chocolatepot | Network

1. It's the weekend!

2. We've been having another heatwave, but I think today was the peak. Tomorrow's supposed to be pretty hot, too, but then cooling off again from Sunday.

3. Another cat enjoying the new lounger.

hannah

Based on the size and the chirps, I'm pretty sure the bird I saw perched on the rooftop structure earlier today was a peregrine falcon. I didn't have anything to take a picture, and I didn't see it fly off to be able to check the silhouette, so I'm only working off what I got from the ground across the street.

It was hard to miss. At least, I found it hard to miss. There wasn't enough noise to drown out the chirps, which were distinctive enough I knew something had to be around. I deliberately stopped a little while to look at it, in case anyone walking by would stop to see what I was looking at, or ask me what I'd noticed. There weren't many people, and of the people that came, neither of them bothered. I don't know what was on their minds.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: nothing now

senmut

fth2026offerings is open for browsing!

My first auction has:
Doctor Who: Classic Doctor Who (1963-1996)
New Doctor Who (2005-present)
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Wars: Original Trilogy / Prequel Trilogy / The Clone Wars, EU Legends / Rogue One

My second auction has:

Any fandom I've created for before
DC: Birds of Prey / Justice League / Justice League International / Teen Titans / Young Justice
Legend of Drizzt - R.A. Salvatore

Offering 5-10k words, minimum bid $5

cornerofmadness

Five years ago today I fell. I nearly lost my leg. I was in the hospital/care home for months. It was horrible. Care homes are awful. It seemed like I'd be there forever. But there was still hope.

I taught my classes online from my bed. I helped interview for a new professor from that same bed.

And I had THIS community. You made that time better by checking in with me. You sent me gifts. You sent me stories. The Prodigal Son community made this most amazing art out of one of my stories and I took it back and forth to the hospital every time I had to return for more surgeries because I was afraid the care home would lose it and it was precious to me (It's in my office on top of the file cabinet today).

I'm not sure you know how much you meant to me as I learned to walk again. As I went through all this pain (If you want a visual, go look at the pictures Lindsey Vonn has been posting of her leg and external fixator, my leg looked exactly like that). And I feel sad that one of my biggest supporters,

spikedluv isn't here to read this. But so many others did so much and more, especially

evil_little_dog. It meant everything and I appreciate all of you. Thank you.

I'm doing good. I hike when I can. I'm not in terrible pain for the most part but the leg is weak and the nerve pain I do have is not fun. But I'm here. This is not stopping me.

And today I realized that not only is it a bad day for me two of my favorite celebrities died on the 27th, Leonard Nimoy and Mister Rogers.

In better news...

Tried the new coffee shop in Point Pleasant. this one isn't near the mothman centric stuff. There is one there that I go to that is...okay. I'd love to say let me watch your shop for a weekend and you go to a coffee conference because even McDonalds gets more adventuresome than you. This one had a great menu but too many cold drinks (especially for winter) I liked it but it's out of the way. A student found me there. figures.

AND the on-campus Mennonite coffee shop has mushroom coffee. I was afraid to know how much it was and they named the mixed drink with it the muddy puddle....

Came home to the news of someone I went to school with losing everything when some monster burned ALL of his beehives (he makes his living with the wax/honey etc), 60 hives, tens of thousands of bees, all gone. People suck.

Sigh.

But I did write and since I'm not ready for it to be on AO3 as it's part of a longer work, I'm just putting it here. Wrote it for

spikesgirl58's 6 word challenge.

