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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 02:49 pm
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 09:34 pm
There's not much and I'm not surprised. But I am sticking with this until I am more awake again and my ability to write down (and hopefully remember) things will be better again. It's marginally better than the eight things I had in December.
( 10 (+2 related) things I learned in January )
( 10 (+2 related) things I learned in January )
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 07:05 pm
Counseling today was all about trying to make my body feel safer amidst all the mental/emotional stuff going on.
My counselor said some bodies need stillness some bodies need movement. I think mine is the latter.
She also suggested
- getting people to spend time with me
- gentle conversations about not-stressful things
- familiar media
- nice sensory stuff? (scents/textures)
Thinking about this tonight, she suggested I try to remember it all week.
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 01:47 pm
Thanks to the various people who commented on my post about my poor neglected car suggesting that I just turn it on and let it run for ten minutes or so, and particularly to ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pondhopper who talked about moving the car and back forth in the driveway so that the tyres don't get out of shape, which had never occurred to me, this afternoon I went out to give the car some attention. First I cleared the driver's side door so I could open it and turn on the car, and lo and behold, it started right up with the first turn of the key, much to my surprise since it's been about a month since the last time I turned it on and drove somewhere. Then while it was running I cleared out enough snow from in front of each wheel to allow me to drive the car forward a few inches, enough so that the weight was resting on a different part of the tyres. I'm hoping that the tyres, like the battery, are still in good health.
Because it's been so cold ever since the snowstorm, the snow is still light and fluffy and it wasn't too hard to clear the small spaces in front of the wheels. However, there is still a fairly long space (more than a car length probably and wider than my car) of uncleared snow in front of the car and I didn't feel like tackling that. However, now I don't care so much about that since I don't feel any pressure to take my car out of the driveway right now.
Yesterday evening Violet suggested that she and I find a new show to watch, since Game of Wool is long finished, so we were browsing Netflix and came across a movie called "Best in Show", a satirical mockumentary about, guess what, dog shows. It sounded promising so we started watching it, but it turned out to have more sexual content* than I was comfortable letting Violet watch, so I suggested we try "Fisk" instead and although we only watched a few minutes of that before she was called upstairs to go to bed, she laughed out loud more than once so I think she will enjoy it. (And I'll enjoy watching it for about the third time with her.)
*Not actual sex but talk about sexual positions. A couple is talking to their therapist about their dog being traumatised and not speaking to them after seeing them having sex.
pondhopper who talked about moving the car and back forth in the driveway so that the tyres don't get out of shape, which had never occurred to me, this afternoon I went out to give the car some attention. First I cleared the driver's side door so I could open it and turn on the car, and lo and behold, it started right up with the first turn of the key, much to my surprise since it's been about a month since the last time I turned it on and drove somewhere. Then while it was running I cleared out enough snow from in front of each wheel to allow me to drive the car forward a few inches, enough so that the weight was resting on a different part of the tyres. I'm hoping that the tyres, like the battery, are still in good health. Because it's been so cold ever since the snowstorm, the snow is still light and fluffy and it wasn't too hard to clear the small spaces in front of the wheels. However, there is still a fairly long space (more than a car length probably and wider than my car) of uncleared snow in front of the car and I didn't feel like tackling that. However, now I don't care so much about that since I don't feel any pressure to take my car out of the driveway right now.
Yesterday evening Violet suggested that she and I find a new show to watch, since Game of Wool is long finished, so we were browsing Netflix and came across a movie called "Best in Show", a satirical mockumentary about, guess what, dog shows. It sounded promising so we started watching it, but it turned out to have more sexual content* than I was comfortable letting Violet watch, so I suggested we try "Fisk" instead and although we only watched a few minutes of that before she was called upstairs to go to bed, she laughed out loud more than once so I think she will enjoy it. (And I'll enjoy watching it for about the third time with her.)
*Not actual sex but talk about sexual positions. A couple is talking to their therapist about their dog being traumatised and not speaking to them after seeing them having sex.
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 10:47 am
GOOD! I've always thought this was a stupid idea. It probably started with Tesla, and they certainly popularized it. While it saves a few hundredths of a percent in streamlining, it is deadly. The handles are, by definition, electronic. And if your car suffers a complete loss of electric power in a severe crash, then the occupants have to engage emergency manual overrides.
Well, guess what? After a severe crash, the occupants are NOT going to be in a calm state of mind! Do you know where the manual overrides are in the back seat of some Teslas? UNDER THE FLOORMATS. The front ones can be kind of fiddly to find, and a lot of people have died while others have tried rescuing them while being unable to get the damn doors open! Including the sister in law of the former Senate Majority Leader when she accidentally backed her Tesla into a cow pond because you have to change gears on a damn touch screen?!
A friend of mine owned the first generation Tesla Roadster. He kept a five pound sledge hammer in the glove box for such a situation.
The new requirement becomes law on January 1, 2027.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp37g5nxe3lo
Well, guess what? After a severe crash, the occupants are NOT going to be in a calm state of mind! Do you know where the manual overrides are in the back seat of some Teslas? UNDER THE FLOORMATS. The front ones can be kind of fiddly to find, and a lot of people have died while others have tried rescuing them while being unable to get the damn doors open! Including the sister in law of the former Senate Majority Leader when she accidentally backed her Tesla into a cow pond because you have to change gears on a damn touch screen?!
A friend of mine owned the first generation Tesla Roadster. He kept a five pound sledge hammer in the glove box for such a situation.
The new requirement becomes law on January 1, 2027.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp37g5nxe3lo
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How to Be a Werewolf - Do you comment on movies? I always do, but my friend says she prefers total s
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 10:47 am
New comic!
