hitting the wall

Aug. 20th, 2025 12:10 am
twistedchick: watercolor painting of coffee cup on wood table (Default)
[personal profile] twistedchick
I'm putting the Substack column aside for a while. It's just too wearing, looking at the cruelties and misbehavior and idiocy and outright lawlessness of the current regime and writing commentary about it that essentially mirrors what others write.

I need some time not spending up to four days a week writing two columns for no money, columns that are at best depressing.

If I were still at a newspaper doing this, I'd have people who were in the business to bounce ideas off, and some support for the research needed. I am not Robert Reich, who has paid staff. I have me and a computer and occasionally a bookshelf.

And I want to do some lifegiving things for myself, like making more music and creating art and (as long as ICE is not present anywhere near me) going out into the park and breathing the green air of trees. I want to not have the heaviness of the column hanging over my head. I would rather play my flutes, and guitar, and maybe try harp. We have one that belongs to my husband, but he doesn't play often.

And I want to write things like poetry and fiction that don't require me to wear my reductive Inverted-Pyramid-style brain.

So I will notify people, later this week, that it will be more occasional and probably less political.

Sinners & Stardust Assaults

Aug. 19th, 2025 09:02 pm
[personal profile] writerkit
Smart Bitches Trashy Books has a timeline (sexual assault; NSFW) of what happened at Sinners & Stardust, which is a convention I was not familiar with until this news hit FFA.

This is, incidentally, where radical-feminism-type thinking leads us: when you believe that all sexual harm comes from The Penis, you wind up in a position where you don't believe it's assault when women do it to men, and... it absolutely can be, and from the descriptions this isn't even questionable. It is absolutely assault. And given that bit with the AirTag, some techno-stalking as well. (Imagine if he didn't have an iPhone; he might never have known about that part, and that part could have been incredibly dangerous.)

gimmighoulcoins: (misc | notes)
[personal profile] gimmighoulcoins posting in [site community profile] dw_community_promo
the banner has the image of a blank notebook and a pencil on a white background, with a bullet point list that reads: Pick a character. Pick a theme set. Write 50 one-sentence fic. The title of the community, 1character, is displayed under the list.

Description: Pick one character as your focus in this fic writing community in the style of [livejournal.com profile] 1sentence, choose from 1 of the 6 theme sets, and make your claim - then, write 50 one-sentence fic inspired by the prompts to share on the comm! This is an ongoing activity, open to writers for all fandoms, as well as original characters. Claims are good for three months, and you can get an extension of one month if needed.
Schedule: Ongoing
Links:
On Dreamwidth: [community profile] 1character

Dreams and Mayhem: Hodge Podge!!!

Aug. 18th, 2025 01:35 pm
innitmarvelous_og: (Dreams & Mayham Mod)
[personal profile] innitmarvelous_og posting in [site community profile] dw_community_promo
description

Description:
It's one part dream.
One part disaster.
And absolutely 100% fandom.
It's Your OTPs/Fandoms combined with our chaos.

Schedule: From now until October 12, 2025 when our first challenges closes.

Links:
On Dreamwidth: [personal profile] innitmarvelous_og | Hodge Podge

thestoryinside

Aug. 18th, 2025 11:46 am
monkiainen: (33 awkward)
[personal profile] monkiainen posting in [site community profile] dw_community_promo
If you're anything like us, you'll no doubt have a mountain of books that you just never get around to reading. Well, that's where [community profile] thestoryinside comes in - have someone choose your book for you!

The process is simple: join the community, and each month sign up to be partnered with a buddy, who will then choose a book from your 'to read' list. At the end of each month there will be a community post to discuss your thoughts on the book(s) you read!

However, we're putting a twist on the traditional 'pick for me' routine and each month we'll vote on what genre of book we'll be reading; now, of course this is open to personal interpretation, for example, if the genre is horror and you're not a big fan, you could go for a Goosebumps book, or even Twilight. There will be an opportunity in each voting post to ask any questions you might have.

so many good books so little time

Aug. 17th, 2025 07:52 pm
wychwood: a room completely full of books (gen - stacks of books)
[personal profile] wychwood
I have had a nice restful weekend, in which I caught up with perhaps 1/3 of the chores that I intended to. Oh well. I added a new book to my bedside pile, and then read it; between that and the realisation that my next book group meeting is approaching, I was then inspired to read at least a chapter of each book in the pile, which was nice. I set myself a to-do list target a few months ago of reading at least one chapter of each per week, which would keep me actually moving through even if I didn't then end up picking anything up and reading more of it.

