Reading

Current Mood: accomplished

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The Mazil’s Pronouncement (part 1 of 1, complete)

The Mazil’s Pronouncement
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1823
[End of March 179-]

:: Victor tries to investigate and offer opportunities to speak for themselves, but both Dezideriu and his wife Lenuța create more problems than answers. He announces his judgment with no further fanfare. Part of the “Lost Son” story arc in the Frankenstein’s Family universe. ::

Despite the steady rainfall and the cold, clammy soil rapidly melting into mud, the village was busier, and more crowded, than any Sunday, but there were no wandering travelers or Căldărari bustling about setting up their marketing stalls. Victor sighed as he steered the smaller wagon toward the village square. Nandru approached, nodding seriously. He reached out to stroke the horse’s nose with absent, gentle fondness. “I can take the horse to the smithy, mazil,” he offered. “She’ll be ready when you want to go home, and Anca will inspect the mare’s hooves very carefully,” the teen promised. Laszlo was already moving, climbing down from the back of the wagon, as Igor moved more slowly from the front bench.

Victor smiled as he descended from the wagon. “Industriousness like that should be encouraged. Thank you, Nandru.” The mazil passed the teen a coin, with a tiny flourish meant to draw observer’s eyes to emphasize the show of favor.
( Read more... )

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Ten years

So, the tenth anniversary of my diagnosis with leukaemia happened earlier this week. I usually celebrate my survival on 1 October each year, but I'd wondered a few months ago about having a party in actual summer.

In the end I didn't organise anything for this weekend because I had a hockey game with Warbirds yesterday. This morning I took Nico to Clip n Climb, and this afternoon I met Rosie for a public skate and then we had ice creams in the sunshine. On my way back to my bike (locked by the rink) I ran into a couple of people and sorted out a few things relating to Kodiaks and next weekend's Draft Tournament in Biarritz.

Also the announcement has just gone out that I'm captaining one of the teams in Biarritz, and I'm off work now for nearly two weeks.

... and actually all of that adds up to a fantastic "up yours cancer, you didn't kill me", even without throwing a party.

Take it away, Elton:

Watch on YouTube

Tesla valves

I came across a reference to a Tesla valve today. Far from the first time. But this time it clicked with a old memory.

Back in the late 60s, my mom bought a tabletop fountain. I got curious and took it apart to look at the pump (I put everything back together just fine). It was rather odd. a donut shaped magnet with some wire coils and a copper tube thru it.

The only moving part was a steel tube that fitted inside the pipe and had oddly shaped plastic pieces on its ends. When AC power was applied, the tube moved up and down in the pipe at 60 Hz.

At the time, I couldn't figured out how it pumped the water. Now, I realized that the tube was a Tesla valve. Ingenious design as there was nothing to break during any reasonable service life.

Entry tags:

cooking,
recipes

Culinary

This week's bread(as last week's developed mould): Len Deighton's Mixed Wholemeal from the Sunday Times Book of Real Bread, 4:1:1 wholemeal flour/strong white flour/mix of wheatgerm, bran, and pinhead oatmeal, splosh of sunflower oil rather than melted butter, rather nice.

Saturday breakfast rolls: brown grated apple, started out as 70/30% wholemeal spelt/einkorn flour but ended up more like 50/50%, maple syrup, ground ginger, quite good.

Today's lunch: diced casserole beef slow-cooked in soy sauce, rice wine, and water with star anise, served with sticky rice with lime leaves, cauliflower florets roasted in pumpkin seed oil with cumin seeds, and sugar snap peas stirfried with garlic

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obituaries

RIP Terence Stamp

Kneels.

(no subject)

Happy birthday,

negothick and

quiara!

