We ate at: Tasting Collective's Via Triozzi dinner
Apr. 22nd, 2025 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gentlyepigramsThis month's Tasting Collective dinner was at Via Triozzi, which is on Lower Greenville. I liked the idea of the menu but the execution was disappointing.
The first course was a celery and fennel root salad, which would have been better if there had been more of the sweet gorgonzola with it. Second course was a fancy mussels in sauce with spicy chickpeas, which I thought was the best thing on the menu (and the only item from the regular menu). The third courts was a mushroom pasta. The pasta was fine; the mushrooms were amazing. The fourth course was a roasted chicken ravioli. We thought it was a little weird because there was chicken outside the ravioli, and little bits of crispy chicken skin. Not bad, just a little strange. Apparently it was based on a comfort meal for one of the chefs. The dessert was olive oil cake with whipped cream and macerated berries, and it was fine but the olive oil cake was dry, which ... I'm not sure how you do that.
Like the Goldie's trip we did a while ago (which I failed to write up at the time), this was mostly a tasting menu of new ideas, and not yet refined by the chef into menu quality. Based on the bar, the service, and the one dish from the regular menu, I'd try it again, but not with the enthusiasm that I tried Rye.
The first course was a celery and fennel root salad, which would have been better if there had been more of the sweet gorgonzola with it. Second course was a fancy mussels in sauce with spicy chickpeas, which I thought was the best thing on the menu (and the only item from the regular menu). The third courts was a mushroom pasta. The pasta was fine; the mushrooms were amazing. The fourth course was a roasted chicken ravioli. We thought it was a little weird because there was chicken outside the ravioli, and little bits of crispy chicken skin. Not bad, just a little strange. Apparently it was based on a comfort meal for one of the chefs. The dessert was olive oil cake with whipped cream and macerated berries, and it was fine but the olive oil cake was dry, which ... I'm not sure how you do that.
Like the Goldie's trip we did a while ago (which I failed to write up at the time), this was mostly a tasting menu of new ideas, and not yet refined by the chef into menu quality. Based on the bar, the service, and the one dish from the regular menu, I'd try it again, but not with the enthusiasm that I tried Rye.
The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories, ed. Yu Chen & Regina Kanyu Wang (2022) [part 2]
Apr. 22nd, 2025 11:32 ampauraqueThis is part 2 of my book club notes on The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories. [Part 1.]
"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Tai Chi Mashed Taro" by Anna Wu (2016), tr. Carmen Yiling Yan
( A time-traveling meditation on the rise and fall of people and societies. )
"The Futures of Genders in Chinese Science Fiction" by Jing Tsu (2022) [essay]
( Discussion of the depiction and participation of people of marginalized genders in Chinese SF. )
"Baby, I Love You" by Zhao Haihong (2002), tr. Elizabeth Hanlon
( In the not-too-distant future, a programmer works on a holographic virtual baby while his real family life falls apart. )
"A Saccharophilic Earthworm" by BaiFanRuShang (2005), tr. Ru-Ping Chen
( After a disabling accident, a theater director believes she can teach flowers to dance. )
"The Alchemist of Lantian" by BaiFanRuShang (2005), tr. Ru-Ping Chen
( Every time a godlike being helps a human, their own exile in the mortal world is extended. )
"The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Tai Chi Mashed Taro" by Anna Wu (2016), tr. Carmen Yiling Yan
( A time-traveling meditation on the rise and fall of people and societies. )
"The Futures of Genders in Chinese Science Fiction" by Jing Tsu (2022) [essay]
( Discussion of the depiction and participation of people of marginalized genders in Chinese SF. )
"Baby, I Love You" by Zhao Haihong (2002), tr. Elizabeth Hanlon
( In the not-too-distant future, a programmer works on a holographic virtual baby while his real family life falls apart. )
"A Saccharophilic Earthworm" by BaiFanRuShang (2005), tr. Ru-Ping Chen
( After a disabling accident, a theater director believes she can teach flowers to dance. )
"The Alchemist of Lantian" by BaiFanRuShang (2005), tr. Ru-Ping Chen
( Every time a godlike being helps a human, their own exile in the mortal world is extended. )
Tags:
- book club,
- books,
- books: author: anna wu,
- books: author: baifanrushang,
- books: author: jing tsu,
- books: author: zhao haihong,
- books: editor: regina kanyu wang,
- books: editor: yu chen,
- books: genre: fantasy,
- books: genre: science fiction,
- books: genre: speculative fiction,
- books: theme: androids/ai,
- books: theme: feminism,
- books: theme: time travel,
- books: translator: carmen yiling yan,
- books: translator: elizabeth hanlon,
- books: translator: ru-ping chen,
- books: type: essays,
- books: type: short stories,
- books: year: 2002,
- books: year: 2005,
- books: year: 2016,
- books: year: 2022
Interesting things - 2025 04 20
Apr. 20th, 2025 11:49 pmgentlyepigrams- Elizabeth O’Farrell. Irish Revolutionary. 1916. History lesson and gorgeous Irish art from Jim Fitzpatrick.
