arduinna

iamrman posting in

scans_daily

Writer: John Ostrander

Pencils and inks: Tom Mandrake

Katar's promotional tour for the Thanagarian Museum takes him to New York, where he encounters the heroine Firehawk.

( Read more... )

kathleen_dailey

- It's a glorious day in Toronto--warm and sunny, with a luminous pre-autumn haze visible when you look toward the lake. I wish this weather would go on for weeks and weeks.

- We're off to visit an open house in our building today. The unit that's for sale is identical to ours (one of 15 out of 104 with this layout and square footage). A unit like ours hasn't been for sale since long before the pandemic began, so we're curious to see how it's been tarted up and whether it might be likely to sell for anything close to the asking price.

- Season 8 of Hudson and Rex starts a week from Monday, but it's going to seem like a different show. ( Read more... )

- The season finale of Strange New Worlds left me puzzled and disheartened. ( Read more... )

- I was supposed to visit my former neighbours yesterday and pay overdue homage to the kitties that I used to watch for them when they were out of town. Sadly, one of the humans was sick, so we had to postpone. While I'm happy to have three lovely, friendly dogs living on my floor, I do miss the knowledge that at 7 p.m. every day the two cats from unit 903 would be taking their evening stroll up and down the hallway, and that if I contrived to open my door at just the right time I might--might, no guarantees, these are cats we're talking about--be granted a head butt or an ankle rub.

nanila posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

andrewducker

1. If you were wondering what Bryan Fuller and Mads Mikkelsen were up to, it's a movie about a guy who will (for the right money) kill the monster under your bed. Dust Bunny (also starring Sigourney Weaver).: I wish my kids were a few years older...
(tags:monsters children movies trailer )
2. How were escalators invented, and how safe are they? (very, unless your maintenance people are corrupt): (tags:design technology safety video history )
3. Israeli conductor condemns his country in extraordinary Proms outburst: (tags:Israel Palestine )

scripsi

No spoilers in this post

I think I can safely say Sparkling Cyanide (1944) was the third Agatha Christie I ever read, because I remember being very attracted by the cover. It’s the one you can see in this post, and I found it both pretty and intriguing. Of all the Christie books my parents had, this was very likely the one I chose, just because of that.

The book begins with a number of characters remembering the beautiful and wealthy Rosemary Barton. At this point she has been dead for almost a year from what appears to have been a suicide, though no one can find a very convincing reason, or explain why she choose to do it by cyanide at a restaurant. Among them are her younger sister Iris, who reflects she never really knew her sister, and her husband, George Barton. There are also Anthony Browne and Stephen Farraday, both in love with Rosemary, Stephen's wife Sandra, and Ruth Lessing, George’s secretary. All of them people who may have had a reason to kill Rosemary. Then George arranges a new dinner party, with the same people, and the same restaurant as when Rosemary died. And someone else dies, and this time it’s clear it’s murder…

This novel has neither Poirot nor Miss Marple as detectives, but the semi-recurring Colonel Race, who in this book is an old friend of Geroge Barton. I’m always surprised Poirot isn’t in it, which is probably because he is the detective in the short story “Yellow Iris”, which has pretty much the same plot and characters, but another murderer. And Sparkling Cyanide feels like a Poirot novel than anything else, and there is not a very good reason for not having him, apart from Christie just not wanting to.

Generally Sparkling Cyanide seems to be considered a mid-rung Christie. It’s written during her Golden Age, and I think it would have been ranked higher if Poirot had been in it. Race just isn’t a very exciting detective. Personally, though, it has always been one of my favourites. I always enjoyed the first chapters where the various characters remember Rosemary, and the murder plot, even if it’s very complicated, is entertaining. And I’m still coveting a dressing gown in spotted silk, like the one Rosemary has. Also, Aunt Lucilla is quite funny.

