watervole | Reading

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/26588779-bujold-nesfa-collection-reprint-e-print

Way back in 1996, I was writer guest of honor at Boskone, the science fiction convention associated with the New England Science Fiction Association, NESFA, one of the longest-running fan clubs out there. As was and is the custom of NESFA Press, they produce a nice book of their writer guest's unpublished or other writings for a convention souvenir. I didn't have much unpublished at the time, but we scraped up what we could, and the NESFA folks filled out the volume with interesting related matter.

On the most recent reprint, they went for an updated edition with a new intro by me, plus for the first time an e-edition. Now available here:

https://www.nesfa.org/book/dreamweave...

You can also get all their other Bujold hardcovers -- signed! -- through Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore here in Minneapolis, http://www.unclehugo.com/prod/index.s... Where I will be doing a book signing on May 16th at 1 PM in honor mainly of Penric's Intrigues, but I'll sign whatever of mine folks have.

My books are also available locally through Dreamhaven Books & Comics.

Ta, L.

posted by Lois McMaster Bujold on May, 07

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/26588779-bujold-nesfa-collection-reprint-e-print

puddleshark

Bistort.

I know I said I wasn't going back to the Walled Garden, and that it was too expensive now... but with things being the way they are, it's hard not to think, damn it, the world is ending, I should visit gardens while I can.

( And it's wisteria season... )

vilakins

Day 7: Favourite friendship

I suppose the one that is most obvious in canon is Vila and Gan, which I do like a lot, but Avon and Vila is my favourite one - their interaction and dialogue is just so much fun to listen to and to write. I can see it in S1 and S2: they seem at ease with each other and talk together more than with other people, and they work well as a team. Looking at body language, they often stand close together, touching surprisingly often.

Sadly, there's not much later, though there are glimpses, e.g. in Rumours of Death, Assassin, and Orbit (quite a lot in that, before the shuttle sabotage).

All the questions are on Tumblr.

ranunculus

Just ordered a bunch of drip irrigation parts.
Room 2, beds 3 & 4, have sort of been the bastard step children of the garden. They are on the south end of the garden, are hard to get to, though they are now a LOT easier to get to than they were. Bed 3 was literally falling apart (already!) Yesterday I pulled all the leeks that were going to seed and today I patched it up. One board had pulled free of its screws on one end, and both top boards were bulging out in the center. The repair involved pounding a section of old t-post and a rusty piece of 1/2" metal pipe. They went just outside of the center of the bed. After shoveling out the inside (so the boards could move) I installed one of my electric fence ratchets and pulled the two sides together. In the corner I replaced a piece of 2x4 that had mostly rotted away. Here is the bed, raked smooth and waiting for amendments. It will get some of my sifted compost, ground coconut coir and wood compost in the hopes that those components will help build soil structure so it holds water better. I want to get the last two pepper plants in plus a couple of butternut squash. These are supposed to be small and round! Can't wait to see how they turn out. Also maybe two more of the pickling cucumbers...

Next up is bed 4. It doesn't need repair, just to have a couple old collard plants cleared and some compost spread. It got heavily amended last year which changed it from a bed that was horrible to one that was quite nice. I think it will get some okra, but not quite yet, okra wants it HOT, and it is still in the 50's at night.
Need to set traps for the gopher.

julesjones

Day 6: Least favourite male character

Jarvik, because the poor soul was the creation of Ben Steed... Jarvik himself does have some good points, but dear God the misogyny dripping from the typewriter.

Of the regulars, Tarrant, partly because he is an entirely inadequate Blake-replacement for me, and partly because he's a bully in a way I find repellent even in a fictional character (there's a nastiness in his bullying of Vila that just isn't there from Avon before the aftermath of Orbit).

Vilakins mentions S4 Avon, and while I don't feel that way myself I can see where she's coming from. :->

vivdunstan

Another 20-years-on rewatch for us, last week, with my review only going up now.

