Good News
Wednesday, 15 April 2026 12:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithGood news includes all the things which make us happy or otherwise feel good. It can be personal or public. We never know when something wonderful will happen, and when it does, most people want to share it with someone. It's disappointing when nobody is there to appreciate it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our joys and pat each other on the back.
What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?
What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?
(no subject)
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 10:13 pmolivermossBar I was going to watch the Torrent at is closed tonight, looks like they are doing some repainting and stuff?
Got home and saw both CJ in net and also 4 goals allowed. Ugh, CJ gets a start and gets lit up? Despair...
Turns out, no! Poor Shroeds was having a terrible night. She got pulled. CJ, non-binary icon, gave a perfect performance in their first chance in net for Seattle. A flawless performance did not save the them from elimination tonight. Both Seattle teams are out.
The highs and lows of Seattle hockey
But CJ kept the net on lock every second they were in!
Got home and saw both CJ in net and also 4 goals allowed. Ugh, CJ gets a start and gets lit up? Despair...
Turns out, no! Poor Shroeds was having a terrible night. She got pulled. CJ, non-binary icon, gave a perfect performance in their first chance in net for Seattle. A flawless performance did not save the them from elimination tonight. Both Seattle teams are out.
The highs and lows of Seattle hockey
But CJ kept the net on lock every second they were in!
Fandom Questions
Wednesday, 15 April 2026 12:01 amysabetwordsmithwavesagainstrocks posted questions about how people do fandom:Those that actively engage with media or fandom (or both!) in your day-to-day life, do you find it hard to be into multiple things at once? Or can you easily switch between interests? Say, you can equally balance your attention between two or more shows? Please elaborate in the comments if you can!
Same goes for those on the flip-side. Do you feel like you can only be into one or very few things at one time? Do you have to let the one "main" obsession run its course for you to be able to move onto something else? Comment your thoughts!
I've already replied there, but I think it's a fun conversation. The blogger would like to reach a wider audience, so I'm hoping mine will pitch in.
45 Multi-fandom icons
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 06:55 pmthesleepingbeauty posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
icons
All icons HERE @
little_mermaid ♥ Note: This post will only be open for a few weeks … after that it will be locked to members only, so feel free to join / subscribe to the community if you like my work. Thank you.
45 Multi-fandom icons
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 06:48 pmthesleepingbeauty posting in fandom_icons All icons HERE @
little_mermaid ♥ Note: This post will only be open for a few weeks … after that it will be locked to members only, so feel free to join / subscribe to the community if you like my work. Thank you.
One boundary makes another
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 10:53 pmsovayMy father's birthday will be formally observed the next time my niece is in town, but for the day itself my mother and I baked him the chicken and leek pie which we had adapted from its recipe the two days prior that the filling can be stored in the refrigerator to deepen in flavor like a stew and a strawberry shortcake which I am currently proud of decorating with a painted marzipan man o' war after the mosaic in Leonardo Morales y Pedroso's 1930 Casa de Mark A. Pollack y Carmen Casuso. Even after I chilled the marzipan, the heat and humidity tangled the tentacles authentically.
I did not expect to receive an unbirthday present of Hen Ogledd's Discombobulated (2026), which I have been listening to since I got home and discovered the equally unexpected postcard awaiting me frommrissa. The inner CD sleeve includes among its notes, "The painting on the front cover is called 'It's not darkness that falls, it's light', and now lies scattered in pieces across the globe. It was chopped into 34 segments and distributed as gifts to friends and family." I flashed inevitably on Wittgenstein's Remarks on Frazer's Golden Bough (1931/1948).
Think how after Schubert's death his brother cut certain of Schubert's scores into small pieces and gave to his favorite pupils these pieces of a few bars each. As a sign of piety this action is just as comprehensible to us as the other one of keeping the scores undisturbed and accessible to no-one. And if Schubert's brother had burned the scores we could still understand this as a sign of piety.
I did not expect to receive an unbirthday present of Hen Ogledd's Discombobulated (2026), which I have been listening to since I got home and discovered the equally unexpected postcard awaiting me from
mrissa. The inner CD sleeve includes among its notes, "The painting on the front cover is called 'It's not darkness that falls, it's light', and now lies scattered in pieces across the globe. It was chopped into 34 segments and distributed as gifts to friends and family." I flashed inevitably on Wittgenstein's Remarks on Frazer's Golden Bough (1931/1948).Think how after Schubert's death his brother cut certain of Schubert's scores into small pieces and gave to his favorite pupils these pieces of a few bars each. As a sign of piety this action is just as comprehensible to us as the other one of keeping the scores undisturbed and accessible to no-one. And if Schubert's brother had burned the scores we could still understand this as a sign of piety.
Half-Price Sale in Polychrome Heroics
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 09:54 pmysabetwordsmithThe April 7, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl met its $300 goal, so there will be a half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics from Monday, April 20 through Sunday, April 26. Mark your calendars, and I hope to see you then!
Book 33, 2026
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 09:54 pmchez_jae
A Twist of Demon by S.E. BabinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
View all my reviews
I finished reading A Twist of Demon by SE Babin last night. It’s the first in the urban fantasy series “Cocktails in Hell”. The main character is Violet Swan.
Violet is an Apothecaire (a Brewer of potions) of extraordinary ability, which she tries to keep under wraps. She owns a bar with books, where she uses her brewing acumen to serve up unique drinks to humans and paranorms both. Violet keeps a low profile. If her true identity were known, she would be killed. However, she’s forced to out her abilities when a group of demons attacks her and she must defend herself. Now she’s garnered the attention of one of the Fallen who wants her to take over as the guardian to one of the portals of Hell. Violet seeks the assistance of another Fallen, her foster father, Azrael. When the bar is attacked by another, larger group of lesser demons, it seems the only way for Violet to remain safe is to accept the job, which would put her under the protection of Lucifer himself.
This was fast-paced and interesting. I liked Violet as a character. She got a little cocky with her abilities at times, but she was quick to accept help when she realized she was in over her head. While the characters were all portrayed well, I got the feeling this is a spin-off of another series…?
Favorite lines:
♦ I wasn’t anti-tentacle or anything, just anti-tentacle on top of my bar.
♦ I’d bet my left tit, and that one was my favorite.
♦ No one ever got my Buffy jokes which told me most paranorms took themselves way too seriously.
♦ If you couldn’t screw the devil over, were you really making a deal with him?
Enjoyable book peopled with interesting characters and combining action and humor. Four stars.
At a different residence tonight
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 09:51 pmconulyOne of the staff has the same name as one of the residents, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure that out.
Daily Check-In
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 05:59 pmstarwatcher posting in fandom_checkinThis is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Tuesday, April 14, to midnight on Wednesday, April 15. (8pm Eastern Time).
Poll #34474 Daily Check-in
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 14
How are you doing?
I am OK.
10 (71.4%)
I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
4 (28.6%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans live with you?
I am living single.
5 (35.7%)
One other person.
6 (42.9%)
More than one other person.
3 (21.4%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
Recent Reading: The Black Fantastic
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 04:17 pmrocky41_7I don’t know how I keep timing these so that I finish my audiobook and my paper book one right after the other. This weekend I also wrapped up The Black Fantastic, an anthology compiled by Andre M. Carrington. Thank you to pauraque for bringing this one to my attention! This is a collection of “Afrofuturist” stories by Black authors. If you want more detail, Pauraque has done individual reviews of each story which you can read here; I won’t get that specific.
With the usual caveat that all anthologies vary in quality, I enjoyed this one. There were a lot of very different stories, from some really fantastical stuff to ones that are just a little bit to the left of the world as it stands. On the high end of things, pieces like A Guide to the Native Fruits of Hawai’i by Alayna Dawn Johnson, where the protagonist grapples with her decision to collaborate with a group of vampire invaders to prey on the locals (and the metaphor of vampirism for the way Hawaii is treated by wealthy Americans is not lost in the shuffle); or The Orb by Tara Campbell, which was both strange and unexplained, choosing to focus not on the “why” or “how” of the situation but again on the moral quandary of its main character.
On the lower end, ones like The Ones Who Stay and Fight by NK Jemisin, which felt…narratively unclear, to say the least. It is either a satire of the kind of utopia writers create where its status as utopia is essentially dependent on eliminating any disagreement or contact with the outside world…or it’s a whole-hearted endorsement of that view. And if I can’t tell which, I tend to think the author’s failed at their purpose; or Ruler of the Rear Guard by Maurice Broaddus, which seemed to end just as it was getting to the plot.
Overall, I had fun with this anthology. SFF short story collections, done well, are such a scintillating showcase of creativity and I felt that here.
[ SECRET POST #7039 ]
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 05:53 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #7039 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 18 secrets from Secret Submission Post #1005.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Affordable Housing
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 04:48 pmysabetwordsmithYou Have More Land Than You Think
Clever design creates more housing on small sites.
You might assume that squeezing small units onto small lots might end up feeling claustrophobic, but a few simple design principles can actually lead to housing that is welcoming, comforting, and feels spacious. Best of all, a smaller house is more affordable, and land costs are spread amongst more units, creating greater affordability without subsidy.
( Read more... )
Clever design creates more housing on small sites.
You might assume that squeezing small units onto small lots might end up feeling claustrophobic, but a few simple design principles can actually lead to housing that is welcoming, comforting, and feels spacious. Best of all, a smaller house is more affordable, and land costs are spread amongst more units, creating greater affordability without subsidy.
( Read more... )
Fossils
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 03:28 pmysabetwordsmithMammal ancestors laid eggs, and this 250-million-year-old fossil finally proves it
A 250-million-year-old fossil egg just revealed how an ancient survivor beat Earth’s deadliest extinction.
In the aftermath of Earth’s most catastrophic extinction event, one unlikely survivor rose to dominate a shattered world: Lystrosaurus. Now, a stunning fossil discovery—an ancient egg containing a curled-up embryo—has finally answered a decades-old mystery about whether mammal ancestors laid eggs. Using advanced imaging technology, scientists confirmed that these resilient creatures did reproduce this way, likely producing large, soft-shelled eggs packed with nutrients.
In terms of world domination, Lystrosaurus was arguably the most successful lifeform on Earth.
A 250-million-year-old fossil egg just revealed how an ancient survivor beat Earth’s deadliest extinction.
In the aftermath of Earth’s most catastrophic extinction event, one unlikely survivor rose to dominate a shattered world: Lystrosaurus. Now, a stunning fossil discovery—an ancient egg containing a curled-up embryo—has finally answered a decades-old mystery about whether mammal ancestors laid eggs. Using advanced imaging technology, scientists confirmed that these resilient creatures did reproduce this way, likely producing large, soft-shelled eggs packed with nutrients.
In terms of world domination, Lystrosaurus was arguably the most successful lifeform on Earth.
I swear only this city knows
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 03:32 pmsovayBecause I had a doctor's appointment downtown, from Storrow Drive I saw the cherry trees on the Esplanade blooming like soft fireworks in white and sugar-pink. The weather has catapulted itself into summer: asphalt-simmered air, huge tufts of cloud stacked over a haze-blue sky, lines around the literal block for Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day. Sails all over the Charles. Afterward spatch and I ate Greek takeout on a picnic bench by Spy Pond, watching a solitary Canada goose glide across the water as our summer in accelerated miniature looked like building toward thunderstorm. It is my father's seventy-fourth birthday.
spatch and I ate Greek takeout on a picnic bench by Spy Pond, watching a solitary Canada goose glide across the water as our summer in accelerated miniature looked like building toward thunderstorm. It is my father's seventy-fourth birthday.
Birdfeeding
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 11:54 amysabetwordsmithToday is cloudy, breezy, and mild.
I fed the birds. I haven't seen any yet.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- We went to Whiteside Garden again. This time I picked up a clump of wildflowers fused together: a couple of tiny ferns, and even tinier columbine, and some yellow violet.
We stopped to chat with a friend. His yard has several red-headed woodpeckers. I heard them drumming and spotted one as it flew away. These used to be the dominant woodpecker around here, but have been largely replaced by downies and are now rarer to see.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the new wildflowers. One yellow violet had come loose, so I put that with my others. The rest of the cluster went into the mossy part of the savanna which already has a woodland feel.
And now I'm hearing thunder, on what was supposed to be my main planting day. *sigh*
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the sedum from yesterday and watered the newly planted things.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the holly from yesterday at the east edge of the Midwinter grove.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered and mulched the holly.
It's 83°F outside now, too hot to do as much yardwork as I hoped. At least I got the Whiteside things planted.
I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered the pansies and violas. The hot wind is just stripping the moisture out of everything. :(
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden.
I saw a brown thrasher foraging in the house yard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I raked a section of orchard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I sowed some grass seed in the orchard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
.
I fed the birds. I haven't seen any yet.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- We went to Whiteside Garden again. This time I picked up a clump of wildflowers fused together: a couple of tiny ferns, and even tinier columbine, and some yellow violet.
We stopped to chat with a friend. His yard has several red-headed woodpeckers. I heard them drumming and spotted one as it flew away. These used to be the dominant woodpecker around here, but have been largely replaced by downies and are now rarer to see.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the new wildflowers. One yellow violet had come loose, so I put that with my others. The rest of the cluster went into the mossy part of the savanna which already has a woodland feel.
And now I'm hearing thunder, on what was supposed to be my main planting day. *sigh*
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the sedum from yesterday and watered the newly planted things.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I planted the holly from yesterday at the east edge of the Midwinter grove.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered and mulched the holly.
It's 83°F outside now, too hot to do as much yardwork as I hoped. At least I got the Whiteside things planted.
I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered the pansies and violas. The hot wind is just stripping the moisture out of everything. :(
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I watered the new picnic table garden.
I saw a brown thrasher foraging in the house yard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I raked a section of orchard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I sowed some grass seed in the orchard.
EDIT 4/14/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
.
2026.04.14
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 08:35 amlsandersonRamsey County is investigating federal immigration officers for possible kidnapping, burglary and false imprisonment over the arrest of an American citizen who was detained and led outside wearing only a blanket and underwear in freezing temperatures, reports The Associated Press.
https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-immigration-enforcement-crackdown-690091eeef2eb7f2bca1d8545bba9e83
US states drop Medicaid coverage of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs as demand rises
Experts say any short-term financial benefit will be outweighed by long-term health costs related to obesity
Eric Berger
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/14/states-medicaid-coverage-glp-1 ( Read more... )
https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-immigration-enforcement-crackdown-690091eeef2eb7f2bca1d8545bba9e83
US states drop Medicaid coverage of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs as demand rises
Experts say any short-term financial benefit will be outweighed by long-term health costs related to obesity
Eric Berger
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/14/states-medicaid-coverage-glp-1 ( Read more... )
The Sleepless (Sleepless, volume 1) by Jen Williams
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 08:52 amjames_davis_nicoll
A transformed holy servant sets out to save a cub, only to get caught up in a war against the heavens.
The Sleepless (Sleepless, volume 1) by Jen Williams
Crafts - April 2026
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 11:38 amsmallhobbitEarly, but I'm away for over a week, so I won't finish any more of my current projects.
( May crafts )
Climate Change
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 01:59 amysabetwordsmithHurricanes are slowing down - and dumping far more rain than before
If you’ve ever watched a hurricane stall on a weather map and became worried, you’re picking up on something scientists are increasingly concerned about.
A new study suggests that rapid ocean warming isn’t just making tropical cyclones dump more rain.
It may also be slowing some of them down while they’re still in their tropical phase, which is basically the worst combo if you’re on the coast or anywhere downstream.
( Read more... )
If you’ve ever watched a hurricane stall on a weather map and became worried, you’re picking up on something scientists are increasingly concerned about.
A new study suggests that rapid ocean warming isn’t just making tropical cyclones dump more rain.
It may also be slowing some of them down while they’re still in their tropical phase, which is basically the worst combo if you’re on the coast or anywhere downstream.
( Read more... )
Late Bird by Angela Narciso Torres
Tuesday, 14 April 2026 12:42 amconulyCount me among the noon risers who stumble,
dazed and bad-haired, from the nest midday,
pecking the crazed dirt for half-torn moth,
pear’s white core, severed worm. I’ve never
been one to trill at chink of dawn, to hop,
skip, chirrup before full sun. I’m better
at picking over crumbs, stitching a quilt
from what’s left, remaindered, given up
for gone. Better at betting the careless
will miss the best. Count me among
the nightbirds who sip starlight, a guitar’s
fading strains. Find me where moondust
swirls in streetlamp glow and stray dogs sleep.
What clings to the bone is most sweet.
***********
Link
dazed and bad-haired, from the nest midday,
pecking the crazed dirt for half-torn moth,
pear’s white core, severed worm. I’ve never
been one to trill at chink of dawn, to hop,
skip, chirrup before full sun. I’m better
at picking over crumbs, stitching a quilt
from what’s left, remaindered, given up
for gone. Better at betting the careless
will miss the best. Count me among
the nightbirds who sip starlight, a guitar’s
fading strains. Find me where moondust
swirls in streetlamp glow and stray dogs sleep.
What clings to the bone is most sweet.
Link