Vote over on TWC to see a bit of where this is going
Follow me on Blue Sky if you're so inclined!
COME SEE ME ON SATURDAY (FEB 7TH) AT NWI COMIC CON IN CROWN POINT, IN IF YOU LIVE NEARBY!
WE'RE BACK, BABY! With a side story, not the official beginning of Chapter 14. Most everything in this comic feels like I need to make sure it adds to the larger narrative (not that this side story doesn't at all), and I felt like after all this time trying to get Elias and Vincent together, they needed space to have a little adventure of their own that didn't have to tie into whatever is going on with Tom or the Council or werewolves in general.
Anyway, we're back to our regular schedule! I've got seven total pages of this side thing, and then the chapter cover, and then we'll dive into Chapter 14 for reals. I know I've said it's the last chapter a lot, just to give everyone time to process that, but assume it'll still take me a few years to finish lol.
In the meantime, please follow/support me on Patreon if you'd like to see art that I'm working on ahead of time, because that is mostly what I'm doing with my time off anyway. You can also download the Volume 1 ebook and the Kickstarter digital artbook, plus see whatever I'm working on ahead of time.
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Tote bags, hoodies, tshirts, prints and mugs are all available in the Hivemill store! The hoodies are unisex sizing, but the tshirts run rather fitted, so I recommend sizing up! Book 1 is available in paperback and ebook format, as well as the merch from the Kickstarter :).
HTBAW Fandom Wiki is up and running! Thanks to Myk Streja and ShitaraRen for tons of help with moderation efforts and everyone else who's done a ton of work on adding information and filling out the Wiki. Thank you everyone for contributing and it's an amazing and super detailed resource!
Feel free to check out my goofy Amazon store if you're so inclined, or even if you don't need anything from my shop, just using this link will earn me a small commission from things you buy on Amazon regardless of what it is (this is an ad, as I get a tiny commission if you do buy something)! Thanks to everyone who's come out to support me through Ko-fi and Patreon!
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 09:11 am
It is time to declare Elon Musk’s Howard Hughes Speedrun complete? Or is there another level? I’m genuinely not sure. After all, he’s not sitting in a dark hotel room surrounded by jars of his own urine while typing with long, long, long fingernails – as far as we know – but this is some serious crazy and you are not ready for it.
Here’s an actual statement Elon Musk actually made on Monday:
“[The merger of xAI into SpaceX] marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAI’s mission: scaling to make a sentient sun to understand the Universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars!” Musk said.
Reuters, Archive.today
Emphasis added.
There aren’t words to describe how absolutely batshit insane this is. It’s a degree of psychosis and dissociation from reality that can’t – really shouldn’t – even be discussed rationally. It’s just… so long, rational thought! It’s the kind of thing I’d make up to describe how fucking impossible something was, so I don’t even know what I’d compare it to. Building a machine that makes it rain meatballs is more possible than this.
Why Tesla isn’t seeking zero in after-hours, I can’t tell you. Instead, it was up $3.41 at the end of aftermarket trading. Maybe by the time this goes up, repercussions will have hit. I don’t know. I can’t know, given that I’m writing this in the past of you, the reader, before Tuesday morning’s market opening. But…
Holy hell, team. I’m thinking it might be time to call it. It might be time to say Howard Hughes Speedrun complete.
Posted via Solarbird{y|z|yz}, Collected.
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 10:28 am
oh well.
My head's still not quite right today, which probably makes sense.
I think I've permanently Stanked the bra I'm wearing - I've washed it 4 times in a row and it still is funky. It coudl be all in my head (but my nose is in my head).
I have been productive today but only in the taking care of myself way - I downloaded & uploaded my tax forms, transferred my RMD so I can get my archived scrapbooks, sent a followup on my sleep study, checked in for megan's allergist, and reviewed my property tax rate.
Because, good news in a way, the community proposed a higher budget at the meeting last night than the board had said, because the commuity doesn't want to cut programs. But that will of course mean higher taxes, and if the rich towns withdraw they could go up even more.
So I'm like, what's my worst case scenario and can we afford it? I do need to calm it down - I think it'll suck and we won't want to, but yes we COULD probably. Probably. (Still need to math it out, and then remember it's a worst-case, and that things will likely be less bad)....
unless the state destroys more shit, further shifting burdens to local communities, which is possible but bad
Meanwhile, 'nationalized election' am i right? "we're gonna fix it so you don't have to vote anymore", they said a year ago.
Meg has med mgt meeting today (yay) and allergist on friday (yay?). I have cardiologist on friday. I almost forgot about that in all the excitement -- a year ago I was kind of worried about my heart valve defect thingy and now i'm like 'oh yeah that'.
My head's still not quite right today, which probably makes sense.
I think I've permanently Stanked the bra I'm wearing - I've washed it 4 times in a row and it still is funky. It coudl be all in my head (but my nose is in my head).
I have been productive today but only in the taking care of myself way - I downloaded & uploaded my tax forms, transferred my RMD so I can get my archived scrapbooks, sent a followup on my sleep study, checked in for megan's allergist, and reviewed my property tax rate.
Because, good news in a way, the community proposed a higher budget at the meeting last night than the board had said, because the commuity doesn't want to cut programs. But that will of course mean higher taxes, and if the rich towns withdraw they could go up even more.
