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james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-03 08:56 am
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-03 08:56 amEntry tags:
Blight (Sleep of Reason, volume 2) by Rachel A. Rosen
Director of the nation formerly known as Canada Quinn Atherton is determined to deliver much mass murder as it takes to achieve peace, order, good government. Why do so many ingrates object?
Blight(Sleep of Reason, volume 2) by Rachel A. Rosen
beccaelizabeth (beccaelizabeth) wrote2025-07-03 05:24 am
beccaelizabeth) wrote2025-07-03 05:24 amEntry tags:
(no subject)
Couldn't sleep so I watched two more Doctor Who.
Cold War had me staring into space for a while afterwards because it turns out the idea of nuclear war is still a teensy tiny bit bothersome. I wasn't entirely impressed by the specifics though.
Hide was proper scary. I was watching it at four in the morning on a no sleep night so I was noticing it was proper scary and I maybe probably hadn't scheduled that well. But it is Doctor Who so it is family television scary, where you hide behind the sofa *but* it makes it okay again by the end. So it stuck the landing very well. I was pleased happy and not scared by the time it was time to turn the tele off.
I realised though that the technique it used, finally giving us a good look at them and a happy enough ending, was quite a lot of what I found unimpressive in Cold War. I disliked their design for the insides of the suit, so I felt it detracted from the episode. But pulling the scary away and showing us the person is the actual proper point of both of those. So I am enlightened.
Not exactly sleepy still but I'll have another go.
Cold War had me staring into space for a while afterwards because it turns out the idea of nuclear war is still a teensy tiny bit bothersome. I wasn't entirely impressed by the specifics though.
Hide was proper scary. I was watching it at four in the morning on a no sleep night so I was noticing it was proper scary and I maybe probably hadn't scheduled that well. But it is Doctor Who so it is family television scary, where you hide behind the sofa *but* it makes it okay again by the end. So it stuck the landing very well. I was pleased happy and not scared by the time it was time to turn the tele off.
I realised though that the technique it used, finally giving us a good look at them and a happy enough ending, was quite a lot of what I found unimpressive in Cold War. I disliked their design for the insides of the suit, so I felt it detracted from the episode. But pulling the scary away and showing us the person is the actual proper point of both of those. So I am enlightened.
Not exactly sleepy still but I'll have another go.
mecurtin (mecurtin) wrote2025-07-03 12:20 am
mecurtin) wrote2025-07-03 12:20 amPurrcy; Pride
I finished taking the laundry out of this basket & put it down on its side for Purrcy investigation. It was worth snooping in, but not really good for long-term use, he found.
What's that in the sky? he wondered, after several days of rain & thunder-growler attacks.
My back continues to be better, while not being anything like *all* better. Prednisone has the reputation of being Side Effects City, my biggest ones so far are dry mouth making my voice all scratchy, and a certain amount of ADHD/mania type behavior, trouble settling & sleeping. Only 3 more days of tapering to go, though.
Amid all The Horrors ramping up & up, here's something that's given me active joy in the past couple of days: Sir Ian McKellan joining Scissor Sisters onstage at Glastonbury Festival:
My god, he's still got that full Royal Shakespeare voice.
It makes me cry a bit with joy at the end there, seeing Sir Ian being able to lead his people in a public celebration of being out & proud. And to see an old man being *venerated*, for once, admired for achievements but in this case also as a symbol of what people like those in the audience can have with age: a *full* life, a *long* life, a life with everything in it, despite what they may have been told. You don't have to be young to be queer, it's not a phase, it's part of a complete human life.
What's that in the sky? he wondered, after several days of rain & thunder-growler attacks.
My back continues to be better, while not being anything like *all* better. Prednisone has the reputation of being Side Effects City, my biggest ones so far are dry mouth making my voice all scratchy, and a certain amount of ADHD/mania type behavior, trouble settling & sleeping. Only 3 more days of tapering to go, though.
