kengr | Network

Got up and showered and had coffee at

mashfanficchick's. Then we Ubered over here, arriving in time for my Shipt order to get here.

I brought Oldest Brother's ashes back and put the box on my printer (pretty much the only free flat surface I have) with the two photos we printed out for the service. Not great but will do until I can get them taken care of at the cottage this summer.

I needed to get my laundry from the laundromat, and so we did that, then we took out my recycling. The kitchen looks much better.

We tried again with the new tools to get the tip off the spigot to attach the python to clean the turtle tank. Again we failed. This is very frustrating.

We ordered a meal from Chipotle, and after we ate, spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out. We charged our phones and I charged my fitbit and then we went into Astoria to Omnia to meet a fellow Starsky and Hutch fan who also happens to be a Bard graduate.

That was a lot of fun and we hung out and talked until quite late. Then I came home and Phoned the FWiB.

And now I have to get to bed because my hair appointment tomorrow is for 10:00!

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. The ashes are here and safe.

3. Clean laundry.

4. Recycling out.

5. Fun time with friends.

6. Bed soon.

Current Mood: good

senmut

*\o/*	Word Count	Step Count	Headache?
Daily	0	7,811	yes
Monthly	12,133	194,216	7 days

senmut

*\o/*	Word Count	Step Count	Headache?
Daily	470	8,833	no
Monthly	12,133	186,405	6 days

shadowkat

Good news, depending on one's perspective? It also shows how the courts check the executive branch or how the system of checks and balances works.

Prior to going into this? A nice little video about how a "bill" becomes a "law" in the US, which shows how the Legislature and Executive Branch interact and check each other. The US is a democratic Republic with a system of Checks and Balances, it's not a Parliamentary System, although the system did borrow heavily from it.

I'm Only a Bill...via School House Rock.

[For those who don't already know? School House Rock along with the Afterschool Special was ABC's response to the Children's Television Act of the 1970s and 1990s, which required American Broadcasting to provide television shows aimed at educating children and were "child" appropriate. And specifically the creation of advertising executive who decided cartoons would be a cool way to teach kids.
( Read more... )

( I'm Only a Bill..Just a Bill )

And a fun little one about our Checks and Balances known as the 3 Ring Circus, it explains in simple terms what each branch of the US government is responsible for:
( checks and balances )
Both are rather oversimplified explanations. It's more complicated than that, and if we add in the State Legislatures, Executive Branches, and Courts, it gets even more so. There's a reason you can't practice law in the US without passing both the individual State Bar Exam and the Multi-State Bar Exam (Federal). Also not every State recognizes every other State's Bar, since the regulations and laws per state vary.

So, its not just a check and balances between the Executive (enforces the laws), the Legislative (creates the laws), and the Courts (interprets the laws and determines if the newly created laws or their enforcement contradicts the US or State Constitutions and are invalid, and how they should be enforced) - it's also a checks and balances between the States vs. Federal, States vs. States, and States vs. Local, and add to all of that other countries or what is known as International Law, and International Trade and Treaties. This type of law is practiced and taught under Administrative Law (which has various regulations and policies in place to enforce the laws), and Constitutional Law, also Civil Law, Criminal Law, and Procedural Law.

Hopefully the above will give anyone who wasn't taught all of this in law school or civics courses or isn't a legal professional working with administrative laws and regulations daily - a simplified road map towards understanding what is currently happening? (shrugs)

Now, for the good news, or a demonstration of how all of this is actually working to beat back fascism and uphold our civil rights in a peaceful and non-violent manner. [As always, mileage may vary on whether this is good news and it's in the eye of the beholder.]

