The girl and the sea, turning, returning
Nov. 23rd, 2025 12:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolorosa_12I'm back home after two weeks away visiting my family in Australia. The arrival on Saturday morning — into freezing, driving rain and dark skies, after an unpleasant, sleepless, turbulent flight — was a bit of a shock to the system, but sleeping for 11 hours last night, plus coffee and pastries for breakfast this morning have done a lot to help. The garden is waterlogged and austere, but although all the fruit trees now have bare branches, astonishingly some of the flowering plants in the raised beds still have blooms on them.
Australia was the usual whirlwind of family visits (my parents and sisters live in two different states, which obviously necessitates a domestic flight to see my dad, stepmother and three of my sisters, plus I have five aunts — two of whom live in a seaside town an hour or so outside Sydney), catching up with friends, and various other bits and pieces. This time around I also took the opportunity to have a bunch of medical appointments that would likely have been difficult or impossible to get in the UK, and it's ridiculous how astonishing and nice it felt to receive medical care in settings where the doctors, nurses and other health professionals don't seem worn down by austerity and chronic understaffing. My Australian GP is the same one attended by my mum, sister #1, one of my aunts, her husband and adult children, and also both my maternal grandparents when they were alive, and the receptionist knows that all of us are related, and told me how much she loved my grandparents, which was sweet.
Other than friends and family, I have two main priorities when it comes to Australian visits: food, and bodies of water, and I made sure I got my fill of both of them. There is nothing that compares to an Australian cafe brunch, Australian coffee is second to none, and I took every opportunity to indulge in both, as well as eating my body weight in mangoes, which are impossible to get in any good quality in the UK. When in Melbourne, Matthias and I went out for a tasting menu at this incredible place for his birthday, and (at the brilliant suggestion of sister #1) mum, sister #1, Matthias and I spent the first weekend of the trip recouperating from jetlag at this beautiful place, which also involved a couple of delicious dinners and breakfasts, and that — plus a couple of other meals out — meant we were extremely well served on the culinary front.
Bodies of water included many swims with Mum at the best outdoor swimming pool, and the ocean in various guises. I have, of course, documented this secular pilgramage with a photoset here, storing up my memory of these home oceans until the next visit.
Returning to Australia is always psychologically odd, and this trip was no different, but I'm glad to have done it, and glad to have been there at this time of the year. And, above all, I feel immensely grateful for the fact that I'm an immigrant able to return to my country of origin when I want to, rather than having to close that door forever and sever that connection. I may have made the choice to live under different skies and beside different bodies of water, but the seas and skies that made me are always a twenty-four-hour flight away, still within reach.
Australia was the usual whirlwind of family visits (my parents and sisters live in two different states, which obviously necessitates a domestic flight to see my dad, stepmother and three of my sisters, plus I have five aunts — two of whom live in a seaside town an hour or so outside Sydney), catching up with friends, and various other bits and pieces. This time around I also took the opportunity to have a bunch of medical appointments that would likely have been difficult or impossible to get in the UK, and it's ridiculous how astonishing and nice it felt to receive medical care in settings where the doctors, nurses and other health professionals don't seem worn down by austerity and chronic understaffing. My Australian GP is the same one attended by my mum, sister #1, one of my aunts, her husband and adult children, and also both my maternal grandparents when they were alive, and the receptionist knows that all of us are related, and told me how much she loved my grandparents, which was sweet.
Other than friends and family, I have two main priorities when it comes to Australian visits: food, and bodies of water, and I made sure I got my fill of both of them. There is nothing that compares to an Australian cafe brunch, Australian coffee is second to none, and I took every opportunity to indulge in both, as well as eating my body weight in mangoes, which are impossible to get in any good quality in the UK. When in Melbourne, Matthias and I went out for a tasting menu at this incredible place for his birthday, and (at the brilliant suggestion of sister #1) mum, sister #1, Matthias and I spent the first weekend of the trip recouperating from jetlag at this beautiful place, which also involved a couple of delicious dinners and breakfasts, and that — plus a couple of other meals out — meant we were extremely well served on the culinary front.
Bodies of water included many swims with Mum at the best outdoor swimming pool, and the ocean in various guises. I have, of course, documented this secular pilgramage with a photoset here, storing up my memory of these home oceans until the next visit.
Returning to Australia is always psychologically odd, and this trip was no different, but I'm glad to have done it, and glad to have been there at this time of the year. And, above all, I feel immensely grateful for the fact that I'm an immigrant able to return to my country of origin when I want to, rather than having to close that door forever and sever that connection. I may have made the choice to live under different skies and beside different bodies of water, but the seas and skies that made me are always a twenty-four-hour flight away, still within reach.
We're having such a good time
Nov. 23rd, 2025 05:49 amviridian5"Don't Stop Me Now" - Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia AMV: ( season 8 spoilers )
A lot of it is a very good match for the music (though I felt a lull at one point). It helps that the animators went hard for the scenes being used. That is why they call Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight "Mr. Fahrenheit"!
A lot of it is a very good match for the music (though I felt a lull at one point). It helps that the animators went hard for the scenes being used. That is why they call Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight "Mr. Fahrenheit"!
Mini Sermon
Nov. 23rd, 2025 09:11 ampoliphilo Windy, rainy morning. I haven't been outside yet but I think the rain may be edging towards sleet. One has to make a special effort to be cheerful in weather like this.
And that's what Christmas is about. At least in essence. Under the crust of money-making and schmaltz it's about making a special effort to be cheerful. Sometimes it comes across as fake- but at least we're trying.
Glossy green holly leaves, bright red holly berries, candles, mince pies, carols, the magi in their stiff, bejewelled copes bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh......
And that's what Christmas is about. At least in essence. Under the crust of money-making and schmaltz it's about making a special effort to be cheerful. Sometimes it comes across as fake- but at least we're trying.
Glossy green holly leaves, bright red holly berries, candles, mince pies, carols, the magi in their stiff, bejewelled copes bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh......
Movies about performative men
Nov. 23rd, 2025 02:19 pmhalfcactusAhhhh I can't believe November's almost over. A couple of weeks ago we had a typhoon that was as big as our entire country. The coastal areas bore the brunt and weakened it; I spent that weekend keeping an eye on the news while watching a bunch of movies and Physical: Asia, which I enjoyed a lot more than I expected (at 1.5x speed) though I can't be bothered to watch the finale.
MOVIES:
Ballad of a Small Player (2025)
Directed by Edward Berger, who worked on Conclave (which I haven't seen). This movie is all style, no substance. Macau is painted as a rainbow of neon, dreams, and desperation with a display of excess that feels thematically performative—Colin Farrell plays a gambler who calls himself Lord Doyle and performs at opulence and meaningless hunger. Fala Chen's character recognizes in him a "lost soul" and appears to feel a thread of connection to him. I feel like if the movie had tried to flesh out her thoughts and motives this movie would have struck me as orientalist, but there really is not enough substance here to turn over. It is, however, very nice to look at.
American Psycho (2000)
A portrait of the wealthy as vapid, interchangeable men in suits who are in constant need of affirmation and identity markers and are quite literally an echo chamber. For all their resources, they never achieve self-actualization. They don't even have real jobs. The jokes are funny, but I'm extremely squeamish about violence so I ended up only watching the first third of the movie—which was enough to see its thesis statement—and listening to the rest. Patrick Bateman is the OG # performative male.
Superman (2025)
Enjoyed this a lot, not just because there's a DOG (though mostly because of the dog). Hearing Noah and the Whale's 5 Years Time in a 2025 blockbuster was NOT in my bingo card, didn't really know how to feel about that. The first hour really flew by, while the second one was very standard superhero shtick. The visual gags were fun, the interpersonal conflicts were great, and the ending was satisfying. It's very much a socially relevant movie that's centered on human experiences and doing good. I watched this while a supertyphoon was brewing and seeing the extras take their pets with them in the evacuation scene really hit hard.
The Running Man (2025)
Rather than a dystopian movie, this is more like an alternate reality one, since its themes are very much "present". Apparently this is not just an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, it's also not the first one? It's definitely a great one to catch at the theater and immediately forget once it's over. A lot of interesting action, fun references to reality TV shows, and timely reminders about the dangers of AI and digital surveillance and cops, though it's horribly underwritten and overly sanitized. The script simply doesn't support the film's intentions. The dialogue in the last 1/3 outright assumes that the audience is stupid, and the ending is played so safe it loses its meaning.
Glen Powell's character's defining characteristic is meant to be his ANGER towards injustices but he just isn't angry enough and is weirdly passive for someone who's known for always going rogue. It's basically an R-18 movie with family-friendly values. Michael Cera's scenes were the truest part, both in terms of underground activism (the zines!) and in terms of what I think of as Edgar Wright's directorial voice, which seemed otherwise lost.
罗小黑战记2 | Legend of Hei 2 (2025)
I can see this movie selling really well to overseas animation fans, but as I feared, for a movie about Xiao Hei, this didn't have enough Xiao Hei. ;___; First half was great, but second half was bogged down by too many action scenes that didn't feel very meaningful; the entire appeal of the first movie (and even the TV series!) for me was the characters, the relationships, and emotionally driven action and personal conflicts. Instead, this movie was high-stakes and brought to a real-life level I simply didn't care about. There were too many scenes of NPCs with no clear motive or emotional development and the "mystery" suffered for it.
Humor, banter, slice-of-life moments, and 晚安喵 montages were still on-point, though! Like I would still rewatch this for all the character interactions (and I would live in the montages if I could), it's just that I think this movie should have focused more on the found family storyline.
MOVIES:
Ballad of a Small Player (2025)
Directed by Edward Berger, who worked on Conclave (which I haven't seen). This movie is all style, no substance. Macau is painted as a rainbow of neon, dreams, and desperation with a display of excess that feels thematically performative—Colin Farrell plays a gambler who calls himself Lord Doyle and performs at opulence and meaningless hunger. Fala Chen's character recognizes in him a "lost soul" and appears to feel a thread of connection to him. I feel like if the movie had tried to flesh out her thoughts and motives this movie would have struck me as orientalist, but there really is not enough substance here to turn over. It is, however, very nice to look at.
American Psycho (2000)
A portrait of the wealthy as vapid, interchangeable men in suits who are in constant need of affirmation and identity markers and are quite literally an echo chamber. For all their resources, they never achieve self-actualization. They don't even have real jobs. The jokes are funny, but I'm extremely squeamish about violence so I ended up only watching the first third of the movie—which was enough to see its thesis statement—and listening to the rest. Patrick Bateman is the OG # performative male.
Superman (2025)
Enjoyed this a lot, not just because there's a DOG (though mostly because of the dog). Hearing Noah and the Whale's 5 Years Time in a 2025 blockbuster was NOT in my bingo card, didn't really know how to feel about that. The first hour really flew by, while the second one was very standard superhero shtick. The visual gags were fun, the interpersonal conflicts were great, and the ending was satisfying. It's very much a socially relevant movie that's centered on human experiences and doing good. I watched this while a supertyphoon was brewing and seeing the extras take their pets with them in the evacuation scene really hit hard.
The Running Man (2025)
Rather than a dystopian movie, this is more like an alternate reality one, since its themes are very much "present". Apparently this is not just an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, it's also not the first one? It's definitely a great one to catch at the theater and immediately forget once it's over. A lot of interesting action, fun references to reality TV shows, and timely reminders about the dangers of AI and digital surveillance and cops, though it's horribly underwritten and overly sanitized. The script simply doesn't support the film's intentions. The dialogue in the last 1/3 outright assumes that the audience is stupid, and the ending is played so safe it loses its meaning.
Glen Powell's character's defining characteristic is meant to be his ANGER towards injustices but he just isn't angry enough and is weirdly passive for someone who's known for always going rogue. It's basically an R-18 movie with family-friendly values. Michael Cera's scenes were the truest part, both in terms of underground activism (the zines!) and in terms of what I think of as Edgar Wright's directorial voice, which seemed otherwise lost.
罗小黑战记2 | Legend of Hei 2 (2025)
I can see this movie selling really well to overseas animation fans, but as I feared, for a movie about Xiao Hei, this didn't have enough Xiao Hei. ;___; First half was great, but second half was bogged down by too many action scenes that didn't feel very meaningful; the entire appeal of the first movie (and even the TV series!) for me was the characters, the relationships, and emotionally driven action and personal conflicts. Instead, this movie was high-stakes and brought to a real-life level I simply didn't care about. There were too many scenes of NPCs with no clear motive or emotional development and the "mystery" suffered for it.
Humor, banter, slice-of-life moments, and 晚安喵 montages were still on-point, though! Like I would still rewatch this for all the character interactions (and I would live in the montages if I could), it's just that I think this movie should have focused more on the found family storyline.
(no subject)
Nov. 23rd, 2025 06:29 pmthawreckaI am back from Japan! I had a great time. Until an overnight flight home that was 10 hours of turbulence, so now I'm tired and in pain. At least I had the good sense to make sure I had a few extra days off work after my flight, so I have time to recover.
Realistically, I am not going to catch up on any social media, and I'm not even going to try.
Realistically, I am not going to catch up on any social media, and I'm not even going to try.
(no subject)
Nov. 22nd, 2025 10:13 pmlycomingstThe cats ripped a blind off the window. It fell with a mighty crash, just as I was waking up. I had to jerry-rig a curtain. It wasn't much of a loss as they had chewed the end of several slats off already.
I received the jar of grapefruit marmalade that I'd ordered online. I will open on T'giving. I hope it is very tart.
Also, does it seem to you that "large" eggs are not as large as they used to be?
I received the jar of grapefruit marmalade that I'd ordered online. I will open on T'giving. I hope it is very tart.
Also, does it seem to you that "large" eggs are not as large as they used to be?
(no subject)
Nov. 22nd, 2025 08:58 pmdustbunny105It feels like every time I think I've wrested control of my attention span back-- y'know, inasmuch as I can-- I look at the clock and realize I've lost the better part of a day. And then I look back and realize, no, it wasn't lost-- it was right there. Mine for the taking. I let it slip through my fingers.
ClaireBell episode 4
Nov. 22nd, 2025 11:03 pmaurumcalendula( spoilerly thoughts in no particular order )
I might end up making icons for this show at some point.
I might end up making icons for this show at some point.
Finally watching Murderbot
Nov. 22nd, 2025 08:13 pmsoc_puppetMom got AppleTV so she, Dad, and I could watch Murderbot together. We watched the first two episodes tonight.
And don't get me wrong! It's very good! I just.
It's very tonally different from the books? A lot more tense/intense? And since my ADHD means I have trouble switching away from the mood of whatever I just read/watched/whatever...
I am honestly glad for reasons other than story integrity that there's only ten episodes in a season for Murderbot.
Again, good show! Well adapted! Love the cast! Bad fit for me personally. I'll probably stick it out for the rest of the season, but when taken with my homework stress... This is just not a good time for it for me. I may have a conversation with my parents instead.
And don't get me wrong! It's very good! I just.
It's very tonally different from the books? A lot more tense/intense? And since my ADHD means I have trouble switching away from the mood of whatever I just read/watched/whatever...
I am honestly glad for reasons other than story integrity that there's only ten episodes in a season for Murderbot.
Again, good show! Well adapted! Love the cast! Bad fit for me personally. I'll probably stick it out for the rest of the season, but when taken with my homework stress... This is just not a good time for it for me. I may have a conversation with my parents instead.
it's 9 o'clock on a saturday
Nov. 22nd, 2025 09:10 pmmusesfoolI just watched that HBO documentary about Billy Joel and though it is long and a little repetitive in some ways, I thought it was well worth watching. I learned a lot that I never knew about him.
In a brief work update, they did finally announce the new CEO on Thursday, but for some reason*, the current board chair refused to give a quote for the press release, so they had the person we think is going to be the new board chair (still a secret for some reason!) give a quote instead.
*now my boss and I are speculating that she had backed a different candidate for the job and is taking it personally that she did not get her way, but that is absolutely just speculation and may be unfair to her. We just can't think of another reason why she's been so weird about the whole thing.
Yesterday was busy with committee meetings, and I logged off at about 4:45 and crashed hard into a two-hour nap, and then slept nine hours when I went back to bed for the night.
I can't believe Thanksgiving is this Thursday. Where did this entire year go?
***
In a brief work update, they did finally announce the new CEO on Thursday, but for some reason*, the current board chair refused to give a quote for the press release, so they had the person we think is going to be the new board chair (still a secret for some reason!) give a quote instead.
*now my boss and I are speculating that she had backed a different candidate for the job and is taking it personally that she did not get her way, but that is absolutely just speculation and may be unfair to her. We just can't think of another reason why she's been so weird about the whole thing.
Yesterday was busy with committee meetings, and I logged off at about 4:45 and crashed hard into a two-hour nap, and then slept nine hours when I went back to bed for the night.
I can't believe Thanksgiving is this Thursday. Where did this entire year go?
***
Slo-Mo Rewatch: Guardian episode 6, part 2
Nov. 23rd, 2025 02:52 amtrobadora posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
sid_guardian
Hi, welcome to this week's instalment of the Guardian drama Slo-Mo Rewatch! Watch half an episode a week, and then come and chat about it here in comments. Or you can just jump into the comments without rewatching, of course!
Here is last week's half-episode. On to the second half!
Episode 6, from 22:44
Summary:
Zhao Yunlan returns to Zhou Weiwei and makes her admit the truth: she switched places with Mirror Girl, and that was who was engaged to Ji Xiaobai. Ji Xiaobai, having confirmed what he already knew, isn't interested in a replacement goldfish. Mirror Girl tells the Envoy about a phrase her father used to repeat.
Then Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing talk about Shen Wei being suspicious, break into his flat, find his file on the SID, and have to hide when Shen Wei arrives. Zhao Yunlan sends a smoke messenger to the Regent, and a banner with a spy camera to Shen Wei. Da Qing teases him about his interest in the Envoy. Shen Wei confronts the uni's chancellor about Li Qian withdrawing, and has a brief conversation with Zhao Yunlan. Zhu Jiu puts a new agent in play. Finally, at night, Shen Wei is mugged by two thugs.
Quote:
Da Qing: "In this world, two people can be very close, but have never seen each other. But maybe once they've met, they'll see each other every day. Destiny is unpredictable."
Zhao Yunlan: "Damn Fatty, I never knew that you were a poetic cat."
Detail:
Zhao Yunlan: 这个也很好看，衣服真漂亮。我想给我女朋友买一件，哪买的呀？
This [photo] is nice as well; pretty outfit. I want to buy one for my girlfriend. Where'd you buy it?
I remember from the early days that fandom had decided Zhao Yunlan was talking about the coat Mirror Girl was wearing in the photo, and had related it to the similar trenchcoat Shen Wei wears in later episodes. And that despite the fact that the English subs - all of them: the original ones and the ones that came later, Solo's and the Viki ones - say "shirt"! Of course the Chinese only says 衣服, clothes, and IIRC this concept originally came from the Chinese side of fandom.
Questions:
What's your favourite part in this half of the episode? Do you think Shen Wei is too harsh on Mirror Girl? Do you feel for Ji Xiaobai? for the human Zhou Weiwei? Why is Zhao Yunlan stepping up the investigation into Shen Wei? Do you think the spy camera is warranted? Why does Shen Wei respond to being mugged like that, when he could easily defeat the muggers? Any thoughts about how any of this relates to the novel?
(These are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the rewatch to join in!)
And here is our schedule for the next batch of episodes - please do sign up to host a post if you can!
Daily Happiness
Nov. 22nd, 2025 05:39 pmtorachan1. I've got the house to myself for the next week and a half. Carla has gone to Wisconsin to spend Thanksgiving with her aunt and uncle and cousins. Took her to the airport this morning and she's arrived safely at the airport in Chicago and currently on the bus to their house.
2. I got some more wire rack shelving for the shed the other day and put the first of two shelves together today. They're pretty quick to do, but I don't actually have room to put them both in the shed until I rearrange some stuff, which I'll do tomorrow, and then I can put the second one together. We're storing some books (twelve boxes, actually, but thankfully we've got the space) for Alex* in there and they're all in random boxes that weren't really meant for books and don't stack well, so they've semi fallen over. I bought some bankers boxes to repack them and then put them on the shelves to make them more manageable.
*Our good friend who formerly went by Alexander is now going by Alex and using she/her pronouns, just FYI.
3. We got the big lego Christmas tree set that came out last month and I just finished putting it together today. It has twenty-four bags and I usually do a bag a day when working on a project, so it's taken me about two weeks. It's really impressive!
( Read more... )
4. Tuxie!
2. I got some more wire rack shelving for the shed the other day and put the first of two shelves together today. They're pretty quick to do, but I don't actually have room to put them both in the shed until I rearrange some stuff, which I'll do tomorrow, and then I can put the second one together. We're storing some books (twelve boxes, actually, but thankfully we've got the space) for Alex* in there and they're all in random boxes that weren't really meant for books and don't stack well, so they've semi fallen over. I bought some bankers boxes to repack them and then put them on the shelves to make them more manageable.
*Our good friend who formerly went by Alexander is now going by Alex and using she/her pronouns, just FYI.
3. We got the big lego Christmas tree set that came out last month and I just finished putting it together today. It has twenty-four bags and I usually do a bag a day when working on a project, so it's taken me about two weeks. It's really impressive!
( Read more... )
4. Tuxie!