This is a strong episode, that brought back a much-loved old character, in a way that appealed to both long-term fans from the 1970s and new fans who had no idea who Sarah Jane Smith was. Or indeed K9. It was a risk going for the jealousy angle, and Rose doesn't always come out well, including re the final bit with Mickey. But it gives a new perspective on the role of a companion, and I think was generally well done.

It's another tightly written episode - rewatching this 2006 series I'm constantly agog at how much tighter the single parters were writing wise than in the RTD2 era - with a strong plot and good guest cast. Anthony Head is particularly strong in his role, and I honestly thought that the main kid actors were ok, though I've seen other reviewers less positive about them.

As an old time fan myself, albeit starting watching in 1978 after Sarah Jane Smith left the TARDIS, I loved the ending. And it was easy to see how much fun David Tennant was having, as another lifelong fan. It's no wonder that this led to the very successful Sarah Jane Adventures spin off.

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3242/

Scientists occasionally invent alternative periodic table layouts, which is usually a sign that they don't have enough enrichment in their enclosures.

https://xkcd.com/3242/

paranoidangel

What I Just Finished Reading
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. I read this in about a day, it was so interesting. The author worked for Facebook and started when she thought it could be a force for good in the world. It was clear pretty early on that it wasn't a good workplace, but she gets used to it. And then it gets worse. And then worse again. And worse. In summary: the people in charge of Facebook don't care about anyone. Not their employees, nor their users, nor people who were hurt (literally) by their algorithms. It's really awful what they did (and are probably still doing). I did know this stuff, at least sort of, but it hits different when reading a first-hand detailed account.

Barry Cryer: Same Time Tomorrow by Bob Cryer. This was really interesting to hear about his life and work. He was just a lovely and funny man who loved people.

Doctor Who: Origin Stories. This got a bit samey after a while - a lot of the stories were companions meeting a Doctor as children and then being made to forget about it. Which just felt a bit pointless. On their own they were fine, but it just me feel like I was reading the same thing over and over again.

The Return of Robin Hood by Paul Magrs. I found this a bit dull. There's nothing specific about it that I didn't like, it just didn't do anything for me.

What I'm Currently Reading
The Twat Files by Dawn French. This is stories from her life where either she behaved badly or made mistakes. It's quite interesting, I just stopped because I had library books to read.

A Witches Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna. I'm enjoying this. I got worried when it was clear there was a love interest, but actually the romance has been okay and not that big a thing. I'm only 30 pages from the end, so I'm confident it's not suddenly going to become one.

What I'm Reading Next
Excitingly, whoever had The Vanishing Box by Elly Griffiths out of the library has brought it back. I just need to finish the library books I have and hopefully this will still be there when I go. And then after I've read that, I'll read The Great Deceiver by Elly Griffiths, the last in the series, which I own but decided to save for last.

Mirrored from my blog.

aunty_marion

I bought a pair of them from Amazon, had them delivered to the PO, thinking I'd collect them on the way back from the dentist, only the dentist cancelled on me. So I went out after the usual Wednesday afternoon Zoom chat, instead. Pretty much exactly what I wanted/needed. I've assembled one and put it in place, and the other one is in storage for if/when I need that.

White plastic-coated shelf in freezer drawer

Current Mood: accomplished

galadhir

ugh, I am not feeling great today so I'm having a day off of cycling and weight lifting. It's spitting outside, so I would have normally not cycled anyway. I would have driven to the gym and done the weight lifting, but I have a headache and I feel sick and my limbs and back hurt, so maybe I could just not.

I have lost another half stone, to a total of 3.5 stone, ie 49lb (approx 25kg) and I am continuing with the diet (though I'm eating more and slowing down atm.) It seems more and more likely that by the end of June I will be too small for my nice blue belly dance dress. So, I have been busy combing the charity shops for skirts and making bedlah to wear instead.

