Random Raves 54: You will succeed. It is inevitable.
- Thread starter Synobun
- Start date
And also made things official with my partner. Talking stage over!
There's a tenant in the building who's lived here for 20 years. Her birthday is on Tuesday and everyone is invited to a party in the social room. She's going to be 92. She's one of the tenants I've gotten to know over the years (I've lived here nearly 12 years), and she's nice - and prefers to stay in her own place as long as possible. No seniors' homes for her, thankyouverymuch! 
Perfection
The Great Head.
imma eat a whole box of kraft macaroni and cheese while crossfaded. They don't call me perfection for nothin'
dusters
Emperor
I have to talk at seminar for inclusive education on Tuesday. I have to give 5 pros and 5 cons for inclusive learning.
Looking back at my own education, it was SNAFU.
Latvian schools didn't want to include me in either the 1990s or the 2000s.
At the time, I was a transsexual and asexual autistic person with hyperactivity.
In the 6th grade, I was in a wheelchair due to nerves from mobbing and bullying which started in 3rd grade.
In the 8th and 9th grades, I was home-schooled and that was fine.
In the 10th-12th grades, I tried to study at a gymnasium, but the mobbing and bullying continued there.
I stayed for a second year three times because of depression.
I finished school in evening school at the age of 21.
I went to therapy on and off for 15 years from age of fourteen.
***
Nowadays, it's better because you can study via distance learning. Which is what children with various diagnoses do.
Rave is about the fact that I can look back at it all and say: "Well, it was a SNAFU situation, nobody understood me and that's why president of Latvian psychiatrists association wanted me to
go to the University lab and be the research subject". That was in 2005.
At that time I had been "the research subject" (the first patient of kind) for so many doctors that I didn't care to go.
I guess I could write a thesis in psychology about myself. How funny. Yet I laugh about it, because I am alive.
At the time self harm rate among transsexuals was fifty percent according to USA medical staff statistics.
Looking back at my own education, it was SNAFU.
Latvian schools didn't want to include me in either the 1990s or the 2000s.
At the time, I was a transsexual and asexual autistic person with hyperactivity.
In the 6th grade, I was in a wheelchair due to nerves from mobbing and bullying which started in 3rd grade.
In the 8th and 9th grades, I was home-schooled and that was fine.
In the 10th-12th grades, I tried to study at a gymnasium, but the mobbing and bullying continued there.
I stayed for a second year three times because of depression.
I finished school in evening school at the age of 21.
I went to therapy on and off for 15 years from age of fourteen.
***
Nowadays, it's better because you can study via distance learning. Which is what children with various diagnoses do.
Rave is about the fact that I can look back at it all and say: "Well, it was a SNAFU situation, nobody understood me and that's why president of Latvian psychiatrists association wanted me to
go to the University lab and be the research subject". That was in 2005.
At that time I had been "the research subject" (the first patient of kind) for so many doctors that I didn't care to go.
I guess I could write a thesis in psychology about myself. How funny. Yet I laugh about it, because I am alive.
At the time self harm rate among transsexuals was fifty percent according to USA medical staff statistics.
I went to a birthday party today for one of the residents in the building. She turned 93.
There were 3 different cakes, a plate of chocolate cupcakes with pink icing, banana bread, pistachio-almond ice cream, three different varieties of potato chips (ketchup, dill pickle, and barbecue), and a variety of beverages (pop, coffee, flavored water). Oh, and some kind of crackers, which never got opened.
One of the people there was a music teacher and vocal coach, and sang a capella (and holy crap, that room is too small for a voice that huge; I had to concentrate on not covering my ears because it hurt).
I didn't get around to trying the banana bread, but it looked good. The cakes were good, and this was the first time I'd tried pistachio ice cream. There was Dr Pepper Zero to drink.
Some of us took a few things home afterward, so I got the remainder of the chips and the Dr Pepper, which was nice.
