oracne: turtle (Default)
oracne ([personal profile] oracne) wrote2025-12-17 11:17 am
Entry tags:

Three-Part "Messiah" Podcast

Making Messiah on Freakonomics. There's a transcript as well.

The podcast does have some advertisements.
Cake Wrecks ([syndicated profile] cakewrecks_feed) wrote2025-12-17 02:00 pm

John's Final Straw

Posted by john (the hubby of Jen)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Thanks to Natalia R., Anony M., Sandra B., Lisa S., and Vicky G. for sparking the idea.

*****

P.S. I agree, you COULD do a better job yourself. So have you seen these new silicone "piping bulbs?"

8 Pc Bulb Decorating Kit

Y'all. Go read the reviews; these things are apparently total game-changers. Easy to fill, clean, no more leaking piping bags, AND they fit all the Wilton metal tips we already have! I don't do much cake decorating these days, but I do pipe caulking for crafts, so I'm excited to try these out.

nancylebov: (green leaves)
nancylebov ([personal profile] nancylebov) wrote2025-12-17 10:05 am
Entry tags:

Illuminatus quote about police

I've been trying to find a quote from _Illuminatus!_ without, you know, actually rereading it, and a friendly person turned it up. It's about there being too few police to actually enforce laws.

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/open-thread-412/comment/188217822

*****

It's near the beginning of "Book Five", which is in the third volume:

"He wouldn't travel far," Saul explained. "He'd be too paranoid--seeing police officers everywhere he went. And his imagination would vastly exaggerate the actual power of the government. There is only one law enforcement agent to each four hundred citizens in this country, but he would imagine the proportion reversed. The most secluded cabin would be too nerve-wracking for him. He'd imagine hordes of National Guardsmen and law officers of all sorts searching every square foot of woods in America. He really would. Procurers are very ordinary men, compared to hardened criminals. They think like ordinary people in most ways. The ordinary man and woman never commits a crime because they have the same exaggerated idea of our omnipotence." Saul's tone was neutral, descriptive, but in New York Rebecca's heart skipped a beat: This was the new Saul talking, the one who was no longer on the side of law and order."

Saul Goodman is a police officer who gains a better understanding of the world as the books go on. I was wondering how the passage looks now.
osprey_archer: (yuletide)
osprey_archer ([personal profile] osprey_archer) wrote2025-12-17 08:18 am

Wednesday Reading Meme

What I’ve Just Finished Reading

Kate Seredy’s A Tree for Peter, which the library catalog listed as a Christmas book although it has actually just one (admittedly pivotal) Christmas scene. Little Peter lives in Shantytown, a miserable poverty-stricken slum. But his life changes when he meets a tramp, also named Peter, who gives him a red spade and promises to plant a tree for him if he’ll dig a hole for it. Peter does, and on Christmas Eve tramp Peter plants a spruce tree all decorated for Christmas. The candlelight draws the other residents of Shantytown out, and in the warm glow they see that if they worked together to clear out the junk and enlarge Peter’s garden and make the drafty shanties air-tight, they could make this a pleasant place to live… A classic 1930/40s story about common folk banding together to improve their lives.

I also read Ally Carter’s The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, a romystery that is two part romance to one part mystery which is, unfortunately, the opposite of my preferred mystery-to-romance ratio. I also found it annoying that spoilers )

Sadly I think I need to accept that Ally Carter is simply not for me. I’ve tried a bunch of her books and I always come away with the same feeling of “too much boyfriend, not enough spy school and/or mystery-solving.”

By this time I was getting frankly a bit tired of Christmas books, so I took a semi-break with Agatha Christie’s What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! (4.50 from Paddington outside the US), which just barely squeaks within the parameters of the Christmas book challenge because What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw is a murder in a passing train at Christmastime as she is on the way to visit her dear friend Miss Marple.

My first Miss Marple! I’ve been kind of meh on Christie in the past, but I really enjoyed the experience of reading this one although I found the final solution to the mystery somewhat unconvincing. However, I am not reading mysteries for the solution! I read mysteries for the journey and if the journey happens to end in a convincing solution, so much the better.

What I’m Reading Now

This week in Ruth Sawyer’s collection The Long Christmas, a story from the Dolomites about a town of rich, greedy, gluttonous, selfish folk, every single one of whom refused to give shelter to a traveler on a cold Christmas Eve, for which sin the town flooded and became a lake. If you stand on its shores at Christmas Eve, you can still hear the bells ringing for the midnight Mass.

