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Crafting Update, October 2025
Mon, Nov. 3rd, 2025 07:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
althea_valaraDIVING RIGHT IN!!
[Image Description: 'A pivot table, showing I crafted over 47 hours in October on 11 different projects.' title='October 2025 Crafting Spreadsheet]
So yes! I tried a lot of projects in October! Some of which were abandoned! But I did have some finishes, so let's check them out:
[Image Description: A sticker puzzle featuring a Day of the Dead decorated skull.]
I got this sticker puzzle from my library several years back as a Take and Make kit. Man, I miss those kits! So much fun and they were FREE! Anyway, I finally did this one for The Lab challenge in Nerdopolis. The theme was "Science Lab" and this was my writeup:
I've opted not to include the "before" picture here, showing the sticker sheet. This was fun and just challenging enough to BE fun and not annoying. It probably took me about an hour - I didn't time myself. I have another one of these sticker puzzles (a Monet print) that I hope to do for a future challenge in The Lab.
[Image Description: A pair of bright red lacy knitted legwarmers, worn.]
I only did one legwarmer this month--the other was completed in a previous month for a different challenge. I had to alter the pattern because my yarn was more of a bulky than worsted, and so I didn't get gauge. I guessed on pattern alterations which I thought worked well at first, but the truth is that there's not enough negative ease, and these slide down. Boo.
This legwarmer was submitted in the Nerdopolis Challenge "The Games We Played", with the writeup:
[Image Description: A crocheted water bottle carrier, with an attached pocket for a cell phone.]
This was a necessity. See, I've acquired a pair of earbuds which means I am now taking my phone to the gym so I can listen to Final Fantasy music while working out, as one does. Well, carrying phone AND water bottle AND keys AND towel AND spray bottle is a bit much, so I made this to combine two of the items into one convenient carry package. It works pretty well. Not perfect, but much better than juggling everything. I submitted this in Area 51, the challenge for finished WIPs or stuff made with stash yarn. This was from stash.
[Image Description: The start of a sleeve for a knitted cardigan. The generous amount of ribbing at the wrist is done, along with a few rows of the sleeve body. The sleeve is gray with a teal cable running down its middle.]
This is one of my Summit Seeker projects--those projects that will take more than a month to do. I decided to start with a sleeve and use it as my gauge swatch. My first attempt was last year, and I (a) cast on the wrong amount of stitches (b) used bigger needles at the time, and well, I just didn't like the fabric I was producing. So I frogged and started again with smaller needles AND the proper cast-on amount. Much happier now!
[Image Description: A crocheted approximation of Emet-Selch's soul crystal. It is purple and has an embroidered constellation on it, similar to the Gemini constellation.]
There was a challenge this month in which you were to make something related to a "bad guy" in your nerdery and I WAS NOT ABOUT TO MAKE AN EMET-SELCH DOLL, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANTED TO because ain't nobody got time to do a doll AND clothes in a month's time. I considered several options, included double-knitting something, but in the end I just winged it with crochet. It's... okay. Fulfills the challenge, but eh.
Some of the things on the list of things i tried are things I intend to go back to and finish (I *need* the Cat Lady Bag). Others, well, probably won't return to. But I had fun this month, for the most part.
Not fun: I worked on my Motion Picture Mosaic Cardi. FINALLY finished the sleeve I was on, so moved on to the right front. Problem: the edge of the back did NOT meet the edge of the front. I tried to hack a fix, but it didn't work (would have looked really stupid). So I need to frog at least SOME of the cardi. It's still in time out because I can't bear to look at it and figure out how much I need to pull back.
[Image Description: 'A pivot table, showing I crafted over 47 hours in October on 11 different projects.' title='October 2025 Crafting Spreadsheet]
So yes! I tried a lot of projects in October! Some of which were abandoned! But I did have some finishes, so let's check them out:
[Image Description: A sticker puzzle featuring a Day of the Dead decorated skull.]
