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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> <title>Making Light</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/" /> <link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/atom.xml" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2023:/makinglight/3</id> <updated>2023-12-25T02:05:14Z</updated> <subtitle>Language, fraud, folly, truth, history, and knitting. Et cetera.</subtitle> <generator uri="http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/">Movable Type Pro 4.34-en</generator> <entry> <title type="html">Texts, 2023</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016661.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2023:/makinglight//3.16661</id> <published>2023-12-25T01:49:46Z</published> <updated>2023-12-25T02:05:14Z</updated> <summary>This time next year, we'll bring back the Greek, Old Church Slavonic, three kinds of Swedish, Haitian, Icelandic, and Quenya....</summary> <author> <name>Teresa</name> <uri>http://nielsenhayden.com</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[This time next year, we'll bring back the Greek, Old Church Slavonic, three kinds of Swedish, Haitian, Icelandic, and Quenya. Right now, they don't render. They will, in the Making Light to come.<p>Just a little longer. It's dark, but the dark never lasts. We'll see you in 2024, in a world where commenting works, special character sets render, the fishing is great, and young folks know all the best jokes.<p>Watch the skies.<p>...<p><b>Luke 2:1-14, Anglo-Saxon</b> <i>(<a href="http://www.anglik.net/englishcomparison.htm">via</a>)</i>:<p>Soþlice on þam dagum wæs geworden gebod fram þam casere Augusto, þæt eall ymbehwyrft wære tomearcod. Þeos tomearcodnes wæs æryst geworden fram þam deman Syrige Cirino. And ealle hig eodon, and syndrige ferdon on hyra ceastre. Ða ferde Iosep fram Galilea of þære ceastre Nazareth on Iudeisce ceastre Dauides, seo is genemned Beþleem, for þam þe he wæs of Dauides huse and hirede; þæt he ferde mid Marian þe him beweddod wæs, and wæs geeacnod. Soþlice wæs geworden þa hi þar wæron, hire dagas wæron gefyllede þæt heo cende. And heo cende hyre frumcennedan sunu, and hine mid cildclaþum bewand, and hine on binne alede, for þam þe hig næfdon rum on cumena huse. And hyrdas wæron on þam ylcan rice waciende, and nihtwæccan healdende ofer heora heorda. Þa stod Drihtnes engel wiþ hig, and Godes beorhtnes him ymbe scean; and hi him mycelum ege adredon. And se engel him to cwæð, Nelle ge eow adrædan; soþlice nu ic eow bodie mycelne gefean, se bið eallum folce; for þam to dæg eow ys Hælend acenned, se is Drihten Crist, on Dauides ceastre. And þis tacen eow byð: Ge gemetað an cild hræglum bewunden, and on binne aled. And þa wæs færinga geworden mid þam engle mycelnes heofenlices werydes, God heriendra and þus cweþendra, Gode sy wuldor on heahnesse, and on eorðan sybb mannum godes willan.<p>...<p> <b>Luke 2:1-20, tr. John Wycliffe, 1382</b> <i>(<a href="http://www.anglik.net/englishcomparison.htm">via</a>)</i><p>And it was don in tho daies, a maundement wente out fro the emperour August, that al the world schulde be discryued. :: This firste discryuyng was maad of Cyryn, iustice of Sirie. :: And alle men wenten to make professioun, ech in to his owne citee. :: And Joseph wente vp fro Galilee, fro the citee Nazareth, in to Judee, in to a citee of Dauid, that is clepid Bethleem, for that he was of the hous and of the meyne of Dauid, :: that he schulde knouleche with Marie, his wijf, that was weddid to hym, and was greet with child. :: And it was don, while thei weren there, the daies weren fulfillid, that sche schulde bere child. :: And sche bare hir first borun sone, and wlappide hym in clothis, and leide hym in a cratche, for ther was no place to hym in no chaumbir. :: And scheepherdis weren in the same cuntre, wakynge and kepynge the watchis of the nyyt on her flok. :: And lo! the aungel of the Lord stood bisidis hem, and the cleernesse of God schinede aboute hem; and thei dredden with greet drede. :: And the aungel seide to hem, Nyle ye drede; for lo! Y preche to you a greet ioye, that schal be to al puple. :: For a sauyoure is borun to dai to you, that is Crist the Lord, in the citee of Dauid. :: And this is a tokene to you; ye schulen fynde a yong child wlappid in clothis, and leid in a cratche. :: And sudenli ther was maad with the aungel a multitude of heuenli knyythod, heriynge God, :: and seiynge, Glorie be in the hiyeste thingis to God, and in erthe pees be to men of good wille. :: And it was don, as the aungelis passiden awei fro hem in to heuene, the scheephirdis spaken togider, and seiden, Go we ouer to Bethleem, and se we this word that is maad, which the Lord hath maad, and schewide to vs. :: And thei hiyynge camen, and founden Marie and Joseph, and the yong child leid in a cratche. :: And thei seynge, knewen of the word that was seid to hem of this child. :: And alle men that herden wondriden, and of these thingis that weren seid to hem of the scheephirdis. :: But Marie kepte alle these wordis, berynge togider in hir herte. :: And the scheepherdis turneden ayen, glorifyinge and heriynge God in alle thingis that thei hadden herd and seyn, as it was seid to hem.<p>...