Medicines Of Yore
Nov. 27th, 2025 08:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poliphilo I'm using an oral spray that pumps me full of Vitamin B12- which is something one apparently needs to keep healthy. It tastes of orange but not quite- and takes me straight back to childhood and tthe house I grew up in and the perky little pills my mother used to give me. They contained fish oil, with the flavour masked by fake orange. I liked them. They were called "Haliborange"- and I find to my surprise that in spite of the off-putting name- the brand still flourishes....
What else did I get to consume for the benefit of my health? Well, there was some gloptious, sticky brown stuff- also containing fish oil- that one was fed on a spoon. I believe it maiinly consisted of brewer's yeast. I didn't hate it. If I worked at it I could probably remember the name- but why bother?
And then when one was ill in bed one got an energy drink called lucozade. It was sweet and sparkling and tasted of chemicals- but in a good way. This still exists- and I ordered some in a cafe the other day- only they brought me a version that tasted of lemons instead of the peculiar but delicious original.....
What else did I get to consume for the benefit of my health? Well, there was some gloptious, sticky brown stuff- also containing fish oil- that one was fed on a spoon. I believe it maiinly consisted of brewer's yeast. I didn't hate it. If I worked at it I could probably remember the name- but why bother?
And then when one was ill in bed one got an energy drink called lucozade. It was sweet and sparkling and tasted of chemicals- but in a good way. This still exists- and I ordered some in a cafe the other day- only they brought me a version that tasted of lemons instead of the peculiar but delicious original.....
2025/189: Breed to Come — Andre Norton
Nov. 27th, 2025 07:33 amtamaranth2025/189: Breed to Come — Andre Norton
There had always been Puttis -- round and soft, made for children. She had kept hers because it was the last thing her mother had made... Puttis were four-legged and tailed. Their heads were round, with shining eyes made of buttons or beads, upstanding ears, whiskers above the small mouth. Puttis were loved, played with, adored in the child world; their origin was those brought by children on the First Ships. [loc. 2219]
This was the first science fiction book I remember reading, from Rochford Library, probably pre-1975. I don't think I've read it since, though I did briefly own a paperback copy. Apparently the blurbs of newer editions mention 'university complex' and 'epidemic virus': aged <10, I was hooked by the cat on the front.
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Community Thursday & signal boost
Nov. 27th, 2025 07:31 amvriddyCommunity Thursday challenge: every Thursday, try to make an effort to engage with a community on Dreamwidth, whether that's posting, commenting, promoting, etc.
Posted & commented on ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
bnha_fans. We have a couple of new members who showed up for the watch-along and that is very cool :D
Signal boost:
- Not exactly comm-related, but since I often use this weekly post for signal boosting: the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey is running for the 3rd time; it runs every 5 years. If you've ever read Tolkien fic at any point, whether you're new to the fandom or an old hand, consider taking part! See dawn_felagund's post for more information.
more Petrichor thoughts
Nov. 27th, 2025 12:12 amaurumcalendulaEpisode 7:
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Episode 8:
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Episode 9:
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Episode 10:
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Overall thoughts:
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Episode 8:
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Episode 9:
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Episode 10:
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Overall thoughts:
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wednesday books forget to add a title
Nov. 26th, 2025 08:54 pmlandofnowhereJacques and His Master, Milan Kundera, based on the novel Jacques le fataliste et son maître by Denis Diderot, English translation by Simon Callow. Readaloud. I'd read the Diderot novel some years ago, in French, in the Project Gutenberg version; I'm pretty sure some of the subtleties were lost on me. The play felt structurally a lot neater than the book, but I maybe just didn't appreciate the structure of the book? Like the original book, this adaptation was meta, but being a play it expressed its meta-ness in different ways. It played up the male-gaze-y aspects of the book in ways that were not so fun. However, I got to read the Innkeeper, who is the only female role with agency in the whole play, and had a blast with it.
The Strength of the Few, James Islington. A warned me that the book was not as good as The Will of the Many, and he was right. Adding fake-Egyptian and fake-Celtic plotlines to the fake-Roman story from the first book meant that the worldbuilding overall felt shallower. However I'll keep reading and hope for more payoff in later books. (Also I grumble that in this fake-Roman worldbuilding, words ending "us" pluralize to end in "ii", e.g. "stylii".)
The Life of Sophia Jex-Blake, Margaret Todd. I finished this, and enjoyed it; it is very much a Victorian Biography, but I like that sort of thing. (There is one modern biography of Sophia Jex-Blake, which I may try to track down for extra context.) I enjoyed watching Sophia come of age, visit the US to get a sense of the state of women's education, and finding her way to her calling as a doctor and an advocate for women's medical education. It's delightful seeing just how much of a Charlotte Bronte fan Jex-Blake was; she's so determined to emulate Lucy Snowe from Villette that she shows up at a school in Mannheim which has already rejected her application to be a teacher there, to persuade them to take her on in whatever capacity they can, which ends up being as an unpaid substitute teacher.
After that, we get a blow-by-blow account of Jex-Blake's long endeavour, not just to get a medical degree that will allow her to practice in the British system, but to clear the path for other women to do the same, becoming a minor celebrity in the process. (There's a funny bit about a letter than a young Robert Louis Stevenson wrote to his cousin, saying, roughly, "Jex-Blake is clearly on the right side of history, but I wouldn't marry her". Jex-Blake, who preferred women, learned about this letter many years later, and her reaction was "LOL, I clearly admire Stevenson more than he admired me, but I never had the slightest desire to marry him!") This is sometimes dramatic, as Jex-Blake and the rest of the "Edinburgh Seven" are admitted to the University and then have to deal with angry male classmates and a lukewarm administration that chickens out on them midway through, on top of their regular coursework; but it also gets a bit dry at time.
The closing section, about Jex-Blake's final years in retirement, has a special warmth; Margaret Todd is writing from memory, having lived with Jex-Blake through that time, though she has completely effaced herself from the narrative. It would be easy to blame Todd for not better documenting her own life and Jex-Blake's, except that her own story is itself so sad; as I understand it, she had become depressed and isolated after Jex-Blake's death, and died, possibly of suicide, just months after this book was published.
The Strength of the Few, James Islington. A warned me that the book was not as good as The Will of the Many, and he was right. Adding fake-Egyptian and fake-Celtic plotlines to the fake-Roman story from the first book meant that the worldbuilding overall felt shallower. However I'll keep reading and hope for more payoff in later books. (Also I grumble that in this fake-Roman worldbuilding, words ending "us" pluralize to end in "ii", e.g. "stylii".)
The Life of Sophia Jex-Blake, Margaret Todd. I finished this, and enjoyed it; it is very much a Victorian Biography, but I like that sort of thing. (There is one modern biography of Sophia Jex-Blake, which I may try to track down for extra context.) I enjoyed watching Sophia come of age, visit the US to get a sense of the state of women's education, and finding her way to her calling as a doctor and an advocate for women's medical education. It's delightful seeing just how much of a Charlotte Bronte fan Jex-Blake was; she's so determined to emulate Lucy Snowe from Villette that she shows up at a school in Mannheim which has already rejected her application to be a teacher there, to persuade them to take her on in whatever capacity they can, which ends up being as an unpaid substitute teacher.
After that, we get a blow-by-blow account of Jex-Blake's long endeavour, not just to get a medical degree that will allow her to practice in the British system, but to clear the path for other women to do the same, becoming a minor celebrity in the process. (There's a funny bit about a letter than a young Robert Louis Stevenson wrote to his cousin, saying, roughly, "Jex-Blake is clearly on the right side of history, but I wouldn't marry her". Jex-Blake, who preferred women, learned about this letter many years later, and her reaction was "LOL, I clearly admire Stevenson more than he admired me, but I never had the slightest desire to marry him!") This is sometimes dramatic, as Jex-Blake and the rest of the "Edinburgh Seven" are admitted to the University and then have to deal with angry male classmates and a lukewarm administration that chickens out on them midway through, on top of their regular coursework; but it also gets a bit dry at time.
The closing section, about Jex-Blake's final years in retirement, has a special warmth; Margaret Todd is writing from memory, having lived with Jex-Blake through that time, though she has completely effaced herself from the narrative. It would be easy to blame Todd for not better documenting her own life and Jex-Blake's, except that her own story is itself so sad; as I understand it, she had become depressed and isolated after Jex-Blake's death, and died, possibly of suicide, just months after this book was published.
[#281 | Mirage] Challenge Post
Nov. 26th, 2025 11:05 pmfanweeklymod posting in fandomweekly| Challenge 281: MIRAGE |
n. an optical effect that is sometimes seen at sea, in the desert, or over a hot pavement, that may have the appearance of a pool of water or a mirror; something illusory or unattainable Caused by the shimmer of reflected light over heated air, a mirage can be a dangerous thing in the desert, where it might trick unwary travelers into thinking they’re not so far from water. It can be beautiful – a little ripple of light in the distance, like sunlight dancing on water – but no matter how hard you try, you’ll never get close enough. Write a story about a mirage (literal or figurative). If your submission features this line, it will earn an extra point to be tallied in voting! |
| Challenge ends Monday, December 1 at 9:00PM EST. • Post submissions as new entries using the template in the profile • Tag this week's entries as: [#] submission, 281 – mirage • If you have questions about this challenge, please ask them here |
[Amnesty #028] Roundup Post
Nov. 26th, 2025 11:04 pmfanweeklymod posting in fandomweeklyOur twenty-eighth Amnesty Week gathered 5 entries across five themes. Well done, everybody!
See under the cut for a list of fics for Amnesty #028.
( List of entries )
If you missed out on Amnesty this time, don’t worry! All of these prompts will be included for Amnesty Week #029 as well. (And thank you very much for your patience with the mod’s forgetfulness last week.)
See under the cut for a list of fics for Amnesty #028.
( List of entries )
If you missed out on Amnesty this time, don’t worry! All of these prompts will be included for Amnesty Week #029 as well. (And thank you very much for your patience with the mod’s forgetfulness last week.)
Twelfth Night (Delacorte Theater, 2025)
Nov. 26th, 2025 10:49 pmtroisoiseauxThe 2025 NYC Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night is available online (via PBS) through the end of the year, and is tremendously fun! Such a stacked cast— with Lupita Nyong'o as Viola/Cesario (and her real-life brother as Sebastian), Sandra Oh as Olivia, and Peter Dinklage as Malvolio— it's genuinely hard to pick a stand-out performance?? I will say that Dinklage is probably my favorite Malvolio of the three I've seen within the past year, although he plays it both less campily and less sympathetically than the Folger's recent production or Tamsin Greig in the 2017 production on National Theatre at Home; I'll also say that Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Sir Andrew Augecheek stole every scene he was in, but honestly, "Sir Andrew was a hoot" was my takeaway from all three productions and so I think it might just be a really fun role. (On a less expected note, Orsino's entourage was also a hoot, especially with the recurring bit of one guy who kept laughing out of turn and then dropping into push-ups when Orsino looked at him. Also, fantastic Orsino, with kind of "manly man who's secretly a softie" vibes that made for an appealing take on the character— although, until the Drag Race runway vibes of the final bows, I would not say that this was a particularly gender-y version of Twelfth Night, overall?) In assorted other details: this staging had Nyong'o (actually, both Nyong'os) occasionally slip into Swahili, including the initial dialogue between Viola and Sebastian when they reunite, which was a cool touch; I didn't know what to think of the backdrop of giant letters reading WHAT YOU WILL, at first, but it earned its keep as a set-up for the punchline in the scene where, as Sir Toby and co. spy on Malvolio, they all hide behind smaller/portable/individual letters spelling out TREE.
My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's Vol. 6
Nov. 26th, 2025 10:36 pmmarycatelliMy Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's Vol. 6 by Matsuri Akai
Spoilers ahead for the earlier volumes.
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Spoilers ahead for the earlier volumes.
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Only two emotions.
Nov. 26th, 2025 09:54 pmhannahIt's my dad's birthday this Friday. It's my family's plan to have a small get-together about it. It's been my family's plan to do it in Brooklyn with bagels and cake. It's the assumption I'll make the cake. I'm good with making the cake. I'm happy with making the cake. I'm unhappy with being told I'd make the cake without being told I was invited to the get-together. That the invitation was implicit was lost on me. Nobody told me I was invited until I was told there was an expectation I'd provide a cake.
I'm going on a hike with my parents tomorrow, and having dinner alone with them on Friday. I'm presently on the fence about a Saturday get together on the grounds that I really don't know how I'll feel about spending three consecutive days with them. I know if I don't tell them that with those specific words, in more or less that specific way, there won't be any effect on their behavior. I know that and I'm also wondering about staying quiet and observing what they say and how they act in regards to my presence as a litmus test they're not aware of. I'm fairly certain that'd backfire just as much as telling them I want to feel comfortable around them. I might go with the "not saying anything until I have no choice" strategy, or I might go with the "talk about it with someone on Friday to get my feelings out" strategy. I worry I'll have to buy more bourbon and rum in any case.
I'm going on a hike with my parents tomorrow, and having dinner alone with them on Friday. I'm presently on the fence about a Saturday get together on the grounds that I really don't know how I'll feel about spending three consecutive days with them. I know if I don't tell them that with those specific words, in more or less that specific way, there won't be any effect on their behavior. I know that and I'm also wondering about staying quiet and observing what they say and how they act in regards to my presence as a litmus test they're not aware of. I'm fairly certain that'd backfire just as much as telling them I want to feel comfortable around them. I might go with the "not saying anything until I have no choice" strategy, or I might go with the "talk about it with someone on Friday to get my feelings out" strategy. I worry I'll have to buy more bourbon and rum in any case.
Update on last year's mask reviews
Nov. 26th, 2025 08:53 pmlannamichaelsBeen meaning to update this for a while, so here goes:
After that, I relied very heavily for a while on the valved Aura (3M 9211+), it was how I got through summer 2024 since the non-valve Aura was just so hot. It was not the most comfortable, but between the Aura and the valved Aura, the valved Aura had advantages (both left marks on my face after wearing).
Then there was a combination of factors, including suddenly the valved Aura being out of stock where I was buying it and me stopping the habit of looking for them (if you want them, they're currently in stock in Uline, I assume also other places), because I'd switched entirely to the BNX F95 in both white and black, which are very light and breathable, which really outweighs the downsides (not many, but it feels like I do need to adjust it more than the regular Aura).
I've also dabbled with the BNX H95B, which has a different shape from the F95. It doesn't fit as well but it's also very light. It's basically a nice light mask for when I don't need to wear a mask for too long or talk or whatever.
But if I'm, for a wild example, waiting in a hospital waiting room for hours and hours, very nearly the only one masking, then the BNX F95 is absolutely the mask for that.
At this point, the Auras just live in coat pockets and backpacks as "oops, forgot to grab a BNX mask" backups. Because the Auras are great masks but they are much hotter and much tighter than the BNX ones.
New Pinch Hit
Nov. 26th, 2025 09:43 pmequusgirl posting in swrarepairsHello hello! We have one new pinch hit in need of a loving home. Assignment is due Dec 2nd @ 11:59PM ET though this can be negotiated. If you'd like to pick this pinch hit up, either DM one of the mods on Discord (SassySnowperson or nightingalesighs) or comment down below with your AO3 username. Comments are screened.
