In the words of Sir Larry....
Nov. 28th, 2025 03:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oursin'My dear boy, why don't you try acting?' (attested from the mouth of Dustin Hoffman, to whom Olivier addressed this plea when Hoffman was going to extreme Method lengths).
Experience: I was stabbed in the back with a real knife while performing Julius Caesar.
And this was not a dreadful error in the props room or something out of a murder mystery:
It was the Exeter University theatre society’s annual play at the Edinburgh fringe and I’d landed the part of Cassius in Julius Caesar. The director decided that instead of killing himself, Cassius would die during a choreographed fight with his rival, Mark Antony. We also chose to use real knives, which sounds absurd, but we wanted to be authentic. The plan was for the actor playing Antony to grab my arm as I held the knife, and pretend to push it behind my back. We must have rehearsed the sequence 50 times.
We were about halfway through our month-long run, performing to a decently sized audience. Dressed in our togas, with the stage dark and moody, we began the fight as usual. Then something went wrong.
There was a sharp piercing feeling. The knife was supposed to have been quietly slipped to me – instead, it had gone into my back. I realised what had happened while acting out my character’s death, and thinking: I have to lie here until the lights go down.
....
When a doctor told me I’d come close to dying, and that the play had to stop using real knives, I remember thinking: “You just don’t understand theatre.”
However, right at the end of the article he does acknowledge: 'I’m super conscious of safety nowadays'. We should hope so.
What next - real poison where text requires? What was the director thinking? I would think using Real Knives might make it less authentic with choreographing to ensure Doing No Harm
umadoshiA day off without sleeping in at all feels so expansive! (scruloose had to be out a bit early all this week, so I've been getting up a bit earlier too to do my supervision part of the clowder's breakfast routine.) But I took the day off mainly to try to get some manga work done, so going back to bed after that seemed counterproductive. Somehow it's not even 10 AM yet? Incredible. (Could I have used the sleep, though? Oh yes.)
Happy day-after-Thanksgiving to the USians* observing this emotionally-complex holiday. I enjoy the food chatter from afar. Someone on a cooking feed on Bluesky posted about doing a stuffing flight, and now I really want a stuffing flight, although the specific types they'd made didn't sing to me. ^^;
*I've been seeing the edges of Discourse about this term on Bluesky, and several people complained about the pronunciation/having no good pronunciation options, which made me realize that to me it's strictly a term for writing, not saying. It works fine visually. *shrugs*
First Yule scent of the year: But Men Loved Darkness Better Than Light (2009 vintage). I'd forgotten how much I love this one.
Last year I had a pretty good streak of wearing Weenie scents, and then in Novemberscruloose's breathing was a bit rough, and we didn't think it was the BPAL, but I didn't wear any through the Christmas season. (It turned out not to be what was causing the problem, which has been IDed and dealt with.) So maybe this year. (As always, the Weenie and Yule updates tempted me dreadfully, but the added horror of current crossborder shipping gave me extra armor against getting in on a decant circle.)
I'm finally listening to the new Florence + The Machine album; listening to new music takes even longer now than it used to, and I've never been quick about listening or bonding. Given the season, after this album I'll probably switch to Christmas music while working. As long as it's good (wholly subjective, obviously, along with if you're a Christmas person and if seasonal music doesn't hit all the wrong buttons in general), Christmas music is kind of ideal for when I'm trying to just get some work done--it doesn't require the attention that beloved favorite music or new-to-me music does, even if it's not a recording I'm familiar with. Handy!
(Yesterday I deployed some for the first time this year. I didn't know Carole King had a holiday album, although it's never a surprise when a western musician does. *eyes Tori Amos holiday album* [Which I do listen to.] And now I've heard it once and never need to hear it again.)
Also on the music front, I finally cut off my Spotify subscription, and I'm trying out Qobuz after waffling between it and Deezer. Neither of them has native Linux desktop support or a Roku app, either of which would've weighted my decision significantly, and Qobuz allows you to actually buy music--apparently DRM-free, no less!--so I'm starting here.
Package-delivery updates cover such a bizarre spectrum. I currently have in my inbox: a) an update from a courier saying they've got my package and will deliver it this afternoon, with no indication of the sender, and I do not have a ship notification from anywhere that makes it obvious, so...I guess we'll see soon, and b) a Canada Post "Ship Notification for Item" (not to be confused with a "your item is out for delivery" notification) that didn't arrive in my inbox until a couple of hours after the CP person had already theoretically been by and attempted delivery. (Canada Post folks are better than others about actually attempting delivery, so I have to assume I just didn't hear the doorbell somehow, but the email timing remains bizarre.)
scruloose had to be out a bit early all this week, so I've been getting up a bit earlier too to do my supervision part of the clowder's breakfast routine.) But I took the day off mainly to try to get some manga work done, so going back to bed after that seemed counterproductive. Somehow it's not even 10 AM yet? Incredible. (Could I have used the sleep, though? Oh yes.)Happy day-after-Thanksgiving to the USians* observing this emotionally-complex holiday. I enjoy the food chatter from afar. Someone on a cooking feed on Bluesky posted about doing a stuffing flight, and now I really want a stuffing flight, although the specific types they'd made didn't sing to me. ^^;
*I've been seeing the edges of Discourse about this term on Bluesky, and several people complained about the pronunciation/having no good pronunciation options, which made me realize that to me it's strictly a term for writing, not saying. It works fine visually. *shrugs*
First Yule scent of the year: But Men Loved Darkness Better Than Light (2009 vintage). I'd forgotten how much I love this one.
