Nostr notes by Garth Coghlan

#Antisemitism #AdelaideWritersWeek #AusPol Sorry no alt text, not ...

2026-01-15T05:29:38Z

#Antisemitism #AdelaideWritersWeek #AusPol

Sorry no alt text, not enough spoons.

#NoAltTextSorry

Nostr event nevent1qqsdlfw6zzkuh8hq7drgt4uxv24llmnxggy8kjc7klm9lk77hkdykfgzyrm0dhuay3gtxujtnjvjpe7ulhq8n7vuuhalyac62nwtvm4ey5jw63tale0

2025-07-02T06:01:15Z

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/1/un-report-lists-companies-complicit-in-israels-genocide-who-are-they

#Israel #Palestine #Gaza

The Tasmanian Climate Collective has scored the ...

2025-04-29T03:44:44Z

The Tasmanian Climate Collective has scored the parties/candidates running for election in #Tasmania. Here is the one for the senate.

#AusPol #TasPol #PoliTas #AusVotes #AusVotes2025 #AusVotes25 #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

I am finally getting off #GoodReads for good (bye bye Bezos), so ...

2025-03-04T04:54:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…5wnm
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I am finally getting off #GoodReads for good (bye bye Bezos), so we'll see how the recommendations of #StoryGraph fare in 2025.

Somehow it's already March, but here is my #BookReview ...

2025-03-04T04:49:37Z

Somehow it's already March, but here is my #BookReview summary for 2024.

69 books this year! Which is getting up towards the glory years of the late 2010s. In last year's summary I noted that the number of books I had read had dropped, possibly due to reading more news & articles. I went cold-turkey on the news for a good chunk of 2024, so perhaps that helped get my numbers back up.

I read 25,486 pages (70 pages/day), compared to 20,500 in 2023 (56 pages/day).

My average rating is up to 3.6 stars, which is amongst the highest since records began in 2009. This is due to an unusually high proportion of 4 star books (33%, compared to 20-25% typically), and low proportion of 3 stars books. This isn't explained by a shift in genre, so I've either made some good book choices or was feeling particularly generous.

In keeping with the zeitgeist, I partly fell off the #DEI bandwagon by reading more male authors than I have been. But I maintained my level of non-White authors. I had thoughtlessly stopped explicitly selecting from my To Read list based on gender, but had continued to do so based on diversity. Just goes to show that it requires effort to push back against the systemic biases of society (did someone mention DEI?).
My slide into fiction dominance continues. I blame #BrainFog and the fact that life is too short to beat yourself up about reading choices.

Notables:
* Cosy fiction is a thing, and it's great: Try "A Prayer For The Crown-Shy" by Becky Chambers (5 stars) and "Legends & Lattes" by Travis Baldree.
* Fun Times in Hobart Town: "The Angry Women's Choir" by Meg Bignell (4.5 stars)
* Too Close to the Bone: "The Deluge" By Stephen Markley (4.5 stars)
* Traumatic Youth: "Lola In The Mirror" by Trent Dalton (5 stars), "Young Mungo" by Douglas Stuart (4.5 stars), "Jasper Jones" by Craig Silvey (4.5 stars)
* Horrifyingly Fascinating: "Plagues Upon The Earth" by Kyle Harper (4 stars) and "Nine Lives" by Aimen Dean (both 4 stars).
* Most Somnolent: "The Silmarillion" By JJR Tolkein (3.5 stars)
* Underwhelming: "Leviathan Wakes" by James Corey (first in The Expanse series, 3 stars)
* Formulaic Time-Suck: "An Ember In The Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir. As I finished it I really liked it, but as time passed I realised how empty my absorption had been.
* Most Controversial: "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (2 stars)

See the full list here:
https://wildwoila.blogspot.com/2025/03/book-reviews-2024.html

Follow me on #BookWyrm here:
https://wyrms.de/user/wildwoila

#Bookstodon #Books

"The First Woman" Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. 4 stars. A ...

2024-12-20T04:18:00Z

"The First Woman" Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. 4 stars. A teenage girl in 1970s Uganda comes to terms with patriarchy, family & sisterhood. A bit slow without much emotional connection, but the detailed dive into Ugandan culture & history is fascinating.

#BookReview #Books #Bookstodon #BookWyrm #AfricanLiterature

https://wyrms.de/user/wildwoila/review/78346/s/fascinating-dive-into-ugandan-culture#anchor-78346

I've heard that there's been a heap of people come away ...

2024-11-27T01:01:19Z

I've heard that there's been a heap of people come away from the Newcastle #protestival with #covid. #Activism cannot be inclusive if it isn't #CovidSafe.

#RisingTide #PeoplesBlockade #CovidIsNotOver #inclusion

"We’re urgently calling on our #Arts and #Entertainment ...

2024-10-22T04:32:18Z

"We’re urgently calling on our #Arts and #Entertainment industry to make shows safe and accessible for everyone.

Getting infected with #Covid can have dire and incurable consequences for anyone, but especially for the most vulnerable in our communities.

As an industry whose work predominantly occurs indoors and in crowded spaces, accessing Arts and Entertainment is currently a high risk activity.

This has seen many people decrease the amount of shows they attend or stop attending shows altogether.

