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tyger) wrote2025-10-20 12:49 am
Sleepy Sunday
We tried to work on the chook coop thing again! It... did progress? But not far. Fuck this fucking kit, I swear. (Also Mama is SO SURPRISED at how small it is, and is like, I don't think it's matching the measurements on the website. Me: No it totally is, it's just that you thought that meant something bigger than it actually is.)
Anyway, might try and get some more done tomorrow, though it'll depend on how late my doctor's appointment is and when I get back from getting meds etc. etc.
I did also work on the quilt tonight! Got three more lines done, which is half the number of lines as yesterday, but more than half the work. They're still! Getting! Longer!!! Getting through thread, too, which is part of the goal! Looks like we'll be running out of variegated stuff sooner than I thought we would, I thought it'd last one whole direction, but looks like not so much. Oh well! Still got a fuckton of thread to use, I'm not worried about that so it's fine. :3 (Hopefully after this we'll at least be down to two boxes of thread, though I'm not gonna be mad if it's only one... :D)
Also! Managed to brush both cats this afternoon, which is extremely handy given it's shedding season again. They're still gonna be shedding every-fucking-where, but at least some of it is contained! :3
Sunday Word: Contumely
contumely [kon-too-muh-lee, -tyoo-, kuhn-too-muh-lee, -tyoo-, kon-tuhm-lee, -tyoom, -chuhm ]
noun:
1 insulting display of contempt in words or actions; contemptuous or humiliating treatment
2 a humiliating insult
Examples:
There's a big difference between despised love and disprized love, and between a proud man's contumely and a poor man's contumely. (Stephen Marche, The Algorithm That Could Take Us Inside Shakespeare's Mind, The New York Times, November 2021)
Few things irritate me as much as the contumely heaped generally upon escorted tours. (Anthony Peregrine, Why you're wrong about coach tours - they are the greatest way to travel, The Telegraph, June 2019)
Lloyd, who's played by Matthew Rhys, of The Americans, is not happy about this assignment. His specialty is the exposé - heaping contumely on public figures who he feels deserve it. (Kurt Loder, Review: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Reason Magazine, November 2019)
The Speccie's star columnist is the rudest man in Christendom, the Godzilla of contumely, an all-time non-sufferer of fools who horsewhips his targets the way Hunter S Thompson and Christopher Hitchens once did. (Kyle Smith, The (Other) Greatest Magazine in the English-Speaking World, National Review, April 2020)
But one of her day-dreams was that in some mysterious and unthinkable way Peter Penhallow should fall in love with her and sue for her hand, only to be spurned with contumely. (L M Montgomery, A Tangled Web)
(click to enlarge)
Origin:
'insolent, offensive, abusive speech,' late 14c, from Old French contumelie, from Latin contumelia 'a reproach, insult,' probably derived from contumax 'haughty, stubborn, insolent, unyielding,' used especially of those who refused to appear in a court of justice in answer to a lawful summons, from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix + tumere 'to swell up' (from PIE root teue- 'to swell'). (Online Etymology Dictionary)
Geoffrey Chaucer was writing about the sin of contumelie, as it was spelled in Middle English, back in the late 1300s. We borrowed the word from Middle French (whence it had earlier arrived from Latin contumelia), and it has since seen wide literary use. Perhaps its most famous occurrence is in Hamlet's To be or not to be soliloquy:
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely....
That's not to say the word has no use in modern English. For example, political columnist Mona Charen expressed the opinion that then-President Bush had not only been criticized by those on the left of the political spectrum, but had "also suffered the contumely of some on the right and of seemingly everyone in the center." (Merriam-Webster)
tyger) wrote2025-10-19 01:56 amI am not one of nature's natural builders
Working on the chook coop again today, and. Wow. Just. UGH. Part of this thing is EXTREMELY ANNOYING and I ended up nopeing out of it for today because frustration levels too high. Nope!!!!
Will try with a different approach probably tomorrow (depending on weather).
I DID get a bunch of quilting done, though, so I'm happy with that. It's looking pretty good! Definitely amateur, but as I AM an amateur, that's fine! I don't actually care about stuff like 'gaps should be exactly half the stitch length', or even. You know. Super consistent stitch lengths in general. I mean, they should be ballpark the same, because I want this thing to STICK, but that's a practical consideration rather than aesthetic. The thing's big enough it's gonna fade into the background anyway, so I really do not feel bad about not caring. XD;;;
I also went for a walk to the shops with Mama, and we got extremely useful staples, milk and cordial. I continue to combat dehydration! Not the best at succeeding, but I also don't lose majorly, so it'll be fine... Having non-gross things to drink does help a lot though.
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common_nature2025-10-17 04:44 pm
tyger) wrote2025-10-18 02:19 amFwee!
Did a few things, today!
Helped Mama out putting together this chook run kit thing she got - the idea is to replace the run we have so it's less. Completely terrible to move around in. Not sure if it's gonna be big enough, but it's something at least! Very fiddly to put together, but should be okay.
I also started the quilting part of the blanket! Doing sashiko-style, and it's going pretty well! Faster than I was dreading, too! Still going to take a while, but I might end up doing the entire pattern rather than just bare bones... Will see how it goes; since I'm going on a diagonal the rows are getting longer, and I haven't reached max width yet, so might take forever after all. Still, it's encouraging!
( Home repairs/improvement updates )
...anyway. Yes. House stuff is happening! Slowly, but still! Happening! :D
Also my toof is pmuch better. Which is great! :3
merrileemakes) wrote in booknook2025-10-17 04:13 pmReview: Jinkies and Minority Monsters
Jinkies! A Daphne/Velma Zine by Elise Schuenke
More an art book than a story but it contains utterly adorable snippets from the life of 2 gorgeous and adventerous women. There's fun encounters, domestic scenes and bonus Buzzfeed Unsolved references. I am 100% here for these feels.
If you like Elise's style I also recommend her other works Starcrossed and Still Here.
Minority Monsters by Tab Kimpton
Description: Greetings explorers, and welcome to Alphabet Soup Land! Want to learn about the not-so-invisible Bisexual Unicorn? The secrets of the Asexual Succubus? Or the previously unfathomable fathoms of the Genderqueer Merperson? If so, you’re in the right place! Packed full with comics of mythical monsters, field notes and information sections; this spotters guide of LGBT* and Queer creatures is the perfect companion for any adventurer.
Review: This is such a wholesome and fun approach to describing the different flavours of humans. But it's also quite nuanced and introduces some of the common mythconceptions and misunderstandings around different identities. The art is fun, colourful and inclusive. It might read a little condescending at times, but I mostly read that as minority fatigue. For an entry price of pay what you want it's worth checking out, even if only for a moment of dopamine.
tyger) wrote2025-10-17 01:39 am
Toof hurt :( :( :(
Yeah, dentist today. Bleh. I mean, they're nice and they do good work but. Well.
It's like I said at tea time, on the one hand the anaesthetic's worn off. On the other hand, the anaesthetic's worn off...
One was a really deep one, and that's the one that's hurting. Bleh. It's not too bad, I don't even actually need painkillers for it, it's just annoying. Also I'm hungry and there's a couple of jaw movements that are painful, which is. Not a great combination. :( I did eat tea, and I had a boiled egg and a lychee pudding cup a couple of hours ago, but stomach says MOAR. Bleh.
Clearly it is time for sleepy sleeps, and hopefully my toof will have settled down in the morning!
[Review]: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Title: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Author: Sangu Mandanna
Genre: Cozy fantasy, romance
Happy spooky month! My book club read The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches this month, and it was a fun story about a lonely witch finding a family.
