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Travel hopes and dreams
Dec. 11th, 2025 11:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thawreckaI'm skipping the question about food recommendations, because I'm going through a phase of disliking almost everything I eat.
littlerhymes asked: "Travel plans?"
These are all contingent on me ever having money again 🤣 which given how rapidly my home is disintegrating and I don't even have money to deal with that, feels unsure.
I have so many.
littlerhymes asked: "Travel plans?"These are all contingent on me ever having money again 🤣 which given how rapidly my home is disintegrating and I don't even have money to deal with that, feels unsure.
I have so many.
- Can you believe that I've never been to Tasmania?? It seems like everyone I know has already gone there, so this will have to be solo travel (I solo travel so often but sometimes I long for company at the airport, you know?). Might be nice for a weekend trip. Of course I have to hit up museums and the markets and have some nice food. The natural beauty would probably be lost on me, and I'm unlikely to see that unless I go with a tour group, what with not driving and all. I'm thinking winter; the historical weather says it's not noticably cooler than Melbourne, though given the closer proximity to Antarctica the winds probably feel icier, but it's not exactly the frozen tundra and I do like to wear coats.
- I mean, obviously I have to visit Sydney again.
- The writing conference that I was meant to go to during the pandemic was on the Gold Coast... well, that didn't happen and I'm not going to the writing conferences anyway. But I really want to go to the Gold Coast again. My dad took me and my brother there after my mum died, so to me it's always felt like a place of healing. I haven't been back since a trip with friends in my 20s, which was lovely. But also it has tons of fried food and tacky crap AND I LOVE FRIED FOOD AND TACKY CRAP!!! Theme parks! I'm not overly into beaches, but it can feel ~exotic~ to visit them on holiday.
- I also haven't been back to Darwin since the 80s, for that matter, so I should probably visit there, too...
- ...Yeah, I still haven't made it to Paris. I've wanted to go since I was a small child obsessed with sad French art films and ballet. It just costs so much money, though. The kind of holiday I could have for a week in Tokyo for $5k AU (still expensive!) would cost $10k AU in Paris, which is just prohibitively expensive for me right now. Maybe if I win the lottery??
I am slowly saving up for it, though. And Europe is so far that I will probably only ever go once, so I need to make the most of it when I do.
anyone want mail?
Dec. 11th, 2025 09:15 amtielanLet me know if you want seasonal or unseasonal. I'm okay with either, but I can't guarantee the stamps will be neutral, I'm afraid.
I can send them in Jan when the stamps are back to normal, maybe? Let me know if you'd prefer that.
I can send them in Jan when the stamps are back to normal, maybe? Let me know if you'd prefer that.
Wednesday reading
Dec. 10th, 2025 07:59 pmqueen_ypolitaFinished since the last reading post
Finished Death of a Scholar, which delivered the usual amount of mystery and dead people all the way through the end.
Also read Big Sky by Kate Atkinson, a Jackson Brodie novel.
Currently reading
Enlightenment by Sarah Perry. Also started reading Lady's Knight by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. No progress with anything else.
Reading next
Not sure
Finished Death of a Scholar, which delivered the usual amount of mystery and dead people all the way through the end.
Also read Big Sky by Kate Atkinson, a Jackson Brodie novel.
Currently reading
Enlightenment by Sarah Perry. Also started reading Lady's Knight by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. No progress with anything else.
Reading next
Not sure
Silksong: the "epilogue"
Dec. 10th, 2025 08:57 pmschneefinkI played very little Silksong in the past 1-2 weeks and did pretty much everything I wanted to in my first playthrough (before the DLCs come out) so now is a good time to post the "epilogue" notes.
( Things I did after the true ending )
( Some more thoughts )
( LPs I watched )
I already know what I want to play next: Hades 2, of course. (But probably not this year, I have a huge backlog of books etc.)
( Things I did after the true ending )
( Some more thoughts )
( LPs I watched )
I already know what I want to play next: Hades 2, of course. (But probably not this year, I have a huge backlog of books etc.)
Sci-Fi Outside the Spotlight Book Club Reflections
Dec. 10th, 2025 11:04 amjs_thrillBack in June of 2023, ambyr and I started a book club because we had both purchased Library of America's "The Future is Female" 2 volume short story collection, and, at least for my part, I figured I would be more likely to get down to reading it if there was some structure around my plans to do so. We invited mrissa and some other folks from the scintillation discord to join us (apologies for not tagging everyone, I don't remember everyone's DW tags offhand), and found a time that seemed to work, and for the most part have met every other week since then.
Early on, we wound up settling on reading 4 stories per meeting (mostly based around how many would be good to discuss per meeting, rather than how much people could read between meetings, though I am sure some folks appreciate only having a smallish batch to read each session).
We have now read NINE short story anthologies (though some of the anthologies are sometimes a little bit confused about what qualifies as a short story), and have renamed the group "Sci-Fi Outside the Spotlight" (rather than the original uninspired name "The Future is Female" chosen simply because that was the first two books we were reading).
The anthologies we have read so far are:
pauraque has been sharing notes and thoughts on the stories and meetings.
Prior to this book club, I think my exposure to short stories was Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others, Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House, and the book Characters in Conflict (this can't be the version we had in my class, because it doesn't contain To Build a Fire, but it does have the same cover image as the version we had).
One thing I forever associate with this book is that there are four conflicts. Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Self, and the one I can never remember. Maybe man vs. machine? Man vs. Society? Let's say man vs. Protein.
So you could say that I was fairly new to the genre of short stories, when we started. And it's not like I'm an expert now or anything. But I am a fan! And I know to be insulted when people put book chapters in my short story anthologies! DON'T DO THIS. IT IS RUDE!
What I want to do is look back over the Table of Contents from these volumes and highlight some stories and authors that stuck with me. Some of them may be "oh, of course, Lewis, everyone knows that story/author is good" type mentions, but that's just something that you all have to deal with due to my being a relative newbie.
The Future is Female Volume 1
Space Episode, Lesli Perri (1941) — This story sticks with me as one that benefitted from being read in a book club setting. I read it and thought "okay, it's a pretty simple space adventure they're on a ship a thing goes wrong, they snap to action, etc.", and it was only due to the group discussion that I saw how it was undermining some gender stereotypes without being flagrant or in your face about it. My understanding of the story really shifted from pre-discussion to post-discussion, even though, ultimately, it is not the deepest or most innovative story we read.
Created He Them, Alice Eleanor Jones (1955) — This is a very effective bit of horror that I have written about a couple of times before, I won't belabor it now.
The Barbarian, Joanna Russ (1968) — Joanna Russ can write. Not a surprise to anyone, I am sure. This collection also contained a CL Moore story "The Black God's Kiss" which was absolutely riveting until a very deflating ending, and it was very puzzling why that story was in a sci fi collection, but it did sort of make sense given how much Jirel of Jory seems to be an influence on Russ's Alyx stories.
The Future is Female Volume 2
Frog Pond, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1971) — This story of ecological degradation and conflict between urban and rural outlook was unsettling in a good way. It made me want to read more by Yarbro (though, to my chagrin, most of what Yarbro is known for in her other writing is a very long vampire series, and not this kind of subtle eco-horror)
When It Changed, Joanna Russ (1972) — I guess I am going to play favorites a bit, here: if I learned one thing from these volumes it is that I needed to be reading more Joanna Russ. I have begun to remedy this.
The Screwfly Solution, Racoona Sheldon (1977) — I don't think of myself as one for horror, but the ones that stick with me seem to be disproportionately horror-heavy. There is a not so great but not terrible Masters of Horror episode that adapts this story, but i think the story does a better job at the tone than a movie/tv episode can do.
There are some really good stories that I've note mentioned, and some stories that were really interesting to discuss but not very good as stories which I've not mentioned here, but that's about all the time/space I have for these volumes now.
Rediscovery Volume 2
Why did we only do volume 2 of Rediscovery, I hear you ask. Well, it is the fault of the series, since volume one covers 1958-1963, volume 2 covers 1953-1957, and volume 3 covers 1964-1968. Does that make any sense, organizationally? No. It does not. Anyway, we started with the chronologically earliest volume.
The overarching takeaway from this volume is that there is a danger in having third parties write afterwards to the stories in an anthology which seek to both provide author bios and story context. Often those afterwards will include frustrating, inaccurate takes on the stories, and the wrong ratio of author bio to story discussion. So, just as we say "don't put chapters of books in your short story anthology", you really only have three sensible choices for who provides commentary on the stories: 1) the authors themselves, 2) translators, if there has been translation, or 3) the editor of the anthology, as the person who has the bird's eye view on the whole anthology.
Captive Audience, Anne Warren Griffith (1953) — This was an interesting story that dealt with ubiquitous advertising, and had a gendered take on roles and resistance in a corporate consumer dystopia.
The Piece Thing, Carol Emshwiller (1956) — This story is about an alien infant reaching out to humans it encounters. Emshwiller had a piece in the first Future is Female volume that I had also liked (and which featured a POV dog, iirc), but this one I think showcases her ability to capture alien POV. I wouldn't say this is the most innovative piece (though I guess I don't know how well worn this territory was in 1956) but it does what it is doing well.
The Queer Ones, Leigh Brackett (1957) — One which definitely stuck with me. The story is about aliens getting noticed in a rural-ish setting, who, if I remember correctly, are identifiable for being redheads, maybe? But also have like the wrong number of ribs or some such. The story is playing off of communist scare tropes and has a sort of detective story vibe, but is mostly about this journalist tracking down the father of these mutant kids and then eventually helping the aliens escape persecution.
Okay, this has taken longer to type up this much than I anticipated, so maybe I'll break it into three parts, and do three anthologies at each go.
Remember kids: if you are making a short story anthology: the contents of your anthology should be short stories!
ambyr and I started a book club because we had both purchased Library of America's "The Future is Female" 2 volume short story collection, and, at least for my part, I figured I would be more likely to get down to reading it if there was some structure around my plans to do so. We invited mrissa and some other folks from the scintillation discord to join us (apologies for not tagging everyone, I don't remember everyone's DW tags offhand), and found a time that seemed to work, and for the most part have met every other week since then. Early on, we wound up settling on reading 4 stories per meeting (mostly based around how many would be good to discuss per meeting, rather than how much people could read between meetings, though I am sure some folks appreciate only having a smallish batch to read each session).
We have now read NINE short story anthologies (though some of the anthologies are sometimes a little bit confused about what qualifies as a short story), and have renamed the group "Sci-Fi Outside the Spotlight" (rather than the original uninspired name "The Future is Female" chosen simply because that was the first two books we were reading).
The anthologies we have read so far are:
- The Future is Female: Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women v. 1
- The Future is Female: Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women v. 2
- Rediscovery: Science Fiction By Women v. 2 (1953-1957)
- Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
- Dark Matter v. 2: Reading the Bones
- Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction
- The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories: A Collection of Chinese Science Fiction and Fantasy in Translation from a Visionary Team of Female and Nonbinary Creators
- Latinx Rising: An Anthology of Latinx Science Fiction and Fantasy
- A Thousand Beginnings and Endings: 16 Retellings of Asian Myths and Legends
pauraque has been sharing notes and thoughts on the stories and meetings.Prior to this book club, I think my exposure to short stories was Ted Chiang's Stories of Your Life and Others, Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House, and the book Characters in Conflict (this can't be the version we had in my class, because it doesn't contain To Build a Fire, but it does have the same cover image as the version we had).
