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cartoons: misc

VARIOUS > KPOP DEMON HUNTERS

CANON: Kpop Demon Hunters
CHARACTERS: Rumi, Mira and Zoey
ADDITIONAL INFO: 154 icons from the trailer. Featuring the antagonists as well.
CREDIT TO:

malagraphic

here @

malagraphic

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Unsent letters fic (more Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan)

I picked up a Guardian pinch hit for

facethestrange in

unsent_letters_exchange. I had two ideas for it, so when reveals were delayed, I wrote the other one as a treat. And then reveals were delayed again, so I ended up doing my compulsive last-minute checks while also trying to finish my 520 Day fics, lol.

Anyway, the first of these is set over three successive nights before and during the Hanga arc, and the second one is established relationship, with Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei passing notes during a state meeting in Dixing, in handwavy everyone-lives post-canon.

Title: a pocketful of change (4771 words) [General Audiences]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Set before and during the Hanga arc (episodes 9 to 11), unsent letter, Pre-Relationship, Mutual Pining, SID politics, Epistolatory format: Letter

Summary: Lost in the past, Shen Wei shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. His fingers met small hard balls on smooth sticks and recognised them instantly. Heart clenching, he withdrew the pocket’s entire contents: three lollipops, a little ziplock bag filled with dried fish, and a wad of pages torn from a notebook and roughly folded. The outside of the paper was unmarked, but its surface texture bore evidence of the handwriting within.

He was still wearing Zhao Yunlan’s jacket. Whatever was written on these pages wasn’t meant for his eyes.

Title: A Passing Grade in Diplomacy (4062 words) [Teen and Up]
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Politics, meetings, Established Relationship, Banter, passing notes, Warning: internalised slut-shaming, just briefly tho

Summary: Next time, bring lollipops! Zhao Yunlan jotted in a spare corner of his page. He underlined it twice and went back to doodling more leaves on his tree, which was bushy and verdant like the new plantings in the streets near the Dragon Gate. He was experimenting with vines and curling tendrils when characters appeared out of nowhere, beneath his reminder.

Check your right-hand jacket pocket.

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Murderbot TV episode 3

Unsure how I feel about having 22 minute episodes (sorry, "30 minute episodes"). On the one hand, short and quick enough to watch. On the other hand, this entire episode is essentially half an episode: In Which Our Heroes Travel To DeltFall And MurderBot Looks Around.

Enjoyable, but this kind of episode feels like it is meant for watching entire seasons all at once, where it would just blend in to the before and after. They spent too much time arguing in the shuttle for it to feel like it stands alone at all.

The security footage of what the Gurathin and Bharadwaj are doing back home was pointless, but I guess Character Building or something.

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on pain of pain

today in idle reading about pain

Pain associated with sensory hypersensitivity, e.g. light and sound: is this primarily nociceptive (i.e. nociceptors are firing at a lower threshold) or a feature of central processing (i.e. brain goes "NOPE DON'T LIKE THAT" about stimuli the peripheral nervous system isn't reporting as Harmful)? Or, slightly more comprehensibly to people who are not currently spending lots of time thinking about this particular niche area, when normal light levels cause me pain, is that the nerves that go "YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE SUN AND IT'S A BAD IDEA STOP THAT RIGHT NOW" that are initiating those signals, or a... central... processing... issue... yeah okay maybe I should go to bed instead of trying to words this. BUT a quick shakedown of the internet revealed it's only in the last decade or so that nociceptive signalling relating to Loud Noise Bad has been demonstrated so that's cool.

I'll go to Goodwill for you anytime!!

When I took Dixie's sweater to her this morning, she kept saying 'let me pay you' and I said 'no no no' I told her I'd rather have her in my debt. She did give me a whole pile of adorable buttons - buttons like for kids' stuff - little toys and animals - really cute ones. As I was leaving she was still trying to pay me.

Cut to just now - 4 pm - here comes Dixie with a big bag.

Fridays after lunch there is a knitting group who meets. I went once. It was enough. But, apparently, she took her sweater to the knitting group to unravel and got a bunch of helpers! So smart. She took a bunch for her project and brought me the rest - a bag full - already mostly unraveled!!

Perfect doll hair. I told her that I'll go to Goodwill for her anytime.

