New Vid: Save The Bullets, Baby! | ClaireBell
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viddingMake up your own title?
Aug. 28th, 2026 06:16 pmshadowkatInteresting - blood sugar spike makes COVID worse. Good to know. (As in worse - gives me a headache, hot flashes - like burning from within, and increased fatigue (although fatigue could just be on-going).
Every time I get COVID? I feel like I had the wind knocked out of me? Kind of like having someone crash into me at full speed? Or how one might feel after climbing 30 flights of steps or going up a really steep hill? Or having just run a marathon? And the worst part? That feeling often lasts for two months. That and the brain fog, which lasts longer. When I got it in November of 2019 - it didn't go away until March of 2020. So it's gotten better, now it usually lasts two-three months instead of six. But it can't be good for the malaise. Oh well, this too, is temporary.
And I'm grateful that it is a mild case all things considered. I've been sicker with the flu and vertigo. This, so far, has not come with vertigo or a vestibular headache, which is a lot worse.
***
Read a lot today. Also wasted time scrolling through Threads, Twitter, and FB/Instagram - which are so loaded down with ads, I can't see anything but the ads. They keep throwing space saving furniture items and storage items at me from Amazon, which I am trying to resist the urge to buy. (I've lived this long without them...also, the last thing I need is to go on a spending spree. And, I don't want to give Amazon any more money?)
On Threads, we've moved from folks arguing over The Odyssey, to folks arguing over Dungeon Crawler Carl. What are they arguing about? The people who got pressured into reading it by their friends (online or offline or both - not clear on this) - and hate it - are whinging about it to the people/fandom who love it (as if they personally pressured them into reading it - they didn't - they don't know them.). LOL!
Threads is very whiny? And here I am -- whinging about Threads.
Although I was amused by this thread:
( Read more... )
I'm kind of stalled in the middle of Carl's Anarchist Cookbook. Meanwhile people online are begging for it in hardcover? It is in hardcover. I saw it in the bookstore. (I'm not buying it in hardcover - I have it for free with a credit in audio book and Kindle Unlimited...I don't need to own it? I own enough books. I've limited space as it is.)
( why I'm stalled )
Someone on Threads complained that Dungeon Crawler Carl wasn't descriptive enough, or not enough like Tolkien, and too simplistic and they couldn't envision the Dungeon.
And I thought...okaaay... I don't need the writer to describe in gritty detail festering moss ghouls, or a team member molding their flesh, or the dungeon. I'm fine not getting those types of nitty-gritty details? My imagination can picture it all on its own and fill in the gaps. (Do people not have the ability to imagine things without a lot of descriptive detail? Apparently not? Which actually would explain a lot, if I think about it.) Not everyone should write like Stephen King, Charles Dickens and Tolkien.( Read more... )
I would not recommend Dungeon Crawler Carl series to folks who like a more formal writing style or poetic prose style? It's not for people whose preference is Henry James, Marcel Proust, and Tolkien. The style fits more Hemingway, Vonnegut, Heinlein, Doug Adams. Or John Scalzi. Basically it's about a Dude who gets caught in a horrible role playing game with his ex-girlfriend's talking show cat. It's not for everybody - but what is?
***
Two episodes in and Lanterns on HBO is very good. But it is not for everybody? It is a dark sci-fi, mystery, superhero, horror trope. Very adult. With a dark adult sense of humor. The violence at the moment is more off-screen, and implied. So if you can handle the television mystery shows and procedurals on Broadcast TV - you can handle this. Game of Thrones - it's not. One of the writers/producers is Damon Lindoff (sp?) - who spearheaded Watchmen, the Leftovers, and LOST. The cast is excellent. Think True Detective meets DC Comics?
The set up? ( Read more... )
***
I'm enjoying Winterblaze by Kristin Callahan - but, it's too focused on sexy romance for my liking? Yes, yes, I get that the two main characters are lusting after each other and want to have sex, but can we move on please? ( Read more... )
Every time I get COVID? I feel like I had the wind knocked out of me? Kind of like having someone crash into me at full speed? Or how one might feel after climbing 30 flights of steps or going up a really steep hill? Or having just run a marathon? And the worst part? That feeling often lasts for two months. That and the brain fog, which lasts longer. When I got it in November of 2019 - it didn't go away until March of 2020. So it's gotten better, now it usually lasts two-three months instead of six. But it can't be good for the malaise. Oh well, this too, is temporary.
And I'm grateful that it is a mild case all things considered. I've been sicker with the flu and vertigo. This, so far, has not come with vertigo or a vestibular headache, which is a lot worse.
***
Read a lot today. Also wasted time scrolling through Threads, Twitter, and FB/Instagram - which are so loaded down with ads, I can't see anything but the ads. They keep throwing space saving furniture items and storage items at me from Amazon, which I am trying to resist the urge to buy. (I've lived this long without them...also, the last thing I need is to go on a spending spree. And, I don't want to give Amazon any more money?)
On Threads, we've moved from folks arguing over The Odyssey, to folks arguing over Dungeon Crawler Carl. What are they arguing about? The people who got pressured into reading it by their friends (online or offline or both - not clear on this) - and hate it - are whinging about it to the people/fandom who love it (as if they personally pressured them into reading it - they didn't - they don't know them.). LOL!
Threads is very whiny? And here I am -- whinging about Threads.
Although I was amused by this thread:
( Read more... )
I'm kind of stalled in the middle of Carl's Anarchist Cookbook. Meanwhile people online are begging for it in hardcover? It is in hardcover. I saw it in the bookstore. (I'm not buying it in hardcover - I have it for free with a credit in audio book and Kindle Unlimited...I don't need to own it? I own enough books. I've limited space as it is.)
( why I'm stalled )
Someone on Threads complained that Dungeon Crawler Carl wasn't descriptive enough, or not enough like Tolkien, and too simplistic and they couldn't envision the Dungeon.
