bcholmes | Reading

Achievement unlock!

Storage room was emptied with the help of a friend on the weekend - perfect timing because today was the billing date for the rental. (Everybody should have at least one Ukrainian friend. Every Ukrainian import I've ever met, if you ask them if they have time for a favour, they're immediately, "I can be there in 20 minutes.") This is the last of the big stash to be cleared out and organized. My house is once again full of crap but I've got most of it already sorted into piles to keep, give away, throw away, or incorporate into The Stuff.

Keep: One of the things I inherited from my mother was a tall skinny china cabinet. I cleaned all the dust off and polished the glass and it's now set up on my ground floor - a little dinged up from being dragged around but a touch of paint should fix it right up. She filled it with crystal glasses and clocks shaped like shamrocks. I'll probably fill it with skulls and gargoyles. Maybe dioramas from Hieronymus Bosch. Haven't decided yet.

Give Away: A couple of big bags of sweaters and blankets to go to the drop-in centre, so good timing on that as well. A big bag of shoes that will go to the drop-in next summer because they have no storage space. Neighbours have already called dibs on a few things I posted to the local group. There is also a big box of photos, so I will pull those out for my family to go through as they are conveniently all in my house next weekend.

The Stuff: This is what I call the things where I go, "That is future me's problem" and stick it in a corner. Furniture that will either go into the (some day) finished basement or will be re-homed if it's not needed, boxes of art that's going to get re-hung after I've patched/repainted the damaged walls, boxes of planters and exterior decorations I want to go through for setting up the new deck in the spring, boxes of material and sewing supplies I'm going to dig into mmn, maybe next winter if I'm being completely honest.

The Stuff is... I'm not going to lie, The Stuff takes up a lot of room and my sister likes to pull one thing out of the pile and hold it up and go, "WHAT ARE YOU KEEPING THIS FOR" and she's not wrong entirely, but... also I have been dealing with my own hoarding tendencies for a long time and this I absolutely know, I will throw it away when I am good and fucking ready and not one minute before.

(Also, if somebody stands up and says "EXPLAIN YOURSELF" my immediate instinctual reaction is No, Fuck You. So that doesn't help her get the response she's looking for.)

***

Achievement unlock #2, no hot water this morning. Of course the corridor to get back to the tank was filled with storage room stuff, so I moved that, and then sat on the floor to read the instructions on the sticker that was conveniently located 6 inches from the very bottom of the tank. Last time I had to light a pilot I was much bendier, but also I had to unscrew a side panel and then stick a match into the space under the tank. This just required pressing a bunch of buttons in a very specific order. The technology is much improved, IMHO.

Then I realized I had an appointment in 40 minutes and there was a mad scramble to get out of the house in time and I forgot every single other thing I was going to do today.

(Side Note: And holy crap it was cold outside today! My fingers went numb after about 30 seconds.)

***

I think the cat is losing weight again. I've noticed his appetite has dropped off in the last couple of weeks. I checked the label on his prescription and it expired in December, so I'm hoping that he just needs a fresh batch. He has a date with the vet tomorrow and I'll be picking up a new bottle, but I'm going to bring it up with them.

Other than that, his energy level is fine and he's still playful. And he will still roll me for his treats. So hopefully this is a temporary setback.

***

I don't talk about the news much on here. It's a lot. I've been watching the news and the on-the-ground videos and following my friends and... yeah. I don't talk about it much because I don't have much to say, but I'm still paying attention.

I yell at politicians. My MP can't even be arsed to acknowledge my messages and I'm sure her staff are getting tired of me. I think one day when I have the spoons I'll go to her office, it's not far from here. Then when she calls me a peon and dismisses my opinions, she'll at least have to do it to my face.

(I mostly hate her because she originally got her seat by claiming to be an environmentalist, but she has spent her term defending every decision to to buy a pipeline and subsidize oil sand development. Because her job is more important than her principles.)

***

I've been talking to the gf a lot about retirement. She's pretty much done with her job, and ready to call it a day. Honestly I could say the same. I mean I don't actually mind the job but I think about all the things that I could be doing with my time instead. Taking classes, learning skills, getting involved in community stuff, making things. Working is such a waste of time, never more so than when one can see how much is left.

But first I have to get this house bullshit finished with. Then I can sit down and figure out when I can afford to quit working. Maybe talk to HR, even going part-time for a bit might work out financially.

