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Dept. of Music
Jan. 6th, 2026 11:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaffy_rMusic Meme, Day 17
A song that reminds you of somebody:
When I first came to Chicago in 1981, I stayed with one of the friends I'd made when I attended Suncon, the 1977 world science fiction convention, and my very first convention. His name was Ed Sunden and he was overwhelming. He was awful and generous, outrageous and brilliant, manipulative and kind, and definitely sui generis. He loved music, and he loved introducing me to New Wave music that was definitely new to me - the Police and Elvis Costello among the groups he loved.
His way of introduction? He would tell me to sit down in the tiny living room of the basement apartment he shared with Joan, the woman who became his wife. Or rather, he would order me to sit down, and then he'd put on an LP, or power up a tape he'd recorded on his music system (primitive by today's standards, but incredibly impressive back in 1981.) Sometimes he'd play the same song twice, to make sure I understood the words.
All these years later, and 25 years after he died, it's Elvis Costello's songs that immediately bring Ed and that dim little apartment singing and shouting back into my mind.
I thought of sharing "Oliver's Army" with you, because it's one of the Costello songs that really hit me when I first heard it. Unfortunately, and despite the fact that Costello wrote the song as an anti-fascist tune, it uses at least two racist slurs that I'm uncomfortable listening to these days. He wrote it after being in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, and the Oliver he sang of was Oliver Cromwell, who invaded and conquered Ireland. British fascists have taken Cromwell as one of their own, so Costello's brutal parodying of fascism and how it sucks working class kids into a losing game in this song is close to perfection in terms of the written word. Still, the racial slurs, parodies though they are, made me nix this tune.
In its place, and most definitely one that still makes me think of Ed, is "Pump It Up." Enjoy, and if you want to know my previous answers, go to Day 17, and it will give you access to all the previous songs.
A song that reminds you of somebody:
When I first came to Chicago in 1981, I stayed with one of the friends I'd made when I attended Suncon, the 1977 world science fiction convention, and my very first convention. His name was Ed Sunden and he was overwhelming. He was awful and generous, outrageous and brilliant, manipulative and kind, and definitely sui generis. He loved music, and he loved introducing me to New Wave music that was definitely new to me - the Police and Elvis Costello among the groups he loved.
His way of introduction? He would tell me to sit down in the tiny living room of the basement apartment he shared with Joan, the woman who became his wife. Or rather, he would order me to sit down, and then he'd put on an LP, or power up a tape he'd recorded on his music system (primitive by today's standards, but incredibly impressive back in 1981.) Sometimes he'd play the same song twice, to make sure I understood the words.
All these years later, and 25 years after he died, it's Elvis Costello's songs that immediately bring Ed and that dim little apartment singing and shouting back into my mind.
I thought of sharing "Oliver's Army" with you, because it's one of the Costello songs that really hit me when I first heard it. Unfortunately, and despite the fact that Costello wrote the song as an anti-fascist tune, it uses at least two racist slurs that I'm uncomfortable listening to these days. He wrote it after being in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, and the Oliver he sang of was Oliver Cromwell, who invaded and conquered Ireland. British fascists have taken Cromwell as one of their own, so Costello's brutal parodying of fascism and how it sucks working class kids into a losing game in this song is close to perfection in terms of the written word. Still, the racial slurs, parodies though they are, made me nix this tune.
In its place, and most definitely one that still makes me think of Ed, is "Pump It Up." Enjoy, and if you want to know my previous answers, go to Day 17, and it will give you access to all the previous songs.
lannamichaelsSix sentences for sunday!
This is the male!Hermione Granger/Neville Longbottom one, during sixth year.
"Maybe I don't need to pass all my NEWTs," Leontes says in the middle of exam week, their alcove of the common room all too studious around him. "Taking them is good enough, isn't it?"
Neville and Seamus hit him with every forcible mind-clarifying spell they can think of, while Dean grabs one of the Creeveys and urgently demands his camera.
"Maybe it's too much to think I can--"
Dean gets an amazing shot of Neville throwing himself at Leontes while Seamus tries a binding spell that he swears gets rid of most mind-altering curses.
"I don't think he's been confunded," Seamus says.
Dept. of Fluffy Bunnies
Jan. 3rd, 2026 09:45 pmkaffy_rIn an Effort to Palate Cleanse After Today ...
... it's the return of the Music Meme ...
... and it's Day 17.
A song about being 17:
Oh, was there ever going to be any other song?
Even though I first heard the song well after I left 17 behind, Janis Ian's song spoke to me in a general sense. I understood it, even though I hadn't suffered what she undoubtedly suffered during her own school days. I'd suffered smaller heartbreaks in high school, for the crime of being weird. Besides, her writing was beautiful. So of course, I loved it. Teenagers have it tough, y'all.
