(no subject)
May. 23rd, 2026 12:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thedarlingonehave gotten in touch with the pcp. apparently my insurance is denying the prior auths that have been filed, because the recall for their preferred brand of test strip and meter is not properly in some system or other, i have to assume due to how the regime has gutted the fda to line its pockets. i know the recall is on the fda website itself because i have gone and looked at it there, but obviously one cannot expect an insurance company to look at a website, they're too busy denying every possible sort of care in case somebody might be too sick to fight it.
( long )
( long )
Fic Challenge (Prompt Style)
May. 23rd, 2026 12:34 amsenmut![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fkficfest is running again this year!details here with the pool of prompts.
I've played off and on since 2010, it looks like. Here's what I've done over the years.
2010: Trials of Conscience
2011: To Not Be Alone
2015: Family from the Ashes
2016: Encounter in the Hills
2017: Flicker of a Memory
2018: A Night's Work
2021: Difficult Lesson
2021: Crisis Response
2021: What He Is
2022: Any Regrets?
2024: To Say Goodbye
stories nobody has told
May. 23rd, 2026 12:21 amtwistedchickI have just finished rewatching Captain America: The Winter Soldier, for the umpteenth time, but this time I was mapping out where things were toward the end, when enormous ships are falling out of the sky into the Potomac River at a place where it is not really wide enough for one of those ships.
They never think about the side effects in disaster movies, do they? For this, they tripled the width of the Potomac at a place where it is a few hundred feet wide, that's all. All that hot metal hitting the water would really annoy the rockfish and the Maryland terrapins. The rockfish might forget but the terrapins will remember.
Let's think of the volume of river water displaced by those enormous ships hitting the river. Where they have them hitting, the waves will wash up over the patios and parking lots into the Watergate, into the Kennedy Center (or what's left of it these days), and into Lower Georgetown's underground parking garages, where it will float a lot of cars. We went through something like this before, back in the 90s, when there was so much rain that it washed cars into the river from above-ground parking lots and floated everything in the underground garages. I'm not sure how the insurance adjusters would account for this flood on their paperwork -- "act of superheroes"?
I'm assuming that the resizing of the river also moved Roosevelt Island half a mile or more downstream, so that it would be there when Bucky pulls Steve out onto the shore (in the only place in that area that has a shore with grass at that angle compared to the water). Upstream, the south side of the river is a rock wall with mansions on top of it for several miles heading upstream -- there used to be several Kennedy places up there -- and on the other side there's a narrow area and then the Washington and Old Dominion Canal, which is a recreation area.
I'm also going to ignore the other fallout, when bits of the Shield building and more pieces of airships drop onto the buildings and streets of Rosslyn, VA, one of the most expensive areas of real estate in the country. Or maybe they'd be drifting a little further apart -- how far apart were those three ships,anyway? That would put one of them over the Mall and another over either Arlington Cemetery or Washington National Airport (I refuse to call it Reagan Airport; he didn't deserve one.)
Anyway, I don't think there's a lot of fanfic that deals with the aftereffects of the actions of superheroes. Just a thought or two for anyone who may need a bit of inspiration...
They never think about the side effects in disaster movies, do they? For this, they tripled the width of the Potomac at a place where it is a few hundred feet wide, that's all. All that hot metal hitting the water would really annoy the rockfish and the Maryland terrapins. The rockfish might forget but the terrapins will remember.
Let's think of the volume of river water displaced by those enormous ships hitting the river. Where they have them hitting, the waves will wash up over the patios and parking lots into the Watergate, into the Kennedy Center (or what's left of it these days), and into Lower Georgetown's underground parking garages, where it will float a lot of cars. We went through something like this before, back in the 90s, when there was so much rain that it washed cars into the river from above-ground parking lots and floated everything in the underground garages. I'm not sure how the insurance adjusters would account for this flood on their paperwork -- "act of superheroes"?
I'm assuming that the resizing of the river also moved Roosevelt Island half a mile or more downstream, so that it would be there when Bucky pulls Steve out onto the shore (in the only place in that area that has a shore with grass at that angle compared to the water). Upstream, the south side of the river is a rock wall with mansions on top of it for several miles heading upstream -- there used to be several Kennedy places up there -- and on the other side there's a narrow area and then the Washington and Old Dominion Canal, which is a recreation area.
