IdeaMine

Russell House Remedy

2019-04-22T14:42:21Z

Once upon a time, my beloved dreda took me to Russell House Tavern too cheer me up when I was feeling ill and despondent. When the server arrived, she presented us with menus and asked whether we were interested in drinks, and I said, "Yes, please. I've got the flu; can I have something with bourbon, ginger, and honey?"

The server nudged the cocktail menu in my direction and said, "can you find something here that you might like?"

She was kind, but such was the depth of my woe that I put my head in my hands. I said, "okay", and Dreda suggested to the server that we might need a minute to review options. The server left. Then a moment later, to our surprise, she returned with a bourbon drink in her hand.

"I explained your request to the bartender, and he said, 'this is what she's asking for'." I tasted it. It was just right. The table erupted with (restrained) joy and appreciation.

I give you... The Russell House Remedy.

in a hiball
stir 1 tsp honey into 2 oz bourbon
add the juice of half a lime, then ice
top up with ginger beer
add dash of angostura bitters

Sip with joy and appreciation for the wonders of chemistry.

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the public square

2019-04-19T14:17:23Z

Recently, prompted by some of the public comments about the Notre-Dame fire, dreda's and my mutual friend Gwendolyn posted a thoughtful caution about public discourse in social media.

https://occultlibrarian.blogspot.com/2019/04/social-media-and-public-square.html?fbclid=IwAR3T_SsfZHYq7WkPnZL2_2Itgwphcpe2ygkZdpuQcuob8Jhw-KiovHMwOH4

Essentially:

1. People are not understanding that they have no real privacy rights in this sphere. What they say is not private. It also doesn't ever really go away, even if they delete it.

2. You are being monetized. Your conflict and drama is being monetized and machines are learning from it. ... It isn't private and the way it is used is opaque and doesn't require your consent.

3. In pretending like we are in a private space but not realizing that we are in a public square what we have really done is to collectively lose cultural competency about how to have public conversation.

Gwendolyn neatly summarized my main concerns about FB, G+, and any conversation accessible to a monetizable search engine.

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patterns

2019-04-18T15:33:44Z

This morning is about small wins.

Like... I re-tied my scarf so that the gray-and-white chain pattern matches my bracelet. That kind of win. It made me tilt my head and smile.

To you, in all manners and states that you exist today, I send moments like these, of quiet, warm, aesthetic contentment.

Thank you.

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tap tap

2018-07-17T16:30:15Z

Hello, dreamers. :)

Just out of curiosity -- who's here with me? Drop a pebble, if you will.

Things I have done recently:

* rocked the foxtrot with the nimblest most graceful partner
* approved an emergency code release
* wrote a cover to an Imagine Dragons song
* released an EP
* fussed about performative nonconformity
* played bocce with S on the HBS pitch
* caught my kryptonite key in a butterfly clip
* encouraged passionate disagreement and equally passionate listening
* got het up
* marvelled at Cassiopeia cloaked in starlight

Details to follow. For now, I just wanted to summarize the last two years in as constrained a space as I could, and a bullet-list seemed apropos.

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IdeaMine

Russell House Remedy

the public square

patterns

*tap tap*

tap tap