There are several adaptations, but the only one I have seen is from 1983 with Anthony Andrews as Anthony Browne. The only thing I remember about that one was that I was disappointed it wasn’t set in the 1940s. There is, however, an excellent adaptation of “Yellow Iris” with David Suchet from 1993.

mific posting in

amplificathon

We have a new alternate address for the Audiofic Archive: https://audioficarchive.org

This an additional domain name that works exactly like the old jinjurly one
Both this one and the prior one, and all links deriving from these urls will function normally
The new link makes it a little easier for us to manage domain name renewals

Podfics posted from now on will have the new address in the post link and in any audiofile links.

sovay

I am glad to read that a classicist on Tumblr whom I do not know feels validated by a poem I wrote a dozen years ago, because she's right in turn about the linkage of ideas that led to its writing: the evocatio of Juno from Veii in 396 BCE, the evocatio of Tanit from Carthage in 146 BCE, the assimilation of Tanit to Juno Caelestis rather than Ištar-starred Venus, the self-fulfilling loop of enmity that a double-thefted goddess makes of the Aeneid and under it all the irony that Vergil even in his Renaissance aspect as magician could not foresee, that Carthage-haunted Rome was itself built on the needfire of the most famously sacked city of the ancient world, Troy whose gods Aeneas salvaged from the night of its destruction and now we remember Rome as the epitome of decadence, the eternally, contagiously falling city.

Also I had just been turned down by a housing situation that I had painfully wanted, but the classical stuff was all still bang on.

Current Music: Frank Turner, "The Next Storm"

snowynight

The Interactive Fiction Competition (IFComp) is an annual celebration of new, text-driven digital games and stories from independent creators. You can play as many of the entries as you like and vote for them in a ballot (requires a free signup). The vote is up to 15 Oct. I have played several of the choice based entries playable online.

Games I have finished and like:

Saltwrack: "A crew of three. A lost city, far in the north. A thousand miles of toxic ice. Plot your course, manage supplies, study apocalypse biota, and don't lose your mind. You'll find out why the world was ruined, or die trying. Content warning: This is a work of horror; it gets grim. Specific content warnings are available in the game's ABOUT page."

thoughts: I like it most. Very atmospheric, and the resource management gameplay really matches how grim and strange the world is.

Pharos Fidelis: "A romantic island getaway. CW: graphic violence, sexually suggestive content, toxic academia, denial of agency, hunger, death. Postmodern fantasy-horror gay demon melodrama"

thoughts: I find the world building with demon summoning intriguing. The gay reluctant summoner/demon romance is nice. I also like the check point system: saving me time to replay.

The Litchfield Mystery: "A wealthy businessman, dead in his study. Eight suspects, harbouring secrets and twisted truths. "There's always more to it than meets the eye..." To others, a tired cliché. To you, the cardinal principle that has successfully guided you in all your cases as The Sleuth. And you, Detective Pearce, are not about to let this one go cold."

thoughts: The walkthrough is very detailed and useful. The clues are reasonable, and the solution makes sense.

The Secrets of Sylvan Gardens: "When you find yourself sleepwalking in the lush ornamental gardens of the Sylvan Villa, you must discover how to break the thrall of a mysterious trance. You will be aided in your journey by the gardens' keepers: a gardener, a botanist, a librarian, and an enigmatic hermit. Form bonds of friendship or pursue a slow-burn romance as you roleplay, helping these companions with quests that draw you deeper into their individual stories."

thoughts: It's a cosy fantasy adventure with a good mix of puzzles. The NPc are cute and I love spending time with them. I also like the thoughtful ending choices, The creator(s) also created Fantasy Opera: Mischief at the Masquerade (solving a mystery before an opera opening) & The Path of Totality (cozy fantasy road trip adventure), which are both enjoyable

Penthesileia: "Your husband is a very important man, he tells you; many would like to see his head on a silver platter. Content warning: Material may not be suitable for children; please note strong language, as well as allusions to death, sexual themes, and violence"

thoughts: It's linear and quite obvious how the plot will go, but it's satisfying to play to the end.

iamrman posting in

scans_daily

Writers: Karl and Barbara Kesel

Pencils: Greg Guler

Inks: Scott Hanna

Hawk and Dove fight an old-timey rampaging robot.

( Read more... )

casemod posting in

caseficexchange

Hello!

Thank you again for joining me for the inaugural round of Casefic Exchange (and thanks to the nonnies who expressed interest in an exchange like this earlier this year—it encouraged me to finally get this one on the exchange scene)!

