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Aug. 13th, 2025 01:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redbirdI came home yesterday afternoon, and spent yesterday enjoying the air conditioning and catching up on some PT that requires equipment I didn't take with me to Montreal, like a foam roller.
I woke up in time to get outside before it got too hot; conveniently, Adrian came back from a walk when I was about ready to leave, and decided to come to the store with me. I enjoyed the company, and two people can carry more groceries than one, so we now have a small watermelon, a box of lettuce, blueberries, tahini, blackberry jam, and non-dairy ice cream.
cattitude and I played Scrabble yesterday, and I've been doing other ordinary things like combing the long-haired cat and taking out recycling.
It's hot outside today (still), but the kitchen was cool enough at noon for me to make oatmeal for lunch. Adrian made a frittata when we got back from the store this morning, for tonight's supper.
I woke up in time to get outside before it got too hot; conveniently, Adrian came back from a walk when I was about ready to leave, and decided to come to the store with me. I enjoyed the company, and two people can carry more groceries than one, so we now have a small watermelon, a box of lettuce, blueberries, tahini, blackberry jam, and non-dairy ice cream.
cattitude and I played Scrabble yesterday, and I've been doing other ordinary things like combing the long-haired cat and taking out recycling.It's hot outside today (still), but the kitchen was cool enough at noon for me to make oatmeal for lunch. Adrian made a frittata when we got back from the store this morning, for tonight's supper.
Just on a Roll, so Bear with Me (or Bee with Me, as it Happens)
Aug. 12th, 2025 09:40 amlydamorehouse
Bee at the Minnesota Historical Society's pollenator garden, yesterday
My whole household was up this morning at 3:30 am to see Jas off to the airport. Even my notorious late-sleeper, Mason, got up to come along on the ride to the airport.
We are all going to miss Jas. Jas won my heart over not only because Mason is so clearly in love with them, but also because they cooked at least two evening meals for us! And, convinced Mason to do the dishes afterwards! Independent of each other both Shawn and I very much implied to Jas that not only were they welcome back any time, they were welcome to STAY!!
We did manage to pack them back with some gifts so hopefully we aren't failing this whole gift-giving ritual thing.
They will be missed! But, Mason is already making plans to go to them next (Oklahoma City in Oklahoma--a place he's been once already, but about which I know almost nothing.) We joked that we'd have to try to host Jas in the winter, so they could see Minnesota at its worst.
The news continues to be horrific. I guess I knew that the National Guard being called out on citizens for being Black was probably not that far behind the concentration camps for Brown folks, but JFC. I'm supposed to be traveling to the DC area in mid-September for Capclave and I have no idea what will be waiting for me there. Like, WTF. To be crystal clear--not that I fear for myself, because the last time I was in DC I walked through the area that the tour guide book suggested was unsafe with my then twelve year old son and we had a great time, the only thing I exposed him to was some poverty not unlike the neighborhood we live in back here in the Twin Cities. People were super friendly and helpful when we were lost. DC is very Black? This is, last time I checked, not a crime or indicative of criminal behavior. Maybe a person might feel safer in DC if, I dunno, they weren't racist.
So, yeah, here's a cool picture of a grasshopper (under the cut for the bugphobic)...
( WARNING: Bugs! )
The Other Shore, by Rebecca Campbell
Aug. 11th, 2025 07:14 pmmrissaReview copy provided by the publisher.
This collection featured stories I'd read--and very much liked--before as well as stories that were new to me. I read extensively in short SFF, so that's not unexpected for any collection these days. What's less typical is how consistently high-quality these stories are, across different tone and topic.
There is a rootedness to these stories that I love to see in short speculative fiction, a sense of place and culture. It doesn't hurt that Campbell's sense of place and culture is a northern one--not one of my parts of the north but north all the same. And forest, oh, this is a very arboreal book. There's death and transformation here--these stories are like an examination of the forest ecosystem from nurse log to blossom, on a metaphorical level. I'm so glad this is here so that these stories are preserved in one place.
Univ. of Chicago Press: 75% off ebooks, Aug. 11-17
Aug. 11th, 2025 01:42 pmbibliofileI don't know if this is limited to the US. (If you find out, please comment.)
