Die, Die My Darling

Nov. 22nd, 2025 12:59 am
[syndicated profile] pennyarcade_feed

There are a few things I am an absolute sucker for, just suckin' like crazy, and one of them is dice.  Or, several of them I guess.  It depends on how granular we're being. I thought that I was in remission, but here at PAX I've been thrust into the fire like a hot poker - a hot poker that for some inexplicable  reason wants to buy dice.

30 in 30: Freedom Series (McCaffrey)

Nov. 21st, 2025 06:42 pm
senmut: Ramoth and Mnementh's mating flight (Pern: Dragons Mating)
[personal profile] senmut
AO3 Link | At His Side (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Freedom Series - Anne McCaffrey
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Kris Bjornsen [Freedom Series], Bazil [Freedom Series]
Additional Tags: Drabble
Summary:

Kris knows where she would rather be






Kris kept her eyes out on the horizon, her mood gloomy and filled with worry. Zainal was gone, without her, and even though one of his sons was here to guard, it never set easy in her soul for their separations. Even with their children to watch over, with all the work that Botany Bay took from them, she ached to share the adventure and dangers out there.

"You think of Father," Bazil said, bringing her a mug of warmed cider.

She smiled at him, nodding. "I always miss sharing the risk with him."

"Father chose a strong mate, then."

Starter? Set! – DORK TOWER 21.11.25

Nov. 21st, 2025 06:00 am
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Posted by John Kovalic

This or any DORK TOWER strip is now available as a signed, high-quality print, from just $25!  CLICK HERE to find out more!

HEY! Want to help keep DORK TOWER going? Then consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! (We have COOKIES!) (And SWAG!) (And GRATITUDE!)

Science

Nov. 21st, 2025 02:59 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Light has been hiding a magnetic secret for nearly 200 years

New research shows that light’s magnetic field is far more influential than scientists once believed. The team found that this magnetic component significantly affects how light rotates as it passes through certain materials. Their work challenges a 180-year-old understanding of the Faraday Effect and opens pathways to new optical and magnetic technologies.

Birdfeeding

Nov. 21st, 2025 02:18 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy, rainy, and cool.

I fed the birds. I haven't seen any activity today.

The birdbaths are already full from the rain.

EDIT 11/21/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen several sparrows and house finches at the fly-through feeder, which is basically a little roof over a tray of seed. I can see why they'd prefer it today.

EDIT 11/21/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.
full_metal_ox: A gold Chinese Metal Ox zodiac charm. (Default)
[personal profile] full_metal_ox posting in [community profile] metaquotes
[personal profile] dissectionist: Back in MY DAY, we had to read Penthouse Forum letters into a tape recorder and put the resulting tape into a first-gen Teddy Ruxpin. Nowadays kids don’t even have to work to turn their teddy bear into a creep.

Context reports FoloToy’s Shock and Surprise! at what happens when you feed a kid’s toy OpenAI.

Freya Marske, KDDs, & More

Nov. 21st, 2025 04:30 pm
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

We Solve Murders

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman is $1.99! This came out last September, but I wouldn’t be surprised if library holds were still pretty long. Maybe snap this up if you impatience is winning out.

A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve…

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job…

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Swordcrossed

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske is $2.99! Many of us were very excited for this release. Sarah also had Marske on the podcast to talk about it.

High heat. Low stakes. Sharp steel.

The cozy, low stakes of Legends & Lattes meets the scorching bodyguard fantasy of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s From Blood and Ash in this enemies-to-lovers romance where, yes, the swords do cross.

A LitHub most anticipated book of 2024

Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at the ceremony could destroy all hope of restoring his family’s wealth, something that Matti has been trying—and failing—to do for the past ten years.

What he can afford, unfortunately, is part-time con artist and full-time charming menace Luca Piere.

Luca, for his part, is trying to reinvent himself in a new city. All he wants to do is make some easy money and try to forget the crime he committed in his hometown. He didn’t plan on being blackmailed into giving sword lessons to a chronically responsible—and inconveniently handsome—wool merchant like Matti.