- ‘My heart broke’: director Ryan Coogler on mourning Chadwick Boseman, rebooting Black Panther and his new movie Sinners. It really says something about Boseman that he's still front and center in these interviews years after his death.
- 'The biggest we've ever gone': Savannah Bananas partner with ESPN for 10-game broadcast schedule.
- ‘Baseball was their glue’: Jackie Robinson’s deep bond with LA’s Japanese Americans. No wonder MAGA wants to erase him from history.
- The FDA warns patients about counterfeit Ozempic that may be in circulation. Great.
- Recapturing the Magic of Leverage: Heists, Cons, and Competence Porn. I have some friends who are super into this show and I've actually played convention rounds set in the world, but I've never watched the show.
- Texas Health Resources sues insulin manufacturers, pharmacies over price inflation. That's one of the two big local clinics and the one my GP is in. Good for them.
- Map: The Neighborhoods Where Dallas Housing Costs Have Jumped Most. Ours is just behind Preston Hollow for price hikes. We just got our property tax bill, which reflects the area increases. Ouch.
- Pacific Rim Live-Action TV Show Heading to Prime Video. It's a prequel. I'm still mad about them killing off Mako in the sequel, though.
- Baby Lambs Sit in Pouches Carried by Donkeys Along Ancient Paths for Seasonal Grazing. The pictures are as cute as they sound.
- Only 8 US theaters are showing 'Sinners' as director Ryan Coogler intended. Here's where. One of them is in Dallas and I wish I could bring myself to watch what is clearly a horror movie fronting for something else. The problem is I can't do horror movies.
Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town (2020)
Apr. 18th, 2025 10:31 ampauraqueIn this light-hearted point-and-click adventure from Italian studio imaginarylab, nerdy teenager Willy Morgan receives a cryptic letter from his father, an archaeologist who mysteriously disappeared ten years earlier while researching the pirate lore of nearby Bone Town. Now Willy has to take over where his dad left off, searching for clues among the locals (who all seem to be descended from famous pirates) and learning the truth about his father's fate and the lost treasure he sought.
I liked the look and feel of this game. It has a fun, quirky atmosphere, and the interface is polished and intuitive. The puzzles kept me interested but I never got stuck; I think it's intended to be more chill than challenging. However, there are some pretty big writing and plotting probems that got in the way of my enjoyment of the game.
( Read more... )
Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town is available on Steam and GOG for $19.99 USD, which is way too much. It's a light adventure that you'll finish in an evening, probably not something that'll stick with you or that you'll want to replay. I got it on sale for a couple bucks, and that's about right. There's also a free demo.
I liked the look and feel of this game. It has a fun, quirky atmosphere, and the interface is polished and intuitive. The puzzles kept me interested but I never got stuck; I think it's intended to be more chill than challenging. However, there are some pretty big writing and plotting probems that got in the way of my enjoyment of the game.
( Read more... )
Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town is available on Steam and GOG for $19.99 USD, which is way too much. It's a light adventure that you'll finish in an evening, probably not something that'll stick with you or that you'll want to replay. I got it on sale for a couple bucks, and that's about right. There's also a free demo.
Series final reaction — Person of Interest
Apr. 17th, 2025 09:43 pmbrithistorianA. and I finished Person of Interest tonight.
