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Circle Updates
Aug. 27th, 2025 05:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
havocthecatJust evening up a bit of subscription/access issues. Drop a (screened) comment if I removed you by accident.
havocthecat
[food] today's adventures in EYB indexing: The National Trust Book of Puddings
Aug. 27th, 2025 10:42 pmkaberettSubtitle 50 irresistibly nostalgic sweet treats and comforting classics... featuring "Trinity burnt cream":
Also known as crème brûlée, old recipes for versions of this pudding are found in various parts of Britain and Europe. Its association with Trinity College, Cambridge goes back to at least the nineteenth century.
Despite my documented interest in crème brûlée and, you know, having grown up in Cambridge, I had somehow never come across this before?! And yet it's inexplicably clearly attested on Wikipedia. Nominally this means I should probably be indexing the "Ethnicity" of the dish as "English" as well as "French" but, frankly, je refuse, and even Trinity have the grace to say:
The story that crème brûlée itself was invented at the College almost certainly has no basis in fact.
It's not even like the National Trust is making a point of having all the recipes in this book be of British origin! Clearly-identified non-British culinary sources include Italy, Latvia, and Russia! (... the Welsh- and Scottish-origin puddings have headnotes mysteriously quiet on said origins, though.) AND YET. Crème brûlée! Trinity! Really.
Twelve years of Jinksy!bear | Four work hours until the weekend (for purposes of Dayjob)
Aug. 27th, 2025 04:25 pmumadoshiToday marks twelve years since Jinksy and Claudia came to live with us. Twelve! (I mean, this should be easier to believe, it having been Jinksy's twelfth birthday three months ago.) *selects icon* Look how little they once were!
We've decided to give ourselves a four-and-a-half-day weekend (I'm going to work only a half day tomorrow to matchscruloose's schedule), and a good chunk of that has to be focused on freelance work--the volume of Pet Shop of Horrors I'm working on is due in just over two weeks, and they're hefty books. (IIRC this edition is seven omnibus volumes and the series originally came out as ten standard volumes.)
There, we'll call that an update.
We've decided to give ourselves a four-and-a-half-day weekend (I'm going to work only a half day tomorrow to match
scruloose's schedule), and a good chunk of that has to be focused on freelance work--the volume of Pet Shop of Horrors I'm working on is due in just over two weeks, and they're hefty books. (IIRC this edition is seven omnibus volumes and the series originally came out as ten standard volumes.)There, we'll call that an update.
House: more occupied
Aug. 28th, 2025 03:47 amtygerParents got home today! House is now louder, and also I am probably gonna get harassed into being awake during the day and not napping more, bleh. Not looking forward to that. But it's good they're home safe! :D
Nothing much other than that, mainly just me giving myself space to adjust. Also small housekeeping tasks, blah blah blah. Nothing too interesting.
Intended to go to bed a bit earlier than this but Oh Well...
