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Oysters, shards of glass from the sea

Nov. 11th, 2025 09:41 pm
sovay: (Rotwang)
[personal profile] sovay
Tragedy: I saw this afternoon a late eighteenth-century frock coat in olive-green broadcloth that I could not heist because it had been tailored for a smaller man than myself. It was in the Concord Museum, where [personal profile] fleurdelis41 and I had gone specifically for Transformed by Revolution but the TARDIS-like galleries winding inside the externally compact brick and slate-roofed buildings were too compelling to breeze through, especially when filled with items like the Musketaquid-turtle formed of ten thousand stone years or the small brass-foxed mirror that belonged to a man who died free or a collection of objects once in the possession of Thoreau that I had no idea anyone had preserved, like a wooden box for geological specimens or a DIY Aeolian harp. A copper kettle that belonged to Louisa May Alcott. Flints dug up from the lines of battle at the not yet Old North Bridge. Embroidered scenes of the Book of Esther. A musket that was high-tech enough for the militia but not for the Continental Army. A lace-trimmed gown of India cotton in the Empire style. The gallery devoted to the Battles of Lexington and Concord was audiovisual without eliding the tactile artifacts of powder horns and flintlocks and a lantern of the Old North Church. The modern quilt was as resonant as the stone tool island. I liked the display inviting the visitor to guess from their textures the difference between imported and homemade textiles, of which the silk and the superfine were not the latter. I liked, too, Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts' Unloading Boats (1912). By our own estimate, it was our first time hanging out in person in four years. I left the gift shop with Nathaniel Hawthorne's Twenty Days with Julian & Little Bunny by Papa (1851/2003) and a guide to trees by their leaves.
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Posted by adamg

Aurora over West Roxbury

Patty photographed the northern lights over West Roxbury tonight, thanks to a severe geomagnetic storm caused by billions of tons of solar plasma ejected from the sun's surface that hit the earth's magnetic field - peaking around 8:20 p.m.

Another storm - and aurora displays - could hit tomorrow as well.

Amy Isikoff Newell watched the lights over Coolidge Corner - and reports spotting what appeared to be "a large meteor flashing green in the west around 10 or so:"

Aurora over Brookline

Barbara Parmenter looked north in Brighton:

Aurora over Brighton

James Noonan watched the display in Roxbury:

Aurora over Roxbury

Ari Ofsevit captured the lights from "a not at all dark street" in Somerville:

Aurora over Somerville

Colin McMillen also looked north in Somerville:

Aurora over Somerville

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juniperphoenix: Locke and Sayid walking through tall grass (LOST: I went swimming in the Caribbean)
[personal profile] juniperphoenix posting in [community profile] fanart_recs
Fandom: LOST
Characters/Pairing/Other Subject: Individual portraits of Sayid, Desmond, Sun, Kate, Juliet, Eko, and Ana-Lucia
Content Notes/Warnings: none
Medium: digital painting
Artist on DW/LJ: n/a
Artist Website/Gallery: maddiesium on Reddit

Why this piece is awesome: These are great likenesses and wonderfully expressive of the characters. Sun's is the real standout for me, with its dramatic use of color and light and that classic Sun expression.

Link: Lost portrait paintings

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Nov. 11th, 2025 04:50 pm
ursamajor: strumming to find a melody for two (one chord into another)
[personal profile] ursamajor
And then suddenly, it became tech week for Verdi.

We borrowed Valerie Sainte-Agathe from SF Girls' Choir in preparation for this performance. Valerie breaks things down differently from Ash, but I like how she pushes us in certain ways that make us realize we know things better than we think we do; it's a confidence builder. Of course, that's a double-edged sword when it's the case where you actually don't know things as well as you know you need to, but I think overall most of us are benefiting from that presumption of a musical capability baseline, that we can read notes and lyrics at the same time and don't always have to start with one or the other. The occasional singing in mixed formation; the times when she tells us to just put the sheet music down and trust our memory.

We did a "retreat" a couple of weekends ago to basically cram in the equivalent of two additional rehearsals, and I think it helped to just run almost everything in order, to realize that yes, we actually have touched on all of the sections where we sing, and now it's just a matter of linking them together into one performance. (And, um, warming up sufficiently; some of my sopranos have definitely not been feeling warmed up enough for some of the high notes we've got in the Verdi; apparently the tenors have a similar plaint.)

