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Posts Tagged ‘Grace’

Blue Skies Above

Posted in Biography, History, Miscellaneous, Perception, Philosophy, Tyranny, Words, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »

They'll need to figure out how to send a letter back in time to threaten Warner Brothers as well.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-14T18:02:09.514Z

This is called "the martial arts".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-17T04:09:51.125Z

I reckon this must be a tataille, because it sure ain't a lougarou.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-17T17:54:41.692Z

"When somebody offers you a seat on the rocket ship, just get on" http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5…

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-18T03:50:10.197Z

Reporters, please stop saying "pod" to mean "cell block". Imprisoned people are neither whales nor alien body snatchers; they don't come from "pods". Just because the monsters in the US carceral system use euphemisms to hide their evil, doesn't mean you need to parrot them.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-19T16:59:03.072Z

If you think THAT'S something, just wait until you see Ram Man.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T04:12:32.430Z

People are doing "10 bands you've seen live" on Twitter & it keeps reminding me of Grace, who was a studio musician for years. Once we were at a party where this girl was bragging about getting backstage passes & Grace said to me, "I've *blown* more big name rock stars than she's seen in concert."

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T16:52:25.724Z

"Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them." – Frank Herbert, "Dune"

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-22T17:29:39.662Z

It boggled my mind that a restaurant would be named after a dessert. It still does. I mean, nobody goes to "Flan Bell" or "Hand Pie King" or "Spumone Hut".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-23T18:42:01.117Z

No D&D player should be surprised when a high-level cleric quotes a high-level wizard.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-25T17:06:01.707Z

Crypto-moralists never let little things like facts get in the way of barfing the word "unhealthy" in people's faces every time they do anything more exciting than eating raw vegetables & water once a day after their toil & drudgery, then going to sleep on the floor in an un-climate-controlled room.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-26T16:52:56.642Z

"Are we just going to give up and breathe?""Are we just going to give up and eat?""Are we just going to give up and be affected by gravity?""Are we just going to give up and have mass?""Are we just going to give up and emit heat?"This is what you sound like to sane people.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-27T17:35:31.457Z

You'd think that after all these decades as an adult, I'd have grown jaded enough to feel something milder than utter contempt for nitwits who believe the entire world of human political thought can be reduced to a single one-dimensional axis. But in actuality, my contempt merely grows more bitter.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-29T17:23:12.409Z

If you're a scientist on social media who wants to be accepted as an authority in your field, it's probably a bad idea to claim that a cause can be responsible for "more than 100%" of an observed effect.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-30T17:01:30.319Z

"Trump is acting like an authoritarian" = "Einstein is acting like a scientist" = "Streisand is acting like a diva" = "Spielberg is acting like a director" = "Kermit is acting like a Muppet" = "Lassie is acting like a dog" = "Yersinia pestis is acting like a disease organism".

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-05-31T17:08:54.673Z

Hey fellow old folks, remember the late '80s, when food companies were trying to cram oat bran into everything because "nutritionists" told the hoi-polloi it had magical life-extension powers?Some things never change.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-01T17:10:49.087Z

Sooner or later, sensible people will need to just tell anti-immigration bigots to go to hell. archive.is/ZwLwc

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-02T17:26:11.101Z

Also, electricity and the microcomputer actually did most of what they were claimed to be able to do.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-04T03:33:10.119Z

Imagine having enough money to do basically anything which doesn't actually violate physical laws, and instead choosing to live your life like this.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-04T17:58:36.047Z

The heckler's veto as US government policy.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-05T17:57:26.404Z

Nobody who ever watched a single episode of any '60s spy show involving double agents should be surprised at this.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-07T17:51:58.453Z

You know how "I had sex with your dad" has become a way for sex workers to mock squares? Well, I had sex with a lot of people's grandpas. A lot of great-grandpas too.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-09T17:31:16.476Z

Fucking a lot of people of both sexes, reading omnivorously, writing A+ essays, running a D&D campaign, hanging out with my friends and predicting the eventual disasters that would result from bad US politics?Yep, checks out.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-10T17:31:49.443Z

I know it's difficult for males stuck at 12, but not everything is a pissing contest.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-11T17:21:28.738Z