Moonpie's foot is no longer visibly swollen and she's putting weight on it

So no vet trip, I guess!

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The Legend of Korra: Fanfiction: Demands Are Not Welcome Here, Turn and Walk Away

Title: Demands Are Not Welcome Here, Turn and Walk Away
Fandom: The Legend of Korra
Pairings: Korra/Asami Sato
Characters: Mako, Tenzin
Rating: G
Length: 80 words
Summary: 3 sentence fic. The Avatar finds a moment of peace with the ones she loves.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: photographical
Current Location: 'ereabouts

The Church of St Mary and All Saints Conwy

The Church is early 14th century.

Rood screens are rare survivals and many are 19th century copies, but this one is original:

( See more: )

It’s happening!

I broke my rule

Dixie said she went to Value Village (the local reuse shop) and they only had about 3 sweaters and none were the right color. It's so not the right time of year for sweaters.

But, I had been wanting to check out the Goodwill in Redmond and ... why not now? So I just grabbed my keys and went. Stopped to get Biggie's drugs first. They had them ready this time and charged me more :( but stil l way cheaper than another surgery!

It was morning rush hour so Google took me the back way to Redmond and it was a beautiful drive. I mean really spectacularly, if-I-didn't-live-here-I'd-move-tomorrow beautiful. Lush green tree canopy over the road and nearly no traffic. The Redmond store is easy to get to with good, easy parking. It's big and bright and well organized. Probably about half the size of the Seattle store, maybe less. But lovely and well staffed. I found way too many clothes. I do not need clothes. I bought them anyway. Now I have to go to the storage area and get more hangers. I promised I would not do that. I am such a liar.

The clothes are in the wash now.

But, more importantly, I found Dixie's perfect sweater. Exactly the right color and a good size of yarn for kinky unraveling. I took it to her when I got back. She had left me some buttons in my mail room cubby and I picked those up and they are DARLING. Little toy's and shapes. And there are a bunch of them.

The woman at the title company who calls me from a different phone every time and rarely to tell me anything new, called again today from still another number to tell me exactly what she told me in her reply to my email earlier in the week. I asked her to quit calling. And to please communicate via email. And so she sent me an email saying the notary would be scheduled for Tuesday morning at 10. Then the notary sent me an email saying she's coming Tuesday at 10. Wonder when the signing will be?? I'm thinking maybe Tuesday at 10.

How glad will I be when all this shit is over? Very.

I did not get to the grocery. Maybe tomorrow. I would like some ice cream but I can get some down at the Bistro.

Now I'd better go get those hangers.

Current Mood: excited

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2025 52 Card Project: Week 20: First Time

This past weekend was a lot of fun. I had significant events on both Friday and Saturday, and I was rather torn over which should be the subject of my collage. I decided to not to decide, because both events had a common theme (if you squint): they were both first-time events.

On Friday, I had my first big event for my Year of Adventure: my friends Dăna and Scott took me turkey hunting! Here is Dăna's report:

Peg accomplished her first Birthday adventure with Scott and me today - at her request, we took her wild turkey hunting! 🦃 We met her at the Cannon Falls exit around 4:30 am, and she followed us to our friend Keith’s farm and to just inside the edge of the woods to our parking spot.

Peg donned the camouflage clothing we brought for her and off we went, hiking across the bottomlands fields and up to the top of the bluff, with gear in hand. We climbed into Keith’s turkey blind and Scott set up our Tom and Hen decoys about 25 yards into the corn field. It was too warm for gobbles unfortunately and no turkeys showed up. The winds were ridiculous (sustained winds of 26 mph with gusts up to 46 mph!!) and blew our Tom over a couple times so we put him away and left just our hen out. A beautiful coyote cut across the field and disappeared into the woods on the other side - that was super fun! Our highlight came when Peg pointed out a Peregrine Falcon that stooped on our hen decoy, pulling up just inches away!! We wonder what would have happened if it carried our and decoy off with it. We do not know anyone who has had an experience like that! A once in several lifetime experience! Strong winds had torn a roof section out of Keith's nylon blind last night so we had a skylight to watch that falcon through. Perfect! The barred owls were calling boisterously. A red-tailed hawk flew overhead. But no turkeys. We moved down to the bottomlands again mid-morning. The songbirds calls were beautiful and some wildflowers and ferns were blooming and were magnificent! We showed Peg a new bird ID app called Merlin (Cornell Lab of Ornithology - it's free and very fun - check it out!) Peg was delighted with it!

