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([personal profile] yamamanama Oct. 26th, 2025 05:47 pm)
A passenger on the way in looked like Yuki (this means nothing to you but I’ll say that she’s Japanese and Italian and if she has tattoos, I am unaware of them) and had a Moomin tattooed on her ankle.

The whole season is things that end in triumph or at least a possibility of hope. Mahler 3, Bruckner 7. This is a difficult time for the country and we all need it right now.
An “All Mahler” program would just be one symphony. An all-Brahms program is the typical symphony and a concerto.

Brahms was the most indecisive composer ever. He wanted to write a symphony. It took him years to overcome his feelings of being in Beethoven’s shadow. He also played piano in a brothel, had a late puberty at 24, and had a high voice that embarrassed him.
At the age of 20, he went to visit Robert Schumann and he had Clara listen to him play the piano.
Schuman threw himself in the river Rhine while suffering from auditory and visual hallucinations and spent the rest of his life in an asylum.
Brahms lived with Clara and her seven children (she had 8 but one died in infancy). She was 35, he was 22. He also felt a bit of an infatuation that never amounted to anything more than an intense friendship. The second movement of the concerto is a portrait of her.
The first movement has a intense ferocity that is heard nowhere else. Begins with a roar of the timpani, a B♭ major theme. Then F major. Then brooding passion. Here, the orchestra and the piano are once again equals. This work began life as a symphony, after all, and they meet in symphonic proportions. And then a piano duet. Sonata form, of course. A horn call from the mysterious wildlands (when I do these, I’m furiously scrawling down these things and if I slow down to make my writing legible, I’d miss too much. So I’m not actually sure what word I used there. Wildlands? Woodlands?). In those days, people’d usually clap at the end of each movement but nobody clapped to this when it premiered. In fact, they hissed at the end.
The second movement is a hymn in C major and if you don’t believe things can be sad in a major key, you’re wrong. You can hear Schumann’s death here. The final cadenza doesn’t show off but reaches into the soul.
The third movement is a Hungarian Romany dance, a thing Brahms was obsessed with, in a 6/4 meter, which is tricky because it can be 1-2 1-2 1-2 or 1-2-3 1-2-3 or 1-2-3-4-5-6 or in this case, all of the above. The third symphony has 6/4 meter so it’d be too much to pair those things.
And then a fugue because Brahms was going through a Bach phase that transmuted into a Bach-with-a-side-of-Mozart-and-Palestrina phase when he wrote the fugue, and I was thinking of somehing Caiti said about her father going through a Bach phase in college and then Caiti herself going through a Bach phase that was really more a Tchaikovsky-with-a-little-Bach-on-the-side phase with a bit of Schubert and she thought about going through future phases with Chopin and Debussy and Handel and Vivaldi and Rimsky-Korsakov.
The last ten years for me have been an extended John Adams phase and I went through a Henry Cowell phase a decade ago and my college classical phase was Gustav Mahler in that summer everything fell apart and Ralph Vaughan Williams in the Caitlin days, which was mixed in with Flying Saucer Attack and Airiel and Cocteau Twins and Future Sound of London. Now is a Gerald Finzi phase. Berlioz as well because autumn is for French Romantics.

The encores were a Chopin prelude and a rather stately Chopin mazurka that I thought was a polonaise neither of which I know which specific ones they are.

At 29, Brahms decided he’d write a symphony. For real this time. He finished it at age 43.
At the start, the symphony is going boom boom boom and the wind players are coming down and the cellos and the vilins are going up converging on each other. And sometimes the timpani plays too loud. There’s the sound of fate knocking at the door. He just can’t escape. There’s a repeated section that is usually excised because it goes nowhere and adds nothing.
It ends in C major but that’s lost in the audience coughing.
The second and third movements are brief intermezzos. Warm, sunny E major, with various solos. And then Romany music.
The fourth movement sounds best in Symphony Hall and we’re not just saying that because it’s in Boston. A two part overture in a tragically distorted theme. A storm. A roar from the timpani, and the clouds breaks and we get this outpouring from the French horn and the trombones enter for the first time in this entire symphony. There’s a chorale and structurally, it's very similar to Beethoven's Ode to Joy minus the chorus, and it ends in C major and in a scream for joy.

This symphony has been referred to as Beethoven’s 10th but Brahms disliked that implication of plaigarism rather than the homage it was.

I drew Francesca and Marina and Abby though I’m not entirely sure who’s who and there were two of them whose names I didn’t get.

burning question: why would Republican provocateurs even need to show up when they can just fake it with AI and their base of terminally online 70-year-olds and terminally online 20-year-olds would eat it up?
senmut: Pixelated image in sepia tones of Jareth and Sarah (Labyrinth: Jareth and sarah in Sepia)
([personal profile] senmut Oct. 26th, 2025 03:30 pm)
I wasn't going to do it, until I saw people just going with the first fic of that letter.

Rules: How many letters of the alphabet have you used for starting a fic title? One fic per line, ‘A’ and 'The’ do not count for 'a’ and ’t’. Post your score out of 26 at the end, along with your total fic count.


