According to the Stanford Basic Income Lab, universal basic income is a periodic cash payment that is given to individuals unconditionally, requiring no work requirement or sanctions to access.
And as various nonprofits and cities across the country experiment with basic income programs, most have found that the money received is largely used to pay for the basic essentials many Americans struggle to afford.
A new pilot program in Boston, Massachusetts wants to find out if the same trend applies for a specific demographic: young adults facing homelessness.
The weather has been sweltering agan. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a mourning dove, a house wren, a male cardinal, and a fox squirrel. Currently blooming: dandelions, pansies, violas, marigolds, petunias, red salvia, wild strawberries, verbena, lantana, sweet alyssum, zinnias, snapdragons, blue lobelia, perennial pinks, oxalis, moss rose, yarrow, anise hyssop, firecracker plant, tomatoes, tomatillos, Asiatic lilies, cucumber, yellow squash, zucchini, morning glory, purple echinacea, black-eyed Susan, yellow coneflower, chicory, Queen Anne's lace, sunflowers, cup plant, gladioli, firewheel, orange butterfly weed. Tomatillo and pepper have green fruit. Wild strawberries, mulberries, tomatoes, and cucumbers are ripe. The second crop of blackberries and the ball carrots are ripe.
Over on Reddit someone is asking for science fiction for their precocious young reader and the people there are suggesting books that were old when that kid's grandparents were the same age as the kid, for fuck's sake if you didn't know any SF books from this millennium maybe sit this question out
Over on Bluesky I got a lot of guff about the above post, but you know what? I 100% stand by it. I’m 56 now, and if you’re recommending the same science fiction books to a ten-year-old today that would have been recommended to me when I was a ten-year-old — and were old and kinda dated even then — I think you should seriously reconsider recommending science fiction books to young readers.
Why? Well, for just two things, either you are so far behind in your science fiction reading that you can’t think of a science fiction work from the two-and-half-decades of this millennium (not to mention possibly the three decades immediately preceding that time frame in the previous millennium) that you could recommend to a young reader, which is not great, or you have kept up with the last twenty-five years of science fiction writing and think none of it is worthy of recommendation to the youth of today. In which case, on behalf of every science fiction writer who first started publishing in this century (and all the ones who debuted before then, but have kept on writing): Rude. There’s been a lot of fantastic work in the last twenty-five years that stands at least equal to what was written before, that you could recommend to new and/or young readers of the genre. If you can’t acknowledge that, this is a you problem.
“But the kids should read the classics!” Well, one, as I wrote almost exactly five years ago, “the science fiction canon” is dead, so this is an arguable statement, especially for a casual reader; and two, even if one were to stipulate that there is an essential canon of classic works every science fiction fan should read, it does not necessarily follow that every young reader needs to read them to start off. Start young readers with interesting accessible contemporary work that brings them through the door and gets them curious as to what else is out there, at which point they may well wander back into the “classics” arm of the genre and delight in what they find there. But if that’s the only door you can show them into the genre, you’re doing them and the genre we all mutually love a disservice.
And anyway, it’s kind of ridiculous. As I said in a different Bluesky post:
Let me use another example of the basic absurdity of this: It would be like someone saying "Hey, my kid loved the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack, what other K-Pop can you suggest for him" and then everyone suggesting The Kim Sisters and their contemporariesyoutu.be/SOYfHZ-oLY8
To be clear, it’s not that the Kim Sisters aren’t cool, or unimportant to the overall history of K-Pop. They are cool, and important! But the hard swing from “Golden” to this is rough, to say the least.
And then there’s the Suck Fairy to consider, and my own complementary twist on that idea, the Sixteen Candles Problem, in which you show something you loved as a young person to a young person today, and you’re both horrified at all the problematic bullshit in the thing that your brain just plain forgot was there (seriously, don’t show Sixteen Candles to anyone born in the 21st Century without watching it first. You have forgotten how awful it actually is). So if you’re out here blithely suggesting sixty-year-old science fiction books to the youth of today, let me ask: When was the last time you read the thing you’re suggesting? Is it more than a decade? Maybe read it again? Because you may find the casual sexism/racism/other -isms are there a lot more than you remember, or the prose more wooden, or the dialogue rather more stiff, or the plots more iffy, or some combination of above.
