mirlacca

Of all the sports I do not follow, american football is certainly up there as a sport I do not follow.

However, of all the sports I do not follow, american football is one where I think they are doing their post season completely correctly: as single elimination.

Can you win a game? No? Okay, season is over, bye bye.

Yes, yes, the season goes on way too long into weather not appropriate for the sport; american football makes sense as a summer or autumn sport, not so much when it's snowing.

But they pick the location of the super bowl years in advance, they hype the fuck out of it, they make it an event, and they know three years in advance what day it will be.

They have achieved marketing perfection and among the reasons they can do that is: SINGLE ELIMINATION PLAYOFFS.

princessofgeeks

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Current Mood: hopeful

lydamorehouse

Image: Laser-eyed loon flying away with the "Don't Tread on Me Snake" in her beak. The words "Don't Tread on US" appear in laser light trails around her head (by Cas Fern, local tattoo artist.)

I took a break on Sunday. The weather here in Minnesota has finally stepped up to join the resistance. Today we are expecting -20 F/ -29 C windchills and yesterday the windchills were around -11 F /-23 C. I won't lie. I let Mother Nature take my shift. There were things happening, including my singing group, but I spent the day baking hot cross buns and snuggling under blankets.

Rest is resistance, too.

If you are not from around here and/or would like to watch

naomikritzer talk about her experiences "commuting," and talk generally, along with Diana McCleery, about what things are like on the ground here in Minneapolis and St. Paul. My friend Cliff interviewed her on an SFF videocast:

Watch on YouTube

It's a good watch? I will say that the guy who opens and closes the video, Bob, is a bit of a character, but if you can get past that and some of the echo in Naomi's microphone, it's very informative. Naomi recently did a ride-along with the folks who are self-organizing to follow and harrass ICE vehicles and so it's fascinating to hear how it's being done.

I always feel that people don't quite talk enough about the mutual aid that folks are up to--but the truth is the quiet revolution just isn't splashy enough for the front page.

princessofgeeks

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Current Mood: enthralled

used_songs

Challenge #6

Top 10 Challenge. The category(ies) you choose are up to you. You can give top 10 Fics you read last year, the top 10 songs to create to, the to 10 guest stars on your favorite show, top 10 characters in your favorite book series, top 10... well, you get the idea.

10 happy times

1. Quiet mornings before my wife gets up when I can read, write and update my DW with Ella nearby.
2. Hammock time with Ella.
3. Browsing in a bookstore.
4. Cooking for my parents and/or wife.
5. When I'm in the midst of a solid piece of writing that is flowing.
6. Puttering around outside looking at trees and rocks.
7. Listening to music, discovering new-to-me music, talking to people about music.
8. Sending and receiving snail mail, whether it's Postcrossing or mail to/from people I know.
9. Figuring things out, making something new, having to work out how to put something together.
10. When you see something or hear something and it sparks an idea.

used_songs

Challenge #7

LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.

I like my ability to be all in and focused in a conversation with a student, especially when it comes to their writing.

I like how I can chain together random things and make something beautiful.

I like my purple glasses.

used_songs

Challenge #8

Talk about your creative process.

I keep copious notes on my phone and in commonplace books of raw material for writing. I collect stories from people, interesting words, bits of poetry, images, etc. When I have an idea for something, I page randomly through all of that and see what if anything sticks. Then I do an enormous amount of research (my favorite part of the process) and start a google doc with research notes and chunks of writing. Sometimes I do a sketch to help visualize the motion of the plot. When I wrote a crossover that involved House of Leaves, I sketched the house I was using as my setting so I could keep the physical space in front of me.

Then I write from both ends and the middle in pieces that are gradually stitched together. I'm not great at plots; I let the imagery and characters do the heavy lifting.

Once I have a draft, I rewrite it obsessively until I'm happy with it.

( pics )

I also generally carry sticky notes and have a lot of things jotted on those. I've been keeping commonplace books since middle school (they were spirals back then), so I have a lot of material. Honestly, I never have used most of it directly in my writing, but I feel like the ideas I have tried out in those pages are like training for when I do write a completed pieces. And sometimes I just enjoy writing short pieces that no one else will ever see, just for me.

selenak

Given all space and time, and all history and fiction, which offer of adventure would you be most likely to accept - and which one would you definitely decline?

ffutures asked.

