# local interest (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 2 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover local interest. Page: Feed: --- ## [Corporal punishment](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/08/corporal-punishment.html) _2026-08-21 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ Karishma Jobanputra's The Body Of The Thing is remarkably assured for a debut collection of short stories. Each tale explores a different facet of female experience, cumulatively forming a portrait of the negotiations, tribulations, anxieties and complexities of modern womanhood. It's also further proof of publisher And Other Stories' eye for talent . Buzz review here . ## [The opening line of Beowulf isn't actually confusing](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-opening-line-of-beowulf-isnt.html) _2026-08-20 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Hwæt wē Gār-Dena in gēardagum þēodcyninga þrym gefrūnon hū ða æþelingas ellen fremedon The above is the Old English opening line for Beowulf. There's been a lot of debate on how to translate the opening word "Hwaet". This is ironic because "hwaet" is Old English for "what", so the question is, what's there to translate‽ Here's a straight translation without punctuation (though capitalization is… ## [Resurrection men](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/08/resurrection-men.html) _2026-08-18 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES / THE DAMNED, 14TH AUGUST 2026, CARDIFF CASTLE Yet another hot, sunny evening at the Castle in this eternal summer, and Julie Andrews is sweetly announcing that the hills are alive with the sound of music. " Turn that shit off! " bellows Captain Sensible in his red-and-white-banded Monster Raving Loony Party shirt. The Damned still know how to make an entrance, half a century… ## [Mission Bay and Achilles Point](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/08/mission-bay-and-achilles-point.html) _2026-08-18 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ December 14 in Auckland , Allie and I spent some more time with her cousin in Mission Bay for lunch and some ice cream . We headed over to Achilles Point afterwards. While taking some photos from the overlook, another person approached me with his significant other and made a comment about my performance earlier in the week. Allie and her cousin were thoroughly confused. However, it is not an… ## [Public disconnect](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/08/public-disconnect.html) _2026-08-17 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ In this Huck article on her street photography in London in the 1990s (now published as a Cafe Royal zine ), Joan Piekny makes an interesting observation: " Back in the '90s, the vibe was different. People would hang around on the streets, taking a break from work to smoke a cigarette, people watch, and sometimes strike up conversations. There was eye contact, communication, and people were more… ## [Humans aren't sponges!](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/08/humans-arent-sponges.html) _2026-08-16 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ The reason we humans are not sponges is because our ancestors were worse at being sponges than the ancestors of modern spongers. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Db38e12D6OW/ ## [How are their Flat Earthers in Denver, of all places‽](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/08/how-are-their-flat-earthers-in-denver.html) _2026-08-15 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Da-m80XjgFR/ When I first moved to the Denver area, the location struck me as a place with geology and weather that would serve as its own evidence against flat Earth concepts, with a mountain range that extends beyond the horizon in two directions, no visibility beyond the horizon when looking Eastward (even when looking over the Great Plains from Front… ## [Savery Savory Mushrooms Water Tower of Westminster, CO](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/08/savery-savory-mushrooms-water-tower-of.html) _2026-08-15 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Savery Savory Mushrooms was a real company as this site, but now the only remaining structure is this water tower. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dbo8\_RvjLfg/?img\_index=1 ## [Triumph and failure](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/08/triumph-and-failure.html) _2026-08-14 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ It's often overlooked, but sport is as much about losing as it is about winning - and the former can arguably generate even more dramatic images. This Guardian gallery bears out the truth of Greg Whitmore's assertion that Chris Smith " wanted to portray the moments when dreams are broken as well as when they are realised ". The late photographer's most powerful pictures are of sporting superstars… ## [Adventure in Hobbiton](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/08/adventure-in-hobbiton.html) _2026-08-14 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ To travel to Hobbiton from Auckland requires a car rental or a tour bus, similar to our previous tour to Rotorua . My choice was the tour bus option . Unfortunately, the drive on the tour bus to Hobbiton was rather annoying due to another passenger who was a know-it-all that disrupted the tour guide's chatter with an endless series of inane questions (apparently, to which this person already knew… ## [Stop CI/CD & Supply-Chain Attacks (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/3GCU8MDFN3gh) _2026-08-14 · **Sponsored**_ Per-PR: 17 CI/CD checks and package malware scans with