Melania, Part 1
Apr. 5th, 2026 08:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabbyThis, for many of us, is a season of sacrifice. Whether we sacrifice terrible wine to the memory of slaughtered Egyptian infants and our regular bowel movements to the strange dictates of Bronze Age rabbis, or we honour the brief death and subsequent resurrection of a basically chill guy with a terrible fanbase, we swap temporary comfort for the greater good of the community. It is in this spirit that I bring to you the ultimate sacrifice, which is that I watched the Melania movie so that you don’t have to.
You’re welcome. Can atheist Jews be given sainthood? Because I would like some prayer candles with pictures of me in a blinged up goth outfit for what I have just endured.
A warning upfront: There is no way I can talk about this ahem-film without going into the sexual abuse of children, genocide, and the litany of grotesque crimes committed by the Trump regime and circle of ghouls around Jeffrey Epstein. It’s not funny but I’m going to make dark jokes about it because that’s how I cope with trauma. And dear readers, I have suffered trauma. I also cannot talk about this film without making some comments about people’s appearances, which I know is a sensitive point for many of us. If that kind of thing is triggering, might I suggest one of my reviews of slightly better movies like Left Behind or Atlas Shrugged?
( Here we go again. )
You’re welcome. Can atheist Jews be given sainthood? Because I would like some prayer candles with pictures of me in a blinged up goth outfit for what I have just endured.
A warning upfront: There is no way I can talk about this ahem-film without going into the sexual abuse of children, genocide, and the litany of grotesque crimes committed by the Trump regime and circle of ghouls around Jeffrey Epstein. It’s not funny but I’m going to make dark jokes about it because that’s how I cope with trauma. And dear readers, I have suffered trauma. I also cannot talk about this film without making some comments about people’s appearances, which I know is a sensitive point for many of us. If that kind of thing is triggering, might I suggest one of my reviews of slightly better movies like Left Behind or Atlas Shrugged?
( Here we go again. )
Next time, if you're real good, you get to see a Dracula cape.
Short Links List
Apr. 5th, 2026 03:41 pmmuccamukkIt's getting to the point where stuff I bookmarked to share is now out dated. Whoops! Posted in order saved. Mostly just posting the headline, and either the deck or a pull quote.
The Tyee: The Fallout from Reporting on White Nationalism in Canada.
Literary Hub: What Was Lost: A Queer Accounting of the NY Times Book Review, 2013-2022.
Feminegra: Media Layoffs Expose the Meghan Sussex Smear Economy.
[I love that the guy they're interviewing is like, "Yeah I fully took money to write misogyny slop about Meghan Sussex!" with zero apparent introspection or regret.]
Momentum: Not In Our Name: Women and Feminists for Trans Rights.
[Canadian campaign against transphobic legislation.]
Meditations in an Emergency/Rebecca Solnit: Eight Million Protestors and No Kings: The Case for Showing Up.
The Discourse: Meet the researcher putting Indigenous knowledge at the heart of ecological restoration.
Transport Canada: Survey: Canadian experience with vehicle headlights and glare at night.
[If you're Canadian, it would be helpful to fill out this survey, especially if you drive. It's admittedly not as geared for people who only walk, but I put my two cents in anyway. Down with BLINDING LED HEADLIGHTS!]
The Tyee: The Fallout from Reporting on White Nationalism in Canada.
Journalist Rachel Gilmore published an investigation in The Tyee. The men she unmasked showed up to intimidate her in person.
Literary Hub: What Was Lost: A Queer Accounting of the NY Times Book Review, 2013-2022.
What followed became an exercise in thinking through what is lost—and perhaps can never be regained—when transphobes and their enablers rise to prominence as our most powerful cultural gatekeepers.
Feminegra: Media Layoffs Expose the Meghan Sussex Smear Economy.
[I love that the guy they're interviewing is like, "Yeah I fully took money to write misogyny slop about Meghan Sussex!" with zero apparent introspection or regret.]
Momentum: Not In Our Name: Women and Feminists for Trans Rights.
[Canadian campaign against transphobic legislation.]
Meditations in an Emergency/Rebecca Solnit: Eight Million Protestors and No Kings: The Case for Showing Up.