Years later, I learned she was a science fiction fan, and she wrote a song about that, and put it to the music for "At Seventeen." Here it is. (I don't know if it was written for SFWA, or for the Nebula Awards; Geri, if you're out there, can you tell me? It was the title of her rewritten song, "Welcome Home," which she repeats more than once in the lyrics, that hit me harder than "At Seventeen" ever did. That's what I felt when I discovered SFF fandom; I'd found a home.
Even later, I had the chance to listen to her live when she played a gig in Evanston. Afterwards, I spoke briefly to her about how much I loved that, especially the mention of Cordwainer Smith, one of my favorite weirdly beautiful writers. It turns out that she was also a Smith fan. That was as much a gift to me as "Welcome Home" was
If you want to see any of my earlier answers, visit Day 16 The links are at the bottom.
... it's the return of the Music Meme ...
... and it's Day 17.
A song about being 17:
Oh, was there ever going to be any other song?
Even though I first heard the song well after I left 17 behind, Janis Ian's song spoke to me in a general sense. I understood it, even though I hadn't suffered what she undoubtedly suffered during her own school days. I'd suffered smaller heartbreaks in high school, for the crime of being weird. Besides, her writing was beautiful. So of course, I loved it. Teenagers have it tough, y'all.
Years later, I learned she was a science fiction fan, and she wrote a song about that, and put it to the music for "At Seventeen." Here it is. (I don't know if it was written for SFWA, or for the Nebula Awards; Geri, if you're out there, can you tell me? It was the title of her rewritten song, "Welcome Home," which she repeats more than once in the lyrics, that hit me harder than "At Seventeen" ever did. That's what I felt when I discovered SFF fandom; I'd found a home.
Even later, I had the chance to listen to her live when she played a gig in Evanston. Afterwards, I spoke briefly to her about how much I loved that, especially the mention of Cordwainer Smith, one of my favorite weirdly beautiful writers. It turns out that she was also a Smith fan. That was as much a gift to me as "Welcome Home" was
If you want to see any of my earlier answers, visit Day 16 The links are at the bottom.
Huh
Jan. 3rd, 2026 09:28 pmlannamichaelsThe male!Hermione Granger/Neville Longbottom fic that I started in October but didn't really start actually getting into it until December 23, has now reached 30K words in the file. o.O o.O o.O That includes notes and some cut stuff, so the actual fic is more 29something. But.
I don't know where this thing is going, but it's a fun ride. I've got a summary but no title, and also I think it may end up a series, who knows. But it's fun to dig into what makes Hermione Granger herself, how much of her is being an smart ugly girl vs. what she might be like an an smart ugly boy.
It also revealed my conflation of Shaekespeare, because when I first conceived it in October, I was going to name her Demetrius since I'd thought Hermione was from Midsummer Night's Dream, but no, that's Helena and Hermia. Hermione is from The Winter's Tale.
I have been in productions of both Midsummer and Winter's Tale. But that was back in the dawn of time.
So since I was going to extract for Sunday Six last week but completely forgot about it because I was doing other stuff on sunday, here's not 6 sentences, but in honor of 30K (?????!!??!!?), here's my favorite bit so far:
In January, something strange happens, though. A Hufflepuff, Leontes thinks she's one of Dean's friends, asks him on a date. He does what he's practiced: he covers his heart with his hand and puts every bit of drama into his voice that he's learned from the drama club that he's still, somehow, involved in, and declaims, "I wish I could, dear lady! But I'm afraid my heart is sworn to the service of the cruel Lady NEWT. I can only begin to think of others once my torment is complete. I pray you forgive me for my unchivalrous conduct, but I cannot accompany you to Hogsmeade in the manner in which you request. I must toil instead, these seven years, until my work is done."
She laughs and there's no tension or awkwardness as she leaves him and Neville alone, but Neville's looking at him askance.
"Do you mean that?" he asks. "The whole bit about not dating until after the NEWTs?" Neville had dated a lot in fourth year but hasn't gone to Hogsmeade with anyone except as a friend this year. Leontes has kept his mouth shut about it, reminding himself that it's okay for Neville to go on dates and so it's not okay to congratulate him on putting his OWLs and his Prefect duties ahead of that, because that would make Neville think that Leontes did not, actually, think it was fine to go on dates. Which it is. Even though it does distract from the important things. People can have different priorities and that's okay. It's fine. It's acceptable behavior.
That said, Leontes thinks it's fantastic that Neville isn't dating this year. This is an important year! A vital year! Dating can wait.
"I suppose," Leontes says. "University is also going to be grueling so I may wait until after that, but I'm certainly not going to do it before the NEWTs. And who knows? I might end up with more free time in university for things like that."
Neville, an unreadable expression on his face, takes out his magical planner without a word and flips forward pretty far and then writes something down and then puts it away.
Leontes eyes him, mystified.
"How's Binns doing?" Neville asks, adroitly changing the subject, and Leontes relaxes. Everything's fine. Nothing to worry about. Priorities are definitely established and correct.
