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Book Log: The Queen's Thief reread & read (part #3)

Onward, to Thick as Thieves! Which feels a little like hitting on the breaks after the momentum of the previous books, but I think makes sense for the series as a whole because it's a return to its roots with a road trip underpinned by a lie Eugenides has set into motion from the beginning, plus as a breather of sorts before the final book. I think I was a little impatient with the book the first time I read it, despite very much enjoying Kamet and Costis's dynamic, but this time round I relaxed myself into the worldbuilding and set up for the open confrontation with the Medes that was obviously going to happen in the final book.

Then, FINALLY, Return of the Thief. I've only read it once but I think I'll read it one more time before I arrange the whole series properly on my bookshelf. I enjoyed it a lot but it's such a bittersweet read for having to say goodbye to the characters and the world, and by necessity this book had to be more straightforward in tying all the plot threads and set up together.

I said in a previous post that The Queen of Attolia didn't work for me as much because although it has so much happening plot-wise, the lack of a strong POV to hook our emotions onto weakened it for me, and here! Return of the Thief does EXACTLY what I wanted QoA to do, by introducing a compelling new character to follow and to be the eyes with which we view the plot, and Pheris SO GREAT. I love him, what a good boy, and amazingly Turner has made yet another new POV character that's distinct and different from everyone who's come before, especially in terms of interrogating the series' thing about unreliable narrators by having a character who is at pains to notice and make sense of the world's truths, even the awful ones, and good gravy is his personal story tough to get through.

( A little crit behind the cut )

(no subject)

Went on a date today. We very nearly got rained out, since we were planning to go for a walk together, but we managed to take refuge in a coffee shop until the rain stopped. I liked him, but I don't really know what's going to happen next with him right now. I don't even know if I want to venture anywhere next weekend, even on Sunday. He, too, has a mother with health issues.
I am now in the process of moving all my sound files, music and podfics alike, over to the new computer. The cheap pair of speakers I got along with it that are now attached to the old computer are starting to show signs of struggle, though I'm not even sure that's not the computer itself having difficulty. It'll take some work, though. The collection is very large. Probably the biggest thing I need to move over.

Current Mood: groggy
Current Location: An arena
Current Music: "Caught a Light Sneeze" - Tori Amos

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movies

The Sillier Adventures of the Predator

Watch on YouTube

Three separate Predators set out to hunt three different human warriors in 2025's Predator: Killer of Killers, an animated film from directors Dan Trachtenberg and Joshua Wassung. Trachtenberg was the mastermind behind the popular Predator movie Prey a couple years ago and the writing on Killer of Killers is just as ridiculous. The animated format may be better suited to cartoonish logic but I found the third segment of the film too vigorously lame.

Like Prey, Killer of Killers features some actors with tenuous connexions to the ethnicities they're portraying. Louis Ozawa, an American actor of Japanese and Chinese descent, plays a pair of samurai brothers, the only voice role in the mostly wordless second and best segment of the film. Set in 1609 in no more specific place than "in Japan", a detail that may be less obtrusive to those of you not living in Japan, the story follows the lives of the two men whose father has pitted against each other for the right of succession to shogun. The two learn the value of working together against the extraterrestrial foe, who in one shot is visually linked to their psychopathic father. It's not a story that fits well in feudal Japan, nor does it seem right for a Predator movie, particular in its posing the Predator as a thematic ghost of the boys' father. But the action sequences are the best of the film.

I preferred the concept of the first story, in which a Viking matriarch is robbed of her moment of glorious revenge but the sudden intrusion of a Predator. I liked the idea of the alien foe also disrupting culture and tradition.

The third segment, about a young fighter pilot in World War II, was just a relentless stream of stupid ideas. On this kid's first flight, he wears no helmet, everyone in the squadron is able to communicate with each other without apparent headsets; at one point the boy crawls out onto the wing of his plane in midflight in order to fix something. He also somehow knows that the Predator's vision is based on heat so he decides to cut his engines, apparently making his aircraft ice cold. Sure, it didn't make a lot of sense when Schwarzenegger was able to hide behind cold mud but at least he felt constrained to also be still when the Predator was looking directly at him.