I have a few things I'd appreciate hearing specifically about, but I'm also keen to hear about other aspects of the exchange. Please keep in mind that I'll be incorporating feedback that works for me as a moderator, as I need to manage this exchange within my schedule and limits.

I will do my best to reply to feedback, but please don't think anything of me saying "Thanks for your feedback!", as I will only ask further questions regarding feedback I'd like more information on.

More?

Perhaps the most important question of them all: 1. Are you interested in another round?

Schedule

2. I liked the time of year that we held the exchange, and I'd like to do so again, although I would like to shift the schedule to begin earlier in the year. I made the schedule based on my personal and exchange commitments (and will do so again), and if we have another round next year, I will keep the schedule in the first half of the year.

I'm considering starting nominations in January or February next year (I originally wanted to open in March this year, but wanted more time with the exchange before going live). If we open nominations in January, that means nominations/sign-ups are in January and the creation period falls in February/March/April, leaving May/June as the pinch hit/(hopefully) reveals period — would this be ideal? I understand we will always clash with other exchanges, especially those with higher minimums, but early in the year works perfectly for me as a moderator.

I prefer to avoid July entirely as I participate in Battleship Exchange, and I know a handful of you do, too.

3. Did Friday deadlines work? I chose Friday because the deadline conversion would be Saturday early afternoon for me (I am in AEST/AEDT). The alternative is to shift this to Sunday EST/EDT, so it falls on my Monday AEST/AEDT. (Saturday EDT/EST is not an option I will be considering.)

Regardless of the day we settle on, I would ask for leniency, as a mid-afternoon deadline for me may clash with plans that arise over the year. The 11:59pm EDT/EST deadline works for me, and I will keep this moving forward.

I'm not overly concerned about not being online when deadlines hit as long as participants make a good faith effort to meet them and are not stressed out by the fact I may not post until hours later that X deadline has come. (I always intend to post if something crops up offline that will prevent me from executing a phase.) I intentionally waited at least half an hour to an hour after the deadlines before taking any action to give people extra time in case they miscalculated the time conversion.

So: Friday or Sunday EDT/EST? It makes no difference to me, so please let me know!

As someone who exists entirely in the future, my exchange experiences with deadlines have always consisted of me adding a +1, which will most likely be different from the majority of participants, so I'd appreciate feedback on this.

Exchange mechanics

4. Did the minimum requirements work for everyone? Is 3k and its equivalents too small? I have no interest in decreasing this minimum. I'd appreciate hearing from all types of creators—fic, artists, and podficcers.

5. Freeforms were not something I was interested in adding during the first round as I wanted to try to make the exchange run as smoothly as possible so everyone (especially myself) could get a feel of how it'd run without that additional complication. (Full transparency: Freeforms, outside of the medium freeforms, are new for me as a moderator!)

I will investigate how to add freeforms to the exchange for the next round, as I think this would work well for prompts, i.e. you can select "heist", "murder mystery", etc. so your creator(s) know what kind of genre/theme of casefic you're interested in.

I would build into the schedule a week for crowdsourcing generic freeforms, such as "murder mystery", "heist", "stolen item", etc., as I will undoubtedly miss one if I leave it to myself, and make that final list available for you to select when signing up. These freeforms will not be "X con artist steals flower vase from museum" kind of freeforms. It'd be more in line with how

fandom5k has genre freeforms. I think this will assist when participants forget or choose not to provide casefic-theme prompts.

Given how small the exchange is, I'm hesitant to make these matchable, as we already are niche given we're a themed exchange.

Creation Period

6. How did you find the creation period? Was it too long? Just right? Did you want longer? I chose three months based on feedback from anons and because I broke it down as 1k = 1 month.

Please be mindful that I'm not interested in shifting the creation period based on other exchange commitments. We will always clash with other exchanges.

Check-in period

7. Did you want a check-in period? Given our long creation period, I wasn't sure if this was desired. I made the default deadline to be an unofficial check-in, but it didn't work as intended. Would you like a mandatory check-in period, similar to

fffx?

Default deadline and extension deadline

8. Did you find the default deadline motivating? The default deadline didn't exactly work as I had intended, as we ended up with more extensions than I had anticipated. I'm considering removing the default deadline from the schedule, but since it didn't work as I wanted from a moderator's perspective, did it work from a participant's perspective?

