Monday Update 4-20-26

Apr. 20th, 2026 12:53 am
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Nature
Fossils
Read "Carcinization"
Birdfeeding
Poem: "Food Is Everything We Are"
Nature
Moment of Silence: Sid Krofft
Today's Adventures
Water
Science
Birdfeeding
Creative Jam
Philosophical Questions: Free Speech
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 4-17-26: Merlin
Poem: "Walnut Park"
Quantum Physics
Birdfeeding
Community Thursdays
Survival Skills
Art
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Good News

Poem: "Walnut Park" has 29 comments. Early Humans has 22 comments. Philosophical Questions: Pregnancy has 66 comments. Safety has 77 comments.


The weather has been cooler here. There's a frost warning tonight. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a pair of cardinals, a brown-headed cowbird, a male goldfinch, and a fox squirrel. Red-winged blackbirds have been singing overhead. I heard a bluejay screaming but didn't see it. Currently blooming: daffodils, violets, tulips, anemone, Solomon's seal, pansies, violas, sweet alyssum, bleeding heart, chokecherries, alliums, lilies of the valley. Flower buds: peonies. Green fruit: mulberries. I have a bunch more flowers to plant too.
sovay: (Sovay: David Owen)
[personal profile] sovay
It was very nice to be told by the ophthalmologist this afternoon that I do not need surgery on my eye. I had been given some reason for concern. It was aggravating to be told that I should persist in spending hours of my time with a warm sheep, i.e. the cereal-filled microwaveable hot pack that lives in our freezer applied to my face, but at least it's working.

My life feels far too medical. Yesterday had social interludes in the form of [personal profile] rushthatspeaks and [personal profile] selkie and [personal profile] genarti who dropped unexpectedly by with a lifetime supply of bagels and other heymishe staples from Mamaleh's. I paused Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (宮本武蔵 完結篇 決闘巌流島, 1956) in order to show [personal profile] spatch that Kōji Tsuruta lived up to his character's billing of looking more like an actor than a swordsman, which had sounded self-referential until he stepped onscreen as if exactly out of an ukiyo-e print. This evening I felt so set on fire that I curled up in bed for an hour and Hestia snuggled herself under the covers and pushed her head kitten-fashion against my knee. I made myself a sesame bagel with chopped liver and watched another of the Warners B-pictures written by Raymond L. Schrock that TCM has been running to more than fast-cheap effect so long as they do not contain Ronald Reagan. The space taken inside my head by doctors and medications and appointments remains exhausting.

The space taken by the state of the world also remains exhausting. Nearly a decade of my life seems to have folded itself like a tesseract of the Echthroi and it is hard not to feel that all that happened in the interval is that people died.

More Prince of Tennis posting

Apr. 20th, 2026 04:09 pm
thawrecka: (Default)
[personal profile] thawrecka
Now I've watched through the first season of Prince of Tennis II and the specials, which is completely uncharted territory because I haven't read any of the sequel manga. This training camp is so stupid (don't go to a mysterious training camp in the woods about which you know almost nothing and which has terrifying gates, kids), and I'm shocked and surprised to discover Echizen is a cool jacket guy?! Because that jacket sure is cool!

Atobe lightly smacking Hiyoshi on the butt with his racket - wow, I never found them shippy before, but suddenly... Though as a Tezuka/Atobe shipper I am also eating so well. As a fan I feel serviced. Look at their eyes sparkling at each other.

Kaidoh carrying Momo on his back up the mountain is also insanely shippy.

Everything about this mountain training camp is fucking stupid, but I've accepted this Prince of Tennis is about nonsense boys adventures and not about actual tennis, so I'm enjoying it. Shishido and Gakuto squabbling is so entertaining to me. I really enjoyed Inui and Yanagi's data doubles moment. The Shitenhoji dorks have grown on me. Even Sanada is growing on me, which I thought was impossible!

I'm never going to like the Rikkai characters the way Rikkai fans do 😂 but I'm invested in so many characters banding together to turn Kirihara into a functional human being. It's sort of fascinating how completely Rikkai fucked themselves up, now that they're in a context where they're interacting people from outside their toxic mess. Yukimura has to learn how to enjoy things, and Sanada basically hates himself, and Yanagi even feels guilty for what they all did to Kirihara.

