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22 January 2026 12:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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agonyauntDEAR ABBY: Our 24-year-old daughter is getting married in 10 months. My wife is invited to the wedding, but I am not, and I am furious. The groom's family is paying for the trip, but they say I am not invited "for financial reasons."
I don't have a great relationship with my daughter. But that isn't the point. I told my wife that if the roles were reversed and she was excluded, I would not go. This may be a deal-breaker for me. It's apparent that our marriage doesn't mean as much to my wife as it does to me. What are your thoughts? -- ELIMINATED IN TEXAS
( Read more... )
I don't have a great relationship with my daughter. But that isn't the point. I told my wife that if the roles were reversed and she was excluded, I would not go. This may be a deal-breaker for me. It's apparent that our marriage doesn't mean as much to my wife as it does to me. What are your thoughts? -- ELIMINATED IN TEXAS
( Read more... )
Superpowers
21 January 2026 10:49 pmysabetwordsmithIn this case, gizmology and super-intellect. I went to high school with guys like this.
Buncha fic ideas ping-ponging around my head
21 January 2026 11:27 pmalchemicinkThe big annoying annual work project did not start this week like I anticipated, which has given me more time to work on fic ideas instead of just being incredibly stressed about life 🥳 Fun, but I am always overloaded with fic ideas so it kinda feels like my brain's on fire haha
Anyway, figured maybe I would just talk about a bunch of things I am working on/wanna work on but haven't had a chance yet. Maybe y'all can provide some guidance on what to prioritize. Or cheer me on. Or just tell me I'm crazy 😂
( Read more... )
Anyway, figured maybe I would just talk about a bunch of things I am working on/wanna work on but haven't had a chance yet. Maybe y'all can provide some guidance on what to prioritize. Or cheer me on. Or just tell me I'm crazy 😂
( Read more... )
Poem: "A Scarf of Stars"
21 January 2026 10:29 pmysabetwordsmithThis poem was written outside the regular prompt calls. It fills "The Milky Way" square in my 1-1-25 card for the Public Domain Day Bingo fest. It has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred.
"A Scarf of Stars"
In winter,
on a moonless night,
the Milky Way shimmers
like a scarf of stars
wound around
night's black neck.
fuzzyred."A Scarf of Stars"
In winter,
on a moonless night,
the Milky Way shimmers
like a scarf of stars
wound around
night's black neck.
Another character palette display test.
21 January 2026 10:48 pmmalyminDuck/Ahiru Color Test. Using the GIF graphic of her in her casual outfit (she's the only character who has official art of her casual outfit, everyone else only has website art of their school uniform fits) from the now-defunct official website.
| Source: | Character Page for Duck (Wayback) | ||
| Highlight | Main | Shadow | |
| Hair | #f6efd5 | #ee846b | #b45942 |
| Skin | #ffdbae | #d69d7b | |
| Sweater | #fff7dc | #d4c9ad | |
| Shorts | #efde4b | #d6a22b | |
| Sock Stripe | #f6f6f7 | #cccccc | |
| Sock Stripe | #f17469 | #a84033 | |
| Shoe Tongue | #f7ca59 | #cc9933 | |
| Shoes | #d74a34 | #af3821 | |
| Minor Accents (Less Reliable) | |||
| Eyes | #c0dfef | ??? | #4471a2 |
| Pendant: | #cf0843 | ||
Unfortunately, the fact that Princess Tutu released in 2002 means all its contemporaneous web-published official art is either still JPEG or GIF format, with the low image and color quality those formats imply compared to PNG or SVG. Duck's eyes, in particular, seem to be so highly anti-aliased in the reference image that no pixels in them reliably match their color in the actual show.
Plenty of high quality print artwork was made, but scanned images of printings of digitally colored artwork (as Princess Tutu is digipaint) end up with noise and accuracy lose compared to the original digitally-colored art that they were presumably derived from. A page being slightly yellowed, or the scanner distorting colors, result in accuracy loss.
Modern official art posted on twitter by the character designer and original concept creator, Ikuto Itoh, uses a very different, washed out palette from the original show. (Though the worst victims of this art are the tan-skinned characters like Pique and Fakir, who end up almost as pale as Mytho...) Therefore, despite the higher raw image quality, it's absolutely useless as material to sample to get a sense for the original, canonical in-show palettes.