Unfortunately mostly what happens is that the overdue item sits there and stares at me on the list. It's annoying, because I do in fact! want to read all of these books! and also most of the ones on the to-read shelves in the spare room. I just somehow don't. However, I've not been in much of a computer game mood in the last few days, and that's freed up some time for reading that isn't fanfic (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

Basically there is too much stuff in my life that distracts me from reading, and if only I didn't need to e.g. earn money I could finish more books. But then I wouldn't be able to go on book-buying sprees, and that would be sad.

In other news, I ordered my new mattress, just as my old one started causing me actual back issues, so good timing me. It's not due until the end of the month, and I'm very impatient.

Demonic Ox on Audible now

Aug. 16th, 2025 06:52 pm
[syndicated profile] lois_mcmaster_bujold_feed
Although Blackstone's Downpour.com site is listing "The Adventure of the Demonic Ox" for release October 11, Audible.com apparently has it up already, since August 12. So if you want an early listen, there ya go.

https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Demo...



Ta, L.

posted by Lois McMaster Bujold on August, 16

Extreme amounts of "fun"

Aug. 16th, 2025 01:12 pm
azurelunatic: "beautiful addiction", electron microscope photo of caffeine (caffeine)
[personal profile] azurelunatic
Thursday's appointment was one that I knew was going to stir up trauma. The doctor ended up listing that aspect of it as PTSD, which I guess is fair. I always have thought of it as "trauma" rather than PTSD, which is kind of odd in retrospect.

I wound up taking a small dose of my "street cred" when I realized I was starting to have a trauma response. That turned out to be a good idea. There's a follow up in a few months, and I should pre-medicate for it.

Afterwards I got the 32 oz reverse mocha from a local coffee shack. (Not one of the bikini coffee shacks.) With chocolate whipped cream, thank you very much. My first time encountering white coffee espresso in a drink. Interesting and almost floral. I had Belovedest (a bitter supertaster) try it. Still coffee tasting, but not as strongly.

Although that's also possibly due to me only having 3 shots of espresso in the drink instead of the usual 6.

I would much rather discuss the coffee than the source of the trauma and the appointment, in any event.
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Which I guess I can sum up as "trenchant criticism of capitalism, maybe a little preachy, not subtle at all". This might not sound like a big endorsement, but then again, I'm pretty sure most of you are Star Trek and even Babylon 5 fans, so actually it is!

**************


Read more... )

Resistance

Aug. 15th, 2025 03:02 pm
fabrisse: (Default)
[personal profile] fabrisse
When I lived in Belgium in my late teens, we were thirty years removed from WWII. Belgium had surrendered before any shots were fired on them, something many older Belgians hated, so they were never the battleground as they had been during WWI. In some ways, WWI had a greater impact on the Brussels that I knew.

Having said that, I met one of Dad's Dutch colleagues who had run errands for the Dutch resistance when he was approximately 11-16. He lived through the famine the Germans helped create by eating tulip bulbs as so many of them did. As many of them did, he died in his early 60s of stomach cancer. There's no proof that the bulbs led to the cancer, but it is a specific cluster.

The Baroness who lived downstairs from us was a full grown woman when the war hit. Her husband (he had some form of senile dementia which made him difficult to talk to, mostly because he spoke nine languages and would drift from one to the other.) was the Belgian ambassador to Germany when the war hit. Previously, he'd been the ambassador to Greece and Spain. Greece wasn't accessible. Spain was. She walked with nine children from Belgium to Spain, helped by people she met on the way. One of the children didn't survive it. But that indomitable woman walked with 8 children across the Pyrenees so that her family couldn't be used to make her husband participate in anti-allied propaganda.

The concierge's husband said, in passing, that working with the resistance in Belgium, was much more fun than school for him, shrugging off the contributions he'd made before he turned 18.

The janitor who went to our school was put into hiding by his parents because they were Jewish. Toward the end of the war he helped get food to people being held in the transit camp near him. There was some cutting wires and getting people out, not many, not often. But he found a way to do something with his local resistance. He lost both parents to the camps.

I'm saying this because people are despairing about what's going on in the U.S., worried that there's no grand general organizing us against our current government. Honestly, if you're not part of the military, there is rarely one leader to get behind to walk us, like Moses, to our promised land.

