#San Francisco Art Book Fair

[simply-sithel]

Was motivated to attend the SF Art Book Fair this year after seeing @njbice post that he'd be there and am oh so happy I went. Not exactly my "scene" but who isn't immune to a sea of beautiful works? Walked out with minimal purchases and remain haunted by The White Paper book I didn't get... not my subject but exquisite workmanship I could have gifted to someone else. (Did buy a lovely book about clouds from the same press however)

Caught a talk by Cita Press which I really enjoyed- they find and publish works written by women in the public domain (and are freely available on their website). Would have stopped by for more talks (it went all weekend) but was trapped in a class at the SFCB the two other days. Books books books abound!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

AI “art” and uncanniness

TOMORROW (May 14), I'm on a livecast about AI AND ENSHITTIFICATION with TIM O'REILLY; on TOMORROW (May 15), I'm in NORTH HOLLYWOOD for a screening of STEPHANIE KELTON'S FINDING THE MONEY; FRIDAY (May 17), I'm at the INTERNET ARCHIVE in SAN FRANCISCO to keynote the 10th anniversary of the AUTHORS ALLIANCE.

When it comes to AI art (or "art"), it's hard to find a nuanced position that respects creative workers' labor rights, free expression, copyright law's vital exceptions and limitations, and aesthetics.

I am, on balance, opposed to AI art, but there are some important caveats to that position. For starters, I think it's unequivocally wrong – as a matter of law – to say that scraping works and training a model with them infringes copyright. This isn't a moral position (I'll get to that in a second), but rather a technical one.

Break down the steps of training a model and it quickly becomes apparent why it's technically wrong to call this a copyright infringement. First, the act of making transient copies of works – even billions of works – is unequivocally fair use. Unless you think search engines and the Internet Archive shouldn't exist, then you should support scraping at scale:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/17/how-to-think-about-scraping/

And unless you think that Facebook should be allowed to use the law to block projects like Ad Observer, which gathers samples of paid political disinformation, then you should support scraping at scale, even when the site being scraped objects (at least sometimes):

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/06/get-you-coming-and-going/#potemkin-research-program

After making transient copies of lots of works, the next step in AI training is to subject them to mathematical analysis. Again, this isn't a copyright violation.

Making quantitative observations about works is a longstanding, respected and important tool for criticism, analysis, archiving and new acts of creation. Measuring the steady contraction of the vocabulary in successive Agatha Christie novels turns out to offer a fascinating window into her dementia:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/apr/03/agatha-christie-alzheimers-research

Programmatic analysis of scraped online speech is also critical to the burgeoning formal analyses of the language spoken by minorities, producing a vibrant account of the rigorous grammar of dialects that have long been dismissed as "slang":

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373950278_Lexicogrammatical_Analysis_on_African-American_Vernacular_English_Spoken_by_African-Amecian_You-Tubers

Since 1988, UCL Survey of English Language has maintained its "International Corpus of English," and scholars have plumbed its depth to draw important conclusions about the wide variety of Englishes spoken around the world, especially in postcolonial English-speaking countries:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/english-usage/projects/ice.htm

The final step in training a model is publishing the conclusions of the quantitative analysis of the temporarily copied documents as software code. Code itself is a form of expressive speech – and that expressivity is key to the fight for privacy, because the fact that code is speech limits how governments can censor software:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/remembering-case-established-code-speech/

Are models infringing? Well, they certainly can be. In some cases, it's clear that models "memorized" some of the data in their training set, making the fair use, transient copy into an infringing, permanent one. That's generally considered to be the result of a programming error, and it could certainly be prevented (say, by comparing the model to the training data and removing any memorizations that appear).

Not every seeming act of memorization is a memorization, though. While specific models vary widely, the amount of data from each training item retained by the model is very small. For example, Midjourney retains about one byte of information from each image in its training data. If we're talking about a typical low-resolution web image of say, 300kb, that would be one three-hundred-thousandth (0.0000033%) of the original image.

Typically in copyright discussions, when one work contains 0.0000033% of another work, we don't even raise the question of fair use. Rather, we dismiss the use as de minimis (short for de minimis non curat lex or "The law does not concern itself with trifles"):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_minimis

Busting someone who takes 0.0000033% of your work for copyright infringement is like swearing out a trespassing complaint against someone because the edge of their shoe touched one blade of grass on your lawn.

But some works or elements of work appear many times online. For example, the Getty Images watermark appears on millions of similar images of people standing on red carpets and runways, so a model that takes even in infinitesimal sample of each one of those works might still end up being able to produce a whole, recognizable Getty Images watermark.

The same is true for wire-service articles or other widely syndicated texts: there might be dozens or even hundreds of copies of these works in training data, resulting in the memorization of long passages from them.

This might be infringing (we're getting into some gnarly, unprecedented territory here), but again, even if it is, it wouldn't be a big hardship for model makers to post-process their models by comparing them to the training set, deleting any inadvertent memorizations. Even if the resulting model had zero memorizations, this would do nothing to alleviate the (legitimate) concerns of creative workers about the creation and use of these models.

So here's the first nuance in the AI art debate: as a technical matter, training a model isn't a copyright infringement. Creative workers who hope that they can use copyright law to prevent AI from changing the creative labor market are likely to be very disappointed in court:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sarah-silverman-lawsuit-ai-meta-1235669403/

But copyright law isn't a fixed, eternal entity. We write new copyright laws all the time. If current copyright law doesn't prevent the creation of models, what about a future copyright law?

Well, sure, that's a possibility. The first thing to consider is the possible collateral damage of such a law. The legal space for scraping enables a wide range of scholarly, archival, organizational and critical purposes. We'd have to be very careful not to inadvertently ban, say, the scraping of a politician's campaign website, lest we enable liars to run for office and renege on their promises, while they insist that they never made those promises in the first place. We wouldn't want to abolish search engines, or stop creators from scraping their own work off sites that are going away or changing their terms of service.

Now, onto quantitative analysis: counting words and measuring pixels are not activities that you should need permission to perform, with or without a computer, even if the person whose words or pixels you're counting doesn't want you to. You should be able to look as hard as you want at the pixels in Kate Middleton's family photos, or track the rise and fall of the Oxford comma, and you shouldn't need anyone's permission to do so.

Finally, there's publishing the model. There are plenty of published mathematical analyses of large corpuses that are useful and unobjectionable. I love me a good Google n-gram:

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=fantods%2C+heebie-jeebies&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3

And large language models fill all kinds of important niches, like the Human Rights Data Analysis Group's LLM-based work helping the Innocence Project New Orleans' extract data from wrongful conviction case files:

https://hrdag.org/tech-notes/large-language-models-IPNO.html

So that's nuance number two: if we decide to make a new copyright law, we'll need to be very sure that we don't accidentally crush these beneficial activities that don't undermine artistic labor markets.

This brings me to the most important point: passing a new copyright law that requires permission to train an AI won't help creative workers get paid or protect our jobs.

Getty Images pays photographers the least it can get away with. Publishers contracts have transformed by inches into miles-long, ghastly rights grabs that take everything from writers, but still shifts legal risks onto them:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/19/reasonable-agreement/

Publishers like the New York Times bitterly oppose their writers' unions:

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/new-york-times-stop-union-busting

These large corporations already control the copyrights to gigantic amounts of training data, and they have means, motive and opportunity to license these works for training a model in order to pay us less, and they are engaged in this activity right now:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/22/technology/apple-ai-news-publishers.html

Big games studios are already acting as though there was a copyright in training data, and requiring their voice actors to begin every recording session with words to the effect of, "I hereby grant permission to train an AI with my voice" and if you don't like it, you can hit the bricks:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d37za/voice-actors-sign-away-rights-to-artificial-intelligence

If you're a creative worker hoping to pay your bills, it doesn't matter whether your wages are eroded by a model produced without paying your employer for the right to do so, or whether your employer got to double dip by selling your work to an AI company to train a model, and then used that model to fire you or erode your wages:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/09/ai-monkeys-paw/#bullied-schoolkids

Individual creative workers rarely have any bargaining leverage over the corporations that license our copyrights. That's why copyright's 40-year expansion (in duration, scope, statutory damages) has resulted in larger, more profitable entertainment companies, and lower payments – in real terms and as a share of the income generated by their work – for creative workers.

