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outoffachs.bsky.social
Out of Fachs
@outoffachs.bsky.social
180 followers 650 following 450 posts
Wear a mask to piss off a fascist.

Good chance I’ll post about classical music, baseball, politics, baking, home improvement, or anxiety
She/her
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outoffachs.bsky.social
If marvel was the actual female gaze, the super heroes would all look like this and Thor wouldn’t have been the subject of so many fat phobic jokes in Endgame.
A fake Men’s Health magazine cover with a photo of MLB catcher Austin Hedges walking in profile shirtless and smoking a cigar. Hedges fits the axiom “what women want in a man is simple: a little facial hair, a little body hair, a little muscle, a little fat” very well. Headlines on the fake cover include: Men'sHealth WHAT DOES PEAK PHYSICAL CONDITION ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE? HINT: YOU'RE LOOKIN' AT IT FRAME BETTER + THROW FURTHER + RUN FASTER + CALL GAMES SMARTER + PARTY HARDER Report "I'l never wear a shirt again," vows AUSTIN HEDGES LIVIN' ON THE HEDGE AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE GUARDIANS MOST SHIRTLESS CATCHER 19 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR PITCHER LOOK BETTER GET HIS POSTSEASON BOD HEDGEY'S SECRET? PLENTY OF BEER AND CIGARS, AND OH YEAH-PLAYING FOR A TEAM THAT MADE IT TO THE POSTSEASON
November 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
The mostly complete home improvement work:
(Still need to get more shoe moulding, cut, paint and install it through out the 2nd floor and paint/touch up the baseboards)
A closed door to the attic of a little colonial house, which was previously painted over, has been stripped, sanded, stained, and refinished a dark walnut with a satin oil-based finish. The hardware and hinges have been cleaned of paint and reinstalled The floors of the primary bedroom after stain and polyurethane was completed. The floors are a medium dark stain of English chestnut. You can see some of the oak planks are quarter sawn for more distinctive grains which shine in the new stain. The dark floor complements the primary bedroom’s deep green walls while the large window seat allows a lot of natural light in The stair landing and part of the hallway after stain and polyurethane have been applied. The stair treads are still painted from a previous order and will be stripped and refinished at some later date.
October 31, 2025 at 11:40 AM
outoffachs.bsky.social
Anyways, I’m taking a couple days off and dad and I are tackling refinishing the hardwood floors upstairs. We had already done the guest room as a pilot project two years ago before we tackled the first floor in May 2024. Here’s how some of the floor is looking sure we pulled the laminate.
The floors of a smaller office with light blue and gray walls. The century old hardwoods are in rather good shape, with some noticeably worn spots in the high traffic area between the door and an exterior door that leads to a sleeping porch. The bare hardwoods in the primary bedroom. The bedroom has few green walls and the closet that is visible has medium gray walls. There are some larger worn patches but perhaps 60% of the floor still has a prior finish intact. The hardwoods extend into the walk-in closet spaces, though a prior owner unfortunately painted the floors in those spaces. I’m hopeful our sander will still pull up most of that paint
October 16, 2025 at 5:09 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
Finally got a record player for my house, so here’s the lunchtime listening today- from a haul I got six years ago when an archivist was clearing out their LP excess.
The front of a record album cover- a white background with one red and one blue vertical stripe at left to frame the red, dark grey, and blue texts: TRW presents The Sounds of America: 1776-1976 Music and words that have inspired Americans over two centuries of independence The Cleveland Orchestra Lorin Maazel Music Director Recorded at a special concert in commemoration of the American Bicentennial and TRW’s 75th Anniversary, January 11, 1976, and Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH
October 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
I’m planning a trip to see college/grad school friends this week and from the outset asked that we all follow certain Covid-conscious protocols. I sent care packages to my friends with info, variety of masks, tests, and xylitol sprays. Nearly cried when I got this email last night.
