[Laghail]

Sunday September 8

"Guardians Of Kennet" by Ridtom

 

• Added a section to my tracker to record daily hours slept, per the nosy health app on my phone. Might kill it if it's unhelpful, lets see a week or two of data.
• Liam kidnapped us to a sunflower farm today and it may have been simultaneously majestic and cozy as hell. Nursing a cup of tea while wandering through the bees and sunflowers of this field and holding a cute boy's hand? No notes.
  • 
• Also, I tried Karak milk tea from the Yemeni place and it rocked my shit. Sooooo good. Sorta if pencil shavings and chai had a love child. 
  • 
• Autumn Mayo Clinic trip #1 was successful! New IUD acquired, everything normal per the OBGYN surgeon, and insurance dispute ongoing. Too soon to tell if it's helping with pain and hormone regulation yet. Only regrets were I should have taken the day off instead of trying to work from the OR waiting room. Dur. Notes for next time.  
• Angel of the Crows was wonderful. Katherine Addison writes it as a sincere love letter to the Sherlock Holmes mythos while still innovating in her retelling with all these surprises that feel exactly right.  Queer as hell, fantasy worldbuilding for days, and a marked departure from the usual move of fridging Mary Watson.
  • 

[Laghail]

Sunshower

By Natalie Shapero

Some people say the devil is beating

his wife. Some people say the devil

is pawing his wife. Some people say

the devil is doubling down on an overall

attitude of entitlement toward

the body of his wife. Some people

say the devil won’t need to be sorry,

as the devil believes that nothing

comes after this life. Some people say

that in spite of the devil’s public,

long-standing, and meticulously

logged disdain for the health

and wholeness of his wife, the devil

spends all day, every day, insisting

grandly and gleefully on his general

pro-woman ethos, that the devil truly

considers himself to be an unswayed

crusader: effortlessly magnetic,

scrupulous, gracious, and, in spite of

the devil’s several advanced degrees,

a luminous autodidact. Some people

say calm down; this is commonplace.

Some people say calm down;

this is very rare. Some people say

the sun is washing her face. Some

people say in Hell, they’re having a fair.

[Laghail]

On 9/6/2024 at 10:20 AM, Sea-to-sky said:

Aww. This is such a nerdy valentines day card to sci fi and special people in our lives. i just adore it. 
 

liam clearly has either horrible or exceptional timing…hard to tell which from here 😆

great timing! Just kinda fun to complain about art that stirs up my emotions, as though it’s rude to feel feelings 

 

On 9/6/2024 at 11:11 AM, Everstorm said:

Damn that was so romantically nerdy.

❤️ 

On 9/6/2024 at 1:52 PM, sarakingdom said:

The rhythm of that one has reminded me of another poet I think you might enjoy. (It was a tossup whether I posted this here or in Deffy's thread, because it's the former poet laureate of Scotland, where she is attempting a border crossing.)

 

The Loch Ness Monster’s Song

 

Brilliant, and you're officially on the leaderboard! 

 

On 9/6/2024 at 8:49 PM, sarakingdom said:

 

Oh, what a marvelous question!

 

  Reveal hidden contents

I think it surfaces, is surprised while minding its own business, asks what's going on, laughs derisively, denies that it's a diplodocus, curses soundly a few times (aka, speaks in a Scottish dialect), gives up on humanity above the surface, and sinks beneath the water again.

 

This is a metaphor for the Scottish identity, using the voice of iconic Scottish kaiju  to voice the sardonic sentiments of a nation.

 

Aaaand you slide into first place! 

 

On 9/6/2024 at 10:07 PM, MezzothePatient said:

Can't to claim to be a poetry enthusiast but maybe I'll absorb some culture. 

 

Nope, we're poetry anarchist here. Post anything that makes you feel something, even if it's silly or weird or an advertising jingle. 

 

On 9/6/2024 at 10:07 PM, MezzothePatient said:

Sorry insurance is being suck-y. "They" (the whole industry, I guess? IDK who "they" are exactly) seem to intentionally obfuscate things in hopes that the average person will give up instead of fighting with them because frankly who has the time? Especially when they only answer during "business hours" aka when said average person is also working and can't spend hours on hold and being shuffled around 😕 Not trying to fan the flames, just commiserate and validate. They suck and I'm sorry y'all are dealing with it.