The sale includes publishers that the University of Chicago Press distributes: Acre Books, Bard Graduate Center, Brandeis University Press, Center for the Study of Language and Information, Gingko Library, Haus Publishing, Iter Press, Karolinum Press, Charles University, Seagull Books, Swan Isle Press, and The American Meteorological Society.
Use the code EBOOK75
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/virtualCatalog/vc106.html
The sale includes publishers that the University of Chicago Press distributes: Acre Books, Bard Graduate Center, Brandeis University Press, Center for the Study of Language and Information, Gingko Library, Haus Publishing, Iter Press, Karolinum Press, Charles University, Seagull Books, Swan Isle Press, and The American Meteorological Society.
Use the code EBOOK75
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/virtualCatalog/vc106.html
Bee-cause I Can
Aug. 11th, 2025 11:45 amlydamorehouse
A bumblebee in the center of a bright yellow flower, a classic shot.
So, what's news, you ask? Or maybe you don't, but I'm going to tell you anyway. Just because I can.
A lot of my writer-type and fan friends are headed off to Worldcon in Seattle. As I have noted before, I am not on any programming this year, though I am attending viturally. At some point here, I'll probably host a virtual hangout or two, just because I can and it is probably the only way that I'm going to feel at all involved in this convention. The only good news is that Naomi Kritizer tends to win the Hugo at the cons I'm in "attendence" at, even when that attendence is only virtual. So, (knocking on wood for her) that will happen.
My day started out kind of supidly. I got a response from one of the attendees about programming interest from this year's Gaylaxicon and so I went into the document to make sure to add names, etc., etc. My keyboard, which is wireless (and battery operated,) started flaking out. It erased entire lines from the programming descriptions (thank all the gods for control-z!) and added rows of llllllllllllllllllllllll or whatever other letter I was attempting to type. I had already been having the thought, "I wonder how I'll know when my keyboard needs a new battery?" so I sussed out pretty quickly that the problem was, in fact, dying keyboard batteries. What followed was a lot of stupid, mostly of the variety of what IT folks used to cal ID10T or Problem Exists Between Computer and Chair.
I tried a number of AAA batteries that we had around the house and none of them seem to work. To be fair to me, it was clear that in our usual battery bag (in that one drawer, you know the one--every house has that one drawer, I swear,) one of the batteries had exploded. So, when I tried them in my keyboard and they didn't work, it wasn't necessarily that stupid of me to assume that the problem might be the batteries rather than my ability to follow illustrated directions. It was just mildly stupid. Luckily, we already had a real need to get some Draino from Menards since our bathroom tub has been draining very slowly, so I made it a twofer and picked up some always-useful dishsoap while I was at it.
But then, when the brandnew batteries didn't work, I knew the problem was NOT the batteries. Did I not have the little toggle pushed in all the way? Did I need to reboot?
Please note what I have not yet considered: could it be that I have put the batteries in the wrong direction?
It took far too long for me to figure out that, indeed, perhaps the most obvious thing to do was to flip the batteries and see if that solved the problem. Now, again to be fair to me, I think that I was really convinced I knew which way the positive terminal had been facing when I pulled the batteries out, but it took me FAR TOO long to finally get a pair of reading glasses and a flashlight and shine it into the battery compartment to read the damn "positive goes here" pictogram.
JFC.
Monday? Do you have to be so damn Monday?!
Monday: "I am this way just because I can!" *evil cackle!!*
In other news, today is Jas's last day with us. They are leaving tomorrow at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am. I mean, it is true that 5:30 am, is normally when our alarm goes off, but it feels ungodly to have to be leaving the house by that time. The kids have gone off to Como Conservatory today for their last day out on the town, which prompted me to remember to buy tickets for this year's Obon ceremony. As discussed before, Obon is celebrated very differently in America (and throughout the Japanese diaspora) than it is in Japan, where it is more like the Mexican Day of the Dead. Here (and in Britian and Brazil, which, is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan,) Obon tends to be celebrated as a cultural festival. Not that I'm complaining! I have enjoyed the heck out of Como Conservatory's Obon every year that I've remembered to go!It's been weird, however, to not have the car? It's been great for Mason and Jas to be able to take off and do whatever they like for however long they like, but, inevitably, I'll be at home and I think, "Ah, yes! I could do that one errand while everyone is out!" and yeah, no, I can't--because whatever it is, isn't really the "just take the bus" kind of errand, like groceries. People obviously do do grocery runs by bus, but hauling a bunch of bags that far isn't fun for anyone. So, yeah.