Well, I'm tempted to say "none, because I'm chicken and would rather read about those adventures than experience them". But that would be a boring answer, and there are some which don't carry the risk of dying of smallpox or being turned into a Cyberman, one presumes. So, let's see....

Fictional: To get the obvious out of the way first: assuming that I'd live in a universe with the Doctor in it for real (the only universe worth thinking about, according to the Master, who ought to know), and that I would not live in one of those eras where one can google at least asome appearances of his which ought to give me an inkling about the risk travelling with him involves... I think I'd say yes if 'Thirteen offered me a trip with the TARDIS. She's not my favourite Doctor, but she conveys trustworthiness if she wants to, and even if I did manage to look up her companions, thehir rate of not just survival but lack of heartbreak (Yaz always excepted) at the end of their travels with her is promising. Most of the other Doctors would in real life make me think "nah, you seem to be interesting and/or crazy, but I wouldn't trust you to bring me home again".

I would definitely say no to Gandalf. Especially if I were in Bilbo's position. Firstly, stagemanaging an intrusion by loads of uninvited guests is just rude, and secondly, no way you're getting me anywhere near a real life dragon to be torched. No thank you. And that's before we're talking about the travel conditions. I can't ride, and while I do like long hikes, taking these in eras where I could get eaten by trolls... no, really not. I'm just not Burglar material.

Real: If I was dared as Nellie Bly was to travel around the world in 80 Days a la Jules Verne, with a newspaper paying for it, absolutely, I would have tried my best.

Would not have joined: any expedition involving the Artic. I like snow in winter, and I also like to ski, but I like it with the perspective of afterwards returning my heated apartment and being able to take a luxurious long hot bath. Not from the perspective of someone looking for the North West Passage on a sailing boat in the 18th century or someone racing to the Pole in the 20th century. I like my limbs unfrozen and uneaten, thanks.

The other days

Current Mood: chipper
Current Location: Munich

princessofgeeks

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Current Mood: sleepy

spikedluv

I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for a walk with Pip and the dogs, baked chicken for the dogs’ meals, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, changed kitty litter (you know it’s Sunday!), and showered.

I went with another one of my own teas today, The Republic of Tea’s Blackberry Sage (Fruity black tea blended with herbs, which tells you nothing, really. Which is funny, because the ingredients just list black tea, natural blackberry and sage. o_O)

I took a nap, and watched two eps of Wild Cards and some Zoo Tampa. My one dismay is that I didn't get any more writing done.

Temps started out at 25.5(F) and reached 31.1. We had the overnight snow plus more snow today. Pip was busy shoveling and snow blowing.

Mom Update:

Mom sounded good on the phone. She said she’d eaten and it had settled fine. My brother visited earlier and Sister A was there when I called.

my_spikesgirl58_feed

https://spikesgirl58.livejournal.com/6720747.html

my_spikesgirl58_feed

https://spikesgirl58.livejournal.com/6720354.html

Six words – what can you make of them? You have up to 100 words and a week to figure that out. It can take the shape of a poem, prose, drabble, or even just a sentence - anything you want. Be silly, creative, but most importantly, have some fun!

On Friday, we can post the results and see how we all did!

The words:

Subway
Proposal
Carpet
Priority
Nap
Spend

Happy writing!

https://spikesgirl58.livejournal.com/6720354.html

j_crew_guy

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ysabetwordsmith

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Communities
OPN Seed Order
Website Updates
Climate Change
Birdfeeding
Poem: The Flavors of Our Days
Poetry Fishbowl Themes for Early 2026
Creative Jam
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Democracy
Greenland Defense Front
2025 Photos
Photos: Three for the Memories from 2025
New Year's Resolutions Check In
Birdfeeding
Poem: "People of Every Ethnic Persuasion"
Follow Friday 1-16-26: Leverage
Poem: "There's an Art to It"
Read "Hordes of the Khan"
Wildlife
Neighborhood Poetry
Birdfeeding
Community Thursdays
Birdfeeding
Poem: "The Most Dangerous Animal in the Zoo"
Cuddle Party

