Syncopated tritone hockets for everybody! [early music, MA]
Mar. 23rd, 2026 02:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sidereaBoston locals! Blue Heron, an acapella early music ensemble, is throwing a three-day shindig to celebrate Guillaume de Machaut (died 1377), May 1-3, mostly involving talks about Machaut's works, talks about his lyrics, talks about the illuminations in the manuscripts his works come from, concerts of his music, and also a little ars subtilior tacked on the end just because.
More info https://www.blueheron.org/machaut-weekend/
Affordability note: They have a free ticket option as part of the "Card to Culture program" for people with EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare(!) cards*, and a discounted "low cost" option.
Of note, the "Opening Festivities: Keynote, Performance & Sing-Along" on Friday night includes (emphasis mine):
If you're curious what the Kyrie from Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame sounds and looks like, here you go.
* There is no separate ConnectorCare card like there is for MassHealth. They mean your regular insurance card, which if it's a ConnectorCare plan should say so on it, or so the Mass Cultural Council, whose program it is, thinks.
More info https://www.blueheron.org/machaut-weekend/
Affordability note: They have a free ticket option as part of the "Card to Culture program" for people with EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare(!) cards*, and a discounted "low cost" option.
Of note, the "Opening Festivities: Keynote, Performance & Sing-Along" on Friday night includes (emphasis mine):
a keynote talk by one of the world’s leading scholars of 14th-century music, Anne Stone (CUNY Graduate Center), performances of pieces in several of the genres represented in Machaut’s oeuvre, and a sing-along of the Kyrie from the Messe de Nostre Dame.Which: huh. Huh. The Kyrie, huh? Wow. Now that is certainly a choice. I commend their bravery. Were I in better health, I would consider showing up just to be in on the shenanigans.
If you're curious what the Kyrie from Machaut's Messe de Nostre Dame sounds and looks like, here you go.
* There is no separate ConnectorCare card like there is for MassHealth. They mean your regular insurance card, which if it's a ConnectorCare plan should say so on it, or so the Mass Cultural Council, whose program it is, thinks.
(no subject)
Mar. 22nd, 2026 11:09 pmolivermoss
Back from a trans right read a thon read-in at a bar with a DJ. It was good! But, I am exhausted.
three concerts
Mar. 22nd, 2026 10:18 pmcalimacWednesday, Stanford Music Dept.
The quarterly showcase of matching the students up in chamber music groups. There were a lot of pianists this term, so the concert was full of four-hand and two-piano works by Barber and Rachmaninoff. But the first one, by Mozart, turned out to be scored for two pianos and a cell phone alarm. The scherzo from Ravel's string quartet and the slow movement from Dvořák's Op. 87 piano quartet lacked oomph, but the students get credit for trying.
Saturday, California Symphony
The common thread of the three composers on m.d. Donato Cabrera's program at Lesher in Walnut Creek is that they all came from countries being oppressed by the Russians at the time. Two were contemporary "holy minimalists": Valentin Silvestrov (Ukraine) for Stille Musik, a piece for small string orchestra, beautiful harmonies but disconcertingly off-kilter; and Arvo Pärt (Estonia) for Tabula Rasa, half an hour of two violins playing overlapping hypnotic rocking figures while the string orchestra murmurs behind them. The third was Jean Sibelius (Finland) for his Second Symphony, played as if it were the anthem for Finnish independence it was sometimes taken for. That meant with all the stops out. Even the first movement sounded as grand as the finale, and the finale went totally overboard, the sort of thing that made Virgil Thomson hate Sibelius.
Recent Cal Sym concerts have been pretty full, so it was notable that this one was more sparsely attended. The Sibelius is a crowd-pleaser, so it must have been Silvestrov and Pärt who scared the hordes away.
Sunday, Marea Ensemble
Ensemble consisting of a string quartet (four women) and a soprano (Lori Schulman), presented by the Santa Cruz Chamber Players at their usual church in the hills behind Aptos. What attracted me to this one was the theme of "a journey from despair to hope" bookended by Shostakovich's Eighth Quartet, probably the most suicidal piece in the repertoire, and the "Heiliger Dankgesang" from Beethoven's Op. 132 quartet, probably the most luminous piece in the repertoire.
In the event, the Shostakovich was solemn and deliberate, avoiding slashing vehemence, which more matched it with the equally solemn and quite graceful Beethoven than contrasted with it.
The four pieces in between were all by contemporary American composers, three of them vocal. My favorite was "And So" from Caroline Shaw's song cycle Is a Rose, for its imaginative, varied and sweet accompaniment, but then Shaw is one of my favorite living composers. A cycle by Eliza Brown employed varying styles depending on the nature of the poems, but favored shimmering chords of light dissonance. Source Code by Jessie Montgomery, the instrumental piece, consisted of fragments taken from or evoking spirituals embedded in a soup of dissonance.
Local composer Chris Pratorius Gómez, who shows up on SCCP programs a lot, set "Sonder," a purpose-written poem by local writer Kristen Nelson about shared humanity under crisis. I like patterned poetry, and this was made even more effective by the composer's choice to give some of the lines to the instrumentalists to be spoken, like this:
The quarterly showcase of matching the students up in chamber music groups. There were a lot of pianists this term, so the concert was full of four-hand and two-piano works by Barber and Rachmaninoff. But the first one, by Mozart, turned out to be scored for two pianos and a cell phone alarm. The scherzo from Ravel's string quartet and the slow movement from Dvořák's Op. 87 piano quartet lacked oomph, but the students get credit for trying.
