1. I hired a few new people this week, so hopefully they'll work out.

2. We had gyoza and edamame for dinner. (And I bought a package of curry roux while I was at it, so I can make curry tomorrow.)

3. Tomorrow is my day off! And I have no plans to go out or do anything!

4. Came home and saw this cutie Chloe in the bed.

I walked into fall this morning. It'd rained last night and the streets were still a little wet and the air was still a little cool. With the smell of wet leaves in the gutter and faint light from the turning season, it all settled just on top of my skin. The sort of autumn morning I'd grown up with. It was gone the moment I looked up at the bright sky with its few puffy clouds, which made for a heavy dose of cognitive dissonance before I even got onto the subway. And then I'd look around me, not above me, and I could remember the sidewalks on the bike rides to school when I was a kid. It didn't last, dissipating by the time I got to work, but I knew this was the beginning of the end of summer.

After work, I went to the greenmarket, and I knew it was really time. Hard squashes have come in. There's no pumpkins as of yet, but they're looming. Just over the horizon. And even though I look forward to the delicately balanced chill to come back and settle for a moment, it's always hard when I know I've arrived at the end of something.

I also found out I'm leaving for a family vacation a day before I thought I was. So that's something cleared up well ahead of time, at least. It's one less day to worry about packing, and more important to me, one less day for writing. I don't think I'll be able to break 60,000 words on the current WIP, which means it's possible 2017 may be the first year of all the years I've been in fandom where I haven't finished something - at least, something beyond little birthday challenge drabbles. When I get back from the vacation, I'm going back to an original project that I can hopefully look at with enough detachment to be harsh but fair, and then it's beginning another one and trying to get momentum going on that first...and in all that, time for playing around with Buffy the Vampire Slayer might well drop in importance. Even though I know it won't take much more than another dedicated fortnight or so to get the first rough draft completed, and then maybe another month to go through for a first-pass edit, and a bounty of other beautiful excuses I can give to myself. Especially with classes beginning soon. I'll want something to play with.

Which I know I'll just have to make the time for.

Scott's going to have to work Saturday. That kind of blows up our weekend plans, but the plant is doing full production that day, so everybody's working, no way around it. At least I can steal the equipment he'd been saving for the anomaly? (Definitely looking for a silver lining.)

We had a trial run this morning for how things will work in the fall, once school starts, because Cordelia had to catch a city bus at 7 a.m. in order to be at Skyline for an 8 a.m. orientation. I'm pretty sure I only got through it because I woke at 2:30 and took my thyroid medicine. If I don't wake to take it, I have to wait an hour and a half before I can eat or have my morning tea/coffee. Which would mean eating right at the point that I can actually go back to bed.

I have no idea how I'm going to make it through that time without sugar and caffeine. Scott has asked me not to discuss it because it upsets Cordelia to think that she's making things hard for me. I kind of want to snarl at him because that doesn't actually help me at all.

I'm kind of thinking that what ought to happen is for Scott to be the one to make Cordelia's breakfast since he'll be getting up at the same time she does. I'm not convinced that I need to be up to do that just so that he can sit on the couch and watch TV with her. (She needs the whole hour and a half to spin up and be functional. If someone doesn't put food in front of her, she won't eat.) I guess we'll see.

After Cordelia got on the bus, I took a walk. I walked very slowly for about an hour and a half. Then I went home and tried to get some things done. At about 10:30, I tried to nap, but I kept getting texts and phone calls. I did sleep some because I had kind of gripping dreams in between the texts. I figure I'm tired if I manage to out and out dream in a ten minute nap between text messages.

I need to find some space for myself in the next few days so that I can finish the fic that's due in early September. The problem is that I can't write it while Cordelia's home, so I may not actually have much time. She's volunteering most of next week, so maybe I'll have time then, but I also have doctor appointments in there and a bunch of other things that need doing while she's not at home. I don't know. I have 6000 words of story and something that would be an ending for any other exchange. I just haven't gotten what I need for this.

I'd normally ask Scott to get Cordelia out of the house, but I don't see that happening between now and the due date. There's just no way to make it work.