So I'm like, what's my worst case scenario and can we afford it? I do need to calm it down - I think it'll suck and we won't want to, but yes we COULD probably. Probably. (Still need to math it out, and then remember it's a worst-case, and that things will likely be less bad)....
unless the state destroys more shit, further shifting burdens to local communities, which is possible but bad
Meanwhile, 'nationalized election' am i right? "we're gonna fix it so you don't have to vote anymore", they said a year ago.
Meg has med mgt meeting today (yay) and allergist on friday (yay?). I have cardiologist on friday. I almost forgot about that in all the excitement -- a year ago I was kind of worried about my heart valve defect thingy and now i'm like 'oh yeah that'.
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 08:29 am
curaçao (KOOR-uh-soh, kyoor-uh-SOW, and other permutations) - n., a liqueur flavored with the dried peel of the sour laraha orange.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
This came up in the definition of mai tai, as one of its ingredients, so finally explaining it. The laraha is a bitter orange, descended from Seville orange, which were introduced to the Caribbean island of Curaçao in the early 1500s. The island became a Dutch possession in 1627, and it became fashionable in 17th century Netherlands to create liquors from exotic flavorings from overseas, and Lukas Bols (1652–1719), then head of a family run distillery, used the aromatic oil from Curaçao oranges to make one -- normally colorless, he dyed it blue to make it even more exotic. Named after the island, of course, which is probably a Portuguese transcription of its name in a mainland Arawakan language such as Lokono (so it would have fit into that theme - ah well).
---L.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
This came up in the definition of mai tai, as one of its ingredients, so finally explaining it. The laraha is a bitter orange, descended from Seville orange, which were introduced to the Caribbean island of Curaçao in the early 1500s. The island became a Dutch possession in 1627, and it became fashionable in 17th century Netherlands to create liquors from exotic flavorings from overseas, and Lukas Bols (1652–1719), then head of a family run distillery, used the aromatic oil from Curaçao oranges to make one -- normally colorless, he dyed it blue to make it even more exotic. Named after the island, of course, which is probably a Portuguese transcription of its name in a mainland Arawakan language such as Lokono (so it would have fit into that theme - ah well).
---L.
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 09:42 am
My poem "Reap the Rules" has been accepted by Reckoning. It is my first sale to the journal; it is a particular honor that it was selected for the conflict-themed special issue It Was Paradise. I wrote it last summer after the U.S. strikes on Iran. It is a prayer dedicated in cuneiform to the oldest goddess I know in that region. The title is a mondegreen from Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane's "Coins for the Eyes" (2022) which was about all I listened to while writing. Curse tablets do not seem to be going out of fashion any time soon.
I feel as though I remember to check out Festivids even less reliably than Yuletide, but this year has been a bonanza of which my socks-blown-off favorites look like "There Is No Ship" (Steerswoman), "ASSHOLE" (Looney Tunes), "Queen Bitch Cartagia" (Babylon 5), and "So It Goes" (Foundation). Honorable mentions to "It's a Sin" (Murderbot) even though I can't separate that song from Derek Jarman and "Hard Knock Life" (The Canopener Bridge) for introducing me to its fandom and perfectly illustrating the concept of storrowing.
My sleep has gone extraordinarily off the rails, but the snow in our back yard is criss-crossed with rabbit tracks. Hestia has broken three of the slats in my blinds in order to provide herself with a better view on Bird Theater.
I feel as though I remember to check out Festivids even less reliably than Yuletide, but this year has been a bonanza of which my socks-blown-off favorites look like "There Is No Ship" (Steerswoman), "ASSHOLE" (Looney Tunes), "Queen Bitch Cartagia" (Babylon 5), and "So It Goes" (Foundation). Honorable mentions to "It's a Sin" (Murderbot) even though I can't separate that song from Derek Jarman and "Hard Knock Life" (The Canopener Bridge) for introducing me to its fandom and perfectly illustrating the concept of storrowing.
My sleep has gone extraordinarily off the rails, but the snow in our back yard is criss-crossed with rabbit tracks. Hestia has broken three of the slats in my blinds in order to provide herself with a better view on Bird Theater.
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 01:43 pm
Via Naomi Kritzer on Bsky, this thread of ways to donate or volunteer:
https://bsky.app/profile/leeceelee.bsky.social/post/3mduanvydvs2q
https://bsky.app/profile/leeceelee.bsky.social/post/3mduanvydvs2q
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 09:37 pm
Finally headed out to Odawara to check out the castle. ( Read more... )
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 07:30 am
Made it to Ohio! Since my passport card is my real id, i left my drivers license. It was very last minute after taking the shuttle to the car rental place, and picking out a car, and driving to the gate when i realized.
At least there are things such as cabs and delivery dinner (salmon salad!) and colleagues with cars -- this should all work out just fine.
But argh. This is why check lists. Lessons learned can accrue on them.
Dublin, Ohio is far to the west of this timezone. The sky lightens up fairly late compared to what i am used to. That and the latitude, i guess. (It's north to me! 40° instead of 35.8°; y'all who live in real north can just laugh.)
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 06:54 am
Sleeping.
We go to Meadville today so Dave can get his eye shots. We're supposed to get a high of 27F today! That's going to feel warm.
Tomorrow I see a heart doctor for a follow up to when I was in the hospital with aFib back in September. It took this long for them to schedule an appointment. I don't really think I need an appointment anyway. I have pretty much put that episode down to being so itchy with tick bites and taking benadryl plus drinking alcohol that night. My heart has been running much better since I gave up my evening shot of brandy before bed. My blood pressure is always high in doctor offices so I want to take my BP a bunch of times today so I can show them it's good at home.
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 10:18 pm
(For all the questions, or to submit one of your own, the post is here ♥ )
What's your favorite TTRPG setting, and why?
