sueworld | Reading

I think it's Wednesday? Checks. Yes, Wednesday. That's the difficulty with short weeks, I get confused. And everything work wise has confused me today. I was confused when I got up. So was my Smart Watch - who asked me if I wanted to turn off the alarm since I was awake at 5:30, and I was like no, I'm going to attempt to go back to sleep thank you very much, I just had to go to the bathroom.

Some odd links that I stumbled upon:

1. Being Poor by John Scalzi - which is interesting, considering he's a multi-millionaire who has a collection of insane guitars, but whatever. He seems to get most of it right, and most likely experienced poverty at some point in his lifetime? Apparently, I'm right - he did experience poverty (most professional writers have - it's not a money-making profession and those who make it eventually, often suffered years and years of "starving artist syndrome"). Here, he explains why he wrote it and how it was received. Make of it what you will.

2. Meanwhile people asking for money to do weird things?

Romance Novelist wants funds to sell jigsaw puzzles of her book covers

This individual wants money to sell a board game based on Jane Austen Novels entitled Endearment (I don't know, it reminded me more of Bridgerton).

At least they are creative?

3. the Who Farewell Tour in Toronto

4. Yes, it's official. Paramount Skydance Merger Has Finally Closed

It's hard to say what if anything this means for future projects? But Paramount had to do a deal with the devil in the blue suit and orange puffy hair to seal the deal, so....

Note Paramount is the owner of the Star Trek franchise, actually now, Skydance Media is the owner of the Star Trek franchise. Skydance didn't own any film or television outlets prior - it produced films and television shows such as Foundation, Mission Impossible...and does Animation and video games.

Not to be confused with the UK company Sky Group Media, Skydance Media is an American Media Company. The names are similar so it is understandably confusing.

"Skydance Media, LLC (formerly known as Skydance Productions from 2006 to 2016) was an American media production and finance company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company specialized in films, animation, television, video games, and sports.

In 2009, the company entered a five-year partnership to co-produce and co-finance films with Paramount Pictures. This agreement was renewed twice, extending to 2021. On July 7, 2024, Skydance announced its intent to merge with Paramount Global in an $8 billion transaction, under an agreement in which Skydance would acquire Paramount's controlling shareholder National Amusements, and then perform an all-stock merger with the company. On July 24, 2025, the merger was approved by the FCC, and the merger was closed on August 7, 2025, forming Paramount Skydance Corporation."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skydance_Media

5. IRS is asking taxpayer's to take a Tax Preparation Survey

"WASHINGTON – The IRS invites the public to participate in an anonymous feedback survey on tax preparation and filing options, which will run through Sept. 5, 2025.

The survey is being conducted as part of the Department of Treasury and the IRS’s efforts to fulfill a reporting requirement to Congress under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act. The law directs Treasury to deliver a report to Congress by Oct. 2, 2025, on several key issues related to free tax filing options for the public.

Treasury and the IRS encourage taxpayers to share their perspectives and help inform this important congressional report.

To participate, visit the Free Online Tax Preparation Feedback Survey or the IRS.gov landing page. Participation is anonymous."

***

Off to bed.

tellshannon815

elisi

How is it already Wednesday? /rhetorical question

On Saturday we watched the new Superman, and it is as delightful and uplifting as everyone promised. Also very silly, which is important I think. We need silliness to help ward off the horrors. ETA: It's already out on streaming, which made it a lot easier!

Promethia and I also posted the first chapter of a new Dead Boy Detectives fic:

The Song of Rowland, 10k

Summary:

Most ghosts didn’t celebrate their birthdays.

But Charles Rowland wasn’t ‘most ghosts’.

Indeed, Charles’ birthday was a high point of the year, a guaranteed day of fun for himself and Edwin. The fun always helped to push down the unvoiced emotions below: the loss, the unresolved pain of his death, the feelings of failure and inadequacy. Charles saw no reason why this state of affairs shouldn’t continue forever.

But then he turned fifty.

Or:

How a medieval poem changed Charles’ afterlife forever.

(Only 2 chapters in all, amazingly not everything I write turns into an endless WIP!)

Current Mood: sleepy

shadowkat

So, the building inspector testing the walls for lead, didn't show up. As a result, he's coming tomorrow, and the super is going to take responsibility for giving him access and protecting the apartment.