I believe that millions are endeavoring to build a cathedral of democracy and a stronghold against authoritarianism. You build it in private in organizations and networks, and you build it in the streets with direct defense of those under attack and with protests like the monumental one on Saturday.
The Discourse: Meet the researcher putting Indigenous knowledge at the heart of ecological restoration.
For decades, well-intentioned conservationists have been restoring culturally significant Indigenous places without the peoples they belong to. Researcher Jennifer Grenz says that’s exactly why so many of those efforts have failed.
Transport Canada: Survey: Canadian experience with vehicle headlights and glare at night.
[If you're Canadian, it would be helpful to fill out this survey, especially if you drive. It's admittedly not as geared for people who only walk, but I put my two cents in anyway. Down with BLINDING LED HEADLIGHTS!]
Pep talks
Apr. 5th, 2026 12:36 pmmildred_of_midgardI've discovered that a pep talk that works one day doesn't work the next. Last time I tried to reuse the previous run's oh-so-effective pep talk, and it didn't work; I wimped out early.
This time I found one!!
It was based on the conversation I had with my roommate after my last run, discussing my regrets at having quit too soon, and which I summarized in my post here: "All the stamina-building happens in the last 20-40 minutes. In order to get to the last 20-40 minutes, you have to go through the first 2 hours. That's 2 hours I could be spending working on Peter Keith, Old Irish pedagogy, geology, German, Russian Duolingo, cleaning our vertical blinds and recaulking our bathtub, etc. So it really makes sense to do those last 20-40 minutes of pure exhaustion to get the most out of the first 2 hours."
These were my pep talks:
"The next 20 minutes are the only 20 minutes that matter." (Knowing full well that I was aiming for 40 minutes, but 20 minutes was a good manageable number my brain was willing to work with.)
"There's no point to having put yourself through the last 2.5 hours unless you do the next 20 minutes."
"You have a golden window of opportunity right now to do the strength- and stamina-building you came here for. You will not have that window of opportunity again, unless you invest the 2.5 hours into it, and it will be just as hard as this. So in a very real sense, it's now or never."
The phrase "golden window of opportunity" kept pounding through my head, and it *worked*. Like, it really worked.
The other pep talk was "You're going for distance, not speed."
I had really wanted to compare my half-marathon time to last time, then take a refueling break, but my knee messed it up. So I gave up timing anything. But I could tell I was going slower. And so my pep talk was that a 10-minute mile wasn't important, building muscle strength *now*, even slowly, means *next time* my time will be better.
My overall time for the 18.5 miles was 3:18:30, which included walking half a mile, refueling breaks, etc. Plus the initial slow run. If you do the math, that's a 10.7 minute mile, with the understanding that some of it was standing still and some of it was walking. It puts me on track for a 4h40m marathon. Which is...not my goal, but faster than some other people (men) I know have done it, and I'm still early in my training days! 2 months ago I wasn't running at all. 7 weeks ago I was starting at 1.5 miles.
This time I found one!!
It was based on the conversation I had with my roommate after my last run, discussing my regrets at having quit too soon, and which I summarized in my post here: "All the stamina-building happens in the last 20-40 minutes. In order to get to the last 20-40 minutes, you have to go through the first 2 hours. That's 2 hours I could be spending working on Peter Keith, Old Irish pedagogy, geology, German, Russian Duolingo, cleaning our vertical blinds and recaulking our bathtub, etc. So it really makes sense to do those last 20-40 minutes of pure exhaustion to get the most out of the first 2 hours."
These were my pep talks:
"The next 20 minutes are the only 20 minutes that matter." (Knowing full well that I was aiming for 40 minutes, but 20 minutes was a good manageable number my brain was willing to work with.)
"There's no point to having put yourself through the last 2.5 hours unless you do the next 20 minutes."
"You have a golden window of opportunity right now to do the strength- and stamina-building you came here for. You will not have that window of opportunity again, unless you invest the 2.5 hours into it, and it will be just as hard as this. So in a very real sense, it's now or never."
The phrase "golden window of opportunity" kept pounding through my head, and it *worked*. Like, it really worked.
The other pep talk was "You're going for distance, not speed."
