Black Cherries by W. S. Merwin

Apr. 27th, 2025 04:13 am
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Late in May as the light lengthens
toward summer the young goldfinches
flutter down through the day for the first time
to find themselves among fallen petals
cradling their day's colors in the day's shadows
of the garden beside the old house
after a cold spring with no rain
not a sound comes from the empty village
as I stand eating the black cherries
from the loaded branches above me
saying to myself Remember this


*******


Link

There is a friending meme ongoing

Apr. 26th, 2025 04:05 am
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Clicky!

Also, I meant to say re: the utilities that you are all the best and I absolutely love you :)

(Still need to call National Grid and still don't wanna.)

Road Not Taken

Apr. 22nd, 2025 10:12 pm
settiai: (Road Not Taken -- settiai)
[personal profile] settiai
I was feeling nostalgic, so I pulled up Road Not Taken and played it for a little while earlier. It took a bit to get back into the swing of things, but I started to remember some of the hidden details and combinations after a while.

It's been ages since the last time I played, and I'd forgotten just how much I love it. It's so helpful if I want to turn off my brain for a little while. I can't believe it's been over a decade since it was first released.

Time For Another One Of These

Apr. 22nd, 2025 07:43 pm
astrogirl: (Ford)
[personal profile] astrogirl
Chapter 6 of "Congratulations on Your Apotheosis" is up. And leaves me feeling like I really should apologize to the characters.

"Exhale" as a Noun

Apr. 22nd, 2025 06:29 pm
labingi: (Default)
[personal profile] labingi
Silly question but when did "exhale" become a noun? I've been seeing it everywhere in fan fic lately, everywhere an "exhale," not one fic with an "exhalation"--or a "he exhaled." I figured it was a fan fic thing.

Then I saw an "exhale" in the poem "Forgotten Portraits," on my son's AP test study list.

The dictionaries are pretty much still telling me "exhale" is a verb.

This is, of course, all my language snobbery and utterly irrelevant, but when did this happen? What memo did I miss?
musesfool: (shakespeare got to get paid son)
[personal profile] musesfool
Today's poem:

I Have News for You

There are people who do not see a broken playground swing
as a symbol of ruined childhood

and there are people who don't interpret the behavior
of a fly in a motel room as a mocking representation of their thought process.

There are people who don't walk past an empty swimming pool
and think about past pleasures unrecoverable

and then stand there blocking the sidewalk for other pedestrians.
I have read about a town somewhere in California where human beings

do not send their sinuous feeder roots
deep into the potting soil of others' emotional lives

as if they were greedy six-year-olds
sucking the last half-inch of milkshake up through a noisy straw;

and other persons in the Midwest who can kiss without
debating the imperialist baggage of heterosexuality.

Do you see that creamy, lemon-yellow moon?
There are some people, unlike me and you,

who do not yearn after fame or love or quantities of money as
         unattainable as that moon;
thus, they do not later
         have to waste more time
defaming the object of their former ardor.

Or consequently run and crucify themselves
in some solitary midnight Starbucks Golgotha.

I have news for you—
there are people who get up in the morning and cross a room

and open a window to let the sweet breeze in
and let it touch them all over their faces and bodies.

--Tony Hoagland

*
redfiona99: (Default)
[personal profile] redfiona99
Given I have been running a fencing competition over Easter, Risa, definitely Risa. Even though I know it is not my sort of relaxation and I'd prefer doing historic touristy things because that's what I do (see also, half day in New Orleans which I spent in the Museum of Historical Pharmacy).

The other days under the cut )
nevanna: (Default)
[personal profile] nevanna
It's almost farmer's market season in my part of the world! Here are some of the fruits and veggies that I'm looking forward to buying this summer.

1. Berries! Raspberries are probably my very favorite, but I also love blueberries, blackberries, strawberries… I put them in oatmeal and sometimes in pies or muffins.

2. Peaches! They’re also great in cereal and pies, sometimes in combination with any of the berries.

3. Asparagus! I occasionally roast it to toss with pasta but use it more often in a stir fry.

4. Red and green peppers! These are also fine stir-fry or curry ingredients, though I also like to mix them into other rice dishes: with coconut and chili and lime, or with cheese and salsa and chicken.

5. Diva cucumbers! Those are the tiny seedless ones. Last summer, I sliced one up to include in my lunch at least once a week; alternatively, they’re another great addition to cold rice dishes (I add shredded carrots, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and some kind of protein).

this picnic is no picnic

Apr. 21st, 2025 06:08 pm
musesfool: Princess Leia (so what level up)
[personal profile] musesfool
Monday miscellany:

- So what are the odds we get an antipope this time in addition to a pope?