Ha. I love this mostly because I don't have one.
( details on what I mean beneath the jump. )
What's your favorite TTRPG setting, and why?
Ha. I love this mostly because I don't have one.
( details on what I mean beneath the jump. )
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 10:27 pm
Now I haven't lost my mind... maybe. I'm looking at the weather for tomorrow and it says rain and then snow. Excuse me? It's been under 30 for nearly 2 weeks. Let's leave it there. I DO NOT WANT RAIN and then snow. holy shit the ice is thick enough. (the poor grounds keepers were watching me trying to get across the ice floe apologizing. We can't get it off!) Snow, go for it. Rain first, go fuck yourself Mother Nature. No one wants that.
Speaking of DNW, my students some day. So I've been preparing to flip my lab to mondays. We talked about it in Dec. We talked about it the first two weeks. Today is the first day we did it (snowed out last monday) and one of the students goes 'i have class in that time period. OMFG. WHY did you wait until now to tell me? I'm speaking with the chair/dean because in the original position upwards of half the class will miss every lab. If I move it only 1 misses, the one who didn't tell me about this class. I'm gonna go out and sleep on the ice.
I'm at the point in my reading journey where I'm not liking a book but all my friends love it and now I feel pressured.
I made a real milk hot chocolate. At least this didn't have the same weird taste to me BUT my lactose pills did nothing. Someone is playing cat's cradle with my stomach. Way to fail me
it's music monday 30 weeks of music. This week's prompt is 12 A song from the 90s. Share your faves too.
( I'm breaking this into two under here, the rock-pop ones and the country )
here's the whole prompt list
( it's under here )
And I have decided to do a new declutter project but rather than talk about what I'm tossing, my plan is to pick ONE thing a day to red up. Some things will get tossed. Others will be put away correctly. Etc.
today - cleared up the top of the dresser. Found many earrings that had been missing. My mother mentioned a friend of hers in NC has an abused women's shelter that takes jewelry and clothing to get these women back on their feet, give them something to wear to job interviews etc. I wonder if I have something like that hear because I need to dump half of these earrings and I don't want to toss them in the trash
Speaking of DNW, my students some day. So I've been preparing to flip my lab to mondays. We talked about it in Dec. We talked about it the first two weeks. Today is the first day we did it (snowed out last monday) and one of the students goes 'i have class in that time period. OMFG. WHY did you wait until now to tell me? I'm speaking with the chair/dean because in the original position upwards of half the class will miss every lab. If I move it only 1 misses, the one who didn't tell me about this class. I'm gonna go out and sleep on the ice.
I'm at the point in my reading journey where I'm not liking a book but all my friends love it and now I feel pressured.
I made a real milk hot chocolate. At least this didn't have the same weird taste to me BUT my lactose pills did nothing. Someone is playing cat's cradle with my stomach. Way to fail me
it's music monday 30 weeks of music. This week's prompt is 12 A song from the 90s. Share your faves too.
( I'm breaking this into two under here, the rock-pop ones and the country )
here's the whole prompt list
( it's under here )
And I have decided to do a new declutter project but rather than talk about what I'm tossing, my plan is to pick ONE thing a day to red up. Some things will get tossed. Others will be put away correctly. Etc.
today - cleared up the top of the dresser. Found many earrings that had been missing. My mother mentioned a friend of hers in NC has an abused women's shelter that takes jewelry and clothing to get these women back on their feet, give them something to wear to job interviews etc. I wonder if I have something like that hear because I need to dump half of these earrings and I don't want to toss them in the trash
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Monday, February 2nd, 2026 08:46 pm
I have had this song stuck in my head on and off for days upon days, so here is a post to maybe make it go awayyyyy
-Lovers in a Dangerous Time
(also randomly having johnny are you queer in my head but at least that one can be banished if I try hard enough)
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 08:46 pm
Emailed in sick. I’m going to feed the fur faces and go back to bed. Oliver will abandon his food and follow me to see what I’m doing. Curious cat.
I had set my alarm for 11:30 AM to check if I felt up to working. The reminder on my phone went off at 10:15, but I thought that it was 11:30. I emailed in sick for the afternoon. I woke up again when I thought that someone was knocking at the door, but no one was there. Then at 11:30, I shut my alarm off and slept until 1. Ate lunch.
My dad sent me an email that he was worried because he hadn’t heard from me for a while “and there’s all that crazy weather”. I told him that I was fine.
Told my choir director that I wasn’t going to make it to choir.
Napped and woke up at 5:30 PM. The dogs don’t want to come inside. “Mommy, it’s warmer!” It is warmer (28F/-2C). Gracie finally came inside and ate. Fed us all.
I remembered to pull market stats from WSJ’s site. Go me.
I want to make apple fritters, so I bought a deep fryer on Mercari. I need to submit a grocery order (done).
I'm going to go back to bed.
I had set my alarm for 11:30 AM to check if I felt up to working. The reminder on my phone went off at 10:15, but I thought that it was 11:30. I emailed in sick for the afternoon. I woke up again when I thought that someone was knocking at the door, but no one was there. Then at 11:30, I shut my alarm off and slept until 1. Ate lunch.
My dad sent me an email that he was worried because he hadn’t heard from me for a while “and there’s all that crazy weather”. I told him that I was fine.
Told my choir director that I wasn’t going to make it to choir.
Napped and woke up at 5:30 PM. The dogs don’t want to come inside. “Mommy, it’s warmer!” It is warmer (28F/-2C). Gracie finally came inside and ate. Fed us all.
