Sunday Word: Hebetude
2026-02-08 16:11![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sallymn posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
1word1dayhebetude [heb-i-tood, -tyood]
noun:
listlessness, lethargy, or laziness of the mind
Examples:
Though the pandemic-induced hebetude still prevails in day-to-day affairs, the high-octane election campaign and heated political arguments have oozed a degree of anxiety and buzz into the mundane lives of the lesser mortals (Shan A S, LDF sitting pretty; UDF, NDA hope to upset its applecart in Vamanapuram, The New Indian Express, March 2021)
From that solitude, full of despair and terror, he was torn out brutally, with kicks and blows, passive, sunk in hebetude. (Joseph Conrad, Nostromo)
So you think you are saving yourselves from madness, but you are falling into mediocrity, into hebetude. (Italo Calvino, Difficult Loves)
This hebetude of all faculty was the merciful, protecting method that Nature took with her, dimming the lamp of consciousness until the wounded creature could gain sufficient resiliency to bear a full realization of life. (Robert Herrick, Clark's Field)
Benumbed, exhausted, sunk in hebetude, she waited until she could wait no more, until intolerable suspense drove her blindly. (John Russell, Where the Pavement Ends)
Origin:
1620s, from Latin hebetudo, noun of quality from hebes 'blunt, dull', figuratively 'sluggish; stupid', a word of unknown origin. (Online Etymology Dictionary)
Hebetude usually suggests mental dullness, often marked by laziness or torpor. As such, it was a good word for one Queenslander correspondent, who wrote in a letter to the editor of the Weekend Australian of 'an epidemic of hebetude among young people who … are placing too great a reliance on electronic devices to do their thinking and remembering.' Hebetude comes from Late Latin hebetudo, which means pretty much the same thing as our word. It is also closely related to the Latin word for 'dull,' hebes, which has extended meanings such as 'obtuse,' 'doltish,' and 'stupid.' (Merriam-Webster)
Deadline Has Passed!
2026-02-08 00:02candyheartsexThe deadline has now passed! Tomorrow, there will be new pinch hits + a repost of the ones that remain. I'll also post the treatless spreadsheet.
Several creators have extensions, so if you haven't defaulted but don't have a gift yet and don't see yourself on the pinch hit list tomorrow, please don't worry.
Several creators have extensions, so if you haven't defaulted but don't have a gift yet and don't see yourself on the pinch hit list tomorrow, please don't worry.
DAY 7 - FIC - HEY ARNOLD! - HELGA G. PATAKI
2026-02-08 01:59lovelytomeetyou posting in halfamoonDay 7 - The Lover
Title: Plenty of love to share (and friends to make)
Fandom: Hey Arnold!
Characters: Helga Pataki centric + her relationship with Arnold, her family and female friendships
Rating: Gen
Summary: “There’s nothing wrong with being passionate. You just need to… spread it. To different areas in your life, and people. That way, you can share your love with many people.”
Doctor Bliss and her ideas... but sure, Helga decides to give it a try. And realizes there are indeed many different types of love in life.
Story in ao3
Title: Plenty of love to share (and friends to make)
Fandom: Hey Arnold!
Characters: Helga Pataki centric + her relationship with Arnold, her family and female friendships
Rating: Gen
Summary: “There’s nothing wrong with being passionate. You just need to… spread it. To different areas in your life, and people. That way, you can share your love with many people.”
Doctor Bliss and her ideas... but sure, Helga decides to give it a try. And realizes there are indeed many different types of love in life.
Story in ao3
Second Patreon bonus strip for JANUARY 2026 — AMBER
2026-02-08 03:41![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
dumbing_of_age_feed
Every month at the Dumbing of Age Patreon there’s two new exclusive bonus strips — one that patrons get to vote on, and another that’s my choice! This month, we see how AMBER got from A to Z! Check out this strip and the backlog of hundreds of previous bonus strips at the Dumbing of Age Patreon! Also, if you pledge $5 or more per month, you can read tomorrow’s strip a full day-and-five-minutes early, every single dang night! You could be reading tomorrow’s strip right now!
Day 7 - Fic - Firefly - Kaylee Frye and Inara Serra
2026-02-07 22:20cmk418 posting in halfamoonTitle: Sensual and Genuine
Fandom: Firefly
Characters: Kaylee Frye and Inara Serra
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 294
Summary: Inara gives Kaylee a pep talk
( Sensual and Genuine )
Fandom: Firefly
Characters: Kaylee Frye and Inara Serra
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 294
Summary: Inara gives Kaylee a pep talk
( Sensual and Genuine )
All the Official NFL Super Bowl Commercials 2026
2026-02-08 04:03metafilter_feedI don't think this is definitive, but it is certainly a 40-minute-long collection of commercials that I enjoyed watching even while employing all my best defenses against advertising. All the Official NFL Super Bowl Commercials 2026
Assignments Out!
2026-02-08 00:51maevedarcy posting in threeisnotacrowdWe only had one unmatchable who has been deleted. Assignments have been sent, you should receive it shortly.
There are 7 Initial Pinch Hits which will be posted in the next 24 hours.
Remember your assignment should be kept anonymous! If you have any questions for your recipient, make sure to send them to maevedarcy at proton.me and the mod will pass them along shortly.
The collection is already open.
If you didn't have time to sign up but would like to treat someone, check Three is Not a Crowd on the AutoAO3 App.
AO3 collection
There are 7 Initial Pinch Hits which will be posted in the next 24 hours.
Remember your assignment should be kept anonymous! If you have any questions for your recipient, make sure to send them to maevedarcy at proton.me and the mod will pass them along shortly.
The collection is already open.
If you didn't have time to sign up but would like to treat someone, check Three is Not a Crowd on the AutoAO3 App.
AO3 collection
Week in review: Week to 7 February
2026-02-08 11:53pedanther. At board game club, we played Cockroach Salad, 27th Passenger, and Dixit.
