przed | Reading

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake

Blurb:

When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.

In Entangled Life, the brilliant young biologist Merlin Sheldrake shows us the world from a fungal point of view, providing an exhilarating change of perspective. Sheldrake's vivid exploration takes us from yeast to psychedelics, to the fungi that range for miles underground and are the largest organisms on the planet, to those that link plants together in complex networks known as the "Wood Wide Web," to those that infiltrate and manipulate insect bodies with devastating precision.

Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life's processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. By examining fungi on their own terms, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms--and our relationships with them--are changing our understanding of how life works.

This is the February read for

bookclub_dw so I'm going to reserve most of my review for the discussion post over there. But I will say that this is one of the more wild and entertaining journeys I've been on in a long time! Well worth the read!!!

Current Mood: impressed
Current Music: The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian

kore

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dine

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olivermoss

Specifically the women's team! USA mens? meh... I like a few of them, but am pulling for Finland.

Sport's Bra opened early for the game, and I may have had french fries for breakfast.

That was a fuck of a game, Canada scored early on us on a shorty and kept that lead until almost the end of the game. Hillary Knight managed to score right at the end, pushing to OT.

Someone lost their shit because they thought America had just won, because they didn't understand the visual difference between a live shot and a reply. People were excited and that was awesome, but they mostly had no idea what was going on.

Anyway, the Sports Bra is arranging a bus to and from Seattle for the Torrent's pride game in April. Getting to Seattle for games isn't hard, but it's getting back that's tricky. I may get in on that.

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mrkinch

There was in fact quite a nice break in the rain this afternoon so I went down to Berkeley Meadow to see what two inches of rain had done to the wetlands. Not much; there was less water than in December, just enough for a few American Wigeon and Mallards. Two small peripheral ponds had water but nobody home, and one area that does flood was getting squooshy, but that's it. All the paths were perfectly passable. I did have some fun on the east-west path, hearing Hutton's Vireos, a species I don't expect there, and seeing a Fox Sparrow as well as the usual small birds that like that tangle of willows. Also the White-tailed Kites were in residence. I didn't see them both simultaneously, but they were whistling and I'm sure they were both there. ( The list: )

I was a bit late for fun at the mudflat off the parking lot, so the only shorebirds were two Willets at North Basin.

dine

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summercomfort

the last update was actually my annual Spring Gala links, so here's my actual update (I guess I'm doing weekly ones now instead of daily, which... I guess I'm fine with. Maybe when I get less busy I can do daily ones?)

Anyway, it's been 10 days since my last update. Let's see what's happened...

- Mock Trial kids didn't make it to county finals, so that's mostly done. I should sit down with the other teacher some time and plan out some coaching timelines, etc, but other than that, the "season" is over

- Met with the learning specialist at school, and she says she's going to recommend Miss R for a neuropsych eval, and the school is going to help pay for it, which is pretty exciting. Still need to send a follow-up email to ask for specific deets, but at least ball is starting to roll???

- Last couple of days have been pretty busy -- we were originally planning to drive up to snow zone for Mon-Wed with a different family (her newfound bestie), and do Chinese New Year in the mountains, but then we find out on Saturday night that there's a big storm sweeping through, from Sunday night to Wed night, basically making it impossible for us to get up there. Unfortunately, this meant that we've had to cancel our reservations, which are non-refundable. :( And also I had to scramble to find something else to do. So Monday night we did New Year's at our place, and then yesterday and today we drove to a random weird treehouse that I found on AirBnB -- it's apparently built in 1925 by a smuggler. Pretty cool, very quaint/rustic, but surprising comfy, despite the sloped floors and odd layout. Got back around 5pm today, aiyah. Miss R still wants to do snow play, however, so tomorrow morning I'm driving her and her bestie to the snow line. It's gonna be a ~3 hr drive each way, so ... kinda rough, oy vey. I hope to queue up a bunch of music to listen to, I guess? Or maybe an audiobook? egh.

I've got a bunch of to-dos, but this February break has been more full of logistics management than I'd expected. I did manage to finally send last year's photos off to print, which was something I'd been planning to do since Thanksgiving.

Hopefully after the drive-a-thon tomorrow I'll have some time on Friday to work on comic???

olivermoss

Due to a shift in strategy Babylon 5 has been pulled from youtube

So much for going through it Dracula Daily style.

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Please disambiguate all relationship nominations (include the fandom in parentheses after the relationship). This will help your nominations get approved faster!

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olivermoss

* Terry Pratchett Discworld Humble Indie Bundle. 16 bucks for over 35 books, $401 value.

* I do not have time or space in my life to rewatch B5, but if they really are going to do the whole series weekly I might do that. Could be interesting, as it's doing a weekly watch along. I was originally not going to consider it, but after having rewatched a few eps I keep thinking about one scene.

There is an episode where each race has to do a demonstration of their dominant religion. It's not just what Sinclair chooses for Humans, it's how strongly the show's production committed to the scene, especially with the shoe-string budget.

* If I do a lot of sporadic posting today it's because of milk. I've been so hardline about my diet for so long, I've often wondered if my system is really that sensitive to certain things after so many years of controlling my IBS symptoms.. as much as I enjoy working at Dragonfly Cafe they have a bad cross-contamination problem with drinks that need any kind of stirring or steaming and yes, holy shit, milk protein fucks me up. As sick as I am right now, this should mostly clear up quickly. I'll get to 85% better soon and then that last 15% will linger for a bit.

* I did make myself go and do some pre-possible-snow shopping. I have extra food, and also some shelf stable options in case of power outage.

olivermoss

* I am hoping to watch the Olympics Women's Hockey Gold Medal game tomorrow. Sports Bra is opening early.

* Finns made it to the next round! They have a decent chance at a medal.

* Sweden starting Markstrom again. They've got both of the Wild goalies, an amazing tendie duo, but every time I look at a game it's Markstrom. And right now Markstrom has only let in 1 of 31, so maybe it's the right call.

I'd hoped to catch the Wild goalies, but they only played Gus in some early round games and Wall not at all. (Technically, they are not out yet, but they are playing the US rn so...)

Actually, the game is surprisingly close, so this is now a liveblog. ( Read more... )

sineala

What I Just Finished Reading

Nothing!

What I'm Reading Now

Comics Wednesday!

( 1776 #4, Captain America #7, Doctor Strange #3, Dungeons of Doom #2, Fantastic Four #8, New Avengers #9, Ultimate Spider-Man #24 )

What I'm Reading Next

To make

lysimache happy, I have very slowly started reading Les Misérables in the original French, after learning that the Kindle can now load translating dictionaries. (My old Kindle could not, but it's like 15 years old.) I don't think I'm going to finish it ever but, hey, I'm trying.

Current Mood: hungry

dine

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mrkinch

We're apparently in for a series of storms here, and with U and Chris away I said I'd go up yesterday as usual if it didn't rain. But it did, desultorily, all day with a break forecast for after 3pm, so I went up then to see what Wildcat Creek and Jewel Lake were like. There was a good deal of water but nowhere near what I'm hoping for if the rain does in fact continue for another week. Unsurprisingly, given the hour and the weather, there were very few birds to hear or see, mostly corvids and juncos. ( A very short list: )

I don't think the rain every really stopped and I got a bit damp. I was only there about an hour and didn't think I got chilled, but when I got home I had a very hard time getting warm. ( physical blather ) Tomorrow there should be a real break, and I very much hope to go out.

sineala

I know that everyone who wanted to play Hades has probably already played Hades and moved on to Hades 2, because Hades came out back in 2020, but this is my journal and I just finished the main storyline yesterday, so.

( Hades, including some plot spoilers )

Up next in gaming: Not sure. I might play TR-49, which I just bought; I think that's a short one, and it looked like a fun puzzle game. I might also just play more Slay the Spire in preparation for StS2 next month. I know I said I wasn't gonna do Ascensions in StS, but I lied and started doing them. Of course, I'm at, like, 2. Out of 20. I will probably not get to 20.

I am also starting to feel well enough that I might consider playing a game on the Switch, which I haven't done since the migraines got bad, really, because holding a Switch is apparently a lot to ask of me, whereas games on the laptop means that the laptop sits right here next to me, and the 8bitdo controller also sits in my lap, so I don't have to lift anything. Yeah, I know. I've been really tired. At least right now I have enough energy to type this.

Current Mood: accomplished

the_shoshanna

On the BIIIIIIIIIIIIIG screen!

My local fabulous theatre is hosting this event: a showing of episode 6 followed by a panel discussion they describe as

– how the series is changing the game for independent Canadian producers with Heated Rivalry producer Lori Fischburg
– how the music featured in the series has launched emerging artists into the spotlight with CBC host Elamin Abdelmahmoud
– how modern fandom helped propel its rapid international ascent from beloved underground novels into the TV stratosphere with University of Toronto pop culture professor Angie Fazekas
– its influence on LGBTQ+ athletes and the game itself with sports professor Kyle Rich of Brock University.

and they're doing it on one of the few Sunday mornings this month when I haven't promised to do something at church and I'm going with my local friend who marathoned the whole thing with me on Boxing Day and I am excited!

machinistm

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Current Music: Chasing Cars - Tommee Profitt, Fleurie

summercomfort

Well, last night dumpling night, and we had some friends over and watched the Spring Gala. Happy Year of the Horse, y'alls!

Some Spring Gala links:

- the intro song that introduces the 4 locations of the year (Harbin, Hefei, Yiwu, Yibing): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGXOL3lcPo&t=20s
- The thesis of the year, nominally a song celebrating tech advancements and smart devices, but featuring the words: "The future is already here, the product of hard work and intellect. Low-key yet clever. We are made in China" holy shit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGXOL3lcPo&t=1734s
- kung fu robots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGXOL3lcPo&t=1425s (related: convenience store worker robot? https://youtu.be/AXf9vc_7Wgw?si=d-42NFLmpl7e4CO0&t=2781 snarky kid robot? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGXOL3lcPo&t=691s )
- probably the most c-pop song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGXOL3lcPo&t=2426s
- extremely hokey song about turning the Fu upside down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpOF_7foKBQ&t=2029s (but also has the astronauts, and I always like the astronauts)
- Hmmm.... "Formosa Love Song", a segment about how Taiwan and Fujian are just separated by a small strait and are celebrating the spring together? Right a song honoring mothers? Featuring a bunch of Taiwan songs? Wonder what's going on here: https://youtu.be/MpOF_7foKBQ?si=Mh5W-ZaZXRPBOUZQ&t=3362
- cute "come to dinner" segment/ad 公益广告: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXf9vc_7Wgw&t=2299s
- a song celebrating labor and being creative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXf9vc_7Wgw&t=1880s
- OMG the army one this year is quite ... intimidating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5pzkcbSwcQ&t=567s
- here's the "we are all 1 china" one, with some great shots of infrastructure. Phases naturally into the new year countdown with shots of all the locations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5pzkcbSwcQ&t=840s
- cute juggling one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5pzkcbSwcQ&t=335s
- utterly incomprehensible "horse dance": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5pzkcbSwcQ&t=2348s
- cute "sound of spring" orchestra/dance one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5pzkcbSwcQ&t=2608s
- what is masculinity, song one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXf9vc_7Wgw&t=983s , song 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5pzkcbSwcQ&t=1529s (featuring bad CG of Xubeihong horses :( ) Does the weird horse dance count as masculinity song 3?

The ethnic minorities are integrated in an interesting way this year. Like, actual dance troupes from the actual regions, but not like, not as obviously labeling them? (Well, except the Mongolian one lol)
- a Xinjiang dance celebrating the silk road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGXOL3lcPo&t=3797s
- it's a song featuring little kids dressed as various ethnic minorities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGXOL3lcPo&t=4067s And the kids themselves are from Guizhou, so... sorta win?
- a song of farmers celebrating the harvest, featuring actual farmers from Ningxia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpOF_7foKBQ&t=80s
- Mongolian folk song, featuring DeDeMa and actual people from inner mongolia! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpOF_7foKBQ&t=1670s , and starts in Mongolian
- a stomping-based dance-off between Spanish, Hungarian, and some Chinese ethnic minority dancers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXf9vc_7Wgw&t=4563s

Locations:
- Harbing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXf9vc_7Wgw&t=511s there's penguins? and of course ice skating, and Russian architecture, and also a parody of the winter olympics. And a giant digital snowman??? and ballet?)
- Yibing 宜宾 (Sichuan): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGXOL3lcPo&t=3328s (some drumming, some robots, some robot pandas, a riverboat, some drones)
- Yiwu (Zhejiang): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpOF_7foKBQ&t=1213s (robot monkey king, and then Jackie Chan and Lionel Richie singing "We are the world" for some reason???
- Hefei (Anhui): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXf9vc_7Wgw&t=3853s (overly digitized, but also chinese opera? but also giant statue of 夸父 of all people? And a GIANT EYE of Technology???)

Gotta know Chinese for these:
- a surprisingly critical one of Chinese bureaucracy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXf9vc_7Wgw&t=3152s
- cute 相声 about buying veggies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGXOL3lcPo&t=2689s