ghostpuppet | Reading

There is a weight room downstairs in my apartment building, and I’ve been going there for the past couple of weeks. I’m not heavily muscled, but I’ve been increasing the weights I lift or pull, and have decreased the weight pulling the platform up when I do pull-ups, so I’m lifting a larger share of my own weight.

I’m stronger and more active at the age of sixty than I was in college.

ritalovett

She runs to me with her skirts billowing in the wind
Free as the air now that she has fled from her kin
Away from our fathers who swore we’d never be together
Her hair flies around her just like a phoenix feather
She tells me that we would make the loveliest pair of brides
As she grows her herbs and brews in her cottage in the countryside

I am the little fairy who clings onto the witch
A lifetime with her is worth more than all our families’ riches
I’d give up everything just to feel her kiss
Because no man could love me like she does and G-d knows how I’d miss her

We walk by the riverside with her soft hand in mine
We sing by the stream and she picks her flowers all to pass the time
She is a magic woman, and she is my home
When we’re together, nothing could go wrong

And I’m her little starlet whom she has summoned from the sky
With her love oh I feel like I could fly
I’d give up everything if I could just feel her lips
And there’s nothing I could trade for love as sweet as this

And I’m the little fairy who clings onto my witch
A lifetime with her is worth more than all the world’s riches
I’d give up everything if we could only kiss
Because no man could love me like she does and I don’t wanna miss her

cornerofmadness

and I'm dreading tomorrow, let me just put forth all the rest of the book stuff (as I'm not smart enough to make records of communities I want to rec)

So Books I read last month. There aren't that many but if you're interested in any of them, let's talk. I love doing that

The Witch's Orchard mystery

West by God. Horror

A Spell to Wake the Dead YA urban fantasy

Dark Entry horror

Anima Rising historical fantasy

The Smoke in His Voice. urban fantasy LGBT

Verses for the Dead mystery

I also finished

kingstoken's book bingo. I managed a black out. I can't find my graphic fore this so have the original post. You can play along too

I'm just going to list (but not link) my reads. (I'm running low on time)
Over 300 pages - Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings
Book in a series - Verses for the Dead by Preston & Child
LGBT = Disco Witches of Fire Island by Blair Fell
From your TBR pile - West by God by Tyler Bell
Recommended= Hormones, Hexes, & Exes by J.C. Blake

POC author - Silent Are the Dead by D.M. Rowell
Multiple points of view - The Ten Worst People in New York by Matthew Plass

YA - You Must Not Miss by Katrina Leno
Ebook Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
Classics - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Female author - Silent Evidence by Clea Koff

SF/Fantasy - Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis
Anthology - Minstrels in the Galaxy: Stories in the Key of Tull, Volume 1 edited by Sam Robb (hey I’m in this one!)
Biography/memoir- The Paranormal Ranger: A Navajo Investigator's Search for the Unexplained by Stanley Milford Jr
Friendship - Last Dance Before Dawn by Katharine Schellman
Banned Book - Under This Red Rock by Mindy McGinnis
Name in the title - H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth by H.P Lovecraft and manga adaptation by Gou Tanabe
Movie/TV tie in Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage (a Golden Girls mystery mash up)

With a woman protagonist - When the Bones Sing by Ginny Myers Sain
From the library - The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
Thriller/Suspense - The Lost House by Melissa Larsen
Set Somewhere you’ve been Lackadaisy vol 1 by Tracy J. Butler
Crime/Mystery - To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower

Non human pov - The Mushroom Knight Vol. 1 by Oliver Bly

Current Mood: hot
Current Music: Frankenstein meets the Spacemonster

loganberrybunny

Public

Welch Gate flowers, Bewdley, 3rd July 2025

152/365: Flowers in Welch Gate, Bewdley
Click for a larger, sharper image
Nothing much for me to write about today, since the couple of things of significance that did happen weren't really the type of things I can or want to write about here. (Neither was bad!) I didn't even go for much of a walk, so my 365 photo today is less exciting than some of them. Still, it always brings a smile when I see these plants and flowers. This is Welch Gate, just outside the town centre. The plants are placed on either side by the people who live in the houses along the road; there's nothing official about it. Especially as the pavement is a bit patched-up by frequent works, it's nice to see these little splashes of colour. Bewdley's pretty good for local people doing this sort of thing. :)