As Rebecca Giblin and I write in our book Chokepoint Capitalism, giving creative workers more rights to bargain with against giant corporations that control access to our audiences is like giving your bullied schoolkid extra lunch money – it's just a roundabout way of transferring that money to the bullies:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/21/what-is-chokepoint-capitalism/

There's an historical precedent for this struggle – the fight over music sampling. 40 years ago, it wasn't clear whether sampling required a copyright license, and early hip-hop artists took samples without permission, the way a horn player might drop a couple bars of a well-known song into a solo.

Many artists were rightfully furious over this. The "heritage acts" (the music industry's euphemism for "Black people") who were most sampled had been given very bad deals and had seen very little of the fortunes generated by their creative labor. Many of them were desperately poor, despite having made millions for their labels. When other musicians started making money off that work, they got mad.

In the decades that followed, the system for sampling changed, partly through court cases and partly through the commercial terms set by the Big Three labels: Sony, Warner and Universal, who control 70% of all music recordings. Today, you generally can't sample without signing up to one of the Big Three (they are reluctant to deal with indies), and that means taking their standard deal, which is very bad, and also signs away your right to control your samples.

So a musician who wants to sample has to sign the bad terms offered by a Big Three label, and then hand $500 out of their advance to one of those Big Three labels for the sample license. That $500 typically doesn't go to another artist – it goes to the label, who share it around their executives and investors. This is a system that makes every artist poorer.

But it gets worse. Putting a price on samples changes the kind of music that can be economically viable. If you wanted to clear all the samples on an album like Public Enemy's "It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back," or the Beastie Boys' "Paul's Boutique," you'd have to sell every CD for $150, just to break even:

https://memex.craphound.com/2011/07/08/creative-license-how-the-hell-did-sampling-get-so-screwed-up-and-what-the-hell-do-we-do-about-it/

Sampling licenses don't just make every artist financially worse off, they also prevent the creation of music of the sort that millions of people enjoy. But it gets even worse. Some older, sample-heavy music can't be cleared. Most of De La Soul's catalog wasn't available for 15 years, and even though some of their seminal music came back in March 2022, the band's frontman Trugoy the Dove didn't live to see it – he died in February 2022:

https://www.vulture.com/2023/02/de-la-soul-trugoy-the-dove-dead-at-54.html

This is the third nuance: even if we can craft a model-banning copyright system that doesn't catch a lot of dolphins in its tuna net, it could still make artists poorer off.

Back when sampling started, it wasn't clear whether it would ever be considered artistically important. Early sampling was crude and experimental. Musicians who trained for years to master an instrument were dismissive of the idea that clicking a mouse was "making music." Today, most of us don't question the idea that sampling can produce meaningful art – even musicians who believe in licensing samples.

Having lived through that era, I'm prepared to believe that maybe I'll look back on AI "art" and say, "damn, I can't believe I never thought that could be real art."

But I wouldn't give odds on it.

I don't like AI art. I find it anodyne, boring. As Henry Farrell writes, it's uncanny, and not in a good way:

https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/large-language-models-are-uncanny

Farrell likens the work produced by AIs to the movement of a Ouija board's planchette, something that "seems to have a life of its own, even though its motion is a collective side-effect of the motions of the people whose fingers lightly rest on top of it." This is "spooky-action-at-a-close-up," transforming "collective inputs … into apparently quite specific outputs that are not the intended creation of any conscious mind."

Look, art is irrational in the sense that it speaks to us at some non-rational, or sub-rational level. Caring about the tribulations of imaginary people or being fascinated by pictures of things that don't exist (or that aren't even recognizable) doesn't make any sense. There's a way in which all art is like an optical illusion for our cognition, an imaginary thing that captures us the way a real thing might.

But art is amazing. Making art and experiencing art makes us feel big, numinous, irreducible emotions. Making art keeps me sane. Experiencing art is a precondition for all the joy in my life. Having spent most of my life as a working artist, I've come to the conclusion that the reason for this is that art transmits an approximation of some big, numinous irreducible emotion from an artist's mind to our own. That's it: that's why art is amazing.

AI doesn't have a mind. It doesn't have an intention. The aesthetic choices made by AI aren't choices, they're averages. As Farrell writes, "LLM art sometimes seems to communicate a message, as art does, but it is unclear where that message comes from, or what it means. If it has any meaning at all, it is a meaning that does not stem from organizing intention" (emphasis mine).

Farrell cites Mark Fisher's The Weird and the Eerie, which defines "weird" in easy to understand terms ("that which does not belong") but really grapples with "eerie."

For Fisher, eeriness is "when there is something present where there should be nothing, or is there is nothing present when there should be something." AI art produces the seeming of intention without intending anything. It appears to be an agent, but it has no agency. It's eerie.

Fisher talks about capitalism as eerie. Capital is "conjured out of nothing" but "exerts more influence than any allegedly substantial entity." The "invisible hand" shapes our lives more than any person. The invisible hand is fucking eerie. Capitalism is a system in which insubstantial non-things – corporations – appear to act with intention, often at odds with the intentions of the human beings carrying out those actions.

So will AI art ever be art? I don't know. There's a long tradition of using random or irrational or impersonal inputs as the starting point for human acts of artistic creativity. Think of divination:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/31/divination/

Or Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies:

http://stoney.sb.org/eno/oblique.html

I love making my little collages for this blog, though I wouldn't call them important art. Nevertheless, piecing together bits of other peoples' work can make fantastic, important work of historical note:

https://www.johnheartfield.com/John-Heartfield-Exhibition/john-heartfield-art/famous-anti-fascist-art/heartfield-posters-aiz

Even though painstakingly cutting out tiny elements from others' images can be a meditative and educational experience, I don't think that using tiny scissors or the lasso tool is what defines the "art" in collage. If you can automate some of this process, it could still be art.

Here's what I do know. Creating an individual bargainable copyright over training will not improve the material conditions of artists' lives – all it will do is change the relative shares of the value we create, shifting some of that value from tech companies that hate us and want us to starve to entertainment companies that hate us and want us to starve.

As an artist, I'm foursquare against anything that stands in the way of making art. As an artistic worker, I'm entirely committed to things that help workers get a fair share of the money their work creates, feed their families and pay their rent.

I think today's AI art is bad, and I think tomorrow's AI art will probably be bad, but even if you disagree (with either proposition), I hope you'll agree that we should be focused on making sure art is legal to make and that artists get paid for it.

Just because copyright won't fix the creative labor market, it doesn't follow that nothing will. If we're worried about labor issues, we can look to labor law to improve our conditions. That's what the Hollywood writers did, in their groundbreaking 2023 strike:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/01/how-the-writers-guild-sunk-ais-ship/

Now, the writers had an advantage: they are able to engage in "sectoral bargaining," where a union bargains with all the major employers at once. That's illegal in nearly every other kind of labor market. But if we're willing to entertain the possibility of getting a new copyright law passed (that won't make artists better off), why not the possibility of passing a new labor law (that will)? Sure, our bosses won't lobby alongside of us for more labor protection, the way they would for more copyright (think for a moment about what that says about who benefits from copyright versus labor law expansion).

But all workers benefit from expanded labor protection. Rather than going to Congress alongside our bosses from the studios and labels and publishers to demand more copyright, we could go to Congress alongside every kind of worker, from fast-food cashiers to publishing assistants to truck drivers to demand the right to sectoral bargaining. That's a hell of a coalition.

And if we do want to tinker with copyright to change the way training works, let's look at collective licensing, which can't be bargained away, rather than individual rights that can be confiscated at the entrance to our publisher, label or studio's offices. These collective licenses have been a huge success in protecting creative workers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/26/united-we-stand/

Then there's copyright's wildest wild card: The US Copyright Office has repeatedly stated that works made by AIs aren't eligible for copyright, which is the exclusive purview of works of human authorship. This has been affirmed by courts:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/20/everything-made-by-an-ai-is-in-the-public-domain/

Neither AI companies nor entertainment companies will pay creative workers if they don't have to. But for any company contemplating selling an AI-generated work, the fact that it is born in the public domain presents a substantial hurdle, because anyone else is free to take that work and sell it or give it away.

Whether or not AI "art" will ever be good art isn't what our bosses are thinking about when they pay for AI licenses: rather, they are calculating that they have so much market power that they can sell whatever slop the AI makes, and pay less for the AI license than they would make for a human artist's work. As is the case in every industry, AI can't do an artist's job, but an AI salesman can convince an artist's boss to fire the creative worker and replace them with AI:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/29/pay-no-attention/#to-the-little-man-behind-the-curtain

They don't care if it's slop – they just care about their bottom line. A studio executive who cancels a widely anticipated film prior to its release to get a tax-credit isn't thinking about artistic integrity. They care about one thing: money. The fact that AI works can be freely copied, sold or given away may not mean much to a creative worker who actually makes their own art, but I assure you, it's the only thing that matters to our bosses.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/13/spooky-action-at-a-close-up/#invisible-hand

[njbice]

Wood book diorama in collaboration with @avanity-project ! We will have these at the San Francisco Art Book Fair July 13-16, come find us! Search for the Spooky Haus to find out more

[pb-dot]

Sliding into yr asks to request an infodump about His Impossible Brushstrokes now that I know there's Rivals-to-Lovers and Horror. I heard that treat tin shake from 15 blocks away.

