Previous poll reviewIn
the Detectives poll, the most popular options were softboiled (38.2%), ingredient in alcoholic beverages (32.4%) and hardboiled (26.5%). Over easy, poached, and deviled tied for last place with 14.7%.
In ticky-boxes, dinosaur feathers came second to hugs, 55.9% to 76.5%, yay science! Thank you for your votes.
ReadingThe Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown -- Revisiting my childhood. I enjoyed this so much. It's episodic, good-natured, and now I want to re-read all the sequels.
Just Kiss Her by Clare Lydon, narrated by Katy Sobey -- This was very silly. It's an f/f romance about a lesbian who fake-dates her closeted-to-his-family gay bff at his cousin's destination wedding and finds herself falling for his mother. Which I would have been here for, but a) the only obstacles were the obvious situational ones, b) neither lead seemed to have a character arc, and c) their connection was 30% feeling comfortable with each other and 70% finding each other sexy, in a telling-not-showing way. (I prefer the proportions reversed, along with some shared interests and values, thanks.) DNF.
Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers, narrated by Robert Bathurst -- So much fun! I find the dispassionate descriptions of court appearances and the reading out of letters both drag a little (the letters are always very convenient), but not enough to undermine the general charm of it all. Peter's “justice first” attitude to his brother’s arrest (not a spoiler) was great, and I'm well on my way to shipping him with Parker and/or Bunter. (Will check AO3 when I have more time.) (I know, I know, Harriet, but I haven’t got to her yet. ) I preferred the previous audiobook narrator, Frederick Davidson, but you can't have everything.
Guardian by priest --
The readalong continues, yay! I’m enjoying the mix of ensemble humor, very intense/weird romance, and Miyazaki-esque imagery. It’s pretty easy to lose track of events, but the readalong helps enormously with that.
Still slowly making my way through the 520 Day Guardian Exchange collection. Really need to sit down and write some comments!
KdramasNothing! I hardly recognise myself. (ETA: Okay, now I’ve watched half an episode of
Our Unwritten Seoul. Not enough to get a real sense of it yet.)
Other TVMurderbot -- continues to be a) enjoyable, and b) very different from my experience of the book (and that's okay).
Mike Birbiglia: The Good Life -- a bit less structured than his previous stand-up specials, but still enjoyable.
Doctor Who -- I'm just shaking my head at RTD and whoever gave him this ridiculous budget where he could throw whatever random elements he thought of into the mix. (We still have the final episode to go.)
Turning Point: The Vietnam War --
Turning Point: The Cold War was so good that we thought we’d try this one, too. Fact-filled and meaty.
Department Q -- new Edinburgh-based cold-case unit is staffed by asshole detective with PTSD. Really good so far (two episodes in), even if the asshole detective is... really leaning into the “asshole” bit.
The Expanse -- finished season 4; started season 5. AMOSSSS!!! NAOMI!!! BOBBY!!!! I am earwormed by the opening credits music.
El Eternauta -- we’ve only seen ten or twenty minutes of this eerie Argentinian series, but it looks really good and is on our to-watch list.
Fringe -- my sister and I are still making our way through season 1.
Spy (2015) -- the Melissa McCarthy movie. I loved this when it came out and saw it multiple times at the theatre. So when Netflix said it was being removed in a few days, I thought I should take the opportunity to revisit it. I got halfway through. This is partly attributable to my poor attention span, and partly argh Jason Statham, go away! (I know it’s a deliberate plot/humour choice, but argh.)
Guardian/Fandom*bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce*
Audio entertainmentWriting Excuses, and bits of Brandon Sanderson’s writing lectures. (I’ve listened to the latter very haphazardly, and I have no idea which ones I meant to review again.)
Writing/making thingsWriting continues apace. I don’t generally keep track of word counts, but I wrote 4,343 words in one day recently, which is astonishing for me. What is even happening? Currently on the hunt for a title, and whittling away at a WIP.
Random aside: partly because of the state of my arms, I reasonably often don’t hit the keys hard enough. One of my common typos is “hae” instead of “have”, which always makes me feel I’m writing in Scots.
Life/health/mental state thingsI find it so hard to put anything here these days... which is probably telling.
( Let's try. )FoodThe dish I’ve been referring to as “
the vegan thing” (Youtube link) isn’t even vegetarian when I make it, because there’s bonito extract in my miso paste. Oops. It’s still delicious, though. Somehow, the combination of fresh ginger, fresh tomatoes, random vege, miso paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds makes a really delicious gravy.
Good thingsAnticipating getting shelves in my cupboard and imposing some order on (*gestures*) all this. Also, anticipating my windows not leaking.
Guardian fandom, especially on Dreamwidth. Zhao Yunlaaaaaan. Writing. Books and Kdramas and so much TV. Cooking. Friends, online and off. Wonderful insightful beta. The boy and the cat and the house and the city. The view from my living-room window. Clean sheets.
Baby!red panda blep face (Insta link).
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 23
How do you dry your hair?
View Answersair dry
18 (78.3%)
towel dry roughly
11 (47.8%)
towel dry carefully / squeezingly
6 (26.1%)
hair dryer or other device
6 (26.1%)
other
0 (0.0%)
not applicable
0 (0.0%)
add styling stuff
2 (8.7%)
add conditioning stuff
3 (13.0%)
add anti-frizz stuff
1 (4.3%)
other
0 (0.0%)
ticky-box of other people are, generally speaking, quite mysterious
10 (43.5%)
ticky-box full of poll votes
8 (34.8%)
tickybox full of a yawning cat broadcasting calm and satisfaction into the world
16 (69.6%)
ticky-box full of the tickly froth edge of a wave on pale sparkly sand, at dawn
14 (60.9%)
ticky-box of rationing your exclamation marks
6 (26.1%)
ticky-box full of hugs
15 (65.2%)