I had really wanted to compare my half-marathon time to last time, then take a refueling break, but my knee messed it up. So I gave up timing anything. But I could tell I was going slower. And so my pep talk was that a 10-minute mile wasn't important, building muscle strength *now*, even slowly, means *next time* my time will be better.
My overall time for the 18.5 miles was 3:18:30, which included walking half a mile, refueling breaks, etc. Plus the initial slow run. If you do the math, that's a 10.7 minute mile, with the understanding that some of it was standing still and some of it was walking. It puts me on track for a 4h40m marathon. Which is...not my goal, but faster than some other people (men) I know have done it, and I'm still early in my training days! 2 months ago I wasn't running at all. 7 weeks ago I was starting at 1.5 miles.
Eighteen miles
Apr. 5th, 2026 12:16 pmmildred_of_midgardAlmost 3 quarters of a marathon!
I don't have a real time, because my knee messed things up. It hurt a bit when I set off, for the first two blocks, so I had to run super slowly to warm it up, and that slowed down my time in a very obvious way. Then at around 11-11.5 miles, another runner was coming toward me. We were in a very tight spot between bushes, and he was moving much faster than I was, so I gave him right of way, and I had to make a sudden lateral move to get out of his way.
My knee did not like the sudden lateral move, and it erupted into acute pain. I had to stop immediately. Then I walked a few steps, tried running, and--nope. So I walked half a mile to the end of the loop, drank some water, and tried running again. My knee made ominous twinges, but I was very slow and tentative, just trying to do something that was not a walk, adjusting my stride to this and that angle...and after about two blocks, my knee went back to normal and was 100% for the rest of the run.
Btw, I solved my food and water logistics problem, at least for now. I don't want to carry anything with me, because I don't yet have a bag that doesn't chafe--the CamelBak is useless--and I don't want to walk all the way up the walkway and the stairs and unlock my door and go inside my apartment to get food and water, because if I do that, I'm never leaving it again.
What I really wanted was an aid station, but in this neighborhood, I don't think I can leave food and water lying around--I assume it will disappear. And then it occurred to me: my mailbox is an aid station! It's near the gate, so I don't have to go all the way up the walkway nor any stairs, nor do I get comfortable. I just stand at the mailbox refueling, and then I'm off again.
The mandarin slices worked amazingly well *during* the run, but I think I should have had just a bit more food, or at least, as soon as the run ended, I should have refueled immediately. I took a shower instead, and my body/brain did the lightheaded thing where I go from "not hungry" to "dying" in the space of about 5 seconds and I have to lie down because I'm so woozy. This happens a *lot* if I postpone a meal, which is why I generally don't postpone meals. No, I don't know how I'm going to fast for my future colonoscopies and such, I have enough problems with NPO after midnight. Anyway, I managed not to lie down in the shower through sheer willpower, but I didn't finish the shower. I was toweling off soap that hadn't been rinsed away yet while sitting down in the tub, and then I recovered enough to put on clothes and go to the kitchen. Where I immediately ate 2 Greek yogurts.
So I definitely need more food in the aid station. But the aid station approach was very effective for what it was! I actually got a second wind after getting a brief rest that allowed me to go out again. Then after another 2.6 miles (2 loops), I drank water and ate the 1.5 mandarins I had left in a bag in the mailbox, then I was able to do 3 and a bit more loops (4.2 miles), bringing my total to what I calculate to be 18 miles.
Aside from briefly almost dying, I wasn't as tired afterwards as I expected. I did, after my shower and yogurt, lie down melodramatically on the couch to recover for the next 2.5 hours, before I felt like getting up and doing anything. But I also was able to walk home more easily than I expected, and my legs aren't super killing me. I also have runner's high already! I had told myself not to expect it until Wednesday, 'cause that's how long it's been taking. I think the 2.5 hours of doing nothing (but chatting with my wife on the phone for part of the time) helped. Normally I've been pushing through my day, doing work or running errands or going hiking or whatever.
I do think that I need to keep doing this on a weekend. For a while, a workday worked better, but if it's going to take me until noon to recover, and that's 2 pm at company headquarters...Anyway, it worked today because I told myself I didn't get enough sleep to do Old Irish and Peter Keith and geology, and I was just going to have to do some work anyway. And that if I did 18 miles, I didn't have to do *anything* other than lie around melodramatically, but that if I didn't do 18 miles, I had to finish up this work project.
So here I am at 18 miles, enjoying my runner's high. For more details on my pep talk, see my next post.
I don't have a real time, because my knee messed things up. It hurt a bit when I set off, for the first two blocks, so I had to run super slowly to warm it up, and that slowed down my time in a very obvious way. Then at around 11-11.5 miles, another runner was coming toward me. We were in a very tight spot between bushes, and he was moving much faster than I was, so I gave him right of way, and I had to make a sudden lateral move to get out of his way.
My knee did not like the sudden lateral move, and it erupted into acute pain. I had to stop immediately. Then I walked a few steps, tried running, and--nope. So I walked half a mile to the end of the loop, drank some water, and tried running again. My knee made ominous twinges, but I was very slow and tentative, just trying to do something that was not a walk, adjusting my stride to this and that angle...and after about two blocks, my knee went back to normal and was 100% for the rest of the run.
Btw, I solved my food and water logistics problem, at least for now. I don't want to carry anything with me, because I don't yet have a bag that doesn't chafe--the CamelBak is useless--and I don't want to walk all the way up the walkway and the stairs and unlock my door and go inside my apartment to get food and water, because if I do that, I'm never leaving it again.
What I really wanted was an aid station, but in this neighborhood, I don't think I can leave food and water lying around--I assume it will disappear. And then it occurred to me: my mailbox is an aid station! It's near the gate, so I don't have to go all the way up the walkway nor any stairs, nor do I get comfortable. I just stand at the mailbox refueling, and then I'm off again.
The mandarin slices worked amazingly well *during* the run, but I think I should have had just a bit more food, or at least, as soon as the run ended, I should have refueled immediately. I took a shower instead, and my body/brain did the lightheaded thing where I go from "not hungry" to "dying" in the space of about 5 seconds and I have to lie down because I'm so woozy. This happens a *lot* if I postpone a meal, which is why I generally don't postpone meals. No, I don't know how I'm going to fast for my future colonoscopies and such, I have enough problems with NPO after midnight. Anyway, I managed not to lie down in the shower through sheer willpower, but I didn't finish the shower. I was toweling off soap that hadn't been rinsed away yet while sitting down in the tub, and then I recovered enough to put on clothes and go to the kitchen. Where I immediately ate 2 Greek yogurts.
So I definitely need more food in the aid station. But the aid station approach was very effective for what it was! I actually got a second wind after getting a brief rest that allowed me to go out again. Then after another 2.6 miles (2 loops), I drank water and ate the 1.5 mandarins I had left in a bag in the mailbox, then I was able to do 3 and a bit more loops (4.2 miles), bringing my total to what I calculate to be 18 miles.
Aside from briefly almost dying, I wasn't as tired afterwards as I expected. I did, after my shower and yogurt, lie down melodramatically on the couch to recover for the next 2.5 hours, before I felt like getting up and doing anything. But I also was able to walk home more easily than I expected, and my legs aren't super killing me. I also have runner's high already! I had told myself not to expect it until Wednesday, 'cause that's how long it's been taking. I think the 2.5 hours of doing nothing (but chatting with my wife on the phone for part of the time) helped. Normally I've been pushing through my day, doing work or running errands or going hiking or whatever.
I do think that I need to keep doing this on a weekend. For a while, a workday worked better, but if it's going to take me until noon to recover, and that's 2 pm at company headquarters...Anyway, it worked today because I told myself I didn't get enough sleep to do Old Irish and Peter Keith and geology, and I was just going to have to do some work anyway. And that if I did 18 miles, I didn't have to do *anything* other than lie around melodramatically, but that if I didn't do 18 miles, I had to finish up this work project.
So here I am at 18 miles, enjoying my runner's high. For more details on my pep talk, see my next post.
Culinary
Apr. 5th, 2026 07:12 pmoursinThis week's bread: a loaf of Marriages's Moulsham Strong Malted Seeded Bread Flour, turned out nicely.
Friday night supper: penne with Romano peppers chopped and sizzled in oil oil with chopped chorizo de navarra.
Saturday breakfast rolls: Tassajarra method, 50:50% strong white/wholemeal spelt flour, Rayner's Barley Malt Extract, dried blueberries, turned particularly well.
Today's lunch: lemon sole fillets, which I cooked more or less thus, only with juice of half a lime which worked a lot better for making a paste; served with Ruby Gem potatoes roasted in goosefat (was going to do in beef dripping but it was way past its BBF), Bellaverde sweetstem broccoli garlic-roasted with chopped baby peppers (left over from last week) (other half of the lime squeezed over at the end), and spinach cooked according to Dharamjit Singh's recipe in Indian Cookery.
Ain't nobody write me like you read me before
Apr. 5th, 2026 05:22 amsovayI freely admit that I ground my way through the protracted heteronormative anxieties of Strange Lady in Town (1955) for the continued presence of twenty-three-year-old Lois Smith as Spurs O'Brien, one of those mixed-up motherless tomboys who just needs her gender trouble sorted out by her father's remarriage to a strong feminine role model if you believe the screenplay and looks such a late nineteenth century baby dyke in her ranch jacket and jingling boots that you feel she's just waiting for motorcycle clubs to be invented. Her crush on a cavalry lieutenant is narratively doomed and might in any case have been envy. Put her in a ball gown, she's right back in trousers and string ties the next scene, heedless and gallant as any young grandee. I mean when Dana Andrews drags his heels on the sub-screwball romance through which the picture manifests its stresses over the place of professional women, Spurs does her best to run off with Greer Garson herself, all the way back to Boston. "I don't know, Doc, except—well, except I can't figure out any sort of life without you." What did the film think it was doing with her? I don't even know what it thought it was doing with the slap-kiss of its textual couple, but I took an awful screencap just because of the lingering way Spurs sees herself out of a room with Garson's Dr. Julia Garth in it. Once she gets over the rebound, she'll make some Eastern belle ring. "But what a woman!"
Things I have watched since new year
Apr. 5th, 2026 08:10 amnanilaDeath in Paradise, the newest series. I really like the new DI, Mervyn. “I'm not insensitive! Other people are just too sensitive.” Yeah, that's totally it, dude. Also, I feel you, mate. As ever, the actual murder mysteries are silly and improbable, but it doesn't matter because the scenery is beautiful and I love the characters and their relationships.
Agatha Christie's Seven Dials. Bumpy pacing and gaping plot holes aside, I enjoyed this because of Bundle's inquisitive angry little face, her coterie of hapless male admirers / accomplices, and Helena Bonham Carter's snooty lady-of-the-crumbling-manor.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. Weirdly slow and ponderous, and according to the kids, quite confusing if you didn't know the back story. And yet they watched the entire film with us and thought it was good.
I was reminded of the Eddie Izzard sketch where he (at the time) talked about the differences between British and American films. How British films were all “A room with a view and a staircase and a pond”, and featured people walking into rooms and not saying things to each other. “Oh, I…” “What is it, Sebastian, I'm arranging matches.” “I'd better go.” And how you can't eat popcorn to that sort of thing. This film was like that, all long pauses and people staring moodily into the middle distance, punctuated by the occasional scene of ultraviolence and wrestling in pig muck.
The kids liked the atmosphere and the cinematography and the characters. Their one serious criticism: “That is NOT a Brummie accent.” They should know. Keiki’s still got one, and Humuhumu can code-switch effortlessly.
Oh, and we did eat popcorn during it.
Bonus pic: Ozzy the Bull with his PB flat cap on
Agatha Christie's Seven Dials. Bumpy pacing and gaping plot holes aside, I enjoyed this because of Bundle's inquisitive angry little face, her coterie of hapless male admirers / accomplices, and Helena Bonham Carter's snooty lady-of-the-crumbling-manor.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. Weirdly slow and ponderous, and according to the kids, quite confusing if you didn't know the back story. And yet they watched the entire film with us and thought it was good.
I was reminded of the Eddie Izzard sketch where he (at the time) talked about the differences between British and American films. How British films were all “A room with a view and a staircase and a pond”, and featured people walking into rooms and not saying things to each other. “Oh, I…” “What is it, Sebastian, I'm arranging matches.” “I'd better go.” And how you can't eat popcorn to that sort of thing. This film was like that, all long pauses and people staring moodily into the middle distance, punctuated by the occasional scene of ultraviolence and wrestling in pig muck.
The kids liked the atmosphere and the cinematography and the characters. Their one serious criticism: “That is NOT a Brummie accent.” They should know. Keiki’s still got one, and Humuhumu can code-switch effortlessly.
Oh, and we did eat popcorn during it.
Bonus pic: Ozzy the Bull with his PB flat cap on
Nonfiction
Apr. 4th, 2026 04:02 pmrivkatMichael Sfard, The Wall and the Gate: Israel, Palestine, and the Legal Battle for Human Rights. ( yikes )
Daniel A. Bell, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University:( Who goes Party? )
Fashion and Intellectual Property, ed. David Tan, Jeanne C. Fromer, & Dev S. Gangjee: ( around the world )
Rebecca Solnit, The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change: ( hope in the ashes )
Nicholas Buccola, One Man’s Freedom: Goldwater, King, and the Struggle over an American Ideal: ( one of them was right )
Blake Scott Ball, Charlie Brown’s America: ( Peanuts )
John J. Sullivan, Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia’s War Against the West: ( we lost )
Greg Grandin, America, América: A New History of the New World: ( recommended )
Srdja Popovic with Sophia A. McClennen, Pranksters vs. Autocrats: Why Dilemma Actions Advance Nonviolent Activism: ( thinking about resistance )
Daniel A. Bell, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University:( Who goes Party? )
Fashion and Intellectual Property, ed. David Tan, Jeanne C. Fromer, & Dev S. Gangjee: ( around the world )
Rebecca Solnit, The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change: ( hope in the ashes )
Nicholas Buccola, One Man’s Freedom: Goldwater, King, and the Struggle over an American Ideal: ( one of them was right )
Blake Scott Ball, Charlie Brown’s America: ( Peanuts )
John J. Sullivan, Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia’s War Against the West: ( we lost )
Greg Grandin, America, América: A New History of the New World: ( recommended )
Srdja Popovic with Sophia A. McClennen, Pranksters vs. Autocrats: Why Dilemma Actions Advance Nonviolent Activism: ( thinking about resistance )
podcast friday no saturday
Apr. 4th, 2026 01:43 pmsabotabby Listen it's a long weekend, what even is time? I was around, I just fully forgot. As a mea culpa here are two wildly different podcasts I listened to this week.
No Gods No Mayors' "Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov" is about a gay Romanov failson who sucked and eventually got blown up (spoilers), and it's very funny for everyone except maybe the thousands of peasants who got trampled to death at Tsar Nicholas II's coronation. It's worth listening in particular for the intro, which talks about mayoral candidate Shayne McKinney, who is running in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and is also a vampire. And a landlord. And look, he is not a good guy but a great deal of fun can be had.
On a lighter note, a new-to-me podcast is Bill & Frank's Guilt-Free Pleasures, which is a music podcast that takes deep dives into earwormy songs that are actually great and you don't need to feel bad if you like them. Because of the ages of the hosts, their musical touchstones are more or less the same as mine, and they're also Canadian, so their radio and MuchMusic experience is roughly similar to what I listened to at the same age. I listened to a few of their episodes recently, starting with the one about "Fairy Tale of New York" to just make sure they had good opinions, but the one I just finished was "Crowded House: "Don't Dream It's Over" (with Dave Kitchen)" It's one of those songs that I don't often think about and yet the second I hear the opening notes, I'm like, oh, this is a banger. I really love the analysis of the little details of the music, which is not something that I really pick out on my own but the second they explain it, I realize why it works as well as it does. They have a bunch of episodes with overly emotional power ballads, which I am a sucker for, so I'm excited about working through the backlist.
No Gods No Mayors' "Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov" is about a gay Romanov failson who sucked and eventually got blown up (spoilers), and it's very funny for everyone except maybe the thousands of peasants who got trampled to death at Tsar Nicholas II's coronation. It's worth listening in particular for the intro, which talks about mayoral candidate Shayne McKinney, who is running in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and is also a vampire. And a landlord. And look, he is not a good guy but a great deal of fun can be had.
On a lighter note, a new-to-me podcast is Bill & Frank's Guilt-Free Pleasures, which is a music podcast that takes deep dives into earwormy songs that are actually great and you don't need to feel bad if you like them. Because of the ages of the hosts, their musical touchstones are more or less the same as mine, and they're also Canadian, so their radio and MuchMusic experience is roughly similar to what I listened to at the same age. I listened to a few of their episodes recently, starting with the one about "Fairy Tale of New York" to just make sure they had good opinions, but the one I just finished was "Crowded House: "Don't Dream It's Over" (with Dave Kitchen)" It's one of those songs that I don't often think about and yet the second I hear the opening notes, I'm like, oh, this is a banger. I really love the analysis of the little details of the music, which is not something that I really pick out on my own but the second they explain it, I realize why it works as well as it does. They have a bunch of episodes with overly emotional power ballads, which I am a sucker for, so I'm excited about working through the backlist.
monthly word count - march
Apr. 4th, 2026 05:55 pmaskerianTOTAL : 1 258 words.
hgghfb.
POSTED: nada
IN PROGRESS:
-svsss cosplay fic (104 words)
-bleach suburban ot4 (320 words)
-bnha dabihawks crack oneshot (834 words)
( Read more... )
hgghfb.
POSTED: nada
IN PROGRESS:
-svsss cosplay fic (104 words)
-bleach suburban ot4 (320 words)
-bnha dabihawks crack oneshot (834 words)
( Read more... )
Continually being rediscovered....
Apr. 4th, 2026 05:04 pmoursinIt's like the fact that anyone has studied it just gets erased from the record?
24 scientists contribute a preprint on Neuroanatomy of the clitoris:
The clitoris is one of the least studied organs of the human body. The detailed anatomy of the clitoris is challenging to address through a gross dissection, as most of its parts are embedded internally, surrounded by pubic bone and several pelvic organs.
Helen O'Connell and colleagues, 2005, Anatomy of the Clitoris?
O'Connell does feature in the citations, I see. Along with various other scientists who boldly went where no man....
Because one does rather want to enquire 'Least studied BY WHOM???'
Take it away, Lil Johnson:
I feel that this is sort-of related: Founder of ‘orgasmic meditation’ company gets nine years in prison in forced labor conspiracy" - a bit more on What the Hell is Orgasmic Meditation: What to know about the controversial practice of ‘orgasmic meditation’:
“One rule of thumb when exploring sex-positive spaces might be to ask: ‘Is someone getting rich from this?’” says Dr Anouchka Grose, a writer and psychoanalyst in London. “If the answer is yes, there’s a distinct possibility that money is more important to the organizer than your wellbeing.”
Or any spaces, really.
Baked Beans for Breakfast AKA The Secret Summer, by Ruth Chew
Apr. 4th, 2026 09:21 amrachelmanija
Click on my Ruth Chew tag to see what sort of books she's known for: small-scale children's fantasies focusing on magic-infused everyday objects and creatures in Brooklyn. This is her hard-to-find first book, which is not a fantasy.
The main characters are a brother and sister who were left, along with their never-seen younger brother and sister, in the care of their grandmother who feeds them canned tomatoes - yuck! They leave a note saying they're doing a long sleepover at a friend's house, then run away to the site where they often went camping, buy a cheap boat, and live on an island.
This is entertaining enough on its own, but mostly of interest because it shows how she course-corrected in her fantasy books: the flaws in this book are corrected, and she melds its strengths (likable kid characters, a focus on the practicalities and small details of both the human and natural worlds, a friendly old woman) with excellent small-scale magic. In all the rest of her books, there are just two kids - no unnecessary and off-page younger siblings. There are no mean kids or bullying (this book has two mean bullies who just drop out of the story). The parents are around but the kids' adventures take place out of sight, so there's no implausible runaway plots. And the old ladies are witches, which makes them even better!
The Friday Five on a Saturday
Apr. 4th, 2026 04:46 pmnanila- Do you like the look of your country's currency (bills and coins)?
Yes, I do. I still don't live the plasticky feel of the new bills - they don't fold very well - but grudgingly concede that they are far more durable. - Regardless of their actual value, do you like bills or coins better?
I like the UK's coins. Especially the £2 coin, it's very pretty and has a pleasing weight in the hand. A shiny new coppery 2p piece is also quite attractive. - What is your favorite foreign currency? And why?
Euros. You can use them in so many countries. And they're also very pretty. - Do you collect coins or bills? Elaborate.
Not formally, I haven't got an organised folder or anything. But I do try to save a few coins/bills from trips to other countries as souvenirs. - Do you think human society could make do completely without money? Explain.
No. I think the sheer number of us and the vast variety of goods and services we use as individuals would make a bartering system very cumbersome. And it is still useful sometimes to conduct transactions in cash rather than card.
Books Received, March 28 — April 3
Apr. 4th, 2026 09:25 amjames_davis_nicoll
Seven books new to me. Five fantasy, two science fiction, of which at least three are series.
Books Received, March 28 — April 3
Poll #34443 Books Received, March 28 — April 3
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 25
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
The Photonic Effect by Mike Chen (April 2026)
9 (36.0%)
Nobody’s Quest by Alyssa Day (June 2026)
6 (24.0%)
This Wild Wanting by Sophie Gonzales (November 2026)
3 (12.0%)
The Killing of a Chestnut Tree by Oliver K. Langmead (November 2026)
8 (32.0%)
Mark of the Warrior by Fonda Lee & Shannon Lee (October 2026)
8 (32.0%)
The Frozen King by Pari Thomson (Ocober 2026)
1 (4.0%)
Wolfpack by Rem Wigmore (April 2026)
8 (32.0%)
Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)
Cats!
19 (76.0%)
Glitter always shimmers in the limelight
Apr. 3rd, 2026 10:26 pmsovayThe moon looks like a Constable watercolor in black and olive and cratered parchment. I have seen the latest pictures of Earth. I can't turn off the part of my brain that brings around you may leave here for four days in space, but I worried so much about that launch.
This morning was marked by the municipal pruning of trees on our street. When the racket moved far enough around the block to become merely obnoxious, I went back to listening to byways of Flanders and Swann. In the afternoon Hestia saw a cardinal in the yew and almost went through the glass.
I recognize that midlife m/m amid the mussel beds of North Wales is the single most stereotypical choice I could make out of this year's lineup for Wicked Queer, but I am still seriously considering On the Sea (2025). It would be a sure bet if I didn't have to think about parking at the MFA.
I would like the next week to involve much less talking to doctors. None would be an ideal.
This morning was marked by the municipal pruning of trees on our street. When the racket moved far enough around the block to become merely obnoxious, I went back to listening to byways of Flanders and Swann. In the afternoon Hestia saw a cardinal in the yew and almost went through the glass.
I recognize that midlife m/m amid the mussel beds of North Wales is the single most stereotypical choice I could make out of this year's lineup for Wicked Queer, but I am still seriously considering On the Sea (2025). It would be a sure bet if I didn't have to think about parking at the MFA.
I would like the next week to involve much less talking to doctors. None would be an ideal.
Not so random peeve of the day
Apr. 3rd, 2026 09:31 pmjames_davis_nicollIn the TV show I am watching, the protagonist keeps looking away from the road while driving.
Yay, it's poetry month!
Apr. 3rd, 2026 07:52 pmresonantTo The Words
by W.S. Merwin
When it happens you are not there
oh you beyond numbers
beyond recollection
passed on from breath to breath
given again
from day to day from age
to age
charged with knowledge
knowing nothing
indifferent elders
indispensable and sleepless
keepers of our names
before ever we came
to be called by them
you that were
formed to begin with
you that were cried out
you that were spoken
to begin with
to say what could not be said
ancient precious
and helpless ones
say it
by W.S. Merwin
When it happens you are not there
oh you beyond numbers
beyond recollection
passed on from breath to breath
given again
from day to day from age
to age
charged with knowledge
knowing nothing
indifferent elders
indispensable and sleepless
keepers of our names
before ever we came
to be called by them
you that were
formed to begin with
you that were cried out
you that were spoken
to begin with
to say what could not be said
ancient precious
and helpless ones
say it