l33tminion | Network

Posted by Medievalists.net

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/05/remains-of-medieval-ship-discovered-in-the-netherlands/

https://www.medievalists.net/?p=108990

A wooden beam discovered in the Dutch town of Wijk bij Duurstede may be part of a medieval ship, with archaeologists investigating whether it dates to the Carolingian era or a later cog vessel.

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/05/remains-of-medieval-ship-discovered-in-the-netherlands/

https://www.medievalists.net/?p=108990

pushkin666

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Current Mood: awake
Current Music: Watching The Boys

wychwood

( 61. The Water Outlaws - S L Huang ) a fun adventure, and I did enjoy all the warrior ladies.

( Four late Chalet School books - Elinor M Brent-Dyer ) My beloved Chalet School, always a pleasure.

( 63. The Song of the Cell - Siddhartha Mukherjee ) More than I ever knew there was to know about cells; this was a really interesting overview.

( 64. Bang Bang Bodhisattva - Aubrey Wood ) I think this was well done, but I didn't enjoy it very much? I do want more cyberpunk, though, so I'm not sorry I tried it.

( 65. Death of the Author - Nnedi Okorafor ) I had a lot of thoughts about this book but I'm not sure how much I liked it.

And that was the last of my batch of books! I picked a whole new set and started all over again.

( 67. Valor's Choice - Tanya Huff ) Huff is a good writer, and I feel like she could have done something much more interesting. This is competent but... a bit dull?

( 68. The Science of Racism - Keon West ) This is brilliant and I wish there were more books taking this approach of just absolutely drowning the reader in facts until it becomes impossible to overlook them.

( 69. Tempests and Slaughter - Tamora Pierce ) Not her top work, but very enjoyable; I'm sorry the sequels haven't come out.

( 70. Reflections - Diana Wynne Jones ) DWJ was an interesting person who thought in interesting ways about her work, and I really enjoyed all of that; the rest was at the very least entertaining.

( 71. Grave Secrets - Alice James ) On one level this was quite fun, but on another I just had... far too many unanswered questions. Don't think I'll be reading further.

( 73. The Complete English Poems - John Donne ) I like Donne much less than I did before I started reading the entire collection instead of just some of the good bits!

( 74. Smokescreen - Dick Francis ) I didn't find this nearly as propulsive as usual, but it was still definitely enjoyable.

( 75. The Apex Book of World SF - ed. Lavie Tidhar ) Overall a disappointing collection; I'm hoping the later volumes will be better.

( 76. Hons and Rebels - Jessica Mitford ) Mitford seems like an interesting person, but really I think we should abolish aristocracy.

( 78. Starcruiser Shenandoah: Division of the Spoils - Roland J Green ) I'm feeling a bit ambivalent about this series, but also determined to find out how it ends!

( 79. Where We Left Off - Roan Parrish ) I kind of feel like this happy ending is a disaster waiting to happen, but also neither of them is going to let go for long enough to really end the relationship, so... I guess this is the best result available?

( 80. The Husbands - Holly Gramazio ) This was an interesting book, but it had a lot of different things going on, and I wasn't entirely convinced that it fully cohered. I did enjoy it, though!

( 81. Rosemary's Baby - Ira Levin ) Really well-done but miserable! Rosemary deserved better.

( 82. Fairy Cat - Hisa Takano ) The tiny cat is super cute, but I kept waiting for something to actually happen, and nothing ever does, really!

( 83. The Legends of the Jews volume 1 - Louis Ginzberg ) An interesting exploration of some of the folklore that accreted around the Torah, but mostly rather depressing on human nature.

( 84. This Rough Magic - Mary Stewart ) Solidly enjoyable.

( 85. Dragonflight - Anne McCaffrey ) Surprisingly enjoyable, despite the... everything! I can see why I liked these books so much as a teenager.

( 86. The Children of Ash and Elm - Neil Price ) Really outstanding overview of Viking history, deliciously crunchy but also very approachable.

