Month: February 2023

K: Daily Communication

Midjourney Cat Portraiture. Bobbin’ with the waves.

Learned: big difference between Celebrex and Cymbalta. The word I can never recall (that I have peristil in the way of) is altar, which is lotèl in kreyòl. That feeling bad may be experienced as darkness. That a QR code is called a QR code. (I may put things here that refer to things I keep forgetting or that I almost learn.)

Grateful: for central heating that works; that my immune system can still heat up for a fight; that I can eat some dried fruit and a can of peaches and have something move; that my new neighbor Danny is turning out to be a considerate, good neighbor. 3+1.

Accomplished: I did Thursday while “coming down with something.” Had two significant bouts of fever and lived to tell. Cleared off the dressing table surface for the first time in years and set up my new “vanity” mirror (and it is pleasing with my few beautiful bottles of Shiseido Zen and Bravas). ⬅︎ Took that photo and did not retouch it. Trimmed a lot of tiny roots from the root system of a plant I’d like to revive.

Thinking about: my fear of becoming feverish again. I have had a few bouts of feverishness lately that hearken back to the times I was constantly feverish. I don’t like having a fever. It is difficult to be who I say I am when I have a fever. It is almost like being unconscious, or at least as useful when one wished to be conscious. Still, I get that the immune system is doing its thing, that it can be a bit painful, and I just need to roll with it. Thursday took something, and by 5:30 p.m., I was toast. Thinking of asking my doctor if I should switch from ibuprofen to Celebrex, but not sure why yet. Feeling toxed.

Saying this again (and again): What I really need is to have a habit of having breakfast and going for a walk. Or just the walk, get up and do it right now. That would be good. (As long as I’m not feverish.)

Super sweet and, at times, inspiring:

Reading/Listening/Watching right now: wanted to get some Liz Lemon zany comedy into my body so watched a bit of Mr. Mayor on FreeVee and some Girls5evah on Peacock. Mostly been zoned in on listening to 1947 film noir that I could turn away from and hopefully sleep through.

Seems: like I get thrown back, pulled back, or pushed back, even though I get there is no back.

Ecology of Practices: MOVED TO HERE:

A Quote About Hope:

“Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time, confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they may be.”

~ summarized by Jim Collins as the “Stockdale Paradox” 
found at emotionalcompetency.com/hope.htm


K: Daily Communication

Midjourney Portraiture. This is among the weirder ones that I still feel I can feature, even if it has some marks I am not 100% sure about and could use some eye-retouching for sure. He has some interesting cat tattoos that may be inspired by his strange scuba dreams. Again, I like the way some of these are rendered based on my bizarre prompting and am happy to be featuring some unretouched AI-assisted, illustrative portraiture here.

Learned: central heating system in the (old) flat is on the fritz since last Thursday. After several days of observance, I can point to the thermostat as the culprit, as when it is left set to full-blast, it comes on sometime in the afternoon to warm up the place, but when turned down and stopped because 74°F is plenty warm enough for now, it is done for the day. I like it around 68°F. Good thing we have space heaters and live in a fairly pleasant climate. Relearned, as I always have to, how one sets in “roman with quotation marks” articles vs. italicizes the titles of published works, according to the Chicago Manual of Style.

Grateful: that I live in a fairly pleasant climate; that the people currently buying the house I live in are super-responsive once I find them; that even when I am hindered, I have better energy than when I was stuck in fatigue. 3.

Accomplished: Made a tasty peach cake out of the peach cobbler I didn’t like the leftovers of very much, cutting out all the cobbler and adding it to a “Lightning Cake” from the Joy of Cooking. Dug the old radiating space heater out of storage so there will be one in each of our bedrooms, and put the wheel back on that was always breaking off. I get the old one, but it still works. I have been meaning to try space heating vs. heating the whole house. It may be happening without my making an “out loud request.” I have also deduced our central heating is down due to the thermostat malfunctioning, and not the furnace malfunctioning.

I also invited someone to be highlighted for the February 22nd “Last Wednesday” member event on Emergent Commons. (Go see if you want to join!) They have mostly said yes, I just need to confirm that it is a FIRM yes, and go from there.

Thinking about: expanding on the idea of cleansing by pausing the Chlorofresh supplement, which keeps me smelling sweet but does provide a hefty copper dose of 4.5mg per dose. I have been taking it twice a day for many years. Let me stop for a bit and see the difference. I am currently suspect of everything I have been doing unchecked for many years, AND I don’t wish to smell bad! But I am resolved to test out living without them for a while.

Saying this again: What I really need is to have a habit of having breakfast and going for a walk. Or just the walk, get up and do it right now. That would be good.

Meet two charming young men who are live players in the sensemaking scene:

It’s Patrick and Stefan, my new friends, who are leading a conversation about something that is possible, including what is already happening, plus, they’re adorable!

Reading/Listening/Watching right now: I finished watching The Patient on Hulu. It was creepy but did a great job of attempting to humanize a serial killer. Also found more episodes of The Leftovers on HBO which is a truly weird story. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (Guardian review). I started listening and couldn’t turn it off for a whole day. A good match for my brain, thinking about Being.

Seems: we are starting over with this one. I can go back to the record if I need to say it again.

Ecology of Practices: MOVED TO HERE:

A Quote About Hope:

“Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time, confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they may be.”

~ summarized by Jim Collins as the “Stockdale Paradox” 
found at emotionalcompetency.com/hope.htm


K: Daily Communication

Again, Midjourney and I are getting better at making portraits. I think this one is particularly beautiful, as a person would be if they looked like this. The Prompt: A monolithic bronze statue of the number “250”, swirling botanicals, technically correct illustration surrounding a portrait of an elegant young Nigerian man being earnest, rendered slowly, studied carefully, uncomplicated, realistic, cinematic lighting –no blur –v 4 –v 3. It doesn’t seem to make much difference which number I put, and I will experiment with running some without it, but I do like the way these are rendering and have been wanting to feature some unretouched portraiture here.

Learned: from a story on NPR on the amazing Ryuichi Sakamoto, who is dealing with what sounds like a serious bout of cancer, Alejandro González Iñárritu said, “silence is the source of music.” About a series of writings under the heading of “33-1/3” that is mused upon musical record albums.

Grateful: that I’ve reached a period of cleansing; that I can venture out farther on my walks than I have been able to for years; that if I take it break from a dietary program I’m attempting, it doesn’t do much damage. 3.

Accomplished: secured an appointment with Dr. Randall Go, O.D., as recommended by my pal Sophie, and found that he is a provider within my healthcare network, so it’s covered. Took down and tossed the filthy curtain in the corner of the kitchen and replaced it with a bright new sheer. Cut my contacts list almost in half, removing many unknown entries, names I spoke to once or twice, and some folks who are no longer with us. Walked three times this week. 3+.

Thinking about: I always have an earworm, and it seems linked to radio listening from my youth. When I listen to NPR, which is rare, the stories seem to expose something but most do not delve as deeply as I thought they used to. The idea of listening to the radio still appeals to me, but the quality of programming I except seems not to be there. And, if I don’t get these out the day I start them, some of the stuff I said is no longer alive for me. Hmph.

Saying this again: What I really need is to have a habit of having breakfast and going for a walk. Or just the walk, get up and do it right now. That would be good.

Watch & learn:

Looking back a slice of British Black History through portraiture and costume.

Reading/Listening/Watching right now: I finished watching “Hot Skull” on Netflix. It is dystopian, and it is attempting to comment on something that we are also attempting to comment on. Also watched “The Bear” on Hulu. Pretty good, not a comedy. Listening to “Hi Ren” (on YouTube, a phenomenal performance of how one really works within their Self, with the little voice on loudspeaker.

Seems: we are starting over with this one. I can go back to the record if I need to say it again.

Ecology of Practices: MOVED TO HERE:

A Quote About Hope:

“Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time, confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they may be.”

~ summarized by Jim Collins as the “Stockdale Paradox” 
found at emotionalcompetency.com/hope.htm