I'm also going to ignore the other fallout, when bits of the Shield building and more pieces of airships drop onto the buildings and streets of Rosslyn, VA, one of the most expensive areas of real estate in the country. Or maybe they'd be drifting a little further apart -- how far apart were those three ships,anyway? That would put one of them over the Mall and another over either Arlington Cemetery or Washington National Airport (I refuse to call it Reagan Airport; he didn't deserve one.)
Anyway, I don't think there's a lot of fanfic that deals with the aftereffects of the actions of superheroes. Just a thought or two for anyone who may need a bit of inspiration...
I aten't dead
May. 23rd, 2026 11:26 amfred_mouseI'm running on fumes, I think. There are a lot of Things needing doing. Why I thought signing up for an academic presentation (thankfully, I picked the 20 minute rather than the full hour option) at a con I'm on the committee for was a good idea, ... eh. I mean, it is a good idea from a lot of standpoints, but the 'how much energy I have for anything' is not one of them
I have a friend arriving Monday to stay for ... three days? four days? I have not done the yak shaving tasks that will allow the spare room to be set up; I have a memory that there was a reason to delay setting up the bed, but I do not remember what it was. I also have not sewn the funny shaped fitted sheet I had been planning, and probably won't at this point.
And there are two things complicating my day. My bank has changed its system again, and I'm on the ~fourth card in a year (they cancelled their credit cards; moved us to debit Mastercard. Now they have cancelled that service, and shifted to Visa. In there was the expiry of another card) -- that went live today and I have no idea whether anything I want to do money wise will work. Which goes poorly with the issue that the mob who provide my email services as well as web hosting for SwanCon are suffering a DDoS attack, and so several to do items are in limbo waiting for that to clear up. *sigh*
why not? meme
May. 22nd, 2026 10:38 pmalthea_valarastolen from senmut:
* Final Fantasy I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII (including Remake, Rebirth, Crisis Core, Advent Children), VIII, IX, X, a bit of X-2, XI, XII, XIII, XIII-2, XIV, XV, XVI
* Kingdom Hearts - whole series except for mobile games and that rhythm game they put out
* Star Trek: TNG, DS9, VOY... though it's been forever since I've seen them.
* Star Wars: episodes I through IX, and Rogue One, but I've only seen Rogue One once and)
* Battlestar Galatica, the rebooted series
* Doctor Who (2005 onwards to Peter Capaldi's reign, then I bounced off of it)
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer
* Angel
* FarScape (though it's been a long time)
* Highlander: the Series
* Artemis Fowl
* Lord of the Rings
* Madeleine L'Engle's books, especially A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels, but also the Arm of the Starfish and A Ring of Endless Light
* Fray (comic series, based on Buffy)
* Fullmetal Alchemist
* Read or Die, both mangas and both the anime ROD:The TV and the OAV
* Fruits Basket
Do NOT ask about Harry Potter, I am no longer a fan and want nothing to do with the series.
There's probably more fandoms I'm forgetting, but those are the main ones.
senmut:Comment with the name of a woman character (in any show, movie, book, comic, etc that you think I'm familiar with) and I'll tell you one thing I love about her. In return, you can do the same in your journal (if you like!).
some fandoms for you to choose from
video games
* Final Fantasy I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII (including Remake, Rebirth, Crisis Core, Advent Children), VIII, IX, X, a bit of X-2, XI, XII, XIII, XIII-2, XIV, XV, XVI
* Kingdom Hearts - whole series except for mobile games and that rhythm game they put out
TV series & Movies
* Star Trek: TNG, DS9, VOY... though it's been forever since I've seen them.
* Star Wars: episodes I through IX, and Rogue One, but I've only seen Rogue One once and)
* Battlestar Galatica, the rebooted series
* Doctor Who (2005 onwards to Peter Capaldi's reign, then I bounced off of it)
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer
* Angel
* FarScape (though it's been a long time)
* Highlander: the Series
Books & Comics
* Artemis Fowl
* Lord of the Rings
* Madeleine L'Engle's books, especially A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels, but also the Arm of the Starfish and A Ring of Endless Light
* Fray (comic series, based on Buffy)
* Fullmetal Alchemist
* Read or Die, both mangas and both the anime ROD:The TV and the OAV
* Fruits Basket
Do NOT ask about Harry Potter, I am no longer a fan and want nothing to do with the series.