A - Abandoned to be Annealed - a what if of Mara Jade as Rey's mother for The Force Awakens and Star Wars Expanded Universe (Legends).
B - Bachelor Threatened - Vorkosigan Drabble for Ivan
C - Caesar's Dalliance - Ancient RPF, Julius Caesar/Cleopatra VII fic
D - D:BH Drabbles - 6 drabbles for the Detroit: Become Human game
E - Ear For It - A Radar O'Reilly ficlet toying with his ESP concept from M*A*S*H

F - Face Off - DCUA ficlet with Dinah and Slade at odds
G - Galactic Rim - A PacRim fusion for SW:TCW with Rex & Ahsoka
H - Had it Easy - Heinlein's Future History, a drabble of Sharpie
I - I Could See Him - Pitch Black drabble that proves I am a sadist at times (Carolyn's POV of her final moments)
J - Jack on Dying - huh, a second Pitch Black, this one Jack's POV on death (not theirs)

K - K-7 Surprise - ST:TOS Fluff (and recent!)
L - Ladies Bingo: Column Five - multi-fandom ladies' ficlets
M - Ma'at's Blessings - Prince of Egypt Ramses/Moses fic
N - Name Day Celebration - Star Wars PT/TCW fluff for Kit/Aayla/Bly
O - Objective - SG-1 drabble of Vala

P - Pacific Rim Meme Responses - Multi-fandom PacRim fusions
Q - The Quantum Case - Quantum Leap noir ficlet
R - Rabbit Holes - SG-1/Sanctuary drabble crossover
S - Saber and Robe - SW:PT crack ficlet
T - T'hy'la - ST:TOS drabble (could it be anything but?)

U - Uncharted Seas - Harper Hall triple drabble for Alemi/Elgion
V - Vacation Among Family - Talents Series set during the Pegasus books.
W - Wager - DCU, Cassie/Rose drabble
X - X's and O's - ST:TOS, Spock/Bones double drabble
Y - Yer a Wizard, Drizzt - Legend of Drizzt AU where he was made to become a wizard.
Z - Zaknafein - Legend of Drizzt AU that was set up more like a fairy tale.

26 of 26, and I could have listed one for numerals, though none for symbols.

Thoughts? My tendency to writing small snippets of fic is on display. Most of the longer fics in this list were written for Exchanges. I am shocked Transformers didn't pop up. Pretty wide spread of my fandoms, though.
Tags:
There's research that if you leave people in a room with an electro-shock shock device long enough to get bored they will deliberately shock themselves.

In other news I took Sophia's phone away from the kids while they were in the bath and now they're repeatedly pouring cold water over themselves while shrieking like baboons.
Tags:
maju: Clean my kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] maju Oct. 26th, 2025 11:11 am)
I'm feeling tired and I've got a headache this morning. I woke up with a plan to go for a longish run this morning after the temperature had risen slightly from the morning low of 5°C/41°F, but by the time that had happened I had turned into a lump and was not at all motivated to go out. So here I am watching "Call the Midwife" with no plans to do anything constructive today. I may or may not go for a walk this afternoon, but I don't think that will happen. I guess I'm giving myself permission to be a sloth today.
susandennis: (Default)
([personal profile] susandennis Oct. 26th, 2025 07:42 am)
Apparently, we had a power outage last night. Not for very long, but long enough to reset the coffee maker and the microwave clock. Everything else recovered before I woke up. We did have storms - wind and rain. Not as bad as Seattle and other areas but enough, I guess.

I spent most of the day making snowmen. The first one is nearly the best but it is way too fiddly and I don't like the nose. I fixed the nose issue, but don't like the second - non fiddly - one nearly as much. I want them to be easy to produce a bunch without getting tired of them. And they need to be cute. I have some new ideas for prototype number 3. I'll do it up today.

There is nothing killer on the brunch menu so I think I'll go swim and then come home and make my own brunch. Then I plan to give all the filters on the washing machine, a good scrub and try a small test load.

Julio has two new toys that are, of course, automated. They turn on at intervals. One will start up if he plays with it hard enough. Just now they are both 'asleep' and he is wandering from one to the other looking for some action and not getting any. It's pretty funny.

I think I'll go pop into my suit and get my swim in. They are closing the pool next week to change the sand filters. The scheduler told me I could swim in the morning as long as I was out my 9 and then that is it, probably until Friday or Saturday. It is so wonderful to have such a beautifully maintained pool, it is hard to begrudge them a week so I'm going to be happy that my skin will maybe not be as dry and I can sleep late every single day.

PXL_20251025_200041104
Untitled Untitled

I did it! Slower than my previous half marathon, but still managed to complete in under 3 hours, as I hoped I would.

Read more... )
sabotabby: (possums)
([personal profile] sabotabby Oct. 26th, 2025 08:19 am)
I faithfully go to the Kensington Festival of Lights every year, but I haven't been to its darker, spookier, sister festival, the Night of Dread, in forever. It's run by Clay and Paper out of Dufferin Grove Park (for non-Torontonians, this is one of the best parks in the city, though in recent years it has fallen victim to violent encampment sweeps over the protests of nearly everyone who uses it).

IMG_3287

what lies within? )
dustbunny105: (Default)
([personal profile] dustbunny105 Oct. 25th, 2025 08:01 pm)
Heck of a day today! The con was fun, as usual, but they really need to be booking larger venues. There's no way the amount of people they had in the ballroom at once was up to code. I kept worrying about my niece getting squished, even though everyone was doing their best to be careful and respectful of everyone else. I felt so bad for the people using wheelchairs and crutches.
senmut: The cast of Sinners on the field of reds, blacks, and muted colors, sinners in bold yellow (Sinners: Cover)
([personal profile] senmut Oct. 26th, 2025 11:00 am)
Oh you played the Trap Card! You asked about 2 near & dear movies!

5 things about the Moore boys. )
senmut: 3/4 view from the front side of Eliot, Parker, and Hardison (Leverage: OT3 take 2)
([personal profile] senmut Oct. 25th, 2025 07:04 pm)
Their Holidays or read at SquidgeWorld (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Leverage (US TV 2008)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer
Characters: Eliot Spencer (Leverage), Parker (Leverage), Alec Hardison
Additional Tags: Drabble
Summary:

They each have their own.






Eliot paid attention to the veteran holidays. He didn't much care for the complex behind it now, having seen all the ways it was abused, but most of those vets had died believing in an impossible dream worth protecting.

Parker, of course, was all about Santa and Christmas. She got to make up for the shitty holidays she'd seen as a kid.