And I thought...okaaay... I don't need the writer to describe in gritty detail festering moss ghouls, or a team member molding their flesh, or the dungeon. I'm fine not getting those types of nitty-gritty details? My imagination can picture it all on its own and fill in the gaps. (Do people not have the ability to imagine things without a lot of descriptive detail? Apparently not? Which actually would explain a lot, if I think about it.) Not everyone should write like Stephen King, Charles Dickens and Tolkien.( Read more... )
I would not recommend Dungeon Crawler Carl series to folks who like a more formal writing style or poetic prose style? It's not for people whose preference is Henry James, Marcel Proust, and Tolkien. The style fits more Hemingway, Vonnegut, Heinlein, Doug Adams. Or John Scalzi. Basically it's about a Dude who gets caught in a horrible role playing game with his ex-girlfriend's talking show cat. It's not for everybody - but what is?
***
Two episodes in and Lanterns on HBO is very good. But it is not for everybody? It is a dark sci-fi, mystery, superhero, horror trope. Very adult. With a dark adult sense of humor. The violence at the moment is more off-screen, and implied. So if you can handle the television mystery shows and procedurals on Broadcast TV - you can handle this. Game of Thrones - it's not. One of the writers/producers is Damon Lindoff (sp?) - who spearheaded Watchmen, the Leftovers, and LOST. The cast is excellent. Think True Detective meets DC Comics?
The set up? ( Read more... )
***
I'm enjoying Winterblaze by Kristin Callahan - but, it's too focused on sexy romance for my liking? Yes, yes, I get that the two main characters are lusting after each other and want to have sex, but can we move on please? ( Read more... )
Hives of scum and villainy
Aug. 28th, 2026 07:42 pmoursinWell, they digged a pit, and fell therein themselves: Firm fined for hounding elderly people with nuisance calls claiming to stop … nuisance calls.
Although I fall within the relevant demographic, I suppose, I have not been contacted by these vultures (okay, there was a mysterious missed call on the landline the other day?) but that might be because we're registered with the Telephone Preference Service:
It can’t stop recorded or automated messages, silent calls, market research calls, calls from overseas sales companies, or calls from fraudsters.
Which is I suppose why we still get occasional dodgy calls claiming that somebody has made a charge on A Credit Card and similar.
***
In other news, this is honestly less progressive than it sounds: Prince Alois chose Liechtenstein’s national day on August 15 to announce a break with three centuries of dynastic tradition: future generations of women could inherit the throne on equal terms with men. For a country that was Europe’s last to give women the vote, in 1984, the change was hailed as overdue progress. However, the Hereditary Ruler wields extraordinary power and recent changes limit the checks and balances exercised by his relatives. (A couple of these must be the ones who are currently in the Jacobite Pretender line of succession).
***
I'm not sure whether they're fit to run a railroad, but they sound significantly ill-equipped to run an arts centre: Before an emergency hearing, the Kennedy Center's board threatens to demolish it:
It is unclear whether either firm has any experience with arts venues that feature unamplified performers, such as orchestras, solo and chamber instrumentalists, opera companies and dance ensembles who have comprised much of the Kennedy Center's programming since it opened in 1971.
The board minutes show no evidence that the board sought advice from arts administrators, acoustic experts or performers in making or approving renovation plans. The specific plans and Delta's complete report remain under seal.
and all the problems of the world won't be solved by this guitar
Aug. 27th, 2026 05:55 pmmusesfoolWednesday reading on a Thursday:
what I've just finished:
A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett, the third Ana and Din mystery, and I think maybe the best one yet? ( spoilers ) (also, nb: I am using an Elementary icon, but this series is a Nero Wolfe analogue, not a Holmes one! I am just saying!)
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman, the third Thursday Murder Club mystery, which I enjoyed. Again, the mystery wasn't all that mysterious, but I do enjoy spending time with the characters.
Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher, the sequel to Swordheart. I enjoyed it. It's always fun to revisit the world of the White Rat, and this romance was slightly different from her usual.
what I'm reading now/next:
I don't know! I have so much fic open in tabs, so maybe that for a bit? But also so many books and do I want to stop while I've got momentum? idk idk!
*
In work news, I received a supposedly final presentation today from a program team and when I opened it, it was 1. not in the approved organization template and 2. ALL IN COMIC SANS WTF. But it came to me with alleged approval from the higher ups, so I need to ask my boss if I can at least fix the font before I send it out. (I'm still missing the slides from a different team, so it's not delayed by this or anything.) I just...how does this happen in the year of our lord 2026???
*
what I've just finished:
A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett, the third Ana and Din mystery, and I think maybe the best one yet? ( spoilers ) (also, nb: I am using an Elementary icon, but this series is a Nero Wolfe analogue, not a Holmes one! I am just saying!)
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman, the third Thursday Murder Club mystery, which I enjoyed. Again, the mystery wasn't all that mysterious, but I do enjoy spending time with the characters.
Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher, the sequel to Swordheart. I enjoyed it. It's always fun to revisit the world of the White Rat, and this romance was slightly different from her usual.
what I'm reading now/next:
I don't know! I have so much fic open in tabs, so maybe that for a bit? But also so many books and do I want to stop while I've got momentum? idk idk!
*
In work news, I received a supposedly final presentation today from a program team and when I opened it, it was 1. not in the approved organization template and 2. ALL IN COMIC SANS WTF. But it came to me with alleged approval from the higher ups, so I need to ask my boss if I can at least fix the font before I send it out. (I'm still missing the slides from a different team, so it's not delayed by this or anything.) I just...how does this happen in the year of our lord 2026???
*
Reanimation of old project
Aug. 27th, 2026 06:15 pmoursinFor many years in my former job I was involved in the compilation of - actually at first it wasn't even a database, it was a paper-based reference guide - what became a database of information about a certain class of archives, and then once it became a database I was largely responsible for keeping the data updated at moderately regular intervals -
Oh yes, and because the public interface, which was hosted by Another Organisation, could only handle fairly basic searches, my workplace fielded requests for more complex interrogations. (Plus a stream of queries from people who had not found what they were looking for, because the information was not there: and there was no Sekkrit Hidden Information they could access by Asking An Archivist).
I realise that I had put intermittent time and effort into this project over nearly 40 years by the time I retired.
And then the whole thing got abandoned and a very very minimalist version was the only thing available, fume mutter.