Fast-forward:
NEWTs come, inevitably.
The last NEWT of them all is Potions. Leontes waits outside after he finishes for Neville to finish up, then Neville suggests lunch and they wander down to Hogsmeade. Neville leads him into Josephine's, where there's a table waiting for them in the back. They talk lightly about the NEWT -- "awful", "extremely" -- until halfway through the soup course, when Leontes snaps out of the post-examination fugue, looks around, takes in the single candle flickering in the middle of the table and the overall atmosphere of the most romantic restaurant in Hogsmeade.
"Oh," he says. He looks around again, just to make sure. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Neville lowers his spoon. "You said not until we finished the NEWTs. We've finished the NEWTs. Well?"
"Ah," Leontes says eloquently. "Oh. Well. All right, then."
Dept. of Evil Shit
Jan. 3rd, 2026 11:54 amkaffy_rJesus Christ, Venezuela?
He's saying that the U.S. is going to run Venezuela.
Christ on a cracker.
I'd suspended our effort to request permanent residency for Bob. It was easy to live in limbo because neither of us wants to move. But now? It's back to work on the application.
He's saying that the U.S. is going to run Venezuela.
Christ on a cracker.
I'd suspended our effort to request permanent residency for Bob. It was easy to live in limbo because neither of us wants to move. But now? It's back to work on the application.
My ability to identify Lin-Manuel Miranda by singing voice continues to amaze me
Jan. 1st, 2026 08:18 pmlannamichaelsMe: Oooh this new Mountain Goats song Cold At Night is so good!
Me, on repeated listens: hang on, who is that person doing backing vocals?
Me: That sounds like Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Me: That cannot be correct.
Anyway. Yes, it is Lin-Manuel Miranda.
God, what is it about the Mountain Goats and making me ache to write poetry. They really took up that space vacated by Leonard Cohen.
26 for 2026
Jan. 1st, 2026 04:30 pmsnacky1. Step up my hater game to Fifty Cent’s level.
That’s right, enemies, TREMBLE BEFORE ME!
2. Feel my bones!
3. Just keep walking.
4. More knitting! I will finish this blanket before I die.
5. Stop getting norovirus, I cannot throw up anymore or else I will die and not finish the blanket.
6. Always hate celery.
7. Determine how to prevent my lumbar vertebrae from crumbling into dust. <— spoiler: this seems to be impossible.
8. Since above is impossible, get surgery.
9. Watch the mail for my invitation to Taylor and Travis’ wedding.
10. Declutter and organize home office <— actual goal?!?
11. Enjoy this Olivia Dean album while I wait for Noah Kahan’s new release.
12. Make and enjoy many chai lattes and Thai iced teas.
13. Continue to wait breathlessly for the next season ofInterview with the Vampire The Vampire Lestat!
14. Actually go on a trip this year?
15. Enjoy my candles.
16. Read more books. <— lifelong goal.
17. Do not look back on 2025 with any fondness.
18. Journal? I hear it’s healthy.
19. Use ALL the notebooks!
20. Eat more muddy buddies (Thanks, Andy!).
21. Make my cats internet famous.
22. Clean the ink stain off my leather wallet because it’s making me mad.
23. Only wear comfy shoes.
24. Wait for The Big News and plan my celebration.
25. Win the next Powerball billion dollar jackpot and give (almost) all of it away (gotta keep some to pay my bills).
26. Stay cozy, kind, and always blow kisses. 😘
2. Feel my bones!
3. Just keep walking.
4. More knitting! I will finish this blanket before I die.
5. Stop getting norovirus, I cannot throw up anymore or else I will die and not finish the blanket.
6. Always hate celery.
7. Determine how to prevent my lumbar vertebrae from crumbling into dust. <— spoiler: this seems to be impossible.
8. Since above is impossible, get surgery.
9. Watch the mail for my invitation to Taylor and Travis’ wedding.
10. Declutter and organize home office <— actual goal?!?
11. Enjoy this Olivia Dean album while I wait for Noah Kahan’s new release.
12. Make and enjoy many chai lattes and Thai iced teas.
13. Continue to wait breathlessly for the next season of
14. Actually go on a trip this year?
15. Enjoy my candles.
16. Read more books. <— lifelong goal.
17. Do not look back on 2025 with any fondness.
18. Journal? I hear it’s healthy.
19. Use ALL the notebooks!
20. Eat more muddy buddies (Thanks, Andy!).
21. Make my cats internet famous.
22. Clean the ink stain off my leather wallet because it’s making me mad.
23. Only wear comfy shoes.
24. Wait for The Big News and plan my celebration.
25. Win the next Powerball billion dollar jackpot and give (almost) all of it away (gotta keep some to pay my bills).
26. Stay cozy, kind, and always blow kisses. 😘
Dept. of Beginnings and Endings
Dec. 31st, 2025 07:00 pmkaffy_rGoodnight and Goodbye, 2025
I've been in pain all day, and the hours kind of ate up all the wonderful things I wanted to tell all of you.