If it didn't work from either perspective, I'll remove it for the next round.

9. As I didn't anticipate so many extensions (there is nothing wrong with this!), I will be building two extension deadlines into the schedule that you can choose from (similar to how

ficinabox does this), as this will help me manage pinch hits. I learned from this year that having a deadline option available worked better than choosing the next Friday as an extension deadline.

I would prefer participants to email me for an extension, as I find that having this record is useful for me if I need to follow up. I was considering creating a Google form, but I would want emails to be logged/a record of your extension request sent to you so you have a record and reminder that you asked for it. I'd like to hear your preferences, as I have only ever used a Google form to request an extension as a participant and not as a moderator!

Trialling: Request specific assignment

10. Given the niche nature of the exchange, I'm hesitant to add swaps; however, I am considering allowing participants to request a specific assignment, with the caveat that you are not guaranteed your request being successful.

I saw some commentary about participants taking a more conservative approach to their offers for this exchange, given the minimum requirements, so I wanted to gauge interest in trialling this approach. (Please note this is not something I have ever offered before in any of my exchanges, so there would be a learning curve on the mod end on how to manage this.)

If there is an interest in swapping, I will investigate further how to run this as smoothly as possible.

*

Please let me know if there was anything else you'd like to be considered for round two! I tried to run round one as flexibly and simply as possible, while being open to ideas as I got my bearings with such an exchange (my experience is with a "/" exchange) and didn't wish to overcomplicate matters. I'm happy to add some more complexity to the exchange if that will improve the experience.

I'd appreciate any feedback, but please be aware that I will only implement what works for me as a moderator and makes the moderator side of the exchange as smooth as possible. I wish I could cater to everyone, but I can't.

You can comment here or email me at gumshoeagency@gmail.com.

Thank you again! It's been a lot of fun. :)

viridian5

I realized that I didn't let you guys know that I bought a pair of sneakers! I transitioned out of the crappy podiatric boot and into the sneakers over a week ago, most often while also wearing a compression sleeve on my left foot and ankle but not always.

I went to Da-Bar Shoes in Maspeth, the place where I've bought my SAS walking shoes for years. Went in telling them what my doctor said, my experiences and what sneakers I tried on at New Balance and Dick's Sporting Goods (where I tried a Brooks brand sneaker), that the sneaker needs to be able to accommodate a compression sleeve or foot wrap, and that the upper range of the price I'm willing to pay is $150, while wearing the SAS shoe I bought there on my right foot. (Telling them that I've been buying my SASs from them for years, so they knew I was a longtime customer and they needed to treat me right for continued business.)

I had two salespeople tending to me. One told me that Hokas haven't been made as well recently so they don't last as long. I mentioned that I hated the aesthetic of Hokas and that I wanted to avoid a sneaker that screamed to viewers about it being a sneaker if possible.

I walked out with a pair of Easy Spirit for $80!

The toes aren't as crazy as the New Balance, but I am forced to walk somewhat differently due to the firm soles my podiatrist demanded.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: "Three Imaginary Boys" by the Cure

abyss_valkyrie

Super late post! </3 There are icons of 10 different fandoms, made for the August Bingo at fandom10in30. Comments are loved and appreciated. All icons are free for taking. Hover for the theme & fandom names.

Preview:

( 10 multifandom icons )

snowynight

6 medium-sized apples, 5 eggs, 1 quart of milk, sugar, the rind of 1/2 a lemon and some almond or vanilla essence. Pare and core the apples, and boil them in 1 pint of water, sweetened with 2 oz. of sugar, and the lemon rind added, until they are beginning to get soft. Remove the apples from the saucepan and place them in a pie-dish without the syrup. Heat the milk and make a custard with the eggs, well beaten, and the hot milk; sweeten and flavour it to taste, pour the custard over the apples, and bake the pudding until the custard is set.

From Dr. Allinson's cookery book, comprising many valuable vegetarian recipes by T. R. Allinson (1915)

dine

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

viridian5

I watched Alien: Covenant and kept getting knocked out of the groove by how stupid these people are. So. So. Stupid. I made it through to the end and felt no sympathy due to how unrelentingly stupid they were.