Can we please stop saying [name of Trumpified institution] to mean "Trump"? Don't tell me "The Pentagon" or "The Department of Justice" or "The Kennedy Center" did something; the management of those places are just sock puppets speaking in Trump's voice, like an evil Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-12T17:30:43.841Z

"Mythos".They are taunting y'all, and few are literate enough to recognize it.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-13T17:38:37.133Z

Doctor Dolittle books. As players rise in levels, they learn more animal languages and gain more animal helpers. Experience is earned by traveling around the world, making friends with animals & with people of different races; by finding unique beings; and by visiting fantastic places like the Moon.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-15T03:51:15.730Z

If it looks like a circle jerk, sounds like a circle jerk, smells like a circle jerk, and jerks around like a circle jerk, it's probably a circle jerk.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-17T04:07:56.859Z

One of the most important causes of the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-17T18:05:59.672Z

People who accept domination by "leaders" cannot be free.

— Maggie McNeill (@maggiemcneill.bsky.social) 2026-06-18T18:42:45.618Z

 

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Diary #833

Posted in Diary, Philosophy, tagged , , , , on June 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

After talking to a large animal vet back in November, I knew Jonathan didn’t have much time left, but I wasn’t sure exactly what the end would look like for him.  He’s had a couple more of those fainting spells, but on those occasions I was able to help him up.  But last week he was uninterested in his feed, then on Thursday our neighbor who borrows barn space from us came by and found him lying on the barn floor, refusing to get up.  It was very obvious he was suffering, so the neighbor offered to have his son-in-law, who is good at such things, come over to put him down.  A few years ago, we rented an earth-mover to do a few things, and Grace dug a big hole out front we were planning to use to put a transplanted rhododendron in.  But due to miscommunication, she dug the hole much too deep, and due to other issues we never got the rhododendron, so we’ve had a pit large enough for a llama out there ever since.  I therefore accepted the neighbor’s help, and he used his tractor to bury Jonathan in the pit.  He had a good life, and it was his time, but it’s going to seem rather strange to have no llamas around for the first time in 20 years.  And now that Trip and Speck are the only two beings left who moved here with me from Oklahoma, it does contribute to the strange yet not upsetting feeling that my world is contracting, as it so often does as we move slowly toward the day when we, too, must pass.

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In Memory of Grace

Posted in Biography, Holidays, tagged , on June 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

From here on out, I intend to commemorate Grace’s birthday with a depiction of an eternal flame, symbolizing my undying love for my departed best friend, who would have turned 68 today.

I love you, sweetheart, and I always will.

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Soup for One

Posted in Miscellaneous, tagged , , on June 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

If you’re anything like me, every so often you’ll run into a recipe that sounds intriguing, and you note it for possible use later. Some years ago, I was in an international grocery store (IIRC I was buying tahini) and I happened to notice this recipe on another container., so I took a picture with my cell phone to save it.  Now, West African cooking may sound exotic to many of y’all, but Louisiana creole cuisine is largely a fusion of French, West African, and Caribbean elements, so I thought it might be something I’d like.  Alas, in her final years Grace did not have an adventurous palate; she was not at all interested in trying new dishes, but instead wanted her favorites.  So this photo sat in a folder of my phone until recently, when I decided I wanted to make some new kind of soup and remembered this recipe.  As I looked at it some instructions struck me as odd, which I assume may be due to differences in how ranges are calibrated or that sort of thing.  So I not only cut the recipe in half, but adjusted it in other ways as I thought best, and I found the finished product quite tasty.  So here’s my modified version; it made enough for me to have a large bowl that night (which I ate with crackers) with a large mug left over (which I had with a sandwich a few nights later).  If you double it, the amount would be sufficient for three dinner-size bowls.

1 boneless chicken breast, about 12-16 oz
1/2 bell pepper
1/2 medium onion
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
2 tbsp peanut butter (creamy)
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper

1) Cut chicken into bite-sized cubes; cook in any oil (I used bacon grease) over medium heat in a 2-quart saucepan until no longer pink.  Sprinkle in salt, reduce heat, and set timer for 10 minutes.

2) Cut bell pepper and onion into several pieces each; put them together in a food processor and pulse 6 or 7 times until pureed.  Pour puree over meat, stir well and allow to continue simmering.

3) Dump tomato paste over meat mixture; stir until mixed well and continue simmering.

4) In a bowl, mix peanut butter and red pepper with 1/4 cup water until fairly smooth.  Add to pot and mix well.

