Maybe I'm missing something, but if I were leading a political party that loses more elections the more people vote, I'd try to get more people to vote for my side. How can a party stand knowing it's that unpopular?

I don't really mind having to bring the car to the shop at 7am. What I mind is having to get dressed to do it.

And then you need to communicate what you have in mind with a gentle anticipatory move if possible, then only *suggest* the flourish you have in mind. If they veto or ignore the suggestion, that's the end of it. If they go for it, you support them through it (and somewhere in there you may have to stop hinting and do some real supporting, but more often you're just guiding). You always provide a way out.

Thoughts on dance leading: we shouldn't call it leading. It's more cueing and supporting. In a contra dance, you dance with a lot of people of different abilities, and you get five or ten seconds to assess a partner-of-the-moment's strength, balance, flexibility, interest in playing--a very busy few seconds!
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Just finished another contra dance weekend and realizing one of the things I like about contra is that it's a roomful of people taking care of each other. Some dance well, some barely keep up, some spread chaos wherever they go, but everyone is supported, forgiven, gently guided into the right path or at least a path that will work for now.

Wow, looks like feeding kids is a good thing.

Subsidized meals in child care tied to healthier kids and families
/nosanitize
No paywall: https://wapo.st/3ZBFrxh
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/09/24/day-care-food-subsidy-health/

Canadian snark is sometimes indistinguishable from passive-aggressiveness. (Found in Surrey, BC.)

Another couple hours and I'll be in Canada. Wondering already what coming back will be like -- what if they shut down the border? Will I be trapped in a civilized country?

Wordle 825 2/6

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TFW you want to look up a traditional tune and you know the title had something to do with Napoleon but there's at least three Napoleon's this, that, or the other titles, plus Bonaparte's ditto, plus Waterloo (get out of here, ABBA!) and when you find it there are a dozen versions and none is quite the one you remember... cause it's folk music, what did you expect?

TIL you can't bring baby walkers and jequirity beans, among other things, into Canada. I didn't even know what jequirity beans were, so I looked them up. Holy cow. Small but deadly.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrus_precatorius, especially the "Toxin" section.
As for the baby walkers, that's just one more thing making me feel like the US is the meth-soaked trailer park south of Canada.

Took me a while to catch on, but the "parents' rights" catchphrase is perfectly analogous to the "states' rights" tag of the 1960s. In both cases, it's not about the "right" to keep people well-fed, educated, empowered; it's about the "right" to keep them ignorant, brainwashed, powerless.

Long-put-off painting project started, bright and early at 2pm. Got one coat on, cleaned up, that's all for today. Beverage imbibed: juice of one whole lime, dollop of orange liqueur, shot of Old Soldier whiskey, mix over ice. Must think about dinner but the mind rebels.

Starting a new career in graphic design!