They made the crew of the previous Alien movie, Prometheus, look like geniuses by contrast. The bar is in hell.

( spoilers )

I really liked the first two episodes of Alien: Earth but not so much the next two episodes. I hear things get crazy in episode 5 and hope to get a chance to see it.

+++

During last year's car trouble, I didn't get to make my annual 9/11 trip to see the Tribute in Light so I felt it very important to do it this year with my Kia. At about 3 a.m. While I usually do a Shuffle for my music during it and end up with eerily appropriate selections, this year I was listening to Lady Gaga's Mayhem album, which affected the vibe. If the world doesn't burn down within the next year, I'm somewhat afraid of what people will do for the 25th anniversary.

Up close, I saw the birds flying in circles within the light beams, which is a cool visual effect. I'm also glad the lights get turned off now and then so the birds can escape.

Then I went uptown. Bergdorf Goodman had new cool window displays but there was nowhere to park to shoot them because there was a frickin' cop convention going on, officers and barricades everywhere and two blocks of trucks of various kinds lining the curbs of the streets around Trump Tower, which is a block away from Bergdorf Goodman. Also, I can only imagine the reactions of cops to me walking around the area taking photos. I assume the barrier wall of trucks were put up because of 9/11. I imagine one of the most disrespectful things you could do to 9/11 victims is to attack a Trump property on the anniversary so he can make it all about himself.

On my drive uptown from downtown Manhattan, I drove past some areas that have a lot of clubs. One tipsy guy came up to my car begging me to drive him home, he'd pay me $120, he was desperate! Of course I declined, not wanting to be found dead in a ditch somewhere.

+++

For some reason I'm earwormed by the Cure's "Three Imaginary Boys" with some of Duran Duran's "The Chauffeur" mashed up into it.

Current Mood: tired

mecurtin

There were bugs up on the rafter above Purrcy 's head. I don't think he thought they were prey but they sure were *fascinating*.

Purrcy the tuxedo tabby is lying on top of a cardboard box, gazing upward with blown pupils and fascinated whiskers. He looks both eager and wary, like he can't quite believe what he's seeing.

Purrcy the tuxedo tabby is lying on top of a cardboard box, gazing upward with blown pupils and fascinated whiskers. He looks both eager and wary, like he can't quite believe what he's seeing.

passingbuzzards

Reading The Fortunate Fall by Cameron Reed and while I have various other thoughts on this book the thing I really need to drop a flyby comment about is that Reed’s Russian is the wildest combination of well-researched and totally wrong that I have ever seen, lol. I guess this is what you get writing from a place of “I researched this, but I don’t speak it and online translators don’t exist yet”?

E.g.: Absolutely knocked out by a female character being addressed as “tovarisha” (cursed, women are also addressed as “tovarish,” the word “comrade” is gender neutral,* that’s, like, the whole ideological shtick) and especially by the following exchange, which on the one hand manages to use an obscure Russian idiom absolutely correctly in context, and on the other hand mistranslates it so completely that it loses all meaning in English:

“Thank you.” I sat down, relief stinging my eyes. “I should have known. I guess I’m a little paranoid—oh, all right, I’m a lot paranoid. A felon on News One has to be. If one hint of my past made it out on the Net, I’d disappear, you know, kak korova yazykom menya slizala.”

“Like a what?”

I smiled, grateful for the change of subject. “As though a cow had licked me with its tongue. Meaning completely. The way you do when you run afoul of the Weavers.”

It’s not “as though a cow had licked me with its tongue,” it’s “as though a cow’s tongue had licked me away” (or, less precisely but more appropriately: “as though a cow had licked me up”) i.e., caused her to disappear, the way something does when lapped up by the huge tongue of a cow!

By no means the most consternation-inducing thing in this book but very predictably KILLING ME because of who I am as a person,

* Russian Wikipedia informs me that the actual feminine form оf this word is “tovarka,” which I’d never heard before due to the aforementioned reason of “tovarish” being used regardless of gender! (Both when used as an official form of address and in the colloquial sense of “mate/friend.”)

casemod posting in

caseficexchange

And with that, our detectives are revealed!

