Candle Arc #1: watercolor version (web)
Sep. 24th, 2025 09:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yhlee
Candle Arc #1, color version, at
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candlearc just to keep it corralled. Note that it's viewer discretion advised on account of cuss words, violence, and hexarchate-typical awfulness.UPDATED: Alternately: Candle Arc #1 on its own website at Candle Arc (candlearc.com).
I have the Ka-Blam setup in progress so fingers crossed I can make it available via print-on-demand at Indyplanet in the nebulous future, depending on how orchestration homework is going. /o\
Preview & update notifications at Buttondown. (This is an email newsletter, but it's archived online. You do not need to sign up.)
(no subject)
Sep. 24th, 2025 08:42 pmskygiantsI have now finished reading the duology that began with Max in the House of Spies, in which a Kindertransport refugee with a dybbuk and a kobold on each shoulder wrangles his way into being sent back to Germany as a British spy.
The first book featured a lot of Ewen Montagu RPF, which was extremely fun and funny for me. The second book, Max in the Land of Lies, features a lot of Nazi and Nazi-adjacent RPF, which is obviously less fun and funny, though I still did have several moments where a character would appear on-page and I would exchange a sage nod with Adam Gidwitz: yes, I too have read all of Ben Macintyre's books about WWII espionage, and I do recognize Those Abwehr Guys Who Are Obsessed With British Culture, we both enjoy our little inside joke.
Our little inside jokes aside, I ended up feeling a sort of conflicted and contradictory way about both the book and the duology as a whole. It's very didactic -- it is shouting at you about its project at every turn -- but the project it's shouting about is 'the narrative is more nuanced and complex than you think!' On the one hand, people in Germany (many of them Based on Real People) who are involved in The Nazi Situation in various messy ways are constantly explaining the various messy ways that they are involved in The Nazi Situation to Max, a totally non-suspicious definitely not Jewish surprise twelve-year-old who's just appeared on the scene, at the absolute drop of a hat. It is somewhat hard to believe that Max is achieving these really spectacular espionage results when the only stat he ever rolls is 'knowledge: radio!' although his 'knowledge: radio!' number is really high.
ON the other hand, it is so easy and in vogue to come down in a place of 'Nazis: bad!' and so much more difficult and important to sit with the fact that believing in a monstrous ideology, participating in monstrous acts, does not prevent a person from being likeable, interesting or intelligent, and vice versa; that the line between Nazi Germany and, for example, colonial Great Britain is not so thick as one would like to believe; that people are never comfortably reducible to Monsters and Not Monsters. At root this is clearly Gidwitz's project and I have a lot of respect for it: this didactic book for children is more nuanced, complex and interesting than many books for adults I've read.
And then there's the dybbuk and the kobold. Throughout the second book they continue to function primarily as a stressed-out Statler and Waldorf, which I think is a bit of a waste of a dybbuk and a kobold. Also, at one point one of them says nostalgically "there were no Nazis in the fifteenth century" and while this IS technically true I DO think that there were other things going on in fifteenth century Germany that they probably also did not enjoy and at this point I WAS about to come down on "Adam Gidwitz probably should just not have included these guys in his children's spy story." But Then ( he did something very spoilery that I actually found profoundly interesting )
The first book featured a lot of Ewen Montagu RPF, which was extremely fun and funny for me. The second book, Max in the Land of Lies, features a lot of Nazi and Nazi-adjacent RPF, which is obviously less fun and funny, though I still did have several moments where a character would appear on-page and I would exchange a sage nod with Adam Gidwitz: yes, I too have read all of Ben Macintyre's books about WWII espionage, and I do recognize Those Abwehr Guys Who Are Obsessed With British Culture, we both enjoy our little inside joke.
Our little inside jokes aside, I ended up feeling a sort of conflicted and contradictory way about both the book and the duology as a whole. It's very didactic -- it is shouting at you about its project at every turn -- but the project it's shouting about is 'the narrative is more nuanced and complex than you think!' On the one hand, people in Germany (many of them Based on Real People) who are involved in The Nazi Situation in various messy ways are constantly explaining the various messy ways that they are involved in The Nazi Situation to Max, a totally non-suspicious definitely not Jewish surprise twelve-year-old who's just appeared on the scene, at the absolute drop of a hat. It is somewhat hard to believe that Max is achieving these really spectacular espionage results when the only stat he ever rolls is 'knowledge: radio!' although his 'knowledge: radio!' number is really high.
