Francesca Forrest's Blog, page 72

Kitchen guest

I wrote this just now. I think I'm calling it "kitchen guest"



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omiwatari

Sora News 24, an English-language aggregator of fun or interesting stories from Japan, featured this video under the headline "Experience the moment the local gods cross a frozen Lake Suwa." Krista Rogers writes,

When the lake’s surface freezes, pressure ridges form on the ice due to the presence of a natural hot spring beneath its waters. This awe-inspiring sight is known as omiwatari, which can be rendered into English along the lines of “gods’ crossing.” According to local lore, the ridges...

physics question

Your poem reminded me about some thoughts I'd been having re: weight/mass and gravity, amaebi !

If you imagine something the size of a baseball, but that you are unable to pick up because it's so heavy, then that item is going to affect the ground it's on more/differently than a baseball would. If the ground is soft, the uncannily heavy ball is going to sink into it more, right? And if it were so heavy that an earthmover couldn't lift it up, it would--under normal physics--probably sink deep in...

Provenance, by Ann Leckie

I loved it! Here's a non-spoilery review (duplicates what I've put up at Goodreads)

The book's called Provenance, and it's a perfect title, because where things--or people--come from and what (who) they really are is a central theme. The main character, Ingray, is the daughter of a powerful politician from the Hwae system--only actually she's a child from a public crèche, and that sense of her own insignificant roots weighs heavily on her and affects her actions. Hwae society is very wrapped...

A Spanish lesson with Lucio

Lucio Perez came to the United States from Guatemala in the 1990s, undocumented. He's worked here peacefully ever since and never been in any trouble, but he came to the attention of ICE in 2009 when he and his wife stepped into a Dunkin Donuts, leaving their kids in the car. Charges against him were dropped but--well, you can guess how the story goes. He ended up scheduled for deportation in October 2017. Instead, he took sanctuary in an Amherst church and has been there ever since.

Photo of...

parking lot treasure

The parking lot at the supermarket was thick with road salt, as if they're expecting a storm, but I don't think there's a storm coming.

It's not much to look at in this photo, but: all the white spots are salt crystals.



It was so beautiful up close, like gemstones:



You might gather them up and count yourself rich, only to have the dissolve if--well, if what? If you kept them in a velvet-lined box you'd probably never be the wiser. But if you tried to set them in silver or gold to wear at your ne...

This cat is very strange...

Last week's prompt for the students in Holyoke was "This cat is very strange ..." I did a couple of illustrations to go with some students' descriptions:

This cat looks like a dog. The cat ears are hanging to the floor, has a long tail but the cat skin is red and blue.

Then there was this cat:

I was in the park and I seen a cat with three eyes looking at a bird.

What did you think when you saw this three-eyed cat?

He has a better chance of catching the bird! LOL

A few students were suspicious of bl...

greens

A guy I follow on Twitter is doing a couple of polls about greens (the things you eat, not the members of the political party... I mean if you're a cannibal that distinction might not be valid but I suspect for most of you it is, plus--no capitalization!)

Here is a link.

For those of you as click-averse as I am, there are two groups of greens:

First group:

chard
collards
kale
spinach

Second group:

beet greens
cress
mustard greens
turnip greens

You have to choose your favorite for cooking in each group. (...

Tanna

Tanna is a love story based on a real-life incident that happened in the 1980s among the Yakel, a people of Vanuatu. I saw the gorgeous trailer for it some time back, and then ladyherenya 's posting about it the other day made me realize that I could now see it on DVD.

The film is acted by the Yakel themselves, playing themselves: Chief Charlie plays Chief Charlie, the shaman plays the shaman, and so on. The director (an Australian) and the actors would go over what was going to happen in each...

A wise old woman gives you an item...

A wise old woman gives you an item. She says it is very valuable. Why is it valuable?

Here are five items and eight interesting answers to the question: A wise old woman give you an item.

Excerpts:

From Victor:

The old wise woman I seen at an antique shop came and told me what is it that I seek in her sanctuary of wisdom and knowledge. I said to her that I am seeking a lock to protect stuff I put away.

From Reniell:

One day I was walking down the street, and this lady walk up and said, “Here, have...