Nostr notes by Furthering

Nice list of nature reads for Earth Day ...

2026-04-22T17:56:17+02:00

Nice list of nature reads for Earth Day

https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/3112-celebrate-spring-with-these-nature-nonfiction-reads?ref=Soapbox_2026_Apr_Blog_3112

#Books #EarthDay

I'm looking for nice-quality stationery, particularly writing ...

2025-10-10T17:19:15+02:00

I'm looking for nice-quality stationery, particularly writing paper for letters, but all of the related accoutrements, too (stickers/seals, pens/ink, envelopes, etc.)

Does anyone have a favorite stationery store that ships within Europe?

Or how about a favorite stationery subscription box that ships within Europe?

#AskFedi #Stationery #Europe #SnailMail

Many of my very good English-language grammar explanations are ...

2025-08-27T15:06:28+02:00

Many of my very good English-language grammar explanations are disappearing from the web -- ones that I have compiled over the course of my career from people who explained concepts before I even needed to.

So I'm sharing one of my favorite ones now, the wordy words list, which is just as beautiful today as the first time I encountered it.

https://web.uvic.ca/~gkblank/wordiness.html

#Language #Grammar #English

Ooh, I've gotten so many recs from this thread. Thanks to ...

2025-07-04T08:48:59+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…ftsq
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Ooh, I've gotten so many recs from this thread. Thanks to everyone who's shared!

I've read dozens of books this year, but many have left me less moved than I would like.

On my list is:

The Emperor of Gladness -- Ocean Vuong

Eastbound -- Mayis de Kerangal

On Freedom -- Timothy Snyder

Braiding Sweetgrass -- Robin Wall Kimmerer

The City We Became -- N.K. Jemisin

The rest of my five-star reads were comfort rereads and not new discoveries.

I immediately dismiss every pop-up window without looking at it ...

2025-05-15T12:08:32+02:00

I immediately dismiss every pop-up window without looking at it these days because I figure it's just trying to tell me about AI.

Another week slogging away at corporate exploitation done. One ...

2025-04-25T17:33:36+02:00

Another week slogging away at corporate exploitation done. One week closer to old age and the relinquishment of dreams.

Really lovely. The smell must be amazing! And that is one ...

2025-03-28T17:18:22+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…zrn4
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Really lovely. The smell must be amazing! And that is one wonderful mixer.

"Five years after the start of the worst health crisis in ...

2025-03-10T11:03:36+01:00

"Five years after the start of the worst health crisis in living memory, there is a national conversation waiting to be had about the roles of the individual, society and the state in such a crisis. What is my responsibility to myself and to my community, and what is the responsibility of the state towards us? At each level there is room for improvement, but we’re not addressing it. Let’s hope we can have that conversation before we’re tested again, but first the more strident – and misguided – voices have to pipe down."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/09/covid-five-years-right-narrative-outbreak

#Covid #Covid19 #MaskUp #PublicHealth #Vaccines #Pandemic #Society #Responsibility

So revealing. Thanks for sharing! Wonder how "the game" ...

2025-03-07T16:42:19+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…t6c7
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So revealing. Thanks for sharing!

Wonder how "the game" will change as time progresses.

I've been thinking about cultures of silence. The latest ...

2025-03-05T18:10:43+01:00

I've been thinking about cultures of silence.

The latest Feminist Lecture Program lecture was about silence around sexual violence towards women in art history and how museums and even art history classes elide references to it even in very violent ("beautiful) paintings and sculpture (think The Rape of Europa, The Rape of the Sabines).

But in connection with this, recently, I've had a couple of friends say the general state of the world is "too horrible to talk about." Besides the fact that our general culture of not confronting feelings and not talking about them is a poison on individuals and society --

It's also exactly what fascist or authoritarian regimes want. All the better if you choose it yourself!

The two cultures of silence have much in common. The less people talk about it the more it can happen.

Let's reject cultures of silence for those subjects that need to be talked about, either for our mental health, public awareness, or as a form of resistance.

