Fanfic meme to avoid writing/editing fanfic...
Nov. 9th, 2025 12:06 am1. Under what rating do you write most?
Me: Probably gen.
AO3: Nope, Teen and up. Oh, yeah, I have plot and fight scenes. Okay. (Teen and up: 121. Gen: 102. Total fits: 291.)
2. What are your top 3 fandoms?
Me: Oh, Highlander, X-Files, Leverage?
AO3: Mostly right. Highlander (183), X-Files (52), Highlander movies (30), Forever Knight (23). I mean, no matter how you look at it, Highlander wins, and then X-Files. Forever Knight beating Leverage did surprise me. (Yes, those numbers and 291 seem off. I write a lot of crossovers.)
3. What character do you write about the most?
Me: Um. Connor MacLeod or Matthew McCormick?
AO3: Sorta. Original characters: 52, Connor and Duncan are tied at 42. (After that, it's Methos, Joe Dawson, and Alex Krycek. Matthew is in 7th place with 26.)
4. What are the top 3 pairings you've written?
Me: No *clue*.
AO3: Duncan MacLeod/Methos (14), Aidan/Duncan/Methos (9), and Duncan/Matthew McCormick (6). When I say I don't have OTPs, I mean it. Other than me and plot, and me and Dragon.
5. What are the top 3 additional tags?
Me: Crossovers, Crossovers 100, prompt fic (?)
AO3: I was right! Crossovers: 123. Crossovers 100: 92. X-Files Lyric Wheel: 23.
That was kinda fun.
In Defense of Alchemy [sci/chem, hist]
Nov. 8th, 2025 11:53 pmSciShow did a collab with Tom Lum and ESOTERICA and delivered a deep dive into the history of the relationship of chemistry and alchemy and the politicization of the distinction between the two: "In Defense of Alchemy" (2025 Oct 17).
I cannot tell you how much I loved this and what a happy surprise this was. It ties into a whole bunch of other things I passionately want to tell you about that have to do with epistemology, science, and politics (and early music) but I didn't expect to be able to tie chemistry/alchemy in to it because I had neither the chops nor the time to do so. But now, some one else has done this valuable work and tied it all up with a bow for me. I'm thrilled.
Please enjoy: 45 transfiguring minutes about the history of alchemy and chemistry and what you were probably told about it and how it is wrong.
Photos: Lake Charleston
Nov. 8th, 2025 10:47 pm( Walk with me ... )
Update, Or: J? Where the hell is the j? [me, heath]
Nov. 8th, 2025 11:29 pmMeanwhile, I have also finally started having a medical problem I've been anticipating ever since my back went wonky three years ago: my wrists have finally started crapping out. Because I cannot tolerate sitting for long, I have been using my laptop on a rig that holds it over me on my bed. But this means I haven't been using my ergonomic keyboard because it's not compatible with this rig. I'm honestly surprised it's taken this long for my wrists to burst into flames again, but HTML and other coding has always been harder on my arms than simple text, and the research and writing I've been doing on Latin American geopolitics has been a lot of that. And while I can use dictation for text*, it's useless for HTML or anything that involves a lot of cut-and-paste. Consequently, I've gotten really behind on all my writing, both here and my clinical notes.
So I ordered a NocFree split wireless keyboard in hopes that it will be gentler on my arms. It arrived last night, and I have been relearning how to touch type, only with my arms at my side and absolutely not being able to see the keyboard.
You would not believe how long it took me to type this, but it's all slowly coming back. Also, I feel the need to share: I'm doing this in emacs. Which feels like a bit of a high wire act, because errors involving meta keys could, I dunno, reformat my hard drive or crash the electrical grid.
Here's hoping I get the hang of this before I break the backspace key from overuse or accidentally launch a preemptive nuclear strike on Russia.
* If, you know, I don't too dearly value my sanity.
Starsky and Hutch chat was cancelled
Nov. 8th, 2025 10:33 pmAfter the meeting as usual I got a ride to the diner from S, and had my usual bacon, egg, and cheese on an English muffin, with iced coffee.
I had texted S from Tuesday night about the death of D's daughter, and he said that he would try to make the wake but when I told him when it was, Tuesday, he can't make it. But I will go, as are several other people from Saturday.
Anyway, after the diner I took the bus home, but the Starsky and Hutch chat was cancelled because the person who runs it has a nasty ear ache. So I basically puttered around and played solitaire until 7:00 when I Teamed the FWiB.