I remembered to pull market stats from WSJ’s site. Go me.
I want to make apple fritters, so I bought a deep fryer on Mercari. I need to submit a grocery order (done).
I'm going to go back to bed.
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 04:40 pm
Niel Gaiman is trying on a redemption tour.
I should've stayed in fucking bed.
I should've stayed in fucking bed.
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Monday, February 2nd, 2026 04:30 pm
AO3 added additional "No Fandom" tags!
To celebrate this (and because one of them in particular made me laugh and go, "of course that's a thing", I'm amusing myself by playing Tag Bingo, and if that sounds like fun to you, READ ON.
( beneath a jump to be considerate <3 )
To celebrate this (and because one of them in particular made me laugh and go, "of course that's a thing", I'm amusing myself by playing Tag Bingo, and if that sounds like fun to you, READ ON.
( beneath a jump to be considerate <3 )
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 04:14 pm
Sunday, February 1st, 2026 02:36 pm
NOT A LOON. The MInnesota Flag with a list of things that Minnesotans hold that aren't guns, including all the yummy food our immigrant neighbors make and things like candles and blankets.
If you're curious about how things are getting done here, there's a really lovely article by a Minnesotan who is normally a food blogger about something they're called The Cookie Theory of Collective Action: https://snackstack.net/2026/01/30/the-cookie-theory-of-collective-action/ As someone who is doing the majority of her work for the resistance via food justice, I really love thinking about this in terms of cookies.
As I told Colin this morning as I checked in at the Food Communists, it's another day in the revolution, my friends.
None of this is normal, but it's kind of shocking how quickly I feel like I am starting to have a rather routine part to play in the response to this insanity. Pretty much Monday-Thursday sometime after 11:00 am to about 2:30-3:30 pm, you can find me bagging food with the Communists. I found out today, that if I wanted to be insane I could show up as early as 6 am??? I am DEEPLY curious what the operation looks like that early, so maybe I will give it a try to drop in the next couple of days right after I drop Shawn off at work.
Then on Fridays I join my neighbors who are protecting our neighborhod mosque from noon until 2:30 pm.
Every so often, when the time allows, I go sing.
These are my days now.
Today when the Food Communists were looking for people willing to have their pictures taken for an Instagram post, I volunteered because I know for a fact that I've been photographed by ICE agents who were parked in a black Jeep directly across from the mosque a couple of Fridays ago. So, if there is a database of activists, I have joined a proud Morehouse tradition of being photographed by Federal agents. I will not be the first, and, no doubt, I will not be the last. We were talking about all this survalience stuff as we were sitting around eating our food before starting the bagging work and my feeling about it all boils down to: good luck to them. This dissident database of theirs is going to have every single person in Minneapolis/St. Paul in it and 57% is going to be moms/human beings who work from home and the other half is going to be pastors, rabbis, priests, etc. You know, the really scary people. There are community organizers, yes, of course, but if one falls, the rest of us will just pick up the slack. They can't arrest us all.
We did manage to play D&D on Saturday, which was wonderful because it was a great way (at least for me) to spend three hours thinking about something that wasn't .... *gestures at everything in Minnesota right now*
Tomorrow, we caucus!
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 04:04 pm
The Entity. I like the juxtaposition of colors inside with the gray and white outside. That's what life feels like now. All the comfort and color is inside while outside it is cold and difficult. Anyway. Dave just asked me if I want to go for a walk down to the creek. He made a path with his tractor so the snow's not so deep anymore. The last time we went I had a terrible time slogging though the snow and keeping my balance. But I forgot my walking stick. I'm thinking today it'll be better with a stick.
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 08:49 pm
Work team check-in this morning, I dreaded getting asked "How was your weekend, Erik?" My actual weekend: onboarding for new antifascist activities and returning to old ones, across two continents. My answer: "Oh you know, quiet."
I'm not doing anything scary or glamorous btw: mostly I'm in a bunch of Signal chats and standing around having cool conversations with strangers. There really is stuff for everyone to do.
(Including the people who are looking after people like me. I had a bad brain day yesterday and then listened to my parents for an hour and this time it was 100% [cw: MN, ICE, etc.] Details I'd managed to avoid myself, my mom just splurged all over me. My mom was late getting in touch with me because she'd been on the phone to her most annoying sister for the previous hour and, except for this bare fact, didn't even mention it. Normally I'd expect several solid minutes about how bad that was! So I went to bed feeling really down and the people and things that help lift me up are part of the fight too.)
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 02:52 pm
It's a beautiful clear sunny day today, and only slightly below freezing. If this weather keeps up I might actually venture out for a walk tomorrow.
My teeth/mouth are feeling perfectly normal today and have been since yesterday. I sincerely hope whatever it was doesn't recur, or if it does, it waits until the snow has gone and I can easily get my car out of the driveway.
My car is a bit of a worry here. Most of the time I don't need it because I have nowhere I have to be, but when I do have to go somewhere like the doctor or the dentist, I need a car because none of those places are within walking distance here. Or, if, like the doctor, they are within walking distance, the walk is too dangerous because I have to cross a freeway with no good pedestrian access. So my car is just sitting in the driveway for weeks on end, which I know isn't good for it. I try to take it out just to drive around for a while every week or two, but I hate having to inconvenience my daughter and son in law by having to ask them to move their cars out of the driveway so I can get mine out. If my son in law didn't have his own mother's car here I would get him to use mine regularly, but he really doesn't need it. I wasn't using my car much back in Maryland either, but I did go grocery shopping in it, and because it wasn't blocked in by any other cars it was easy to go for a random drive if I wanted to.
