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Groceries on Scooter

This guy has Turq's level of skill at bag-wrangling. See "Filled with Joyous Surprises" for Turq's version.

Current Mood: busy

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Folks have mentioned an interest in questions and conversations that make them think. So I've decided to offer more of those. This batch features hobbies.

Ceramics is a hobby of making things from clay. It can include practical things like dishes or ornamental things like sculptures.

On Dreamwidth, consider creative communities like

crafty,

get_knitted,

justcreate, or

nacramamo.

( Read more... )

God Only Knows....

Brian Wilson died.

And my brain is looping the single phrase "God only knows...."

A New Cover Song: “God Only Knows”

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/06/12/a-new-cover-song-god-only-knows/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56037

Watch on YouTube

Obviously, to commemorate the passing of Brian Wilson, one of the great pop songwriters of this or any other era. This cover is a rather pale imitation of many different versions of this song, not withstanding the Beach Boys’ own version, but it is also a perfect song, able to withstand me essaying it. I produced it to sound like what you might hear if it came on a transistor radio, which I think is fitting for the song and its era. Enjoy.

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/06/12/a-new-cover-song-god-only-knows/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56037

Current Mood: accomplished

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Photos: Dark Gardening

I enjoy growing dark-colored plants. I have black flowers, bronze leaves, black fruits, all kinds of interesting things.

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: concerned
Current Location: near the lake they call Michigan

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psa,
signal boost

PSA: beware this scam: it's not AO3

verushka70 will give you all the details about this comment scam being perpetrated by bots in fic comments on AO3. Do not react to the bot threats that falsely claim they are from AO3! Check out her very important warning in her DW post.

Please signal-boost this if you are so inclined.

Current Mood: busy

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Fireflies

Firefly species discovered after 90-year absence: 'Even when things seem lost, they can still find their way back'

Tan soon realized that he was looking at a Pteroptyx gombakia, or a Gombak bent-winged firefly. The discovery marked the first time that the species had been identified in 90 years — and the first live sighting of the species, ever.

Yay, fireflies!

Entry tags:

reading,
viewing

wednesday reads and things

What I've recently finished reading:

Heartstone by C. J. Sansom, the fifth Shardlake book. Looking back at my reviews, I think the author must have got his feet under him better as he went on, or else he just shifted to things more to my taste, because I had said the fourth was my favorite so far, but I think I liked this one even better! This story is set mostly distant from court intrigue, though it comes in at the end; Matthew is given a legal case by Queen Catherine Parr, and it intertwines with his own interest in the situation that led to Ellen Fettiplace's commitment to Bedlam. I'm not going to mention my favorite thing about this book, because it is a spoiler, but - this book contains one of my favorite things. :-) Also I like the way the various plots and sub-plots wind around each other: the legal case, Ellen's history, Barak's relationship with his wife Tamasin (complicated by her pregnancy), Matthew's problematic new steward. Okay, I lied, this book contains two of my favorite things, and the other one is a fascinating and detailed endnote about the real historical events that this book is built around. I loved this in Bernard Cornwell's Last Kingdom books, and I love it here.

The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko, which is related to the Raybearer series, and which several people in my circle read and enjoyed, so I got it from the library despite my having been disappointed in the series. And as the other reviews said, it was rather heavy-handed issuefic (so was the Raybearer series), but also had clever worldbuilding, charming characters and, I thought, better pacing than the series. (Also was in past rather than present tense, which I prefer.) However, will someone please tell Ifueko that "monotone" is NOT A SPEECH VERB DAMN IT?!?!

What I'm watching now:

We've got three episodes left to go of Andor S2, and gosh isn't it ironic to be watching

Spoiler you can probably guess if you have seen the show

a manufactured riot as pretext for government crackdown while a riot is being manufactured as pretext for government crackdown

I did read the interview with the showrunner about how no, he wasn't inspired by current events (that is, recent events, obviously the show was written well before current events!) but it's definitely inspired by historical fascist governments and fights against them, and wow, we are just proving that what goes around comes around, that human foibles are universal, etc etc, but still, holy shit, right? Yeah.

But as I have said before, this is the wonderful thing about SF, that it can recast real issues in ways that make them easier to understand than when you are right in the middle of them argh.

Current Music: Billy Bragg, "A Pict Song"

And then we shall dance on your graves

I got home to find the day's mail had brought my contributor's copy of Not One of Us #83, containing my poem "Below Surface." It is a poem of empire; I wrote it at the start of the third week in January after shouting, "I ran out of curse tablets!" It bears about as much relation to the realities of the Emperors who died at Eboracum as the medieval Welsh legends of Constantius and I see no reason that should impair its efficacy. The issue it belongs to is gone, showcasing the elusive fiction and poetry of Steve Toase, Christian Fiachra Stevens, J. M. Vesper, Vincent Bae, and more. John and Flo Stanton contribute interior art as well as the reliable spirit photography of their front and back covers. You might as well pick up a copy before it disappears.