( story under here )

Fannish 50 recs

Claimed Torchwood

No Time To Spare FAKE

10 Seconds Hazbin Hotel comic

Going to Visit Uncle Mer Stargate SG-1/Stargate Atlantis

The Healing Power of Touch Stargate Atlantis

Suited Torchwood

Good Boy Hazbin Hotel

Points Given, Points Taken Hazbin Hotel

Three Times The Trouble Hazbin Hotel

the greatest adventure (what lies ahead) Merlin

Punishment Torchwood

Oh Boy, You're Too Young To Burn (It'll be alright) Hazbin Hotel

A Guard on my Heart - Universe Explanations The Owl House

Letting Hope In Hazbin Hotel

God Sends Meat And The Devils Send Cooks Hazbin Hotel

There's No Aftercare in Hell Hazbin Hotel

Color Palette 9-1-1

Status Quo Hazbin Hotel

and, sometimes, she actually puts down her phone Hazbin Hotel

Down To Earth Hazbin Hotel

Confidence Is Sexy Hazbin Hotel

If A World Was Ending, You'd Come Over, Right?
Doctor Who

the arrows point in a circle, and it never ends Hazbin Hotel

our forever fall RWBY

Renewed Liaison Les liaisons dangereuses | Dangerous Liaisons - Choderlos de Laclos

There My Heart Forever Lies The Jacobite Trilogy | The Flight of the Heron Series

in the darkness with you 镇魂 | Guardian

Audio Quality Hazbin Hotel

Feverish The Professionals

with bells and brays
陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) / 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù

The Good (?) Doctor Teen Wolf

Your Perfect Doll Hazbin Hotel

The Truth Exposed Stargate Atlantis

Current Mood: grateful
Current Music: Death in Paradise

james_davis_nicoll

Seen on the Watsfic discord, qwp

Hey everyone,

**It is with great pride that I announce WATSFIC's 50ᵗʰ Anniversary!** On January 13th, 1976, we were officially recognized by the Federation of Students as a student club. For 50-years since then we have been nerding out to all facets of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. From the original release of Star Wars and the animated Lord of the Rings films, to Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Wargaming.

To celebrate our first half-century as a club at UW, **we are hosting our 50ᵗʰ Anniversary Event on March 7ᵗʰ. Join us from 11 AM to 11 PM in MC 4041 and 4042** as we take a walk down memory lane. With stops along Ravenloft and the White Plume Mountain, glimpses of the wonders and horrors of space with Mothership and Warhammer, casual pitstops with Board Games and Magic: The Gathering, and some nice R&R complete with classic films and painting.

**Please Sign-Up using this form :**
Walk-Ins are welcome, however, we cannot guarantee space for everyone at every activity.

**We'd like to thank everyone** for helping keep this club going strong for 50 years, **and invite you all, first-year to alumni, to join us in this once in a 50-year celebration** of nerdom at the University of Waterloo!

( Read more... )

primeideal

I had read a few reviews of "Back to the Future: the musical" when it opened on Broadway, and the reviews boiled down to: 1. the DeLorean is great, 2. they tried really hard to stay faithful to the movie and not cut anything important, but they also added a bunch of songs, so it's lengthy, 3. reviewer didn't care much for the movie because it didn't flatter their preconceptions, and the musical isn't any better, we have to be more edgy instead of just nostalgia bait. I figured 2 and 3 would not be big drawbacks for me, and it was in Baltimore, so sure.

It was...fine? I didn't dislike it in an "didn't flatter my ideological preconceptions" way, but the intro felt rushed (trying to establish Marty's siblings as characters, over-the-top hamming, etc.) This is just based on the original movie, not the sequels.

Anyway, here are some things that I think they could have done differently, especially because it's an adaptation. I'm not sure I'd necessarily enjoy all of these, just things that might be interesting to try.

