Page generated Jul. 21st, 2025 14:15
selenak: (Borgias by Andrivete)
[personal profile] selenak
The third volume in Jo Graham's series about Giulia Farnese is compelling Renaissance romp, full of fascinating personalities, political intrigue and emotional crisis. (You can read my review of the first Giulia novel here, and of the second here.) Incidentally, it's eerie how these novels fit with contemporary events. The last one which dealt with the papal elections, and one key point it makes was no, it does matter which candidate succeeds, sneering that one is like the other gets you into the abyss fast, and now this one features the French Invasion of Italy. (No need to name the many wars and invasions currently happening.) It coincides with the first big personal crisis between our heroine and her beloved, Rodrigo Borgia aka Pope Alexander VI., which Graham uses to expertly tie the personal and political story together.

Mild spoilers ensue )

A good grade

Jul. 20th, 2025 16:16
azurelunatic: A glittery black pin badge with a blue holographic star in the middle. (blue star)
[personal profile] azurelunatic
One of the LED bulbs in the bathroom vanity developed a distracting (which is code for sensory nope) flicker. Since the porch fixture takes the same bulb, I proposed that the ailing bulb become a public nuisance rather than a private one.


One of my oncologists (I believe I have dubbed her Dr. Bitsblobs, the oncology gynecologist) is retiring soon. So she has been bidding her patients farewell. Apparently I am a "gold star" patient in terms of trying my best to comply with medical advice, and for self-advocacy. A good grade in cancer, something that is normal to want and possible to achieve.
bethbethbeth: An excerpt from a Marc Chagall painting (Art Chagall Winter (bbb))
[personal profile] bethbethbeth
On May 8th, I offered to read the first five books people recced - assuming they were available (preferably from the library) - and I'd give a short review [https://bethbethbeth.dreamwidth.org/701769.html].

This is the eighth recced book review.

The Book of Koli (2020), by M.R. Carey (recced by china_shop on dreamwidth)

I'm certain I can't count the number of post-apocalyptic dystopian novels I've read in my life, but apparently there are still new & engaging ways of approaching that genre.

Here's what I'll tell you: the protagonist is a young guy, growing up in an isolated village, and...no, you know what? I'm not going to share any of the specifics. I'm glad I wasn't spoiled at all before starting to read, and I think I'm going to share the spoiler-free experience with you.

Somehow, I'd never heard of this book or its author, so I didn't know there were sequels. I literally just finished book 1 a half hour ago, but I'm already looking forward to book 2.

Note: If you want trigger warnings, feel free to message me with questions.

Foundation: 3.02

Jul. 19th, 2025 18:02
selenak: (Default)
[personal profile] selenak
I had an extremely busy week for rl reasons, but am now up to date with the most visually gorgeous sci fi show currently on tv. (The possible competitions being on hiatus. Or cancelled, grr, argh.)

Spoilers want more time )

Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch

Jul. 18th, 2025 13:34
lightreads: a partial image of a etymology tree for the Indo-European word 'leuk done in white neon on black'; in the lower left is (Default)
[personal profile] lightreads
Stone and Sky

4/5. New Rivers of London book. Rated for nostalgic fondness as much as for the book itself. This one takes Peter – and most of the main cast, including the kids – to a community on the North Sea to either vacation or solve a weird magical mystery, depending on whom you ask.

He is now giving Abigail POV chapters, which I will allow because I like Abigail, and also because this is a vast improvement over the American FBI agent (who he is still trying to make a thing, please stop). Anyway, it’s a pleasant mystery written to formula, complete with local cop that Peter befriends. There’s a lot of formula here, actually – Abigail builds a relationship that has a frankly astonishing amount of Peter/Bev DNA. Anyway, it’s a good time, and it is gesturing towards opening up another arc, which I am in favor of. I think he is intending to draw in some of the international elements he keeps so pointedly raising, but in what direction, I’m not sure yet.

