At a different residence tonight
Apr. 14th, 2026 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conulyOne of the staff has the same name as one of the residents, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure that out.
conulyComments Please! -And Pinch Hitter Prompts
Apr. 15th, 2026 01:03 pmmodzilla posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fffxCongratulations again on the works we have unleashed upon the world!
Creator names will be revealed at the collection at 5pm EDT on Saturday 18 April, two weeks after work reveals. That will bring FFFX Round 6 to a close.
If you have not yet commented on your gift or gifts, please do your best to comment soon. You can find your gifts by searching on your username (including pseud, if you signed up with a pseud) at the top of the works page.
We also have prompts from two pinch hitters! Treats for pinch hitters can be added to the collection at any time.
Creator names will be revealed at the collection at 5pm EDT on Saturday 18 April, two weeks after work reveals. That will bring FFFX Round 6 to a close.
If you have not yet commented on your gift or gifts, please do your best to comment soon. You can find your gifts by searching on your username (including pseud, if you signed up with a pseud) at the top of the works page.
We also have prompts from two pinch hitters! Treats for pinch hitters can be added to the collection at any time.
Criminal Minds: Fanfiction: Joke's on You
Apr. 14th, 2026 08:15 pminfinitum_noctem posting in fan_flashworksTitle: Joke's on You
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Characters: Emily Prentiss
Rating: G
Length: 58 words
Summary: 3 sentence fic. Emily's dream job may be just a dream.
( Read more... )
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Characters: Emily Prentiss
Rating: G
Length: 58 words
Summary: 3 sentence fic. Emily's dream job may be just a dream.
( Read more... )
Book review: The Black Fantastic
Apr. 14th, 2026 04:18 pmrocky41_7 posting in booknookTitle: The Black Fantastic
Anthologist: Andre M. Carrington
Genre: Short story anthology, science-fiction, futurism
Anthologist: Andre M. Carrington
Genre: Short story anthology, science-fiction, futurism
I don’t know how I keep timing these so that I finish my audiobook and my paper book one right after the other. This weekend I also wrapped up The Black Fantastic, an anthology compiled by Andre M. Carrington. Thank you to pauraque for bringing this one to my attention! This is a collection of “Afrofuturist” stories by Black authors. If you want more detail, Pauraque has done individual reviews of each story which you can read here; I won’t get that specific.
With the usual caveat that all anthologies vary in quality, I enjoyed this one. There were a lot of very different stories, from some really fantastical stuff to ones that are just a little bit to the left of the world as it stands. On the high end of things, pieces like A Guide to the Native Fruits of Hawai’i by Alayna Dawn Johnson, where the protagonist grapples with her decision to collaborate with a group of vampire invaders to prey on the locals (and the metaphor of vampirism for the way Hawaii is treated by wealthy Americans is not lost in the shuffle); or The Orb by Tara Campbell, which was both strange and unexplained, choosing to focus not on the “why” or “how” of the situation but again on the moral quandary of its main character.
On the lower end, ones like The Ones Who Stay and Fight by NK Jemisin, which felt…narratively unclear, to say the least. It is either a satire of the kind of utopia writers create where its status as utopia is essentially dependent on eliminating any disagreement or contact with the outside world…or it’s a whole-hearted endorsement of that view. And if I can’t tell which, I tend to think the author’s failed at their purpose; or Ruler of the Rear Guard by Maurice Broaddus, which seemed to end just as it was getting to the plot.
Overall, I had fun with this anthology. SFF short story collections, done well, are such a scintillating showcase of creativity and I felt that here.
Recent Reading: The Black Fantastic
Apr. 14th, 2026 04:18 pmrocky41_7 posting in booksI don’t know how I keep timing these so that I finish my audiobook and my paper book one right after the other. This weekend I also wrapped up The Black Fantastic, an anthology compiled by Andre M. Carrington. Thank you to pauraque for bringing this one to my attention! This is a collection of “Afrofuturist” stories by Black authors. If you want more detail, Pauraque has done individual reviews of each story which you can read here; I won’t get that specific.
