Solidarity. I've lost count of how many times I've had the same thing happen. Hasn't made me any better at dealing with it; it just sucks. I'm sorry you're going through it too. Hope the flare eases soon.

(TBC, I'm referring to anyone and everyone slow-walking and/or making excuses for not releasing the files at this point, not just Trump. They can all get into the sea, regardless of party. Some are covering for donors, some are covering for sources/pals, some may be covering for themselves.)

Which may include terror of fallout from others who blame him for exposing *them*. Rumor has it Epstein was on the FSB's radar (and possibly payroll). If true, many may be exposed (and blame Trump). If not true, what's the betting *something* else morally/politically abhorrent/unpalatable *is* true?

Finn MacCool was a rough one for me in my teenage years too; not sure why, as I love the original myths. Red Branch (Cuchulainn) was fantastic - I plan to re-read it next - but Bard's still my favorite, I think. I need to catch up on her newer ones... pretty sure I'm at least 10 behind by now!

Recently picked up "Bard" by Morgan Llywelyn (a historical-ish retelling of the BCE era of Irish lore that I first read as a teenager), and was thrilled that the first line still took my breath away.

It's certainly no "He snorted and hit me in the solar plexus. I bent over and took hold of the room with both hands and spun it. When I had it nicely spinning I gave it a full swing and hit myself on the back of the head with the floor,” - the passage that made me fall in love with Chandler's prose.

I cannot shake the thought that it looks like she copy/pasted her manuscript into an LLM with the prompt, "Make this more noir. Is that the word? Like the old detective films!" And it Chandlerized as ordered - badly, of course.

Not saying it's what happened, but no excerpt demonstrates otherwise.

I don't mind that they were wrong and I don't really care that I was "right"; I was only "right" because I know how to read and what to read. I do mind doctors treating their patients with audible and visible derision for the crime of wanting to be involved in their own care.

Looks great! My hands/wrists are in such grim shape these days that I can't do most of the crafting stuff I usually do (or affect repairs on) for the holidays, but I picked up some stamps and wood blanks the sibling likes, so I'm hoping we can still get some holiday spirit going. We shall see.😁

I unironically love this! Thanks for the laugh, and for giving me some good ideas. 😁

As a 40-something who has loathed phones and phone calls since the last gasp of party lines, and who only hates them *more* with the rise of smartphones... godspeed.

For me, the order goes Wonderful Christmastime, Fairytale of New York, War is Over, The Kinks' Father Christmas, and then.... everything else. Never had a 'first hearing of the season' as early as my birthday before, but today I've heard three already. Unsure if that's good luck or bad! 🤣

Thank you! And I'm glad we found each other again.

Which isn't to say it started under Reagan either. An argument can be made that our current hyper-capitalist *stage* began then, but if we're playing "how far back does it go," then... the founding of the country? The beginning of colonialism and white supremacy? We *all* have so much work to do.

Yep, this. Also, *non* republicans don't want to reckon with the fact that we were all equally conned. I spent my whole life believing the Democrats really would implement meaningful fixes "next time" until realizing 6 years ago that we've been "next timed" by Ds since the year I was born (1981).