Phoebe and Her Unicorn - 2025-08-17

https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2025/08/17

Comic strip for 2025/08/17

https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2025/08/17

Current Mood: artistic

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A Long Day Ahead (part 1 of 1, complete)

A Long Day Ahead
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1664
[End of March 179-]

:: In the morning, Victor must decide what to do about Dezideriu and his family. Part of the “Lost Son” story arc in the Frankenstein’s Family universe. ::

Morning light, just beginning to brighten into true dawn, drifted lazily into the kitchen. Victor sat at the table with Adam in his lap, feeding the boy a mix of lightly cooked fruit chunks and mămăligă, corn porridge. “Good morning, mazil,” Laslzo greeted as soon as he stepped through the doorway. He scanned the room. “Did Dorottya and Dénes go home last night?”

Igor answered as he motioned toward the table. “Sit. You’re just in time; the tea has just finished steeping. Yes,” he added lightly, “neither wanted to leave their children for that long.”
( Read more... )

Current Mood: accomplished

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Matchmaker, Matchmaker (part 1 of 1, complete

Matchmaker, Matchmaker
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1361

:: Officer Pink has a visitor at work, who has a very unusual request. Part of the Mercedes and Officer Pink story threads in the Polychrome Heroics universe, this story was prompted by

chanter and sponsored by

fuzzyred, with my great thanks. They’ll get credit for the sequel, as well. ::

The Asian boy shifted from one foot to the other, standing in the Bluehill police station waiting room, though there were at least a dozen empty seats. He waved off the polite young woman in a cadet’s uniform. “No, thanks. I’ll wait for Officer Pink.” He pulled a steno book from his teardrop bag, opened it to his current spot because a rubber band held previously used pages together with the front cover, and dipped into the bag again to retrieve a four-color pen.

He paced, only three steps in each direction, toward the empty corner, then back. His writing never slowed as he walked, nor as he turned. Only when he stopped walking did the pen stop, hovering an inch above the green-tinted paper as he thought.
( Read more... )

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What even are past times?

Passed by my skimming eye yesterday somebody commenting on how people are still unclear on the concepts of the Dark Ages/Medieval Times/Renaissance and what/when they were -

- and I was muttering to myself, huh, those were after all a longish time ago, people are unclear on THE VICTORIANS AND THEIR ERA which is really not that long ago -

- and then I thought, hang on, we do not even need to go that far back, have I not expatiated upon people going on about that lovely healthy food grandma used to cook -

That would be grandma living in the heyday of tinned food/convenience food etc etc, what is this pastoral myth you are propagating?

And then we get people trying to make excuses for living persons having Certain Opinions or Phrasing Things in Certain Ways and saying 'oh well, they were brung up in a different era'.

So was I, bozo, so was I, that era was the 60s/70s/80s and unless they were being brought up in entire seclusion as part of a mad scientist's experiment, I doubt they could have completely missed what was going on.

I'm boggling a little at this article about nostalgia for parenting and childhood in the 90s, because I bet in the 90s they were looking back to Some Earlier Era, and there were panics about Modern Childhood, and Meedja, and so on.

Magpie Monday Report for August of 2025

Done! YAAY. After an unexpected struggle last month, I am inexpressibly relieved to be back “on track” with the prompt call! Doing this, and keeping abreast of the writing for the “Lost Son” arc has been a truly wonderful stretch. It wouldn’t have happened without my wonderful readers!
( Read more... )

(no subject)

https://www.facebook.com/notes/3459262907442335/

(no subject)

Happy birthday,

qilora!

Phoebe and Her Unicorn - 2025-08-16

https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2025/08/16

Comic strip for 2025/08/16

https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2025/08/16

Entry tags:

Events of note

In news that shocks no-one, especially not me, I didn't actually manage to watch the streaming Twelfth Night in the two week window. I had two windows in my calendar and I spent them on other things, woe is me.

( ice hockey )

Charles and I went to see the reissue of Princess Mononoke in the cinema - in the IMAX screen - yesterday evening. I haven't watched it in many years but it holds up, still very beautiful. Some scenes I'd never forgotten but other parts surprised me all over again.

From the film I went to a goodbye party for two of the cricketers for a couple of hours. I left the party for ice hockey practice, and was briefly tempted to message the partiers when I came out of the rink at 1am to see if they were still going but actually by the time I got home and showered I just wanted to sleep.

(I have been added to the casual Saturday afternoon cricket groupchat. I am still very bad at cricket, especially at bowling, and have no kit. I could turn up anyway I guess.)

(no subject)

https://echosofantiquity.com/collections/all?utm_medium=paid&utm_id=120235459245750001&utm_content=120235459477260001&utm_term=120235459245830001&utm_campaign=120235459245750001&fbclid=IwY2xjawMM6DVleHRuA2FlbQEwAGFkaWQBqymDbG8s0QEekjR6HChXNt28kepRVPAydurMhW5fJzwBYU-T4zzQvURkx_anqEAoEr-FWTE_aem_-VpsRUki4wFz6CGoAok88w&utm_source=facebook&campaign_id=120235459245750001&ad_id=120235459477260001

This past week I listened to Verity Weaver

Which I guess I can sum up as "trenchant criticism of capitalism, maybe a little preachy, not subtle at all". This might not sound like a big endorsement, but then again, I'm pretty sure most of you are Star Trek and even Babylon 5 fans, so actually it is!

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

( Read more... )

Current Mood: amused

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Questions in the Dark (part 1 of 1, complete)

Questions in the Dark
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1560
[End of March 179-]

:: Long after the group parts ways for the night, Laszlo and Igor have a far more difficult conversation in the fragile blanket of darkness. Part of the “Lost Son” story arc in the Frankenstein’s Family universe. ::

The fire had long since been banked, and even the embers seemed drowsy in their bed of coals. Laszlo lay on his stomach, his head propped on his folded arms. His feet swayed first left and right, then toward his head before dropping to a stop inches above the cold floor.

He couldn’t sleep, and even wandering in front of the forest of books did not help him to relax.

Footsteps brought a flickering light, then paused in front of the closed door.
( Read more... )

New Substack post

How something is said can tell you whose viewpoint is being pushed. Check the wording.

Entry tags:

food,
happenings

Synetic and other miscellanea

Synetic is a DC theater troupe specializing in movement - circus-level acrobatics combined with choreography both dance and combat to supplement or entirely replace dialogue. I'd seen a play of theirs once before (since I wasn't going to miss someone, anyone, tackling Master & Margarita), but they're not convenient and not cheap, so I'd not made a habit of them. And then at a party someone said "so I have a pair of tickets I can't use to Synetic's Midsummer Night Dream happening at once of the nicer suburban theater spaces - anyone want to buy them for cheap?"

( So there we were. )

In foodier news, we have revisited Shimiaodao, wherein we had the dumplings that I actually tried to order the time before, Chicken Mushroom, and they were great. Also the beef soup dumplings, and they were much better than the chicken ones. Also the mushroom moodle soup, and it was addictive enough that I will try to recreate it at home once the weather gets cooler.

And, we tried Ugane, a Korean Bunsik-style restaurant, which purveys a variety of soups and dumplings and noodles and so forth. We went with a couple more familiar with the cuisine and family-styled it all, and so got to share more things and more adventurously than we might have with just us two. The service was English-speaking and very helpful. The potato pancake was a latke-like texture I didn't love, but the flavor made up for it. The cold soy-and-sesame noodles were enormously large and quite filling, if a bit subtle on the flavor even for me. (One adulterates it with salt, which I was handed, and also sugar, which I was prompted to ask for if I wanted it - I wish it came with more cucumber). Tempura seaweed rolls with glass noodles were excellent and very much up my alley, if not Spouse's. He shared spicy tteokbokki and chicken with our friends and enjoyed both. The rice balls looked really good, but by then we'd ordered so much that it seemed unwise to order more, so another trip is definitely in order.