He apparently skipped over my apartment and another one - which he was supposed to do in the morning.

See? I knew that was going to happen. Hence the reason, I was aggravated.
If people did their jobs, life would be lovely.

ETA: The medication that the doctor requested from the pharmacy is out of stock - they have to order it, it should be in sometime on Thursday or next week. Sigh.

ETA2: Finished Iron Heart, and the ending doesn't quite work? Or make sense? And felt rushed? I'm not sure it's a cliff-hanger? Since it more or less tells us what happened. ( spoilers ) I didn't like the ending, nor do I think it works, and the writers didn't build up to it well. The series like most of Marvel's recent efforts is busy - with a lot of bits that aren't needed or are there to look cool but add little to the story. I don't think they know how to pull in the younger demographic so keep throwing things at a wall to see what sticks?

ETA3: And got into a frustrating and kind of pointless argument with an online fanboard about a dumb show I watch. It's always dumb television series that I get into pointless debates about. The smart, clever and critically acclaimed shows don't tend to have this problem. (Buffy kind of fell between the two, so yes, I got into dumb debates about it too. As did Game of Thrones for that matter. But usually it's the subpar cult series that run forever. This one has been running since 1963 with no end in sight. It's on its 63rd season. It's officially the longest running scripted television show in the US, I think it beats Doctor Who - since it has more episodes and no long gaps between seasons. That's not necessarily a good thing? Although similar to Doctor Who - it also brings people back from the dead and recasts characters, except without a scientific or logical explanation. Doctor Who at least tries to provide one, this one doesn't bother.)

( never debate/discuss with online soap fans on a spoiler board about a whodunnit in a soap opera - it rarely ends well )

Now that I've mocked myself and them ruthlessly for attempting this tomfoolery, I feel much better, thank you very much.

All in all a fruitful day. Tomorrow I get to go back to work and be aggravated in an even more fruitful manner, plus get paid for it.

September Question a Day Meme

1. It’s National Tofu Day – do you like Tofu?

No. Soy tends to make me ill in large quantities.

2. Festa do Vinho, the Wine Festival, this festival transforms the Island of Madeira into a vibrant showcase of its cultural heritage. Have you ever used Madeira wine in a recipe?

Yes. Not recently, but yes. Also had it.

I think in spaghetti sauce. Also in cake.

Sigh, now I want spaghetti and meatballs with Madeira sauce and I can't have it. Oh well, at least I don't have any in the house.

***

I think I'm going to have the shrimp I bought yesterday with salad. That might take the blood sugar down?

***

On Friday, I stopped by this darling little floral shop called Zuzu's Petals - which called out to me from across the street. (Only people of a certain age will get the reference, because we all saw the movie a million times by the time we reached the age of 30, but they rarely show it now - you kind of have to hunt for it? And it has competition from remake's and rip-offs. Let's face it some types of films they made better in the 20th Century, and leave it at that?)

And wandered around for a bit looking at things, including their backyard garden and floral arrangements. They had dried flowers and fresh ones, wanting to be arranged or bought individually.
( flower arrangements )
And a little backyard garden:
( backyard garden )

I bought a little paint brush holder at the shop (it's actually for air plants, but I'm using it for paint brushes):

( paint brush holder )

That was on Friday. I didn't do much today outside of a doctor's appointment, vacuuming, shower, and dropping off some meds that I can no longer take at the pharmacy.

shadowkat

So, I had the doctor's virtual appointment - took fifteen minutes, most of which was the doctor trying to get the tech to work. We argued over medication - he talked me into trying a certain type of meds again - which I felt was giving me joint pain, but he said no one gets that side effect and maybe it was something else? And it's the mildest I can use. So, I'm trying it again. Just going to try taking it - away from the rest of my meds. If you take certain meds together - they can result in side-effects.
And it is more than possible that it was water retention causing the joint pain - and the use of the diuretic is helping? God knows. Menopause is not for wimps.

Now waiting for someone to show up and test my apartment for lead. No one has shown up yet.

Saw another flick yesterday, Thursday Murder Club based on Roger Osman's best-selling mystery of the same name. It was directed by Christopher Columbus, and starred quite a few stellar British Actors of a certain age? Became spot the famous British Actor. Helen Mirren, Pierce Bronsan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie were the leads, with Tom Ellis, David Tennant, Jonathan Price, Paul Freeman and Richard E. Grant in supporting roles.