But Hardison? Hardison went all out for Halloween. Decorations, costumes, and enough candy to kill a dentist was his philosophy. No one who showed up left empty handed, not even the parents. He needed them to be happy.
maju: Clean my kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] maju Oct. 25th, 2025 04:08 pm)
The original person from the moving company who I talked with about what I'll be having moved told me someone would be calling me about three days before the move to finalise the inventory, so I was expecting the call to be tomorrow or maybe even Monday. However, this afternoon a call came from a number unknown to me and I decided I'd better answer it just in case it was that call. It was, and the guy went through my original list to check numbers, and I was able to add more boxes and a couple of other things, as well as confirming that they will be taking the stuff to storage for at least a month. This call has been one of the things causing me a lot of anxiety - I was worried about being able to add to the number of boxes, I was worried about whether they would think they should deliver the stuff to my daughter's, and I was worried about just when the call would come - so having it happen earlier than I was expecting, and at a time when I was quietly at home, was a relief. They did charge me extra for having more boxes than I had originally estimated, but I was expecting that.

Now I will be waiting for one more call in a couple of days, to tell me what time to expect the movers on Wednesday. Then I'll just squeeze all that's left into my car and be out of here.
senmut: A lion's face covered by both his paws (General: Double facepaw)
([personal profile] senmut Oct. 25th, 2025 03:07 pm)
oooh let's see what I've wandered over recently in this wondrous world of ours:

Doll's Eyes - I have never seen it in the wild, but I have recognized its use in some creepy movies where the plants seemingly watch people. Honestly, I was glad I stumbled over it in reading things before I ever had a chance to see it in the wild. It's nice and spooky.

The Black Bat Flower is less creepy to me, and more o.O at how it developed. Plants that mimic animal shapes fascinate me. (There's a carrion plant that resembles a sea-star / star fish, for instance).

Bleeding Heart - the first "creepy" flower I ever read about, I think. I think they look fascinating, actually.

and critters:

Dragon Headed Caterpillar - it evolves, as all catties do, but the larval stage is just so CUTE to me.

Flying Snakes - My uncle's worst nightmare, given his deep-seated phobia once led him to sink the boat he was in due to a snake flopping into it with him. I love the idea of these guys just LAUNCHING themselves through the air.

Fossa - the jokes about cats running on dog software (hyena) and dogs running on cat software (foxes), have NOTHING on this critter that is a mongoose-type running on cat software. Very predator, very fierce.

Markhor - but it's just a goat, right? CHECK OUT THOSE HORNS! I had to give my tiefling OC those horns because they are TOO COOL.

Tufted Deer - cute name, right? When's the last time you saw a deer with FANGS?! Seriously, I saw these and started trying to figure out WHY they evolved those.

I hope you enjoyed these!
Tags:
xinas_island: Me as a Pink Haired Avatar (Shy  (Avatar-Rainbow))
([personal profile] xinas_island Oct. 25th, 2025 11:08 am)
Alrighty then. 😄

Our Flu and covid shots are all done for another year now🥳.

We got our invites Wednesday, and Thursday morning was available as an appointment, so we snagged 9:30am. Funny thing was that the system was a bit wonked, so there were five or six of us booked in at the 9:30am slot. 😂  Didn't really matter too much, as the pharmacy we go to for the shots just whipped through each person at a good pace, so no one was waiting too long. 
Once we got our shots we stopped off at a nearby (next door to the pharmacy 😄) restaurant and had a nice breakfast before heading home. ❤️


It's been pretty normal on the shots front so far. Yay! 🥳
Getting the usual side effects we tend to get every time, aches and fatigue for us both.  And for me, a mean ole sore ichy and hot welt on my arm on the site. 

Today the welt is better on me, and I don't notice the shot site as much anymore, so it's getting there. Usually is fine after a week or so.
maju: Clean my kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] maju Oct. 25th, 2025 01:35 pm)
I was tempted to skip parkrun this morning because the temperature was only around 41°F/5°C when it was time to go, but I put on several layers of clothes and wore a headband and went, and I wasn't sorry, and I ended up without the headband and with only a thin long sleeved shirt over my t-shirt. I'd forgotten that when the temperature is around 40°F to 50°F (4°C to 10°C) it's basically perfect running weather. I guess I'm still feeling cautious about venturing out in those temperatures because of the problems I had with my nose bleeding last winter, but my nose was fine this morning and conditions were great for a run, and in fact I managed my fastest time this year. I'm still very slow at a bit over 37 minutes for 5 km/3.1 miles, but apparently that's 66.09% of my age grade so not too bad. There were three of us "back of the packers" battling it out (one a few years older and one a few years younger than me) which is always fun.

There were some fun Halloween costumes at parkrun, including a very impressive turkey costume featuring lots of white feathery bits and huge yellow "feet" over the person's running shoes, although come to think of it, I'm not sure why it would be a turkey for Halloween.

On the way home I stopped off at Safeway for a couple of food items to see me through until moving day. I'm going to have to do more shopping either on moving day or the next day for food for the week in the AirBnB, but I'm not going to think about that yet.
maju: Clean my kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] maju Oct. 25th, 2025 01:24 pm)
This set of questions feels like it's aimed at someone quite a bit younger than I am.

21. What do you like most about your job? What do you dislike most about your job? I don't have a job, but if you consider "being retired" as work, what I like about it is that my time is my own and what I don't like about it is that sometimes it's hard to motivate myself to do something.

22. What’s something new you recently learned about yourself? Nothing comes to mind.

23. In one sentence, how would you describe your relationship with your mother? She died some years ago, but before that it was nonexistent because I had cut off contact with her.

24. What was the most defining moment in your life during this past year? I can't think of anything in the past twelve months that would count as a defining moment. If you go back a few months further than that, it's a different story.

