eleanorjane | Network

A couple of days last week went by in housework to get my new desk set up and change the furniture arrangement. This was after an all-nighter to send in my Soul-Sucking Neverending Work Assignment of Doom From Hell in the morning followed by a nap to sleep it off, so that was certainly a choice I made.

In the afternoon I rose from the dead to clear out the old desk and brought in the assembled pole-mounted desk, wiping down the desks and floor in between. I also moved my secondary Dell monitor from the old desk-mounted monitor arm to the new pole-mounted one (after snapping a pic of the old setup so I can sell the old arm on the flea market app Danggeun), then moved my computer housing to serve as a side desk. More wiping because the inside of that housing had gathered some dust over the years. The monitor was plugged in on its brand-new arm, and I turned it on to check the power supply-

And nothing! The monitor wasn't turning on! I wasn't sure if the monitor itself had somehow met its demise while being moved to its new mount or something was wrong with the power supply. So I dragged our cable hoard out of storage to see if I could find a matching power cord, which there was. Two of them, actually. Changing the power cord got the monitor working again, whew. Maybe I'd kept the monitor power cord too tightly curved on the old mount, or maybe its time had simply come.

Anyway it was a good thing we had the extra cord on hand, but the cables had become a tangled mess in storage and I somehow had the energy to group them into different plastic bags and tag them by categories like "power cords" and "charging cables." It doesn't make an immediate difference right now, but future-me will thank past-me the next time a cable needs to be found.

The old, bigger desk wasn't being dumped; rather, it replaced the side table of the living room couch. The couch-side table had been hanging on in bad shape for years after a younger Tater had jumped up and down on it, tilting sadly and precariously from a missing wheel, so it was a mercy really. (Why are kids?) I dismantled the old couch table and replaced it with the one I'd been using in the office. Also wiped down the living room floor while I was at it. After putting away or tossing a bunch of stuff, the new setup was more or less complete. I even took a night to do a deep-clean of the keycaps and board, a process I live-tooted on fedi.

( Before and after pics! )

I'm very satisfied with the new setup, despite all the work it took. The desk layout is more compact than before, the computer housing no longer gets between me and the monitor, and everything I need is within reach when I'm sitting at my desk (or desks, rather). The change was a while in coming and I'm relieved to have it over with.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Jamie Paige: Encore

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/the-futures-so-brite-2025

With graduation season over, you might be tempted to revel in the heady hopes of a brighter tomorrow, what with all these freshly educated, newly degreed youngins descending upon our workforce and all.

I'm here to fix all that.

This cake was supposed to say - I kid you not - "It's a girl."

That apostrophe placement will be haunting my dreams tonight.

Of course, it's also possible to get the spelling and punctuation perfect, while still completely missing the point:

Granted, this could be a "he said, she said" issue.

Hey, remember when preschoolers were taught to put the square blocks in the square holes, and the round blocks in the round holes?

Do they not do that anymore?

For some reason I'm getting the feeling this is supposed to be a base"ball." Odd.

And remember that toy with the pull string that told you what the dog says?

Do they not have those anymore, either?

Wait. Is that a cat?

Ok, now I'm really confused.

Still, I guess we can take comfort in knowing that these wreckerators won't always be wreckerators:

Eventually they'll get promoted to management.

Thanks to Becky A., Jane R., Stacey S., Jennifer V., & Alissa P., who want to ask that employee in the background, "Hey, why the long face?"

******

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/the-futures-so-brite-2025

rydra_wong

Especially while it's at 75% off in the sale, making it 62p:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/406150/Refunct/

For anyone who might want to sample some easy platforming with a very very low entry threshold.

Chill and rather lovely environment (okay, probably depends on you liking brutalist architecture, but still -- there's a day-night cycle! there's sunshine! the water is gorgeous! the music is gentle!) with no time pressure and no penalties for failing a jump hundreds of times (except that, at worst, you fall in the water and have to swim about and haul yourself out again).

N.B. Most reviews describe this as a half-hour game, and there are achievements for speedrunning it in under 8 minutes or under 4 minutes.

It took me over five hours of playtime to beat it, which should be indicative of the co-ordination and skill levels I'm working with here. And yet it did not at any point feel stressful or humiliating for me. It felt like a pleasant, relaxing environment in which to fail repeatedly and experiment.

It started at a level low enough that I could manage it, and then had a really satisfying difficulty curve. If I was stalling on the next objective, I could still run and parkour round the environment purely for fun (and sometimes ended up working out how to pick off the optional achievements in the process).

Towards the very end, I started to think that the last jumps might just flat-out exceed the limits of what I am currently capable of, and it felt like if that did happen, I would still be able to walk away pretty happily having already got way more than 62p's worth of enjoyment out of it.

