Literally fifteen minutes ago I talked to my sister about the illustrated "The Hobbit" with the oversized Gollum by Tove Jameson. And now this pops up. Sometimes you really get the impression that your smartphone watches you all of the time. But in this case it is really just coincidence.

I recently thought to myself I should find out what the most wholesome sentence was that I ever read in fiction. This is from "A Close and Common Orbit" from Becky Chambers. It is not a dramatic or impactful sentence, but gives me warm feelings whenever I read it.

I made ink from sloe bark using a medieval recipe. The result is like a varnish that can be dried to be reused later. Unfortunately it can't be used in fountain pens since it would glue it shut very quickly and since it is not very dark you have to use a lot of fluid. #fountainpen

InCase has completed his webcomic "Alfie" with a very nice epilogue. I want to voice my appreciation for this. What started out so long ago as a simple porn webcomic has evolved into a tale with flawed but lovable characters that readers really cared about. Thanks for wrapping it up satisfyingly!

This site needs a break. Post 3 good things, none of which are the cessation of a negative. 1. The sun coming out after a rainy night in May 2. Polar lights 3. Mountain hiking

In my local bookshop I saw that there is now a german hardcover "The Hobbit" with illustrations by Tove Jansson! They even gave it a nice retro look and feel! I wonder if it has that oversized Gollum image! Tolkien rewrote parts of the book because of that. He hadn't specify Gollum's size before.

I gave the show until March until I would give up hope that the full season of Knights of Guinevere would be greenlit. Well, it got closer to it than I would have liked but better late than never! #KOG www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oC8...

I had nightmares about my fingers getting stuck in the holes of bowling balls causing my fingers to snap. 😬 Luckily whenever I go bowling I find out that it is not a problem at all.

Alright, YouTube did NOT like how the video was packaged, so let's try out a new title and thumbnail. I hate that it's mostly about Sunstone since there's so much more to talk about, but hopefully it gets folks through the door and they stick around for the rest. www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3BV...

"The blood was only ever a means to an end," the vampire confessed in the interview. "To what end?" the reporter asked. "Blood carries vigor, life force, vital energy. That's what we feed on." "So how do you get it, if not through blood?" "These days, we make doom scrolling apps to drain it."

I recently purchased a collection of Barock Inks. I really like those shadings. But I was shocked of all the feathering. It happens on my Paperblank books where I write 70% of the time. I know Paperblank paper varies in quality, but feathering never happend with Pelikan. (on the right) #fountainpens

I saw #Avatar - Fire and Ash yesterday. I am someone who absolutely loved the first movie and saw it seven times in the cinema. But I think if there is another Avatar movie, I will stay at home. This felt so much like an overlong episode in a TV superhero series. And I am tired of superhero movies.

Our Nativity Set this year. It was done in haste because we ran out of time and it was very, very cold. But has been our family tradition since forever it seems to have one. We used to have them inside but eventually decided more people would see it from the street.

Just today we were talking about songs that are being played on the radio every year. How sad it is that the most recent of them is still several decades old. I also said that of all those I liked Chris Rea's "Driving Home for Christmas" most. Then I go home and have to read he has died...

Linguists once voted "Habseligkeiten" as the most beautiful german word. It is a somewhat antiquated word for "belongings". I agree, it is a very beautiful word. People protested that "Liebe" ("love") should have been it. I disagree. It lacks the playfulness and charm.

Okay: Strangest name ever of a band that I have listened to an album of: King Gizzard & the Wizard Lizard. The album was also a bit strange, which is one reason why I listened to it. Because it supposedly featured a song with each of the seven modes of the major scale, even Locrian!

Whenever I make a slipcase out of cardboard I glue some small steps of silk in the edges. That makes the end product almost indestructible.

yknow.... with all the white collar, political corruption, and investment scam crimes everywhere all the time, it's kinda refreshing to see a good old fashioned heist in the news

I realize that many think that in the old DnD alignment system, "true neutral" is basically the boring alignment. I disagree. A couple of months ago I realized that some of my most favourite characters in fiction are in fact true neutral. I will list some of them. #dnd

I have just watched "Murder Drones". I'm afraid that by episode 5 I stopped caring what it was about and by episode 7 I was just watching stuff happening. Maybe I look up a source that will explain it all to me eventually. However, I have to applaud the production value and diligence. #murderdrones

Shout-out to a defunct german Rock band of the early 2000s: NoCreeps. A band with a lot of potential that unfortunately never materialized. Especially the singer, who had an awesome voice. Here is what my favourite song of that band: "R.I.P." www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojFx...

I just saw "Knights of Guinevere" and enjoyed it immensely. However, going forward, I have some serious questions: Where will the series be distributed? What is Glitch Productions' business plan? For the life of me, I can't imagine that this show will finance itself just by Youtube clicks.

I love this handwriting font on the label of my old Phil Collins record.

