A miscellanea

Mar. 16th, 2026 07:17 pm
oursin: Brush the Wandering Hedgehog by the fire (Default)
[personal profile] oursin

This is so much what I've been thinking about a different period that I'm writing about - that it's there, even though people are saying It's Ded, it's just not doing the flashy newsworthy visible stuff or the results are the things are are not, or no longer, happening: The one thing everyone gets wrong about feminism.

***

I am a great admirer of Professor Athene Donald's blog, and I like this recent post: Unintended Consequences - in particular perhaps this apercu:

Business gurus tend to talk about ‘being authentic’ as the right way to lead. But if you are a testy, over-bearing soul being authentic may be very destructive for those around you.

So much that.

***

This is another story about mobility in the world: Looted from a royal palace: The medieval jug now on display in London:

A large bronze medieval jug bearing the English royal coat of arms would be a rare find if dug up in England, but somehow it had ended up in West Africa, in modern-day Ghana, thanks to early trading routes between nations.
Dating from between 1340 and 1405, the jug is the largest surviving bronze ewer from medieval England. Decorated with an English inscription, royal heraldry and coat of arms, it was originally a luxury object — but its meaning changed dramatically as it moved across continents.

***

I've had to do with either this artefact or another very similar in my working days, I did not know about the biological contamination (we didn't know for quite some time about the radioactive notebooks, either): a parchment scroll designed to guard against the dangers of childbirth:

Until now, this scroll’s worn surface and suggestive staining constituted the main evidence for its use in childbirth. However, new research by Sarah Fiddyment, presented in the exhibition, reveals that human proteins found on the scroll’s surface indicate the presence of cervico-vaginal fluid. This is an important breakthrough in the burgeoning field of biocodicology, which seeks out the invisible traces left behind by users of manuscripts, as they held, rubbed or kissed a parchment.

(I hadn't heard that story about the dormouse, but wot she does not mention the Godalming rabbit lady?!).

***

You know, I would have sworn that back in my working days I came across something appertaining to this historic event: How smallpox claimed its final victim, but I'm unable to trace it.

Day 21: Shadow Continues to Mellow

Mar. 16th, 2026 02:11 pm
jesse_the_k: harbor seal's head captioned "seal of approval" (Approval)
[personal profile] jesse_the_k

While he was quite surprised to walk out for his morning on-leash ablutions into heavy snow above his knees, he's really starting to relax.

This morning I reached down to stroke his back and he didn't flinch.

Just now I was resting on the floor by his bed, petting his back. I started to scritch the scruff of his neck, and he relaxed even more, his dark eyes shining up at MyGuy behind the camera. (I'm reclining on my tripled-up exercise pad just behind him, shockingly without glasses.)

Read more... )

Only 28 days of enforced rest to go!

james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


A monstrously large horde of rulebooks, supplements, and sourcebooks for Trail of Cthulhu, the tabletop roleplaying game of eldritch Cthulhu Mythos investigations using the GUMSHOE System from Pelgrane Press.

Bundle of Holding: Trail of Cthulhu MEGA
ailelie: (Default)
[personal profile] ailelie
What I've been landing on is this: I provide a choice when at least one of the following is true:

1. The choice allows the player to be a specific type of MC (empathetic vs logical; subtle vs sensational; a little mean)
2. The choice affects mechanics (e.g., stat changes, stat tests)
3. The choice leads to significantly different text and non-essential knowledge (essential knowledge is always passed on, but may receive varying degrees of emphasis)

Long COVID Awareness Day (March 15)

Mar. 16th, 2026 11:41 am
crashmargulies: (Default)
[personal profile] crashmargulies
Yesterday (March 15) was Long COVID awareness day and I was too busy taking 3 different rescue meds, shitting myself, vomiting, and then sleeping 14 hours to recover due to symptoms caused by my LC to post about it.

It's embarrassing to be this sick. It's more embarrassing that people are spreading disease that makes people this sick and you don't seem to care!