I am simplifying a bit when I say Rivals-to-Lovers, it is essentially One-sided admiration both ways -> Awkward politeness -> Something More? -> Wait a minute something's wrong here -> [SPOILER EXPUNGED] -> Night Of Terror -> Rallying -> Fight to the death pt. 1 -> Uneasy Alliance -> Genuine (?) Love? -> [SPOILER EXPUNGED] -> Fight to the death pt. 2 -> [SPOILER EXPUNGED]

I suppose everything between "something's wrong here" and the end can pretty much be collapsed into a Rivals To Lovers arc, although the precise emotions in play at any given time is... more implicit than explicit let's just say.

This is perhaps all getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning:

Oscar Skerry is a San Francisco Art Critic with a singular artistic obsession. He loves the strange, bleak and jagged paintings of one Tomasz Gildebrant, a Polish-Dutch autodidact artist, at least he's assumed to be an autodidact, as nobody can find any documentation for his education. There's actually precious little known about Gildebrant, as he has not made a public appearance for decades, and the only a handful of photographs prove his existence.

Gildebrant's art isn't particularly popular, given how unpleasant many of his paintings are to watch in obscure but tangible ways, but a small community of fans, as well as the allure of his mystery, keeps getting his paintings sold. There might, however, be something more to it. Skerry follows a thread of brutal violence and odd obsession that seem to follow the Gildebrant paintings, and in stepping over a fair few ethical lines himself, he even secures an invitation from Gildebrant himself, to join him in his home in the Romanian mountains.

Once he finally meets the artist behind his obsession near the top of the Carpathian alps, Oscar can't quite get himself to believe that this refined, gregarious man produces art so bleak it is on occasion described as Depression Put On Canvas, but still, under the overwhelming almost-romantic friendliness, something else lurks. Try as he might, Oscar can't help but notice the cracks in the facade. Why are there so many different pairs and sizes of mountain boots at the entrance? What secret does the Gildebrant basement hold? Why does every door in the house lock automatically at midnight? Oscar simply must know, but what he will do, what he even could do, with the knowledge Gildebrant's house and mind contains, remains to be seen.

Oh shit, I almost forgot. The above isn't even the first time Oscar gotten himself into an antagonism-into-love situation. It's how he met his best frenemy, Mara. They met just after he moved from Minnesota where he grew up and went to University, and started hating each other in the most heteroerotic way possible just about right away. Oscar would belittle Mara, who in retaliation, or just because she felt like it, expose his parochial origins, mock his pretensions, or just throw shit at him. Things grew a bit messier, but much more interesting when Mara came to realize that Oscar had, and still has, a pronounced masochistic streak, and their relationship took a turn for the sexual. Hate-fucking turned into a more amicable sort of slap-and-tickle, and before they knew it, Mara and Oscar both had come to regard each others as whatever you call the overlap between friends, fuckbuddies, and rivals. Whatever you might call it, Mara and Oscar are still very close, and she provides much commentary on Oscar's ongoing descent into obsession in the earlier act of the book.

As for the status of this whole thing, the first draft is finished, but work on it is on a temporary hiatus as I do a final legibility pass on my previous work, The Clockwork Boy (which sadly contains no rivals-to-lovers at present,) but if you want to keep abreast of the developments when I start up working on HIB again, do feel free to check out my Tag List Post

[teaspoonnebula]

Letters from Watson is not the first internet Sherlock Holmes book club, by fair!

By digging through the mists of ancient internet (and using the Wayback Machine) here are some notes from Stanford University's online readthrough from 2002 -

...and when I find a man who keeps his cigars in the coal-scuttle, his tobacco in the toe end of a Persian slipper, and his unanswered correspondence transfixed by a jack-knife into the very centre of his wooden mantelpiece, then I begin to give myself virtuous airs. (1) Holmes's eccentric domestic arrangements have been imitated in faithful reproductions of the Baker Street rooms (e.g., the Sherlock Holmes Museum in Meiringen, Switzerland, and the Baker Street Museum in London), and in the name of at least one Sherlockian society: the Persian Slipper Club of San Francisco.

...with his hair-trigger and a hundred Boxer cartridges.... (1) The name "Boxer" seems to apply to rifle, rather than pistol, cartridges. Conan Doyle is generally very lax with his designations for guns. Many commentators have disputed the ability of even a crack shot to place bullets in a perfect "V.R." without blowing all the plaster off the wall.

...with a patriotic V. R. done in bulletpocks.... (1) With his marksmanship, Holmes is paying tribute to Queen Victoria: "Victoria Regina."

"Here's the record of the Tarleton murders, and the case of Vamberry, the wine merchant, and the adventure of the old Russian woman, and the singular affair of the aluminium crutch, as well as a full account of Ricoletti of the club foot and his abominable wife." (1) These cases all have tantalizing names, but none has been written. Crutches in Conan Doyle's day would have been wooden, rather than aluminum ("aluminium" in British English).

"And here—ah, now! this really is something a little recherché." (1) "Recherché " is French for "far-fetched," or "out of the ordinary."

"You may remember how the affair of the Gloria Scott, and my conversation with the unhappy man whose fate I told you of, first turned my attention in the direction of the profession which has become my life's work." (2) "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott" was published in The Strand three months before "The Musgrave Ritual." It was a reminiscence of Holmes's first case, conducted while he was still at university.

"...at the time of the affair which you have commemorated in 'A Study in Scarlet'...." (2) A Study in Scarlet, Conan Doyle's first Holmes and Watson novella, appeared in Beaton's Christmas Annual of 1887. Holmes did not catch the public imagination until his appearance in The Strand Magazine in 1891.

The British Museum and Montague Place can be seen at lower right. Montague Street is on the other side of the museum, off the right edge of the map.

"When I first came up to London I had rooms in Montague Street, just round the corner from the British Museum...." (2) Michael Harrison, in The London of Sherlock Holmes (Drake Publishers: New York, 1972), decides that Holmes lodged at 26 Montague Street, because his researches turned up an intriguing fact: in 1875, a certain Mrs. Holmes (Sherlock's mother?) leased the house next door at 24 Montague Street. Founded in 1753, The British Museum is a vast storehouse of arts, culture, natural history, and science. Located in the area of London known as Bloomsbury, the British Museum welcomes over 5 million visitors a year from all over the world. Admission is free. See http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/ for more information about collections, history, and events.

"Reginald Musgrave had been in the same college as myself...." (3) Whether Holmes attended Oxford or Cambridge—the two great British universities—has excited much disagreement among Sherlockians. Conan Doyle probably hoped to avoid controversy by never specifying one or the other.

"...which had separated from the Northern Musgraves some time in the sixteenth century, and had established itself in Western Sussex, where the manor house of Hurlstone is perhaps the oldest inhabited building in the county." (3) Several models for Hurlstone have been suggested among the many ancient homes in West Sussex. Ads for St. Mary's House in Bramber, built in 1470 as an inn for Canterbury pilgrims, claim that its cellar inspired the story, but Conan Doyle seems to have had something grander in mind when he describes Hurlstone's "grey archways and mullioned windows and all the venerable wreckage of a feudal keep" (3). Two possible old West Sussex homes, culled from many, are Petworth House and Wiston Park. No mansion seems to have just the right combination of features to be a good match for Hurlstone: a ruined medieval castle attached to a more modern building in the shape of an "L."

"...grey archways and mullioned windows and all the venerable wreckage of a feudal keep." (3) Mullioned windows have a solid divider through the center of the window. A feudal keep is a medieval castle.

"'...and as I am member for my district as well....'" (3) In other words, Musgrave is a Member of Parliament, representing West Sussex.

"'I preserve, too, and in the pheasant months I usually have a house party....'" (4) Musgrave maintains a game reserve on his estate grounds so that he and his invited friends can hunt the animals in season. For pheasant, the season lasts from October through January.

"'But this paragon has one fault. He is a bit of a Don Juan....'" (4) A paragon is an example of perfection, while Don Juan is a legendary ladies' man.