We moved back up top and sat under a big cedar tree next to Keith's wildlife food plot. Unfortunately we spooked a turkey while getting in there, but at least Peg saw a wild turkey, albeit running away!!

At 10 am it was time for Peg to go and prep food for tomorrow's baby shower for Fiona and Alona.

We had a fun morning even though the turkeys didn't cooperate! Peg was a trooper and was interested in everything. She even tried her hand at using a slate turkey call to call to the turkeys!!

What a fun way to celebrate Peg's birthday! We all had a great time! And Peg tried something totally new! Great job!

As Dăna said, I had to leave the hunt early because of the other big weekend event: a baby shower for Fiona and Alona's baby (my first grandchild). Alona's dad and stepmom hosted, and her mom and stepdad were there, too. Alona's sister Mary is also pregnant, and so it was a double shower, with many beautiful gifts for both couples. The sweater that Alona is holding in the collage was handmade by her mother Nancy. There was also a gorgeous handmade quilt (a bookcase with a cat) and several beautifully crocheted blankets. We served brunch for everyone, and I think a wonderful time was had by all.

Image description: The collage is divided into two triangular portions. On the left side, a woman (Peg) smiles at the camera, dressed in camo in the dawn light. A pair of binoculars is slung around her neck. Overlaid over her is a peregrine falcon making a dive, talons outstretched. Lower right corner: a Tom turkey decoy. On the right side, two women (Alona, seated, and Fiona standing behind her) smile at the camera. Alona is holding a hand-knit red baby sweater with intricate cabling detail.

First Time

20 First Time

Click on the links to see the 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 52 Card Project galleries.

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

Today is partly sunny and mild. It rained a little yesterday.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a catbird, a blackbird, a blue jay, a young fox squirrel on the hopper feeder, and an adult fox squirrel running through the trees.

I put out water for the birds.

I set out the flats of pots and watered them.

EDIT 5/23/25 -- I pulled grass from inside the septic garden.

EDIT 5/23/25 -- I pulled more grass from inside the septic garden. I discovered that a few gladioli are still surviving there.

Also there are mosquito larvae in the trough pond on the old picnic table, so I need to get some mosquito dunks for that. :/

EDIT 5/23/25 -- I pulled more grass from inside the septic garden.

EDIT 5/23/25 -- I pulled more grass from inside the septic garden.

I've seen two fox squirrels in the forest garden.

EDIT 5/23/25 -- I potted up a purple-and-yellow torenia, a yellow portulaca, two yellow snapdragons, and two white lobelias in a big clay pot on the patio.

I've seen a female cardinal.

EDIT 5/23/25 -- I potted up crosne knotroots in one of the big taupe pots that I put on the north side of the new picnic table. I have 2 of those pots left to fill.

EDIT 5/23/25 -- I filled the last two of the big taupe pots with half composted manure and half potting soil. I sowed one with ground cherry seeds from Pinetree Garden Seeds, which emptied that packet; it didn't come with a lot of seeds in it. I sowed the other pot with goldenberry seeds from John Scheeper's Kitchen Garden Seeds, which still has plenty left.

EDIT 5/23/25 -- I potted up a purple-and-white picotee petunia, a purple-and-white striped 'Wave' petunia, a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia, and two white lobelias in a clay pot on the patio. I also added a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia to the pot of yellow flowers from earlier.

I've seen a skunk on the patio.

.

Unsent Letters: "Mr Rowl" and Dial "M" for Murder

I wrote two stories for Unsent Letters!

‘Nary a cause for tears’: Queer friendship in the diaries of Admiral Hervey Barrington, R.N. (1772–1833)
"Mr. Rowl" -- D. K. Broster
Raoul des Sablières/Hervey Barrington, Raoul des Sablières/Juliana Forrest
Epistolary, Enemies to Lovers, Bittersweet, Missing Scenes, Canon Compliant, Pining
Teen, No Warnings Apply
9,400 words

If he dies here, that will be his final judgement of me: that I take joy in his suffering.