Now that I've finished it, I can dive into the wiki and the fanfic without worrying about getting spoiled. I'll probably even write some fanfic of my own — based on the parts of the show I enjoyed most and the style of fanfic I tend to write, expect my fanfic to be "season 3 forever."
At any rate, I really enjoyed the series, I simultaneously wish there had been more of it and am glad that it didn't go on so far that it wore out its welcome, and I recommend it to those of you who haven't seen it!
Now that I've finished it, I can dive into the wiki and the fanfic without worrying about getting spoiled. I'll probably even write some fanfic of my own — based on the parts of the show I enjoyed most and the style of fanfic I tend to write, expect my fanfic to be "season 3 forever."
At any rate, I really enjoyed the series, I simultaneously wish there had been more of it and am glad that it didn't go on so far that it wore out its welcome, and I recommend it to those of you who haven't seen it!
(no subject)
Apr. 17th, 2025 12:14 pmcupcake_goth- Tuesday involved me getting up earlier than usual because I had to go to the office for an in-person working session on the thing I presented last week. We got a lot done and have a plan, yay. I also learned a non-work thing: I am WAY more sensitive to garlic than I thought, especially if it's uncooked. I felt inflammation coming on as I was heading back home in the evening, and woke up on Wednesday feeling AWFUL. When do I get the good side effects of being a vampire? When?
- I am, as usual, doing a lot of window shopping. This pink hat with black bats and moons calls to me, of course, but then I decided I could DIY something even more suited to me. Thanks to AliExpress, I have a pink hat with an even wider brim and a bunch of black lace bat appliques. This coming weekend will involve painting the hat with a darker pink alcohol dye, then attaching the appliques. And maybe wide ribbons (attached to the inside of the crown) so I can tie it on if I want.
- I'm also coveting this sterling silver choker with a giant quartz centerpiece, but it's out of my price range. But it's so pretty!
- I'm thinking of taking a day off from work and persuading the Stroppy One we should go to the zoo. The things that are giving me pause are 1) the Stroppy One is about to start deadline work, and 2) the local zoo is very hilly, and will be challenging for me. (There's a part of me that thinks making the trek to Seattle to go to Woodland Park may be a better idea, especially since I could go visit my beloved red pandas. Our local zoo doesn't have red pandas.)
- All in all, things are meh around here, but I'm trying to find things that make me happy. I hope you peeps are also finding things that bring you joy.
What I'm Reading: A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby (2016)
Apr. 16th, 2025 08:04 pmdelphi✓ kingstoken's 2025 Book Bingo: Free Space - Indigenous Author
A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer is a 2016 autobiography that covers writer/activist/artist Ma-Nee Chacaby's life from 1950 to 2014, from her birth in a tuberculosis sanatorium, to her childhood in Ombabika, through her adulthood in Thunder Bay where she's become a community elder and helped lead the city's first Pride parade.
This was the fifth of this year's Canada Reads nominees that I've read, and I saved it for last, feeling like it was a sure thing in terms of something I'd want to read. I wasn't wrong, and I was happy to see it win in the debates, championed by Shayla Stonechild.
The book is very candid, frank, and factually self-reflective, with a conversational tone that feels like sitting in on the friendly interviews that brought these stories forward. The author has lived through a lot of violence, as well as discrimination, addiction, disability and economic hardship. She is also someone who loves truly and deeply, gathers family, and builds community in a way that I really needed to read about right now.
I also really appreciated the book's afterword, which provides a lot of transparency on the writing process, which was assisted by social scientist and friend Mary Louisa Plummer due to Ma-Nee Chacaby being low-vision and speaking English as a fourth language.
( An Excerpt )
kingstoken's 2025 Book Bingo: Free Space - Indigenous AuthorA Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer is a 2016 autobiography that covers writer/activist/artist Ma-Nee Chacaby's life from 1950 to 2014, from her birth in a tuberculosis sanatorium, to her childhood in Ombabika, through her adulthood in Thunder Bay where she's become a community elder and helped lead the city's first Pride parade.