***

Media stuff:
GF and I finished watching The Morning Show. I love this show so much, mostly because there are SO MANY messy, complicated, multi-layered women. Jennifer Aniston plays a character who is often completely unlikable and yet there are so many times in the story when the viewer is dragged 100% into her corner.

Last week we watched the first two episodes of Pluribus. My take was; I wouldn't want that for myself, but it would make for a much better world to live in for everybody else. I'd probably finally take the opportunity to travel a lot - it's not like any of my family or friends would miss me.

Just started reading This Is How You Lose The Time War. I'm just a couple of chapters in. What a weird and fabulous book.

I've also started reading Wheel Of Time since the series was cancelled. I'm about a quarter of the way through Book 2. Honestly I probably wouldn't have stuck with the series on the strength of Book 1 alone, but already I think I like Book 2 better.

This would get my strung up by the bookcloaks but I can really see why the series changed so much. There is a lot of material in the book that is interesting to read, but it would get in the way of telling the story in a visual format. (And also the series would be 400 seasons long and feature lots of riding through countryside while feeling creepy. So. Yeah.)

elainegrey

So weather is forecast this weekend, and by weather i mean DOOM SNOW for North Carolina. Because 3 inches is end of world, what is 12 inches? And then an inch of winter mix on top?

So i'm looking at the weather and my Sunday evening flight out of RDU through Charlotte and i'm just certain, that ain't gonna work. And i'm just dreading the chaos. (And then i begin thinking of Christine and her surgery recovery and snow and....) So, as i churn, i asked my colleague if he could change the schedule so Monday isn't so important for my presence. It turns out there's something called a weather waiver where airlines give you a chance to reschedule your travel instead of waiting for your flight to be delayed. I figured i would have to wait until Thursday before there would be a chance to change.

But no. I got the email this afternoon that my flight would be impacted. I've rescheduled for a midday Monday departure, a long layover in Chicago O'Hare/Orchard Field, then on to Columbus landing at 7 pm. That is far more relaxed.

So, tomorrow is grocery day, and i think we need a dump run so i can do that lifting, and then i need to wrap the well with heating tape (the next days are sub freezing and i just want to make sure things are prepared for Christine on the off chance the pump freezes). Oh, we need to keep the water filtration system from freezing too. And i guess moving the generator and trying to start it..... And check the weight of the salt to make sure it's in a range she can lift.

--== ∞ ==--

I'm a little drained from therapy. I'm realizing i didn't have any reassurance, "Don't worry, it will be OK" growing up and i need to hear that from my inner mother more. I lean a lot on my faith: believing that i only see a small part of all the things and i might not ever see t that i am helping the world be better place. But there's something different about the "Am i doing it right?" i constantly feel with respect to ... everything. And maybe giving myself reassurance more will help.

And this snow event and travel: 100% waves of am i doing it right, how do i make sure it's going to be OK, ....

--== ∞ ==--

Waffles with yarden blueberries for dinner! Maybe not weight wise, but yum.

( all the airports American Airlines is worried about weather )

brithistorian

Yesterday, I finished reading Beggars and Choosers by Nancy Kress, the sequel to Beggars in Spain. I enjoyed this book and found it engaging enough that the problems I had with Beggars in Spain no longer bother me.

As I noted in my reaction to Beggars in Spain, given the power of the other genetic modifications on the Sleepless, the lack of a need to sleep seems almost like an afterthought. Apparently Kress realized this as well, because in this book, humanity is divided into four groups (listed here in decreasing order of genetic modification):

Super-sleepless (AKA Supers)
Sleepless
Donkeys
Livers[^1]

The Sleepless are pretty much written out of the story — most of them are in prison by this point, and the ones who aren't are pretty much helpless to affect the course of the story. The Sleepless are still necessary to the overall arc of the story, though, as without them there would be no Super-sleepless.

I think the problems that I still have with both this book and with Beggars in Spain come down to them being the first two parts of a trilogy where the parts are pretty much inseparable[^2]. Looking back from Beggars and Choosers, Beggars in Spain becomes sort of a prologue ("I told you that story so I can tell you this one..."). I don't really feel like it would be possible to tell the story of Beggars and Choosers without having told Beggars in Spain first — there's simply too much to try to squeeze it all into early chapters and/or memories. At the same time, Beggars and Choosers suffers from "second book of a trilogy" disease: it doesn't end so much as just stops.