My teeth/mouth are feeling perfectly normal today and have been since yesterday. I sincerely hope whatever it was doesn't recur, or if it does, it waits until the snow has gone and I can easily get my car out of the driveway.
My car is a bit of a worry here. Most of the time I don't need it because I have nowhere I have to be, but when I do have to go somewhere like the doctor or the dentist, I need a car because none of those places are within walking distance here. Or, if, like the doctor, they are within walking distance, the walk is too dangerous because I have to cross a freeway with no good pedestrian access. So my car is just sitting in the driveway for weeks on end, which I know isn't good for it. I try to take it out just to drive around for a while every week or two, but I hate having to inconvenience my daughter and son in law by having to ask them to move their cars out of the driveway so I can get mine out. If my son in law didn't have his own mother's car here I would get him to use mine regularly, but he really doesn't need it. I wasn't using my car much back in Maryland either, but I did go grocery shopping in it, and because it wasn't blocked in by any other cars it was easy to go for a random drive if I wanted to.
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 05:25 pm
K-9 author posted super cute chibi art of Kagari earlier this year, which led to conversations about what his hair colour even is anyway. This is my answer!!
Suits like a charm | K-9 | Fujimaru/Kagari | <500 words | rated G
Summary: Fujimaru dyes Kagari's hair for him.
Read it on Dreamwidth or on AO3.
Suits like a charm | K-9 | Fujimaru/Kagari | <500 words | rated G
Summary: Fujimaru dyes Kagari's hair for him.
Read it on Dreamwidth or on AO3.
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Monday, February 2nd, 2026 12:22 pm
Name: Milo
Age: 18
I mostly post about: Just me talking about my thoughts and interests, and what I’m currently doing.
My hobbies and interests are: I like books and music a lot, and I will probably talk about them often. I also like learning things though I’m pretty inconsistent. I mainly enjoy learning about anything having to do with history and language. And I’m currently learning Spanish. I also really like dolls, though I don’t collect them much these days. Sometimes I write as well.
My fandoms are: Hmm I don’t really engage with fandoms much. But you can see more of the media I enjoy on my profile.
I'm looking to meet people who: It’d be cool to find people with similar interests to mine. But I’m honestly open to chatting with anyone as long as you aren’t rude or bigoted or anything like that. Feel free to leave a comment anytime.
posting schedule tends to be: I don’t have a set schedule but probably a few times a week or so.
When I add people, my dealbreakers are: racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, MAGA, and just bigotry in general.
Before adding me, you should know: I am nonbinary/agender and I prefer they/them pronounce though I don’t have a problem with he or she. I’m legally blind and use a screen reader for a lot of things, so I may miss some punctuation or formatting errors in my writing. I’ve basically been isolated and poorly homeschooled for years, so I lack experience in social situations and there may be gaps in my knowledge of things so patience would be appreciated. Finally, I may talk a bit about my mental health struggles and things like that in my journal, although more light hearted or general topics will also be included.
Age: 18
I mostly post about: Just me talking about my thoughts and interests, and what I’m currently doing.
My hobbies and interests are: I like books and music a lot, and I will probably talk about them often. I also like learning things though I’m pretty inconsistent. I mainly enjoy learning about anything having to do with history and language. And I’m currently learning Spanish. I also really like dolls, though I don’t collect them much these days. Sometimes I write as well.
My fandoms are: Hmm I don’t really engage with fandoms much. But you can see more of the media I enjoy on my profile.
I'm looking to meet people who: It’d be cool to find people with similar interests to mine. But I’m honestly open to chatting with anyone as long as you aren’t rude or bigoted or anything like that. Feel free to leave a comment anytime.
posting schedule tends to be: I don’t have a set schedule but probably a few times a week or so.
When I add people, my dealbreakers are: racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, MAGA, and just bigotry in general.
Before adding me, you should know: I am nonbinary/agender and I prefer they/them pronounce though I don’t have a problem with he or she. I’m legally blind and use a screen reader for a lot of things, so I may miss some punctuation or formatting errors in my writing. I’ve basically been isolated and poorly homeschooled for years, so I lack experience in social situations and there may be gaps in my knowledge of things so patience would be appreciated. Finally, I may talk a bit about my mental health struggles and things like that in my journal, although more light hearted or general topics will also be included.
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 09:09 pm
Challenge #8
Talk about your creative process.
You know, I don't think I've ever sat down and thought through my creative process before. This should be fun.
My solo-written fic, as opposed to my cowrites (/waves to
rhi , ilyena_sylph , t_vo0810 and others/) is one of two kinds, usually: either it's written for an exchange fic, or a bunny ups and grabs me. When I sign up for exchanges, I try and craft my sign-up to get specific recipients, although I try and make sure that I can write for all potential recipicients. (I've only hit 'oh God no DEFAULT' levels of DNW a couple of times, which considering my Cursed Exchange Luck, I'm pretty proud of.) Once I get my assignment, I sit with the prompt that calls to me the most, and see what kind of story I can create that fits both the wordcount requirement and what the recip wants. Depending on how much plot there is, I throw myself on rhi's mercy for help, lol.
