jedibuttercup | Network

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Viable Paradise is about to begin, which means hunkering in the bunker.

But today the weather was perfect for the protest gathering at a very busy five-points intersection here on Martha's Vineyard, with A LOT of people and some winsomely unique signage. Lots of laughter and horn honking, and although there were two protesters for the current regime, and a couple of cars went by with passengers waving thumbs down, there was no violence whatsoever. Yay! I wish that would be true everywhere.

Interesting patterns in signage; many quotes from the Bible and from the Constitution, and so very many crowned clowns. One frog, one unicorn, and a bee. Many, but not all, were my age or older.

watersword

Protest in a New England town (pop. 15K) today was excellent, well over a hundred people at any given moment, very cheerful, with attendees from toddler to octogenarian (several people using mobility aids), and much support from the cars driving by. One person was in an inflatable pig costume, and another in a dinosaur costume.

Unfortunately, we could not park near the corner with the dinosaur, because our sign read NO KINGS (EXCEPT FOR T.REX) because the small human I was attending with wanted to make sure his support for T.Rex was clear, and frankly I think we had the best sign there. Someone brought a kazoo, which added an excellent element of whimsy to the proceedings.

Good job, everyone, let's do this again until we stop needing to.

redbird

cattitude and I went to the No Kings rally on Boston Common. It was a large crowd, large enough that we couldn't really hear the speeches, but that's OK, we were there to be part of the crowd. I saw some good signs, including "Of course he hates veritas" and "America runs on dissent", for local flavor, and "No kings [large image of the One Ring with a slash through it] to rule them all." Almost all the signs were homemade, and different.

Happily, it was warm enough for me to unzip my hoodie and show off my Boston Dyke March T-shirt, and for other people to wear t-shirts, some of them more relevant than others. I was amused by the person in a football jersey: the local NFL team is called the New England Patriots.

There were also a bunch of inflatable animal costumes, including at least three chickens, a dinosaur, axolotls, an octopus, and a pink unicorn. The unicorn was blowing bubbles. I bought a T-shirt with a drawing of a frog and the word "resist."

The above paragraph would have made no sense a month ago, but we are living in weird as well as scary times, in which the administration apparently sees the Emergency World Naked Bike Ride as a threat.

shadowkat

Spent most of my vacation attempting to quell various aches and pains, brought on by various factors, some known, some guessed at, some not?
( Read more... )

***

The UU Church has a Devotional Poetry Writing Group. I flirted with it. But I'm wary of anything regarding the writing and sharing of poetry. ( Read more... )

UU Church is also featuring a singer/song-writer for tomorrow's service, who is (apparently) popular? I hadn't heard of them before the Church newsletter told me about him - but I'm also not really into religious music? While I have, as you've no doubt figured out by now, widely diverse taste in music, there are few genres I rarely listen to? They are "traditional classical opera", "electronica" (depending on the electronica), "religious music", "gospel", "choral music", "rap" (depending on the rap), and heavy metal (depending on the heavy metal). So, as result, I hadn't come across this person, who I think is trans, and is creating queer religious music and going across the country with it.

Anyhow...I checked them out last night, and their song, entitled Ploushare Prayer by Spencer LaJoye.

Folks, they made me cry? It really moved me. I was surprised.
( Ploushare Prayer Video )
But not sure I can deal with the crowd that will converge on the church tomorrow to hear them play for free. I'll do it on Facebook or Zoom instead. No steps. Sleep in. And better acoustics, not to mention I can see more.

***

Pain and fear of large crowds kept me from participating in the No Kings Day. I hope it went well. More to the point? I hope it accomplishes something?