I got this sticker puzzle from my library several years back as a Take and Make kit. Man, I miss those kits! So much fun and they were FREE! Anyway, I finally did this one for The Lab challenge in Nerdopolis. The theme was "Science Lab" and this was my writeup:
Did you know Post-It notes were an accidental invention? A 3M scientist was attempting to create a super-strong adhesive when he accidentally created a weak adhesive instead. This adhesive was low-tack and responded to pressure. For this challenge, I did some experimenting with the weak adhesive on the back of my sticker puzzle (a Take and Make kit from my local library!). I tested to see if I could remove and replace the stickers to perfect their position (I could!).
Team shout out for Nerd Cred: My sticker puzzle is of a decorated skull for “El Dia de los Muertos” (The Day of the Dead). In Final Fantasy XI, there is an infamous quest to unlock your subjob that requires farming three items from monsters, one of which is a Magicked Skull that comes from skeleton enemies.
I've opted not to include the "before" picture here, showing the sticker sheet. This was fun and just challenging enough to BE fun and not annoying. It probably took me about an hour - I didn't time myself. I have another one of these sticker puzzles (a Monet print) that I hope to do for a future challenge in The Lab.
[Image Description: A pair of bright red lacy knitted legwarmers, worn.]
I only did one legwarmer this month--the other was completed in a previous month for a different challenge. I had to alter the pattern because my yarn was more of a bulky than worsted, and so I didn't get gauge. I guessed on pattern alterations which I thought worked well at first, but the truth is that there's not enough negative ease, and these slide down. Boo.
This legwarmer was submitted in the Nerdopolis Challenge "The Games We Played", with the writeup:
My family used to vacation in Hayward, WI when I was quite young, and we always brought board games along to play. Two of the games we played were Hungry, Hungry Hippos (which has a red playing board) and Hi-Ho! Cherry-O! (in which you collect red cherries). In honor of these memories, I’ve made a red legwarmer.
[Image Description: A crocheted water bottle carrier, with an attached pocket for a cell phone.]
This was a necessity. See, I've acquired a pair of earbuds which means I am now taking my phone to the gym so I can listen to Final Fantasy music while working out, as one does. Well, carrying phone AND water bottle AND keys AND towel AND spray bottle is a bit much, so I made this to combine two of the items into one convenient carry package. It works pretty well. Not perfect, but much better than juggling everything. I submitted this in Area 51, the challenge for finished WIPs or stuff made with stash yarn. This was from stash.
[Image Description: The start of a sleeve for a knitted cardigan. The generous amount of ribbing at the wrist is done, along with a few rows of the sleeve body. The sleeve is gray with a teal cable running down its middle.]
This is one of my Summit Seeker projects--those projects that will take more than a month to do. I decided to start with a sleeve and use it as my gauge swatch. My first attempt was last year, and I (a) cast on the wrong amount of stitches (b) used bigger needles at the time, and well, I just didn't like the fabric I was producing. So I frogged and started again with smaller needles AND the proper cast-on amount. Much happier now!
[Image Description: A crocheted approximation of Emet-Selch's soul crystal. It is purple and has an embroidered constellation on it, similar to the Gemini constellation.]
There was a challenge this month in which you were to make something related to a "bad guy" in your nerdery and I WAS NOT ABOUT TO MAKE AN EMET-SELCH DOLL, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANTED TO because ain't nobody got time to do a doll AND clothes in a month's time. I considered several options, included double-knitting something, but in the end I just winged it with crochet. It's... okay. Fulfills the challenge, but eh.
Some of the things on the list of things i tried are things I intend to go back to and finish (I *need* the Cat Lady Bag). Others, well, probably won't return to. But I had fun this month, for the most part.
Not fun: I worked on my Motion Picture Mosaic Cardi. FINALLY finished the sleeve I was on, so moved on to the right front. Problem: the edge of the back did NOT meet the edge of the front. I tried to hack a fix, but it didn't work (would have looked really stupid). So I need to frog at least SOME of the cardi. It's still in time out because I can't bear to look at it and figure out how much I need to pull back.
“The Louvre, he concluded, is less well protected than a Spanish museum."
Mon, Nov. 3rd, 2025 05:48 pmakamarykate3 things from the past week(...ish, I mean, I went through the weekend and didn't realize I'd forgotten to post here until I woke up this morning. Let's blame the time change?)
