Edwardian vandalism
Dec. 21st, 2025 09:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
loganberrybunnyPublic
324/365: 1908 graffiti, Bewdley Bridge
Yet another grey and damp day to mark the Winter Solstice. I most definitely did not see the sun rise, or indeed see the sun at all! Today's photo is one of the lesser-known pieces of Bewdley's history. In one of the pedestrian tunnels under Bewdley Bridge along the Wribbenhall bank there's this old example of graffiti. You may just be able to make out the initials "T.S." to the left, but in any case the year 1908 is very clear. Cut with a knife, of course, so it would have taken rather longer for this Edwardian vandal than for the modern equivalent tagging with a spray can!
324/365: 1908 graffiti, Bewdley Bridge
Yet another grey and damp day to mark the Winter Solstice. I most definitely did not see the sun rise, or indeed see the sun at all! Today's photo is one of the lesser-known pieces of Bewdley's history. In one of the pedestrian tunnels under Bewdley Bridge along the Wribbenhall bank there's this old example of graffiti. You may just be able to make out the initials "T.S." to the left, but in any case the year 1908 is very clear. Cut with a knife, of course, so it would have taken rather longer for this Edwardian vandal than for the modern equivalent tagging with a spray can!
Culinary
Dec. 21st, 2025 08:01 pmoursinThis week's bread: a loaf of Bacheldre Rustic Country Bread Flour, quite nice, but not as nice as Dove's Farm Seedhouse.
Friday night supper: ersatz Thai fried rice with chorizo di navarra.
Saturday breakfast rolls: the ones based on James Beard's mother's raisin bread, 50/50% Marriages Golden Wholegrain (end of bag) and Strong Brown Flour, quite nice.
Today's lunch: lamb chops which I cooked thusly, except that as I had no small bottles of white wine I used red, turned out very well; served with Greek spinach rice and padron peppers.
Recipe: Dairy-Free Raspberry Almond Muffins
Dec. 21st, 2025 12:05 pmrunpunkrun posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
gluten_freeI adapted these muffins from a recipe in Katarina Cermelj's The Elements of Baking, making them dairy free and reducing the sugar. The result is a tender muffin with a domed top and a fluffy crumb, similar to a bakery muffin, but not as sticky or sweet.
Ingredients:
145 g tapioca starch
72 g sorghum flour
72 g millet flour
170 g granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp fine salt
160 g non-dairy milk (175 ml)
150 g non-dairy yogurt (5.3 oz)
100 g neutral oil (1/2 cup)
2 large eggs (~100 g out of shell)
1/4 tsp almond extract
215 g fresh raspberries, rinsed and drained
( recipe )
Questions? Ask 'em!
Ingredients:
145 g tapioca starch
72 g sorghum flour
72 g millet flour
170 g granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp fine salt
160 g non-dairy milk (175 ml)
150 g non-dairy yogurt (5.3 oz)
100 g neutral oil (1/2 cup)
2 large eggs (~100 g out of shell)
1/4 tsp almond extract
215 g fresh raspberries, rinsed and drained
( recipe )
Questions? Ask 'em!
Link: Let's support trans children
Dec. 21st, 2025 10:47 amsoniaKids Deserve a New Gender Paradigm by Kai Cheng Thom.
[I]n the trenches of trans health care, there is a growing idea that pushes back against the “one true gender for each individual” framing altogether—one that could allow us to resolve the bitterly divisive culture war over the psychological and medical care of transgender children. What if, instead of viewing gender as a fixed trait, we started to think of it as something that could evolve over the course of a lifetime? Or if detransitioning wasn’t considered a sign of failure and was instead regarded as a natural and healthy part of the gender development process?
Film post: The Last House on the Left (1972)
Dec. 21st, 2025 05:22 pmloganberrybunnyPublic
This is certainly not a film I thought I'd be covering here, but sometimes life comes at you unexpectedly. It's also almost impossible for me to review, even more so than with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, because of the enormous ethical concerns with its production. As a movie, though, Wes Craven's directing debut (if you don't count all the porn he made under pseudonyms) is extremely uneven, and if it didn't have his name on it I suspect it would be largely forgotten. There are sequences which have genuine power – a sequence after Mari's (Sandra Peabody, credited as Sandra Cassel) torture and rape as she quietly prays, then walks slowly into a lake to await her murder, gives her more dignity than Krug (David Hess) and his gang will ever have in their lives. The hand-held, "found footage" style makes the violence and forced nudity seem unsettlingly real, but it also feels deeply exploitative at times – a reminder that in the early 1970s Craven was not the thoughtful "master of horror" he later became. The intercut scenes involving the comic cops are utterly bizarre, and the "revenge" part that spans the last half hour is a bit of a mess. Despite those flashes of real power, this really is not a great film in its own right. No rating (see below)
Even more so than with Texas Chain Saw, this review is for the film as a film, because ethically it is a disaster. Not in terms of what's on-screen, which is largely not extreme by today's standards. But the production of Last House was appallingly unkind to one of its stars, Sandra Peabody. Craven himself acknowledged that she was deeply frightened while acting some of the more violent and explicit scenes, and that he stood back and let it play out. Worse, if David Hess and Marc Sheffler (who played Junior) are to be believed – though with the former that's questionable – they both threatened her with serious violence in order to provoke reactions; the fact that neither intended to follow through does not remove the abusiveness. Hess threatened to rape her "if you don't behave yourself" and Sheffler threatened to push her off a cliff to make her look scared enough for an emotionally important scene.
