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The ancient Egyptian name for cats, the oldest known human word for the species, was miw. Cats be catting. Also of note, there are no known ancient Egyptian superstitions about cats as bad luck or anything. From current reading: “Moreover, unlike all other peoples who have kept cats, the...

…and that’s why my favorite space opera is Akira Kurosawa’s High And Low.

So much agreement. Stories should end and new stories should begin.

Discussing some related stuff with a friend:

A friend and me in chat this evening:

I think A Scanner Darkly and Radio Free Albemuth got Dick’s points. Others, from “not so much” to “the exact opposite”.

My first DNF in a few months, The Invaders: How Early Humans and Their Dogs Drove Neanderthals to Extinction, by Pat Shipman. I read one of her other books, on the domestication of dogs, and it was great. What I could understand of this was great, too, but too much was simply beyond me. I am...

Sometimes you can turn petty feelings into art. Clive James, “The Book of My Enemy Has Been Remaindered”: The book of my enemy has been remaindered And I rejoice. It has gone with bowed head like a defeated legion Beneath the yoke. What avail him now his awards and prizes, The praise expended...

It does, but cultural experiences trump demographic generalizations.

I was born in 1965 too, and have always felt that way too. Comrade! We exit, singing 1920s-30s drinking songs in German and/or Russian.

I have a story about Rocketship X-M. Dad and I had talked about MST3K but he hadn’t watched any. One time he and Mom were visiting me, and I was watching an episode in rerun while they did some other stuff. He came in, listened a minute, enjoyed the jokes, then did a double-take. “Is that...

You might try see what happens if you count decades after the end of WE2: 1945-55, 1956-65, and so on. I don’t know what effect this would have, but it’s sometimes fun to fiddle with the brackets.

She’s Israeli, did her mandatory military service, and has some opinions about related matters. Others have opinions about such things, too. That’ll help your research along. Lemme tell ya, writing at that level of detachment takes some work. But I think I’ve avoided saying anything that would...

I rise to support. Saw it again just recently and felt that it had aged well, and remained utterly gorgeous. So much…gratuitous beauty, I guess, like the special forces plummeting in their ballistic gel cushions. Could have been much less beautiful and nothing would have changed in substances...

🎵 There’s gno business Like gnome business Like gno business we knoooooo 🎶

Cancer just sucks. There are no mitigations or clarifications are required.

Lord Dunsany towers over the field. To my taste, waiting on reading him is like postponing Shakespeare for a bunch of generic Jacobean revenge tragedies. I mean, there’s good bits in MacDonald, but nothing to compare to one of my favorite Dunsany lines: Italics in the original. Meanwhile, as...

I’m a very big believer in feeding your brain what it wants to read, within very broad limits. I’ve got times when one or more of my usual types just isn’t working, and trying to force it never seems to work out well. I wonder if historical fiction might split the difference?