June 18th, 2026 04:54 pm - Real: Miss Marple: Fanfic: The Heir to the Estate
Title: The Heir to the Estate Fandom: Miss Marple Rating: G Length: 850 words Summary: Miss Marple wonders whether Margaret Townsend's young man is the real heir to the Compton Howe estate.
Rachel Clarke uses contrast as a tool to praise the book called Morbid“. Reviewing Morbid, for The Guardian, Clarke writes: These are startling allegations, especially when made by someone whose Amazon author page reads as though it was aiming for whimsy, but written on acid. Among other things, Newman has “met a man with walrus-skull […]
Not quite my first full day off since March but not far off it either. I aten't dead but I have badly run out of time for keeping in touch with people. Anyway the headline is, I have sort of finished my third year of rabbinic training although like every year there's this weird limbo between the end of teaching in mid-May and the actual end of the year first week in July.
Coming up: I'm going to two conferences this month, one for the newly formed Progressive Movement (combining two previous small denominations) and one international but held in London. (I'm glad Covid levels are actually low for the first time in 5 years, but I would have attended anyway, these are going to be the best networking opportunities ever.) The usual fortnight of random extra classes after the end of the main part of term has been condensed to three days because of the conferences, bracketed by the viva talk of our sole ordinand and then her actual ordination ceremony.
Further on into the summer I'm being helpful Jewish person for a long-running Jewish-Christian forum in Germany. And starting what will be my fourth year placement at Wimbledon Reform. In contrast to the first three years when I was here, there and everywhere, most of fourth year I'm going to be attached to that one community, so it's more like I'm a kind of assistant minister and less just showing up and leading services or teaching one-off classes. I'll miss the variety but it's clearly very relevant to actually practise doing a rabbi-type job.
Do I have a life outside Rab School? Sort of, but it's mostly quite domestic, spending time with my partners when I can. I've just had a couple of days visiting my MiL and getting my first sunburn of the year walking in the Malverns. I've managed to visit angelofthenorth once, and occasionally get my act together to drink tea with hatam_soferet, but other than that totally failed to see any of my friends or even email or call them.
June 18th, 2026 04:01 am - And it's strange but it's true, I was sure that it was you.
It's Thursday and we're sliding into the weekend!
Yesterday seemed to take very long. I got up at normal time, but I didn't start work til 9:30am. Then I worked til about 6:15 That extra hour and forty five minutes made for a very long day. It was a very productive day, but still long. I didn't have set breaks, so I tended to do them too early. Though the last one was at 4:15, so that wasn't bad.
Then, I ordered lunch from a place near us, and the food was just not what I wanted. It didn't taste good. Even my sweet and sour pork wasn't good. So, I gave up and ordered half a peking duck, which was exactly what I wanted. (I love me peking duck.) I had forgotten that I had to work late, so we just did turkey legs, which also turned out to be not great. So, McDonalds it was.
Tonight, I shall make fish tacos with frybread. I got lime and some good sauces. And I retrieved the fry bread mix from where it had fallen in the gap next to the refrigerator, so I'm ready.
Of course, that'll be time I could spend loving on Lizzy, but I will persist, because I really want fish tacos. I got this great sriracha sauce that will be delicious on them. I also got onions, cilantro and guac, none of which I like on my taco, but other people do. I'm just going to clear a counter off and make it a taco bar. It should be delicious, I think. Gotta remember to make the dough on my second break and let it sit for an hour to get fluffy. Then, I finish work, and I fry the bread into delicious little tacos. And for dessert, I may keep a few out and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on them. If it works, I may have to go back on Navajo Mike's and get another package.
Lizzy was super cute yesterday. I laid down breifly during my lunch and she came up for attention. Then, when she was done with that, she laid with me for a little while.
Later, after work and dinner, the cuteness continued. She was all love, rolling around and being adorable. So, I let her have her catnip log toy for a bit. She got very into it, getting to the point that she tried to rabbit kick it. Unfortunately, she's still a little gangly and baby, so she only succeeded in kicking herself in the face.
