(no subject)
2026-05-09 09:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsI have succumbed to peer pressure and started rereading Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy -- well that's not true, I have reread the first book, Assassin's Apprentice, and told myself [lying] I PROBABLY won't go on from here, I just want to remember what's what! But it seems I will in fact be going on from here because to my surprise I thought Assassin's Apprentice was better than I expected or indeed remembered it being and now I want to get to the Liveship Traders trilogy, which is the one I actually actively remember as being good [citation: fourteen-year-old Becca, a notoriously unreliable narrator as we have many times established.]
The thing is I essentially remembered nothing about Assassin's Apprentice because at the time I read it I didn't really know the narrative value of the fraught emotional bond between a protagonist and their mediocre-to-bad mentor and Assassin's Apprentice is NOTHING but mediocre-to-bad mentors. This book is chockablock full of problematic adults intensely projecting their various personal traumas and failures on our young protagonist and attempting to extend him care and guidance through these various highly distorted lenses, and unfortunately their best at its best is never very good but you can't say they're not trying: not really appealing to me at fourteen but delicious to me at forty.
Assassin's Apprentice begins with the arrival of our protagonist on a royal doorstep, age sixish: this kid is the illegitimate son of the famously upright, faithful, virtuous, happily married, non-slutty heir to the throne, Prince Chivalry, and his unknown relatives have decided that it's time for the child to be Chivalry's problem. This immediately and publicly blows up the entire political situation in the country, as Chivalry and his wife subsequently remove themselves from the line of succession and retire to a remote country estate without ever interacting with the child in question.
So that's Fitz, a kid with no official status who's a walking Weird Situation For Everyone. As for his various mediocre mentors, we've got:
Burrich, who was Chivalry's overwhelmingly devoted right-hand man, and due to a one-two-three punch of inconveniently timed injury/Fitz's arrival/Chivalry's retirement has found himself demoted from Heroic Hand of the Heir to the Throne to local stablemaster and accidental foster parent to the kid who blew up his life and his boss'
Chade, the king's assassin, who started from a similar position to Fitz and has been tasked by the king with molding Fitz into just as useful a tool for the royal dynasty as Chade has been for all these years
Verity, Fitz's uncle and the new responsible-but-overwhelmed heir to the throne, a pleasant and dutiful man with minimal emotional intelligence, who is always sort of absently nice to Fitz until the Kingdom's Problems start Eating Him Alive and suddenly things become enjoyably fraught as the potential increasingly arises that perhaps the Kingdom's Problems would eat Verity alive a little less if he let them eat Fitz alive a little more, but he is not going to do that! because he has ethics! but they both know that the possibility is there!!
Lady Patience, Chivalry's wife, who shows up midway through the book when Fitz is a teenager like 'oops possibly this child should have been parented by us? who says you can't fix the failures of the past! I'm doing it right now!'
What I find charming about Lady Patience in particular is that it's really obvious that to Chivalry she was his beautiful carefree manic pixie dream girl and to everyone else she is a nightmare. In fact all these people are sort of nightmares, and they all do care deeply about Fitz, and are also all failing him in important ways that have to do with their own deeply personal blind spots. The book's strength is in the evenhanded way it looks at these people and their strengths and their failures, and lets both the love and the mistakes matter equally.
The book's weakness is in that Robin Hobb apparently decided that since she had all these deeply flawed sympathetic characters, she also needed some actual villains that no one could possibly feel sympathetic about. There's an evil prince who wants to usurp the throne, and there are also some evil pirates who are kidnapping people from the kingdom and turning them into Soulless Monsters, or rather whatblotthis accurately describes as video game NPCs that you don't need to feel bad about killing. The fact that Hobb goes to great lengths to explain how everyone is very distraught about the situation and does some failed experiments to ensure that there's no way to turn these people back from being soulless monsters and you really truly don't need to feel bad about killing them really just makes it worse.
Also, I think it's important to note that Robin Hobb really is better than most of her peers at thinking about the practical requirements of domestic animals in a Nineties Eurofantasy environment; the proper care of horses and dogs forms a significant underlying element of the book and occasionally becomes a major plot point, especially since Fitz's Special Secret Skill is dog telepathy [Burrich thinks From Personal Experience this is an evil perversion that will ruin Fitz's life and that he must train out of Fitz as much as possible] [this is definitely not a metaphor for anything] [Robin Hobb wants to know how you could you possibly ask that]. Anyway the flip side of this is that Robin Hobb will Not hesitate to kill a puppy. Never think she won't do it. She has a knife to another puppy's throat right now. ( spoilers )
The thing is I essentially remembered nothing about Assassin's Apprentice because at the time I read it I didn't really know the narrative value of the fraught emotional bond between a protagonist and their mediocre-to-bad mentor and Assassin's Apprentice is NOTHING but mediocre-to-bad mentors. This book is chockablock full of problematic adults intensely projecting their various personal traumas and failures on our young protagonist and attempting to extend him care and guidance through these various highly distorted lenses, and unfortunately their best at its best is never very good but you can't say they're not trying: not really appealing to me at fourteen but delicious to me at forty.
Assassin's Apprentice begins with the arrival of our protagonist on a royal doorstep, age sixish: this kid is the illegitimate son of the famously upright, faithful, virtuous, happily married, non-slutty heir to the throne, Prince Chivalry, and his unknown relatives have decided that it's time for the child to be Chivalry's problem. This immediately and publicly blows up the entire political situation in the country, as Chivalry and his wife subsequently remove themselves from the line of succession and retire to a remote country estate without ever interacting with the child in question.
So that's Fitz, a kid with no official status who's a walking Weird Situation For Everyone. As for his various mediocre mentors, we've got:
Burrich, who was Chivalry's overwhelmingly devoted right-hand man, and due to a one-two-three punch of inconveniently timed injury/Fitz's arrival/Chivalry's retirement has found himself demoted from Heroic Hand of the Heir to the Throne to local stablemaster and accidental foster parent to the kid who blew up his life and his boss'
Chade, the king's assassin, who started from a similar position to Fitz and has been tasked by the king with molding Fitz into just as useful a tool for the royal dynasty as Chade has been for all these years
Verity, Fitz's uncle and the new responsible-but-overwhelmed heir to the throne, a pleasant and dutiful man with minimal emotional intelligence, who is always sort of absently nice to Fitz until the Kingdom's Problems start Eating Him Alive and suddenly things become enjoyably fraught as the potential increasingly arises that perhaps the Kingdom's Problems would eat Verity alive a little less if he let them eat Fitz alive a little more, but he is not going to do that! because he has ethics! but they both know that the possibility is there!!
Lady Patience, Chivalry's wife, who shows up midway through the book when Fitz is a teenager like 'oops possibly this child should have been parented by us? who says you can't fix the failures of the past! I'm doing it right now!'
What I find charming about Lady Patience in particular is that it's really obvious that to Chivalry she was his beautiful carefree manic pixie dream girl and to everyone else she is a nightmare. In fact all these people are sort of nightmares, and they all do care deeply about Fitz, and are also all failing him in important ways that have to do with their own deeply personal blind spots. The book's strength is in the evenhanded way it looks at these people and their strengths and their failures, and lets both the love and the mistakes matter equally.
The book's weakness is in that Robin Hobb apparently decided that since she had all these deeply flawed sympathetic characters, she also needed some actual villains that no one could possibly feel sympathetic about. There's an evil prince who wants to usurp the throne, and there are also some evil pirates who are kidnapping people from the kingdom and turning them into Soulless Monsters, or rather what
blotthis accurately describes as video game NPCs that you don't need to feel bad about killing. The fact that Hobb goes to great lengths to explain how everyone is very distraught about the situation and does some failed experiments to ensure that there's no way to turn these people back from being soulless monsters and you really truly don't need to feel bad about killing them really just makes it worse. Also, I think it's important to note that Robin Hobb really is better than most of her peers at thinking about the practical requirements of domestic animals in a Nineties Eurofantasy environment; the proper care of horses and dogs forms a significant underlying element of the book and occasionally becomes a major plot point, especially since Fitz's Special Secret Skill is dog telepathy [Burrich thinks From Personal Experience this is an evil perversion that will ruin Fitz's life and that he must train out of Fitz as much as possible] [this is definitely not a metaphor for anything] [Robin Hobb wants to know how you could you possibly ask that]. Anyway the flip side of this is that Robin Hobb will Not hesitate to kill a puppy. Never think she won't do it. She has a knife to another puppy's throat right now. ( spoilers )
The new Wild West of AI kids’ toys
2026-05-09 11:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
arstechnica_feedThe main antagonist of Toy Story 5, in theaters this summer, is a green, frog-shaped kids’ tablet named Lilypad, a genius new villain for the beloved Pixar franchise. But if Pixar had its ear to the ground, it might have used an AI kids’ toy instead.
