Dark Looks

Having now watched Denis Villeneuve's Dune  and had a night's sleep, some reflections in the form of one-ish-liners my brain decided it liked. I will add to this as more occur to me. NB: Dune  lives rent-free in my head, and has for decades. Like everyone who read Dune  as a 14 year old, I wrote a 30k word fanfic sequel to Chapterhouse Dune  because I was pissed off about how Darwi Odrade and Taraza got treated. In other words, I am invested . One: this is nothing like the book in my head. Two: this is almost perfectly what the book in my head should have looked like. (See 19 below.) Three: Where is the pug? Four: I thank a benevolent universe for the absence of Weirding Modules. I mean. I cannot imagine how Lynch would have equipped the Honoured Matres. Actually I can. Now I need a bath. Five: this rattled through at a cracking pace, compared to the book.  Six: the guy I saw it with fell asleep halfway through because it moved so slowly Seven: It's a wordless audiovisual p

In any informal description of a formal process, the word ‘should’ can be replaced by one of ‘won’t’ ‘doesn’t’ or ‘don’t’ with no change in truth-value. 

I’ve yet to find a decent word for someone who owns the right amount of stuff. I can call myself a hoarder, a pack rat, a minimalist (with stern connotations of austere emptiness), but I have no ready word for being in harmony or balance with what I own.  Thinking about moving, and slightly intimidated by the prospect of putting 46 mini-USB cables, twelve souvenir mugs, three pairs of pliers, six sets of bedding (and so on very much ad nauseam) in the right box when packing time came, I wanted to find that balance for which I had no word.  And so I came, as inevitably as the change of season, to Marie Kondo and _The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up_, a master’s thesis on supporting the refuse and recycling industry in these Unprecedented Times.  Booking out an entire weekend, I dutifully read and reread, followed along in order, and am now 80% done and starting to form my first conclusions.  A wise old friend remarked that “she’s done very well to turn a mental illness into a career,”

As I was searching for a  - well, you know what, it doesn't matter what I was searching for - I discovered that you can buy "cosies" for white goods. Yes, the market has brought us, in its wisdom, chintz-and-lace based camo for your domestic appliances. Look on these works, ye mighty, and despair: "How can I make my washing machine look less out of place in the drawing room? Maybe... yes, some lace and a cactus, that's the answer." If you have ever wished your fridge-freezer had faux tapestry pockets, your wishes are granted. Say goodbye to your unsightly television, and welcome into the world your new Louis XIV television drapes (let's be clear, this is a SIXTY-FIVE INCH TV here... Amazon listing is "LCD TV Dust Cover Monitor Cover Need To Be Removed Cover Cloth protective sleeves (Color: Mimi Dream, Size: 65inch)" and I certainly agree with the "Need To Be Removed" bit.... Prevent dangerous, unsightly microwave energy with this beau