I think that's everything I know for now. How's by you?
2025 Beaverton Night Market
Aug. 10th, 2025 07:24 pmlovelyangel Beaverton Night Market • Beaverton, Oregon Saturday, August 9, 2025 Nikon Z8 • NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S f/2 @ 85mm • 1/1000s • ISO 1600 |
In 2023 the Beaverton Night Market was held twice – once in July, and once in August. I’m not sure there was a night market in 2024. Instead, there was a full weekend of the Legendary Makers Market.
This year, the Legendary Makers Market was held on the same weekend as the Oregon Country Fair, so I wasn’t able to go. And, this year, the Beaverton Night Market was only one night.
( Some Photos Below This Cut )
Seattle's Blackberries Are Not a Commons
Aug. 10th, 2025 01:52 pmelfsIt is mid-August, the very height of blackberry season in the Pacific Northwest, and with some rain earlier this week the blackberries in my neighborhood have plumped up and are undeniably delicious. All this week, I’ve seen kids and their parents at the communal blackberry bushes that grow along easements, drainage ditches, and jogging trails. There’s no organized effort; it’s just take what you can, and if you’re late to the party, tough luck.
I was picking blackberries and mentioned that to someone else who was there with two kids. “I think they call that the tragedy of the commons,” he said. I didn’t answer him, but it is not, it is absolutely not, because those blackberry plants, while they are communal, they are not a commons.
A commons has three important features. First, it is a local, naturally occurring feature of the environment. Second, the community is dependent upon that feature for their very survival. Third, there is a widespread communal understanding that the feature is fragile and can be exploited, cheated, or damaged, and there is an ongoing, vocal communal effort to ensure that nobody damages it or cheats others out of their share.
Himalayan blackberries may be local, and they may be a plant, but they’re an invasive species introduced about a century ago, not something the Pacific Northwest has had since time out of mind. Nobody in the Pacific Northwest is dependent upon them for food, and certainly not warmth, water, or shelter. The only communal decision being made about them is that they have to be torn out quickly and often whenever they’re a danger to local agriculture, infrastructure, or a child’s scratched arms. The route from my home to the local light rail into Seattle has a patch where the vines grow out over the bicycle path, and sometimes the bicyclists will do some guerrilla weeding to get rid of them.
“The Tragedy of the Commons” is a racist trope invented to sound scientific and to get into the peer-reviewed journals because the inventor of the trope, Garrett Hardin, wanted white people to embrace “a fundamental extension of morality.” That extension was not to bring more human beings into the fold of those who we must protect; it was to convince white people that white people had a superior moral claim to the future, and if there was an planetary disaster that limited the Earth’s capacity to keep all of humanity alive, white people must be prepared to kill everyone else.
There were no tragic commons. Commons, for centuries, allowed communities to subsist, to survive, often with a reasonable expectation of “enough” heat, food, water, and shelter, through careful communal management of local environmental features.
Commons don’t exist much anymore because they were inconvenient to kings and emperors; they made it hard to tax, because nobody knew how to value them. Wikipedia’s article about England’s Enclosure Laws describes some of the process by which “commons” were turned into “resources”; the latter could be described, accounted, owned, and taxed by the ever-reaching arm of monarchies and empires. But while they did exist, they were valuable, sustainable, well-managed, and treasured by the people who depended on them.
Seattle’s Himalayan blackberries definitely ain’t all that.
I was picking blackberries and mentioned that to someone else who was there with two kids. “I think they call that the tragedy of the commons,” he said. I didn’t answer him, but it is not, it is absolutely not, because those blackberry plants, while they are communal, they are not a commons.