There aren't many rules for witches, but the most important rule is to keep yourself hidden. Another very important rule is witches should not gather together, out of fear of magic going haywire. Mika Moon, a lonely witch, decides to break these rules when a desperate man reaches out to her for her help with teaching three young witches how to control their powers.
This is a sweet story about making your own home, focusing on Mika and the odd inhabitants of Nowhere House, including a grumpy but handsome librarian, Jamie. Thanks to Mika’s cold upbringing, she has few connections with others and feels isolated. As she becomes more comfortable at Nowhere House, she starts questioning the rules she was raised with and fall in love with Jamie. The residents are also misfits of society who are fiercely protective of the safe refuge they made, understand her loneliness and extends their family to her. However, when Mika learns their secrets, she realizes the situation is more complicated than expected.
( Spoilers for the ending )
I am not usually a fan of cozy fantasies, but this was a nice breezy read and I enjoyed the romance. It’s a rather predictable story, but still entertaining with charming characters that you just want to root for. I'm also admittedly a big fan of the Jane Austen references throughout the books!
tyger) wrote2025-10-16 03:36 am
Basting! Is! Done!!!
It's done! It's finally fucking done! \o/!!!!!
I had to work pretty late to get it done, honestly it was a little much for one day (for me), but I was SO CLOSE so of course I pushed myself and got it done. Eeeee, done! Hopefully I never have to do that again omg. Particularly not on this scale!
Still, yay! May or may not start the actual quilting tomorrow; I've got the dentist again with a couple of fillings and it'll depend on how motivated I feel as much as anything hahaha.
Other than that, went for a walk with Mama, which was nice! I wore my new shoes and got a blister, though, which I was pmuch expecting. Hopefully once I get my feet used to them / shoes worn in I'll get a callus that'll fucking stay, but given how often this happens I'm not gonna count on it. :/ At least these are all season shoes so it won't be like my goddamn sandal calluses that need to be acquired every fucking year...
spiralsheep) wrote in booknook2025-10-15 04:29 pmRIP (Read In Progress) Wednesday
Those of you who prefer a shorter check-in can share your recent reading in comments to this post. :-)
Wednesday Word: Toscatarta
I don't think I've posted a Swedish word before, but here's a delicious one--tosca, toscakaka or toscatarta--it all refers to a moist sponge cake topped with caramelized almonds.
Was the name inspired by the opera or a racehorse? This recipe site dives into the name origins and has a video if you want to try making it for yourself.
simplyn2deep) wrote in 1word1day2025-10-14 02:46 pmTuesday word: Libra
Libra (noun)
libra [lahy-bruh, lee-]
noun, plural librae
1. the ancient Roman pound (containing 5053 grains or 327.4 grams).
Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English < Latin lībra
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Libra [lee-bruh, lahy-]
noun, genitive Librae
2. Astronomy., the Balance, a zodiacal constellation between Virgo and Serpens.
3. Astrology.
a. the seventh sign of the zodiac: the cardinal air sign.
b. Also Libran. a person born under this sign, usually between September 23rd and October 22nd.
Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English < Latin lībra literally, pair of scales, libra
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
Libra is the name of a constellation that is interpreted as representing a pair of scales. It is also known as the Scales or the Balance. A constellation is a group of stars that appear near each other in the sky, especially a group that has been given a name. Libra is considered one of the 12 zodiacal constellations—constellations that appear within a particular portion of the sky called the zodiac. In astronomy, the zodiac is the band of sky along which the paths of the sun, the moon, and the planets appear to move. Despite its basis in astronomy, the word zodiac is mainly associated with and most often used in the context of astrology, the nonscientific practice in which the positions of heavenly bodies at certain times are thought to influence or be correlated with human behavior and events. In astrology, zodiac refers to a diagram (often a circular one) representing the zodiac belt and showing the symbols associated with each of the 12 constellations or sections, which are called the signs of the zodiac. Libra is one of these signs. It is situated between Virgo and Scorpio and is considered the seventh sign of the zodiac. The other signs of the zodiac are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. The position of the sun in a particular portion of the zodiac at the moment of a person’s birth is thought to correlate with their personality. This is what people are referring to when they talk about their zodiac sign (or star sign or often just sign). People whose sign is Libra are those born between September 23 and October 22. The word Libra can be used as a noun to refer to someone who is born during this time, as in I was born in late October, so I’m a Libra. The word Libran can be used to mean the same thing. It can also be used as an adjective form of Libra. Example: Oh, your birthday is in October? Are you a Libra?
Example Sentences
Cyber security researchers at CrowdStrike formed the name "Scattered Spider" because of the group's sporadic nature, but other cyber companies have given the cluster nicknames including Octo Tempest and Muddled Libra.
Read more on BBC
“We know that their tentacles are all over, and many have significant aspirations in banking, lending and payments,” Chopra told Drop Site News, specifically mentioning Google, Apple and Facebook, which attempted to launch its own cryptocurrency, Libra, several years ago.
Read more on Los Angeles Times
The cryptocoin $Libra quickly rose in value before nosediving, causing severe losses for the majority of people who had invested in it.
Read more on BBC
President Milei spoke about the $Libra incident in an interview with Argentine TV channel Todo Noticias on Monday, after a weekend during which he had stayed unusually quiet on social media.
Read more on BBC
He insisted that his post on X, which contained a link to a site selling $Libra, did not constitute an endorsement.
Read more on BBC
tyger) wrote2025-10-15 01:27 amProgress, if slow.
No post last night as the internet went down and I said fuckit and went to bed, hahaha.
Both yesterday and today mostly just working on the blanket, nothing too exciting really. Still not done, but I'm getting much faster, which is something! Hopefully I'll get it fully basted tomorrow, but we'll see, it's uh. Still a lot.
( Blanket rambles. )
desertvixen) wrote in iddyiddybangbang2025-10-12 11:09 pmLooking to the Future (Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light) - DesertVixen
Author: DesertVixen
Fandom: Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light
Word Count: 8485
Rating: Teen and Up
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply (there are references to suicide and death, as well as death in a dream)
Summary: Cryotek and Galadria manage to combine business and pleasure...
Book Review: The Originalism Trap
Author: Madiba K. Deenie
Genre: Non-fiction, politics
This one is not likely to be of much interest to non-Americans. This weekend I blew through The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People can Take it Back by Madiba K. Dennie. This book delves into the originalism theory of constitutional interpretation, why it's far more ahistorical than its adherents want you to believe, and some tracks we could take to counter it.
If you aren't familiar, "originalism" is a theory of constitutional interpretation that says in order to understand the Constitution, we must interpret it as closely as we can to how the original writers would have interpreted it. It posits itself as the most true-to-history and unbiased way to interpret the Constitution. It was also a fringe theory for decades, until relatively recent political winds brought it to the forefront.
Originalism traps us in the mindset of 18th century wealthy white men and refuses to let us progress any further. Originalism says if we didn't have the right then, we can't have it now. Originalism cherry-picks its history to conveniently arrive at a conservative goalpost no matter what the real story is. I wrote an essay in grad school on why originalism is horseshit, so this book was of particular interest to me.
Dennie does a great job making this book accessible to everyone. I would strongly recommend this as a read for any one in the legal or legal-adjacent professions, but I think anyone can read and pick up what Dennie is laying down here. She summarizes the history of originalism as well as deep-diving into its most recent developments (this book was published in 2024, so it's quite recent).
Originalism has a way of making itself seem inevitable, but Dennie reveals with researched ease how untrue that is; she shows the hypocrisy and insincerity of the theory over and over.
Dennie doesn't stop at "here's what's wrong" either--she has proposal and suggestions for how to counter the outsized influence of this once-disfavored theory and what we as citizens can do to push back against it. On the whole, while there is obviously anger and frustration in this book--feelings I share!--there is also a lot of hope and optimism. Dennie calls herself an optimist at heart, and it shows. This is not a doom-and-gloom book foreseeing an indefinite miserable political future for liberals and anyone who wants to expand rather than contract the depth and breadth of our rights. It is a justified call-out to political opportunists seeking to dress their partisanship up as rationalism, but it is also an essay on how it doesn't have to be this way.
At a brief 218 pages (plus bibliography), The Originalism Trap is easy to recommend to any fellow Americans, both as a way to understand where we're at, and a way forward, hopefully out of this extremist quagmire. Dennie can occasionally be irreverent in a way I feel detracts rather than adds to her argument, but she is also dealing with incredibly dry material that the average reader will probably struggle to stay engaged with, so I can forgive it. Very glad I picked this one up and I left feeling hopeful that there is an achievable alternative to where we are now.
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dw_community_promo2025-10-12 08:37 pmLGBT Rainbow Promo.
Join LGBT Rainbow, a rainbow pass-it-on icon challenge focused on LGBTQ+ characters from any media.
lgbtrainbowalthea_valara) wrote in booknook2025-10-12 10:36 amBook Review: The Ultimate Final Fantasy XIV Online Cookbook by Victoria Rosenthal
Author: Victoria Rosenthal
ISBN: 978-1-64722-511-7
One of the things I love about Final Fantasy XIV is that it abounds in stories. There's not only the Main Scenario Quest, but tons of side quests to explore. I love that each job in the game has its own storyline, and that is true of the "Crafters" as well. For this cookbook, they took this emphasis on story and ran with it. The first few pages of the book set up the premise for it: Gourmand Gyohan, a "soon-to-be famous Namazu Culinarian", is traveling around Hydaelyn in companionship with Mogria, a moogle who's "a master of meandering". They are visiting the sites where the Warrior of Light (that's the name for the player character) did fantastic deeds.
Like just about every cookbook, this one is grouped by course/meal type, but it also includes a primer on the lands that the Warrior of Light has visited, plus an ingredients guide for the lesser-known items. Care was taken with the book to make the recipes as faithful to the in-game versions; this means that some ingredients might sound exotic to our ears. For example, Birch Syrup is used in the game, and thus is called for in some of the recipes, but the Ingredients Guide does say it can be replaced with Maple Syrup. Some of the ingredients will be familiar to those of Eastern cultures but may be unfamiliar to those from the West, and the English book takes the time to define these ingredients.
Each recipe is photographed and starts with "flavor text", explaining a bit about how Gyohan and Mogria discovered the recipe. The remaining layout of each recipe is as you'd expect: a list of ingredients and the steps to make it, along with prep time and a rating of the recipe's difficulty. Recipes rate from Easy (example: Nutrient-Rich Porridge) to Extreme (example: The Minstrel's Ballad: Almond Cream Croissants). Folks who have played FFXIV will appreciate this nod to the harder trials in the game, which are known as Extremes and often are unlocked by talking to a Minstrel.
I found this cookbook a delight to read, especially since I'm a die-hard player of the game. I do think those that haven't played the game might enjoy it as well. I have only tried one recipe so far, which was the Exquisite Beef Stew. This is rated Easy, but since I am not the family cook, Sautéing the floured meat was a little difficult for me. The recipe calls for a generous amount of garlic. We thought it'd be too much, so used half the amount called for the first time we made it. TRUST THE RECIPE - it came out fine the first time, but the second time we used all the garlic and it was tastier. I definitely need practice making this, but I really enjoyed it and plan to make it again in the future.
I've got pages marked in the book to try at a later date, maybe once I move out again and am in my own place. A second cookbook is coming out soon, covering other regions the Warrior of Light has visited, and I've already placed my pre-order for it. Even if I don't make anything from the book, I'm sure it will be fun to page through.