There's probably more fandoms I'm forgetting, but those are the main ones.
Please drive in the center of the lane
May. 22nd, 2026 10:48 pmcornerofmadnessYeah lane assist, I'd do that IF I could see it. It rained for 335 miles from my door to evil_little_dog's. Some places I couldn't even see. From Cincinnati to Louisville I'm not sure we ever got above 25 mph.
Luckily it was mostly uneventful (lots of accidents none near me) and the Jetta gets surprisingly good gas mileage.
have some recs for fannish 50
Undeserved Mercy Torchwood
Through The Ring Stargate Atlantis
Live! Starsky & Hutch
Musical The Owl House
Soulmate The Owl House
Protocol Torchwood
All Roads Lead To Haven Hazbin Hotel
Childhood The Owl House
Opposite Hazbin Hotel
Gambler's Fallacy Hornblower - C. S. Forester Hornblower
Unwritten 镇魂 | Guardian
Recuperation 9-1-1
Handyman Teen Wolf
Flyer Derby The Owl House
Picnic The Owl House
Play Time Teen Wolf
captivated captive Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Horror (Movie) The Owl House
Seasons The Owl House
Cozy Evening Stargate Atlantis
Before The End Torchwood
Human Realm The Owl House
Fairytale The Owl House
The Salvage Yard The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn KennyThe Three Investigators | Die drei
Bedridden Teen Wolf
Normal-ish Hazbin Hotel
Learning to Compromise Teen Wolf
evil_little_dog's. Some places I couldn't even see. From Cincinnati to Louisville I'm not sure we ever got above 25 mph.Luckily it was mostly uneventful (lots of accidents none near me) and the Jetta gets surprisingly good gas mileage.
have some recs for fannish 50
Undeserved Mercy Torchwood
Through The Ring Stargate Atlantis
Live! Starsky & Hutch
Musical The Owl House
Soulmate The Owl House
Protocol Torchwood
All Roads Lead To Haven Hazbin Hotel
Childhood The Owl House
Opposite Hazbin Hotel
Gambler's Fallacy Hornblower - C. S. Forester Hornblower
Unwritten 镇魂 | Guardian
Recuperation 9-1-1
Handyman Teen Wolf
Flyer Derby The Owl House
Picnic The Owl House
Play Time Teen Wolf
captivated captive Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Horror (Movie) The Owl House
Seasons The Owl House
Cozy Evening Stargate Atlantis
Before The End Torchwood
Human Realm The Owl House
Fairytale The Owl House
The Salvage Yard The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn KennyThe Three Investigators | Die drei
Bedridden Teen Wolf
Normal-ish Hazbin Hotel
Learning to Compromise Teen Wolf
Al-anon and not much more
May. 22nd, 2026 11:12 pmsilver_chipmunkI got up at 10:00 this morning, had breakfast and coffee, and really did very little all day.
I eventually took a shower and dressed, but nothing but play solitaire and putter on the computer tl I left for my Al-anon meeting.
The bus trip into the Bronx was OK except the first 25 drove past the stop without stopping and I had to wait for the next one. But I got to the Bronx pretty quickly.
I had pizza for dinner first as usual and then went to my meeting. It was very good.
Then M drove me to the bus stop and the 50 bus actually came on time!
Got to Linden and 31st, and the 61 came before the 25 so I took that. No problem this time (if you recall the last time I took the 61 he skipped two stops and I had to Uber home.)
Got home and teamed the FWiB. All well. We talked not quite an hour.
Then I textedmashfanficchick to call me, and ze did, now I'm waiting for zer to call me back to make plans for tomorrow, which is zer birthday.
That's about all.
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. My meetings and the people there.
3. The buses worked out OK today.
4.mashfanficchick made it home to NYC safely.
5. Pizza.
6. Iris are blooming now.
I eventually took a shower and dressed, but nothing but play solitaire and putter on the computer tl I left for my Al-anon meeting.
The bus trip into the Bronx was OK except the first 25 drove past the stop without stopping and I had to wait for the next one. But I got to the Bronx pretty quickly.
I had pizza for dinner first as usual and then went to my meeting. It was very good.
Then M drove me to the bus stop and the 50 bus actually came on time!
Got to Linden and 31st, and the 61 came before the 25 so I took that. No problem this time (if you recall the last time I took the 61 he skipped two stops and I had to Uber home.)
Got home and teamed the FWiB. All well. We talked not quite an hour.
Then I texted
mashfanficchick to call me, and ze did, now I'm waiting for zer to call me back to make plans for tomorrow, which is zer birthday.That's about all.
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. My meetings and the people there.
3. The buses worked out OK today.
4.
mashfanficchick made it home to NYC safely.5. Pizza.
6. Iris are blooming now.
This that and the other thingamagig
May. 22nd, 2026 08:44 pmshadowkat1. Mother won't stop bugging me about finalizing a will.
Mother is like a dog with a bone about my will. Every other month - she'll harp on it. Latest? Telling me horror stories about her friend's children who don't have wills.
( mother drives me crazy about the damn will )
As an aside? It's not like I haven't drawn one up yet or investigated it. ( Read more... )
As I attempted to explain to Mother - I only procrastinate about things I don't know what to do, or how to make them work. Also dealing with my brother makes me crazy.
Sigh. Hell is other people.
2. Should we be permitted to critique and analyze and/or review fanfiction (and/or fanworks)? Or is it understood to be off-limits by polite society?
There is an on-going argument about whether people should be "permitted" to critique and/or review fanfiction. And how fanfiction should be either protected, shielded, or off limits to any and all sorts of criticism. (ie. We much protect fanfic writers, who just want to have fun and not create anything of lasting impact or value.) - that's not quite a direct quote but close of a fan and former editor on Threads. [I'd tell you who - but I can't spell the name, or find it again. It's Threads.]
This begs the question? If criticism or reviews are off limits for fanfic, then are kudos or positive feedback off limits too? Should we just pretend it doesn't exist, and not respond to it at all? Or is only validation and supportive kudos permitted?
The latest spiel about how it should be off-limits to any and all sorts of criticism came once again from the Buffy fandom (do other fandoms do this? I presume so? But I'm not certain?) and it was on Threads. (This individual thought of themselves as old school fandom - since they went all the way back to the dark ages of 2007. I thought, no, hon, that's not old school fandom. Old school fandom is the 1960s with Star Trek and Doctor Who, before you could post a fic to over a million readers on the internet. Back then, they published it in fanzines handed out at conventions. (I found this out from Star Trek and Doctor Who fans.). And old school Buffy fandom goes back to the late 1990s and up to roughly 2004, when the show was airing living. You're not that old. (Not that old school fandom doesn't necessarily agree with your sentiment - the last argument I had on the topic was with someone twenty years older than me, and who dated back to the dark ages of fandom - 1960s Doctor Who.)
I flirted with responding and chose not to - it wouldn't end well. (Been there done that...back when I actually bothered to review and critique it. I don't do that any longer - either.) It never does end well. Note: Never argue with someone on Threads, Twitter, Bluesky or on social media who is in sermon mode or rant mode or on their holier than thou soap box - it won't end well. I have the battle scars to prove it.
But it is something I want to discuss? Preferably not with someone who feels strongly about it? (I don't read or critique fanfic any longer folks, I can't remember when I last critiqued or reviewed it? It was THAT long ago. And the folks whose fanfic I did critique? Are long gone from Dreamwidth and the fandom. So, even if I disagree with you? I'm hardly a threat.)
( Should critiques of Fan-fiction be Permitted Online? )
3. Barnes and Nobel announced it would sell AI Books. And the internet along with various co-workers have been debating whether they should boycott Barnes and Nobel. (Poor B&N, just when they had made a comeback and were seen as the golden child in comparison to evil Amazon. Although, I've got news for people - AI written books are most likely in Amazon, and various independent bookstores as well. They aren't that selective on the books they sell us.]
To be fair, that's not exactly what they said?
( Read more... )
[Cubicle aisle mate and I decided we weren't going to exactly boycott B&N, just not buy as many books there. We'd both started buying them again, because we'd learned we didn't own them on the kindle.
( Read more... )
I think there's a high possibility people will buy them. There's a lot of books out there that kind of written that way already, formulaic and paint by numbers.
