birguslatro | Network

I have been sewing a lot recently! It's really fun!

( many pictures )

( Season finale spoiler )

During the Christmas episode we saw the firm's acapella group, which might have just been an excuse to highlight one character's amazing singing voice. Anyway, they were singing White Winter Hymnal, and I'm going to just post two quick videos, the original version and a different acapella cover:

Watch on YouTube

(Those lyrics can't be entirely right - surely the pack is swaddled in their coats, not swallowed?)

Anyway, you'll notice that in the first one they weirdly pronounce "the" with a "long e" (the vowel in pee) before the words "white snow". Does that strike anybody else as a weird place to do that?

fred_mouse

Today's annoyance with YouTube auto-craption:

"Current university"

Locals, who know what the tiny set of options are, can possibly identify what 'Current' is relatively easily. In my case, given that I was watching this from within Curtin University, it was even easier, once I worked out that that was what is going on.

But oh! it annoys me that people don't review the captions for even that level of obvious mistake (I'm not calling that one egregious. The ones that mess up the name(s) of Country included in an Acknowledgement of Country are egregious. I've never seen the same error for a Welcome to Country, which I assume is because the Indigenous people associated with the production of such know too well how badly it can be messed up).

conuly

I was looking up fictional law firm names and you know how Angel has the evil law firm Wolfram and Hart? Apparently NCIS has Wolfram, Hart and Donowitz. No word on if they're evil. Are they evil?

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fred_mouse

Now that I've written up the six month summary of how my 2025 New Year's Resolutions have gone, I'm looking at what I want for the next six months. Which might turn out to be a 12 month set of goals; I'm kind of being flexible with whatever works.

But!

One of my intentions is that I have goals for each of the areas of my life that are important to me--there is no rating of how big that area has to be, just that I see it as an important circle. Two of these I did not manage to get a coherent goal for across the last six months. I'm not sure that it is possible to have coherent goals, but that might be me looking from the wrong perspective.

Which is where my question comes in: what suggestions do people have as to goals for 'Family' and 'Social'? I'm okay with drive by commentary from people who aren't familiar with the limitations of my life, because not knowing those details might be an important part of different perspective.

fred_mouse

Given that the last three weeks have been a completely different pace, and my expectations of my self for the rest of the year are quite different to where I was at the beginning of the year, I'm going to close out the set of goals I set myself at the beginning of the year (Note: I'm not working from that page, but from an offline edited version). The last update I did was May 20th. I contemplated writing a new set of resolutions in this post concurrently with wrapping up these, but have decided instead to create an offline document of Mid-Year Resolutions. I might get around to posting that, but chances are low.

( Lots of details, possibly only interesting to me )

tl;dr: great progress for work; good progress on craft, reading, physical - exercise and health; not great on house, organisation, decluttering, writing, garden, learning, money. No goals to compare to for family or social. Having a list continues to be useful.

conuly

The set and costume designers heard about blue-and-orange color schemes and just decided to run with it. I swear, they bought out everything blue in the store. Even the post-its are blue! And what isn't blue or teal is orange, or tan, or gold.

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conuly

There don't appear to be details on flowers etc. yet.

conuly

How is it that we literally are talking on the internet, we have access to all the information, and people are still saying whatever bullshit they made up in their heads instead of taking a minute, a second even, to ask themselves "Wait! Is this even true?"

On a happier note, the newest episode of The Strange Case of the Starship Iris answered a question I thought we'd never get answered, which is "How on earth did Brian get a price on his head from three different mafias?" and - wow, beware the quiet ones, I guess.

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fred_mouse

thestory inside is doing July signups. I'm not taking on any extra commitments, not even suggested reading, at the moment, but I have very much enjoyed the suggestions I have had from this group. If you have a TBR list you can share, you too can have this excitement in your life!