Will absolutely be playing it again.

selenak

Very entertaining satiric novel set in and about the publishing industry. Our first person narrator, June (white), is a writer with a debut novel which didn't make a splash and won't even, so her agent tells her, get a paperback edition, in stark contrast to her college friend Athena Liu's (American Chinese) work: Athena has three novels already published, just secured a Netflix deal and celebrates that and finishing the first draft of her newest work with June when she dies an accidental death by pancake. June doesn't just dial 911. She also makes off with Athena's manuscript, about which only she knows, edits, rewrites and publishes it. Presto, success, at last! ! But wait! There's no lack of sharp-eyed foes waiting, social media is truly a jungle, and June might be her own worst enemy....
( Very vague spoilers ensue )

The novel has the right kind of length for this story - which is to say, less than 400 pages - so the various buildings up of suspense - will June get away with it being the big, but not the only one - are not drawn out too long, and there's not a gigantic cast of characters. Said characters reminded me of comedy of manners types - very stylized, often types for certain ways of behaviour - fittng the satire format. The only other thing of R. F. Kuang's I'd read before was Poppy War, a fantasy novel of a very different type, so I'm impressed by her range. Otoh, if Poppy War was so grim that I emerged emotionally exhausted and sure I would go through the experience again (while being glad I had done so in the first place), Yellowface felt like a slick writty automaton which you observe once and marvel at its cleverness but don't feel the need to do it again. But I will certainly continue to keep out an eye for this author.

Current Mood: pensive
Current Location: Kampen

spikedluv

My sister A had to be to work by 7am. I didn’t quite make it to mom’s before she left, but I was there just a few minutes after 7. Before I left home I managed to toss a load of laundry into the washer AND dryer, hand-wash some dishes, pack my lunch, and scoop kitty litter.

I left mom’s at 3:30pm (though my sister wasn’t going to arrive until 5:30pm – we’re trying to slowly wean her from having care/company all the time because she’s already said she’s going to miss having us there). I stopped at the library on the way home to pick up a book. After I got home I did dishes, folded a load of laundry, tossed another into the washer AND dryer (that’s an accomplishment!), did a load in the dishwasher, and shaved.

I watched the first two eps of Smoke, read some fanfic and started the next Clare Fergusson book, and went for a walk while at mom’s.

Temps started out at 73.0(F) and reached 93. It was hot.

Mom Update:

Mom wasn’t as tired as I thought she’d be after going to the graduation party yesterday. ( more back here )

conuly posting in

agonyaunt

Dear Good Job,

I work as a speech therapist. At a family gathering, I noticed my cousin’s near 4-year-old could only say a few words and beg and point for items they wanted. They could only say “juice” or “Pad” and would cry if any other relative tried to engage them in conversation. I asked my aunt if this was normal behavior for the child, and she said yes but that she wasn’t concerned. At nearly 4, a child should be using full sentences of at least three or more words. It is a missed milestone and early intervention is key.

I checked the local school district, and they offer free screenings and testing that my cousin’s child would qualify for. I went to my aunt and suggested that, in my professional opinion, her grandchild might benefit from speech therapy or at least testing to make sure it wasn’t some other underlying problem. It was completely free and I sent her the info. I didn’t go directly to my cousin because I know some parents can be thin-skinned and defensive when it comes to advice from licensed professionals. I had parents rage at teachers for suggesting their kids need glasses because they can’t see the board.

Well, for my troubles, my cousin sent me an awful and barely coherent text telling me I was a busybody; because I don’t have kids, my opinion is worthless; and she is a mother, so she knows all, and especially what is best for her child, who is perfect. I left it alone after that. The problem is that two years later, the child started kindergarten and was diagnosed with a severe speech impediment, and the rationed therapy the school gives hasn’t really helped. My cousin had to enroll her child with a private therapist that her insurance doesn’t cover and it is pretty pricey. I know all this through the grapevine.

Then, at a family event, my aunt and cousin went off on my poor mother about how awful and selfish I am for not volunteering and helping in their hour of need. I never told anyone about the text since I didn’t want drama, but I kept it. Frankly, I am furious. I tried to help, and I thought I was respectful enough by just going to my aunt with the free resources that were available to my cousin. I didn’t press, preach, or accuse. But now, at this late date, they think publicly blaming me and dragging my poor mother into it will work? I am ready to go to war and I have the receipts, should I?

—Not Holding My Tongue

( Read more... )

conuly

Just went through the website and applied to everything I meet the minimum qualifications for, for what good it may do.

They could, in theory, save my information from one application to the next. They don't do that. They could also not require me to answer "where did you hear about this?" every time - but the joke's on them. "I went to your website and clicked on every job where I meet the minimum qualifications" is not an option, so I've just been lying and saying "hiring event" because that's the first choice. They will get no useful data from me, no thank you!

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

( Read more... )

sholio

"The Gate of the Feral Gods" and "The Butcher's Masquerade." I'd say this series is pretty solidly scifi now, so I'm tagging it that way.

( Random spoilers )

Moving on soon to book 6, "The Eye of the Bedlam Bride"! No future spoilers, please!

ysobel

So my G&S earworm morphed into a weird amalgam that started with HMS Pinafore --

We sail the ocean blue,
And our saucy ship's a beauty;
We are sober men and true,
And attentive to our duty.

-- only then towards the end of that song, shifted to a classical music orchestral piece that I had the damnedest time placing but that was something I knew I a) had heard within the past year, at one of the concerts I went to, probably late 2024, b) had not heard within the last month, c) had an annoying tendency as an earworm to loop (not just stick as earworms do, but literally loop back on itself), and d) had been in my head before, months ago.