Also, I'd like to remind/inform you: I keep a list of links to the monthly logs of books that I read at this sticky post, and the monthly logs contain links to the reactions I've written. If you see a book title without a link, it means I haven't written a reaction to that book, but if you'd like to hear what I thought about it, leave a comment and I'll write a reaction!

[^1] I think "Livers" in this context is rather an awkward word — my mind immediately went to the organ, but instead it's formed from the very "to live."

[^2] It seems like there ought to be one word for "three stories told in three consecutive books which share the same world and characters" and another word for "one story split into three books because of the limitations of bookbinding and/or the nature of the publishing industry," instead of using "trilogy" for both.

lydamorehouse

Your daily laser-eyed loon, this one facing forward, determined, shooting its lasers to say "Melt Ice." (by Rin Mix)

Yesterday, as noted it was one of our colder days. It was also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so Shawn had the day off work. I decided to limit my activities, though I did sign up to a Discord group which is organizing around doing laundry for people who have now been stuck indoors for so long trying to wait out the gestapo occupation.

One of the things I decided to do, however, was go singing. Our hyper-local singing group decided that due to the temperature, people would start inside a coffee shop. Our organizer made sure it was okay for us to sing a little bit indoors, but since people in the Twin Cities often gather at coffee shops to do work, we kept our indoor songs to a minimum. We then braved the outdoors for a couple of rounds of various songs, including this incredible re-working of Pete Seeger's "Which Side Are You On?"

The chorous remains the same, but the verses now read:

Come all you good people
Some news to you I'll tell
Of how your loving neighbors
Have come to give ICE hell

Chorus:
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?

Another neighbor killed today
Oh when will this all cease?
Another mother dead, my friends
Murdered by police.

[chorus]

My mother was a feminst
And she taught me how to see
The road to ruin is paved with gold
by the patriarchy

[chorus]

So let the North Star* guide us
Back towards democracy
Reject the threats of fascists
Or we can not be free

[chorus]

Oh, neighbors, can you feel it?
Oh, tell me that you can.
Will you stay silent?
Or will you take a stand?

[chorus x2]

I found this version to be incredibly powerful and while we were standing outside the coffee shop on Snelling Avenue singing our hearts out, a car at the stoplight opened its doors. I turned, expecting the worst, but it was a beat-up Toyota and probably the window crank didn't work and so the people inside were trying to hear what we were singing/saying. They were a couple of Lantinx guys and hearing what we were singing brought HUGE SMILES to their faces. When they noticed us noticing them they gave us big thumbs up, smiles, and waves.

That reminded me that even small acts are sustaining... to the fighters and those we fight for.

I also ran into a friend of a friend who also lives in Midway, so it was really nice to actually see a familiar face while out and about.

I was also happy to see that the New York Times finally had a big article about the mutual aid efforts in today's paper.They focused exculsively on the food donattions, and again, I wish that people could see the whole huge variety of things people are doing--the scope of which is truly staggering. However, it's a good article and if you are local (or are interested in what I'm talking about),

naomikritzer did a lovely round-up of ways to get involved on her blog: https://naomikritzer.com/2026/01/19/how-to-help-twin-cities-residents/ She has promised to work on a similar list for folks from out-of-town/national/international who want to help as well. I'll post that here once she writes it.

All right, comrades. Stay warm! Stay strong!

===

For those of you who might not know, the Minnesota state motto is E'toile du Nord (in French) which translates as The Star of the North. If you see protestors shouting that phrase, they are not Canadian (or French) agitators, but folks who have decided that being the star of the north means that we are leading the country in how to defend democracy.

muccamukk

Watch on YouTube

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3196/

I've had countless nights where the line never left the bottom zone of the graph, but the few moments where it's climbed all the way to the top have made up for them all.

https://xkcd.com/3196/

owlmoose

The Scavenger Door by Suzanne Palmer : The third book in The Finder Chronicles; as much fun as its predecessors, and the end had me immediately turning around to start book four. ( Spoilery thoughts. )

Non-spoilery thought: Suzanne Palmer sure knows what it's like to live with a cat.

Um Actually live show: I don't subscribe to Dropout, so I'm sadly unfamiliar with most of their shows, but during high pandemic, they dropped a bunch of Um Actually episodes on YouTube, and T and I spent a lot of time watching them. So when we learned that there would a live show at this year's SF Sketchfest, we immediately decided to get tickets. The panel, which was not announced in advance, was Janet Varney, Marc Evan Jackson, and Tawny Newsome; they were an awesome group who played well off the hosts and each other, and we had a great time.