Last year I had a pretty good streak of wearing Weenie scents, and then in November
scruloose's breathing was a bit rough, and we didn't think it was the BPAL, but I didn't wear any through the Christmas season. (It turned out not to be what was causing the problem, which has been IDed and dealt with.) So maybe this year. (As always, the Weenie and Yule updates tempted me dreadfully, but the added horror of current crossborder shipping gave me extra armor against getting in on a decant circle.)I'm finally listening to the new Florence + The Machine album; listening to new music takes even longer now than it used to, and I've never been quick about listening or bonding. Given the season, after this album I'll probably switch to Christmas music while working. As long as it's good (wholly subjective, obviously, along with if you're a Christmas person and if seasonal music doesn't hit all the wrong buttons in general), Christmas music is kind of ideal for when I'm trying to just get some work done--it doesn't require the attention that beloved favorite music or new-to-me music does, even if it's not a recording I'm familiar with. Handy!
(Yesterday I deployed some for the first time this year. I didn't know Carole King had a holiday album, although it's never a surprise when a western musician does. *eyes Tori Amos holiday album* [Which I do listen to.] And now I've heard it once and never need to hear it again.)
Also on the music front, I finally cut off my Spotify subscription, and I'm trying out Qobuz after waffling between it and Deezer. Neither of them has native Linux desktop support or a Roku app, either of which would've weighted my decision significantly, and Qobuz allows you to actually buy music--apparently DRM-free, no less!--so I'm starting here.
Package-delivery updates cover such a bizarre spectrum. I currently have in my inbox: a) an update from a courier saying they've got my package and will deliver it this afternoon, with no indication of the sender, and I do not have a ship notification from anywhere that makes it obvious, so...I guess we'll see soon, and b) a Canada Post "Ship Notification for Item" (not to be confused with a "your item is out for delivery" notification) that didn't arrive in my inbox until a couple of hours after the CP person had already theoretically been by and attempted delivery. (Canada Post folks are better than others about actually attempting delivery, so I have to assume I just didn't hear the doorbell somehow, but the email timing remains bizarre.)
emotional support fiber
Nov. 28th, 2025 07:43 amyhlee
Maybe 2.5x the length of the futon! The weft is various handspun yarns. :3 It has hideous Baby's First Floor Loom Attempt nature but fortunately, both Joe and the catten are very forgiving. Now I get to rewarp the loom... /o\
Morning's handspun single. :3
Happy US Thanksgiving to those who celebrate.
Nov. 27th, 2025 05:19 pmshadowkatSomeone on Bluesky didn't understand the holiday, and stated as an immigrant they were struggling with it - why are we celebrating genocide?
Eh, no, that's actually Columbus Day. Which was about two months ago? You've confused the holidays.
Thanksgiving is for everybody - it's when the Pilgrims, immigrants from Europe, who fled for much the same reasons people flee to the US now, celebrated their first harvest after having half the population die out the winter before. The Native American tribe in the area allegedly joined them or so legend has it, history tends to be written by those who never experienced it. It also is a holiday that is in a lot of cultures, just celebrated at different times during the year. Usually, it is celebrated at Harvest Time and in the fall months right before Winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
But mainly, it is a holiday in which people are supposed to take a moment to be grateful for the things they have. And possibly find a way to give to those who don't. (Example giving to good will, donating, spending time in a soup kitchen, etc.) Again, it originated from the Pagan tradition - "Being Thankful to the Gods for the Harvest".
I'm grateful to have all the things that I have, and feel no need to list them off. There's too many to list anyhow. I have a lot to be thankful for this year.
Speaking of being thankful? I baked my little rock cornish game hen, did my green beans and the quinoa, with the dressing for the hen. Lovely little meal. Slice of pecan pie and pumpkin pie with a touch of whipped cream for desert. Was more than happy to be on my own.
***
Touched base with immediate family - which is as unconventional as I am about the holidays.
Bro: Are you a Stranger Things or Football person?
Me: Well, at the moment a Slow Horses person. But yes, Stranger Things. I've neither the patience nor the attention span for football. You?
Bro: Sends me a screen shot of Stranger Things.
I think my mother is the only person in my immediate family who watches football regularly. Although she was enjoying Thanksgiving with friends for the day.
***
Television
* The 99th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was kind of ...tepid? It had only three Broadway show casts, and no real pop headliners. Same floats. And kind of lukewarm in that arena as well. While the Village Halloween Parade grows in volume each year, this one seems to diminish? I gave up on it around ten, after seeing the three Broadway Shows. Just in Time (which was the most enthusiastic), Buena Vista Social Club, and Ragtime. (Note they have space heaters on the stage, and it's only ten-to-fifteen minutes per act.).
* The Materialists - movie on HBO MAX, was briefly in theaters this year. (Didn't do that well, and kind of a blink and you missed it moment - I can see why? It's not a good movie.) It's a romantic comedy satire - written and directed by Celine Song, and stars Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, and Pedro Pascale. And ...it is sleep inducing? I played Mahjong during it on my phone. The acting was very understated, to the point that I thought everyone was talking in monotone?
There were dramatic things that happened? But I couldn't care. It's a satire, and I don't like American Satire. It's about as subtle as a battering ram? And I like my satire subtle and dry like a fine wine.