Saturday, California Symphony
The common thread of the three composers on m.d. Donato Cabrera's program at Lesher in Walnut Creek is that they all came from countries being oppressed by the Russians at the time. Two were contemporary "holy minimalists": Valentin Silvestrov (Ukraine) for Stille Musik, a piece for small string orchestra, beautiful harmonies but disconcertingly off-kilter; and Arvo Pärt (Estonia) for Tabula Rasa, half an hour of two violins playing overlapping hypnotic rocking figures while the string orchestra murmurs behind them. The third was Jean Sibelius (Finland) for his Second Symphony, played as if it were the anthem for Finnish independence it was sometimes taken for. That meant with all the stops out. Even the first movement sounded as grand as the finale, and the finale went totally overboard, the sort of thing that made Virgil Thomson hate Sibelius.
Recent Cal Sym concerts have been pretty full, so it was notable that this one was more sparsely attended. The Sibelius is a crowd-pleaser, so it must have been Silvestrov and Pärt who scared the hordes away.
Sunday, Marea Ensemble
Ensemble consisting of a string quartet (four women) and a soprano (Lori Schulman), presented by the Santa Cruz Chamber Players at their usual church in the hills behind Aptos. What attracted me to this one was the theme of "a journey from despair to hope" bookended by Shostakovich's Eighth Quartet, probably the most suicidal piece in the repertoire, and the "Heiliger Dankgesang" from Beethoven's Op. 132 quartet, probably the most luminous piece in the repertoire.
In the event, the Shostakovich was solemn and deliberate, avoiding slashing vehemence, which more matched it with the equally solemn and quite graceful Beethoven than contrasted with it.
The four pieces in between were all by contemporary American composers, three of them vocal. My favorite was "And So" from Caroline Shaw's song cycle Is a Rose, for its imaginative, varied and sweet accompaniment, but then Shaw is one of my favorite living composers. A cycle by Eliza Brown employed varying styles depending on the nature of the poems, but favored shimmering chords of light dissonance. Source Code by Jessie Montgomery, the instrumental piece, consisted of fragments taken from or evoking spirituals embedded in a soup of dissonance.
Local composer Chris Pratorius Gómez, who shows up on SCCP programs a lot, set "Sonder," a purpose-written poem by local writer Kristen Nelson about shared humanity under crisis. I like patterned poetry, and this was made even more effective by the composer's choice to give some of the lines to the instrumentalists to be spoken, like this:
Singer: Here hawks still circle and screechAfterwards I was able to speak to Nelson and compliment her on the poem. A long series of patterned triplets addressed "to a photo of the kids I love / their guts intact in their bellies" included
Quartet: For now
Singer: Here owls still hoot at night
Quartet: For now
May they never fear the skyA rear gut-kicker, that one, I told her, and she said, "Oh good, you got it."
May they never fear the sea
May they never fear the cops
Foxfibre [text/ag]
Mar. 23rd, 2026 01:01 amsidereaThe YouTube algorithm pseudorandomly served me this, thereby answering the question I'd had on a distant back burner forever, "Hey, didn't I hear something about colored cotton cultivars once upon a time? Cotton that you didn't need to dye? Like back in the 90s?"
If you are a fellow fiber freak or interested in agriculture or organic crops or the underappreciated problem of sustainable clothing production, you may find this as fascinating as I did:
2026 Mar 7: Good Yarn Bad Knits [goodyarnbadknits YT]: "The Yarn That Almost Saved The World"
If you are a fellow fiber freak or interested in agriculture or organic crops or the underappreciated problem of sustainable clothing production, you may find this as fascinating as I did:
2026 Mar 7: Good Yarn Bad Knits [goodyarnbadknits YT]: "The Yarn That Almost Saved The World"
Super Creepshow #1 - "Creeping"
Mar. 22nd, 2026 09:29 pmlaughing_tree posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
scans_daily
Really, it came from something I think when reading those early Ditko issues – how people talk about how horrible Spider-Man is. Now, we see Spider-Man… but they clearly don"t. Doing a story about the horror of that kind of archetype, right? -- Kieron Gillen
I thought “What would Adrian Tchaikovsky do?” and then I add “If he was very drunk and in a bad mood?” -- Kieron Gillen
( Read more... )
Dept. of Memes
Mar. 22nd, 2026 09:49 pmkaffy_rMusic Meme, Day 24
A song that gets stuck in your head:
This one is ever-changing for me, as I imagine it is for other people. A song that you wake up with in your head one day, one that lilts or churns or waltzes through your head throughout that day may give way the next morning to something completely different, but equally mesmerizing. As someone who wakes up and goes to sleep with music, I think that's a wonderful thing.
There are dangers. If you're unlucky enough to get some song or other piece of music that you can't stand it could drive you spare. Bob told me once that he had that happen to him when he was much younger. He wasn't able to get it out of his head for days. I was about to say that I wouldn't wish that on an enemy, but actually, that would be an exquisitely nasty thing for a nasty enough enemy.
But in general, if you're like me, the songs that get stuck in your head are pieces where the music, or the words, or some combination of both are positive things.
So here are two songs that almost always remain in my mind long after their notes have faded.
I love music and words that combine to become aurally hypnotic. REM's "Maps and Legends" does that for me. "Maybe these maps and legends have been misunderstood." The descant that Mike Mills sings behind Michael Stipe's strange and only partially understandable (in both senses of the word) lyrics are what I wish I could have sung as a backup singer. They are borderline ecstatic, a word I've used more than once this week.
Here's a link to my last entry, which will, if you're patient enough, lead you to all my previous entries.
A song that gets stuck in your head:
This one is ever-changing for me, as I imagine it is for other people. A song that you wake up with in your head one day, one that lilts or churns or waltzes through your head throughout that day may give way the next morning to something completely different, but equally mesmerizing. As someone who wakes up and goes to sleep with music, I think that's a wonderful thing.
