Everyone knows about it from the Queen of England to the Hounds of Hell
Jan. 25th, 2026 06:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beansideThis month seems to be lasting for years. And nearly every single day, some new atrocity pops up; some new bit of barbarity. And through it all, we don't have time to breathe, or grieve, because we're all bracing for the next assault. And we still have to do mundane things, like work and cook, and do laundry, because what else are we going to do? So we find small victories and little pieces of joy where we can. I tend to focus on the joy, because it's far, far to easy to me to obsess and damage my mental health. So instead, I do what I can to bring myself and others happiness.
I started journalling daily because my mental health wasn't great, but I also am one of those people who will slap a bandaid on and never tell someone that they're bleeding. Back in those days, it gave me a place to be honest with myself. And the two years that Dad needed the heavy duty care, it was somewhere to vent. To talk about my frustrations and anger and feelings of being stuck. It helped to be able to pour out those feelings somwhere. And now, it's just something that I do. It's still for my mental health, of course. It's from here that I've noticed that my current ADHD med isn't lasting as long as the old one. I'm wondering if we could consider another dose of Ritalin so that it doesn't wear off quite as early. It's getting me through work, but it seems to peter out while I'm trying to cook dinner, which means I'm getting overstimulated when my sister comes home.
It's snowing here. Looks like about 4 inches so far. We'll see what we end up with. According to the meterologists, we're doing snow, then later, sleet and then freezing rain. Totals still TBD. We'll know on Monday when the front pushes out.
I'm not looking forward to attempting to walk the dog today. He is not a fan in general, and this may be up past his belly.
I worked my four hours yesterday, which was fine. Turned out there was nary a crisis to be had, so I just took calls. We were busy, with people calling to check their appointment and if we're open. Tomorrow is going to be cancellation central. I have to see if I'm going to get in my car to go get prescriptions. I'm really low on my inhaler, and they had to order it for Monday. Which is annoying.
I'm trying to decide what I have energy for this morning. I'd really like to bake something this morning, but I don't know what. I got some fresh yeast, so maybe something that requires a rise.
Aside from that, we're just going to take it easy and relax. Not much else we can do while it's actively snowing or sleeting or freezing rain.
After work yesterday, we had game. My players were in a bit battle, which wrapped up rather quickly. So, I sent them back to Arvandor which was under attack by a beast. (AKA Tarrasque). It was a chaotic battle, during which I completely forgot to use any legendary actions. Which was dumb of me, but it was still a good fight.
Once that was done, we decided to just go grab dinner rather than go to the world of pets expo. We went to the Peppermill, which is a very old-fashioned restaurant. The food was pretty good.
Tomorrow, work for me, probably not. for my sister, though. We'll see.
Okay, time for me to think about baking. Everyone have a warm and safe Sunday!
I started journalling daily because my mental health wasn't great, but I also am one of those people who will slap a bandaid on and never tell someone that they're bleeding. Back in those days, it gave me a place to be honest with myself. And the two years that Dad needed the heavy duty care, it was somewhere to vent. To talk about my frustrations and anger and feelings of being stuck. It helped to be able to pour out those feelings somwhere. And now, it's just something that I do. It's still for my mental health, of course. It's from here that I've noticed that my current ADHD med isn't lasting as long as the old one. I'm wondering if we could consider another dose of Ritalin so that it doesn't wear off quite as early. It's getting me through work, but it seems to peter out while I'm trying to cook dinner, which means I'm getting overstimulated when my sister comes home.
It's snowing here. Looks like about 4 inches so far. We'll see what we end up with. According to the meterologists, we're doing snow, then later, sleet and then freezing rain. Totals still TBD. We'll know on Monday when the front pushes out.
I'm not looking forward to attempting to walk the dog today. He is not a fan in general, and this may be up past his belly.
I worked my four hours yesterday, which was fine. Turned out there was nary a crisis to be had, so I just took calls. We were busy, with people calling to check their appointment and if we're open. Tomorrow is going to be cancellation central. I have to see if I'm going to get in my car to go get prescriptions. I'm really low on my inhaler, and they had to order it for Monday. Which is annoying.
I'm trying to decide what I have energy for this morning. I'd really like to bake something this morning, but I don't know what. I got some fresh yeast, so maybe something that requires a rise.
Aside from that, we're just going to take it easy and relax. Not much else we can do while it's actively snowing or sleeting or freezing rain.