AI toys are seemingly everywhere, marketed online as friendly companions to children as young as three, and they're still a largely unregulated category. It’s easier than ever to spin up an AI companion, thanks to model developer programs and vibe coding. In 2026, they’ve become a go-to trend in cheap trinkets, lining the halls of trade shows like CES, MWC, and Hong Kong’s Toys & Games Fair. By October 2025, there were over 1,500 AI toy companies registered in China, and Huawei’s Smart HanHan plush toy sold 10,000 units in China in its first week. Sharp put its PokeTomo talking AI toy on sale in Japan this April.
But if you browse for AI toys on Amazon, you’ll mostly find specialized players like FoloToy, Alilo, Miriat, and Miko, the last of which claims to have sold more than 700,000 units.
Watermelon Margarita
2026-05-09 07:53 amnverland posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
creative_cooks
Watermelon Margarita
Prep Time 5 minutes Total Time 5 minutes Servings 3 servings
Ingredients
Rim/ Garnish
lime wedge
margarita salt
watermelon slice
Watermelon Margarita
2 ½ cups frozen watermelon chunks
6 oz silver tequila
4 oz triple sec
⅔ cup frozen limeade concentrate
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup simple syrup
1 cup ice
Instructions
Add a generous amount of margarita salt to a small plate.
Run a lime wedge along the rim of your glasses and dip into the salt. Set aside.
If using fresh watermelon, slice into small chunks and freeze for a few hours before using.
Add the frozen watermelon, tequila, triple sec, frozen limeade concentrate, lime juice, and
simple syrup to a blender. Blend until smooth.
If needed, add the ice and blend until smooth and it becomes a slushy consistency.
Pour into the prepared glasses and garnish with a watermelon wedge. Enjoy!
Notes
Use ripe, seedless watermelon for the best flavor.
If the mixture is too thick, add a splash of water or extra lime juice to blend easily.
Pour any leftovers into a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer. Before serving, let it thaw slightly and re-blend to restore the slushy texture.
This recipe scales easily. Just be sure your blender can handle the increased volume, or work in batches.
(no subject)
2026-05-09 03:46 pmsummerstormThis week has been exhausting. Not because of anything active, but because of the way I've woken up every day. If it wasn't Ciri yowling, it was my sister talking loudly in the hallway at 10 am (which she'd give me hell for) and today it was Gorgug dry heaving on the floor. I almost went back to sleep yesterday, and today I did actually curl back up under the covers, though I never dozed again. I've been doing the bare minimum, which in fairness is more than my bare minimum was months ago, let alone years ago, but I would like to vacuum and mop my room, and I would like to have the strength to make coffee every day instead of resorting to energy drinks.
I've had zero games because the one consistent one, our DM is currently traveling, and I'm glad it's worked out this way, because the last time this happened I had to cancel on them, and I pride myself on being extremely reliable in this one aspect of my life.
-
Edit: I'd been meaning to look up how you're supposed to drink soju, because I could not remember the one time I had it at a Korean BBQ restaurant (in Prague), and it turns out I've been using the right glass this whole time, purely by accident, because I found it on the dryer rack two weeks ago and was like, what the fuck, who used my shot glass (that I have never used myself nor seen in four years)? Turns out my mom used it to try to sprout a lettuce? I've also been sticking to (kind of) drinking with friends, because it's a fantastic boost for ttrpgs with no negative side effects because it's so little. I'm pretty happy with this whole thing. (I do not "shoot the first glass." I sip from one (1) glass and then move on to kombucha or an energy drink. Because sobriety is important to me.)
-
Anyway, other than that, Hades 2 has eaten my life. It came out for PS5 at some point late last month, and I got it on April 27, because a friend gave me the money and because it's one of those indie games that's not eighty (80) whole ass bucks for years before it goes on sale. I was very overwhelmed at first, but learned quickly, and three days in, I put it on God Mode for no good reason and I've been coasting since. ( Rambling. )
I've had zero games because the one consistent one, our DM is currently traveling, and I'm glad it's worked out this way, because the last time this happened I had to cancel on them, and I pride myself on being extremely reliable in this one aspect of my life.
-
Edit: I'd been meaning to look up how you're supposed to drink soju, because I could not remember the one time I had it at a Korean BBQ restaurant (in Prague), and it turns out I've been using the right glass this whole time, purely by accident, because I found it on the dryer rack two weeks ago and was like, what the fuck, who used my shot glass (that I have never used myself nor seen in four years)? Turns out my mom used it to try to sprout a lettuce? I've also been sticking to (kind of) drinking with friends, because it's a fantastic boost for ttrpgs with no negative side effects because it's so little. I'm pretty happy with this whole thing. (I do not "shoot the first glass." I sip from one (1) glass and then move on to kombucha or an energy drink. Because sobriety is important to me.)
-
Anyway, other than that, Hades 2 has eaten my life. It came out for PS5 at some point late last month, and I got it on April 27, because a friend gave me the money and because it's one of those indie games that's not eighty (80) whole ass bucks for years before it goes on sale. I was very overwhelmed at first, but learned quickly, and three days in, I put it on God Mode for no good reason and I've been coasting since. ( Rambling. )
Another roadtrip
2026-05-09 02:02 pmmtbcOur weekend trips away from home displace activities like my writing here. Last weekend, we stayed near Sunderland, renting a garden flat looking out toward Roker Beach. The weather on our full day there was unremittingly dreich. We had some luck getting a good parking spot on our last morning there: before we departed, we walked out on to Roker Pier from where we could stand at the lighthouse and watch dolphins in the North Sea.
Our route took us near the Solway Aviation Museum which made an excellent pausing point, R.'s sons got a tour of an Vulcan. In subsequent reading I now learn that the Tornado can carry nuclear weapons and that the UK's buying F-35A's for carrying them too. I had not realized that there was interest in delivery other than from submarines.
Our route took us near the Solway Aviation Museum which made an excellent pausing point, R.'s sons got a tour of an Vulcan. In subsequent reading I now learn that the Tornado can carry nuclear weapons and that the UK's buying F-35A's for carrying them too. I had not realized that there was interest in delivery other than from submarines.
Stacks
2026-05-09 01:47 pmpuddleshark
I have stacks. Not stacks of money. Not stacks of time. Just stacks.
( Studland to Handfast Point and Ballard Down )
Just One Thing (09 May 2026)
2026-05-09 12:03 pmnanila posting in awesomeersIt'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!
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!
British election
2026-05-09 11:22 ammtbcThe election happened. Feeling rushed, I took less care than usual in researching my options but there were readily available links online to manifestos and suchlike. As a sufficient discriminator, I focused on parties' positions on the subset of issues where I care more and where I expected more divergence.
Britain is good at offering abundantly many polling stations open for long hours, I have never seen much of a queue. It was R.'s and their eldest first time voting here so I tried to be informative but not overly so. I was surprised how long our regional ballot paper was in person, my not having thought through how it had to fit well over a dozen parties plus a couple of independents. It all seemed to go easily and smoothly even though our polling station serves three … districts? each of which needs two ballot boxes for each of that district's kinds of ballot. It is nice to be in a country that can count elections in hours rather than days.
In every election, my tendency is to weigh my options; over the years, I have voted for a good range of parties. The main exception might be that I don't believe I've ever voted Republican in the US. Twenty years ago I might have at least given them thought but, especially in this modern era, Republicans will have to find some principles, honesty and compassion before I can ever even consider them again. In recent years, the Conservatives in Britain have also moved enough rightward to be beyond the pale for me. I don't think I've moved much leftward in my old age, I think the parties moved under me: Labour remains much more Blair's than Kinnock's, and Badenoch's running scared of Reform. (Some Reform members think the National Socialists made some good points.) I'm slightly awkward because I'm more progressive socially than along other policy axes so it's always a tradeoff: in this case, drawing a few almost-red lines on issues narrowed the options nicely.
The results leave me quite comfortable with remaining in Scotland: Reform did the worst up here. Locally, and in general, the SNP did well. I am not their biggest fan but there are certainly worse and, not winning a majority in Parliament, perhaps they can focus more on governing than referenda. The SNP has this habit of campaigning on many issues then deeming every vote to be a mandate for Scottish independence.
Britain is good at offering abundantly many polling stations open for long hours, I have never seen much of a queue. It was R.'s and their eldest first time voting here so I tried to be informative but not overly so. I was surprised how long our regional ballot paper was in person, my not having thought through how it had to fit well over a dozen parties plus a couple of independents. It all seemed to go easily and smoothly even though our polling station serves three … districts? each of which needs two ballot boxes for each of that district's kinds of ballot. It is nice to be in a country that can count elections in hours rather than days.