The black one is the right size for me now, and I can pair it with a black trumpet skirt and be dramatic. This is the one I was making for the heavy metal solo that we still haven't decided music for.

black bedlah

This silver and African wax print set is uncomfortably small for me atm (and also not finished) but the possibility is that it will be the right size (and finished) in June. I would pair this with a layered white skirt that I also found at a thrift store.

wax print bedlah

This would require me to buy or make a white power-mesh thingy to cover my stomach, because I am not going out there with my stomach out (I possess a black one already.)

I am however very encouraged by the fact that Soheir Zaki (RIP) seems to have had many different colours of bodystocking which she paired to her outfits, so I have a good role model for refusing to let it all hang out :)

And if the black set becomes too big for me before then, I can just sell it. There are a lot of plus sized dancers out there who never get catered to by anyone, who would probably like a new set.

Doing belly dance costuming on a budget by making it yourself is the way to go if you don't want to drop £200 or more at a time for a professionally made set, and while I'm changing shape it would be stupid to buy anything really nice. The downside is that everything looks very hand-made. The upside is budget, but also that I am learning all sorts of new sewing techniques as I go.

vilakins

Day 6: Least favourite male character

If I have to pick from the regulars, then Tarrant for his bullying, though he did improve. Also, S4 Avon had to be in the running. [ducks for cover]

If it's from the whole series, then Jarvik, no contest.

All the questions are on Tumblr.

igenlode

The furry hedgehog wildife garden is clearly a complete failure; I don't really want to simply empty the compost back into the communal bags, since it is full of 'fairy grass' seed that may germinate in years to come, so I used the base tray to plant some more rocket. (Of course it has no drainage holes, so would be better used as a plant-saucer under one of the larger pots... however, this way the grass-seed has a chance to rot down further in a visible position.)

In the three little pots of candy-tuft, all of which are of the 'toy' size that is really too small to grow anything seriously, I sowed saved seed from love-in-a-mist, poached-egg plant, and the mutant pak choi from 2023 -- the latter mainly in order to get rid of the envelope! But it is some kind of brassica at any rate, and the seedlings can presumably be eaten.

( Corn-marigolds )

I potted up a dozen or so basil seedlings into a couple of tubs, but there are still rather a lot left...

selenak

In which Boyd and Miles share Benjamin Sisko duties - or is one of them Dax?

( Past Tense: The For All Mankind Edition )

Current Mood: curious
Current Location: Berlin

petra

Mind you, I didn't remember till quarter past bedtime, so I am not done reading yet. But I will read!

Current Mood: socially constructed
Current Music: Injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected, and selected

igenlode

I finally got round to splitting up the various things that have been germinating in the dill pot, three or four of which were dill. I have been putting this off because, in addition to all my other normal reasons for putting things off, I couldn't be sure whether any of the winter purslane seeds might have germinated, or might yet be about to germinate; however, I now have several large plants that look as if they are more likely to be cornflower or flax, and some that are either Linaria, toadflax or alyssum, plus some that I already identified as chickweed or Oriental poppies and pulled out. I suspect the one that I had hoped was another mesembryanthemum is actually only the furry leaves of a forget-me-not, and I don't think I'm going to get any purslane out of that handful of seeds (which may or may not have ripened sufficiently in the first place). However, I have left the remaining soil in the tray just in case anything further germinates in it :-(

( Dwarf peas and towel-tomatoes )

( Orange poppy and not-a-strawberry )

Lesson 21 was another unexpected misfire from the Russian TV course, being basically an inferior reprise of the winter sport vocabulary in Lesson 18, only with worse acting and a lot less plot :-( I note that Lesson 18 is credited to the Kiev educational film studios and Lesson 21 to their Leningrad counterparts, so possibly the repetition was the result of someone carelessly assigning the same course material to two different production teams; at any rate the second team were evidently a good deal less creatively inspired by it than the first.

julesjones

Day 5: Favourite male character

Blake.