It's not a very satisfying film but it's a good accomplishment for animation studio Third Floor.

Predator: Killer of Killers is available on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ elsewhere in the world.

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Oregon Trip, Days 2 through 6

1) We only spent one day in Portland, and M had to nurse her feet after all the walking required the day before. So K and I went to see the International Rose Test Garden which was supposed to have hundreds of rose varieties which were expected to be in bloom by mid-May. While some clearly were, the beds were hit and miss with many varieties not yet available. What roses were in bloom however were attractive to see and some of the blooms were huge. The garden itself though was smaller than expected.

Nonetheless despite the overcast day and the difficulty with parking, the visit to the park was worthwhile as it's overall a great feature of the city. We drove up to the top of the hill for the trees and the view, though none were in a spot where we could park and take pictures. ( Read more... )

Anyhow, discussing the cards made us discuss the Star Wars series as K had recently watched Ahsoka but found it confusing. I told her this seemed inevitable to me because so much of the meaning in the series comes from it being a stealth 5th season of Rebels. So we started watching. M really liked Hera and Chopper. K liked making the connections to what came later in Ahsoka. My partner and I had rewatched S4 before seeing Ahsoka so it would be fresh. But I hadn't seen the first 3 seasons for some 4 years or so.

I found it really picked up speed quickly, and I my favorite thing was the mentor and apprentice relationship between Ezra and Kanan. The first time around I'd seen it mostly from Ezra's viewpoint since we're in it for much of the series. But this time I was seeing it from Kanan's and really liked how well done this was. And while most of it was in the writing I also liked the animation and the small gestures and expressions. It was quite rich and certainly had a long arc.

We got all the way through S2 during the trip and it made me want to see S3 through as well. I remember how tense I found it watching the season finale the first time around because it seemed quite possible anything could happen.

3) The time since my return has been something of a headache. My partner's sister had a roof leak which damaged a mattress in the room where he stays on his visits. The roof has been patched but reroofing will take place soon. In the meantime he is planning to leave for Ohio around the 25th. After discussion we decided to have him take his current bed to Ohio as a replacement. (She has already removed the damaged mattress but the box spring is ok). That means a new bed on our end. ( Read more... )

4) In less important news, my 3 water weights arrived, 2 while I was away and the last after. The laggard proved not to be worth the wait. While my partner tested out the first two while I was away this third one has a poor design that had it leaking within an hour. I contacted Amazon to return it and they refunded me and told me not to bother sending it back. I re-ordered a second copy of the smaller weight instead.

5) We've signed back up to Apple+ and so are going to pick up new seasons of things and try out some new shows. So far we've started up the latest seasons of Slow Horses, Mythic Quest, and Pachinko and are trying out Buccaneers and Your Friends and Neighbors.

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Current Mood: awake

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Babylon 5 - S1E13 - Signs and Portents

Title drop! (Kind of.) The episode title is also the season title.

( Spoilery reactions )

I want your body, mind, soul, etcetera

It's Sunday! Today shall be a day for relaxing and having a couple of games. It should be a lot of fun, if the everyone is up to play.

Yesterday was a long day! I had my shower and then we took Mao down to be cremated. The dude at the cremation place was SUPER nice. I was really pleased that I went with them. After it was done, I felt good that we'd finally gotten him taken care of. We'll be able to pick him up on Wednesday. (We'll probably have to wait til Saturday. I can pick him up in the morning before I head out for Pride.)

Then, we came back and piddled around until it was time to go bowling. The alley is very nice, and it was good to see friends, but since I wasn't willing to bowl with my back, it wasn't very engaging. It was all fine, though. The food was good, and we got out for a bit. We also stopped at Trader Joes on the way back, and bought way too much shit. Today will be a grazing day. We all have leftover food, so we're just going to eat what we've got.

The fridge is full, so we all better get cracking.