5) When timer runs out, add remaining 2 cups of water, increase heat to medium, and mix well; bring to boiling, then reduce heat, cover, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

I found the soup pleasantly spicy (not hot; I’d imagine it would be mild enough for people who order 1 or 2 stars of spiciness at restaurants), with a good flavor that really didn’t taste peanutty to me.  The original recipe says beef can be used, but that doesn’t really sound as good to me (plus more expensive these days); I think pork might work well too, though I personally wouldn’t use fish.  Since it was pretty simple, relatively quick (roughly 30 minutes once the chicken was defrosted), and tasty, I’ll definitely make it again.  Bon appétit!

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Black Throwback Thursday

Posted in Biography, Miscellaneous, Philosophy, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Why must I always be put in a position where yelling at some poor working stiff who absolutely isn’t being paid enough to deal with me is the only way to actually get my problem solved?
–  “Customer Disservice”

I figured out at a fairly young age that when anyone demanded obedience, belief, or trust because they had an Important Title or were simply bigger than me, rather than for some reason they could logically explain, that it was usually because they had no sound reason, and therefore were not to be trusted, believed, or obeyed.
–  “Getting Away from the Grownups”

God-king wannabes…[a]re not only trying to eliminate thoughts they don’t like, but also to cram young heads so full of nonsense that there is no room for actual learning…when their victims mature enough to escape their direct control.  –  “Censorship by Commission”

One simple definition of a “friend” could be, “Someone who is there for you when you need them.”  –  “Diary #780“

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This Too Shall Pass

Posted in Biography, Diary, Philosophy, tagged , , , , , on June 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Trauma, like everything else, is typically effaced by time.  The anniversary of the events of Memorial Day, 1995 still affected me deeply at the 24-year mark, but once I moved to Sunset full-time the following year, those old serpents began to grow quieter; last year they were overshadowed by the death of my best friend, and this year the anniversary was marked by little more than unpleasant memories despite spending it alone, which in the past was a bad idea.  The weathering away of the aftereffects of trauma appears to have been mostly the result of a combination of time, therapy, and daily cannabis usage, but I can’t discount the contributions made by age, wisdom, and perspective.  Those who fear mortality are fixated on the fact that all good things die, ignoring the fact that bad things do as well.  Spiritual immaturity obsesses about the former to the exclusion of the latter, but the insight which comes in the fullness of time, assuming we allow it to, brings the realization that this is not only as it should be, but as it must be.  And, if we’re fortunate, the recognition that this is not only good, but beautiful.

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Diary #831

Posted in Diary, tagged , , , on June 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

What you’re looking at here is the ring which joins the plumbing of my hot tub to the heater; the flashlight is necessary because even in broad daylight it’s pretty dark in the basement.  As I learned three years ago, when there’s a leak it’s typically because a two-dollar rubber o-ring needs replacement.  But my body has aged considerably in the past three years, so it was much more tiring and unpleasant than it was last time, and I experienced nearly as much anxiety around the process as I did last time despite knowing exactly what needed to be done.  That’s how it has been with nearly every technical problem since Grace died; even when it was something she could no longer do (like crawling under the floor or climbing up on the roof), I could rely on her technical expertise to guide me, and because I had faith in her ability I wasn’t as reluctant to attempt things I’d never done before (like welding a steel structure together).  In contrast, I now experience considerable anxiety every time something technical needs doing; I even put off changing the main water-system filter for the entire last year because I was worried something might go wrong (I finally did it recently and of course it was fine).  About 30 years ago my friend Frank said that tragedies are multiplied by the inconveniences they spawn, and I’ve had the truth of that ground into my heart every time I have a technical problem, because every time it does and she’s not there to fix it herself or tell me how to fix it, I am reminded of the huge Grace-shaped hole in my life.