There was a revival of interest just over a year ago, and lo and behold, it is being reanimated with a new digital interface.
I am gratified.
Further reason for gratification: renewal of my Fellowship.
Mid(-ish)-week mishmash, ending with a tomatoes update
Aug. 27th, 2026 09:39 amumadoshiI'm not having a great brain week, friends, and I feel very behind on everything even though things have been quiet on both work fronts. I have just given up on the prospect of commenting on rather a lot of posts that I had open in tabs for the purpose, although I'm at least caught up on reading here.
A thing that is Not Helping: it's Thursday morning and I'm still waiting for a phone call I was told to expect on Monday or Tuesday.
A few semi-random things:
--Farmshare, week eight (last week): lettuce, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic scapes, young ginger. Of those, I know we haven't made it to processing the scapes yet; here's hoping they're still in decent shape. >.< Definitely a week or so where I'm reminding myself that the farmshare membership is as much about supporting the local farm(s) as anything else.
--I'm still behind on booking a handful of medical things that I've been meaning to deal with for...uh...a while, but we did at least just book all three cats for their annual checkup. (A couple months late, but not horrendously late. Did we wind up getting an appointment for the exact day that the fall crunch starts at Dayjob? Sure did. But it's first thing in the morning, at least.)
--Our cucumber plant has produced a second cuke that should be actually worth picking (there've been a couple of them that grew to half the size of a pencil at most and then withered). As for the tomatoes, some of the Romas are starting to turn red, and at least a few of the Black Cherry tomatoes look like they're ripening.
And the two Brandywine plants (the large slicer tomatoes)? ( not long, but entirely about tomatoes )
A thing that is Not Helping: it's Thursday morning and I'm still waiting for a phone call I was told to expect on Monday or Tuesday.
A few semi-random things:
--Farmshare, week eight (last week): lettuce, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic scapes, young ginger. Of those, I know we haven't made it to processing the scapes yet; here's hoping they're still in decent shape. >.< Definitely a week or so where I'm reminding myself that the farmshare membership is as much about supporting the local farm(s) as anything else.
--I'm still behind on booking a handful of medical things that I've been meaning to deal with for...uh...a while, but we did at least just book all three cats for their annual checkup. (A couple months late, but not horrendously late. Did we wind up getting an appointment for the exact day that the fall crunch starts at Dayjob? Sure did. But it's first thing in the morning, at least.)
--Our cucumber plant has produced a second cuke that should be actually worth picking (there've been a couple of them that grew to half the size of a pencil at most and then withered). As for the tomatoes, some of the Romas are starting to turn red, and at least a few of the Black Cherry tomatoes look like they're ripening.
And the two Brandywine plants (the large slicer tomatoes)? ( not long, but entirely about tomatoes )
Wednesdy reading meme among other things...
Aug. 26th, 2026 05:31 pmshadowkat1. RIP Tim Curry, who also died at 80 years of age
50 years on the screen, notably for Rocky Horror and Pennywise in IT.
Retrospective of Tim Curry on CBS This Morning
[I'm less surprised by this one? Mainly because I knew he had a serious stroke a while back, and was faring poorly. But still - sigh, too many artists that will be missed.]
2. Finally, bit the bullet and got plane tickets (non-refundable - I have 24 hours to cancel) to see Mother at Xmas in Hilton Head. First Xmas together since 2022.
( you'd think that would be the end of it, but nope )
The tickets were pricier than in the past. Inflation is even worse now than it was two years ago. Hint? Non-stop via JetBlue out of JFK is cheapest. (I picked JFK, because I hate Laguardia (it has the lowest number of runways, and there's always something going wrong with one of them - also it's a maze and hard to find things in), and Newark scares me (plus it's too far.)
3. Reading Meme
- Finished Carl's Doomsday Scenario - which was better than Dungeon Crawler Carl. Note? These are a kind of horror/satire/sci-fi hybrid? If you don't like horror - it's not for you? And they are gory - as in Stephen King gory? It doesn't bother me - because it's a book - and I don't really visualize all of it. Also, I've read gorier horror novels. Reminds me a lot of Kurt Vonnegut, actually. The satire is about as crazy and biting as Vonnegut. I've read a lot of Vonnegut. Don't remember a lot of it - it was in the 1980s. Did read Slaughter-House Five in 2017. That and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy back to back. This feels little bit more like Vonnegut.
It's very dark humor?
I keep wanting to tell folks who whine about it on Threads (because their peers pressured them into reading something that is definitely not their cup of tea) - that this is satire and not meant to be taken literally.
Just because something is wildly popular - doesn't mean you should partake of it? Odds are - that you will hate it?
I don't like everything that is popular. The appeal of the Twilight Series continues to bewilder me, as do the movies Titantic and Avatar. But to each their own?
- Currently reading Carl's Anarchist Cookbook - which features the Iron Tangle subway network. He keeps crashing trains or trying to take over trains. Many of which have monstrous conductors, or monsters as inhabitants. (Since I happen to take them and know a lot about this? I'm finding this book to be insanely enjoyable - in ways I cannot quite describe to the general public? I keep chuckling at various passages.)
Also have decided to go the audio book route on this? Mainly because the narrator is amusing me, and is amazing. My god. I don't know how he manages to do all those voices? He sounds just like Bruce Campbell, and various others. And since I am envisioning a young Bruce Campbell as Carl - this works for me.
Actually, a way to describe this book - is Kurt Vonnegut writes about the Moscow, NY and Tokyo Subway systems with a Sam Rami and Stephen King twist?
Like I said? Not for everyone? But I'm enjoying the heck out of it.
- Also started reading on e-book Winterblaze (Darkest London #3) - although this appears to be a standalone? I've not read the others and can follow it without any issues. Yeah, each one is it's own separate book, with each character getting their own book or romance.
( Read more... )
- And reading via audio book (more to put me to sleep than anything else), Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters -it's gothic - featuring a fake ghost. It's okay. Takes place in Bavaria.
Up next? Probably more Dungeon Crawler Carl - also I've begun reading the X-men again, after taking a break from it. I'm also flirting with the Mystical Cat Shelter book.
50 years on the screen, notably for Rocky Horror and Pennywise in IT.
