Content

Reviewed-on: #6

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content/blog/a-first-look-at-bhagwan-incense.md

@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+---
+title: "A First Look at Bhagwan Incense"
+description: "Taking a look at Bhagwan Incense and the brand's Absolute Oudh, Oudh, Oudh Majestic, Royal Oudh, Royal Mysore Sandalwood, and Sandalwood Origins sticks."
+date: 2026-07-18
+tags:
+  - Incense
+  - Incense Review
+synopsis: "Taking a look at Bhagwan Incense and the brand's Absolute Oudh, Oudh, Oudh Majestic, Royal Oudh, Royal Mysore Sandalwood, and Sandalwood Origins sticks."
+imageURL: /img/a-first-look-at-bhagwan/lighting-a-stick-of-bhagwan-absolute-oudh.webp
+imageAlt: "A close up of a stick of incense being lit with a flame on a wick. The end of the stick appears wet with oil from the heat."
+mastodon_id: "116942744227037345"
+---
+When Eugene of [Bhagwan Incense](https://bhagwan-incense.com/) first reached out offering samples I was hesitant to accept them; my experiences with Indian style incense at that point had been less than stellar. After Irene of rauchfahne.de sent me some very nice Indian sticks, however, my mind was  opened, and I found myself keen to see what Bhagwan has to offer.
+
+Being an exporter rather than a manufacturer, Bhagwan's product range is fairly broad, spanning from classic sandalwood sticks to modern fragrances like guava. Today I'll start with my thoughts on some of those classic incense fragrances: agarwood and sandalwood.
+
+## Agarwood
+
+### Absolute Oudh
+
+Absolute Oudh is sweet, spicy, woody, and "masculine." Baking spice notes
+almost remind me of a Japanese sweet agarwood stick, but the sweetness is
+really ramped up here and there's no camphor lift. There is a vanillic aspect
+to this stick, which, coupled with the sweetness, evokes benzoin. There is also
+something of a Play-Doh note, a touch of anise in the room, and an accord
+reminiscent of cola. Amidst all of the sweetness and spice, there is an
+agarwood je ne sais quoi - that earthy, sticky fragrance that is close to
+impossible to describe unless you've smelled it. Buried in this fragrance is
+something rather true to life. While Absolute Oudh is certainly not in the same
+category as a single-origin agarwood-plus-binder stick, it is a pleasant,
+well-composed stick with a recognizable agarwood character.
+
+### Oudh
+
+The unlit stick is very sweet, woody, creamy, and spicy. For some reason this
+is a very nostalgic fragrance for me. Despite how luscious and creamy the unlit
+stick smelled, the character of the fragrance in the burn is lighter, with
+notes of smoke, roasting coffee, light spice, vanilla, coumarin, dried fruit,
+and blonde tobacco. It's one of the more genteel oud fragrances from Bhagwan
+that I've sampled. Up close, there is a whisper of a dry, sour, woody note that
+reminds me of low grade agarwood, but without the acrid note that comes with
+real wood. If I hadn't read "Oudh" on the packaging, however, I probably
+wouldn't have guessed that this was intended to be an agarwood stick. That
+said, I like this fragrance a lot more than most of the low-grade
+agarwood-forward senkō in my collection.
+
+[![A looped series of images showing a stick of incense bursting into flame before settling down with a smoking ember.](/img/a-first-look-at-bhagwan/bhagwan-incense-absolute-oud-lighting-loop.webp " Lighting a stick of Absolute Oudh. Thanks to [this person](https://krita-artists.org/t/making-looping-animated-webp-files/9647) for the animated webp tutorial.")](/img/a-first-look-at-bhagwan/bhagwan-incense-absolute-oud-lighting-loop.webp)
+
+### Oudh Majestic
+
+The fragrance of the unlit stick is interesting. It strikes me as
+gourmand—sweet and vanillic, with baking spice, banana custard, and white musk
+notes. When lit, the fragrance is light and sweet, with notes of turbinado
+sugar, vanilla, a floral aspect, and a grassy, cinnamon-coumarin warmth. I like
+this fragrance a lot, but I'm really not even being reminded of agarwood. This stick was also reviewed on [rauchfahne.de](https://blog.rauchfahne.de/en/2024/10/05/bhagwan-oudh-majestic-en/) and [ORS](https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/2023/11/10/bhagwan-incense-balsamic-amber-frank-rose-garden-of-eden-oudh-majestic-woody-champa-notes-on-other-fragrances/).
+
+### Royal Oudh
+
+The unlit stick smells sweet, tart, and earthy, with notes of dried plum, white
+musk, and spikenard. In the burn, the fragrance leans more eathy, mineral,
+woody, and spicy, with metallic sandalwood and clove notes alongside damp soil
+and dried fruit. The combined effect is a rich, complex fragrance that is, for
+me, *somewhat* evocative of warming kynam on heater. This sweet, fruity, spicy,
+and earthy scent is something I imagine might be really pleasant on a rainy
+afternoon. This stick was also reviewed on [ORS](https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/2024/11/12/bhagwan-incense-amber-oudh-assam-agarwood-imperial-oudh-oudh-rose-royal-oudh/).
+
+## Sandalwood
+
+### Royal Mysore Sandalwood
+
+Buttery sandalwood on the stick, with fruity and white floral notes. The
+fragrance is much louder and more complex than putting sandalwood chips on a
+burner, but the sandalwood note is lactonic, warm, and woody with that
+distinctive metallic note that I often notice from S. album. Compared to
+heating sandalwood chips, the stick is much more lively, with a distinctive
+fruitiness[^1] coming through in the burn. This isn't something I've noticed
+from wood chips, but maybe this is a common feature of certain sandalwood oils,
+or sandalwood accords? In any case, I wouldn't call this a strictly one-note
+sandalwood fragrance; unlike, say, Shunkohdo's Sarasoju, it definitely has some
+additional complexity. It is very pleasant though, and I would say that if you
+are looking for a vivacious and moderately bright composition with a fairly
+true to life sandalwood core, you can't go wrong with this. This stick was also reviewed on [ORS](https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/2024/12/06/bhagwan-incense-imperial-sandalwood-royal-mysore-sandalwood-royal-sandalwood-sandalwood-origins/).
+
+### Sandalwood Origins
+
+The fragrance on the unlit stick is very perfumey. Another nostalgic scent,
+this one brings me right back to visiting Earthbound Trading Co. in the mall
+years ago. It's vanillic, floral, and woody, with a bright, soapy, white-musk
+note. The stick starts off very buttery, with some burning-oil off-notes up
+close that mostly disappear in the room. It's far sweeter than Royal Mysore
+Sandalwood, with a marked vanilla note. The floral fragrance from the unlit
+stick becomes somewhat subtle in the burn, with the very bright, soapy
+fragrance from the unlit stick transforming into something much more mellow.
+This is closer to a single-note stick; it reminds me of the super lactonic
+sandalwood note from Fred Soll's Frankincense and Sandalwood. I personally
+prefer this one over Royal Mysore Sandalwood as—in my opinion—it's closer to
+the wood itself. This stick was also reviewed on [ORS](https://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/2024/12/06/bhagwan-incense-imperial-sandalwood-royal-mysore-sandalwood-royal-sandalwood-sandalwood-origins/).
+
+## Conclusion & Brand Impressions
+### Accuracy Vs. Composition
+I was once warming sandalwood on an incense heater, when my Indian
+houseguest—accustomed to agarbatti—mentioned that the genuine article didn't
+smell at all like sandalwood to her. If you're coming from the world of
+higher-end East Asian incense, or you're expecting natural, single-note wood
+fragrances, you may be similarly confused when lighting up one of these sticks
+from Bhagwan. They are each compositions, fairly far removed from the fragrance
+of the woods they are named after. This is not a knock; it's completely par for
+the course in the world of Indian incense. But I think it's worth mentioning
+that you're not going to be able to learn what actual woods smell like from
+these sticks. That said, the compositions are killer.
+
+### Strength
+If you're used to gentle Japanese sticks, you're in for a shock with Bhagwan.
+Not one stick I have tried so far could be described as remotely quiet. In the
+past, I've counted this as an unequivocal downside, but things have changed for
+me in that regard. I'm learning to modulate ventilation to make these sticks
+manageable. If, like me, you have a sensitive nose, you may want to burn them
+in front of an open window, in an adjacent room, and/or with lots of fans going
+to keep the fragrance from concentrating too much in one area. While I'm
+getting used to these workarounds, I still wish Bhagwan offered minis that
+produced a more manageable amount of fragrance. In addition, I sometimes like
+to burn a variety of sticks throughout the day, but that's tough when one stick
+is powerful enough to linger for up to multiple days (looking at you, *Guava*).
+
+### Ingredients & Transparency
+One thing I really would like to see improve is the way the "vegan" designation
+is used on the website. Descriptions often contain two points: "free
+from animal-derived ingredients," and "vegan incense sticks unless honey is
+mentioned in the description." This can be confusing, especially when honey or
+propolis notes are then mentioned in the description. The customer is left to
+wonder whether these are just notes, or reflect the inclusion of animal
+secretions in the product. As a vegan, clarity and confidence when making a
+purchasing decision is paramount.
+
+On ingredients, Bhagwan's
+[website claims](https://bhagwan-incense.com/our-story/) that the brand offers "only premium masala incense made using pure raw halmaddi, sandalwood powder,
+essential oils and attars," and continues: "if a supplier starts using chemical
+ingredients, we stop offering their incense." This may well be a reflection of
+my own ignorance, but I don't know how it is possible to offer some of the
+fragrances in Bhagwan's catalog without synthetics. The strength, clarity, and
+staying power of some of these fragrances[^2] is truly remarkable, and they are
+clearly fairly precise, complex, and professional compositions without the
+'muddiness' that you would expect from naturals—each containing thousands of
+fragrance molecules. To be clear: I don't care if the incense I burn contains
+synthetics. I'm under no illusion that Tennendo's *Kyara* or *Sumire* is made
+with ground-up herbs and spices[^3]. I guess what I'm saying here is that these
+sticks are, in my opinion, perhaps *suspiciously good* to meet the description on the website, such that I do wonder just how much of a handle
+Bhagwan has on what is actually going into them. But, then again, I'm
+just some guy with a blog.
+
+### Conclusion
+To be clear: the compositional nature and strength of these sticks are not marks against them; they're simply hallmarks of this style of incense. And if you can get past that (or if—like many—you *prefer* it), I think it's hard to go wrong with any of the sticks I've written about above. While Indian incense has a bit of a reputation problem here in the U.S.A., this incense is in an entirely different league than the bamboo-cored sticks you're likely to find in a US supermarket or gas station. For me, the sticks have been a nice change of pace from my (predominantly Japanese) incense collection, and I've been enjoying them quite a lot. It only makes sense that there should be something quite special about the work of a people who have had access to an abundance of aromatics for millennia, and it's nice to discover brands that seem to be doing a good job of curating what reaches our shores.
+
+[^1]:  The fruit note reminds me of the Supreme Sandalwood Science fragrance
+from Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements.
+
+[^2]: Not to mention the color of the melnoorva / powder on some of the sticks.
+
+[^3]: "But Nathan, some of these chemicals are endocrine disrupt…" Cool, but
+I'm not freebasing them. I think I'll be okay.