There are dangers. If you're unlucky enough to get some song or other piece of music that you can't stand it could drive you spare. Bob told me once that he had that happen to him when he was much younger. He wasn't able to get it out of his head for days. I was about to say that I wouldn't wish that on an enemy, but actually, that would be an exquisitely nasty thing for a nasty enough enemy.
But in general, if you're like me, the songs that get stuck in your head are pieces where the music, or the words, or some combination of both are positive things.
So here are two songs that almost always remain in my mind long after their notes have faded.
I love music and words that combine to become aurally hypnotic. REM's "Maps and Legends" does that for me. "Maybe these maps and legends have been misunderstood." The descant that Mike Mills sings behind Michael Stipe's strange and only partially understandable (in both senses of the word) lyrics are what I wish I could have sung as a backup singer. They are borderline ecstatic, a word I've used more than once this week.
Here's a link to my last entry, which will, if you're patient enough, lead you to all my previous entries.
The Jewish War: First half of Book 4
Mar. 22nd, 2026 08:05 pmcahnLast week: Josephus really hypes Vespasian up! Galilee is also very nice! Discussion of Josephus' prophecy of Vespasian, both in Josephus and in Feuchtwanger's novelization, with detours into Antonia and Caenis.
This week: Internal strife in Jerusalem! Lots of internal strife!
Next week: Last half of book 4.
This week: Internal strife in Jerusalem! Lots of internal strife!
Next week: Last half of book 4.
Writerly Ways
Mar. 22nd, 2026 11:49 pmcornerofmadnessIt's late somehow. I spent the day on the diabetes rollercoaster starting out at 350 and staying there until suddenly I was 80 at 5 pm. So I'm tired. I'm groggy. I'm not going to have much energy for writing thoughts today but can we talk about call backs.
Do you do them? Do you like them? I have not used many and I like them well enough. This is front of mind for two reasons. At my book club thing, one of the ladies was talking about what she hated about the indie book she had was it was forced call backs done badly. She said she liked call backs but this one went on and on. And without spoilers, The Amazing Digital Circus had a massive and wonderful call back. Everyone was praising the foreshadowing of that.
But I'm also thinking...was it? What if they just simply rewatching/reread earlier stuff and thought hey, you know what... ha. (that would be how I'd end up doing it)
Open Calls
The Cookout Anthology Science fiction and fantasy stories by Black authors from the African Diaspora, centering on the beloved traditions of the cookout: the joy, drama, and delicious food! - Fantastic pay on this one my friends if you're in the target group.
Sinister Scales Anthology Reptiles featured prominently in the story Genre: Science fiction and fantasy
BloodClot!Zine Revolution including personal, social, technological, and spiritual upheaval Genre: Speculative fiction, literary fiction, poetry, and personal essays - Also only open to people of color
WERE-2 Creative stories centered on were-creatures other than werewolves Genre: Primarily urban fantasy, but science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, and other speculative genres are welcome - Another pro rate pay. This one I hope to try for (look at the anchor authors)
Goblins & Galaxies Magazine Adventure driven stories featuring sword and sorcery, dark fantasy, or science fiction elements
84 Opportunities for Historically Underrepresented Writers (March 2026)
From Around the Web
9 Tips for How to Write Dark Stories Responsibly (And Make Hope Feel Earned)
Genre as Delight, Not Dictator: How Learning About Genres Helps You Write Better
The Most Important Lesson I Learned After a Decade of Writing
From Betty
What Is a Throughline in Writing?
Seven Ways to Clarify Critical Information
Is Your Subconscious Messing with Your Writing Identity?
Awaken Your Creativity
We Become the Stories We Tell Ourselves
The Greatest Feeling
From Idea to Page: The Journey of a Romance Novel.
How Fear Shrinks Your Character’s World Over Time
Coping Mechanism Thesaurus: Catastrophizing
YouTube for Writers, Part 7: Why Captions Matter and How to Use Them
here.
Before You Share That Post: A Writer’s Guide to Verifying Information and Building Trust Online (Part 2).
The Facebook Copyright Hoax Is Back: Why Writers Must Verify Before They Share (Part 1)
The Power of Goal Setting for Writers: How Clear Goals Help You Finish Your Book
Why Author Newsletter Replies Matter (and How to Get More Reader Responses)
Finding The Heart of the Story
Stuck: Further thoughts on Pride and Prejudice.
Do you do them? Do you like them? I have not used many and I like them well enough. This is front of mind for two reasons. At my book club thing, one of the ladies was talking about what she hated about the indie book she had was it was forced call backs done badly. She said she liked call backs but this one went on and on. And without spoilers, The Amazing Digital Circus had a massive and wonderful call back. Everyone was praising the foreshadowing of that.
But I'm also thinking...was it? What if they just simply rewatching/reread earlier stuff and thought hey, you know what... ha. (that would be how I'd end up doing it)
Open Calls
The Cookout Anthology Science fiction and fantasy stories by Black authors from the African Diaspora, centering on the beloved traditions of the cookout: the joy, drama, and delicious food! - Fantastic pay on this one my friends if you're in the target group.
Sinister Scales Anthology Reptiles featured prominently in the story Genre: Science fiction and fantasy
BloodClot!Zine Revolution including personal, social, technological, and spiritual upheaval Genre: Speculative fiction, literary fiction, poetry, and personal essays - Also only open to people of color
WERE-2 Creative stories centered on were-creatures other than werewolves Genre: Primarily urban fantasy, but science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, and other speculative genres are welcome - Another pro rate pay. This one I hope to try for (look at the anchor authors)
Goblins & Galaxies Magazine Adventure driven stories featuring sword and sorcery, dark fantasy, or science fiction elements
84 Opportunities for Historically Underrepresented Writers (March 2026)
From Around the Web
9 Tips for How to Write Dark Stories Responsibly (And Make Hope Feel Earned)
Genre as Delight, Not Dictator: How Learning About Genres Helps You Write Better
The Most Important Lesson I Learned After a Decade of Writing
From Betty
What Is a Throughline in Writing?
