What If? by StarSpray
Jul. 7th, 2026 10:00 pmAuthor notes: Written for the SWG July instadrabbles, and for Tolkien Gen Week on tumblr.
( Read more... )
On to the Quarterfinals!
Jul. 7th, 2026 07:12 pmThis is an account I've had for over 20 years. No matter what age I was when I opened it, I would clearly be of age since, and I have contacted customer service various times in the past due to problems. They know I'm a real person who has almost always accessed them from the same IP. I even had "diamond status", meaning I got extra points with each survey completed for faster rewards, as a result of being such a longtime member.
Apparently that was unimportant. I closed my account and they have not contacted me. Makes me wonder how many other people are doing so as well.
2) Watched Elle ( Read more... )
2) Brazil versus Norway. ( Read more... )
England versus Mexico. ( Read more... )
Portugal versus Spain. ( Read more... )
United States versus Belgium. ( Read more... )
Argentina versus Egypt. ( Read more... )
Switzerland versus Colombia. ( Read more... )
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 2
Want to leave a Kudos?
Day 1995: “This is punishment.”
Jul. 7th, 2026 03:24 pm
Today in one sentence: The U.S. launched new strikes against Iran after U.S. Central Command said Iran attacked three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the attacks “unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire”; the U.S. reportedly gave Tehran details on Iranian asylum seekers while trying to deport them back to Iran; Trump said he’d consider selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and lifting sanctions tied its purchase of a Russian S-400 air-defense system; Trump suggested he could pull U.S. troops out of Europe after NATO allies refused to support his demand that the U.S. should control Greenland; Top Democrats urged Graham Platner to drop out of Maine’s Senate race after a woman accused him of raping her in 2021; Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized for more than three weeks and his office won’t say why; 60% of Americans say Trump is using his office for personal gain; and 95% of Americans believe the U.S. is suffering an affordability crisis, with half saying they’re having trouble affording everyday necessities, like gas and groceries, and two-thirds saying they have little faith that the federal government will improve the cost-of-living.
1/ The U.S. launched new strikes against Iran after U.S. Central Command said Iran attacked three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the attacks “unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.” The strikes came after a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, a Saudi oil tanker, and a third vessel were hit near the Omani route through the strait, where Iran has insisted that ships use its approved route and argued that it should be able to charge passage fees. A U.S. official characterized the military strikes as “not proportional,” and saying: “This is punishment. It won’t be over for a bit.” Separately, the Trump administration revoked its temporary waiver allowing Iran to sell oil in global markets. The U.S. said Iran “will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior” and that its actions in the strait were “wholly unacceptable.” (Bloomberg / Associated Press / NBC News / CNBC / New York Times / CNN / New York Times / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNN / CNBC)
2/ The U.S. gave Tehran details on Iranian asylum seekers while trying to deport them back to Iran, a lawsuit alleges. The complaint says State Department and ICE officials shared names and immigration files, then kept sending records even after the U.S.-Iran war began. DHS, however, denied that ICE shared “asylum application records,” saying it only works with foreign governments to secure travel documents and consular access. (Washington Post / NBC News / ABC News / Associated Press / NPR / New York Times)
3/ Trump said he’d consider selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and lifting sanctions tied its purchase of a Russian S-400 air-defense system. Trump praised Turkey as an “extraordinary” ally and said it has been “much more loyal” than other NATO countries. A 2020 law, however, blocks the sale of F-35s to Turkey unless it gives up the Russian equipment, and Congress could still try to block the sale. Meanwhile, Israel opposes the sale, with Benjamin Netanyahu saying he urged Trump directly not to do it because giving Turkey the stealth jets would “destroy the power balance in the Middle East,” describing Recep Tayyip Erdogan as “not exactly a model ally” and warned that “when you give them that power, you’re going to see aggression in its wake.” Israel is currently the only country in the region with F-35s. (New York Times / CNN / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / Axios / Washington Post / Bloomberg)
