A swiftly turning planet..with people struggling to communicate
Jun. 7th, 2025 08:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatCNN Aired An Exclusive Live Broadcast of the Broadway Play: Good Night and Good Luck - adapted for the stage from the film of the same name. The reason they aired it is made clear upon the airing - at the very end, Edward R Murrow, the CBS News See it Now broadcaster who famously took on McCarthy, during the Black List and McCarthy Hearings, stands front and center in front of a screen displaying multiple screens of the news. He states in a halting speech, enunciating each word, with a slight tremor to his voice, "we've seen what happens when power goes unchecked, that's not the question before us now, the question is - what will you do about it?"
I was thinking as I was watching it live on MAX (I no longer have access to CNN), that evil is like a spider, sitting in the dark corner of the room, smoking a cigar, wih a red top hat and tails smirking. And asking in a whisper of a voice, low and barely audible, "what do you want?" And indicating with a smile - "come into my parlor my dear and I shall give it to you, with a price of course".
It's insidious, and shadows egos. Self-importance. Self-righteousness. Power. Fame. Fortune. Wealth. Beware the righteous, and the self-important, and most of all the arrogant and narcissistic hunting awards and acknowledgment and power.
I don't know what I personally can do to check the power or stop it. I've been pondering it. I can write, I can post, I can draw, I can paint, I can do my job at a public agency. And I can hope people listen.
People aren't very good at listening? Have you noticed that? Too busy thinking about themselves or what they are going to say next or how they'll respond. Too filled up with thoughts to hear...ones that lie outside of their own minds and brains. I tell people a story and they tell me their own back again, and mine....slides off unheard, lost somehow within theirs? The meaning gone. And they tell me theirs and I tell them my own, and it happens all over again from the other side - with their story being lost.
I did social group therapy once - and we were for the most part forced to listen, but everyone tended to flounder at it. Either they'd ask pointed questions, correct the person's choice of words or syntax or speech (which isn't listening by the way - it's judging, and helps no one), interrupt, direct the conversation to themselves, provide advice, try to fix whatever it was, dismiss it as already solved or playing the victim, but seldom did they listen.
And once on a fan discussion board - we fell into a discussion about writing carefully, and I thought - no that's not the problem here or not that alone, we also need to learn how to read carefully. And people don't? Too busy reading quickly, flying through or past the text, to see it clearly let alone truly comprehend it? Now, for example, raise your hand if you just skimmed this passage and oh so many others? Be honest? How many have you skimmed, jumping over words and phrases and reacting to a sentence here or a paragraph there - but not seeing the whole? I know I do. Try a little experiment, if you will? Read just one paragraph of a post, or the unhidden bit. Then take a moment, and read the rest later, has your opinion of it changed?
We live in an age of content overload, and we surf and read and look at so many things simultaneously. Texts fly by. Our memory of them fleeting or garbled. And more often than not - people just read blurbs. If I post something with information below a "cut tag" - how many will read what's below the tag, and just respond to the top of the post? Losing the point of it. Or respond to the post, without reading the comments below? We don't read carefully - and most mistakes are made because of it. They were on the discussion boards. 90% of the arguments online are the result of "miscommunication" or the inability to politely ask for clarification prior to snarking, judging or condemning.
I think the flaw in the human brain is a tendency to assume everyone thinks the same and perceives things the same? When no one does? And well...a failure to communicate as a result?
**
You'll have to excuse me, I'm exhausted. But the weather is shifting, and I'm hurting less all of a sudden - which means the arthritis isn't being pinged by the human weather vane.
I'm also frustrated with my fellow humans. And perhaps with myself and my own limitations. And a touch depressed, no more than a touch, as a result. But hey at least I don't hurt as much as last night. So maybe the back brace is helping?
It's a warm spring evening. The sky has cleared of clouds, and it's sliding towards dark, from twilight. Nine PM on the East Coast. But I can still see puffs of cloud moving slowly across the pale blue sky, lit from within by moonlight. Our swiftly turning planet in the vacuum of space, surrounded by stars and galaxies which far too many of us take for granted as we bumble upon it babbling and gurgling at one another as is our way.
I was thinking as I was watching it live on MAX (I no longer have access to CNN), that evil is like a spider, sitting in the dark corner of the room, smoking a cigar, wih a red top hat and tails smirking. And asking in a whisper of a voice, low and barely audible, "what do you want?" And indicating with a smile - "come into my parlor my dear and I shall give it to you, with a price of course".
It's insidious, and shadows egos. Self-importance. Self-righteousness. Power. Fame. Fortune. Wealth. Beware the righteous, and the self-important, and most of all the arrogant and narcissistic hunting awards and acknowledgment and power.
I don't know what I personally can do to check the power or stop it. I've been pondering it. I can write, I can post, I can draw, I can paint, I can do my job at a public agency. And I can hope people listen.
People aren't very good at listening? Have you noticed that? Too busy thinking about themselves or what they are going to say next or how they'll respond. Too filled up with thoughts to hear...ones that lie outside of their own minds and brains. I tell people a story and they tell me their own back again, and mine....slides off unheard, lost somehow within theirs? The meaning gone. And they tell me theirs and I tell them my own, and it happens all over again from the other side - with their story being lost.
I did social group therapy once - and we were for the most part forced to listen, but everyone tended to flounder at it. Either they'd ask pointed questions, correct the person's choice of words or syntax or speech (which isn't listening by the way - it's judging, and helps no one), interrupt, direct the conversation to themselves, provide advice, try to fix whatever it was, dismiss it as already solved or playing the victim, but seldom did they listen.
And once on a fan discussion board - we fell into a discussion about writing carefully, and I thought - no that's not the problem here or not that alone, we also need to learn how to read carefully. And people don't? Too busy reading quickly, flying through or past the text, to see it clearly let alone truly comprehend it? Now, for example, raise your hand if you just skimmed this passage and oh so many others? Be honest? How many have you skimmed, jumping over words and phrases and reacting to a sentence here or a paragraph there - but not seeing the whole? I know I do. Try a little experiment, if you will? Read just one paragraph of a post, or the unhidden bit. Then take a moment, and read the rest later, has your opinion of it changed?