With the usual caveat that all anthologies vary in quality, I enjoyed this one. There were a lot of very different stories, from some really fantastical stuff to ones that are just a little bit to the left of the world as it stands. On the high end of things, pieces like A Guide to the Native Fruits of Hawai’i by Alayna Dawn Johnson, where the protagonist grapples with her decision to collaborate with a group of vampire invaders to prey on the locals (and the metaphor of vampirism for the way Hawaii is treated by wealthy Americans is not lost in the shuffle); or The Orb by Tara Campbell, which was both strange and unexplained, choosing to focus not on the “why” or “how” of the situation but again on the moral quandary of its main character.
On the lower end, ones like The Ones Who Stay and Fight by NK Jemisin, which felt…narratively unclear, to say the least. It is either a satire of the kind of utopia writers create where its status as utopia is essentially dependent on eliminating any disagreement or contact with the outside world…or it’s a whole-hearted endorsement of that view. And if I can’t tell which, I tend to think the author’s failed at their purpose; or Ruler of the Rear Guard by Maurice Broaddus, which seemed to end just as it was getting to the plot.
Overall, I had fun with this anthology. SFF short story collections, done well, are such a scintillating showcase of creativity and I felt that here.
Affordable Housing
Apr. 14th, 2026 04:48 pmysabetwordsmithYou Have More Land Than You Think
Clever design creates more housing on small sites.
You might assume that squeezing small units onto small lots might end up feeling claustrophobic, but a few simple design principles can actually lead to housing that is welcoming, comforting, and feels spacious. Best of all, a smaller house is more affordable, and land costs are spread amongst more units, creating greater affordability without subsidy.
( Read more... )
Clever design creates more housing on small sites.
You might assume that squeezing small units onto small lots might end up feeling claustrophobic, but a few simple design principles can actually lead to housing that is welcoming, comforting, and feels spacious. Best of all, a smaller house is more affordable, and land costs are spread amongst more units, creating greater affordability without subsidy.
( Read more... )
[food] Meera Sodha's udon noodles with red cabbage and cauliflower... and some protein
Apr. 14th, 2026 10:46 pmkaberettThis has become a bit of a staple of our rotation for when the veg box is made of brassica, and also brassica, and finally some brassica (I do frequently actively opt in to this, to be clear, but also... brassica). However! As you might have noticed, I have just developed a special interest in picking things up and putting things down again, and this in turn means I am going hmm about eating more protein.
When previously mentioning this recipe I have noted that As Usual my household thinks it wants about twice as much veg as written for the quantity of noodle. To this the protein variation essentially adds: some tofu that you've tossed with soy sauce and five-spice or other flavouring of your choice and then baked; and some edamame beans.
Base recipe can be found at Ocado or the Graun, and a fuller write-up will appear under a cut at Some Point in the Hopefully Near future (if only so the instructions are in the order that I want them to be in!).
Fossils
Apr. 14th, 2026 03:28 pmysabetwordsmithMammal ancestors laid eggs, and this 250-million-year-old fossil finally proves it
A 250-million-year-old fossil egg just revealed how an ancient survivor beat Earth’s deadliest extinction.
In the aftermath of Earth’s most catastrophic extinction event, one unlikely survivor rose to dominate a shattered world: Lystrosaurus. Now, a stunning fossil discovery—an ancient egg containing a curled-up embryo—has finally answered a decades-old mystery about whether mammal ancestors laid eggs. Using advanced imaging technology, scientists confirmed that these resilient creatures did reproduce this way, likely producing large, soft-shelled eggs packed with nutrients.
In terms of world domination, Lystrosaurus was arguably the most successful lifeform on Earth.
A 250-million-year-old fossil egg just revealed how an ancient survivor beat Earth’s deadliest extinction.
In the aftermath of Earth’s most catastrophic extinction event, one unlikely survivor rose to dominate a shattered world: Lystrosaurus. Now, a stunning fossil discovery—an ancient egg containing a curled-up embryo—has finally answered a decades-old mystery about whether mammal ancestors laid eggs. Using advanced imaging technology, scientists confirmed that these resilient creatures did reproduce this way, likely producing large, soft-shelled eggs packed with nutrients.
In terms of world domination, Lystrosaurus was arguably the most successful lifeform on Earth.