Current Mood: sleepy

puddleshark

Took a walk along the underhill path, through the sunlight and the dappled shade. A narrow way, made narrower in summer by the grasses and nettles and the brambles. In the shade, near silence, but for the hum of insects, the flutter of songbirds.

( Read more... )

ndrosen

The current administration is disgracing itself by denying Afghan allies any chance at admission to the United States. If you are a foreigner, I cannot blame you for being infuriated at my country; if you are a decent American, you will not be able to read the article without shame. I have to wonder about the morally vacant people who have flocked to jobs serving our current president. Even if they have made themselves deaf to the claims of honor, justice, and benevolence, can’t they see that this kind of disgraceful inhospitality is contrary to an amoral assessment of America’s national interest? In any future conflict at all like Afghanistan, any informed person considering working with us will likely keep in mind what happened to the anti-Taliban Afghans.

Are Trumpublicans, who generally wrap themselves in the flag and loudly proclaim their patriotism, too stupid to see this? Do they figure that since the big boss is a xenophobe, it would be useless to try to appeal to him? Is their proclaimed American nationalism a complete lie, and are they all Putin’s bitches? Are they confident that the country will never again be in a situation where foreign friends are needed? Are their real values: “America second (if that), Me first?”

conuly

Moonpie's foot looks better, we didn't end up having to take her for an x-ray at all.

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

( Read more... )

cornerofmadness

Before I get into it, just wanted to say I made it back to Pittsburgh for the rest of the summer (in theory)

Challenge #1

Journaling Prompt: Light up your journal with activity this month. Talk about your goals for July or for the second half of 2025.
Creative Prompt: Shine a light on your own creativity. Create anything you want (an image, an icon, a story, a poem, or a craft) and share it with your community.. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

For July I have two open calls I want to write stories for. And I have two

wipbigbang stories I must finish and I do need to work on my

fandomtrumpshate story. In the meantime I'm working on some story that bit me yesterday. In fact on the 4 hour trip today five stories were trying to take dominance in my brain as I drove.

My other goals are to see some of the sites I've been trying to get to for years. It doesn't look good. Sigh. No one cares what my work goals are (including me if I'm honest)

I DO have something I'm proud of. Two somethings that I spent most of June working on. Both are from the Hazbin Hotel fandom (so mind the tags, this is the most violent musical animated comedy ever I swear)

Dandelions This is my

unconventionalcourtship story. I am very proud of how this one turned out and have gotten some nice comments about.

The Power Play series is something I created for the

getyourwordsout Yahtzee challenge. I am a little disappointed at how much this is flying under the radar. That said, I think it's a very good one that I enjoyed doing.

I'm going to break the book report into two days because I'm hot, tired and cranky. (and that story wants me to get back to it)

What I Just Finished Reading:

Dark Entry - a short suspense/horror novel I got last year, not bad but predictable

Verses for the Dead - a pendergast novel from Preston & Childe. enjoyed it but the ending was too hollywood

Chasing Evil - this is written by an FBI agent (ex) and his professional relationship with psychic John Edward (wish there had been chapters by John too)

What I am Currently Reading:

Kill You Twice - a pretty graphic (i don't mind) police procedural but it's a tad soap opera for me

I Need You To Read This - an arc of an advice columnist trying to solve the murder of the woman she's replacing. It has a neat cover, sleek red with the title as keyboard keys but they're tactile.