Originally posted to AO3 on 6/10/2017

Ring'd With the Azure World
Fandom: Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion
Pairings: Gandalf/Radagast, Gwaihir/Meneldor
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 5,167
AO3 tags: Giant Eagle Incest, Istari Angst, Het Bird Sex, Maiar Slash, Eagles Are Not Kindly Birds
Warnings: Incest among consenting giant eagle siblings. Fish death.

Summary:As Olórin and Aiwendil, two of the Maiar who will become the Istari, travel from Valinor to Middle-earth via Giant Eagle Airlines over the Sundering Sea, they experience some in-flight turbulence. Eagles are not servants, and the minor inconvenience of passengers does nothing to deter them from their own necessities and pleasures.

In love with one another and fearful of what lies ahead, the future Gandalf and Radagast don't mind using the detour for an interlude of their own.


Written for lydiabennet/Teasel in the 2017 Fandom Trumps Hate Auction. Thank you so much for your generous donations to Natural Resources Defense Council and The Nature Conservancy.

Part 2 of the Eyrie Tales trilogy, stories centered on the giant eagles of Middle-earth.

WELL SHIT

It's a lovely cool day outside, at least until I wore myself out.  I took the clippers and cut brush alongside the patio. 

EDIT 8/23/17: I went back out and moved a bit of brush from the savanna, and also trimmed grass around three saplings there.

Did a wednesday, so it was meditation day.
we did mindfulness of breathing and I kept being distracted by thoughts of cake.
which is one of the classic hindrances, apparently.
also it was not a sitting still day.
but I like meditation.
and on the way home we went to get a cake but it wasn't there, so it is ordered for tomorrow. I think. I hope it's the same one as on the website. and if it isn't it's still a chocolate cake. and then I can invite people to have a cake, if it's any good. It might bot be because it's a freefrom cake, but if it is good probably we can all eat it, probably.

so that was a pretty good evening.

and still my birthday :-D

Dear femslashex writer,

thank you so much for writing a story for me! I'll be absolutely thrilled about anything you can create about the relationships I requested, and everything important is in the requests themselves, but if you'd like some additional info/ideas/thoughts, here's some of it:

General Preferences

( Fic Likes & Dislikes )

I hope this is useful for telling you about the kinds of things I like to read. :)

Now for the fandoms and ships I requested, in no particular order:

Requests

( Grimm - Kelly Burkhardt/Elizabeth Lascelles )

( Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Sarah Connor/Catherine Weaver )

( Once Upon a Time - Regina Mills | Evil Queen/Mary Margaret Blanchard | Snow White, Red Queen | Anastasia/Jabberwocky )

( Doctor Who - Thirteenth Doctor/Missy )

How Charlottesville is Coping, a Week Later By Dahlia Lithwick, Slate
( Read more... )

How Identity Became A Weapon Against The Left: Reaction to criticism of Kamala Harris shows how the voices of progressive people of color are erased by Briahna Joy Gray, Current Affairs
( Read more... )

Z is for zombie because this topic never stays dead: Zionism and the uses and misuses of the term by lirael_abhorsenan (an "Anti-Zionist Jewish atheist"), Now Face North
( Read more... )

Making Sense of Restorative Justice, Community Response, And The PWR BTTM Fallout by Liz Pelly, The Village Voice [Note: additional resources are linked in article]
( Read more... )

Why Protest? by Mariame Kaba, The PIC is (zine produced by the Chicago Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) Teaching Collective)
( Read more... )

Trump could launch a nuclear attack in 4 minutes discusses how the launch code system works, and how few checks and balances it has - basically none.

The "nuclear football" is a briefcase carrying the codes; it goes with the president everywhere. The article mentions that, hypothetically, the aide who carries it could refuse to hand it over - but that would (1) be illegal and (2) get him fired. Full cooperation is legally required. So, ok, odds of the president saying, "That Kim guy just insulted me on Twitter; I'm gonna blast him to the stone age; hand me that briefcase" and being told, "no, Mr. President, I'm not going to do that" are thin.