A commons has three important features. First, it is a local, naturally occurring feature of the environment. Second, the community is dependent upon that feature for their very survival. Third, there is a widespread communal understanding that the feature is fragile and can be exploited, cheated, or damaged, and there is an ongoing, vocal communal effort to ensure that nobody damages it or cheats others out of their share.
Himalayan blackberries may be local, and they may be a plant, but they’re an invasive species introduced about a century ago, not something the Pacific Northwest has had since time out of mind. Nobody in the Pacific Northwest is dependent upon them for food, and certainly not warmth, water, or shelter. The only communal decision being made about them is that they have to be torn out quickly and often whenever they’re a danger to local agriculture, infrastructure, or a child’s scratched arms. The route from my home to the local light rail into Seattle has a patch where the vines grow out over the bicycle path, and sometimes the bicyclists will do some guerrilla weeding to get rid of them.
“The Tragedy of the Commons” is a racist trope invented to sound scientific and to get into the peer-reviewed journals because the inventor of the trope, Garrett Hardin, wanted white people to embrace “a fundamental extension of morality.” That extension was not to bring more human beings into the fold of those who we must protect; it was to convince white people that white people had a superior moral claim to the future, and if there was an planetary disaster that limited the Earth’s capacity to keep all of humanity alive, white people must be prepared to kill everyone else.
There were no tragic commons. Commons, for centuries, allowed communities to subsist, to survive, often with a reasonable expectation of “enough” heat, food, water, and shelter, through careful communal management of local environmental features.
Commons don’t exist much anymore because they were inconvenient to kings and emperors; they made it hard to tax, because nobody knew how to value them. Wikipedia’s article about England’s Enclosure Laws describes some of the process by which “commons” were turned into “resources”; the latter could be described, accounted, owned, and taxed by the ever-reaching arm of monarchies and empires. But while they did exist, they were valuable, sustainable, well-managed, and treasured by the people who depended on them.
Seattle’s Himalayan blackberries definitely ain’t all that.
Too hot
Aug. 10th, 2025 01:10 pmredbirdIt is too hot here to do much, alas. Friday was OK, but it was too hot yesterday for me to eant to go out—possibly doable, but sitting outside for lunch would have been unpleasant— and it’s not forecast to improve until after I leave.
So mostly I am sitting in the only air conditioned room in the apartment, reading. This isn’t exactly bad, but it doesn’t feel worth the trip, in terms of either dollars or the hassle of traveling.
So mostly I am sitting in the only air conditioned room in the apartment, reading. This isn’t exactly bad, but it doesn’t feel worth the trip, in terms of either dollars or the hassle of traveling.
Apple weirdness
Aug. 10th, 2025 02:27 amkengrGot a couple bags of apples a few weeks back. Recently I've noticed that the seeds are sprouting inside the apples.
I've never seen this before. The apples are otherwise fine.
WTF?
I've never seen this before. The apples are otherwise fine.
WTF?
The Second Ukiyo-e Print
Aug. 9th, 2025 05:17 pmlovelyangelIt was in July 2024 when I purchased my first ukiyo-e woodblock print – of Ultimate Madoka. While I was waiting for production of that artwork, I ended up purchasing a second ukiyo-e print – a re-creation of one of my favorite prints by Hiroshige Utagawa. At Shin Hanga Gallery I was lucky to get a print of Ohahi Bridge and Atake in Sudden Shower. I had purchased from them in the past, and they are a reliable vendor. I placed the order at the end of July 2024 and received the print in perfect condition two weeks later.
I held off on getting the print framed until the framed Madoka print arrived. I wanted to make sure the Hiroshige print frame was compatible with the Madoka print frame. My Madoka arrived near the end of June 2025, and right away I Went to Chrisman Framing to get my Hiroshige print framed. Tony was very helpful.
The job estimate was two weeks – so, mid July. However, the frame I had selected was out of stock, and there was a four week delay for the material to arrive. So the total wait was six weeks. But it was worth it. The framed print is beautiful.
It’s hard to see, but the frame is a very dark brown. I needed the frame to not clash with the Saia oil pastel frame. The new frame does look too close to black, though.