( Read more... )
* Slow Horses S5 - it is S5. It's good. The second and third episode are hilarious. Slow to start as always, I kind of dozed off in the first episode.
This season the Horses have to help their dumb as toast incel hacker get out of MI5 prison for well...that would be spoiling things.
I admittedly like absurdist humor. And Slow Horses is an example of the type of satire that works for me? Biting, British, and Subtle.
Eh, no, that's actually Columbus Day. Which was about two months ago? You've confused the holidays.
Thanksgiving is for everybody - it's when the Pilgrims, immigrants from Europe, who fled for much the same reasons people flee to the US now, celebrated their first harvest after having half the population die out the winter before. The Native American tribe in the area allegedly joined them or so legend has it, history tends to be written by those who never experienced it. It also is a holiday that is in a lot of cultures, just celebrated at different times during the year. Usually, it is celebrated at Harvest Time and in the fall months right before Winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
But mainly, it is a holiday in which people are supposed to take a moment to be grateful for the things they have. And possibly find a way to give to those who don't. (Example giving to good will, donating, spending time in a soup kitchen, etc.) Again, it originated from the Pagan tradition - "Being Thankful to the Gods for the Harvest".
I'm grateful to have all the things that I have, and feel no need to list them off. There's too many to list anyhow. I have a lot to be thankful for this year.
Speaking of being thankful? I baked my little rock cornish game hen, did my green beans and the quinoa, with the dressing for the hen. Lovely little meal. Slice of pecan pie and pumpkin pie with a touch of whipped cream for desert. Was more than happy to be on my own.
***
Touched base with immediate family - which is as unconventional as I am about the holidays.
Bro: Are you a Stranger Things or Football person?
Me: Well, at the moment a Slow Horses person. But yes, Stranger Things. I've neither the patience nor the attention span for football. You?
Bro: Sends me a screen shot of Stranger Things.
I think my mother is the only person in my immediate family who watches football regularly. Although she was enjoying Thanksgiving with friends for the day.
***
Television
* The 99th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was kind of ...tepid? It had only three Broadway show casts, and no real pop headliners. Same floats. And kind of lukewarm in that arena as well. While the Village Halloween Parade grows in volume each year, this one seems to diminish? I gave up on it around ten, after seeing the three Broadway Shows. Just in Time (which was the most enthusiastic), Buena Vista Social Club, and Ragtime. (Note they have space heaters on the stage, and it's only ten-to-fifteen minutes per act.).
* The Materialists - movie on HBO MAX, was briefly in theaters this year. (Didn't do that well, and kind of a blink and you missed it moment - I can see why? It's not a good movie.) It's a romantic comedy satire - written and directed by Celine Song, and stars Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, and Pedro Pascale. And ...it is sleep inducing? I played Mahjong during it on my phone. The acting was very understated, to the point that I thought everyone was talking in monotone?
There were dramatic things that happened? But I couldn't care. It's a satire, and I don't like American Satire. It's about as subtle as a battering ram? And I like my satire subtle and dry like a fine wine.
( Read more... )
* Slow Horses S5 - it is S5. It's good. The second and third episode are hilarious. Slow to start as always, I kind of dozed off in the first episode.
This season the Horses have to help their dumb as toast incel hacker get out of MI5 prison for well...that would be spoiling things.
I admittedly like absurdist humor. And Slow Horses is an example of the type of satire that works for me? Biting, British, and Subtle.
Fic: Final chapter of Reverie
Nov. 27th, 2025 07:33 pmgwynI made it! I don't know how I did considering the amazing disaster that my life has been this year (I keep tempting fate by thinking things can't get worse and then they do!), especially the past couple months. (Perfect example was yesterday, where I was sweating like a pig from putting up some decorations and wiped out from fatigue and also couldn't get my new replacement laptop to work and so I was sitting there sweating and crying from frustration. My life, man. Sweating and crying. What.)
Anyways, I finally finished the WIP I started five freaking years ago, posting as a WIP because in the past, that kept me on track and I was worried about finishing so I wouldn't let things slide. And then I did anyways! But it is now done, and just in time for my annual birthday fic posting. I don't imagine anyone reading this at this point, but in case one person does, well, here you go.
Reverie (58115 words) by gwyneth rhys
Chapters: 10/10
Fandom: Captain America (Movies), Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Shuri
Characters: Steve Rogers, Shuri (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanov, T'Challa (Marvel), Ramonda (Marvel), Ayo (Marvel), Nakia (Black Panther), Okoye (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Virtual Reality, Dreamscapes, Dreamsharing, of sorts if you squint hard, Wakandan Technology, Wakanda (Marvel), Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Black Panther (2018), Friendship, Family, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Protective Steve Rogers, Action/Adventure
Summary:
Anyways, I finally finished the WIP I started five freaking years ago, posting as a WIP because in the past, that kept me on track and I was worried about finishing so I wouldn't let things slide. And then I did anyways! But it is now done, and just in time for my annual birthday fic posting. I don't imagine anyone reading this at this point, but in case one person does, well, here you go.