"'...a cup of strong café noir ....'" (4) French for "black coffee."

[readychilledwine]

Hi! You seem so nice and super sweet. I have some questions to know you! You remind me of a big sister, oh my god something about you is so comforting. :) Anyways, I live in California but I've only lived here for around 7 months. You mentioned before you love coming here, but can I have some places that would be nice to go on vacation? I feel super cooped up in my apartment and want to have a fun time outdoors or something. Thank you! <3

That's seriously so sweet and made me tear up a little bit! Thank you ❤️

We've spent a lot of time in a few different spots in CA, so hopefully, I mention one location near you! The obvious to all of this is beach and book. We are two beach bums when we can be, but I'll hit a few of the cities we've stayed at!

Oceanside is our go to. We like the location, due to military relations so its kind of the perfect spot for us because ✨️family✨️ If you are near that area, the beach at night is so quiet and perfect if you love seashell hunting. Oceanside also has street food/fair events, several cute metaphysical shops, and a few really good restaurants. One of them is a rooftop/desktop outdoor situation, it overlooks the docking area there, and at sunset is stunning.

In the San Diego area, I love going to Balboa Park. There's several gardens that are cheap or free to go to. During November to December, one of them is filled with gorgeous variations of poinsettias. There's also a ton of museums there, cultural houses to peep at, and gorgeous architecture. There's also a shopping area that's cute for giggles to just walk around. It's called Seaport Village. They used to have a shop just FILLED with coffee mugs. I loved it 😅

Heading north a little bit to LA where my partner is from. He grew up near skid row and has pretty vivid nightmares still about his kidhood there, so we tend to avoid the downtown area. When we do go, he always takes me to The Last Bookstore (some of you may recognize the name, it is the one you're thinking), it is just an experience. They sell antique books, collector's editions, and rare first editions along with new books. They have MAGICAL displays made from books. Griffith Park is also very beautiful with lots of things to go to. I'm a fan of anywhere with a botanic and butterfly garden 😅 and that brings me to our favorite spot in LA (minus the beach and hiking in Griffith Park) The Huntington Library. It's a library, botanic garden, and art museum all in one. It is 100% for me and not for him. He loves me dearly, and I am spoiled. There's obviously a lot of other things to do in LA (Disney, Orlando studios, ect), but we've been waiting to explore and experience those things until we had Littles to enjoy them with.

Popping between LA and San Fran is Sequoia National Park. If you are going to go and have never been, plan for a few days. It's... almost like breathtaking how small you realize you really are there.

San Francisco is kind of just... I wish I could describe it as something other than home feeling, considering I'm a midwest farm girl, but it has this magical home calling. We have a main thing we really like to do, and it's a little pricy (but not as pricy as the next location ive been treated to). He loves to see Alcatraz. 😅 he's obsessed. Otherwise it is a LOT of hiking and just trying new food places there. I just really love the vibes there for some reason.

Napa Valley I consider its own place, and it holds the most special place in my heart. He took me there for my 25th birthday. It is pricy, but wine country is so just relaxing. We stayed at this hotel, and we literally just walked out of our rooms patio door and into the vineyard. Im not 100% sure how much our week there was, but he told me not to expect anything for Christmas or valentines that year 😅

If you want really hot and in land Cali, my brothers and baby daddy went to Death Valley for a few days. They started the trip there, then went to Vegas (youngest brother's 21st birthday). My older brother said it was unbelievably hot (literally duh my sweet summer child), but he said the 4 days the 3 of them were there was a lot of fun. They did a lot of trail hiking and drank a lot of water. They all do not regret the choice to check it out. I was not invited on the boys' trip, so I didn't get to go 😑 I'm not salty AT ALL I didn't plan the trip for them or anything 🤣

If you're looking to get out of California, Colorado. Find your soul in Colorado. I highly recommend Georgetown. Not too far from Denver, not so high up in the mountains you have to anxious about snowfall and getting trapped, and I'll just attach the view from the hike into the mountains we went on.

I will push Colorado to anyone needing to get away and get into nature if it is in their budget ❤️ I've never found a town in Colorado I didn't think was stunning.

If you want to stay on the West Coast, Oregon. We went to Crater Lake National Park. One word, Ethereal. A little busy, but so so worth it.

No matter where you go, if you're getting into nature and needing to re-center your soul, find a creek with running water and just put your hands or feet in it, or get into the ocean (to where you're comfortable) and just let yourself have a moment of silence. Water is purifying and healing. It's one of the most powerful elements in our world, and it is where I find the strongest connection to Mother Nature ❤️

Let me know if you want more travel spots!

[sapphicbookoftheday]

Passing Strange by Ellen Klages

Today's sapphic book of the day is Passing Strange by Ellen Klages!

Summary: "San Francisco in 1940 is a haven for the unconventional. Tourists flock to the cities within the city: the Magic City of the World’s Fair on an island created of artifice and illusion; the forbidden city of Chinatown, a separate, alien world of exotic food and nightclubs that offer “authentic” experiences, straight from the pages of the pulps; and the twilight world of forbidden love, where outcasts from conventional society can meet.

Six women find their lives as tangled with each other’s as they are with the city they call home. They discover love and danger on the borders where mystery, science, and art intersect."

[halfmoonbayroleplay]

April showers have brought May flowers! 

 May is an exciting time in Half Moon Bay. The hiking trails of quarry parks are lush and green, the wine menu at Napa Vineyards features new spring flavors, the bluffs at Montara state beach are covered in florals, and the farms in San Mateo County are open for visitors. Whether you’re looking for berries, apples, or freshly picked flowers, there is something for any interest among the farmlands. Spring is in full bloom, and so is Half Moon Bay! All year long, there is plenty to be enjoyed but spring signals the time for the bloom of Half Moon Bays greatest contribution, agriculture!

May Calendar found under the read more!

All month enjoy fresh batches of spring florals at Alena Jean’s florist and nursery.

All month take part in the indie bookstore hop! From San Francisco to Half Moon Bay, you will find a list of indie bookstores participating in the “book hop” Visit each one (stamps provided at each location). You’ll receive 20% off at Coastal Books and a VIP invite to the first annual Half Moon Bay bookish ball to be held in the Fall!

All month come out to the annual state fair that runs from May-August attendees can enjoy fair rides, including wooden rollercoasters and a Ferris wheel, carnival shows such as trapeze and magic acts, a fortune teller, and all the fair food you could want. Featuring, for the first time this year, professional mermaid performances!

Every weekend all May - Summer's end - You pick berries and flowers at Blue House farm.

Every weekend enjoys a trip to the Bay Farmers Market, where produce, homemade treats, and local art is found all around.

May 1st, Mayday! Enjoy vibrant spring festivities all over downtown, including a parade featuring the Miss Spring Siren pageant contestants. End the day with a Spring-themed bar hop starting at Cameron’s pub, where there will be a beautiful Maypole, and ending at The Tipsy Whale, where the girls dance on the bar!

May 5th, come out to Napa Vineyards for wine-tasting and wine-making demonstrations.

May 6th, enjoy the sounds of the Coastside community orchestra with the Spring concert and Gale celebrating their 40th Anniversary with favorites by Offenbach, Mozart, Schubert, Copland, and more.

May 13th - 14th  Join us for Half Moon Bay’s wine and Jazz festival located at 500 main street downtown!

May 14th, pamper the moms in your life or yourself at Little dipper day spa with spring specials on facials, massages, and mineral pools!

May 19th - 21st Join Shooting Star Ranch opens for camping season by hosting a luxurious camping retreat kicking off with their annual Spring ball, where guests are wined, dined, and pampered before being taken out into the middle of the ranch for a night under the star camping followed by a sunrise trail ride to kick off the camping season.

May 26th It’s the Opening night at The Crescent Theatre for a MidSummers Dream going from May 26th until closing night on Saturday, June 24th.

May 27th - 28th, travel forty-five minutes to San Francisco for their annual Carnaval! Carnaval San Francisco has been held every year since 1978. The carnival that turns the streets of Mission District into one big stage promises its visitors an experience of Latin America's unique culture and tradition.

OOC INFORMATION

This event is optional to participate but highly encouraged that everyone takes part if they can.

The event will take place from May 1st at 12 a.m. est - May 31st (no new starters should be posted after May 31st. But feel free to tie up your threads naturally.

Interactions, we ask that no non-event related open starters be posted during this time. However, closed starters do not have to pertain to the event.

Regardless of the dates each event takes place, feel welcome to start threads for them before or after their corresponding dates. Any open starters made during this time should be related to the above event.