However... full cooperation doesn't necessarily mean "offering the kind of help that a PA/exec assistant provides."

The Football is actually full of binders and plans for war, so that a President can flip through it and decide what kind of nuclear war he wants to launch -- then he communicates that order to the Pentagon or Raven Rock, where it's promptly executed. There's a visual guide as part of the Football that one military aide referred to as the "Denny's Menu" of nuclear war. But other aides have darkly joked there are really just three options: Rare, Medium and Well-Done.

(Emphasis added) So... it involves reading. It involves finding data in a binder, and deciding what to do with that data. And while that info is likely well-referenced and explained, maybe even with simple flowcharts... the president is borderline functionally illiterate. His ability to grab information out of text may basically not exist.

If the president wants to launch WWIII, it's possible that all his staff has to do to stop him is not agree to help.

What I Just Finished Reading

Still nothing.

What I'm Reading Now

( Doctor Strange #24, Generations The Unworthy Thor And The Mighty Thor #1, Iceman #4, Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man #3, Secret Empire #9, X-Men Gold #10 )

What I'm Reading Next

I miss reading books. I should read a book.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback and enthusiasm on “Imprinted.” I’m looking at a tentative release date of January 9, 2018. I’m planning to confirm this and start getting preorder links posted over the next month or two.

A lot of you said you’d be happy to pay $2.99 for this 15,000-word novelette. From your comments, it’s a combination of loving the Magic ex Libris stories, and wanting me to get those nice 70% royalties that you don’t get with anything under $2.99. Others thought $2.99 was a little steep.

What I’m thinking about doing is launching the book at $2.99. Then, after it’s been out for a month or two, I’ll drop the price to $1.99. That way folks have a little more choice about what they’re willing to pay.

A few people said they’d prefer a print edition, and I’m looking into that. I wouldn’t expect a lot of sales here, and we’d be talking about a pretty slim volume, but it’s gotten easier to set up print-on-demand, so I should be able to make that option available.

Finally, here’s the synopsis I’ve put together. What do you think?

#

Jeneta’s magic could give us the stars…or destroy everyone around her.

Seventeen-year-old libriomancer Jeneta Aboderin is a prodigy, determined to move on from the horrors she’s faced and use her power to create a better future. To show the world that magic isn’t a threat to be feared, but a tool of hope. After eight months, she’s ready to present the Venture, a magically-created ship capable of reaching Mars within hours. It will mark a new phase of human exploration and discovery.

But at a crucial moment, her spell is wrested from her control and twisted against her. Whoever sabotaged her magic then begins to strike down those around her. The attacker haunts her thoughts and dreams, reviving Jeneta’s past traumas. And the most powerful magic-users at New Millennium are unable to help.

How do you stop an enemy who strikes from within your own mind?

This 15,000-word novelette is set eight months after the events of Revisionary.

Mirrored from Jim C. Hines.

What I Just Finished Reading
Beguilement (The Sharing Knife #1) by Lois McMaster Bujold, narrated by Bernadette Dunne
Bit of a change of pace from say Chalion, but I enjoyed it anyway. It's a slow, sleepy romance novel, in which the odd demon is killed but the main problems are things like meeting each other's parents and realising that changing names on marriage is a problem when one of you comes from a matrilineal culture and the other from a patrilineal culture (to say nothing of who should make the first move). It's all set in summer in a secondary world version of rural New England (or something of that kind) following the downfall of civilisation. I'll read at least the next one for sure.

(Frankly, if the idea of a romance where the hero is much older and martial, and the heroine is young and domestic is not your thing, don't read this series. I'm fine with it, but I know it drives some people nuts.)


The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth #3) by N.K. Jemisin
I think the best compliment that can go to this book is that it didn't let my expectations down. All the complications and ambiguities and history in the first two books are extended and to some extent explained, and I was left feeling content in the ending. I thought it would break my heart, but in the end it was just really, really satisfying.

