dewline | Network

*\o/*	Word Count	Step Count	Headache?
Daily	493	9,470	yes
Monthly	14,515	223,138	9 days

Current Music: "The Wire" - HAIM

elusivek

Finally some more positive updates, but I also don't want to jinx us so... keep it short, Dad's out of the ICU, looks and sounds perky, maybe a tiny bit confused and a bit weak. Smooth sailing from here onwards.

I had to cancel my personal trip to Tokyo 2 weeks ago, because obviously, I wouldn't even be able to enjoy it. But today I'm on my way to Singapore for a work trip. Seeing my Dad getting better has also calmed me a lot that I feel okay to go for the next 3 days. Dad joked for me to bring a swimsuit because the weather should be nice in Singapore. I joked back I'm staying in a cheap hotel that doesn't have a pool. Well, not so much a joke, but an actual fact.

Currently at the airport waiting for my flight.

I'll be in Clarke Quay area which I kind of regret. I really liked the last hotel I stayed in Chinatown, but another friend had said she may or may not join me so I got a hotel within my (business) trip budget that had twin beds. I think the friend isn't coming though. Ohwell. At least I have an extra bed to lay out my clothes the night before.

Yesssssss..... I used part of the second part of my bonus on a Goyard bag. Purple! It's a limited or seasonal color! The outfit I have on though (purple top and a black casual onepiece dress... It was like $20 my money... less than $3 USD). That's going to be... the last handbag purchase for the next 2 years I suppose.

I've been unable to get into any books. I started a fiction that... I don't quite like. I also started an audiobook and... it also didn't quite catch my interest. I now plan to start a non-fiction on the flight to see how I'd take it.

mindstalk

( Read more... )

cornerofmadness

So I managed to drag my ass out of bed and down to the bus by quarter to 7 in the morning (crying all the way and I was not alone). The Pittsburgh Panthers have been a big part of the family life (brother, uncles, cousins went there) but I have NOT been on campus hard core since the 1980s when my bff went there. (she started college with me but transferred to their drama department).

First observation - I'm no longer 20.

Second observation - Pitt is hampered by its age and its urban setting. I do NOT know how someone with accessibility issues worse than mine can come here. They must have to go blocks out of their way. So many steps. So many.

Third observation - William Penn Union is a gorgeous (and historic landmark so you can't actually change this) I tried to take a picture yesterday. Need to try again tomorrow. Breakfast there was good, so was lunch

Fourth observation - yeah every room is a theater style (not surprising) but almost no place for wheelchairs in several of them. And oh no bathroom on the first floor so you have to go up or down and there was not one working sink. Our Hosts went ballistic only be told 'shrug, it's a holiday weekend, what do you want us to do?'

Fifth observation - I have new ideas to go home with so it was a productive day. One game I want to adapt is the card games, basically using known games to hone knowledge (like the memory game) and the how to interview for med school/PA/PT etc (I used to do this for our students but it's been several years and this guy is on the admittant committee for Boston Med) and the unexpected one I loved was the guy getting people to come to his office hours by once a week making it fun, come color, come play with sidewalk chalk, come play games and just TALK. I will definitely try that.

My boo-boo toe started killing me after lunch (all those fucking stairs). It was bleeding and the sock was stuck to it and throbbing like a tooth ache. You have to understand this toe is neuropathic which means I can barely feel it so to have this much pain it's hurt worse than I thought. Whee.

Tonight's dinner was SO disappointing. I had been saving up Christos' Med. Grille for tonight (it's famous here) but when I logged into DoorDash it was closed for the holidays. NOOOOO! I found a ramen place that is getting written up. It wasn't bad. In fact it was very tasty (including the matcha pudding with sweet red beans) BUT nothing was in my soup. I had opted for extra noodles and a marinated egg but the things that were meant to come with the soup (the tofu, the cabbage and basil) were NOT in it.. If I hadn't wanted those noodles/egg I'd have been given a bowl of broth.... I am learning after 3 days in a row 3 different restaurants, they DO NOT seem to take much care of what is boxed up for this

At least the volleyball tournament girls are quiet tonight.

Current Mood: drained
Current Music: NCIS

siliconshaman

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serrico

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Current Mood: sleepy

maevedarcy posting in

lyricaltitles

Title: I'm afraid I'm gonna love it just a little too much
Author:

maevedarcy
Fandom: League of Legends
Relationship: Rakan/Sett/Xayah
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None

Artist: Former Vandal
Album: Honeymoon Haze
Song: Anathema

Summary:

"This is Xayah," Rakan said, raising his voice to be heard over the music. "We think you're hot and we were wondering if we could buy you a drink?"

[Or, Xayah and Rakan meet Sett. Set in the Heartsteel | K/DA universe.]

AO3 Link

tielan

There's no room for in it for my brain, no space in my schedule for watching, no community to drag me along with them.