I photographed some ghost windows. I bought myself some white chocolate peanut butter cups.

selkie's gift of tinned mackerel with lemon did not survive the night.

Current Mood: tired

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Areley Kings

Public

131/365: Church House, Areley Kings
Click for a larger, sharper image
Here I am in June, and I've still not posted a single 365 photo from Stourport, the nearest town to Bewdley! In my defence, there is a reason for that, in fact: its direct bus service from here is pretty limited, much more so than several more distant towns such as Ludlow. Nevertheless, I hope to post a few pics from Stourport in the coming weeks and months. You're nearly getting one today, as this is Church House in Areley Kings, a small village that's basically stuck on to the fringes of Stourport these days. It was built in 1536 and restored in 2013; it's now hired out for small events and to community groups. It gets its name from St Bartholomew's Church next door, which pre-dates it by a couple of hundred years.

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They say I got brains

My ex-husband knows and thinks and cares so much about Brian Wilson that I feel like I shared a polycule with the man.

Wandering around the house tonight, doing the last chores of the evening while the Doof is finishing up, I hear "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" and I still know all the words, still remember the pained 20somethings Andrew and I were when we met and he introduced me to this weird lonely musician and all his feelings which were also our weird lonely feelings.

There was always something terribly melancholy for me in Brian Wilson's music -- there's a demo of "Still I Dream of It" that used to make me so sad that just thinking about the song made me cry uncontrollably -- and all the more once I left my marriage and never really listened to the Beach Boys any more. And the odd time I hear them, on the radio or like now, I'm always a little thrown by how weird the commercially-released songs sound, without all the unreleased versions layered over them in my mind because those were more common in my marital home (like I said: Not a parasocial relationship for me, but a parasocial metamour).

D made sure I heard the news, and I texted Andrew once I did. I just couldn't let such a thing go by without saying I was thinking of him.

I think both Brian Wilson and Andrew eventually "found the thing they can put their heart and soul in to," as the song goes, and I'm really glad for that.

Story is still eating my brain

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Entry tags:

status,
work

Blessings [work, status]

It is already abundantly clear to me that this is an excellent student research team to work with this summer. I am so grateful; I am learning a lot from this group, just as they are clearly already learning a ton from me. It is reaffirming my love of research and teaching and mentoring.

I don't like to write much on public forums about people who don't know about the public forum, so I should leave it at that.

And in the meantime, I would really love it if this sinus/barometric headache could die already, kthxbai. Ibuprofen last night, allergy pill this morning, ibuprofen this afternoon; the ibuprofen briefly dulls the pain, but that's about it.

This research team was more than happy to curate a music playlist for our lab work, which I love so much. Rocking out weighing ants and measuring their heads!

Current Mood: busy

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Birdfeeding

Today is sunny and warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches. They've been draining the hopper feeder daily and putting a dent in the thistle feeder.

I put out water for the birds.

My partner Doug is out mowing the house yard.

EDIT 6/11/25 -- I refilled the thistle feeder.

I started trimming grass around the edge of the strip garden, now that I have the big weeds pulled out.

EDIT 6/11/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 6/11/25 -- I took some pictures around the yard.

EDIT 6/11/25 -- I picked half a bag of mulberries in the south lot.

I've seen a skunk on the patio. I've seen a catbird and a phoebe. I heard a red-bellied woodpecker but didn't see it.

EDIT 6/11/25 -- I set up firestarters for the firepit.

I picked half a bag of mulberries along the west fence.

EDIT 6/11/25 -- We lit the bonfire for the esbat tonight. It took a little while to get going but then it burned pretty well. I'll try to check on it later.

Fireflies are out and I've seen a bat.

EDIT 6/11/25 -- I checked the bonfire. It's mostly burned down. I threw most of the stray ends into the middle, but it was still too warm for me to get all the way around. I'll need to go back out later.

.

Current Mood: nostalgic

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Moment of Silence: Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson, leader and co-founder of the Beach Boys, has passed away. He will be missed.

Carry on the Work

Bands -- WikiHow

How to Learn to Sing Pop Without Getting a Teacher -- WikiHow

How To Produce: The Complete Guide to Making Pop Music -- Soundtrap

How to Start a Band (10 Easy Steps) -- Chicago Sound Collective

How to Write a Pop Song -- WikiHow

Learning to Sing -- WikiHow

Music Production -- WikiHow

Songwriting -- WikiHow

The Great Closet Purge of 2025

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/06/11/the-great-closet-purge-of-2025/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56029

Today in Incredibly Mundane Things That Yet Must Be Done, my side of the closet had become untenably crowded with clothes that I currently either can’t or won’t wear, and it was driving Krissy a little batty. So this morning she hauled all my stuff out onto the bed and told me to decide what was going to stay and what was going to go.

