especially when the roof is open
May. 8th, 2026 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
musesfoolSince I know you all enjoy my ridiculous grocery delivery stories, this week boneless pork country ribs were on sale for $3/lb so I ordered 2 lbs for approximately $6. I figured I'd put one package in a pot of sauce on Sunday, and freeze the other for some later date.
Instead, I received SIX POUNDS of baby back ribs for TWENTY-EIGHT DOLLARS. For those of you playing the home game, that made my grocery bill today $22 more than expected. That's just nuts. Also, since I was planning to put the boneless ribs in sauce, I did not purchase any bbq sauce, so now I guess I can try to make my own. I thought about doing Chinese bbq ribs instead, because I do have all the ingredients for that, but the racks are too big to put into a container to marinate. I might be able to cut them into smaller slabs and marinate that way, but that seems like a lot of extra work I was not planning on this weekend, since mostly I planned to test out a couple of new lemon cupcake recipes.
I think I mentioned that one of my co-workers requested vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting next time I'm in, and I thought I might also do lemon cupcakes with strawberry frosting since there will be a lot more frosting than cupcakes.
Anyway. I found a bbq sauce recipe that doesn't include ketchup - I tried one that did once and did not care much for it - so maybe I will do that. I also have a bag of cole slaw, so I'll make the dressing for that as well, and see how it all goes.
In better news, the Knicks just went up 3-0 on the Sixers in round 2 of the playoffs. Bing bong!
*
Instead, I received SIX POUNDS of baby back ribs for TWENTY-EIGHT DOLLARS. For those of you playing the home game, that made my grocery bill today $22 more than expected. That's just nuts. Also, since I was planning to put the boneless ribs in sauce, I did not purchase any bbq sauce, so now I guess I can try to make my own. I thought about doing Chinese bbq ribs instead, because I do have all the ingredients for that, but the racks are too big to put into a container to marinate. I might be able to cut them into smaller slabs and marinate that way, but that seems like a lot of extra work I was not planning on this weekend, since mostly I planned to test out a couple of new lemon cupcake recipes.
I think I mentioned that one of my co-workers requested vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting next time I'm in, and I thought I might also do lemon cupcakes with strawberry frosting since there will be a lot more frosting than cupcakes.
Anyway. I found a bbq sauce recipe that doesn't include ketchup - I tried one that did once and did not care much for it - so maybe I will do that. I also have a bag of cole slaw, so I'll make the dressing for that as well, and see how it all goes.
In better news, the Knicks just went up 3-0 on the Sixers in round 2 of the playoffs. Bing bong!
*
Language question
May. 9th, 2026 09:49 amchina_shopI was telling my sister how the Chinese for "New Zealander" is:
新 = Chinese for "new"
西兰 = transliteration of "Zealand"
人 = Chinese for "person"
She pointed out the same is true in French:
Nouvelle = French for "new"
Zéland = transliteration
-aise = suffix for "person from"
In Korean, the "New" part of "New Zealander" is included in the transliteration, and the "er" becomes "인" (person from): 뉴질랜드인
This is all especially entertaining since our "Zealand" is an anglicisation of "Zeeland", which itself, according to wikipedia, 'consists of a number of islands and peninsulas (hence its name, meaning "Sealand")'. Transliterations of transliterations of transliterations!
Anyway, now I'm curious about "New Zealander" in other languages. If you speak another language, how much of the term is translated and how much transliterated?
新 = Chinese for "new"
西兰 = transliteration of "Zealand"
人 = Chinese for "person"
She pointed out the same is true in French:
Nouvelle = French for "new"
Zéland = transliteration
-aise = suffix for "person from"
In Korean, the "New" part of "New Zealander" is included in the transliteration, and the "er" becomes "인" (person from): 뉴질랜드인
This is all especially entertaining since our "Zealand" is an anglicisation of "Zeeland", which itself, according to wikipedia, 'consists of a number of islands and peninsulas (hence its name, meaning "Sealand")'. Transliterations of transliterations of transliterations!
Anyway, now I'm curious about "New Zealander" in other languages. If you speak another language, how much of the term is translated and how much transliterated?
Meme
May. 9th, 2026 09:04 amchina_shopVia maevedarcy. I changed it a little to suit myself, so maybe take the code from over there. Answers are not deeply considered, and are open to review.
The Characters: Superlatives
Rules: Choose one piece of media (book, tv show, movie, video game, whatever), then answer the questions.
I choose... Guardian
The questions:
Most likely to be unemployed: Sang Zan (if the SID didn't exist) or Da Qing
Most likely to do drugs at work: Wang Zheng
Most likely to get caught breaking the law: I'd say Lin Jing, except that he didn't get caught sneaking around for ages; Changcheng wouldn't break the law (except under orders); Zhao Yunlan, Chu Shuzhi, Da Qing, Wang Zheng and Sang Zan wouldn't get caught; Shen Wei kind of is the law. By process of elimination, that leaves Zhu Hong, but I'm not super convinced.