Rehearsals Wednesday and Thursday; performance Friday night, along with a world premiere from Cava Menzies to open the show. I believe there are still tickets available for anyone local and interested. Guess I'd better dig out the concert blacks soon and make sure they're clean :) And figure out a lighter-weight folder for the Verdi, lord is the new edition heavy, but it still needs to be in a black music folder to blend in!

(Note to self: obviously it won't arrive in time for Verdi, but if you're thinking about trying to find a lighter-weight concert top before Break Bread, look at Blackstrad? Occasionally, the algorithm deposits actually relevant things in my feed. I'm currently intrigued by their Vesper top and their Elektra top, though I suspect given dress code the Vesper's a better option. There's even a petite section!)

And Break Bread will be upon us faster than a blink: rehearsal next week, break for Thanksgiving, two more regular rehearsals, and then dress rehearsal and performance all on Sunday, December 15. I'd better hurry up and order my music for our February concert, haven't done that yet, naughty section leader!

All of Agatha: Hallwe'en Party

Nov. 11th, 2025 07:09 pm
stonepicnicking_okapi: pumpkin (pumpkin)
[personal profile] stonepicnicking_okapi
This series of entries is commentary on my lifelong quest to read all of Agatha Christie's works in UK publication order. It was begun in January 2021.

I thoroughly enjoyed my re-read of Hallowe'en Party [1969]. The plot is solid and all the pieces fit. Here's a synopsis:

While visiting her friend Judith Butler in Woodleigh Common, Ariadne Oliver assists the neighbours in planning a children's Hallowe'en Party at wealthy Rowena Drake's house. Upon meeting Mrs Oliver, 13-year-old Joyce Reynolds claims she once witnessed a murder, though at the time she was too young to recognize it as such. Though no one appears to believe her, Joyce is found drowned in an apple-bobbing bucket after the party; distraught, Mrs Oliver summons Hercule Poirot to solve the case.

I know this book very well because I wrote a version with Bertie and Jeeves called Boo, Jeeves! And it still stands up a re-reading. There is a mention of Poirot wearing uncomfortable shoes and so I wrote a ficlet for Kinktober about him getting a foot massage: A Patent Remedy Next up: Passenger to Frankfurt which I have completely forgotten. I shall finish the last few in 2026.

---

Boo, Jeeves! (13392 words) by okapi
Chapters: 7/7
Fandom: Jeeves & Wooster, Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Reginald Jeeves/Bertram "Bertie" Wooster
Characters: Reginald Jeeves, Bertram "Bertie" Wooster, Dahlia Travers, Original Characters, Joyce Reynolds, Miranda Butler, Rowena Drake, Michael Garfield, Diana Weston
Additional Tags: Halloween, Community: spook_me, Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Child Murder, Epistolary, Supernatural Elements, Ghosts, Murder Mystery, Case Fic, Soul Selling, Agatha Christie Crossover
Summary:

Bertie sees a ghost.

In the epistolary style of Stoker's Dracula (diary entries, letter, newspaper headlines, etc.)

For the 2018 Spook Me Ficathon. Crossover with Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party. Warning for child murder.

Book review: Flight of the Fallen

Nov. 11th, 2025 03:33 pm
rocky41_7: (Default)
[personal profile] rocky41_7 posting in [community profile] booknook
Title: Flight of the Fallen (Magebike Courier Duology #2)
Author: Hana Lee
Genre: Fantasy, post-apocolypse, action

It’s been a bit! Timing conspired to prevent me from reviewing my last audiobook (Katherine Addison’s The Grief of Stones), but I’m here with the conclusion of the Magebike Courier duology by Hana Lee, Flight of the Fallen.

On the whole, I think if you liked the first book, you’ll like the second. It’s more of the same, which is no complaint from me. Lee digs only slightly more into the worldbuilding of the Wastes, but as with the first book, it’s clear that’s not where Lee’s strengths or interests lie, and so she doesn’t overreach herself there, which I think is best.