Retrospective of Tim Curry on CBS This Morning
[I'm less surprised by this one? Mainly because I knew he had a serious stroke a while back, and was faring poorly. But still - sigh, too many artists that will be missed.]
2. Finally, bit the bullet and got plane tickets (non-refundable - I have 24 hours to cancel) to see Mother at Xmas in Hilton Head. First Xmas together since 2022.
( you'd think that would be the end of it, but nope )
The tickets were pricier than in the past. Inflation is even worse now than it was two years ago. Hint? Non-stop via JetBlue out of JFK is cheapest. (I picked JFK, because I hate Laguardia (it has the lowest number of runways, and there's always something going wrong with one of them - also it's a maze and hard to find things in), and Newark scares me (plus it's too far.)
3. Reading Meme
- Finished Carl's Doomsday Scenario - which was better than Dungeon Crawler Carl. Note? These are a kind of horror/satire/sci-fi hybrid? If you don't like horror - it's not for you? And they are gory - as in Stephen King gory? It doesn't bother me - because it's a book - and I don't really visualize all of it. Also, I've read gorier horror novels. Reminds me a lot of Kurt Vonnegut, actually. The satire is about as crazy and biting as Vonnegut. I've read a lot of Vonnegut. Don't remember a lot of it - it was in the 1980s. Did read Slaughter-House Five in 2017. That and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy back to back. This feels little bit more like Vonnegut.
It's very dark humor?
I keep wanting to tell folks who whine about it on Threads (because their peers pressured them into reading something that is definitely not their cup of tea) - that this is satire and not meant to be taken literally.
Just because something is wildly popular - doesn't mean you should partake of it? Odds are - that you will hate it?
I don't like everything that is popular. The appeal of the Twilight Series continues to bewilder me, as do the movies Titantic and Avatar. But to each their own?
- Currently reading Carl's Anarchist Cookbook - which features the Iron Tangle subway network. He keeps crashing trains or trying to take over trains. Many of which have monstrous conductors, or monsters as inhabitants. (Since I happen to take them and know a lot about this? I'm finding this book to be insanely enjoyable - in ways I cannot quite describe to the general public? I keep chuckling at various passages.)
Also have decided to go the audio book route on this? Mainly because the narrator is amusing me, and is amazing. My god. I don't know how he manages to do all those voices? He sounds just like Bruce Campbell, and various others. And since I am envisioning a young Bruce Campbell as Carl - this works for me.
Actually, a way to describe this book - is Kurt Vonnegut writes about the Moscow, NY and Tokyo Subway systems with a Sam Rami and Stephen King twist?
Like I said? Not for everyone? But I'm enjoying the heck out of it.
- Also started reading on e-book Winterblaze (Darkest London #3) - although this appears to be a standalone? I've not read the others and can follow it without any issues. Yeah, each one is it's own separate book, with each character getting their own book or romance.
( Read more... )
- And reading via audio book (more to put me to sleep than anything else), Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters -it's gothic - featuring a fake ghost. It's okay. Takes place in Bavaria.
Up next? Probably more Dungeon Crawler Carl - also I've begun reading the X-men again, after taking a break from it. I'm also flirting with the Mystical Cat Shelter book.
i've built a lot of blazing speed-of-light machines
Aug. 26th, 2026 06:10 pmmusesfool3 things make a post:
= RIP Tim Curry. Sigh, it's like 2016 all over again!
= Saw the eye doctor today. I mentioned that for the last week or so, I have been having a weird afterimage in my left eye that sometimes shows up as a blank spot when my eyes are open, but the doctor said she couldn't see anything wrong when she dilated my eyes. I have to go back in a month for another dilation. I am getting new glasses in the meantime, and also she said she sees the very early beginnings of cataracts. My dad had them, and eventually had surgery for them, but I am not noticing anything different (other than the weird afterimage) in my vision at this time, so we'll be - no pun intended - keeping an eye on it.
= After the eye doctor, I renewed my NYPL library card, so that was good.
= I watched this week's Ted Lasso and wtf? Who are the writers and can we fire them??? ( spoilers )
*
= RIP Tim Curry. Sigh, it's like 2016 all over again!
= Saw the eye doctor today. I mentioned that for the last week or so, I have been having a weird afterimage in my left eye that sometimes shows up as a blank spot when my eyes are open, but the doctor said she couldn't see anything wrong when she dilated my eyes. I have to go back in a month for another dilation. I am getting new glasses in the meantime, and also she said she sees the very early beginnings of cataracts. My dad had them, and eventually had surgery for them, but I am not noticing anything different (other than the weird afterimage) in my vision at this time, so we'll be - no pun intended - keeping an eye on it.
= After the eye doctor, I renewed my NYPL library card, so that was good.
= I watched this week's Ted Lasso and wtf? Who are the writers and can we fire them??? ( spoilers )
*
Wednesday the second book for essay review finally arrived
Aug. 26th, 2026 06:05 pmoursinWhat I read
Two recent litfic type works that I saw reviews of around and that were Kobo promotions: Gwendoline Riley, The Palm House (2026) about which I was somewhat meh, and Alex Hyde, Exhibition (2026), which I liked rather more, I thought it was being slightly less that englamoured by posh person narrative than some of the reviews had hinted, though I am still a bit wondering how somebody based on 1990s Young British Artists was both part French and posh.
Then for a change read Doug Johnstone, A Dark Matter (The Skelfs, #1) as a) the latest episode in the series got a moderately positive write-up by Literary Review's crime reviewer, and an omnibus edition was on promo from Kobo. Not entirely sold, but one never knows with the first in a series how it is going to go: I thought this was a bit throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, possibly a bit too much going on? but might try another one.
And then at coughingbear and hano's Mah'v'l's Pahty I met Roz Kaveney and in the course of conversation fangirled about the Rhapsody of Blood series, and realised that I had doubtless missed a lot in the final volumes because of the lapse of time over which they were coming out (2012-2023) and decided to re-read the whole thing from the beginning, which I had not ever done. So have already read Rituals (Rhapsody of Blood, #1) (2012).
