My Virtual Reading Room

Hello to everyone,

This journal is mostly public because most of it contains poetry, quotations, pictures, jokes, videos, and news (medical and otherwise). In other words, most of the interesting entries are public--if you like what you see, you are welcome to drop by, anytime. You can also look through my archives, by tags, esp. "poem of the day" and "quote of the day", if that's something you like.

Please note: since Feb. 2022, this is my main journal, rather than my LJ (same username).

Cheers,
Cat

The world’s oldest octopus fossil isn’t an octopus after all, scientists say, from AP News

The earliest known public museum, from Wikipedia, via minoanmiss

Here are the contents of an elite Minoan burial on the island of Aegina, from Carausius on Bluesky, via amaebi

Edible art:

This is springtime, from levkonoe 

Quite a variety, and if you want more, keep clicking on "previous 50"... :)

~~~
TCHIN TCHIN
CHEERS

A tous ceux qui partent, tchin tchin tchin
To all those whom are leaving, cheers
Всем, кто уходит--за ваше здоровье!
A tous ceux qui restent, tchin tchin tchin
To all whom are staying, cheers
Всем, кто остаётся--за ваше здоровье!
A tous ceux qui tombent, tchin tchin tchin
To all the fallen, cheers
Всем, кто упал, за ваше здоровье!
A tous ceux qui sombrent, tchin tchin tchin
To all those whom founder, cheers
Всем, кто запутался--за ваше здоровье!( Read more... )

Translation of lyrics:

One cannot live without grief,
But I want to wish you, my friends,
That in your joy, you would forget
That you recently had to grieve.( Read more... )

LJ sent me a reminder, you see, that yesterday was "the birthday of your friend, irinka_hema". "Congratulate your friend on their birthday", it said.

Well--happy birthday, wherever you are--

Someone with whom I was privileged to walk together, for a short time--too short, and from far away--

Certainly someone who had the most unusual nickname I have ever heard: "pterodactyl"

I had translated and shared one of her posts before; if you'd not seen it, it's worth a look:

"Why Me?", by Iryna Gavrysheva

Look at the darling knitted mice ezhiuke  made for me! :)

The chef mouse and plate were a gift from my husband, a few years ago, on Valentine's Day. The recipe is spot-on, I think...;)

Holiday Wishes 2021 on DW

Please join--the more, the merrier ;))

Hello everyone,

I'm back and yes I'm OK.

Apologies for the prolonged absence, and many thanks to everyone who had sent cards and messages.

*Hugs*

The Man in the Iron Lung, from The Guardian

A very interesting (and lengthy) article about a polio survivor, who is one of the last people in the world still using an iron lung.

(thanks to lindahoyland for the link!)

Teddy bears riding a roller coaster in an amusement part in the Netherlands

(very cute, do take a look ;))

Covid-19 Rx: Treatment Simulations, from The New England Journal of Medicine

(if you want to try your hand at some clinical scenarios, this is a pretty good virtual simulation)

As the virus-battered DC and northern Virginia reopen, signs of normalcy are scarce, from The Washington Post, May 29

Six Medscape articles:

COVID-19 Vaccine Won't Be a Slam Dunk

More Evidence Hydroxychloroquine Is Ineffective, Harmful in COVID-19

Autopsy Data Show Extensive Lung Damage From COVID-19

Can Nitric Oxide Prevent COVID-19 Infection or Progression?

Retesting Positive for SARS-CoV-2 Doesn't Mean Infectious, Study Suggests

COVID 'Immunity Passport' No More Reliable Than a Coin Flip

(a very good and straightforward explanation as to why)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We’ll have to be a lot ruder if we want to make it through covid-19, from The Washington Post

Is it possible to safely see friends again? How to have a judgment-free conversation about it, also from The Washington Post

In 2014, apparently, a major breach of their passwords database

https://twitter.com/weleakinfo/status/1149904387374026752

There's more info in Russian-language sources, can link/translate if you want, but the main point is--

If you've not changed your LJ password recently, I would recommend doing so.

(going to do that myself in a minute)

...that's all...

International Mail Service Suspensions--you can't send mail from the US to a number of countries at present, due to either postal service suspension in these countries, or the unavailability of transportation in these countries.

(good thing I happened to check, was going to send a card to someone in the Philippines)

And mail to some countries went there by sea, so it'll be a while getting to its destination...

See here and here for details

For my DW friends--I post primarily to LJ and import the entries to DW every week or two, so if you are interested in reading what I post, check my DW (or LJ) sometimes; I understand the imported entries don't show on the DW friends feed pages.

For all my LJ and DW friends, wanted to let you know--as you likely already noticed--that I'm behind with reading and commenting, and it'll likely be that way for a while, as I'm busy with a few other things both at work and in my free time. If there's a post you specifically want me to see/read, please PM me with the link :)

Best wishes for your week ahead!

The daughter of a friend's friend plays in this, do take a look and like/comment if you can!

They've a number of other recorded performances on their channel, and plan to post more: Oddsocks Comms

And here's their Much Ado About Nothing!

Part 1:



https://youtu.be/v8VA2MaO7Lg


Part 2:



https://youtu.be/Di0vh12hiDo

Gratitude

For sunlit hours and visions clear,
For all remembered faces dear,
For comrades of a single day,
Who sent us stronger on our way,
For friends who shared the year's long road,
And bore with us the common load,
For hours that levied heavy tolls,
But brought us nearer to our goals,
For insights won through toil and tears,
We thank the Keeper of our years.

(Clyde McGee)

~~
(from my LJ archives, came across it and thought I'd post it here again)

Happy upcoming New Year to everyone!

...If not, do take a browse in the comm!

The wishes can be anything, really...and perhaps you might even come across some wishes you could fulfill? :)

Here's the comm:

https://holiday-wishes.livejournal.com/

And, in case you're curious, here's my wishlist:

https://holiday-wishes.livejournal.com/2266506.html

...If not, do take a browse in the comm!

The wishes can be anything, really...and perhaps you might even come across some wishes you could fulfill? :)

Here's the comm:

holiday-wishes.dreamwidth.org/

And, in case you're curious, here's my wishlist:

holiday-wishes.dreamwidth.org/30871.html

On Dreamwidth: holiday-wishes.dreamwidth.org/

(yes, I am co-moderating with doranwen again :))

and on LiveJournal: holiday-wishes.livejournal.com/


Do come and join the fun!