Animal Communication has 30 comments. Food has 53 comments. Trauma has 51 comments. Affordable Housing has 84 comments. Robotics has 125 comments.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

mific

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms - a GoT prequel set some considerable time before GoT, and has a 9.2 rating on IMDB so far (which mostly seems based on fans having loved the book and feeling the show hasn't fucked it up so far in ep 1). Anyway, it was mostly fine, but nothing spectacular. Sir Dunc is a hedge knight's squire who's trying to pass himself off as a knight at a tournament. He's dirt poor so it's all very homespun and common folky so far. Presumably the show's world will get more complex and interesting as we go on.
My main gripe was the shitting scene, to which my reaction was you've gotta be shitting me! Dunc has a projectile shit from a standing position (slightly bent forward), like one of his horses but with way more rearward velocity. Was it supposed to be "gritty reality"? Because no one shits standing up like that ffs, and if they did it'd for sure go all over their legs. Presumably there's nothing wrong with his legs so why the fuck not squat like a normal, limber young person? Stupid nonsense, which I can only assume was supposed to be humorous. I was not amused.

The Pitt - I'm not liking it quite as much as season 1 so far but that's probably me finding anything not HR a bit lacklustre. Very happy Dana the charge nurse is back and in fighting form, and am enjoying all the usual suspects. One major plot point is that Dr Robbie's about to go on sabbatical and is being replaced by a new female consultant with whom there's a lot of friction as they do things very differently. She's a fan of generative AI for note-writing, for example. I can see they wanted the drama of the clash, but did they have to make her uptight, rulebound, female and with a Muslim name? Sigh. I really hope the drama's not going to play out in as stereotypical a way as it's currently threatening to, but the writing was good last time, so they get the benefit of the doubt.

Landman season 2 is on Prime, and is excellent as always. Superb writing, great acting and characters. It's about a Texas oil industry guy who is 2IC to the company CEO, and who does all the hands-on practical management and troubleshooting, including dealing with the local drug runners, wells blowing, and workers getting injured etc. His wife and daughter at first glance seem complete rich dumb blonde stereotypes, but underneath that facade both are interesting and funny, and cunning in the ways of their people (mostly at manipulating men). I enjoy it.

sholio

See Part One here.

4. Babylon 5, G'Kar & Londo, post-canon, spoilers
any, the minimum amount of communication needed for a fix-it AU
Originally posted here

( Slightly more than 3 sentences of overthinking )

5. Babylon 5, early season one
any, low-effort illustration of something important
Originally posted here

( More than 3 sentences of ambassadorial bickering )

6. Murderbot, MB + Gurathin
any, "I adore floating." (Peggy Guggenheim)
Originally posted here

( 3 sentences for a change! )

7. Murderbot bookverse, MB + Mensah + Mensah's family
any, snowstorm
Originally posted here

( 350 words of fluff )

8. Murderbot, TV or bookverse, Bharadwaj
any, fossil footprints
Originally posted here

( A lil Bharadwaj character study )

tamaranth

2026/011: Old Time Religion — E H Lupton

...there was something delightful about being able to feel Ulysses’s emotions, even if it was also sort of terrifying. Ulysses had big, messy, complex feelings that reminded Sam of dahlias, so bright and intricate. [p. 153]

As soon as I'd finished Dionysus in Wisconsin I went on to this sequel, set a few months later. Ulysses has almost finished his dissertation (which is about Sam and 'the problem of demigods') and winter is over. All seems promising until Livia, Ulysses' ex, turns up with a tale of woe about a murdered husband.( Read more... )

Current Mood: cheerful

mific

Click banner for more info

Collage of non-mcshep SGA characters. Text reads Romancing SGA.

the companion festival to Romancing McShep
and Romancing SG1

conuly

Now, we don't have a coffee maker. We have a french press, and we have a pourover thinger, and no coffee maker. Electric coffee makers are roach magnets, and I will stand by that statement.

But the job has a coffee maker, a nice new model after the pot on the old one broke, and the lid on top opens to the left, which means you have to hold the coffee pot in your right hand if you want to pour the coffee into the machine. Also, all the measurement numbers on the coffee pot are only visible if you're holding the handle in your right hand.

And you may say this is petty, and it is - well, it's petty for me because I have two hands, I might well be more annoyed, and justifiably, if I was missing one! - but somebody made a choice to hinge the lid on the left instead of on the back, and somebody, maybe that same somebody, made a choice to only put numbers on one side of the handle instead of both. And they didn't have to make those choices, they could've made different choices that didn't screw me over personally, me and all the other lefties as well as approximately half of all people who don't have mobility in their right hand or don't have that hand at all*, and they chose poorly. Probably didn't even think it through even a tiny little bit.