An excerpt from an email from college friends I am preparing to visit. From the outset of the trip planning I outlined requested Covid protocols in order to more safely see each other. My friend wrote: “We did receive your COVID care package (thank you for making that so easy!), have forwarded your document and some supplies to [redacted friend name] and are happily prepared to join you as COVID-conscious cuties! We are observing the heightened precautions this week, and will test and report on Wednesday”
July 29, 2025 at 5:10 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
I was gone for a little over a week to visit Calgary and Banff National Park and did my best to stay off social media during that time. The family had a lovely celebration of my dad’s 75th birthday.
Photo from a hike on Parker Ridge in Jasper National Park- at the trail’s overlook of the Saskatchewan Glacier. A woman with dark hair and sunglasses stands in the foreground wearing a light thermal layer and jeans against the chill breeze. Behind her, the ridge slopes away and down into the surrounding range of the Canadian Rockies. Castleguard Mountain and Big Bend Peak are visible on the far left of the photo, the ice river of the Saskatchewan glacier flows down the valley and its melt (colored aquamarine by the presence of glacial silt held in suspension in the water) feeds the headwaters of the Saskatchewan River. Mt. Athabasca rises to the right of the glacier. The sky is a clear blue and the lower slopes of the valley is verdant with heathers, wild flowers, and hemlock trees. At the Vermillion Lakes overlook near Banff town in Banff National Park, The Valley in the background includes Mt. Bourgeau, Eagle Mountain, and Sundance Peak, colored blue and green by distance and hemlocks. Plant growth obscures the view of vermilion lakes in the near ground. A woman with dark hair and sunglasses smiles in the foreground, enjoying the stunning views while wearing a Cleveland Guardians ball cap. Peyto Lake in Banff National Park is visible on the left hand of the photo, startlingly blue from mineral deposits. The valley stretches away, filled with evergreens. Mt Patterson looms over the lake and at right, Mt. Weed and Mt. Noyes are among the peaks visible as the range stretches into the distance. Part of the waterfalls in Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park. Long exposure renders the Johnston Creek water hazy in its movement as it lands into a blue-green pool and continues its flow onward and finally into the Bow River.
July 8, 2025 at 2:07 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
I know that’s right! #RPDRAllStars #TeamGinger (I used a content filter to hopefully protect any spoilers)
A picture of part of my tv showing the point totals for RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars at end of week 2 for the final bracket, with Ginger Minj in the well deserved lead
June 21, 2025 at 8:35 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
I started work on some practice tracks for a possible small group performance of this Frank Ticheli work out of the choir I’m part of, and decided to try out my sister’s much better equipment and blanket booth in my office. And I really like the quality I’m getting…
June 12, 2025 at 3:37 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
What are community and semi pro theatre companies going to do for costuming when drafting patterns is a much bigger skill set that not every costumer has. I’ve never really drafted my own pattern for something- seriously, Char’s eras tour outfit and the pattern we started from
A woman in a black Ponte knit dress with asymmetric hem, long sleeves, collar, and center button placket closure. It is belted with beaded trims and appliquéd sequins in geometric and art deco patterns. The outfit is a recreation of Taylor Swift’s “Don’t Blame Me” dress from the Reputation tour The front picture and line art illustrations for Simplicity 9260, a princess seamed dress with center button down closure, collar, a lined skirt, and choice of sleeve styles. This pattern was used as the basis for the Taylor swift dress due to its style lines largely matching the body of the original design. Significant alterations were made to the hem and sleeve but otherwise it was an excellent starting point for the project
June 6, 2025 at 3:14 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
I’m currently wearing trans pride earrings from Loxy to sing in a Pride concert with the feminist choir I’m part of, and my guillotine earrings are a big hit at protests
Close shot of a woman’s ear with earring. The earring is a small circle of natural wood, with the lower half of it carved in horizontal lines. The lines are painted the trans pride flag colors of (top to bottom) blue, pink, white, pink, and blue. The woman has dark, curly hair, pale skin, and is against a bright orange wall.
June 1, 2025 at 4:21 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
My family piano is a little more interesting than some, because it is a player piano. The player mechanism needed servicing before I took custody of it and I finally was able to put that into my budget this year.