This event is a perfect time to get full use out of the IC discord channels to show what your muse is up to and interact in new ways!

Please tag all open starters and event-related inspo posts, such as outfits, as hmbevent or hmbspringevent.

*if you'd like your muse to participate in the play, please message Admin L on discord*

[walls-to-the-ball]

Love this. “Sticky Notes is a 32-page booklet of p*rn*graph!c images found on Etsy covered with sticky notes by their sellers. It premiered at the San Francisco Art Book Fair, July 15-17 2022.” from the good people at WASTED books.

[camilladerricoart]

🎨 Which drawing is your fav, 1-8? ✍🖌️ Collect them @superfineartfair San Francisco Booth #22, located in the Gateway Pavilion @Fort Mason.🫣👀 The art fair is on view until tomorrow, March 24th. Swing by and snag these lovely drawings before they're gone! 🤩Fun fact: some of these drawings will be featured in my upcoming coloring book, making the originals even more special to collect.🛒🖼 See you there! ✨😊

•

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#SuperfineArtFair #SanFranciscoArt #camilladerrico #camilladerricoadultcoloringbook #Original #Drawings #superfinesf #artfair #flightoffancy

[brookston]

Holidays 2.17

Holidays

Aegle Asteroid Day

Analog to Digital TV Day

Baird Color TV Day

Celandine Day (French Republic)

Commemoration of all the Defunct Member of the Royal Family (Belgium)

Daisy Gatson Bates Day (Arkansas)

Day of Cancelled Expectations

Dia Internacional do Gato (International Cat Day; Portugal)

Electra Asteroid Day

Global Tourism Resilience Day

International Day of Responsible Gaming

International Juggalo Day

Inventor’s Day (Mexico)

League of United Latin American Citizens Day

LULAC Founder’s Day

Minimum Wage Day

Missouri Compromise Day

My Way Day

National Cat Day (Italy; Poland)

National Champion Crab Races Day

National GvHD Awareness Day

National PTA Founders’ Day

National Public Science Day

National Tennis Pro Day

National Women’s Emancipation Day (Lithuania)

Perfume Day

Practice Your Free Throws Day

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Saffron Crocus Day

When You Grow Up Day

Who Shall I Be Day

World Cat Day (Italy)

World Community Arts Day

World Human Spirit Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cafe au Lait Day

Canned Sardines Day

Dark Lord Tickets Go On Sale Day

Indian Pudding Day

International Crumpet Day

National Cabbage Day

Snow Ice Cream Day

3rd Saturday in February

Barley Wine Day (San Francisco) [Saturday before Presidents Day]

Community Pubs Week begins (UK) [3rd Saturday through 4th Saturday]

International Restaurant Day [3rd Saturday] (also May, Aug & Nov)

National Black Movie Day [3rd Saturday]

Red Sock Day [3rd Saturday]

Shopping Cart Saturday (New Orleans) [Saturday before Mardi Gras]

World Pangolin Day [3rd Saturday]

World Whale Day [3rd Saturday]

Weekly Holidays beginning February 17

National Engineers Week [thru 2.24]

National FFA Week [thru 2.24]

Take Your Family to School Week [thru 2.23]

Independence & Related Days

Great Lawl Reich (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Greenia (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Kosovo (from Serbia, 2008)

Libyan Revolution Day (Libya)

Sildavia (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Festivals Beginning February 17, 2024

Anderson Vakey White Wine Weekend (Anderson Valley, California) [thru 2.18]

Annie Awards [Animation] (Los Angeles, California)

Arizona Strong Beer Festival (Phoenix, Arizona)

Bay Area Renaissance Festival (Date City, California) [thru 3.31]

Cedarburg Winter Festival (Cedarburg, Wisconsin) [thru 2.18]

Color the Wind Kite Festival (Clear Lake, Iowa)

Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival Cortez, Florida) [thru 2.18]

Hardee County Fair (Wauchula, Florida) [thru 2.24]

Jupiter Seafood Festival (Jupiter, Florida) [thru 2.18]

Lake Tahoe Winter Reggae Festival (Stateline, Nevada) [thru 2.18]

Melodifestivalen (Växjö, Sweden) [thru 2.17]

Menton Lemon Festival Menton, France) [thru 3.3]

Nice Carnival (Nice, France) [thru 3.3]

Omaha Beer Week (Omaha, Nebraska) [thru 2.25]

Panama City Beach Food Truck & Craft Beer Festival (Panama City Beach, Florida) [thru 2.18]

Philly Beer Fest (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) [ website ]

Sertoma Chili Cookoff (Springfield, Missouri)

Sourdough Bread Festival (Cherry Valley, California) [thru 2.25]

Feast Days

Alexis Falconieri (Christian; Saint)

Andre Norton (Writerism)

Cantre’r Gwaelod (Celtic Book of Days)

Commemoration of the Flight into Egypt (Christian)

Constabilis (Christian; Saint)

Donatus, Romulus, Secundian, and Companions (Christian; Martyrs)

Evermod (Christian; Saint)

Feast of Shezmu (Egyptian God of the Wine Press)

Festival of Quirinus (God of War, Storms & Thunder; Ancient Rome)

Finan (Christian; Saint)

Fintan of Clonenagh (Christian; Saint)

Flavian, Archbishop of Constantinople (Christian; Saint)

The Flutebird (Muppetism)

Fornacalia: Day of the Ovens (Old Roman Bread Festival)

Fornax’s Day (Pagan)

Fortchern of Trim (Christian; Saint)

Hachinohe Enburi Matsuri (Festival for a Good Harvest; Japan)

Hadaka Matsuri (Loincloth Festival; Japan)

Hopping Day (Pastafarian)

Isaac Asimov Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Janani Luwum (Anglican Communion)

Kali Yuga (The Evil Age; Everyday Wicca)

Lommán of Trim (a.k.a. Leman or Luman; Christian; Saint)

Lucian (Positivist; Saint)

Pierre-Auguste Cot (Artology)

The Quirinalia (Feast of Fools; Ancient Rome)

Raphaelle Peale (Artology)

Saidai-ji Eyo Hadaka Matsuri (Naked Festival; Japan)

Seven Founders of the Servite Order (Christian; Saint)

Sheep Shearing and Blessings Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Silvia of Auchy (Christian; Saint)

Sepandārmazgān (Day of Women; Ancient Persia; Zoroastrian)

Tanis Diena (Pig Celebration; Latvia)

Theodulus and Julian, in Palestine (Christian; Martyrs)

Toshigoi (For a Bountiful Rice Harvest; Shinto)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [10 of 71]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [9 of 37]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [12 of 57]

Unglückstage (Unlucky Day; Pennsylvania Dutch) [9 of 30]

Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [11 of 60]

Premieres

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Film; 2023)

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (Film; 1989)

The Brady Bunch Movie (Film; 1995)

Camping Out (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

Destiny’s Child, by Destiny’s Child (Album; 1998)

Eagle: Their Greatest Hits (Compilation Album; 1976)

Exercises in Style, by Raymond Queneau (Book; 1947)

Fancy, by Iggy Azalea (Song; 2014)

Footloose (Film; 1984)

Gunga Din (Film; 1939)

Hell’s Fire, featuring WIllie Whopper (Ub Iwerks Cartoon; 1934)

Hey, Hey, It’s the Monkees (TV Special; 1997)

High Voltage, by AC/DC (Album; 1975)

Honeymoon Hotel (WB MM Cartoon; 1934)

Jerry, Jerry, Quite Contrary (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1966)

The Kick Inside, by Kate Bush (Album; 1978)

Madame Butterfly, by Giacomo Puccini (Opera; 1904)

The Marvels (Film; 2023)

Politics Among Nations, by Hans J. Morgenthau (Political Theory; 1948)

The Right Stuff (Film; 1984)

Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness (WB Animated Film; 2015)

The Secret World Arrietty (Animated Studio Ghibli Film; 2012)

Simon Says, Be My Valentine, Parts 3 & 4 (Underdog Cartoon, S3, Eps. 19 & 20 1967)

Symphony in D Minor, by César Franck (Symphony; 1889)

This Means War (Film; 2012)

Valleri, by The Monks (Song; 1968)

Variations on a Nursery Song for Piano and Orchestra, by Ernst von Dohnanyi (Orchestral Work; 1917)

Today’s Name Days

Alexius, Benignus, Bonosus (Austria)

Bartol, Benedikt, Flavije (Croatia)

Miloslava (Czech Republic)

Findanus (Denmark)

Salmo, Väino, Väinu (Estonia)

