness / zebra friends.

Zebra at the Doctor

I appreciate those doctors who listen to their knowledgeable patients. If you find one here*, they're a keeper.

* One guess which country this takes place in.

(Also, insurance companies ensure that doctors have no time to listen to you. We need single payer health care yesterday.)

After a one year hiatus, I am making videos again! This is a short and sweet (and incisive) one, as I dip my toe back in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZInP3FuGU4

(Content note: Politics, pandemic.)

I just want you all to know that it's love. I want you to live because I love you.

On Friday, I lost a friend to a combination of Covid and a cancer which had been caused by his earlier Covid.

I have a lot of friends I can't do stuff with anymore because they've been disabled by long Covid. Sucks a lot more for them, of course.

When I'm upset that you won't put on a mask to save your life, that's not me railing at you. That's me wanting to save your life. That's me begging you not to footrace on a cliff.

Also, please don't ever say, "It's just like a cold now," or any other blatant denialist/apologist lie, in my presence. Thank you.

I watched Anna Cramling's video about a chess match in which she played extremely well against a higher rated player, until an oversight caused her to miss a necessary move. She didn't see that she was still in a good position for a draw, and assumed that she was going to lose. This caused her to make another mistake, in not playing for the draw. That second mistake cost her the game.

I was immediately reminded of two things:

1. World War II: Rommel's campaign against the British in Africa. His forces were outmatched and undersupplied. But he repeatedly tricked the Brits into thinking that they would lose if they engaged him, causing them to retreat. If they had fought, they would have won easily.

2. The job and life advice, "Make them say 'no'." You want a promotion, a favor, a relationship, or whatever. But you think you're not going to get it, so you don't ask. Now it definitely doesn't happen, because you assumed it couldn't. Like the chess draw! Instead, acknowledge that the situation looks disadvantageous, but you don't know everything. Maybe you don't meet all the qualifications, but the boss thinks you can do it, or HR can't find a better candidate. Maybe that cute person sees more in you than you think they do. So ask anyway. Either it doesn't work, but you got practice asking and didn't stand in your own way, or in a pleasant twist of fate you get what you want!

All of these are important to keep in mind now. We are living in bleak times. Things look awful, and motivation is hard to come by. But a lot of events, from personal to nation- or world-shaping, come down to surprising luck: Gavrilo Princip's conspirators' assassination attempt failed, until Ferdinand's motorcade happened to stop right in front of him. The pandemic drove democrats who could work from home into gerrymandered areas, flipping them and costing the Republicans many races in 2022. Cows helped Kodak discover nuclear fallout, thanks to radioactive gelatin ruining some of their photographic plates.

Point is: You never know. The power of fascists is always more tenuous than they let on. Your action could make a difference. Or it could embolden other good people. Or it could crucially distract the powers that be from someone else's action. Even if all you do is survive, vote, and make a few ethical decisions in how you spend your money, you're making a difference.

They want you to give up hope, because they're scared of you. They want you not to vote, because they're scared of you. They want you immobile, too paralyzed to act. Because they're scared of your power. They know that they are hanging on by a thread.

Don't give up.

(Content note: Christianity, not entirely reverent.)

Tracey and I had a nice phone conversation.

We looked at our calendars. Passover comes after Easter. Tracey pointed out the problem: The Last Supper was a Passover seder, after which Jesus was caught and killed. Easter celebrates his resurrection. So he rose before he died? I said that obviously Jesus is yeast. But that mostly doesn't work, because communion wafers (which are Jesus) are unleavened. I had been thinking of an actual loaf of bread as the host, because one appears in a scene from "Lady Jane" (from memory):

"Why do you curtsy?"
"I am bowing to the host. To him who made us all."
"Oh, I see! So, God made you, and the baker — apparently — made God!"

Tracey says there are a few traditions that will use bread instead of crackers. So I figure the Jesus-yeast connection at least has some slight support.

Of course, the real problem with being resurrected before you die is that there are two of you for a while. Make sure not to encounter your past self. If you do, don't risk breaking the timeline by giving anything away: Especially not the circumstances of your death, nor that one of your disciples will betray you. That would be extremely irresponsible.

Tracey mentioned Orthodox church tradition. I asked about Greek vs. Russian Orthodox, and she explained that they have common beliefs, and are named for the languages in which the services are (at least partly) held. So yes, she confirmed my suspicion that there could be a Klingon Orthodox church if enough Klingon speakers with Orthodox beliefs united. The schism (the first one among the still major sects), she told me, occurred because the mainstream church (later to be known as Catholic) largely neglected the Holy Spirit in favor of the other two parts of the Trinity. I surmised that in the divorce, the Orthodox church took custody of the Holy Spirit, while the Father and Son remained with the Catholics. I'm glad for the Holy Spirit: It deserves to be with the church that doesn't show favoritism.

Okay, I finished Bridgerton, at least until season 3 drops next month. I have thoughts. ( Kinda long. )