content/blog/the-secrets-of-scrumptious-seitan.md

@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@ tags:
 imageURL: /img/seitan.webp
 imageAlt: Two wee logs of seitan wrapped tightly in cheesecloth and kitchen twine on a piece of foil next top a pair of kitchen tongs.
 ---
-[![Two wee logs of seitan wrapped tightly in cheesecloth and kitchen twine on a piece of foil next top a pair of kitchen tongs.](/img/seitan.webp "Some homemade seitan, originally posted on [my pixelfed account](https://pixelfed.social/p/nathanu/395090346005279712).")](/img/seitan.webp)
-
 
 Seitan: carnists tremble at the sight of it, and sadly, due to the difficulty in its culinary execution, so do many of my fellow leaf-loving, tofu-eating, [nooch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutritional_yeast)-sprinkling vegans. Little known in the west, seitan is a food comprised almost entirely of wheat gluten that was invented hundreds of years ago by Buddhist monks as a protein-rich meat substitute. While fundamentally a simple dough of wheat gluten and water, then steamed or simmered, seitan is notoriously tricky to get right. Even here in Chicago where there are a wealth of vegan restaurants, some of which have been operating for decades, there is a dearth of good seitan; too chewy, not chewy enough, spongy, and flavorless seitan is endemic to the western vegan foodservice canon. Now, I'm no expert, but I've certainly picked up a few tricks over the years, and I prefer my seitan to just about any restaurant here in Chicago, with a single exception, *but I'll spill that tea at the end*.
 