This story is centuries old and therefore not intentionally a parable for global warming and/or the crisis of global economic inequality. However, if the shoe fits…

What I Plan to Read Next

My hold on J. Jefferson Farjeon’s Mystery in White: A Christmas Crime Story has arrived!
doreyg: ([Hades Game] Aphrodite)
dorey ([personal profile] doreyg) wrote2025-12-17 01:00 pm
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Hades II: The Chaos Run

This is a very overdue post, and will probably be a deeply incoherent post in many ways. But hey ho.

Here are my thoughts on my first playthrough of Hades II! Probably my favourite game that I’ve personally played this year, and containing some of my absolute favourite characters. I’ve gone run by run instead of a more general overview, so this is definitely going to be a bit more bitty than usual, but hopefully my adoration for it comes through anyway. :D

Read more... )

This was somehow even more chaotic than I thought it’d be, hey ho. Anyway, I loved the game and am very glad that I played it! :D
dancing_serpent: (Actors - Cheng Yi - Xie Huai'an 02)
Phaeton ([personal profile] dancing_serpent) wrote in [community profile] c_ent2025-12-17 01:58 pm
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Quick Rec Wednesday

Rec time! Did you read/watch/listen to something you really liked and would love other people to know about, too? Don't have the time or energy to make a full promo post, or think such a small thing doesn't merit a separate entry?

Here's your chance to share with the class! Just drop a comment with a link and maybe a couple of words in description. No need to overthink things, it can be as simple as Loved this! or OMG, look at that!. (You don't need to keep it short, though, write as much as you want.)

Check out the previous entries, too!
spikedluv: (winter: mittens by raynedanser)
it only hurts when i breathe ([personal profile] spikedluv) wrote2025-12-17 07:39 am

Wednesday Reading Meme & Books 101 & 111 of 2025

What I Just Finished Reading: Since last Wednesday I have read/finished reading: The Serpent on the Crown (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) by Elizabeth Peters and Killing Field (A Jack Reacher Novel) by Lee Child.


What I am Currently Reading: I haven’t technically started it yet, but the next book on my list is Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall.


What I Plan to Read Next: I have two library books to pick up, so probably one of those.




Book 110 of 2025: The Serpent on the Crown (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) (Elizabeth Peters)

I enjoyed this! spoilers )

I liked this book and have already requested the next. Sadly, I think it's the last in the series that doesn't look back at the ‘lost seasons'. I'm giving this one five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥




Book 111 of 2025: Killing Field (A Jack Reacher Novel) (Lee Child)

I enjoyed this book, but I wasn't sure I was going to. The authors writing style, with all those short, choppy sentences, drove me nuts. spoilers )

I liked this book enough to check out the next in the series; I'm giving this book four hearts.

♥♥♥♥
duckprintspress: (Default)
duckprintspress ([personal profile] duckprintspress) wrote2025-12-17 07:25 am

WWW Wednesday

real quick today cause I'm very low on time before I have to go vend

1. What are you currently reading?

  • Lout of Count's Family vol. 5 by Yu Ryeo-Han: both my other Libby novels are due sooner. I started this anyway.
  • The Dream of the Red Chamber by Tsao Hsueh-Chin: chipped away a bit more over the weekend, expect to read more today (I've been bringing it vending, when I don't want to use my phone cause I need the charge to last, so I leave myself no choice but to read the thing I'm meh about. It's not even that it's bad, I'm just not finding it very engaging. The last couple chapters were actually more interesting to me, tho, so I'm hoping that keeps up.)


2. What have you recently finished reading?

  • The Apothecary Diaries light novel vol. 1 by Natsu Hyuuga: I enjoyed it enough to keep going, at least. I think of the three versions I've encountered (manga and anime being the other two) I liked this one the best.
  • 我和我对家 by PEPA: I finished it! I finished it! Reading the censored version continued to be hilarious but I do think that by the end a casual reader could have figured out they're in love, lmao.
  • I Ship My Rival x Me manhua vol. 1 and 2 by PEPA: I think immediately turned around and started rereading the manhua again, for all the couples feels that got censored out of the book.
  • BL Metamorphosis vol. 5 by Kaori Tsurutani: I was kinda disappointed in the conclusion. It felt rushed, and there was no payoff on what the younger half of the friendship would do. Like, she started doing art. Is she gonna continue? Do they stay in touch? It felt weak, even the few plotlines that were introduced had virtually no pay-off.
  • Girl Friends vol. 1 by Milk Morinaga: by far my least favorite of the Morinaga titles I've read so far.
  • I am NOT Starfire by Mariko Tamaki: eh, it was fine I guess
  • Kase-san and Yamada vol. 1 by Hiromi Takashima: I thought this was a vol. 1 considering. it says it's a vol. 1. But it's actually volume 6. Still, it was followable... and I didn't like it much, Kase-san is weirdly controlling and jealous in ways that weren't in anyway acknowledged and were treated as okay.
  • Dandadan vol. 4: Yukinobu Tatsu: the crack continues. Not that I expected it to end.

