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(no subject)
Jun. 10th, 2026 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flemmingsVery warm dry blowy day, bearable enough when just going out to physio. But in the evening, heaving to the curb three bags of garden waste and one of garbage had me running with sweat. I've never needed two showers a day since I got back from Japan but evidently we're at two showers a day now, unless I go back to sitting on the sofa with beanbags and the fan on. I have vacuumed the downstairs and swiftered the kitchen-- which is not enough: must take a brush to it square by square, ouch-- so maybe I can couch potato until Sunday when it will be cooler.
Don't think I finished anything new last week. All I want to do is read Murderbot, so I finished my reread of System Vollapse and then went back to my favourites, All Stations Red and Exit Strategy. Will finish rereading Platform Decay now that I've found where I put it along with the bag for carting my breakfast upstairs. And ohh do I miss the convenience of the bar fridge now we're in 'everything hurts all the time' mugginess. One of those tiktok jedical reels had a 'doctor' cautioning seniors not to jump out of bed the minute they wake up because... heart attacks, I think, or was it stroke, from changing position too quickly. And guy, who the hell jumps out of bed at pur age? Am recalling an interview with William Hutt, one of (our) Stratford's warhorses, who came out of retirement to play Lear when he was in his 80s. He described getting up as a process of first flexing his toes, then his ankles, then his feet, then bit by bit the rest of him to make it movable, and *then* he sat up and got vertical. I'm not there yet, but I'm also not in my 80s either.
Don't think I finished anything new last week. All I want to do is read Murderbot, so I finished my reread of System Vollapse and then went back to my favourites, All Stations Red and Exit Strategy. Will finish rereading Platform Decay now that I've found where I put it along with the bag for carting my breakfast upstairs. And ohh do I miss the convenience of the bar fridge now we're in 'everything hurts all the time' mugginess. One of those tiktok jedical reels had a 'doctor' cautioning seniors not to jump out of bed the minute they wake up because... heart attacks, I think, or was it stroke, from changing position too quickly. And guy, who the hell jumps out of bed at pur age? Am recalling an interview with William Hutt, one of (our) Stratford's warhorses, who came out of retirement to play Lear when he was in his 80s. He described getting up as a process of first flexing his toes, then his ankles, then his feet, then bit by bit the rest of him to make it movable, and *then* he sat up and got vertical. I'm not there yet, but I'm also not in my 80s either.
Today in two images
Jun. 9th, 2026 09:28 pmsholioIt is finally summer, or at least summer-ish. (Never mind the frost warning two days ago.) I took a drive this evening and took this picture from a boat launch at a nearby river.
I also drew a birthday card for my sister and mailed it today.
( Under the cut )
I also drew a birthday card for my sister and mailed it today.
( Under the cut )
(no subject)
Jun. 9th, 2026 06:26 pmflemmingsT'other day when I was shopping for berries, Some Man parked his cart in front of the section and proceeded to examine the plastic clam shells one by one, opening each and inspecting it until he found, I assume, what he wanted. This was a new trick by me, and, since people who believe themselves to be the only person in the universe are annoying, an annoying one. I know people will open egg cartons to check for intactness, though you don't really need to count them, as I saw one woman doing. Like, the box says one dozen and you can see all the eggs are there, so umm why are you counting them?
Joke was on me of course, because when I went to wash my raspberries last night, most of them were mouldy. Lesson learned, which is mostly, don't buy your fruit from Loblaws.
Warm and muggy today, and less wind than recently so the mug registered. Did bag up the vines from yesterday's endeavours, which filled a bag to capacity. Seems I wore a hat yesterday too and took it off at some point and then covered it with vines and forgot all about it. Ah well. It could have used a wash anyway. Sweated through the everythings, of course, and must drag bag around to the front before the rain starts.
An oddity I never noticed in my forty-odd years of acquaintance with Turandot. The three ministers's song, which is possibly my favourite bit, starts with the dreamy Ho una casa nell'Honan, con il suo laghetto blu. Uhh,, since when has blu been an Italian word? But it is: adopted at the end of the 17th century. Has to be a loan word, surely, but what did Italian use for deep blue before that?
Joke was on me of course, because when I went to wash my raspberries last night, most of them were mouldy. Lesson learned, which is mostly, don't buy your fruit from Loblaws.
Warm and muggy today, and less wind than recently so the mug registered. Did bag up the vines from yesterday's endeavours, which filled a bag to capacity. Seems I wore a hat yesterday too and took it off at some point and then covered it with vines and forgot all about it. Ah well. It could have used a wash anyway. Sweated through the everythings, of course, and must drag bag around to the front before the rain starts.
An oddity I never noticed in my forty-odd years of acquaintance with Turandot. The three ministers's song, which is possibly my favourite bit, starts with the dreamy Ho una casa nell'Honan, con il suo laghetto blu. Uhh,, since when has blu been an Italian word? But it is: adopted at the end of the 17th century. Has to be a loan word, surely, but what did Italian use for deep blue before that?
Obstetrix, by Naomi Kritzer
Jun. 9th, 2026 01:02 pmrachelmanija
Obstetrix is a gripping suspense novella about Liz, an obstetrician who gets kidnapped by a cult to provide care to their large contingent of pregnant women and girls. The cult heard about her because she was acquitted of charges for performing an abortion in a state where it's illegal except to save the mother's life, but of course the prosecution argued that the mother would have survived without it.
Kidnapping/hostage stories are always tense, and this one is additionally so because not only is Liz in danger, but so are her patients and a young teenager who's soon to be married off to a particularly sinister adult. Liz has no idea who's in the cult of their own free will and who isn't, so she can't confide in anyone. Books aren't allowed, except for a single Bible that's kept locked up. Liz's only refuge is her memories of her favorite comfort read, an 80s fantasy novel with a kidnapping plot, and her quiet determination to find a way out.
I stayed up till 4:00 AM reading this. There's not a ton of action per se, but the whole situation is so tense that I couldn't stop reading.
Need some OT3 fluff? New release, MASQUES
Jun. 9th, 2026 08:34 amsartorias
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This romantic comedy of manners features the next gen from
Here's the blurb stuff for Masques:
“Disguise your passion in masque; when the dance ends, peril begins.”
It’s nearly fourteen years since the Norsunder War ended on Sartorias-deles.
Sky Szinzar, Princess of Ralanor Veleth, has loyally insisted on the betrothal she made to Lexan Glenereth, a landless boy with no prospects, made when they were kids. Her peers utterly scorn a “betrothal” she formed at age twelve—a scorn led by sarcastic Prince Garian-Rafael.
Now it’s fourteen years later, and Sky is finally holding her coming-of-age ball, which is spectacularly ruined by her abduction. On horseback. Right off the ballroom floor . . . by the prince she hates most. A wager or a lark?
When courtship between him and her and him (or is that him and him and her?) wears the guise of high politics, the dance soon gets wild.
It's romantic fluff with some action here and there, lots of screwball interactions, as the new generation copes with (or ignores) the memory of war. The war is over, Norsunder is gone, and everyone is working vigorously on leading happy lives, but what really is 'happy? Come inside and find out!
Available from: Kindle Kobo Book View Cafe (cheaper!) B&N Print at Amazon (also at IngramSpark, which can be ordered through any bookstore)
(no subject)
Jun. 8th, 2026 08:46 pmflemmingsToday was cool-for-June which means muggy. I would have been perfectly happy sitting on the couch, only what I did was go out and hack vines in the back yard. I had this brilliant idea of buying a 100 ft extension cord and taking my hedge trimmer to the great growth down by the garage. Which might have worked if I could get the uhh female end of the cord into the prongs of the trimmer. But I couldn't. Not enough upper body strength to push it snug. So I attacked them with the edged saw with a handle thingy, and slew them in great numbers, and filled a whole garden bag: and sweated several litres of water out of me. This was after I'd had my shower, naturally.
Then went up to the LCBO for vodka because everything hurts in this weather, and Farm Boy for dinner, various items from their Moroccan menu except they thought a Moroccan couscous would be improved by corn, most jnauthentically. Which I can't eat, of course. So I picked the niblets out as best I could but that put me off the thing
Came home, drank a cooler, went out to retrieve my tools: and of course had to hack away at more vines even though I know mosquitoes come out in the evening. It's going to rain the rest of the week, starting tomorrow night, and I want to get the uhh tree dust, whatever that is properly called, swept up before it all turns to paste. And I need more garden bags, though I finally figured out how to get them open. Upend them and put them over your head, and bang the unmoving last foot from inside. I'm sure it looks odd but it works.
But now I need another shower.
Then went up to the LCBO for vodka because everything hurts in this weather, and Farm Boy for dinner, various items from their Moroccan menu except they thought a Moroccan couscous would be improved by corn, most jnauthentically. Which I can't eat, of course. So I picked the niblets out as best I could but that put me off the thing
Came home, drank a cooler, went out to retrieve my tools: and of course had to hack away at more vines even though I know mosquitoes come out in the evening. It's going to rain the rest of the week, starting tomorrow night, and I want to get the uhh tree dust, whatever that is properly called, swept up before it all turns to paste. And I need more garden bags, though I finally figured out how to get them open. Upend them and put them over your head, and bang the unmoving last foot from inside. I'm sure it looks odd but it works.
But now I need another shower.
you can just do a thing that you get the idea to do
Jun. 8th, 2026 06:30 pmmusesfoolBaby Miss L is now in her pirate era, so I found some toddler-appropriate books about pirates, plus Commotion in the Ocean and sent them to her. Today I got a video of her reading Commotion in the Ocean - she knows all her sea animals very well! - and also a thumbs up from her mom, who uses it with her students(? she is a speech pathologist who works with preschool kids at a school, so I'm not sure if they are her students or clients) too.
I'm not the most superstitious sports fan out there, but I'm a little stitious and so I would not be surprised if the vibes turn rancid at MSG tonight due to the fucking cheeto attending the game. Fucking James Dolan can go fuck. *deep breath* Still, LGK!!!
In work news, my boss informed me that they would purchase home printer/scanner for me if I had one I liked and it was under $500, so does anyone have any recommendations? I would prefer that it be small, as I don't have a lot of room, but could keep it half under my desk if I shift around the air purifier. I'd need a shelf for it, too probably, so it's not just sitting on my 1939 parquet floor.
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I'm not the most superstitious sports fan out there, but I'm a little stitious and so I would not be surprised if the vibes turn rancid at MSG tonight due to the fucking cheeto attending the game. Fucking James Dolan can go fuck. *deep breath* Still, LGK!!!