It's okay? I haven't read the book, so I don't know how close it is, or how good the book was? I'm guessing it follows it closely enough, since the author is one of the producers and consulted. Two female screen-writers wrote the movie. It's what I'd describe as a British Cozy Mystery or Parlor Room Mystery?

The detectives are a bunch of retirees at an independent retirement community, who hold a Thursday Murder Club each week, to solve old cold cases. As the film unravels we learn more about each - although the focus is solidly on Helen Mirren and Celia Imrie's characters, with Bronsan and Kingsley in the supporting roles. Bronsan has a bit more of a role than Kinsley does. There's some nice character bits. And the mystery plot has some nice twists and turns. It also ends in a satisfying manner.

Overall, a solid B effort. Not quite memorable, but worth the time all in all.

**

I also started watching Iron HeartM on Disney +- which is by Chinaka Hodge, with Ryan Coogler executive producing. Previously known for The Midnight Club. It's okay? I'm having troubles getting into it? And in this day and age - it kind of has to hook you in the first episode, or at the very least the second? And I find it more grating than entertaining? It may be that it is a bit too young for me? It's focus is a 19 year old college student who has been expelled from MIT for attempting to do more than the college was equipped for, and what it felt was plagiarism. Riri Williams wanted to create a group of Iron Man suites to protect fire fighters and police offices, but they felt she needed to do it on her own without utilizing Stark's design.
( Read more... )

Anyhow, I've an excuse to be insanely lazy today, because I've promised to be home all day for the test guy. So off to be suitably lazy.

shadowkat

I finally got around to seeing Thunderbolts - the Marvel flick that was released earlier this summer. I waited until it streamed on Disney + this weekend. So, depending on one's point of view? I saw it for free.

I've mixed feelings about the movie. I liked it a great deal, but like most Marvel films and television series post Endgame, it has its issues.

Thunderbolts unfortunately works better if you've already seen (and remember) Ant Man & the Wasp (I vaguely remember it), The Falcon and the Winter Solider, and Black Widow. I'm not sure if you'd be hopelessly lost if you haven't seen them? But you might be a tad confused? It took me a moment or two to remember who the heck Ghost was, and one character (who dies early on) - I had no idea about. And I've seen those films, along with nearly everything else except Captain America: Brave New World - which might have been required as well? (Not certain - haven't seen it yet. But it might explain what the Winter Solider is up to in this film.)

( the problems with superhero flicks since roughly Endgame )

Thunderbolts is among the more interesting Marvel and Superhero films in part because it is in many ways the antithesis of a superhero film. It's not like DC's Suicide Squad films which are basically a bad ass CIA director putting together a who's who of the worst and most insane villains to fix a problem that no one can fix. I thought it was going to be that? It's most definitely not. Thank god. Let's not go copying each other thank you very much. Whew.

Instead, it's about a bunch of antiheroes banding together because it's either that or die? And they kind of help people partly by chance and it seems like a good idea at the time, albeit clumsily - because you know, they are opportunistic anti-heroes. They aren't nearly as bad as DC's rogues line up. This is more of a group of misunderstood anti-heroes who fell in with the wrong crowd, not insane sociopaths. Marvel does a decent job via an intriguing flashback device of giving some of them complicated back stories and mental health issues.

The movie shines a light on mental illness as it applies to highly skilled and dangerous individuals. That's the focal point. Not a heist, not some external threat - the threat is more an internal one. And their powers, especially one of the characters, are metaphors for the dangers of untreated mental illness in our society at large - and how left untreated, it could threaten to devour us all, if the wrong folks get into positions of power or obtain power.

These seven-eight characters have to learn how to trust each other and themselves long enough to save the city and themselves and each other. And they don't trust themselves let alone anyone else.

( vague spoilers )

Overall a solid B effort from Marvel, better than the last few flicks I've seen, but that's not a high bar to navigate.

shadowkat

I'm debating, do I want to take another walk? Eh, probably not. Depends on blood sugar - right now, it appears to be going down. My life is now being determined by blood sugar. Ah well, tomorrow, I'll see the doctor. [ETA: Took a walk with the intent of getting a gluten free freshly baked chocolate chip cookie - but the store closed at 3pm on Mondays, and I got there at 4pm. The Universe clearly didn't want me to get a chocolate chip cookie.]