Most likely to do crime and escape unscathed: Da Qing, especially if the crime involved food, or Chu Shuzhi
Most likely to commit arson: Ye Huo (cheaty answer); Zhu Hong with the power of her fierce glare
Most likely to get scammed: Guo Changcheng
Most likely to lose their cool in an emergency: Guo Changcheng
Most likely to have a threesome: three-way tie between Lin Jing, Wang Zheng, and pre-Shen Wei Zhao Yunlan (but not with each other)
Most likely to sleep with their ex: Wang Zheng
Most likely to forget someone's name during sex: pre-Shen Wei Zhao Yunlan
Most likely to lie to their friends about something they did: three-way tie between Zhao Yunlan, Lin Jing, Shen Wei
Most likely to have a one-night stand: It's easier to list those who wouldn't: Shen Wei, Guo Changcheng, Da Qing
Most likely to get caught having sex in public: Zhao Yunlan
Most likely to marry someone they just met: contemporary Zhao Yunlan, YOHE Shen Wei
Most likely to fake their own death: Zhao Yunlan
Most likely to forget the name of a person they hooked up with: pre-Shen Wei Zhao Yunlan
Most likely to make a sex tape: Lin Jing (for science!)
Most likely to join the Mile-High Club: Zhao Yunlan or Lin Jing
Most likely to bring up astrology to explain literally everything: Wang Zheng
Most likely to have a crush on three people at the same time: Lin Jing
Most likely to win at trivia: Lin Jing
Most likely to know zero memes: Shen Wei
Most likely to start a band just for the aesthetic: Zhu Hong
Most likely to flirt their way out of trouble: Zhao Yunlan
Most likely to end up in a news headline: any and all of them
Most likely to open a PowerPoint presentation about why they deserve the last slice of pizza: Lin Jing (I was going to say Da Qing, but he would consider the ppt beneath him, and just take the pizza as his right.)
maevedarcy. I changed it a little to suit myself, so maybe take the code from over there. Answers are not deeply considered, and are open to review.The Characters: Superlatives
Rules: Choose one piece of media (book, tv show, movie, video game, whatever), then answer the questions.
I choose... Guardian
The questions:
Most likely to be unemployed: Sang Zan (if the SID didn't exist) or Da Qing
Most likely to do drugs at work: Wang Zheng
Most likely to get caught breaking the law: I'd say Lin Jing, except that he didn't get caught sneaking around for ages; Changcheng wouldn't break the law (except under orders); Zhao Yunlan, Chu Shuzhi, Da Qing, Wang Zheng and Sang Zan wouldn't get caught; Shen Wei kind of is the law. By process of elimination, that leaves Zhu Hong, but I'm not super convinced.
Most likely to do crime and escape unscathed: Da Qing, especially if the crime involved food, or Chu Shuzhi
Most likely to commit arson: Ye Huo (cheaty answer); Zhu Hong with the power of her fierce glare
Most likely to get scammed: Guo Changcheng
Most likely to lose their cool in an emergency: Guo Changcheng
Most likely to have a threesome: three-way tie between Lin Jing, Wang Zheng, and pre-Shen Wei Zhao Yunlan (but not with each other)
Most likely to sleep with their ex: Wang Zheng
Most likely to forget someone's name during sex: pre-Shen Wei Zhao Yunlan
Most likely to lie to their friends about something they did: three-way tie between Zhao Yunlan, Lin Jing, Shen Wei
Most likely to have a one-night stand: It's easier to list those who wouldn't: Shen Wei, Guo Changcheng, Da Qing
Most likely to get caught having sex in public: Zhao Yunlan
Most likely to marry someone they just met: contemporary Zhao Yunlan, YOHE Shen Wei
Most likely to fake their own death: Zhao Yunlan
Most likely to forget the name of a person they hooked up with: pre-Shen Wei Zhao Yunlan
Most likely to make a sex tape: Lin Jing (for science!)
Most likely to join the Mile-High Club: Zhao Yunlan or Lin Jing
Most likely to bring up astrology to explain literally everything: Wang Zheng
Most likely to have a crush on three people at the same time: Lin Jing
Most likely to win at trivia: Lin Jing
Most likely to know zero memes: Shen Wei
Most likely to start a band just for the aesthetic: Zhu Hong
Most likely to flirt their way out of trouble: Zhao Yunlan
Most likely to end up in a news headline: any and all of them
Most likely to open a PowerPoint presentation about why they deserve the last slice of pizza: Lin Jing (I was going to say Da Qing, but he would consider the ppt beneath him, and just take the pizza as his right.)
quick trigger deflected wide
May. 7th, 2026 08:20 pmmusesfoolWednesday reading on a Thursday:
what I've just finished
Saint Death's Daughter and Saint Death's Herald by CSE Cooney, which I enjoyed. The first book is A Lot in terms of both worldbuilding and plot, but it's a fun ride and Lanie Stones is a fantastic character - a necromancer who has an allergy to violence. Her growth as a necromancer is really well done, especially when set against the various members of her family she tells you about over the course of the books. The second book is a lot more straightforward in terms of plot, which I found less enthralling, but the character work and worldbuilding remain fascinating. I couldn't find any info about whether there's going to be a third book, but I would read it if there were!
what I'm reading now
The Last Contract of Isako, the new book by Fonda Lee. I'm only 20 pages in so I can't say much about it one way or another yet, but Isako is a middle-aged lady contractor (possibly also an assassin?) in a far future world. I imagine this is going to be a "one last job" kind of thing? I don't remember the blurb, but I found Lee's Green Bone trilogy* excellent so I have high hopes for this.