We live in an age of content overload, and we surf and read and look at so many things simultaneously. Texts fly by. Our memory of them fleeting or garbled. And more often than not - people just read blurbs. If I post something with information below a "cut tag" - how many will read what's below the tag, and just respond to the top of the post? Losing the point of it. Or respond to the post, without reading the comments below? We don't read carefully - and most mistakes are made because of it. They were on the discussion boards. 90% of the arguments online are the result of "miscommunication" or the inability to politely ask for clarification prior to snarking, judging or condemning.
I think the flaw in the human brain is a tendency to assume everyone thinks the same and perceives things the same? When no one does? And well...a failure to communicate as a result?
**
You'll have to excuse me, I'm exhausted. But the weather is shifting, and I'm hurting less all of a sudden - which means the arthritis isn't being pinged by the human weather vane.
I'm also frustrated with my fellow humans. And perhaps with myself and my own limitations. And a touch depressed, no more than a touch, as a result. But hey at least I don't hurt as much as last night. So maybe the back brace is helping?
It's a warm spring evening. The sky has cleared of clouds, and it's sliding towards dark, from twilight. Nine PM on the East Coast. But I can still see puffs of cloud moving slowly across the pale blue sky, lit from within by moonlight. Our swiftly turning planet in the vacuum of space, surrounded by stars and galaxies which far too many of us take for granted as we bumble upon it babbling and gurgling at one another as is our way.
(no subject)
Jun. 7th, 2025 08:45 pmflemmingsI thought they might have cancelled Open Tuning because of the air quality, but no, they seem to have had fewer venues this year. And next door was mercifully not one of them, so hurray.
Ventured out in the early evening to the laundromat with socks and underwear, which I normally do at home, but maybe should wash in hot water once every year or so. Laundromat was blissfully empty save for a woman clearly doing a week's worth of family laundry. Alas, one reason it was empty may have been that the coin machine was out of change, and all I had was four toonies and 1.25 in the coins the machines do take. Inflation being as it is, they should make a washing machine that takes toonies, but that day is not yet. So I put my clothes back in their hamper, came home, and washed them in the basement as always. Shall hope the underwear on the basement lines doesn't mold, and shall stick the rest of it on the outside lines tomorrow.
Ventured out in the early evening to the laundromat with socks and underwear, which I normally do at home, but maybe should wash in hot water once every year or so. Laundromat was blissfully empty save for a woman clearly doing a week's worth of family laundry. Alas, one reason it was empty may have been that the coin machine was out of change, and all I had was four toonies and 1.25 in the coins the machines do take. Inflation being as it is, they should make a washing machine that takes toonies, but that day is not yet. So I put my clothes back in their hamper, came home, and washed them in the basement as always. Shall hope the underwear on the basement lines doesn't mold, and shall stick the rest of it on the outside lines tomorrow.
It's happening!!!
Jun. 7th, 2025 05:19 pmbleodsweanIdol is back and it's WHEEL OF CHAOS time! I'm in and I really encourage all of you to give it a whirl, too! It's fun, truly! And even when it's not, you're writing and isn't that what we're here to do?
therealljidol | The Wheel of Chaos Sign Up
PRIDE 4: Hardison/Eliot/Parker
Jun. 7th, 2025 03:50 pmsenmutMarking Dates (531 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Leverage
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Eliot Spencer/Alec Hardison/Parker
Characters: Alec Hardison, Eliot Spencer, Parker [Leverage]
Additional Tags: Origami, Fluff
Summary:
The saying that money can't buy happiness had to have been thought up by a rich person, Hardison decided. He kept folding the non-sequential bills, setting up a menagerie of wild animals. After he had twenty-six of them, he put them in the box, closed it, and left it on his desk, just where the box had been for several days.
Parker had noticed it on the first day it was there, asked about it two days after that, then forgot it existed as it became part of her surroundings. It was the perfect place to hide something in plain sight — though he'd taken the precaution of spritzing it with his aftershave, to hide the money smell.
Parker was funny enough about money that she might have smelled it otherwise.
When Eliot came in that evening, Hardison caught his eyes, looked at the box, got the slow blink of agreement, and that was that.
Two days later, the box was gone, and Parker studied that space, making the cute frowny face she did while cataloguing where everything was supposed to be.
"Where'd the box go?" she asked.
"Have to find it," Eliot answered, before he and Hardison exchanged a grin. Her eyes lit up, so Hardison continued. "Scavenger hunt, in our building, out of the way spots… with things to find on the way to the box."
"What kind of things?" she asked, even as she was getting excited.
"The kind of things you like," Eliot said, and she did a tiny little clap and bounce before vanishing.
"And that, my friend, is how we say 'happy anniversary' to her," Hardison crooned, amused, and going to watch the spy-eyes through the building. Eliot joined him, putting him in a brief headlock playfully.
"Figuring out her love language wasn't so hard," Eliot said, but he was smiling when she found the first animal, right where he'd thought she would, an alligator. "How in the hell did you find an origami A to Z?"
"Man, everything is on the internet now," Hardison told him, still thrilled they'd found a gift that worked.
Parker found the last animal, cunningly folded so it appeared striped, making it a zebra, and the box was just ahead. She opened it, seeing cash — multiple currencies even! — and the note that said 'happy change together day'. Her chin wibbled, for just a moment, before she put all of her finds in the box. She'd had to back track for the otter and the shrew when she realized they were in alphabetical order, but now she had a full menagerie of money.
Her men — both of them were hers and theirs and ours — made fusses on days that weren't Christmas, but not in the way she saw other people do it. That, among many things, kept her falling in love with them every day, knowing neither one would ever push her in a path she couldn't handle.
She'd have to make a run on a store before she went back up to them; junk food for Hardison that had some pretzels in it, and she'd pick up that smelly cheese Eliot had insisted would make great brioche grilled cheese sandwiches.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Leverage
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Eliot Spencer/Alec Hardison/Parker
Characters: Alec Hardison, Eliot Spencer, Parker [Leverage]
Additional Tags: Origami, Fluff
Summary:
Hardison and Eliot mark the date in a way that Parker will enjoy.
Marking Dates
The saying that money can't buy happiness had to have been thought up by a rich person, Hardison decided. He kept folding the non-sequential bills, setting up a menagerie of wild animals. After he had twenty-six of them, he put them in the box, closed it, and left it on his desk, just where the box had been for several days.