In work news, my boss informed me that they would purchase home printer/scanner for me if I had one I liked and it was under $500, so does anyone have any recommendations? I would prefer that it be small, as I don't have a lot of room, but could keep it half under my desk if I shift around the air purifier. I'd need a shelf for it, too probably, so it's not just sitting on my 1939 parquet floor.
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CLIPPING TINY DESK CONCERT
Jun. 8th, 2026 08:54 pmrydra_wongFeaturing some of the most batshit possible Heath Robinson arrangements for making a tiny quasi-acoustic version of their industrial noise. MIDI-triggered mug pinging!
Daveed Diggs: "Thank y'all for this opportunity to do needlessly complicated shit."
ETA: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jte7_yZuZVk -- short on some of the aforementioned batshit Heath Robinson arrangements.
Sheer randomness
Jun. 7th, 2026 11:04 pmsholioI was answering a comment over on AO3 on my old Stargate fic Old Soldiers Die Hard, the one with Annie the candystriper viewpoint OC, and got to thinking about the elapsed time since I posted it in 2006. She was probably meant to be in her late teens in the story, something like 17 or 18, which means that if she aged in realtime, she'd be in her late 30s now.
I was thinking about this in particular because it was always one of my most popular fics in that fandom, and people often asked for a sequel to that story about Annie grown up (and still do now and then). I don't mind being asked, although it is definitely not happening because I've long since moved on, but it's a bit wild to consider the passage of time in that particular way.
(Annie is grown up and doing fine, btw.)
I was thinking about this in particular because it was always one of my most popular fics in that fandom, and people often asked for a sequel to that story about Annie grown up (and still do now and then). I don't mind being asked, although it is definitely not happening because I've long since moved on, but it's a bit wild to consider the passage of time in that particular way.
(Annie is grown up and doing fine, btw.)
(no subject)
Jun. 7th, 2026 11:25 pmflemmingsCool(ish) and dry and breezy, so did a coloured wash and hung it on the line. The cherry has its usual little green olive-like fruits, and lots of them, so this may be the last line dry for a month. Tomorrow should be more of same and possibly even cooler, so shall tackle the backyard vines. I cut them back last week and they took that as encouragement to grow another foot, light green fronds waving in the wind. It's a never-ending battle.
Put out the records no one wanted two weeks ago and someone wanted them today, so yay. Someone left the box I had them in, which is also yay, but that's because I include a couple of the reusable cloth bags all stores and food delivery services insist on giving you, to make carrying the records off more convenient. Must pull more records from the bunker, since I'm convinced their weight has contributed to that jerry-built addition's sinking.
Still fan weather because house holds mug, but may get by with just the window fan for the next night or two.
Put out the records no one wanted two weeks ago and someone wanted them today, so yay. Someone left the box I had them in, which is also yay, but that's because I include a couple of the reusable cloth bags all stores and food delivery services insist on giving you, to make carrying the records off more convenient. Must pull more records from the bunker, since I'm convinced their weight has contributed to that jerry-built addition's sinking.
Still fan weather because house holds mug, but may get by with just the window fan for the next night or two.
but I like to keep some things to myself
Jun. 7th, 2026 08:44 pmmusesfoolI made chicken pesto meatballs this afternoon and they're good, though they needed more than 10 minutes to reach 165°F (15 minutes worked out). I got 18 so I guess I made them smaller than directed? and they looked like they are swimming in oil when I took them out of the oven, because I guess the pesto (I used Buitoni since it was on sale) was full of oil, so I used a slotted spoon to lift them out and soaked it up with paper towels, so the cleanup wasn't that bad. I also didn't bother adding salt based on comments saying it was too salty - the pesto is what is seasoning the meat so I don't think I'm missing out.
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By Lake Michigan
Jun. 7th, 2026 06:23 pmsartoriasI am not used to this kind of humidity, but wow the greenery is just so stunning!
Look at this dogwood outside my window:
And these iris just growing along someone's driveway, so innocent, ho hum:
And just . . . GREEN
Then there is equally charming not-green . . .
Look at this dogwood outside my window:
And these iris just growing along someone's driveway, so innocent, ho hum:
And just . . . GREEN
Then there is equally charming not-green . . .
Kdramas and fanfic writing
Jun. 7th, 2026 07:10 pmmaggie33I feel much better now, but of course mom caught my intestinal flu. It was very bad for a while, I even had to call an ambulance one night, but a hospital stay was not necessary, fortunately. Mom feels better now, too. And I really, really hope that’s it for illnesses in this family for a long while. *hopeful sigh*
Kdramas
I finished The Wonderfools. It was pretty good and funny, and touching with its found family and friendship above all feels, even if surprisingly dark sometimes. And Park Eun Bin was fantastic.
I also finished Absolute Value of Romance. It was fine, I guess. At least they didn’t do what I was afraid of.
And of course nobody was confirmed to be gay. Which was, sadly, what I expected.
And my beloved Namgoong Min has a new drama called The Husband coming up in July. But unfortunately it doesn’t sound like something I would like. I’m still going to watch at least one or two episodes. Who knows I might be pleasantly surprised and will end up liking it.
Now I’m on the lookout for a new kdrama to watch. I haven’t got much luck with new kdramas lately. I tried half an episode of The Scarecrow, Reborn Rookie and Love Class 3, and I watched the whole first episode of Filing For Love. And I found them all very boring. Maybe Husbands in Action, which starts airing on June 19 on Netflix, will be more to my taste. The trailer makes it look very comedic and actiony, which is exactly what I like to watch currently.
Fanfic writing
I think I got my writing mojo back, yay. Because today I finished my first Dare You to Death fic, which I started writing in February. I feel so accomplished. 😊 It will be the first one in the series of three smutty fics. The second one was already half-done in March. And I feel such a delightful, fresh surge of inspiration right now, that I think it might be done the next week. Yay!
Kdramas
I finished The Wonderfools. It was pretty good and funny, and touching with its found family and friendship above all feels, even if surprisingly dark sometimes. And Park Eun Bin was fantastic.
I also finished Absolute Value of Romance. It was fine, I guess. At least they didn’t do what I was afraid of.
A few spoilers here.
But they absolutely suggest that our BL writing heroine will get together with her teacher sometime in the future. Even if now he clearly doesn’t have any romantic feelings for her. But their relationship had all those standard kdrama romances tropes – a meaningful childhood connection and a piggyback ride to the hospital amongst them.And of course nobody was confirmed to be gay. Which was, sadly, what I expected.
And my beloved Namgoong Min has a new drama called The Husband coming up in July. But unfortunately it doesn’t sound like something I would like. I’m still going to watch at least one or two episodes. Who knows I might be pleasantly surprised and will end up liking it.
Now I’m on the lookout for a new kdrama to watch. I haven’t got much luck with new kdramas lately. I tried half an episode of The Scarecrow, Reborn Rookie and Love Class 3, and I watched the whole first episode of Filing For Love. And I found them all very boring. Maybe Husbands in Action, which starts airing on June 19 on Netflix, will be more to my taste. The trailer makes it look very comedic and actiony, which is exactly what I like to watch currently.
Fanfic writing
I think I got my writing mojo back, yay. Because today I finished my first Dare You to Death fic, which I started writing in February. I feel so accomplished. 😊 It will be the first one in the series of three smutty fics. The second one was already half-done in March. And I feel such a delightful, fresh surge of inspiration right now, that I think it might be done the next week. Yay!
Where on Earth Did May Go?
Jun. 7th, 2026 04:48 pmglindaIt feels like one moment, I was up to my eyes in election programme planning and the next it was the end of the month.
I think (I hope, I hope) that we’re finally making some progress on sorting the rotas at work because there’s frankly perilous levels of burnout so fingers crossed that I’ll start seeing some real improvements to the old work/life balance. I’m also back in the archives again for the second half of my 80/20 placement. I’ve got some boxes ordered so I can start getting the stuff that’s been digitised organised to go to cold store.
Speaking of work/life balance I’m taking myself off on holiday in August. You know how you can do these ‘week in Tuscany painting/learning to make pasta’ kind of holidays? I’m essentially doing one of those for sound recordists, I’m off to deepest Argyll to learn to use a bunch of weird and wonderful specialist microphones and get in some studio time. I’m hoping to reset my creative brain or at least make some art. (Worst case scenario I come home with a bunch of cool field recordings and having read a book and written some fic.) If it goes well, I want to start submitting sound art to projects/call outs again, I’ve missed doing that - I’ve missed that being part of who I am.
Despite work’s attempts to eat me alive, I’ve been having a decent year for consuming new-to-me media. Despite having watched no new films this month, I’m well ahead of where I was last year in terms of film watching, though in fairness, last year I re-watched a whole bunch of films at home but that didn’t start until June or so when I realised I wasn’t watching new films and went on a re-watching films and writing fic for them kick throughout July and August. I’m cautiously going to suggest that I’m more able to read fiction this year than last, but only cautiously because while I inhaled the latest Rivers of London book the other week, I’m conscious that this series is the only fiction I’ve been letting myself buy sight unseen over the last few years as I know I’m going to read them within at most a week or two of buying them. So there may be an element of exception proving the rule there. (The advantage of having gone to cover the same week long event for work this year and last, is that having inhaled a whole book during that week on both occasions I have a clear marker of where I was book wise both years. And the answer is, in exactly the same spot.) What I’ve definitely done is watch more drama series than the last few years. Limited series only but watching a six episode series over the course of a month is such an improvement over the last couple of years. So many watched the first episode, enjoyed it, never went back and watched the rest of it, situations. Okay so it’s only been Chernobyl and Heated Rivalry so far but I have missed being excited about shows.
I’m not sure if it’s correlation or causation, but it sure seems to have helped that I’ve had some good tv knitting on the go. I’ve just finished my election project scarf and having a non challenging craft project literally on hand definitely helped me actually focus and stay put for long enough to get engrossed.
I think (I hope, I hope) that we’re finally making some progress on sorting the rotas at work because there’s frankly perilous levels of burnout so fingers crossed that I’ll start seeing some real improvements to the old work/life balance. I’m also back in the archives again for the second half of my 80/20 placement. I’ve got some boxes ordered so I can start getting the stuff that’s been digitised organised to go to cold store.