The main trio—Jin, Yi-Nereen, and Kadrin—continue to be fun and engaging characters, although Jin’s self-pitying act that began at the end of book 1 grows a little tiresome, even if it is understandable. (Fortunately, she gets over it and her best traits--her courage, her determination to keep trying, her capacity to love--win resoundingly in the end.) Making a surprisingly delightful reappearance is Sou-zelle, who actually threatens to usurp our lovers as the most interesting protagonist for the first third of the book. Book 1 did a good job of making Sou-zelle a more dynamic character than merely Yi-Nereen’s jilted fiancé, and book 2 continues to give him more depth.
 
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Posted by adamg

Brookline.news reports that a Verizon reseller is busy readying a new phone store in the empty space where a CVS used to be right at Harvard and Beacon streets, so it will be hard to miss. Coolidge Corner has been Verizonless since 2020, when Brookline Booksmith took over what used to be a Verizon store just up the block.

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Posted by adamg

Boston Police report that G'Kiyah Lewis, 18, of Malden, died Friday of injuries she suffered during a triple shooting at 2 Hiawatha Rd. in Mattapan around 1:20 p.m. on Oct. 11.

Lewis had been shot in the chest. Police found her outside the house there, at the intersection with Blue Hill Avenue. Two other victims, with less serious injuries, were found on the second floor.

Police continue to look for her killer. Anybody with information can call detectives at 617-643-4470 or contact the anonymous tip line by calling 800-494-TIPS or texting TIP to CRIME (27463)

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Posted by adamg

A Suffolk Superior Court judge yesterday rejected a request to immediately block work to convert the former Stonhedge nursing home on Redlands Road in West Roxbury into "congregate" apartments for up to 120 people, who would live there for at least a month as they try to get back on their feet and find more permanent housing.

Opponents filed suit just 30 minutes after the Zoning Board of Appeal voted Oct. 28 to uphold ISD's OK of plans by the building's owners and a Fitchburg non-profit to convert the building just off Centre Street into 40 residential rooms, with shared bathrooms and kitchen space, charging that the project violates the lot's zoning, is based on illegally altered plans and was really meant to stick a homeless shelter for vagrants in a family neighborhood.

Along with their suit, they asked for a temporary restraining order to block conversion while the case went through court proceedings, which could delay work by months or even longer.

But Judge John Fraser ruled that based on what he's seen so far, he didn't think the residents had much of a change of ultimately prevailing - and that, in any case, the request was premature, because while the zoning board held its vote last month, it has yet to file its written decision:

Based on the Court's review of the submissions of the parties at this very early juncture of this case, the lack of a written decision from the Board, and the deference to which the Board is entitled, the Plaintiffs have failed to establish likelihood of success and are not entitled to injunctive relief. Given the lack of likelihood of success, the Court need not and does not address the other arguments asserted by the defendants in their opposition papers. Plaintiffs Motion for preliminary injunction is DENIED. SO ORDERED.

The nursing home closed in 2021. In 2024, a developer proposed replacing it with a 30-unit apartment building with 45 parking spaces, but later withdrew its plans.

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sovay: (PJ Harvey: crow)
[personal profile] sovay
Some have lost a hand, some a leg—everyone is asking for water. And still men continue to speak about the glory of war and try to prove its advantages. In the name of patriotism and nationalism, they go on to cut each other's throats. There is nothing as narrow-minded as nationalism in this world . . . If the word 'patriotism' (or 'nationalism') did not exist in the European dictionary, there would have been far less bloodshed.

In our country, too, in the name of patriotism, many leaders are teaching small schoolchildren how to kill. Murder, the greatest sin, becomes morally acceptable when committed in the name of patriotism. If a person, by guile or force, takes away another's property, it is burglary or dacoity—again a sin. But when a nation snatches away another's land—then it is celebrated as empire. Well, there's little point in discussing all this now—just hope that the war ends soon.


Kalyan Mukherji, 4 October 1915 (trans. Santanu Das)
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Posted by adamg

WBZ reports how one of its assignment editors proved to be a match for one of its photojournalists who needed a kidney transplant.

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Posted by adamg

Firefighter climbs up ladder as flames shoot out of top two floors

Photo by BFD, from this video.

Boston firefighters responded to 25 Train St. in Dorchester around 8:30 a.m. for what turned into a two-alarm fire.

The department reports one firefighter was injured at the fire, which engulfed the second and third floors in the rear.

Two residents got out safely, the department says.

The department estimated damage at $500,000 and says the cause is under investigation.