For an indecisive hoarder such as myself, this ultimatum filled me with existential horror, and yet I knew she was right: Much of what I have I can’t fit into at the moment (someone decided to eat a few too many snacks and not walk enough steps for, uhhhhh, a while now), and even with what I can currently fit into, I tend to default to basically the same five shirts and three pairs of jeans. So basically 90% my clothes are, essentially, just taking up space. I would never do a triage of all of it without prompting. So here was the prompt.

The “triage” was actually a quadage, as everything got sorted into one of four categories:

1. Clothes that don’t fit and/or I wasn’t wearing it even if it did: On the floor to be donated (as you can see in the picture above, with Charlie the dog for scale). In this category are a lot of shirts that are currently tight across my midsection, multiple Kickstarter t-shirts (sorry, Kickstarter pals, I mostly didn’t get the “t-shirt” tier because I wanted a t-shirt, I just wanted to send you extra cash), old convention/book festival t-shirts and sweatshirts, souvenir shirts, jeans in a waist size I will likely never see again, and shorts I can’t manage to get past my thighs. This is the largest category of stuff.

2. Apparel with sentimental value and only sentimental value: Put into a box for storage. These include gifts I would feel guilty disposing of, commemorative apparel I want to keep but can’t/won’t wear at the moment, or quirky stuff that amuses me, but I don’t necessarily want to be seen in, even if it fits. This is the smallest category, but it’s enough that it will take up a whole box.

3. Apparel I want to wear again but currently don’t fit into: Back into the closet, pushed to the back. This is mostly shirts. I need to lose at least 20 pounds before I unlock some of these again, and losing 30 pounds will unlock them all. Call them “shrink goals.” I’ll start working on that in earnest starting at the beginning of July.

4. Stuff I currently fit into: Back into the closet, obviously, shirts near the front of the closet, pant/shorts in their corresponding cubby holes.

Of the last two categories, what’s left? Honestly, not a whole lot! My regular shirts were basically entirely wiped out (note only two collared shirts there, although I will clarify that actual dress shirts and suits are in a different closet along with other more formal wear; this closet is for everyday wear), and what I have left are primarily t-shirts, most of which I recently purchased when I realized I let my sloth change my clothes size. On a day-to-day basis this isn’t an issue, since as I already mentioned, I tend to just wear the same five shirts anyway. Also it’s summer so I’m not exactly dressing up, and as a science fiction writer I’m not expected to dress myself up fancy-like when I do events, I just have to be, you know, not all covered in stains and crumbs. This current state of affairs will not present either a logistical or sartorial crisis for at least a few months.

Still, it was a little bit of a surprise to me how much of my ostensible wardrobe was functionally inert and just taking up space. It was a lot. And now all of that is off, or soon to be, to local charities who will hopefully pair the clothes with people who actually need and might actually wear the stuff. It’s not all Kickstarter tees, there are some things in there one could wear to work. The clothes being actually worn is a more useful fate than the one they had in my closet. Fly, extraneous clothes! Be free!

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2025/06/11/the-great-closet-purge-of-2025/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=56029

Current Mood: calm

Kitties

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megafauna

megafauna (MEG-uh-faw-nuh) - n., large animals, esp. relatively large for a particular region, period, or habitat; (outdated) animals large enough to be seen with the unaided eye.

Ancient Greek mégas meant great/large/mighty, cognate with Latin magnus and English much, is the source of today's prefix, which got a popularity boost for being used in the metric system to mean a million-x unit (though the scaling is modified to 2²⁰ in computing contexts). The most recent ice ages were known for animals that were larger than their modern counterparts, which is the most common use for megafauna that I meet. The term was coined in 1876 by Alfred Russel Wallace, though it was not commonly used until the 1920s. Other words with mega- include megaton ("a million tons") and megabrew ("large-batch beer").

---L.

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Unpopular policy

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Entry tags:

disability,
work

This morning has been too much

I didn't write here yesterday, but what I said on fedi last night was 'Tomorrow is going to be an absolutely disgusting day at work: stressful meetings, grim topics to dwell on..."

The stressful meetings weren't as bad as I expected. Though they were tiring. Lots to think about.

Then some other stuff happened that inspired a household conversation about logistics. All fine, very glad we can do the things we can do. But, more to think about.

Then I got a letter inviting me to my first in-person PIP (UK welfare benefits for disabled people) assessment in a decade.

It's next week, on the day of an important work thing.

At 9 in the morning.

In a part of the city I don't know at all. I don't want D to drive me but I'll have to do a practice run myself if I want to get the bus there. They always pick weird buildings that look like all the other buildings, or some industrial park miles from anywhere, or something inaccessible.

Anyway, back to work: I now have to spend the afternoon paying close attention to the Government's spending review, which is bound to make me angry and frustrated.