I've done a lot of walking the last three days, and I'm tired. I think I'll be fine with the excuse of not leaving my apartment tomorrow - so that they can test for lead whenever they get around to it? I did laundry this morning, so got that out of the way at least, along with a shower just a moment ago, and several hours prior to that grocery shopping. Also took the new shoes I got from Allbirds for a walk yesterday - broke them in. I think they can handle maybe a mile, but the length of yesterday's walk might require shoes with socks in the future, or sandals? The new sandals can handle it. They were cheaper than the Allbirds. I keep getting Allbirds, and no matter the pair? It has a quirk.

Catching up on the End of August Memage:

27. Are you a fan of bananas? Do you like to bake with them, or eat them raw?

No. I do not like bananas. The appeal is completely lost on me.

28. When was the last time you spent a night (or more than one night) away from home?

May - when I visited my mother for mother's day.

29. How many times have you moved home so far in your life? Do you plan to move again in the future?

17 times. And yes, most likely. I rent - so I tend to move whenever the rent gets too high for the what I'm actually getting in regards to the apartment.

30. Has the area where you live changed much over the last decade?

Not really? I mean sections have - it's Brooklyn and NYC and this city is in a constant state of flux and construction, but overall no.

31. Do you have any plans for the next month?

Hmm. I have doctor's appointments at the beginning of the month. Nothing else that is definite at any rate

bubblesbrnaid

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

slaymesoftly

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

mark posting in

dw_maintenance

Per the dw_news post regarding the MS/TN blocks, we are doing a small code push shortly in order to get the code live. As per usual, please let us know if you see anything wonky.

There is some code cleanup we've been doing that is going out with this push but I don't think there is any new/reworked functionality, so it should be pretty invisible if all goes well.

shadowkat

On Friday, instead of going into the city to see the Jane Austen exhibit, I decided to go tour the The Old Stone House Museum. I was in the general vicinity so it seemed like a good timing. It's not easy to get to from where I live, since it is located in the middle of Gowanus, and just a touch west of Park Slope, in the middle of the R line in Brooklyn.

Turns out that the Old Stone House had an art exhibit on the second floor. They do revolving contemporary art exhibitions. The House isn't refurbished to look like it did back in the day - instead, it has an interactive Revolutionary and Colonial Historical exhibit on the first floor, and on the second revolving art exhibitions, while outside various gardens, and space for theatrical performances, playing fields, and musical performances, also hearth cooking.

The Old Stone House dates back to 1699 and was commissioned by Dutch settlers who took the land from the Marechkawick and Lenape.

( history of the Old Stone House )

And was the site of one of the biggest battles of the American Revolutionary War - known as the Battle of Brooklyn. The Americans lost a pivotal battle at the Old Stone House, and proceeded to occupy Manhattan and Brooklyn for the next 7 years. Also, during this time, it should be noted that there were more slaves working and living at the Old Stone House than free people. The Dutch settlers, from the Netherlands, owned and brought slaves.

Little markup of the Old Stone House during the Battle of Brooklyn:

Gardens:

Farm Garden:
( farm garden )
South Dutch Garden and Potting Shed:
( south dutch garden and potting shed )

And on the second floor of the house was an intriguing little art exhibit, which for once, I took pictures of. I normally don't - but there was no one up there and no one seemed to mind.

The Exhibition is a collective series of works around a general theme "Nothing is Fixed".

"Nothing is Fixed reflects the tumultuous Trump presidency and the destabilization of societal norms, echoing James Baldwin’s words:

“Nothing is fixed, forever, and forever, and forever. It is not fixed. The earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. What you have, you hold. What you don’t have, you can’t hold.”(Nothing Personal, 1964)

Just as the natural world constantly shifts, so too can our political and social systems evolve—sometimes for the worse, but also for the better. This exhibition examines the tension between a moment of deep division and uncertainty, and with an underlying optimism that change is inevitable and can lead to growth, healing, and progress. By confronting the instability of our current moment, the work suggests that while nothing is static, the direction of change remains in our collective hands."

