cztacks | Reading

This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...

* Commented on Candy Balls in

everykindofcraft.

* Commented on just create - fan edition in

justcreate.

* Commented on Just One Thing (15 July 2026) in

awesomeers.

Current Mood: busy

vriddy

Community Thursday challenge: every Thursday, try to make an effort to engage with a community on Dreamwidth, whether that's posting, commenting, promoting, etc.

Over the last week...

Commented on

addme,

getyourwordsout.

Promoted

betaplease.

Current Mood: sleepeh

alisx

“Middle class” has become a psychological container that absorbs all of this anxiety — the gap between self-concept and lived experience, between what you were trained to expect and what the economy actually delivers. The term “middle class” holds a feeling. And right now, the feeling is dissonance. “I have what I was told would be enough, and it isn’t, and I don’t know who to be angry at.”

Hanna Horvath on economic psyops.

Leave a comment.⁺

ysabetwordsmith

15-yo Creates App for Reporting Potholes to the Government, and Uses AI to Help with Follow-up

The app allows users to take a picture of a pothole, use a GPS function to locate it in their area, and post them both to the Project Sadak server. AI makes sure the picture is of an actual pothole, while human review ensures that the given grade—severe, medium, or benign, accurately reflects what’s in the picture.

This ensures the worst potholes flash red and are not drowned out amid the complaints of angry citizens. Once the entry is finished, the user can automatically sign their name digitally to an email and send it to the authorities in their part of New Delhi

This approach should work with a wide range of things that need attention, from dysfunctional stoplights to apartment repairs, just directing reports to the relevant people. However, there's a big problem in that deferred maintenance tends to come because demand exceeds supply of repair materials, personnel, and budget. Many other projects have shown bottlenecks where the authorities did not fix problems but also refused to let anyone else do so. A solution would be to include a response timeframe of a month or so, after which other people would be free to repair the problem.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is sweltering, mostly sunny with fluffy white clouds above. A beautiful day to stay indoors and write!

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/15/26 -- We did some work around the patio.

EDIT 7/15/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 7/15/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 7/15/26 -- I picked 3 'Gypsy' peppers at the green stage to use in a stir-fry. Hopefully this will encourage those plants to set more peppers.

EDIT 7/15/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I saw a female cardinal at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 7/15/26 -- I watered the telephone pole garden.

Fireflies are coming out. Cicadas are singing. I saw a giant dragonfly and a bat swooping along the road.

There's a bank of dark clouds rising in the north and another in the northwest, but chances of rain are low.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

rydra_wong

https://observer.co.uk/culture/books/article/the-visions-of-m-john-harrison (non-paywalled)

Review of M John Harrison's new book The End of Everything, but also a reflection on Harrison's work in general, with some suggestions on where to start depending on your literary interests.

Beautifully-written and worth reading if you love Macdonald's work, even if you have no interest in Harrison per se.

I am somehow deeply unsurprised to learn that like me, Macdonald ran into Harrison's writing (and J G Ballard's The Voices of Time, which they also mention here) at an impressionable age.

(I got very flappy-handed with glee when Macdonald mentioned The Voices of Time on Bsky, because the reference to it in a word you've never understood had been in the draft for a long time at that point, and it made me feel I had successfully tuned into the right wavelength.)

ysabetwordsmith

Earth's ancient climate was cooler than we thought -- and that's bad news

Earth’s climate has natural brakes built into it. They’ve been working overtime for hundreds of millions of years, keeping the planet’s temperature from swinging as wildly as scientists once believed.

New research suggests those ancient hot periods were significantly cooler than previous estimates claimed. This sounds like reassuring news until you realize what it actually implies: unchecked human warming could push the planet somewhere it has never been before.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Life is full of things which are hard or tedious or otherwise unpleasant that need doing anyhow. They help make the world go 'round, they improve skills, and they boost your sense of self-respect. But doing them still kinda sucks. It's all the more difficult to do those things when nobody appreciates it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our accomplishments and pat each other on the back.

What are some of the hard things you've done recently? What are some hard things you haven't gotten to yet, but need to do? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your hard things a little easier?

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Non-Binary Awareness Week

Non-Binary Awareness Week kicks off on the Monday before International Non-Binary People’s Day on July 14. Established in 2012 by Katje van Loon, the week challenges traditional gender norms and celebrates everyone who identifies beyond the binary. Positioned between International Men’s Day and International Women’s Day, it’s the perfect time to bridge the gap and promote greater understanding and inclusion for non-binary folks. 