<p><b>Luke 2:1-20, tr. William Tyndale, 1530</b><p>And it chaunced in thoose dayes: yt ther went oute a comaundment from Auguste the Emperour that all the woorlde shuld be taxed. :: And this taxynge was ye fyrst and executed when Syrenius was leftenaut in Syria. :: And every man went vnto his awne citie to be taxed. :: And Ioseph also ascended from Galile oute of a cite called Nazareth into Iurie: vnto ye cite of David which is called Bethleem because he was of the housse and linage of David :: to be taxed with Mary his spoused wyfe which was with chylde. :: And it fortuned whyll they were there her tyme was come that she shuld be delyvered. :: And she brought forth her fyrst begotten sonne and wrapped him in swadlynge cloothes and layed him in a manger because ther was no roume for them within in the ynne. :: And ther were in the same region shepherdes abydinge in the felde and watching their flocke by nyght. :: And loo: the angell of ye lorde stode harde by them and the brightnes of ye lorde shone rounde aboute them and they were soare afrayed. :: But the angell sayd vnto them: Be not afrayed. For beholde I bringe you tydinges of greate ioye yt shal come to all ye people: :: for vnto you is borne this daye in the cite of David a saveoure which is Christ ye lorde. :: And take this for a signe: ye hall fynde ye chylde swadled and layed in a mager. :: And streight waye ther was with the angell a multitude of hevenly sowdiers laudynge God and sayinge: :: Glory to God an hye and peace on the erth: and vnto men reioysynge. :: And it fortuned assone as the angels were gone awaye fro them in to heven the shepherdes sayd one to another: let vs goo eve vnto Bethleem and se this thynge that is hapened which the Lorde hath shewed vnto vs. :: And they cam with haste and founde Mary and Ioseph and the babe layde in a mager. :: And when they had sene it they publisshed a brode the sayinge which was tolde them of that chylde. :: And all that hearde it wondred at those thinges which were tolde the of the shepherdes. :: But Mary kept all thoose sayinges and pondered them in hyr hert. :: And the shepherdes retourned praysinge and laudinge God for all that they had herde and sene evyn as it was told vnto them.<p>...<p><b>Luke 2:1-20, tr. Miles Coverdale, 1535</b><p>It fortuned at the same tyme, that there wete out a comaundement fro Augustus the Emperoure, that the whole worlde shulde be taxed. And this taxynge was the first that was executed, whan Syrenius was leftenaunt in Siria. And they wente all, euery one to his owne cite to be taxed. Then Ioseph gat him vp also fro Galile, out of the cite of Nazareth, in to Iewry, to ye cite of Dauid, which is called Bethleem, (because he was of ye house and lynage of Dauid) that he might be taxed wt Mary his spoused wife, which was wt childe. And it fortuned whyle they were there, ye tyme was come, that she shulde be delyuered. And she brought forth hir first begotte sonne, & wrapped him in swadlinge clothes, and layed him in a maunger: for they had els no rowme in the ynne.<p>And there were in ye same region shepherdes in the felde by the foldes, and watchinge their flocke by night. And beholde, ye angell of the Lorde stode by the, and ye brightnes of the Lorde shone rounde aboute them, and they were sore afrayed. And the angell sayde vnto them: Be not afrayed. Beholde, I brynge you tydiges of greate ioye, which shall happen vnto all people: for vnto you this daye is borne ye Sauioure, eue Christ ye Lorde, in the cite of Dauid. And take this for a token: Ye shal fynde the babe swadled, and layed in a maunger. And straight waye there was by the angell a multitude of heauenly hoostes, which praysed God, and sayde: Glory be vnto God an hye, & peace vpon earth, and vnto men a good wyll.<p>And it fortuned wha the angels were gone from the in to heaue, the shepherdes sayde one to another: let vs go now euen vnto Bethleem, and se this thinge that is happened, which ye Lorde hath shewed vnto vs. And they came wt haist, & founde both Mary and Ioseph, & the babe layed in ye maunger. And whan they had sene it, they published abrode the sayenge, yt was tolde the of this childe. And all they that herde it, wondred at the wordes, which the shepherdes had tolde them. But Mary kepte all these sayenges, and pondred them in hir hert. And the shepherdes returned, praysinge and laudinge God, for all that they had herde and sene, euen as it was tolde them. <p>...<p><b>Luke 2:1-14, King James Version, 1611</b><p>And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. <i>(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)</i> And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.<p>And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem <i>(because he was of the house and lineage of David)</i>, to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, she being great with child.<p>And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered; and she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes; and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.<p>And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.<p>And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: That ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.<p>And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.<p>...<p> <b>Luke 2:14 in Gothic</b><p>Warth than in dagans jainans. urrann gagrefts fram kaisara Agustau gameljan allana midjungard. soh than gilstrameleins frumista warth at wisandin kindina Swriais raginondin Saurim Kwreinaiau. jah iddjedun allai ei melidai weseina. hwarjizuh in seinai baurg. urrann than jah Iosef us Galeilaia. us baurg Nazaraith in Iudaian. in baurg Daweidis sei haitada Bethlaihaim duthe ei was us garda fadreinais Daweidis. anameljan mith Mariin. sei in fragiftim was imma qeins. wisandein inkilthon. warth than miththanei. tho wesun jainar. usfullnodedun dagos du bairan izai jah gabar sunu seinana thana frumabaur. jah biwand ina jah galagida ina in uzetin. unte ni was im rumis in stada thamma.