Seven Ways to Clarify Critical Information
Is Your Subconscious Messing with Your Writing Identity?
Awaken Your Creativity
We Become the Stories We Tell Ourselves
The Greatest Feeling
From Idea to Page: The Journey of a Romance Novel.
How Fear Shrinks Your Character’s World Over Time
Coping Mechanism Thesaurus: Catastrophizing
YouTube for Writers, Part 7: Why Captions Matter and How to Use Them
here.
Before You Share That Post: A Writer’s Guide to Verifying Information and Building Trust Online (Part 2).
The Facebook Copyright Hoax Is Back: Why Writers Must Verify Before They Share (Part 1)
The Power of Goal Setting for Writers: How Clear Goals Help You Finish Your Book
Why Author Newsletter Replies Matter (and How to Get More Reader Responses)
Finding The Heart of the Story
Stuck: Further thoughts on Pride and Prejudice.
New Tutorials!
Mar. 22nd, 2026 09:39 pmsoc_puppetUploading Images to Dreamwidth
Finding Friends and Things to Do on Dreamwidth
Dreamwidth and Icons
All of these are links tonewcomers, but they're mirrored at the_great_tumblr_purge. I spent a really long time on the icon one in particular, and am pretty damn proud of the results! Feel free to stop by and share a favorite icon or two at either version of that post 😃
Tumblr has currently pulled back from the trust thermocline, but it's not far from the edge, so I've got Dreamwidth tutorials on the mind.
Also, have a new icon! I am very fond of Crow Time.
Finding Friends and Things to Do on Dreamwidth
Dreamwidth and Icons
All of these are links to
newcomers, but they're mirrored at the_great_tumblr_purge. I spent a really long time on the icon one in particular, and am pretty damn proud of the results! Feel free to stop by and share a favorite icon or two at either version of that post 😃Tumblr has currently pulled back from the trust thermocline, but it's not far from the edge, so I've got Dreamwidth tutorials on the mind.
Also, have a new icon! I am very fond of Crow Time.
Movie log.
Mar. 22nd, 2026 10:40 pmhannahWe’ve watched four movies this weekend: Meet Me In St. Louis, Tommy, The Wizard of Speed and Time, and The History of Future Folk.
Overall, I found Meet Me to Ben the weirdest and least accessible.
Overall, I found Meet Me to Ben the weirdest and least accessible.
Recovering Calm (part 1 of 1, complete)
Mar. 22nd, 2026 10:03 pmdialecticdreamerRecovering Calm
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1323
[Afternoon of Saturday, 4 November of 2017]
:: A few minutes after the door closes, Blainn is stumbling over an explanation when the doorbell rings again. Part of the “Lodestar” arc, set in the Polychrome Heroics universe. ::
In the kitchen, Blainn automatically began following the recipe as Griffin announced the next steps, while the other teen began assembling a tray full of glasses with ice from the bin in the refrigerator. When Joshua stepped in to pour himself a cup of coffee, Blainn blurted, “I’m sorry!’
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Joshua told him quietly. He raised his voice slightly as he turned toward the archway. “Pips, can you take over for Blainn, please?”
Blainn tensed.
( Read more... )
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1323
[Afternoon of Saturday, 4 November of 2017]
:: A few minutes after the door closes, Blainn is stumbling over an explanation when the doorbell rings again. Part of the “Lodestar” arc, set in the Polychrome Heroics universe. ::
In the kitchen, Blainn automatically began following the recipe as Griffin announced the next steps, while the other teen began assembling a tray full of glasses with ice from the bin in the refrigerator. When Joshua stepped in to pour himself a cup of coffee, Blainn blurted, “I’m sorry!’
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Joshua told him quietly. He raised his voice slightly as he turned toward the archway. “Pips, can you take over for Blainn, please?”
Blainn tensed.
( Read more... )
It's alive!
Mar. 23rd, 2026 12:25 pmmergatrudeI've been laid low with a nasty dose of this year's flu for a couple of weeks, on top of creeping depression about upcoming changes at work. Mostly hanging out in my (tiny) tumblr feed for feelgood pics of cats and other people's blorbos, and playing Merge Dragons. I did manage to focus enough to knit my co-worker a pair of fingerless mitts.
(no subject)
Mar. 22nd, 2026 08:48 pmshadowkat1. Been watching mostly Grantchester on Netflix this weekend. Season 1 - which is a cozy little murder mystery series - about a jazz loving vicar and a semi-alcoholic homicide detective who solve crimes in the 1950s - in a quaint English village just outside of Cambridge. The village is going through a bit of a crime spree?
[ Apologies for typos or mistakes? My reading glasses aren't working well tonight for some reason - the distant vision appears to be fine, but my reading vision is kind of blurry - it's very odd. It was fine earlier.]
It has a kind of Call the Midwife/All Creatures Great and Small vibe to it - except murder mysteries. And it develops its characters rather well. I like the characters and find oddly comforting.
2. Also finished watching Song Sung Blue on Peacock - the film starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, in which Kate was nominated for best supporting actress? They play two singers that impersonate famous singers, who meet and decide to create a Neil Diamond Tribute Experience. It's based on the true and somewhat tragic love story of Lightening and Thunder. It's based on the 2008 documentary.
It's tragic, but surprisingly doesn't milk the melodrama or sentimentality like most of these things do. And kind of earns the tears. I credit it - for being based and adapted from the 2008 documentary, I think Clair (Thunder) pushed them to downplay the melodrama. I was surprised by it - it is rather good, particularly if you like Niel Diamond, who specialized in easy listening, hummable ditties, that could and often did fall into ear worm territory - but are fun to thing. Kind of like ABBA. I'd put ABBA and Diamond in the same category.