In every election, my tendency is to weigh my options; over the years, I have voted for a good range of parties. The main exception might be that I don't believe I've ever voted Republican in the US. Twenty years ago I might have at least given them thought but, especially in this modern era, Republicans will have to find some principles, honesty and compassion before I can ever even consider them again. In recent years, the Conservatives in Britain have also moved enough rightward to be beyond the pale for me. I don't think I've moved much leftward in my old age, I think the parties moved under me: Labour remains much more Blair's than Kinnock's, and Badenoch's running scared of Reform. (Some Reform members think the National Socialists made some good points.) I'm slightly awkward because I'm more progressive socially than along other policy axes so it's always a tradeoff: in this case, drawing a few almost-red lines on issues narrowed the options nicely.
The results leave me quite comfortable with remaining in Scotland: Reform did the worst up here. Locally, and in general, the SNP did well. I am not their biggest fan but there are certainly worse and, not winning a majority in Parliament, perhaps they can focus more on governing than referenda. The SNP has this habit of campaigning on many issues then deeming every vote to be a mandate for Scottish independence.
Emotional rollercoaster before 9am!
2026-05-09 10:30 amcosmolinguistWhen I got off the tram and took off my mask, it caught on one of my Bluetooth earbuds.
It made the earbud fall off my ear, bounce across the platform, and fall between the edge of the platform and the just-starting-to-move tram.
A transgym pal was waiting at the station and chose this moment to come over to me and say "How's it going?"
It's going bad! I explained, and he immediately jumped down onto the track to fetch it for me.
Aww! That is a good friend. The tram had just been, and they're like every twelve minutes on the weekend or something, so it wasn't really worrying but still.
And the earbud seems fine, phew.
recent watching
2026-05-09 08:36 amphilomythaCallan
A 1960s-70s TV series about David Callan, government assassin. It seems not all of this survives, but some of it is available on DVD and we've been watching the black and white episodes. Some of them were evidently recovered in a slightly weird way and you get odd ghostly images and moments when the picture jumps slightly, but it didn't matter because it's very watchable. It's a tightly written, dark series about an unmentionable branch of the British government that does assassinations and other black ops. Callan is our expert, miserable, lonely assassin and general purpose operative, assigned to jobs like helping the Israelis abduct a Nazi war criminal for trial, or figuring out whether or not a young woman is about to leak nuclear secrets to the Soviets, or investigating the mysterious death of a French intelligence agent, or retrieving his new boss from East Germany through a minefield. Sometimes he's clearly doing something important, other times it's all a disaster, and when he can Callan makes his own decisions about who lives and who doesn't. The government department is extremely cold: they routinely torture people or question them under drugs, the commanding officer - always named Charley Hunter regardless of his actual name - has little regard for his men's safety or how many innocent people get hurt in the process of saving the nation, and Callan's fellow assassin is a very posh sadist. It's only by contrast with them that Callan is a nice guy. Callan's only friend is a shabby little petty thief known as Lonely who Callan bullies, insults and protects in equal degree and who can be relied upon to follow people, burgle houses, keep watch or know a fellow petty criminal who can do anything Callan wants done. In return Callan will fight anyone up to and including his fellow assassins and his boss to protect Lonely from harm, and also makes sure he eats and bathes occasionally. We've watched maybe a dozen of the episodes and they've all been very well done.
The Baader-Meinhof Complex (2008)
A German-language film about the Red Army Faction far-left terrorists of the 1970s and 80s. I didn't really know what to expect going into this, it's 18-rated which I tend to be a bit wary of, and there was a lot of very graphic violence. But it was absolutely fascinating, it's not a documentary or a biopic but it is attempting to stay very close to the historical events, showing very clearly both the understandable and even virtuous motives of the RAF and their reasoning behind their actions and the extent to which they had public support - and also the devastation they caused and the destruction of lives eventually including their own. A really good unflinching look at terrorism, and at a segment of history that I have read a little of lately but not in depth.
Design For Living (1933)
A film I have heard about for years and never watched, the classic OT3 of all OT3s. Based - loosely - on the Noel Coward play of the same title, this is about Gilda and the two young men, George and Tom, she meets in a train compartment. George is a painter, Tom a playwright, Gilda a commercial artist, and after Gilda goes out with both men simultaneously, they end up living in a platonic menage a trois. However, this falls apart when Gilda sleeps with one of the two, and after that the narrative tries out all the dyads possible: Gilda and George, Gilda and Tom, then Gilda decides to try being respectable and marries Mr Impeccable Virtue and Three Square Meals Plunkett leaving George and Tom alone together - but none of the dyads work and eventually the three of them drive off into the sunset together. The film is hilarious and adorable and tremendous fun to watch, I highly recommend it. I found it on Youtube here if anyone else wants to enjoy a hilarious and sincerely OT3 romp. And I shall have to try to track down the play to see what the differences are.
In other film-related news, Cub spent his Christmas money on a small projector and screen and has created a mini beanbag cinema, and therefore has suddenly taken an interest in watching films - he always refused to watch films before and said he didn't like them at all. Now, watching films on your own is boring, but watching films with Mum is a lot more fun especially if Mum can be persuaded to provide snacks too. Anyway, Cub is quite cautious with films and doesn't want anything with too much in the way of gore, emotional distress or kissing, and he does like war stories, so older war films of the more sanitised but still exciting kind are right up his street. He had a wonderful time with The Great Escape and We Dive At Dawn and Angels One Five and The Colditz Story and The Guns of Navarone, he liked Ice Cold In Alex too though it had a bit more kissing than he really wanted, but when I tried him on Master & Commander for a change of pace (and no kissing!) he found the whole children having their arms amputated aspect, plus a suicide, a bit too upsetting and didn't sleep well afterwards, and also while I tried to persuade him that it represented the pinnacle of technology at the time he wasn't having it; he wanted engines! The Imitation Game got points for being a true story and about computers, though he found the multiple threads confusing. He thoroughly enjoyed Top Gun: Maverick which has just about an acceptable kissing:aircraft ratio and we've just started Mission Impossible though this also has slightly more kissing than he really wants but also superb action sequences. I'd like to try him on Star Trek but so far he has been very resistant to aliens and spaceships as far too unrealistic, he likes stories about things that relate to the real world or to history best - he asked me suspiciously if Mission Impossible was superheroes when I suggested it, and he is very anti anything that involves fantasy. Obviously at some point I will have to introduce him to Bond. And I'll happily take suggestions for other things, especially if they're available on BBC iPlayer or one of the other UK streaming TV services.
A 1960s-70s TV series about David Callan, government assassin. It seems not all of this survives, but some of it is available on DVD and we've been watching the black and white episodes. Some of them were evidently recovered in a slightly weird way and you get odd ghostly images and moments when the picture jumps slightly, but it didn't matter because it's very watchable. It's a tightly written, dark series about an unmentionable branch of the British government that does assassinations and other black ops. Callan is our expert, miserable, lonely assassin and general purpose operative, assigned to jobs like helping the Israelis abduct a Nazi war criminal for trial, or figuring out whether or not a young woman is about to leak nuclear secrets to the Soviets, or investigating the mysterious death of a French intelligence agent, or retrieving his new boss from East Germany through a minefield. Sometimes he's clearly doing something important, other times it's all a disaster, and when he can Callan makes his own decisions about who lives and who doesn't. The government department is extremely cold: they routinely torture people or question them under drugs, the commanding officer - always named Charley Hunter regardless of his actual name - has little regard for his men's safety or how many innocent people get hurt in the process of saving the nation, and Callan's fellow assassin is a very posh sadist. It's only by contrast with them that Callan is a nice guy. Callan's only friend is a shabby little petty thief known as Lonely who Callan bullies, insults and protects in equal degree and who can be relied upon to follow people, burgle houses, keep watch or know a fellow petty criminal who can do anything Callan wants done. In return Callan will fight anyone up to and including his fellow assassins and his boss to protect Lonely from harm, and also makes sure he eats and bathes occasionally. We've watched maybe a dozen of the episodes and they've all been very well done.
The Baader-Meinhof Complex (2008)
A German-language film about the Red Army Faction far-left terrorists of the 1970s and 80s. I didn't really know what to expect going into this, it's 18-rated which I tend to be a bit wary of, and there was a lot of very graphic violence. But it was absolutely fascinating, it's not a documentary or a biopic but it is attempting to stay very close to the historical events, showing very clearly both the understandable and even virtuous motives of the RAF and their reasoning behind their actions and the extent to which they had public support - and also the devastation they caused and the destruction of lives eventually including their own. A really good unflinching look at terrorism, and at a segment of history that I have read a little of lately but not in depth.