Reverie (58115 words) by gwyneth rhys
Chapters: 10/10
Fandom: Captain America (Movies), Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Shuri
Characters: Steve Rogers, Shuri (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanov, T'Challa (Marvel), Ramonda (Marvel), Ayo (Marvel), Nakia (Black Panther), Okoye (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Virtual Reality, Dreamscapes, Dreamsharing, of sorts if you squint hard, Wakandan Technology, Wakanda (Marvel), Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Black Panther (2018), Friendship, Family, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Protective Steve Rogers, Action/Adventure
Summary:
“Exitus!” Steve shouted, slamming his hand against the door where the mandala should have been, and suddenly he was on the chair in his room, gasping. In this world.
Steve lowered the glass to his lap and looked up at Shuri. His heart was beating way too hard and fast. “You were right,” he said, sitting up. “He’s glitching. I don’t know if I can get him out.”
You'd have thought they'd have recalled the coypu issue....
Nov. 27th, 2025 05:26 pmoursinNorfolk's first capybara café opening in Toftwood, Dereham
That's right. An area which has had FORM for escaping invasive large semi-aquatic mammals: see this article by a guy who dealt with the coypu menace in the Broads.
Animal rights and protection orgs are already up in arms:
FOUR PAWS strongly opposes the keeping of wild or non-domesticated animals, such as capybaras, in settings where their complex welfare needs cannot be properly met.
Freedom for Animals has united with our colleagues at Born Free Foundation, Animal Aid, OneKind, World Animal Protection, and RSPCA to strongly urge the operators, and the local authority, to halt these plans before they get underway.
RSPCA criticises new ‘capybara cafes’
Apparently there is a whole thing of cafes where you can embrace cuddly animals in Asia: Cuddling capybaras and ogling otters: the problem with animal cafes in Asia: A boom in places offering petting sessions is linked to a rise in the illegal movement of exotic and endangered species, say experts:
Capybaras breed rapidly, can withstand a wide range of temperatures, and have a flexible diet of grasses and aquatic plants. “There is a high risk for them to be invasive,” Congdon says.
I will cop to have looked rather wistfully at a place in Australia which offered encounters with WOMBATTS, but a) that was in their native land and b) it looked like this was a sanctuary and they were rescue wombies, and thus one would be supporting the mission. (While interacting with ADORABLE WOMBATTS.)
***
And because tradition: this is one that I haven't iterated overmuch:
Pluribus 1.05
Nov. 27th, 2025 11:43 amselenakIn which the Hive just needs space, okay?
( Figures it would use the voice of Howard Hamlin to demand it… )
( Figures it would use the voice of Howard Hamlin to demand it… )
The Good and the Could Be Better
Nov. 26th, 2025 07:03 pmyourlibrarian1) Some good news, NPR program revenue is way up, and much of it is coming from new donors. Also, John Oliver not only did his final 2025 episode about it which you can watch on YouTube but held an auction which, given how its bidding was going, is likely to raise about $1.25 million for them.
2) I can see why a lot of people enjoyed this (definitive) Fantastic 4 movie. Like many others I loved the set design, the 60s retro futurism, and the framing and pacing for it. It was not easy to build in those domestic and intimate character scenes within a movie that had a lot to get through.
Unfortunately though, the more I thought about the movie after, the more it fell apart. ( Read more... )
3) First posted on![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
tv_talk, I couldn't help comparing 2 shows that are forever tied together for me because of a friend, now gone from us, who I watched them with. ancing with the Stars which had its 20 year anniversary this month, has been on so long it had its own In Memoriam segment. (Charo and Wayne Newton though, in the audience, still with us). It was a great show, starting with an excellent opening number. Funnily enough, I turned to my partner and commented on how well choreographed it was, only to find out a minute later that it had been done by Derek Hough.
"He should choreograph everything," he said. There were a number of excellent dances, as well as a good effort by Andy Richter.
The best moment though, was at the start when we not only saw the original pros start the show (I can't believe there were no interviews or moments with them about their memories – guess that was all saved for the podcast) but Tom Bergeron was back. I am quite happy with Alfonso and Julieanne as co-hosts but I miss Tom.
And speaking of hosts, Project Runway has had a more checkered history for several reasons. ( Read more... )
In the meantime, there's a lot of joy on DwtS, perhaps best exemplified by this semi-final performance of Robert Irwin's:
4) I watched The Roses with Olivia Colman/Cumberbatch, which is a remake of War of the Roses but much more British. Near the end he builds this house by the sea, and I just wanted the movie to spend time showing all parts of it because it looked great! I recently saw pics of the Stahl House in L.A. which is up for sale, and am a sucker for those integrated-with-the-environment type buildings.
As to the movie ( Read more... )
5) What has always been known has now been proved about who's behind most of the MAGA shit stirring on X (and undoubtedly every other platform). The biggest irony of all is that so much of it isn't even political manipulation by foreign powers so much as international scammers getting paid for ruining the U.S. social sphere.
"Musk instituted an “engagement-based” payment structure that pays out money based on how many views, retweets, and comments you get. For people in lower income regions, trolling on politically sensitive topics in America to generate likes and clicks (especially now that they can use AI to do so) isn’t just easy—it’s an actual business model that Musk built into the platform."
2) I can see why a lot of people enjoyed this (definitive) Fantastic 4 movie. Like many others I loved the set design, the 60s retro futurism, and the framing and pacing for it. It was not easy to build in those domestic and intimate character scenes within a movie that had a lot to get through.