ON the other hand, it is so easy and in vogue to come down in a place of 'Nazis: bad!' and so much more difficult and important to sit with the fact that believing in a monstrous ideology, participating in monstrous acts, does not prevent a person from being likeable, interesting or intelligent, and vice versa; that the line between Nazi Germany and, for example, colonial Great Britain is not so thick as one would like to believe; that people are never comfortably reducible to Monsters and Not Monsters. At root this is clearly Gidwitz's project and I have a lot of respect for it: this didactic book for children is more nuanced, complex and interesting than many books for adults I've read.
And then there's the dybbuk and the kobold. Throughout the second book they continue to function primarily as a stressed-out Statler and Waldorf, which I think is a bit of a waste of a dybbuk and a kobold. Also, at one point one of them says nostalgically "there were no Nazis in the fifteenth century" and while this IS technically true I DO think that there were other things going on in fifteenth century Germany that they probably also did not enjoy and at this point I WAS about to come down on "Adam Gidwitz probably should just not have included these guys in his children's spy story." But Then ( he did something very spoilery that I actually found profoundly interesting )
Timing and Distribution
Sep. 24th, 2025 05:16 pmyourlibrarian1) Nothing like a Disney bundle price increase right on the heels of the Jimmy Kimmel fiasco. I wonder if they held off on the announcement until 24 hours after saying he'd return?
2) Having just watched the latest Death in Paradise spinoff, it struck me as curious that a successful show like Silent Witness has not done the same (though maybe it has? Anyone know?)
In a way though, it's like the show has had various spinoffs within the same show. ( Read more... )
I also thought about this issue given this article which argues that technology will continue to make the cost of content creation fall to where practically anyone can create marketable content, especially since consumer expectation of what counts as entertainment and information has changed due to cost and access issues as well as demographic changes. As a result, companies that invest heavily in it will expect to get paid in different ways. ( Read more... )
3) It's fun to see how many people over time at Board Game Arena have recognized my Merlin icon. It's a little fannish high five.
4) Sister Boniface's episode of Doctor Who struck me as a sign of changing times. Twenty years ago the fan would have been the geekiest cast member, probably the reporter, but here various cast members are fans and it's mainly the tall, matinee idol detective.
5) Interesting to see how U.S. films are getting less viewing overseas, mainly due to China's restrictions on how many can be shown there. I thought this bit was interesting as well: "The the top French films released were all English-language movies co-produced with the UK among other countries, and did more business in the UK than in the US or China." I didn't realize France even made films in English.
2) Having just watched the latest Death in Paradise spinoff, it struck me as curious that a successful show like Silent Witness has not done the same (though maybe it has? Anyone know?)
In a way though, it's like the show has had various spinoffs within the same show. ( Read more... )
I also thought about this issue given this article which argues that technology will continue to make the cost of content creation fall to where practically anyone can create marketable content, especially since consumer expectation of what counts as entertainment and information has changed due to cost and access issues as well as demographic changes. As a result, companies that invest heavily in it will expect to get paid in different ways. ( Read more... )
3) It's fun to see how many people over time at Board Game Arena have recognized my Merlin icon. It's a little fannish high five.
4) Sister Boniface's episode of Doctor Who struck me as a sign of changing times. Twenty years ago the fan would have been the geekiest cast member, probably the reporter, but here various cast members are fans and it's mainly the tall, matinee idol detective.
5) Interesting to see how U.S. films are getting less viewing overseas, mainly due to China's restrictions on how many can be shown there. I thought this bit was interesting as well: "The the top French films released were all English-language movies co-produced with the UK among other countries, and did more business in the UK than in the US or China." I didn't realize France even made films in English.
Poll #33655 Kudos Footer-541
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Wednesday has attended an online seminar on the Chevalier d'Eon
Sep. 24th, 2025 07:30 pmoursinWhat I read
Finished The Return of the Soldier.
Started Carl Rollyson, The Literary Legacy of Rebecca West (1997) and decided that I was possibly a little burnt-out on his Rebecca-stanning and took a break.
Moved on to Upton Sinclair, Presidential Mission (Lanny Budd #8) (1947), which occupied most of the week's reading.
On the go
Picked up the Rollyson again.
Have embarked on Anthony Powell, The Military Philosophers (A Dance to the Music of Time #9) (1968).
Up next
No idea.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (TV Series)
Sep. 24th, 2025 10:32 amselenakGerman-French channel ARTE also put up the complete Wolf Hall, so I was able to watch the six parter they did based on Hilary Mantel's third Cromwell novel at last. What I thought of the novel itself, its plusses and minuses and how it deals with the history, you can read here, so this review is mostly about how it fares as a book adaptation and tv miniseries.
( Spoilers have heretical opinions on Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell )
( Spoilers have heretical opinions on Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell )
Four Things Before Bed...
Sep. 23rd, 2025 09:18 pmshadowkat1. Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-men has reached Episode 500
It's 11 years. How did they get there? Because the X-men are really confusing? (Which may be why I'm a fan of the X-men, because apparently the more convoluted a plot and soap operaish, the more I'm going to like it?)
Also Jay is transgender, and figured it out during the podcasts, and is a HUGE cyke fan.
Although in this episode, they x-plain the mysteries of magnetism, via explaining how magnets work.
2. Meanwhile Deliah H. Dawson promotes her book on Thor and Loki: Epic Tales from Marvel Mythology on Scalzi's the Big Idea. (Author's get to promote their book ideas on John Scalzi's blog).
"Because the thing about writing books is that just because you know how to write one book does not mean you know how to write another. Books are like fingerprints in that each one is wholly individual, unique in all the world. Books are unlike fingerprints in that they cannot be easily compared to koala bears.
Except—
Well, koala bears are notoriously single-minded and stubborn, and writers can be like that, too. "
That statement charmed me. It's true. I find myself writing books differently. Right now, I'm blocked. Mainly due to external issues, being tired, and mentally exhausted. And issues with health. Also the abusive friendship that I recently ended - had managed to creatively block me, one of the many many reasons it was ended. I'm happiest when I'm writing creatively.
3. Been sleeping better - changing my meds (I'd figured out various meds were interacting with each other and not in a good way - also that one was problematic, and stopped taking it for the time being. Note if you want to figure out your drug interactions too? Go to Drug Interaction Checker - Know More. Be Sure It can do up to three drugs together, maybe 4, without charging you.
Also digestive system has settled a bit. And I've figured out how to eat beans without my digestive system having a hissy fit. Which is good - considering beans help regulate blood sugar and are a good source of fiber and protein. (I no longer digest meat that well and am trying to get away from it - I'm slowly becoming a vegetarian. Considering 90% of gluten-free items are either vegan or vegetarian anyhow - half way there to begin with.
Had the kidney bean or red bean salad in blue corn cheese tacos with salad tonight.
4. This old song by Kris Kristofferson oddly comforted me tonight...or said just what I needed to hear, because I've been feeling lonely of late and thinking, does it matter writing, posting photos or drawing what people don't want to see or hear...am I just whispering to an empty space or ear?
The song popped up randomly on my phone headphones, as I walked home, through no prompting of mine. Amazing how music can get to the root of a feeling - an inexpressible one at that - and find a way of soothing it with a feather like touch.
( the lyrics to the Song - To Beat the Devil by Kris Kristofferson, which he was inspired to write by Johnny Cash )
It's 11 years. How did they get there? Because the X-men are really confusing? (Which may be why I'm a fan of the X-men, because apparently the more convoluted a plot and soap operaish, the more I'm going to like it?)
Also Jay is transgender, and figured it out during the podcasts, and is a HUGE cyke fan.
Although in this episode, they x-plain the mysteries of magnetism, via explaining how magnets work.
2. Meanwhile Deliah H. Dawson promotes her book on Thor and Loki: Epic Tales from Marvel Mythology on Scalzi's the Big Idea. (Author's get to promote their book ideas on John Scalzi's blog).
"Because the thing about writing books is that just because you know how to write one book does not mean you know how to write another. Books are like fingerprints in that each one is wholly individual, unique in all the world. Books are unlike fingerprints in that they cannot be easily compared to koala bears.
Except—
Well, koala bears are notoriously single-minded and stubborn, and writers can be like that, too. "
That statement charmed me. It's true. I find myself writing books differently. Right now, I'm blocked. Mainly due to external issues, being tired, and mentally exhausted. And issues with health. Also the abusive friendship that I recently ended - had managed to creatively block me, one of the many many reasons it was ended. I'm happiest when I'm writing creatively.
3. Been sleeping better - changing my meds (I'd figured out various meds were interacting with each other and not in a good way - also that one was problematic, and stopped taking it for the time being. Note if you want to figure out your drug interactions too? Go to Drug Interaction Checker - Know More. Be Sure It can do up to three drugs together, maybe 4, without charging you.
Also digestive system has settled a bit. And I've figured out how to eat beans without my digestive system having a hissy fit. Which is good - considering beans help regulate blood sugar and are a good source of fiber and protein. (I no longer digest meat that well and am trying to get away from it - I'm slowly becoming a vegetarian. Considering 90% of gluten-free items are either vegan or vegetarian anyhow - half way there to begin with.
Had the kidney bean or red bean salad in blue corn cheese tacos with salad tonight.
4. This old song by Kris Kristofferson oddly comforted me tonight...or said just what I needed to hear, because I've been feeling lonely of late and thinking, does it matter writing, posting photos or drawing what people don't want to see or hear...am I just whispering to an empty space or ear?
The song popped up randomly on my phone headphones, as I walked home, through no prompting of mine. Amazing how music can get to the root of a feeling - an inexpressible one at that - and find a way of soothing it with a feather like touch.
( the lyrics to the Song - To Beat the Devil by Kris Kristofferson, which he was inspired to write by Johnny Cash )
if i could, i would let it go
Sep. 23rd, 2025 07:15 pmmusesfoolBaby Miss L is super into Halloween and has two Hello Kitty dolls dressed like skeletons that dance! She might be a skeleton herself this year! Her costume has not been finalized, but there is time.
As I've mentioned, I was never big into Halloween - it was my mom's birthday, so a lot of the time I was home celebrating with her - but it's fun to see the baby into it.
Today is the 12th anniversary of my mother's death. That is a whole seventh grader! It makes me sad that my parents will never know Baby Miss L.
*
As I've mentioned, I was never big into Halloween - it was my mom's birthday, so a lot of the time I was home celebrating with her - but it's fun to see the baby into it.
Today is the 12th anniversary of my mother's death. That is a whole seventh grader! It makes me sad that my parents will never know Baby Miss L.
*
Recherches de Temps Perdu (down the back of the sofa?)
Sep. 23rd, 2025 07:27 pmoursinThese days, I will often find myself puzzling over, what was that person's name? connected with some Thing in the past. I was actually struggling to recall the name of the very weird woman who was the landlady of the bedsit I inhabited near Mornington Crescent in the very early 70s, with whom there came about Major Draaaama (it eventually popped into my mind, as these things do, a couple of days later when I was thinking about something else: see also, finding that book one is looking for in the process of looking for something entirely different.)
I am not sure if this is AGE or the fallibility of human memory, and is it actually AGE and the wearing out of the little grey cells, or just having That Much More stored in them, so that they resemble one of those storerooms in museums where no-one has catalogued anything for centuries and curators have gone in and nicked stuff to sell on eBay -
- I think this metaphor is going a bit too far, somehow.
And yet one can recall quite readily, in fact one might even say intrusively, an obscure pop song by a not particularly renowned group.
That is, after reading that Reacher novel, The Hard Way, the other week, I found myself being earwormed by The Hard Way, a single put out by The Nashville Teens (who were from Surrey) in 1966 which got to all of 45 in the charts. It's not on iTunes even or in any of the compilation CDs, it's obscure. And yet I remembered it and who it was by.
Maybe it was being repetitively played on one of the pirate stations of my youth?
(no subject)
Sep. 22nd, 2025 08:03 pmshadowkatFeeling much better today - so apparently I was right, and this may have been caused by medication. I've learned the hard way to police my own medication and not count on doctors and pharmacies to do it for me.
( health care crap - cut for TMI )
I actually could focus. And Breaking Bad thanked me for my clear and concise analysis of the work we'd done on our end.
So, I made myself useful. Took a few short walks.
Went home - and hunted for Gluten Free Cookie Dough - but none was to be had at the local Met Fresh. Damn them. Probably for the best. My blood sugar is happier without it. If I still want it by the weekend - I'll get some from the health food stores on Courteylou.