( 87. Quentin Durward - Walter Scott ) I used to enjoy Scott; this one didn't feel as much fun as I remembered, though.

( 88. Choices - LA Hall ) I'll keep reading these as long as she cares to keep writing them, honestly.

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fandomcalendar

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stonepicnicking_okapi

Could it be anything else today? MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU! And with your spirit

Watch on YouTube

madfilkentist posting in

girlgenius_lair

Meanwhile, back at the Lucrezias...

stonepicnicking_okapi posting in

1word1day

nacreous [ney-kree-uhs]

adjective
resembling mother-of-pearl; lustrous; pearly, iridescent

examples
1. This one is tough--its nacreous, butterfly shell swings shut on its hinges, small black wings locked like a mouth. "Mussels" [poem] by Lucinda Roy.

2. "Looking like a "portal to the next dimension" or possibly a spaceship, the shimmering colours of nacreous cloud were spotted. "Rare 'rainbow cloud' spotted in UK skies." BBC. 21 December 2023

origin
1590s, "type of shellfish that yields mother-of-pearl," from French nacre (Old French nacaire, 14c.), from Italian naccaro (now nacchera), possibly from Arabic naqur "hunting horn" (from nakara "to hollow out"), in reference to the shape of the mollusk shell. Meaning "mother-of-pearl" is from 1718. The French adjectival form nacré was applied in English to decorative objects iridescent like mother of pearl (1895).

May the fourth be with you!

nacreous

bruce_schneier_feed

Posted by Bruce Schneier

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/05/hacking-polymarket.html

https://www.schneier.com/?p=71998

Polymarket is a platform where people can bet on real-world events, political and otherwise. Leaving the ethical considerations of this aside (for one, it facilitates assassination), one of the issues with making this work is the verification of these real-world events. Polymarket gamblers have threatened a journalist because his story was being used to verify an event. And now, gamblers are taking hair dryers to weather sensors to rig weather bets.

There’s also insider trading: a lot of it.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2026/05/hacking-polymarket.html

https://www.schneier.com/?p=71998

tcpip

"Jurgen Habermas is the most influential thinker in Germany today". Thus begins Thomas McCarthy's 1975 translator's introduction to "Legitimation Crisis" ("Legitimationsprobleme in Spatkapitalismus", 1973), and he wasn't wrong. Whilst he may have fallen a little off the radar a bit in the last decades (especially after his attempted "post-secular" rapproachment with religion), fifty years as Europe's most important and serious philosopher is a fairly good innings. Habermas dies last month, aged 96, and I was fortunate enough to be offered to give a presentation to the Existentialist Society this weekend on his philosophy of universal pragmatics and communicative action, which was both well-attended and had many excellent questions. The video, alas, missed the first couple of minutes, but everything is available in the transcript.

The weekend was not only an afternoon of deep and complex emancipatory German social philosophy in the idealistic tradition, however. Marc C., joined me for dinner on Friday before we ventured to The Old Bar to see some music; opening act "Trappist Afterland" was a subtle one-man band with Indian sub-continent backing tracks and songs about dogs, Star/Time provided quasi-improvised space-funk, and headline act The Gruntled accurately describe themselves as "avant-medieval psychedelic noise combo"; it all helps when you know several of the band members. The following night, I caught up with Liza D., and we made our way to "Impossiblistic: A Night of Surreal Performances, which was poetry, theatre, music, costume, puppetry, clown shows, and more. It was less surreal than enjoyable nonsense and was just fine.

Between all this, I also managed to visit the "Creative Antarctica" exhibition at RMIT on its last day, on Australian artists and writers who visited that grand continent. Of course, my own emotional and intellectual attachment to said continent is very strong; not too many people can say that they've spent New Year's Eve there. The exhibition was quite delightful. I really like Janet Laurence's "Ice Remembers" and Sally Robertson's "Atlas Cove". But the standout image for me was Frank Hurley's photograph of 1916 of Shackleton and Worsley leaving Elephant Island on a tiny lifeboat that would somehow make it to South Georgia Island over a thousand kilometres away and would lead to the rescue of the crew of the Endurance. It is one the greatest stories of survival against all odds and, for what it's worth, Elephant Island was the last location of my own trip to Antarctica this year. As Sir Raymond Priestley, Antarctic explorer and geologist, poetically put it: "For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton."