LJ Idol - Wheel of Chaos - Wk 7 - BAT
Aug. 27th, 2025 07:55 ambleodsweanHe lay beside her
Listening to her breathe
For two
played that over in his mind and thought no
For three
For each of us
she breathes
When he fell into sleep he dreamt
He was inside the earth, inside a cave
Dark but safe
A hearth fire
Flame light flickering on the walls
Blood red and illuminating two figures seated beside it
Naked and on all fours crawling forward
The distance was exhausting
On his belly pulling
Across the floor of the earthen womb
The two were women
Mother
Crone
paying him no attention
Murmuring to each other
In voices muffled to his ear
But familiar and for a long moment
He lay content and felt the world expand
In the dream he became aware
It was time to wake
He pulled his body upward to a lotus and watched the two
Through slitted eyes as though the dim
Fire light was sun light
Here’s the secret
Keep it secret
I cannot
You must be able to
Don’t tell me
Please don't tell me it
The mother held her newborn to her breast
This is the weaver, she told him
She showed him the cord
anchored inside her body
Tethered to the child
this is the measure
the crone reached across with glinting shears
and cut
LJ Idol - Wheel of Chaos - Wk 7 - Oxytocin Loop
Aug. 27th, 2025 07:38 ambleodsweanShe was asleep, dreaming. And in the dream
there was a girl child,
innocent but serious, opened but mysterious,
blonde ringlets and bare footed
Running to and fro
A forgotten joyousness ensouled
They were upstairs, in his front room, all of them
Herself and himself,
her summer girls and their goat boys,
his messenger and boatman,
and even the moon. Lounging as was their wont,
drinking and smoking, bantering and laughing
listening to the grandmother clock tick the seconds
as though each minute was a favourite song
The child a focus of no one’s attention
but her own
and she was fiercely focused
because somehow
the girl child had found her secret heart,
clutching it against her body with both hands as she scampered
Let me see, she told the child,
show me what you have there
Imploring and intentful
Aware she did not want to frighten her
When at last she heeded,
Solemnly obeying,
Coming forward, leaning against her knees,
she gently gently lifted her heart from the offering hands
and settled back into a rocking chair
beside a hearth
She opened her blouse to offer her breast
because her heart was a nursling daughter,
slick with blood and vernix and
new born.
Wake up, he whispered.
possibly the most constructive thing I have actually done today is hunt tomatoes
Aug. 26th, 2025 10:46 pmkaberett-- no wait that's a lie, I also investigated an apple tree. (Unremarkable eating apples.)
But! Tomatoes!
Pictured varieties: Purple Ukraine, Blue Fire, misc green stripey, Orange Banana, Moneymaker. Buried so you can't see it is a Feo di Rio Gordo. I did not get the whole rainbow I was aiming for this year (alas the Yellow Pearshaped all failed, as did the Known green stripey), but I'm nonetheless pleased!
Clarification about the actors in Glass Heart
Aug. 26th, 2025 03:24 pmumadoshiThe other day, my phrasing when I tried to describe what the Glass Heart actors are doing was not at all as clear as it should've been!
So: It's not that the main cast in this show are faking playing the instruments. It's that none of them are musicians at all, and they learned to play the specific material for the show well enough to visually pass not only as being able to play but as being very good (the male lead is explicitly a musical genius), with full shots of them doing bits of it rather than having body doubles or clever cuts or anything, AND doing some pretty heavy-lifting acting at the same time. (What I don't know is whether their performances pass as looking professional to actual professional musicians, but one of the supporting cast is an actual singer and seems pretty impressed with it.)
The making-of feature I linked in my last post is specifically about that aspect of the show/their performances.
So: It's not that the main cast in this show are faking playing the instruments. It's that none of them are musicians at all, and they learned to play the specific material for the show well enough to visually pass not only as being able to play but as being very good (the male lead is explicitly a musical genius), with full shots of them doing bits of it rather than having body doubles or clever cuts or anything, AND doing some pretty heavy-lifting acting at the same time. (What I don't know is whether their performances pass as looking professional to actual professional musicians, but one of the supporting cast is an actual singer and seems pretty impressed with it.)
The making-of feature I linked in my last post is specifically about that aspect of the show/their performances.
Tuesday? Tuesday.
Aug. 27th, 2025 03:17 amtygerToday there was a lot of moving things around, which was. Exhausting. But! It's done, so shit will hopefully not be flipped tomorrow, which was the plan!
Other than that... finally updated pokemon for the new set of shinies! Got 4/6 already, yay! And beat the raid boss pretty easily, too, which was nice. :3 Didn't even have to train anything up!
Um... I feel like there really should be more, but I've gone very jiiii so I'm just gonna. Go to bed now. Yes.
whatever
Aug. 25th, 2025 06:54 pmpaperghostI was going to promise at the end of my last entry that I might post about "fun" things at one point, but my work phone changed my schedule and says I work six 8 hour shifts in a row starting the 28th, and I'm freaking out over that because I can't physically handle working that much. So whatever. Don't expect anything interesting from me at this point. I've already retired from Neocities because I've grown to hate it and doing anything offline is far off with my "randomized by computer" work schedule.