3. What will you read next?

Novels: I have Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle and A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett on Libby and have to read them before they run out of time, so.

Physical Library Loans: The Backstagers vol. 1 to 3 by James Tynion IV and others

Libby: After Hours by Yuhta Nishio and Heavy Vinyl: Y2K-O by Carly Usdin are both due in under a week, so at minimum those. I have a lot of Libby loans rn, a bunch of holds came through at the same time, so I expect to try to get through a lot of them as I have the time.


elisem: (Default)
Elise Matthesen ([personal profile] elisem) wrote2025-12-17 04:28 am

Yuletide progress: it is posted!

 I have met the deadline and posted the thing! Now we just have the week between today and Reveal Day, also known as "the week where I find all the hidden typos and fix them." Main Collection Reveal Day for the fics is the 24th, and is followed by Author Reveals on January 1.

This year was more work than previous years, for a very particular reason. I got COVID for the first time in October, and while I got very lucky (Paxlovid turns out to work for me, yay!), I am so easily drained to exhaustion, by pretty much anything including brain work, which has never been this bad before. Also, I'm used to multitasking, and hoo boy do I need different strategies and approaches now.

I'm planning for a very long recuperation, since it looks like that's the smart way to go. But here we are, and today is a milestone day. The story is a story, and it's posted, and now I can catch up a little on my Etsy shop (I hardly posted anything new while writing) and my eBay offers (I'm selling most of a half-century's worth of queer and related subjects library, since I'm not a working journalist any more and somebody really should get use out of these books and periodicals).

It's been a long time. I had forgotten the peculiar satisfaction that comes with meeting a deadline.
spikedluv: (winter: mittens by raynedanser)
it only hurts when i breathe ([personal profile] spikedluv) wrote2025-12-17 06:57 am

The Day in Spikedluv (Tuesday, Dec 16)

I hit Price Chopper, the Pharmacy, and CVS (for mom) while I was downtown.

I did three loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and shaved. I made him cheese sausage for supper (one of the guys at work had it and he thought it looked good).

I watched two more eps of The Pitt. Secrets of the Zoo was my background tv in the evening.

Temps started out at 21.4(F) (it was supposed to be 10, so that was a nice surprise; still cold, though) and reached 31.3. It immediately started going down, but there was no wind (and no more snow clogging the trails) so the walks were actually nice.


Mom Update:

Mom was doing about the same today. more back here )
sabotabby: (books!)
sabotabby ([personal profile] sabotabby) wrote2025-12-17 06:50 am
Entry tags:

Reading Wednesday

Just finished: Censorship & Information Control: From Printing Press to Internet by Ada Palmer. This was really good. Feels like even though it's pretty recent and deals mostly with history, it could use an update as the technology for censorship has advanced rapidly in the past few years, so I hope she/her students are still doing some work around it.

Currently reading: The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. Usually in December, after I've hit my Goodreads goal, I read something that's gratuitously long and would otherwise fuck up my goal if it didn't spill over into January (yay for anything and everything in my life being quantified and gamified, love that for me). This year's winner is my high school English teacher's favourite book, which he recommended but said that we wouldn't get until we hit middle age. Well, now I am middle aged so I'm reading it.

It's a curious book. I always hit the literary classics and go like. Oh. Haha. This is stranger and funnier than I imagined.

Me: I guess I will finally read literary classic The Magic Mountain.
 
Thomas Mann: Allow me to introduce my himbo failson, Hans Castorp. He is pure of heart and dumb of ass.

Am I enjoying it? I dunno, as much as you can enjoy a 1000+ page book which goes into detail about the breakfast, second breakfast, rest period, lunch, dinner, second dinner, etc. of the character. Which is the point, really—the mountain in question is a liminal space where in theory, the tuberculous patients can leave, but don't. But it's a slog.
chacusha: (cozy)
chacusha ([personal profile] chacusha) wrote in [community profile] latetreatbonanza2025-12-17 10:31 am
Entry tags:

1 week until deadline!

Hi everyone! Sorry, I meant to post a reminder earlier. I feel like it's a bit of a busy period in exchange land at the moment, but this is just a reminder that the collection for Late Treat Bonanza will be opening a little bit more than one week from now (countdown)!

Be sure that your works are ready to go live by then. We currently have 5 late treats in the collection!

Sign-ups are also still open. It's a bit last-minute to sign up, but you can go ahead and do it before LTB ends for the year!

