unfortunately even though we accomplished Task we still have to do the shopping
Jun. 14th, 2025 06:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cimoreneOne thing about updating the decorative arts and design history blog is that my kneejerk loathing of the term "inspo" has me struggling multiple times a week with the strong impulse to block everyone who reblogs my posts with that tag.
It's good for me somehow, probably.
I'm currently exhausted because the spring that pushes the latch bolt out of the kitchen-hall door broke last night after midnight and we spent several hours fixing it this afternoon. Wax took the equivalent spring out of the lockbox of the dining-livingroom door because unfortunately the lockbox is a pre-1940 model and the springs are not manufactured anymore, nor are the parts interchangeable with the later springs from the 40s- model that are still in production, nor can the whole lockbox be easily switched (because the spindle and hole for it are not the same circumference and the boxes themselves can be different sizes). However, the two lockboxes aren't identical. In fact, it looks like the one that broke is the oldest one in the house. She had to squish the spring a bit to get it in, and it wasn't exactly the same shape and size, so we are nervous that it may break soon. (She did all the hard bits with tools, not trusting me not to injure myself, and I cleaned the insides of the lockboxes with q-tips dipped in vinegar and then oiled them with q-tips dipped in mineral oil.) Wax hopes we can get the blacksmith to make a new spring for the spot when that happens, rather than having to replace the entire mechanism, but we don't know how plausible that is.
We can't do without this door and its latch, but the lockboxes on the other doors are all other sizes so they can't be swapped. We need it latched to keep the cats apart! They're making progress, and they've touched noses now, but Tristana still retreats any time Sipuli gets a little excited, and they are only meeting with Sipuli on the leash.
It's good for me somehow, probably.
I'm currently exhausted because the spring that pushes the latch bolt out of the kitchen-hall door broke last night after midnight and we spent several hours fixing it this afternoon. Wax took the equivalent spring out of the lockbox of the dining-livingroom door because unfortunately the lockbox is a pre-1940 model and the springs are not manufactured anymore, nor are the parts interchangeable with the later springs from the 40s- model that are still in production, nor can the whole lockbox be easily switched (because the spindle and hole for it are not the same circumference and the boxes themselves can be different sizes). However, the two lockboxes aren't identical. In fact, it looks like the one that broke is the oldest one in the house. She had to squish the spring a bit to get it in, and it wasn't exactly the same shape and size, so we are nervous that it may break soon. (She did all the hard bits with tools, not trusting me not to injure myself, and I cleaned the insides of the lockboxes with q-tips dipped in vinegar and then oiled them with q-tips dipped in mineral oil.) Wax hopes we can get the blacksmith to make a new spring for the spot when that happens, rather than having to replace the entire mechanism, but we don't know how plausible that is.
We can't do without this door and its latch, but the lockboxes on the other doors are all other sizes so they can't be swapped. We need it latched to keep the cats apart! They're making progress, and they've touched noses now, but Tristana still retreats any time Sipuli gets a little excited, and they are only meeting with Sipuli on the leash.
Daily Happiness
Jun. 13th, 2025 11:50 pmtorachan1. Today was a long day with a lot of meetings, but I did manage to get all the other stuff on my to-do list done in between at least.
2. Most other businesses in Little Tokyo are already shut down temporarily so we made the decision to close our store tomorrow. While the protests (or rather the response to them) has been disruptive to business for that store, it's still been worth keeping it open, but those protests were more spontaneous and the planned events tomorrow for No Kings Day are going to draw a huge crowd. The only business we'd get would be some protestors buying lunch or snacks, and considering employee safety it's better to just shut down. We also had the store boarded up just in case, since one whole side is all windows and a lot of the front is as well. I definitely think closing tomorrow is the right choice, so I'm glad we were able to convince the company president to give us the okay.
3. While Carla's out of town I moved one of the cars all the way up the driveway into the back yard so I don't have to worry about moving it from one side of the street to the other on street sweeping days, and Tuxie seems to like having the car there lol.
2. Most other businesses in Little Tokyo are already shut down temporarily so we made the decision to close our store tomorrow. While the protests (or rather the response to them) has been disruptive to business for that store, it's still been worth keeping it open, but those protests were more spontaneous and the planned events tomorrow for No Kings Day are going to draw a huge crowd. The only business we'd get would be some protestors buying lunch or snacks, and considering employee safety it's better to just shut down. We also had the store boarded up just in case, since one whole side is all windows and a lot of the front is as well. I definitely think closing tomorrow is the right choice, so I'm glad we were able to convince the company president to give us the okay.
3. While Carla's out of town I moved one of the cars all the way up the driveway into the back yard so I don't have to worry about moving it from one side of the street to the other on street sweeping days, and Tuxie seems to like having the car there lol.
2025 Disneyland Trip #40 (6/12/25)
Jun. 13th, 2025 10:59 pmtorachanI didn't head out from San Diego until around 6pm yesterday so I didn't get to Disneyland until almost eight, which meant the park was already very cloggy for nighttime events, but it wasn't particularly crowded overall, so once I got past the big Main Street clog it was pretty nice.
( Dinner and fireworks )
( Dinner and fireworks )
Freedom, sweet freedom.
Jun. 13th, 2025 10:04 pmsettiaiOkay, the work week is finally over. I took a nap after work, because I slept like crap last night, and I'm feeling much more like a human being again even though I'm still tired. My brain's definitely not in a great place, but overall today was much better than earlier this week. So that's a big step in the right direction at least.
It's, uh, been a week. Such a week. đ
My plan is to not leave the hotel at all tomorrow or Sunday, and if I'm lucky I might be able to avoid all human interaction if I'm careful. I'm hoping to get up relatively early tomorrow to get a load of clothes washed and some cleaning done in the suite, and then I'm going to spend the rest of the day playing video games which I haven't done in ages despite my multiple attempts to do so.
It's, uh, been a week. Such a week. đ
My plan is to not leave the hotel at all tomorrow or Sunday, and if I'm lucky I might be able to avoid all human interaction if I'm careful. I'm hoping to get up relatively early tomorrow to get a load of clothes washed and some cleaning done in the suite, and then I'm going to spend the rest of the day playing video games which I haven't done in ages despite my multiple attempts to do so.
Holy Monkey Bladders! It's Monkey Islandâą.
Jun. 13th, 2025 06:45 pmarcanetrivia posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_community_promoAhoy there, adventure gamers! ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
monkeyisland is a community for the beloved classic game series Monkey Island, featuring the comedic swashbuckling adventures of the improbably-named Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate™. Anything about Monkey Island is fair game: your own fanworks (art, fic, videos, games, music, cosplay, memes/silliness, whatever), recs of others' fanworks, livestreams/let's-plays, discussions, news and articles, tips for messing about in the game resources or scripting, requests for hints, screenshots, all that good stuff. If Monkey Island is your jam rum rum and jam (it's an old pirate favorite, everybody knows that), then come on over and have a grog.
monkeyisland is a community for the beloved classic game series Monkey Island, featuring the comedic swashbuckling adventures of the improbably-named Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate™. Anything about Monkey Island is fair game: your own fanworks (art, fic, videos, games, music, cosplay, memes/silliness, whatever), recs of others' fanworks, livestreams/let's-plays, discussions, news and articles, tips for messing about in the game resources or scripting, requests for hints, screenshots, all that good stuff. If Monkey Island is your Comment Bingo Round 7
Jun. 13th, 2025 03:22 pmsvgurl posting in dw_community_promocomment_bingo is a bingo challenge that is focused on using the provided prompts to comment on other people's works rather than creating your own. Click on the banner below to go to sign-ups or you can also go HERE.
Sign-ups will remain open until the round closes.
This round will end up on October 31st, 2025.
Murderbot
Jun. 13th, 2025 11:11 ammarinarusalka5 episodes in, I'm still greatly enjoying the show, with my one complaint being that the episodes are too short. I'm looking forward to doing a binge rewatch of the whole thing once all the episodes are out, I suspect it will work really well.
( some spoilers thoughts on the latest episode )
I really really hope this show gets renewed long enough for us to meet ART. It'll be so awesome.
( some spoilers thoughts on the latest episode )
I really really hope this show gets renewed long enough for us to meet ART. It'll be so awesome.
âCosmic Dawnâ Screening at Greenbelt Cinema
Jun. 13th, 2025 05:50 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
nasa_liotd_feedAttendees line up to enter the theater for a screening of the new NASA+ documentary âCosmic Dawn: The Untold Story of the James Webb Space Telescope,â Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at the Greenbelt Cinema in Greenbelt, Maryland. Featuring never-before-seen footage, Cosmic Dawn offers an unprecedented glimpse into the assembly, testing, and launch of NASAâs James Webb Space Telescope.
Murderbot Day
Jun. 13th, 2025 12:08 pmmarthawells* Interview with Sue Chan, the production designer:
https://filmstories.co.uk/news/murderbot-designing-a-future-world-that-doesnt-look-like-alien/
âI started out by taking the most ancient societies on each continent â Etruscans, Asian, European, and African cultures,â Chan tells us. âI looked at the most fundamental motifs and gathered them into a bible, then asked my team to imagine 100 generations from now, when the diaspora of Earth have chosen to live together in society. How would they evolve a unified set of symbols? A language that really honours where they came from.â
This informed the alphabet that can be seen in the decoration painted across the otherwise grey, corporate habitat the PresAux crew are leasing. At the same time, acknowledging how much of the crew is queer and polyamorous, the colours of the rainbow are also entwined into their decorations.
âAll of that is mashed up but it has a fundamental logic to it,â says Chan.
* Interview with Akshay Khanna (Ratthi):
https://squaremile.com/style/akshay-khanna-murderbot-actor-interview/
Iâm incredibly excited for people to watch Murderbot on Apple TV+. Sci-fi has been my favourite genre by a country mile forever, and being on a show like this has always been a career goal of mine. Frankly, I had too much fun filming that show, and getting paid to do it constantly felt like I was getting away with something on set.
And the show is just so good. I can confidently say itâs fantastic â and if you donât like it, then I would gently tell you that itâs OK to be wrong sometimes.
* Interview with Sabrina Wu (Pin-Lee):
https://www.autostraddle.com/sabrina-wu-interview-murderbot/
And then once I got the role, I read the books and I was legit just blown away at how funny the books were. I just havenât seen such a dry sarcastic sensibility with this kind of hero sci-fi stories. And then I also just really liked that it was in the tradition of I felt like Octavia Butler, where itâs like, âoh, this is a queer imagining of the future.â So I donât know. I just thought it was a really sweet, funny, different world. I also, obviously every comedian who becomes an actor, their dream is to get to work on something with action to move beyond an Itâs Always Sunny kind of comedy. I believe there was already an opportunity for me to be in a spaceship and shoot guns, and it just made me happy that it was genuinely funny source material.
* Video interview with Tattiawna Jones (Arada) and Tamara Podemski (Bharadwaj):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NllgfEekw9s
* And a video interview with Noma Dumezweni (Mensah)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZpigqUqZXQ
* and a video interview with Noma and David Dastmalchian (Gurathin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=361cKOujISE
* And a video interview (with a transcript) with Alexander Skarsgard, Jack McBrayer, and Paul and Chris Weitz:
https://collider.com/murderbot-alexander-skarsgard-jack-mcbrayer-creators-paul-weitz-chris-weitz/
* And there is a profile of me in The New Yorker (!!)
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/do-androids-dream-of-anything-at-all
https://filmstories.co.uk/news/murderbot-designing-a-future-world-that-doesnt-look-like-alien/
âI started out by taking the most ancient societies on each continent â Etruscans, Asian, European, and African cultures,â Chan tells us. âI looked at the most fundamental motifs and gathered them into a bible, then asked my team to imagine 100 generations from now, when the diaspora of Earth have chosen to live together in society. How would they evolve a unified set of symbols? A language that really honours where they came from.â
This informed the alphabet that can be seen in the decoration painted across the otherwise grey, corporate habitat the PresAux crew are leasing. At the same time, acknowledging how much of the crew is queer and polyamorous, the colours of the rainbow are also entwined into their decorations.
âAll of that is mashed up but it has a fundamental logic to it,â says Chan.
* Interview with Akshay Khanna (Ratthi):
https://squaremile.com/style/akshay-khanna-murderbot-actor-interview/
Iâm incredibly excited for people to watch Murderbot on Apple TV+. Sci-fi has been my favourite genre by a country mile forever, and being on a show like this has always been a career goal of mine. Frankly, I had too much fun filming that show, and getting paid to do it constantly felt like I was getting away with something on set.
And the show is just so good. I can confidently say itâs fantastic â and if you donât like it, then I would gently tell you that itâs OK to be wrong sometimes.
* Interview with Sabrina Wu (Pin-Lee):
https://www.autostraddle.com/sabrina-wu-interview-murderbot/
And then once I got the role, I read the books and I was legit just blown away at how funny the books were. I just havenât seen such a dry sarcastic sensibility with this kind of hero sci-fi stories. And then I also just really liked that it was in the tradition of I felt like Octavia Butler, where itâs like, âoh, this is a queer imagining of the future.â So I donât know. I just thought it was a really sweet, funny, different world. I also, obviously every comedian who becomes an actor, their dream is to get to work on something with action to move beyond an Itâs Always Sunny kind of comedy. I believe there was already an opportunity for me to be in a spaceship and shoot guns, and it just made me happy that it was genuinely funny source material.
* Video interview with Tattiawna Jones (Arada) and Tamara Podemski (Bharadwaj):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NllgfEekw9s
* And a video interview with Noma Dumezweni (Mensah)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZpigqUqZXQ
* and a video interview with Noma and David Dastmalchian (Gurathin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=361cKOujISE
* And a video interview (with a transcript) with Alexander Skarsgard, Jack McBrayer, and Paul and Chris Weitz:
https://collider.com/murderbot-alexander-skarsgard-jack-mcbrayer-creators-paul-weitz-chris-weitz/
* And there is a profile of me in The New Yorker (!!)
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/do-androids-dream-of-anything-at-all
![[desperately] Maybe this is from some country where they use commas as decimal points, and also as digit separators after the decimal, and also use random other characters for decoration???](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/reading_a_big_number.png "[desperately] Maybe this is from some country where they use commas as decimal points, and also as digit separators after the decimal, and also use random other characters for decoration???")
"This is the REAL ADHD tax!"
Jun. 13th, 2025 02:25 pmcimoreneThe other day I saw a post about American politics on Tumblr that was just a screenshot of someone's tweet that said something like, "Fascism won't make America great. Universal healthcare, universal preschool, housing the homeless, and free higher education would make America great." By this standard, I'm living in utopia! (Or, well, living in Greatness-ia.) Finland has all that.
AND YET...
My efforts to get a driver's licence continue. Basically,
And even worse, the list of conditions that now require EVERY SINGLE PERSON who has ever been diagnosed with them to get a certificate from a private doctor - which means in most cases also a NEW doctor, not their own GP who has treated them before - is not just ADHD. Everybody with any of these conditions (this is not the entire list either) is now taxed, at minimum, an extra hundred bucks for the privilege of getting a driver's licence in Finland, as of two months ago:
Insane. It's not just the financial burden for all these people, either; a brand-new doctor, a stranger, is at a disadvantage for determining if most of the conditions meant here are a danger or not.
So I'm waiting for a call back and Sipuli really doesn't understand why I won't take her outside in the sunshine.
AND YET...
My efforts to get a driver's licence continue. Basically,
- Signed up for driving school for lessons in how to drive stick. My US license expired more than ten years ago and I've never driven in Finland.
- Online information indicates I should have to apply in person, but the customer service rep told me that I can disregard that and just apply for a first licence the normal way.
- The normal way: a brief online form that will instantly issue a printable and downloadable permit that allows you to take the theory test and to drive with an instructor in a car.
- But you can't do that if you have any of a list of health conditions which require a doctor's certificate. And the list includes ADHD.
- There's a new law which seems to say you can't get these certificates from the health center anymore, but I called to check. The booking nurse at the health center thought they didn't do them anymore, but she also agreed that it seemed unfair. But she checked with two people and no, the public health service really aren't issuing certificates for driving for ANYBODY anymore.
- I called the one private doctor center in town. According to their website, the minimum cost of one of these certificates is over 100âŹ, just like waxjism predicted. Their receptionist didn't even know who to book me with (does ADHD require a specialist)? She'll call me back.
- If it does, it will be like at least 150⏠instead, because that's the base price for specialists.
