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Wednesday, June 10th, 2026 08:59 am
Rogan: I haven’t been using the Internet (except for work purposes) much lately, for one temporary reason and two permanent.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
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Wednesday, June 10th, 2026 02:02 pm
ALT
Wednesday, June 10th, 2026 12:32 pm
It's probably not good that I'm now sad that Adrian Chiles doesn't know how much I would love to talk to him about baseball, is it.
He's *also| a fan of a low-budget team that no one wants to go see that isn't that good but weirdly kind of is sometimes!
(Being me, I had also noticed how weird it is that Brits use a lot of language from baseball without seeming to know why they say that.)
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Tuesday, June 9th, 2026 09:37 pm
Things I wanted to get done today that I didn't do:
- write that review of the gender-affirming sex toy for a sex blog
- apply for that job
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Monday, June 8th, 2026 09:53 pm
I woke up early today and quickly spiraled into despair about how it was raining again, about how it was still gray, and about how it was actually cold enough that I should have grabbed long trousers or maybe a hoodie when I got dressed (but I didn't think of this in time and then got too busy at work so just stayed slightly uncomfortable).
But, to my surprise (if only because I hadn't looked carefully enough at the weather forecast, it brightened up into an afternoon of vivid blue sky and fluffy white clouds. Eventually the clouds disappeared, leaving just the perfect sky.
It's ridiculous how much this helped my mood.
It was all I could do to make myself go to circuits instead of just riding my bike or sitting outside. But I'm glad I did: there were only four of us there. And I'm glad of the endorphins.
Sunday, June 7th, 2026 10:02 pm
Thanks for all the good wishes yesterday.
I was in bed by 9:30 -- by which time D was already asleep, several hours earlier than usual for him! It made for a nice cozy night though.
I slept until about 7 this morning, and as resentful as I am about losing my weekend to this, it was nice that I could just take it easy, lie in bed (which I normally never do) and read and drink water and be very gentle with myself before actually getting up somewhere between 9 and 10.
And it was a quiet day, but not a bad one. Drizzly weather kept me mostly indoors but I caught up on some stuff I'd wanted to do: laundry, changed my bedsheets, answered some emails...
I made dinner, and talked to my parents afterward -- pretty painlessly this week, luckily.
I'm in danger of revenge bedtime procrastination because I don't feel like I got a break this weekend, and because I'm having the usual low-mood migraine-hangover. But I've done my bedtime rituals and I'm hoping I do get to sleep: tomorrow morning I get to investigate all the emails and stuff that I missed while I was sick Friday afternoon, and I really hope my work laptop is behaving with the USB docking station because it wasn't working for either power or data on Friday morning... Plenty of problems for Monday-morning Erik.
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Saturday, June 6th, 2026 10:29 pm
putting this behind a cut with a content warning for big green crochet spider, human eye contact, and not great news about a pet. ( Read more... )
Saturday, June 6th, 2026 05:49 pm
As if in a trance, Jenna stepped forward until she was almost on top of the mirror. Palms out, she placed her hands upon the glass. Instead of the hard surface, her hands touched warm skin, palm to palm. She closed her fingers about the image's fingers and drew the other from the glass.Blurb: (from Uranian Worlds) Combining legend, song, and storytelling, the first book in the author's Great Alta series unfolds a prophecy of young Jenna, who will bring about the end of matriarchy and the beginning of something new. Jenna comes from the all-women Hames, where at puberty they draw their "dark sisters" from the mirror to be their eternal companions who only appear by moonlight or torchlight.
"It took you long enough," said the image. "I could have been here days ago."
"Who are you?" Jenna asked.
"Your dark sister, of course."
Why is it worth your time?: The dark sister is a very cool idea! Even though Jenna's dark sister claims that she IS Jenna, just another side of her, it's clear from other characters that the sisters can have disagreements (sometimes very cruel ones), that one can mistreat another, and so on. Otherwise it is straightforward high fantasy of mythology, Chosen Ones and heroes. (Also, because I came in hoping for girl-smooching: there is no girl-smooching in this book. Sorry.) This book more concerns Jenna's upbringing and childhood; the epic plot comes in later.
Plural/1+ Tags: abuse not mentioned, identityblending, intimate relationships, setting-specific
Content Warnings: high fantasy level adventure, peril, and violence. More contain spoilers; see comments.