It works on a buddy system - they pick three books from your list for you to read, you pick three books from their list for them to read. Sign ups close on the 1st July.

marthawells

For Murderbot Day, a great interview with DeWanda Wise, about playing NavigationBot in The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon:

https://www.nexuspointnews.com/post/interview-dewanda-wise

I had worked with Paul on Fatherhood. He literally texted me and was like, "do you want to play a murderous robot?"

duskpeterson

A long, windowless corridor leads into the royal sanctuary. The corridor's entrance is next to a walled-up gateway that originally led directly into the courtyard of the royal residence. The corridor itself is kept deliberately unlit, to recreate the circumstances under which captives were led here before being enslaved. Just walk toward the light at the end of the corridor to reach your destination.

[Translator's note: A chase takes place in that corridor during Death Mask.]

conuly

And don't even ask me about my email!

Also: Comicsrss got a cease and desist from Gocomics, so now all my gocomics feeds are borked. I should see if I can find those comics hosted somewhere else and get their RSS feeds, but ugh.

Also also: What to know about the COVID variant that may cause ‘razor blade’ sore throats

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conuly

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

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Link

conuly

He's the patron saint of gardeners, and also taxi drivers (unofficially). See, an early and popular cab stand was at Hôtel de Saint Fiacre in Paris, and the carriages themselves began to be called fiacres, and it just spiraled from there.

What makes this even stranger is that he's an Irish saint.

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fanf

https://dotat.at/@/2025-06-28-boulder.html

Here's a story from nearly 10 years ago.

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conuly

Ooof, I do not know how people do it who do this for early voting as well!

fred_mouse

in the paper I'm reading right now, I found the sentence

"All these models end up being specific cases of a generalized stochastic differential equation."

and actually laughed out loud (it helps that I'm working from home today; specifically from bed, so that maybe my lower back will stop hating me. I can read just as well in bed, having spent a lot of the last year training to read from the laptop in exactly this position :) And thus laughing is not disruptive)

Why did I laugh? As I explained to artisanat, that is the first jargon filled sentence where I've understood every word and what it means. And then I was asked for examples of words I don't know, which at this point I can think of 'constructivist framework' and 'epistemological' (I'm starting to get a feel for the latter; the former I have zero idea)

ETA: the next sentence read

"We cannot provide a detailed account of these models since they require a certain level of mathematical expertise."

conuly

but I still wasn't prepared to pop into a pizza shop on my lunch break only to find that it was cooler in the pizzeria than the outside. If that's not terrifying I don't know what is.

marthawells

Great interview with Murderbot executive producer Andrew Miano:

https://www.nexuspointnews.com/post/interview-murderbot-ep-andrew-miano

First and foremost, my partner Paul Weitz read the book for pleasure, not with any eye towards adaptation, and came in with it and said, "this would make an amazing TV show." We all read it and really sparked to it and thought it was unique and special and funny, which is not something that you always get in a lot of sci-fi. [It is] also very meaningful and emotional. It was the whole package so it was very exciting and we went about it. We met Martha... One of the biggest things to focus on is how do you honor the book? How do you translate that to the screen? It's not easy, but I'm very fortunate to have Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz — two smart, talented partners — creating and running the show with their guidance and Martha's support and involvement to sort of capture and stay true to the books.

conuly

It's gonna be one long, long, long day. Also hot. Long, hot, hard - and miserable.

Happy Mayoral Primaries, I guess? At least the poll site is airconditioned. (At least... I assume it is? Oh god what if it isn't.)

Oh, and I nearly forgot - the Arab/Israeli dove and rose mural has been painted over. Saw that on my way to CVS today.

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conuly

Taken from

archersangel

forestofglory

Here's so thoughts about things I've been reading and watching recently:

The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon by Grace Lin— Read out loud to the kid. I loved Grace Lin’s other MG books so I was very excited for this! It was very charming. As always I enjoy the author’s illustrations. I enjoyed having Chinese mythical creatures in a modern city. I don’t love it quite as much as some of the author’s other work, but it was good and worth reading.

