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Author: Claire

Return of the Monk

Got a text from The Wandering Monk yesterday afternoon. He swears he’ll be here bright and early this morning. And that he’ll be “80%” okay to work despite having chopped his leg with a machete on Saturday. We shall see. If he’s able to pull this off, I expect I’ll be called upon to do more minioning than usual. But the cold rain has finally abated and we have clear days ahead. I’m ready to get back to the Great Foundation and Screen Porch project. If 80% turns out to be overly optimistic, I may just call a halt to…

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Want to know how far the feds will go to trap people?

This far. And farther, of course. The Intercept tells the story of how the FBI concocted a fake production company with a fake documentary crew to get the Bundys and their supporters to self-incriminate. Journalists and filmmakers rightly object when police and spies impersonate them. They ignore the fact that plenty of actual journalists over the decades have acted as government agents. Long, weird, twisted story. Worth a read, though, and worth heeding for any activist.

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Casinato: Innocent

I met an interesting man the other day. Electronics guy. Inventor. But also a singer-songwriter who goes by the mysterious handle Casinato. Although I’m not much of a music person, I was intrigued by the song samples on his website. I bought his album on Bandcamp. The album comes with a .pdf booklet of lyrics and chords. Very helpful. I think what drew me to these songs is the raw, folky quality of Casinato’s voice. Dulcet tones? Not on your life; nor does he aspire to producing anything near dulcet. His voice and style are reminiscent of the early folk-revival…

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Tuesday links

  • Closer to confirmation: mysteriously murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich was indeed in contact with Wikileaks, and the emails “hacked by Russians” may have instead been leaked by him.
  • Leonardo da Vinci invented an odd musical instrument (on paper). A modern instrument maker has built it. (Use the “cc” option on the video to get English subtitles.)
  • The governmental stupid gets thicker and thicker in California. Now dumb law threatens small, independent booksellers — as if they weren’t already threatened enough. (H/T M)
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  • Thank yous

    To the person unknown who surprised me by raising my bitcoin total last week … To the long-time supporter, friend, and bounteous information source who just rendered my rainy walk to the post office surprisingly pleasant … To the generous mystery man who has lately sprung several such surprises upon me … And finally to the dear friend (a victim of both perilous health and our present economic “recovery”) who no longer has the means to send financial support, but who volunteered to do a truly wizardly deed for a suffering friend of mine. The two have never met and…

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    Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day

    Entering the third — increasingly theoretical — week of the Great Foundation and Screen Porch Project. First week, the Wandering Monk put in two days on the project, much of it spent discussing how to handle the “surprises” we found. After that, it was time to retreat until I could redraw the plans. The Monk went on to other clients and fill-in projects. Second week, the Monk put in two solid work days, after which we were rained out. A cold, driven, nasty rain it was. And is. And will be. The final round is due in tonight, after which…

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    St. Guinefort, revisited

    St. Guinefort the Greyhound. Revisited. This is about 1,000 times better than the version I posted the other day. IMHO, this is another moment of hitting my stride. Only trouble is that “my stride” seems to involve one of the slowest, most blindingly tedious mediums in all artdom: colored pencil. Technically, this is mixed media, but mostly colored pencil, which means mostly hours spent scribbling layer upon layer to build up nuanced color and to fill spaces that a paintbrush could knock out in seconds. Most other artwork I’ve posted has taken two or three hours. This required the better…

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    Weekend links

  • Welcome to the New Soviet Union, comrades — where you can now be paid to inform on the “incorrect” opinions of your peers. (H/T MJR)
  • Scary. The Washington state gov — with the cooperation of the quisling NRA — is attempting to put teeth into firearm background checks. Considering that up to 95% of denials may be in error, this could seriously screw with thousands of innocent people.
  • I know this area of southern Oregon and I get it. The rage, the resistance. The hidden America Our Masters fear but never understand. But never sacrifice your libraries. Bring them back privately if you can. (H/T jc2k in comments)*
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  • Friday links

  • I haven’t had much to say about the Comey flap. Far as I’m concerned, everybody in power in DC should be fired. But Jim Bovard says the FBI needs booting off its pedestal.
  • Ah yes, the ever-magical drug whisperers on the police force. (H/T jc2k in comments)
  • But alas, some stoners are as dumb as their reputation. Here’s a pair who, it seems, forgot they were no longer in Colorado (Tip o’ hat to ML)
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  • St. Guinefort the Greyhound

    It was a rain day on the Great Foundation and Screen Porch Project. No work. Sigh. Boy, the fits and starts of this thing. Supposed to rain tomorrow, too, so we shall see. That at least gave me the chance to get my rusty self back to the art table. I was going to draw a dog-as-pope. … although I thought this hound had more papal majesty. While looking for a good canine pontiff, I — for reasons unknown — found a doggie bantito mixed in with the pope images. Rather liked that guy. I suppose that image is politically…

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