Design For Living (1933)
A film I have heard about for years and never watched, the classic OT3 of all OT3s. Based - loosely - on the Noel Coward play of the same title, this is about Gilda and the two young men, George and Tom, she meets in a train compartment. George is a painter, Tom a playwright, Gilda a commercial artist, and after Gilda goes out with both men simultaneously, they end up living in a platonic menage a trois. However, this falls apart when Gilda sleeps with one of the two, and after that the narrative tries out all the dyads possible: Gilda and George, Gilda and Tom, then Gilda decides to try being respectable and marries Mr Impeccable Virtue and Three Square Meals Plunkett leaving George and Tom alone together - but none of the dyads work and eventually the three of them drive off into the sunset together. The film is hilarious and adorable and tremendous fun to watch, I highly recommend it. I found it on Youtube here if anyone else wants to enjoy a hilarious and sincerely OT3 romp. And I shall have to try to track down the play to see what the differences are.
In other film-related news, Cub spent his Christmas money on a small projector and screen and has created a mini beanbag cinema, and therefore has suddenly taken an interest in watching films - he always refused to watch films before and said he didn't like them at all. Now, watching films on your own is boring, but watching films with Mum is a lot more fun especially if Mum can be persuaded to provide snacks too. Anyway, Cub is quite cautious with films and doesn't want anything with too much in the way of gore, emotional distress or kissing, and he does like war stories, so older war films of the more sanitised but still exciting kind are right up his street. He had a wonderful time with The Great Escape and We Dive At Dawn and Angels One Five and The Colditz Story and The Guns of Navarone, he liked Ice Cold In Alex too though it had a bit more kissing than he really wanted, but when I tried him on Master & Commander for a change of pace (and no kissing!) he found the whole children having their arms amputated aspect, plus a suicide, a bit too upsetting and didn't sleep well afterwards, and also while I tried to persuade him that it represented the pinnacle of technology at the time he wasn't having it; he wanted engines! The Imitation Game got points for being a true story and about computers, though he found the multiple threads confusing. He thoroughly enjoyed Top Gun: Maverick which has just about an acceptable kissing:aircraft ratio and we've just started Mission Impossible though this also has slightly more kissing than he really wants but also superb action sequences. I'd like to try him on Star Trek but so far he has been very resistant to aliens and spaceships as far too unrealistic, he likes stories about things that relate to the real world or to history best - he asked me suspiciously if Mission Impossible was superheroes when I suggested it, and he is very anti anything that involves fantasy. Obviously at some point I will have to introduce him to Bond. And I'll happily take suggestions for other things, especially if they're available on BBC iPlayer or one of the other UK streaming TV services.
International Migratory Bird Day
2026-05-09 02:01 amysabetwordsmith posting in birdfeedingToday is International Migratory Bird Day. Here is a guide to birdwatching in North America. See lists of migratory birds in the east and west hemispheres.
D.O.P.-T.
2026-05-08 11:56 pmweofodthignenI stand corrected; apparently the heat that's due to ramp up this weekend doesn't count as a heat wave because it won't include San Francisco.
There was volleyball in the park, but only one net and nobody was in matching clothing.
Mama Violet was absent all day but stuck her face out from under a bush in the driveway this evening, and when I put down food there, immediately started eating.
There was volleyball in the park, but only one net and nobody was in matching clothing.
Mama Violet was absent all day but stuck her face out from under a bush in the driveway this evening, and when I put down food there, immediately started eating.
Raspberrys, Flower
2026-05-08 09:37 pmranunculusI had my first raspberry today. Yum.
Bewilderbeast finally opened up today. I had the rhizomes planted in an area that they HATED. Too much clay and too much water. Some completely rotted away before I realized what was happening and moved them to a pot. Here is the strongest of the survivors. This iris is quite variable, with each bloom a little different. The second picture was taken several years ago in the Henry St garden. On the second picture note the huge white stripe on the upright standard, as opposed to today's flower that has very modest white on the standards.
Bewilderbeast finally opened up today. I had the rhizomes planted in an area that they HATED. Too much clay and too much water. Some completely rotted away before I realized what was happening and moved them to a pot. Here is the strongest of the survivors. This iris is quite variable, with each bloom a little different. The second picture was taken several years ago in the Henry St garden. On the second picture note the huge white stripe on the upright standard, as opposed to today's flower that has very modest white on the standards.
( Read more... )
some horror fic recs
2026-05-08 09:47 pmsnickficI've had these saved for two years. 🙈 They're good ones though, I promise!
Welcome Home by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
tuesday, Anaconda (Movies), Terri & Sarone, 1.5k. In the aftermath of their escape, Terri is haunted by dreams. I love the slow creep of weird shit getting weirder and weirder, starting with the dreams of Sarone and the friendly snakes. There's this kind of delicious ambiguity around what exactly is happening to her, but I really like that, that it's this complex tangle of effects that can't be broken down into nice simple strands.
Rabbit Heart bytangentti, The Descent, Sarah & Juno, 5k. Instead of going caving, the group goes hiking in a Norwegian forest, or, a Ritual AU. I had never noticed how similar the setups are, but Sarah and Juno and the crew fit right in where the guys were in The Ritual. Both groups even fight a monster!The uncanny forest with its Loki and its ancient worshippers is ultimately just as hostile as the cave system, even if somewhat less claustrophobic.
remote by the sea byfullborn, Apostle (2018), Malcolm & Thomas, 900 words. The Prophet witnesses his God. The island grows. I love these two very different perspectives on what Thomas has become. It feels like Malcolm hasn't changed in the least, hasn't learned anything, is just projecting all his spiritual need onto a new object now. And then that POV flip to Thomas is SO good.
How Does Your Garden Grow byscioscribe, Miss Marple - Agatha Christie, Jane Marple, 3k. Miss Marple knew all about gardens. The art of growing things—all manner of things—was ancient. Often it was peculiar, as well. An eldritch body horror murder mystery, what a delicious combination of things. I had no idea Jane Marple folk horror was something I needed in my life, but I so did, and the horror plot is so creepy and great.
The Ship of Theseus Has Run Aground bypsychomachia, The Thing, 3k. MacReady survives the events of Outpost 31. At least, he thinks he did. What a great coda to the film. The central worry in the movie is, who ELSE is a shapeshifting alien, but this really gets to the heart of things: am I a shapeshifting alien? I really like how spare the writing is, stripped down to the essentials of each scene, and how that kind of accentuates the unease and paranoia. Great stuff.
Welcome Home by
Rabbit Heart by
remote by the sea by
How Does Your Garden Grow by
The Ship of Theseus Has Run Aground by
Martha Wells at Powell’s Books
2026-05-08 09:42 pmlovelyangel Platform Decay Book Release Event Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills • May 7, 2026 Sony RX100 VII • Zeiss 24-200mm (35mm equiv) f/2.8-4.5 f/4.5 @ 142mm • 1/40s • ISO 1600 |
We were fortunate that the Martha Wells Platform Decay Book Tour brought her to my local Powell’s Books. The event was sold out, but I bought my ticket months ago. I forget how much the event ticket was, but the price included a hardcover copy of Platform Decay.
( Martha Wells In Person, Below This Cut )
With life and so much loss, time has weighted us
2026-05-08 11:13 pmsovayI had a rough night and ran around less during the day than previously, but I did take a couple of pictures in the cold late afternoon.
( We hoped for something more. )
Not having dreamed memorably for months, I was amused that last night I was apparently trying to compose a journal post describing a pre-dawn view of the river which presented itself as the Charles, although in waking life it is not crossed with any rope bridges that I know about, nor have I ever seen a market running down its banks to the water. Then I was distracted by discovering the existence of living root bridges. I had never seen anything like them in a non-secondary world. I love that they are not a historical technology.
( We hoped for something more. )
Not having dreamed memorably for months, I was amused that last night I was apparently trying to compose a journal post describing a pre-dawn view of the river which presented itself as the Charles, although in waking life it is not crossed with any rope bridges that I know about, nor have I ever seen a market running down its banks to the water. Then I was distracted by discovering the existence of living root bridges. I had never seen anything like them in a non-secondary world. I love that they are not a historical technology.
Just Create - Ear Edition
2026-05-08 07:55 pmsilvercat17 posting in justcreateWhat are you working on? What have you finished? What do you need encouragement on?
Are there any cool events or challenges happening that you want to hype?
What do you just want to talk about?
What have you been watching or reading?
Chores and other not-fun things count!
Remember to encourage other commenters and we have a discord where we can do work-alongs and chat, linked in the sticky.