Not in Israel

Jul. 18th, 2025 12:55
liv: In English: My fandom is text obsessed / In Hebrew: These are the words (words)
[personal profile] liv
It's been a full and emotional couple of months, friends. The main thing to report is that I was supposed to be in Israel as of a week ago, but Israel bombed Iran and Iran retaliated and the go/no-go date for my summer programme was right in the middle of the 11 days when Israel was in full lockdown due to lots of missile attacks, so they really had to cancel it. I have a whoooooole lot of emotions and thoughts about this, and I also have an unexpected summer month with almost no commitments.

rab student life in interesting times )

I will fully admit that I'm glad I didn't end up getting on a flight two days later. Intellectually it goes without saying that I would far rather Israel was in fact safe enough for me to be there, and that it had been consistently obvious it would be over the past couple of months. But personally, I am absolutely delighted to be at home. And have a chance to see my family and do fun summer things like go to concerts and have picnic dates and sort out practical things that I've let slip with the intensity of everything since Mum got sick. I even managed to overlap in London with [personal profile] redbird and her partners this week, which was an unexpected and wonderful bonus. Among many chill, non-urgent summer plans I am hoping to be a bit more present here.

thursday reads and things

Jul. 17th, 2025 19:02
isis: (squid etching)
[personal profile] isis
I really did intend to post yesterday, but I didn't get to it. Well, it's Thursday!

What I recently finished reading:

The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison, the third book in the Cemeteries of Amalo sub-series of The Goblin Emperor books. I had gone into it with mixed feelings; not that I strongly cared about
spoilerthe Thara Celehar/Iäna Pel-Thenhior ship, but I had heard that the way it was sunk was awkward and issueficcy and felt like "I was going to write this relationship in but it felt pointless after all the fanfiction", and - yeah, it was
but I enjoyed it, overall. I liked the low-ish stakes plot, and the DRAGONS, and the fairly mild author's message of what makes a person a person, and the importance of basic rights and the rule of law, which, let's face it, is a relevant message these days.

Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky, stand-alone SF. Again, a lot of people whose reviews I follow didn't like it, but I did; Tchaikovsky is hit and miss for me, but this was a hit. A biologist who is also a political dissident on an extremely authoritarian Earth is exiled as prison labor on a planet with native life that is very weird and apparently hostile. This is basically another exploration of Tchaikovsky's Theme, which is at core, I think, "How can we see the Other as a Person? How do we overcome the instinct to be closed and tribal, and instead practice empathy, leading to discussion and exchange?" There are echos of the Children of Time series, in particular Children of Ruin (the second book), I think. There is also the strong contrast between a culture which gives lip service to the importance of individuality, but demands conformity, and a culture which emphasizes the communal and the good of the community. And of course, the importance of resistance, of holding to one's core beliefs even in the face of a terrible horrible authoritarian government.

I mostly enjoyed the style except for a few references which seemed a little too grounded in 21st century reality for this future in which humans are mining multiple far-flung planets. The structure and pacing worked well for me. Warning for a terrible horrible authoritarian government that doesn't give a shit about human lives other than their own, and body horror, and an ending which may strike some people as not entirely happy, but which satisfied me. [personal profile] sovay, it's very different from Elder Race but if these themes appeal I think you'll like it.

"Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy" by Martha Wells, a Murderbot short story, in which Murderbot doesn't explicitly appear, but ART | Perihelion has recently met it for the first time. It's from Iris's point of view, on a mission with the rest of the crew, and really the mission is just a framing device McGuffin for "Peri has changed because it met someone?!?", and I agree with [personal profile] runpunkrun's take that there are way too many words devoted to them walking around on this mission which turns out to be not really relevant, compared to the actual point of the story. Still, it's nice to have a bit about Murderbot from not Murderbot's POV.

What I'm reading now:

Just started on the seventh and last Shardlake book by CJ Sansom, Tombland.

What I recently finished watching:

Murderbot! I enjoyed it! I (mostly) appreciate, or at least understand, the changes they made in adaptation. (Not sure why it's not enough for Pin-Lee to be Space Lawyer, but also must be Badass Fighter? And the Arada/Pin-Lee/Ratthi thing didn't seem to have any reason for being and just felt a bit cringe.) I really loved the ending, and Gurathin's whole general arc, and SANCTUARY MOOOOON, and Mensah is chef's kiss perfect.