1.A federal court temporarily blocks the president’s unconstitutional executive order attempting to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

https://www.votebeat.org/2025/04/24/trump-executive-order-elections-preliminary-injunction/

2. Mohsen Mahdawi, a college student arrested by ICE following his citizenship interview, is released from detention by order of a federal court while his immigration case proceeds.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawyers-columbia-student-detained-ice-seek-release-case/story?id=121317902

3.19 states and Washington, DC sue the Dept. of Health and Human Services and its leadership over the unconstitutional dismantling of various federal programs vital to Americans’ health.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/health/states-sue-trump-administration-hhs-rfk

4.A U.S. district court rules that the presidential administration cannot use an 18th-century wartime law to deport people from Venezuela living in the U.S. ( explanation of what is happening here )

5.Colorado passes a bill to uphold public school students’ access to diverse reading materials.

https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/colorado-limit-school-library-book-bans/

( the rest - not just court cases )

"Since day one of the new administration, We The People have fought in the courts, legislatures, and the streets to defend our civil rights against any attack:
( Read more... )

As stated earlier in this post - the US does have things already in place and historically embedded over 200 years, that enable us to fight back and to do so peacefully.

Another School House Rock Ditty... No More Kings - which I think explains the American character rather well, even if it leaves a lot out, unfortunately.

Also these:

* Electoral College - Send Your Vote to College

* The Constitution - the Preamble

* Declaration of Independence - Fireworks

And finally, a new protest song by Joan Baez and Janis Ian:

Watch on YouTube

kaffy_r

Overly Loud Music in Ear Buds: Threat or Menace?*

It's been a minute since I last posted. Not, like, a real long minute, but a metaphorical minute nonetheless. for the last few days, it's been dank and grey here in Chicago, and the stress levels at Casa kaffy_rbob continue to be somewhere between Defcon 3 and 2, for all the reasons previously recited at tedious length.

When that happens, or continues happening, my go-to stress reliever, the one that effectively cuts my ability to get things done, but possibly saves a sliver of my sanity, is to put my ear buds in, and blast SKZ or Ateez at skull-rattlingly unhealthy levels right into my brain. It's a good thing that's actually a very bad thing, but I don't really care. If my hearing wasn't damaged by standing on a stage between very loud amplifiers, then my rock and roll card needs to be revoked.

But my stress level is now closer to Defcon 3, which is a bit of a relief. We finally realized that the idea of trying to balance Bob's permanent residence application at the same time as getting the house ready to sell and finding someplace to live in N. S., and getting decent movers who understand getting things across the border was stupid.

We're going to tell the movers who keep bothering us (admittedly because we contacted them first) and our very patient real estate agent that everything will be put on hold until the application is completed, in, and Bob gets accepted for permanent residence. I'd originally fought the idea, thinking that we could actually handle everything at once. I'm very glad that Bob convinced me otherwise.

So perhaps I won't have to turn my ear buds up to 11 for the next couple of days.

* and if you get that reference, congratulations - you've joined the "older than dirt, and still hipper than the room" club.

Current Mood: amused
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: Ateez, "Say My Name"

mildred_of_midgard

Not a great run, but a trial run: I had to go to the store after work today, and my knees hadn't been alarmingly painful for a couple days (though still popping regularly and occasionally twinging), so I took my Camelbak and did a trial run. I packed my knee brace, since I didn't know what was going to happen, and I didn't want to get stranded.

I probably covered about 1.5 miles total, with several interruptions (it was rush hour), but the important thing is I first confirmed I could run on a flat surface, then downhill, then, much to my surprise, uphill. Both knees and hamstrings held up.

So tomorrow, I'm supposed to go back to the cemetery, and see if I can still do 3 loops after 11 days away.

Well, it will be downpouring (a big nor'easter coming through, we might lose power), but someone remind me that I'm supposed to be an aspiring ultrarunner, and ultrarunners go out in the rain.

(I need to stop getting injured every 1-2 months, it's hard to aspire to anything ambitious when your body falls apart whenever you get past running a couple miles at a time.)

enchanted_jae

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Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Oilers at Stars, Western Conference final game 1

lb_lee

Mori: welp, our new shrink got ratfucked by Trump, even though we only got him last month, which means we have to go hunting a new one and start the whole training process over again while moving. This means we are eager to clear our plate of other distractions ASAP!

First: Wanna help us move? We will be moving on the last weekend of May--most likely Sunday, June 1 because our other three roomies move on May 31 and we don't want the front door to become a clown car. Are you available? Are you willing to lug boxes and get treated to dinner afterward? We would appreciate you (especially if you have wheels)!