27th Passenger is a deduction game in which the aim is to identify which of the other passengers on a train are the other players in disguise and eliminate them before they do the same to you. I did well; I achieved the first successful elimination, and arguably the second, although it would be difficult to say definitely who was second since that round was a bloodbath that saw three more players eliminated, leaving only me and one other player standing. The other player turned out to be a step ahead, and got me one round before I would have got him.
. After a bit of a break, I'm making reasonable progress on another jigsaw puzzle, though I'm not getting as big into it as with some others I've tried. This is the first puzzle I've attempted from this manufacturer, and I'm not impressed by the engineering quality of the pieces (they're a fair bit better than the one I had to give up on partway through, but that's a very low bar to clear). I'm also not finding myself engaged by the picture; it's one of the kind with lots of famous fictional characters hidden in it, but I don't recognise all of them and I'm not feeling very enthused about the ones that I do recognise.
. Continuing to make progress with Natural Six; this week I watched the episode "The Last Ride of Calypso Moonrise", which was a lot of fun and in no way like what I had expected from the title.
. I finished my run-through of XCOM 2 on the easier difficulty, and, as generally happens when a run goes well, immediately wanted to start another run.
There's a big sale on Steam for the XCOM games this weekend, because it's the tenth anniversary of the launch of XCOM 2, so I took another look at the "Shen's Last Gift" DLC, which I've wanted to try for ages but put off because it can only be bought as part of a pricey bundle with a bunch of other DLCs that don't interest me. The bundle was down to around ten dollars, which I decided was a reasonable price I'd be willing to pay for just "Shen's Last Gift", so I bought it.
What I hadn't anticipated was that Steam would immediately start downloading and installing all the DLC in the bundle without asking me first, which would have been mildly irritating without the fact that the bundle includes the big update that changes things throughout the game and adds several new fully-voiced characters and weighs nearly as much as the base game itself. It was still downloading when I went to bed.
27th Passenger is a deduction game in which the aim is to identify which of the other passengers on a train are the other players in disguise and eliminate them before they do the same to you. I did well; I achieved the first successful elimination, and arguably the second, although it would be difficult to say definitely who was second since that round was a bloodbath that saw three more players eliminated, leaving only me and one other player standing. The other player turned out to be a step ahead, and got me one round before I would have got him.
. After a bit of a break, I'm making reasonable progress on another jigsaw puzzle, though I'm not getting as big into it as with some others I've tried. This is the first puzzle I've attempted from this manufacturer, and I'm not impressed by the engineering quality of the pieces (they're a fair bit better than the one I had to give up on partway through, but that's a very low bar to clear). I'm also not finding myself engaged by the picture; it's one of the kind with lots of famous fictional characters hidden in it, but I don't recognise all of them and I'm not feeling very enthused about the ones that I do recognise.
. Continuing to make progress with Natural Six; this week I watched the episode "The Last Ride of Calypso Moonrise", which was a lot of fun and in no way like what I had expected from the title.
. I finished my run-through of XCOM 2 on the easier difficulty, and, as generally happens when a run goes well, immediately wanted to start another run.
There's a big sale on Steam for the XCOM games this weekend, because it's the tenth anniversary of the launch of XCOM 2, so I took another look at the "Shen's Last Gift" DLC, which I've wanted to try for ages but put off because it can only be bought as part of a pricey bundle with a bunch of other DLCs that don't interest me. The bundle was down to around ten dollars, which I decided was a reasonable price I'd be willing to pay for just "Shen's Last Gift", so I bought it.
What I hadn't anticipated was that Steam would immediately start downloading and installing all the DLC in the bundle without asking me first, which would have been mildly irritating without the fact that the bundle includes the big update that changes things throughout the game and adds several new fully-voiced characters and weighs nearly as much as the base game itself. It was still downloading when I went to bed.
Very cold Saturday
2026-02-07 22:10silver_chipmunkI got up this morning at 9:00 and had breakfast and coffee. Then I showered and dressed, in one of my thermal shirts with my warm sweater, instead of my usual tee shirt with sweater. Because it is cold out! Very, very cold.
So I headed toward my meeting, and got lucky that a bus was there almost immediately so I didn't have to wait in the chill.
The meeting was very good, and afterward we went to the diner as usual. I got a ride from S as usual.
Going home, again I got lucky and didn't have to wait long for a bus. I got off at Northern Blvd to transfer to the 12, an noticed that there's a CVS where the Party City used to be, across the street. So I went over and bought Valentines for the Kid, and Middle Brother. There was such a small section of Valentines that I was startled. I'm used to huge sections of Valentines, with cards for every member of your family. But there were precious few daughter cards, and none for brother, so I had to make do with a generic one. At least I found a reasonable one for the Kid.
Anyway, I paid and went to the bus top, just missed a 12, but one came in about 8 minutes after so I was OK.
Got off at Parsons and had to walk from there as usual, it was unpleasant. Very windy. Very, very cold.
Got home safely, and put in a Shipt order from my phone while logging in to the computer to go to the Starsky and Hutch chat. The chat was, as always, lots of fun. The Shipt order this time was complete.
We talked until a little after 7:00. Then I Teamed the FWiB. Fun as always.
*sigh* I learned today about Leon Botstein's involvement with Epstein. it was a horrible shock to me, I felt heart sick. As the president of my alma mater, he was an integral part of my college years, which were, arguably the best years of my life. I could go on for pages about what Bard meant to me, but I won't. Suffice it to say, I feel like I've been poisoned. And worried about the future of Bard now this has come out. Leon couldn't go on being president too much longer anyway, it's been 50 years, and he's old now, but what will happen to Bard when he's gone?
Enough of that. I just finished dinner, made out the Valentines, addressed and stamped them, and fed the pets. I calledmashfanficchick to see if ze was doing anything for the Superbowl tomorrow, ze's not. And after I finish here I shall go to bed.
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. Stayed warm most of the day.
3. Four years at Bard.
4. My meetings and the people there.
5. The Starsky and Hutch fandom.
6. Valentines Day stuff.
So I headed toward my meeting, and got lucky that a bus was there almost immediately so I didn't have to wait in the chill.