The only way to avoid long term effects of COVID like these are to avoid catching COVID. Wear a KF94, KN95, N95, or P100 mask without an exhalation valve. Use MERV13 or HEPA filters to clean the air. Once the infrastructure to clean the air is in place EVERYWHERE, masks may be less necessary.

Smile, Smile, Smile

Mar. 16th, 2026 09:18 am
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


Five benefits to a thermonuclear war.

Smile, Smile, Smile
darkjediqueen: (Default)
[personal profile] darkjediqueen posting in [community profile] fan_flashworks
Title: Plant of First Beginnings
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Fandom: S.W.A.T.
Relationships: Donovan Rocker/Molly Hicks
Tags: Getting Together, Fluff
Summary: The plant was a mystery.
Word Count: 949


so tired

Mar. 16th, 2026 09:00 am
tielan: (hates it we does)
[personal profile] tielan
Every time I lay down for a nap or an early night, or stay in bed for a longer sleep-in, I get disrupted by someone.

I'm not sleeping well. Is it a stress thing? A perimenopause thing? A thing with the weather? A 'life the universe and the end of the world as we know it' thing? Who even knows!

Unfortunately, I don't get a break in evening events until Thursday. And while I could stay home for each of them, in the first instance I'm the president, in the second a young woman is coming along for the first time, and in the third it's a social event.

I think I may have to take the sleeping drugs tonight. Well, melatonin.
goss: Artwork of Lord Shiva (Default)
[personal profile] goss
The Virtual Memorial for [personal profile] minoanmiss will be April 12, 1PM EDT (GMT -4)

Other info shared by [personal profile] gingicat:

  • It's now okay to unlock and make public posts regarding [personal profile] minoanmiss.

  • The funeral took place on the afternoon of March 13th. If any of you want to go visit her grave, it is in Mount Auburn Cemetery near the corner of Sycamore Ave and Gerardia Path.

  • Her organs were donated:
    - heart to research
    - liver to a woman in her 30s
    - right kidney to a woman in her 40s
    - left kidney to a woman in her 70s

  • Announcement sign-up:
    https://groups.google.com/g/nyani-announce

  • There's a BWEE! Book of Ny Discord being run by Taraljc (Tara O'Shea on bsky), and people who know both MM and Tara should drop Tara a DM.

    ---

    I'm so glad to know MM's final resting place is at a peaceful, beautiful location, and that her friends were able to honour her wishes to donate her organs to those in need. ♥
  • Daily Happiness

    Mar. 15th, 2026 09:32 pm
    torachan: an orange cat poking his head out from blankets (ollie)
    [personal profile] torachan
    1. We made mac and cheese for lunch inspired by the ramen mac and cheese we had at DCA last night. Added dashi in the water while the macaroni was boiling, and topped with furikake (all we had was gomashio, which is a mix of black sesame seeds and chunky salt) and it was delicious but we decided adding toasted panko really would make it better, so we actually ended up making it again for dinner with the panko. It was so good. Carla bought a different type of furikake at the store today but I just used the gomashio again and that went so good with the panko. Will definitely be making mac and cheese this way again.

    2. A couple weeks ago I got the annual Costco rewards gift certificate and we finally braved Costco today so we could use it. We weren't going directly home, so that saved us from being tempted by any perishable products and we pretty much stuck to our list of basics that we needed to stock up on.

    3. The weekend is over and I'm not thrilled about that but it was a pretty nice weekend overall.

    4. Molly loves being in this window, hidden behind the curtain.

    Didn't see that coming.

    Mar. 15th, 2026 11:24 pm
    settiai: (Wash/Zoe -- teh_indy)
    [personal profile] settiai
    It looks like the Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel that was in development isn't going to happen after all.