Parker had noticed it on the first day it was there, asked about it two days after that, then forgot it existed as it became part of her surroundings. It was the perfect place to hide something in plain sight — though he'd taken the precaution of spritzing it with his aftershave, to hide the money smell.
Parker was funny enough about money that she might have smelled it otherwise.
When Eliot came in that evening, Hardison caught his eyes, looked at the box, got the slow blink of agreement, and that was that.
Two days later, the box was gone, and Parker studied that space, making the cute frowny face she did while cataloguing where everything was supposed to be.
"Where'd the box go?" she asked.
"Have to find it," Eliot answered, before he and Hardison exchanged a grin. Her eyes lit up, so Hardison continued. "Scavenger hunt, in our building, out of the way spots… with things to find on the way to the box."
"What kind of things?" she asked, even as she was getting excited.
"The kind of things you like," Eliot said, and she did a tiny little clap and bounce before vanishing.
"And that, my friend, is how we say 'happy anniversary' to her," Hardison crooned, amused, and going to watch the spy-eyes through the building. Eliot joined him, putting him in a brief headlock playfully.
"Figuring out her love language wasn't so hard," Eliot said, but he was smiling when she found the first animal, right where he'd thought she would, an alligator. "How in the hell did you find an origami A to Z?"
"Man, everything is on the internet now," Hardison told him, still thrilled they'd found a gift that worked.
Parker found the last animal, cunningly folded so it appeared striped, making it a zebra, and the box was just ahead. She opened it, seeing cash — multiple currencies even! — and the note that said 'happy change together day'. Her chin wibbled, for just a moment, before she put all of her finds in the box. She'd had to back track for the otter and the shrew when she realized they were in alphabetical order, but now she had a full menagerie of money.
Her men — both of them were hers and theirs and ours — made fusses on days that weren't Christmas, but not in the way she saw other people do it. That, among many things, kept her falling in love with them every day, knowing neither one would ever push her in a path she couldn't handle.
She'd have to make a run on a store before she went back up to them; junk food for Hardison that had some pretzels in it, and she'd pick up that smelly cheese Eliot had insisted would make great brioche grilled cheese sandwiches.
Return to volleyball
Jun. 7th, 2025 11:49 amsusandennisAbout 5 last night, the facilities coordinator sent out a note that the pool was fixed and it should take about 6-12 hours to reheat. I swapped some texts with Steve and we agreed to give it a go today. Turns out 12 hours was a hair optimistic. It was warmer but it was still pretty cold. In hindsight...
But, we had a good time and a nice crowd and it was fine and fun.
Elbow coffee was its normal nothing but harmless today. Also a good crowd. It's really a nothing gathering but also a painless way to touch base with neighbors and make sure everyone is fine. Without Myrna, we really don't even see each other much any other time.
I'm still working on my utility room. I have one more item coming from Amazon (Monday) which will take care of the final issue. But it does look much nicer now and is easier to find shit.
I got the invitation to my nephew's wedding today. The wedding is in the middle of October. This is June. Clearly wedding rules have changed. At least I don't have to go. And, according to their website, one of their top two most wanted gift requests is money. Whew. That takes a load off. Also their wedding website let me RSVP so I don't even have to hunt down a stamp and mail this little card back. I like these new wedding rules. In my day...
Last night they had fried chicken on the buffet and I loaded up. So now I have fried chicken for lunch. Yum. Then baseball. My perfect afternoon.
But, we had a good time and a nice crowd and it was fine and fun.
Elbow coffee was its normal nothing but harmless today. Also a good crowd. It's really a nothing gathering but also a painless way to touch base with neighbors and make sure everyone is fine. Without Myrna, we really don't even see each other much any other time.
I'm still working on my utility room. I have one more item coming from Amazon (Monday) which will take care of the final issue. But it does look much nicer now and is easier to find shit.
I got the invitation to my nephew's wedding today. The wedding is in the middle of October. This is June. Clearly wedding rules have changed. At least I don't have to go. And, according to their website, one of their top two most wanted gift requests is money. Whew. That takes a load off. Also their wedding website let me RSVP so I don't even have to hunt down a stamp and mail this little card back. I like these new wedding rules. In my day...
Last night they had fried chicken on the buffet and I loaded up. So now I have fried chicken for lunch. Yum. Then baseball. My perfect afternoon.
May-December (Film Review)
Jun. 7th, 2025 05:51 pmselenakWhich I would have watched on the big screen if I could have, but a brief showing time and my tight schedule did not allow it. Anyway: this is the movie in which Natalie Portman plays a (tv) actress, Elizabeth, who wants to play Gracie (Julianne Moore) in a movie based on events taking place about two decades plus earlier than the film's setting, which is 2015. (Though the film itself premiered in 2023.) Said events consisted of Gracie, at age 36, having had a "relationship" with a thirteen years old boy, Joe ,whom she after some years in prison for statuary rape married; he's currently 36 (as is Elizabeth), the same age she was back then, and played by Charles Melton, who I osmosed before this movie was mostly famous for playing a jock type in Riverdale but who is absolutely stunning in this film (and should at least have gotten an Oscar nomination), which given he's working with Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman at their best, is truly saying something. There are also kids (the one Gracie was pregnant with when she got caught is now in college, and thn there are twins about to graduate), as well as Gracie's offspring from her earlier marriage, with her son Georgie being the same age as Joe. The movie is directed by Todd Haynes, and dives right into how incredibly messed up a story this is.
Now, if you start the film knot knowing what it's about, then the first few minutes might let you assume it's a black comedy about suburbia; Gracie, Joe and their children live in the proverbial idyllic white fenced area somewhere in South Carolina, with Gracie (who runs a small scale bakery) coming across as somewhat high strung but popular among her neighbours - and then Elizabeth arrives, only to find an anonymous package at the couple's front door which contains feces. There are some comedy beats throughout the remaining movie, but actually I would classify it as emotional horror. Gracie is still absolutely incapable of admitting she ever did anything wrong, and we get an early taste of her ability to manipulate and achieve emotional control when she comments on her daughter's choice of prom dress: "You're so brave to show your arms! I wouldn't have dared", with the result that of course the poor girl doesn't buy that dress but the one Gracie likes. Elizabeth isn't the film's heroine, either, though in the first half her investigation provides the audience bit by bit with the backstory from various povs via the characters Elizabeth talks to; the movie goes full throttle about what a disturbing and ruthlessly exploitative process an actor working on a role can be if that role isn't a fictional character but a real person. (BTW, of course Portman and Moore don't look much alike, but that only helps enhancing the sense of disquiet as Elizabeth adopts more and more of Gracie's mannerisms, with the scene where Gracie gives Elizabeth a makeover with her own makeup and lipstick being a showcase in point.)