Be aware if you watch this movie that in the case of Mari, a good deal of the fear you see in Peabody's face on screen is genuine, not acted. The rape scene, when by Sheffler's own account she was terrified by Hess's aggressive interpretation of Krug – during three long takes with none of the psychological and emotional safeguards of a modern set – is even harder to watch when you know that. Peabody walked out of a cast and crew screening halfway through, "horrified and upset" at what she saw. Craven's name gives Last House a kind of shield against criticism. It shouldn't, because although he personally did not abuse her, a young actress suffered significantly – and if Hess's words are true, extremely severely – in its production.
I cannot in all conscience give a star rating to a film like that.
The Last House on the Left (1972)
This is certainly not a film I thought I'd be covering here, but sometimes life comes at you unexpectedly. It's also almost impossible for me to review, even more so than with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, because of the enormous ethical concerns with its production. As a movie, though, Wes Craven's directing debut (if you don't count all the porn he made under pseudonyms) is extremely uneven, and if it didn't have his name on it I suspect it would be largely forgotten. There are sequences which have genuine power – a sequence after Mari's (Sandra Peabody, credited as Sandra Cassel) torture and rape as she quietly prays, then walks slowly into a lake to await her murder, gives her more dignity than Krug (David Hess) and his gang will ever have in their lives. The hand-held, "found footage" style makes the violence and forced nudity seem unsettlingly real, but it also feels deeply exploitative at times – a reminder that in the early 1970s Craven was not the thoughtful "master of horror" he later became. The intercut scenes involving the comic cops are utterly bizarre, and the "revenge" part that spans the last half hour is a bit of a mess. Despite those flashes of real power, this really is not a great film in its own right. No rating (see below)
Even more so than with Texas Chain Saw, this review is for the film as a film, because ethically it is a disaster. Not in terms of what's on-screen, which is largely not extreme by today's standards. But the production of Last House was appallingly unkind to one of its stars, Sandra Peabody. Craven himself acknowledged that she was deeply frightened while acting some of the more violent and explicit scenes, and that he stood back and let it play out. Worse, if David Hess and Marc Sheffler (who played Junior) are to be believed – though with the former that's questionable – they both threatened her with serious violence in order to provoke reactions; the fact that neither intended to follow through does not remove the abusiveness. Hess threatened to rape her "if you don't behave yourself" and Sheffler threatened to push her off a cliff to make her look scared enough for an emotionally important scene.
Be aware if you watch this movie that in the case of Mari, a good deal of the fear you see in Peabody's face on screen is genuine, not acted. The rape scene, when by Sheffler's own account she was terrified by Hess's aggressive interpretation of Krug – during three long takes with none of the psychological and emotional safeguards of a modern set – is even harder to watch when you know that. Peabody walked out of a cast and crew screening halfway through, "horrified and upset" at what she saw. Craven's name gives Last House a kind of shield against criticism. It shouldn't, because although he personally did not abuse her, a young actress suffered significantly – and if Hess's words are true, extremely severely – in its production.
I cannot in all conscience give a star rating to a film like that.
One book, one December meme response
Dec. 21st, 2025 02:09 pmdolorosa_12Happy Gravy Day to those who celebrate! It's been a bit of a disjointed few days. I'm working right up to (and including) 24th December, so there's the usual mad scramble to deal with the inevitable mad scramble of students and researchers wanting to 'wrap things up before Christmas,' I'm trying to get all the food shopping and Christmas preparation done around that, and to top it all off, both Matthias and I have been sick. He's mostly better now, and I'm on the way to recovery, but the timing was less than ideal.
author_by_night suggested that I talk about the discrepancy between conventional understanding of history (based to a large extent on the experiences of the upper echelons of society), and the realities of ordinary people's lives for the December talking meme, and although I don't really feel qualified to provide a definitive answer to this, I'll do my best.