1) My sister and fam have an 18-month-old toddler dog who is very confused by the time change. She started asking for her dinner (usually between 4:30-5:00) at 2:30 yesterday and when she didn't get it, started randomly throwing her toys around the living room. I can't say I blame her.
2) My other sister shares my love of Nebraska women's volleyball and likes to text me reactions during matches, but yesterday as her texts piled up I finally told her, "Sorry, I'm stress-cross-stitching my way through this one." Since I picked it up in earnest again 4 years ago, cross stitching really has become a release valve for me. It has basically saved my sanity on Sunday mornings, when I go to services at a local Methodist church where my BIL is the pastor. I love him and want to support him and their whole family, and he's way more progressive than the congregations he's had want him to be, but the fishbowl aspect of being the pastor's family puts a lot of pressure on my sister, their kids, and to some extent me. He's very cool with us doing things during service like stitching (my sister and I) and drawing or writing (the kids), and I'm super grateful that he hasn't put up a stink about it. My sister, a college professor, has been encouraging students to bring handcrafts to her classes if it won't distract others, and the students are happier and more focused when they take her up on it. The power of making stuff.
3) My love of museums and sometime interest in true crime combined in reading this book: The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity. (Link to bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores.) It's written for middle grade and teen readers, but given my attention span the last few years it's perfect for me. Nicholas Day weaves the stories of the creation of the painting and the 1911 theft that propelled the painting from obscurity to what it is today. Highly recommended if you're into art, museums, heists, and/or history.
And of course it's a timely subject now, given the recent theft at the Louvre. It's really funny that the best known heists don't usually rely on elaborate plans by cunning gangs of highly skilled and intelligent masterminds. I think the people in charge of museums would like that mythic narrative to continue because the truth makes them look more vulnerable and makes their security systems seem a lot harder to overcome than they actually are. The truth is most museums don't have the funds to have elaborate technology and unassailable security for anything but their most valuable treasures. And sometimes not even then.
1) My sister and fam have an 18-month-old toddler dog who is very confused by the time change. She started asking for her dinner (usually between 4:30-5:00) at 2:30 yesterday and when she didn't get it, started randomly throwing her toys around the living room. I can't say I blame her.
2) My other sister shares my love of Nebraska women's volleyball and likes to text me reactions during matches, but yesterday as her texts piled up I finally told her, "Sorry, I'm stress-cross-stitching my way through this one." Since I picked it up in earnest again 4 years ago, cross stitching really has become a release valve for me. It has basically saved my sanity on Sunday mornings, when I go to services at a local Methodist church where my BIL is the pastor. I love him and want to support him and their whole family, and he's way more progressive than the congregations he's had want him to be, but the fishbowl aspect of being the pastor's family puts a lot of pressure on my sister, their kids, and to some extent me. He's very cool with us doing things during service like stitching (my sister and I) and drawing or writing (the kids), and I'm super grateful that he hasn't put up a stink about it. My sister, a college professor, has been encouraging students to bring handcrafts to her classes if it won't distract others, and the students are happier and more focused when they take her up on it. The power of making stuff.
3) My love of museums and sometime interest in true crime combined in reading this book: The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity. (Link to bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores.) It's written for middle grade and teen readers, but given my attention span the last few years it's perfect for me. Nicholas Day weaves the stories of the creation of the painting and the 1911 theft that propelled the painting from obscurity to what it is today. Highly recommended if you're into art, museums, heists, and/or history.
And of course it's a timely subject now, given the recent theft at the Louvre. It's really funny that the best known heists don't usually rely on elaborate plans by cunning gangs of highly skilled and intelligent masterminds. I think the people in charge of museums would like that mythic narrative to continue because the truth makes them look more vulnerable and makes their security systems seem a lot harder to overcome than they actually are. The truth is most museums don't have the funds to have elaborate technology and unassailable security for anything but their most valuable treasures. And sometimes not even then.
Health Natter: COVID: Jelly Turtles from Spain
Mon, Nov. 3rd, 2025 06:03 pmelisemStill have COVID.
Still continuing.
Still resting like potatoes.
(With the caveat that I do get up and sit in a chair for a while each day, because my body needs that for some things.)
Today's things included talking on phone with multiple people at new insurance/pharmacy/et cetera.