Amid all The Horrors ramping up & up, here's something that's given me active joy in the past couple of days: Sir Ian McKellan joining Scissor Sisters onstage at Glastonbury Festival:
My god, he's still got that full Royal Shakespeare voice.
It makes me cry a bit with joy at the end there, seeing Sir Ian being able to lead his people in a public celebration of being out & proud. And to see an old man being *venerated*, for once, admired for achievements but in this case also as a symbol of what people like those in the audience can have with age: a *full* life, a *long* life, a life with everything in it, despite what they may have been told. You don't have to be young to be queer, it's not a phase, it's part of a complete human life.
james_davis_nicoll (james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-02 11:51 pm
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-02 11:51 pmMy alt-Mummy film
The inspiration being the 1999 Mummy movie is not without problematic elements.
Imagine an Egyptian film company wanting to make a movie about idiots waking a horror in Canada that only the Egyptian lead can resolve.
( Read more... )
Imagine an Egyptian film company wanting to make a movie about idiots waking a horror in Canada that only the Egyptian lead can resolve.
( Read more... )
james_davis_nicoll (james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-02 02:46 pm
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-02 02:46 pmEntry tags:
Bundle of Holding: The Dark Eye MEGA (from 2023)
The June 2023 Dark Eye Megabundle featuring the English-language edition from Ulisses Spiele of the leading German tabletop roleplaying game of heroic fantasy, The Dark Eye.
Bundle of Holding: The Dark Eye MEGA (from 2023)
beccaelizabeth (beccaelizabeth) wrote2025-07-02 06:09 pm
beccaelizabeth) wrote2025-07-02 06:09 pm(no subject)
Today the weather is Much Better, and I could go for a Nice Walk in the light rain and nice temperatures.
The rain appears to have stopped while I had a nap but the temperature remains.
I hope there is a decent amount of rain soon because the Ducks were in substantially less Pond than is traditional. They had a duck exclusive mud beach. Pond was still present but it looked, like, concentrated, or possibly stewed. That seems less than ideal for the ducks.
I have been watching more Doctor Who and have started on 11 and Clara, and I am ... actually sort of creeped out by how little of these I remember. Couple of images, major plot point, funny bit, but not the actual episodes. Which, great, I get new again Doctor Who, and these are solid stories. But, this is not how my brain usually works and it feels. Bad.
But plus point, I continue to enjoy Doctor Who.
I liked singing and storytelling as a solution.
And evil wifi as a problem, when the problem is connecting to strange networks. Modern fairy tale don't go in the woods.
Leaving my windows open is only having moderate impact on indoor temperatures so the specifically my flat bit of the world is still slightly having a heatwave.
But I quite like sitting in front of the fan watching Doctor Who, so that works out okays.
The rain appears to have stopped while I had a nap but the temperature remains.
I hope there is a decent amount of rain soon because the Ducks were in substantially less Pond than is traditional. They had a duck exclusive mud beach. Pond was still present but it looked, like, concentrated, or possibly stewed. That seems less than ideal for the ducks.
I have been watching more Doctor Who and have started on 11 and Clara, and I am ... actually sort of creeped out by how little of these I remember. Couple of images, major plot point, funny bit, but not the actual episodes. Which, great, I get new again Doctor Who, and these are solid stories. But, this is not how my brain usually works and it feels. Bad.
But plus point, I continue to enjoy Doctor Who.
I liked singing and storytelling as a solution.
And evil wifi as a problem, when the problem is connecting to strange networks. Modern fairy tale don't go in the woods.
Leaving my windows open is only having moderate impact on indoor temperatures so the specifically my flat bit of the world is still slightly having a heatwave.
But I quite like sitting in front of the fan watching Doctor Who, so that works out okays.
