cathrowan | Network

Just a quick celebratory post in honor of a now 20-year-old meme, upon which the original version of "Creative" in my fancy rats mood theme was based. May we all continue to find joy in the harmless memes of yore.

Current Mood: creative

przed

I've managed to get another two vids up this past week, for Star Trek and Sharpe.

Old Friends/Bookends

If I'd found fandom in my teen years, Kirk/Spock would have been my first slash pairing. And Simon & Garfunkel were one of my favourite music groups in high school. So making a bittersweet K/S vid to S&G's Old Friends/Bookends just made sense to me. Footage is mostly from The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan, so fair warning that it doesn't exactly have a happy ending.

The Soldiering Life

Sharpe and Harper are another pairing I adore, and The Decembrists' song The Soldiering Life seemed made for them.

yuuago

A new bookstore opened up here this weekend.

It's an independent bookstore specifically for romance novels.

I took a look while I was downtown. It's nice; a little small, but a decent selection given the space, and they do have room to expand the selection by switching up the layout a bit. Everything is divided up by subgenre (contemporary, sports, dark, etc).

Also, they do carry M/M and F/F romance, so there is that. It's mixed in with everything else, rather than having its own section; you'll have to look in the Sports section for your Heated Rivalry and so on. I kind of enjoy that, but I kind of don't; on the one hand, filing it by subgenre treats it the same as everything else. On the other hand, it makes browsing a little less efficient if I know that I want something gay but don't have any other parameters in mind.

I picked up a F/F regency while I was there; Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti. Not sure if it'll be any good, but the premise sounds fun (the protagonists are rival authors of gothic fiction).

I'm a little unsure whether this place will actually be successful; Fort Mac is small, and I don't know if we have the base to sustain a regular indie bookstore, let alone one with a specific genre focus. But I hope it'll do well.

silverusagi

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: busy

metafilter_feed

Posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries

https://www.metafilter.com/212865/The-mudcrabs-battling-to-remediate-Sydneys-sickest-waterway

The "mudcrabs" battling to remediate Sydney's sickest waterway. Scurrying about the banks of Sydney's Cooks River, an army of volunteers known as the "mudcrabs" is working to bring one of the nation's most toxic waterways back to life.

https://www.metafilter.com/212865/The-mudcrabs-battling-to-remediate-Sydneys-sickest-waterway

fauxklore

87 Days so far!

I finally had a chance to listen to the March guest poet presentation by Lauren Camp. She talked about and read from two of her nine books of poetry - In Old Sky and Is Is Enough. The former is about her residency in the Grand Canyon and focuses on darkness, while the latter has to do with her father and his descent into dementia. One comment she made that I liked was that poems can narrow in, rather than having to be about the whole. She also talked a little bit about revision. While I enjoyed her poems, I wished she’d had more practical advice about process.

Here are the titles of the poems I’ve written over the past month. As usual, I will not include the actual text of any poems I might ever try to get published, since most publications count blogs as prior publication.

Stafford Challenge Week 9:

14 March 2026 - Pi Day

15 March 2026 - The Ides of March

16 March 2026 - Road Trip

17 March 2026 - Black Hole Nightmare

18 March 2026 - Dancing at the Overcrowded Bar

19 March 2026 - Taking Another Friend for a Medical Procedure

20 March 2026 - Folklore

Stafford Challenge Week 10:

21 March 2026 - Book Club Irony

22 March 2026 - Emcee Challenge

23 March 2026 - Circumnavigation

24 March 2026 - Mary Talks About Names

25 March 2026 - Cynthia

26 March 2026 - Packing

27 March 2026 - Roald Dahl

Stafford Challenge Week 11:

28 March 2026 - Bigfoot

29 March 2026 - About Time

30 March 2026 - Pancakes

31 March 2026 - The Railroad Rhyme

1 April 2026 - Fools

2 April 2026 - Diana

3 April 2026 - Passover Haiku

Stafford Challenge Week 12:

4 April 2026 - More Living Room Archaeology

5 April 2026 - Pollen

6 April 2026 - Inaction Item

7 April 2026 - Zip Ode (22181)

8 April 2026 - Choosing Hotels

9 April 2026 - Taxes

10 April 2026 - Crosswords

Crosswords:

I’ll include the 10 April poem here, since an Acrostic is hard to find a market for. I wrote this on an Amtrak train on my way to the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament this past weekend.

