Bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in US torpedo strike to be repatriated
Mar. 13th, 2026 10:43 amThe seamen died when Iranian warship the Iris Dena was sunk on 4 March by a US submarine near Sri Lanka.
KPop Demon Hunters to return as Netflix announces sequel
Mar. 13th, 2026 03:15 amThe sequel brings back the co-directors of the first film, which was a smash-hit for the streaming service.
King expressed 'concern' over Alberta separatists, say First Nations chiefs
Mar. 13th, 2026 03:04 amIndigenous leaders made Charles aware of the "threat" posed by the movement during a meeting in London, they say.
Mission accomplished? The 2003 boast that haunts today's Iran conflict
Mar. 13th, 2026 12:04 amThe echoes between the conflicts are certainly there but there are also profound differences.
UFC fighters to train FBI agents at Quantico
Mar. 12th, 2026 10:23 pmAthletes will visit the FBI academy this weekend to give a seminar on fighting techniques and tactics.
Israeli military drops charges against soldiers accused of abusing Palestinian detainee
Mar. 12th, 2026 08:36 pmThe Israeli military's top lawyer cites "exceptional circumstances" for dropping the case involving a Palestinian man held at Sde Teiman military prison.
Suspect dead after ramming vehicle into Michigan synagogue
Mar. 13th, 2026 10:16 amThe FBI says the incident is being investigated as a "targeted act of violence against the Jewish community".
I was jailed while pregnant during Post Office scandal. I'm still waiting for compensation
Mar. 13th, 2026 09:12 amSeema Misra calls for accountability as a report by MPs raises concerns about ongoing delays.
Woman only found out she had terminal brain cancer after a suitcase fell on her head
Mar. 13th, 2026 06:10 amLauren Macpherson was travelling home from a festival in London when her life changed forever.
In which our heroine is charming
Mar. 13th, 2026 10:08 am1. 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? :-)
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? :-)
Four killed after US refuelling plane crashes in Iraq, military confirms
Mar. 13th, 2026 09:55 amThe US Central Command says rescue efforts continue after a refuelling aircraft went down over western Iraq.
How long will the cold weather last?
Mar. 13th, 2026 09:54 amFriday feels noticeably colder. Helen Willetts explains why there's been a change in temperature and looks at how long it may last.
Lost Doctor Who episodes found in 'eclectic' collection
Mar. 13th, 2026 09:52 amThe Doctor's assistant Peter Purves was invited to a screening of the episodes in Leicester.
'Iran's women are heroes - they want to be free'
Mar. 13th, 2026 09:45 amThe Iran women's national football team have become "heroes" and deserve to be free to live their lives, says former Iran men's head coach Afshin Ghotbi.
UK economy flatlines as people cut back on eating out
Mar. 13th, 2026 09:43 amAnalysts had been expecting 0.2% growth for the UK economy at the beginning of the year.
Romance conman posed as MI6 worker to scam women out of £50k
Mar. 13th, 2026 08:56 am"Selfish and narcissistic" Rodney Ade Roberts is jailed for more than five years for scamming three women.
Kaye Adams denies 'malicious stories' after BBC misconduct complaint
Mar. 13th, 2026 06:12 amThe presenter was taken off air on BBC Radio Scotland last year following an internal complaint about her conduct.
Mayor to consider new charges for SUVs in London
Mar. 13th, 2026 06:09 amThe plan is part the mayor's strategy to stop death and serious injury on London's roads by 2041.
Fannish things
Mar. 13th, 2026 09:50 amI was going to make a post with some small fannish things in last night, but realised they were too small, so I didn't.
Today I woke up to a fannish thing absolutely big enough to demand posting, so here it is, plus two very small things:
1. The Film is Fabulous rumour re. recovered eps of Doctor Who finally has official confirmation, and the find is two episodes, and not only that, two episodes that were generally seen as pretty unlikely/impossible to materialise: Two episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan recovered! (With bonus charming kidnapping of Peter Purves in celebration, apparently).
(To be up on the iPlayer at Easter, it says - idk what the international situation will be, but no doubt some kind of release will be arranged - but there is a brief clip at the link).
2. To stay with DW a moment longer, I was extremely amused, last post, to learn that Frontios probably contributed to at least two of my flist buying a hatstand. I think that's kind of wonderful. <3
3. Not at all on the subject of DW, but the YT person who vidded Jeremy Northam in A Fatal Inversion, has a bunch of shorts for various other characters of his, and one of them is for The Statement (2003) and it is driving me a bit feral because the opening clip is from the deleted scene between JN and Tilda Swinton's characters that I mentioned I'd read about after watching it and intensely wanted to see. And I was right to want to! I knew they'd be like this with it! (The poster says it's "easy to find" and IT IS NOT. idk how they think it is if somehow your dvd does not have that particular extra). dammit people.
ETA: oh, also 4.
no_true_pair is also in sign-ups for its mini-round, and it is usually a very laid back fun fest. (not sure if I'm up to it, but otoh, it is very laid back. I could choose a set of 4 characters, or more than one set and have prompts to look at??? idk).