The meeting was very good, and afterward we went to the diner as usual. I got a ride from S as usual.
Going home, again I got lucky and didn't have to wait long for a bus. I got off at Northern Blvd to transfer to the 12, an noticed that there's a CVS where the Party City used to be, across the street. So I went over and bought Valentines for the Kid, and Middle Brother. There was such a small section of Valentines that I was startled. I'm used to huge sections of Valentines, with cards for every member of your family. But there were precious few daughter cards, and none for brother, so I had to make do with a generic one. At least I found a reasonable one for the Kid.
Anyway, I paid and went to the bus top, just missed a 12, but one came in about 8 minutes after so I was OK.
Got off at Parsons and had to walk from there as usual, it was unpleasant. Very windy. Very, very cold.
Got home safely, and put in a Shipt order from my phone while logging in to the computer to go to the Starsky and Hutch chat. The chat was, as always, lots of fun. The Shipt order this time was complete.
We talked until a little after 7:00. Then I Teamed the FWiB. Fun as always.
*sigh* I learned today about Leon Botstein's involvement with Epstein. it was a horrible shock to me, I felt heart sick. As the president of my alma mater, he was an integral part of my college years, which were, arguably the best years of my life. I could go on for pages about what Bard meant to me, but I won't. Suffice it to say, I feel like I've been poisoned. And worried about the future of Bard now this has come out. Leon couldn't go on being president too much longer anyway, it's been 50 years, and he's old now, but what will happen to Bard when he's gone?
Enough of that. I just finished dinner, made out the Valentines, addressed and stamped them, and fed the pets. I called
mashfanficchick to see if ze was doing anything for the Superbowl tomorrow, ze's not. And after I finish here I shall go to bed.Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. Stayed warm most of the day.
3. Four years at Bard.
4. My meetings and the people there.
5. The Starsky and Hutch fandom.
6. Valentines Day stuff.
Two New Festivids '25 Vids: "MONSTER!" & "Fame is a Gun"
2026-02-07 22:37winterevanesce posting in viddingVideo #1 Title: MONSTER!
Fandom: The Summer Hikaru Died (2025 Anime)
Genre(s): Character Study, Relationship Study, POV, Angst, Horror, M/M
Song/Artist: Monster by colby! and Shaya Zamora
Software(s): Vegas Pro 14
Characters/Pairings: Yoshiki / Hikaru
Summary: "I can't seem to let you go." (Yoshiki's POV)
Video for:pi (Rhea)
Stream/Download/Notes: Archive of our Own | Tumblr (only streaming vid)
Video #2 Title: Fame is a Gun
Fandom: The Ugly Stepsister (2025 Movie)
Genre(s): Character Study, Relationship Study, POV, Angst, Horror
Song/Artist: Fame is a Gun by Addison Rae
Software(s): Vegas Pro 14
Characters/Pairings: Elvira, Agnus, Prince Julian
Summary: "I got a taste of the glamorous life."
Video for:aguntoaknifefight
Stream/Download/Notes: Archive of our Own | Tumblr (only streaming vid)
Fandom: The Summer Hikaru Died (2025 Anime)
Genre(s): Character Study, Relationship Study, POV, Angst, Horror, M/M
Song/Artist: Monster by colby! and Shaya Zamora
Software(s): Vegas Pro 14
Characters/Pairings: Yoshiki / Hikaru
Summary: "I can't seem to let you go." (Yoshiki's POV)
Video for:
pi (Rhea)Stream/Download/Notes: Archive of our Own | Tumblr (only streaming vid)
Video #2 Title: Fame is a Gun
Fandom: The Ugly Stepsister (2025 Movie)
Genre(s): Character Study, Relationship Study, POV, Angst, Horror
Song/Artist: Fame is a Gun by Addison Rae
Software(s): Vegas Pro 14
Characters/Pairings: Elvira, Agnus, Prince Julian
Summary: "I got a taste of the glamorous life."
Video for:
aguntoaknifefight Stream/Download/Notes: Archive of our Own | Tumblr (only streaming vid)
On a happier note
2026-02-07 21:31moon_custaferMeadowville, Chapter 5
Apparently one of the possible Eurovision entries for 2026 is this band made up of firefighters? Idk if they’ve been definitely selected yet as Sweden’s entry.
An Australian talking about spiders in the most soothing and lyrical voice imaginable.
A 19th-c Portuguese estate with a lot of dramatic Masonic imagery.
Angine de Poitrine. Not sure how to describe this band. Sort of like Daft Punk but acoustic and polka-dotted?
Apparently one of the possible Eurovision entries for 2026 is this band made up of firefighters? Idk if they’ve been definitely selected yet as Sweden’s entry.
An Australian talking about spiders in the most soothing and lyrical voice imaginable.
A 19th-c Portuguese estate with a lot of dramatic Masonic imagery.
Angine de Poitrine. Not sure how to describe this band. Sort of like Daft Punk but acoustic and polka-dotted?
Other reading in Week 6
2026-02-08 10:18pedantherNo progress on finding a colour match for the book chain, but I've got other reading done:
January: Title containing "Before" or "After"
Before Dorothy, Hazel Gaynor. A historical novel telling a version of the life of Dorothy Gale's Auntie Em.
It's a straight historical, with no fantasy elements; one of the things it takes from the 1939 movie is the idea that Dorothy's trip to Oz was a dream inspired by things and people encountered in the waking world. Consequently, the cast of characters includes real-world analogues for the Wicked Witch (very similar to the movie's version), the Wizard (signficantly different), Glinda, and so on. Another thing it takes from the movie is that Tornado Day happens in the 1930s, allowing the author to make use of the Dust Bowl and the Depression; I was mostly able to roll with it but did occasionally blink at the inclusion of things that my head considers definitely post-Oz. (There's just something weird about the idea of Dorothy Gale sitting in Kansas reading Anne of Green Gables.)