Current Mood: good

lydamorehouse

Image: Laser-eyed loon flying away with the "Don't Tread on Me Snake" in her beak. The words "Don't Tread on US" appear in laser light trails around her head (by Cas Fern, local tattoo artist.)

I took a break on Sunday. The weather here in Minnesota has finally stepped up to join the resistance. Today we are expecting -20 F/ -29 C windchills and yesterday the windchills were around -11 F /-23 C. I won't lie. I let Mother Nature take my shift. There were things happening, including my singing group, but I spent the day baking hot cross buns and snuggling under blankets.

Rest is resistance, too.

If you are not from around here and/or would like to watch

naomikritzer talk about her experiences "commuting," and talk generally, along with Diana McCleery, about what things are like on the ground here in Minneapolis and St. Paul. My friend Cliff interviewed her on an SFF videocast:

Watch on YouTube

It's a good watch? I will say that the guy who opens and closes the video, Bob, is a bit of a character, but if you can get past that and some of the echo in Naomi's microphone, it's very informative. Naomi recently did a ride-along with the folks who are self-organizing to follow and harrass ICE vehicles and so it's fascinating to hear how it's being done.

I always feel that people don't quite talk enough about the mutual aid that folks are up to--but the truth is the quiet revolution just isn't splashy enough for the front page.

elainegrey

Bleep Marlowe. She attacked my ankle -- just a few stinging claw punctures -- as i went over to the cat barrier where she'd confronted Bruno. I hope he learned that the barrier protects him. Ugh.

I am so easily distracted.

I feel a little guilty having today off work and nothing more than "try and get myself moving" as the order of the day. Plus tomorrows walk out protest and my conflict in attending (because work, which is whole point, i get it). Plus [deleting incomplete list and replacing with] all the other distressing issues with the slide to fascist government in the US.

Time passes

I have attended the Pendle Hill hybrid worship. There was a moment of clarity for me: a sense that released the guilt, a wave of grace, a sense that it is right to engage in zest in living. Not much more clarity than to turn my attention to my usual forward.

And then looking at the temps for Ohio as my travel dates begin to show up in the ten-day forecast: yikes. So far a high of 21°F and a low of 8°F. More concerning is the snow event on the day i need to get to the airport. I know better than to trust the call for 7" of .. snow? But....

china_mieville_feed

Posted by China

https://www.chinamieville.net/2174-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2174-2

https://www.chinamieville.net/?p=2174

‘He’d atoned for sins he hadn’t committed in the name of a God he didn’t like, and he couldn’t understand why the experience gave him peace.’
— Bari Wood, The Tribe

The post Untitled first appeared on China Miéville.

https://www.chinamieville.net/2174-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2174-2

https://www.chinamieville.net/?p=2174

alias_sqbr

I am VERY sore today but if I don't write this up I'll forget.

So! I got an iron infusion! It was not very exciting.
( Read more... )

muccamukk

Mostly posting these without commentary.

Uncategorised Stuff:
CCF: Anger is beautiful. Anger is generative. Anger is ancestral. By Chantelle Ohrling, a justifiably angry defender of Turtle Island.

dolorosa_12: Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure: suggestions for concrete actions.

Technology and Media Criticism: ( L.L.M. slop, gender-based violence, transphobia. )

Canadian News That's Pissing Me Off ( Various human rights violations. )

The United States Immigration Stuff: ( No images of violence, but cutting for folks already burned out. )

lovelyangel

Kohaku Ichimura
In the Clear Moonlit Dusk, Episode 1

I’m still working on streamlining my anime reporting, trying to get down to just two posts a season – an early tracker and a final count. Here’s the initial summary of the shows I sampled – and which ones are getting attention. (Shows are on Crunchyroll unless otherwise specified.) There are a lot of sequels I’ll be following, too. Note: I still haven’t gotten around to watching the new shows on HIDIVE. I remain stressed for time this month.

( All the Shows, Below This Cut )

lydamorehouse

A sled in the shape of a jug of windshield de-icer with ICE out of MN on it with a laser loon! (photo credit, Naomi Kritzer).

...I should probably try to remember to post more often, least you all think that something dire has happened to me.

