Daily Slow Chat

9 comments

1. I see this morning that the new Taylor Swift video for her song ‘The Fate of Ophelia ‘ has caused huge increased attendance at a museum in Germany… they are reporting hundreds of mostly teenage visitors every day to see the painting by Friedrich Heyser at the art museum in Wiesbaden.

   This is apparently the painting that inspired the video… not the more famous representation by Millais which is in London.

   Have you ever gone to an art gallery just to see one specific work?

2. A combination of rising living costs and cuts (which the current government adamantly refers to as “adaptations”) to certain social benefits have ended up with a rise in homelessness, in the country that is sometimes referred to as the one that solved homelessness. Even families with children are at risk, and cuts have been made to support types that have been used by those already hanging by a thread.

   Our prime minister and minister of treasury have said that ‘everyone must join in’ to cut costs, but I would rather pay more taxes than “share the load” to someone who won’t be able to afford rent because their benefits are cut. Funny thing that the minister of treasury, just a couple of years ago, with her favourite rhethorics (aggressive and convincing-sounding) told that those in need will not experience cuts. Just months later, she literally posed in a picture, smiling with a pair of scissors and a cutting board, after making decisions on these cuts. That picture was too much even for many of her party’s fans, but while the party took a huge dent in its popularity, they’re back on the rise again.

3. Today the first snow for this season has arrived where I live. I got the studdy winter tiers on the car 2 days ago, so I’m ready for winter.

4. Yesterday’s prompt was [blunder!](https://www.deviantart.com/tereyaglikedi/art/Inktober-2025-Day-17-Blunder-1253512189) I don’t know if this quite fits, but I wanted to draw a frog, so.

   Still following the Chopin competition. I learned yesterday that my favorite, Piotr Pawlak is also doing a PhD in math on the side. How are people so… Argh. Anyhow if he doesn’t make it to the finals, I will cry.

   Speaking of music… I was reading a [Bachtrack ](https://bachtrack.com/feature-inclassica-international-festival-dubai-festival-report-april-2025)article about this odd classical music festival in Dubai, where the “composer in residence” is Alexey Shor.

   That guy is a former math genius turned US hedge-fund millionaire who taught himself to compose later in life. I know him because I really like the flutist Jasmine Choi and she was performing his flute concerto on Youtube… five minutes into the piece, I was like, tf is this crap? And then I searched up his pieces, and found a violin… concerto, I guess? And played by Ray Chen! One of my favorites! And it is awful! It is literally the most blander than unflavored oatmeal, dimensionless, empty piece of music that I guess Ray must have learned while brushing his teeth that same morning. But this guy’s works are being played all over?

   This recent festival in Dubai also has some association with a dodgy music organization in Malta, also funded by Shor, it seems and hosts Maxim Vengerov, Daniel Lozakovich, Gil Shaham, Gautier Capuçon; and and and. Big names. And they play something by Shor every single day. The Bachtrack article asks “Why an Alexey Shor work in each concert, every year? Why are major soloists even prepared to play it?”

   I mean, yeah… why. Do I really need to spell it haha.

   Anyhow, my music recommendation for today is [a cover of Sally’s Song](https://youtu.be/rApvlGpNQXg?si=ZFGHaWgAe6pQ9MRZ) from Nightmare Before Christmas with theorbo, electric guitar and voice. It’s really nice and seasonal.

5. Got banned from Reddit for a week.

   What did I miss?

6. What’s up with discussions to mass cancel permanent residence nowadays? I heard Canada was debating a bill that’d let the cabinet cancel existing permanent residence visas without the individual committing a crime, and of course, Farage’s suggestion to cancel the indefinite leave to remain of everyone that has it. It’s kind of weird to see attention shifted away from refugees and illegal immigrants so suddenly.

   Edit: Also, isn’t Farage’s current partner French without British citizenship? And his previous partner German? He seems to like the continentals a lot for a British nationalist.

7. There’s an article today in the ‘Guardian’…an interview with the ‘World Champion of Air Guitar’.

   He’s from Finland of course…

8. What is everyone’s favorite desserts? I recently had an idea to make a Banoffee latte w banana milk, coffee, dulce de leche condensed milk, a little sugar syrup. It’s so good!!

   I love Burnt Basque, Tiramisu, sticky toffee pudding, Key Lime pie and Banoffee pie is one my new favorites

   Other than that I think I’ve just been bored recently, I watched some movies I guess. I really loved the Naked Gun that recently came out and I think I’ll watch the Minecraft movie sometime later. I missed out when it released. It would be good for the kids too I guess

9. A while ago the Kim Kardashian underwear brand Skims came out with a bra that had fake nipples on it. It was stupid, but I *kinda* get it. The braless look is chic and somebody might want to get that while wearing a bra. Ok, you do you. But now they’ve come out with a thong that has fake pubes on it?? And it sold out already???? Lmao. What’s the point? For all the girlies out there who spent the whole 2010s lasering themselves and now want to have that puff show through their bikini bottoms? Incredible times. I guess it has to be just a silly item that gets people talking about the brand. At least it’s promoting pubic hair, that’s a sexier look anyway.

   I bought a nice printed silk tie, and you never really think about the fact that silk originates from insects. It’s kinda weird, isn’t it? People are just out there wearing garments made out of insect material. It’s like something out of Rimworld.

   I should really get back to playing Rimworld. Also, I should see if anybody sells a tie with fake chest hair on it.