Singing Lesson Day
2026-05-08 09:41 pmdays_unfoldingI said Good night to the cats “And don’t knock anything down “. Oliver: “That sounds like a challenge.” The dogs are so tired.
Woke up 7:20ish. It’s been a busy morning. Overslept my nap. Contacted the vet for Gracie’s shot. Signed the forms for my CPAP (and did a “facial scan”). Checked on the dogs because it’s raining, but they don’t want to come in. Okay. Bella left muddy paw prints on my shirt 🙂 Oliver is being a little shit and is picking on Lily. Sigh.
Got a place to board the cats at the end of the month. I’ll call the dog place tomorrow morning.
It’s after work, and the cats want to be fed Right Meow! Lily is fussing over me. I didn’t have time to eat dinner before my singing lesson. Threw myself together.
The singing lesson went well. I told her that choir was over for the summer, and she said, “Oh good. We can practice solo pieces.” She asked me if I had a song to work on, and I said that the Joni Mitchell song “River” had popped into my mind. She liked the range of notes on it. I wound up inwardly cursing Joni Mitchell for her range. We got through it, but I need to practice it.
Everyone is inside and fed, but I need to give them their evening snack.
I’m adding to my reading of somewhat depressing books by reading Roger Rosenblatt’s book about caring for his grandkids after the death of his daughter, Making Toast. I’m a Roger Rosenblatt fan. I loved his essays for Time magazine. I had my favorite of his essays, ”Thanksgiving Inventory” on my door at IBM. (You can search Time's archive for it if you want, but I can't link to it. Well worth it though.) But the chapters in his book are long, so I decided to put it aside and post. I want to get up at a decent hour to do yard work.
So I need to give the pets their crunchies and head towards bed.
Woke up 7:20ish. It’s been a busy morning. Overslept my nap. Contacted the vet for Gracie’s shot. Signed the forms for my CPAP (and did a “facial scan”). Checked on the dogs because it’s raining, but they don’t want to come in. Okay. Bella left muddy paw prints on my shirt 🙂 Oliver is being a little shit and is picking on Lily. Sigh.
Got a place to board the cats at the end of the month. I’ll call the dog place tomorrow morning.
It’s after work, and the cats want to be fed Right Meow! Lily is fussing over me. I didn’t have time to eat dinner before my singing lesson. Threw myself together.
The singing lesson went well. I told her that choir was over for the summer, and she said, “Oh good. We can practice solo pieces.” She asked me if I had a song to work on, and I said that the Joni Mitchell song “River” had popped into my mind. She liked the range of notes on it. I wound up inwardly cursing Joni Mitchell for her range. We got through it, but I need to practice it.
Everyone is inside and fed, but I need to give them their evening snack.
I’m adding to my reading of somewhat depressing books by reading Roger Rosenblatt’s book about caring for his grandkids after the death of his daughter, Making Toast. I’m a Roger Rosenblatt fan. I loved his essays for Time magazine. I had my favorite of his essays, ”Thanksgiving Inventory” on my door at IBM. (You can search Time's archive for it if you want, but I can't link to it. Well worth it though.) But the chapters in his book are long, so I decided to put it aside and post. I want to get up at a decent hour to do yard work.
So I need to give the pets their crunchies and head towards bed.
TRIGUN STAMPEDE: Scrawny Motherf---er
2026-05-09 11:27 ammatsushima posting in fanmix_monthlyTitle: Scrawny Motherf---er (With A Cool Hairstyle)
Fandom: TRIGUN STAMPEDE
Characters: Vash the Stampede
Notes: NSFW. I mean, "motherf---er" is in the title of this mix and it is not censored in the song.
Link: 🔗
( why should I fix the shit I've done/ when I can just pack up and run? ♫ )
Fandom: TRIGUN STAMPEDE
Characters: Vash the Stampede
Notes: NSFW. I mean, "motherf---er" is in the title of this mix and it is not censored in the song.
Link: 🔗
( why should I fix the shit I've done/ when I can just pack up and run? ♫ )
Manufacturing qubits that can move
2026-05-08 11:13 pmarstechnica_feedTo get quantum computing to work, we will ultimately need lots of high-quality qubits, which we can tie together into groups of error-corrected logical qubits. Companies are taking distinct approaches to get there, but you can think of them as falling into two broad categories. Some companies are focused on hosting the qubits in electronics that we can manufacture, guaranteeing that we can get lots of devices. Others are using atoms or photons as qubits, which give more consistent behavior but require lots of complicated hardware to manage.
One advantage of systems that use atoms or ions is that we can move them around. This allows us to entangle any qubit with any other, which provides a great deal of flexibility for error correction. Systems based on electronic devices, in contrast, are locked into whatever configuration they're wired into during manufacturing.
But this week, a new paper examined research that seems to provide the best of both worlds. It works with quantum dots, which can be manufactured in bulk and host a qubit as a single electron's spin. The work showed that it's possible to move these spin qubits from one quantum dot to another without losing quantum information. The ability to move them around could potentially enable the sort of any-to-any connectivity we see with atoms and ions.
CRUD Challenge: The Bloody Fists
2026-05-08 07:46 amskjamThe Bloody Fists (1972) dir. Ng See-Yuen
It is the 1930s in China. A certain fugitive named Jang Wu-dip (Sing Chen) attacks a dignitary's automobile, but it turns out to be a police trap. (Jackie Chan is one of the cop extras!) The fugitive barely escapes.
Cut to a rural village best known for growing Dragon Herb, a medicinal plant that is especially effective against the type of plague currently sweeping North China. It's harvest time and some buyers have shown up. Unfortunately, these are a group of Japanese martial artists who want to get a monopoly on Dragon Herb supply and then hold the medicine hostage to force concessions to Japan from China. They're willing to pay a high price to get all the Dragon Herb, but if that fails, they're okay with using force. And they've set up a gymnasium as a base, clearly intending to stay long-term.
The villagers attempt to stave off the intruders, but the Japanese have sent top-ranked martial artists and things aren't going well for the locals. But then the fugitive stumbles into the situation as he's caught the plague and needs medical attention. He'd be just as happy to get cured and leave without meddling, but the Japanese won't stop bugging him.
This is a pretty typical low-budget chop-sockey action film of the time period, most notable for having fight choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix, Kill Bill. The plot is thin, and the characterization shallow. The Japanese invaders are of course evil, though they do have a veneer of martial arts honor they uphold until it gets inconvenient. Considerably more despicable is their Chinese toady, a fellow who was kicked out of the village years ago for unspecified villainy, and went to Japan to learn karate. It hasn't made him any more effective in combat, and he's a cowardly suck-up to the Japanese, even selling out his own family with basically no qualms.
The fugitive gets what little nuance there is, being a self-centered criminal who would prefer to mind his own business, but does have a soft spot for mute medical assistant Ya Ba (Kwok-Choi Hon).
The fights are good, but the stuff in between is generally forgettable.
Content note: martial arts violence, often bloody or fatal. Torture. Rape. A bit of female nudity. Teens on up should be okay, though sensitive viewers might want to skip the rape scene.
This is an overall okay movie for old style martial arts fans, but not anything you need to seek out.
It is the 1930s in China. A certain fugitive named Jang Wu-dip (Sing Chen) attacks a dignitary's automobile, but it turns out to be a police trap. (Jackie Chan is one of the cop extras!) The fugitive barely escapes.
Cut to a rural village best known for growing Dragon Herb, a medicinal plant that is especially effective against the type of plague currently sweeping North China. It's harvest time and some buyers have shown up. Unfortunately, these are a group of Japanese martial artists who want to get a monopoly on Dragon Herb supply and then hold the medicine hostage to force concessions to Japan from China. They're willing to pay a high price to get all the Dragon Herb, but if that fails, they're okay with using force. And they've set up a gymnasium as a base, clearly intending to stay long-term.
The villagers attempt to stave off the intruders, but the Japanese have sent top-ranked martial artists and things aren't going well for the locals. But then the fugitive stumbles into the situation as he's caught the plague and needs medical attention. He'd be just as happy to get cured and leave without meddling, but the Japanese won't stop bugging him.
This is a pretty typical low-budget chop-sockey action film of the time period, most notable for having fight choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix, Kill Bill. The plot is thin, and the characterization shallow. The Japanese invaders are of course evil, though they do have a veneer of martial arts honor they uphold until it gets inconvenient. Considerably more despicable is their Chinese toady, a fellow who was kicked out of the village years ago for unspecified villainy, and went to Japan to learn karate. It hasn't made him any more effective in combat, and he's a cowardly suck-up to the Japanese, even selling out his own family with basically no qualms.
