Hold the Line by Michael Fanone. I hadn't watched any of the footage of the Jan 6 insurrection. Honestly, just making it through the verbal descriptions in this book was a tough time for me, particularly his description of Jan 6 itself. Contains lots of swearing.

I just got back from seeing it, and thought it was so much fun! I honestly would've forgotten that it started with smashing baby dolls if I hadn't read this thread. I was more focussed on the Monty Python/Holy Grail horse-riding, and the Grease-inspired dance scene. And maybe the Top Gun volleyball scene. Wow, so many fun fun movie call outs. I absolutely had no clue about the Jack Snyder cut of Justice League (a quote from one of the Barbies when they're deprogramming), but I assume those who did understand it thought it was great fun, and am happy for them to have that. My favorite bit was Barbie saying something to the effect that she wanted to be the one imagining rather than being the imagined thing.

Three Can Keep a Secret (A Greer Hogan Mystery #3) by M.E. Hilliard. I enjoyed this the most of any of the books in this series so far; it has restored my faith in Greer Hogan mysteries, and I will continue to read these as long as I catch on that new ones exist. I suspect the series makes more sense if you read all the books, but, sheesh, vol 2 was such a slog.

I searched for old discussions, and it looks like it's been a few years since we discussed this topic. We've been using an email provided by our ISP for several years. I'd like to change that, mostly because I want to be able to leave our ISP whenever I want. We already have gmail accounts, and even a yahoo email account. But I have a niggling thought that those might not be the best choices due to security. So I started researching email providers. Proton keeps coming up ... but is there something about Proton I'm not thinking of or seeing when I do a Google search on it? Is there another service I should consider? Am I being silly about gmail? Also, any thoughts on updating dozens upon dozens of email addresses at all sorts of businesses and services? Forwarding won't work if/when I switch ISPs - our current email will disappear. I no longer truly trust google searches to give me the best information, but I DO trust the WTM forum to offer a variety of opinions and new things to think about.

I'm starting August with fluff! Shadow in the Glass (A Greer Hogan Mystery #2) by M.E. Hilliard. Book 2 of a series I started in July, and a very lukewarm experience. I couldn't keep track of the characters because I didn't care. The best part was early in the book when the main character noted that the blue hardback Nancy Drew books were better than the later yellow hardbacks. SO TRUE! Dial A for Aunties(Aunties #1) by Jesse Q Sutanto. I almost didn't bother reading because the premise sounded so absurd: the main character accidentally kills a guy, and the rest of the book is spent trying to dispose of the body with help from her Indonesian family. Indeed, it was incredibly nonsensical, full of gigantic plot holes. And yet, I finished the entire thing because it WAS so fluffy and silly -- it zipped right along from scene to scene, requiring no thought at all. It's been purchased by Netflix for a possible film -- no huge surprise there -- the entire book reads like a movie pitch to cash in on the Crazy Rich Asians audience.

I stop eating at about 5pm, mostly because so many foods and herbs keep me awake at night, then don't get around to breakfast until 7 or 8. So my light version of intermittent fasting is just a desperate attempt to get some sleep. It works somewhat, btw in regards to my sleep. But if I have collagen, gelatin, or most "keto" products any time of day, even early morning, I won't be able to sleep at night. Same with most beans after about noon. Collagen and gelatin also make me somewhat anxious. So, not at all what you were asking about, but might be interesting for someone else. Although I vaguely remember some sort of tie-in between not getting enough sleep and weighing more, I'm pretty sure that's a lot more complex than just "sleep more at night and automatically weigh less".

I, too, was skimming the replies waiting for someone to mention sunflower oil, and getting sort of concerned. Sometimes I blend sunflower, olive, and maybe something else like grape seed or sesame (NOT TOASTED SESAME!) or avocado. Boy howdy, we have lots of choices in the cupboard here, and we're not even into the ghee/butter and coconut oil yet. It's all a fun science experiment in my world. Different fats and oils react differently with various ingredients. And on your skin. And in a frying pan.

I always wonder about assuming things like life needs carbon, or a goldilocks zone, or a moon and tectonic plate activity (I know there are some arguments about whether we had tectonic activity going on back in the days when life was developing here, but I'm not saying that - I'm saying why do we think development-of-life has to look like this). Why can't life be totally different than what we assume? Anyway, the point I thought was interesting in the discussion was the assumption that parts of the universe are a billion years older than us, giving plenty of time for all sorts of interesting developments. What will humanity/our planet look like in 1000 years, in 10,000 years, etc., and then scale that up to millions of years. Most of these arguments are nattering away at how life arises from physical matter reality. What if it doesn't? What if matter isn't fundamental?