After I took it from her (don't want her kicking and hurting her spay site) whe settled in to clean herself.
And eventually to snuggle in on the bed and be super cute.
Still entirely smitten with this kitty, even if she did run out on me at 3:20am. She made it to the dining room before I caught her and picked her up. After that zap of adrenaline, I figured it was time to get up.
I got up, and took her little food plate to wash and brought her back a clean plate, and a can of food. She seemed quite pleased about this and fell to eating right away.
She continues to be a good little kitty. So sweet natured and full of love. her other two cat trees came yesterday. So that's something to put together this weekend. We got one for the living room, and one for my office, since I don't think she'll be content to stay in her room during the day. That way she can go wherever she wants and be out of Yoda's reach in case he feels poky about it.
He's not going to hurt her, but he will poke her with his snoot. That can lead to swatting, which can lead to a lot of noise. Though he's bee really chill about it so far when he's seen her, so maybe he matured. We've got another week until we start introducing them. I want her to be at least two weeks out from her spay before we do anything. Of course, if she's determined to be a door darter, that could change.
I'm excited about the Rocky Horror, but I don't want to leave her for a full day. My sister will be home, and Yoda will be at the daycare, so she can spend as much time as she'd like with Lizzy, but I'm going to miss her! It'll be a lovely day with friends, though.
We'll be doing it all over again in December, when we're going to see Much Ado About Nothing in NYC.
Tomorrow, we shall have game which should be fun. Maybe we can wrap up the heist that's been going on for like five sessions now.
Then Saturday, it's off early to the kennel to drop Yoda off, and then back to get ready to head up to NYC. They're picking us up around 8, and Yoda gets dropped at 7, so we're going to have to put a wiggle in it.
Once this is done, I think that's all the adventures until the end of July, when we're going to Hershey to see Weird Al. Also, at some point towards the end of July, Jess' brother is coming into town, so we'll be spending time with him as well. Then, AEW wrestling on August 19th. I'm looking forward to that, though I will be dead the next day at work. I used to watch WWE back in the day, but they're so far up Cheeto's ass now that I just can't bring myself to watch it. I still follow it via a wrestling website, so I know who's doing what and who's injured, but I refuse to give them any money. On the other hand, AEW has a trans wrestler, a couple of gay wrestlers, and much more liberal fans. I'm looking forward to hopefully getting to see MJF, who I enjoy immensely. He's such a great heel.
September is quiet, I think. Nothing major going on that month, I don't think. Then, October is Animate Philly, where we can meet a good chunk of the voice actors for Hazbin Hotel and Amazing Digital Circus. Then, CONfab in Chicago! Both of which should be fun. Then, it's off to the Undertale Determination symphony in November, and Much Ado in December right after my birthday.
So far, the only thing we have set for next year is vacation in November. I'm sure this will change soon.
Though to be fair, this is my year of Yes, and it's been pretty spectacular. But we'll see what next year brings. Maybe it'll be less full, maybe it won't.
Lizzy is set for the vet on 6/29, which is good. I want them to give her spay the all clear to begin romping and to make sure her milk supply has dried up with no ill effects. I did something for her that I've never done. I got her pet insurance. After Cece left us with a $2000 bill, I thought it might be a good plan. I don't think Lizzy will need it, but better to be safe. I will put Yoda on it after his check up as well. At 10, he may start having health problems, and it would be nice to have that cushion.
Lizzy on the other hand is baby, so I don't expect to use it for her for many years, but it's good to have. Just like the pet oxygen that I got. Might never need it, but I'm glad to have it.
I don't want to do the work today. I'm tired from yesterday. Not because it was busy. I was productive until I had to take over the teams chat. That was pretty slow for the last 100 minutes, and I was bored. Plus, that meant I had to be the last one out, so I sat there til 6:15, just waiting in case someone needed help. (No one needed help.) Boredom is tiring.