Karita, Rita, Väinämö, Väinö (Finland)

Alexis (France)

Alexis, Benignus (Germany)

Theodoros (Greece)

Donát (Hungary)

Donato, Marianna, Patrizia (Italy)

Auce, Donāts, Konstance (Latvia)

Donata, Donatas, Vaišvilas, Viltė (Lithuania)

Aleksandra, Sandra, Sondre (Norway)

Donat, Donata, Franciszek, Izydor, Julian, Konstanty, Łukasz, Niegomir, Sylwin, Zbigniew, Zbyszko (Poland)

Teodor (Romania)

Miloslava (Slovakia)

Alejo, Alexis, Teodoro (Spain)

Alexandra, Sandra (Sweden)

Jordan, Jordana, Jordanne, Jorden, Jordon, Jordyn, Leroy, Reggie, Reginald, Regis, Rex, Rexanna, Rexford, Rexine, Roy, Royce (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 48 of 2024; 318 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 7 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 28 of 28]

Chinese: Month 1 (Bing-Yin), Day 8 ()

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025)

Hebrew: 8 Adair I 5784

Islamic: 7 Sha’ban 1445

J Cal: 18 Grey; Foursday [18 of 30]

Julian: 4 February 2024

Moon: 63%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 20 Homer (2nd Month) [Lucian]

Runic Half Month: Sigel (Sun) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 59 of 89)

Week: 2nd Week of February

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 27 of 28)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 2.17

Holidays

Aegle Asteroid Day

Analog to Digital TV Day

Baird Color TV Day

Celandine Day (French Republic)

Commemoration of all the Defunct Member of the Royal Family (Belgium)

Daisy Gatson Bates Day (Arkansas)

Day of Cancelled Expectations

Dia Internacional do Gato (International Cat Day; Portugal)

Electra Asteroid Day

Global Tourism Resilience Day

International Day of Responsible Gaming

International Juggalo Day

Inventor’s Day (Mexico)

League of United Latin American Citizens Day

LULAC Founder’s Day

Minimum Wage Day

Missouri Compromise Day

My Way Day

National Cat Day (Italy; Poland)

National Champion Crab Races Day

National GvHD Awareness Day

National PTA Founders’ Day

National Public Science Day

National Tennis Pro Day

National Women’s Emancipation Day (Lithuania)

Perfume Day

Practice Your Free Throws Day

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Saffron Crocus Day

When You Grow Up Day

Who Shall I Be Day

World Cat Day (Italy)

World Community Arts Day

World Human Spirit Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cafe au Lait Day

Canned Sardines Day

Dark Lord Tickets Go On Sale Day

Indian Pudding Day

International Crumpet Day

National Cabbage Day

Snow Ice Cream Day

3rd Saturday in February

Barley Wine Day (San Francisco) [Saturday before Presidents Day]

Community Pubs Week begins (UK) [3rd Saturday through 4th Saturday]

International Restaurant Day [3rd Saturday] (also May, Aug & Nov)

National Black Movie Day [3rd Saturday]

Red Sock Day [3rd Saturday]

Shopping Cart Saturday (New Orleans) [Saturday before Mardi Gras]

World Pangolin Day [3rd Saturday]

World Whale Day [3rd Saturday]

Weekly Holidays beginning February 17

National Engineers Week [thru 2.24]

National FFA Week [thru 2.24]

Take Your Family to School Week [thru 2.23]

Independence & Related Days

Great Lawl Reich (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

Greenia (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Kosovo (from Serbia, 2008)

Libyan Revolution Day (Libya)

Sildavia (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

Festivals Beginning February 17, 2024

Anderson Vakey White Wine Weekend (Anderson Valley, California) [thru 2.18]

Annie Awards [Animation] (Los Angeles, California)

Arizona Strong Beer Festival (Phoenix, Arizona)

Bay Area Renaissance Festival (Date City, California) [thru 3.31]

Cedarburg Winter Festival (Cedarburg, Wisconsin) [thru 2.18]

Color the Wind Kite Festival (Clear Lake, Iowa)

Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival Cortez, Florida) [thru 2.18]

Hardee County Fair (Wauchula, Florida) [thru 2.24]

Jupiter Seafood Festival (Jupiter, Florida) [thru 2.18]

Lake Tahoe Winter Reggae Festival (Stateline, Nevada) [thru 2.18]

Melodifestivalen (Växjö, Sweden) [thru 2.17]

Menton Lemon Festival Menton, France) [thru 3.3]

Nice Carnival (Nice, France) [thru 3.3]

Omaha Beer Week (Omaha, Nebraska) [thru 2.25]

Panama City Beach Food Truck & Craft Beer Festival (Panama City Beach, Florida) [thru 2.18]

Philly Beer Fest (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) [ website ]

Sertoma Chili Cookoff (Springfield, Missouri)

Sourdough Bread Festival (Cherry Valley, California) [thru 2.25]

Feast Days

Alexis Falconieri (Christian; Saint)

Andre Norton (Writerism)

Cantre’r Gwaelod (Celtic Book of Days)

Commemoration of the Flight into Egypt (Christian)

Constabilis (Christian; Saint)

Donatus, Romulus, Secundian, and Companions (Christian; Martyrs)

Evermod (Christian; Saint)

Feast of Shezmu (Egyptian God of the Wine Press)

Festival of Quirinus (God of War, Storms & Thunder; Ancient Rome)

Finan (Christian; Saint)

Fintan of Clonenagh (Christian; Saint)

Flavian, Archbishop of Constantinople (Christian; Saint)

The Flutebird (Muppetism)

Fornacalia: Day of the Ovens (Old Roman Bread Festival)

Fornax’s Day (Pagan)

Fortchern of Trim (Christian; Saint)

Hachinohe Enburi Matsuri (Festival for a Good Harvest; Japan)

Hadaka Matsuri (Loincloth Festival; Japan)

Hopping Day (Pastafarian)

Isaac Asimov Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Janani Luwum (Anglican Communion)

Kali Yuga (The Evil Age; Everyday Wicca)

Lommán of Trim (a.k.a. Leman or Luman; Christian; Saint)

Lucian (Positivist; Saint)

Pierre-Auguste Cot (Artology)

The Quirinalia (Feast of Fools; Ancient Rome)

Raphaelle Peale (Artology)

Saidai-ji Eyo Hadaka Matsuri (Naked Festival; Japan)

Seven Founders of the Servite Order (Christian; Saint)

Sheep Shearing and Blessings Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Silvia of Auchy (Christian; Saint)

Sepandārmazgān (Day of Women; Ancient Persia; Zoroastrian)

Tanis Diena (Pig Celebration; Latvia)

Theodulus and Julian, in Palestine (Christian; Martyrs)

Toshigoi (For a Bountiful Rice Harvest; Shinto)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [10 of 71]

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [9 of 37]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [12 of 57]

Unglückstage (Unlucky Day; Pennsylvania Dutch) [9 of 30]

Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [11 of 60]

Premieres

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Film; 2023)

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (Film; 1989)

The Brady Bunch Movie (Film; 1995)

Camping Out (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

Destiny’s Child, by Destiny’s Child (Album; 1998)

Eagle: Their Greatest Hits (Compilation Album; 1976)

Exercises in Style, by Raymond Queneau (Book; 1947)

Fancy, by Iggy Azalea (Song; 2014)

Footloose (Film; 1984)

Gunga Din (Film; 1939)

Hell’s Fire, featuring WIllie Whopper (Ub Iwerks Cartoon; 1934)

Hey, Hey, It’s the Monkees (TV Special; 1997)

High Voltage, by AC/DC (Album; 1975)

Honeymoon Hotel (WB MM Cartoon; 1934)

Jerry, Jerry, Quite Contrary (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1966)

The Kick Inside, by Kate Bush (Album; 1978)

Madame Butterfly, by Giacomo Puccini (Opera; 1904)

The Marvels (Film; 2023)

Politics Among Nations, by Hans J. Morgenthau (Political Theory; 1948)

The Right Stuff (Film; 1984)

Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness (WB Animated Film; 2015)

The Secret World Arrietty (Animated Studio Ghibli Film; 2012)

Simon Says, Be My Valentine, Parts 3 & 4 (Underdog Cartoon, S3, Eps. 19 & 20 1967)

Symphony in D Minor, by César Franck (Symphony; 1889)

This Means War (Film; 2012)

Valleri, by The Monks (Song; 1968)

Variations on a Nursery Song for Piano and Orchestra, by Ernst von Dohnanyi (Orchestral Work; 1917)