Second: FREE STUFF GIVEAWAY (long as you cover shipping)! We have a couple books free to good homes:

Sweet Abilene, a M/FTM porno comic by the great E.K. Weaver. Sweet Abilene is a spin-off of their webcomic Shot and Chaser, so you can get a good idea of the art and main characters! It's great! We want other people to love it!
Festival of the Bones II: What Is Remembered Lives, an anthology of ancestor worship stories and poems edited by the Writers Egbe of Ile Orunmila Oshun. We fed it through the bookscanner, which means this book can now be liberated! (The PDF will be uploaded once we get it OCRed.)

Finally: FRAMED ART FOR SALE! An original and two print spreads, $50 a pop (plus shipping)! Frames are a pain to move! Snatch it up on the cheap!

this page of MPD for You and Me (original)
two spreads of the queer trans multi wedding in LB Goes To Alaska (prints made to look like the originals in a sketchbook, which include marginalia and green colored pencil underdrawing that are erased from the comic). You can see a photo of one of them here. One spread shows Zyfron and Mystics doing their wedding smooch and first dance; the other shows the wedding dance afterward. These spreads inspired the name of the art show they were framed for, "Love is for all of us." If you need high-res images of the pages in question, just ask!

Okay, back to trawling my health insurance website for potential new shrinks!

Current Mood: rushed

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3092/

https://xkcd.com/3092/

musesfool

Today was chilly and rainy - it was hard to get out of bed, were I was so cozy and warm. Part of me was like, is it May 21st or March 21st? I like it being cooler at night, but I'm so tired of all the rain.

I was supposed to go into the office yesterday, but my meeting got moved to tomorrow on Zoom, so I didn't have to go in. Luckily, my boss understands that I'm much more productive at home, and doesn't demand my presence more than once a month or so (if that). It's just been stupidly busy with the search committee stuff, though she and I are getting ourselves through it by clinging to the idea that once the search firm is on board, there will be significantly less of that work on our plates. *fingers crossed*

Meanwhile, I read another book:

What I've just finished: Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano, the second book in the series. I enjoyed it, but I couldn't think too hard about any of it - just keep it light and breezy - because otherwise it's very hard to believe some of the things the characters choose to do.

What I'm reading now/next: Probably the next book in the series, Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun, since I don't want to lose momentum (okay, I did lose momentum between books 1 and 2 - I had 2 open in a tab for weeks before I actually settled into reading it; sometimes all I want is Batfamily, which is still my main interest in fic-reading these days, for whatever reason).

*

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Mets vs Red Sox on tv

kevin_standlee

I updated the Santa Clara in 2027 Westercon Bid announcement post to include links to the filing documents from SPSF's bid.

This is the first time since 2019 (when there were two bids on the ballot at the Layton Westercon/NASFiC) that there have been any bids listed on the ballot. There was a double postponement, followed by a cancellation, Tonopah, another cancellation (both of which meant that year's Westercon happened at Loscon), then a couple of years with Direct Awards by the Business Meeting, then at Salt Lake City we had a filed write-in bid. This year finally breaks that string, even though it did take Kayla realizing that she and the SPSF folks were talking past each other and got things straightened out.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: Fernley, Nevada

minoanmiss

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redbird

The clowns running the FDA have proposed restricting access to covid vaccines, to people over 65 or who have certain medical conditions. There's a public docket for comments on the proposal.

Your Local Epidemiologist has a good post about the proposal, including that the people suggesting this know that nobody is going to do the placebo-controlled tests of new boosters they want to require.

Possible talking points include:

Families and caregivers wouldn't be eligible for the vaccine, even if they share a household, unlike the current UK recommendations.

Doctors, dentists, and other medical staff wouldn't be eligible either.

My own comment included that the reason I'd still be eligible for the vaccine is a lung problem caused by covid.

(cross-posting from

thisfinecrew)

hunningham

Much campaigning for 1 May election
Father-in-law came to stay a week
Day off to go see my sister
Day off to visit with old school friend
More in-laws came to stay
Civil partnership
Went to stay with my mother for a week
Went camping
Bathroom was renovated and no one could have a shower for 2 weeks
And my work carried on in the background

Nothing major, life-threatening, or horrible, but it has felt like a lot. All my cherished little routines have been disrupted, and I have been tired and cranky.