And also, I've become resigned to the fact that I will never get stories about the characters that I want. That my interests are not anywhere near the interests of the majority of viewers, and because what counts is eyeballs (or reader pages, or whatever) then the characters I love - or the archetypes I want to see - are not going to appeal to most people.

It's a little demoralising, and makes it hard to write.

Not to mention the state of the world is steadily wearing on us all. Not just the AI (fuck AI) but also the world and all it's harms. All the hopeful stories I had for analogues and spin-offs of our world are presently crumbling while watching Ukraine, Gaza, the authority of the current US Administration, the right-wingers, Christian Nationalism - not to mention all the tech issues.

*sigh*

I can't remember if it was John Green or someone else (might have been Hank Green) who said during the 2020 election process that he was hesitating over starting a new book, because a 2nd Trump administration would create a very different world to one in which 45 only managed one administration. He was, as it turns out, exceedingly prescient on that front.

egret

Here is the archived version of the article from the Daily Mail. (Does not give them clicks.)

I do not believe this far-fetched story because 1. I don't see Freddie as a faithful diarist and 2. Unless there are also secret recordings, he never wrote songs about this beloved child, or about beloved children, or about children. He wrote songs about cats. He wrote songs about Mary. He wrote songs about men. No "secret child of my heart" song? 3. Entire story of secretive child who wants this news out there while remaining private is ridiculous.

I sort of wish it was true. I will probably read the book anyway. But I really can't believe it.

What about y'all? Am I being too skeptical?

ETA: I meant to post this to

freddiemercuryfans but posted it here by mistake, but I guess that's OK.

Current Mood: pessimistic

garrideb

Song: Deep Space by Eisley
Fandom: Crater (2023)
Summary: It's friends on a road trip on the moon!
Warnings: none
Notes: I made this for WisCon 2025. I only heard of Crater from a post about how Disney never released this film on DVD and dropped it from Disney+ shortly after it was released. I was curious, so I pirated the movie (there was then no legal way to obtain it) and was surprised by how much I liked it. It's about teens who live on a mining colony on the moon, who steal a moon buggy to venture out to visit a mysterious crater. It's also about injustice and workers rights. I carefully do NOT spoil the major mysteries of the movie in my vid.

Crater is now (as of this posting) available to rent online legally, but if you're curious...

This has been crossposted to AO3 and tumblr.

Watch on YouTube

amejisuto

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Current Mood: weird

settiai

Well, I'm gifted. There's a Hispanic grocery store across the street, and I walked over there before D&D last night to grab a few groceries that I needed. On the way back, I ended up tripping over my own two feet. I scraped up both legs a fair bit and had to get that cleaned up before the game, but it didn't seem all that bad at first.

I thought it was fine, save for the scrapes, but when I went to bed after the game last night my body let me know that it was worse than I thought. My left leg is bruised quite nicely and my right knee (which was scraped up) was aching. To make it even better, my right ankle - which is the one that I sprained quite nicely about a month ago that's just really properly started to heal - started swelling again a few after I fell. Plus my right knee has also started swelling somewhat today to match the ankle, which is even better.

Luckily, I still have the brace from when I sprained my ankle at the end of April, and I've been trying to soak it as much as possible which seems to be helping some. I'm not worried about it being a fracture this time like I was a month ago, so I'm not wasting the money on a trip to the doctor since there's only so much they can do for a sprain, as many, many, many past sprains have taught me. And while my knee is a bit swollen, it's not bad enough to justify a trip to the clinic on a holiday weekend, at least not yet.

After almost 40 years in this body, you'd think that I would have learned to walk by now. But, no, apparently not. 🙃

Current Mood: frustrated

duskpeterson

All of the fiction below is free.

E-BOOKS (html, epub, mobi, pdf, and xhtml)

Law Links: Novel and Side Stories (The Three Lands). Few events are more thrilling in a young man's life than a blood feud between two villages. Or so Adrian thought. ¶ Torn between affection toward his traditional-minded father and worship of his peace-loving, heretical priest, Adrian finds himself caught between two incompatible visions of his duty to the gods. Then the Jackal God sends Adrian a message that will disrupt his world and send him fleeing to a new and perilous life. ¶ Mythic historical fantasy (secondary world, late antiquity). Reissued omnibus, with new front matter and back matter; no changes to the story texts.