Thank you for joining me for the inaugural round of Casefic Exchange! It has been a pleasure hosting, and I've been blown away by the works we've created.

Please remember that comments are mandatory in this exchange. You have until the next round's sign-ups to comment in good faith on your gift(s). If you have a reason for not commenting on your gift, please get in touch with me at gumshoeagency@gmail.com.

You are welcome to continue submitting works to the collection — it is now unmoderated.

I will be posting a feedback post in 24ish hours! If you have any feedback, please wait for that post, as I have questions about specific aspects of the round I'd appreciate feedback on. :)

For the last time this year: see you soon!

- Commissioner Clawseau.

switchbladeeyes

Every now and then, I do

thefridayfive:

1. What is your favourite fruit?

Mango

2. What is the last book you read?

Exit Strategy (Murderbot #4)

3. Do you like any of your school photos?

Yes.

4. Do you ever blowdry your armpits to get the deodorant to dry quicker?

Lol no. Is this a thing?

5. What was the last film you watched?

Casablanca

cornerofmadness

Usually as I talk to

evil_little_dog on fridays I keep my twiddling fingers busy doing the fannish rec page. today I had nothing to do and was looking for things...somehow forgetting to DO the fandom recs. OMG. You'll get 'em tomorrow.

That's where my head is today. GONE. But here is MY story, based on that 30 seconds of Hazbin Hotel teaser (I had to go for the whump)

Title: Master of Puppets

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: Angel finds himself at risk of becoming a pawn for the Vees and he’s not sure he can do anything about it.

Rating: mature

Author Note - This is inspired (and spoiler for) the 30 seconds of teaser trailer for S2 (you’ll know which scene flash, trust me). If you haven’t watched the trailer and don’t want to know, bookmark this for later.

written for

spikesgirl58’s six word challenge and the six words were Eatable, Board, Efficient, Ripe, Roar, & Creepy

Also written for the Lyrical titles bingo prompt of song with multiple singers using Master of Puppets by Metallica. I chose this song because Vox is definitely that, a master of puppeting people but also the song is really about how drugs can control an addict and Angel is at the mercy of both. Find the song here Master of Puppets

Also written for the allbingo prompt of shark bait.

( story above or under here )

Today I call the Grove City office for my surgeon because I'm less annoyed at them because I was at fault for some of that too. It was a mix up. And she goes...well I'm not sure why Chillicothe told you to make a Thursday appt. He does surgery thur/fri So now I'm furious because I suspect that there never WAS a real appt yesterday. I think someone fucked up and all they needed to do was lie to me and say we need to reschedule.

Now I'm going on the 30th and I have to cut a lab in half to get up there for a 4 pm appt. I'm also thinking of calling Cabell on Monday to see if I can get into the ENT surgeon quickly. Highly doubtful but it's worth a call.

I dump off my art today and the new art person loves the one with bones. After I get to my office I realize....I did NOT take pictures of either art project. Go Dana Go.

I get home and I call my insurance after I check my HSA and my EOBs about Aspen Dental which I want to burn down. Yes paid them 180$ but my EOB says I only owed 40 so yes they did owe me back 140 some. So now they say I owed around 170 keeping my money and asking for 25$ more.

I poke around my insurance and as far as I can tell it should have been covered 100%. I call my insurance and it's too soon to tell but she agreed, I shouldn't have owed ANYTHING. So I will be watching every EOB for next few weeks. I'm so angry at them.

Current Mood: frustrated
Current Music: Guy's Grocery Games

hannah

I've now finished the second season of Friday Night Lights and I'm both eager to begin on the next and pleased I waited a while to come around to watching it - I wouldn't have enjoyed or appreciated it nearly as much if I'd tried it another time, not even all that long ago. It's something helpful and satisfying for where I am now, for so many reasons. The large scale news, the small scale news, the personal family concerns.

I keep watching it and looking at it, and I keep thinking that there's a wonderful sense of precise geography. It's true there's not much in the way of wildlife, and I can't feel the climate through my computer screen, and there's still a lot of one small corner of Texas to be seen. I've seen faceless image collections and gifsets pass through Tumblr, and I know there were faceless icon challenges back in the day, and watching this show makes me think there's probably enough footage for a faceless vid. Something with the fields and the clouds and the stadium lights, the oil wells and the horizon lines. Something with all the players on the fields and the massive crowds in the stands without any one person carrying the focus. I'm sure I've seen such vids around, maybe at a con's vidshow, but I can't remember anything specific, and it's not the most precise keyword to use to search.