Cried twice.
This is harder than it actually needs to be.
Told them, when they asked if med was medically necessary, that I like breathing and wished not to give it up.
(I DUNNO, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU GUYS THINK, IS A MED THAT HELPS WITH MY ALLERGIES AND MY ASTHMA POSSIBLY IMPORTANT WHEN I AM IN ACUTE COVID RIGHT NOW? WHY COULD THAT POSSIBLY MATTER, RIGHT GUYS?)
Paxlovid mouth-taste is evil.
Only have to get through tonight and tomorrow and however long the aftertaste lasts.
Am combating it with gummy candies.
Decided why the heck not.
About to open bag of jelly turtles that tells me they are from Spain.
O jelly turtles from Spain, I put my hope in your benevolent tastiness.
Thank you all for being here.
Good words help a lot. Maybe tell me something good from your life today?
I like hearing about good moments.
I do have plans.
They are not vengeance unless vengeance is making really good art.
I just have to get well enough to realize them.
Meanwhile, jelly turtles from Spain, and also some weird blueberry planets that are freaking huge.
And you all. I like you people. Hello, people!
I may be slightly giddy again.
Still continuing.
Still resting like potatoes.
(With the caveat that I do get up and sit in a chair for a while each day, because my body needs that for some things.)
Today's things included talking on phone with multiple people at new insurance/pharmacy/et cetera.
Cried twice.
This is harder than it actually needs to be.
Told them, when they asked if med was medically necessary, that I like breathing and wished not to give it up.
(I DUNNO, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU GUYS THINK, IS A MED THAT HELPS WITH MY ALLERGIES AND MY ASTHMA POSSIBLY IMPORTANT WHEN I AM IN ACUTE COVID RIGHT NOW? WHY COULD THAT POSSIBLY MATTER, RIGHT GUYS?)
Paxlovid mouth-taste is evil.
Only have to get through tonight and tomorrow and however long the aftertaste lasts.
Am combating it with gummy candies.
Decided why the heck not.
About to open bag of jelly turtles that tells me they are from Spain.
O jelly turtles from Spain, I put my hope in your benevolent tastiness.
Thank you all for being here.
Good words help a lot. Maybe tell me something good from your life today?
I like hearing about good moments.
I do have plans.
They are not vengeance unless vengeance is making really good art.
I just have to get well enough to realize them.
Meanwhile, jelly turtles from Spain, and also some weird blueberry planets that are freaking huge.
And you all. I like you people. Hello, people!
I may be slightly giddy again.
Taking action, in a way
Mon, Nov. 3rd, 2025 10:42 ambrithistorianI've been wanting to be more active on Dreamwidth recently, both in terms of posting and of reading all of your posts, but I couldn't really bring myself to do that while I had a backlog of comments in my email going back to September. This morning I've simultaneously got time and energy to deal with this, so I'm trying to work through those old responses, either responding to or deleting all of those comments. So if you get a response to an older comment you left (some of these were from as far back as September), that's what's going on. And I'm looking forward to getting to "see" you more in the near future.
Have a great day!
Update on AO3 tag-wrangling application
Mon, Nov. 3rd, 2025 10:19 ambrithistorianWhen I applied to a tag wrangler at AO3, they said not to write asking about the status of my application until 5 weeks had passed. That was last week, so I wrote and inquired. They wrote back saying they'd had more applications than expected, so to wait until 5 November, so I'm still waiting.
Working through anger
Sun, Nov. 2nd, 2025 06:03 pmsoniaA friend responded to me with uncharacteristic and intense anger a couple of days ago and I don't know why (yet). While I'm waiting on more information, I've been thinking about other times I've faced intense anger.
I don't remember many. One time, I was exhausted and needed to leave, and a friend said if I left, the friendship was over. I thought we would work it out after getting a chance to rest, but despite several attempts, he stuck to the friendship being over.
Another time, a friend was angry that I couldn't continue in a painful situation. Despite attempts to talk about it, that friendship eventually ended too.
I remember being angry as romantic relationships deteriorated, but I don't remember partners communicating anger and working it through. Or responding well to my attempts to communicate anger and work it through. Which is why I'm not in any of those relationships anymore.
