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conuly posting in

DEAR ABBY: My dear friend, "Sandra," is married with two children. She and her husband have a 4-year-old son together and another son from her husband's first marriage who is 14. The 14-year-old's life is tough, much like Cinderella's. Sandra treats him very badly. She has him doing all of the housework in their home, belittles him constantly and is very vocal about how much she dislikes him. Her 4-year-old can do no wrong.

The older boy's mother has weekends with her son, but Sandra is open about not liking her either. I feel bad about how the boy is treated and want to talk to Sandra about it, but I don't know how to bring up the sensitive subject and maintain my relationship with the family. Her husband is completely on Sandra's side, so he does nothing to help the boy have a better life. Can you offer any advice? -- FEELING FOR HIM IN WASHINGTON

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settiai

In tonight's game, ( the rest under a cut for those who don't care. )

And that's where we left off.

Current Mood: surprised

conuly

She can put weight on her foot, but after she walks for a while she doesn't want to. Still, it's recovering pretty rapidly, that's the important thing.

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

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rocky41_7 posting in

fffriday

This week I finished The Dawnhounds, the first book of the The Endsong series by Sascha Stronach.

This book has been compared to Gideon the Ninth, which I think does it a disservice, because while there are enjoyable things about it, if you go into it expecting The Locked Tomb, I think you're going to be disappointed. They are not on the same level.

Protagonist Yat's homeland—the port city of Hainak—is implied to have been colonized and fought a revolution to escape that, but while some of the changes have been welcome—the embrace of "biotech," freedom of determination—her home is in the throes of sliding from one abusive regime to another. They have thrown off the yoke of colonization, but as Yat comes to slowly realize over the course of the novel, what they replaced it with isn't much better.

Yat is in a prime position to realize this. A former street rat turned cop who joined the police in hopes of making a positive change for people like herself, she's been slowly worn down over the years into someone who simply closes her eyes to the worse abuses by the government and partakes herself in the lesser offenses. The kick-off for the story isn't any of that though—it's that Yat is demoted after her coworkers learn she's patronized a queer bar. She's blundering through the fallout of that—continuing to patronize that same bar, and using drugs to cope—when the fantasy plot hits her in the head.

Unfortunately, here is where the novel began to lose me. I think the comparisons with The Locked Tomb arise from the way The Dawnhounds throws the reader into the plot with the promise of revealing more information later. Except that where TLT is a masterclass in subterfuge and gradual reveals that make perfect sense in retrospect, and in some cases reframed entire characters and story arcs, The Dawnhounds just...never really reveals the information.

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jhetley

Tree frogs across park.

kaffy_r

Bread Dread

I didn't get my first try at whole wheat bread done. I got the yeast mix too hot. It didn't rise at all. Ended up throwing out a lovely smelling brown brick. Still, it's a learning process. I may try again tomorrow.

I also have to make beef stew tomorrow; we're having a friend over. Wish me luck.

Oh, and I've watched episodes 2 and 3 of Dr. Who. I imagine I'll have some thoughts soon.

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: the home office
Current Music: RM "Mono"

thistleingrey

Since I end up not posting about gameplay-completed computer games because I rarely approximate "completion," let's try a slice of one while I'm definitely not finished with it.

Avowed (Win/Steam, 2025) is a fantasy RPG evocative of the Elder Scrolls titles. It is surprisingly and rather thoughtfully accessible. Though it's very pretty, one may play it on a sturdy older machine without much framerate stuttering.

(Already we have footnotes! In reverse order: my venerable laptop has 32 GB of RAM. Many reviewers cite Oblivion, ES 4, but then they reveal they're too young to've met ES 3 = Morrowind, which I'd argue has the more meaningful callbacks. Apparently, Avowed shares a setting with Pillars of Eternity, which I haven't played and which the wiki summary links to Planescape: Torment.)

Alongside the planned-out accessibility, Avowed breadcrumbs its worldbuilding thoughtfully, too, as a former Polygon journalist explains in deliberately spoiling an early sidequest for analytical purposes. If you're very picky about spoilers: some quick, unremarked-upon visuals in the 10-min clip are from farther into the game, and they're too short to affect any playthrough realizations. (RIP Polygon, sold and many of its writers laid off since that clip was released.)

Further remarks on Avowed's gameplay have been shelved because of hand pain, the one thing so far that can keep my posts fairly short. Morrowind was a good friend 20+ years ago, and it's mostly pleasant for me to wander around Avowed. I'm so glad it doesn't require the use of a game controller.

For anyone Elder Scrolls-curious, see Walker's quick guide at Kotaku to getting Morrowind running nowadays, and a similar guide for Daggerfall (ES 2). And of all the Oblivion-rememberings I've read lately, I'd suggest The Guardian's as the most readable---just the first chunk of the linked page---although MacDonald and I disagree on playability and enjoyment.

slacktivist_feed

Posted by Fred Clark

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/05/23/lbcf-dogs-and-cats-sleeping-together/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/?p=70657

Wherein the Great Tribulation seems to be weirdly tranquil and not at all what the religious right insisted a "secular," worldly world might look like.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2025/05/23/lbcf-dogs-and-cats-sleeping-together/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/?p=70657

jhetley

I do not exist.

conuly

So no vet trip, I guess!

settiai

I'm so very, very thankful that the new CEO at Unnamed Nonprofit hasn't tried to change anything when it comes to us having extra long weekends around holidays. Hell, if anything he's even better than the former CEO on that front, as he's added extra time here and there for us.

On that note: yesterday was my twelve year anniversary at Unnamed Nonprofit. Time really fucking flies, huh? There are only five people in the entire company who've been there longer than me, and two of them are probably going to be retiring within the next year or so. So that's also a bit terrifying.

Anyway, I managed to get a whopping ten hours of sleep last night, and it was lovely. It cut into my plans for today, admittedly, but the fact that I don't have to go back to work until Tuesday means I still have plenty of time for writing fanfiction, and playing video games, and maybe even watching some movies/TV shows if I can focus on them long enough to watch something new-to-me.

To the surprise of everyone, including me, I've stuck with my planned schedule for the week. I went and bought groceries after work yesterday, so I've got enough to cover me until my next paycheck and I can make some burgers this weekend too. I decided to go with edibles for my relaxation aid, so I picked up a pack at the dispensary on my way back from the grocery store, but they were having a holiday sale so I had enough left over to get some beer too without going over my budget.

I'm not planning on leaving the hotel the rest of the long weekend, although that could always potentially change. Honestly, though, I'll be happy if I can manage to not even have to leave my room for the entire time. That would be great.

Current Mood: hopeful

ysobel

I got a text this morning about Yahtzee: as of Thursday he can't use his back legs, and while he's still alert and appreciating belly rubs, it's basically Time. He has a vet appointment at 5 today.

This isn't entirely shocking -- he's 15.6 years old -- and I've been low-key anticipating this; but it's still sad.

He is a very good boy and the bestest first service dog.

(I am leaving comments enabled but have disabled email notifications.)

petra

Rudest tag I have seen in a month of Sundays:
( Life on Mars (UK) spoiler for the finale )

Compare with ( The Untamed spoiler for the first episode )

Which is kinda like ( Shakespeare spoiler )

When it could've been ( Bigger Shakespeare spoiler )

( Greek myth spoiler )

Current Mood: silly
Current Music: Every language easy, easy as the recipe for making Jell-O

hrj

But first, a word from our garden...

Summer squashes are always hit or miss with me. I plant at least one every year and then take what comes (or doesn't). Today I had two good sized squashes and picked one. (There's also a clump of volunteer squash in a bed I'm not actively using, but they're from seeds that were in the compost heap, so who knows what the genetics are!)

I'm getting a good handful of blueberries at least once a week and there will be a solid gooseberry crop in another month or so. The currents are taking the year off, but are healthy. Artichokes are done for the year. Tomatoes are setting but not yet ripe.

This week started off with spending a couple days at my dad's place to take him to a couple appointments and do some shopping. (My brother, who lives there, is currently waiting on cataract surgery and isn't driving.) He has other options for rides, but I want to get over there more often now that I have time, so it works out.

Wednesday the electrician came over and got all set up for replacing my electrical panel. The replacement happened in a single day on Thursday, and since I was off biking and having a routine medical check-up for the first half of the day, the lack of electricity wasn't as much of a bother. (There was a pre-appointment survey about my exercise habits, so it was a nice touch to show up sweaty in my biking clothes.)

Replacing the electrical panel meant temporarily moving the not-built-in-but-fastened-to-the-wall shelves on that wall where all my bins of fabric and crafting supplies live. So in addition to taking the opportunity to wipe down the shelves and bins, I'm also doing a sift-through of the contents. This is reminding me that when I moved in I did a fair amount of "let's just stuff this in a plastic tub and put it on a shelf."

I've been meaning to do a second round of "let's invite people over to take away things I'm not likely to use". The first round was SCA camping gear. The second round will be craft supplies. So I need to go through everything and identify what I want to keep, what I want to prioritize actually finishing, and what I'm happy to re-home. I can probably combine it with a little "come over and see if you want these books I'm getting rid of." My goal is to boil it down so that "tools and small supplies" will fit in the cabinet in the craft room, while "fabric and large supplies" go on the garage shelves. Part of that will be actually completing some projects that currently take up space.

jacey

This is the BBC audio adaptation in four short parts. It’s much truncated from the full novel, but it works. Eric, an aspiring teenage demonologist conjures a demon, but instead of a regular demon he gets wizard Rincewind who’d been previously trapped in the demon dimensions. Rincewind suddenly has the ability to grant Eric’s three wishes, but as most ‘three-wishes’ stories, things don’t go as expected.

jacey

Narrated by James Macpherson

A collection of short stories featuring Edinburgh cop Rebus through all stages (and ranks) of his career. Each story features a crime and a solution, sometimes unexpected in that the victims are not always what they appear to be, and neither are the criminals. Extremely engaging, and beautifully read by James Macpherson in a gentle Scottish accent.

jacey

Narrated by Humphrey Bower.

This picks up where the Knife of Never Letting Go ended. Todd and Viola have arrived in Haven, where they hoped to get help, only to find that Mayor Prentiss and his army got there first, and that they have galloped headlong into a trap.

Todd and Viola. Separated, the two must do what they can to survive the increasingly authoritarian town run by the mayor (now the president). There’s a resistance movement, the Answer, which seems more benign, but when do freedom fighters become terrorists. There are no good sides here, just bad and worse. And in a war nobody wins. Once again, Humphrey Bower does an amazingly good reading a broad cast of characters.

jacey

Narrated by Humphrey Bower

In Prentisstown there are no women, and all men leak thoughts involuntarily all the time. It’s known as noise, and is a feature of this planet with what appears to be a failing human colony. Todd, almost but not quite a man until his upcoming birthday, is in the swamp with his talking dog Manchee, when he finds a crashed scout ship and a girl whose parents have been killed. Thus starts the story of a boy’s journey to manhood. Todd has been deliberately kept innocent of some terrible facts, and misinformed about others. Why did the women die, and what happened in the war against the spackle, the planet’s indigenous beings? Answers to these questions are hard-won as Todd ends up fleeing with the girl, Viola, pursued by Mayor Prentiss. It seems as though Todd and Viola can’t catch a break as they run from danger headlong into trouble. This is well read by Humphrey Bower who differentiates between the characters with a selection of voices and accents which are pitch perfect. I’m only disappointed that it has a cliffhanger ending – and I’ve said in other reviews how much I hate those. In this case it worked because I moved straight on to the next book.

jacey

Audiobook narrated by Roy Mcmillan

Just having seen the excellent movie, and with a Roman Catholic Conclave happening to elect a new pope in real life, it seemed an appropriate time to listen to this book. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel 118 cardinals are hoping to be guided by God to make the right choice, but though no one will admit it some cardinals have more ambition than others to become the head of the church. There are factions and rivalries, and through it all Cardinal Jacopo Lomeli, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, must keep order and direct the proceedings. This is a thriller filled with old men in robes, with no action sequences and no sex and violence, but tightly plotted and riveting all the same. Highly recommended.

marycatelli

Some fantasy patron saints are already given. St. Cyprian against witchcraft. St. Anastasia Pharmakolytria against evil potions.

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Peg Kerr's Reading Page

LW, just how long have you been watching your "dear friend" abuse her stepson and not said anything?

Pyra Cantha D&D: Summary for 5/23 Game

Of course, she's not fully recovered

Book Review: "The Dawnhounds" by Sascha Stronach

(no subject)

Dept, of Friday afternoon

avowed

LBCF: Dogs and cats sleeping together

(no subject)

Moonpie's foot is no longer visibly swollen and she's putting weight on it

Long Weekend

Goodnight, sweet prince

Rudest tag possible

The Busy-ness Continues

Booklog 36/2025: Terry PratchettL Eric – Discworld #9 - Audiobook

Booklog 35/2025: Ian Rankin: The Beat Goes On

Booklog 34/2025: Patrick Ness: The Ask and the Answer – Chaos Walking #2

Booklog 33/2025: Patrick Ness: The Knife of Never Letting Go – Chaos Walking #1

Booklog 32/2025: Robert Harris: Conclave

patron saint

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May 2025

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