If you want the equivalent to the DeGaulles and the Queen of the Netherlands -- both in exile, both under threat, both putting backbone into their people from that exile -- then listen to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, and Beto O'Rourke or applaud what Gavin Newsom is doing while recognizing that his stance on our trans friends is terrible.

But most of all remember that Jules, the Baroness, Guillaume, and the school janitor all found small ways to resist, to help prevent worse, to give hope to others during a long war.

Organization is great. Be part of your local Indivisible chapter if there is one (and you have the spoons for it).

But remember that the small things are helpful, too:
A) If you think you see an injustice, record and post it with as much context as you can provide.
B) Write to your Senators and Representatives at both state and federal levels and explain why what they're doing is wrong (or great, if they've done something good. Positive reinforcement won't hurt.).
C) Find out what laws they're trying to pass and be part of the public comments, especially if you think the law is wrong or overreaches governmental rights.
D) Talk to your friends and neighbors about the mid-terms and see if you can strategize to turn out the vote, keep people on the rolls, or protest any laws that might limit voting.
E) Give blood.

Fancy and Plain

Aug. 15th, 2025 12:01 pm
yourlibrarian: Phryne Fisher in Blue (MISSFISH-PhryneinBlue-meganbmoore)
[personal profile] yourlibrarian posting in [community profile] everykindofcraft


Some recent necklaces, a large one given the stone chunks, and a smaller one made for my partner (inspired by a Veronica Mars rewatch where it seemed virtually every male character wore some variation on this). Read more... )
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Anyway, E was looking at Halloween costume patterns and obviously your opinion doesn't really matter at all, only the parents' does, but I thought I'd put up a poll anyway. Which costume is best for a six or seven month old?

Poll #33490 Halloween costumes!
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 52


Which costume is best?

View Answers

Bee
17 (32.7%)

Dinosaur
10 (19.2%)

Pumpkin
18 (34.6%)

Bat
7 (13.5%)



* Former stepmother, but the relationship is still there even if she's not with their dad anymore

************


Read more... )

Voyager episodes!

Aug. 17th, 2025 01:01 am
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
So, we watched that one with the telepathic pitcher plant. Seven and Naomi bond - the writers really worked to make Naomi useful to the plot rather than just being kinda there, and it mostly works - but honestly, our space Ahab has chosen the least-efficient manner possible to destroy his whale.

Then we watch the two parter with the Borg Queen, in which we establish that the Hansens (whom Seven actually refers to as the Hansens) were absolutely terrible parents. I mean, even beyond the way they brought their child on a platter to be assimilated, growing up on a tiny spaceship with only two other people is just no life for a child. They should have left her at home. (And all the flashbacks establish that she spent a lot of her brief childhood scared. Poor baby!) At one point in this episode, Seven helps rescue a group of astonishingly passive refugees who are about to be assimilated. There's a lot of off-screen screaming, but I guess these refugees weren't paid enough to talk, because they're both passive and totally silent. Also, nobody at any points suggests trying to de-assimilate any drones, even the one who is probably Seven's father, if we can believe the Borg Queen. Seems a bit uncaring, but as I said, he wasn't a good father so fuck him, I guess.

This is followed by a kinda sad and pointless episode in which Harry Kim contracts love from having surprisingly racy (for 90s Trek) sex with a dissident from a xenophobic society. She achieves her primary objective, forcing the people in charge to allow those who want to leave their society to do so, but they still break up. He's sad about it. (E and I decided that the only other Varro with a speaking role has gotta be her dad. He sure acts like he knows her pretty well, and that ship has a lot more people than Voyager does!)

And then one of my absolute favorite episodes, the one where Tom and B'Elanna get married and there's apparently a new baby on the ship we haven't heard of before and, by the way, the ship is disintegrating. Lots of people hate this episode because it's sad and bleak and pointless, but I absolutely fucking love it.

We skipped the Chakotay episode because ugh, fake Native American fake spirituality, something something "vision quest", and then it was Think Tank, which is a very watchable episode. It's not great, it's terrible - it's watchable. Also, nobody really says it, but the spokesperson of the eponymous Think Tank is himself a victim of it. He was taken from them in childhood, which wasn't all that long ago. Possibly they all are victims except the founder. It sounds like being part of a particularly reclusive cult.

*****************


Read more... )

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