However, neither Matti’s business troubles nor Luca himself are quite what they seem. As the days count down to Matti’s wedding, the two of them become entangled in the intrigue and sabotage that have brought Matti’s house to the brink of ruin. And when Luca’s secrets threaten to drive a blade through their growing alliance, both Matti and Luca will have to answer the how many lies are you prepared to strip away, when the truth could mean losing everything you want?

“There’s nothing in fantasy or queer romance that Marske can’t do.”—Sarah Rees Brennan

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire

A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley is $1.99! This is book three in the Glimmer Falls series. For me, this series was too twee for my liking. What are your thoughts?

Ben Rosewood never meant to be bound to a vampire succubus, especially one as sexy-yet-terrifying as Eleanora Bettencourt-Devereux, but he has to admit there are some fang-tastic perks….

Werewolf Ben Rosewood is happy with his life. One hundred percent. Everything is fine. His business, Ben’s Plant Emporium, is thriving, and he’s even expanding the shop. His anxiety disorder is…well, it’s been better, but that comes with the territory of running a business and having beastly urges every full moon, right? As for romance—who has the time? Though his family is desperate to see him settled, Ben is fine approaching forty as a single werewolf. But after drunkenly bidding on and winning a supposedly-possessed crystal on eBay one night, he finds himself face-to-face with a beautiful but angry vampire.

Eleanora Bettencourt-Devereux is a rare breed—a vampire succubus born from two elite European bloodlines during medieval times. But thanks to an evil witch, she’s been stuck in a crystal since she was thirty, forced to obey orders from the possessor of the rock. Eleanora’s been dreaming of breaking the spell and severing the witch’s head for centuries. But did this witch really sell her to someone new, and for only ninety-nine cents?

Eleanora would claw this werewolf’s heart out and eat it, if only the binding spell would allow her to. But Eleanora and Ben soon realize they can help each other with both vengeful and less hostile needs. And why not have a little fun along the way?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The City of Stardust

The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers is $2.99! This is a Kindle Daily Deal and I gave this one a C. As Jenny in the comments of my review described it, this is a book that is mainly aesthetic and vibes. Summers’s sophomore novel just came out and I’m excited for it.

Slip into a lush world of magic, stardust, and monsters in this spellbinding contemporary fantasy from debut author Georgia Summers.

For centuries, the Everlys have seen their best and brightest disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor, a woman named Penelope, never ages, never grows sick – and never forgives a debt.

Violet Everly was a child when her mother left on a stormy night, determined to break the curse. When Marianne never returns, Penelope issues an ultimatum: Violet has ten years to find her mother, or she will take her place. Violet is the last of the Everly line, the last to suffer. Unless she can break the curse first.

Her hunt leads her into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. And into the path of Penelope’s quiet assistant, Aleksander, who she knows cannot be trusted – and yet to whom she finds herself undeniably drawn.

With her time running out, Violet will travel the edges of the world to find Marianne and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A walk along the River Teme

Nov. 21st, 2025 12:44 pm
cmcmck: (Default)
[personal profile] cmcmck posting in [community profile] common_nature
The Teme runs through Ludlow.

We crossed Dinham bridge again and you can see Ludlow castle in the background:



More pics! )
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by SB Sarah

Twelfth Night premieres 11/14 on PBS - an image of Sandra Oh , Daphne Rubin-Vega, and the ensemble wearing dark sunglasses and posing around a desk and chair At some point this year, and I don’t remember which corporate or governmental bullshit event it was, I subscribed to PBS and downloaded the PBS Passport app.

You can stream SO MUCH GOOD STUFF my gosh. Ballet! Antiques Roadshow! Stage performances from recent and distant history! The truly top-shelf visual dopamine of All Creatures Great and Small. I could end this post here and just say, PBS Passport is the greatest, and subscribing is an upgrade to your life.

Also – supporting a rural PBS station goes a VERY long way right now as the administration plays do-si-kiss-my-ass with funding.

BUT. Y’ALL.

Great Performances has begun streaming the 2025 Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night with a cast that includes, and I am not joking:

  • Lupita Nyong’o
  • Sandra Oh
  • Peter Dinklage
  • Junior Nyong’o, who is Lupita’s brother (the resemblance is profound)
  • Jesse Tyler Ferguson
  • Khris Davis
  • Daphne Rubin-Vega

The performance was directed by Saheem Ali, and seriously, y’all. We watched the play over two nights, and it was easily one of the best productions I’ve seen.

And I don’t want to brag or anything, but I saw a production in the late 90s at Lincoln Center with Helen Hunt and Paul Rudd. You can watch it in varying degrees of quality on YouTube now.

That performance was also incredible, with music so alluring I bought the soundtrack on CD.

The Shakespeare in the Park production at the Delacorte equally blew my mind – and also had incredible music, much of it sung by Feste, played impeccably by Moses Sumney.

A behind the scenes clip of rehearsal

I’m not a theatre critic by a longshot, though I love live theater productions. I love remixes of Shakespeare that play with era or setting. And I love LOVE LOVE when clearly everyone involved is engaged with their character and the others on stage with an energy and ebullience that to me communicates that they’re really enjoying themselves. Antonio is played by an actor who goes by b. and they were mesmerizing; even with a smaller part and a few lines, their presence on stage had a gravity that was difficult to look away from.

I already watch tv with subtitles, but even with the text at the bottom of the screen, it was difficult to look away from most of this production. The only parts I found more dull were the scenes with Sir Toby Belch, played by John Ellison Conlee. While the other performers gave their delivery nuance and variety, Conlee mostly seemed to have one setting, which was “drunk bloviation.” Granted that’s Belch’s entire schtick, but those scenes were less engaging because of the sameness of the tone.

In addition to different kinds of love and ardor, Twelfth Night explores grief, identity, and gender; this production adds through a few changes an exploration of immigrant experience.

Viola and Sebastian are shipwrecked in Illyria, and some of their dialogue includes translations of the text into Swahili. They’ve washed ashore in a strange place where they are vulnerable, convinced they are now alone in this strange world, and their reunion and dialogue in Swahili at the end made my eyes tear because I didn’t understand it (no subtitles there) but also, I did understand it. I didn’t need to know the words to know the emotion of realizing a person thought dead is alive, and safe, and present and whole. Earlier that evening, I had been reading about the hundreds of people being kidnapped and disappeared by ICE in Charlotte, and clearly that added to my reaction.

The style and flair of the actors, such as dropping into modern speech rhythms for delivery of some lines and adding elements of camp and drag, was delightful. Peter Dinklage is incredible at physical comedy and his Malvolio is both brittle in his insecurities and weighty in his pompousness. There is nothing more funny to me right now than hearing him say “Cross gartered.”

This production lives in my mind alongside the production of Born With Teeth that was playing until recently in London, starring Edward Bluemel (My Lady Jane) and Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who). Born With Teeth is about an imagined alliance and rivalry (and mega flirtation) between William Shakespeare (Bluemel) and Christopher Marlowe (Gatwa). The palpable erotic tension was remarkable, but so too was the way in which Gatwa subtly included aspects of Black identity and history into how he interpreted Marlowe’s character. Similarly, Black identity and markers of Black culture – Orsino lifting weights while wearing a durag, elements of body posture and line delivery, for example – suffuse this production with layered meaning in a way that I can’t stop thinking about. I think I’m going to have to watch it again.

So, my recommendation: watch Twelfth Night on PBS Great Performances. It’s terrific. And it reminds me that I will be immeasurably more content if I engage with more theater, more marginalized actors interpreting historical figures and texts, and more PBS.

cimorene: The words "EGG AND SPOON RACE" in bright turquoise hand-drawn letters (egg and spoon race)
[personal profile] cimorene
In Non-functional public health appointments, part 2, we heard that when I called on the one day (out of 2 weeks) when you can book appointments with an MD, the appointments were all filled well before the end of the day and they told me to call back in 2 weeks as early as possible.

