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from
the casual critic
#fiction #videogames #solarpunk #ecology
Nature is not treated kindly in videogames. If it is not merely a backdrop in first-person-shooters for the game to hide your adversaries in, then it tends to exist to be exploited to grow an empire or fuel a war machine. Especially in real-team strategy, ‘4X’ (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) and colony builder games, nature is relegated to the role of resource pool, waste sink, or both. And while over the years some games have tried to provide a more nuanced interaction with the environment, for example through introducing renewable resources or penalties for pollution, on the whole game dynamics have not moved on much since the days of Age of Empires when a player might frequently find their entire map depleted of gold, iron and wood. Watching your average trailer for a civilisation or colony building game (it’s there in the name, really), it rapidly becomes clear that success is measured by how much of the playable map is brought under human cultivation. While in the real world we are now reminded daily that we cannot forever impose our will or demands on the web of life, videogames remain mostly wedded to the Promethean promise of full human control over the natural environment.
It is exciting therefore to see games that take a radically different approach, especially given how rare this sadly remains. One such game is Terra Nil, developed by South African studio Free Lives. The game’s name is a play on ‘terra nullius’: the concept of unclaimed land that may be legitimately occupied, which was instrumental in legitimising European colonialist ventures in the 18th and 19th century. In Terra Nil, the land is not so much unclaimed as abandoned by humans as a result of total ecosystem collapse. It is up to the player to restore these barren landscapes to fully functional ecosystems.
Terra Nil is a remarkable achievement. Combining elegant gameplay with carefully crafted aesthetics, it does not just offer an engaging gaming experience, but effects a profound conceptual shift as to who and what games are for.
The core mechanics of Terra Nil are simple. The world is divided into zones, and the player must restore each zone into a viable ecosystem. Restoration always occurs in three phases. First, any damage must be remediated and a rudimentary ecosystem put in place. Next, the player must increase the complexity of the ecosystem by introducing different biomes, such as as arboreal forest, wetland, or tundra. As ecosystem diversity increases, key species will re-establish themselves, The third phase requires the player to optimise the animals’ happiness and to recycle all infrastructure to remove any human presence.
Each zone the game offers is different, requiring different techniques and buildings to overcome hurdles and create a sufficiently diverse and harmonious ecosystem. Some zones are arctic, whereas others are tropical. Some zones are contaminated with toxic or nuclear waste, or have unstable geological features that must be managed. Each map is its own puzzle, and as the game doesn’t impose a time limit, the player can carefully contemplate their every move without ever feeling rushed. It makes for a pleasantly zen experience, and for players who want any stress removed altogether, a special ‘zen’ mode is available.

An archipelago with some toxin scrubbers and minimal grassland.
To restore nature, the player deploys a range of buildings to remove toxins, irrigate the soil, reintroduce trees, etc. Some buildings have prerequisites, such as particular types of soil, power, or humidity or temperature levels, and the player may have to go through multiple preparatory steps before the desired biome is achieved. Construction is paid for using a single currency which is earned by achieving key restoration goals. This makes each map into its own intricate yet rewarding puzzle. My favourite part for each playthrough is when animals make their first reappearance, and a mostly static map suddenly becomes vibrant and dynamic.

The same archipelago from earlier, with beaches, wetlands, kelp forests and deciduous tree cover restored, and most infrastructure recycled.
One notable feature of Terra Nil is the complete absence of humans. There are no workers constructing or operating the buildings, or transporting resources to and fro. Although the buildings themselves have minor animations, their visual design blends them in with their surroundings. This means that the ecosystem is the most dynamic visual feature, foregrounding the landscape itself. It is a brilliant inversion of traditional top-down style colony builder games where the landscape is the passive tapestry on which the player’s grandiose schemes are played out. Terra Nil takes this to its logical conclusion by requiring the player to recycle all buildings in order to complete a map. Success in Terra Nil is full rewilding and the total absence of humans.

A restored volcanic caldera from which almost all infrastructure has been removed.
It is a radical departure from other games. In Terra Nil, the victory condition is not domination. Nor is it the success or survival or achievements of some human(oid) colony. Here, victory is lichen and happy zebras. It is restoring nature for its own sake, not as a means to an end.
Given the emphasis on ecological restoration, as well as its aesthetic, I have been reflecting on whether Terra Nil is a solarpunk videogame. Solarpunk as a genre is more associated with writing, visual artwork and television than gaming, likely because creating the mechanics for a game about cooperation is more difficult than doing the same for a game about shooting things. A key theme of solarpunk is ecological restoration, and this is clearly at the heart of Terra Nil. But as per this insightful essay by Ben Harris-Roxas, solarpunk also focuses on community and harmony between nature and humanity, as well as a more small-scale, ‘DIY’ approach to technology. By forcing the player to completely vacate the map, Terra Nil on the other hand implies that such harmony is not possible, and that ecological restoration can only be achieved through a separation between nature and humanity. In that, it follows more in the footsteps of Half Earth, and its spiritual yet historical-materialist successor Half Earth Socialism. The game developers also deliberately used a more industrial aesthetic for the game’s buildings on the grounds that large-scale restoration will require large-scale infrastructure, rather than local, community-based improvisation, which is another aspect in which it follows Half Earth Socialism.
Probably this is reading too much into the game, given it is ultimately a small project. Though it remains an open question for me where in the world of Terra Nil the humans have gone. With its focus on restoration rather than exploitation, its calm and natural aesthetic, and its intricate but forgiving gameplay, Terra Nil is certainly more solarpunk than any other game I have come across, and if it doesn’t fully fit into the genre, it is at the very least in constructive dialogue with it. Small nuances notwithstanding, Terra Nil definitely has the key feature of solarpunk in providing a welcome antidote of hope and harmony to a medium that is otherwise suffused with violence and dystopia. It shows us a path not just to an alternative way of relating to nature, but also a different role for videogames. Planting virtual trees does not directly save the world, but fostering a culture that values nature for itself, and chooses harmony over domination, may well get us there in the long run.
from /twosadwhiteroses/
14:27 GMT Hi! I don't have a name, well, not one that you know of. Anyways, after much thought and much growing up which was long overdue, I have decided to start a blog. Think about it like my own personal public diary. I think that as I write more, I'll get into the swing of things, and then I can write freely. This is just a little intro to my life. I'll publish all sorts! Who knows, I guess we'll have to wait and see what will happen next.
-TSWR (PS, dear best friend, If you think it's me, it's not.)
from PlantLab.ai | Blog