Today, I shall try to get patients in for appointments. They've been some real pains in the ass lately. These are patients who the doctor has marked the scan as STAT. Some have real problems like cancer or MS or other serious conditions. And I get them a spot super soon. Same day, next day, but they can't do that. They want it on the third Thursday at precisely 10am. And I have to be nice and tell them that I can't guarantee that appt, and their doctor felt that they should be seen sooner. And most of them still want what they want. It's fucking annoying. In some cases, I actually called and moved other patients to different times to create a slot for their scan. And they don't want it. And then I have a choice--offer to another patient, or look at the 3rd Thursday at 10 and see if that patient would like a sooner appt, and if their insurance allows us to schedule that quickly. I usually move on to the next patient unless they need it a specific date for surgery. And I shall work on filling in Columbia's cardiac schedule. They're trying to get a mix of protocols, and it's been a challenge to get those patients. I will go back through and see what I can do, though. I really wish they'd send the patients who call in for appts to me, so I don't have to go combing through the schedule, but that's probably not going to happen.
The other thing I hate is patients who don't answer their phone or call back. You know you need an appt. Even if the number doesn't come up as Johns Hopkins, maybe answer it? And if you don't, give us the courtesy of callling back to accept or decline. People suck sometimes.
On the other hand, I've been reading the stuff about the Scots in Boston for the World Cup. Those have been such wholesome stories. The Scots discover tailgating! The Scots have drunk all the beer in Boston! They're putting traffic cone hats on the statues! They researched tipping and are great tippers! Actually there's been a lot of stories about culture shock for the people coming in from other countries. It's been nice. We're a cesspool, but some people are having a good time here.
Okay, time to start thinking about pants. Much as I would like to take a nap today, alas, work. I shall leave you with the picture of Lizzy after I kissed her little nose.
I’d missed this: In 2006 a geneticist, a philosopher, and a chicken farmer all agreed that the egg came before the chicken.
Nottingham University geneticist John Brookfield pointed out that the first chicken (the first creature bearing chicken DNA) must have begun as an embryo in an egg. “The first living thing which we could say unequivocally was a member of the species would be this first egg, so I would conclude that the egg came first.”
David Papineau, philosopher of science at King’s College, London, agreed. “I would argue it is a chicken egg if it has a chicken in it. … If a kangaroo laid an egg from which an ostrich hatched, that would surely be an ostrich egg, not a kangaroo egg.”
And Charles Bournes, chair of trade body Great British Chicken, said, “Eggs were around long before the first chicken arrived. Of course they may not have been chicken eggs as we see them today, but they were eggs.”
According to the BBC, “Professor Brooke added the debate could finally be laid to rest.”
Strategic Alliances (Babylon 5, Londo & G'Kar & Na'Toth, 2900 wds, post-canon) One of my requests was for Londo and Na'Toth interacting, maybe teaming up if something happened to G'Kar, and this satisfied that craving very nicely.
I picked up a pinch hit for Whumpex as well as my assignment, so I have a couple of things in the collection.
I also wrote a pinch hit for Casefic (done, not revealed) and I have my Id Pro Quo assignment. There are a few different exchanges currently or soon to be in nominations, including Multifandom Tropefest and Just Married, but I really need to not sign up for anything new in the near future; I'm enjoying doing exchanges again, but I want July to be mostly recharge time.
I finished my Dungeon Crawler Carl reread, and now I'm going back and rereading particular chapters for clues and other lore. I don't know if I'd say I'm having fandom feelings about it (for one thing, the state of most of the fanfic is dire) but I'm really enjoying it. I'm into it enough that I ended up backing Matt Dinniman's Patreon because I don't want to wait until the next book comes out to read new chapters.