Unfortunately though, the more I thought about the movie after, the more it fell apart. ( Read more... )
3) First posted on
tv_talk, I couldn't help comparing 2 shows that are forever tied together for me because of a friend, now gone from us, who I watched them with. ancing with the Stars which had its 20 year anniversary this month, has been on so long it had its own In Memoriam segment. (Charo and Wayne Newton though, in the audience, still with us). It was a great show, starting with an excellent opening number. Funnily enough, I turned to my partner and commented on how well choreographed it was, only to find out a minute later that it had been done by Derek Hough. "He should choreograph everything," he said. There were a number of excellent dances, as well as a good effort by Andy Richter.
The best moment though, was at the start when we not only saw the original pros start the show (I can't believe there were no interviews or moments with them about their memories – guess that was all saved for the podcast) but Tom Bergeron was back. I am quite happy with Alfonso and Julieanne as co-hosts but I miss Tom.
And speaking of hosts, Project Runway has had a more checkered history for several reasons. ( Read more... )
In the meantime, there's a lot of joy on DwtS, perhaps best exemplified by this semi-final performance of Robert Irwin's:
4) I watched The Roses with Olivia Colman/Cumberbatch, which is a remake of War of the Roses but much more British. Near the end he builds this house by the sea, and I just wanted the movie to spend time showing all parts of it because it looked great! I recently saw pics of the Stahl House in L.A. which is up for sale, and am a sucker for those integrated-with-the-environment type buildings.
As to the movie ( Read more... )
5) What has always been known has now been proved about who's behind most of the MAGA shit stirring on X (and undoubtedly every other platform). The biggest irony of all is that so much of it isn't even political manipulation by foreign powers so much as international scammers getting paid for ruining the U.S. social sphere.
"Musk instituted an “engagement-based” payment structure that pays out money based on how many views, retweets, and comments you get. For people in lower income regions, trolling on politically sensitive topics in America to generate likes and clicks (especially now that they can use AI to do so) isn’t just easy—it’s an actual business model that Musk built into the platform."
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Wednesday is annoyed that a seminar, booked as being online, turned out to be in-person only
Nov. 26th, 2025 07:14 pmoursinWhat I read
After Hours at Dooryard Books was really good - set in 1968 in a used bookstore in Greenwich Village - this was so not a Summer of Love - but lots of Unhistoric Acts - also I really liked that what I feared was going to be one of those three-quarter way through Exposure of Dark Thing/Arising of Unexpected Crisis in Relationship actually didn't go angst angst angst wo wo wo.
Slightly Foxed #88: 'Pure Magic': pretty good selection, though rather irked by the guy fanboying over Room at the Top and all he can say about the sexism side of things is that the protag's behaviour to women 'may be less than admirable but he is not a cad'. O RLY. What do you call putting the local rich guy's daughter in the club and then chucking your older woman mistress, who dies horribly in a car accident?
Robert Rodi, Fag Hag (1992) - of its period perhaps. I think there may be works of his I remember more fondly than this one? Don't really recommend.
Dick Francis, Hot Money (1987): this is one in which I was waiting for the narrator to get, as per usual for a DF protag, nastily done over, probably by one of his siblings or in-laws in this convoluted tale of seething envies within the family of a much-married tycoon. He did get blown up but that was not personal and so did his father. No actually woodsheds but there was a glasshouse and various other nooks and crannies to see something nasty in.
On the go
Back to Lanny Budd - O Shepherd, Speak! (#10) (1949) - Lanny as ever finds himself where it's happening in the final stages of WW2 - have got to the aftermath of the war, and thinking about peace. Quite a way to go.
Up next
No idea.
Curious what the scam is with a real estate "letter" we got
Nov. 26th, 2025 12:32 pmalias_sqbrThere was an obviously computer-printed "hand-written" letter in our letter box from someone claiming to want to buy houses in "your suburb" which emphasised multiple times that the house can be in any condition and that they're not a real estate agent.
So they're obviously targeting easily-fooled people who want to sell their run-down houses but find the process scary and are vulnerable to the promise of some random stranger just giving them a big pile of cash as quickly and easily as possible.
Now that itself could be the scam: offer unfairly low prices and know your target is unlikely to complain. But idk it feels like part of a scam scam not just a sincere if shady attempt to actually buy people's houses. I tried looking up real estate scams but it's all about scams aimed at people buying houses, which makes sense, since that's the more natural situation where you can take people's money and run.
I guess it could be one of those nigerian prince type scams: Offer a high price for the house, well above market value, make the seller think they're the one taking advantage of a dumbass woman, but oh no she needs a little deposit first to handle some unexpected fees, if you could just help out with a tiny proportion now she'll be able to pay the full amount any day now...
Either way, I reported it to consumer protection, since they might be able to do something with the phone number.
So they're obviously targeting easily-fooled people who want to sell their run-down houses but find the process scary and are vulnerable to the promise of some random stranger just giving them a big pile of cash as quickly and easily as possible.
Now that itself could be the scam: offer unfairly low prices and know your target is unlikely to complain. But idk it feels like part of a scam scam not just a sincere if shady attempt to actually buy people's houses. I tried looking up real estate scams but it's all about scams aimed at people buying houses, which makes sense, since that's the more natural situation where you can take people's money and run.
I guess it could be one of those nigerian prince type scams: Offer a high price for the house, well above market value, make the seller think they're the one taking advantage of a dumbass woman, but oh no she needs a little deposit first to handle some unexpected fees, if you could just help out with a tiny proportion now she'll be able to pay the full amount any day now...