(Still just recovering slowly, all else (personally) reasonably well).
Today I woke up to a fannish thing absolutely big enough to demand posting, so here it is, plus two very small things:
1. The Film is Fabulous rumour re. recovered eps of Doctor Who finally has official confirmation, and the find is two episodes, and not only that, two episodes that were generally seen as pretty unlikely/impossible to materialise: Two episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan recovered! (With bonus charming kidnapping of Peter Purves in celebration, apparently).
(To be up on the iPlayer at Easter, it says - idk what the international situation will be, but no doubt some kind of release will be arranged - but there is a brief clip at the link).
2. To stay with DW a moment longer, I was extremely amused, last post, to learn that Frontios probably contributed to at least two of my flist buying a hatstand. I think that's kind of wonderful. <3
3. Not at all on the subject of DW, but the YT person who vidded Jeremy Northam in A Fatal Inversion, has a bunch of shorts for various other characters of his, and one of them is for The Statement (2003) and it is driving me a bit feral because the opening clip is from the deleted scene between JN and Tilda Swinton's characters that I mentioned I'd read about after watching it and intensely wanted to see. And I was right to want to! I knew they'd be like this with it! (The poster says it's "easy to find" and IT IS NOT. idk how they think it is if somehow your dvd does not have that particular extra). dammit people.
ETA: oh, also 4.
(Still just recovering slowly, all else (personally) reasonably well).
Oil price profiteering will not be tolerated, says Miliband
Mar. 13th, 2026 09:32 amEd Miliband says the competition watchdog is primed to intervene if firms use the oil price shock to "rip off" customers.
AI toys for children misread emotions and respond inappropriately, researchers warn
Mar. 13th, 2026 09:10 amIn first study of its kind, Cambridge researchers found AI toys could misread some children's emotions.
Romance conman posed as MI6 and BBC worker to scam women out of £50k
Mar. 13th, 2026 08:56 am"Selfish and narcissistic" Rodney Ade Roberts is jailed for more than five years for scamming three women.
Four killed after US refuelling plane crashes in Iraq, military confirms
Mar. 13th, 2026 09:55 amThe US Central Command says rescue efforts continue after a refuelling aircraft went down over western Iraq.
Iran's new supreme leader vows to block Strait of Hormuz in first statement
Mar. 12th, 2026 08:32 pmA message attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei also says Iran will continue targeting US bases in the region.
Russell takes dominant Chinese GP sprint pole
Mar. 13th, 2026 08:31 amGeorge Russell leads team-mate Kimi Antonelli as Mercedes dominate qualifying for the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Man's blue skin A&E panic was just bed sheet dye
Mar. 13th, 2026 06:15 amTommy Lynch rushed to hospital when he woke with blue skin but it turned out to be from his sheets.
UK economy saw zero growth in January ahead of Iran war
Mar. 13th, 2026 08:35 amAnalysts had been expecting 0.2% growth for the UK economy at the beginning of the year.
US eases Russia oil sanctions as Iran war pushes up energy prices
Mar. 13th, 2026 08:24 amWashington says a 30-day waiver is only for sanctioned Russian oil already loaded on vessels at sea.
Boy, 15, charged over stabbing of teenage girl at Norfolk school
Mar. 13th, 2026 07:07 amArmed police were sent to the scene and pictured as they entered classrooms.
Man's blue skin A&E panic was just bed sheet dye
Mar. 13th, 2026 06:15 amTommy Lynch rushed to hospital when he woke with blue skin but it turned out to be from his sheets.
New Worlds: Miscellaneous Arts
Mar. 13th, 2026 08:12 amThroughout 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.

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

(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/ANFkiL)
Rescue operations under way after US refuelling plane crashes in Iraq
Mar. 13th, 2026 08:04 amThe US Central Command says rescue efforts are under way after a refuelling aircraft went down over western Iraq.
UK economy saw zero growth in January ahead of Iran war
Mar. 13th, 2026 07:56 amAnalysts had been expecting 0.2% growth for the UK economy at the beginning of the year.
PwC boss says young recruits are hungry for careers
Mar. 13th, 2026 07:54 amLast year the consultancy cut its graduate intake, but UK boss Marco Amitrano says it is still worth getting a degree.
US eases Russia oil sanctions as Iran war pushes up energy prices
Mar. 13th, 2026 06:26 amUS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it was a temporary measure that will last until 11 April.
The US may move some of its anti-missile system - and it's sparking unease in South Korea
Mar. 13th, 2026 05:19 amReports say the US may be moving parts of its Thaad system to the Middle East, despite Seoul's opposition.
Ilya's Tattoo - for challenge #76
Mar. 13th, 2026 08:45 pmTitle: Ilya's Tattoo on AO3
Artist:
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.
Artist:
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.
UK economy failed to grow in January ahead of Iran war
Mar. 13th, 2026 07:30 amAnalysts had been expecting 0.2% growth for the UK economy at the beginning of the year.