***
The news irritates me. And it's becoming harder to avoid.
Jimmy Kimmel is back on, and Disney has basically told Sinclair Media to go frak themselves, since Disney cares more about their liberal image and their subscribers than their affiliates who pay them next to nothing in revenues. [I honestly think it was the Disneys and Eisner who persuaded them to change their minds.] In reality - Sinclair Media is the problem (my mother's cousin pointed out that they were a major problem way back in 2014) and sigh, the FCC (who has been a problem since their inception - people thought they needed to regulate what was on television and the radio, kind of similar to what they wanted to do with the internet and keep trying to do, but fail miserably at - because it is the internet and global and the US didn't put restrictions in place quickly enough and it doesn't serve Google et al's best interests if they do). Both are both much harder to fight - because they are more hidden and insidious in some respects, and the FCC really doesn't care what you or I think. Sinclair - you could possibly go after the advertisers? But you'd have to find them first.
The FCC has always been a problem. People have been fighting censorship wars with the FCC since its inception.
George Carlin on the FCC in 1973
The difficulty with human rights and freedoms - is if you want yours, you kind of have to put up with people you despise getting theirs. It can't just go one way, that's not how it works. People don't seem to understand this? I keep trying to explain it to folks but they ignore me. I swear SSEAS is kind of viral.
More Carlin on Time and well everything - this may be the longest uninterrupted rambling routine I've seen.
He's among my favorite stand-up comedians. Controversial at times, and not always...ahem politically correct, but he makes me laugh for the most part for his word-play.
**
I got a comment from Ao3 on a Meta that I wrote over ten years ago, and can't remember that well. The comment:
"I find it interesting that you mentioned Clarissa's Lovelace, but not Pamela or Lord B. If we're going all the way back to Richardson, I think some discussion of Pamela and Lord B. is in order. Why do you think Lovelace and Lord B have such different arcs?"
I didn't respond - because as a general rule, I no longer respond to any comments on Ao3, regardless of the content. ( Read more... )
( health care crap - cut for TMI )
I actually could focus. And Breaking Bad thanked me for my clear and concise analysis of the work we'd done on our end.
So, I made myself useful. Took a few short walks.
Went home - and hunted for Gluten Free Cookie Dough - but none was to be had at the local Met Fresh. Damn them. Probably for the best. My blood sugar is happier without it. If I still want it by the weekend - I'll get some from the health food stores on Courteylou.
***
The news irritates me. And it's becoming harder to avoid.
Jimmy Kimmel is back on, and Disney has basically told Sinclair Media to go frak themselves, since Disney cares more about their liberal image and their subscribers than their affiliates who pay them next to nothing in revenues. [I honestly think it was the Disneys and Eisner who persuaded them to change their minds.] In reality - Sinclair Media is the problem (my mother's cousin pointed out that they were a major problem way back in 2014) and sigh, the FCC (who has been a problem since their inception - people thought they needed to regulate what was on television and the radio, kind of similar to what they wanted to do with the internet and keep trying to do, but fail miserably at - because it is the internet and global and the US didn't put restrictions in place quickly enough and it doesn't serve Google et al's best interests if they do). Both are both much harder to fight - because they are more hidden and insidious in some respects, and the FCC really doesn't care what you or I think. Sinclair - you could possibly go after the advertisers? But you'd have to find them first.
The FCC has always been a problem. People have been fighting censorship wars with the FCC since its inception.
George Carlin on the FCC in 1973
The difficulty with human rights and freedoms - is if you want yours, you kind of have to put up with people you despise getting theirs. It can't just go one way, that's not how it works. People don't seem to understand this? I keep trying to explain it to folks but they ignore me. I swear SSEAS is kind of viral.
More Carlin on Time and well everything - this may be the longest uninterrupted rambling routine I've seen.
He's among my favorite stand-up comedians. Controversial at times, and not always...ahem politically correct, but he makes me laugh for the most part for his word-play.
**
I got a comment from Ao3 on a Meta that I wrote over ten years ago, and can't remember that well. The comment:
"I find it interesting that you mentioned Clarissa's Lovelace, but not Pamela or Lord B. If we're going all the way back to Richardson, I think some discussion of Pamela and Lord B. is in order. Why do you think Lovelace and Lord B have such different arcs?"
I didn't respond - because as a general rule, I no longer respond to any comments on Ao3, regardless of the content. ( Read more... )
The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi
Sep. 22nd, 2025 07:20 pmrenay posting in ladybusinessTo begin, a complaint.
( if I can't be petty about my book collection, what CAN I be petty about?! )
I had a good time with The Shattering Peace. ( Read more... )
( if I can't be petty about my book collection, what CAN I be petty about?! )
I had a good time with The Shattering Peace. ( Read more... )
Mostly food-related things for the first day of fall
Sep. 22nd, 2025 03:17 pmumadoshiIt's autumn! Or spring! Happy equinox!
And happy Rosh Hashanah to those celebrating! May the coming year be sweet.
It's not actually in honor of autumn's arrival, but we have a chicken marinating in the fridge for tonight's supper. ( food chat under the cut: very little more about the chicken, a bit about apples, and a bit about breakfast [read: banana bread] prep )
And happy Rosh Hashanah to those celebrating! May the coming year be sweet.
It's not actually in honor of autumn's arrival, but we have a chicken marinating in the fridge for tonight's supper. ( food chat under the cut: very little more about the chicken, a bit about apples, and a bit about breakfast [read: banana bread] prep )
Brekekekex, ko-ax, ko-ax!
Sep. 22nd, 2025 06:14 pmoursinThough probably African frogs do not say that (the chorus from Aristophanes' The Frogs).
Anyway, this was of considerable interest to me having had to do with archives relating to these here amphibians (in which they were described as 'toads'):
Escapee pregnancy test frogs colonised Wales for 50 years
and also read the ms of a work by A Friend on the history of pregnancy testing in which they played a significant role.
They replaced the rabbit test ('did the rabbit die' - the rabbit had to die, actually, in order to examine its ovaries) as this was a non-lethal test and kept producing yet more frogs.
And there was quite an issue of what to do with the little blighters once chemical testing became the norm - as I recall attempts to dispose of them as pets.
Also
The frog is genetically surprisingly similar to humans, which means that scientists can model human disease in this amphibian and replace the use of higher sentient species.
Do we not feel that this is the beginning of some Golden Age sf/horror work? FROGMAN.
(no subject)
Sep. 20th, 2025 08:37 pmshadowkatCalled in sick on Friday - and for the most part stayed off the computer, and just watched television and dozed. ( wrestling with vertigo and loss of balance - most likely due to allergies and sinus issues, also caffeine withdrawl )
***
Question a Day Memage - September continued:
[As an aside - there's an interesting spelling difference between British English and American English. In British English they use "u" in words ending with or. Examples include favourite vs. favorite, colour vs. color, or colouring vs. coloring, flavour vs. flavor. I pick up on it partly because spellcheck on my computer is US, and the meme is British spelling.
I remember when I sent the book I published to an editor - he told that I was using a lot of British spellings for things, which I didn't catch because I was busy interacting online with a people who lived in the UK and were utilizing those spellings. I wonder about that difference. And others. And what is the origin of the difference - when did the American version split off? And why? I'm not a linguist so I wouldn't know.]
18. Did you have colouring books as a child? Have you tried any adult colouring books?
Yes. I didn't like them and drew, doodled, and colored outside the lines.
19. Are you adventurous with your menus, or do you stick to tried and tested ideas for meals?
I play around. I also get into routines. I am not good with a lot of left-overs. I can't prepare food for a week and eat it. My stomach is picky and I have scant storage space. (Small one bedroom apartment, with a refrigerator and small freezer). But I'd say I'm adventurous and I like to experiment - to the degree in which my body can handle it? Which unfortunately is insanely limited. Celiac tends to branch into other food sensitivities, if caught later in life.
20. Do you have a favourite quiz show that you regularly watch on TV?
I'll watch Jeopardy every once and a while.
21. How is Autumn treating you? What’s the weather like?
The weather is beautiful and mild. Feels like early spring, actually. 60s and 70s, occasional 80 degree day, sometimes 59 degrees.
Sunny. Not a lot of rain. Still see flowers, and all the trees are green and fully leaved.
I've been having issues with allergies, sleeplessness, back/leg pain, depression, and digestive issues - so I have been ill. And trying to figure it out.