An upright piano with natural wood finish in its place of honor in the front room of a small colonial house. The piano has a set of sliding doors in the center of the upper part of the cabinet that conceals the spool box for a player mechanism. The lid of the upright piano is raised and the front face of the cabinet has been removed to reveal the upper part of the instrument’s interior. Tuning pins and some of the bass strings are visible along the harp, as well as some of the hammers. The spool box where a player roll will go is in the center and to its right is the chain transmission and air motor that powers the spools. The manufacturer’s mark is visible- it is from Schiller Piano Company of Eugene, Illinois. The manufacturer was established in 1892, and this instrument’s serial number dates it to a manufacture year of 1924. Two large boxes full of “new to me” player piano rolls, a little over 80, mostly of Broadway, jazz and pop standards, and a couple of classical pieces and Christmas songs. These will join my collection of about 25 rolls inherited from my grandmother
April 19, 2025 at 6:43 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
Today is Transgender Day of Visibility- celebrating the presence of our trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive siblings and neighbors. All people have the right to live as their authentic selves, and make a kinder, more open, and stronger society when they are able to do so. #YouAreEnough
An infographic about Transgender Day of Visibility- a lavender background with dark purple text. On the right of the graphic, a dark-skinned hand with almond shaped nails holds the transgender Pride flag with blue, pink, and white stripes. The text reads: Transgender Day of Visibility #IAmEnough #YouAreEnough March 31st During TDoV we celebrate the joy and resilience of trans and non-binary people everywhere by elevating voices and experiences from these communities.
March 31, 2025 at 2:24 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
Well, take a look at Baltimore. Handwritten notes with alt text:
Handwritten notes on lined paper read: Baltimore Symphony 2025-26 Season 21 Subscription Weeks CONDUCTORS Music Director Jonathon Heyward MD Laureate Marin Alsop 10 non-music director weeks, of which two are conducted by Alsop REMAINING 8 GUESTS = 3 women, 5 men, of whom 2 are in the global majority. BSO will be lead by a non-white Conductor 13 of 21 weeks and by a woman 5 of 21 weeks (50% of non- MD weeks) COMPOSERS 11 Women Composers -5 Contemporary: A. Pinto Correia, A. Clyne, R. Esmail, G. Mason, C. Pépin 2 Classical: M. Paradis, M. Martínez 4 20th CENTURY: L. Boulanger, K. Saariaho, F. Price, & E. Smyth 7 Contemporary Male Composers: I. Habibi, M. Simpson, W. Marsalis, Tan Dun, B. Dean, J. Leshnoff, B. Childs 7 composers total from the Global Majority 12 of 21 weeks have a work by a living composer
March 5, 2025 at 4:44 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
From Signal Cleveland’s reporting about ICE actions and Cleveland Mayor Bibb stating that local LEO resources would not be diverted to federal enforcement, Sen. Moreno is happy to threaten his own constituents with severe punishment.
Screen grab from Signal Cleveland reporting. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has stated his refusal to have Cleveland police diverted to federal immigration enforcement in the wake of reported ICE raids on restaurants in neighboring municipalities. Text in the screen capture continues: U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno gave a forceful, off-the-cuff rebuttal to the Democratic mayor's words this week on talk radio host Bob Frantz' show. The new Republican senator said he hadn't seen Bibb's statement yet but that the gist of it sounded "massively disappointing." "I had hoped to work with the mayor in a positive way," Moreno said. "But if he's going to protect and advocate for criminal illegals, he's not going to have an ally with me. And in fact he's going to open himself up to legal jeopardy. Because we're not playing." Moreno continued: "We will not give federal funding, one cent, to cities that do that. And that will cripple Cleveland."
February 1, 2025 at 1:44 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
The paper of record has spoken, Oklahoma now has to claim this absolute jerk.
Screenshot from the NY Times’ coverage of the 1/30/25 RFK Jr. confirmation hearing which misidentifies John Husted as Senator from Oklahoma, when Ohio has the misfortune of being represented by him. “Sheryl Gay Stolberg Reporting from the hearing room Senator John Husted, Republican of Oklahoma, made the case that the people have spoken in electing President Trump, and therefore Kennedy must be confirmed. To do otherwise, he said, would be "thumbing my nose" at the movement behind Kennedy. But the Constitution gives the Senate the power to offer its "advice and consent" in approving presidential nominations.”