* Wait, is this a valid assumption? Or are people more likely to be disabled on this side or that side?

************************

( Read more... )

conuly

I am a knotted nebula—
a whirling flame
Shrieking aftire the endless darkness ...
I am the eternal center of gravity
and about me swing the crazy moons—
I am the thunder of rising suns,
the blaze of the zenith—
... the tremble of women’s bodies
in the arms of lovers ...
I sit on top of the Pole
Drunk with starry splendor
Shouting hozzanas at the Pleiades
... booting footballs at the moon—
I shall outlast the sun
and the moon
and the stars.…

*****

_Link

harlow_turner_chaotic_ace posting in

su_herald

Xander: Yeah. You know, I kinda had a problem with the math.
Willow: Uh, which part?
Xander: The math.

~~S1E1: Welcome to the Hellmouth~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

my heart beats like a drum // and I know I'm not the only one (Buffy/Willow, Buffy & Willow, T) by Anonymous
drowning in you (Buffy/Faith, T) by kitywity
A Moment Alone (Xander & Willow, G) by carryingstarlightinherwake
Cheating the Vote (Xander & Buffy & Willow, T) by DMCMercy
Breeding Magic (Xander/Buffy/Joyce, E) by MayorHaggar

[Chaptered Fiction]

Hearts a Mess, Chapter 18 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Splendidchapette
time cast a spell on you (but you won't forget me), Chapter 3 (Buffy/Riley/Sam Finn, M) by MadeInGold
A Hundred Years of Spike, Chapter 5 (Spike/Buffy, M) by voidslayerworks98
Buffy and the Slayer, Season 3, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, T) by SunnydaleSentinel
Another's Shoes, Chapter 5 (Ensemble, Scooby Doo xover, T) by PurpleMelpomene
Faiths Vampire Family, Chapter 1 (Faith & Hope Mikaelson, The Originals xover, unrated) by mwimer
Spiked Distortion, Chapter 2 (Spike/Michael | The Distortion, The Magnus Archives xover, E) by Jayenboiknots
Sweet Lemeney, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Giles, G) by Nixiet
Season 5, guest starring Angel, Chapter 7 (Buffy/Angel, T) by eg20
Courage to Act, Chapter 10 (Jenny/Giles, E) by g_selwyn
Brave New World:, Chapter 5 (Multiple ships, E) by TheLightdancer
I Look To You To See The Truth, Chapter 3 (Multiple ships, T) by Geminis_Cold_Takes

Buffy and the Slayer - Season 3, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, PG13) by Sunnydale Sentinel
Pick Me Up, Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, PG13) by Dusty
Brownie Points, Chapters 2-4 (Buffy/Spike, NC17) by Alyot

The Gift, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, PG13) by Corvidae
The Ring Talks, Chapters 1-2 (Buffy/Spike, R) by myrabeth
Brownie Points, Chapters 1-4 (Buffy/Spike, NC17) by Alyot

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: World War One/ Angel: blood and trenches au fallenwolf dynamic summarized (OC, contains blood) by lycanpunk666
Gifset: BEST OF BTVS: Buffy & Faith — Season Four (Buffy & Faith, SFW) by clarkgriffon
Artwork: THE BLOU AND ZIAS VID I SNET YOU BUt with Warren and Andrew (Warren, Andrew, SFW) by garscrucible
Meme: Beautiful friendship (Johnathan, Warren, suicide mention) by garscrucible
Artwork: The Hero of Three Faces (Enesemble, xover, SFW) by paulgadzikowski
Artwork: shh, he’s watching Passions… (Spike, SFW) by brekindelo
Artwork: Tara (Tara, SFW) by artsying-ifer
Gifset: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER | 5.06, 5.07, & 7.01 (Buffy, Dawn, SFW) by whatisyourchildhoodtrauma
Artwork: The Hero of Three Faces (Ensemble, xover, SFW) by paulgadzikowski
Gifset: Faith x Buffy Gifset (Buffy/Faith, SFW) by https://sunnydale-digest.tumblr.com/post/806119363667279872
Artwork: Two very different Remuses :) (OC, SFW) by lycanpunk66