See some of my QUILTBAG characters. Calliope in Polychrome Heroics and The Steamsmith have nonbinary leads. The Blueshift Troupers are all shapeshifters and can change sex at times. Want more nonbinary characters? Feel free to ask for that in any relevant prompt call.

Current Mood: busy

alisx

Watching a metal podcast (vodcast?), and the host is talking about random shit people have been giving him in the comments, apparently one of which is "accusing" (???) him of dying his hair black?? Which, firstly, wtf? But, also, this dude just deadass looks into the camera and is like:

"I’m Asian."

Leave a comment.⁺

sapphicfairyoracle posting in

addme

Name: Pom

Age: over 35

I mostly post about: life, random things that come to mind so it might be my personal twitter without the character limit and have the ability to control my comments. Drawings and fanfic will come up once I have breathing room from classes.

As of right now, I have no TWs and just hide posts in a cut if they get too long. But I'm working on tagging content/trigger warnings now for future posts after today. Feel free to tell me if you have any TWs before adding me.

My posts are mostly public and will save anything IRL, very personal vent posting, or photos for Access only.

My hobbies are: drawing, making little memes or crack-y “shit posts”. I also am giving writing fanfic a whirl after years of not doing that. Creating and talking about OCs count as a hobby, right?

Love nostalgia and retro. Always down to nerd about 80’s and 90’s cartoons together. What’s your favorite?

I’m very into witchcraft, so spirituality is also important to me. I am exploring Celtic and Kemetic Paganism.

My fandoms are: Right now? Really into Moomin, The Amazing Digital Circus, Pokemon, Story of Seasons series, Evangelion, and a little bit of Undertale. Marvel when it’s mostly Spiderman, Deadpool, and X-men. Tomodachi Life has my Nintendo Switch in a grip. Old interests come back every once in a while. Delicious in Dungeon and Yuri on Ice have a grip on me as far as favorite animes go.

I'm looking to meet people who: Are also into the fandoms I like, and anyone else who also partakes in witchcraft. Fellow artists or writers are always wonderful to befriend, whether we write for the same interests or not. I love seeing creative souls be so passionate about their works.

My posting schedule tends to be: Anywhere from weekly to bi-weekly. Trying to post more. I'll also try to be more engaging with friends in the posts, if it feels hard to comment on my posts lately. I'm trying to be better about commenting on friends' posts more, as well.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: - I'm still learning when it comes to Paganism and witchcraft. And the different types of practices. I have a grasp on what’s closed and what’s open to practice. So if I'm ever exposed to misinformation, be patient and correct me with well meaning - not with malice.

- I love shipping, so I hope you can tolerate that I ship characters when they tickle my fancy. I’m a old woman-loving nonbinary, so anyone who doesn’t like slash (male/male or women/women couples) is someone I might not want to interact with.

- Be a fellow 18+ adult.

- I'm a little political. Sorry. I understand escaping from reality and doom scrolling, but as a POC nonbinary that openly loves women... I'm friends with other POC and LGBT+ people, so I do care even online. So rants might come up occasionally. (I will tag it, though.) Also why you might as well avoid me if you're conservative.

Christianity is a no for me due to religious trauma. With that said, anyone conservative is someone that I’d like to avoid. They tend to be the bigots we all want to avoid, anyway.

- People that like darker dynamics like incest and adult/minor ships, I would rather not interact with, please.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm on Discord if you're very active on there and would like faster access. I can give that upon private messages. But also know that I work during the day and then do class work as soon as I log off. So replies can be sporadic. And no servers, please. (unless we just make one for ourselves.) Used to have Line, if that's what anyone uses, I can get it again.

Current Mood: chipper

ysabetwordsmith

NASA selects four new Moon missions to build a permanent lunar base

NASA is ramping up its lunar ambitions by awarding nearly $600 million for four commercial Moon landings planned for late 2028. Each mission will carry the same trio of science instruments to improve lunar navigation, study dangerous dust kicked up during landings, and map the Moon's radiation environment. The agency also revealed plans for new rovers, communication satellites, and additional cargo missions as it lays the groundwork for a permanent Moon Base.