#Feminism #Silence #ArtHistory #USpol #Politics #Rape #Violence #Resistance #MentalHealth #Awareness

I enjoyed this lecture about the "philosophical challenges of ...

2025-02-13T16:24:30+01:00

I enjoyed this lecture about the "philosophical challenges of early art."

It talks about cave paintings and the creative process and our relationship to them today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_Sn19TxuOU

#Prehistoric #Art #Philosophy #Lecture

I fear for my friends who are routinely ill, but all I can do is ...

2025-01-29T15:30:28+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…4dz8
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I fear for my friends who are routinely ill, but all I can do is offer sympathy from afar.

This weekend, I met remotely with three Americans I've stayed ...

2025-01-29T11:46:29+01:00

This weekend, I met remotely with three Americans I've stayed in touch with since they moved back to the US.

Our discussion turned, of course, to current events.

I mentioned how one "easy" way to resist/protest is through the wearing of masks (because the US is no longer involving itself in public health, because of surveillance, because of mask bans, because it's a way to help protect and support the vulnerable, because it's a show of solidarity).

I was met with a beat of silence and then a swift change in topic.

#CovidIsNotOver #MaskUp

As someone who doesn't want to get Covid or any of the other ...

2025-01-19T08:12:54+01:00

As someone who doesn't want to get Covid or any of the other viruses floating around, I mask indoors.

But I have to disagree with the people who say "masking is easy" as a way to try to convince (or judge) others.

Setting aside the social aspects of it, masking is not easy, physically, for everyone. And if you have any sensitivity issues (HSP/highly sensitive person here🙋‍♀️ ), it might be somewhere on the spectrum of tolerable from most to least.

I've tried different masks, but no matter which ones, the straps cut into my ears, even the over-the-head ones. At the end of a long journey, I'm in some sort of pain or discomfort.

They're terrible for dealing with a runny nose. And my nose runs when I come inside from the cold even when I am not sick. You either have to break the seal around your mask to use a tissue, or you have to hope that you can keep your runny nose contained. Not a great choice either way.

They also tend to contribute to dry eye. Then, if you wear glasses, use earplugs/noise-cancelling headphones, or need anything else around your face/head, the combination starts to feel oppressive.

If masking is easy for you, that's great. I don't think it's easy for many people, and some people may not even be aware of or be able to express why masking is difficult for them in a society where we are often supposed to ignore or at least stay quiet about physical discomfort -- this might be true even if the majority were still masking.

So, two things can be true. Masking is important in various situations and according to various factors, but it's not necessarily easy. For me, the risk and discomfort of disease outweighs the physical discomfort of the mask, but it isn't like while I'm wearing it that I'm not longing to rip it off at the soonest safe opportunity.

#MaskUp #CovidIsNotOver #HSP #Neurodivergent

I'm coming to the end of Braiding Sweetgrass, and I wanted to ...

2025-01-17T17:28:18+01:00

I'm coming to the end of Braiding Sweetgrass, and I wanted to share two final quotes from the book.

"What we contemplate here is more than ecological restoration; it is the restoration of relationship between plants and people. Scientists have made a dent in understanding how to put ecosystems back together, but our experiments focus on soil pH and hydrology—matter, to the exclusion of spirit. We might look to the Thanksgiving Address for guidance on weaving the two. We are dreaming of a time when the land might give thanks for the people."

"The fear for me is far greater than just acknowledging the Windigo within. The fear for me is that the world has been turned inside out, the dark side made to seem light. Indulgent self-interest that our people once held to be monstrous is now celebrated as success. We are asked to admire what our people viewed as unforgivable. The consumption-driven mind-set masquerades as 'quality of life' but eats us from within. It is as if we’ve been invited to a feast, but the table is laid with food that nourishes only emptiness, the black hole of the stomach that never fills. We have unleashed a monster."

#Environment #Ecology #Reading #Books

A look at moral resilience in health care, but some of the ...

2025-01-15T10:12:17+01:00

A look at moral resilience in health care, but some of the concepts can be applied more widely. Thoughtful and thought-provoking.