After work yesterday, we had game. My players were in a bit battle, which wrapped up rather quickly. So, I sent them back to Arvandor which was under attack by a beast. (AKA Tarrasque). It was a chaotic battle, during which I completely forgot to use any legendary actions. Which was dumb of me, but it was still a good fight.
Once that was done, we decided to just go grab dinner rather than go to the world of pets expo. We went to the Peppermill, which is a very old-fashioned restaurant. The food was pretty good.
Tomorrow, work for me, probably not. for my sister, though. We'll see.
Okay, time for me to think about baking. Everyone have a warm and safe Sunday!
Some movies
Jan. 25th, 2026 08:37 pmlucymonsterThe Ring (2002) was a reckless stretching of my "no child-related horror" boundary that fortunately did not backfire, mostly because I spoiled myself very thoroughly for the entire plot of the movie before watching a single minute. But with ample forewarning for the bad bits, not only did it not backfire but I actually enjoyed it more than I can remember enjoying a movie in years. This is phenomenally sad and scary paranormal horror about a cursed VHS tape that kills you seven days after you watch it, and a journalist fighting to solve the mystery of the tape before she and her young son succumb to its murderous power. Aesthetically it was exquisite: everything is wretchedly grey and rainy and minimalist, but somehow never dull. The visual horror was like the distilled essence of what the word "horror" means inside my head. The suspense and fear were great, but really the heart of this story is about motherhood, and the beautiful, terrible power mothers have to save or destroy their children.
( Spoilers )
I haven't decided yet if I will watch the sequel, but I almost definitely will watch the original Japanese film that spawned this adaptation.
Hit Man (2023): Philosophy teacher Gary loves his cats, his pot plants, his job, and birdwatching. He is amicably divorced from his ex-wife, who left him because she found him too steady and yearned for a more passionate lover. Good with tech, he works part time for the New Orleans police in a surveillance van attached to undercover missions. One day, the undercover cop he works with gets pulled off duty right before a planned sting, and Gary reluctantly takes over his role as a fake "hit man" whom their would-be murderer target is attempting to hire. He surprises everyone (himself included) by putting on such a stellar performance that he's asked to become the team's permanent undercover guy. He falls into a highly successful routine: drawing on his longstanding interest in human psychology, he researches his targets and creates a tailored persona to cater to each individual's fantasy of what a mythical hit man should be. But when Gary catches feelings for one of his intended targets - Madison, a beautiful housewife who in desperation to escape is considering having her abusive husband killed - his professionalism starts to slip, and his immersion in the tough, suave persona he designed for her starts to escape the bounds of his mission in ways that change his life forever.
This was fun! I don't have a huge amount to say beyond that. It was fun, gleefully silly, and well acted on Gary/Glen Powell's side. (Madison was played by Adria Arjona from Andor, and I can't tell if she genuinely can't act or has just been typecast as a flat, misogyny-tinged "sexy vulnerable girlfriend" whose roles give her nothing to work with.) They took the John Wick approach of making the victims such repulsive humans that you don't feel bad when they bite it. (Note, that is this film's only overlap with John Wick. Despite the title, it is not a murderfest!) It didn't have much by way of substance but was a very enjoyable way to pass two hours.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) was also fun and also has not inspired me with many deep thoughts. Chinese-American economics professor Rachel Chu accompanies her boyfriend Nick Young on a trip home to Singapore to meet his family, about whom he has thus far in their relationship told her nothing. It turns out that the Young family are Singapore's foremost developers and property owners, a family of obscenely wealthy celebrities; Nick is the presumed heir to the family business and fortune, and his relatives are not impressed by his choice to involve himself with an Americanised nobody. Romcom tropes and high-stakes familial (melo)drama ensue.
Parts of the film felt like a travel ad for Singapore. One very gratuitous hawker centre scene in particular made me ravenous for Singaporean street food; there is also much ooh-ing and aah-ing over the city's architecture, and lavish displays of traditional culture in the family matriarch's mansion. The portrayal of the Young family's wealth played hopscotch along the border between lifestyle porn and existential horror; it's honestly kind of ghastly how rich they are. Like, unthinkably rich. Like, suck-all-the-joy-out-of-life rich. There's a very sad subplot where ( spoilers ) After all the luxury, I also really enjoyed the final scene where ( more spoilers ) Michelle Yeoh was also amazing as the disapproving mother - plot-wise she is firmly the antagonist striving to keep the happy couple apart, but she brought so much heart and nuance to the role that I was honestly half-cheering for her even as I hoped that Nick and Rachel would work things out.
