cathrowan | Network

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.

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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

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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

theradicalchild

While it was sprinkling this morning and I planned on going on a morning walk, I decided against it in case it turned worse.

I went to the post office to send off my notarized form to CCHR--I don't keep stamps on me since I don't mail out shit often--and while I was waiting I spilled the coins from my wallet, and again another major "fuck you" to 18 years of psych meds that fucked my brain up.

On that note, here's an article from CCHR noting that psychiatrists make up disorders for fun and profit.

I called my chiropractor to note I was running late since there was a line at the post office (I think I spilled my coins during the call), and since he was always usually late anyway, he didn't mind, and he did his usual shit on me.

I worked out at Gold's Gym afterward. This evening I got a call from someone offering a complementary personal training session but said no since I said I already got mine, and they noted that.

Tomorrow, I will try if I remember to do a dopamine reset--avoiding all my devices for an entire day since I don't have anything planned--but I may start something new on my Steam Deck since I beat Yakuza 0. Link to review (image is link).

Current Mood: okay

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.

billroper

Sam was good enough to come by today so we could put the busted section of fence back together. An old panel had separated from a new post, because toe nailing (with or without added screws) simply isn't very effective when the wood in the crossbars is rotting out.

The good news is that I had lumber in the garage from a previous repair plan that hadn't been executed in that form (we hired the contractor who rebuilt one long section of fence that was in horrible shape and also fixed several posts, but not so much it turns out the sections connected to them). This meant that we just needed to rip out the old fence section, haul it up to the patio, salvage the useful pickets, throw the dangerous to the dogs rusty nails into a bucket for disposal, and then build a new section between two nicely stable posts.

Piece of cake.

Well, piece of cake if Sam and I weren't both dealing with various problems in knees and hips which slowed us down quite a bit. But we used the joist hangers to drop the 2x4s between the two posts -- an arrangement which is much more stable than toe nailing -- and then just had to nail the surviving pickets back up. We had to replace five pickets, so I went into the cache in the garage and retrieved those. Overall, it took us about five hours, which is acceptable.

And the fence is up, which is admirable. :)

Tomorrow, I go back to practicing for Debbie's Interfilk concert at FKO...

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

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

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

shehiemal

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

mxcatmoon

Is anyone noticing that Dreamwidth loads really slowly these days? Sometimes I have to wait almost half a minute when all my other sites are almost instantaneous. So, it's not my computer.

I've been keeping it to myself, but the reason I haven't been engaging as much lately as usual because I've been having some health issues. I'm very stressed out about. I'm trying to remain positive, but I'm afraid it may not be anything simple this time. I even have a bag packed, in case I end up with a hospital stay. The worst part is, I'm so poor I can't afford this shit (yes, even with insurance, our hours have been cut at work and I can barely afford food). I'm not certain what's going to happen if a lot of bills get run up. Keep me in your prayers, thanks.

I've been distracting myself with Miami Vice. Still haven't finished my rewatch but I'm on the last episode now. I'm mad at Rico, my beloved has pissed me off. 😉 I'll get over it and forgive him, though.

What the heck, I'll post the memes I just did here.
difference meme

Then there's Castillo, Rico, Sonny, and the vein in Sonny's forehead: 😉
He's just a little bit protective...

walkalone13

Current Mood: anxious

oliviacirce

I post a lot of queer poetry, which should really come as no surprise to anyone. I also buy a lot of poetry books, especially in and around the month of April; when we were in New York last year, I bought Stephanie Burt's 2025 anthology Super Gay Poems, which is really fantastic and highly recommended for both the brilliant essays about each poem and the poems themselves. It also gives me a lot of personal joy because it doesn't have a single poem in it that I've already posted (in 19 years!!), which is so cool and exciting—although there are a handful of poems I've read in the anthology, and several poets I've heard of (or posted other work by), I really love the part of doing this each year where I get to learn and discover new-to-me poems and poets.

Since I skipped yesterday, I am going to indulgently post two poems from the anthology which are completely unrelated, except that they both haunt me (and also both have great enjambment).