I think when I last checked in MONARCA was still up in operation and I was responding as a legal/constitutional observer. Well, as you may have gathered from the news things have gotten more chaotic here and so MONARCA was overwhelmed and is no longer functioning as a coordinated way to send people to active abductions by ICE.

Thus, since none of the calls I responded to were anything more than ten minutes too late or false alarms, I have switched to mutual aid work. (Activists are being careful not to sully the waters if you will since ICE is also keeping tabs on the watchers. So we don't want anyone who has been actively protesting or observing to be delivering groceries to people sheltering in place/hiding out from the gestapo, lest we lead the bad guys right to their doors.) I've found a local organization that was already in the business of giving out free food, a group that I lovingly called the Food Communists, who have pivoted their efforts towards feeding people who are sheltering in place/hiding from the gestapo.

They basically have open doors for folks to drop by and help when and how they can and that's been really good for me because it means that if I start to feel anxious about the police state at any point during the day I can wander down the street and see if there something I can do to aid the resistance. So far, it's been organizing doubled-up grocery bags and breaking down cardboard, but I think that all of us in this fight (and there are a lot of us) feel like all effort is good effort if it's helping our comrades and neighbors.

I have also been showing up to the various protests around the city.

There is a group of Midway neighbors who have organized a daily protection/protest gathering in front of our local Somali mosque so that we can defend people while they are vulnerable and in prayer. I joined them the other day while the temperatures plummeted and the wind whipped around our faces. But, it was so warming to the soul when the imam came out and thanked us all for being there and we waved to everyone heading out from safely prayers.

I'm in a Signal group for people who are gathering every day on a different street corner to sing songs of love, resistance, and hope. I've only been able to make one of their gatherings, but it was lovely to sing and be in community.

Mason and I joined the student walk out at the Saint Paul capitol a few days ago and it was nice to see all the youths being just as fierce as their more grown-up counterparts.

And then yesterday, I met

naomikritzer at Powderhorn Park and we watched a bunch of folks crash their art sleds.

Naomi and I out at the art sled rally

Image: Naomi (left) and me (right) out at the art sled rally. Very bundled up. There was a high of 12 F/-11 C yesterday.

Because Minnesota is like that.

And if there is one thing that I could impart to my out of state and international friends it's that, yes, everything you see on the news is 100% happening, and also? We are sledding.

Mostly, what you see on the news makes it look like the streets are full of tear gas and, yes, it's true, ICE agents are deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, real bullets, flash grenades, and smoke bombs, but people are also still going to work and walking their dogs and singing. A lot of us are doing anything we can. People are carrying whistles and charging our phones every night to get all the film possible of the atrocities we are facing at the hands of masked, domestic terrorists who are abducting people without due process. We are standing guard over daycares and mosques and restaurants and sex shops and toy stores. (Because our sex shops have become food distribution centers and our Toy Shops have been giving away free whistles.) We are showing up and baking cookies for people on patrol. We are sweeping up after the people packing bags for people too afraid to leave their houses. We are taking to the streets with signs, sometimes all alone, but we are showing our neighbors, our immigrant and refugee families, that we want them, we love them, and we will not let them be taken without a fight.

This is what resistance looks like and it is awful, but it also hopeful and kind and loving, and, yes, even sometimes we make time for fun.

altamira16

This year, I wanted to read a musician's memoir. When this book came up at the book swap, it landed with someone who did not seem that interested in it so I stole it from them.

At the time, I did not realize that this memoir was about the lead singer of the band "Against Me!"

Because Tom Gabel was only a couple of years younger than me, the musical cultural landmarks of this book felt affirming. It starts with Tom, as a child, thinking about Madonna. The juxtaposition of "Material Girl" with the politics of punk was interesting.

Tom began making music with his friends as a teenager and dropped out of high school. There was a lot of booze and many drugs involved.

Then, he wanted to get better as a musician and bigger as a band, and some of his band mates were on a different journey.

After the band made a deal for $25,000 with a very small label, the crust punks began accusing him of selling out. They would show up at his shows and flip him off for playing any new material and slashed his tires.

Despite the exhaustion of constant touring, they kept at it, and did well. You can definitely hear the production difference between "Baby, I'm an Anarchist" and "I Was a Teenage Anarchist" when the band was working with people who were professionals at mixing music.

Watch on YouTube

Then, after having his first child, the gender dysphoria that Tom had been dealing with turned into an urgent need to transition. It was tough because he was living in that part of Florida that might as well be Alabama. There was a scene about a field of crosses representing aborted babies, and I took a picture of something similar to that in my hometown the last time I visited. Tom made the album "White Crosses" with the title referring to both the crosses and amphetamines.

