kyrielle | Network

1,000,072 words

Monday, February 9th, 2026 08:39 am

And I passed the 1M words written (not all of them edited!!) (yet!) this morning. It was so strange to add my daily couple of paragraphs to the Leopard/Tree fic knowing this was coming lol. Wow. Glad I had my little crisis about it last year so I can just nod at it today while I step above it (crisis: ✅). I think when I started writing again in 2020 and firmly settled on the "one million bad words before you can get to the good ones" mindset, I expected I'd feel at least competent when I reached the milestone. Alas. Maybe because of the crappy first half of last year, I feel like I lost 2/3 of what I knew and still have to relearn so much about my own process and how to (hopefully) write well -- I've done it once or twice before, surely I can again ;) Anyway, that's done! \o/ Next milestone, one million edited words??? Though I guess I'm not really measuring that in any way that's easy to track, haha. It'll work out ;D This is cool. Maybe I should bake a word count celebratory cake like I used to during the lockdowns. Though I'll have to write the digits on top very small with so many of them now XD (Edit: OR MAKE A BIGGER CAKE I GUESS!!!!)

I miss sitting down with the concept for a novel and having a long first draft to lose myself into ahead of me, but mentally I can't do that while I have two other on-going novels, especially with the Soul Thief still a first draft itself. I think maybe when the structural edits are completed, that may free up the mental slot for "Big First Draft." I started the prep work on that, spending some time thinking about why I wrote it and what I want to leave readers with before actually starting the edits, this time. Like, who is the actual audience, also.

( Rambles on who to share one's writing with... )

Anyway, reaching a big milestone you've been working toward for years is kind of incredible actually. I'm awed. I'm happy. If nothing else, I've proven to myself that I can stick with it. I've learnt a ton. I've made connections with people, both on the reader side and on the writer side. Met all of you here! And I'm so excited to learn even more in the coming 5-to-10 years, which is the time period I'd given myself for that original milestone, haha. ONWARD!! :D

Tags:

writing

Monday's Comic

murgatroyd_666

girlgenius_lair

Monday, February 9th, 2026 12:04 am

https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20260209

So ... What IS that?

And yeah, we all liked Wooster.

kindness is like snow—it beautifies everything it covers

dine

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 11:40 pm

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Tags:

fic rec,
meme

52/343: While

rejectomorph

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 06:46 pm

Been feeling mostly crappy all day, and more so as it passed. There's really nothing to be done at such times. Usually I just watch videos. Funny ones to cheer me up and music to distract me when the cheering fails, as it tends to do. I could have gone to bed early, but then I'd have just woken up too early in the chilly dark being sad. I can't put it off any longer though. I hope I'll be tired enough not to notice how uncomfortable I am. Then it will be possible to sleep, at least for a while.

( Sunday Verse )

Movies: The Housemaid, Iron Lung, Whistle

snickfic

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 09:51 pm

The Housemaid (2025). A recently released felon (Sidney Sweeney), takes a job as a housemaid in hopes of stabilizing her life, but lady of the house Nina (Amanda Seyfried) is abusive and unstable, and things escalate.

This is once again Paul Feig directing a dumb enjoyable trashy thriller about woman, following the Simple Favor movies with Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. Glad you found your niche, dude! Keep it up! I think parts of this might be even dumber than A Simple Favor, and it didn't matter at all. The plotholes are gaping, and we do not care, because we are here for women who Survive and ultimately Fuck Shit Up, and that is what we get.

Also like A Simple Favor, there's a husband, although at least here he's plot-relevant.

( spoilers for that )

In addition to being dumb as fuck (affectionate?), I will say this movie would have been better if maybe 20 mins of it had been cut. The middle kind of dragged.

Interestingly, this was a slow burn success at the box office; I think it's up to about $335M worldwide, which is huge for a little thriller like this. I foresee a sequel in our future, and honestly I'm here for it.

--

Iron Lung (2026). An adaptation of an indie video game, this is about a convict sent below an ocean of blood in a tiny submarine to look for... stuff.

This movie was self-funded, directed, and edited by Youtuber Markiplier, who stars. For all that, it's a pretty credible first effort. There's a lot of great atmosphere, and things go full Sam Raimi in the end in a way I enjoyed.

OTOH, I felt it really struggled with pacing and flow of information. Sometimes I had to infer key facts (like "what is his objective through the entire middle of the film") from stuff said way after the fact. Even worse, nearly all the exposition is delivered via distorted radio, and it was very frustrating to have the sense there was important stuff that I wanted to know that I straight up couldn't hear properly. There's also just too much plot and backstory and lore here for a movie with this little dialogue. The video game is barely an hour and has no characters; we don't need most of this!

Fellow youtuber hbomberguy (of the James Somerton plagiarism video fame) posted quite a long letterboxd review and made some points I appreciated, especially that Markiplier probably feels a certain personal connection to the idea of sitting in a small room trying to do an ill-defined job while unsure of one's purpose. Overall, though, my feelings align more closely with my charts guy Dan Murrell's take.

Anyway, I hope this movie is a gateway to more people discovering indie horror films. There's so much stuff out there, and a lot of it's good and weird and trying new things, like this is.

--

Whistle (2026). Some teens, including newcomer Chris (Dafne Keene) and future doctor Ellie (Sophie Nelisse) blow an ancient death whistle that causes their fated deaths to happen early, one by one.

That description does not make it sound like a good movie, and in fact it isn't, but it was trying harder than these kinds of dumb supernatural slashers often are. The cast is all very charming; I have a huge crush on Nelisse, it was great to see Keene again, now all grown up (she was Laura Kinney in Logan), and honestly all the main teens are likable, even the obligatory asshole jock. Nick Frost and Michelle Fairley are also here! Frost in particular is very fun and I wanted more of him.

There are various notes (Chris's past drug use, cousin Rel's nerdy comics obsession) that clearly were trying to add up to something. With several more rounds of script edits, this could have been this year's Clown in a Cornfield: a surprisingly charming teen slasher, greater than the sum of its parts, and with a sweet queer romance. For the first forty minutes or so, I had real hope! The setup was good!

Unfortunately this movie didn't get those edits, so it sort of tries to say something about dying and living, but also people's "deaths" are disfigured versions of themselves gleefully chasing them to ground like cats playing with their food. The cousin feels like three different characters in a trench coat. There's a time paradox thing going on with Chris's future death that just confuses the issue. It does have a queer romance, and you could argue that seeing Keene and Nelisse finally kiss is worth the price of admission, but I found it underbaked. There's also a drug dealing youth pastor with a switch blade for some reason.

Unlikely as it is with a premise this dumb, this could and should have been better.

Tags:

Writerly Ways

cornerofmadness

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 11:00 pm

I was listening to this the other day about endings

Watch on YouTube

And had several thoughts: 1. I suck at ending things. I never want to say goodbye to the characters. If I don't finish it I have to say goodbye. But that's not the problem mentioned above. That's for people who finish things

2. Have I been guilty of any of them?

3. I might be guilty. My 1980s monster hunter toes the line for the unearned happy ending. Maybe. Sort of.

It's hard to talk about it without spoiling the ending and it probably IS something that would be better if a beta reader looked at I could discuss it with them.

So why am I worried? there are multiple monster in this (maybe too many, that's a problem for another time). One monster is there at the end but it also did the work for the heroes and I'm wondering is that a good pay off? Dan and Howell (the two characters with issues that need to be resolved) get to their ending so there's that. It's probably not as bad an ending as I worry it is.

How about you? Have you worried about your endings?

Open Calls

Trollbreath Magazine Speculative fiction, poetry, and non-fiction of all kinds with a particular fondness for slipstream and fabulism in all their delightful forms

What Elegant Stars: Queer Tales of Impossible Style Space opera stories involving style, fashion, and society with a queer theme.

Astrolabe Stories about how we seek out, discover, and grasp onto connection in all genres with a particular fondness for anything that moves beyond realism in form or content or spirit

Hearth Stories Speculative fiction that explores connection, family, relationships, comfort, and the natural world.

Tea or Coffee, Stars, and Gravity Stories must include the 3 title elements: 1. Tea or Coffee, 2. Stars, 3. Gravity.

Nine Manuscript Publishers Open to Submissions in February 2026

40 Themed Submission Calls and Contests for February 2026

From Around the Web

Does Your Novel Just…Stop? What Makes a Good Ending (I swear I didn't plan this but the article is here...)

How to Write a Book Pitch That Gets Replies (With Examples).

Metaphor Fatigue: When Imagery Stops Working

From Betty

Words pull us through to the future

Five Ways Gods and the Afterlife Change a Fantasy Setting

How to Craft a Satisfying Reveal

Should You Cut Your Novel Into a Series?

Six Ways to Keep Characters in the Danger Zone

The Dos and Don’ts of Blogging for Writers

Think Music As You Write Words

Seven Decisions That Can Crash Your Story Onto The Rocks.

Five Things I’d Go Back and Tell New Writer Me

Is Single or Multiple Viewpoints Best for Your Story?

Bookshop.org Teams with Draft2Digital

When Should You Stop Querying a Book?

How Writers Should Take Advice: Knowing When to Play It Safe and When to Take Risks.

Finding Inspiration to Write: How Body, Mind, and Soul Work Together

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Vanity Presses Before You Sign

Why Writers Should Take a Daily Walk to Boost Creativity and Writing Output

Story as Cosmology: Understanding Story as a Framework for Meaning

The Greengrocer Writes a Fantasy Novel

So Random

Current Mood: discontent
Current Music: Hudson & Rex

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Obstacle Practice, Firefly

ranunculus

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 08:16 pm

Another weekend obstacle practice successfully completed.
This horse is having a good look at that stuff hanging on the fence. I tried for a vaguely Valentine's Day theme, plus the nice shiny, silver insulation from a box that M brought back Alaska Salmon in.

This Arab gelding was showing off as he trotted over the Tic-Tack-Toe.

Lots of people found that the jousting was harder than it looked.