The fugitive gets what little nuance there is, being a self-centered criminal who would prefer to mind his own business, but does have a soft spot for mute medical assistant Ya Ba (Kwok-Choi Hon).
The fights are good, but the stuff in between is generally forgettable.
Content note: martial arts violence, often bloody or fatal. Torture. Rape. A bit of female nudity. Teens on up should be okay, though sensitive viewers might want to skip the rape scene.
This is an overall okay movie for old style martial arts fans, but not anything you need to seek out.
especially when the roof is open
2026-05-08 10:00 pmmusesfoolSince I know you all enjoy my ridiculous grocery delivery stories, this week boneless pork country ribs were on sale for $3/lb so I ordered 2 lbs for approximately $6. I figured I'd put one package in a pot of sauce on Sunday, and freeze the other for some later date.
Instead, I received SIX POUNDS of baby back ribs for TWENTY-EIGHT DOLLARS. For those of you playing the home game, that made my grocery bill today $22 more than expected. That's just nuts. Also, since I was planning to put the boneless ribs in sauce, I did not purchase any bbq sauce, so now I guess I can try to make my own. I thought about doing Chinese bbq ribs instead, because I do have all the ingredients for that, but the racks are too big to put into a container to marinate. I might be able to cut them into smaller slabs and marinate that way, but that seems like a lot of extra work I was not planning on this weekend, since mostly I planned to test out a couple of new lemon cupcake recipes.
I think I mentioned that one of my co-workers requested vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting next time I'm in, and I thought I might also do lemon cupcakes with strawberry frosting since there will be a lot more frosting than cupcakes.
Anyway. I found a bbq sauce recipe that doesn't include ketchup - I tried one that did once and did not care much for it - so maybe I will do that. I also have a bag of cole slaw, so I'll make the dressing for that as well, and see how it all goes.
In better news, the Knicks just went up 3-0 on the Sixers in round 2 of the playoffs. Bing bong!
*
Instead, I received SIX POUNDS of baby back ribs for TWENTY-EIGHT DOLLARS. For those of you playing the home game, that made my grocery bill today $22 more than expected. That's just nuts. Also, since I was planning to put the boneless ribs in sauce, I did not purchase any bbq sauce, so now I guess I can try to make my own. I thought about doing Chinese bbq ribs instead, because I do have all the ingredients for that, but the racks are too big to put into a container to marinate. I might be able to cut them into smaller slabs and marinate that way, but that seems like a lot of extra work I was not planning on this weekend, since mostly I planned to test out a couple of new lemon cupcake recipes.
I think I mentioned that one of my co-workers requested vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting next time I'm in, and I thought I might also do lemon cupcakes with strawberry frosting since there will be a lot more frosting than cupcakes.
Anyway. I found a bbq sauce recipe that doesn't include ketchup - I tried one that did once and did not care much for it - so maybe I will do that. I also have a bag of cole slaw, so I'll make the dressing for that as well, and see how it all goes.
In better news, the Knicks just went up 3-0 on the Sixers in round 2 of the playoffs. Bing bong!
*
Manga Check-in: "D.Gray-Man" v19 ch182-188
2026-05-08 08:56 pmbluapapilio
Chapter 182: Allen stabs himself with his own weapon to stab the Akuma, it's only supposed to hurt Noah and Akuma so he thinks he's fine but nope, it affects him too. But then his appearance changes and the Akuma says "Noa...", the Akuma sees this fiery creature before it's killed.
Chapter 183: How did that nun survive. Glad she's not evil though. Timothy and Emilia joined up with the Order. She has the guts for it. I guess the nun had to go away for safety too, who will run the orphanage now especially with Emilia gone?
Chapter 184: Allen has a nightmare about getting stabbed when Mana shows up, though he's calling him the wrong name - Nea probably. Allen wakes up as Nea I guess? But Lenalee jolts him out of it. According to Link 'an immodest state for a lady' is...their outer thigh showing?
Chapter 185: Kanda looks really good with his hair down.
Lol Allen sparring Marie who has one arm in a sling.
Timcanpi sleeping on Link's head. :')
I understand Allen's feelings on the souls the akuma were made with. Thinking about them just disappearing and not going back into the cycle to be reincarnated or be at peace is too sad.
Marie pointing out how similar Allen and Kanda are haha. Guess Kanda feels the same way about the souls? Or is it just because they're both stubborn.
So the mysterious group of people are called 'Crow' and they have some kind of dark aura and their power reacts to innocence like akuma do?
Haha I love how everyone was instantly there surrounding Allen. But Allen still called them slow. X'D
I'm sorry but why are the Crow group so ugly. Oh, so they're half akuma via 'biological generation'.
Kanda is involved with a tragedy that happened 9 years ago...
Chapter 186: Kanda was created in the 'synthetic principal project' nine years ago and central forced it on Chen. The Chan, Renee and Epstein families were involved.
Lou Fa is right, winning by creating abominations/using people, it's no longer about survival but inhumanity imo.
Chapter 187: A new Noah has been reincarnated after 35 years named 'Demon Eye Wisely'.
Something is up with the scar Allen gave Tyki?
Well shit, the Noah are attacking everyone. 😭
Chapter 188: Geeze, if that Alma Karma has any kind of sentience, his life was brutal. Oh, he was friends with Kanda and Kanda doesn't know he's 'alive'... "We made them fight to the death!"
I don't want anything to happen to Johnny again. T_T
Summer's arrival.
2026-05-08 09:09 pmhannahNot quite fully ripe, a little firm, and they're still the first strawberries of the season. I haven't kept track of their arrival year to year, but I'm sure someone has, so rather than try to track that, I'm going to take a moment to enjoy them without much further thought. That can come after I've eaten them.
I didn't even think about getting enough to turn them into a cake for my older brother J.'s requested birthday cake. I just grabbed two boxes to eat straight. One went to the Friday night family dinner and one's just for me, with the tops infusing into tap water for aggressively pleasant hydration later this week.
I didn't even think about getting enough to turn them into a cake for my older brother J.'s requested birthday cake. I just grabbed two boxes to eat straight. One went to the Friday night family dinner and one's just for me, with the tops infusing into tap water for aggressively pleasant hydration later this week.
Justice League Antifa II: The Antifantasy (JLA #74-77)
2026-05-08 10:47 amtcampbell1000 posting in scans_dailyPart 93b of 105. Warning for arguable cultural insensitivity, more savage fascism, and savage slavery. (But no Vandal Savage.)
When we last left our intrepid heroes, a fascist version of the Bronze Age JLA had taken over its reality, which was bleeding into “ours.” And the late-1993 JLA was getting its asses kicked. Hard. It’s all presented in Jurgens’ usual straightforward way, which gives the evil a chilling banality.
The Atom shows back up on the League’s doorstep in JLA #73-74, but before he can once again tell any current Leaguers that they’re a bunch of losers, he collapses. ( So now this team has Ray PALMER and THE Ray in it at the same time. I’m sure THAT won’t get confusing. )
When we last left our intrepid heroes, a fascist version of the Bronze Age JLA had taken over its reality, which was bleeding into “ours.” And the late-1993 JLA was getting its asses kicked. Hard. It’s all presented in Jurgens’ usual straightforward way, which gives the evil a chilling banality.
The Atom shows back up on the League’s doorstep in JLA #73-74, but before he can once again tell any current Leaguers that they’re a bunch of losers, he collapses. ( So now this team has Ray PALMER and THE Ray in it at the same time. I’m sure THAT won’t get confusing. )
Unshelved strip originally published on Mon, 28 Mar 2016
2026-05-09 12:00 amunshelved_feedThis classic Unshelved strip originally appeared on Mon, 28 Mar 2016.
Write Every Day: Day 8
2026-05-08 05:03 pmsanguinityIntro/FAQ
My check-in: 800 words. I forgot that the problem with writing a cast of seven is that… I have seven characters to keep track of. Oof.
Day 8:sanguinity
Day 7:badly_knitted, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, dswdiane, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora, ysilme
Day 6:acorn_squash, badly_knitted, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, dswdiane, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora, ysilme
( More days )
When you check in, please use the most recent post and say what day(s) you’re checking in for. Remember you can drop in or out at any time, and let me know if I missed anyone!
My check-in: 800 words. I forgot that the problem with writing a cast of seven is that… I have seven characters to keep track of. Oof.
Day 8:
sanguinityDay 7:
badly_knitted, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, dswdiane, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora, ysilmeDay 6:
acorn_squash, badly_knitted, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, dswdiane, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora, ysilme( More days )
When you check in, please use the most recent post and say what day(s) you’re checking in for. Remember you can drop in or out at any time, and let me know if I missed anyone!