Transition was really difficult in that type of environment, and his wife who was really into the punk aesthetic just really hated living in the backwaters of Florida.

Transition publicly and privately blew up life, the band, and the marriage; but ultimately, it leads to choosing the name Laura and coming out publicly, with more humility and with a band more aligned with her politics, and a musical audience that is more diverse than it has ever been. During the grueling tours, the band had opened for many types of bands, and those audiences added to the fans of the band.

The song "Because of the Shame" is about one of the important people in the book that was lost, and that song survived the transition.

Watch on YouTube

Anyway, I recommend this book to

threemeninaboat,

sabotabby, and

frandroid.

oglaf_comic_feed

https://www.oglaf.com/mancy/

muccamukk

(I've got so many links right now I'm splitting it up. The depressing shit one to follow in the next few days.)

magnavox_23: The One With All The Icons From All The Fandoms...
These are gorgeous! All the fandoms being: Good Omens, Our Flag Means Death, Doctor Who, Xena: Warrior Princess, Reservation Dogs, Star Trek TOS, Heated Rivalry, Hazbin Hotel, Hellava Boss & What We Do In The Shadows...

With the Dawn by

SweetSorcery
Fandom: Kidnapped! (Davie/Alan)
Word Count: 1,300
Rating: General
Summary: Alan's own safety is worth very little to him, if it means leaving David behind ill and defenseless.
Notes: I've missed so much fic in this fandom, and was really happy to read this one from last year. The sweetest lil h/c missing scene from the book. Great voices for both of them, and very tender.

The Worst Part of Waking Up by

Sanguinity
Fandom: Hornblower (William/Horatio)
Word Count: 6,600
Rating: Teen
Summary: At the end of "Loyalty," Bush is too late to save Hornblower. With his dying breath, Hornblower requests a kiss from Bush… …only to wake up a week later and discover he's going to live after all. Damnit.
Notes: More very excellent h/c featuring Horatio Hornblower being Olympic levels of Bad at Feelings. Also extremely sweet, once he gets his shit together. I love the tag: "When He Made This Bed He Wasn't Expecting to Wake Up In It"!

ThatDisasterAuthor: Put the light out. | Turn the light on.
Gorgeous Lighthouse | Fire Tower art!

Tractor Beam: The Valley in Thaw by Elizabeth Porter Birdsall and Xiang Yata.
Beautiful graphic short story about a soil remediation robot and a band of humans who survived the apocalypse. More like this, please.

Humble Bundle: Fierce Women of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror.
Great selection, open for another couple weeks. You get epubs, not the weird kobo link thing.

CBC Books: The Canada Reads 2026 longlist is here.
I really wish they'd announce this earlier so you could take a proper shot at the long list before they drop the shortlist. I'm like half way through one of these. Lots of hockey books this year. Hmmmm.

University of Pennsylvania (for some reason?): "Introducing Myself", 1992 by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Extremely funny and extremely gender.

Fantastic Mr. Fox on Bluesky: A Recipe for Disaster.
This meme is such a whole entire mood.

brithistorian

A. and I have been watching High Potential and enjoying it very much. Today I decided I wanted to try writing a High Potential fanfic. So I went to AO3 to see what the big ships are, what the major tropes are, and so forth, so as not to jump into the fandom totally blind.

Of course the big ship is Morgan/Karadec, because they're partners on the show and we're supposed to interpret their differences as "opposites attract" and to want them to get together. But I just don't see it.

The second big ship is Morgan/Soto, which I find somewhat more plausible than Morgan/Karadec, except for the fact that Morgan appears to be so incorrigibly heterosexual as to render it impossible.

A few people shipped the canon ship Morgan/Tom, which I suppose could work, but I didn't find them to be a very interesting couple, and also he left town just as they were starting to get together. I suppose someone could do a fix-it fic to get them back together, but really I thought they were such a borin couple that I wouldn't even bother putting in the effort.