*Second world East Asian-style mob story where the made men have what basically amount to Force powers. Very violent and most of the characters are morally gray at best, but I enjoyed it a lot.
what I'm reading next
Dungeon Crawler Carl book 8: Parade of Horribles. Tuesday! I AM EXCITE!
*
what I've just finished
Saint Death's Daughter and Saint Death's Herald by CSE Cooney, which I enjoyed. The first book is A Lot in terms of both worldbuilding and plot, but it's a fun ride and Lanie Stones is a fantastic character - a necromancer who has an allergy to violence. Her growth as a necromancer is really well done, especially when set against the various members of her family she tells you about over the course of the books. The second book is a lot more straightforward in terms of plot, which I found less enthralling, but the character work and worldbuilding remain fascinating. I couldn't find any info about whether there's going to be a third book, but I would read it if there were!
what I'm reading now
The Last Contract of Isako, the new book by Fonda Lee. I'm only 20 pages in so I can't say much about it one way or another yet, but Isako is a middle-aged lady contractor (possibly also an assassin?) in a far future world. I imagine this is going to be a "one last job" kind of thing? I don't remember the blurb, but I found Lee's Green Bone trilogy* excellent so I have high hopes for this.
*Second world East Asian-style mob story where the made men have what basically amount to Force powers. Very violent and most of the characters are morally gray at best, but I enjoyed it a lot.
what I'm reading next
Dungeon Crawler Carl book 8: Parade of Horribles. Tuesday! I AM EXCITE!
*
Building 903, by Lois Lowry (DNF)
May. 7th, 2026 12:17 pmrachelmanijaAn advance copy of a new book by Lois Lowry, author of The Giver and other classics. It is unfortunately basically the bad version of The Giver. In fact what it mostly reminded me of was telophase's YA dystopia generator, which produces gems like Tweak: Sickness has been banned and the government controls shopping and Whimper: Cats have been banned and the government controls dancing the hustle. In the case of Building 903, books have been banned and the government controls popsicles. Yes, really.
In a future America ruled by a 200 year old dictator, books (ALL books), fiction, art, music, storytelling, playgrounds, live pets (robot pets are OK), free elections, religion, tattoos, matches and other fire-making tools, congregating in groups, iconoclastic clothing, travel, and eating meat or fish are banned. Old people, marriage, and popsicles are controlled by the government. Yes, really.
She leaned over, pushed the button that dispensed a frozen snack, and made a face when she saw it was green; she liked the orange ones better. But she peeled the covering from the green one and licked at it. I bet anything, Tessa thought, I could get Dad to invent a selector button so they wouldn't come out at random; I could choose orange. Or red: the red ones aren't bad. Then, though, the green ones would pile up, and it would be wasteful, I suppose, because no one would ever eat them.
To be fair, I'm just assuming the frozen snacks are popsicles. For all I know she's licking a piece of frozen broccoli.
Tessa's father and twin brother are supergeniuses. Tessa and her mother are just average. I did not care for this. Anyway, Tessa's brother vanishes and the book goes on and on and ON with nothing much happening. I skipped to the end.
( Read more... )
telophase's YA dystopia generator, which produces gems like Tweak: Sickness has been banned and the government controls shopping and Whimper: Cats have been banned and the government controls dancing the hustle. In the case of Building 903, books have been banned and the government controls popsicles. Yes, really.In a future America ruled by a 200 year old dictator, books (ALL books), fiction, art, music, storytelling, playgrounds, live pets (robot pets are OK), free elections, religion, tattoos, matches and other fire-making tools, congregating in groups, iconoclastic clothing, travel, and eating meat or fish are banned. Old people, marriage, and popsicles are controlled by the government. Yes, really.
She leaned over, pushed the button that dispensed a frozen snack, and made a face when she saw it was green; she liked the orange ones better. But she peeled the covering from the green one and licked at it. I bet anything, Tessa thought, I could get Dad to invent a selector button so they wouldn't come out at random; I could choose orange. Or red: the red ones aren't bad. Then, though, the green ones would pile up, and it would be wasteful, I suppose, because no one would ever eat them.
To be fair, I'm just assuming the frozen snacks are popsicles. For all I know she's licking a piece of frozen broccoli.
