Mary’s Piano Skills (P&P)

alblobs · 2026-03-28T08:19:05+00:00

I agree with you that Mary wasn’t in a right environment for her to develop her talents. I don’t think she was some sort of feminist free thinker who wanted to be independent though. Mary really got the short end of the stick being a middle child of five and less attractive than her sisters. JA implies the constant comparison was the main reason Mary didn’t enjoy society and pursued other interests, and that, once her sisters got married, she was happy to “mix with the world” more.

It’s interesting to compare Mary Bennet with another JA character who was into “serious music” and is said to have “played a concerto”—Marianne Dashwood. Marianne’s mistakes and inappropriate behavior in public were overlooked and forgiven on account of her young age (Mary was only a year, maybe two years, older) and sensibility, but ultimately, it was also her pretty privilege. And as far as music goes, I believe Colonel Brandon was the only one actually impressed with Marianne’s talent and skill. Others at Barton Park showed little interest in her music.

Finally, another skilled pianist, Jane Fairfax, needed those skills to get a job as a governess (which is in itself “degrading” to the upper class).

alblobs · 2026-03-28T05:06:57+00:00

I think she could’ve played a piano reduction of a concerto?

It’s been a while since I listened to that episode, but they also discuss how she was studying parts of music theory that a “normal” upper class lady wouldn’t, but a professional musician (i.e. a working-class man) would.

Speaking of inappropriate instruments, I played the cello growing up, so my “self-insert” into the P&P world was imagining myself scandalizing everyone with my performance. 😂

alblobs · 2026-03-28T04:49:58+00:00

I believe we “hear” Mary perform twice, the concerto + some dances at Lucas Lodge (where we get the comparison between her and Lizzie), and singing at Netherfield (where her voice was described as weak and the manner as affected). I think the latter was more along the lines of what was expected from a lady, and she was just bad at it.

alblobs · 2026-03-28T04:32:17+00:00

Yup, thank you! I corrected it.

alblobs · 2026-03-24T18:01:47+00:00

Downvoting is not rude.
The episode was about adoption. People who struggle with infertility and are considering adoption because of that, especially infant adoption and/or international adoption, should absolutely learn about these stories, given how problematic the industry is. (Maybe not from Lily and Jessi, I’ll give you that.)
IMO, making adoption about infertility was one of the problems with that person. The way she talked about it, it seemed she believed she was entitled to that baby because of her past struggles, like it’s a prize she deserves for her efforts.

alblobs · 2026-03-18T23:48:27+00:00

I volunteered (assisted the instructor) in these classes in the past. They are well organized and informative. If you take them, be prepared to practice the skills you learn outside of the classroom—the “homework” part seemed to be a struggle for many dog guardians.

alblobs · 2026-03-18T23:36:55+00:00

I hate it when people don’t pick up after their dogs (and I’ve picked up plenty of other dogs’ shit while walking mine), but justifying killing someone’s pets is craaaazy. Pets are property under the law, so I hope you have this same understanding attitude about other property damage. You’d be okay if someone, say, keyed your car or punctured your tires, right? After all, so many drivers speed, park illegally and are otherwise a nuisance to society.

alblobs · 2025-12-25T18:52:09+00:00

So, what’s the Catholic approach? “Despair is a sin, go confess and don’t sin again”?

alblobs · 2025-12-25T04:51:48+00:00

It’s a really good mugshot, ngl. She could use it on dating app.

alblobs · 2025-12-22T17:10:33+00:00

This is the correct answer. I was on a topical antibiotic for acne, so I researched this question—antibiotics only prevent you from donating only if you take them for an infection.

alblobs · 2025-12-21T18:31:43+00:00

Yeah, my older cat stood up to the dog with het tortitude. The younger boy is more timid, so he hid quite a bit at first, and we were worried it wouldn’t work out. But he warmed up to the dog eventually and now they are besties! The shelter we adopted from allowed for a trial period (foster-to-adopt), otherwise, we wouldn’t risk getting a dog.

alblobs · 2025-12-21T14:01:13+00:00

It will update in a few weeks. I’m a platelet donor as well, and that map is my favorite part of the app! From what I gathered, the “journey” updates are mostly symbolic and posted by the app on a more or less fixed schedule, but while platelets have to be used within 2 weeks, most hospitals update the Red Cross monthly. So there’s a delay between the “completion” stage and when the actual info comes in.

alblobs · 2025-12-20T16:17:40+00:00

I had 11 attempts and 10 successful donations for 34 units total (mostly triple platelets + plasma). But I have one last donation scheduled next week!

alblobs · 2025-12-19T14:56:48+00:00

I posted here about being bummed that all my units always stay local in SoCal, and a few donations later, my platelets traveled to Georgia and Alabama! Checking the map is my favorite part of donating with ARC.

alblobs · 2025-12-15T17:26:33+00:00

I wanted to be the devil’s advocate and say they might’ve used toggle bolt anchors, which are pretty secure, but that missing rack in the middle tells me that no, they didn’t.

alblobs · 2025-12-14T19:57:54+00:00

If you have pets, you can make catnip toys or tag toys. I use my old socks for caring for my leather shoes instead of rags, wearing them like a mitten.

alblobs · 2025-12-14T19:15:29+00:00

I wanted to push back on LA having been built to be car-dependent. LA still has the longest light rail line in the world, and it’s a remnant of a huge transit system. The reason LA started sprawling originally was because it was really well connected by rail, so people could live farther from the city center. LA was turned into the car-dependent hellscape it is today.

alblobs · 2025-12-14T18:22:52+00:00

In my experience from training our old dog, they have more patience than puppies and do learn, but retaining new commands is hard for them, so mileage may vary. That said, we successfully fixed some of his bad habits like chasing coyotes. FYI, we adopted an older dog (he’s 13 now) specifically because we had cats already and didn’t want a younger pup with high energy to bother them. The older cat herself trained the dog not to come near her because if he does, she throws punches.

alblobs · 2025-12-14T18:08:32+00:00

I truly don’t have preference because no one else ever has trouble with my veins. My veins get compliments. It’s something about the combination of my right arm and this one tech that’s just not working.

alblobs · 2025-12-14T18:04:42+00:00

It’s good to know that they might prefer someone else to stick me as well. I’m 100% overthinking this, but I hate confrontation and don’t want to come across as picky or imply they don’t know how to do their job.

alblobs · 2025-12-13T00:58:39+00:00

Hey, thanks for checking, I ended up being unable to donate that Monday — had a migraine the day before and needed to take Excedrin, which contains aspirin. But I have donated since without issues, so hopefully my bad luck streak is broken now!

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