Once I've figured out what the story is, then I write it. Very rarely, I finish my first draft before deadline; usually I'm butting right up to it. (Being several hours ahead is a wonderful thing, sometimes. It feels like a sneaky little extension, lol.) I use the period between submission deadline and reveals to edit and polish my fic, although (thankfully) I write very clean drafts so there's rarely all that much editing, SPAG aside, to do. Sometimes my brain is a hunk of mouldy cheese and poor
rhi has to talk me down and remind me that I am a good writer and my fic will look better once I have had a snack and a nap. When it comes to non-exchange fic, it usually starts with a bunny nibbling on me. Once the nibbling becomes too hard to ignore, I sit down and write - sometimes just scenes, sometimes snippets, sometimes whole-ass fic. Then I let the for-publishing stuff sit for a few days before going back over it, then getting it beta'd.
Regardless of whether it's exchange fic or for my own satisfaction, there's one step of the process I find utterly loathsome: titles. There's a reason most of my fics have either lyrics or quotes for titles - titling is the worst, even harder than summaries. I am in awe of people who find it easy. But works need titles, alas, and so far I've somehow managed, lol.
And that's my creative process! Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
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Monday, February 2nd, 2026 08:20 am
I used to love K'NAAN, but I hadn't seen this one, and ran into it because it was a past winner of the award Raye just got for "Ice Cream Man" (the Harry Belafonte Best Song For Social Change Award).
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Monday, February 2nd, 2026 05:00 am
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 10:09 am
I get less loyal when the org doesn't have the tools it needs to achieve goals, and won't (or can't) adjust its goals.
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 09:34 am
I'm still trying to understand trauma, beyond what I know from osmosis and culture.
Because I read that 'national trauma is a thing' and we're going through that. Ok, cool, but we've also done it before, like with jan 6 and pandemic , and 25 years ago, and also times in between. so many times. And I want to say nah, but it's nice that we're not being shelled, for example, but my stomach is doing the clench-up lock-up thing that it did in lockdown times. And deep breaths just hurt.
Oh, but also, I am recovering from some kind of flu, so no wonder deep breaths hurt - it's not necessarily a panic attack if you have a respiratory infection so of course you can't breathe.
i'm worried that when ice backs down, we'll back down, forgetting that ice is a symptom and not the illness.
Anyway, I don't know exactly what trauma is, but that cold feeling of 'I'm in danger but have to exist anyway' is part of it, and the unutterable weariness of it must be as well.
And I think some of my own, personal, trauma is awake and on guard -- it's better today ( monday) than it was last week. I can tell that shows up as being extravigilant for noises at night and trying to keep others calm. My mind wouldn't settle down about fighting or flighting (which is quitting job and/or moving away).
Last week, I was brittle. This week, I'm tired -- I continue to play, is this a fever or hot flash or am I just stressed or hot? I am taking vitamins as needed and keeping panic medicine handy, which helps.
today I tried to envision a montage of the upcoming year, highlights, if I made no structural changes to our lives, and the things that would be good about that.
I tried thinking about improving my pretty - but-too-big house. And the parts of public school that might work nicely for kiddo.
I'm trying to Do my insane job as well as I can. And I'll get back to it now.
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 07:38 am
enology (US) or oenology (UK) (ee-NOL-uh-jee) - n., the science and study of wine and winemaking.
As distinct from viticulture / viniculture, the science of cultivating and harvesting grapes, an essential precursor but a separate specialty. The latter terms were both coined in the 1870s from Latin roots, while (o)enology dates to around 1810 and is coined from Ancient Greek roots oînos, wine + -logĭ́ā, study of (from lógos, explanation).
---L.
As distinct from viticulture / viniculture, the science of cultivating and harvesting grapes, an essential precursor but a separate specialty. The latter terms were both coined in the 1870s from Latin roots, while (o)enology dates to around 1810 and is coined from Ancient Greek roots oînos, wine + -logĭ́ā, study of (from lógos, explanation).
---L.
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 05:06 am
In the Belly.
More Imbolc stuff. White for purity, green for new life, blue for protection and gold for fire. I'm planning to weave these together later today. Maybe it's just thinking about it being mid winter, groundhog day, halfway to spring, but I'm feeling a bit hopeful today. I've gained weight this winter with practically no hiking. I hate slogging through deep snow. And I don't like being cold. But I'm feeling like spring WILL come and warmth will return. My body can recuperate. Being able to hike in the woods will come again.
It's only 4F right now. Blaa. But it's supposed to get up to 15F later and Candy and I are planning to walk in town on the sidewalks.
Sunday, February 1st, 2026 09:18 pm
(For all the questions, or to submit one of your own, the post is here ♥ )
What are you most looking forward to this month?
Excellent question, ha.
I'll punt on this a little bit, because the actual answer (that I'm still recovering from last year) is not very interesting, and will say —
I'm trying to make a sourdough starter. "Trying" being the key word here. It's my hope that by the end of the month, I will have managed to successfully bake a loaf of sourdough bread. We'll see how it goes? I'm using the King Arthur sourdough guide, since most of their recipes work for me. I stopped by the co-op today to get whole-wheat flour from their bulk bins (local! it's hard red wheat grown in Oregon and they sell it for $0.99/lb, which is *wild* to me!), and this afternoon, I measured out flour and water and threw them in a sourdough-safe container in my kitchen, where they are now quietly sitting together in the oven, because it's the warmest place in the house. Ha.
Tomorrow will be the first discard, and you're supposed to see activity within 48 hours, so. Hopefully I will? And it'll go well? Shall see! ♥
What are you most looking forward to this month?
Excellent question, ha.
I'll punt on this a little bit, because the actual answer (that I'm still recovering from last year) is not very interesting, and will say —
I'm trying to make a sourdough starter. "Trying" being the key word here. It's my hope that by the end of the month, I will have managed to successfully bake a loaf of sourdough bread. We'll see how it goes? I'm using the King Arthur sourdough guide, since most of their recipes work for me. I stopped by the co-op today to get whole-wheat flour from their bulk bins (local! it's hard red wheat grown in Oregon and they sell it for $0.99/lb, which is *wild* to me!), and this afternoon, I measured out flour and water and threw them in a sourdough-safe container in my kitchen, where they are now quietly sitting together in the oven, because it's the warmest place in the house. Ha.
Tomorrow will be the first discard, and you're supposed to see activity within 48 hours, so. Hopefully I will? And it'll go well? Shall see! ♥
Monday, February 2nd, 2026 12:07 am
for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
allbingo's valentine's fest
allbingo's valentine's fest| Separation & reunion | Helplessness | Ethical Sluts | First kiss | Sensory Deprivation |
| Love Without Limits | Hate sex | Body Worship | Chocolates | Our Song |
| Biting / Sucking | Negative Self-Talk | FREE SPACE | Balcony scene | Sarcasm |
| Self-Sabotage | Sending flowers | Refusing to Be Wrong | Roaring Twenties | Manipulating People |
| Ménage à trois | Leather / Latex | Toxic Relationships | Humping on the couch | Masturbation |
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Sunday, February 1st, 2026 10:35 pm
My imbolc was...frustrating. Before I launch into my writerly ways, let me tell you my tale of woe because what would a day be if something annoying didn't happen. I opened my email to find
1. my hotel was canceled
2. that gown I paid for, the email can't be delivered.
So 1. the hotel. It's for the loveland frogman festival. It's the hotel they use for their guests and festival goers (the conference center is a golf club without a hotel) I call them to find out WHY they canceled. me. She goes , 'oh, the state shut us down.' and hung up on me. I'm wow. how BAD do you have to be for the state said no more. A friend suggested that maybe it was because of ICE because didn't Hilton do that it in Minneapolis. Yes but that doesn't seem to be the case here. Now I'm looking for a new hotel AND wondering will the festival get canceled?!?
2. When recollection clothing was on Etsy I bought a beautiful walking dress for my steampunk and in June I bought one for my steampunk/cosplaying Rosie. She's no longer on etsy. It was meant to be delivered in August. it took a couple emails to get a response that she was struggling to get the cloth but she was on it. I've emailed every month since. No response. Now I can't even get an email through. Either she pulled up stakes entirely OR she blocked me. I need to go check the web page to see what's going on but I'm betting that's 200$ I'm never seeing back.
So writerly ways. I have nothing much to actually say, ha. BUT I stumbled onto an offer that was too short of a turn around to share it and it was all about taking a chance (literally it was a random lottery) to get pages of your novel read by a pro editor (like 3 pages) and they asked what turned out to be a shockingly hard question that I thought I'd pose to all of you.
What do YOU struggle with in your novel?
Part of me wanted to say description, ever since a particularly bad writers' group but then I thought eh, that sounds not really like I know what I'm doing. My real problem is my characters pull the story down rabbit holes I'm not sure it should be going through and evil little dog helped me put it in a more coherent way, enough so that one of the editors popped in with an answer (something other than buy my book, which there was a regrettable amount of that) He called it shiny object syndrome which fair. I've called it that myself not knowing it's the right term.
I get distracted by the newest shiny idea outside of the novel and within. It's something I need to work on. How about you?
Open Calls
Views From The Overlook I've shared this before. My story is ready (another beta read wouldn't be bad) I'm sharing this again because they have made a lot of changes to the open call (making it more fair honestly) and the pay is up to 2K for the story. I'm still taking my slim to none chance.
After the Hurt This one is weird. It wants stories that are 'after the whump' the weird part is they have categories from micro fic to novelettes but the PAY doesn't change, just ten dollars or a paperback of the anthology. Given that I wouldn't give them more than flash fic
When the Base Goes Dark: Holding the Line at Home Original horror fiction written exclusively by current or former military dependents
Eye to the Telescope Theme: Paying Tribute
Vampires Anthology Spine-tingling Short Stories of Vampirism in All Its Forms. this is one I'm writing frantically for but it just occurred to me I DO have steampunk vampire story (but it might be too short).
Untitled Suburban Gothic Anthology Suburban Gothic by Canadian authors
THE PING ANTHOLOGY
35 Magazines Accepting Literary Fiction
From around the web
Battling “Shiny Object Syndrome” as a Writer: How I’m Staying Focused on My Novella this was the advice I was given
Short, Sharp, and Hungry: What a Lifetime of Novels Taught Me About Writing Short Horror
Radical Immersion: Becoming Your Character
How to Sneak Clues Past Your Readers and Keep Them Guessing
Change Requires an Engaged Community
The Author's Guide to Instagram.
Five Top Tips To Smash Your Writing Goals
The Timely Sentence
One I think a lot of us should listen to
also interesting
From Betty
Five Ways Authors Sabotage Their Story’s Tension
How Big Should Character Problems Be?
What Actually Scares Me About AI
Three Ways to Develop Characters in Fiction
How to Craft Accurate Fight Scenes - Part 2
This Book Brought to You By
Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Negative Self-Talk
HOW TO WRITE AN 'I HAVE A BOOK COMING' EMAIL
Why Writers Should Stretch: Simple Ways to Reduce Pain and Stay Healthy at Your Desk
Why Writers Need Good Friends: 5 Powerful Reasons Connection Fuels Creativity and Calling
Dipping the Quill Deeper: Honoring Elders by Preserving Their Stories and Legacy
6 Reasons Writing for Change Requires an Engaged Community
I Meet the Villain Last
Writing Without Trying to Manage the Reader
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