Meanwhile, Joe starts out on a quiet background note when compared to the two women, and then the story shows more and more how messed up not just the start of his relationship with Gracie was but how messed up their present day relationship still is. More than one review described Joe as a thirteen years old still locked in the body of an adult man, and before watching the film I assumed this meant Joe would be characterized as a manchild, but no, that's not what was meant at all. If anything, he's the most reasonably and responsibly acting adult in this film. But emotionally, it becomes clear he's never had the chance to process what happened, not least because his entire life is still built around keeping Gracie happy. He became a father years and years before growing up, and the scene where due to his teenage son for the first time sharing pot with him his quiet and calm facade finally cracks and some of that repressed emotion breaks through is incredibly good and heartbreaking.
Incidentally: making a movie which deals with an adult grooming a kid without getting voyeuristic with a young actor sounds near impossible - but May-December by showing us the aftermath and the long term effect everything had on Joe decades later proves it can be done. At the same time, we do get a visual reminder of just how young he was when Elizabeth gets sent video clips of teenagers auditioning to play Joe. (The audition clips don't show more than them introducing themselves with their name and age.) Elizabeth looks appalled, and the audience might think it's because it hits her how young thirteen really is.... and then a few scenes later, she's on the phone with her producer and tells him these guys are just wrong because they don't look sexy enough. Which tells you something about Elizabeth.
Despite how good this film is - with script, acting and cinematography all outstanding - , I'm not surprised it wasn't a box office success (while getting deservedly criticial praise.) It's hardly a subject lending itself to relaxation, and despite its three leads all being very attractive people, any sexual activity is basically the opposite of fanservice - like I said, it's an emotional horror show. Not something I'll rewatch any time soon, though I am glad I watched it once, and am full of admiration for what it achieves.
Now, if you start the film knot knowing what it's about, then the first few minutes might let you assume it's a black comedy about suburbia; Gracie, Joe and their children live in the proverbial idyllic white fenced area somewhere in South Carolina, with Gracie (who runs a small scale bakery) coming across as somewhat high strung but popular among her neighbours - and then Elizabeth arrives, only to find an anonymous package at the couple's front door which contains feces. There are some comedy beats throughout the remaining movie, but actually I would classify it as emotional horror. Gracie is still absolutely incapable of admitting she ever did anything wrong, and we get an early taste of her ability to manipulate and achieve emotional control when she comments on her daughter's choice of prom dress: "You're so brave to show your arms! I wouldn't have dared", with the result that of course the poor girl doesn't buy that dress but the one Gracie likes. Elizabeth isn't the film's heroine, either, though in the first half her investigation provides the audience bit by bit with the backstory from various povs via the characters Elizabeth talks to; the movie goes full throttle about what a disturbing and ruthlessly exploitative process an actor working on a role can be if that role isn't a fictional character but a real person. (BTW, of course Portman and Moore don't look much alike, but that only helps enhancing the sense of disquiet as Elizabeth adopts more and more of Gracie's mannerisms, with the scene where Gracie gives Elizabeth a makeover with her own makeup and lipstick being a showcase in point.)
Meanwhile, Joe starts out on a quiet background note when compared to the two women, and then the story shows more and more how messed up not just the start of his relationship with Gracie was but how messed up their present day relationship still is. More than one review described Joe as a thirteen years old still locked in the body of an adult man, and before watching the film I assumed this meant Joe would be characterized as a manchild, but no, that's not what was meant at all. If anything, he's the most reasonably and responsibly acting adult in this film. But emotionally, it becomes clear he's never had the chance to process what happened, not least because his entire life is still built around keeping Gracie happy. He became a father years and years before growing up, and the scene where due to his teenage son for the first time sharing pot with him his quiet and calm facade finally cracks and some of that repressed emotion breaks through is incredibly good and heartbreaking.
Incidentally: making a movie which deals with an adult grooming a kid without getting voyeuristic with a young actor sounds near impossible - but May-December by showing us the aftermath and the long term effect everything had on Joe decades later proves it can be done. At the same time, we do get a visual reminder of just how young he was when Elizabeth gets sent video clips of teenagers auditioning to play Joe. (The audition clips don't show more than them introducing themselves with their name and age.) Elizabeth looks appalled, and the audience might think it's because it hits her how young thirteen really is.... and then a few scenes later, she's on the phone with her producer and tells him these guys are just wrong because they don't look sexy enough. Which tells you something about Elizabeth.
Despite how good this film is - with script, acting and cinematography all outstanding - , I'm not surprised it wasn't a box office success (while getting deservedly criticial praise.) It's hardly a subject lending itself to relaxation, and despite its three leads all being very attractive people, any sexual activity is basically the opposite of fanservice - like I said, it's an emotional horror show. Not something I'll rewatch any time soon, though I am glad I watched it once, and am full of admiration for what it achieves.
Anyone want some good news?
Jun. 7th, 2025 11:41 amshadowkatSnagged from various places, mainly svgurl: 72 questions to ask a fan
(She says fangirl - but I just took Gender Identity Training (web module) this week and it kind of goes against the grain to use gender exclusive as opposed to gender inclusive language at the moment.)
Also, the Good News Report...
As always, good news is often in the eye of the beholder, but hopefully something makes you smile, outside of the link to the fan questions. Which I may or may not try to answer at a later date. I'm weirdly private about my fandoms.
1.Breakthrough in search for HIV cure leaves researchers ‘overwhelmed’
Exclusive: Melbourne team demonstrates way to make the virus visible within white blood cells, paving the way to fully clear it from the body.
Via the Guardian
"Exclusive: Melbourne team demonstrates way to make the virus visible within white blood cells, paving the way to fully clear it from the body."
2. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sues Alina Habba, alleging ‘false arrest and malicious prosecution’. Alina Habba's criminal case against Ras Baraka collapsed quickly. Now, the tables have turned, and the Newark mayor is suing the prosecutor.
Via Democracy Docket
3.Judge says some migrants sent to an El Salvador prison must have a chance to challenge their detention. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide hundreds of migrants sent to CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, the opportunity to challenge their detention and removal. The ruling is related to deportations ordered under the Alien Enemies Act.
Via NBC News
This doesn't apply to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man whose deportation became a focal point of Democratic resistance to Trump's immigration policies.
4. The Trump regime has returned a Guatemalan man who was improperly deported to Mexico, obeying a federal judge’s order.
Via Politico
5. More than a century after the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, one of the most horrific episodes of racial violence in U.S. history, the city’s mayor announced a $105 million reparations package on Sunday. It is the first large-scale plan committing funds to address the impact of the atrocity. Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols on Sunday unveiled a $105 million reparations plan for the descendants of the Tulsa race massacre — the deadly 1921 attack by a white mob on a Black neighborhood.
ABC News
Via NY Times
( the rest )
(She says fangirl - but I just took Gender Identity Training (web module) this week and it kind of goes against the grain to use gender exclusive as opposed to gender inclusive language at the moment.)
Also, the Good News Report...
As always, good news is often in the eye of the beholder, but hopefully something makes you smile, outside of the link to the fan questions. Which I may or may not try to answer at a later date. I'm weirdly private about my fandoms.
1.Breakthrough in search for HIV cure leaves researchers ‘overwhelmed’
Exclusive: Melbourne team demonstrates way to make the virus visible within white blood cells, paving the way to fully clear it from the body.
Via the Guardian
"Exclusive: Melbourne team demonstrates way to make the virus visible within white blood cells, paving the way to fully clear it from the body."
2. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sues Alina Habba, alleging ‘false arrest and malicious prosecution’. Alina Habba's criminal case against Ras Baraka collapsed quickly. Now, the tables have turned, and the Newark mayor is suing the prosecutor.
Via Democracy Docket
3.Judge says some migrants sent to an El Salvador prison must have a chance to challenge their detention. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide hundreds of migrants sent to CECOT, a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, the opportunity to challenge their detention and removal. The ruling is related to deportations ordered under the Alien Enemies Act.
Via NBC News
This doesn't apply to Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man whose deportation became a focal point of Democratic resistance to Trump's immigration policies.
4. The Trump regime has returned a Guatemalan man who was improperly deported to Mexico, obeying a federal judge’s order.
Via Politico
5. More than a century after the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, one of the most horrific episodes of racial violence in U.S. history, the city’s mayor announced a $105 million reparations package on Sunday. It is the first large-scale plan committing funds to address the impact of the atrocity. Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols on Sunday unveiled a $105 million reparations plan for the descendants of the Tulsa race massacre — the deadly 1921 attack by a white mob on a Black neighborhood.
ABC News
Via NY Times
( the rest )
nothing matters but the weekend from a Tuesday point of view
Jun. 7th, 2025 01:19 amthe_siobhanSteroids are fucking magic, yo. They have returned my cat to his normal bitchy emotionally needy self. They have also taken most of the stabbing out of my foot so I can walk without limping, at least while I'm moving around the house. I cheated a bit and put some of the foot cream on my arm because I officially overdid it with the shovelling, and as a result I can now lift a water glass without wincing.
What a country.
Upper third of my yard is now graded and seeded. My daughter came over and helped. She's not getting a lot of hours at work so she has an open invitation to come over and help me move dirt from one place to another whenever she wants to make a few bucks and be given beer and dinner. It works out well for both of us.
Basement guys came back today - they said they figured they had about three hours of work to finish. More swearing in Polish ensued. In the end they were in my basement for eight hours, but they got it all done. They had to build entirely new frames to hang the doors from and there was at least one hardware store trip to replace borked parts in the storm door and BOY HOWDY did they have something to say about that, but everything is now perfect and the basement apartment has functional doors that work and close and lock and everything.
Next step: I got somebody to come over and have a look at finishing the wood work. This consists of:
1. The stairs from the kitchen door to the backyard. Currently about a three foot drop, which I have been climbing up and down but that's not a perfect long term solution. (Especially in winter.)
2. The stairs from the basement apartment into the yard, are flimsy, wobbly, and don't have any hand rails so they are definitely not code. They are also resting on a base of wooden slats that just randomly shift if you put your weight in the wrong spot. I have no fucking idea what Original Contractor was even thinking. They need to be replaced with something that will pass a city inspection and that also will not kill you when you try to use them.
3. I want to put some kind of a sound-proof bench over the sump pump, because that fucker is loud. Also I figure an exposed ginormous battery is possibly a safety hazard of some kind. So the guy who looked at it said they can build something that acts as a solid bench but you can flip the top up if it needs maintenance, which sounds perfect.
4. My original blueprints include a deck on the kitchen roof. That would be really nice if I can swing it, but we'll see how much this all costs. Mainly it would be an additional place for me to grow herbs and stuff so it's in the "nice to have" pile.
( CUT FOR GROSS, SERIOUSLY YOU WERE WARNED )
Every time I see my doctor she asks me how the Not Drinking is going and every single time I'm all, FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK.
What a country.
Upper third of my yard is now graded and seeded. My daughter came over and helped. She's not getting a lot of hours at work so she has an open invitation to come over and help me move dirt from one place to another whenever she wants to make a few bucks and be given beer and dinner. It works out well for both of us.
Basement guys came back today - they said they figured they had about three hours of work to finish. More swearing in Polish ensued. In the end they were in my basement for eight hours, but they got it all done. They had to build entirely new frames to hang the doors from and there was at least one hardware store trip to replace borked parts in the storm door and BOY HOWDY did they have something to say about that, but everything is now perfect and the basement apartment has functional doors that work and close and lock and everything.
Next step: I got somebody to come over and have a look at finishing the wood work. This consists of:
1. The stairs from the kitchen door to the backyard. Currently about a three foot drop, which I have been climbing up and down but that's not a perfect long term solution. (Especially in winter.)