Tessa's father and twin brother are supergeniuses. Tessa and her mother are just average. I did not care for this. Anyway, Tessa's brother vanishes and the book goes on and on and ON with nothing much happening. I skipped to the end.
( Read more... )
Experiments in Baking
May. 6th, 2026 07:50 pmsettiaiI made chicken and dumplings in the slow cooker today, because it was a bleak rainy day so it seemed appropriate. The recipe itself is very basic (chicken, cream of chicken soup, an onion, butter, chicken broth, and some spices), and I cheat and use canned biscuits for the dumplings because I'm lazy.
The issue was that I had a few biscuits left over, because I needed about 10oz but Aldi only has them in 16oz packages. So I decided to experiment and attempt to make something sweet for dessert with the leftover biscuit dough, and I think it turned out pretty well.
I cut the biscuits into quarters, brushed them with some oil, popped them in the air fryer for eight minutes, dipped them in melted butter, dropped them in a bag with some cinnamon sugar, and shook it up. Then for the dip I just mixed together some powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla.
They turned out surprisingly tasty for something that I threw together in a few minutes.
The issue was that I had a few biscuits left over, because I needed about 10oz but Aldi only has them in 16oz packages. So I decided to experiment and attempt to make something sweet for dessert with the leftover biscuit dough, and I think it turned out pretty well.
I cut the biscuits into quarters, brushed them with some oil, popped them in the air fryer for eight minutes, dipped them in melted butter, dropped them in a bag with some cinnamon sugar, and shook it up. Then for the dip I just mixed together some powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla.
They turned out surprisingly tasty for something that I threw together in a few minutes.
(no subject)
May. 6th, 2026 12:42 pmaurumcalendulaI so hope Jeannelle M. Ferreira's A Remarkable Rake will be published one day! It and Rose Lerner's The Girl in the Cellar are the historical romances I'm most looking forward to reading!
Me-and-media update
May. 6th, 2026 03:43 pmchina_shopPrevious poll review
In the Search engine recs poll, 49% of respondents use Google, 46.9% use DuckDuckGo, and 10.2% use StartPage. There were two write-ins for Kagi, a paid search engine that apparently works like it's 2004.
In ticky-boxes, apocalypse fatigue came second to the inevitable winner, hugs, 42.9% to 69.4%. Clumsy parrots came third with 42.9%. Hugs to you all, and thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
Andrew and I finished Bujold's The Vor Game, and I've downloaded Cetaganda but we haven't started it yet. I've also grabbed the new Murderbot, which might save me from my swamp of easy-listening podcasts.
Still dipping into Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell. Really need to pick up a novel and devour it with my eyeballs sometime, but I accidentally filled my spare moments with something else (see Language Learning below).
Kdramas
Finished Phantom Lawyer, which was enjoyable enough. I wasn't invested in the romance, but the general vibe was good-hearted and cosy.
The Red Sleeve is heavy on the palace politics, so I don't know how long I'm going to last. Ot1h, Junho; otoh, a hundred scheming ministers and princesses. Maybe I should rewatch The King Loves instead?
Absolute Value of Romance is on a collision course with my DNWs, so I have my fingers crossed that it isn't going where everyone seems to thinks it is.
Other TV
We finished Dark Winds season 4 last night. It is a great show with very charismatic leads.
Still watching Rooster, Fringe, Bluey, Deadloch season 2 (no spoilers, please!) and People of Earth. Also original flavour Scrubs, though the comedy is wearing thin on the workplace bullying and constant misgendering, hmm. (Does the reboot keep those elements?)
Not sure what we're replacing Dark Winds with -- probably the latest season of The Lincoln Lawyer.
Audio entertainment
Like, just way too many episodes of Bill and Frank's Guilt-free Pleasures. /o\ Writing Excuses and half an ep of Cross Party Lines, which is diminished by the loss of one of its hosts to offline politics.
Online life
I'm really enjoying![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
polyamships' prompts for 3weeks4dreamwidth and, similarly, maevedarcy's memes. Continuing to struggle with keeping up with my reading page, but that's probably the new normal.
The Slo-Mo Rewatch onsid_guardian has quietened down a little, but it still absorbs about a quarter of my fannish/writing time, and I love it.
Writing/making things
I'm being incredibly slow to make beta edits to my 520 Day fic. Where do the hours go? Never mind, I'm working reasonably steadily, and that's more important to me than output rates.
Life/health/mental state things
Sleep is improving, but my shoulder's been sore for a week... since I downloaded certain apps. Hm.
I have a number of political submissions on my to-do list, each of which require me to think coherent thoughts.
For those following the saga of my car, we called NZAA on Monday 4 May, took it for a long drive (and finished The Vor Game while we were at it), and it's now snuggled against the bank at the bottom of my path, with the trickle charger theoretically doing its thing. I've only driven it once for non-battery-recharging reasons since the oil crisis started, and that outing was at least partly motivated by keeping the battery charged. I'll see how the Warrant of Fitness goes on Monday.