On the go
Roz Kaveney, Reflections (Rhapsody of Blood, #2) (2013).
Up next
Resurrections, Realities, and Revelations (Rhapsody of Blood, #3-5).
Also must read Dorothy Richardson, The Trap (Pilgrimage, #8) (1925) for online book group, also Cold Comfort Farm for in-person group.
***
It may be of interest to some of dr rdrz that Naomi Mitchison's The Conquered (1923) is now available via Project Gutenberg.
"Not everything I write is good, but it's all good for me, like therapy" - Dolly Parton
Aug. 25th, 2026 06:08 pmshadowkatI'd have to say that's true of me as well. Anyone else?
They say it comes in threes? First singer and actress, Hayden Panettiere died at the age of 36 (Heroes and Nashville) then, Shelly Fabray, the actress and singer at 82, and now the legendary kind soul Dolly Parton dies at the age of 80 (singer, song-writer, producer, performer, philanthropist, entertainer, and actress).
Hayden Panettier sings Fame
Shelley Fabraes who died at 82 was an actress and singer - known for the Donna Reed Show, Coach, and the unexpected hit - Johnny Angel.
And Dolly Parton sings... The World's on Fire written and performed by Dolly Parton this past year
A bit more on Dolly Parton - who is in part responsible for my favorite television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - she was one of the producers involved, and her production company Sandollar, and her production manager, Sandy Gallin was partially behind it getting made.
But more importantly?
( Read more... )
Dolly's loss hurts the most. R.I.P Dolly.
NYC is lighting up the Empire State Building in honor of her passing at 9 to 5.
(I don't know about anyone else? But I'm depressed.)
It was a pretty day, however. The clear blue sky and sunshine in defiance of my grey and somber mood.
As you can see? I took a walk at lunch time to Battery Park, which is coming along nicely - construction wise. Six months ago this section of the park wasn't open to visitors and still under construction.
Here's the Korean War Memorial, which stated over 100,000 lives were lost, and 99,000 missing. After a while the numbers feel..but the memorial is striking, and provocative. It utilizes negative space well - and it has flags from all the countries affected by the conflict, including China.
( Read more... )
I did look out at New York Harbor, which is in the distance...although I went closer, just didn't take a picture.
They say it comes in threes? First singer and actress, Hayden Panettiere died at the age of 36 (Heroes and Nashville) then, Shelly Fabray, the actress and singer at 82, and now the legendary kind soul Dolly Parton dies at the age of 80 (singer, song-writer, producer, performer, philanthropist, entertainer, and actress).
Hayden Panettier sings Fame
Shelley Fabraes who died at 82 was an actress and singer - known for the Donna Reed Show, Coach, and the unexpected hit - Johnny Angel.
And Dolly Parton sings... The World's on Fire written and performed by Dolly Parton this past year
A bit more on Dolly Parton - who is in part responsible for my favorite television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - she was one of the producers involved, and her production company Sandollar, and her production manager, Sandy Gallin was partially behind it getting made.
But more importantly?
( Read more... )
Dolly's loss hurts the most. R.I.P Dolly.
NYC is lighting up the Empire State Building in honor of her passing at 9 to 5.
(I don't know about anyone else? But I'm depressed.)
It was a pretty day, however. The clear blue sky and sunshine in defiance of my grey and somber mood.
As you can see? I took a walk at lunch time to Battery Park, which is coming along nicely - construction wise. Six months ago this section of the park wasn't open to visitors and still under construction.
Here's the Korean War Memorial, which stated over 100,000 lives were lost, and 99,000 missing. After a while the numbers feel..but the memorial is striking, and provocative. It utilizes negative space well - and it has flags from all the countries affected by the conflict, including China.
( Read more... )
I did look out at New York Harbor, which is in the distance...although I went closer, just didn't take a picture.
Mr Toad would be making crash videos....
Aug. 25th, 2026 03:15 pmoursinBit of a theme going on, maybe, given that there is a significant history of cars as phallic symbols....
Speeding for online glory: the internet subculture where young men drive dangerously for likes.
This is not like that thing that I vaguely recall from my youth - and it was a US thing at that - featured in movies and pop songs - hot rod/drag racing.
The fast-driving internet trend on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube is fed by footage shot from a driver’s perspective of cars going “#fullsend” – the jargon for roaring down dual carriageways – and “#gapping” or “#swimming”, as in weaving dangerously through packed traffic.
....
Several factors are behind this trend, experts say. Young men have long been sensation seekers with a tendency to push whatever limits adults impose, according to Sonia Livingstone, professor of social psychology at the London School of Economics and an expert in social media harms.
Social media now extends the momentary thrill of speed with the promise of clout and glory as the drivers’ exploits spread through the internet. It is a case, Livingstone said, of “putting their foot down in the offline world knowing it wins them points in the online world”. If views rise high enough, there is also the prospect of cash rewards from some of the social media companies.
Okay, so fame, in the form of 'likes' and possibility of 'fortune' but I wonder about whether it also wins the favours of persons of the desired gender? (Please advise, Prof Freud.)
(There seems to have been maybe more going on than just sensation-seeking internet trend in the incident precipitating the think-piece: Five more arrested over crash that killed seven people including two police officers, in which organised crime appears to have been a factor.)
This article is about the startling lung-health benefits of ULEZ: but I have to wonder what the impact of lower speed limits/encouragement of cycling etc in London has been on rates of traffic accidents.