At least my situation with Tutu isn't as severe as with 1998!Yu-Gi-Oh!, popularly known as "Season Zero." That show's official website used jpegs for character art, and the character art is much smaller compared to Tutu on top of that. and its "redacted from existence" status in the franchise means no official art of its versions of the characters (much less art of its unique characters who don't appear in the manga or DM) will ever exist. My ass is never gonna get high definition perfect Miho Nosaka colors...
Collection of official art scavenged from the official website under the cut. If you weren't there for the y2k internet: yep, every single one of this is a non-animated GIF because we didn't have PNG. GIF was the only format with true transparency, though it was also used for fake-transparency with anti-aliasing and images that fit into the background and each other, like this. alternative was JPEG, and well... anti-aliased "fake transparency" jpegs looked like this.
( should I save these to my DW account? I'm hotlinking directly from wayback RN )
Art
21 January 2026 09:53 pmysabetwordsmithpattrose made fanart for Love Is For Children as part of the snowflake_challenge. :D ( Read more... )
Welcome to Minnesota/catch up
21 January 2026 08:50 pmcatherineldfWell, as a local friend said recently, "In 2020, it was us against us, and we're not very good at processing that. Now it's us against them and we know how to do that."
Okay, Me stuff first:
Okay, Me stuff first:
- I have started working part time at DreamHaven Books in Minneapolis. A longtime staffer is leaving so I'm stepping into their bookselling shoes, more or less. I'm on my second week and enjoying it so far. Stop by and see us or order online! But not on 1/23 (see below).
- I applied for and got an invite to be a participating pro at Dragon Con in Atlanta in September. I figure that's the sort of thing I should try for now while I can handle it physically. Going with a friend and am quite looking forward to it.
- Queen of Swords Press had a lovely first event of the year at the Lodge of Lazarus Crowe in St. Paul. Highly recommended!
- Jennie Goloboy and I are teaching "To Market, To Market: How Professionals Look at Your Manuscriptloft.org/classes/market-market-how-professionals-look-your-manuscript-0" at the Loft Literary Center at the end of February. We have tons of good advice and pointers! Come join us if you can.
- I have had 2 article pitches accepted and got an anthology invite so am plugging away at new projects and making progress on my novel and new stories.
- God, where to begin?
- So far: one known murder; many, many kidnappings; abandoned children, animals and cars; local people brutalized, beaten, gassed, shot and threatened; our streets are empty because immigrants and people of color are afraid to be out. Today, they kidnapped a 5 year old and a 10 year old and sent them from here to Texas. The impact locally is horrific. And we're getting the couch-fucker and more fascist shock troops this very week.
- The plus side is that as a group, we are tough, hold grudges like watching Sisu on rewind and thanks to the local disasters of 2020, are super good at organizing. Everyone I know is doing something - donating, fundraising, monitoring bus stops, patrolling, delivering food and other necessities, rescuing abandoned pets, etc., etc. Oh and hey, we're having a general strike on Friday 1/23. It's being called by organized labor and lots and lots of businesses and organizations are participating (a partial list here). Big march downtown too.
- What can you do? Call and email your Congress critters and demand that ICE be defunded NOW - Indivisible has a good setup. Author Naomi Kritzer has a good post up at about more comprehensive ways to help, including donation links. Please do these things. We are smaller than Chicago and have more immigrants than a lot of places our size or bigger - huge multi-generational communities of resettled refugees. This is part of why we're being targeted.
- Speaking of Target, the protests there are pretty lit - 100s of clergy doing a sit-in at HQ, people doing sing-ins at the store, buying and returning icemelt to gum up the works and more. Ask your local Target manager to send a message to Corporate to take a stand and stop allowing ICE to hunt their own employees in their stores and use their parking lots.
- In short, please help us. This is not sustainable and they're going to kill more people if this isn't stopped. Yes, it is real. No, Fox News is not real. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
SMOF News, volume 5, issue 22
21 January 2026 07:21 pmpetrea_mitchellMore news about ongoing scams hitting the convention world along with everyone else. Which somehow led to me having to come up with a quick description of ICE for international readers.
‘I’d be upset’: Dallas couple buys pack of Dr. Pepper. Uh, what is that inside?
22 January 2026 03:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
the_mary_sue_feed
If you’re a soda drinker, you probably don’t expect anything out of the ordinary after purchasing a pack of your favorite flavor. Except for this Texas-based couple who found a complete oddity in their Dr. Pepper box.
What Soda Did This Couple Find In Their Dr. Pepper Pack?
In a video with over 134,000 views, TikTok creator Spaghetti Bandit (@thunderbuttmutt) films a lone can of Big Red counter.