Were it true, I would be a happier man this night.

luzula had several great requests, but I knew early on that what I really wanted to do was write my Hervey/Raoul manifesto. Broster has a bit of a trademark in writing just-this-side-of-deniable, surely-that-was-deliberate queer characters and relationships, and Hervey is one of my favorites. The text is unambiguous that he's not straight (he's gay or ace, reader's choice), and as the novel progresses, he is so obviously sweet on Raoul... And not just obvious to us, but to all the characters around him.

( Read more... )

So here we are! If you enjoy bittersweet queer romance with a naval flavor, I invite you to give this a shot -- because of the framing, this story requires absolutely no canon knowledge.

I also picked up a pinch-hit!

To: 61A Charrington Gardens
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Mark/Margot
Epistolary, Pre-Canon
G, No Archive Warnings Apply

Write M for "Margot, I'm Madly in Love"

I'd never seen the movie, but my library has it streaming on-demand through Kanopy (and it doesn't even count toward your monthly limit!), so we watched it over two nights, and then I downloaded the subtitles file for reference. (A subtitles file is not quite as good as a transcript, because it doesn't usually say who is speaking, let alone give any indication of the action, scene changes, etc. But it can still prove useful nonetheless!)

( Read more... )

I also tried my hand at picking up the other two long-neglected pinch-hits, but hardly any of the requested fandoms were quick-entry. In both cases I was three-quarters of the way through the first novel of six or a 11-hour video game walkthrough, when someone else swooped in and picked up the pinch-hit. I choose to superstitiously believe that in both cases someone swooped in because I was nearly through my canon reading/viewing, and that my attempting to read/watch these canons was my little contribution to the collection opening at last. ;-)

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Book Review Poll

I have been reading much more than I've been reviewing. So...

Poll #33152

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 83

View Respondents

Which of these books would you MOST like me to review?

View Answers

When the Wolf Comes Home, by Nat Cassidy. Horror novel about an out of work actress on the run with a little boy.
6 (7.2%)

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty. The rollicking adventures of a middle-aged mom PIRATE in fantasy medieval Middle East.
43 (51.8%)

Diary of a Witchcraft Shop, by Trevor Jones and Liz Williams. What it says on the can: a diary of owning a witchcraft shop in Glastonbury.
13 (15.7%)

Sisters of the Vast Black, by Nina Rather. SPACE NUNS aboard a GIANT SPACE SEA SLUG.
30 (36.1%)

Making Bombs for Hitler, by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. Children's historical fiction about Ukrainian children kidnapped and enslaved in WWII, by a Ukrainian-Canadian author.
9 (10.8%)

Under One Banner, by Graydon Saunders. Commonweal # 4!
13 (15.7%)

Archangel (etc), by Sharon Shinn. Lost colony romantic SF about genetically engineered angels.
14 (16.9%)

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton. Historical murder mystery with time loops and body switching.
20 (24.1%)

Irontown Blues, by John Varley. Faux-noir SF with an intelligent dog.
5 (6.0%)

Blood Over Bright Haven, by M. L. Wang. Standalone fantasy that kind of looks like romantast but isn't, with anvillicious anti-colonial themes.
13 (15.7%)

An Immense World, by Ed Yong. Outstanding nonfiction about how animals sense the world.
26 (31.3%)

Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling, by Henry Lien ("Peasprout Chen"). Nonfiction, what it says on the can. Not all stories are in three acts!
28 (33.7%)

Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman. World's greatest D&D campaign in a truly fucked world.
13 (15.7%)

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

2025.05.23

Harvard University sues Trump administration over ban on enrolling foreign students
Ivy league school calls administration’s decision unconstitutional retaliation for defying White House’s demands
Michael Sainato and agency
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/may/23/harvard-university-sues-trump-administration-ban-foreign-students

Trump’s barbarism is turning his biggest strength into a liability
Osita Nwanevu
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/23/trumps-barbarism-is-turning-his-biggest-strength-into-a-liability

Fear, hope and loathing in Elon Musk’s new city: ‘It’s the wild, wild west and the future’
Starbase in Texas, where the world’s richest man has a rocket-launching facility, was incorporated this week. Mars obsessives are flocking there – but some long-term locals are far from happy
Oliver Laughland
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/23/elon-musk-new-city-starbase-texas