I have a felt sense of quicksand in relationships (of any sort). Like, "oops, this ground has gotten treacherous, time to back up." Looking back, I think that's been when people are angry. But they don't say, "I'm angry at you for X and want things to be different going forward." They emotionally withdraw, and eventually cut things off. Sometimes it's been when I felt safe enough to express a boundary of my own, and found out that wasn't safe after all.
I suppose the most... not positive, exactly, but open experiences of anger were as a bodywork practitioner. If a client got angry, I held space and listened and responded as best I could. But that's a different dynamic than relationships out in the world. I do have the basic tools of active listening and trying to stay grounded.
I'm not feeling super hopeful about the current situation. Do you have stories or resources about successfully working through anger?
ETA: I wrote a short apologetic, puzzled email and got back that it's all good, just an intense and exhausting week. Whew. I mean, I got blasted with *something*, but good to know it wasn't about me and therefore no longer my problem.
I don't remember many. One time, I was exhausted and needed to leave, and a friend said if I left, the friendship was over. I thought we would work it out after getting a chance to rest, but despite several attempts, he stuck to the friendship being over.
Another time, a friend was angry that I couldn't continue in a painful situation. Despite attempts to talk about it, that friendship eventually ended too.
I remember being angry as romantic relationships deteriorated, but I don't remember partners communicating anger and working it through. Or responding well to my attempts to communicate anger and work it through. Which is why I'm not in any of those relationships anymore.
I have a felt sense of quicksand in relationships (of any sort). Like, "oops, this ground has gotten treacherous, time to back up." Looking back, I think that's been when people are angry. But they don't say, "I'm angry at you for X and want things to be different going forward." They emotionally withdraw, and eventually cut things off. Sometimes it's been when I felt safe enough to express a boundary of my own, and found out that wasn't safe after all.
I suppose the most... not positive, exactly, but open experiences of anger were as a bodywork practitioner. If a client got angry, I held space and listened and responded as best I could. But that's a different dynamic than relationships out in the world. I do have the basic tools of active listening and trying to stay grounded.
I'm not feeling super hopeful about the current situation. Do you have stories or resources about successfully working through anger?
ETA: I wrote a short apologetic, puzzled email and got back that it's all good, just an intense and exhausting week. Whew. I mean, I got blasted with *something*, but good to know it wasn't about me and therefore no longer my problem.
(no subject)
Sun, Nov. 2nd, 2025 08:21 pmredbirdAfter several days in a row of being able to walk more than is now typical for me, and also doing PT, yesterday my ankle hurt enough that I stayed put as much as possible. I took a naproxen around lunchtime, which made no descernible difference.
I'm doing significantly better today, in terms of ankle and other joint pain. I didn't go for a walk, but did go outside to take out trash and spend a few minutes outdoors during daylight, and then started on what has turned out to be a lot of PT exercises. We're back on standard time as of this morning, meaning the sun set in Boston at 4:35 (we're near the eastern edge of this time zone).
I'm doing significantly better today, in terms of ankle and other joint pain. I didn't go for a walk, but did go outside to take out trash and spend a few minutes outdoors during daylight, and then started on what has turned out to be a lot of PT exercises. We're back on standard time as of this morning, meaning the sun set in Boston at 4:35 (we're near the eastern edge of this time zone).
vital functions
Sun, Nov. 2nd, 2025 10:10 pmkaberettObserving. All Souls'. Candle lit; Seelkuchen eaten.
Reading. ( Rucka, Waitrose Cookery School, Stocks, Duncan, Ravindran )
Playing. Merrily pootling along with I Love Hue. Hatched my first dragon with Primal eyes in The Dragons Game.
Cooking. Two variations on a recipe: smitten kitchen's winter squash and spinach pasta bake and the recipe that inspired it, Ottolenghi's pasta and butternut squash cake. On the first day I definitely preferred the smitten kitchen version; on subsequent days I became increasingly convinced by the Ottolenghi. (You see, I had about twice as much of all of the ingredients as I needed, and the spinach definitely needed eating Imminently, and so I thought I'd make them simultaneously so we could do the side-by-side comparison and then freeze some...)
And then this evening I made another round of the wahaca autumn stew with pipián, this time with even wronger chillis but a sensible amount of herbs, and was delighted that it met with my mother's approval.
Eating. SCHWARZBROT with Lizard honey. Curries various courtesy of my father. Salads and lunches various courtesy of my mother. The dark chocolate & raspberry stars that are a Special Seasonal Treat. National Trust lemon drizzle cake. A RASPBERRY.
Exploring. THE NEW SITE FOR ADMIN: THE LRP. And this afternoon we went on an adventure to Anglesey Abbey, where the dahlias were alas gone but we found many many more cyclamen than we knew were there, and several things in the winter garden were at a different stage than I think I'd ever seen them before and were extremely pretty with it.
Creating. Carved a pumpkin for the toddler!
(no subject)
Sun, Nov. 2nd, 2025 03:35 pmneekabeMy birthday was lovely, the fella got me a Kobo and I've been enjoying having a thing to read fic on that doesn't do anything else. So I can curl up and read book and not get distracted by pings and alerts.
The birthday celebration day of massage, hair cut and comics went really well. I ended up spending the entire appointment talking comics and nerdery with my hair dresser, which was fun.
I also wandered by the farmers market got lunch and ought so many delicious nuts.
I was also struck by how it was the exact opposite of my 40th, where I rented the chalet with friends and had a whole weekend of social celebration.
This day I spent most of the day on my own, choosing my own things and then went out for dinner with the fella.
Both days were lovely and both days were what I needed at the time :D
--
It's another year of Marvel Trumps Hate!
This had quickly become one of my favorite events from when I first found it in 2020. This year I answered the call to be on the org team, which was really quite fun.
I try and have one goal for the auction, just to create some kind of focus to narrow down the huge variety of offerings. This year it was bookbinding. I ended up missing the one I was aiming for because the author didn't respond in time for permission, but that was okay because my hunt for permission put me in touch with other people and instead of getting one volume of the series bound, we're going to end up with the whole series!
And then I also got the first creator in a second chance offer, and we had come in under budget enough to take advantage of it.
(I am also poking around learning book binding...)
We got a good collection of wins, I'm excited to see what comes out of it!
--
The birthday celebration day of massage, hair cut and comics went really well. I ended up spending the entire appointment talking comics and nerdery with my hair dresser, which was fun.
I also wandered by the farmers market got lunch and ought so many delicious nuts.
I was also struck by how it was the exact opposite of my 40th, where I rented the chalet with friends and had a whole weekend of social celebration.
This day I spent most of the day on my own, choosing my own things and then went out for dinner with the fella.
Both days were lovely and both days were what I needed at the time :D
--
It's another year of Marvel Trumps Hate!
This had quickly become one of my favorite events from when I first found it in 2020. This year I answered the call to be on the org team, which was really quite fun.
I try and have one goal for the auction, just to create some kind of focus to narrow down the huge variety of offerings. This year it was bookbinding. I ended up missing the one I was aiming for because the author didn't respond in time for permission, but that was okay because my hunt for permission put me in touch with other people and instead of getting one volume of the series bound, we're going to end up with the whole series!
And then I also got the first creator in a second chance offer, and we had come in under budget enough to take advantage of it.
(I am also poking around learning book binding...)
We got a good collection of wins, I'm excited to see what comes out of it!
--
Done Since 2025-10-26
Sun, Nov. 2nd, 2025 06:08 pmmdlbearNot a bad week. The housemates returned from OVFF Wednesday morning, so I'm off the hook for taking care of Cricket and Brooklyn. So I'm back to caring for two cats in one room again. And I was fairly productive -- not much music but a lot of work on the HyperSpace Express website, and N's author site. Which should have been done a month or more ago, but better late than not at all.
I wrote a post yesterday that wasn't one of the usual repeating ones (Thankful Thursday, Done Since, and Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit). It's been a while since I did that.
Only four walks this week :P -- I woke up with a leg cramp yesterday; the other two missing mornings were a matter of timing. See above about Wednesday. I think Monday I just slept in. Or fell down a rabbit hole. So far the main thing the Sansung smartwatch is good for is tracking my sleep. The main reason I got it in the first place was for emergency calls, but I haven't tested that function -- or even ordinary calling -- at all. Should fix that.