January 30, 2025 at 5:01 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
This is a good bit of local news that Cleveland employers may soon be unable to ask applicants about salary history and would need to list pay ranges in job postings. Pay transparency is good for everyone, but especially for people of color, women, and other marginalized groups.
Today’s (Monday, January 27th, 2025) news blast email from the Cleveland branch of local journalism site Signal: Good morning Cleveland, Legislation scheduled to be introduced today at Cleveland City Council would make it illegal for employers to ask job applicants about their salaries in current and past jobs. It also would require employers to include salary ranges in all formal job postings - what is commonly referred to as pay transparency. Salary history questions disproportionately affect people of color, women and low-wage workers, pay transparency advocates say.
January 27, 2025 at 12:36 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
From CNN today, some historic data about the multi-year stock market performance. You probably know what happened in 1929, but 1937 brought another recession within the Great Depression, and 1956 began a two-year bear market.
www.cnn.com/2024/12/31/i...
Screen grab from CNN Business article published December 31st, 2024: US stocks are about to achieve a feat so rare that it's only ever happened a handful of times. The S&P 500 is set to gain over 20% this year after rising 24% in 2023. Back-to-back gains of over 20% would be the best performance for the benchmark index since 1997 and 1998, according to data from FactSet. It's an extraordinary event for the modern-day version of the index. (Precursors also racked up that kind of performance three other times, in 1927 and 1928, 1935 and 1936 and in 1954 and 1955, according to a Bank of America analysis.)
December 31, 2024 at 2:06 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
Merry Christmas to those celebrating! My sibling and I are in NYC visiting our other sibling, in-law, and nibling for the holiday which has been really lovely! Here’s the family stockings filled and laid out- each designed and knitted by our mother.
Five Christmas stockings are on a green couch, filled with presents. They are home knitted with green toes and different designs. They are large stockings, more than 2 feet long from toe to top. The very tops all have the individual’s name knitted (obscured in this photo), the next segment down says “Peace, Hope, Love” in different colors on a white background. Then each person has their own design on a red segment. My stocking has hearts, my nibling has white stars, others are snowflakes, a train, stockings and lights. My parents’ stockings (not in the photo) have Christmas trees and snowmen. The final segments on all of our stockings have a Santa and Mrs. Claus on a green background before the white instep and the toe. My mom has knitted stockings for grandparents, cousins, cousins’ children, and close friends, but it’s our immediate family that has these particular styles. This is one of my favorite aspects of my family Christmas traditions.
December 25, 2024 at 2:20 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
lol and we’re back to blaming diversity, and won’t someone please think of the “non marginalized.” They have such a hard go of things, after all.
The current “main character” of classical music, a white man composer who focused mostly on concert band literature and claims to have left the field 5 years ago after quite a bit of success because of industry moves toward composers of diverse identities, is now also blaming the long standing practice of performing transcriptions of works not originally composed for wind ensembles as part of the tapering of demand for his work. In a comment on his own post on this topic, he writes (part 1): Many of these comments demonstrate the crisis i underwent. On one hand there is a powerful, deeply rooted preservation of wind band Transcriptions, and let's go ahead and add marches here just for the hell of it. On the other hand was a laudable movement toward better representation on concert programs. These 2 paradigms cannot coexist without harming emerging nonmarginalized composers. I heard many rebuttals about how there are plenty of living white composers successful in wind band. Names like John Mackey and Jim Stevenson. This was misleading and a little disingenuous, as i don't fall anywhere remotely close to this echelon in terms of performance frequency… Part 2 of this aggrieved composer’s comment: Programming in 2019, while primarily still white male composers, unsuccessfully attempted to preserve Transcriptions, preserve the master works (at this point the program is primarily white dudes) AND preserving the support of hi ranking nonmarginalized composers while inviting in underrepresented composers. I was squeezed out. It's not rocket science. If you don't adjust for adding more competition of living composers, someone is going to feel it.