You won't smell it at first. By the time you do – that damp, musty sweetness coming off a cola that looked fine yesterday – you've already lost that bud and probably the ones touching it. You cut it open, and the inside is grey mush. A week from harvest.
Bud rot. It colonizes from the inside out, hiding in the densest parts of your canopy where airflow is worst and humidity is highest. By the time the exterior shows damage, the interior has been decomposing for days.
Root rot is the same story, underground. A plant that was drinking normally starts drooping despite a wet medium. You check the roots and they're brown, slimy, and smell like a swamp. The pathogen has been destroying the root system for a week before the canopy showed a single symptom.
What they share: the window between “detectable” and “devastating” is days, not weeks. Nutrient deficiencies give you time. Pest infestations give you time. Rot doesn't. It doubles and doubles, and by the time most growers catch it, the only option left is damage control.
Bud rot is caused by Botrytis cinerea, a fungus that colonizes dense flower clusters from the inside out. The first thing you'll notice: a sugar leaf or two within a cola turning yellow or brown while everything around it stays healthy. That isolated patch of dead tissue – not matching any nutrient pattern – is your warning. Pull the bud apart and you'll find grey or brown tissue, soft and wet, with grey-white fuzz (mycelium) growing through it.
Root rot comes from several pathogens – water molds like Pythium (especially common in hydro) and true fungi like Fusarium (which hits both soil and hydro). The first sign is a plant that droops for no obvious reason even though you just watered. Growth slows. Roots shift from white to tan or brown. By the time the roots are dark brown, slimy, and smell rotten, the plant may not recover.
What separates rot from everything else: it's local. One cola dying while the rest of the plant looks fine. One section of roots going brown while others stay white. Nutrient deficiencies hit the whole plant uniformly. Rot has an epicenter.
Bud rot starts where you can't see it. Botrytis spores land on flower tissue, germinate in the humidity, and go straight for the densest part of the bud – the interior, where moisture sits longest. Outside? Green and healthy. Inside? Grey mush.
Doesn't matter how many cycles you've run. You can eyeball your canopy every day and miss it completely, because the infection is in the one place a surface inspection doesn't reach.
The first visible sign is almost always a single sugar leaf – or a small cluster of them – within a cola that yellows and wilts while the rest of the bud stays green. This is easy to dismiss as a light-deprived leaf dying naturally. It isn't.
What to look for: – A single yellowing/browning leaf within an otherwise healthy cola – The leaf pulls out easily with a slight tug (the stem base is already rotting) – The area around the discolored leaf feels softer or more moist than adjacent tissue – A faint musty smell when you press your nose close to the bud
At this point, that bud is gone. Everything you do now is about keeping it from spreading.
Bud rot isn't random. It goes where the moisture is:
Your main cola. Any thick, tightly-packed bud where moisture can't escape. Spots deep in the canopy where leaves overlap and trap humidity. Anywhere a fan leaf rests against a bud, creating a little moisture pocket. And anywhere the bud surface is already damaged – caterpillar bore holes, supercrop scars, anything that gave the fungus a way in.
If you're only going to inspect one thing daily in late flower, make it the main cola and any bud that's touching a fan leaf. That's where bud rot lives.
Root rot looks like underwatering. Plant's drooping, so you water it. The drooping gets worse, so you water more. And now you're feeding the exact conditions that are killing the roots.
The tell: is the medium already wet? Overwatering droop and root rot droop look identical from the canopy. The answer is always below the surface.
Root rot behaves differently across growing media:
| Factor | Hydroponic (DWC/NFT) | Coco Coir | Soil |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary pathogen | Pythium (also Fusarium) | Pythium / Fusarium | Fusarium / Phytophthora |
| Speed of onset | Fast (2-5 days) | Moderate (5-10 days) | Slow (7-14 days) |
| First sign | Slimy roots, off smell | Drooping, slow drying | Persistent droop |
| Temperature trigger | Reservoir > 22C / 72F | Overwatering + warm | Overwatering + poor drainage |
| Visibility | Easy (roots exposed) | Moderate (can pull back medium) | Hard (roots buried) |
Hydroponic growers have one advantage here: you can actually see the roots. Check them daily. One brown root tip caught early is a ten-second trim. Caught late, it's a dead plant.
Most treatment guides bury the uncomfortable truth: by the time you've confirmed rot, your best options are already behind you. Both conditions double fast once established, and the pathogens produce spores (bud rot) or zoospores (root rot) that reinfect tissue you've already treated.
For bud rot: – Day 1-3: Remove affected cola plus 2-3cm of healthy tissue around it. Sterilize cutting tool between cuts. Drop humidity below 50%. Increase airflow. The remaining harvest is likely safe. – Day 4-7: You're removing multiple colas. Some adjacent buds may be internally compromised but not yet showing symptoms. Harvest early if possible. – Day 7+: Salvage what you can. Anything near the infected area should be assumed compromised.
For root rot: – Early stage: Hydrogen peroxide root drench (3ml of 3% H2O2 per liter for mild cases, up to 5ml/L for aggressive treatment), drop reservoir temperature below 20C / 68F, increase dissolved oxygen. Beneficial microbes (Bacillus, Trichoderma) as a preventive – not a cure, but they compete with pathogens. Note: H2O2 kills beneficials too, so don't use both simultaneously. – Moderate stage: Root pruning (remove all brown tissue), full reservoir change, lower temperature, and hope the remaining root mass can support the plant. – Advanced: The plant is dying. What's left of the root system can't support it. Sometimes the honest move is to pull it and focus on the plants you can still save.
Every day you don't catch it, your options get worse. Two days is the difference between losing one cola and losing a quarter of the canopy.
Early rot symptoms can look like nutrient deficiencies, overwatering, or heat stress. The giveaway is where the damage is concentrated.