The renovation of Pulitzer Fountain and the part of Grand Army Plaza around it is finished, and I hate it. It looks so bare and sterile to me. And there's no shade! It doesn't help that they were barely running any water through the fountain.
Imagine putting all this time and money to renovate Pulitzer Fountain and Grand Army Plaza. Imagine creating a permanent plaque to honor and showcase the people who donated money to the effort. Imagine seeing the first text you're inscribing look like this, deciding that's fine, and continuing to do more just like it and then post it. It's nearly illegible.
At least you can read this plaque.
This is what Pulitzer Fountain looked like in 2011. (Those animal heads were a temporary art installation of sculptures by Ai Weiwei.) The Bradford Pear trees in the background were ripped out during the renovation.
Current Music:: "Almost Violent (Deliverance Remix)" by Rotersand Current Mood:: aggravated
He was on his way out of the building, so I only had time to ask Johnny Knoxville two questions.
First, to whether he's got any plans on releasing a collection of his writings: he's been talking to people he knows about it, so while it's not a definitive answer, the possibility remains open.
Second, to what Muppet adaptation of classic literature he'd like to star in: Wuthering Heights. He didn't say what role he'd take, but there's few that wouldn't be worth full ticket price.
The Museum of the Moving Image screened Jackass: Best and Last, and I signed up for a seat and got in. As is true with every Jackass movie, it's best seen in a packed theater where everyone's laughing hard enough to hurt and having the time of their lives. The Q&A after had Knoxville say gravity was his medium. Jeff Tremaine and Spike Jonze spoke also, about musical cues and levels of trust and pranks played when the cameras weren't rolling. Afterwards, there was wine and cheese and little sandwiches, and just enough time for me to ask Johnny Knoxville two questions before leaving for the night.
I also had a moment to ask Tremaine if he planned on producing more documentaries and found he's working on one right now and that he deeply enjoys doing those. I told him I was sure the world would open itself up to him, then excused myself when some other people came up for selfies. Me, I didn't bother with pictures. I have the ticket stub and my answers as mementos, and they're more than enough to make me happy.
Current Music:: Make Your Own Kind Of Music - Cass Elliot Current Mood:: touched
For the past couple of weeks, I have continually been getting kudos from guests on an X-Men drabble I wrote mostly as an angry response to the release of X3 back in 2005. I posted it to AO3 along with those other old fics I deemed good enough for back when I first got my account a decade an a half ago, and before this onslaught it had about 250 hits or so. As of right now, that drabble has kudos for 48 guests, as well as two registered users. Obviously there is some sort of bot thing going on there. But I am extremely confused as to its nature, or intentions. There have been no accompanying comments, no scammers popping up with offers anywhere within the time period, no explanation. Purchased the extended edition of the original Baldur's Gate, which I've gotten the impression should work well enough on a modern PC, tonight, so I'm definitely playing it sometime. When, of course, remains in question. Juneteenth as a federal holiday still remains uncancelled, and all the logistics people have put everything into place for the holiday, but that still doesn't mean much...
1. When I took a walk after lunch today I happened to walk past a Wendy's and saw they had Minions stuff up all over the windows, so I checked their menu online to see if they had a banana Frostie and they don't, but they do have a banana syrup you can get swirled into your Frostie, so on my way back I popped in and got a chocolate/banana swirl. It was pretty good! Not nearly as good as the banana chocolate shake at Fat Burger, but I might get it again while they have it.
2. A while back we saw a video on youtube about various local restaurants and one of them was a fried chicken place that's pretty close. It looked really good and we said we should go sometime but then totally forgot about it. Then tonight we were talking about dinner and decided to get something and Carla remembered it, so since Carla was feeling worn out and didn't want to go out to eat, I rode my bike down there to pick up food and bring it home. It was about an eight minute ride each way and honestly with as bad as traffic was right then I think I probably got home faster than I would have in a car, and certainly faster than a delivery driver would have as they'd probably stop at other places first. Also saved money by not paying all the delivery fees.