 

Nope, commiseration is appreciated!

 

On 9/6/2024 at 11:56 PM, Sovalis said:

Following of course. Hope Laura is alright. 💜

 

Fingers crossed! She usually heals up fast, then has mental health symptoms following general anesthesia. So we're all keeping a closer eye on her and then going in for a psych consult, sorta an "Abundance of caution" type visit in two week.

 

On 9/7/2024 at 3:15 PM, Jarric said:

I KNOW, RIGHT! THERE'S STILL 2 WEEKS OF SUMMER LEFT, AND I'M NOT DONE WITH SHORTS AND VESTS!

 

I know. Tanks are a little skimpy in the evenings for this weather and it feels much too soon.

 

On 9/7/2024 at 3:15 PM, Jarric said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Thoughs:

a. This is beautiful, really sweet and I love it.

b. Loving the subtle Hitchhiker's Guide reference.

 

Hope all's well with Laura, and the insurers pull their finger out.

 

Mood on the insurers but your poetry analysis officially puts you in the running for pretentiousness!! 

[Sea-to-sky]

7 hours ago, Laghail said:

Sorta if pencil shavings and chai had a love child. 

You are not selling that to me dude 😆

 

Glad everything went well for laura

 

7 hours ago, Laghail said:

Angel of the Crows was wonderful. Katherine Addison writes it as a sincere love letter to the Sherlock Holmes mythos while still innovating in her retelling with all these surprises that feel exactly right.  Queer as hell, fantasy worldbuilding for days, and a marked departure from the usual move of fridging Mary Watson

Adds to tbr 🤘

[Sepherina]

Following!  I don’t have a poem about fall, but I do have a song. 

 

 

 

[Laghail]

4 hours ago, Sepherina said:

Following!  I don’t have a poem about fall, but I do have a song. 

[Ryan Stewart - Autumn]

 

The vibes are immaculate. Welcome to the leaderboard and thanks for sharing.

 

6 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

You are not selling that to me dude 😆

 

Sigh, both you and Liam had that response. You know the kind of tea that's so good and so strong that it makes you thirsty as you drink it? Even after an unwise amount of brown sugar has been added? That. It tasted like that. But in a good way.

 

6 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

Glad everything went well for laura

 

❤️

[Sea-to-sky]

6 minutes ago, Laghail said:

You know the kind of tea that's so good and so strong that it makes you thirsty as you drink it? Even after an unwise amount of brown sugar has been added? That. It tasted like that. But in a good way

😳i am with liam on this one. 

[Sovalis]

I would try that tea, that sounds very intriguing. 

 

My library only had the audiobook of Angel of Crows. So I guess I’ll be trying an audiobook for the first time when my hold comes up?

[sarakingdom]

8 minutes ago, Laghail said:

You know the kind of tea that's so good and so strong that it makes you thirsty as you drink it? Even after an unwise amount of brown sugar has been added? That. It tasted like that. But in a good way.

 

Ah, I think I'm with you now. Astringent. Tastes sharp and full of tannins, the way pencil shavings smell. So tannin-y it makes you salivate rather than feeling hydrating, the way red wine does.

 

(And not, as I'd feared, a curdled texture like pencil shavings in hot water.)

[Laghail]

 

23 minutes ago, sarakingdom said:

Ah, I think I'm with you now. Astringent. Tastes sharp and full of tannins, the way pencil shavings smell. So tannin-y it makes you salivate rather than feeling hydrating, the way red wine does.

 

(And not, as I'd feared, a curdled texture like pencil shavings in hot water.)

23 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

I would try that tea, that sounds very intriguing. 

 

Karak milk tea, or adeni chai - "Yemeni Black Tea mixed with Cardamom and Nutmeg. Adeni Chai is an aromatic, spiced tea made with evaporated milk that is famous worldwide for its unique flavor."

 

28 minutes ago, Sea-to-sky said:

😳i am with liam on this one. 

 

Liam tried to subvert justice as he read your comment over my shoulder. He proclaimed that you and he are now the trans-Atlantic society of the raised eyebrow, and advocated for you to get bonus points in the poetry competition for your allegedly correct opinions. Deplorable!