Death Mask: Novel and Side Stories (The Three Lands). For eighteen years, he has survived in an army unit where few soldiers live more than two or three years. Now he finds himself in circumstances where his life is a living hell. Will the soldier who defied death find that life is too great a challenge? ¶ Soldiers, spies, slaves, rebels, assassins, gods, and men who set out to break him . . . The Lieutenant of the Border Mountain Patrol will learn that his greatest test is himself. ¶ Mythic historical fantasy (secondary world, late antiquity). New omnibus, with typos corrected and a new novelette:

Light and Love (Death Mask side story): In a world where two people who love each other must enter into the role of antagonists, what will preserve their love? ¶ Tryphena is a maiden. To her brother falls the responsibility of choosing her husband. ¶ Then war comes, and with it arrive a wise goddess of death and destruction, an enemy soldier of uncertain character, and a masked god who can turn evil into good. ¶ Who will rule Tryphena's heart and conscience? And how can she and her brother prevent war from breaking out between them?

BLOG FICTION

Tempestuous Tours (Crossing Worlds: A Visitor's Guide to the Three Lands #2). A whirlwind tour of the sites in the Three Lands that are most steeped in history, culture, and the occasional pickpocket. ¶ Mythic historical fantasy (secondary world, late antiquity). Latest installments:

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earthobservatory_iod_feed

Posted by NASA Earth Observatory

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/154354/waterlogged-lake-gregory

A network of brackish lakes and associated wetlands in northwestern Australia held more water than usual in October 2024 following an especially intense wet season.

china_shop posting in

sid_guardian

Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong - in this post, we're talking about chapters 5 & 6 of volume 3.

Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions in the schedule posts (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4), or via the !readalong tag.

This week's chapters:

Chapter 5: Zhao Yunlan, Zhu Hong, and Daqing discuss the Record of Ancient Secrets, a book found in the SID library. They go to the Netherworld to investigate its provenance, keeping Leaves of Illusion in their mouths to keep from being recognised as living beings. At a bookshop where they're making enquiries, the little-girl proprietor says Zhao Yunlan bought the book.
Chapter 6: The proprietor says the Zhao Yunlan who bought the book 11 years ago looked the same. She warns him to be careful. A double-faced ghost finds them and shouts that they're alive. They get mobbed by ghouls. They fight back, but they're vastly outnumbered. Zhao Yunlan protects Shen Wei's coat. In desperation, Zhao Yunlan sets the city on fire, and they run for the gates only to find them shut. Zhao Yunlan feels something awaken inside him. The Emissary arrives and saves them. Zhao Yunlan hugs him and tells him to come home.

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are chapters 83-84.

Excerpts:

( 1) Zhao Yunlan questions the name of his order )

( 2) The Netherworld is dangerous for living beings )

( 3) Zhao Yunlan is a repeat customer at the Netherworld bookshop )

( 4) They're accosted by a two-faced ghost )

( 5) Zhao Yunlan hugs the Emissary )

Questions:

What's your favourite worldbuilding detail about the Netherworld? Should Zhao Yunlan have left Zhu Hong back at the SID? Is Zhao Yunlan only polite to the bookshop proprietor because he wants something, or is he nicer to spirits when they're in their proper place? What is the deal with the travel diary that describes the Huangquan Road?! Do you think Zhao Yunlan carries Leaves of Illusion with him at all times, or did he stock up for the trip? How sad are you that we didn't get a Dixing bookshop in the drama? Any other thoughts about these chapters (and how they were adapted)?

(As usual, these are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the readalong!)

Our schedule for this round -- please sign up to host a post if you can!

kaberett

Analogy of the day: car reversing sensors. Warn of impending, potential tissue damage, as distinct from actual tissue damage. Sometimes panic about A Plant, or The Bike Rack. Sometimes totally fail to miss the six-inch tall bollard that makes things go crunch in a way you don't notice until later.

Book purchase of the day: The Painful Truth, Monty Lyman, recced by a friend as popsci/popmed and one I'd nearly wound up buying yesterday anyway (... and a National Trust baking book to go with it).

Book purchase of the tomorrow, probably: Fitzgerald's Clinical Neuroanatomy and Neuroscience 7^th ed (2015), recommended via a NYU med student reading list (Cambridge's all appear to be paywalled and I'm sulking).

Links for further perusal: introductions to the nervous system on Biology LibreTexts and Health LibreTexts.

Reorganisation: possibly I am going to want to rewrite the introduction again (though the words do keep being useful), but crucially while murbling at A I think I have concluded that actually the reason the structure doesn't make sense is that neuroanatomy doesn't want to be the middle section, it wants to be an appendix. But I'll want to, er, know slightly more neuroanatomy before actually settling on that...

kiya

Crack

A smooth arc
Knows naught
Of becoming;
It must break itself
Into
A whole bird

The song shivers
Like an egg,
Warbling shards
Of something
New

duskpeterson

The lower floor of the royal residence is guarded at its entrances, for obvious reasons. It houses only servants these days, but in past years, it was fully as active as the upper floors.

Left to right, you will see the former bedchamber of the High Lord, the former receiving chamber of the council, a former service chamber, the former and current royal receiving chamber and dining chamber, and the royal sanctuary. The last requires extended commentary.