Either way, I reported it to consumer protection, since they might be able to do something with the phone number.
then i met you at the station in Ronkonkoma
Nov. 25th, 2025 11:33 pmmusesfoolWork today was a lot, but I got done everything I needed to get done and got out. There are stories I could tell but I'm too tired right now to rehash some of the nonsense my coworkers get up to.
Tomorrow, I am heading out to the island for Thanksgiving, and also to see Baby Miss L. She turns three on Monday! THREE! How is that even possible!? (I'm sure I will be posting the same exact thing on Monday.) But they are not having a family party for her, just a friends party, since she has so many friends now! She is quite the social butterfly! So I've packed up the books and clothes that are her birthday gift (and 1 toy - a magnetic tile thing she can build things with), and tomorrow she can open her presents! They go to my niece's in-laws for Thanksgiving (so they spend Christmas day with us), so I might not see her on the day itself, but that's okay I guess, especially if I get some time tomorrow. Plus, middle niece is going to stop by since she is working on Thursday (she's a nurse), so I will get to see her as well. All in all a good time, I hope!
If I don't get a chance to post tomorrow, I hope everyone celebrating has a Happy Thanksgiving! And everyone else has a great Friday Eve, also known as Thursday.
*
Tomorrow, I am heading out to the island for Thanksgiving, and also to see Baby Miss L. She turns three on Monday! THREE! How is that even possible!? (I'm sure I will be posting the same exact thing on Monday.) But they are not having a family party for her, just a friends party, since she has so many friends now! She is quite the social butterfly! So I've packed up the books and clothes that are her birthday gift (and 1 toy - a magnetic tile thing she can build things with), and tomorrow she can open her presents! They go to my niece's in-laws for Thanksgiving (so they spend Christmas day with us), so I might not see her on the day itself, but that's okay I guess, especially if I get some time tomorrow. Plus, middle niece is going to stop by since she is working on Thursday (she's a nurse), so I will get to see her as well. All in all a good time, I hope!
If I don't get a chance to post tomorrow, I hope everyone celebrating has a Happy Thanksgiving! And everyone else has a great Friday Eve, also known as Thursday.
*
Tuesday is busy appreciating and being grateful for the little things...
Nov. 25th, 2025 06:17 pmshadowkat1. Woo-hoo! The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin (The Ill-mannered Ladies Book 2) by Allison Goodman has finally come out and is on sale at Amazon for $2.99 (Kindle Deal). I grabbed immediately. The first book ended on a cliff-hanger. It had been rec'd to me by a college friend who jumps in and out of my life, and resides in DC. We've not seen each other in years, but have corresponded over email during the pandemic, albeit briefly. I decided to send a quick email her way - to let her know it came out and was on sale. She'll probably never get it. But who knows.
Also grabbed The Violin Conspiracy for $1.99 - although this might be an audio book credit? It has violin music!! And if I can listen to violin music along with narration...
It's described as Queen's Gambit but with classical music and violins.
2. John Scalzi shares the Pond Rules from his local nature preserve in Ohio:
"The things you see at local parks...
Do not disturb the pond witch
Also don't ...feed the weretrout, if a hand comes out to beckon you? Walk away and don't look back, and those aren't ducks, run.
Scalzi: You know, I'm not sure I ever really read the Pond Rules at our local nature preserve all that closely before
3. Discovered Vita Mahjong as a new game on my phone - I appear to be good at it? It won't last long. I play puzzle games for about a year, then they want money from me, and I stop playing. Redecor lasted almost ten years, but I had to pay for it, and eventually got tired of it, and tired of spending money on a game that people vote on and is incredibly subjective.
I am not a vidder - hand/eye coordination skills are horrific, and you need good hand/eye to be a vidder. Also I like the puzzle games more? I did play a Grand Prix race track game - but it gave me anxiety, so I stopped finally, also again - rigged? You can play it for free up to a point, then they want you to spend money on upgrading your car in the game.
I swear video games like to nickle and dime me to death, which is why I rarely play them. My mother has jumped from bridge to Mahjong which she likes more. She has her own tiles, own game set, everything. And they play at each other's houses.
4. I got my pies! Got them from Meredith's Bakery at the Farmer's Market. Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving to me without pie.
( pies )
But hey? Pies! I love pie! I look forward to the fall for well...pie! Particularly pumpkin pie!
That and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - on television. (I won't go watch it - even if it is only forty-five minutes away - it's cold, and I can't see the Broadway show performances well.) NYC is parade happy - we have parades for every single Holiday and even make up occasions to have parades. NYC feels bereft if it isn't having a parade at least twice a month. If it doesn't? Don't worry, it'll find something to replace it with.
Crazy city likes parades.
Well, I also liked the leaves turning colors.
At any rate, kind of glad I didn't try to get them yesterday - got a better deal today. If I'd gotten it at Union or Trader Joes, it would have cost more, and been bigger. Also frozen.
Also grabbed The Violin Conspiracy for $1.99 - although this might be an audio book credit? It has violin music!! And if I can listen to violin music along with narration...
It's described as Queen's Gambit but with classical music and violins.
2. John Scalzi shares the Pond Rules from his local nature preserve in Ohio:
"The things you see at local parks...
Do not disturb the pond witch
Also don't ...feed the weretrout, if a hand comes out to beckon you? Walk away and don't look back, and those aren't ducks, run.
