There are multiple pictures, so I am putting the post below the fold. I have filmed most of these works, but if a video ever comes out, it won’t be this year. I am already getting a bit sidetracked by making this project more elaborate than I originally intended and by my desire to re-build and improve some of my tools. Whilst being hampered in my endeavors by cold weather and other, previously mentioned, things.
… winter, by Grandma Moses
Catching the Turkey, 1940, Anna Mary Robertson ‘Grandma’ Moses. Image from Wikiart
My mom almost did not bake any gingerbread this year, she is not doing very well I am afraid. And I am trying to make knives when I have time and stamina, so I probably won’t bake any. But my mom did make two houses in the end, so here they are (below the fold). She loves doing these things and I am glad I invested money when I had it into automated devices that take care of the most laborious and heavy work so she can do it even now.
She complained a lot that her hands are getting shaky and the decorating is not as neat as it used to be, but she does that for several years now. I still think she makes beautiful, original, and wholesome gingerbread decorations and I keep telling her.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
… winter, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Hunters in the Snow, 1565, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Image from the BBC.
©voyager, all rights reserved
It’s drizzly and gloomy today, but I don’t mind a bit because the sun is shining in my heart. Finally, after a difficult month, my sweet Bubba is able to walk again. Not far, but he can easily get to the end of the street and back with his tail wagging. His gait isn’t pretty to watch, and we go very, very slowly (think Tim Conway’s old man slow), but Jack is himself again. He wants to go out and explore all the smells and as of yesterday, he’s able to lift his leg again to leave behind a smell or two of his own. The past few weeks Jack has had to pee standing up and he couldn’t direct the stream, which he found frustrating. I found it frustrating, too, because he often peed all over his front legs, requiring a post pee sponge bath several times a day.
We’re very lucky to have a good vet whose clinic is nearby. She has started Jack on an injectible bone-building drug called Cartrophen in addition to an oral anti-inflammatory and Tramadol for pain and collectively they’ve set Jack back on track. He’ll never have his light prancing gait again, and our future adventures will be smaller, but he’s happy and comfortable, and I can finally take a deep breath. I know we’re entering the difficult times in the life of a big dog, but for today the wind is at our backs and life is good.
I saw this video and was enchanted. I’ll probably attempt something smaller, but I wanted to share it with you anyway. I’d find a way to add lights…
… sculpture, by Robert Glen
It took the artist 8 years to complete this installation, and there is a Horses of Las Colinas museum nearby that documents the process.
The Mustangs of Las Colinas, 1984, by Robert Glen. Image from Atlas Obscura.
The Mustangs of Las Colinas, 1984, by Robert Glen. Image from Atlas Obscura.
The Mustangs of Las Colinas, 1984, by Robert Glen. Image from Atlas Obscura.
We have no snow yet, but the temps are below 0 °C sometimes, so we are filling the feeder with sunflower seeds. And at least bullfinches are here again, I had four pairs show up simultaneously this week, although I did not, unfortunately, get them all in one picture. I got seven individuals at once, but unfortunately, the focus was not on the tree with birds but on the tree behind them.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
… winter, by Paul Gustav Fischer
A Winter’s Day on Kongens Nytorv Copenhagen, 1888, Paul Gustav Fischer. Image from Wikimedia
… winter, by Caspar David Friedrich
Sea of Ice, 1824, Caspar David Friedrich
Welcome to the last day of our Winterfest Photofest. I know you’ll enjoy this last set of pictures that all have a quiet, contemplative quality.
First, more delicious photos by Dan Cates, who was introduced to us yesterday. I think Dan’s photos have a lovely, tranquil feel to them, and this grouping is no exception.
©Don Cates, all rights reserved.
©Don Cates, all rights reserved.
©Don Cates, all rights reserved.
©Don Cates, all rights reserved.
©Don Cates, all rights reserved.
©Don Cates, all rights reserved.
©Don Cates, all rights reserved.
©Don Cates, all rights reserved.
©Don Cates, all rights reserved.
©Don Cates, all rights reserved.
Next, two evocative and moody photos from the camera of Marcus Ranum (Stderr)
Fall ice in the yard ©Marcus Ranum, all rights reserved.
Ice on the pond ©Marcus Ranum, all rights reserved
Finally, a serene and perfectly titled photo from JacqueG.
Ice Candles©JacqueG, all rights reserved.
I’d like to thank everyone who submitted photos and made Winterfest such a success. I’d also like to thank everyone who made donations to our Winterfest fundraising campaign. If you haven’t done that yet and would like to contribute, you can do so here.
I’d also like to remind everyone that Affinity loves getting photo submissions any time of the year, so if you have any photos you’d like to share, please feel free to send them in. Our address is always in the left sidebar, underneath the colourful percolating head.
I did not know that there was an Online Olympiad for People with Disabilities, but I think it is a good idea.
The chess community has a long and unpleasant history of sexism and elitism, so it is good to see that the problems are being recognized by the current top chess brass and some progress towards the sport being more inclusive is being made.
I have learned to play chess at the age of five before I learned to read. I have always thought that I am no good at it because I was mostly playing with my father and my brother, neither of whom I could defeat with any reasonable frequency. I still could not beat my brother well into my thirties. That did discourage me a lot, especially since my brother – who was a competitive player, albeit not a top one – remarked often “OOH, you are starting with Italian today”. This always irritated me because I was never able to remember the names of beginnings, except those where the name was logically bound to the position on the board (like King’s Gambit, Four Knights). My memory does not work that way, rote memorization was always nigh impossible for me.
Anyhoo, in the spring of this year, I have created an account on www.chess.com and I started to play regularly. And since online gaming does match people with opponents of approximately the same strength, I am not losing all the time. And I have found out two things. First – I am definitively not at a competitive level, no surprise there. Second – I have Dunning-Kruegered myself, I am not as bad as I thought – I am in the top quintile, so I could probably win four out of five matches with random casual players.
If anyone is interested in chess and would like to play, let me know.
Open thread, talk whatever you want, but assholery is not allowed.
This is my first attempt at making a video, and it shows. The Pace is slow, it’s a bit rough in places and there’s some wind noise in the background that I couldn’t get rid of. It’s been a pretty steep learning curve for me, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. I had planned to add a bit of music, but I couldn’t find anything that I liked better than the sound of rustling leaves, so the soundtrack is just us walking with a bit of commentary from me. I had also hoped to end the video with Jack and I singing, but Jack’s been under the weather and hasn’t been in the mood to make music. He is slowly improving, though, so perhaps next month we’ll make another short movie full of raucous, rollicking fun.
I hope you can get a sense of how much both Jack and I enjoy walking in the woods.