    But apparently Firefly of all things might be getting an animated series set between S1 and the movie.
    full_metal_ox: A gold Chinese Metal Ox zodiac charm. (Default)
    [personal profile] full_metal_ox posting in [community profile] fancake
    .Fandom: Original Work
    Pairings: Gen
    Characters:: OCs
    Rating: General Audiences
    Length: 1 panel
    Content Notes: Nudity, although no breasts or genitals are visible.

    Creator Tags: I kind of love the reverse mermaid, mermaids, my art, mermay 2021, I am ridiculous

    Creator Links: (AO3) [archiveofourown.org profile] Rubynye; (Dreamwidth) [personal profile] minoanmiss; (Tumblr) [tumblr.com profile] rubynye

    Theme: Siblings, Non-Fic Recs: Fanart, Mythical Creatures: Mermaids, Non-AO3 Work, Original Work, Tumblr Work, Worldbuilding, Xeno/Alien Biology

    Summary: Three mermaids of vastly different conformations sunning themselves together on a rock.

    Reccer's Notes: An example of [personal profile] minoanmiss’s exuberant, joyous, and cartoony artwork, informed by Minoan artifacts and Afro-Caribbean art. The picture is a spur to speculation, raising the question of the exact nature of the three mermaids’ sisterhood (and, if they’re direct birth siblings, exactly how the razzlefrazz the biology played out): a worldbuilding prompt asking to happen.

    Fanwork Links: Three Sisters. For Mermay., by [tumblr.com profile] rubynye.
    beatrice_otter: Cover of Janelle Monae's Archandroid album (Janelle Monae)
    [personal profile] beatrice_otter posting in [community profile] fancake
    Fandom: the Goblin Emperor
    Pairings/Characters: Ursu Perenched, Holitho Sevraseched, Nadeian Vizhenka, Shaleän Sevraseched
    Rating: Gen
    Length: 9k
    Creator Links: [archiveofourown.org profile] Akallabeth 
    Theme: siblings, minor characters, book fandoms, small fandoms, family, gen, female characters

    Summary: Short scenes from the lives of four (half-)sisters, the unacknowledged daughters of the Great Avar.

    Canon-compliant, to the best of my knowledge and ability.

    Reccer's Notes: We only get a sentence in canon about each of these four sisters, but the details we get are really interesting. This is one of the best fics exploring the scant details we get.

    Fanwork Links: Four Sisters
    [personal profile] voidbeetles posting in [community profile] little_details
    Hi!

    I have a character in a sci-fi universe who ends up "shipwrecked" alone on a completely uninhabited planet for two years. The planet, and the specific environment he lands in, are perfectly habitable by humans (we are in soft scifi territory here, very Star Trek inspired) and he's able to survive with some effort. (The details of how are not really important to the story - I know at least that he's the kind of guy who'd be able to salvage some tech and emergency supplies from his wrecked ship, and I'm comfortable with brushing past the details of what exactly he brought with him - but if anyone's really interested in coming at it from that logistical angle, I won't stop you!)

    What is more relevant to the story is how this experience would continue to affect him by the time he's back home safely. I think there are a bunch of possible avenues here and I'd love to see people's takes on how they would approach this or approach researching it. For example, here are some of my cursory thoughts:
    • PTSD is certainly a likely long-term complication
    • It's implied that his shipwrecking was not an accident/was engineered maliciously - I imagine this is something he has dwelt on heavily throughout the two years and will affect his ability to trust people (and to visit other uninhabited planets in the future!). Seems like it would be easy to get caught in delusional spirals in a situation like that.
    • I know that prolonged isolation can cause hallucination/psychosis in some cases, especially in solitary confinement, sensory deprivation contexts, etc. Is that as much of a risk in this case? And if so, do you think he'd still be experiencing psychotic symptoms after the fact?
    • One of his personality traits is that he's fairly attention-seeking - I think it's likely this incident will exacerbate that and make him more desperate for connection
    • It'll probably alter how he approaches social situations in the future in general; that's something I'll definitely be thinking about
    • Perhaps he got into the habit of talking to himself on the planet, and this never went away
    beatrice_otter: Batman with the Batsignal shining (Batman Signal)
    [personal profile] beatrice_otter posting in [community profile] fancake
    Fandom: Batman
    Pairings/Characters: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne
    Rating: gen
    Length: 7k
    Creator Links: the magpie said (hollowmen)
    Theme: siblings,

    Summary: Being a cat for three weeks has repercussions, it turns out.

    Jason snacks his way through one of them. Damian reads books. Both of them drink a lot of tea. It's nice, mostly, which Jason finds highly suspicious.

    Reccer's Notes: This is sweet and deeply in character for both of them

    Fanwork Links: proper rites

    (Note: other fics by this author have been recced, but under a different pseud--they used to be magpiemountains (hollowmen))

    Paul R. Ehrlich is dead

    Mar. 15th, 2026 10:31 pm
    james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
    [personal profile] james_davis_nicoll
    Finally.

    Interestingly, although he died a couple of days ago, I couldn't find a news article to which I felt comfortable linking.

    beatrice_otter: Elizabeth Bennet reads (Reading)
    [personal profile] beatrice_otter posting in [community profile] fancake
    Fandom: Persuasion
    Pairings/Characters: Anne/Frederick
    Rating: Gen
    Length: 8k words
    Creator Links: [archiveofourown.org profile] rain_sleet_snow 
    Theme: siblings, book fandoms, old fandoms, minor characters, small fandoms, five things

    Summary: Five people who were surprised by Anne and Wentworth's engagement, and one who wasn't.

    Reccer's Notes: Anne's siblings (and siblings-in-law) are not the only ones reacting to news of the engagement in this story, but they are most of the people reacting. I love the way the news causes each of them to re-evaluate Anne, and what they thought they knew.

    Fanwork Links: the natural sequel

    Catherine Update

    Mar. 15th, 2026 04:23 pm
    catherineldf: (Default)
    [personal profile] catherineldf
    Where have I been? If you guessed down with another terrible cold, one that made the last one look like a walk in the park, you win! I starting getting sick on Friday and had to skip my panel, then lost my voice on Saturday during MarsCon so I skipped my morning panel and had to whiteboard it with the aid of Michael and Matt for the afternoon one. After that, I has just completely down so we packed up and I stayed home on Sunday. And I coughed and I coughed and I coughed and I did not sleep or talk very much at all for 4 days. Greg was kind enough to let me work from home on DreamHaven stuff so at least I'm not wildly behind on that. Everything else is another story. But in the middle of it all, a good friend died and hey, we put a spiffy new book up for preorder.

    On the good side, we are planning on releasing Joyce Chng's mini-collection of queer pirate tales, Sailing the Golden Chersonese, on 4/9! It features beautiful artwork by Dhiyanah Hassan, gorgeous interior design by Terry Roy and lyrical prose by Joyce - who could ask for more! because 2026 is what it is, we have been beset by illness and delays so the print edition may come out a few days after the ebook one, but we are in progress. We will have review arcs for reviewers in the next couple of days so please let me know if you would like one. Preorders are love!

    Also: so are award nominations. As I have mentioned a time or two, Queen of Swords Press released new editions of the Astreiant Series by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett and, because the latest new volume, Point of Hearts, came out in 2025, the series is eligible for the Best Series Hugo. It is not uncommon for books and people to make it on the ballot (and sometimes, win!) by only a handful of votes. Queen of Swords Press is my beloved little postage stamp-sized press - getting this series on the ballot would be HUGE for us! Plus, Melissa hasn't been on the ballot since she won the Campbell for her first novel, despite years of writing terrific sf and f. If you were a member of Seattle Worldcon or a voting member of LA Con, you can nominate! I know the series has a few votes already so please consider putting us over the top to make the ballot!

    And I am out of steam and still need to work on a deadline piece. Friend's obit tomorrow. After I call the vet and get a rainbow Bridge appointment set up for Shu. 2026: the gift that keeps on giving.

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