Years when decades happen
Jun. 9th, 2025 07:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabby I dunno, what do you guys want me to rant about? The Freedom Flotilla? LA vs. ICE? The fact that my government is planning more pipelines while sending in the army to deal with out-of-control wildfires? Or, closer to home, Bill 5 or the Toronto bubble zone law, or...?
This is why people curl up and retreat into fiction.
This is why people curl up and retreat into fiction.
Seen in NYC
Jun. 8th, 2025 11:44 amzesty_pintoPassed by the Financial district yesterday. Didn't see the worst of the protests around the immigration court, only crowds holding the line against a group of cops.
Also saw three blocks away by city hall park was a pair of white guys with "pureblood" tattoos rapping on a stage in front of a half-to-dozen 50/60 year olds about how bad woke is. Extremely divorced dad energy.
Nobody else really gave a shit about them and despite what people might think about geography, from three blocks away none of the protestors could see them anyway. Weekend at the Financial district is either seaport or tourism around the old buildings plus doing this in the afternoon was ehhhhh
Edit: okay it has something to do with something called "freedom chariot." Everything had the boomer feel to what I could find, from blatant AI use to there being some attempt to promote it (assuming some of the few people there were pundits trying to boost it). The fact that I had to work to even ID it tells you all you need to know so even if this is astroturf, it's not very expensive ones.
Also saw three blocks away by city hall park was a pair of white guys with "pureblood" tattoos rapping on a stage in front of a half-to-dozen 50/60 year olds about how bad woke is. Extremely divorced dad energy.
Nobody else really gave a shit about them and despite what people might think about geography, from three blocks away none of the protestors could see them anyway. Weekend at the Financial district is either seaport or tourism around the old buildings plus doing this in the afternoon was ehhhhh
Edit: okay it has something to do with something called "freedom chariot." Everything had the boomer feel to what I could find, from blatant AI use to there being some attempt to promote it (assuming some of the few people there were pundits trying to boost it). The fact that I had to work to even ID it tells you all you need to know so even if this is astroturf, it's not very expensive ones.
podcast friday
Jun. 6th, 2025 07:10 amsabotabbyI remain once again mostly behind on podcasts, but maybe have a listen to It Could Happen Here's "Governing Fertility: How Pronatalist Policies Kill." (Trigger warning: It contains fairly graphic descriptions of what happened in Romania under Ceaușescu, which legit gave me nightmares as a kid.
One of the particular hallmarks of both Trump 2.0, his ex-BFF Elon (who is responsible for approximately 30,000 child deaths in his short tenure as Grima Wormtongue), and far-right populist/techbro movements around the world, is an obsession with forced pregnancy, insemination, and reproduction. Obviously this is viscerally upsetting to everyone who's read or seen Handmaid's Tale, and given that the actual supposed problems with a declining birth date are mostly solved by immigration, which they want to decrease, bears some further examination. They don't just want to ban abortion, but pursue incentives for large families headed by heterosexual married couples, punish the childless, and create eugenics programs. The one thing that they don't want to do is care for whatever children are born, or create social conditions where families can live in financial and physical stability, because then the money would be sad.
The gang looks at a number of movements, including Spain and Japan, but Romania is actually the closest parallel to Trump's plans, and it's important to confront that horror straight in the face so they you know exactly what they want for American families and children. Although, you know, eventually the Ceaușescus got shot in a basement and dragged through the streets so at least there's that to look forward to.
One of the particular hallmarks of both Trump 2.0, his ex-BFF Elon (who is responsible for approximately 30,000 child deaths in his short tenure as Grima Wormtongue), and far-right populist/techbro movements around the world, is an obsession with forced pregnancy, insemination, and reproduction. Obviously this is viscerally upsetting to everyone who's read or seen Handmaid's Tale, and given that the actual supposed problems with a declining birth date are mostly solved by immigration, which they want to decrease, bears some further examination. They don't just want to ban abortion, but pursue incentives for large families headed by heterosexual married couples, punish the childless, and create eugenics programs. The one thing that they don't want to do is care for whatever children are born, or create social conditions where families can live in financial and physical stability, because then the money would be sad.
The gang looks at a number of movements, including Spain and Japan, but Romania is actually the closest parallel to Trump's plans, and it's important to confront that horror straight in the face so they you know exactly what they want for American families and children. Although, you know, eventually the Ceaușescus got shot in a basement and dragged through the streets so at least there's that to look forward to.