I first watched Sumo in 1995 when the whole first division was in Bercy for a three day tournament. I have followed that sport on and off since them. But looking back, I would have to say Sumo never had that range of great athletes again.

I discovered "The Little Trashmaid" A comic that tackles the sad topic of oceanic pollution in a surprisingly upbeat and funny way. I just adore the cheerful and optimistic disposition of the protagonist. A comic without dialogue, it is sometimes a bit hard to get every joke but it is worth reading.

I have to admit to a guilty pleasure of mine. In an american diner in Nuremberg they actually have root beer. Nobody I have ever known likes that stuff. But I order it every time. Apparently there aren't many like me. Once they mistook my order for Rotbier. (Red Beer)

I made some ink out of blackthorn bark like they did in the Middle Ages. I tried using it in a cheap fountain pen but found out that it is not dark enough. It is probably for the best: That ink is basically varnish and would likely glue the fountain pen shut. #fountainpen

In full respect, I think the headline should not be "Ozzy Osbourne died aged 76" but "Ozzy Osbourne lived for 76 years!"

"You know that creature, je ne sais pas, what is it called?" "Which creature?" "You know, it is really clever, and then it's stupid, and you can tell it what to do and sometimes to does it but you can't be sure, and some find it fascinating..." "Heh, sounds almost like ChatGP-" "Out! Le chat!"

Yesterday I saw Dream Theater in my first concert since about 25 years. I have to say it was great that Mike Portnoy was back. Mike Mangini was a great drummer and got the job done. But Portnoy radiated a joy of playing that illuminated the whole show!

Listened to Ghost's new album. And watched reaction videos of it. Really, to all those Heavy Metal fans who are criticize them for not being pure metal or ABBA for wannabe satanists. LIGHTEN UP! If there's a band that can put such joy to the faces of listeners that is a win in every regard IMO!

Rahvin's decided to lend his... unique talents to the #SaveWOT cause for #ForsakenFriday. No arguments, just Compulsion. 😉 We were robbed of seeing his long game play out! Add your (uncompelled) voice: savewot.com #TheWheelofTime

Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of comic book and sci-fi writer Peter David, who passed away last night following a long illness. Incredible Hulk, X-Factor, Star Trek...so many fond memories of him and his work.

After turning away from Duolingo I had difficulty finding any kind of interactive way to keep learning Irish. I am going to try AI. Trying out gaeilgeoir.ai wasn't satisfying. I cancelled the subscription after the free trial. I had better results going directly to chatgpt. #Irish #Gaeilge

I used to rate The Rings of Power behind the Wheel of Time which didn't say much since I thought the Wheel of Time was somewhat nice but still underwhelming. Now it's third season has started and the second episode alone has more great scenes than the whole TROP series so far! #TheWheelOfTime

Der Merkur ist für nächsten Tage zu sehen. Bereits jetzt Recht gut bei klarem Wetter und es wird noch viel besser! Schaut einfach Richtung Venus. Der kleine "Stern" darunter ist der Merkur! #Mercury

"Lightforce" is a mostly forgotten #C64 game with a famous SID soundtrack by Rob Hubbard. I want to remind everyone that there is an awesome modern interpretation of that tune by Mind-in-a-Box. The album R.E.T.R.O is highly recommended as a whole. #retrogaming

I just listened to a best of ABBA and was surprised to discover a couple of good songs I never heard before. In fact, I think "When all is said and done" might be my new favourite ABBA song. Looks like it was quite a late one. #abba

Playing "Attack of the Petscii Robots" C128 edition. With dual monitor setup! It feels so good to finally have a game that utilizes the full capabilities of that machine, even if it is about 35 years late. #c128 #retrogaming #8bitguy

Personally it is not the missing customer support that bothers me most with Duolingo since I do not use a subscription and wouldn't pay for it. But that they replaced all human voices with AI (that is not only bad but in many cases wrong) in the Irish course. sign.moveon.org/petitions/du...

I recently discovered "Violet", a young german rock band that set out to recreate the style of 80's Rock and succeeds spectacularly. #Rock

Last weekend I purchased a couple of comics and I said it before and I'll say it again: Whoever brought up the idea to print comics on glossy paper was setting off a troubling trend. It just isn't fun any more to have to carefully choose your angle of reading! #comics #monstress

I finished building a case for my Greaseweazle board. It is probably highly overengineered but works perfectly. #retrocomputing

I have to admit: When Notre Dame burned down and Macron announced to rebuild it within five years I thought "Why is he so stupid?! Announcing such a ridiculous timeframe, he can only lose!" I have to admit that I was wrong. Five and a half years and it is finished! I am really impressed and happy.

Feeling nostalgic today. Recently I taught myself to use CP/M and am now writing a couple of reviews on my C128D. Nice to actually use the 80 column mode after all those decades. File transfer using Greaseweazle and an old PC floppy made that possible.

Listening to "Journey: Freedom" Purchased by accident because I thought it was a classic album. But it was very new. It might as well be a classic because it turned out to be awesome.