I absolutely had so much more sugar than I should have, but am feeling okay. It was nice to meet some of the neighbors ('neighbors' being a relative term, since I think we were all spread out over 5 different floors and a couple of the people didn't live here at all).
The party was from 1 pm to 3:30 pm and I haven't felt like eating anything yet (it's nearly 11:30 pm). We were very well-fed there.
There were 3 different cakes, a plate of chocolate cupcakes with pink icing, banana bread, pistachio-almond ice cream, three different varieties of potato chips (ketchup, dill pickle, and barbecue), and a variety of beverages (pop, coffee, flavored water). Oh, and some kind of crackers, which never got opened.
One of the people there was a music teacher and vocal coach, and sang a capella (and holy crap, that room is too small for a voice that huge; I had to concentrate on not covering my ears because it hurt).
I didn't get around to trying the banana bread, but it looked good. The cakes were good, and this was the first time I'd tried pistachio ice cream. There was Dr Pepper Zero to drink.
Some of us took a few things home afterward, so I got the remainder of the chips and the Dr Pepper, which was nice.
I absolutely had so much more sugar than I should have, but am feeling okay. It was nice to meet some of the neighbors ('neighbors' being a relative term, since I think we were all spread out over 5 different floors and a couple of the people didn't live here at all).
The party was from 1 pm to 3:30 pm and I haven't felt like eating anything yet (it's nearly 11:30 pm). We were very well-fed there.
To Go
Dear Diary:On a cold, rainy Friday night in Midtown, clutching an umbrella and with my face stuffed in a scarf such that I was barely able to see, I made my way to where my Chinese takeout was waiting.
As I pushed through the door, it was nearly as dark inside as it was outside, and the music was loud. Slightly disoriented, I gave the host my name.
He soon returned empty-handed.
“What did you order?” he asked.
“Sesame chicken and a roast pork bun,” I said.
“You need to go next door,” he said. “This is an Indian restaurant.”
— Nick Devor
This morning on the way to work I was stopped by a train that had two Pan-Am cars, complete with the logo. I tried to get my phone out for a shot but missed it. Still cool seeing Pan-Am out in the wild. They went bankrupt when I was still a small kid, so I never got to experience them.
Today rates virtual cake, whether a cake or even an anniversary potato (in honor of Spud, my best-known avatar).
I've just been reminded by the forum system that today is my 20th anniversary of joining CFC!
I've just been reminded by the forum system that today is my 20th anniversary of joining CFC!
From a review of Peter Wolf's new biography. Former lead of J. Geils Band.
"The book opens in 1957. His parents took him to see a French film, “He Who Must Die,” in an art house. When the lights went down, a couple rushed in, and the lady — wearing a mink coat over a lacy nightgown — sat next to him. She leaned her head onto his shoulder, and young Peter nodded off. Only when the film finished and she scrambled out did he recognize her. The chapter is titled “I Slept With Marilyn Monroe.”
"The book opens in 1957. His parents took him to see a French film, “He Who Must Die,” in an art house. When the lights went down, a couple rushed in, and the lady — wearing a mink coat over a lacy nightgown — sat next to him. She leaned her head onto his shoulder, and young Peter nodded off. Only when the film finished and she scrambled out did he recognize her. The chapter is titled “I Slept With Marilyn Monroe.”
Metro diary
The M57 bus had just pulled away from my stop as I got there.
Might the driver let me on as he was merging into the line of traffic, just a few yards from the curb? No. Had he even seen me, looking plaintive and hopeful? Apparently not.
I decided to go for it, to catch this same bus at the next stop, at 57th Street and Eighth Avenue.
Weighed down by a backpack, a shoulder bag and a shopping bag full of groceries, I ran as fast as I could, dodging pedestrians as I went.
The bus beat me to the stop, but because a few other people were waiting to get on, I made it before it pulled out.
Huffing and puffing up the steps, I fished out my senior MetroCard.
The driver, without making eye contact, covered the farebox with his hand.