Just books
21 January 2026 09:58 pmcornerofmadnessbecause no one, not even me, cares that the heat is almost out again at work. Dad's like you've been saying this for a decade. Because it's true every winter. Let's never fix a thing at my school.
Though yesterday was strange. I was walking in the hall of my building when a young lady says 'I love your hair.' I thank her, pleased. 3 seconds later....was she on the phone with someone else? she's not one of MY students. Why did she say that? My hair is awful. Literally my entire life I was bullied for what my hair was like. I find it hard to accept praise for it.
Also I'm on a fanfic reading hiatus until I clear off the half dozen library holds.
What I Just Finished Reading:
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Vampire Hunting - hated this
Queen in Comics! By Emmanuel Marie - not a bad prose/graphic novel mix little bio. How, I don't know, but I had no idea Freddie was raised in the Zoasterian faith
Werewolf at Dusk and other Stories - David Small - three short stories, illustrated by Small.
What I am Currently Reading:
A Curious Kind of Magic - so far an interesting not-quite-cozy mystery
Sugar and Vice - oh look another baker cozy mystery, this one set in Florida. Even with the eye rollingly stereotypical amateur sleuth this is sort of fun.
What I Plan to Read Next: La Grand Familia and Zombie Day Care and the library books including one on Sally Ride and one Alison Bechdel who did Fun House. I hope this is better than that thing. (I needed a book about a character who does pilates. This graphic novel has that)
Though yesterday was strange. I was walking in the hall of my building when a young lady says 'I love your hair.' I thank her, pleased. 3 seconds later....was she on the phone with someone else? she's not one of MY students. Why did she say that? My hair is awful. Literally my entire life I was bullied for what my hair was like. I find it hard to accept praise for it.
Also I'm on a fanfic reading hiatus until I clear off the half dozen library holds.
What I Just Finished Reading:
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Vampire Hunting - hated this
Queen in Comics! By Emmanuel Marie - not a bad prose/graphic novel mix little bio. How, I don't know, but I had no idea Freddie was raised in the Zoasterian faith
Werewolf at Dusk and other Stories - David Small - three short stories, illustrated by Small.
What I am Currently Reading:
A Curious Kind of Magic - so far an interesting not-quite-cozy mystery
Sugar and Vice - oh look another baker cozy mystery, this one set in Florida. Even with the eye rollingly stereotypical amateur sleuth this is sort of fun.
What I Plan to Read Next: La Grand Familia and Zombie Day Care and the library books including one on Sally Ride and one Alison Bechdel who did Fun House. I hope this is better than that thing. (I needed a book about a character who does pilates. This graphic novel has that)
How is this even a question?
21 January 2026 09:55 pmconuly posting in agonyauntDear Eric: My fiancé and I are facing an impasse regarding the guest list for our upcoming wedding. I want to exclude his brother's (the best man) wife from the invitation list.
She consistently refuses to engage with me socially, going no further than a brief "hi." There has been no conflict; she simply does not converse with me. Although, if I ask her about herself or what's going on in her life she will answer, but there's no back and forth. I doubt she even knows my name.
For context, my fiancé is Hungarian, and his family is small. Although she speaks English fluently, she is the only family member who never attempts to talk to me or ask me any questions. While they invited me to their wedding a few months ago, I believe it was purely out of obligation.
My fiancé says that excluding her will create drama. He has acknowledged her behavior is "mean-spirited" in the past, yet he excuses it as shyness. Saying she took years to warm up to him. I find this a poor excuse for a complete lack of basic manners, and I am unwilling to have a guest at my wedding who will not speak to me.
I have told my fiancé that he needs to discuss this with his brother, but he has not done so, and invitations are about to be sent out. I am intent on sending a clear message by not including her. And from now and until our wedding there won't be any more chances to interact as we don't live in the same country.
Am I overreacting or is it reasonable to save my money while also slighting her.
– Guest List
( Read more... )
She consistently refuses to engage with me socially, going no further than a brief "hi." There has been no conflict; she simply does not converse with me. Although, if I ask her about herself or what's going on in her life she will answer, but there's no back and forth. I doubt she even knows my name.
For context, my fiancé is Hungarian, and his family is small. Although she speaks English fluently, she is the only family member who never attempts to talk to me or ask me any questions. While they invited me to their wedding a few months ago, I believe it was purely out of obligation.