On Saturday we only had four riders (Sunday there were 10). I got Firefly out. She was both very interactive and calm. Sunday I wanted to turn her loose in the arena while I cleaned up. When I went to get her I wanted to ride through the corrals. I started to climb on a fence panel to mount (my knees just won't bounce enough to vault on anymore). Several months ago she had fussed and moved away from the mounting block. At that point I picked up a whip and simply showed it to her. That was enough for her to be very polite when I mount - from her left side. Today's effort was on her right. Horses don't transfer skills from side to side very well. Firefly thought she would just step away. The third time she stepped away I gave her a single, open palm slap on the side she was moving toward. The head went up and she offered to run away from my cruel beating. Then stood nice and quiet and calm while I got on. Today, for the first time, I opened the latch on the two gates from horseback. It wasn't elegant, but it did teach her that the noise was ok, and that the gate would open if she stood in the right place. While I cleaned up the arena, she got to run around in the nice soft sand, and roll. At least sand doesn't stick like the mud in the corral does! When I was done she walked up to me and we went off to a nice patch of green grass for her to graze as a treat. What a greedy thing she is. She stuffed grass in her mouth as fast as she could bite it off for at least 10 minutes, chewing extremely hastily, before slowing down.
Tomorrow is another walk up to the Dogbane patches, this time with some of the local basket weavers. I'm excited about this.

Back From Capricon

billroper

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 09:56 pm

And I'm back from Capricon.

This is a slight exaggeration, because I commuted to Capricon this year, living about 15 minutes from the hotel and having discovered that there were no rooms with two beds available in the block when I was looking to reserve a room. (The hotel would rent me a king room in the block or a double/double outside of the block. Neither of those would have been particularly helpful.) Anyway, the result was that I was commuting to the con with a whole passel of kids.

The good news is that sales at this year's Capricon were better than the sales at my last pre-COVID Capricon back in 2020. That is largely because the sales at that previous Capricon were abjectly terrible. (Pulls up old tax paperwork to check. Yes, terrible.)

Looking at the tax paperwork causes me to realize that what I paid for two tables and a membership this year was the same as I paid for three tables and multiple memberships back in 2020. This is not a complaint that's unique to Capricon. *All* of the general-interest SF cons that I go to have boosted their table prices substantially post-COVID at the same time that their membership has gone down noticeably. This is why I no longer attempt to deal at Confusion -- there's just no prospect of making enough sales there for it to make any sort of economic sense.

Now, I understand that conventions are trying to get enough income to survive. I have worked enough cons over the years for that to be clear. But it doesn't *appear*, for instance, that the rates that are being charged to artists are a lot higher than before. (I can't speak exactly to the amounts that the artists are paying for hanging space, but that 10% commission is the same before and after COVID, to the best of my recollection.)

When I questioned the rate increase for the tables at Windycon, I was told that this is what other nearby cons charge and I *think* that referred to anime and possibly furry conventions in the area that have more members than Windycon or Capricon. I could be wrong about which cons they were referring to, as I didn't feel like it was even worth trying to make an argument (and I am *on* the Windycon concom).

All that said, my sales at Capricon were definitely ok. They were a bit less than at Windycon and I have no idea what the actual attendance at the con was like, because you couldn't divine it from the badge numbers. Maybe it was announced at Closing Ceremonies, but I was busy knocking down the table. :)

I just feel like the cons are going to price too many dealers out of the market. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe other dealers are doing a lot more volume of sales than I am, but that's not the impression that I get. I will make money on Capricon this year, but only because I commuted to the con and am only charging one membership against the table. (Which is fair, because I was really the only person who worked the table, which meant I was pretty tied to it.)

This is not a complaint about Capricon. The folks who ran the Dealers' Room were nice and competent and good to me and I *appreciate* that. This is a complaint about general-interest SF cons in general. It would be good if they were not trying to balance their budgets on the backs of the dealers, because having a large and diverse selection of dealers is an asset for a convention, IMO. And if I am going to spend all of my daytime during a convention sitting behind a dealer table, I need to be making my nut or the IRS is going to wonder what I am doing -- and so am I. Witness that I don't try to deal at Confusion any more. :)

Ok, all of that rant out of the way, I had a good time at Capricon. I had some nice conversations. I enjoyed the two panels that I was on. It would have been nice to have a concert, but that didn't work out for whatever reason. Maybe next year. The art auction was a lot of fun and it is great to have K there auctioning beside me and Dr. Bob and Mike. And K's friend from school and Julie ran art along with Lisa and did a fine job. I had fun at the open filking on Saturday -- I was too tired on Friday and had to get back early to open the dealer table (there is a recurring theme here :) ).

The new hotel seems workable, although the restriction on taking things out of the con suite was a bit of a problem when you're a dealer. It is, in any case, in the suburbs, which means that it is much easier for me to deal with. And being able to do move in on Friday made a *big* difference for me.

So I am happy to be back at Capricon for the first time since the remote con in 2021 which was the last time where I ran filking for the con. :) My perfect attendance run is well and truly blown by 2022-2025 and that's ok.

We'll try it again. :)

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Sunday

adafrog

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 09:31 pm

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church,
meme

(no subject)

skygiants

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 09:10 pm

By sheer coincidence, I ended up reading Alix Harrow's The Everlasting almost immediately after The Isle in the Silver Sea. Both books are ringing changes on the same big themes -- the narratives of nationalism, fate and tragedy, Spenser and Malory, depressed lady knights and evil girlbosses -- and from what I had previously read of both Harrow and Suri's work I was tbh quite surprised to find myself liking The Everlasting a bit better.

The premise of The Everlasting: it's more or less the second-world equivalent of the 1920s and we have just had a Big War. Our protagonist Owen has a radical pacifist alcoholic father that he doesn't respect, a war medal that he didn't really earn, a academic career that doesn't seem to be going places, and a face that makes it pretty obvious that at least one parent came from The Other Side. However, his messy relationship with the war has not in any way altered his ardent passion for the greatest figure of his country's nationalist mythology, the knight Una Everlasting, who fought at the side of the nation's founding queen a thousand years ago and died tragically to bring the country stability.

Then he finds a book that purports to be the True History of Una Everlasting, and gets summoned to a secret meeting with the country's minister of war, an evil girlboss who immediately sends him back in time to experience and document Una Everlasting's Last Quest first hand. He gets to write the nationalist myth himself! What fun!

Alas, it turns out that the great knight Una Everlasting is violent, brutal, and extremely burned out about all the people she's killed as part of the bloody process of nation-forging: at this point the citizens think of her as a butcher and she's inclined to agree. Nonetheless, fanboy Owen convinces her to take on this one last quest for the sake of her honor & kingdom & legacy &cetera, with the promise of peace at the end of it, knowing full well that the end of the quest will in fact mean her death.

This is the first section of the book and tbh I enjoyed it enormously. Owen is writing the narrative in first person and his voice is used to great effect: he's a twisted-up and self-contradictory character who shows the problems of nationalism much better as a guy who's genuinely trying to convince himself that he believes in it than he would if he started out already enlightened. I love his embarrassing radical pacifist dad and his judgmental thesis advisor, and, as heterosexualities go, I am absolutely not immune to the allure of large violent depressed woman/weaselly little worm man whom she could easily break in two who is obsessed with her but also fundamentally betraying her. If the book had ended at the end of its first section, I think it would have been a phenomenal standalone novella.

However, the book does keep going. I continued to have a good time, more or less, but the more it went on the more I felt that it had sort of overplayed its hand. Alix Harrow is extremely a Power of Fiction author in ways that didn't fully work for me in the other book of hers I read; I do appreciate that this book is the Power of Fiction [derogatory] but I still think that perhaps she is giving fiction a little too much power ... For the length of ninety pages I was willing to role with the importance of The Great Nationalist Myth, but the longer it went on and the deeper and more recursive it got with its timeloops the more I was like 'wait .... we only have one founding myth? changing the myth really directly and immediately impacts the future in predictable and manipulable ways and is in fact the only thing that does so? Hmm. Well."

Also I enjoyed the evil girlboss right up until it was revealed that every evil girlboss in the country's whole thousand-year-old history had been the very self-same evil girlboss and no other woman had ever done anything. You are telling me you have built up a whole thing about this country's founding myth of the Queen And Her Lady Knight from scratch and that didn't change the country's relationship to gender at all? NO other woman was ever inspired to do anything with that? I am not sure that's as feminist as you think it is ...

Anyway, I do think this book and The Island In the Silver Sea form a sort of spiritual duology and I'm glad to have read them back to back: for such similar books they have really interestingly different flaws and virtues.

Dogs and Cats and a Smidge of the Olympics

days_unfolding

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 08:35 pm

Gracie woke me up at 7:30 AM. Actually, she started waking me up earlier, but I pulled the covers over my head. Fed the dogs and ordered dog food. Fed us all.

Lindsay Vonn crashed. That’s sad. The US won the team ice skating competition.

Crap. The dogs pinned Oliver and were play-biting him, and he understandably freaked out. I eventually got him loose, and he ran into the bathroom. I closed the door to keep the dogs out and brought his food in there. He seems to be okay.

Nap time. It also gives the cats some time without the dogs, who are in the bedroom with me. Peace is reigning throughout the land (okay, house).

I’m feeling a twinge of grief because I don’t get email from my mom.

Napped. I’m very dehydrated, so I’m trying to chug water with some Mio lemonade mixed in. Had lunch. Now I want a post-lunch nap. The dogs are tired too. (Why?) Gracie and Bella are play-fighting, and Gracie emitted a growl that turned into a yawn. Funny.

Napped. Gracie stole my glasses, which I had put down on the kitchen table. Cheeky pup. I did get them back. Oh jeez. Oliver pulled one of the magnetic dry erase markers off of the refrigerator and dropped it, and Bella grabbed it. Great teamwork, guys.

Fed us all. I'm going to go to sleep soon to get up early and have my car jump-started.

Tags:

SitRep

questionable_content_feed

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 09:35 pm

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5761

vital functions

kaberett

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 10:38 pm

Reading. I have FINISHED Index, A History of the (Dennis Duncan), including both indexes, including The Games Therein, and had a Great time.

Started (just now) The Rose Field, volume three of The Book of Dust (Philip Pullman). ( Grousing; vague spoilers for vol 2 )

so as I say I'm not hugely hopeful for this, but hey, maybe I'm being unfair to it.

Writing. Did you know that getting knowledge out of your own head and into other people's is a specific set of skills that has very little to do with how well you know the things you're trying to communicate? TRY TO LOOK SHOCKED, PLEASE. (6.3k words, and am absolutely in an Iterative Cycle of trying to make the introduction more-or-less work. It is progressing, just... very slowly.)

Listening. I realised that Hidden Almanac was possibly in fact exactly a useful sort of thing to listen to while Wrangling Laundry, and have therefore started again from the beginning, at least in part as an attempt to actually listen to some of the episodes I dozed through while they were playing in the car...

Playing. Incomplete White Puzzle progresses. (Today I have added I think three pieces to the contiguous section, two of which I had already joined to each other as a free-foating lump, and made another couple of free-floating lump connections.)

I think we also did a bit more Inkulinati before I got horrendously distracted by Puzzle. And the sudoku fixation continues, though it is at least ramping down a little.

Cooking. I have been having A Rough Week brain-wise, but I have today managed to make some bread, and I did earlier in the week gently fry up some celery and garlic to add to the mashed potato & parsnip that we were having with Vegetables and Veg Sossij. I think that is about the extent of it.

Eating. VEGETABLES, including a couple of peppers from an overwintered plant. (Restricted diet for a week up until the Tuesday just gone, so the return of Fibre was Extremely Welcome.) Favourite chocolate stars with raspberries. Fruit With Skin On. Lebkuchen. Stollen. Seeds and nuts.

Growing. I think the nematodes (applied as a split dose a few days apart) have dealt? at least temporarily? with the sodding Sciarid Flies? for now?

Lemongrass needs pricking out. Physalis are showing zero indication that they have any intention of germinating, which is mildly annoying. There are still three not-dead Lithops seedlings, though I doubt they're the same three as last week. Orchids getting increasingly enthusiastic about their plans to flower.

Have not managed to get anything else sown, yet.

Observing. Lots of bulbs: daffodils and crocuses various and snowdrops are Definitely Underway, at this point. We are fairly convinced that the Yelling from the garden around dusk is Amorous Foxes, though we have not (yet?) bestirred ourselves to ask the internet if what we think we're hearing is in fact what we're hearing...

Tags:

vital functions

GenPrompt Bingo: Wild Card (Telepathy)

senmut

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 04:38 pm

AO3 Link | Long Distance Force Calls (842 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Darth Vader & Ahsoka Tano
Characters: Darth Vader, Ahsoka Tano
Additional Tags: Telepathy, Force Bond
Summary:

They never severed the bond...

Long Distance Force Calls

The first time her meditations took her deep enough that the lock slipped from the training bond, Ahsoka almost metaphorically ran away and slammed the gate shut. She was still on the run, still trying to figure out where she could belong that would make a difference, and there was this swirling storm of rage and pain.

Before she could, he took notice of her, and for a moment, she felt him push the anger away to hold on to her as something of his own.

~You left me.~ The accusation burned blue-white in her mind, as the anger rose higher than the possessive love.

~I would be dead if I hadn't and you know it,~ she shot back, but there was a piece of her that did feel the guilt of the galaxy burning down because of her choice.

~I could have protected you!~

~Really, Skyguy?~ She deliberately let him see as she stood looking over the markers made for the 332nd.

It was him that closed her out … after she tasted his own sense of failure to those that had trusted them both.

She had not been meditating that deeply when she knew that he was touching her mind. The whirls of anger were almost steadying, given how enraged she'd been by the Alliance ignoring her advice. They would not do so again — but too many had paid the price.

She locked that, all of her other activities, deep inside, protecting them behind shields he could not penetrate. That the anger was tied so deeply to pain, unending pain, was a moment's curiosity before she acknowledged him in her mind.

~Snooping on me, Skyguy?~

~Your irreverence only grows,~ and the voice was far more resonant, deeper, carrying a darker flare than ever, but she thought there was something desperate in how it sounded.

~Did they all die?~

She hissed in a breath, needing to protect those few men she knew to be free of the Empire, the ones safe from the nightmare… and grieving for all those she had not been able to save.

~If, Apprentice, you should find others, they still age.~

Her hesitation to tell him made those words come across as cold as space, and yet, even as he left her alone in her mind, she noted he had told her the important part. Somewhere, deep inside the man that had become her worst nightmare, he still cared about the men. And she would see what she could do to fix it, another testament of who they had been, when they had been together, protecting the men.

She was injured, almost to the point of needing trance to hold it at bay until her operatives made the pick up.

She didn't want to risk being that vulnerable, even as she reached for the fury-laced-with-pain that smoldered in the corner of her psyche.

~You are hurt.~

The surprise, followed by almost overwhelming anger directed at whatever had harmed her was almost touching, but Ahsoka had to keep that away from her heart. She brought her irreverence to her own defense.

~You are always in pain, Skyguy. Surprised your handler didn't get that fixed.~

That was better, a sharp spike in the anger, the deeper presence of darkness — it helped her maintain the illusion that they could never be anything but enemies now, even as neither of them severed their bond.

~There was not much of me to heal,~ being the next honest thought set Ahsoka back on her proverbial heels.

~Ultimate power, with access to a master cloning world, and he couldn't get you body parts cloned? Organs? Whatever it is that you need to not be… like this? Skyguy, your contract with this guy is worse than mucking eopi stalls.~

She didn't expect him to hold onto the link after that.

~Perhaps. But there is no alternative.~

Those words, contemplative, almost calm, sent a chill down Ahsoka's spine, but before she could think her way to a witty comeback, he locked her out again.

~There have been a number of times I thought you were a figment of my imagination.~

That calm entry into her mind, backdropped against the abyss of ever-present pain, set Ahsoka on edge. They'd been entirely too close in physical space this day.

~I wish I had words to convince you that we could make a better reality than what we have.~

She kept it to a surface emotion of wishfulness, holding back every other emotion that had surged in her soul during the near encounter.

~Wishes have never been a good plan of attack, Apprentice.~

She closed her eyes, gave him her regrets for the past, and locked him out of her mind, shoring up her shields against the man she missed, that still existed in a monster that had destroyed everything resembling peace.

Here they were, face to face…

…and even all the moments of the years apart that had led to words and emotions shared, they both knew.

Today, what they had been would either be destroyed forever —

— or reforged.

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Lord of the Black Mountain

othercat

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 03:03 pm

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Star Wars stories - Virtually ethical - Obi-Wan/Anakin drabblex5 & Blastin' & laughin' so long - Han

petra

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 04:40 pm

Virtually ethical (500 words) by Petra
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Characters: Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi
Additional Tags: Tragedy, Quintuple Drabble, Hurt No Comfort
Summary:

Obi-Wan is usually pretty good about listening to what Anakin is saying, but not always.

*

Blastin' and laughin' so long (750 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Leia Organa/Han Solo, Lando Calrissian/Han Solo, Leia Organa/Luke Skywalker/Han Solo, Chewbacca & Han Solo
Characters: Han Solo, Chewbacca (Star Wars), Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Lando Calrissian
Additional Tags: Crack Treated Seriously, Han Solo Shoots First, Humor, In-Universe Meme
Summary:

How "Han Shot First" came to be a meme in the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Current Mood: giggly
Current Music: My God, how the kudos roll in

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Holly Poly Reveals

settiai

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 04:14 pm

Holly Poly reveals have happened, and I ended up writing a total of four fics this year. They were all in very different fandoms.

( Baldur's Gate (Video Games) )

( Daredevil (TV) )

( Titanic (1997) )

( Watchmen (Comic) )

Current Mood: creative

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My Bluesky posts

matthew_feed

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 05:04 pm

Posted by Matthew McQuilkin

https://www.fruitcakeenterprises.com/blog/2026/2/8/my-bluesky-posts

Sat, 19:38: (@ Dusty’s Hideaway, Tacoma). https://t.co/34AX2ugk5q
Sat, 21:37: Very imaginative, fun, even a bit moving, and even a bit provocative if you dig deep enough. https://t.co/Rse29IxQef

https://www.fruitcakeenterprises.com/blog/2026/2/8/my-bluesky-posts

Writing is the worst hobby

minoanmiss

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 12:50 pm

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

Current Mood: amusenoyyed

K-9 manga trailer + volume 4 initial thoughts

vriddy

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 05:34 pm

To celebrate volume 4 coming out, the official K-9 account over at

k_9comic published a manga preview trailer (x.com) with Oboro and Ren's voices.

Ren's voice: Ise Mariya
Oboro's voice: Miyano Mamoru

You may picture me half-dead in a corner. Oboro sounds even creepier than I imagined him, in all the best ways. Ren is *swoons*

In addition, the extras for volume 4 involve a couple of 4-koma strips and therefore it is now officially confirmed that

do I even need a spoiler tag for this? It's not plot-relevant. Not yet. It's relevant to my blood pressure

Kagari and Fujimaru do live together, and Kagari does borrow Fujimaru's clothes as he pleases.

I'll share proper(ish) translations soon. Just. Need to go curl up in a corner for a while first.

Volume 4 is seriously awesome and packs in so many of my favourite OT4 scenes, including the one that sold me on them, and then so many interactions after that! And it ends on the chapter that introduces the two little guys I was talking about the other day, with that hand-over-mouth panel too. What a beautiful day. My heart can only take so much, though.

Tags:

fandom: k-9

Fic Posted!

lightbird

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 12:28 pm

So, further to my post from yesterday, not only did I post the fic, but I managed to flesh it out to over 500 words, so it now qualifies for a fill on both my bingo cards!

Here is the post on

halfamoon.

And on AO3: Baby Sis

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(no subject)

maju

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 12:26 pm

I didn't have a very good night last night; when I went to bed I couldn't get to sleep, for no apparent reason. I might have had too much excitement right before going to bed; I went upstairs to use the bathroom there because someone was in the one down here, and when I went in I startled the cat, who was in the bath playing with a mouse. I wish someone would call an exterminator. Anyway, I didn't get much more than four hours sleep.

Something is finally happening with my Kaiser health insurance. On Friday when I checked my bank accounts I discovered that the cheques I had mailed off a month ago to cover what I hope will be my final three months of coverage had been presented to the bank. I can't believe it took them a month to do that. The same day, I received an email saying my request to cancel my insurance had been received but before they could cancel I needed to pay for the final three months. A case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. I sent a quick reply saying the payment had been made and now I'm waiting for whatever happens next. I would really like this saga to be over.

The heating system in this house is weird. Apparently it's very cold upstairs in Eden and Aria's bedroom in spite of the heat being set to 72°F/22°C. Meanwhile it's warmer than I would like down here. I do think houses with more than one floor should have separate temperature controls on each floor.

It turns out Aria is quite an actor. She and Eden have been playing a game where you draw a card and act out whatever is on it. There have been quite a lot of animals, a camera, baking, etc, but the funniest was Aria being a banana. She insisted that she couldn't act out eating a banana, she had to *be* the banana.

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insomnia

A Georgian Mystery: Part One

steepholm

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 05:17 pm

On my birthday a couple of weeks ago - which I celebrated with friends and a buffet lunch of haggis, salmon, karaage and Waldorf salad (the company was harmonious but eclectic) - my cousin (3rd once removed) Michael arrived with more family documents. Since then I've been reading as time has allowed. It's such a rich store! All the generations from Weedens I-III are well represented, by letters and other kinds of material. (I single out 12-year-old Weeden III's detailed journal of a holiday taken in Margate in 1818 as a document of particular charm.) Some mysteries have been unravelled, others ravelled all the more. It will probably take me years to do it justice, but along the way I'll add some highlights here that I think may be of wider interest.

In the next couple of entries I'll be looking at the children of the first Weeden Butler (1742-1823). Of the four that grew to adulthood, we've already met two: Weeden II (1772-1831), whose children's letters occupied the last few family entries and who took over the Chelsea school in 1814 on his father's retirement; and his high-achieving brother George (1774-1853), who was Senior Wrangler at Cambridge, Headmaster of Harrow, Dean of Peterborough, and became the patriarch of a whole dynasty of academics, lawyers and politicians culminating in Rab Butler.

They had a younger brother, John, who lived less than 18 months, and then two more siblings: Charles (1777-1814) and Harriot (1779-1846). It's about these youngest two that I want to write, for each, in their own way, holds a mystery. In Charles's case the mystery is public, and surrounds the circumstances of his death, when the East Indiaman "William Pitt" (of which he was master) was lost with all hands off the coast of Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape. I've long known of this tragedy as a bald fact, but now I have the letters and speculations that surrounded the event. There's a lot, and it will take some time to get it into a state that can be usefully summarised. But I promise I'll get there, and that it will be worth it.

For now, let's turn to Harriot, whose mystery is more private. I have no letters from her, nor picture neither, just references to her by a series of other authors - references that leave enough gaps to allow for multiple interpretations. Perhaps it's best to lay out the evidence first - which may be supplemented as I work through the many letters, etc., now in my possession.

Some early references to Harriot come from the letters of Pierce Butler (no relation) the American senator and Founding Father, whose son Thomas was attending Weeden I's school at the time. In August 1787, he takes a few minutes away from attending the Constitutional Convention to praise the eight-year-old Harriot's progress in writing: "The rapid progress she has made is amazing, and must give great delight to her good parents." Another letter, sent when Harriot is 14, makes reference to a serious illness, without specifying its nature.

So far, so standard. However, in April 1803, the month after their mother's death, Charles records in a letter to his elder brother Weeden II a disturbing incident, witnessed by his bride-to-be Fanny in the Cheyne Walk house:

Today I had the Pleasure of seeing our dearest, only Parent now left on earth, & found him, as well as Harriet & Fanch [?] quite well. Poor dear Henny [Harriot] however on Tuesday went off in a very strong hysterical fit, when coming down stairs & alarm’d my father who was coming with her extremely. You may judge of Fanny’s situation, who told me she felt even more apprehensive for my father, who had become as white as a sheet, knowing that Harriet would shortly come too [sic], but fearful lest the shock might have overcome him! When at Chelsea I did not hear a word of this from my Father & did not wish to recal [sic] the memory of it to him. They talk of Henny’s going away for a short Time, till her Spirits get stronger & I think, if she could get to Mrs Yeo’s [?] Clifton, the Jaunt & Residence there would be a delightful thing for her. Our dear Father, was apparently perfectly composed and cheerful, but had, perceptibly, suffered much. He could not sleep after the surprise. Miss S. Giberne had been out in the morning in Chelsea & I conjecture the similarity of situation, tho’ at a distant Period, had worked upon Harriet’s mind, naturally very susceptible & now with too just a cause rendered almost helpless. She however was quite compose’d yesterday & had had Miss Slater with her all the morning. I was extremely hurt at the account, as the last letter I had receiv’d mention’d that every thing was going on so very well.

(Clifton, then near rather than part of, Bristol, was at this time a spa town, a rival to the longer-established Hotwells at the bottom of the hill.)

Harriot was sufficiently recovered to be a witness at Charles and Fanny's wedding the following year, in any case. The next glimpse of her is on 10 January 1822, also in a letter to Weeden II. This time the writer is his other brother, George, who has just seen her in Clifton. The immediate context is that their father, the elder Weeden, is to turn 80 later that year and has been drafting some changes to his will. That's a story I may return to on another occasion, but what concerns us here is the plan for Harriot's inheritance, which Weeden has decided to put into the hands of trustees - an idea George heartily approves of.

To Harriet £500, “in the hands of Trustees;” this trust seems to be very essential in her case. For I regret to say, that her conduct at Clifton has of late been more extravagant than heretofore: she has now quitted Mrs Scriven, & is under the same roof with my father, waiting there until some satisfactory arrangement can be made for her separate maintenance.

Harriot also pops up in the letters between Weeden II's children, if somewhat tantalisingly. On 23rd February 1824, by which time the elder Weeden was six months dead and Harriot had presumably come into her trustee-managed inheritance, sixteen-year-old Anne writes to Weeden III:

One thing, which I think you will be surprised to hear, is that Aunt Harriet is coming to stay a few days with us at Chelsea soon. I am not quite sure of this yet, and therefore do not mention that I have told you, as I may be thought medling [sic]. If I hear any more about it I will tell you in my next letter.

When I first read this, I wondered why an aunt coming to stay should be surprising news or require such diplomacy.

Finally, Annie Robina Butler, the daughter of Anne and Weeden's brother Tom, wrote in her 1907 biography of her father that when he was living in Cheyne Walk in the 1840s and having to provide for a growing family on a small salary, one of his responsibilities was the care of an "invalid aunt." This was of course Harriot, who spent the last few years of her life in the house where she was born, dying there in 1846.

Annie Robina would have been just five at the time of Harriot's death, so although she lived in the same house for several years her memory of her aunt, and of the nature of her invalidism, would probably have been a little hazy - nor would she necessarily have wished to share it with her child readers. Was it physical? Mental? Both?

Harriot passes elusively through these various pieces of evidence. The reading of least resistance is that she suffered from what her contemporary Jane Austen might have seen as an excess of sensibility, leading to a degree of mental instability. That seems strongly implied by Charles's letter in particular, and confirmed in George's - although the latter is ambiguous as to the form of Harriet's "extravagance": is he referring to her use of money, as the financial context might suggest, or also to her behaviour? She doesn't appear to have been confined to anything as hardcore as an asylum, but I wonder what the Clifton regimes of Mrs Yeo or Mrs Scriven were like - were they normal lodging houses or something more like sanatoria?

Again, was Harriot's condition (whatever it was) with her from the beginning, or was it triggered - or at least worsened - by some kind of traumatic event? Charles's suggestion that "the similarity of situation, tho’ at a distant Period, had worked upon Harriet’s mind", suggests something of the kind. At first I thought that it must be a reference to their mother's death. Perhaps "Miss S. Giberne" (probably Sally Sophia Giberne, an older cousin born in 1764) reminded Harriot of their mother, who had been a Giberne herself? But their mother's death had occured just a few weeks earlier, not at a "distant Period".

Armchair diagnosis is a mug's game, but it's also the only game in town, apart from minding one's own business - which is of course unthinkable.

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family history

The Night Manager (Season 2)

selenak

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 05:37 pm

I am really torn about this one. On the one hand, all the downsides I assumed when first hearing about this and when watching the trailer turned out not to be the case. On the other hand, something I hadn't expected did happen - two somethings, actually - and both to my favourite character from the original, and I'm still massively annoyed about this.

What I thought/feared: because The Night Manager had been such a success, they'd simply go for the (unnecessary) repeat sequel formula, with Jonathan Pine motivated by personal loss and vengeance (again), and the two new characters, arms dealer Teddy Santos, as a Richard Roper copy, and the sole woman focused on in the trailer, Roxana, in the role of beautiful girlfriend of the villain falling in love with our hero. This turned out not to be the case, though the first episode seemed to indicate it would be, with just enough differences to make it entertaining. Then more episodes happened, and I sat up and thought: Oh. Oh. That....is actually a really clever twist on the formula. Or several. But also, come episode 3, the first of the two things happened. And, well, I can't talk about this without spoilers....

( Spoilers think that if the original version was more optimistic than Le Carré's novel, this sequel decided to go all in with the cynism (though not nihilism) )

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: Bamberg

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Bones rules

marycatelli

books

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 11:07 am

Bones rules; or, Skeleton of English grammar by John B. Tabb

Turn-of-the-last-century grammar lessons. Basic, sound grammar, with some additional interest in his choices of sentences to analyze. Many from poems, and with some interesting placing of the parts of a sentence.

He does note that any word can be used as a verb, even then.

Cats' litterboxes

mtbc

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 02:15 pm

We have a couple of cats, B. and J., who were rescued as kittens. ( Excretory developments. )

Heated Rivalry rec

princessofgeeks

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 06:14 am

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

Current Mood: happy

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(photos) sunset on the edge of town

passingbuzzards

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 01:45 am

Some pretty photos of the sunset shadows and mountains taken on the edge of town ~~today~~ yesterday (as always, wishing I had a DSLR camera so that you could actually tell that the mountains are very large and close up and that the distant high-rises in the last one are much closer than they appear...but, anyway, iPhone is certainly doing lovely things with the colors). I especially loved how you could see the discrete tree shadows looking in the direction of the sun, visible in the first one.

( [photos] )

Walked about 6.2 miles round trip for these, which is the longest I've managed since injury in summer 2024; parts of my ankles were very very unhappy about the 300ft elevation gain, had to walk backwards periodically as usual, gah. (Nor were they very happy about the way back down.) Also I noticed while on this walk that the 55+ neighborhood has solar panels on every house, which is pretty cool; I didn't know this was a thing anywhere in this state.

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photos

there was no use talking, there was nothing to say

dine

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 11:39 pm

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

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What does the word "grocery" mean, no, really? [econ, curr ev]

siderea

Sunday, February 8th, 2026 12:47 am

Hey, does anybody happen to know the answer to this question?

Back when Mr B and I started doing joint grocery orders, I started analyzing our budget like you do. In the course of doing so, I discovered something I hadn't realized: about a third of my "grocery" budget wasn't food. It was:

• Disposable food handling and storage supplies: plastic wrap, paper towels, aluminum foil, ziplocs, e.g.

• Personal hygiene supplies: toilet paper, bath soap, shampoo, skin lotion, menstrual supplies, toothpaste, mouthwash, Q-tips, e.g.

• Health supplies: vitamins, bandaids, NSAIDs, first aid supplies, OTC medications and supplements, e.g.