 

23 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

My library only had the audiobook of Angel of Crows. So I guess I’ll be trying an audiobook for the first time when my hold comes up?

 

Admittedly audiobooks can be an acquired taste, and the reader absolutely inflects the experience, but for this title I have only two words: Imogen. Church.

 

 

Trained at the Drama Centre in London, she jobbed out for odd roles while moonlighting as a burlesque dancer where she specialized in acts blending comic poetry and pole dancing. She tried LA before fleeing the desperation and skin cancer, landing in Norwich where she's been ever since. Objecting to the endless policing of women in the acting world, she began voicing audiobooks for the blind, with a special focus on erotic titles. Since 50 shades and others have normalized erotic fiction, she's been working a microphone with audiobooks as well as audio commercials, comedy, documentaries, and plays. In her own words:

 

Quote

It will help you learn a bit about all the weird stuff I do and it will also help you contact me if you want to work with me, or if you want to say you like my work, or if my work offends you, or my face offends you, or makes you feel funny inside. I trained as an actoress but I also write stuff, draw stuff and have a Master’s degree in Children’s Literature. I'm tall, curvy and have tattoos and I mostly do my acting with my voice so that I can eat cake at will and not be told to inject weird shit into my face. I'm still up for doing stuff where you can see that face, it's just got to be worth waxing my upper lip for. I am all about dark comedy, satire, intersectional feminism and equality. That’s where my life has landed me.

 

[Sea-to-sky]

3 minutes ago, Laghail said:

Liam tried to subvert justice as he read your comment over my shoulder. He proclaimed that you and he are now the trans-Atlantic society of the raised eyebrow, and advocated for you to get bonus points in the poetry competition for your allegedly correct opinions. Deplorable

😆

I stand behind my fellow society member and his clearly excellent taste in both people and beverages. 

[Sea-to-sky]

10 minutes ago, Laghail said:

Trained at the Drama Centre in London, she jobbed out for odd roles while moonlighting as a burlesque dancer where she specialized in acts blending comic poetry and pole dancing. She tried LA before fleeing the desperation and skin cancer, landing in Norwich where she's been ever since. Objecting to the endless policing of women in the acting world, she began voicing audiobooks for the blind, with a special focus on erotic titles. Since 50 shades and others have normalized erotic fiction, she's been working a microphone with audiobooks as well as audio commercials, comedy, documentaries, and plays. In her own words:

 

Quote

It will help you learn a bit about all the weird stuff I do and it will also help you contact me if you want to work with me, or if you want to say you like my work, or if my work offends you, or my face offends you, or makes you feel funny inside. I trained as an actoress but I also write stuff, draw stuff and have a Master’s degree in Children’s Literature. I'm tall, curvy and have tattoos and I mostly do my acting with my voice so that I can eat cake at will and not be told to inject weird shit into my face. I'm still up for doing stuff where you can see that face, it's just got to be worth waxing my upper lip for. I am all about dark comedy, satire, intersectional feminism and equality. That’s where my life has landed me.

 

Sold. 

[sarakingdom]

1 hour ago, Sovalis said:

trying an audiobook for the first time

 

29 minutes ago, Laghail said:

I have only two words: Imogen. Church.

 

I have three more: Kobna. Holdbrook. Smith. (Admittedly, he's not gonna read Angel of Crows for you. But he'd be a good second audiobook ever.)

 

 

 

 

[sarakingdom]

35 minutes ago, Laghail said:

Liam tried to subvert justice as he read your comment over my shoulder. He proclaimed that you and he are now the trans-Atlantic society of the raised eyebrow, and advocated for you to get bonus points in the poetry competition for your allegedly correct opinions. Deplorable!

 

Liam is no longer my favorite member of your household, and I think this is deep ingratitude for my trying to steal him away from you for being wonderful. How could he do this to me? I hope you make him drink pencil shavings every morning.

 

38 minutes ago, Laghail said:

Karak milk tea, or adeni chai - "Yemeni Black Tea mixed with Cardamom and Nutmeg. Adeni Chai is an aromatic, spiced tea made with evaporated milk that is famous worldwide for its unique flavor."