content/blog/the-trauma-of-employment.md

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+title: The Trauma of Employment
+description: Power imbalances at work negatively impact human relationships and leave long-lasting scars. We can do better.
+synopsis: Power imbalances at work negatively impact human relationships and leave long-lasting scars. We can do better.
+date: 2026-06-30
+tags:
+  - Life
+  - Work
+imageURL: /img/trauma-of-employment/Venetian-Glass-Workers.webp
+imageAlt: "Venetian Glass Workers by John Singer Sargent, oil on canvas. This backlit view of a shop in Venice is dark and atmospheric except for the brilliant strokes of light green and silvery white paint that describe the canes of glass as tradespeople prepare to cut them into bead-sized pieces, which will then be polished and strung into jewelry."
+mastodon_id: "116842107464446750"
+---
+::: info
+Content warning: sexual assault.
+:::
+
+Every year, I receive a glowing review from my employer, effusive, even. But each year, I dread the review. 'This time, it's going to be bad,' I think. 'I'm sure my boss was annoyed with me by the tone of their last teams message'. 'I can sense that she wants to replace me'. 'It's been a good run, but I'd better refresh my resume'. My thoughts run away from me and before I know it I'm experiencing a full-blown stress response in my body as I imagine myself with a bindle slung over my shoulder because I can't afford to pay rent. I'm aware that this is utterly irrational. My current boss is almost certainly the best I've ever had, and there are no real signs of trouble. This anxiety stems from something deeper.
+
+My first 'professional' role was as a print broker and artworker. I was paid peanuts, but I loved it. It turns out that I was a total print nerd, and specifying, designing, planning, managing, and procuring print work was a bit of a dream job for me. It was a small office, and my boss kind of just let me do my thing and, beside the pay, treated me well. Over the years, I've come to learn that 'professional' jobs (or as I like to call them, 'short-pile-carpet jobs') where a person with ADHD can truly thrive are scarce as hen's teeth. The problem is rarely the work itself, but those charged with overseeing it.
+
+Back in the nineteenth century, a Russian prince by the name of Pëtr Kropotkin was hard at work annoying capitalists and authoritarian communists alike with a deluge of pointed critiques. Kropotkin's thought was largely concerned with *power*, and how best to distribute and use it in order to prevent oppressive systems from repeating themselves, whether or not this occurs under a banner emblazoned with a hammer and sickle. Kropotkin also espoused the traditional human gift economy. Despite gift economies being humanity's default state, chugging along nicely for thousands of years, the idea is often subjected to the critique that human nature simply won't allow good behavior under this sort of arrangement. So prevalent was this idea that in 1888, Kropotkin replied with the essay "Are We Good Enough?" in which he wrote:
+
+>  Men are not good enough for Communism, but are they good enough for Capitalism? If all men were good-hearted, kind, and just, they would never exploit one another, although possessing the means of doing so. With such men the private ownership of capital would be no danger. The capitalist would hasten to share his profits with the workers, and the best-remunerated workers with those suffering from occasional causes. If men were provident they would not produce velvet and articles of luxury while food is wanted in cottages: they would not build palaces as long as there are slums.
+>
+> If men had a deeply developed feeling of equity they would not oppress other men. Politicians would not cheat their electors; Parliament would not be a chattering and cheating box, and Charles Warren’s policemen would refuse to bludgeon the Trafalgar Square talkers and listeners. And if men were gallant, self-respecting, and less egotistic, even a bad capitalist would not be a danger; the workers would have soon reduced him to the role of a simple comrade-manager. Even a King would not be dangerous, because the people would merely consider him as a fellow unable to do better work, and therefore entrusted with signing some stupid papers sent out to other cranks calling themselves Kings.
+
+In this indictment of human nature, Kropotkin exposes the problem inherent to bosses: their human fallibility. In a sensible world, power would be better distributed; it would be impossible for one flawed human to accumulate sufficient power to ruin scores of lives. But today, despite our lip-service to democracy, millions of petty tyrants rule, unelected, over billions of others. They control minute aspects of the lives of the workers they employ with a sort of horrifying totalitarian control that books have been written about where it concerns similar behavior from nation states. I like my boss. She's pleasant, kind, intelligent, and has never done me wrong. But if she were a tyrant, or were to become one, there would be no recourse for me or my colleagues[^1], and the consequences could easily be life changing.
+
+In my twenties, through a convoluted and tragic series of circumstances, I wound up working in hospitality. Mostly bartending at first, but I went into coffee later. People often don't realize how awful this industry is, especially in the U.S.A. The reality is that, no matter what you do, if your job involves short-pile-carpet and a laptop, your worst day at work almost certainly pales in comparison to the average day for a waiter, bartender, bar-back, busser, line-cook, or barista. The work itself is grueling, the pay is usually minimal, health insurance is a rarity, customers treat you like a servant with shit on your face, and employers treat you like a cheap machine—with shit on its face. To this day, I tip profusely. In hospitality, people are fired at a moment's notice. Bosses are routinely insane. Screaming at workers in front of colleagues and customers, wage theft, threatening to fire workers, and sexual harassment and assault are—and I need you to take this literally—completely normal. There's a [Mario Batali](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/dining/mario-batali-sexual-misconduct-lawsuits-settles.html) or a [René Redzepi](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/dining/rene-redzepi-noma-abuse-allegations.html) in most kitchens.[^2] I've worked for an operations manager known for grabbing the asses of the cocktail waitresses they employed. I worked for a man who—I kid you not—lived in the basement-office of the coffee shop he owned and would watch you on camera from his bed. He would scream at you over the phone if you didn't count the cash in full view of the camera at all times, and would also scream at you in front of customers if you didn't make espresso the way he did (which was wrong). I've personally been sexually assaulted by customers at work, multiple times. I've been fired. I've had customers threaten to have me fired because I refused to give them free product.
+
+In this line of work, people see you as something less than human. Your livelihood is worth less than their convenience. That stays with you. Mistreatment by your peers is unpleasant, but mistreatment by people who have the power to put an immediate stop to your ability to feed, clothe, and house yourself is an existential threat. When I feel such intense anxiety related to my employment today, years later, and despite working almost entirely from home, glowing performance reviews, meaningful pay increases every year, and a kind, reasonable boss, I realize that my time in hospitality hurt me in ways that are hard to heal.
+
+When you've experienced employment without that short-pile-carpet pretense and veneer of respectability, any sense of discomfort, dissatisfaction, or irritation from your employer feels dangerous. Because it is. No matter how good and reasonable they are, they are also fallible, and their bad mood could destroy your life. I've also been a boss, in charge of a couple dozen or so baristas, cooks, and store managers. I once walked into a café, and noticing that something was off, asked one of the workers to fix it in what I thought was a neutral 'by the way' sort of tone. I was later told that she burst into tears when I left. At the time I was hyper-aware that anything I said could be interpreted (or felt) as a threat, so I intentionally tried to ensure that I was as friendly and calm as possible. Still, the nature of the arrangement, the unjust power imbalance, made it impossible to take my words at face value. I was a threat to her livelihood, and nothing I could say or do could ever change that. They say that it's lonely being in leadership roles. It is. Workers are becoming friends and building genuine rapport, while you're always the 800-pound gorilla in the room, and you're kidding yourself if you think that you're an exception.
+
+Some six years into my current role, I still haven't decorated my office downtown. There's not a single item in a drawer anywhere that I'll need to collect when I eventually move on. I think escaping hospitality—even though I was head of the chain's Chicago operations at the time—felt too good to be true. It seems that I'm still afraid. This trauma is, I think, something that often goes neglected at the ballot box. It's so normalized that it seems a natural part of life. So while politicians are busy riling us all up over immigration and culture-war nonsense, we collectively forget that our employers exercise *infinitely* more power over us than any politician. We need to start demanding strong worker protections, right of first refusal, and other means of righting the power imbalance not because all bosses are bad, but because all bosses are human. And with this, we can slowly begin to build a world where work is carried out equitably, for the betterment of society, with respect and due care toward those who carry it out. Work doesn't have to be traumatic, and by turning our attention to these issues which affect our lives so intimately, we can see to it that it isn't.
+
+[^1]: And yes, you smarmy what-name, I recognize that technically you might consider it recourse to upend your life and find a new job, if you can, but that's a bit like saying "Yes, he fired an arrow at you, but could you not simply have moved out of the way?" "Yes, they kicked the fire-ladder away from the window, but could you not have simply knotted some bed-sheets?" What is possible and what is reasonable are often two very things, especially when your life, health, and well-being are at stake.
+[^2]: Remember that the next time you roll your eyes at the POS tip screen.