- Sepinwall gave season 2 of Andor a good review (minor spoilers, I guess) - the first 3 episodes drop tomorrow and it sounds like they are doing 3 episodes a week for 4 weeks, as each one comprises a mini-arc. Trying not to get spoiled on the internet is sure to be a nightmare.

- I haven't done the AO3 stats meme regularly since 2018 because not much changes in my top 10. In 2021, however, I made note of some up-and-comers in the 11-20 slots, and it turns out that as of 4/20/25, Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (i.e., the one where Dick convinces Jason to stop killing through the power of hugs) has crept into the top 10 by hits - it's number 9! (It looks like Our history is just in our blood (history, like love, is never enough) (the Steve/Bucky remix AU where Steve finds Bucky working as a barista) is the one that fell out of the top 10.)

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc also made inroads into the top 10 by kudos, landing at number 5! Additionally, 2 Star Wars stories also found their way into the top 10 by kudos: There's Still Time to Change the Road You're On (in which Anakin time travels to the post-RotJ era and meets his kids) at 6, and deep as a secret nobody knows (AU where Leia tells Vader she's Padme's daughter and it changes everything) at number 8!

The 3 Avengers stories that dropped are again, Our history is just in our blood (history, like love, is never enough), plus Even a Miracle Needs a Hand (Clint/Darcy fake Christmas boyfriend), and with the lights out, it's less dangerous (Steve/Bucky, then and now).

According to these posts, I did not previously do the full list by comments, but I will note the appearance of deep as a secret nobody knows at number 3 on the comments list, and another Vader-and-Leia AU, Just a Little Bit of History Repeating, at number 10, with the VMars/Avengers crossover we travel without seatbelts on sitting pretty at number 7.

So I guess given enough time, these things CAN change.

- Today's poem:

Nothing Will Warn You
by Stephen Dunn

Nothing will warn you,
not even the promise of severe weather
or the threats of neighbors muttered
under their breath, unheard by the sonar

in you that no longer functions.
You'll be expecting blue skies, perhaps
a picnic at which you'll be anticipating
a reward for being the best handler

of raw meat in a county known
for its per capita cases of salmonella.
You'll have no memory of those women
with old grievances nor will you guess

that small bulge in one of their purses
could be a derringer. You'll be opening
a cold one, thinking this is the life,
this is the very life I've always wanted.

Nothing will warn you,
no one will blurt out that this picnic
is no picnic, the clouds in the west
will be darkly billowing toward you,

and you will not hear your neighbors'
conspiratorial whispers. You'll be
readying yourself to tell the joke
no one has ever laughed at, the joke

someone would have told you by now
is only funny if told on yourself, but no one
has ever liked you enough to say so.
Even your wife never warned you.

***
wychwood: G'Kar knows that each voice lost diminishes us (B5 - G'Kar each voice)
[personal profile] wychwood
Bad news all round the last few days - TERFs winning a court case to allow anyone who wants to deny GRCs last week, and then Pope Francis dying this morning. Of course he'd been in terrible health for much of the year, but I'm still sad about it.

I didn't agree with everything he said (of course!) but the work he did on refocussing the Church and particularly the media voices away from spending all their time on ABORTION and HOMOSEXUALITY towards, you know, poverty and injustice and all the things that Jesus spent most of his time talking about was just amazing. Now we're left worrying about who will take over, and what agenda they might have; he's appointed a good share of the current voting-age cardinals, which hopefully means that whoever it is won't immediately undo everything. RIP Pope Francis, and thank you.

Today was my big DAY OFF and I have, on the one hand, done two weeks' worth of ironing, three loads of laundry, a week's worth of washing up, and a fair amount of assorted tidying up; on the other hand, I read a JD Robb book, played an hour or two of Dragon Age: Veilguard, had a nap, and spent enough time in idleness that I feel reasonably well-rested. My dad said to me yesterday when I was leaving to come home, "You're really tired today, aren't you?" and I thought about whether I was tired and spontaneously started leaking tears (always a sure indication!!). I feel much more emotionally stable today, fortunately.

Unfortunately I am now going back to their house for the next two days as part of a rota to make sure that Mum has someone around for a) dinner prep and b) potential crises while Dad's in France making sure the house hasn't fallen down since he had to rush back in January. It should be relatively peaceful - there'll be some assorted chores around stripping, laundering, and remaking beds, maybe a bit of restoring order after the departure of the houseful of guests, but I'm taking several books, a few DVDs, and my booklog file to hopefully make some progress on. But no video games, alas. I'll leave there to go to choir, then back home for work on Thursday followed by book group followed by back into the office on Friday, because the fun just never stops!! but honestly the next few weeks are moderately reasonable.
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
and applied for a shitton of jobs. The worst they can do is call me a dipshit, and they probably wouldn't do that to my face. I think? Seems like a waste of time to call somebody up and say "You're terrible, how could you think we'd consider you?"

*****************


Read more... )

Catching up on various shows

Apr. 21st, 2025 06:19 pm
selenak: (Demerzel and Terminus)
[personal profile] selenak
Daredevil Reborn: overall, good finale. I'm not shipping anyone on this show (or its predecessor), but I was amused, given that Luke Cage managed to make "coffee" a synonym for sex back in the Netflix day for all the Marvel shows, that Frank expressed the wish for coffee with both Matt and Karen. (Not at the same time.) On a more serious note, the finale evidently went for an Empire Strikes Back vibe in that spoilery stuff happens )

Wheel of Time S3 finale: speaking of Empire Strikes Back vibes... Though in this case just in one plot line. Okay, two, technically. (The second one being Team Elayne, Matt, Min and Nyneave not gaining what they wanted to, but what Nynayve did get was so important that I hesitate to equate this with the goings on at the White Tower.) This, too, is based on a book series written many years ago, and was shot way back when yours truly hoped the world would be less insane in 2025 than it actually is, but can't help but feel extremely on point with its spoiilery stuff )

Doctor Who ?.02: amusingly weird, technically impressive, everyone looks gorgeous in their costumes. But Fourth Wall Breaking stories are not really my thing, and so I can't say I loved it.
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
And what if I had simply passed you by,
your false skins gathering light in a basket,
those skins of unpolished copper,
would you have lived more greatly?

Now you are free of that metallic coating,
a broken hull of parchment,
the dried petals of a lily—
those who have not loved you
will not know differently.

But you are green fading into yellow—
how deceptive you have been.

Once I played the cithara,
fingers chafing against each note.
Once I worked the loom,
cast the shuttle through the warp.
Once I scrubbed the tiles
deep in the tub of Alejandro.
Now I try to deciper you.

Beyond the village, within a cloud
of wild cacao and tamarind,
they chant your tale, how you,
most common of your kind,
make the great warrior-men cry
but a woman can unravel you.


****


Link
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Why is she like this.

**************************


Read more... )
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Jenn's plan to self-set-up her own balanced billing + a random screwup with autopay that she didn't realize until we were in the hole + having to help a friend get out of an abusive relationship = omg.

I'm pretty sure that they legally can't actually shut us off until May 15th, and once we get the tax refund we can pay the entire past due bills... but there's no promise we will get that refund by that date, and I would be surprised if we do. I don't want to go a week without lights and hot water, or a fridge and stove.

I'm reasonably certain that if we pay even half the past due now, we can talk them into waiting for that refund. The entire total is something like $6k... I'm a little scared to look again, honestly. I just sorta glanced at the bills in horror.

I've got paypal and venmo, which is posted here, or if you can't see that and can and want to help out you can PM me. We can absolutely pay back (or forward!) as soon as that refund comes in. I know how much the refund is, it will cover these bills.

(I've also been sitting on posting this for a few days, so I better get it out before I chicken out again!)

Titansfall D&D: Summary for 4/20 Game

Apr. 20th, 2025 11:22 pm
settiai: (Sim -- settiai (TriaElf9))
[personal profile] settiai
In tonight's game, the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off.
silverflight8: Jack and Daniel from AC in the office looking at evidence (Jack and Daniel office)
[personal profile] silverflight8
This is one of the earlier novels that Bujold wrote, and it shows a bit in the prose, but not in the plotting. I think it’s much like Cetaganda in the premise – off-world adventure, Miles refuses to tell his superiors about what he’s doing (oh Miles). The setting of Earth I feel fairly neutral about. London isn’t that interesting, but neither is it a detriment. They’re more like Beta in terms of not letting people carry around deadly weapons, and their tube system is still very good (hooray!) Or maybe I overstate Barrayar’s allowance of lethal weapons – Miles is after all not a civilian and on his home turf.

Brothers in Arms )

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