Israel PM says Hamas's Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been killed
28 May 2025 18:29![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
bbcnewsworld_feedMohammed Sinwar was the target of a Israeli strike on the courtyard of the European hospital in Khan Younis on 13 May.
bbcnewsworld_feed
Dept. of Kitchen Work
28 May 2025 20:24![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaffy_rOrange Cake and Daily Tasks
Very quickly, because I'm busily rewatching a Korean music group challenge show (because of course I am), I wanted to announce to a waiting world that the second time I baked this particular orange cake, it was just as good as the first time. I am satisfied.
Today was supposed to be the first day that I gathered up all the paperwork we need to prepare Bob's Canadian permanent residence application. I ended up dealing with other things, but I hope it wasn't just a case of me trying to avoid a tough job. It's undoubtedly not nearly as tough as my fears make it seem. I'm going to do my best tomorrow to get the job done. Then Bob and I will figure out the following day's tasks wrt the application. We figured that we'd try to tackle one job each every day, and we're going to try to stick to that.
Well, except for me, obviously. Sigh.
Wish us both luck tomorrow.
Very quickly, because I'm busily rewatching a Korean music group challenge show (because of course I am), I wanted to announce to a waiting world that the second time I baked this particular orange cake, it was just as good as the first time. I am satisfied.
Today was supposed to be the first day that I gathered up all the paperwork we need to prepare Bob's Canadian permanent residence application. I ended up dealing with other things, but I hope it wasn't just a case of me trying to avoid a tough job. It's undoubtedly not nearly as tough as my fears make it seem. I'm going to do my best tomorrow to get the job done. Then Bob and I will figure out the following day's tasks wrt the application. We figured that we'd try to tackle one job each every day, and we're going to try to stick to that.
Well, except for me, obviously. Sigh.
Wish us both luck tomorrow.
Elon Musk leaves White House but says Doge will continue
29 May 2025 02:49bbcnewsworld_feedMusk's exit comes after he criticised the legislative centrepiece of the president's agenda.
Gaza warehouse broken into by 'hordes of hungry people', says WFP
29 May 2025 04:04bbcnewsworld_feedVideo footage shows crowds breaking into the warehouse and taking bags of flour and cartons of food.
US trade court blocks Trump's sweeping tariffs
29 May 2025 01:18bbcnewsworld_feedThe Trump administration lodged an appeal against the ruling shortly after it was announced.
bbcnewsworld_feedA brand new statue of the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin has been unveiled at a Metro station in Moscow.
bbcnewsworld_feedFriedrich Merz said earlier there were "no longer" any range restrictions on weapons supplied by Kyiv's Western allies.
Glacier collapse buries most of Swiss village
28 May 2025 18:06bbcnewsworld_feedMany homes in Blatten have been flattened after a large chunk of the Birch glacier fell on to the village.
bbcnewsworld_feedJoel Le Scouarnec, who has admitted his guilt, said last week he neither wanted nor expected to be shown leniency.
This and that and the other thing
28 May 2025 18:01shadowkatI woke up in a decent mood and started the day, happy and carefree - yet by the end of it? Grumpy. I think the world likes to chip away at us at times?
Also it's raining, and my right leg is bothering me again. It was fine this morning - more or less, but started bugging me again at lunch time. To cheer myself up - I got a discounted Grand Central mouse pad/post-card, and a NYC 2025 Guide Book (both discounted off by 20%). Also, got a matcha latte. (I'm in love with matcha lattes - with almond milk - they are unsweetened, have almost no calories, and healthy). Sitting at home now, with a heating pad on my back.
1. The Truth About Why You Keep Waking Up at 3AM
I've basically done everything that has been suggested. I'm working on the diet bit - because I think that may be a factor. I realized that my sleep deprivation over the years is most likely why I have some of the health issues that I currently have - well that and menopause and ceiliac disease are probably factors, plus genetics. Honestly there's never one solution or one cause, if there was, the pharmaceutical industry would be out of business.