25. What’s the number one change you need to make in your life in the next twelve months? I'm in the process of making it - moving to Connecticut.
susandennis: (Default)
([personal profile] susandennis Oct. 25th, 2025 09:04 am)
So apparently, my fancy assed GE combo washer/drier which I really love, needs hand holding by a representative of the mother ship every six months. Yesterday, after 5 hours, the clothes were still wet. Really wet. So I hung them up all over the apartment and logged into my extended warranty and set up an appointment. Tuesday afternoon. I just cleaned all the filters but I'll do it again and then do a test run in hopes that it was just a one time glitch. I really do love the machine but fuck me, I'd love it better if it weren't so needy.

I had just finished watching something Oh the new Boston Blue (I think one episode is enough of that one), when I got a text from my nephew. "What do you think of this?" hmmmmm It was a head scratcher. I try to keep up with the kids these days but I failed... so I responded "What this?"

Turns out he meant the world series game which I had ignored so successfully, I forgot it was even on. I popped over to Fox and OMG. The score was Blue Jays 11 and Dodgers 2 in the 7th. NOT what I expected. I actually watched a little but those broadcasters chased me into mute and then I gave up entirely. I'm glad they won one.

Steve reminded me this morning that it's time to start working on Christmas dolls. He thinks, since the bunnies of last Easter and the pumpkin people/ghosts, that I'll be doing every season. Nope. BUT I might make up a bunch of snow men. I don't have a pattern perfected but I have some ideas. I need some brown pipe cleaner and orange fimo clay. After elbow coffee.

I have this weird patch of dry skin on the palm of my right hand. I've actually had it before and now it's back. I think it's from the pool. While doing laps, I push off the side with the palm of my right hand. I need to not do that and see if the dry patch clears up. It's itchy and uncomfortable.

I need to get dressed and put away all the now dry clothes hanging around before I head out to the elbow.

PXL_20251025_015343177.jpg
senmut: an owl that is quite large sitting on a roof (Default)
([personal profile] senmut Oct. 25th, 2025 11:14 am)
[Podfic of] Stake-Out? (38 words) by kbirb pods
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Faith Lehane, Dana Scully, Fox Mulder
Additional Tags: Drabble, Podfic, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Audio Format: Download
Series: Part 55 of graveyard smash, Part 72 of vending machine of podfic snacks [under 5 min pods, 2025 edition]
Summary:

Length: 1 minute
Summary:

She knows better than to follow him on the weird cases.

Podfic of Stake-Out? by Merfilly.

andrewducker: (Default)
([personal profile] andrewducker Oct. 25th, 2025 10:29 am)


One of these children won at Ticket To Ride: First Journey, the other...did not.
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.



Eight works new to me. Three fantasies, two horror, two SF, and one hard-to-classify RPG. One of the SF books is pretty horrory, so maybe that should be three fantasies, three horror, one SF, and one hard-to-classify RPG.

Books Received, October 18 — October 24

Poll #33761 Books Received, October 18 — October 24
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 46


Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

Abyss by Nicholas Binge (May 2026)
5 (10.9%)

Testimony of Mute Things by Lois McMaster Bujold (October 2025)
26 (56.5%)

Morsel by Carter Keane (April 2026)
3 (6.5%)

The Cove by Claire Rose (May 2026)
5 (10.9%)

Outgunned by Riccardo ​“Rico” Sirignano & Simone Formicola, with art by Daniela Giubellini (December 2024)
4 (8.7%)

And Side by Side They Wander by Molly Tanzer (May 2026)
16 (34.8%)

Lightning Runes by Harry Turtledove (March 2026)
8 (17.4%)

A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo (May 2026)
23 (50.0%)

Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
35 (76.1%)

elusivek: (books)
([personal profile] elusivek Oct. 25th, 2025 07:57 pm)
IMG_1305 The God of the Woods
Liz Moore
Amazon Product Link

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +

I’m starting to feel really impressed by my local library having all these Libby books and audiobooks available - with no waiting time. Or I’m just lucky, and the service is still new so not many people use it, but yeah.

I find there are many unbelievable parts in this book.

Barbara goes missing, and (spoilers) it ended up she went into hiding. Conceptually it’s all fine, but how believable is that? She’s described as being a goth (hair dyed black, black eyeliner) but also skillful in the ways of camping? To me, it feels a bit far fetched.

I got particularly miffed at the Louise’s parts. Well yeah, I really hate it when reading about some innocent being accused, but then honestly Louise wasn’t helping herself either, what with her lying as well.

Overall not a bad read, but I think there were quite a few unnecessary POVs (Tracy’s, for one). Also, the author seemed to be writing all these elaborate scenes, giving lengthy explanations, but then at the end of it… wrapped up pretty quickly. I was like “huh?” And it ended.
Tags:
lovelyangel: Homura from Homura Tamura v2 (Homura Nonplussed)
([personal profile] lovelyangel Oct. 24th, 2025 07:42 pm)
Boxes of Manga, Staged for Sorting and Shelving
Boxes of Manga, Staged for Sorting and Shelving
iPhone 13 mini photo

Two Weeks Ago I did not have any functional bookshelves and was waiting for delivery of replacements. I expected a long wait, but, surprisingly, the bookshelves were delivered and installed one week later, on Friday, October 17. I could finally start sorting and loading books into the bookwall.

Meticulous Chaos, Below the Cut )

I’ve had to cut a lot of books. *snif* But it’s pretty clear (to me) that all the books that are now visible in the bookwall are books that I really love. I want to revisit them all (and I’ll be hard-pressed for time to do just that).
dustbunny105: (Default)
([personal profile] dustbunny105 Oct. 24th, 2025 07:11 pm)
We made it in good time to Chicago, even though we took a little longer than expected for lunch. Did I mention/confirm that my niece-- sister's oldest-- came with us? Well, she did. The two of us got our tickets registered tonight, so we'll be able to go right in when we get there tomorrow morning.