| Symptom | Bud Rot | Root Rot | Nitrogen Deficiency | Overwatering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affected area | Single cola or bud site | Whole plant from bottom up | Whole plant, lower leaves first | Whole plant |
| Symmetry | Asymmetric – one point of origin | May be symmetric | Symmetric | Symmetric |
| Progression | Spreads from one spot outward | Bottom-up canopy decline | Bottom-up, gradual | Uniform droop |
| Smell | Musty, damp | Sour, foul root zone | None | None |
| Physical touch test | Soft, wet bud interior | Brown, slimy roots | Leaves feel normal | Leaves feel heavy |
| Recovers with adjustment | No – removal is the only fix | Rarely once advanced | Yes, within days | Yes, within hours |
If damage is spreading from one spot and doesn't respond to feed or environment changes – treat it as rot. Verify later. You don't have time to be wrong slowly.
Rot is an environmental disease. The pathogen is probably already in your grow room – Botrytis spores are everywhere. But it needs specific conditions to take hold.
Two numbers. That's all you need to remember: flower room humidity below 60%, reservoir temperature below 22C / 72F. Not arbitrary – those are the inflection points where Botrytis and Pythium growth rates drop off hard. Stay below them and you're making it difficult for the pathogen. Go above and you're rolling out a welcome mat.
With rot, speed is the whole game. Early symptoms look like half a dozen other things, and most growers burn their response time treating the wrong problem.
PlantLab's vision model detects both bud rot and root rot as distinct conditions. You get a specific diagnosis with a confidence score, not “something might be wrong with your plant.” The model was trained exclusively on cannabis images – over 2,000 verified bud rot samples alone – across every severity stage from the first discolored leaf to full colonization.
If you're growing one plant, daily inspection is enough. But for a larger canopy – or if you're running cameras on a timer – a system that flags bud rot at 6 AM on a Tuesday before you walk into the room is worth having.
Try it free at plantlab.ai.
Fast. An entire cola can go from first visible symptom to grey mush in 48-72 hours under favorable conditions (humidity above 60%, poor airflow). During that window, spores are landing on neighboring buds and starting new infections that won't show for days. Inspect your densest colas daily in late flower. There's no substitute.
No. Once Botrytis is inside the flower structure, that bud is done. Cut the affected cola plus a margin of healthy tissue around it, sterilize your tool between cuts, and get humidity down. Everything after detection is about containment, not cure.
It kills Pythium on contact, but it also nukes every beneficial microbe in the root zone. Think of it as a reset button, not a treatment plan. Use it alongside temperature correction (below 22C / 72F) and better oxygenation. Once most of the roots are brown and slimy, H2O2 won't save the plant – there's not enough healthy root mass left to recover from.
Rotting roots can't absorb water even when they're sitting in it. The plant wilts, you water more, the root zone stays waterlogged, and the pathogen thrives. If a plant droops and the medium is already wet, stop watering and check the roots.
Absolutely. Botrytis cinerea produces airborne spores, and disturbing an infected bud – touching it, cutting it, even a fan blowing across it – sends them into the air. They land on neighboring plants and start the cycle over. When you remove infected colas, work carefully and bag the tissue immediately. Some growers hit neighboring plants with a preventive fungicide application after removal, which isn't a bad idea.
from Patrimoine Médard bourgault
Une mémoire vivante est encore là, sur le domaine Médard Bourgault. À travers ces enregistrements, la parole d’André Médard donne accès, sans filtre, à une histoire qui n’a jamais été écrite ainsi.
6 heures de témoignages d’André Médard Bourgault — 18 fichiers audio classés, résumés et minutés, enregistrés sur le domaine familial

