Reading

esteliel,

navaan,

shopfront,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme (11/18)
Day 17:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

esteliel,

miss_morland,

navaan,

schneefink,

shopfront,

st_aurafina,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme (14/18)
Day 18:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

esteliel,

miss_morland,

navaan,

shopfront,

st_aurafina,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora (12/18)
Day 19:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

miss_morland,

navaan,

shopfront,

st_aurafina,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora (10/18)
Day 20:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

esteliel,

navaan,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora (7/18)

Let me know if you forgot to check in and need me to add you to the tally! And new people are welcome to join us at any time, if you wrote today just hop into the comments.

hopeofdawn

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: busy

balsamandash

We are in Ohio and well! We've had a

forests_of_fire on and off and are gonna explore North Market a little later today. We fell in love with Tim Horton's coffee and our hotel has great waffles and I apparently calm down a lot on planes once the initial take-off is done, so. Everything is good!

Now on to more important things:

analise010 is a wonderful, awesome person who I have been lucky enough over the last -- near-year? Something like that. She is great, and she is also having problems with jobs. Her goal is to become an actuary -- which requires a test, which requires a truly ridiculous amount of money to charge people.

She is looking to raise money, and offering Tarot/Oracle readings. Her readings are great, so if you have a little extra to spare, please take a look and see if you can help.

havocthecat

Not because I dislike the heat, because I unironically like 90+ degree hot, humid weather, but because it's given the ragweed fresh life. I'm sneezing non-stop.

Crossposts: http://havocthecat.insanejournal.com/386577.html

meicdon13

Saiyuki Reload BLAST E12 (10/10)

( All the spoilers. Now in bullet points :D )

umadoshi

--I want to say it feels weird to think that I'm going back to the office tomorrow, but it doesn't seem real enough yet to feel weird. (Having had only something like a week of work in the spring is not really helping. I'd barely sat down at my desk and then we were finished!) What does feel weird is thinking--hoping!--that when I get home tomorrow there'll be a window where there is now a solid wall.

--The first few days back are usually pretty reasonable. (I could conceivably even be home for supper tomorrow evening!) Thankfully, today I was able to finish and submit the half-volume that's due tomorrow, so that's not hanging over me...but I'll need to go pick up my and

scruloose's con passes, and then on Friday, no matter what time we wrap up at the office, I'll be going straight from there to the convention. I even made it as far as looking over the schedule and making notes this evening, although in practice I rarely make it to more than a small percentage of the panels and talks that catch my eyes. So many people. O_O (The "rarely" applies to cons and similar things in general, as this is only my second Hal-Con.)

--When I was poking around in my tags the other day to see if I could figure out when I stopped bouldering, I came across this 2013 post about Claudia from when she and Jinksy were about five months old. Oh, my kitten. *^^* (*finds baby!Claudia!kitten icon*)

--I have this half-formed theory that Casual Job is the appropriate excuse to actually start figuring out lipstick, since I really haven't, despite buying a bunch in Toronto. The defense I have to offer is that I'm usually at home living in pajamas when Casual Job isn't on (I'm very glad I'm not one of the many people who needs to Get Dressed to successfully work at home--although if it'd help my focus, you bet I'd do it), and when I go out it's usually either quick errands (hard to convince myself to bother) or to have dinner out with someone (and I know people eat and drink with lipstick on all the time, but it turns out I find it intimidating to consider needing to immediately touch it up while out if it smears/wears off).

Current Mood: busy

dialecticdreamer

Family Stories
by Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
part 5 of 6 (working)
word count (story only): 1189

:: Part of the Polychrome Heroics universe, this is a Finn family story which includes Shiv, Boss White and the Ebonies and Ivories. ::

back to part four
to the Finn Family index
on to part six

Watching the older blond, Shiv asked. “Why are you doing it that way? Isn't that babyish?”