I say shit, but most of it is stuff for lunch for Jess and I. Tomorrow, we need to get back to cooking like a normal person rather than takeout.

And now, I'm going to get myself together and forage for breakfast. Everyone have an amazing Sunday!

(no subject)

It was a nicely productive day on Thursday.

Started with an early trip to the tip to get rid of a huge bag of garden waste and a couple of bulky but broken electrical items, so it was good to do that bit of decluttering. Plus, the tip shop was closed for a delivery so no chance of buying more stuff to fill those new gaps*g*

From there we called in to see my in laws for a bit, then it was onto the hospital as James had a physio appointment. Unfortunately, his appointment was for 11am, which is a horrible time in terms of parking, and we had to circle the whole site for nearly 30 minutes before a lovely lady pointed to a free space in one of the car parks we'd already gone through three times.

Each time he goes to physio, I expect James to be discharged, but nope again. While his elbow break has healed beautifully, he's lost muscle in his shoulder and still can't bring his hand to his mouth without propping his arm on a surface, or bringing his mouth down to his hand. So, more exercises to do at home, and he's back in a month, and will apparently need to keep going until that muscle is back.

Left the hospital and headed into town as I had an eye exam booked for 12:30. I only wear my glasses when reading books, but had noticed recently things were getting a bit fuzzier reading without them, so figured I should go for a check-up.

Turns out my right eye has got worse, but the other is still the same. So, new reading glasses for me. But what you don't want while sitting with the optometrist is for her to say, 'well, this is rare and don't worry, but….' Turns out I have a very narrow drainage channel around the iris of my right eye, while increases the risk of Angle closure glaucoma. Everything is fine pressure wise right now, but she gave me a leaflet about symptoms, saying if I get any of those to go straight to the eye infirmary, and I'm now on annual eye checks, which I guess is a good thing.

Rosie finally sent the change of day survey, but along with those came some suggestions to express interest in other options, which sound great if they happen. Included in that, actual cooking demos, well-being walks and various other exercise options. I ticked an interest in all except for badminton, which just sounds like a disaster in the making for me if I tried it.

Then she emailed again yesterday to say the class Monday coming is also cancelled as she's off on annual leave. Which is a shame after also being cancelled this last Monday. But, it can't be helped and as she's getting married later this year, I suspect this is the time Rosie's booked for her hen do.

Yesterday was forecast for heavy rain showers all day, so we decided to go to the cinema. Saw The Salt Path on a 11am morning showing, and really enjoyed it. Left Odeon and went to Subway for dinner, then checked the cinema listings again and saw a screening of Karate Kid -- Legends, was about to start, so went to see that too. The film hasn't been getting good reviews, but I actually liked it, even more so as a load of young teen boys were watching too, and they all started applauding at the end, which made me smile. I also saw the full trailer for the new Downton Abbey film, and I'm looking forward to seeing that later in the year.

Today we've driven to a jumble sale as Cat Lady Kay from Consett Cats had a fund-raising table there, and we wanted to support her. I only bought a book, but left a donation, so it was worth the drive.

This afternoon I intend to catch up here, and feed the tomato plants. Then, more binge-watching of Mobland later. What a show that is, it's got me gripped.

New Substack post

Some thoughts on jobs that used to exist and don't, anymore, because of mechanization, progress, and the potential future job losses to AI.

Current Mood: groggy
Current Location: The poop deck
Current Music: "Twilight Zone" - Van Morrison

Entry tags:

movies

The Late Tide

Watch on YouTube

I finally managed to get through 2011's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides last night. Every time I'd tried to watch it before, all the cgi slapstick and lousy writing stopped me cold. But somehow I kind of enjoyed it this time.

Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz are both fine in it. Depp really disappears into the Jack Sparrow role and, in spite of everything, I see the character and not the very over-exposed actor. Which certainly says something about said actor's abilities. Penelope Cruz was pregnant during filming which would likely explain the excessive number of close-ups she has. Something about her lacked the flair she has in other roles.