He's the reason for the entire story. Nation created him as something more complex than just a gung-ho freedom fighter; and Boucher as script editor for the entire four year run plus writer of some of the key episodes put a lot of work into making him even more complex and, for want of a better word, real. He's not always likeable as a person, but it's very easy to understand why he's the way he is, why the others follow him, and why he believes (with good reason) that what he's doing is the least bad option. And he does know it's the least bad option, rather than the best option. He's a good man in a bad situation, who still stops to help individuals along the way.

I pre-ordered the Blu-ray boxes for series 1 and 2 as soon as they were announced, because I loved the idea of having remastered and restored episodes. It is not a coincidence that I am buying the series 3 and 4 Blu- ray editions more for the new extras that aren't on the DVDs than the remastering.

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3241/

It started as a mistake that everyone was afraid to admit to, and then it stuck because removing it 'looks silly.'.

https://xkcd.com/3241/

ranunculus

Saturday Dave, Ray, John, Grant and Mark all came up to help. We went over, cut up the huge oak limbs that had fallen into their camp area, split the wood and they hauled it back and stacked it at the house. We also harvested some dead madrone. I like to burn madrone, it burns hot and leaves little ash. The next day I hosted a tack sale. Well attended by sellers we had few buyers, so not a terribly successful day.
Yesterday I mostly just slept.
A trip to San Francisco was planned for today, but thankfully I don't have to go. My goal today is to clear Room 2 Bed 3, which is grown up to dozens of leeks which I cannot eat. Any that are still useful I'll chop up and freeze for Donald and M. Then amend the bed and plant. I'm down to the last few peppers, and winter squash. Possibly one or two more cucumbers. Need to unload the last of the wood compost from the truck so I can go back and get wood chips to spread on the paths. The grass is growing back - again. Raw wood chips should suppress grass and weed growth.

ranunculus

Paperwork for last weekend's event is done, including paying the State for the absurd drug fee. I haven't ordered the regular ribbons yet. We were short some of the ribbons for the Novice group. I need to count up what we need for this spring plus this coming fall. I did order the big ribbons for the "tournament" winners (my tournament is the spring show plus the fall show.)
Most of this week was taken up by planting.

( Garden news, pics )

vilakins

Day 5: Favourite male character

You know the answer to this one: Vila of course!

My favourites in other series have usually been aliens or androids (Spock, Data, Vir, G'Kar, pretty much the whole cast of Farscape), so Vila seemed to be an outlier, but it occurred to me recently that I go for characters who don't fit the norm, like Sheldon Cooper, Wash and Kaylee from Firefly, and Jett Reno. If they're male, then they're not typically so.

Vila stands out in Blake's 7 for being nervous, often openly scared, kind, non-violent, and very funny with it, someone who defies the B7 universe by being himself. He's also the only character who drove me to write for him, because he deserved a lot better than he got.

All the questions are on Tumblr.

Current Mood: sleepy

petra

One must imagine Sisyphus horny (13133 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker
Additional Tags: Time Travelling Obi-Wan Kenobi, Time Loop, Canon Divergence - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Bad Decisions, What Would Quinlan Vos Do?, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Sex (Star Wars), Premature Ejaculation, Misdirection, Virgin Obi-Wan Kenobi
Summary:

The twentieth time through what has got to be the worst, and longest, day anyone has ever experienced without dying irrevocably, Obi-Wan wakes up on the Negotiator, checks the chrono to be positive of the date and swears a bloody streak, then comms Anakin. He has tried this day doing what he thought best, what he thought Yoda would think best, then Shaak, then Mace, then every other Jedi he's ever respected.

He has been putting off trying what he believes Quinlan's approach would be, or at least what Quinlan would counsel Obi-Wan to do, but the time has come.

Current Mood: i got you, babe
Current Music: Starts out easy, something simple, something sleazy

petra

Okay, not literally, but the comic in this May the Fourth be with You tumblr post is absolutely killing me.

I'm saving the art because I would be so, so sad if I were to lose it, but please go let the artist know if it amuses you anything like as much as it tickles me.