Alongside this, the constant circulation of Covid and other respiratory viruses has seen a rise in audiences buying tickets last minute because they’re not sure if they’ll be well enough to attend on the day.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Having a good night out at a show shouldn’t have to happen at the risk of our health and, for many, our lives.

Keeping the industry open shouldn’t have to happen at the risk of the industry’s sustainability and security.

We have the tools to provide communities with safe and accessible Arts and Entertainment.

These tools include, but are not limited to:
Effective air filtration at venues
#covid mandatory performances
Ticket exchange flexibility where appropriate
Better communication regarding keeping each other safe and;
Continuing commitment to online programming

We ask that producers and venues meet with us to discuss how we can use these tools and others to ensure the industry is accessible and safe for everyone so that it can flourish in a secure and sustainable way."

#CovidIsNotOver #LongCovid

https://www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/safe-arts-and-entertainment-for-all

Clearing the cache didn't work, but a reboot did the trick. ...

2024-10-15T02:19:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…kxqq
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Clearing the cache didn't work, but a reboot did the trick. (Strange - unlike usual, I had rebooted only a few days earlier.)

Thanks, I'll give that a go 👍.

2024-10-12T03:54:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…tkgr
_________________________

Thanks, I'll give that a go 👍.

I can no longer create a pivot table in #GoogleSheets. I ...

2024-10-12T02:37:10Z

I can no longer create a pivot table in #GoogleSheets. I highlight the data, click Insert -> Pivot Table, and nothing happens. Zilch. I cannot even edit existing ones. I'm using #Firefox on #Ubuntu #Linux, all extensions are disabled, security settings are standard. Have restarted the browser but no luck.

Any ideas?

#AskFedi

"Einstein’s letter to Curie when she was facing relentless ...

2024-09-26T00:58:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…a96m
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"Einstein’s letter to Curie when she was facing relentless attacks on her personal life, saying that she “tarnished the good name” of her late husband, Pierre Curie."

It sounds like Einstein is the one who is saying that she has tarnished the good name of her husband. But in fact, it is the people attacking her relentlessly that are saying that. Einstein is actually defending her.

Bob Blaskiewicz 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 🇬🇱 (npub1tk6…2jx5)

Yeah, I also was confused by that. @npub1gjr…fryu

2024-09-25T23:04:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…sj93
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Yeah, I also was confused by that.

RustyBertrand (npub1gjr…fryu)

2/2 It's worth reflecting that when it comes to First Nations ...

2023-10-06T06:19:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…5fz3
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2/2 It's worth reflecting that when it comes to First Nations peoples, the constitution was not written with love in mind. There was not a lot of love on offer to them in those days. There are many powerful words to describe their suffering, and I don't want to get lost in that dark quagmire, but it is worth acknowledging here because it makes the Voice from the Heart all the more remarkable. Despite being fucked over royally for 250 years, Indigenous Australians came together and made an incredibly open-hearted and generous offer. It is an offer of open arms, of a warm embrace of forgiveness and friendship. We just have to take one small step to join them on that journey of reconciliation.

Because this would be just one step. It can't solve all the problems that afflict Indigenous Australia. On its own, the Voice is inadequate for that mammoth job. It will have teething problems and probably take several terms of government to get right. Government may continue not to listen. I appreciate the concerns of the progressive No movement, that it is participating in and endorsing an imposed colonial government. But that government has been imposed, and there is no other realistic offer on the table (as much as I hate incrementalism). If not this, then what's the alternative? I don't see any meaningful proposals from the conservative/reactionary No movement. The Voice would not be divisive - we are already divided. It is one small part of bringing us together.

So when you think about how to vote next Saturday, about what sort of society you want to live in, ask "Where is the love?" For me, it's in a simple three-letter word.

1/2 The last time I got totally shit-faced was when Kevin ...

2023-10-06T06:18:24Z

1/2 The last time I got totally shit-faced was when Kevin Rudd's Labor won the 2007 election. The totality of my politically aware life had been in the shadow of John Howard's interminable and cruelly conservative reign. Kevin '07 promised a new dawn so I got very (vewy) drunk. But my hopes were immediately dashed. Before he'd even finished his acceptance speech I'd written him off. Australia needed to re-find its heart but I couldn't see this emotionless robotic man showing the way. I leaped (lurched) onto my bike and cruised (wobbled) my way through Canberra's urban bushland to another election party, muttering all the way "Where is it? Where is the love? There is no love!"

I was right. Before his term was out, Rudd had lost his prime ministership because he was a heartless egomaniac who didn't follow through on his righteous moral proclamations. There was one exception though: the Apology to the Stolen Generations. What a humbling and vulnerable moment of contrition, of historic importance. Does Australia regret that act of love?

A great constitutional lawyer once said "It's the vibe."Though glib, there's some truth to that: the constitution is where our principles are laid out, not where the persnickitty detail is specified. That is left to legislation which Parliament can wrangle and refine over the years to come. So what vibe do you want our constitution to have? This foundational document that underlies our society? When I ask "Where is the love?", I want to find some of it in our constitution, because I want to live in a community based on love, generosity and acceptance.

#Yes #Yes23 #AusPol #Voice #Referendum #Referendum2023