Reading

Oh hey I can make polls!

Update: I can create polls, but not make them useable (I have a free account which means I shouldn't even be able to do this much, if I understand this correctly).

At this point, because life is too short, I block on sight people I see recommending anything by/to do with the serial racist TERF harasser Benjanun Sriduangkaew (Zen Cho's summary), who now writes as "Maria Ying" (with someone else)? (WinterFox, Requires Hate, whatever the hell other pseudonyms and/or monikers). There's a chance current readers/recommenders/etc. have no idea and just haven't heard, but like I said, life is too short, so why give any more time of day than "nope, blocking" to someone running around reccing a harasser?

(I was in her targeting crosshairs but fortunately only in a glancing fashion, unlike people I know whom she harassed in pretty awful ways, in an ongoing pattern of behavior.)

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(no subject)

genarti and I have been working our very slow but delighted way through We Are Lady Parts, the British sitcom about an all-Muslim punk rock band composed of opinionated women with beautiful and compelling faces. I'd been seeing a lot of gifsets of these faces before we watched the show and I am pleased to report that they are even more beautiful and compelling at full length. For those of you who have missed the gifsets, please enjoy Lady Parts performing "Villain Era":

Watch on YouTube

The two most protagonist-y protagonists are Saira, the band's lead singer/guitarist, who is at all times extremely punk rock, and Amina, a stressed-out trad-Muslim scientist with terrible stage fright, who really has to work to access her inner punk rock. The cast is rounded out with Ayesha, the angry lesbian drummer; Bisma, who plays the role of maternal peacemaker until she starts to chafe at it; and Momtaz, the band's go-getter manager. The first season focuses mostly on the question of whether Amina can conquer her own inhibitions enough to contribute her excellent guitar skills and huge Disney eyes to the band after Saira press-gangs her into joining them. The second season brings the whole band up against the music industry more generally, and the various ways that the public pressure of moderate fame starts to push each of them into re-examining their self-image and relationships to their music and identity. It's a good show! I liked it very much!

Also, like everyone else in the world, we have recently watched KPop Demon Hunters. Also a very good time featuring banger music tracks -- I'd seen it described as 'a series of really good music videos' and broadly I agree with this assessment -- plus twenty pounds of fun kdrama tropes stuffed into a five-pound bag. Probably would not have felt compelled to write anything about it except for the fact that by an accident of timing, we ended up watching the season finale of Lady Parts the day after we watched KPop Demon Hunters which made for a very funny accidental wine pairing. Both funny and telling to go from ( high-level spoilers for both KPop Demon Hunters and Lady Parts )

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: Bamberg

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Foundation 3.09

In which it's penultimate episode of the season time, which means things get very dark indeed, though not in all storylines.

( The Cleons Strike Back? Revenge of the Cleons? Master and Apprentice? )

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Ficlet: Masquerade Ball (Wish Me Luck)

Another of the AU_gust ficlets, this one for the prompt "Masquerade Ball" and also for

allbingo Crime Classics square "Foreign Bodies." I put 0 research and accuracy into it and the fandom doesn't have enough fic to warrant an AU, but I was thinking about WML when I saw the prompt. Anyway, less traumatic than the actual incident's end in 1.6, one trusts.

Masquerade Ball (633 words) by thisbluespirit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Wish Me Luck (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Colin Beale/Matty Firman
Characters: Colin Beale (Wish Me Luck), Matty Firman
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Regency, Spies & Secret Agents, Ficlet, Community: allbingo, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Alternate Universe - Napoleonic Wars, handwaves accuracy, Matty just being Matty in any time period, Implied Sexual Content
Summary: Matty and Colin get caught in a compromising position.

(I thought I was doing better today but I just failed at the summary sentence ~~three~~ ~~four~~ FIVE times in a row, so I do hope my editing was actually okay. It was only tweaking, so let's hope so.)

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Reposted fic: dressed in our finest scarlet and gold (P&M 5)

dressed in our finest scarlet and gold - Photographs and Memories five, Harry Potter, PG. Angelina, (Angelina/Fred). Angst. 432 words. First posted: July 2007. Lightly edited 1 August 2025.