(And if you read it and you don’t find any of those things, ask yourself: Am I a white dude who doesn’t actually have to think about racism/sexism/etc on a regular basis? Because that will maybe be a filter you need to consider. I know it’s fashionable in the current era, seeing as we now have mask-off bigots running the government, to have white dudes consider having to acknowledge that filter to be deeply unfair, but, you know. Try anyway.)
It’s all right if you love something that hasn’t aged well! Everything ages, and much of it not especially gracefully. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t important to you or that it doesn’t have value. It’s also okay to have that give you pause with regard to recommending it to someone of another, younger, generation.
But when someone asks about recommendations for their kids, you want to be helpful! Cool, here’s my suggestion: read more new stuff. And when you read it, think about from whom (and at what age) you would recommend that work. You don’t even have to buy it, just head off to the library and look through the new releases (or suggest an upcoming release for the library to acquire. Librarians like when you do that. So do authors). Then, when the question comes up, you’ll be prepared with something from this century.
If you can’t or won’t do that, then here’s another useful tip: Tell the person asking to ask a librarian for recommendations. That’s literally what librarians do! They’re really good at connecting people (and particularly kids) with books. They would be happy to do it here as well. They know what’s new, and what’s good, and what’s in the library. That kid will go home with something great (you can do this in bookstores, too, if you want to be purchasing that day).
And if you really really really really really want to recommend a decades-old book? Then reread it, have an idea of how that text and story sits right now, and when you recommend it, acknowledge and disclose it’s from another era, with all the things that come from being of that era — and then be able to articulate why you think it still has value to a young person today, beyond “well, I liked it when I was that age,” or “it’s a classic.”
dialecticdreamer is hosting Magpie Monday with a theme of "Change." Leave prompts, get ficlets!
Change is an immutable element of the universe.
Today, let’s make change our goal. Call it the theme. Big or small, quiet and subtle or dramatic and incontrovertible, what change do you want to see? In the world? In a story with an unsatisfying moment (or worse, ending)?
I don't know if this is limited to the US. (If you find out, please comment.)
The sale includes publishers that the University of Chicago Press distributes: Acre Books, Bard Graduate Center, Brandeis University Press, Center for the Study of Language and Information, Gingko Library, Haus Publishing, Iter Press, Karolinum Press, Charles University, Seagull Books, Swan Isle Press, and The American Meteorological Society.
2009: The Horrible Histories TV show debuts, Britons are treated to a Giles-worthy winter, and police decline to investigate the cash for influence incident so that they might better focus on the custard-tossing scandal rocking the nation.
Martin Martin's on the Other Side by Mark Wernham 0 (0.0%)
The Margarets by Sheri S. Tepper 5 (21.7%)
The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley 4 (17.4%)
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2009 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read? Song of Time by Ian R. MacLeod Anathem by Neal Stephenson House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds Martin Martin's on the Other Side by Mark Wernham The Margarets by Sheri S. Tepper The Quiet War by Paul J. McAuley
With an * on the McAuley because it was too grim and I didn't finish it.
disneydream06 (disneydream06) wrote2025-08-1109:22 am
Sheik Amar: Tch, secret government killing activity! That's why I don't pay taxes!
It comes from the 2010 action movie, "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time". It starred Jake Gyllenhaal and was based on a video game. Sadly, it was a dud at the box office and there weren't any sequels to come. Which is a shame because Jake was HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hehehe.......
Another weekend is ending (and it was a 100o+ one here). I spent some of it reading Idol entries (mine is here, and Idol could really use more readers and voters right now). Some of it involved forcing myself to go outside and bike in the hot garage (ugh). And there was also a Naked Gun viewing, about which I will say that nobody could ever reproduce Leslie Nielsen's comic genius, but the new movie is funny and Liam Neeson is better as the straight man than I would have expected.
