Today I yoinked another newsletter, BookBub. I did this despite BookBub doing exactly what it sets out to do: Highlight sales on books in genres I’m interested in.
I did this for a few reasons:
As a general part of this year’s culling, winnowing out inessential things and clutter from my life
My book reading has fallen off a cliff this year
I have a backlog of books to read for when I climb back to the top of the cliff
The majority of the BookBub recommendations are for unknown authors and my hit/miss ratio with them has left me increasingly risk-averse
A corollary to that: Established authors rarely show up in BookBub deals
My inbox has gone from being essentially unmanageable (so many newsletters coming in that I just plain didn’t read some of them) to so svelte I can breeze through it in a few minutes.
I asked the AI chat tool ChatGPT to write a blog post about cats. This is what it came up with. It seems very pro-cat.
A Blog Post About Cats
Cats are fascinating creatures that have been beloved by humans for thousands of years. From their playful personalities to their graceful movements, there is something captivating about these mysterious animals.
One of the most interesting things about cats is their unique ability to make themselves at home in any environment. Whether they are living in a cozy house with their human family or roaming the streets as a feral feline, cats are experts at adapting to their surroundings.
Another thing that makes cats special is their independent nature. Unlike dogs, which are known for their loyalty and eagerness to please their human companions, cats tend to be more self-sufficient and aloof. This can make them somewhat challenging to understand, but it also adds to their charm and allure.
Despite their independent nature, cats are also highly social animals. They are known for their strong bonds with other cats, and they can form close relationships with their human companions as well. Many cat owners describe their feline friends as being like family members, and there is something deeply satisfying about the special bond that can develop between a human and a cat.
In conclusion, cats are fascinating creatures that are full of surprises. From their adaptability to their independent nature, there is always something new and interesting to discover about these captivating animals. Whether you are a lifelong cat lover or just getting to know these mysterious creatures, there is no doubt that cats are truly one of a kind.
***
And here’s a picture of cat from DALL-E (prompt: house cat sunning itself indoors) to round off this AI edition of cats cats cats:
And a somewhat less successful (that “face”) “digital art” version:
A few days ago, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac died, at the age of 79. This made me think back to the reunion of the classic Mac line-up that led to the live album The Dance, which I bought in the now quaint CD format. The concert, album and subsequent tour all happened in 1997–25 years ago as of this writing, yet when I think back to it, it feels like it happened far more recently, more like five or ten years ago. It’s weird. McVie was already 54 at the time. She rejoined Fleetwood Mac in 2014 at the age of 71, yet in my mind she seems to be eternally around 40 years old. This may admittedly be in part to how music videos “preserve” people as they were, but I think the time thing plays a big part, too.
I don’t have anything more profound to offer on this, only that it’s something that has become more obvious to me after I moved from my 40s and into my 50s. The death of McVie made me think again how my brain doesn’t easily wrap around how much time has passed on so many things.
Although it does feel like it’s been about a hundred years since I had a decent head of hair.
Having walked around the snow-festooned neighbourhood, I have realized there are three levels of snow shovelling on sidewalks (businesses and homes are required to keep their sidewalks clear after a snowfall and can be billed if a city crew has to do the work for them.
The levels are:
Snow King. These people shovel the entire width of the sidewalk and do such a thorough job that the sidewalk will actually dry out and just be a regular sidewalk surrounded by snow.
Snow Lord. These people will shovel most of the width of the sidewalk and only leave a few bits and pieces of snow behind, which can be relatively easily avoided.
Snow Peon. These underachievers will shovel to the width of the snow shovel, leaving a lot of snow on the sidewalk. The cleared parts will often have enough scraped snow that it freezes and becomes a slipping hazard. This is almost worse than not shovelling at all. Bonus falling-on-your-butt points if the sidewalk is on a hill and can have freezing runoff.
Not included:
Snow Wretches. They don’t shovel the sidewalk at all. Depending on conditions, this can be good or bad. If the snow is not overly crunchy, it can become packed, but still provide enough grip that it isn’t a slipping hazard. If the snow is crunchy, it can become craggy, slick and horrible to walk on.
Fortunately, most people around here are snow kings.
And here’s a photo I took of my foot in crunchy snow:
Because it’s cold out there today. It’s -6C as I type this and the expected high is -1C, which scientists refer to as BRR. At least it isn’t snowing anymore. Or raining, because that would be even more fun with everything covered in crunchy snow right now.
I must venture out at some point to get some foodstuffs, plus I also want to go to the lake to see how viable it might be for running tomorrow. I’m not super hopeful, but you never know!
Also, I was down this morning, woo. Weight-wise, I mean, not in terms of my spirits. I am officially 10.9 pounds from my weight goal of 150. Can I get to 150 pounds in the month that plies people relentlessly with candy, chocolate, eggnog and the horror known as fruitcake? Possibly!
Yes, I have become obsessed with this silly song. After watching the previously linked video a few times, YouTube sensed I wanted more and presented me with the Australian band Pseudo Echo’s 1986 cover, which features guitar solos and even better, guitar synths!
This is a strange and delightful fusion of rock, and I absolutely adore the chorus with those giant chunky synths that the 80s were known for. And it’s clear the band had great fun covering the song.
Also, tucking your t-shirt into your pants was a big thing in the 80s. Not as big as most of the hair, mind you.
Like, you’re trimming your nails just fine and suddenly sneeze and cut way too close and then for a week you have this painful, sensitive area on the tip of your finger.
I almost did this today, minus the sneezing part, so really, I was just being inept.
No, I don’t really use Twitter all that much and may use Mastodon even less, but I like the idea of being on a decentralized social media platform that isn’t about hate and being clever at the expense of others. We’ll see how it goes.
But I remember the olden days when book series were relatively uncommon, and seen mostly in a few specific genres, like fantasy and science fiction.
Now we have zombie apocalypse stories that span 10 books. What is added to a zombie apocalypse story by increasing its length by ten times? More zombies, I suppose.
I don’t need more zombies, though, I just need one really good zombie story that is contained within a single novel, so I can read it, enjoy it, then move on to something else that probably has fewer zombies in it. I like variety, my time is limited. Help me, invisible market forces!
This feels like it should have been a tweet, except it’s too long. Maybe I should start a Mastodon account.
I never knew there was a video for the song “Funky Town” but of course there is. And it is magnificently 80s, from the pink jumpsuits to the “sophisticated” video effects, the line that sounds like the intro to a 1980s video game and, of course, the robot (dance). It truly has it all.
It’s also a pretty weird song, when you think about it.
I got an email from Flickr inviting me to use their print services to print out and cherish/send my photos to others.
This is how they are attempting to persuade people to do this:
Did I have a “How do you do, my fellow kids?” moment and miss how “sh*t” is now the cool, hip way to say “shot”? But also it looks like “shit” so it’s…funny? Edgy? Dumb?
Dumb.
UPDATE: I have taken the newsletter to its logical (rear) end. Behold:
