Crime Classics Bingo

Aug. 1st, 2025 02:45 pm
smallhobbit: (Book glasses)
[personal profile] smallhobbit posting in [community profile] allbingo
August's Bingo Fest is the British Library Crime Classics Bingo, with titles taken from the very long catalogue of books. Publication began in 2014 and every month a new book is published. These are all from the Golden Age of crime (approximately 1920s to 1950s), most books are full length novels, but there are also a number of short story collections. Details are available on the British Library website.

You are welcome to use whichever medium you like for completing a bingo. The fest will run from 1 August to 31 August.

The list of prompts is below, together with a sample card, but you are very welcome to make your own card as well.

And if you post to AO3, then do feel free to add to the allbingo collection.

Firstly, here are the main titles to choose from


Prompts


The Man Who Didn’t Fly Someone from the Past Serpents in Eden Tea on Sunday The Black Spectacles
Tour de Force It Walks by Night Settling Scores Still Waters  Final Acts
Twice Round the Clock Antidote to Venom Deep Waters Family Matters Cat and Mouse
Silent Nights Not to Be Taken He Who Whispers Excellent Intentions Fear Stalks the Village
Green for Danger Quick Curtain Crossed Skis Before the Fact The Wheel Spins


But, as you might expect many of the titles include the words 'Death of' or 'Murder of' I've taken these out, so you can add, or create a small card with, either (or both):



People/clothes




Places
badly_knitted: (Rose)
[personal profile] badly_knitted posting in [community profile] fandomweekly

Theme Prompt: 269 - Self-Indulgence
Title: Treating Herself
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: Yes.
Word Count: 898
Summary: Buffy has money from her birthday to spend, but is it a good idea to spend it on such an impractical self-indulgence?




pronker: barnabas and angelique vibing (Default)
[personal profile] pronker posting in [community profile] fancake
Fandom: Star Wars
Pairings/Characters: Kleya Marki & Luthen Rael from the Andor series
Rating: K
Length: 7,108
Creator Links: FFN Profile
Theme: Working Together

Summary: He was never meant to survive. So why is she risking so much to save the man who killed her family?

Reccer's Notes: Kleya does her duty, as does Luthen, in aid of the rebellion. When their wishes and deeds clash, it takes forever and a day to reach an equilibrium. I especially enjoyed the scenario of two rebels diminishing status once their seminal work concludes, because how do they fit in now? And do they want to? Fine characterization, and a what-if that we hope happens, in some other timeline, perhaps.

Fanwork Link: Questionable Provenance

July Challenge - Day 31

Jul. 31st, 2025 10:17 pm
pf_mod: modern pseudo-cubist painting of a red headed woman holding a book with a red cover (Default)
[personal profile] pf_mod posting in [community profile] poetry_fiction
From Curious

When you're in your house, baby
Tell me, what do you do?

July Challenge - Day 30

Jul. 30th, 2025 08:15 pm
pf_mod: modern pseudo-cubist painting of a red headed woman holding a book with a red cover (Default)
[personal profile] pf_mod posting in [community profile] poetry_fiction
From Open Letter to the South

Let us become instead you and I
One single hand
That can united rise

Winterfest in July - Bingo - Blackout

Jul. 31st, 2025 08:23 pm
cmk418: (la confidential)
[personal profile] cmk418 posting in [community profile] allbingo
Creator Name: cmk418
Fandoms: L.A. Confidential
List of Prompts: Silver Bells, Silver and Gold, Baby It's Cold Outside, Send Cards, White Christmas, Special Delivery, Midnight Kiss, Holiday in Handcuffs, Pretty Paper
Link to Card:Here

Fic link under cut )

Western Fest Blackout Bingo

Jul. 31st, 2025 06:43 pm
drabblewriter: (Default)
[personal profile] drabblewriter posting in [community profile] allbingo
Fandoms: Greek myth (and various subfandoms)
Mediums: 9 three-sentence fics
Prompts: quartet, atonement, variations on a theme, unrequited pining, "Put me down!", Brokeback Mountain, "The Camp Fire Has Gone Out," cursed, "No man can walk out of his own story."

Winterfest in July Blackout Bingo

Jul. 31st, 2025 04:38 pm
spiralicious: Cereal Killer Mask (Default)
[personal profile] spiralicious posting in [community profile] allbingo
Creator Name: Spiralicious
Community:[community profile] allbingo
Fandoms: craft kits
List of Prompts: gingerbread house, Santa's toy shop, wreath, tree
Link to Card: My Card
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Read more... )

Winterfest in July Blackout Bingo

Jul. 31st, 2025 06:37 pm
drabblewriter: (Default)
[personal profile] drabblewriter posting in [community profile] allbingo
Fandoms: Greek myth (and various subfandoms)
Mediums: 4 three-sentence fics
Prompts: snuggling by the fire, tree, candles, beach getaway
kitewithfish: (laika the dog in space)
[personal profile] kitewithfish
In personal news, I have a personal trip planned, and one thing led to another, so I am back on Pokemon Go! I haven’t touched it since basically 2016, but I just went on a walk and fought Team Rocket – I think I’m sold. Once I figured out how to turn off All The Sounds so that I can fling Pokeballs while listening to my audiobook, it was real hit.

What I’ve Read

The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison (narrated by Liam Gerrard) – This book is like a bento box – you get a few bites of everything, all complementary. Some murder investigation, some magic rituals, some family strife, some opera, some queer people … all delightful. This is easily the third time I have read this and while I went for the audiobook and was not paying strict attention, there were so many points where I had to stop and let the words hit me. The Goblin Emperor is a great introduction to the life of the court of this world’s nobility – this is a fantastic examination of the world of the working class people who live and make their lives here. Both books are from the perspective of a person who wants to make the world better and kinder, and is actively working to do that, to the extent of their means.

Oddbodies by Toffeecape - https://archiveofourown.org/works/5209922 – Hannibal TV AU with Sentinels! Will Graham is not quite a Sentinel, Hannibal Lector is not actually his guide…. But! It’s one of those stories that I really enjoy, where Will figures out that Hannibal is, ya know, eating people, and just has to sit on that knowledge for a while. The plot of things proceeds differently that the show and probably for the best – these people are having more sex and more fun over all. A happy ending!

What I’m Reading


Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic - C M Nacosta -audiobook.- 25%- Sigh. I needed an audiobook that I didn't care much about to fall asleep to. But I forgot that the real reason I bounced off Nacosta's work is that these romances have more than a little touch of racist tropes, retooled with fantasy species. Not an unknown issue for me with this genre but like, play it off a little better, please. Also, one of the voice actors is annoyingly rough - reading each sentence like it's the first time thru, with very bland intonation. I think I'm bailing on it.

Style: Toward Clarity and Grace by Joseph Williams – 1981 book on writing clearly. 20% - No movement but not because I didn’t like it, just have been on audiobooks.

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma – 50% - Audiobook - A habesha-focused YA vampire novel. I will admit, I am finding some of this writing style a bit grating.

My Favorite Thing is Monsters Vol 2 – Emil Ferris – 50ish% - Oh, this book is hard. Each of the two volumes has a prolonged section in the voice of a dead woman, talking about how she survived the Holocaust and what it cost her, and by god, the sections set in 1960s Chicago somehow are not that much easier. It’s definitely profound, I am just not sure if it coheres.

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 5% - I have known robot valet Charles for 5 minutes but if anything bad happens to him, I will fly to England and beat Tchaikovsky’s mailbox with a bat. 


What I’ll Read Next

The Deep Dark
Track Changes
Alien Clay
Service Model
Monstress, Vol. 9: The Possessed
Navigational Entanglements
The Butcher of the Forest
The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain
Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right
The Brides of High Hill
The Tusks of Extinction
“Charting the Cliff: An Investigation into the 2023 Hugo Nomination Statistics”
“Signs of Life”
“By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars”
“The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video”
“Loneliness Universe”
“The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and Exclusion”
“The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea”
“Lake of Souls”

Winterfest in July Bingo Row

Jul. 31st, 2025 06:08 pm
vexed_wench: (NF - Cookies 4 Santa)
[personal profile] vexed_wench posting in [community profile] allbingo
My card: Winterfest in July
Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis, Supernatural, Burn Notice
Prompt: First Holiday as a Couple, Baking/Cooking, Baby's First Holiday, Christmas Fried Chicken, Build a Snowman
Authors Notes/Disclaimer:
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Read more... )

The Friday Five for 1 August 2025

Jul. 31st, 2025 04:23 pm
anais_pf: (Default)
[personal profile] anais_pf posting in [community profile] thefridayfive
This week's questions were suggested by [livejournal.com profile] angelich

1. What is something you collect? Why?

2. If you could make one ice cream flavor, what would the ingredients be and what would be the name?

3. What can't you go a day without?

4. What position do you sleep in? *back, right side, left side, stomach . . . etc.*

5. What is your typical morning routine before work/school?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!

**Remember that we rely on you, our members, to help keep the community going. Also, please remember to play nice. We are all here to answer the questions and have fun each week. We repost the questions exactly as the original posters submitted them and request that all questions be checked for spelling and grammatical errors before they're submitted. Comments re: the spelling and grammatical nature of the questions are not necessary. Honestly, any hostile, rude, petty, or unnecessary comments need not be posted, either.**

It's a red-letter day...

Jul. 31st, 2025 01:18 pm
halfshellvenus: (Default)
[personal profile] halfshellvenus
HalfshellHusband is off getting his pacemaker replaced, which means he's outlived it! Cause for celebration. It's there mainly as a defibrillator, since he had a blackout about 10 years ago that we've never known the cause of. Probably low blood pressure, but better safe than sorry.

Our son finished taking the California Bar Exam yesterday. Boy, is he glad to be through with that. Ideally forever, though we won't know until early November. But for now... massive brain purge! And sleeping. So much sleeping.

Now I'm trying to plan a vacation for August for the 3 of us, before our son starts work in September. Running into some resistance from The Boy, because he's reluctant to leave the cat with a sitter for very long. Which I don't think is ideal, either, but this will be his last hurrah, and the cat will survive. Even with the enticement of Hawaii, it'll be an uphill battle. \o?

For my Idol story this week, I used a fairytale setting with the chance to skewer some of the weirdnesses fairy tales always seem to contain. In particular, there was a reference to Froggie Went A' Courtin', which I know as a song but it's older than that. Obviously, Bob Dylan's version is not the one I'm familiar with, but the lyrics match. Can't remember the original context, though. I know we had a record album that had some children's songs on it, so it might have been on there? The only one I definitely remember was along the lines of "Marisu, Marisu, cook some pierogies." Have I mentioned lately how repetitive children's songs tend to be?

About to go biking on another hot day. There was a reprieve last week (highs only in the low to upper 80s!), but it came with a lot of wind. This week? I'm grateful for the days that are ONLY in the low 90s. Summer in Sacramento--ugh.

July Monthly Post

Jul. 31st, 2025 12:07 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] allbingo
This is the July community post for [community profile] allbingo. What were your bingo activities during July? What are your plans for August?

For July we had:
[new]
Westerns hosted by [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Bring out your favorite Wild West fandoms, or contemporary west, or spaghetti western SF ... whatever shines your buckle.
Posting will be July 1-31.

[recurring]
Winter Fest in July hosted by [personal profile] vexed_wench and [personal profile] spiralicious
Beat the heat by focusing on winter holidays.
Posting will be July 1-31.

For August we will have:
[new]
British Library Crime Classics hosted by [personal profile] smallhobbit
Themes from the Golden Age of crime, plus book titles.
Posting will be August 1-31.

Bingo

Jul. 30th, 2025 11:30 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] allbingo
I made blackout on my 7-1-25 card for the Western Bingo Fest. \o/


B1 (Bad Girls) -- "Provoking Change by Bringing Nature" (standalone)
B2 (Close-knit Community) -- "Incompetence, Sloppy Thinking, and Laziness" (Frankenstein's Family)
B3 ("Put me down!") -- "A Stronger Woman" (Polychrome Heroics: Fortressa)
B4 ("I tried being reasonable. I didn't like it.") -- "The Pleasure of Escaping the Responsibility" (One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis)
B5 (Black Hats / White Hats) -- "Upholding It, Wherever Found" (Polychrome Heroics)

I1 (Resist Oppression) -- "Happy Instruments of Salvation" (Peculiar Obligations)
I2 ("He's all hat and no cattle") -- "No Such Thing as Finished" (Polychrome Heroics)
I3 (Dodge) -- "A New Twist" (LIFC)
I4 (Firefly) -- "Something Elusive and Mysterious" (standalone)
I5 (I'll Get My Revenge) -- "The Well-being of All Our People" (Clay of Life)

N1 ("The Wayward Wind") -- "Maho Shoujo" (standalone)
N2 (Buffalo) -- "Legs of Grass, Feet of Flowers" (standalone)
N3 (WILD CARD: Clean Up the Town) -- "Indicative of the Extent" (Polychrome Heroics: The Big One)
N4 (Defenestration) -- "In Effigy" (Frankenstein's Family)
N5 (Independent Woman) -- "But an Empty Shell" (Polychrome Heroics)

G1 (The Harder They Fall) -- "Always Surprised by Consequences" (Polychrome Heroics)
G2 ("Cool Water") -- "Beautiful, Damn Hard, Increasingly Useful" (Polychrome Heroics: Kraken)
G3 (Redemption Story) -- "The Future by Consequence, the Past by Redemption" (Frankenstein's Family)
G4 (Immigrant) -- "Fed from So Many Sources" (Frankenstein's Family)
G5 (Sunrise / Sunset) -- "Strong, Competent, Capable" (Frankenstein's Family)

O1 (Captive / Slave) -- "Four Marks of True Repentence" (Polychrome Heroics)
O2 (Gambling) -- "Finding the Gold in the Spirit" (Polychrome Heroics: Shiv)
O3 (Silver / Gold) -- "The Bee Tree's Gift" (standalone)
O4 (Horse) -- "Nuwneek" (The Bear Tunnels)
O5 (Emotionally Constipated Man) -- "New and Innovative Approaches" (Polychrome Heroics: The Big One)

SGA: The Killing Frost by Sholio

Jul. 31st, 2025 03:53 pm
mific: (Shep - oh crap)
[personal profile] mific posting in [community profile] fancake
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Stephen Caldwell, Elizabeth Weir, Laura Cadman, Radek Zelenka, Lindsay Novak - the usual Daedalus and Atlantis suspects.
Rating: Teen
Length: 100,449
Content Notes: Contains descriptions of serious injuries, animal attacks, extreme environmental conditions, violence, murder. No AO3 warnings apply.
Creator Links: Sholio on AO3, Sholio's old SGA website
Themes: Working together, Action/adventure, Competence, Hurt/comfort, Novel-length, Epic work, Genfic, Worldbuilding

Summary: When a scientific mission goes wrong, the Daedalus crashes on an ice planet along with Atlantis's top scientists and a ruthless saboteur. Will rescue come before injuries and the elements take their toll? Roughly season two era.

Reccer's Notes: This is a gripping, full-blown novel. The Daedalus crash-lands on a Gateless, uninhabited, icy planet while carrying a number of Atlantis personnel (Rodney, Radek, Elizabeth and Cadman), while back on Atlantis, realising something's gone badly wrong, John, Simpson, Carson, Lorne, et al try frantically to locate them, then to reach them by puddlejumper. It's a thriller about surviving both a disastrous crash and the freezing, inhospitable planet, plus searching for the saboteur or saboteurs who caused the crash. There's tons of detail about how the two groups separately work together to survive, and to find and reach the crashed ship, and then once the relief party arrives their troubles aren't over, with the saboteur still working against them and the logistics of only having puddlejumpers to perform a complex rescue. Sholio weaves it all together masterfully and it's an extremely good read with excellent worldbuilding, better than most pro thrillers. Highly recommended.

Fanwork Links: The Killing Frost on AO3, or here

fanweeklymod: (Default)
[personal profile] fanweeklymod posting in [community profile] fandomweekly
Challenge 269:
SELF-INDULGENCE
n. excessive or unrestrained gratification of one's own appetites, desires, or whims

Usually you’re a little more restrained than this. But just this once...it’s time to indulge.

What do your characters indulge in? Maybe it’s as simple as a hot bath, a long nap, and their favorite food – or maybe it’s something much more dramatic. Maybe it’s something that really shouldn’t be indulged…

Write a story about self-indulgence.

BONUS GOAL: “It’s just once!”

If your submission features this line, it will earn an extra point to be tallied in voting!


Challenge ends Monday, August 4 at 9:00PM EST.
• Post submissions as new entries using the template in the profile
• Tag this week's entries as: [#] submission, 269 – self-indulgence
• If you have questions about this challenge, please ask them here

Relationship Tagging

Jul. 30th, 2025 10:43 am
author_by_night: (I really need a new userpic)
[personal profile] author_by_night posting in [community profile] fan_writers
Let's talk about relationship tagging! Does anyone else get stumped by this?