Ah, it's getting darker earlier now. Sunset was at 6:30. My heart goes out to my brother - whose heating and cooling system has failed him. He's tried to get it fixed multiple times. The first time, they came out, he paid them, they claimed that they fixed it. They didn't. They came out again, claimed to fix it, they didn't. Then they got bought by someone else. Who kept claiming they didn't get my brother's calls or emails, and came out, and then well up and disappeared. So he found a new company - and the whole system has to be replaced. He has a wood burning stove - but it's not going to heat the entire house, and his bedroom is one floor below it, and heat rises? And it gets cold up there? And my brother gets cold easily. [I'm so glad I rent. Let all of that be somebody else's problem. We've had hitting issues - but they tend to get resolved quickly - since there's about 100 people affected.)

****

Television

1. Weirdly I'm enjoying Angel the Series better now than I did way back when I first watched it in the late 1990s. If I was to hazard a guess - I think it would be lowered expectations, and no longer wanting Angel and Buffy to be together - or being disappointed that they aren't? I wasn't in the fandom until roughly 2002 - or midway through S6. ( Read more... ) At any rate - I'm enjoying Angel more now. Partly, because I like Angel, Wes, and Cordelia better now than I did twenty five years ago. I find them a bit more relatable and comforting. They are all a tad lost, and doing the best they can to make things work, while flailing miserably most of the time. The writers dig down into classic noir tropes.

And, I like how most of the writers veer away from the classical hero trope. For all the times, Angel succeeds, he also fails miserably. In the Scourge? The seventh or eighth episode, he attempts to sacrifice himself heroically - but his speeches to Doyle about why he sacrificed his humanity and a life with his one true love to pursue the cause, backfires on him in a huge way. ( Read more... )

Moving on to Parting Gifts - which I didn't like the first time I saw it, twenty five years ago, I do now. It's a great study in characters and contrasts. Also demonstrates how Wes, Cordy and Angel work slightly better than Doyle, Angel and Cordy did. For one thing - they get it across pretty quickly - that there are 0 romantic feelings between Angel/Cordy or Cordy/Wes. ( Read more... ). They also set up each character's skill sets. ( Read more... ) But mainly, within a short period of time - they set up the problem, the on-going villain (WRH law firm in the shadows), and the relationship dynamic between Angel, Cordy, Wes. And I realized while watching that I like all three, and all three actors in spite of myself?

I prefer watching this outside of a fandom superimposing its views onto me?
I can find it comforting and enjoyable on my own. Also, no longer caring who ends up with who, or romantic ships - makes the show more interesting?
I was never much into romantic relationships on television shows? I much prefer the platonic friendships - they are more interesting to watch, and less frustrating - particularly within the noir/horror genre.

2. The Diplomat S3 - this is fun. Want sparkling funny witty dialogue - this is it. Good actors. And excellent political satire. Also, even though the President in this series was responsible for an act of terrorism? I still prefer Allison Janey as President to the one we currently have. I'd rather live in the world of the Diplomat? Sad I know. But here we are. And, sigh, Rufus Sewell is hot. This show just makes me laugh. I'm not binging it this go around - I'm letting it last. Then I may rewatch from the beginning.

[I'm still watching Poker Face and Rain Maker on Peacock, just slowly.]

holmesticemods posting in

holmestice

Match emails have gone out from holmesticemods@gmail.com. Please check your inboxes, spam folders, junk mail, etc.

You MUST reply to your match email to confirm you received it, otherwise we will assume you've ghosted us and we will take appropriate measures (i.e., re-assign your match to one of our pinch-hitters). Please respond as soon as possible.

Your match email contains information about submission, but we will also post as we get close to the deadline. In the next few days we'll also put up posts asking for beta and pinch-hit volunteers -- please keep an eye out.