( Mermaid )

*

( Heart Condition )

scrubjayspeaks

Our local public-access channel LLTV has several open time slots, following the recent death of debatably beloved veteran broadcaster and local crank Milton Jorgensen, and is accepting applications for new programming. If you have a program of local or educational interest, you can submit forms and pilot episodes for review at the office on Watchtower Hill. If accepted, you will join such popular programs as What’s My Tail Doing?: Health Education for the Shapeshifter Community, Potions with Pammy, and Rainbow Chasers: Hyperlocal Weather Forecasts.

---

LL#1382

starwatcher posting in

fandom_checkin

This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Monday, April 13, to midnight on Tuesday, April 14. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #34473 Daily Check-in

Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 21

How are you doing?

I am OK.
14 (66.7%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
6 (28.6%)

I could use some help.
1 (4.8%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
7 (33.3%)

One other person.
11 (52.4%)

More than one other person.
3 (14.3%)

Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by Athena Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/04/13/a-very-engaging-charcuterie-board/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=60144

Hey, everyone! I was going to continue to post about my adventures in Colorado, but I decided a detour was in order today to show y’all this spread I did last night for my friend’s engagement party. Feast your eyes on my (mainly Aldi and partially Kroger) spread of goods for about fifty people to snack on:

A large spread of various meats and cheeses, as well as jams, olives, and nuts, all laid out on butcher paper. There's large piles of cubed and crumbled cheeses, a river of prosciutto, folded salamis, wheels of brie, a log of goat cheese, lots of good stuff!

So, while this isn’t everything I put out, this is the main event. I was very nervous to do a spread for so many people, as normally I deal in much smaller groups. Usually my boards are usually made for about ten people. I know you’re probably thinking, there’s no way that spread survived fifty people. And you’d be right! After the first wave of snackers, I snuck in to refill everything, and continued to refill as was necessary to keep it looking full and making sure everyone got a bite of what they wanted.

I was informed ahead of time that there were no known allergies amongst the entire group (except, of course, my bestie having a gluten intolerance). With that knowledge in mind, let’s look at what we got!

We’ve got double cream brie, dill Havarti, smoked gouda, cranberry cheddar, espresso martini soaked cheddar, pimento cheese dip, honey goat cheese, and a garlic and herbs Boursin. For the meats I did a very simple prosciutto and salami. I also brought a garlic summer sausage but I couldn’t really make it work in my presentation so I gave up on it and just went with the two meats, which honestly who needs more meat than just prosciutto and salami? Those are my two favorites, anyway.

Accoutrements include fig jam, a berry jalapeno jam, Stonewall Kitchen’s Maine Maple Champagne Mustard, quince paste, a pear, cardamom, and pistachio jam, blackcurrant mustard, Truff hot sauce, and an orange whiskey jam. There’s also stuffed peppers and herby olives, dates, salted caramel black truffle peanuts, rosemary Marcona almonds, pistachios, hot honey cashews, and chocolate covered pomegranate seeds. Finally, front and center is Zeroe Caviar’s vegan caviar made from seaweed. I’ve never put it on a board before, but I figured caviar was needed at an engagement party.

As you can tell from the grapes all the way on the right, there’s more to see than this picture lets on. I just did some strawberries, blackberries, and grapes with fruit fluff, and then pinwheel striped and sliced some mini cucumbers and set those out with carrots and celery alongside tzatziki and feta dip, plus a creamy ranch dip. There was also a tray of various cookies like Walker’s shortbread, Pirouette cookies, and some strawberry and creme covered pretzels. Plus blue corn tortilla chips and salsa.

Here’s a different angle so hopefully you can somewhat see some other items:

The spread from a different angle, now showing the fruit and veggies at the other end.

At the end you can see the fruit fluff and fruit, and the veggies and dips further down. And look, someone brought hummus! How thoughtful. Luckily, I had pita chips to go with it. I also set out some cranberry crisps, rosemary flatbread crackers, and some other entertainment crackers but nothing really of note. I kept my friend’s gluten-free crackers behind the counter for her, as well as her gluten-free cookies.