( Image descriptions )

( Images saved on Dreamwidth, lest Tumblr cease to be )

And yes, I did have to use this icon for this post.

Current Mood: shipping
Current Music: 'Cause my friends are your friends and your friends are my friends

petra

Wishing everyone who enjoys Star Wars a very Lucastrian day!

I posted this:

But I cried the whole time (doesn't matter, had sex) (300 words) by Petra
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala & Sabé, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Quinlan Vos
Characters: Padmé Amidala, Sabé (Star Wars), Obi-Wan Kenobi, Quinlan Vos, Anakin Skywalker
Additional Tags: Drabble Sequence, First Time, Gossip, Loss of Virginity, Crying During Sex, But then I already tagged it Anakin Skywalker, Confessions, Masturbation, Consensual Infidelity
Summary:

Padmé talks about Anakin with Sabé.

Obi-Wan talks about Anakin with Quinlan.

Anakin practices basic stress relief in his bunk.

...

And if the stars align and my betas have time, I will have another story soon, this one on the classic theme of Obi-Wan Time Travelling, but with a Groundhog Day twist and loss of virginity.

Current Mood: festive
Current Music: Maybe you'd like it better back in your cell, your Highness, your Worshipfulness

ffutures

This is a bundle of solo / one plaver plus GM RPGs, mostly with animals as the player characters. from British publisher Critical Kit Ltd., including Be Like a Cat, Be Like a Crow, and several supplements. Also a solo dungeon design game, D666.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/KitSolos

These look like they can be fun, with some interesting ideas for rewards for failure and success; for example, one of the results in Be Like a Cat, following a failed roll for agility, is "roll 1d6, and on a result of 1, your failure becomes the subject of a viral internet video," and some of the character design choices in Be Like A Crow are somewhat quirky and include cybercrows, tool-using steampunk crows, gothic horror crows, ravens guarding the Tower of London, and so forth. The rules are reasonably simple and the bundle is cheap, I think it's well worth a look.

julesjones

Day 4: Least favourite female character

Cancer, not least because of the ridiculous costume change and "Bwa-ha-ha, my pretties". Pella in Power is probably next, because the episode was written by Ben Steed with all Ben Steed's interesting ideas about gender politics and there was only so much Mary Ridge could do about it.

vivdunstan

Listening to "Dennis the Menace from Venice", a 1935 music hall song which was the inspiration for the DC Thomson Beano comic character Dennis the Menace.

vilakins

Day 4: Least favourite female character

If they mean the regulars, then I don't have one. If I can choose from all characters, then Sara and Cancer equally. I know they were bad people - and there were others like Alta Morag who were - but these two were so annoying, they made me want to slap them silly, maybe for their awful crying acts. I'm glad that Soolin (I think) did the honours for Cancer.

All the questions are on Tumblr.

vilakins

I forgot to post last night, so it's now the 4th here.

Day 3: Favourite female character

It's hard to pick a favourite as they're all good in their different ways. Jenna is sensible, pragmatic, and tough; Dayna lively and determined, and Soolin cool and logical - like Avon should have been in season 4. But I'll pick Cally as she was so wonderfully fierce at the start and her telepathy fascinated me. It's such a pity that they softened her down into the crew nurse; she would have given them an awesome tactical advantage that was hardly used.

All the questions are on Tumblr.

Current Mood: awake

lois_mcmaster_bujold_feed

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/26577894-penric-s-intrigues-releases-this-week

Penric's Intrigues, the 4th Pen & Des collection on paper from Baen Books, should be reaching stores this week, or maybe a bit earlier -- Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore and Dreamhaven Books & Comics here in Minneapolis have theirs already, signed.

I don't know how widely distributed this one is going to be, but in any case your favorite local bricks 'n mortar bookstore should be able to order it via their usual channels on request, if it hasn't popped up on its own.

The online booksellers will start shipping it Tuesday, which means you can hit that order button most any time now.

It contains the novel-length The Assassins of Thasalon, and the novella "Knot of Shadows".

All three of the prior volumes remain available in hardcover, and can be ordered. (Some of the paperbacks are sold out.) To recap:

Penric's Progress, containing "Penric's Demon", "Penric and the Shaman", and "Penric's Fox".

Penric's Travels, containing "Penric's Mission", "Mira's Last Dance", and "The Prisoner of Limnos".

Penric's Labors, containing "Masquerade in Lodi", "The Orphans of Raspay", and "The Physicians of Vilnoc".

A week or so ago I recorded an hour-long interview for the Baen Free Radio Hour podcast in support of the new release; I'll link it here when it goes live.

Ta, L.

posted by Lois McMaster Bujold on May, 03

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/26577894-penric-s-intrigues-releases-this-week

aunty_marion

So, new fridge-freezer is in & working satisfactorily; on Friday I went to Iceland & assembled £20-worth of frozen stuff, including 2 packs of their Majestics (own-brand answer to Magnums), a couple of ready meal things, and some diced lamb and sausages. Yesterday, Saturday, I went shopping in M&S and the fridge is now stocked with more of the usual things. I also did a bit of strategic browsing online, and concluded I couldn't get what I wanted, or not immediately; so I bought a cheapo chopping board (a cheap and chippy chopper?) from Bargain Buys, on which I can firmly stand two of my silicone (i.e. 'floppy') ice-hex trays. For £1.99, better than nowt; this machine doesn't have a built-in ice-cube shelf, but I do prefer them to go in level.

I had an offer from a good friend to buy me a replacement kitchen rack, as I'd found one on Amazon that would fit in the altered space in front of the new fridge-freezer. It was supposed to come on Tuesday, but turned up today! I assembled it, only slightly laboriously, and it is now stocked with most of the useful stuff salvaged from the old one. The old step-stool has been moved out to the garden to take the place of the disgracefully decaying old wooden chair, which needs to be destroyed & dumped. The 25L chocolate tub now stands on the single wooden stool, and can be moved if/when necessary.

Another thing that arrived today, via Evrizon (ordered from Amazon, delivered by Evri, at the same time as the kitchen rack!), was my new bed-step. As I've shrunk a little with age, it's become increasingly difficult to heave my bulk onto the high Moriarti bed; I've got some 'half-steps', but they're 4" tall, and I worry about a) stubbing my toes on them in the dark, and b) falling off them when trying to get out. I've experimented with an old surplus shelf from a book-case with a thin foam mat on top, which ... works. Sort of. I'd had a few other ideas, when a friend suggested 'swimming floats'! Brilliant! So I investigated those, but have ended up buying a kneeling pad instead, which is thicker than the swimming floats and no more expensive. It's 4cm thick and bright blue...

Kitchen rack with 4 baskets

Blue garden kneeler next to a wooden bed, to be used as a step

Current Mood: accomplished

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Tales From the Riverbank

Reading

Bujold NESFA collection reprint & e-print

The Walled Garden again

30 Days of Blake's 7 - day 7

Irrigation

30 Days of Blake's 7

Rewatching Doctor Who: School Reunion

Aperiodic Table

What I am reading Wednesday

Calloo, callay, freezer shelves arrived today!

(no subject)

30 Days of Blake's 7 - day 6

The end of the furry hedgehog

For all Mankind 5.07

Happy Murderbot Day!

Splitting up

30 Days of Blake's 7 - Day 5

Horizontal Stabilizers

Wood, Tack Sale

Update

30 Days of Blake's 7 - day 5

One must imagine Sisyphus horny - Star Wars story, Obi-Wan in a time loop

And then I fell off my chair

May the Fourth be with you, always!

Another RPG Bundle - Critical Kit Solo / 2 player games

30 days of Blake's 7 - Day 4

Dennis the Menace from Venice

30 Days of Blake's 7 - day 4

30 Days of Blake's 7 - day 3

Penric's Intrigues releases this week

Continuing kitchen rearrangements

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