The Only Light Left Burning, by Erik J. Brown: DNF
Jun. 5th, 2025 01:32 pmrachelmanija
This sequel to one of my favorite books of last year, a young adult post-apocalypse novel with a lovely slow-burn gay romance, fell victim to a trope I basically never like: the sequel to a romance that starts out by breaking up the main couple or pitting them against each other. It may be realistic but I hate it. If the main thing I liked about the first book was the main couple's dynamic - and if I'm reading the sequel, that's definitely the case - then I'm never going to like a sequel where their dynamic is missing or turns negative. I'm not saying they can't have conflict, but they shouldn't have so much conflict that there's nothing left of the relationship I loved in the first place.
This book starts out with Jamison and Andrew semi-broken up and not speaking to each other or walking on eggshells around each other, because Andrew wants to stay in the nice post-apocalyptic community they found and Jamison wants to return to their cabin and live alone there with Andrew. Every character around them remarks on this and how they need to just talk to each other. Eventually they talk to each other, but it resolves nothing and they go on being weird about each other and mourning the loss of their old relationship. ME TOO.
Then half the community's children die in a hurricane, and it's STILL all about them awkwardly not talking to each other and being depressed. I checked Goodreads, saw that they don't make up till the end, and gave up.
The first book is still great! It didn't need a sequel, though I would have enjoyed their further adventures if it had continued the relationship I loved in the first book. I did not sign up for random dead kids and interminable random sulking.
More Ratcraft
Jun. 5th, 2025 04:30 pmzesty_pintoIt'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.
The Switch 2 is not Worth Your UPS Job
Jun. 5th, 2025 01:52 pmzesty_pintoSo 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!
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!
(no subject)
Jun. 4th, 2025 11:36 pmmetawidgetI'm writing this from the kitchen table in my new place — I am in the process of moving out from the home I shared with Elizabeth since 2008. We got to a place where we had a big gulf between what each of us thought our relationship should be and I decided I needed some space and concordance between what our relationship had become and what the infrastructure looked like. So here I am, a kilometer and a half away in a little 1940s house with a bedroom for me and each kid, a woodstove (landlords promise to inspect and clean it before it gets cold) and a certain amount of distance. The kids seem pretty positive and practical about moving in; they'll be in on a supply run on the weekend to kit out their rooms while Elizabeth and Doug go to Toronto for a gig. Unless things go terribly, they'll have their first night here then, and then I'll get Vivien to the bus really early for her school trip to Quebec City.
What this all looks like emotionally going forward... is still up in the air. I was pretty unhappy with where things were going. Elizabeth seems to want to go straight to friends and I'm feeling more like getting the practicalities of co-parenting down, being fair while standing up for myself, setting some clear boundaries. I'm lucky to have a broad circle of support and some really good people close to me. Andrea says I'm brave, and has been there for me all through this. My parents are understanding. My peer group is proud I'm taking concrete action. Lots of people are offering help, even the kids (I'll make sure they get some choices about their space and also carry some boxes). It feels weird but maybe I do need to assemble some kind of separation registry and insist that people only contribute things they have doubles of or don't use -- partly to help get over the hump of expenses (and in to paying rents of the current era and child support) and partly so I don't just say "come to the housewarming" when they ask what they can do.
What this all looks like emotionally going forward... is still up in the air. I was pretty unhappy with where things were going. Elizabeth seems to want to go straight to friends and I'm feeling more like getting the practicalities of co-parenting down, being fair while standing up for myself, setting some clear boundaries. I'm lucky to have a broad circle of support and some really good people close to me. Andrea says I'm brave, and has been there for me all through this. My parents are understanding. My peer group is proud I'm taking concrete action. Lots of people are offering help, even the kids (I'll make sure they get some choices about their space and also carry some boxes). It feels weird but maybe I do need to assemble some kind of separation registry and insist that people only contribute things they have doubles of or don't use -- partly to help get over the hump of expenses (and in to paying rents of the current era and child support) and partly so I don't just say "come to the housewarming" when they ask what they can do.
Reading Wednesday
Jun. 4th, 2025 07:14 amsabotabbyJust finished: real ones, Katherena Vermette. This one ruled. I don't have a lot to add to what I said last week except that I really enjoyed it. If you want a good pairing (or you're not super familiar with the context of the Canadian arts scene), Jesse Wente's Unreconciled provides a great non-fiction one. But yeah, I loved the characters, I loved the poetic, Impressionist writing style, it was emotionally affecting without high stakes or pacing, which is something that genre writers could learn a lot from (more on that later). Vermette seems to be putting out great books with impressive frequency but this is the one I've enjoyed most so far.