To start: I often write what I call a hybrid between romance and gen. Possibly owing to being acearospec, I tend to focus more on the emotional and collaborative aspects of relationships than the pure ~romance~ as it were, although I've written some fluff as well. So when do I tag a fic as being gen, and when do I tag it as being M/M or F/M, etc.? And when do I use specific relationship tags?


I hope this question makes sense. Perhaps my thoughts will add some clarity. Jim, Doug and Paula aren't real characters, although now I want them to be.

Scenario 1: Doug drunkenly half-proposes to Jim. Obviously this is pure M/M and Jim/Doug. (I actually did write a fic with that premise.)

Scenario 2: Jim and Doug discuss moving out of Jim's apartment into their new shared home. This is still M/M and Jim/Doug, because while there's not a lot of romance per se, they're having an important conversation about next steps as a couple.

Scenario 3: Doug's sister Paula shows up in need of support. The fic entails Jim and Doug helping her make a decision. They're together as a couple in the fic, but it focuses more on their relationship with her than it does each other. This would be a tough call, but I think I'd still say M/M and Jim/Doug.

Scenario 4: Doug and Paula go on a road trip. Jim is mentioned, but barely. I would mark this as purely gen/Doug & Paula, but note that Jim is mentioned. 

Scenario 5: On a road trip, Doug and Paula end up discussing his will they/won't they relationship with Jim, Doug landing on the fact that he is willing to risk that Jim might not feel the same way. This I would say is Jim/Doug because even though they aren't together, it very much focuses ON their budding relationship. 

Obviously, there many other variants. Thoughts?

(Please tell me if this doesn't make sense. My thoughts are scattered among the millions and that doesn't always result in coherence.)

Winter in July Bingo - Column

Jul. 30th, 2025 10:32 am
cornerofmadness: Husk glaring at Angel (annoying husk)
[personal profile] cornerofmadness posting in [community profile] allbingo
Name: [personal profile] cornerofmadness
Card Theme: Winter in July Bingo
Prompts: Shopping, Peppermint, Bacalao, Midnight Kiss, Candles
Fandoms: Hazbin Hotel, Prodigal Song
My Card: My Card


my fills under here  )

Grace Petrie ticket?

Jul. 30th, 2025 10:46 am
lokifan: London: you can fly (London: you can fly)
[personal profile] lokifan
Do I have any Grace Petrie fans (totally fine if we don't know each other, all Dreamwidth Grace Petrie fans are a friend in waiting) who wanna come see a preview of her Edinburgh show at the Bill Murray in Angel tonight? 6:30 show, wraps up by 8, according to her :) Her last stand-up show, Butch Ado About Nothing, was FANTASTIC.

Will also accept jealous comments from people too far away to come

July Challenge - Day 29

Jul. 29th, 2025 10:57 pm
pf_mod: modern pseudo-cubist painting of a red headed woman holding a book with a red cover (Default)
[personal profile] pf_mod posting in [community profile] poetry_fiction
From Lonely Nocturne

I lift my window
To look at the sky
Where moon kisses star
Goodbye.

Me-and-media update

Jul. 30th, 2025 10:28 am
china_shop: Close-up of Zhao Yunlan grinning (Default)
[personal profile] china_shop
Pandemic life
I would like to go for a swim today, but the outdoor pool doesn't open till October, boo.

Previous poll review
I really enjoyed everyone's answers to the Youtube poll, thank you! I'd been thinking that I mostly use it for a) tv and movie trailers, b) specific music I'm looking for or that people have linked to, and c) how-tos (especially technical things, now that the search engines are useless, but also random stuff like how to fold dumplings). But the discussion reminded me I also watch essays, usually about story, writing, or film, in particular: [youtube.com profile] HelloFutureMe, [youtube.com profile] heyjameshurst, [youtube.com profile] everyframeapainting, [youtube.com profile] EllenBrock, and so on. And occasionally talk shows, exercise things (yoga, zumba), and other random things. I have my history disabled so I won't spend my whole life algorithm surfing.

In the poll, 48% of respondents said music, 44% said other, and 24% said "instructional videos - practical" and "dramas and tv". Ten percent of respondents don't use Youtube. In ticky-boxes, squishable fur-creatures (46%) came second to hugs (70%). Thank you for your votes and comments!

Reading
Audio: System Collapse (Murderbot) by Martha Wells, read by Kevin R. Free. I enjoyed this, not quite as much as Network Effect but well enough (and it might hit better on a re-read, like Network Effect did for me). I really appreciate that the series is grappling with wider existential issues, rather than opting for "Murderbot is super special" exceptionalism. And the middle section of Saving The World Through [Spoiler] was very fun.