And even worse, the list of conditions that now require EVERY SINGLE PERSON who has ever been diagnosed with them to get a certificate from a private doctor - which means in most cases also a NEW doctor, not their own GP who has treated them before - is not just ADHD. Everybody with any of these conditions (this is not the entire list either) is now taxed, at minimum, an extra hundred bucks for the privilege of getting a driver's licence in Finland, as of two months ago:
- diabetes
- any cardio issues including hypertension or a heart murmur
- sleep apnea or insomnia or any other sleep disorders
- any past severe depressions or recurrent panic disorders, or personality disorders
- dyslexia
- autism spectrum
- any neurological conditions or injuries including migraines or any past brain or spinal injury
Insane. It's not just the financial burden for all these people, either; a brand-new doctor, a stranger, is at a disadvantage for determining if most of the conditions meant here are a danger or not.
So I'm waiting for a call back and Sipuli really doesn't understand why I won't take her outside in the sunshine.
Daily Happiness
Jun. 13th, 2025 12:20 amtorachan1. So much ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh work stuff today, but I stopped at Disneyland on the way home and had a lovely dinner.
2. Ollie was just writhing around playing with this blanket for no reason. Super cute.
2. Ollie was just writhing around playing with this blanket for no reason. Super cute.
(no subject)
Jun. 12th, 2025 11:19 pmaurumcalendulaCurrent events continue to be a lot, to say the least (I left voicemails for my congresspeople about some of it).
On a happier note, I saw chickadees multiple times today (apparently they're smaller than sparrows) as well as hummingbirds (one a few minutes after I refilled the feeder)!
On a happier note, I saw chickadees multiple times today (apparently they're smaller than sparrows) as well as hummingbirds (one a few minutes after I refilled the feeder)!
Indivisible #WhatsThePlan meeting of May 12 2025
Jun. 12th, 2025 10:21 pmmecurtinIndivisible #WhatsThePlan meeting of May 12 2025
This is pretty much just C&P from my bluesky liveblog, plus links.
( cut for length, US politics )
I really admire people who can write *most* of what happens in a meeting while they liveblog, Ezra & Leah both talk *really* fast & I just pull out highlights, really. whoosh.
Please reblog, signal boost. We are, as Leah says, in a time of autocratic breakthrough, and one way we fight back is to have as many people as possible, in as many places as possible, out peacefully on Saturday. We need to be *everywhere*, with *everyone*. Take American flags, they belong to *US*, not him.
This is pretty much just C&P from my bluesky liveblog, plus links.
( cut for length, US politics )
I really admire people who can write *most* of what happens in a meeting while they liveblog, Ezra & Leah both talk *really* fast & I just pull out highlights, really. whoosh.
Please reblog, signal boost. We are, as Leah says, in a time of autocratic breakthrough, and one way we fight back is to have as many people as possible, in as many places as possible, out peacefully on Saturday. We need to be *everywhere*, with *everyone*. Take American flags, they belong to *US*, not him.
Fucking AT&T
Jun. 12th, 2025 05:51 pmkliaI was charged $38 for a 75-minute call to a city 13 miles away, in the same county. That's almost 51Âą a minute. I'm SO pissed.
US Politics: Transcending parody
Jun. 12th, 2025 08:35 pmpetraAfter illegally ordering the National Guard and the Marines to violently end protests in California, 47 went to the theatre to see Les Misérables.
Can we please fire the people scripting this season of the United States of America? Some of these choices are so asinine I think they're consulting genAI for their scripts, and no one is editing them.
Oh, wait, that's what the politicians are doing to make fucking laws.
I'm going to go read amnesia fic now and think, "I wish that were me."
Can we please fire the people scripting this season of the United States of America? Some of these choices are so asinine I think they're consulting genAI for their scripts, and no one is editing them.
Oh, wait, that's what the politicians are doing to make fucking laws.
I'm going to go read amnesia fic now and think, "I wish that were me."
Today just keeps on giving...
Jun. 12th, 2025 06:32 pmsettiaiWelp. This is certainly a day. The fire alarm went off again this afternoon. And this time? It was an actual fire. đ
They managed to get it put out fairly quickly at least, and from the time the fire alarm went off to the fire trucks arriving was, like, less than two minutes. So good on them for a great response time.
Long story short, the laundry room that the hotel staff uses to wash sheets, towels, etc. caught on fire. I'm guessing it was one of the industrial dryers in there based on what I saw. There's currently a hole in the wall leading into the laundry room, firemen still running around, and a shit ton of smoke in the hallways, but they've let everyone back inside. And my suite is about as far as you can get from where the fire was, so there's at least no smoke in here as long as I keep the door shut.
Garrus is already back to normal, but Keyleth has hidden herself under the bed and probably won't be coming back out for at least a few hours. Minimum.
June is, uh, certainly shaping up to be a month. That's for sure.
They managed to get it put out fairly quickly at least, and from the time the fire alarm went off to the fire trucks arriving was, like, less than two minutes. So good on them for a great response time.
Long story short, the laundry room that the hotel staff uses to wash sheets, towels, etc. caught on fire. I'm guessing it was one of the industrial dryers in there based on what I saw. There's currently a hole in the wall leading into the laundry room, firemen still running around, and a shit ton of smoke in the hallways, but they've let everyone back inside. And my suite is about as far as you can get from where the fire was, so there's at least no smoke in here as long as I keep the door shut.
Garrus is already back to normal, but Keyleth has hidden herself under the bed and probably won't be coming back out for at least a few hours. Minimum.
June is, uh, certainly shaping up to be a month. That's for sure.
Far Out
Jun. 12th, 2025 06:42 pmnasa_liotd_feedThe star cluster Pismis 24 lies within the much larger emission nebula called NGC 6357, located about 8,000 light-years from Earth. The gas below the stars glows through ionization caused by intense ultraviolet radiation from the massive young stars within the cluster.
(no subject)
Jun. 12th, 2025 05:22 pmcopracatQuestion of the Day
Do you have some table items you only bring out when you entertain guests for dinner?
I picked up this question fromdine. I like to use my precious things rather than save them for special. Otherwise why have them? If it has function, let it function. Some things though are too large for one or two person eating. I have a tin-lined copper couscoussier that is not suitable for cooking small amounts. It also looks amazing when you bring it out and put it on the table, gleaming and full of deliciousness.
Other than that there are platters, serving spoons and such that only come out when I'm feeding a few.
Do you have some table items you only bring out when you entertain guests for dinner?
I picked up this question from
dine. I like to use my precious things rather than save them for special. Otherwise why have them? If it has function, let it function. Some things though are too large for one or two person eating. I have a tin-lined copper couscoussier that is not suitable for cooking small amounts. It also looks amazing when you bring it out and put it on the table, gleaming and full of deliciousness. Other than that there are platters, serving spoons and such that only come out when I'm feeding a few.
Hugo Reading: Novels
Jun. 12th, 2025 12:28 amaseAlien Clay (Adrian Tchaikovsky) (2024): Hugo nominee, audiobook read by Ben Allen. Ex-biology professor is shipped off to an extrasolar labor camp for crimes against the totalitarian Mandate, where he is first drafted as a (silently) grumbling lab assistant, then demoted to the Expeditions team that clears alien ruins for the "real" scentists to study. This would be great fun for a biologist, except for the part where the planet's flora think humans look interesting to colonize, ultimately a death sentence. Well, a faster death sentence than being sent to an extrasolar labor camp, anyway.
First person present tense. I forget how tense this makes the read until the story opens, and my reaction is "oh this again" with a little active untensing of the shoulders. Which probably didn't contribute to me taking the novel for what it is, rather than what I wanted it to be.
( Revolution as narrow obsession. )
From this, I think I can conclude I'm not the target audience for Alien Clay.
A Sorceress Comes To Call (T. Kingfisher) (2024): More Hugo reading, again in audiobook, narrated this time by Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens. Dual first person PoVs from Cordelia, the daughter of the titular sorceress Evangeline, and Hester, whose brother is ensnared in Evangeline's plot to a.) marry into a little money, b.) marry off Cordelia into real money, c.) arrange the early deaths of both men to gain control of everyone's money.
The novel blurb online invokes the "Goose Girl" fairytale. ( It felt to me that Kingfisher used the fairytale as a springboard. )
...it's fine. If you are up for a spot-on depiction of child abuse, with magic, this is a novel that hits the marks it sets for itself. I'm not that interested in that much uncomplicated abusive parent energy.
