bookbard
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Posts posted by bookbard
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Two books I'd preordered came out this week so that was exciting. The new Murderbot book (which was initially confusing but turned out to be good) which is sci-fi, and a prequel to Legends and Lattes (the cosiest fantasy of all time), Bookshops & Bonedust (I wonder if there's an American edition called Bookstores and Bonedust, lol). Both good but very quick reads. I think I already mention the new series I had been reading (The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming) which ended up being very long and dense, a good thing, but perhaps more didactic than literary.
I also re-read Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall, which I read as a teen and remembered as very funny, as it is an absurdist novel. I don't remember it being so incredibly racist, though. I was really shocked. Now I'm wondering why I didn't notice that last time. It was his first book. Brideshead Revisited (which I re-read this year too I think?) is the most famous of his works and quite different, written after he converted to Catholicism.
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Anecdotally I would agree, that's when people I know seem to collapse in a heap. I only have 2 though.
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5 hours ago, Tenaj said:
I keep hearing bad reviews in general but two or three smaller places that do reviews that I follow were very positive. I'm expecting to like it because my kids say I have terrible Marvel sense because my favs are all the Ant-Man movies and they don't like them 🤷♀️
Oh, I like the Ant-Man movies too, except the most recent one. I think my least favourite Marvel ones are the serious ones.
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51 minutes ago, KSera said:
Everyone thinks their superior immune system and health habits mean they will be unafflicted.
So there's a great interview with Naomi Klein today in The Guardian about the wellness industry and Covid. The idea is that their individual 'strong immune system' which they have 'earned' through their healthy lifestyle will save them. They even met someone who was basically like - unhealthy people deserve to die.
They trace this sort of attitude back a bit, but I think it sounds very neoliberal to me. Push responsibility down onto the individual so that the group doesn't have to take action. Unfortunately it is based on lies. You can be very healthy and die or become very ill from Covid. Equally, saying stuff you to other people won't save you, because those people are your doctors, teachers, bus drivers and delivery workers. You need those 'unhealthy' people. You also need them not to be driving crazy-like because their brain has been injured by a mild Covid infection.
Anyway, you can't persuade the wellness cultists, but it's another reason why change at a group level is so important (ie government) and pushing it down to individuals is a mistake. Shutting the borders in Australia saved hundreds of thousands of lives. It's the same with climate change. My recycling is nothing compared with the government switching over to renewable energy. If you look at Australia 5 yrs ago vs now (different government), you can see the difference in fossil fuel emissions.
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I keep hearing in the media that it is bad etc - we went and saw it and loved it. It was a fun and funny movie.
I'm suspecting that having 3 female leads and no white males in the film could be behind the media bashing?
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I need encouragement to walk daily and I was wondering if something good to listen to might help. There is a path near us so I wouldn't be walking on the road - ie I wouldn't have to listen out for cars so listening should be safe. What kind of things do you listen to eagerly, as in you'd look forward to? And I assume getting a pair of headphones to plug into my mobile phone would work for that?
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We do 'secret santa' where each couple buys for another couple. I got my nephew and his girlfriend, decided on a picnic basket. Oops, they've just split and it's just him now . . . this is what comes with buying too early!
Still haven't received 2 kickstarters (that I signed up for years ago) but they promise they'll arrive before December, hope so. Not the end of the world if they don't, of course.
36 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:I also received the outfit that I bought for my mom for her trip to France. I wondered if it would fit, and it did. She looks like and adorable, somewhat chic, old granny and was thrilled with it. Sigh. I should have all kinds of warm, fuzzy feelings about making her so happy, but I feel numb. I just haven't really gotten past the trust issues after what she and dad put us through, though it has been 8 years, so I don't have the connectedness that my sis has with her. So I am just trying to feel satisfied about doing well for my children's grandmother. They still feel very very close to her.
Yes, that is how I deal with that stuff too, as my kids' grandparents, not in relation to me.
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I am so sorry. That is so complicated and hard. I think someone suggested in another thread that you consider seeing a counsellor for yourself. There's so much going on right now, so much to unpack. I really feel for you.
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Thanks for those options @Arcadia - I will check that site out as it's local and the US to AUD exchange rate right now is pretty bad.
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Oh, I'm sorry. Hopefully they have insurance for that sort of thing.
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I think I want to buy one of those wool dresses from the wool dress challenge (Wooland: 100 Day Dress Challenge — wool& (wooland.com)
I am very short and obese, with olive skin and dark hair. I was thinking maybe maggie swing dress? What do you think? I would wear something under, like leggings.
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I've never drunk alcohol and I'm not religious; my husband rarely drinks. It's no big deal - you just drink something else. It's not very good for you (cancer related) so if you need an 'excuse' just link it to being healthier.
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On 11/9/2023 at 1:23 PM, Ausmumof3 said:
“SOUTH BOSTON - A person on the UMass Boston campus in South Boston has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis.
