dolorosa_12: (beach path)
[personal profile] dolorosa_12
I had so much fun with the 'overheard on public transport' prompt last week, and [personal profile] trepkos's answer got me thinking of a follow-up question, which I hope people will enjoy just as much. This week's question is not about things you've heard, but rather about things you've seen:

What is the strangest thing you've seen someone wearing and/or carrying on public transport?

I don't actually have a particularly good response here. The most memorable thing I can think of is one of the times Matthias and I went down to visit our friends L and C in Devon during a public holiday weekend, and the return train journey was incredibly crowded, including, in our carriage, with an older couple who were carrying two newly-purchased antique chairs, and were accompanied by a giant dog, which lay down in the aisle. Between the dog and the chairs, the carriage became impassable. On another trip to that part of the world (with my mum, in order to spend a week hiking along the Southwest Coastal Pathway), we got off at the end of the train line and had to catch a bus to Tintagel — the last bus of the day — which left very late due to a guy with a massive surfboard begging and pleading with the driver to be allowed onto the bus with the surfboard, which was inevitably forbidden. But I don't think either of these things (the chairs+dog, or the surfboard) were particularly weird in the scheme of things — no doubt some of you will have witnessed much more bizarre stuff on journeys of your own.
[syndicated profile] mcsweeneys_feed

Posted by Jenny O'Dell

- - -

Four conversations with writers and artists about the role that athletics and training play in their creative lives, featuring Marcus Burke, R. O. Kwon, Alexis Madrigal, and Daniel Alarcón

- - -

During my senior year of high school, a guidance counselor who had it in for me gleefully noticed I was missing a semester’s worth of PE. I still have the paper on the Cupertino High School letterhead, informing my parents that I was in danger of not graduating. Under “Notes,” the counselor wrote, “Jennifer must pass bowling.” So extreme was my distaste for sports and physical activity that of the three options given to me, which included regular PE or weight lifting, I had chosen the third: driving to Homestead Bowl at 6:30 every morning of that semester.

Other than during a brief period, in my twenties, of braving the elliptical machines at the Embarcadero YMCA in San Francisco, and drunken dancing at a party called Sweater Funk, this distaste did not wear off. If anything, it matured into something more sweeping: Exercise, gyms, and sports in general were like parts of a video game that failed to render. They just didn’t exist to me. Relatedly, I was uninterested in what my body, with its cryptic aches and pains, might have been trying to communicate. I remember politely nodding but privately balking at a therapist whom I saw for a short stint, because she kept asking me where I felt emotions in my body. Why would she say something like that, when we all knew emotions happened in your head, the only place that really mattered?

Then, about two years ago, I started going to a personal trainer down the street from where I lived. I was nearing forty and getting assailed by articles about how my bones were about to deteriorate. But I was too scared to go to the gym, which at this point felt like picking up a book in a foreign language. I thought my trainer might be like a kind of translator, easing me into it. And she was, patiently directing me toward various contraptions and monitoring me for bad form, overexertion, and, more important, despair.

Some months later, feeling emboldened, I took my derelict Bianchi to the repair shop, and contemplated riding it into the East Bay Hills. A friend had suggested Old Tunnel Road. But what they hadn’t mentioned was an unforgiving slog along Broadway before you even get to that road. On the hot September day when I finally tried this ride, I found myself gasping for air, and felt like my brain was being squeezed between mattresses. Because of the topography and the adjacent freeway, the route is something of an optical illusion: It seems flat, and Old Tunnel in the distance looks far steeper than it is.

An old, dependable inner voice saw its cue. Look at you. You’re not even at the hard part and you’re tired. This is embarrassing! Don’t ever try—or even speak of—this again.

But then, to my genuine surprise, a completely unfamiliar voice shouldered that one aside. OK, but what if we try just making it to that stoplight? If you get there and you really don’t feel good, we can turn around and go home. But I bet you’ll be fine after a little break.

This foreign encouragement was so jarring that it took me a moment to recognize what it was: my trainer’s voice. And it wasn’t just on this ride that I heard it. Whenever I felt overwhelmed by the scope of a book project I’d taken on, or daunted by the unfamiliar things it required me to try, my old self-berating perfectionism would give way to something new: an inner monologue that not only didn’t think I was a complete moron, but also was attentive to my body, my brain, and their interface. Thanks to my trainer, when I finally went off to the gym by myself, my workouts continued to be object lessons in a kindly self-awareness and the slow but sure nature of training that, on an everyday level, shares so much with the process of writing a book.

I’m hopeful that my bones are deteriorating at a slightly slower pace, but what I found by entering this world was so much more: a different kind of self-conception and self-regard, a broader definition of intelligence, and a general respect for the world of athletics. (I even own an Oakland Ballers hat now.) I also became interested in talking to other artists and writers about the way athletics informs their own creative lives. Were there any surprising translations between the two contexts, as there had been for me? What did a sports practice allow them to do or think in their writing practice that they couldn’t have otherwise? And if we were to dissolve the false dichotomy of art and sports, what would it allow us to see?

—Jenny Odell

- - -

MARCUS BURKE
[WRITER]

  • Athletic activity: Basketball
  • Practiced from: 1995–2010
  • Preferred hours: At night when the world felt quiet
  • Frequency and duration: Almost every day. Even if I didn’t play, I’d dribble the ball outside my house.
  • Accomplishments: 4 years of college basketball; starter senior year
  • Highest scoring season: Senior year, I averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds.
- - -

MARCUS BURKE: I was a college basketball player during the four years I worked on my first book. So I would have to write in strange places. There’d be times I would be writing in the back of the bus on the way to games. My coach just couldn’t put it together between me being a writer and also an athlete. If I messed up a play, he’d just be like, “Marcus, this isn’t a draft. You don’t get another draft of this play.” [Laughs]

THE BELIEVER: I mean, there is a difference between practice and performance, right? Like in sports, what I see as a spectator is all performance, but I imagine that from the practice side of things it’s incredibly repetitive.

MB: That’s where I feel like writing and sports correlate. I have one book out, which means the world has seen one of my works. I put that book out eleven or twelve years ago. Nobody sees the amount of time it takes to actually put all that together. It can look like you’re doing nothing. And I feel like with training, when it comes to basketball, it’s almost like when you have to take a game-winning shot and somebody says, “Oh my gosh, how did you make that shot?” And it’s like, “Because I’ve taken that shot a thousand times.”

With writing, you kind of have to stay in it, in the same way that if you want to be in shape as an athlete, you have to continue to train and train and train. And there are different aspects. For example, I feel like reading is like the weight lifting of writing. Because sometimes it can be arduous. It’s making you better, but you don’t necessarily feel the payoff initially, as you’re engaged in the act. And it only shows up later in this mysterious way, if at all.

BLVR: [Laughs] Right, it might not. I feel like with writing there’s this notion right now—and this isn’t even getting into AI—that you could just become something overnight. There’s this lack of patience and commitment and acknowledgment that it takes a long time, it’s intensely private, and it can be really lonely.

MB: I grew up in a funky situation where the group of kids that were around me—what became of us wasn’t good, you know? And I think back on those times and how I didn’t get lost in the sauce the way some of my peers did. It was because of basketball. I think about a lot of those lonely nights of, like, doing ball handling in the streets. I remember those lonely times when it’s very similar to writing, like you have to love it when things are going on and when nothing is going on.

BLVR: It reminds me of something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, which is writerly stamina. And I’m like, What actually is that? I think for me, it’s partially an attitude toward small failures.

MB: With writing, there’s things that give you moments of pause, where you’re just like, Hm. OK, I have a thing. I can change it. Moving on. You kind of have to take a look and keep on thinking.

For me, the transition was dealing with not being physically tired, but being mentally tired, where I haven’t worked my body today, but I’ve worked my brain supremely. It was learning how to get that writerly stamina. I have kids now, and I teach at Texas Tech, so I don’t get to write every day. But I try to as much as I can, just because I feel it’s like a muscle that weakens if you don’t work it. Especially with working on a book, you’re strongest when you’re hitting it every day.

I look at reading season and writing season in the same way I would look at preseason, postseason, and season. They’re like different modes, and they kind of correlate with basketball. When I’m in a reading season, it’s because I need to refortify the fortress, you know? I need to take in some new work, take in some new ideas. See how people are doing it. To me, that’s like the training, right? And then you hit a point when you’re a little full, when you’re like, Now I need to just go do the thing.

BLVR: Do you think a certain love of the game also plays a role here?

MB: To me, the key correlation between writing and basketball is that you have this compulsion and it defies logic, in a way, because you just do it. And it’s going to be hard; it might suck. But nonetheless, this is the hill you’re going to die on. For me, life would be crazy, but I’d always find my way back to the basketball court. No matter what was going on, I could always go shoot around; I could always find my way back. And I feel very similarly about writing now: that it’s a place of both comfort and great anxiety.

I feel like the best place is when you’re in the midst of working and you’re just receiving and downloading your story to your page. You’re not thinking about word choice; you’re not worried about structure. You’re just putting it down.

To me, that’s like game time, when you’re playing on autopilot. You’ve done all the training, you’ve done all the stuff. And it’s just time to go be active in the craft. You go out there and produce because you’ve trained for all the situations and everything. I feel like the compulsion is what really keeps you in the vocation and allows you to show up for those moments of glory. Because they’re so short-lived—it’s like an eclipse, you know? [Laughs] So much goes into being able to say, This book is done now, or We won a championship. Nobody sees you getting up at 6 a.m. to work out. Nobody sees all those late nights and early mornings and just having to weather the emotional storm of it. Because I feel like for a lot of people, you know, that in itself would take them out.

I remember when I was giving my speech to the team on senior night during college, saying to them, “A season’s never a season unless you think about quitting a couple of times.” And everybody in the room, shamefully, was just like resigned nodding. And I was like, “I know you thought about quitting. Don’t lie and act like you ain’t thought about quitting.” But we’re all here because we didn’t quit, you know? I’ve been working on my novel for, like, a decade now. And I think I’m getting close to finishing it. I’m praying I’m getting close to finishing it. But nonetheless, the baseline resolve is: It will be done when it’s done, and quitting is not on the table.

It’s like what I was telling my students: “The training is the training. If you don’t like it, you can stop, and nobody’s mad at you for that.” There are no false kings in the game. You have to sit down, you have to write your book, and nobody can do that for you. Whatever you need to do to game yourself up to do that. There’s no hate from my end, but I guess I like an athletic approach to things. Which is just to say that I look at it like: It’s work. Do it. And the more you give it, the more it’ll give you.

BLVR: Yeah, and it’ll be meaningful because of that, because no one gave it to you. It’s yours.

MB: And nobody can take it.

- - -

Continue reading the rest of these conversatiuons over at The Believer.

smallhobbit: (Book bibliophile)
[personal profile] smallhobbit
Seven books I own, no caption, no comment. 


Enkiri Enoki in Itabashi City, Japan

Mar. 13th, 2026 10:00 am
[syndicated profile] atlas_obscura_places_feed

Japan is the a country filled with shrines dedicated to various things and entities. Some are big, and others as small as a single sign. But very few are run by vending machines. 

The Enkiri Enoki shrine is dedicated to an ancient tree from the Eddo period which is said to help with the breaking of bad relationships and the beginning of new ones. This makes it a popular spot with people who want help with their relationship, and also alcoholics who want to stop drinking. However, the place is too small for round the clock shrine keepers, and thus an alternative was found; vending machines. 

There are two of them on it's small premise. A large machine that sells 'Ema' planks which are used to write down your wish, and a smaller 'gachapong' machine which dispenses blessed charms for those who wish to cary them. This unique system makes the temple easy to use with minimal upkeep from priests. 

koel

Mar. 13th, 2026 07:23 am
prettygoodword: text: words are sexy (Default)
[personal profile] prettygoodword
koel (KOH-uhl) - n., any of several long-tail cuckoos (genus Eudynamys) of south-and-southeast Asia, the East Indies, and Australia.


koel is looking at you
Thanks, WikiMedia!

Exact taxonomy is still under debate, but call it a handful of species with numerous subspecies. Like other cuckoos, they are parasitic, laying eggs in the nests of other birds to be raised by them. The name is from Hindi koyal, from Sanskrit kokila, after the bird's call.

---L.

Surprise!!

Mar. 13th, 2026 07:05 am
susandennis: (Default)
[personal profile] susandennis
I woke up, got coffee, fed the cats, sat down at the table next to the window and WHOA!!

PXL_20260313_125016844

It was still snowing then, a little, but now it has stopped. I can see some traffic and several cars have come up the hill to the garage without issue. It is 7:05 and I have an appointment with my foot guy at 7:50. I'm going for it. Once I get off this hill, I suspect there will be nothing on the roads.

But, what a treat! Sorry I didn't get to see it falling. But, at least we got one - teeny tinsey - snow this winter.

After the doctor's, I need to stop at the Amazon Lockers and pick up a package and then at UPS to return one. Then I was going to get gas but it's probably too cold and I probably won't.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


Is the current location of our Solar System the reason no one's coming to visit?

One More Reason the Aliens Might Be Avoiding Us

The Language of Liars by S L Huang

Mar. 13th, 2026 09:08 am
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


A linguist goes undercover to unravel a xenological puzzle whose answer is in plain view.