Speaking of work/life balance I’m taking myself off on holiday in August. You know how you can do these ‘week in Tuscany painting/learning to make pasta’ kind of holidays? I’m essentially doing one of those for sound recordists, I’m off to deepest Argyll to learn to use a bunch of weird and wonderful specialist microphones and get in some studio time. I’m hoping to reset my creative brain or at least make some art. (Worst case scenario I come home with a bunch of cool field recordings and having read a book and written some fic.) If it goes well, I want to start submitting sound art to projects/call outs again, I’ve missed doing that - I’ve missed that being part of who I am.
Despite work’s attempts to eat me alive, I’ve been having a decent year for consuming new-to-me media. Despite having watched no new films this month, I’m well ahead of where I was last year in terms of film watching, though in fairness, last year I re-watched a whole bunch of films at home but that didn’t start until June or so when I realised I wasn’t watching new films and went on a re-watching films and writing fic for them kick throughout July and August. I’m cautiously going to suggest that I’m more able to read fiction this year than last, but only cautiously because while I inhaled the latest Rivers of London book the other week, I’m conscious that this series is the only fiction I’ve been letting myself buy sight unseen over the last few years as I know I’m going to read them within at most a week or two of buying them. So there may be an element of exception proving the rule there. (The advantage of having gone to cover the same week long event for work this year and last, is that having inhaled a whole book during that week on both occasions I have a clear marker of where I was book wise both years. And the answer is, in exactly the same spot.) What I’ve definitely done is watch more drama series than the last few years. Limited series only but watching a six episode series over the course of a month is such an improvement over the last couple of years. So many watched the first episode, enjoyed it, never went back and watched the rest of it, situations. Okay so it’s only been Chernobyl and Heated Rivalry so far but I have missed being excited about shows.
I’m not sure if it’s correlation or causation, but it sure seems to have helped that I’ve had some good tv knitting on the go. I’ve just finished my election project scarf and having a non challenging craft project literally on hand definitely helped me actually focus and stay put for long enough to get engrossed.
Babylon 5 WIP is finally complete!
Jun. 6th, 2026 08:21 pmsholioI finished that Season 5 AU WIP! Finally!
The Living and the Damned (23K, Londo/G'Kar, mature-rated)
Fixit (of sorts) going AU in 5x18.
Some thoughts on writing WIPs under the cut (not spoilery for this fic in particular, more like general musings).
( Under here )
I don't know - what do you all think? Do you post WIPs? Do you read WIPs? It's been a long time since I've been in a fandom that had a lot of WIPs, prior to getting into Murderbot last year, which is almost like old-school ffn/LJ fandom with its very high number of WIPs. Including a lot of unfinished ones! And that's part of what got me back into posting some of my longer fic in WIP form, because there is a certain excitement and energy to it that I miss. Plus, in non-fandom spaces, I've enjoyed serialized media for a very long time (comics, webcomics, TV shows, etc). But it is obviously not without its down side, and I don't think I was prepared for how much trouble I was going to have finishing things when they're being written WIP-style.
The Living and the Damned (23K, Londo/G'Kar, mature-rated)
Fixit (of sorts) going AU in 5x18.
Some thoughts on writing WIPs under the cut (not spoilery for this fic in particular, more like general musings).
( Under here )
I don't know - what do you all think? Do you post WIPs? Do you read WIPs? It's been a long time since I've been in a fandom that had a lot of WIPs, prior to getting into Murderbot last year, which is almost like old-school ffn/LJ fandom with its very high number of WIPs. Including a lot of unfinished ones! And that's part of what got me back into posting some of my longer fic in WIP form, because there is a certain excitement and energy to it that I miss. Plus, in non-fandom spaces, I've enjoyed serialized media for a very long time (comics, webcomics, TV shows, etc). But it is obviously not without its down side, and I don't think I was prepared for how much trouble I was going to have finishing things when they're being written WIP-style.
Today's find: Mörder Guss Reims: The Gustave Leberwurst Manuscript (1981)
Jun. 6th, 2026 07:19 pmradiantfracture
I have to leave the house sometime. I sent myself downtown to pick up more black ink and paper for loon prints. On impulse, I leapt onto the #6 bus instead of the homeward vessel and rode out along Quadra through a sudden pelting rainstorm. Riding the bus suits my habitual (and currently intensified) feelings of displacement and liminality.
I got out at Royal Oak Shopping Centre, a disorientingly centreless mass of self-spawning plazas.
The attraction of the Royal Oak is the Smart Bookshop, a longstanding proper old-fashioned used bookstore. In the literature section, this unassuming black hardcover caught my eye:
I opened Mörder Guss Reims: The Gustave Leberwurst Manuscript (1981) to a random page and found a curiously over-annotated poem in German. I only glanced at the German, and I could not make sense of it, but the ratio of annotation to poem had a real Pale Fire shimmer. Sincere? In-? Either way, desirable.
I thought: yes, this is clearly the book I came in here for. I paid my $5 and left with it tucked into my bag.
I did not work out the trick, because I did not try sounding out the cod German. (Try it!)
Just now I web-searched and found out what sort of artefact this is. It is a remarkably poker-faced object in both design and presentation. However, the copyright page gives the game away:
Macaronic literature! Facetiae!
I do think this John Hulme must be a Nabokov fan. I have not yet been able to find out anything about him online, except that this seems to have been his Own Particular Genre. (I do not think he can be the contemporary author/director of the same name, since he would have had to publish this book at the age of 12.)
§rf§
(no subject)
Jun. 6th, 2026 09:22 pmflemmingsTwo lost days. Neither of which was *that* hot, really. I did get out to the nearer super yesterday for... I forget what, actually. Well, berries: but because Fiesta's rasps and blueberries are all Product of USA, I had to get Ontario strawberries instead. Well, and strawberries are OK, but they don't go as well on cereal as the other.
Ran the AC for a few hours yesterday evening, after which I was fine with just fans. It rained last night and steamed, but today was all blue sky and wind. I know parts of the Open Tuning got cancelled when the probs said thunderstorms and rain all today, so no family parade about the 'hood, but the rest was presumably a go. Only if it actually happened, it was very quiet, for which I am grateful.
Did weigh myself this morning, have dropped the surplus surplus 4 lbs/ +-2 kg from cream liqueurs, must work on the rest. But still feel bloated and achy, and my right knee does not like me at all.
Ran the AC for a few hours yesterday evening, after which I was fine with just fans. It rained last night and steamed, but today was all blue sky and wind. I know parts of the Open Tuning got cancelled when the probs said thunderstorms and rain all today, so no family parade about the 'hood, but the rest was presumably a go. Only if it actually happened, it was very quiet, for which I am grateful.
Did weigh myself this morning, have dropped the surplus surplus 4 lbs/ +-2 kg from cream liqueurs, must work on the rest. But still feel bloated and achy, and my right knee does not like me at all.
and still i wanna tell you everything
Jun. 6th, 2026 07:45 pmmusesfoolYesterday after I logged off work, I made a ricotta cheesecake, and since I know my springform pans are leaky (they are old and need to be replaced), I just used a deep dish pie plate, and it was fine. I also added about 2/3 cup of mini chocolate chips that the recipe did not call for, but which seemed necessary, though it is also a delicious cake without them (the cinnamon/orange/vanilla flavor is actually super Christmassy to me? but the heart wants what it wants, even if it's June rather than December). Also the vanilla bean paste gives it those little speckles which means it's even more delicious than usual! *g* Anyway, if you need a cheesecake but don't have a springform pan or a stand mixer, and don't want to deal with a water bath, this is the way to go.
Then today, I tried to make baked mozzarella sticks instead of fried - mainly because cleaning up after frying is a lot and also the smell lingers - but I didn't realize you are supposed to freeze them for TWO HOURS so I got a late start and didn't eat until almost 6:30. They were okay but not as wonderfully crisp as they get when fried, even though I used panko. Also, despite what some of these recipes say, you really should season every layer - the flour, the egg, and the breadcrumbs. I am just saying.
My plan for tomorrow is to make bacon so there's that for lunch for the week, along with some chicken pesto meatballs - we'll see how they are. I am apparently on a ground chicken kick, because I have a bunch of recipes I want to try, and as long as it keeps being on sale, I'm good to go!
In other news, the Knicks are up 2-0 on the Spurs and only TWO GAMES away from winning a chip! They've won 13 in a row in these playoffs! What even is happening??? MSG is going to be nuts on Monday. But remember, you absolutely do not have to hand it to James Dolan. #go new york go new york go
*
Then today, I tried to make baked mozzarella sticks instead of fried - mainly because cleaning up after frying is a lot and also the smell lingers - but I didn't realize you are supposed to freeze them for TWO HOURS so I got a late start and didn't eat until almost 6:30. They were okay but not as wonderfully crisp as they get when fried, even though I used panko. Also, despite what some of these recipes say, you really should season every layer - the flour, the egg, and the breadcrumbs. I am just saying.
My plan for tomorrow is to make bacon so there's that for lunch for the week, along with some chicken pesto meatballs - we'll see how they are. I am apparently on a ground chicken kick, because I have a bunch of recipes I want to try, and as long as it keeps being on sale, I'm good to go!
In other news, the Knicks are up 2-0 on the Spurs and only TWO GAMES away from winning a chip! They've won 13 in a row in these playoffs! What even is happening??? MSG is going to be nuts on Monday. But remember, you absolutely do not have to hand it to James Dolan. #go new york go new york go
*
Weekly proof of life: a couple weeks' worth of reading, mainly
Jun. 6th, 2026 12:45 pmumadoshiReading: On the fiction front, over the last couple of weeks I read:
--Remember You Will Die (Eden Robins), which is SF told entirely through news and obits and correspondence and does some very neat things. It didn't give me any particular feelings, but I enjoyed it.
--The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Shannon Chakraborty), which is pretty much a delight from start to finish.
--The Book of Love (Kelly Link) unfolds in all kinds of interesting ways and had a lot of...emotional momentum?...for me, although I didn't come away with deep feelings about or attachment to any of the characters.
--The Everlasting (Alix E. Harrow), which I finished a few days ago and have seen several people discussing since (probably because it's up for a Hugo). I liked it more than some of you did, but didn't love it.
I haven't started another novel(la) since. After talking to Kas (who's most of the way through the series-so-far) last weekend, I went ahead and put the second Dungeon Crawler Carl on hold, and somehow my brain seems to think that's what I'm going to read next, which is awkward given that I don't expect it to arrive in the super near future.
