reading log: january 2026

Feb. 10th, 2026 10:31 am
tozka: Dawn (from Buffy) reading a book with a starry background (buffy dawn with stars)
[personal profile] tozka
First book: Adventure in Zanskar by Amy Edelstein, a travel memoir with a heavy Buddhist spirituality slant, about a 20-something hiking a mountain range in far-north India in the 1980s.

I actually really enjoyed reading this; I generally enjoy travel memoirs of women doing adventurous things PLUS I love travel memoirs that take place before cell phones. That, plus the author really had a great time on her trip and loved meeting local people, and the introspection stuff that's typical of a 20-something trying to figure out what to do with her life wasn't as annoying as it might've been because it was tempered with Buddhist philosophies.

Downside is she falls heavily into the "things are so much better for this primitive uneducated society because they don't have technology or money" mindset which is very surface-level, tbh. Maybe they're truly happy, maybe they're just showing you, an outsider, a positive face.

Second book: Peregrinations of a Pariah by Flora Tristan, translated by Jean Hawkes, another travel memoir but this time from the 1800s. It's basically about a French woman traveling to Peru to try and get some family inheritance, and then getting caught in a civil war.

She's an excellent writer (and the translator did a great job) but she definitely has the old-school traveler mindset of "everything but my home country is horrible"-- she hates the food, the people, the location, etc. Her personality is quite funny, though; she kept saying she could run the country if only she could find the right man to partner with, but she couldn't even convince her miserly uncle to part with any money for the 9+ months she lived with him. Ha!

Civil war coverage was a slog and took up a good 1/3 of the book-- which was edited down even more from the original, actually-- and while it was interesting to read about 1800s Peru the fact that the author hated nearly everything about it made for rough reading. I WOULD read her other books, though, one of which is about traveling to England (The London Journal of Flora Tristan, 1842) and another about labor reform in France (not sure if this was translated into English).
sewagelag00n: (Default)
[personal profile] sewagelag00n posting in [community profile] addme
Name: sewagelag00n. Sewa for short.  

Age: 20 

I mostly post about: My daily life, some stuff about my hexperiences regarding "mental health"/Madness. Occasionally I'll talk about media I've been into. 

My hobbies are: Selfshipping! DIY alternative fashion, customizing clothes & making jewelry. Ballet. Writing & art. Doll collecting. Soft toys. 

My fandoms are: Some Sword/Some Play (18+)! A very obscure little game that I love so much I've basically adopted one of the characters as my OC. Please I am so abnormal about these lesbians. Longtime Vocaloid fan, I think I'm coming up on 9 years now. I love Hatsune Miku (she's literally me) and recently Teto SynthV has captured my heart. Recently got back into FNaF (my favorite is Mangle!). Very normal about Neon Genesis Evangelion. Huge music nerd: love digital hardcore like Ada Rook, but also into stuff under the goth umbrella, industrial, shoegaze, new wave... I like a little bit of everything. I also love Emilie Autumn, Machine Girl, Nashimoto Ui, Chelsea Wolfe, and femtanyl. 

I'm looking to meet people who: Honestly, just looking for more interaction. People who post regularly and will comment on my posts. 

My posting schedule tends to be: Every couple of days, but sometimes I take a week off. 

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Those who follow Abrahamic religions. I am a staunch antitheist. I do have religious friends, I don’t blanket hate all religious people, but it is a turnoff. I am more receptive to other religious/spiritual people. Transmisogynists, racists, sanists, homophobes, other bigots. 

Before adding me, you should know: My blog is very much 18+ and viewer discretion advised because I am into a lot of dark and sexual things. I am Mad and hexperience things like plurality (one of my alters sometimes posts on this account too) and self-harm and intense mood swings. I am very critical of the psychiatric system. I am polyamorous and have 3 real-life partners and a whole host of fictional ones. 

quick checking in!

