Reading

Current Mood: too much homework for so early

Entry tags:

school life

New semester first week homework status

Reading: One chapter of each textbook: Done!

Two to five page autobiography for Human Services: About half done? It's a little over a page, and I've covered a lot of the material I'm supposed to.
Due date: Sunday night, 11:59pm

Watch video for Social Problems: Done
Take notes on video for Social Problems, including at least three observations on specific time stamps: Not yet
Due date: Sunday night, 11:59pm

I'm going to try and get my autobiography at least another quarter done tonight, and then I might call it quits for the evening.

Entry tags:

movie news

"It was great when it all began!" 50 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

My, my, how time flies! But fly it does, and October will see the release of a 4K HDR box set of the newly-restored movie that will have TWO documentaries!

A lot of the movie cast is still with us, though we lost Meatloaf a few years back. Interestingly, the movie was not a success in its initial run, it wasn't until the midnight circuit picked it up and the shadow casting and other fun started and it took on a life of its own that it really became a success. According to the article, RHPS may be the origin of cos-play!

I'll definitely be ordering this when it comes out. As it happens, I listened to the soundtrack just a week or so ago.

https://arstechnica.com/culture/2025/08/celebrating-50-years-of-the-rocky-horror-picture-show/

So, the title said something about the Argonaughts or maybe the Hugonuts?

Me, using correct spelling: Those are two entirely different groups of people. Is there any way you can narrow this down even a little?

Them, repeating the wrong spelling: Nope, absolutely not!

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Evening Discussion (part 1 of 1, complete)

Evening Discussion
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1629
[End of March 179-]

:: Part of the “Lost Son” story arc in the Frankenstein’s Family universe. ::

By the time the last drips of sunshine leaked from the clouds scraped by the shadows of the tall trees, the vardo was parked close to the leeward side of the small house, barely twice as wide as the vardo and only a little longer. Laszlo had split two of the six logs into firewood, stacking it in the drying pile where Rebeka had pointed, among the towers of green hardwood. On the windy side of the house, chimney style stacks took up most of the space that might be used for a garden. Rebeka had quickly identified the towers of hardwood, as tall as she was, and pointed out the newest, half-finished one. Piles of loose branches took up the corner farthest from the house, and a pile of wood chips beside it was nearly half its height.

Laszlo returned from the errand to find Rebeka in discussion with Troknym, talking about a book. He listened eagerly, until he realized that her hands were shaking as she tried to peel potatoes. “I can help,” he offered, motioning toward the potatoes.
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Current Mood: listless
Current Music: In Memoriam: Margaret Thatcher by Chumbawamba

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Thought process: "Why isn't there a biopic about John Brown? His life was weird and full of adventures and it would be a banger. Wait, maybe there is, let me check wikipedia... oh my goodness these are very different movies."

If anyone's seen any of these and they're worth watching (because good), or hatewatching, or avoiding like the plague, then let me know!

Santa Fe Trail (1940), with Raymond Massey as John Brown, also Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, and Ronald Reagan as General Custer. That's certainly some casting?

Wikipedia says:

[The film] depicted Brown completely unsympathetically as a villainous madman and Massey plays him with a constant, wild-eyed stare. The film gave the impression that he did not oppose slavery

and quotes from the film:

Mammy: "Well, Old John Brown said he's gonna give us freedom, but shuckins, if this here Kansas is 'freedom', then I got no use for it. No, sir." Then, a black man adds, "Me, neither. I just wants to get back home to Texas and sit till Kingdom Come."

So this certainly sounds like a gem.
The Good Lord Bird (2020 miniseries), starring Ethan Hawke as John Brown and an large cast including Daveed Diggs, Orlando Jones, and...Killer Mike? Sure, why not.

Did I know about this one? I bet I did—it won a lot of awards—but everyone's brain was oatmeal in 2020 and I am not sure I formed long term memories. Also maybe I heard of it and assumed it was about the Lord God Bird (the ivory billed woodpecker) because who wouldn't assume that?