We talked for an hour and a half, and then got off. I made dinner, another one of those mushroom pasta bowls. I think the reason it's not as creamy as the picture is I've been putting to much water in. I'll try less next time.
After I ate, I went to the bedroom and called the Kid, who of course did not answer. I texted her and am waiting to hear from her.
Then I called
Then I puttered on my phone til pet feeding time, and here I am.
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. My meetings and the people there.
3. My solitaire game.
4. Beautiful day today.
5. The tee shirts Susan M sent me got here.
6. Got some good advice about what to do about the front door situation.
Daily Happiness
Nov. 8th, 2025 05:31 pm2. I got the Christmas tree set up today. I'm a little disappointed with it as it feels kind of flimsy, but it'll do for now. Not looking forward to fluffing out all the branches (especially since it's a 7' tree) but I'll do a bit every day lol. For now at least it's out of the box.
3. We had a nice trip to Disneyland this morning. Not completely ruling out the possibility of a weekday trip next week, but leaning towards no right now, so this will probably be the last trip before the official start of the Christmas season. I'm looking forward to the menu change!
4. Tuxie was waiting in his house this morning.

2025 Disneyland Trip #71 (11/8/25)
Nov. 8th, 2025 04:41 pm( Read more... )
[ SECRET POST #6882 ]
Nov. 8th, 2025 03:03 pm⌈ Secret Post #6882 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.

( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 36 secrets from Secret Submission Post #983.
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.
[ SECRET SUBMISSIONS POST #984 ]
Nov. 8th, 2025 02:44 pmThe first secret from this batch will be posted on November 15th.
| 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! |
Misc things
Nov. 8th, 2025 04:41 pmI am not encouraged to read the actual book, but this is amazing BURN:
beneath the carapace of difficult writing and literary allusion, there’s the gratifying gooey centre of a blockbuster PG western, with limited nudity, violent scenes and oddly simple moral choices.
Am now wondering how many pretentiously lit'ry tomes there are of which this could be said....
***
I was thinking that surely there is a class factor involved here, i.e. parents who can actually afford to be this over-involved in their offspring? When Helicopter Parents Touch Down—At College. Okay, am of generation which is quite aghast at this - I bopped off to New York for a summer during my uni years when making a phone call would have been prohibitively expensive.
***
Like I am always going on, 'exotic' ingredients have a long history in global circulation, c.f. lates from the Recipes Project: Globalising Early Modern Recipes
***
This is amazing and fascinating: The most widely used writing system in pre-colonial Africa was the ʿAjamī script - so widespread.
***
Lost grave of daughter of Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano found by A-level student:
Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797), also known as Gustavus Vassa, escaped enslavement to become a celebrated author and campaigner in Georgian England. His memoir, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, was a bestseller.
His book tour brought him to Cambridgeshire, where he would marry and have two children with Susannah Cullen, an Englishwoman from Ely. They settled in Soham, supported by a local network including abolitionist friends, safe at a time when reactionary “church and king” mobs were targeting reformers.
***
Myths about people debunked:
‘Heroic actions are a natural tendency’: why bystander apathy is a myth Modern research shows the public work together selflessly in an emergency, motivated by a strong impulse to help
Debunking “When Prophecy Fails”
In 1954, Dorothy Martin predicted an apocalyptic flood and promised her followers rescue by flying saucers. When neither arrived, she recanted, her group dissolved, and efforts to proselytize ceased. But When Prophecy Fails (1956), the now-canonical account of the event, claimed the opposite: that the group doubled down on its beliefs and began recruiting—evidence, the authors argued, of a new psychological mechanism, cognitive dissonance. Drawing on newly unsealed archival material, this article demonstrates that the book's central claims are false, and that the authors knew they were false.
Fat Joke
Nov. 8th, 2025 10:26 amI feel so glad that I now live in a place where a) shows like this run, and b) I can comfortably get to them! (Also that I'm partnered with a guy who finds riffs on White Man Math funny and painfully true rather than offensive.)
Highly recommended.
saturday
Nov. 8th, 2025 08:45 am
I kept my eye on the colors for a while until they faded back to normal in about 10 minutes. It was neat. Could the chickens have sensed something was going to be different about the dawn this morning? It was very slightly foggy.
Whatcha Reading? November 2025, Part One
Nov. 8th, 2025 07:00 am
Welcome back to Whatcha Reading! Here’s what we’re reading right now:
Sarah: I’m reading the end of Mate ( A | BN | K | AB ) and I am both engaged with the story and infuriated by it.