4/ Trump suggested he could pull U.S. troops out of Europe after NATO allies refused to support his demand that the U.S. should control Greenland, saying the dispute had “hurt my relationship with NATO.” Speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump also said he was “very disappointed with NATO,” criticized Europe’s energy and immigration policies, and said the war between Russia and Ukraine “doesn’t affect us” ahead of a planned meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she expected allies to respect the sovereignty of the Danish kingdom and that U.S. control of Greenland “is not going to happen.” (Reuters / CNBC / Politico)
5/ Top Democrats urged Graham Platner to drop out of Maine’s Senate race after a woman accused him of raping her in 2021. Jenny Racicot said Platner showed up drunk and uninvited at her home while they were dating, ignored her repeated objections, and forced himself on her. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice,’” she said. Platner denied the allegation, calling “any accusation of non-consensual behavior” “categorically false,” while his campaign claimed the allegations were “coached and coordinated by out of state establishment operatives” and timed to come “a week before the ballot deadline.” Platner later said in a video that “regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting,” he was “mindful of the political reality it will inflict” and was taking time to “reflect on the best path forward” for Maine and “the goal of defeating Susan Collins.” If Platner withdraws by July 13, Maine Democrats have until July 27 to replace him on the ballot. If he doesn’t, the party could be stuck with Platner as their nominee in a race that’s essential to retaking control of the Senate. Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, meaning Democrats likely need to flip the Maine seat, where Susan Collins is the only Republican senator running in a state Democrats carried in 2024. (Politico / CNN / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / CNBC / New York Times / Washington Post)
6/ Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized for more than three weeks and his office won’t say why. The 84-year-old Republican hasn’t cast a Senate vote since June 11, but his office says McConnell “continues to improve” and is working with staff while the Senate is out of session. Emergency dispatch recordings from June 14 indicate first responders were sent to McConnell’s Washington address for an unconscious person before reporting “CPR in progress” and “cardiac arrest.” McConnell isn’t named in the audio and his office declined to comment on it. John Thune, John Barrasso, and former McConnell adviser Scott Jennings all said that they’ve spoken with McConnell by phone for about 20 minutes, with Barrasso’s office saying McConnell was “fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.” (Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / CNBC)
poll/ 60% of Americans say Trump is using his office for personal gain. (YouGov)
poll/ 95% of Americans believe the U.S. is suffering an affordability crisis, with half saying they’re having trouble affording everyday necessities, like gas and groceries, and two-thirds saying they have little faith that the federal government will improve the cost-of-living.(The Guardian)
The 2026 midterms are in 119 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 854 days.
- Today last year: Day 1630: "Very talented people."
- Four years ago today: Day 534: "Entrenched."
- Five years ago today: Day 169: "A lot of good things."
- Six years ago today: Day 1265: "Gave up and didn't try."
- 9 years ago today: Day 169: An honor to be with you.
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July AMA: Another twofer.
Jul. 7th, 2026 04:20 pmAgain, this is something I'm not quite sure how to answer by not having specific details or even a fully formed idea of what my ideal series would be about. Sorry this was lackluster of a response to your question. :(
Asked by
Well, as I keep saying, I'm tired of reboots. We've been living in this age of rebooting/remaking everything underneath the sun that if there was something that I had initially wished had been rebooted, I'm glad that it wasn't because it most likely wouldn't live up to expectations or further expand upon the original and just be another disappointing cheap cash grab. Although I will say, while I was indifferent towards it, I'm bummed about the BTVS sequel reboot, New Sunnydale, if only because the circumstances of how it was axed before it even got the chance to air makes me incredibly bitter and upset on behalf of SMG and the rest of the new cast who were excited and hyped up for it. Would it have been good? Hard to say without having seen anything, but it deserved to at least have that chance.