Artwork: Art inspired by "West of the Moon, East of the Sun" by Knife Edge (Buffy/Spike, SFW) by namingallthestars

[Fandom Discussions]

I love how Buffy tvs is asking us to accept that Buffys by sublimequeer
If Warren actually made Andrew a Christina Ricci bot by mishafer
You guys can’t begin to comprehend my feelings by sublimequeer

What’s one thing you would love to have been expanded on during the shows run! by TheHatsuneLoki1
before fool for love, what did fans think spike’s backstory was? by daisie_darlin
Season 7 by Forgotten_One341
What if Kate Lockley moved to Sunnydale? by Emergency-Relief-571
S03E17 - “From the title I thought it was about food” by natbandicoot
If you could remove one thing. (Including demons) from the Buffyverse what would it be? by TheHatsuneLoki1

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Join the editor team :)

ysabetwordsmith

Here are the location notes for "People of Every Ethnic Persuasion."

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

viridian5

I got my panoramic X-ray of my teeth done, supposedly covered by my insurance. And was told that I should get braces or Invisalign! Because apparently my orthodontist in the late '80s should have made me wear a retainer nightly for the rest of my life instead of just a few years. That was a kick in the head. But I don't see anything like the degree of overbite I once had, I'm not in pain, and there's no way Medicaid would cover it so it's not happening.

Having gotten the X-rays it demanded, Medicaid decided not to cover the crowns my dentist wanted me to get, surprising no one except possibly my dentists. This is a reason why I didn't want to pay for those X-rays myself. So instead I got two fillings. Plus, another filling I needed, and did them all in one visit. Ow. The worst part was that anesthetic injection that felt like the needle went all the way into the jaw joint and the dentist had to physically hold me down for it.

I dyed my hair red again last week, from how I'd gotten tired of my roots' dark brown growth and how my hair needed two different types of hair care (virgin roots versus color-treated and somewhat dry length) and how I appreciate any color I can give myself during the bleak winter. It's currently a somewhat gothy dark auburn-y red with some brown. My silver hairs are already reestablishing themselves, so shame on you, L'Oréal Paris, shame.

Current Mood: tired

viridian5

It took me forever to get through it, though the back half is easier to get into a flow reading it than the front.

With this book I ordered from the library, I didn't know it had "a novel" on the cover until I received it. And it has the kind of bs I associate with books that have "a novel" on the cover. This is why I prefer genre fiction.

( spoilers )

Current Mood: cold

princessofgeeks

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Current Mood: tired

ysabetwordsmith

Radical Neighbouring: The Farm Where Nothing is for Sale

This video asks a compelling question: What does a human look like who isn't a consumer?

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

watersword

I am planning to go on a walking holiday in Europe in late 2026! I am very excited.

I know a few of y'all have done these, and I would love to get your advice and recommendations. The things I am primarily thinking of include, in no particular order:

organizing flights to and from the start point; I don't think the walking holiday company does this since I'm in the US -- I may have some complications and don't love the idea of sorting it out entirely on my own
what to wear on the daily hike & what supplies to carry with me

but I would be very grateful for suggestions of things to consider that I have not thought of! I have wanted to do this for a long time but I have not ever done it.

glitteringstars posting in

writethisfanfic

Hello!! Hope all is well!

How was writing today?

chomiji

There's a very, very generous Humble Bundle offer going for the next 12 days:

Fierce Women of Science Fiction and Horror

It's heavy on Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire in her Horror persona), Kate Elliott, and Pamela Sargent, and I own a few of the others, but wow, 65 books for a minimum $1 contribution?

I just have to figure out the logistics of how to deal with where I'd prefer to run the download vs. where I want to books while I read them.

Current Mood: curious

jazzyjj posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!

Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

flareonfury posting in

dw_community_promo

svpromptstables is an Arrowverse (*coughs* check out it's multiverse *winks*) & Smallville Prompt table challenge, with prompt tables options ranging from 7-100 prompts. Low stakes, no limit on how much you can "claim" (and anyone can "claim" the same things), only a minimum of 100 words and no deadlines.

Tables | FAQ | Claim & Claim List

my_spikesgirl58_feed

https://spikesgirl58.livejournal.com/6720184.html

chazzbanner

I reminded

bluesail_tobyx today that we ate a meal at an inn in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. I had the traditional Swiss-German dish rösti - on the recommendation of Rick Steves!