Spring Drabble 14/30: MCU/Thor, Bifröst
Apr. 14th, 2026 08:52 pmkat_lair***
Title: Bifröst
Author:kat_lair
Fandom: MCU/Thor
Pairing: Loki/Thor
Tags: Drabble, Bickering, Dare
Rating: T
Word count: 100
Summary: He knows what Loki is doing. It still works.
Author notes: Spring defiance from under the crushing forces of capitalism = a drabble a day in April. This one forapiphile who wanted this pairing and 'antagonistic eroticism'. This definitely leans toward the former more than the latter but just imagine that they hate fuck after almost getting torn to atoms in an Einstein–Rosen bridge.
Bifröst on AO3
( Bifröst )
***
Title: Bifröst
Author:
kat_lair Fandom: MCU/Thor
Pairing: Loki/Thor
Tags: Drabble, Bickering, Dare
Rating: T
Word count: 100
Summary: He knows what Loki is doing. It still works.
Author notes: Spring defiance from under the crushing forces of capitalism = a drabble a day in April. This one for
apiphile who wanted this pairing and 'antagonistic eroticism'. This definitely leans toward the former more than the latter but just imagine that they hate fuck after almost getting torn to atoms in an Einstein–Rosen bridge.Bifröst on AO3
( Bifröst )
***
There's no knowledge but I knows it
Apr. 14th, 2026 08:09 pmoursinHave just out of the blue had an email from a meedja person about what a cause of death on early C20th certificate MEANS, a colleague of theirs contacted me - what must have been in days of yore - and I was really helpful. I think that may have been a case in which Sid was involved, this was not, but we do our best in posing as a Nexpert.
I was able to flash a bit more relevant knowledge in the question portion of online seminar this pm (even though I dozed off, did not sleep well last night, during part of the actual seminar).
Have got off my desk and conscience something that has been hanging over me, to wit, second review of article I did a previous review of some weeks ago. Was somewhat prejudiced about it (it is actually not at all bad doing what it does) because it rather glances over the amount of work that went into getting the archive used into usable condition (personal interest there noted) and role of archivists in between the creators of the records and the end-users.
Think I mentioned some while ago possibility that longtime academic friend and self may be editing for publication Important Work on Significant and Highly Relevant Subject of friend of ours who died very unexpectedly last year. We have now received the draft manuscript and it seems more of a manuscript (rather than notes and materials) than we had feared.
Still have review that has been hanging over me and keeping getting put off to do.
Have podcast to record later this week.
Also must begin to turn my thoughts to being instructive yet entertaining on the history of ye baudruche (and finding illos, fortunately I already have quite a few).
chittering all its unpronounceable names
Apr. 14th, 2026 02:58 pmmusesfoolToday's poem:
A Dictionary Names the Wind in the Trees
by Susan Cohen
Psithurism because
what else would we call sound embedded
with leaf mold and breath
zithering just below the daily drone
of power saws and chippers,
eons of air shifting
like an old Chevy through leaves,
riffling papery corn fields
and the eucalyptus,
stuttering through windbreaks,
jittering an aspen
in a beam of breath,
lisping nothing pins me down
in the language of the Huron,
in Olmec, in Sanskrit, chittering
all its unpronounceable names,
its tunes with the shiver of pine needles
and the moves of a river?
Psithurism comes as close
to the clash of wind and trees
as orgasm comes to the friction
of muscles, nerves, bodies,
which is to say when so many words
cannot catch it,
those of us always searching
for just the right one may
as well stop speaking
and lift our heads
like mule deer, ears twitched
for the smallest sound.
*
A Dictionary Names the Wind in the Trees
by Susan Cohen
Psithurism because
what else would we call sound embedded
with leaf mold and breath
zithering just below the daily drone
of power saws and chippers,
eons of air shifting
like an old Chevy through leaves,
riffling papery corn fields
and the eucalyptus,
stuttering through windbreaks,
jittering an aspen
in a beam of breath,
lisping nothing pins me down
in the language of the Huron,
in Olmec, in Sanskrit, chittering
all its unpronounceable names,
its tunes with the shiver of pine needles
and the moves of a river?
Psithurism comes as close
to the clash of wind and trees
as orgasm comes to the friction
of muscles, nerves, bodies,
which is to say when so many words
cannot catch it,
those of us always searching
for just the right one may
as well stop speaking
and lift our heads
like mule deer, ears twitched
for the smallest sound.