My fiancé says that excluding her will create drama. He has acknowledged her behavior is "mean-spirited" in the past, yet he excuses it as shyness. Saying she took years to warm up to him. I find this a poor excuse for a complete lack of basic manners, and I am unwilling to have a guest at my wedding who will not speak to me.
I have told my fiancé that he needs to discuss this with his brother, but he has not done so, and invitations are about to be sent out. I am intent on sending a clear message by not including her. And from now and until our wedding there won't be any more chances to interact as we don't live in the same country.
Am I overreacting or is it reasonable to save my money while also slighting her.
– Guest List
( Read more... )
Snow
21 January 2026 08:11 pmysabetwordsmithmoonhare posted a lovely picture of snow, and a very amusing still life of "Snow Predicted." It got me thinking that occasions would make a great theme for still life in general.
January journal: science fiction periodization
21 January 2026 08:46 pmursulaglowingfish asked:The Golden Age of published science-fiction was more or less from 1955 to 1975 (lets say). Why did it end when it did? Do you think that science-fiction (or fantasy) published after 1975 was different, or do you just think it had less ability to become part of the "canon"?
This is really non-standard periodization! Wikipedia has the Golden Age of science fiction starting in the late 1930s, in connection with sci-fi magazine publishing history; the end of your period is solidly New Wave.
The counter-argument is the aphorism that the Golden Age of science fiction is twelve; by that rule, it's interesting to think about who was twelve in 1955-1975, or whatever guidelines you want to pick, and what influence they might have had on defining a canon, once they reached their twenties or thirties. The people who were twelve between 1955 and 1975 were mostly baby boomers, in the standard US generational framework; that was my parents' generation (and
glowingfish's parents', I'm guessing), and it makes sense that the stories they considered formative would seem quasi-canonized to our generation.A quick Pet Shop of Horrors translation question
21 January 2026 08:48 pmerinptahAll right, I’ve asked questions about the original Japanese in PSOH before and people have popped up with the answers. Hoping to have the same good fortune again.
In Volume 10, the chapter “Duplication”, there’s a panel where Leon’s long-time co-worker Jill introduces herself on the phone. In the Tokyopop translation, she gives her name as “Detective Jill Freshney”:
Jill Freshney is also the name of the managing editor on the book:
I assume this is her bio on Aces Editors. She’s a real person, that’s just her real name.
So — does our detective Jill also have this name in the original Japanese text?
If the TP translation had started before the original series ended, I could see it being written in by Matsuri Akino, as a little “aww, there ended up being a real Jill working on my books, I’ll give her a shoutout” homage. But the Japanese volume 10 came out in August 1998, and the NA release of Volume 1 wasn’t until June 2003, so she wouldn’t have known.
Was it added by the TP writers, as their own little gag/homage? Or was it there in the original, and this is an absolutely wild coincidence? (…Or a secret third thing?)
The OTW is Recruiting for Open Doors Digital Collections Intern
22 January 2026 01:02 amotw_news_feedAre you a current or former Digital Humanities or Library and Information Science student? The Organization for Transformative Works is recruiting!
We’re excited to announce the opening of applications for:
- Open Doors Digital Collections Intern – closing 29 January 2026 at 23:59 UTC or after 40 applications
We have included more information on each role below. Open roles and applications will always be available at the volunteering page. If you don’t see a role that fits with your skills and interests now, keep an eye on the listings. We plan to put up new applications every few weeks, and we will also publicize new roles as they become available.
All applications generate a confirmation page and an auto-reply to your e-mail address. We encourage you to read the confirmation page and to whitelist our email address in your e-mail client. If you do not receive the auto-reply within 24 hours, please check your spam filters and then contact us.
If you have questions regarding volunteering for the OTW, check out our Volunteering FAQ.
Open Doors Digital Collections Intern
Open Doors is a committee dedicated to preserving fanworks in their many formats, and we’re looking for a temporary intern to support this goal. The work we do preserves fan history, love, and dedication to fandom: we keep fanworks from offline and at-risk archives from being lost, divert fanzines from the trash, and more.
Open Doors is seeking a current or former Digital Humanities or Library and Information Science student to join us for approximately 8-12 weeks (start date is flexible between 1 April and 1 July 2026). The intern should be able to commit at least 10-15 hours per week for the duration of the position. This internship will provide the intern with a temporary position on Open Doors during which they will complete at least one of several available relevant projects while learning more about the committee’s work. The primary project available is to scope and gather requirements for a digital asset management system for archives/zines. However, time permitting, there may be additional projects available, such as investigating options for automating metadata cleanup.