I'm still going to think about it, though. And because I listened to the soundtrack recently, and because the song fits the human melodrama of the show as well, it'll probably be to Live That Way Forever for a good while.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Live That Way Forever - Richard Reed Parry

torachan

1. Weekend!

2. I got an email from Kaiser this morning that they will have the new covid vaccines available starting the 15th, walk up or appointment. Thankfully we're not in a state that's requiring prescriptions, but I was wondering when they would start having them available and now I know! Carla got her flu shot when she was at the doctor's the other day, but I still haven't gotten mine, so I'll get both together and get it all done at once.

3. Chloe just loves her sunny window.

catherineldf

I didn't realize it had been that long. So what have I been doing? Always a fair question.

Being unemployed. With no interviews. And a sick cat who hanging on enough that I have to work remotely since hiring my catsitter multiple times a week plus commuting costs so I can hang out and experience a germ-laden cube farm has lost any appeal it ever had for me. Alternatively, I'm not killing my cat so some dweeb can watch me in person instead of online. Plus, I am still absolutely crispy.
What am I doing instead? I have registered for an online Data Analytics Certification program at the University of Minnesota. It starts next month and doesn't look too painful. It's also not industry-specific in case I want to get out of healthcare. I am also dutifully signing up with contracting companies, lining up references, checking in with colleagues and all that.
I'll be vetting grants again in November for a small stipend.
I need to get a list of Jana's remaining fine bindings to show to her former boss. He's looking into getting some institutional support for a couple of artists and wants to include her work. On the one hand, not much budget out there. On the other, the man is a Macarthur Genius Award winner so that my well help.
I'm starting up a Ko-fi store for things you can purchase off me, like hour long consultations on things I know a lot about, some of my classes, Jana's handmade boxes (there are a lot) and fiction and nonfiction that isn't readily available elsewhere or under contract. At the moment, I'm trying to get a buffer by raising funds to pay down some not huge debts while I try to spin up some editing and writing gigs. Please consider bookmarking it, hiring me, throw a coin to your Witcher and all that. I'm managing, but if things go sideways, it will be unpleasant.
I have spun up a couple of writing gigs in progress.
Queen of Swords Press news! We just signed a reprint (gay vampires!) by author M.Christian (due out end of October) and a new collection of sapphic fantasy tales set in Southeast Asia by Joyce Chng (due out in February, if all goes well). Hoping to pull off an ebook box set of the Astreiant Series around Christmas.
Adding lots of events because for the first time in almost 9 years, Queen of Swords Press is actually covering my royalties! I'm parsing out old royalties by quarter so we don't run into cash shortages, but it is pretty fun to be collecting my dues on my books once again.
I have been to the State Fair, a couple of movies, tea in Anoka, MN, to see sundry museum exhibits, been out with friends, had friends over, started patching concrete around the house, begun fixing small things I can figure out by watching YouTube (I managed to trip the safety on the furnace on one such endeavor, which necessitated a tech visit today, but other things have gone a bit better).
I have signed up for lots of free trainings and entrepreneur stuff that the city and county offer.
I am writing again. Fiction and nonfiction. Slow and disorganized, but there's stuff on the page once more.

So lots of activity, none of which pays a living wage or close to it. If I can patch enough stuff together, to hang on until the end of March, I can apply for Social Security, if it still exists, and go from there.

kalloway

Took off around 6am to drive across the state for the last stop of the Gundam Base Mobile USA Tour. I mostly went for *The Experience* and it was a pretty good one!

We ended up getting there with plenty of time to get food and chat with other folks waiting. After a point, the shopping line was split between folks who'd gotten the (free) VIP tickets and everyone else and because I had tickets, we ended up literally first. ^^;; (The tickets were kind of a fiasco - originally only ~Saturday afternoon needed the free tickets for crowd control and then at some point partway through the tour suddenly every time-slot had ticketing. I only knew this because someone in a little gunpla server I'm in mentioned the change and I was like 'wait what' and went and literally snagged a pair two minutes later. However, they were basically zippering the two lines anyway so the handful of people who'd gotten there before us got in at about the same time anyway.)