On the nonfiction front, I read a bit more of Braiding Sweetgrass, flipped through some gardening books, and started rereading Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace in hard copy (I read it in ebook almost exactly a year ago). I really like the feel and the spirit of this, and it's packed full of information that flows in a way that makes it hard for me to actually retain a lot of said information. I picked up the hard copy from Book Outlet in hopes that having a physical book would give me better odds of actually being able to usefully refer to bit of it.
Watching: Some more of both Justice in the Dark and Witch Hat Atelier.
Growing: Yesterday we acquired and planted five tomato seedlings (and a few other seedlings that still need planting). More on that in another post later, hopefully.
--Remember You Will Die (Eden Robins), which is SF told entirely through news and obits and correspondence and does some very neat things. It didn't give me any particular feelings, but I enjoyed it.
--The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Shannon Chakraborty), which is pretty much a delight from start to finish.
--The Book of Love (Kelly Link) unfolds in all kinds of interesting ways and had a lot of...emotional momentum?...for me, although I didn't come away with deep feelings about or attachment to any of the characters.
--The Everlasting (Alix E. Harrow), which I finished a few days ago and have seen several people discussing since (probably because it's up for a Hugo). I liked it more than some of you did, but didn't love it.
I haven't started another novel(la) since. After talking to Kas (who's most of the way through the series-so-far) last weekend, I went ahead and put the second Dungeon Crawler Carl on hold, and somehow my brain seems to think that's what I'm going to read next, which is awkward given that I don't expect it to arrive in the super near future.
On the nonfiction front, I read a bit more of Braiding Sweetgrass, flipped through some gardening books, and started rereading Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace in hard copy (I read it in ebook almost exactly a year ago). I really like the feel and the spirit of this, and it's packed full of information that flows in a way that makes it hard for me to actually retain a lot of said information. I picked up the hard copy from Book Outlet in hopes that having a physical book would give me better odds of actually being able to usefully refer to bit of it.
Watching: Some more of both Justice in the Dark and Witch Hat Atelier.
Growing: Yesterday we acquired and planted five tomato seedlings (and a few other seedlings that still need planting). More on that in another post later, hopefully.
I have made a tactical mistake
Jun. 6th, 2026 04:20 pmrydra_wongRecced Norman Maclean's Young Men and Fire to a couple of people lately, picked up my copy again to refresh my memory of something, and now it has its teeth in me and won't let go until I reread the whole thing and I've already had to go to YouTube and listen to the Cry Cry Cry cover of "Cold Missouri Waters."
And then I found an amazing quote from the songwriter, James Keelaghan, which is one of the best descriptions of the book I've read:
https://nathans-roncast.castos.com/episodes/how-james-keelaghan-wrote-cold-missouri-waters-part-1
Anyway Dodge just ordered them to drop the heavy tools so I have to get back to the book now.
And then I found an amazing quote from the songwriter, James Keelaghan, which is one of the best descriptions of the book I've read:
https://nathans-roncast.castos.com/episodes/how-james-keelaghan-wrote-cold-missouri-waters-part-1
And so just the story itself is compelling. But for Norman Maclean's writing of it, like, I don't know if you know the book, but Norman McLean was sort of, the fire was an area of specialty for him, for, you know, it was one of his little private obsessions. And he always meant to write a book about it. And he started to write the book, but he died before it was finished. And the book was then sort of completed by his editors and also by his son.
So you not only get the story of the fire and incredible amount of detail about how the smoke jumpers fit into the National Forest Service, how they were created as a unit, but also stuff about the mathematics of how fire spreads in various circumstances. But you also get this sense of MacLean being a writer who is running out of time to tell the story that he really wants to tell because he knows he's dying. He's in a great deal of pain, I think, when he's writing the book. And all that comes through this, this impatient, irascible old man, this voice actually comes through in the book. And then I felt like, yeah, you know, I really need to write a song about this.
Anyway Dodge just ordered them to drop the heavy tools so I have to get back to the book now.
Rain! In June!
Jun. 6th, 2026 09:15 amsartoriasCurrently on writing retreat at Union Pier in Michigan, and am utterly charmed at the concept of rain in June. Rain! In June! No wonder these trees are such a deep, deep green!
Little actual writing done as I've been laboring at Worldcon tasks, specifically the tetris of scheduling the writing panels. All zillion of them--which means juggling participants whose schedules might clash with times and places. Not a thing I am good at, whew, not at all.
Today I hope to get some actual writing done. So close to finishing off a piece, so close, the images swim in my mind.
Little actual writing done as I've been laboring at Worldcon tasks, specifically the tetris of scheduling the writing panels. All zillion of them--which means juggling participants whose schedules might clash with times and places. Not a thing I am good at, whew, not at all.
Today I hope to get some actual writing done. So close to finishing off a piece, so close, the images swim in my mind.
3W4DW book meme
Jun. 5th, 2026 10:48 amoracneFound via coffeeandink:
Take five books off your bookshelf. (Mine were all from my Print TBR bookcase. Yes, it is a whole bookcase.)
Book #1 -- first sentence: "The Saturday after Labor Day, at the last party wrung from the summer, my friend Kathy showed us a picture of her brother's two boys."
Book #2 -- last sentence on page fifty: "So I read science fiction and dreamed."
Book #3 -- second sentence on page one hundred: "Hold the bucket and belay, there."
(I chose the second complete sentence.)
Book #4 -- next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty: "Vanessa's domestic skill and organization brio have been extolled by nearly everyone she knew."
(The last sentence was incomplete, but most of it was on the page, so I counted it.)
Book #5 -- final sentence of the book: "But if the Islamic world managed it before, it can do so again."
Make the five sentences into a paragraph:
he Saturday after Labor Day, at the last party wrung from the summer, my friend Kathy showed us a picture of her brother's two boys. So I read science fiction and dreamed. Hold the bucket and belay, there. Vanessa's domestic skill and organization brio have been extolled by nearly everyone she knew. But if the Islamic world managed it before, it can do so again.
(Well, that's a bit Dada!)
Book #1: The Smoke Week, Sept. 11-21, 2001 by Ellis Avery
Book #2: Mammoths of the Great Plains plus... by Eleanor Arnason
Book #3: The Hundred Days by Patrick O'Brian
Book #4: Uncommon Arrangements: Seven Msrriages by Katie Roiphe
Book #5: The House of Wisdom by Jim Al-Khalili
coffeeandink:Take five books off your bookshelf. (Mine were all from my Print TBR bookcase. Yes, it is a whole bookcase.)
Book #1 -- first sentence: "The Saturday after Labor Day, at the last party wrung from the summer, my friend Kathy showed us a picture of her brother's two boys."
Book #2 -- last sentence on page fifty: "So I read science fiction and dreamed."
Book #3 -- second sentence on page one hundred: "Hold the bucket and belay, there."
(I chose the second complete sentence.)
Book #4 -- next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty: "Vanessa's domestic skill and organization brio have been extolled by nearly everyone she knew."
(The last sentence was incomplete, but most of it was on the page, so I counted it.)
Book #5 -- final sentence of the book: "But if the Islamic world managed it before, it can do so again."
Make the five sentences into a paragraph:
he Saturday after Labor Day, at the last party wrung from the summer, my friend Kathy showed us a picture of her brother's two boys. So I read science fiction and dreamed. Hold the bucket and belay, there. Vanessa's domestic skill and organization brio have been extolled by nearly everyone she knew. But if the Islamic world managed it before, it can do so again.
(Well, that's a bit Dada!)
Book #1: The Smoke Week, Sept. 11-21, 2001 by Ellis Avery
Book #2: Mammoths of the Great Plains plus... by Eleanor Arnason
Book #3: The Hundred Days by Patrick O'Brian
Book #4: Uncommon Arrangements: Seven Msrriages by Katie Roiphe
Book #5: The House of Wisdom by Jim Al-Khalili
(no subject)
Jun. 4th, 2026 09:34 pmflemmingsToday's Big Excitement was losing my house key, the one on the Hakkai keychain, not the one with my Kryptonite lock key that lives in my backpack. I carry Hakkai in whatever pocket is available, unlock door, and lay him/ it down on the kitchen table after putting backpack on the kitchen chair. But today he/it wasn't on the table, or under the table where things sometimes fall, or under anything else on the table as so often happens. So I went out, leaving the door on the latch as I used to do all the time, and wondered who of the various people I've given keys to I could hit up to get my key back. What I really minded was losing Hakkai, but oh well.
Not to keep anyone in suspense, I did find him/it when I got home, in a pocket in the backpack that I'd looked in before.
Went out for sushi but had salmon teriyaki instead-- the teriyaki dinner, not the lunch, because the lunch gives you fruit (cantaloupe and orange) that I don't really want. But the dinner has huge helpings of both salmon and veg, more than anyone can eat who isn't an adolescent male. So now I have dinner for tomorrow as well.
The day was pleasant and breezy and not nearly as hot as certain weather pages said it would be. Since I was already at Bathurst and Bloor, I thought to suss out the newly reopened Markham St part of Mirvish Village, whose towers are mostly responsible for the day's breeziness. Signs advertise the businesses that will locate there, and evidence (trash cans) suggested that the famous pizza place was already open for business. At present it's the only one, located I *think* where the old Victory Cafe was in happier times. I won't be trying it out because both its doors are up a flight of concrete steps. This is all new construction and they could have put in a ramp but of course they didn't. Markham used to be a shady street but most of the trees fell victim to construction of the towers so now it bakes in the sun. Wind tunnel or no, that block no longer invites the pedestrian. But I turned onto the little cross street that takes you west and that was shady and filled with flowering bushes and green grass, just as in the old days when I used to bicycle home from work along its length.
Not to keep anyone in suspense, I did find him/it when I got home, in a pocket in the backpack that I'd looked in before.
Went out for sushi but had salmon teriyaki instead-- the teriyaki dinner, not the lunch, because the lunch gives you fruit (cantaloupe and orange) that I don't really want. But the dinner has huge helpings of both salmon and veg, more than anyone can eat who isn't an adolescent male. So now I have dinner for tomorrow as well.