(no subject)
Aug. 25th, 2026 07:38 amskygiantsI admit as someone who has now experienced many and various Moby Dick riffs over my time on this Earth I did not have hugely high expectations for Alexis Hall's Hell's Heart, pitched proudly on its front cover as SAPPHIC MOBY DICK IN SPACE!, but in fact it made me laugh out loud at least three times in the first couple dozen pages:
1. opening verbatim with the Nathaniel Hawthorne dedication
2. followed by an 'etymology & extracts' that includes among other things a quote from Jupiter Ascending
3. Queequeg ("Q") comes from a low-tech but socially Utopian post-collapse Earth whose "idol" (identified as such by "I") is a little Hitchhiker's Guide-esque translation pad and who speaks politely baffled Latin
3.5. Narrator looks at the audience and says, I have to explain some social context to you in case this book becomes inexplicably popular 30 years after I die and you don't know what I'm talking about --
The social context, for the record, is that we're in a dystopian capitalist deep-space future dominated by three major churches: the Church of Life, the Church of Liberty, and the Church of Prosperity, and you can imagine what these things look like. (The church that believes that the entire universe will someday be devoured by a big spaceleopard squid but the faithful will be devoured last is a fringe movement, but one with some bearing on the plot.) The domes under which most of humanity survives are powered by 'spermaceti' from space Leviathans that swim around the moons of Jupiter, hence the thriving deep-space whaling industry. Our protagonist, "I," is a depressed former schoolteacher in the Church of Prosperity wrestling with a loss of faith, pursued by corporate debt, and haunted by the memories of her voyage on the whaleship Pequod, which she recounts to us piece by piece over the course of this narrative (interspersed, of course, with philosophical musings, entertaining worldbuilding, and numerous memes.)
So, Hell's Heart is affectionate, satirical and clever, tonally and structurally both deeply in conversation with the OG Moby Dick and with Our Present Moment, much like a really dedicated Yuletide fic, and I had a good time reading it! Also much like a really dedicated Yuletide fic, it features a lot of sex in various combinations. 400K, Ishmael/Queequeg, Ishmael/Ahab, Ishmael/Starbuck, past!Starbuck/Ahab, Ishmael/OCs, etc. (All women, except for Starbuck who's nonbinary.) I understand the impulse but TBH I think the Moby Dick dating sim element of it all does the book a bit of a disservice -- or, maybe not the book itself, but the characters. "I" herself is an interesting if slightly differently flavored mess from original Ishmael but the more "I" has to remind me verbatim that "A" is devastatingly hot and compelling every time she enters a scene the less I believe her ... put that energy into showing, not telling! I'm effortlessly enthralled by Original Ahab! You don't need to yassify her! Also I understand why, in writing a contemporary first-person novel, one does sort of feel the need to put "I" in every scene so we understand why she knows what's happening but I am sorry to see the Ahab & Starbuck tension, which is dear to me, lose some of its force and power because a.) a generic "exes" is so much less interesting than "two longtime coworkers from the same small specific religious community who turned out Like This and Like That respectively" and b.) the book is much more interested in Ishmael's dynamic with each of them than their dynamic with each other.
On the other a.) and b.), a.) adaptations make choices and see characters in different ways and that is fine and part of the process even if I'm grumbling that this is not my Starbuck and b.) really really funny to have the scene where Starbuck almost shoots Ahab play out almost exactly as in the book except Ishmael is also just there in Ahab's bed hanging out.
1. opening verbatim with the Nathaniel Hawthorne dedication
2. followed by an 'etymology & extracts' that includes among other things a quote from Jupiter Ascending
3. Queequeg ("Q") comes from a low-tech but socially Utopian post-collapse Earth whose "idol" (identified as such by "I") is a little Hitchhiker's Guide-esque translation pad and who speaks politely baffled Latin
3.5. Narrator looks at the audience and says, I have to explain some social context to you in case this book becomes inexplicably popular 30 years after I die and you don't know what I'm talking about --
The social context, for the record, is that we're in a dystopian capitalist deep-space future dominated by three major churches: the Church of Life, the Church of Liberty, and the Church of Prosperity, and you can imagine what these things look like. (The church that believes that the entire universe will someday be devoured by a big space
So, Hell's Heart is affectionate, satirical and clever, tonally and structurally both deeply in conversation with the OG Moby Dick and with Our Present Moment, much like a really dedicated Yuletide fic, and I had a good time reading it! Also much like a really dedicated Yuletide fic, it features a lot of sex in various combinations. 400K, Ishmael/Queequeg, Ishmael/Ahab, Ishmael/Starbuck, past!Starbuck/Ahab, Ishmael/OCs, etc. (All women, except for Starbuck who's nonbinary.) I understand the impulse but TBH I think the Moby Dick dating sim element of it all does the book a bit of a disservice -- or, maybe not the book itself, but the characters. "I" herself is an interesting if slightly differently flavored mess from original Ishmael but the more "I" has to remind me verbatim that "A" is devastatingly hot and compelling every time she enters a scene the less I believe her ... put that energy into showing, not telling! I'm effortlessly enthralled by Original Ahab! You don't need to yassify her! Also I understand why, in writing a contemporary first-person novel, one does sort of feel the need to put "I" in every scene so we understand why she knows what's happening but I am sorry to see the Ahab & Starbuck tension, which is dear to me, lose some of its force and power because a.) a generic "exes" is so much less interesting than "two longtime coworkers from the same small specific religious community who turned out Like This and Like That respectively" and b.) the book is much more interested in Ishmael's dynamic with each of them than their dynamic with each other.
On the other a.) and b.), a.) adaptations make choices and see characters in different ways and that is fine and part of the process even if I'm grumbling that this is not my Starbuck and b.) really really funny to have the scene where Starbuck almost shoots Ahab play out almost exactly as in the book except Ishmael is also just there in Ahab's bed hanging out.
Monday Monday...isn't that a song?
Aug. 24th, 2026 07:49 pmshadowkat1. Well, if I want to fly to Hilton Head in December - it will have to be via Savannah, either that or take dreaded American Airlines and stop over in Charlotte. Do not want. Either way - pay extra. I prefer Jetblue - it's safer and more reliable than American - and I have mileage program with it.
I don't have to do it this minute. I have until October 1.
[I've finally convinced Breaking Bad that taking time off in December isn't an issue any longer. This is after three years. So it will be the first Xmas spent with mother since 2022. And the second since my Dad died. It was either Xmas or her birthday. We chose Xmas. I can't really afford both - time wise. I need to continue to reserve days for doctor's appointments.]
Also, in desperate need of a haircut. Breaking Bad's hair and mine are about the same length. Also almost the same color (except I think his is whiter/grayer as it should be - he's eleven years older than me). We had a discussion about Retirement today - and why we're both terrified to take it. Why? Crazy agency has made the process convoluted and confusing. (Trust me - if there is a way that Crazy Org can make something more confusing and convoluted - it will find it.) There's all these rules, and none of them make sense? It's like a convoluted word puzzle or logic riddle?)