2. My Buffy Re-Watch - has made me aware of a few things? I'm still in S2.
( Read more... )
3. I do not know what to make of Amanda Palmer. I tried to unsubscribe to her Patreon, but it keeps popping up in my inbox. And I keep deleting. And she keeps talking about how all she does is love, gets browbeaten by trolls, but fights back, and can't talk about what happened until the lawsuit is over. I feel sorry for her - she gets trolled, but I also think that she's been infected by Fame and can't let go of the addiction? What I don't get is why people troll her? I get the anger? But trolling solves little? We're all flawed, let people be.
4. Bono (U2) of all people gave me a smattering of hope today.
Bono on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Kimmel asks him where he stands on the Trump vs. Springsteen issue. He's of course in Springsteen's corner...yada yada yada. But what he says that gave me a smattering of hope is this: "I founded a non-profit bipartisan foundation called ONE and it is made up of a lot of conservative and highly religious people, Anglicans, Catholics, Fundamentalist Christians, etc and they are VERY angry about what the person they voted for is doing to their country and how he is dismantling various fundamental and important life saving aid programs such as US AID and the Peace Corps which have saved millions of lives from AIDS and other diseases and poverty around the world. Taking away programs of compassion and kindness - which are what America is all about. What we are about. So angry that trust me on this, they and we are about to make a lot of good trouble."
I can't emphasize this enough to anyone who stumbles upon my journal, there are numerous coalitions forming around the United States and Globally to fight this administration and it's project 2025 plan. And they are growing daily.
5. MTA vs. the Federal Government.
Tee Hee, the MTA is winning!
MTA: The Feds want us to give up congestion pricing and tell us how to control traffic and transportation in our city. But the Federal court prevented them from vindictively punishing us by removing Federal funding. We are not giving it up. Look here? The New York Times dug deep and proved it is working.
I feel sorry for the MTA, they are fighting everybody. Including idiotic talk radio hosts who think the subways are dangerous. They are not dangerous. I take the subways twice daily, five days a week and sometimes on weekends and to doctor's appointments, basically everywhere. They are safer than cars or buses. And far less stressful. Not to mention cheaper.
Very few people die on the subway. The worst thing I've seen on the subway was a man who was scarred from third degree burns on every inch of his body and begging for money. Also once during the pandemic - a homeless man with a knife. But we were perfectly safe - the conductor stopped the train, got us all off, and called for assistance at the next station.
Also it's raining, and my right leg is bothering me again. It was fine this morning - more or less, but started bugging me again at lunch time. To cheer myself up - I got a discounted Grand Central mouse pad/post-card, and a NYC 2025 Guide Book (both discounted off by 20%). Also, got a matcha latte. (I'm in love with matcha lattes - with almond milk - they are unsweetened, have almost no calories, and healthy). Sitting at home now, with a heating pad on my back.
1. The Truth About Why You Keep Waking Up at 3AM
I've basically done everything that has been suggested. I'm working on the diet bit - because I think that may be a factor. I realized that my sleep deprivation over the years is most likely why I have some of the health issues that I currently have - well that and menopause and ceiliac disease are probably factors, plus genetics. Honestly there's never one solution or one cause, if there was, the pharmaceutical industry would be out of business.
2. My Buffy Re-Watch - has made me aware of a few things? I'm still in S2.
( Read more... )
3. I do not know what to make of Amanda Palmer. I tried to unsubscribe to her Patreon, but it keeps popping up in my inbox. And I keep deleting. And she keeps talking about how all she does is love, gets browbeaten by trolls, but fights back, and can't talk about what happened until the lawsuit is over. I feel sorry for her - she gets trolled, but I also think that she's been infected by Fame and can't let go of the addiction? What I don't get is why people troll her? I get the anger? But trolling solves little? We're all flawed, let people be.