Feb. 10th, 2026 01:53 am
javert: three houndours playing in the trash (pkmn houndours)
[personal profile] javert
Dreamwidth is absolutely broken for me right now and I have no idea why LOL, but I wanted to make a post because it's been over a month and also I missed out on doing [community profile] snowflake_challenge (which I am a bit sad about...) and ALSO there has been shit going down that pisses me off and if that could be the catalyst that gets me to blog again I would not complain.

2026 has been... something. In many ways!!! But I'm determined to keep on keeping on and to have a good time no matter what... I never did end up making that post looking back on 2025 or whatever it was I wanted to do, but maybe that's for the best in retrospect... I'd still kinda like to write down stuff I'd like to do over 2026 though. So maybe I'll try doing that once, huh... Dreamwidth fixes itself on my end... (If it's still broken tomorrow I'll try to figure that out, or something...)

In light of the ongoing attempts to Crack Down On Pornography I've also been contemplating posting some of that on here, especially stuff I'm not as inclined to share elsewhere right now lawl. So there might be some of that in the future? If there is, rest assured the "worst" of it will be posted under cuts with warnings and probably friends only. So there is that o7

Anyway I picked the worst time to make a post because it's almost 2am and I need to SLEEP but here's a further quick rundown...

1) I'm still so deep in the Corbeau/L mines you guys. Check out the chibi I drew for my my [personal profile] candyheartsex letter... I wanted to share it here a month ago and then I never ended up doing it so here it is now!!!



2) THE PROTOMEN ACT III CAME OUT AND I'M STILL FREAKING OUT ABOUT IT INTERNALLYYYYYYYY literally listening to it right now lol. I ordered a physical album but it's going to be delivered to a friend in the US so I won't get it until the summer... Also I was so excited to get it I didn't think to check the rest of the store and now I'm sad I didn't get the The Good Doctor Part 2 poster considering it literally features my ship </3 Maybe I'll try to get it later... But in the meantime you should look at it because it rules...

3) It's [tumblr.com profile] perfworldweek right now!!! Actually saying this made me realize I forgot to advertize it starting on [community profile] fandomcalendar today OOP. Maybe this is what I should do before going to bed actually lmao.

Okay this was chaotic as hell and I have no idea what it's going to look like considering how fucked up this is on my end but hopefully it's not too bad ??? I'll see you later o7 wait before I go you should check out [community profile] pkmnkinkmeme if you haven't seen it yet... Okay now I'm leaving au revoir o7

Birdfeeding

Feb. 9th, 2026 05:35 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is partly cloudy and cold.  Patches of snow remain, separated by stretches of bare muddy ground.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large flock of sparrows.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 2/9/26 -- I did more work around the patio. 

I am done for the night.
 

captain falcon approved

Feb. 9th, 2026 04:27 pm
operasteers: cartoon boy blushing (uwah)
[personal profile] operasteers
I bought some shaped hole punchers the other day cause I was curious about using them to do more with the paper scraps I have and

Oh

my God.

this is so fun.

I prefer the slightly bigger one than the minis purely because it feels more comfortable to hold and seems like it wouldn't give me hand cramps as badly (admittedly, I should keep up with hand stretches and taking breaks). Is this where people enjoy getting all the different cardstocks... to be hole punched...

And then, of course, I was curious about how one goes about getting a custom made hole puncher. The commissioning option I saw was, well

I may be rich in spirit but oughroh... Understandable though because it involves carving metal... jotting down metal crafting as a potential hobby...

The other option I saw from some youtube videos was cutting either a blade (genuinely concerning how easily one creator's scissors cut through the razor blade, like amazing, but also ??? should it be that easy???) or a soda can and shaping it that way. Chances are I won't get around to that until maybe the summer or, at the very least, when this semester finishes, but I think it'd be a neat challenge in designing strong silhouettes. I could make a hole puncher of my ships or characters... or at least have their energy there, yes.

So....!

Feb. 9th, 2026 03:46 pm
gillman: (Default)
[personal profile] gillman
 About Discord requiring IDs come March. Yet to see how intrusive it will become. I won't be doing it, obviously, but I do have to wonder what the next IC platform will be. I'm attempting to make a Stoat account (if they will fix their email issue....), as I see that name going around, but who knows if that will pick up. 

