Daily Happiness
Jul. 15th, 2025 09:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torachan1. I had two meetings today but both went quicker than I thought they would.
2. The guys are coming to fix the back door tomorrow (they got the part in that they needed to order), so I decided to take the day off and then we can go to Disneyland afterwards for lunch or dinner.
3. Gemma is very put out at being interrupted.
2. The guys are coming to fix the back door tomorrow (they got the part in that they needed to order), so I decided to take the day off and then we can go to Disneyland afterwards for lunch or dinner.
3. Gemma is very put out at being interrupted.
The View Outside the US
Jul. 15th, 2025 11:15 ampennswoodsTraveling outside the US has given me space to step away from being overwhelmed by the news and fear of the future so that I can hopefully plan and be more present when I return. One thing that has made my heart heavy this past spring was a feeling of hopelessness and personal failure - that I was too overwhelmed by rage and hopelessness to do anything or that I felt so helpless in the face of a constant onslaught of bullshit as institutions were threatened and crumbled. I also felt immense guilt for not doing more - for not protesting - for not calling my senators every day - for not dedicating my free time to doing something/anything.
I felt this guilt again yesterday when talking with one of my Swedish friends who used to live in Hawaii and is very activist in her mindset. She shared that there had been protests in Sweden this weekend (I encountered one in Malmo while I was running) in support of Palestine that were not covered in the news. She also said the Swedish news was not saying anything about protests in the US and that from the outside it seems like no one in the US is doing anything in response to Trump. She has tried to convince young people that a lack of media coverage does not mean that nothing is happening, but many of them just assume that the lack of protests means that all Americans are in support of Trump now.
This feels so unjust, but it's also an attitude I see online in other spaces. People (lots of Canadians) are angry that Americans aren't dong anything. I know I'm not doing enough but I have been doing things that I don't normally do (attending workshops by the ACLU on how to support undocumented students, attending virtual Town Halls with senators, researching ways to support my International PhD student). I've also been traveling a lot because I have a feeling that it will be much, much harder and too expensive to do in a few years.
But I don't know what to say in the face of this attitude. It feels like people want blood. Will they only believe US citizens are doing anything when there is death and mass violence? People are constantly protesting or thwarting ICE. There is resistance in University systems and states collectively building legal funds to sue the US government's meddling in higher education and in arresting and deporting international students and faculty.
I felt this guilt again yesterday when talking with one of my Swedish friends who used to live in Hawaii and is very activist in her mindset. She shared that there had been protests in Sweden this weekend (I encountered one in Malmo while I was running) in support of Palestine that were not covered in the news. She also said the Swedish news was not saying anything about protests in the US and that from the outside it seems like no one in the US is doing anything in response to Trump. She has tried to convince young people that a lack of media coverage does not mean that nothing is happening, but many of them just assume that the lack of protests means that all Americans are in support of Trump now.
This feels so unjust, but it's also an attitude I see online in other spaces. People (lots of Canadians) are angry that Americans aren't dong anything. I know I'm not doing enough but I have been doing things that I don't normally do (attending workshops by the ACLU on how to support undocumented students, attending virtual Town Halls with senators, researching ways to support my International PhD student). I've also been traveling a lot because I have a feeling that it will be much, much harder and too expensive to do in a few years.
But I don't know what to say in the face of this attitude. It feels like people want blood. Will they only believe US citizens are doing anything when there is death and mass violence? People are constantly protesting or thwarting ICE. There is resistance in University systems and states collectively building legal funds to sue the US government's meddling in higher education and in arresting and deporting international students and faculty.
Daily Happiness
Jul. 14th, 2025 08:53 pmtorachan1. Back to work today. Not too much going on. I got stuff done and was able to get home at a decent time, so that was nice.