• Domestic hygiene supplies: dish detergent, dish soap, dish sponges, Windex, Pine-sol, laundry detergent, bleach, mouse traps, e.g.

None of these things individually needs to be bought every grocery trip, but that's good, because they can add up fast. Especially if you try to buy at all in volume to try to drive unit costs down. But the problem is there are so many of them, that usually you need some of them on every order.

This fact is in the back of my head whenever I hear politicians or economists or social commentators talk about the "cost of groceries": I don't know if they mean just food or the whole cost of groceries. Sometimes it's obvious. An awful lot of the relief for the poor involves giving them food (such as at a food pantry) or the funds to buy it (such as an EBT card), but very explicitly doesn't include, say, a bottle of aspirin or a box of tampons or a roll of Saran wrap. Other times, it's not, such as when a report on the cost of "groceries" only compares the prices of food items, and then makes statements about the average totals families of various sizes spend on "groceries": if they only looked at the prices of foods, does that mean they added up the prices of foods a family typically buys to generate a "grocery bill" which doesn't include the non-food groceries, or did they survey actual families' actual grocery bills and just average them without substracting the non-food groceries? Hard to say from the outside.

When we see a talking head on TV – a pundit or a politician – talking about the price of "groceries" but then say it, for example, has to do with farm labor, or the import of agricultural goods, should we assume they're just meaning "food" by the term "groceries"? Or it is a tell they've forgotten that not everything bought at a grocery store (and part of a consumer's grocery store bill) is food, and maybe are misrepresenting or misunderstanding whatever research they are leaning on? Or is it a common misconception among those who research domestic economics that groceries means exclusively food?

So my question is: given that a lot of information about this topic that percolates out to the public is based on research that the public never sees for themselves, what assumptions are reasonable for the public to make about how the field(s) which concern themselves with the "price of groceries" mean "groceries"? What fields are those and do they have a standard meaning of "groceries" and does it or does it not include non-food items?

This question brought to you by yet another video about the cost of groceries and how they might be controlled in which the index examples were the ingredients for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but, as usual, not the sandwich baggy to put it in to take to school or work.

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52/342: I'm In My Fridge Not Eating My Foodz

rejectomorph

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 08:02 pm

It appears that I've grown sick of the whole eating meals thing, as I haven't done it for a while. Friday night I thought about making a meal but gave up and opened a can of soup. I can't remember Thursday but I'm pretty sure I ate something other than a meal that night too. Tonight I'm feeling pretty resistant to the very idea of mealness, but can't think of an adequate substitute. In the meantime I've spoiled what appetite I had by snacking on candy. There was a part of a Toblerone bar, and now there isn't.

Oh, I've just recalled I have popcorn. Popcorn is an excellent meal avoidant. It is almost food itself, and can be buttered. If something has butter on it, my mind is inclined to consider it a near-meal. I might find it easier to sleep after that.

But weather. The highs in the sixties will continue for a couple more days, but Wednesday will be chilly and will probably bring some actual rain. Actual rain will be nice for a change. I can't think of a single reason not to be pleased with the prospect. Maybe it will even give me an appetite for an actual meal. Stranger things have happened. In fact stranger things are pretty common. No need to be excited. Especially so close to bedtime. As soon as I eat that popcorn.

Awash in a sea of diamonds

cornerofmadness

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 11:04 pm

Or at least that's how the snow looked in the bright sunshine. I didn't try to get out of here today but I should have apparently. It's supposed to snow again tomorrow.

I am struggling to do the declutter thing but I did get the top of the jewelry box cleaned off and untangled about a dozen necklaces. Also realized the jewelry box on top the big jewelry box (I love jewelry so I have lots) was empty. It's now filled with anime fandom pins. I need to find a display for them.

This whole day seemed to slip past me in a very unsatisfying way. So I have little to report so have science Saturday

RFK Jr. Once Celebrated Raw Milk. Now, A Baby Has Died From Bacteria Linked To Unpasteurized Dairy Guess th is is going on the micro discussion board for class

Review Of 52 Studies Finds No Fitness Advantage For Trans Women Over Cis Women There are admitted flaws to the study but it does make a good point (that will be ignored by those who don't want it to be true)

A Subterranean City Of Salt Has Been Preserved Within This Cave-Like Mine For Centuries This has been on my bucket list for years

Heard The Rumor Earth Will Lose Gravity For 7 Seconds On August 12, 2026? Here’s Why It’s Rubbish FFS

Dry Scooping: Scientists Have Warned Against A Potentially Deadly TikTok Challenge.

When Vampire Bats Become Close Friends, They Start ‘Talking’ Like Each Other

Physicists push thousands of atoms to a 'Schrödinger's cat' state — bringing the quantum world closer to reality than ever before

Preserved hair reveals just how bad lead exposure was in the 20th century

James Webb telescope solves mystery of 'forever young' vampire stars from the dawn of time

More than 43,000 years ago, Neanderthals spent centuries collecting animal skulls in a cave; but archaeologists aren't sure why

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: The Gorgon

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science

2/4/26 - 2/7/26 Really Friday's Post

gwydion

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 08:42 pm

* "Trump says he won’t extend nuclear arms treaty with Russia:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/05/trump-nuclear-arms-treaty-russia-00767497

*** Immigration/I.C.E/Autocracy/Slow Motion Civil War/Violent Illegal Occupation of Blue Cities News (Sort likely a little rough)***

* "THE DILDO DISTRIBUTION DELEGATION:" https://www.closertotheedge.net/p/the-dildo-distribution-delegation

* "The Real Story Behind the Midnight Immigration Raid on a Chicago Apartment Building:" https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-venezuela-immigration-ice-raid-landlord-tren-de-aragua

Isn't moving squatters a job for Chicago PD at best and not an excuse for a violent military raid that involved ICE dragging naked children from their beds and zip tying them and parading them outside for their own personal pleasure?

* "ICE and Border Patrol in Minnesota − accused of violating 1st, 2nd, 4th and 10th amendment rights − are testing whether the Constitution can survive:" https://theconversation.com/ice-and-border-patrol-in-minnesota-accused-of-violating-1st-2nd-4th-and-10th-amendment-rights-are-testing-whether-the-constitution-can-survive-274613

* "Trump administration will pull 700 immigration officers from Minneapolis:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/04/trump-administration-will-pull-700-immigration-officers-from-minneapolis-00763994

2000 remain. Trump has already announced plans to violently invade Ohio.

* "Government lawyer yanked from immigration detail in Minnesota after telling judge ‘this job sucks’:" https://apnews.com/article/julie-le-job-sucks-minnesota-dhs-ice-b0affbb6c394c39184a813c8f597d5a2

* "‘We Know Where You Live.’ Protesters Say ICE Agents Retaliate With Threats, Investigations:" https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/02/04/ice-immigration-intimidation-tactics-protesters

* "Educators Sue Over ICE Activity on School Grounds and Nearby:" https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/educators-sue-over-ice-activity-on-school-grounds-and-nearby/2026/02

* "US immigration agents detain two-year-old Minnesota girl: ‘depravity beyond words’:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/23/us-immigration-two-year-old-minnesota-girl

* "Two Venezuelans, charged with assaulting agents in ICE shooting, re-detained despite judge’s orders:" https://www.startribune.com/mn-venezuelans-released-ice-shooting/601576035

ICE lied that he was attacking them, when they were actually shooting wildly through an apartment door nearly hitting a crib.

* "Don Lemon Arrested For Journalism:"

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* "‘For what?’: JD Vance refuses to apologize for smearing Alex Pretti:" https://www.ms.now/all-in/watch/for-what-jd-vance-refuses-to-apologize-for-smearing-alex-pretti-2485410371683

* Here are some ways to help Immigrants and the anti-ICE Protesters:

"MASTER LIST OF WAYS TO HELP IN MINNEAPOLIS:" https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/807223113540599808?source=share
"Here are Minnesota groups that need your help organizing against ICE and DHS operations:" https://www.advocate.com/news/minnesota-mutual-aid-groups-ice
Links to Help organize in advance of ICE Occupation: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/807226885129060352?source=share
"How To Help if You are Outside Minnesota:" https://naomikritzer.com/2026/01/21/how-to-help-if-you-are-outside-minnesota/
"Support minnesotans defending their communities from ICE:" https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
"When the Feds Come to Your City: Standing Up to ICE :" https://crimethinc.com/2025/12/03/when-the-feds-come-to-your-city-standing-up-to-ice-a-guide-from-chicago-organizers
Immigrant Defenders: https://give.immdef.org/give/545119/#!/donation/checkout
The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/
National Bail Fund Network: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/en/nbfn-directory
Amnesty International: protect asylum-seekers: https://donate.amnestyusa.org/page/113080/donate/1
The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights: https://www.theyoungcenter.org/
CHIRLA: https://www.chirla.org/
AL Otro Lado: https://alotrolado.networkforgood.com/projects/63833-al-otro-lado-fund
"Know Your Rights:" https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights
"Disappeared In America:" https://www.disappearedinamerica.us/

* "Trump wants to be paid $10 billion taxpayer dollars but says he’ll give it to charity:" https://www.ms.now/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-wants-to-be-paid-10-billion-taxpayer-dollars-but-says-he-ll-give-it-to-charity-2485698627610

* "Steve Bannon: “You're damn right we're gonna have ICE surround the polls come November.” :" https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-youre-damn-right-were-gonna-have-ice-surround-polls-come-november

We need to be prepared to get out the vote in the face of voter intimidation.

* "‘Surround the polls’: Trump ally admits voter intimidation plan using ICE:" https://www.ms.now/all-in/watch/surround-the-polls-trump-ally-admits-voter-intimidation-plan-using-ice-2485406275948

* "Gabbard's office examined voting machines in Puerto Rico:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/tulsi-gabbards-office-says-examined-electronic-voting-systems-puerto-r-rcna257602

* If they did nothing wrong why does the story keep changing? "Trump shifts explanation of why DNI Gabbard was at FBI Georgia election office raid:" https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-shifts-explanation-dni-gabbard-fbi-georgia-election/story?id=129890577

* "Trump resorts to the ridiculous, desperate to reverse engineer the 2020 election:" https://www.ms.now/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/trump-resorts-to-the-ridiculous-desperate-to-reverse-engineer-the-2020-election-2485691459927

* "Trump administration makes it easier to fire thousands of federal employees:" https://www.axios.com/2026/02/05/trump-federal-employees-at-will

* "Trump administration's denial of gender-affirming care to federal employees is unlawful, says LGBTQ+ group:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/eeoc-complaint-transgender-care-denial

* "The End of Free Speech:"

( Embed: )

* "Plummeting popularity sets Trump on a war against the truth:"

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* "Washington Post to make ‘significant’ cuts:" https://www.semafor.com/article/02/04/2026/washington-post-to-make-significant-cuts

* "‘It’s an absolute bloodbath’: Washington Post lays off hundreds of workers:" https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/04/washington-post-layoffs

* "Mass layoffs fuel fears of ‘death spiral’ at Washington Post:" https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/05/mass-layoffs-washington-post

* "Fear of Trump pushed Bezos to gut Washington Post, says fmr. executive editor:"

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**** Corruption of the Justice System, Pushback, and Related ****

* "Homeland Security is trying to force tech companies to hand over data about Trump critics:" https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/03/homeland-security-is-trying-to-force-tech-companies-to-hand-over-data-about-trump-critics/

* "‘Going on offense’: Slotkin will not cooperate with Trump DOJ probe:" https://www.ms.now/all-in/watch/going-on-offense-slotkin-will-not-cooperate-with-trump-doj-probe-2485670979917

**** Trump/Epstein/Maxwell, etc. CW: CSA ****

* CW: CSA "Feminism Versus Trump and Epstein:" https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/feminism-versus-trump-and-epstein/

* "Supreme Court won’t disturb new California congressional map:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/04/supreme-court-california-prop-50-map-00764862

* "Job openings plummet in warning sign for Trump's economy:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/05/job-openings-plummet-trump-economy-00767201

* "Ditching DEI is bad for employees and employers: HRC report :" https://www.advocate.com/news/ditching-dei-bad-business

* "Homeland Security shutdown grows more likely as Republicans rebuff Democrats’ ICE demands:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-special-elections/new-jersey-house-results

* "‘This shouldn’t be that complicated’: Jeffries draws hard line on DHS funding:" https://www.ms.now/all-in/watch/this-shouldn-t-be-that-complicated-jeffries-draws-hard-line-on-dhs-funding-2485668931822

They have a week to negotiate.

It is very important to call them and ask them to keep fighting to curb the abuses.

Here is a model email if you would like one to look at:

* "Emailing my legislators:" https://amaebi.dreamwidth.org/2762264.html

* " Scott Bessent struggles under questioning by New York Rep. Ritchie Torres during explosive House hearing:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/scott-bessent-ritchie-torres-clash

* "Bessent refuses to say the administration will not sue the next Fed chair:" https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/02/05/congress/bessent-fed-chair-lawsuit-00767130

* Our until Midterms is to survive, to build grassroots resistance, to do all in our power to slow the republican Christo-fascist agenda, and to prepare for 2026 in case there is still Democracy.

"Take action with Indivisible:" https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/

Trump 2.0 Indivisible Guide. https://indivisible.org/resource/guide

If you can't safely contact them in person, here are some other options for contacting your Congress Critters:

Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

And another: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

Snail Mail Campaigns: https://conuly.dreamwidth.org/3622760.html

"Congress. gov:" https://www.congress.gov/

White house (Possibly Dangerous): https://www.whitehouse.gov/

ACLU advice for writing to your Critters: https://www.aclu.org/writing-your-elected-representatives

This tracks legislation: https://www.govtrack.us/

"The Public Comment Process (+ how to write effective public comments):" https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/781844516804149248?source=share

"Swing Left:" https://swingleft.org/

Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/

"Vote Smart:" https://justfacts.votesmart.org/

Protests: "50501 Events:" https://www.fiftyfifty.one/events

"ICE Raids Toolkit: Defend Against ICE Raids and Community Arrests:" https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/raids-toolkit/

Contains a raid tip hotline amoung other things. "Know Your Rights
LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY:" https://wearecasa.org/know-your-rights/

* "Failed anti-LGBTQ+ immigrant MAGA influencer banned from Texas Republican Party events:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/valentina-gomez-expelled-texas-gop

* "On anniversary of Los Angeles wildfires, Bass and Newsom lay low:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/07/on-anniversary-of-l-a-wildfires-newsom-bass-nowhere-to-be-seen-00713275

* "Indiana advances bill that would 'mandate discrimination' against trans people, ACLU warns:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/indiana-transgender-bathroom-birth-certificate

* "Man who tried to shoot Trump at a Florida golf course gets life in prison:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-shooting-attempt-florida-ryan-routh-4bcddb2544bc127d6acf59b8311c458b

* "The Great Crime Decline Is Happening All Across the Country:" https://archive.ph/MZg9m

* "‘She looks like a baby’: Why do kids as young as 5 or 6 still get arrested at schools?:" https://publicintegrity.org/education/criminalizing-kids/young-kids-arrested-at-schools/

This is child abuse. It's also racism and ableism.

* "The Two Faces of Lummie Jenkins:" https://magazine.atavist.com/2025/lummie-jenkins-alabama-racism

* "Nine men busted for drugs while trying to board massive Atlantis gay cruise in Miami:" https://www.advocate.com/news/crime/atlantis-cruise-drug-arrests

* "Texas A&M eliminates women’s and gender studies degree program:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/texas-am-women-gender-studies

* "Texas A&M fired a professor for teaching about gender identity. Now, she's suing:" https://www.advocate.com/news/texas-am-melissa-mccoul-lawsuit

* CW: Sexual Harassment "Manager of women’s football club banned for 12 years after bombarding players with indecent images:" https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jan/17/manager-of-womens-football-club-banned-for-12-years-after-bombarding-players-with-indecent-images

* "California doctor first to face lawsuit under Texas' bounty hunter abortion pill ban:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/california-doctor-texas-abortion-pill

* "Two medical associations update their recommendations on gender-affirming care for trans youth:" https://www.advocate.com/health/transgender-health/ama-asps-backtrack-transgender-care

* "Parents of transgender kids sue Children’s Hospital Colorado for pausing gender-affirming care:" https://www.dailycamera.com/2026/01/21/childrens-hospital-colorado-sued-transgender-gender-affirming/

* "New York jury finds psychologist and surgeon didn't follow best practices in gender-affirming care case:" https://www.advocate.com/health/transgender-health/jury-rules-malpractice-transgender-treatment

* "Maryland school district didn't violate teacher's rights by requiring chosen pronoun use, appeals court rules:" https://www.advocate.com/news/education/court-upholds-inclusive-pronoun-policy

* "Nicki Minaj attacks trans kids—again:" https://www.advocate.com/transgender/nicki-minaj-trans-kids-2675087040

Ironically, Gavin Newsom is also a transphobe.

* "No, trans women don't have inherent advantage over cis women in sports: new study:" https://www.advocate.com/news/transgender-women-athletes-no-advantage

* "HIV drug's Medicare costs under negotiation:" https://www.advocate.com/health/hiv-drug-medicare-negotiations

* "13 Black community organizations fighting HIV in the U.S. you should know:" https://www.advocate.com/health/black-hiv-organizations

* "The ‘R-Word’ Returns, Dismaying Those Who Fought to Oust It:" https://archive.ph/eN1Ex

* "Researchers Expose WHILL Wheelchair Safety Risks via Remote Hacking:" https://www.securityweek.com/researchers-expose-whill-wheelchair-safety-risks-via-remote-hacking/

* "The pandemic’s hidden toll: millions of chronic conditions left undiagnosed:" https://theconversation.com/the-pandemics-hidden-toll-millions-of-chronic-conditions-left-undiagnosed-273418

* "California becomes first state to join WHO disease network after US exit:" https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5703447-who-gavin-newsom-california/

* "Researchers begin trial of nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine:" https://www.kpwhri.org/news-and-events/recent-news/news-2026/researchers-begin-trial-nasal-spray-COVID-19-vaccine

* Items below this point may be a little older.

* "The Impact Fee Illusion:" https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2026-2-4-the-impact-fee-illusion

* "New filtration technology could be gamechanger in removal of Pfas ‘forever chemicals’:" https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/23/pfas-forever-chemicals-filtration

* "AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/18/tech-ai-bubble-burst-reverse-centaur

* CW: CSAM "Payment processors were against CSAM until Grok started making it:" https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/867874/stripe-visa-mastercard-amex-csam-grok

* "GitHub walks back plan to charge for self-hosted runners:" https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/github_charge_dev_own_hardware/

* "Astronomers Find the First Compelling Evidence of "Monster Stars" in the Early Universe:" https://www.universetoday.com/articles/astronomers-find-the-first-compelling-evidence-of-monster-stars-in-the-early-universe

* "Ancient Martian beach discovered, providing new clues to red planet's habitability:" https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ancient-martian-beach-clues-red.html

* "The Moon’s Far Side Tells a Very Different Story Than the One We See From Earth:" https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-moons-far-side-tells-a-very-different-story-than-the-one-we-see-from-earth/

* "This strange form of water may power giant planets’ magnetic fields:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260112214308.htm

* "NASA’s Webb telescope just discovered one of the weirdest planets ever:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251227004146.htm

* "Bio-essential sugars in samples from asteroid Bennu:" https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-025-01838-6

* "Hidden dimensions could explain where mass comes from:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251215084222.htm

* "Marvelous Mold and Fabulous Fungus:" https://mossandfog.com/marvelous-mold-and-fabulous-fungus/

* "These Animals Are Expertly Adapted to the Cold:" https://nautil.us/these-animals-are-expertly-adapted-to-the-cold-1264317/

* "Missing for 200 Years, the Galapagos Rail Reappears Following Floreana Island Restoration:" https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/missing-for-200-years-the-galapagos-rail-reappears-following-floreana-island-restoration/

* "'Beautiful' rare octopus spotted on popular Welsh beach:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5yqnej8ejo

* "Gray wolves are hunting sea otters and no one knows how:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260129080446.htm

* "Orcas team up with dolphins to hunt salmon, study finds:" https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/11/orca-killer-whale-dolphin-hunt-salmon-study-british-columbia-canada?