The Transitive Properties of Cheese by Ann Leblanc— I heard about this novella from a WisCon panel on recent trans SFF. It's about a space cheese maker who finds out the asteroid that houses her cheese cave is about to be yeetted into the sun. She is one of many people who is a copy of an original human, including the person she sells her cheese to and the woman she goes to for help. This book was maybe not as weird as it was presented to me, and some of the politics are exactly like current earth queer community debates. Still I loved all the details about food, and the bits of community building that were present around the edges of the story.

The Truth Season 3 cases 6 and 7— This is labeled as two cases but it's really one very long case! I was a little disappointed to have to wait a week for resolution. This case also featured some upsetting queer phobic violence as part of one character’s backstory. But there were a lot of fun things too. They fought zombies with bubble guns!

The Treasured Voice Season 6 ep 1 — I started watching this while I was waiting between episodes of The Truth. It’s a singing reality show featuring people pairing up to sing songs. It’s got Liu Yuning! I’ve only seen the first episode but it seems pretty chill so far though there are some judges who make negative comments.

( Maiden )

conuly

Above me, the branches toss toward and away from each other
the way privacy does with what ends up
showing, despite ourselves, of
who we are, inside.

Then they’re branches again—hickory, I think.

—It’s not too late, then.

******

Link

conuly

Can't wait to hear the exaggerated anger at how dare they retaliate....

fred_mouse

Between one thing and another, I haven't been keeping up on dreamwidth. I'm spending the next hour or so attempting to clear out - there were 317 tabs open in the dreamwidth window when I started; it will be interesting to see where I get to. So many posts from mid-May I was going to reply to; giving myself permission to abandon. And then I'm going to do the same thing with the backlog of my inbox.

And how do I get to 317 tabs? By every day or two scanning my reading list, and opening everything longer than a paragraph that I expect to want to read. This means I can get 'caught up' over breakfast, even if not everything gets read!

conuly

US strikes 3 Iranian sites, joining Israeli air campaign against nuclear program

Can't say I'm too surprised, but I can say I'm disappointed.

conuly

We're gonna get in the triple digits by Tuesday. Fun times!

Stay cool, guys.

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ismo

We think we're packed, although we feel very jittery as if we must be overlooking something. We both decided to check our bags, so fingers crossed they show up. We are, of course, taking the devices, our medications, and a change of clothing in our carryons. Our bags were very much delayed the last time we did this, but it was because the French airport workers went on strike just as we were trying to fly home. We must hope that no labor actions are planned for the next week. We also have AirTags this time. I schlepped all the lawn chairs into the screen porch, just in case of storms etc. here. We had a belated father's day call from the Philosopher, who sounded surprisingly happy and excited for someone who had just come home from a week-long trip with a toddler, plus staying up all night to prep for a job interview. We're hoping for the best for him! I'm not sure how much posting I will do from the Danube. I'm cutting the cord and not taking my laptop, but of course I'll have the phone. I plan to take careful notes on our adventures, even if only on paper, so you'll hear all about it eventually.

conuly

Now, I've already told you about the alleys (no alleys in Manhattan) and right on red (none of that either), and now it's time for - garbage.

Since the 1990s it's been the law that residential garbage in NYC has to have the recyclables sorted out. And since this year we also have to separate out the compost, though weirdly they only pick that up once a week, I've complained about this. It's completely backwards.

Anyway, as I said, it's been the law since the 90s that you can't put your cans and bottles in with your regular trash. Do people always follow that law? Oh, heck no. But if you don't and the city catches you at it they'll give you a $300 ticket, and if you don't pay they put a lien on the house. So even if you don't care, your landlord might, and if they care and perhaps only have one tenant at that location you can bet they won't just eat the cost.

And if your protagonist is even minimally conscientious she'll at least glance around for a recycle bin before tossing her water bottle in with the regular trash.