I asked Google's AI why Ian McShane, an Englishman, uses an American accent in his role as the English pirate Blackbeard. I received this answer:

Ian McShane's character, Blackbeard, in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, has an American accent, likely due to the character's portrayal as a "North American pirate" or "colonist pirate". The film draws upon historical depictions of pirates who plundered Caribbean islands and were associated with the Americas. While McShane is British, the film's narrative and Blackbeard's characterization suggest a connection to the American colonists and their language.

The interesting thing about it to me is that it's a rationale and not the obvious, actual reason, that McShane, at the time, was best known for his portrayal of Al Swearengen, an American character on the HBO series Deadwood. If he'd been cast as Blackbeard when he was best known for playing the title character on Lovejoy, who spoke with an English accent, he probably would've also used an English accent for his portrayal of Blackbeard. Why can't the AI think of this? It's like it's afraid of offending someone.

Accents in the 18th century would've been noticeably different than they are to-day, whether you're talking about people in England or in an American colony, so any accent would be an anachronism anyway. There's no reason for Jack Sparrow to have an English accent. The rationale for speaking with a modern English accent is about as valid as speaking with a modern American one.

On Stranger Tides was directed by Rob Marshall who went on to direct the live action Little Mermaid remake. Perhaps it was the use of mermaids in On Stranger Tides that made him seem right for the job. The mermaids in On Stranger Tides, though, were certainly much hotter.

I generally find Marshall to be a bland filmmaker and this is a mostly bland film though mostly due to the poorly considered plot than anything to do with direction. The screenwriters seem to struggle to string thoughts together. When Jack tries to organise a mutiny on Blackbeard's ship, Blackbeard hadn't appeared yet up to that point. Jack asks if any of the crew have ever seen Blackbeard and they all say, no, that the captain never leaves his quarters. From this, Jack, reasonably enough, concludes they've all been deceived, and this isn't Blackbeard's ship at all. But after executing the mutiny, who should emerge from the cabin but none other than Blackbeard himself. Why had he never come out of his cabin before? No explanation is given. Had he truly never been on deck during any previous attack or raid? This is left unaddressed. There's a lot of stuff like that in the movie: scenes that depend on you at least half forgetting previous scenes in order to function.

I was delighted to see an old friend, the Surprise, the ship used by Captain Barbossa in his new position as a Captain in the Royal Navy. The Surprise is a replica 18th century ship that docks at the San Diego Maritime Museum, where I was a volunteer hand for a few years, until six years ago. My first day volunteering at the museum, I spent around three hours sitting on the Surprise's poop deck, learning to splice lines, a skill I sadly did not retain. Though I can't imagine when I might next use it. I was subsequently to spend quite a lot of time on that ship and it was genuinely nice to see her again.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is available on Disney+.

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Mets vs Rockies on tv

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that double just loosened him up last night

I used decaf to make coffee granita last night, and I had it for dessert this evening along with a dollop of homemade whipped cream, and it seems to have worked out all right - no late evening side effects of caffeine that I can feel. And I think it's better later in the day as a treat than as my morning coffee, because I eat it so quickly and also it's sweet. I don't put any sugar in my regular coffee, but granita requires it so it doesn't freeze solid. I used vanilla sugar but can't really detect the vanilla (or, rather, differentiate it from the vanilla in the whipped cream).

Also, they were on sale, so I bought a pack of paper plates and they made cleanup after cooking so easy that I remembered why I used to use them regularly back before I had a dishwasher. My plan to replace my dead dishwasher is to try the 4th of July sales - Friend L is going to join me at the store to see if the model I want (Bosch) actually fits in the space I've got (and if it goes on sale - it did not for Memorial Day, that I saw, but maybe I don't need the more expensive/top-of-the-line model? It's just that it has something that will allegedly turn the machine off if it senses a leak, which seems like a good thing to have, especially when you live in an apartment above other people and are responsible if any leakage causes damages below you). Anyway, July is a three-paycheck month, which gives me some leeway for paying most of it off ASAP and not increasing my credit card debt any more than I have to.

