dooriya | Reading

As it turns out, what goes on with my hand is that it's going to have arthritis, but with any luck on the same glacial timeline as the kind that runs in my family, and in the meantime I have been referred back to OT. Maybe there will be more paraffin.

My parents as an unnecessary gift for taking care of the plants while they were out of town—mostly watering a lot of things in pots and digging the black swallow-wort out of the irises—gave me Eddie Muller's Dark City Dames: The Women Who Defined Film Noir (2001/2025), which not only fits the theme of this year's Noir City: Boston, but contains such useful gems as:

One of the most common, if wrong-headed, criticisms of film noir is that it relegates women to simplistic archetypes, making them Pollyannas or femmes fatales, drippy good girls or sinister sexpots. People who believe this nonsense have never seen a noir starring Ella Raines.

Ella Raines is indeed all that and a drum solo on top, but she is not a unique occurrence and I can only hope that people who have not been paying attention to Karen Burroughs Hannsberry or Imogen Sara Smith will listen to the Czar of Noir when he writes about its complicated women, because I am never going to have the platform to get this fact through people's heads and I am never going to let up on it, either.

Anyway, I learned a new vocabulary word.

Current Music: Lucy Dacus, "Most Wanted Man"

circii posting in

addme

Name:circii or bunnii

Age: 30s

Country: Australia

I mostly post about: My journal is very new, i think I decided to make it because I was feeling a bit low and just wanted to write about my feelings and interests and hopefully find like-minded people. I'm also trying to make my web experience a more pleasant one, so I like looking at journals and personal websites. Indie web, small web, that kind of thing I yearn for so I might share things I find! But so far, I like to yap about my daily life and my practice in fighting games. I just started a fight log so I can hopefully more clearly see my progress! I will probably generally just talk about other things like anime, video games and maybe I'll post art or photos taken on my digicam. Also I'm queer and figuring things out still lmao

My hobbies are: Currently I'm focused in on fighting games (granblue rising, but I'm also a street fighter and guilty gear enjoyer), working on my art, vtubing, crochet and the smallest smattering of baby guitar when I can find time after all that. Other interests that can come back into my rotation is language study (Japanese and Spanish), miniature painting, nail art, weightlifting, snorkeling (I dream of scuba/free diving tho!)

My fandoms are:I'm not deep in any fandom at the moment but I enjoy content from sailor moon, granblue, guilty gear, general DnD stuff, hololive, vshojo and arcane. I'm also a huge Lady Gaga fan. And a lover of My Chemical Romance.

I'm looking to meet people who: I think are cool! I enjoy reading other people's day-to-day life and their passions, might get me excited about something new , too! If we hype over similar things that's a tasty cherry on top ;9

My posting schedule tends to be: aiming for at least a few times a week.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: if you don't support LGBTQ+, if you excuse any wars, if you support generative AI, you know if you lean in those kinds of directions - please don't talk to me.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm sorry if my post was too long! And I might be using this as a form of therapy (cuz therapy is expensive) so if I do post something that's a bit heavier, I'll learn how to put it behind a cut and maybe make it friends only. But I think I'll try and keep cheery here! I'm still learning how to use this site

used_songs posting in

beautifulmechanical

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

november_5th posting in

addme

Name: Karmen

Age: 30s

I mostly post about: personal growth, trauma unpacking, character analysis, neurodivergence, identity, memory, and the messiness of being human. Sometimes it’s raw introspection. Sometimes it’s writing projects. Sometimes it’s emotional archaeology. Expect depth, questions, and occasional chaos.

My hobbies are: Writing, reading, exploring psychological patterns, long drives with curated playlists, casually reverse-engineering tech, helping others make sense of complex systems, data analysis, and overanalyzing fictional characters as a form of therapy.

My fandoms are: Buffy, Doctor Who, Veronica Mars, iZombie, Epic: The Musical, Star Trek, The Martian/Project Hail Mary universe, and anything weird, genre-bending, or emotionally resonant. I also have a soft spot for nostalgic emo vibes and anything that blends humor with existential dread.

I'm looking to meet people who: Think deeply, love honestly, write messily, and aren’t afraid of intensity. Neurodivergent folks, artists, writers, and anyone else who thrives in the liminal spaces between structure and chaos - let’s connect.

My posting schedule tends to be: sporadic but meaningful. If I post, it’s because I have something to say, not because an algorithm demands it.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Bigotry of any kind or cruelty masked as honesty. If you can’t be kind (or at least curious), I’m not your people.