(As a reference here, our terrible neighbors, who have had sanitation and once the fire department called on them multiple times due to the trash they pile up in their yard, still separate out the bottles and cans from the regular trash. Though in their case they may somewhat optimistically believe they'll get around to redeeming them one of these days, honestly, who knows how they think.)

This rant is courtesy of Elsbeth, which Jenn has been watching. Sure, Elsbeth is a snoop and the best way to dispose of several bushels worth of murderous apple pulp was probably to flush it, but all the same - it's weird that such a generally responsible character goes straightaway to throw out her water bottle in the general trash in somebody's house without at least checking that there's no recycle bin.

conuly

"Square children's book with hex code 03fcdf for the covers"

Why. Just. Why...? Seriously, who thinks that a hex code is a better description than the name of the color in English?

(This time, I wasn't paraphrasing. I usually do, but....)

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conuly

I noticed something I didn't notice before about Ascencia. ( Read more... )

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duskpeterson

The best place to start your visit to the royal sanctuary is at Jackalfire Grove, just outside the door leading to the sanctuary. At one time, this grove of jackalfire trees was smaller, overlooking the so-called burning ground, where some of the worst events in Koretian history took place.

It is here, from the time of Koretia's earliest days, that god-cursed men and women were stoned to death. It is here that, in recent centuries, disobedient slaves were burned alive. And it is here that, during the ninth, the King of Koretia was slain by a rival in one of the many blood feuds that rent the fabric of Koretian society.

All of these atrocities – stoning, burning alive, and blood feuds – were abolished by the Emorians during their occupation of Koretia. Their abolition was confirmed by Koretia's present ruler, the Jackal, when he ascended the throne. Yet only two generations have passed since the outlawing of the most pernicious aspect of the Koretian gods' law. Many residents of Koretia's capital still remember the festive crowds that used to gather here when a god-cursed man or woman was stoned, or when a slave was burned alive.

Not surprisingly, most Koretians today avoid visiting this grove. Paradoxically, the Jackal encourages visits here, especially by families with children who like to play amidst the trees. It is his way of turning evil to good.

Before leaving, be sure to pluck a twig or leaf from one of the jackalfire trees. Bring it with you to the royal sanctuary.

[Translator's note: One of the terrible events in Jackalfire Grove occurs in Death Mask.]

ismo

Well, I had one day where I was too tired to post on account of being annoyed and irritable, and then another where I got tired from having too much fun. Tuesday's problem was that I was scheduled for non-stop human interaction all day, for one reason and another. Most of the items were things involving people I love, but some of them weren't, and added all together, they were just a little too much. I did manage to scrub my bathtub between one Zoom and the next. I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but it's definitely an improvement. It just goes against the grain to go away for a week and return to a tub that needs cleaning.

One of the events was a lovely Zoom with the Diva, who had not been able to fit in for a call on Father's Day. We talked about the current events of our lives, but also shared some beloved memories. She reminded me of an incident during our famous road trip to see me NOT win the Philip K. Dick Award at NorWesCon. She said when we finally got there, the hotel had a nice pool, but she hadn't brought her swimsuit (being unaware of my personal rule that you ALWAYS bring the swimsuit). She recalled that I said, "Well, let's go and get one!" We found a bus and went to a mall and bought a suit. And went swimming. I had forgotten all about that, and it made me happy to hear about it and know that she remembered.

Yesterday, Tron and the Lumberjack returned to spend the night with us again on the way home. I went out in the morning before they arrived to replenish some supplies. We needed more salad and veggies. The farmers market is open on Wednesday, now that it's summer, but I never go because I'm always visiting Madame on that day. Since I had excused myself to be with the kids, I had time to go and get really fresh green stuff instead of paying the middleman. I quickly bought lettuce, green beans, beets, and snap peapods. Then I stopped in at the store for a couple of other things, including some Faygo. The subject of pop had come up, and I heard that the Lumberjack had never tried Faygo Rock n Rye, my favorite pop when I was a kid. It turns out that he thinks it tastes like cough syrup, so more for me! However, he was very happy to make himself a large salad for lunch. For dinner, I cooked the beets and green beans. I also made chicken thighs sauteed with scallions and mushrooms plus rosemary, sage, and a splash of white wine, and some rice, and another large salad with peapods, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Tron interviewed the Sparrowhawk for awhile as I was cooking dinner, and afterwards, she played a game of OuiSi with us. It was surprisingly fun, and the Sparrowhawk was surprisingly creative and good at it.