Brazilian tribe sues New York Times for allegedly portraying members as porn addicts
Defamation suit claims Marubo people were depicted in story as tech-addled and porn-obsessed after introduction of internet
Associated Press in Los Angeles
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/23/brazil-tribe-new-york-times-pornography-lawsuit

California hummingbird beaks transformed by feeders: ‘more tapered and longer’
Study details evolutionary change of Anna’s hummingbirds and finds ranges have expanded to follow such devices
Cy Neff
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/23/california-hummingbird-beak-study

This doctor calls LGBTQ+ rights ‘satanic’. He could now undo healthcare for millions
Exclusive: A rightwing activist behind a current supreme court challenge has spent decades railing against ‘homosexual behavior’
Sam Levin
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/23/supreme-court-case-steven-hotze-hiv-prep

Key takeaways: RFK Jr’s ‘Maha’ report on chronic disease in children
Report ignores common dangers to children, focuses on Kennedy’s favored topics – and will be forcefully opposed
Jessica Glenza
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/22/rfk-jr-maha-health-report-explained

Disarray at Department of Veterans Affairs imperils patient care, internal documents reveal
Unit closures, reduced hours of operation and exam backlogs reported after Trump administration reductions
Aaron Glantz
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/23/veterans-affairs-doge-musk

‘Ludicrous and unfair’: older workers react to pressure to delay retirement
IMF is urging countries globally to act to ease stress on public finances, sparking mainly outrage but also support
Jedidajah Otte
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/may/23/ludicrous-unfair-older-workers-react-pressure-delay-retirement

Awkward clapping, no-sand beaches and Alexander Skarsgård’s thigh-high boots: a trip to Cannes to see my film
Harry Lighton’s film Pillion is based on the novel Box Hill so, misgivings riding alongside, it felt right for the author to motorbike to the film festival for its premiere
Adam Mars-Jones
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/23/adam-mars-joness-cannes-diary-pillion-box-hill-cannes-diary

Man in Norway wakes to find huge container ship in garden
Francesca Gillett
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8nk279ydyo

The sounds and songs of Iceland's melting landscape
Karen McHugh
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250521-the-sounds-and-songs-of-icelands-melting-landscape

Kangaroo 'tries to drown' man in Australian floodwaters
Flora Drury
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg71gqe068o

The Mayan languages spreading across the US
Juan Pablo Pérez-Burgos
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250515-the-mayan-languages-spreading-across-the-us

In full bloom: Chelsea flower show 2025 – in pictures
The photographer Sarah Lee has made her annual visit to the RHS Chelsea flower show in south-west London to revel in the floral delights
Sarah Lee
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2025/may/22/chelsea-flower-show-2025-in-pictures

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unforth's reads

Mid-Year Duck Prints Press Storygraph Challenge Update

I’ve been meaning to post a reminder that our Storygraph challenge is ongoing, and a specific update on my personal progress, for a while, and a week before Pride Month starts strikes me as as good a time as any to go HEY, WE’VE GOT A CHALLENGE TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO READ QUEER BOOKS!

So, hey! We’ve got a challenge to encourage people to read queer books! It’s the Duck Prints Press 2025 Queer Book Challenge on Storygraph, and it’s open for everyone to participate! It’s composed of 40 challenges – one required (it’s “read a queer book”) and all the rest bonus for the fun of it. If you haven’t joined us already, I hope you’ll consider doing so. The challenge runs from Jan 1 to Dec 31, so everything you’ve read this year – even before you joined! – can count for filling the prompts.

For fun, I decided to make a bingo card, with the 40 prompts + 2 free spaces to get it square.

…and then I filled it in with my own prompt fills for the year! I might actually get a black-out this year; I’ve already got a higher percentage than I did all last year.
The same bingo card as the previous image, now with a mosaic of book covers. The books and their placement are listed below.

The same bingo card as the previous image, now with a mosaic of book covers. The books and their placement are listed below.

Card list below the read more!

( Read more... )

Current Music: Max Pizzolante: La gente quiere calle

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acorn bread and açaí

acorn bread

The leftover acorn meal I had in my fridge had gone moldy! Ah well. Fortunately I had acorns left over from last time, so I ground those up, leached them, dried them, and yesterday made a loaf of ... well it's mainly white bread--three cups white flour--but also a cup of acorn meal. So I am going to call it acorn bread, the same way you call a thing banana bread even though it's not mainly bananas.

Behold its majesty!