2. When Carla was in Chicago she saw the Mitsuwa there was selling Tokyo Banana, which is really hard to get outside of Japan. She regretted not buying any, and didn't see it at Mitsuwa here, but when I googled, I saw people saying H-Mart was selling it, so she went to H-Mart today and they had it in stock! Alas, we'll have to wait until next year in Japan to have the sakura version again, since that's seasonal, but I'm sure the original will be just as delicious (we actually didn't try the original in Japan because the sakura one was too good and we just bought more of that instead).
3. Lately everyone loves to hide in this box. Only one I haven't seen using it is Jasper.
2. When Carla was in Chicago she saw the Mitsuwa there was selling Tokyo Banana, which is really hard to get outside of Japan. She regretted not buying any, and didn't see it at Mitsuwa here, but when I googled, I saw people saying H-Mart was selling it, so she went to H-Mart today and they had it in stock! Alas, we'll have to wait until next year in Japan to have the sakura version again, since that's seasonal, but I'm sure the original will be just as delicious (we actually didn't try the original in Japan because the sakura one was too good and we just bought more of that instead).
3. Lately everyone loves to hide in this box. Only one I haven't seen using it is Jasper.
My Readercon Schedule!
Jul. 14th, 2025 11:48 amceciliatanWhew! I’ll be making my Guest of Honor run at Readercon this coming weekend in Burlington, MA! It’s me and P. Djeli Clark in the GoH seats, with legions of super-smart sf/f writers and editors on the program, including Max Gladstone, Rob Cameron, Catherine Lundoff, John Chu, Laura Antoniou, Erin Roberts, Sarah Pinsker, Shariann Lewitt and many many more.
As expected, my schedule will be PACKED. Of note: I added a second autographing slot because of concerns that the first one happens soooo early. I will not have a table selling books: you can get them in the bookshop from Sally at Larry Smith Booksellers and some will also be on the Broad Universe table.
And yes, there will be some copies of the new shiny beautiful Magic University Collectors Edition hardcover. (And if you ordered a copy via Kickstarter, check your email for an update about picking up the book in person if you want to! Or just come to a party!)
FRIDAY
2:00 PM Bisexuals in Science Fiction: Still Hip After All These Years?
3:00 PM Autograph Session #1
4:00 PM Cecilia Tan GOH Reading
7:00 PM Moving from Traditional Publishing to Self-Publishing
9:00 PM Levels of Interiority (in Narrative)
SATURDAY
12:00 Noon The Works of Cecilia Tan (I’m not on this, I’ll just be listening!)
1:00 PM Divination in the Writing Process
4:00 PM Guest of Honor Interview: Cecilia Tan by Charlie Jane Anders
6:00 PM Erotica, Horror, and the Fear of Visceral Fiction
9:00 PM Patrons & Kickstarter Supporters Get-Together
SUNDAY
12:00 PM Noon Beyond the Bio: Weird Jobs & the Worlds They Inspired
1:00 PM Harry Potter and the Undeath of the Author
2:00 PM Autographing Session #2
Mirrored from Cecilia Tan.
Pride Bundle 2025: General Imprint Short Stories
Jul. 14th, 2025 05:39 pmprofiterole_readsduckprintspress's Pride Bundle 2025: General Imprint Short Stories (not available any more, but most of these stories can be found on DPP's Patreon) was absolutely delightful!DPP is an indie press publishing diverse original works by fanwork creators, so it's not surprising that I vibed so much with these stories. Most of them are speculative.
There's non-binary rep (they/them, neo-pronouns, pronoun combinations or no pronouns), f/f and m/m.
Readercon 2025
Jul. 14th, 2025 11:00 amoracneI’ll be at Readercon 34 this weekend after spending most of the last couple of weeks doing massive re-reads.
If you’ll be there, please feel free to stop and say hello! My schedule is below.
If you’ll be there, please feel free to stop and say hello! My schedule is below.
The Works of P. Djèlí Clark
Salon I/J Friday, July 18, 2025, 1:00 PM EDT
Andrea Hairston [moderator]; Leon Perniciaro; Rob Cameron; Tom Doyle; Victoria Janssen
Our Guest of Honor P. Djèlí Clark rounded out his first decade as a published author with a Nebula and a Locus for his fantasy police procedural novel, The Master of Djinn, and both those awards plus a British Fantasy Award for his monster-hunting novella Ring Shout. His short story “How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub” is short-listed for the Hugo this year. As a History professor at University of Connecticut, he investigates the pathways leading from West African storyteller/poets (griots, a.k.a. djèlí) to the American abolitionist movement. Help us celebrate the works of our honored guest!
The Purposes of Memorable Insults in Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Salon I/J Friday, July 18, 2025, 5:00 PM EDT
Storm Humbert [moderator]; Anne E.G. Nydam; Charles Allison; Ellen Kushner; Victoria Janssen
Some of the most quotable lines in science fiction and fantasy are zingers. Wit can do a lot to build a character, a world, and a universe, and has the ability to either support or undermine reader expectations. This panel aims to explore and elaborate on the use of wit—and especially takedowns—in literature, exposing how a verbal jab can serve as more than just a punchline.
Moving from Traditional Publishing to Self-Publishing
Salon G/H Friday, July 18, 2025, 7:00 PM EDT
Victoria Janssen [moderator]; Cecilia Tan; Jedediah Berry; Sarah Smith; Steven Popkes
It’s becoming increasingly common to hear of authors whose self-published work was so successful that they were picked up by a traditional publisher. But what of the authors who have gone the other way, by turning their backs on traditional publishing and going into self-publishing? Panelists will survey the varying reasons for making this transition, how authors have navigated it, and what this might say about the state of publishing overall.
Kaffeeklatsch: Victoria Janssen
Suite 830 Friday, July 18, 2025, 8:00 PM EDT
The Works of Cecilia Tan
Salon I/J Saturday, July 19, 2025, 12:00 PM EDT
Victoria Janssen [moderator]; Charlie Jane Anders; Laura Antoniou; Cecilia Tan (i)
Our Guest of Honor, Cecilia Tan, has a publication history that spans Asimov’s, Absolute Magnitude, Ms. Magazine, Penthouse, and Best American Erotica, among others. Writer and editor of science fiction and fantasy, especially as they intersect with erotica and romance, she is also the founder of Circlet Press, an independent publisher that specializes in speculative erotica. Her own writing earned a Lifetime Achievement for Erotica in 2014 from Romantic Times magazine. She also contributes to America’s other pastime, baseball, in her role as Publications Director for the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). Come hear our panel discuss Cecilia’s many talents and accomplishments.
Un-Kafkaesque Bureaucracies
Salon I/J Saturday, July 19, 2025, 7:00 PM EDT
Victoria Janssen [moderator]; Alexander Jablokov; J.M. Sidorova; Laurence Raphael Brothers; Steven Popkes
In fiction, bureaucracies are generally depicted as evil in its most banal form, yet many of the actual bureaucracies that shape our lives exist to protect us from corporate greed. How can—and should—we tell other stories about bureaucrats and bureaucracies, particularly as the U.S. stands on the precipice of disastrous deregulation? And might fantasies of bureaucracy (such Addison’s The Goblin Emperor and Goddard’s The Hands of the Emperor) be the next cozy subgenre?
The Endless Appetite for Fanfiction
Create / Collaborate Saturday, July 19, 2025, 8:00 PM EDT
Kate Nepveu [moderator]; Claire Houck/Nina Waters; Laura Antoniou; Victoria Janssen
In an article of the same name (https://www.fansplaining.com/articles/endless-appetite-fanfiction), Elizabeth Minkel discussed how “2024 was the year [fanfic] truly broke containment—everyone seemed to want a piece of the fanfiction pie, leaving fic authors themselves besieged on all sides.” Attempts to steal and monetize fanfic proliferated, as did reviews treating living authors as distant and unreachable. What do these trends say about larger changes in attitudes toward stories and creators? How can fans of all kinds nurture supportive connections to authors?
DRACO100 - PROMPT 190
Jul. 14th, 2025 10:14 amdigthewriter posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
draco100Hi Friends,
Welcome back todraco100. We are so happy to see you here. Here's our next prompt!
PROMPT 190 is…
Arise
Happy Drabbling.
Don't forget that you can post you drabbles on the AO3 collection.
Welcome back to
draco100. We are so happy to see you here. Here's our next prompt! Arise
Happy Drabbling.
Don't forget that you can post you drabbles on the AO3 collection.
June Reads and Pride Shenanigans
Jul. 13th, 2025 10:55 pmtjs_whatnotThe only (slight) downside of reading primarily queer books all year long is that June hits differently for me. I want to go big, but how? How can I differentiate it from any other month?
Ho hum. * ponders * But anyway… on to this month's mixed bag of delights.
( June 2025 ) Oh, but speaking of Pride. I should probably make another post for this-- but I know myself enough to know I won't-- so here, have some pictures I took in my medium-ish city's Pride Parade:
So, this is the first Pride since moving back to my hometown last summer (did I ever tell you guys I moved across the country? No? Ooops, sorry).
Anyway, I did not know what to expect, but I was excited because they didn't do any pride related things when last I lived here (but that was like 30 years ago, so that wasn't too rare) and it's a middle-ish sized big town, but it's in a red side of a very blue state, so who knows that that means.
But it was lovely! They had a parade, then a festival and at the end, since it was on June 14th, a No Kings rally. I went to the parade and then volunteered at the booth my employer had there and that was great fun. Then I hung out at the protest before taking the bus home. It was a great time!
( June 2025 ) Oh, but speaking of Pride. I should probably make another post for this-- but I know myself enough to know I won't-- so here, have some pictures I took in my medium-ish city's Pride Parade:
So, this is the first Pride since moving back to my hometown last summer (did I ever tell you guys I moved across the country? No? Ooops, sorry).
Anyway, I did not know what to expect, but I was excited because they didn't do any pride related things when last I lived here (but that was like 30 years ago, so that wasn't too rare) and it's a middle-ish sized big town, but it's in a red side of a very blue state, so who knows that that means.
But it was lovely! They had a parade, then a festival and at the end, since it was on June 14th, a No Kings rally. I went to the parade and then volunteered at the booth my employer had there and that was great fun. Then I hung out at the protest before taking the bus home. It was a great time!
Daily Happiness
Jul. 13th, 2025 10:44 pmtorachan1. I finished another of these 300 piece Disneyland anniversary puzzles from the multipack. This one went much faster than the Mickey head shaped one, but was still fun.
2. Tonight we saw Paul F. Thompkins' Varietopia again and it was a lot of fun.
( Read more... )
3. New favorite picture of Molly.
2. Tonight we saw Paul F. Thompkins' Varietopia again and it was a lot of fun.
( Read more... )
3. New favorite picture of Molly.
An Uncivilized Wizard
Jul. 13th, 2025 03:44 pmenchanted_jae posting in draco100Title: An Uncivilized Wizard
Fandom: Harry Potter
Author:enchanted_jae
Characters/Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: PG
Word count: 100
Written for:
♦anythingdrabble Challenge No. 397 - milk
♦draco100 Prompt No. 189 - grace
♦harry100 Prompt No. 522 - Apparate
Warnings: None
Summary: Harry never claimed to be civilized.
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This fic/drabble was written for fun, not for profit.
An Uncivilized Wizard
Fandom: Harry Potter
Author:
enchanted_jaeCharacters/Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: PG
Word count: 100
Written for:
♦
anythingdrabble Challenge No. 397 - milk♦
draco100 Prompt No. 189 - grace♦
harry100 Prompt No. 522 - ApparateWarnings: None
Summary: Harry never claimed to be civilized.
Disclaimer: Characters are the property of JK Rowling, et al. This fic/drabble was written for fun, not for profit.
An Uncivilized Wizard