The Language of Liars by S L Huang
[syndicated profile] dinosaur_comics_feed
archive - contact - sexy exciting merchandise - search - about
March 13th, 2026next

March 13th, 2026: Okay so Toronto's weather is getting colder EVERY SINGLE DAY THIS WEEK, thus, my earlier declaration that "spring in here" must be retracted. Only Fool's Spring was here, and true spring remains but a distant dream >:(

– Ryan

[syndicated profile] mcsweeneys_feed

Posted by Eddie Small

Well, I should probably get going, but this was such a fun visit. And it was especially great to see you, Jimmy! You know, I actually have a little treat for you because you were so good and because I secretly hate your father: an oversized lollipop that you will spend the next four to six days unsuccessfully trying to eat.

You’re very excited, I can tell. How could you not be, given how big and colorful it is and how unfathomably sticky it will soon make every square inch of your house, including rooms you have never even been to yet? So you’re going to insist on opening it before your dad has the chance to say, “We’ll have this after dinner,” and distract you with Mickey Mouse Funhouse episodes until you forget it exists, right? Good boy.

You know, opening the oversized lollipop is actually one of the best parts of this whole lengthy and horrible process. Obviously, you’re going to want to do it yourself—it is your lollipop after all—but you’ll soon realize it is packaged in an incredibly tight and industrial-strength layer of shrink wrap with no viable entrance point. It would be a challenge to unwrap even for an adult who spent the bulk of his adolescence learning how to get a similar type of packaging off Jimmy Eat World CDs, let alone for a three-year-old whose biggest physical accomplishment to date is carrying a plastic plate from the table to the sink while only dropping three of the five clementine slices on it. And just remember, if Dad offers to help you, it really means he is trying to eat the lollipop himself, so you must loudly and repeatedly refuse all of his efforts. Just ask him to let you use the box cutter instead.

But the real fun begins once you get the wrapper off, as eating this thing is nowhere near as simple as popping a Hershey Kiss in your mouth (they had plenty of those at the candy store, and I would have gotten them instead of this monstrosity if your dad hadn’t made us watch Alien vs. Predator instead of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at that movie night we had back in 2004). No, it will be a challenge that borders on the metaphysical. You’ve probably noticed by now that the lollipop is much bigger than your actual mouth, which may have seemed exciting at first but will soon reveal itself to be a challenge that your still-developing brain is incapable of processing. Where do you even start with trying to eat this thing? It is impossible to know, meaning the only answer is to sob uncontrollably after every attempt and sob even harder if your dad tries to offer you any guidance.

And we haven’t even gotten to the best part yet: the stickiness. It actually began infecting your home and body as soon as you laid eyes on the lollipop, and your dad won’t fully finish getting rid of it until years after he forgets I ever gave it to you in a passive-aggressive attempt to make him apologize for the Alien vs. Predator debacle from twenty-two years ago. But he’ll have plenty of other concerns to take care of in the meantime—namely, the fact that the entire lollipop is just seconds away from becoming permanently enmeshed in your hair. He will spend the next three weeks trying out different shampoos to get it out. None of them will work. All of them will make you cry.

Anyway, I really do need to get going. I hope you enjoy the lollipop and never forget what a piece of garbage Alien vs. Predator was, especially compared with the innovative grandeur we could have enjoyed if your dad had just let us watch Eternal Sunshine instead.

Oh, and the lollipop was on sale for $15.95. So, you know, your dad can Venmo me for that whenever.

Knitting update

Mar. 13th, 2026 02:25 pm
cimorene: Abstract painting with squiggles and blobs on a field of lavender (deconstructed)
[personal profile] cimorene
The state of triplet sweaters when last checked on was that I finished #1 (a traditional Guernsey using PetiteKnit's Storm pattern in navy blue dk-weight Norwegian wool Sandnes Peer Gynt). Then I took over #2 (a mariniere using PetiteKnit's Marseille pattern in yellow stripes on black in dk Drops Merino Extra Fine) from [personal profile] waxjism, who had already knitted the body, and knitted the hem ribbing and sleeves and the neck ribbing while Wax started #3 (a traditional cabled Aran in forest green heather Peer Gynt). Wax got halfway up the body of #3 before stalling out in the cold snap while I knitted a little bit on a pair wool shorts for myself before giving up knitting in the cold as well.

Nobody knitted for a month or so. But all that time I knew I was going to have to unravel the neck ribbing on #2 and redo it, because it came out too tight/small.

After I ran out of wool for the shorts the other day, I unwillingly went back to the sweater. Knitting in black wool is very annoying because it's difficult to see the individual stitches. Yesterday I unraveled the collar and started over, getting through 17 rounds out of a planned 21, before I realized it was still too small and started over again. The third try is now at 18/21.

I need to order more wool for the shorts and some more needles and sock yarn and sock blockers.

We still haven't replaced the kitchen faucet, either. I asked Wax what she thought about ordering it a week and a half ago, and she said she could pick it up on her way home from work, but this hasn't happened yet.

Nakijin Nobuko (1887-1968)

Mar. 13th, 2026 09:24 pm
nnozomi: (pic#16721026)
[personal profile] nnozomi posting in [community profile] senzenwomen
Nakijin Nobuko was born in 1887 in modern-day Okinawa, the daughter of Crown Prince Shō Ten of the Kingdom of the Ryukyus (by the time of her birth, already deposed under Japanese rule and made a peer instead); her birth name was Shō Omito. She was a part of the first graduating class of the Okinawa Prefectural Girls’ Higher School in 1904, among the elite who were in the vanguard of the shift from Okinawan to Japanese (and later to Western) dress and from Okinawan to Japanese names.

Upon her marriage to the Okinawan nobleman Nakijin Choei, she took the (Japanese-style) first name Nobuko; in addition to their daughter Kazuko, they had a son, Choshu, who died fighting in the Battle of Okinawa. In 1944 Nobuko ascended as the 18th kikoe-ogimi or high priestess of the Ryukyus, inheriting the position after the death of her aunt Princess Amuro, although between Japanese colonization and the war, she was unable to carry out most of the traditional practices. The following year she was briefly a prisoner of war during the US invasion of Okinawa. She died in 1968 at the age of eighty-one.
hyarrowen: (Swan)
[personal profile] hyarrowen posting in [community profile] little_details
For large-scale projects, specifically for ships. All my ship-related resources for the era are for the British Navy, and books on colour that I've read have been on artists' paints or dyes.

How would a French Imperial Navy vessel be painted, not at one of the big shipyards? Would it be mixed up on site from raw ingredients, or bought in? Would there be barrels, buckets with lids, cannisters, vats or what - and what would the paint be made of? 

Searching online produces info on painting scale models, or contemporary pictures of ships. I found a chapter on ship decoration in Conway's History of the Ship: The Line of Battle but that doesn't have the early-in-the-process details I want. I found an article on the pre-Revolutionary Navy in the International Journal of Maritime History, by David Plouviez, that's too early and still doesn't cover paint.