House
The reputtying is complete, and the builders have decamped with the scaffolding, hooray! The next big job will either be [paint upstairs, replace the 1960s gas oven with electric, and refloor the kitchen] or [replace the toilet with a non-cracked, less water-hungry model, and refloor the bathroom]. Neither of these is super urgent, and both require research, decisions, and expenditure, blah, so I'll catch my breath first.
In the meantime, Andrew is filling some gaps in the kitchen wall, and I've ordered an IKEA shelving unit for the built-in wardrobe in my spare room. Which means soon there'll be less random clutter around the living-room, woohoo! In theory, it won't all go into the cupboard; I'm hoping to dispose of some of it while tidying away the rest.
Language Learning
I've spent the last eight years in a Chinese drama fandom, going, "Sunk cost, sunk cost, Korean is my One True Asian Language Love ♥ ♥ ♥" and "I wouldn't have the first clue how to even start with Mandarin" and "argh, tones! argh, characters!" Now, thanks tostarandrea's inspiring/encouraging post about starting their Chinese-learning journey, I have nine-day streaks for both Duolingo and Hello Chinese.
I prefer Hello Chinese: it has a good mix of speaking/listening/reading/writing, a variety of practice options, and occasional audio lessons about usage. I like its focus on teaching grammar-adjacent words like "to be", "this", "possessives", etc, rather than Duolingo's noun clusters (though of course you need both). But I've finished the free portion and am now wrestling with whether I'm actually doing thisand whether tracing characters on my screen is what's messing up my shoulder. Also, I had a moment of extreme outrage about stroke orders yesterday, lol.
Idk. I'm not sure how much of this I can cram into my aphantasic little head. *dithers with finger hovering over the "one month" (ie, lowest commitment, least cost-effective) option*
Good things
The re-puttying is complete! My sister's coming over tonight. My lemon tree is singing a song of a hundred lemons. My 520 Day fic is nearly done. Guardian, fandom, Dreamwidth.
In the Search engine recs poll, 49% of respondents use Google, 46.9% use DuckDuckGo, and 10.2% use StartPage. There were two write-ins for Kagi, a paid search engine that apparently works like it's 2004.
In ticky-boxes, apocalypse fatigue came second to the inevitable winner, hugs, 42.9% to 69.4%. Clumsy parrots came third with 42.9%. Hugs to you all, and thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
Andrew and I finished Bujold's The Vor Game, and I've downloaded Cetaganda but we haven't started it yet. I've also grabbed the new Murderbot, which might save me from my swamp of easy-listening podcasts.
Still dipping into Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell. Really need to pick up a novel and devour it with my eyeballs sometime, but I accidentally filled my spare moments with something else (see Language Learning below).
Kdramas
Finished Phantom Lawyer, which was enjoyable enough. I wasn't invested in the romance, but the general vibe was good-hearted and cosy.
The Red Sleeve is heavy on the palace politics, so I don't know how long I'm going to last. Ot1h, Junho; otoh, a hundred scheming ministers and princesses. Maybe I should rewatch The King Loves instead?
Absolute Value of Romance is on a collision course with my DNWs, so I have my fingers crossed that it isn't going where everyone seems to thinks it is.
Other TV
We finished Dark Winds season 4 last night. It is a great show with very charismatic leads.
Still watching Rooster, Fringe, Bluey, Deadloch season 2 (no spoilers, please!) and People of Earth. Also original flavour Scrubs, though the comedy is wearing thin on the workplace bullying and constant misgendering, hmm. (Does the reboot keep those elements?)
Not sure what we're replacing Dark Winds with -- probably the latest season of The Lincoln Lawyer.
Audio entertainment
Like, just way too many episodes of Bill and Frank's Guilt-free Pleasures. /o\ Writing Excuses and half an ep of Cross Party Lines, which is diminished by the loss of one of its hosts to offline politics.
Online life
I'm really enjoying
polyamships' prompts for 3weeks4dreamwidth and, similarly, maevedarcy's memes. Continuing to struggle with keeping up with my reading page, but that's probably the new normal.The Slo-Mo Rewatch on
sid_guardian has quietened down a little, but it still absorbs about a quarter of my fannish/writing time, and I love it.Writing/making things
I'm being incredibly slow to make beta edits to my 520 Day fic. Where do the hours go? Never mind, I'm working reasonably steadily, and that's more important to me than output rates.
Life/health/mental state things
Sleep is improving, but my shoulder's been sore for a week... since I downloaded certain apps. Hm.
I have a number of political submissions on my to-do list, each of which require me to think coherent thoughts.
For those following the saga of my car, we called NZAA on Monday 4 May, took it for a long drive (and finished The Vor Game while we were at it), and it's now snuggled against the bank at the bottom of my path, with the trickle charger theoretically doing its thing. I've only driven it once for non-battery-recharging reasons since the oil crisis started, and that outing was at least partly motivated by keeping the battery charged. I'll see how the Warrant of Fitness goes on Monday.