In addition to this, I also think that the Tomb Raider 2018 movie with Alicia Vikander should have gotten its franchise, as it was based around the 2013 reboot games. It was already greenlit for a sequel and ready to go, but then the pandemic hit and whatever contract deadline that was supposed to be met was missed and so it was silently cancelled. I thought the movie was fantastic, and I was yearning for more, and we deserved more, dammit.
thirty pillows pilfered
Jul. 7th, 2026 07:18 pmI am off tomorrow for the dentist - it should just be a cleaning (though I am braced to hear I need yet another crown) but I am always so tired when it's over. And my team meeting on Tuesday got cancelled so I am tempted to take next Tuesday off since I'm already off Wednesday (my birthday), Thursday, and Friday of next week. My boss was like, sure! but I'm still thinking about it.
I thought I had something else to post about but I can't remember... oh right, I finally watched Project Hail Mary the other night. I enjoyed it but it was too long. And there was not enough Eva Stratt, who was the best thing in the movie.
*
fic: Start clean-slated, Jumanji (1995), G
Jul. 7th, 2026 06:15 pmChapters: 1/1
Fandom: Jumanji (1995)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alan Parrish/Sarah Whittle
Characters: Sarah Whittle (Jumanji), Alan Parrish
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Growing Up Together, Childhood Sweethearts, Childhood Trauma, Time Travel
Summary:
All she has to do is wait for their future to unfold, and unfold herself into the person she was always meant to be.
AMA: Day 7
Jul. 7th, 2026 03:59 pmI answer: Comfort meal is pretty straightforward and simple to make! It's salmon, rice, and broccoli, with a bit of salt. I often make it with canned salmon, and sometimes I'll throw some homemade spicy mayo (a bit of mayo and like half a bottle of Sriracha) in with the fish.
History
Jul. 7th, 2026 05:58 pmNever forget.
Book Review Backlog: Part I (January to March)
Jul. 7th, 2026 03:36 pmThese are probably going to be brief, as my memory isn't that strong six months later.
Searching for Serafim: The Life and Legacy of Serafim "Joe" Fortes by Ruby Smith Díaz
(Local author, read before she gave a talk for Black History Month.)
Short biography and a poem about a Caribbean Black man working as a lifeguard in Vancouver, BC, in the early 20th century. The records of Serafim Fortes are pretty slight, and almost all from the perspective of white people—who treated him as a sort of mascot, and talked about how great he was despite his race—so Smith Díaz is mostly reading against the grain of the historical record, and speculating lot. I normally do not like history books that include this much speculation, however, Smith Díaz is very clear about when and why she's filling in ideas, and I think it works in this context. It introduced me to Marie-Claire Graham's concept of "speculative archiving" as a way of dealing with gaps in the record created by historical violence, which this book is more or less an example of. I appreciated that Smith Díaz did not shy away from or excuse records of Fortes behaving poorly. Very much worth a read as a local history, and as an example of navigating a fragmented and racist archive.
(Canada Reads Longlist, which I wish had been on the shortlist.)
A coming of age novel about a young woman in western Uganda, who discovers that her beloved older sister is a lesbian. One's reaction to that premise might be, "Oh no!" but this novel was not a tragedy about queer bashing, though the setting and my knowledge of Ugandan politics made it a tense read.
(I also felt that my ((at this point rather hazy)) knowledge of Ugandan geography, culture and food helped me a lot, including having been in the same places described in the book. There's a lot of cultural detail and non-English terms dropped in without explanation, so remembering what most things were saved me a lot of looking stuff up.)
But most of the novel is about a teenager trying to figure out both the world and herself, in a family with a lot of internal conflict and pressures. There's a few cases of sixteen-year-olds making poor choices, but for the most part the novel offers its characters a lot of grace. It's about discovering the world can be a lot bigger than you're told it is, and offering and receiving second chances. Really loved this one.
(Reread before getting into the new one.)
I'm really glad I reread this, as I initially rushed through it to find out what happened, and as a result didn't remember several key plot points, which turned out to be essential to the second novel. There are a lot of moving parts!
