Rhysling long list nomination
2026-02-16 13:33![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynnegaI'm delighted to announce that my poem "the jacarandas are unimpressed by your show of force" is nominated for the 2026 Rhysling Award long list!
gwynnega
The Staircase in the Woods, by Chuck Wendig
2026-02-16 12:40rachelmanija
Five high school friends go on a camping trip and find a mysterious staircase in the woods. One of them climbs it and vanishes. Twenty years later, the staircase reappears, and they go to face it again.
I loved this premise and the cover. The staircase leading nowhere is spooky and beautiful, a weird melding of nature and civilization, so I was hoping for something that matched that vibe, like Annihilation or Revelator.
That was absolutely not what I got. The Staicase in the Woods is the misbegotten mutant child of It, King Sorrow, and Tumblr-speak. Every single character is insufferable. The teenagers are boring, and the adults are all the worst people you meet at parties. There are four men and one woman/nonbinary person, and she/they reads exactly like what MAGA thinks liberal women/trans people are like -- AuHD, blue hair, Tumblr-speak, angry, preachy, kinky sex etc. She/they says "My pronouns are she/them," then is only ever referred to as she and a woman. The staircase itself is barely in the story, where it leads is a letdown, and the ending combines the worst elements of being dumb and unresolved.
I got partway in and then skimmed because I was curious about the staircase and the vanished kid.
Angry spoilers for the whole book.
( Read more... )
larryhammerFor Poetry Monday:
Tired, Langston Hughes
I am so tired of waiting.
Aren’t you,
For the world to become good
And beautiful and kind?
Let us take a knife
And cut the world in two—
And see what worms are eating
At the rind.
---L.
Subject quote from Vuelvo al Sur, Astor Piazzolla & Fernando Solanas, though I confess I prefer the Gotan Project cover.
Tired, Langston Hughes
I am so tired of waiting.
Aren’t you,
For the world to become good
And beautiful and kind?
Let us take a knife
And cut the world in two—
And see what worms are eating
At the rind.
---L.
Subject quote from Vuelvo al Sur, Astor Piazzolla & Fernando Solanas, though I confess I prefer the Gotan Project cover.
3 Sentence Ficathon Fills
2026-02-16 15:03scifirenegadeWill be updated when I fill more prompts. Still have a few saved.
Warnings: mild blood, homophobia (in Anders als die Andern fills), mentions of murder (in the Nazi Agent fill), mentions of abusive relationships (in the A Woman's Face fill)
( Above Suspicion )
( Anders als die Andern )
( Nazi Agent )
( A Woman's Face )
( Crossovers )
Warnings: mild blood, homophobia (in Anders als die Andern fills), mentions of murder (in the Nazi Agent fill), mentions of abusive relationships (in the A Woman's Face fill)
( Above Suspicion )
( Anders als die Andern )
( Nazi Agent )
( A Woman's Face )
( Crossovers )
Book Review
2026-02-16 09:40kenjariRoots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World
by Billy Bragg
This book covers the rise and fall of skiffle, a pre-rock British genre that flourished during the 1950s. It was based on traditional jazz, American roots music, and British folk. It was also very DIY, developing alongside mid-century youth culture. It was made almost entirely by amateurs, and was often rough and unpolished but very energetic. Bragg does a great job of looking at the music that gave rise to skiffle and following the people who developed skiffle. He tells a compelling story about interesting music. I especially liked the way Bragg connects this almost forgotten music to the seminal British rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as to punk (another raucous DIY music).
by Billy Bragg
This book covers the rise and fall of skiffle, a pre-rock British genre that flourished during the 1950s. It was based on traditional jazz, American roots music, and British folk. It was also very DIY, developing alongside mid-century youth culture. It was made almost entirely by amateurs, and was often rough and unpolished but very energetic. Bragg does a great job of looking at the music that gave rise to skiffle and following the people who developed skiffle. He tells a compelling story about interesting music. I especially liked the way Bragg connects this almost forgotten music to the seminal British rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as to punk (another raucous DIY music).
Picture Book Monday: Australian Picture Books
2026-02-16 08:02osprey_archerRecently, littlerhymes sent me the Guardian’s poll for Australia’s Best Picture Books. As I am nothing if not suggestible, at least where picture books are concerned, of course I couldn’t help reading a few.
Magic Beach, written and illustrated by Alison Lester, which alternates scenes of children playing at the beach with their corresponding imaginary adventures: they build a sandcastle, then imagine charging across the moat to defeat a fiery dragon, etc. The style of the illustrations doesn’t particularly appeal to me, but the conceit is charming, and I did like the kid who has a hat brim that looks like the inside of a watermelon. I’d love to have that hat too.
Possum Magic, by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas. Possibly THE most Australian experience of my life, up to and including the time I actually visited Australia. A magic possum and her granddaughter tour the major cities of Australia, eating classic Australian foods like Vegemite sandwiches and lamingtons along the way.
Where the Forest Meets the Sea, written and illustrated by Jeannie Baker. A story about a boy and his father boating over for a picnic on the beach of the Daintree rainforest in Queensland, with absolutely gorgeous collage illustrations. Thrilling to look at and also thrilling to try to figure out what materials Baker used to construct the images.
Edward the Emu, by Sheena Knowles, illustrated by Rod Clement. I picked this one because of the cover, which features a grumpy emu lying flat on the ground. Who among us has not felt like that some days? Edward the emu is tired of being an emu, so he pops over to visit the seals, the lions, the snakes, etc., until he overhears someone saying that the emu is their favorite exhibit in the zoo. Well well WELL. That puts being an emu in a new light!
Who Sank the Boat?, written and illustrated by Pamela Allen. Recommended bylittlerhymes as a childhood favorite, and I could absolutely see a child requesting this story over and over and over and over and over and squealing with glee at the ending every time. (A most unexpected character sinks the boat.) Might lend this one to my mother to read to my niece.
A delightful exploration! I wish to continue my meander through classic Australian children’s books. Any recommendations?
littlerhymes sent me the Guardian’s poll for Australia’s Best Picture Books. As I am nothing if not suggestible, at least where picture books are concerned, of course I couldn’t help reading a few. Magic Beach, written and illustrated by Alison Lester, which alternates scenes of children playing at the beach with their corresponding imaginary adventures: they build a sandcastle, then imagine charging across the moat to defeat a fiery dragon, etc. The style of the illustrations doesn’t particularly appeal to me, but the conceit is charming, and I did like the kid who has a hat brim that looks like the inside of a watermelon. I’d love to have that hat too.
Possum Magic, by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas. Possibly THE most Australian experience of my life, up to and including the time I actually visited Australia. A magic possum and her granddaughter tour the major cities of Australia, eating classic Australian foods like Vegemite sandwiches and lamingtons along the way.
Where the Forest Meets the Sea, written and illustrated by Jeannie Baker. A story about a boy and his father boating over for a picnic on the beach of the Daintree rainforest in Queensland, with absolutely gorgeous collage illustrations. Thrilling to look at and also thrilling to try to figure out what materials Baker used to construct the images.
Edward the Emu, by Sheena Knowles, illustrated by Rod Clement. I picked this one because of the cover, which features a grumpy emu lying flat on the ground. Who among us has not felt like that some days? Edward the emu is tired of being an emu, so he pops over to visit the seals, the lions, the snakes, etc., until he overhears someone saying that the emu is their favorite exhibit in the zoo. Well well WELL. That puts being an emu in a new light!
Who Sank the Boat?, written and illustrated by Pamela Allen. Recommended by
littlerhymes as a childhood favorite, and I could absolutely see a child requesting this story over and over and over and over and over and squealing with glee at the ending every time. (A most unexpected character sinks the boat.) Might lend this one to my mother to read to my niece. A delightful exploration! I wish to continue my meander through classic Australian children’s books. Any recommendations?
Grandfather rights
2026-02-16 12:41shewhomustFlickr wants me to verify my age. They explain that this is a result of the Online Safety Act.
It's irritating, but not impossible. The first time I encountered it, it tool me by surprise, so I just backed off, and did something else. When I haddurham_rambler ready to advise, and some pieces of ID handy, I logged in to Flickr only to be admitted straight off, and couldn't find any way to call up the relevant screen. Eventually, no doubt, the stars will align and I will persuade Flickr that I am over 18.
But while I was there, I checked my profile: I opened my Flickr account in February 2006. Which os surely evidence that I am over 18.