content/changelog/index.md

@@ -6,6 +6,18 @@ h1: Changelog
 includeTOC: true
 ---
 ## 2026
+### July
+* 2026-07-18
+	* Updated [/me](/me) to include [GoToSocial](https://blether.nathanupchurch.com/@nathan).
+* 2026-07-17
+	* Updated [/incense](/incense).
+* 2026-07-10
+	* Updated [/links](/links).
+* 2026-07-02
+	* Updated [/incense](/incense).
+### June
+* 2026-06-28
+	* Updated site style.
 ### May
 * 2026-05-26
 	* Updated [blogroll](/blogroll).

content/incense/index.md

@@ -44,12 +44,17 @@ Incense making is hard. While parts of the world with strong incense cultures en
 ### Articles
 * [*A New Incense Bibliography Part 1*: History & Art, Incense Apprentice](https://incenseapprentice.substack.com/p/a-new-incense-bibliography-part-1)
 * [*A New Incense Bibliography Part 2*: Worldwide Incense Traditions, Incense Apprentice](https://incenseapprentice.substack.com/p/a-new-incense-bibliography-part-2)
+* [*Agarwood - The Hidden History of Scented Wood*, Eric Hansen](https://www.mermadearts.com/i/agarwood-the-hidden-history-of-scented-wood)
+* [*An Introduction to Japanese Incense*, Tezumi](https://www.tezumi.com/blogs/tezumi-insights/an-introduction-to-japanese-incense)
 * [Ancient Chinese kneaded incense recipes translated from Zhou Jiaxuan's *History of Incense* (香乘 / xiāng shèng)](https://web.archive.org/web/20230216230731/https://talesofincense.com/scent-materia/)
 * [*Bakhour (Turaren Wuta) In Nigeria*, Dr Ruqayya Abba Tofa](https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Bakhour-Turaren-Wuta-In-Nigeria-21456.html)
 * [*Bakhour (Turaren Wuta) in Nigeria (Part 2)*, Dr Ruqayya Abba Tofa](https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Bakhour-Turaren-Wuta-in-Nigeria-Part-2-21989.html)
 * [Chinese incense ingredient name translations](https://web.archive.org/web/20230216230731/https://talesofincense.com/scent-materia/)
 * [*Goose Pear Tent Incense*, Be-en-Foret](https://mermadearts.com/i/chinese-goose-pear-tent-incense)
+* [*Japanese Incense Glossary*, Sprays of Blossoms, Curls of Smoke](https://spraysofblossoms.wordpress.com/glossary/)
+* [Japanese Incense Ingredients, Japan Incense](https://www.japanincense.com/aboutincense.html)
 * [*Japanese Incense Types*, Kyarazen](https://www.kyarazen.com/japanese-incense-types-in-modern-day/)
+* [Post on the history of Koju as it relates to Nippon Kodo](https://www.reddit.com/r/Incense/comments/1pvwind/comment/nw1tl68/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
 * [*Pressed Incense Tablets*, Kyarazen](https://www.kyarazen.com/pressed-incense-tablets/)
 * [*The Wisdom of Traditional Processing Methods*, Dr. Incense](https://dr-incense.com/blogs/dr-incense-blog/the-wisdom-of-traditional-processing-methods)
 
@@ -66,27 +71,36 @@ Incense making is hard. While parts of the world with strong incense cultures en
 * See the [incense, fragrance, and perfumery section of my blogroll](/blogroll/#incense-fragrance-and-perfumery) for a list of blogs with writing on incense and related topics.
 
 ## Videos on Incense and Related Topics
-* [Baikundo's incense-stick making process (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbQ8sNcQdcg)
+### History
+* [The Frankincense Trail](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2056414/)—Kate Humble follows the ancient frankincense trade route from Oman to Palestine. I have linked to the IMDB page, but this documentary series is well worth sailing the high seas for.
+### Ingredients / About
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Agarwood (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVupYzrCjmM)
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Bulgarian Rose Oil (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26pEG7Ghgpg)
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Ceylon Cinnamon (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzOcZlmeaH0)
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Frankincense And Myrrh (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LMioQGsFFw)
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Jasmine Oil (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt16uOqImI0)
 * [Business Insider's *So Expensive*: Sandalwood (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPRpWg_wU0A)
-* [*Fragrant China* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m96m2WPGDJA&list=PLJeSQ7Rl5tC-bgdowqRLjFyAVowKYkOK-)
+### Ingredients / Convervation
-* [*Incense Making in Hong Kong* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzzvi6Cqqu8)
-* [*Introduction to Japanese Incense | Types and Styles* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6G-azPGMcA)
-* [*Japanese incense made with a waterwheel* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy8nnTPQ5M0)
-* [*Nag Champa - A Documentary Film* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN3wLhZFXmQ)
-* [New China TV: *Traditional incense-making helps Tibetan villagers live better life* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDqGwKNCLfc)—a short look at traditional Tibetan incense making.
-* [*Sacred Tibetan Incense* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWEg7FtBLKw)
 * [*Saving the scent that may soon disappear from Earth* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqqzdI0wVQc)—a documentary on New Caledonian sandalwood.
 * [*Scent From Heaven* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv69pYSm2oo)—a documentary from Al Jazeera on agarwood.
-* [Shoyeido Factory Works (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQRxB4Gz-JM)
+### Introductory
-* [The Frankincense Trail](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2056414/)—Kate Humble follows the ancient frankincense trade route from Oman to Palestine. I have linked to the IMDB page, but this documentary series is well worth sailing the high seas for.
+* [*Introduction to Japanese Incense | Types and Styles* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6G-azPGMcA)
-* [*The Scent of Heaven: Inside Vietnam’s Incense Village* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy8pDpIH31g)
+### People & Culture
+* [*Da Ching Incense Making Factory* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1fzySbNUiA)
+* [*Explore 500 years of Tibetan incense making at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj0sy-RmubQ)
+* [*Fragrant China* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m96m2WPGDJA&list=PLJeSQ7Rl5tC-bgdowqRLjFyAVowKYkOK-)
+* [*In the Heart of Shambhala Ep.2: Tibetan incense-making* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ3Xtt0Z794)
+* [New China TV: *Traditional incense-making helps Tibetan villagers live better life* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDqGwKNCLfc)—a short look at traditional Tibetan incense making.
+* [*Sacred Tibetan Incense* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWEg7FtBLKw)
 * [*'The Scent of Sakai' 堺の香り - Handmade incense stick craftsman* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4vOPSJYvX4)
+* [*Tibetan Incense Making | 香格里拉藏香制作* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Epjx5PBuEs)
 * [*Turf Peat Incense* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F7Xvdpq-GE)
+### Production
+* [Baikundo's incense-stick making process (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbQ8sNcQdcg)
+* [*Japanese incense made with a waterwheel* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy8nnTPQ5M0)
+* [*Nag Champa - A Documentary Film* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN3wLhZFXmQ)
+* [Shoyeido Factory Works (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQRxB4Gz-JM)
+* [*The Scent of Heaven: Inside Vietnam’s Incense Village* (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy8pDpIH31g)
 