RIP
Aug. 25th, 2025 06:13 pmpaperghostAll politicians have their failures, bad moves, and detractors, but it's sad how "he's not a bad person, I just don't agree with him" is a normal statement that's considered radical now. I wonder what the history books kids are reading now are saying about this...
DW keeps shitting itself when I embed more videos, so here's Obama's eulogy and Biden's eulogy. Obama was a pretty average / "baseline" president, but I thought it was incredibly mature of McCain to invite his opponents to his funeral. Note how Trump and Ms. Palin weren't there...
I was hoping to have a rewritten review of Game Change back on my site by now, but I'm low energy and hit with post-con depression to want to chip at any HTML. Still, it'd feel wrong to not post about this somewhere.
FIC: The Royal Sanctuary: The statue (Tempestuous Tours)
Aug. 25th, 2025 03:03 pmduskpetersonMuch more prominent than the sling is a statue of the Living Dead that stands near the altar. Carved and painted in the northern style, the slave stands naked except for an iron mask in his hand, representing the moment upon which he receives his freedom. His face is scarred from wearing the mask for so long, but in his eyes lie hope.
Although the statue is intended to represent all of the Living Dead, both men and women, it is based on the likeness of one of the last men to be freed from slavery before the Emorian occupation: Kester son of Hoare, who died in the attack upon Council Hill by the Emorians. Although free at the time of his death, he was present at the palace on the day of the attack because he had voluntarily chosen to return to his place of slavery, in order to help other slaves survive their misery. The statue was commissioned and paid for by Kester's son, the present High Lord of Koretia.
[Translator's note: Kester's story forms part of Death Mask.]
Monday. Ugh.
Aug. 26th, 2025 02:39 amtygerSoooo totally bombed a phone interview thing today, so that sucked. Was one of those job agency ones so not much was likely to come of it anyway, but the way my brain went TOTALLY BLANK and I couldn't even remember basic-ass shit was uh. Not encouraging. Sigh. I fucking hate phone calls, though this shit happens to me in person as well. Bleh.
Still, at least I got a call and gave it a go, it's exp if nothing else. Maybe I won't freeze up so bad next time! >:
Other than that... bunch of cleaning/tidying, as planned! Finished watching Tonari no Youkai-san, which is an extremely cute mostly-slice-of-life anime. Not sure if I mentioned I was watching it here or not. Anyway, it's pretty clearly aimed at primary school aged kids, but it's super cute and the worldbuilding is fantastic. (The last episode did make my cry like a bitch because of course it did. Happy end though!!!) Definite rec there, particularly if you like worldbuilding!
reading "Dune Messiah"
Aug. 25th, 2025 05:06 pmillariyDon't know if I ever mentioned it on here but a local friend dragged me into "Dune Part One" in the cinema when it came out in 2021. Having never gotten into the earlier film adaptation, I was very reluctant but agreed in order to spend some time with her and eat some nachos.
Well, and then I was blown away, saw the film several times in cinema and read "Dune" by Frank Herbert also in late 2021. Since then, I planned to buy the Dune Gateway collection on Kindle, all 6 Dune series books by Frank Herbert himself, but always had too many books on my TBR pile to buy a whole series at once.
Finally last week, the moment came, bought the collection and have started with book 2 as I am hoping to remember enough of book 1 from 2021 and from the first two films. So far, it is going well. I have even been reading in my breaks at work, which rarely used to happen.
My challenge to myself for my lecture-free time till 12 October is to read for at least another 5 hours from now on. Kindle app says I have about 30 hours of reading left on the whole collection but don't know how accurate that is.
Anyway, if you have any spoiler-free thoughts on "Dune Messiah" or any recommendations on good books within the later additions to the series by Brian Herbert & co, I am all ears.