“Am I babyish?” Heron deliberately cocked an eyebrow at his host. “One of my housemates in my freshman year was a fantastic cook, but another one could burn salad. Making a recipe this way was easier on her brain, so she could actually concentrate on the cooking part of things instead of just spending all her energy to read the print, which was one reason why she kept confusing steps.” He ticked his thumb against his fingers, then sighed. “Okay, we'll need some baking soda out of the fridge, but you don't have flour, baking powder, or cream of tartar. They're likely to be downstairs in the main kitchen.”
( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

raine

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: amused

marcelo

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Crossposts: https://users.livejournal.com/--marcelo/1044015.html

isis

What I've recently finished reading:

Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live by Sacha Lamb, a short story with a lot of trans and/or gay characters and a demon (who turns out to be actually pretty nice). I enjoyed it all right but it didn't really make much impression on me. The worldbuilding's rather vague and there's not much in the way of plot, but I expect it resonates more with trans people. It's been nominated for

yuletide and is free online at http://thebooksmugglers.com/2017/08/avi-cantor-six-months-live-sacha-lamb.html

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (abandoned). I like the idea of presenting the story as excerpts of conversation, magazine articles, books, and so on. But it didn't work in the ebook format with minimal formatting, and also, it just didn't work for me in the more conversational sections because I felt as though I never got to know any of the characters enough to care about them. Though I appreciated the cleverness of the idea that the spirits of the dead are unaware that they are dead, glossing over the strangenesses in their new selves and referring to tombs as "sick-homes" and coffins as "sick-boxes", the general absurdity just didn't appeal to me and I found the slow pace boring.

What I'm reading now:

The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan, the second book in the Trials of Apollo series, because after I realized I could either wait forever for the ebook, or pick up a physical copy from the library RIGHT NOW, I opted for the latter. I am still loving this series so much, especially since one of my favorite characters from another series, who showed up at the end of the first book, is a major character in this one. (skip) Leo Valdez! ♥ And Calypso! With whom Apollo has a history, so it's hilarious. Also, I'm impressed with how Riordan manages to have gay and bisexual characters in a way appropriate for middle grade, too.

I'm not listening to Airborn since I've been sick, and audiobooks are for exercise, but hope to get back to it soon now that my lungs are coughing out the last of the phlegm.

What I'm reading next:

While I was at the library I also picked up Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which has been recommended to me by a number of people. Also the second volume of Saga.

Other than that, still playing Dragon Age: Origins (in Orzammar now). Mostly I'm writing fanfiction :-)

Crossposts: https://isiscolo.livejournal.com/643669.html

shopfront

Not a lot of words, but both my remaining giftbox fics are now edited! The one I thought would need a bigger overhaul, didn't, so now yay I'm ready for the approaching deadline and I can move on to the next thing. Otherwise not a lot done, I seem to be having A Week of tired non-productivity and poor sleep, bah.

Tally
( Days 1-15 )
Day 16:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

esteliel,

navaan,

shopfront,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme (11/18)
Day 17:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

esteliel,

miss_morland,

navaan,

schneefink,

shopfront,

st_aurafina,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme (14/18)
Day 18:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

esteliel,

miss_morland,

navaan,

shopfront,

st_aurafina,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora (12/18)
Day 19:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

miss_morland,

shopfront,

st_aurafina,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora (9/18)

Let me know if you forgot to check in and need me to add you to the tally! And new people are welcome to join us at any time, if you wrote today just hop into the comments.

dragovianknight

I love my Kindle Fire. It's really old, like second or third generation, and even though it can sort of surf the web and play videos and such, at heart it's still an e-reader with a color screen, and that's the way I like it.

But as I said, it's really old, and the battery life isn't what it once was, and sometimes it balks at connecting to the internet. So I went to see what might replace it.

While I wasn't paying much attention, Amazon decided the Kindle Fire ought to become the Fire Tablet. At $50, I'm sure it's probably pretty crappy as a tablet, but still fine as an e-reader, I just don't want all the extra crap. I certainly don't want Alexa. And apparently if I want a case with pretty colors, as opposed to black, I have to get their advertising-enabled version.

The e-reader only Kindles have black and white screens, making them useless for comic books. Also, I prefer color for book covers, because when they have good art I want to LOOK at them, damn it.

All of which means I will probably opt to stick with my very old Fire until it finally dies. But I'm going to be bitter about it.

beatrice_otter

For those of you who don't know, the Barna research group is a group that focuses on researching religious trends in America. Although they are very DEFINITELY Christian and doing this for a Christian audience, they are also quite firm in their belief that in order to make good choices people need good, reliable information to base it on. So they're pretty good about being as fair and accurate as they can in their research practices.

Their newest finding? That in the last year, public opinion in America has swung quite dramatically in favor of immigration, diversity, and refugees, with most population segments adding at least 10% to their approval. And practicing Christians who believe the US should welcome refugees more than doubled between 2016 and 2017, which is why there are currently more religious leaders across the board speaking to refugee and immigration issues. (Evangelicals are the lone holdouts, surprise, surprise.) For example, the Christian community is pretty much united in opposition to ending or limiting the DREAM program. Even the Evangelicals agree there.

Unfortunately, the shift doesn't seem to be from racists, nationalists, and other right-wingers changing their minds. Where the shift seems to be coming from is the people who were undecided a year ago moving towards open-mindedness, tolerance, and compassion. So it's not that the whole country is moving towards tolerance, it's that the people in the middle are moving leftward on this issue. Which is good, don't get me wrong! It just means we've got our work cut out for us to reach out to the Evangelicals and the FOX newsers and all and help them see things in a different light.

(Obviously I'm not talking to people who aren't safe or wouldn't be safe if they tried to reach out, whether psychologically or physically.

umadoshi

Fannish/Geeky/SFF Things

"Seanan McGuire on What She Learned From October, Plus a Sweeps!" The interview is about what writing Toby's series (AKA her first novel and series) taught her, and the contest, which is open until September 30, is for all eleven books to date.

"Transcript for OTW 10th Anniversary Chat with Seanan McGuire & Martha Wells".

"Exclusive Interview and ARC Giveaway: In Other Lands author, Sarah Rees Brennan". This contest has closed, alas, but I really liked the interview (and its entirely appropriate attention to mermaids): "My protagonist Elliot is a huge nerd, so when he arrives in a magical world he immediately asks ‘Show me the mermaids!’ rather than ‘Explain to me this strange word… magic…’ and mermaids are for him a shorthand for him wanting to behold the many wonders on offer in a magic land–in other words, harpies, unicorns and mermaids, oh my. He then keeps asking about the mermaids, having lessons about them, researching them, getting different answers about mermaids from different people, until he finally does meet one–with consequences I will not spoil for those who do not yet know!"

"Sci-fi author Martha Wells on writing a series about a robot that calls itself Murderbot".

"‘SHEroes’: Wonder Woman meets Bionic Woman". "Lindsay Wagner, aka Jamie Sommers or “The Bionic Woman,” posted her photo with Lynda Carter, aka Diana Prince or “Wonder Woman,” on her Facebook page recently and, as expected, fans went wild with nostalgia."

"Superheroes for the Jewish New Year". [Book Riot]

Over at

ladybusiness,

renay posted a great interview with Kate Elliott.

"Present-Day Devices as Props". "Every Star Trek production requires a large number of props to act as technical devices of Starfleet or of aliens. There are custom prop designs for standard phasers, tricorders or communicators. But in most cases there is a need for additional props that either serve a specific purpose in the story or are used as generic futuristic decoration. Several of the props that could be seen are actually slightly modified devices of the 20th/21st century. In particular, game consoles have been used repeatedly for handheld scanners."

Sarah Gailey (author of the hippo-wrangling AUs River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow) currently has an unrelated serial, The Fisher of Bones, running in Fireside Magazine, who've just announced that the whole story is now available for preorder (and...get the ending before folks who're reading it/choose to keep reading it in serialization, which seems a bit odd to me, but sure).

TV/movie news

"Linda Hamilton Set to Return to 'Terminator' Franchise".

"MISS. FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES Movie Is a Go, Thanks to Kickstarter".

"“Madam Secretary” Showrunner Barbara Hall Developing CIA Drama for CBS" about "a multigenerational family of spies."