It felt very much like either Tchaikovsky or Beethoven, and I was confident it was a symphony, so I went to imslp and started browsing the sheet musics. It was none of the Tchaikovsky ones, so I tried Beethoven, though I was fairly sure it wasn't the 9th. I also googled for "classical music that sounds like Indiana Jones" because some of the bit in my head reminds me of IJ music, only that confused things because the 3rd movement of Tchaikovsky'a 6th contains a (different) Indiana-Jones section. Obviously the symphonies preceded Indiana Jones, just as the 4th movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony preceded Jaws, but still. It had to have been some sort of inspiration.

Anyway I eventually found it: the beginning of the 4th movement of the 5th symphony (https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=3xUNCQ4TbN4&si=qqSWtKaUa7qsXghO) ... not the first measures, but the stretch 0:30 to 1:00 with the cascading runs down and the horns and then the bit I fondly consider the Indiana Jones section. (I think it's the modulations?)

So then I had to listen to the whole symphony, and I had almost forgotten just how fucking amazing it is. The first four notes get overused in popular culture to the point of being almost cheesy, but other than that it's just utter perfection. And listening to it makes me incredibly happy omg.

(It's one of my favorite symphonies -- my all-time favorites are Beethoven's 5th, Sibelius' 2nd, and Tchaikovsky's 4th (clearly I need a first and third to round it out) -- and it's one that, if I'm alone, I'm moving to, not just "conducting" with hands but full body emphasis. Obviously I behave at concerts, so I don't distract others, but. It's just. Good. So good.

(If you don't know it besides the duh-duh-duh-DUHHHH motif that starts the piece, go listen.)

...of course, fair warning, it does sometimes get bits stuck in your head...

[note to self -- this entry took exactly an hour to write]

mergatrude

Finished The Iron Will of Genie Lo and I really enjoyed it. Genie is such an unreliable narrator in a very fun way. The other characters are all charming and I liked the direction the book went in. I also liked how it felt satisfactorily concluded.

Watched KPop Demon Hunters with the dude, who's a bit of a KPop fan. It was a lot of fun and hit all the typical 'slayer' beats. The animation style was cool.

Continuing with the girl power theme, I have Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (author of Vespertine, which I believe some of you have read) and Skipshock by Caroline O'Donoghue to read next.

We have acquired a copy of Flow to watch because it was only in cinemas for a week and we missed it.

And of course I'm still listening to Murderbot on the bus to and from work. If they make a second season of the TV series based on Artificial Condition I really hope they get Kevin R. Free to voice ART. He's so good!

dine

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conuly

( Cut for being perhaps a bit insensitive or factually wrong )

Also, two links where you can donate.

renay posting in

ladybusiness

Well, I made a reading list last month...how did I do? ( Read more... )

conuly

is the constant whiplash between panic and popcorn.

Right now I'm hovering over "popcorn" - new political parties? With added drama and infighting? LOL, okay, let's see how that works out for you!

(Look, I need a break from panic now and again, and I will take my fun where it appears.)

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

( Read more... )

tsuki_no_bara

oh my flist it is so hot out. *ghasp* if i didn't like my sleep so much i would've gone into work today for the a/c. but sleeeep.

so i've been here a week! and have unpacked more of the kitchen (dishes! mixing bowl! pots! misc utensils!) and the bedroom (jeans! t-shirts! the dress i forgot where i packed it!) and realized yesterday there's one more thing i don't miss about living with someone - i don't have to hear anyone rattling around the kitchen on a morning i want to sleep in. which is very exciting. i do have to unpack some more, tho. and, uh, i think i can hear my downstairs neighbor snoring. O.O i really, really hope he lives alone.

a thing i forgot about the tuesday when it was so hot i had to stay over at my sister's - we had a fire alarm at work. >.< i was on a 10a zoom meeting and suddenly alarms started going off everywhere and a recorded voice said basically GO DIRECTLY TO THE STAIRS AND OUTSIDE DO NOT PASS GO DO NOT COLLECT $200 and when no one else on the zoom had any reaction i just thought oh, so i'm the only one in today. but i went outside and stood in the shade for like ten minutes and then we all went back in. i can't remember what happened but it was something dumb.

anyway. comcast came on thursday so i now have wifi and tv! and have caught up on resident alien. :D i also had to run into harvard square to get my glasses fixed and coincidentally acquire ice cream. orange chocolate chip. DELISH.

for the fourth my sister and i went to a park sort of near her (we went there last year) for fireworks and, uh, ice cream. soft serve. it wasn't crowded when we got there but eventually it filled up and by the time it was dark enough for fireworks there were A LOT of people. fireworks were as usual quite fun and a little kid sitting behind us kept going "wow!" for a couple minutes and then their dad took over and it was INTENSELY cute. i do love a good local fireworks.

saturday i dicked around and went to home sense and home goods and target with my sister for house stuff (got new kitchen towels, did not get a kitchen timer because my stove does not have one, wtf) and then we went out for dinner and saw jurassic park rebirth which overall i think i enjoyed? the story is stupid but let's be honest, you don't watch jurassic movies for the story. you watch for the dinosaurs. and there were some frankly terrifying huge flying ones.