( See more behind the cut )
I've picked up The Dark Is Rising for my annual winter solstice reread, but haven't finished it yet, and have otherwise only finished one other book this week: The Art of a Lie (Laura Shepherd-Robinson), another great novel by one of my favourite writers of historical fiction. This was a page-turning, enjoyable read with all the features I've come to enjoy about Shepherd-Robinson's books: a scammer in eighteenth-century London embarks on a new con job on a wealthy widow, and finds he's picked a more savvy and complicated mark than his usual targets. The book switches perspectives, each time revealing more unreliabilities in its pair of narrators, pulling the rug out from each other and from the reader with every shift in point of view. As always, the author's extensive research and rich evocation of this period in history is on full display — I was delighted to learn more about eighteenth-century confectionery- and ice-cream-making, law-enforcement in London before it had a dedicated police force, and all the various opportunities for scamming and corruption (most of which are essentially unchanged to this day — there was a common 'Spanish prisoner' scam which is identical to today's 'Nigerian prince' scam).
And that's about it for this week. I hope everyone else is having a restful time.
author_by_night suggested that I talk about the discrepancy between conventional understanding of history (based to a large extent on the experiences of the upper echelons of society), and the realities of ordinary people's lives for the December talking meme, and although I don't really feel qualified to provide a definitive answer to this, I'll do my best.( See more behind the cut )
I've picked up The Dark Is Rising for my annual winter solstice reread, but haven't finished it yet, and have otherwise only finished one other book this week: The Art of a Lie (Laura Shepherd-Robinson), another great novel by one of my favourite writers of historical fiction. This was a page-turning, enjoyable read with all the features I've come to enjoy about Shepherd-Robinson's books: a scammer in eighteenth-century London embarks on a new con job on a wealthy widow, and finds he's picked a more savvy and complicated mark than his usual targets. The book switches perspectives, each time revealing more unreliabilities in its pair of narrators, pulling the rug out from each other and from the reader with every shift in point of view. As always, the author's extensive research and rich evocation of this period in history is on full display — I was delighted to learn more about eighteenth-century confectionery- and ice-cream-making, law-enforcement in London before it had a dedicated police force, and all the various opportunities for scamming and corruption (most of which are essentially unchanged to this day — there was a common 'Spanish prisoner' scam which is identical to today's 'Nigerian prince' scam).
And that's about it for this week. I hope everyone else is having a restful time.
Sunday Word: Mephitic
Dec. 21st, 2025 11:41 amsallymn posting in 1word1daymephitic [muh-fit-ik]
adjective:
1 offensive to the smell
2 noxious; pestilential; poisonous
Examples:
Like a mephitic vapor from a sword-and-sandals epic, it slips under the door frame and into your head. (Guy Trebay, We’re Holding Tight to Our Good Luck Talismans, The New York Times, April 2020)
These moments of reckoning - in which something that once felt exciting begins to seem noxious, mephitic, dangerous - are important to heed. (Amanda Petrusich, A Quest to Rename the Williamsburg Bridge for Sonny Rollins, The New Yorker, April 2017)
The A66 motorway takes you along the bank of a river that eventually opens into the Cantabrian Sea, but there's no water to be seen through a mephitic landscape of factories and warehouses. (Paul Richardson, A great white hope in Avilés, Asturias, The Guardian, July 2011)
Mephitic vapors - spontaneous combustion - pressure of gases born of long decay - any one of numberless phenomena might be responsible. (H P Lovecraft, 'The Haunter of the Dark')
I even made them remove from the opening, as I smelled the mephitic air that issued abundantly from it, and began myself to feel giddiness in consequence of having gone too near; so that I was compelled to withdraw quickly, and inhale a purer air. (Johann David Wyss, The Swiss Family Robinson)
Origin:
1620s, 'of poisonous smell, foul, noxious,' from Late Latin mephiticus, from Latin mephitis, mefitis 'noxious vapor, a pestilential exhalation, especially from the earth' (also personified as a goddess believed to have the power to avert it), an Italic word of uncertain origin. English use of mephitis is attested from 1706. (Online Etymology Dictionary)
52/295-296-297: Cold
Dec. 20th, 2025 11:01 pmrejectomorphIt feels cold in here tonight. It's felt cold for quite a while. We had two days of rain, and the damp is chilling. I've spent a lot of time sleeping. Groceries were fetched Friday, an I forgot to order some things, and the store failed to include a couple of things I did order, and made a couple of substitutions that did not please me, but I guess that's what happens in a world that is falling apart.
I could compensate a bit by turning up the thermostat and making myself warmer for a while, but I got this month's utility bill the other day and it was scary. This hasn't even been that cold a month. I wonder what the January and February bills will be like? Probably horrendous. I don't think I can afford to get warm tonight.
I still haven't eaten Friday dinner, and should probably fix that now. My neck keeps itching, and it's very distracting. I trimmed my hair yesterday, and I don't think I got all the little cut bits off my head before putting on my clean shirt, and the little bits are probably drifting down onto the collar and stabbing me and making me itch. If it isn't one thing it's another, as they say.
Now I will attempt to cook, before the food rots away. I myself will continue to rot away whether I cook or not. But if I eat there will be more of me to rot. It will all balance out in the end.
( Sunday Verse )
I could compensate a bit by turning up the thermostat and making myself warmer for a while, but I got this month's utility bill the other day and it was scary. This hasn't even been that cold a month. I wonder what the January and February bills will be like? Probably horrendous. I don't think I can afford to get warm tonight.
I still haven't eaten Friday dinner, and should probably fix that now. My neck keeps itching, and it's very distracting. I trimmed my hair yesterday, and I don't think I got all the little cut bits off my head before putting on my clean shirt, and the little bits are probably drifting down onto the collar and stabbing me and making me itch. If it isn't one thing it's another, as they say.
Now I will attempt to cook, before the food rots away. I myself will continue to rot away whether I cook or not. But if I eat there will be more of me to rot. It will all balance out in the end.
( Sunday Verse )
hibernaculum
Dec. 21st, 2025 12:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
merriamwebster_feedMerriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 21, 2025 is:
hibernaculum • \hye-ber-NAK-yuh-lum\ • noun
Hibernaculum (plural hibernacula) refers to a shelter occupied during the winter by a dormant animal, such as an insect, snake, bat, or marmot.
// Local scientists are studying the longevity of bats who use bridges and other aboveground hibernacula versus that of bats who roost all winter in subterranean caves.
Examples:
“Adult female bees begin looking for a hibernation location, or hibernaculum, in the fall. If the gardener is planning to deadhead any spent flowers from the summer, aim to prune stems at varying heights (8" to 24") as a nesting site for these bees. Many perennial flowers and shrubs have pithy stems that will serve as a good location. A few common Oklahoma garden plants that are good candidates include roses, purple coneflower, salvia, bee balm, and sunflowers.” — Sherry Clark, The Shawnee (Oklahoma) News-Star, 8 Oct. 2025
Did you know?
If you’re afraid of snakes or bats, you probably won’t enjoy thinking about hibernacula, where hundreds, even thousands, of these creatures might be passing the wintry months. Other creatures also use hibernacula, though many of these tend to be less crowded. The word hibernaculum has been used for the burrow of a woodchuck, for instance, as well as for a cozy caterpillar cocoon attached to a wintry twig, and for the spot in which a frog has buried itself in mud. Hibernacula are all around us and have been around for a long, long time, but we have only called them such since the late 1700s, making hibernaculum only a few decades older than the more familiar verb hibernate. Both words come from the Latin verb hibernare, meaning “to pass the winter,” which in turn comes from hibernus, meaning “winter.”
Exponentile stats
Dec. 20th, 2025 08:05 pmsoniaI mentioned Exponentile a while back, and said I hoped I would let it rest. Well, I did get back into it, and played obsessively for a while.
I started playing in DuckDuckGo on my phone which doesn't save visited urls, and closing the tab each time so that I would have to type the url back in to continue playing. I've tapered off quite a bit, but still feel drawn to spend time in a low-stakes world with defined rules sometimes.
My high score is 114,184 and I generally don't get even close to that before the game ends. I think I got over 100,000 one or two other times.
I've had two 2048 tiles on the screen before, but today I got a 4096! I had two 512s, a space, and then two more 512s, and I managed to finagle a 512 to drop into the space. The 4096 glows like the 2048s, in light green with a reddish aura.
Is anyone else still playing, or have you moved on to the next fun thing?
This post brought to you by being completely wiped out at 7pm. Maybe all that running around has caught up with me. The concert last night was amazing, and I had a good conversation with a stranger waiting in line for the doors to open in the rain. Inside, I chatted with folks I know from choir or dancing. Feels good to be part of the community that way.
I started playing in DuckDuckGo on my phone which doesn't save visited urls, and closing the tab each time so that I would have to type the url back in to continue playing. I've tapered off quite a bit, but still feel drawn to spend time in a low-stakes world with defined rules sometimes.
My high score is 114,184 and I generally don't get even close to that before the game ends. I think I got over 100,000 one or two other times.
I've had two 2048 tiles on the screen before, but today I got a 4096! I had two 512s, a space, and then two more 512s, and I managed to finagle a 512 to drop into the space. The 4096 glows like the 2048s, in light green with a reddish aura.
Is anyone else still playing, or have you moved on to the next fun thing?
This post brought to you by being completely wiped out at 7pm. Maybe all that running around has caught up with me. The concert last night was amazing, and I had a good conversation with a stranger waiting in line for the doors to open in the rain. Inside, I chatted with folks I know from choir or dancing. Feels good to be part of the community that way.