4. Actors and AI (And James Marsters' sexy Spike as a Rock and Roller video)
I can see why Actors fear it - it's relatively easy to grab an actor's likeness and enhance it with AI or alter it, or have AI take over. I see it on Facebook and Instagram constantly.
Heck, James Marsters recently put out a music video of his band's song, Civilized Man, where he's playing the guitar shirtless, and looks 35 years of age. I'm willing to bet he used AI? Even though it comes with the disclaimer that this video used no digital effects. (So maybe not?) I wonder why he didn't do it while he was playing Spike? Whedon probably wouldn't let him? Or it never occurred to him? He really should do the Bruce Springsteen's "Fire" song in Spike get up.
( James Marsters playing Spike as a Rock and Roller in Civilized Man )
Proving that he'd have no problems coming back as Spike in the Buffy Reboot. Annoying me all the more with the missed opportunities. I really wanted rock star Spike. Even as just a cameo.
At the very least AI may wreck havoc on the plastic surgery industry.
It works better on film than plastic surgery does.
Mother is like a dog with a bone about my will. Every other month - she'll harp on it. Latest? Telling me horror stories about her friend's children who don't have wills.
( mother drives me crazy about the damn will )
As an aside? It's not like I haven't drawn one up yet or investigated it. ( Read more... )
As I attempted to explain to Mother - I only procrastinate about things I don't know what to do, or how to make them work. Also dealing with my brother makes me crazy.
Sigh. Hell is other people.
2. Should we be permitted to critique and analyze and/or review fanfiction (and/or fanworks)? Or is it understood to be off-limits by polite society?
There is an on-going argument about whether people should be "permitted" to critique and/or review fanfiction. And how fanfiction should be either protected, shielded, or off limits to any and all sorts of criticism. (ie. We much protect fanfic writers, who just want to have fun and not create anything of lasting impact or value.) - that's not quite a direct quote but close of a fan and former editor on Threads. [I'd tell you who - but I can't spell the name, or find it again. It's Threads.]
This begs the question? If criticism or reviews are off limits for fanfic, then are kudos or positive feedback off limits too? Should we just pretend it doesn't exist, and not respond to it at all? Or is only validation and supportive kudos permitted?
The latest spiel about how it should be off-limits to any and all sorts of criticism came once again from the Buffy fandom (do other fandoms do this? I presume so? But I'm not certain?) and it was on Threads. (This individual thought of themselves as old school fandom - since they went all the way back to the dark ages of 2007. I thought, no, hon, that's not old school fandom. Old school fandom is the 1960s with Star Trek and Doctor Who, before you could post a fic to over a million readers on the internet. Back then, they published it in fanzines handed out at conventions. (I found this out from Star Trek and Doctor Who fans.). And old school Buffy fandom goes back to the late 1990s and up to roughly 2004, when the show was airing living. You're not that old. (Not that old school fandom doesn't necessarily agree with your sentiment - the last argument I had on the topic was with someone twenty years older than me, and who dated back to the dark ages of fandom - 1960s Doctor Who.)
I flirted with responding and chose not to - it wouldn't end well. (Been there done that...back when I actually bothered to review and critique it. I don't do that any longer - either.) It never does end well. Note: Never argue with someone on Threads, Twitter, Bluesky or on social media who is in sermon mode or rant mode or on their holier than thou soap box - it won't end well. I have the battle scars to prove it.
But it is something I want to discuss? Preferably not with someone who feels strongly about it? (I don't read or critique fanfic any longer folks, I can't remember when I last critiqued or reviewed it? It was THAT long ago. And the folks whose fanfic I did critique? Are long gone from Dreamwidth and the fandom. So, even if I disagree with you? I'm hardly a threat.)
( Should critiques of Fan-fiction be Permitted Online? )
3. Barnes and Nobel announced it would sell AI Books. And the internet along with various co-workers have been debating whether they should boycott Barnes and Nobel. (Poor B&N, just when they had made a comeback and were seen as the golden child in comparison to evil Amazon. Although, I've got news for people - AI written books are most likely in Amazon, and various independent bookstores as well. They aren't that selective on the books they sell us.]
To be fair, that's not exactly what they said?
( Read more... )
[Cubicle aisle mate and I decided we weren't going to exactly boycott B&N, just not buy as many books there. We'd both started buying them again, because we'd learned we didn't own them on the kindle.