It's amazing how after so many episodes of watching the losers camp be forced to climb mountains, get chased by eagles, and sleep rough, switching back to the winners camp seems so decadent and infuriating in comparison! They get catered food and nice baths!!! Atobe brought his own rose petals for a rose bath!!! Maddening!

It is cute watching Eiji and Ohtori be so sad and lost without their doubles partners, though.

Me when Atobe developed X-ray vision: Of course this would happen, I don't know why I expected otherwise.

The Jewish War: First half of Book 6

Apr. 19th, 2026 09:32 pm
cahn: (Default)
[personal profile] cahn
Last week: Sieges are awful. Josephus tells us that Titus really totally felt bad about all the awfulness (even though he didn't stop them) and there is a theory that maybe by "us" he meant "Berenice." Titus had dancing boys?? (Josephus does not mention any, sadly.) Does Samuel the Lamanite in the Book of Mormon owe anything to Josephus speaking truth to the wicked? Unclear. Talmud on the Sages vs. the Zealots as an interesting correlated story to Josephus. Poppea's complexity including both an interest in (conversion to?) Judaism as well as being ruthless; comparison to Constantine's much better press.

This week: The temple is destroyed.

Next week: End of Book 6.

Daily Happiness

Apr. 19th, 2026 09:25 pm
torachan: my glitch character (glitch)
[personal profile] torachan
1. Yesterday was Record Store Day (a day to support indie record shops where they have a lot of limited release albums for sale) and we went to Record Surplus when they opened at nine only to find that there was a huge line all the way down the block. The people working there were passing out order sheets so you could write down the things you were interested in (including backups if your top choices were sold out) and Carla filled hers out, but after waiting for about 45 minutes and seeing the line barely move, she decided to tap out and we just went home.

Today we went to see if they had anything left over that she wanted and found several albums on her wishlist, including one of her top most wanted. We probably could have gone back yesterday afternoon or evening to check again, too, as there were only a handful of people who joined the line after us, so after that initial rush you were probably able to just go in the store normally, but it worked out in the end.

2. Tonight Alex came over for her usual Sunday dinner and TV and we were able to give her all the souvenirs we'd collected for her, which turned out to be quite a lot as we'd just been picking up stuff here and there that we thought was something she'd like. We actually found several small items with Gaara from Naruto, her favorite character, just at random shops, when last year we'd had to really go deep into the anime shop areas to find anything Naruto. Maybe it's having a comeback?

3. We've decided to get back into bike riding and that we'd like to get ebikes. The area we live in has a lot of flat spaces, but then also some directions you can't go without a hill, often a steep and/or long one, and having the ebike to get back up the hill would be very helpful, especially for Carla, and (hopefully) make us more likely to actually get out and use the bikes.

I had hoped that there would be somewhere around here that buys used bikes, but there doesn't seem to be, so I'm cleaning the old bikes up to try and sell on Nextdoor or Craigslist or something. I don't think I'll get much for them now, but they cost enough that I'd rather not just put them out on the curb for free. I got mine dusted off and pumped up the tires and took it out for a couple mile ride today and it was so nice. I haven't really ridden my bike much since we got a car again and I wasn't using it for my daily work commute. I'm looking forward to more bike riding in my future, and I think I might even take the old one out a bit while waiting for a buyer.

4. Lately Gemma has been spending a lot of time with Chloe and Chloe has been very tolerant of her. We often see them together on Carla's bed, but the other day they were both out in the dining room by the window.

Writerly Ways

Apr. 19th, 2026 11:22 pm
cornerofmadness: (writing atwood)
[personal profile] cornerofmadness
I am going to keep this short as my contacts messed up my right eye again. It's swollen and I can barely see out of it. Sigh.

So between yesterday's con and today's author meet up at the book store I wanted to talk about interacting with your potential readers. Of course there are no hard and fast rules to this and the readers are individuals too. But let me compare yesterday's young man to today's young woman. He was enthusiastic. He sold the book far better than his blurb did. Today, she was entirely hands off letting me look at the blurbs. The only thing she said was that the book in my hand was book 2 in the series. Made zero attempts to sell her work.