The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohamed. This one was imperfect and ambitious, but I'll take that over boring any day. It's a master class in how to do some interesting worldbuilding; there's a lot going on in the background, and you get it only as a sketch. Oh yeah, there are lizard guns. Why are the guns lizards? Eh, don't worry about it, keep up. It's pretty New Weird in the tradition of Miéville and Tchaikovsky (positive) so I liked that quite a bit.
I have two big critiques, one big and one small. First, the small. This is critically acclaimed, nominated for a bunch of awards, and put out by a real press. And yet. And yet. Alefret, the main character, has one leg. This is clearly established in the opening line. His leg is slowly growing back thanks to an experimental serum that's delivered via wasp sting (again, cool) but it's slow and he's on crutches for the entire book, something that is done very well and really gives a good sense of the character's physicality. And then there is a scene where he is having dinner with two elderly sisters who have a cat. Under the table, the cat brushes up against his ankles and he holds his legs very still. WTF? Which editor let that through?
My bigger complaint is that I don't think she quite lands the ending. As I've said, it's ambitious, a story about whether pacifism can survive a horrific war.
( spoilers )
Cottagers and Indians by Drew Hayden Taylor. This is a one-act play based on the true story of Anishinaabe people trying to re-seed lakes with wild rice, over the objection of white cottagers. And it's amazing, obviously. Everything he writes is great and this is particularly affecting. It's a dance between two difficult, complicated characters, and while the white cottager character could easily be a hideous caricature, Hayden Taylor is too much of a humanist to take the easy road out. There's also a great afterword by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, because of course there is.
Currently reading: Dakwäkãda Warriors by Cole Pauls. This is a bilingual (!!!) Indigenous futurist comic about two defenders of the earth, beautifully illustrated in a Formline style. If you want to learn Tahltan, I can't think of a cuter way. There's a lot of pew pew pew and it's very fun.
The Siege of Burning Grass by Premee Mohamed. This one was imperfect and ambitious, but I'll take that over boring any day. It's a master class in how to do some interesting worldbuilding; there's a lot going on in the background, and you get it only as a sketch. Oh yeah, there are lizard guns. Why are the guns lizards? Eh, don't worry about it, keep up. It's pretty New Weird in the tradition of Miéville and Tchaikovsky (positive) so I liked that quite a bit.
I have two big critiques, one big and one small. First, the small. This is critically acclaimed, nominated for a bunch of awards, and put out by a real press. And yet. And yet. Alefret, the main character, has one leg. This is clearly established in the opening line. His leg is slowly growing back thanks to an experimental serum that's delivered via wasp sting (again, cool) but it's slow and he's on crutches for the entire book, something that is done very well and really gives a good sense of the character's physicality. And then there is a scene where he is having dinner with two elderly sisters who have a cat. Under the table, the cat brushes up against his ankles and he holds his legs very still. WTF? Which editor let that through?
My bigger complaint is that I don't think she quite lands the ending. As I've said, it's ambitious, a story about whether pacifism can survive a horrific war.
( spoilers )
Cottagers and Indians by Drew Hayden Taylor. This is a one-act play based on the true story of Anishinaabe people trying to re-seed lakes with wild rice, over the objection of white cottagers. And it's amazing, obviously. Everything he writes is great and this is particularly affecting. It's a dance between two difficult, complicated characters, and while the white cottager character could easily be a hideous caricature, Hayden Taylor is too much of a humanist to take the easy road out. There's also a great afterword by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, because of course there is.
Currently reading: Dakwäkãda Warriors by Cole Pauls. This is a bilingual (!!!) Indigenous futurist comic about two defenders of the earth, beautifully illustrated in a Formline style. If you want to learn Tahltan, I can't think of a cuter way. There's a lot of pew pew pew and it's very fun.
Withered by A.G.A. Wilmot. JFC not another cozy horror, fuck me. This one starts out very promising, with a teenage girl, haunted by the ghost of her recently dead brother, trying to burn down the family house before it kills the rest of her family. 25 years later, Robyn, who grew up in the tiny town of Black Stone, has fallen on financial hard times after the death of her husband, so she moves herself and her teenage child, Ellis, back home into the very same house. Ellis meets a number of residents, mostly young people, who insist that the house is haunted, and that there's a strange power that it exerts by displacing death into the surrounding towns, while keeping the people in Black Stone alive for a very long time. This is a good set up for horror. I'm here for it.