( Read more... )
I think there's a high possibility people will buy them. There's a lot of books out there that kind of written that way already, formulaic and paint by numbers.
4. Actors and AI (And James Marsters' sexy Spike as a Rock and Roller video)
I can see why Actors fear it - it's relatively easy to grab an actor's likeness and enhance it with AI or alter it, or have AI take over. I see it on Facebook and Instagram constantly.
Heck, James Marsters recently put out a music video of his band's song, Civilized Man, where he's playing the guitar shirtless, and looks 35 years of age. I'm willing to bet he used AI? Even though it comes with the disclaimer that this video used no digital effects. (So maybe not?) I wonder why he didn't do it while he was playing Spike? Whedon probably wouldn't let him? Or it never occurred to him? He really should do the Bruce Springsteen's "Fire" song in Spike get up.
( James Marsters playing Spike as a Rock and Roller in Civilized Man )
Proving that he'd have no problems coming back as Spike in the Buffy Reboot. Annoying me all the more with the missed opportunities. I really wanted rock star Spike. Even as just a cameo.
At the very least AI may wreck havoc on the plastic surgery industry.
It works better on film than plastic surgery does.
it's been a great few weeks in Oasis land <3
May. 22nd, 2026 08:09 pmsnickfic+ Liam and Noel have been going to football matches together, along with various combinations of Liam's kids Gene and Lennon and Noel's kids Anais, Sonny, and Donovan. Liam and Noel's first time hanging out in public since like 2008?? Some great photos and short clips, but this one from last weekend has got to be the best. The full belly laugh, head thrown back! Noel trying ever more insistently to get his attention again because he wasn't finished yet!!
Bonus: Anais thinks her uncle is funny. ;__;
+ Speaking of the kids, here's how the comeback is going from their perspective:
( cut for image )
+ The reunion tour documentary has an official release date! And it's going to have JOINT INTERVIEWS, YOU GUYS. Liam and Noel in the same room, answering questions. Can you even fucking imagine. They haven't done one of those since 2005. Noel is going to laugh at all Liam's jokes and Liam is going to be SO SMUG about it. I'm going to see this IN A THEATER and I am going to dieeeeee.
+ Of course twitter asked Liam about this, and his response was:
He later said that the romance would be between "us and the fans," but we know the truth. :')
+ And finally, have this old clip I found of Liam at a gig singing I waited for a thousand years for you to come / and take me from behind.
Bonus: Anais thinks her uncle is funny. ;__;
+ Speaking of the kids, here's how the comeback is going from their perspective:
( cut for image )
+ The reunion tour documentary has an official release date! And it's going to have JOINT INTERVIEWS, YOU GUYS. Liam and Noel in the same room, answering questions. Can you even fucking imagine. They haven't done one of those since 2005. Noel is going to laugh at all Liam's jokes and Liam is going to be SO SMUG about it. I'm going to see this IN A THEATER and I am going to dieeeeee.
+ Of course twitter asked Liam about this, and his response was:
People asking me what the documentary's like it's a ROMANTIC COMEDY with a bit of ROCK N ROLL
He later said that the romance would be between "us and the fans," but we know the truth. :')
+ And finally, have this old clip I found of Liam at a gig singing I waited for a thousand years for you to come / and take me from behind.
Daily Happiness
May. 22nd, 2026 07:55 pmtorachan1. It's the start of a three day weekend! I'm very excited about that. No particular plans, but an extra day off work is exciting on its own.
2. The weather is back to high 60s/low 70s after those couple days of heat we had earlier this week. I just checked the forecast and it looks like it'll stay that way for the next week or so at least.
3. I just happened to look at the calendar for next month and saw that my birthday is on a Friday, so I put in for that day and the Monday to give myself a four day weekend.
4. Where could Ollie be!?
2. The weather is back to high 60s/low 70s after those couple days of heat we had earlier this week. I just checked the forecast and it looks like it'll stay that way for the next week or so at least.
3. I just happened to look at the calendar for next month and saw that my birthday is on a Friday, so I put in for that day and the Monday to give myself a four day weekend.
