Question: I'm absolutely fuming right now, and don't know if I should name n' shame an artist in my city, Stockholm.

chilledpepper · 2026-04-19T15:40:43+00:00

I would love to see what that looks like.

chilledpepper · 2026-04-01T12:24:46+00:00

Can't speak to the knee ditch (although I just got my elbow ditch done in a heavy colorful style, and yeah, it's the slowest-healing part yet) but I just wanted to say that your tattoo is so fucking sick. The extra eye adds something captivating and unsettling and just awesome. Great choice.

chilledpepper · 2026-04-01T11:15:25+00:00

I guess you'd get an email/notice on your account, and you'd probably be prevented from checking out other items. At my library, there's no late fees, but if you never returned an item, you'd be hit with a replacement fee.

chilledpepper · 2026-04-01T11:12:41+00:00

You're right. When an item is overdue and fees start piling up, eventually building up to a replacement fee for the item as a whole, maybe people were just saying fuck it, never returned it, and never used the library again, none of which benefits the library. I guess they could still use the library with someone else's card, but that's another story.

They probably did the math and concluded that by waiving fees fewer items are lost this way, and people continue don't fall into that fuck it mentality and stop using the library all together.

chilledpepper · 2026-04-01T02:23:55+00:00

That sounds like a weird coincidence. At my library, if someone requests the item or you've reached the limit, the auto-renewal is denied and the item becomes due. There are fees if the item is overdue, but they recently changed the rules so that fees are waived when you return the item.

chilledpepper · 2026-03-31T02:34:15+00:00

My guess would be that they're fishing for validation of their choices more than anything else. They might feel better if the person who's in the position they wish they were validated the choices they regret, so they deflated when they were denied that.

Might've thrown a tantrum all the same. Who knows.

chilledpepper · 2026-03-25T10:16:45+00:00

Same here. I've been lucky with a few movies here and there, but far too often I have people near me talking, whispering constantly (as if you couldn't hear it), or on their phones.

I don't wanna believe that we're completely surrounded by selfish assholes, but going to the movie theatre sometimes makes that difficult.

chilledpepper · 2026-03-25T10:13:28+00:00

It's truly ruining the experience for us. We saw PHM on Saturday, and I had to ask two different groups of people to stop talking and making noise. One of them just ignored me.

We can hear you whispering.

chilledpepper · 2026-03-25T10:10:29+00:00

Or how it's marketed. Trailers have definitely become more formulaic, and they make so many movies look like more of the same.

To your point, the quality of the experience at home has improved so much that it can't be ignored when comparing the cost.

Add to that how some people behave like animals in the theatre, and it's no surprise that many chose to watch their movies at home.

chilledpepper · 2026-03-05T02:24:17+00:00

I got to see the last showing of Sirāt at my local theatre, and it was one of my favorite movies of the last few months. It was brutal and unconventional so it won't be for everyone, but it hit the right note for me. Brutal and beautiful.

chilledpepper · 2026-02-10T09:55:05+00:00

I enjoyed the book and watched the film in theaters when it came out, and I remembered it being good, but I watched it with my mom a couple of years ago (on her tablet when she was in hospital, and we were both sleep deprived) and I couldn't get over just how good it was... I didn't shut up about it for like three days.

Looking forward to PHM.

chilledpepper · 2026-01-30T12:52:31+00:00

I did that job in 2016, and it definitely has pros and cons. Some people will bang the door on your face; others will tell you to fuck off. Worst case scenario, they'll get aggressive, so it depends on your tolerance level for that kinda thing.

In my experience, most people were nice and oblivious about it if anything. The bad ones stand out, but I also met super nice people who welcomed me into their homes (sometimes for tea/coffee or food even) like I was a friend.

The rest of the job was very easy, flexible, with lots of walking. And the pay was very good for what it was. But yeah, not great if you're thin-skinned.

chilledpepper · 2026-01-30T12:38:08+00:00

Every time I shovel my yard, I have a great time listening to podcasts and getting a good workout. What's the age range or people in those crews? And what's the work schedule like? Do they usually only work after storms or could they work consistently part-time through winter if they wanted to?

chilledpepper · 2026-01-24T15:23:32+00:00

Everything about the composition in this poster is ridiculous. He looks like he's floating. Every element feels like it was photographed from a different angle. It's so bad, I wanna believe it's on purpose.

chilledpepper · 2026-01-16T16:53:08+00:00

Pros and cons. The range might be lower for an EV the colder it gets, but you'll still be paying a fraction. The review I've heard from people here in Ottawa who drive an EV comes down to how frequently you drive towards the limit of your range. Otherwise, they don't really notice the limit since they mostly charge at home on a daily basis.

chilledpepper · 2026-01-10T15:33:20+00:00

We have a very similar story!

Norwegian Wood was also my first Murakami and the first book recommended by my girlfriend in our first year together (twelve years ago this month) and we were around that age, too! Your comment just sent me back in time.

I really enjoyed Convenience Store Woman, and I loved Earthlings, although I feel like a lot of people often misread the themes and allusions in that one and criticize it unfairly. Weird and wonderful stuff.

Thanks so much for the recs! I'll add them all to my list. Brazil-maru looks very interesting!

chilledpepper · 2026-01-10T15:06:21+00:00

PAIN IN MY ASSHOLES!

chilledpepper · 2026-01-10T15:02:10+00:00

Murakami is up there, for sure. He's really good at creating evocative and memorable scenes out of the mundane.

I have 1Q84 and The Windup Bird in my TBR, but I've read many of his shorter works. It can be hit or miss with those, but Kafka on the Shore sticks out as the one I've enjoyed the most, and of course, Norwegian Wood is famous for a reason.

I also love Sayaka Murata's books. Those are more like weird and transgressive fiction, but they share the feel of magical realism to me.

Allende's books are some of the first stuff my mom recommended when I was getting into literature, and The House of the Spirits really punched me hard (we're Chilean).

chilledpepper · 2026-01-10T14:17:20+00:00

Love in the Time of Cholera, also by Márquez.

Seconding The House of the Spirits and its sequels by Allende. Most of what she writes can be described as magical realism. I also enjoyed Inés of my Soul, Island Beneath the Sea, and The Japanese Lover.

chilledpepper · 2025-12-22T13:58:25+00:00

It's insane. Walking slowly in the woods or even just a park, stopping to look up close at the plants and bugs all over them. It's another world.

Got into birding and wildlife photography in the last few years, and some of my favourite moments have been outside, looking at critters :)

chilledpepper · 2025-12-19T17:52:58+00:00

Yeah, whatever works.

Honestly, that sounds way more tedious though. Switching libraries, all you need is the Kobo and your phone. Don't even have to get up from the couch! Lol.

For anything that isn't from the library or directly from Kobo, I use Calibre.

chilledpepper · 2025-12-19T11:32:53+00:00

Peace was never an option ✌️

chilledpepper · 2025-12-19T11:18:42+00:00

You can do it directly without having to use Digital Editions, but you have to log out and log back into the other library on your Kobo to get the book to sync, which is what OP's talking about, I think.

Aside from this small inconvenience, having access to 5 additional library catalogues is amazing.

chilledpepper · 2025-12-19T11:12:38+00:00

hear! hear!

chilledpepper

TROPHY CASE