2. The stairs from the basement apartment into the yard, are flimsy, wobbly, and don't have any hand rails so they are definitely not code. They are also resting on a base of wooden slats that just randomly shift if you put your weight in the wrong spot. I have no fucking idea what Original Contractor was even thinking. They need to be replaced with something that will pass a city inspection and that also will not kill you when you try to use them.
3. I want to put some kind of a sound-proof bench over the sump pump, because that fucker is loud. Also I figure an exposed ginormous battery is possibly a safety hazard of some kind. So the guy who looked at it said they can build something that acts as a solid bench but you can flip the top up if it needs maintenance, which sounds perfect.
4. My original blueprints include a deck on the kitchen roof. That would be really nice if I can swing it, but we'll see how much this all costs. Mainly it would be an additional place for me to grow herbs and stuff so it's in the "nice to have" pile.
( CUT FOR GROSS, SERIOUSLY YOU WERE WARNED )
Every time I see my doctor she asks me how the Not Drinking is going and every single time I'm all, FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK.
Fandom50: #15
Jun. 6th, 2025 07:46 pmsenmutAlmost the end of a decade in 1989. Revolutions, crackdowns, changes in power ... look, 1989 left a mark on my psyche. Evidently I was escaping into the cinema as much as I was to the roller rink, judging from me opening 20 tabs even with me being picky. Going to narrow that down some. Okay, 11 in the final cut.
( kinda grouped in genre broadly )
( kinda grouped in genre broadly )
(no subject)
Jun. 6th, 2025 07:07 pmflemmingsThe air quality alert continues but today didn't rain, so I went out to the library for a hold and to Sushi on Bloor for their lunch special. Which may help the current wanhope induced by mug, isolation, and (waves hand) All That.
Returned two of my books, one unread, and debated returning The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door as well. I never read The Secret History-- I think I quit after three pages-- but this is giving me serious Secret History With Magic vibes. I suppose I could look at reviews but if it turns out not to be that, I shall be annoyed at myself. The trouble is that my experience of Parry is that she never surprises: you know where things are going and they go there. But of course she may have changed: as Chakraborty, whose City of Brass was such a downer that I had to abandon it half-way if that, has apparently just come out with a swashbuckling Muslim pirate tale-- which was the hold I picked up today.
Though all I want to (re)read is Murderbot, Brust, and Ancillary Sword.
Meanwhile I need to get to the laundromat some time, and out of the house tomorrow, because it's Open Tuning again, when people who can't sing demonstrate that fact, mic'd and amped to the max.
Returned two of my books, one unread, and debated returning The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door as well. I never read The Secret History-- I think I quit after three pages-- but this is giving me serious Secret History With Magic vibes. I suppose I could look at reviews but if it turns out not to be that, I shall be annoyed at myself. The trouble is that my experience of Parry is that she never surprises: you know where things are going and they go there. But of course she may have changed: as Chakraborty, whose City of Brass was such a downer that I had to abandon it half-way if that, has apparently just come out with a swashbuckling Muslim pirate tale-- which was the hold I picked up today.
Though all I want to (re)read is Murderbot, Brust, and Ancillary Sword.
Meanwhile I need to get to the laundromat some time, and out of the house tomorrow, because it's Open Tuning again, when people who can't sing demonstrate that fact, mic'd and amped to the max.
Friday
Jun. 6th, 2025 06:59 amsusandennisThe new litter box situation seems to be fine except, I got the wrong litter box. It's an inch too wide. Skinnier replacement arrives today. Biggie seemed oddly reluctant but he went in the morning and did his biz and that's all I can ask. Julio, of course, thinks it's his new play house.
The sun is blasting this morning and my new shades are all 'not so fast there Mr. Glare!'. I love my new shades. They are also giving me the gift of Amazon Prime. Amazon uses a special process that makes most of their shows very dark. On my television with the shades up, in daylight or even at night with lights on, a night scene is just black. Just black. With audio. But with the shades down and the lights off, turns out, there is actually something to see. So I'm catching up on Prime stuff.
Today is menu day. And Tuesday is the 10th. Last day to use up this month's meal money. Depending on what the menu looks like for next week, I may make another food bank donation.
I am enjoying the Trump/Musk breakup - the two best were 'It wouldn't be Pride month without two queens breaking up on social media' and 'SLOW DOWN! or we're going to run out of popcorn!'
No big plans for today. I am doing some reorganizing of my utility room now that there is some space. I need some more command hooks to and I need to mount the hand held vac. So probably I'll get all that done today. And knit more Pride monsters. I'm still photographing each one but they all look the same some no more posting anywhere until I get back to dolls.
It's supposed to be hot hot today and this weekend - 80's - which is hot hot for us. So for sure, I won't be going outside. But, that's not exactly breaking news since I rarely go outside anyway.
However, the Timber Ridge staff has been working all week on cleaning up and arranging the patio furniture and getting the outdoor cookers (that anyone can use) ready for action. There will be old people in the sun this week, I'll bet.
The sun is blasting this morning and my new shades are all 'not so fast there Mr. Glare!'. I love my new shades. They are also giving me the gift of Amazon Prime. Amazon uses a special process that makes most of their shows very dark. On my television with the shades up, in daylight or even at night with lights on, a night scene is just black. Just black. With audio. But with the shades down and the lights off, turns out, there is actually something to see. So I'm catching up on Prime stuff.
Today is menu day. And Tuesday is the 10th. Last day to use up this month's meal money. Depending on what the menu looks like for next week, I may make another food bank donation.
I am enjoying the Trump/Musk breakup - the two best were 'It wouldn't be Pride month without two queens breaking up on social media' and 'SLOW DOWN! or we're going to run out of popcorn!'
No big plans for today. I am doing some reorganizing of my utility room now that there is some space. I need some more command hooks to and I need to mount the hand held vac. So probably I'll get all that done today. And knit more Pride monsters. I'm still photographing each one but they all look the same some no more posting anywhere until I get back to dolls.
It's supposed to be hot hot today and this weekend - 80's - which is hot hot for us. So for sure, I won't be going outside. But, that's not exactly breaking news since I rarely go outside anyway.
However, the Timber Ridge staff has been working all week on cleaning up and arranging the patio furniture and getting the outdoor cookers (that anyone can use) ready for action. There will be old people in the sun this week, I'll bet.