If you have any questions, for us or your recipient, please email us. Happy baking!

boingboing_feed

Posted by Ellsworth Toohey

https://boingboing.net/2025/10/18/kristi-noem-buys-herself-two-gulfstream-jets-using-172-million-in-taxpayer-money.html

https://boingboing.net/?p=1095591

Gulfstream G700 (hung Quang Minh / Shutterstock.com)

The U.S. government is shut down, but Kristi Noem is on a taxpayer-funded shopping spree. The former South Dakota governor, who impressed Trump with her stupefying cruelty by killing a puppy because she hated it, just spent $172 million on two private jets for herself. — Read the rest

The post Kristi Noem buys herself two Gulfstream jets using $172 million in taxpayer money appeared first on Boing Boing.

https://boingboing.net/2025/10/18/kristi-noem-buys-herself-two-gulfstream-jets-using-172-million-in-taxpayer-money.html

https://boingboing.net/?p=1095591

tjs_whatnot

I swear that it was just coincidence that I started off September reading a few lady-lovin’ diddies. But once I remembered Sapphic September, I leaned in, HARD.

( September 2025 ) So, what lady lovin’ story should I read next?

neotoma

Gingerdoodle cookies, dark chocolate walnut cookies, a baguette, mozzarella, slicing tomatoes, hardy kiwi fruit, pint of pickled red onion, pint of horseradish dill pickles, shisho-orange mint lemonade, lavender-lemon verbena lemonade sour packs, 4 lbs of golden potatoes, 3 heads of garlic, Lucy Glo apples, Spitzenburg apples, shishito peppers, bacon-gruyere wheel, and a lemon tart.

Also, the local No Kings rally was along the street at the market -- there were 3 inflatable shark costumes, 2 unicorns, at least 2 guys in tricorn hats (one was in a complete outfit, probably a RevWar re-enactor). Cars driving by kept honking in support.

I was wearing my magnolia shirt from Morning Witch, my green canvas jacket, flared jeans, and fake snakeskin shoes. I got a number of compliments.

case posting in

fandomsecrets

⌈ Secret Post #6861 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

( More! )

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 62 secrets from Secret Submission Post #980.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

case posting in

fandomsecrets

[ SECRET SUBMISSIONS POST #981 ]

The first secret from this batch will be posted on October 25th.

RULES:
1. One secret link per comment.
2. 750x750 px or smaller.
3. Link directly to the image.

More details on how to send a secret in!

Optional: If you would like your secret's fandom to be noted in the main post along with the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret. If your secret makes the fandom obvious, there's no need to do this. If your fandom is obscure, you should probably tell me what it is.

Optional #2: If you would like WARNINGS (such as spoilers or common triggers -- list of some common ones here) to be noted in the main post before the secret itself, please put it in the comment along with your secret.

Optional #3: If you would like a transcript to be posted along with your secret, put it along with the link in the comment!

james_davis_nicoll

Garden world or nightmarish hellscape?

conuly

For one reason and one reason only, which is to criticize their set design.

We're supposed to believe that the protagonist of the series is a recently sober waitress, single mom. One kid's dad is nonexistent, the other is there but he certainly doesn't pay any child support. Her own family is definitely not helping out - indeed, she has to help her mother, who is also recently sober!

Dialog establishes that her nonsober life was pretty chaotic - evictions, jail time, the works.

And their house is fucking amazing. Three bedrooms for a mom and two kids, which to my NYC eyes is astonishing, and everything matches. None of the furniture has cigarette burns or scratches or crayon marks, nothing is missing a drawer pull or, indeed, a drawer, all their windows have curtains - matching curtains, even! - and all their lights have lampshades, none of their comforters are frayed around the edges, there's no food or drink stains, the doors all close properly....

You know, it occurs to me that I may be revealing a bit more about my own childhood home than perhaps I want to, so I guess I'll stop here. But seriously, set and costume design have some questions to answer, because they really didn't think any of this through. I can see such a tidy house from a waitress who is diligent about estate sales and thrifting - though probably none of it would match, it would be eclectic in a classy way. Or I can see nice furnishings from an alcoholic with a bigger income who was managing to keep a fingerhold on being functional in a way that this family clearly wasn't before the show. But c'mon!