War Child - a Deep Space Nine Novel

Pantomine - an LGBT (intersexed main character) fantasy

What I Plan to Read Next: something for popsugar

Current Mood: hot
Current Music: Midsomer Murder

casey28

1-5
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loganberrybunny

Public

Victoria Road Cemetery, Cradley Heath, 2nd July 2025

152/365: Victoria Road Cemetery, Cradley Heath
Click for a larger, sharper image
I nipped up to Merry Hill this morning, and although it was a slow start weather-wise, things improved quite a bit later on. Today's photo is of Victoria Road Cemetery in Cradley Heath, not directly attached to a church but an overflow space for Christ Church in nearby Quarry Bank. Despite initial appearances, the location pictured here is in a very urban area -- you can just see the houses in Victoria Road itself beyond the trees to the right. The cemetery had newly mown grass, but it otherwise seems a little on the neglected side, with a lot of plants growing over graves as seen here. On the plus side, its relatively untouched nature makes it a little oasis for wildlife, although I didn't see anything interesting during my brief visit.

As for the Merry Hill part of the day earlier on, the main downside was that I managed to drip brown sauce (from a bacon butty) onto my white polo shirt. Go me. Fortunately Merry Hill is a biggish shopping centre, so an emergency Primark run sorted out the immediate issue. (Basic cotton T-shirt, quite a pleasant teal colour, £2.50.) Whether the brown sauce will come out of the polo shirt is a good question, but I have reasonable hopes. It fortunately wasn't an expensive shirt in the first place -- though not quite as cheap as the T-shirt I bought today! -- so I'm not going to expend vast amounts of effort on it. I can always keep it for doing gardening in or something if the stain doesn't disappear.

Current Mood: okay

conuly

Ugh

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( Read more... )

conuly

On the day the world ends
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,
By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.

On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,
A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,
The voice of a violin lasts in the air
And leads into a starry night.

And those who expected lightning and thunder
Are disappointed.
And those who expected signs and archangels’ trumps
Do not believe it is happening now.
As long as the sun and the moon are above,
As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,
As long as rosy infants are born
No one believes it is happening now.

Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet
Yet is not a prophet, for he’s much too busy,
Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:
There will be no other end of the world,
There will be no other end of the world.

Warsaw, 1944

***

Link

loganberrybunny

Public

I feel sorry for Rachel Reeves, which I know isn't a particularly fashionable opinion to hold at the moment. But she's clearly under immense stress and apparently her miserable appearance at PMQs today was due to a personal issue on top of that. Now, there is the uncomfortable truth that Chancellor of the Exchequer just isn't a normal job where the boss can authorise a week's compassionate leave without millions of people talking about it. While Reeves' personal privacy needs to be respected (that means you, Daily Mail) I think it is in the public interest to want to know whether she is currently able to cope with doing one of the most demanding jobs in the country, one which absolutely requires that you be on top of your brief each and every day.

Of course, there's a wider issue here, that the 24/7 news and social media spotlight means that politics is becoming an ever less appealing career path, with the obvious results in terms of quality of politicians and by extension quality of governance. But while without doubt we should be kinder and more compassionate, that's not going to cut it politically in the short term with Reeves specifically. The markets, who in the end in a capitalist setup are the ones with the power, simply won't stand for it. Kwasi Kwarteng, albeit in another context, found that out the hard way. I suspect Keir Starmer will now be even less popular with his backbenchers than he was already, though to be fair to him if he'd asked Reeves not to attend PMQs that would have set tongues wagging as well.

Who'd be a politician? To be brutally honest, are we really surprised so many of them are of poor quality when we make politics a career path that increasingly many very able people will run a mile from?

Current Mood: uncomfortable

spiralsheep

- To Read shelves 1 July 2025 count is 69 (down from 90 on 1 Jan), so hypothetically less than six months of reading.

- Reading: 74 books to 2 July 2025.

72. Fashionable 2025 numerical typo 3, the second from Inventing the Renaissance, which is a good ratio considering the quantity of words and dates in this doorstop, "Marcellus II (1501-5)", nope, but the idea of a Boss Baby Ghost Pope in 1555 is amusing.

00. My third DNF of 2025, on short story 4 of 14.

73. Thirsty Mermaids, by Kat Leyh, 2021, comics (adult), 4.5/5
In search of booze, a found-family pod of three merfolk take their fun and friendship to the human seaside, or rather shoreside, where they discover dreadful human inventions such as "capitalism" and "jobs". They also discover they can't just go back to being mermaids. This story is very much about the diverse friends they make along the way, lol. Warning: yes, Kat Leyh who helped create Lumberjanes but this is a grown-up comic.

- To Read [ALLCAPS in original typography]: y'all will be pleased to know I've acquired a 1959 girls' own comics annual with stories titled "The GAY ADVENTURERS and the Roman Curios" and "Friends of The GAY HIGHWAYMAN", and a 1960 annual featuring "Baffled by Those Two Boy Campers".

thewayne

Got home last night about 9pm from a cardiology appointment in Las Cruces (all is fine, annual EKG monitoring me). I pull in to the driveway, then into a path so I can turn around and back in to the carport. I back in so I won't have a problem pulling out if it snows, not that it may ever happen here again.

And when I pulled into the path, something scampered away - BUNNY!

At first I thought it was a cat or raccoon, as those are normal for the area. In my two decades up here, I can't recall having seen any BUNNIES up here, but sure enough it started hopping away! Thus applying my powers of deduction, I concluded it wasn't a kitty or raccoon.

I mentioned it to Russet, and she reported seeing one on the neighbor's property, perhaps we may have a warren in the area. I'm a little surprised as I'd think that coyotes and raccoons would make quick work of one and a population wouldn't be very viable up here on the mountain.

disneydream06

Don't get me started on Lisa Murkowski, Senator from Alaska.
She has said in the past that she's considering leaving the Republican Party,
but after getting benefits for Alaska written into the Big Bad Horrible Bill,
She voted in favor of the bill slashing Medicaid, SNAP, and multiple other programs meant to help those in need.

Politics 1.46

disneydream06

sabotabby

Just finished: Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Yeah, I think this is my Hugo best novel pick. It was really good, really timely, fucking gross, and gave me nightmares. It's very much a confluence all of Tchaikovsky's quirks—rather darkly funny narrator, alien minds, and the particular type of resolution he goes for. All of those things happen to work for me quite a bit. This one reminded me quite a bit of Jeff Vandermeer but less nihilistic and I liked the characters more.

Currently reading: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. This was the only novel on the Hugo list where I'd never heard of the author or the book. I'm loving it so far though. It's a murder mystery set in a city where only engineered seawalls stop the things from Attack on Titan from demolishing the place every wet season. A noble is murdered in a mansion (not his mansion) via a tree growing through his body. The person charged with investigating the murder is an old autistic woman who doesn't leave her house so she gets a young man to be her eyes and ears. The murder mystery structure makes it rather different from not just this batch of nominees but the other award lists in general, which is also intriguing.

moxie_man

ghostpuppet and

lovelydovely! I hope you both have a wonderful day!

disneydream06

Today it is my special pleasure to send out...

*~*~*~*~*GREAT BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES*~*~*~*~*

To my dear friend,

raindropsinmyeyes/

hauntedlittleme/

translucentfairywings...

I hope that you will find peace, and that you celebrate your special day as you deserve to. ♥

AA Happy Birthday 5

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Samantha Jo

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The Life & Times of a Time Weary Wombat

telling time by the setting sun

Reading

Weight Room

Phoenix’s Kiss (a poem)

Since I did nothing interesting

Bewdley in bloom

Underhill path

Abandoning Afghan Allies

Weather's cooled down a bit, that's nice

Sunshine 1

25 Fourth of July Icons

A fairly Merry (Hill) day

Bleeding

A Song on the End of the World by Czeslaw Milosz

Rachel Reeves

In which I read therefore I am

BUNNY WABBIT!

Political Rant.....

L.M.A.O......

Reading Wednesday

Two B-Day shout-outs this time to...

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