Part of the CBS Television Studio in New York (1978) from the Eyes of a Generation Viewseum
security
Since It’s All About Me, when I read this and this about new security features coming in Mac OS Sequoia, I couldn’t help thinking of my recent misadventures with my hosting provider, in which unannounced changes to their security procedures borked a workflow I had been using for a decade.
One of the chief things we learned in the Covid era was that there’s no arguing with people who do anything in the name of security and safety. Those terms are the ultimate conversation-stoppers. You’re not even allowed to ask whether the new politices and procedures actually do make us more safe and secure, much less ask what other goods should be considered when we’re implementing policies.
Well, one thing I know for sure: I won’t be installing Sequoia anytime soon.
Thanks to a bunch of people for kind and sympathetic words about my current technical issues. While I’m getting the ayjay.org domain sorted — I’m determined to figure out the details and not be in this situation again — I’ll continue to post here as usual, but with some longer posts also.
On the possible end of my big blog, and my difficulties in getting the help I need to keep it alive. I’m starting to think that I don’t have the knowledge base to keep writing on the open web.
Angus strangely interested in Marvin Gaye. Well, I guess it’s not that strange, considering how cool Marvin was.
bookshelves
Douglas Anderson, a Tolkien scholar, recently reported seeing one of his books on a shelf in a TV series. The eminent critic Michael Dirda replied:
More likely the books were bought en masse, without regard for titles and attention paid largely to their color and general look on the shelf. My friend Chuck Roberts, owner of Wonder Book and Video, has a strong business in selling books by the foot for movie and theatrical sets. — Still, sometimes thought does go into these background bookshelves. I remember Chuck once asking me to recommend titles for Hannibal Lecter’s library.
This comment prompts an excellent thought experiment: What would go on Hannibal Lecter’s shelves? One might extend this to other fictional figures, which might seem like a vast field of inquiry except that many fictional movie characters obviously don’t read books at all. Tony Stark, for instance, reads only technical manuals and tweets. So: which famous movie characters read? And what do they read?
Angus says hello!