It's irritating, but not impossible. The first time I encountered it, it tool me by surprise, so I just backed off, and did something else. When I had
durham_rambler ready to advise, and some pieces of ID handy, I logged in to Flickr only to be admitted straight off, and couldn't find any way to call up the relevant screen. Eventually, no doubt, the stars will align and I will persuade Flickr that I am over 18.But while I was there, I checked my profile: I opened my Flickr account in February 2006. Which os surely evidence that I am over 18.
Recent reading
2026-02-16 11:00luzulaStill not reading much, but I did read some books during the past two months!
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh (2025)
Listened to the audiobook for my book club. This is the first book in a while that grabbed me in a page-turney way, and I enjoyed it a lot! I'm sure it can be picked at, and we did so during book club, but for me it was mostly notable in being a book I was immersed in while reading, which for me these days is rare.
The Sleeping Soldier by Aster Glenn Gray (2023)
When I first started reading this, my feeling was that "yeah, I read a lot of posts on the author's DW about this book, and I guess the book is exactly what I was expecting it to be". Like, in a way I felt as though I didn't even have to read the book. But this feeling passed when I got into the particulars of the characters and their relationships so that they felt real to me, so that it wasn't just about the Idea of the book any longer, and then I thoroughly enjoyed it. (The Idea of the book being, if you haven't heard of the book before, the contrast between what was allowable in male friendships in 1860 and 1960.)
I also listened to about half of The West Passage by Jared Pechaček (2024), also for book club. I feel like the book had a lot of Gormenghast DNA, and I enjoyed the weird worldbuiling, but I didn't end up finishing it.
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh (2025)
Listened to the audiobook for my book club. This is the first book in a while that grabbed me in a page-turney way, and I enjoyed it a lot! I'm sure it can be picked at, and we did so during book club, but for me it was mostly notable in being a book I was immersed in while reading, which for me these days is rare.
The Sleeping Soldier by Aster Glenn Gray (2023)
When I first started reading this, my feeling was that "yeah, I read a lot of posts on the author's DW about this book, and I guess the book is exactly what I was expecting it to be". Like, in a way I felt as though I didn't even have to read the book. But this feeling passed when I got into the particulars of the characters and their relationships so that they felt real to me, so that it wasn't just about the Idea of the book any longer, and then I thoroughly enjoyed it. (The Idea of the book being, if you haven't heard of the book before, the contrast between what was allowable in male friendships in 1860 and 1960.)
I also listened to about half of The West Passage by Jared Pechaček (2024), also for book club. I feel like the book had a lot of Gormenghast DNA, and I enjoyed the weird worldbuiling, but I didn't end up finishing it.
Orion Times Two
2026-02-16 08:13poliphilo Most of the time the night sky over Eastbourne gets blanded out by light pollution but yesterday, around ten o'clock, I happened to look out the south-west facing window and there, floating over Beach Head, for the first time this winter, I saw Orion with his entourage- and they were all so sharp and clear that even the Pleiades were visible.
Hey, I've suddenly- just this instant- had a flash of inspiration or knowing. The Long Man of Wilmington, our ancient hill figure: might he not be a representation of Orion? They're the same sort of shape....
OK, I've just checked and it's not a new idea- how could it be?- but it's new to me.....
Because if Orion floats over Beachy Head there must be times, if you're standing in the right place, you'll see him floating over Windoor Hill- further along in the chain of the Downs- with the Long Man right below him- the one shining in the sky the other, outlined in chalk, shining ghostly out of the grass.....
I think the Long Man is a portal, a gateway to the stars....
Go sit at his feet. Ingest some mushrooms. See what comes next.....
The Long Man by Eric Ravilious
Hey, I've suddenly- just this instant- had a flash of inspiration or knowing. The Long Man of Wilmington, our ancient hill figure: might he not be a representation of Orion? They're the same sort of shape....
OK, I've just checked and it's not a new idea- how could it be?- but it's new to me.....
Because if Orion floats over Beachy Head there must be times, if you're standing in the right place, you'll see him floating over Windoor Hill- further along in the chain of the Downs- with the Long Man right below him- the one shining in the sky the other, outlined in chalk, shining ghostly out of the grass.....
I think the Long Man is a portal, a gateway to the stars....
Go sit at his feet. Ingest some mushrooms. See what comes next.....
The Long Man by Eric Ravilious
2026/021: The Earl Meets His Match — T J Alexander
2026-02-16 08:00tamaranth2026/021: The Earl Meets His Match — T J Alexander
“The fact of your existence is a miracle,” Harding said in a tone that brooked no argument. “... the scrutiny that you must have lived under...”
“Well, I also have pots of money,” Christopher pointed out, “so let’s not pretend it’s all been a chore.” [loc. 3139]
Delightful and cheering Regency romance. Lord Christopher Eden must, according to the terms of his inheritance, marry before his twenty-fifth birthday. That gives him four months to find a bride -- which is the last thing he wants. For Christopher is no ordinary man: he has a singular secret, which only his tailor is privy to.
( Read more... )
[vid] Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Heated Rivalry)
2026-02-22 20:23starladysource: Heated Rivalry
audio: Moonrunner83, "Lovers in a Dangerous Time"
length: 4:10
download: 359MB on MediaFire
summary: Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight
AO3 page | tumblr post | YouTube link
Lyrics on AZ Lyrics
Premiered at Escapade 36.
I was kind of shocked to realize that there aren't that many covers of this song…and most of them are by Canadians. Thanks tobeatriceeagle for the beta, which pushed me to keep working on it.
audio: Moonrunner83, "Lovers in a Dangerous Time"
length: 4:10
download: 359MB on MediaFire
summary: Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight
AO3 page | tumblr post | YouTube link
Lyrics on AZ Lyrics
Premiered at Escapade 36.
I was kind of shocked to realize that there aren't that many covers of this song…and most of them are by Canadians. Thanks to
beatriceeagle for the beta, which pushed me to keep working on it.
3 Good Things
2026-02-15 20:51jjhunter1. The snow has stayed on the ground here long enough that we're finally Acquiring Some Sleds in anticipation of going sledding with friends next weekend. It is so wonderful to have a winter feel like winter again.
2. Hosted a neat new-to-me game yesterday with some close friends and a potential new friend I met through my Awesome Neighbor friend. We all had a great time! We immediately rolled right into plotting More Fun Like This Soon. It's good to be exercising my making-new-friends muscles again.
2a. The game being Molly House, with its gripping shifts between personal queer joy, community delight, and pressuring fears (constables, rogues, and gossip all threatening to trigger police raids of the central molly houses),( I would be fascinated to play it again... )
3. I am looking forward to some quiet time at home tomorrow, I say, also having ambitions of Bake & Roast All The Things, do my taxes so I can get my solar panel credits reimbursed (yay, solar!), and maybe get some extra time in at the local studio before my pottery class starts.
Bonus: This being the cold hard dark slog time of year, it helps to have something joyous to move to. I went and looked up what all the musicians I last bought music from (mostly 5+ years ago) have put out in the last few years since, and bought the latest album of each. So far I'm particularly enjoying Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn's debut collaboration merging American old-time music and Chinese folksong, and the latest from MEUTE.
Have you been listening to anything particularly good lately? What is bringing you joy, defiant or otherwise?
2. Hosted a neat new-to-me game yesterday with some close friends and a potential new friend I met through my Awesome Neighbor friend. We all had a great time! We immediately rolled right into plotting More Fun Like This Soon. It's good to be exercising my making-new-friends muscles again.
2a. The game being Molly House, with its gripping shifts between personal queer joy, community delight, and pressuring fears (constables, rogues, and gossip all threatening to trigger police raids of the central molly houses),( I would be fascinated to play it again... )
3. I am looking forward to some quiet time at home tomorrow, I say, also having ambitions of Bake & Roast All The Things, do my taxes so I can get my solar panel credits reimbursed (yay, solar!), and maybe get some extra time in at the local studio before my pottery class starts.
Bonus: This being the cold hard dark slog time of year, it helps to have something joyous to move to. I went and looked up what all the musicians I last bought music from (mostly 5+ years ago) have put out in the last few years since, and bought the latest album of each. So far I'm particularly enjoying Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn's debut collaboration merging American old-time music and Chinese folksong, and the latest from MEUTE.
Have you been listening to anything particularly good lately? What is bringing you joy, defiant or otherwise?