". . . moral suffering was a particular type of suffering. Moral suffering is broadly understood as the anguish we experience when we witness, participate in, or cause unfortunate or troublesome negative moral outcomes that imperil our integrity. We began to see that moral suffering, whether described as moral distress or moral injury, is experienced in response to a threat or violation of our core values, commitments and intentions. It involves situations where we know what we ought to do but are unable to translate our moral commitments into action."

"The concept of moral resilience presumes that humans are already resilient, that they strive toward integrity, and that there are ways to repair our moral fabric when it is torn or fractured. It begins with the understanding that we can do hard things. We’ve made difficult decisions in the past and likely will be called to do so in the future. Knowing that, we can walk toward moral adversity with compassion, understanding and self-respect. Later, we can engage in the process of moral repair, rather than despair and depletion. These inherent capacities are enabled by a practice environment that supports integrity and ethical practices."

https://aeon.co/essays/how-moral-resilience-helps-nurses-work-through-ethical-strife

#Morals #Ethics #Resilience #HealthCare #Integrity

I read The Serviceberry at the end of 2024 and knew I had to read ...

2025-01-10T18:06:45+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…9syt
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I read The Serviceberry at the end of 2024 and knew I had to read Braiding Sweetgrass. Both are very beautiful with messages that are so currently needed.

I'm reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and ...

2025-01-10T17:44:53+01:00

I'm reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and this quote is too beautiful not to share.

"We are showered every day with gifts, but they are not meant for us to keep. Their life is in their movement, the inhale and the exhale of our shared breath. Our work and our joy is to pass along the gift and to trust that what we put out into the universe will always come back."

#Books #Reading #Gifts #Community #Joy #Reciprocity

His antidote is curation and archiving – and an easy form of ...

2025-01-05T15:24:22+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…tq3r
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His antidote is curation and archiving – and an easy form of curation, recommendation. Because these are human acts – they respect the work and create networks of connection, either one-on-one or within a community.

“Someone had to care enough to tell me what they liked, and I had to care enough to trust them and give it a fair try. Such cultural recommendations—communicating approval—are social and moral acts. We tell each other that we like things the same way that bees perform dances to pass on the location of a particularly fruitful flower. The very act brings us together.”

He emphasizes the responsibility of curation – that it’s not just what you like, but it’s also about an audience and how their reactions or perceptions may affect how they receive the information. I realized I do this when I recommend a book to someone – I take into account who they are, what they like reading, what I know about them, and how they may be affected by the book.

But the person receiving the recommendation should also be openminded about it and trust the recommender enough to give it a chance.

“Recommendations between people are a two-way exchange: the curator must consider the value of what they are passing on, and the consumer must remain open-minded, giving up the option of skipping the track if it’s not immediately appealing.”

🧵

I read the book on a visit to Lisbon and applied some of the ...

2025-01-05T15:23:09+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…kpd3
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I read the book on a visit to Lisbon and applied some of the ideas in the book to what I experienced. Most of the restaurants served the same five dishes. The same narrative about the 1755 earthquake was repeated time and again in information about the city. Tiles were for sale everywhere, some authentically produced, some facsimiles.

Chayka says, “a place’s uniqueness only attracts more tourists, which gradually grind it into dust with the increasing flow of travelers, who arrive to consume its character as a product and leave it ever more degraded. Difference just gets in the way; it creates friction in a world that is increasingly frictionless, whether in its cities or in its music.”

“Difference gets in the way.” What a shattering statement, which can be extrapolated further if you a person who seeks difference and celebrates it and who knows being exposed to differences makes us more openminded.

I also found his statement “Popularity alone often gets confused for meaning or significance” to be thought-provoking. He goes on to say, “The difference today is that in Filterworld, the metrics—the number of likes, the preexisting attention—tend to speak louder than the piece of culture itself. Not only do they act as a measure of success, but they create success, because they dictate what is recommended to and seen by audiences in the first place.”

🧵

Before the year was out, I finished the book Filterworld by Kyle ...

2025-01-05T15:21:55+01:00

Before the year was out, I finished the book Filterworld by Kyle Chayka, which is about the flattening of culture at the hands of (the people who develop) algorithms.