Punk (runpunkrun) wrote2025-07-02 08:27 am
runpunkrun) wrote2025-07-02 08:27 amEntry tags:
The Sun Down Motel, by Simone St. James
One of those thrillers that splits the narrative between two women—both twenty years old, working at the same grubby motel and living in the same apartment, one in 1982 and the other in 2017 trying to solve the mystery of the first one's disappearance—and their stories run so parallel they're basically interchangeable and you start wondering if maybe the author should have only told the story once. It certainly would have cut down on the amount of clunky exposition and awkward dialogue.
The thrills were not thrilling, but the mystery might have been interesting if we weren't getting it from both ends. As it is, not worth the time.
Contains: References to rape, domestic abuse, and child death; descriptions of dead bodies; ghosts.
The thrills were not thrilling, but the mystery might have been interesting if we weren't getting it from both ends. As it is, not worth the time.
Contains: References to rape, domestic abuse, and child death; descriptions of dead bodies; ghosts.
james_davis_nicoll (james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-02 08:52 am
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-02 08:52 amEntry tags:
Touring After the Apocalypse, volume 5 by Sakae Saito
Youko and Airi meet a new friend and encounter Chekov's Volcano.
Touring After the Apocalypse, volume 5 by Sakae Saito
Smutty McSmutface (smuttymcsmutface) wrote in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png)
dw_community_promo2025-07-02 03:36 am
smuttymcsmutface) wrote in dw_community_promo2025-07-02 03:36 amEntry tags:
Kink Hub Theme of the Month: "Sex on the Beach"
Links:
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
kinkhub | Community Rules | Posting Guidelines | Monthly Themes & Free-For-All | July: Sex on the BeachDescription: Kink Hub is an 18+ comm for anything kink fic, where you can self-promote, share and rec fanfics of all fandoms and original works. RPF is welcome.
For the month of July, the theme for all shared fics is "Sex on the Beach", which means any kinks related to outdoor fun (no actual beach required) and/or alcoholic beverages (no cocktail required). If you've written or read fics featuring any related kink, you're very welcome to share the links to them in this comm.
james_davis_nicoll (james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-01 06:02 pm
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-01 06:02 pm2025 CSFFA Hall of Fame Inductees
The quotation below is a quotation
Congratulations to the Inductees!
CSFFA (The Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association) is proud to announce the 2025 CSFFA Hall of Fame inductees.
Clint Budd, fan, convention organizer, modernized CSFFA and created the CSFFA Hall of Fame
Charles R. Saunders, author, journalist, and founder of the “sword and soul” literary genre
Diane L. Walton, editor, mentor, and a founding member of On Spec: The Canadian Magazine of the Fantastic
More information here.
Congratulations to the Inductees!
james_davis_nicoll (james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-01 09:02 am
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-01 09:02 amThe Dreamstone (Ealdwood, volume 1) by C J Cherryh
Only the brave, the arrogant, the naïve, or the desperate Men trespass in Arafel's Ealdwood. Into which category does the latest visitor fall?
The Dreamstone (Ealdwood, volume 1) by C J Cherryh
james_davis_nicoll (james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-01 08:58 am
james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-07-01 08:58 amEntry tags:
July 2025 Patreon Boost
Jealous of all the people who support Aurora-finalist James Nicoll Reviews? Want to join them? Here are your options:
July 2025 Patreon Boost
Entry tags:
Challenge 71: Goodbye Kiss
Title: Goodbye Kiss
Artist: mekare
Rating: G
Fandom: Star Trek Discovery
Characters/Pairings: Paul Stamets/Hugh Culber
Content Notes: tried out two new grey markers with this one (Sakura Koi brush pens)
Artist: mekare
Rating: G
Fandom: Star Trek Discovery
Characters/Pairings: Paul Stamets/Hugh Culber
Content Notes: tried out two new grey markers with this one (Sakura Koi brush pens)
mecurtin (mecurtin) wrote2025-06-30 10:52 pm
mecurtin) wrote2025-06-30 10:52 pmEntry tags:
Purrcy, Rivers of London, my back
Purrcy was lying on top of the sofas and then Suddenly a Wild Hand Appeared! With Pets! it was pretty choice for everyone involved tbh
One of the things I've been doing to deal with stress is occasional binge-reading of book series. Most recently Rivers of London, which I'd never read all of before.
I do like them, and they're cute and all, but I'm forcefully reminded of why I don't read police procedurals any more, or watch TV shows with law enforcement heroes. Because this is really a fantasy of copaganda, as well as a fantasy with copaganda. I mean, the very idea that murders are treated so *seriously*, with huge commitments of personnel & resources ... This has *got* to be a fantasy for the UK, right? It's certainly a fantasy for the US, where almost half of all murders are unsolved.
So I can't really like them unreservedly, I can't *wallow* in them, my disbelief won't suspend that far.
But! Good news today!
I went to the doctor about my sciatica, and he started me on a course of prednisone, and ... it already seems to be working? maybe? Could this be what not being in pain is like?
Honestly it feels very strange. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!
One of the things I've been doing to deal with stress is occasional binge-reading of book series. Most recently Rivers of London, which I'd never read all of before.
I do like them, and they're cute and all, but I'm forcefully reminded of why I don't read police procedurals any more, or watch TV shows with law enforcement heroes. Because this is really a fantasy of copaganda, as well as a fantasy with copaganda. I mean, the very idea that murders are treated so *seriously*, with huge commitments of personnel & resources ... This has *got* to be a fantasy for the UK, right? It's certainly a fantasy for the US, where almost half of all murders are unsolved.
So I can't really like them unreservedly, I can't *wallow* in them, my disbelief won't suspend that far.
But! Good news today!
I went to the doctor about my sciatica, and he started me on a course of prednisone, and ... it already seems to be working? maybe? Could this be what not being in pain is like?
Honestly it feels very strange. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!
beccaelizabeth (beccaelizabeth) wrote2025-06-30 11:21 pm
beccaelizabeth) wrote2025-06-30 11:21 pmEntry tags:
(no subject)
I have finished rewatching 11 and the Ponds.
I still hate how the Ponds end. For one it makes no sense, and for a rather important other there are some behaviours that are just Always No. Instead we get them from the heroes on repeat, like it proves something. No. Hate it.
Live. It's the tricky bit.
That said, there were some chewy fascinating bits in all the previous episodes. Even River's perception of the Doctor's reaction to age makes a certain degree of sense. From her perspective, she gets older and he pulls away, so. It's a plausible read on a lot of his behaviour. But funnily enough it is not an interpretation I like, or one I find plausible currently, so, improvement.
I also like it that the Doctor got a lot older between episodes textually now. Several centuries to fill in there. Even if he has hopped planets in his counting, probably a long time. And he wanders off and makes new friends and brings them together, with dinosaurs. Lots of room for any adventure you can think of.
My flat is still Too Warm but there's only predicted to be one more day of this so it'll be fine. Blergh but fine.
And tomorrow I can watch whatever. Or listen. Or read.
Which is a lot cooler than my flat.
I still hate how the Ponds end. For one it makes no sense, and for a rather important other there are some behaviours that are just Always No. Instead we get them from the heroes on repeat, like it proves something. No. Hate it.
Live. It's the tricky bit.
That said, there were some chewy fascinating bits in all the previous episodes. Even River's perception of the Doctor's reaction to age makes a certain degree of sense. From her perspective, she gets older and he pulls away, so. It's a plausible read on a lot of his behaviour. But funnily enough it is not an interpretation I like, or one I find plausible currently, so, improvement.
I also like it that the Doctor got a lot older between episodes textually now. Several centuries to fill in there. Even if he has hopped planets in his counting, probably a long time. And he wanders off and makes new friends and brings them together, with dinosaurs. Lots of room for any adventure you can think of.
My flat is still Too Warm but there's only predicted to be one more day of this so it'll be fine. Blergh but fine.
And tomorrow I can watch whatever. Or listen. Or read.
Which is a lot cooler than my flat.