Tumblr feels like a dog on it's last leg, I'm not sure how many more years that place has got to live. I love it a lot, it's given me many good things, but I will survive without when it comes down to it. 

I am very comfortable with the rotation I have going now outside of Tumblr, that being Dreamwidth, TG, OKP, and NNP. I'm looking past any flaws these places have right now, in a world where online spaces are becoming a hotbed for surveillance, I'll take what I can get. I am also on Bsky and while I enjoy it, I find it so difficult to connect with others on it. But that's how I am with really any large platform. 

I've never been very good at discord servers. Unless it is a very small group, I struggle to find a place within a server. There are a few I will always keep up with and I moderate for two, but other than that it doesn't take up much of my life. 

In other, more positive news, it's unseasonably warm (is that positive? with climate change and all...?) and I am enjoying having the sun on my fins. I have been fantasizing about my future, about eating nothing but cured meats, raw fish, and raw fruit and veg. About having more domain over my body. Potentially getting those gill tattoos. It's nice. My body longs to shape into something amphibious.....

I'm sitting with the door open while my friend makes me chicken noodle soup. My partner got me an early valentines day gift (chocolate covered strawberries) and will be home in about an hour. I went on a long walk this morning and saw the local cypress swamps. This coming weekend I travel to see friends, and the weekend after that I take a trip to New Orleans with other friends. So I am doing okay right now. I am a happy gillman. I am missing my sharp teeth and black eyes something wicked right now, but I am happy. 
forestofglory: Cup of tea on a pile of books (books)
[personal profile] forestofglory
The graphic novel pile is still going strong! (I did start watching a mini drama but I’m going to wait until I finish it to include it in one of these round ups)

In other media related news I have figured out that I can read comics from Hoopla on a tablet and that’s been nicer on my hands than reading at my normal computer set up. I’ve also gotten a new timer and have been doing better at taking hand breaks so I’ve been watch more Crush of Music

Lumberjanes, Vol. 1-2 by N.D. Stevenson et al.—There’s a Lumberjanes/Gotham academy crossover that I want to check out, but it's been ages since I read any Lumberjanes so I thought I’d re-read them. Another series about girls who are friends with each other! Friendship is so great! This is definitely an advantage of reading a lot of YA and MG things, though it still would like more female friendships in media for adults. Anyway, these comics are very fun! I have requested several more volumes form the library

The Space Cat: A Graphic Novel written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford— I was very excited when I learned that Nnedi Okorafor had written a graphic novel about a cat! It turns out this is based on her real life cat. It is extremely cute and very charming! The art was perfect for the story.

Teen Titans: Raven, Teen Titans: Beast Boy, Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven, Teen Titans: Robin, and Teen Titans: Robin Teen Titans: Starfire written by Kami Garcia, art by Gabriel Picolo—These are like YA graphic novels adaptations of the Teen Titans – that is this own version and not as far as I can tell part of larger continuity, but clearly based on the earlier versions. I’m not super familiar with most of these characters or the earlier version of the Teen Titans but I liked these as their own thing.

I did break my no YA with dead moms rule, as the first book opens with Raven’s mom dying in a car crash. The characters are fun, and I liked seeing their friends and family. The romances do feel really fast and underdeveloped though. But seeing the team form is a lot of fun! The art is good too!

There’s supposed to be one more of these published later this year so I’m going to have to keep an eye out for it so I can read the ending!

Taproot by Keezy Young—A lovely graphic novel about a gardener who can see ghosts. I loved all the lush plants! I would have liked just a little bit more detail about how the magic worked though. The whole book was really sweet.(CW: several of the ghosts are kids)

The Changeling King by Ethan M. Aldridge—Sequel to Estranged, I liked how this dealt with the consequences of the events of the first book. And the art remains excellent!

The Return of the King— Watched with R and the Kid. This one felt the darkest of the three, also the one with the most changes from the book. We took more breaks this time so I felt less over-stimulated by the end, which was good.

commentary: like synapses

Feb. 9th, 2026 10:24 am
headstone: ((uc) char)
[personal profile] headstone

like synapses: my Haman Karn character study via forensic autopsy of what went on between Char and Haman before we’re introduced to their relationship in Zeta Gundam. This post, like the fic, contains spoilers for that show.

edited twitter screenshot containing the phrase "dude I swear I just saw the tears of time"

(post credit)

I'M A LITTLE GIRL / BOILED INTO A MATURE / LITTLE PIECE OF WORK )

How to Like Ballet, Part 4

NSFW Feb. 9th, 2026 10:15 am
chestnut_pod: A close-up photograph of my auburn hair in a French braid (Default)
[personal profile] chestnut_pod
( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Poetry: Knight in Shining Ardour

Feb. 9th, 2026 07:34 pm
adore: (word witchery)
[personal profile] adore
Knight in Shining Ardour
by [personal profile] adore

My rage clawed out of my chest
And stood looking around fiercely for the enemy.

He was a radiant boy,
Never allowed to be anything else.

He blazed so that my eyes were drawn to him, fascinated.
Avidly, I watched him for what he would do next.
He didn't disappoint.

When he destroyed something, I was satisfied.
I had always wanted to be rid of it.
But I'd had too much guilt or too little courage.

When he screamed, I fell in love with his voice.
He was my rockstar.

When he cried, I collected his tears in a shot glass and cheered
Before downing them in one go.
They were a tonic.

What he killed made him more alive.

He was my knight in shining ardour
And I loved him best
When he crawled back in my chest
To recover in the warm dark quiet.
douqi: (gu qu)
[personal profile] douqi posting in [community profile] baihe_media
I've been meaning to write proper reviews for both these novels since literally last year, but as I've been unable to find the time, headspace of energy (due to having had to work 6 to 6.5 days per week since the start of January and still counting, thanks capitalism), short, impressions-based ones will have to do.

The Rose in the Abyss )

Salieri and Mozart )

I read the Chinese originals of both novels here and here on JJWXC. For Salieri and Mozart, I also read a print-exclusive extra from the mainland Chinese print edition of the novel.

Chameleons Are A Clade

Feb. 8th, 2026 01:07 pm
chameleons3: Head and shoulders of a pink moth with brown eyes and orange antennae. (zahi moth)
[personal profile] chameleons3

I said once that Chameleons are like a clade. While we are all distinct individuals, our origins are the same, and we have an overarching same-ness. I like to use phylogeny to pull out this metaphor. Let's use blue tongued skinks, or Tiliqua, as our example.

Yes, I am aware of the irony of not using an animal in the family Chameleonidae. Just roll with it.

Referring to “blue tongued skinks” might mean referring to the genus, a specific species, or a specific individual of a species. Context would tell you which. Or, you’d have to specify.
Referring to Tiliqua as a genus:

  • blue tongued skinks are known for their blue tongues
  • blue tongued skinks bear live young
  • blue tongued skinks can live up to 20 years in captivity.
  • blue tongued skinks are omnivores.
  • blue tongued skinks are diurnal.

Tiliqua shares an evolutionary history record up until a very recent divergence. Visually apparent morphological differences can give you some insight as to which Tiliqua species you’re dealing with. If you were trying to meet the needs of a specific skink, then this is not sufficient anymore. Let's say you've got one you need to take care of now, and you're reading up on their needs. Or, worse yet, assuming their needs based on what you have been told about "blue tongue skinks" as a whole.

  • Blue tongued skinks require high humidity. Which ones? Tiliqua gigas, endemic to New Guinea.
  • Blue tongued skinks are adapted to semi-arid climates. Uh oh, which ones? Tiliqua multifasciata, endemic to the northwest corner of New South Wales.
  • Blue tongued skinks are adapted to a Mediterranean climate. Tiliqua occipitalis.
  • Blue tongued skinks have a wide distribution across habitat zones, including established populations near humans. Wait, which one was THAT? Tiliqua nigrolutea, endemic to southeastern Australia.

Context and need would indicate what terms and words to use, who you’re talking about, and why.

It’s helpful to start with Tiliqua as a whole, sure, to understand each one. But you could really harm one species of Tiliqua by trying to provide the conditions needed by another.

If you’re referring to captive husbandry of blue tongued skinks, you could hear any of the following:

  • most of them are wild caught
  • most of them are captive bred
  • they are friendly
  • they are flighty (prone to try and run from you)
  • they are bitey
  • they are super chill, like holding a potato lizard
  • they prefer high humidity
  • they fare well in low humidity
  • they require low humidity
  • they will climb, provided the space to do so
  • they prefer being on the ground, but will climb once in a while

All true. And also, not all true. Yes, they are all blue tongue skinks. But which one are you working with? For which environments are they adapted? How does that differ from a blue tongue skink you might be more familiar with? How might you harm one species by treating it like a different one? Or, which ones can adapt to pretty much anything? You can learn more about varying heat and humidity requirements for Tiliqua here.

All of this to say: there is such a thing as "apparently the same, while not the same." And coexisting with that state, "apparently quite different, but at their roots, all the same." We are both of these things.


Birdfeeding

Feb. 8th, 2026 02:24 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Today is sunny and chilly.  Large patches of ground are visible, but there are still large patches of snow too.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/8/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a flocks of sparrows.  I heard a cardinal but didn't see it.

EDIT 2/8/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I saw a male cardinal.

I am done for the night.

The Importance of Pacing

Feb. 8th, 2026 09:36 am
chameleons3: A feathered dragon with big ears and horns, eight gold eyes. Its face and head are green. Its neck is blue and its chest is red. (Arini)
[personal profile] chameleons3

 

"Go at your own pace." This single sentence has been life changing for us, and possibly for many others. With a shared life, your pace is not always your own.

"Meet people where they are." Another important sentence for us. This one for orienting values, ethics, and interpersonal effectiveness.
For now, Arini will assume that you, reader, are many people, and will speak as such. If you are not, then perhaps consider this in the hypothetical, or consider it in the framework of a loved one.

Sometimes we grow up in situations where we are not allowed to set our own pace or notice our internal experiences. Perhaps we go too slowly for the adults, and they push us to go faster. "No time for that," "okay, I'm going to leave without you," and other such messages. Alternatively, perhaps the adults want you to slow down, but do not provide proper supports for you to slow down, or do not investigate why your pace is quicker than theirs. The adults teach you to match them, and to adapt to them, because they are in charge. Therefore your needs and internal experience are placed at lower importance, if they are considered important at all. As part of the responsibility of adults and other caregivers is to teach us how to partake in the wider culture, they teach us what the "correct" pace is. This can be traumatic for those whose pace does not match "the correct one."

Traumatic? Is this not dramatic? No.
Read more... )


The Guardian

Feb. 8th, 2026 01:21 pm
pilottttt: (Су-27)
[personal profile] pilottttt posting in [community profile] common_nature

autism creature

Feb. 7th, 2026 10:52 pm
themusicorthemisery: A low quality photo of Pete Wentz, with green text over his left shoulder reading "Smile". (Default)
[personal profile] themusicorthemisery
he is within us all
lumemiruuuuuuuuuuu: luka (luka)
[personal profile] lumemiruuuuuuuuuuu
sooo…last or this week i continued with my super cutesy oscar watches, and i watched blue moon. pretty unique for a biographical film that handled a time of the protagonist that would be very easy to dramatize, as it focuses on how an event of his life shortly before his death, but is rather a bar film simply focusing on one night the dude spend on a bar, after a musical his former artistic companion composed with another person. ethan hawke absolutely carried the film with his lovely acting as the mc, which despite his eccentricities was terribly charismatic, and while the plot is simple is very entertaining to watch. today i watched arco and uh…idk what to say. for starters i must mentioned i watched the movie 1. in a theatre characterized by AN AWFUL SOUND QUALITY and 2. WITH A GODDAMN AWFUL DUB, i swear to god this is giving me vietnam flashbacks of the anora dub when i watched it on theaters WHICH WAS FUCKING TERRIBLE, so i suffered through the film’s awful audio quality, not managing to enjoy the film at any moment, and im sure my opinion more negative because of it. the animation was pretty good :), the story was disappointingly predictable and lacked development on some aspects, could’ve been more implicit on some aspects, so some emotional moments felt unearned, thought there was a time loop at the end and i love time loops hehe (if i had a nickel every time plot twist involving a time traveling plot made me like and animated film more this year i would have 2 nickels, which isnt a lot but is weird that it happened twice), though given all the hype, it dissapointed me that i didnt got much of it.

also watched the stray kids dominate experience movie, and while filmaking wise it kinda sucked ngl (there was some odd shooting decisions on the concert parts, the structure of the film was basically concert recording, “interview” with a member, and that again and again until all the members had their “interview”, which was basically them talking on a clearly blue-screened background saying the most media trained “information” and “feelings” while more casual clips play meanwhile) and i definitely wouldnt have enjoyed it if i resigned myself to pirate it, it had something that will make me remember as one of the best theatre experiences in my life

THE FANSSS!!!! THE ENERGY WAS FUCKING AWESOME!!!!! and i went with nyubara hehehehe

the whole cinema was PACKED with skz stans, which were already giving me a fun time before the film started (mostly referring to that one dude who brought A FUCKING LIFE-SIZED CUTOUT OF ONE OF THE SKZ MEMBERTS TO THE SCREENING), but once the lights went down and the logos of all the companies started playing on the screen, everyone started yelling and we got in a group chanting of “hip hip! HURRAAYYY!!!”, and the screaming continued for pretty much all the concert, along with everyone shouting along to the songs (ngl i felt like a poser there, as i didnt knew the lyrics most of the songs played there, except for megaverse, back door, s class, chk chk boom, lalalala, maniac and miroh) it made the whole thing extremely fucking fun, and nyubara and me ended up laughing with and of the fans multiple times (specially whenever THEY SCREAMED FOR FUCKING ANYTHING. like i think on i.n’s interview, there was a clip of him eating a chip, and everyone went fucking wild at it. mind you that the film is 2 hours and 23 minutes long, AND the screaming was constant), but it was seriously such a lovely thing to be with such accepting enthusiastic people, in the sense that you could yell out the most unhinged thing and people would cheer you up, like whenever a member looked specially hot people would legit start a BARKING CHANT (which i ofc joined whenever felix was the victim of it. ily felix i love your deep voice your beautiful hair how lovely your normal speaking voice is your energy please moan in my ear. i also yelled whenever he appeared) and the chant of “TOO MANY CLOTHES!!!!”, or the group of eight fangirls in the top rows that would legit cry at ALL THE INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS and everyone would cheer them up…like this is true community, or when in the irl concert the lights turned off and all you could see was the lightsticks in the crowd, AND PEOPLE HERE TOOK OUT THEIR PHONES, PUT THEIR LANTERNS ON AND SHOOK THEM. i ofc joined in the singing wiener i knew a song, and thats why i fucking loved the last part, cause in the irl concert, people asked for an encore, and one of the members asked everyone to “help them” by jumping, AND EVERYONE STOOD UP. AND THE MEMBERS PLAYED MIROH FOR THE ENCORE. MY FAVORITE SKZ SONG. dude i dont think ive ever felt happier, i was singing my heart out, nyubara was dancing with me, later they did a second encore with the festival version of chk chk boom which was also fucking awesome…really. best night of my life :3

i would love to do this again ngl, stays ily since now :3. too bad the enhypen concert film wont reach the city :(, ik more songs of them and i want to be with such enthusiastic fans again. fuck you belift

Birds and snow

Feb. 7th, 2026 08:08 pm
ribirdnerd: perched bird (Default)
[personal profile] ribirdnerd posting in [community profile] birdfeeding
Saturday 2/7/26

More snow today and tons of birds. I must have seen 50 to 75 birds around the feeders, huge flocks of House and Song Sparrows, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves and Red winged Blackbirds plus the other usual visitors like Wrens, Starlings, Cardinals and Woodpeckers.

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