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Zombie Throwback Thursday

Posted in Biography, History, Miscellaneous, Perception, Tyranny, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

The first prohibitionist laws date to the late 19th century, but it was in the 20th that the concept…penetrated the minds of the general public so thoroughly that most took it for granted that for governments to tell people what they could consume, what they could own, and even what thoughts they could have…was not only normal, but desirable.  –  “Leaving the 20th Century”

If you find an article interesting, infuriating, or whatever, you can follow the thread of references back through similar articles, often for years, while marveling at the obsessive lengths and depths to which my librarian’s brain will go to impose order on chaos.  –  “Rabbit Hole”

Copsucking reporters waste considerable space quoting boss pigs oinking about how typical and representative cops aren’t really typical or representative.  –  “Creepy Coppers (#1418)”

I have never broken a promise to [Grace] in the past and I’m not going to start now merely because she’s not in a position to remind me.  –  “Diary 766“

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A Year Gone

Posted in Diary, Music, Philosophy, tagged , , , , , on January 25, 2026| 1 Comment »

One year ago today, at about 2 AM, I lost my best friend to what appears to have been an acute ischemic stroke, brought on by cancer, chemotherapy, and long-standing circulatory issues.  We had known for years that her end was approaching, and had I not refused to see them, there were clear signs that it would be sooner rather than later.  But human beings are very good at failing to see what we do not want to see, and I’m certainly no exception; I’m sure part of the reason was that I wanted to maintain a positive outlook to help her do the same, but most of it was just that I’ve already had so much pain and loss in my life I did not want to consciously face what even our idioms recognize as among the worst misfortunes that can befall a person.

Whenever a friend suffers a loss, we are moved to try to say something, anything, to assuage their pain; some of those things are helpful and some are not.  But of the things my friends said to me, two stand out, and I still think of them often.  One of them is philosophical:  Grief is the price we pay for love.  Indeed, people who have suffered emotionally sometimes become afraid of love because they fear the pain that must come when we must part from the loved one, and the greater the love, the greater the pain.  The other helpful thing was more practical: The waves of grief never stop coming, but they do grow further apart.  For the first few weeks after her passing I thought of little else, then for most of last year the waves came at least daily; in more recent months they’ve come two or three times a week.  They have not yet become less intense, though I’m sure that, too, will happen in the fullness of time.

As I knew I would through long experience, I have tried to cope with the grief by retreating a bit from the world and burying myself in my work; the most important product of that work is a new series of pulp-style adventure stories featuring characters based upon Grace and myself, in which the narratives are suffused with my thoughts on friendship in general and our friendship in particular.  They’re the longest and most complex individual works I’ve ever written, and the next project in the series will be my first novel.  And the many hours it takes to create them not only feel like a way for me to share Grace with the world, but also a means by which I can squeeze just a little more time with her out of a world which took her from me much too soon.

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Love At First Sight

Posted in Biography, Philosophy, tagged , , on January 9, 2026| 2 Comments »

I have often written about the fallacy that romantic love is superior to other forms of love:

I honestly feel sorry for those who truly believe that the best way to “connect” with other people is by boinking them, and the notion that people must boink to feel “connected” is a tragedy.  Sexual relationships are held up as the pinnacle of human interaction, but they’re not even close; they’re in fact nearer the bottom because they’re extremely conditional.

I have always felt very strongly about this, ever since I first started really thinking about the matter before I was out of my teens.  Part of the fallacy holds that romantic love is somehow intrinsically different from other kinds of love, but I don’t think that’s true either.  Take “love at first sight”, for example; we only ever hear the term applied to romantic love, even though the idea that it represents something other than plain animal lust in that context is highly dubious.  And yet there are certainly cases in which another kind of love manifests itself at first meeting.  The very first time I really thought of that was in a fictional context: in the movie The Emerald Forest, a tribal chief in the Amazon abducts the son of an engineer surveying for a dam project, and years later he explains to the father that he had fallen in paternal love with the boy at first sight, and could not bear to see him go back to “The Dead World” of concrete and steel which the natives feared and hated.

Over the next several decades I saw other examples in both fiction and real life, culminating in one I experienced myself.  In November of 1997 I met Grace at a party and she gave me a ride home; we hit it off immediately, and within weeks I’d received an actual paper letter from her in the mail.  After a few more letters were exchanged, she told me she wanted to move down to New Orleans from her father’s place in Monroe, Louisiana, where she currently lived; I invited her to move in with me, and she never moved out.  From that very first meeting she was as devoted to me as any sister; there was never any sexual chemistry, and in any case Grace was only sexually interested in men.  But looking back to those times, I have no better term for the rapid bonding she experienced and demonstrated than “love at first sight”.  And it would be wrong to pretend otherwise merely because it was not romantic love.

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