redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] redbird Jul. 5th, 2025 02:43 pm)
Sometime in the last couple of months, someone posted a link to a site that had interesting looking shirts made of linen, for lower prices than most places charge. I forgot to bookmark it. Can anyone point me to it? or to something else that fits that description, even if you didn't see it here?


Edited to add: A the shirts were less expensive than I expected, which is a large part of why I'm interested. Those may have been sale prices, I don't remember.

Also, the were made of either linen or a linen blend, not "line".
lsanderson: (Default)
([personal profile] lsanderson Jul. 5th, 2025 07:06 am)
Owning dog or cat could preserve some brain functions as we age, study says
Fish or bird ownership showed no significant link to slower cognitive decline in study with implications for ageing societies
Amelia Hill
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jul/05/dog-cat-ownership-could-preserve-specific-brain-functions-as-we-age-cognitive-decline

Trump is waging war against the media – and winning
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/jul/05/trump-attack-us-media

‘The vehicle suddenly accelerated with our baby in it’: the terrifying truth about why Tesla’s cars keep crashing
Elon Musk is obsessive about the design of his supercars, right down to the disappearing door handles. But a series of shocking incidents – from drivers trapped in burning vehicles to dramatic stops on the highway – have led to questions about the safety of the brand. Why won’t Tesla give any answers?
Sönke Iwersen and Michael Verfürden
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/05/the-vehicle-suddenly-accelerated-with-our-baby-in-it-the-terrifying-truth-about-why-teslas-cars-keep-crashing

US debt is now $37trn – should we be worried?
Simon Jack
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1lj8rmyn5eo
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] redbird Jul. 4th, 2025 11:55 am)
Jay Kuo takes a break from chronicling the regime's crimes to share some honest hope for today, and the days and months ahead:

https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/celebrating-independence
Tags:
lsanderson: (Default)
([personal profile] lsanderson Jul. 4th, 2025 08:30 am)
Palmer's Bar to close after serving beers for 120 years on West Bank
The bar didn't give a reason for its closure, but said it will have a "jam-packed" calendar and "plenty of time to party and say farewell" before shutting the doors.
Author: Samantha Fischer
https://www.kare11.com/article/entertainment/palmers-bar-to-close-after-serving-beers-for-120-years-on-west-bank/89-0c845523-e6cc-4fed-8be2-82e7540144cc

Trump’s Medicaid cuts are coming for rural Americans: ‘It’s going to have to hit them first’
Experts worry the tax-and-spending bill will gut healthcare and hospitals, especially in states like North Carolina
Jessica Glenza and George Chidi
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/04/rural-americans-medicaid-cuts-trump-bill

Trump’s big bill achieved what conservatives have been trying to do for decades
Chris Stein
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/trump-spending-bill-conservatives-law Read more... )
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([personal profile] mmerriam Jul. 3rd, 2025 07:11 pm)
Chop wood. Carry water. Punch a Nazi. Refresh. Reload. Resist.
lsanderson: (Default)
([personal profile] lsanderson Jul. 3rd, 2025 07:03 am)
A Wisconsin brewery owner wants to shut down Fourth of July parades, both in Minocqua, where the brewery is located, and across the nation. Kirk Bangstad “says he ‘will not allow this town to comfortably celebrate its most important event of the year’ because he believes he’s been targeted by city officials,” according to Bring Me The News. Via MinnPost
https://bringmethenews.com/wisconsin-news/wisconsin-brewery-owner-plans-to-disrupt-parade-over-feud-with-officials

Scientists warn US will lose a generation of talent because of Trump cuts
Political interference and chaotic cuts to staff, programs and grants at the National Science Foundation are producing ‘devastating consequences’
Nina Lakhani
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/national-science-foundation-trump-cuts

New Orleans teacher fired by Catholic school for being gay says ‘it’s just time’ for discrimination to stop
Mark Richards was fired from St Francis Xavier school after an obituary identified him as his late husband’s widower
Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/new-orleans-teacher-mark-richards Read more... )
redbird: full bookshelves and table in a library (books)
([personal profile] redbird Jul. 2nd, 2025 04:46 pm)
Boston's Orange Line, by Andrew Elder and Jeremy C. Fox. This is a collection of black-and-white photos, going back to the start of the old elevated orange line, with captions. This was for the "explore Boston history" square on the BPL summer reading bingo. If I'd noticed the "images of rail" series title, I wouldn't have borrowed this book. The captions are just about enough to confirm that there's more than enough to be said on the subject to make a book, but this isn't. This has a disjointed discussion of the lengthy "realigmnent" of the orange line to its current route, and a couple of paragraphs on the decision not to run an 8-lane interstate through the middle of Boston and Cambridge, and no suggestion that anything similar had happened elsewhere. Ah, well.