The sweet spot is somewhere between these two most likely. Did I buy a book? Yes because I want my new book store to succeed (and in my heart of hearts I doubt it will) But if she had been at the con yesterday I would have walked on past. I'm not saying be a carnival barker but hoping for the blurb to do all the work when you are there might also not be your best bet. You seem...disinterested.

I've only done this once. I wasn't as interactive as I probably should have been and I definitely sold worse than my companions who were far more interactive with the potential readers. None of this is helped by the fact that some of us are deeply introverted and just being there is tough. I swing back and forth between extrovert and introvert so I need to find better ways because I want to be the author behind the table again.

If you'd done the in person book sales, what are your tips? your don't do this stories?


Open Call


Slasher Summer Slasher Summer (female identifying/non binary authors only)

The Rotting Leaf Eco-fiction and environmental storytelling

Orion’s Belt Science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, magical realism, horror, and other speculative genres

Dancing Star Press Is Open To Novellas Science fiction and fantasy

here.

The Metaworker: Now Seeking Submissions

90 Publishing Opportunities for Historically Underrepresented Writers



From around the web

Draft2Digital’s New Fees Will Create Real Problems for Indie Authors and Small Publishers

First Look at a First Draft: How to Revise Your Manuscript

Charting Your Course #3: Self-Publish Online (Part 1)

How Compassion Changed My Writing

How I Published in 50 Litmags in Less Than a Year: A Strategy That Works

A Quick Start Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Publishing


From Betty

The Why & How of Second Person

Introducing Characters

Why Horror Becomes Action and How to Prevent It

Can My Hero Give Up Revenge?

Why "The Story Behind Your Story" is So Important

Charting Your Course #3: Self-Publish Online (Part 1)

Want Stronger Writing? Start Writing Less.

The Bullet Point Guide to Digital Self-Publishing

Dialogue That Kills It: Crafting Conversations Full of Suspense

I Think. Therefore I Don’t Amble

Dialogue Bloat

How Does Fear Play Into Character Arc (Part 2)

YouTube for Writers, Part 8: Crafting Titles and Thumbnails That Work Together

Why Blog Traffic Drops in the Summer (and What Writers Should Do About It)

Internal Conflict vs. External Conflict: The Shift From Projection to Agency in Character Arc


You’ve Got Main Character Energy
thanekos: Seiga Kaku from Touhou 13, shadowed. (Default)
[personal profile] thanekos posting in [community profile] scans_daily
The previous arc " Cirque du Sin " was the transition from Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo's brighter run, smoothed by the fantastic parts of that threat.

What the Cirque did in Blüdhaven led to reconstruction, set-up for some of writer Dan Watters' thoughts:

" As someone who moved from the UK to the US, American infrastructure fascinates me. The shapes of cities here can be entirely different- there's just so much more damn space.

" The psychogeography of a sprawled city is so different to a more European-style city, which I'd generally pigeonhole Gotham as- walkable, easily accessible via public transit, with people living stacked on top of each other.

" Cities where each stop of the day is a 45 minute drive away makes for a different way of living, and invites a different kind of story.. "

" It is wild to me to build infrastructure that is ostensibly to facilitate and improve human living, and to have so much of it inaccessible to the pedestrian. Engaging with your own town primarily through windshield glass.

" These are the things swirling around in my head as I consider what makes Blüdhaven different to Gotham. And I decide it means Nightwing needs a cool new car. "

Another axis on which Blüdhaven is worse than Gotham. )
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
[personal profile] dialecticdreamer
Thick, Sticky, Morass
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 5 of 5, complete
Word count (story only): 1452
[Morning of Thursday, 9 November of 2017]


:: The first update on Jasper’s condition puts Jules in the middle of an ethical conundrum, even though he has no influence on the situation. That’s another layer of complication. Part of the “Lodestar” arc, set in the Polychrome Heroics universe. ::


Back to part 4
:: Thanks for reading! ::




As Jules turned toward the security station, intending to leave the embassy for an early dinner, someone tapped him on the shoulder. A woman with wheat-blonde hair in a pixie cut beamed sunnily at him. “Hey, the Ambassador needs you to come join a pasture chat. She said it’s important.”

Jules nodded. “Lead on.”
Read more... )

Nature

Apr. 19th, 2026 09:57 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Spring is a perfect time to start a nature journal. I've been talking about it with some friends so I wanted to share some resources here. It doesn't have to be fancy. It can have text, art, photos, pressed leaves, whatever you want to include. There are different approaches; all of them are good. Grab a blank book with plain or lined pages as you prefer, something to write or draw with, and head out to your yard, garden, or a nearby park.

Read more... )

Notes of Desperation: Skullport

Apr. 19th, 2026 07:58 pm
senmut: Zaknafein and Drizzt battling each other (Forgotten Realms: Zak and Drizzt)
[personal profile] senmut
AO3 Link | Notes of Desperation: Skullport (2,250 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 2/3
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Zaknafein Do'Urden, Jarlaxle Baenre, Malice Do'Urden, Drizzt Do'Urden, Vierna Do'Urden, Original Drow Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Torture, Escape, Rebuilding, Reunions
Summary:

A winding tale of how three Do'Urdens find family in full.



Notes of Desperation: Skullport

"Rule number one," Zaknafein began as they were situating the few things they had in a shared room. "Don't leave this building without me or someone I designate. Rule two, don't let on that you never went through school. Rule three, tied to that, try to act a little older."

Drizzt twisted up his features in distaste for that last; he didn't know what he was supposed to be like! He'd gone from being a student of Zaknafein to a curiosity in a mercenary band's den!

"I can take most typical fighters," Drizzt reasoned. "I have command of several cantrips now. I don't think anyone would notice I never attended.

"But… what do you mean by acting older?" He took the magical statue his father had given him out and settled on his narrow bed, just tracing the warm lines of the animal shape. Zak had told him it was a surface cat, and he was hopeful he'd see one in this strangely half-lit place.

Zak paused, glancing over. "If you have questions, hold them for me, for when we're alone. Try not to be too amazed at new things you see. And focus on being seen as serious. It will hold others at bay, while we get to know them, and figure out who will actually test us, and our placement here."

Drizzt wanted to ask why that was even a thing, but all of the discussions to this place, and ones he'd had in the other place with the mercenaries, had led him to believe that drow were just… given to being difficult at each other.

He didn't like it, but he still had a lot to learn, to understand what he wanted to be.

"Is there a wizard on staff?"

"No. We'll figure out how to find one to pay to find the thing's name, son," Zak told him. "Just try and be patient. You could live a very long time, now we're away from the women of that city."

Drizzt didn't understand that either, except in all the ways he'd been hurt by Maya and Briza both. Mother hadn't, not often, but Zaknafein had explained that too. Mother had wanted him to be like Zak, in skills, to replace the older man. But also be more pliable, someone she could actually control.

"So pretend to be as sour-faced as possible, and don't talk much? I can do that. It's how I survived Maya."

That got a wince from his father, and then Zak was in his space, folding him into a tight hug.

"Just until we understand where the threats are, son. I prefer your smiles, and I don't mind your questions… even if I don't ever seem to know the answers."

Drizzt hugged him back, and then settled back on the bed, so Zak could finish placing his traps how he wanted them.





Generally, Elkantar was not asked to go into Skullport for any of the bands that wandered the Sword Coast. While it was not spoken of openly, elder members in every group knew he had been rescued there from his enslavement.

The only reason he had volunteered this time was because he distinctly remembered a certain lichen that would benefit them all could be found in the lowest levels, and it was needed to treat an ailment that had settled on their younger members, a rash that thinned the skin and caused sores if it was pressed or abraded too hard.

He did let Laeral be the one to spirit him down inside the subterranean city, rather than risk taking a party with him through the ways they had learned through the Undermountain. She had disguised herself as a half-drow woman, having made the acquaintance of the up and coming sword mistress to Qilué's wanderers.

Elkantar kept his eyes open, his ears attuned to the threats around him, and a light touch on Laeral as he took her all the way down to the lowest levels on their gathering run.