inline Check Run findings. ## [Unfinished symphonies](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/08/unfinished-symphonies.html) _2026-08-13 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ It's one thing to openly release different versions of the same song or album; it's quite another to deceive fans into thinking they're buying the finished product when in fact it's still a work in progress. The Guardian 's Adam Benzine has shone light on " the year's worst pop trend " - one of which Charli XCX, Olivia Rodrigo, Raye and more are all guilty: " fans paying the highest price to… ## [Type 8 traversing Notable Stellar Phenomenon](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/08/type-8-traversing-notable-stellar.html) _2026-08-11 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Flying my Type 8 through a deep red hued cloud with exobiological lifeforms at a Notable Stellar Phenomena in Elite Dangerous. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Dbo0eirDrAf/?img\_index=1 ## [Taking out the new Nomad to break it in](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/08/taking-out-new-nomad-to-break-it-in.html) _2026-08-09 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Video: Brand new in Elite Dangerous, my Nomad landed on the slop of a moon's crater with the casted shadow of a Caspian in the background! Music "Cloud View" by Matthew Lorono. Image: Exploring Sanguineous Rim. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DaVU2UIHKQZ/ & https://www.instagram.com/p/DaO8y6\_OUUA/ ## [Tribute acts](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/08/tribute-acts.html) _2026-08-09 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ When it comes to musicians and fans, the former are (inevitably) more often in the spotlight, literally and metaphorically, than the latter. And yet fandom - its forms, its eccentricities, its excesses - can be fascinating, and books such as Molly Tie's Rebel Grrrls productively shift the focus from those on stage to those in the audience. The Holy Pop! exhibition currently on display at Somerset… ## [Auckland Zoo too](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/08/auckland-zoo-too.html) _2026-08-09 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ On December 12 , Allie and I took mass transit over to Auckland Zoo . The Zoo has a lot of good exhibits with many animals. It's a small zoo, but well organized. We got to view lions, tigers, zebras, meerkats, lizards, eels and so many other critters. However, it was disappointing that so many of the exhibits for New Zealand native animals were either closed or had the animals unavailable.… ## [Empty promises](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/08/empty-promises.html) _2026-08-06 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ There's something strange and unsettling about empty shopping centres and big-box retail units, and about the general air of vacancy (cultural, architectural, spiritual) of these bleak, identikit nowheresvilles they create. By contrast, in Up All Night , Imogen Willetts sees such spaces more positively, as a blank canvas and an exciting opportunity, endorsing their colonisation for cultural… ## [Creative licence](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/08/creative-licence.html) _2026-08-03 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ Ghanaian film posters - painted by artists who hadn't seen the films, and designed to attract audiences who hadn't yet seen them either - have become the stuff of legend. But I hadn't realised that they were still being made today - albeit to order, for the benefit of collectors. Not for nothing is the process called " imaginative painting ". The artists conjure up things that simply don't appear… ## ["This delirium of noise"](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/07/this-delirium-of-noise.html) _2026-07-31 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ Popular wisdom has it that the gig that lit UK punk's blue touchpaper was the Sex Pistols' show at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall in June 1976 . Not so, according to Simon Price. In a splendid long read for the Quietus , he's made a convincing case for the Ramones' first trip across the pond (and indeed first shows outside the US) exactly a month later as being more energising and… ## [Rotorua, New Zealand](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/07/rotorua-new-zealand.html) _2026-07-30 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Allie's cousin (who has lived in New Zealand most of her life) planned a day trip tour for us to Rotorua on December 11 . This required a long three-hour bus ride from Auckland aboard a small tour bus. Along with others on the tour, each person had their own outing scheduled for the day once we arrived in town. The first tourist to arrive at their destination was at the Māori Cultural Center.… ## ["I’ve never been more excited about a record and I’m not even on it!"](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/07/ive-never-been-more-excited-about.html) _2026-07-28 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ Late last year came the unexpected and extremely exciting news that punk veterans and long-term pals Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye had teamed up to record new music together . I haven't seen or heard anything more on that front - but at least one of their other joint projects is about to bear fruit. The pair, whose impressionable teenage minds were blown by attending a Cramps gig together in 1979,… ## [Non-Custodial Crypto Gateway (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/8hibZRkm7Byy) _2026-07-28 · **Sponsored**_ Accept multi-chain crypto, automated fee handling, and trustless escrow with real-time settlement. ## [The roads less travelled](https://silentwordsspeakloudest.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-roads-less-travelled.html) _2026-07-25 · Ben · Silent Words Speak Loudest_ As someone who enjoyed pottering around Pontypridd in the company of Daryl Leeworthy and felt an irrepressible urge to go to Middlesbrough for a parmo thanks to Ben Benton , I was always likely to take pleasure in Chris Moss' book Where Tourists Seldom Tread . And so it proved. It's staggering to me that people can be so uninterested in exploring their own country, and Moss is a kindred spirit, on… ## [Exploring Auckland's Harbor and Newmarket Mall](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/07/exploring-aucklands-harbor-and.html) _2026-07-14 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Due to delayed travel plans, we had to reshuffle several major items on our schedule for our actual arrival in Auckland, NZ . Our Hobbiton Movie Set tour was pushed off to much later in the week. We also moved our harbor cruise to December 10 . First, Allie and I did a little shopping in the morning, confirmed our cruise tickets and then did a little more shopping. We found one tourist shop that… ## [Fun and Important Words - Malarkey](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/06/fun-and-important-words-malarkey.html) _2026-06-26 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Malarkey is a colorful and punchy term for nonsense or foolishness. It can also be used to describe insincere or exaggerated talk. It is a word that carries a specific weight when you use it to dismiss claims or excuses as hogwash . While it has become a staple of American political discourse, it remains an informal, playful and expressive way to call out empty rhetoric. \[ 1 \] \[ 2 \] The origin of… ## [Calculator for Right Angles and Hypotenuse](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/06/calculator-for-right-angles-and.html) _2026-06-11 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ A right triangle is fully defined by just two of its measurements. Enter any two known values, such as sides or angles, into the calculator below and it will instantly calculate everything else: the hypotenuse, both acute angles, the altitude from the right angle to the hypotenuse, area, perimeter, and the radii of both the inscribed and circumscribed circles. Right triangle calculator — enter any… ## [Trail Walking with a Say's Phoebe](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/06/trail-walking-with-says-phoebe.html) _2026-06-03 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ A bird that appears to be a Say's Phoebe was jumping from fence post to fence post ahead of me and Joie while we walked, until it finally flew onto a nearby bush, on a Mid-Spring morning. It kind of seemed like they wanted us to follow, but maybe they were just keeping an eye out for any bugs we might stir up as we walked along the trail, a behavior for which Flycatchers are known. Instagram:… ## [Auckland Exploration on Te Ika-a-Māui](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/auckland-exploration-on-te-ika-maui.html) _2026-05-31 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ After over a full day's delay, we finally landed on North Island of New Zealand in Auckland a bit late in the day on December 8 . After settling in, Allie and I took a running start on December 9 for our exploration of the city. Sky Tower is within walking distance of our hotel, so we headed over. Sky Tower is tall enough to view everything in Auckland from high-up. Many of the places we will be… ## [Unfortunate Extra Day in Queenstown](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/unfortunate-extra-day-in-queentown.html) _2026-05-28 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ After enjoying a few days in Queenstown and surrounding region , we were excited about travelling to Auckland on December 7, 2026. We took the morning easy in preparation for our flight to Auckland. Unfortunately, our flight from Queenstown was cancelled due to high winds after we arrived at the airport, and after we checked our bags and went thru security. So we had to retrieve our checked bags… ## [Queenstown New Zealand Exploration](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/queenstown-new-zealand-exploration.html) _2026-05-25 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Allie and I arrived in Queenstown on December 3, 2026 in the afternoon (local time). We left California our previous day of December 1, 2026 (local time). We lost a day to travel and another day to the International Date Line. We also lost a portion of one day to a long stay in Auckland Airport on our way to Queenstown. The following are my journal entries from the first few days. Tuesday,… ## [Discoveries across the Galaxy](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/discoveries-across-galaxy.html) _2026-05-24 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ While exploring the Galaxy recently, I made several incredible discoveries. This first image was taken in a newly discovered system of a white dwarf (DC) as the primary star with closest planet being an Earth-Like World (ELW) and the second planet being Water World (WW). Both planets are under 60ls from their star. This is a very rare configuration, even taking into account all white dwarf types… ## [Escape Velocity Calculator](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/escape-velocity-calculator.html) _2026-05-23 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Escape velocity is the minimum speed an object needs to break free from a