House
The reputtying is complete, and the builders have decamped with the scaffolding, hooray! The next big job will either be [paint upstairs, replace the 1960s gas oven with electric, and refloor the kitchen] or [replace the toilet with a non-cracked, less water-hungry model, and refloor the bathroom]. Neither of these is super urgent, and both require research, decisions, and expenditure, blah, so I'll catch my breath first.
In the meantime, Andrew is filling some gaps in the kitchen wall, and I've ordered an IKEA shelving unit for the built-in wardrobe in my spare room. Which means soon there'll be less random clutter around the living-room, woohoo! In theory, it won't all go into the cupboard; I'm hoping to dispose of some of it while tidying away the rest.
Language Learning
I've spent the last eight years in a Chinese drama fandom, going, "Sunk cost, sunk cost, Korean is my One True Asian Language Love ♥ ♥ ♥" and "I wouldn't have the first clue how to even start with Mandarin" and "argh, tones! argh, characters!" Now, thanks to
starandrea's inspiring/encouraging post about starting their Chinese-learning journey, I have nine-day streaks for both Duolingo and Hello Chinese.I prefer Hello Chinese: it has a good mix of speaking/listening/reading/writing, a variety of practice options, and occasional audio lessons about usage. I like its focus on teaching grammar-adjacent words like "to be", "this", "possessives", etc, rather than Duolingo's noun clusters (though of course you need both). But I've finished the free portion and am now wrestling with whether I'm actually doing this
Idk. I'm not sure how much of this I can cram into my aphantasic little head. *dithers with finger hovering over the "one month" (ie, lowest commitment, least cost-effective) option*
Good things
The re-puttying is complete! My sister's coming over tonight. My lemon tree is singing a song of a hundred lemons. My 520 Day fic is nearly done. Guardian, fandom, Dreamwidth.
Poll #34569 Sailing the seas
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 37
For ship fic, I prefer to:
View Answers
get straight to the romantic smooshing
6 (16.2%)
untangle a thicket of character issues first...
25 (67.6%)
... and/or during...
25 (67.6%)
... and/or after
19 (51.4%)
I don't care for ship fic
4 (10.8%)
other
5 (13.5%)
ticky-box full of giant bumble bees playing trombones
15 (40.5%)
ticky-box full of bananas, nuts, crackers, and fruitcake
14 (37.8%)
ticky-box full of language-learning apps
11 (29.7%)
ticky-box full of baking
22 (59.5%)
ticky-box full of hugs
27 (73.0%)
Kindle ebook cover question
May. 5th, 2026 11:27 pmaurumcalendulaAny idea how to get non-sideloaded ebook thumbnails to show up on Kindle Fire?
Some of the ones for books I bought on Amazon are suddenly showing blank placeholder images on collection previews (the larger thumbnails that appear when I open a collection folder seem fine). The thumbnails for my sideloaded fanfic show up fine so far.
ETA: the same thumbnails on my phone's kindle app look fine
Some of the ones for books I bought on Amazon are suddenly showing blank placeholder images on collection previews (the larger thumbnails that appear when I open a collection folder seem fine). The thumbnails for my sideloaded fanfic show up fine so far.
ETA: the same thumbnails on my phone's kindle app look fine
The Met Gala...and sigh rail strike worries...
May. 5th, 2026 07:38 pmshadowkatI forgot about the Met Gala which happened on Monday night. I was admittedly distracted by personal health issues among other things. I'm watching it on youtube - "The Met Gala with Vogue". The theme is "Fashion is Art" or "Costume is Art" - with a focus on disabled bodies. Explicit and radical invitation for disabled, and accessibility in art and fashion. It's a fund-raiser for the Met's Costume Exhibition. The Met Museum is actually by donation, or pay what you will - when you visit. But the Gala? Requires an invitation to attend and costs $100,000 to attend, and up to over a million to dress for it. The cameras are only allowed in the entry up to the doors, inside there aren't any cameras. So the participants often have a change of clothes, and once they get inside - they have something more comfortable to wear. Also they get dressed a block away.
This is by far my favorite look for the women.
( favorite )
This is one of the hosts of the Gala, who is also a fashion designer, and fits the disabled or accessibility theme [Note: she used the word disabled, I'm quoting her.]:
( disabled or accessible outfits )
Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman came - but neither wore anything remotely interesting. Nor did Ben Stiller. Adrian Brody looked good but wasn't all that interesting.
A lot of folks had gowns with...hands on their body parts, which is odd. This was the best of those:
( Read more... )
This is among the oddest...
( Read more... )
Heidi Klum went for a Living Sculpture
And here they are next to their Costume Inspiration
Best Dressed Male Customes Ranked
All the Best, Weirdest, and worst celeb looks
***
Still worried about the pending railroad strike which if it happens would be akin to dropping a neutron bomb on the Long Island economy.
ABC News on the Unions and the MTA and pending strike
Strike still looms as MTA and LIRR unions meet
They got a few things wrong in the article? There was no work rule discussed about the locomotive engineers in the PEB Report or Federal Mediation Board Report, and in reality the unions are asking for a 4-4.5% increase in the fourth year (this year) not a 5%. They've been without since 2023.
This could get political and could cost the Democrat's the Governor seat, if they don't resolve it. Ironically, the Republicans appear to be supporting the union and the Democrats don't appear to be (on the State level at least). Goes to show you, that both sides have their hypocrites.
Rail Strike could devastate Long Island Economy
Potential Rail Strike will Impact over 200,000 commuters
This is by far my favorite look for the women.
( favorite )
This is one of the hosts of the Gala, who is also a fashion designer, and fits the disabled or accessibility theme [Note: she used the word disabled, I'm quoting her.]:
( disabled or accessible outfits )
Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman came - but neither wore anything remotely interesting. Nor did Ben Stiller. Adrian Brody looked good but wasn't all that interesting.
A lot of folks had gowns with...hands on their body parts, which is odd. This was the best of those:
( Read more... )
This is among the oddest...
( Read more... )
Heidi Klum went for a Living Sculpture
And here they are next to their Costume Inspiration
Best Dressed Male Customes Ranked
All the Best, Weirdest, and worst celeb looks
***
Still worried about the pending railroad strike which if it happens would be akin to dropping a neutron bomb on the Long Island economy.
ABC News on the Unions and the MTA and pending strike
Strike still looms as MTA and LIRR unions meet
They got a few things wrong in the article? There was no work rule discussed about the locomotive engineers in the PEB Report or Federal Mediation Board Report, and in reality the unions are asking for a 4-4.5% increase in the fourth year (this year) not a 5%. They've been without since 2023.
This could get political and could cost the Democrat's the Governor seat, if they don't resolve it. Ironically, the Republicans appear to be supporting the union and the Democrats don't appear to be (on the State level at least). Goes to show you, that both sides have their hypocrites.
Rail Strike could devastate Long Island Economy
Potential Rail Strike will Impact over 200,000 commuters
Book meme
May. 6th, 2026 12:03 pmchina_shop#mybooks meme via maevedarcy, adapted by me to suit myself.
This week I'm reading: The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Grover Gardner; Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell; and a bunch of Kdrama subtitles... ;-p
My favorite book of all time is: What kind of question is this? Completely impossible! I can't even name a favourite author.
My current favorite book (read or re-read in the last 3 months) is:
Since February, I've read a bunch of new-to-me Bujold in audio, narrated by Grover Gardner (from the Vorkosigan and Penric series), some Courtney Milan in ebook (Wedgeford series), The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman (hardback from the library), The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley in audio, narrated by Sid Sagar, Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell in ebook, Good old-fashioned Korean spirit by Kim Hyun Sook (paperback from the library), and half of Siren Queen by Nigh Vo in audio, narrated by Natalie Naudus.
Of those, my favourite was The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman, mostly because I chose it fairly randomly, and it was delightful, enjoyable, thoughtful, and unexpected. (I love random library finds!) Runner up goes to The Hymn to Dionysus (thanks toprofiterole_reads for the rec).
If we went back another six or eight weeks, it would be Swordcrossed by Freya Marske (secondary-world high-society m/m, with guilds).
The last book I bought was: The Earl Who Isn't by Courtney Milan, in ebook.
The first book I bought with my own money was: LOL, no idea. At all.
The first book I received as a gift was: We're talking 50+ years ago. I do remember having an older (20-something?) penpal who would send me books when I was in my early-teens. In particular, she sent me I Am David and The Hobbit.
The last book I received as a gift was: Siren Queen by Nghi Vo, in audio.
The last book I borrowed from the library was: Hine Toa: a story of bravery by Ngāhuia Te Awekōtuku. I only read the prologue before I had to return it. /o\
The book physically closest to me right now is: assuming ebooks don't count, it's Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals from Around the World, edited by Robyn Ochs and Sarah E. Rowley, which is at this end of the bookshelf behind me, in the queer section natch.
This or that:
Physical book, e-book, or audio: ebook or audio, depending on the book, the narrator, and my mood.
Used, new, or fell off the back of the internet: Any.
Fiction or non-fiction: Mostly fiction, but I go through NF phases.
Read at a coffee shop or at the park: In ebook, mostly on the couch at home or while I'm stretching after exercise; in audio, while I'm doing dishes, stretching after exercise, walking, folding dumplings, etc.
Paperback or hardcover: physical books can be pretty hard on my hands/wrists/arms/neck, so if I'm reading in hard copy, anything that will lie flat on its own.
Romance or Crime: Romance.
Yes or no:
Literary fiction? Sure.
Sci-fi/fantasy? Yes, please.
Poetry? Not as much as I used to, but sure.
Memoirs? I'm not opposed to them, but rarely pick them out.
Philosophy? Yep. Also, science and pop psych.
Thrillers? Only if there's another aspect to draw me in.
Chronicles? I don't know what this is.
Travel logs? No.
Dialogue heavy? Sure.
Also, I thought I'd add a note on what makes me try a book:
I have a google doc of recs from offline friends and my reading page; I'm definitely influenced by recs. There are some authors and audiobook narrators that will lure me in. I am predisposed towards SF/F and romance, often in combination. I enjoy narrations with a sense of humour and queer rep, and I will generally try Korean books in translation, if I encounter them. As mentioned above, I love browsing the library, semi-randomly choosing a book, and discovering something unexpected and great. But I don't do it very often, because hard copy...
maevedarcy, adapted by me to suit myself.This week I'm reading: The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Grover Gardner; Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell; and a bunch of Kdrama subtitles... ;-p
My favorite book of all time is: What kind of question is this? Completely impossible! I can't even name a favourite author.
My current favorite book (read or re-read in the last 3 months) is:
Since February, I've read a bunch of new-to-me Bujold in audio, narrated by Grover Gardner (from the Vorkosigan and Penric series), some Courtney Milan in ebook (Wedgeford series), The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman (hardback from the library), The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley in audio, narrated by Sid Sagar, Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell in ebook, Good old-fashioned Korean spirit by Kim Hyun Sook (paperback from the library), and half of Siren Queen by Nigh Vo in audio, narrated by Natalie Naudus.
Of those, my favourite was The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman, mostly because I chose it fairly randomly, and it was delightful, enjoyable, thoughtful, and unexpected. (I love random library finds!) Runner up goes to The Hymn to Dionysus (thanks to
profiterole_reads for the rec).If we went back another six or eight weeks, it would be Swordcrossed by Freya Marske (secondary-world high-society m/m, with guilds).
The last book I bought was: The Earl Who Isn't by Courtney Milan, in ebook.
The first book I bought with my own money was: LOL, no idea. At all.
The first book I received as a gift was: We're talking 50+ years ago. I do remember having an older (20-something?) penpal who would send me books when I was in my early-teens. In particular, she sent me I Am David and The Hobbit.
The last book I received as a gift was: Siren Queen by Nghi Vo, in audio.
The last book I borrowed from the library was: Hine Toa: a story of bravery by Ngāhuia Te Awekōtuku. I only read the prologue before I had to return it. /o\
The book physically closest to me right now is: assuming ebooks don't count, it's Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals from Around the World, edited by Robyn Ochs and Sarah E. Rowley, which is at this end of the bookshelf behind me, in the queer section natch.
This or that:
Physical book, e-book, or audio: ebook or audio, depending on the book, the narrator, and my mood.
Used, new, or fell off the back of the internet: Any.
Fiction or non-fiction: Mostly fiction, but I go through NF phases.
Read at a coffee shop or at the park: In ebook, mostly on the couch at home or while I'm stretching after exercise; in audio, while I'm doing dishes, stretching after exercise, walking, folding dumplings, etc.
Paperback or hardcover: physical books can be pretty hard on my hands/wrists/arms/neck, so if I'm reading in hard copy, anything that will lie flat on its own.
Romance or Crime: Romance.
Yes or no:
Literary fiction? Sure.
Sci-fi/fantasy? Yes, please.
Poetry? Not as much as I used to, but sure.
Memoirs? I'm not opposed to them, but rarely pick them out.
Philosophy? Yep. Also, science and pop psych.
Thrillers? Only if there's another aspect to draw me in.
Chronicles? I don't know what this is.
Travel logs? No.
Dialogue heavy? Sure.
Also, I thought I'd add a note on what makes me try a book:
I have a google doc of recs from offline friends and my reading page; I'm definitely influenced by recs. There are some authors and audiobook narrators that will lure me in. I am predisposed towards SF/F and romance, often in combination. I enjoy narrations with a sense of humour and queer rep, and I will generally try Korean books in translation, if I encounter them. As mentioned above, I love browsing the library, semi-randomly choosing a book, and discovering something unexpected and great. But I don't do it very often, because hard copy...
this notebook is like if you poured the contents of my brain into a bucket and then stirred
May. 5th, 2026 11:26 amrunpunkrunI was flipping through an old notebook looking for notes on the Pinto fic I'm revising, and found, on the front of a page with Pinto notes on the back, the following:
Had a dream I was stuck in a burning elevator with Zachary Quinto and I had to save us all by myself because he had just come out of therapy and was useless.
hashtag relatable
but jesus zachary help a girl out
those mob guys who blew up the elevator
probably weren't after me
I'm guessing that last part was due to reading too many Pinto fics where Zach's in the mob.
Then there's some css. This notebook is truly an adventure.
Had a dream I was stuck in a burning elevator with Zachary Quinto and I had to save us all by myself because he had just come out of therapy and was useless.
hashtag relatable
but jesus zachary help a girl out
those mob guys who blew up the elevator
probably weren't after me
I'm guessing that last part was due to reading too many Pinto fics where Zach's in the mob.
Then there's some css. This notebook is truly an adventure.