Trump reportedly plans to fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary
2026-05-08 10:10 pmarstechnica_feedPresident Trump has signed off on a plan to fire Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, though insiders caution that the plan is not final and could change, according to several media reports.
News of the planned axing comes from inside sources who spoke with The Wall Street Journal, which was then confirmed by reporting from Bloomberg, The Washington Post, and Politico. The Post reported that the administration has not decided who would serve as acting director upon Makary's departure.
The planned exit comes after a tumultuous year for Makary, in which the FDA plunged into turmoil and controversy over DOGE cuts, personnel drama, vaccine approvals, gene therapy decisions, abortion pill oversight, and vape regulation.
Daily Check In.
2026-05-08 06:21 pmadafrog posting in fandom_checkinThis is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Friday to midnight on Saturday (8pm Eastern Time).
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
Poll #34578 Daily poll
This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 24
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 24
How are you doing?
I am okay
12 (52.2%)
I am not okay, but don't need help right now
11 (47.8%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans are you living with?
I am living single
11 (45.8%)
One other person
9 (37.5%)
More than one other person
4 (16.7%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
Batmanchester
2026-05-08 11:52 pmcosmolinguistSometimes the most chaotic person you know and like, who you haven't seen in a dozen years because he's Canadian and lives like six thousand miles away, is having his last day in town before he's off on the rest of his adventures (he's done Iceland and Glasgow and has Cardiff and Somerset left to go) and the beer makes you talk about poetry and astrophysics and the inspiration to be creative and then someone wants to bum a cigarette from him and then she and her partner sit down and we chat for ages before we find out he's called Patrick and she's called Izzy and the drinks flow and the cigarettes are shared and I got home so late I don't know if I'll make it to transgym in the morning which is usually a highlight of my week...
But it's fine, there's transgym (almost) every week and when else could I have seen Bill? Not until next year when he says he's coming back. And when could we have bumped in to Izzy from Cardiff and Patrick from Dudley? Neve!
So it was totally worth it.
Candy bar
2026-05-07 04:04 pmcosmolinguistSo many meetings. And the space between the meetings was taken up by meetings overrunning.
In the middle of the afternoon, when I was propping my chin up on my hand looking miserably at my computer screen because I'd been awake since 3am and couldn't get back to sleep and D asked me if I'd had lunch, and I said no and asked if I wanted a sandwich so I said yes.
And he brought me not just the sandwich and bag of chips like I expected and a can of Coke which was nice of him, but tucked on the plate next to the sandwich was a little candy bar! One of the own-brand Snickers we get from the grocery store.
It made me feel so cared for. I really needed that little candy bar and I didn't even know to request one but then there it was anyway.
You Tube is trying to amuse me again!
2026-05-08 05:40 pmmaladaI've getting a lot of Prepper videos lately.
Preppers are usually known for their beliefs that a civilization crushing event is going to happen: atomic war, infrastructure collapse, zombie apocalypse, that sort of thing and build (or buy) underground bunkers stocked with guns and MREs to insulate themselves from the zombie/radioactive/dark skinned hordes that will eventually arrive at their doorstep.
I mean, if you really want to you CAN buy a bunker for about 15 - 20 grand and have excavators dig a big hole in you back yard and a big truck and crane deliver it to said hole. Built in water filters, air filters, some kind of toilet thing, heating, cooling and storage for all your extra water, food and guns. Yeah, now the whole neighborhood will know it's there... or you can have it on/in some far off piece of land that will take you 40 minutes to get to.... under normal conditions. In an emergency - with the roads clogged - it may unreachable.
And maybe you'll get your own personal colony of black mold!
Of course, keeping it stocked and making sure it's ready when you need it will cost extra. Systems need maintenance and filters that won't be available after said disaster Air filters and CO2 scrubbers take power and if you have no power, no fuel... your bunker could become your tomb.
However, there's lots of videos about urban prep or "bugging in" instead of "bugging out". Having a but-out bag in case you need to leave your home can saver your life or make it a bit less uncomfortable, but really... for most emergencies you're often better off staying put.
A lot of prepper material is available at your local camping, grocery or hardware store. Just get it now before you need it. Get stuff now or risk the zombie hordes at the grocery store or Walmart.
It also depends on your local risk factor. Around here, floods happen but we're not in a flood area. Hurricanes, tornadoes and other severe weather that can take out power do happen. Unless things go really sideways, one could prepare to be self sufficient for 72 hours. That is what FEMA recommends. Check their website - look around a bit past page one.
The sensible videos tell you to forget all the expensive 'tactical' equipment. Buy ordinary things. Power goes out? Have flashlights especially ones with solar charging. The ones that strap on your head are nice just working around the house. Unscented candles and matches are handy too. Solar powered/battery operated radio keeps you informed. Water? Have lots of water jugs and for drinking. If you want to get fancy you can get camping jugs and prefill them. Just wash them out before filling them. Contractor buckets at Lowes with lids will hold 5 gallons and cost around 7 bucks. Fill one or two up when the power goes out while there's still water pressure.
In a pinch you line one with a plastic garbage bag as an emergency toilet. Yuck. But if it's winter it beats dropping your drawers outside.
Food? Granola bars, peanut butter, canned meats and fruits that you don't need to heat to eat are great. MREs (Meals Rejected by Everyone) are expensive and need clean water and heat to make. Spam, tuna fish, and canned peaches are cheap and need no heat. But hot meals when you're stressed make you feel better. Get a camping stove or small grill. Get a pack of those little propane tanks. You'll want to grill outside this summer anyways, right? You'll want to be outside to cook. And if you think I *won't* be outside boiling water for coffee in the middle of an icy winter (I have a French press) then you don't know me very well. You can boil water for rice or pasta or heat canned or packaged soups. And it's a perfect time to grill those steaks you've got frozen.
Did I mention can openers? The manual kind? Beats a tactical knife or a 75 dollar 50-in-1 multi tool for opening up cans when there's no electricity.
Just stock up a bit and rotate your food and water. That will get you through 72 hours of no power. You don't need fancy stuff.
If you keep your fridge closed it will stay cold for hours. After 8 hours, you'll need some kind of back up power. Now we're talking money. Gas generators and fussy, noisy and need fuel. Battery backup systems that have solar charging abilities are quiet but need solar cells and sunlight.
But the most important thing about bugging in? Know your neighbors. Individuals can survive disasters but it takes a village to recover.
Preppers are usually known for their beliefs that a civilization crushing event is going to happen: atomic war, infrastructure collapse, zombie apocalypse, that sort of thing and build (or buy) underground bunkers stocked with guns and MREs to insulate themselves from the zombie/radioactive/dark skinned hordes that will eventually arrive at their doorstep.
I mean, if you really want to you CAN buy a bunker for about 15 - 20 grand and have excavators dig a big hole in you back yard and a big truck and crane deliver it to said hole. Built in water filters, air filters, some kind of toilet thing, heating, cooling and storage for all your extra water, food and guns. Yeah, now the whole neighborhood will know it's there... or you can have it on/in some far off piece of land that will take you 40 minutes to get to.... under normal conditions. In an emergency - with the roads clogged - it may unreachable.
And maybe you'll get your own personal colony of black mold!
Of course, keeping it stocked and making sure it's ready when you need it will cost extra. Systems need maintenance and filters that won't be available after said disaster Air filters and CO2 scrubbers take power and if you have no power, no fuel... your bunker could become your tomb.
However, there's lots of videos about urban prep or "bugging in" instead of "bugging out". Having a but-out bag in case you need to leave your home can saver your life or make it a bit less uncomfortable, but really... for most emergencies you're often better off staying put.
A lot of prepper material is available at your local camping, grocery or hardware store. Just get it now before you need it. Get stuff now or risk the zombie hordes at the grocery store or Walmart.
It also depends on your local risk factor. Around here, floods happen but we're not in a flood area. Hurricanes, tornadoes and other severe weather that can take out power do happen. Unless things go really sideways, one could prepare to be self sufficient for 72 hours. That is what FEMA recommends. Check their website - look around a bit past page one.
The sensible videos tell you to forget all the expensive 'tactical' equipment. Buy ordinary things. Power goes out? Have flashlights especially ones with solar charging. The ones that strap on your head are nice just working around the house. Unscented candles and matches are handy too. Solar powered/battery operated radio keeps you informed. Water? Have lots of water jugs and for drinking. If you want to get fancy you can get camping jugs and prefill them. Just wash them out before filling them. Contractor buckets at Lowes with lids will hold 5 gallons and cost around 7 bucks. Fill one or two up when the power goes out while there's still water pressure.
In a pinch you line one with a plastic garbage bag as an emergency toilet. Yuck. But if it's winter it beats dropping your drawers outside.
Food? Granola bars, peanut butter, canned meats and fruits that you don't need to heat to eat are great. MREs (Meals Rejected by Everyone) are expensive and need clean water and heat to make. Spam, tuna fish, and canned peaches are cheap and need no heat. But hot meals when you're stressed make you feel better. Get a camping stove or small grill. Get a pack of those little propane tanks. You'll want to grill outside this summer anyways, right? You'll want to be outside to cook. And if you think I *won't* be outside boiling water for coffee in the middle of an icy winter (I have a French press) then you don't know me very well. You can boil water for rice or pasta or heat canned or packaged soups. And it's a perfect time to grill those steaks you've got frozen.
Did I mention can openers? The manual kind? Beats a tactical knife or a 75 dollar 50-in-1 multi tool for opening up cans when there's no electricity.
Just stock up a bit and rotate your food and water. That will get you through 72 hours of no power. You don't need fancy stuff.
If you keep your fridge closed it will stay cold for hours. After 8 hours, you'll need some kind of back up power. Now we're talking money. Gas generators and fussy, noisy and need fuel. Battery backup systems that have solar charging abilities are quiet but need solar cells and sunlight.
But the most important thing about bugging in? Know your neighbors. Individuals can survive disasters but it takes a village to recover.
May TV Show PTW
2026-05-08 05:39 pmbluapapilioUsing my TV Show PTW boardgame.
I somehow managed to watch 5/5 from my last challenge. Hoo boy this is my first TV show challenge using the new trakt update, let's see how this goes... Urgh the links are weird.
Avatar: Dark/Thriller
Skill: Cover two promtps with one show
Roll #1
A 6, horror element - Hell Motel,
Roll #2
Another 6, prompt: highest rated on PTW - it's Over the Garden Wall, something I've been meaning to watch for ages but keep hesitating for some reason.
Roll #3
An 8, prompt: favorite genre using skill to cover Over the Garden Wall.
Roll #4
Another 8, prompt: longest runtime - (1978) Hercule Poirots.
Roll #5
A 7, prompt: LGBTQ+ - The Owl House.
Roll #6
A 4 and the end. Reward...let's do She-ra and the Princesses of Power.
I somehow managed to watch 5/5 from my last challenge. Hoo boy this is my first TV show challenge using the new trakt update, let's see how this goes... Urgh the links are weird.
Avatar: Dark/Thriller
Skill: Cover two promtps with one show
Roll #1
A 6, horror element - Hell Motel,
Roll #2
Another 6, prompt: highest rated on PTW - it's Over the Garden Wall, something I've been meaning to watch for ages but keep hesitating for some reason.
Roll #3
An 8, prompt: favorite genre using skill to cover Over the Garden Wall.
Roll #4
Another 8, prompt: longest runtime - (1978) Hercule Poirots.
Roll #5
A 7, prompt: LGBTQ+ - The Owl House.
Roll #6
A 4 and the end. Reward...let's do She-ra and the Princesses of Power.
TV Show PTW List:
[Horror/Thriller] Hell Motel
[Animation/Fantasy] Over the Garden Wall
[Mystery/Crime] 1978 Hercule Poirot
[Animation/Fantasy] The Owl House
[Animation/Fantasy] She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
[Horror/Thriller] Hell Motel
[Animation/Fantasy] Over the Garden Wall
[Mystery/Crime] 1978 Hercule Poirot
[Animation/Fantasy] The Owl House
[Animation/Fantasy] She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
30 Days of Blake's 7 - Day 8
2026-05-08 11:03 pmjulesjones Day 8: Favourite romance
Taking the question as actually meaning romance and not just sex:
"What the writers intended" - well, they mostly didn't so it's a bit hard to have a favourite. There's clearly an emotional relationship between Avon and Cally, enough for Vila to believe Blake in Voice from the Past when Blake tells him that Avon and Cally have paired up, but one would think that if they really had taken it any further than just good friends Vila would have known about it. But of the ones where there's at least a hint, that one.
"What the actors apparently didn't realise they were opening up to wilful misinterpretation" - Blake and Avon. As I mentioned a few days ago, I did not see a romantic or sexual attraction there until I first encountered Watervole in a con dealer's room and she tried to sell me a slash zine. I noted that I had no objection to gay smut, I just didn't find it believable with those two. So she told me to go and watch a particular couple of episodes/scenes with the sound off and watch the body language. Um. Yes. I don't know whether those characters were in fact at it, but I do think Avon would have liked to have been. :-) (And resented like hell the fact that Blake had that effect on him in addition to the unwanted emotional attraction.)
Taking the question as actually meaning romance and not just sex:
"What the writers intended" - well, they mostly didn't so it's a bit hard to have a favourite. There's clearly an emotional relationship between Avon and Cally, enough for Vila to believe Blake in Voice from the Past when Blake tells him that Avon and Cally have paired up, but one would think that if they really had taken it any further than just good friends Vila would have known about it. But of the ones where there's at least a hint, that one.
"What the actors apparently didn't realise they were opening up to wilful misinterpretation" - Blake and Avon. As I mentioned a few days ago, I did not see a romantic or sexual attraction there until I first encountered Watervole in a con dealer's room and she tried to sell me a slash zine. I noted that I had no objection to gay smut, I just didn't find it believable with those two. So she told me to go and watch a particular couple of episodes/scenes with the sound off and watch the body language. Um. Yes. I don't know whether those characters were in fact at it, but I do think Avon would have liked to have been. :-) (And resented like hell the fact that Blake had that effect on him in addition to the unwanted emotional attraction.)
ABC refuses to capitulate to Trump admin, fights FCC probe into The View
2026-05-08 09:08 pmarstechnica_feedABC is fighting back against the Trump administration's attempt to police broadcast television content, saying in a filing that the Federal Communications Commission is violating the First Amendment.
Led by Chairman Brendan Carr, the FCC accused ABC’s The View of not complying with the equal-time rule, even though the interview portions of talk shows have historically been exempt from the rule requiring equal time for opposing political candidates. The FCC also opened an unusual review of ABC’s broadcast licenses one day after the president and First Lady Melania Trump called on ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel over a recent joke.
An ABC filing that was made public today said the FCC exceeded its authority in actions that "threaten to upend decades of settled law and practice and chill critical protected speech, both with respect to The View and more broadly." The filing is primarily in response to the equal-time investigation, but ABC also seems determined to fight the larger license review.
Free for All Saturday, Week 19 [DW Edition]
2026-05-09 08:00 am↑↑↑ Available dates:
May 12 & 14
May 19 & 21
May 26 & 28
G'morning and come on in! :3 You're just in time for this week's Free for All. There are no themes to follow for prompts or fills. Btw, if you perhaps missed a prompt theme that you liked, or you've had any ideas that didn't really work with Tuesday's or Thursday's posts, then today's your chance to prompt 'em. Be free, and have fun! ✎
Just a few rules:
1. No more than five prompts in a row.
2. No more than three prompts in the same fandom.
3. Use the character's full name and the fandom's full name for ease in adding to the Lonely Prompts spreadsheet.
4. No spoilers in prompts for a month after airing, or use the spoiler cut option found here. Unfortunately, DW doesn’t have a cut tag, so use your best judgment when it comes to spoilers.
5. If your fill contains spoilers, warn and leave plenty of space, or use the spoiler cut.
6. If your story has possible triggers, please warn for them in the subject line!
Prompts should be formatted as follows: [Use the character's full names and fandom's full name]
Fandom, Character +/ Character, Prompt
Are today's prompts not catching your eye? No worries, because we have plenty of older prompts that just might do the trick! You can browse through the comm's calendar archive (here on LJ or here on DW) for themed and Free For All posts, or perhaps check out Sunday posts for Lonely Prompt requests. (Or, you can be like me, and try to save interesting prompts as you see 'em... and then end up with multiple text doc files full of [themes + links + prompts] that you can easily look through and search for keywords.) Multiple fills for one prompt are welcome, by the way! Oh, and you are very likely to find some awesome fills to read as well, and wouldn't it be nice to leave a comment on those lovely little writing distractions? ~_^
We are on AO3! If you fill a prompt and post it to AO3, please add it to the Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2026 collection.
If you are viewing this post on our Dreamwidth site: please know that fills posted here will not show up as comments on our LiveJournal site, but you are still more than welcome to participate. =)
If you have a Dreamwidth account and would feel more comfortable participating there, please feel free to do so… and spread the word!
A friendly reminder about our posting schedule: Themed posts for new prompts go up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturdays are a Free for All day for new prompts of any flavor. Sundays are for showing Lonely Prompts some love, whether by requesting for someone to adopt them or by sharing any fills that you've recently completed.