It was wonderful. See here for tempting details:

Helvetic Kitchen

Traditional rösti is not made with raw potatoes, unlike hash browns.

And, by the way, yes, Rivendell.

Lauterbrunnen Drive & Listen

(click on the pull-down menu)

(you may want to turn off the music)

-

celli

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osprey_archer

I have returned from a weekend of dissipation in Bloomington! We visited FOUR local bookstores, during which book-shopping spree I bought:

Used copies of Gary Paulsen’s The Cookcamp and Ngaio Marsh’s Singing in the Shrouds, both from the public library.

Used DVDs of Chernobyl and the Ruth Wilson Jane Eyre for myself, plus Brideshead Revisited and season 3 of the 1960s Batman for a friend (who will be therefore enabled to return my copy of Brideshead Revisited)

Mary Stolz’s Ready or Not, which has simply gorgeous endpapers (would any of my fellow Stolz fans like a crack at this book after I’m done?)

And Knight Owl and Early Bird, a birthday present for my niece, whose birthday is not until March, but who am I to turn down an opportunity to support the Book Corner? (I’ll probably also buy her a picture book from my beloved Von’s.)

We also hit up Goods for Cooks, which tragically did not have my beloved dark chocolate hobnobs, but I DID buy a sieve and a garden herb themed dishtowel and a bright springy oven mitt. (I liked to have seasonal dish towels, oven mitts, napkins etc; an easy way to decorate for the seasons.) In between the sieve and the potato masher I got for Christmas, I feel rich in kitchen ware.

And we went to my friend Becky’s house to hang out with the dog and three cats and the baby, who gave us the grumpy Churchill face for about half an hour before deciding that we were all right and toddling over to the coffee table (with the help of her baby walker) to pick up one of our shortbread cookies. To eat it? No. Just to hold it. An interesting texture perhaps.

And then Caitlin and I went back to her place and watched a couple Poirots and ate more cookies, and then I went to bed and read The Cookcamp, a short memoir about the time he spent with his grandmother as a small child when she was working at a road-grading camp, companion piece to Alida's Song and The Quilt. Sweet and poignant if you enjoy a childhood memoir.

Then this morning I drove home and began rewatching Chernobyl. (What a good show! Already watched two episodes and only paused with difficulty to make dinner.) A most successful visit.

my_spikesgirl58_feed

https://spikesgirl58.livejournal.com/6719862.html

Forever Knight - where you ever a fan? Who's your favorite vampire?

Did you watch this 1987 TV show?

Were you a fan of the muppets? Who was/is your favorite?

https://spikesgirl58.livejournal.com/6719862.html

musesfool

I used one of my Christmas gift cards to order a 12" carbon steel frying pan. I have a cast iron one but it is very heavy. I don't need it often, but when I do I'm always worried I'm going to drop it when it's full of hot food and I have to transfer it from stove top to oven or broiler, or vice versa. So we'll see how the carbon steel pan goes. I love the one I have for crepes, but it is much smaller and flatter.

It was top of mind this weekend because I decided to make this skillet chicken parm, but I was able to use my 10" (enameled) cast iron pan for it, which is more manageable, since I only had 2 chicken breasts. And it was pretty good! I made the Marcella Hazan simple tomato sauce for it and it worked out well. It's definitely easier than breading and frying a bunch of cutlets, and it gives a decent approximation of the best bits, which are the breading and cheese and sauce all melding together.

Then today I made this slow cooker creamy lemon chicken and it was okay - needed more lemon, imo, and also after reading the comments, I was prepared and added more cornstarch when the sauce didn't thicken much. I also thought it was weird that they want you to brown the chicken in butter first, but not saute the shallot and garlic. I didn't bother with searing the chicken, since generally I don't bother when I'm using the slow cooker, but I did saute the shallot and garlic first and added the dried herbs and let them sizzle for about 30 seconds before removing the pot from the stove and fitting it into the Instant Pot.

So it's been nice and cozy in here while the weather has been stupidly cold. Sadly, I have to go to a conference on Tuesday, when the high is supposed to be like 20°F. The agenda sounds interesting but I already told my boss if it was snowing I was staying home, but I don't think I can bail if it's just super cold but clear and dry. Who runs a conference in New York in January!? This is the time of year to be someplace warm. (Not that they would pay for me to go to a conference someplace warm! We're not even paying for this one - the tickets are comped because our head of HR is moderating a panel.)

I'm just glad I don't have to go out tomorrow, when it will be messy.

*

Current Mood: cozy
Current Music: Bears vs Rams on tv

muccamukk

Mostly posting these without commentary.

Uncategorised Stuff:
CCF: Anger is beautiful. Anger is generative. Anger is ancestral. By Chantelle Ohrling, a justifiably angry defender of Turtle Island.

dolorosa_12: Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure: suggestions for concrete actions.

Technology and Media Criticism: ( L.L.M. slop, gender-based violence, transphobia. )

Canadian News That's Pissing Me Off ( Various human rights violations. )

The United States Immigration Stuff: ( No images of violence, but cutting for folks already burned out. )

ysabetwordsmith

Today we ordered seeds from OPN Seed. This completes my goal of making at least 2 catalog orders by the end of February. I still have more catalogs to go through, but I got two of the most important done. \o/

( Read more... )

Current Mood: accomplished

lannamichaels

Had a moment last week where I was like "that Parent Trap post canon fic where the twins encounter Meredith in an airport is, like, basically done, I just need to smooth it all out, how long could this possibly take, 10 minutes" and then had the horrified realization that this fic is in my Started In 2023 folder. Truly, I have no intuitive understanding of time.

On the other hand, when doing a quick note to self on this to figure out the time period, I gave in and referred to the twins as Allie and honestly it just makes life so much easier.

Meredith is so much fun to write, she's got such a specific point of view.

"Oh, girls, girls, girls," Meredith chides them. "Let bygones be bygones! I don't hold a grudge. You made your point perfectly clear: you weren't going to allow your father to use me like that. I respect that in a preteen. You knew your minds and you were looking out for me, truly."

Also and here's a bit from my initial notes from the rewatch, which informs the whole thing:

but wow yeah annie's being such a jerk here, and meredith is rising to it and kind of liking it. I think she sees Annie as more of an intellectual equal than Nick is.

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mirlacca

Ashley McConnell

December 2025

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Page Summary

lannamichaels - this is a post about sports that is not brought to you by dayquil
princessofgeeks - Heated Rivalry question
lydamorehouse - Your Daily Laser Loon Art from the Resistance
princessofgeeks - Heated Rivalry rec
used_songs - Snowflake Challenge #6
used_songs - Snowflake Challenge #7
used_songs - Snowflake Challenge #8
selenak - January Meme: Adventure in Time and Space to Accept or Decline
princessofgeeks - Heated Rivalry rec
spikedluv - The Day in Spikedluv (Sunday, Jan 18)
my_spikesgirl58_feed - Good morning
my_spikesgirl58_feed - The Six Word Challenge
j_crew_guy - Blake's 7 reboot in the works
ysabetwordsmith - Monday Update 1-19-26
mific - Shows: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms ep 1, The Pitt eps 1&2, Landman s2
sholio - 3 Sentence Ficathon, part two
tamaranth - 2026/011: Old Time Religion — E H Lupton
mific - Pimping Stargate fests!
conuly - Job has a coffee maker
conuly - Youth by Frank Horne
harlow_turner_chaotic_ace in su_herald - The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, January 18
ysabetwordsmith - Location notes for "People of Every Ethnic Persuasion"
viridian5 - Things That Have Recently Happened
viridian5 - The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King
princessofgeeks - Heated Rivalry rec
ysabetwordsmith - Communities
watersword - walking holiday!
glitteringstars in writethisfanfic - Check In: Day 18
chomiji - Holy Crud, That's a Lot of Books
jazzyjj in awesomeers - Just one thing: 19 January 2026
flareonfury in dw_community_promo - svpromptstables | arrowverse & smallville prompt tables
my_spikesgirl58_feed - Good night
chazzbanner - Röti
celli - Completed BTS Fic: sentinel/guide speed dating
osprey_archer - Bloomington
my_spikesgirl58_feed - Just wondering
musesfool - settling into a good one in the snow and the wind
muccamukk - Links Lists: The Angry Political One
ysabetwordsmith - OPN Seed Order
lannamichaels - Six Sentence Sunday: The Parent Trap remake, post-canon

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Style: Ivory Alcea for Mobility by branchandroot
Resources: Mitsuba Aoi

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