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letzan: (Default)
[personal profile] letzan

High-level stats for week of 2025-10-28 - 2025-11-03


  • Total works categorized F/F on AO3: 11470 (+706 from last week)

  • Works I classified F/F: 6442 (+382 from last week) (3181 new, 3261 continued)

  • 0.68% of all 954146 AO3 works I've classified F/F were updated this week






A few callouts this week:


  • Apologies, I missed a couple of posts, but this post is now here.
  • KPop Demon Hunters is still at rank 1, and is still beating out second-place League of Legends by almost 100 works per week.
  • Action adventure game series Hollow Knight makes a first-ever appearance, on the strength of the Hornet/Lace ship containing characters from the recently-released sequel game.
  • Uma Musume: Pretty Derby reaches 10 weeks on the chart. MCU celebrates 80 consecutive weeks (out of 598 total appearances).
  • Signups are open through Nov 30 for a new femslash gift exchange, appropriately named Femslash Gift Exchange 2026. Assignments will be due in February.
  • Ace Attorney fans should take a look at the upcoming Fradrian Week event, a prompt event running in mid-December for Franziska von Karma/Adrian Andrews.
  • A couple of F/F-y Halloween exchanges revealed recently: the Worst Witch Hallowe'en Exchange 2025 has 22 F/F works, mostly Hardbroom/Pentangle. The Paternoster Halloween Exchange 2025 has 25 Jenny/Vastra works.



Full top-20 table and description of methodology after the jump )

Fanartist rec: alby_mangroves

Nov. 11th, 2025 11:08 pm
mific: (A pen and ink)
[personal profile] mific posting in [community profile] drawesome
Fanartist's name: alby_mangroves
Content Notes: some works are explicit, esp. those on AO3
Medium: traditional art - drawing
Artist on DW: [personal profile] alby_mangroves
Artist's main websites: Alby as artgroves on tumblr, alby_mangroves on AO3
About this artist: Alby is an Australian-based artist who does traditional art - drawings, often in graphite/pencil/ink, and sometimes in coloured pastels. Alby's style lately is usually monochrome, sometimes posted with a sepia tint - it's very vivid and three-dimensional, and I love the use of shading and cross-hatching to convey depth. Alby posts largely to tumblr and AO3 these days, and often does collaborations with writers in Big Bang-type challenges. Works are in many fandoms, with the MCU being a favourite, often featuring Steve/Bucky.

Example: An earlier work in pen & ink and brush, with effective use of a little colour.
He Looked Right At Me

Example: An example of Alby's coloured pastel work - MCU bros.
Sons of Ipswich

Example: Several gorgeously detailed illustrations (some NSFW) for a Russian folklore AU (MCU).
Hunger of the Pine

Example: Sketches from the show "The Last of Us".
The Sketches of Us

sovay: (Renfield)
[personal profile] sovay
Generally I appreciate axial tilt, but not always the resemblance between walking out for groceries at four-thirty in the afternoon of a hard-raining November and an all-night convenience store run. The brightest thing that wasn't the headlights was the scarlet maple in the war memorial.

It is incredible to me that I have been laid off for a month and gotten so little done with my theoretically free time. Mostly I seem to spend it the same kind of exhausted and seeing more doctors than anyone else. I keep reminding myself that I was supposed to be on medical leave, not vacation. It does not improve the sensation of a decaying orbit.

Immediately on concluding Lust for a Vampire (1971), [personal profile] spatch and I dubbed it Tits for Dracula for its plenitude of full-frontal yet curiously unsexy cleavage, as if it were enough just to have the buxom playmates of its Styrian girls' school breasting boobily all over with their tops occasionally falling down even as any of its exploitation potential as a Carmilla retelling is neutralized by the heterosexuality of its titular affair. Major props to Ralph Bates for turning himself into a horrible little gremlin of an occult-obsessed tutor who in one of the film's only original points tries to offer himself to its resurrected Mircalla Karnstein as her Renfield and is pathetically rejected, drained just enough to kill but not even to enthrall him. Major demerits for the post-dubbing of a modern pop ballad over the aforementioned central het scene from which neither of us ever recovered even a push-up of disbelief. Rob swears it was not in revenge that he introduced me to the googly-eyed marionette monster of The Giant Claw (1957).

This obituary of James Watson was like witnessing a murder from beyond the grave and he had it coming.

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