Which brings us to my favorite ship of the show: Morgan/Oz is a ship that's never going to happen in canon, but I think they'd make a good couple, and it'd be a more interesting ship than any of the above. Which is why at the time I started writing this post, there were 271 High Potential fics on AO3, of which exactly one was tagged Morgan/Oz: mine, in which Morgan and Oz are talking in bed, discussing how if their life were a TV show, the fanfic writers would ship Morgan and Karadec and they'd be totally wrong to do so. 😂

lovelyangel

TWICE performing “I Can’t Stop Me”
TWICE This Is For World Tour
Climate Pledge Arena • Seattle, Washington
January 13, 2026
Sony RX100 VII • Zeiss 24-200mm (35mm equiv) f/2.8-4.5
f/4.5 @ 200mm • 1/800s • ISO 3200

This is a lengthy post written mainly for myself so that I’ll have a record of what actually happened. At my age, memory is the first thing to go.

tl;dr: I went to Seattle to see the TWICE This Is For World Tour Concert at Climate Pledge Arena.

I feel extra fortunate in that I was able to get tickets to two TWICE concerts this month. Of the two concerts, only the first one, in Seattle, was I able to get a fancy VIP Soundcheck reserved seat ticket, which provides:

One premium reserved or general admission ticket to the show
Access to the pre-show TWICE soundcheck
Exclusive VIP gift item
VIP laminate and lanyard
Pre-show tour merchandise shopping opportunity
Early entry to the venue
Designated check-in and on-site VIP event staff

I’ve never had this before and I was eager for the experience.

( A TWICE Adventure, Below This Cut )

lovelyangel

U.S.S. Athena
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Episode 1

(Spoiler-free Commentary)

The premiere episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is available for free viewing (for I don’t know how long) at YouTube. I made time to watch it last night.

I had been hopeful for a good showing, and I was not disappointed. I’ve always loved Holly Hunter (since Broadcast News... and, yay! The Incredibles!) and want her to be a big success here. Also, I’m a fervent Trekkie – from way back to the actual broadcast years of the original series in the 1960s.

In the episode, Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti were fabulous, as expected. The cadets were the expected variety of races, temperaments, maturity, composure, and intelligence; they have room to grow.

(One odd thought... if you take the academy’s chancellor and most? all? of the academy’s recruits into space... wouldn’t losing them all at once be catastrophic for the academy? I guess we’d better hope that only a small percentage of cadets are on the Athena at any one time. Dunno.)

I don’t have the time nor the budget to subscribe to Paramount+, so I won’t see the remainder of season one until much later. But I’ll continue to monitor reviews. There are always lots of review articles online. I did follow review articles of Foundation and Murderbot when I was watching those series. There are plenty of Starfleet Academy reviews online currently.

There was one article I enjoyed: I Love That Holly Hunter Can’t Sit in a Chair Normally on ‘Starfleet Academy’ at Gizmodo. And I too love that about Captain Ake.

What was quite interesting was the comments section of the article. Apparently a large number of Trekkies really dislike the new show. Reading their complaints was interesting. I hope the producers of the series ignore that feedback and simply continue on their chosen path.

On the other hand, a couple of comments did resonate with me.

I LOVED her doing all that! I'm 5'2" myself and while I don't often get the chance to be in chairs like her character's, I could see myself doing that on occasion. I almost certainly did as a kid. As for those having a "problem" with this show, I am a long-time Trek fan, having started watching as a kid right after it went into syndication in the 1970s (I'm just one year older than the franchise), and I love every iteration. Are they all perfect? No. Do some of them challenge Roddenberry's vision? Of course. Are they woke? You better believe it, from day one 60 years ago! But they never stray so far that you can't recognize the ultimate message: We can be better. We can do our best to be kind, understanding, tolerant, collaborative and uplifting. If you don't like that, fine; don't watch. But don't tell me Starfleet Academy is not Trek, because it very, very much is, and it proved that in the first two episodes right off the bat.

–– MartinC

and:

I liked her character, immensely. And look – I’m 70, and I know they’re targeting a generation that’s several removed from me, but it’s still Trek … and I love it.

And I’ve got to say … when they brought the Athena (god, what a gorgeous starship) down to San Francisco, with Rufus Wainwright singing “you’d better wear some flowers in your hair,” it was practically a religious moment for me. I feel sorry for anyone who can’t share that joy.

–– Zaphod

Haters probably didn’t like Lower Decks or Prodigy or Strange New Worlds either. Well, let them sulk elsewhere. I like all flavors of Trek. (Admittedly, I have some reservations about Enterprise.) Haters include non-Trekkie White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. SMH. Let Miller know that Star Trek has been “woke” for 60 years.

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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

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