Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Toledo Mole


Yesterday evening I got the exciting news that the painters are going to show up TODAY to finish off our bathroom renovation project. You may remember that they were waiting a month for the walls to dry out, following our slow plumbing leak. So, yay! We've been staring at these stripped, blotchy walls for ages and I'll be happy to have them finally refinished.

Otherwise, the day was pretty uneventful. I spent most of it on the couch, reading. I'm about halfway through Amelia Abraham's book "Queer Intentions: A (personal) journey through LGBTQ+ culture," which seems like a good thing to read during Pride season. Abraham has been exploring topics such as drag culture and gay marriage in the UK and the states. She's British, so I will forgive her geographical imprecision in sentences such as: "He was born in 1971 in Toledo, a small town on a lake near Ohio." (Toledo is, in fact, a city of more than a quarter of a million people, on not just "a" lake but Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. And it's IN Ohio.)

Anyway, my bitchiness aside, it's been an interesting book so far.

Speaking of Pride, I just realized yesterday that the London Pride march is this Saturday, which is the same day Dave and I will be heading to the south coast with Olga for a few days of R&R. So it looks like I'll be missing Pride this year. I suppose I'll survive. We're going to Pevensey Bay, which is where William the Conqueror landed way back in 1066 before fighting it out with the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings.

At least there's no train strike, as far as I'm aware.


Apropos of nothing, here's a funny cartoon from The New Yorker I came across online. May your day be free of dermatological (or any other) concerns!

(Top photo: Taken in Rotherhithe on Monday.)

22 comments:

  1. I love today's photo and that outfit. Jumpsuits are so In. Sorry you'll miss Pride, but so nice you'll have a few days away. Abraham's imprecision would annoy me and I'd start finding fault everywhere. A shame. Watch out for those suspicious-looking moles (even the cute ones).

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  2. That is a beautiful catenary arch!

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  3. Abrahams imprecision would annoy me so much I would probably stop reading the book. That she is British and not from the area is no excuse. To me it just sounds like ignorance.

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  4. It is hardly bitchiness to mention gross inaccuracies in a book. It is not too hard to check such basic detail.

    Google or Microsoft has a some kind of Pride rainbow on my taskbar. I know it is close to Toronto Pride too. I wonder if they are the same weekend.

    Ah, Pevensey Bay is near Eastbourne, where a blog mate visits every so often.

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  5. "Near Ohio"? That alone drove me nuts.

    Have a nice getaway.

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  6. You are kind to cut slack for an error like that. A whole lot kinder than I would be!

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  7. Congrats on getting the walls painted.

    To be fair to the author, The U.S. is big, and has many cities the size of Toledo. But I'm surprised she hadn't checked before referring to it.

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  8. Sometimes it is nice to be clueless about geography- my eyes would have slid right over that description of Toledo. I probably would have thought, "Jeez. I thought Toledo was in Ohio," and gone on to the next sentence.
    You guys have fun!

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  9. I wonder if that's how Klinger described Toledo? Ha!

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  10. That is an interesting geographical gaffe. Something very easy to have checked online.

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  11. Haha..I was just at the dermatologist yesterday and he froze a spot on my face which now looks like a giant pimple. And, I'm having dinner with a friend this evening so I'm hoping it won't look too bad by then.
    I love the arch in the photo. Great shot.

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  12. When I have found a huge gaffe in a book I have read ... I have been known to write to the publisher and point out the error and, hopefully, they inform the author! I pretty much proofread everything I read!
    Enjoy your R&R ... as if you need to be told! 😁

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  13. Pride is on my bucket list
    Next year I think

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  14. speaking of dermatology, I need to make an appointment. have fun on your R&R.

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  15. The New Yorker has the best cartoons! I often give the annual "page-a-day" calendar of them to one of my friends.

    I'm looking forward to posts about your holiday!

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  16. Have a great get away! Pride will still be there next year and in fact, every day of the year, really. Information about geography is easy to check online. Dare I say it, Holy Toledo!

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  17. Another outstanding post title! Have fun away :)

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  18. WOW that arch is amazing! A destination point i should think, You guys will have a great time- looks like a cool place to wander, way back history!
    YAY you getting out of dodge for a week end- I assume you are taking the train with Olga.

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  19. Pevensey Bay sounds lovely. I don't know if you've been to Battle, but it's amazing. My cousin used to live quite close to Battle. Have a lovely trip.

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  20. I'm surprised that this error would have passed a proof reader!

    I hope you'll post pictures of your finished bathroom!

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  21. This just showed up on my feed, after today's entry. Hm. Great cartoon! And I would toss a book with mistakes like that. Because how many other easily checkable things has the writer got wrong? Nah.

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  22. Mitchell: And it's such a fashionable color!

    GZ: Quite unusual for council housing!

    Rachel: Well, to be fair, I think she was probably focused more on her subjects and their stories than tangential geography, but yeah, I found it a glaring error.

    Andrew: Yes, it's just east of Eastbourne!

    Bob: It's like saying Charleston is a small town on an ocean near South Carolina!

    Jeanie: I always wonder, "WHERE are the editors?!"

    Colette: But it IS a city, not a small town -- at least to my way of thinking.

    Ms Moon: It's probably healthier to not be so critical. I wish I could just let it go, but it offended the journalist in me. LOL

    Bug: Klinger! Haven't thought of him in a while!

    Robin: I know! So easily avoided!

    Sharon: Do they still make concealer? Now might be the time to get some!

    Marcia: Well, hopefully they have Google set to clue them in when people write about the book, so maybe they'll see my grumpy post. :)

    John: Come down! We'll go together!

    Ellen: Hopefully you can get one! Around here it's damn near impossible to get in to see a dermatologist.

    Kelly: They really do. Yet another reason why I can't cancel the magazine!

    Margaret: Holy Toledo indeed! (Maybe that expression is about Spain, though? Hmmm...)

    Jenny-O: Nonsensical but eye-catching! LOL

    Linda Sue: Yes, Olga will be riding the train with us!

    Pixie: Yes! I went to Battle last summer (or was it the summer before?) when I went to Hastings.

    Debby: I am too. Where are the editors?!

    Boud: Well, that IS a danger, isn't it?

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