So this is how it went down. While organising my bookshelves, I decided that I am *not* going to buy any new books in 2023 until I read the ones I already have. Then, I panic ordered three new books before 2023.

Brenda Romero

@br

Jan 21

Thanks to

@tolkajournal

for the excellent event last night

@ByrnesBooks

. Issues are still available at

If you're about in Galway this Friday, Jan 20, stop by

@ByrnesBooks

. Roisin Kiberd and I will be reading from our

@tolkajournal

pieces and talking about nonfiction, form, and the Irish literary scene. Hope to see you there!

Brenda Romero

@br

Jan 13

Also, thank you for withholding scorn on “progressional” programmers.

A serious question for professional programmers: What is the purpose of programming? I am looking for one- or two-sentence answers for an essay. (It's surprising how challenging it is to find progressional programmers, even language creators, talking about this basic concept.)

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139

Once upon a time, there lived three little pigs, and then the murders began.

The great fish moved silently through the night water, propelled by short sweeps of its crescent tail, and then the murders began. (This was the plot, incidentally.)

When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton, and then the murders began.

Most opening lines can be improved by adding, "and then the murders began." Call me Ishmael, and then the murders began.

Please come!

Quote Tweet

Tolka

@tolkajournal

Jan 10

TOLKA in Galway! On Friday 20 January we'll be hosting an event in @ByrnesBooks, with @roisinkiberd and @br reading from and discussing their TOLKA pieces. No need to register, just pop along at 6pm.

Brenda Romero

@br

Jan 9

Such a good lunch today. Homemade vegan tamales and enchilada sauce courtesy of

She's raising money here.

gofundme.com

I'm robbed of my European Rights! Please support!, organized by Evelyne Cynk

Note: Receipts for donations can be provided! Feel free to contact me!… Evelyne Cynk needs your support for I'm robbed of my European Rights! Please support!

A member of my writer's group,

@CynkEvelyne

, is currently challenging the German government for her rights under EU law. Article below.

independent.ie

German student with cerebral palsy fights for funding so she can come over to study at UCC

A disabled German student is being blocked from attending classes at University College Cork due to a row over funding for her care.

Show this thread

Brenda Romero Retweeted

Tolka

@tolkajournal

Jan 4

Submissions are now open for TOLKA Issue Five. Send us your finest essays, memoir, reportage, biographical writing, autofiction, and anything in between. Submissions close 22 Jan. Full guidelines and payment details here: tolkajournal.org/submit

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Though I found an exploit straight out of the gate, I am pleased to say that I read two books from my shelves and am cracking into a third. They were short books (The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy and The Death of Frances Bacon by Max Porter; the similarity was a coincidence).

Quote Tweet

Brenda Romero

@br

Dec 27, 2022

Brenda Romero Retweeted

NI Science Festival

@niscifest

Jan 2

It's 2023! Which means we're celebrating 30 Years of one of our favourite videogames of all time in the classic FPS Doom! Join us Fri 24 Feb as we chat to one of its creators John

@romero

@TheMACBelfast

! Book now - nisciencefestival.com/events/30-year #NISF23

Italic Pig and 9 others

133

Brenda Romero

@br

Dec 30, 2022

Tonight, I read Three Strands, an exceptional piece by

@WilliamKeohane_

in The

@stingingfly

. Beautiful writing. What a writer.

Brenda Romero

@br

Dec 29, 2022

Here's how it's continuing to go down: I just ordered two more books, one using a gift card. I also decided literary journals do not count as books and told my family that I want bookstore gift certs for any holiday in 2023.

Quote Tweet

I’ve been catching up on the winter batch of literary journals over the break. Tonight, I finished

@DaveMcgrath1

’s The Untameable Donkey in

@stingingfly

. It was *so* good. I heard him read at the launch event, too. Great performance.

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TOLKA is an exceptional journal of nonfiction. I can't recommend it enough (submit your writing or subscribe).

Quote Tweet

Tolka

@tolkajournal

Dec 23, 2022

Submissions for Issue Five of TOLKA will open in early January. We're just getting our ducks in a row - full details tbc. Watch this space . . .

Show this thread

Brenda Romero

@br

Dec 27, 2022

The term "software engineer" was created by Margaret Hamilton, who also crafted code that put humans on the moon.

britannica.com

Margaret Hamilton | Biography & Facts

Margaret Hamilton, née Margaret Heafield, (born August 17, 1936, Paoli, Indiana, U.S.), American computer scientist who was one of the first computer software programmers; she created the term...

Brenda Romero

@br

Dec 27, 2022

Please also check out

@jeffpobst

’s replies to this thread. He adds more detail.

*stocked games on shelves like books instead of in bins like CDs, albums, and movies.

I think there was also a belief that buyers perceived that having a smaller box than your competitor translated into a lower quality product.

It was necessary both to house the printed manual (which was still huge and which publishers believed players wanted) and to look okay in stores which stocked games on shelves like books inside of in bins like CDs, albums, and movies.

To differentiate from movies and to retain some sense of shelf real estate, the boxes were still thicker than movie boxes.

Big box stores like Walmart weren’t giving, though, and so that was that. As best I recall, we were transitioned by the early 2000s (2001-3). This is, of course, based on my xp working for a publisher/developer from 1981-2001.

Remember, there was a time when weight of the box = its perceived quality. Publishers of PC games were also concerned about the loss a key differentiator (the box) between console titles and PC titles.

Publishers of PC games had mixed feelings. They were concerned about the loss of real estate for shelf shoppers, the loss of detail on the back of the box, and the perceived blowback from consumers who expected stuff in the box.

So, people stuck with the box. With the progression from CD➡️DVD➡️ Bluray, big box stores specifically wanted to use their space more efficiently and started to request developers/publishers use the same clamshell casing and abandon the big boxes.

Making boxes too big resulted in fewer boxes (sales) on standard-sized shelves or placement of the box where it didn’t fit with others of that genre (also largely invented by retailers wanting to know where to shelve the game and predict popularity/sales).

Game boxes were a standard size and designed to fit in retail stores that specialised in software and hardware. You didn’t want to go smaller because the real estate mattered to eyes scanning shelves. Thread ⬇️

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cohost.org/autolikescake

@Autolikescake

Dec 26, 2022

genuine question why did pc game cases in the mid 2000s take up twice the amount of space. don’t tell me it’s bc we had 2-3 installation discs. DVDs with bonus feature discs still had smaller cases

a cabinet full of computer game CD boxes from the early 2000s: portal, flight simulator X, Star Wars battlefront (2005), the sims, the sims 2 open for business, the sims 2 pets, the sims 2 seasons, the sims 3: an introduction

read image description

ALT

240

I know what "pithy" means, but whenever I hear or see it used, I always translate it to mean "pathetic."

Brenda Romero

@br

Dec 26, 2022

This year, I read a book of short stories thinking it was a novel. I couldn't see the connection between the "chapters", but I was determined to stick it out. Eventually, I realized the connection was just the author. It was a unique read of The China Factory by Mary Costello.