read these
Dec. 19th, 2025 09:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calimac2. What has become of NASA? Joel Achenbach's deep dive into the recent history and current state of the agency that's been mooting return flights to the Moon and also to Mars, and why it's not likely to happen, told with a clarity not always granted to such articles.
3. The angriest and hence best response to the thing that took to the airwaves to yell at America.
Weekend Plans
Dec. 20th, 2025 12:22 amsettiaiAll of my big bills (hotel, storage unit, phone, PO Box) have already been paid, so unless something very unexpected happens I don't have to worry about any major expenses the rest of the year other than a vet bill on the 29th. So that's definitely something to be happy about, as it means I can focus on other things this weekend.
I think my plan is to get up tomorrow morning and do my usual weekend cleaning. That way, I can get all of those things done first thing. I'll wash clothes, do some vacuuming/dusting/mopping/etc., and then hopefully by mid-afternoon I'll be free to work on other things.
By which I mainly mean writing as many fics for Yuletide as I possibly can, to be fair. That said, I still need to watch this week episode of both The Mighty Nein and Critical Role, so I'd like to get that done tomorrow as well.
That way I can spend pretty much all of Sunday writing. 🤞🏻
Absolute Green Lantern #8 - "Sojourner"
Dec. 19th, 2025 06:20 pmlaughing_tree posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
scans_daily
A lot of people still are like, "Oh, Jo's the Green Lantern, but she's only in it a little bit with all this large ensemble cast that keeps expanding." [...] Jo's not the Green Lantern. Jo has the green power. There's a difference. The Green Lantern is that big thing that's currently on the moon. Nobody knows what the hell it is. That's the Green Lantern. That's what the book's about. -- Al Ewing
( Read more... )
Fandom Fifty: #43
Dec. 19th, 2025 08:21 pmsenmuthuh, five total, only one of which was fully his fault.
~Wonder Woman - This is where I admit I was more in it for Nielson and Wright than anything else. Decent movie.
~Thor: Ragnarok - Son's fault, Cate might have drawn me in. Fun enough, and Tessa wowed me.
~Coco - Possibly second favorite film of the year. I really appreciated getting to see this concept come to life. Dear movie makers, give me MORE cultural fests!
~The Shape of Water - All my choice, so glad I did, yes I read the book, I think the movie lands better.
~Star Wars: The Last Jedi - And this is when my, at the time, 40 year streak of watching SW in the theater ended completely. I'd seen things from people I trusted that this was not a movie I wished to spend that much money on. Did eventually get the DVD and watch it, and ... well. I still haven't bought the next one in the trilogy or watched more than a few excerpts.
Fic in a Box recs!
Dec. 19th, 2025 11:25 amscintilla10 posting in recthethingficinabox collection on my journal! All creators are still anonymous.My gifts
Stranger Things (2 fic)
Original Works (1 fic, 2 logic puzzles + fic)
Recs for
womansplaceAndor (fic)
DC Comics Wonder Woman (art)
Original Works (art, board game reskin, plushie pattern)
Art recs
Discworld (pottery)
DC comics (art animation)
Original Work (3 art, 1 pottery, 2 comics [note the final rec is NSFW])
Benoit Blanc Cinematic Universe: Wake Up Dead Man (2025), aka Knives Out 3
Dec. 19th, 2025 11:17 amlannamichaelsSummary: Benoit Blanc investigates a locked room murder mystery taking place in a Catholic church on Good Friday, the victim is a Catholic priest named Wicks that no one really liked. And then Wicks rises from the dead, and more people die. An extremely convoluted movie, which I enjoyed.
Spoilers and the rest behind cut.
( Read more... )
December recs: 8 FIAB fics
Dec. 19th, 2025 05:30 pmschneefinkficinabox. And I didn't even participate this year! But I usually try to read and comment widely before creator reveals and this year the timing was not great for me. I did find many fanworks to enjoy and loved many of them, and here are some of my favorites. Several of them can be enjoyed fandom-blind.
This Ao3 Author's Curse Has Got Hands by
Dream SMP, 5.6k, Phil & Techno, urban fantasy AU, A/N format
Summary: Fanfic author Technoblade has been pre-writing and is excited to start posting his whumptober longfic, his trusty beta Philza at his side. Unfortunately for his posting schedule, the Ao3 author's curse hits him hard, fast, and with an intensity never before seen. Really it's starting to seem like he's cursed.
Does this mean that he gives up posting his fic?
Nah nah nah nah nah he's got this handled. Don't even worry about it. Chapters will be posted come hell, high water, hospital visit, house invasions, eviction, mob action, emergency road trip, or kidnapping. Technoblade never dies, and he never misses an update.
Why I love it: A story told entirely in author's notes: the format works fantastic, the character voice is impeccable, and most importantly it's hilarious.
Canon knowledge required: Definitely not (tested on my gf.)
( More FIAB fics: 3x Hermitcraft, 1x original, 1x All For The Game, 1.5x Nirvana in Fire, 1x Nirvana in Fire 2 )
Since I just had to dig this up:
Dec. 19th, 2025 08:40 ammuccamukkIn the last year, AO3 has seen a rise in "art commission" spambot comments. The bots leaving these comments pretend to be artists who want to make comics or illustrations for a fan's fic. After convincing their targets to contact them off AO3, they scam their targets into paying for that art. Fans have reported that after sending payment, they either received AI-generated art or nothing at all.