The day was pleasant and breezy and not nearly as hot as certain weather pages said it would be. Since I was already at Bathurst and Bloor, I thought to suss out the newly reopened Markham St part of Mirvish Village, whose towers are mostly responsible for the day's breeziness. Signs advertise the businesses that will locate there, and evidence (trash cans) suggested that the famous pizza place was already open for business. At present it's the only one, located I *think* where the old Victory Cafe was in happier times. I won't be trying it out because both its doors are up a flight of concrete steps. This is all new construction and they could have put in a ramp but of course they didn't. Markham used to be a shady street but most of the trees fell victim to construction of the towers so now it bakes in the sun. Wind tunnel or no, that block no longer invites the pedestrian. But I turned onto the little cross street that takes you west and that was shady and filled with flowering bushes and green grass, just as in the old days when I used to bicycle home from work along its length.
Minstrel cycle
Jun. 4th, 2026 07:44 pmmarginalianaThings:
--I have become obsessed with the Cinnamon Toast Crunch ad campaign involving cereal-on-cereal murder and cannibalism. Whatever the fuck they were thinking when they created this, the execution is magnificent.
--Based on a recent conversation with a friend, I'm deeply relieved not to be the only person I know to have believed for a brief period of time that ( Taskmaster spoiler for last week )
--Some of you may know my hatred of the word 'journey' in its fashionably new metaphorical sense, as in 'your mental health journey' or 'your fitness journey,' but this week in a zoom meeting I was subjected to the sentence 'I'm hoping you can tell me a bit about where you as a company are in your AI journey' and I had to turn my video off immediately lest my face give me away. Thankfully the question was not directed at me and our database manager has much more visible tolerance for bullshit even if he secretly has a negative amount of actual tolerance for bullshit.
--I have taken tomorrow off just to have a day off because I am burnt out AF. I intend to go to the waffle place and then to the art museum. I intend to lie in the shade and listen to the cereal podcast and maybe knit. So there.
--I have become obsessed with the Cinnamon Toast Crunch ad campaign involving cereal-on-cereal murder and cannibalism. Whatever the fuck they were thinking when they created this, the execution is magnificent.
--Based on a recent conversation with a friend, I'm deeply relieved not to be the only person I know to have believed for a brief period of time that ( Taskmaster spoiler for last week )
--Some of you may know my hatred of the word 'journey' in its fashionably new metaphorical sense, as in 'your mental health journey' or 'your fitness journey,' but this week in a zoom meeting I was subjected to the sentence 'I'm hoping you can tell me a bit about where you as a company are in your AI journey' and I had to turn my video off immediately lest my face give me away. Thankfully the question was not directed at me and our database manager has much more visible tolerance for bullshit even if he secretly has a negative amount of actual tolerance for bullshit.
--I have taken tomorrow off just to have a day off because I am burnt out AF. I intend to go to the waffle place and then to the art museum. I intend to lie in the shade and listen to the cereal podcast and maybe knit. So there.
Puttering
Jun. 4th, 2026 05:49 pmomensI have been staining tiny chunks of the deck railing, first as an experiment. We had a tester can the people who sold us the house left so we knew what colour to buy and it looks so good and is sooo easy. My tiny chunks are very rewarding, lol.
And I planted the rest of the flowers I had bought which were suffering in their little flats for weeks. Everything can grow grow grow now. A while back I planted dill, cucumber & holy basil in my click and grow and everything has been looking great except the basil, I thought they were duds but they're finally coming up now!
Also made oatmeal banana raisin muffins today (added the raisins bc L likes them), and they're very good.
I'm feeling very go go go lately, I hope it sticks a while.
There are TWO FLIES (at least?) in my house right now and the dog and I are DONE WITH THEM 😤
And I planted the rest of the flowers I had bought which were suffering in their little flats for weeks. Everything can grow grow grow now. A while back I planted dill, cucumber & holy basil in my click and grow and everything has been looking great except the basil, I thought they were duds but they're finally coming up now!
Also made oatmeal banana raisin muffins today (added the raisins bc L likes them), and they're very good.
I'm feeling very go go go lately, I hope it sticks a while.
There are TWO FLIES (at least?) in my house right now and the dog and I are DONE WITH THEM 😤
Fancake's Theme for June: Just Like Canon
Jun. 4th, 2026 07:49 amrunpunkrun
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fancake's theme for June is Just Like Canon! These fanworks are so close to canon even their progenitors can't tell the difference. This includes works that are strongly rooted in canon, feel like they could be new canon, or are even meant to be a replacement for canon, like virtual seasons or fanmade supercuts.If you have any questions about this theme, or the comm, come talk to me!
It's (almost) con time! Discord invites & conbook should be in your inbox
Jun. 4th, 2026 10:17 amcondnsdmlk posting in vidukon_cardiffIf you're registered for this year's con, you should now have an email with your conbook and Discord invite!
If you can't see it, please check your spam and the inboxes of any alternate email accounts you might have used to register. If you still don't see it, drop us an email and we'll sort you out!
Joining us in Birmingham? Please take a moment to refresh yourself on our Covid-19 policy, and test before you travel if you're able to.
Lastly, virtual registration will close 12:00 PM BST tomorrow (Friday). So you still have time to register if you'd like to attend.
(no subject)
Jun. 4th, 2026 07:21 amawanderingcoyote Work so cronchy this week. *lays facedown*
Can't wait for the weekend.
Sending hugs to everyone!
Can't wait for the weekend.
Sending hugs to everyone!
tired
Jun. 3rd, 2026 09:51 pmyaaurensBeen weirdly sad the last few days for no apparent reason.
Election job is over. They may reach out about working the audit in a couple of weeks, but *shrugs* no guarantees. That would be a pretty decent gig to get though, I think - it's only three or four days again, but it's detail work that's right up my alley, and the pay is even better than the election worker gig.
Honestly, the job was really boring. Our center was extremely quiet and slow - the first day I worked we had 8 people come through to vote the entire day, plus some just dropping off ballots. Second day was 12, then 17, then on election day proper 153. As we quickly discovered though, the training we received was nowhere close to enough, since they never went over setting up and tearing down the equipment that we had to put away each night and set up again each morning. There were also a lot of little nit-picky things that they wanted us to do that were not laid out in the way they wanted at training. For instance, at training they said each laptop operator should have some provisional ballots ready if needed at slow centers, like mines was. Onsite, they only had them at one spot, and put all the other useful forms in a different spot rather than making them available if we needed them. The lead claimed that we were only supposed to have ONE person doing ALL the provisional ballots no matter what, and I was like ??? That is not what we were told. And while I can understand keeping the other forms at the front check in table, sometimes things slip through the cracks, or the person doesn't THINK they have changed address, but what shows up when we check them in isn't the same, so we need the damn forms at the laptops. There's no sense in having to go hunt them down somewhere else! Efficiency, people!
They also didn't want us moving around - as in, when I had a provisional ballot person, I wasn't supposed to get up and GET the ballot, I was supposed to ask the person sitting by them to get it for me (and what if they're busy? what then? make the person I'm with wait?) OR hand off the voter to the other person. Like, what? How does that make sense?
Whatever. It's over. It was boring for the most part, but good money, so I would do it again if I don't get a proper job before November.
One more month until hand doc appointment, yay. I'm trying to convince myself that it's not that long, I'll be okay, but dang. Anytime I try to do anything crafty or type/write more than usual, it sure does hurt the next day. And since I'm trying to resize my mithril to be more wearable again, aiii.
Disappointingly, my city isn't doing a Pride fest this year, but there's going to be a mini market or something, except it's on a Sunday, so I can't participate, and the next city over is doing theirs in JULY (that's not Pride month, guys) during SDCC, so... yeah. Not gonna be able to vend there either. I should start looking at doing classes again, but I kinda don't want to until after my hand doc appointment, and then it'll be pretty much only four months of classes? Maybe it's doable. Depends on what happens at the hand doc, I guess.
Tomorrow's dad's birthday, and he's going to get a new-to-him car from a friend of mine. It's not the most amazing car, but it's definitely newer than what he's driving around, and not falling apart. It is, however, coated in dog hair, so it'll need some mega cleaning before I ride in it. Which reminds me, I really need to vacuum out Lan Zhan cuz there are So Many Leaves on the floor. They're the teeny tiny kind, that hitchhiked in on my shoes when it was rainy, and I just... never got around to removing them. Maybe tomorrow.
Tomorrow is also a work day with the car-selling friend, since she's supposed to be taking over for me with mom's business. Mom keeps pestering me with questions though, even though she really needs to start directing them towards H so she can get used to the biz. But no, 10:30pm, "do we have any outstanding invoices for so and so?" Ma. Would you ask any other employee that question at that time of night? No? Then maybe don't ask me then either.
One good thing about the boring elections job is that I was allowed to read when no one was there, which meant I worked my way through seven short kid's stories in Chinese. They're kinda cute; the characters are all animals, so that helps because I know a lot of animal names already. For some of them I skimmed them and went "oh no, this is too hard" and then realized that once I learned one or two key hanzi, the rest of it came together fairly easily. And they definitely are repeating some the harder vocabulary from story to story, which is helpful, obviously. And hilariously, one of the idioms I learned JUST showed up in dad's lunchtime show. And it wasn't even a super common one, it was on the scatalogical side of things, haha. 上吐下泻 for those who may be interested.
Still waiting on cardiology results. May send a message to the doc to see if anything has come in; I asked when I was in at the beginning of May, and they said sometimes results take a really long time. Ugh. But it's been another month nearly, so I'm gonna poke again. And ask about exercise safety while I'm at it. I've been kind of avoiding doing too much, because just about anything shoots the ol' heart rate up even higher, and I don't know what's considered dangerous now with my new normal-ish heart rate.
Goals for the rest of the week: get work done with H. Clean up my pile o' stuff on the table that accumulated during election time. Message doc re: cardiology stuffs. GO SEE THE HU AND APOCALYPTICA!!!! :-D :-D :-D
Election job is over. They may reach out about working the audit in a couple of weeks, but *shrugs* no guarantees. That would be a pretty decent gig to get though, I think - it's only three or four days again, but it's detail work that's right up my alley, and the pay is even better than the election worker gig.
Honestly, the job was really boring. Our center was extremely quiet and slow - the first day I worked we had 8 people come through to vote the entire day, plus some just dropping off ballots. Second day was 12, then 17, then on election day proper 153. As we quickly discovered though, the training we received was nowhere close to enough, since they never went over setting up and tearing down the equipment that we had to put away each night and set up again each morning. There were also a lot of little nit-picky things that they wanted us to do that were not laid out in the way they wanted at training. For instance, at training they said each laptop operator should have some provisional ballots ready if needed at slow centers, like mines was. Onsite, they only had them at one spot, and put all the other useful forms in a different spot rather than making them available if we needed them. The lead claimed that we were only supposed to have ONE person doing ALL the provisional ballots no matter what, and I was like ??? That is not what we were told. And while I can understand keeping the other forms at the front check in table, sometimes things slip through the cracks, or the person doesn't THINK they have changed address, but what shows up when we check them in isn't the same, so we need the damn forms at the laptops. There's no sense in having to go hunt them down somewhere else! Efficiency, people!