I'll say more tomorrow, but for now, just know that I cherish all of you, and I hope that your New Years Eve will be, is being, or has been, as quiet or raucous as you want or wanted it to be.
I am so lucky to know all of you.
And may 2026 be good for all of us.
All my love,
The old blue-haired broad
I've been in pain all day, and the hours kind of ate up all the wonderful things I wanted to tell all of you.
I'll say more tomorrow, but for now, just know that I cherish all of you, and I hope that your New Years Eve will be, is being, or has been, as quiet or raucous as you want or wanted it to be.
I am so lucky to know all of you.
And may 2026 be good for all of us.
All my love,
The old blue-haired broad
wednesday reads and things
Dec. 31st, 2025 03:54 pmisisHappy end-of-2025! Here's to a better 2026 in whichever ways make the most difference to you. (I'm hoping that personal and spousal health challenges abate, and that democracy makes a comeback across the world and in my country.)
I haven't written about media since the beginning of the month because OMG Yuletide! (Let me be clear: it's great fun and enormously satisfying on a personal level to be part of the team that corrals all of the moving parts, but it is also a great deal of work. Also, I had a pinch hit to write, and a treat I really wanted to get in as well.) But now it's all over save the author reveals (for real this time, oog). And I did read and watch and play some things this month!
What I've recently finished reading:
The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman, the prequel (written later) to The Blacktongue Thief I didn't love this as much as I did the first, largely because while Galva is a great character, her voice is simply not as engaging as Kinch's voice. She's younger and more earnest here, and it is interesting to see her being shaped by war into the character she is in the other book. But it is war, here, and war is hell, and this war is particularly hellish; not just the conflict between human (kynd) and goblin, but the conflict between Galva and her asshole brother the incompetent general. There is canonical f/f. There is a lot of backstory that illuminates aspect of the first book. I liked it, but I'm looking forward to the actual sequel to The Blacktongue Thief.
An Age of Winters by Gemma Liviero, which I think B got as part of Kindle Unlimited. Historical crime fiction set in 17th C Germany, where mysterious child deaths are attributed to witchcraft, and the clergyman investigates. The narrator (for the most part; there are sections told by a castle functionary) is the clergyman's housekeeper, Katarin Jaspers, and while her narration is engaging, it's also very coyly used to hide the fact that she is an unreliable narrator both because she only knows what she herself can see or deduce, and also because things are left out that she does know, which feels a bit gimmicky. The pacing is terrible and the reveals come all at once in a rush of exposition. However, the story is interesting and the writing is quite atmospheric (and claustrophobic, oof, so glad I don't live in a theocracy), so I read it all but felt let down by the way the ending was presented.
What I'm reading now:
On![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thistle_chaser's rec, Adrian Tchaikovsky's The Tiger and the Wolf. He is certainly a prolific author with a very wide genre range: this is a fantasy primitive-culture world (it appears to be Bronze Age) where tribes not only identify with a guiding animal spirit, but tribal members can Step (i.e., shapeshift) into the form of that animal at will. The story feels a bit like some African-inspired YA I've read, as the primary protagonist is a 14-year-old girl of the Wolf - whose mother was of the Tiger, and who therefore does not fit in with her clan and her culture.
I don't love it as much as Thistle did, but also Thistle DNF'ed the second book, so it's possible I will simply like the whole series!
(Also, I've been reading Yuletide stories, of course...)
What we recently finished watching:
S4 of The Witcher, which has absolutely terrible ratings on IMDB but I thought was fine, if (as usual) I was more interested in some threads and less in others. I wonder whether the terrible ratings come from the recasting of Liam Hemsworth as Geralt (I thought he was fine), the very non-game-like casting of Laurence Fishburne as Regis (it took me a while, but ultimately I thought he was magnificent), Ciri/Mistle (this is book canon! and nodded to in the game!), or just Jaskier's hair looking, astonishingly, even uglier than it did in the first three seasons. Possibly it was the interweaving of three (or four, depending on how you look at it) very separate storylines that made it feel like either nothing or everything was happening.
(Though I will admit the WTF musical episode was legit terrible, and its 3.7/10 rating seems high to me.)
Death by Lightning, the Netflix miniseries about James Garfield, who was nominated as a reluctant compromise candidate by the Republican party in 1880, won the presidency partly due to the corrupt New York state political machine, whose do-nothing alcoholic layabout Chester Arthur was chosen vice presidential candidate, then promptly went about attempting to reform the spoils system and give black men representation and listen to the people and be generally a upright person and good leader, and was assassinated for his trouble. Some of the dialogue seemed a bit odd to my ear (did 19th century politicians really say "fuck" that much?!?!) and the character of Charles Guiteau was very cringe (props to Matthew Macfadyen I guess!).