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, and I make no profit from this fan-written fiction.
Set post Deathly Hallows. With thanks to rayslady for looking over this.

( dressed in our finest scarlet and gold: shallowness )

The Photographs and Memories index is here.

now plied: "leaf" yarn

wheel wheel

Taking a break from MUD coding.

Latest singles preparing for a 3-ply "leaf" yarn!

This one is also slated for Local Astronomer Knitter Friend. :)

This book has genuinely been my favorite read all YEAR. It's so engagingly written (I love technical/craft instructional books), wry moments of humor, but incredibly clear explanations of the engineering of a spinning wheel along with the MATH.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Wayfaring Stranger - Neko Case

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tv: miscellaneous

I'm going there no more to roam

There's so much TV coming back soon:

- the new season of Only Murders in the Building starts on 9/8
- the new season of Slow Horses starts 9/24
- the new season of Abbott Elementary starts 10/1

And it's not tv, but the new season of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures also starts 10/1 - there was a new mini episode last night, featuring Alfred being the best. <3

Meanwhile, I still have not watched:

- season 2 of Andor
- season 2 of Wednesday
- season 2 of Poker Face (though I did watch the first episode - the one with Cynthia Erivo, who was fantastic)

And of course, China Beach is finally available on a streaming service I do not have, and without some of the iconic music they used, but it would definitely be worth checking out if I wanted to pay for another streamer, which I don't.

Instead, I seem to have fallen into another Elementary rewatch. Despite some of the ghastly murders, it is a very comforting watch and I love Joan and Sherlock's relationship so much. And I might be feeling a Killjoys rewatch coming up soon too. I guess we'll see.

There are other shows I keep meaning to check out but have not as of yet - there is just too much to watch and too little time.

*

(no subject)

I might have a more cooperative vid idea to poke at while I let my Star Trek ones percolate!

I definitely need to do a full Discovery rewatch soon! Strange New Worlds still doesn't sound like my thing, but I'll have to check out episode 3x09 the next time I have Paramount+, since it looks like it was a good Ortegas episode.

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i made a(n embarrassing) thing

So because I can listen to podcasts while I'm working, I listen to...a lot of podcasts. And a lot of them have connections with each other via hosts guesting on other people's podcasts. I have at times mentioned the Sarah Marshall-Michael Hobbes podcast universe...and I decided to map it out.

Honestly, this web could be much bigger--I've limited it to things I have listened to a least a few episodes of. I only listen to 5-4 (about the US Supreme Court) now and then because it's depressing but it's SUCH a good resource when a big ruling gets handed down. I only listen to Sentimental Garbage, Ordinary Unhappiness, and 16th Minute now and then, but I've listened to all of them enough to be fond of the hosts.

As for the rest of the podcasts mentioned here...I listen to them regularly. Most of them I listen to every single episode.

This doesn't encompass all the shows I listen to, just the ones that can be connected in this way. But the connections made me happy, so I thought I would share.

Podcasts I listen to regularly that couldn't be worked in: Dear John and Hank, Straight White American Jesus, On the Nose (the Jewish Currents podcast), Rock That Doesn't Roll, the Ezra Klein Show, You Must Remember This, and This American Ex-Wife.

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: she's a pass - dredd soundtrack

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Decisions.

Ugh, this year has been expensive and I'm sensing next year is going to suck too. BUT. I've made the active choice that I won't be going up to Milwaukee for the Romance Book convention happening this weekend. I hope it's awesome for those who want to attend, but I am going to spend the entrance money on new running shoes and acupuncture.

My goal is to start going back to the gym in a more regular way. The last time kind of blew up in my face and I want to get back to going at least twice a week. Baby steps, right? BUT. I cleaned out my locker and am washing all the work out clothes this weekend. I also renewed my locker and am going to pick up a few small toiletries (deodorant, toothpaste) and bring my tied masks to cover my kn95's. Those hold them on better than the elastic ear-loop ones. Now I just need some new shoes for the elliptical and my barriers for entry will be lowered. I even have a new mp3 player to dump stuff on that I can sweat all over. Though, the busted iPod (TM) might be reaching repeated gym status. Ugh, I get so sweaty.

I am also grumpy I can't really check out audiobooks onto my budget mp3 player. It's deeply annoying. Do NOT get me started on Overdrive vs Libby. The shift has been a MASSIVE loss for accessibility. If you don't have/can't afford a device that runs an app? Too bad, so sad, no audiobooks from the library 4 u. (Unless you check out the cd's. Which is what I do now.)

ANYWAY. Enjoy my awesome icon!

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seren can do this

I'm...good?

In my continued attempt to be more present here, here is a post! :D Honestly, things are...better. I'm still feeling all the things, but the main feeling I'm sitting with is disappointment.

I'm just so dang disappointed things ended the way they did when I'm fairly sure they didn't have to. I'm disappointed that we couldn't be what the other person wanted/needed. I'm disappointed that I'm grappling with the cultural/societal nonsense of feeling like I "failed," or I'm "not where I should be at this point in my life." It's all nonsense and I'm exactly where I should be because I'm alive and I'm thriving, so eff off society. I'm sorry for him that he's going to go through all this alone. I'm also disappointed because all the things that gave me pause initially are really coming to light. I'm not disappointed in myself, exactly, but some things have just been confirmed to me that I think I should have taken more seriously. They're things that were NEVER going to "get better." And I should have trusted my instincts. Now I know.

In good news, I'm feeling lighter and lighter and each day I'm that much further from the pain of it all and closer to feeling like my self again. I've made some really cool travel plans for next summer, something that I've always wanted to do, and I'm even considering home ownership.

And I have my hedgehog again! Her name is Mabel and she's a hilarious little grumpus and I love her.

In closing, it's Thursday, and while I could never get the hang of Thursdays, there are British murder mysteries to watch later this evening and a hedgie to cuddle (carefully) and I'm getting there.

Current Mood: impressed
Current Location: On the train

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Alien: Earth 1.05

No sooner did I finish with episodes 1-4 that episode 5 got dropped. I’m currently travelling (for work, not fun) and only intermittently online, but I did have the chance to watch it.

( In Space, No One…. )

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let's talk about me

more than your average bear

I had to contribute a few "things I know more about than your average bear" for a thing, and unfortunately I am me, so my list kept expanding, so I thought I'd share them.

These are not things I do professionally, and they are not things I am an expert on (and I know that many people in my social circles know much more about many of them than I do), just things I have been interested in enough at some point in my life to know more about them than most people do.

ancient Egypt; Victorian literature; the Bible; 2nd generation kpop; 90s and 2000s scripted TV of a certain kind; 90s and 2000s online Western media fandom; 90s and 2000s evangelical culture; the Bloomsbury Group; golden age mystery novels; 20th century books about plucky teen and pre-teen girls; the oeuvres of George Cukor and Defunctland; the works of L.M. Montgomery and Ursula K. Le Guin; the Bronte sisters; the music of Vienna Teng, Paul Simon, Loreena McKennitt, and the Indigo Girls; film noir; screwball comedies; honestly just classic Hollywood in general; 2nd wave feminists in the southern US; the Sarah Marshall-Michael Hobbes extended podcast universe; classic Star Trek; movie musicals; the comedy of Chris Fleming; British panel game shows [probably only more than your average American; I assume your average Brit knows more than I do]; movie scores; Ecuadorian national politics; gothic fiction; the history and culture of fin de siècle Vienna; the Star Wars expanded universe novels; and 90s PBS kids shows

What are some things you know a lot about? Your list does not have to be as long as mine, but I would love to hear about anything at all! I would be delighted to start a meme!

reel WIP

Music reel. :3 Thoughts/feedback welcome (although I'm still learning industry norms for composition/orchestration); I graduate in 2028 but figure I'd hit the learning curve accreting a reel starting now.