André Médard a 85 ans. Il porte dans sa mémoire une connaissance intime et rare de Médard, de sa famille, de ses techniques, de son époque et de son territoire. Ces enregistrements ont été captés au fil de plusieurs rencontres, sur le domaine familial.
Ces enregistrements constituent une archive sonore directe, captée sur le lieu même où cette mémoire s’est construite.
Je suis le petit-fils de Médard Bourgault. J’ai passé une partie de ma jeunesse sur ce domaine, à m’y promener, à observer et parfois à y dormir. De ma naissance jusqu’à la période de la COVID, j’y ai célébré les principales fêtes chrétiennes, notamment Noël et Pâques.
En parallèle, j’ai travaillé sur des productions d’animation jeunesse (HBO, Radio-Canada), ce qui m’a permis de développer une capacité à structurer des récits et à mettre en valeur du contenu narratif.
Cette double proximité — personnelle et professionnelle — donne à ce travail une dimension d’échange vivant, ancré dans une expérience réelle du lieu et dans une capacité concrète à en transmettre la mémoire.
Les fichiers sont en cours de classement. Les résumés ci-dessous donnent un aperçu des sujets abordés dans chaque enregistrement. Les audio ne sont pas encore tous disponibles pour écoute publique.
Ces enregistrements ont été captés au Zoom H2 lors de rencontres informelles avec André Médard Bourgault, sur le domaine familial à Saint-Jean-Port-Joli. Les conversations n'étaient pas scriptées — André Médard parlait librement, guidé par les objets autour de lui, les pièces de la maison, le terrain. Il s’agit de captations brutes, sans mise en scène. Les fichiers sont classés par lieu et par date d'enregistrement. Les résumés sont établis à l'écoute, minutage par minutage. Les approximations de dates sont signalées — André Médard lui-même reconnaissait que Médard n'était pas toujours fiable sur les années.
Les sections suivantes sont des exemples tirés des enregistrements. Elles illustrent comment les audio peuvent être utilisés pour construire des récits courts à partir d’éléments précis du domaine Médard Bourgault.
L’ensemble du corpus couvre un large éventail de sujets : les sculptures présentes sur le domaine, les différentes périodes de la vie de Médard et d’André Médard, la vie dans le village, les métiers, ainsi que la manière dont se vivait le quotidien au sein d’une grande famille. On y retrouve autant le bon que le moins bon — sans mise en scène.
Ces extraits montrent le potentiel du matériau audio à faire émerger des histoires complètes, à partir de fragments captés sur place.
Les routes de terre
En 1932, les routes sont encore en terre. Un couple de Rivière-du-Loup arrive jusqu'à Saint-Jean-Port-Joli et veut acheter une sculpture. C'est la première vente de Médard Bourgault. Il en tire 2 piastres. Le Québec est en pleine crise économique. André Médard se souvient de ce que valait 2 piastres à cette époque-là.
Le village
Saint-Jean-Port-Joli dans les années 30 et 40 — les bœufs et les chevaux pour labourer, le forgeron Fortin, l'Auberge du Faubourg, les touristes américains qui arrivent l'été, Jean-Marie Gauvreau et d'autres personnages importants de l'époque. André Médard en parle comme si c'était hier.
Avant la Révolution tranquille
Dans le Québec d'avant 1960, le clergé avait son mot à dire sur tout — y compris sur la longueur du pagne des crucifix. Les fils de Médard vivaient des commandes religieuses. Médard, lui, sculptait des nus sur la grève en cachette. André Médard raconte cette tension — entre la liberté d'un père et le gagne-pain de ses fils.
Les écoles ménagères
Dans les années 30, les filles de Médard fréquentaient l'école ménagère. C'était une institution — on y apprenait à tenir une maison, à coudre, à cuisiner. André Médard raconte comment ça se passait, ce que ses sœurs y vivaient, ce que ça dit du Québec de cette époque.
Le Montcalm
Avant de sculpter, Médard était marin. Il naviguait sur le Montcalm — un brise-glace sur le Saint-Laurent — et a traversé l'Atlantique avec un équipage anglais. Ce voyage en Europe, cette vie sur le fleuve, cette façon de voir le monde — tout ça se retrouve dans son œuvre. André Médard raconte les années marines de son père.
la longueur du pagne sur les crucifix
Le clergé qui commande des sculptures religieuses aux fils pendant que le père cache ses nus sous un drap. Puis le clergé qui négocie la longueur du pagne sur les crucifix. Et finalement Médard qui arrête de cacher — il assume.
C'est toute une époque dans cette tension-là. Le Québec d'avant la Révolution tranquille raconté à travers un drap et un pagne trop court.
André Médard porte ça avec humour et affection. C'est ce qui rend ces enregistrements vivants.
La banque audio est plus large que les extraits présentés ici et permet, à partir d’un même matériau, de structurer plusieurs récits complets.
Travail en cours d’archivage, de structuration et de mise en forme.
https://archive.org/details/Andre-Medard-Bourgault-Temoignage-27-octobre-2021
Durée : 25 minutes
Son de l'horloge grand-mère — enregistrement sonore authentique de l'horloge dont André Médard parle en détail dans le fichier 27 octobre 2021.
Ambiance sonore — André Médard qui marche sur le terrain du domaine. Sons de pas.