But I did enjoy it a lot! And looking at the existing photographs of the principals I'm very impressed with the casting and makeup and such. Mostly I now want to read a really good biography of Garfield, and also of Arthur, who sobered up, cast off his corrupt cronies, and implemented the reforms Garfield had outlined.
What I'm watching now:
Just started The Empress, which is so far reminding me of The Leopard in that it's a foreign-language film about royalty in love juxtaposed against war and revolution, and also, the costumes are fabulous.
What I have played some of but not finished:
Spider-Man Remastered - I got past the Shocker main quest, finally, but - I decided I just don't like this game. It's too much, too many things, Peter is kind of a smart-ass, I'm not a superhero-media fan, and so on.
Death Stranding - this was free on Epic, and had really great reviews, but the whole premise kind of creeped me out. It's not a horror game, but I dislike the horror elements. I also found the story not interesting enough, at least at the start (admittedly I didn't play all that far in), and the looooooong cinematics sort of boring.
Gris - this is actually a cool atmospheric puzzle-platformer! But I suck at platformers and got stuck (a ways in, admittedly). I might give it another try, but it doesn't scratch the itch of "adventure game with a story" for me.
Horizon Forbidden West (replay) - It was kind of fun to replay the beginning, but now really I am just preferring looking over B's shoulder every so often. I remember the fun bits but ugh the hard bits.
What I'm playing now:
I'm maybe 4 hours into Ghost of Tsushima, which B played last year and really enjoyed. I'm liking it so far. I got to pet a fox! (And then real-me leaned forward and petted my real cat Cricket, who has resumed her habit of sitting between my keyboard and monitors. In fact, she's there right now!)
Happy New Year, everybody!
I haven't written about media since the beginning of the month because OMG Yuletide! (Let me be clear: it's great fun and enormously satisfying on a personal level to be part of the team that corrals all of the moving parts, but it is also a great deal of work. Also, I had a pinch hit to write, and a treat I really wanted to get in as well.) But now it's all over save the author reveals (for real this time, oog). And I did read and watch and play some things this month!
What I've recently finished reading:
The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman, the prequel (written later) to The Blacktongue Thief I didn't love this as much as I did the first, largely because while Galva is a great character, her voice is simply not as engaging as Kinch's voice. She's younger and more earnest here, and it is interesting to see her being shaped by war into the character she is in the other book. But it is war, here, and war is hell, and this war is particularly hellish; not just the conflict between human (kynd) and goblin, but the conflict between Galva and her asshole brother the incompetent general. There is canonical f/f. There is a lot of backstory that illuminates aspect of the first book. I liked it, but I'm looking forward to the actual sequel to The Blacktongue Thief.
An Age of Winters by Gemma Liviero, which I think B got as part of Kindle Unlimited. Historical crime fiction set in 17th C Germany, where mysterious child deaths are attributed to witchcraft, and the clergyman investigates. The narrator (for the most part; there are sections told by a castle functionary) is the clergyman's housekeeper, Katarin Jaspers, and while her narration is engaging, it's also very coyly used to hide the fact that she is an unreliable narrator both because she only knows what she herself can see or deduce, and also because things are left out that she does know, which feels a bit gimmicky. The pacing is terrible and the reveals come all at once in a rush of exposition. However, the story is interesting and the writing is quite atmospheric (and claustrophobic, oof, so glad I don't live in a theocracy), so I read it all but felt let down by the way the ending was presented.
What I'm reading now:
On
thistle_chaser's rec, Adrian Tchaikovsky's The Tiger and the Wolf. He is certainly a prolific author with a very wide genre range: this is a fantasy primitive-culture world (it appears to be Bronze Age) where tribes not only identify with a guiding animal spirit, but tribal members can Step (i.e., shapeshift) into the form of that animal at will. The story feels a bit like some African-inspired YA I've read, as the primary protagonist is a 14-year-old girl of the Wolf - whose mother was of the Tiger, and who therefore does not fit in with her clan and her culture. I don't love it as much as Thistle did, but also Thistle DNF'ed the second book, so it's possible I will simply like the whole series!
(Also, I've been reading Yuletide stories, of course...)
What we recently finished watching:
S4 of The Witcher, which has absolutely terrible ratings on IMDB but I thought was fine, if (as usual) I was more interested in some threads and less in others. I wonder whether the terrible ratings come from the recasting of Liam Hemsworth as Geralt (I thought he was fine), the very non-game-like casting of Laurence Fishburne as Regis (it took me a while, but ultimately I thought he was magnificent), Ciri/Mistle (this is book canon! and nodded to in the game!), or just Jaskier's hair looking, astonishingly, even uglier than it did in the first three seasons. Possibly it was the interweaving of three (or four, depending on how you look at it) very separate storylines that made it feel like either nothing or everything was happening.
(Though I will admit the WTF musical episode was legit terrible, and its 3.7/10 rating seems high to me.)
Death by Lightning, the Netflix miniseries about James Garfield, who was nominated as a reluctant compromise candidate by the Republican party in 1880, won the presidency partly due to the corrupt New York state political machine, whose do-nothing alcoholic layabout Chester Arthur was chosen vice presidential candidate, then promptly went about attempting to reform the spoils system and give black men representation and listen to the people and be generally a upright person and good leader, and was assassinated for his trouble. Some of the dialogue seemed a bit odd to my ear (did 19th century politicians really say "fuck" that much?!?!) and the character of Charles Guiteau was very cringe (props to Matthew Macfadyen I guess!).
But I did enjoy it a lot! And looking at the existing photographs of the principals I'm very impressed with the casting and makeup and such. Mostly I now want to read a really good biography of Garfield, and also of Arthur, who sobered up, cast off his corrupt cronies, and implemented the reforms Garfield had outlined.
What I'm watching now:
Just started The Empress, which is so far reminding me of The Leopard in that it's a foreign-language film about royalty in love juxtaposed against war and revolution, and also, the costumes are fabulous.
What I have played some of but not finished:
Spider-Man Remastered - I got past the Shocker main quest, finally, but - I decided I just don't like this game. It's too much, too many things, Peter is kind of a smart-ass, I'm not a superhero-media fan, and so on.
Death Stranding - this was free on Epic, and had really great reviews, but the whole premise kind of creeped me out. It's not a horror game, but I dislike the horror elements. I also found the story not interesting enough, at least at the start (admittedly I didn't play all that far in), and the looooooong cinematics sort of boring.
Gris - this is actually a cool atmospheric puzzle-platformer! But I suck at platformers and got stuck (a ways in, admittedly). I might give it another try, but it doesn't scratch the itch of "adventure game with a story" for me.
Horizon Forbidden West (replay) - It was kind of fun to replay the beginning, but now really I am just preferring looking over B's shoulder every so often. I remember the fun bits but ugh the hard bits.
What I'm playing now:
I'm maybe 4 hours into Ghost of Tsushima, which B played last year and really enjoyed. I'm liking it so far. I got to pet a fox! (And then real-me leaned forward and petted my real cat Cricket, who has resumed her habit of sitting between my keyboard and monitors. In fact, she's there right now!)
Happy New Year, everybody!
Pride & Preference by Barbara Bensoussan (2020)
Dec. 31st, 2025 02:14 pmlannamichaelsElevator pitch: Pride & Prejudice but with frum Jews!
Actual reality: this isn't Pride and Prejudice. It's also not good, but beyond that, it's not Pride & Prejudice.
Sidenote: It's been several months since I DNFed this book. I wasn't sure if I was going to post a review of it or not but decided to get it out of my drafts. Happy end of December!
( Read more... )
a handful of Yuletide recs
Dec. 27th, 2025 06:06 pmisisDecember has been busy-busy for me between Yuletide preparation (as a mod) and Yuletide preparation (as a participant who also took on a pinch hit), but now, ahh, everything is done and I can reap the rewards!
My awesome gift (5-minute fandom: British Airways "May We Haveth One's Attention" Safety Video):
A British Original: Discovering Haddersford House and Its Residents (2248 words, gen)
Summary: A magazine article from the world where characters in costume drama occasionally come to life of their own--and stick around after the cameras stop rolling and the crews have gone home.
I really had no idea what to expect from this request (just that I had to have something about this marvelous video!) and I love how it's played with an absolutely straight face. Also, there's a nod to Planet Vancouver, hee!
Speaking of the ridiculous played straight, this is understandable (and hilarious) with only osmosis knowledge of The Godfather:
An Offer You Can’t Refuse (Unless You’re Lactose Intolerant) (1008 words, Godfather movies, gen)
Summary: On the day of his daughter’s guinea pig’s wedding, Don Vito Corleone received a request he could not immediately refuse.
Absolutely the best Godfather fic ever.
The rest of my recs really do require canon knowledge, but I know many of you know these canons:
Memories Are Made of This (4002 words, Northern Exposure, Ed Chigliak-centered ensemble gen)
Summary: “So this is Cicely,” Ed said, gazing wide-eyed up and down Main Street. “Where’s the rest of it?”
This is wonderful - like an episode of the show, warm and funny and a little bit off-kilter.
Hoar and Hound (2236 words, Cadfael Chronicles, Brother Cadfael-centered gen)
Summary: On a frigidly cold December night, Cadfael follows a trail through the abbey grounds.
A lovely, thoughtful portrait of the abbey and of Cadfael. The way he quietly assesses the needs of the people (and creatures) around him is perfectly in tune with canon.
Dis Manibus (1364 words, Frontier Wolf, Alexios/Cunorix, Alexios/Hilarion, G)
Summary: Alexios goes out to make an offering to the shades of the dead, but he does not go alone.
This is lovely and tender and measured, and has something of Sutcliff in the descriptions. For me Alexios/Hilarion only works if it honors the close friendship between Alexios and Cunorix, before things went bad - and this is perfect.