(no subject)
2026-02-15 18:17skygiantsI never got around to writing up Anne McCaffrey's The Mark of Merlin when I read it last year, but I've been thinking about McCaffrey a lot recently due to blitzing through the Dragons Made Me Did It Pern podcast (highly recommended btw) and osprey_archer asked for a post on my last-year-end round-up so now seems as good a time as any.
The important thing to know about The Mark of Merlin is that -- unlike many of the things I've read recently! -- it is not, in any way, the least little bit, Arthuriana. They are not in Great Britain. There are no thematic Arthurian connections. There is absolutely zero hint of anything magical. So why Merlin? Well, Merlin is the name of the heroine's dog, and he's a very good boy, so that's all that really needs to be said about that.
Anyway, this is McCaffrey writing in classic romantic suspense mode a la Mary Stewart or Barbara Michaels, and honestly it's a pretty fun time! Our Heroine Carla's father Tragically Died in the War, so he asked his second-in-command to be her guardian and now she's en route to stay with Major Laird in his isolated house in Cape Cod. Tragically scarred and war-traumatized Major Laird has no Gothic-trope concerns about this because Carla's full name is Carlysle and her dad accidentally forgot to tell him that the child in question was a daughter and not a son; Carla is fully aware of the mixup and but has not chosen to enlighten him because she thinks it's extremely funny to pop out at Major Laird like "ha ha! You THOUGHT I was a hapless youth and wrote me a patronizing letter about it, but INSTEAD I am a beautiful and plucky young co-ed so joke's on you!"
There is an actual suspense plot; the suspense plot is that Someone is hunting Carla for reasons of secret information her dad passed on in his luggage before he died, and also his death was under Mysterious Circumstances, and so we have to figure out what's going on with all of that and eventually have a big confrontation in the remote Cape Cod house. But mostly the book is just Carla and the Major being snowed in, romantically bickering, huddling for warmth, cooking delicious meals over the old Cape Cod stove, etc. etc. Cozy in the classic sense, very little substance but excellent for reading in a vacation cottage while drinking tea and eating a cheese toastie.
As a sidenote, I did not know until I started listening to Dragons Made Me Do It that McCaffrey's Dragonflight preceded The Flame and the Flower, the book that's credited as being the first bodice-ripper romance novel and launching the genre of historical romance as we know it today, by a good four years. It's interesting to place this very classic romantic suspense novel -- which was published almost a decade after Dragonflight, but, at least according to this Harvard student newspaper article I turned up, at least partially written in 1950 -- against the full tropetastic dubcon-at-best dragonsex Pern situations, which clearly belong to a later moment. And speaking of later moments, it's also a bit of a mindfuck for me to think very hard about McCaffrey's place in genre history and realize how very early she is. I was reading McCaffrey in the nineties, against Lackey and Bujold. Reading her in conversation with Russ and LeGuin is a whole different experience.
But this is all a tangent and not very much to do with The Mark of Merlin, a perfectly fun perfectly fine book, very short on the wtf moments that have characterized most of my experiences with McCaffrey, and if anything comes late to its moment rather than early.
osprey_archer asked for a post on my last-year-end round-up so now seems as good a time as any.The important thing to know about The Mark of Merlin is that -- unlike many of the things I've read recently! -- it is not, in any way, the least little bit, Arthuriana. They are not in Great Britain. There are no thematic Arthurian connections. There is absolutely zero hint of anything magical. So why Merlin? Well, Merlin is the name of the heroine's dog, and he's a very good boy, so that's all that really needs to be said about that.
Anyway, this is McCaffrey writing in classic romantic suspense mode a la Mary Stewart or Barbara Michaels, and honestly it's a pretty fun time! Our Heroine Carla's father Tragically Died in the War, so he asked his second-in-command to be her guardian and now she's en route to stay with Major Laird in his isolated house in Cape Cod. Tragically scarred and war-traumatized Major Laird has no Gothic-trope concerns about this because Carla's full name is Carlysle and her dad accidentally forgot to tell him that the child in question was a daughter and not a son; Carla is fully aware of the mixup and but has not chosen to enlighten him because she thinks it's extremely funny to pop out at Major Laird like "ha ha! You THOUGHT I was a hapless youth and wrote me a patronizing letter about it, but INSTEAD I am a beautiful and plucky young co-ed so joke's on you!"