We got a crispy chicken sandwich and a Asian salad crispy chicken wrap and both were really good. Also got a side of lemon potatoes, which were also tasty.
3. We originally were putting this blanket as a tent on the sofa for Chloe but then Ollie discovered it and was using it all the time, but now Chloe has come back to it, too. (So far they haven't had any disagreements about who can use it when. Fingers crossed it stays that way!)
This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Wednesday June 17, to midnight on Thursday, June 18. (8pm Eastern Time).
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 15 secrets from Secret Submission Post #1014. 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.
June 17th, 2026 03:05 pm - Action Alert: Funding for Palestinian Healthcare
It has long been difficult to get healthcare in Gaza and the West Bank, and that has only gotten worse in the last few years. And the more complicated or specialized your need, the harder it is to get in Gaza. Cancer treatments and so many other treatments are often difficult if not impossible to get in Gaza.
So when Palestinians need advanced healthcare, they turn to the East Jerusalem Hospital Network. This has been the case for many decades, with the Palestinian Authority working to ensure access and funding for treatment in the EJHN. This hospital network always runs at a major financial deficit because most Palestinians can't pay, or can only pay a fraction of the cost of their care. The US government has given this hospital system money to make up the difference for the last 15 years--and this has had bipartisan support in congress.
As they're putting together the 2027 budget and voting on it, it would be really helpful if people in congress knew their constituents cared about Palestinian Healthcare.
The ELCA has a handy widget to email your congresspeople. Yes, the ELCA is a Christian group, but you can delete the word "Christian" from the letter you send. Please modify the letter so it looks like you put time into it; this makes it more likely to be counted by your congress people.
June 17th, 2026 02:17 pm - filthy femslash fantasies ficathon
elasticella is running Filthy Femslash Fantasies Ficathon, an old-school commentfic meme with an emphasis on the filthy details. I love that the prompts get into the delicious nitty gritty, but there aren't many fandoms I know so far. Maybe go drop some prompts? 🙏
Singaporean artist Leia Ham reimagined LotR as Tale of the Middle Kingdom, since Chinese name for China (Zhōngguó) means "The Middle Kingdom." Her concept art includes the Fellowship, armors, buildings like Bag End, props like Aragorn's banner and Fellowship brooches, and more. #TolkienTrewsday
According to legend, French highwayman Claude Duval agreed not to rob one gentleman if his wife would dance the courante with him by the wayside.
He was hanged at Tyburn in 1670 “to the great grief of the women.” A memorial in Covent Garden reads, “Here lies DuVall: Reder, if male thou art, Look to thy purse; if female, to thy heart.”
June 17th, 2026 03:07 pm - Follow-up bonus for the “Donor” reread post
Collecting a bunch of new thoughts I’ve had while trying to write some Little Sister D fic.
(As mentioned in the original reread post. Yeah, at least one fic of this is happening. I’m even starting with the fluffy fixit version.)
—
So I’m looking more deeply into contextual meanings and nuances of Chinese endearments, as you do, and it looks like “哥哥 gēgē” and “妹妹 mèimei” are the more generic terms for “big brother” and “little sister”. (They can also be used more broadly, to address older men/younger women who aren’t literal relatives. They’re warm and friendly without being over-familiar, as long as you get the age dynamic right.)
Meanwhile, “大哥 dàgē” is more specifically “eldest brother.” It’s the version you would use for an older male boss (and, in pop culture, a mob boss). The same site doesn’t say “小妹 xiǎo mèi” is “youngest sister”, just that it’s a more-affectionate diminutive of “little sister,” which in practice gets used for the youngest a lot.
In related news, “宝贝 bǎobèi” (“precious treasure”) is an intimate term for a loved one, especially a spouse or child…but it’s also used for favorite pets. And there’s a modern-day trend on shopping sites to use it for products, as a playful way to convey what a great valuable deal this is.
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