Tags: funny

IM - pepper

The Vaccine Saviours of the World!

The singer is the Eliza that I saw both times I've seen Hamilton (she's actually one of the understudies for all three Schuyler sisters). The second time, King George finished You'll Be Back, and then the lights didn't dim as expected, and we had a pause in the program, after which the headliner Eliza (Chloe Zuel) was replaced with Kirrah.

This filk is clever, catchy, musical, and enjoyable.



FTR: Pfizer, AZ, and Moderna are the vaccines available to Australians. Moderna has only just hit our shores, so it's rather amusingly appropriate for "...and Peggy!"

The Sydney production of Hamilton has been cancelled since Sydney went into lockdown - obviously, they can't perform while Delta is on the loose. And the Arts in Australia have been completely unsupported by the government - conservatives who want people to go into productive capitalism, not anything leftist like the arts (or health science, or political studies).

As a result, the creative arts are strongly behind anything that will open up the entertainment sector faster. Right now, the goal is 70% adults vaccinated in NSW to open things up again. As such, the offical Hamilton Australia production has thrown its weight behind vaccination, and so have several of their cast, including Kirrah.
AVG - maria 3

such an aussie thing

Democracy Roll

"They saw them rolling, but nobody was hating..."

The idea of the architect was that you could walk up the hill and be on top of our representatives in government, and be able to show that this is democracy.

More than ever, right now, we need the reminder that our MPs represent us - that doesn't just mean executing our will for the country, but also that they are the example of us that the world sees.
HP - not strong

thoughts on thoughts and prayers vs action

First Dog On The Moon: featuring Brenda The Civil Disobedience Penguin.

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In the vein of 'actions, not just wishing and dreaming and hoping and praying for a better world', here's John Pavlovitz's take on Why Christians Need To Stop Praying.

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Oh, and for a touch of blackly humourous sarcasm (the kind I really like), have some Roy Zimmerman, "To The Victims Of This Tragedy We Send Our Thoughts And Prayers":
cat01

encouraging things (if not cat pictures)

A small tale of hope c/o an Australian author and her daughter: Four Years.

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#WhatIReallyWant: A little cheesy, and somewhat ironic given the election, but I find it...oddly uplifting. There are women and minorities in countries that have far less than women and minorities the west, and yet they're willing to fight for what they want, if it takes decades. At this rate, yes, it may take decades.



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I think the thing that tickled me most about this Joint Statement from California Legislative Leaders on Result of Presidential Election is that it was given in both English and Spanish. I know that's such a small thing, but it just...it was good to see. I'll take what I can get right now.

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The HannahPad - an Australian washable menstrual pad. If you use pads rather than tampons or menstrual cups, this might be your thing. And, hey, it's Australian!

Speaking of which, I need a new menstrual cup. I burned my previous one because I forgot it was on the stove (to sterilise) and all the water boiled away. Yes, this is something I do with eggs, rice, and menstrual cups. (Not all at the same time.)

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For those of you who love smutty het romances, I recommend Anne Calhoun's Alpha SEAL series. I actually started with one of her other books - I think it was free when it was recced by Smart Bitches Trashy Books, and so I snaffled it up. I've spent much more on her books since then.

Oh, and I found a reasonably decent (ice) hockey romance series: Portland Storm by Catherine Gayle. The last (ice) hockey romance series just pissed me off something awful - Deirdre Martin - I didn't like her style, I couldn't like the characters... IDEK.

I've been enjoying Portland Storm, though. Some of the guys are, shall we say, a little more chivalrous than I would expect of white American pro sportsmen - one of them remains a virgin until he's 24 because he's in love with the girl he ends up marrying (she's the daughter of one of the older guys on the team) and wanted sex to mean something. I'm sure there might be guys who do that, but...well, unicorns, etc.

Other than that, I've been re-reading Jo Graham and Melissa Scott's Order Of The Air series, which is about a found family of pilots set in the period between WWI and WWII. If you haven't read it, please do. It's both dark and uplifting - the 5th Book 'Oathbound' features the invasion of Ethiopia where the heroes are on Ethiopia's side against Italy (one of the Ethiopian princes is a friend of the main characters).

I don't know when the 6th book is coming out; the author has been struggling with the parallels between the state of the world in the 1930s and the current state of the world now. That may not seem like an encouragement to read them today, but the books are really good - hope and courage, a little excitement, quiet heroism, duty, and all kinds of love.

And I went back through the Stargate Legacy series, again by Jo Graham and Melissa Scott, 1-6 (the Atlantis expedition), and 7-8 (the Atlantis expedition + Elizabeth). Solid stories, good characters, everyone gets to play a part (that's important if you're like me and your favourites are not the show/fannish favourites), and happy endings.

CrossRoads Press does the Stargate books (SG1, SGA, SGU) with none of the fluff and palaver over DRM or fancy links. The book is yours to download, nice and easy, in EPUB or MOBI format.

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And just a few links for coping and managing:

[personal profile] rydra_wong has some points and ideas

How To Deal With Aggressive Confrontations: I've done this with a non-aggressive but extremely skeevy interaction between an older, clearly socially inept guy who was trying to chat with a 15 y.o. girl travelling by herself on the morning train.

[personal profile] colorblue has a list of organisations and groups to help get us all through this.

Smart Bitches Trashy Books' Self Care, Self Care, and More Self Care post.

Oh man, I just found their 2016 SBTB Gift Guide (Part 3: Crafty Edition) - and there are links to knitting patterns, and papercrafts, and A GHOSTBUSTER LEGO SET that features all the ladies (and Kevin)! *throws money at it*

Okay, so it links to Amazon, perhaps, but hey, A GHOSTBUSTER LEGO SET EXISTS AND IF YOU HAVE A LITTLE GIRL WHO NEEDS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT, HOO BOY! (And maybe it's a bit pricey.)

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Speaking of money: there was a tumblr post I read last night about people seeking American citizenship - particularly adoptees of colour, possibly brought to America by well-meaning white folk who may not have done the paperwork to give these children American citizenship. There is organisation and cost involved and, of course, because of the nature of the situation, politics.

If you know of someone who needs this citizenship and doesn't have the money for processing, DM me. I'm good to assist at least one, maybe two people get papers that means they have a legal way back to the country they've lived in all their life if someone decides they're not the right kind of person to be American. I know what it is to be considered 'not the right kind of person to be citizen of a majority white country' simply because of my race.

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When I first started typing this, I had a cut at the bottom of the post - "oh what the hell, have some more cat pictures" - because I figured I wouldn't have enough links.

Yeah, maybe the cat pics in another post then...
AVG - maria 3

Quora snark

I have begun reading Quora answers, because they're interesting, and some of the people put opinions far more succinctly than I ever could.

And the snark is strong with this one:

"Seriously? This is not the hill you want to die on. Move along."