Audio: Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall, read by Will Watt. This is a gorgeously written (and brilliantly narrated) m/m & m/m romance -- very close POVs, lovely similes. The perfect-partner wish fulfillment is almost at magic realism levels, and I found the transition from POV1 to POV2 a bit jarring, but I had been wondering how there could still be six hours left at that point, so something had to happen. My fannish brain wanted it to all come together more at the end -- poly, or friend group -- but how it actually played out was more realistic. The gestalt felt kind of genre-breaking: some very romance-novel elements, elevated by the observational detail and dreamy pacing, and complicated by the unorthodox structure. In minor characters, I loved Marius' mother so much.

Continuing on with Meditations for Mortals (thought-provoking and compassionate; the one-short-chapter-a-day really does feel meditative, and I suspect I'll go right back to the beginning once I've finished) and Guardian (just a few weeks to go in the readalong).

I found Carbonel by Barbara Sleigh in a neighbourhood tiny library yesterday, so probably that sometime soon. I haven't read it since I was a kid, and somehow I own the sequel but not the original. Talking cats ftw!

Kdramas/Cdramas
Continuing Nothing But Love and enjoying it tremendously. Both the leads have such a huge amount of heart, and the theme song's chorus ("you will be loved, you will be loved") really is the theme of the whole show. The found-family vibe is slowly coming together.

Other TV
The Secret Genius of Modern Life hosted by Hannah Fry s02e02 -- about the history of the vacuum cleaner; very close to being a puff piece (suck piece?) about Dyson.

The first episode of Tribe hosted by Bruce Parry (UK documentary series), where he goes to stay with remote tribes and lives with them for a few weeks, taking part in their daily life. It has what I'm assuming are the usual implicit tensions of this kind of anthropology (risks veering into voyeurism), especially when there's a camera crew involved. Parry can't actually sink into the experience fully because he has to keep breaking scene to narrate to camera. But was still really interesting.

Dead Ahead -- an Aotearoa NZ answer to the Ghosts franchise. A Māori family return from living in London to inherit the family home and find themselves haunted by dead relatives (kēhua). It's pretty great and also bilingual, with a fair amount of subtitled reo Māori. (Note to self: rewatch if/when you finally get around to starting to learn te reo.) One short season, which argh, does not resolve the central question. More of a drama than a sitcom.

North of North -- more indigenous TV, this time in the Canadian arctic. We've seen three episodes now, and it's delightful. The main character is lovely and charismatic, and it's made us laugh really hard a few times. Fresh and surprising.

More Bluey -- how is this show so adorable? How am I so intractibly earwormed with Bingo's "poor little bug on the wall, ding jing" song?

Tetris (2023 movie) -- this was unexpectedly excellent! It's a biographical thriller about trying to secure the distribution rights to Tetris. Set during the cold war, with a Ted Lasso-like main character. (I may only think that because of the moustache, lol.) A flawed but likeable main character, anyway. It contains corporate intrigue, corrupt and backstabbing magnates (Robert Maxwell played by Roger Allam of Cabin Pressure fame), and naive Westerners heading to the USSR and landing themselves in hot water in multiple hapless ways. Playful, funny, energetic, tense, and based on a true story. (On Apple+.)

Fandom
Multiple modding things happening at once. I can do this!

And ooh, [community profile] fan_writers already has 150+ subscribers. \o/

Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses (the last couple of episodes haven't really landed for me; I like the technical ones), Letters from an American (US politics), Gone By Lunchtime (local political pundits; their discussion of the RSB made me want a lawyer or two to butt in).

Writing/making things
Lots of false starts. Apparently I'm still restocking the well or whatever.

Life/health/mental state things
My arms are such a mess, gah. Other than that, things are okay!

Food
I made Crispy Sesame Tofu last night, and it was amazing. Like the lemon chicken recipe, it contains 4 tablespoons of sugar; totally worth it. The tofu crisped really well, too. Last week I made nuoc cham (the dipping sauce that often comes with Vietnamese summer rolls; fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, water, garlic, chillis) for the first time, and it was delicious. Conclusion: sugar is the answer to everything.

Today I'm going to make chicken dumplings to re-stock my freezer.