* "Some polar bears are getting fatter despite a warming Arctic:" https://www.earth.com/news/some-polar-bears-are-getting-fatter-despite-a-warming-arctic/

* "Monkeys With Smaller Testicles Scream Louder to Compensate:" https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/animals-ecology/monkey-small-testicle-screams-rep/

* "The deep ocean has a missing link and scientists finally found it:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251228074505.htm

* "Mysterious Giants Could Be a Whole New Kind of Life That No Longer Exists:" https://www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-giants-could-be-a-whole-new-kind-of-life-that-no-longer-exists

* "Why Earth’s earliest animals left little trace behind:" https://www.earth.com/news/why-earths-earliest-animals-left-little-trace-behind/

* "Ancient oceans were ruled by super predators unlike anything today:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251218060611.htm

* "18,000 dinosaur tracks discovered along ancient Bolivian coastline — and they set a new record:" https://www.livescience.com/animals/dinosaurs/18-000-dinosaur-tracks-discovered-along-ancient-bolivian-coastline-and-they-set-a-new-record

* "Italy makes a surprising discovery ahead of the Winter Olympics: dinosaur tracks:" https://www.npr.org/2025/12/17/nx-s1-5647391/dinosaur-tracks-italy-olympics

* "Fossilized Bee Nests Inside Skeletons Are Unlike Anything We’ve Seen Before:" https://gizmodo.com/fossilized-bee-nests-inside-skeletons-are-unlike-anything-weve-seen-before-2000700261?

* "This ancient fossil could rewrite the story of human origins:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260103155024.htm

* "1.5-million-year-old fossil face is forcing a rethink of human origins:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251216081935.htm

* "'It is the most exciting discovery in my 40-year career': Archaeologists uncover evidence that Neanderthals made fire 400,000 years ago in England:" https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/human-evolution/it-is-the-most-exciting-discovery-in-my-40-year-career-archaeologists-uncover-evidence-that-neanderthals-made-fire-400-000-years-ago-in-england

* "Discovery shows early humans were much more advanced hunters than previously believed:" https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-shows-early-humans-were-much-more-advanced-hunters-than-previously-believed/

* "Exposure to burn injuries played key role in shaping human evolution, study suggests:" https://phys.org/news/2026-02-exposure-injuries-played-key-role.html

* "Why You Should Study History (Now More Than Ever):"

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* "Ancient people carried a wild potato across the American Southwest:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260125081143.htm

* "This 8,000-year-old art shows math before numbers existed:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251216081937.htm

* "Digital scans unveil new love notes and sketches on ancient Pompeii wall:" https://www.reuters.com/science/digital-scans-unveil-new-love-notes-sketches-ancient-pompeii-wall-2026-01-19/

* "Can You Decode the Roman Dodecahedron?:" https://artsandculture.google.com/story/can-you-decode-the-roman-dodecahedron/5wVh18uEpJuMnA?hl=en

* "What Do Native Cultures Have in Common?: Ep 6 of Crash Course Native American History:"

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* "The Real Impacts of Archaeology on Native Americans: Ep 7 of Crash Course Native American History:"

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* "The Truth About Columbus’s “First Contact”: Ep 10 of Crash Course Native American History:"

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* "There are no pure cultures:" https://aeon.co/essays/there-are-no-pure-cultures-we-have-always-been-global

* "Discover Michelangelo’s First Painting, Created When He Was Only 12 or 13 Years Old:" https://www.openculture.com/2026/01/discover-michelangelos-first-painting.html?

* "500 Years Later, Scientists Prove That Leonardo da Vinci’s Bridge Design Works:" https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a69676907/da-vinci-bridge-design/

* "What the Tudors REALLY ate – and why it was healthier than you think:"

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* "Inside the Tudor bedroom: love and marriage in the 16th-century:"

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* "How did the Tudors have FUN? Ruth Goodman on maypoles, ale and deadly jousts:"

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* "What did ordinary Tudors do for work? Inside the 16th-century daily grind:"

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* "We Didn't Start The Class War: The Tudor Homelessness Crisis:"

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* "How Caravaggio Painted Class and Clothes:" https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/caravaggio-class-clothes-street-style-elizabeth-currie-1234751231/

* "British soldier’s long-lost memoir rediscovered in Cleveland:" https://www.popsci.com/science/british-soldier-memoir-cleveland/

* "National Portrait Gallery buys rare photographs of Ada Lovelace for the nation:" https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/national-portrait-gallery-saves-rare-photographs-of-ada-lovelace-for-the-uk-86284/

* "The Gay Scottish Lord Who Became A Mountain Man:"

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* "From the Trail of Tears to Wounded Knee: Ep 11 of Crash Course Native American History:"

( Embed: )

* "I Tested Different Victorian Menstruation Products:"

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* "The History of America’s Indian Boarding Schools: Ep 12 of Crash Course Native American History:"

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* "The Victorian Mystic who "Traveled to Other Planets":"

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* CW: Child Death "The Worst Fluid to Drown In:"

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* "The 1918 Flu Pandemic | World History | Extra History Complete:"

( Embed: )

* "Unhinged Amendments That Almost Passed:"

( Embed: )

* "American “Heritage” vs. American History | The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart:"

( Embed: )

* "The World's Longest-Running Lab Experiment Is Almost 100 Years Old:" https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worlds-longest-running-lab-experiment-is-almost-100-years-old

* "The Indian Reorganization Act Explained: Ep 13 of Crash Course Native American History:"

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* "Found in the Archives, Seldom Seen Photos From World War II:" https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/found-in-the-archives-seldom-seen-photos-from-world-war-2?rid=9B8A108C20E98ED9C1E55C1A2BD40635

* "Vintage Photographs of People Reading Newspapers Before the Invention of That Grossly Antisocial Device: The Smartphone:" https://www.vintag.es/2018/12/people-reading-newspapers.html

* "What are the Fish Wars and Why Do They Matter?: Ep 9 of Crash Course Native American History:"

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* "The Termination Act Explained: Ep 14 of Crash Course Native American History:"

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* "Alain Bombard: The Biologist Who Shipwrecked Himself to Prove a Point :" https://www.amusingplanet.com/2025/12/alain-bombard-biologist-who-shipwrecked.html

* "The haunting story of Mary Doefour and one man’s quest to give her back her real name:" https://thartribune.com/the-haunting-story-of-mary-doefour-and-one-mans-quest-to-give-her-back-her-real-name/

* "The ‘Race Against Time’ to Save Music Legends’ Decaying Tapes:" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/arts/music/iron-mountain-audio-tape-preservation.html

* "The Native Civil Rights Movement: Ep 15 of Crash Course Native American History:"

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* "A 1970s History of Food:"

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* Re: '70's Food:

Food from the '70's wasn't that good really. We were poor and grew most of our own vegetables in the summer so when we had to switch in the Autumn to supermarket it was always disappointing. Here in the 21st century, better quality more flavourful vegetables are in the supermarkets, even the discount ones.

When we had a babysitter we'd get to pick a frozen dinner which was super exciting because we actually got to chose what we ate and the packaging was cute. Rareness + choice made it a special treat. Libbyland tasted better than the other frozen dinners, but like them, the texture was distinctly off. I can get far better microwave dinners at literally any store now in a far wider variety.

For the record, I first saw my first micro-wave when I was six and never used one myself until I had my first restaurant job, and didn't live anywhere with one until I was an adult.. As you noted the price point was really high relative to wages. My parents worked three jobs between them and were always struggling. Microwaves were strange exotic rich people things. When I was a teen my dad got my mom a toaster oven for Christmas and it was super exciting.

I do desperately miss a few things like Aspen Soda, but if I want to splurge there are higher end brands I can buy now that I Know are better. It's just Aspen was one of like Four regular priced sodas you could by in half gallon/2 liter plastic bottles. (I remember how angry we were when they used metric conversion as an excuse to do what we now call shrinkflation, but I forget when it happened relative to Aspen soda availability.). The issue here is price point. Aspen was way better than say seven up or rootbeer for the same price, and like birch beer, was a rare treat for special occasions. If you offered me Jones, or Weinhards, or that imported orange soda with real juice and sugar, I'd take that over aspen, but I'd take aspen over any normal priced two liter.

For real, food is SO MUCH better now. The variety is better. The quality is usually better. There are so many good vegetarian and other special diet options that didn't exist yet in the 20th Century. The ground work for a lot of the things I eat now was started in the '70's with both the adoption of more natural foods (often considered hippy foods then) and food varieties from so many other cultures as you mention in your video. Seriously, I am grateful. I am old enough to have had to hand make my veggie burgers as a young adult. I spent the first couple decades I was alive having to eat things that made me some degree of ill because that was all that was available that we could afford. I miss a handful of discontinued foods, but I wouldn't trade all I have now to go back to my options in the '70's.

* "Challenger: The disaster five people saw coming:" https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2026-01-28/space-shuttle-challenger-disaster-nasa-explosion-video-engineers/106162902

* "I Survived Canada’s Deadliest Mass Shooter. Then I Had to Prove It:" https://thewalrus.ca/lisa-banfield-portapique/?

* "He called himself an ‘untouchable hacker god’. But who was behind the biggest crime Finland has ever known?:" https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/17/vastaamo-hack-finland-therapy-notes

* "I Was Kidnapped by Idiots:" https://www.theatlantic.com/international/2026/01/kidnapped-baghdad/685470/?gift=9UtyZb3mDuj0SBI8F16FpwE-BYovnJIiA7dUXQGglGg

* "How the dollar-store industry overcharges cash-strapped customers while promising low prices:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/03/customers-pay-more-rising-dollar-store-costs

* "Archive reveals hidden stories of Queer Norfolk:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c301d1np9jjo

* "A Very Big Fight Over a Very Small Language:" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/08/a-very-big-fight-over-a-very-small-language

* "Can Jollibee Beat American Fast Food at Its Own Game?:" https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/01/jollibee-fried-chicken-american-fast-food/684949/

* "104 Year Old Eddy Goldfarb Has Invented Over 800 Iconic Toys:" https://mossandfog.com/104-year-old-eddy-goldfarb-has-invented-over-800-iconic-toys/

* CW: Abuse "I Investigated Dr Phil:"

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* "Shelter pets rescued by the revitalized Seuk’s Army in photos:" https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/animal-rescue-flight-crash-volunteers-seuks-army-316372de52885f3eadaaa5af7e9dd64b

* "Police recover $19k Fabergé egg swallowed by NZ man:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4qedglzpwo#0

* "Not Into Bad Bunny? MAGA Halftime Has Kid Rock | Gen Z Olympic Mascots | Help Coldbert Plow Chicago:"

( Embed: )

* "Trump: Republicans Should Nationalize The Elections | "Not A Crime To Party With Epstein":"

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* "Reproductive Horror (On-Screen and Off):"

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* "Nazis Have the Dumbest Star Trek Opinions:"

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* "What Does Star Trek Actually Tell Us About Fascism?:"

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* "The Problem With Saying “Bury Your Gays” Now:"

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* "V For Vendetta ~ Lost in Adaptation:"