Basically still love everyone in this band, and appreciate getting a novel about decentralising power, rather than building empires.
Really enjoyed this one, also, though it ends in a more obvious cliffhanger than the first one, which stands more or less on its own.
Mostly just like the characters and enjoy spending time with them. It's again nice to see people struggling with the work of consensus building, interspersed with battle scenes, lol. I like Kai slowly coming out of his shell in the first timeline, and how much the characters have changed over the centuries between the flashbacks and present day. It really nicely both shows the long-range consequences, and builds up tension as the plots weave towards each other. Bit bummed out by some of the casualties along the way.
I hope we get the next one soon!
Flyover videos
Jul. 7th, 2026 11:19 pmWe grabbed our hats and sunglasses and went onto the roof to have a closer look.
It ended up being a very close look indeed. (I would like to point out that none of us were the ones clapping.)
This was a more comfortable view of the formation flying.
Here they are coming from t’other direction.
This continued for around 10 minutes before they all zoomed off, presumably to base for a little rest from the heat.
we have achieved PLYWOOD
Jul. 7th, 2026 10:59 pm(by which I mean, A very bravely ventured back to B&Q again, this time DID get The Goods, aaaaaaaand then discovered that even cut down they didn't fit in the car so they still needed to be attached to the roof rack with ratchet straps--)
we have achieved PROOF that the windows CLOSE when they have ratchet straps slung around both TOP and BOTTOM
we have a house at 26.7°C and an outside world at 26.1°C and it's time to go to bed
[Gru's plan goes here]
-- but hey, maybe at least we'll manage to discourage it from getting significantly warmer in here? and maybe I'll wake up early enough to open the house up usefully while we're still below 20°C tomorrow morning?
Wherever you go, still, there you are [status]
Jul. 7th, 2026 05:19 pmIt's always a little funny to travel to a different place and thereby be confronted by one's self. Arriving here in Tucson, I had something of a flurry of little to-do list items, like visiting every possible different food source location to stock up on miscellaneous groceries.
Some of the items couldn't get tackled until today, in the heat of the day. First, I took my bike over to a local bike shop to see if they can fix the bad wheel truing job I did on my rear wheel (it has an annoying hop). I really should have told them to go ahead and do a proper headset adjustment for me, but my brain might have been a little baked.
Bikeless, I walked over to a credit union to do a shared branching check deposit. Then I walked home.
Kind of hot out there.
The advantage of walking is it's easier to look at stuff, as compared to biking around. Behold, an old church:

The disadvantage of walking, of course, is that it's stupidly hot out there. Every little patch of shade matters.
This sign was reminiscent of a sculpture in that Arvada sculpture garden, except it just had one message:

(The Arvada one:)

Interesting train underpass along Stone Ave. Lots of signs to indicate this underpass floods regularly. Not right now, of course. It's quite dry currently. That's making it harder to find leafcutter ant colonies, but we'll keep at it.

Tucson has some phenomenal murals, like this one, which was tricky to photograph:

Yes, that's a javelina, tortoise, and hare riding bikes in the back.
When we're not out hunting for ants, I'm gradually managing to convince myself to work on the various projects I've brought along. I did not try to bring along the bike parts chandelier; instead, I have a knitting project to work on, and some books to read, and some manuscript-writing projects that I definitely need to tackle.
It is really nice to have a kitchen right here, so I can easily get a drink from the fridge and make myself a fresh lunch on the spot. We have to do a lot of driving to and from the field sites, though.
I cannot give a laurel for beauty to my girl
Jul. 7th, 2026 05:12 pm(no subject)
Jul. 7th, 2026 04:52 pmQuite a few Woodpeckers and House Sparrows eating suet and seed plus a few Catbirds and Mourning Doves cleaning up the crumbs.
The damp ground makes it easy to pull out some weeds between rain showers.
I see Farage is making it all about himself again
Jul. 7th, 2026 08:57 pmThere are a lot of reasons why I dislike that man. If you want a number, let's say five million.