CROSSWORDS

Constructors
rely
on
strange
synonyms,
wildly
obscure
rare
definitions.
Stimulating.

The Zip Ode

The Zip Ode is a poetic form that is new to me. The idea is to take your zip code and use each digit as the number of words per line. For example, my zip code is 22181. Here was my first attempt at this form:

Virginia days
in spring -
Weather
cannot make up its mind about the temperature.
Unsettling.

merrileemakes

In my spinning session the other day I listened to Will the Last One to Leave Please Turn Out the Lights? and really enjoyed it. The despair of living under The Idiot, the slow crumbling of society, the recurring phrases, were all great analogies for the world we live in now.

I've recently finished this Life of Colour art board, a etched MDF board which I coloured in with acrylic paint pens. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Now I just need to rearrange the walls of my craft room so I can get all this art I've been making out of the cupboard and put it on display.

viridian5

My federal and state tax forms were e-filed and accepted this weekend. I'm so glad that's over.

I sent e-mails to three different taxslayer e-mail addresses trying to get help with a problem, only for all of them to try to toss me somewhere else. The third one at least suggested something, even as they said they weren't allowed to. They didn't tell me how to do it, but they made a suggestion. I figured it out after playing around with various things for thirty minutes.

+++

For some reason, Queen's A Kind of Magic, their Highlander soundtrack, came to my mind, so I borrowed it from the library. Of course, "Princes of the Universe" is here, but you probably know that one so what I put here is "Who Wants to Live Forever," which is about the movie's love story and can make me teary-eyed. It has churchy organs, some orchestral sections, and Freddie Mercury really feeling the lyrics.

Watch on YouTube

+++

Regular Car Reviews thoroughly roasts the Cybertruck, with some of the comments/insults making me literally LOL. Also funny to me was that when I looked at the roads they're riding on, my immediate thought was "This is Pennsylvania all right."

Watch on YouTube

Current Mood: sleepy

sakana17

During their most recent《你好种地少年3》series, the farmboys played charades where they had to guess chengyu and, when that proved too easy, some bits of 古诗 (classical poetry). They had all learned the poems as kids in school.

成语 (chengyu):
狼狈为奸 - láng bèi wéi jiān
守株待兔 - shǒu zhū dài tù
呆若木鸡 - dāi ruò mù jī
肝肠寸断 - gān cháng cùn duàn
蜻蜓点水 - qīng tíng diǎn shuǐ

古诗 (poetry):
Note: I transcribed these from the show, and some of the poems are snippets only. I've linked to sources that have the original lines and English translation.
1) 《静夜思》【唐】李白
床前明月光
疑是地上霜
举头望明月
低头思故乡

2) 《咏鹅》【唐】骆宾王
鹅，鹅，鹅，
曲项向天歌。
白毛浮绿水，
红掌拨清波。

3) 《憫农》【唐】李绅
锄禾日当午，
汗滴禾下土。
谁知盘中餐，
粒粒皆辛苦。

4) 《望庐山瀑布》【唐】李白
飞流直下三千尺，
疑是银河落九天。

5) 《早发白帝城》【唐】李白
两岸猿声啼不住
轻舟已过万重山

6) 《春晓》【唐】孟浩然
春眠不觉晓，
处处闻啼鸟。
夜来风雨声，
花落知多少。

7) 《绝句》【唐】杜甫
两个黄鹂呜翠柳，
一行白鹭上青天。

8) 《游山西村》【南宋】陆游
山重水夏疑无路
柳暗花明又一村

9) 《清明》【唐】杜牧
借问酒家何处有
牧童遥指杏花村

10) 《游园不值》【南宋】叶绍翁
春色满园关不住
一枝红杏出墙来

If you're curious what the charades were like, it's on YouTube with Chinese hardsubs and poor quality English MTL subs. (The link is cued to beginning of the game, and it continues in the next part, from the video's start to 7:52.) It was really interesting (and fun) to see how they acted out homonyms.

fanweeklymod posting in

fandomweekly

Here are the entries for this week's challenge:

( List of entries )

In order to vote, please reply to this post using the form provided. All comments are screened, and entries are listed in the order they were submitted. For your vote to qualify, you must fill out your entire voting card (all three spots) in order to be counted. First place votes are worth 3 points, second place votes are worth 2 points, and third place votes are worth 1 point. Meeting the bonus goal on an entry gets an extra point for that submission.

When voting, please copy/paste the ENTRY NUMBER and the FIC TITLE from the list above into the spot you're voting for (this prevents accidentally mis-numbering a vote and casting it for the wrong entry). It should look like this:

First Place: 61. Fic Title Here
Second Place: 88. Another Fic Title
Third Place: 47. Finally a third fic title goes here

Please note that you cannot vote for your own entry, and that votes cannot be made anonymously. You do not have to be a member of the community in order to vote, nor have submitted an entry for this week; everyone is welcome to participate in the voting. IP addresses are logged to prevent duplicate voting.

Voting closes Wednesday, April 15, at 9:00PM EST.

mistressofmuses

This week, a sticker of the lunar lander from my friends the Atomic Pixies. Not quite the same thing, but seemed appropriate for the week of the Artemis II mission. :)

This was a decent week. It was nearly a "bingo" week (a week where I did every tracked habit at least once.) It barely misses out, because my non-fiction writing didn't hit the 500 word threshold, but it was over 400 words, so I'm sort of counting it. I also got almost everything I'd hoped to done. It was really cool getting to follow footage and coverage of the Artemis II mission throughout the week. I worked a bunch on my reading page for my tracker (since I'm about to start a new tracking notebook, I decided to redo this year's in the new book), and it's felt nice to do an artsy thing. I did a decent amount of reading, and have been lucky with enjoying all of it. I didn't do as much writing, either on reviews or on my WIP, as I'd hoped, but I did actually work on both. Work was fine. I have continued with my workday walks. Minorly dreading going to the doctor next week.

Goals for the week:

I read These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart
I started reading The Two Towers
We paid rent
I paid toward my hospital bill
I cleaned up my floor (mostly realigning and vacuuming the tower of dog beds)
I did work on my WIP outline
I did set up my reading page in the new notebook
We did go get fruit flies, but will have to get more since they were on the end of their cycle :/
I worked on my reviews
I put my laundry away
I did not vote :( It was a little special election, and I filled out my ballot, but thought I had an extra day to drop my ballot off.

Tracked habits:

Work - 5/7
Household Maintenance - 3/7
Physical Activity - 6/7
Wrote 500/1000+ Words - 1/7 - over 500 words
Non-fiction Writing - 0/7, but with one day of under 500 words
Meta Work - 3/7
Personal Writing - 3/7
Other Creative Things - 5/7
Reading - 7/7 - I read These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart, started The Two Towers, and read some of Game Changer, as well as the short story "Constellations"; Alex and I read some of The Luminous Dead.
Attention to Media - 7/7 - Sunday was very slow at work, so I had book reviews in the background, then later had paranormal videos and news coverage in the background; Monday we watched coverage of Artemis II and the eclipse they got to see; Tuesday we watched news; Wednesday and Thursday had exploration and game videos on; Friday we watched the splash down of the Artemis II crew, and then later some game videos; Saturday watched paranormal then game videos.
Video Games - 1/7 - I played some more Hades and got one more successful run.
Social Interaction - 7/7

Total words written: 1047 on reviews and on my WIP

Current Mood: sore
Current Location: my apartment

starandrea

♥ Mom Cat Shows Her Kittens The German Shepherd Is Safe, youtube vid from Laffey and Amy

just an adorable german shepherd befriending some kittens with a little help from mom

jazzyjj posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!

Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

ysabetwordsmith

Today we did a bunch of different things, including a Charleston loop in the morning and a Champaign loop in the afternoon.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: happy

pennyarcade_feed

https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/04/13/kink-and-shame

I always preferred Forza Horizon to the traditional Forza, but I never thought that was a compliment to me. I would love to say that I stopped going to church because I had unspun the fundamental philosophies inherent to it, and stood astride it, gleaming like a newly minted God. It's a fiction I'd love to maintain. In the end, I simply couldn't hack it - I was willing to engage in a multi-year campaign of gruesome self-recrimination, obviously. But once it became clear that it was utterly open-ended, a blank check I would perpetually cash against my own identity, I could burn myself alive or try to go on as a maimed and useless creature. That's basically me and Forza Horizon. I wish that I were hardcore enough for the progenitor - of the universe, or the racing franchise. Take your pick.

https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2026/04/13/kink-and-shame

silver_chipmunk

Last night I managed to fall asleep while I was still playing on my phone in bed. I woke up at 3-something with the light on, my reading glasses on, and my phone having slipped out of my hand (fortunately it didn't fall to the floor.) Very weird sensation.