If you receive a scam comment from a guest, you can press the "Spam" button on the comment. This helps train our automated spam-checker to better detect this type of behavior.
If you encounter a scammer that has a registered account, or if you encounter a guest posting scam comments on someone else's work, please report them to the Policy & Abuse committee. To do so:
- Select the "Thread" button on the scammer's comment. This will take you to the specific comment page.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Policy Questions & Abuse Reports.
- In the "Brief summary of Terms of Service violation" field, enter "Spambot".
- In the "Description of the content you are reporting" field, enter "This is a spambot, their username is USERNAME."
Reporting in this fashion helps us auto-sort your report so that it can be handled as soon as a Policy & Abuse volunteer is available. To help us address reports about these types of bots as fast as possible, please only submit one report per account, and don't include multiple accounts in the same report.
If you encounter a scam commenter on someone else's work, you can let the work creator know the commenter is likely a bot and link them to this news post.
(Thanks to JT for reminding me where the post was.)
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries: 19 December 2025 (Advent Devotional)
Dec. 19th, 2025 03:47 amsparoweAnd her [Mary’s] husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. (Matthew 1:19)
Poor Joseph. There he was, happy and planning for his wedding. Then, in a single hour, all his hopes were shattered.
But look at how he handles it! He isn’t shouting and screaming about the wrong he believes Mary has done to him. He doesn’t try to pay her back. No, he’s already looking for a way to let her out of the marriage arrangement as quietly as possible, because he doesn’t want to shame her.
Now that’s a good man, humanly speaking. That’s a man who reminds me of his future foster son, Jesus Himself. Because Joseph is willing to bear as much of Mary’s pain and shame as he can, given the circumstances. His main concern is how to protect her. And that is how Jesus feels about us.
Jesus, of course, takes it further—because He’s never going to find out that the bad news about us was all a mistake as Joseph did with Mary. No, we are truly the broken, sinful people we’ve been called. And so Jesus expresses His love for us by showing us mercy all the way to the cross. He suffers and dies for us. And when He rises to life again, He gives that same life to us—who are no longer condemned sinners, but are now His own bride, the forgiven people of God (see Romans 7:4, Revelation 19:7-8).
WE PRAY: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us and making us Your own, though You knew the truth about us. I love You. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- If you were in a parallel situation, would you have behaved as kindly as Joseph?
- God chose Mary to parent His Son. Would you say God chose Joseph also?
- What characteristics do you think God was looking for in them both? Why?
Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries: 18 December 2025 (Advent Devotional)
Dec. 18th, 2025 10:05 pmsparowe
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)
Those words “She was found to be with Child” show a major shock to Mary’s family. Because in that time and culture, nobody would have wanted to find out that their daughter was pregnant—especially when the father was not the man she was engaged to! I suspect there was a lot of screaming and yelling! Someone would have had to break the news to him. Depending on how Joseph took it, that could ruin the family’s reputation.
Mary had just spent three months living with a family who believed her story. Now she was back home, and probably facing conflict, anger, fear, and shame. Did Mary try to tell her family the truth? Did they refuse to listen?
This is the world Jesus would be born into—a world filled with pain and fear and shame, a world where even those who love each other still suffer from distrust and grief. It’s what Jesus came to fix—the effects of sin and evil on our lives. He would give up His own life to set us free from that. He would even rise from the dead to give us new life, life forever—filled with peace, trust, and love for God and each other.
WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, I’m so glad You came to help us in our need. Thank You. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- If you had been part of Mary’s family, would you have believed her story about the child being from the Holy Spirit?
- Why or why not?
- How do you think Mary found the strength to make it through this time?
Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Ads For Subs in the Suburbs
Dec. 18th, 2025 09:26 pmdewline
Gosh, don't you just hate it
Dec. 19th, 2025 01:35 pmconulyLast time that happened to me, I told him, "The ring is nice, but seriously, get your shit together and stand up to your folks, or the wedding's off." And this is why I'm not married today. Fabulous wealth is all well and good, but there are limits, and realistically speaking, you probably can't murder all your inlaws.
Alas, our protagonist is going to take the next book and a half to put her foot down. I can just tell. Unlike any sensible heroine, she's going to spend all her time trying to placate those assholes instead. Honey, it's a wasted effort! If you insist on standing by your man, stand by him by booking a couples spa date - no parents allowed.
(The ring isn't even magical. It's just expensive. I mean, honestly, I would not put up with those people for a nonmagical ring, and here she is insisting that it's all too much, it's too valuable, is he sure he wants to spend what, to him, amounts to pocket change on little old her? Please.)
( Read more... )
sleeping in the shadow of the empire state
Dec. 18th, 2025 07:56 pmmusesfool( 6-day plan )
I think adding in the roast pork and the pork buns and the orange cranberry rolls might be kind of nuts? But also having that food on hand will let me eat breakfast/dinner without having to do any real cooking or ordering in. (I will also have some ham and cheese to make sandwiches if it comes to that, and some granola bars for snacks/breakfast if the orange cranberry rolls don't happen.) And I think I do have time before the cupcake baking begins in earnest.
What I'm considering now is whether I should make the frostings and immediately put them in piping bags (with specific tips in) for storing in the fridge instead of trying to do the transfers all at once on Christmas Eve morning the way I usually do. Filling the bags and then keeping them in tupperware might be easier? But I've also found that sometimes my "time-saving" plans end up making things worse, so idk.
Anyway, that's my plan for the next 6 or so days! It's a good thing I enjoy cooking. *g*
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