The Ministry of Time (Kaliane Bradley) (2024): The Hugo audiobook run continued, now narrated by Katie Leung and George Weightman. The shortest summary would be "RPF, 21st C progatonist / Graham Gore from the Franklin expedition, because time travel," which is about the least helpful explanation of the combination of romantic tropes and 21st century anxieties.
If I namecheck HP with respect to The Incandescent, I have to invoke Kage Baker's Company novels when discussing The Ministry of Time. The unnamed protagonist is hired into a top secret British Ministry which has pulled five individuals out of what the Company series would call event shadows: points in history where the "expats" died, or were believed to have died. The protagonist and her fellow "bridges" are full-tme companions and acclimitization assistants to people pulled out of England and France from the 16th through early 20th centuries, who bring their experiences and expectations with them. The Company series vibes are probably a case of convergent evolution, but there is the protagonist's ill-advised romance with a Victorian adventurer to consider.
( The execution of the premise is absolutely bonkers, and I will talk about it with massive spoilers. )
I don't know that this is a good novel, but it's the Hugo nominee that I was enjoyed enough to switch from audiobook to ebook, so I could stay up late reading it. (It always feels like I should be in motion - cleaning, or driving, or getting excercise - when I'm listening to an audiobook. Training from listening to audiobooks while in motion, probably.) It's also the novel that I want to turn over in my head, and make my friends read so we can talk about it. So props to Kailene Bradley for hugely entertaining me.
The Hugo nominees so far share the exploration of people treated as things, or ends to means. Cordelia as an extention of Evangeline, or as her tool; the Mandate's literal "work them until they die" labor camp; the Ministry's plans for their time travel expats. That might be one reason I was dragging my feet on Hugo reading this year.
First person present tense. I forget how tense this makes the read until the story opens, and my reaction is "oh this again" with a little active untensing of the shoulders. Which probably didn't contribute to me taking the novel for what it is, rather than what I wanted it to be.
( Revolution as narrow obsession. )
From this, I think I can conclude I'm not the target audience for Alien Clay.
A Sorceress Comes To Call (T. Kingfisher) (2024): More Hugo reading, again in audiobook, narrated this time by Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens. Dual first person PoVs from Cordelia, the daughter of the titular sorceress Evangeline, and Hester, whose brother is ensnared in Evangeline's plot to a.) marry into a little money, b.) marry off Cordelia into real money, c.) arrange the early deaths of both men to gain control of everyone's money.
The novel blurb online invokes the "Goose Girl" fairytale. ( It felt to me that Kingfisher used the fairytale as a springboard. )
...it's fine. If you are up for a spot-on depiction of child abuse, with magic, this is a novel that hits the marks it sets for itself. I'm not that interested in that much uncomplicated abusive parent energy.
The Ministry of Time (Kaliane Bradley) (2024): The Hugo audiobook run continued, now narrated by Katie Leung and George Weightman. The shortest summary would be "RPF, 21st C progatonist / Graham Gore from the Franklin expedition, because time travel," which is about the least helpful explanation of the combination of romantic tropes and 21st century anxieties.
If I namecheck HP with respect to The Incandescent, I have to invoke Kage Baker's Company novels when discussing The Ministry of Time. The unnamed protagonist is hired into a top secret British Ministry which has pulled five individuals out of what the Company series would call event shadows: points in history where the "expats" died, or were believed to have died. The protagonist and her fellow "bridges" are full-tme companions and acclimitization assistants to people pulled out of England and France from the 16th through early 20th centuries, who bring their experiences and expectations with them. The Company series vibes are probably a case of convergent evolution, but there is the protagonist's ill-advised romance with a Victorian adventurer to consider.
( The execution of the premise is absolutely bonkers, and I will talk about it with massive spoilers. )
I don't know that this is a good novel, but it's the Hugo nominee that I was enjoyed enough to switch from audiobook to ebook, so I could stay up late reading it. (It always feels like I should be in motion - cleaning, or driving, or getting excercise - when I'm listening to an audiobook. Training from listening to audiobooks while in motion, probably.) It's also the novel that I want to turn over in my head, and make my friends read so we can talk about it. So props to Kailene Bradley for hugely entertaining me.
The Hugo nominees so far share the exploration of people treated as things, or ends to means. Cordelia as an extention of Evangeline, or as her tool; the Mandate's literal "work them until they die" labor camp; the Ministry's plans for their time travel expats. That might be one reason I was dragging my feet on Hugo reading this year.
Recent Reading, Not Hugos
Jun. 12th, 2025 12:22 amaseAll thirteen entries (so far) in Lois McMaster Bujold's Penric and Desdemona series, either first reads or rereads (2015 - 2024).
There are excellent "sick on the couch" reading. The stakes are "how will Penric and Des get out of this one?" (spoilers: mix of hiding and chaos), sometimes with added "should we give people second chances?" (spoilers: yes) though occasionally it's "has this person burned up their second, third, etc chances and needs a smiting?" (spoilers: often enough yes, occasionally with Des setting things on fire, sometimes with many witnesses to the smiting). The stories are pretty indulgent, especially once the reader gets to some of Desdemona's meddling (I say vaguely, avoiding spoilers) in "Demon Daughter" and "Penric and the Bandit".
The Incandescent, Emily Tesh (2025): Insta-reaction: WOO MORE TESH. In audiobook, read by Zara Ramm. I was surprised how fast it went, and blame certain big fat space operas who clock in at, let's see, 19 to 21 hours per novel for making me think a 12 hour audiobook is short.
Summary: Saffie Walden, Director of Magic at posh Chetwood Academy, juggles her decidedly unromantic responsibilities as a teacher and administrator, until a magical incursion shakes up the school and Saffie's committment to the persona of Dr. Walden, Teacher, she inhabits with deliberation.
( Thoughts cut for spoilers. )
There are excellent "sick on the couch" reading. The stakes are "how will Penric and Des get out of this one?" (spoilers: mix of hiding and chaos), sometimes with added "should we give people second chances?" (spoilers: yes) though occasionally it's "has this person burned up their second, third, etc chances and needs a smiting?" (spoilers: often enough yes, occasionally with Des setting things on fire, sometimes with many witnesses to the smiting). The stories are pretty indulgent, especially once the reader gets to some of Desdemona's meddling (I say vaguely, avoiding spoilers) in "Demon Daughter" and "Penric and the Bandit".
The Incandescent, Emily Tesh (2025): Insta-reaction: WOO MORE TESH. In audiobook, read by Zara Ramm. I was surprised how fast it went, and blame certain big fat space operas who clock in at, let's see, 19 to 21 hours per novel for making me think a 12 hour audiobook is short.
Summary: Saffie Walden, Director of Magic at posh Chetwood Academy, juggles her decidedly unromantic responsibilities as a teacher and administrator, until a magical incursion shakes up the school and Saffie's committment to the persona of Dr. Walden, Teacher, she inhabits with deliberation.
( Thoughts cut for spoilers. )
Daily Happiness
Jun. 11th, 2025 11:02 pmtorachan1. We're still having to close the downtown store early, but as of last night a curfew is in effect in the area, which actually makes it easier since we can at least plan the early closing. And despite what the media would like everyone to believe, the protests overall have been peaceful, with little property damage (mainly graffiti). Any danger is from the police and really only in that one small area.
2. I have to go to San Diego again tomorrow, which I am not looking forward to because when I made plans to go it was because I had received one complaint that needed to be dealt with, and in the week and a half since then have received two more unrelated complaints, so now there are three things I have to deal with. But I am planning to go to Disneyland on the way home, since it's pretty much on the way, so at least that will be a nice way to end the day.
3. I finished another puzzle today. This is another 500 piece one.
4. When my Switch 2 came the other day, I put the empty box on my bed and boy were the cats intrigued about this new phenomenon. It seemed like every time I turned around a different cat was in the box checking it out.
2. I have to go to San Diego again tomorrow, which I am not looking forward to because when I made plans to go it was because I had received one complaint that needed to be dealt with, and in the week and a half since then have received two more unrelated complaints, so now there are three things I have to deal with. But I am planning to go to Disneyland on the way home, since it's pretty much on the way, so at least that will be a nice way to end the day.
3. I finished another puzzle today. This is another 500 piece one.
4. When my Switch 2 came the other day, I put the empty box on my bed and boy were the cats intrigued about this new phenomenon. It seemed like every time I turned around a different cat was in the box checking it out.
Time Bandits!
Jun. 11th, 2025 10:47 pmcofax7Well I watched the Apple+ show Time Bandits, and it was hella fun! I particularly liked Bittelig and Penelope. But now I'm sad because it's been cancelled.
I am desperately trying not to get stressed out about The Omnishambles, but it's kind of hard.
Be safe, y'all!
I am desperately trying not to get stressed out about The Omnishambles, but it's kind of hard.
Be safe, y'all!
(no subject)
Jun. 12th, 2025 05:42 pmchina_shopHaha, I just signed up for a free online Harvard course on a whim,[1] and having spent the last few months in the Three Billion Comments Club on sid_guardian, naturally I'm diligently replying to people's comments in the discussion sections of the course, too. What could possibly go wrong?
(You don't have to reply to everyone, china! This is not your circus! /o\)
[1] Someone on my flist pointed out a while ago that there are a bunch of free online courses.
sid_guardian, naturally I'm diligently replying to people's comments in the discussion sections of the course, too. What could possibly go wrong? (You don't have to reply to everyone, china! This is not your circus! /o\)
[1] Someone on my flist pointed out a while ago that there are a bunch of free online courses.
(no subject)
Jun. 12th, 2025 04:40 amapod_feed
Do you know the names of some of the brightest stars?
Shelf status
Jun. 11th, 2025 08:32 pmazurelunaticThree shelves (10' length, more or less) have been assembled, put up on the north wall, and filled to great effect. This emptied 1 entire Billy (with slight double stacking). We therefore need bookends.
The empty Billy is now in the living room, with the top few shelves embookinated and various plastic craft-adjacent boxes on the lower shelves. This is making a significant dent in the chaos by my desk.
The shorter bookshelf is currently at the end of the hall, for lack of a better place to put it. I expect that if it stays there long, I will start racking up another set of incredible bruises, and I still don't know where the one on my right arm CAME from. (I remember that I walked into some corner on my sleepy and unstable way to bed and then went "well, THAT'll leave a mark!" but do I remember what that something WAS? No more than I remembered what things I'd rammed into when I was taking Drama in high school, and my legs were forever dotted with black and blue marks.)
Today after work, Belovedest has put up all the standards (upright rails) on the south wall, embracketed them with however many brackets we currently have, and has started to assemble board pieces into full length shelves.
Coincidentally, today I also got a notification from the hardware store that they are shipping the backordered brackets.
There is onefree-loving* free-standing bookshelf remaining in the room, where it is cheerfully getting in the way. I suggested a different method of assembly which neither requires turning the boards lengthwise nor doing the assembly behind the Billy, which suggestion was well-received.
Eventually there will be enough Shelf in the media room that some of the things taking up floor space will be able to go on them.
Today I roused in the morning long enough to feel bleugh, then woke up in the afternoon feeling competent to Lounge. Still craving bacon at intervals.
* My high school freshman Biology class had a crucial typo in a sentence about free-living organisms. We reacted about how you'd expect.
The empty Billy is now in the living room, with the top few shelves embookinated and various plastic craft-adjacent boxes on the lower shelves. This is making a significant dent in the chaos by my desk.
The shorter bookshelf is currently at the end of the hall, for lack of a better place to put it. I expect that if it stays there long, I will start racking up another set of incredible bruises, and I still don't know where the one on my right arm CAME from. (I remember that I walked into some corner on my sleepy and unstable way to bed and then went "well, THAT'll leave a mark!" but do I remember what that something WAS? No more than I remembered what things I'd rammed into when I was taking Drama in high school, and my legs were forever dotted with black and blue marks.)
Today after work, Belovedest has put up all the standards (upright rails) on the south wall, embracketed them with however many brackets we currently have, and has started to assemble board pieces into full length shelves.
Coincidentally, today I also got a notification from the hardware store that they are shipping the backordered brackets.
There is one
Eventually there will be enough Shelf in the media room that some of the things taking up floor space will be able to go on them.
Today I roused in the morning long enough to feel bleugh, then woke up in the afternoon feeling competent to Lounge. Still craving bacon at intervals.
* My high school freshman Biology class had a crucial typo in a sentence about free-living organisms. We reacted about how you'd expect.
Make an ass out of u and me - Star Wars story on the theme of "Obi-Wan: Virgin and/or Whore"
Jun. 11th, 2025 09:32 pmpetraMake an ass out of u and me (1431 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Depa Billaba/Obi-Wan Kenobi/Shaak Ti/Quinlan Vos, Aayla Secura & Anakin Skywalker
Characters: Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Aayla Secura, Quinlan Vos, Shaak Ti, Depa Billaba
Additional Tags: A+ Jedi Pedagogy, Polyamory, POV Outsider
Summary:
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Depa Billaba/Obi-Wan Kenobi/Shaak Ti/Quinlan Vos, Aayla Secura & Anakin Skywalker
Characters: Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Aayla Secura, Quinlan Vos, Shaak Ti, Depa Billaba
Additional Tags: A+ Jedi Pedagogy, Polyamory, POV Outsider
Summary:
Anakin has the most boringly perfect master in the entire Jedi Order. Some masters go on interesting missions; Obi-Wan does diplomatic missions where he sits at a table and says, "Hm, wellâŠ" a lot till he gets his way. Some masters have showy, dangerous lightsaber styles; Obi-Wan does Soresu, which is as purely defensive as anything anyone has ever devised. Some masters are fully-rounded people who drink and laugh and dance; Obi-Wan stays in with his three best friends and talks about philosophy all night, because he is a perfect Jedi, and so are they.
he's in the middle of taking off right now
Jun. 11th, 2025 07:25 pmmusesfoolZOMG what a day!!!
I was in a training this morning when around 10:30 am, my internet went out and didn't come back in 30 seconds the way it usually does. And my cable was out also. But Spectrum said there was no outage in my area, so it was a me problem. ÂŻ\_(ă)_/ÂŻ
And so I was in the middle of texting with a Spectrum chatbot (or maybe it was a real person?) when the cleaning ladies showed up but the bell wasn't working and then they called me and I didn't respond because I was in the middle of chatting with Spectrum (doing all the things I had already done, i.e., unplugging and re-plugging in the modem and router) with no success, but luckily I realized who was calling so I went and opened the door and they began their work and I went back to chatting with Spectrum.
The CSR/bot told me they would schedule the next open appointment and I was like sure, while thinking, "am I going to have to into the office for my meetings tomorrow? I need to be here when the tech comes but it probably won't be until Friday or Monday?" and then they texted me the appointment and it was for TODAY at NOON so of course I was like, YES, I WILL. TAKE IT. And then he showed up at 11:55 am!!! And told me there was a major outage in my area, so it was unlikely that he could do anything, but I was getting texts saying that the outage should be fixed by 1 pm. No, we mean 1:30 pm. No, we mean 2 pm. (It came back for me around 1 pm.) And finally at 4:05 pm a text saying the outage was over.
Meanwhile, yesterday, we were supposed to be sending materials out for a meeting tomorrow, but I hadn't received them by 5 pm yesterday, and I hadn't received them by 9 am this morning, and while I was in training and then offline, my boss was poking the CFO who was like, "we don't have them, should we cancel?" so my boss was texting me like, "We should cancel!!!" and I was like, that's fine but we can't reschedule for next week since the board members are not available, and then the board meeting is the week after, so we would need to get approval by unanimous written consent. But then the CFO is like, "I'm calling you!" and I'm like, "I have no internet, I can't get into any files, please don't!" But she was already calling, so I spoke with her and she was like, "We got the documents! I'm reviewing them! I will let you know when it's ok to send!" and I was like ok.
A little while after that, my service had returned and I discovered another committee member had sent out an invite to a meeting on Friday with incorrect information while trying to accept the correct invite for Friday's meeting? I don't even know, but it didn't replace the correct invite on anyone's calendars, so I just declined it. Then she emailed saying she was now getting all these RSVPs and I was like, "can you cancel it? It shouldn't affect the correct invitation, which I will then forward to you." So she cancelled it, but it looked to other people like the meeting was cancelled, even though the correct invitation remained on their calendars. So I had to send a teams message internally and an email externally to explain to everyone that the meeting was not cancelled, it was just a technological glitch of some sort. Idek.
I ate breakfast after the cable guy left, so I didn't eat lunch, and at around 3:30 I was like, "the CFO still hasn't given me the go-ahead to send this out - they are going to complain about getting a complicated set of documents less than 24 hours ahead of the meeting!" to my boss and then the email telling me the materials were good to go dropped into my inbox, so I was able to send them out.
Then while I was trying to catch up on email, a nasty looking bee (hornet? wasp?) started hovering around my window, and as you may recall, I had problems with them somehow getting into my apartment last summer, so I immediately slammed down the window and put the AC on, even though it was comfortable enough with the fan with the window open. I appreciate bees, but not in my living room! Especially not ones that look mean.
And then I read that Brian Wilson died. And Sly Stone died earlier this week. And I thought that was sad. #legends only #RIP
*
I was in a training this morning when around 10:30 am, my internet went out and didn't come back in 30 seconds the way it usually does. And my cable was out also. But Spectrum said there was no outage in my area, so it was a me problem. ÂŻ\_(ă)_/ÂŻ
And so I was in the middle of texting with a Spectrum chatbot (or maybe it was a real person?) when the cleaning ladies showed up but the bell wasn't working and then they called me and I didn't respond because I was in the middle of chatting with Spectrum (doing all the things I had already done, i.e., unplugging and re-plugging in the modem and router) with no success, but luckily I realized who was calling so I went and opened the door and they began their work and I went back to chatting with Spectrum.
The CSR/bot told me they would schedule the next open appointment and I was like sure, while thinking, "am I going to have to into the office for my meetings tomorrow? I need to be here when the tech comes but it probably won't be until Friday or Monday?" and then they texted me the appointment and it was for TODAY at NOON so of course I was like, YES, I WILL. TAKE IT. And then he showed up at 11:55 am!!! And told me there was a major outage in my area, so it was unlikely that he could do anything, but I was getting texts saying that the outage should be fixed by 1 pm. No, we mean 1:30 pm. No, we mean 2 pm. (It came back for me around 1 pm.) And finally at 4:05 pm a text saying the outage was over.
Meanwhile, yesterday, we were supposed to be sending materials out for a meeting tomorrow, but I hadn't received them by 5 pm yesterday, and I hadn't received them by 9 am this morning, and while I was in training and then offline, my boss was poking the CFO who was like, "we don't have them, should we cancel?" so my boss was texting me like, "We should cancel!!!" and I was like, that's fine but we can't reschedule for next week since the board members are not available, and then the board meeting is the week after, so we would need to get approval by unanimous written consent. But then the CFO is like, "I'm calling you!" and I'm like, "I have no internet, I can't get into any files, please don't!" But she was already calling, so I spoke with her and she was like, "We got the documents! I'm reviewing them! I will let you know when it's ok to send!" and I was like ok.
A little while after that, my service had returned and I discovered another committee member had sent out an invite to a meeting on Friday with incorrect information while trying to accept the correct invite for Friday's meeting? I don't even know, but it didn't replace the correct invite on anyone's calendars, so I just declined it. Then she emailed saying she was now getting all these RSVPs and I was like, "can you cancel it? It shouldn't affect the correct invitation, which I will then forward to you." So she cancelled it, but it looked to other people like the meeting was cancelled, even though the correct invitation remained on their calendars. So I had to send a teams message internally and an email externally to explain to everyone that the meeting was not cancelled, it was just a technological glitch of some sort. Idek.
I ate breakfast after the cable guy left, so I didn't eat lunch, and at around 3:30 I was like, "the CFO still hasn't given me the go-ahead to send this out - they are going to complain about getting a complicated set of documents less than 24 hours ahead of the meeting!" to my boss and then the email telling me the materials were good to go dropped into my inbox, so I was able to send them out.
Then while I was trying to catch up on email, a nasty looking bee (hornet? wasp?) started hovering around my window, and as you may recall, I had problems with them somehow getting into my apartment last summer, so I immediately slammed down the window and put the AC on, even though it was comfortable enough with the fan with the window open. I appreciate bees, but not in my living room! Especially not ones that look mean.
And then I read that Brian Wilson died. And Sly Stone died earlier this week. And I thought that was sad. #legends only #RIP
*
Me-and-media update
Jun. 12th, 2025 10:40 amchina_shopPrevious poll review
In the hair, there, and everywhair poll, 78% of respondents said they air dry, 35.6% towel dry roughly, 30.5% towel dry carefully / squeezingly, and 22% use a hair dryer or other device. (I towel dry carefully / squeezingly, then air dry. But I have thick, slow-drying hair, and I canât sleep with it wet, so I use a hair dryer occasionally.)
In ticky-boxes, âa yawning cat broadcasting calm and satisfaction into the worldâ beat hugs, 71.2% to 67.8%! The power oftoxiplasmosis cats on the internet! Thirty-six point two percent of respondents agreed that other people are, generally speaking, quite mysterious. Thank you for your votes!
Reading
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (The Chronicles of Prydain) -- Welsh childrenâs fantasy, and the first book in the trilogy that Disneyâs The Black Cauldron is loosely based on. Iâm not far into this yet, I havenât read it before, and I've misplaced my kindle. But it starts well.
Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers, narrated by Robert Bathurst -- This ripped along very engagingly. I like that Whimsy isnât falling over bodies left, right and centre à la Jessica Fletcher; he has to actually seek out cases, and I appreciated his sporting enthusiasm at the outset, and also that he feels it when his actions have consequences. Also, I loved the spinster assistant, Katharine Climpson -- I hope for more of her. (And I just spoiled myself for that on wikipedia, oops, but anyway, good to know sheâll be back.) Is it the Bellona Club next, or am I missing one?
Guardian by priest -- The readalong continues, along with its sixty million comments each week. :D
Argh, I got distracted and still havenât finished or commented on the rest of the 520 Day collection. Note to self!!
Kdramas
Nada.
Other TV
Department Q -- We finished off the 9-episode season earlier this week. Itâs rather messy (not all the mysteries and loose ends get tied up), and there are a few different flavours of police violence (messed-up cop losing control; very controlled cop âextractingâ information; but not group or institutionalised/authorised violence that I recall), as well as the bad guys torturing the victim. If the season had been longer, I might have bailed. But it is very compelling, and Morck (Matthew Goode) is extremely watchable.
Doctor Who -- I think Iâm just not the target audience for RTDâs style of story-telling. Iâm really going to miss Gatwa on my screen, though.
Stick -- the first episode of Owen Wilsonâs new Apple+ golf dramedy. It was okay. Good cast, but the problem with a show about golf is the lack of ~team~. Iâm reserving judgement.
El Eternauta -- weâve finished episode 2 now. Itâs fascinatingly creepy. Has a pretty bleak view of human nature, but Iâm intrigued to see where it goes. (I was advised to start it with as few spoilers as possible, so I know nothing. Please donât tell me anything!)
Also, more Murderbot, Poker Face, and Turning Point: The Vietnam War.
Guardian/Fandom
Mostly Iâve just been doing the Guardian novel readalong, the Guardian drama polls, and allllll the discussion that goes along with them. ♥ ♥ ♥
Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses, and several episodes of Coherent, a podcast focusing on our Deputy Prime Minister's move to set up a sort-of equivalent of DOGE and turn us into a libertarian hellhole. Gah! (Locals, submissions on the Regulatory Standards Bill close on 1pm, Monday 23rd June.)
Writing/making things
Plugging away. Yesterday I posted a flashfic that I started in March last year. The first draft didnât work and was wildly misguided (thanks to my beta for helping me realise that!), but I dusted it off and rebuilt it over the weekend, and I like how it turned out. I have a couple of other things in the works, too, and one day Iâll actually finish this ridiculous 13k-so-far gen fic. At least Iâve worked out why it was losing momentum, to wit, the longer a âmissing sceneâ is, the more it needs to have its own build and climax, rather than relying on canon or narrative irony for the payoff. Unfortunately, the upshot of that is that I need an actual plot development.
I spent Mondayâs writersâ hour looking for two story titles, and came up with one I really liked that doesnât fit either fic. So I guess I also need to write a story to fit that title.
Life/health/mental state things
Optometrist and GP (for a laundry list of minor questions) this week. Both went fine. The weather is bitterly cold. Iâve been a bit headachy, but Iâm mostly putting that down to needing new glasses.
Goals
Huh. I wonder if I should make some.
Link dump
Operation Spiderweb (wikipedia link; Ukraineâs strategic drone strike on Russiaâs air capability) | From cat urine to gunpowder: Exploring the peculiar smells of outer space | Dynasty's Gay Journey - Killer Dads, Shoulderpads, and the Kiss that Rocked Hollywood (Youtube, 33:25, via a comment attv_talk). I have too many tabs open to rootle out more right now.
Good things
Writing. Writersâ hour. Beta. Guaaaardian. Chocolate. Cat. Andrew.
In the hair, there, and everywhair poll, 78% of respondents said they air dry, 35.6% towel dry roughly, 30.5% towel dry carefully / squeezingly, and 22% use a hair dryer or other device. (I towel dry carefully / squeezingly, then air dry. But I have thick, slow-drying hair, and I canât sleep with it wet, so I use a hair dryer occasionally.)
In ticky-boxes, âa yawning cat broadcasting calm and satisfaction into the worldâ beat hugs, 71.2% to 67.8%! The power of
Reading
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (The Chronicles of Prydain) -- Welsh childrenâs fantasy, and the first book in the trilogy that Disneyâs The Black Cauldron is loosely based on. Iâm not far into this yet, I havenât read it before, and I've misplaced my kindle. But it starts well.
Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers, narrated by Robert Bathurst -- This ripped along very engagingly. I like that Whimsy isnât falling over bodies left, right and centre à la Jessica Fletcher; he has to actually seek out cases, and I appreciated his sporting enthusiasm at the outset, and also that he feels it when his actions have consequences. Also, I loved the spinster assistant, Katharine Climpson -- I hope for more of her. (And I just spoiled myself for that on wikipedia, oops, but anyway, good to know sheâll be back.) Is it the Bellona Club next, or am I missing one?
Guardian by priest -- The readalong continues, along with its sixty million comments each week. :D
Argh, I got distracted and still havenât finished or commented on the rest of the 520 Day collection. Note to self!!
Kdramas
Nada.
Other TV
Department Q -- We finished off the 9-episode season earlier this week. Itâs rather messy (not all the mysteries and loose ends get tied up), and there are a few different flavours of police violence (messed-up cop losing control; very controlled cop âextractingâ information; but not group or institutionalised/authorised violence that I recall), as well as the bad guys torturing the victim. If the season had been longer, I might have bailed. But it is very compelling, and Morck (Matthew Goode) is extremely watchable.
Doctor Who -- I think Iâm just not the target audience for RTDâs style of story-telling. Iâm really going to miss Gatwa on my screen, though.
Stick -- the first episode of Owen Wilsonâs new Apple+ golf dramedy. It was okay. Good cast, but the problem with a show about golf is the lack of ~team~. Iâm reserving judgement.
El Eternauta -- weâve finished episode 2 now. Itâs fascinatingly creepy. Has a pretty bleak view of human nature, but Iâm intrigued to see where it goes. (I was advised to start it with as few spoilers as possible, so I know nothing. Please donât tell me anything!)
Also, more Murderbot, Poker Face, and Turning Point: The Vietnam War.
Guardian/Fandom
Mostly Iâve just been doing the Guardian novel readalong, the Guardian drama polls, and allllll the discussion that goes along with them. ♥ ♥ ♥
Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses, and several episodes of Coherent, a podcast focusing on our Deputy Prime Minister's move to set up a sort-of equivalent of DOGE and turn us into a libertarian hellhole. Gah! (Locals, submissions on the Regulatory Standards Bill close on 1pm, Monday 23rd June.)
Writing/making things
Plugging away. Yesterday I posted a flashfic that I started in March last year. The first draft didnât work and was wildly misguided (thanks to my beta for helping me realise that!), but I dusted it off and rebuilt it over the weekend, and I like how it turned out. I have a couple of other things in the works, too, and one day Iâll actually finish this ridiculous 13k-so-far gen fic. At least Iâve worked out why it was losing momentum, to wit, the longer a âmissing sceneâ is, the more it needs to have its own build and climax, rather than relying on canon or narrative irony for the payoff. Unfortunately, the upshot of that is that I need an actual plot development.
I spent Mondayâs writersâ hour looking for two story titles, and came up with one I really liked that doesnât fit either fic. So I guess I also need to write a story to fit that title.
Life/health/mental state things
Optometrist and GP (for a laundry list of minor questions) this week. Both went fine. The weather is bitterly cold. Iâve been a bit headachy, but Iâm mostly putting that down to needing new glasses.
Goals
Huh. I wonder if I should make some.
Link dump
Operation Spiderweb (wikipedia link; Ukraineâs strategic drone strike on Russiaâs air capability) | From cat urine to gunpowder: Exploring the peculiar smells of outer space | Dynasty's Gay Journey - Killer Dads, Shoulderpads, and the Kiss that Rocked Hollywood (Youtube, 33:25, via a comment at
tv_talk). I have too many tabs open to rootle out more right now.Good things
Writing. Writersâ hour. Beta. Guaaaardian. Chocolate. Cat. Andrew.
Poll #33240 The Tower
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 45
What kind of princess is in the tower?
View Answers
goblin princess
11 (24.4%)
elf princess
8 (17.8%)
vampire princess
6 (13.3%)
mermaid princess
4 (8.9%)
minotaur princess
15 (33.3%)
dragon princess
22 (48.9%)
troll princess
4 (8.9%)
orc princess
7 (15.6%)
cat
28 (62.2%)
other
4 (8.9%)
actually it's another-gendered member of royalty
17 (37.8%)
ticky-box full of intending to bake but not getting around to it
20 (44.4%)
ticky-box full of still resisting multi-focal lenses
7 (15.6%)
ticky-box of a squadron of rescue dragons who can exhale fire or water, as required
28 (62.2%)
ticky-box of clumsy fledgling puppies, tumbling all over each other out of the nest
21 (46.7%)
ticky-box of spoiler fairies leaving them under your pillow
12 (26.7%)
ticky-box full of hugs
31 (68.9%)
What I'm Doing Wednesday
Jun. 11th, 2025 03:51 pmsage( books: Adams, Das, Oliver, Nhat Hanh, Cogman, Mukundananda )
dirt
The tiny thaumatophyllum that previously had root rot has finally produced water roots, yay! Two new rattlesnake beans have sprouted. I continue not buying a tiny orchid after the last 3 died, even though I really want to try again. Lemon tree is growing. The terrarium plants are all growing, some at speed. Some of the sphagnum moss has turned green and I can't tell if it's coming back to life or is just algae. Or both. And the ginger shoot has become a leaf, yay!
healthcrap
Yay, I'm now officially on monthly allergy shots, again, after having had to start over. ( cut for discussion of intended weight loss ) Today is a major trigeminal neuralgia flare, so I waited hours for meds to kick in. Fun times. And now I've had an afternoon snack of Brussels sprouts, so hopefully I'll feel better soon.
#resist
Today I read on Substack that one of the Walmart heiresses posted a full page ad in the NYT in support of the June 14 protests. It would be nice if that translated to better working conditions for Walmart employees...but I suppose it's something?
June 14: Nationwide No Kings Day Protest, Pope Leo's address in Chicago (which will be livestreamed)
June 19: Juneteenth Protest
June 27: Stonewall Anniversary Protest
June 24 to 30: McDonaldâs Boycott
July 4: Independence Day Boycott and Silent Protest
Happy news: San Antonio elected it's third woman and first out lesbian mayor this past week, despite massive racist GOP opposition. (Unhappy news, the nonwhite woman running for city council I voted for lost to a GOP-funded white woman.)
I hope all of you are doing well! <333
dirt
The tiny thaumatophyllum that previously had root rot has finally produced water roots, yay! Two new rattlesnake beans have sprouted. I continue not buying a tiny orchid after the last 3 died, even though I really want to try again. Lemon tree is growing. The terrarium plants are all growing, some at speed. Some of the sphagnum moss has turned green and I can't tell if it's coming back to life or is just algae. Or both. And the ginger shoot has become a leaf, yay!
healthcrap
Yay, I'm now officially on monthly allergy shots, again, after having had to start over. ( cut for discussion of intended weight loss ) Today is a major trigeminal neuralgia flare, so I waited hours for meds to kick in. Fun times. And now I've had an afternoon snack of Brussels sprouts, so hopefully I'll feel better soon.
#resist
Today I read on Substack that one of the Walmart heiresses posted a full page ad in the NYT in support of the June 14 protests. It would be nice if that translated to better working conditions for Walmart employees...but I suppose it's something?
June 14: Nationwide No Kings Day Protest, Pope Leo's address in Chicago (which will be livestreamed)
June 19: Juneteenth Protest
June 27: Stonewall Anniversary Protest
June 24 to 30: McDonaldâs Boycott
July 4: Independence Day Boycott and Silent Protest
Happy news: San Antonio elected it's third woman and first out lesbian mayor this past week, despite massive racist GOP opposition. (Unhappy news, the nonwhite woman running for city council I voted for lost to a GOP-funded white woman.)
I hope all of you are doing well! <333
Wednesday Reading Meme
Jun. 11th, 2025 04:44 pmsinealaWhat I Just Finished Reading
Nothing! Still trying to get fic written.
What I'm Reading Now
Comics Wednesday!
( Marvel United #1, New Avengers #1, One World Under Doom #5, Ultimate Black Panther #17, Ultimate X-Men #16 )
What I'm Reading Next
Who knows? I have a stupid migraine again. Great.
Nothing! Still trying to get fic written.
What I'm Reading Now
Comics Wednesday!
( Marvel United #1, New Avengers #1, One World Under Doom #5, Ultimate Black Panther #17, Ultimate X-Men #16 )
What I'm Reading Next
Who knows? I have a stupid migraine again. Great.
Portrait of a Bobcat
Jun. 11th, 2025 07:26 pmnasa_liotd_feedAt NASAâs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a bobcat wades through one of the waterways near Launch Pad 39B.
Post-Deadline Pinch Hits for Sakura Exchange (Due June 20) - New Pinch Hit #16
Jun. 11th, 2025 01:19 pmsakuramod posting in yuletidesakuraexchange is a spring exchange for relationships in Japanese media, run on Dreamwidth and AO3.We have several pinch hits (unfilled requests) currently in need of creators. If you might be able to fill one of these requests by the current due date (June 20, 11:59PM UTC / 7:59PM EDT), please comment on the pinch hit post with your AO3 name and the number of the pinch hit you'd like to claim.
The minimum requirements are 1000 words for fic, or clean lineart on unlined paper for art.
Available pinch hits (click through for details):
PH 2 - Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, æźșăæ | Koroshi Ai (Manga), 2.5æŹĄć ăźèȘæ | 2.5-jigen no Ririsa | 2.5 Dimensional Seduction (Anime)
PH 4 - çäžæŠéăăłăăłăžăŁăŒ | Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger (TV), éæłă€ăăăăȘăă„ăąïŒ | Mahou Tsukai Pretty Cure! | Mahou Girls PreCure!, 仟éąă©ă€ăăŒăźăŒă | Kamen Rider Geats, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne | Phantom-Thief Jeanne (manga), Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne | Phantom-Thief Jeanne (Anime)
PH 10 - ăăă ă”ăă·ăăă ă! | Wonderful PreCure! (Anime), Crossover Fandom, Show By Rock!! (Video Games), çŸç·é«æ Ąć°çéČèĄéšHAPPY KISS! | Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Happy Kiss!, Tokyo Mew Mew OlĂ© (Manga), Fairyèäžž~ăăȘăăźćżăć©ăăăŸă~ | Fairy Ranmaru: Anata no Kokoro Otasuke Shimasu (Anime)
PH 16 - ç”ăç©ș remake | Tsui no Sora Remake, Tsukihime (Visual Novel & Anime), Kara no Kyoukai | The Garden of Sinners
Thank you very much!
What We Weading Wednesday
Jun. 11th, 2025 12:54 pmwhite_asterCurrently Reading:
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie - I remember reading a few early Abercrombie books and liking them while thinking they were just a bit overlong and overwrought. That's still my view, but I am weak to heists and this one is entertaining if you can stand Abercrombie's particularly grungy and body-fluid-spattered style.
The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov - :sigh: I'd evidently put it on my holds list even though I didn't enjoy the last one very much, and I took it just with an air of "oh fine, whatever". I suspect that i am going to DNF this, as there will be the recurrence of a character who I thought was really stupidly dealt with in the last Robots book (someone who's let off the hook for a murder because of egregiously -ist reasons that I just can't overlook).
Just Finished: Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland and That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming. Both very good. The former is um..."pirates+heist+surprisingly complex interpersonal dynamics+hyperactive main character who is a Whole Mood". Loved it! The latter is "very light-hearted but still quite funny fantasy romance about two grumpy people falling in love oh and one is a dragon".
Up Next: I'd still like to read Living with the Devil: A Meditation on Good and Evil by Stephen Batchelor again. Also I'll be picking up my copy of Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes today. I dunno, I have had a solid hit and a very bad miss with this author, we'll see how this one lands.
(no subject)
Jun. 11th, 2025 12:21 pmwhite_asterNIH scientists call on director to protect biomedical research
Hundreds of scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a call for action they dubbed the Bethesda Declaration on Monday to push back against cutbacks and changes at the biomedical research agency.
I'd like to point out that the people who signed this are actual people who work directly for NIH. It is extremely brave for them to speak out like this, especially since it's so unlikely that anyone will listen to them.
Absolution â The Inugrrrl Memorial is Moving to the AO3
Jun. 11th, 2025 04:05 pmotw_news_feedAbsolution – The Inugrrrl Memorial, an InuYasha fanfiction memorial archive, is being imported to the Archive of Our Own (AO3).
Inugrrrl was a longtime fan and fanfiction writer of InuYasha and the InuYasha/Kagome pairing. In her own words, she was known for âwriting characterization-breaking, smut-filled, angst-riddled, alternate universe pulp fiction without a hint of shame, regret, or apology.â She was active in the fanbase from 2005-2024. Inugrrrl tragically passed away in June of 2024 and her daughter wished for her motherâs fanworks to remain online for the fanbase to enjoy.
Open Doors will be working with Rinikioi, Inugrrrlâs best friend, to import her personal archive, Absolution, into a separate memorial account on the Archive of Our Own.
We will begin importing works by Inugrrrl to the AO3 after May. You will find them on the inugrrrl_memorial account.
Inugrrrl also had a collection of fanfiction gifted to her by friends and fellow fans. Open Doors will be importing these works into a separate collection.
What does this mean for creators who wrote fic for Inugrrrl?
Please contact Open Doors with your fannish pseud(s), if:
- You’d like us to import your works and need a claim request sent to your email address.
- You already have an AO3 account and have imported your works already yourself.
- Youâd like to import your works yourself (including if you donât have an AO3 account yet).
- You would NOT like your works moved to the AO3, or would NOT like your works added to the archive collection.
- You are happy for us to preserve your works on the AO3, but would like us to remove your name.
- You have any other questions we can help you with.
We will begin importing works gifted to Inugrrrl to the AO3 after June.
We’d love it if readers who were familiar with her fannish activities could help us document Inugrrrlâs fannish involvement on Fanlore. If you’re new to wiki editing, no worries! Check out the new visitor portal, or ask the Fanlore Gardeners for tips.
We’re honored to be able to help preserve the works of Inugrrrl, and while we mourn her loss, we also realize that we are fortunate that she had a friend who was given permission to collect and preserve her works on the AO3 so that they will not be lost. Thinking about the death of a fandom friend may be difficult, but it can also be an opportunity to consider what will happen to your fanworks and accounts and those of your friends after your deaths. The Archive of Our Own has an option to name a Fannish Next of Kin, someone who would be able to gain access to your accounts in the case of your death or incapacitation. By naming someone who can act on your behalf, you can decide ahead of time how you want your AO3 accounts handled going into the future.
– The Open Doors team and Rinikioi
(no subject)
Jun. 11th, 2025 09:31 amaurumcalendulaI've seen a bunch of wildlife around lately (fawns, a downy woodpecker, red shouldered hawks, cottontail rabbits, hummingbirds), which has brighten my day over the last week or so.
(no subject)
Jun. 11th, 2025 06:15 pmthawreckaAfter my last post, I managed to watch another one and a half movies on the weekend - the half because I needed to go to the bathroom partway through Bring Her Back, and when I realised all I'd left in the cinema was my raspberry fanta, decided the movie was so boring I didn't need to go back.
æć»äșç”ćœ±éąăçäșç”ćœ±ăćäșç米è±ă
So far this year I've watched movies from Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Spain, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam. I'd like to add more countries to that list!
æć»äșç”ćœ±éąăçäșç”ćœ±ăćäșç米è±ă
So far this year I've watched movies from Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Spain, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam. I'd like to add more countries to that list!