This morning, I packed up a bag of random food items for them, as is my wont. (They brought back an insane amount of Tupperware! I had no idea I had shipped that many things to them over the last six months. Now they're getting a trickle of it back.) Then they took off, leaving us to pick up the threads of our trip prep. We were really tired for some reason, and took a nap later. Tomorrow will be the home stretch! Here we come, ready or not . . . .

fred_mouse

Our Thursday night dinner has standardised to 'that's not miso soup'. It starts with homemade vegetable stock paste, hot water, and miso. And then we add an assortment of things, typically fish balls, diced tofu, soy beans, lotus root, chopped mushrooms. Sometimes we get fancy, and there is roasted and shredded nori, but often that is beyond me (Thursdays are a little bit 'mouse should minimise kitchen based risk behaviours', such that the nori might rather go up in flames; cutting the tofu is sometimes high risk, but some of that is because the knife is weirdly weighted and will end up blade up if you put it down wrong). Sometimes I remember that I'm supposed to put the broccoli stems in, or the kai-lan, or some other brassica that has miraculously appeared in the fridge.

For reasons that have to do with having dealt with three teenagers, fish balls are rationed; currently it is four per person.

For weeks, I've been singing 'and FOUR fish balls', always in the same tune, with the knowledge that I know what the tune is, but not remembering the context. Last week, I suddenly worked it out--it's from Tommy, to the line "(sure played) a mean pin ball". Mind, that's not going to stop me doing it, I'm even more amused at myself now I have the context.

conuly

I honestly should stop by the ETG thrift store and see if I can get a different dress, though - my options are long pants and sleeves, or a bright red dress, which seems... well, anyway. It's a great dress in most other contexts, though. (Maybe a skirt? I could find a skirt and a nice short-sleeved top? Then again, if this weather continues the way it has been I might be better off bundled up! It's mid-June and my heater is on.)

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ismo

Yesterday was also a great day. Very laid back. The kids made their usual breakfasts from materials provided. Tron brought us coffee. We hung out in the shady back yard and talked, read, and made some tree identifications, until it was too warm. The Lumberjack borrowed my copy of The Word for World is Forest and is reading it. We came inside and took some naps. At least, I think the other three did. I couldn't, because my brain was churning too much. We got takeout for dinner, from the local Asian place that was the Sparrowhawk's pick. Then we saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on the big screen. It was a great Father's Day movie and so much fun to see it again in the theater. I learned that Tom Stoppard had been brought in to do the dialog between Indy and Henry Sr., something I had not known before. It just goes to show that having a real writer makes a difference.

This morning the Sparrowhawk went off to his money counting job. I rode along with Tron on the coffee run. Our favorite place was closed, so we had to go to the fancy one up the street, where we observed the clientele while waiting for our rather expensive lattes. The kids packed up and departed for their next adventure, an afternoon of kayaking in Traverse City. They will come back this way and spend the night with us on Wednesday, to shorten their trip home. This is a lovely thing to look forward to. I had a scheduled Zoom with Moonmoth and the Nonesuch, ate leftover Chinese food, and did a practice packing of most of the items I've decided to take with me. The bag weighs 11 pounds as of now. There are quite a few other things that will have to be distributed between that bag and my carry-on backpack, but it's a good start. I sewed a button on one of the shirts I want to take, and contemplated my life choices as I wondered if ANY of my clothes are socially appropriate for ANY occasion. If I were going to a hermits' convention, they'd be perfect.

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