( Breaking Bad and I discuss it )
***
2. I am forever indebted to Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 3: Carl's Anarchist Cookbook. Why? It provided me with the name of a book and the author of said book - that I've been trying to remember and hunt down for over 20 years. (It's out of print - hence the problem locating it. And it's a lesser known book.)
As a kid, I read and loved a weird Andre Norton sci-fi novel with a cat on the cover. Took me a long time to figure out it was by Andre Norton.
(No, it's not Cats Eye). Andre Norton aka Alice Andre Norton - was a prolific sci-fi writer of the mid-late 20th Century. She wrote hundreds of books, famously the Witch World series. My Aunt, who was a school librarian and a fan of genres such as Westerns, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Romance, introduced me to Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Zelphia Keatley Snyder, among others. I discovered science fiction and fantasy in the fifth and sixth grades, and fell in love.
Name of book? Breed to Come by Andre Norton (female writers often used male names in the 1960s, particularly in male centric fields like science fiction.)
I managed to find a cheaper edition? The Iron Breed - People Saga Book 1
( Synopsis of both books - Iron Cage and Breed to Come )
That's two books for $5.99.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is interesting? It references Louis L'Amour Westerns, and Classic Sci-Fi writers. I will warn folks. The book is sci-fi horror, and gory. It is a biting satire of video game culture, reality games, ogliarchy/authoritarianism. I'm enjoying the heck out of it. But it is not for everyone. It may appeal to the Kurt Vonnegurt/Douglas Adams crowd? I like Vonnegurt better than Adams? And this is more Vonnegurt. Vonnegurt was a lot darker than Adams in his satire.
I'm enjoying the heck out of Carl's Anarchist Cookbook - since it's a satire on the subway systems around the world. It calls the twisted subway system in the dungeon that the game has recreated - the Iron Tangle. And I thought - that's actually a fitting name for NYCT, which I curse most of the time.
I'm listening to them on audio book. Some nitwit on Threads worried that audio books were increasing our literacy crisis. (sigh, it's actually better than it was 20-30 years ago. More people are reading now than they were ten to fifteen years ago? NYC certainly is - they have 100 person book swaps and book parties in various parks now.) So, no, it's not having any affect on the literacy crisis, if there is one, and I find that doubtful.
Threads has a lot of chicken littles whining on it? It's very whiny platform, prone to hyperbole.
3. There's this one annoyingly self-righteous woman on Threads from Denmark who keeps wondering about the US. She's clearly never been to the US, and only knows what she sees in the news media. And worse, she keeps comparing Denmark to the US. Denmark is about the size of Wisconsin? (One of the US's smaller states?) Denmark has 5.28 million people, is a monarchy, with a parliamentary government - it has more in common with Britain? The US is a Republic, with a checks and balances system, with over 380 million people, and Denmark could fit into one of its 50 states. To put this into perspective? NYC has 12 million people and New York is bigger than Denmark.
( trying with difficulty to explain the differences between the US and Europe to Europeans...who have never been to the US, and get all their information from the media )
4. I found out, while discussing the character of Wolverine on Threads, that Hugh Jackman has a long lasting friendship with Rupert Murdoch, and is friends with Trump's daughter and son-in-law. So is Nicole Kidman. They are godparents to Murdoch's kids.
Sigh.
I feel validated for choosing not to see Jackman in concert - something about what I'd seen of his concerts bothered me?
I don't believe he's a bad person. But damn. Murdoch? He also has been very vocal about supporting Murdoch.
Murdoch was yellow journalist in Australia, who began his career with the Tabloids in Australia.
[Note: The discussion was a validating one about Wolverine. Apparently I'm not alone in not wanting the character recast, in the X-men, or involved with Jean Grey. Considering the 200 year age difference and she's 22 and he's well over 100. Also Wolverine is supposed to be messy, unattractive, short, and crazy - more Tom Hardy than Hugh Jackman (who was miscast as the character and ruined the X-men films, and the character as a result). Wolverine went from a favorite to my least favorite - because Marvel over-exposed the character, and how Jackman played him. Wolverine isn't supposed to be charismatic.]
5. Was a lovely day. But alas, my knee was bothering me. So only went to Whole Foods - and picked up, three mousses - two chocolate, and one caramel panetta, gluten free spinach and artichoke ravioli with cashew cheese (it's really hard to avoid vegan when getting gluten free - they go hand in hand), gluten free Beechers World Famous Mac and Cheese.
I rarely go to Whole Foods. But was craving chocolate mousse today. It's pricey, so won't be getting it again. Cost $4.99 per 1 serving of mousse.
See? Pricey.
I don't have to do it this minute. I have until October 1.
[I've finally convinced Breaking Bad that taking time off in December isn't an issue any longer. This is after three years. So it will be the first Xmas spent with mother since 2022. And the second since my Dad died. It was either Xmas or her birthday. We chose Xmas. I can't really afford both - time wise. I need to continue to reserve days for doctor's appointments.]
Also, in desperate need of a haircut. Breaking Bad's hair and mine are about the same length. Also almost the same color (except I think his is whiter/grayer as it should be - he's eleven years older than me). We had a discussion about Retirement today - and why we're both terrified to take it. Why? Crazy agency has made the process convoluted and confusing. (Trust me - if there is a way that Crazy Org can make something more confusing and convoluted - it will find it.) There's all these rules, and none of them make sense? It's like a convoluted word puzzle or logic riddle?)
( Breaking Bad and I discuss it )
***
2. I am forever indebted to Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 3: Carl's Anarchist Cookbook. Why? It provided me with the name of a book and the author of said book - that I've been trying to remember and hunt down for over 20 years. (It's out of print - hence the problem locating it. And it's a lesser known book.)
As a kid, I read and loved a weird Andre Norton sci-fi novel with a cat on the cover. Took me a long time to figure out it was by Andre Norton.