Current Mood: content
Current Music: Dystopian Soundscapes channel

ecosophia

It's just past midnight and so it's time to launch a new Magic Monday. Ask me anything about occultism, and with certain exceptions noted below, any question received by midnight Monday Eastern time will get an answer. Please note: Any question or comment received after that point will not get an answer, and in fact will not be put through. If you're in a hurry, or suspect you may be the 341,928th person to ask a question, please check out the very rough version 1.3 of The Magic Monday FAQ here.

Also: I will not be putting through or answering any more questions about practicing magic around children. I've answered those in simple declarative sentences in the FAQ. If you read the FAQ and don't think your question has been answered, read it again. If that doesn't help, consider remedial reading classes; yes, it really is as simple and straightforward as the FAQ says. And further: I've decided that questions about getting goodies from spirits are also permanently off topic here. The point of occultism is to develop your own capacities, not to try to bully or wheedle other beings into doing things for you. I've discussed this in a post on my blog.

(The quote? I've finished the sequence of my published books; while I decide what I want to do next, I have some memes to share.)

Buy Me A Coffee

Ko-Fi

I've had several people ask about tipping me for answers here, and though I certainly don't require that I won't turn it down. You can use either of the links above to access my online tip jar; Buymeacoffee is good for small tips, Ko-Fi is better for larger ones. (I used to use PayPal but they developed an allergy to free speech, so I've developed an allergy to them.) If you're interested in political and economic astrology, or simply prefer to use a subscription service to support your favorite authors, you can find my Patreon page here and my SubscribeStar page here.

I've also had quite a few people over the years ask me where they should buy my books, and here's the answer. Bookshop.org is an alternative online bookstore that supports local bookstores and authors, which a certain gargantuan corporation doesn't, and I have a shop there, which you can check out here. Please consider patronizing it if you'd like to purchase any of my books online.

And don't forget to look up your Pangalactic New Age Soul Signature at CosmicOom.com.

With that said, have at it!

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: David Lanz, "Cristoforo's Dream"

redbird

The timing of spring is being weird in the Boston area. The lilies of the valley have started to bloom, while some of the forsythia bushes still have a lot of bright yellow flowers.

We still have daffodils, the rhododendrons are being exuberant, and the violets have been looking good for a week or two.

I will look for lilacs sometime in the next few days. The most convenient would be to see what's in bloom along and near Mount Auburn Street near Ash Street, on my way home from the dentist on Wednesday. (I'm also considering a side trip to Sophia's Greek Pantry for good oregano, but stopping at Sevan Bakery or Arax would be more convenient.)

mxcatmoon posting in

vocab_drabbles

This week's word is

Avant-garde

/ avɑ̃ɡard, ˌævɒŋˈɡɑːd /

adjective

1. Of or relating to the experimental treatment of artistic, musical, or literary material.

2. Unorthodox or daring; radical.

"To regain public trust in the news media, the organization took the avant-garde approach of including the public in the production of news."

noun

Those artists, writers, musicians, etc., whose techniques and ideas are markedly experimental or in advance of those generally accepted.

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medievalists_rss_feed

Posted by Medievalists.net

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/05/how-thomas-becket-was-really-murdered-in-canterbury-cathedral/

https://www.medievalists.net/?p=108982

Thomas Becket’s murder inside Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 shocked medieval England and quickly turned him into a saint. But what actually happened in those final moments—and why did his death come to be seen as something more than a brutal killing?

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/05/how-thomas-becket-was-really-murdered-in-canterbury-cathedral/

https://www.medievalists.net/?p=108982

thewayne

This is pretty cool. A startup founded by a former NASA engineer has created a device for extinguishing fire with infrasound: super low frequency sound waves that literally push the oxygen away from the fire, denying the fire of one of the things that it needs for combustion!