( Spoilers )
I haven't decided yet if I will watch the sequel, but I almost definitely will watch the original Japanese film that spawned this adaptation.
Hit Man (2023): Philosophy teacher Gary loves his cats, his pot plants, his job, and birdwatching. He is amicably divorced from his ex-wife, who left him because she found him too steady and yearned for a more passionate lover. Good with tech, he works part time for the New Orleans police in a surveillance van attached to undercover missions. One day, the undercover cop he works with gets pulled off duty right before a planned sting, and Gary reluctantly takes over his role as a fake "hit man" whom their would-be murderer target is attempting to hire. He surprises everyone (himself included) by putting on such a stellar performance that he's asked to become the team's permanent undercover guy. He falls into a highly successful routine: drawing on his longstanding interest in human psychology, he researches his targets and creates a tailored persona to cater to each individual's fantasy of what a mythical hit man should be. But when Gary catches feelings for one of his intended targets - Madison, a beautiful housewife who in desperation to escape is considering having her abusive husband killed - his professionalism starts to slip, and his immersion in the tough, suave persona he designed for her starts to escape the bounds of his mission in ways that change his life forever.
This was fun! I don't have a huge amount to say beyond that. It was fun, gleefully silly, and well acted on Gary/Glen Powell's side. (Madison was played by Adria Arjona from Andor, and I can't tell if she genuinely can't act or has just been typecast as a flat, misogyny-tinged "sexy vulnerable girlfriend" whose roles give her nothing to work with.) They took the John Wick approach of making the victims such repulsive humans that you don't feel bad when they bite it. (Note, that is this film's only overlap with John Wick. Despite the title, it is not a murderfest!) It didn't have much by way of substance but was a very enjoyable way to pass two hours.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) was also fun and also has not inspired me with many deep thoughts. Chinese-American economics professor Rachel Chu accompanies her boyfriend Nick Young on a trip home to Singapore to meet his family, about whom he has thus far in their relationship told her nothing. It turns out that the Young family are Singapore's foremost developers and property owners, a family of obscenely wealthy celebrities; Nick is the presumed heir to the family business and fortune, and his relatives are not impressed by his choice to involve himself with an Americanised nobody. Romcom tropes and high-stakes familial (melo)drama ensue.
Parts of the film felt like a travel ad for Singapore. One very gratuitous hawker centre scene in particular made me ravenous for Singaporean street food; there is also much ooh-ing and aah-ing over the city's architecture, and lavish displays of traditional culture in the family matriarch's mansion. The portrayal of the Young family's wealth played hopscotch along the border between lifestyle porn and existential horror; it's honestly kind of ghastly how rich they are. Like, unthinkably rich. Like, suck-all-the-joy-out-of-life rich. There's a very sad subplot where ( spoilers ) After all the luxury, I also really enjoyed the final scene where ( more spoilers ) Michelle Yeoh was also amazing as the disapproving mother - plot-wise she is firmly the antagonist striving to keep the happy couple apart, but she brought so much heart and nuance to the role that I was honestly half-cheering for her even as I hoped that Nick and Rachel would work things out.
Nature and Bunnies!
Jan. 24th, 2026 04:43 pmmuccamukkThese are all taken with my phone, but some of them turned out okay, and I figure it's a good time for nature and bunnies?
( Ten pictures: Some nature, one cat, one rabbit, the northern lights )
( Ten pictures: Some nature, one cat, one rabbit, the northern lights )
Whose idea was this?!
Jan. 24th, 2026 11:21 pmdhampyresaI've borrowed the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 artbook. I've not finished it yet, but the art is very pretty so far. The writing, however, is fucking unreadable on account of being white on matte gold.
Book Bingo: N4 | Book Made into a Film or TV Series | Practical Magic
Jan. 24th, 2026 05:18 pmseleneheartPractical Magic by Alice Hoffman
Blurb:
I've wanted to read this book for ages because the movie is one of my favs - both for the story and the production design. The book is quite a bit different from the movie, plot-wise. The biggest difference is the location of most of the action - it does not take place in the aunts' charming house. The relationship between the sisters (all three sets) is the most important theme in the book.
Blurb:
The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman.
For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape.
One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic...
I've wanted to read this book for ages because the movie is one of my favs - both for the story and the production design. The book is quite a bit different from the movie, plot-wise. The biggest difference is the location of most of the action - it does not take place in the aunts' charming house. The relationship between the sisters (all three sets) is the most important theme in the book.
