@plragde@mstdn.social
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

plragde

@plragde@mstdn.social

Food, wine, music, books, film, art, architecture, travel, feminism, and functional programming.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

The Guardian today has a photo of tents on the steps of UC Berkeley's Sproul Hall, the admin building. I spent a night in such a tent in 1985, as part of an anti-apartheid protest. That protest now has a lengthy Web page praising it on the official UC site, because the whole movement achieved its goals.

Ironically, today's protest could equally well have taken place in 1985, also.

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@thatdawnperson Are you reading Maria Dahvana Headley's translation of Beowulf? It really is quite marvellous.

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

This one is for @csk (whom I think of every time I see something like this). From the Alhambra, in Granada.

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

My first meal was at Lokál Nad Stromovkou, slightly into Bubeneč. This is a local chain of pubs, and I wanted to try the unfiltered dark lager made for them by Kozel.

Beer foam is a big deal in Czechia, and you can order a mug of just that, if you want. They have special taps to produce it, and while I tend to avoid it elsewhere, it was quite enjoyable here.

A squat glass beer mug holding 0.5L of dark liquid and perhaps half that volume of thick lighter foam on top, reaching to the very brim.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

The colour scheme of my meal matched the room. Tripe soup to start, and then country-style pork belly with potato dumplings and braised cabbage.

Two thick slices of roasted pork belly in a thin brown onion gravy; potato formed into a cylinder and sliced; brown braised cabbage, all in a white shallow bowl.

mattblaze, to random
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

Why we can’t have nice things, part 218659045: sign above door jam of sliding door on train.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@mattblaze Along the same lines... this is our espresso machine.

mattblaze, to random
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

Why could Ansel Adams make such great, enduring photos? Four main reasons:

  • He had a great eye for subject and composition

  • He knew his subjects - the American landscape, etc - exceptionally well.

  • He was an absolute master of technique, some of which he invented and developed himself.

  • He was willing to schlep an enormous amount of delicate, heavy, expensive gear long distances to the middle of nowhere. Seriously.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@mattblaze The photos you post are mostly of the urban East (I understand why). Have you been tempted to haul your smaller but still nontrivial gear to the rural West?

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

That concludes my series of retrospective toots on our trip to Sevilla. I would certainly recommend it to anyone, and we hope to return. Perhaps in the dead of winter next time.

An upscale pedestrian shopping street, early morning, sails stretched across at the second floor above ground to block the sun, a few tourists and locals about, but mostly pretty quiet.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@ocramz We were there Sept 10-15. The daytime high was 28C when we arrived, rising to 32C. Not terrible but it discourages afternoon walks. I went to Córdoba in the middle of the week, which was a few degrees hotter (and with no hotel room or large art museum to shelter in). A week earlier, 30km east of Córdoba on the railway line to Madrid, the highest September temperature ever recorded in Europe was reached... 45.7C.

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

On our last day in Sevilla, we left our bags at reception and walked northeast to the Mercado do Feria, a small covered market in a residential area. The fish sellers were in the well-ventilated central hall; greengrocers, butchers, and other food/drink purveyors on the narrower aisles on each side. It was relatively quiet in late morning.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

The market bar, La Cantina, faced out onto a small terrace with a dozen tables. It's self-service; you order at the bar, they write your order on the tiles, and call your name as each dish is ready. Just after noon, we weren't the first to eat, but it was close (and the others weren't tourists). We had a bus to catch, and couldn't afford to come at a livelier time and possibly have to wait for a table.

The other half of the bar frontage, showing one cook at a griddle, a customer with a beer talking to her, and the crowded display case, wine bottles, and hanging hams of the adjacent deli.

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

"🙏🏿Lord please grant me the confidence to deny a brilliant woman professor and researcher tenure track, demote her, push her out of my school, to be the adversity that she had to overcome in life... and when she overcomes me and wins the Nobel prize, to roll in like I did something. Amen!"

https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4234061-nobel-prize-winner-for-mrna-vaccines-discusses-being-demoted-by-upenn/

U Penn is bold! Real talk, I couldn't do that. I couldn't even fake that till I make that. Levels.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@mekkaokereke Something similar at my institution (University of Waterloo in Canada): Donna Strickland won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics for laser work in 1985. She had hit a plateau at associate professor despite good research and teaching since (a common fate for women, alas). While trumpeting her (their first and only Nobel laureate so far), they hastily promoted her to full professor. At least she was never demoted!

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

The main reason to visit Córdoba is the Mezquita-Catedral, which was once the third most important mosque in Islam, after Mecca and Jerusalem. The Christians did not destroy it or substantially renovate it, though they did plunk an incongruous Renaissance nave, transept, and choir into the central courtyard, plus the usual side chapels. This is the view right from the entrance, giving a good sense of the Islamic parts of the structure.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

There are other sights in Córdoba, the Roman bridge and the Alcázar among them. But it was a hot day, and I had no hotel room to retreat to, and fixed train tickets. It got to be a bit much by the time of departure.

A large manicured tamped-earth patio with rows of high palm trees as well as shorter deciduous trees, with wide aisles and metal benches, with a high crenellated wall and watchtower behind. Despite the trees, there is only a modest amount of shade.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

Córdoba's old city is not as interesting as Sevilla's, with less architectural variety, mostly flat whitewashed walls broken up only by restaurants and tourist boutiques. To the north, the modern city has pleasant pedestrian avenues and plazas, with relatively few tourists to be seen.

A wide, modern pedestrian pavement, with a central zone flanked by streetlights and high green trees, and side avenues between those and the varied multistory buildings on either side. When I walked it around noon, the avenues were full of people (and some in the centre) but in this photo, only two people are visible, because the clock reads 15h36, during siesta.

HunterFelt, to random
@HunterFelt@heads.social avatar

I genuinely think I can find a place for my Steve Albini impression at some point.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@HunterFelt Pre-woke or post-woke?

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

First patch with the Frap Tools Cunsa quad resonant filter.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@ocramz There isn't room on the desk for much more...

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@ocramz I use headphones most of the time also (partner works from home). But when it's hot (as it is now), it's nice to have them off for a while.

mattblaze, to random
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

Film project: A shot-by-shot remake of Oppenheimer, but using stop-motion animation with Barbie dolls (in the manner of Todd Haynes' "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story").

See who sends the first cease and desist letter.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@mattblaze I was fortunate to see "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story" on a large screen at the 1988 Toronto film festival, before it was driven underground. Todd Haynes was in attendance and went to the front after the screening to answer questions. The first one was the best question from the floor that I have ever heard:

"How can you justify that piece of shit?"

mattblaze, (edited ) to random
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

Just saw Oppenheimer. Somewhat mixed reaction.

Utterly gorgeous, and definitely deserves and benefits from a proper theatrical screening. Story is compelling and relevant, and the oerformances are terrific. Three hours goes by quickly.

But I think the edit was rather a muddle. It often felt like a three hour trailer for itself - series of short cuts, each ending on a quotable, profound line, with the score often overwhelming the action. It's like it didn't trust itself with the material.

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@mattblaze But Penn did

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

Panzanella!

mattblaze, to photography
@mattblaze@federate.social avatar

US Supreme Court Building, Washington, DC.

SCOTUS after dark. Say what you will about the Court, they have a nice building.

More than ten million pixels per justice at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/52941268282

Note: not a 16:9 image. You may need to click the preview to see the whole thing.

#photography

plragde,
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

@mattblaze I'm quite enjoying your varied references to the hi-res version, please continue!

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

Sunset view here is not particularly special. There are other compensations, like generally good light and air.

plragde, to random
@plragde@mstdn.social avatar

Slices of Lisboa public transit.

Red seats on the Lisboa Metro with inlaid cork backs and seats.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • anitta
  • thenastyranch
  • rosin
  • GTA5RPClips
  • osvaldo12
  • love
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • khanakhh
  • everett
  • kavyap
  • mdbf
  • DreamBathrooms
  • ngwrru68w68
  • megavids
  • magazineikmin
  • InstantRegret
  • normalnudes
  • tacticalgear
  • cubers
  • ethstaker
  • modclub
  • cisconetworking
  • Durango
  • provamag3
  • tester
  • Leos
  • JUstTest
  • All magazines
    •