Lotta
LightNews LightNews
banner
gemmy.bsky.social
Lotta
@gemmy.bsky.social
270 followers 250 following 930 posts
Swede in D.C. Hockey, ceramics, nature, kayaking, Taiwan. Tolkien nerd, brassica fan. www.lottaworld.com Pottery pics: www.instagram.com/lottainvirginia/
Posts Replies Media Videos
gemmy.bsky.social
Decided I have too many things to do, so I took a hike instead of taking the kayak out. Regretting my choice right now, it is gorgeous (albeit chilly) on the Potomac.
The Potomac River with the Wilson Bridge in the background. The blue of the water meets the blue of the sky, with the white bridge between them. In the foreground is driftwood along the bank, and some anchored boats.
November 29, 2025 at 4:20 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
Logaaaaaan!!! #ALLCAPS!
November 29, 2025 at 12:34 AM
gemmy.bsky.social
Do you play the accordion? Does someone you know? I’m looking for someone to record a few bars of accordion music as a gift to my mom. Happy to pay. Story in photos.
Musical notation in a childish hand in Swedish. I think maybe the first bar is something else? ”My Waltz” is written between bars 1-2. Lyrics are ”now we will sing a little song that all birds will listen to” followed by two instrumental bars, and then the final ”thus I can end my waltz” Text on a white background. My dad, who passed away suddenly a few years ago, played the accordion when he was a kid. Recently, mom gave his accordion away to a local music school. In the process, she discovered a booklet where he had composed "my waltz" when he was maybe 12/13. As a Christmas present for my mom, I was hoping to have someone record the snippet of music on an accordion so I can send it to her. Final output would be an mp3 file of his composition, played on an accordion. Difficulty: Old-school Swedish musical notation (not sure if that matters), a pretty fuzzy photo of the page of notes. Happy to pay for the help. Flexible on the amount. My dad in between bouts of playing the accordion (fairly poorly if I recall correctly!) many years after composing the waltz. It’s a beautiful old school accordion, he is sitting in a white chair and looks really content.
November 25, 2025 at 12:29 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
This is a great find! Makes me think of this investigation by Mikko & F-Secure finding the people who made Brain A.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lned...
November 24, 2025 at 4:58 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
Vad gjorde du 17 juli 2018? (What did you do July 17, 2018?)

Såg Joywave på Broadberry i Richmond, Virginia. Dom spelade "Blastoff" live för första gången någonsin.

(I saw Joywave at the Broadberry in Richmond. First live performance of "Blastoff")
The band Joywave performing on a stage, taken from the railing. Joey playing guitar on the left, Paul on the drums, Daniel singing. (On the bass is Jeremiah and Ben on keyboards. Both of them are no longer members of the band.) In the back is a big lit-up sign that says "Broadberry" and the lights are purple and orange.
November 21, 2025 at 7:46 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
U.S. senators introduce bill to prevent changes to 'Six Assurances' focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...
U.S. senators introduce bill to prevent changes to 'Six Assurances' - Focus Taiwan
Two U.S. senators on Thursday introduced a bipartisan bill to codify the "Six Assurances" as a cornerstone of U.S. policy toward Taiwan and prevent any unilateral changes to America's longstanding pos...
focustaiwan.tw
November 21, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Lotta
yossarianlives.bsky.social
Tfw you have an Ovi goal counter bobblehead but it only has three digits. #ALLCAPS
November 21, 2025 at 12:13 AM
gemmy.bsky.social
My headline of the day, for sure.

NASA releases images of comet, rejects alien rumors

www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/a...
NASA releases images of comet, rejects alien rumors - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
www.taipeitimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:26 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
Got to pick up my kittycat luminary this week. Happy that it turned out! Also picked up a little face bud vase. I didn’t mean for him to be crying!! 😂
Blue luminary shaped like a cat, with holes where the light will emanate out through the body and face. A little face on a bud vase. Looks like a cartoonish face with the eyes crying.
November 20, 2025 at 3:57 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Let everyone live their lives as they please and as their true selves, just like I get to. I don't want a "TDOR," I don't want a bunch of dead people! Just let everyone LIVE their lives FFS! It all makes me furious...
November 20, 2025 at 2:49 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
Hahahahah. Willy with a pair of ENG! Hahahaj.
November 20, 2025 at 2:40 AM
gemmy.bsky.social
Yeah, baby Willy!
November 20, 2025 at 2:37 AM
gemmy.bsky.social
Man. The TNT commentators luuuuv McDavid..
November 20, 2025 at 12:46 AM
gemmy.bsky.social
No, not true. There was no additional arms sale to Taiwan this week (so far!). This was a contract award announcement to Raytheon for the NASAMS that were notified to Congress on October 25, 2024. Two completely different things.
Acre magic of text from https://www.war.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4333778/ Raytheon Co., Tewksbury, Massachusetts, was awarded a $698,948,760 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System fire units. Work will be performed in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2031. Fiscal 2026 Foreign Military Sales (Taiwan) funds in the amount of $698,948,760 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-26-C-0002).
November 19, 2025 at 4:58 AM
gemmy.bsky.social
Woke up from a nightmare with my heart racing. A monster? A vampire? No. I dreamt that I was hacked and had to mitigate the damage… Also woke up with The Stone Roses ”I am the resurrection” echoing in my head. Haven’t thought of that excellent song in 20 years! #mybrainisweird
November 18, 2025 at 10:08 AM
gemmy.bsky.social
I hadn't even heard about this incident of a man groping the President of Mexico. If this happens to the most powerful woman in the country, what does that mean for all the not-powerful women out there?