So that was Monday, and I called at 8:05 (5 minutes after opening) and put my message in their automatic callback queue. I didn't get called until after 11:00 and I could hear the receptionist's voice trembling with stress as she tried to gently and politely apologize because "It was so good that you called at eight, but unfortunately all the doctor slots were already full again!"

She asked again how soon I will run out of meds, and since I will not run out in the next two weeks, she told me to try calling back at eight am again on December first.

!!!!!!!

"Really really sorry, it's so unfortunate."

"Well, it's not your fault, I know," I said.

"Even so... yeah."

So. Two weeks. If I call at 8 on the dot, maybe I'll be early enough in the queue... or maybe I can't get an appointment until I'm about to run out and they therefore have to promote me to the 'urgent' (or semi-urgent) queue.

Wow... I'm so mad about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember that this was actually my third call because the first time I didn't call on the Appointment Day at all and had to be redirected (but unfortunately, even though she said they might fill up, I didn't realize it was like, CALL WITHIN FIVE MINUTES).
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by SB Sarah

Blue gift box with silver ribbonIt’s time for our annual Holiday Wishes episodes!

Every year I connect with listeners around the world, where we talk about books, wishes, and bad jokes. So this time of year, my guests are…all of you!

In this set of wishes, we’ve got classics, new mysteries, and series romances. And we’ve got Sapphic yearning!

I have a record number of people signed up to do holiday wishes conversations with me, and these episodes are so uplifting and delightful, I’m extremely excited.

And! There is still time to sign up! If you’re part of the Podcast Patreon or After Dark, you can still pick a time to connect with me.

Listen to the podcast →
Read the transcript →

Here are the books we discuss in this podcast:

If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.

More ways to sponsor:

Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)

What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.

Thanks for listening!

Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher.

Follow Friday 11-21-25: Knitting

Nov. 21st, 2025 01:20 am
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today's theme is Knitting.  You might also like my Hobbies: Knitting post with resources.

Read more... )

Poem: "Trying to Be Better"

Nov. 20th, 2025 09:56 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is spillover from the October 2025 [community profile] crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] readera. It also fills the "Do you trust me?" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by [personal profile] janetmiles. It belongs to the Frank the Crank arc in the Big One thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "The Clearest Signal" and "Set on Continuous Improvement," so read those first or this won't make as much sense.

Read more... )

Poem: "Set on Continuous Improvement"

Nov. 20th, 2025 08:45 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is spillover from the October 2025 [community profile] crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] readera. It also fills the "Dark Side" square in my 10-1-25 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by [personal profile] janetmiles. It belongs to the Frank the Crank arc in the Big One thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "The Clearest Signal," so read that first or this won't make as much sense.

Read more... )

30 in 30: Talents Series

Nov. 20th, 2025 06:19 pm
senmut: A purplish hued seahorse in water (General: Purple Seahorse)
[personal profile] senmut
AO3 Link | Prognosis (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Talents Series - Anne McCaffrey
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Rhyssa Owen-Lehardt [Talents Series], Peter Reidinger [Talents Series]
Additional Tags: Drabble, Angst
Summary:

Peter is with her when she learns



Prognosis )

Self-seeded gifts

Nov. 21st, 2025 11:43 am
mific: (A rainbow)
[personal profile] mific posting in [community profile] common_nature
Some might call them weeds, but I like them in my spring garden.

Read more... )

First Snow of the Season

Nov. 20th, 2025 03:08 pm
yourlibrarian: Groot holds a Snowman (HOL - Groot Snowman - sietepecados)
[personal profile] yourlibrarian posting in [community profile] common_nature


Rather tardy at this point, but why not? A few weeks ago we were still getting very little color around here.

Read more... )

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