Scalzi: You know, I'm not sure I ever really read the Pond Rules at our local nature preserve all that closely before
3. Discovered Vita Mahjong as a new game on my phone - I appear to be good at it? It won't last long. I play puzzle games for about a year, then they want money from me, and I stop playing. Redecor lasted almost ten years, but I had to pay for it, and eventually got tired of it, and tired of spending money on a game that people vote on and is incredibly subjective.
I am not a vidder - hand/eye coordination skills are horrific, and you need good hand/eye to be a vidder. Also I like the puzzle games more? I did play a Grand Prix race track game - but it gave me anxiety, so I stopped finally, also again - rigged? You can play it for free up to a point, then they want you to spend money on upgrading your car in the game.
I swear video games like to nickle and dime me to death, which is why I rarely play them. My mother has jumped from bridge to Mahjong which she likes more. She has her own tiles, own game set, everything. And they play at each other's houses.
4. I got my pies! Got them from Meredith's Bakery at the Farmer's Market. Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving to me without pie.
( pies )
But hey? Pies! I love pie! I look forward to the fall for well...pie! Particularly pumpkin pie!
That and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - on television. (I won't go watch it - even if it is only forty-five minutes away - it's cold, and I can't see the Broadway show performances well.) NYC is parade happy - we have parades for every single Holiday and even make up occasions to have parades. NYC feels bereft if it isn't having a parade at least twice a month. If it doesn't? Don't worry, it'll find something to replace it with.
Crazy city likes parades.
Well, I also liked the leaves turning colors.
At any rate, kind of glad I didn't try to get them yesterday - got a better deal today. If I'd gotten it at Union or Trader Joes, it would have cost more, and been bigger. Also frozen.
emotional support coding
Nov. 25th, 2025 01:43 pmyhlee
I have Forth (programming language - see e.g. Leo Brodie's Starting Forth) running on this smol M5stack Cardputer v.1.1 (ESP32-S3) courtesy of ryu10's M5CardForth, which is also faster than my spending the next decade teaching myself ESP32-S3 assembler. :)
Next step: write a very smol choose-your-own-adventure-style text adventure in Forth.
Next step after that: ???
Next step after that: Considering porting either the Shuos Academy text adventure WIP [1] or Winterstrike (originally written for Failbetter Games for StoryNexus, which will be sunsetted by Jan 2026) to M5CardForth for the CardPuter because I am a TROLL. It could be a dumbass household game experience. :) :)
Heck, I could port some version of turnabout's fair prey or The Amiable Planet (Twine) to this! I love the thought of making TINY parser IF / text adventures for this smol device.
(All of these are my games. I give myself permission?!)
[1] I was writing/coding this for Choice of Games but we mutually agreed to cancel the contract because I was flooded out that year and it was no longer a doable workload alongside...finding new housing etc. I still have like 60% of the codebase already written in ChoiceScript and outline, though! I'd have to refactor but hell, I'd have to refactor anything. I can pretend it's pseudocode. :)
(I need a break from the current schoolwork, what can I say.)
Oddments
Nov. 25th, 2025 05:56 pmoursinWe perceive that there does not appear to be any gender-confusion, or relationships with military helmets, connected with this particular tortoise, or maybe no-one noticed: Gramma the Galápagos tortoise, oldest resident of San Diego Zoo, dies at about 141. Not quite old enough to have met that there Charles Darwin, then.
***
Reversal of Fates: Access Through Photographs can be a Counterbalance
Ongoing digitization and cataloging work not only serves the interests of scholars and manuscript communities—it also creates crucial, publicly-accessible provenance records that provide an increasingly robust bulwark against manuscript theft and trafficking.
Sing it.
***
Thousands of rare American recordings — some 100 years old — go online for all to enjoy:
“A lot of that music from that era, the record companies did not keep backups. They were all destroyed, almost all. And it’s all up to the record collectors. They’re the ones who kind of saved the music from that era,”
....
Superior to a random recording uploaded to YouTube with no accompanying information, the database includes things like where the song was recorded and when, as well as lists of musicians and composers who worked on the songs.
***
I think I may have mentioned at some time the phenomenon of the 'monkey walk': Before Tinder, there was the Monkey Parade… . Though some recent works read for review incline me to think that one reason for the decline not mentioned in that piece was the rise of the coffee-bar - indoors in the warm with a juke-box, and the site of massive 50s moral panic around The Young.
***
Statue to 'remarkable' woman who escaped slavery:
A statue to a "remarkable and brave" woman who fled slavery and torture in the US has been unveiled in the fishing town in northern England where she found freedom.
Mary Ann Macham spent weeks hiding in woods in Virginia before stowing away on a ship, eventually arriving in North Shields in the early 1830s.
She was taken in by a Quaker family, married a local man and remained in the town until she died aged 91.
American Christofascism in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series.
Nov. 26th, 2025 03:27 amfleetfoxesEarlier this year, out of curiosity and to honour a lost friend, I reread a series that I enjoyed in my early teen years: the Sword of Truth books. I remembered them as being a bit ridiculous, but captivating, and I wanted to get up to the later books published after I was out of my fantasy "phase". Fortunately I'm an ebook reader, so between the Internet Archive and my local library I was able to get the entire main series for free. But rereading as an adult shocked and horrified me. Enough that I needed to really sit down and process my feelings. The more I searched for others' opinions online, the more baffled I was at the type of amused deprecation I found over novels that feel too genuinely, dangerously fascist to be casual reading for young people.