I’ve temporarily hung the three pictures that will be on the gallery wall in the new library – just so I could get a feel as to how they will look. Because the art is radically different between them, I was a little concerned – but I think things will work out OK.
I held off on getting the print framed until the framed Madoka print arrived. I wanted to make sure the Hiroshige print frame was compatible with the Madoka print frame. My Madoka arrived near the end of June 2025, and right away I Went to Chrisman Framing to get my Hiroshige print framed. Tony was very helpful.
The job estimate was two weeks – so, mid July. However, the frame I had selected was out of stock, and there was a four week delay for the material to arrive. So the total wait was six weeks. But it was worth it. The framed print is beautiful.
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It’s hard to see, but the frame is a very dark brown. I needed the frame to not clash with the Saia oil pastel frame. The new frame does look too close to black, though.
I’ve temporarily hung the three pictures that will be on the gallery wall in the new library – just so I could get a feel as to how they will look. Because the art is radically different between them, I was a little concerned – but I think things will work out OK.
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Mood theme
Aug. 8th, 2025 10:21 pmcoffeepaws posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
getting_startedI can't figure out where / how I can select a mood theme. Could somebody help me? Thank you :)
I'm in Montreal
Aug. 8th, 2025 03:36 pmredbirdI'm visiting rysmiel for a few days. The trip up was borin, which is good: anything exciting would probably be bad news, or at least make you late for dinner.
It is going to be hot over the weekend, so we went out for a relatively early brunch today, so we could sit almost-outdoors at Juliette et Chocolat and eat crepes. We then walked around Jean Talon market, where I bought plums, blackberries, and a cucumber.
I have np real plans for the next few days, which is fine.
rysmiel for a few days. The trip up was borin, which is good: anything exciting would probably be bad news, or at least make you late for dinner.It is going to be hot over the weekend, so we went out for a relatively early brunch today, so we could sit almost-outdoors at Juliette et Chocolat and eat crepes. We then walked around Jean Talon market, where I bought plums, blackberries, and a cucumber.
I have np real plans for the next few days, which is fine.
Bee Happy?
Aug. 8th, 2025 10:34 amlydamorehouse
Image: Another upside down bee, this time one that isn't a bumblebee!
Weird thing I am noticing. Bumblees give no craps if a phone camera is hovering over them. They're also slow moving, generally? I even had one curious bumblebee just latch on to my finger and inspect the camera for itself. Honey and other bees? Camera shy! It's much harder to get a picture of them!! So, here is, shockingly, a bee that is not a bumblebee.
Let's see, what's new with me?
Jas and Mason are continuing their whirlwind exploration of the Twin Cities. Yesterday was the "must see" of Minnehaha Falls, with the requiste lunch at Sea Salt. Mason apparently tried fried oysters for the first time, thanks to Jas. The two of them also did the whole walk all the way to the Mississippi River, since I mean, you're nearly there, so why not? Over dinner at Bole (an Ethiopian place here in St. Paul), Jas said that they had never actually seen sandstone in the wild before, as it were, and found it deeply fascinating. This is the sort of thing that I love hearing about because, having grown up surrounded by sandstone bluffs, I forget how uncommon sandstone might be to someone from another biome.
We took Jas to Bole because, while they have heard of Ethiopia restaurants, they have not been because berbere spices are a migraine trigger fro their mother. So, we were able to provide a guilt-free experience, which I think they quite enjoyed. We ended up sitting outside in the patio, despite the mugginess and threat of rain. It's always so much fun to show off the cool stuff in the city, you know? Our food (and our immigrants, damn it!) is always some of the very best parts of it all.
Since I believe I reported about this earlier, I thought I'd also give an update on Rhubarb's inappropriate urination issues? If you don't want to read about cat pee problems (and who would blame you!?), I will put it under the cut.
( Cat bathroom issues, solutions, and theories.... )
tl:dr we're still working on it? I have faith we'll get her fixed without having to restort to drugs.
That's all the news that's fit to print, plus some that had to appear under the cut.
Gaudeamus Igitur: A Misktatonic University LARP Report
Aug. 7th, 2025 11:16 amdavidlevineI am writing at the airport on the way home from Philadelphia, where I played in the Miskatonic University North America LARP organized by Chaos League in conjunction with Reverie Studio. This was a Live Action Role Play game loosely based on the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, which took place at Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts in 1924.
This report contains SPOILERS.
( Read more... )
This report contains SPOILERS.
( Read more... )
Bees, More Bees (Also, D'uh)
Aug. 7th, 2025 09:47 amlydamorehouse
Today's bee, captured in flight.
16;9, y'all. It's just landscape instead of portrait. MAN, I feel dumb. But, I don't feel as though any of my previous bee photos are wasted. I can also submit photos to the New York Times Spelling Bee that are square. So, I should be able to do some editing and send them again! (They are gonna love me, there. OTHO, I'm sure they get a lot of dummies like me!)
I found a resource rich (as in chock full of bees) area that is part of my daily routine. The Minnesota Historical Society! They have a huge pollenator garden on their hillside and yesterday it was literally buzzing with activity.
Meanwhile, Jas has proved themselves to be an excellent house guest. Their family recently had to trip to Japan (and Taiwan, where Jas has a grandmother,) and they brought us lots of absolutely PERFECT gifts. Shawn loves konpeitou--the Japanese hard candy that looks like little sandburs. Not only did Jas bring a package of the actual sweets for her, but ALSO earrings that are in the shape of konpeitou! This is especially wonderful because Shawn (who has otherwise very little interest in all of my Japanese stuff) likes the idea of saying "Ganbetta" (do your best!) but can never remember it, so often tells me, "Konpeitou!" when she means to wish me good luck. So konpeitou has been our silly way of wishing each other good luck.
For me, Jas brought some fun washi tape and post-it notes. Again, perfect for me, if you know my love of letter writing, etc.
Then, apparently, their mother also just sent along a whole bunch of odds and ends as gifts, too. We're going to have to step up our game? I have not participated in this competative gift giving thing before. Is it a Southern thing? (Jas's folks live in Oklahoma.) I ask because Mason's other friend Gray, also has parents who send Mason home with odd gifts (they're in Missouri.) Thoughts, any Southern State living friends of mine?
Today, I am planning on letting them have the car to do with as they like. Mason loves Saint Paul (and Minneapolis) and delights in showing off all the cool features found therein. I know they are planning on seeing Minnehaha Falls because that is a tourist MUST (and also Mason loves eating at Sea Salt.) Yesterday, they walked to the Creamery formerly known as Izzy's now... somthing else, which I have forgotten. So, Jas is getting the full tour!
I shall end with a slightly different bug. If anyone on my list of friends is bug-averse, please let me know and I will put these photos under the cut!
Image: grasshopper on bright red lily (in Grantsville, WI. We stopped at an old-fashioned rootbeer stand type place that had these amazing flowers and I spotted this little fellow.)
I called RFK Jr about vaccine access
Aug. 7th, 2025 10:07 amredbirdIf anyone wants to call RFK Jr. to complain about him not funding vaccines, and specifically about mRNA vaccines, his office phone number is 202-690-7000. I called during office hours (8:30-5 Eastern time) and got voicemail. The message asked for a phone number, and claimed someone would call me back.
If anyone wants a script, my message was:
My name is Vicki Rosenzweig. I’m calling from Boston, to demand that the secretary restore funding for MRNA vaccines. He must make the fall covid and flu boosters available to everyone. I’m immune-compromised, and my safety depends on my family being vaccinated and not giving me a virus. My phone number is [your number here]
I got the idea and phone number from a comment bythreemeninaboat on sonia's journal. (I also posted a version of this to thisfinecrew)
If anyone wants a script, my message was:
My name is Vicki Rosenzweig. I’m calling from Boston, to demand that the secretary restore funding for MRNA vaccines. He must make the fall covid and flu boosters available to everyone. I’m immune-compromised, and my safety depends on my family being vaccinated and not giving me a virus. My phone number is [your number here]
I got the idea and phone number from a comment by
threemeninaboat on sonia's journal. (I also posted a version of this to thisfinecrew)Back on pilgrimage
Aug. 6th, 2025 09:36 pmmrissaGood news, fellow humans! My short story A Pilgrimage to the God of High Places, which appeared last year in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, is a finalist for the WSFA Small Press Award for short fiction.
I am seriously chuffed about this for a number of reasons. One, you know how everyone always says it's an honor just to be a finalist? You know why they say that? Because it is in fact an honor just to be a finalist. So many wonderful stories come out in this field every year that--well, you've seen my yearly recommendation lists. They're quite long. Winnowing them to any smaller group? Amazing, thank you, could easily have been a number of other highly qualified stories by wonderful writers, I am literally just glad to be on the team and hope I can help the ball club. Er, programming staff.
But here's another reason: if you've read that story--which you can do! please do! it's free, and it turns out people like it!--you will immediately see that it is a story about a disabled person. That disabled person is not me, does not have my family or my career or anything like that. But it is my disability. I put my own disability into this story. I gave someone with my disability a story in which they do not have to be "fixed" to be the hero. And...this is not a disability-focused award. This is just an award for genre short fiction. So I particularly appreciate that the people who were selecting stories looked a story with a disabled protagonist whose disability is inherent to the story without being the problem that needs solving and said, yeah, we appreciate that. Thank you. I appreciate you too.
Upside Down Bee on a Wednesday!
Aug. 6th, 2025 02:22 pmlydamorehouse
Bumblebee hanging off Joe Pye Weed in my front yard.
It's Wednesday!
My quest to crack the New York Times Spelling Bee picture selection continues. Today's entry might be a little blurry, but I just loved how I managed to get a shot of the bee hanging upside down like that. I got a few others today, which I will pepper the NYTimes with over the next few days. I've been trying to not be a pest myself and have been limiting myself to a single entry a day. I THINK I have these pictures sized correctly at 9:16, but maybe not? My phone actually has a setting for 9:16, but they might actually want 16:9?? Which, I'm not sure how to do, so maybe I am sending these all into the void. I guess we'll see.
I have just sent Mason and Jas off to find something for Jas to eat. Jas arranged a surprise visit with Shawn and I some months ago, and today was the big "SURPRISE!" Mason nearly cried he was so pleased and happy to see them walk in the door!
OF COURSE, the surprise was almost ruined today. Just after I had gotten a text from Jas that they had landed, Mason started nudging me about going out practice driving. I had to make up a lie on the spot and I ended up saying, "Uh, I would be happy to do that in a bit, but I'm... uh, waiting for a package. Which I... might have to go pick up?" I thought he'd figure out for sure, but this apparently fooled Mason enough that I later found out from Jas that Mason was texting them saying, "My ima is being very weird about a surprise package for me? I don't understand what's going on, but I guess I'll find out."
Sure enough!
By chance an actual package that I had been waiting for came to our doorstep and so, I picked that up, I walked in holding it, and said, "Yep, I picked up my special delivery." He looked up just in time to see Jas trail in behind me.
If Mason could be the epitome of "..." he was at that moment. It went:
...
"WHAT."
Then, "OH MY GOD. WHAT?"
This could not have worked out better.
I might have gotten a little misty-eyed, too. I ran off to the post office before I embarassed myself and also to give Mason some room to give Jas the house tour without me awkwardly trailing behind.
As for the rest of my life, let's see. I haven't read much of anything at all this week, but I did finish watching The Apothecary's Diaries which I'm weirdly happy to find out has a third season in the works. I don't know why I say weirdly? Maybe because I'm both rooting for and not rooting for the romance? I'd kind of like Mao Mao to get to be happily ace ever after, but I also kind of like the Prince/Eunuch? Anyway, then I started up Rent-a-Girlfriend because why not, I guess. If any anime fans have a better recommendation for something to follow up The Apothecary's Dairies, please feel free to drop it into the comments!
I'll have some thoughts on my Thirsty Sword Lesbians game yesterday night in a bit, but right now I think I'm going to bask in the warm glow of "Jas is here and my son couldn't be more happy!"
Tsundoku ja nai #7
Aug. 5th, 2025 08:11 pmlovelyangel |
Another installment of the too good for a layover in the tsundoku stack saga. Previously: Tsundoku ja nai #6.
( The Story of Four Volumes, Below This Cut )