However, it turns out that the haunted house is nice, actually??? and everyone in the town is very nice??? Ellis is recovering from a life-threatening eating disorder that they in part attribute to "anti-queer cultural norms" and yet they do not encounter anyone who doesn't want to be their friend and/or date them, they immediately get a job at the cool coffee shop without a resume, and everyone in their life is accepting and friendly. Once again, a queernormative setting wants to have its anti-oppression cake and eat it too. I guess maybe the house is somehow making everyone in this small town cool and rad and multicultural, but I dunno, I lived in a pretty small town and it wasn't great.
Also all the kids are goth or alternative in some way and listen to the kind of music that I like. I can buy that there are tons of teenage Black girls in the year of our lord 2025 who listen to Bjork and Sigur Ros. What I cannot buy is that in a tiny town, one of them would just happen to meet and fall for a kid who listens to Frightened Rabbit and the Mountain Goats.
Anyway, I am suspecting that the girl who spent 25 years in a mental institution (what) is going to end up being the villain of the piece, because this is what reading cozy things has led me to suspect. But let's see.
However, it turns out that the haunted house is nice, actually??? and everyone in the town is very nice??? Ellis is recovering from a life-threatening eating disorder that they in part attribute to "anti-queer cultural norms" and yet they do not encounter anyone who doesn't want to be their friend and/or date them, they immediately get a job at the cool coffee shop without a resume, and everyone in their life is accepting and friendly. Once again, a queernormative setting wants to have its anti-oppression cake and eat it too. I guess maybe the house is somehow making everyone in this small town cool and rad and multicultural, but I dunno, I lived in a pretty small town and it wasn't great.
Also all the kids are goth or alternative in some way and listen to the kind of music that I like. I can buy that there are tons of teenage Black girls in the year of our lord 2025 who listen to Bjork and Sigur Ros. What I cannot buy is that in a tiny town, one of them would just happen to meet and fall for a kid who listens to Frightened Rabbit and the Mountain Goats.
Anyway, I am suspecting that the girl who spent 25 years in a mental institution (what) is going to end up being the villain of the piece, because this is what reading cozy things has led me to suspect. But let's see.
Three videos for this week.
Jun. 3rd, 2025 08:58 pmnumb3r_5ev3nFirst: The Rise And Fall of Kitschy 90s Restaurants. This is apropos of nothing, except that I feel like the "fall" of these kinds of establishments and their replacement by the "grey/beige/greige late 2010s Millennial Air B&B Aesthetic" is part and parcel of the 2020s Enshittification Of Everything.
2: This echoes my thoughts exactly right now. And it gives me anxiety that all of the Worst People have truly won, if it means that I am pulling back from Web 2.0 social media altogether. Because, as The Functional Melancholic says, it's becoming impossible to tell what's real, in a way that feels dangerously destructive to civilization as a whole right now. This is literally one of the goals of Active Measures, and it appears to have succeeded.
III. Vera of The Council Of Geeks also echoes my thoughts perfectly right now. As well as those of many others, I suspect. This is also my Current Mood for this post. I also just let this loop for like 10 minutes yesterday. That's how spot-on it is.
Also, Sinners is out on streaming, for those who have not seen it yet. Just please, I'm begging you, watch it on a screen bigger than a phone screen if you have any other recourse. I'm serious.
2: This echoes my thoughts exactly right now. And it gives me anxiety that all of the Worst People have truly won, if it means that I am pulling back from Web 2.0 social media altogether. Because, as The Functional Melancholic says, it's becoming impossible to tell what's real, in a way that feels dangerously destructive to civilization as a whole right now. This is literally one of the goals of Active Measures, and it appears to have succeeded.
III. Vera of The Council Of Geeks also echoes my thoughts perfectly right now. As well as those of many others, I suspect. This is also my Current Mood for this post. I also just let this loop for like 10 minutes yesterday. That's how spot-on it is.
Also, Sinners is out on streaming, for those who have not seen it yet. Just please, I'm begging you, watch it on a screen bigger than a phone screen if you have any other recourse. I'm serious.
Making Bombs For Hitler, by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Jun. 3rd, 2025 11:58 amrachelmanija
A historical children's novel by a Ukrainian-Canadian author, based on Ukrainian teenagers and children forced into slavery during WWII. After watching her neighbors and finally her family getting dragged off by the Nazis, Lida, a Christian Ukrainian girl, is kidnapped along with her younger sister. They're immediately separated and Lida is sent to a horrendous work camp. She's skilled at sewing, which keeps her useful and so alive for a while. But then the Nazis need bombs more than uniforms...