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the assault of Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum: when a president is groped, no woman can feel safe | Editorial
Editorial: A shocking incident should become an opportunity to address broader problems of misogyny
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:29 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
Me at the office yesterday, editing: "I'll just finish this at home tomorrow." Walked out and went home.
Me today at home: "Loud swearing in Swedish, English, and Mandarin"

I forgot to put it somewhere where I can actually access it from home, goddammit.
November 16, 2025 at 4:00 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
Productive day at pottery open studio today. Stuck 4 bisqued raku clay items in my car, ready for my February workshop. Threw the remaining class clay a bit bigger than normal to get rid of it before my class breaks for the holidays, then used the leftover raku clay for a little figurine choir. :)
A little figurine clay choir using groggy raku clay on the slab roller. A buff clay bottle. I usually do rounded forms, so it was a challenge to get the edges. Large tapered vase on a purple 12-inch bat. Buff clay, lilac bat. :) Bisque fired bottle in raku clay, ready for the raku workshop I’m signed up to take in February!
November 15, 2025 at 11:25 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
Uhhhh.... Dear CBS News. I wouldn't call 330 million "massive" by any stretch in this context, and he says it included "a fighter jet" which is just not true. This is a boring 'ol sustainment sale... Come back at me if they approve the MQ-8 Fire Scout and we'll talk!

www.yahoo.com/news/videos/...
U.S. approves massive sale of weapons to Taiwan
The U.S. has approved the sale of $330 million worth of weapons to Taiwan as tensions rise in the region with China. CBS News' Nancy Cordes reports.
www.yahoo.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:56 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
Nice writeup! “Rapport-building phishing“ indeed! Yes, it was suspicious from the beginning, but targeted enough that it could have been real. When they sent a weird document for us to open, though, it quickly became clear that something was waaay off...

www.volexity.com/blog/2025/10...
APT Meets GPT: Targeted Operations with Untamed LLMs
Starting in June 2025, Volexity detected a series of spear phishing campaigns targeting several customers and their users in North America, Asia, and Europe. The initially observed campaigns were tail...
www.volexity.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:00 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
I loooooved "No One Lives Forever" so so much. What happened to it is a travesty.
techdirt.com Techdirt @techdirt.com · 15d
‘No One Lives Forever’ Turns 25 & You Still Can’t Buy It Legitimately

One of my favorite things in all of professional sports is the unofficial holiday referred to as "Bobby Bonilla Day." The short version of it is that Bonilla played for the New York Mets decades ago and eventually bought out his…
‘No One Lives Forever’ Turns 25 & You Still Can’t Buy It Legitimately
One of my favorite things in all of professional sports is the unofficial holiday referred to as "Bobby Bonilla Day." The short version of it is that Bonilla played for the New York Mets decades ago and eventually bought out his contract in 2000 when they decided they were done with him. Rather than pay the $5.9 million buyout of the contract up front, the team instead made the bonkers decision to negotiate a deferred payment schedule for that amount…
www.techdirt.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:32 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
I hate that DSCA insists on posting Taiwan arms sales notices at like 9 pm. Don’t they know I’m not at work then!! 😂
(Yea, yea it’s morning in Taipei. Still annoyed for myself!)
Text from an arms sales notice. Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States – Non-Standard Spare and Repair Parts DoD News Feed (DSCA) / by Pentagon News / Nov 13, 2025 at 9:14 PM WASHINGTON, November 13, 2025 - The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States of Non-Standard Spare and Repair Parts and related equipment for an estimated cost of $330 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress.
November 14, 2025 at 12:47 PM
gemmy.bsky.social
First draft of article on drones is done! Initially worried I wouldn't meet the 2,500 word minimum, but I guess I had a lot to say. 4,338 atm, whew. Now for some feedback from work friends and I can turn it in. Expecting substantial revisions, and some more impostor syndrome sleepless nights too...
November 13, 2025 at 4:23 AM
gemmy.bsky.social
I have like two jadeite cabbage replicas in sight RIGHT NOW, and I think there are at least 10 in my office gift storage closet. It's pretty cool in person, just a really weird thing to build a museum around! :)

edition.cnn.com/2025/11/10/s...
How a humble cabbage became one of the Forbidden City’s most memorable treasures | CNN
Appearing on stamps, merchandise and plush toys, the diminutive jadeite carving is so popular it occupies its own room at Taiwan’s National Palace Museum.
edition.cnn.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Lotta
ustaiwan.bsky.social
What's Next for US -Taiwan Relations? The Mission Ready Podcast hosted our President for a discussion on Taiwan, its strategic significance, defense partnerships, and the evolving geopolitical landscape of the Indo-Pacific region.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CHw...
What's Next for US -Taiwan Relations? #podcast #youtube #Taiwan
YouTube video by Mission Ready Podcast
www.youtube.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:09 PM