I don’t have anything original to say, just to note that it’s a dark, apocalyptic-feeling time.
Posts By: Claire
January
January always feels very bright, pale blue to me. Almost white. I wouldn’t call that unusual, though I do wonder if people in the southern hemisphere have different color associations for our winter months. When I lived in Bangkok I still thought of January as pale blue and February as darker blue, even though seasons were much less dramatic (and never anything other than hot)…but I think that’s a product of having those associations deepened over 20 years and fixed permanently… Read more »
Other People’s Problems
Overheard… In the post office: Elderly woman, complaining to post officer: “You cant just shove things that say “don’t bend” into a mailbox. I practically broke my fingers.” Post officer: <mumble mumble, unintelligible behind glass> Elderly woman: “Stop spouting your bubbaloo to my face. You’re a professional worker. That’s the problem with this post office–everyone just does whatever they want.” Post officer: “I wasn’t the person who put that mail in your mailbox, ma’am.” Elderly woman: “I’m not complaining about you…. Read more »
Books read in 2016, Part 3
White Nights in Split Town City, by Annie Dewitt: By a friend and former classmate–this is brief, horrifying, mesmerizing, and wonderfully written. The Assistants, by Camille Perri: I am not sure I understand the fervor over this. Actually, I’m sure I do not. The Woman in Cabin 10, by Ruth Ware: This is really cleverly plotted, a fast read, and completely enjoyable. A Child Called It, by Dave Pelzer: When I finished this (it’s very short), having had it sort of… Read more »
Books read in 2016, Part 2
I am lazy with my annotations, or I have less to say about these…but comments on a few of them: The Argonauts, by Maggie Nelson Virus Hunter, by CJ Peters The Lightkeepers, by Abby Geni Hunting the 1918 Flu, by Kirsty Duncan The City of Mirrors, by Justin Cronin: This was a behemoth but went very fast, as you might imagine. Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health, by Laurie Jarrett: This was also a behemoth and went… Read more »
Books Read in 2016 (an annotated list), Part 1
Books Read in 2016 – Part 1 Infested, by Brooke Borel: I put this on hold at the library after seeing it in the Morbid Anatomy Museum gift shop. Having had bed bugs, it was hard to see the book’s jacket (which is very…realistic, and almost trompe l’oeil with its critters) on top of my covers. The Only Ones, by Carola Dibbell: One of my favorites of the year and of the literary-post-apocalypse genre (and I’ve read pretty much ALL of those). The… Read more »
Duolingo: The Neverending Story, Part II
Spanish Duolingo is a different experience than Russian Duolingo–since it was one of the first languages available when the app was created, it has graphics with every sentence. They don’t always…quite fit the message, though. So cheerful! At least this guy has the decency to look ashamed. Sometimes, a sinister narrative emerges:
Duolingo: The Neverending Story, Part I
I’ve been using the app Duolingo to learn Russian and to review Spanish for the past year or so. Spanish was one of the first languages available (along with French, German, and I think Italian); Russian was added in 2015. I’m still holding out for Thai (they have Vietnamese, so they haven’t shied away from tonal languages), Mandarin, and Latin. It’s interesting to see the differences in the more beta-version Russian, which is a little more bare bones in terms… Read more »
Plotfinders
It’s a weird time to be binge-watching The Americans, which is what I’m currently doing since I have a one-month trial of Amazon Prime. What else is in this world? Oil spills, civil war, the murder of civilians, a terrifying president-elect and a possibly more terrifying cabinet. Other things, too, of course. Many more hopeful and cheering, but damn. It’s hard to compare right now to earlier times–when we didn’t have the ability to know every terrible thing that was happening… Read more »
Post-Election Blog
Blah. I needed a month off after that. Mostly because every time I thought about writing, it started with me not knowing what to say and ended with me having too much to say and never stopping. Also, this blog is generally trivial. The election of a racist, misogynist, hotheaded reality TV star with no political experience is the opposite. Whenever I try to put my thoughts down I find myself spiraling deeper and deeper into disclaimers. Disclaimers like: I voted… Read more »