 ## Reputable Suppliers of Aromatics
 * [Apothecary's Garden (Canada)](https://apothecarysgarden.com/)—Absolutes, Extracts, Herbs, Tinctures, Oils, Resins, Woods
@@ -108,8 +122,16 @@ Incense making is hard. While parts of the world with strong incense cultures en
 
 
 ## Studies on Incense and Related Topics
-* [*Key Issues and Challenges in Spice Grinding*, HPramod P. Aradwad, Arun Kumar T V, P.K. Sahoo, Indra Mani (PDF, 3.7 MiB)](/documents/key_issues_and_challenges_in_spice_grinding.pdf)
+### Health
+* [*Reducing Air Pollutant Emissions from Burning Incense with the Addition of Calcium Carbonate*, Chi-Ru Yang, Ta-Chang Lin, Yen-Shun Peng, Sun-Zone Lee, Yih-Feng Chang (PDF, 262.3 KiB)](/documents/Reducing_Air_Pollutant_Emissions_from_Burning_Incense_with_the_Addition_of_Calcium_Carbonate.pdf)
+### Ingredients
 * [*Odor Tenacity of Perfumery Materials*, Hayato Hosokawa and Takayuki Shibamoto (PDF, 158.8 KiB)](/documents/odor_tenacity_of_perfume_materials.pdf)
+* [*The History of Tabu Powder as an Ingredient in Incense Sticks and Mosquito Coils (Machine Translated)*, Hiroaki Fujii (PDF, 1,011.3 KiB)](/documents/The_history_of_tabu_powder_as_an_ingredient_in_incense_sticks_and_mosquito_coils_machine_translated.pdf)
+* [*The History of Tabu Powder as an Ingredient in Incense Sticks and Mosquito Coils (Original Japanese)*, Hiroaki Fujii (PDF, 2.5 MiB)](/documents/The_history_of_tabu_powder_as_an_ingredient_in_incense_sticks_and_mosquito_coils.pdf)
+### Production
+* [*Key Issues and Challenges in Spice Grinding*, HPramod P. Aradwad, Arun Kumar T V, P.K. Sahoo, Indra Mani (PDF, 3.7 MiB)](/documents/key_issues_and_challenges_in_spice_grinding.pdf)
+### Use
+* [*The Scent of Time: A Study of the Use of Fire and Incense for Time Measurement in Oriental Countries*, Silvio A. Bedini (PDF, 6.8MiB)](/documents/scent-of-time.pdf)
 
 ## Forums / Discussion Boards
 * [Reddit (/r/incense)](https://reddit.com/r/incense)—Unfortunately, this is currently *the* place to discuss incense and incense making on the English-speaking internet. If you would like to avoid a platform that spies on you and uses your writing to train AI, you are welcome to help me bring some life to the following alternative option (currently pretty much only populated by me):

content/links/index.md

@@ -99,6 +99,8 @@ Here are some links to pages and resources that I believe are worth sharing.
 * [blogs.hn](https://blogs.hn/)—A directory of tech sites, primarily sourced from HackerNews
 * [blogscroll.com](https://blogscroll.com/)—An open directory of personal sites and blogs
 * [blogsearch.io](https://blogsearch.io/)—A search engine for personal blogs and independent websites
+* [Bubbles](https://bubbles.town/)— Somewhere out there, someone wrote a really good blog post today. You'll probably never find it. Google won't show it to you. Social media buried it under engagement bait. Bubbles tries to surface it. Community voting applied to thousands of personal, independent blogs, with identity and discussion routed through the Fediverse.
+* [Early Web Links](https://earlyweblinks.com/)—Before the internet went corporate, it was weird, wonderful, and deeply personal. People built websites just because they had something to share. This directory is full of sites that bring back that feeling.
 * [Feeder](https://github.com/spacecowboy/Feeder)—An open source feed reader (RSS/Atom/JSONFeed) for Android
 * [Feedle](https://feedle.world/)—A search engine for blogs and podcasts
 * [FreshRSS](https://www.freshrss.org/cloud-providers.html)—A self-hosted RSS and Atom feed aggregator
@@ -109,38 +111,65 @@ Here are some links to pages and resources that I believe are worth sharing.
 * [Mwmbl](https://mwmbl.org/)—A crowd-sourced search engine
 * [Mydora](https://mydora.restorativland.org/)—A continuous streaming player that gives you a deep dive into the lost archives of Myspace Music
 * [ooh.directory](https://ooh.directory/)—A collection of 2,358 blogs about every topic
+* [PowRSS](https://powrss.com/)—A public RSS feed aggregator built to support the open, independent web.
+* [Random Blog](https://randomblog.rocks/)—Discover random blogs
 * [Raven](https://ravenreader.app/)—A cross-platform feed reader
 * [RSS Guard](https://github.com/martinrotter/rssguard)—Feed reader (podcast player and also Gemini protocol client) which supports RSS/ATOM/JSON and many web-based feed services
 * [searchmysite.net](https://searchmysite.net/)—Search real content by real people from their personal websites
 * [Wiby](https://wiby.me/)—Search engine for the classic web
 