Did anyone else listen to David French and Skye Jethani discuss this a couple of weeks ago during a French Friday episode of The Holy Post? I thought David French did an excellent job of explaining what a whistleblower is, and the possibility that this is all a big nothing-burger. Also, how so many government people would keep it secret for that long. The podcast was recorded before the hearing, obviously. I doubt that either participant would drastically change their thoughts post-hearing. Earlier today I was listening to a different interview (also recorded pre-hearing) about other non-UFO/UAP things in which a physicist happened to bring up Fermi's paradox, which is so-called from a casual conversation Fermi had about UFOs, and basicallyFermi saying something along the lines of, "so, then, where is everyone?" The physicist I was listening to said the issue he sees are that some parts of the universe are way older than other parts -- we are in a "middle" age area, with older parts being maybe a billion years older than our part -- and if these other beings are popping up in various spots in the universe, wouldn't some beings have done so a billion years ago? And started to go out and explore/colonize other parts of the universe millions of years ago? And generally expanded into all the viable, livable spots all over the universe, sort of like cockroach populations expanding into other areas as their population gets too crowded for their living area (I think there's a name for that phenomenon of populations of beings continuously spreading out and expanding, but I don't recall what it is). If aliens DO show up, I plan be that little old lady peering out her window saying, "Well, isn't that interesting," and then continuing on placidly knitting/petting the cat/reading a book.

I've been reading but not posting, so here's a catch-up. Fiction: Hide and Sneak (Savannah Reid Mystery #23) by G.A. McKevett. I don't think I've read anything else in this series. I was wandering through the library looking for something mindless to read, and the cover art looked like this would be appropriate. It really hit the spot, and didn't require knowing anything about the previous 22 books. A forgettable diversion. A Sinister Revenge (Veronica Speedwell #8) by Deana Raybourn. I read this series whenever I happen to notice a volume on the New Books shelf at the library. They really vary in how much I enjoy them, but some are fun. This one was definitely fun. I even learned that "She sells seashells by the seashore" is about an actual person - Mary Anning. Unkindness of Ravens (Greer Hogan Mystery #1) by M.E. Hilliard. A new-ish series about a librarian who reads a lot of mysteries. Lots of discussion about other mystery series, including Trixie Belden. A cover blurb said the book would be great for fans of Louise Penny, but I honestly don't see that being a tie-in -- this did not remind me at all of Gamache and Three Pines. I still enjoyed it, though. Well well well, now that I type it out, it looks like while many of you are busy reading classics, I'm over here reading mystery series. It's been that sort of month.

There's a "Night Club Community" that's an online community of people discussing this. It's run by Andrew Holecek. I've not joined nor even looked at it much, but I imagine that's a pretty common theme there. I also know of people who are trying to learn the skill of daydreaming to the point of dropping the "material reality" data stream and focussing on the daydream data stream (sometimes shared with others). I was surprised by this -- it's something I've always done (well, not the sharing part), and it didn't occur to me that anyone wanted to deliberately learn it. I'm not sure that I could name a dedicated community around this, although I could come up with individuals and point to where they tend to gather. Oneironauts are people who explore dreams, generally via lucid dreams but also in the liminal stages going into and out of sleep. So that's another term to explore if you ever want to find more people on this wavelength.

Oooh, I love dreaming and pondering dreams. So fun to find someone else who feels the same! I tend to hang out in that hypnopompic stage going over what was up with what I was dreaming, seeing if there's anything I want to re-write. I also hang out at the other end in the hypnogogic stage, and have been known to "nap" just for the chance to float around in that wonderland. I'm not so great at lucid dreaming - it doesn't happen often, and when it does I generally can't think of anything interesting to do. For example, one time recently I realized I was lucid in a dream and decided to do a cartwheel (really? that's the most exciting thing I could come up with? not flying or suddenly transporting to another country or planet, but a cartwheel?) and the cartwheel really sucked (as it would in waking life) and it was all so pointless. Maybe I don't lucid dream much so as not to disappoint myself with my lack of imagination. Huge fan of Andrew Holecek here, and his books on dream yoga. Not to mention Tom Campbell and his theories on dreams being (in general) a single-player game (contrasted with waking life being a multi-player game).

Older dd saw it Thursday while dressed in a special outfit - she said the theatre was packed and everyone dressed for the occasion (NYC area). She didn't purchase the concession popcorn in the Barbie convertible which she said cost about $70 (doll included). She appreciated the shout out to the pregnant Midge doll and also Tanner the dog with magnetic poop, both of which she owned. Honestly, months ago when I saw it was a Greta Gerwig film I assumed it would have a certain viewpoint, and would be aimed exactly at my kids. Sounds like I was correct. (Same child is going to Oppenheimer today, having purchased tickets at the beginning of June for one of the few Imax theatres Christopher Nolan suggested as appropriate, because apparently I have raised movie snobs. Wowza. I told her I'd see it on DVD or streaming because that's who I am.)