It's an urban jungle out there....
Jan. 24th, 2026 03:23 pmoursinBut so not in the way people who diss on my lovely city of residence usually mean it.
London is the only place in the UK where you can find scorpions, snakes, turtles, seals, peacocks, falcons all in one city – and not London zoo. Step outside and you will encounter a patchwork of writhing, buzzing, bubbling urban microclimates.
Sam Davenport, the director of nature recovery at the London Wildlife Trust, emphasises the sheer variation in habitats that you find in UK cities, which creates an amazing “mosaic” of wildlife.
“If you think of going out into the countryside where you have arable fields, it’s really homogeneous. But if you walk a mile in each direction of a city you’re going to get allotments, gardens, railway lines, bits of ancient woodland.”
Among the established populations:
More than 10,000 yellow-tailed scorpions (Tetratrichobothrius flavicaudis) are thought to live in the crevices of walls at Sheerness dockyard, Kent, and are believed to have spawned a second colony in the east London docklands. They arrived in the UK in the 1800s, nestled in shipments of Italian masonry.
Meanwhile, Regent’s Park provides perfect woodland conditions for the UK’s main population of Aesculapian snakes (Zamenis longissimus). One of Europe’s largest snake species, these olive-coloured constrictors are thought to be escapers from a former research facility, surviving in the wild by preying on rodents and birds.
(We are not impressed by the security arrangements of the 'former research facility', though maybe will give them a pass if, just possibly, this was a Blitz event.)
Art-loving falcons: 'Swooping from the Barbican, the falcons often spend the day at Tate Modern, just across the river'. Doesn't that conjure up an image?
Bats! - 'Wildlife experts believe they navigate much like human commuters, using linear railway embankments as guides through the city.' Bless.
And FERAL PEACOCKS!!! 'Other birds are legacies of Britain’s aristocratic past. Peacocks, for example, are known to strut through the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, feral descendants of birds once kept by the gentry'.
Mention of the pelicans in St James's Park as descendants of gifts to Charles II, but alas, no crocodiles from that era have survived.
Given this metropolitan seethingness of nature red in tooth and claw, do men really need to go on Rewilding Retreats in Cornwall? (there was a para about this in the travel section which I can't locate online) - particularly given the 'walks in ancient temperate rain forest', I felt this was folk horror movie waiting to happen - just me??
The Day in Spikedluv (Friday, Jan 23)
Jan. 24th, 2026 09:31 amspikedluvI hit Price Chopper, Tractor Supply, and the Bakery while I was downtown. (I had to look for a cat door for the automotive garage because there are stray cats that come around when Pip puts out food. He thinks they’ll take care of his rat problem if he allows them in the garage, as well as give them a place to go when it’s cold out. I think he might be opening himself up to ~other problems, such as skunks getting in that door. o_O I did not find one, so he’s having his sister (garage receptionist/book keeper) order one. Update: she couldn’t find what he was looking for online, either. Hmm.)
I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, emptied the dishwasher, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered. I placed an online order and paid a bill online. We had the meatloaf for supper.
Today’s tea was English Breakfast. I’m not a huge fan of this tea, but I drink it when I’m at Panera because they got rid of my preferred tea (Earl Grey) when they downsized to having just three types of tea bags.
I managed to write ~2,000 words on my SFBB fic! There’s light at the end of this tunnel. *g* I also watched Wild Cards, 9-1-1 and some House Hunters International.
Temps started out at 19.4(F) and reached 23.7. It got windy in the afternoon which made it very cold. I wore four layers for the walk when Pip got home from work (a pullover sweatshirt, a hoodie, a jacket, and another jacket over that), not counting the double layer of pants and the ski mask and scarves, etc. On his after-dinner walk with the dogs, Pip wore his Carrhart overalls in addition to the coat, so you know it was cold out there.
As if that isn’t bad enough . . . Tonight’s overnight low is forecasted to be -6 with a high on Saturday of 6. There’s a warning for wind chills of -23 “over the next 48 hours” so thanks for not being specific of when I’m going to become a popsicle on walks. I’m really not looking forward to this PLUS snow.
I promised to share a photo of the sunflower tea bag coasters I bought. The angle I took the photo at makes it look like some are larger than the others, but they’re all the same size.