Speaking of Sanctuary Moon, Murderbot vidded it! Okay, it was really [archiveofourown.org profile] pollyrepeat, but: RADIOACTIVE by Murderbot [vid]!!!

What I'm watching now:

Arcane, because B watched the first episode during the winter, riding the stationary bike, and decided I might like to watch it with him, so moved on to something else so we could watch it together. Not very far into it yet.

What I recently listened to:

The third episode of S3 of The Strange Case of Starship Iris, which, I really liked this one!
septiemestar: (Default)
[personal profile] septiemestar
Literally everything about this experience was immensely aggravating except the performance itself -- felt ill all day (but cleared up in time for show), had dinner at Bibibop (mediocre as always) because I wasn't sure I could stomach anything else at the time, tried to show up close to showtime so I wouldn't have to wait in line but once again wildly overestimated how long eating would take so I ended up at the back of an enormous line, and then at the other end of the night it took me way longer to get home than it should have because the bus I was waiting for just decided not to show up. Also I decided to stay toward the back of the crowd for cooler air/easier bathroom access/avoidance of moshing/better sightlines from further away. The first three ended up not being an issue and the last worked really well for the opener and then betrayed me during the main set, to the point that I only got a handful of glimpses of lead singer Daniela the entire night. Aaaarghaslkdfjhzlskjdhflaksdjhf.

*Deep breaths*

Ok but in happier news, the music was good! The opener was a band called Speed of Light. When I listened to a brief sample a glanced at an album cover yesterday, I thought, "Oh, nice, the all-girl rock band has brought another all-girl rock band out on tour with them." Not so! Two members of Speed of Light are dudes, it turns out. But that's ok, because the reality is even funnier: The all-sibling rock trio brought another all-sibling rock trio out with them. Perfect, no notes.

The music was pretty decent. There was a lot of guttural screaming, which is not really my thing, so I'm not sure this is a band I'll be interested in long-term, but the non-screaming parts and the instrumentals were solid and solidly performed. So I'll try to at least give them a listen and see how it goes. My one note on outfits for the night will be that the bassist looked like he desperately wanted to be 00s Julian Casablancas but with fluffier hair. *pats him*

The Warning, as expected, were amazing. Well the songs sounded amazing, anyway. I can barely comment on the performance due to my godawful sightline, as mentioned above -- I kept hoping crowd drift would improve the situation, as it often does, but not this time. But what little I did see was well in line with what I've seen in youtube videos of their live performances, so I'm going to give them credit for it anyway :D

Setlist: If they didn't play every track on Keep Me Fed, they certainly came close, and they were heavily front-loaded to boot. Despite this -- and they did add in several tracks of older stuff as the set went on -- the whole set was only 1h15, including the encore. This was mostly because they didn't talk much between songs; more on that below. I got to hear "Choke," "Qué Más Quieres," and "Burnout," my three favorite songs, which is the advantage of having favorites that were all singles from the most recent two albums. The encore was "Narcisista" and... "Automatic Sun," I want to say? Personally I'd have closed the set with QMQ, since it's so high-energy, but they lumped that in with the rest of the new stuff instead.

Did I have to check the accent marks on QMQ three times just now? Yes, yes I did.

My one quibble is that they don't really take advantage of the live setting to play around with any of the songs. Everything just got played straight through, nearly or exactly identical to the studio versions. And I mean, sometimes you just want to shout along to your favorite song without having to guess how the artist is going to trip you up, and that's valid! But also, live music exists as a separate entity from recordings for a reason -- I want to see a band get creative. Fingers crossed that as this very young band grows and gains experience, they will become comfortable enough to start playing around more on stage.

They also don't really talk to the audience much, aside from some requisite breaks for "How are we all doing tonight?!" and "Make some noise!"-type shoutouts. But I mostly give them a pass there too because it's not a failure to engage with the audience at all (unlike some bands I could name). They're capital-P Performing, they're looking right at us and encouraging us to clap, they're clearly excited to be there. They're doing a lot of things right. I do still wish they spoke a little more, though, just as a personal preference regarding what I like to see in a performance. (It's not a language issue, they talked enough that it's clear they all speak perfect English.)