"The real hero of Netflix's "The Defenders" is the way Jessica Jones throws very heavy things".

"REPORT: Marvel Studios Developing a Power Pack Feature Film".

Miscellaneous

"Dictionary of the Oldest Written Language–It Took 90 Years to Complete, and It’s Now Free Online". [Open Culture]

"A 68 Hour Playlist of Shakespeare’s Plays Being Performed by Great Actors: Gielgud, McKellen & More". [Open Culture, 2015]

"Street Artist Paints Fantastic Fake Shadows Under Objects Perplexing Sidewalk Pedestrians Walking By".

cesy

Hope not Hate is coming to the US, to counter the rise of international hate groups. American friends, you can sign up here.

dialecticdreamer

Family Stories
Words by Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
part 4 of 6
word count (story only): 1191

:: Part of the Polychrome Heroics universe, this is a Finn family story which includes Shiv, Boss White and the Ebonies and Ivories. ::

back to part three
to the Finn Family index
on to part five

“Okay,” Heron patted the air lightly. “That's not what I was insinuating.”

“Insi-- what?” Shiv threw his hands up, and the momentum pulled him to his feet, balancing lightly on his toes before beginning to pace between the front door and the short wall that held both his bedroom door and the bathroom door. The young man paced, loping strides pulling him nearly nose to nose with the wall before he reversed direction to lunge toward the opposite wall.

“In-sin-u-ate,” Heron repeated blandly, though he was careful to pronounce each syllable. “it's hinting, but subtly, or jockeying for position or a favor. Like...” Long fingers curled as Heron snapped his middle finger away from his thumb. “Muuuum,” he mock-whined, “my legs hurt, and the back seat is squashed up against yours and Da's.” Another minuscule shrug followed as the faintly petulant expression faded away. “In that case, insinuating that sitting in the front passenger seat would be more comfortable.”
( Read more... )

Current Mood: accomplished

swan_tower

My Patreon is trucking along, but I haven’t been good about linking to it here. So have a list of recent posts!

This week’s post (sneak preview!) will be on rites of passage, followed by a bonus post on the theory of worldbuilding, since that’s one of the funding goals we’ve reached. Remember, this is all funded by my lovely, lovely patrons — and if you join their ranks, you get weekly photos, plus (at higher levels) opportunities to request post topics or get feedback on your own worldbuilding!

Originally published at Swan Tower. You can comment here or there.

lurkingcat

The changing light patterns outside are waking me up before my alarm goes off at the moment. Which isn't great for my sleep patterns. It's totally brilliant if you're Kheldar though because he usually manages to sneak into the bedroom when I get up and go to the bathroom.

Today it was not so great for Kheldar. I woke up about 45 minutes early and he got to hop into the space between me and the edge of the bed and have a good wash and go to sleep and then... then my alarm went off.

I got out of bed, trying not to tip him off the duvet on the way, and turned the alarm off. Meanwhile Kheldar's Loud Noise Threat Assessment System attempted to wake the rest of the cat up. What mostly happened was a thud as he hit the floor and then nothing. I looked down. Kheldar's head tipped up so that his eyes could look at me. His eyes were open but I don't think he was really seeing anything. He'd frozen in place with one hind leg off the floor and one front leg off the floor because loud noise had now stopped and his body didn't know what it was supposed to be doing any more and most of him was still asleep anyway.

So I picked him up and put him back on the duvet and he kind of fell over sideways into a cat cushion and went straight back to sleep. He'd clearly had a busy night and I thought at least one of us should get the opportunity of some more sleep.

He's still mildly disgruntled about the whole business this evening.

Current Mood: amused

shopfront

Only 200 words, but they were added bits and pieces in the final edits of two of my giftbox fics. Only two more to go before deadline! But at least one of those needs a much bigger going over. Meep.

Tally
( Days 1-15 )
Day 16:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

esteliel,

navaan,

shopfront,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme (11/17)
Day 17:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

esteliel,

miss_morland,

navaan,

schneefink,

shopfront,

st_aurafina,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme (14/17)
Day 18:

alexseanchai,

auroracloud,

esteliel,

miss_morland,

navaan,