( Tooka 1 - Star Wars Disney Canon, Star Wars Disney Canon, Star Wars Disney Canon, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy )
( Tooka 1 - Star Wars Disney Canon, Star Wars Disney Canon, Star Wars Disney Canon, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy )
Fannish 50 Challenge 2025: Post # 40: Hockey Fandom and Dog Fandom
Nov. 26th, 2025 08:03 pmride_4everMy local AHL team -- the Chicago Wolves -- has again this year as previously provided and served a Thanksgiving meal of turkey and other treats to the shelter dogs of Border Tails Rescue in Northbrook, Illinois, a no-kill shelter with a spay-and-neuter program that specializes in rescuing and rehoming stray dogs from Mexico (they also take in owner surrenders from Chicagoland).
Harleigh Garcia, founder of Border Tails Rescue, said “We are so excited to have the Wolves again this year to help us celebrate the holidays and bring something special to the dogs. It’s not ideal for these dogs to be spending their holidays in the shelter. We’d love for them to all find homes, but that’s just not possible right now, so it’s nice to bring them a little something special, and we love partnering with the Wolves.”
To learn more about Border Tails Rescue, click here. They have many volunteer opportunities and especially are looking for tourists returning from Mexico who are willing to be "flight volunteers" at no cost to themselves for escorting Mexican stray dogs to the U.S.
The picture below is Chicago Wolves Hockey players Nikita Pavlychev, Braden Doyle, Blake Biondi, Skyler Brind’Amour, Bryce Montgomery and Yanick Turcotte with some of the dogs they treated to this special Thanksgiving meal.
Harleigh Garcia, founder of Border Tails Rescue, said “We are so excited to have the Wolves again this year to help us celebrate the holidays and bring something special to the dogs. It’s not ideal for these dogs to be spending their holidays in the shelter. We’d love for them to all find homes, but that’s just not possible right now, so it’s nice to bring them a little something special, and we love partnering with the Wolves.”
To learn more about Border Tails Rescue, click here. They have many volunteer opportunities and especially are looking for tourists returning from Mexico who are willing to be "flight volunteers" at no cost to themselves for escorting Mexican stray dogs to the U.S.
The picture below is Chicago Wolves Hockey players Nikita Pavlychev, Braden Doyle, Blake Biondi, Skyler Brind’Amour, Bryce Montgomery and Yanick Turcotte with some of the dogs they treated to this special Thanksgiving meal.
Reading Wednesday
Nov. 26th, 2025 05:58 pmyuuagoA few recent reads:
+ She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. A girl assumes her dead brother's identity, joins a monastery, later becomes involved in a power struggle outside the monastery, and does everything she can to rise to the top. I found this really hard to put down! It was very engaging! There's a sequel out, so I'm going to pick it up at some point.
+ Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice. I read this as part of a challenge, but also because I read the first book and enjoyed it (that is, Moon of the Crusted Snow). 10 years ago, electronics stopped working and the world became dangerous and chaotic; a remote reservation managed to hang on and build up a life for themselves. So, this novel is set 10 years later, when people from that community set out to see what's out there (and possibly move somewhere else). It's relatively cozy even though the subject is sometimes very serious.
+ Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden-Keefe. This one is in progress, and I'm only about 1/4 of the way into it. The Sackler family built a pharmaceutical empire and contributed to the modern-day issues around opioids. Part of the money at the beginning came from pharmaceutical advertising; Arthur Sackler basically created the model for advertising that is currently used. I'm finding that the history of advertising in general is really interesting to read about, what led to the current state, etc.
+ Hyde by Daniel Levine. Another in-progress. It's Mister Hyde's POV of what happens in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde, basically. Very interesting concept. I'm having trouble getting into it, and I'm honestly not sure why; it's possible that I'm not in the mood for this novel, or maybe I don't remember Dr Jekyll well enough to appreciate it properly. It has the full text of Robert Lewis Stevenson's novel included at the back, which I thought was a clever move, though obviously it helps that the original is short enough to do so.
+ She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. A girl assumes her dead brother's identity, joins a monastery, later becomes involved in a power struggle outside the monastery, and does everything she can to rise to the top. I found this really hard to put down! It was very engaging! There's a sequel out, so I'm going to pick it up at some point.
+ Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice. I read this as part of a challenge, but also because I read the first book and enjoyed it (that is, Moon of the Crusted Snow). 10 years ago, electronics stopped working and the world became dangerous and chaotic; a remote reservation managed to hang on and build up a life for themselves. So, this novel is set 10 years later, when people from that community set out to see what's out there (and possibly move somewhere else). It's relatively cozy even though the subject is sometimes very serious.
+ Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden-Keefe. This one is in progress, and I'm only about 1/4 of the way into it. The Sackler family built a pharmaceutical empire and contributed to the modern-day issues around opioids. Part of the money at the beginning came from pharmaceutical advertising; Arthur Sackler basically created the model for advertising that is currently used. I'm finding that the history of advertising in general is really interesting to read about, what led to the current state, etc.
+ Hyde by Daniel Levine. Another in-progress. It's Mister Hyde's POV of what happens in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde, basically. Very interesting concept. I'm having trouble getting into it, and I'm honestly not sure why; it's possible that I'm not in the mood for this novel, or maybe I don't remember Dr Jekyll well enough to appreciate it properly. It has the full text of Robert Lewis Stevenson's novel included at the back, which I thought was a clever move, though obviously it helps that the original is short enough to do so.
(no subject)
Nov. 26th, 2025 07:15 pmflemmingsWild winds again send the temperatures spiralling downwards. Wild in that they seemed to be coming from three directions simultaneously: south, east, and west. Might be the wind tunnel effect because it's generally not possible to have the last two at the same time. Joints object to this, whatever, or maybe the forecast snow.
Finished last week: Barraclough, Embers of the Hands, the non dates 'n kings history of the Vikings. Am not a Viking fangirl myself-- they burned witches-- but am pleased to be told that pace the Viking reenactment fanbois and their flowing locks, the Norsemen shaved the backs of their heads and grew their hair long at the front, as shown in the Bayeux tapestry. Therefore they looked like dweebs, as any man does, jarhead or whatever, who shaves the back of their heads. Also my beloved Lewis chessmen, that have shield-biting berserkers sharing a board with Christian bishops.
Kashiwabi Sachiko, Temple Alley Summer. Ghosts or revenants in a very Ima Ichiko sort of story. The Japanese don't tell you why anything, even if this one does explain some things, but there's several whys I wonder about, like why the mother was invisible to her daughter and the narrator, but this just adds to the general Imaness of the story.
Miles Burton, Death Takes a Detour and Death Leaves No Card. Am running out of Burtons on Kobo, even though he wrote so many. Have had recourse to John Rhodes, which aren't always as good.
On the go: a thick volume of Diana Wynne Jones short stories. TBR: another Kashiwaba, The Village Beyond the Mist, said to be the distant source for Spirited Away.
Finished last week: Barraclough, Embers of the Hands, the non dates 'n kings history of the Vikings. Am not a Viking fangirl myself-- they burned witches-- but am pleased to be told that pace the Viking reenactment fanbois and their flowing locks, the Norsemen shaved the backs of their heads and grew their hair long at the front, as shown in the Bayeux tapestry. Therefore they looked like dweebs, as any man does, jarhead or whatever, who shaves the back of their heads. Also my beloved Lewis chessmen, that have shield-biting berserkers sharing a board with Christian bishops.
Kashiwabi Sachiko, Temple Alley Summer. Ghosts or revenants in a very Ima Ichiko sort of story. The Japanese don't tell you why anything, even if this one does explain some things, but there's several whys I wonder about, like why the mother was invisible to her daughter and the narrator, but this just adds to the general Imaness of the story.
Miles Burton, Death Takes a Detour and Death Leaves No Card. Am running out of Burtons on Kobo, even though he wrote so many. Have had recourse to John Rhodes, which aren't always as good.
On the go: a thick volume of Diana Wynne Jones short stories. TBR: another Kashiwaba, The Village Beyond the Mist, said to be the distant source for Spirited Away.