*

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A swiftly turning planet..with people struggling to communicate

CNN Aired An Exclusive Live Broadcast of the Broadway Play: Good Night and Good Luck - adapted for the stage from the film of the same name. The reason they aired it is made clear upon the airing - at the very end, Edward R Murrow, the CBS News See it Now broadcaster who famously took on McCarthy, during the Black List and McCarthy Hearings, stands front and center in front of a screen displaying multiple screens of the news. He states in a halting speech, enunciating each word, with a slight tremor to his voice, "we've seen what happens when power goes unchecked, that's not the question before us now, the question is - what will you do about it?"

I was thinking as I was watching it live on MAX (I no longer have access to CNN), that evil is like a spider, sitting in the dark corner of the room, smoking a cigar, wih a red top hat and tails smirking. And asking in a whisper of a voice, low and barely audible, "what do you want?" And indicating with a smile - "come into my parlor my dear and I shall give it to you, with a price of course".

It's insidious, and shadows egos. Self-importance. Self-righteousness. Power. Fame. Fortune. Wealth. Beware the righteous, and the self-important, and most of all the arrogant and narcissistic hunting awards and acknowledgment and power.

I don't know what I personally can do to check the power or stop it. I've been pondering it. I can write, I can post, I can draw, I can paint, I can do my job at a public agency. And I can hope people listen.

People aren't very good at listening? Have you noticed that? Too busy thinking about themselves or what they are going to say next or how they'll respond. Too filled up with thoughts to hear...ones that lie outside of their own minds and brains. I tell people a story and they tell me their own back again, and mine....slides off unheard, lost somehow within theirs? The meaning gone. And they tell me theirs and I tell them my own, and it happens all over again from the other side - with their story being lost.

I did social group therapy once - and we were for the most part forced to listen, but everyone tended to flounder at it. Either they'd ask pointed questions, correct the person's choice of words or syntax or speech (which isn't listening by the way - it's judging, and helps no one), interrupt, direct the conversation to themselves, provide advice, try to fix whatever it was, dismiss it as already solved or playing the victim, but seldom did they listen.

And once on a fan discussion board - we fell into a discussion about writing carefully, and I thought - no that's not the problem here or not that alone, we also need to learn how to read carefully. And people don't? Too busy reading quickly, flying through or past the text, to see it clearly let alone truly comprehend it? Now, for example, raise your hand if you just skimmed this passage and oh so many others? Be honest? How many have you skimmed, jumping over words and phrases and reacting to a sentence here or a paragraph there - but not seeing the whole? I know I do. Try a little experiment, if you will? Read just one paragraph of a post, or the unhidden bit. Then take a moment, and read the rest later, has your opinion of it changed?

We live in an age of content overload, and we surf and read and look at so many things simultaneously. Texts fly by. Our memory of them fleeting or garbled. And more often than not - people just read blurbs. If I post something with information below a "cut tag" - how many will read what's below the tag, and just respond to the top of the post? Losing the point of it. Or respond to the post, without reading the comments below? We don't read carefully - and most mistakes are made because of it. They were on the discussion boards. 90% of the arguments online are the result of "miscommunication" or the inability to politely ask for clarification prior to snarking, judging or condemning.

I think the flaw in the human brain is a tendency to assume everyone thinks the same and perceives things the same? When no one does? And well...a failure to communicate as a result?

**

You'll have to excuse me, I'm exhausted. But the weather is shifting, and I'm hurting less all of a sudden - which means the arthritis isn't being pinged by the human weather vane.

I'm also frustrated with my fellow humans. And perhaps with myself and my own limitations. And a touch depressed, no more than a touch, as a result. But hey at least I don't hurt as much as last night. So maybe the back brace is helping?

It's a warm spring evening. The sky has cleared of clouds, and it's sliding towards dark, from twilight. Nine PM on the East Coast. But I can still see puffs of cloud moving slowly across the pale blue sky, lit from within by moonlight. Our swiftly turning planet in the vacuum of space, surrounded by stars and galaxies which far too many of us take for granted as we bumble upon it babbling and gurgling at one another as is our way.