Before adding me, you should know: I’m someone who craves depth over small talk. I’m working on showing up without needing to perform. I write honestly, even when it’s messy. I hold space for contradiction, growth, and grief. If you’re here for realness, reflection, and weird little moments of connection, welcome.

sovay

As my day centrally involved a very long-awaited referral finally coming through and foundering immediately on the shoals of the American healthcare system, it wasn't a very good one. The CDC called for my opinions on vaccination which it turned out I was not permitted to state for the record without a minor child in the house. Because the call was recorded for quality assurance, I said just in case that I had children in my life if not my legal residence and I supported their vaccination so as to protect them from otherwise life-threatening communicable diseases and did not express my opinion of the incumbent secretary of health and human services and his purity of essence. I got hung up on before I could tell my family stories from before the polio vaccine and the MMR.

Of course the man in the White House used the Boulder attack to justify his latest travel ban. Burned Jews are good for his business. I appreciate this op-ed from Eric K. Ward. I hope it reaches anyone it's meant to. I thought I was jaundiced about people and now I think I'm just in liver failure.

It would never have occurred to me that a video for Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" (1977) should have anything to do with psychological realism, but Saoirse Ronan seems to have had a great time with it.

Current Music: Sam Fender, "Tyrants"

zesty_pinto

Watch on YouTube

It's a time sink but I'm learning more and enjoying it. Also trying methods to make it quicker to keep the nephew's attention.

I don't think he's watching them but still doing this because.

zesty_pinto

Just to say that the two worst people you know are in a spat. One of them even brought up the Epstein connection.

Bluesky is reveling, the world cheers, nature is healing, etcetera.

zesty_pinto

So yeah, Michelle just told me that her Switch 2 being delivered from Nintendo received a UPS notification that the shipment could not be delivered because of weather or unforeseeable delays. It's 84 and sunny outside and Rutgers is closed for the semester so traffic is lighter than ever, so when she saw the UPS truck come up shortly after that message came up, she rushed down, opened the door, and watched two young guys slowly pull over and reluctantly hand her her package. Later on, we found the tape tampered with so they knew what it was and were probably thinking of stealing it.

This is New Brunswick and porch thieves aren't exactly uncommon here, but losing your job for a game like this is honestly a waste, especially when it's UPS which is one of the last good union jobs out here.

For the record, we didn't rat them out. The contents were intact and sealed and figured if anything, they were probably going to replace the box or "lose" the package altogether if we didn't blatantly show we were waiting for it to come in.

Actually, they kind of lucked out because Michelle only noticed the tape tampering after canceling a call with customer support, but still: not worth it, especially now that there's more of them available than originally thought.

Just came back from Best Buy getting the second one. Just saw a bald guy that looked like an extra from Roadhouse go to his car holding one as he went to his Murica'd up truck. Bipartisanship in action.

I found out that Michelle actually got the placeholder for FOUR Switch 2 orders so she canceled her Target one. We're only waiting for the Gamestop one now, which can obviously wait and we decided will probably be a gift for my brother come October. If the availability of these consoles is that high then I can't see much justification in reselling our good fortune anyway especially since eBay will take a chunk of the take as will PayPal, so... Guess we'll wait and see.

Michelle has been getting good response from her doctor on her health; she gained like 8 pounds but the doctor said she looked healthy so I think it's a sign that she's gained muscle and tbf it's hard not to when you spend your weekend going several miles hauling several pounds of glass and using a telephoto.

She does have some bruises from some of it though, as she slipped and fell when I tried to lift her up into an observation post. Just her elbow but it's still very obviously there. Sigh.

She is also very happy with the results otherwise. She said photography has been a great excuse for her to keep active and has been posting happily on Flickr. Glad I could bring something positive into her life.

Speaking of which, I guess I should divulge a few more travel shots, ( so here's some travelogue stuff with photos. )

I've got a few more trips after that too as it is June and all, but not sure if they're worth mentioning yet. Just stuff to keep us busy and moving, like visiting giant malls and whatnot, though we did find another nice overlook not far from Sandy Hook where we could get an amazing view of NYC during sunset. I'm leaning towards another trip to NYC since Michelle wanted a set of blocks from there that we can't find elsewhere and it gives us another excuse to get insane numbers on our Oura scores. Really depends on how hot the weather plans to kill us though. Maybe a trip through another old trail I remember along Secaucus?

All in due time. Just glad most UPS delivery people DGAF what B&H means around here.

In the meantime, stay safe everyone!

tcpip

I find myself in Melbourne for a mere several days between concluding my recent holiday to China and returning to said country for a conference, and intresting enough, a new city for me to visit (Nanjing) albeit one relatively close to the several just visited (Beijing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou, and Shanghai). The purpose of this upcoming visit is an international conference for the 70th anniversary of Jiangsu (Province) Friendship Associations and I'll be there in an official capacity and, so I've been told, I'm expected to give a brief speech on behalf of the small Australian delegation. Between work demands, and a furious effort to get in some substantial progress on my Euclid University doctoral studies, I've even managed to get a hint of a social life with a couple of enjoyable dinners with friends and a couple of gaming sessions (along with moving of the substantial RPG Review Cooperative library to my premises).