Link dump
Korean practice post | Current earworm (from Bluey) | Cow Cuddling & Highland cow experience (UK) | The Four Types of Novel Writers by [youtube.com profile] EllenBrock (Youtube, revisiting) | 9 Mistakes You're Probably Making in the First 10 Pages by [profile] alyssamatesic (Youtube) | Louis Baker - R A I N B O W (Youtube, music). (So much youtube, hi.)

Good things
Guardian. Local TV shows. Cat! Cooking new things. An inbox full of fannishness. Audiobooks.

Poll #33442 Your name
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 45


When you give your name over the phone, you often / habitually

View Answers

spell it out, unprompted
32 (71.1%)

exaggerate the pronunciation to reflect the spelling
6 (13.3%)

offer an explanation or additional information
12 (26.7%)

other
5 (11.1%)

ticky-box full of being gentle with yourself
31 (68.9%)

ticky-box of a taxonomy of dandelion-wishes
13 (28.9%)

ticky-box of sugar in everything
12 (26.7%)

ticky-box full of waiting patiently, fiddling your bag strap
11 (24.4%)

ticky-box of three enchanted owl feathers that can draw forth the dawn
24 (53.3%)

ticky-box full of hugs
35 (77.8%)

Comedy as poetry

Jul. 29th, 2025 02:11 pm
teaotter: (Default)
[personal profile] teaotter


The barista at my local coffee shop just saw Chris Fleming at a local comedy show and was raving about it, so I had to go look them up. The comedy style is intensely physical, rambly, and surreal, and several people I've showed this to have bounced off very quickly.

But I realized that one of the things I love about this clip (and some of their other clips) is how much the pieces seem like poetry to me. They start out fairly well grounded, then take a turn, then take another turn, and end up in these intensely personal metaphorical spaces that I associate with modern poetry.

I saw a woman's not born yet
not even conceived yet
daughter appear to her
in the frozen aisle
and her fist burst through the blueberries
to reveal
a new vegan chex mix


I mean, yes, half of me is definitely going WTF, but at the same time I am absolutely here for the poetic exploration of gender from a nonbinary perspective and a sub rosa critique of the assumption that women somehow have a mystical grocery shopping power.

lfl visit log #1

Jul. 29th, 2025 12:52 pm
tozka: multiple popples crowded around one big book (popples reading)
[personal profile] tozka

Went for what turned out to be an hour-long walk around the neighborhood and visited five Little Free Libraries– and found some great books!

The majority were full of kids books, which makes sense I suppose as people tend to load up on those at thrift stores and whatnot, so they’re easy to pass along.

My favorite LFL was #119554, not least because I found two books which look really good! It also had the best design, with one box for adult books and one for children’s books, a separate dog treat library and even a water bowl. Super cute!

As far as I can tell, all these libraries are the pre-built ones from the LFL website.

LFL Visited

  1. LFL #89560 “Elm Tree Little Library” – Ann Arbor, MI – Took Square Foot Gardening.
  2. LFL #119554 – Ann Arbor, MI – Took Climate Resilience and Seasons of the Wild.
  3. LFL #135682 “Barking Dog Library” – Ann Arbor, MI – Took Moby-Duck.
  4. LFL #177207 – Ann Arbor, MI.
  5. LFL #178758 – Ann Arbor, MI – Took Paradise Rot.
Photos under here! )

🌟 All LFLs Visited

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.

July Challenge - Day 28

Jul. 28th, 2025 09:09 pm
pf_mod: modern pseudo-cubist painting of a red headed woman holding a book with a red cover (Default)
[personal profile] pf_mod posting in [community profile] poetry_fiction
From Miss Blues'es Child

If the blues would let me,
Lord knows I would smile.

[admin post] Admin Post: [#268 | Sleeping In] Amnesty

Jul. 28th, 2025 10:07 pm
fanweeklymod: (Default)
[personal profile] fanweeklymod posting in [community profile] fandomweekly
As we only have two works this week, I'm declaring an amnesty week for prompt #268; feel free to post any fills you have up until Wednesday, 9PM EST. The next prompt will be up at the regularly scheduled time!

Blackout Bingo for Winterfest in July

Jul. 28th, 2025 03:57 pm
kiramaru7: (Default)
[personal profile] kiramaru7 posting in [community profile] allbingo
Name: Kiramaru7

Bingo Community: [community profile] allbingo
Card Theme: Winterfest in July
Prompts: The Good China, Hallmarrk channel Christmas movies, Snuggling by the Fire, Christmas Cake
My Card: My Card

Read more... )

Chat corner 197: Dawn of the Jedi

Jul. 28th, 2025 09:55 pm
annathecrow: screenshot from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. A detail of the racing pod engines. (sw: pods)
[personal profile] annathecrow posting in [community profile] dreamwars

Hi!

it's Legends week again, and our discussion topic is the novel https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dawn_of_the_Jedi:_Into_the_Void, a 2013 release that explores the Jedi Order before it became the Jedi Order.

(You might have seen "Je'daii" mentioned in fanfic, this book and the Dawn of the Jedi comic series is where that's from.)

Have you read it, and would you recommend it? If you haven't, are you interested?

In case you don't have anything to say about it: are you interested in the ancient past of the Star Wars universe, or is that something you don't care about? If you could choose the era where the next SW movie will be set, what would you chose, and why?

July Challenge - Day 27

Jul. 27th, 2025 09:29 pm
pf_mod: modern pseudo-cubist painting of a red headed woman holding a book with a red cover (Default)
[personal profile] pf_mod posting in [community profile] poetry_fiction
From Dear Lovely Death

This suffering flesh,
To make it either more or less,
But not again the same—

Drama Post 3 of 3

Jul. 27th, 2025 06:18 pm
olivermoss: (Default)
[personal profile] olivermoss
Really just fucking sick of people using 'oh but we are anti-TERF, we are the good guys' as a shield

* There was a Harry Potter film fest in Portland this weekend that was... pro-equality? It was put on by "SPEWW - the Society for the Promotion of Equality for Witches & Wizards" They say they are anti-TERF and it's totally striking back at her.

2 teeny, tiny problems. It was an HP film fest with artist alley at a location that absolutely and definitely only shows properly licensed movies and pays royalties. Since they run indie theaters, their split is worse than, say, what Regal pays. So, literally worse than seeing the films at national chains.

Second, I know some of the artists involved and certain people involved are absolutely transphobes. This is so not an anti-TERF event. I know a certain subsection of the Portland art scene very well, and that subsection is 'people who table at geek events'. Not just as someone who hits up as many as I can find, but also as someone who has run artist alleys and events, and also just as someone who is at a lot of events. I know what some of them have said about me behind my back, because they were within earshot. When I say 'behind my back' I am being literal.

So yeah, this is just a pile of bullshit.

* RomanceCon is an evolving situation right now and I want to start by pointing out that they have changed who is managing the con, but as far as anyone knows, they did not change ownership. Unless, new info comes to light, it looks like they involved an indie bookstore so they could go 'oh, look, it's run by an indie bookstore now, how wholesome, come to our con to support them!'

It looks the majority of authors have pulled out, a lot of the big names definitely did. I would like to have hard numbers, but most places I'd go to for sourcing have banned discussion of this about two weeks ago so the numbers are old. The management company bringing in Julie Soto and having a lot of focus on Harry Potter at the con was the point of contention. They were going to have several HP panels because 'fans don't have a safe space online' to discuss HP anymore and they are all about safe spaces. Basically, the romance con was going to have a huge HP focus and the attending authors were not expecting that.

Here's the thing, while authors were scattering they put out statements talking about how some of the panels were the idea of trans people and also if authors decide to return then they'll donate part of the table fee to trans charities. The table fees are non-refundable, so if the authors didn't come back it just goes to the con's owners. They really tried to pull 'we have trans staff, coming to our con is listing to trans people. And if you don't come money wont be donated to a trans charity'. What the shitfuck? When it comes to trying to use trans people as a shield this is just next level.

We've got enough shit going on without transparent and cynical attempts to use trans people as a shield. There is even a local bookstore that is making a point of carrying HP books because 'they are so important to queer people, the next gen of queer kids need these powerful experiences too'. What? Just carry the books or don't*. Stop with the weird using 'for queer people' or other weird insane bullshit. This convoluted 'oh but it's FOR people like you' bullshit is driving up a fucking wall.

(* I'd prefer not, obviously, and I have the option of shopping at stores that wont carry her. But like, don't try to paint carrying her as even more supportive)
petra: A blonde woman holding an electric guitar (Corner Gas - Wanda rocks out)
[personal profile] petra
97 years isn't long enough to have someone that amazing around.

My favorite song by him, as an old erotica-peddler, is "Smut."



What's your favorite?

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