I’m also reading a book about magic and writing.
Pam Grossman’s Magic Maker: The Enchanted Path to Creativity. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I dislike the cover but the writing is warm and supportive in a way I appreciate. I love books about writing that are informative and unique but also chill.
Amanda: I just finished The Midwinter Mail Order Bride by Kati Wilde. ( A ) Cute fantasy medieval novella as a palate cleanse between all these middling dark why choose romances I’ve been marathoning.
Lara: I just finished the first in a new series and I’m so pumped for the rest of the books! Murder in Manhattan by Julie Mulhern ( A | BN | K | AB ) is giving me Miss Fisher vibes in the best way! Full review coming!
Shana: I’m reading Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon. ( A | BN | K | AB ) I wanted some cozy fantasy for my Fall comfort read needs.
Whatcha reading? Let us know in the comments!
Al-anon night
Nov. 7th, 2025 11:13 pmGot up at 11:00 and discovered there was no hot water. I had breakfast and coffee, then fiddled and killed time on line for hours.
I texted the super about the lack of hot water and he texted back that they were working on it. I thanked him and asked about the front door. No reply. Anyway, the hot water did get fixed. But not before I took a very cold sponge bath and got dressed.
I watched the final episode of season 3 of The Diplomat, and found that it has been renewed for a 4th season, probably dropping next October.
Finally at 5:00 I started for my meeting in the Bronx. I took the damn 25 first as I have to now and transferred to the 50. I went to the bank, then got my pizza. Then I went to the meeting, which was quite good.
Barely made the bus home, but at least that meant I didn't have to wait too long for it. It was on time, so I made it to 31st early enough I didn't have to wait 15 minutes for the 25, and didn't have to walk from there.
Got home and Teamed the FWiB. Fun as always. We talked a little over an hour, then I fed the pets and started here.
I'm chillym the heat in the building isn't on yet.
Gratitude List:
1. The FWiB.
2. Good TV, and it's renewed.
3. The Hot water came back.
4. Pizza.
5. My meetings and the people there.
6. Didn't take too long to get home.
Daily Happiness
Nov. 7th, 2025 08:00 pm2. We ordered curry from Coco Ichibanya for dinner tonight. Have previously only eaten there in person so I was not sure how crispy the karaage chicken or tonkatsu would be when they arrived, but they put the curry separate from everything else, and even with the inevitable steaming from the delivery time, everything was still suuuuuuper crispy and it was so good. Definitely will have to add that to the delivery rotation.
3. I love her little face so much!

Weekly Reading
Nov. 7th, 2025 05:48 pmThe Roanoke Girls
I grabbed this on an Audible two for one sale because it sounded like it could be interesting but alas, it was not for me. As a teen, the MC went to live with her grandparents and cousin after her mother's suicide, having never had any contact with them before. She stays with them for a summer and then leaves suddenly. Then ten years later she gets a call from her grandfather saying her cousin is missing and she should come home. The story is told in alternating timelines, slowly revealing the events of that summer as she tries to solve her cousin's disappearance in the present. I thought it would be a mystery/thriller, but honestly it was more like a VC Andrews/Jackie Collins shlockfest. I would have loved this when I twelve, like I loved Flowers in the Attic, but it's not really my thing now.
( Various complaints with lots of spoilers )
Thornfruit
Fantasy novel with an f/f romance and a lot of palace intrigue type stuff. The first half was pretty slow and I was kind of feeling like I might not bother with further books, but it got a lot better in the second half and I think I will read the next one.
The Death of Public School: How Conservatives Won the War Over Education in America
In the end I felt like this just wasn't critical enough for me. I also would have liked more focus on homeschooling as well as vouchers and charter schools, since that's another way the right is trying to kill public schools, but it was barely touched on (just one mention of a supposed charter school that was actually homeschoolers). The structure of the book is also sort of focused around various court cases, and has no wrap up at the end, just the most recent court case as of the time of writing and then that's it. I was expecting some discussion about what could be done to try to repair things, but it was sort of like, welp, they've won, the end.
The Kill Clause
Short story about a woman who works as an assassin but realizes her employer has decided she's outlived her usefulness. This was free with Amazon's First Reads program, which is where I've been picking up some random short stories lately. It was all right. I wouldn't have bothered with it if I'd had to pay, though.
My Home Hero vol. 7-9
