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just one thing

Just one thing: 16-17 August 2025

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!

(no subject)

Happy birthday,

negothick and

quiara!

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The Day in Spikedluv (Saturday, Aug 16)

I hit the Bakery and Agway while I was downtown and got in a walk around the park. I stopped at the bank on the way home and at the library on the way to mom’s. (I also stopped at the garage on the way home because someone brought in eggs. Even though the price has dropped substantially (and I just bought an 18-pack this week), you don’t turn down free eggs these days!)

I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, took the dogs for a short walk (where I got more pumpkin photos!), cut up chicken for the dogs’ meals, and scooped kitty litter.

I visited mom and read more (some in Hapshetsup and some in two different Kindle cozies).

Temps started out at 62.7(F) and reached 90.5. So much for cooler temps. It was overcast on the way downtown, so I checked the weather app. Forecast now called for a chance of rain today and tomorrow. Whether we actually get it or not is a different story. Check back later. *g* Later: In shocking news, we did not get any rain today.

Mom Update:

Mom was still feeling weak today. ( more back here )

(no subject)

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/386943-2/386943/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386943

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After nearly a year of not having a senior engineer, we finally hired a new one and he starts today. The office with a buzz with gossip despite the fact this guy has been being vetted for months now. Everyone wants to know what his deal is and seem to think I am the one […]

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https://notalwaysright.com/386943-2/386943/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386943

(no subject)

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/386942-2/386942/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386942

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I go to a high school that has a regular uniform and another, more formal, uniform for assemblies and school pictures. There are several picture days throughout the year and I assume that I’m not participating in this particular one since I’m not in any of the teams having their pictures taken. At the last […]

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https://notalwaysright.com/386942-2/386942/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386942

(no subject)

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/386955-2/386955/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386955

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In 2010, I was invited to a balloon event by a group of local (Albuquerque) hot air balloonists. Hot air balloons are a “thing” in Albuquerque. This was not the big October Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, just a small group of balloonists and friends. Anyway, one of the balloonists had just turned 50, so he received […]

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https://notalwaysright.com/386955-2/386955/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386955

(no subject)

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/386893-2/386893/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386893

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We’re all getting ready for bed. My mother as usual is taking care of night-proofing the living room. Mum: Heater turned off, glasses off. Me: Mind switched off? Mum: Sort of. My mum then walks to the other half of the living room, walking past my dad who only just got up from the couch. […]

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https://notalwaysright.com/386893-2/386893/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386893

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books

Mai Ishizawa, "The Place of Shells"

Felt I was primed to respond to this one: overtly literary (published in America by New Directions) with significant speculative elements, strong sense of place in the university city of Göttingen, themes of memory and haunting, even a touch of climate (geology?) fiction through its focus on the 2011 Japanese tsunami. Not to mention the Planetenweg. I mean, have a look at these blurbs:

"An exquisite, mysterious novel of mourning on a planetary scale." — Booklist

"A work of great delicacy and seriousness. Ishizawa anchors the temporal and the ghostly with a transfixing pragmatism, and the result is a shifting, tessellated kaleidoscope of memory, architecture, history and grief."
— Jessica Au

"The Place of Shells is a meditation on art, death, and belonging. It reads like an eerie, shimmering fever dream where the boundaries between past and present, reality and fantasy, life and death often shatter. A strange and beautiful memento mori of a novel."
— Jenny Mustard

The premise: "In the summer of 2020, a young Japanese academic based in the German city of Göttingen waits at the train station to meet her old friend Nomiya, who died nine years earlier in Japan's devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami but has now inexplicably returned from the dead." She takes this very much in stride – or at least finds herself unable to speak about it or directly acknowledge its strangeness – but then more intrusions from the past begin to appear across the city...

What's interesting is how my genre expectations led me astray, because ultimately in its resolution I felt that Place of Shells was much more in the tradition of Japanese "healing fiction," along the lines of What You Are Looking For Is in the Library. In a way it's a social-harmony-restored novel. For me that didn't work, but I often feel that I'm reading Japanese literature in slightly the wrong key, or at least without sufficient genre context.