Applicants should be studying toward (or have completed) a Library and Information Science or related degree (in the US or elsewhere in the world), and they should be fluent in written English. The position will be unpaid and entirely virtual/remote. (We may be able to work with university programs that provide compensation or credit for nonprofit work, but we cannot provide in-person supervision.) We will need your assistance connecting us to any university program that may need documentation to provide credit for you.
The intern might be offered a continuing (unpaid, not for credit) volunteer position upon completion of this internship. However, Open Doors cannot guarantee that completing this internship will result in a continuing volunteer role, and the intern will not be required to accept a continuing role if one is offered.
If you’re interested, please click through to the application form! Please note you will be required to provide an unofficial college/university transcript as well as a resume/CV as part of your application. For your application to be considered, you will be required to complete a short task within 3 days of submitting your application.
Applications are due 29 January 2026 or after 40 applications
Apply for Open Doors Digital Collections Intern at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
the_mary_sue_feed
It seems as though there is no person in America who is not aware of ICE’s presence. From Sam’s Club locations to Walmarts, the federal agency has started popping up, causing everyday people distress.
That was the case for one woman in Minnesota, a current hotspot for agents in the wake of Renee Good’s killing. She says she was stopped by ICE agents on her way to a local Walmart.
good news: health
21 January 2026 08:01 pmredbirdThere's more evidence that the shingles vaccine reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease: two more natural experiments (in which people were offered the vaccine based on date of birth or where they lived). One of them comparED the older Zostavax vaccine with the newer Shingrix: https://erictopol.substack.com/p/spotlight-on-the-shingles-vaccineagain
As the blogger, Eric Topol says, "If this vaccine was a drug and reduced Alzheimer’s by 20%, it would be considered a major breakthrough for helping to prevent the disease! But as a vaccine, it hasn't reached any sense of being a blockbuster"
As the blogger, Eric Topol says, "If this vaccine was a drug and reduced Alzheimer’s by 20%, it would be considered a major breakthrough for helping to prevent the disease! But as a vaccine, it hasn't reached any sense of being a blockbuster"
stayed put / new word
21 January 2026 06:45 pmchazzbannerIt's safe to walk out to the dumpsters now, but the recycling bin is still overflowing. No recycling today (and I have a lot to recycle).
So, it was a dsy to stick around and (more or less) stay put. It snowed a bit, so the sidewalks were slushy-slippery. I walked to the library to return that boring biography, and stopped for coffee on the way back.
I invented a new word today, talking out loud to myself:
"I'd better do that today, it's going to get cold, especially the thingy-cold."
'Thingy-cold' will now be my word for wind chill, sometimes called 'feels like temperature.'
The thingy-cold this weekend may go down to -28F/-33.3C.
Luckily I have a very good coat.
-
So, it was a dsy to stick around and (more or less) stay put. It snowed a bit, so the sidewalks were slushy-slippery. I walked to the library to return that boring biography, and stopped for coffee on the way back.
I invented a new word today, talking out loud to myself:
"I'd better do that today, it's going to get cold, especially the thingy-cold."
'Thingy-cold' will now be my word for wind chill, sometimes called 'feels like temperature.'
The thingy-cold this weekend may go down to -28F/-33.3C.
Luckily I have a very good coat.
-
wednesday reads and things
21 January 2026 05:42 pmisisWhat I've recently finished reading:
The Bear and the Serpent, the second book of the Echoes of the Fall series by Adrian Tchaikovsky. As with most books that have multiple storylines and POVs, there were parts I liked better than others; I was more interested in Loud Thunder's adventures as reluctant war leader (and Lone Mountain's journey to the coast) than I was in the goings-on of the River Lords. However, I really liked the bits of cultural worldbuilding there as well, particularly the Wolf priest and the Snake priest(ess) coming to an understanding, and the uneasy relationship of Asmander and Asman which sort of echoed that between Maniye and Akrit Stone River.
Toward the end, it became clear that this series ties into the Shadows of the Apt series, which I had read the first book of (Empire in Black and Gold) a while back, but didn't really feel inclined to continue. So when I finished, I grabbed book 2, Dragonfly Falling, but it only took me a few chapters before I had the "yeah, nah" feeling again, so I guess I won't read that series.
What I'm reading now:
I was about to buy book 3 but then my library hold on Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo came in unexpectedly quickly (wychwood had reviewed it and it sounded up my alley) so I'm reading that now - hey, it's got people who turn into animals too!