Thank-you in advance.

podcast friday

Mar. 13th, 2026 07:26 am
sabotabby: (doom doom doom)
[personal profile] sabotabby
 Let's take a little break from reality and talk about romantasy! Escapist tales of fucking fairies and immortal elves and nothing to do with politics whatsoever, right?

Okay you know whose blog you're reading here. Two new-to-me podcasts with great names, Ordinary Unhappiness and In Bed With the Right, did a crossover episode, "Romantasy, Fantasy, and Trauma." For someone who has never read a romantasy (but read a lot of the precursors) I'm kind of obsessed with it as a genre and even more obsessed with the discourse around it. 

Disregarding the people whose opinions I don't care about, there are kind of two opposing takes on its appeal.

This is a fundamentally conservative genre that encourages women to become tradwives and relish in our own oppression.
This is actually a liberatory genre that allows women to explore their fantasies and traumas.

I don't think either side is fully right or wrong here, and that tension is worth exploring. This episode starts from two positions that many critics and admirers of the genre neglect: That women have agency, and that not everything women like is inherently feminist. From there it looks at where the romantasy boom came from, what its appeal is, and what it says about the psychology of its readers. I came away without a spicy take beyond that it turns out that a lot of the stories I wrote and never showed anyone when I was in my teens and twenties actually fit pretty neatly into the genre, which means that either BookTok girlies and I read a lot of the same books growing up, or there's something very deep in our culture that it speaks to, such that we reproduce the tropes unthinkingly.

I also find it interesting (not really discussed on this episode) that for all that the romance formula is reified into tropes and beats and commercial genre fiction is expected to at least somewhat engage with word counts and structure, romantasy really does appear to be an exception, and you can still write and sell stupidly long books in which nothing much happens, and no one complains about it. Dear Publishing Industry: Another world is possible.

Now and then

Mar. 13th, 2026 10:17 am
smokingboot: (dreams)
[personal profile] smokingboot
There's sorrow at the edge.

For two night before this last I had the craziest dreams. Last night was dream free, but the night before I saw little cats being attacked by a young leopard. The cats didn't seem hurt as far as I could tell, but I was worried about rabies from leopard saliva, and yet was diffident about mentioning it to the people around me. The night before that I dreamed of Doris Day singing 'The Black Hills of Dakota' and through both those nights moved the shade of Nuclear Man, so vivid, so very insistent, I could reach out and touch him. It was so powerful I wondered if he was dead. Sense of the ominous but not a threat as such. Just a thing.

Then this morning someone dear messaged me about a death very close to her. I listened, tried to support, did the best I could. How close is all this pain!

Still, a friend joins us this weekend and as ever, it will be great to see her. There's going to be light, even if we have to stay up all night to see it.

In which our heroine is charming

Mar. 13th, 2026 10:08 am
spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
[personal profile] spiralsheep
1. Have you ever watched illusion magic? Close-up, or in a stage show, or on television? Did it work for you?

I've seen illusionists on television and close-up in real life and even when I know how the trick is done I've never spotted the illusionist at work. They're magic to me in at least one sense of the word.

2. Have you ever wished on a star, or a lucky cat, or a coin in a wishing well? Did it work in some way?

Yes, I've wished on objects, but never believing the wishes would come true and none of them ever has. Most of my family aren't superstitious so we mostly did time or place specific traditional customs such as wishing on a poultry wishbone at xmas dinner or when blowing out candles on birthday cakes.

3. Have you ever cast a spell, made a love charm, or tried a curse? Did it work in some way?

I've asked for healing at special springs by leaving a traditional (biodegradeable) offering but, again, without believing any favour could or would be granted. Also, I expect the genii locorum prefer people who clean up their habitats by removing non-biodegradeable litter &c. Despite being a dedicated apatheist I also once asked for healing for a USian Christian friend at the shrine of St David in St Davids Cathedral in the city of St Davids before walking to the nearby holy well dedicated to his mother St Non (and then sent my friend the token I acquired at the cathedral and carried on pilgrimage - she was thrilled but not afaik healed). I was passing the well anyway as it's on a beautiful seaside cliff-top footpath. I was alone when I arrived but soon surrounded by a large group of women pilgrims, who'd walked from another direction, which was interesting because organised pilgrimage groups are an uncommon sight in the UK. I couldn't talk with any of them though because their guide was very LOUD and INSISTENT on having her group's ATTENTION. Fair enough as they'd signed up for it, and I'd already been blessed by a peaceful moment alone at the well (and my friend received the pilgrim token to tell her I cared about her).

4. Are there any other traditional superstitions you pay attention to? Do they work in some way?

My family didn't indoctrinate me with superstitions as I grew up so no to any magical element. But not walking under ladders, and paying attention to the weather and wild animals seems worth it, as does picking up stray pennies and buttons.

5. Would you want major magical powers like in a fantasy story? Which powers, and how would you use them?

Eep, NO! I'd probably end up as a medical experiment in a secret government research bunker. But I would like to have enough manual dexterity to palm things like a stage illusionist. I bet that skill would have all sorts of uses in addition to doing crime or stage magic....

6. And y'all? :-)

The Importance of Being Earnest

Mar. 13th, 2026 09:38 am
goodbyebird: Rome: Atia of the Julii wearing red, on a red background. (Rome Atia of the Julii)
[personal profile] goodbyebird
Streaming for free here. I'm definitely watching this weekend :D

New Worlds: Miscellaneous Arts

Mar. 13th, 2026 08:12 am
swan_tower: (Default)
[personal profile] swan_tower
Throughout the art sections of this Patreon, I've been grouping them into broad categories: visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, and so forth. But what about the arts that are kinda of . . . none of the above?

It's a trick question, honestly, because just about everything can be classed under one of those categories. But I do want to take a moment to talk about a variety of arts that, while classifiable as painting or sculpture or what have you, don't normally get included under those headers, because of how they're used or what materials they involve. It's not an exhaustive list, but it will serve as a reminder that our species is as much Homo creatrix as it is Homo sapiens: if we can use it for art, we probably have.

Let's look at the "painting" side of things -- I don't know if there's a good technical term that covers painting, drawing, and anything else involving the creation of images or designs on a two-dimensional surface. Some variations here are about technique, as in the case of frescoes: there you execute your work upon wet plaster, making the pigment far more durable. And those are usually murals, though not always, which differentiates them from both the more portable sort of art and the scale on which the average painter operates; a mural doesn't have to be enormous, but it certainly lends itself to monumental work, far beyond what a canvas could reasonably support.