Overall, excellent show. I danced, I sang, I will absolutely go see them again at the next opportunity. Although if there's any justice in the world, this will be the last time I'm ever able to see them in a venue this small!
[syndicated profile] otw_news_feed

Posted by Lute

AO3 Tag Wranglers continue to test processes for wrangling canonical additional tags (tags that appear in the auto-complete) which don’t belong to any particular fandom (also known as “No Fandom” tags). This post will provide an overview of some of these upcoming changes.

Previous Tag Wrangling updates can generally be found on the @ao3org Tumblr and, for No Fandom tags, AO3 News. While No Fandom tag updates are generally announced on AO3 News as well as the @ao3org Tumblr, this may not be true of all wrangling updates. Some updates may remain solely distributed via Tumblr, especially those that only affect one or two fandoms. The way we distribute updates is subject to change as we work through new processes.

During this round of updates, we began a method which streamlines creation of new canonical tags, prioritizing more straightforward updates which would have less discussion compared to renaming current canonical tags or creating new canonical tags which touch on more complex topics. This method also reviews new tags on a regular basis, so check back on AO3 News for periodic “No Fandom” tag announcements.

None of these updates change the tags users have added to works. If a user-created tag is considered to have the same meaning as a new canonical, it will be made a synonym of one of these newly created canonical tags, and works with that user-created tag will appear when the canonical tag is selected.

In short, these changes only affect which tags appear in AO3’s auto-complete and filters. You can and should continue to tag your works however you prefer.

New Canonicals

The following concepts have been made new canonical tags:

In Conclusion

While all these new tags have already been made canonical, we are still working on implementing changes and connecting relevant tags, so it’ll be some time before these updates are complete. We thank you in advance for your patience!

While we won’t be announcing every change we make to No Fandom canonical tags, you can expect similar updates in the future on the tags we believe will most affect users. If you’re interested in the changes we’ll be making, you can check AO3 News, follow us on Bluesky @wranglers.archiveofourown.org, Twitter/X @ao3_wranglers, or Tumblr @ao3org for future announcements.

You can also read previous updates on “No Fandom” tags, linked below:

For more information about AO3’s tag system, check out our Tags FAQ.

In addition to providing technical help, Support also handles requests related to how tags are sorted and connected.​ If you have questions about specific tags, which were first used over a month ago and are unrelated to any of the new canonical tags listed above, please contact Support instead of leaving a comment on this post.

Lastly, as mentioned above, we are still working on connecting relevant user-created tags to these new canonicals. If you have questions about specific tags which should be connected to these new canonicals, please refrain from contacting Support about them until at least two months from now.

Foundation 3.01

Jul. 13th, 2025 11:26
selenak: (Demerzel and Terminus)
[personal profile] selenak
In which we make another time jump, the Foundation is now in its monarchical phase, while Empire seems to approach its version of the Third Century Crisis. Also: Demerzel is still my favourite.

Spoilers are explaining the Three Laws of Robotics and the Zeroth Law )

Home

Jul. 12th, 2025 21:41
lexin: (Default)
[personal profile] lexin
I just took my hearing aids out because I’m trying to watch TV and the social club across the road from my home has just started to play host to live music. With my aids in, the TV and the music were an absolute jumble.

Oh, cat

Jul. 11th, 2025 22:37
azurelunatic: Vivid pink Alaskan wild rose. (Default)
[personal profile] azurelunatic
Caught Yellface with her WHOLE HEAD inside the Fritos bag.

Sidetracks - July 11, 2025

Jul. 11th, 2025 18:51
helloladies: Gray icon with a horseshoe open side facing down with pink text underneath that says Sidetracks (sidetracks)
[personal profile] helloladies posting in [community profile] ladybusiness
Sidetracks is a collaborative project featuring various essays, videos, reviews, or other Internet content that we want to share with each other. All past and current links for the Sidetracks project can be found in our Sidetracks tag. You can also support Sidetracks and our other work on Patreon.
Read more... )

wednesday update

Jul. 9th, 2025 19:00
isis: (coffee label)
[personal profile] isis
I don't have much to say about books or TV, because I am still in the middle of my current read and current show. But! For those of you who casually enjoyed the podcast The Strange Case of Starship Iris, the third (and final) season is coming out now. There are a couple of "mini-sodes" which will help you catch up to what's going on, and two regular episodes, and the third will be out soon (it's out to high-dollar Patreons but I am a low-dollar contributor). I listened to the mini-sodes when they came out, and today on my run I listened to the first two regular episodes. Again, I kind of feel like I'm using dystopian fiction about authoritarian regimes as escapism from actual authoritarian regimes...

But the real reason I wanted to post was to say that I'm a bit more than 55% through Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, and there's a 30% discount for it in the Steam sale which ends tomorrow, so - if my post last week intrigued you, I encourage you to buy it, it's inexpensive, it's captivating, it's sophisticated and spooky and atmospheric with occasional touches of humor, fourth-wall smashing, and weird supernatural stuff, and the puzzles are clever and thinky and (mostly) fun. As I mentioned, I told my brother about it and he bought it - and he finished it last night! He admits he got so into it that he put in way too many hours too quickly, but he really loved it.

If you do buy it, the hints page at https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3249636035 is really great as it is nudge-y rather than sledge-y; it points you in the right direction (or tells you what a wrong direction is) which for me is mostly all I have needed.

Also, there are in-game espresso machines.
[syndicated profile] otw_news_feed

Posted by an

Are you interested in social media, community management or outreach? Or would you like to assist AO3 users by resolving complaints? Do you want to create videos and connect with fellow fans on TikTok? The Organization for Transformative Works is recruiting!

We’re excited to announce the opening of applications for:

  • Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteer – closing 16 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC or after 40 applications
  • Policy & Abuse Volunteer – closing 16 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC
  • Communications TikTok Moderator – closing 16 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC or after 60 applications

We have included more information on each role below. Open roles and applications will always be available at the volunteering page. If you don’t see a role that fits with your skills and interests now, keep an eye on the listings. We plan to put up new applications every few weeks, and we will also publicize new roles as they become available.

All applications generate a confirmation page and an auto-reply to your e-mail address. We encourage you to read the confirmation page and to whitelist our email address in your e-mail client. If you do not receive the auto-reply within 24 hours, please check your spam filters and then contact us.

If you have questions regarding volunteering for the OTW, check out our Volunteering FAQ.

Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteer

Do you have an interest in fandom history, or in fannish culture and the different tropes, ships, communities and viewpoints that make up fandom? Are you interested in social media, community management or outreach? The Fanlore committee is recruiting for Social Media & Outreach volunteers!

Fanlore Social Media & Outreach volunteers are responsible for writing and editing Fanlore’s promotional posts on social media, planning and running Fanlore’s editing challenges, maintaining Fanlore’s social media channels, and thinking of ways to reach out to and engage with new corners of fandom.

No extensive experience required—only reliability, teamwork, good communication skills, and an interest in fandom and Fanlore in particular. Join us!

As part of our application process, candidates who pass the initial review will also be asked to create a sample social media post for Fanlore consisting of a 280-character tweet and a 100-word Tumblr post promoting a Fanlore article. Further directions will be given upon applying.

Applications are due 16 July 2025 or after 40 applications

Apply for Fanlore Social Media & Outreach Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

Policy & Abuse Volunteer

The Policy & Abuse committee (PAC) is responsible for addressing questions and concerns about potential violations of the AO3 Terms of Service. We determine whether reports are about legitimate violations of the Terms of Service, and what to do about them if they are. PAC volunteers correspond directly with AO3 users and collaborate on projects both within PAC and with other OTW committees.

Our main goals as a committee are:

  • to adhere to the AO3 Terms of Service
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  • to handle all user reports consistently, no matter which volunteer is doing the work
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We are seeking people who can:

  • Commit to working on cases regularly
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You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. While English proficiency is required, we welcome applicants who are fluent in other languages, especially Spanish (Español), Brazilian Portuguese (Português brasileiro), Russian (Русский), Chinese (中文), or Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia).

Applications are due 16 July 2025

Apply for Policy & Abuse Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

Communications TikTok Moderator

Do you use TikTok? Do you like making videos? Do you want to connect with your fellow fans?

OTW TikTok Moderators create content for the OTW TikTok account, including drafting scripts, recording and editing videos, and reviewing other moderators’ scripts and videos. Moderators address user comments on videos by responding to user questions, removing comments that violate our policies, and flagging comments for video topics. Moderators also try to regularly engage with fandom on TikTok by interacting with relevant, appropriate videos and liking, reposting, and/or commenting.

You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. We are looking for volunteers familiar with TikTok and passionate about outreach on the platform. They should be able to maintain a consistent level of work, collaborate inside the team and with other committees, ask for help when needed, and commit to making fair decisions about how to handle comments.

Applications are due 16 July 2025 or after 60 applications

Apply for Communications TikTok Moderator at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.


July has already been busy

Jul. 8th, 2025 14:58
azurelunatic: Vivid pink Alaskan wild rose. (Default)
[personal profile] azurelunatic
Susan visited!

Thorn didn't get carjacked by a Bigfoot.
rydra_wong: Lee Miller photo showing two women wearing metal fire masks in England during WWII. (Default)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
Especially while it's at 75% off in the sale, making it 62p:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/406150/Refunct/

For anyone who might want to sample some easy platforming with a very very low entry threshold.

Chill and rather lovely environment (okay, probably depends on you liking brutalist architecture, but still -- there's a day-night cycle! there's sunshine! the water is gorgeous! the music is gentle!) with no time pressure and no penalties for failing a jump hundreds of times (except that, at worst, you fall in the water and have to swim about and haul yourself out again).

N.B. Most reviews describe this as a half-hour game, and there are achievements for speedrunning it in under 8 minutes or under 4 minutes.

It took me over five hours of playtime to beat it, which should be indicative of the co-ordination and skill levels I'm working with here. And yet it did not at any point feel stressful or humiliating for me. It felt like a pleasant, relaxing environment in which to fail repeatedly and experiment.

It started at a level low enough that I could manage it, and then had a really satisfying difficulty curve. If I was stalling on the next objective, I could still run and parkour round the environment purely for fun (and sometimes ended up working out how to pick off the optional achievements in the process).

Towards the very end, I started to think that the last jumps might just flat-out exceed the limits of what I am currently capable of, and it felt like if that did happen, I would still be able to walk away pretty happily having already got way more than 62p's worth of enjoyment out of it.

Will absolutely be playing it again.
selenak: (Damages by Agsmith01)
[personal profile] selenak
Very entertaining satiric novel set in and about the publishing industry. Our first person narrator, June (white), is a writer with a debut novel which didn't make a splash and won't even, so her agent tells her, get a paperback edition, in stark contrast to her college friend Athena Liu's (American Chinese) work: Athena has three novels already published, just secured a Netflix deal and celebrates that and finishing the first draft of her newest work with June when she dies an accidental death by pancake. June doesn't just dial 911. She also makes off with Athena's manuscript, about which only she knows, edits, rewrites and publishes it. Presto, success, at last! ! But wait! There's no lack of sharp-eyed foes waiting, social media is truly a jungle, and June might be her own worst enemy....
Very vague spoilers ensue )

The novel has the right kind of length for this story - which is to say, less than 400 pages - so the various buildings up of suspense - will June get away with it being the big, but not the only one - are not drawn out too long, and there's not a gigantic cast of characters. Said characters reminded me of comedy of manners types - very stylized, often types for certain ways of behaviour - fittng the satire format. The only other thing of R. F. Kuang's I'd read before was Poppy War, a fantasy novel of a very different type, so I'm impressed by her range. Otoh, if Poppy War was so grim that I emerged emotionally exhausted and sure I would go through the experience again (while being glad I had done so in the first place), Yellowface felt like a slick writty automaton which you observe once and marvel at its cleverness but don't feel the need to do it again. But I will certainly continue to keep out an eye for this author.

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