We Greet the Peoples of the Tower (1717 words but heavily illustrated; Chants of Sennaar, gen)
Summary: There are some oddly regular scratch marks on a wall in the Alchemists' level...
Basically this is a fangame (though the game part is optional; the first set of chapters are illustrations with glyphs as in the game, and the second half holds the translations), a whole new level in which the Monster goes seeking the other peoples to assert he is a human and their brother. It's a moving story that fits with the game themes, and it's just very cool!
Actually, if you've played Chants of Sennaar, I recommend all the Yuletide works for the game as the fandom has clearly brought its A-game, they're all great. (The one above is just extraordinarily so!) And there are two Madness works I haven't even looked at yet!
My awesome gift (5-minute fandom: British Airways "May We Haveth One's Attention" Safety Video):
A British Original: Discovering Haddersford House and Its Residents (2248 words, gen)
Summary: A magazine article from the world where characters in costume drama occasionally come to life of their own--and stick around after the cameras stop rolling and the crews have gone home.
I really had no idea what to expect from this request (just that I had to have something about this marvelous video!) and I love how it's played with an absolutely straight face. Also, there's a nod to Planet Vancouver, hee!
Speaking of the ridiculous played straight, this is understandable (and hilarious) with only osmosis knowledge of The Godfather:
An Offer You Can’t Refuse (Unless You’re Lactose Intolerant) (1008 words, Godfather movies, gen)
Summary: On the day of his daughter’s guinea pig’s wedding, Don Vito Corleone received a request he could not immediately refuse.
Absolutely the best Godfather fic ever.
The rest of my recs really do require canon knowledge, but I know many of you know these canons:
Memories Are Made of This (4002 words, Northern Exposure, Ed Chigliak-centered ensemble gen)
Summary: “So this is Cicely,” Ed said, gazing wide-eyed up and down Main Street. “Where’s the rest of it?”
This is wonderful - like an episode of the show, warm and funny and a little bit off-kilter.
Hoar and Hound (2236 words, Cadfael Chronicles, Brother Cadfael-centered gen)
Summary: On a frigidly cold December night, Cadfael follows a trail through the abbey grounds.
A lovely, thoughtful portrait of the abbey and of Cadfael. The way he quietly assesses the needs of the people (and creatures) around him is perfectly in tune with canon.
Dis Manibus (1364 words, Frontier Wolf, Alexios/Cunorix, Alexios/Hilarion, G)
Summary: Alexios goes out to make an offering to the shades of the dead, but he does not go alone.
This is lovely and tender and measured, and has something of Sutcliff in the descriptions. For me Alexios/Hilarion only works if it honors the close friendship between Alexios and Cunorix, before things went bad - and this is perfect.
We Greet the Peoples of the Tower (1717 words but heavily illustrated; Chants of Sennaar, gen)
Summary: There are some oddly regular scratch marks on a wall in the Alchemists' level...
Basically this is a fangame (though the game part is optional; the first set of chapters are illustrations with glyphs as in the game, and the second half holds the translations), a whole new level in which the Monster goes seeking the other peoples to assert he is a human and their brother. It's a moving story that fits with the game themes, and it's just very cool!
Actually, if you've played Chants of Sennaar, I recommend all the Yuletide works for the game as the fandom has clearly brought its A-game, they're all great. (The one above is just extraordinarily so!) And there are two Madness works I haven't even looked at yet!
Dept. of Ambivalence and Hope
Dec. 24th, 2025 10:24 pmkaffy_rChristmas Eve Thoughts
I'm sitting in the livingroom, listening to Kpop rather than Christmas music of either secular or Christian origin. I've been prepping for Christmas Day, when we'll entertain four friends, and the house is full of the smell of two types of dressing cooked tonight so that I don't run the risk of overcooking it in the same oven as the tiny turkey (10.5 pounds) I bought for our somewhat unexpected meal. Unexpected, because we hadn't planned to do Christmas at all; one of our friends texted to ask if we were doing Christmas, possibly because they remembered that I'd said I wanted to invite them to a post-Thanksgiving dinner, and I just texted back "Yep!" because they've been very good to us, and this was one way we could repay them.
We jumped into "Emergency Christmas" mode, and I've already completed the cranberry orange relish and the Green Slime (it's a 1950s/60s recipe I got from Bob's mom, and it's not a canonical Christmas for our friends unless this is part of the menu, lime jello, cream cheese, maraschino cherries and all.) Tomorrow morning I'll stuff the bird with some of the dressing that didn't get baked tonight; I'll bake the veggie side-dish Bob and I chose; I'll make the peach cobbler I decided on instead of pie because cobbler is much, much easier to make. Then it's on to sweeping and damp-mopping the diningroom before putting extra leaves in the table and setting the Christmas board.
Last year, we were both despondent about the federal election and, without having the kids and Harlan here to be Christmasy for, we spent the day in a bit of a funk. To put it mildly.
A year later, the despondency has lifted a bit, but we still hadn't thought about Christmas much. We had improved enough to buy gifts for our three closest friends, and their son, but we'd expected to share them on New Year's Eve. Instead, that text came, and the rest is recent history.
And tonight, I got a comment on my AO3-archived story, "It Was Wonderful," a fanfic based on "It's a Wonderful Life," which Bob, Andy, and I have loved for years. For several years on Christmas Eve, I've reshared the fic, which I originally posted on my LJ, then on Dreamwidth, and I eventually posted it on AO3, and was always tickled when I got the few kudos I did for it.
The comment was thoughtful and that would have been all I needed to read. But the person then asked if they could do a podfic. They were polite, said they'd understand if I didn't want them to do that because they'd still love the story. I checked them out and found that they a) weren't the type of scammers apparently infesting the archive these days (people pretending to be fans of stories, then working around to asking for money to "create fan art" for stories) and b) were experienced podficcers.
I told them I'd be honored. It's the first time anyone's done that for one of my pieces, and it seems like a lovely and unexpected Christmas gift.
I'm not much of a believer these days - not a Christian, certainly, although my experience with Christianity growing up in a house filled with love was very good, and that experience colored the way I approach spirituality. But as Bob has often said, and I believe him, some stories are true even if they never happened. The story of a child born in a stable and placed in a manger for warmth, a child who angels sang to sleep, who shepherds approached quietly after having heard the lullabies, a child who was a hope of peace ... well, that's not a bad story to happen, even if it never did.
And then there's "It's a Wonderful Life," and "It Was Wonderful." You can find the latter at the link, should you like to read it, either the first time or perhaps for another time.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Peace be unto all, even those who don't celebrate. I am lucky to know all of you.
I'm sitting in the livingroom, listening to Kpop rather than Christmas music of either secular or Christian origin. I've been prepping for Christmas Day, when we'll entertain four friends, and the house is full of the smell of two types of dressing cooked tonight so that I don't run the risk of overcooking it in the same oven as the tiny turkey (10.5 pounds) I bought for our somewhat unexpected meal. Unexpected, because we hadn't planned to do Christmas at all; one of our friends texted to ask if we were doing Christmas, possibly because they remembered that I'd said I wanted to invite them to a post-Thanksgiving dinner, and I just texted back "Yep!" because they've been very good to us, and this was one way we could repay them.
We jumped into "Emergency Christmas" mode, and I've already completed the cranberry orange relish and the Green Slime (it's a 1950s/60s recipe I got from Bob's mom, and it's not a canonical Christmas for our friends unless this is part of the menu, lime jello, cream cheese, maraschino cherries and all.) Tomorrow morning I'll stuff the bird with some of the dressing that didn't get baked tonight; I'll bake the veggie side-dish Bob and I chose; I'll make the peach cobbler I decided on instead of pie because cobbler is much, much easier to make. Then it's on to sweeping and damp-mopping the diningroom before putting extra leaves in the table and setting the Christmas board.
Last year, we were both despondent about the federal election and, without having the kids and Harlan here to be Christmasy for, we spent the day in a bit of a funk. To put it mildly.
A year later, the despondency has lifted a bit, but we still hadn't thought about Christmas much. We had improved enough to buy gifts for our three closest friends, and their son, but we'd expected to share them on New Year's Eve. Instead, that text came, and the rest is recent history.
And tonight, I got a comment on my AO3-archived story, "It Was Wonderful," a fanfic based on "It's a Wonderful Life," which Bob, Andy, and I have loved for years. For several years on Christmas Eve, I've reshared the fic, which I originally posted on my LJ, then on Dreamwidth, and I eventually posted it on AO3, and was always tickled when I got the few kudos I did for it.
The comment was thoughtful and that would have been all I needed to read. But the person then asked if they could do a podfic. They were polite, said they'd understand if I didn't want them to do that because they'd still love the story. I checked them out and found that they a) weren't the type of scammers apparently infesting the archive these days (people pretending to be fans of stories, then working around to asking for money to "create fan art" for stories) and b) were experienced podficcers.
I told them I'd be honored. It's the first time anyone's done that for one of my pieces, and it seems like a lovely and unexpected Christmas gift.
I'm not much of a believer these days - not a Christian, certainly, although my experience with Christianity growing up in a house filled with love was very good, and that experience colored the way I approach spirituality. But as Bob has often said, and I believe him, some stories are true even if they never happened. The story of a child born in a stable and placed in a manger for warmth, a child who angels sang to sleep, who shepherds approached quietly after having heard the lullabies, a child who was a hope of peace ... well, that's not a bad story to happen, even if it never did.
And then there's "It's a Wonderful Life," and "It Was Wonderful." You can find the latter at the link, should you like to read it, either the first time or perhaps for another time.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Peace be unto all, even those who don't celebrate. I am lucky to know all of you.