Entry tags:

FIC: Interlude (MCU)

Title: Interlude
Creator: alexcat
Universe: MCU
Pairing(s): Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 1281
Summary: The last person Steve expected to see in Berlin was Stark....
Author's Notes: From this prompt. I have no idea the source::
First time seeing each other after years ( for whatever reason, civil war, someone was in space etc..) they did not part on the best terms but neither expected to go this long without seeing the other

Anyone want some good news?

Snagged from various places, mainly svgurl: 72 questions to ask a fan
(She says fangirl - but I just took Gender Identity Training (web module) this week and it kind of goes against the grain to use gender exclusive as opposed to gender inclusive language at the moment.)

Also, the Good News Report...

As always, good news is often in the eye of the beholder, but hopefully something makes you smile, outside of the link to the fan questions. Which I may or may not try to answer at a later date. I'm weirdly private about my fandoms.

1.Breakthrough in search for HIV cure leaves researchers ‘overwhelmed’
Exclusive: Melbourne team demonstrates way to make the virus visible within white blood cells, paving the way to fully clear it from the body.

Via the Guardian

"Exclusive: Melbourne team demonstrates way to make the virus visible within white blood cells, paving the way to fully clear it from the body."

2. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sues Alina Habba, alleging ‘false arrest and malicious prosecution’. Alina Habba's criminal case against Ras Baraka collapsed quickly. Now, the tables have turned, and the Newark mayor is suing the prosecutor.

Via Democracy Docket

3.Judge says some migrants sent to an El Salvador prison must have a chance to challenge their detention. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide hundreds of migrants sent to CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, the opportunity to challenge their detention and removal. The ruling is related to deportations ordered under the Alien Enemies Act.

Via NBC News

This doesn't apply to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man whose deportation became a focal point of Democratic resistance to Trump's immigration policies.

4. The Trump regime has returned a Guatemalan man who was improperly deported to Mexico, obeying a federal judge’s order.

Via Politico

5. More than a century after the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, one of the most horrific episodes of racial violence in U.S. history, the city’s mayor announced a $105 million reparations package on Sunday. It is the first large-scale plan committing funds to address the impact of the atrocity. Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols on Sunday unveiled a $105 million reparations plan for the descendants of the Tulsa race massacre — the deadly 1921 attack by a white mob on a Black neighborhood.

ABC News

Via NY Times

( the rest )

Child, take your dark memories like seeds, and plant them far from here

It's Saturday!

Half of Fridays plans got cancelled on account of not giving a fuck. We are still new computerless and we didn't make it to the steak house. Instead we went to a steak and sushi buffet. It was okay--standard buffet fare, though the abundance of seafood was very good. I had crab legs, stone crab claws, plus lobster tail and a pretty credible NY strip steak. Also some pretty good sushi. All that for $36 sounds pretty good to me.

One thing that did not get scrapped was my hair. It's not exactly what the picture showed, but I love it. It's bright and happy and fun and it makes me feel good. Picture below the cut.

( Read more... )

I'm going to go grab a shower and wash it out for the first time, so we'll see how much the tub looks like I slaughtered a muppet.

Today, we take Mao to be cremated. He's waited a long time, so it's good that we're finally doing it.

Then later, we have bowling with the work crew, which should be fun.

Tomorrow is all games all the time which will be fun. Okay, gonna go shower! Everyone have a perfect Saturday!

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promo post

current fandom events

julybreakbingoevent is a multifandom bingo challenge with customizable cards (link goes to the

fandomcalendar post). Sign-ups close on July 7th.

sunshine_revival is a community set to revive the Sunshine Challenge, a companion to the

snowflake_challenge, that will run through the month of July.

allbingo is running a Pride Fest through the month of June. There are premade cards or you can create your own based on the available prompts.

justmarriedexchange, a marriage-themed multifandom exchange for marriage tropes of all kinds: convenient, accidental, undercover, arranged, forced, etc, is open for nominations until June 10th, 11:59PM UTC.

land_of_art is a landcomm challenge for graphic lovers. There are two teams and the first round is in progress and will continue until January 18th, 2026. Sign up for a team HERE.

fourormore, a community to promote and celebrate ships with four or more people, is running a Bingo Event. Cards will given until December 31st.

smallfandomfest is open for prompt claiming for its Small Fandom Fest. Submissions may be posted until July 31st.

fancake's theme of the month is: female relationships. Click on the banner below to learn more! :)

Photograph with added text: Female Relationships, at Fancake. Four old Nepalese women sit together on a low brick wall, their feet dangling, most of them barefoot, their shoes kicked off below them. They're dressed in loose patterned fabrics in various shades of red and the mood is relaxed.

Current Mood: groggy
Current Location: The fields
Current Music: "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" - Bob Dylan

More Hobbit Than Hobbit

I drew this not exactly book accurate sketch of Bilbo and Gollum in the art club of one of the schools I've been working at lately. I confess, I made Bilbo look a little more cherubic because I was hoping to stimulate the students' interest in Tolkien. No such luck.

I live near a train track. The area north of the track has some factories followed by rice fields, forests, and hills. South of the track are more urban areas. Last week, I was working at a school north of the track and I've been listening to The Lord of the Rings on my iPod. Listening to the tale of the hobbits walking through forests and farmland paired well with actually walking through farmland and forest. I even walked through a very old graveyard which paired well with the chapter on the Barrow Wights.

I was compelled yet again to wonder at the fact that, though Harry Potter is wildly popular, most people I've met in Japan haven't even heard of Lord of the Rings. One teacher I worked with had seen the movies but told me he didn't find them especially interesting. Yet I can't help being struck by the similarities between the Japanese in these affluent rural towns and the descriptions of hobbits. They're a people, relatively short in stature, suspicious of outsiders, passionate about creature comforts, and sticklers for tradition and taboos. Maybe the problem is that it's too close to home. I don't know. Well, I also think the beauty of Tolkien's language probably doesn't translate to Japanese well.

Watch on YouTube

X Sonnet 1943

The worser grass was vast ahead of her.
She chose a certain flower turned away.
The blossom pointed north and pointed sure.
Decision made, she stopped and took the day.
With rations low, she woke and cursed her sloth.
The sun had sunk and now the night was nigh.
She poured her beer and savoured all the froth.
And stuck the floral charm upon her thigh.
Her feet disturbed the dust and gravel path.
Suspicious birds upon her glanced and squawked.
She felt she risked a hidden demon's wrath.
For something through the dripping grasses stalked.
She felt a chill and saw a giant stone.
She wondered now if luck would lead her home.

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Dreams - Fleetwood Mac

Entry tags:

it's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams

The Mets lost a game yesterday they should have won, but I guess it doesn't matter that much because they took the season series from the Dodgers, which means if they are both divisional winners and meet in the NLCS in October, the Mets will have home field advantage. I mean, it would have been nice for them to win on a day when both Atlanta and Philly lost, but I guess you can't have everything.

Anyway, staying up for the previous games in the series (they were out in LA) caught up with me and I couldn't keep my eyes open last night, so I ended up going right to bed at 8:30. It wasn't even fully dark yet! But I slept through till 4:15, got up to use the bathroom, and then slept through again till my alarm went off at 8:15, so I guess I really needed it. I had a lot of dreams, but the one that stuck with me was something where I was already in the hospital visiting someone, and the doctor was like, "we need to talk about your appendix, it needs to come out!" And I was like, "that's news to me since I haven't had an appendix since 1976!" (truth!) And she was like, "what?" and I was like, "what?" and then the dream moved on - I don't remember anything else.

There's really not a whole lot else going on. Work is busy - our CFO keeps trying to steal me away from my boss, but like, there's nothing in Finance for me to do? My main job is board support, and that belongs either in legal or the CEO's office, so...*hands* I guess if something ever happened to my position I might consider trying to transfer, but I just don't see how that would work. No one is indispensable, but no one else in this organization does what I do (and frankly, no one else wants to). If a new CEO comes in and has different ideas, that could be a problem, but I'm trying not to think about that too much. There are closer threats to my job right now. *gestures at everything*

*

She'll say, "Look what I had to overcome in my last life--I think I'll write a book."

It's finally Friday! Whoohoo! It's a short day at work for me, which I'm looking forward to, because the rest of my day is busy as hell. First, work til 11am, then I go to get my hair cut and dyed. I'm a little nervous about this, but I'm sure it'll be fine. The person I'm going to was in the same shop as my former hairdresser (the one who died suddenly) and they do good work. I'm not asking for anything particularly tough. I'm a little worried about borking my back up, but I'll be fine. Then, its home to relax for a few minutes, then we drive 45minutes to get Jess' new computer. Then, we go grab dinner, and then head home. It's a lot, but it'll be good.

Unfortunately, it's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow, which just figures. Tomorrow we shall go down to get the frozen cat cremated. Once that's done, we have a bowling party tomorrow night. With my back, I won't be bowling, but I want to go to see people from work.

Sunday, we have games, which will be fun. I'm hoping the weather holds off tonight while I'm driving in the dark. The bowling is at 4pm, so I won't be out too late on Saturday.

Yesterday was busy, but not horrible. I had one spicy patient, who was scheduled incorrectly by a team member who is no longer with the team, so it fell to me to reschedule. They were not happy, but y'know, it's nothing personal, and I don't actually care that she's upset.

The other day, I went a little insane on pastries from Paris Baguette, a new bakery that opened in Towson. Holy shit, y'all, it was so good. The pastries are light and delicious and I will definitely be ordering from there again.

Tonight, since I'll be getting my hair cut, Jess is going to take care of dinner, which will be chicken. It's the first chicken I've had since the money came in. I'm sure it'll be good, but a little part of me was really enjoying the steaks.

Oh well, maybe more steak on Monday. We'll see.

I now have completed the trifecta of big box stores. I reupped my Costco membership and went ahead and got BJs, too. BJs had the creamer I wanted, and I've always been a fan of their fruit and veg. And Costco has Gimbap, and other ethnic foods that the others don't. And Sam's is cheap.

Okay, time for me to get my shit together. I still do have three hours of work to do today. Everyone have an excellent Friday!

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406. GENERAL DEAR PODFICCER LETTER.

[ JOE GOLDBERG VOICE ] Hello, you.

Dearest Podficcer,

This is my general podficcer exchange letter, which is pretty much an extension of my general exchange letter, but with more information for podfic, like fandoms! My general exchange letter is where you'll find my tropes and podfic likes, and is a letter I update frequently. This letter will serve as what my exchange sign-up usually does: telling you the fandoms, pairings, and characters I like. Please refer to this letter for my DNWs regarding podfic requests for events like Podfic Summer Swap.

My AO3 is

buries, although you will most likely find my Tumblr reflects my obsessions best, which can be found at

finnicks. (Please do not take my AO3 bookmarks to be a true representation of what I like; I have a conservative approach with my bookmarks, and I don't read a lot of fic anymore. My Tumblr and rec posts are your best bet.)

What I'm primarily looking for when requesting podfic is to be exposed to new stories and authors.

For my general likes, such as tropes, please see my general exchange letter, which I update regularly.

For my podfic likes, such as sound effects yes or no, etc., please see my general exchange letter. (It's easier for me to have one letter to update than two.)

Last updated: 8 June 2025.

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10 Multifandom icons for Round 52 @ fandom10in30

AAHHHH! So when I was thinking of putting up the voting for this round, I realised I already had made some of the icons for this challenge and decided to complete them today. Round 52 at

fandom10in30 was about cropping icons so the subjects are in the side of the icons. I made one set from modern TV shows and another set for period dramas/movie. :D Comments are welcome.

Preview:

( All 10 icons here!!! )