4. Where could Ollie be!?
quick signal boost for a local-to-me and worthy cause
May. 22nd, 2026 05:36 pmgenartiThe Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network does a lot of vitally important work supporting immigrants in and around and from Massachusetts, including paying bond (the immigration detention equivalent of bail) to get people released from ICE detention. So much so, in fact, that after paying out over $1.5 million in 2026 alone (!!), they're scraping the bottom of the barrel for their bond fund. They urgently need more money to keep up this work. This is an all-volunteer organization -- I volunteer with them, and can vouch that aside from a tiny bit of overhead, every penny goes to helping immigrants.
I know times are tight and there are a million worthy causes around right now, but if you happen to have some spare funds you'd like to toss at a good cause, this is a really good one and a really good time to donate. Every little bit helps.
(And if you're not in a position to donate, no shame and no judgment.)
I know times are tight and there are a million worthy causes around right now, but if you happen to have some spare funds you'd like to toss at a good cause, this is a really good one and a really good time to donate. Every little bit helps.
(And if you're not in a position to donate, no shame and no judgment.)
Summer of the 69
May. 22nd, 2026 09:31 pmysabetwordsmith posting in goals_on_dwsummerofthe69 has posted its theme calendar. There are some double themes this year. The fest will run 6/9 through 9/6. This activity may appeal to people with writing, art, romantic, and/or blogging goals. 
MerMay The Twentysecond of 2026
May. 23rd, 2026 10:08 amleecetheartist posting in drawesomeTitle: Poetic Mermaid
Artist:leecetheartist
Rating: G
Fandom: N/A
Characters/Pairings: N/A
Artist:
leecetheartist Rating: G
Fandom: N/A
Characters/Pairings: N/A
So yesterday was pretty busy for me, from digging in some tubestock on the verge, taking some chairs to the skip for mum, having my sister-in-law visit. Then in the evening setting up a schedule for my smart telescope and putting it on the roof, also GMing my, coincidentally, GURPS merfolk player characters through the adventure with the giant shark, the sunken ship, and the mysterious deaths. (But not at Styles)
Before all of this I espied a nice photo of a poet acquaintance sovay on Dreamwidth looking particularly like a sprite of the sea, so I asked her if it was okay to MerMay her. She agreed, I found out what colours she likes, and before my GURPS game started got her fin sorted.
sovay on Dreamwidth looking particularly like a sprite of the sea, so I asked her if it was okay to MerMay her. She agreed, I found out what colours she likes, and before my GURPS game started got her fin sorted.GMing duties over for the evening, I returned to finish the drawing. It was finished before midnight, so I sent the model a preview, and went to bed before I got a reply. Which is why you will hopefully get two drawings today, as this is a catch up post. It was drawn on the 22nd though.
I used the Kakimori nib again, as I used multiple inks in keeping with the lovely poet's likes. She's said she likes the colours, so score there!
You can check out her website if you like, appropriately, her poems are immersive and will wrap around you like the songs of beautiful prescient birds from forests of spirit memories.
#MerMay #DipPen #FountainPenInk #NoAI #DrawingWithoutANet #TraditionalArt #GURPS #Poetry #FantasyArt
Thank you to her and photographer Rob for letting me play.
Follow Friday 5-22-26
May. 22nd, 2026 08:33 pmysabetwordsmith posting in followfridayGot any Follow Friday-related posts to share this week? Comment here with the link(s).
Here's the plan: every Friday, let's recommend some people and/or communities to follow on Dreamwidth. That's it. No complicated rules, no "pass this on to 7.328 friends or your cat will die".
Book review: Pink Slime
May. 22nd, 2026 06:21 pmrocky41_7 posting in booknookTitle: Pink Slime
Author: Fernanda Trias
Translator: Heather Cleary
Genre: Literary fiction
Author: Fernanda Trias
Translator: Heather Cleary
Genre: Literary fiction
Last night I finished book #18 from the “Women in Translation” rec list, which was Pink Slime by Fernanda Trias, translated from Spanish by Heather Cleary. Pink Slime is a dreamy nightmare of a novel set in the aftershocks of an ecological disaster as one woman struggles to hold onto her life.
Nothing is as it once was: society has been upended by the “red wind” that kills anyone caught in it; the narrator is divorced from the husband she first met in childhood; and she has left her job in journalism to work as a caretaker for a disabled young boy.