I'm also going to take this opportunity to express my valedictions to the recent passing of activist and author Tracy Sorensen. We knew each other quite well in the mid to late 1980s in Western Australia when we were both involved in the youth wing of what would be the Democratic Socialist Party. Fellow-comrade at the time, Neville Spencer has written a very good summary of Tracy's life for "Green Left Weekly" and, the day before she died, a rather heartfelt account of meeting her partner was published in "The Guardian". Although Tracy and I had not really been in contact for literally decades, I do have very fond memories of her excellent humour, steadfast commitment to justice and environmentalism, and her excellent organisational ability. The universe has been a bit unjust in taking her early, yet with her whimsical sense, she even managed to write about her illness from her organ's point-of-view. So fare well, old comrade and friend. It truly was a honour to know you.

Current Location: The Rookery
Current Music: Elend, Les Ténèbres du Dehors

sovay

Thanks to the Canadian wildfires, our sunset light is Pompeiian red, by which I mean mostly the cinnabar and heat-treated smolder of the pigment, but also the implication of volcano.

Because my day was scrambled by a canceled appointment, after I had made a lot of phone calls

spatch took me for soft-serve ice cream in the late afternoon, and once home I walked out to photograph some poppies I had seen from the car.

( Did you love mimesis? )

I can't help feeling that last night's primary dream emerged from a fender-bender in the art-horror 1970's because once the photographer who had done his aggressive and insistently off-base best to involve me in a blackmail scandal had killed himself, all of a sudden the hotel where I had been attending a convention with my husbands had a supernatural problem. Waking in the twenty-first century, I appreciate it could be solved eventually with post-mortem mediation rather than exorcistic violence, but it feels like yet another subgenre intruding that the psychopomp for the job was a WWI German POW.

Current Music: Frog Eyes, "A Library Used to Be (Black Hole and Its Concentrated Edges)"

zenigotchas posting in

beautifulmechanical

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Current Mood: excited

booksbardsandbaselines posting in

addme

Name: Danielle

Age: 30s

I mostly post about: life, books I'm reading (or re-reading!), music I'm loving, tennis matches I'm yelling at the TV about, and all the soft little joys in between.

My hobbies are: reading, writing, journalling, cooking, gardening, watching tennis, listening to music, doing crosswords, talking about Greek myths, collecting daffodils (not literally, just in spirit), and wandering around museums and libraries like a nerd in her natural habitat.

My fandoms are: Percy Jackson, Greek mythology in general, Taylor Swift, various tennis players (Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Jasmine Paolini, Qinwen Zheng).

I'm looking to meet people who: are curious, kind, thoughtful, and enjoy rambling about things they love. Fellow readers, writers, myth geeks, ADHD brains, and warm-hearted nerds especially welcome!

My posting schedule tends to be: softly chaotic, but aiming for 3–4 posts a week—somewhere between “routine” and “inspired flurry.”

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: bigotry of any kind, cruelty, or just generally being mean-spirited. I like my internet spaces kind and cozy.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm a chatterbox when I'm excited, and I’ll probably mention Greek gods, tennis scores, and obscure historical tidbits in the same breath. I write with a lot of heart, and I love connecting with thoughtful people. 💛

luna_moon posting in

gardening

Hello! My name is Luna. I am new to this group and also somewhat new to Dreamwidth! I keep a small backyard garden of mostly veggies and herbs. I grow most of my plants in containers. I use a variety of pots, grow bags, and upcycled totes for growing. Helps keep weeding a lot easier and I don't have to bend over quite as much/often (I have POTS). I live in the middle of the city, close to our downtown district. I don't have a lot of yard space, or the space I have may not be suitable for growing in ground. I am still working on them, but I have a few ideas for posts about composting and upcycling in the garden that I hope I can share in the future!

Below the cut is a small garden tour! This isn't everything I have, and I am still working on adding a few more things. :]

( Garden tour! )

sovay

I just had my hand dipped in paraffin for a therapeutic procedure and it was so cool. After four immersions in the bracingly hot, clear, slightly soft liquid which reminded me of candle-making in elementary school, it formed a dully livid, slowly malleable coating in which I could see instantly the possibilities of practical effects, although what I actually said as I carefully brought my mannequin hand over to the table where it would be wrapped in plastic and insulated with a towel was, "It's fascinating. I must be quite flammable." The heat lingered much longer in the paraffin than I had expected from the quick-hardening dots and puddles of candlewax and cooled to room temperature without brittling. It had to be rubbed through to be removed. Tragically it did not peel off like a glove into an inverted ghost hand, but it could actually be worked off my wrist and fingers in a coherent thick wrinkle and took none of the small hairs off the back of my hand with it, like its own Vaseline layer. "Your skin is going to be so moisturized," the therapist promised me. I am still getting a referral to a hand specialist, but it was such a neat experience and like nothing I have experienced at a doctor's. It did not trip my sensory wires and made me think of Colin Clive in Mad Love (1935).