And damn, Hugh Jackman and Hudson are good performers. Both can sing, move and have chemistry to spare.
3. Illona Andrews - the sci-fi novel, The Inheritance, follows a trend I've been seeing of late in science fiction - which is making arachnids not villains or evil monsters. The Inheritance kind of turns them into something akin to silk worms or domesticated animals like I don't know sheep, aka dangerous sheep.
I get the metaphor though? That often the thing we've demonized in our heads isn't so scary or evil if viewed through another angle. And can in fact be a friend or ally.
It's an interesting book - the writers do a good job of navigating difficult themes without preaching, sermonizing or providing easy answers, and I can't help but applaud them for that.
In other news? Someone did a theme of "what books" the Buffy characters would be reading, and listed Illona Andrew upcoming book - "This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me" as the book that Xander was reading. I found that interesting - in a - my two fandoms collide - in a way I wasn't expecting sort of way? Continuing along those lines - I saw an interview with Sarah Michelle Gellar stating her two favorite books were Donna Tartt's The Secret History (which she struggles to explain why she loves it so much to folks) - and Shadow of the Wind. (I may have to pick up Shadow of the Wind - it's about the hunt for different pages of a book.) I am a fan of Donna Tartt's The Secret History, which much like Gellar - I hope is never made into a film, and just is great as is. So again, fandoms indirectly collide.
This rarely happens.
I've watched and been fannish about a lot of television series in my life time? But Buffy will always hold a special place in my heart, that nothing else can quite touch - and that's something people either get or don't?
[ Apologies for typos or mistakes? My reading glasses aren't working well tonight for some reason - the distant vision appears to be fine, but my reading vision is kind of blurry - it's very odd. It was fine earlier.]
It has a kind of Call the Midwife/All Creatures Great and Small vibe to it - except murder mysteries. And it develops its characters rather well. I like the characters and find oddly comforting.
2. Also finished watching Song Sung Blue on Peacock - the film starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, in which Kate was nominated for best supporting actress? They play two singers that impersonate famous singers, who meet and decide to create a Neil Diamond Tribute Experience. It's based on the true and somewhat tragic love story of Lightening and Thunder. It's based on the 2008 documentary.
It's tragic, but surprisingly doesn't milk the melodrama or sentimentality like most of these things do. And kind of earns the tears. I credit it - for being based and adapted from the 2008 documentary, I think Clair (Thunder) pushed them to downplay the melodrama. I was surprised by it - it is rather good, particularly if you like Niel Diamond, who specialized in easy listening, hummable ditties, that could and often did fall into ear worm territory - but are fun to thing. Kind of like ABBA. I'd put ABBA and Diamond in the same category.
And damn, Hugh Jackman and Hudson are good performers. Both can sing, move and have chemistry to spare.
3. Illona Andrews - the sci-fi novel, The Inheritance, follows a trend I've been seeing of late in science fiction - which is making arachnids not villains or evil monsters. The Inheritance kind of turns them into something akin to silk worms or domesticated animals like I don't know sheep, aka dangerous sheep.
I get the metaphor though? That often the thing we've demonized in our heads isn't so scary or evil if viewed through another angle. And can in fact be a friend or ally.
It's an interesting book - the writers do a good job of navigating difficult themes without preaching, sermonizing or providing easy answers, and I can't help but applaud them for that.
In other news? Someone did a theme of "what books" the Buffy characters would be reading, and listed Illona Andrew upcoming book - "This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me" as the book that Xander was reading. I found that interesting - in a - my two fandoms collide - in a way I wasn't expecting sort of way? Continuing along those lines - I saw an interview with Sarah Michelle Gellar stating her two favorite books were Donna Tartt's The Secret History (which she struggles to explain why she loves it so much to folks) - and Shadow of the Wind. (I may have to pick up Shadow of the Wind - it's about the hunt for different pages of a book.) I am a fan of Donna Tartt's The Secret History, which much like Gellar - I hope is never made into a film, and just is great as is. So again, fandoms indirectly collide.
This rarely happens.
I've watched and been fannish about a lot of television series in my life time? But Buffy will always hold a special place in my heart, that nothing else can quite touch - and that's something people either get or don't?
Daily Check-In
Mar. 22nd, 2026 07:52 pmmecurtin posting in fandom_checkinThis is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Sunday, March 22, to midnight on March 23 (8pm Eastern Time).
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
Poll #34406 Daily check-in poll
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 22
How are you doing?
I am OK
11 (50.0%)
I am not OK, but don't need help right now
11 (50.0%)
I could use some help
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans live with you?
I am living single
7 (31.8%)
One other person
8 (36.4%)
More than one other person
7 (31.8%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
Hiiii everyone :D
Mar. 23rd, 2026 05:13 amharryschreine posting in addme_fandomIf you may notice, this is my second time posting my introduction here. Pleasepleasejustforgetthefirstonehuwaaaaaaa
Name: Charikleia, just simply call me Chari!
Age group: Early Millenial
Country: Indonesia
Subscription/Access Policy: Don't like, don't read! My journal for archiving fannish stuff and my hobbies resources will be open for everyone. However, daily journaling and talking about my hobbies and real life photographing stuff only accessible for people and friends I trust. Just one thing: I am very shy in nature and always live in my own world... but I do always explode in euphoria in embarassment and rolling on my bed if any of you leave a comment on my journal to chat xD (That means, I am very happy for you to talk with me!!)
But, sorry, sometimes I am somehow a bit clueless and the self-consciusness is inevitable with people. But, no worries. I've been always relaxed and chill. ;)
Also, I still talk about fannish things in LJ 2000s way. Please be prepared for my silly expressiveness ehehehehehehe
;'////DDDDD I've been always comfortable and accepting myself to love having such an exciting and enthusiastic atmosphere. Please keep in mind.