Anyway the assessment of this is mostly a lot of awards and a positive rotten tomatoes rating so probably a safer bet watching Daveed Diggs as Frederick Douglass instead of Ronald Reagan as George Custer, yeow.

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

Today is partly cloudy and warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

EDIT 8/30/25 -- I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 8/30/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 8/30/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 8/30/25 -- I potted up 10 Ginger Gold apple seeds.

EDIT 8/30/25 -- I watered the apple seeds and the new picnic table plants.

I've picked several groundcherries today.

Cicadas and crickets are singing. I saw one firefly; it's cool for them and terribly dry.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

So, I've now created a DW feed

for

chopwood_carrywater_feed. I thought that getting it in my email and on my reading page would help prompt me to call (or email, listen, I have limits) my congresscritters.

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Entry tags:

current events

This one will be [curr ev]

Current rumors engulfing Bluesky have me recalling an old Communist-era Russian joke:

Every day, a man walks to a news stand and pays for a copy of Pravda, unfolds it, looks at the front page, and throws it in the trash. Every day he does this, for months, until finally the news seller asks the man, "So what is it you are looking for on the front page every day?"

"I'm checking for an obituary."

"Comrade, the obituaries aren't on the front page."

"Oh, this one will be."

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Random Doctor Who Picture

Cover for the Doctor Who Past Doctor Adventure Palace of the Red Sun by Christopher Bulis. Picture of a domed palace with four pointy turrets. The silhouettes of two figures, one in a long dress and one in a shorter one walk down an avenue of upright trees to the palace. Everything is in oranges and yellows.

Another blank in my memory. The back makes it sound like there is an underlying quest style narrative which, as I recall, is common in Bulis' works.

Current Mood: busy

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Wildlife

Celebrate International Bat Night August 30-31.

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Current Mood: busy

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Philosophical Questions: Money

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

What would happen if a maximum income of was implemented?

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Current Mood: busy

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Poetry Fishbowl Report for August 5, 2025

Our theme this month was "Books and Learning." I wrote from 1 PM to 4 AM, so about 13 hours, accounting for breaks. I wrote 2 poems on Tuesday and another 5 later in the week.

Participation was about the same, with 7 comments on LiveJournal and another 23 on Dreamwidth. A total of 9 people sent prompts.

Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the August 5, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"He Who Whispers"
"An Inkling of Things to Come"
"To Allow in More Light"

Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from August 5. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.

This month's donors include:

janetmiles and

fuzzyred. All sponsored poems from this fishbowl have been posted. There are 0 tallies toward a bonus fishbowl.

The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

Current Mood: hopeful

someone bring harp, lyre, timbrel, dance, lute, pipe, and cymbals (both resounding and loud)

I can't really drink alcohol anymore so there's no point in saving a bottle of something expensive and wonderful for when the day finally comes.

I briefly wondered if I should acquire a vuvuzela so I have it when I need it, but I realized this will be basically a textbook example of a moment for which shofarot are made. I can usually get a good trumpet blast or nine. I'm prepared.

See you all in the streets. Maybe it will happen tomorrow.

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

food,
recipe

Today's Cooking

Tonight I am making Ginger Gold Apple Pie. :D I've added 1/2 teaspoon of tapioca starch in hopes of thickening the filling a bit, but otherwise it's the same as before. If you see any, grab them -- these apples only appear for 2-3 weeks, usually in August.

8/29/25 -- Done! it's delicious. The tapioca starch helped, but I should've used a whole teaspoon.

Current Mood: amused

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Star Trek Mapping: COCONUTS-3A and the Klingon Empire

Would you believe that there is a star that humans have catalogued as "COCONUTS-3A" (among other catalogue numbers) and that for Star Trek purposes, it is just coreward of places like Morska and Rura Penthe?

You can look it up on SIMBAD.

I wonder what the Klingons' identification of it is.

Current Mood: busy

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Unsold Poems for the August 5, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl

The following poems from the August 5, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl are currently available. Poems may be sponsored via PayPal -- there's a permanent donation button on my Dreamwidth profile page -- or you can write to me and discuss other methods. There are still verses left in the linkback poems "Delight in Another," "A Sense of Weather Changes," "Ouroboros Insects," "The Loving Embrace of Night," "Generations of Cooks Past," "Homefree and Clear, " "One Bite at a Time," "Stars and Diamonds," "Mishpocha," "Changing Your Nature," and "Besa."

"The Most Prestigious Heritage"
Story Date: Sunday, July 12, 2015
Summary: Syrian families create a language nest in Rutledge.
447 lines, Buy It Now = $224

Sabra Mamoud loved working
at 'Aswat Saghira, or in English,
the Little Voices Language Nest.

These poems form a triptych, to be posted in order:

"Where You Find Light"
Story Date: Early June, 2016
Summary: Josué and Aidan set up a house for earthquake refugees, complete with books.
422 lines, Buy It Now = $211

As soon as Aidan recovered
from the Big One flattening him
with the weight of so many deaths
and disruptions all at once, he
began looking for ways to help.

"When You Learn to Read"
Story Date: Monday, June 13, 2016
Summary: Josué reads aloud to refugee children.
286 lines, Buy It Now = $143

Josué parked his bike and
then bounded up the steps
of the big, bright pink house,
already looking forward to
the afternoon's activities.

"No Faster or Firmer Friendships"
Story Date: Monday, June 13, 2016
Summary: Josué and Maria-Vera read together.
515 lines, Buy It Now = $258

Once they finished putting away
all the groceries, the children
and a few adults drifted back
into the living room area.

Current Mood: busy

Entry tags:

Indigenous People

Cherokee, Osage, and the Indigenous North American Type Collection

After five years of community-partnered research with First Nations and Inuit communities in Canada and the United States, Typotheque is proud to announce the release of new Cherokee and Osage script fonts. Accompanying these is the Indigenous North American Type Collection, a large set of fonts that support the Indigenous communities in North America and their unique writing systems, in terms of digital access, use, and local typographic needs.

Speak it. Write it. Read it. Live it. Remember it.

Current Mood: busy

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"Helium Miner's Song" by Catamariner

"Helium Miner's Song" by

catamariner is up for a Pegasus Award.

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Lake Lewisia #1297

“I’m telling you, this is how it works,” the little creature yowled at its companion, slapping their paws away from the mound of leaves beside it. The two had already been in a brawl over the subject, and it had bruises and bite marks on its own paws as it laid out another row of bright green leaves on a flat stretch of stone. “The humans love the green stuff, but they love the gold stuff even better, so come autumn, we can buy all the bottle caps and coffee grounds we want.”

---

LL#1297

Current Mood: accomplished

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The Meeting (part 1 of 1, complete)

The Meeting
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1797
[End of March 179-]

:: The detour ends with an unexpected obstacle, but Lazlo faces an even bigger surprise. Part of the “Lost Son” story arc in the Frankenstein’s Family universe. ::

:: Pay Special Attention: Laszlo expresses some internalized ableism. It’s clearly things that he’s heard from strangers or remote acquaintances, not part of his family upbringing. I hope to show decisions that supported his needs to balance that out. ::

The road carried them high in the hills, on a wide ridge still blurred with tall trees and undergrowth. They traveled southeast, until Trokhym patted Laszlo’s arm. “That crossroads goes back to Cluj-Napoca, but makes its way through the poorest edge of the city, near the rag- and bone-pickers and the handful of tanneries. Most people avoid the road for that reason, and take the better-tended, better-traveled route that you were on.

Laszlo nodded absently. “People warned me, especially when there was a storm building overhead. “Why pause here, though?”
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