Although the novel addresses the Holocaust, and in a way uses mentions of the Holocaust to strengthen its themes around memory, loss and haunting, it is definitely not about the Holocaust. It would be a bit churlish to object to that: this is a Japanese novel set abroad, rather than one about Germany's past. But having been reminded by the Wikipedia article about the city that Leó Szilárd and Edward Teller were on the faculty at the university before the Nazis came to power, it strikes me that this could have been a bigger book (it's very slight), perhaps in conversation with When We Cease to Understand the World, or at least with the metaphorical tsunami of the atomic bomb and its impact on Japan. Author missed a trick, perhaps?

In summary: I've never read a book that was so strongly in the tradition of WG Sebald while at the same time being so completely unlike WG Sebald. Which fascinates me.

(no subject)

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/386914-2/386914/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386914

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I’m a substitute school bus driver. One day, as a group of middle school (ages 10-14 or so) got on the bus to go home, a girl stopped and looked me up and down appraisingly. Girl: Would you say you’re a strict bus driver? Me: I’ll put it this way: you’ll get the ride you […]

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https://notalwaysright.com/386914-2/386914/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386914

(no subject)

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/386913-2/386913/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386913

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(It’s the second day of school and my math teacher is proving to be a little weird and rambly. Someone offhandedly says something about church) Teacher: “Yeah are you ever sitting in church and thinking about how insignificant life is? like this guy is trying to tell me about all this stuff and-” (He grabs […]

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https://notalwaysright.com/386913-2/386913/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386913

Parents & should-haves

I'm tired. That feeling of trying too hard, not doing enough, and just not sleeping well enough, not sleeping long enough.

It's 2 weeks since I posted. Bryan, my lovely father-in-law, has been staying with us for the past fortnight, and on Friday sister-in-law came to fetch him. Father-in-law will stay with them until August bank holiday and then she'll see him home. He's still living on his own but too frail & unsteady to travel, so we are doing looong visits and 'pass-the-aged-parent' from one child to another.

Now that Bryan has left I'm regretful, thinking that I didn't spend enough time sitting with him, talking to him, going out to teashops with him. He's ninety, he doesn't have that much time left, and I'm feeling that I've wasted it.

I'm travelling up to Scotland today (I leave for station in an hour) to stay with my mother for a few days. I'm trying to spend more time with her, and what seems to work best is a longer visit, but one where I've also got something else to do so my Mum & I don't spend all our time together and get on each other's nerves. It can get fraught. Last time I took my laptop and worked during day, and spent the evening sitting with & listening to my mother. This time the Edinburgh fringe is in full swing, so I'm going to take bus into Edinburgh and see some of that during the day.

It's a little odd re-reading this - worrying about not enough time with one older and planning time so not too much time with another. We will see - I don't want to come home full of "should have"

(no subject)

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/386912-2/386912/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386912

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My daughter is too young to talk, but has been experimenting with sounds. She doesn’t actually mean anything by it, but she’s starting saying “mama” a lot. Daughter: mamamama Me: mamama Daughter: mama Me: Ro ma ro mama? Daughter: mamama Me: Baby, do you want a Bad Romance? *my husband turns to me horrified* Husband: […]

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https://notalwaysright.com/386912-2/386912/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386912

(no subject)

Posted by Not Always Right

https://notalwaysright.com/386911-2/386911/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386911

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I’ve been friends with a guy ever since elementary school. For the sake of the story, I’ll call him Jojo, his nickname, and John, his true name. Jojo came out as gay to me at the end of High School. I thought it was funny, because most kids in the class, as well as teachers, […]

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https://notalwaysright.com/386911-2/386911/

https://notalwaysright.com/?p=386911

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due: 2025 august

Rare Male Slash Exchange Pinch Hits Due August 24th

Event: Rare Male Slash Exchange, a gift exchange for rare male slash pairings, creating fanart, podfic and fic. These are post deadline pinchhits, the exchange reveals without delays on August 30th.
Event link: AO3| DW
Pinch hit link: Post Deadline Pinchhits
Due date: Sunday 24 August at 20:00 UTC. You can view a countdown here.

PDPH 1 - [All Fanart, Some Fanfic]Crossover Fandom, Naruto (Anime & Manga), 新世界狂歡｜NU: carnival (Video Game)

PDPH 2 - [All Fanfic] 英雄伝説閃の軌跡 | Sen no Kiseki | The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel Series (Video Games), 英雄伝説黎の軌跡 | Kuro no Kiseki | The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak Series (Video Games), Star Ocean: The Second Story | Second Evolution, 찌질한 서브공이 되었습니다 | I Became the Lousy Side Top (Webcomic), Ensemble Stars! (Video Game), Original Work, Chrono Trigger, 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime)

PDPH 3 - [All Fanfic + Podfic] Biggles Series - W. E. Johns, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Labyrinth (1986), Sime~Gen - Jacqueline Lichtenberg & Jean Lorrah, Devil Went Down to Georgia - Charlie Daniels Band (Song), Original Work

PDPH 4 - [All Fanfic, Some Fanart] Top Gun (Movies), The Pitt (TV), Stargate Atlantis, The Expendables (Movies), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Teen Wolf (TV), Call of Duty (Video Games)

PDPH 5 - [All Fanfic + Fanart + Podfic] The Expanse Series - James S. A. Corey, The Expanse (TV), Frankenstein - Mary Shelley, The Idylls of the Queen - Phyllis Ann Karr, Jaws (Movies), Mesopotamian Mythology, Moby Dick - Herman Melville

PDPH 6 - [All Fanart + Fanfic] NoPixel (Web Series), 鴨乃橋ロンの禁断推理 | Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri | Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective (Manga), 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs, 吸血鬼すぐ死ぬ | Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu | The Vampire Dies in No Time (Anime), Runescape (Video Games)

PDPH 7 - [All Fanart + Fanfic + Podfic]人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 大梦归离 | Fangs of Fortune (TV), Original Work

PDPH 8 - [All Fanfic] 六爻 | Liu Yao: The Revitalization of Fuyao Sect - priest, 余污 - 肉包不吃肉 | Remnants of Filth - Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat, Green Creek Series - T.J. Klune, 时光代理人 | Link Click (Cartoon), 魔尊也想知道 - 青色羽翼 | Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know - Cyan Wings, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 莲花楼 | Mysterious Lotus Casebook (TV), 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, All For The Game - Nora Sakavic, The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir

PDPH 9 - [All Fanfic] Dishonored (Video Games), BioShock 1 & 2 (Video Games), Revenge (1990)

PDPH 10 - [All Fanart + Fanfic + Podfic] The Slow Mo Guys – RPF, Inside No. 9 (TV), Star Trek: The Next Generation, Black Mirror (TV), Our Flag Means Death (TV), Severance (TV), The Thick of It (TV), Palo Santo - Years & Years (Music Video), Star Wars Original Trilogy, South Park RPF

PDPH 11 - [All Fanfic] The Game and the Candle - Eleanor M. Ingram, Lucifer's Wife - Eleanor M. Ingram, Don Estevan's Honor - Eleanor M. Ingram

PDPH 12 - [All Fanfic] Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Leverage (US TV 2008), The Librarians (TV 2014), The Librarians: The Next Chapter (TV 2025), Star Wars Original Trilogy, Crossover Fandom, Crossover Fandom, White Collar (TV 2009), DCU (Comics)

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organisation

on organisation, and notes

Having now acquired a uni laptop for study, I'm handling the different parts of my life better. One of the things that I'm really starting to embrace is Obsidian.

After a couple of false starts, I've moved my daily journalling there--I've created a template, and literally the only thing I require of myself each day is that I click the button that generates the daily note. Some days I don't do more than that, but as the template has a couple of verb tags, I come back afterwards and revisit. So far I mostly haven't been adding any details, but I am copying my 750 words in there, and if then afterwards at some point I will read through those (tag: to-do/tidy) and see whether anything resonates. This is a deliberately asynchronous process, because dumping the everything is cathartic, and I won't know what is going to resonate.

One of the interesting things is that I'm capturing bits and bobs of ideas, and not really worrying about where they go. It is possible that I'll never look at them again, and that is okay. but it is also possible that at some point I'll do a search on a word, see the set of things, and make a map of content. This is not a curated garden, this is a bushland with paths.

But! it means that I have draft blog posts that I remember to go and look at, because I have tagged them as blog/draft, and thus I have successfully separated out 'I have a thing I want to write' from 'dealing with posting'. Which is probably going to mean that things will be posted in clumps (this post is going straight into the editor, which is not the current normal).

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book lists

reading lists (2025-07-04)

from the drafts archive

Bookbub: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of Summer 2025 (Jeff Somers) - supposedly a 'curated' list; I saw a number of new to me authors. There were three that I'm lukewarm about and have added to the list, and the rest I was bored by the descriptions. I suspect this is part of an ongoing issue with the way that blurbs are written, as I'm increasingly uninterested

added

Infinite Archive (Mur Lafferty) - because it is book three in the series; and I'm interested in where it might go
Lucky Day (Chuck Tingle) - maybe
Hemlock and Silver (T Kingfisher)

Transfer orbit: 11 new books for July - unsurprisingly, some overlap with the previous list; the only one I could have added was already there from the above list.

Gizmodo: 82 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Arriving in July - this is really too many books. I have skimmed, but wasn't committing to reading everything. Unsurprisingly, there are repeats. The blurbs here were shorter, and yet worse. I did add a couple to the list, but I'm a bit dubious. The Arthuriana one is intriguing, but book 3 of a series; the new Rivers of London one is of interest to Artisanat

added:

Arthur by Giles Kristian - book 3, but Arthurian
The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

New Scientist: The best new science fiction books of July 2025 - some of the same books, with more interesting summaries. I am, however, a grouch, and added a single book to the 'maybe' list

maybe:

Circular Motion (Alex Foster)

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So I broke my toe

It's all dealt with now, I am just keeping off my feet even more than usual while it heals, but thought I should let people know!

Details and some stuff about life in general under the cut, including mention of my colonoscopy (two unrelated minor surgeries in a month is TWO TOO MANY) and mention of blood/needles etc.

So above the cut I'll say: If you ever need to keep a bandaged toe dry in the shower, put a stretchy glove over it! Works like a charm!
( Read more... )

(no subject)

Dear Care and Feeding,

My mom lives several states away. We see her a couple times a year, but my children don’t know her well because of the distance. Meanwhile, my sister lives around the corner from her, so her kids have a completely different relationship with “Grandma” than mine do.

She recently visited us, and I needed her to pick my 8-year-old up from day camp. It would be just the two of them for a few hours before I got off work, something that hasn’t happened before—usually I’m around or my sister’s kids. Well, that day, my son did not have a good time at camp and apparently didn’t talk much after pickup. He was even quiet with me once we met up. My mom said that she had to spend all afternoon with my son, and he wouldn’t talk to her. We had planned to get ice cream together, but my mom asked me to drop her off at the house instead.

She later told me that my son needs to be taught how to respond to people. I have tried reading him books about interacting with people, I have role-played with him and read many articles on how to help him. I don’t know how to make my shy, sensitive child respond to people he is uncomfortable with. Do you have tips? How can I help my mom to have a better relationship with him?

—Grandma/Grandson Mediator

( Read more... )

(no subject)

Dear Prudence,

My husband got totally hammered at my sister’s wedding and somehow ended up falling into the wedding cake. I reimbursed them for the cost of it and made my husband write a letter of apology, but they are still furious, as are more than a few family members. What can we do to mend fences?

—Cake Catastrophe

( Read more... )

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Fandom 5k fic

Finally revealed! The fic I wrote for Fandom5k:

The Ordinary Ever After Part (5552 words) by thawrecka
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Bleach (Anime & Manga)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ayasegawa Yumichika/Madarame Ikkaku
Characters: Madarame Ikkaku, Ayasegawa Yumichika
Additional Tags: Fluff, Slice of Life, Established Relationship, Humor, Smut, Post-Thousand Year Blood War Arc (Bleach)
Summary:

A series of moments in Ikkaku and Yumichika's life together.

Getting this assignment is also directly responsible for me getting back into Bleach, rofl. When thinking about signing up I saw someone requesting this pairing and thought, sure, I could write that pairing, I'm willing to sign up for that. And as soon as I got my assignment I went on an unhinged full manga canon review and got back into the anime and etc. etc. Well, I'm having a great time.