I prefer someone from my age range from 25 and up. But 18+ is a must, since I archive lots of hot slashy and het in fics and fanarts media, but it's been a sweet romantic love anyway. :p I am pretty vanilla person.
One more important thing: I am here to enjoy my free time to heal, relax, have exciting fannish time, aaaand simply just chat. I will not subscribe to any journal who also talks about serious and sensitive stuff. I prefer fandom-only and casual daily life journal.
I like to post about: Fics, fanarts, music reccomendation, hobby resources, daily journaling, beautiful Nendoroid, landscape and foods photography~
Main Fandoms: I enjoy my fandoms together at the same time. So, there is no main fandom at the moment o.o
Other Fandoms:
- Men's Footie RPF, I only wrote for 2000s players for German NT and Bundesliga, 2000s to 2010s for Greece NT, and justalitteVERYbit of 2000s Eredivisie.
- Ace Attorney/Gyakuten Saiban. I strongly prefer for original canon Japanese and refers characters names in Japanese instead, I've been very long in this fandom on Asian fandom side and not that familiar with Western fandom and the Japanifornia. Sorry, if that's okay for you xD
- and many other more that I prefer not to mention, simply because I am not interested in the fandom anymore, but sometimes I can join in and have some small fannish exchange activity.
Fannish Interests: I also self-ship myself with the character Mitsurugi Reiji (Gyakuten Saiban) but I never had a mood to have a self-ship fannishactivities, Just a little sketch of my OCsona and him will do. I am mirror-sharing ;)
Favorite 2D Husbu and 3D Idol: Mitsurugi Reiji (Gyakuten Saiban) & Angelos Charisteas (Footie)
Name: Charikleia, just simply call me Chari!
Age group: Early Millenial
Country: Indonesia
Subscription/Access Policy: Don't like, don't read! My journal for archiving fannish stuff and my hobbies resources will be open for everyone. However, daily journaling and talking about my hobbies and real life photographing stuff only accessible for people and friends I trust. Just one thing: I am very shy in nature and always live in my own world... but I do always explode in euphoria in embarassment and rolling on my bed if any of you leave a comment on my journal to chat xD (That means, I am very happy for you to talk with me!!)
But, sorry, sometimes I am somehow a bit clueless and the self-consciusness is inevitable with people. But, no worries. I've been always relaxed and chill. ;)
Also, I still talk about fannish things in LJ 2000s way. Please be prepared for my silly expressiveness ehehehehehehe
;'////DDDDD I've been always comfortable and accepting myself to love having such an exciting and enthusiastic atmosphere. Please keep in mind.
I prefer someone from my age range from 25 and up. But 18+ is a must, since I archive lots of hot slashy and het in fics and fanarts media, but it's been a sweet romantic love anyway. :p I am pretty vanilla person.
One more important thing: I am here to enjoy my free time to heal, relax, have exciting fannish time, aaaand simply just chat. I will not subscribe to any journal who also talks about serious and sensitive stuff. I prefer fandom-only and casual daily life journal.
I like to post about: Fics, fanarts, music reccomendation, hobby resources, daily journaling, beautiful Nendoroid, landscape and foods photography~
Main Fandoms: I enjoy my fandoms together at the same time. So, there is no main fandom at the moment o.o
Other Fandoms:
- Men's Footie RPF, I only wrote for 2000s players for German NT and Bundesliga, 2000s to 2010s for Greece NT, and justalitteVERYbit of 2000s Eredivisie.
- Ace Attorney/Gyakuten Saiban. I strongly prefer for original canon Japanese and refers characters names in Japanese instead, I've been very long in this fandom on Asian fandom side and not that familiar with Western fandom and the Japanifornia. Sorry, if that's okay for you xD
- and many other more that I prefer not to mention, simply because I am not interested in the fandom anymore, but sometimes I can join in and have some small fannish exchange activity.
Fannish Interests: I also self-ship myself with the character Mitsurugi Reiji (Gyakuten Saiban) but I never had a mood to have a self-ship fannishactivities, Just a little sketch of my OCsona and him will do. I am mirror-sharing ;)
Favorite 2D Husbu and 3D Idol: Mitsurugi Reiji (Gyakuten Saiban) & Angelos Charisteas (Footie)
[ SECRET POST #7016 ]
Mar. 22nd, 2026 05:11 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #7016 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #1001.
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.
Re-reading our texts from the strawberry days
Mar. 22nd, 2026 03:21 pmsovayI must have slept ten hours. Hestia appears to be watching the rain with almost as much interest as the birds sheltering from it. May it and the recent snowmelt amend the drought. Tomorrow, of course, it is forecast to snow again.
selkie was safely collected from the Penn Station-alike that South Station has done its best to inhume itself into since her last visit, provided with an appropriate quantity of local barbecue for an obligate carnivore, and even successfully checked in to her hotel despite the mishegos attending every stage of her conference even before it started. At no point in this process did we apparently remember to take any pictures of ourselves.
My dreams seem to be branching out in terms of media, since last night's featured a youngish Alec McCowen starring in the radio version of a Tey-like crime novel as the ambiguously poor relation of an upper-class family who is not actually Kind Hearts and Coronets-ing his way through them, but needs to figure out who is before he's so handily scapegoated for the accidents escalating to murder ever since his arrival; he is, naturally, keeping a secret from the family, the authorities, and even the inattentive reader, but it isn't that. I was very pleased to find that a recording had survived, because the original novel had just been reprinted by the British Library Crime Classics. There were images mixed up in it in the way of dreams, but it was definitely on the Internet Archive.
Outside my head, I have been recently listening to Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn (2020), Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin's symbiont (2024), and Huw Marc Bennett's Heol Las (2026), which I found through its ghost-boxish "Cân Gwasael (Wassail Song)." I like that I do not have to dream their remixes of folk and futurism and time.
selkie was safely collected from the Penn Station-alike that South Station has done its best to inhume itself into since her last visit, provided with an appropriate quantity of local barbecue for an obligate carnivore, and even successfully checked in to her hotel despite the mishegos attending every stage of her conference even before it started. At no point in this process did we apparently remember to take any pictures of ourselves.My dreams seem to be branching out in terms of media, since last night's featured a youngish Alec McCowen starring in the radio version of a Tey-like crime novel as the ambiguously poor relation of an upper-class family who is not actually Kind Hearts and Coronets-ing his way through them, but needs to figure out who is before he's so handily scapegoated for the accidents escalating to murder ever since his arrival; he is, naturally, keeping a secret from the family, the authorities, and even the inattentive reader, but it isn't that. I was very pleased to find that a recording had survived, because the original novel had just been reprinted by the British Library Crime Classics. There were images mixed up in it in the way of dreams, but it was definitely on the Internet Archive.
Outside my head, I have been recently listening to Wu Fei & Abigail Washburn (2020), Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin's symbiont (2024), and Huw Marc Bennett's Heol Las (2026), which I found through its ghost-boxish "Cân Gwasael (Wassail Song)." I like that I do not have to dream their remixes of folk and futurism and time.
Culinary
Mar. 22nd, 2026 07:19 pmoursinThis week's bread: Elizabeth's David's Light Rye Loaf, which turned out nicely even though I discovered that the fresh yeast had finally given up and I had to fall back on Allinson's Easy Bake Yeast (which is not, horrors, the same as their former Active Dry Yeast).
Friday night supper: grocery order came early enough that I was able to put in hand the makings of a sardegnera with pepperoni.
Saturday breakfast rolls: brown toasted pinenut, with Marriage's Golden Wholegrain Bread Flour, turned out quite well.
Today's lunch: game casserole - mixture of pheasant, venison, duck and partridge with onion, garlic, bay leaf, juniper berries, coriander seeds and red wine; served with kasha, warm green bean and fennel salad, and baby pak choi stirfried with star anise
Fandom5K 2026 Nominations Open
Mar. 22nd, 2026 01:17 pmlongficmod posting in fandom5kWelcome to Fandom 5K nominations, 2026 and final edition!
Nominations are open over here. They will close on April 1st for cleanup and will re-open during signups. Note that I will probably clear existing nominations when the form re-opens, so if you want to keep track of exactly what you nominated, please save the list for your own purposes.
There are no restrictions on what can be nominated in terms of fandom size, type, and so forth, and we also allow crossovers and original fandoms to be nominated. Please nominate crossover relationships into the Crossover Fandom tag, and original characters and relationships into the Original Work tag.
Fandom5K does not allow Creator's Choice of Fandom.
In terms of how to nominate characters versus relationships, please follow the format below:( Read more... )
Large franchise fandoms continue to get more and more complicated! I'm going to hold off on those approvals for a few days to see if we need to make changes to past year's guidelines. Below is what we did last year. If you plan to nominate in these fandoms, please discuss either keeping as-is or doing something that makes more sense to you in the comments:
Nominations are open over here. They will close on April 1st for cleanup and will re-open during signups. Note that I will probably clear existing nominations when the form re-opens, so if you want to keep track of exactly what you nominated, please save the list for your own purposes.
There are no restrictions on what can be nominated in terms of fandom size, type, and so forth, and we also allow crossovers and original fandoms to be nominated. Please nominate crossover relationships into the Crossover Fandom tag, and original characters and relationships into the Original Work tag.
Fandom5K does not allow Creator's Choice of Fandom.
In terms of how to nominate characters versus relationships, please follow the format below:( Read more... )
Large franchise fandoms continue to get more and more complicated! I'm going to hold off on those approvals for a few days to see if we need to make changes to past year's guidelines. Below is what we did last year. If you plan to nominate in these fandoms, please discuss either keeping as-is or doing something that makes more sense to you in the comments:
- Dragon Age - nominate as "Dragon Age (Video Games)" or "Dragon Age: Absolution".
- Marvel Cinematic Universe - please only nominate characters who have appeared in the movies into this fandom. Relationships between movie-only and TV-only characters should be nominated as crossovers.
- Marvel Netflix series - early series should all be nominated as "Defenders (TV)"; others should be nominated under the individual series
- Star Wars - please nominate films in terms of "Star Wars Prequel Trilogy", "Star Wars Original Trilogy", "Star Wars Sequel Trilogy" etc.; nominate TV under separate titles
- X-Men films - as "X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)" and "X-Men (Original Timeline Movies)"
- Arrowverse - use "DC's Arrowverse" for Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, Batwoman, Black Lightning, Legends of Tomorrow and Superman & Lois, etc.
- Marvel and DC Comics - as "Marvel (Comics)" and "DC Comics"
My feelings matter.
Mar. 22nd, 2026 09:48 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
dailyprompts_feedMy feelings matter.
Yes. But that doesn’t mean your feelings are the only thing that matters.
Question a Day Memage Catchup...
Mar. 22nd, 2026 12:24 pmshadowkatDoing the dance of the robot vacuums - or rather, the robot vacuums are dancing - while I'm sitting here with my feet up - listening, and typing along on my laptop. Tech - sometimes? I love it. Not often, but sometimes.
I do have to watch the vacuums and make sure all the chords are safely off the floor or they will attempt to eat them, which never ends well.
Catching up on the Question a Day Meme for March:
16. How often do you eat out?
I can't remember if I answered this one or not, and too lazy to go back and check.
