Happy winter solstice!
After the longest night, today we welcomed the dawn and with it a triumphant sun. Promising from now on, longer days, as the cycle continues. And with it, renewed hope for more love in the world.
However you celebrate, or even if you don’t, Alban Arthan is upon us. Beannachtaí na gCeilteach ar an ghréasán geimhreadh!
#TheAction
It has begun. Fun, family, friends, and rememberings. Belly laughs and belly fulls as with tilted bottle, I celebrate this quiet magic, surrounded those I hold dear.
I wish the same or similar for you.
There has certainly been variety in my week. While on a dog walk I rescued a woman in her senior years who had fallen headfirst into a ditch. We’re now friends.
Midweek I attended the most human of funerals where my friend was the star, remembered with stories and love.
And then there was the creeping consumerism, the quest for the acquisition of trinkets and tools that may bring a flash of comfort to the recipient. We have done a decent job of working to lists. Spending less, repurposing and recycling more.
But from now on. Togetherness and festivities.
#ThePictures
“Respect for elders is not just a value but a necessity.”
Christmas before Christ.
The work of Tim Andraka
#TheWords
Looking forward to reading this retelling of Nineteen Eighty-Four from the point of view of Julia.
Curiosity has me wanting to find a copy of ‘Fellowship of the King’. I bet a few will physical copies will pop up here and there. Not checked other places yet.
If you are feeling the weight of the coming year, or that there are more years behind you then before you, this is worth a read.
Substack has Nazi’s on the books. But you most likely knew that as I have mentioned their lax moderation before. This is their reasoning. Thankfully I don’t see any of it in my interactions, but it’s still on my mind. A lot. If I can move and not break things I will. I know it will set me back. Especially in regards to losing the podcast. It might even have me knock it all on the head and focus on other things. Please share your thoughts on this. If you can’t comment, reply to the email and I will get back to you when I can.
After Tiny Letter and Mailchimp I thought this place would be it. It has all the tools I need. It’s hardly an ethical dilemma though. I wouldn’t drink in the same pub where haters were paid to spew their crap. And I’d unlikely have the patience to ‘rationalise’ with them.
#TheSound
It’s that time of year where I get to play my favourite Xmas song. But at the moment I’m listening to Three Million Moondogs On Acid. Looking forward to digging through some vinyl over the holiday.
#TheConsumed
There is a corner of this shed that guests quite like.
Whisky. Both poison and antidote in the same bottle. I have a lot of it because wine is often favoured with the family. Also whisky it’s one of those drinks to have with friends. And it’s not been the most sociable of years. Should you be passing though…
#TheThings
Like me, Andrew Foster is a fan of Tom Bihn bags. Like Tilley hat owners if you meet another Tom Bihn owner out and about, it’s certain you’re going to get on. It’s like being in a cult without any of the nasty side effects.
So when Andrew told me he was upgrading his Aeronaut for a new one I immediately asked if I could have first shout before it goes on eBay. He said I could have it. Not only that, when he dropped it round, he asked me if I wanted his old Synapse. (Old means broken in. If anything actually breaks TB bags have a lifetime warranty.) “Are you kidding?” I said.
I’ve been after a synapse for ages. I have a saved search on eBay so Andrew might as well of had a white beard and red hat as Christmas really did come early.
#TheThanks
There are some links at the bottom but this is shorter than usual as I still have some wrapping to do. Thank you for sticking with me. Some of you have done so for years. If you are able, please upgrade to become a paid supporter.
Interested to know your thoughts in the poll above, but unless Substack sorts out its moderation issues before the end of the year, I’ll be starting the arduous process of migrating elsewhere. If it looks like it might take a while i’ll suspend subscription. I have somewhere in mind. All going to plan you should hardly notice. In fact if you were planning to support my work, the evolution of this publication, and things going forward, please continue do so by hitting the button below. The Stripe payment side of things should migrate seamlessly with me. If the migration and costs involved look like a right royal (or expensive) pain in the ass I might sort out a fully private feed for just supporting subscribers and share occasionally to my neglected blog.
If you wanted to support this dispatch and not have Substack take a cut then a short term solution could be to send me a tip via PayPal or Monzo and i’ll bump you to full subscriber for a respectable time. Thank you for reading, replying, commenting etc.
#TheWeb
Rhianna Pratchett on her quest for mythical creatures
Another privacy effecting law being introduced.
Iceland or Greenland still not represented by the Documentally community map. Know anyone there?
A hedgehog without spikes.
Are you smarter than an LLM?
$42 Million to be put into fusion research.
Should you not see any emails in the new year, my other places include Letterboxd, GoodReads, FarceBook, Flickr, Strava, Untappd, Diaspora, Vivino, LinkedIn, YouTube, Mastodon, Signal, or search ‘Documentally’ on Wire, Birdsite or Bluesky. There’s a chance we can connect there.
Have a Lego minifig with your face. Not creepy at all.
AI beats humans in a physical game. Scroll down for the video.
If you buy me a coffee I will either use it to purchase beer or as it’s Christmas, most likely give it to charity.
#TheEnd
Till we meet again, look after yourself, and each other. Sit by the fire and read a book, spend time with friends, family or both, eat and drink something nice. Something good will happen.
“You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us. And the world will live as one.” ~ John Lennon
Hope.
See you out there.
Over…