Gonna try and sleep immediately after posting this-- it's already a little later than I wanted, tbh. We need to get up early if we're gonna have breakfast before catching the shuttle!
senmut: A painted picture of Bones McCoy (Star Trek: Bones McCoy)
([personal profile] senmut Oct. 24th, 2025 07:00 pm)
And on to 2009. Totally working for the Evol Empire and I think picking up security shifts to try and make ends meet. Doubt I had much time for movies.

Hmm, four films. Saw a couple others, but they were less memorable.

Fast & Furious - The point when I knew for fact the franchise didn't actually aim for the direction I had seen. Fun, but not my cuppa in the end.

Star Trek - I'd been on the fence, Stuart talked me into it, and the first few minutes were RAD as FUCK! My introduction to Chris Hemsworth. A fun movie, Urban fucking nailed it.

Up - another film where the first few minutes were just phenomenal. Shortest, best love story ever. And then the film kept me loving it.

Where the Wild Things Are - I was never on the fence. I knew I was going to see it. I had no idea how much it was going to tear into my childhood trauma and issues, but it did it the best way possible.
senmut: Clara from Doctor Who, to the right of the frame, at a 3/4ths angle (Doctor Who: Clara)
([personal profile] senmut Oct. 24th, 2025 05:48 pm)
Squeaky or read at SquidgeWorld (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Jack Harkness
Additional Tags: Drabble
Summary:

After the Zygons, Jack has a conundrum






Escaping the latest Zygon impersonation had been hard enough, Jack decided, but now he had a conundrum.

It looked at him with its tail sticking up like the antenna of a bumper car and meowed at him with the most pitiful squeak ever.

"I saved you this time. What if you're a Zygon in disguise? Hmm? Or just if you wander into my life all the time, you're going to get hurt, or worse!" Jack admonished.

Another squeaky meow, and Jack tucked the kitten in his coat pocket again, adding a stop at the local shop to his must do.
maju: Clean my kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] maju Oct. 24th, 2025 01:01 pm)
Yesterday afternoon I spent a couple of hours with my friend P (from parkrun), sitting peacefully in her cosy living room chatting and working on knitting/crochet projects. It was very pleasant, and I'll miss her company after I move. We're tentatively planning another (final) walk together at the end of next week, after I've moved out of here (providing the weather continues to be fine).

The real estate agent came over before lunch to pick up most of my house keys; I of course had to keep one so I can continue going in and out of my house. When he asked how I'm doing I told him how anxious and stressed I've been, and how I'm worried about fitting everything in the car etc. He looked at all the things I've got piled up and assured me breezily that I'll be fine. I hope he's right. He also kept telling me I'm looking wonderful, and that he's had other clients calling him in tears because they don't know how to proceed or something is too hard. He seems to be confident that the house will sell in two or three weeks, but that if it doesn't, he'll take it off the market and try again in about February.

Last weekend I emailed the government department that handles my monthly payments for Kaiser health insurance (National Finance Company, or NFC), letting them know that I am moving to Connecticut. This morning I had an email back telling me I have to choose a new insurer since I'm moving to an area where Kaiser doesn't have services, then I have to let them know my new choice of insurer and my new address. I was considering dropping the private insurance and relying on Medicare, but recent events have made me hesitant to do that so I chose a new plan (after checking that they have doctors in the area where my daughter lives) and emailed the details and my new address to NFC. Unfortunately the price is about 60% higher than I've been paying, but I was expecting a price increase anyway, going by news reports about health insurance costs.
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([personal profile] susandennis Oct. 24th, 2025 07:06 am)
I got an email message yesterday that my eye appointment - in January - was canceled because the doctor had left the practice. Best I can tell he was the only ophthalmologist there. And, my insurance has a very lame, and incorrect, directory of in-network doctors. Many of the ones listed may have practiced here once, but sure don't now. Ugh. I can't even decide whether or not to worry about it. I'll call over there this morning. 'There' is a large cadre of medical peops all over the northwest so I'm sure they will want me to go a doctor in Seattle and that is not happening. Now I'm worried about my primary care physician. I do not want to lose her!

It's so dark so late into the mornings these days. That will clear up next weekend when we switch the time again. But, now it's very spooky so, I'm thinking, seasonal.

Plus it looks like here it will be a rainyish day - spit rain - a little here, a little there - just constant. Which suits me fine.

It's new menu day. They publish the menus for next week. This week has been loaded with excellent options. If next week is back to not so excellent, I'll order up extra meals today to eat next week. Some of their stuff just freezes beautifully and serves me well when the menu is blah. New menu day is like planning the weekly grocery shopping except I don't have to go anywhere and it's already paid for... and cooked. The best of all.

I finished up Task on HBO. It was one of the more excellent series I've seen recently.

I think I'll go swim. I still have my Dollar Store list and the car still needs gas and still neither of those things has to be done today. Also I'm out of those good ham/cheese croisant-ish rolls that I like for breakfast. Costco. Sigh. So... who knows.

20251023_201151-COLLAGE


High school student and semi-professional tarot card reader Danika Dizon assists her PI mother to look for a missing person... a teen who vanished after Danika gave her a tarot card reading.

Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala
sabotabby: (doom doom doom)
([personal profile] sabotabby Oct. 24th, 2025 07:36 am)
Today's featured episode is "Smart Glasses Are Ushering In an Anti-Social World ft. Chris Gilliard" from Tech Won't Save Us.

This is a good episode for a number of reasons. First of all, it reminds us that just because tech companies want a thing, and invest a lot of money to convince you that this thing is the inevitable progression of humanity, you can as an individual reject that thing and convince others to do so too. Google Glasses are a great example of a thing that was heavily pushed but no one other than glassholes wanted it, and so people were shamed, mocked, and bullied out of public spaces for wearing them. This is a good use of shame, bullying, and mockery. (Note: Chris points out that the latest attempt at making glasses that control you happen is a bit different, as it's being aimed at controlling workers rather than as a status symbol for the rich. Obviously, do not bully an Amazon delivery guy for being forced to wear them.) Another great comparison is the Metaverse—Zuck spent a fortune on his fantasy of not having a body that sweats too much, and no one bought it. No one asked for LLMs and you—yes you, one person who thinks you're too insignificant to do anything—can stop them from being forced on you. We finally get to use our mean girl powers for good, and I have a mean streak a mile wide.