They also didn't want us moving around - as in, when I had a provisional ballot person, I wasn't supposed to get up and GET the ballot, I was supposed to ask the person sitting by them to get it for me (and what if they're busy? what then? make the person I'm with wait?) OR hand off the voter to the other person. Like, what? How does that make sense?
Whatever. It's over. It was boring for the most part, but good money, so I would do it again if I don't get a proper job before November.
One more month until hand doc appointment, yay. I'm trying to convince myself that it's not that long, I'll be okay, but dang. Anytime I try to do anything crafty or type/write more than usual, it sure does hurt the next day. And since I'm trying to resize my mithril to be more wearable again, aiii.
Disappointingly, my city isn't doing a Pride fest this year, but there's going to be a mini market or something, except it's on a Sunday, so I can't participate, and the next city over is doing theirs in JULY (that's not Pride month, guys) during SDCC, so... yeah. Not gonna be able to vend there either. I should start looking at doing classes again, but I kinda don't want to until after my hand doc appointment, and then it'll be pretty much only four months of classes? Maybe it's doable. Depends on what happens at the hand doc, I guess.
Tomorrow's dad's birthday, and he's going to get a new-to-him car from a friend of mine. It's not the most amazing car, but it's definitely newer than what he's driving around, and not falling apart. It is, however, coated in dog hair, so it'll need some mega cleaning before I ride in it. Which reminds me, I really need to vacuum out Lan Zhan cuz there are So Many Leaves on the floor. They're the teeny tiny kind, that hitchhiked in on my shoes when it was rainy, and I just... never got around to removing them. Maybe tomorrow.
Tomorrow is also a work day with the car-selling friend, since she's supposed to be taking over for me with mom's business. Mom keeps pestering me with questions though, even though she really needs to start directing them towards H so she can get used to the biz. But no, 10:30pm, "do we have any outstanding invoices for so and so?" Ma. Would you ask any other employee that question at that time of night? No? Then maybe don't ask me then either.
One good thing about the boring elections job is that I was allowed to read when no one was there, which meant I worked my way through seven short kid's stories in Chinese. They're kinda cute; the characters are all animals, so that helps because I know a lot of animal names already. For some of them I skimmed them and went "oh no, this is too hard" and then realized that once I learned one or two key hanzi, the rest of it came together fairly easily. And they definitely are repeating some the harder vocabulary from story to story, which is helpful, obviously. And hilariously, one of the idioms I learned JUST showed up in dad's lunchtime show. And it wasn't even a super common one, it was on the scatalogical side of things, haha. 上吐下泻 for those who may be interested.
Still waiting on cardiology results. May send a message to the doc to see if anything has come in; I asked when I was in at the beginning of May, and they said sometimes results take a really long time. Ugh. But it's been another month nearly, so I'm gonna poke again. And ask about exercise safety while I'm at it. I've been kind of avoiding doing too much, because just about anything shoots the ol' heart rate up even higher, and I don't know what's considered dangerous now with my new normal-ish heart rate.
Goals for the rest of the week: get work done with H. Clean up my pile o' stuff on the table that accumulated during election time. Message doc re: cardiology stuffs. GO SEE THE HU AND APOCALYPTICA!!!! :-D :-D :-D
(no subject)
Jun. 3rd, 2026 10:46 pmflemmingsI will eventually learn to read all the info provided before buying clothes. Old Navy's cotton tops are distressingly thin for autumn or winter wear but, I thought, might do well in summer. My tanktops are all thick cotton and I have to wear them with something that covers my arms, which is generally another thick cotton something, and so I sweat in TO's summer humidity. The (palest pink and easily stainable) tee I bought earlier is certainly thinner than my other ones, so maybe they'd actually be cooler than tanktops? Men's t-shirts of course, and they're on sale in colours men don't often wear, like burgundy and saffron, that don't show splashes nearly as much.
They arrived yesterday and were indeed lightweight. Wore one today in the humid sun and thought them a little unbreathing. Yeah, is because they're 97% polyester. When you buy cotton t-shirts, make sure they're really cotton. But they'll do for actual t-shirt weather, I suppose. I have two cotton tees that are useless because they have Japanese logos on them and can't be worn to any of my Korean-run restaurants. Shall gift them to some clothes depot probably, to make room for the new ones.
Meanwhile my final property tax bill arrives. I know the second bill has included increases in the past, only these last few years the final installments have been lower than the first half. But not usually $110 a month lower, which was an extremely pleasant surprise.
Memory goes with heat, so I only know I've finished a couple of Dr. Priestleys this week, and The Eagle of the Ninth, which I finished today. Still rereading System Collapse and Platform Decay, the former as hard to envisage as ever, the latter making much more sense. No idea what I'll go on with: summer is line of least resistance when it comes to reading, and I'm pretty much all out of Cecil Street and his various avatars.
They arrived yesterday and were indeed lightweight. Wore one today in the humid sun and thought them a little unbreathing. Yeah, is because they're 97% polyester. When you buy cotton t-shirts, make sure they're really cotton. But they'll do for actual t-shirt weather, I suppose. I have two cotton tees that are useless because they have Japanese logos on them and can't be worn to any of my Korean-run restaurants. Shall gift them to some clothes depot probably, to make room for the new ones.
Meanwhile my final property tax bill arrives. I know the second bill has included increases in the past, only these last few years the final installments have been lower than the first half. But not usually $110 a month lower, which was an extremely pleasant surprise.
Memory goes with heat, so I only know I've finished a couple of Dr. Priestleys this week, and The Eagle of the Ninth, which I finished today. Still rereading System Collapse and Platform Decay, the former as hard to envisage as ever, the latter making much more sense. No idea what I'll go on with: summer is line of least resistance when it comes to reading, and I'm pretty much all out of Cecil Street and his various avatars.
Seasons of Drabbles!
Jun. 3rd, 2026 08:49 pmalchemiseI... completely forgot to post this a month ago. And I got two lovely gifts too!
The Rescue Op (300 words) by prompt_fills
Fandom: Daredevil (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Relationships: Frank Castle/Karen Page, Frank Castle/Matt Murdock, Matt Murdock/Karen Page, Frank Castle/Matt Murdock/Karen Page
Additional Tags: Drabble, Triple Drabble, Friendship/Love, Shippy Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Developing Relationship, Protective Frank Castle, Found Family, Hopeful Ending
Summary: Frank cares. In his own way. Set in the aftermath of Foggy’s death.
Need Some Help? (100 words) by dizzydragonfly
Fandom: Daredevil (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Relationships: Matt Murdock & Peter Parker
Additional Tags: Drabble, Treat, Concussions, Teamwork
Summary: Matt was, not for the first time, in over his head.
And, continuing the theme, I also wrote a Daredevil (TV) drabble.
Distance (100 words) by alchemise
Fandom: Daredevil (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Relationships: Frank Castle/Karen Page
Additional Tags: Drabble, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort
Summary: She’d gotten so used to being across a room from him.
( drabble behind the cut! )
The Rescue Op (300 words) by prompt_fills
Fandom: Daredevil (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Relationships: Frank Castle/Karen Page, Frank Castle/Matt Murdock, Matt Murdock/Karen Page, Frank Castle/Matt Murdock/Karen Page
Additional Tags: Drabble, Triple Drabble, Friendship/Love, Shippy Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Developing Relationship, Protective Frank Castle, Found Family, Hopeful Ending
Summary: Frank cares. In his own way. Set in the aftermath of Foggy’s death.
Need Some Help? (100 words) by dizzydragonfly
Fandom: Daredevil (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Relationships: Matt Murdock & Peter Parker
Additional Tags: Drabble, Treat, Concussions, Teamwork
Summary: Matt was, not for the first time, in over his head.
And, continuing the theme, I also wrote a Daredevil (TV) drabble.
Distance (100 words) by alchemise
Fandom: Daredevil (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Relationships: Frank Castle/Karen Page
Additional Tags: Drabble, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort
Summary: She’d gotten so used to being across a room from him.
( drabble behind the cut! )
the most entertaining personalities
Jun. 3rd, 2026 06:35 pmmusesfoolSo as you may have surmised from my posts over the years, I've been a sports fan all my life. I'm pretty well versed in baseball, football, hockey, and used to follow tennis as well, but I've only ever been a playoffs basketball fan, though since the Knicks have been in the playoffs the last couple of years, I've become more familiar with them (I was pretty familiar with the Ewing-era Knicks, because all my college friends were into basketball, and the spring/summer of 1994 when both the Rangers and the Knicks were in the playoffs was pretty memorable), so I didn't actually need this, but I did think it was pretty funny: The Knicks Are in the Finals. Act Like You've Been Here Before. #Go New York go New York go!
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The Good Luck Girls, by Charlotte Nicole Davis
Jun. 3rd, 2026 12:07 pmrachelmanija
In a country with Wild West vibes, young girls are often sold to brothels, to become sex slaves when they come of age. They are given magical tattoos of buds when they're bought. These tattoos slowly grow and blossom into flowers that the girls are nicknamed for. They cause excruciating pain when they're covered up, preventing the girls from fleeing and blending into the populace. But this isn't the only barrier to escape. The entire wilderness area is haunted by angry ghosts that can take physical form and rip you to shreds.
On Clementine's inaugural rape night, her would-be rapist nearly suffocates her, and she brains him with a lamp. As she would be executed for that, she, her older sister Aster who's been a sex slave for years already, and three other girls manage to escape the brothel and flee in search of a rumored woman who can remove the magic tattoos.
By far the most interesting character in the book is Violet, the brothel bully, spoiled brat, and magical opium addict who is the only one who knows where to find the woman who will be their salvation, if she actually exists. As they flee across the haunted wilderness, they're pursued by magical slavecatchers, are joined by a boy, and meet some rebels. Clementine has a romance with the boy, two of the girls have a romance together, and Violet and Aster have intense feelings which hopefully go somewhere in the sequel.