(No, it's not Cats Eye). Andre Norton aka Alice Andre Norton - was a prolific sci-fi writer of the mid-late 20th Century. She wrote hundreds of books, famously the Witch World series. My Aunt, who was a school librarian and a fan of genres such as Westerns, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Romance, introduced me to Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Zelphia Keatley Snyder, among others. I discovered science fiction and fantasy in the fifth and sixth grades, and fell in love.
Name of book? Breed to Come by Andre Norton (female writers often used male names in the 1960s, particularly in male centric fields like science fiction.)
I managed to find a cheaper edition? The Iron Breed - People Saga Book 1
( Synopsis of both books - Iron Cage and Breed to Come )
That's two books for $5.99.
Dungeon Crawler Carl is interesting? It references Louis L'Amour Westerns, and Classic Sci-Fi writers. I will warn folks. The book is sci-fi horror, and gory. It is a biting satire of video game culture, reality games, ogliarchy/authoritarianism. I'm enjoying the heck out of it. But it is not for everyone. It may appeal to the Kurt Vonnegurt/Douglas Adams crowd? I like Vonnegurt better than Adams? And this is more Vonnegurt. Vonnegurt was a lot darker than Adams in his satire.
I'm enjoying the heck out of Carl's Anarchist Cookbook - since it's a satire on the subway systems around the world. It calls the twisted subway system in the dungeon that the game has recreated - the Iron Tangle. And I thought - that's actually a fitting name for NYCT, which I curse most of the time.
I'm listening to them on audio book. Some nitwit on Threads worried that audio books were increasing our literacy crisis. (sigh, it's actually better than it was 20-30 years ago. More people are reading now than they were ten to fifteen years ago? NYC certainly is - they have 100 person book swaps and book parties in various parks now.) So, no, it's not having any affect on the literacy crisis, if there is one, and I find that doubtful.
Threads has a lot of chicken littles whining on it? It's very whiny platform, prone to hyperbole.
3. There's this one annoyingly self-righteous woman on Threads from Denmark who keeps wondering about the US. She's clearly never been to the US, and only knows what she sees in the news media. And worse, she keeps comparing Denmark to the US. Denmark is about the size of Wisconsin? (One of the US's smaller states?) Denmark has 5.28 million people, is a monarchy, with a parliamentary government - it has more in common with Britain? The US is a Republic, with a checks and balances system, with over 380 million people, and Denmark could fit into one of its 50 states. To put this into perspective? NYC has 12 million people and New York is bigger than Denmark.
( trying with difficulty to explain the differences between the US and Europe to Europeans...who have never been to the US, and get all their information from the media )
4. I found out, while discussing the character of Wolverine on Threads, that Hugh Jackman has a long lasting friendship with Rupert Murdoch, and is friends with Trump's daughter and son-in-law. So is Nicole Kidman. They are godparents to Murdoch's kids.
Sigh.
I feel validated for choosing not to see Jackman in concert - something about what I'd seen of his concerts bothered me?
I don't believe he's a bad person. But damn. Murdoch? He also has been very vocal about supporting Murdoch.
Murdoch was yellow journalist in Australia, who began his career with the Tabloids in Australia.
[Note: The discussion was a validating one about Wolverine. Apparently I'm not alone in not wanting the character recast, in the X-men, or involved with Jean Grey. Considering the 200 year age difference and she's 22 and he's well over 100. Also Wolverine is supposed to be messy, unattractive, short, and crazy - more Tom Hardy than Hugh Jackman (who was miscast as the character and ruined the X-men films, and the character as a result). Wolverine went from a favorite to my least favorite - because Marvel over-exposed the character, and how Jackman played him. Wolverine isn't supposed to be charismatic.]
5. Was a lovely day. But alas, my knee was bothering me. So only went to Whole Foods - and picked up, three mousses - two chocolate, and one caramel panetta, gluten free spinach and artichoke ravioli with cashew cheese (it's really hard to avoid vegan when getting gluten free - they go hand in hand), gluten free Beechers World Famous Mac and Cheese.
I rarely go to Whole Foods. But was craving chocolate mousse today. It's pricey, so won't be getting it again. Cost $4.99 per 1 serving of mousse.
See? Pricey.
monday poem #340: Li-Young Lee, "One Heart"
Aug. 24th, 2026 08:08 pmheresluckOne Heart
Look at the birds. Even flying
is born
out of nothing. The first sky
is inside you, open
at either end of day.
The work of wings
was always freedom, fastening
one heart to every falling thing.
— Li-Young Lee
from Book of My Nights
Look at the birds. Even flying
is born
out of nothing. The first sky
is inside you, open
at either end of day.
The work of wings
was always freedom, fastening
one heart to every falling thing.
— Li-Young Lee
from Book of My Nights
illuminate the 'no' on the vacancy signs
Aug. 24th, 2026 05:35 pmmusesfoolLast night, I dreamt I got my period for the first time in 6 years, and ugh, that was not pleasant (I'm sure you all know this, but if you have gone through menopause and then suddenly start having bleeding again, see your doctor ASAP), but thankfully it was only a dream.
Unfortunately, when I logged into work, I got roped into a mandatory "retreat" with the c-suite next Monday, at which we will be playing pickleball. I don't even know, y'all. My boss asked me on Friday if I wanted to go and I was like, lol no. I am the least athletic person you know. But this morning I got a message from the CEO's assistant that she (the CEO) expects me to attend. So guess what I'll be doing next Monday? Sigh. I'm sure it will be fine. I just don't understand why I am being included.
Anyway, episode 2 of Lanterns: ( spoilers )
And lastly, you've seen the s3 trailer for The Pitt, right? The only reason to look forward to January!
*
Unfortunately, when I logged into work, I got roped into a mandatory "retreat" with the c-suite next Monday, at which we will be playing pickleball. I don't even know, y'all. My boss asked me on Friday if I wanted to go and I was like, lol no. I am the least athletic person you know. But this morning I got a message from the CEO's assistant that she (the CEO) expects me to attend. So guess what I'll be doing next Monday? Sigh. I'm sure it will be fine. I just don't understand why I am being included.
Anyway, episode 2 of Lanterns: ( spoilers )
And lastly, you've seen the s3 trailer for The Pitt, right? The only reason to look forward to January!
*