The question of what is being painted leads us toward some other interesting corners. Illumination, for example, is the art of decorating the pages of books, whether by fancifying the text itself (illuminated capital letters and the like) or by including images alongside. Other people have made art out of painting eggshells -- or carving them, if the shell is thick enough; ostrich eggs are good for this, and one can imagine dragon eggs being the same way -- or the insides of glass balls. Those also frequently involve working at a very tiny scale, and it's worth noting that miniature painting is a whole field of its own, making a virtuoso display out of executing your work at a level where someone might need a magnifying glass to fully appreciate it.

(Er, "miniature painting" in the sense of "very small," not "minis for Dungeons & Dragons or a similar game." Though that's its own popular art form, too!)

In other cases, it's the medium of the decoration itself that becomes unusual. I've mentioned mosaics before, tessellating colored stones, ceramic, or glass to make an image, but you can grind even smaller than that with sandpainting. This doesn't always involve actual sand -- sometimes it's crushed pigments instead -- and some versions are more like carving in that they involve drawing in a sandy surface, but most specifically this involves pouring out sand or powder to create your designs. As you can imagine, this tends to be an ephemeral art . . . but that's often the point, especially when it's used in a ritual, religious context.

Some of these arts start rising above the two-dimensional surface in interesting ways. Beading can, when done thickly enough, become almost sculptural; it's also massively labor-intensive, which is why it became popular for sartorial displays of wealth when industrialization made the production and dying of fabric much cheaper. Quillwork is a form of fabric decoration unique to Indigenous North America, using dyed and undyed porcupine quills to create designs; among the Cheyenne, joining the elite Quilling Society that crafted such things was itself a form of status. This is distinct, however, from quilling: a different art with a similar name that curls tiny slips of paper into coils, then glues them to a backing to create images from the coils.

Paper leads us onward toward more overtly sculptural uses of that medium. What is origami, after all, but a specific kind of paper-based sculpture? That one in its strict incarnation prohibits cutting or gluing the paper to create its forms, which puts it at the polar opposite end of the spectrum from papercutting: an art some of us may have tried in simple form as kids, but skilled practitioners can achieve astonishingly complex and beautiful pictures. One particular version of this, the silhouette, is traditionally done with black paper and used especially for portraiture.

Basketry maybe should have gone into the textiles essay, both because many of its techniques are close kin to weaving and sewing, and because it very much belongs among what I termed the "functional arts" -- those which serve a utilitarian purpose while also including an aesthetic dimension. Anything pliable can potentially be used for basketry: most often plant materials like straw, willow, grass, and vines, but also animal hides or modern materials like strips of plastic. The resulting vessels are vitally important as storage containers and can even be made waterproof, especially if they're coated in clay or bitumen, but by working patterns into their design, basket-makers can also make them beautiful.

Or perhaps you go in an entirely non-utilitarian direction. Flower arranging is about taking nature's beauty -- perhaps from a garden -- and displaying it in an artificial way, knowing full well that soon the flowers will wilt. But where most of us stop at just sticking a few blooms in a vase, some artists go on to create full-blown sculptures of flowers and greenery, sometimes with complex internal structures that continue supplying water to the blooms to extend their life. There was even a competitive TV show about this, The Big Flower Fight!

I could keep going, of course. Baking is a functional art insofar as it makes something for you to eat, but it definitely has its elaborate end where the artistic value of the decoration or shaping is as much the point as the taste of the final product -- if it's edible at all, which it may not be! Amaury Guichon has made an entire TikTok phenomenon out of showcasing his monumental chocolate sculptures. I'm sure someone out there has devoted their life to the art of meat sculpture, but I'm not going to go looking for evidence of that. The point is made: if we can turn it into art, we probably will.

Which is honestly kind of amazing. Art is, after all, about doing more than the minimum required for our survival. It is a mark of our success as a species, that we have freed enough of our time from the work of acquiring food and shelter that art is possible. And it says something about our inner state, that when we have a spare moment available, we often want to spend it making something beautiful -- out of whatever comes to hand.

Patreon banner saying "This post is brought to you by my imaginative backers at Patreon. To join their ranks, click here!"

(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/ANFkiL)

Ilya's Tattoo - for challenge #76

Mar. 13th, 2026 08:45 pm
mific: (A pen and ink)
[personal profile] mific posting in [community profile] drawesome
Title: Ilya's Tattoo on AO3
Artist: [personal profile] mific
Rating: Gen
Fandom: Heated Rivalry
Characters/Pairings: Shane Hollander
Notes: No warnings apply. Made in Procreate for the tattoo-style art challenge. The first of a pair.

see AO3 for details


Avocado Shamrock Shakes

Mar. 13th, 2026 05:14 am
[syndicated profile] post_punk_kitchen_feed

Posted by Isa Chandra

Makes 4 shakes

Vegan shamrock shakes made with avocado and coconut milk and fresh mint

These vegan shamrock shakes are thick, frosty, and taste like really creamy mint ice cream. They’re naturally green, wildly smooth, and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any time you want a cold mint milkshake. Which is maybe always. 

If you grew up in the U.S., the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake probably lives somewhere in your brain. That electric green, once-a-year milkshake that showed up every March and disappeared into the night before you could even dunk your fries in it. The flavor was minty, the color was built for MTV and the whole thing felt like a ceremony.

This homemade version keeps the fun but everything about it is better. Instead of artificial color and syrupy mint flavor, the green comes from avocado and fresh mint leaves. The avocado blends into the coconut milk and disappears completely, giving the shake a body and depth you just can’t get from ice or frozen banana. You won’t taste it, exactly. It simply makes the shake unbelievably creamy. (Honestly, what can’t avocado do?) Fresh mint does the real flavoring, which gives it a clean mint ice cream vibe instead of that toothpaste edge that extract can have. A squeeze of lemon brightens the whole thing up.

And the whole thing is just stupidly EASY. There’s no ice cream maker, no freezing and re-blending, no waiting around. You throw cold ingredients in a blender and you have milkshakes. The ingredients are simple and easy to find. Most of it is probably already in your kitchen. The whole thing takes about 5 minutes of actual work (assuming you chilled everything the night before), which means you can go from “I want a milkshake” to drinking a milkshake faster than you can grab your bike and get to the vegan drive-thru. 

The recipe doubles and triples easily, so make enough for the whole street. Pour them into frozen glasses, put on some green, and pretend you’re running the most delicious milkshake tavern on the block. 

Tips for the Best Vegan Copycat Shamrock Shake

Keep everything cold. The night before, put the whole ripe avocado (uncut, in its skin), the can of coconut milk, and the almond milk in the fridge. You want everything as cold as possible before it hits the blender. Put your glasses in the freezer while you prep. Cold glasses keep the shake from warming up the second you pour it.

For an extra fun move, top with the Homemade Vegan Aquafaba Whipped cream from this recipe. It’s the perfect light, fluffy topping that makes this feel like a real dessert shake. 