Other viewings (since I'm about to stop streaming Acorn and Apple TV, but will keep Brit Box for now): Apple TV Silo - I enjoyed this a LOT, because you know I love a good dystopian setting! My one complaint is that too much of it takes place in the dark, and now that people are no longer using blue light to indicate "dark," it is almost impossible to see parts of the action. Dark Matter - Multiverses with a side of romance, and I was sorry when it was over. Constellation - OMG, let me fangirl for a bit over this. An astronaut survives a fatal incident on the International Space Station, but parts of her life don't seem quite right afterwards. Mismatched multiverses play a part in this one, and not just for that one character. Jonathan Banks (better known as Mike Ermentraut) plays a JPL scientist who also experiences similar effects. Loved it, and the space sequences were fantastic. Mr. Corman - The characters aren't exactly endearing in this series about a 5th grade teacher with regrets, but the show grew on me, and some of the fantasy-sequences are bizarrely entertaining. Previously recommended:Severance and Slow Horses.
Acorn TV Keeping Faith - A lawyer's husband goes missing, and disturbing secrets surface. It's kind of a hot mess, and the main character makes a lot of impulsive and rash decisions, but I watched it to the end. Bariau (Inside) - Only 1 season available. Takes place inside a Welsh men's prison, and I liked it for the quantity of Welsh language in it. About 2/3rds of the show are in Welsh, with random detours into English--sometimes within the same sentence. The Accident - Four-part miniseries about the collapse of a factory caused by teenagers who sneaked in to vandalize the place. Really well done. The Gone - WHERE is the second season of this Tasmanian show with the visiting Irish detective? Previously recommended:Hidden, Agatha Raisin, My Life Is Murder, Deadwater Fell, Cuffs, The Man Who Died.
And in other TV news, I dived into Wednesday, S2 on Netflix and quickly ran out of episodes. Only half of S2 is up, with the other half set to drop in early September. Which means scrambling for entertainment tomorrow, as it's another 100-degree day and I will be stuck biking in the garage AGAIN.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day (merriamwebster_feed) wrote2025-08-1101:00 am
“Nilsson’s reputation preceded her. The New York Times wrote of her: ‘Christine Nilsson, the Met’s first diva in 1883, could not only stipulate by contract her choice of roles, but could prohibit their performance by any other soprano in the same season.’” — Elise Taylor and Stephanie Sporn, Vogue, 20 June 2025
Did you know?
Like many terms used in the legal profession, stipulate, an English word since the 17th century, has its roots in Latin. It comes from stipulatus, the past participle of stipulari, a verb meaning “to demand a guarantee (from a prospective debtor).” In Roman law, oral contracts were deemed valid only if they followed a proper question-and-answer format; stipulate was sometimes used specifically of this same process of contract making, though it also could be used more generally for any means of making a contract or agreement. The “to specify as a condition or requirement” meaning of stipulate also dates to the 17th century, and is the sense of the word most often encountered today.
(Some of which I may have asked before, in which case, forgive me.)
1. People often do say that the English subjunctive is in decline. However, literally nobody I've ever heard say this has provided any sort of evidence. Is there any data on this other than "yeah, feels that way to me"?
1a. I've also heard that the subjunctive, or at least some forms of the subjunctive, is more common in USA English than UK English, from somewhat more authoritative sources but with roughly the same amount of evidence.
2. I got into it with somebody on the subject of "flammable/inflammable". I am aware that there are signs that warn about inflammable materials, and also signs warning about flammable materials. Is it actually the case that anybody has ever been confused and thought they were being warned that something could not catch on fire? Or is that just an urban legend / just-so story to explain why the two words mean the same thing and can be found on the same sorts of signs?
3. Not a language question! I've recently found one of the Myth Adventures books in my house. Gosh, I haven't re-read these in 20 years. Worth a re-read, or oh god no, save it for the recycle bin?
Then I realized that I haven't seen any this year either. Usually we have one every couple of feet here, so many it's hard not to step on the webs. They're barely visible most of the time, unless covered in dust or rain or dew. I may simply not have noticed them. But with the ongoing insect apocalypse, it is concerning. I have have seen other spiders spinning webs, though.