"Fewer drow out and about than Shana said to expect," he murmured to her.

"My sources say that unaffiliated group recently had a leadership change. Wagering that led to a shuffle of power in all factions," she responded just as quietly.

"Hmm, if you hear more, do pass it on to us."

"Of course."





Zaknafein was flat on the roof of a building, his son beside him, as both observed the movement in the compound nearby.

"What do you see?"

"The women and children are frightened, obeying out of fear," Drizzt began, and Zak filed that under 'strange things about Drizzt' for that to be the first observation. "The soldiers are swaggering, being cruel just because they can, but their posture and bearing is arrogance based on perception. Whatever skill is under it is probably not at the level you demand of our fighters.

"The openness of the courtyard implies magical traps. The lack of protections from above could be carelessness, but is likely more magic. There is no obvious ranking officer outside, though, so they do not believe their protections are without weakness."

"Go on," Zak encouraged.

"The wagon boxes are sitting low for those designs. There's already merchandise in them, heavy merchandise. The traces are in place for beasts of burden… probably those large rothe we saw, given it is set up for two beasts per wagon. They mean to move those goods soon."

"Well done," Zak told him, even as he saw violence starting between two men and one of the women, the kind he had no wish for his son to see. "Come." He hoped Drizzt hadn't picked up that part yet, and hopped up into a low crouch. "See if you can beat me back."

There was a flicker of something in his gentle son before the boy obeyed, though not to race.

"Are we planning to attack them?" Drizzt asked.

"No. We were hired to get the information, which will be delivered to our contract holder. We do not provoke those drow, or the ones in the Temple. We merely cause them inconvenience, and promise better service with our own merchants."

Drizzt looked back, and Zak wanted to swear, seeing emotions flicker over that mobile face before Drizzt started in the direction of their own warehouse.

Maybe he had not understood what was happening and only reacted to the rough treatment, Zak hoped.





Drizzt was sitting on his bed when Zak came in, well after the contract had concluded, and saw his son running his hands over the cat figure. He did that a lot when he was thinking heavy thoughts.

"What is it?"

"It's not right that anyone, woman or man, be as scared as they were. It's not right that people take and hurt."

Drizzt's face came up, resolute, but fear in his eyes for voicing the feelings he'd been growing into since coming fully under his father's tutelage in this far off place. He still remembered, vividly, the beatings for daring to ask questions that implied drow ways were wrong.

Zak came and sat beside his son, bringing an arm up around his shoulders. "Power is the way of drow. It also seems to be the way of every species that lives in this city. Fear, from those that have no power, is normal. Power comes by skill, or position.

"I don't know what to tell you, Drizzt, to make this better for you. But that is the truth that was beaten and shaped into me in Menzoberranzan. Here, at least? There are connections between people, to share the burden of not having power. There's the ability to be family, and keep solid alliances to protect what power can be taken."

Drizzt looked at the figure he held, letting the warm magic it emanated soothe him. He didn't have answers to the gentle words, rebuttals to make his case. His heart just knew this was wrong.

After a full minute of silence, Zak stood, leaving the room so that Drizzt could be alone in his safe space… and wishing he knew a better way to help the boy.





Shana immediately put hand to dirk, beneath the view of the stranger approaching her, using the counter she had her offerings spread on to hide them. Other drow in this city were all too often a problem. The two fighters with her were more visibly ready to stop any altercations, both of them on the street side of things.

"I'm told you three follow different ways, something about a goodly goddess," the man said from several steps away. She appraised him fully, taking in the well-made but functional garb, the twin scabbards of equal length, the fact he wore his hair free save for two side braids to pin the mass of it back. Typical red eyes, slightly above average height for a deep drow, and he could be no other type given the polished jet of his skin tone.

"It need not be cause for strife," she said evenly. "We sell and trade to any in good faith."

His eyes did flick over the wares, mostly dried foods and components not found here, but from above.

"I'm actually looking for someone to teach my son," he said as he closed the last of the distance. "Has very un-drow ways of thinking, and I'm told they line up better with your people.

"Zaknafein."