And now that I've read the book, I can't unsee this process -- the dull sameness with which much of what we (are expected to) consume falls into -- and that wasn't always the case. Of course, some of that is due to (Western) cultural colonialism, but Chayka would probably agree that algorithms are a type of cultural colonialism, too.

Chayka isn't the only one who's noticed. A couple of weeks ago, I read an article that lamented Baryshnikov as one of the last adherents to "high art."

Chayka cites an essay by Scorsese, talking about his own influences [I have no opinion on Scorsese here, just being illustrative]: "The paranoia that I hear in Scorsese’s essay is that the art of the twenty-first century no longer holds up to such scrutiny. Instead, it’s cheap and ephemeral, wafting through your life without leaving any discernible mark. (The passion of his writing shows just how much Scorsese was marked by Fellini, an impact that he was still processing six decades later.) That may be because to fit into digital feeds, in order to attract those pernicious likes and further promote itself as much as possible, culture has to be content first and art second—if at all. "

🧵

#Books #Reading #Algorithm #Culture #Art #Content

Aww, thanks. They hold special memories for me -- I especially ...

2024-12-24T15:40:48+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…vx9u
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Aww, thanks. They hold special memories for me -- I especially loved visiting the Etruscan Museum because it was almost empty both times I went. I was able to take my time, really look and enjoy. A rare and precious experience.

Certainly! In addition to the ones attached, I posted one earlier ...

2024-12-24T15:27:36+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…6mj8
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Certainly! In addition to the ones attached, I posted one earlier (https://convo.casa/@Furthering/113706944679897040) but here are some more. :)

Merry Christmas to you, as well!

I tried to scale down to a smaller camera -- somewhere in between ...

2024-12-24T11:45:54+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…rvch
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I tried to scale down to a smaller camera -- somewhere in between the ones with changeable lenses and a camera phone -- and went on a friend's recommendation. Unfortunately, it didn't have a view finder, and trying to use only the screen to frame photos was problematic. Under any type of sunlight, the screen was unreadable. If I went that route again, the camera would have to have to have a view finder, but these smaller format ones are nice to pull out when you're confronted with a particularly nice scene, and they're easy to travel with.

I haven't explored much of Italy outside of Rome, but of course the paintings and photos of the countryside show that it also has a lot to offer. I hoe you can visit it, too!

I'm used the holidays being a bit difficult. They were never ...

2024-12-24T09:22:58+01:00

I'm used the holidays being a bit difficult. They were never very fun before I moved abroad, and while they improved for a while, this year I'm on my own.

But last night I discovered a trove of photos I thought lost -- some of them of my slow-travel trips to Rome, a city I can't get enough of.

And so today I'm going to enjoy those happy memories instead, remember the joy I felt when I see those selfies, conjure up the sunshine there, revel in the art as seen through the eyes of my camera (and wow -- I used a real camera instead of just my phone for some of them!), and focus on finding that mood in the near future.

#JoinIn

I'm now reading The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. A ...

2024-12-21T16:13:01+01:00

I'm now reading The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. A quote early in the book reads:

"In a gift economy, wealth is understood as having enough to share, and the practice for dealing with abundance is to give it away. In fact, status is determined not y how much one accumulates, but by how much one gives away. The currency in a gift economy is relationship, which is expressed as gratitude, as interdependence and the ongoing cycles of reciprocity. A gift economy nurtures the community bonds that enhance mutual well-being; the economic unit is 'we' rather than 'I,' as all flourishing is mutual."

All flourishing is mutual.

#Reading #Books #Economics #Gift #Wealth #Community #Gratitude

As someone who is not musical, I appreciate this insight into the ...

2024-11-30T07:09:14+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…j0cl
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As someone who is not musical, I appreciate this insight into the composition process. As a word person, I'm always intrigued by the way musicians describe music ("momentum, energy, and shape") in a way that gives us a different way to understand it and think about it.

Yes, definitely! My flights in recent years have typically been ...

2024-11-22T09:15:40+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…4d6v
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Yes, definitely!