Current Music: Jade Bird, "Dreams"

sovay

It improves my mood considerably that I can listen to the Drive's "Jerkin'" (1977) because not only is the song itself a brilliant example of stupid rock, the band existed for a grand total of seven months during which it managed to release one un-radio-playable single, manufacture a scandal, blow an important gig, and implode in a puff of 20/20 hindsight, which sounds like a none more punk biography to me. Any myriad of such one-not-exactly-hit wonders would have bubbled through any scene with a critical exposure to Patti Smith or the Sex Pistols—in this case it was Dundee's—but this one left enough traces that I can, thanks to one of the better functions of the internet, experience all six and a half minutes of their total musical record and read for myself their history according to their lead singer, who really should feel proud that so much pleasure can be transferred through a song about masturbation. It has a two-guitar solo! DIY that slide! The persistence of thrown-at-the-wall weirdness makes me feel better about the world. On that note, because I had recent occasion to, as it were, drag it out, Lou Rand Hogan's The Gay Cookbook (1965).

Current Music: The Drive, "Jerkin'"

sovay

All praise to the makers of Bar Keepers Friend, which enabled me and

rushthatspeaks to de-blue the shower tonight after he had re-dyed his hair. It took us four tries to find a restaurant that wasn't dark Mondays, but eventually El Vaquero came through with, in my case, a spectacularly stuffed burrito de lengua which did its best to be bigger than my head. I am not at the top of my health and feeling more than a little disintegrated about current events. Have a picture from a window of MIT.

Current Music: Wolf Alice, "Bloom Baby Bloom"

marycatelli posting in

book_love

Catburglar of the Constellations by John C. Wright

Starquest book 3. Spoilers for the earlier books ahead.

( Read more... )

ashleygamer6 posting in

addme

Name: Ashley (she/her - transfemme)

Age: 36

I mostly post about: So I'm 2 years into my transition as a female, I'm pretty much woman except I can't land a job so have no friends, dates, nothing. I'm EXTREMELY stressed. I try to game to escape, but my mom purposely stresses me out while I do that, I'm in hell. I go outside only when I have to now, 'cause people treat me like shit. So my posts are mostly musings and psychological bs. You can see the shit I put up with on the first on my first page.

My hobbies are: Listening to y2k music, sometimes 90s music, playing video games, indie/y2k/multiplayer/remakes&sequals, and working out.

My fandoms are: Final Fantasy. I've played them all, though I haven't beaten every one. Will be getting more into Zelda when I get a Switch 2. The Last of Us (TV) and I've played the games. Gay shit in general.

I'm looking to meet people who: Nerds who don't get butthurt or threatened about me.

My posting schedule tends to be: Whenever the mood strikes.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Well, the exclusionary workaholic tools already aren't adding me, so I don't have to worry about anyone!

Before adding me, you should know: If you stop commenting after 2 weeks, as most journalers do, I will remove you so let's skip the unnecessary steps and just not add me if you're gonna do that, okay?

full_metal_ox posting in

common_nature

Taken on 21 June 2024 at 20:33 US Eastern Daylight Savings Time, as I hurried up the street through the break in the rain.

My limited equipment does the scene nothing even remotely resembling justice: neither the gauzy rainbow-sherbet luminosity nor the grand theatricality of the skyscape, with the air of a vintage book illustration or a meticulously painted film backdrop. A detail I particularly like is the small dark cumulus cloud at bottom center that suggests a person astride a charging (pig? bear? huge dog?)

ysabetwordsmith posting in

common_nature

These pictures are from Sunday, but it's after midnight, so the post says Monday.

( Walk with me ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

Profile

dooriya

mélangeorama

Reading

Finally, time to write the book on you

(no subject)

Nadah El Shazly on Bandcamp

Come for the introspection, stay for the emo throwbacks

On Fortuna's wheel, I'm running

More Ratcraft

Minor Political Post

The Switch 2 is not Worth Your UPS Job

An Interregnum; Valedictions to Tracy Sorensen

I know it made your head spin, what we did with money

(no subject)

myth, matches & me: a hello post

Intro

But now I'm a villain, I'm a killer, a dying light

Ever since I met you, honey, I just want to get laid

Every flower needs to neighbor with the dirt

Catburglar of the Constellations

(no subject)

Sunset between storm fronts, en route to Publix and Walgreen’s.

Photos: House Yard

Profile