This novel has an extremely cool setting and unusual worldbuilding. I love ensemble casts and wilderness traveling. I expected to adore this, but while I did enjoy reading it, I didn't love it. I had been under the impression that the girls all had different magical powers, which is my own fault for misreading the blurb, but I was disappointed that they don't have any, except that Clementine can talk to ghosts a bit. More importantly, only Aster and Violet, plus Clementine to some degree, get any real characterization. I was interested in them enough that I'll read the sequel, but the book overall felt like it should have been fantastic but ended up merely good.
Content notes: There is a very violent, graphic rape attempt in chapter one. That's it for that but the repercussions of years of sexual abuse are felt throughout the novel.
umadoshiThe tab situation doesn't bear thinking about. I have so many tabs open with posts I want to reply to. I don't know how good my odds are of getting through them, friends. :/
Our Monday morning dental appointments were scheduled to start at 9 AM. At about 7:57, we got a call canceling them because the hygienist was out sick; someone from the front desk made the successful effort to call us before the office opened in hopes of catching us before we made the drive, which we appreciated. (Shame about the four-hour carshare booking we still had to pay for. Ah, well.) So that's unfortunate, but I'm glad the hygienist did call out rather than sharing air with patients. I've rebooked us for next month, and here's hoping local covid levels will still be low then.
Suddenly we're having weather that actually feels like early summer, at least during the day. Still not entirely confident that there won't be frosts at all, but nonetheless, Friday we're hoping to venture out and buy tomato seedlings and more soil to plant them in. We still have a heap of fabric plant pots of a few sizes (which we need to shake out and inspect in case something has somehow gone horribly wrong with them during their several years of disuse, and replace if need be, but here's hoping not) and several tomato ladders to put to use.
(That "hoping to venture out" uncertainty is primarily because we're both taking the day off, but gambling and not booking a carshare in advance so that we don't have to commit to a departure time or try to guess how long we'll be out. Hopefully on a weekday we'll be able to get a flex car--that is, a first-come-first-served car that you can just park anywhere in ~the zone~ [which doesn't include our place, but comes fairly close, so there are quite often cars parked right along its border] when you're done with it, leaving it up for grabs--without too much trouble.)
A random garden-adjacent thing that keeps annoying me even though there's nothing to be done about it: given last year's drought situation, I keep having the thought of buying some sort of rain barrel. But the roof of the townhouse row is flat and all of the rainwater channels down into the drains through the building, so there's no spout or anything where the water can actually be caught. Alas. So I wish the notion would stop popping into my head as if it's something we've never considered.
Our Monday morning dental appointments were scheduled to start at 9 AM. At about 7:57, we got a call canceling them because the hygienist was out sick; someone from the front desk made the successful effort to call us before the office opened in hopes of catching us before we made the drive, which we appreciated. (Shame about the four-hour carshare booking we still had to pay for. Ah, well.) So that's unfortunate, but I'm glad the hygienist did call out rather than sharing air with patients. I've rebooked us for next month, and here's hoping local covid levels will still be low then.
Suddenly we're having weather that actually feels like early summer, at least during the day. Still not entirely confident that there won't be frosts at all, but nonetheless, Friday we're hoping to venture out and buy tomato seedlings and more soil to plant them in. We still have a heap of fabric plant pots of a few sizes (which we need to shake out and inspect in case something has somehow gone horribly wrong with them during their several years of disuse, and replace if need be, but here's hoping not) and several tomato ladders to put to use.
(That "hoping to venture out" uncertainty is primarily because we're both taking the day off, but gambling and not booking a carshare in advance so that we don't have to commit to a departure time or try to guess how long we'll be out. Hopefully on a weekday we'll be able to get a flex car--that is, a first-come-first-served car that you can just park anywhere in ~the zone~ [which doesn't include our place, but comes fairly close, so there are quite often cars parked right along its border] when you're done with it, leaving it up for grabs--without too much trouble.)
A random garden-adjacent thing that keeps annoying me even though there's nothing to be done about it: given last year's drought situation, I keep having the thought of buying some sort of rain barrel. But the roof of the townhouse row is flat and all of the rainwater channels down into the drains through the building, so there's no spout or anything where the water can actually be caught. Alas. So I wish the notion would stop popping into my head as if it's something we've never considered.
DNF report: The Living City
Jun. 3rd, 2026 09:25 amsholioI picked up "The Living City" by Des Fitzgerald at the bookstore a few weeks ago because it sounded interesting - the book's core premise is that trying to make cities "greener" (in the sense of more trees, more connection to nature, more intentional planning of green spaces within urban spaces, etc) is antithetical to the purpose of a city. So I wanted to see what he had to say about that.
The answer is: very little. This is essentially a book-length manifesto about how the entire concept of a green city is rooted in early-20th-century racism and fascism. There are some interesting ideas in here, but for a book whose entire premise is that trying to change cities into something else is wrong, bad, and also fascist, there's a surprising lack of actual positivity about cities as they currently exist. He just doesn't like the concept of planned cities, and especially city planning with the intent of introducing more nature into cities, based on the idea that green spaces are a more natural human environment. But he rarely brings up existing cities except to talk about how much he hates them, specifically. Paris? Awful. Copenhagen? Worst city he's ever been in. New York? Soulless grid. There's one chapter that opens with several pages dissing on Melbourne, Australia, for wanting to preserve its self-image as "a genteel outpost of European colonialism" because the residents are upset about all their trees dying in a drought. He doesn't seem to hate London as a whole (I GUESS) but mostly talks about it in the context of "fuck these specific neighborhoods in particular."
In case you're thinking this is because he'd rather be in the country - definitely not! He also hates the country. The worst thing about making cities greener is that it makes them more like the country. He refers to the part of Ireland he grew up in as "a bog" which he was glad to escape. The country is also terrible and the last thing cities want to do is be more like the country.
The truly baffling thing about this book is that it contains exactly zero content about the main thing I picked it up for: to find out what alternative he's proposing. Trees and other green spaces have obvious benefits that even he makes a nod to every now and then (cooling things down, trapping water, supporting wildlife, beneficial effects on the mental health of their residents, etc), plus most people who live in cities like them, and I was wondering what he was going to propose as an alternative, and he just - doesn't! What I knew from reading the blurb on the back of the book - that he feels cities are meant to be chaotic, grimy, full of machines and people but lacking in plants - is exactly as much as I know after reading 2/3 of the book. I guess I was expecting a paean to how cities in their modern chaos are flawed but great, and instead I got a book about how cities are almost uniformly terrible, but planned, green cities and the country are even worse, and also planting trees is a fascist tool to pacify the working class.
I didn't really DNF on purpose, so much as I put it down because I was reading other things and just never picked it back up again because the more time that went by without dealing with this guy's relentless negativity, the less I wanted to go back to it. So I guess it's a DNF.
The answer is: very little. This is essentially a book-length manifesto about how the entire concept of a green city is rooted in early-20th-century racism and fascism. There are some interesting ideas in here, but for a book whose entire premise is that trying to change cities into something else is wrong, bad, and also fascist, there's a surprising lack of actual positivity about cities as they currently exist. He just doesn't like the concept of planned cities, and especially city planning with the intent of introducing more nature into cities, based on the idea that green spaces are a more natural human environment. But he rarely brings up existing cities except to talk about how much he hates them, specifically. Paris? Awful. Copenhagen? Worst city he's ever been in. New York? Soulless grid. There's one chapter that opens with several pages dissing on Melbourne, Australia, for wanting to preserve its self-image as "a genteel outpost of European colonialism" because the residents are upset about all their trees dying in a drought. He doesn't seem to hate London as a whole (I GUESS) but mostly talks about it in the context of "fuck these specific neighborhoods in particular."
In case you're thinking this is because he'd rather be in the country - definitely not! He also hates the country. The worst thing about making cities greener is that it makes them more like the country. He refers to the part of Ireland he grew up in as "a bog" which he was glad to escape. The country is also terrible and the last thing cities want to do is be more like the country.
The truly baffling thing about this book is that it contains exactly zero content about the main thing I picked it up for: to find out what alternative he's proposing. Trees and other green spaces have obvious benefits that even he makes a nod to every now and then (cooling things down, trapping water, supporting wildlife, beneficial effects on the mental health of their residents, etc), plus most people who live in cities like them, and I was wondering what he was going to propose as an alternative, and he just - doesn't! What I knew from reading the blurb on the back of the book - that he feels cities are meant to be chaotic, grimy, full of machines and people but lacking in plants - is exactly as much as I know after reading 2/3 of the book. I guess I was expecting a paean to how cities in their modern chaos are flawed but great, and instead I got a book about how cities are almost uniformly terrible, but planned, green cities and the country are even worse, and also planting trees is a fascist tool to pacify the working class.
I didn't really DNF on purpose, so much as I put it down because I was reading other things and just never picked it back up again because the more time that went by without dealing with this guy's relentless negativity, the less I wanted to go back to it. So I guess it's a DNF.
Media Roundup: Misc Sequential Art
Jun. 3rd, 2026 10:41 amforestofgloryI've been nearly constantly sick and/or overwhelemed for the last two weeks, but I did read some things!
The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier, Scott McCloud, et al.— A story about a group of kids forming a cartoonists club and making comics that’s also an intro to basic comics making and concepts. I’ve been wanting to read a bit more comics theory. (I’ve read Understanding Comics, but that was a while ago) Anyways this was cute and fun, but didn’t really scratch my comics theory itch. Would probably be good to give to a kid who is interested in comics though.
Supergirl's Family Vacation written by Brandon T. Snider, art by Sarah Leuver— This is so charming! It’s one of those graphic novels that’s its own little continuity – Supergirl is 13 and lives with her cousin Superman and his family and feels overlooked as a superhero. Anyway she convinces them all to go on vacation and then adventure happens! They go on a space road trip! Natasha Irons is there (she’s Supergirl’s best friend) Lois gets to be awesome but doesn’t steal the scene. There's a short scene of Batman and Wonder Woman getting instructions to take care of the stuff while they are away!
The whole thing is just very warm. I love the manga influenced art, the expressions are great, the colors are great! At one point there are magical girl-esqe transformation scenes. It’s very cute and sweet!
Batman & Robin Eternal by James Tynion IV et al— This did a much better job than Batman Eternal at being a story about legacy, and was just more cohesive in general. Only being half as long probably helped some. I read this when I was sick and bit out of it so I feel like some bits of it went over my head.
Laid-Back Camp Vol. 15-17 by Afro— While I’m on my slice-of-life manga kick I thought it would be nice to get caught up with this series.. It’s still one of my favorites of the genre, it's got food, female friendship, and great landscapes. It does make me sad that I am too disabled to go camping though.