One thing I forever associate with this book is that there are four conflicts. Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Self, and the one I can never remember. Maybe man vs. machine? Man vs. Society? Let's say man vs. Protein.
So you could say that I was fairly new to the genre of short stories, when we started. And it's not like I'm an expert now or anything. But I am a fan! And I know to be insulted when people put book chapters in my short story anthologies! DON'T DO THIS. IT IS RUDE!
What I want to do is look back over the Table of Contents from these volumes and highlight some stories and authors that stuck with me. Some of them may be "oh, of course, Lewis, everyone knows that story/author is good" type mentions, but that's just something that you all have to deal with due to my being a relative newbie.
The Future is Female Volume 1
Space Episode, Lesli Perri (1941) — This story sticks with me as one that benefitted from being read in a book club setting. I read it and thought "okay, it's a pretty simple space adventure they're on a ship a thing goes wrong, they snap to action, etc.", and it was only due to the group discussion that I saw how it was undermining some gender stereotypes without being flagrant or in your face about it. My understanding of the story really shifted from pre-discussion to post-discussion, even though, ultimately, it is not the deepest or most innovative story we read.
Created He Them, Alice Eleanor Jones (1955) — This is a very effective bit of horror that I have written about a couple of times before, I won't belabor it now.
The Barbarian, Joanna Russ (1968) — Joanna Russ can write. Not a surprise to anyone, I am sure. This collection also contained a CL Moore story "The Black God's Kiss" which was absolutely riveting until a very deflating ending, and it was very puzzling why that story was in a sci fi collection, but it did sort of make sense given how much Jirel of Jory seems to be an influence on Russ's Alyx stories.
The Future is Female Volume 2
Frog Pond, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (1971) — This story of ecological degradation and conflict between urban and rural outlook was unsettling in a good way. It made me want to read more by Yarbro (though, to my chagrin, most of what Yarbro is known for in her other writing is a very long vampire series, and not this kind of subtle eco-horror)
When It Changed, Joanna Russ (1972) — I guess I am going to play favorites a bit, here: if I learned one thing from these volumes it is that I needed to be reading more Joanna Russ. I have begun to remedy this.
The Screwfly Solution, Racoona Sheldon (1977) — I don't think of myself as one for horror, but the ones that stick with me seem to be disproportionately horror-heavy. There is a not so great but not terrible Masters of Horror episode that adapts this story, but i think the story does a better job at the tone than a movie/tv episode can do.
There are some really good stories that I've note mentioned, and some stories that were really interesting to discuss but not very good as stories which I've not mentioned here, but that's about all the time/space I have for these volumes now.
Rediscovery Volume 2
Why did we only do volume 2 of Rediscovery, I hear you ask. Well, it is the fault of the series, since volume one covers 1958-1963, volume 2 covers 1953-1957, and volume 3 covers 1964-1968. Does that make any sense, organizationally? No. It does not. Anyway, we started with the chronologically earliest volume.
The overarching takeaway from this volume is that there is a danger in having third parties write afterwards to the stories in an anthology which seek to both provide author bios and story context. Often those afterwards will include frustrating, inaccurate takes on the stories, and the wrong ratio of author bio to story discussion. So, just as we say "don't put chapters of books in your short story anthology", you really only have three sensible choices for who provides commentary on the stories: 1) the authors themselves, 2) translators, if there has been translation, or 3) the editor of the anthology, as the person who has the bird's eye view on the whole anthology.
Captive Audience, Anne Warren Griffith (1953) — This was an interesting story that dealt with ubiquitous advertising, and had a gendered take on roles and resistance in a corporate consumer dystopia.
The Piece Thing, Carol Emshwiller (1956) — This story is about an alien infant reaching out to humans it encounters. Emshwiller had a piece in the first Future is Female volume that I had also liked (and which featured a POV dog, iirc), but this one I think showcases her ability to capture alien POV. I wouldn't say this is the most innovative piece (though I guess I don't know how well worn this territory was in 1956) but it does what it is doing well.
The Queer Ones, Leigh Brackett (1957) — One which definitely stuck with me. The story is about aliens getting noticed in a rural-ish setting, who, if I remember correctly, are identifiable for being redheads, maybe? But also have like the wrong number of ribs or some such. The story is playing off of communist scare tropes and has a sort of detective story vibe, but is mostly about this journalist tracking down the father of these mutant kids and then eventually helping the aliens escape persecution.
Okay, this has taken longer to type up this much than I anticipated, so maybe I'll break it into three parts, and do three anthologies at each go.
Remember kids: if you are making a short story anthology: the contents of your anthology should be short stories!
What I'm Doing Wednesday
Dec. 10th, 2025 12:27 pmsagebooks
A Companion to Women in the Ancient World by Sharon L. James (Editor), Sheila Dillon (Editor). 2012. Triggery as hell in the first third. Took a long time to read.