<p>jah hairdjos wesun in thamma samin landa, thairhwakandans jah witandans wahtwom nahts ufaro hairdai seinai. ith aggilus fraujins anaqam ins jah wulthus fraujins biskain ins, jah ohtedun agisa mikilamma. jah qath du im sa aggilus: ni ogeith, unte sai, spillo izwis faheid mikila, sei wairthith allai managein, thatei gabaurans ist izwis himma daga nasjands, saei ist Xristus frauja, in baurg Daweidis. jah thata izwis taikns: bigitid barn biwundan jah galagid in uzetin. jah anaks warth mith thamma aggilau managei harjis himinakundis hazjandane guth jah qithandane:<p>wulthus in hauhistjam guda<br>jah ana airthai gawairthi in mannam godis wiljins. <p>(Thank you, <a href="http://www.digitalmedievalist.com/news/2006/12/luke-21-in-gothic.html">Lisa Spangenberg, a.k.a. the Digital Medievalist</a>; who in turn gives credit to "Jim Marchand, medievalist extraordinaire.") (<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/eieol/gotol-1-R.html"><i>see also</i></a>)<p>...<p><b>Luke 2:1-14 in Lallans Scots</b><p>About this time the Emperor Augustus pat furth an edick ordeinin at aa the fowk i the haill warld suid be registrate. This wis whan Quirinius wis Governor o Syria, an it wis the first time at siccan a thing hed been dune. Sae aabodie gaed tae be registrate, ilkane til his ain toun, Joseph amang the lave.<p>He belanged til the stock an faimlie o Dauvit, an sae it was wis tae Dauvit's Toun, Bethlehem in Judaea, at he gaed doun frae Nazareth in Galilee for tae gie in his name, takkin Mary, at wis haundfastit til him, wi him. She wis boukin gin this; an whan they war in Bethlehem, she cam til her time an brocht hame her first-born son. She swealed the bairn in a barrie an beddit him in a heck, sin there wis nae room for them intil the inn.<p>Nou, i that same pairt the war a wheen herds bidin thereout on the hill an keepin gaird owre their hrisel at nicht. Suddent an angel o the Lord cam an stuid afore them, an the glorie o the Lord shined about them, an they war uncolie frichtit. But the angel said tae them: Binna nane afeard, I bring ye guid news o gryte blytheness for the haill fowk--this day in Dauvit's Town a saviour hes born til ye, Christ the Lord! This gate ye s'ken it is een as I say: ye will finnd a new-born bairn swealed in a barrie an liggin intil a heck.<p>Syne in a gliff an unco thrang o the airmies o hieven kythed aside the angel, glein laud tae God an liltin:<p>Glore tae God i the heicht o heiven,an peace on the yird tae men he delytes in!<p>(Thank you, <a href="http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/008439.html#162784">Lee Sandlin</a>.)<p>... <p><strong>Nederlandse Statenvertaling (1637), Lukas 2:1-20</strong></p><p>1 En het geschiedde in diezelfde dagen, dat er een gebod uitging van den Keizer Augustus, dat de gehele wereld beschreven zou worden.<br />2 Deze eerste beschrijving geschiedde, als Cyrenius over Syrie stadhouder was.<br />3 En zij gingen allen om beschreven te worden, een iegelijk naar zijn eigen stad.<br />4 En Jozef ging ook op van Galilea, uit de stad Nazareth, naar Judea, tot de stad Davids, die Bethlehem genaamd wordt, (omdat hij uit het huis en geslacht van David was);<br />5 Om beschreven te worden met Maria, zijn ondertrouwde vrouw, welke bevrucht was.<br />6 En het geschiedde, als zij daar waren, dat de dagen vervuld werden, dat zij baren zoude.<br />7 En zij baarde haar eerstgeboren Zoon, en wond Hem in doeken, en legde Hem neder in de kribbe, omdat voor henlieden geen plaats was in de herberg.<br />8 En er waren herders in diezelfde landstreek, zich houdende in het veld, en hielden de nachtwacht over hun kudde.<br />9 En ziet, een engel des Heeren stond bij hen, en de heerlijkheid des Heeren omscheen hen, en zij vreesden met grote vreze.<br />10 En de engel zeide tot hen: Vreest niet, want, ziet, ik verkondig u grote blijdschap, die al den volke wezen zal;<br />11 Namelijk dat u heden geboren is de Zaligmaker, welke is Christus, de Heere, in de stad Davids.<br />12 En dit zal u het teken zijn: gij zult het Kindeken vinden in doeken gewonden, en liggende in de kribbe.<br />13 En van stonde aan was er met den engel een menigte des hemelsen heirlegers, prijzende God en zeggende:<br />14 Ere zij God in de hoogste hemelen, en vrede op aarde, in de mensen een welbehagen.<br />15 En het geschiedde, als de engelen van hen weggevaren waren naar de hemel, dat de herders tot elkander zeiden: Laat ons dan heengaan naar Bethlehem, en laat ons zien het woord, dat er geschied is, hetwelk de Heere ons heeft verkondigd.<br />16 En zij kwamen met haast, en vonden Maria en Jozef, en het Kindeken liggende in de kribbe.<br />17 En als zij Het gezien hadden, maakten zij alom bekend het woord, dat hun van dit Kindeken gezegd was.<br />18 En allen, die het hoorden, verwonderden zich over hetgeen hun gezegd werd van de herders.<br />19 Doch Maria bewaarde deze woorden alle te zamen, overleggende die in haar hart.<br />20 En de herders keerde wederom, verheerlijkende en prijzende God over alles, wat zij gehoord en gezien hadden, gelijk tot hen gesproken was. </p><p>...