There are suggestions on the library website for some of the squares (including "with a green cover"), but not this one. Searching the catalog for "Boston histpry" got me this, along with, among other things, a book about the Big Dig, a book about the Great Molasses Flood (which is at least mentioned in this, with a picture of damage to the orange line), and Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
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([personal profile] lsanderson Jul. 2nd, 2025 07:44 am)
Dinner du Nord invites diners to a 7-block-long table on Nicollet Mall
Dinner du Nord organizers share a toast at a model table in Minneapolis on July 1, featuring dishes from several local restaurants.
Estelle Timar-Wilcox
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/07/01/dinner-du-nord-invites-diners-to-a-7blocklong-table-on-nicollet-mall

Concerns about Uptown’s changing face are familiar and overwrought
Yes, the critical Minneapolis retail and entertainment hub is suffering. But the key to its future isn’t recreating the past.
by Bill Lindeke
https://www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2025/07/concerns-about-uptowns-changing-face-are-familiar-and-overwrought/

Judge blocks Kristi Noem from ending temporary protected status for Haitians
Homeland security secretary attempting to end legal status for approximately 521,000 Haitian immigrants
Reuters
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/kristi-noem-haitian-immigrants-tps

Kristi Noem failed to disclose $80,000 received while South Dakota governor – report
Homeland security secretary was paid by group listed as American Resolve Police Fund, according to Politico
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/kristi-noem-payment-south-dakota-governor Read more... )
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([personal profile] lsanderson Jul. 1st, 2025 01:42 pm)
Severe weather hits the US hard as key forecast offices reel from Trump cuts
This year marks the first time that local NWS offices have stopped round-the-clock operations in the agency’s history
Eric Holthaus
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/severe-weather-nws-trump-cuts

And everybody sez irony is dead?
Trump threatens to set Doge on Musk as pair feud again over budget plan
Aleks Phillips
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czdvv2qqlrqo
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([personal profile] lsanderson Jun. 30th, 2025 09:32 am)
Trump’s justice department issues directive to strip naturalized Americans of citizenship for civil offenses
Memo says those subjected to civil proceedings are not entitled to an attorney like they are in criminal cases
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/30/trump-birthright-citizenship-naturalized-citizens

15 Hmong Minnesotans face deportation over convictions, some decades old
More Hmong Americans are facing deportation over past convictions, after the Trump administration increased pressure on Laos to approve travel visas.
by Katelyn Vue
https://sahanjournal.com/immigration/hmong-deportation-ice-minnesota-laos/

Throwing their bodies on the gears: the Democratic lawmakers showing up to resist Trump
Republicans may literally own social media platforms, but some Democrats are buying back legitimacy with protests
George Chidi
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/30/democrats-trump-resistance

Zohran Mamdani won by being himself – and his victory has revealed the Islamophobic ugliness of others
Nesrine Malik
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/30/zohran-mamdani-new-york-islamophobia-us-politics

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner was deemed the 'safest' of planes. The whistleblowers were always less sure
Theo Leggett
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyq7vgq2e5o

'Every word has come back to haunt me': China cracks down on women who write gay erotica
Yi Ma BBC News Reporting from London
Eunice Yang BBC Chinese
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c056nle2drno
redbird: closeup photo of an apricot (food)
([personal profile] redbird Jun. 29th, 2025 02:12 pm)
Today's trip to the farmers market was successful and satisfying.

I left the house as soon as I'd had my morning tea, and went to a market that opens at 10 on Sundays. I got there at about 10:20, before they'd sold out of anything I wanted, or might want.

What I particularly wanted was raspberries, and I bought two small boxes of those (totalling about a pint).

Busa Farms had a bin full of nice-looking shell peas, and I bought almost two pounds, because Cattitude is very fond of fresh peas. When I got home, he told me that he'd thought he had missed the local pea season this year. I also bought a bunch of red radishes, because they caught my eye while I was in line to pay for the peas. (Busa had both red and purple radishes, which somehow made them more appealing than if there'd only been one kind of radish.)

Hi-Rise Bakery was there, and I bought a small loaf of their concord bread, which is the right degree of crusty for the three of us. (They also have a thicker-crust "luce.")

