Thursday Open Thread ~ "What are you reading?" edition ~ Shirley Jackson
Submitted by phillybluesfan on Thu, 06/24/2021 - 5:00am
My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in my family is dead.
When was the last time an opening paragraph grabbed your attention and kept you reading?
Comments
Sad news from Miami
Miami-area condo collapses, killing at least 1 person
Good news for the fires I hope:
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
I think the death toll is going to be staggering
Here is the video of the collapse and it wasn't just one building, but at least 2.
Trouble embedding so heres the link. Tired of editing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR29pLccutY
Scientists are concerned that conspiracy theories may die out if they keep coming true at the current alarming rate.
Good morning Philly, et. al. An interesting author
to kick off one's day with:
"Should you find the horrors of the morning news insufficient, try this!"
So, wanna know what's weird. Some photo set of the miami - surfside building collapse showed a member of the rescue team near a vehicle clearly marked "Collapse Unit". I mean, this happens enough that they have a dedicated first-responder unit specifically for collapses. WHAT? or maybe even wat.
My world - in my weekly cycle, Thursday is a Bonus day. When not used as a travel day, as in off to Sonoma, The Coast or somesuch more of less local, and often purposive daytrip, a free day. Truth be told, that makes it a catch up and try to get more or less organized day. Today it is, among other things, a day to deep water the Orange, Pear and Bay trees, weed the little strip between our driveway and the neighbors, work on OTs and make 1) a large pot of mixed brown rice and lentils, and 2) some sort of dinner.
I've also got something that might pass for a psa, at least for the voting public amongst us, which I guess I'll throw up there about now.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
They have had a lot of sinkholes
that may be what collapse unit is for.
Seems to me there is something wrong with building code if the side of a residential building can just collapse.
sometimes it isn't the code, but the contractors.
There was a notorious case years ago of a company that shorted every concrete mix it poured and used the "free cement" thusly acquired for other projects, either personal, or highly profitable small and mid-sized projects thanks to having free cement to use on them.
Inspectors will check the placement of rebar, but rarely whether it is good quality material or cheap crap from some fly-by-night outfit, etc.
Sinkholes, however, are something else, though maybe due diligence would detect their likelihood (or not, I'm pretty sure it is a case by case thing).
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --