labingi | Network

In May I took a great trip with friends through Oregon and we ended in California. The timing for the trip, however, was to coincide with the memorial service for my oldest friend's mother.

As she is my oldest friend, I knew her parents the best of all my friends' parents because of the stretch of time over which we saw one another (and she lived just a few doors down from me). I was not close to them but they were always kind to me, and it's interesting how it's the kindness that lingers. ( Read more... )

nnozomi posting in

guardian_learning

部首
心 part 14
虑, to think over; 悉, to know; 悔, regret ( pinyin )
https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?cdqrad=61

词汇
潮, 潮湿, damp/humid; 潮流, trend; 高潮, climax ( pinyin )
https://mandarinbean.com/new-hsk-4-word-list/

Guardian:
我们办事从来都不考虑值不值, we never consider whether what we do is worth it or not
最近龙城暗潮涌动地星人一个个在我们地盘撒野, lately a lot of Dixingren have been acting out on our territory under the surface

Me:
在行动之前，好好考虑你会不会后悔的。
这边夏天潮湿得要命。

thewayne

https://qr.ae/pCZEPA

Question: How many Democrats are pro-Maduro?
Reply: Zero.

Back in my uni days, I took a class in cognitive science that was one of my favorite courses. One of the many, many things we talked about in class was the difference between abstract thinkers and concrete thinkers.

This difference appears to be architectural, a consequence of how your brain is wired, not a matter of choice or education.

Concrete thinkers see the world in strict black and white terms. They have difficulty drawing indirect connections between things, struggle to see multiple perspectives, and tend to hold an all or nothing, with-us-or-against-us mentality.

Abstract thinkers understand complex associations, can understand multiple perspectives at the same time, and can see second and third order relationships between things.

And crucially, abstract thinkers can understand concrete thought patterns, but generally speaking, concrete thinkers seem physically incapable of understanding abstract thought patterns.

So here’s the thing:

Abstract thinkers are capable of grasping multiple ideas at once. Like, “Maduro is an illegitimate totalitarian ruler with an authoritarian bent who presided over an illegitimate government” and also “a unilateral move to depose Maduro is illegal under international treaties and morally wrong.”

Concrete thinkers be all like “you’re either good or your bad, and if you’re bad you deserve anything bad that happens to you, anyone who says Maduro shouldn’t have been kidnapped must live and support Maduro.”

Abstract thinkers be like “no, you can believe a person is bad and also believe that breaking the law to kidnap that person is bad too, both of those things can be true at the same time.”

Very interesting, I wish we had classes available here on such a topic. I'm not sure how much I agree with it being a structural thing vs an education thing, I'd want to see some information on that, I'd be open to discussion.

I can certainly see where some conservative people whom I know/knew had problems with abstract thinking. I think I would hazard to say that concrete thinkers might be more easily persuaded by ideologues since they would be more likely to present their arguments and ideas in more concrete 'for or against' terms with straw man arguments that appear harder to refute.

Personally I've never had problems to easily see and argue multiple sides of an argument. When I first started working here at the university, around 20 years ago in the computer lab, we had one guy who had a degree in philosophy, and we had a security guard who was an ex-cop and a former preacher, and another who just liked discussing things in a lively fashion. And we had these informal round tables where we'd argue the issues of the day, going around and round, picking up and discarding different viewpoints. It was tremendous fun. But it only lasted about a year before I left and the group broke apart.

I know I definitely prefer to associate more with abstract thinkers, they're much more fun to talk and argue (more in a discuss way, not combative ) things with.

trobadora

In yesterday's poll, third person limited was the most popular POV for writing by far - 89% of respondents like it, whereas only 32% like to write in first person and/or third person omniscient. For reading, there's much less of a gap - 79% like to read third person limited, 68% third person omniscient, and 53% first person. In both polls, second person is by far the least popular with only 16%.

Interestingly, most people have the same POV preferences for fanfic and original fic when reading (63%) or writing (53%)!

And 89% of respondents would like a story from a tickybox's POV. :D

For me, I'm not fond of second person in reading - I've come across no more than a handful of stories I actually liked, and I can't put my finger on what made those ones work for me when others didn't. So I've never tried to write it myself.

With first person, I like it much more in original fiction than in fanfic - unless it's epistolary fic or something like that, or the canon is already in first person. IMO it's already difficult to write first person well in general, to get a character's voice that consistently right in such a close way that it really feels like the character's voice telling the story. But in fanfic, to me first person makes it much more obvious when the author's view of the character's interiority differs from mine, so it often doesn't work for me for that reason.

I've written a bunch of first person stories, almost all for Sherlock Holmes and adjacent fandoms (out of 10 works, seven are in first person) - though not BBC Sherlock; as a TV canon, that's firmly in third person territory for me. *g* And I've tried omniscient POV once (The Finality Problem, Study in Emerald), which was a lot of fun. But the vast majority of what I read and write is limited third person. I really should experiment with POV more!

Today's writing

Progress on a

fandomtrees treat!

WED Question of the Day

Poll #34074

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 26

View Respondents

Are you a linear writer?

View Answers

yes, I start at the beginning and write until the end of the story
9 (34.6%)

yes, unless the story itself isn't linear
6 (23.1%)

no, I write bits and pieces all over the place and then stitch them together
8 (30.8%)

something else (see comments)
3 (11.5%)

tickyboxes are ...

View Answers

neatly lined up one after the other
7 (31.8%)

out of order
5 (22.7%)

beyond such human concerns
17 (77.3%)

Tally

( Days 1-10 )

Day 11:

badly_knitted,

brithistorian,

china_shop,

cornerofmadness,

daegaer,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

shadaras,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora

Day 12:

trobadora

Let me know if I missed anyone! And remember you can drop in or out at any time. :)

lannamichaels

Title: Caryatid.
Author:

lannamichaels
Fandom: Wake Up Dead Man (2025)
Series: Part 2 of Pillar Of The Community
Rating: G
Archives: Archive Of Our Own, SquidgeWorld

Summary: "How did you know?" Jud asks Blanc.

( Coda )

minoanmiss

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lannamichaels

After spending large parts of December getting behind and catching up and getting behind and catching up... I finished Zevachim two days early. The power of bamos! ;) On to Menachos!

My notes behind cut.

We're also about a year and a half out from the end of this cycle, which means I have already gotten one gentle "hey, do you know where you'll be on June 7, 2027"-type email from an org. No, I do not think this is too early, actually. Gotta make plans. Deeply hoping I can avoid being involved in organizing the in person thing here, but I have a suspicion that if I'm not involved, it may end up as unwelcoming as the women's siyum hashas I went to at the end of the last cycle. (I do trust a couple of the people likely to attend it, but I don't know who is going to be organizing anything here. So I may need to try to get involved against my will.) It wasn't actually that bad overall -- aside from how it's still, y'know, memorable 6 years removed from it -- but I am quite frankly more willing to get into an airplane and fly to a different city than go through that again. (okay more realistically if it ends up organized by a group I do not trust at all, I'd zoom in to a larger event and be done with it)

( Read more... )

ffutures

This is a new bundle of material by Christian Eichhorn for Mörk Borg RPG

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/EichhornMork

Unfortunately I'm really not the intended audience for this game - I don't do grimdark, and I usually find that the layout and typography of Mörk Borg material gives me eyestrain and headaches. This one is slightly better than others I've seen in that respect, but unfortunately that isn't saying a lot. If you like this material the price isn't unreasonable, it just isn't for me.

troyswann

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Current Mood: none or possibly other

gothikmaus

Snowflake Challenge: A flatlay of a snowflake shaped shortbread cake, a mug with coffee, and a string of holiday lights on top of a rustic napkin.

Challenge #6

Top 10 Challenge.

I didn't know what to choose for this challenge, then I thought: why not ranking... Crowley's looks! I haven't been active in the Good Omens fandom lately (let's see what happens after the finale), but Crowley is one of my favourite fictional characters and David Tennant is one of my favourite actors, plus they gave him a lot of interesting looks in the show, so let's see if I can put together a top 10.

( Favourite Crowley's looks - with pictures )

Current Mood: nerdy

twistedchick

( if you want cheerful, go elsewhere )

rekishi

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rachelmanija

Audio and transcript here.

Kat Spada: Today, I’m talking to Rachel Manija Brown, a writer who’s published over 30 books, and opened up Paper & Clay Bookshop in late 2024. Rachel, will you tell me about why you decided to open a bookshop?

Rachel Brown: I had never intended to open a bookshop. I always thought it was one of those idle daydreams that people who love reading and books have. I never planned to actually do it because I didn’t think it would be successful—they frequently go out of business. But after I moved to Crestline, which is a very small town in the California mountains, the little town did not have a bookshop.

It had a shop that was kind of a bookshop. I would say about ten percent of its inventory was books, but it was primarily gifts and herbs and crystals and things like that. But it had a really great atmosphere, people loved it, the people who worked there were really great. And all the kids in town used to hang out there, especially the queer and trans and otherwise kind of misfit kids. And I used to hang out there.

[When it went] out of business, I was so sad at the idea of the mountain losing its only bookshop. Especially the thought that all the queer, trans, bookish, and otherwise misfit teenagers, like I had once been, were going to lose their safe space.

I started daydreaming about opening it myself, and I thought, I love this idea so much, maybe in a couple of years when I have actual preparation, I’ll open a bookshop. Then I realized it was at was such a good location, that I would never get that good of a location again. It’s smack in the middle of the tourist district, every person who visits Crestline walks right past it.

Unfortunately, this was all while I was in Bulgaria for a month. So, I spent some time frantically trying to take over the lease, which was extremely difficult from another country. I couldn’t take possession of the shop until November 1st, and I really wanted to open it in time to get all the Christmas customers. And I have a tiny house, so I couldn’t really buy very much, because I had no place to put it. So I took possession of the shop on November 1st, and I opened on November 14th.

I've posted the rest of the edited transcript below the cut. ( Read more... )

toothpastepancake

I am here to a) promote my new community

100femslash and b) post my table for that community!


1. Golden	2. Eyes	3. Spiral	4. Beauty	5. Rose	6. Lost	7. Real	8. Touch	9. Stars	10. `Contrast
11. Crystal	12. Realize	13. Past	14. Forget	15. Drink	16. Locked	17. Lies	18. Outfit	19. Freedom	20. Create
21. More	22. Dream	23. Hair	24. Soft	25. Love	26. Dark	27. Sweet	28. Belief	29. Red	30. Broken
31. Night	32. Music	33. Linger	34. First	35. Spy	36. Origin	37. Fire	38. Rest	39. Pair	40. Comfort
41. Play	42. Party	43. Color	44. Divide	45. Escape	46. Rainbow	47. Desire	48. Grow	49. Seek	50. Art
51. Shift	52. Yearn	53. Treasure	54. Proud	55. Warning	56. Tempt	57. Old	58. Decide	59. Protect	60. Eat
61. Time	62. Circle	63. Skill	64. Offer	65. Union	66. Fix	67. Watch	68. Train	69. Monster	70. Heal
71. Pet	72. Dirty	73. Lace	74. Texture	75. Moon	76. Alone	77. Reunite	78. Anger	79. Planet	80. Hate
81. Ascend	82. Beat	83. Violet	84. Obscure	85. Trick	86. Unravel	87. Amaze	88. Speak	89. Fantasy	90. Stand
91. Halt	92. Home	93. Meet	94. Snapshot	95. Pieces	96. Accomplish	97. Fly	98. Spark	99. Hug	100. Observe

owlmoose

Joyride : A buddy road movie focused on Chinese-American women taking a personal journey across China, testing the boundaries of their relationships and coming back stronger. We were looking for a lightweight way to pass an evening, and I'd say this fit the bill, although a little raunchy for my taste (explicit drug use, over-the-top sex). Top-notch cast, particularly Sabrina Wu as the awkward and too-relatable Deadeye.

The Knives Out films: This was a rewatch -- I've seen Knives Out and Glass Onion several times, and I insisted we watch Wake Up Dead Man the day it was released on Netflix -- and I'm happy to say that the series holds up, both as individual movies and overall. I think Knives Out is still my favorite, although a Chris Evans fangirl would say that, but I appreciate them all for their different strengths. Before the rewatch, I would have put Wake Up Dead Man a clear notch below the other two, but now I'm not so sure -- Father Jud is easily the best protagonist in the series, and I appreciate the depiction of a priest who represents the best aspects of Christianity drawn in contrast to some of its very worst. I also found the mystery quite satisfying, maybe even the best of the lot. The major downside was the supporting cast, which was fine (I will never argue with yet another showstopper from Glenn Close), but they didn't quite have the chemistry or interest of the ensembles in the other two films.

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Eluvium - "Repose in Blue"

james_davis_nicoll

Diseased grimdark English-language sourcebooks by Christian Eichhorn for the artpunk tabletop fantasy roleplaying game Mörk Borg!

Bundle of Holding: Eichhorn Mork Borg

olivermoss

Sens could easily have a large chunk of the fastest growing demographic in hockey fall in their lap. Just, a giant pile of money fall in their laps, and they are working hard to make sure it doesn't happen.

The Sens, on top of everything else, signed a famous homophobe this morning. As a goalie, even!

( Spoilers for, uh, the synopsis of the upcoming Heated Rivalry sequel )

bookscorpion posting in

common_nature

I buy primroses and pots full of bulbs as soon as they are available, it does so much for my mood to have them where I can see them from the couch. I have daffodils, grape hyacinths, a couple of different hyacinths and these netted irises.

Current Mood: chill
Current Music: Baldur's Gate 3 soundtrack

mxcatmoon

Challenge #6

Top 10 Challenge. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.

This is tough! I had to leave out a lot of beloved characters! 😥

( Read more... )