So, there you have it, a spread from yours truly for my bestie’s engagement party. I am so excited for her, her fiancé, and to be in her wedding. She means the world to me and I was happy to feed those closest to her.

Which cheese sounds the best to you? Would you try the vegan caviar? Let me kn0w in the comments, and have a great day!

-AMS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/04/13/a-very-engaging-charcuterie-board/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=60144

shadowhive

So today was a cinema trip so this is a post about that.

When I got to town I only went in a few places. I went in Poundland to get lightbulbs (the one at the top of the stairs has gone) then Aldi to get pasta (I picked up a leaflet and the new pasta sounded nice.) Then popped in Asda. I had some luck again! They had the new Mandalorian visual guide, which I didn’t even know was out, and it was half off! So naturally I grabbed it. And they also had copies of Project Hail Mary so I got that too.

I read some of the Mandalorian visual guide between films and I’m so looking forward to going through it properly.its hefty covering all three seasons of the show (plus some of Book Of Boba Fett) and it starts with a new map. Damn I love it when a book starts with a galaxy map, I love looking through it, spotting familiar plants and also seeing things and wanting to know what they are,

The trailers before Exit 8 were a bit puzzling, in that only one was a horror.

Micheal: A new one, again it looks like it’s well done but not something I’d go watch
Power Ballad: A few with Paul Rudd and one of the Jonas brothers. It seems the latter stole a song the former wrote and made it a hit
Two women: A French film, about two women that seem to be unhappy with their lives. Probably won’t see feels it could be funny
Backrooms: I’d seen this trailer online but ahh seeing it on a big screen (twice!) was so good especially since it’s confirmation we’re getting it! I’m so sold on the concept of a strange space, plus it’s part found footage which I love, plus it meant I got to see the Backrooms twink on the big screen

The trailers for Undertone were pretty much the ones I’ve seen for recent horror things (with Undertone switched out for Backrooms): Scary Movie, Passenger, Obsession, The Mummy, Hokum.

Thoughts on both under the cut.

( Read more... )

Next cinema trip should be Saturday for record store day but I’m not sure what. I was hoping to see the new Mummy film, but the earliest showing is 3 and the films before that are kinda… lacking. I could see Mario Galaxy again, or Project Hail Mary, or I could see the magic faraway tree but I’m not sure. We’ll see.

After that it’s Hokum, then The Sheep Detectives.

Now I’m gonna bundle up a bit.i had considered watching something but I don’t feel I have the energy.

Current Mood: nerdy

rocky41_7 posting in

booknook

Title: The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1)
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Genre: Fantasy, murder mystery

On Sunday I finished The Tainted Cup, the first book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series by Robert Jackson Bennett. This is a fantasy murder mystery with an element of political thriller.

The main character is Ana Dolabra, an eccentric but brilliant investigator, and I believe this is the first time I’ve ever seen a woman fill this role. The wacky but effective investigator is of course a very well-known stock character, but has always been, in my experience, a man. I found Ana delightful; strange but not off-putting, and without coming off like the author was working to hard to make her quirky.

However, our point-of-view protagonist is Din Kol, Ana’s put-upon assistant, on whose shoulders falls the managing of her many idiosyncrasies. They’re a fun team to watch work, and in this first book we get to see their working relationship unfold, as they’ve only recently teamed up at the start. Din is fine, but mostly I appreciated him as a lens for Ana.

Bennett’s fantasy world is characterized by fantastical use and manipulation of plants and the human body. Din, for instance, has been modified to be an “engraver”—someone with an eidetic memory. For obvious reasons, this serves him well as aid to an investigator.

I think Bennett does a good job of throwing you into the world and letting you use context to figure most of it out. I get bored with SFF novels that feel the need to hold your hand, as if you might be a first-time SFF reader who never encountered a magic system before, so I was relieved when Bennett just started telling the story and letting me figure the world out as it went along. I’d rather be a bit lost at times than be toddled along, but I never felt lost here.