Well, and then I was blown away, saw the film several times in cinema and read "Dune" by Frank Herbert also in late 2021. Since then, I planned to buy the Dune Gateway collection on Kindle, all 6 Dune series books by Frank Herbert himself, but always had too many books on my TBR pile to buy a whole series at once.
Finally last week, the moment came, bought the collection and have started with book 2 as I am hoping to remember enough of book 1 from 2021 and from the first two films. So far, it is going well. I have even been reading in my breaks at work, which rarely used to happen.
My challenge to myself for my lecture-free time till 12 October is to read for at least another 5 hours from now on. Kindle app says I have about 30 hours of reading left on the whole collection but don't know how accurate that is.
Anyway, if you have any spoiler-free thoughts on "Dune Messiah" or any recommendations on good books within the later additions to the series by Brian Herbert & co, I am all ears.
vital functions
Aug. 24th, 2025 11:02 pmkaberettReading. ( Raymond Blanc, Ceri Olofson, David S. Butler + G. Lorimer Moseley, David J. Linden )
Watching. An episode of Farscape: S02E04 Crackers Don't Matter, which I note with mild alarm (given how "..." we were at it) is considered to merit its very own Wikipedia page?!
The Old Guard 2. I... might yet get around to writing up thoughts.
Cooking. An Salad. An improvised but definitely acceptable for its purposes (i.e. providing nutrition for someone who currently has some decidedly inconvenient dietary restrictions) chickpea curry.
Eating. BLACKBERRIES. Still. Also plums. Really enjoying the plums. So many tomatoes.
Also a box of Many Salads from Mel Tropical Kitchen, some mildly disappointing cookies and a Good raspberry pastel de nata, and another cardamom bun from buns from home. Hurrah for spending a day at the BL?
Exploring. Poking around the grounds of a new-to-me hospital, where I came across an Exciting Apple Tree that I totally failed to actually inspect more closely, and about which I am excited primarily because of just having read a book a solid, like, half of which was Reviews Of Heritage Apple Varieties. (I was a little sad that James Grieve got only a very passing mention.)
The BL! And Beckenham, a bit, while picking up a watering can.
Growing. LEMONGRASS HAS A ROOTLET. Having another go at rooting a bunch of supermarket tarragon.
Observing. We found BABY COOTS. At least five of them, possibly six, plus one egg. They are juuust at the stage where they are practising GOING INTO THE WATER and then rapidly deciding Don't Like That and retreating to the Warm.
📝 weeknotes (aug 17-23, 2025)
Aug. 24th, 2025 02:50 pmtozkaLife Updates
Overall I feel really good! There’s the creeping sense of dread re: finances which pops up every month or so, but otherwise I’m excited for the next few months of travel/catsitting.
I think it’s helped that I’ve been regularly going outside and walking for ~45 minutes every day. I’m really bad about doing that normally, but this neighborhood is good for walking and has enough interesting things to look at that I don’t feel bored. My Health app even says my step count is about double what it was last month!
I’ve also been venturing into some of Ann Arbor’s nature preserves, which are much hillier than I expected. Very beautiful trees, though! And usually not too crowded, so it’s peaceful.
( Read the rest of this entry » )Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.
An annoyance, but also curry!
Aug. 25th, 2025 04:19 amtyger( Home improvement project aftermath related grump. Damnit Sibling. )
But! I also made curry this evening! Pretty pleased with it, yesss. The chicken ribs are good, too! They have the whole rib bones in them, unlike with pork ribs where they're chopped up the other way, so they're pretty easy to eat. Might have had them before, in like, korean fried chicken or whatever? Not sure though, the rib bones are pretty distinctive and I don't THINK I have.
Other than that... nothing much! Will need to step up on the whole getting my shit together/tidied up things though I just realised there's only a couple of days before my parents are home now! At least I've kept up with the kitchen, despite my hatred of dishes...