The raspberries are from Kimball's, where I also bought a few diva cucumbers.

Stillman's Farm didn't have lamb sausages, but when I asked about it, the vendor said "probably next week" and asked what kind I liked. She is going to report back that they had a request for merguez sausages. I don't know whether we'll get to the same market next week, but it sounds like there will be lamb sausages at the other local farmers markets soon.

A lot of other things looked good, but I decided I didn't need lettuce (multiple varieties), cherry tomatoes, or fish.
lsanderson: (Default)
([personal profile] lsanderson Jun. 29th, 2025 07:49 am)
‘Explosive increase’ of ticks that cause meat allergy in US due to climate crisis
Unusually aggressive lone star ticks, common in the south-east, are spreading to areas previously too cold for them
Oliver Milman
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/29/lone-star-ticks-increase-climate-crisis

‘Lidar is lame’: why Elon Musk’s vision for a self-driving Tesla taxi faltered
The company’s rollout of its new driverless cars has gotten off to a wobbly start – and rival Waymo remains well ahead
Nick Robins-Early, Dara Kerr and Johana Bhuiyan
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/29/elon-musk-tesla-robotaxi

Tens of thousands defy Hungary’s ban on Pride in protest against Orbán
Crackdown on Pride is part of effort to curb democratic freedoms ahead of a hotly-contested election next year
Lili Rutai in Budapest, and Ashifa Kassam
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/28/tens-of-thousands-defy-hungarys-ban-on-pride-in-protest-against-orban

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for Thai-style tossed walnut and tempeh noodles
Rice noodles topped with a rubble of tempeh and walnuts and tossed in garlic oil and a sweet, salty and tangy hot sauce
Meera Sodha
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jun/28/vegan-thai-walnut-and-tempeh-noodles-recipe-meera-sodha

America's dive bars are disappearing. Montana didn’t get the memo
The state boasts cozy venues featuring buffalo mounts, barbecue and bras on the wall – but the mark of a great bar is always the people
Janie Osborne
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/jun/28/montana-dive-bars

'Proud to be gay': K-pop star on coming out to the world
Yvette Tan BBC News Reporting fromSingapore
Juna Moon BBC Korean
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5kx7wn1nzo
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] redbird Jun. 28th, 2025 04:36 pm)
I learned this morning that [personal profile] acelightning has died. She was one of the people I only know online, but feel like friends because we have real conversations (in her case, here on Dreamwidth and previously on LJ).
lsanderson: (Default)
([personal profile] lsanderson Jun. 28th, 2025 07:44 am)
From soul food to Little Mekong Market to Pride, a jam-packed Twin Cities weekend
Twin Cities events will celebrate Pride, Indigenous fashion, and food from the African and Southeast Asian diasporas this weekend.by Myah Goff
https://sahanjournal.com/arts-culture/things-to-do-twin-cities-pride-soul-food-little-mekong-night-market/

Bringing back the ‘gayborhood’ in Loring Park: New Pride Cultural Arts Center debuts
Sam Stroozas
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/06/27/twin-cities-pride-cultural-arts-center-opens-in-minneapolis

Sven Sundgaard: Heat dome loosens its grip; several rounds of severe storms possible
Cooler air arrives in the East and Midwest, but repeated rounds of storms will continue on the northern edge of the retreating heat dome.
Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-weather/sven-sundgaard-heat-dome-loosens-its-grip-several-rounds-of-severe-storms-possible Read more... )
firecat: damiel from wings of desire tasting blood on his fingers. text "i has a flavor!" (Default)
([personal profile] firecat Jun. 27th, 2025 08:26 am)
OK, who should be the next Bond? I’m impressed by the wide range of suggestions here. I especially liked the suggestion for Rege-Jean Page. No one mentioned Joseph Mawle, Edward Bluemel, Harry Lloyd, or Matthew Goode, though. Or Tobias Menzies!

What do you think?