I'm not sure how it would read as a straight historical for someone who wasn't familiar with The Wizard of Oz and didn't notice the references; I was initially rather distracted going "that's from that bit in the movie" and "that's from the book", and more interested in collecting clues about how the author was planning to deal with Tornado Day than in the characters for their own sake, but I did start getting involved in it once I'd settled to my satisfaction what kind of story to expect. My initial reaction when I realised what the driving question of the climax was going to be was "oh, this again?", but in the event I was sincerely invested in how it would play out.
I do think it could have done with another editing pass specifically to assess which of the references were actually contributing something worth keeping in; not every mention of circus animals need to include "lions and tigers and bears" (four separate times, I counted), and it felt like every red thing was ruby and just about every green thing was "emerald" -- though, having said that, I was struck by a moment near the end when one of the things I would have expected to be emerald was merely "green", which effectively undercut the moment in a way that I would like to think was deliberate.
Miscellaneous
Fiasco by Jason Morningstar. The source-book for a narrative role-playing game/long-form improvisational exercise for creating stories of "powerful ambition and poor impulse control", inspired by films like Fargo and Blood Simple. This was a re-read; I've owned the book for years, since I saw a demonstration game, but have never had any success at rounding up some people to play it with (nor the requisite impressively-large number of dice required).
You Say Potato: The Story of English Accents by Ben & David Crystal. Ben is an actor, David is a linguist, both have a professional interest in accents and how they develop and what they signify. The book includes a section about their work in the Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation project, which is where I first encountered them. I'm about halfway through, and have not yet reached the section promised on the back cover which addresses the vital question: "Has anybody ever actually said 'po-TAH-to'?"
The style is very conversational, and I have a feeling the audio book version would be a lot of fun to listen to.
January: Title containing "Before" or "After"
Before Dorothy, Hazel Gaynor. A historical novel telling a version of the life of Dorothy Gale's Auntie Em.
It's a straight historical, with no fantasy elements; one of the things it takes from the 1939 movie is the idea that Dorothy's trip to Oz was a dream inspired by things and people encountered in the waking world. Consequently, the cast of characters includes real-world analogues for the Wicked Witch (very similar to the movie's version), the Wizard (signficantly different), Glinda, and so on. Another thing it takes from the movie is that Tornado Day happens in the 1930s, allowing the author to make use of the Dust Bowl and the Depression; I was mostly able to roll with it but did occasionally blink at the inclusion of things that my head considers definitely post-Oz. (There's just something weird about the idea of Dorothy Gale sitting in Kansas reading Anne of Green Gables.)
I'm not sure how it would read as a straight historical for someone who wasn't familiar with The Wizard of Oz and didn't notice the references; I was initially rather distracted going "that's from that bit in the movie" and "that's from the book", and more interested in collecting clues about how the author was planning to deal with Tornado Day than in the characters for their own sake, but I did start getting involved in it once I'd settled to my satisfaction what kind of story to expect. My initial reaction when I realised what the driving question of the climax was going to be was "oh, this again?", but in the event I was sincerely invested in how it would play out.
I do think it could have done with another editing pass specifically to assess which of the references were actually contributing something worth keeping in; not every mention of circus animals need to include "lions and tigers and bears" (four separate times, I counted), and it felt like every red thing was ruby and just about every green thing was "emerald" -- though, having said that, I was struck by a moment near the end when one of the things I would have expected to be emerald was merely "green", which effectively undercut the moment in a way that I would like to think was deliberate.
Miscellaneous
Fiasco by Jason Morningstar. The source-book for a narrative role-playing game/long-form improvisational exercise for creating stories of "powerful ambition and poor impulse control", inspired by films like Fargo and Blood Simple. This was a re-read; I've owned the book for years, since I saw a demonstration game, but have never had any success at rounding up some people to play it with (nor the requisite impressively-large number of dice required).
You Say Potato: The Story of English Accents by Ben & David Crystal. Ben is an actor, David is a linguist, both have a professional interest in accents and how they develop and what they signify. The book includes a section about their work in the Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation project, which is where I first encountered them. I'm about halfway through, and have not yet reached the section promised on the back cover which addresses the vital question: "Has anybody ever actually said 'po-TAH-to'?"
The style is very conversational, and I have a feeling the audio book version would be a lot of fun to listen to.
Adult workout program, maximum stress relief in minimal time
2026-02-07 21:12feng_shui_houseToday I discovered a very short video where a lovely Irish lady demonstrates a simple and effective workout program for adults to relieve the stress of modern life.
https://www.threads.com/@mohu/post/DUdwlGKD3-q/media?xmt=AQGz070GUpr0ILI2cjNrXTDU-JjCPoc5treU0QH1XklHlQ
https://www.threads.com/@mohu/post/DUdwlGKD3-q/media?xmt=AQGz070GUpr0ILI2cjNrXTDU-JjCPoc5treU0QH1XklHlQ
February LOVE-FEST: Day 7: Lust
2026-02-07 21:02stonepicnicking_okapiokapi's February LOVE-FEST
prompts:
1. first love
2. friendship
3. love of nature
4. passion
5. soulmates
6. unrequited love
7. lust
8. love of the game
9. devotion
10. love of food
11. polyamory
12. long distance love
13. lovesickness
14. romantic love
15. love of place
16. marriage
17. love of order and method
18. divine love
19. platonic love
20. infatuation
21. maternal love
22. obsession
23. agape
24. love of animals
25. unconditional love
26. forbidden love
27. ecstasy
28. the beloved
---
How about a song?
prompts:
1. first love
2. friendship
3. love of nature
4. passion
5. soulmates
6. unrequited love
7. lust
8. love of the game
9. devotion
10. love of food
11. polyamory
12. long distance love
13. lovesickness
14. romantic love
15. love of place
16. marriage
17. love of order and method
18. divine love
19. platonic love
20. infatuation
21. maternal love
22. obsession
23. agape
24. love of animals
25. unconditional love
26. forbidden love
27. ecstasy
28. the beloved
---
How about a song?
you're telling me a shrimp dinnered this menu?
2026-02-07 20:33seaglassgardenmy fwb came over so i cleaned practically all day!! the dishes r done and the laundry is put away and the bathroom is all clean, and i even scrubbed the kitchen floor. i don't do it v often since there's this awful stain on the tile from when a few maintenance ppl came over to fix something and knocked over a can of...Something. they didn't know how to clean it up properly (i remember one of them used one of my cleaning wipes lmao) so now that part of the tile is rly gritty and unpleasant to scrub. i remember them being quite young, too. definitely younger than i was. they reminded me of watching teen boys milling around the courtyard in high school. they had that kind of unsure, goofy energy
but the winter gunk is off the floor now! of course i traipsed around in my boots while getting the trash ready to take outside. but it mostly looks very nice
im v glad i got to see my friend. we both had rough weeks and it was nice to shake all the thoughts out of my brain and just hug her for a while. we had plans to get sushi, which was the whole reason i was hosting instead of going to see her and her v silly cats. as we were looking up the place on doordash i noticed that a different sushi place—which had closed several months earlier—was seemingly open again?? so we did a little digging and apparently it’s Back, in the exact same place, with the same decor and menu and everything
now we both wanna know why it closed in the first place!! it’s one of the best restaurants in the area and we were so sad when it closed. it’s a tad expensive but my friend owed me from when she accidentally dropped a bunch of my leftovers on the floor. so i got a nice lil treat for freeee heheheheh
i was productive today but tmrw i rlly wanna find time to sit and read quietly… idc if it’s an article or part of a book or what! my head’s been so full of static this week i haven’t felt like writing at all. hopefully getting someone else’s words to rattle around will help
but the winter gunk is off the floor now! of course i traipsed around in my boots while getting the trash ready to take outside. but it mostly looks very nice
im v glad i got to see my friend. we both had rough weeks and it was nice to shake all the thoughts out of my brain and just hug her for a while. we had plans to get sushi, which was the whole reason i was hosting instead of going to see her and her v silly cats. as we were looking up the place on doordash i noticed that a different sushi place—which had closed several months earlier—was seemingly open again?? so we did a little digging and apparently it’s Back, in the exact same place, with the same decor and menu and everything
now we both wanna know why it closed in the first place!! it’s one of the best restaurants in the area and we were so sad when it closed. it’s a tad expensive but my friend owed me from when she accidentally dropped a bunch of my leftovers on the floor. so i got a nice lil treat for freeee heheheheh
i was productive today but tmrw i rlly wanna find time to sit and read quietly… idc if it’s an article or part of a book or what! my head’s been so full of static this week i haven’t felt like writing at all. hopefully getting someone else’s words to rattle around will help
Maybe this will fix me
2026-02-07 19:17newredshoesAll my free time right now is just couch-rotting and HOUSING, so even my calls with my dad are just 10-minute "You got nothing? I got nothing too" check-ins. Last weekend, I thought I found The Place (after having broken my own heart with not being able to afford my first-love unit); then their realtor broke the news that not only did the building not allow dogs, but they'd accidentally listed it for $30K under the real asking price, which was: a shock!!! After sulking for a few days, because it really would have been EVERYTHING, location-wise, it was back in the saddle.
Today, we went to three different places, and the last one was The One. I'd fallen in love with the listing, but seeing it in person just felt so so so so right. Now, of course, there are multiple offers, and my realtor and I are trying to put together a good pitch but I'm going to be paying more than I hoped I would, BUT. Realtor thinks we'll get it, and I would like to know where I'm living in April. It's smaller than my current place but laid out really, really well. The light is astonishing, the kitchen is fantastic AND there's an excellent back porch. I want it to work out real bad!! The wise thing would be to Start Purging Now, but I do feel, on a larger level, that I've been in ADHD waiting mode for my whole life since December. That is hard to dig out of at the best of times.
Other news is sparse. My arm is doing really well in OT; physical therapists are just the nicest people in the whole world, and I'm also dead set on getting myself a magnetic dart board once I'm in the new place. Can This Love Be Translated? is so much better than it should be — a completely delightful love triangle between two people who don't speak each other's language and their interpreter. It is honestly also a lot like watching my character bleed fic come to life, and I'm dying (positive!!!) over that a lot.
Even though we're doing a ton of election/primary coverage, I really really love my job and my coworkers. I just love them. What a good crew. That's a huge relief.
I am so excited about what my life is going to be once I get the psychic weight of this condo eventuality in order. I keep thinking about the spaces I want to have in my home and what they'll enable, and I want to invite people over for parties all the freaking time. We'll get there! It'll happen! I just wish I knew what it will look like. Waiting, especially for things that are ultimately out of your control: It's terrible!
Today, we went to three different places, and the last one was The One. I'd fallen in love with the listing, but seeing it in person just felt so so so so right. Now, of course, there are multiple offers, and my realtor and I are trying to put together a good pitch but I'm going to be paying more than I hoped I would, BUT. Realtor thinks we'll get it, and I would like to know where I'm living in April. It's smaller than my current place but laid out really, really well. The light is astonishing, the kitchen is fantastic AND there's an excellent back porch. I want it to work out real bad!! The wise thing would be to Start Purging Now, but I do feel, on a larger level, that I've been in ADHD waiting mode for my whole life since December. That is hard to dig out of at the best of times.
Other news is sparse. My arm is doing really well in OT; physical therapists are just the nicest people in the whole world, and I'm also dead set on getting myself a magnetic dart board once I'm in the new place. Can This Love Be Translated? is so much better than it should be — a completely delightful love triangle between two people who don't speak each other's language and their interpreter. It is honestly also a lot like watching my character bleed fic come to life, and I'm dying (positive!!!) over that a lot.
Even though we're doing a ton of election/primary coverage, I really really love my job and my coworkers. I just love them. What a good crew. That's a huge relief.
I am so excited about what my life is going to be once I get the psychic weight of this condo eventuality in order. I keep thinking about the spaces I want to have in my home and what they'll enable, and I want to invite people over for parties all the freaking time. We'll get there! It'll happen! I just wish I knew what it will look like. Waiting, especially for things that are ultimately out of your control: It's terrible!
good news
2026-02-07 19:17chazzbannerI was very happy to learn this morning that I have no calcium build-up in my heart. At the very least, this means that for the time being I don't have to go on a statin. :-)
This is the result of the CT Calcium Scan I had on 1/31.