There is an actual suspense plot; the suspense plot is that Someone is hunting Carla for reasons of secret information her dad passed on in his luggage before he died, and also his death was under Mysterious Circumstances, and so we have to figure out what's going on with all of that and eventually have a big confrontation in the remote Cape Cod house. But mostly the book is just Carla and the Major being snowed in, romantically bickering, huddling for warmth, cooking delicious meals over the old Cape Cod stove, etc. etc. Cozy in the classic sense, very little substance but excellent for reading in a vacation cottage while drinking tea and eating a cheese toastie.
As a sidenote, I did not know until I started listening to Dragons Made Me Do It that McCaffrey's Dragonflight preceded The Flame and the Flower, the book that's credited as being the first bodice-ripper romance novel and launching the genre of historical romance as we know it today, by a good four years. It's interesting to place this very classic romantic suspense novel -- which was published almost a decade after Dragonflight, but, at least according to this Harvard student newspaper article I turned up, at least partially written in 1950 -- against the full tropetastic dubcon-at-best dragonsex Pern situations, which clearly belong to a later moment. And speaking of later moments, it's also a bit of a mindfuck for me to think very hard about McCaffrey's place in genre history and realize how very early she is. I was reading McCaffrey in the nineties, against Lackey and Bujold. Reading her in conversation with Russ and LeGuin is a whole different experience.
But this is all a tangent and not very much to do with The Mark of Merlin, a perfectly fun perfectly fine book, very short on the wtf moments that have characterized most of my experiences with McCaffrey, and if anything comes late to its moment rather than early.
Dept. of Here Came the Sun
2026-02-15 17:04kaffy_rHe Woke Up
I awoke at about 6:15 p.m. to feed the cat, and after a night of night sweats (further, deponent saith naught because, eeuww, TMI) and dread about which Bob would greet me when he woke, I couldn't get back to sleep. I got up and tried to catch up on far too many emails. "Catch up on" quickly devolved into pitching most of the 650+ emails into the aether,
Then I thought about updating Bob's doctors on the newest situation - him being home. I finally did that, but not before fearing that Bob wouldn't easily wake, or maybe he'd regress to not waking up at all, when I brought him coffee.
He woke up.
And he got up. And got dressed, and talked to me, and joked, and was there. All there.
Another episode gone? Well, we thought it was gone back in January, and it came back, but I'm choosing to believe in hope this time. And it was a delight to be able to tell people from that damned hospital, and from one of the rehab places I was gearing up to tour that we didn't seem to have a need for them. I will also cancel the tour of another rehab place that I'd set up for Wednesday.
I hope I'm not jinxing everything, but again, I'm choosing to believe in hope this time.
That doesn't mean our work is done. We have got to figure out what the fuck goes on in BB's body to throw him into confusion, weakness and aphasia, and why it was so bad this time. There has to be a reason, or even more than one reason. So that's on the to-do list. But Sunday is a day of rest, so I will rest, watching Bob at his computer, and urging me to read the political columns he's sending me. It feels like home again.
I awoke at about 6:15 p.m. to feed the cat, and after a night of night sweats (further, deponent saith naught because, eeuww, TMI) and dread about which Bob would greet me when he woke, I couldn't get back to sleep. I got up and tried to catch up on far too many emails. "Catch up on" quickly devolved into pitching most of the 650+ emails into the aether,
Then I thought about updating Bob's doctors on the newest situation - him being home. I finally did that, but not before fearing that Bob wouldn't easily wake, or maybe he'd regress to not waking up at all, when I brought him coffee.
He woke up.
And he got up. And got dressed, and talked to me, and joked, and was there. All there.
Another episode gone? Well, we thought it was gone back in January, and it came back, but I'm choosing to believe in hope this time. And it was a delight to be able to tell people from that damned hospital, and from one of the rehab places I was gearing up to tour that we didn't seem to have a need for them. I will also cancel the tour of another rehab place that I'd set up for Wednesday.
I hope I'm not jinxing everything, but again, I'm choosing to believe in hope this time.