Accessibility Notes: Available on paper and ebook, and also in the omnibuses The Books of Great Alta and the Great Alta Saga.
Misc. Notes (if any): first book of a series; the second is White Jenna, which I didn't finish because Chosen One hero cycles really aren't my thing, and the One-Armed Queen, which apparently doesn't have the dark sister angle.
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Saturday, June 6th, 2026 08:14 pm
I had to go to London on Thursday and it was so horrible that I've had a migraine ever since lol
I really thought that "calling" in sick yesterday afternoon and going right to bed where I fell asleep for another five hours, and then sleeping another seven or eight at night like usual, had dealt with the worst of it. But no, I've been very up-and-down today too: I went to transgym, but couldn't stay awake after. I walked the neighbors' dog, with D, but have been flopping around on the couch ever since. I took dinner out of the freezer and put it in the oven but then the stabby headache came back.
I can't read/listen/concentrate (I've sort of read my reading page here, but not properly). It's very boring.
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Friday, June 5th, 2026 11:09 pm
This is an amazingly important piece, IMO, on the role of child development in democracy by Dr. Stacey Patton: "You Can't Raise Children To Obey and Expect Them To Defend Democracy"
(Notes: I edited this post a couple of times because parts of it appear to have gone missing; also, I used "trans rights" as a tag because it's discussed in the piece though not the whole focus, and "strategy" because it's laying the foundations for a very long-term strategy indeed for raising citizens of a democracy.)
(Notes: I edited this post a couple of times because parts of it appear to have gone missing; also, I used "trans rights" as a tag because it's discussed in the piece though not the whole focus, and "strategy" because it's laying the foundations for a very long-term strategy indeed for raising citizens of a democracy.)
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Thursday, June 4th, 2026 07:55 pm
We’ll be tabling tomorrow (Friday June 5) at Dyke March, at Boston Commons from 6-10ish! We will have copies of Betty Dodson’s Liberating Masturbation, Joani Blank’s Sexual Playbook for Men, and the anthology zine My Love Is Strange!
Be here! Be queer! Hope to see you!
Be here! Be queer! Hope to see you!
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Thursday, June 4th, 2026 10:09 am
On June 11, 1970 Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth Hoisington were the first women in the U.S. military to be promoted to Brigadier General.
Yesterday, Pete Hegseth removed all women from the promotions lists. He also decided that some men had too much melanin and took them off the list, too, but it wasn't every man of color who was removed.
If you grew up in the military, if you know a veteran -- especially if it's a female veteran -- call, write, or email their congressperson and your own. Bonus points if the congress critter is on one of the armed services committees. [ https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/ lists the senate committee, https://armedservices.house.gov/about/members.htm lists the house committee members]
After 28.5 years in the Army, my father retired and became a professor. Many of the kids he taught were ROTC -- as he had been -- and a large percentage went into the regular military rather than the reserves. About eight months before he died, we got a letter from one of his students who had just retired as a Rear Admiral thanking him for his guidance and example. Dad was so proud of this woman. When he entered the service, most WACS and WAVES were nurses or secretaries. Now, he was being honored by a student who had been promoted to a higher rank than he'd held for her work in Computer Systems.
Several years before her promotion, when I was five, I was privileged to meet Colonel Hoisington. I swear I heard Dad's spine snap as she was introduced to us by a mutual friend. On our way home that evening, he told me to remember her because it was predicted that she'd be the first woman general.
As a sample, I would like to suggest:
It is appalling that a Secretary of Defense has removed all women and many men of color from the Naval promotions list. At a time when we have hotspots around the world, it is crippling to morale to see that hard work and honorable service has been deemed unworthy of further advancement. Nurses, doctors, logistical and other support personnel are as essential to our ability to operate as helicopter pilots or gunners. Good officers should be promoted.
If you or the veterans you know have any personal story to share, please do so.
I grew up in the military. I hate what's being done by our current president in the Middle East, Venezuela, and, potentially, Cuba. But that doesn't mean that I don't value military service. It's time that Congress demonstrated that it, too, values the voluntary service of our military.
Yesterday, Pete Hegseth removed all women from the promotions lists. He also decided that some men had too much melanin and took them off the list, too, but it wasn't every man of color who was removed.