The novel touches on some things that I feel are pretty keenly relevant, like the ability of the wealthy to avoid justice and their willingness to inflict suffering on the rest of society to better their own position (and then justify it to themselves).

I don’t read a ton of murder mysteries, so I may not be the best judge of this, but I also felt that Ana worked well. It’s a tough trick writing a character who’s meant to be much smarter than the rest of the cast (perhaps even than the author!), and it can fail a couple of ways: the supposed “brilliant” deductions are obvious to the average reader, making the rest of the cast look painfully dull for not seeing them; or the machinations are so obtuse with so little evidence the reader simply won’t believe the detective could have figured that out without an ass-pull from the author. I didn’t think Bennett fell into either of these traps and every detail Ana referred to in one of her deductions was something that had been mentioned before.

I enjoyed this book and I plan to read the next one. Very interested to see where Ana’s adventures take her next!

rocky41_7 posting in

books

On Sunday I finished The Tainted Cup, the first book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series by Robert Jackson Bennett. This is a fantasy murder mystery with an element of political thriller.

I enjoyed this book and I plan to read the next one. Very interested to see where Ana’s adventures take her next!

rocky41_7

On Sunday I finished The Tainted Cup, the first book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series by Robert Jackson Bennett. This is a fantasy murder mystery with an element of political thriller.

I enjoyed this book and I plan to read the next one. Very interested to see where Ana’s adventures take her next!

mxcatmoon posting in

fandomweekly

Theme Prompt: #296 Locked Door
Title: Heart's Desire
Fandom: Miami Vice
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 887
Summary: Sometimes we lock our own doors, and we’re the only ones who hold the keys.
( Heart's Desire )

lightreads

Chain-Gang All-Stars

4/5. A near future dystopian America where the carceral system has an entertainment component under which inmates can “voluntarily” enter a reality show program where they fight to the death for a chance at freedom. This book is about a lot of people in and around that system, but centrally two women stars of it.

This is brilliant and beautiful and deeply humane while being about inhumane things. Some have complained it’s on-the-nose which, like, yes? I’m sorry, did you want subtlety in this critique? What good would that do?

Which leads me to the structure of this book. Tonally, it is a sustained scream, modulating with the kind of pain it is expressing. And then sprinkled throughout are footnotes. Some didactic, some painful, some about our current prison statistics, some about these fictional people. It is a really interesting choice. The author called it an “ethical” one which I am interpreting to mean that he is not interested in giving readers a chance to weasel out of understanding some of what this book is putting down. I think that is also a really smart way of confronting the thing that has wrecked other books like this. The problem is that it’s really hard to tell a story that is critiquing violence and suffering as entertainment without also entertaining your reader with violence and suffering. And the approach taken here is one of the best I’ve ever seen at negotiating that.

Content notes: Oh boy. Violence, murder, torture, mentions of rape and domestic violence, structural and personal racism

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cathrowan

January 2026

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Page Summary

viridian5 - Who dares
theradicalchild - Spine Straightening
fanweeklymod in fandomweekly - [#296 | Locked Door] Voting Post
billroper - Please Fence Me In
jazzyjj in awesomeers - Just one thing: 14 April 2026
ysabetwordsmith - Today's Adventures
ranalore - I have nothing to give
delphi - Post and Jam: Map of the World, Pt. II by Jane Siberry [1985]
shehiemal - She walked into my office like an anachronistic saxophone
mxcatmoon - Just random stuff and health (and Miami Vice because it helps me cope)
oliviacirce - planet trouble
scrubjayspeaks - Lake Lewisia #1382
starwatcher in fandom_checkin - Daily Check-In
scalziwhatever_feed - A Very “Engaging” Charcuterie Board
shadowhive - (no subject)
rocky41_7 in booknook - Book review: The Tainted Cup
rocky41_7 in books - Recent Reading: The Tainted Cup
rocky41_7 - Recent Reading: The Tainted Cup
mxcatmoon in fandomweekly - [#296] Heart's Desire (Miami Vice)
lightreads - Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

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