Arguably the relationship at the core of the movie is Marty & Doc's friendship! Let them sing a duet together!
The character of Jennifer (Marty's girlfriend) could easily be cut. At the end of the movie it's like "come quick, your kids are in trouble!" and then that actress didn't want to do the sequels, so they just...awkwardly wrote her out. Jennifer in the musical doesn't do anything useful either.
I understand that we kind of need Marty's siblings to set up the photo as a symbol of temporal paradoxing, but again, they just showed up in the intro song to establish one-note characterizations, then were different in the alternate timeline of the ending. I feel like the first few scenes in 1985 could have been more streamlined/less ludicrous "And Now We Are Breaking Into Song" moments.
Doc has a song called "For the Dreamers," where he talks about his scientific heroes--he has pictures of Edison and EInstein on his wall, etc. But he's also like "yeah, some people fail a thousand times before they get it right, some people just...fail a thousand times." IDK, I kind of like the idea, but the execution of "the people who weren't successes matter too" could have been better.
The lampshading of "don't tell me about the future, I don't want to know, don't create a paradox" being resolved with "oh what the hell" is underwhelming plotwise. Maybe an adaptation where Doc actually dies? Or instead of Marty getting the message to him, someone like Mayor Wilson or Biff inadvertently changes the future based on Marty's meddling?
Sometimes people interpret the ending as fridge horror--Marty is the only person who remembers his original timeline, his family can't understand why he's not "their" Marty, etc. What if instead it doesn't change, but Marty is like, "hey, Dad, did you ever write science fiction books?" or something. Then we learn that George has been keeping up his hobby the whole time, he's just too embarrassed to share it with anyone, but Marty gives him a nudge to be a little more assertive in the future?
My mom's review of Wicked when we first saw it in 2008 was "this is going to be the best high school musical because both the lead roles are women and there are so many more girls than boys of high school age who want to do musical theater." What about always-a-girl AU for Marty and Doc? I like the idea of eccentric spinster Emily Brown still going by "Doc," but facing a little more side-eying/social awkwardness in Hill Valley. Is the love triangle different with girl!Marty in 1955? Does Biff flirt with her and get out of Lorraine's way? Is her alias "Victoria Secret" instead of "Calvin Klein"? :D

( Ending spoilers )

blotthis

Several folks requested texts about which I don't have too much to say... We didn't think it was possible.... Perhaps it's better this way... Anyway! Collected for your pleasure and my peace of mind:

The Lady's Not For Burning for

nextian

Wow. The language is good in this one, huh??? I'm afraid I read it right after finishing Tam Lin, which ended up being an interesting experience... Couldn't help comparing it to Dean's interests--beautiful language, the marriage of minds alive to the world surrounded by idiots, particularly of a depressed man and a life-hungry woman--and the pacing flaws in Tam Lin... Lady, I think, might echo them. Not that Lady is too long, but the ending... we rise to a pitch and then we--don't. This could work on stage, I think, if you played the silences right. Worked less good in TL.

Damn it was delicious to read, though. And I'll always happily read about people getting their belief systems shaken. And they're foils? How fun.

Fleabag, Ep. 1 for

queenlua and

osprey_archer

I liked it! I like watching people make expressions. I Love to See Olivia Coleman. I'm interested in the fourth wall, and I'm especially interested in reading the play that birthed the tv series, and comparing the choices. It's depressing, and the narrator sucks, but I was surprised and interested in the Friend Situation Reveal at the end of the episode, and the control of tone that reveal ... revealed. I'd love to hear why you each bounced off!

It's worth noting that I've only seen the one episode, and that I saw it on Dracula night, so I'd watched, in order, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and then Gatiss/Moffat's Dracula ep 1, and then topped it off with this. At that point, I was thrilled to watch a whole cast act. Also it was midnight by the time it finished. I do plan to watch the rest of the series, though!

The Freelancer's Bible for

genarti

I read this for my Business of Copyediting class. It's very good. I'm certain it was helped by the context, which forced me to Actually Do Things with the Information, but I really was impressed by this self-help book, alas. The writing is clear, the advice specific, the resources relevant, and the tone is cheerful and excited about the opportunities freelancing can afford people while being extremely clear-eyed about the difficulties of being a freelancer, both on the individual level and the systemic. The main author is the founder and former president of the Freelancer's Union, and so she brings a fiery labor organizer's point of view to a very entrepreneurial topic that I Appreciated. The book's a bit outdated in some respects--not everyone has a cellphone! you might consider getting wireless internet! AI doesn't exist!--but the overall guidance I found as helpful as ever.

