embracingcalm: Sunset (Default)
I often want to share photos under a cut or something but my proficiency comes and goes.  
 
So, I attempt, on occasion to keep a slight photo journal on Imgur.  Bad idea.  Horrible idea.  Did you know that those gentleman have systematically cultivated an environment that objectifies women via unofficial rules?  Their community rules state outright no suggestive photos it’s within rule 1 and it is never enforced.  They also have an unofficial rule of “no selfies”, and themed female objectification days like Tt Tuesday and thigh Thursday in which female imgurians are encouraged to take photos of thier bodies and post them for the pleasure of male users.  It doesn’t take a genius to realize this combination of rules and social convention results in a bunch of “sexy” photos of women’s bodies with the head cropped off…. You know… because that’s our fucking level of value to them.to match the theme, anything remotely feminine gets downvoted and sometimes people send death threats.  That’s what happened to me this week when I attempted (stupidly as this has happened before) to keep a photo journal there.
 
I was also harassed about my lifestyle as an artist, house spouse, and person dabbling into non abrahamic religion (apparently the guy who collects videos of neotonized bunny girls thinks all religious people are pedophiles and my mehndi finger caps are proof that I want to inappropriately touch children.  Which is clearly a very reasonable stance not borne out of projection at all.  *insert eye roll here
 
All that to say that I may start utilizing this place for that purpose.  I’ve become very ostracized and as things get more and more scary I just want to make an effort to make a tiny mark out there, just to say I existed. 

Anyway, if you stumbled on my journal and want to add me feel free.   I would love to have more contact with other people.  

 
embracingcalm: Sunset (Default)
 Often in the past when I have made a big list of goals like the one I made for 2026 goals will fall away throughout the year.   I have already posted about my decision to forgive making 100 pieces of paper due to a lack of gardening skills in my new climate (100 pieces  of paper means quite a lot of plant material).  Now I will be adding my sunrise photography goal to the list of abandoned goals.  

Let me explain.

i have taken photos of 4 of the 50 something sunrises (the 2026 goal) with my iPhone. I have seen slightly more than 4, I’m not sure how many sunrises I have experienced in 2026. Of the sunrises I have seen this year, the ones I have enjoyed the most are the ones that I was lucky enough to see when my phone was dead or misplaced.  It is in no way unusual for me to wake up before dawn and I already love sunrises… real ones.  When taking a photo of a sunrise with any modern phone the colors are altered in a way that makes them less subtle and ethereal.  it takes on  a cooler tone, higher saturation and an enhanced black point.  The almost alien or cartoon palette of the photo happens regardless of the setting on my phone and take a significant amount of effort to balance back in an editor.   At that point, this goal which was made to ensure I enjoy sunrises throughout the year has actually served to make them less enjoyable and in a way the high saturation photos seem to warp my appreciation for what is in front of me.

I’m not going to count this as a loss… because I never really do.  the point of each goal is to teach or reinforce something.  this showed me what I largely already knew:  it’s difficult to be truly present when staring at a screen.
embracingcalm: Sunset (Default)

 I’m still alive.

I simultaneously have many things to say and absolutely nothing at all.  So, I’ll type out the mundane things with the hope that it helps with the things I can’t quite put into words.

I made chocolate chip cookies with a touch of rye flour, hemp seeds and cashews.  They’re gone now.  They were more oily than normal but still good.  Cooking at higher elevation really is different but also… maybe a touch too many fatty seeds and nuts?  

I rearranged the orientation of the bed, he moved his macrame hoops onto the wall behind the bed, we put up art, took some down to make room for the tv (which had been in the living room) and hung a couple plants.  Two days ago,II checked the craigslist free section and found a bedframe especially made to fit our queen size shikibuton and tatami mats.  It’s extremely pretty: solid wood built in a way that slides together like perfect puzzle pieces.  The room is cute and cozy.  After setting things up, we picked out a new plant for the window.  it’s a pink dot begonia.  it’s large and lovely but has t been hung yet.  I would like to find a small shelf for books but it can wait until someone in the complex moves out/throws it out.  

the book I’m reading is awful but easy enough to read. It’s Tomb Seven by Gene Snyder.   I chose it because it was in the floor in the corner of the bedroom and because pulps tend to be fast easy reading.   I’m about a quarter through it.  I’m looking forward to the other books I have stacked on my side table but I thought reading something analogous to trash tv might be a healthy distraction for me right now.
 

He’s still sleeping.   I should probably go, make coffee and wake him up.  Maybe we can have one of those French pastries while we wait for boots to march this way.

 I have been saying since 2024 that I think gen z is getting drafted.   I sounded crazy then but it’s looking truer by the day.   I think that’s going to be the underlying reason for pushing women out of combat positions: much like after WW2, we will need or rather America will need another baby boom.  Young able bodied women cannot have babies if they are dead.  Whoops.   I wasn’t supposed to let my anxiety about the bigger picture infiltrate this post.  


Well, the coffee isn’t going to make itself.


 

embracingcalm: Sunset (Default)
Beginning of an abstract painting consisting of brass, red, white, green and navy.  Shapes are amorphous.

 

This morning has mostly been nice.   I woke up at 5:30 lit the shrine, did the dishes, washed my face, feed the cats, walked the dog, woke up h, made coffee, photographed the sunrise, walked the dog once more, ate breakfast and  sketched for about 20 minutes.  I started this on New Year’s Eve which is when I determined I would like to stop buying canvases in favor of other mediums.  I still have several canvases lying around though and I hate to waste things so I plan to use them somehow.  I’m considering this specific piece a doodle which really frees up some room for creativity.  

 Update:  I was staring at this beginning of a painting while drinking some tea and realized that I’ve copied some of this from a Salvador Dali painting of a camel.  So, I’ll either have to rework it or (more likely) will need to spray this thing with a solvent to try again.  

embracingcalm: Sunset (Default)

Today was lovely. H and I worked on hanging up things in the bedroom. We have afew more things left to hang but it looks so much better. We dropped off two large living room chairs at the thrift store then went for an impromptu trip to the French bakery and pick up a kouign amann each. Later we went to the art store. I’ve more or less decided I am going back to my mixed media dreamscapes on photopaper. I find a standard photo size to be very familiar and working with the reactions of that come with the paper make it more interesting for me. I have some ideas and I’m pretty excited to start executing them. We finally made it to the park as well, it was gorgeous there. Alfonzo had a good time meeting people and other (small) dogs. The sunset was very pretty (pictured) and I managed to get some additional photos for painting inspiration. I made tostadas for dinner. I was craving something Taco Bell adjacent minus the tummy ache.

We still need to give Alfonzo another walk, and we may play a couple games of rummy. I’m not sure what I want to do tomorrow… maybe I’ll sift through my art supplies for a selection to use. Often I find that helps me solidify ideas.

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