It's safe to be around when it's in operation as it doesn't destroy or deplete the oxygen in the area, i.e. you won't asphyxiate, and being low frequency it won't damage the hearing of people or pets. In the video there's a demonstration of the device in use on a simulated oil pan kitchen fire, which it extinguishes in under 30 seconds.

There are a lot of unanswered questions, such as will it activate again if the fire reignites, what are long-term maintenance requirements, what about furniture, mattress, or electrical fires, crosswinds, etc. So far, the company hasn't released any specifics as to how its testing is being conducted, nor have any units been released for third parties to verify testing conditions or parameters.

The company also hopes that the unit could be used to fight wildfires, such as mounted on the front of bulldozers. It's working with one California wildfire agency to see if such testing can be done.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/05/startup-says-sound-waves-can-replace-fire-sprinklers-experts-arent-so-sure/

asakiyume

One thing I'd wanted to do on this trip is make asaí (or in English we write it açai, from the Portuguese, because Brazil is the major exporter) juice. It's a good physical effort, but the whole thing went faster than I thought it would. It was me, my tutor's older brother, and her mom doing it, with her doing the videography and photos :-)

The first step is to soak the asaí berries. Here they are with hot water poured over them.

Then you pound them! The pounder was made by my tutor's mother from palo de sangre, bloodwood, which really does bleed red sap when you cut it (and is a lovely deep red color when carved). You pound until the pounder makes a sound like a boot pulling out of the mud when you lift it. At that point it's pounded enough. My tutor's brother and I took turns with this ;-)

Watch on YouTube

Then you pass that mash through this sieve, which is called cuechinu in Tikuna, and was also made by my tutor's mom.

passing the berries through the cuechinu (cernidor, strainer)

And then you further strain it through a very fine strainer. The hands belong to my tutor's mom:

passing asaí through the finest strainer

And then ... you can drink it :-) I had mine with sugar. Looking very pleased with myself BECAUSE I WAS.

sanguinity

Intro/FAQ

My check-in: Wrote back to my second-high bidder about possible directions to take their story; wrote back to one of the creators who's writing for me about things that I think are delicious in a story; added 250 words of prime grade-A hurt/comfort angst to yesterday's story.

Day 3:

sanguinity

Day 2:

acorn_squash,

badly_knitted,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

dswdiane,

glinda,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 1:

badly_knitted,

goddess47,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

dswdiane,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

When you check in, please use the most recent post and say what day(s) you’re checking in for. Remember you can drop in or out at any time, and let me know if I missed anyone!

lb_lee

Rogan: apparently I just like collating data about my library for fun. And last night, I wondered: what decades are on my shelf?

( more than I thought! )

Crossposts: https://lb-lee.insanejournal.com/32752.html

medievalists_rss_feed

Posted by Medievalists.net

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/05/huge-medieval-coin-hoard-discovered-in-norway/

https://www.medievalists.net/?p=108970

Over 3,000 silver coins from the Viking Age have been uncovered in Norway, marking the largest medieval hoard ever found in the country and prompting new archaeological research.

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/05/huge-medieval-coin-hoard-discovered-in-norway/

https://www.medievalists.net/?p=108970

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Sam's Reading Page

A Delicious Dreamwidth Blend

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Remains of Medieval Ship Discovered in the Netherlands

Happy Star Wars Day

april booklog

A Horse of Course Exchange

Music Monday: Darth Vader's Theme

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Monday Word: Nacreous

Hacking Polymarket

Habermas Presentation and Artistic Experiences

Magic Monday

a slightly weird spring

#194 - Avant-garde

Creative Jam

May Bingo Fest

How Thomas Becket Was Really Murdered in Canterbury Cathedral

Fight fire with.... infrasound?

making asaí (açai) juice

Write Every Day: Day 3

Bookshelf by Decades

Huge Medieval Coin Hoard Discovered in Norway

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