magid

Here are the notes for "How Great You Really Are."

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Today is mostly sunny and mild. It rained most of yesterday.

I fed the birds. I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- We went out to run errands, which included a stop at Rural King for more bagged goods and a few flowers. Sadly they're moving away from the small sizes that I prefer; much of it was big pots and I'm not going spend $15-20 on something I could get elsewhere for $3-4, especially when most of my plantings are mixed. I only bought one big potted thing this season, and that was a pot with 4 different violas (purple-lavender, purple-white, purple-yellow, purple-orange) in it.

We also finished reading Super Smoothies.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I planted 4 celosia (3 pinkish-red and 1 yellow), a purple wave petunia, and a Bidens flower in the barrel garden. I hadn't seen the Bidens before but it is a yellow-and-orange flower similar to a marigold or coreopsis, so it fits well in the barrel garden. That's almost full -- I've got room to squeeze in a firecracker and maybe some marigolds but that's about it.

A petunia is blooming pale rosepetal pink under the maple tree, and an iris looks to be opening up sort of a chocolate color there too. I'm pleased that the peony has a strong scent; the dark pink one under the apricot tree is nearly scentless.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I planted 8 yellow marigolds in pots around the new picnic table.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I dug a whole for an oak seedling at the edge of the savanna.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I planted a pin oak seedling at the edge of the savanna.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Bad Ass on a Budget is for Indie Filmmakers

Veteran stuntman and action filmmaker Eric Jacobus (God of War, Man Who Feels No Pain) delivers a tech-agnostic, philosophically grounded roadmap for zero-budget filmmakers to achieve high-impact action by mastering the “human universals” of physiology, psychology, and human relationships.

Badass on a Budget is a masterclass for the “Zero-Budget Action Filmmaker” (ZBAF) by veteran action designer Eric Jacobus, who draws on decades of experience from viral hits (Rope-A-Dope and Blindsided) to indie feature film production (Contour and Death Grip) to global franchises (God of War and Mortal Kombat). Rejecting gear-centric trends, Jacobus focuses on tech-agnostic “human universals”—physiology, psychology, and relationships—to provide a holistic framework for a high-impact “Action Ecosystem” where performance, choreography, camera, and editing work in perfect synergy.


Given the "human universals" I suspect this would work well for writers, artists, etc. who wish to choreograph effective fight scenes. Plus of course, a fun read for anyone who enjoys action flix and is fed up with the overuse of tech.  I also like the creative, DIY angle; it reminds me of the book Hang the Cat from Terramagne, which I wish existed in local-Earth.

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This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry, Part 7: Sculpture, Part 8: Conflict Resolution, Part 9: Cooking, Part 10: Coping Skills, Part 11: Gardening, Part 12: Relationship Skills, Part 13: Repairing, Part 14: Survival Skills.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 15: Archaeology

Archaeology is the science of studying the past, primarily historic human cultures and their artifacts. It overlaps with anthropology, the study of (mostly current) human cultures; and with paleontology, the study of plants and animals from the past. Paleoanthropology is the study of human evolution in particular, one of the more fascinating aspects of the past. Aspects include famous people, famous finds, and important regions. Culture is a delicate issue here, as Europeans have spent centuries trampling over everyone else and often obliterating their past. But other cultures have their own scientists, who have made plenty of valuable contributions. Here on Dreamwidth, consider archaeology, first_nations_freaks, history, science, and scienceworld.




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The Trump administration is removing bison herds from public land in Montana

The Trump administration is ordering the removal of hundreds of bison from BLM land in Montana, reversing a 2022 authorization that allowed the nonprofit American Prairie to graze its herds. The bison were allowed to graze on federal land by multiple administrations, including President Donald Trump’s first administration, which faced opposition from some ranchers who preferred the land be used to graze cattle. In a Notice of Proposed Decision issued in January, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated that American Prairie’s bison should be managed as wildlife rather than “production-oriented” livestock, making them ineligible for grazing permits under the Taylor Grazing Act.


The hell of it is that buffalo should be recognized as wildlife and thus free to go where they please, just like elk and deer and everything else. But they're not. Every buffalo in America is owned by someone, restricted to land they control, forced to put up with some amount of human interference, and subject to being killed should they stray. That's a problem. It would be bad for any species, but it's especially bad for a keystone species that is urgently needed to fix the human fuckups affecting the Great Plains. >_<

Just in case you hadn't noticed, America is headed for another Dustbowl, and this is one of several reasons why.