Useful links:
Schedule & sign-up post
Late Treat Bonanza 2025 AO3 Collection
Searchable sign-up spreadsheet
Event rules & FAQ
I Can Has Cheezburger? ([syndicated profile] icanhascheezburger_feed) wrote2025-12-17 02:00 pm

25 Hissterical Hooligan Cat Memes Featuring Felines Bringing Joy And Chaos To Everyday Life

Posted by Briana Viser

We all need joy and chaos. Too much of the same thing will make anyone go crazy, so as we balance our day to day monotony, we add a few dashes of capricious kitty chaos to the mix. Every time you see a cat you may think to yourself, "how adorable!" But underneath the big eyes, the adorable stares, and the wild whiskers lies an evil, mischievous side that no one can refuse. If laughter truly is the best medicine, then cats are actually the best medicine. Being addicted to your cat is okay, even if he is a hooligan. 

There's no menace like that of the four legged feline. Cats are the ultimate jesters, jokers, clowns, and capricious, malicious, prankers and deceivers. They may trick you with their innocent countenance, their baby-like features, soft fur, and sweet meows. Don't trust them! By the time you finish this purrfectly curated list of chaotic cats, you may feel as though you need to squeeze your bundle of softness. So if you scroll these hissterical cat memes, make sure you do it in the comfort of your cozy home so that you can chase, pull, yank, or pet your kitty cat at any time. 

I Can Has Cheezburger? ([syndicated profile] icanhascheezburger_feed) wrote2025-12-17 09:00 am

Pawrent rushes outside to find their "missing" cat, pays over $400 at the vet, then comes home and r

Posted by Blake Seidel

Lucky for us, none of our cats has any desire to go outside, so we have no flight risks in our house. We could leave the door wide open for hours if we wanted to and they wouldn't step one purrfect paw out the door, but that's not true for every cat. Some cats will run at even the slightest opening, not knowing that what they have inside is so much better than life outdoors. It's one of every cat pawrents' greatest fears - the cat escaping and them never coming back. That's what struck our pawrent below, and they went on a wild ride to rescue "their" cat.

They thought they lost their cat, 'Luna', after accidentally leaving the door open. Rushing outside to rescue them, they find a black cat limping outside. Without thinking, they scoop up the cat and drive to the vet, spending over $400 on treatment. Antibiotics, check up, the whole works. Finally letting out a sigh of relief, the pawrent and "her" cat drive home. She lets the cat out of the carrier, and lo and behold, her cat appears from behind the sofa. Uh oh!

We're not sure if they accidentally stole a neighbor's cat or rescued a stray, but in the end, they did a good thing. The Cat Distribution System works in purrfectly unconventional ways, and they may be $400 poorer, but hey, they got a new cat! Now it's your turn to scroll down and read through all the hissterical details below!

I Can Has Cheezburger? ([syndicated profile] icanhascheezburger_feed) wrote2025-12-17 06:00 am

50 Cutest Cat Posts of 2025 to Cozy up With and Smile All the Way to Next Year

Posted by Mariel Ruvinsky

The end of the year is almost here, and really, friends, we don't know how we made it. A lot happened this year. Some would argue too much. In every corner that we looked, there was drama, there was chaos, there were things that we… simply didn't want to see sometimes. But one thing helped us get through it. One thing has made us smile, no matter what else was going on. It's the same thing every year. It always works, and it will continue to work. It's cats. And more specifically, it's adorable cat posts and stories. 

There is a reason why adorable cat stories go viral all the time. People need them. People need the pawsitivity in their lives. And cute cats fulfill that need for us. Forever and always, no matter what is going on in the world, we know that there are corners on the internet full of cats that we can go to. There will always be a new adorable cat, there will always be a sweet story for us to smile at, and cats will always continue to rule the internet. As they should. 

luzula: a Luzula pilosa, or hairy wood-rush (Default)
luzula ([personal profile] luzula) wrote2025-12-16 09:14 pm
Entry tags:

Write every day: Day 16

Oops, I had the draft of this post open yesterday evening, but forgot to post it! How did your writing go? I, um, opened my document and looked at it, but there was no writing. Unless I count the course plans I worked on for my job, which I will not.

Tally:
Read more... )
Day 15: [personal profile] sylvanwitch, [personal profile] trobadora, [personal profile] brithistorian, [personal profile] badly_knitted, [personal profile] goddess47, [personal profile] the_siobhan, [personal profile] cornerofmadness, [personal profile] carenejeans, [personal profile] china_shop, [personal profile] sanguinity, [personal profile] chestnut_pod

Day 16: [personal profile] china_shop, [personal profile] brithistorian, [personal profile] sanguinity

Bonus farm news: Housemate is sawing up a section of a large oak trunk that we got when the neighbors had a tree cut down. Among other things, he plans to make a large oak table for the living room out of two of the (very wide and heavy!) planks. Which will now need drying for two years before said table can be made, but I think it will be gorgeous.