Durée : ~7 minutes
Voici le document formaté pour write.as :
https://archive.org/details/rencontre2_202603

Voici le document formaté pour write.as :
Enregistrement fait à l'extérieur

Enregistrement fait dans la petite boutique sur le bord du fleuve — domaine Médard Bourgault

Enregistrement fait dans la petite boutique sur le bord du fleuve — domaine Médard Bourgault
Fichier de ~15 minutes — tous les symboles présents sont discutés
Médard qui humanise le sacré
Document en cours de mise à jour — Raphaël Maltais Bourgault, 2026
Pour comprendre le Domaine Médard Bourgault
Ces pages permettent de découvrir le domaine, son histoire, et les enjeux actuels à travers des archives, des analyses et des témoignages directs.
Archives et mémoire du lieu → Domaine Médard Bourgault — archives sonores et témoignages d’André Médard Bourgault Enregistrements réalisés sur le domaine, retraçant la vie, les gestes et la mémoire du lieu.
Analyses et situation actuelle → Domaine Médard Bourgault — analyses et enjeux actuels Réflexions et mises à jour sur les enjeux en cours.
Savoir et transmission → André Médard Bourgault — classe de maître complète en sculpture sur bois → Médard Bourgault — éducation artistique, principes, beauté et transmission Comprendre la pratique, la transmission et la vision artistique de Médard Bourgault.
Récit et contexte historique → Médard Bourgault — récit en mer inspiré de son journal (1913–1918) Un récit basé sur ses écrits, qui éclaire une période peu connue de sa vie.
Enjeu actuel du domaine → Domaine Médard Bourgault — le jardin doit-il devenir un accès public au fleuve ? Une question concrète sur l’avenir et l’usage du lieu.
from Patrimoine Médard bourgault


Il y a deux ans, j'ai passé plusieurs journées dans l'atelier d'André, au Vivoir, à Saint-Jean-Port-Joli.
J'avais une caméra. Lui, ses gouges.
Ce que j'ai filmé, c'est un processus complet — un tronc de tilleul brut qui devient, coup par coup, un visage de femme. Environ huit heures de travail entièrement filmées. Du premier trait de crayon à la dernière passe de ciseau.

André Médard Bourgault a 85 ans. Il est le fils de Médard Bourgault. Il sculpte depuis l'enfance. Il sculpte encore.

Pendant ces heures, il travaille et il parle. Il nomme chaque outil au moment où il le prend. Il explique pourquoi ce ciseau plutôt qu'un autre, comment lire le fil du bois, où frapper et où s'arrêter. Il montre comment il a appris — les gestes transmis par son père, et ceux qu'il a développés lui-même au fil des décennies.
Ce n'est pas un cours. C'est une transmission.
Ce qui est capté ici ne peut pas être reconstruit. C'est un savoir en action, porté par une personne qui l'a reçu directement et qui le pratique encore.

Je n'ai pas encore décidé comment rendre ce contenu accessible — la forme, le moment, la manière. C'est un projet qui se construit.
Mais pour l'instant, je partage un extrait. Dix minutes tirées du début du processus.
Le reste existe. Et ça, c'est irremplaçable.
Raphaël Maltais Bourgault


Pour comprendre le Domaine Médard Bourgault
Ces pages permettent de découvrir le domaine, son histoire, et les enjeux actuels à travers des archives, des analyses et des témoignages directs.
Archives et mémoire du lieu → Domaine Médard Bourgault — archives sonores et témoignages d’André Médard Bourgault Enregistrements réalisés sur le domaine, retraçant la vie, les gestes et la mémoire du lieu.
Analyses et situation actuelle → Domaine Médard Bourgault — analyses et enjeux actuels Réflexions et mises à jour sur les enjeux en cours.
Savoir et transmission → André Médard Bourgault — classe de maître complète en sculpture sur bois → Médard Bourgault — éducation artistique, principes, beauté et transmission Comprendre la pratique, la transmission et la vision artistique de Médard Bourgault.
Récit et contexte historique → Médard Bourgault — récit en mer inspiré de son journal (1913–1918) Un récit basé sur ses écrits, qui éclaire une période peu connue de sa vie.
Enjeu actuel du domaine → Domaine Médard Bourgault — le jardin doit-il devenir un accès public au fleuve ? Une question concrète sur l’avenir et l’usage du lieu.
from Skinny Dipping
[12.iv.26.a : dimanche / 3 March | A33] « Dans cette nouvelle Virginia Woolf, ce que j’aime particulièrement, c’est le narrateur-escargot. » [ de Journal éclaté par Joachim Séné ] ça c’est moi aussi, un narrateur-escargot … et maintenant, je me retourne à ma langue maternelle :
but with some hesitation … for an entire week, I’ve been writing everything (including my notes) in French (admittedly bad, incorrect, improper French, but writing in French is a new mode and an experiment which is becoming more and more interesting each day) and I’m eager to get back to writing in French today, but for V.W. perhaps I should make a concession and skinny dip in her part of the grand Nile of literature in my English birthday suit
V.W. plagued by headaches remarks, “Writing a novel in London is like nailing a flag to a mast in a gale.” … better than nailing your head to the floor … V.W. raises an eyebrow and before she can remonstrate … I’ve never written a novel in London, I say. In fact, I’ve never written a novel in a Big City … being a suburban writer with my little house, my little garden, surrounded by both nature and neighbors, it’s so cramped here in suburbia that even the roaming gangs of deer & the meandering bands of turkeys are competing for a few square feet in my yard … and the squirrels who are not at all pleased that I’ve installed a “rodent shield” on the tether from which hangs the bird feeder. The birds! the birds! they fight over the seed scattered on the ground … there’s more where that came from, guys! but my shouts only startled them and they fly away to a safe distance, waiting for me to go back inside the house.
Each afternoon I go for a walk along the bluffs just to gaze out over the water of the Long Island Sound and to observe the clouds … yes, I’m still taking snapshots of the clouds.

