the mermaid cafe

Now you know I'm not a big basketball fan but with the Knicks in the finals I will probably be talking about it some, especially since the Mets are so terrible and it looks like the Habs might not be moving on. I don't wanna root for the Canes. I do not like them! But I cannot root for VGK, so it is what it is.

Anyway, this was a fun article about Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs center, and the "Read like Wemby" campaign a library in San Antonio started. (Ignore the snobs in the comments talking about how he should read "real" literature instead of SFF - they are not serious people.) I love when libraries do stuff like this and they are always doing cool stuff like this.

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Fascinating read here: Whose League Is It Anyway? on Defector. The comments are mostly worth reading too - I especially liked this one: "One of the reasons that collective bargaining exists is that it channels labor into a well-controlled process of negotiating and grieving within a framework that still respects the legitimacy of capital and is willing to enforce its prerogatives with violence."

I also added both books discussed in the post to my to read list: Every Day Is Sunday: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Roger Goodell Turned the NFL into a Cultural & Economic Juggernaut by Ken Belson, and Lords of the Realm (about baseball) by John Helyar.

Also, I don't know who Maggie Nelson is (I am old), but I thought this was a really good piece of criticism of her new book: Maggie Nelson Sputters And Stalls In ‘The Slicks’, which is apparently a (hamhanded and faily) attempt to parallel Taylor Swift with Sylvia Plath. I mean, I'm not going to lie, I enjoy many of TSwift's songs and I'm not a huge fan of Plath's work, but come the fuck on!

Anyway, I continue to find my subscription to Defector worth it, even if I don't read it as often as I'd like.

In other news, I was up early this morning, because the super said he was going to stop by to install my new apartment doorbell (when they put in this app-based front door system, it for some reason caused the bells at the apartment doors to stop working), but he hasn't shown up yet, and I'd be very surprised if he does at all. Oh well, I will try again when I'm off next week. Maybe 3rd time is the charm!

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I had to wait about 45 minutes after my scheduled appointment because CVS's internet was down intermittently or something (and several customers got a little shirty about it) but I finally got this year's covid and flu shots.

In sports news, my friends from Philly, I still love you, but I enjoyed last night's Eagles and Phillies losses tremendously (lbr, I also enjoyed the Yankees getting eliminated but that's not quite the same). I especially enjoyed the Dart and Skattebo show for the NY (football) Giants! Gosh, I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to enjoy a football game my team played in! And then the post-game show with Dart showing his Star Wars fan bona fides (all with prequels questions too, which was funny) and Skattebo ripping his shirt off with Ryan Fitzpatrick! Not only did they win, they were fun! Though Dart needs to learn how to protect himself better on those runs. Yikes. Not that I expect them to win many more games this year, but boy it was enjoyable that they did last night.

In other fannish news, it sounds like book 8 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series is supposed to come out in June 2026, which I guess is ok. Still no word on Alecto the Ninth though.

And now I kind of want a DCC/TLT crossover...they are incompatible canons but oh boy it would be fun.

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Yesterday, I got up early and baked 3 loaves of Irish soda bread: 1 to keep and 2 to give away (1 each to my brother (with caraway seeds) and sister (without caraway seeds). It didn't rise much (I wonder if my baking soda is old) but it still tasted good and I was sure it was cooked all the way through since I checked the internal temperature (205°F-210°F for soda bread) before calling it done. (I posted my dad's recipe on tumblr a few years ago.)

Later in the day, I ventured out to my brother's and from there we went to dinner with the rest of the family for St. Patrick's Day. Baby Miss L was super into her dinner of chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes. "TATOES!" she said before every mouthful, including the one where she hit the spoon and flung mashed potatoes onto the head of the guy at the table behind her. Oopsie! Luckily he laughed when he realized what had happened, and we apologized.

Dinner was really good though I suggested maybe not Sunday night next time, since it took me a while longer than planned to get home. But it was great to see everyone and I gave my sister and younger nephew their birthday presents, and sent older nephew's gift home with his parents since he didn't join us for dinner. I also texted him to let him know he could pick it up from their place. *hands*

Work continues to be busy. I love how something that started out as just me providing the zoom link and logging on to designate someone else as the host has evolved into me setting up the meeting, drafting the agenda, making the slides and other materials, and now attending the meeting and taking minutes and of course, setting up the next meeting. And it's all currently confidential, so I can't ask Assistant J to help out yet, though I've gotten permission to tell him tomorrow since he'll hear about it at the board meeting tomorrow afternoon. Once again, being good at my job only results in more work. Sigh.

In more fannish news, I just learned that Suzanne Collins wrote a Haymitch novel and it's coming out tomorrow!!! I didn't care about the previous prequel she wrote, but I might have to check this one out.

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I keep thinking of things I want to post and then being too tired to post them. But today I slept in and feel slightly more capable of typing into this box so, here some things that make a post:

= I FaceTimed with Baby Miss L today! She loves FaceTime! <333 My niece is feeling better but now her husband has tested positive, as has my sister, so they are all dealing with that. But Baby Miss L was mostly happy (she did cry a little - on top of covid and an ear infection, she's teething, which is really too much for anyone, let alone a baby, to handle with complete equanimity) and I warned my niece of the various gifts that I've been ordering and shipping directly to her for the baby's birthday and Christmas. We will have to get our heads together to finalize it, but I don't have strong feelings either way. Though I did tell her that anything holiday themed should probably go in the birthday batch so the baby could wear them as seasonally appropriate. Today she had on a pumpkin-and-leaf bedecked romper that said "Happy Autumn!" because even when ill, Baby Miss L is stylin'.

= I have been trying to put together everything I need for the various rounds of cupcake baking that will occur in December: December 1 for Baby Miss L's birthday, December 10-11 for my work holiday party on December 12, and then the Christmas extravaganza on December 22-23.

• For the baby's birthday, I am waiting on a headcount, but starting with 120 chocolate and 120 vanilla as base numbers, though I'm sure it will be more in the end.
  
• For work, and also for gifts for my colleagues, I am probably going to do similar numbers of chocolate and vanilla, plus the (vegan) orange ones I'm testing out later this week - once I know how many that makes, I can figure it out, but right now we're projecting 60 people, so if they each have 4 cupcakes...yeah. Then a dozen each for 7 coworkers in specific (4 of each of the 3 kinds)...
  
• And then the usual Christmas baking - chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, mocha, apple cider, and new this year, strawberry.

There's a reason I have a spreadsheet! Each one is thankfully a separate grocery order, plus along with Christmas baking there's the fig cookies (12/19-12/21), so I will be busy.

= Speaking of cupcakes, I started rewatching series 2 of GBBO and was reminded IN THE FIRST EPISODE (CAKE) that they requested cupcakes from the bakers in the very first challenge, and then did a whole history segment on how they came into vogue for aristocratic ladies' tea parties! So I was yet again ENRAGED at Paul dismissing Miranda's cupcakes in the final of season 1. Cupcake Jail for Paul Hollywood! One million years!!!

= In other news, this is of great interest to me: Bridge and Tunnel Boys: Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and the Metropolitan Sound of the American Century by Jim Cullen, though it's expensive enough even on kindle that I will probably just put myself on a library waiting list.

(I am not reading books these days anyway - I don't know why it's so hard! There are so many I want to read! But I start and I just don't...continue, even ones I'm super excited about! Comics are easier - I recently reread Batman: Court of Owls (1 & 2) and now I have Cass's Batgirl run out from the library since I've never read the whole thing, only bits and pieces of it, and I think I mentioned earlier this summer catching up on some Nightwing, which I enjoyed. #everybody loves dick)

= In other music news, I did not think much of the "new" "Beatles" song (this is a thoughtful take on it), but I did get a very annoyed kick out of this ranking of all their songs. I mean, sure, whatever, these things are all subjective, but this guy (Bill Wyman! No, not that Bill Wyman, but it did make me do a doubletake when I saw the byline) is frequently objectively wrong about stuff, imo. *g*

I am not a super-fan by any means, but I did grow up with their music - my dad was a fan and hearing the news about John Lennon's murder is a very vivid memory for me - I was 10, we were off from school that day for a religious holiday (Immaculate Conception). Regardless, these lists are mainly a starting point for conversation/argument, so in that spirit, I guess mission accomplished!

= This week's Loki: ( spoilers ) Unfortunately, I still don't feel any real emotional investment in this show, but it's a fairly fun diversion.

I guess that's 5(+1) things, which make a post. *g*

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I think I mentioned that there's been talk about closing the office the week between Christmas and New Year's next year, and I really hope they do it, because ugh, why do people always need an urgent signature by 12/31 and have not done it before 12/24? All of our signatories are on vacation this week! (Not that they won't sign if you ping them, but the idea is that you shouldn't need to.) Anyway, I think someone else managed to take care of it, so I didn't have to, and now I am off again until Monday.