***
This entry is brought to you by the letter L and the number 5.
(Two books I finished today: The Lives of Lee Miller, and Five Windows.)
-
This is the result of the CT Calcium Scan I had on 1/31.
***
This entry is brought to you by the letter L and the number 5.
(Two books I finished today: The Lives of Lee Miller, and Five Windows.)
-
I don't work here
2026-02-08 00:21metafilter_feedCause & Effect is a short film about unintended consequences, by Valentina Vee and mefi favorite Demi Adejuyigbe.
Pinch Hitter Prompts
2026-02-07 19:19candyheartsexIf you have picked up a pinch hit (either in progress or already submitted) and are not signed up for the exchange, this is your chance to request treats! Thank you so much for all your hard work in making the exchange possible. I’m sorry that this post is going up later than planned!
If you fall into those categories, please leave a comment on this post. Put all your requests into one comment, and please include:
Fandom
Relationship
Medium
Additional Details such as Likes and DNWs/Do Not Wants
Letter Link (optional)
Please only request fandoms and relationship that are in the tagset.
All pinch hitter treats can be posted to the exchange collection and will go live with the other gifts.
If you fall into those categories, please leave a comment on this post. Put all your requests into one comment, and please include:
Fandom
Relationship
Medium
Additional Details such as Likes and DNWs/Do Not Wants
Letter Link (optional)
Please only request fandoms and relationship that are in the tagset.
All pinch hitter treats can be posted to the exchange collection and will go live with the other gifts.
Romance at short notice
2026-02-08 00:02metafilter_feedA Bird Hit My Window and Now I'm a Lesbian (2024), recently posted to Fanfare, shares a sort of 'meet cute' theme with more conventional short films popular on Letterboxd like Lucky Fish (2022) and Sew into You (2024)--as does the light, cozy, and magical Parting Gift (2020).
Website Updates
2026-02-07 18:09ysabetwordsmithThanks to fuzzyred, the series Peculiar Obligations now has its own landing page. This series features Quakers and organized crime, particularly with pirate allies.
fuzzyred, the series Peculiar Obligations now has its own landing page. This series features Quakers and organized crime, particularly with pirate allies.
Day 6 - Fic - Warrior Nun - Yasmine
2026-02-08 00:53jacquelee posting in halfamoonTitle: Finding Yourself in a New World – Chapter 6: Her Own Personal Code
Day/Prompt: Day 6 / Her Own Personal Code
Fandom: Warrior Nun (TV)
Character/Pairing: Yasmine, Camila, Ava, Mary, Shannon
Rating/Warning(s): T / None
Word Count: 4166
Summary: Despite Yasmine's fears about breaking the law, once she gets to know the workers on Kasar and sees how they are treated, she throws herself into helping them without regard for the risk. Yasmine even takes on an extra mission when she learns about an injustice that she can correct.
Author's Notes: So, life attacked me (or rather, the vibes were not right, they were right for watching a lot of shows but not writing, lol), meaning I have now broken my 401 day streak of posting one fic or chapter every single day. Honestly, I'm kind of relieved about it. But I am determined to finish this fic for Halfamoon, I just might be a bit late with some of the prompts.
Here on AO3
Day/Prompt: Day 6 / Her Own Personal Code
Fandom: Warrior Nun (TV)
Character/Pairing: Yasmine, Camila, Ava, Mary, Shannon
Rating/Warning(s): T / None
Word Count: 4166
Summary: Despite Yasmine's fears about breaking the law, once she gets to know the workers on Kasar and sees how they are treated, she throws herself into helping them without regard for the risk. Yasmine even takes on an extra mission when she learns about an injustice that she can correct.
Author's Notes: So, life attacked me (or rather, the vibes were not right, they were right for watching a lot of shows but not writing, lol), meaning I have now broken my 401 day streak of posting one fic or chapter every single day. Honestly, I'm kind of relieved about it. But I am determined to finish this fic for Halfamoon, I just might be a bit late with some of the prompts.
Here on AO3
[navel-gazing] reading, fast & slow
2026-02-07 23:21kaberettAt some point in proceedings (depression? pain? migraine? dense technical text for the PhD? poetry?), I realise, I have gone from reading Unusually Quickly to still reading More? Than Population Norm? (75ish books last year, of which 15ish were graphic novels or otherwise not-a-novel's-worth-of-words), but no faster than I'd be able to read the text aloud -- "hearing" each word in my head, and often rereading sentences repeatedly.
This is in contrast to how I type, which is much faster than I can speak comprehensibly (... though I now recall that I am in fact often asked to Slow The Fuck Down when providing information verbally).
I have over the last little bit been tentatively experimenting with trying not to read each word "aloud", mentally, and instead treating The Written Word as something that doesn't always need to be (pseudo-)vocalised.
It feels weird. It's an active effort. I am extremely dubious about the impact on how much information I retain; Further Study Required. I think this is probably how I used to read (when?); I'm not sure what changed; I'm unsettled.
(And I want to post something to Dreamwidth before bed, and this is a thing I was thinking about a lot while almost-but-not-quite finishing Index, A History of the -- I'm at a point I'd ordinarily count as "finished" but obviously it is in this instance both important and rewarding to read the index, all two of it, so here y'go.)
Festivids
2026-02-07 18:12settiaiWell, I was planning on trying to get this post finished before reveals, but I didn't manage it. So I've now updated it to include the names of the vidders as well.
Sadly, I haven't had time to watch everything from this year's Festivids, but I at least have watched the vids in fandoms that I'm familiar with and am caught up on (as there's a few that I'm behind on that I skipped because of the risk of potential spoilers). Here are some of my favorites from the ones that watched:
( Vids under the cut. )
Sadly, I haven't had time to watch everything from this year's Festivids, but I at least have watched the vids in fandoms that I'm familiar with and am caught up on (as there's a few that I'm behind on that I skipped because of the risk of potential spoilers). Here are some of my favorites from the ones that watched:
( Vids under the cut. )
there's just something about the moon
2026-02-07 18:10musesfoolPer my last post, I intended to make two specific dishes for dinner this weekend (panko-crusted pork chops and pasta with sausage and cabbage), and my groceries were ordered with that in mind. Three guesses as to what did not arrive with my order, and the first two don't count. (Spoiler: it was the sausage and the pork chops.)