(While reading Jeff Fort’s remarks in his afterword to his translation of Jacques Roubaud’s The Loop, he describes Roubaud’s interest in clouds : “Roubaud’s attraction to clouds led him to the work of John Constable, the English painter whose “sky studies” attempt to fix these mobile shifting forms.” I insert this note here just to start something that I may continue elsewhere … et en français) / next I tell V.W. what I’ve been up to since we last talked ::
On the 29th of March … that is to say, the week after I returned from a trip to Denver … I wrote my 31st “March Madness” novelette (it’s called You Had To Be There) and then in a sudden fit of inspiration (after a particularly vivid dream) I wrote (in a single week) another novelette called Stellar Park. I was captivated by the idea of seeing if I could keep up this pace, that of writing a novelette each week … dreams of becoming the next Georges Simenon or César Aira … but when I woke on the morning of the 6th of April, je me demande : mais pourquoi, Owen, as-tu abandonné ta année de maîtriser le français?? est-ce que écrivant ces novelette tellement important que tu as tourné son dos sur ta vrai petite amie? La langue français te vraiment adore et tu as besoin de payer attention à elle. And this morning, it was the same thing : the little voice, but this time it was V.W. speaking : I miss you, Owen. Don’t forget about me, Owen. Do you not regret having spent so much time away from me? Well, no one gets more pleasure from skinny dipping with you than I do … only the wave of pleasure leaves some regret — all this beauty going—going—going … V.W. gazes at her figure in the watery glass and asks herself, “Where is my beauty? what is this feeling that the lack of beauty stirs up in me? But what is beauty anyway?” Mais, V.W. quand tu regarde toi-même … s’observer avec bienveillance dans une glace … it’s the imperfections which make us beautiful → Let me tell you about wabi-sabi … you’re not a real poet, she says, diving into the water.
Where are the real poets, V.W.? “I say poetry is defunct.” (now she’s coming up for air) Truly? Poetry like our love lies bleeding … quick, let’s do something, together we will rush to poetry’s aid … press your hand against poetry’s wound and your mouth to poetry’s cold lips … the goddess merely sleeps, if we sing together, we may awaken her and when she awakens we will sing to her with French words.
from
Rippple's Blog

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from Pierre-Emmanuel Weck
Je ne suis pas un grand fan des IA, on pourrait même dire que je suis globalement contre.
Je suis un type de la vieille génération. J'aime bien l'idée de maîtriser l'outil que l'on utilise pour créer. Que ce soit ses mains pour tourner un bol, une gouge pour graver le bois, une truelle pour monter un mur[1], un stylo pour écrire, un appareil photo pour photographier[2]… Parce que lorsqu'on maîtrise un outil, il fait partie de votre corps. L'esprit se connecte à la main et inversement. Tout acte manuel devient intelligence. Ainsi, déléguer son intelligence à une machine me semble suspect.
Dans certains domaine, ça peut être utile, comme en médecine ou en recherches scientifiques, mais, c'est un peu de l'ordre du super-calculateur, ça fait gagner du temps.
En dehors de ça, pour la surveillance de masse, pour la création artistique, pour l'optimisation des chaine de production matérielle et intellectuelle, pour le soutien psychologique… je vois pas l'intérêt, j'y vois même de la prédation, de la destruction, de la manipulation, pour le dire pompeusement, un appauvrissement de l’humanité.
J'ai tout de même tenté de faire quelques essais, parce que là aussi, j'aime bien que la réflexion soit incarnée, qu'elle passe par le corps, par l'expérience. J'ai pris deux photos de mes archives et j'ai demandé des trucs simples (et un peu clichés).

“Couvrir de fleurs colorées une vieille tour” et “Transformer un paysage urbain new yorkais en paysage post apocalyptique”.

Ce ne sont pas des demandes qui débordes d'imagination, certes, mais elles ont le mérite d'être claires, et de plus, d'être suffisamment documentées par la culture populaire de ces 30 dernières années.
Le résultat est particulièrement moche et kitch. On pourrait dire que ça manque d'imagination (mais ça c'est normal pour une machine). C'est tellement conforme à ce que l'on connait déjà.
Dans un tout premier temps, ça semblait amusant. Chaque technologie apporte sa forme d'esthétisme qui peuvent avoir un certain charme[3]. Là, ça le fait pendant quelques mois et après on s'en lasse très vite.
Soit, j'ai besoin d'une image, le plus souvent une photo quand c'est possible, sinon un dessin[4], pour me rapporter un fait réel. Soit, j'ai besoin d'une interprétation du monde qui va transcender le réel. Ça peut être un son pour habiller mon environnement ou me faire danser. Un tableau pour me bousculer en bien ou en mal, ouvrir mon imagination, “ouvrir des portes” comme on dit, comme augmenter mes capacité de perception et de compréhension du monde.
L’IA essaie de vendre l’IA. Son utilité étant loin d’être prouvée, ses concepteurs tentent de l’imposer partout et surtout là où l’époque penche…[5]
Les images générées par IA me ramènent au dans un présent sans avenir, m'enferment dans une normalité sans imagination. Soit tout l’inverse de l’intérêt de la vie.
Même une visseuse, à moins d’avoir des centaines de visses à visser, me semble déjà un outil inutile. Pendant que la main visse, le cerveau réfléchi au serrage, à la résistance du matériaux et à l’étape suivant des travaux↩︎
Je suis passé à l’autofocus, pour les reportages de commande, lorsque celui-ci a enfin atteint un niveau technique permettant d’aller plus vite qu’à la main, et, aujourd’hui, pour des problèmes de vues qui ne me permettent plus d’avoir une image net avec certitude↩︎
Comme par exemple, les filtres d'époques sur les photos qui en transforment l’atmosphère ; le son de certains ampli ou instruments qui redonnent la couleur d’une époque ; un enduit particulier sur un mur pour garder une certaine patine…↩︎
Comme ceux de XX sur les camps de concentration nazis avec Louis Bissinger (1899-1978) pour Buchenwald ; Jeanne Léonie Antoinette Letourneau (1895-1979) pour Ravensbrück ; Gino Gregori (1906-1973) pour Mathausen ou Boris Taslitzky (1911-2005) pour Auschwitz que l’on pourra revoir au Musée de l’Armée↩︎
Reconnaissance faciale de masse ; contrôle et répression, dans un premier temps des pauvres, puis du reste de la population…↩︎
from
Notes I Won’t Reread
I’m drinking tea while writing this. Not coffee. I know, shocking news. Try to stay calm.
Which is funny, considering how much I’ve been writing about coffee lately. Coffee Talk. Dust and Coffee. Nine coffees, Zero Results. A whole series dedicated to a drink I don’t even like that much. That feels very on brand, honestly. Investing time and words into something overrated just because everyone else decided it matters. Meanwhile, tea’s been sitting there. Quiet. Patient. Not screaming for attention. Not turning itself into an entire identity. Tea doesn’t need that.
I like tea more than humans. And no, that’s not me being dramatic. Tea doesn’t talk too much, doesn’t pretend to be deep after two sips, and doesn’t act like it just solved life because it exists. It does its job and leaves you alone. And it’s not just one kind. Coffee enthusiasts may require emotional support for this information. Tea doesn’t trap you into one version of yourself.
Black tea? Solid. Green tea? Pretends to fix your life. I respect the effort. Moroccan tea? Actually has presence without announcing it every five seconds. Chamomile? Basically, a soft “shut up” to your brain. Works better than most people.
And many other kinds, I can keep going. Every version of tea does something slightly different, and none of them act like they just unlocked enlightenment because you drank them. Coffee, on the other hand, somehow became a lifestyle. Not a drink. A lifestyle. People don’t drink coffee, no, they perform it. It’s always “don’t talk to me before my coffee,” like they’re a malfunctioning device that requires caffeine to become human, which is. Concerning, I can say the least. And somehow socially acceptable.
Tea doesn’t need a warning label. You don’t see people posting “don’t talk to me before my chamomile.” Imagine. That would require self-awareness.
Coffee is loud. Tea is quiet. Coffee begs for validation. Tea doesn’t even notice you’re there. Coffee tries to wake you up. Tea just lets you exist without making it a whole event.
And I think that’s why I prefer it. I’ve spent all this time writing about coffee like it’s something meaningful, when really it’s just.. noise. Expensive, bitter noise with a fanbase. Tea, though tea doesn’t try to be anything more than it is. Which automatically makes it better than most things.
Including people. Anyway, I’m still drinking tea. It’s gone slightly cold now, which somehow makes it even more honest.
Sincerely, Try tea. Ahmed
from
Micropoemas
No sabía si era mejor engañarse del todo -sin dejar trazas de lo real-, o vivir (así).
Hay quienes dicen que cuando me conocen notan algo.
¿Es posible que usted lo hubiera notado? Lo dudo. Tengo experiencia y sé que no se me nota.
Soy buen actor. En el teatro universitario hice papeles dramáticos. Aquí donde me ve fui Laertes dos temporadas. También hice el monólogo del Informe de Kafka, en sustitución del gran Dubois, en el teatro viejo de Portland, una joya arquitectónica.
De modo que tengo experiencia. Si digo que no se me nota, es porque me atengo a los hechos, a lo que se refleja en un espejo.
Otra cosa es que me diga que ha leído mi mente. Pero sobre esto le diré que mi difunta madre lo intentó, y ni siquiera tuvo la más mínima sospecha. Y eso que alardeaba de sus poderes.
Me da completamente igual lo que las personas piensen de mí, porque comprendo que están en problemas y me proyectan sus turbios asuntos.
En todo caso habrá que despedirse. Está agonizante y yo tengo que cumplir mi parte del contrato.
No luche, relájese y descanse.

