iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Abby @arobertswrites.com · 26/09/2026

The music is great but also the songbook that came with the vinyl album is gorgeous.

The cover of a paper booklet. Black paper, embossed with a silver border and an archway that looks like a spaceship, framing a scene of outer space.

Lyric sheet for The Governor's Waltz. An illustration of a small black dog sitting on a bed. Above the bed is a double loop of leafy branches. One loop encircles a picture of a hand holding an axe. The other loop surrounds an illustration of the feet of a person ascending to heaven.

Lyric sheet for the Phoebe Bridgers song Panarama. A sequence of images is arranged in a ring. Each image shows a different location--a city or a ruined temple or a volcano. In the center of a ring is a tower viewer, a device that tourists can pay money to look at things far away.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 25/09/2026

Met a ladybug while walking Violet.

Photo of my hand holding a leash attached to a medium-sized black and gray dog. A ladybug has landed on my thumb.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 25/09/2026

3rd century hermits when some fresh kid shows up at their cave and asks to be their disciple

Picture of Shrek edited to say "What are you doing in my desert!"

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 25/09/2026

E.g. there's an excerpt of the poem in the Nov. 4, 2018, entry on this website. It doesn't provide attribution beyond "Bernard of Clairvaux" but the bit I read in the Karras book was very similar.

“My penitence, my salvation are His food.
I myself am His food.
I am chewed as I am reproved by Him;
I am swallowed by Him as I am taught;
I am digested by Him as I am changed;
I am assimilated as I am transformed;
I am made one with Him, as I am conformed to Him.
He feeds upon us and is fed by us
that we may be the more loosely bound to Him.”

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 18/09/2026

And bonus Saint Stephen's hand! It wouldn't be a neoclassical basilica without a relic.

Saint Stephen's hand, in an elaborate silver and gold reliquary, backed by an altar and a painting of the saint offering his crown to the Madonna and Child. Because of the distance and protective glass you can't see the mummified hand very well but trust me it's there.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 18/09/2026

4. Saint Stephen's Basilica, 19th century neoclassical. Not as much to my taste as the Art Nouveaux interiors but still very impressive.

Exterior of Saint Stephen's Basilica, a neoclassical church with two bell towers and large central dome.

Interior photo of Saint Stephen's basilica, looking down the nave towards the main altar. Every inch of the ceiling is painted gold or decorated with pictures of religious figures. The walls are built of purplish-red stone.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 18/09/2026

Closer shot of the stars in the entry way.

Blue ceiling decorated with a pattern of gold Stars of David that reflect the light coming in through the stained-glass window.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 18/09/2026

3. Kazinczy Street Synagogue, with its beautiful blue interior and ceiling painted with stars. Sorry, I was unable to get a shot without those streaks of light from the chandeliers.

Exterior pf the synagogue, a brick building with a round stained-glass window showing the Star of David.

Interior of the synagogue, showing rows of pews and galleries oriented towards the Torah ark placed in the center, as in most synagogues. The walls are painted elaborately in blue and yellow, with the back wall bearing a pattern of menorahs and Stars of David. The cieling is painted bright blue with small gold stars.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 18/09/2026

2. Dohány Street Synagogue, also a 19th century building, constructed in the Moorish Revival style. Unlike most synagogues it has a pipe organ, which the congregation got Franz Liszt to play during services.

Exterior of the Dohány Street synagogue in Budapest, with two octagonal towers, a rose window, and façade in yellow and red striped bricks. Part of the view is blocked by a security fence bearing a banner that proclaims the synagogue is open until 8 p.m.

Interior of the synagogue, showing aisles of pews, two floors of galleries, and an elaborately painted ceiling. Unlike in many synagogues, the Torah ark is placed at the end of the central nave opposite to the main entrance, where the altar would be in a church. The Torah ark is unfortunately mostly blocked by a projection screen.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 18/09/2026

As mentioned, most of the interior decoration is late 19th century, which I don't mind because it's gorgeous. But a few of the medieval stone carvings remain, such as these two little dudes who want to show you their book.

Stone carving of two people in medieval clothing, one wearing a hood and the other bareheaded, holding up a book and pointing emphatically at its pages.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 18/09/2026

Thread of the religious buildings I visited in Budapest, in the order I saw them. 1. Matthias Church, a 13th century building renovated in the 15th century and again in the 19th century in the Art Nouveau style.

Exterior of a Gothic stone church with an impressive ornate bell tower and roof covered in orange, blue, black, and white tiles.

Interior photo taken down the nave of the same church, showing the columns and ceilings brightly painted in elaborate Art Nouveau patterns, the altar in the distances, and a group of tourists milling about in the foreground.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 12/08/2026

Fans of the most popular stories in the most popular genres when they encounter mild criticism:

Kelly Kapoor from The Office saying "I think sometimes people are really mean to the hot, popular girl."

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 12/08/2026

(Cradle Catholic) meanwhile this was my family dog Boomer on Halloween 2019.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 12/08/2026

Gaius: this won't stop me because I'm not a cedar

Psalm 28:5.

The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars: yea, the Lord shall break the cedars of Libanus.

Vox Domini confringentis cedros, et confringet Dominus cedros Libani.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 12/08/2026

Misread this as "Fix your heart, you work iniquity." I guess it amounts to the same thing.