What I've recently finished watching:
S2 of The Empress, which was really enjoyable. The setting of a great power in decline desperately trying to hold onto its glory through ill-advised military ventures is great escapism from...oh, never mind. They do have more magnificent dresses, though!
Actually one thing that struck me about this series is that although the women are formally valued only in their ability to produce boy babies, the narrative highlights their strength, the way they are the iron rods stapling things together. They may be swaddled in yards of cloth that make it difficult to run through the forest, but Elisabeth goes out and looks the people in the eye and talks to them, Sophie has a place at the council table, Charlotte gives Maximilian advice (and he listens) - well, they all give men advice, and the men ignore them at their peril.
What I'm playing now:
Still Ghost of Tsushima. Getting close to the end of the first part, I think!
The Bear and the Serpent, the second book of the Echoes of the Fall series by Adrian Tchaikovsky. As with most books that have multiple storylines and POVs, there were parts I liked better than others; I was more interested in Loud Thunder's adventures as reluctant war leader (and Lone Mountain's journey to the coast) than I was in the goings-on of the River Lords. However, I really liked the bits of cultural worldbuilding there as well, particularly the Wolf priest and the Snake priest(ess) coming to an understanding, and the uneasy relationship of Asmander and Asman which sort of echoed that between Maniye and Akrit Stone River.
Toward the end, it became clear that this series ties into the Shadows of the Apt series, which I had read the first book of (Empire in Black and Gold) a while back, but didn't really feel inclined to continue. So when I finished, I grabbed book 2, Dragonfly Falling, but it only took me a few chapters before I had the "yeah, nah" feeling again, so I guess I won't read that series.
What I'm reading now:
I was about to buy book 3 but then my library hold on Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo came in unexpectedly quickly (
wychwood had reviewed it and it sounded up my alley) so I'm reading that now - hey, it's got people who turn into animals too!What I've recently finished watching:
S2 of The Empress, which was really enjoyable. The setting of a great power in decline desperately trying to hold onto its glory through ill-advised military ventures is great escapism from...oh, never mind. They do have more magnificent dresses, though!
Actually one thing that struck me about this series is that although the women are formally valued only in their ability to produce boy babies, the narrative highlights their strength, the way they are the iron rods stapling things together. They may be swaddled in yards of cloth that make it difficult to run through the forest, but Elisabeth goes out and looks the people in the eye and talks to them, Sophie has a place at the council table, Charlotte gives Maximilian advice (and he listens) - well, they all give men advice, and the men ignore them at their peril.
What I'm playing now:
Still Ghost of Tsushima. Getting close to the end of the first part, I think!
Opera Outfits Over 40
21 January 2026 06:16 pmysabetwordsmithA friend asked about shopping for clothes over 40, with an eye toward age-appropriate and fashionable wear, given an opera subscription. That's different from my typical needs, but I'm familiar enough with wrangling clothes to have plenty of ideas ...
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Snowflake Challenge Day #11
21 January 2026 07:06 pmkingstoken
Challenge #11
In your own space, grant someone's wish from Challenge #5. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it and include a link to your own post with the wishes you granted if you feel comfortable doing so.
I went through the wishlists and mostly gave recs, music for snowynight and kanadka, books for skytintedwater, podcasts for queer-scribbling, and a movie for cypresssunn.
第五年第十二天
22 January 2026 08:48 amnnozomi posting in guardian_learning部首
心 part 12
慰, to comfort; 憋, to suppress; 懂, to understand ( pinyin )
https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?cdqrad=61
词汇
吃惊, to be amazed; 小吃, snack ( pinyin )
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-4-word-list/
Guardian:
没想到我们小郭也有安慰别人的一天啊, who knew there would come a day when our Xiao Guo would be comforting people?
[no 吃 words]
Me:
我都懂，我也有体验过。
你竟然没带小吃来过吗？
心 part 12
慰, to comfort; 憋, to suppress; 懂, to understand ( pinyin )
https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?cdqrad=61
词汇
吃惊, to be amazed; 小吃, snack ( pinyin )
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-4-word-list/
Guardian:
没想到我们小郭也有安慰别人的一天啊, who knew there would come a day when our Xiao Guo would be comforting people?