Frutamania Beaverton Night Market • Beaverton, Oregon Saturday, August 9, 2025 Nikon Z8 • NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S f/2 @ 85mm • 1/1000s • ISO 1600
In 2023 the Beaverton Night Market was held twice – once in July, and once in August. I’m not sure there was a night market in 2024. Instead, there was a full weekend of the Legendary Makers Market.
This year, the Legendary Makers Market was held on the same weekend as the Oregon Country Fair, so I wasn’t able to go. And, this year, the Beaverton Night Market was only one night.
Best Novel: The Siege of Burning Grass, Premee Mohamed, Solaris Best YA Novel: Heavenly Tyrant, Xiran Jay Zhao, Tundra Books Best Novelette/Novella: The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamed, Tordotcom Best Short Story: “Blood and Desert Dreams“, Y.M. Pang, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 408 Best Graphic Novel: Star Trek Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way, Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio, IDW Publishing Best Poem/Song “Cthulhu on the Shores of Osaka“, Y.M. Pang, Invitation: A One-shot Anthology of Speculative Fiction Best Related Work: Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Two Stephen Kotowych, editor, Ansible Press Best Cover Art/Interior Illustration: Augur Magazine, Issue 7.1, cover art, Martine Nguyen Best Fan Writing and Publication: SF&F Book Reviews, Robert Runté, Ottawa Review of Books Best Fan Related Work: murmurstations, Sonia Urlando, Augur Society, podcast
Last month, members of Livable Lynchburg, a Strong Towns Local Conversation group, joined a walk audit alongside city staff, regional planners, and transit officials. At the corner of 12th and Polk, they noticed two stretches of sidewalk that were so overgrown they were nearly impassable.
It has been hot, 106F yesterday, with the wind out of the south-east which always sets off my worst allergies. Around here they call them the Diablo Winds. It looks like there is now a cooling trend that will take us back into the low 90's again. Although the last few days have been hot, in reality this has been the coolest summer we have had for many years. With the warm weather the garden is cranking out loads of produce. I really should make pickles tonight. There is enough okra for a couple of jars of pickles, and there are lots and lots of cucumbers, though not very many pickling cucumbers. The shade cloth seems to be doing its job of keeping things from burning. Chena's class yesterday went well. We learned Send and Return. Each of us had a cone set in front of us, and were to send the dog out and around the cone. Chena was happy to do it, though I'm not sure she quite got the concept. We practiced having our dogs Stay in the down position while the instructor strolled around playing a loop of ducks quacking on her phone. Chena did break position on that one, but not the next one, which was a squeeky toy and a plastic bag being rustled around. During the Backup was another new command for the class. I've been practicing that for some time with Chena and she has it down. No we are working on going straight back. We practiced Touch, where the dog touches a hand or item with their nose. The instructor suggested we might want to put a buzzer next to the door so the dog could ask to go out. NO, NO, NO!! Chena would be much worse than any cat about wanting to go in and out through the door! While at dog class I handed the instructor, Nancy, a completely revised Core 2 handout. The one she had given us was terrible. Last week Kim got very confused about what we had been taught, so I wrote up notes for her. While doing that I referenced the handout which was a hodge-podge of disorganized bad writing. Since I was already writing up notes, I went to work on it. Nancy was surprised and a bit taken aback, but after glancing at my work and thinking for a moment she admitted that she knew the Core 2 handout needed work and that it had been hastily pulled together from multiple sources, which was blindingly obvious. I don't know that I got it all correct, but at least each command is formatted the same, the commands are listed in alphabetical order so you can find them, and instructions don't stop mid-sentence. Back at the Ranch, I've been spraying Firefly down with water. She loves it. Then she goes and rolls in the dust. Sigh. Thank goodness there is a silicone based product in her mane and tail so they don't tangle too readily. The dirt tends to fall right off. I saw a very large rat out at the hay pile last night. I have no idea where rats like that are coming from, these are rats that normally live near human dwellings and don't do well in our arid landscape. I suppose now I'll need to bury my compost for a while. Hopefully the screech owl I hear at night will fly by and take care of the problem. Or Chena will catch it, she tried last night.
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