Sigh.
I gave up on today and just ordered pizza, and I think tomorrow I will pivot to mac and cheese because I have all the ingredients for that without having to do a second grocery delivery.
This afternoon, I baked an apple-cranberry crumble since I had 2 apples I hadn't eaten yet and all those cranberries hanging around. Instead of walnuts, I used pecans and instead of raisins I used chocolate chips, and I used maple sugar over the fruit instead of regular, and it smells fantastic. I can't wait to cut into it. I might need to make some whipped cream to eat with it.
The wind is whipping around like crazy and it's supposed to be super extra cold tomorrow, so I hope everyone is safe and warm, wherever you are.
*
Sigh.
I gave up on today and just ordered pizza, and I think tomorrow I will pivot to mac and cheese because I have all the ingredients for that without having to do a second grocery delivery.
This afternoon, I baked an apple-cranberry crumble since I had 2 apples I hadn't eaten yet and all those cranberries hanging around. Instead of walnuts, I used pecans and instead of raisins I used chocolate chips, and I used maple sugar over the fruit instead of regular, and it smells fantastic. I can't wait to cut into it. I might need to make some whipped cream to eat with it.
The wind is whipping around like crazy and it's supposed to be super extra cold tomorrow, so I hope everyone is safe and warm, wherever you are.
*
Day 7: Fic - Dragon Ball - Caulifla/Kale
2026-02-08 01:43budouka posting in halfamoonTitle: Go, Be Gay, And Delinquent
Fandom: Dragon Ball
Pairing: Caulifla/Kale (F/F)
Rating: T
Word count: 2240
Summary: Caulifla realizes she has feelings for her best friend and teammate Kale. But the confession is delayed until she deals with some bratty girls and later dragons (?)
Link: AO3 Publication
Fandom: Dragon Ball
Pairing: Caulifla/Kale (F/F)
Rating: T
Word count: 2240
Summary: Caulifla realizes she has feelings for her best friend and teammate Kale. But the confession is delayed until she deals with some bratty girls and later dragons (?)
Link: AO3 Publication
Else? [status, bicycling, food]
2026-02-07 17:47rebeccmeister1. I got more amazing things in the mail this week!
threemeninaboat sends such cool things in the mail. So does the organizer of the annual Coffeeneuring Challenge. <3
2. We got another 1.5 inches of snow overnight. You might think that would be trivial after the foot and change we got 2 weeks ago, but you'd be wrong, in large part because it still takes time for people to come along and clear the snow after it falls (and blows around in violent gusts, this time). Making it over to the fitness center for rowing practice was an...adventure. More fishtailing than I like (I really don't like fishtailing at all). The worst is trying to bike across snow where people driving have already compacted it. Slippery stuff.
By the time I went to the grocery store, the major roads were plowed, at least. But don't ever expect that bike lanes will get plowed in the winter in a place like Albany, New York, as if to suggest bicycles are a legitimate transit mode. No, in the wintertime, bike lanes are converted to car parking spots, because the cars can no longer park near the curb, because the parked cars have blocked the snow-clearing equipment and so the space at the curb is full of snow.
So you can see, I'm a deep believer in the value of bike lanes.
Not that I enjoy having to play chicken in traffic.
Not even the grocery co-op had bothered to shovel out the bike parking racks. Sigh.
So by the time I was home from it all, Frodo was coated in a heavy layer of Slop.
I rinsed it all off, and hopefully enough of the rinse water will drip/sublimate off that Frodo will be rideable by Monday morning. If not, I'll have to switch over to Princess TinyBike for a while.
I did spend an extra 15 minutes this morning with my avalanche shovel, digging out and widening a particular neglected crosswalk downtown. That's the best I can do, folks.
3. I will console myself with freshly-baked lemon rhubarb buttermilk bundt cake.
Fin.
threemeninaboat sends such cool things in the mail. So does the organizer of the annual Coffeeneuring Challenge. <32. We got another 1.5 inches of snow overnight. You might think that would be trivial after the foot and change we got 2 weeks ago, but you'd be wrong, in large part because it still takes time for people to come along and clear the snow after it falls (and blows around in violent gusts, this time). Making it over to the fitness center for rowing practice was an...adventure. More fishtailing than I like (I really don't like fishtailing at all). The worst is trying to bike across snow where people driving have already compacted it. Slippery stuff.
By the time I went to the grocery store, the major roads were plowed, at least. But don't ever expect that bike lanes will get plowed in the winter in a place like Albany, New York, as if to suggest bicycles are a legitimate transit mode. No, in the wintertime, bike lanes are converted to car parking spots, because the cars can no longer park near the curb, because the parked cars have blocked the snow-clearing equipment and so the space at the curb is full of snow.
So you can see, I'm a deep believer in the value of bike lanes.
Not that I enjoy having to play chicken in traffic.
Not even the grocery co-op had bothered to shovel out the bike parking racks. Sigh.
So by the time I was home from it all, Frodo was coated in a heavy layer of Slop.
I rinsed it all off, and hopefully enough of the rinse water will drip/sublimate off that Frodo will be rideable by Monday morning. If not, I'll have to switch over to Princess TinyBike for a while.
I did spend an extra 15 minutes this morning with my avalanche shovel, digging out and widening a particular neglected crosswalk downtown. That's the best I can do, folks.
3. I will console myself with freshly-baked lemon rhubarb buttermilk bundt cake.
Fin.
Health Insurance Again
2026-02-07 17:55writerkitMeanwhile, in the category of "ballot initiatives I would never get away with, but want," banning prior authorization. If a service is covered and an in-network physician prescribes or orders it, they have to cover it without further argument or extra paperwork.
