I’m now recognized as a foreign agent in Russia which means I’m barred from engaging in a whole list of activities in Russia. Which I never wanted to do anyways.
These people are weird and obnoxious.
Winning Them Over
When I receive an article back from reviewers with proposed changes, what I love to see is a large number of suggestions in the first two pages that gradually taper off into zero suggestions after pages 5 or 6. This means that they got won over by my argument after initially finding it weird. You can often see the exact moment when their minds were changed where, after several pissy comments, a reviewer says, “this is so interesting” or “I love this approach.”
The article I received back today has the record number of 4 reviewers but this is a German publication, and Germans do like to be thorough.
Right-wing Art
If you like the philosophy of Paul Kingsnorth, you should read the novel Bothelford’s Gone by Edward McLaren. I’m listening to Kingsnorth on Audible while I drive and I’m reading McLaren on paper when I’m not. It’s the most unusual feeling to find oneself amidst a dialogue between a right-wing philosopher and a right-wing novelist.
I’ll talk about both books at length when I finish them but for now I want to say yay to right-wing art.
IQ Talk
My IQ is below the “gifted” cutoff but still in the 95.8th percentile. I do feel the absence of those additional 6 points keenly. Things would be easier if I had them. I need to explain things to myself in order to understand them. I don’t mean practical things of daily life but theory. It takes a lot of repetition for me to understand a text in philosophy or a new type of literary theory.
N doesn’t share my interest in IQ and hates it when I talk about it. Which probably means his IQ is higher than mine because nobody hates talk of IQ as much as people with the highest IQ. I believe they are mistaken. It gets easier to live in the world when you understand that, through absolutely no fault of their own, most people cannot carry out the same cognitive operations.
Instead of being ashamed of not having genius-level IQs, people should be proud. I overcome my sad lack of 8 additional IQ points every day by working like a bastard. I didn’t do anything to deserve the IQ but I did do all the work that went into my every publication and award. There’s honor in that.
Cat Update
She always extends her back paw like this so that she can maintain contact with me at all times:
I have concluded that this cat was probably abandoned. She gets instantly attached to whoever shows her the least kindness. Poor animal.
Doll Update
American Girl dolls:
American Girl dolls, the new version:
What’s interesting is that this update is definitely not done for the girls who are going to play with the dolls. These are not relatable outfits. You can’t convince a girl in this age group to dress like this. A skirt this length with no leggings would be mega embarrassing. You can’t do anything in it. Play, run, climb. This is not how little girls are. This is how pedos imagine little girls.
Baroque Birthday
We are at the fun and baroque City Museum.
The museum is very cool. And we lucked out with summertime weather in the midst of an uncommonly cold winter.
10 Years
Ten years ago today, I gave birth to Klara. She loves her cat, books, drawing and going to Olive Garden. She brings so much joy it’s impossible to express in words.
Have children early and often.
Cultural Traditions
This is a complete misunderstanding of:
- Cultural differences;
- Life in small villages in Eastern Europe.
Everybody in the village turns out to mourn when a fellow villager dies. People don’t carry photos of deceased family members. Somebody else in the community carries the photo to show that the entire village perceives the loss as theirs. This is Western Ukraine, and it has its own set of funeral rites hallowed by centuries of tradition. That one boy has the community-approved role of being responsible for carrying the portrait when somebody dies is normal. He’s probably one of the altar boys in the local church. If the deceased soldier had a son, the son’s role is to be next to the mother and take care of younger siblings, if any. Nobody would ask him to leave the mother’s side. It’s just not done.
The reason why family members aren’t asked to carry the portrait is because you don’t give tasks to bereaved relatives. It’s considered extremely rude. The community congeals around the bereaved, and everything you need to get done during the first nine days is done for you. You don’t need to ask. Everybody has their role and fulfills it.
What is even the suggestion here? That there’s no war? That these soldiers didn’t die? It’s been four years. Are we still at the stage of proving to morons of Glen Greenwald’s caliber that the war is real?
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