The Ireland Sino Institute, also operating as the Europe Sino Institute (ESI), has entered into a news service partnership with CCTV+, a Beijing-based global video news provider affiliated with China Central Television.
The agreement represents a significant step in the Institute’s expanding media activities and underscores its broader mission to promote communication and mutual understanding between Europe and China through non-profit initiatives and cross-cultural collaboration.
With contributors and correspondents located across Europe and China, the Institute believes the partnership will open up new opportunities to broaden its reporting capabilities. It is also expected to enhance both the quality and global reach of its content, particularly through joint production initiatives across digital platforms.
The organisation has previously collaborated with CGTN and China Daily, and reports that it has published more than 300 videos across platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn. These productions aim to provide international audiences with honest, balanced, multidimensional, and first-hand insights into China.
According to the Institute, its media work has been conducted on a non-profit basis, aligned with its wider objective of fostering meaningful connections between Europe and China, while encouraging dialogue, cultural exchange, and long-term cooperation.
The new agreement with CCTV+ is described by the organisation as an important milestone that will support future content development and further strengthen its contribution to people-to-people engagement between Europe and China.
https://youtu.be/C0OaQEirsWI?si=LQ5Nc6L2uLV7VbDH
from An Open Letter
Holy shit she continued to Trauma dump and just doesn’t have the awareness to recognize what she is doing, and I honestly just feel sympathy for her but at the same time I less less want to be her friend if I’m being honest. I think loneliness is a trap because people trying to get out of it look for a quick solution in the form of someone, and it doesn’t really work that way, it’s more of a gradual process that takes consistent efforts from different directions. I feel like recently with both of the women I was at one point interested in, it became a parent that they are not exactly happy with their lives as is, and I think they see me as a way to improve that. And I want to remind myself about how a relationship has a foundation in both of the people, and for the relationship to be a good one it needs both of the people to be happy with their lives as is.
from
ThruxBets
A couple I like today, and still waiting for my first winner … !
6.15 Musselburgh The one who made most appeal here was the Jim Goldie trained KELPIE GREY. The 6yo ticks plenty of boxes to make him an each bet for me; he’s won twice at the track, over the trip and on the going. Paul Mulrenna gets on really well with him (14/3/8p), has run well last twice on his seasonal reappearances (a 1st and a 2nd most recently) and is on a very attractive being 7lbs lower than his last win. KELPIE GREY // 0.5pt E/W @ 8/1 (Bet365) BOG
6.45 Musselburgh And in the last there’s another each way play in the form of NORTHERN SPIRIT who is a fairly straight forward selection in so much as he has plenty going for him, from a good mark, in an open looking race. He’s been running with credit in better races than this on the turf previously and if he can get away with the rest of them (has dwelt on occasion) then for me he has a great each way chance. NORTHERN SPIRIT // 0.5pt E/W @ 8/1 5 Places (William Hill) BOG
from
Talk to Fa
Some people don’t know how little they know Some know and make an effort to fill their lack And some see through everything.
from Lastige Gevallen in de Rede
De daders op missie (alom geposteerd)
Wij zijn de daders wij doen de dingen waarover we preken en zingen we doen daden bemannen raden vullen in en overladen wij maken staken hangen daaraan een wapperend laken we leggen wegen en paden en banen we geven deze daden onze zegen we vreten we kanen happen en kauwen we zweren bij getrouwen die opstaan voor bouwen tillen ploeteren gewichten dragen voor hoge bedragen we zijn de daders onze missie is werken aan oprichten van kerken de leegte opvullen het gemis met prullen pullen en spullen een grote stenen zak met hoge spitse toorn de verstijfde pik ontworpen voor hen die ons behoren behagen en bekoren elke keer telkens weer op ons teer verteren in het verleden verkeren met herhaling in vertaling u de lessen leren binnen onze kaders we zijn daders doen dingen waarover u moet zingen teksten over schrijven handelingen bedrijven tot u helemaal gaat verstijven wij u dagelijks bedwingen het lijf binnendringen onze woorden zijn oorden zijn daden onze daden laten u opladen inladen en aanraden bijspringen en oplichten uitwringen afdichten dan weer open gaan we beschermen ons alles ermee in beslag genomen lucht op land en zee vullen u gedachten met gefabriceerde dromen we zenden en stralen laten u onze zin betalen wegzetten dan oprotten en verhaal halen onze missie zit in een kruik of kissie wij de lijn en de haken u het vissie we blijven jagen aandacht vragen aanwezig zijn op elk fysiek en virtueel plein we laten u turen laseren en lezen op elkaars lijf vuren beste bestrijder in onze ere dienst belijdend aan ons frontje eredienst bewezen met het mondje of een kiesrondje het masker van ons heden copy paste het verleden opzettelijk opgezet verplicht gedragen via cultuur wet en het werkend net over de bodem schrapend met alle middelen mogelijk meegedeeld aan alle leden u moet u energie besteden aan onze daden er mee overladen er in badend overlevend, lijdend, ploeterend binnen de opgetuigde zinnen onze bedijkte en ommuurde grenzen rondom gecultiveerd wensen valse dromen oogsten producten smeden voor nieuwe leden monumenten van centen voor op gemetselde dikke lange poten ten bate van de allerhoogste onze beloning voor u gedienstigheid lijden vast onderdeel van ons beleid levend offer op het altaar zijn ter ere van daders groot en klein leven in gevulde hokjes in afgemeten blokjes tot mededader omgezet wij zijn overal altijd het hier en daar voor u ons dienend leven in verzonnen wil en bijbehorende wet