 

I do have a cardamon flavored tea from Ahmad Tea. It's not that tannic, but it's really nice. I could see it working with nutmeg, I should try that.

[Sovalis]

"I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times’
into something better.” 
Mary Oliver

[Laghail]

6 minutes ago, sarakingdom said:

 

Liam is no longer my favorite member of your household, and I think this is deep ingratitude for my trying to steal him away from you for being wonderful. How could he do this to me? I hope you make him drink pencil shavings every morning.

 

It gets worse, he's an Irishman who doesn't drink tea. They left the commonwealth, for this??

 

6 minutes ago, sarakingdom said:

 

I do have a cardamon flavored tea from Ahmad Tea. It's not that tannic, but it's really nice. I could see it working with nutmeg, I should try that.

 

Mmm, snap a picture of the tea box and I'll look for it.

 

18 minutes ago, sarakingdom said:

I have three more: Kobna. Holdbrook. Smith. (Admittedly, he's not gonna read Angel of Crows for you. But he'd be a good second audiobook ever.)

 

He did Rivers of London, of course you love him! Also he did Earthsea apparently? I haven't done those as audiobook and probably should. 

 

Shameful truth, in my heart of hearts, the audiobook voice talent that most directly pours calm and peace into my heart via my eardrums? George Guidall. I'm a little scared to look him up because I don't want to know if he was a Thatcher-stan or a men's rights advocate - he just calms me with his gravely voice that rumbles through the fumbling love of the Golem and the Jinni. 

[Laghail]

12 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

"I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times’
into something better.” 
Mary Oliver

 

Just gorgeous as hell, thanks for sharing this. +1 for Sovalis!

[sarakingdom]

6 minutes ago, Laghail said:

It gets worse, he's an Irishman who doesn't drink tea. They left the commonwealth, for this??

 

I hope you make him drink potato shavings every day.

 

7 minutes ago, Laghail said:

Mmm, snap a picture of the tea box and I'll look for it.

 

Ahmad Tea Black Cardamom Loose Tea, 17.6 oz

 

I'm not saying it's high end like yours, but it's a good reliable every day tea.

 

10 minutes ago, Laghail said:

He did Rivers of London, of course you love him!

 

Not a given! I'm tough on audiobook readers. (I think for several books, I liked Rivers of London because of him rather than the other way around. I like Ben Aaronovitch, but I just didn't get the book tone for several books.) And they put him through his paces in those books.

 

16 minutes ago, Laghail said:

Shameful truth, in my heart of hearts, the audiobook voice talent that most directly pours calm and peace into my heart via my eardrums? George Guidall. I'm a little scared to look him up because I don't want to know if he was a Thatcher-stan or a men's rights advocate - he just calms me with his gravely voice that rumbles through the fumbling love of the Golem and the Jinni. 

 

He's from New Jersey, so I guarantee he's not a Thatcher stan. But the alternative could be so much worse. (It's not likely to be, though. He's an actor from the tri-state area. That has certain expectations.)

 

If it helps, he's read books of your, um, political persuasion, for small presses that definitely didn't hand him a dump truck of money. So I think you're in safe hands. Safe, gravel-voiced hands.

[Laghail]

22 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

Not a given! I'm tough on audiobook readers. (I think for several books, I liked Rivers of London because of him rather than the other way around. I like Ben Aaronovitch, but I just didn't get the book tone for several books.) And they put him through his paces in those books.

 

Iiiinteresting! 

 

22 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

He's from New Jersey, so I guarantee he's not a Thatcher stan. But the alternative could be so much worse. (It's not likely to be, though. He's an actor from the tri-state area. That has certain expectations.)

 

If it helps, he's read books of your, um, political persuasion, for small presses that definitely didn't hand him a dump truck of money. So I think you're in safe hands. Safe, gravel-voiced hands.

 

 I mean he did the 1632 series, where American coal miners from 1985 are transplanted to Thuringia during the 30 years war and "fix" the next 150 years of European political problems by teaching central Europeans how to be American.... God. Where was he on January 6 2021??

 

Quote

His aural oeuvre includes Jonathan Franzen’s “The Corrections,” Philip Roth’s “Patrimony” and lots of Stephen King. He won’t do books with gratuitous sex or violence. “There are people out there who expect a certain quality and respect,” he said, “although I did a book called ‘Small Town’ by Lawrence Block, which has the kinkiest sex imaginable, but it was totally justifiable.”