Dragging
Dec. 20th, 2025 06:50 pmdays_unfoldingWoke up at 7 AM. Oliver wants food. Fed us all. Nap time.
Had a nice nap. Overslept a little. I’m trying to wake up to get my clothes in the dryer. Oliver is fussing over me, purring. You were fed this morning. No, you’re not getting more food.
Looked at the Chicago Red Line maps. I need to write down the stops before my stops so that I know when to get ready to get off.
I really want to go back to sleep, but I can’t because I need to go to the post office. Maybe I could nap for a half hour while my clothes dry.
Gracie is barking at Oliver. A quiet morning at home.
Hmm. The Mattis post office is open until 5 PM. I’m thinking of going back to sleep for an hour. Or maybe I’ll stay awake and just sit for a while. The dogs are barking loudly. Maybe I’ll stop at Staples and pick up some printer ink. I’m having some shipped to me, but it’s delayed. And I need to go to Walmart.
Cat (Oliver) in my face. He is not shy about getting attention. Lily tends to go off on her own except when she wants food.
No, I’m going back to bed. Oooh, I’m dizzy. I’ll stop at the (closed) post office later to mail letters. Then I’ll go to Walmart. Slept well until Gracie started pushing me off the bed.
Solstice. I had the lights on at 4:30.
The dogs are outside. I’ll feed them and myself and then shower. Got my hat and gloves and a necklace. I’m waiting anxiously for rings. Oh, that reminds me that I need to stop the mail for when I’m gone.
Maybe I’ll submit a Walmart order for tomorrow. I could mail the cards then too; they won’t get there any faster. And I’ll stay home.
Gracie got my new glasses. The dogs are holy terrors. Got them back. Gracie was like, Oh, you’re upset. Yeaaaaah, I am!
Fed us all. Started reading the book about the making of The Princess Bride. It’s interesting.
Got a recycling bin into the hallway to the basement. I kind of want to go back to sleep, but it’s too early. I’m feeling too tired to do much though. I could submit my Walmart order. I should do some packing. Maybe I’ll post.
Ordered stuff from Walmart, including a wireless trackball to use with my new travel laptop. I should go to sleep early and get up early because I'll have to get up at the crack of dawn on Tuesday to drop the pets off. But I'll go pack some stuff.
Had a nice nap. Overslept a little. I’m trying to wake up to get my clothes in the dryer. Oliver is fussing over me, purring. You were fed this morning. No, you’re not getting more food.
Looked at the Chicago Red Line maps. I need to write down the stops before my stops so that I know when to get ready to get off.
I really want to go back to sleep, but I can’t because I need to go to the post office. Maybe I could nap for a half hour while my clothes dry.
Gracie is barking at Oliver. A quiet morning at home.
Hmm. The Mattis post office is open until 5 PM. I’m thinking of going back to sleep for an hour. Or maybe I’ll stay awake and just sit for a while. The dogs are barking loudly. Maybe I’ll stop at Staples and pick up some printer ink. I’m having some shipped to me, but it’s delayed. And I need to go to Walmart.
Cat (Oliver) in my face. He is not shy about getting attention. Lily tends to go off on her own except when she wants food.
No, I’m going back to bed. Oooh, I’m dizzy. I’ll stop at the (closed) post office later to mail letters. Then I’ll go to Walmart. Slept well until Gracie started pushing me off the bed.
Solstice. I had the lights on at 4:30.
The dogs are outside. I’ll feed them and myself and then shower. Got my hat and gloves and a necklace. I’m waiting anxiously for rings. Oh, that reminds me that I need to stop the mail for when I’m gone.
Maybe I’ll submit a Walmart order for tomorrow. I could mail the cards then too; they won’t get there any faster. And I’ll stay home.
Gracie got my new glasses. The dogs are holy terrors. Got them back. Gracie was like, Oh, you’re upset. Yeaaaaah, I am!
Fed us all. Started reading the book about the making of The Princess Bride. It’s interesting.
Got a recycling bin into the hallway to the basement. I kind of want to go back to sleep, but it’s too early. I’m feeling too tired to do much though. I could submit my Walmart order. I should do some packing. Maybe I’ll post.
Ordered stuff from Walmart, including a wireless trackball to use with my new travel laptop. I should go to sleep early and get up early because I'll have to get up at the crack of dawn on Tuesday to drop the pets off. But I'll go pack some stuff.
Mog time!
Dec. 20th, 2025 11:56 pmloganberrybunnyPublic
323/365: Scone, Morgan Experience café
Click for a larger, sharper image
I happened to be in Malvern Link today, which is where the Morgan Motor Company is based. I'd only recently discovered that their "Morgan Experience" building, which is the company's showroom and the place where people meet at the start of factory tours, had a café in that was open to the public. I just wandered in and followed a sign; the person at the reception desk didn't even ask me what I was doing. Can't imagine you'd get that at the Land Rover factory! :P Anyway, the café is very nice, if a little on the expensive side, and you get to have your stuff with Morgans dotted around. I had an Earl Grey-infused scone, don't you know, with ridiculously generous portions of clotted cream and strawberry jam. I suppose I should have had tea with it, but coffee it was!
323/365: Scone, Morgan Experience café
Click for a larger, sharper image
I happened to be in Malvern Link today, which is where the Morgan Motor Company is based. I'd only recently discovered that their "Morgan Experience" building, which is the company's showroom and the place where people meet at the start of factory tours, had a café in that was open to the public. I just wandered in and followed a sign; the person at the reception desk didn't even ask me what I was doing. Can't imagine you'd get that at the Land Rover factory! :P Anyway, the café is very nice, if a little on the expensive side, and you get to have your stuff with Morgans dotted around. I had an Earl Grey-infused scone, don't you know, with ridiculously generous portions of clotted cream and strawberry jam. I suppose I should have had tea with it, but coffee it was!
a little gardening
Dec. 20th, 2025 06:27 pmtwoelevenyesterday it warmed up to 55°, so i attacked the snow-damaged bushes with a saw and lopper (and other instruments of mass destruction). the bush with the cracked branch was difficult to work on, because the branch was in an awkward place. i tried to undercut the branch so that i'd get a clean cut, but no, the branch broke a little differently than straight down, so there's an ugly wound with a big strip of live wood and bark missing now. i'm probably going to cut the branch further down to try to get a clean cut.
as expected, i spent a while trimming that bush. there was more dead wood than i'd realized, and i trimmed off even more than that to help another bush that it was shading grow.
and i cut a bent branch from a third bush. it wasn't obviously cracked, but since it was still leaning over the front stairs despite all the snow having melted, i figured it was messed up somehow. that also left a bad cut, but better than the other one.
then I had to cut up all the random branches i'd taken off to toss back into the woods. i also cleared out something that was trying to turn into a thicket back there, since it was easier to see the stems now than when the mass of shrubby trees and wild roses had leaves.
i probably should have lifted my dahlias weeks ago, but between bad weather and being out of town, it didn't get done. but one of the sites i bookmarked for advice on how to lift and divide dahlias said they have a fair tolerance for brief sub-freezing air temperatures, so long as the ground stays warm. the site also said that they had luck mulching dahlias in zone 6a, a bit cooler than zone 7a, where i am.
so, i'm conducting an experiment. each of the dahlias now has a foot-tall pile of mulch on it. we'll see if they revive in the spring. if they do, i won't have to lift them until it's time to divide them. that may be a few years if the antler rats keep chewing on them. (i'm trying to decide what to do about the antler rats too.)
as expected, i spent a while trimming that bush. there was more dead wood than i'd realized, and i trimmed off even more than that to help another bush that it was shading grow.
and i cut a bent branch from a third bush. it wasn't obviously cracked, but since it was still leaning over the front stairs despite all the snow having melted, i figured it was messed up somehow. that also left a bad cut, but better than the other one.
then I had to cut up all the random branches i'd taken off to toss back into the woods. i also cleared out something that was trying to turn into a thicket back there, since it was easier to see the stems now than when the mass of shrubby trees and wild roses had leaves.
i probably should have lifted my dahlias weeks ago, but between bad weather and being out of town, it didn't get done. but one of the sites i bookmarked for advice on how to lift and divide dahlias said they have a fair tolerance for brief sub-freezing air temperatures, so long as the ground stays warm. the site also said that they had luck mulching dahlias in zone 6a, a bit cooler than zone 7a, where i am.
so, i'm conducting an experiment. each of the dahlias now has a foot-tall pile of mulch on it. we'll see if they revive in the spring. if they do, i won't have to lift them until it's time to divide them. that may be a few years if the antler rats keep chewing on them. (i'm trying to decide what to do about the antler rats too.)
let's see what approach they take here
Dec. 20th, 2025 06:06 pmmusesfoolSo I may have been a little...over ambitious in purchasing eggs and butter and expecting it all to fit into my tiny apartment-size fridge. I did get all of it in there, but there was literally no room to let orange rolls rise overnight so I knocked that off the list. Maybe I will do them for New Year's morning instead.
I also had an unfortunate start to the fig cookies. I made the filling yesterday and I might have put too much cocoa in as I thought it was the bottom of the container so I just dumped it in and well, there was more than I expected in there. *hands* It's fine. Then when I made the dough earlier, it smelled weird. I think maybe the Crisco had gone off? Idk, but I threw out what I'd made and did it again with the newly opened can of Crisco and it smelled correct, so I didn't really get to make cookies this afternoon as planned, but I might make some after dinner, which is how we did it when I was a kid - every night for the 2 weeks before Christmas we were in the kitchen making fig cookies.
I did marinate the pork country ribs last night and they are now in the oven roasting, so that at least is on track.
I also watched Wake Up Dead Man yesterday, and I liked but didn't love it? I'm not sure why? ( spoilers )
This is a long essay about the movie (spoilers, obvs) that goes much deeper into it: Entirely Too Many Thoughts About Wake Up Dead Man by Leah Schnelbach.
Oh, the timer just went off so I have to take the ribs out of the oven, so I guess I'll just hit post!
***
( 6-day plan, day 2 )
***
I also had an unfortunate start to the fig cookies. I made the filling yesterday and I might have put too much cocoa in as I thought it was the bottom of the container so I just dumped it in and well, there was more than I expected in there. *hands* It's fine. Then when I made the dough earlier, it smelled weird. I think maybe the Crisco had gone off? Idk, but I threw out what I'd made and did it again with the newly opened can of Crisco and it smelled correct, so I didn't really get to make cookies this afternoon as planned, but I might make some after dinner, which is how we did it when I was a kid - every night for the 2 weeks before Christmas we were in the kitchen making fig cookies.
I did marinate the pork country ribs last night and they are now in the oven roasting, so that at least is on track.
I also watched Wake Up Dead Man yesterday, and I liked but didn't love it? I'm not sure why? ( spoilers )
This is a long essay about the movie (spoilers, obvs) that goes much deeper into it: Entirely Too Many Thoughts About Wake Up Dead Man by Leah Schnelbach.
Oh, the timer just went off so I have to take the ribs out of the oven, so I guess I'll just hit post!
***
( 6-day plan, day 2 )
***
Saturday Word: Povitica
Dec. 20th, 2025 11:46 amcalzephyr posting in 1word1dayPovitica - noun.
Povitica (pronounced "poh-vee-TEET-sah" in Croatian, or "poh-TEET-sah" as potica in Slovenian) is a traditional Eastern European sweet or savory nut roll bread characterized by a very thin, yeast-raised dough.
A rich filling, usually finely ground walnuts, honey and/or sugar, is spread inside and then rolled into a tight spiral. Learn how to make it yourself below:
Povitica (pronounced "poh-vee-TEET-sah" in Croatian, or "poh-TEET-sah" as potica in Slovenian) is a traditional Eastern European sweet or savory nut roll bread characterized by a very thin, yeast-raised dough.
A rich filling, usually finely ground walnuts, honey and/or sugar, is spread inside and then rolled into a tight spiral. Learn how to make it yourself below:
2026 Monster Theme Poll
Dec. 20th, 2025 10:43 amrunpunkrun posting in fancakeArrrre you rrrrready to rrrrrrumble??? It's the MONSTER THEME POLL at Fancake Memorial Coliseum!! In town one week only!! Polls close on the 27th!
Poll #33979 2026 Monster Theme Poll
This poll is closed.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 120
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 120
Pick 10 new themes for 2026:
Adoption
21 (17.8%)
Afterlife
15 (12.7%)
Aliens
20 (16.9%)
Angst
20 (16.9%)
Books & Writing
21 (17.8%)
Character Study
28 (23.7%)
Collaborations & Remixes
24 (20.3%)
Coming of Age/Rites of Passage
22 (18.6%)
Community
22 (18.6%)
Crack Treated Seriously
45 (38.1%)
Fandom (characters involved in fandom, works involving fandom, meta about fandom)
20 (16.9%)
Fannish Non-Fiction (meta, tutorials, resources)
26 (22.0%)
Fantasy (elves, unicorns, et al)
28 (23.7%)
Fluff
25 (21.2%)
Games & Competitions
11 (9.3%)
Gothic
21 (17.8%)
Holidays & Celebrations
14 (11.9%)
Horror
20 (16.9%)
In Denial
23 (19.5%)
Inept in Love
31 (26.3%)
Journey/Travel
27 (22.9%)
Just Like Canon
23 (19.5%)
Kink
23 (19.5%)
Kisses
19 (16.1%)
Manners & Etiquette (including mannerpunk)
20 (16.9%)
Matchmaking
21 (17.8%)
Meet the Family
25 (21.2%)
Mentors & Protegees
26 (22.0%)
Music
18 (15.3%)
Neurodivergent Characters
22 (18.6%)
New Releases (I'll let you determine what's "new" for the fandom)
16 (13.6%)
Original Characters
14 (11.9%)
Outstanding Prose
22 (18.6%)
Podfic
13 (11.0%)
Power Dynamics
28 (23.7%)
Protest & Revolt
11 (9.3%)
PWP (Porn Without Plot or Plot? What Plot?)
14 (11.9%)
Role Reversal
22 (18.6%)
Romance
19 (16.1%)
RPF
18 (15.3%)
Short Fiction (under 2000 words)
23 (19.5%)
Siblings
26 (22.0%)
Social Media
18 (15.3%)
Unpopular Characters
26 (22.0%)
Unreliable Narrator
40 (33.9%)
Vampires
21 (17.8%)
Villains
15 (12.7%)
War
9 (7.6%)
Whump
23 (19.5%)
Pick 3 classic themes you'd like to revisit:
Arranged Marriage
52 (43.7%)
Cops & Crime
14 (11.8%)
Epistolary
41 (34.5%)
Forced Proximity
36 (30.3%)
Future Fic
24 (20.2%)
Historical AUs
35 (29.4%)
Pining
42 (35.3%)
Threesome
38 (31.9%)
Worldbuilding
58 (48.7%)
Book review: Solo Dance
Dec. 20th, 2025 09:25 amrocky41_7 posting in booknookTitle: Solo Dance
Author: Kotomi Li
Genre: Fiction
Author: Kotomi Li
Genre: Fiction
Last night I wrapped up Solo Dance by Kotomi Li, translated from Japanese by Arthur Morris. This short book is about a young gay Taiwanese woman who struggles with both internal and external homophobia, and eventually moves to Japan looking for understanding.
Queer stories from other countries are always interesting to me and it’s a good reminder that progress has not been even all over the world. Much of the book is pretty depressing, because the protagonist struggled with fitting in even before she realized she was gay, and she has some real struggles. She is battling severe depression for much of the book and at several points, suicidality.
The book is touching in that the protagonist’s struggles feel real and she’s someone who is so close to having positive experience that could change her life for the better, but her luck keeps dropping on the other side each time.
I don’t want to spoil too much about the end, but while I was grateful for the overall tone of the it, it is contrived and not very believable. But I did enjoy the protagonist’s travels leading up to that point. It’s not at all subtle, and it packs a lot more plot into the final handful of chapters than the rest of the book, but it was still sweet to see the protagonist’s perspective shift a little through her engagements with other people.
I’m not sure if it’s the translation or the original prose, but the language is stilted and very emotionally distant. The reader is kept at arm’s length from the protagonist virtually the whole novel, and while we’re often told she’s feeling these intense feelings, I never felt it. It was like reading a clinical report of her feelings, which was disappointing.
This is Li’s first novel, and it reads that way. There’s a lot of heart in it, and I appreciate it for that, but it lacks a lot in technical skill. I would be interested to see more of Li’s future work, when she’s had more time to polish her ability, but I don’t regret taking the time with this one.
I did run to find out
Dec. 20th, 2025 04:49 pmoursinAnd the reporting on the acquisition of the Cerne Giant by the National Trust was very very muted and mostly in the local press. Mention of the sale as part of the Cerne and Melcombe Horsey Estates in 1919 in the Bournemouth Times and Director. The Western Daily Press in June 1921 mentions it as having been presented to the National Trust by Mr Pitt-Rivers; and the Weymouth Telegram's account of a meeting of the Dorset Field Club mentioned that the 'valuable relic of antiquity... had been placed in the custody of the National Trust'. There was also a mention in the report of a lecture on 'Wessex Wanderings' in the Southern Times and Dorset County Herald in 1921. No mention of the Giant's gigantic manhood, though references to his club.
Other rather different antique relics (heritage is being a theme this week....): The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs are getting a glow up (gosh, writer is in love with his style, isn't he?)
Seeing starbursts update
Dec. 19th, 2025 06:14 pmsoniaI made another appointment with the eye surgeon and went in this afternoon. I told her about the theory of my pupil getting bigger than the opening in the capsule, but she said no, it looks clear, she doesn't see any obstruction with the pupil enlarged, and my pupil isn't that big. Good to know! All sorts of variations in bodies.
I have been paying attention to when it's worse and tried to describe the direction of it but she didn't seem interested. She did honestly say she didn't know the cause, which I appreciate. Dry eye was her best theory, although I don't know why my eyes would suddenly be so much drier than before the procedure.
She offered to refer me out, so I have another name, and we'll see if I can get in to see him. I suspect I'm just going to have to live with it, but I'd at least like a better understanding of what changed.
I have been paying attention to when it's worse and tried to describe the direction of it but she didn't seem interested. She did honestly say she didn't know the cause, which I appreciate. Dry eye was her best theory, although I don't know why my eyes would suddenly be so much drier than before the procedure.
She offered to refer me out, so I have another name, and we'll see if I can get in to see him. I suspect I'm just going to have to live with it, but I'd at least like a better understanding of what changed.