Trying to automatically post from this blogās RSS feed to Reddit using the IFTTT service.
Itās not going well.
Trying to automatically post from this blogās RSS feed to Reddit using the IFTTT service.
Itās not going well.
Iāve been reading āA Christmas Carolā, a few pages at a time not because itās difficult (itās not) and not because I donāt have the time (I do.) Itās because on an entirely trivial level Iām comparing it with each of the films Iāve watched over the years (and the 2019 BBC 3-parter.)
These in particular stand out:
There are a lot of film adaptations here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptations_of_A_Christmas_Carol
The book I decided to buy, the Penguin āA Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writingsā occupies only a quarter of the page total; Iām really looking forward to exploring the rest.
The list of annotations provides historical context, changes in language, etc., and has been efficacious a couple of times already. (Yeah, I know.)
Itās Twelfth Night ā time those Christmas decorations were put away until next time. If you donāt itās considered unlucky, but to ward it off theyāve got to stay up until Candlemas Day February 2nd. Or Easter. Or until next Christmas.
Umā¦
Before thinking āwhatās a seemly time to put them up again?ā itād probably be better to just take them down now eh?
Iām not making resolutions.
Recycling 2017ās:
Iām a Browns fan.
What will I doing over our offseason (the NFLās centenary year playoffs)?
I donāt understand the hate directed at Greta Thunberg and the relentless campaign against her and the inevitability of the depletion of the finite resources our planet holds. Honestly I donāt. Neglect climate change and her concerns remain valid.
It depresses me when people use nonsensical arguments masquerading as facts (or science), attack her Aspergers, attack her parentsā¦ itās almost as-if a 16 year old cannot be allowed to have an opinion, and must not be allowed to convert that opinion into action.
The most depressing thing, everyone with an inquiring mind can wade through the bullshit and examine the evidence behind her concerns. Weāre living in what I naively thought an age in which information is so readily available thereās zero excuse for ignorance.
Oh, as for writing a book and those accusations of personally cashing in, itās not even true.
Whatās the thing that buries its head in the sand when danger approaches? Thatās right, itās a myth too.
Now, the only thing that remains to be said, do I get her book as a paperback, a hardback, or as an electronic download (thatād be for my Kindle)? I canāt share it with my daughters if itās all-electronic, and yetā¦
After watching the BBCās Christmas 2019 oddly controversial adaptation of Charles Dickensā A Christmas Carol, I bought the paperback. Itās quite the allegory for our times this book, and for the world in which we now find ourselves.
Prompted by a tweet by @mlv:
āDaughter gave me a challenge. Write a story using only these verbs in this order (verbs like āwill beā are okay).ā
Abused
Bargain
Cease
Decapitate
Elaborating
Fabricate
Gnashing
Honeymooning
Ignite
Jam
Knitting
Loved
Minced
Notified
Object
Petrify
Querying
Resist
Savvy
Tax
Unfrozen
Verbified
Waxed
X-irradiate
Yelped
Zeroed
āVerbifiedāā½ Wow.
Challenge accepted:
The Cleveland Browns fans, abused by all and sundry and one particular owner, bargain for their lives in 1995 (cease operation, decapitate the fan base.) Elaborating, the owner fabricates the narrative leading to gnashing of teeth throughout football.
Fast-forward to 1999, a honeymooning of sorts, a phoenix team with desire to ignite a new dynasty; but with an unprecedentedly short time to jam a knitting team, a loved fanbase minced by the previous owner, one who notified his intentions, into the established order.
Object back in ā95 though, itās useless. Petrify oneās desires until the return. Querying why brings no joy, resist and a savvy owner, with tax unfrozen, verbified The Move.
Thr press waxed lyrical. Who X-irradiated their brains?
The fans yelped āthe league zeroed our chances!ā
I am a Cleveland Browns fan.
I have 3 items of official merchandise: a #57 Matthews jersey predating my fandom, a cap also predating my fandom but worn in First Energy Stadium on opening day 2004, and a Cleveland Browns phone case commemorating the NFLās Centenary year ā this just arrived on Christmas Eve. This isnāt what makes me a fan.
Since becoming a fan Iāve also bought a Bulgarian-made bright orange custom Red Right 88 tee, a #7 Scottish Hammer tee (Szabo Apparel) and a bright orange CLE beanie (also Szabo.) This isnāt what makes me a fan.
I met Sam Rutigliano before that 2004 game, and what a great guy he is (long story), but even meeting him and Dante Lavelli and Kevin Mack in the stadium didnāt make me a fan.
Itās not seeing Browns memorabilia in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio.
Itās not the parallels I saw between the Browns at the end of the 2017 season and the Dallas Cowboys ā a team to which I committed after their 1-15 season, at the point the JJs took the reins, after which they went on to win a Super Bowl within, 3 years was it?!
Itās not because I read Terry Plutoās āFalse Start: How The New Browns Were Set Up To Failā ā the account of how the Browns were shipped off to Baltimore one night in 1995, and Cleveland had no football until the league grudgingly allowed a new team to exist in 1999.
Itās definitely not the teamās W-L-T record since 1999, but who doesnāt love the underdogā½
I didnāt even become a fan because Iāve found a home of sorts in Redditās r/Browns discussion forum, or due to the fact that only a small number there habitually downvote my posts and comments.
I can probably think of more reasons which singly didnāt contribute much to me becoming a Browns fan.
Jamie Gillan from Inverness made the Browns 2019 roster cut; we have a starter. Iām buzzing about the season now for the first time!
I asked the guy a totally trivial question earlier. Given the magnitude of whatās just happened for him Iām not expecting a reply. (If I allowed myself to post them in the blog Iād put a smiley face here.)
My wife mentioned the gift sheād left for me in the top of the kitchen cupboard. Due to the length of time Iāve been on the Internet, I quite naturally parsed what she said incorrectly.
(There was a picture here once, but I migrated blogs from there to here, and it was lost).