Another thing that kind of blew my mind is the way Chris talks about the phases of Big Tech-driven media—first it was used to connect you to your friends (and make you dependent), then it was about a trade where the companies gave you connection and visibility in exchange for privacy, and now the deal has shifted. You are expected to be controlled by the technology. You are now being programmed and instructed. Chris notes that some people very much desire this as it reduces decision fatigue. Of course this dovetails nicely with the broader move towards fascism in former Western democracies.

Finally, there is some good talk about affordances. An affordance is basically what the environment or technology allows you to do. A button allows you to press it. A car not only allows you to go faster than you could otherwise, but it creates physical and geographic isolation, the development of suburban spaces around roads rather than common areas, and reactionary politics caused by mistrusting your neighbour and especially Those People In Cities. The replacement of Dreamwidth-style fixed-page scrolling on most social media sites by endless scrolling is what enables social media dependency and doomscrolling. Etc. Chris talks about what, specifically, LLMs are designed to do as their ideal use-case, which is forcing your worldview on someone else. They are primarily for deepfakes, stalking, propaganda, and CSAM. That you can do other things with them is a side-effect. I think this is a very strong argument and not one I'd really thought about. The characterization of LLMs as an inherently antisocial technology is not one I'd thought much about either.

Never forget that our billionaire enemies are forcing LLMs into everything because they want girlfriends without having to talk to women, they want slaves without having to see a Black person, and they have a fantasy of immorality via being uploaded into Machine Heaven. This is fundamentally silly and risible and actually batshit insane, and you are smarter and more reality-based than they are.
Tags:
  1. What do you see when you are looking out of the window closest to you?
    The canal lock. No boats coming through, though, it’s quiet season now.

  2. Who was the last person coming into your room?
    Astro. He is now lounging on the day bed, as is his wont (example below).
    20250809_120552(0)

  3. What is the most predominant colour around you?
    A gentle pastel green. It is very soothing.

  4. What is right behind you?
    A box containing a bunch of stuff that I need to take to work. Thanks for the reminder, meme. :/

  5. What is on today's calendar sheet?
    More than I could possibly accomplish in one day, and several meetings of different types.
dustbunny105: (Default)
([personal profile] dustbunny105 Oct. 23rd, 2025 08:59 pm)
Today went much better than yesterday!

I got to the DMV very early, forgot to bring a book with me and just sat and did practice tests on my phone for the hour or so that I had to wait. Almost none of the practice questions turned out to be on the test I took, go figure, but I passed anyway and that's the important part. They gave me a printout version of my new permit-- the photo looks absolutely awful because of course-- and said that I'd get the card version within forty-five days. Which amuses me since I won't need it in forty-five days if I stick to my intended time table. But, hey, might not be able to make that happen, so might as well, eh?

My brother and I did much better work on his costume today than on Tuesday, pretty pleased to have redeemed ourselves there. He's going to do some work on it while I'm out of town and then I can go over and help some more when I get back. Won't have as much time since my vacation will be over, natch, but it should still be plenty, especially if he's working on it independently. I'm going to bring my costume stuff with me so I can do some work on it on the road. I'm bringing the book I'm reading, too, but I'm less likely to get carsick crocheting or sewing than reading.

Travis's tank is about ninety percent set up. I want to get him a new water dish and some fresh substrate. Might try some plants again, Idk. This tank isn't as tall as the old one and so it'd be easier to care for them without disturbing him. I'm watching him explore as I type this. Kinda funny-- in a bit of a mean way, I guess-- to watch him be surprised by the lower ceiling after he spent so much time not bothering to make use of the old tank's height. This tank does look smaller than I thought now that he's in it but it's within the recommended size range and he's always spent most of his time curled up no matter how much space he has anyway, so I'm sure it's fine. Not like he'll be doing any more growing, old man that he is.

I didn't get as thorough of a cleaning done as hoped but it still looks better than it did. I can already feel myself missing having a day off after the trip, since that would be the perfect time to put on some finishing touches. Alas. I can do a little at a time through the week and there's always next weekend for more involved stuff.

Anyhow, my laundry got left until late and just recently came out. Gonna get that handled and finish packing :)
senmut: spooky cat on a jackolantern (General: Halloween 3)
([personal profile] senmut Oct. 23rd, 2025 06:22 pm)
Costume Party or read at SquidgeWorld (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ted Lasso (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Keeley Jones, Ted Lasso, Rebecca Welton
Additional Tags: Drabble
Summary:

Keeley manages to coordinate them, even if they didn't think to do so






They hadn't coordinated their costumes, to Keeley's intense frustration. A few words whispered into Coach Beard's ear seemed to have done the trick.

Rebecca was going to be washing the hair gel out for days, she thought, but she had to admit that she made a striking bride of Frankenstein. Ted looked like he was appreciating it while she enjoyed the way he brought his quaint charm to Bela Lugosi's classic Dracula.

"A pair of monsters walk into a bar…" Ted quipped, having met her at the pub for the costume party.

"Let's go have a monster mash," she replied.
anais_pf: (bunny gif)
([personal profile] anais_pf posting in [community profile] thefridayfive Oct. 23rd, 2025 03:23 pm)
These questions were originally suggested by [livejournal.com profile] akarii.

1. What do you see when you are looking out of the window closest to you?

2. Who was the last person coming into your room?

3. What is the most predominant colour around you?

4. What is right behind you?

5. What is on today's calendar sheet?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!
susandennis: (Default)
([personal profile] susandennis Oct. 23rd, 2025 08:53 am)
I have a couple of Dollar Store items I need but not critically. And I need to get gas, but not critically. So I might not do either today.

Last night's dinner with Bonny turned out to be dinner with Gail and Jim and Bonny. Jim lives across the hall next to the Jim who needs a lot of help. Gail lives on the other side of the complex. Neither are very interesting and I was not the one who invited them to join us. But, it worked out fine. The service was very slow. I like eating in the dining room once in a while but it is a production that eats up your evening. I have other, more interesting things to do. Plus there's the eating. Gail got a pork chop which she said was delicious and she really would have loved to have picked it up and gnawed all the good off the bone. But, she didn't and I wouldn't have either. HOWEVER, I will when I order it for take out tonight! Take out means you can spice your food to your heart's content and eat it any way you wish. Also some of their menu items do not 'take out' well. I had trout last night which was delicious.

Volleyball was short this morning. We usually play for 2 hours but a bunch of people were missing and the asshole was one of the few people who showed so we quit. The asshole says stupid, insulting things and has no player skills nor does he seem to be interested in acquiring any and he's dangerous to play next to. All of this annoys me but what annoys my friend, Steve, the most is that a few weeks ago, the asshole lost his swimming trunks and so now just wears his underwear. It's knitting boxers so not tightly whities but it really annoys the shit out of Steve. Which amuses me. So all is not lost. Anyway we quit after an hour. It was fine.

I've been on the hunt for a rain jacket for a while. It has to be the lightest of weights with a hood and pockets, of course, and room for a sweater under. I finally set Gemini to the task this morning and found a nice on on sale at Columbia. As much as I hate ordering from places other than Amazon, Columbia seems to have a fairly easy and straightforward return situation which, in my experience, means it won't need to be returned. hahah.

Ugh. I just saw an article about how successful TV drug ads are. Ugh.


20251022_190907-COLLAGE


The August 2023 Nightmares Underneath Bundle featuring The Nightmares Underneath, the old-school horror-fantasy tabletop roleplaying game from Chthonstone Games.

Bundle of Holding: Nightmares Underneath (from 2023)
elusivek: (Default)
([personal profile] elusivek Oct. 23rd, 2025 11:22 pm)
Woefully unprepared but gotta face it: Going to Taipei on Saturday for the half marathon on Sunday. Planned to squeeze in a last practice run today, but then it was raining. I could run tomorrow, but I want to be packing and make sure I have everything. The lock in my bag is a little wonky, so I need some time to go get another lock to use outside of the bag. Getting an outside lock would be easier than getting a whole new bag with the right size.

I've got some simple idea on places to go after the race, hopefully I'll get motivation (or willpower) to go lol. i've got very, very little cash. I'm going to try to survive with credit card. I do have some cash, but want to avoid exchanging more.

My Mom's friend asked for help to pay her lawyer, and she transmitted a good chuk of euros to me. I have no idea what to do with euros. But okay, I guess.

We're under a rare chilly spell this week. It's gonna warm up again over the weekend, I'm sure. But it does mean we're in the Autumn stretch
Tags:


Faraday, Oregon, seems to have a missing persons problem. Its problem is much worse.

Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner
Tags:
dustbunny105: (Default)
([personal profile] dustbunny105 Oct. 22nd, 2025 07:54 pm)
Well, today was not at all what I wanted it to be.

I woke up with drainage, which is not unusual for this time of year and which cleared up within a couple hours of being up and about. But I also woke up with a headache-- also not unusual for this time of year but this one was a little more stubborn. For the hat trick, I'm on my period and the lethargy hit me today, all day. None of these issues were too bad on their own, of course, but they made one heck of a team.

Anyhow, got hardly any cleaning done. Did not feel up to the DMV but I did get my bank statement taken care of and went ahead and filled out the application online. No appointments were still available by the time I decided I'd take the test tomorrow instead, go figure, but I was already looking at not having an appointment. My sister might be able to drop me off or pick me up from there tomorrow, she just can't commit to both because of her own appointments. We'll see. I ended up not going to my brother's since the party he's attending got rescheduled and there's not as much of a time crunch on his costume. I will be going some time tomorrow but I took advantage today to instead nap off the last of my headache.

Tbh, I could've scheduled this whole week better, today especially. No point worrying over what I could've done, though. Tomorrow's gonna be kinda stuffed, since it's the last day before my trip. Driver's knowledge test, costume stuff, cleaning. I also need to pack and go get my flu and covid boosters at some point. I don't usually have much of a reaction to vaccines beyond a sore arm, so at least I don't have to worry about that bogging me down, lol.
senmut: Plo Koon and Kit Fisto side by side (Star Wars: Plo and Kit)
([personal profile] senmut Oct. 22nd, 2025 08:40 pm)
So I went and grabbed my 'most written' fandoms, and have a list of 30. I plan to write at least a drabble for each of these thirty fandoms.

I will take requests on a first come, first serve basis for prompts to these fandoms. (Extra prompts might get used later.)

The List

*DCU
1. Comics
2. TimmVerse
3. Birds Of Prey (TV, Movie)
4. ReeveVerse Superman
5. Keaton et al Batman
*Star Wars
6. OT & Related
7. PT
8. TCW & Rebels
9. Legends
10. Forgotten Realms
*Transformers
11. G1 (Original comics and cartoons)
12. Bay Movies & Bumblebee
13. Shattered Glass-esque
*Anne McCaffrey
14. Pern
15. Talent
16. Freedom
17. Crystal
*Star Trek
18. TOS
19. TNG
20. Novels
21. DS9
22. Marvel (spotty across franchises)
23. Fast & Furious
24. Forever Knight (TV 1992)
25. Stargate SG-1
26. Highlander: The Series
27. Doctor Who (spotty across franchises)
28. Elfquest
29. Labyrinth (1986)
30. MASH (TV)



Leave a comment with the fandom, character(s), and simple prompts if you want to claim one.
Tags:
senmut: A painted picture of Bones McCoy (Star Trek: Bones McCoy)
([personal profile] senmut Oct. 22nd, 2025 07:01 pm)
Musical Duel or read at Ad Astra (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Trek: The Original Series
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Spock (Star Trek), Nyota Uhura
Additional Tags: Drabble
Summary:

Just a friendly improv session






Uhura smiled mischievously, and Spock let an eyebrow rise at the look. She shifted the tempo of the song she was playing on the dulcimer, and he adjusted his own on the Vulcan harp. The crew that were enjoying the musical duel-duet smiled approvingly.

The idea of it had settled into Spock's mind as a game. He played a few more measures, then changed the harmony, making Uhura adjust to him.

Back and forth they went, with encouragement from the crew, while Spock found himself rising to the challenge and Uhura enjoying it.

They were both winners in the end.
maju: Clean my kitchen (Default)
([personal profile] maju Oct. 22nd, 2025 01:10 pm)
This morning I got an email from the MVA saying my vehicle registration is due for renewal, sending me into a panic that I need to renew it *right now*, but a closer look showed me the due date is 31st December so no need for so much haste. In fact I did know that it would be coming up later this year and because I'm moving to a different state, I am planning to just get the car reregistered in Connecticut rather than renewing in Maryland and then making the change to Connecticut.

I finally got around to taking all the fridge magnets off my fridge and packing them this morning. Now I get a shock every time I walk into the kitchen because I'm confronted by this large blank white surface that I'm not used to.

Last night we had a thunderstorm and some rain, but it was clear by the time I got up this morning. Before I even heard the thunder the power went out for an instant, just long enough to cut off my internet connection (but weirdly, not long enough to interrupt the clocks on the stove or microwave). Then I had to wait for the router to reboot itself before I could continue what I'd been doing.
 autumn tree at Lakewood
Image: a colorful autumnal tree from my family's recent visit to Lakewood Cemetery (Minneapolis, MN)

So, due to a recent dust-up that I shall only obliquely allude to, several new folks have discovered my DW. You're here, no doubt, for the fireworks, but I'm typically 1) not that regular a blogger and 2) sort of dull (she says self-deprecatingly---I know I'm truly awesome, but let's get real. I typically blog about my quilting, my family and cats, and taking pictures of bees.)  I will not blame you if you do not stay. 

Speaking of my raging dullness, here it is already "What are You Reading Wednesday" and I have nothing to report. To be fair to me and my slow-reading dyslexic brain, I've been hyperfocused on my up-coming Bryant-Lake Bowl gig and so I've been reading my own short story, over and over again, in an attempt to have it practiced enough for the stage. I also discovered that I neglected Libby long enough that it automatically returned the audiobook of Set My Heart to Five by Simon Stephenson which I had only gotten about 15% into, if that. Ah, well. Did I like it enough to hunt for it again? Proably not. So, now, later today, I'll have to see what else Libby might have for me that's actually available to be borrowed (<--always the real issue.) I still have a pile of manga at my bedside, so I have a few physical books to read as well, including the amusingly titled: My New Boss is Goofy by Ichikawa Dan. I also have a shounen manga called Tank Chair, which is--at least from the cover illustration--about wheelchair mechs, I think?? I'll let you know once I get to it, I guess.

How about you? Reading anything you'd recommend? Aything you wouldn't?

I'm about to go downstairs and cook up something for lunch from the veggies that I got from a new free market food stall place. Unlike the usual food bank charity places, this place--whose name I'm blanking on (and the flyer is in the car!)--believes in the radical concept that everyone should get to reap the benefits of a bountiful harvest. So, like, I don't have to prove that I have economic need, which is nice because our family falls in-between and gets lost in some of the economic cracks. My wife makes an okay salary, but I'm a writer. We have three mouths to feed and we can mostly do just fine? Except those weeks when there's an unexpected bill? And, we have savings, so we really do NOT qualify for most programs like this. But, this place is like, "Be nurished, comrade," and I fucking love that.  

See? This is the typical blog. To be fair, the fun stuff now will probably be locked.
susandennis: (Default)
([personal profile] susandennis Oct. 22nd, 2025 07:19 am)
The part of the country I was raised in (Southeast) is so very different from where I have now lived twice as long (Northwest). But, I still kind of half expect early evening thunderstorms in hot weather and am always surprised and delighted by the early morning fog that greets most cooler days here. It's just so cozy and lovely. This morning it's rolling through so that even the part of the building just across the drive is shrouded.

I learned yesterday that they are trying to convince Hazel to move into assisted living. John is not dead yet but he's not ever going to move back to their apartment. She can't live there on her own - she has minor memory issues but mainly can't see shit. She can't work the telephone most of the time. She can turn on the TV but only to Netflix and if something screws with that, she's lost. She can't drive or figure out how to get a ride to anywhere and has had two major (stitches) falls since Labor Day. BUT denial is strong. She says the assisted living apartments are too small and she is claustrophobic. This is going to be a situation.

They are closing the pool down Monday-Thursday of next week to do work on the filters or something. Yesterday, I sent a note to the maintenance scheduler to ask if I could sneak in a swim Monday morning before they start and I just got the nicest note back saying they won't be closing the pool actually until about 9. So I can get easily get a Monday swim in before they do.

Bonny and I are having dinner in the dining room tonight. I rarely eat there so this will be a treat for me. She eats there a couple of times a week but rarely with me so this will be a treat for her. hahahah

Otherwise, the day looks normal. Puzzling, TV, knitting - the usual. My knee is 99% healed and I'm so grateful. It's such a relief.

Ok. Time to hit the pool while we still have this fog.


20251021_190142-COLLAGE


A robot muses contentedly on the events that led it to its rapidly approaching doom.

A Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-Ran
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