Anyway, I put everything away and turned off the light and went back to sleep pretty easily. Got up this morning around 11:00 and had breakfast and coffee.

The toilet was still wonky, so I put in a Shipt order including a new plunger. It arrived unusually quickly, and I plunged the toilet, and it is fine now.

Then I did mostly nothing all day. I tried, unsuccessfully, to talk to someone at the sleep doctor's. I think they may only be there Tuesday through Thursday so I'll see if I hear tomorrow.

I got a rather disturbing phone call from the hospital that provides my mental health services, apparently for the first time now they require a referral from my PCP for getting paid by my insurance. I never needed a referral before. I gave the woman the name and phone number of my PCP. I hope I don't have to start paying a copay.

I called Duane Reade because I haven't heard about my prescriptions being ready, and sure enough they don't have any record of my psychiatrist phoning them in. He must have forgotten, luckily I have enough for now. But I'll have to call him before I talk t0 him again and remind him.

I read the Cat Haiku that I got awhile ago from Thriftbooks, and I read more in The Godmother.

At 7:00ish the FWiB told me he had to run out on an errand, which took longer than he expected, so we didn't talk til 8:00. But we had a full conversation anyway.

The Kid just texted me, she is safely home from her weekend away.

Last night

mashfanficchick called me, which was nice. Ze returns home tomorrow.

Just fed the pets. This morning I gave Oreo his Fancy Feast in the carrier and lifted him in all the way. He jumped out immediately but it's a start.

Gratitude List:

1. The FWiB.

2. The toilet is fixed.

3. The Kid is home safe.

4.

mashfanficchick returning soon.

5. Good books.

6. My pets.

Current Mood: okay

ranalore

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Current Mood: groggy
Current Location: somebody still this yo-yo so I can get off

disneydream06

Tornado Warning Until 9:45 pm.....

delphi

Fandom 50 #9

For my 1985 pick, it feels like a good day for five minutes of surreal geography-themed art pop.

Map of the World, Pt. II by Jane Siberry

Watch on YouTube

metafilter_feed

Posted by Speculatist

https://www.metafilter.com/212864/Mick-Jagger-doing-his-hitchhiking-gesture-in-greater-detail

Dancing in the Street Negative Restoration - youtube - (Jagger doing his marvellous hitchhiking gesture 1 minute 50 seconds in). A video by the "world expert" in the Dancing in the Street video about how he restored it. The Bowie channel different 4k version of Dancing in the Street, as mentioned in the explainer video. For the refined essence of Jagger in Dancing in the Street, see: Stella Street - Jagger as shopkeeper.

https://www.metafilter.com/212864/Mick-Jagger-doing-his-hitchhiking-gesture-in-greater-detail

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cathrowan

January 2026

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18	19	20	21	22	23	24
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Page Summary

soc_puppet - 20 Years of Neil Banging Out the Tunes
przed - Vids Resurrected - Uno, Dos, Tres
yuuago - (no subject)
silverusagi - Reading
metafilter_feed - The "mudcrabs" battling to remediate Sydney's sickest waterway
fauxklore - Stafford Challenge Update - Weeks 9 through 12
merrileemakes - Story rec and art
viridian5 - Who dares
sakana17 - Some chengyu and poetry (古诗)
fanweeklymod in fandomweekly - [#296 | Locked Door] Voting Post
mistressofmuses - Habit Tracking: Week 15 (April 05 - April 11)
starandrea - "no matter what, her smile came shining through" (meredith edwards)
jazzyjj in awesomeers - Just one thing: 14 April 2026
ysabetwordsmith - Today's Adventures
pennyarcade_feed - Kink And Shame
silver_chipmunk - Very quiet day
ranalore - I have nothing to give
disneydream06 - A Day In The Life.....
delphi - Post and Jam: Map of the World, Pt. II by Jane Siberry [1985]
metafilter_feed - Mick Jagger doing his hitchhiking gesture, in greater detail

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