I'm all for a lunar base, but good luck coping with that dust. Lunar regolith is the most obnoxious dust I've encountered, with the exception of dusts that actually eat machines or flesh. It's like ground glass the texture of powdered sugar, and it sticks to everything. >_<

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

A 37-year soil experiment revealed a hidden climate threat

The world's longest-running soil warming experiment has revealed an unexpected climate concern. After nearly four decades, researchers found that warming can cause microbes to break down stable soil carbon that scientists once believed was largely protected. That releases extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, potentially accelerating global warming.

And yet they missed the most dangerous part. Soil consists of mineral (e.g. sand, clay) and organic (e.g. humus, leafmould) components. Remove the organic parts and you don't have soil anymore; little or nothing can grow in that. Therefore, if the carbon (base of organic molecules) is breaking down faster, that means the soil is burning through its organic material faster, which means that in order to maintain the same level of fertility and bioactivity, it would require more frequent and/or larger additions of fresh organic material. Otherwise it will decline.

The vast majority of farmland now receives zero organic amendments, but is fertilized with chemicals. It will degrade much faster than it already is. For farmers or gardeners who do add organic amendments, labor and/or costs will likely rise to keep up with the soil's increasing demands.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Young Man Interviews 3,000 World War II Vets Over 10-year Project–Preserving Their Stories

A decade ago, a young American began recording interviews with World War II combat veterans to satisfy his curiosity about the war. That curiosity became something of an obsession, and 3,000 veterans later, his hard drives and SD cards have become something of a national treasure. Brought to us from Steve Hartman for CBS News’ “On the Road,” 28-year-old Rishi Sharma says it’s been a privilege to meet the “moral compass” behind our society.

Never forget.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is sunny, humid, and hot.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/14/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/14/26 -- My partner Doug mowed the house yard earlier, so I trimmed around the goddess garden.

I saw a male cardinal foraging in the fresh-cut grass.

EDIT 7/14/26 -- I trimmed more grass in the house yard.

EDIT 7/14/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 7/14/26 -- I cracked 2 apricot pits and got 2 good seeds. I cracked 2 black plum pits and got 1 possibly viable seed. I cracked two batches of cherry pits and got a bunch of good seeds. I put all those in damp sand to stratify in the fridge.

Fireflies are coming out. Cicadas are singing.

EDIT 7/14/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

yourivy posting in

addme

My friends list has gotten a little quiet lately, so I thought I'd see if I can find a few cool new folks ;)

Name: Tina

Age: ~~old~~ 38

I mostly post about: Daily life, mental health (always under a cut and with TW/CW), and everything that goes through my head. I do a weekly "What Are You Reading Wednesday" post, as well.

My hobbies are: Reading, listening to music, taking walks, going out for coffee, hanging out with friends, jigsaw puzzles, cuddling my cat, taking pictures, going to concerts, travelling.

My fandoms are: I don't really have any? I am a fan as in liking things, but I don't participate in any kind of fandom activities. It's awesome if that's your thing but it's just never been mine :)

I'm looking to meet people who: are kind, funny, empathetic and curious. I love reading about what fascinates others and makes them happy, and getting glimpses into others' daily lives.

My posting schedule tends to be: this month, I am doing an "Ask me Anything", where I answer one question every day which my friends have asked me, so I post pretty much daily. Outside of that, I aim for at least twice weekly - the above-mentioned "What Are You Reading Wednesday" and one general life update (usually on Sundays). I do take care to not spam you too much, though, and of course you don't have to comment on everything even if I post daily in July ;)

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: besides the usual intolerance/bigotry - and let's be real, who considers themselves a bigot, anyway - people who aren't understanding about mental illness and/or don't want their friends to post "too much negativity". While I try to keep things light, I also want to feel like I can be myself in my journal and not want to be anxious about where the line towards "too much" would be crossed, if that makes sense?

Also, I am neurodivergent which means that I sometimes put my foot in my mouth without realising it. This has caused misunderstandings to escalate into drama before which I don't want anymore. So please, if I ever say anything that offends you, point it out to me and give me the benefit of the doubt. I promise I never set out to hurt anyone and I will listen, apologize and learn from it.

Before adding me, you should know: I probably sound complicated or harsh but I promise I am actually quite nice and love meeting others from all walks of life. Just please comment on this entry before adding me, thank you very much ♥

Current Mood: nervous
Current Location: Germany, Cologne

modzilla posting in

fffx

Nominations

Nominate HERE at the tag set. Nominations close at 11:59pm EDT on July 24.

Everyone may nominate up to 8 fandoms and 6 characters or relationships per fandom. Limited further nominations can be added during sign-ups. (I recommend keeping a record of what you nominated.)