“You’ve worked hard enough today,” he said.
— Elinor Lipman
Going for It
Dear Diary:The M57 bus had just pulled away from my stop as I got there.
Might the driver let me on as he was merging into the line of traffic, just a few yards from the curb? No. Had he even seen me, looking plaintive and hopeful? Apparently not.
I decided to go for it, to catch this same bus at the next stop, at 57th Street and Eighth Avenue.
Weighed down by a backpack, a shoulder bag and a shopping bag full of groceries, I ran as fast as I could, dodging pedestrians as I went.
The bus beat me to the stop, but because a few other people were waiting to get on, I made it before it pulled out.
Huffing and puffing up the steps, I fished out my senior MetroCard.
The driver, without making eye contact, covered the farebox with his hand.
“You’ve worked hard enough today,” he said.
— Elinor Lipman
Counting Crows: August 5, 2025 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater
Had fresh watermelon yesterday. Product of Mexico, so guilt-free.
This is a rave, because rarely is there a more deserving target of the Strisland effect. How many people would have heard about this book had she been able to promote it, compared to getting on the BBC front page?
Meta stops ex-director from promoting critical memoir
Meta has won an emergency ruling in the US to temporarily stop a former director of Facebook from promoting or further distributing copies of her memoir.
The book, Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, who used to be the company's global public policy director, includes a series of critical claims about what she witnessed during her seven years working at Facebook.
Her allegations include that executives had worked "hand in glove" with the Chinese government on potential ways of allowing Beijing to censor and control content in exchange for access to the lucrative market.
[The beak] did not order the book's publisher, Flatiron Books, or its parent company, Macmillan, to take any action.
Careless People was released in the US, where it is number six on the Amazon chart, on Tuesday. It was published in the UK on Thursday.
Meta stops ex-director from promoting critical memoir
Meta has won an emergency ruling in the US to temporarily stop a former director of Facebook from promoting or further distributing copies of her memoir.
The book, Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, who used to be the company's global public policy director, includes a series of critical claims about what she witnessed during her seven years working at Facebook.
Her allegations include that executives had worked "hand in glove" with the Chinese government on potential ways of allowing Beijing to censor and control content in exchange for access to the lucrative market.
[The beak] did not order the book's publisher, Flatiron Books, or its parent company, Macmillan, to take any action.
Careless People was released in the US, where it is number six on the Amazon chart, on Tuesday. It was published in the UK on Thursday.
I saw an article about it the other day. Good for her for shining the light.
Metro Diary, only in NY!
It was 1985, and my husband and I were living on the Upper East Side. We planned a rare date night out and found a friend to babysit our 1-year-old daughter.
We set out for a nearby theater where “Cocoon,” with Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn among the stars, was playing. I was a fan of the couple, having seen them onstage at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis when I was growing up in Iowa.
Unfortunately, when we got to the theater, we found that the next showing was sold out.
Determined not to waste the evening, we walked a few blocks to another theater, where “Prizzi’s Honor,” with Kathleen Turner, Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston, was about to start.
As we waited to buy tickets, I noticed an older couple standing a few feet ahead of us in line. I nudged my husband
“Look,” I whispered. “That couple: That’s Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn!”
— Jean Young
Seeing Stars
Dear Diary:It was 1985, and my husband and I were living on the Upper East Side. We planned a rare date night out and found a friend to babysit our 1-year-old daughter.
We set out for a nearby theater where “Cocoon,” with Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn among the stars, was playing. I was a fan of the couple, having seen them onstage at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis when I was growing up in Iowa.
Unfortunately, when we got to the theater, we found that the next showing was sold out.
Determined not to waste the evening, we walked a few blocks to another theater, where “Prizzi’s Honor,” with Kathleen Turner, Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston, was about to start.
As we waited to buy tickets, I noticed an older couple standing a few feet ahead of us in line. I nudged my husband
“Look,” I whispered. “That couple: That’s Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn!”
— Jean Young
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