3 Purrcys, chemical adventures
Jun. 5th, 2025 11:58 pmmecurtinIt's been a long time since I posted a Purrcy pic, I've let The Horrors eat up too much of my emotional energy. Here's what I saw first thing when I woke up the other day--a little latter than I meant to, but it was *so hard* to get out of bed!
And look at those toe beans!
-----------
After an exciting session of tail!shenanigans in the empty shelf, Purrcy sat down as a rather plump loaf and stared at me with both light-green eyebeams.
----
Sometimes #Purrcy gets overstimulated and wants his playtime to involve Fierce Fighting With Mom. I'm trying to train him to go for alternatives that do NOT involve human bloodshed -- like displacement scratching, that works!
#cats #CatsOfBluesky
There was a mess-up with one of my prescriptions, and I went off one of my "minor" brain meds cold turkey this week. By today it was NOT minor, but I finally got the right pills and within 30 minutes I felt like myself again. And then had to have a nap, because mania does NOT lead to adequate sleep.
Fortunately, my family could tell what was going on and mostly refused to engage, and didn't hold it against me. But I've had enough therapy recently talking about my mother & our relationship that I can now really see why a friend who's a shrink told me years ago, "You know your mother's bipolar, right?"
I mean, I took her word for it, diagnosing people was her *job*. But I really *felt* it today, when I realized that I'd been having a (mild-medium) manic episode and I was reacting to things *just the way my mother did*.
So. I'll make sure to remember those feelings--which include a fair bit of paranoia as well as driving intensity--and know what to call them, and look first for the chemical imbalance behind them, knowing that they lie.
"Trust your feelings" yeah no, I like *data*.
And look at those toe beans!
-----------
After an exciting session of tail!shenanigans in the empty shelf, Purrcy sat down as a rather plump loaf and stared at me with both light-green eyebeams.
----
Sometimes #Purrcy gets overstimulated and wants his playtime to involve Fierce Fighting With Mom. I'm trying to train him to go for alternatives that do NOT involve human bloodshed -- like displacement scratching, that works!
#cats #CatsOfBluesky
There was a mess-up with one of my prescriptions, and I went off one of my "minor" brain meds cold turkey this week. By today it was NOT minor, but I finally got the right pills and within 30 minutes I felt like myself again. And then had to have a nap, because mania does NOT lead to adequate sleep.
Fortunately, my family could tell what was going on and mostly refused to engage, and didn't hold it against me. But I've had enough therapy recently talking about my mother & our relationship that I can now really see why a friend who's a shrink told me years ago, "You know your mother's bipolar, right?"
I mean, I took her word for it, diagnosing people was her *job*. But I really *felt* it today, when I realized that I'd been having a (mild-medium) manic episode and I was reacting to things *just the way my mother did*.
So. I'll make sure to remember those feelings--which include a fair bit of paranoia as well as driving intensity--and know what to call them, and look first for the chemical imbalance behind them, knowing that they lie.
"Trust your feelings" yeah no, I like *data*.
Highlander: The Raven - episode 1, first impressions
Jun. 5th, 2025 07:26 pmannavereMy sum total knowledge of this show going in:
1. It's the much-maligned Amanda spinoff, with an imdb rating of 5.2 (I don't think I've ever seen a show get less than 6.0 over there, so ouch).
2. It was a disaster behind the scenes and the two leads hated each other's guts.
3. The other lead is an angry cop called Nick with 90s action man stubble. He's pre-Immortal.
4. Lucy is a fan favorite.
5. There's also a priest somewhere in the mix.
6. A lot of the salty reviews seem to blame the show for not being season five of Highlander and for not being about Methos. However, I don't expect it to be the former and am alone in thinking a Methos spinoff would only have succeeded in diluting the character's intrigue, so...
7. The cop emphasis was also present in the first season of the parent show, which many people dismiss but which I always found really charming, so seriously, how bad could it be?
It took a couple of tries to get into this episode, mostly due to external factors. I have watched the parent show my entire life, so it's strange and at this point emotional to see new footage of Amanda. Second attempt turned into a live blog of sorts, which I'll just leave as first impressions.
( Read more... )
1. It's the much-maligned Amanda spinoff, with an imdb rating of 5.2 (I don't think I've ever seen a show get less than 6.0 over there, so ouch).
2. It was a disaster behind the scenes and the two leads hated each other's guts.
3. The other lead is an angry cop called Nick with 90s action man stubble. He's pre-Immortal.
4. Lucy is a fan favorite.
5. There's also a priest somewhere in the mix.
6. A lot of the salty reviews seem to blame the show for not being season five of Highlander and for not being about Methos. However, I don't expect it to be the former and am alone in thinking a Methos spinoff would only have succeeded in diluting the character's intrigue, so...
7. The cop emphasis was also present in the first season of the parent show, which many people dismiss but which I always found really charming, so seriously, how bad could it be?
It took a couple of tries to get into this episode, mostly due to external factors. I have watched the parent show my entire life, so it's strange and at this point emotional to see new footage of Amanda. Second attempt turned into a live blog of sorts, which I'll just leave as first impressions.
( Read more... )
Victory!
Jun. 5th, 2025 09:41 amsusandennisI pulled the Litter Robot out and disassembled it and still the pieces where too big for our shoot. I found a dumpster down in the garage and a push cart so I came back up here, loaded up and unloaded down there. Done. Probably broke a dozen rules but fuck 'em. It's done. I cleaned up the area in the utility room and the rug that catches the litter spills is now in the washer.
Then I went to aqua fit. I did not want to go. It was better than those damn machines and, honestly, I knew Martha would check (which she did since her yoga class is in the gym at the same time). The water was very cold when I got in but, really, it was very lovely in less than a minute. Invigorating. I last took the class a year and a half ago. Now they have music which makes such a difference. And it was good and it was hard. And I thought it was 30 minutes but turned out to be 45! My arms are going to be very mad tomorrow but I'm going to do it again next Tuesday.
I bought a Litter Genie from Amazon and it came with a giant dent in it. So I returned it and bought the plastic one which isn't arriving until tomorrow. PetCo didn't have one but, hey, Pet Smart does AND if I order online and go get it, I save 20% - plus it's cheaper than Amazon anyway. So score score score. Cancel Amazon. Now I'm going to get dressed, take my two Amazon returns and go to PetSmart.
The utility room looks so much nicer and tidier without that gynormous Litter robot.
Then I went to aqua fit. I did not want to go. It was better than those damn machines and, honestly, I knew Martha would check (which she did since her yoga class is in the gym at the same time). The water was very cold when I got in but, really, it was very lovely in less than a minute. Invigorating. I last took the class a year and a half ago. Now they have music which makes such a difference. And it was good and it was hard. And I thought it was 30 minutes but turned out to be 45! My arms are going to be very mad tomorrow but I'm going to do it again next Tuesday.
I bought a Litter Genie from Amazon and it came with a giant dent in it. So I returned it and bought the plastic one which isn't arriving until tomorrow. PetCo didn't have one but, hey, Pet Smart does AND if I order online and go get it, I save 20% - plus it's cheaper than Amazon anyway. So score score score. Cancel Amazon. Now I'm going to get dressed, take my two Amazon returns and go to PetSmart.
The utility room looks so much nicer and tidier without that gynormous Litter robot.
PRIDE 3: Jareth/Nick Knight
Jun. 5th, 2025 11:18 amsenmutStranger to the Ball (498 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forever Knight, Labyrinth
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Nicholas "Nick" Knight, Jareth [Labyrinth]
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Attempted Seduction
Summary:
Jareth smiles as he sees the stranger. It's not often that one of them wanders into the spaces between worlds. Still, they can be interesting in their own ways, if they are not too lost in the ennui of living so long.
Living, for certain values thereof, Jareth amends in his mind.
He maneuvers his way in that direction, watching the stranger take in all of the oddities of the ball's participants. Masks that are cunningly crafted to deliver only a facet of the wearer's personality are works of art, some reeking of the arcane energies invested in them. Others do little to hide the person behind it, much as his own registers as regal and capricious.
A flick of his hand, and Jareth sees to the man's garb, turning it from passable nobility to proper formality and frivolity, the crimson threads shot through the dark cloth with sinister flair.
His guest doesn't notice at first, and Jareth is annoyed, wondering which of his court lured the man in. Yet then the change is appreciated, seen in the mirrored column betwixt dancers. His lovely red-headed courtier seems intent on interception, and he snaps a small stinging swat at her with his magic, forcing her to move on.
"And what, my lonesome wolf, brings such as you to my demesnes?" he asks as he steps into the man's field of vision, setting the mask on its baton to one side, smiling at his most charming.
"I… do not know. I followed a girl…" Already the effect of the court is pressing on the stranger, and Jareth feels a surge of giddy pleasure in the idea of keeping this one for a time.
"There are plenty of women present, but surely, having been led astray by the fairer sex, some time in more masculine company might be preferred?" Jareth invites. "Call me Jareth," he says easily, enjoying the way the man licks at his lips unconsciously.
"Nicki," the stranger gives. "Nicolas de Brabant."
Jareth felt the compulsion of his court pull the full name forth, sees the small frown for having given it, and he reaches with his free hand to stroke the cheek of his interesting distraction.
"This place is unlike any you have seen, and you may enjoy yourself… even to you nature, darling Nikki," Jareth croons at him, before vanishing his mask away, freeing his hands. "A night of dance among those who are not as the mortals you dally among, hmm? Perhaps… with more private dances after?"
His temptations linger, darkening the eyes, before the man tries to deny himself, to find a way out.
For now, Jareth lets him go, but he saw the desire, for that moment, and knows he will find his prey in time.
Perhaps he will deign to dally among mortals to find this Nicki, watching the vampire be caught in several dancers' hands on his way to finding the exit.
"Your hungers could match mine, if you freed them fully."
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forever Knight, Labyrinth
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Nicholas "Nick" Knight, Jareth [Labyrinth]
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Attempted Seduction
Summary:
Jareth spots new prey
Stranger to the Ball
Jareth smiles as he sees the stranger. It's not often that one of them wanders into the spaces between worlds. Still, they can be interesting in their own ways, if they are not too lost in the ennui of living so long.
Living, for certain values thereof, Jareth amends in his mind.
He maneuvers his way in that direction, watching the stranger take in all of the oddities of the ball's participants. Masks that are cunningly crafted to deliver only a facet of the wearer's personality are works of art, some reeking of the arcane energies invested in them. Others do little to hide the person behind it, much as his own registers as regal and capricious.
A flick of his hand, and Jareth sees to the man's garb, turning it from passable nobility to proper formality and frivolity, the crimson threads shot through the dark cloth with sinister flair.
His guest doesn't notice at first, and Jareth is annoyed, wondering which of his court lured the man in. Yet then the change is appreciated, seen in the mirrored column betwixt dancers. His lovely red-headed courtier seems intent on interception, and he snaps a small stinging swat at her with his magic, forcing her to move on.
"And what, my lonesome wolf, brings such as you to my demesnes?" he asks as he steps into the man's field of vision, setting the mask on its baton to one side, smiling at his most charming.
"I… do not know. I followed a girl…" Already the effect of the court is pressing on the stranger, and Jareth feels a surge of giddy pleasure in the idea of keeping this one for a time.
"There are plenty of women present, but surely, having been led astray by the fairer sex, some time in more masculine company might be preferred?" Jareth invites. "Call me Jareth," he says easily, enjoying the way the man licks at his lips unconsciously.
"Nicki," the stranger gives. "Nicolas de Brabant."
Jareth felt the compulsion of his court pull the full name forth, sees the small frown for having given it, and he reaches with his free hand to stroke the cheek of his interesting distraction.
"This place is unlike any you have seen, and you may enjoy yourself… even to you nature, darling Nikki," Jareth croons at him, before vanishing his mask away, freeing his hands. "A night of dance among those who are not as the mortals you dally among, hmm? Perhaps… with more private dances after?"
His temptations linger, darkening the eyes, before the man tries to deny himself, to find a way out.
For now, Jareth lets him go, but he saw the desire, for that moment, and knows he will find his prey in time.
Perhaps he will deign to dally among mortals to find this Nicki, watching the vampire be caught in several dancers' hands on his way to finding the exit.
"Your hungers could match mine, if you freed them fully."