December 23, 2024 at 2:55 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
lol, another post has hit the towers.
An additional post from the current main character of classical music social media who has blamed the tapering of his composition career on the “diversity movement.” At ~8:45 pm ET on December 21- Andrew Boss wrote: “Ok. Give it to me straight. What is the potential damage my posts may have? Again, the outcome l'm seeing is not really one i wish to continue in. I have had droves of messages supporting my position. So who is right? How can we move forward to better understand each other?” Please note that most comments on his previous posts have been calling him out on his desire to continue benefiting from white supremacy over composers of marginalized identities.
December 22, 2024 at 1:52 AM
outoffachs.bsky.social
Someone wrote with some hard data that the dude was in the top 12% of composers by performances for a decade in college band concert repertoire. And was blocked for their troubles...
One person commented with a screengrab of another person's comment, asking why the original poster had blocked this person for providing crucial context which undercut his complaint. The blocker person's comment: I completed a study that was published in the Journal of Band Research last year on college wind band programming from 2011-2022 (only including ensembles from Power Five conference schools). Out of 950 individual composers, you ranked 112th in terms of number of performances your works received. 10 marginalized composers had more performances than you from 2011-2022. But, 102 white men had more performances than you. Either way, you were still in the top 12%. No commentary here, just sharing some stats
December 20, 2024 at 5:08 AM
outoffachs.bsky.social
Lesson 6 of Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: Be wary of Paramilitaries
Picture of lesson 6 of Timothy Snyder’s book “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century” Quote begins: Be wary of paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come. Most governments, most of the time, seek to monopolize violence. If only the government can legitimately use force, and this use is constrained by law, then the forms of politics that we take for granted become possible. It is impossible to carry out democratic elections, try cases at court, design and enforce laws, or indeed manage any of the other quiet business of government when agencies beyond the state also have access to violence. For just this reason, people and parties who wish to undermine democracy and the rule of law create and fund violent organizations that involve themselves in politics. Such groups can take the form of a paramilitary wing of a political party, the personal bodyguard of a particular politician-or apparently spontaneous citizens' initiatives, which usually turn out to have been organized by a party or its leader. …
December 13, 2024 at 4:51 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
Chris Wray you dumbass. It’s literally the first lesson of Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny” to not obey in advance.
The first page of Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny” Lesson 1: Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
December 11, 2024 at 9:18 PM
outoffachs.bsky.social
I love the implication that you chaotically switch things up in this regard. What a great cat you are! My parents’ sweetheart Mac sends brotherly 🧡
An all orange tabby cat lays on his back on a beige carpet. His ears are alert and his more pointed face is turned upward to the camera lens expectantly, yellow eyes wide and focused. He has presented his belly to a trusted human, eager for pets. His fur is a light orange with soft tabby markings that are more pronounced on his cheeks, forehead, and shoulders. The lighting casts a shadow of his profile onto the carpet next to him. Though the picture cannot capture this, Mac is purring contently. He is a dear, sweet cat with a family that adores him.
November 20, 2024 at 1:55 AM
outoffachs.bsky.social
And here are shots of my sister's Rep outfit, which she was able to wear to Philadelphia 18 months ago.
A woman is modeling an outfit in a living room in front of gold drapes and a built in bookcase. Her outfit is designed after Taylor Swift's Reputation Tour costume for "Don't Blame Me" - a long black coat dress with asymmetric hem. The hem rises up to mid thigh on the right leg, and the dress is beaded in an art deco style on the shoulders, down the side seams, along the back and sleeves. In this homemade version, we used mostly a sequin fabric appliquéd over black jersey, with beaded trim tape on shoulders, bodice, and down the side seams. A side by side shot of Taylor Swift's Reputation Tour costume for "Don't Blame Me" and the woman modeling a homemade version. You can see the back and train of Taylor's costume with its extensive beading. In this homemade version, we used mostly a sequin fabric appliquéd over black jersey, with beaded trim tape on shoulders, bodice, and down the side seams. On the back of the skirt, I took individual strands of sequins to reinterpret some of the beading and applied them by hand.
November 16, 2024 at 2:39 AM