(there were A LOT of previews and most of them were for sequels or remakes except ick (no), bugonia (perhaps), and one battle after another (yes).)

and yesterday because it was hot i zoomed with the mothership, the sister, and cousin pb for iceland and now we are PREPARED. except i need to get a big suitcase because mine broke last year when i went to italy. i even started giving my faculty a heads-up at work and found some admins to look after them in case they need anything. woot.

after that i sat around, met

tamalinn and the tiny dog for ice cream because did i mention it was hot? came home, unpacked some, had dinner, watched andor. it's so good but at the same time i keep expecting people to die.

fifty years ago an exceptionally large time capsule was buried in nebraska. it included letters, photos, art, cassette tapes, and a chevy vega and it was opened on friday. folks traveled even from other states to find the stuff that they or their parents had buried. how cool is that? so cool.

Current Mood: hot
Current Music: resident alien

mrkinch

U was unavailable this morning and I didn't have much energy, so Chris and I walked up to Jewel Lake on the boardwalk and back on the road, an easy morning. Bird activity is decreasing, although I think this morning the heavy overcast, cold, and wind may have been a factor. We didn't heard Warbling Vireos until we were almost to the Lake, and didn't hear a Black-headed Grosbeak until the sun broke through a little, see above. Highlights of the morning were the Brown Creeper at Jewel Lake climbing the snag and slipping under the bark, so amazing to see; and at least two fledgling Wilson's Warblers making their begging call, which I'm not sure I've heard before, and fluttering to be fed. We heard a mysterious call while we were sitting by the lake that Chris traced to a juvenile Spotted Towhee, so another new call. The Anna's Hummingbird nest was well and truly abandoned. I will be interested to see how quickly and to what extent it disintegrates. ( The list: )

We heard White-breasted Nuthatch again. I guess it's dispersal and I don't expect any to stay, it's only marginally appropriate habitat, but it's fun while they are here.

echan

I switched my morning soda for tea, starting last month. I'd been intending to do this for many years, but I didn't actually like tea much, until recently. I want to say its because I made a concerted effort to acclimate to tea and gain an appreciation for it. And maybe those efforts helped a little bit, but mostly it just... happened.

Lately I've been feeling older, as if I didn't age for many years and now suddenly things are going a lot faster, and part of that is apparently existential crises about what preferences are personal choices vs quirks of biology or something else.

princessofgeeks

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hannah

I'll be working this week, and possibly in the foreseeable future as well. It's hard to say - the woman I'm sitting in for needed emergency surgery to have her gallbladder removed, and organ removal always constitutes a careful recovery period.

I don't know how long I want to do this. Full-time, at least. It's the gnawing nighttime feeling and the looming mornings that are getting to me more than lost afternoons at the gym and visits to farmers' markets. Having less time to get my daily living activities finished so I can get writing done in the evening. I'm sure there's a knack to it I can pick up with practice. Breaking the weights out for some evening workouts is something I'm out of practice doing, but I'm getting back into easily enough. I can't drop and do twenty pushups straight, and I'm still capable of a few with good form, so I'll hitch myself back to that goal, among others. Something achievable.

Current Mood: working
Current Music: nothing now

tielan

Well, I have employment to March next year. Which is interesting, because usually it would be until January - ie. "6 months". That said, they will be getting 6 months out of me because of the vacation. So...

Anyway, continued employment (shy of colossally screwing up) is assured. Huzzah.

serafaery

I miss all the cats who've been kind enough to associate with me. Many I have had deep, unforgettable bonds with. I think of them often. New Cat was my best friend for a long time. Willow came after her. Willow watched me become an adult and I was heartbroken for years over losing her. Then P-Funk, Darwin, and Lunar, my three little black old men cats.

Today, and lately, I've been missing Darwin the most. Darwin was rescued five weeks after P-Funk's death. He was a 20 year old cat who had been surrendered mysteriously, and I had just lost a 20 year old cat, and felt I had the room and capacity to give this one a good home.

Darwin is really the one who rescued me. Within a couple weeks he was out of his shell and so energetic that I double checked his age with the shelter, who sent me to the hospital he had been surrendered to, who confirmed that he was in fact 21. !!!

I had him until three weeks before his 23rd birthday. He was healthy, happy, and content for almost the entire time.

Darwin was mostly deaf, and would sometimes howl at the top of his lungs to hear himself, which I found hilarious.

He was the sort of cat who would daintily tap his paw on a leg - anyone's leg - to be asked to be lifted into a lap, as his legs were too arthritic to jump. He loved to snuggle into laps or sunbeams. He had a particular position he wanted to snuggle in under my arm every night, and if he came to bed and I was not in the right place, he would tap my shoulder with his paw until I rolled over and offered the crook of my arm for him to snuggle into.

There were a few small things that went wrong toward the end of his life, but for the most part, the entire time with him was absolute delight. He seemed so content and relaxed. Nothing ruffled his feathers. He seemed grateful for every moment. The week before his death he was still gently chasing cabbage moths in the grass. He was best friends with a neighbor cat who would come for walks with us nightly. Chester, a huge orange tabby, absolutely adored Darwin and would wait on our porch for him. (I always went with him, he did not go outside unsupervised.)

Darwin had the most peaceful death imaginable, at a vet he loved, surrounded in love and gentleness.

Sigh.

I don't believe in the afterlife or other woo-woo things, but I got what felt like messages from him afterward, signs of different sorts from different places, in the form of art and music, that said we had known each other before and we would meet again. I resonate with identification as a star-seed, even though I don't believe in reincarnation or "oversouls" or anything like that, something about the starseed identification feels true in a way I don't understand. Similarly, I got messages that Darwin was also a starseed. It never occurred to me consciously that animals could also be starseeds, but of course they can - anything can be a star-seed. Technically we all come from star-stuff anyway.