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

( Read more... )

likeadeuce

I wrote yuletide promo posts (or just recommendations for two movies I love):

2024's Babygirl (office romance with age gaps and adultery, but in a tender way) and

2013's Inside Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac! The Coen Brothers! Mid-century American folk music! A cat! Llewyn Davis walking so Patrick Zweig could run!)

holmesticemods posting in

holmestice

Hello, everyone! I had just switched laptops, as mine had rather dramatically died, and I do not have email access to the mod account on the new device.
Rest assured the matches are complete and checked. I just can’t get them out to you quite yet and my co-Mods are not available at the moment due to scheduled activities (also known as “having a life”).
This is just an update to let you all know you haven’t missed them in a mysterious inbox folder and they are on the way as soon as possible (within a few hours for sure)

metallherz posting in

beautifulmechanical

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

duckprintspress

Reviews are essential for showing prospective readers that we’re publishing awesome books that they want to buy and read. We’re looking to recruit an active group of people who post reviews of our work, and to do that we need your help! **We’re looking for Advance Readers for our most recent anthology: Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Cozy Academia Anthology, featuring 22 brilliantly queer short stories!**

How it works: You see this post. You think, oh, I love reading! I love leaving reviews! I want to join the Duck Prints Press Reviewer Program! Then, you go and read the rules for our Reviewer Program. And, if everything there sounds like something you can do, you fill out the form, and – we’ll be in touch! Even better: this program isn’t only for Scholarly Pursuits, and isn’t only for “advance” titles. Our reviewers are encouraged to claim titles that are currently released, too, to help develop a robust collection of reviews of Duck Prints Press titles! Even if Scholarly Pursuits doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, this is your chance to join the program to read and review works from our catalogue.

Requirements:

You must be over 18 years old.
You must post reviews on Goodreads and/or Storygraph (ideally both).
You must also post the review on the Duck Prints Press webstore, if the title has a listing there (for advance titles, you’ll have to wait ’til we list them there, and Patreon stories don’t have shop listings in our webstore).
Reviews must be at least 100 words long and must engage with the actual content of the work being reviewed.
Reviews must be left within 1 month of receiving a title or you will be removed from the program. You may request an extension of the reviewing period, but you must contact us within the given time frame.

What isn’t Required:

That the reviews be positive. Reviews are for readers. We require that reviews be honest to your own experience of the work, not that they be glowing.
That you post the reviews to social media. Doing so is definitely a bonus, but you don’t have to.
That you associate yourself publicly with the review-leaving (beyond using a valid Goodreads and/or Storygraph account). As in, you don’t have to say, “I, (your name here), reviewed this book” or link your book website accounts with your existing social media presence or anything like that, nor do we request any demographic information beyond confirmation of your age.
That you purchase anything. Absolutely no purchase necessary!

What You Get:

An e-book copy (ePub and/or PDF) of the work you’re reviewing. We do not provide physical ARCs.
After you post your first review, you’ll get a coupon for 10% off a purchase from the Duck Prints Press webstore!
For every ten reviews you post, you can claim a freebie sticker from among our sticker offerings, if you want. (You’ll have to provide a snail mail address to get this, of course.)
A community of fun book-lovers to hang out with! (You can get that even without joining the ARC program, though – our Book Lover’s Discord is open to everyone.)

We’re accepting applicants for claiming Scholarly Pursuits ARCs through October 26th 2025. On the 29th, we’ll randomly select 25 of applicants to receive ARC copies of Scholarly Pursuits. Everyone else will still be entirely welcome in the program and invited to start with a different, back-catalog book or story to review.

So… those are the basics. Interested? Go read the full rules, then apply to be a Duck Prints Press ARC reader TODAY!

yhlee

Proof copies.

Candle Arc #1 comic proof copies

Meanwhile, I've obtained a secondhand wide-format color printer locally so we'll see how setup goes.

ETA: Wide-format printer (up to 13"x19") is go! (See comments for test printouts.) I'm currently (still) setting up via Ka-Blam + Indyplanet for print on demand because I refuse to deal with fulfillment because my health is f*cked, but for DIY home zines + comics for friends & family or or prototypes or for selling locally, this should be more than sufficient.