I started Natasha Pulley's Hymn to Dionysus, but it didn't grab me so it's on pause.
yarning
a) Thanks to some links from Petra, I learned to knit a few rows of garter stitch. And yet...it feels wrong. (I'm probably doing it wrong, though my little swatch looks vaguely like it's supposed to.) I found a video on knitting continental, so the yarn is on the correct side for my brain. But it feels weird. Maybe I'm just built for crochet...?
b) I think I've just about got the Vampire Lestat in gold pants crochet pattern complete. I'm testing it, which is a good thing, bc I found some errors. Meanwhile, I'm teasing the art doll on Tumblr (![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
mostlyvampires), hoping it'll eventually reach interested people. (I'd appreciate a reblog, if you see this! <333)
c) Next up maaaay be creating a red pants version. In the screen grabs from the trailer, that version doesn't have the necklace or microphone...unless I add them. I'm so impatient for more canon to work from! OR a different canon to bite me and demand yarning into being. OR commissions to make dolls of other people from photos. That's a thing I can do & it would be FUN!
d) Saturday evening some lovely anonymouse bought a Made to Order cat stitch scarf from me, but they didn't tell me what colors to use! I messaged them Sunday morning but didn't hear anything all day & hyperfixated on it, as you do. Then first thing Monday, there was a message with colors! So I spent all day Monday working on it, and then part of Tuesday weaving in all the million ends from the 45 color changes. And ouch my shoulder, but I've missed making these, so all in all, it was fun! AND, most importantly, I revised the listing to make it clear that ANY colors are doable, but you have to choose the colors! :g:
e) This is just me being fond, but yesterday someone bought the black sparkly amineko kitty with gold eyes after YEARS of it sitting on my couch waiting for a home. I'm so happy for it! \o/
healthcrap
Thursday's bone scan went fine, though the results weren't great. I may or may not have lost half an inch of height. I didn't stand up straight when she measured me, so I'm hoping not. OTOH, I haven't been exercising, so maybe so. :shrug: Yesterday was the doc appt for filling out transportation forms. I have doubts that it'll be approved, but we won't know til I send it in.
Yuletide
I keep having feelings about my fic, flipping between unutterably anxious and more or less pleased. The betas really helped, and there are many many editing days left between now and Dec 24, so maybe it'll be okay in the end. Monday night, despite my intention to stick it in a proverbial drawer for a few days, I couldn't get to sleep until after I got up and tinkered with it a little more. I keep changing sentences and hoping I'm improving it instead of breaking it. :crosses fingers and toes:
I hope all of y'all are doing well! <333
A Companion to Women in the Ancient World by Sharon L. James (Editor), Sheila Dillon (Editor). 2012. Triggery as hell in the first third. Took a long time to read.
I started Natasha Pulley's Hymn to Dionysus, but it didn't grab me so it's on pause.
yarning
a) Thanks to some links from Petra, I learned to knit a few rows of garter stitch. And yet...it feels wrong. (I'm probably doing it wrong, though my little swatch looks vaguely like it's supposed to.) I found a video on knitting continental, so the yarn is on the correct side for my brain. But it feels weird. Maybe I'm just built for crochet...?
b) I think I've just about got the Vampire Lestat in gold pants crochet pattern complete. I'm testing it, which is a good thing, bc I found some errors. Meanwhile, I'm teasing the art doll on Tumblr (
c) Next up maaaay be creating a red pants version. In the screen grabs from the trailer, that version doesn't have the necklace or microphone...unless I add them. I'm so impatient for more canon to work from! OR a different canon to bite me and demand yarning into being. OR commissions to make dolls of other people from photos. That's a thing I can do & it would be FUN!
d) Saturday evening some lovely anonymouse bought a Made to Order cat stitch scarf from me, but they didn't tell me what colors to use! I messaged them Sunday morning but didn't hear anything all day & hyperfixated on it, as you do. Then first thing Monday, there was a message with colors! So I spent all day Monday working on it, and then part of Tuesday weaving in all the million ends from the 45 color changes. And ouch my shoulder, but I've missed making these, so all in all, it was fun! AND, most importantly, I revised the listing to make it clear that ANY colors are doable, but you have to choose the colors! :g:
e) This is just me being fond, but yesterday someone bought the black sparkly amineko kitty with gold eyes after YEARS of it sitting on my couch waiting for a home. I'm so happy for it! \o/
healthcrap
Thursday's bone scan went fine, though the results weren't great. I may or may not have lost half an inch of height. I didn't stand up straight when she measured me, so I'm hoping not. OTOH, I haven't been exercising, so maybe so. :shrug: Yesterday was the doc appt for filling out transportation forms. I have doubts that it'll be approved, but we won't know til I send it in.
Yuletide
I keep having feelings about my fic, flipping between unutterably anxious and more or less pleased. The betas really helped, and there are many many editing days left between now and Dec 24, so maybe it'll be okay in the end. Monday night, despite my intention to stick it in a proverbial drawer for a few days, I couldn't get to sleep until after I got up and tinkered with it a little more. I keep changing sentences and hoping I'm improving it instead of breaking it. :crosses fingers and toes:
I hope all of y'all are doing well! <333
The Night Guest, by Hildur Knútsdóttir
Dec. 10th, 2025 10:07 amrachelmanija
An Icelandic horror novella translated by Mary Robinette Kowal! I had no idea she's fluent in Icelandic.
Iðunn experiences unexplained fatigue and injuries when she wakes up, but is gaslit by doctors and offered idiotic remedies by co-workers. (Very relatable!) Meanwhile, she's being semi-stalked by her ex-boyfriend/co-worker, her parents refuse to accept that she's a vegetarian and keep serving her chicken, and the only living beings she actually likes are the neighborhood cats that she's allergic to.
After what feels like an extremely long time, it finally occurs to her that she might be sleepwalking, and some time after that, it finally occurs to her to video herself as she sleeps. At that point some genuinely scary/creepy/unsettling things happen, and I was very gripped by the story and its central mystery.
Is Iðunn going out at night and committing all the acts she's normally too beaten down or scared to do while sleepwalking or dissociating? Is she having a psychotic break? Is she a vampire? Is she possessed? Does it have something to do with a traumatic past event that's revealed about a third of the way in?
Other than the last question, I have no idea! The ending was so confusing that I have no idea what it was meant to convey, and it did not provide any answers to basically anything. I'm also not sure what all the thematic/political elements about the oppression of women had to do with anything, because they didn't clearly relate to anything that actually happened.
Spoilers!