"Shana," she responded to that unprompted offer of name. No bats, no other symbols of Vhaeraun in his clothing, and she'd caught no symbols of the spider either… but surely the clerics would have known if there was a goodly child here!

"He's my only surviving child, and his heart is just not suited to the work I do here," Zaknafein told her. "Do your people offer teachers for such as cannot be practical in their way of living?"

"We accept any who choose to follow ways closer to our goddess, even if they do not accept Her as their patron deity," Shana said. "We also, saer Zaknafein, tend to know when to seek such people."

The man grunted at that, with a grimace. "He's complicated. Third born, in a House of that Bitch's making. My friends say he's not able to be scryed, sent to, and he's always been resistant to divine healing. Only the salves work easily on him."

Third born. That had notorious meaning from a Spider city. And yet the boy lived.

"Meaning he may be touched by Her magic." Shana took a deep breath. "I cannot make these kind of decisions. But if you can keep him safe for a full moon, I can arrange for someone to meet with you and discuss it more in depth."

"He'll stay safe. I will not let harm come to him." Zaknafein's fierce loyalty to his child came through strongly, and Shana smiled a little.

"Are you sure you do not wish to seek our ways, where children are raised with care by their families?" she offered.

He looked at her, a myriad of complex emotions crossing his expressive features before he ruefully shook his head. "I would not fit in other ways, and have commitments here. I will meet your envoy in one month, at the place they call the Dimmed Lantern."

He then looked at her wares again, and produced coins to buy some of the dried fruits. "For taking your time… and because he delights in trying new things," Zaknafein said, before making his way back the way he'd come.

"Things are very unusual this trip," Neerbryn said, having specifically come to get a feel for the differences in the drow factions that Elkantar and Lady Silverhand had mentioned. Lleona would have come herself, but for once they had overruled their bard-leader.

"I know. Well, nothing for it but to finish our selling and buying, then get back to either your folk, or the Sister herself."





Lleona proved closer, with the rest of the Marauders, and listened to both Shana and Neerbryn describe the encounter. She was blessed with the deep memory a true bard found so useful, and from the mention of name and weapons, she was weighing just how to advise Shana.

"Qilué took her band to the southern tip of the mountains, guided by our Lady," Lleona said. "Rylla went with them, but we should find one another by mid-autumn. However, you don't need to seek her for negotiations on this matter."

"I don't?" Shana asked, but she respected Lleona's insights. The woman had one of the highest success rates for going into the Underdark and bringing all of her people out alive. Or at least able to live again.

"Any of you lot have sending on tap today?" Lleona asked her band.

"I do," Mynera offered, without even looking up from the scroll she was reading.

"Ask the other First Sister if she can clear her plate and come here within the next few days. Tell her no rush, as I'll go speak to this man if she can't make it in time, but it will be worth her while."

"You really think it is the same man?" Cirtlari asked, as she pieced together what had Lleona asking for someone from the other side of the continent.

"Well, she's as good as she can be; maybe the man just breeds goodly people," Lleona said cheerfully, before sitting back to let Mynera handle contact.

Fossils

Apr. 19th, 2026 07:28 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Scientists just solved a 160-million-year fossil mystery “I’ve never seen anything like it”

A rare fossil reveals that Earth’s earliest sponges were hiding in plain sight—too soft to leave a trace.

A rare fossil discovery is shedding light on the “missing years” of early sponge evolution. Scientists found a 550-million-year-old sponge that likely lacked hard skeletal parts, explaining why earlier fossils are so scarce. This supports the idea that the earliest sponges were soft-bodied and rarely preserved. The finding changes how researchers hunt for the origins of animal life.



Well, that was obvious. Soft organisms typically predate those with rigid parts that preserve better. It's still really cool to find evidence.

Busy our hands.

Apr. 19th, 2026 08:00 pm
hannah: (Breadmaking - fooish_icons)
[personal profile] hannah
Thanks to neighbors moving out of their apartments, not only do I have enough laundry pods to last at least another six months, I've got more lentils than I know what to do with. No, really. There's six kinds of lentils in my apartment right now, not counting the dried chickpeas, unroasted peanuts, and dried red beans. It's going to be the summer of lentils. My strategy's going to be to work through the smaller amounts first before moving onto the larger ones - there's enough red lentils for one or two meals, but the green ones will keep me fed for weeks.

