We are so excited at home. I did not expect this. I’ve been resisting my family’s requests to adopt a dog for years now and I finally caved in. We took Leia home yesterday. She’s two months old. She’s already won my heart, I did not expect this. Welcome home, princess.
I’m happy with my holiday cooking. My family was happy too, and that’s the whole point. These are a New Year’s Eve pizza, a New Year’s beef wellington, and a “Roscón de Reyes”, which I don’t know how to translate. It´s a cake of some sort that we eat on January 6th, Epiphany day.
I read that 1.700 Ukrainian soldiers, recently trained in France, have defected before their first battle. I read that it’s happening quite a lot, and that both Ukraine and Russia have trouble to draft people to send to war. Imagine a world where there are no wars because we just don’t want to fight them on behalf of the rich and powerful. Let them be cannon fodder. Хай живе народ України. Long live the people of Ukraine
Pizza dough for tonight’s Old Night dinner is ready on the kitchen counter. I have a Japanese whisky by my side. I am sitting down with my notebook drafting a few dreams for 2025 and listening to this beauty.
My best wishes for 2025 for you all.
Death will come for me and she will have to wait because I still have a bunch of emails to reply to.
I must have heard this tune a thousand times. I didn’t know it was called Green Onions and I didn’t know Booker T. Jones. Time to make amends.
Great songs make for great covers when great artists are involved.
Dire Straits - Romeo and Juliet - Cover by Mary Spender and Nathaniel Murphy
Second loaf of bread for the weekend. 🥖
Here’s a small gift to soothe our souls a little. I give you Silvia Pérez Cruz, voice, and Pájaro, guitar, playing Pequeño Vals Vienés. The lyrics are from the poem by the immortal Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. Leonard Cohen sung Take This Waltz with this same poem. Legendary flamenco artist Enrique Morente took the song and made it his own. And now Silvia and Pájaro give us all their beauty.
Wow. I just heard about High Fade. They’re awesome. A Strat that can sound like a Spanish guitar, the funkiest bass I’ve heard in a long time and incredible drums.
I’m back to baking bread and it makes me so happy. 🥖
Waking up very early and too tired for anything other than going to bed to catch up with some sleep. I need to end this merry-go-round kind of life.
I haven’t been very active online lately, pretty busy at work. But today I did not want to miss the Analog Tools meeting hosted by @cygnoir and @jessekelber and I’m glad I didn’t. A very nice reunion with the nicest people ever. @pratik @heyloura @takeo @BestofTimes @melsoutdoorlife Thanks.
Hi, guys.Sorry for barging in with a horror movie scenario. I haven’t read anything about this yet. Have you pondered that, FSM forbid, JD Vance will be a heartbeat away from becoming President?
Can Trump be the New Reagan?>
Eight years ago, at a post-election breakfast party we threw in POLITICO’s Brussels offices, I watched Donald Trump claim victory in a presidential election for the first time with shell-shocked European legislators and policymakers.
The reaction in global capitals this Wednesday morning was very different. Anxiety in many, jubilation in some. But not shock. The world has experience with Trump in office. These same people from the Brussels party in 2016 have spent months preparing for a possible restoration.
Interesting point of view, an article worth reading. I have no doubt that Trump’s and the GOP’s domestic policies are going to be extreme, horrific and authoritarian. But what will his stance be at the World stage? Will he oppose Rusia and China or will he try to be pals with Putin and Xi? Will he be able to receive advice or will he just do as he pleases, relying only in his impulses?
I’m in Europe. I mean, I’m not on American soil. Can Seal Team 6 barge into my house if I suggest that Biden could, in his formal capacity as President, send Seal Team 6 to kill his political opponents and be immune?
It’s time to start figuring out how to defend our speech and information sources
SourceIt's worth listening to On The Media, interview with Masha Gassen, saying that the authoritarian government will want to define what's true and not. Since we now understand that most of the information flow now goes around the NYT, CNN etc -- even Fox, and largely through social web and podcasts, if that's where we're all getting our news from, and btw MSNBC are already pretty well limited in what they'll tell us (this was our beef with NYT if you recall) -- the next step is to make it impossible for us to hear what each other are saying. Now is the time to plant seeds for a defense of our speech and communication later.
Democratic mistakes
Biden should not have shut down his campaign website. Rather than using it to raise money to feed to the media industry, they should have organized and listened, to develop new channels of communication with voters that were not dependent on journalism. Every time the Dems run a campaign, win or lose, they shut down their connection to the electorate. The voters' only role in the party was when they needed our money and our vote. We were not part of governing. Huge mistake. And I'm not just saying that now, I've said that about every Democratic campaign since Obama. This is probably the biggest single mistake the Dems keep making.
This is a very good point.
The post I quote down here comes from my notes’ feed in FeedLand. With FeedLand by @scripting.com or @davew@mastodon.social I can collect and share news and blogs feeds, and I can also comment on them. Those comments have their own feed which I have brought into the Sources section of Micro.blog too, so they automatically show up on my timeline. I like it so far.
Qatar suspends role as mediator between Israel and Hamas
Qatar has suspended its efforts as a mediator in negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release between Israel and Hamas, the Qatari foreign ministry said late Saturday.
The Gulf country would resume its work when Hamas and Israel “show their willingness” to negotiate, the ministry said in a statement on X.
politico.eu
I hate that these serious announcements are still done in X.
Just show that darn willingness to negotiate, both Hamas and Netanyahu.
Qatar suspends role as mediator between Israel and Hamas
Qatar has suspended its efforts as a mediator in negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release between Israel and Hamas, the Qatari foreign ministry said late Saturday.
The Gulf country would resume its work when Hamas and Israel “show their willingness” to negotiate, the ministry said in a statement on X.
I hate it that these type of serious announcements are still done in X.
Just show that darn willingness to negotiate, both Hamas and Netanyahu.