4. Bono (U2) of all people gave me a smattering of hope today.
Bono on Jimmy Kimmel Live
Kimmel asks him where he stands on the Trump vs. Springsteen issue. He's of course in Springsteen's corner...yada yada yada. But what he says that gave me a smattering of hope is this: "I founded a non-profit bipartisan foundation called ONE and it is made up of a lot of conservative and highly religious people, Anglicans, Catholics, Fundamentalist Christians, etc and they are VERY angry about what the person they voted for is doing to their country and how he is dismantling various fundamental and important life saving aid programs such as US AID and the Peace Corps which have saved millions of lives from AIDS and other diseases and poverty around the world. Taking away programs of compassion and kindness - which are what America is all about. What we are about. So angry that trust me on this, they and we are about to make a lot of good trouble."
I can't emphasize this enough to anyone who stumbles upon my journal, there are numerous coalitions forming around the United States and Globally to fight this administration and it's project 2025 plan. And they are growing daily.
5. MTA vs. the Federal Government.
Tee Hee, the MTA is winning!
MTA: The Feds want us to give up congestion pricing and tell us how to control traffic and transportation in our city. But the Federal court prevented them from vindictively punishing us by removing Federal funding. We are not giving it up. Look here? The New York Times dug deep and proved it is working.
I feel sorry for the MTA, they are fighting everybody. Including idiotic talk radio hosts who think the subways are dangerous. They are not dangerous. I take the subways twice daily, five days a week and sometimes on weekends and to doctor's appointments, basically everywhere. They are safer than cars or buses. And far less stressful. Not to mention cheaper.
Very few people die on the subway. The worst thing I've seen on the subway was a man who was scarred from third degree burns on every inch of his body and begging for money. Also once during the pandemic - a homeless man with a knife. But we were perfectly safe - the conductor stopped the train, got us all off, and called for assistance at the next station.
oh, hi, aten't dead
28 May 2025 20:38waterswordI have been staggering through the past few weeks, holding myself together with string and duct tape, and it is finally the Cottagecore Week.
I have finished a sashiko patch on a pair of jeans and I am very proud of myself, as well as the first of the embroidered numbers for my front & back doors, and I have solved the problem of how to print patterns onto stabilizer (use the library makerspace printer from a USB). The mending circle at the local "sustainable fashion collective" (it's a secondhand store with some mending/tailoring services) was fun and I'll go back when the bus schedule allows. Dropout.tv and the 1995 Pride & Prejudice miniseries have been my companions as I sew this week, and they are both great for that purpose. I think I will move on to North & South and perhaps Horrible Histories next. Is Shakespeare & Hathaway fun?
The knotweed in the garden has been beaten back from the path to the shed, and the asparagus is coming up spindly and feathery (I really hope that they will thicken over time, I will eat a thin asparagus spear without complaining but I love asparagus with some heft); no trace of the rhubarb, which I'm kind of upset about, but seeds are always chancy, and I'm waiting to see what happened with the watermelon and sunflowers, now that I've staked the peas. Surely something will come up? The gladiolus in the front garden are looking more promising, although I don't know what happened to everything else. I have proof that someone in the Parks Department exists, and has just been ignoring my emails (a coworker knows the parks director, and emailed her, and the person I have been trying to get in touch with answered when their boss was on the chain, but no luck since, so this is progress but not by much).
I have been wallowing in books, and can enthusiastically join the chorus of those of you who have been shrieking delightedly about Robert Jackson Bennett's latest, A Drop of Corruption, it's so good, please discuss in the comments; and I finally got my hands on Katherine Addison's The Tomb of Dragons, ditto.
Book Review
28 May 2025 20:19kenjariChasing Cassandra
by Lisa Kleypas
This historical romance is the penultimate in the Ravenel series. After seeing her sister married, Cassandra Ravenel feels lonely and out of sorts. A surprising encounter with business magnate tom Severin creates an undeniable spark between them. However, Casssandra is unsure that he can give her the quiet, domestic life she wants, and Tom is convinced that love is not for him. Yet, they cannot stop thinking about and wanting each other. When Cassandra finds herself the victim of a cruel scandal, Tom proposes marriage and she accepts his marriage proposal, hoping that her desire to be loved will be fulfilled. And this is a romance novel, so it ultimately is.