I'm checking the usual websites, looking through my cookbook shelf, thinking of how to make them interesting and palatable when I'll be eating so much of them. I figure that once I'm done with Rome, a dive through the rest of Steven Spielberg's movies should be good enough distraction to carry the lentils those last few days when I don't want to pay too much attention to what I'm having for lunch.

I've also got some quinoa and rice and black soybeans, if I want to shake things up somewhat. Farro, too, down in a bag somewhere.

(no subject)

Apr. 19th, 2026 08:12 pm
missizzy: (blahblah)
[personal profile] missizzy
I finished Dispatch on stream this morning. My gameplay was terrible, down in the bottom percentage, but I still very much liked it. I also like how many viewers it got my stream. It seems to be a popular game to watch; mostly I've only been getting one viewer at a time, but I got more both last and this Sunday morning. I might play through it again at some point, if only because there are a few alternate scenes I now really want to see, and I'll definitely play through the second season whenever it might come out.
I'm having to play a few games that are new to me. The first one was Little Kitty, Big City, which I started on stream Friday night, and I truly loved it. I'll do at least a few more Friday nights of it, no doubt. (It can apparently be finished in two hours, but I will no doubt take way longer.)
I've also started uploading my past broadcasts to a YouTube account of their own, including some highlights from my test recordings. I might make some other highlight videos too at some point.
Also these past few weekends I've also been trying to record my latest song. I'd gotten some okay recordings, then this afternoon I got one I felt certain I would post right after I finished recording. I got more hesitant after watching through it, but now I've decided to go with it. And hey, a song from from the Hunger Games movies feels appropriate these days:

(Probably Enough)

Apr. 19th, 2026 07:23 pm
kalloway: (Xmas Lights 20 Drape)
[personal profile] kalloway
Now that it's time to go back to work for the week, the brainweasels of "you didn't get enough done this weekend" have come to circle. Could I have done more? Probably. But did I do an absolute lot? Sure did! (Just ask my back!)

While digging through stacks of books that I didn't realize I had, I came to two conclusions. First, swapping out the short, long bookcase in degrading condition would be a good plan. There have been two tall, thin bookcases at the 'rents that were 'given' to me years ago that I just didn't think I had space for. If those will fit in the same spot, it'll be perfect. And second, I completely fell off with Accidental Advent, which is fine and not terrible surprising. I'll see about re-starting in the near future because I did enjoy the nudge. (The old bookcase can probably go to the garage if I can get it up on cinderblocks. It's still fine to hold non-book things but if the bottom shelf has started a chemical reaction I don't assume it'll magically stop.)

I suppose plans for the rest of spring/summer are going to involve clearing every shelf, cleaning it, and checking conditions of things. I also need to get fresh air into the place more often. I'd wanted to get things opened up already but it's also rained every day for like two weeks now. Except right now, because it's snowing heavily. (WTF)

Also got a good percentage of my gunpla logged. I want to eventually have a good list of what I have both unbuilt and built. While just my backlog sounds like a slightly better time, I definitely know that I've built things and then forgotten about them as time passed. (In my defense, I mean built in like ~2010.)

I stirred up a lot of dust, which mostly means that I have a lot of dust and need to do some work tetris-ing things around so I can do a more thorough vacuum and whatnot.

I know I declare every year as the year I finally sort through everything but I'm feeling the motivation and am going to try to run with it.
[syndicated profile] medievalists_rss_feed

Posted by New Medieval Books

Gervase of Melkley promises that “This little book is for beginners!”—yet his medieval guide to poetry is surprisingly inventive. Instead of repeating standard rules, he introduces a fresh method for composing verse, leading readers from clear expression to metaphor and irony.

Profile

jazzfish: Jazz Fish: beret, sunglasses, saxophone (Default)
Tucker McKinnon

Most Popular Tags

Adventures in Mamboland

"Jazz Fish, a saxophone playing wanderer, finds himself in Mamboland at a critical phase in his life." --Howie Green, on his book Jazz Fish Zen

Yeah. That sounds about right.

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags