Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • garden tasks and brick-a-brack

    I just pulled all the weeds from my garden. Yes, an actual garden that I was allotted next to my front patio. Every apartment has a large (15x6 ft?) spot between their front patio and the sidewalk, and mine currently has (had) weeds and mulch. I am replacing this with black lava rock. I am considering either a large white statue of a woman letting go of a dove to place in the center of the rocks, or a statue of a horseman representing Famine of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. On, cheery and nice, the other quite dire. But, both conversation starters, so...

  • The Wainwright Prize 2024 shortlist

    I've enjoyed a lot of books from the prize's short and longlists in the past so it was nice to see what was in the shortlist. There are a few titles like Dispersal, Late Light and Bothy that I would love to read but at the moment my backlog includes "Blue Machine" so I should probably give that a bit more time.

  • catharthis via writing

    dude, this is such an insufferable pain in the ass - I don't "want" to be through with a friendship, and I never would, as I have few friendships, and she knows this, hence why the absences in response, the un-seen messages and un-returned e-mails. I hope she FEELS as big as she IS small. More akin to a drama/frenemy relationship I had in high school than communication with an adult.

• Politics and World Events

  • Far-right turn in the West, Kier Starmer and La France Insoumise

    Interviewer: Both left-wing and liberal media outlets in Europe and the USA talk more and more about the emerging threat posed by the far-right, which can also be seen in multiple successes achieved by the far-right in Europe where they are either likely to come into power, or have already done so. To what extent is "fascization" of society and politics a real threat nowadays? Is it true that the modern far-right can completely destroy what's left of democracy to build new totalitarian system, as it happened in the 20th century?

• Technology and Free Software

  • Internet/Gemini

    • Second Gemlog?

      There's been some... well... "interesting" stuff happening with me lately. Things of a religious/spiritual nature that I don't feel belong in my normal Gemlog, which is more based around personal and project thoughts. And though I suppose religious/spiritual stuff could easily be considered personal as well, I just feel that posts on these subjects need to go in a different place. So... here we are, a second gemlog.

      This one is going to be more focused on religion, specifically the pagan religion I follow and things that I learn as I follow my path. It will be a sort of public version of a personal grimoire or Book of Shadows, but in a journal format, and based on experiences that I've been having as of late. These experiences could be called "visions", where two or three deities visit and connect with me during my meditations and practices. These deities are the Mother Goddess and two emanations of her, Macha and Morrigan. They have been revealing a path to me that all four of us feel should be shared. Hence this gemlog 😄 Besides, sometimes I just need a place to sort my own thoughts out as well!

    • Second Gemlog Spawned

      After doing a lot of thinking and soul searching, I've decided to start a second gemlog that'll focus on some of the religious stuff I hinted at in my last post. So if you want to read that, go here: [...]