Sometimes a novel has a half-dozen characters on the same page, and he must give each a distinctive vocal identity, including the women.

“I keep a pair of red shoes in the studio for that,” Mr. Guidall joked. “Recently I heard about a voice clinic for trans people who want their voice to be more female. I want to go. I want them to teach me some tricks.”

 

Iiiinteresting

[Laghail]

Tuesday September 9

The Kennet Trio (and Snowdrop!) by snowdrops_tiny_fan

 

• Forgot if I said, Liam landed a job that starts on Monday. It's a 6 month contract at a headquarters of a multinational consumer chemical company, whose headquarters are a mix of a giant spray bottle and a flying saucer. This is actually not a joke. Corps are weird. 
  • 
• Presidential debate tonight and I'm making fancy coffee drinks and using copious 420 to survive. Nothing will be as bad as the Hillary/Trump debacle from 2016, but I suspect this will be awful in a different way - the tired meme of Trump being brutalized rhetorically yet ignoring Kamala and dropping dog whistles and outright calls for ethnic cleansing, trying to at least light up our tired sense of outrage. The VP debates should be at least humorous. Speaking of VP, please accept the below clip of Walz being adorably midwestern, with some spoilered links for local context to wth he's talking about.
  • Spoiler

    • Save big money at menards
    • Juicy Lucy
• I'm debating committing metaphorical adultery and cheating on 3d printing. I'm entranced by bronze sandcasting that this Estonian artist is doing with amulets and small statuary, but I've built this life together with my 3d printer and our design suite, and we have all these children (3d printed idols) running around the house. For now I'm going to double down on my commitment to my printer and introduce some new kinks in the bedroom to keep things spicy (make resin printed amulets and statuary in different formats than I've been doing). Behold, my shame and the Estonian objects of my lust:
• Counterpoint, another Estonian artist is using my same medium to make these bad bitches: 
• Maybe just make furious love to one or several Estonians and go home to my 3d printer? 

[Laghail]

[Sea-to-sky]

49 minutes ago, Laghail said:

I'm debating committing metaphorical adultery and cheating on 3d printing. I'm entranced by bronze sandcasting that this Estonian artist is doing with amulets and small statuary, but I've built this life together with my 3d printer and our design suite, and we have all these children (3d printed idols) running around the house. For now I'm going to double down on my commitment to my printer and introduce some new kinks in the bedroom to keep things spicy (make resin printed amulets and statuary in different formats than I've been doing). Behold, my shame and the Estonian objects of my lust:

Oh my god those are gorgeous 😱❤️ 

alternative to having an affair with a smelting set (which sounds painful if you ask me) is spraying the figurines with a bronze or other metallic paint. Maybe doing a dark undercoat and a thinner drybrush ontop to get the aged metal look

[sylph]

Come a little wander

A wander with me

Down past the faraways is where we shall be

Where the many old pathways, shall show us the way

And the trees do whisper

“You’re welcome to stay”

 

-Athey Thompson

[Laghail]

1 hour ago, sylph said:

Come a little wander

A wander with me

Down past the faraways is where we shall be

Where the many old pathways, shall show us the way

And the trees do whisper

“You’re welcome to stay”

 

-Athey Thompson

 

Chills Sylph, that was really beautiful, and also efficient as heck.

 

1 hour ago, Sea-to-sky said:

Oh my god those are gorgeous 😱❤️ 

alternative to having an affair with a smelting set (which sounds painful if you ask me) is spraying the figurines with a bronze or other metallic paint. Maybe doing a dark undercoat and a thinner drybrush ontop to get the aged metal look

 

You have much wisdom. Plus a smelting set needs me to have the design created from a 3d printer anyway. Either to make silicone molds to then cast wax dummies that are then closed in casting sand and then obliterated with molten bronze when casting the final piece, or just to use the 3d printed pieces to make an imprint in the casting sand and pour the bronze into the hollow. Either way, get cracking on new designs. 

[deftona]

2 hours ago, Laghail said:

 

 

How to piss of 10 1/2 million people there with that England jersey and not the Great Britain one...