Guardian readers make nominations for the next Bond
lsanderson: (Default)
([personal profile] lsanderson Jun. 27th, 2025 09:35 am)
Bill Moyers, Lyndon Johnson press chief and celebrated broadcaster, dies at 91
Moyers, who served as Johnson’s press secretary for two years, became one of television’s most revered journalists
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/26/bill-moyers-broadcaster-dies

Road rash: Construction to close 3 major interstates this weekend
Road and bridge projects will shut down I-494 in Bloomington and Richfield, I-35W in Richfield, and I-94 in St. Paul between Friday night and Monday morning.
Author: Dana Thiede
https://www.kare11.com/article/traffic/traffic-nightmare-stretches-of-3-major-interstates-closed-this-weekend/89-76c556df-9be4-4dfa-952c-e77d6978230c

Wild, safe and sober: An antique mall in Fridley centers the queer community
Married couple David Wenzel and Joshua Larson are co-owners of Wild Things Antiques in Fridley, pictured here on June 16. "It's very important to us that our identity as a queer couple was going to be on the forefront of what we were doing as a business," Larson says.
Alex V. Cipolle
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/06/26/wild-safe-and-sober-an-antique-mall-in-fridley-centers-the-queer-community Read more... )
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([personal profile] lsanderson Jun. 26th, 2025 10:39 am)
Mamdani’s defeat of Cuomo offers Democrats a path out of the wilderness
David Smith in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/25/zohran-mamdani-nyc-mayor-election-democrats

Zohran Mamdani offered New Yorkers a political revolution – and won
Bhaskar Sunkara
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/25/zohran-mamdani-offered-a-political-revolution-and-won

Trump is angry with a world that won’t give him easy deals
Rafael Behr
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/25/donald-trump-angry-middle-east-ukraine Read more... )
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] redbird Jun. 25th, 2025 09:32 pm)
One book finished in the past fortnight: Aftermarket Afterlife, by Seanan McGuire, the 14th volume in her InCryptid series of fantasy novels. I was disappointed by this one: there were too many ghosts and too few cryptids, and the ending seemed abrupt, even given that this is number 14 in a loose series. I'm not a big fan of ghosts, and the book is narrated by Aunt Mary, the Price family's ghost babysitter. The ebook also contains "Excerpt from Mourner's Waltz," about a bit of Verity's life, as the superintendent and only human resident of a Manhattan apartment building. The novel and short story both contain massive spoilers for at least the two previous books in the series.

I gave up on Twelve Trees (mentioned in the previous post) because the printing was hard on my eyes, and since it's a hardcover rather than an ebook, I can't change the font or print size, and I have to take it back to the library.
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([personal profile] lsanderson Jun. 25th, 2025 08:20 am)
Zohran Mamdani declares historic victory in New York City mayoral primary after Cuomo concedes
‘Tonight is his night,’ says ex-governor as progressive state representative tells supporters ‘we made history’
‘We made history’: Mamdani celebrates after shocking Cuomo in New York City mayoral primary – US politics live
Adam Gabbatt
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/24/new-york-mayoral-primary-results

Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Nada Tawfik and Rachel Hagan
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly2rgzye9no

Union leaders’ exit from DNC exposes ‘mind-boggling’ tensions inside Democratic party
Lee Saunders and Randi Weingarten say party not standing up for working people amid ‘existential battle’ under Trump
Steven Greenhouse
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/25/dnc-union-leaders-democratic-party Read more... )
redbird: closeup of me drinking tea, in a friend's kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] redbird Jun. 24th, 2025 05:40 pm)
Cattitude took the cat in for her follow-up appointment, and the nurse said she's doing just fine, and cleared her to start eating crunchy things (which include her favorite cat treats). She hadn't been eating much in the previous few days, so they sent Cattitude home with two medications to improve her appetite. The cat has her appetite back, and headed right for the bowl of kibble, and ignored the bowl of wet food. She also informed us at dinner, when offered Greenies, that those were her proper treats, thank you very much. The other cat, Molly, is also pleased that we are once again giving them kibble and the familiar treats; there was no practical way to give Molly kibble and Kaja only wet food, so neither cat got anything crunchy for ten days.

We may be going to London last month, to sort through some of Mom's stuff, including papers and photos. (Mark needs to be there, and I want to, even though it will mean a lot of time masking, and probably a lot of takeout meals eaten in a hotel room. I emailed the cat sitter,

I checked this afternoon, and my inherited share of Mom's Vanguard account is in my account. Separately, there's a life insurance policy that seems to have asked for another form after my brother sent in what he thought was everything they wanted. In addition to the Vanguard account, there are some UK bank accounts, which Mark thinks will take several months to go through probate. All of this is a little weird, and I want my mother, not her life insurance.

Boston (along with much of the eastern United States and Canada) is in the middle of the sort of heat wave where they advise everyone to stay indoors if possible, not just people who are particularly sensitive to the heat. Both the NWS warning and the Boston heat emergency are only through this evening, but they're predicting that tomorrow will also be hotter than I find comfortable.
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