After you've nominated, please check this community again before nominations end. We may need more information about what you've nominated, and we will post questions here.

FFFX uses the Fandom and the Relationship tag slots for nominations. You can nominate relationships, single characters, and a general worldbuilding option. Please read further for how to format each of these.

In the Fandom field, you can enter a canonical or non-canonical fandom (it's okay if there's no work for it yet on AO3). There are tips on labelling new fandoms here.

What to enter in the Relationships field
To nominate a relationship, please enter Character/Character (Fandom) (for romantic or sexual relationships) or Character & Character (Fandom) (for platonic relationships).

Do NOT put "Group" or another prefix in front of a relationship nomination.

The punctuation / and & is very important to indicate what sort of relationship it is.

Putting the fandom at the end of the nomination is really helpful to stop tag misbehaviour.

Multiple ship relationships in one tag are OK - ie, "Character/Character & Character/Character" means you're asking for two sets of pairings who are doing something together or otherwise relate to each other.

To nominate a character, enter them in the format "Char: Name (Fandom)" - that is, actually type out "Char: ", but swap in the appropriate name and fandom, such as Char: Lucy Pevensie (Narnia - Lewis).

All nominated characters should explicitly exist in the fandom where they're nominated. Original characters are also fine as long as you describe a character who could have existed in canon, such as Char: Original Force-sensitive Character (Star Wars Original Trilogy).

To nominate Worldbuilding for a canon, enter it in the format "Oth: Worldbuilding (Fandom)" (filling in the relevant fandom), e.g. Oth: Worldbuilding (Narnia - Lewis). Not "Other".

Group nominations (ie "The Marauders") should be formatted as follows:

Nominations with a character and a group, like "Lily Evans & Marauders (HP JKR)" (where "Marauders" means four characters, namely Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter) means that at least two members of the group must feature prominently in the gift. which two is up to the creator.

"Creator's Choice of [GROUP]" means that one member of the group must feature prominently in the gift - the creator, not the recipient, gets to decide which.

"All: [GROUP]" means that all members of the group must feature.

If a group is quite large (10+), if it is subjective who belongs in the group, or if it is hard to know who belongs in the group without having canon knowledge, I am less likely to approve that group. For example - much as I can appreciate why you might want to nominate a set like "Canonical DILFs", I will not approve it, as it adds work and ambiguity.

I will post queries throughout nominations about who might appear in a particular group. If you want to speed up the approval of your nomination, please drop me a line when nominating to explain which characters are included in a group.

Some fandom notes
Please separate out Marvel movies and separate TV shows - ie, Iron Man (Movies) rather than MCU.

I will not approve "Star Wars (All Media Types)". Trilogies are fine. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types is an allowed exception.

DC's Arrowverse includes (at least?): Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, and Batwoman.

"All Media Types" fandoms will probably be approved last, overall, because if someone else wants a more specific version of canon, we'd prefer to approve that. If you believe All Media Types is what's right for your fandom, please comment so we can discuss that. Assassin's Creed - All Media Types is fine.

Where possible, we will not approve a larger set of fandom and a subset that is covered by the larger set.

To nominate a relationship between characters who appear in different fandoms, please nominate them under Crossover Fandom and include the fandom for each. For example: Arya Stark (ASoIF)/Elsa (Frozen - Movies). Please be specific if the fandom name could refer to different versions and adaptations. You can ask for general crossovers between fandoms by nominating "Oth: Worldbuilding (Fandom 1 & Fandom 2)"

You can also nominate characters and groups under Original Work. Please indicate the genders of the characters if that is important to you. If someone requests Original Work characters or relationships with ambiguous genders, the preference of the person requesting takes precedence over the preference of the person offering. (But you can ask to add a more specific version to the tag set during sign-ups if that is an issue.)

When nominating recursive works, please also comment on a post here with the link & the link to a permission statement.

Sign-up requirements
The following information about sign-ups may help you plan your nominations:

-You need to request at least 4 separate fandoms with at least 1 relationship in each - so every nominated fandom needs at least one character, or one relationship, or the worldbuilding tag nominated underneath it

-Offer minimums are set as low as possible - you just have to be able to offer for someone else's request

-It's fine to request or offer a fandom more than once using different tags (so you can divide up your art/fic requests/offers with different tags)

Other
Please feel free to use the comments to ask questions or brainstorm with others.