Mom Update:
Mom sounded okay when I talked to her. She was able to eat the meatloaf the other night, though it was one of those not bad but not great situations. Her new normal, basically. She had several visitors today: my aunt and uncle in the morning, the Hospice minister, and her BFF in the afternoon. She said it was nice, but that it did tucker her out. That’s worrisome.
I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, emptied the dishwasher, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered. I placed an online order and paid a bill online. We had the meatloaf for supper.
Today’s tea was English Breakfast. I’m not a huge fan of this tea, but I drink it when I’m at Panera because they got rid of my preferred tea (Earl Grey) when they downsized to having just three types of tea bags.
I managed to write ~2,000 words on my SFBB fic! There’s light at the end of this tunnel. *g* I also watched Wild Cards, 9-1-1 and some House Hunters International.
Temps started out at 19.4(F) and reached 23.7. It got windy in the afternoon which made it very cold. I wore four layers for the walk when Pip got home from work (a pullover sweatshirt, a hoodie, a jacket, and another jacket over that), not counting the double layer of pants and the ski mask and scarves, etc. On his after-dinner walk with the dogs, Pip wore his Carrhart overalls in addition to the coat, so you know it was cold out there.
As if that isn’t bad enough . . . Tonight’s overnight low is forecasted to be -6 with a high on Saturday of 6. There’s a warning for wind chills of -23 “over the next 48 hours” so thanks for not being specific of when I’m going to become a popsicle on walks. I’m really not looking forward to this PLUS snow.
I promised to share a photo of the sunflower tea bag coasters I bought. The angle I took the photo at makes it look like some are larger than the others, but they’re all the same size.
Mom Update:
Mom sounded okay when I talked to her. She was able to eat the meatloaf the other night, though it was one of those not bad but not great situations. Her new normal, basically. She had several visitors today: my aunt and uncle in the morning, the Hospice minister, and her BFF in the afternoon. She said it was nice, but that it did tucker her out. That’s worrisome.
Fandom Snowflake Challenge: Fandom Love Letter
Jan. 24th, 2026 05:12 amrogueslayer452Challenge #03: Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.
( My love letter to fandom. )
( My love letter to fandom. )
Questions for a River: List Poem by Simmons Buntin
Jan. 24th, 2026 01:00 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
terraindotorg_feedQuestions for a River Confluence of the North and East Forks of the Lewis River Two Forks Wildlife Area, Washington Where are your headwaters? On the western slope of a fiery throat. Where do you end? There is no end, there is only flow. How do you flow? Upriver, dammed— but here, at last, the full body of myself. Who swims in your waters? Salmon and salmon peoples. Who else swims […]
The post Questions for a River:<br> List Poem by Simmons Buntin appeared first on Terrain.org.
A whisper in a deadman's ear doesn't make it real
Jan. 24th, 2026 04:45 ambeansideIt's Saturday, so why am I up so early? I'm glad you asked, let me tell you.
I was sitting at work, taking calls, making calls, doing my thing and my boss' boss comes to me and asks if I'd be willing to work on Saturday. They're concerned that the weather is going to screw us up, and they'd like extra hands on deck. But, also, they need someone to be the head of radiology's liaison. And she asked for me. As boss' boss was saying, "If you can't, you can't, but if you can, it's a really good spotlight." Since I didn't have any plans that I couldn't move, I accepted. What being P's liaison means, I have no clue. I'm just going to go in and do whatever is needed.
I don't know what is going on, but I feel like they're planning something to do with me, and I want to know what it is now. First the Dept head telling me that a potential pay bump is coming rather soon, and now this. I don't know if this is a dry run or what? I'm going to just do my best either way, but it's strange to feel pieces you can't see yet moving around you. I hope whatever it is, it comes soon. The anticipation and curiosity are killing me and I am not a patient person.
So that changes up what I'm planning for the day. Now it's work, then game, then Jess and I may go to the World of Pets Expo for a few hours. Get some toys and treats for the Boodle and the Yoda, and maybe pet a ferret. We went about 10 years ago, and it was super fun. I'm hoping maybe not as highly crowded as last time. Everyone is hopefully out preparing for the snow, or getting an early start on hunkering down.
Maybe we'll grab dinner afterwards? I have no idea. Depends on what time we finish up.
Tomorrow will be for watching the pretty snow and the slightly less pretty ice, and maybe baking cookies. I thought I had a game at 1, but it looks like it was cancelled, so I might be ambitious and bake something that needs to rise. We'll see how I feel.