I also haven't made a portfolio/list of all the websites I've build over the years. I'm not even sure how many there are. Need to fix that too.
Rowling's die-hard fans are fucking stupid
Sat, Nov. 1st, 2025 07:34 pmfayanoraCame across this video about a post claiming there were no female authors before J. K. Rowling, and the resulting thread providing SO many examples of how wrong that claim is. Like to the point that science fiction, fantasy, and novels in general wouldn't exist without female authors. Also, a female author started the trend of letting children have books that are more than stories to convey morals.
My contribution to the comments:
Rowling wasn't even the first female author to write a series about a young child going to a school of witchcraft with an eccentric headmaster and a stern and irascible potions teacher, featuring a horrible, blond, wealthy, stuck-up antagonist student as the protagonist's foil.
She basically plagiarized "The Worst Witch" series by Jill Murphy, gender-bent a bunch of the most prominent characters (Miss Cackle into Dumbledore, Miss Hardbroom into Severus Snape, Ethel Hallow into Draco Malfoy, and Mildred Hubble into Neville Longbottom), turned the original protagonist Mildred Hubble (gender-bent) into a side character, and spliced in a plot about wizard Nazis while replacing the much more interesting Mildred Hubble with a British children's fiction cliche character of "the poor unlucky orphan." All while being racist, transphobic, whatever you call being racist against the Irish, antisemitic, ultimately making the statement of "slavery is actually good mmkay," and being a bad writer with plot holes you could pilot a 747 through with plenty of room to spare.
My contribution to the comments:
Rowling wasn't even the first female author to write a series about a young child going to a school of witchcraft with an eccentric headmaster and a stern and irascible potions teacher, featuring a horrible, blond, wealthy, stuck-up antagonist student as the protagonist's foil.
She basically plagiarized "The Worst Witch" series by Jill Murphy, gender-bent a bunch of the most prominent characters (Miss Cackle into Dumbledore, Miss Hardbroom into Severus Snape, Ethel Hallow into Draco Malfoy, and Mildred Hubble into Neville Longbottom), turned the original protagonist Mildred Hubble (gender-bent) into a side character, and spliced in a plot about wizard Nazis while replacing the much more interesting Mildred Hubble with a British children's fiction cliche character of "the poor unlucky orphan." All while being racist, transphobic, whatever you call being racist against the Irish, antisemitic, ultimately making the statement of "slavery is actually good mmkay," and being a bad writer with plot holes you could pilot a 747 through with plenty of room to spare.
new site!
Sat, Nov. 1st, 2025 11:33 pmkaberettToday has been largely taken up by my first visit to the NEW SITE for Admin: the LRP...
... or at least, my first visit in something like twenty years, because it's the old Cottenham racecourse and I absolutely went to one (1) race there in My Misspent Youth. Sudden wave of déjà vu on the final approach to the grandstand, as the perspective shifted to YEP, THIS IS A PLACE I'VE BEEN.
There was Make Tent go Up. There was meeting. There was Make Tent Go Down. There was being given Objects. And there was A BAT that did some beautifully ostentatious swooping against the darkening dusk, and I am delighted.
Health natter: Still COVID, still restine LIKE A POTATO
Sat, Nov. 1st, 2025 03:28 pmelisem Juan and I still exist. We are still resting like potatoes, as the delightful advice I was given has it.
Paxlovid is quite something, and I see how people are tempted to overdue activity once it kicks in. Me, I will be sitting up long enough to have breakfast (my wake-up time had precessed around to 2-3 p.m. anyhow), taking morning meds including the aforementioned Paxlovid, sitting up for my body to do things that being upright facilitates, and then I will go back to assiduously RESTING LIKE A POTATO.
Still funny every time.
Paxlovid is quite something, and I see how people are tempted to overdue activity once it kicks in. Me, I will be sitting up long enough to have breakfast (my wake-up time had precessed around to 2-3 p.m. anyhow), taking morning meds including the aforementioned Paxlovid, sitting up for my body to do things that being upright facilitates, and then I will go back to assiduously RESTING LIKE A POTATO.
Still funny every time.