So I read that a brand new and actually effective TB vaccine is now being trialled. If it works, well just imagine! It would really be a game-changer. There have been so many new vaccines being trialled or even rolled out lately- the RSV one, an effective Malaria vaccine, Epstein-Barr, MERS, Herpes, even melanoma and pancreatic cancer. It's very positive and exciting, and gives me hope that they really will develop an effective Covid vaccine.
On 11/9/2023 at 1:27 PM, Ausmumof3 said:In Aus our life expectancy dropped for the first time since 1990s though only by 0.1 years. I guess this highlights the benefits of closed borders till vaccination as many countries have experienced bigger drops. But it’s still having an impact.
Yes, I am a bit puzzled by this one. I mean, obviously we had fewer deaths in 2020-1, and then a lot in 2022-3. But they say our deaths are still lower than since 2019 - I can't see how that works, really. I agree it shows how much closing the borders helped.
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I'm impressed! We do Nanowrimo each year too, but revising is something we haven't done.
I would have a look at stuff like how conflict drives the plot forward, whether the characters change throughout the story, and just be on the look out for cliches and repetitions. Is there a main theme or idea throughout the story, and is that clear from beginning to end?
Congratulations on your kid finishing - my kids start strong but struggle to actually end their stories. It's a big accomplishment.
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What about Lifestraw? Could be good for taking hiking, plus for every product bought, a child gets safe water for a year. Water Filters & Water Purifiers | LifeStraw – LifeStraw Water Filters & Purifiers
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I think this falls into US culture again maybe? I've never heard of it. I am the only one in my household who ever wears pyjamas. Even my kids don't.
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OK, went to a family thing on the weekend. Pouring rain so indoors. I masked, no one else did. I ate in another room (it wasn't sit down, people just wandering around, so I just took my plate and ate while looking at stuff).
So, my BIL has now announced he has Covid. Thing was on Sat and yesterday was Tues. My sister hasn't yet had a positive result (but the two little kids are starting to show signs of being unwell).
I really hope my elderly parents who haven't had Covid yet don't get it. I think it's less likely I will get it, but there is a chance, and my husband of course who didn't mask. We got our last booster maybe May/June, not allowed another one until next year (in Australia).
It is really ramping up here and I have a few more social events to go, but hopefully outdoors from now on. I am ok with being the only one masking, people are used to me now. My husband won't mask though, and he has a few big concerts coming up.
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I do remember your previous threads!
Do you do Christmas crackers at all? We all have a Christmas cracker at each plate, and they have a paper hat, a joke, and a tiny gift which might be a little toy or a puzzle of some sort. Everyone MUST wear their paper hats, the jokes are always awful, and basically it's fun for all. In Australia you get them everywhere, but you can also buy up-market versions with better toys in them. Can you do that in the US?
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I would take that reply as either English isn't first language, or they're not great with literacy.
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I put this up in an earlier thread, but I'm getting different novelty socks for a bunch of kids we often host for a pre-xmas brunch:
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I hear sweetie and babe and hun (or see them in texts) and I guess they just sound like the kind of word that person uses. I use 'mate' a lot (not in texts though) and I remember co-workers used to laugh at that (I was from the country and was working in the city). I think it's a combination of class, culture and what stuff they watch.
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I found a good new fantasy series called A Heretic's Guide to Homecoming which is similar in some ways to Victoria Goddard's books - a world after a massive magical change, an overthinking character and pages of his overthinking, and a mysterious almost god-like friend. I enjoyed book one and am reading book two, but I do warn you, the anxiety and panic-attack breakdowns (more book 1 than 2) may be a bit annoying. Depends if you relate to it or not! It is deliberately not romantic at all.
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10 hours ago, Kassia said:
Super stressed, just like every year. I have a very complicated family.
8 hours ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said:Nothing. It’s complicated, Christmas used to be my favorite holiday and now it just makes me sad, my kids don’t want much and don’t really have any ideas, DH doesn’t like any holidays and wouldn’t celebrate any if it was up to him, I don’t even know if or how we are getting together with family this year as we always do Christmas in the morning with all the family but with my sister in law having a foster daughter this year I don’t know if my in laws will want to go there or come here or what. My oldest struggles with routine disruptions so we always had both sets of grandparents and any aunts that were local come over in the morning, did all of Christmas by 10am, and then were done with gifts/extra people. No multiple celebrations throughout the day or travel. So I don’t have any idea how this will look.
I'm sorry. Last year I couldn't cope with the family thing and we went away over Christmas. Had a quiet day at the beach instead. No big gatherings at all. So good. We are doing the same this year. I see my parents the week before, swap gifts (and leave secret santa with them) and that's done. I thought that we'd get a huge reaction last year when we ditched the family thing but they coped and it was so much better.
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1 minute ago, Kassia said:
Super stressed, just like every year. I have a very complicated family.
Sorry to hear that. Can we help with ideas?
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Has anyone seen the movie, The Marvels?
in The Chat Board
Posted
I didn't see any of the Marvel movies until we got Disney Plus during lockdown (in order to see Hamilton). I think we saw the last Thor in the theatre, not sure about any of the others - we've mostly waited for Disney Plus. I haven't felt that these films since Endgame have been connected, they've all been so different.
Oh, that would've been awesome!!