Note: it's the norm for people in composition/orchestration to have audio-only reels (unless, I suppose, you have some gigantic AAA-videogame or Star Wars-level movie credit you have permission to show off as a video clip!).

also presented without (much) explanation, default!Jedao explores default!tavern

a.k.a. I haven't had time to code anything yet lol.

cf.

telophase's once-upon-a-time of sketch featuring BUSTY BLONDE CHERIS with her SPACE FERRET. (I still have the pic,

telophase, not sure if I have permission to reshare or where there's a link? XD)

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: inside job - something for kate

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Blergh.

I am having a lot of feelings right now, and most of them are grumpy. My record got stolen/mis-delivered and now I'm having to beat my head against the joy that is USPS bureaucratic jankiness to try and get my $44 back. And I'm going to have to try and order this goddamn vinyl again. I would like someone to come and just do this for me.

UPDATE: It was delivered this morning? Huzzah, thank you, universe.

I love being independent and capable, but fuck me it'd be nice for someone else to handle this for me.

I had a mostly good weekend although bits were hard. We got out to the cemetery on Sunday (Saturday was a loss for me) and I got to spend the day with mom. We plotted out scheduling for the rest of the year and caught up on some chatting. I also got some free produce from her (along with a bunch of mosquito bites) which I spent Sunday putting together as salads. NGL, my quinoa tabbouleh was fucking spectacular.

I am having some health stuff going on, but I don't really want to go into it. I am mostly noting this for my own records. I'm fine, but it is what it is.

Monday went ok. I worked hard to basically clear the day so I could be a lump. I did get 3/4 of the books I'd printed glued and sewn. The last one needs sewing and gluing, but it's pressed and awled. I'm honestly impressed at how my hands remembered what to do with the sewing. Now I just need to cut the boards, pick out a color scheme, and glue everything together.

I'm also working on line-editing another project. (It's fine! But there are minor typos that I go back and correct. Ex: their instead of there or awe instead of aww.) I never do substantive changes in anything I bind, but if there's a spelling or grammar error that throws me out of the narrative in the singular thing I am printing and binding so I and I alone can read it? Yeah, there's line-editing.

presented without (much) explanation

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what i'm reading wednesday 3/9/2025

I don't have a ton to write about today, so I thought I would ask y'all a question! The weather is unnervingly autumnal here right now (just in the sense that it's unseasonable--that actual weather is delightful), and it's got me in a Fall Mood. (I have been listening to Loreena McKennitt, which tells you everything if you've known me for a long time.)

So: what is your favorite autumnal read? When the weather starts to turn, what do you start itching to read?

And now back to our regularly-scheduled program.

What I finished:

It's mostly been mysteries around here lately, which are the one thing I can always read, even when I'm too frazzled to focus on anything else. Over the past week or two I have read:

Sleeping Murder and The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie, The Confession and Proof of Guilt by Charles Todd, and The Religious Body by Catherine Aird. All enjoyable but I don't have much to say about them except to say that the Aird was set in a convent and I am always here for a book set in a convent!

The only other thing I read was Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey. This one I picked up at one of my visits to Persephone Books some time ago, and I will be honest, I mostly picked this one out of a sea of pretty grey Persephone books because of her last name. I was like, "Lytton's sister???" (His niece, actually.) Because I am nothing if not a Bloomsbury Group girlie.

I wasn't crazy about this? I didn't dislike it, and Strachey was a good writer with a real knack both for physical description of locations and for characterization (the mother figure in the book is apparently based on her mother-in-law and is VERY well-drawn). I also thought it was cool that it takes place over the course of a couple of hours right before and after a wedding, so the aperture is very small in a way that I typically really appreciate.

But I also felt held at a distance from the characters, none of them were very likeable nor unlikable enough to be really compelling, and there didn't seem to be much of a point. Virginia Woolf raved about it, though, so I guess I am just wrong.

Still, it was very short, so I don't feel like I wasted my time reading it.

What I'm currently reading:

I started A Forgery of Fate. It's very readable and even though it's got the kind of first person POV that I often associate with badly-written YA books, there's enough going on that I think it will turn out to be worth reading.