This was the fifth of this year's Canada Reads nominees that I've read, and I saved it for last, feeling like it was a sure thing in terms of something I'd want to read. I wasn't wrong, and I was happy to see it win in the debates, championed by Shayla Stonechild.
The book is very candid, frank, and factually self-reflective, with a conversational tone that feels like sitting in on the friendly interviews that brought these stories forward. The author has lived through a lot of violence, as well as discrimination, addiction, disability and economic hardship. She is also someone who loves truly and deeply, gathers family, and builds community in a way that I really needed to read about right now.
I also really appreciated the book's afterword, which provides a lot of transparency on the writing process, which was assisted by social scientist and friend Mary Louisa Plummer due to Ma-Nee Chacaby being low-vision and speaking English as a fourth language.
( An Excerpt )
small random things
Apr. 16th, 2025 02:02 pmjulian1) My oldest nibling -- that is, Calluna's brother's eldest daughter -- is GOING TO COLLEGE I am old.
Specifically, they were *thinking* about Brandeis, which would have been awesome, but is instead going to Georgia Tech. Maybe this means we'll visit Georgia more than once a decade?
We're not going to go to their graduation because Calluna's mom is going, and we don't want to Make Drama even though we are not the ones who make the drama, but anyway: do not want drama. We're vaguely pondering going down in June or something to throw a "yay!" weekend, but AFAIK it hasn't gotten that solid yet. I should check in on that.
Kiddo is tentatively but not firmly non-binary so I go with they, most of the time.
We had a like 9 year stretch of not seeing that side of the family (present and relevant regrets elided) and then last year went down for ... why the hell *were* we there. Oh, right, a postponed Thanksgiving because someone got COVID and Calluna's step-mom had brain surgery. (She had dementia that turned out to be because of brain cancer, which was operable. She is now unsteady on her feet, physically, but much more there mentally, which is A Good Outcome.)
2) I had a contretemps just now because my car was showing battery difficulty signs, but I was like, "It's a hybrid, it'll be FINE." (I don't think I was disbelieving that hybrids need new backup batteries, but I think I was skeptical that they couldn't last longer. Or something.)
Reader: It was not fine.
Car failed to start last night, so I decided to get a jump from AAA in the morning (because it was raining last night). The AAA guy who came by is Hindi, as per his tattoos. (This is irrelevant but interesting.) He diagnosed me with a dead battery that was unlikely to work if I tried restarting it, so I went to the AutoZone on the way to my work to get a new one. AutoZone was like, "Zomg hybrid panic, we cannot cope," which I think was mostly, "I don't want to bother coping," so I shrugged, did not buy their battery, and sat in their parking lot waiting for AAA. They sent me no text updates so I was unprepared when a AAA woman came by (with really long fake fingernails) to replace my battery all by her ownself, in 5 minutes or so. Overall, much reduced AAA wait times, 50/50 on communication. AAA in-person people continue to be really good but mostly don't bother asking for relevant IDs.
Specifically, they were *thinking* about Brandeis, which would have been awesome, but is instead going to Georgia Tech. Maybe this means we'll visit Georgia more than once a decade?
We're not going to go to their graduation because Calluna's mom is going, and we don't want to Make Drama even though we are not the ones who make the drama, but anyway: do not want drama. We're vaguely pondering going down in June or something to throw a "yay!" weekend, but AFAIK it hasn't gotten that solid yet. I should check in on that.
Kiddo is tentatively but not firmly non-binary so I go with they, most of the time.
We had a like 9 year stretch of not seeing that side of the family (present and relevant regrets elided) and then last year went down for ... why the hell *were* we there. Oh, right, a postponed Thanksgiving because someone got COVID and Calluna's step-mom had brain surgery. (She had dementia that turned out to be because of brain cancer, which was operable. She is now unsteady on her feet, physically, but much more there mentally, which is A Good Outcome.)
2) I had a contretemps just now because my car was showing battery difficulty signs, but I was like, "It's a hybrid, it'll be FINE." (I don't think I was disbelieving that hybrids need new backup batteries, but I think I was skeptical that they couldn't last longer. Or something.)
Reader: It was not fine.