That doesn't mean our work is done. We have got to figure out what the fuck goes on in BB's body to throw him into confusion, weakness and aphasia, and why it was so bad this time. There has to be a reason, or even more than one reason. So that's on the to-do list. But Sunday is a day of rest, so I will rest, watching Bob at his computer, and urging me to read the political columns he's sending me. It feels like home again.
rydra_wonghttps://www.scenemag.co.uk/lancaster-university-launches-national-consultation-to-shape-future-of-adult-gender-healthcare/
https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/transadultspsp/
The focus is identifying priorities for future research, specifically related to "non-surgical, transition-related healthcare for people aged 18 and over", and they're starting with a survey.
Funded by Gendered Intelligence, led by a steering group which is half people with lived experience (in fact more than half, as some of the healthcare professional members also ID as trans), one of the two co-leads is a trans woman, and they're partnered with TransActual and GIRES, so this looks like real genuine co-production.
https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/transadultspsp/
The focus is identifying priorities for future research, specifically related to "non-surgical, transition-related healthcare for people aged 18 and over", and they're starting with a survey.
Funded by Gendered Intelligence, led by a steering group which is half people with lived experience (in fact more than half, as some of the healthcare professional members also ID as trans), one of the two co-leads is a trans woman, and they're partnered with TransActual and GIRES, so this looks like real genuine co-production.
Well, this certainly is a way to phrase it
2026-02-14 18:18conulyThe 1916 (Olympic) games were cancelled due to an international dispute occurring during that year
A dispute that left millions dead, sure. Not how I'd describe WWI, but okay.
***********************
( Read more... )
A dispute that left millions dead, sure. Not how I'd describe WWI, but okay.
( Read more... )
umadoshiMovie update: turns out we are getting Z1L's new movie next week, which is awesome, but I'm not at all sure we're actually going to make it, given its showtimes and the fact that we aren't entertaining the notion of evening screenings. Alas. (That said, while I would very much like to see it, it doesn't actually look at all like a movie I would see if it weren't for Z1L, so I'm a bit sad, but not crushed.)
Reading: A few more volumes each of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and Hikaru no Go (I'm six volumes in on both), and I've started reading Stephanie Burgis' Wooing the Witch Queen.
Most of my reading time this week went to Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties of All Time (Craig Lehoullier), which I liked so much after reading the bought-on-sale ebook that I've ordered a hard copy. My intermittent low-key obsession with (the idea of) growing tomatoes continues to be mostly just weird, but as far as I can tell this book is a treasure. All other growing-tomatoes books can sit down.
Watching: As of this afternoon, we're caught up on The Pitt and still an ep. or two behind on Frieren.
We have two episodes of Midnight Mass to go, and may finish that tonight. It is pulling absolutely zero punches and is very upsetting (although no animal harm/death that I can think of since I mentioned the amount in the first couple of episodes?) and very well done. Wow. It is a LOT.
Working: Some potential (probable) impending stress about Dayjob is not doing wonders for my focus or mental health in general. (Nothing to do with Manager or coworders.) Good thoughts very welcome.
Tomorrow is a stat holiday, and then we have a week until the seasonal crunch begins. Whee! I have almost three weeks before my next freelance deadline, but it would sure be nice to get a draft on this rewrite before the crunch. I think I'm about a quarter of the way there.
Reading: A few more volumes each of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and Hikaru no Go (I'm six volumes in on both), and I've started reading Stephanie Burgis' Wooing the Witch Queen.
Most of my reading time this week went to Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties of All Time (Craig Lehoullier), which I liked so much after reading the bought-on-sale ebook that I've ordered a hard copy. My intermittent low-key obsession with (the idea of) growing tomatoes continues to be mostly just weird, but as far as I can tell this book is a treasure. All other growing-tomatoes books can sit down.
Watching: As of this afternoon, we're caught up on The Pitt and still an ep. or two behind on Frieren.
We have two episodes of Midnight Mass to go, and may finish that tonight. It is pulling absolutely zero punches and is very upsetting (although no animal harm/death that I can think of since I mentioned the amount in the first couple of episodes?) and very well done. Wow. It is a LOT.
Working: Some potential (probable) impending stress about Dayjob is not doing wonders for my focus or mental health in general. (Nothing to do with Manager or coworders.) Good thoughts very welcome.
Tomorrow is a stat holiday, and then we have a week until the seasonal crunch begins. Whee! I have almost three weeks before my next freelance deadline, but it would sure be nice to get a draft on this rewrite before the crunch. I think I'm about a quarter of the way there.