[no 吃 words]
Me:
我都懂，我也有体验过。
你竟然没带小吃来过吗？
The Hippodrome. No horses in sight, boo
21 January 2026 11:46 pmloganberrybunnyPublic
355/365: Birmingham Hippodrome
Click for a larger, sharper image
I was in Birmingham today. I didn't have much time to myself, but I was able to have coffee in the Dragon, which was nice as it's the pub a group of us had our post-UK PonyCon meal in last year. A lot quieter at 10:30am today, though! Here's a photo of the Hippodrome, Birmingham's largest theatre (capacity 1,935 seats), taken with a wide-angle setting hence the odd angles. The pavement decoration is because this area is right on the edge of the city's Gay Village. And the theatre district, obviously. And Chinatown (hence the name of the Dragon). And just down from New Street station. And only a few hundred yards from the UK PonyCon 2025 venue. And rather wet this morning!
355/365: Birmingham Hippodrome
Click for a larger, sharper image
I was in Birmingham today. I didn't have much time to myself, but I was able to have coffee in the Dragon, which was nice as it's the pub a group of us had our post-UK PonyCon meal in last year. A lot quieter at 10:30am today, though! Here's a photo of the Hippodrome, Birmingham's largest theatre (capacity 1,935 seats), taken with a wide-angle setting hence the odd angles. The pavement decoration is because this area is right on the edge of the city's Gay Village. And the theatre district, obviously. And Chinatown (hence the name of the Dragon). And just down from New Street station. And only a few hundred yards from the UK PonyCon 2025 venue. And rather wet this morning!
"what you should have learned about life by age 75: 'it's amazing, the things they can do'"
21 January 2026 06:32 pmstarandreaSpeaking of AI, I just gave google translate an image description to spellcheck, and it added a definition of "guqin" to the English translation of my Chinese alt/title text.
Original Chinese: 一个非乐高积木的瀑布，旁边有魏无羡迷你任务和蓝忘机站在一起。魏无羡有他的笛子，蓝忘机有他个古琴。
Google Translate's English: A waterfall made of non-Lego bricks, with mini-figures of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji standing next to it. Wei Wuxian has his flute, and Lan Wangji has his guqin (a Chinese zither).
I deleted "guqin" to see what would happen and no lie, google translate added "(the sentence ends abruptly)".
(Will it be years or months, I wonder, before this post will sound hilariously dated?)
(...Or weeks?)
Original Chinese: 一个非乐高积木的瀑布，旁边有魏无羡迷你任务和蓝忘机站在一起。魏无羡有他的笛子，蓝忘机有他个古琴。
Google Translate's English: A waterfall made of non-Lego bricks, with mini-figures of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji standing next to it. Wei Wuxian has his flute, and Lan Wangji has his guqin (a Chinese zither).
I deleted "guqin" to see what would happen and no lie, google translate added "(the sentence ends abruptly)".
(Will it be years or months, I wonder, before this post will sound hilariously dated?)
(...Or weeks?)
[food] parsnip risotto, redux
21 January 2026 11:11 pmkaberettBack in November I made a ridiculously overengineered parsnip risotto, as a way of dipping a toe into my next cookbook project. I said at the time that it was very tasty, and also I was unlikely to ever make it again.
"in a world where you can be anything, be kind"
21 January 2026 06:01 pmstarandreaOur work computers periodically become outdated and are replaced, which is greatly appreciated and less disruptive with every iteration, as cloud backups and connectivity proliferate. In the spring of 2020, I went home with two six-year-old laptops.
(In defense of my department, they had been encouraging me to upgrade for at least a year, and I resisted because the technology worked fine. I didn't see a need for new if old was doing the job.)
By fall one computer was no longer compatible with company security, and IT sent me a new one that combined everything I needed from both old computers. But we were in the process of moving from one campus to another (a process hugely extended by the pandemic) so the old computers went nowhere.
My point is that when IT upgraded my computer again this week, and they invited me (now a remote worker) to campus to pick up the new one, I brought them three old ones in trade and a whole lot of memories.
Even after my previous department became remote in 2020, we were required to attend a variety of in-person events from client meetings to company all-staffs. In the depths of my three laptop bags I found parking receipts, boarding passes, Chinese readers and snacks, along with masks - so many masks - hand sanitizer, and a note from a deceased coworker about the name of one of my laptops.
It's hard to believe it's been six years. It's also strange to me personally that the time between going home and starting my current job - four entire years - has largely disappeared from daily recall. I remember working with my previous department, on-site, for 18 years. And I remember working with my current department, remotely, for the last two.
Everything in between: the years between 2020 to 2024, from going remote to moving house to saying goodbye to Mimi, all still exists in my memory, but it's largely unmoored from the rest of the timeline. It's neither "now" nor "then," but some secret third option that my brain initially skips over when looking back, somehow assigning those years to a parallel life track rather than a sequential one.