My flights in recent years have typically been shorter, so if I can find a less crowded corner in the airport, that's when I'll have a drink. It's easier with over-the-ear masks, but I've since upgraded to the ones that go behind your head, so I'll have to figure that one out.

I know some people get those mask valves for sipping a straw through, but I've never invested in one.

Your solution seems to be just as good, though.

Indeed onerous, but indeed worth it. Hope you have a way to ...

2024-11-22T06:46:10+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…watd
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Indeed onerous, but indeed worth it. Hope you have a way to safely hydrate.

The city I live in tried this, sowing wildflowers along the river ...

2024-11-21T16:35:22+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…34e4
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The city I live in tried this, sowing wildflowers along the river and alongside one boulevard.

People had different views of the initiative. Many people liked it. The major worry was about creating more habitats for ticks carrying diseases.

However, especially walking along the river, you could see and hear the increased number of birds, butterflies, and insects that were enjoying this little touch of wilderness. And it was really beautiful to see the seasonal changes.

Oh, wow. I didn't know this was even legal.

2024-11-02T07:49:55+01:00

In reply to nevent1q…2dpc
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Oh, wow. I didn't know this was even legal.

On the same day I read an article about how the Arctic seed vault ...

2024-09-19T08:57:02+02:00

On the same day I read an article about how the Arctic seed vault may be a failed experiment, I also read a beautiful article about how nature maintains its own seed banks.

It's a reminder that life will continue without us.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-arctic-seed-vault-shows-the-flawed-logic-of-climate-adaptation/

https://www.hcn.org/issues/56-3/underground-seed-banks-hold-promise-for-ecological-restoration/

#Ecology #ClimateCrisis #Seeds #Plants #Ecosystems #Survival #Nature

At least one of those is definitely a potato.

2024-09-18T07:57:33+02:00

In reply to nevent1q…w6yv
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At least one of those is definitely a potato.

Sometimes the noise of cars/people playing music, the rudeness of ...

2024-09-07T12:49:58+02:00

Sometimes the noise of cars/people playing music, the rudeness of other pedestrians, and the risk of getting clobbered by a cyclist/scooterist is simply too much, no matter how important it is to get sunlight and outdoor exercise.

I will say that it is nice to hear people practicing opera or an instrument, though.

#Sensitivity #HSP #Noise

"Snyder: I have a very specific view, which is that it's ...

2024-08-11T09:14:27+02:00

"Snyder: I have a very specific view, which is that it's good for empires to lose wars. They don't always lose them, but it's good for them to lose. Poland, Germany, Italy -- these are all postimperial countries. Spain, France, Britain -- these are postimperial countries. This thing called European integration is a postimperial phenomenon. In daily political practice, trying to maintain an empire is inconsistent with trying to maintain the rule of law or human rights at home.

"One sees that with Russia, they're obviously trying to just carry out a genocide in Ukraine, but the war makes it impossible for any kind of normal politics to function in Russia. Do I think the Russian Empire has to fall apart? The Russian state could continue without being an empire. That's also possible. I think that's more likely.

"But I think Americans and Ukrainians and others should think about it this way: Defeating Russia in war is the best thing that we could do for Russia. What happens in Russia, though, after that is up to the Russians, up to the people who live on that territory. I'd put it that way. It would be good for them to lose this war, just like it was good for France to lose in Algeria, just like it was good for Germany to lose in 1945."

https://www.rferl.org/a/timothy-snyder-russia-ukraine-war-victory/33067942.html

#Russia #Ukraine #Colonialism

I have been reading and thinking about normalcy bias lately. It ...

2024-08-10T14:21:53+02:00

I have been reading and thinking about normalcy bias lately.

It can tell us a lot about why people (including governments) do not plan for or act appropriately in dangerous situations, including anything from the climate emergency to Covid to AI.

The belief that "nothing bad will happen" (to me) occurs because we base our beliefs on what has already occurred, and that belief may also be a coping mechanism, which is then supported by everyone else's participation in the normalcy bias.

https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/normalcy-bias

#Psychology #Behavior #AI #Climate #Covid