 ## Indieweb / personal web: resources
-* [88x31 Archive](https://hellnet.work/8831/)—An archive of tens of thousands of 88x31 buttons
+### Analytics
-* [88x31 Button Viewer](https://pilosophos.com/88x31-viewer/)—A searchable archive of tens of thousands of 88x31 buttons
-* [90s Cursor Effects](https://tholman.com/cursor-effects/)
-* [blinkies.cafe](https://blinkies.cafe/)—Blinkie maker
-* [Blot](https://blot.im/)—A tool that turns a folder into a website (paid)
-* [Button / badge generator](https://88x31.datakra.sh/)—Generate your very own 88x31 buttons
-* [Button / badge generator (2)]https://hekate2.github.io/buttonmaker/)—Another 88x31 button maker
-* [Button / badge generator (3)](https://sadgrlonline.github.io/archived-sadgrl.online/projects/88x31-button-maker.html)—Another one!
-* [GIF Printer 2000](https://melonking.net/frames/pixelsea)
-* [GifCities](https://gifcities.org/)—The Geocities animated gif search from Internet Archive
-* [Gify Pet](https://melonking.net/frames/pet)—Who is there to watch over your site when you are gone? GifyPet will!
 * [goatcounter.com](https://www.goatcounter.com/)—An open source web analytics platform available as a free donation-supported hosted service or self-hosted app
+* [Mochi](https://mochi.meadow.cafe/)—Friendly analytics and webmentions for your little corner of the web
+### Effects
+* [90s Cursor Effects](https://tholman.com/cursor-effects/)
+### Code Generators
+* [Melon's Gallery Maker](https://melonking.net/melon?z=/free/software/gallery-maker)—a micro-static site generator that makes it super easy to share your photos, make gif resource sites and showcase your artworks!
+* [MERP Feed Embed](https://merp.ichi.city/feed-embed/)—Embed an atom feed within a static HTML page.
+* [Quiz Maker](https://kamiscorner.xyz/quiz-maker/)
+### Forms
 * [Guestbooks](https://guestbooks.meadow.cafe/)—A free guestbook service for your website
 * [Guestbooks (2)](https://guestbooks.kamiscorner.xyz/)—Another free guestbook service for your website
-* [Hit counters](https://www.websiteout.net/counter.php)
+* [riku.miso.town](https://riku.miso.town/)—Riku is a free and open-source software that lets you collect responses from forms on your site
-* [Kitty](https://kitty.meadow.cafe/)—A cozy, minimal content platform focused on helping you write & publish without fuss
+### Graphics
-* [Mochi](https://mochi.meadow.cafe/)—Friendly analytics and webmentions for your little corner of the web
+* [88x31 Archive](https://hellnet.work/8831/)—An archive of tens of thousands of 88x31 buttons
-* [Nekoweb](https://nekoweb.org/)—A free static website hosting service
+* [88x31 Button Viewer](https://pilosophos.com/88x31-viewer/)—A searchable archive of tens of thousands of 88x31 buttons
-* [neocities.org](https://neocities.org/)—Create your own free website.
+* [GIF Printer 2000](https://melonking.net/frames/pixelsea)
-Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
+* [GifCities](https://gifcities.org/)—The Geocities animated gif search from Internet Archive
+* [Tile-able website backgrounds](https://tiled-bg.blogspot.com/)
+### Graphics Generators / Tools
+* [blinkies.cafe](https://blinkies.cafe/)—Blinkie maker
+* [Button / badge generator](https://88x31.datakra.sh/)—Generate your very own 88x31 buttons
+* [Button / badge generator (2)](https://hekate2.github.io/buttonmaker/)—Another 88x31 button maker
+* [Button / badge generator (3)](https://sadgrlonline.github.io/archived-sadgrl.online/projects/88x31-button-maker.html)—Another one!
+* [Cool Text Graphics Generator](https://cooltext.com/)
+* [MERP Draw](https://merp.ichi.city/draw.html)—Draw things.
 * [Pride button / badge generator](https://badge.les.bi/)—Generate pride buttons
-* [tamaNOTchi](https://tamanotchi.world/)—cute virtual pets you can customize, grow, and share on your blog or website
+* [Textcraft](https://textcraft.net/)—A minecraft + 8-bit style text and logo generator
+* [Userbar generator](https://350x19.datakra.sh/)—Generate 250x19 userbar graphics
+### Hit Counters
+* [Hit counters](https://www.websiteout.net/counter.php)
+### Hosting Services
+* [Blot](https://blot.im/)—A tool that turns a folder into a website (paid)
+* [Nekoweb](https://nekoweb.org/)—A free static website hosting service
 * [tilde.fun](https://tilde.fun/)—A Linux machine on the internet where you can get a shell account
 * [tildepages](https://tildepages.org/)—Free & fast web hosting
-* [Tile-able website backgrounds](https://tiled-bg.blogspot.com/)
+### Pets
-* [Userbar generator](https://350x19.datakra.sh/)—Generate 250x19 userbar graphics
+* [Gify Pet](https://melonking.net/frames/pet)—Who is there to watch over your site when you are gone? GifyPet will!
+* [tamaNOTchi](https://tamanotchi.world/)—cute virtual pets you can customize, grow, and share on your blog or website
+* [Pocket Bird](https://github.com/IdreesInc/Pocket-Bird)—A bird that hops around your website
+### Publishing
+* [Bear](https://bearblog.dev/)—A privacy-first, no-nonsense, super-fast blogging platform
+* [ichi.city](https://ichi.city/)—a friendly little internet community where you can create your homepage, explore your creativity, and discover other people.
+* [Kitty](https://kitty.meadow.cafe/)—A cozy, minimal content platform focused on helping you write & publish without fuss
+* [neocities.org](https://neocities.org/)—Create your own free website.
+Unlimited creativity, zero ads.
+* [smol.pub](https://smol.pub/)—Smol Pub is tiny blogging service accessible from Web, Gemini and Gopher.
+### Social
+* [imood](https://www.imood.com/)—imood helps you keep in touch with how you and your friends are feeling.
+* [piclog](https://piclog.blue/)—share your JPEG pictures with your friends.
+* [status.cafe](https://status.cafe/)—status.cafe is a place to share your current status.
 
 ## Literature
 * [Standard Ebooks](https://standardebooks.org/)—A volunteer-driven effort to produce a collection of high quality, carefully formatted, accessible, open source, and free public domain ebooks that meet or exceed the quality of commercially produced ebooks.

content/now-burning/Now Burning_2026-06-29_10:44.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Dragon's Blood
+manufacturer: Bhagwan Incense
+date: 2026-06-29 10:43:50
+time: 10:43 AM
+---
+

content/now-burning/Now Burning_2026-07-10_16:55.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Patchouli Queen
+manufacturer: Bhagwan Incense
+date: 2026-07-10 16:55:34
+time: 4:35 PM
+---
+

content/now-burning/Now Burning_2026-07-15_09:39.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Sapphire
+manufacturer: Shoyeido
+date: 2026-07-15 9:39:19
+time: 9:39 AM
+---
+One of the better sticks in the Jewel range, if you ask me, and it's discontinued. Typical!

content/now-burning/Now Burning_2026-07-15_15:52.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+title: Violet Tanka
+manufacturer: Daihatsu
+date: 2026-07-15 15:51:48
+time: 5:51 PM
+---
+

content/now/index.njk

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ tags:
 {% set postsCount = collections.now | removeMostRecent | length %}
 {% if postsCount > 1 %}
 <h2 class="postlist-header">Previous Entries:</h2>
-{% set postslist = collections.now | removeMostRecent %}
+{% set postslist = collections.now | removeMostRecent | reverse %}
 {% set showPostListHeader = false %}
 {% include "postslist.njk" %}
 {% endif %}

content/now/now_2025_11_28.md

@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ title: Me Time
 description: "Taking time off for the holiday, incense stuff, leisure, and displacement."
 synopsis: "Taking time off for the holiday, incense stuff, leisure, and displacement."
 date: 2025-11-28
+imageURL: /img/maroma_sandalwood.webp
+imageAlt: An incense stick protruding from a round blue ceramic censer.
 ---
 Not much of tremendous interest has been going on lately; I took the week off because I forget to take time during the year, and thanksgiving is as good excuse as any to cram in some PTO at the end of the year. I've also been taking Fridays off lately. Sol and I had planned to spend thanksgiving day with their folks, but we unfortunately had to cancel the day before due to some medical stuff. Instead, we had a nice wee dinner just between the two of us: a [nut roast](https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-nut-roast/), mashed potatoes, and gochujang-glazed carrots, all with lashings of gravy. Nut roasts are one of those foods that more people ought to eat. I think people avoid it because it sounds like too-healthy hippie food, but it's genuinely lovely. It's good hot as part of a roast dinner; it's also fantastic cold on sandwiches.
 