If you find it helpful to keep a record of your own nominations, please save that information off AO3, because we will clear personal nominations during sign-ups to make it easier to add things at that time.

Rules notes

Comments are required on previous gifts.

I am reviewing the rules on a minimum standard of gift quality (spelling, grammar, etc; polish on art) and will post clarification before sign-ups.

You may not use LLMs and similar "artificial intelligence" generative tools as part of your creation process in this event. I will post clarification of this existing rule before sign-ups.

rydra_wong

https://bsky.app/profile/esqueer.net/post/3mqhgfxhyjk2h
https://bsky.app/profile/esqueer.net/post/3mqhxbimgi22h
https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3mqlokwyuvs24

It's also here, btw: https://web.archive.org/web/20260709084603/https://media.amnesty.org.uk/documents/Report_-_A_growing_threat__the_anti-rights_movement_in_the_UK_July_2026.pdf

You see, according to some people, it might be defamatory to call groups campaigning to take rights away from trans people "anti-rights", because the official line from people like Kishwer Falkner and Akua Reindorf is that trans people never really had those rights, they just imagined they did because of bodies like the EHRC officially telling them they did (prior to the EHRC being institutionally captured when Kemi Badenoch deliberately appointed a "gender critical" head).

So if you ban them from doing things they've been allowed to do for at least forty years (like using gender-appropriate toilets), that's not taking rights away. And this is a logical and reasonable argument and not jawdropping levels of gaslighting.

And it doesn't matter if a court would eventually decide that it is legally permissible to call these groups "anti-rights" if someone can pour unlimited funds into bleeding Amnesty dry dragging them through the courts, because English defamation law lets you do that.

Did you know the only anti-SLAPP law in the UK relates specifically to the disclosure of economic crime and not anything else?

Anyway, as someone governed by English defamation law, I cannot comment without conclusive and legally-defensible evidence on whether the removal of the report was connected to the billionaire who is offering to fund groups named as "anti-rights" to sue Amnesty:

https://bsky.app/profile/esqueer.net/post/3mqkm7t7pq22e

Unclear if I am legally able to suggest that the prominent group blaming George Soros for funding Amnesty might, perhaps, be a tad antisemitic:

https://bsky.app/profile/esqueer.net/post/3mqlarqvy422x

The other recent report Amnesty put out about the "gender critical" movement specifically is still up, though. For now:

https://bsky.app/profile/beesandrikishis.bsky.social/post/3mqlno4cbds2j
https://media.amnesty.org.uk/documents/Like_a_snowball_final_.pdf

I'd like to think we all know what to do:

Watch on YouTube

marycuntrarian posting in

addme

Name: Kat or Katrina

Age: 39

I mostly post about: My life, struggles and wins, mental and physical health updates, rants, I also talk about media like movies, tv and books.

My hobbies are: Painting, crochet, gaming, web design, all kinds of crafts

My fandoms are: Yellowjackets, Community, Legion but I don't know if I'm IN those fandoms, just love those shows.

I'm looking to meet people who: Are my age and want to connect over the same bullshit.

My posting schedule tends to be: Sporadic, I just got a new laptop so I'm trying to post more.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Bigotry, general fuckery.

Before adding me, you should know: My life isn't all roses and sunshine right now and I talk about it a lot. But also other stuff, so don't worry too much about.

ysabetwordsmith

Roman ‘Genius’ Spirit Statue Buried 1,600 Years Ago Found by Hadrian’s Wall

A perfectly preserved Roman statue which was deliberately buried 1,600 years ago has been unearthed near Hadrian’s Wall. The 1.5 ft-high figure carved from sandstone is a ‘protective spirit’, also known as a ‘genius’, which is displayed like a shrine to invoke security and wealth. The statue was discovered at Vindolanda Fort in Northumberland, England, hidden under the floor of what was a military barracks.

Current Mood: busy

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C.Z. Tacks

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C.Z. Tacks

Author. Artist. Awkward.

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Community Thursdays

Community Thursday

The dissonant class.

Safety

Birdfeeding

Helen Macdonald on M John Harrison

Climate Change

Hard Things

Non-Binary Awareness Week

Wednesday @ 10:37 am

(no subject)

Space Exploration

Climate Change

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Birdfeeding

Hello again :)

2026 Nominations Open

Nominations

Rules notes

Amnesty International were just forced to pull down a report on "anti-rights" groups in the UK

hi all!

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August 2025

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