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Entry tags:

meme,
poetry

“Only the querulous cricket grieves, / And shrilling locust weaves / A song of summer dead.”

For Poetry Monday, more autumn from an early Modernist:

Leaves, Frederic Manning

A frail and tenuous mist lingers on baffled and intricate branches;
Little gilt leaves are still, for quietness holds every bough;
Pools in the muddy road slumber, reflecting indifferent stars;
Steeped in the loveliness of moonlight is earth, and the valleys,
Brimmed up with quiet shadow, with a mist of sleep.

But afar on the horizon rise great pulses of light,
The hammering of guns, wrestling, locked in conflict
Like brute, stone gods of old struggling confusedly;
Then overhead purrs a shell, and our heavies
Answer, with sudden clapping bruits of sound,
Loosening our shells that stream whining and whimpering precipitately,
Hounding through air athirst for blood.

And the little gilt leaves
Flicker in falling, like waifs and flakes of flame.

Manning (1882-1935) was an Australian-born writer best known for his WWI novels, but he was also a significant Imagist. This is from 1915.

---L.

Subject quote from In August, William Dean Howells.

hula

Continuing with more words from Hawaiian that aren't aloha:

hula (HOO-la) - n., a Hawaiian dance where intricate arm movements tell a story in pantomime, often accompanying a song or chant.

There are analogues in other Polynesian cultures, but the tradition was especially developed in Hawaii. Originally part of the telling of the oral histories, hula is still practiced today in both traditional forms and modern adaptations. The hula hoop toy was named because of a supposed resemblance of hip movements. From Hawaiian hula (sometimes also hula-hula), with a root meaning of just dance.

---L.

Entry tags:

12/15/25

"An Untold Story" is the twenty-third and final episode of Season Five of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, and directed by Dean White. It is the one hundred and eleventh episode of the series overall, and premiered on May 15, 2016.

This episode is the second part of the season five finale and premiered immediately following "Only You."

Rising to the Occasion

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/rising-to-the-occasion-2025

[WARNING: Those blessed/cursed with a dirty mind are going to find this post hee-LARIOUS - but should probably clear the room of innocents first. Remember, Santa is watching, kids.]

There's just something about this time of year, am I right? Crackling fires in every fireplace, romantic twinkly lights in all the trees, and of course, skin-tight Santa suits. Yep. This, my friends, is the season... OF LURRRVE.

And a good thing, too. After all, it makes us more giving:

(Step 1: Cut a hole in the box.)

More attentive:

"Yes, deer."

And even when we're feeling a bit knotty:

[insert 'morning wood' joke here]

... we know this is the time when its better to bury the hatchet, not leave.

Yes, it's the season for dropping the underpants of our emotional reticence, and letting the ding-a-ling of our love shine out.

(Oh, it's happy, all right.)

I guess what I'm trying to say here, my friends, is that Rudolph has a giant wang on his face:

And you've just gotta love that.

Thanks to Sarah L., Nick, Bridget F., Luke, & C for taking a firm upper hand with these rascally wrecks.

******

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

Dishwasher "Dirty/Clean" Slider Bar

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

*******

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/rising-to-the-occasion-2025

Entry tags:

Vindicated!

Literally the funniest thing I have read about the Heated Rivalry tv show so far (thanks to the Rec Center newsletter last Friday):

"With Hockey RPF the fanfic was for the romance and the sex, the things canon didn't provide. But in Heated Rivalry canon does provide. So logic dictates that the fanfic is there to make them actually play hockey." - (from bluesky)

It's not just me who wants more hockey in the hockey romance!

(Heated Rivalry is still not legally available in the UK; HBO Max is launching in the UK in March, hopefully it'll include the show when it does.)

Meanwhile my Rick Riordan reading adventure has come to the end of the 10 (ten!) books I bought on Kindle a decade ago for no reason I now remember, so I have been wrangling the local libraries to get more. I'm officially off sick today with this stupid cough, and resting / reading a lot.

I could be reading through the large pile of library Riordans ... but no
I could be reading one of the other four library books I have out that are due back this week ... but no
I could read one of the several books I already bought in December ... but no
I could go wild and watch the episodes-so-far of Percy Jackson on Disney+ (challenge my inability to watch anything by myself!) ... but no
I am actually reading a modern AU fanfic of Much Ado About Nothing and vaguely wondering about challenging my inability to watch anything by myself with the Tennant/Tate production

Clarke Award Finalists 2025

2025: Scientists are astonished when the largest ever dinosaur fossil trackway does not lead into the House of Lords, Tate Britain breaks with English tradition by returning looted art, and in a shocking break from centuries of Catholic precedent, the new Pope is a Cubs fan.

