(no subject)

Aug. 8th, 2025 10:21 am
seekingferret: Two warning signs one above the other. 1) Falling Rocks. 2) Falling Rocs. (Default)
[personal profile] seekingferret
Fantastic 4:First Steps

Jews do not dance in this movie. I have seen four Fantastic 4 movies and Ben Grimm does not dance in any of them.
radiantfracture: Beadwork bunny head (Default)
[personal profile] radiantfracture
Old Fairview: White Lake Observatory

Mile 12.1 (4.4) – Half a mile further along, the access to White Lake Observatory turns right. (White Lake itself is the alkali pond opposite the Twin Lakes turnoff.)

Because of their electrical systems, which interfere with the operation of the radio-telescope, cars are not allowed on the road to the radio telescope. The big dish itself towers above the other installations, listening eternally to signals from outer space. The maze of poles and overhead wiring back towards Oliver are another form of radio-telescope, which pick up very long radio waves. The observatory is well worth walking the three-tenths mile; what's happening is completely incomprehensible to the layman, but fascinating nonetheless.

(1975/77)

* * * * * *

This observatory still exists, under the rather grander name of the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. It is, so the government website tells me, "an internationally renowned facility for radio astronomy and leading-edge instrumentation." Until just now, I had no idea that it existed.

DRAO is still, naturally, a radio-quiet site, which must be more difficult these days than in 1975.

Dave Stewart, author of Okanagan Backroads, is quite right about its fascination. I am absolutely a lay person, and yet statements like this are weirdly thrilling: "The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) is Canada's largest radio telescope. ... CHIME has no moving parts, but the Earth's rotation allows the telescope to map all of Canada's visible sky every day. CHIME was designed to survey atomic hydrogen from the largest volume of the Universe to date." No real idea why that would be important to do (feel free to explain!), but I'm glad it's happening here.

They have a Perseids viewing party next week!

§rf§

Source: https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/nrc-facilities/dominion-radio-astrophysical-observatory-research-facility

(no subject)

Aug. 4th, 2025 08:33 pm
seekingferret: Two warning signs one above the other. 1) Falling Rocks. 2) Falling Rocs. (Default)
[personal profile] seekingferret
Oh, I wanted to ask if anyone here will be at Worldcon? Let me know if you want to meet up!

Books read in July

Aug. 3rd, 2025 10:57 am
valoise: (Default)
[personal profile] valoise
Consumed a lot this month: 3 books, an audiobook, a graphic novel and a big chunk of the Murderbot series.

White House Butlers: A History of White House Chief Ushers and Butlers by Howard Brinkley
An extremely abbreviated account. Okay, but if you really want an in depth history I'd recommend The President's Kitchen Cabinet by Adrian Miller

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
A very unique vampire story with 3 distinct narrators: a Blackfeet warrior and a Lutheran pastor from 1912 and a struggling academic in 2012. I'd heard great recommendations of Jones as an author, but this is the first thing by him that I've read. Now I'm curious about his other books.

Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze by Mellow Brown and DJ Ben Ha Meen
A graphic novel about a dystopian space future where Jimi Hendrix fights an evil corporation government with the power of his psychedelic music. Weak writing and art let this down. Do not recommend.

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett
Another Indira Varma-narrated Tiffany Aching audiobook. Fun, still enjoying these.

Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen: A Culinary View of Lincon's Life and Times by Rae Katherine Eighmey
Eighmey's approach to culinary history research is really good, using letters, newspapers, and other primary sources of the time and geographic area where Lincoln lived to get a sense what foods he would have encountered and eaten. She uses period cookbooks from that time & place and carefully reconstructs the recipes. I love this quote:
"The joy of studying history through cooking is that foods provide a complex sensory immersion into the past. This study, and the eating that follows it, is time travel at the dinner table. . . "

All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, and Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
Inspired by the tv show I'm plunging into a Murderbot reread. I think I'm enjoying them more this time around. I'll be at Worldcon in Seattle this month where I definitely plan on attending her panel on season 1 of the tv series.

New Vid: Head Over Feet (BtVS)

Jul. 31st, 2025 09:46 am
tafadhali: (Default)
[personal profile] tafadhali


AO3
| Tumblr

Title: Head Over Feet
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Co-Vidder: [personal profile] periru3
Music: "Head Over Feet" by Alanis Morissette
Length: 4:26
Summary: Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are
Notes: Part 5 of Jagged Little Slayer

I think if you ask P3, they'll say that thinking this would be a very cute Willow/Oz song was a big part of the inception of this vid album idea. And they were right! It's adorable! I hope the vid can capture a bit of the specialness of their first love, even if it isn't a forever love.

20 Recs from June & July

Jul. 31st, 2025 08:02 am
tafadhali: ([music] artsy)
[personal profile] tafadhali
I forgot to post a rec set at the end of June (I was in England!) and so here is a double batch for the last couple months.

First, my typical batch of 9-1-1 recs. Basically all of these are post-S8 (though usually with Bobby alive), with Buck realizing he's in love and the boys acting in more or less unhinged ways about that:

 crawling back to you by oceanofchaos (9-1-1, Buck/Eddie, 13k): "Post season 8, Buck confesses his feelings, Eddie lets him down as gently as he can, and they both try to figure out how to be just friends."

 dissolution, reconnection by comwithmeforarest (9-1-1, Buck/Eddie, 5k): "Buck stops talking to Eddie after he moves out." This gives good Eddie.

I'll wait for your love by allyasavedtheday (9-1-1, Buck/Eddie, 20k): "Post 8x18. Eddie comes home. Buck realises he's in love. But he'll get over it, it's not a big deal."

 in search of glorious happenings by saintsnames (9-1-1, Buck/Eddie, 17k): Living in El Paso, Eddie enjoys getting glimpses into Buck's day-to-day through his Google history where he's logged in on Eddie's iPad (until he learns some things Buck might not have wanted him to). 

people will say we're in love by meriwethersays (9-1-1, Buck/Eddie, 19k): Another "one-sided" roommates era fic but a much, much more deranged dynamic lol. Eddie is in DENIAL. Not sure how plausible I find the behavior but it is hot.  


Some non-9-1-1 fic:

 From the Dust by katiemariie (DS9, Garak/Bashir, 9k): An atmospheric post-finale fic where Julian is sent on a mission to Cardassia and encounters an old friend.

 moderation by astardanced (Goblin Emperor, Maia/Csethiro, 13k): Csethiro helps her husband get the better of a courtier who has been trash talking him and it is DELIGHTFUL. What a great Maia/Csethiro dynamic.

 hyperspectral by chinxe (Interview with the Vampire, Louis/Lestat, 9k): After their encounter in a Louisiana hurricane, Louis and Lestat start texting. Funny and well-characterized.

 Distributed System by givemebaretrees (Murderbot, Gurathin/Murderbot, 5k): I have literally never read a non-gen Murderbot fic before, but this is a really interesting take on fuck-or-die with two sex-repulsed asexual characters. My absolute favorite thing about the new adaptation is Dastmalchian's performance as Gurathin and his dynamic with Murderbot, so I really enjoy this exploration of that relationship.

Echoes by sholio (Murderbot, Gurathin & Murderbot, 2k): "Afterwards, Gurathin barely remembered getting back to the team's hotel suite on the opposite side of the station. (Canon compliant 1x10 missing scene.)" Lovely complement to the finale.

 Red Light, Green Light by avocadomoon (The Pitt, Mel/Langdon, 68k): I still don't really ship these two, but I love avocadomoon's writing and characterization of Mel (my girl!!!) and this fic is so full of relationship chicken and kink negotiation and humor and hotness.

Q&A by Siria (Superman 2025, Lois/Clark, 2k): An excellent continuation of the interview scene from the movie. It gets what makes both characters tick (which was also the pleasure of that scene in the movie) and captures their spark without sanding down any of Lois' edges.

I should know (what turns you on) by Dancey96 (Ted Lasso, Keeley/Roy/Jamie, 20k): "5 times they pair off thinking about the third, +1 time it’s finally all three of them together."


And, finally, a batch of fanvids, many from VidUKon:

 🎥 Blue Song by evewithanapple (The Blue Caftan, multi): I know absolutely nothing about this queer Moroccan drama, but this vid is so lovely and just made me an emotional wreck when I watched it at VidUKon. Appreciate the introduction to a gem of international queer cinema!

 🎥 Bohemian Like You by kuwdora (Murderbot, ensemble): A fun, sweet look at the PresAux team. I particularly enjoyed the nod to the classic SGA vid! Can't wait to see more Murderbot vids from kuwdora.

 🎥 Dos Oruguitas by periru3 (Robot Dreams, Robot &/ Dog): SO glad I made P3 watch this movie after it made me absolutely ugly sob on an airplane, so that I can have this stunning vid to watch and ugly cry whenever I want.

 🎥 Man at the Garden by ultraviolet_catastrophe (Severance, Seth Milchick): An absolutely killer vid. It captures all the complexities of this character, with a perfect song choice. Exactly what I needed after this season. 

 🎥 Violet Hill by JayneL (Star Trek, borg characters): A super cool look at the Borg over several Star Trek series! I love how hard it leans into the sci fi horror of it all.

 🎥 Flaws by bessyboo & throughthelabrynth (Ted Lasso, Roy/Jamie): I somehow missed this when it came out last year and I'm so glad I've seen it now. This song is PERFECT for this pairing. "All of your flaws and all of my flaws, they lie there hand in hand."

❖ 🎥 Pearls: Dance Party on the Moon by garrideb (Multifandom): I'll end with one last VidUKon rec. This multifandom vid is an absolute bop, and I'm so impressed by the number of moon related sources the vidder was able to track down and work into this!

Fic: i only felt the heat (Galileo)

Jul. 30th, 2025 08:33 am
actiaslunaris: Galileo - Yukawa Manabu browsing on a computer (Default)
[personal profile] actiaslunaris
i only felt the heat (10732 words)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Utsumi Kaoru/Yukawa Manabu
Characters: Yukawa Manabu, Utsumi Kaoru
Additional Tags: First Time, Timestamp, Pre-OT3, Explicit Consent, Non-Explicit Sex
Series: Part 4 of catch a fire (like lovers do)

Summary:

He thinks of her sitting beside him, listening to him read -- remembers the tension in her hands -- her waiting and waiting and waiting. Now reluctant to take when the time for waiting to end has come.

A missing scene from the last chapter of "'til they sparked".



Commentary/Notes. )
Story. )

Artwork I've done recently.

Jul. 30th, 2025 08:23 am
actiaslunaris: Galileo - Yukawa Manabu browsing on a computer (Default)
[personal profile] actiaslunaris
Save us, Utsumi (Yukawa, Kusanagi, and Utsumi):

[Bluesky] [Tumblr]

Screencap redraw (Yukawa Manabu from a scene in Chinmoku no Parade):

[Bluesky] [Tumblr]

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