Spirited Away for

genarti,

osprey_archer, and geestellar

Stares into the middle distance. It's a good movie, Brent. No. Sorry. I watched it at a friend's place with a ton of friends, and my takeaway was, "Don't watch good movies with friends." Bless 'em. Nobody would shut up.

It was kind of an interesting experience, in that before we got started, friend H said it was one of his least favorite Ghibli films, because it doesn't have a plot. This was a shocking statement to me. Of course it has a plot. It's about Chihiro... not growing up, exactly, but becoming More Herself. We argued about this a bit to start, and friend Z brought up that it has a Japanese-style plot, and Z is of course right. The movie's a bit episodic. There's a whole near-silent sequence on the ocean train. (Beloved.) But I also just think friend H is wrong and didn't grow up reading books about practical heroines who learn to Be Themselves. Or appreciate the soot sprites enough. Or Chihiro running down the stairs. Or my wife. Or---

Spirited Away doesn't pry me open with an oyster knife the way Kiki does. It doesn't have the evil lesbian capitalist foil to a hot feral wolf girl that Mononoke does. But it's my favorite.

mossy_bench

Hello friends! With Femslash February nearly but not yet over, I am excited to share my very subjective list of favorite fics featuring Helly R./Helena Eagan from Severance. It's not a huge ship (it currently has a bit over 100 fics on AO3), but I nonetheless hope that these recs are useful, regardless of whether you're already a Hellyena (also known as Hellyna) shipper, or just interested in learning more about this niche F/F pairing.

( A Brief Ship Manifesto )

So yeah. Selfcest body-sharing toxic yuri. What more is there to say.

Notes
All fics were published on AO3 before the end of February 2026, and are complete.

Please note that many of these fics feature sex or masturbation, dubious consent, canon-typical suicide attempts and self-harm, incest, and general mind-fuckery. I tried to note when specific topics come up, but consider this a blanket warning.

( 12 Fic Recs )

blotthis

As requested by

passingbuzzards,

skygiants and door, it's.... Dracula!

I'd never seen any Dracula adaptation at all ever--unless one counts Buffy as a Dracula adaptation, in which case I've seen Hush and the singing one--and may I just say, I would not recommend starting with any of the three adaptations I saw this month!

I've a longstanding interest in adaptations, though, so when some friends decided to go see Luc Besson's Dracula (2026), I joined them. Now, none of us knew that in other markets, this movie was subtitled "A Love Tale."

Me: Between... Mina and Jonathan?
Besson: Mais non! Dracule et Mina!

( Oh dear. )

I had a great time. What a series of swings. My takeaway was "Terrible movie. Everyone should see it." I laughed so much that I made friends with the folks on the other side of our group. I haven't even mentioned the gargoyles, which ended up being one of the funniest things I've seen in a movie in recent memory. Do not spend 20+ dollars to see it, but if you're hanging out with buddies, eating snacks, and ready to yell delighted disparaging comments at a Bad Movie with A Huge Budget, put it on the list.

I mentioned seeing Dracula (2026) to a Media Professional friend, and when she learned I hadn't seen Bram Stoker's Dracula, she was like oh, we should get high and do that. And I was like can we please, actually. So last weekend, we did. Minus the getting high, plus another Media Professional friend, whose apartment we invaded. (He has a TV and a couch.)

( New astonishments )

Ok. So, after we finished BSD, we tipsily decided it was early (10pm) and we could watch!! the first episode!!! of BBC's Dracula! They did not tell me it was an hour and a half and a Gatiss/Moffat production!!!

I'm not going to write this up in as much detail. I had fun with it, actually. There are parts in it that Gatiss and Moffat Simply Cannot Stop Themselves, of course, but overall I liked the Jonathan, Mina, Van Helsing (a Religiously Troubled but Very Self-Confident nun), and Dracula. Claes Bang, who plays Dracula, has more fun as he gets younger and sexier, and absolutely homosexually tortures Jonathan to pieces. Loved that. (Oldman and Landry Jones both become wooden as hell as they get younger and sexier, which was homosexually torturous for me---) I also adoooored Dolly Wells as Sister Agatha Van Helsing.