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* "Does Tough Love Make Strong Men — or Broken Ones? | Therapist Reacts! (Peacemaker):"

( Embed: )

* "Interview With The Vampire ~ Lost in Adaptation:"

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* "Weird Al Yankovic Talks Comedy Legacy, eBay, and Dying On Stage:"

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* "Did Regency Women ACTUALLY Wear Wet Dresses?:"

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* "Why is everything boring? (hint: it's not Capitalism):"

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* "Notably Nasty Normans:" https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uNVNoKZRkCE

* "Gilded Galas:" https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hD0o31T0RcM

* "Vain Versailles:" https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Jav929QRcFk

* "French Fencing Fighting Fits:" https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FM9etqwoO98

* "Dramatic Deutsch Duelists:" https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DYaVI564_uc

* "That 1 Immortal Friend 🙄:" https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1zV3egiy73w

* "Single On Valentine's Day?:"

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* "Discovering Hilda:" https://www.toilgirls.com/hilda

*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* "When the Feds Come to Your City: Standing Up to ICE :" https://crimethinc.com/2025/12/03/when-the-feds-come-to-your-city-standing-up-to-ice-a-guide-from-chicago-organizers

* "MASTER LIST OF WAYS TO HELP IN MINNEAPOLIS:" https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/807223113540599808?source=share

* "Here are Minnesota groups that need your help organizing against ICE and DHS operations:" https://www.advocate.com/news/minnesota-mutual-aid-groups-ice

* Links to Help organize in advance of ICE Occupation: https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/807226885129060352?source=share

* "Swing Left:" https://swingleft.org/

* Contains link to trans girl sales pages. "Trans Girl Scouts On Cookie List Sell 71,000 Boxes Of Cookies And Growing:" https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/trans-girl-scouts-on-cookie-list

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Tags:

Another Meme Because Why Not

minoanmiss

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 10:54 pm

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

Current Mood: amused

A Little Cleaning, A Little Watching Ice Skating

days_unfolding

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 08:36 pm

I'm wondering when I'll be able to watch the Olympic ice skating. The time difference does not work for me. I wonder if they'll rebroadcast it in the evenings.

Gracie woke me up at 7 AM. I’m going to take care of the beasties and go back to sleep. Oliver was tired and sleeping in a laundry basket. Gracie doesn’t want to come inside. A typical morning. It’s a circus here as I feed the beasts. Fed us all.

Watched some of the ice skating on YouTube. Oliver is on my lap loving me up. I fed him and that gets cat approval. Napped. Woke up at 11 AM.

Torrid had a hoodie that said, “I’m only talking to my dog today”. I bought it. (Though it should be “I’m talking to only my dog today”.) Napped again.

I’m drinking water because I’m dehydrated. I’m trying to get up the energy to tackle the bathroom. I’m going to do some decluttering while I move stuff. I’m taking a break from the bathroom and am going to open packages.

Me to Oliver: I need to get up and get the recycling out. Oliver: I don’t care what you have to do. I care that your lap is warm.

I’ve got the Olympic TV on my phone. Nothing is on that I’m interested in however.

I received multiple pairs of jeans. I need the new hoodies. Two of them are out for delivery.

I keep checking on my investments. I’ve made a little money so far. Dad said to check on them during the week to see if they have triggered additional investment.

Oh excellent. I have conditioner for my hair and a small white board for the refrigerator. Got my hoodies. The postal guy gave Bella and Gracie some treats. I just need to hand-wash a t-shirt and underwear, and I’ll be ready to go tomorrow. I got a ring with a pretty blue topaz that says “Strong as fuck” on the back.

Gracie doesn’t want to come inside again.

Yuma Kagiyama is one hell of a skater. And he clearly enjoys the audience. Turned on the TV broadcast, but they’re showing skiing, which doesn’t interest me that much.

I've started yawning, so I'm going to wend my way to bed after finishing hand-washing stuff. There's no live Olympics anyway at this hour. I started a new Pacific Crest Trail book after dumping the other one because it was trying to teach us Zen. I might read a little more.

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Four walls around me.

hannah

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 08:42 pm

I did end up going to the movies as the main activity of the day. The only activity, when you get down to it, especially since I stayed in bed late enough into the morning I missed the breakfast window. I found it fairly remarkable how few people were out on the streets - not surprising, but remarkable. It made me want to walk around a bit more to appreciate the relative absence of people. Not enough to go through with it, but the desire was there.

It's cold enough in my apartment for socks and a bathrobe, and I've now broken out the fingerless gloves. If I had the space in my freezer for the loaves, I'd make bread as a reason to turn on the oven, and as I don't, I'm having to make do with hot tea.

Current Mood: drained
Current Music: Ordinary Day - Great Big Sea

Ahhhhhhh, sweet sweet steroids

azurelunatic

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 04:28 pm

I got a steroid shot in my right knee on Wednesday, and miraculously I can almost walk again.

I'm still spending a lot of time in bed, but I don't have to strategize about bathroom trips. One cane is sufficient.

the universe heard me when i said i wanted more snow

tsuki_no_bara

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 07:21 pm

mother nature clearly felt bad that i missed two snowstorms while i was in florida because we got snow today. :D it wasn't particularly heavy but it came down all morning and into the afternoon and blew around a lot. i went into harvard square to get my comics only to discover a sign on the door that said "opening late due to car trouble" so i got back on the bus and came home and sat on my ass and watched olympics. i saw the end of the 3000m women's speedskating which italy won, making it the first speedskating gold for an italian woman. her extremely cute two year old son was of course in the arena. she was also extremely cute bouncing around the floor wearing the italian flag after her win. i also caught some of the us-finland women's qualifying hockey, the end of the men's big air snowboarding (japan won gold and silver), and of course two games of mixed doubles curling. (we beat chechia and lost to great britain. but after that loss we were still 4-1, so.) i may or may not have watched us-chechia at work yesterday morning. ahem. look, it was friday, it was slow, the game started at 8:35a, i had some time. also one of the curlers used to play at my curling club altho now he trains in minnesota. we're very proud.

i get a digital subscription to the new york times through work, so i get nyt email newsletters, and the one on monday had some words about the olympics, a lot of them about curling. the writer says the winter games are "more about artistry. They have athletes clad in spandex sliding down ice tubes. They have curling." he mentions that there's curling on wednesday and snowboarding on thursday before the opening ceremonies. and then this:

And it will be home to some of the most exciting events of the Games. It has the Sliding Center, which hosts bobsled, luge and skeleton. And it has the Curling Stadium, where, naturally, curling happens.

Why do you keep bringing up curling?
It’s just the best. There is no sport that more quickly converts a person from “this looks silly” to “I am extremely invested.” It helps that the competitors are entirely ordinary-looking — that could be you or me out there, if only we had been better at sweeping in our youth — and that the rules are easy to understand.

It’s like a game you might play on a lawn or in a pub. Competitors try to slide heavy stones (they call them rocks, and they weigh around 40 pounds) closer to the target than the other team’s. There’s shouting and bumping and, of course, the aforementioned sweeping. Here’s a guide.

it's true that curlers look like regular people more than do most olympians. the us men who won gold in 2018 (and wasn't that a surprise) looked like a bunch of suburban dads who ambled down to their local club to throw rocks on weekends. i'm a little surprised the nyt writer didn't mention team norway's funkypants but maybe it's because the news about norway was all about how they were busted for trying to basically embiggen the crotches of the ski jumpers' suits to try and catch a little more air.

on tuesday i met one of the admins m for dinner so she could tell me why she briefly ended up dating two steves at the same time (she's absolutely a chaos magnet but didn't want to share this particular episode of her love life at work but i wanted to know and she clearly wanted to share). also on tuesday one of my pi's locked himself out of his office. heh. fortunately i have a key.

and then thursday i took a nice long walk at work with another admin m and one of the admins a because it was SO NICE outside (sunny and not super cold!) and we wanted to check out the dunkin donuts popup on campus. my guess is they were there in advance of the super bowl and whatever tv ad they're going to premiere - it was a very 90s themed popup with 90s style swag but sadly no actual doughnuts. that admin m is going to hawaii in i think july and i am SO JEALOUS. i sent her a bunch of suggestions including "eat the poi bread. it's purple". she's a vegetarian tho so i can't in good conscience recommend the spam musubi.

on saturday (so, a week ago) my sister came back from florida - she stayed an extra week to work remote - and i picked her up at the airport, took her home, helped her shovel off her car, went to the grocery store with her, ordered chinese food, and watched red notice which was kind of fun and kind of silly and i think for the first time i found ryan reynolds exceptionally annoying. usually i enjoy his schtick, or at least i do for most of the movie, but this time he was just grating the entire time. mostly liked the rock tho, and gal gadot was fun.

Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: olympics!

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[navel-gazing] reading, fast & slow

kaberett

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 11:21 pm

At some point in proceedings (depression? pain? migraine? dense technical text for the PhD? poetry?), I realise, I have gone from reading Unusually Quickly to still reading More? Than Population Norm? (75ish books last year, of which 15ish were graphic novels or otherwise not-a-novel's-worth-of-words), but no faster than I'd be able to read the text aloud -- "hearing" each word in my head, and often rereading sentences repeatedly.

This is in contrast to how I type, which is much faster than I can speak comprehensibly (... though I now recall that I am in fact often asked to Slow The Fuck Down when providing information verbally).

I have over the last little bit been tentatively experimenting with trying not to read each word "aloud", mentally, and instead treating The Written Word as something that doesn't always need to be (pseudo-)vocalised.

It feels weird. It's an active effort. I am extremely dubious about the impact on how much information I retain; Further Study Required. I think this is probably how I used to read (when?); I'm not sure what changed; I'm unsettled.

(And I want to post something to Dreamwidth before bed, and this is a thing I was thinking about a lot while almost-but-not-quite finishing Index, A History of the -- I'm at a point I'd ordinarily count as "finished" but obviously it is in this instance both important and rewarding to read the index, all two of it, so here y'go.)

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books

Festivids

settiai

Saturday, February 7th, 2026 06:12 pm

Well, I was planning on trying to get this post finished before reveals, but I didn't manage it. So I've now updated it to include the names of the vidders as well.

Sadly, I haven't had time to watch everything from this year's Festivids, but I at least have watched the vids in fandoms that I'm familiar with and am caught up on (as there's a few that I'm behind on that I skipped because of the risk of potential spoilers). Here are some of my favorites from the ones that watched:

( Vids under the cut. )

Current Mood: accomplished

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Laura's Reading

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