This one started out a little iffy for me. It took me quite a while to warm up to Tom, as he starts out as a ruthless businessman who has trouble dealing with people and admitting his feelings and thus keeps himself emotionally locked down. He was very much not the kind of hero that appeals to me. His attraction to and developing feelings for Cassandra break down his walls, but, thankfully, he was already doing some of that work himself before they became involved. I did grow to like the way he cared deeply and fiercely for her, even before he recognized or admitted it. I also liked the way he always listened to Cassandra and considered her viewpoint. Cassandra was very likeable, as a woman who knows what she wants and won't settle for less. Their differences truly complemented each other.
by Lisa Kleypas
This historical romance is the penultimate in the Ravenel series. After seeing her sister married, Cassandra Ravenel feels lonely and out of sorts. A surprising encounter with business magnate tom Severin creates an undeniable spark between them. However, Casssandra is unsure that he can give her the quiet, domestic life she wants, and Tom is convinced that love is not for him. Yet, they cannot stop thinking about and wanting each other. When Cassandra finds herself the victim of a cruel scandal, Tom proposes marriage and she accepts his marriage proposal, hoping that her desire to be loved will be fulfilled. And this is a romance novel, so it ultimately is.
This one started out a little iffy for me. It took me quite a while to warm up to Tom, as he starts out as a ruthless businessman who has trouble dealing with people and admitting his feelings and thus keeps himself emotionally locked down. He was very much not the kind of hero that appeals to me. His attraction to and developing feelings for Cassandra break down his walls, but, thankfully, he was already doing some of that work himself before they became involved. I did grow to like the way he cared deeply and fiercely for her, even before he recognized or admitted it. I also liked the way he always listened to Cassandra and considered her viewpoint. Cassandra was very likeable, as a woman who knows what she wants and won't settle for less. Their differences truly complemented each other.
the person you are trying to reach is not available
28 May 2025 19:17kareilaThe new bookshelves were declared open for business on Saturday and so I've been spending all of my available time since then populating them. Not all of our books are going to fit, so I'm prioritizing the ones that spark joy and then we'll see how much space is left afterwards.
(Will also reminded me that he plans to keep his books in his room even though his room is adjacent to the library.)
(Will also reminded me that he plans to keep his books in his room even though his room is adjacent to the library.)
(no subject)
28 May 2025 19:39aurumcalendulaAmazon has suddenly decided to not to download any books I've purchased at any point of time unless I update my Kindle for Android app :(
I suppose I could update from version 8.33.0.100(1.3.226969.) and 8.122.1.0(2.4.41706.0), but I'm worried about losing the ability to sideload books via Calibre. Has anyone run into issues with that post update?
I'd already shifted to buying more stuff via Kobo, but this is so irritating.
ETA: I updated the app on an old phone and found that the collections and sideloading still worked, so I ended updating the app after all.
I suppose I could update from version 8.33.0.100(1.3.226969.) and 8.122.1.0(2.4.41706.0), but I'm worried about losing the ability to sideload books via Calibre. Has anyone run into issues with that post update?
I'd already shifted to buying more stuff via Kobo, but this is so irritating.
ETA: I updated the app on an old phone and found that the collections and sideloading still worked, so I ended updating the app after all.
wednesday reads and things
28 May 2025 17:05isisWhat I've recently finished reading:
A Drop of Corruption, the sequel to The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. I liked it a lot (Din and Ana are great characters!), and I thought it was easier to follow than the first book, in the sense that I figured out the major twists and culprits before they happened (which is not a criticism, it means the appropriate breadcrumbs were dropped). The worldbuilding continues to be very weird and cool. Definitely one of the best Sherlock Holmes fanfics I've read! :-)
What I'm reading now:
I've gone back to the Shardlake series by C. J. Sansom and am now on the fifth book, Heartstone.
What I'm watching now:
Still Andor. The other night I dreamed we were giving a party, except our house was basically Mon Mothma's house on Chandrila and the party was like the wedding episode. And then I went into the bathroom to change clothes and I noticed that my husband had left the tap dripping water so the cats could drink it, just like in real life :-) And then I woke up.
What I'm playing now:
Still Mass Effect: Andromeda, heading toward the endgame. It's still fun! Except for having to kill another Architect, which is basically the thresher maw of the Andromeda galaxy, and I still hate both of those enemies!
A Drop of Corruption, the sequel to The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. I liked it a lot (Din and Ana are great characters!), and I thought it was easier to follow than the first book, in the sense that I figured out the major twists and culprits before they happened (which is not a criticism, it means the appropriate breadcrumbs were dropped). The worldbuilding continues to be very weird and cool. Definitely one of the best Sherlock Holmes fanfics I've read! :-)
What I'm reading now:
I've gone back to the Shardlake series by C. J. Sansom and am now on the fifth book, Heartstone.
What I'm watching now:
Still Andor. The other night I dreamed we were giving a party, except our house was basically Mon Mothma's house on Chandrila and the party was like the wedding episode. And then I went into the bathroom to change clothes and I noticed that my husband had left the tap dripping water so the cats could drink it, just like in real life :-) And then I woke up.
What I'm playing now:
Still Mass Effect: Andromeda, heading toward the endgame. It's still fun! Except for having to kill another Architect, which is basically the thresher maw of the Andromeda galaxy, and I still hate both of those enemies!
Birdfeeding
28 May 2025 18:04ysabetwordsmithToday is cloudy and cool. It rained last night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 5/28/25 -- I planted 10 greenish-yellow 'Alicia' and 10 red 'Doubna' gladioli in the septic garden.
I saw a skunk on the patio.
EDIT 5/28/25 -- I planted a red portulaca and a purple torenia iin pots.
I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 5/28/25 -- I watered the newly planted things.
I've seen a catbird.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 5/28/25 -- I planted 10 greenish-yellow 'Alicia' and 10 red 'Doubna' gladioli in the septic garden.
I saw a skunk on the patio.
EDIT 5/28/25 -- I planted a red portulaca and a purple torenia iin pots.
I did a bit of work around the patio.
EDIT 5/28/25 -- I watered the newly planted things.
I've seen a catbird.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
Guardian flashfic: softening (post-canon Da Qing & Shen Wei)
29 May 2025 10:37china_shopI just posted a Guardian flashfic for the Nap challenge on ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fan_flashworks:
Title: softening (1176 words) [General Audiences]
Tags: Da Qing & Shen Wei, Shen Wei & Ye Zun, background Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Post-Canon, Alternate Universe – Everyone Lives, Aftermath, Feelings, Cat Tribe Best Tribe
Summary:
Da Qing curls up and assesses. He likes this lap, with its faint aroma of dark energy and its feeling of safety, but the thighs reveal a thrumming tension. If Da Qing doesn’t mend Shen Wei’s mood, his nap will surely be cut short.
fan_flashworks:Title: softening (1176 words) [General Audiences]
Tags: Da Qing & Shen Wei, Shen Wei & Ye Zun, background Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Post-Canon, Alternate Universe – Everyone Lives, Aftermath, Feelings, Cat Tribe Best Tribe
Summary:
Da Qing curls up and assesses. He likes this lap, with its faint aroma of dark energy and its feeling of safety, but the thighs reveal a thrumming tension. If Da Qing doesn’t mend Shen Wei’s mood, his nap will surely be cut short.
things I wish to consolidate the cope to talk about
28 May 2025 23:36kaberett... include:
- six months on from surgery: what's recovery looking like?
- this is actually secretly mostly (but not entirely) about Pilates
- grousing about getting the Framework actually set up Adequately under Debian (power management noooot doing what I want it to and the GPU seems to keep falling over; have not yet had time/brain to sit down with either the guide to Debian 12 or cross-referencing the way the Linux battery life tuning thread disagrees with the various guides for Ubuntu (which is an officially supported distribution)
- What I Am Up To This Week
But everything is Very, so for now you just get the list.