Feeling a little better right now. Hence this post. Best I've felt in the last four days at least. Not stellar but better.
***
Question a Day Memage - September continued:
[As an aside - there's an interesting spelling difference between British English and American English. In British English they use "u" in words ending with or. Examples include favourite vs. favorite, colour vs. color, or colouring vs. coloring, flavour vs. flavor. I pick up on it partly because spellcheck on my computer is US, and the meme is British spelling.
I remember when I sent the book I published to an editor - he told that I was using a lot of British spellings for things, which I didn't catch because I was busy interacting online with a people who lived in the UK and were utilizing those spellings. I wonder about that difference. And others. And what is the origin of the difference - when did the American version split off? And why? I'm not a linguist so I wouldn't know.]
18. Did you have colouring books as a child? Have you tried any adult colouring books?
Yes. I didn't like them and drew, doodled, and colored outside the lines.
19. Are you adventurous with your menus, or do you stick to tried and tested ideas for meals?
I play around. I also get into routines. I am not good with a lot of left-overs. I can't prepare food for a week and eat it. My stomach is picky and I have scant storage space. (Small one bedroom apartment, with a refrigerator and small freezer). But I'd say I'm adventurous and I like to experiment - to the degree in which my body can handle it? Which unfortunately is insanely limited. Celiac tends to branch into other food sensitivities, if caught later in life.
20. Do you have a favourite quiz show that you regularly watch on TV?
I'll watch Jeopardy every once and a while.
21. How is Autumn treating you? What’s the weather like?
The weather is beautiful and mild. Feels like early spring, actually. 60s and 70s, occasional 80 degree day, sometimes 59 degrees.
Sunny. Not a lot of rain. Still see flowers, and all the trees are green and fully leaved.
I've been having issues with allergies, sleeplessness, back/leg pain, depression, and digestive issues - so I have been ill. And trying to figure it out.
Feeling a little better right now. Hence this post. Best I've felt in the last four days at least. Not stellar but better.
tips and overthrows - gotta have it
Sep. 21st, 2025 06:15 pmmusesfoolYesterday evening, I made a lovely pan-seared steak for dinner, and today I roasted a chicken. It was more expensive, but I bought one that came already spatchcocked, which meant it cooked in about 40 minutes. I used this recipe and the white meat was quite juicy and good. It's annoying to have to flip the whole chicken in the frying pan though, so I don't know if I will do it this way again, especially since I don't really care about crispy skin since I don't eat the skin. [obligatory quote: "any demons with high cholesterol?... You're gonna think about that later, mister, and you're gonna laugh."]
I also did the first part of this chocolate chip cookie recipe and now they're in the fridge chilling. Tomorrow I will bake 2 off and then do the same thing for the next 3 days too, since it only makes 8 extremely large cookies and they are supposedly best when freshly baked. I will report back on how they taste!
Tomorrow, I plan to make a nice herb and cheese frittata for dinner and lunch for a couple of days too, and of course, there will be leftover roast chicken to eat too.
*
I also did the first part of this chocolate chip cookie recipe and now they're in the fridge chilling. Tomorrow I will bake 2 off and then do the same thing for the next 3 days too, since it only makes 8 extremely large cookies and they are supposedly best when freshly baked. I will report back on how they taste!
Tomorrow, I plan to make a nice herb and cheese frittata for dinner and lunch for a couple of days too, and of course, there will be leftover roast chicken to eat too.
*
Culinary
Sep. 21st, 2025 07:46 pmoursinLast week's bread became really, really, dry, so I made a loaf of Shipton Mill Three Malts and Sunflower Organic Brown Flour: very nice.
Friday night supper: the ersatz Thai fried rice with red bell pepper, chorizo and salsiccon salami.
Saturday breakfast rolls: basic buttermilk, 3:1 strong white/rye flour, turned out very well.
Today's lunch: lemon sole fillets, which I cooked more or less as for the whole soles here - slightly shorter time and lower oven temperature, also sploshed a little wine in; served with La Ratte potatoes roasted in beef dripping, spinach according to recipe in Dharamjit Singh's Indian Cookery, and warm green bean and fennel salad (I included a little chopped red onion as there was one left over from last week as well as the fennel, and added additional tarragon to the dressing).