The cat has also tired & cranky - his water-bowl has been moved, his main person (myself) has been missing, the workmen were loud and the floors covered in plastic sheeting.

But nowish that we're both getting ourselves back together. Here is a journal post, Friday I will restart crossfit. The cat's waterbowl is back in the bathroom, and he is once again sitting on the bookshelf while I work.

I do need routines.

lydamorehouse

Shawn and I have arrived in Connecticut for our son's graduation FROM COLLEGE (I know. I also don't know where the time went.) I will detail the entire trip, but per usual and since it is Wednesday, I will first bore you with my reading.

This week was slower than last, but I finished up what is currently available of Nghi Vo's Singing Hills Cycle: Mammoths at the Gates and The Brides of High Hill. Of the two, I think I enjoyed Brides a little bit more because it flips the classic horror story of the imperiled bride and adds fox spirits. Plus, while Brides has all the magical Chinese-influenced characters and mythos, it has a slightly more Western storyline? The plot is plotty in the ways that Western readers, like myself, are familiar with. I loved all of these novellas, to be clear, but I think the people for whom When The Tiger Came Down the Mountain has been a favorite, this one should also work for them in a similar way.

Then, because I was unable to download one of the murderbot books I hadn't read yet (Exit Strategy) right away, I started on an audio book from 2016 which kind of fits the vibe of the current crop of Hugo nominees,

davidlevine 's Arabella of Mars. It's a Regency SF book in the same way that A Scorceress Comes to Call is a Regency fantasy. It's a shame, in a way. I think that David was ahead of his time. This book (which I'm only 34% of the way into) is to science fiction what romantacy is to fantasy. It's kind of high personal drama, low stakes and I'm super into it.

Okay, so the rest of my life....

We set off on the road on Sunday. Sunday was our big push across country to Valparasio, Indiana. Shawn still has some remaining relatives in Indiana, namely her stepsiter Karen and her husband Don. I was not looking forward to dinner with them because we had been assaulted by dozens of pro-Trump signs as we drove across country and Don is... at BEST a libertairan of the sort who listens to Rush Limbaugh. But, he was mostly on good behavior, I think due to being exhausted from an extended bout of pneumonia. But, we still managed to have one interaction that was typical of him. Don is from the Chicago area originally and Catholic, so thinking this had to be a safe subject, I asked him what he thought of the new pope. He said, "Fine, except he's a Communist." I gave him my best "??" face and then said, "Uh, isn't that the point of Catholicism? What with the feeding of the poor and sharing of loaves and fishes?" Which, did, at least, give him pause.

Monday we drove from Valparaiso to Youngstown, OH. On this trip we did a bit of sightseeing as is our wont. Shawn picked up a brochure that suggested that there were some things to be seeing in Amish country, spectifically Middlebury and Shipshewana, IN. We never actually made it to Shipshewana, as it happened, because we found a lot to explore in Middlebury, specifically this lovely little park called the Krinder Gardens

travellers

Image: Me (left) and Shawn (right) all smiles in the gardens

This little garden was genuinely charming, and I always love getting off road to see something new and/or interesting.

cool bird sculpture in garden

Image: Lovely, weird bird sculpture in the garden

This being spring, we also got a chance to see a ton of lovely flowers in bloom.

Image: these one flowers I love (which I also grow in my own garden), but whose name I have blanked on.

So, that was fun. We saw a lot of horse drawn buggies, of course. My favorite thing about those was watching the horses very expertly knowing which stalls belonged to them in various parking lots. We even saw one buggie go into a... gas station??? (Shawn noted that the driver got out to fill a gas can, so probably fueling a generator or something. Not, as I'd hoped, gassing up the horse.)

We ate a rather boring meal at a place that advertised itself as Amish-inspired. Alas, it was only SLIGHTLY inspired. But, still, it was nice to have a sitdown meal before heading out for more hours of driving.

Yesterday, we drove from Youngstown, OH to Milford, PA. The very Milford where Daimon Knight used to hold his famous worskhop, where we spent the night in an actual MOTEL. The lady behind the counter there was a little bit... "Are you sure you don't want an extra bed?" but I refrained from pointing out that we'd hardly be sinning in that bed since we're quite legally married. But, the motel was actually very charming and I think attracts a lot of queer folks? There were some men on motorcycles who were extra friendly to us in a very 'family' way, if you know what I mean. I'm sure that lady behind the counter has a lot of disapproving to do.

Then, this morning we did the rather short hop between Milford and Middletown, CT, where we will be for the next several days as we pack up Mason's dorm and watch him get his diploma. I shall try to post pictures and such BEFORE next Wednesday, but I guess we'll see how well I manage that.

What about you all? Do anything fun this week? Read anything new, exciting, or good?

schneefink

L and I are both out of practice when it comes to, uh, sailing the high seas, so when we wanted to watch Pride we walked over to the local library and borrowed the DVD. (The library has two entire #BookTok shelves btw.) Which turned out to be a great choice because we really enjoyed the DVD extra about the actual history. Finding out that there were actual LGSM members walking in the march at the end made it even better.

Such a good movie. Even before I watched it, a gif set of the ending (which of course I can't find again rn) was one of the few things on Tumblr to reliably get me teary-eyed. (The other one being the story of the RMS Carpathia.) Learning about the characters that were based on real people, and their fates, and then of course of the waves resulting from their actions, was a very good finish. (I was slightly embarrassed that I didn't remember where I knew Gethin's actor from until I read Andrew Scott in the end credits.)

I agreed to house&pet-sit a couple of times for friends that are leaving for a three week vacation next week, so on Monday I got the introduction to the house. I expected that I would most look forward to spending time in the garden and/or pool, and also take advantage of the fancy kitchen, maybe the Xbox Gamepass or Switch, but that's before I got the introduction to the VR glasses. Now I suspect I will spend a significant amount of time playing Beat Saber. You have lightsabers! And move to the music! Idk maybe the shine will wear off quick but I'm really looking forward to playing.

james_davis_nicoll

The complete Omnibus with the rules and eight settings for Awfully Cheerful Engine, the cinematic action-comedy tabletop roleplaying game.

Bundle of Holding: Awfully Cheerful Engine

paranoidangel

What I Just Finished Reading
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. I can't decide if I liked this or not. I couldn't get through the Thursday Murder Club because I didn't like the characters and wasn't interested in the murder. In this one I like the characters and would absolute be up for reading more with them in, but wasn't that interested in the murder. And found the short chapters cutting between characters made it hard to get into.

Clean Point by Meg Jones. This was awful. I thought it was a tennis romance, but then read the preview and thought it was an interesting tennis story about drugs and parents and coaches. That part of the story was interesting and would have been better if it had been the main part of the story. Sadly most of it was about the two main characters spending all their time thinking about each other's legs, which was dull and predictable. I kept reading for the tennis aspect and whether it was all going to end up happy or more realistic. I could have not bothered.

What I'm Currently Reading
Triangle: Imzadi II by Peter David. My Unconventional Courtship fic is set during this book. I skim-read bits when I started, but then my writing stalled. I finally have an idea for the next bit (if not the ending) and I thought reading this book would help me actually write it.

What I'm Reading Next
Is This Working? by Charlie Colenutt. A library hold that's just come in.

Mirrored from my blog.

mount_oregano

As a member of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Association, I get to vote on the Nebula Awards. Here’s my vote for best novella (17,500 to 40,000 words). The awards will be presented at the Nebula Conference on June 7 in Kansas City.

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed (Tordotcom) — A woman ventures into a dangerous forest to save two children from a monster. A grim story told with urgency.

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (Tordotcom) — Elephants and newly-revived mammoths face extinction from ivory poachers, but they have protectors. The story explores its ideas back and forth in time to dramatize a contest between greed and survival.

Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa (Tordotcom) — An ancient power arises in a post-apocalypse dystopia, and three very different people in a literally stratified society must try to survive.

Countess by Suzan Palumbo (ECW) — A story inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo, but in space.

The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar (Tordotcom) — The chain is about an ex-slave, the practice is about the chance to become something better, and the horizon the chance to get it. A lot of social justice, told with the distance of spaceships.

My vote: The Dragonfly Gambit by A.D. Sui (Neon Hemlock) — A former lover, now an enemy, conspires to bring down an empire. I was impressed by the tight storytelling, emotional tension, and frequent reversals.