((hugs)) That is a lot. I was sort of exhausted just reading it - I can't imagine living it day after day. I truly appreciate that this is a place people can vent. You've helped others by admitting that sometimes life is just plain crappy.

Some tips on using the archives, since that's come up: To see my archived orders I go to where my name is in the upper right corner of the opening screen (on desktop) "Hello, XXXX, Account & LIsts". I click that, and get a page showing various options of things to do with my account. Third line down, far right column is "Archived orders". Click on that, and you'll be in your archived list. As @wisdomandtreasures pointed out, when someone's searching for similar items on the account, the archived item will be flagged as something you purchased - just like non-archived items are - at which point the person shopping can exclaim, "Wait, you purchased this?" and awkward conversation can ensue. I've also had archived things show up on the list when I'm making a return - I get a list of EVERYTHING I've recently purchased including the secret archived items. Sheesh, way to spoil a surprise, Amazon. All of which to say the archives isn't exactly as top secret as one might sometimes hope. As for the problem of the OP, I have no thoughts except that what's happened to your mattress pad order sounds really, really annoying and frustrating.

Dd got an interview at (famous independent bookstore) because her list of recent reading was so eclectic. Hundreds of people applied to the place, so getting called in was a fun little surprise. She and I figured homeschoolers were what they wanted for employees given how we read everything from classics to mind-candy. Cultural flexibility for the win! (For the record, she didn't pursue that job.)

Just finished: Jonah for Normal People by Jared Byas. Part of the Bible for Normal People collection. I like the podcast and had purchased the book when it came out. Our pastors are doing a series on Jonah right now, so I finally got around to reading it. Good book for some new (to me) things to think about. Ten Planets: Stories by Yuri Herrera. It's along the lines of Calvino's Cosmicomics - fantastical little stories. This was fun, and I'd like to read more by this author.

Dh and I met in a library also! How fun to find others with the same experience!

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden by Camille T. Dungy. I requested it as soon as I heard that the author had dug up part of her lawn to plant native species. The author "recounts the seven-year odyssey to diversify her garden in the predominately white community of Fort Collins, Colorado." Plants, history, race, environmental justice, memoir, poetry, fauna ... inclusion. I am very glad I read it. I'd like to read more by this author.

Mostly less fearful, having reached the age of "welp, no getting around the idea that we're all dying eventually." I've always been crappy at doing cartwheels, and as I've aged I've noticed things like that make me even dizzier. I think that's a normal thing, isn't it? More inner ear issues? OTOH, I daily practice things like one leg balancing on wobbly surfaces, and getting up from the floor without using my hands. I have strong feelings about retaining those skills. Hmm, the past few months I've done a lot of self-work on anxiety and fears. Could I actually have accomplished something?

Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing by Emily Lynn Paulson. I don't remember why I thought I should put a hold on this at the library (I avoid MLMs, but y'all are welcome to enjoy them), but the intro mentioned that beyond the MLM stuff it was about white women behaving badly, so I figured why not? and forged ahead. She's very fond of drawing a line between MLMs and white supremacy, but never fleshes that out. A college-sorority sister, she notes the similar pay-for-friendship vibe of MLMs and some (many? again, not my thing so I don't know) sororities. She also uses the word sh!t a lot, so if that's offensive, definitely pass this one up. And, of course, lots on info on how MLMs function as cults; I now know the BITE model for describing cults (I read Cultish but don't remember it from that book). Overall, quick reasonably entertaining read about issues I don't deal with directly.

In Love With the World: A Monk's Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. I loved this book. But I like reading about dying and perception and NDEs and even Tibetan Buddhism, so, yeah, this hit all of those notes, plus told a story. I look forward to re-reading in a few years and seeing how I feel about it then. In the meantime, I just got notice that 3 holds have all arrived at the library at once. Wildly disparate books. Popular books that others will be waiting for, so I'll need to get right through them. Yikes. Wish me luck.

I have to switch out to very different books between each - that's why it's taken nearly 3 years to finish 16 books. I took a 6 month break in there somewhere, and had actually forgotten the series existed until I happened to see another book review for a more recent book in the series. I was in the mood for something predictable, so started back up. And there are plenty of series I've just quit reading. Heck, there are plenty of BOOKS I've quit reading partway through, even within sight of the last chapter. Years ago I was reading the Little House books and all of their prequel/sequel series aloud to the kids each day, until one day in the middle of Big Red Apple I suddenly announced that I needed a break and never picked the book back up to finish. The kids never asked about it and to my knowledge never finished the books themselves.

I don't think we can embed GIFs directly, so ... I'M SO EXCITED