( Read more... )
This was a miss for me. But I was impressed by the very fluent and natural-sounding translation.
Content note: A very large number of cats are murdered. Can horror writers please knock it off with the dead cats? At this point it would count as a shocking twist if the cat doesn't die.
Every day I'm shovelin' [^1]
Dec. 10th, 2025 09:49 ambrithistorianBy the time today ends I will have shoveled our driveway and ways at least four times over the course of two days. We're finally getting a new garage door and opener, having needed one for several years. We had to wait for a non-standard-sized door to be ordered[^2], then once it arrived, we scheduled the installation for yesterday. Then, the night of the day before yesterday, it started snowing.
Yesterday morning, I called the garage door company to see if they would need to reschedule because of the weather. The woman I spoke to sounded almost amused by the idea. Since then, I have shoveled:
- Yesterday morning, so I could get our vehicles out and the technician could get his truck to the garage.
- Yesterday evening, so the technician could get his truck out of the driveway and I could get our vehicles back in.
- Early this morning, so I could get our van out and go to the doctor. This included shoveling the huge piles that the snow plows had deposited at the end of the driveway.
- Later this morning, when I got back from the doctor, I had to shovel the rest of the driveway so we can play vehicle Tetris[^3] and the technician can finish the garage door.
It's currently snowing, but not as hard as yesterday, so I may or may not have to shovel again when the technician has to leave this evening. Plus, I'll have to shovel the end of the driveway again when the city plows the sidewalks, which may or may not happen today. So I guess this winter's definitely giving me my exercise!
[^1] If you recognized the musical reference in the title, I'd like to offer my sincere apologies. If you didn't, please don't go looking for it — I doubt you need an earworm, and I'd prefer that you not think ill of me.
[^2] Because of course our house required a non-standard-sized door.
[^3] Right now we're forbidden to park on the street, so that the plows can run. When the technician gets here, A. and I will have to back our vehicles out of the driveway, then he'll back his truck up the driveway to the garage, then we'll pull back into the driveway. Then we'll have to do the whole thing in reverse when he leaves.
fic recs: horror from FIAB
Dec. 10th, 2025 09:49 amsnickficThe Sorcerer and the Shadow, Cthulhu Mythos, Original Miskatonic Student/Original Sorcerer, 3k. Nathaniel Palfrey seeks a sorcerer's aid. Ambrose Corbin is more than happy to oblige. A twisty, nasty little horror story, full of layers. Really captures that menace Lovecraft's villains have while also being a literal gay seduction story. You love to see it. :')
HousesuoH, House of Leaves, 7k. Pre-canon horror fic about a contractor who agrees to do a renovation project on the house and really, really regrets it. This author has correctly identified the missing quarter-inch as the best/worst part of the whole book and has expanded on it. What a fun little horror story.
Yggdrasil Station: A 1-day Wormhole Hopper's guide!, Original Work, gen, 2.6k. Join interstellar travel blogger 1DAYWORMHOLEHOPPER as she guides you through the unique attractions of the one-time backwater Yggdrasil station! A delightfully terrible little story/blog/transcript of a cheerful vlogger trying out the gourmet dining experience of a meal prepared from a bodymodded human tree. Must be read to be believed. The author absolutely nails the voice of this particular genre of media.
HousesuoH, House of Leaves, 7k. Pre-canon horror fic about a contractor who agrees to do a renovation project on the house and really, really regrets it. This author has correctly identified the missing quarter-inch as the best/worst part of the whole book and has expanded on it. What a fun little horror story.
Yggdrasil Station: A 1-day Wormhole Hopper's guide!, Original Work, gen, 2.6k. Join interstellar travel blogger 1DAYWORMHOLEHOPPER as she guides you through the unique attractions of the one-time backwater Yggdrasil station! A delightfully terrible little story/blog/transcript of a cheerful vlogger trying out the gourmet dining experience of a meal prepared from a bodymodded human tree. Must be read to be believed. The author absolutely nails the voice of this particular genre of media.
Thea Gilmore, St Pancras Old Church, 28.11.25
Dec. 10th, 2025 05:16 pmtaldragonM, I and two friends saw Thea Gilmore ( with support Rowan Murphy who was fantastic) at the Old Church in St Pancras. which is, I didn't realise, an actual working church, and also very very pretty with gorgeous acoustics - which Thea Gilmore used to her advantage, singing The Gift acapella while walking down the aisle.
It was Ms Gilmore, her mic, her guitars and a loop. and wow she's amazing - beautiful voice, sharp witty songs.... so glad we went <3
Setlist:
The Gift
Stain
Don't Dim Your Light
Pirate Moon
Razor Valentine
We All Looked Up
Grandam Gold
Dance Me To The End Of Love
This Girl Is Taking Bets
Nice Normal Woman
Friendly Little Heart Attack
Rise
Warmest Winter
The Bright Service
My Friend Goodbye
It was Ms Gilmore, her mic, her guitars and a loop. and wow she's amazing - beautiful voice, sharp witty songs.... so glad we went <3
Setlist:
The Gift
Stain
Don't Dim Your Light
Pirate Moon
Razor Valentine
We All Looked Up
Grandam Gold
Dance Me To The End Of Love
This Girl Is Taking Bets
Nice Normal Woman
Friendly Little Heart Attack
Rise
Warmest Winter
The Bright Service
My Friend Goodbye
Principia Discordia
Dec. 10th, 2025 07:51 amjs_thrill When I was in junior high, my RPG and board game friends introduced me to a card game called Illuminati: New World Order, in which players (each taking on the role of one particular "illuminati" group: the Adepts of Hermes, the Bavarian Illuminati, the Bermuda Triangle, the Discordian Society, the Gnomes of Zürich, the Network, Servants of Cthulhu, Shangri-La, the UFOs, the Society of Assassins, and the Church of the SubGenius), seek to take control of the world by taking control of various organizations/agencies (the CIA) celebrities (Ross Perot, Saddam Hussain) locations (Japan, California, the Moonbase). This game, or at least, elements of this game, were heavily inspired by The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. I mean, I have never verified that, but I was told it at the time, and it would be very surprising to learn otherwise. And being the particular sort of nerdy kid that I was, I decided to read the Illuminatus! Trilogy, so that I would understand more of the jokes and references in this card game.
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is "a satirical, postmodern, science fiction–influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magic-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both historical and imaginary, related to the authors' version of the Illuminati" (thanks wikipedia!). It was a very weird book to be reading for young late junior high school/early high school me, and, at the very least, a couple of orders of magnitude weirder than the most similar thing I had read to that point: Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land.
This post is not about the Illuminatus! Trilogy. It is, instead, about a perhaps weirder book referenced in the Illuminatus! Trilogy. And that book is a bizarre short putative religious text called Principia Discordia. When I first read the Illuminatus! Trilogy I sort of assumed that the religion of discordianism and the texts from it were made up for the book, but then learned that they were not, and so I eagerly tracked them down at weird bookstores in Chicago. The edition I have is the one with the yellow cover.
I was surely out of my depth in the 90s in junior high and high school reading 60s and 70s acid-soaked novels and religious tracts, and I think the main upshot of my reading these things was a brief infatuation with zen buddhism which had clearly influenced some of the contents of the text, but obviously the things we read during these formative years linger and percolate and then then the other day, FIFA awarded Donald Trump a peace prize.
And obviously a lot of people reacted to this with the expected array of emotions. After all, it is one of the more absurd things to have happened in an increasingly absurd period of public and political life. And somewhat suddenly, I was reminded of this book which more or less begins with five commandments, several of which are intentionally self undermining:
Anyway, this was all pretty exciting when I was 11-14, but my mind has been returning to it now because we live in a world where an international soccer organization invents a peace prize to appease a warmonger. Both the novel and this religious...zine (I guess) took Emperor Norton to be an important historical figure and/or patron saint. Simply put, Norton lost all his money when the boat bearing a rice shipment that he had heavily invested in sank, and that sort of radically altered his behavior. He declared himself the Emperor of the United States, Protector of Mexico, and Defender of the Jews. A colorful character in San Francisco, he started issuing his own currency, and due to some combination of charity/sympathy/good spirit, folks in San Francisco played along and honored Norton-bucks. He also apparently stared down a mob that was planning to do violence against Chinese immigrants one time by loudly reciting the lord's prayer at them. The discordians like him because his way of going about these things sort of illustrates the socially constructed nature of things like money and political authority. Was he just a guy off his kilter or was he really an Authority in the area? Did those Norton bucks have monetary value? Well, local businesses seemed to treat them like they did, and what more is required for money to have value than for you to be able to exchange them for goods and services.
Looking back over the Principia Discordia, a lot of it is pretty cringe, though I can see why I thought it was cool and exciting as a junior high kid. But one of the fundamental things it is on about seems worth stewing on as we are ushered through this era of absurdity. There is reality as it is without our imposition of labels and categories, and then there is the world as we describe and categorize it, and there is distance between the two.
When I sat down to start writing this, I thought I'd have more of a point at the end, but I realized if I keep waiting to have a good point to write things on Dreamwidth, I'll keep never writing things on Dreamwidth, so, meandering thoughts on a book from my junior high years it is.
The Illuminatus! Trilogy is "a satirical, postmodern, science fiction–influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magic-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both historical and imaginary, related to the authors' version of the Illuminati" (thanks wikipedia!). It was a very weird book to be reading for young late junior high school/early high school me, and, at the very least, a couple of orders of magnitude weirder than the most similar thing I had read to that point: Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land.
This post is not about the Illuminatus! Trilogy. It is, instead, about a perhaps weirder book referenced in the Illuminatus! Trilogy. And that book is a bizarre short putative religious text called Principia Discordia. When I first read the Illuminatus! Trilogy I sort of assumed that the religion of discordianism and the texts from it were made up for the book, but then learned that they were not, and so I eagerly tracked them down at weird bookstores in Chicago. The edition I have is the one with the yellow cover.
I was surely out of my depth in the 90s in junior high and high school reading 60s and 70s acid-soaked novels and religious tracts, and I think the main upshot of my reading these things was a brief infatuation with zen buddhism which had clearly influenced some of the contents of the text, but obviously the things we read during these formative years linger and percolate and then then the other day, FIFA awarded Donald Trump a peace prize.
And obviously a lot of people reacted to this with the expected array of emotions. After all, it is one of the more absurd things to have happened in an increasingly absurd period of public and political life. And somewhat suddenly, I was reminded of this book which more or less begins with five commandments, several of which are intentionally self undermining:
Looking back over the Principia Discordia, a lot of it is pretty cringe, though I can see why I thought it was cool and exciting as a junior high kid. But one of the fundamental things it is on about seems worth stewing on as we are ushered through this era of absurdity. There is reality as it is without our imposition of labels and categories, and then there is the world as we describe and categorize it, and there is distance between the two.
When I sat down to start writing this, I thought I'd have more of a point at the end, but I realized if I keep waiting to have a good point to write things on Dreamwidth, I'll keep never writing things on Dreamwidth, so, meandering thoughts on a book from my junior high years it is.
More music memery!
Dec. 10th, 2025 02:03 pmextrapenguinLanna mentioned being out of the loop wrt new music, so I've decided that, when it fits the prompt, I'll pick some 2020s music. After all, we're halfway through the decade, now! (More than, if 2020 counts and 2030 doesn't!) So have some symphonic metal released in 2025 for...
a song that makes you smile
Catalyst Symphony - Eden
The Light Inside EP on Bandcamp
a song you discovered this month
a song that makes you smile
a song that makes you cry
a song that you know all the lyrics of
a song that proves that you have good taste
a song title that is in all lowercase
a song title that is in all uppercase
an underrated song
a song that has three words
a song from your childhood
a song that reminds you of summertime
a song that you feel nostalgic to
the first song that plays on shuffle
a song that someone showed you
a song from a movie soundtrack
a song from a television soundtrack
a song about being 17
a song that reminds you of somebody
a song to drive to
a song with a number in the title
a song that you listen to at 3am in the morning
a song with a long title
a song with a color in the title
a song that gets stuck in your head
a song in a different language
a song that helps you fall asleep at night
a song that describes how you feel right now
a song that you used to hate but love today
a song that you downloaded
a song that you want to share
a song that makes you smile
Catalyst Symphony - Eden
The Light Inside EP on Bandcamp
prompts under the cut
a song you discovered this month
a song that makes you smile
a song that makes you cry
a song that you know all the lyrics of
a song that proves that you have good taste
a song title that is in all lowercase
a song title that is in all uppercase
an underrated song
a song that has three words
a song from your childhood
a song that reminds you of summertime
a song that you feel nostalgic to
the first song that plays on shuffle
a song that someone showed you
a song from a movie soundtrack
a song from a television soundtrack
a song about being 17
a song that reminds you of somebody
a song to drive to
a song with a number in the title
a song that you listen to at 3am in the morning
a song with a long title
a song with a color in the title
a song that gets stuck in your head
a song in a different language
a song that helps you fall asleep at night
a song that describes how you feel right now
a song that you used to hate but love today
a song that you downloaded
a song that you want to share
An overlong post about Physical Asia
Dec. 10th, 2025 09:29 pmcaramarieI enjoyed the first two seasons of Physical 100 in a normal way, but Physical Asia I have somehow become obsessed with. Rather than pitting individual athletes (and non-athletes) against each other, Physical Asia features teams from different countries, and the team format was really fun.
Part of this, I will admit, was that I was less frustrated on behalf of the women. Can’t get picked last for a team if you’re in the team the whole way through! More frivolously, crossfitters are less annoying as part of a group. (Yes, I mean Amotti.)
I was somewhat conflicted in who to root for, because as a NZer, I do not want to root for Australia, but I DO want to root for Eddie Williams, a Samoan strongman who is originally from Auckland. He seems like such a sweetheart.
(It is bemusing to have Australia in a show called Physical Asia, but I guess they get included with Asia in a lot of sporting contexts? The comments I’ve seen implying they were mostly white people can fuck off though.)
Who you root for in any particular contest depends on a lot of things. Sometimes it’s Eddie … sometimes it’s the underdog … or if there’s a hot strong lady in the match-up, it’s her (Eunsil and Adiyasuren both get a shout out here). I was eventually most charmed by former baseballer Itoi, who has a very expressive face, as well as being good at basically everything. He and Nonoka had the best worried faces :D
I feel like Minjae won it for Korea in the end, but he would not have done so if people like Eunsil and Yunbin had not been coaching him along the way XD He’s still young …
A thing I enjoy about the show overall is that, despite the framing of it as a search for the ‘perfect physique’, what you get to see is a whole bunch of people with different physiques. Even if in the individual seasons the winner is going to be a tall buff man with excellent cardiovascular fitness that doesn’t mean that that person is the best for any task. My favourite round this season was the one where they have to divide their teams between a bunch of different tasks – so someone has to do hurdles, someone has to do the sandbag toss, etc – because it does show off the different strengths that people have.
It's also interesting where skill can play into things. Like in the pillar pull, which they have as a pair game, Minjae is a lot stronger than Eunsil, but Eunsil is the one who eg knows how to do hook grip and explains it to him. She was so impressive in that game! Or any of the tasks where a bigger stronger person is defeated because their opponent knows wrestling techniques and they don’t. That part can seem a little unfair, given the conceit, but actually not because it is always really satisfying.
I am wondering if I should have been into wrestling this whole time, because I enjoy all the grappling a lot. Possibly in a lascivious fashion. (Honestly, I feel some of the female contestants were having the same thoughts as me based on their reaction shots.)
On that note: the men in this show take off their tops a lot. ‘Was that really necessary?’ Eunsil says when Eloni takes his shirt off for the jumping contest, but she does not look away XD Sometimes the women take their tops off too, but their sports bras are pretty modest.
You can also admire a lot of thighs. Sidebar, but, I have often felt self-conscious about the size of my thighs and it does make me feel better to see the legs on some of these athletes :p Like obviously I am not an athlete or super strong or anything, but idk, when you feel like your body is inherently unsuited to fitness, it’s good to see how the female wrestlers are built!
Anyway I finished watching the show on the weekend and now I am uh getting parasocial I guess. Some links for posterity.
Part of this, I will admit, was that I was less frustrated on behalf of the women. Can’t get picked last for a team if you’re in the team the whole way through! More frivolously, crossfitters are less annoying as part of a group. (Yes, I mean Amotti.)
I was somewhat conflicted in who to root for, because as a NZer, I do not want to root for Australia, but I DO want to root for Eddie Williams, a Samoan strongman who is originally from Auckland. He seems like such a sweetheart.
Ep 9 spoiler
I did still enjoy when Japan knocked Australia out in the battle ropes game though :D(It is bemusing to have Australia in a show called Physical Asia, but I guess they get included with Asia in a lot of sporting contexts? The comments I’ve seen implying they were mostly white people can fuck off though.)
Who you root for in any particular contest depends on a lot of things. Sometimes it’s Eddie … sometimes it’s the underdog … or if there’s a hot strong lady in the match-up, it’s her (Eunsil and Adiyasuren both get a shout out here). I was eventually most charmed by former baseballer Itoi, who has a very expressive face, as well as being good at basically everything. He and Nonoka had the best worried faces :D
Ending spoilers
I would have liked Mongolia to win in the end … they made smart choices and I think they won a lot of people’s hearts, if not the series itself :D Adiyasuren and Enkh-Orgil were both so tough OMG.I feel like Minjae won it for Korea in the end, but he would not have done so if people like Eunsil and Yunbin had not been coaching him along the way XD He’s still young …
A thing I enjoy about the show overall is that, despite the framing of it as a search for the ‘perfect physique’, what you get to see is a whole bunch of people with different physiques. Even if in the individual seasons the winner is going to be a tall buff man with excellent cardiovascular fitness that doesn’t mean that that person is the best for any task. My favourite round this season was the one where they have to divide their teams between a bunch of different tasks – so someone has to do hurdles, someone has to do the sandbag toss, etc – because it does show off the different strengths that people have.
It's also interesting where skill can play into things. Like in the pillar pull, which they have as a pair game, Minjae is a lot stronger than Eunsil, but Eunsil is the one who eg knows how to do hook grip and explains it to him. She was so impressive in that game! Or any of the tasks where a bigger stronger person is defeated because their opponent knows wrestling techniques and they don’t. That part can seem a little unfair, given the conceit, but actually not because it is always really satisfying.
I am wondering if I should have been into wrestling this whole time, because I enjoy all the grappling a lot. Possibly in a lascivious fashion. (Honestly, I feel some of the female contestants were having the same thoughts as me based on their reaction shots.)
On that note: the men in this show take off their tops a lot. ‘Was that really necessary?’ Eunsil says when Eloni takes his shirt off for the jumping contest, but she does not look away XD Sometimes the women take their tops off too, but their sports bras are pretty modest.
You can also admire a lot of thighs. Sidebar, but, I have often felt self-conscious about the size of my thighs and it does make me feel better to see the legs on some of these athletes :p Like obviously I am not an athlete or super strong or anything, but idk, when you feel like your body is inherently unsuited to fitness, it’s good to see how the female wrestlers are built!
Anyway I finished watching the show on the weekend and now I am uh getting parasocial I guess. Some links for posterity.
(no subject)
Dec. 10th, 2025 02:45 amtwistedchickTimes are trying, but my cats are on the job.
Sweetie, who now looks like a furry tabby bowling ball with legs, comes downstairs to support my efforts when I'm on the weight bench. She has learned not to walk under the moving parts (the weights) when they're moving, which means I don't get a cramp letting them back down sloooooowly to avoid her. And she tells me she loves me and would I skritch ... there? Ohhh thanks. And asks to be let into the storage room to check for mice. Why would I say no to that?
Zoomy doesn't do that, but he has taken to shoving his favorite toy mouse under the bedroom door for me at night, so that I will have it to play with if I want or to sleep with. (I don't, but he doesn't understand a lot about humans yet. He's only about 18 months old.) I give it back to him in the morning, and then find it again later. He also curls up (during the day) next to me and sighs and sleeps with only a little whuffling snore. (I'd let him sleep here at night but it would screw up my breathing; he sheds a lot. A lint roller is a must with him, for use on anywhere he's been lying.)
Sweetie, who now looks like a furry tabby bowling ball with legs, comes downstairs to support my efforts when I'm on the weight bench. She has learned not to walk under the moving parts (the weights) when they're moving, which means I don't get a cramp letting them back down sloooooowly to avoid her. And she tells me she loves me and would I skritch ... there? Ohhh thanks. And asks to be let into the storage room to check for mice. Why would I say no to that?
Zoomy doesn't do that, but he has taken to shoving his favorite toy mouse under the bedroom door for me at night, so that I will have it to play with if I want or to sleep with. (I don't, but he doesn't understand a lot about humans yet. He's only about 18 months old.) I give it back to him in the morning, and then find it again later. He also curls up (during the day) next to me and sighs and sleeps with only a little whuffling snore. (I'd let him sleep here at night but it would screw up my breathing; he sheds a lot. A lint roller is a must with him, for use on anywhere he's been lying.)
(no subject)
Dec. 9th, 2025 10:14 pmyuuagoSometimes there are those moments where I come across something that makes me think about my OTP, and it still, after all these years, brings me so much joy.
Feels good!
I should make something with them soon. It's been a while.
Feels good!
I should make something with them soon. It's been a while.
(no subject)
Dec. 9th, 2025 07:09 pmsholioDaily updates for Rec-Cember are going about as well as anything daily usually does for me, so I think I'll switch to weekly posts - say Thurs or Fri. That sounds like a plan.
I think what I'm finding is that writing one rec is actually not much less work than a batch of them, and the batch style is more fun for me because I don't feel like I have to come up with as much to say about each individual fanwork. Even though I know I could just yeet the link on DW and flee. Why are brains.
I'm really enjoying the event, though!
(In other news, it is cooooooold, and I am struggling with motivation for Christmas. Maybe I need to write some Christmas/holiday/winter fic. I went to a holiday concert this weekend withellenmillion and it was lovely! I need more of that kind of thing.)
I think what I'm finding is that writing one rec is actually not much less work than a batch of them, and the batch style is more fun for me because I don't feel like I have to come up with as much to say about each individual fanwork. Even though I know I could just yeet the link on DW and flee. Why are brains.
I'm really enjoying the event, though!
(In other news, it is cooooooold, and I am struggling with motivation for Christmas. Maybe I need to write some Christmas/holiday/winter fic. I went to a holiday concert this weekend with
ellenmillion and it was lovely! I need more of that kind of thing.)