( art from Nothing is Fixed Exhibition )

So, I've managed to see one museum that I've never visited before, just have about 159 to go? I know I've seen at least 7 others.

shadowkat

It's a beautiful day - with a clear blue sky, and in the low seventies. I'm thinking maybe Greenwood Cemetery today. Which I actually managed to do - took an hour and a half walk to, through, and from the cemetery - entering from another entrance. (I wanted to see what the houses across from the cemetery looked like - on the Windsor Terrace side of the fence, and well, not that great? Note to self - do not try to go the cemetery at night to do the night activities - unless you can get a chauffeur to take you to and from the cemetery. They have an electrical substation across the street from the Windsor Terrace entrance.) This resulted in nicely lowering my blood sugar (after the ploughman's lunch and the donut). It had gone high, now it's within range. If I'm doing carbs, try to exercise immediately afterwards. I didn't like the donut - it reminded me of a miniature bundt cake with chocolate frosting filling, except with the texture of a cake donut, and the donut taste. It was too thick and too much like cake. So far Sixteen Mills is really good at Belgian waffles and bread, not so much at muffins and donuts. Which is okay - other places can do those. Best muffins I've had - were at a place that appears to have disappeared or gone out of business? This happens a lot in the city. One never quite gets used to it.

***

Entertainment Bits

1. Watched this youtube podcast with Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck BSG, and was in Longmire, and Bo-Kataan in Mandalorian) and Tahmoh Penkikett (Helo BSG, and Ballard Dollhouse, among others). They discuss losing your confidence during your craft - that resonated with me. And how it can throw you off your game. Also how folks think your talent comes easily and you don't have to work at it - which couldn't be any more untrue.

Here's the Podcast

It's about halfway through the podcast. And then they talk about BSG filming and the audition process.

Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck from BSG) is doing podcasts with various castmates from BSG, and other science fiction serials, television shows, etc. She's done 69 in one year - which is kind of amazing actually. Most people barely get out 20. It's the new trend - former television stars doing podcasts on youtube and patreon. Everyone has one. Pick your television star. I personally like Michael Rosenbloom's the best, but we also have Will Wheaton, Katee Sackhoff (who I actually find kind of charming), Charisma Carpenter (whose voice sets my teeth on edge for some reason that I can't put my finger on - no fault of the actress, is rewatching Buffy as both Cordelia and Charisma Carpenter), Juliet Landau (is rewatching Buffy as both Juliet Landau and Drusilla)....

They've also discovered that conventions is the way to go - you can do theater, network with folks in the craft, meet up with old friends, and get paid for it. And since they can't get residuals any longer - this is the only money they get. So if you are into going to fan conventions? More power to you.

2. Finished a few television shows:

High Country - an Australian detective limited series. It only has one season. I think it probably was set up for more than one, but didn't get picked up for a second season? The detective is half-aboriginal and half-white. She is selected by the current, retiring sheriff to come up to the High Country from the City Police department in Melbourne, and take over his position. So, Addy brings up her wife and the wife's daughter to the High Country, and ends up investigating a bunch of missing persons cases.

It's good, a bit choppy in places, but I really enjoyed it. The lead played by Leah Purcell was quite good. But her wife, kind of got on my nerves, and I wanted more of her relationship with the retired sheriff, Sam and the father of her kid's boyfriend.

Wednesday S2 - Part I - which is actually better than S1, partly because they wisely bring in and focus more on Wednesday, Wednesday's family and less on her fellow students and the school. We see less of Enid, and there is less of the romantic triangle bit. Wednesday doesn't have a romance at all - the wrote out Xiaver completely. And this actually works better, because Wednesday doesn't work with a romance.

It gets better as it goes. And while Thandie Newton is underused? Her grandmother is a lovely addition. And once again Burton's style is often better than the writing, but overall - it was an entertaining binge.

*****

On the way home yesterday, I passed a sign in the subway that stated, black print on a white backing in huge letters:

friend (noun)

a person who listens to you, and often responds, and supports you.

I've been meditating on it off and on ever since.

denise posting in

dw_news

A reminder to everyone that starting tomorrow, we are being forced to block access to any IP address that geolocates to the state of Mississippi for legal reasons while we and Netchoice continue fighting the law in court. People whose IP addresses geolocate to Mississippi will only be able to access a page that explains the issue and lets them know that we'll be back to offer them service as soon as the legal risk to us is less existential.