Poll #33961 Clarke Award Finalists 2025

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6

View Respondents

Which 2025 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
1 (16.7%)

Extremophile by Ian Green
0 (0.0%)

Private Rites by Julia Armfield
0 (0.0%)

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
3 (50.0%)

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
4 (66.7%)

Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maud Woolf
0 (0.0%)

Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.

Which 2025 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
Extremophile by Ian Green
Private Rites by Julia Armfield
Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maud Woolf

Entry tags:

housing,
projects

Attempted socialing and work work

I attempted to do social things twice this weekend and neither attempt happened. Saturday was an SCA event, but I looked at the weather and our wood levels and decided that I needed to split wood on Saturday instead. It was the only day that even approached near freezing, it hovered around 30F with only a little wind. In contrast, yesterday was 25F with 10-20 mph winds. Freezing cold, I was displeased, today is also supposed to be windy.

So Saturday, I split wood. I had to chainsaw a lot of the logs as I went since the bobcat can only pick up 16 foot lengths and the logs we had delivered were 32. That warmed me up nicely for sure. Nothing wanted to start and run well since it was so chilly first thing in the morning. Once I did that, I started with our outdoor burner wood, I split big logs into big chunks in the back of the dump trailer. This is probably two weeks of wood. We split this pretty much as big as we can lift, although I like a eight inch diameter log to be split in half for ease of throwing into the burner. Once it gets heavier, it is hard to throw it to the back of the burner.

A green dump trailer heaped full of split wood.

A green dump trailer heaped full of split wood.

( cut for more wood info and house renovation fun )

Entry tags:

Rob & Michele Reiner killed

Reading about this was such a shock! How horrific.

Rob Reiner and His Wife Michele Were Killed by Their Son (Exclusive Sources) (people.com)

Current Mood: happy

It's snow day

Fortunately, the snow was light and fluffy and not too deep so I got out my Big Floor Broom and started in on clearing the driveway. I'm half way done when I hear the sputtering sound of a snow blower being started next door. I'd finished the driveway when my neighbor (actually her boyfriend) got the engine going and started in on the sidewalk. I did some other clean up as he did his and my sidewalks. He paused at our driveway and I thanked him. He pointed to the walk way leading up to our front porch and said he'd do that. I chuckled and replied, "Sure go for it. I don't want to interrupt a Boy with his Toy.

He grinned and replied, "Got that right." I left him to be all masculine and went inside to do laundry.

Current Mood: apathetic

Wake Up Dead Man

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Entry tags:

The Day in Spikedluv (Sunday, Dec 14)

I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher, went for a walk with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, changed kitty litter (my funnest Sunday task), and ordered an Etsy GC. I did not have to make supper because it was leftovers from The Bear's.

I made myself cheesy scrambled eggs for breakfast. I think I’ve mentioned that I hate cooking breakfast for myself. I love breakfast foods, though. I think I’ve discovered the secret. Which is to wait a little while until I’m more awake. Like, don’t try to make breakfast as soon as I’m dressed, but wait until I’ve, say, checked my f-list. Once I’m awake, it feels like less of a chore. When I try to do it earlier, my body is like, you made us get up, and now you want us to cook breakfast, too? What kind of insanity is this?!! o_O

I finished reading Killing Floor and watched the Bills’ game. I enjoy a good come-from-behind win, but they need to stop doing this to me. Evening background tv was Secrets of the Zoo.

Temps started out at 18.7(F) and reached 25.0. We were only supposed to get ‘less than an inch’ overnight, but according to Pip it was more like 2-3 inches. It’s not a lot, but enough to make a mess of the driveway and the walking trails, so he was out snow blowing for a while.

Mom Update:

I talked to mom on the phone; she didn’t sound great. My brother had visited and she was watching a Hallmark Christmas movie, but she said her day had just been so-so. I expect she’s not looking forward to her first PT appointment tomorrow (Monday).

Entry tags:

the 15th already, huh?

well well well, if it isn't another Monday, and I'm feeling ::checks notes:: oh yeah, completely overwhelmed by all the stuff I want to do today!

on the 'not the worst problem to have' side of things, it's a lot of things I genuinely do want to do! (crochet weekend did not wind up actually including much crochet...) and it's nice to feel like there are things I'm looking forward to doing

on the 'this is still not a fun feeling' side of things, it's, you know, not a fun feeling? I have a list (I have So Many lists), and that does not help as much as I would like to imagine it would

NEVERTHELESS! let us persist!

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Fiona Apple - On The Bound

Entry tags:

Yellowjackets: Final Season Theories and Speculations

Ever since it was announced that the upcoming fourth season of Yellowjackets will be its last, I have been thinking about what that final season will entail, including theories and speculations of the explanations of everything that has been happening and what the ending will be like to wrap up the entire story and the arcs of the characters.

( My theories for the events in the show. )

( My speculation on the ending. )

Whatever the ending is going to be, at least it will be interesting to see how certain things are wrapped up.

Entry tags:

using up yarn

Sock yarns

Wearing wool boot socks over your normal socks is standard in winter. For this purpose it doesn't matter how rough or itchy the socks are.

But wearing warm and cozy socks against the skin is different. It's best if they are wool because of its superior warmth, breathability, and anti-smelly properties, but not every sock yarn is good for the purpose. For instance, the popular Schachenmeyer Regia Pairfect, dyed to make two identical socks including the self-striping Pride socks, is a bit scratchy.

Merino "luxury" sock yarns are pretty popular - merino being the finest and least scratchy of sheep wools - especially hand-dyed ones, which were so trendy about ten years ago that small dyeing businesses were springing up like mushrooms and ill-advised ugly projects made with spatter-dyed wools (it looks fine on socks but the colors do unfortunate things on sweaters and other large canvases) were similarly all over Ravelry. Merino is smooth and silky, but it feels a little like cotton because the fiber is so fine and so tightly spun, so as a result the socks are not fuzzy or cozy.

Alpaca is the best fiber to add the fuzziness to a cozy sock, but it's not as stretchy and elastic as sheep's wool. Wool socks made without elastic already don't always stay up well, depending on a lot of factors, but alpaca by itself is limper, so the challenge is how to blend alpaca and sheep's wool.

I have raved in the past about the sock wool Spøt by Sandnes, which made wonderfully fuzzy thick socks and is now discontinued. But their elasticity was so bad that they couldn't be worn out at all.

My newest socks are made with Drops Nord, another alpaca blend, which I am currently very happy with. It's 45% alpaca, so it's likely that the texture of the fabric makes a big difference. My socks are cabled, and that might be holding their shape. Ribbed and stockinette socks are the worst at staying up.

Entry tags:

multifandom icons.

Fandoms: 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star, 9-1-1: Nashville, Good Trouble, Ransom Canyon, Six Is Not A Crowd, Stay By My Side, XO, Kitty

rest HERE @

mundodefieras

Entry tags:

trpg

The Endie Awards 2025 - TTRPG I have enjoyed & New Year Resolution

Recently I finally have time to delve into my massive backlog of solo ttrpg from the various huge itch.io bundles I bought.

Superhero DIY Award:

See Issue X is a solo superhero RPG that emulate superhero comics. It uses playing cards to help generate characters and plot prompts. The mechanic is kind of complicated - I was confused how to deal with discarded cards at first. However, it provides a clear act structure and freedom for you to decide what prompts to use/ignore. I have generated my environmentalist Aquawoman superheroine who fights to protect the ocean and enjoyed the twists.

One More Tea Award

Last Tea Shop Complete is a solo RPG that you run a tea shop on the border of the living and the dead. The recently deceased visit for one last hot drink before their long journey into the Great Beyond. It's very reflective and meditative. It's fun to generate the vistors, and decide what tea to serve them (with different story effects).

Small Is Beautiful Award

One Day at a Thyme is a cozy solo journaling game in which you play the inhabitant of a cottage in a magical world. It's short and very relaxing to play.

Genre Savvy Award

Reincarnated as the Unlovable Villainess?! is a solo RPG that you are isekaied as the doomed villain protagonist in an otome game. I really like it. It's short but has a good balance of strategy elements (to survive to the end) and journalling elements. It's both a love letter to the genre and an enjoyable game.

New Year Resolution

I have just bought For Small Creatures Such As We, a 256 page solo ttrpg about a space ship captain and their alien crews. It's more structured and detailed than the above titles, but I hope I can start a game soon.

Fan commercial power: is there such a thing?

Posted by fanhackers-mods

https://fanhackers.tumblr.com/post/802974690048098304

Fannish communities feel a sense of ownership over their media, but this feeling does not make them powerful in a sense.

Like the poachers of old, fans operate from a position of cultural marginality and social weakness. Like other popular readers, fans lack direct access to the means of commercial cultural production and have only the most limited resources with which to influence entertainment industry’s decisions. (…) Within the cultural economy, fans are peasants, not propreitors, a recognition which must contextualize our celebration of strategies of popular resistance.

Jenkins, Henry. 1992. Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. New York: Routledge.
This cultural marginality appears in the definition of fandoms and in the past few posts, I was looking at fandoms through the lens of ‘save our show’ campaigns with Savage (2014).

First, we discussed how viewing communities and a sense of ownership develops which enables these campaigns. This affection also appeared in what viewers wrote in their letter campaigns but was far from the only or even most effective tool they used.
Savage (2014) describe a variety methods. One way was to prove to be valuable as an auidance despite the Nielsen ratings which is possible through highlighting certain characteristics of the community: their demographic attributes or their loyalty.

Niche marketing (for example, gay programming) or strategic diversity values demographic attributes, particularly attributes that – in advertisers’ eyes – are connected to purchasing power or potential interest in certain particular products.
Sender, Katherine. 2007. “Dualcasting: Bravo’s Gay Programming and the Quest for Women Audiences.” In Cable Visions: Television beyond Broadcasting, edited by Sarah Banet-Weiser, Cynthia Chris, and Anthony Freitas, 302–18. New York: New York University Press.
Patterson, Eleanor. 2018. “ABC’s #TGIT and the Cultural Work of Programming Social Television.” In “Social TV Fandom and the Media Industries,” edited by Myles McNutt, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 26. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2018.1147.

Audience loyalty is an emotional investment that can translate to longterm planning and, also, purchasing power.
Abbott, S. 2010. The Cult TV book: From Star Trek to Dexter, New Approaches to TV Outside the Box. Soft Skull Press.
In other cases, audiences looked for sponsors and advertisers themselves or the already existing viewing community advertised the show to potential new viewers or educated each other in how to watch the show the right way (through broadcast, cable, streaming etc.), the right way here being the ones that generates the best data.
Data fandom is something we have discussed before in this post. Just like then, no matter if we see these cases as the producers guiding the behaviour of fandom or fandom behaving in a way that makes it so that the producers will find beneficial to make certain decisions, at the end of the day, it is the logic of the market that is behind these behaviours. We would have to say: everything is for sale, including…
Savage, Christina. 2014 “Chuck versus the Ratings: Savvy Fans and ‘Save Our Show’ Campaigns.” In “Fandom and/as Labor,” edited by Mel Stanfill and Megand Condis, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 15. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2014.0497

https://fanhackers.tumblr.com/post/802974690048098304

(no subject)

Happy birthday,

dancing_moon and

sdn!

Current Mood: happy

Entry tags:

fandom,
writing

Fandom when I love it best

I'm having a really happy fandom time at the moment. It's the whole virtuous cycle of being in sync with a couple of fellow ~~gremlins~~ fans who are into the same thing I am, in similar ways, where we cheer for canon, we cheer for our shared interpretation, and we cheer and enable each other.

That means at the moment, when I'm writing, I often have one reader's specific reactions in mind and it is glorious. I don't really need more, or it helps me not count on it at least. I have a good chance of connecting with a fellow fan, brain-to-brain, heart-to-heart and that is JOYFUL!

So I wrote last night's drabble like that, which was also fun because I want to write more shorter things, too. More yeeting into the void. Sometimes being so slow gnaws a bit at my confidence, when it takes SO! DAMN! LONG! to finish anything haha, and then it's hard not to build up expectations.

Having said that I returned to editing my long poly Kaijuu No. 8 fic this morning, which I'm having such a grand time with :D I knew the first half didn't work well and wasn't sure how to fix it originally, thought I might have to go the whole enchilida and reverse-outline it. Anchoring ~~healed me~~ fixed it, though! :D And yesterday I reached the turning point scene in the middle, which STILL makes me laugh out loud after *checks spreadsheet* 3 months since I wrote it, and I'm still cackling. This is the scene from which I found my feet so I've been cooing and giggling and awww-ing in my editing this morning XD

Incidentally, I think this is one of my failures with the cursed witch, and many of my original projects. I tend to go in serious mode, when I believe that integrating humour in stories is a strength of mine. There's a couple of lighthearted and funny moments in the witch story, but I didn't leave a lot of space for that.

But also my main enabling friend went 👀👀👀 at me about the kn8 turning point scene yesterday so I got to share it early, and they laughed too, and I'm happy. I can write stories and have fun doing it, I can fix most/many problems in my writing once I noticed them, I can share with at least one or two people who appreciate whatever it is I'm trying to do, at least some of the time.

Wishing you all an amazing week!!!!!!!!!