Today’s Name Days

Alexius, Benignus, Bonosus (Austria)

Bartol, Benedikt, Flavije (Croatia)

Miloslava (Czech Republic)

Findanus (Denmark)

Salmo, Väino, Väinu (Estonia)

Karita, Rita, Väinämö, Väinö (Finland)

Alexis (France)

Alexis, Benignus (Germany)

Theodoros (Greece)

Donát (Hungary)

Donato, Marianna, Patrizia (Italy)

Auce, Donāts, Konstance (Latvia)

Donata, Donatas, Vaišvilas, Viltė (Lithuania)

Aleksandra, Sandra, Sondre (Norway)

Donat, Donata, Franciszek, Izydor, Julian, Konstanty, Łukasz, Niegomir, Sylwin, Zbigniew, Zbyszko (Poland)

Teodor (Romania)

Miloslava (Slovakia)

Alejo, Alexis, Teodoro (Spain)

Alexandra, Sandra (Sweden)

Jordan, Jordana, Jordanne, Jorden, Jordon, Jordyn, Leroy, Reggie, Reginald, Regis, Rex, Rexanna, Rexford, Rexine, Roy, Royce (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 48 of 2024; 318 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 7 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 28 of 28]

Chinese: Month 1 (Bing-Yin), Day 8 ()

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025)

Hebrew: 8 Adair I 5784

Islamic: 7 Sha’ban 1445

J Cal: 18 Grey; Foursday [18 of 30]

Julian: 4 February 2024

Moon: 63%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 20 Homer (2nd Month) [Lucian]

Runic Half Month: Sigel (Sun) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 59 of 89)

Week: 2nd Week of February

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 27 of 28)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Tonight (Apr 25) I’ll be in San Diego for the launch of my new novel, Red Team Blues, at 7PM at Mysterious Galaxy Books, hosted by Sarah Gailey. Please come and say hi!

Tomorrow (Apr 26), I’ll be in Burbank, signing Red Team Blues at Dark Delicacies at 6PM.

_,.-'~'-.,__,.-'~'-.,__,.-'~'-.,__,.-'~'-.,__,.-'~'-.,_

#10yrsago HOWTO die at Burning Man https://burners.me/2013/04/25/9-ways-to-die-at-burning-man/

#10yrsago Fair use decision: remixing is legal even when there is no intent to comment or parody original work https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/richard-prince-wins-major-victory-in-landmark-copyright-suit-59404/

#10yrsago Debunking the HTML5 DRM myths https://web.archive.org/web/20130427210336/http://freeculture.org/blog/2013/04/23/dont-let-the-myths-fool-you-the-w3cs-plan-for-drm-in-html5-is-a-betrayal-to-all-web-users/

#10yrsago Akissi: kids’ comic about a mischievous girl in Cote D’Ivoire https://memex.craphound.com/2013/04/26/akissi-kids-comic-about-a-mischievous-girl-in-cote-divoire/

#10yrsago Publishing should fight ebook retailers for more data https://web.archive.org/web/20130428235824/http://www.thebookseller.com/blogs/tangible-assets.html

#10yrsago Jello Biafra talks Occupy, music, and Obama https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/25/jello-biafra-obama-occupy

#10yrsago Too-big-to-fail banks implicated in $500 trillion fraud: biggest price-rigging scandal in history https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/everything-is-rigged-the-biggest-price-fixing-scandal-ever-82255/

#5yrsago A who’s-who of tech manufacturers sent scaremongering letters to the Illinois legislature to kill Right to Repair https://www.vice.com/en/article/vbxk3b/appliance-companies-are-lobbying-against-right-to-repair

#5yrsago Security researchers can turn Alexa into a transcribing, always-on listening device https://threatpost.com/researchers-hacked-amazons-alexa-to-spy-on-users-again/131401/

#5yrsago Microsoft sends recycler to jail for reinstalling obsolete, licensed copies of Windows on refurbished PCs https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/04/24/recycling-innovator-eric-lundgren-loses-appeal-on-computer-restore-discs-must-serve-15-month-prison-term/

#5yrsago Trump’s finance watchdog wants to make the taxpayer-funded database of crooked banks go dark https://www.npr.org/2018/04/25/605835307/the-consumer-complaints-database-that-could-disappear-from-view

#5yrsago Little Brother is 10 years old today: I reveal the secret of writing future-proof science fiction https://www.tor.com/2018/04/26/ten-years-of-cory-doctorows-little-brother/

#1yrago Bottled water monopolist admits recycling is bullshit https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/26/plastic-fatalistic/#recycled-lies

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Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in San Diego, Burbank, Mountain View, Berkeley, San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, DC, Gaithersburg, Oxford, Hay, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

[menzone800]

The Best Barbers for Men's Haircuts

Introduction

A great haircut can make you feel confident and put-together. But with so many barbershops out there, how do you know where to go? Here are a few tips for finding the best barbers for men's haircuts:

Ask around. Get recommendations from friends, family, and colleagues.

Read online reviews. This can give you a good sense of other people's experiences.

Look for a barber who specializes in men's haircuts. Not all barbers are created equal. Some barbers specialize in men's haircuts and styles.

Consider your budget. Haircuts can range in price from $20 to $200 or more.

Book an appointment. This will ensure that you get the time and attention you deserve.

Once you've found a few barbers, it's important to schedule a consultation. This will give you a chance to meet the barber, discuss your style, and see if they're a good fit for you.

What to Look for in a Barber

When looking for a barber, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

Experience. A barber with years of experience is more likely to be able to give you the haircut you want.

Skill. A good barber will be able to cut your hair with precision and attention to detail.

Creativity. If you're looking for a unique or trendy haircut, find a barber who is known for their creativity.

Personality. You should feel comfortable and relaxed around your barber.

Price. Consider your budget and find a barber who charges a fair price for their services.

Tips for Getting a Great Haircut

Here are a few tips for getting a great haircut:

Do your research. Find a barber who specializes in men's haircuts and styles.

Bring a picture. This will give the barber a good idea of what you're looking for.

Be specific. Tell the barber what you like and don't like about your hair.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. The barber is there to help you achieve your desired look.

Relax and enjoy the experience. A great haircut should be a relaxing and enjoyable experience.

The Best Barbers for Men's Haircuts

Now that you know what to look for in a barber, here are a few of the best barbers for men's haircuts:

Blind Barber (New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago)

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Blind Barber barbershop

Fellow Barber (New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco)

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Fellow Barber barbershop

The Barber of Seville (San Francisco)

Image of The Barber of Seville barbershopOpens in a new window

The Barber of Seville barbershop

The Art of Shaving (Multiple locations)

Image of The Art of Shaving barbershopOpens in a new window

The Art of Shaving barbershop

Rudy's Barbershop (Multiple locations)

Image of Rudy's Barbershop barbershopOpens in a new window

Rudy's Barbershop barbershop

These barbershops are known for their talented barbers, stylish haircuts, and excellent customer service.

Conclusion

Finding the best barber for men's haircuts takes some research and effort. But it's worth it to find a barber who can give you the haircut you want and make you feel confident.

To know more about the "best barbers" , "mens haircut", "barbershop in Mississauga" "barbershop in Canada" "barbershop in Oakville". we recommend you to visit the Men Zone Barbershop, as it is the best barber shop to get barbering services in Canada.

MEN ZONE BARBERSHOP LOCATIONS

MISSISSAUGA ( EGLINTON )

Unit 28, 488 Eglinton Avenue West - Mississauga, ON - L5R 0G2, Canada

 +1 905 890 3000

OAKVILLE ( HYDE PARK )

Unit 1D2, 2501 Hyde Park Gate, Oakville, ON L6H 6G6, Canada

 +1 905 829 4400

[dogandcatcomics]

#repost @ralphpugay Ralph Pugay (Portland, Oregon, USA, b. Cavite, Philippines, 1983-). Poster created to follow prompt of this quote by Minoru Yasui (b. Hood River, Oregon, 1917–1987). Seen at the booth of @currenteditions (San Francisco bay area, California, USA) at the Boston Art Book Fair @bostonartbookfair. I appreciate the feline representation.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Americans’ Trust in Scientists, Positive Views of Science Continue to Decline (Pew Research Center) A new Pew Research Center survey finds the share of Americans who say science has had a mostly positive effect on society has fallen and there’s been a continued decline in public trust in scientists. 73% of U.S. adults have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interests. But trust in scientists is 14 points lower than it was at the early stages of the pandemic. As trust in scientists has fallen, distrust has grown: Roughly a quarter of Americans (27%) now say they have not too much or no confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interests, up from 12% in April 2020. Despite recent declines in ratings, scientists and medical scientists continue to be held in high regard compared with other prominent groups in society. Americans have expressed low trust in federal government and other institutions, like Congress, for decades.

Vegas weddings (NYT) Vegas was deemed the wedding capital of the world in 1953, and business has stayed brisk in the ensuing 70 years. The wedding industry alone was responsible for $2.5 billion of the $80 billion Vegas hit in tourist spending in 2022, with some 100 chapels and 18,000 workers in the Clark County wedding business alone. The Clark County Marriage License Bureau averages 219 licenses a day to couples, and is open 8 a.m. to midnight.

Israeli and Palestinian Activists Ask Americans to Take Side of Peace (NYT) When Sally Abed and Alon-Lee Green flew from Israel to New York last week, they found a version of the United States they’d never seen before: split by the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, with fractures tearing at the worlds of art, business, books, academia and even food. Ms. Abed, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, said the situation felt so toxic that they feared their 10-day trip to talk about the ways Palestinians and Jews can work together would only lead to attacks from all sides. “We’re trying to play a different game in Israel and Palestine,” Mr. Green said on Nov. 9 to a group of people organized by a group in Brooklyn, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. “And this game is very simple. It says that both Jewish people and Palestinians are going to stay on this land. No one is going anywhere.” “We need to start working from this point,” he said, receiving a wave of nods. It’s a message that has not been prominently heard or seen in many American protests and rallies. Most events have taken place under an Israeli or Palestinian flag, focusing on one people’s pain, struggle or victimhood. “This isn’t, ‘Kumbaya, let’s all hold hands and love each other,’” one supporter said. “It’s: ‘There’s actually no way that one side is going to win. Our futures are intertwined and the only way that we can keep ourselves alive is by keeping each other alive.’”

Biden and López Obrador pledge to work on border issues (Washington Post) President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to work together to address migration and combat fentanyl trafficking to the U.S., tackling two issues that have been the main lines of attack against the administration by 2024 Republican presidential candidates. The two leaders have at times found themselves publicly at odds. And López Obrador, who skipped a Los Angeles summit last year on migration because the U.S. declined to invite three authoritarian countries in the Western Hemisphere, almost decided not to attend this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. During Friday’s meeting in San Francisco, where they were in town for APEC, they were largely complimentary to each other. Biden and López Obrador pledged to work together on two key issues that have long been the source of conflict between their two nations, though the two didn’t announce major new initiatives.

Argentina investors brace for financial pain no matter who wins presidency (Reuters) Global investors expect a large amount of financial pain out of Argentina no matter who voters pick on Sunday as their next president, with social unrest as top of mind as a much-needed fiscal adjustment will likely trigger even more inflation. Economy minister Sergio Massa and populist outsider Javier Milei go head-to-head in the Nov. 19 presidential election run-off, a choice between sticking with the current Peronist government or a sharp swerve to a right-wing libertarian. The winning candidate, who would take office on Dec. 10, would need to fix an economy with inflation of 143%, a messy array of capital controls, a looming recession and net foreign currency reserves JPMorgan pegs at minus $15.3 billion. Inflation is seen hitting 185% by the end of 2023, following last year’s near 100%.

The high cost of helping Ukraine (Reuters) Hungary on Wednesday sought a review of the European Union's policy towards Ukraine, disagreeing with Germany, Lithuania, Finland and Ireland that backed bringing Kyiv closer to the bloc swiftly and granting it more aid amidst a Russian invasion. The EU's decision to start talking about bringing Ukraine into the union is “at risk,” in part because of Hungary's objections, and there is no agreement on giving Kyiv another $54 billion in aid. As leaders of the 27 EU countries prepare to meet next month in Brussels, an unnamed official said, they're realizing just how expensive a prospect this is.

Russia’s Putin sees upside to Israel’s war with Hamas (Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin waited three days before commenting on Hamas’ massacre of Israelis, which happened to take place on his 71st birthday. When he did, he blamed the United States, not Hamas. “I think that many will agree with me that this is a clear example of the failed policy in the Middle East of the United States, which tried to monopolise the settlement process,” Putin told Iraq’s prime minister. Putin, say Russian and Western policy experts, is trying to use Israel’s war against Hamas as an opportunity to escalate what he has cast as an existential battle with the West for a new world order that would end U.S. dominance in favour of a multilateral system he believes is already taking shape. Hanna Notte, a Berlin-based Russian foreign policy expert, told the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center she thought Moscow had dropped its earlier, more balanced position on the Middle East and adopted “quite an overt pro-Palestinian position”. “In doing all of this, Russia understands very well that it aligns itself with constituencies across the Middle East and even beyond—in the Global South, in their views on the Palestinian issue where the Palestinian cause continues to resonate,” she said. “The most important way in which Russia stands to benefit from this crisis in Gaza is by scoring points in the court of global public opinion.”

The Myanmar Military Is Facing Death By A Thousand Cuts (War on the Rocks) Events in Myanmar’s renewed civil war took a dramatic turn these past three weeks, reminding us not to forget about the world’s longest running conflict. Just prior to the break of dawn on Oct. 27, 2023, the Three Brotherhood Alliance of the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army launched a surprise assault on junta forces in northern Shan State. Within a couple of weeks, the three ethnic armed organizations have reportedly seized over 150 military outposts and several key towns astride a strategic road to the Chinese border, as well as highways crisscrossing Shan State. With operations continuing to expand, this marks a significant battlefield defeat for the increasingly overstretched military junta. The junta is closer to military-economic collapse than is often understood. The Myanmar military is badly undermanned, likely marshalling only about 70,000 combat-capable forces to pacify a population of 53 million. Junta convoys and supply lines are increasingly subject to ambushes. Combined with Myanmar’s continued economic tailspin and the increasingly tight U.S., U.K., and E.U. sanctions, the junta bleeds from a thousand cuts. The junta itself admitted earlier this year that it lacks control over almost half of the country.

A Journey Into Northern Gaza: Ruins, Wreckage and Darkness (NYT) When a group of international journalists arrived at the southern fringe of Gaza City early Friday morning, riding in the back of an Israeli army jeep, we struggled to orient ourselves amid the ruins, the wreckage and the darkness. Since leaving Israel less than an hour earlier, our jeep had bumped and lurched through a landscape so disfigured by 42 days of airstrikes and nearly three weeks of ground warfare that it was hard at times to understand where we were. House after house was missing a wall or a roof, or both. Many had simply been flattened, their concrete floors lying atop each other like a pack of playing cards. Trying to situate myself after reaching Gaza City, I asked a senior Israeli commander where we were in relation to a fishing port where I usually stayed during visits to Gaza before the war. “Three hundred meters north,” the commander said. I was stunned. Without realizing it, we had arrived at the Gazan neighborhood that I knew best. Now, it was barely recognizable. The apartment blocks had been wrecked by shelling or strikes. The road had vanished, churned into a sandy, rutted track by the hundreds of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles that have fanned out across the territory. To Palestinians and many international observers, such widespread damage to residential and commercial areas illustrates the indiscriminate nature of Israel’s strikes on Gaza, which have killed about 12,000 people and damaged more than 40,000 homes, according to Gazan officials.

Israel wages war on Hamas tunnels (Reuters) After locating what they described as the entrance to a Hamas tunnel under an evacuated hospital in northern Gaza, Israeli army engineers filled the passage with exploding gel and hit the detonator. The blast engulfed the building and sent smoke spewing out of at least three points along a nearby road in a district of the city of Beit Hanoun, surveillance footage showed. When not using munitions to map out the bunkers, access shafts and tunnels which both sides say run for hundreds of kilometres (miles) under Gaza, the army opts for tracker robots and other technology operated remotely. Israel’s policy is not to send personnel down to confront Palestinian fighters who would have a defender’s advantage in narrow, dark, under-ventilated and collapsible passages with which they were familiar. Hamas has tunnels for attack, smuggling and storage, security sources say. Dozens of shafts can lead to each tunnel at depths of between 20 and 80 metres (65-260 feet). The Israeli military said last week that 130 shafts had been destroyed so far, but gave no figure for demolished tunnels.

Zimbabwe declares state of emergency in Harare over cholera (BBC) Zimbabwe has declared a state of emergency in its capital Harare over a cholera outbreak. The outbreak has so far killed dozens of people with more than 7,000 suspected cases. The city authorities say the outbreak, spreading throughout the city, resembles that of the 2008 outbreak, in which thousands died.