Lightfall books 2-4 by Tim Probert— I was going to read these a bit slower, but they were due at the library so I had to hurry up a bit. This series is really good! I love the art, it's evocative, plus there are great landscapes! Also I didn’t say last time but there is a very good cat! The story went in some unexpected directions and I want to know what happens next! Too bad it's going to be a while before the next book is out.
A new season of my beloved wacky Chinese reality show The Truth has started airing and I'm excited for it! It's been a while since I watched anything.
The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier, Scott McCloud, et al.— A story about a group of kids forming a cartoonists club and making comics that’s also an intro to basic comics making and concepts. I’ve been wanting to read a bit more comics theory. (I’ve read Understanding Comics, but that was a while ago) Anyways this was cute and fun, but didn’t really scratch my comics theory itch. Would probably be good to give to a kid who is interested in comics though.
Supergirl's Family Vacation written by Brandon T. Snider, art by Sarah Leuver— This is so charming! It’s one of those graphic novels that’s its own little continuity – Supergirl is 13 and lives with her cousin Superman and his family and feels overlooked as a superhero. Anyway she convinces them all to go on vacation and then adventure happens! They go on a space road trip! Natasha Irons is there (she’s Supergirl’s best friend) Lois gets to be awesome but doesn’t steal the scene. There's a short scene of Batman and Wonder Woman getting instructions to take care of the stuff while they are away!
The whole thing is just very warm. I love the manga influenced art, the expressions are great, the colors are great! At one point there are magical girl-esqe transformation scenes. It’s very cute and sweet!
Batman & Robin Eternal by James Tynion IV et al— This did a much better job than Batman Eternal at being a story about legacy, and was just more cohesive in general. Only being half as long probably helped some. I read this when I was sick and bit out of it so I feel like some bits of it went over my head.
Laid-Back Camp Vol. 15-17 by Afro— While I’m on my slice-of-life manga kick I thought it would be nice to get caught up with this series.. It’s still one of my favorites of the genre, it's got food, female friendship, and great landscapes. It does make me sad that I am too disabled to go camping though.
Lightfall books 2-4 by Tim Probert— I was going to read these a bit slower, but they were due at the library so I had to hurry up a bit. This series is really good! I love the art, it's evocative, plus there are great landscapes! Also I didn’t say last time but there is a very good cat! The story went in some unexpected directions and I want to know what happens next! Too bad it's going to be a while before the next book is out.
A new season of my beloved wacky Chinese reality show The Truth has started airing and I'm excited for it! It's been a while since I watched anything.
Platform Decay (Murderbot #8), by Martha Wells
Jun. 3rd, 2026 09:18 amrunpunkrunIt's like Martha Wells heard me when I said the thing I like the least about this series is all the descriptions of walking and was like CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. This book is almost entirely one long walk. Even Murderbot was complaining about it.
A return to form, where, much like the first four books in the series, that form is a novella where Murderbot is in a situation and must get itself and its assigned humans out of it. This time the situation is an escort mission, only, unlike a video game, the people Murderbot is escorting can think for themselves and won't walk off a cliff if left alone for a second. They're interesting characters and, unlike many of the other humans Murderbot adopts, I had no trouble keeping them straight, but they're not Murderbot's main people, so despite Murderbot's increasing self-awareness of its emotional state, this book lacks a lot of the deep feels that, say, Exit Strategy or Network Effect provoke. Instead, I mainly found it interesting for the worldbuilding and the exploration of the different ways people live in the Corporate Rim.
I loved seeing Three again, but, of course, I wanted more Three, and really I missed Murderbot's interactions with the humans, augmented humans, and "bot pilot" who know it best. Because the thing I like the most about this series, and I said this too, is Murderbot and the way it's learning how to be a person and building relationships despite not knowing how to do either of those things.
Contains: child harm, the usual violence and swearing (though not as much as usual!), character using a mobility device.
A return to form, where, much like the first four books in the series, that form is a novella where Murderbot is in a situation and must get itself and its assigned humans out of it. This time the situation is an escort mission, only, unlike a video game, the people Murderbot is escorting can think for themselves and won't walk off a cliff if left alone for a second. They're interesting characters and, unlike many of the other humans Murderbot adopts, I had no trouble keeping them straight, but they're not Murderbot's main people, so despite Murderbot's increasing self-awareness of its emotional state, this book lacks a lot of the deep feels that, say, Exit Strategy or Network Effect provoke. Instead, I mainly found it interesting for the worldbuilding and the exploration of the different ways people live in the Corporate Rim.
I loved seeing Three again, but, of course, I wanted more Three, and really I missed Murderbot's interactions with the humans, augmented humans, and "bot pilot" who know it best. Because the thing I like the most about this series, and I said this too, is Murderbot and the way it's learning how to be a person and building relationships despite not knowing how to do either of those things.
Contains: child harm, the usual violence and swearing (though not as much as usual!), character using a mobility device.
General updates
Jun. 3rd, 2026 11:01 amomens- There is a robin on my rail with an alive worm wriggling in its beak, gross. In more adorable news, earlier there was a juvenile robin on my rail with NO worm AND many many spots :D they're such cute babies.
- Sunny is eating well now, her old food moistened (which before she would not touch, but now since chicken flavoured wet food is written off as drugged and suspicious, she is loving the half step toward normality) with fortiflora probiotics. And she's eating her steroid pill normally again, too.
- She is, in general, pretty much normal, aside from the diet. Last night she even rattled the closet doors a bit at 3am like a nod to old times >>>>:(
- Her mouth is adorable, from what I've seen (mouth is understandably off limits, ty), no fangs on the right side, but still both on the left. I don't know what else they're planning to take, but I know they're not done. It'll be a couple months yet.
- Liam's dentistry came in 300$ cheaper than I was quoted \o/
- He's signed up for the canadian dental plan \o/ (it was not terrible, the process, mostly just that it required his pc, his phone, his laptop, lolol, he kept having to go find more things - and his tax return, ofc. Hopefully he'll have coverage by his August apointment! And we'll have to remember to renew his application by June 1 of next year. Directly after taxes, I guess.
- Kelly's in Montreal for a conference about his new job and working long hours and being social all day like he's back in Alert, lol. Poor guy. At least they sent him BY TRAIN! In business class! And fed him! I'm so jealous. He texted me from the train and said "the woman behind me is calling everyone she knows to tell them she's on a train," hahahaaa I would, ngl. Train!
- Lauren and I finished watching Undercover Miss Hong and it was SO GOOD. It is not a romance (it had us afraid that it was, for a while), and it has a cast of wall to wall AMAZING characters ("And also Jungwoo is there," says Lauren LOLOL it's very true, he is the weak link fr (the character AND the actor, lol), but don't be afraid: not a romance). The villains were all so so so good. Heists! Friendship! We had many ships, too! I have millions to say about this drama but it's all spoilery. Really recommended.
Monthly Listening: May 2026
Jun. 2nd, 2026 08:14 pmadevyishI’m going to a concert tomorrow that already has some logistical red flags, so wish me the best D:
( Read more... )
(no subject)
Jun. 2nd, 2026 10:08 pmflemmingsWoke at what I thought was 9:30, didn't want to get up then so floated for a bit, then did All The Exercises, then went downstairs to get my breakfast. And the kitchen clock said 9:30. Battery must be dying, I thought, but the second hand still ticked away happily. When I got back upstairs, yeah, kitchen clock was right and I'd been awake since 8:30. Hence why I'm yawning at 10 p.m.
Well and also because I did indeed wash the stairs today, even if I had to stop halfway and take muscle relaxants for the back. I think the candle wax stains are there for good even if I scraped the actual wax off. Unfortunately used the wrong Dr. Bronner's so the house now smells of tea tree oil. But anyway, stairs are as clean as my arthritic elbows can get them.
Midafternoon I took a load of towels and pillowcases and fleeces to the laundromat, so that's also out of the way. Must go back eventually to do a cold wash of the velour throw that I use on the sofa in winter, which is too heavy for my ancient washing machine, but that can wait. And finally went out in the evening coolness and cut down more vines from the back fence, which I will bag up eventually. Daytime temps and humidity are rising so not going to do this during the day, but we're at the happy time of year when it's light after eight and I shall make the most of it. I heard Oliver barking indoors, oddly enough, because he's usually out in the yard. I fancy SND is away, possibly getting married, and she has a dogsitter in. Certainly I haven't seen him running around his yard lately.
So though I much prefer sitting on the couch with the fan and beanbags, I think I've moved sufficiently today.
Well and also because I did indeed wash the stairs today, even if I had to stop halfway and take muscle relaxants for the back. I think the candle wax stains are there for good even if I scraped the actual wax off. Unfortunately used the wrong Dr. Bronner's so the house now smells of tea tree oil. But anyway, stairs are as clean as my arthritic elbows can get them.
Midafternoon I took a load of towels and pillowcases and fleeces to the laundromat, so that's also out of the way. Must go back eventually to do a cold wash of the velour throw that I use on the sofa in winter, which is too heavy for my ancient washing machine, but that can wait. And finally went out in the evening coolness and cut down more vines from the back fence, which I will bag up eventually. Daytime temps and humidity are rising so not going to do this during the day, but we're at the happy time of year when it's light after eight and I shall make the most of it. I heard Oliver barking indoors, oddly enough, because he's usually out in the yard. I fancy SND is away, possibly getting married, and she has a dogsitter in. Certainly I haven't seen him running around his yard lately.
So though I much prefer sitting on the couch with the fan and beanbags, I think I've moved sufficiently today.
Pod-Together 2026
Jun. 2nd, 2026 11:33 amdevilwithabirddress posting in podfic_calendar
Title: Summer Podfic Swap 2026
Link: https://pod-together.dreamwidth.org
A multi-fandom collaborative event!
Schedule/Timeline
Podficcer sign-up date/s: June 1st-June 13th
Podfic submission date/s: August 23rd
"Party Favor" Deadline: September 5th
Posting date/s: August 27th-September 6th
Podficcer Requirements
Minimum: 1000 words or 10 minutes of audio (either minimum, doesn't have to be both) - can be multiple shorter works
Group signups or individual signups both allowed!
Podfic created will be part of a project written for the event by collaborators.
Additional Info
Mods can be contacted via Dreamwidth (pod_together ), Tumblr (pod-together ), Bluesky, or join the Discord server!