I wonder if it will settle into place as life goes on, if life goes on (thanks body, I appreciate you), or if it will remain disconnected, like the semester I spent teaching at a residential school during the fall of 2001.
Memory is so interesting. I try to let experiences change me in the moment as much as possible and desirable, so I get more out of them than thinking of (or forgetting) them later.
And being kind, of course. The most important connection to any experience.
“I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
~Etienne de Grellet,
Quaker missionary
(In defense of my department, they had been encouraging me to upgrade for at least a year, and I resisted because the technology worked fine. I didn't see a need for new if old was doing the job.)
By fall one computer was no longer compatible with company security, and IT sent me a new one that combined everything I needed from both old computers. But we were in the process of moving from one campus to another (a process hugely extended by the pandemic) so the old computers went nowhere.
My point is that when IT upgraded my computer again this week, and they invited me (now a remote worker) to campus to pick up the new one, I brought them three old ones in trade and a whole lot of memories.
Even after my previous department became remote in 2020, we were required to attend a variety of in-person events from client meetings to company all-staffs. In the depths of my three laptop bags I found parking receipts, boarding passes, Chinese readers and snacks, along with masks - so many masks - hand sanitizer, and a note from a deceased coworker about the name of one of my laptops.
It's hard to believe it's been six years. It's also strange to me personally that the time between going home and starting my current job - four entire years - has largely disappeared from daily recall. I remember working with my previous department, on-site, for 18 years. And I remember working with my current department, remotely, for the last two.
Everything in between: the years between 2020 to 2024, from going remote to moving house to saying goodbye to Mimi, all still exists in my memory, but it's largely unmoored from the rest of the timeline. It's neither "now" nor "then," but some secret third option that my brain initially skips over when looking back, somehow assigning those years to a parallel life track rather than a sequential one.
I wonder if it will settle into place as life goes on, if life goes on (thanks body, I appreciate you), or if it will remain disconnected, like the semester I spent teaching at a residential school during the fall of 2001.
Memory is so interesting. I try to let experiences change me in the moment as much as possible and desirable, so I get more out of them than thinking of (or forgetting) them later.
And being kind, of course. The most important connection to any experience.
“I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
~Etienne de Grellet,
Quaker missionary
the_mary_sue_feed
A Florida woman’s mom gifts her a small, pink Coach purse with cherries, and she wears it out to a restaurant. Then, she sees what it did to her shirt and questions the quality of the designer handbag.
In a video with over 1.2 million views, TikToker Amaia (@amaiapellow) sits across from her sister at an outdoor restaurant. Her sister wears a green shirt with a prominent burgundy stain on the shoulder.
The 10 Best Anime Romance Movies of All Time
21 January 2026 10:44 pmthe_mary_sue_feed
Stolen glances. Handwritten confessions. Whispered wishes for senpai to notice. Do you know what this means? Anime love is in the air! If you’re looking for a will-they-won’t-they between a painfully shy pair, or a roller-coaster romance between high-octane lovers, odds are there’s something here for you. After all, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill love stories, but the greatest tales of anime devotion ever told. Here they are, the ten best anime romance movies of all time. And best of all, you don’t have to wait three seasons until they kiss!
Your Name
Directed by Makoto Shinkai, Your Name is a sci-fi/romance box office smash, and was briefly the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time. With a track record like that, you know it’s good. It’s the story of Mitsuha and Taki, two Japanese teens who periodically switch bodies at the same time a strange comet passes close to the Earth. Attempting to make sense of their Freaky Friday circumstances, the pair communicate with each other by leaving messages—and fall head over heels in the process. As Taki and Mitsuha attempt to meet each other in their own skin, they realize that distance isn’t the only thing that they’ll have to cross; they’ll need to travel through time as well. It’s a profoundly moving tale of devotion that transcends time and space—two teens who refuse to let even the most apocalyptic of circumstances stand in the way of love.
Jenny Slate Does Not Have Kind Words About Justin Baldoni
21 January 2026 10:43 pmthe_mary_sue_feed
The whole It Ends with Us Blake Lively–Justin Baldoni saga is the kind of Hollywood drama that makes you wonder if anyone involved ever heard of HR departments before bringing together a crew of hundreds to work on a feature-length project.
And unfortunately, the more we learn about what went down during filming, that question becomes less rhetorical and more like a distress signal for how showbiz continues to operate to this day.