So I wrote three thousand words about it.
Let's get this our of the way: this isn't an unbridled hate post. I know if you are a fan of a series it's east to get defensive and shut your ears to genuine critical analysis because people mostly want to get internet clout making fun of stuff that isn't even a real issue. For example, a plot point that people love to raise when they call these books bad is the "evil chicken". But it lacks the context that this is supposed to be absurd in context. The evil being takes the form of a chicken and the characters struggle to believe it. It's written as silly, and the narrative itself is making a joke out of it by playing up the melodrama. It was... a chicken! Dun dun duuuun! Negative reviews that make these kinds of mistakes are easy for fans to write off as bandwagon haters who haven't actually read the series.
This post isn't about whether or not the writing is good - Goodkind was dyslexic, and admitted he never read fiction, but he still knows how to keep a page turning on par with other pulp action-writers like Susanna Clarke or Matthew Reilly, and he's good at using narrative POV to build tension, by misleading the reader or by giving them info the main character doesn't have. The prose is workhorse, though he begins to rely on repetition in descriptions in later novels. By claiming each book can stand alone, he also has to spend more and more time shoehorning in explanations of prior books' events. Ultimately I won't cast moral judgement on people who enjoy the way Goodkind writes.
Nor am I here to judge if you enjoy old fantasy that relies on problematic tropes. The damsel in distress, the white saviour complex, the abundance of rape... there is a baseline structural sexism and racism present in so much media from that time (but especially sci-fi/fantasy written by white dudes.) These days we interrogate these texts from feminist or racialized lenses and can see how the privileges of even authors and auteurs who were trying to step out from the restrictions of their race and sex (George R R Martin, for instance, has talked about how he wrote women "as people" because that's how he sees them; David Eddings (i know, i know) collaborated with his wife Leigh; both authors still have moments of non-diagetic misogyny because it's in the groundwater of the genre.) Unfortunately, what's wrong with the Sword of Truth series runs deeper and is more insidious.
What I want to talk about is the books' philosophy and values. Goodkind wrote these to try and teach people something he believed, and for a great deal of people - my young self included - the series changed how they viewed the world. On the surface, the Wizards Rules and Richard's hero's journey seem moral: these are books about doing good, thinking rationally, and overcoming authoritarian government, right?
(Padme Amidala concerned face meme) Right?
( Right? )
So I wrote three thousand words about it.
Let's get this our of the way: this isn't an unbridled hate post. I know if you are a fan of a series it's east to get defensive and shut your ears to genuine critical analysis because people mostly want to get internet clout making fun of stuff that isn't even a real issue. For example, a plot point that people love to raise when they call these books bad is the "evil chicken". But it lacks the context that this is supposed to be absurd in context. The evil being takes the form of a chicken and the characters struggle to believe it. It's written as silly, and the narrative itself is making a joke out of it by playing up the melodrama. It was... a chicken! Dun dun duuuun! Negative reviews that make these kinds of mistakes are easy for fans to write off as bandwagon haters who haven't actually read the series.
This post isn't about whether or not the writing is good - Goodkind was dyslexic, and admitted he never read fiction, but he still knows how to keep a page turning on par with other pulp action-writers like Susanna Clarke or Matthew Reilly, and he's good at using narrative POV to build tension, by misleading the reader or by giving them info the main character doesn't have. The prose is workhorse, though he begins to rely on repetition in descriptions in later novels. By claiming each book can stand alone, he also has to spend more and more time shoehorning in explanations of prior books' events. Ultimately I won't cast moral judgement on people who enjoy the way Goodkind writes.
Nor am I here to judge if you enjoy old fantasy that relies on problematic tropes. The damsel in distress, the white saviour complex, the abundance of rape... there is a baseline structural sexism and racism present in so much media from that time (but especially sci-fi/fantasy written by white dudes.) These days we interrogate these texts from feminist or racialized lenses and can see how the privileges of even authors and auteurs who were trying to step out from the restrictions of their race and sex (George R R Martin, for instance, has talked about how he wrote women "as people" because that's how he sees them; David Eddings (i know, i know) collaborated with his wife Leigh; both authors still have moments of non-diagetic misogyny because it's in the groundwater of the genre.) Unfortunately, what's wrong with the Sword of Truth series runs deeper and is more insidious.
What I want to talk about is the books' philosophy and values. Goodkind wrote these to try and teach people something he believed, and for a great deal of people - my young self included - the series changed how they viewed the world. On the surface, the Wizards Rules and Richard's hero's journey seem moral: these are books about doing good, thinking rationally, and overcoming authoritarian government, right?
(Padme Amidala concerned face meme) Right?
( Right? )
emotional support spinning
Nov. 24th, 2025 09:14 pmyhlee
I'm informed this is a 1981 Ashford Traditional. I pounced on the secondhand listing as spinning wheels in working order (especially modern-ish wheels) are very scarce in my region, especially at a low price point. She's in incredibly good condition and spins beautifully! She's my first Saxony wheel, to go with the Ashford Traveller. I'm also told the bobbins ought to be inter-compatible (I have bobbins for both the larger and smaller flyers).
The pink-magenta is IxChel's North Ronaldsay blend (North Ronaldsay Sheep 40%, Blue Faced Leicester 30%, Silver infused Seaweed 10%, Mulberry Silk 10%, Cashmere 10%).