My understanding is that the third episode absolutely blows shit. From Gatiss and Moffat? Shocking. But the first episode, at least, felt more interested in the book's specific death-dread than the two movies, even as it turned much of the plot on its head. I've been told the second episode is even better. It's unlikely I'll watch it on my own, but I'm happily passing that information on to you.

princessofgeeks

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

torachan

Recently Finished
The Murder at World's End
The first book in a new historical murder mystery series. I liked this one a lot. A young male servant teams up with an eccentric upper class older woman to solve mysteries. Looking forward to the next one. I listened to this as an audio book and enjoyed the narrator a lot, too.

The Decagon House Murders
This is the first in the House Murders series, but the third I've read in novel form, as I had originally read this one as a manga. It's been a while since I've read the manga, though, so I thought I'd check out the novel as well. The manga seems to have stuck fairly close to the novel except for two big changes: the MC who doesn't go to the island with the others is a girl in the manga, but was male in the original, and the way the girl whose death triggers the revenge killings died is totally different in the manga. I can see why they'd change the gender of the one character, since it is otherwise all guys except two minor female characters who both die fairly early on, but I am baffled as to why they changed the death.

Boxers & Saints
Two volume graphic novel series about the Boxer Rebellion, a period in history about which I knew nothing at all previously (I had only vaguely heard the term and did not even realize it happened in China). Very interesting.

Yes, I'm Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth about Life in a Hijab
Collection of (I assume) web comics about life as a hijabi woman in the US. I enjoyed it, but collected all together the comics were often repetitive in a way that wouldn't feel as obvious if read spread out as a web comic.

Kinou Nani Tabeta? vol. 25

Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko ja Nakatta vol. 4

stonepicnicking_okapi

Day 27: Ecstasy

I can't believe February is almost done and I've not posted any art. The image my mind conjures at the word 'ecstasy' is paintings of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian.

The caption to this [Circle of Girolamo Siciolante, St. Sebastian Receives the Palm of Martyrdom, 1570s] is:

As is usual, St. Sebastian has been stripped, tied to a tree, and shot with arrows. The headless trunk at the base of the tree refers to the previous beheading of Tiburtius, son of the prefect of Milan, whom Sebastian had recently converted along with the prefect and 1,400 others.

Not to split hairs, but in the legend the saint did not actually receive martyrdom when he was shot with the arrows shown. He died four days later, beaten to death by the servants of Diocletian and Maximian. And it is not just a palm that the angel in the painting brings, but a golden diadem as well.

Being beaten to death would not be as sexy a subject for portraiture! But that beheaded body is not exactly sexy, either! Hmm.

saint sebastian

tellshannon815 posting in

drabble_zone

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

davidgillon

... had me competing in the Olympics.

Dream-brain seemed somewhat hazy on whether this was summer or winter games, and normie or paras.

I'm not sure of the event either, possibly the Biathlon? Though skis seemed an afterthought and I don't recall any rifle showing up.

However in a firm nod to real life I was late for my race by way of being unable to negotiate athlete registration.

Current Mood: Seriously, brain?
Current Location: Milano-Cortina?

kaberett

Got libgourou working ~~(link to follow)~~, with thanks to simont for bringing it to my attention and me_and for making sympathetic and encouraging noises while I stared muzzily at the documentation this evening. Happy to report that I have successfully downloaded Adobe DRMed ebooks from my command line without any Windows install or emulators at all.
I am enjoying A Physical Education so much - SO much - that I have gone out and bought a book it recommends (Starting Strength; very wordy descriptions of which muscles one should be using for what, apparently, i.e. exactly my kind of thing). Acquiring my own copy once I've given the library's back is a definite possibility. It's really interesting in terms of both the pain Project (memoir about embodiment!) and in terms of my own movement-related special interests (e.g. the gulf between my experience of largely self-led Pilates vs the version available via mainstream contemporary classes embedded in diet culture). Lots of content notes but I'm really really liking it. Gratitude to buttonsbeadslace for posting about it ~~(... link to follow...)~~
Stupid Little Walk yielded both very cheap pistachio croissants (MORE BREAKFAST NONSENSE) and a very cheap "cinnamon danish with vanilla fondant icing" I've been vaguely eyeing up but was also very suspicious of. I am glad to have tried it and probably won't get it again, even if it is only 19p.
This evening's tofu was particularly cooperative with being cooked. (Thanks be to evilsusan for the specific combination of courgettes, tofu and garlic that I still make regularly lo these many years later )
I hit refresh on Oxfam Online and discovered that the rotating sale has migrated back around to "30% off 3+ books". Thus now on their way to me I have: the first edition of Explain Pain for an astonishingly reasonable price (I want to do the deeply nerdy thing of a side-by-side comparison with the second edition, and also to revisit its structure while the second edition is on loan to a physio friend...); a book entitled Science of Pilates, which I'd previously eyed up but that time it sold before I got around to it; a book about allotments and cooking; and a probably questionable out-of-print 1980s cookbook...

double_dutchess posting in

su_herald

BUFFY: Mom? Mom? Mommy?

~~The Body~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Ekkatharisi by SomeKindOfADeviant (Angel(us)/Spike, M)
Moments by KatyAmberAuthor (Buffy/Giles, M)

Because it's wrong by Blooddebt (Buffy/Spike, R)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Eleven year Coma, Chapter 15 (complete!) by SidneyPrescottFan (Tara/Willow, faith/Buffy, Kennedy/Dawn, multiple crossovers, M)
Miss Edith, Chapter 31 by BeppiGirl (Drusilla/Spike, Drusilla/Angelus, E)
The Leech, Chapter 13 (complete!) by OGSamsa (OC Slayer, Twilight crossover, T)
Red Xandra: Season Two, Chapter 61 by Kickaha (Xander, T)
Mamma Mia Here We Slay Again, Chapter 19 by Valeskadragonsfire (Scoobies, Supernatural and Bones crossover, T)
After That, Chapter 11 by ScottisI (Ensemble, Harry Potter crossover, M)
Always and Forever, Chapter 5 by storiwr (Tara/Willow/Buffy, M)
Blossom in Blood, Chapter 8 by desicat (Buffy/Spike, E)
Put Me Down, Chapter 9 by Inspectorrr (Buffy/Faith, E)
Warmth, Chapter 2 by Marzi (Giles/Jenny, T)
The Strange Case of Faith Lehane and Willow Rosenberg: Chapter 13 by VladimirHarkonnen (TheLightdancer) (Faith, Willow/Tara, E)
Five Calls That Weren't Made And The One That Was, Chapter 1 by Laqt15 (Angel/Spike/Buffy, M)
Who Are You Really? Chapter 1 by emrysheir (Faith, Buffy, Wesley, Fred, Dollhouse crossover, T)

If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck... Chapter 30 (complete!) by zinjadu (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)
Father, Lead Us Not Into Temptation, Chapter 14 by YouCutYourHair (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)
From Hell, With Love, Chapter 8 (complete!) by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)
Chasing Happily Ever After, Chapter 2 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)
10 Things I Hate About Riley Finn, Chapter 4 by Kazfox (Buffy/Spike, R)
Mortal Coil, Chapter 1 by Sarahvampgrl (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Summoned To Strixhaven: Schooling of Scoobies, Chapter 14 by JoshuAB (Scoobies, Dungeons & Dragons crossover, FR13)
Wrapped in a Smile, Chapter 4 by AsarStar (Buffy, Spike, The Morning Show crossover, FR15)
A Level Beyond, Chapter 1 by Rod (Parker, Smallville crossover, FR18)

Revelations, Chapter 56 by Niamh (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)
Band Candy Baby, Chapter 74 by Tikiriaaa (Buffy/Spike, R)
On the Run, Chapter 18 by zinjadu (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)
Re-heated, Chapter 12 by splendidchapette (Buffy/Spike, R)
First Kiss, Chapter 5 by Sarahvampgrl (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)
Magical Toothpaste, Chapter 5 by Sarahvampgrl (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Fanvid: Female Buffyverse | You Should See Me In A Crown by butivegotsharpblades

[Reviews & Recaps]

buffy ( 01x03) review by phanadjacent

[In Search Of]

Looking for transcription of Angel comics by illyriafan

[Community Announcements]

Welcome to Day Twenty Seven of February Fangfest! by februaryfangfest

[Fandom Discussions]

Video: Why I Love "ANGEL" The Series by RealLifeRyan

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

6 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Characters Who Were Actually Way Better on Angel by Shawn Lealos at ComicBook.com

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

sartorias

Yu know the world situation, which adds its mite ( for definitions of "mite,"watch out for falling pianos) to the stress closer by. The worst of it is feeling helpless to do much besides donate money to the outer stresses and listen as I can to the inner. Which I have been doing, in spite of our income dwindling. But this is a common plight.

My brain did go into revolt, and a bit of OT3 fantasy comedy of manners unspooled itself over the past month and a half or so. I wouldn't mind that happening again because it keeps me busy--besides various books and TV shows. But none of those have lit my fire quite as much as having a brainmovie again.

I do have Katherine Arden's latest here, and it looks good. But it's called The Unicorn Hunters and appears to be based on the tapestries so splendidly displayed in New York. Very handsome tapestries, but whew. Those boys strutting their tight breeches and little short jackets and perfect hair were a bunch of brutes. The tapestries illustrate an exercise in human cruelty, and the news is kind of overflowing with that, so I'm waiting for the right mood for the book.

II've done some rereads, and some new reads, I continue to listen to audiobooks while trudging my daily steps.

Oh! edited to add: I watched the Plympics ice skating and ice dancing. Some really lovely stuff, though they do seem to be obsessed with the quad spin.

matsushima posting in

bookclub_dw

OK, everybody let's turn on some music~~, drop acid in a clinically controlled environment,~~ and talk about mushrooms! 🍄

Q1: Have you read microhistory before? If this is a genre you're familiar with, what do you like about it? If this was your first, will you read more? *If you want to read more, I've got some recommendations where this came from.

Q2: Merlin Sheldrake obviously likes mushrooms, like, a lot. If you were going to write a book in this genre, what would you write about? It doesn't have to be science-y, either; there are lots of books like this about history, society, etc.

Q3: What's the most interesting fact you learned from this book? Why is that what stood out to you?

Q4: Sheldrake writes, My hope is that this book loosens some of your certainties, as fungi have loosened mine. What (if any) certainties were loosened by reading Entangled Life?

Q5: Pop-sci books like Entangled Life have to balance scientific accuracy and accessibility to a lay audience. How do you feel Sheldrake did? If you're a scientific expert, was the information correct? If you're not, was the book readable and did you feel like you understood what was being communicated?

Q6: Has reading Entangled Life changed the way you think about other everyday, apparently mundane, things?

Q7: OK, but… does anyone else want to try LSD after reading Entangled Life?

Current Mood: hungry

sabotabby

I have things that I should write about in more detail but I'm having about three weeks of bonkerscrazytimeclownshoes, so have a brief recommendation for Tech Won't Save Us's episode "What’s Driving the Push For Humanoid Robots ft. James Vincent."

Now that I know lots more about robots than I used to, I can tell you that humanoid is maybe the worst shape for a robot. If you don't believe me, watch some videos from the Consumer Electronics Show. They fall down all the time. Sometimes, as with Elon Musk's robots, they are just guys in suits and not robots at all. Humanoid is a bad shape for a human (this observation brought to you by how much my back is currently killing me) so why not make a robot that is shaped like basically anything else?

(I mean you know the answer is slavery, right? It's always slavery.)

Anyway this episode is weirdly fun to listen to because we're talking about something that is basically impossible and can't replace people, vs. AI which is basically impossible but will replace people because of all the middle managers who've had frontal lobotomies.