Unfortunately I don't think that one is passable as a ballot initiative, not because any voters would be against it but because that would prompt the entire healthcare lobby to unite and spend millions of dollars eliminating you.
Still actively considering how to draft wording for the other one, though.
Unfortunately I don't think that one is passable as a ballot initiative, not because any voters would be against it but because that would prompt the entire healthcare lobby to unite and spend millions of dollars eliminating you.
Still actively considering how to draft wording for the other one, though.
The Same As It Ever Was
2026-02-07 21:50metafilter_feedDuring his appearance this week on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Ian McKellen recited part of a speech known as The Strangers' Case (probably written by William Shakespeare). In it Sir Thomas More, sheriff of London at the time, attempts to subdue a crowd of rioters who are complaining that immigrants should be sent back where they came from. He asks them to imagine themselves as refugees, banished from their own country and forced to live by the kindness of strangers, and think about how they'd feel being treated that way.
In May 1517 riots broke out in London as a response to an influx of immigrant workers. A few dozen years later a play named Sir Thomas More was written that included the above scene. The play was not published or performed at the time it was written, possibly because authorities in Elizabethan London were worried about copycat behavior. Most of the speech is listed here and helpfully indicates modern versions of some of the more densely Elizabethan words. Previously (I hope this isn't a double, as it's nominally about McKellan's recent excellent recitation)
In May 1517 riots broke out in London as a response to an influx of immigrant workers. A few dozen years later a play named Sir Thomas More was written that included the above scene. The play was not published or performed at the time it was written, possibly because authorities in Elizabethan London were worried about copycat behavior. Most of the speech is listed here and helpfully indicates modern versions of some of the more densely Elizabethan words. Previously (I hope this isn't a double, as it's nominally about McKellan's recent excellent recitation)
One Complaint About KDE, and another about Ubuntu/snap
2026-02-07 13:59arlieI habitually keep a lot of browser windows (and tabs) open, and take advantage of the browser's feature to reopen windows and tabs on restart. This isn't going to work on KDE, though the situation is not as dire as it was on Pop!_OS.
On MacOS, you can right click browser's icon on the task bar, and get a menu of all the windows (not tabs) the browser has open, in alphabetical order by the title of the window's currently selected tab. Each takes one line, and you need a lot of windows for them not to fit on a modern monitor; IIRC, even if you manage that the menu proves to be scrollable. I.e. you can find that window, unless of course you've selected a different tab and forgot to go back to the tab with the name you recognize.
This isn't as good as one past browser/window manager combination I used, which also included tabs in the list, and the change to MacOS took some getting used to. (For a while, I'd often have multiple copies of the same tab, since I simply couldn't find them.)
But it's orders of magnitude better than Pop!_OS, which offers you a selection among thumbnails of your various windows (not tabs), which are of course indistinguishable at that scale. (It had the same problem with shell windows.)
KDE offers a choice of image only or image-and-title. But it displays the various images horizontally, so a long title takes up too much space. And even a window with a tiny title takes up too much space, because of the inclusion of the useless and unwanted thumbnail.
( Read more... )
On MacOS, you can right click browser's icon on the task bar, and get a menu of all the windows (not tabs) the browser has open, in alphabetical order by the title of the window's currently selected tab. Each takes one line, and you need a lot of windows for them not to fit on a modern monitor; IIRC, even if you manage that the menu proves to be scrollable. I.e. you can find that window, unless of course you've selected a different tab and forgot to go back to the tab with the name you recognize.
This isn't as good as one past browser/window manager combination I used, which also included tabs in the list, and the change to MacOS took some getting used to. (For a while, I'd often have multiple copies of the same tab, since I simply couldn't find them.)
But it's orders of magnitude better than Pop!_OS, which offers you a selection among thumbnails of your various windows (not tabs), which are of course indistinguishable at that scale. (It had the same problem with shell windows.)
KDE offers a choice of image only or image-and-title. But it displays the various images horizontally, so a long title takes up too much space. And even a window with a tiny title takes up too much space, because of the inclusion of the useless and unwanted thumbnail.
( Read more... )
Font Woes; Help?
2026-02-07 17:22lb_leeOkay, I know there are folks who do Font Stuff and I am at my wits end so I throw myself on y'all's mercy. I have a couple fonts. One, Hershey Noailles Old French 2.5, is a bold version of the other, Hershey Noailles Old French.
And I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME get my computer to see that. At first, it insisted they were two completely different, unrelated fonts, so I popped them into FontForge, renamed them to have the same family and named one Hershey Noailles Old French with weight Regular and the other Hershey Noailles Old French Bold with weight Bold. That at least got my computer to go, "Ah, I see, these are indeed the same family, one is bold and one is regular!" which is great... but now my computer insists that the two fonts are identical. I do not know why, they very clearly are not when I open them individually in Font Forge... but they show up as identical in Font Viewer too! And any time I try to use it, I get the bold face, and I cannot get the regular one.
I am giving up for now but ARGH. (And all of this could've been avoided if the font distributor had just NAMED THEM RIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE!)
And I CANNOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME get my computer to see that. At first, it insisted they were two completely different, unrelated fonts, so I popped them into FontForge, renamed them to have the same family and named one Hershey Noailles Old French with weight Regular and the other Hershey Noailles Old French Bold with weight Bold. That at least got my computer to go, "Ah, I see, these are indeed the same family, one is bold and one is regular!" which is great... but now my computer insists that the two fonts are identical. I do not know why, they very clearly are not when I open them individually in Font Forge... but they show up as identical in Font Viewer too! And any time I try to use it, I get the bold face, and I cannot get the regular one.
I am giving up for now but ARGH. (And all of this could've been avoided if the font distributor had just NAMED THEM RIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE!)
phys_social_feed"There was no such thing as reproductive freedom for poor women in early modern Catholic Europe," states a recent article in the Journal of Modern History. The work examines several facets of "reproductive unfreedom" in the early modern period: namely, single motherhood, foundling hospitals, and wet nursing.