Psalm 57:3.

For in your heart you work iniquity: your hands forge injustice in the earth.

Etenim in corde iniquitates operamini; in terra injustitias manus vestrae concinnant.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 11/08/2026

If this was a constitutional amendment (I've assumed it would've had to be, to be so universal) that would've needed a 2/3 majority (or a national convention) and to be ratified by 3/4 of the states!

2. When the sex-ban bill was voted on by Congress, was it a close vote?

"I think it was extremely close," Gluck said. "I think it was about 50.01 to 49.9."

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 11/08/2026

This isn't how that works! Congress doesn't just pass a bill and that's the end of it!

1. How did the sex ban go into effect?

To Gluck's credit, this is answered in the film during a conversation between Molly Ringwald, who plays Callum Turner's mom, and her boyfriend, played by Levar Burton. So maybe that wasn't the best place to starHow did the sex ban go into effect?

"There is that scene where Burton says it was a bill that was passed by Congress," Gluck said. "That is in the movie!"

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 08/08/2026

My unmedicated ass today.

Gandalf lying on the snow. The text at the bottom says: "Darkness took me and I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as a life age of the earth."

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 06/08/2026

Anna Komnene: gentlemen, don't bother texting me unless you conform to the ideal of Polyklitos 😤

Physical appearance

Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, in her Alexiad wrote a description of Bohemond's physical appearance; “The appearance of this man was, to put it briefly, unlike that of any other man whether Greek or barbarian seen in those days on Roman soil. The sight of him inspired admiration, the mention of his name terror. I will describe in detail the barbarian's characteristics. His stature was such that he towered almost a full cubit over the tallest men. He was slender of waist and flanks, with broad shoulders and chest, strong in the arms; overall he was neither too slender, nor too heavily built and fleshy, but perfectly proportioned - one might say that he conformed to the ideal of Polyklitos. His hands were large, he had a good firm stance, and his neck and back were compact. If to the astute and meticulous observer he appeared to stoop slightly, that was not caused by any weakness of the vertebrae of the lower spine, but presumably there was some malformation there from birth. The skin all over his body was very pale, except for his face which was pale but with some colour to it too. His hair was light-colored and did not go down to his shoulders as it does with other barbarians; in fact, the man had no great predilection for long hair, but cut his short, to the ears. Whether his beard was red or of any other color I cannot say, for the razor had passed over it closely, leaving his chin smoother than any marble. However, it seemed that it would have been red. His eyes were light-blue and gave some hint of the man's spirit and dignity. He breathed freely through nostrils that were broad, worthy of his chest and a fine outlet for the breath that came in gusts from his lungs."

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 31/07/2026

I gotta point out the basketball in the bottom left corner of this pic. Who was shooting hoops in the Franciscan monastery gardens?

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 31/07/2026

Took a field trip today.

Photo of myself (a young white woman with blond hair wearing oversized sunglasses) standing in a cloister with expansive gardens in the background.

Photo of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, a collection of Romanesque buildings with a large central stone and extensive gardens.

Cloister garden of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America.

People walking into a small chapel with an elaborately carved altar and mosaics on the walls.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 31/07/2026

Me sharing my characters with my friends.

Giovanni Francesco Caroto's portrait of a red-headed youth holding a drawing. A renaissance painting of a child with long red hair smiling out at the viewer as they hold up a crudely drawn image of a person.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 30/07/2026

The beast resting her head on my foot.

Medium-sized gray and black dog wearing a gray t-shirt for medical reasons. She's laying on a gray sofa and resting her head on my pasty white ankle.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 29/07/2026

I got fantasy racism 🫠

Your Result:

Fantasy Racism

One of the powerful things fantasy can do is explore real world issues through the distance and metaphor of fantasy. It allows issues to be brought to readers and audiences through a new lens, and sometimes breaks through old biases to imagine new worlds. Your interest in exploring serious topics and inequality have led you to this result. If you enjoyed this quiz, consider following me on Bluesky @TheodreSnapdragon where I’ll be posting updates around a very fantasy anthology, a dragon-themed Dragonthology made by the IncSpec writing discord! Or maybe check out my own free fantasy novel on Royal Road: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/145331/mage-by-blood.

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Abby @arobertswrites.com · 29/07/2026

Betsy Leondar-Wright, after recounting an incident in which some 70s counter-culture activists were attempting to form a coalition with blue-collar retirees, and one of the counterculture folks suggested they take a break to howl like wolves:

If you want to build cross-class alliances, don't howl. If that's important to you, go off on a retreat with other howlers. Similarly, it may be very important to you to be vegan yourself, but is it necessary to serve only vegan food at a conference that meat-eaters will attend? If we care about our movement's size, strength and diversity, it's essential that we be no weirder than we need to be.

Cultural differences between professional-middle-class and working-class activists are not just neutral variations in taste or style, in which each party should give the other equal deference, but power differences between people with different amounts of education, cultural capital, and clout. Unless there's a good reason to go with the middle-class norm -- which sometimes there is -- the default in progressive groups should be to operate in the way that seems normal to the least privileged people in the room.

060

Abby @arobertswrites.com · 24/07/2026

In Lower Saxony c. 600-900 a man died and he was wearing what may have been the shittiest piece of clothing of all time. A tunic stitched together from random bits of cloth.