If you grew up in the military, if you know a veteran -- especially if it's a female veteran -- call, write, or email their congressperson and your own. Bonus points if the congress critter is on one of the armed services committees. [ https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/ lists the senate committee, https://armedservices.house.gov/about/members.htm lists the house committee members]
After 28.5 years in the Army, my father retired and became a professor. Many of the kids he taught were ROTC -- as he had been -- and a large percentage went into the regular military rather than the reserves. About eight months before he died, we got a letter from one of his students who had just retired as a Rear Admiral thanking him for his guidance and example. Dad was so proud of this woman. When he entered the service, most WACS and WAVES were nurses or secretaries. Now, he was being honored by a student who had been promoted to a higher rank than he'd held for her work in Computer Systems.
Several years before her promotion, when I was five, I was privileged to meet Colonel Hoisington. I swear I heard Dad's spine snap as she was introduced to us by a mutual friend. On our way home that evening, he told me to remember her because it was predicted that she'd be the first woman general.
As a sample, I would like to suggest:
It is appalling that a Secretary of Defense has removed all women and many men of color from the Naval promotions list. At a time when we have hotspots around the world, it is crippling to morale to see that hard work and honorable service has been deemed unworthy of further advancement. Nurses, doctors, logistical and other support personnel are as essential to our ability to operate as helicopter pilots or gunners. Good officers should be promoted.
If you or the veterans you know have any personal story to share, please do so.
I grew up in the military. I hate what's being done by our current president in the Middle East, Venezuela, and, potentially, Cuba. But that doesn't mean that I don't value military service. It's time that Congress demonstrated that it, too, values the voluntary service of our military.
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Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026 10:19 am
Rogan: okay, so it looks like Clip Studio Paint is no longer a program I can rely on, because I can’t get it to work reliably on Linux and my Windows 7 partition looks like it can no longer be activated. At this point, I think I’d rather just find a new Linux-native art program than stay in Microsoft’s clutches.
I already have GIMP but it’s like drawing with a blunt ballpoint pen. And sometimes that’s what I need, but I loved Clip Studio Paint for its lush brush pen and pencil brushes; I loved not having to erase line ends to make them pointy, I loved being able to lock individual layers or insta-colorize or screentone them. Those were the primary features I used.
I overwhelmingly draw in black and white, maybe four layers tops. I hand-letter everything. Any recommendations?
I already have GIMP but it’s like drawing with a blunt ballpoint pen. And sometimes that’s what I need, but I loved Clip Studio Paint for its lush brush pen and pencil brushes; I loved not having to erase line ends to make them pointy, I loved being able to lock individual layers or insta-colorize or screentone them. Those were the primary features I used.
I overwhelmingly draw in black and white, maybe four layers tops. I hand-letter everything. Any recommendations?
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Monday, June 1st, 2026 10:56 pm
Quick note that post-by-email and comment-by-email is (sometimes?) failing silently without actually posting right now! I'm pretty sure this is related to last night's shenanigans and will be fixed once Mark can finish the full fix for it, which he's working on, but if you've posted or replied by email in the last 24 hours, fish it out of your sent folder to check if it posted!
EDIT: This should be fixed as of around 7AM EDT! We *believe* everything that was stuck in the plumbing has been sent along to your journal or the comment thread it was meant for; it's definitely not where it was stuck anymore, at least.
EDIT: This should be fixed as of around 7AM EDT! We *believe* everything that was stuck in the plumbing has been sent along to your journal or the comment thread it was meant for; it's definitely not where it was stuck anymore, at least.
Monday, June 1st, 2026 10:09 pm
Hey everybody, it's that time again: time to vote for which stuff gets the LiberaPay/Patreon money this month!
As always, anyone can vote (please do!), but LiberaPay and Patreon patrons get double weight for their votes. (Due to Patreon's porn purges, I really encourage you to use LiberaPay, if you get a choice.) If you want to see the blurbs for any of these works, those are here! (You can also leave your requests there; requesting a story or essay is always free!) If you don't have a DW and so can't do the poll, that's okay; just leave your vote in the comments below; anon comments are turned on.
Which works gets the money, and thus posted this month? YOU CHOOSE, readers!
As always, anyone can vote (please do!), but LiberaPay and Patreon patrons get double weight for their votes. (Due to Patreon's porn purges, I really encourage you to use LiberaPay, if you get a choice.) If you want to see the blurbs for any of these works, those are here! (You can also leave your requests there; requesting a story or essay is always free!) If you don't have a DW and so can't do the poll, that's okay; just leave your vote in the comments below; anon comments are turned on.
Which works gets the money, and thus posted this month? YOU CHOOSE, readers!
Poll #34678 2026 June Fan Poll
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 22
Did you toss LiberaPay/Patreon money my way last month?
What writing gets posted this month?
View Answers
Infinity Smashed: Born Lucky
4 (18.2%)
Crazy Boys Surf Couches (Crazy Boys)
11 (50.0%)
Henchwench for Hire (F/F supervillainy)
1 (4.5%)
Rutless (trans omegaverse porno)
1 (4.5%)
Kayfabe in the Coliseum (psuedo-Greco-Roman gladiator fights)
1 (4.5%)
What If Someone Masturbates To That?: Forbidden Fiction (essay)
8 (36.4%)
The Golem Always Dies At The End (essay)
7 (31.8%)
Cross-Ethnic Headmates (essay)
8 (36.4%)
What art/comic/zine gets posted this month?
View Answers
Cult Comix (doodle strips of Cultiples BS)
4 (21.1%)
Death Watch (bony lady comic)
6 (31.6%)
Protection (one-page dark side of protector duty)
4 (21.1%)
Thrown Away
3 (15.8%)
The Anatomy Lesson (Mori/Rawlin fluff)
9 (47.4%)
Possessions (text-only poetry zine of haunting incompetently)
6 (31.6%)
Dr. Frankenstein vs. the Queerborgs (book spine poetry)
3 (15.8%)
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Monday, June 1st, 2026 10:02 pm
The weather has been overcast and wet the last few days. But the strawberries still know that June is here.
Yesterday afternoon, V was outside inspecting the garden (as they do every day) and said the strawberries were a few hours away from being ripe.
And later, long after I'd forgotten they said this, they went out again and when they came back and handed me one red strawberry.
I ate it, delightedly. Well, I took a picture of it and then ate it. First Strawberry Day is like a holiday for me.
Today, when I was mired in work, they came in with a paper towel in their hand, which held another strawberry.
I told them I hoped they were getting some too. But only after I'd grabbed this one as well, heh. They said they hadn't yet.
I'm a little sheepish that my excitement about strawberries is so great that I am getting all the earliest fruits of their labor! But I know soon that there will be more of them in the fridge than any of us eat before more come along to join them.
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Monday, June 1st, 2026 02:01 pm
update on my current crafts projects! picture below the cut, CW for plush spider eye contact! ( Read more... )
Sunday, May 31st, 2026 07:35 pm
I've been thinking (again, yes I know) about posting more here. there's several reasons for this:
mostly, it's just... I feel like my thoughts are currently both fragmentary and rambly. the fragmentary works well for short-form, ephemeral posts, like mastodon or blsky, but sometimes I want to expand on the rambles, and not having to do it in character-rationed clumps would be nice. also, again, if I post something here I know I'll be able to find it again later, which can be important for record-keeping, and for keeping my memories sorted.
so: here's some rambling about my current situation! if you've been following me on the fediverse you probably already know most or all of this, hence--( Read more... )
mostly, it's just... I feel like my thoughts are currently both fragmentary and rambly. the fragmentary works well for short-form, ephemeral posts, like mastodon or blsky, but sometimes I want to expand on the rambles, and not having to do it in character-rationed clumps would be nice. also, again, if I post something here I know I'll be able to find it again later, which can be important for record-keeping, and for keeping my memories sorted.
so: here's some rambling about my current situation! if you've been following me on the fediverse you probably already know most or all of this, hence--( Read more... )
Sunday, May 31st, 2026 10:00 pm
Robby has managed to put in a temporary fix for the site errors and things failing to refresh or not showing up where they should! The permanent fix is going to need Mark's experience, and unfortunately -- seriously, this literally never fails -- Mark has been on an international flight all day, because of course he has. (Never. Fails. He and I are not allowed to both take vacation at once.)
The site will work just fine with the temporary fix in place, things just might be a little slow here and there. We'll keep you updated.
Sunday, May 31st, 2026 08:59 pm
We're aware of site traffic issues and are working to fix them for the people who are having problems! (The tactics the damn bot traffic uses are endlessly shifting, and they're really good at looking like real traffic, sigh.)