The block page will include the apology but I'll repeat it here: we don't do geolocation ourselves, so we're limited to the geolocation ability of our network provider. Our anti-spam geolocation blocks have shown us that their geolocation database has a number of mistakes in it. If one of your friends who doesn't live in Mississippi gets the block message, there is nothing we can do on our end to adjust the block, because we don't control it. The only way to fix a mistaken block is to change your IP address to one that doesn't register as being in Mississippi, either by disconnecting your internet connection and reconnecting it (if you don't have a static IP address) or using a VPN.

In related news, the judge in our challenge to Tennessee's social media age verification, parental consent, and parental surveillance law (which we are also part of the fight against!) ruled last month that we had not met the threshold for a temporary injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law while the court case proceeds.

The Tennesee law is less onerous than the Mississippi law and the fines for violating it are slightly less ruinous (slightly), but it's still a risk to us. While the fight goes on, we've decided to prevent any new account signups from anyone under 18 in Tennessee to protect ourselves against risk. We do not need to block access from the whole state: this only applies to new account creation.

Because we don't do any geolocation on our users and our network provider's geolocation services only apply to blocking access to the site entirely, the way we're implementing this is a new mandatory question on the account creation form asking if you live in Tennessee. If you do, you'll be unable to register an account if you're under 18, not just the under 13 restriction mandated by COPPA. Like the restrictions on the state of Mississippi, we absolutely hate having to do this, we're sorry, and we hope we'll be able to undo it as soon as possible.

Finally, I'd like to thank every one of you who's commented with a message of support for this fight or who's bought paid time to help keep us running. The fact we're entirely user-supported and you all genuinely understand why this fight is so important for everyone is a huge part of why we can continue to do this work. I've also sent a lot of your comments to the lawyers who are fighting the actual battles in court, and they find your wholehearted support just as encouraging and motivating as I do. Thank you all once again for being the best users any social media site could ever hope for. You make me proud and even more determined to yell at state attorneys general on your behalf.

scripsi

Books I read late July and August.

New books

At School With The Stanhopes by Gwendoline Courtney. If you follow my journal, you will sooner or later hear me talk about Stepmother by the same author. It’s one of my constant comfort reads, and has been since I was 10. But not until I was an adult did I realize that Courtney wrote a number of books in the 1940s and 50s, all geared towards teenage girls. Most of them have been out of print for decades, and being in Sweden has made it a bit of a hassle to buy them used. But now girls Gone by seems to republishing them, and I read II earlier this year. At School With The Stanhopes is about 16 year old Rosalind, whose guardian dies, forcing her to move in with her much older brother, whom she hardly knows. Neither of them are pleased with it, but I lifes becomes much less gloomy when her favorite teacher opens a school just down the lane. Especially as Miss Stanhope has a bevy of friendly younger sisters. It’s mostly a school story, but also about Rosalind and her brother building a relationship, and I enjoyed it enormously. I do wish I had been able to read this book in my early teens, though, because I can tell I would have loved it even more had I read it back then.

Furstinnan (The Princess) by Eva Mattson. A biography of the 16th century Swedish queen Catherine Jagiellon. Sweden is pretty bad at noting women in history, and this is the first biography of a very interesting woman. Katarina Jagellonica, to use her Swedish name, was a Polish princess who rather surprisingly married Johan Vasa, the younger brother of the Swedish king at a time when the Vasa dynasty was seen as an upstart royal family. She was highly educated and educated, and it’s clear after reading this book that she had a lasting impact in how late 16th century Sweden was shaped.

The Art of French Pastry by Jacqut Pfeiffer. I read a lot of cookbooks, but mostly just bits here and there, so never mention them in these posts. But this book was really interesting as it isn’t just recipes, but a thorough explanation of why a recipe looks the way it does, and also how it’s supposed to behave throughout.

The Adventure of the Demonic Ox by Lois McMaster Bujold. The latest installment in the Penric and Desdemona series. It’s a series of fantasy novellas about a young man who accidently gets infested by a demon, something which makes him a sorcerer. As he doesn’t know how one is supposed to behave during those circumstances, he names the demon Desdemona, and they embark on a much more equal relationship. Bujold is one of my favourite authors, and the Penric and Desdemona novellas are bite-sized pieces of delight that together form a bigger whole. With that said this was probably one of the more lightweight installments in the series.

Re-reads

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg. The first book has been a comfort read of mine since the early 90s, and I like the movie too. A couple of years ago it got a sequel. If Fried Green Tomatoes paints the past in very nostalgic shades, The Wonder Boy feels like a fanfic, if one can say that an author can write that to their own work. Everyone is happy at the end of it, and if the bad guy in the first novel was a genuinely awful person, the villains in the latter are reduced to a man with murderous intent towards a cat, and an awful mother-in-law. But sometimes one is in the mood for a book where everything will be just fine. And then some.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I have always thought of this as a gothic novel for children. I mean, an orphaned heroine moving into an isolated mansion where she hears strange cries in the night, and there is a garden no one has been in for 10 years, and no one knows how to get into. I still remember how thrilled I was when I first read it as a kid. And I still love the description of the secret garden.

shadowkat

Had the required dental visit - which I do, infrequently. I get the same lecture every time: you should come every six months, if not sooner, you should wear mouth guard or you can do botox injections -
( Read more... )

Because I slept badly the night before - due to various factors, inclusive of being aggravated by the building management's incompetence in scheduling building inspectors and high blood sugar - I didn't walk as far as planned today. Also Transit was doing track work - so the trains were screwed up again. Lots of construction work everywhere - I live in a city that is perpetually under construction.

On the way to Lofty Pigeons books, the only book store that doesn't appear to carry a lot of Stephen King or Neil Gaiman books, I found a twenty dollar bill and a ten dollar bill on the sidewalk. I looked down, saw what I expected to be a one dollar or five dollar bill, and it was a twenty. Then looked around to see who dropped it - there was no one nearby. So I decided the Universe wanted me to buy a book today. It was also in the exact amount as the book I wanted to buy - $30.00.

So I did manage to buy the book I'd been hunting everywhere - since I read about it on coll's journal - "The Antidote by Karen Russell". I kept talking myself out of it - telling myself to buy it on Kindle (except I tend to lose track of the things I get on the Kindle, also I don't really own them outright? If I stop using the Kindle - they go bye-bye.)

***

The Sourdough Foccacia Bread that I bought yesterday is amazing. That has got to be the best sourdough foccacia gluten free bread that I've ever had. It doesn't require anything - not even really butter. You know it's good bread - when you can eat it plain. I decided to do a ploughman's lunch, with the bread, some hard swiss cheese, brie, some hard salami, English Mustard (Frackles), dill pickles, celery, carrots, olives, and some lettuce. It was lovely. And for desert - another piece of bread with butter, plus the unsweetened matcha latte (unfortunately only the ones in the city have unsweetened almond milk, the ones in Brooklyn - I had to get whole milk or skim, because their nut and oat milks have agave.)

I've decided I may order the bread, and pick it up on the way home from work sometimes. You can do that. Or get Doordash to deliver it.

All in all a productive day. I even got my allbirds shoes, which I can wear without socks. Although I'm wrestling with getting orthoshoes - with inserts. You can get them with FSA, but I don't think I have enough left on the card - with the dental appointments, and soon, contacts, plus other meds that I put on it.

Here's another wall mural or Brooklyn Street Art - that I saw on the way home from the dental appointment.

( close ups of the mural )

kazzy_cee

On Thursday, I visited The Wallace Collection in London to see their exhibition, Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur.

Sir Grayson Perry is an English artist who has always challenged the 'prejudices, fashions and foibles' of the art world. He works in ceramics, paint, needlework, tapestry and pencil. He identifies as a transvestite, frequently appearing as his alter-ego 'Claire' in public (who also features in his artwork along with childhood teddy bear Alan Measles). Married to a well-known author and psychiatrist (Phillipa Perry), he also looks at the psychology behind art.

For this exhibition, he created a character, Shirley Smith. I love how he explains the concept behind the exhibition here (it's a couple of minutes long, but it gives you a real flavour of what he set out to achieve in the exhibition). Also, I love Sir Grayson Perry - he's bonkers, but he has a very interesting 'take' on art which is always worth listening to.

Under the cut for photos of the artwork from the Wallace Collection, which was displayed alongside the new artwork by both Sir Grayson Perry (and 'Shirley Smith' *wink*).
( Read more... )

A very eclectic selection of items inspired by a whole Collection of things - it was an interesting exhibition and worth visiting.

shadowkat

Lovely day, almost spoiled by annoying request by super. I have to stay home all day on Tuesday, in order for the building inspector to do a 10-15 lead paint test in my apartment.

This is the aggravating text thread from super, who is Polish, and fluent in Russian but not really English. (Honestly, I feel at times that I'm living in a foreign country when I'm in NYC.)
( it may be humorous...in an absurdist theater sort of way. )

I basically gave up. I don't know why I'm annoyed that I have to stay home on Tuesday - when I do that on a lot of weekends? Although I could use the time to clean out my fridge or closet?

***

I took a lovely long walk after I got my hair done, with lots of photos to share. But too many for one post? Maybe I'll split them up among various posts.

And accomplished a lot - usually when I intend on going shopping, I can't find a thing? This round, I didn't really intend on finding all that much - and scored.

Sixteen Mills Bakery had been highly recommended to me by various folks, but alas, it's on Union and 3rd Avenue, which is a ways and not convenient to get to from my home. ( Read more... )

Afterwards, I headed up to 4th Avenue and walked towards The Old Stone House Museum and Washington Park - I'd never been, and saw that it was on the way back to the subway on 4th Avenue. But, you have to walk halfway up to fifth avenue to get to it, since Washington playing fields and park is in front of it. (This is a fake grass field for kids to play soccer and various sports on - it leads up to the Old Stone House Museum, with its gardens.) This is another post - because I went inside, took photos, and outside and took photos. And there's no room for it in this one. Also I have to go to bed - because I got a Dental appointment tomorrow morning. (I also went to a flower store - got a container for paint brushes, and a shoe store - got shoes, and home.) Show those in another post as well. It was a total of 2-3 miles altogether.

So, to be continued?

Here's a photo from my walk.

yourlibrarian

1) Too long ago now, I shared some DS9 related meta posts at

meta_warehouse and found that I was interested in the suggestions about older Trek being more character oriented than newer Trek shows. Although the post involved DS9 and Discovery, if we look at Star Trek Enterprise versus Discovery, "bad writing" doesn't cover it all. ( Read more... )

2) In Germany, news readers asked to identify AI created news often couldn't, and were more likely to stay subscribed. (You can test yourself on some of the samples at the link)

3) Watched another season of Silent Witness and came to a realization about why I took to Clarissa so quickly. ( Read more... )

4) I have yet to get back to Boston Legal, interrupted as I was by new subscriptions, shows returning, etc. But I had left myself some notes about something I still think is worth mentioning even if I don't develop this out into a longer essay.

I was struck by the way political issues were engaged with in shows taking place in the 1990s vs 2000s. ( Read more... )

5) Encouraging news about the Briet startup which aims to make digital books ownable by libraries instead of the hamstringing rental agreements they now have to contend with. I hope it succeeds and grows.

Poll #33549 Kudos Footer-537

This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

Want to leave a Kudos?

View Answers

Kudos!
8 (100.0%)

angrboda

Husband made fried halloumi with mashed potatoes, French beans and parsley sauce.

I am. So full.

shadowkat

Potential educational opportunities

Harvard Has Released $40,000 Worth of Courses Free in 2025
No applications.
No tuition.
Completely free and online.

Here are 5 powerful picks to start with:
( see below )

Damn. Harvard's fighting the evil fascists by providing free educational programs to everyone online. I shared the information with my brother and my niece.

Ramblings of a sad old nutter...

Reading

Navigation

Wednesday is confused as to what day it actually is?

Book bingo updates.

Updateyness

Tuesday is aggravated but making the most of it

Thursday Murder Club and Iron Heart

Thunderbolts Film Review

End of August Memage and Happy Labor Day to those who get the day off

(no subject)

Catching up....

Code deploy happening shortly

A visit to The Old Stone House

Sundays are meant to be lazy...and meander around cemetaries...

Mississippi site block, plus a small restriction on Tennessee new accounts

What I have been reading, July/August edition

Saturday found cash on the sidewalk so bought a book and another matcha latte

A new take on old artworks...

Friday took the day off to get a hair cut, go to a museum, and wander about buying goodies

Some Encouraging Signs

(no subject)

A Postive Academic Post...of sorts?

Profile

January 2019

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags