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tedwords

Dad picked me up and told me Steve had tried calling, but I was gone.

I had practice that night, but he wasn't going to it. I felt a bit, well, odd, because of everything that had happened. I seemed okay at first, but things turned out pretty bad. And I wasn't the only one.

Let me explain. I complained (nicely, I thought) to Frank that Mike was accidently singing my lines in "I Hear Music." Mike got wicked insulted and started to get in a huff that grew worse through the night.

I myself was getting pretty bad--ignoring people and such. Kevin sided with Michael and the two started whispering to each other about me. And as I left the stage, Kevin tripped me. So the next time I left, I slapped him on the foot really hard.

I left to call Pauline for a pep talk. By the time I returned, I was fine, but Coleen was in tears at the door. Before I could ask why, Kevin came out asking, "Who the fuck do you think you are stepping on my foot?" And I said "Who the fuck do you think you are tripping me?"

He swung and I swung and we were quickly broken up, with Kevin in tears and me asking Pat about Tom Lehrer.

Frank called Coleen, Kevin and I aside to talk to the three of us separately. He spoke with Coleen first. Jeannie asked us to leave and Coleen said, "Why don't you, too, Jeannie?" Jeanie replied, "I don't deserve that--not from you, Coleen." I tried to leave at that point, but Coleen said to wait for her outside so we could talk.

Frank came to me. I told him my side of the story. The he went to Kevin, so I left.

I came out like Mr. T saying "I pity the fool!" and Mike tactfully left.

Coleen and I went into her car. Jason and Jackie had ransacked the beer she had in her car. Coleen told me she dislike Jason because he was immature and besides, she spent two hours trying to talk Tracey out of suicide with the help of Dick.

Dick, she tells me, had been through a similar experience with the guy who played Sir Harry in Mattress. Dick, it turns out, is bisexual. Dan Kirby was Sir Harry and it ruined their friendship.

She then told me her problem with Frank. Frank kept badgering her into doing a part she wasn't ready for and finally, after messing up again, she burst into tears and ran off. In her own words, "I'm not going to listen to a seventeen year old asshole."

I told her my problem with Kevin and a lot of what had happened in the past and that I really don't care much about Kevin any more. We talked about a lot of things--like her affair with a 31 year old at the age of 17 and that Deb F thought she would shock Coleen with news of her sex with Curt.

Coleen said something interesting: "Why is everyone in this cast so messed up? Why are they all ruining their youth with the problems they create?"

Why do we ruin our youth with problems? Is happiness that trite a possession? Are we more content with being unhappy?

[2026 reflection: I had forgotten the details of this fight, and now that I have read this 40 years later, I think Kevin really started this, and kind of happy that I showed some backbone.]

rmc28

I have had a migraine this afternoon and evening, which is the warning sign I'm pushing my sleep schedule too much, again
I read the new Murderbot book, very hard to put down, enjoyed it very much
earlier this week fanf and I joined 20th wedding anniversary celebrations for atreic and emperor, who remain lovely people who collect lovely people around them, yay
last weekend Kodiaks lost to Coventry Phoenix 1-8, but I got my first ever WNIHL point with an assist on that goal. And then the next day we turned a 2-1 lead over MK Falcons into a 4-2 loss in the last ten minutes of the game and that hurt quite a lot. But also it was lovely to see some Hull camp friends on the MK side, both on and off the ice
I started watching Ted Lasso, currently half way through season 1 and enjoying it very much. The episodes are short enough and the people / plot engaging enough I'm managing to stick with an entire episode at a time without getting distracted
next week I'm seeing a 40th anniversary screening of Top Gun in the local IMAX screen. I got teased about did I remember seeing it on original release, which no, not quite, but it's very nearly 37 years since I first saw it on a tiny coach TV screen on a school trip to Germany. I still know most of the lines by heart

yourlibrarian

1) I find the results of this research on people finding medical information to be sad but unsurprising. "Certain groups are particularly likely to say they get health and wellness information from influencers, including adults under 50; Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans; and those without health insurance."

The thing is though, the topics revealed in the study have very little to do with health and medicine and a lot more to do with appearance and weight (plastic surgeons are influencers!) This makes sense, both because women outnumber men as both influencers and viewers, and also because this area of "health" is particularly apt to be a source of revenue for influencers, whether trolling for clients or selling people stuff they think will help them. The number of people who even claim a medical background or auxiliary medical training are outnumbered by people who don't.

2) I mentioned in my last post watching the Roku Soccer Comes to America documentary. Although not that enlightening to somebody who lived through virtually all of it, two things were singled out as being critical to truly establishing the sport which I hadn't thought about. I found it an interesting coincidence that Ted Turner should die at the same time I was seeing it. ( Read more... )

3) Saw all of S2 of Percy Jackson and I think I enjoyed it more than S1. ( Read more... )

4) Daredevil's second season is more of a favorite for me than the 1st. ( Read more... )

5) I speed watched High Country. ( Read more... )

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bill_schubert

I had to make a separate post.

When we were young we used to drive out to Oklahoma waiting until it was really hot so we could all enjoy the station wagon with no air conditioning all the way out and back. One of the places I always wanted to stop at was Stuckey's. My parents were smart enough not to stop there. Actually I don't think we stopped much of anywhere.

Today I made up a bit of that. We passed a Buc-ees and stopped. If you don't know, Buc-ees is a huge gas station with the best bathrooms anywhere and some of the nicest staff and stay that way 24 hours a day. You can walk into the 2 acre Buc-ees store at 3AM and be greeted by someone who will 'welcome to Buc-ees' all cheerie and stuff. That time of morning is special. We were there this morning but it was 11ish and not insane. But the people watching was a treat as always and the shelves were perfectly stocked, the food was hot and ready, and the bathrooms were immaculate. It is a finely tuned machine. I'm sorry I can't send you some Watermelon Cotton Candy but I can send you pictures:

The kitchiest wooden wavy placks I've ever seen just outside the bathroom. This one dimensional photo does not do them justice.

FOOD FOOD AND FOOD:

This is a picture standing in the center of the store looking one direction:

Same amount of room going the other way.

This is an entire wall of every kind of food you can think of. Across from this wall are rows on rows of shelves filled with chips and such. This wall has candy and jerky, and such.

And, of course they have T-shirts commerating the Buc-ees Nascar entry:

And who could go on their camping trip without a double burner, three basket, oil fryer. Turkey and fries!!!!

There is so much more. So much.

And the people who buy it all.

I used to drive up from San Diego to Venice Beach so I could sit on the sea wall, drink a beer, and watch the circus go by. Buc-ees reminds me of that. More clothes but similar people.

luzula

It's been insanely busy around here, mostly of course for E, who is setting up his market garden, but also for me, since I have consequently been taking most of the responsibility for the household vegetable beds. Have some photos!

( Read more... )

tedwords

I was scared when I woke up. Scared I would spend breakfast alone and that kid Richard would suddenly dislike me in the light of day.

So, I pretended to oversleep so I wouldn't have to eat breakfast.

Richard saw me after breakfast and we talked but didn't say much during the lecture period. (Prejudice and sexuality, of all things). During lunch, I hung out with the kid from lunch yesterday. This massively depressed me. I felt that I had failed--and tried so little.

So, I chose my classes and decided to forget everything. And, as I was leaving, Richard ran up and gave me his number. He asked for mine, too. I said I would call.

All in all, it wasn't really all that bad. Classes are great--Tuesday and Thursdays I only have one class each day. All right!

bill_schubert

So all is OK with the world. We could have come back same day but six hours in the car is a bit much. We're going to go back to the doc once a year like any cardiologist visit, just to check in and be sure nothing has changed. Now we know what we're doing it will be much easier and less stressful.

Dana has a condition that is not common but neither is it rare. It essentially makes her veins and arteries flexible which one might think is good but actually can result in weakness and potential issues if the pressure gets too high. So she needs to keep her blood pressure low, which she was already doing, and nothing that results in raising it locally. Her neck vessels, for instance, are prone to buldging so no downward dog kind of thing. Or neck massages, or cross body bags that might get caught on someone walking by and quickly pull at her neck. The vessel might tear.
Other than that nothing really changes. It is just that we know what is happening now and can monitor it. Nothing dramatic.

All in all a good outcome. The doc was very ADHD as am I so we clashed a bit but worked it out. She's a cardiologist who specializes in FMD and vascular medicine so seeing her once a year makes sense and having her as a resource if some other crazy doc starts saying we HAVE to do this or that is nice. We ran into one already who decided that Dana should be on some strong blood thinners. I killed that quickly and this doc agreed that Dana does NOT need to be on blood thinners. It would have caused a lot of problems. So now I've got someone to point to and say 'ask her'.

Our VRBO apartment was kind of crap and we ate at the world's worst seafood restaurant but now we know where we need to be I can find a better set up next year.

petra

There are a thousand spots to sit at home:
Upon the couch, on laundry, not just laps.
But just as all the old roads lead to Rome,
The cat returns to sit on me. Perhaps
She smells the cortisol of stress, and knows
That I'm inclined to stroke her velvet fur --
Once void-black, now specked galaxy, it flows
Softer than kitten fluff. And so she purrs,
Then settles with her head upon my wrist
And tush on laptop keys, immune to shame.
Despite spring air, my little cat finds bliss
In cuddling up and acting nearly tame.
Nine pounds of feline is enough to pin
Me to the couch, and so her reign begins.

Mood: purr
Music: She is making the rattly noise

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/05/08/hey-ai-still-sucks/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=60623

I still ask “AI” questions about me from time to time, just to see what it knows about a moderately notable science fiction author and whether it will still make up things when it doesn’t know something, and as of May 8, 2026, the answer to each is “not as much as it thinks it does,” and “it definitely will.”

As always, I remind myself: If it knows this little about something I know very well, think of how little it knows about things I know nothing about. It literally cannot be trusted with anything factual (because, one again, it doesn’t know facts, it just knows what is statistically likely to be the next word), and thinking that can be is an actual intellectual hazard and fault. Don’t be the one who does that.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/05/08/hey-ai-still-sucks/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=60623

soc_puppet posting in

dw_community_promo

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shipperslist

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oursin

Story of enslaved boy featured in 1748 Joshua Reynolds portrait emerges in new study - I online attended a seminar the other week about black children in England from the C17th to C19th which leant fairly heavily on depictions in art (and also sounded a bit like the speaker had pulled out a bit at random examples from their 10 or was it more boxes of research materials) and implied that we could not know what happened to them once they were not more or less cute ornamental pets, so this article goes some way to show that sometimes the larger life story can be discovered.

***

This is interesting, given that it is a phase of the parturition cycle that doesn't tend to get that much attention - okay, I have read More Than The Average Person on 'bringing on the menses' and further measures if they were not brought on, and a fair amount about actual childbirth in history: but this is a bit unusual: Anticipating Birth in Early Modern England:

Scholars have described the days leading up to birth in the early modern period as a time when women purchased linens, prepared bedchambers, and called upon the services of a midwife and their gossips. However, manuscript recipe collections reveal that preparations in anticipation of labour went beyond such measures and incorporated the consumption of specific medicines. This article studies remedies that were designed to be taken six weeks before birth to reveal, in new ways, the experiences of late pregnancy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

***

More exciting work from the good people at CamPop, this time circling out from the census records: By linking millions of census records across decades, researchers are turning static snapshots of Victorian Britain into dynamic life histories – revealing how people moved, worked and lived in ways never before possible.

***

‘Live and let live’: Northern Ireland historian uncovers surprising era of tolerance of gay men:

Hulme said tacit ignorance and public silence enabled male queerness to flourish with only rare exposure, condemnation or regulation, with a “live and let live” ethos especially prevalent in the working class.

***

Muttering that this information can be found in the household recipe books at much less elite social levels, still, it's useful work if it gets people aware of just how diverse British food at that period was: The King’s Dinner: Family, nation, and identity on the British table, 1760-1820.

lb_lee

Rogan: while chatting with Mori, we realized that while we aren’t really good at what most people call fandom, when we’re into something, we STAY into it, often for five years or more. ( Read more... )

Mood: dorky
Crossposts: https://lb-lee.insanejournal.com/33739.html

tedwords

Exhausting day. We woke up early so I could get ready for my interview. Corb and I had gone over some mock questions in preparation the night before.

We arrived at Shiplap at 8:45 and the film crew was there at around 9:15. There were a much-anticipated round of layoffs at Fidelity today so I knew everyone was a bit on edge. Well, except for me. But I am definitely a sympathetic ear.

Here is how I described the shoot: This morning I was interviewed by my friend Ally Donnelly for an episode of Money Unscripted. The segment centers around retiring from the corporate world to help Corb grow our business, TC Thursby Lighting Restorations. Oh, and the nervousness one feels, taking this chance during volatile times. It was filmed at Shiplap and Chandeliers in Norwood, where Corb's first location was opened, four years ago. Look for the episode, out around the start of June!

They scouted the location, set up the equipment, and by 11 Ally was set up to interview me. We conducted the interview for about 90 minutes and then they wanted to do some teaser segments around the space. Then shot some b-roll and did some Ops of various items in the location. They were done by around 3:30.

It was lovely spending the whole day with Ally and Jess, however. Even if they were a bit stressed. They had to stop production at one point to take a Flash call to learn who on their team had been impacted.

Corb and I grabbed some food and went home. He was exhausted, and we napped for about an hour. I woke up to pull together social copy for a Flea Market for Eldridge on Saturday.

That night, nowhere to go. Thank God. I cooked us dinner and we watched The Traitors.

badly_knitted posting in

get_knitted

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.

This Week's Question: What do you wish you could get right first time, every time?

If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!

Mood: tired
Location: my desk

tedwords

Busy day, mostly in preparation for tomorrow's interview with my friend Ally Donnelly. As a result, most of the day was spent in Shiplap. We first started by cleaning out the gallery completely. After that, we focused on moving a number of the bigger items (the mirror, many of the lighting fixtures) into the main area. Brit had a great suggestion as to where to place the mirror, but it sparked Corb to have a few additional ideas on how to move things around, which took us a lot of time, but looked great, in the end.

At night, there was an Eldredge Players fundraiser and we agreed to meet Bea at BJ's at six. Corb's mother wanted to come as a way to "audition" Bea to see if she would enjoy going to Brimfield with her next week. This was a bit of a pain, as it meant driving to pick up his mom (45 minutes from Shiplap) then heading to BJs (35 minutes). As a result, we arrived at 6:45. Bea had been kept in the loop, however.

Dinner was nice. It was great seeing Heather and Charlie again, as well as Ted and Rachel. Although my feelings toward Rachel have changed substantially this year, I did give her a hug, twice, because I would prefer to communicate out of love rather than anger. Still, I will never trust her again and would prefer to minimize my interactions with her. She was right when she said, drunkenly, a few years ago, that joining the board might impact our relationship. It did. I hope she someday gets the help I think she needs.

Bea was fantastic and gave us some greats tips on where to go in both Paris and Barcelona. She did stress that the French have mellowed out a bit in the past few years, but it is still really important to start each interaction out with Bonjour and end with Au Revoir. She did say that Spain is a lot easier and most folks like to use the English they know. She also suggested pretending to be Canadian and if you start talking with people it is perfectly fine to let them know we didn't vote for Trump.

After that, dropped off Corb's mom and drove back to Shiplap. Stayed there until midnight, cleaning. It was all done by the time we left.

smittenkitchen_feed

Posted by deb

https://smittenkitchen.com/2026/05/raspberry-swirl-cheesecake-bars/

https://smittenkitchen.com/?p=96164

While I’m not from a cheesecake family — it is never unwelcome, but we are more deeply devoted to things like pastry creams, chocolate pudding, and stellar coffee cakes — I married into one, which means that even though this site’s cheesecake archives are very well-populated, not a single peep of protest could be heard as far as my apartment walls reach (to be fair, a short distance) as I tinkered with these bars over the last few weeks.

https://smittenkitchen.com/2026/05/raspberry-swirl-cheesecake-bars/

https://smittenkitchen.com/?p=96164

ysabetwordsmith posting in

birdfeeding

Today is cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/8/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/8/26 -- I had just gotten started digging a hole to plant things when I had to go deal with other stuff. I realized that I left my trowel out there, and now it's spitting rain so I don't know if I'll get back out. :/

EDIT 5/8/26 -- I planted the white oak seedling at the north edge of the savanna and mulched around it.

It's drizzling, but not enough to stop me.

EDIT 5/8/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

It's up to a light rain now.

I've seen a male cardinal and a gray catbird.

I am done for the night.

Mood: busy

stonepicnicking_okapi

1. After eating in the dark for 4 months, maintenance finally came and fixed the lights in the dining area and the boys' bathroom. Huzzah.

2. I survived my 12 hour shift yesterday and have another 12-hour shift tomorrow with the same client. Sadly, my hospice client died so I only had one today so I am doing more collaging, working on the cards for the folks who requested them from my 3Weeks4Dreamwidth offer.

3. I bought myself flowers for Mother's Day. They had so many, many varieties at the grocery store that I knew the boys' father would be overwhelmed and so I picked my own. I wasn't going to do any shopping this week but the boys won't have bread for sandwiches on Monday if I didn't get some.

4. BTS is amazing. They are in Mexico City and they met with the President of Mexico and 50,000 ARMY filled the zocalo to greet them when they stepped out on the balcony of the presidential palace.

Here's one of the collages I did on Tuesday. While collaging today, I am listening to Death at the Sanitorium by Ragnar Jonasson. Icelandic cold case mystery. I tried a few minutes of Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman but noped out of it. A fat widow talking about how difficult much she misses her husband and how difficult it is to get her large posterior in an airplane wasn't the vibe I wanted. Scandi noir for the win!

tedwords

Woke up early in the morning and drove to RIC for orientation. The first thing we did was get our rooms for overnight. Our leader was named Rick, and he was very nice. Then we went for a greeting by the faculty. The dean was on videotape, and it was really dumb. We had lunch shortly after.

Since I didn't know anyone, I just sat down anywhere and went for my lunch. When I returned, three girls were sitting where I had been. One looked surprisingly like Kim. I sat with them and we chatted and went to classes (short things) together. One is in music.

After that we had a break. I watched "Duck Soup" with a few (very few) others, and didn't like that very much. For dinner I thought I could sit with the Kim look alike, but I ended up not and sat with someone else. It depressed me a bit.

That night we were supposed to go to a cabaret, but the lights went out in Gage Hall, so we instead had an all night dance. It was boring at first, I ignored the Kim look alike but then met this really nice kid from Bishop Hendriken. His name was Richard Paquette, and he was obsessed with starting a drum corps. A bit spacey, but a nice kid nonetheless. We hung around for the rest of the night. He asked why I wasn't trying to score--and I lied and told him I was going out with a girl named Mary-Beth. So, I lied a little.

He was also into Army things. We called a friend of his and spent the night playing hand made chess. All in all, I felt pretty good as I went to sleep that night. Perhaps I've made a good friend at RIC. Who knows?

tedwords

I was massively depressed today. I called Pauline up to say goodbye, as I am leaving for a two-day orientation tomorrow.

To say I was down is an understatement. I am because Steve hasn't called since I saw him Thursday and also my fight with Joyce, who I haven't seen since Friday.

Pauline and I spoke for about five minutes, but then she put down the phone to see what MB wanted and forgot about me! Put second again.

I hung up, feeling even more deflated.

MB called back, explaining that Pauline's mother had gotten stuck in Pauline's bedroom closet and couldn't get out. They then attempted to cheer me up, and of course they succeeded. It's only temporary, but I feel a bit better about things.

[2026 note: No doubt I had some anxiety over the orientation. Also, the thought of Pauline's mom stuck in the closet makes me chuckle.]

lsanderson

Mississippi River groups tell feds to act on nitrate contamination
Nrate pollution is especially acute in rural areas and has been linked to disease. More than 80 groups nationwide say immediate action is needed.
By Madeline Heim, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
https://www.minnpost.com/environment/2026/05/mississippi-river-groups-tell-feds-to-act-on-nitrate-contamination/

Promising ideas emerge for both Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns
Officials are pushing a park along the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, while Minneapolis mulls an indoor playground.
by Bill Lindeke
https://www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2026/05/promising-ideas-emerge-for-both-minneapolis-and-st-paul-downtowns/ ( Read more... )

tedwords

I finished up my work at Jeanie's today.

Joyce was quite the cold to me during lunch. She was not in a good mood at all and she got me pissed when she said the new play was "just okay."

I was mad as hell and sick of her bullshit. I dropped her off at LS Peterson's and called out, "Don't call us, we'll call you!"

Insult my play, indeed.

[2026 Note: Hmmm. I am glad that I grew in my ability to take criticism through the years.]

huxleyenne posting in

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tedwords

Worked more at Jeanie's today. Tomorrow should be the last day, hopefully.

Picked Joyce up and went to lunch again. I arrived home at two and also got my hair cut.

At 6:30 I left for rehearsal. It went fairly well--and afterwards, everyone got together and went to Ka Lua. MB and I went parking (just kidding!) We planned to go to HoJos to play a game there, but never dd. It was a lot of fun, until my sister showed up and I thought she'd yell at me because I was wearing her shirt! But Laurie didn't.

Steve took me aside for a while and we made up. I told him I just wanted to spend more time with him and he replied, "We're not married." Well, no, but we are friends. But at least, I suppose, we made up. He even showed me his fortune cookie, which said "You will reestablish acquaintances with old friends."

Jackie got bombed and Steve was going to go home with me, but Pauline and MB said, "Does he have to come?"

[2026 Note: I wrote: "Just kidding" after this. I suspect in hindsight they WERE NOT KIDDING.]

Steve believed them and went home with Drunk Jackie.

Of course, I was angry at hell with them, but forgave them.

Other highlights of Kai Lua: Colleen and Jason's hilarious erotic egg role competition, Rick and Jason's striptease act, Bill telling Deb he felt heterosexual and wanted to fuck her with his girlfriend sitting right next to him.

Frank acted like an asshole and kept threatening to quit if everyone would not stop fooling around. Instead, we just applauded. Poor Frank. He was wicked pissed at that.

Other highlights: Deb tried to teach me to smoke. Rick and his push-ups. Tracey's comments on Jason and the egg roll.

tedwords

I started working at Jeanie's today. I have hedge cutting, hoeing and all sorts of other fun, back breaking work to do. I worked until noon, and then we went for a lunch break with Joyce. Returned at 12:30 and worked until one, at which point I drove to the high school to help Frank and Dick move platforms.

Dick's a really nice guy. This is his first play. We talked fo a while. He went to RIC for two years, and planned on being a doctor, but he just quite college and moved to California. He's taking voice lessons with Louise Pettitt. He offered to drive me to rehearsal, but I managed to get the car, so I didn't need to take him up on that. I was supposed to bring Mrs. Bunten, but she never called.

At rehearsal, I didn't speak with Steve, so I suppose he is miffed over last night. We didn't say a word to each other, until at the end, he said, oh so sweetly, "Bye, Ted." I wanted to kill him.

I spoke with Jackie and Deb for a long while today. Jackie said that all she and Doug do nowadays is go to Burger Chef, argue, and then leave. It's really very sad. And she added that "now little Pauline is all over Doug." He is started to bring MB and Pauline to rehearsal, she said. I stuck up for Pauline, though, and told Jackie what really happened in Virginia. Jackie was surprised.

I was surprised with Deb's attitude--she is supposed to be closer to Pauline than I am but she didn't stick up for her at all. In fact, in some cases, she agreed with Jackie!

Tonight, I drove home Diane Henry, Cheryl Hughes, Pauline and MB. All Diane did was talk about Curt. It makes me sick. Plus she is so obnoxiously pink nowadays. It's rather aggravating.

emperor

This is the first of a trilogy, set in Orrun, a fantasy world where people tend to associate with one of 8 (demi-)gods, one of which is the Raven. We see much (but not all) of the action through the eyes of Neema, the Raven Scholar of the title. Hodgson has written murder mysteries before, and it's not entirely surprising then that Neema ends up tasked with investigating a murder.

It's not, though, primarily a murder mystery - that's just one of the things that's driving a pretty twisty plot; and while I spotted some of the plot points coming, it's a cleverly written book that keeps you guessing and only a couple of times did the plot twist feel entirely like it was "cheating". There's a range of interesting characters (although some of them didn't get fleshed out enough to really make an impression), although not all of their behaviour entirely makes sense with hindsight. Without spoiling anything, events of the first part made me reluctant to invest in some of the primary characters in the subsequent book.

Being the first of a trilogy, it ends rather in the middle of things, which is a bit disappointing (if unsurprising). While I enjoyed it, I don't think I'll be seeking out the second book until the trilogy is completed.

neonvincent

I created the following image based on a mistake, so I posted 'Katrina: Come Hell and High Water' leads social issue documentaries at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for Flashback Friday instead.

Mood: hungry
Location: House in the woods at the edge of town
Music: Denims Twitch stream

wine_skin

I’m feeling antsy this morning, I don’t work until 3 and the waiting is weird. I have plenty to do, the laundry-to-fold pile is so big it’s starting to creep down the stairs, but i’m immobilized by the impending work doom. I’ll get there and have to STAY there until close and won’t be able to say -actually, I’m done with this and leave -napping in my car during the shift is frowned upon, and so is drinking wine. It is beautiful and still outside, the high will be 69 today.
Maybe I’ve just had too much coffee and work will be fine. Maybe the kids will be on point today, and the shift will be a dream of coordinated movement, perfect food, gracious service -looking like a choreographed dance with servers dipping under other’s trays gracefully, the glasses being tossed from one bartender to the other, laughter flowing and even cooks breaking out in song.
I’m going to go for a walk and find some carbs to dampen the caffeine jitters.

Music: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gO17hN-YvBc?

petra

I recently got a new TENS device intended to stop migraines. The zap cycle lasts 45 minutes and makes it extremely uncomfortable to move one arm. I will report back when I know more.

This morning, the cat jumped on my lap at minute 46, just as I was going to peel off the electrodes. I could've been petting her with the other arm, but nooooo.

She is generally the entity in the house accused of cat-like reflexes, but humans can do it too.

Mood: what would anakin skywalker do
Music: I'm goin' on a party ride

chickenfeet

https://bachtrack.com/22/296/view/30739

@bachtrack

davidgillon

* for certain obscure values of fun.

It was lovely and sunny this morning, so my sister said 'Let's take Mam out for a walk today rather than tomorrow.'

So we popped down to the home a bit earlier than usual, got Mam into her wheelchair and headed off down town.

As we'd arrived before coffee time, we stopped in Greggs to get her, and us, a coffee. Just as we went inside there were a few drops of drizzle falling.

So we got our coffees and sat in the window watching the street theatre - a young man had collapsed and various concerned citizens were visibly on the phone to 999 and following instructions, while waiting for the paramedics to arrive. A paramedic rapid response vehicle turned up, got him on oxygen for a few minutes and then walked him wobble-ily over to the ambulance that had arrived - at which point he legged it, apparently being a known local drug user who'd been a bit too enthusiastic with spice (synthetic cannabis).

The paramedics had no sooner disappeared than the heavens opened, coming down like stair-rods as we say around here.

So we decided we were stuck there for a while, as I'd come out in a hoodie, my sister was just in a light top, and my mother was the only one of us wearing anything remotely waterproof, and that just a light anorak.

As time wore on, and the rain persisted down, and we realised we needed to get my mother back for her lunch, my sister decided she'd pop along to the cheap shop a few doors down and buy an umbrella.

While she was gone, it started to hail, and not just a light smattering, pea-sized, and enough of it there were quickly inch-thick drifts falling.

My sister arrived back with her new £3.50 brolly, but the hail showed no intention of stopping. There was clearly no point in trying it just yet, so I got another coffee to justify retaining the table, while Andrea popped back to the cheap shop in pursuit of cheap kagoules - they must have been doing a roaring trade because every other person passing was suddenly wearing them.

I'm not quite sure why she only bought two, not three, possibly because she was already soaked to the skin, but by the time we got myself and my mother into them the hail had at least stopped, so we took our chance.

I can normally manage to push my mother's chair at a slightly slow walk, it makes a nice substitute for crutches, but as it was still pouring I had to push my speed up, to the point my sister says she couldn't keep up with me. Pushing a wheelchair while wading through drifts of hail is interesting, it almost feels like you're skating. It was at least more pleasant than pushing through ankle-high streams of freezing water rushing past at every side road, especially as I was wearing trainers with the upper in a mesh-y fabric that had precisely zero water resistance.

And of course back to the home is uphill. *le sigh*

Let's not do that again.

Mood: Damp

prettygoodword

tulipant (too-li-PANT) - n., (obs.) a turban; (obs.) a tulip.

This and both of the words it means all come from Turkish tülbent, turban, from Classical Persian dulband/dōlband, turban, from dōl/dawl, revolving, + band, band/tie. Yes, the flower is named after turbans, for a supposed resemblance. For both meanings, tulipant was only used in the 17th century. And no, Wimsey didn't use the word, nor Sayers for that matter -- it was in a chapter epigraph taken from The Anatomy of Melancholy, which is just about the most 17th century prose work to have ever prosed.

---L.

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/something-wrecky-this-way-comes-2026

(Warning: Naughty puns ahead. Hide your kids.)

Renee C. ordered this sandcastle cake for her beach-themed wedding:

So you know what's coming, right?

Heh. Aheh.

That's right: DIRTY PUNS ARE COMING.

The bride really got the shaft here, and it doesn't take a firm grip on reality to be testy over such a cock-up. Should she just suck it up and beat it? Is she nuts to take this blow so hard? Will nothing stop the erection of headstrong turrets?

No, that's a fallacy!*

Besides, I'm sure bakers will get the point in the end.
Aaand I'm done.

Thanks to Renee C. for the heads up!

Okay, okay. Now I'm done.

*'Cuz it's a phallus - see?
(OH COME ON THAT WAS GENIUS.)

*****

P.S. Speaking of things that are dirty, I have to introduce you to the handiest little kitchen gadget for under $8:

Dishwasher "Dirty/Clean" Slider Bar

The whole thing is magnetic, and it also comes with a double-sided adhesive for non-metallic machines. Also comes in black, and there's a prettier cursive option if you don't like the bright red/green!

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/something-wrecky-this-way-comes-2026

malada

You Tube has been throwing up a weird and interesting type of videos at me lately: Sovereign Citizen videos.

Sovereign Citizens believe in a weird mash-up of laws and statutes - mostly quoted out of context - that basically puts them outside of or above the law. Yeah, let that sit for a moment. The videos are in two categories: traffic stops and courtroom drama. Traffic infraction stops - taken mostly from police body cameras - lead to their arrest for: failing to have a driver's license (because they're not driving they're traveling) , failing to register the car, failing to have insurance, failing to obey the rues of the road, having fake license plates and failing identify themselves when stopped.

Yes, it the cops stop you on the road you _must_ identify yourself.

Then the Sov Cits getting all butt hurt and refuse to cooperate and barricade themselves in the car. This leads to windows being busted and them being dragged out of the vehicle, placed in handcuffs and placed in the back of a police car. Then cars get towed. So, yeah, add resisting to all the rest of the charges. It's sort of amusing watching dumb asses get shut down.

Apparently there's websites and Facebook posts offering people all these delusional ideas complete with kits to become "sovereign" with all the forms, quotations and legal references all for a very modest fee. All the paperwork, forms and even official looking IDs have all the legal weight of toilet paper but somebody's making money off of it!

Courtroom DRAMA videos comes next. Here, the Sov Cit pulls out all their bogus legal dogma and documents to try to prove that they're not the person in the documentation, it wasn't them but the corporation on trial and even if was them the court has no jurisdiction over them and even if they do the crime they're innocent! These can be interesting because sometimes the judges try to help these delusional fools but telling them how the courts operates and how the law functions. Yeah, sausage being made.

The big take away? OBEY TRAFFIC LAWS. KEEP YOUR LICENSE, REGISTRATION AND INSURANCE UP TO DATE. DON'T ARGUE WITH A COP AT A TRAFFIC STOP. DON'T GET YOUR LEGAL INFORMATION OFF THE INTERNET. DO NOT REPRESENT YOURSELF IN COURT. GET A LAWYER.

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fandomcalendar

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awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

cahwyguy

Here in California (and in Los Angeles in particular), we have an election coming up. You know what that means: Every election, I do a detailed ballot analysis of my sample ballot. This is where I examine each candidate and share my conclusions, and invite you to convince me to vote for the other jerk. Because this is a long ballot, I’m splitting this analysis into a few chunks (note: links may not be available until all segments are posted):

Governor of California
Other State and National Offices(excluding judges)
County and City (Los Angeles) Local Offices(excluding judges)
Measures (nee Propositions)
Judicial Offices (County and State)
Summary

This part provides a summary of my ballot analysis results. Please read the full explanation of why I chose who I chose in the links above. Note: This summary is presented in the order of my Sample Ballot.

( Read more... )

cahwyguy

Governor of California
Other State and National Offices(excluding judges)
County and City (Los Angeles) Local Offices(excluding judges)
Measures (nee Propositions)
Judicial Offices (County and State)
Summary

Note: This analysis is NOT presented in the same order as the Sample Ballot (the ballot order makes no sense). I’ve attempted instead to present things in more logical order.

This part covers all the judgeships on the ballot:

Judge of the Superior Court: Office № 2 ❦ № 14 ❦ № 39 ❦ № 60 ❦ № 64 ❦ № 65 ❦ № 66 ❦ № 81 ❦ № 87 ❦ № 116 ❦ № 131 ❦ № 141 ❦ № 176 ❦ № 181 ❦ № 196

( Read more... )

cahwyguy

Governor of California
Other State and National Offices(excluding judges)
County and City (Los Angeles) Local Offices(excluding judges)
Measures (nee Propositions)
Judicial Offices (County and State)
Summary

Note: This analysis is NOT presented in the same order as the Sample Ballot (the ballot order makes no sense). I’ve attempted instead to present things in more logical order.

This part covers the State and Local Measures

Los Angeles County Measures: Measure ER
Los Angeles City Measures: Measure CB ❦ Measure TC ❦ Measure TT ❦ Streetlight Maintenance Assessment (separate ballot)

( Read more... )

cahwyguy

Governor of California
Other State and National Offices(excluding judges)
County and City (Los Angeles) Local Offices(excluding judges)
Measures (nee Propositions)
Judicial Offices (County and State)
Summary

Note: This analysis is NOT presented in the same order as the Sample Ballot (the ballot order makes no sense). I’ve attempted instead to present things in more logical order.

This part covers the non-Governor Federal and State races:

Federal (Legislative): US Representative, 32^nd District
State (Legislative): State Assembly 40^th District
Statewide Offices: Lt. Governor ❦ Secretary of State ❦ Attorney General ❦ Insurance Commissioner ❦ Controller ❦ Board of Equalization, 3rd District ❦ Supt. of Public Instruction ❦ Treasurer

( Read more... )

james_davis_nicoll

Shin Haewon's family falls far short of haughty aristocrat Yu Seojun's very reasonable standards, as he is gracious enough to explain to Haewon. How cruel that fate compels extended proximity between Haewon and Seojun.

Behind Five Willows by June Hur

cahwyguy

Governor of California
Other State and National Offices(excluding judges)
County and City (Los Angeles) Local Offices(excluding judges)
Measures (nee Propositions)
Judicial Offices (County and State)
Summary

Note: This analysis is NOT presented in the same order as the Sample Ballot (the ballot order makes no sense). I’ve attempted instead to present things in more logical order.

This part covers the Governor’s race, which has so many candidates it is getting it own post. We’re going to divide this into three tiers:

Realistic “Past The Gate” Candidates: These are the folks that are polling sufficiently high enough that they have a change of getting into the “top two” general election. Realistically, if you want your vote to have impact, you’ll pick one from this tier.
Valid Candidate, But No Chance, Candidates. These are the folks that are actually reasonable and sane candidate, perhaps with decent positions. However, they are polling so low that, given the jungle primary, a vote for one of these is wasted (and could, in fact, result in a problematic general election).
Hopefuls, Kooks and Nuts. Any election brings out a large number of folks who are running for reasons they only understand. Given the nature of the California Primary system, they have no chance. A vote for them is wasted, essentially. But, as I promise in these reviews to give consideration to everyone, they will at least get a paragraph, even if it is a paragraph of “hell no”. You’ll see why I’m saying that.

Bottom Line Up Front: Here’s the bottom line for the Governor’s Race, as the Republican Candidates are unacceptable, and all of the top tier Democratic candidates are: Vote for the top polling Democratic candidate as of May 15 or later, to ensure a Democratic candidate gets into the General election. You can’t go wrong with any of the top tier Democratic candidates. And remember: Perfect is the enemy of “Good Enough”. We can’t get a perfect candidate; good enough will do.

Now, if you push me to select a favorite candidate, it is Katie Porter. I liked her when she announced, and I still like her. Alas, she is not polling that well, and she’ll likely land below the cutoff where I’ll be able to vote for her. My second choice is Tom Steyer. I don’t like the fact that he is a billionaire or his lack of experience. But I still think he’ll be better for California than Becerra.

Conclusion: This is a bit complicated:

(What I’ll do) Vote for the top polling Democratic candidate as of May 15 or later.
(My favorite of Tier 1) ⚫ Katie Porter (D)
(My likely vote from Tier 1) ⚫ Thomas Steyer (D)

( Read more... )

malurette

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sid_guardian

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talkpolitics

Did you know playing tennis could actually help you live longer?

A 25-year study with over 8,500 participants found that tennis players live up to 10 years longer than people who don’t play sports.
https://fortune.com/well/article/tennis-players-live-longer/

Among all sports, tennis ranked #1 for longevity.
Why? It’s the perfect combo: cardio, coordination, focus, and social connection. You move, you compete, you laugh, you disconnect from stress.
If you already play, keep going. If you don’t... maybe it’s time to start.

Watch on YouTube

sabotabby

Another new-to-me podcast, Against the Grain, did an episode with not new-to-me Jordan S. Carroll, "Science Fiction and the Far-Right." It is very good. I mean, I would want Jordan to have his own podcast as he's a podcast creator's dream to interview, except that he is busy doing other things that are more important. At any rate, as someone rather deep into the SFFH community in a variety of ways, it bears repeating how closely entwined it is with our current dystopian hellscape, and Jordan is really an expert in explaining why and how.

madfilkentist posting in

girlgenius_lair

"And it deserves to go down in flames!"

rmc28

The last of the Varsity ice hockey games between Oxford and Cambridge universities is tomorrow evening, at Cambridge Ice Arena, at 5pm. I will be playing for Cambridge Huskies B against Oxford Vikings C.

Will it be high quality hockey? No
Will it be entertaining? Absolutely
Will I fall over? Obviously
Will I get in a fight? Maybe, if someone touches my goalie

My goalie is one of the Men's Blues, who put on goalie pads for the first time on Tuesday. Generally the squad is the people who couldn't play Varsity for Huskies or Women's Blues, plus the aforementioned novice in goal and an experienced goalie skating out. Our attempt at an entire forward line of goalies was regrettably thwarted by people having other commitments.

The results of the other Varsity games this year were:

Cambridge Narwhals v Oxford Vikings A: won by Cambridge
Cambridge Huskies v Oxford Vikings B: won by Oxford
Cambridge Women's Blues v Oxford Women's Blues: won by Oxford
Cambridge Men's Blues v Oxford Men's Blues: won by Cambridge

So this is both a not very serious game, and vitally important to win the best of five.

I'm still getting used to my new skates so I'll be playing this (and my other game for Kodiaks on Sunday) in the old ones.

dreaming

1) pulled the seeds out of the cotton bolls I've been spinning one at a time and fluffed and carded them into rolags. I've got like, 10 or so of them to spin now in both white and green. yay!

I also have 7 bolls on my cotton plant plus a new flower that I just paintbrush pollinated, so that's exciting. I'm going to be planting 12 plants this year in my bins, along with a bin of flax, so I'm excited to see how it goes and if I can get the white and green to make good seeds for next year's experimenting.

2) I know that I'm taking a while to write the transition into the third act of my story, but I think just spinning and thinking and listening to my music is helping me move all the pieces together in a satisfying way.

I tend to go for the most oompf moment at first and then carve all that away when I edit and that's definitely happening with the latest chapter. I'm still having fun, tho. So it's ok.

3) Finished the Temple of the Ancients dungeon ranking event on the first day, lol. but I still need to poke at it and get a bigger score. It's a tanky boss fight and I'll have to finesse things a bit to get 4million points for the rewards.
I've been dealing with feeling meh for a few days here as well as weather change headaches. I also made myself motionsick playing remake on my phone (thanks boosteroid!) and the screen was too dark and it was at a time when my crappy rural internet was being laggy.

I should just bite the bullet and get a PS5 and the FFVII game discs so I don't have to depend on internet to play. I'm just worried that it'll also make me sick. Except the actual fights and stuff on my PC don't usually do that, it's just when I'm wandering around trying to look at things when my internet is laggy that does it.

I think I need to just go to bed. I've got a meeting with friends tomorrow and I don't want to sleep too late.

AND I figured out the events of the last scene in this chapter which has been bugging me, so it'll be nice to get that written and posted. I've got all my chapters heavily outlined up to the end of this arc, but there's bits in the middle of them that are giving me grief.

anywhoo. It's 4am and I should go to bed, lol.

Mood: sick

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