body's gravitational pull without any further propulsion. The formula is simple: v = √(2GM/r), where G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the body, and r is the distance from its center. The result tells you how fast something must be launched to escape that gravity well entirely with no engines required after… ## [Ultra-Quiet Business Mini (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/aTKsgRUIZsSn) _2026-05-23 · **Sponsored**_ Compact business mini, ultra-quiet for focused work. ## [Movies I watched in the theater in 2017](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/movies-i-watched-in-theater-in-2017.html) _2026-05-23 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ I am not sure where I saw most theatrically released movies in 2017. This list is put together from memory. One fact I remember is that the only reason I saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi was because The Disaster Artist was sold out when I arrived at the theater. I think this may have been the point where I stopped doing walk-ups and started to regularly buy my seats ahead of time. Movies I saw in the… ## [Many Paths of the Collatz Conjecture](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/many-paths-of-collatz-conjecture.html) _2026-05-19 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ The Collatz Conjecture is one of mathematics' strange unsolved problems. The rule is deceptively simple: take any positive integer, and if it's even divide it by 2, if it's odd multiply by 3 and add 1. Repeat this process and the sequence seems to always eventually reach 1. Always. This is true for every number ever tested! Even still, no one has ever been able to prove it, though some attempts… ## [Movies I watched at the theater in 2018](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/movies-i-watched-at-theater-in-2018.html) _2026-05-19 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ 2018 was likely the year I really started using my AMC membership. At some point that year I joined the AMC Stubs program and later upgraded to AMC A-List. Before then, I had never used an elevated membership to go to the movies. I think I had the equivalent of the free Insider level since 2016 or 2017, but I was not using it regularly during those years. Since 2018, I have watched most of my… ## [Movies I watched at the theater in 2021](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/movies-i-watched-at-theater-in-2021.html) _2026-05-16 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ There were not as many movies to watch in the theaters in 2021, but more than 2020. Even still, I did get a chance to watch more than one per month. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Venom: Let There Be Carnage Black Widow Eternals No Time to Die A Quiet Place Part II Ghostbusters: Afterlife Free Guy Dune: Part One The Matrix Resurrections Godzilla vs. Kong The Suicide Squad The Conjuring:… ## [Movies I watched in the theater in 2019](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/movies-i-watched-in-theater-in-2019.html) _2026-05-16 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ The year was 2019. This was arguably the peak year for going to the theater to see movies. Even still, I saw a surprising 33 movies. That's more than one movie every two weeks! I was definitely using my AMC A-List membership to its fullest. This was a great year for quality of movies too. I don't remember trying hard to justify my membership by seeing a bunch of movies just because I could see… ## [Movies I watched at the theater in 2020](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/movies-i-watched-at-theater-in-2020.html) _2026-05-15 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ It is 2026, but I am going to look back at the movies I actually saw at the theater in 2020. That was a tough year for movies, of course. Even still, I ended up going to the theater a bit more than one might now guess. I really started to use AMC A-List in the prior year, but clearly it did not get much use when everything shut down in 2020 and the program was suspended. I actually watched Tenet… ## [Movies I've seen in 2025 and "why"](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/05/movies-ive-seen-in-2025-and-why.html) _2026-05-13 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Has there been a return to form for movie theaters to pre-pandemic levels? No. However, I found myself going to the cinema more in 2025 than in 2024. The nature of movie-going has fundamentally changed with the dominance of streaming. Patrons now see fewer films in theaters, opting to wait for many of them to arrive at home. This is especially true for movies not designed as a spectacle or an… ## [Reaching the known Universe and Project Hail Mary](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/04/reaching-known-universe-and-project.html) _2026-04-03 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ The movie Project Hail Mary touches on a topic about which I recently wrote. That being the ability to reach any point in the Universe within a human lifetime using relativist travel. Time Dilation Visualized is an excellent video that helps visualize both the movie itself and the general discussion as well. Have fun watching and reading about this fascinating exploration. Also see: Earth's… ## [Allie and I at Denver Botanic Gardens - Winter 2026](https://fcsuper.blogspot.com/2026/02/allie-and-i-at-denver-botanic-gardens.html) _2026-02-14 · fcsuper · Its Trouble..._ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DUv2xaFAcJV/ Allie and I on a cool Winter Sunday morning from the tree tops in Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory