Escapade was much fun this year, though as with last year, stupid cancer fatigue put a damper on a lot of things. The best panels were the one for The Pitt and Murderbot, though I would have enjoyed the Murderbot panel more if a) it hadn't been at nine a.m. on Saturday morning and b) hadn't been dominated by one really obnoxious person. The moderator did a yeoman's job trying to rein her in (seriously, I really admired her skills at hardassery), but I had really hoped to talk about Gurathin in the show and the final episode, how SecUnit's memories might have changed him, etc., but that didn't really happen. And when I started talking about him, in typical fannish fashion, someone immediately countered and diminished my comment with how he wasn't what they thought he should be from the books and yadda yadda, so I never really got to make my point. Maybe next year?
But it was good to see people, even if I didn't get all the time I wanted to glom on some folks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
par_avion, I'm lookin' at you). Still, there were a few wonderful surprises where some folks I adore and haven't seen in years came to the con, because their fannish brains had been kickstarted by Heated Rivalry. I am so not into that show but the fact that it brought them back out into fandom makes me feel more warmly towards it.
I woke up Sunday morning to news that LAX was in chaos because the Nazis in the government (and I use that term loosely) had decided to shut down TSA precheck and global entry, but after a while that got walked back and by the time I got to the airport, things had settled down a bit and it was fairly quiet. Then the flights started getting canceled by the East Coast blizzard (poor par, she was stuck at the hotel till Wednesday night), and the Mexico flights were stopping because it seemed like half of Mexico was on fire, and it made for a really surreal experience. And now today I woke up to the news about Iran and I just...I really often wish that this fucking cancer would just take me out. This world is just so fucking horrible, and I feel so utterly helpless to do even the tiniest thing about it.
I mean, I have signed up for Fandom Trumps Hate (fth2026offerings) (god i hate that fucker so much that i can't even stand to use a perfectly good verb because it's saying his name), but if I get even a bid over my $10 minimum, I'll be shocked. I've done auctions before, but I don't feel like I make much of a contribution, and I know throwing money at some of these horrors are at least some small way of helping, but I'm just not someone who'll generate that kind of money and I can't make many donations of my own.
Still, I'll hope that maybe a friend will feel sorry for me and buy me ;-D . But I have to admit, the basics of this auction confuse me--listings are on DW here, but a lot takes place on Tumblr, and I'm confused about how to publicize my listing. I was able to reblog the auction roundup listing for The Pitt today, but I don't know how one goes about promoting their own listing. Has anyone done FTH before and would be willing to give me some advice? There's only a couple days for browsing, so I would love to see if I could at least generate some attention if someone wants a fic for Marvel, The Pitt, or Fast Color (hah). I feel like in the past, I've seen people's contributor listings on tumblr, but I just don't know how that goes. Ugh, I'm so out of touch.
I broke my toe on my left foot *again* this morning. My third and fourth toes are so fucked up now. I know there's not much to do about it but tape them and take pain relievers, but jesus your toes really made a difference in walking. And I'm seeing a new sports medicine doc about my fucked-up knee, so now we'll have to see how it might affect my walking even more (I have an MRI this week). So much excitement, but as I said to a friend, at least it's not about the cancer, lol. I'm such a fucking klutz. I think I should probably get some of that bubble wrap with the really big bubbles, and put it around the legs of my bed--it won't solve everything, but those legs have definitely contributed to a few of the breaks. This time, I heard a little snap sound!
But it was good to see people, even if I didn't get all the time I wanted to glom on some folks (
par_avion, I'm lookin' at you). Still, there were a few wonderful surprises where some folks I adore and haven't seen in years came to the con, because their fannish brains had been kickstarted by Heated Rivalry. I am so not into that show but the fact that it brought them back out into fandom makes me feel more warmly towards it.I woke up Sunday morning to news that LAX was in chaos because the Nazis in the government (and I use that term loosely) had decided to shut down TSA precheck and global entry, but after a while that got walked back and by the time I got to the airport, things had settled down a bit and it was fairly quiet. Then the flights started getting canceled by the East Coast blizzard (poor par, she was stuck at the hotel till Wednesday night), and the Mexico flights were stopping because it seemed like half of Mexico was on fire, and it made for a really surreal experience. And now today I woke up to the news about Iran and I just...I really often wish that this fucking cancer would just take me out. This world is just so fucking horrible, and I feel so utterly helpless to do even the tiniest thing about it.
I mean, I have signed up for Fandom Trumps Hate (
fth2026offerings) (god i hate that fucker so much that i can't even stand to use a perfectly good verb because it's saying his name), but if I get even a bid over my $10 minimum, I'll be shocked. I've done auctions before, but I don't feel like I make much of a contribution, and I know throwing money at some of these horrors are at least some small way of helping, but I'm just not someone who'll generate that kind of money and I can't make many donations of my own. Still, I'll hope that maybe a friend will feel sorry for me and buy me ;-D . But I have to admit, the basics of this auction confuse me--listings are on DW here, but a lot takes place on Tumblr, and I'm confused about how to publicize my listing. I was able to reblog the auction roundup listing for The Pitt today, but I don't know how one goes about promoting their own listing. Has anyone done FTH before and would be willing to give me some advice? There's only a couple days for browsing, so I would love to see if I could at least generate some attention if someone wants a fic for Marvel, The Pitt, or Fast Color (hah). I feel like in the past, I've seen people's contributor listings on tumblr, but I just don't know how that goes. Ugh, I'm so out of touch.
I broke my toe on my left foot *again* this morning. My third and fourth toes are so fucked up now. I know there's not much to do about it but tape them and take pain relievers, but jesus your toes really made a difference in walking. And I'm seeing a new sports medicine doc about my fucked-up knee, so now we'll have to see how it might affect my walking even more (I have an MRI this week). So much excitement, but as I said to a friend, at least it's not about the cancer, lol. I'm such a fucking klutz. I think I should probably get some of that bubble wrap with the really big bubbles, and put it around the legs of my bed--it won't solve everything, but those legs have definitely contributed to a few of the breaks. This time, I heard a little snap sound!
Looky, I've finally finished with my ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
genprompt_bingo card for last round! Maybe eventually I'll even manage to start on the current one. And perhaps that will involve less of me writing about things like eating spiders or fantasizing about killing children, but, hey, I also wrote about baking cookies and a girl and her uncle being sweater buddies and watching Shrek, so, eh. It all evens out, right?
Title: Some Children to Make into Corpses
Fandom: Gravity Falls
Characters/Relationships: Bill Cipher, Bill's hatred for Dipper and Mabel
Rating/Warnings: Teen. I've used "Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings" on this one, because I feel like not giving it a "Major Character Death' warning would be wrong, but giving it one would be misleading. But this does feature deaths of alternate versions of the kids, as well as versions in Bill's imagination, and while it's not super gory, if children dying horribly isn't something you want in your psyche at all, now's the time to bail out.
Tags: Bill Cipher in the Theraprism, POV Bill Cipher, Bill's All-Seeing Eye, The Multiverse, Bill hates those kids, Descriptions of violence against children, Descriptions of child death
Length: ~1100 words
Summary: There aren't any universes where he wins.
Author's Notes: This was written for Gen Prompt Bingo, for the prompt "child endangerment." The prompt got me thinking about that page in TBOB where Bill declares that there's only one universe in which the kids survived the summer, and the question of whether that's true or not... which led me to further questions I've pondered about the nature of the multiverse in GF and Bill's place in it, which in turn led to this. Whatever this is.
Some Children to Make into Corpses
genprompt_bingo card for last round! Maybe eventually I'll even manage to start on the current one. And perhaps that will involve less of me writing about things like eating spiders or fantasizing about killing children, but, hey, I also wrote about baking cookies and a girl and her uncle being sweater buddies and watching Shrek, so, eh. It all evens out, right?Title: Some Children to Make into Corpses
Fandom: Gravity Falls
Characters/Relationships: Bill Cipher, Bill's hatred for Dipper and Mabel
Rating/Warnings: Teen. I've used "Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings" on this one, because I feel like not giving it a "Major Character Death' warning would be wrong, but giving it one would be misleading. But this does feature deaths of alternate versions of the kids, as well as versions in Bill's imagination, and while it's not super gory, if children dying horribly isn't something you want in your psyche at all, now's the time to bail out.
Tags: Bill Cipher in the Theraprism, POV Bill Cipher, Bill's All-Seeing Eye, The Multiverse, Bill hates those kids, Descriptions of violence against children, Descriptions of child death
Length: ~1100 words
Summary: There aren't any universes where he wins.
Author's Notes: This was written for Gen Prompt Bingo, for the prompt "child endangerment." The prompt got me thinking about that page in TBOB where Bill declares that there's only one universe in which the kids survived the summer, and the question of whether that's true or not... which led me to further questions I've pondered about the nature of the multiverse in GF and Bill's place in it, which in turn led to this. Whatever this is.
Some Children to Make into Corpses
Read Home Sweet Homicide by Craig Rice, an absolutely delightful 1944 murder mystery in which the three precocious children of a widowed detective novelist go meddling in the murder investigation next door, while - as a side project - trying to set their mother up with the lead detective on the case.
Read Beowulf! I just saw a one-man show called Beowulf, A Retelling in a pop-up bar at a local arts center, which was a very good introduction to Beowulf, since it was literally just a guy telling the story in his own (conversational, compelling) words, weaving in references to modern heroes and villains* as a sort of touchstone for how parts of the story would have resonated in ye olde days and using instruments for sound effects, like a violin bow across the strings of an electric guitar for Grendel's dying screech. It was very cool! Obviously then had to actually read Beowulf (the Francis Gummere translation; it was the first one available) and I'm glad I had the crash-course version first; it helped to know the shape of the story and have something to mentally translate it back to. (Plus, if I'd had to figure out how to mentally pronounce Healfdene and Ecgtheow on my own, I think I simply would have not.) What really struck me was the sheer sense of time of it all— the oldest known Old English poem, and possibly a story that was hundreds of years old by the time it was written down, and still there were recurring mentions of "heirlooms", which might be a quirk of translation but does suggest the weight of history behind this story that's already really, really old!, and also I found myself reading/listening to it like, okay, yes, I can see what Tolkien got from this. (Is this where the idea of dragons hoarding gold comes from?)
( footnote )
Read Beowulf! I just saw a one-man show called Beowulf, A Retelling in a pop-up bar at a local arts center, which was a very good introduction to Beowulf, since it was literally just a guy telling the story in his own (conversational, compelling) words, weaving in references to modern heroes and villains* as a sort of touchstone for how parts of the story would have resonated in ye olde days and using instruments for sound effects, like a violin bow across the strings of an electric guitar for Grendel's dying screech. It was very cool! Obviously then had to actually read Beowulf (the Francis Gummere translation; it was the first one available) and I'm glad I had the crash-course version first; it helped to know the shape of the story and have something to mentally translate it back to. (Plus, if I'd had to figure out how to mentally pronounce Healfdene and Ecgtheow on my own, I think I simply would have not.) What really struck me was the sheer sense of time of it all— the oldest known Old English poem, and possibly a story that was hundreds of years old by the time it was written down, and still there were recurring mentions of "heirlooms", which might be a quirk of translation but does suggest the weight of history behind this story that's already really, really old!, and also I found myself reading/listening to it like, okay, yes, I can see what Tolkien got from this. (Is this where the idea of dragons hoarding gold comes from?)
( footnote )
Mori: witchpoetdreamer asked us about a list of our favorite zines. FOOLISH FOOL HAS ACTIVATED MY TRAP!
For this post, we are using "zine" here to mean "a floppy booklet (lacking a spine) that is either self- or small-published, and also NOT from an academic journal NOR just a comic." It can have comics IN it, or mash-up image and text in other, more experimental ways (such as the classic cut-and-paste style of zine), but it can't be primarily comics or we will be here for all eternity.
HERE WE GO! ALL ABOARD THE ZINE MACHINE, Y'ALL!
witchpoetdreamer asked us about a list of our favorite zines. FOOLISH FOOL HAS ACTIVATED MY TRAP!For this post, we are using "zine" here to mean "a floppy booklet (lacking a spine) that is either self- or small-published, and also NOT from an academic journal NOR just a comic." It can have comics IN it, or mash-up image and text in other, more experimental ways (such as the classic cut-and-paste style of zine), but it can't be primarily comics or we will be here for all eternity.
HERE WE GO! ALL ABOARD THE ZINE MACHINE, Y'ALL!
( ZIIIIINESSSS! )
I think I may have walked five miles today in while playing Pokémon Go, and my legs are not going to be happy about it tomorrow.
I am trying desperately not to care about the shameless money-grab that is special backgrounds, but alas, it's not working very well.
Anyway, Happy Pokémon Day/Weekend/What-have-you, the trailer for Pokémon Winds and Waves also got to me more than I wanted it to, Nintendo clearly has my number on speed-dial.
I am trying desperately not to care about the shameless money-grab that is special backgrounds, but alas, it's not working very well.
Anyway, Happy Pokémon Day/Weekend/What-have-you, the trailer for Pokémon Winds and Waves also got to me more than I wanted it to, Nintendo clearly has my number on speed-dial.
Recently I found a new online puzzle-game. Short and simple, like Wordle, except this one is geometry-based. You have a pasture layout, and a horse, and a limited number of fence segments. Your challenge is to build a fence enclosing the largest possible area with those segments.
There are a few complications, like ponds (horse cannot cross ponds) or fruit trees (bonus if you enclose trees) or bee-hives (you can't build across bee-hives, but the horse can pass through them, and you lose points for enclosing bees in the pasture). There's a new map every day.
There's a Help feature, and a menu that lets you try previous days' puzzles.
All free, non-commercial, no log-ins, no ads. Just a basic webpage, works on my phone and tablet and desktop, probably compatible with all operating systems.
If you want to try it out, it's at https://enclose.horse/
There are a few complications, like ponds (horse cannot cross ponds) or fruit trees (bonus if you enclose trees) or bee-hives (you can't build across bee-hives, but the horse can pass through them, and you lose points for enclosing bees in the pasture). There's a new map every day.
There's a Help feature, and a menu that lets you try previous days' puzzles.
All free, non-commercial, no log-ins, no ads. Just a basic webpage, works on my phone and tablet and desktop, probably compatible with all operating systems.
If you want to try it out, it's at https://enclose.horse/
Hey everybody, it's that time again: time to vote for which stuff gets the LiberaPay/Patreon money this month!
As always, anyone can vote (please do!), but LiberaPay and Patreon patrons get double weight for their votes. (Due to Patreon's porn purges, I really encourage you to use LiberaPay, if you get a choice.) If you want to see the blurbs for any of these works, those are here! (You can also leave your requests there; requesting a story or essay is always free!) If you don't have a DW and so can't do the poll, that's okay; just leave your vote in the comments below; anon comments are turned on.
Which works gets the money, and thus posted this month? YOU CHOOSE, readers!
As always, anyone can vote (please do!), but LiberaPay and Patreon patrons get double weight for their votes. (Due to Patreon's porn purges, I really encourage you to use LiberaPay, if you get a choice.) If you want to see the blurbs for any of these works, those are here! (You can also leave your requests there; requesting a story or essay is always free!) If you don't have a DW and so can't do the poll, that's okay; just leave your vote in the comments below; anon comments are turned on.
Which works gets the money, and thus posted this month? YOU CHOOSE, readers!
Poll #34303 2026 March Fan Poll
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 9
Did you toss LiberaPay/Patreon money my way last month?
What writing gets posted this month?
View Answers
Infinity Smashed: Born Lucky
4 (44.4%)
Reverend Alpert: the Traveling Exorcist
1 (11.1%)
Henchwench for Hire (F/F supervillainy)
1 (11.1%)
Rutless (trans omegaverse porno)
1 (11.1%)
Kayfabe in the Coliseum (psuedo-Greco-Roman gladiator fights)
2 (22.2%)
Psychodrama and Realitymashing (essay)
7 (77.8%)
What art/comic/zine gets posted this month?
View Answers
Cult Comix (doodle strips of Cultiples BS)
2 (25.0%)
Death Watch (bony lady comic)
4 (50.0%)
Protection (one-page dark side of protector duty)
1 (12.5%)
Thrown Away
2 (25.0%)
Sneak Attack! (cutesilly Mori/Rawlin one-page comic)
6 (75.0%)
Possessions (text-only poetry zine of haunting incompetently)
1 (12.5%)
I spent a lot of the first half of the month travelling, and the second half of the month recovering from the travelling while also working. I feel this video reflects those two halves pretty accurately.
People want to avoid ultra-processed foods. But experts struggle to define them
The American diet is killing us. On that point, public health experts largely agree.
And in recent years, people who want to make Americans healthier — across the ideological spectrum — are targeting ultra-processed foods, which make up the majority of what Americans eat.
( Read more... )
The American diet is killing us. On that point, public health experts largely agree.
And in recent years, people who want to make Americans healthier — across the ideological spectrum — are targeting ultra-processed foods, which make up the majority of what Americans eat.
( Read more... )
U and I went to look for the Long-tailed Duck reported in Alameda, stopping first at the end of the USS Hornet pier and scoping Seaplane Lagoon from that vantage. Mostly grebes and loons but there were two Osprey on a nest. ( The first list: )
No Long-tailed Duck from that angle so we went to the end of Monarch Street and bingo! Not only did U find it but it was a walk-up, almost as quick and close as the Yellow-billed Loon. photo U attached to the ebird list Such a tiny and interesting-looking bird! She was swimming with a flock of scaup and Surf Scoters practically in the path of the Alameda - SF ferry, and we both expected them to scatter when the ferry came by, but no. Apparently they're accustomed to this; after all, ferries pass every twenty to sixty minutes. ( The second list: )
Mission accomplished, we parked at Crab Cove and went to the duck pond, something we had never done, checking the shoreline along the way. Canada Geese, Mallards, and American Coots, of course, but also a pair of Hooded Mergansers. ( The third list: )
So a satisfying morning, especially given all the rare birds we've dipped on lately.
No Long-tailed Duck from that angle so we went to the end of Monarch Street and bingo! Not only did U find it but it was a walk-up, almost as quick and close as the Yellow-billed Loon. photo U attached to the ebird list Such a tiny and interesting-looking bird! She was swimming with a flock of scaup and Surf Scoters practically in the path of the Alameda - SF ferry, and we both expected them to scatter when the ferry came by, but no. Apparently they're accustomed to this; after all, ferries pass every twenty to sixty minutes. ( The second list: )
Mission accomplished, we parked at Crab Cove and went to the duck pond, something we had never done, checking the shoreline along the way. Canada Geese, Mallards, and American Coots, of course, but also a pair of Hooded Mergansers. ( The third list: )
So a satisfying morning, especially given all the rare birds we've dipped on lately.
Today is partly sunny and mild.
I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 2/28/26 -- I cut and labeled four more water jugs. These are for flower mixes: Part-Shade Wildflowers, Edible Flowers, Fragrant Flowers, and 20th Anniversary Prairie Wildflowers. I skipped the Monarch Mix because that includes a bunch of nectar annuals like zinnias and cosmos which prefer warmer weather; I may make a jug for this later in spring.
EDIT 2/28/26 -- I sowed and taped the jugs.
EDIT 2/28/26 -- I carried the jugs to the parking lot and secured them with salvaged string.
The honeybees are out in force today. They are investigating everything to see if it is a flower. I am not a flower, but at least they finally found the actual flowers. In addition to the lavender crocus, there are now two yellow ones by the log garden and a white one in the rain garden. Many of the snowdrops are open too. :D Yay flowers!
EDIT 2/28/26 -- I dug up several clumps of volunteer daffodils that had seeded themselves into the parking lot, and transplanted them all around the house yard to go under various trees where they will be safer. I still need to move a lot of snowdrops, though.
I've seen a male cardinal. I've heard the red-winged blackbirds singing, but haven't seen them.
EDIT 2/28/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
I saw a pair of house finches courting plus an extra male.
I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 2/28/26 -- I cut and labeled four more water jugs. These are for flower mixes: Part-Shade Wildflowers, Edible Flowers, Fragrant Flowers, and 20th Anniversary Prairie Wildflowers. I skipped the Monarch Mix because that includes a bunch of nectar annuals like zinnias and cosmos which prefer warmer weather; I may make a jug for this later in spring.
EDIT 2/28/26 -- I sowed and taped the jugs.
EDIT 2/28/26 -- I carried the jugs to the parking lot and secured them with salvaged string.
The honeybees are out in force today. They are investigating everything to see if it is a flower. I am not a flower, but at least they finally found the actual flowers. In addition to the lavender crocus, there are now two yellow ones by the log garden and a white one in the rain garden. Many of the snowdrops are open too. :D Yay flowers!
EDIT 2/28/26 -- I dug up several clumps of volunteer daffodils that had seeded themselves into the parking lot, and transplanted them all around the house yard to go under various trees where they will be safer. I still need to move a lot of snowdrops, though.
I've seen a male cardinal. I've heard the red-winged blackbirds singing, but haven't seen them.
EDIT 2/28/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
I saw a pair of house finches courting plus an extra male.
I am done for the night.
It's a beautiful sunny day today and feels almost spring-like outside. However, I guess winter isn't quite over - the forecast says it will possibly snow tomorrow. I enjoyed a decent walk outside this morning (6 km/4 miles) but I'm not confident that I'll be able to repeat it tomorrow.
I've decided to try leaving my current puzzle out so I can work on it in short spurts whenever I feel like it. I'm a bit nervous about the girls wanting to get involved and pieces getting lost but hoping they will want to help without pieces going missing. Or that they will just ignore it since it's beyond their current skill level I think. Maybe not Violet's or even Eden's, but definitely Aria's. Anyway, we'll see.
My son in law has taken the girls to a roller skating event this afternoon. I believe it's with Violet's scout group, but all the girls have gone so it's a quieter than usual Saturday afternoon.
I've decided to try leaving my current puzzle out so I can work on it in short spurts whenever I feel like it. I'm a bit nervous about the girls wanting to get involved and pieces getting lost but hoping they will want to help without pieces going missing. Or that they will just ignore it since it's beyond their current skill level I think. Maybe not Violet's or even Eden's, but definitely Aria's. Anyway, we'll see.
My son in law has taken the girls to a roller skating event this afternoon. I believe it's with Violet's scout group, but all the girls have gone so it's a quieter than usual Saturday afternoon.