</p><p><b>Matyu 1:1-12 in Jamaican</b><p>Jiizas did baan iina Betliyem, wan toun iina Judiya. Dem taim de, a Erad did a king iina Judiya. Nou, iina dem siem taim de, som waiz man fram di Iis said did kom a Jeruusilem an a aks, :: "We di pikni de we baan di ada die, we fi kom ton king fi di Juu piipl dem? Wi si im staar iina di Iis, we shuo se im baan, an wi kom fi shuo im nof rispek." :: Nou wen King Erad ier dis ya, dis bada bada im ed, an it bada uol iip a piipl iina Jeruusilem tu. :: Erad kaal evribadi tugeda iina wan miitn -- aal a di ed priis an di man dem we tiich Muoziz Laa -- an im aks dem a wich paat di Krais -- di king we Gad pramis, fi baan. :: Dem ansa se, "Iina Betliyem, kaaz a dat di prafit did rait dong: :: 'An yu Betliyem we iina Judiya, wen yu luk pan aal di ada toun dem we a liid, yu no wot no les dan dem -- yu op de mongks di tap-a-tap toun demkaaz a fram outa yu wan liida a-go kom we a-go protek an liid mi piipl dem we iina Izrel.'" :: Den Erad sen kaal di waiz man dem fi kom kom chek im anda di kwaiyat, an fain out fram dem a wa taim dem did si di staar. :: Im sen dem go a Betliyem an se, "Gwaan go luk fi di pikni. Luk gud gud, an wen unu fain im, kom tel mi, so mi kyan go shuo im nof rispek tu." :: Afta dem don lisn di king, dem lef go we. Az dem a go bout dem bizniz so, no di sed staar we dem did si iina di Iis said kom bak agen! It galang infronta dem til it riich wich paat di pikni did de, an a uova de-so it tap. :: Wen dem did si di staar agen dem glad-bag bos! :: Dem kom iina di ous an si di pikni wid im mada, Mieri, an dem go dong pan dem nii an priez im. Dem tek out di prezent we dem did bring, an gi di pikni -- guol, frangkinsens an mor. :: Nou, chuu Gad did don waan dem aaf, an tel dem iina wan jriim se dem no fi go baka Erad, dem tek wan neda wie go baka dem konchri.<p>(Thank you, <a href="http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/014690.html#1159148">Fragano Ledgister</a>)<p>...<p>Merry Christmas, dear all and sundry, and grace and peace and joy be with you in the year to come. Thank you for being here.]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Status report, and a request</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016657.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2022:/makinglight//3.16657</id> <published>2022-11-01T19:24:55Z</published> <updated>2022-11-01T19:39:33Z</updated> <summary>As I said earlier today on both Twitter and Facebook, I've done just about everything I can to get this...</summary> <author> <name>Patrick</name> <uri>http://nielsenhayden.com</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[As I said earlier today on both Twitter and Facebook, I've done just about everything I can to get this site going again. Unfortunately, this doesn't include getting the comment system to actually work. And the kludges I've added to Making Light's ancient Movable Type templates in order to prod the site back to life aren't really sustainable in the long (or even medium) run.<p>We need someone with real technical chops who can migrate Making Light from Movable Type 4.34 to (probably) WordPress for us. The full archive, posts, images, comments, the front page, the four sideblogs, and so forth. Ideally this would include replicating the "look" of the current site as closely as possible. We know that a job like this will entail a fair amount of skill and handwork and we're prepared to pay professional rates. <p>Google shows us a number of individuals and firms that offer this kind of service, but before we make a decision, we'd like to hear any specific recommendations that anyone reading this might have. Recommendations of particular people or firms, that is, not suggestions that entail us becoming experts at PHP or server config files. My email address is, as ever, pnh at panix dot com. ]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Fiat lux</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016656.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2022:/makinglight//3.16656</id> <published>2022-11-01T07:22:51Z</published> <updated>2022-11-01T10:48:41Z</updated> <summary>The door creaks softly as I push it wide. It's not complaining, really, just surprised That anyone would come. I,...</summary> <author> <name>Abi Sutherland</name> <uri>http://www.sunpig.com/abi/</uri> </author> <category term="Growing luminous by eating light" scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" /> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[The door creaks softly as I push it wide.<br />It's not complaining, really, just surprised<br />That anyone would come. I, mesmerized,<br />Breathe deeply, lift my chin, and step inside.<br />The house is still ineffably itself.<br />The places where we talked, or laughed, or wept,<br />Abide (albeit cobwebbed and unswept).<br />And written there atop the mantle-shelf:<br /><a href="http://nielsenhayden.com/electrolite/archives/003789.html"><strong>Say what you mean. Bear witness. Iterate.</strong></a><br />Ah. <em>This</em> is why I came. It's getting dark.<br />It's time to light the world up with this spark.<br />To shine. To make some light. <em>Illuminate</em>.<br />For what has been, and what is yet to come,<br />Again the door is open. Welcome home.<br /> <p><a href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016654.html">Terms</a> and <a href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016655.html">conditions</a> apply. Hyperlinks may have broken in transit. Void where prohibited or uninteresting. Not intended for internal use. ILLUMINATE! ILLUMINATE! OK!</p>]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">More scufflings behind the arras</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016655.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2022:/makinglight//3.16655</id> <published>2022-11-01T01:03:55Z</published> <updated>2022-11-01T02:03:34Z</updated> <summary>Hello! Today, Patrick surprised no one more than himself by resurrecting the Making Light front page, archives, and CSS. He...</summary> <author> <name>Teresa</name> <uri>http://nielsenhayden.com</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[Hello!<p>Today, Patrick surprised no one more than himself by resurrecting the Making Light front page, archives, and CSS. He was deep in it for 6+ hours. Comments worked for a while, then stopped, which is not terribly surprising; but old ML is readable.<p>If you're having trouble loading something you know is here/there, amend your link so that it ends in "/index.html".<p>Pass it on. Hello hello hello.]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Distant scufflings</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016654.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2022:/makinglight//3.16654</id> <published>2022-10-31T23:46:23Z</published> <updated>2022-11-01T00:54:30Z</updated> <summary>We're working on bringing this place back. We miss the fluorosphere, and many of its regulars have emphatically said the...</summary> <author> <name>Patrick</name> <uri>http://nielsenhayden.com</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[We're working on bringing this place back. We miss the fluorosphere, and many of its regulars have emphatically said the same to us.<p>For most of the last couple of years Making Light has existed in a dimly lit half-life. The CSS didn't load, and the front page didn't load, but if you happened to know the specific URL of a particular old post, you could view a text-only version of it and its comments. Occasionally someone commented -- most recently, Tom Whitmore on 28 Dec 2021. Making Light's problems are probably due to the many incompatibilities between a 14-year-old version of Movable Type and the default configurations of a modern web server, but not being <i>that</i> technical, I was reluctant to personally <a href="https://xkcd.com/349/">get into water that deep</a>.<p>Right now I'm working on fixing some of the big obvious stuff. The right-hand sidebar is a historical museum; we'll deal with that eventually. Today I figured out how to fix the "include" statements on our front-page template, thus bringing back to life the sideblog links, the archive links, and the commonplaces. The type-size selector still doesn't work. And God only knows what bugs lurk in the comment system or the RSS feed. Ultimately, the real solution is almost certainly going to include hiring a technically-competent person or persons to move the whole thing into a modern CMS, like WordPress or something similar. Ideally this will include such distinctively Making Light-ish features as the long-broken and much-missed "View All By."<p>Currently unsolved: None of our old site URLs work, including the monthly archives, the individual archives, and the root URL of "nielsenhayden.com/makinglight", unless you append "/index.html". Yes, we've tried the solution you're about to suggest. The struggle continues.<p>And while all this renovation is going on, we're thinking of starting a fluorospheric Discord...]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Rapping with Rab and Robert</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016652.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2021:/makinglight//3.16652</id> <published>2021-04-19T18:44:58Z</published> <updated>2021-04-19T18:56:09Z</updated> <summary>Someone elseweb crossed a couple of wires and mentioned Robert Frost when they meant Robert Burns. And I got that...</summary> <author> <name>Abi Sutherland</name> <uri>http://www.sunpig.com/abi/</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[<p>Someone elseweb crossed a couple of wires and mentioned Robert Frost when they meant Robert Burns. And I got that awful itch in my brain that I get sometimes.</p> <p>So first this happened:</p> <p><em>For though yer land an' mine<br />Are neighbors near, an' a' that:<br />We split the apple frae the pine<br />A Wall's a Wall for a' that.</em></p> <p>Then a couple of days later:</p> <p><em>The way a pest<br />Crept up the side<br />Of the Sunday best<br />That you wore with pride<br />Made me see<br />How I'd be viewed<br />And rescued me<br />From being rude.</em></p> <p>Then it was late at night and I took a bath. Unfortunately, I get ideas in the bath.</p> <p><em>Thare's mony speak o' Rabbie Burns<br />An' mony Robert Frost.<br />An' gin the writers maun tak' turns<br />Then for the first I favour Burns.<br />But gin the other micht be lost,<br />I think I ken enouch o' verse<br />Tae say that as a poiet, Frost<br />Isnae worse<br />An' worth the cost.</em></p> <p>As Fade mentioned on Twitter, there's an interesting space for parlor games here: crossing over the works of two poets that overlap somehow, whether by their names or some other characteristic.</p> <p>The mic is open.</p> ]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Cleaning the Augean database</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016651.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2021:/makinglight//3.16651</id> <published>2021-04-09T23:53:35Z</published> <updated>2021-04-09T23:55:47Z</updated> <summary>Well, that took a couple of hours, but I think I got all of the spam from the past few...</summary> <author> <name>Avram Grumer</name> <uri>http://agrumer.livejournal.com/</uri> </author> <category term="Folly" scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" /> <category term="Fraud" scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" /> <category term="It came in the mail" scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" /> <category term="moderation and community" scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#category" /> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[<p>Well, that took a couple of hours, but I think I got all of the spam from the past few weeks. </p> <p>If anyone posted a long stream-of-consciousness-style Joyce parody about Tumblr, dating sites, and hormone supplements, it probably got deleted too. </p>]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Open thread 224</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016649.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2021:/makinglight//3.16649</id> <published>2021-03-02T21:27:57Z</published> <updated>2021-03-02T21:28:24Z</updated> <summary>For Teresa and me, March 1 has long been the anniversary of the day we moved to New York City,...</summary> <author> <name>Patrick</name> <uri>http://nielsenhayden.com</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[For Teresa and me, March 1 has long been the anniversary of the day we moved to New York City, back in 1984.<p>This year, it was also the first anniversary of the announcement of the <a href="https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/home/topics/respiratory/first-case-of-covid-19-in-nyc-first-death-reported-in-washington-state/">first known case of COVID-19 in New York City</a>.<p>With any luck, we'll live to mark future March 1sts as the anniversary of when Teresa got her first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. And thanks to my being up-and-online freakishly early </i>this</i> morning, March 2, I unexpectedly got my own first shot today. We both have appointments for our second shots.<p>Signs and portents. Maybe we can make some light.]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html"><![CDATA[“‘The days of your life’ refers to in-game time…”]]></title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016646.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2020:/makinglight//3.16646</id> <published>2020-04-09T23:44:14Z</published> <updated>2020-04-09T23:55:23Z</updated> <summary>Blacow* speaks of four players: the Wargamer, the Power-Gamer, the Role-Player, and the Story-Teller. The Wargamer, what does he say?...</summary> <author> <name>Avram Grumer</name> <uri>http://agrumer.livejournal.com/</uri> </author> <category term="191" label="judaism" scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag" /> <category term="112" label="rpg" scheme="http://www.sixapart.com/ns/types#tag" /> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[<p>Blacow* speaks of four players: the Wargamer, the Power-Gamer, the Role-Player, and the Story-Teller. </p> <p><b>The Wargamer, what does he say?</b> “What foe do we fight, and what is the lay of the land?” You, in turn, shall describe the battlefield, and challenge his tactical abilities, including the morale check for his henchmen. </p> <p><b>The Role-Player, what does he say?</b> “This is what my character would do!” By using his character motivations as an excuse to indulge his antisocial behavior, he has placed his own enjoyment ahead of the other players’. You will rattle his dice by saying, “That is not how we do it at my table;” — “my table,” not his table, because if he keeps this up, he won’t be invited back! </p> <p><b>The Power-Gamer, what does he say?</b> “Where is the loot?” Thus you shall say to him: “With clever play and good fortune, you may win your way to treasure and XP.” </p> <p><b>As for the Story-Teller</b>, you must develop a plot thread for him to follow, as it is said, “It is because of this that your character finds himself in a predicament…” </p> <p style="font-size: 0.8em; border-top: 1px solid black;">* “Aspects of Adventure Gaming,” Glenn F Blacow, <i>Different Worlds</i> #10, Oct/Nov 1980 </p>]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Surrounded</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016643.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2020:/makinglight//3.16643</id> <published>2020-03-24T11:25:17Z</published> <updated>2020-03-24T12:51:31Z</updated> <summary>Reading about all the people venturing that maybe it would be better to stop the social distancing and reopen the...</summary> <author> <name>Patrick</name> <uri>http://nielsenhayden.com</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[Reading about all the people venturing that maybe it would be better to stop the social distancing and reopen the businesses, because tHe dAmAge tO tHe EcOnoMy is So mUcH wOrSe thAn A fEw MiLliOn dEaThS. As someone on Twitter put it, "throwing millions of people into a volcano to appease the Market God." <p>I find myself remembering all the times I've heard people in the science fiction world, including eminent authors, muse that it would probably be for the best to have some big die-off events. I suspect that at least one in three Americans believes this. I suspect I have friends and colleagues who quietly believe this.<p>I can't stop thinking about it. I feel surrounded by ghouls.]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Open thread 223</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016642.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2020:/makinglight//3.16642</id> <published>2020-03-19T20:01:08Z</published> <updated>2020-03-19T20:13:50Z</updated> <summary>So now the rest of the world is discovering virtual communities. I'm feeling very hipster; we were doing it before...</summary> <author> <name>Abi Sutherland</name> <uri>http://www.sunpig.com/abi/</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[<p>So now the rest of the world is discovering virtual communities. I'm feeling very hipster; we were doing it before it was cool.</p> <p>What are some of your favorite resources? I want to point out Jo Walton's <a href="https://www.patreon.com/projectdecameron">Decameron project</a> on Patreon (free, but contributions encouraged) and Ada Palmer's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SomethingBeautiful">#SomethingBeautiful</a> hashtag on Twitter.</p> <p>As they say here in the Netherlands, <em>sterkte</em>, strength, in these difficult days. May we flatten the curve by sheer force of love. May wisdom dwell in the roofs of our mouths and slip out of our sleeves onto our keyboards. May we love what's lost and love what is to come. May we repair what breaks, make it better than before. May we go ever onward.</p> ]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Low, dishonest decade</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016641.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2019:/makinglight//3.16641</id> <published>2020-01-01T00:13:26Z</published> <updated>2020-01-01T06:37:01Z</updated> <summary>I largely gave up political blogging after November 8, 2016, when it became obvious that I have no idea what...</summary> <author> <name>Patrick</name> <uri>http://nielsenhayden.com</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[I largely gave up political blogging after November 8, 2016, when it became obvious that I have no idea what I'm talking about. I still don't think anyone should pay any attention to what I think.<p>If you're still reading, here are some of the things I recently thought were smart. Keep in mind that I'm an idiot.<p><a href="https://bostonreview.net/politics/eitan-hersh-politics-power-not-consumption">Politics is for Power, Not Consumption</a>, by Eitan Hersh. The bullshit performative stuff we do online isn't politics, it's just cosplay. "If you feel unfulfilled, melancholy, paralyzed by the sadness of the news and depth of our political problems, there is an alternative: actually doing politics. Citizens who want to empower their political values would be better off if they spent less time consuming politics as at-home amateurs and instead fell in line to help strengthen organizations and leaders. Rather than kibitzing with their social media friends, they could adopt some of the spirit of the party regulars, counting votes and building interpersonal relationships in their neighborhoods."<p><a href="https://twitter.com/jonathansmucker/status/1132745954573127680">Twitter thread</a> by Jonathan Smucker, author of <a href="https://www.akpress.org/hegemonyhowto.html"><i>Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals</i></a>, which I'm reading and which is so far very good. "Being right wins you exactly nothing if you have no power." "If you don't choose your battles, your opponents will choose them for you." "Revelations of misdeeds of the powerful induce only popular resignation if there is no viable counter-power to take advantage of the opening." <a href="https://twitter.com/jonathansmucker/status/1132745954573127680">More</a>.<p>Jane McAlevey, <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/11/thanksgiving-organizing-activism-friends-family-conversation-presidential-election">How to Organize Your Friends and Family on Thanksgiving</a>. Step by step, how to talk to normal human beings without being the sanctimonious leftist prick everybody hates. Not coincidentally, written by a brilliant modern union organizer. I'm reading her <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/no-shortcuts-9780190624712?cc=us&lang=en&"><i>No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age</i></a> and it's terrific.<p><a href="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/interviews/take-roses-seriously-talking-nathan-j-robinson/">We Have to Take the Roses Seriously: Talking to Nathan J. Robinson</a>. Interview with the very smart editor and publisher of the wonderfully-named <a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org"><i>Current Affairs</i></a>, whose <a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/12/the-power-of-anarchist-analysis">writing</a> I've been generally bingeing on. "That great Terry Eagleton quote comes to mind, describing a socialist as 'just someone who is unable to get over his or her astonishment that most people who have lived and died have spent lives of wretched, fruitless, unremitting toil.' So I'd begin from that kind of disgust with certain features of the world, certain things that happen to some of us, certain ways that workers get treated. If we can agree that people should meaningfully participate in the decisions that affect their lives, then 'Do you like the fact that if you drop below packing some set number of boxes per hour, a robot will fire you?' they probably would say: 'No, that's not a process I personally would have established.'"<p>Hoping for hope. Happy new year. <p>]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">The revival of John M. Ford</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016638.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2019:/makinglight//3.16638</id> <published>2019-11-15T11:23:13Z</published> <updated>2019-11-15T12:28:13Z</updated> <summary>Just posted to Slate, by Isaac Butler: The Disappearance of John M. Ford. Key takeaway to Making Light readers who...</summary> <author> <name>Patrick</name> <uri>http://nielsenhayden.com</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[Just posted to <a href="http://www.slate.com">Slate</a>, by Isaac Butler: <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2019/11/john-ford-science-fiction-fantasy-books.html">The Disappearance of John M. Ford</a>.<p>Key takeaway to Making Light readers who remember John M. "Mike" Ford's <a href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/008033.html">brilliant run</a> as a co-blogger here: Tor will, indeed, be reissuing all of Mike's novels, plus a new collection of short fiction and marginalia. We'll also be publishing, for the first time, his unfinished final novel <i>Aspects</i>.<p>Huge thanks to the Ford family and to Tor executive editor Beth Meacham, who worked out this deal over the space of nearly a year. We could not possibly be more excited.<p>The program will begin with <i>The Dragon Waiting</i> in late 2020, then <i>Aspects</i> in early 2021.<p>Obviously, this program will not include Mike's work written inside somebody else's IP, such as, for instance, his two <i>Star Trek</i> novels.<p>Further schedule details will be forthcoming as we finalize them.]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Hot times in the British Parliament</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016635.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2019:/makinglight//3.16635</id> <published>2019-09-04T09:37:00Z</published> <updated>2019-09-04T09:39:29Z</updated> <summary>I should be explaining what's been going on in the British Parliament, with links and explanations. Unfortunately I can't, because...</summary> <author> <name>Teresa</name> <uri>http://nielsenhayden.com</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[I should be explaining what's been going on in the British Parliament, with links and explanations. Unfortunately I can't, because Patrick and I spent the evening talking about it, finding bits of good stuff to read aloud to each other, and cooking and eating dinner. This was irresponsible of us, because how often does one get to use the word "prorogue"?<p>What's going on: Boris Johnson is trying to drag the UK through a ("catastrophic", says anyone sensible) hard Brexit departure, the kind where there are no arrangements between the UK and the EU about how to handle this change. He also thought that in the meantime, it would be a good idea to prorogue Parliament -- that is, get Parliament to shut down and do no business -- until after the hard exit was a done deal.<p>I wasn't the first person to observe that the last guy who went to that much trouble to keep Parliament from doing business lost his head.<p>Then Parliament rebelled. Ancient much-respected Tory stalwarts voted against the government, despite the threat to (less exciting than it sounds) "withdraw the whip." In a dramatic gesture, while Johnson was speaking and waving his arms around, Tory MP Phillip Lee silently walked across the room to sit with the Liberal Democrats, thus costing the Tories their one-vote majority. Johnson was reduced to calling for a snap national election in mid-October, but that actually requires approval by a two-thirds majority, and the leaders of both Labour and the LibDems -- who rarely act in such coordination -- agreed that they weren't going to give Johnson his election before Parliament passes a bill ruling out a no-deal exit. It was Boris Johnson's first serious fight in Parliament, and he lost big. Theresa May was photographed this evening leaving Parliament with a big grin on her face.<p>I abjectly apologize for being so tired, but Patrick kept finding one irresistible story, after another. Feel free to post links to anything good that you find. I'll see you first thing in the morning.<p>[Update from pnh: Teresa was in fact so tired that she didn't actually publish this last night. Posting it for her now.]]]> </content></entry> <entry> <title type="html">Who we are</title> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/016634.html" /> <id>tag:nielsenhayden.com,2019:/makinglight//3.16634</id> <published>2019-08-04T02:44:55Z</published> <updated>2019-08-04T02:48:03Z</updated> <summary>Nobody reads this blog any more. But do read Kieran Healy.A fundamental lesson of Sociology is that, in the course...</summary> <author> <name>Patrick</name> <uri>http://nielsenhayden.com</uri> </author> <content type="html" xml:lang="en" xml:base="https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/"> <![CDATA[Nobody reads this blog any more. But do read <a href="https://kieranhealy.org/blog/archives/2019/08/03/rituals-of-childhood/">Kieran Healy</a>.<blockquote>A fundamental lesson of Sociology is that, in the course of making everyday life seem orderly and sensible, arbitrary things are made to seem natural and inevitable. Rituals, especially the rituals of childhood, are a powerful way to naturalize arbitrary things. As a child in Ireland, I thought it natural to take the very body of Christ in the form of a wafer of bread on my tongue. My own boy and girl, in America, think it natural that a school is a place where you must know what to do when someone comes there to kill the children.</blockquote>As we used to wearily say back in the day: Read the fucking rest.]]> </content></entry> </feed> If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:
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