I've really want to make some cinnamon rolls, so we'll see if maybe we can do that and make me and the rest of the family happy. I might cut the recipe in half, just because the regular makes 12 rolls, and I don't know that we need all that. Or, I might say fuck it and do it anyway. Extra baked goods for the win! I'm pretty sure that I have some cream cheese for the icing. If the Boodle gets me up early, I could conceivably make them for breakfast/brunch. (And lets be real, the cat hasn't let me sleep past 6am in months.)
Maybe tomorrow, we can also watch a little more tv. Either Heated Rivalry or the rest of Great British Bake Off. Or something else. We'll see how it goes. I know I want to keep my phone charged, so that if we lose power I've got something. I need to charge the power bank for my phone as well. It's currently in my sister's room, so it'll have to wait til after work to grab it and plug it in.
I think they've decided that we're getting between 7 and 12 inches of snow with some ice on top which is much less than the original 24 that I saw forecasted. That said, if the coastal system hits harder than expected, that could still change. I figure I'll believe the total when I wake up Monday and see what's there. Sadly, with working from home, I won't be getting Monday off. My commute will be clear and snow free.
The other thing right now is that it is cold as fuck. It is currently about 8 degrees, with a high of 20. I am not amused. As I'm aging, I don't do as well in the cold as I used to. I get cold easier, and my asthma hates the cold air. When we come in, I have to sit for a couple of minutes to catch my breath if the puppy has wanted to go fast. Plus we usually try to hurry him up the steps so no one comes out from their house while we're out there, so that's another bit of running. I need to start increasing my stamina. I was doing really well before I got the cold/cough/flu at New Year's. That has completely blown my walks. I was going around the block with the dog, and now we're just walking out in front. I'll work on getting myself back in semi-shape once the brutal cold is done.
Okay, time for me to hop off and do a little prep for our 12:30 game. The party is in a sticky situation, and I'll be interested to see how they get out of it. I have a few decisions as far as what I'm going to do with the baddies next turns. Thinky thoughts! Everyone have an excellent Saturday and stay safe and warm!
I was sitting at work, taking calls, making calls, doing my thing and my boss' boss comes to me and asks if I'd be willing to work on Saturday. They're concerned that the weather is going to screw us up, and they'd like extra hands on deck. But, also, they need someone to be the head of radiology's liaison. And she asked for me. As boss' boss was saying, "If you can't, you can't, but if you can, it's a really good spotlight." Since I didn't have any plans that I couldn't move, I accepted. What being P's liaison means, I have no clue. I'm just going to go in and do whatever is needed.
I don't know what is going on, but I feel like they're planning something to do with me, and I want to know what it is now. First the Dept head telling me that a potential pay bump is coming rather soon, and now this. I don't know if this is a dry run or what? I'm going to just do my best either way, but it's strange to feel pieces you can't see yet moving around you. I hope whatever it is, it comes soon. The anticipation and curiosity are killing me and I am not a patient person.
So that changes up what I'm planning for the day. Now it's work, then game, then Jess and I may go to the World of Pets Expo for a few hours. Get some toys and treats for the Boodle and the Yoda, and maybe pet a ferret. We went about 10 years ago, and it was super fun. I'm hoping maybe not as highly crowded as last time. Everyone is hopefully out preparing for the snow, or getting an early start on hunkering down.
Maybe we'll grab dinner afterwards? I have no idea. Depends on what time we finish up.
Tomorrow will be for watching the pretty snow and the slightly less pretty ice, and maybe baking cookies. I thought I had a game at 1, but it looks like it was cancelled, so I might be ambitious and bake something that needs to rise. We'll see how I feel.
I've really want to make some cinnamon rolls, so we'll see if maybe we can do that and make me and the rest of the family happy. I might cut the recipe in half, just because the regular makes 12 rolls, and I don't know that we need all that. Or, I might say fuck it and do it anyway. Extra baked goods for the win! I'm pretty sure that I have some cream cheese for the icing. If the Boodle gets me up early, I could conceivably make them for breakfast/brunch. (And lets be real, the cat hasn't let me sleep past 6am in months.)
Maybe tomorrow, we can also watch a little more tv. Either Heated Rivalry or the rest of Great British Bake Off. Or something else. We'll see how it goes. I know I want to keep my phone charged, so that if we lose power I've got something. I need to charge the power bank for my phone as well. It's currently in my sister's room, so it'll have to wait til after work to grab it and plug it in.
I think they've decided that we're getting between 7 and 12 inches of snow with some ice on top which is much less than the original 24 that I saw forecasted. That said, if the coastal system hits harder than expected, that could still change. I figure I'll believe the total when I wake up Monday and see what's there. Sadly, with working from home, I won't be getting Monday off. My commute will be clear and snow free.
The other thing right now is that it is cold as fuck. It is currently about 8 degrees, with a high of 20. I am not amused. As I'm aging, I don't do as well in the cold as I used to. I get cold easier, and my asthma hates the cold air. When we come in, I have to sit for a couple of minutes to catch my breath if the puppy has wanted to go fast. Plus we usually try to hurry him up the steps so no one comes out from their house while we're out there, so that's another bit of running. I need to start increasing my stamina. I was doing really well before I got the cold/cough/flu at New Year's. That has completely blown my walks. I was going around the block with the dog, and now we're just walking out in front. I'll work on getting myself back in semi-shape once the brutal cold is done.
Okay, time for me to hop off and do a little prep for our 12:30 game. The party is in a sticky situation, and I'll be interested to see how they get out of it. I have a few decisions as far as what I'm going to do with the baddies next turns. Thinky thoughts! Everyone have an excellent Saturday and stay safe and warm!
Pilgrimage, private life, mortality
Jan. 23rd, 2026 10:21 pmsovayOn a theory, I believe, of sustaining me on literature, my parents very unexpectedly presented me with my own copy of Leslie Howard's Trivial Fond Records (ed. Ronald Howard, 1982), which seems to have shipped from the UK as if the international post just worked.
Well, here we are, the 29th of July, 1940. What have we done with all the years since 1918? Armistice night in Piccadilly Circus is so vivid in the memory, it seems like last Wednesday week. What did happen to all those years – and what have we done with them? It seems we are back where we began. Anyway, there it is on the calendar, July 1940, and this war has been on for eleven months. And I am in London speaking these words, and when I am finished talking to you I shall go out of this building, past sandbags and bayonets, into streets of medieval blackness. As I hunt for the two pin-points of light that represent a taxi it will be about two a.m. here, which is nine in the evening your time, and I shan't be able to resist a thought of the dazzling glare which at that moment is lighting the sky above New York's Great White Way. I daresay there isn't an Englishman alive who is more familiar than I with Broadway at nine o'clock on a summer's evening.
Well, here we are, the 29th of July, 1940. What have we done with all the years since 1918? Armistice night in Piccadilly Circus is so vivid in the memory, it seems like last Wednesday week. What did happen to all those years – and what have we done with them? It seems we are back where we began. Anyway, there it is on the calendar, July 1940, and this war has been on for eleven months. And I am in London speaking these words, and when I am finished talking to you I shall go out of this building, past sandbags and bayonets, into streets of medieval blackness. As I hunt for the two pin-points of light that represent a taxi it will be about two a.m. here, which is nine in the evening your time, and I shan't be able to resist a thought of the dazzling glare which at that moment is lighting the sky above New York's Great White Way. I daresay there isn't an Englishman alive who is more familiar than I with Broadway at nine o'clock on a summer's evening.
posts I am not making
Jan. 23rd, 2026 07:17 pmsnickficEvery time I think about making a post, it just makes me tired. This is how fic writing is going also. Anyway, some things I would post about if I had the energy:
- Heated Rivalry
- movies I've seen (Impromptu, Testament of Ann Lee)
- my recent hip hop binge and especially why I like Glorilla so much
- the Oscars
- like five different![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
snowflake_challenge posts
- Heated Rivalry
- movies I've seen (Impromptu, Testament of Ann Lee)
- my recent hip hop binge and especially why I like Glorilla so much
- the Oscars
- like five different
snowflake_challenge postsPleins Ecrans: Free short film festival this week-next
Jan. 23rd, 2026 09:44 pmioplokonCheck out this free, online short film festival out of Quebec. They have a cool selection of films - lots of LGBT/queer stuff! And there are English subtitles.
Snowflake Challenge 02026 #12: A Token of Our Appreciation
Jan. 23rd, 2026 05:19 pmsilveradeptsnowflake_challenge would like us to take a moment, for challenge #12, and appreciate the people who make life better for you in your fandoms.Challenge #12
Make an appreciation post to those who enhance your fandom life. Appreciate them in bullet points, prose, poetry, a moodboard, a song… whatever moves you!
( I am not a rock, but neither am I someone who is in a great amount of community. )
Finally, I say this almost every time I talk about it, not because I believe that she'll ever come across it, but if that moonshot ever does happen, I want her to know it with certainty: Caroline, if you're still out there, we love 9th Elsewhere. And while we hope that maybe you'll pick it back up and bring it to a close, what we really want you to know is that the journey that Eiji and Carmen have taken holds a special place in all of us, so thank you for what you've done. I hope that knowing you have people who are fans and who have found this particular journey meaningful helps you with your own life, wherever you may be, and whatever you might be doing right now. I would love the opportunity to discuss umbrella-related poses with you again at some point.
Sons and Ones
Jan. 23rd, 2026 09:28 pmalobearSon of Sin by Omar Sakr is a queer Muslim coming-of-age story, following Jamal, who is raised in an abusive household, constantly terrified of all the sins his family warns him about committing. It tracks his late adolescence and early adulthood, as he travels to various parts of the world, seeking a family connection and a potential relationship with several other young men.
It's beautifully written, though the poetic prose is interspersed with quite a lot of swearing, explicit sexual content and crudeness, which is a bit odd. It's also relentlessly depressing, with Jamal continually facing rejection, violence, and homophobia. It did keep me reading, but I didn't hold out much hope for any kind of positive ending. The final image of the book will definitely stay with me - and not in a good way.
The One by John Marrs is a near-future thriller about a world where scientists have discovered a gene that connects each person to their perfect romantic match. It's split into five completely separate narratives, following different people's lives as they are affected in various ways by being matched. It's entertaining and pulled me along effectively - but it was also pretty disappointing in terms of lack of diversity amongst the protagonists (all under 40, attractive, able-bodied, white, and ostensibly straight). There was also some repetition of plot points across more than one story, and the directions each thread took were less interesting than some of the reported instances of matches gone wrong that are mentioned along the way. So, it was a fun enough listen, but didn't make as much of the premise as it could have done.
It's beautifully written, though the poetic prose is interspersed with quite a lot of swearing, explicit sexual content and crudeness, which is a bit odd. It's also relentlessly depressing, with Jamal continually facing rejection, violence, and homophobia. It did keep me reading, but I didn't hold out much hope for any kind of positive ending. The final image of the book will definitely stay with me - and not in a good way.
The One by John Marrs is a near-future thriller about a world where scientists have discovered a gene that connects each person to their perfect romantic match. It's split into five completely separate narratives, following different people's lives as they are affected in various ways by being matched. It's entertaining and pulled me along effectively - but it was also pretty disappointing in terms of lack of diversity amongst the protagonists (all under 40, attractive, able-bodied, white, and ostensibly straight). There was also some repetition of plot points across more than one story, and the directions each thread took were less interesting than some of the reported instances of matches gone wrong that are mentioned along the way. So, it was a fun enough listen, but didn't make as much of the premise as it could have done.
snowflake day 12: appreciation
Jan. 23rd, 2026 02:25 pmsixbeforelunch
Challenge #12: Make an appreciation post to those who enhance your fandom life.
I'm going to call one person out by name, and hope that I'm not putting her on the spot.
beatrice_otter has been my primary beta and person I bounce ideas off of for almost 10 years now and she is endlessly supportive and willing to listen to me flail around, as well as helpful in catching plot holes and telling me when I've lost the plot entirely, and catching my myriad typos and homophone confusions. I'm not sure Pi'maat would exist without her help and occasional gentle head pats telling me it's going to be okay, and I am very glad to have her in my fandom life.I'm also hugely fond of the people in both the Ad Astra and vuhlkansu Discords for having the sort of deep-dive worldbuilding conversations where, to take an actual recent example, you start out with someone trying to make a better representation of a canon map of an alien planet and end up trying to work out how plate tectonics could produce those mountain ranges and figure out what that sort of water-to-land ratio would really do to the climate.
And of course, Dreamwidth is fantastic. It really feels like a town, small enough to have a genuine community vibe, but not so small that you can't find new stuff from time to time. I genuinely appreciate all of you for being here, for listening to me talk about my various obsessions, and for posting about your own interests and creative pursuits. 💛
A lot of the credit for that has to go to
![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
denise and Mark for sticking with this project for 17 years, and sticking to their principles, not taking VC money, not monetizing the community, and generally being pro-social and decent humans, which is sadly not as common as it should be in people who run social platforms.