Car failed to start last night, so I decided to get a jump from AAA in the morning (because it was raining last night). The AAA guy who came by is Hindi, as per his tattoos. (This is irrelevant but interesting.) He diagnosed me with a dead battery that was unlikely to work if I tried restarting it, so I went to the AutoZone on the way to my work to get a new one. AutoZone was like, "Zomg hybrid panic, we cannot cope," which I think was mostly, "I don't want to bother coping," so I shrugged, did not buy their battery, and sat in their parking lot waiting for AAA. They sent me no text updates so I was unprepared when a AAA woman came by (with really long fake fingernails) to replace my battery all by her ownself, in 5 minutes or so. Overall, much reduced AAA wait times, 50/50 on communication. AAA in-person people continue to be really good but mostly don't bother asking for relevant IDs.
Weekly media report - for the week ending 2025 04 16
Apr. 16th, 2025 02:16 pmgentlyepigramsBooks
In Open Contempt: Confronting White Supremacy in Art and Public Space, by Irvin Weathersby Jr. Powerful art history memoir in which the author, a Black man, confronts white supremacy in public art: both in monuments to former Confederates and to the emerging Black-included historical monuments that have been replacing them.
Music
Julia Bullock & Christian Reif: Tiny Desk Concert. Her material choice was OK, but her voice is AMAZING.
Apple Music: Garbage Essentials. I keep forgetting there are a couple of albums of theirs I missed, as well as the new one that's coming out in a few weeks. I love the older stuff, and I'm learning to love the new stuff.
In Open Contempt: Confronting White Supremacy in Art and Public Space, by Irvin Weathersby Jr. Powerful art history memoir in which the author, a Black man, confronts white supremacy in public art: both in monuments to former Confederates and to the emerging Black-included historical monuments that have been replacing them.
Music
Julia Bullock & Christian Reif: Tiny Desk Concert. Her material choice was OK, but her voice is AMAZING.
Apple Music: Garbage Essentials. I keep forgetting there are a couple of albums of theirs I missed, as well as the new one that's coming out in a few weeks. I love the older stuff, and I'm learning to love the new stuff.
A Papago Grammar by Ofelia Zepeda (1983)
Apr. 16th, 2025 02:22 pmpauraque[This is a revision of a review I first posted to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
50books_poc on March 10th, 2011. It has been edited for clarity.]
This is a teaching grammar of the language which is now more properly called Tohono O'odham. (It appears that later editions of the book are indeed called A Tohono O'odham Grammar. The edition I have is from 1997.) It's the language of the Tohono O'odham people, of what is now called Arizona and northern Mexico. In 2007 the language was reported to have 14,000 speakers, including the mutually intelligible Pima O'odham dialect, and revitalization efforts are ongoing.
Ofelia Zepeda is a native speaker and a linguist. She wrote this book to be used in the classroom, both for O'odham who lack full fluency, and for interested outsiders. The material is in the form of lessons, with discussion of the grammar, vocabulary lists, dialogues, and exercises. There are special advanced exercises for native speakers, challenging them to analyze their own speech and describe why certain constructions sound right and others do not, which is a cool addition and really drives home that the primary audience is the O'odham community itself.
The presentation is linguistically informed, but technical terms are largely avoided. There is nothing more exotic than the sorts of words you'd find in a high school language class. But the book doesn't stand on its own as a Teach Yourself; it's obviously supposed to be a textbook for a class. The answers to the exercises are not provided. The phonology section is extremely sparse and vague, which is fine if you have people to hear and talk to, but not if you're trying to learn alone. Many of the finer points are under-explained (if you don't already know the difference between perfective and imperfective, I don't think you'll really know after reading this book either), and they're the kind of things your teacher would go over with you.
While I wouldn't rely on this book to teach you the language, it does cover quite a bit of ground for not being very long, so if you're the kind of person (like me) who reads about a language not because you're planning to speak it but simply because languages are awesome, it may well appeal to you. American Indian grammars written by native speakers aren't exactly a dime a dozen, so I was pleased to get my hands on this one.
50books_poc on March 10th, 2011. It has been edited for clarity.]This is a teaching grammar of the language which is now more properly called Tohono O'odham. (It appears that later editions of the book are indeed called A Tohono O'odham Grammar. The edition I have is from 1997.) It's the language of the Tohono O'odham people, of what is now called Arizona and northern Mexico. In 2007 the language was reported to have 14,000 speakers, including the mutually intelligible Pima O'odham dialect, and revitalization efforts are ongoing.
Ofelia Zepeda is a native speaker and a linguist. She wrote this book to be used in the classroom, both for O'odham who lack full fluency, and for interested outsiders. The material is in the form of lessons, with discussion of the grammar, vocabulary lists, dialogues, and exercises. There are special advanced exercises for native speakers, challenging them to analyze their own speech and describe why certain constructions sound right and others do not, which is a cool addition and really drives home that the primary audience is the O'odham community itself.
The presentation is linguistically informed, but technical terms are largely avoided. There is nothing more exotic than the sorts of words you'd find in a high school language class. But the book doesn't stand on its own as a Teach Yourself; it's obviously supposed to be a textbook for a class. The answers to the exercises are not provided. The phonology section is extremely sparse and vague, which is fine if you have people to hear and talk to, but not if you're trying to learn alone. Many of the finer points are under-explained (if you don't already know the difference between perfective and imperfective, I don't think you'll really know after reading this book either), and they're the kind of things your teacher would go over with you.
While I wouldn't rely on this book to teach you the language, it does cover quite a bit of ground for not being very long, so if you're the kind of person (like me) who reads about a language not because you're planning to speak it but simply because languages are awesome, it may well appeal to you. American Indian grammars written by native speakers aren't exactly a dime a dozen, so I was pleased to get my hands on this one.
Interesting translation fact I learned this week
Apr. 16th, 2025 09:48 ambrithistorianIn an article in the March 2025 issue of Multilingual magazine, I learned that while there's a sizable minority in Spain who speak Catalan, very few of those people are monolingual in Catalan. Therefore, it's common for Spanish publishers to buy both the Spanish and Catalan translation rights for a book but only produce a Spanish edition. They thus get most of the Catalan readers (because most of them also read Spanish) without the expense of producing a Catalan edition and without the chance that someone else will produce a Catalan edition and cut into their sales. This strikes me as yet another of those things that's a best practice within the "rules" of capitalism while at the same time being a generally scummy thing to do.
We ate at: Sketches of Spain and Emporium Pies
Apr. 15th, 2025 10:30 pmgentlyepigramsSketches of Spain has been on our list for a long time, so when our friend Ian suggested it for dinner tonight while Michael was out of town, I gladly said yes. We had tapas and ate ourselves stuffed. My favorite was the octopus and the close runner-up was the anchovies. The mushrooms were also very good and I even enjoyed the asparagus. Michael and I will have to check it out when he's back.
Afterwards Ian and I also went to Emporium Pies for dessert. It's about a quarter-mile away; I hadn't realized Sketches of Spain was so close to our old, much-missed favorite Boulevardier. I had the blueberry and Ian had the apple. I think we could have switched and been equally happy. Yum.
Sadly I had to come home to work on game stuff or we'd've had a stop at Wild Detectives as well. It was on the block between the two restaurants. Ian was saying he'd nearly moved into this neighborhood and was wondering what his life would have been like if he'd done that. We'd eat down in Bishop Arts more often, that's for sure.
Afterwards Ian and I also went to Emporium Pies for dessert. It's about a quarter-mile away; I hadn't realized Sketches of Spain was so close to our old, much-missed favorite Boulevardier. I had the blueberry and Ian had the apple. I think we could have switched and been equally happy. Yum.
Sadly I had to come home to work on game stuff or we'd've had a stop at Wild Detectives as well. It was on the block between the two restaurants. Ian was saying he'd nearly moved into this neighborhood and was wondering what his life would have been like if he'd done that. We'd eat down in Bishop Arts more often, that's for sure.
Shanghai Quartet
Apr. 14th, 2025 11:24 pmgentlyepigramsShanghai Quartet at the Dallas Chamber Music Society. April 14, 2025. Caruth Auditorium at SMU.
I missed the two previous concerts this year, so a significant part of the season, due to COVID, but I made myself go to this one. My husband is out of town so I had a nice dinner at a sushi place close to SMU, went to the concert, and had custard from Andy's on the way home.
The concert was three pieces, two from Beethoven and a Penderecki piece between. I'm getting to enough classical now that I'm starting to recognize Beethoven by vibes even when I don't know the piece. I know nothing at all about Penderecki, but reading up on him on Wikipedia explains some things I observed, specifically the way the beginning of the quartet had some avant-garde aspects that I didn't like much but moved away from those sounds as the piece progressed. My goal is always to enjoy these concerts for the music but I always like it when I learn something, especially about modern music, which is the weakest area of my classical knowledge.
The audience was extremely enthusiastic and the players got standing ovations at the end of all three pieces. On the way out, someone who clearly knew more about the players than I did was complimenting the cellist. I thought they all sounded fantastic. There was a brief encore, but the performers weren't amplified and I couldn't hear what piece they were playing, nor did I recognize it.
The list for next year's season is out and I'll be back.
I missed the two previous concerts this year, so a significant part of the season, due to COVID, but I made myself go to this one. My husband is out of town so I had a nice dinner at a sushi place close to SMU, went to the concert, and had custard from Andy's on the way home.
The concert was three pieces, two from Beethoven and a Penderecki piece between. I'm getting to enough classical now that I'm starting to recognize Beethoven by vibes even when I don't know the piece. I know nothing at all about Penderecki, but reading up on him on Wikipedia explains some things I observed, specifically the way the beginning of the quartet had some avant-garde aspects that I didn't like much but moved away from those sounds as the piece progressed. My goal is always to enjoy these concerts for the music but I always like it when I learn something, especially about modern music, which is the weakest area of my classical knowledge.
The audience was extremely enthusiastic and the players got standing ovations at the end of all three pieces. On the way out, someone who clearly knew more about the players than I did was complimenting the cellist. I thought they all sounded fantastic. There was a brief encore, but the performers weren't amplified and I couldn't hear what piece they were playing, nor did I recognize it.
The list for next year's season is out and I'll be back.
A list of random things
Apr. 14th, 2025 05:22 pmcupcake_goth- The work presentation that I was working on last week that caused me so much anxiety and stress ended up going really well, and my team has approval to move forward with a dream project. Tomorrow is a big in-office working session about the project with some other stakeholders and my writer who will be driving this, which means I need to trek into Seattle. I'm not thrilled about that part, but there are some people I'm especially looking forward to catching up with.
- Because of all of this last week, I ended up having a two and a half day seesawing panic attack, which I'm still recovering from. I couldn't do my usual way of recovering from such a thing, sleeping for an extended period, because I had social obligations. WHICH WERE AWESOME, but I'm still feeling the aftereffects of last week. In other words, I want to go be a sloth on the couch and then sleep in.
- I saw my big brother this weekend and got a tarot reading. Nothing like having the powers that be drop anvils on my head that I need to stop listening to the Brain Raccoons. Thanks. Yes, I constantly need the reminder, but DAMN.
- Because of all of this last week, I ended up having a two and a half day seesawing panic attack, which I'm still recovering from. I couldn't do my usual way of recovering from such a thing, sleeping for an extended period, because I had social obligations. WHICH WERE AWESOME, but I'm still feeling the aftereffects of last week. In other words, I want to go be a sloth on the couch and then sleep in.
- I saw my big brother this weekend and got a tarot reading. Nothing like having the powers that be drop anvils on my head that I need to stop listening to the Brain Raccoons. Thanks. Yes, I constantly need the reminder, but DAMN.
Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray by Nick Bruel (2010)
Apr. 14th, 2025 07:50 pmpauraque[This is a revision of a review I posted to 50books_poc on October 7th, 2010. It was, in fact, the first review I posted there—I have a vivid memory of finding out about the community and getting so excited that I immediately started casting about the room and grabbed the first book by an author of color that I saw. Alert readers will note that "my 7-year-old" is now in their 20s.]
My 7-year-old loves the Bad Kitty series of books, which are about—get this—the travails of a disobedient cat named Kitty. We just read this latest book together, in which the family goes out of town and leaves Kitty with the hapless Uncle Murray. Like previous entries in the series, it's a heavily illustrated chapter book. This one is 150 pages, and many are all pictures, some are all text, and lots are a mix. (Some of the text pages got long for said 7-year-old to read; they wanted to get back to the pictures.)
Author-illustrator Nick Bruel really has a handle on how cats think. Anyone who knows cats will greet Kitty's behavior and thought processes with laughter and groans of recognition. In this one there are also some non-fiction asides discussing why cats behave the way they do—why they fear strangers and loud noises and so on—which are lightly-handled and not too long.
The art makes these books. Bruel's style is loose and expressive, effortlessly nailing the facial expressions of animals and people on every page. He is fluent in the language of comics, and can make you giggle with just the turn of a line. My kid just about dies laughing when they see some of these drawings.
Seven seems like a good age for these books, though a slightly older reader would be able to get through more of the text without help. Recommended if you have kids around that age.
50books_poc on October 7th, 2010. It was, in fact, the first review I posted there—I have a vivid memory of finding out about the community and getting so excited that I immediately started casting about the room and grabbed the first book by an author of color that I saw. Alert readers will note that "my 7-year-old" is now in their 20s.]My 7-year-old loves the Bad Kitty series of books, which are about—get this—the travails of a disobedient cat named Kitty. We just read this latest book together, in which the family goes out of town and leaves Kitty with the hapless Uncle Murray. Like previous entries in the series, it's a heavily illustrated chapter book. This one is 150 pages, and many are all pictures, some are all text, and lots are a mix. (Some of the text pages got long for said 7-year-old to read; they wanted to get back to the pictures.)
Author-illustrator Nick Bruel really has a handle on how cats think. Anyone who knows cats will greet Kitty's behavior and thought processes with laughter and groans of recognition. In this one there are also some non-fiction asides discussing why cats behave the way they do—why they fear strangers and loud noises and so on—which are lightly-handled and not too long.
The art makes these books. Bruel's style is loose and expressive, effortlessly nailing the facial expressions of animals and people on every page. He is fluent in the language of comics, and can make you giggle with just the turn of a line. My kid just about dies laughing when they see some of these drawings.
Seven seems like a good age for these books, though a slightly older reader would be able to get through more of the text without help. Recommended if you have kids around that age.
flowers from the universe
Apr. 14th, 2025 04:39 pmjulianHi!
I'm 52! (As of yesterday.)
And the cashier at Trader Joe's, whose birthday is the 27th of April, gave me flowers today. I think because I was so enthused about being 52. (And she's 51 and was looking a little tired.) She hustled out ahead of me and grabbed one of the cut flower assortments.
Red roses, and a small-scale sunflower thing, and some purple things and uh. Dunno. Stuff. (Hm, that could be a dwarf sunflower. OK. Nifty.)
Yesterday was drizzly and annoying, but today is a gift from the universe, perfect Spring weather that just makes me happy. I beam generally.
I'm 52! (As of yesterday.)
And the cashier at Trader Joe's, whose birthday is the 27th of April, gave me flowers today. I think because I was so enthused about being 52. (And she's 51 and was looking a little tired.) She hustled out ahead of me and grabbed one of the cut flower assortments.
Red roses, and a small-scale sunflower thing, and some purple things and uh. Dunno. Stuff. (Hm, that could be a dwarf sunflower. OK. Nifty.)
Yesterday was drizzly and annoying, but today is a gift from the universe, perfect Spring weather that just makes me happy. I beam generally.
We ate at: Pearl
Apr. 11th, 2025 11:30 pmgentlyepigramsPearl is one of our non-Uchi go-tos for sushi (a list that Naminohana has just joined) and this time we went with our friend Ian, just for a social meal. As usual, they had a number of things we hadn't seen before, so we got to try the different fish. We also had the fancy wagyu roll we enjoy.
They have delicious yuzu lemonade which is grown-up and nonalcoholic. I also had part of a bonus cup of sake. I really enjoy Pearl, though it's more of a fancy date night thing than Naminohana, and I'm glad we went.
They have delicious yuzu lemonade which is grown-up and nonalcoholic. I also had part of a bonus cup of sake. I really enjoy Pearl, though it's more of a fancy date night thing than Naminohana, and I'm glad we went.