*
more random cat pictures (from, like, last year)
Apr. 14th, 2026 12:40 pmkellan_the_tabby
[Loiosh, an orange tabby, is almost sitting on my worktable — his butt is a couple inches up. He’s looking up and to the left, ears, whiskers and all his attention focused that way.]
I’m just trying to actually deal with all the pictures I haven’t done anything with over the last, you know, year & some.
There’s a lot of em.
Sometimes when Marisol is being a buttinski & driving her Mumma spare, she gets a free all-expenses-paid trip to the house for the afternoon. Where she causes different problems (usually including eating my plants), but at least gives her Mumma a break.
[Marisol, a tiny longhaired calico, is sprawled at her ease on top of a bunch of stuff on the high shelf in my room. She’s gazing off to the left, majestically. Her whiskers are white, and extraordinarily long, and she’s got a patch of black fur covering most of her chin.]
She is, also, the most adorable. I forgive her everything but the plants. (The plants go on a high shelf, is what.)
[She’s in basically the same spot, but she’s facing the camera now, one eye closed, the other just barely open.]
Me & CJ & Loiosh managed to go to ANOTHER SCA event after Battlemoor, not that we’ve made it to anything since then, on account of everything is NINETY THREE THOUSAND MILES AWAY, but anyway it was fun & Loiosh got the best seat to watch the fighting.
[Loiosh is wearing his bow tie, because he’s fancy. He’s also curled on up a pair of feet, which are wearing a nice pair of medieval-style white leather boots. His leash is almost the same green as the tunic the person is wearing.]
Loiosh continues to enjoy living far enough from anything that he can go outside in reasonable safety, as long as he has a suitable escort.
… he’s not always entirely thrilled about the escort part.
[Loiosh is flopped on a big hunk of cardboard that’s resting on a layer of straw. The legs of a sturdily-built table surround him. He’s glaring at the camera.]
He also, as always, enjoys a nip toy — especially a Falcon’s Mew nip toy.
[He’s meatloafed on the floor of my room, a bright yellow catnip toy held between his forepaws. His head hovers just above it.]
& lastly, Major Tom, who really, REALLY likes the coat with the busted zipper. Which is obviously more comfortable to lay on after he’s dragged it out from under the chair so it covers the hatch that leads to the ladder.
[Major Tom is a big grey tabby. The coat is black fleece. The hatch is cheapass OSB plywood.]
Perhaps next week I’ll have a more coherent post!
originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!
Write Every Day April 2026 - Day 14
Apr. 14th, 2026 11:09 amcarenejeansQuote of the Day:
"Take time to be bored. One time I heard a coworker say, 'When I get busy, I get stupid.' Ain’t that the truth. Creative people need time to just sit around and do nothing. I get some of my best ideas when I’m bored, which is why I never take my shirts to the cleaners. I love ironing my shirts—it’s so boring, I almost always get good ideas. If you’re out of ideas, wash the dishes. Take a really long walk. Stare at a spot on the wall for as long as you can. As the artist Maira Kalman says, 'Avoiding work is the way to focus my mind.'"
Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative (Workman Publishing, 2012)
My Check-In:
Some work on the Neverending Project...*thud*.
Tally
( Days 1-12 )
Day 13:annavere, badly_knitted, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, dswdiane, goddess47, luzula, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilme
Day 14:china_shop,
Let me know if I missed you, or if you wrote but didn't check in yet. And remember, you can join in at any time!
"Take time to be bored. One time I heard a coworker say, 'When I get busy, I get stupid.' Ain’t that the truth. Creative people need time to just sit around and do nothing. I get some of my best ideas when I’m bored, which is why I never take my shirts to the cleaners. I love ironing my shirts—it’s so boring, I almost always get good ideas. If you’re out of ideas, wash the dishes. Take a really long walk. Stare at a spot on the wall for as long as you can. As the artist Maira Kalman says, 'Avoiding work is the way to focus my mind.'"
Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative (Workman Publishing, 2012)
My Check-In:
Some work on the Neverending Project...*thud*.
Tally
( Days 1-12 )
Day 13:
annavere, badly_knitted, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, dswdiane, goddess47, luzula, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, trobadora, ysilmeDay 14:
china_shop, Let me know if I missed you, or if you wrote but didn't check in yet. And remember, you can join in at any time!
When Life is Too Surreal
Apr. 14th, 2026 06:07 pmdavidgillonI walked into the lounge at my mother's care home this afternoon to find two alpacas holding court.
Now I knew they were going to be there as an 'enrichment activity', I was in fact there to be sure my mother got to see them if she wanted to, there was even a van outside the door advertising them (plus glamping and various other farming related money spinning projects). But I just wasn't ready for the sheer ludicrousness of alpacas in the lounge.
It turns out alpacas in the flesh look like someone crossed a deer with an Old English Sheepdog and turned the floof dial up to 11. At which point my reality sensor threw a divide by cucumber error.
(The alpacas couldn't have cared less about the lounge, the residents, or the various toddlers and older kids that had been brought in by staff members - school holidays this week - the only thing they were interested in was the dish of alpaca feed being held under their noses)
Somewhat important news
Apr. 14th, 2026 06:04 pmregshoePride & Prejudice* (*sort of) is going on tour again from September! It's very good, and you should go and see it if you can. :)
Birdfeeding
Apr. 14th, 2026 11:54 amysabetwordsmithToday is cloudy, breezy, and mild.
I fed the birds. I haven't seen any yet.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- We went to Whiteside Garden again. This time I picked up a clump of wildflowers fused together: a couple of tiny ferns, and even tinier columbine, and some yellow violet.
We stopped to chat with a friend. His yard has several red-headed woodpeckers. I heard them drumming and spotted one as it flew away. These used to be the dominant woodpecker around here, but have been largely replaced by downies and are now rarer to see.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the new wildflowers. One yellow violet had come loose, so I put that with my others. The rest of the cluster went into the mossy part of the savanna which already has a woodland feel.
And now I'm hearing thunder, on what was supposed to be my main planting day. *sigh*
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the sedum from yesterday and watered the newly planted things.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the holly from yesterday at the east edge of the Midwinter grove.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered and mulched the holly.
It's 83°F outside now, too hot to do as much yardwork as I hoped. At least I got the Whiteside things planted.
I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered the pansies and violas. The hot wind is just stripping the moisture out of everything. :(
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden.
I saw a brown thrasher foraging in the house yard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I raked a section of orchard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I sowed some grass seed in the orchard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
.
I fed the birds. I haven't seen any yet.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- We went to Whiteside Garden again. This time I picked up a clump of wildflowers fused together: a couple of tiny ferns, and even tinier columbine, and some yellow violet.
We stopped to chat with a friend. His yard has several red-headed woodpeckers. I heard them drumming and spotted one as it flew away. These used to be the dominant woodpecker around here, but have been largely replaced by downies and are now rarer to see.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the new wildflowers. One yellow violet had come loose, so I put that with my others. The rest of the cluster went into the mossy part of the savanna which already has a woodland feel.
And now I'm hearing thunder, on what was supposed to be my main planting day. *sigh*
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the sedum from yesterday and watered the newly planted things.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the holly from yesterday at the east edge of the Midwinter grove.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered and mulched the holly.
It's 83°F outside now, too hot to do as much yardwork as I hoped. At least I got the Whiteside things planted.
I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered the pansies and violas. The hot wind is just stripping the moisture out of everything. :(
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden.
I saw a brown thrasher foraging in the house yard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I raked a section of orchard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I sowed some grass seed in the orchard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
.
General thanks
Apr. 14th, 2026 10:58 amdialecticdreamerTo everyone who has read and commented on my stories in the last week or so, THANK YOU a million times.
So, there it is.
I've fallen so far behind in expressing that individually after comments that I am offering blanket thanks and asking for a mea culpa. Prioritizing comments which create conversation means that I must delete the comments unanswered which have made me SO incredibly happy of late. I just don't have the typing resources right now, and I'll be the first to say that I'm disappointed that this is the best solution I've come up with.
So, there it is.
I've fallen so far behind in expressing that individually after comments that I am offering blanket thanks and asking for a mea culpa. Prioritizing comments which create conversation means that I must delete the comments unanswered which have made me SO incredibly happy of late. I just don't have the typing resources right now, and I'll be the first to say that I'm disappointed that this is the best solution I've come up with.