Before dinner, I made another round of dough for fig cookies, and I'll make more tomorrow and Friday to finish out the year. I'm looking forward to sleeping in though. I am very tired even though I think I slept pretty well last night.

It's Wednesday (I think?) so I will say that I finished Leviathan Falls and thought it was a satisfying ending to a very long, interesting series. I think I like the show better than the books, though the books do add some extra backstory and detail etc.

I also opened up Jade Legacy, the third Green Bone saga book, so maybe I will get that done by year-end. Anything could happen!

Though there's still some yuletide to get through reading as well. Here's another set of recs:

Ocean's Eleven

now you're letting go by Anonymous
"I think it's in our best interest to stay occupied. Don't you?"

Danny's gotten them a job; of course he has. What else is Rusty going to do but say yes?

"What were you thinking?" Rusty asks, and Danny's answering grin is sharp. This is a lot of fun.

✭

Palm Springs

Kissing Wounds by Anonymous
Really fun coda for the movie.

✭

Practical Magic

Know That Not a Thing Could Come Between Us by Anonymous
There's always been one constant in Sally Owens' life - before, during and after everything, there's Gillian. Lovely look at the sisters over the years.

✭

The Queen's Thief

I Think We're Alone Now by Anonymous
The unseen weeks of Eugenides and Irene's engagement as they sneak around the palace and steal moments of privacy for themselves. This is really lovely.

in the moments between by Anonymous
Five times Eugenides and Attolia stole some privacy for themselves and one time they let other people see them. Exactly what it says on the tin. Sweet and hot.

Kay the Scribe by Anonymous
Nice outsider POV on Kamet as he waits for Costis in Roa.

marriage bed by Anonymous
Attolia and Attolis discuss the situation they, and their country, find themselves in. A Conspiracy of Kings missing scene. Really lovely missing scene showing Gen and Irene in private.

✭

Wednesday reading!

What I've just finished
Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark, which I enjoyed a lot, though I think my sense of the pacing was thrown off because I took a weeklong break in the middle of reading. But I hope to see more of Fatma and Siti and Hadia and the world Clark has created around them.

A Madness in Spring by Kate Noble, which I finished last night and had to look up the name this morning. This was...practically weightless, and I don't know if it was me or the book, so I'm just going to say I didn't vibe with it. There were absolutely no stakes involved for any of the characters, and it didn't feel like it would tremendously sad if the hero and heroine didn't overcome the obstacles to their romance. Like, in theory, this should have been a pairing I loved, but in practice I just...didn't believe any of it.

What I'm reading now
This morning I started Black Water Sister by Zen Cho. I'm about a third of the way through and I'm enjoying it. I want to know what happens next!

What I'm reading next
Who can say?

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It is Wednesday and I have read a book: Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher, which is more of the same romance wise, except m/m this time, BUT ( spoilers )

I can't say what I'm reading next, but since it's too heavy to carry both the iPad and the laptop when I go into the office, I've resigned myself to reading on my phone rather than not reading at all. I don't love it, but I miss reading on the commute.

I will say that the wireless earbuds are so much better with a mask than regular wired ones are, even if mine somehow occasionally lose the bluetooth connection when I leave them off while I'm reading. Popping them back into the case seems to work to restore it, for now anyway. I did read a bunch of reviews, so I'm braced for if the left one stops connecting for some reason (I ended up buying the Jabra 75t Elites), though hopefully it won't for a long, long time.

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It's Wednesday? Is that correct? And I actually have finished a book so:

What I've just finished
High on the Hog by Jessica B. Harris. This was fascinating. Don't be put off because it took me a month to read it - that's a reflection of my inability to focus on anything rather than how good the book was! It goes into a lot more depth than the show did - and there is some stuff about New Orleans here (I had questioned its absence in the show) - and some more modern history as well. Definitely recommended.

I also reread all of the Reprise series by Elfpen, which I love a lot and am curious to see how it wraps up (if it ever gets finished).

What I'm reading now
Still on the Star Wars time travel epic reread trip - now it's Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns by chancecraz, though given they just updated their other epic time travel story, I doubt this one will see an update any time soon.

What I'm reading next
*hands*

I will be loading up my iPad with stuff as I will be spending next week dog-sitting at my brother's and maybe will actually do some reading out on the deck. I'm meant to be working, but who knows? At least there is now a generator which has allegedly been tested an works, so if the power goes out again (hopefully it won't! *crosses fingers and toes*), I should at least have refrigeration and the ability to charge my devices for a couple days.

In other news, my boss seems pretty confident I'll be seeing a decent salary bump sometime soon, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that too. We met today to go over a bunch of stuff and I created some documents for her to use in her meeting with the CEO, so we'll see how that goes.

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The weather is beautiful but it's like nature flipped a switch and now my nose won't stop running. When it's not running, I am sneezing. Last night, I slept with a box of tissues clutched in my fist because it just didn't stop. Oy.

I unfortunately didn't get enough sleep, not because of the sneezing, though that didn't help, but because I stayed up until almost 2 am to finish reading Mister Impossible, the second in Stiefvater's Dreamer Trilogy.

I don't know how I feel about this book. Obviously it's kind of a page-turner because I stayed up long past my bedtime wanting to know what happened next, but I also feel like it doesn't quite fit into continuity with TRC? Not that Stiefvater has a strong continuity game even within a single book, but this Ronan didn't feel much like the Ronan who had come through those experiences, you know? I get that this is a separate trilogy that should stand on its own so she didn't want too many references back, but like, given the parallels, especially with Dream Thieves and Blue Lily, Lily Blue, I thought there might be more? Even the title - Gansey refers to Ronan and Blue as being made of the same impossible stuff, and yet...

( spoilers )

So yeah, I don't know how I feel about it.

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What I'm reading Wednesday:

What I've just finished
Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher, which I enjoyed a lot even if I thought the hero and heroine spent a little too long in the "I'm not worthy" stage of pining. The way the plot resolves is a lot of fun, too.

What I'm reading now
Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore, which I'm enjoying and finding quite intriguing.

What I'm reading next
Who knows?

Have today's poem:

Tonight No Poetry Will Serve

Saw you walking barefoot
taking a long look
at the new moon's eyelid


later spread
sleep-fallen, naked in your dark hair
asleep but not oblivious
of the unslept unsleeping
elsewhere


Tonight I think
no poetry
will serve


Syntax of rendition:


verb pilots the plane
adverb modifies action


verb force-feeds noun
submerges the subject
noun is choking
verb    disgraced    goes on doing


now diagram the sentence

--Adrienne Rich

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Wednesday! Reading!

What I've just finished
I stayed up late Saturday night to finish A Good Time to Be Born: How Science and Public Health Gave Children a Future by Perri Klass, since it was going to disappear in a poof, I mean, it was due back at the library on Sunday, and since it's an ebook, my access to it disappeared on Sunday. Anyway, it's a fascinating topic, especially if you are interested in public health in the United States, though it was definitely heavy on anecdotes of famous Victorian dead children, both fictional and non. I do feel like it probably pairs well with The Ghost Map, the book about the London cholera epidemic and how cholera was eventually identified.

What I'm reading now
Piranesi by Susannah Clarke, which is okay? I want to know what happens next, though I think my early speculation was more interesting than what has so far been revealed to be what is going on. It also feels a little precious and impressed with its own cleverness, but that could just be me. I haven't read any of her other work, though I think I have Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell around somewhere. I've been derailed by fic-reading instead, but as this is also a library loaner, I will finish it before it's due back.

What I'm reading next
I am tempted to do another reread of Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom in anticipation of the show being released in April, and I'm tempted to do another Raven Cycle reread because April is when I do that, as well (also April is a lot of poetry, but that is mostly read online these days). So I don't know. I want to try to keep my streak going here, now that I'm reading books again, after last year's epic drought.

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Work is...*throws up hands* I woke up this morning to my phone buzzing with texts from old boss3, and, like, the whole point of switching positions to the one I'm in now was to get away from that. But no, she's still cc'ing me on things for my successor, who has quite a bit less to do than I did in that job since they made me take some of the responsibilities over with me, and yet. Whatever. I had it handled before old boss3 needed to stick her nose in.

In less annoying work news, I got an excellent review today. They wouldn't let new boss put down the highest rating for every category even though she felt I deserved that, but it's fine. I will sign off on it and input my 2021 goals (rolls eyes) and that will be done and dusted before the deadline even. *g*

In better news, I got a vaccine appointment! For April 30th! Woo! I even got the confirmation emails to prove it (though I was skeptical they'd actually arrive, given my experience with the state). I've only been trying for a few days, so I feel pretty lucky. I figured if they were really going to give priority to fat people (among other people with various conditions), I was going to get in on that action. My sister had her first shot today and my sister-in-law and eldest niece are already fully vaccinated (as essential workers); my brother and my other nieces and younger nephew are all signed up for April; I'm not sure about my brother-in-law or older nephew. But I don't mind waiting as long as I know I have an appointment. And that far out, hopefully there won't be any more supply chain issues. *crosses fingers*

And hey, it's Wednesday and I have ACTUALLY READ A BOOK. For the first time in months, I read something that wasn't fic or a comfort reread! Woo!

What I've just finished
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine, the sequel to A Memory Called Empire, which I LOVED. The sequel was also excellent. It engages with what it means to be a person and how language affects that and just... I love Mahit and Three Seagrass SO MUCH and Nineteen Adze (the Edgeshine of a Knife!) also! the new characters were pretty great too for the most part and the aliens were convincingly alien, and yet still recognizable as people. Definitely recommended, if you enjoyed the first book. I don't think you'll understand any of it if you jump in at this point, though - it's very definitely a sequel that relies on prior knowledge.

What I'm reading now
A Good Time to Be Born: How Science and Public Health Gave Children a Future by Perri Klass, which came from the NYPL and which I hope to be able to finish before it has to go back. I figure if the Apple Store keeps my laptop on Friday after my appointment to get the battery replaced, at least I will have a book to read all weekend? Anyway, it's about how science and public health made a concerted effort to decrease infant and child mortality over the first half of the 20th c. so that today it's considered unnatural and unexpected rather than something that happens to almost every family at one point or another. I've only read the introduction so far, but I'm intrigued.

What I'm reading next
I know even less about the answer to this that I usually do, given that I haven't done this meme regularly in the past year. *hands* I'm just glad I was able to focus on reading and finishing something.

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Work has been busy and then yesterday I was in an all day "fundamentals of project management" training (it ended early, which gave me time to catch up on the email etc. that accumulated while I was on the training). It was interesting, if super jargony, and probably a little useful to me but I don't do projects anymore, per se, so not as useful as it might have been last year. Ah well, I will hop on any training opportunity they offer that seems relevant, so I'm not going to complain.

It does mean that I missed Wednesday reading, but I will still give you an update on the Headley Beowulf, which I finished the other night and would give 2 strong thumbs up. I feel like the dragon (and also the Christianity) was pastede on yay! but I feel like the dragon at least was in the original but maybe some bridging sections with more of Beowulf's adventures got lost at some point? At any rate, the diversions into various families whose names all start with H were a little confusing, but overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it, especially for people like me who have never read - or had trouble reading - previous translations. Will it be dated quite soon? Probably, but I feel like it's worth reading - the poetry is visceral and muscular and good for reading out loud - a lot of it is just enjoyable to say and read on a word-by-word level (I particularly like "whale-road" as a term for the sea). Also, it was nice to finally track back some of the stuff that was so influential on LotR.

I also am reading Batman: The Long Halloween but I kind of hate the art so I'm stalled at the start of Thanksgiving.

Next, I guess I will do some yuletide source review, because writing needs to commence posthaste! Yikes.

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Listen, I understand that the whole one-time-password/multifactor authentication thing is good and safer for my account info etc. etc., but if I choose "keep me logged in" I expect a fucking website to keep me logged in so I don't have to wait for and re-enter a code ten minutes after I logged in the first time. It's so fucking annoying! I'm just trying to match a tracking number to an order since the email came from FedEx and not the retail outfit from which I purchased the thing.

Anyway, reading Wednesday!

Sadly, most of what I have been reading is news and polls and things that are not good for my mental health or my blood pressure, but I don't count those here, so let's talk books!

What I've just finished
Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather - this is a story about NUNS IN SPACE (a genre I made my own foray into, once upon a time), and I liked it, but for such a short book it is really slow. It starts as a slice of life, which would have been fine, but then it develops a plot, which is then crammed into the last quarter of the book when I wanted it to breathe a little more (or really I wanted to see the fallout a little more). But if you like living space ships and nuns, you might enjoy this as well. Just be aware that the pacing is not great.

What I'm reading now
A Is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup, which was due back at the library today, so I was afraid I would have to put it on hold for now and wait until it was available again, but in looking it up at the site, it was available, so I just checked it out again, so I will continue. I am not very far in, but I'm enjoying it so far.

I know I've said I don't miss my commute, but I do miss the dedicated reading time built into the day - it's just easier to read fic and news instead of books when I'm always on my laptop. (I also miss the walk tbh. I could walk without having to commute, but it feels pointless and also annoying when I'm masked and I see people who aren't.) Anyway!

What I'm reading next
There are a few things I've got that could be next. There could be yuletide source review. I'm contemplating finally reading Batman: The Long Halloween since I just found my copy and Halloween is nigh. I guess we'll see!

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