content/now/now_2026-06-29.md

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+title: Getting Old
+description: "Life updates and thoughts on moving, aging, doing human stuff, and work."
+synopsis: "Life updates and thoughts on moving, aging, doing human stuff, and work."
+date: 2026-06-29
+imageURL: /img/Still_Life_with_Lemons_Oranges_and_a_Pomegranate_about_1620–1630_Jacob_van_Hulsdonck.webp
+imageAlt: A still life painting by Jacob van Hulsdonck of lemons, oranges, and a pomegranate.
+---
+It's been a while since my last update; I wanted to finish refreshing the style of my website before writing anything. The update took quite some time. At first, I implemented a design with big full-width header images on blog posts, and it looked pretty good. But, for some reason, after putting in all of the effort to accomplish my design I found that I lacked any motivation to keep going. I eventually realized that I just wasn't keen on the design. There was nothing wrong with it per se; I think it was just too loud. After some more time in Inkscape, I settled on the current look and worked feverishly to complete it. It's not terribly different: just a little tidier, more green, with some type tweaks.
+
+## Moving on
+
+Kicking-out time approaches for my apartment. I knew the new landlord was fibbing when she said she hoped that I, and the other residents, would stay on as tenants. It just isn't tenable without huge rent increases. For a first-time property owner it seems like she's already got the slum-lord routine down; no contact whatsoever unless rent is remitted ever so slightly later than usual (honestly, I don't mind this). She also opted not to pay a professional to replace the water heater, and simply left the broken unit taking up space in the basement after installing the new one. I realize I sound salty, but I'm not. For a man with lots of big feelings, I find it extremely difficult to hold a grudge. I recognize that she has done something awful by forcing six people from their home irrespective of their attachment to the place or ability to bear the cost of a move financially. I also don't have to hate her for it. In fact, I'm close to incapable.
+
+## Getting old
+
+But beside all of that, I've been feeling pretty vulnerable in other ways too. It's impossible to save money in this economy, and I'm starting to really internalize what a tenuous position this puts me in unless I can escape the U.S. before I'm old and decrepit. The driving force behind this awakening is that I have health stuff to consider these days. Nothing remotely serious, but, lord, It seems not so long ago that I was a twenty-something running around the city utterly uninsured, working too much, drinking too much, recklessly re-using old contact lenses, and sowing my wild oats without so much as a thought to donning a pair of dungarees. Don't get me wrong—I'm as strong and lively as ever—but you sure do start to acknowledge that you're merely a squishy machine when you have to fire up an electronic breathing box so that you don't hold your breath too long in your sleep. At the ripe old age of 36 I'm beginning to feel a bit like a monk; my only remaining vices are drinking tea, burning incense, and pondering my mortality.
+
+## Human stuff
+
+This is a good phase of life for me too, however. I'm no longer filled with the acute sense of existential dread that hits you when your life suddenly becomes more stable. Only a little of that these days, [as a treat](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cats-can-have-little-a-salami). I'm starting to regain that rich appreciation of beauty that I had too many feelings for as a teen and too little time for as a twenty-something. I've started buying the chocolate bars with love poems inside the wrappers, for the wrappers. I'm slowly remembering how to not worry too much about things I can't change. I've really come to relish small treats. I know what it's like to love someone, and be loved by someone, for close to a decade. In a world where everything seems to be going to pot and nobody has any money, I've been retreating into what it is to be a human, and it's been pretty cozy. Drinking tea, making and appreciating incense, playing music, reading and writing more prose and poetry. All really nice, really human things to do.
+
+## A big work event
+
+We had our big annual event at work not long ago. This year, Hillary Clinton was one of our speakers, so there was a big to-do with secret service, et cetera. It's par for the course for VIPs to be present at these events, so it's not uncommon for attendees and speakers alike to have private security. But this was another matter entirely and it required a lot of work from everybody involved. Despite some sleepless nights for our events director, it went very well and got quite a lot of news coverage. I didn't speak to her but I hear that Hillary had a nice time as well, which is great. You want your speakers to enjoy themselves. I rather enjoyed the conversation too.

content/status/Status_2026-06-29_13:29.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+date: 2026-06-29 13:28:40
+emoji: 🤖
+comment: I wish that before companies bolted-on AI assistants to their products, they first considered whether they have been neglecting basic quality of life features like fuzzy search, trimming whitespace from inputs, good info hierarchy and discoverability, etc. Like, if your software is a labyrinth full of foot-guns, of course people are going to want a magic lamp.
+---

content/status/Status_2026-07-02_11:45.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+date: 2026-07-02 11:44:38
+emoji: 🌡️
+comment: I've had enough of this heatwave, thanks. You can stop now.
+---

content/status/Status_2026-07-02_17:04.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+date: 2026-07-02 17:01:49
+emoji: 🇺🇸
+comment: Apparently [the vast majority of republicans do not see me as american](https://www.ctinsider.com/columnist/article/philip-bump-family-history-what-makes-american-22326156.php) despite the fact that I was born a citizen. Considering how I've been treated in predominantly republican areas, I can't say I'm surprised. And honestly, like, what are they even gatekeeping? Compared to many first world countries, the quality of life here is ghastly. No interest in improving anything, either. The attitude is if you don't like it, you should leave.
+---

content/status/Status_2026-07-18-10:33.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+date: 2026-07-18 10:33:49
+emoji: 🪵
+comment: I love the “oud from Mozambique” line from [Pete & Bas](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GBuTTz1-IQU). I crave more creative flexes in rap lyrics; I'm so bored with Ferraris. But a sapele Boos Block? Now you've got my attention!
+---

public/css/comments.css

@@ -168,9 +168,9 @@ p.isso-input-wrapper {
   border-top-left-radius: 0;
 	color: var(--background-color);
 	padding: var(--space-l) calc((100cqw - (var(--grid-gutter) * 11)) / 12) var(--space-2xs) calc((100cqw - (var(--grid-gutter) * 11)) / 12);
-  margin-left: calc(((100cqw - (var(--grid-gutter) * 11)) / 12) * -1) !important;
+  /*! margin-left: calc(((100cqw - (var(--grid-gutter) * 11)) / 12) * -1) !important; */
   margin-block: 1lh 1lh;
-  width: calc(((100cqw) / 12) * 14);
+  /*! width: calc(((100cqw) / 12) * 14); */
 }
 @container (width < 460px) {
 	.isso-postbox {
@@ -223,6 +223,12 @@ textarea.isso-textarea {
 	width: 100%;
 }
 