We were warned that their last stop had wiped a lot of inventory, and yeah, the selection was a little sparse but I still filled a bag and managed a couple kits I'd had recommended and a couple I'd missed during the online drops.

Tossed all that in the car and came back to build our little event model kits and drink more water. They were very good about handing out water left and right. Took a few pictures and then headed over to the host shop, which is less a general hobby shop and more a game store. Lots of tabletop and card games, along with an entire wall of gunpla that was getting swarmed by locusts. (The shop had plenty of employees! It's just difficult to plan for hundreds of voracious nerds.)

I bought way too many kits, and two sets of dice, and shoved everything in the car and we headed home.

Drive overall okay both ways, aside from a few small moments. Car itself did great. One miserable patch of construction both ways. Other side of the state is quite beautiful; there were a few moments when cresting small hills that the view was absolutely stunning.

I really shouldn't be awake right now but here I am. ^^;;

rugessnome

while ~singing/rapping along to the ...nuclear physics ethics anthem with the unprepossessing name "Eminemium" (it's based off "Lose Yourself"), I started contemplating how Tim Blais says "Warsawa" there (I've heard it's incorrect and may look it up in a bit) ...and accidentally said the end of the line as "co-assured twauma" (does me psychic damage due to how people talk about uwu language)

addendum: yes, Warszawa (ie what we in English know as Warsaw) is more like var-sha-va. well, if Wiktionary editors can be trusted, apparently the IPA is var.ʂa.va(?)

I somehow managed to accidentally add ketchup to a Chicago dog, which I understand to be a faux pas, in ordering from a kiosk when I don't even like ketchup on hot dogs in general. (I saw it on my order but thought that it got auto-added as a fry condiment. I can only guess that something I did with toggling "everything" messed it up.)

However, while I didn't think it was a helpful addition, it was actually less bad with the ...tomato and pickle and celery salt (and maybe onion?) present than when I decided I had to give ketchup in the context a fair shake of a trial and ordered an All-American at Sonic once.

in other developments I did the thing I do maybe once or twice (or even three times a year) and made a meal of sorts out of Whole Foods hot/salad bar items

tonight's hodgepodge

saag tofu (why did the tofu start dripping when bitten into. but it tasted fine), lemon rice (Indian), "cauliflower-potato curry", turmeric-lemon potato wedges, rosemary roasted carrots, some sweet potatoes that I think were labeled tequila lime but didn't have a particularly seasoned flavor to me, a little of some Tex-Mex tofu in crumbles, aaaand: macaroni salad

...also I ...walked to a Korean grocery store and bought a roasted sweet potato as an evening snack (and one of the small "Korean melons", which I haven't tried yet) and it was quite nice! I would've liked to look longer and maybe browse or buy more but I had walked there, and it was evening, so I didn't want to carry a lot or stay out past dark. I did not find perilla oil in a fairly cursory search and the only perilla seeds I saw bore a prop 65 lead warning (augh) and were about $10 so I didn't get them.

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February 2023

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Network

Hawkworld #13

Just stuff

Just One Thing (13 September 2025)

Interesting Links for 13-09-2025

The Agatha Christie reread: Sparkling Cyanide

A change to the url for the Audiofic Archive

We just ended up clutching at the empty rituals like gamblers clutching long odds

2025 IFComp entries: some thoughts

Hawk and Dove (1989) #8

Feedback for the 2025 round!

More?

Schedule

Exchange mechanics

Creation Period

Check-in period

Default deadline and extension deadline

Trialling: Request specific assignment

I see the steps behind me disappearing

10 multifandom icons for round 60 @ fandom10in30

Weekend Cooking: Bird's Nest Pudding

men lie, women lie, numbers don't

See the lights out, no one's home

Bug-eyed Purrcy

(reading) the fortunate fall

Detectives revealed! Our first round comes to a close.

The Friday Five

The muddle continues

A riot at the end of a game.

Daily Happiness

My, it's been a few weeks...

Day One of Fun

embarrassing (light-heartedly)

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February 2023

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