What to Serve with Vegan Shamrock Shakes

Definitely French fries. But also, a bunch of yummy St. Patrick’s Day themed food:

Quarter Pounder Beet Burgers because at this point you might as well since we’re doing a whole thing.

Tempeh Beet Reubens with marinated tempeh, thin-sliced beets, sauerkraut, and homemade vegan Swiss on caraway rye.

Cast Iron Seitan Steak & Onions seared in cast iron and braised in red wine au jus.

Biscuits & White Pepper Gravy because biscuits and gravy go with everything and I will not be debating this.

Sour Cream & Onion Potato Skins for the appetizer spread.

Matcha Waffles with Berries & Cream for a green-on-green St. Patrick’s Day brunch. Top with the whipped aquafaba from that recipe and you’ve got a whole situation.

Kale Caesar with Brussels Sprout Croutons because it’s green and crunchy and fancy.

The Best Vegan Mashed Potatoes or Whipped Mashed Potatoes with White Bean Gravy because it’s an Irish holiday and potatoes are not optional.

Seitan Roast with Sundried Tomatoes and Braised Vegetables if you’re going all out with a full dinner spread.

VEGAN SHAMROCK SHAKE FAQ

Can I use canned coconut cream instead of coconut milk? For sure. It’ll be even thicker and richer. You might want to add a splash more almond milk to get it to blend smoothly.

Can I use a different non-dairy milk? Yup yup yup. Any unsweetened non-dairy milk works.

Can I use mint extract instead of fresh mint? I mean, you can, but fresh mint is the whole point. It gives a cleaner, more natural flavor without that toothpaste-y edge that extract can have. If you must, use about 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and add more to taste.

Can I use maple syrup instead of agave? Sure. A little more caramelly but it works. Start with a little less and taste as you go.

Can I use granulated sugar instead of agave? Yup. Warm up 1 cup of the almond milk slightly, dissolve 1/2 cup sugar into it, then chill it back down before using.

How do I make this for a crowd? The recipe doubles and triples perfectly. Blend in batches if your blender can’t handle the volume. Keep the finished shakes in the freezer until you’re ready to serve.

Can I make this ahead? Not really, no. It’s best right out of the blender. You can prep all the ingredients ahead and keep them cold, then blend right before serving. The shake will discolor after a few hours, unfortunately.

Can I add alcohol to this vegan shamrock shakes? A little whiskey won’t hurt!

vegan shamrock shakes made with avocado, coconut milk and fresh mint
Print

Avocado Shamrock Shakes

Thick, frosty vegan mint shakes made with avocado, coconut milk, and fresh mint leaves. Naturally green, creamy, and tastes like mint ice cream. Easy and takes only a few minutes!
Course Dessert, Drinks
Cuisine American, irish
Keyword Milkshake
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 milkshakes
Author Isa Chandra

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
  • 2 cups unsweetened oat milk or your favorite non-dairy milk
  • 1/2 cup light agave syrup
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
  • 4 ice cubes
  • Pinch salt

Instructions

  • The night before, place the whole avocado (uncut, in its skin), the can of coconut milk, and the oat milk in the fridge.
  • When ready to make the shakes, cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and scoop the flesh into the blender.
  • Add the coconut milk, oat milk, agave, lemon juice, vanilla, mint leaves, ice cubes and pinch of salt. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately in frozen glasses.

The post Avocado Shamrock Shakes appeared first on Post Punk Kitchen.

Bullying tactic

Mar. 13th, 2026 12:00 am
[syndicated profile] kevinandkell_feed

Comic for Friday March 13th, 2026 - "Bullying tactic" [ view ]

On this day in 1997, Rudy found out that Fiona was lost in the woods and set out to try and track her down. Did he have the skills needed?... [ view ]

Today's Daily Sponsor - No sponsor for this strip. [ support ]

Friday Five

Mar. 12th, 2026 11:45 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
These questions come from [community profile] thefridayfive.

Read more... )
cahn: (Default)
[personal profile] cahn
idek, I am continuing to fall so hard for the musical of Operation Mincemeat in a way that I sometimes do with theater-plus-music but haven't done for a while (I think the last time I got so fannish about something like this was Don Carlo(s) but for completely different reasons; hey, I can't really predict these things). There are clearly a lot of reasons (okay so yeah the whole hot-charismatic-women-in-suits thing is definitely still a thing), but one of them has to do with the tension between what is actually happening in the musical (a comedy/farce but with a lot of strong feelings bubbling under the surface) and what is happening on a meta level, as it's the kind of musical that cheerfully plays with semi-breaking the fourth wall whenever it feels like it, and the very nature of the way all five actors have to continually interlock and sing together in different combinations and switch from being in conflict to being in sync or vice versa gives a very strong meta vibe of teamwork/found-family.

Operation Mincemeat (Macintyre) -- so I read it! about the actual historical operation using a corpse with faked invasion plans to fool the Nazis, and it was very good and I don't feel like writing it up properly, so, here, instead, have a few totally random things that may or may not make sense:

- the part that I found most compelling was the bit about Baron Alexis von Roenne, whom I had never heard of before but who was Hitler's favorite intelligence analyst and who seems to have been quite intelligent and cautious, and also who wrote a report basically saying, "welp, so, these random invasion plans, found by our not-known-for-detail-or-for-incorruption guys, and which additionally haven't really been examined at all for, say, any kind of counter-espionage tells, contain information that is CLEARLY ALL TOTALLY TRUE." It turns out that he actually had become anti-Nazi and by 1943 "was deliberately passing information he knew to be false, directly to Hitler's desk," and although von Roenne (understandably) did not leave any actual documentation, Macintyre thinks it is very very possible that von Roenne did not believe a word of the Mincemeat faked papers... but... figured he might as well help out the British in their far-fetched plot. As far as I can tell from Macintyre, Hitler did not actually find out about the part where he was passing false information, but he was friends with the guy who tried to assassinate Hitler in July 1944, which unfortunately was enough reason for him to be executed horribly in October of that year. :(

- Macintyre mentioned that in the documentation, Glyndwr Michael, the man whose body lent itself to the Mincemeat deception of the "man who never was," ("Bill Martin") was considered a suicide by rat poison, but Macintyre postulated that it was just as possible that it was an accident, e.g. if Michael had gotten hungry enough to eat poison-laced bait. And I rather appreciate -- which I am sure is 100% intentional -- that the musical lyrics say "This homeless chap in Croydon / Accidentally ate rat poison."

- I found it absolutely hilarious that the musical scene switching between Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley partying and the seriousness of the submarine going to Spain to release the body is actually something Macintyre spells out! (They did not do a bar crawl as in the musical, but rather attended the theatre with the tickets used to flesh out Bill's cover story, with dates, one of which was Jean Leslie.) No wonder they wanted to make a musical of this!