Not often. If at all. I do occasionally pick up something for lunch while at work - but I only get it at Pret Manager - and it's either a white bean salad, a falfala Mediterranean Salad or Morrocan Lentil Soup. Everywhere else is either too expensive or doesn't cater to folks with highly restrictive diets and/or are coeliac. ( Read more... )
17. It’s Kurt Russell’s birthday – a child actor who grew up. Have you seen any of the Disney films in which he acted (he played the college student Dexter Riley)?
Yes, pretty much all of them - ( Read more... )
18. Which flowers or trees are blooming where you live now?
Well, very little is at the moment? It's still winter and cold, the warmest we've gotten it up to a high of maybe 60. Right now, it's cloudy and 51 F, feels like 48 F. So the trees and flowers are being a touch hesitant? I see some crocuses here and there, and some buds on the trees, and bushes, but that's it.
19. If you had the space (and the time), would you like to keep chickens?
No. I do see them though. There's someone about two blocks up and one across that keeps them. They keep brown chickens, and a rooster.
But no - I don't want to raise birds.
20. Was learning a new language part of your education when you were at school? Can you still remember any of it?
Yes. And ...very little of it. I wasn't very good at it, and unfortunately all my attempts to immerse myself in it - in order to learn it - were dashed. ( Read more... )
21. It’s National California Strawberry Day. What is your favourite way to eat strawberries?
With whipped cream or dipped in chocolate.
22. Do you still buy physical books, or do you tend to buy e-books these days? Does it depend on the type of book (i.e. fiction or non-fiction)?
I buy both. But I swing more towards e-books because it's become increasingly difficult to read physical books without glasses. And, I'm tough on books - I get things on them, tear the pages, they get rumpled as I read them. The last paperback I read, is kind of a rumpled mess. People don't like to loan me - books, once they figure out how tough I am on them? I kind of love them to death?
( Read more... )
**
Almost done with my Angel S5 rewatch - stretching it out. Damn. It's better than I remembered. That series holds up well. Particularly the last season, which is even more relevant now than when it first aired over twenty years ago.
There's some good lines:
"We're apparently in the midst of the apocalypse and have been for some time. Evil just neglected to let us know about it. And, as it turns out, we're fighting on the wrong side - although the winning side, since evil is winning, so I guess it depends on how you look at it?"
"Trying to cure Cancer, Mr. Wyndom-Price?"
"No. It wouldn't be profitable. I'm thinking we're probably making a major profit off of it as it is. With all the hospital visits, etc."
"True. Our client holds the patent on it."
"The worst part wasn't going into the basement and getting my heart ripped out over and over - don't get me wrong that's bad. No, it's the promise of the nice life, the kid, the family, the lawn, the sunny sky, the home, and the realization that it is all just a lie - none of it is real."
The satire in this show is on topic and well done. I miss it.
I do have to watch the vacuums and make sure all the chords are safely off the floor or they will attempt to eat them, which never ends well.
Catching up on the Question a Day Meme for March:
16. How often do you eat out?
I can't remember if I answered this one or not, and too lazy to go back and check.
Not often. If at all. I do occasionally pick up something for lunch while at work - but I only get it at Pret Manager - and it's either a white bean salad, a falfala Mediterranean Salad or Morrocan Lentil Soup. Everywhere else is either too expensive or doesn't cater to folks with highly restrictive diets and/or are coeliac. ( Read more... )
17. It’s Kurt Russell’s birthday – a child actor who grew up. Have you seen any of the Disney films in which he acted (he played the college student Dexter Riley)?
Yes, pretty much all of them - ( Read more... )
18. Which flowers or trees are blooming where you live now?
Well, very little is at the moment? It's still winter and cold, the warmest we've gotten it up to a high of maybe 60. Right now, it's cloudy and 51 F, feels like 48 F. So the trees and flowers are being a touch hesitant? I see some crocuses here and there, and some buds on the trees, and bushes, but that's it.
19. If you had the space (and the time), would you like to keep chickens?
No. I do see them though. There's someone about two blocks up and one across that keeps them. They keep brown chickens, and a rooster.
But no - I don't want to raise birds.
20. Was learning a new language part of your education when you were at school? Can you still remember any of it?
Yes. And ...very little of it. I wasn't very good at it, and unfortunately all my attempts to immerse myself in it - in order to learn it - were dashed. ( Read more... )
21. It’s National California Strawberry Day. What is your favourite way to eat strawberries?
With whipped cream or dipped in chocolate.
22. Do you still buy physical books, or do you tend to buy e-books these days? Does it depend on the type of book (i.e. fiction or non-fiction)?
I buy both. But I swing more towards e-books because it's become increasingly difficult to read physical books without glasses. And, I'm tough on books - I get things on them, tear the pages, they get rumpled as I read them. The last paperback I read, is kind of a rumpled mess. People don't like to loan me - books, once they figure out how tough I am on them? I kind of love them to death?
( Read more... )
**
Almost done with my Angel S5 rewatch - stretching it out. Damn. It's better than I remembered. That series holds up well. Particularly the last season, which is even more relevant now than when it first aired over twenty years ago.
There's some good lines:
"We're apparently in the midst of the apocalypse and have been for some time. Evil just neglected to let us know about it. And, as it turns out, we're fighting on the wrong side - although the winning side, since evil is winning, so I guess it depends on how you look at it?"
"Trying to cure Cancer, Mr. Wyndom-Price?"
"No. It wouldn't be profitable. I'm thinking we're probably making a major profit off of it as it is. With all the hospital visits, etc."
"True. Our client holds the patent on it."
"The worst part wasn't going into the basement and getting my heart ripped out over and over - don't get me wrong that's bad. No, it's the promise of the nice life, the kid, the family, the lawn, the sunny sky, the home, and the realization that it is all just a lie - none of it is real."
The satire in this show is on topic and well done. I miss it.