I loved how the three (four by the end) character plots worked together, and how the many ends of the world tie together and we learn who everyone is. I especially liked Essun's developing relationship with her new comm, and all the characters there. Plus there are a couple set piece scenes that are flat out stunningly written. Should start over from the beginning once I have time.

(I was to some extent reminded of The Book of Phoenix, especially in the backstory segments. Hoa and Phoenix have a lot in common, it turns out.)

(I liked this review for NPR by Amal El-Mohtar.)


What I'm Reading Now
Paper: Cyberpunk: Malaysia edited by Zen Cho, which I've been meaning to get to for ages. First story is good so far.

Audio: Flying Close to the Sun: My Life and Times as a Weatherman by Cathy Wilkerson. Which I'm also just starting, but the intro was promising.


What I'm Reading Next
Probably Moonglow by Chabon. Or something from the library, depending on the mail.

Why I don't use automated checkout machines -- they cost jobs. Millions of jobs.

Where statues go to retire.

Is America finally ready for the bidet?

The Congressional Black Caucus is talking impeachment.

With all the weirdness, we might need some Help!

***

There is a lot of coverage of Trump's speech in Phoenix yesterday, ranging from "he's deranged" to "he made it all up" to "he plans to pardon that racist Joe Arpaio" and more. And there were 3000+ peaceful demonstrators outside -- at least, it appears, until police threw pepper bombs into the crowd. I do not have the oomph to chase all of this, but if you go to news.google.com, you'll find a ton of links. Sorry. I am having vision problems (eta: because the frame of my glasses is bent and one lens is closer than the other, and I have ordered new ones that aren't in yet) and need to take care of my eyes today, ok? Thanks for understanding.

My favourite thing that happened on the internet this week was when vintar learned that non-Australians do not sing 'Why Was He Born So Beautiful'. ("Why was he born so beautiful? / Why was he born at all? / Because he had no choice in it, / No choice in it at all." To this tune.)

The tags are full of horrified non-Aussies, dubious non-Aussies wondering if the Aussies are trolling them again, Aussies who have never heard of this, and Aussies who are amazed this is not a thing elsewhere too.

(I'm on team mildly surprised this is Aussie-only -- I'd sort of assumed it was a Commonwealth thing and that at least Brits and Kiwis would do it too -- and very surprised at the Aussies who hadn't heard of it.)

I found where the UEA keeps its reading lists
https://portal.uea.ac.uk/learning-technology/new-ways-to-engage/online-reading-lists
:-D


Now I just got to put together unit names and interesting reading lists

https://uea.rl.talis.com/lists/D0A0ADD0-D8C2-0B58-21D4-899EA31E430F.html
https://uea.rl.talis.com/lists/34858EF1-5D4A-E84B-1AD6-EBA613685E0B.html
https://uea.rl.talis.com/lists/25DE09D9-1393-F643-D440-627FE9033327.html

You guys FAIL SO HARD.  How, how, how, how, HOW has NOBODY recced this fic to me?  This is like, my JAM.  It is what I have been waiting YEARS for.  It is a 200k word (for now) Star Wars time travel AU where Leia goes back in time from the end of TFA to the beginning of ANH.  And changes everything.  It is a WONDERFUL story, an incredibly fresh and novel take on one of my favorite tropes, the characters are so wonderfully written (and you can tell the author has a great grasp on the characters to get them so well in situations that are so different from what they were in the original timeline), THIS FIC IS SO AWESOME AND YOU NEED TO READ IT NOW.

(If you're not fond of WIPs, it doesn't end on a cliffhanger or anything.)

(Also, the summary is in 1st person, but that's because it's dialogue from the first chapter--the story isn't written in 1st person, if that's a dealbreaker for you.)

Of Queens, Knights, and Pawns (199023 words) by chancecraz
Chapters: 15/?
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Original Trilogy
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Leia Organa, Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Bail Organa, Breha Organa, CT-7567 | Rex, Mon Mothma, Davits Draven
Additional Tags: Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Skywalker Family Feels, Implied/Referenced Torture, Angst
Summary: I went to sleep on the worst day of my life and woke to find myself in the past on the second worst day of my life. As experiences go, I don’t recommend it.