So whenever a starseed message comes to me, I think of Darwin, and I miss him. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to think of him. There is a mystery there I don't understand. And I'm grateful for that connection.

mific posting in

fancake

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: Genfic. John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Elizabeth Weir, Rodney McKay, Aiden Ford, Steven Caldwell, Jack O'Neill, Cowen
Rating: G
Length: 27,574
Content Notes: Major character death. John has no special relationship with Atlantis and dislikes the city's voice in his head. Dossier's original Notes are here.
Creator Links: dossier on AO3
Themes: Working together, Character development, Teamwork, Action/adventure, Genfic

Summary: I had set the galaxy afire because she had given me her loyalty and trust.

Reccer's Notes: Yes, it's MCD, but hear me out. Dossier creates an AU story of Sheppard as Laurence of Arabia, eventually saving Pegasus from the Wraith. Like Laurence, he dies in a motor vehicle accident, which happens right at the start so you know what you're in for. The structure works well - a 3rd person account of his death, then the story itself from the expedition's arrival in Atlantis, told in John's first person POV like T. E. Laurence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom", then a last 3rd person section about his death and the birth of his legend. Sheppard doesn't mercy-kill Sumner in this - he remains ostracised and mistrusted by the mainstream military and carves out a role for himself by "going native" and working together with Teyla and the Athosians, and eventually other Pegasus peoples, finally masterminding an alliance that destroys the Wraith, but being wounded himself and losing 20 or so years from a Wraith feeding. As with Laurence, he's ultimately tormented by the deaths he feels responsible for along the way, especially the massive genocide of the Wraith, and he dies on Earth, alone and largely unrecognised. But in Pegasus, it's a very different story. Not a comfort read, but a powerful and well-told story that fits Sheppard's character.

Fanwork Links: Nils Nisi Bonum

troisoiseaux

Currently reading Days of the Dead by Barbara Hambly, one of her Benjamin January historical mysteries, usually set in 1830s New Orleans, although this one sees newlyweds January and Rose take a busman's honeymoon to Mexico to rescue their friend Hannibal Sefton, who has been accused of murder. Enjoying this! It's very Gothic: the mad patriarch ruling over his isolated hacienda with an iron fist, where pretty much everyone else is on their way to madness if not already there; the picturesque ruins in the form of Aztec pyramids; and of course, People Getting Real Weird With Religion. So far, this book's historical cameo has been General Santa Anna, who I did not connect with the sea shanty "Santiana" until a reference to his nickname as "Napoleon of the West"; I've also noticed that Hambly has an apparent running joke with herself of slipping in the names of minor characters from Les Mis (e.g., Combeferre's Livery in Die Upon A Kiss) and assumed the French chef named Guillenormand was one of those, although the spelling differs slightly— and as this Guillenormand is a "heretic Revolutionist" who fled France upon the Bourbons' return to power, I doubt Hugo's Gillenormand would acknowledge any relation.

I'm approximately three-quarters through Dune and things have gotten really weird. (Jessica + the Water of Life ritual????) Also, oddly, this audiobook keeps slipping back and forth between using a full cast of different voice actors for the different characters and having a single narrator Doing Voices for all the characters, which has a very odd effect when it changes from scene to scene and the main narrator has a completely different way of reading, e.g., Count Fenring's verbal tic than the other, specific voice actor does. It has also introduced more of a soundscape, including (in a move so cliche it was accidentally funny) ambiguously exotic flute music when Paul's Fremen love interest ~~Zendaya~~ Chani was introduced. So far my favorite chapter/scene has been when Frank Herbert used one character's death to be like "AND IN THIS ESSAY I WILL—" about ecology, via that guy's dying hallucinations of his dead father.

walgesang

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Current Mood: rejuvenated
Current Music: you're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow

tellshannon815

senmut

sylph_and_asp is members-locked access now. Just. I've got a lot of political posts over there from previous years, plus, as good as dreamwidth does try to protect us from crawlers, I feel better locking my writing down.

siria

siblings in arms
The Pitt | Gen | ~1100 words | Written for the

au-roulette challenge, for the prompt "roleswap." Thanks to

sheafrotherdon for betaing.

(Also on AO3)

( Dr Evans would be lost without Charge Nurse Robinavitch. )

dine

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badfalcon

I... am still processing that Sinner v Dimitrov match. My heart is breaking for Grigor and no lie when he went down clutching his chest, both Li and I thought for a horrible horrible moment that he was having a fucking heart attack.

Genuinely thought he was gonna beat Jannik. And I was fucking gutted for that. But that is nothing like where I expected that match to go. Poor Grisha 😭

✨glimmers and good things – day 5 ✨
three tiny joys, glimmers, or moments of soft comfort from today

💇‍♀️ I received some really lovely comments about my hair today - it felt nice to be seen like that.

💌 A friend was at the Sinner v Dimitrov game, and sent me a gorgeous pic of Darren & Simone they took because they knew I’d love it - such a thoughtful surprise.

🥪 Made myself a thunder & lightning sandwich with clotted cream from the fridge - simple, indulgent, and exactly what I needed.

That’s me for today. If you feel like sharing your glimmers, I’d love to read them 💛
Be gentle with yourself, especially if the good things were hard to find.

Current Mood: indescribable

nanila

I have been struggling to concentrate today. It was hard not to spiral back to that day. I had been living in London (and therefore the UK) for less than a year. I spent much of the day unable to contact family and friends to reassure them I was OK because the mobile networks were overwhelmed. I remember walking the crowded streets to meet friends and my then-partner. The faces of the shuffling Londoners. The relentless wail of sirens.

I'm coping by watching the BBC documentary series on the bombings. For some reason I need some kind of external validation for feeling the way I do today and this is providing it.

(Access locked) Posts from that date: DW, LJ

Here is what I wrote on the 8th of July, 2005. I don't think I agree with myself here, not entirely. I was rationalising my own fear. The body count is also the point.

Terrorism isn't about the reality of statistics. Of the several million people living in or visiting the greater London area, a tiny percentage were physically hurt or killed by the bombings. A slightly larger percentage witnessed them firsthand, and a huge number of them were temporarily inconvenienced by the shutdown of the London Transport system. The chances that the next bus or tube journey that the average Londoner makes will have a bomb on it are not much greater than they were yesterday or will be tomorrow. But, as I said, this is not about statistics. It's about the perception of statistics. However miniscule your chances were and are of being blown to bits by a terrorist attack, they are now at the forefront of your mind, whether you want them to be or not.

Terrorism isn't about the frequency of occurrence of terrorist acts, or of similar kinds of attacks made during open war. Londoners of different generations experienced the Blitz and the IRA bombings of the 1980s. Many of them have been through this before. However, it is the very unpredictability of terrorism that makes it so frightening, that makes a return to normalcy as difficult as it was the last time, because the ordinary citizen has no way of knowing when, where or if another attack will happen.

People deal with this in a myriad of ways. Some become defiant, others resigned. Some find themselves swallowing down fear for weeks, months or years after the events, every time they board a bus or enter an Underground station. This is the real point of terrorist attacks, not the body count. All emotional responses are fully permissible, but it is the way that we act upon them that will determine whether or not we build a world in which the slight probability of terrorist attack on the average citizen will continue to be a weapon that can wield so much power.

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3112/

After determining that his body was full of pipes carrying iron-rich fluid, our current theory is that the dagger-shaped object precipitated within the wound.

https://xkcd.com/3112/

feldman

For a long time the only Orwell I'd read was Down and Out in Paris and London, and the power of that book is the inside/outside view it gives on how the machinery of exploitation functions on the ground. The constant exhausting useless work of being poor was already familiar to me as a teen. All these time-wasting rigged games of survival serve to manufacture and control a desperate labor pool that demeans, crushes, and ultimately indifferently slaughters human beings. A system is what it does, after all.

The slog to find a job continues to grind my very goddamned soul. I feel like a filter trap for cognitive dissonance, crushingly frustrated by such conundrums as how to be charming and reassuringly competent while curbing vast amounts of anxiety and rage at the state of, well, everything being mismanaged to hell and back in a glory of destruction.

"Our interview in 20min is cancelled, as we're suddenly not funding this position after all."

"Can you show me your home office? No, I don't have any technical questions about your set-up, I just want to see it for reasons."

"My camera is 'glitchy' (so weird that this always happens!) so you'll be performing engaging humanity to a default blank pfp and your own strained countenance."

"Oh we're owned by a private equity firm, so we believe we're shielded from the 'current instability' in related fields. I will not take it well when you ask for the PE firm's name."

"I'm actually remote/contract HR, so I can't tell you anything about that location, team, work environment, or current challenges this position is meant to address. Please be specific about how you would contribute to our business."

"Sell yourself to us, why should we hire you?"
That one pissed me off, it totally came off as 'dance for us, monkey'. Real talk here, I give sommelier energy. I care way more for the craftsmanship and artistry of the product than the sale of it. I did well with luxury treats to middle class punters, and both are in short supply these days. So yeah, if you need a successful impromptu sales pitch about the thing we've already been discussing for forty minutes -- namely my interest and qualifications for a non-sales or even development-adjacent role at a nonprofit -- then we should both not waste our time.

But wasting time is partly what this is all about, isn't it?

Current Mood: bitchy

minoanmiss posting in

agonyaunt

CW" sexual harassment, soft bans, conflict avoidance, and religion. ( Read more... )

languagehat_feed

Posted by languagehat

https://languagehat.com/kooloora-revives-darkinjung/

https://languagehat.com/?p=17740

Or, to put it more expansively and comprehensibly, Toukley’s Kooloora Preschool revives endangered Darkinjung Aboriginal language; Sarah Forster and Emma Simkin report for ABC on the kind of program I like supporting (I’ve added links):

Students at a NSW Central Coast preschool start their day talking about their feelings in Darkinjung, the local Aboriginal language. Darkinjung is the predominant First Nations group in the region, but the language became endangered fairly quickly after colonisation due to its proximity to Sydney.

“It’s taken a lot of research, a lot of hard work from people that have come before me to get those words so we can start learning them again,” preschool educational leader Sharon Buck said. Ms Buck is a proud Gamilaroi woman who has lived and worked on Darkinjung country her whole life.

Kooloora is a targeted Aboriginal preschool attached to Toukley Public School. About 75 per cent of students identify as Aboriginal, but Ms Buck said all families appreciated the opportunity to learn language and culture. Amber Clenton’s daughter, Islah, has attended Kooloora since the beginning of the year. She has started bringing the language and songs home. “Our whole family is Aboriginal, so we love to learn the language,” Ms Clenton said. […]

Arliah James is one of Kooloora’s non-Aboriginal students. Her mother, Kelsey, said she was benefiting from the Darkinjung language program. “I just love how this school incorporates it [culture] a lot and it is not getting forgotten,” Ms James said. […]

Ms Buck’s commitment to restoring language has resulted in the preschool earning the highest rating achievable for an early childhood education and care service. The rating of excellent, from the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, is an honour Kooloora shares with just 10 other facilities in NSW. “It validates that the service is a leader in our community and for other early childhood services, and that our initiatives are recognised and valued as making a difference for children and families,” Ms Buck said.

The preschool is working with other local schools to share the localised Aboriginal curriculum.

The ethnonym Gamilaroi is from gamil ‘no,’ a common pattern among Australian languages.

https://languagehat.com/kooloora-revives-darkinjung/

https://languagehat.com/?p=17740

princessofgeeks

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Current Mood: grateful

james

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tyger

Ugh I am TIRED um

Today there was a lot of floor stuff! I mopped THREE TIMES, and ALSO used the vacuum, plus helped Sibling out with some stuff. And! I learned how to use the paint stripper (gross but effective!) to clean up the skirting boards.

Annoyingly, it turns out we don't have a fucking drill here - my father gave the one I KNEW we had to Sibling, apparently, so Sibling has to bring one back over tomorrow. ANNOYING. (Also annoying: my father takes the cordless drill with him camping, because instead of using pegs he just bolts things into the ground. I just. C'moooon.)

Other than that, not a huge amount, honestly. I should not be so tired I zone out like I have been uuuuugh. But bed now. Yes.

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: Birthplace

marthawells

Kerr County Flood Relief Fund

The Kerr County Flood Relief Fund supports relief and rebuilding efforts after the flood of July 4, 2025. Your generosity helps our neighbors recover.

The Community Foundation - a 501(c)(3) public charity serving the Texas Hill Country - will direct funds to vetted organizations providing rescue, relief, and recovery efforts as well as flood assistance. The Fund will support the communities of Hunt, Ingram, Kerrville, Center Point, and Comfort. All donations are tax-deductible, and you will receive a receipt for your gift.

https://cftexashillcountry.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4201

And Kerrville Pets Alive! is taking donations for rescue and fostering lost pets.

https://kerrvillepetsalive.com/?link_id=3&can_id=588b5a597b5d30fd7e36b213e5ba6987&source=email-freedom-is-fought-for-not-given&email_referrer=email_2803907&email_subject=how-you-can-help-texas-flood-victims&&

spikedluv

I decided to watch this show because of Taron Egerton. I’ve seen the first two eps and enjoyed them. ( spoilers )

runpunkrun

a dragonfly
unable to settle
on the grass
-1690

Translation by Jane Reichhold.

( 俳句 )

smbc_comics_feed

Posted by Zach Weinersmith

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/branch-2

Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
All I'm saying is that at least in the Copenhagen interpretation, Friendly Hitler isn't hanging out with Gandhi.

Today's News:

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/branch-2

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/meanwhile-at-the-unintentionally-erotic-bakery-part-1-2025

"Deb, you've outdone yourself!"

"Aww, thanks, Pat!"

"So, what do you call it?"

"Well, with all the candied cherries on there, I'm thinking...'THE CHERRY POPPIN' CANDY CASTLE!' What do you think?"

"I like it."

"AND, we can throw in a half dozen 'Tunnel of Love' cookies with each order!"

"Oooh, good idea! Especially since no one but those college guys will buy any."

"Yeah...I guess the extra icing must be turning people off - too many calories. Remember how that lady said they weren't family-friendly?"

"That was kind of weird. Must be one of those health nuts."

"Aw, you know how it is. People are so paranoid about what they put in their mouths these days."

Thanks to Anony M. & Christina P. for the great spread.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/meanwhile-at-the-unintentionally-erotic-bakery-part-1-2025

anehan posting in

booknook

Title: Censored: A Literary History of Subversion and Control
Authors: Matthew Fellion and Katherine Inglis
Genre: non-fiction

As a consequence of realising that hey, interlibrary loans exist and are actually pretty cheap, I've been reading a book called Censored: A Literary History of Subversion and Control by Matthew Fellion and Katherine Inglis.

The book is a survey of the history of censorship of literature mainly in the UK and the US, presented through case studies of individual censored works, though many of the chapters discuss censorship of similar books more broadly. The oldest case is the censorship of the early English translations of the Bible; the newest the censorship of Chicanx literature in Arizona in the 2010s.

The book takes a broad view of censorship. It doesn't just deal with censorship by the state, but also other forms of censorship, such as self-censorship and the chilling effect that censorship exerts on the literary landscape as a whole.

I'm not going to talk about it in any great detail. It's really well-written -- very accessible to a lay reader, without feeling like it's been dumbed-down -- so go read it if the topic interests you.

( Some thoughts on censorship of literature based on this book )

fox posting in

agonyaunt

Dear Eric: I am very much enjoying the second time around following a long and less than joyful first marriage. My problem is plans for burial.