+/* reply form */
+.isso-root > .isso-comment > .isso-text-wrapper > .isso-postbox {
+	width: 100%;
+	margin-left: auto;
+}
+
 @media (max-width: 900px) {
 	.isso-postbox {
 		margin-left: auto !important;

public/css/index.css

@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@
 	--span-grid: 1 / span 12;
 	--color-metadata: var(--contrast-color);
 	--font-family-metadata: var(--font-family-ui);
-	--line-height-metadata: calc(var(--step--2) * 0.25 + var(--step--2));
+	--line-height-metadata: calc(var(--step--2) * 1.25);
 	--font-size-metadata: var(--step--2);
 	--letter-spacing-metadata: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
 	--text-transform-metadata: uppercase;
@@ -125,11 +125,11 @@
 	:root {
 		--color-gray-20: #253848;
 		--color-gray-90: #dad8d8;
-		--card-color: rgb(0,50,40);
+		--card-color: rgb(0, 50, 40);
 		--contrast-color: rgb(4, 196, 158);
 		--contrast-color-tint: rgb(21, 58, 56);
 		--contrast-color-translucent: rgba(4, 196, 158, 0.5);
-    --nav-footer-color: rgb(0,50,40);
+		--nav-footer-color: rgb(0, 50, 40);
 		/* --text-color is assigned to --color-gray-_ above */
 		--text-color-link: var(--text-color);
 		--background-color: rgb(24, 27, 32);
@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ body {
 html {
 	font-size: 13px;
 	height: 100%;
+	scroll-padding-top: var(--space-2xl);
 }
 abbr {
 	cursor: help;
@@ -240,7 +241,6 @@ body {
 	font-size: var(--step-0);
 	height: 100cqh;
 	padding-inline: var(--grid-gutter);
-	/*! width: 100vw; */
 }
 button {
 	align-items: center;
@@ -256,11 +256,11 @@ button {
 	margin-bottom: var(--space-m);
 	button {
 		margin-top: var(--space-s);
-			& svg {
+		& svg {
-				fill: var(--background-color);
+			fill: var(--background-color);
-				height: var(--space-2xs);
+			height: var(--space-2xs);
-				margin-right: var(--space-2xs);
+			margin-right: var(--space-2xs);
-				width: var(--space-2xs);
+			width: var(--space-2xs);
 		}
 	}
 	&.galleryButtons {
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ footer {
 	& p {
 		font-size: var(--step--1);
 		grid-column: var(--span-grid);
-		line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 0.25 + var(--step--1));
+		line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 1.25);
 		margin-bottom: 0;
 	}
 	& .webring {
@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ h1 {
 		"wght" 400,
 		"SOFT" 20,
 		"WONK" 1;
-	line-height: calc(var(--step-5) * 0.25 + var(--step-5));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step-5) * 1.25);
 	padding-bottom: var(--space-l);
 	text-wrap: balance;
 }
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ h2 {
 	font-size: var(--step-0);
 	font-variation-settings: "wght" 450;
 	letter-spacing: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
-	line-height: calc(var(--step-0) * 0.25 + var(--step-0));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step-0) * 1.25);
 	margin-block: 0 0.5lh;
 	text-transform: uppercase;
 
@@ -402,12 +402,12 @@ h3 {
 	font-size: var(--step--1);
 	font-variation-settings: "wght" 700;
 	letter-spacing: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
-	line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 0.5 + var(--step--1));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 1.5);
 	text-transform: uppercase;
 	text-wrap: pretty;
 	&::before {
 		color: var(--contrast-color);
-		content: "🢒";
+		content: "▸";
 		margin-left: calc(1em * -1);
 	}
 }
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ h4 {
 	font-size: var(--step--2);
 	font-variation-settings: "wght" 600;
 	letter-spacing: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
-	line-height: calc(var(--step--2) * 0.5 + var(--step--2));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step--2) * 1.5);
 	text-transform: uppercase;
 	text-wrap: pretty;
 }
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ ul:not(.taglist) {
 		color: var(--contrast-color);
 	}
 	& li {
-		line-height: calc(var(--step-1) * 0.5 + var(--step-1));
+		line-height: calc(var(--step-1) * 1.5);
 		padding-left: 0.5em;
 	}
 }
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ p:not(.quizQuestion, .isso-input-wrapper) {
 p,
 li {
 	font-size: var(--step-0);
-	line-height: calc(var(--step-0) * 0.5 + var(--step-0));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step-0) * 1.5);
 	text-wrap: pretty;
 }
 figure {
@@ -600,7 +600,7 @@ thead tr th:last-child {
 	> li,
 	> li > p {
 		font-size: var(--step--1);
-		line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 0.25 + var(--step--1));
+		line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 1.5);
 	}
 }
 .footnote-item::marker {
@@ -640,6 +640,7 @@ article > .post-image,
 
 .post-synopsis {
 	font-size: var(--step-1);
+	line-height: calc(var(--step-1) * 1.5);
 }
 
 .post-time-author,
@@ -707,7 +708,7 @@ article > .post-image,
 		font-family: var(--font-family-ui);
 		font-size: var(--step--2);
 		font-variation-settings: "wght" 400;
-		line-height: calc(var(--step--2) * 0.25 + var(--step--2));
+		line-height: calc(var(--step--2) * 1.5);
 	}
 }
 
@@ -715,6 +716,7 @@ article > .post-image,
 nav {
 	background-color: var(--nav-footer-color);
 	border-bottom: var(--border-header-footer);
+	height: var(--space-xl);
 	left: 0;
 	margin-left: calc(var(--grid-gutter) * -1);
 	margin-right: calc(var(--grid-gutter) * -1);
@@ -841,7 +843,7 @@ sup {
 					font-size: var(--step--1);
 					font-variation-settings: "wght" 700;
 					letter-spacing: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
-					line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 0.5 + var(--step--1));
+					line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 1.5);
 					text-transform: uppercase;
 					&:before {
 						content: "";
@@ -889,7 +891,7 @@ h3.postlist-link {
 	font-size: var(--step--1);
 	font-variation-settings: "wght" 700;
 	letter-spacing: var(--wide-letter-spacing);
-	line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 0.5 + var(--step--1));
+	line-height: calc(var(--step--1) * 1.5);
 	text-transform: uppercase;
 }
 
@@ -1057,25 +1059,7 @@ ul.taglist {
 		justify-content: center;
 		width: 100%;
 	}
-	nav {
+	.postlist {
-		& > .nav-elements-grid-container {
-			& > .nav-elements-container {
-				& > .blog-name {
-					font-size: var(--step-0);
-				}
-				& > .home-link {
-				}
-				& > ul.nav {
-					flex-flow: column nowrap;
-					gap: 0;
-					& li {
-						line-height: calc(var(--step-0) * 0.25 + var(--step-0));
-					}
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
-		.postlist {
 		& .postlist-item-container {
 			margin-top: var(--space-s);
 			& .postlist-item {
@@ -1111,7 +1095,6 @@ ul.taglist {
 	}
 }
 
-
 @container (width < 540px) {
 	.footerContainer {
 		& p {