This is a reflective book; there is very little plot. It drifts between the narrator’s present, her memories of the past, and in some cases, a future-tense look at the next few minutes. She observes the ways the government tries to cover for the damage the red wind continues to do, and the way society continues to fracture. She continues to visit her ex-husband in the hospital, although his condition never changes. She continues to fight with her mother.
In some ways, Pink Slime is a story about someone trying to hold onto a life that is already gone. The narrator clings to the past, for obvious reasons—it was better than her present. And yet, nothing new can be made until she releases that hold.
The thing that will stick with me most about this book is the birds. In the narrator’s world, the birds have gone. Where, no one knows. It is a topic of frequent discussion among the townsfolk. Will the birds come back? It reminds of a line from a Florence + The Machine Song: “What if one day there’s no such thing as snow?” Ecological disaster brings with it a poignant grief. How do you explain birds to a child who’s never seen them but in picture books? What is lost for each of us when an animal or plant or phenomenon is destroyed?
I enjoyed the morose, grief-stricken mood of the book, but it does feel directionless at times in a way that’s not wholly captivating. I can’t say what I take away from it on the whole. I would be curious to read more from this author.
meme time!
May. 22nd, 2026 07:05 pmsenmutComment with the name of a woman character (in any show, movie, book, comic, etc that you think I'm familiar with) and I'll tell you one thing I love about her. In return, you can do the same in your journal (if you like!).
Weekly Reading
May. 22nd, 2026 04:03 pmtorachanRecently Finished
Kills Well with Others
Sequel to Killers of a Certain Age, about middle aged female assassins. I liked this one, too. Not sure if there will be any more, because it's hard to keep going "okay this time we've really for real retired" with each book lol.
Secrets Typed in Blood
Third in the Pentecost and Parker series of historical murder mysteries. Still enjoying this series (in fact I think I liked this one better than the first two) and have already requested the next one from the library.
Nobody's Baby
Second in the Dorothy Gentleman sci-fi mystery novella series. I liked this one, too, though not as much as the first. And I'm not sure if there were some details in the first book that I missed or if this one just made it more clear. I thought it was sort of a retro sci-fi setting but it seems to be even more than just a retro vibe, but rather the spaceship having left earth sometime in the very early 20th century, based on various references to technology and attitudes on earth before they left. So I'm curious to see if more of that gets explored in future books.
Nodame Cantabile vol. 1-5
This is one of those modern classic manga series that I've heard about for ages but never read. It's set at a music college. I've read another series by the author (Tensai Family Company) ages and ages ago and liked it, so I'd always meant to get around to this someday but just never had. I got the first three volumes free off Amazon Japan a while back and just now got around to reading them, then switch to the English translation for the rest of the series as it's 25 volumes total and I don't love it enough to want to buy the whole thing. The English translation is pretty shoddy quality, both in terms of translation skill and the typesetting. It feels very much like a scanlation rather than a professional job, but I'm getting it for free from the library so I'll stick with it.
Kills Well with Others
Sequel to Killers of a Certain Age, about middle aged female assassins. I liked this one, too. Not sure if there will be any more, because it's hard to keep going "okay this time we've really for real retired" with each book lol.
Secrets Typed in Blood
Third in the Pentecost and Parker series of historical murder mysteries. Still enjoying this series (in fact I think I liked this one better than the first two) and have already requested the next one from the library.
Nobody's Baby
Second in the Dorothy Gentleman sci-fi mystery novella series. I liked this one, too, though not as much as the first. And I'm not sure if there were some details in the first book that I missed or if this one just made it more clear. I thought it was sort of a retro sci-fi setting but it seems to be even more than just a retro vibe, but rather the spaceship having left earth sometime in the very early 20th century, based on various references to technology and attitudes on earth before they left. So I'm curious to see if more of that gets explored in future books.
Nodame Cantabile vol. 1-5
This is one of those modern classic manga series that I've heard about for ages but never read. It's set at a music college. I've read another series by the author (Tensai Family Company) ages and ages ago and liked it, so I'd always meant to get around to this someday but just never had. I got the first three volumes free off Amazon Japan a while back and just now got around to reading them, then switch to the English translation for the rest of the series as it's 25 volumes total and I don't love it enough to want to buy the whole thing. The English translation is pretty shoddy quality, both in terms of translation skill and the typesetting. It feels very much like a scanlation rather than a professional job, but I'm getting it for free from the library so I'll stick with it.