All of our children are terribly against our marriage even though both of our spouses were deceased at the time we met. Our children have virtually no relationship with us now and if there is any contact it is ugly.

I have a cemetery plot out of state with my deceased wife. My wife has a local plot with her deceased husband. I would like to get a new plot for the two of us but expect that any such request would receive pushback and be ignored.

My wife’s mother is buried with her second husband using her last name at the time of her death and her father is buried with a subsequent wife so there is precedent for what I want but I know her daughter would require that her mother be buried next to her father.

How do I get what I want?

I have not discussed any of this with my wife. If I did and she brought it up with her daughter the reaction would be for the daughter to express her displeasure by keeping the grandchildren from my wife. She has done that for less. If I am to get a plot, I should do that sooner rather than later as they are in short supply.

While living I would feel great joy if I could know that I could count on being buried beside my wife for all of eternity. Am I being silly to not just take the easy route?

— Burial Conflict

Plans: You have every right to make a burial plan that suits your life and your love. And — this might be controversial — you don’t have to tell your kids. If you have virtually no relationship as it is, you certainly don’t need to bend to their wishes. It seems there’s no pleasing them, anyway.

In general, it’s better to communicate about final wishes and plans for one’s end-of-life in advance. This helps intentions to be understood and gets questions answered while you’re still around to answer them. But the conflict that’s roiling your family complicates things.

Without knowing more about the circumstances of your marriage, I can’t say your kids are completely wrong, but the punishment you mentioned is more than concerning.

Perhaps they’re struggling with acceptance because of unprocessed grief, perhaps there’s something else going on that I’m not privy, too. Either way, the stated conditions dictate that the burial conversation should happen only between you and your wife right now. Once you’re both on the same page, you’ll know what the next step is. That might mean purchasing a joint plot that makes you happy and appointing someone other than one of your kids as executor. (That last part is probably wise regardless.)

There would still be a lot of complications, of course. Namely, one of you will predecease the other and at that point, presumably, the kids would find out the plan. So, while you are working on doing what brings you joy, I’d also encourage you to get down to the root of what’s going on with your kids.

glinda

So I’m hideously behind on my writing target for the year - even by the standard I was working to last year of having written more at the end of each month than I had the previous year I’m behind - so when I saw that

nafs was hosting write every day this month I decided that was probably exactly what I needed. And apparently I was correct? Most days I’ve only written a couple of hundred words but it’s adding up and in some cases it turned out that actually that half written draft article/post I had lurking actually only needed 240 words in the right places to be finished. Very satisfying.

And uh, on Friday I opened my prompt file and stuck its associated playlists on and umm, wrote like 600 words of a fic. I’ve been picking away at it over the weekend and, while it’s not my best work I don’t think it’s terrible. (One of my re-watches the other month was Ocean’s Eight and apparently I had a bunch of Daphne Kluger feelings lurking. The original prompt for this fic was Casual by Chappel Roan but it kinda drifted.) So yeah, first finished fic in almost exactly two years, go me.

Someone You Couldn’t Lose (1341 words) by Glinda
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ocean's 8 (2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Daphne Kluger/Lou Miller, Daphne Kluger/Debbie Ocean, Daphne Kluger/Lou Miller/Debbie Ocean
Characters: Daphne Kluger, Lou Miller (Ocean's), Debbie Ocean
Additional Tags: Friendship, Friends With Benefits, Planning Adventures, Less casual than anyone wants to admit, Thirty-something problems
Summary:

The thing no one tells you, is that it’s kinda hard to make new friends in your 30s. (Daphne Kluger would far rather plan a heist.)

Current Music: Chappel Roan - Casual

spikedluv

I had to be to mom’s by 9am to relieve sister S. I did a load of laundry, baked chicken for the dogs’ meals, hand-washed some dishes, and scooped kitty litter before I left. I left ~6pm and by the time I got home I just did some more dishes and took a shower before I collapsed on the bed to relax.

I marathoned four eps of the new show Countdown with Jensen Ackles and attended a graduation party. (My sister S’s step-grandson.)

Temps started out at 72(F) and reached 97 according to Pip. I didn’t doubt it; it was so frelling hot out. We sat outside at the graduation party, but were saved by a slight breeze. I still felt gross and sweaty.

Mom Update:

Mom was tired again today and just had zero get-up-and-go. ( more back here )

dine

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delphi

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mecurtin

We were on the sofa together watching Murderbot so Purrcy had to come supervise. Not shown: how he was thwapping me with his tail to make sure I knew he was there. This shot makes it looks like he was watching the screen with us but I'm pretty sure he wasn't.

Portrait of Purrcy the tuxedo tabby gazing soulfully off to the left, as he sits on top of a brown sofa with a green pillow in the background. His pupils are quite dark, his whiskers very faint.

Portrait of Purrcy the tuxedo tabby gazing soulfully off to the left, as he sits on top of a brown sofa with a green pillow in the background. His pupils are quite dark, his whiskers very faint.

I've been watching Moon Embracing the Sun with

feklar42 and

libitina, which is my first kdrama. I have a question. I know that double eyelid surgery is extremely common in South Korea. Do we assume that most Korean actors/actresses have had this surgery, the way we assume that most (all) Western actors are on diets?

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