April 17, 2024
Last year there were four eggs but just one chick survived. Hoping for more than half a chick this year.
April 10, 2024
Today is the 10th anniversary of my legal name change. A five minute hearing at Pgh's City County Bldg. in front of an old Irish judge named O'Reilly, who spent most of the time cussing out the two attorneys who helped me (thru a pro bono initiative called the Name Change Project) for cheating on their service requirement. I went to a SSA office after that to change my legal gender designation. The past ten years have been challenging, but I can honestly say that I'm happier than I've ever been.
April 10, 2024
I've
had this poinsettia for about a year and a half. I lost the last of the
red leaves (blossoms?) sometime last year -- summer, I think -- but the
plant itself had doubled in size (at least) by then, and is still that
large. Over the past few weeks, I've started getting some new red
leaves. This is the biggest cluster.
April 6, 2024
After an 11th hour change in plans, I decided to go see Dune 2 last night. I haven't seen the first film, but know the general outlines of the story, so I was able to follow along without any major problems. The film is visually stunning, and I also really liked its slower pace -- the fact that it took its time letting things unfold rather than trying to feed the adrenaline junkies in the movie-going public. But I otherwise can't say that I was wowed by it. In terms of its script and acting, Dune 2 felt like Avatar made by the Game of Thrones production team with a less hamfisted Great White Father racial overlay. Having only read part of the first of the novels when I was a teen, I'm curious how much of the latter comes from Herbert's trilogy. (For a comparison, without a radical rewrite, Lord of the Rings is marred by Tolkien's racism and arch-conservative politics.) In any event, Dune 2 is good escapism, and for $10 at the Manor with a can of Guinness for company, it was a fun way to close out my Friday.