Weekly proof of life: work, impending work, and at least a bit of clutter tamed
Sep. 21st, 2025 02:29 pmumadoshiPosted elsenet yesterday: Queen's Quality is the only manga I've worked on with a simulpub release (for the last few years of its run), and now I'm down to odds & ends and small corrections that need doing for its final compiled volume. Feels a bit strange, having properly said goodbye months ago when adapting the epilogue.
That's this weekend's work, which I'd hoped to get done sooner than this (due to the Dayjob crunch starting this week, not because I'm running late), but I don't have the translation for my next assignment yet anyway, so I guess it's worked out fine. I do hope I can get this done today, though. (And I wish I'd gotten that translation and could have started adapting it this weekend, given. >.<)
Queen's Quality is one of those series that switched publishers/titles partway through its run (very early, in this case), and there's always something a bit amusing about being like, "I'm working on vol. 25, which is the final volume. I've worked on this story for 27 of its 28 volumes." (Which is to say, in this case, that Queen's Quality was preceded by three volumes of an initial series called QQ Sweeper, and someone else adapted vol. 1 of that one.)
scruloose and I have been getting some household puttering done, which was desperately needed. We're both prone to letting piles of ~stuff~ slowly accumulate, and getting some of that beaten back before work swallows my life for however long is a relief. (Especially since that type of visual clutter is one of the sensory things that starts to bother me far too easily when I'm stressed. It starts to feel like I'm being loomed over.
scruloose also hung up a piece of wall shelving for displaying things in my office! I have no clear idea yet of what will wind up on it, as most small things that go on such a shelf are just sort of stashed around my office in bins or odd places. I'll have to dig through some drawers and see what surfaces.
(I see the usefulness of the "a place for everything, and everything in its place" concept, but am terribly unclear on how that actually works for most people in practice, given how many sorts of objects [that do in fact see use] don't really lend themselves to "this object resides here in the house". We're very much not minimalists, which doesn't help, but...yeah. Like what do you do with, say, a vacuum cleaner if you don't have some closet space that lends itself to being the vacuum's home?)
(A while ago my mother-in-law forwarded a couple of pics she'd come across of our place not long after we'd moved in, when we were unpacked and a bit settled. It's incredible how alien it looked--the original horrible paint colors, some furniture that's been LONG since replaced--but I think the biggest thing is the complete absence of anything cat-related.)
That's this weekend's work, which I'd hoped to get done sooner than this (due to the Dayjob crunch starting this week, not because I'm running late), but I don't have the translation for my next assignment yet anyway, so I guess it's worked out fine. I do hope I can get this done today, though. (And I wish I'd gotten that translation and could have started adapting it this weekend, given. >.<)
Queen's Quality is one of those series that switched publishers/titles partway through its run (very early, in this case), and there's always something a bit amusing about being like, "I'm working on vol. 25, which is the final volume. I've worked on this story for 27 of its 28 volumes." (Which is to say, in this case, that Queen's Quality was preceded by three volumes of an initial series called QQ Sweeper, and someone else adapted vol. 1 of that one.)
scruloose and I have been getting some household puttering done, which was desperately needed. We're both prone to letting piles of ~stuff~ slowly accumulate, and getting some of that beaten back before work swallows my life for however long is a relief. (Especially since that type of visual clutter is one of the sensory things that starts to bother me far too easily when I'm stressed. It starts to feel like I'm being loomed over.scruloose also hung up a piece of wall shelving for displaying things in my office! I have no clear idea yet of what will wind up on it, as most small things that go on such a shelf are just sort of stashed around my office in bins or odd places. I'll have to dig through some drawers and see what surfaces.(I see the usefulness of the "a place for everything, and everything in its place" concept, but am terribly unclear on how that actually works for most people in practice, given how many sorts of objects [that do in fact see use] don't really lend themselves to "this object resides here in the house". We're very much not minimalists, which doesn't help, but...yeah. Like what do you do with, say, a vacuum cleaner if you don't have some closet space that lends itself to being the vacuum's home?)
(A while ago my mother-in-law forwarded a couple of pics she'd come across of our place not long after we'd moved in, when we were unpacked and a bit settled. It's incredible how alien it looked--the original horrible paint colors, some furniture that's been LONG since replaced--but I think the biggest thing is the complete absence of anything cat-related.)