Finding Hester (Edwards) -- I also read this, on the recommendation of [personal profile] troisoiseaux and [personal profile] nnozomi. This was just really sweet! And I super appreciated reading it after the Macintyre. It's a love letter to the power of internet fan groups who can Find Things Out -- here, they tracked down Hester Leggatt (who was first erroneously called Hester Leggett), the MI5 secretary who wrote Bill's love letters, and found out who she was and a lot of cool things about her life, including that she was not the embittered spinster that Macintyre portrays her as, nor the long-bereaved-fiancee that you might think from watching the musical, but someone who had a rich social life and a long-term lover (who was married, and it sounds like they may have eventually separated because he wouldn't divorce his wife). And who wrote a lot of letters! <3 It's a great counterpoint to Macintyre's book and a good reminder that people, in general, are more lovely and complicated and multi-faceted than they look, and than they might come across in a cursory first glance at their life.

I had to laugh at this bit near the end of the book:
The story of Operation Mincemeat seems to be cursed to carry with it inaccuracies and mistakes in books, articles, documentaries and any other form of media that features it. It even continues into media about the musical now, with articles continually getting things wrong regarding the writers, the actors or the show itself. Perhaps it is simply a matter of us now knowing far too much about the musical and having accidentally become Hester Leggatt experts, and the errors on these subjects specifically stick out to us. Maybe every book and article out there is wrong at least once, and we just don't have the knowledge to pick up on it.

I am here to tell you courtesy of salon, or at least [personal profile] selenak and [personal profile] mildred_of_midgard are here to tell you, that last sentence is true!

On the musical itself: I have been listening to the soundtrack somewhat nonstop in the car, and this means my poor A. has also been listening to it somewhat nonstop. He is not particularly a fan of the musical, but now he recognizes a lot of the lines... Anyway, so, this happened:

There's a song, "Making a Man," where the MI5 team is talking about constructing and describing the persona of the fictitious-man-behind-the-corpse who will be used in Operation Mincemeat. The first time it came on in the car when A. was there, he had his own thoughts on it:

Montagu: A mind that is stronger than iron
A: Alan Turing!
Montagu: That shines like a light in the dark
A: Yep!
Montagu: And a body that could wrestle a lion
A: ...never mind.

Pet Bills

Mar. 12th, 2026 10:37 pm
emeraldnebulae1: (2cat)
[personal profile] emeraldnebulae1

Hi. Wow these last two months flew by. I was like, emotionally crippled for a good amount of it but I think I'm okay now. TwT;; Gods. It was bad. I need to do some stuff before my brand of PMS returns with no will to live for two weeks. Alright, so to the point. I'm kinda just putting things to words and putting them out there at the moment.

So, my bearded dragon, Scoots, had an issue pop up last month where her leg swelled up badly. Took her to the vet, got a mean bill, paid it off, she completed her treatment, (shots, which were scary for me to figure out how to do,) but we completed it! But now a week off of it, her leg is welling again. She was on antibiotics for two weeks. I don't know what that means, but its probably not great. I'm going to have to make another appointment but I and my folks are flat broke.

I'm considering what I'll be able to do to to support her within my means, I have no spoons and my health hasn't been great, so I'm trying to see if I can manage something small. I've narrowed down what I think I can do though for now:

  • I might be able to manage working on a species and trying to sell some variations of them on toyhouse? I'd like the opportunity to work on fleshing out their lore. I don't think this would be too hard for me? Once I have some bases, it's relaxing making alterations and color options that I enjoy. What I'm currently considering: My tree folk might do well, they're basically angelic and (optionally faceless) beings. I have some alien dog species: Spider dogs, worm dog, Void dogs. I have cats that are a kind of four eared maine coon that glows in the dark. I have plenty of dragon species on the table for pondering.
  • I'm kind of just hoping my species could be fun to play with. People could RP with them, use my lore or create their own.

  • Belayed project: A longer project I'm considering is a short comic with my Tree-folk and their lore, some short stories, or mythology shorts on prominent warriors in their culture. I'm thinking it could be like a Zine I put up somewhere for $5 or something.

  • Belayed project: Outside of art, I have my Plants - I have a bunch of extra plants actually, but I'm not getting any sales locally or online lately. Going to try my hand at a local market or selling to a nursery when I can, but that's probably not gonna be soon so I've put that whole project aside for a bit.

Ugh, I'm really starting from scratch with my species. I think they're neat, but they live in my head and I'm chronically afraid to share things I care about. x/ I gotta start somewhere though I guess. I don't know, if anyone has thoughts, it would be appreciated.

It's Here!

Mar. 12th, 2026 09:00 pm
muccamukk: Gatwa!Doctor dressed in a 1960s pinstripe suit, leaning against a chimney stack looking away over the roofs of London. (DW: Vista)
[personal profile] muccamukk


Free to view now until the 18th, GMT, I assume.
theskyisnew: (Default)
[personal profile] theskyisnew posting in [community profile] capseroo


DANIEL LASKER AS MR. 9 IN ONE PIECE SEASON 2


648 CAPS, DOWNLOAD


What a good partner. <3

More pics )
edenfalling: stylized black-and-white line art of a sunset over water (Default)
[personal profile] edenfalling
It has been kind of a trip living in a Minneapolis suburb these past few months, but I think on the whole I prefer not to get into any of that here.

In general, life continues. I ruthlessly yanked my little section of payroll (mileage tracking and reimbursements) out of chaos into proper organization, and then a coworker I have never personally interacted with got promoted to assistant manager and assigned all the tasks upper management had been trying to foist onto me. Which, on the one hand, I am glad to be free of a task I didn't want in the first place (to say nothing of the sweet release of not dealing with the executive director), but on the other it's annoying to have somebody else reap the fruit of my labors.

Ah well. One moves on.

I am working pretty minimal hours at Not The IRS this year, which is reasonable since I am new locally and don't have a pre-existing client base. But I have been making a good impression on various walk-ins and drop-offs and people who just scheduled an appointment with whoever's available, so next year I should have some repeat/request clients as well as clients of opportunity. I think I really must buckle down and up my certification level, as well as get our in-house small business certification, because that will make me more likely to show up as "the best match for YOU, dear client!" in our various scheduling programs. I have been lazy about testing up because my old office knew I am actually qualified to be a level 4 (or 4.5ish) tax preparer despite only officially ranking as level 3, but unofficial ranks don't transfer like official ones, alas.

I am slowly getting my new apartment in order. All the basic stuff has been done for ages, but I still have some boxes I should unpack and tidy away, my kitchen needs more organizing, and I have yet to hang a few pieces of art. But I bought a new armchair and some nice throw pillows at Ikea recently, so I am good on the furniture front. I think I keep putting stuff off because I want to kind of spend an entire weekend doing Household Tasks, but obviously I won't HAVE an entire weekend until tax season is over. It's a silly psychological block, but annoyingly persistent.