I still have leftover meal from this batch of acorns, but I will not make the same mistake twice by letting it linger. I intend to make acorn pancakes, or perhaps I'll use it to make some kind of meatballs or fish cakes.

Açaí

Or asaí, as they spell in in Colombia. We in America use the Brazilian (i.e., Portuguese) spelling. In Tikuna it's waira.

Açaí juice (wairachiim) is so beloved in the Amazon. And with reason--it's GREAT. Drink it sweetened, and with fariña, and it's a real pick-me-up:

The Açaí palms are very tall and very skinny. Traditionally, harvesting the berries involves a not-very-heavy person shimmying up the palm with a knife and cutting off the bunches of berries, as in the YouTube short below. (I say traditionally because in some parts of Brazil I think there are now large plantations, and they may have a mechanized way of doing this. But still--I gather--many many people do it the unmechanized way.)

The video specifies Brazil, but it'll be true anywhere that açai grows

My tutor's dad does this. Here's a picture not of her dad but of her boyfriend with a bunch of berries--gives a sense of how big they are:

And the process of making the juice is really labor intensive too. Here's my tutor's mom pounding it. You add water as you go along:

This year the river has really risen high, and in talking about it, my tutor said her dad had been able to go out in canoe and collect the asaí really easily. And I was thinking... wait... you mean the river's risen so high that he's up near the top of the trees? Is that what she's telling me?

I wasn't sure, so I did this picture in MS word (b/c I have no digital drawing tools) and sent it to her and asked, You mean like this?

And she said, "Yes, exactly."

Mind = blown.

Current Mood: sad

People are Exhausting

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

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murderbot on tv

Episode 3 Available Now

It's Murderbot Day again, though the episode actually dropped yesterday on Murderbot Eve.

Here's an interview with David Goyer where he says nice things about me:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/05/22/murderbot-ep-david-s-goyer-on-alexander-skarsgrd-and-staying-true-to-martha-wells-books/

“No one was interested. They were like, ‘This is just RoboCop’ and we were like, ‘No, it's not at all. It's the anti-RoboCop,'” Goyer recalled. “It's about neurodivergence. It's about humanity.”

And an interview with Paul and Chris:

https://arstechnica.com/culture/2025/05/the-making-of-apple-tvs-murderbot/

Paul Weitz: The first book, All Systems Red, had a really beautiful ending. And it had a theme that personhood is irreducible. The idea that, even with this central character you think you get to know so well, you can't reduce it to ways that you think it's going to behave—and you shouldn't. The idea that other people exist and that they shouldn't be put into whatever box you want to put them into felt like something that was comforting to have in one's pocket. If you're going to spend so much time adapting something, it's really great if it's not only fun but is about something.

Baseball bon mots

This probably loses its spark in the telling but it really cracked me up.

Phillies broadcaster 1: [opposing pitcher] is really talking to himself out there.

broadcaster 2: Good communications is key, Tom.

A fair number of people here have cellphones. A small percentage of those people have been trained on the value of texting by their children and grandchildren. Turns out Dixie - the woman who came over Wednesday to find out how to do kinky hair on knitted dolls - is one of them. I got a text this morning from an unknown number that just said 'test'. I replied 'A+'. Then she sent me her question and remember to add her name. Well done, Dixie!

And in other Timber Ridge peops news... I was looking up something in the Timber Ridge app and spied that the new person moving into Gail and Roger's apartment is now listed! moving in June 3. with picture and bio and wow. She's not a frail old wallflower. She spent many years as admin in the county court system and also many years in local politics. And still works as a travel agent part time.

Martha has been whining that our floor is running out of people with enough marbles left to contribute. I sent her the link to Jackie (new girl) this morning and she's all excited. I also sent Jackie an email.

I had dinner last night with my friend, Steve (who is also a good texter). He's so nice but he's so boring. Hilariously, yesterday, he got hearing aids for the first time and he was having fun listening to everything. It was pretty funny. 'This dining room is noisy!'

Just got a note from Erica that the pool fix it guy isn't coming until Monday. Still icy. No volleyball. Sigh.

The vet left a voice mail that Biggie's drugs were in. So I'll go back again and hope this time they really mean it. Also I might stop at the grocery. I have this idea for a cuke and melon chopped salad but I don't have any cukes or melons.