This book is an impressive feat of walking the line between being honest and straightforward about how terrible conditions are while not being too overwhelming for children to read. Lida and the other girls endure and try to support each other. Lida gives a Jewish girl her crucifix necklace to help hide her identity, and an older girl advises Lida to lie about her age so she isn't killed immediately for being too young to work. The German seamstress Lida works with (an employee, not a prisoner) is occasionally casually kind to her, but also gets a gift of looted clothing from a probably murdered French woman, and gets Lida to meticulously remove the woman's stitched-in initials and re-sew them with her own. A Hungarian political prisoner, who gets better soup than the Ukrainians, advises Lida to say she's Polish, as that will improve her her food. Later, Lida muses, It seemed that just as there were different soups, there were different ways of being killed, depending on your nationality.
( Read more... )
The book is interesting as a depiction of an aspect of WWII that isn't written about much, a compelling read, and a moving story about some people trying to keep hope and caring - and rebellion - alive when others are being as bad as humans can get. It's part of a trio of books involving overlapping characters, but stands completely on its own.
The afterword says that Skrypuch based the book on her interviews with a survivor.
You Can Make A Website
Jun. 1st, 2025 08:36 amosteophageIf you have any doubts, then you're the target audience of this guide. Many people hesitate or even write off the possibility of making a website due to common misconceptions, poorly-written instructions, or simply feeling unsure where to start. So to help you over those hurdles, this guide is designed to address some of those misconceptions, walk you through resolving certain mental blocks, and present you with some tutorials to help get you on your way.
The first misconception to address is the idea that you don't already have what it takes to begin. Many people hesitate because they think in order to make a website, you need to spend money (you don't) or that you need to engage in advanced computer wizardry that a normal person could never possibly understand (this isn't true either). There are only a few things you truly need:
- the ability to connect to the internet
- an email address you can use to sign up for services
- the ability to read and handle looking at large amounts of text
If you can check off all of those boxes, then you have all the prerequisites you need to follow this guide.
Crossposted to Neocities and Pillowfort.
( Read more... )Possible cause of Long COVID has been discovered.
May. 31st, 2025 11:56 pmnumb3r_5ev3n( Cut because the image is huge. )
Image text: Japanese researchers have found a possible explanation for long COVID. They discovered that small fragments of the coronavirus's genetic material can remain deep behind the nose, in an area called the epipharynx, for at least six months after infection. These viral remnants irritate the immune system and may cause fatigue, coughing, dizziness, and "brain fog."
The researchers used an old Japanese treatment called epipharyngeal abrasive therapy (EAT), where the area is swabbed once a week with a cotton swab dipped in 1% zinc chloride solution. After three months, the patients showed:
- significantly fewer viral remnants
- lower levels of inflammatory substances
- noticeably reduced symptoms
The treatment appears to both remove the lingering virus and calm the inflammation. A larger clinical trial is now underway in Japan to confirm the results. This discovery could lead to more targeted treatments that address the root cause of long COVID symptoms instead of merely managing them.
Image text: Japanese researchers have found a possible explanation for long COVID. They discovered that small fragments of the coronavirus's genetic material can remain deep behind the nose, in an area called the epipharynx, for at least six months after infection. These viral remnants irritate the immune system and may cause fatigue, coughing, dizziness, and "brain fog."
The researchers used an old Japanese treatment called epipharyngeal abrasive therapy (EAT), where the area is swabbed once a week with a cotton swab dipped in 1% zinc chloride solution. After three months, the patients showed:
- significantly fewer viral remnants
- lower levels of inflammatory substances
- noticeably reduced symptoms
The treatment appears to both remove the lingering virus and calm the inflammation. A larger clinical trial is now underway in Japan to confirm the results. This discovery could lead to more targeted treatments that address the root cause of long COVID symptoms instead of merely managing them.
Fic Roundup - May 2025
May. 30th, 2025 04:51 pmtoothpastepancake HOW IS IT ALREADY ALMOST JUNE??
04 May. Seasons of Drabbles. cotton candy clouds, Star Trek: LWD, Beckett/T'Lyn, 300 words, T.
13 May. RIPYJ Week. all the good in me is because of You, Yellowjackets, Laura Lee/Team, 470 words, E. Noncon TW.
20 May. so young to be so cruel, The Orville, Alara Kitan/Solana Kitan, T.
24 May.![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
femslashfete . just a young heart confusing my mind, The Orville, Kelly/Adult!Topa, 302 words, T.
27 May.femslashfete . fear is the heart of love, Yellowjackets, Laura Lee/Lottie Matthews, 262, T.
28 May.femslashfete (I love amnesty weeks!). you got a taste for me, Yellowjackets, Laura Lee/Lottie Matthews, 158 words, T.
30 May.femslashfete . The Orville, lambs, Teleya/Lysella, 556 words, T.
Exchanges participated in: Diegetic, Seasons of Drabbles, Saturday Morning, Id Pro Quo.
Exchanges to do next month: Non-con exchange, Battleship (which is technically in July, but begins noms in June, and it'll be my first time and I am so so so sooooooooo excited.......) I don't know what's going on in June but I don't think many are running. If you see any you think I'd be interested in, please drop a comment!
Total word count (including non-fic): 12,127 words. Less than 10k til myinkingitout goal!
A little personal update: I'm doing much much better with my treatment resistant depression after starting a new medication. Like, I had my lowest depression screening score (we do them weekly at my program) I have ever had in my LIFE. So that's great! I hope you are all well. :)
04 May. Seasons of Drabbles. cotton candy clouds, Star Trek: LWD, Beckett/T'Lyn, 300 words, T.
13 May. RIPYJ Week. all the good in me is because of You, Yellowjackets, Laura Lee/Team, 470 words, E. Noncon TW.
20 May. so young to be so cruel, The Orville, Alara Kitan/Solana Kitan, T.
24 May.
femslashfete . just a young heart confusing my mind, The Orville, Kelly/Adult!Topa, 302 words, T. 27 May.
femslashfete . fear is the heart of love, Yellowjackets, Laura Lee/Lottie Matthews, 262, T.28 May.
femslashfete (I love amnesty weeks!). you got a taste for me, Yellowjackets, Laura Lee/Lottie Matthews, 158 words, T. 30 May.
femslashfete . The Orville, lambs, Teleya/Lysella, 556 words, T.Exchanges participated in: Diegetic, Seasons of Drabbles, Saturday Morning, Id Pro Quo.
Exchanges to do next month: Non-con exchange, Battleship (which is technically in July, but begins noms in June, and it'll be my first time and I am so so so sooooooooo excited.......) I don't know what's going on in June but I don't think many are running. If you see any you think I'd be interested in, please drop a comment!
Total word count (including non-fic): 12,127 words. Less than 10k til my
inkingitout goal!A little personal update: I'm doing much much better with my treatment resistant depression after starting a new medication. Like, I had my lowest depression screening score (we do them weekly at my program) I have ever had in my LIFE. So that's great! I hope you are all well. :)
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty
May. 30th, 2025 01:25 pmrachelmanija
In a magical version of the medieval Middle East, a middle-aged single mom, who was once the notorious pirate Amina al-Sirafi, is dragged out of retirement for one final job.
This book is a complete and utter delight from start to finish. It has all the pirate tropes you could possibly want - sea battles! sea monsters! quests for magical objects! loyal crews! tossed overboard! marooned! - and sly twists on others. It's got great characters. It's got hilarious dialogue and character interactions. The world is wonderfully detailed and varied, full of plausible historical details and with a lovely faux-historical feel. There are stories within stories. It's all marvelous.
As a child, I had a book called Muslim Saints and Mystics, which was a translation of parts of the Tazkirat al-Awliyā, a collection of stories about Muslim saints written around 1200. It was funny and magical, and some of the stories-within-stories in Amina al-Sirafi have a similar feel. The novel neatly toes the line between dialogue that feels fairly contemporary and a plausibly historical mindset. Amina is horny as hell, but a serious Muslim who believes in not having sex before marriage; as a result, she's had five husbands. There's a major trans character, in addition to several gay characters; Amina has come across people before who prefer to live as the other sex, and takes it in stride without resorting to Tumblr-esque labels or attitudes.
I loved every moment of this book, and was delighted that though it has a reasonable ending, it is the start of a trilogy. It's the first book I've read by Chakraborty, and I'm excited to read her City of Brass series.
( Read more... )
podcast friday
May. 30th, 2025 07:15 amsabotabby When someone tells you that something is "inevitable" or "here to stay," you shouldn't believe them. You should, in fact, do something between vicious mockery and other, more high-level spells on them. They are lying to you and they want you to suffer.
In the past, massive political and socioeconomic changes were enforced through violence. Before Margaret Thatcher could have people believing that There Is No Alternative, she had to crush the miner's unions. Before neoliberal structural adjustment policies were enforced on the Global South, governments and corporations had to rig elections, murder Indigenous people, and starve their populations.
So why are we accepting this massive change—the enshittification of all things from labour to education to the arts—that no one asked for and no one wants? Because we are a very passive, bovine population that has been conditioned for decades to accept anything that Big Tech tells us that we want. Which is why I get daily emails from companies and my employer giving me best practices for incorporating plagiarism into my pedagogical practice, etc.
The handful of independent tech reporters who still have brains, like Ed Zitron and in this case, Paris Marx, put the lie to that. Tech Won't Save Us has a great episode, "Generative AI is Not Inevitable with Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender" that discusses how obvious it is that gen AI has not lived up to the hype, that it's an industry propped up by wishes and VC capital rather than an actual market, and that we can actually nip this in the bud. It's very empowering and I'm definitely going to check out the book that the two guests wrote.
In the past, massive political and socioeconomic changes were enforced through violence. Before Margaret Thatcher could have people believing that There Is No Alternative, she had to crush the miner's unions. Before neoliberal structural adjustment policies were enforced on the Global South, governments and corporations had to rig elections, murder Indigenous people, and starve their populations.
So why are we accepting this massive change—the enshittification of all things from labour to education to the arts—that no one asked for and no one wants? Because we are a very passive, bovine population that has been conditioned for decades to accept anything that Big Tech tells us that we want. Which is why I get daily emails from companies and my employer giving me best practices for incorporating plagiarism into my pedagogical practice, etc.
The handful of independent tech reporters who still have brains, like Ed Zitron and in this case, Paris Marx, put the lie to that. Tech Won't Save Us has a great episode, "Generative AI is Not Inevitable with Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender" that discusses how obvious it is that gen AI has not lived up to the hype, that it's an industry propped up by wishes and VC capital rather than an actual market, and that we can actually nip this in the bud. It's very empowering and I'm definitely going to check out the book that the two guests wrote.
Update from last post.
May. 28th, 2025 02:00 pmnumb3r_5ev3nI was able to take a few days off from work, but it's not nearly enough. I got to the Scarborough Faire renfaire again and some craft stores. But I'm really mourning the loss of Joann Fabric. It, like Toys R Us, is a victim of Vulture Capitalists stripping it for parts.
It was the last "fabric store" out there, since Hancock Fabric closed down in the 2010s. Michaels has fabric and some sewing supplies, but it's not geared towards sewing and the selection is kind of sparse. Same with Wal Mart - but it's Wal Mart. Snobby Lobby is not even worth mentioning, and those bigoted rightwing antiquities thieves can go get bent.
I really don't want to have to order stuff from Etsy every time I want to take on a sewing project that I can't find supplies for locally. This really sucks.
The owner/founder of Texas Renaissance Festival was found dead. That's all I'm saying here without a cut, but here's an article on the subject. Warning for Unpleasant Stuff. I guess we'll see what all of this means for Texas Renaissance Festival this year.
But, changing the subject, one thing that I've noticed that bothers me is that it seems like my ADHD is worse than ever. It's nearly gotten me into a few wrecks that only reflexes saved me from, and it's led me to make a few impulsive decisions that I've regretted later. I know I have to go back to therapy and get back on meds, but I don't want anyone to try and strongarm me into taking SSRIs again. And yes, the loss of Joann's is a blow because crafting is kind of how I blow off steam when I need a mental health break.
I feel like our Capitalist Overlords really want to make a world where all we can afford to do outside of work is Sleep, Stream Media from Streaming Services, Doomscroll Social Media, and Play Video Games. Which is an eventuality that none of us should tolerate.
Trust me, I am not trying to stir up nostalgia for the recent global pandemic, in which a lot of people died or were maimed. But there was this aspect of quarantine life, and I feel like it's the part that the so-called "Captains Of Industry" want us to forget the most:
[tweet from c0wbitch, reading "remember quarantine when everyone was making bread and dancing and making art and taking care of plants and just learning new useful skills and we got a small glimpse into what life is supposed to be like"]
It was the last "fabric store" out there, since Hancock Fabric closed down in the 2010s. Michaels has fabric and some sewing supplies, but it's not geared towards sewing and the selection is kind of sparse. Same with Wal Mart - but it's Wal Mart. Snobby Lobby is not even worth mentioning, and those bigoted rightwing antiquities thieves can go get bent.
I really don't want to have to order stuff from Etsy every time I want to take on a sewing project that I can't find supplies for locally. This really sucks.
The owner/founder of Texas Renaissance Festival was found dead. That's all I'm saying here without a cut, but here's an article on the subject. Warning for Unpleasant Stuff. I guess we'll see what all of this means for Texas Renaissance Festival this year.
But, changing the subject, one thing that I've noticed that bothers me is that it seems like my ADHD is worse than ever. It's nearly gotten me into a few wrecks that only reflexes saved me from, and it's led me to make a few impulsive decisions that I've regretted later. I know I have to go back to therapy and get back on meds, but I don't want anyone to try and strongarm me into taking SSRIs again. And yes, the loss of Joann's is a blow because crafting is kind of how I blow off steam when I need a mental health break.
I feel like our Capitalist Overlords really want to make a world where all we can afford to do outside of work is Sleep, Stream Media from Streaming Services, Doomscroll Social Media, and Play Video Games. Which is an eventuality that none of us should tolerate.
Trust me, I am not trying to stir up nostalgia for the recent global pandemic, in which a lot of people died or were maimed. But there was this aspect of quarantine life, and I feel like it's the part that the so-called "Captains Of Industry" want us to forget the most:
[tweet from c0wbitch, reading "remember quarantine when everyone was making bread and dancing and making art and taking care of plants and just learning new useful skills and we got a small glimpse into what life is supposed to be like"]
Blood Over Bright Haven, by M. L. Wang
May. 28th, 2025 10:28 amrachelmanija
Sciona, the first woman ever admitted to the University of Magic, takes on Thomil, a janitor from a discriminated-against culture, as her lab assistant, and they both learn dark secrets about their world.
Thomil is introduced when his clan makes a desperate run across deadly ground to get to the safety of a city surrounded by a magical shield. The shield protects against bitter cold and the deadly Blight, which randomly zaps and dissolves people, but the area around the city is particularly Blight-infested. Only Thomil and his baby niece survive. When they arrive, they find that the city natives hate their race and has consigned them all as a permanent underclass.
Ten years later, Sciona, a well-to-do young woman in the city, is preparing for her magic exam to try to get into the sexist magic university, which no woman has ever passed. Though she does pass, all the male mages but her mentor hate her and hassle her. The only other person who's even remotely nice to her is Thomil, the janitor, who is assigned as her lab assistant as a cruel joke. But though Sciona is racist and classist, and Thomil is mildly sexist in an oblivious way, they find that they kind of get along...
Wang has an engaging, easy-read style for the most part, the intros to the two main characters are quite compelling, and despite the heavy-handed axes of privilege themes, Thomil and Sciona have a nice dynamic.
I said "for the most part." The exception is the magic system, which I think is basically computer programming via magic typewriters (spellographs). The wizards program a spell to access a specific area of the magical Otherrealm (which they can't see or sense in any way, so they're just plotting points on a grid) to grab magical energy or matter from it. But we get MUCH more detailed and lengthy descriptions of it, from long explanations to actual spells:
CONDITION 1: DEVICE is 15 Vendric feet higher than its position at the time of activation.
ACTION 1: FIRE will siphon from POWER an amount of energy no lower than 4.35 and no higher than 4.55 on the Leonic scale.
ACTION 2: FIRE will siphon within the distance of DEVICE no higher than 3 Vendric inches.
If and only if CONDITION 1 is met, ACTION 1 and ACTION 2 will go into effect.
The first half is Sciona and Thomil working on various spells, interspersed with very heavy-handed commentary on colonialism, sexism, and how Sciona totally gets feminism when it applies to her personally but is oblivious to all other isms. Sciona is an awful, self-centered person and Thomil is mostly perfect. Almost exactly halfway through, there is a shocking reveal. At least, it shocked many readers. It did not shock me.
( Read more... )
Despite what the plot description sounds like, Sciona and Thomil do not have a romance beyond occasional sexy feelings. It's a magical dystopia/dark academia, I think similar to Babel (which I could not get very far into) but less anvillicious in that it does not have literal footnotes saying stuff like "This is a racist comment and racism is bad." (In the bookshop, I have Blood Over Bright Haven tagged "If you like Babel you will like this.") Sadly for M. L. Wang, this comparative subtlety got them some reviews on Goodreads accusing them of condoning Sciona being a bad person and endorsing her beliefs.
I did not care for this book but I can see how it would work for many readers, especially if they're shocked by the twist at the halfway mark.