Hmm. Also I have been reading a lot of heavily trope-laden Harry Potter fic lately, sort of returning to my fandom roots. I feel ambivalent about this because, you know, Rowling and her everything (may she die in a fire), but a lot of people still writing for HP have taken an attitude of "Fuck you, you transphobic neo-Nazi asshole, you don't get to steal and destroy a huge part of my childhood," and putting in all kinds of things specifically because she's expressed disapproval of them. Which is kind of nice.

I have to be wary when looking through people's AO3 bookmarks, because a lot of the tropes I am currently wallowing in tend to come with a side of "let's bash Ron and Hermione in order to set [fill in character(s)] up as better friends for Harry!" and I cannot be having with that. There is also quite a lot of Ginny-bashing (but not Neville or Luna), which irritates me because Ginny's (still) (always) my girl and the particular flavor of that bashing leans HEAVILY misogynistic. :(

Also I am having way too much fun playing Fallen London. I did try to narrow my focus to one plot thread at a time after initially running around and sticking my nose into everything, but the game really encourages sticking one's nose into everything so right now I have about two dozen things going and I focus on whichever one speaks to me on a given day. I remain a Watchful Lady in search of my Nemesis (my brother's murderer), but I have backburnered that plot until I get up to level 7 in all the Name quests and crank all my base stats to at least 100. (Currently my Persuasive is lagging. I keep getting distracted from seducing the Barbed Wit.) Then I think I will let the Ambitious Barrister make me a person of some minor importance (I backburnered that too; she's been sitting in my lodgings for DAYS, whoops!), after which I shall at long last embark on a voyage to Venderbight in search of the brother-killing asshole who I am definitely gonna shank one of these nights. :)

Book 20, 2026

Mar. 12th, 2026 09:46 pm
chez_jae: (Books)
[personal profile] chez_jae
The Big Chili (Undercover Dish Mystery #1)The Big Chili by Julia Buckley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


View all my reviews

I finished my latest “spare” book last night. It was The Big Chili by Julia Buckley, and it’s the first book in her “Undercover Dish” series of cozy mysteries, starring Lilah Drake, wanna-be caterer.

Lilah’s dream has always been to have her own catering business. In the meantime, however, she pays the bills by working in her parents’ real estate office while doing some cooking on the side. Lilah has amassed a small but loyal client base, for whom she cooks dishes that the clients pass off as their own. One of her best customers is Perpetua “Pet” Grandy, who has Lilah make chili for various church events. At Bingo one evening, congregant Alice Dixon tastes Pet’s chili and drops dead of poisoning. Lilah wants to spill the beans to the police, but Pet begs her not to reveal her secret. Lilah reluctantly agrees, mainly because Pet is not considered a suspect. When someone else in town is murdered and Lilah is threatened, she starts doing some sleuthing of her own. It seemed that everyone in town had a beef with Alice, from fellow churchgoers, to her ex-husband, to her neighbors. Lilah can’t believe one of them is a killer, but she’ll need to figure it out fast before she’s the next victim.

I enjoy this author’s writing. She creates characters you care about, the story lines are engrossing and sensible, and she typically shows the main character engaged in activities other than investigating.

Favorite lines:
♦ Outside of an Agatha Christie novel, who really poisoned people?
♦ “You both look like you killed someone and are worried about where to bury the body.”
♦ “I need a third cookie for this.”
♦ I loved cold weather. I loved October, and I loved a good dark Halloween night.
♦ “You should go, Lilah. Go to your parents’ house, and I’ll be in touch.” // “I can’t,” I said, miserable. // “Why not?” // “Because you’re standing on my tail.”
♦ I was becoming utterly paranoid, and even church ladies had started to seem sinister.

Fabulous story, five stars

Trope Test )

Thursday night.

Mar. 12th, 2026 10:11 pm
hannah: (Laundry jam - fooish_icons)
[personal profile] hannah
A dash of snow came down around two thirty and again around six. Not enough to stick around, but enough to notice it wasn't rain. It was one of the more exciting moments of a day brought low by a cold. The ENT doctor yesterday and two rapid tests this morning are decent enough confirmation I can accept that's all it is, which is as cold a comfort as I can get these days.

I can't remember when I bought them, but the tonics I got from the herb farm at the farmer's market seem to be doing a better job of calming my throat down than anything else I've tried. As that's all I want them for, I'll stick with what seems to be working. Anything for a good night's sleep. There's only so many pots of tea you can drink in a day.

(no subject)

Mar. 12th, 2026 09:09 pm
flemmings: (Hirakawa)
[personal profile] flemmings
DW is hanging like a hanging thing. The Graun loads OK though my solitaire page doesn't at all. Maybe my connection is wonky, maybe greenfelt.net is having one of its periodic outages.

Bright blowy November day out there with swift clouds and the occasional snow flake tumbling from a blue sky. Snow tomorrow and on the weekend, so I went out to return Strange Houses to the five people waiting for it, and had-- err, whatever you call a 3 pm meal, the oposite of brunch: linner? at Sushi on Bloor. My waiter there loves me.  But my stomach must be shrinking. The small size sushi selection is too big for me now, and I must go to the three piece + a roll sushi appetiser.

Checked out the former By the Way which is now Brasserie Côte, having a soft opening with a menu that does not inspire me to go in. Apparently it has a sibling out Ossington way, a much smaller place with a larger menu which one hopes they will bring here. Although Côte de Boeuf's menu seems to run heavily to the same escargots and sardines and charcuterie as the new place. Well, brasseries are brasseries, but I was hoping for something a little broader. Which I must still go to Le Paradis for, the bro-tachi's local, even if it's not local to any of us. But their boeuf bourguignon is amazing enough to make the trip worth it.

And since I'll be housebound until Monday at least, I walked up to Loblaws for milk and such, and to my physio's across the street to get my receipts for tax purposes, and thus racked up 7000+ steps.

I have always wanted a bidet-- more so when I was younger of course, but still think it would be nice. Especially after reading articles about how tp really doesn't cut it. My bathroom is far too small for a real one even if my knees would permit it-- which they wouldn't. Happy ads say you can add a douche to your toilet seat-- 'So easy you can install it yourself!' Uhh no, I doubt that very much. But googling around I discover something called a peri bottle, for postpartum women. Details of same make me glad I never had children: there's a lot about childbirth they don't tell you in sex ed. But peris sounded reasonable for hygiene so I bought one (from amazon.ca, mea maxima culpa, because neither Shoppers nor Starkman's has them even if they say they do)  and will see if they make any difference at all. But because this isn't in any way a Japanese toilet with blowdry function, one must still use toilet paper, so what do these countries with bidets or bum guns or whatever use instead of that?

Profile

kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)
kaberett

March 2026

M T W T F S S
       1
23 4 56 7 8
9 10 11 12131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031     

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios