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This is a prayer to Baba Yaga; this is a prayer of resistance.

This is a prayer for Baba Yaga. This is a prayer for Resistance.

This is a prayer for the magic of chicken feet, the heat of old hates, the way old bones hurt. This is a prayer for Resistance.

Current Mood: busy

fflo

These are the candidates I liked in this season's LearnedLeague Very Best Wrong Answer contest, with my 3 votes at the end.

A: A mini-resurgence of history-based plays on Broadway began in part with the 2007 debut of a drama by playwright Peter Morgan. The play was set in California in 1977, and starred Michael Sheen and Frank Langella as what title characters? (Note, name both characters.)

BERT, ERNIE

B: What is essentially the UK's equivalent to Japan's NHK, Italy's RAI, Ireland's RTÉ, and Germany's ZDF (and perhaps ARD)?

YE OLDE STOCK MARKET

C: What Netflix series, based on a 1989 novel and a 1990 British series of the same name, follows a manipulative congressman and his equally strategic wife as they scheme their way to the top of American politics? It was Netflix's first major original production and the first streaming show to win a major Emmy.

HOW I MET GEORGE SANTOS'S MOTHER

D: While Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen considered 1873's Kejser og Galilaer(Emperor and Galilean) his masterpiece, his international fame was secured by two social plays that followed, titled Et Dukkehjem(1879) and Gengangere (1881). The former is known in English as A Doll's House; give the common English translation of the latter.

WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NORDISH BREAKDOWN

E: In baseball, one of the statistics that measures a pitcher's performance, essentially how many baserunners a pitcher allows, is abbreviated WHIP. What do the letters in WHIP stand for?

WAIT HERE, I'M PITCHING

F: "Relief printing" involves carving away unwanted areas from a surface and inking what remains raised (like a rubber stamp). What Italian word refers to the opposite technique, in which the artist cuts into a plate, fills the grooves with ink, and wipes the surface clean before pressing paper onto it?

GROOVE IS IN THE ART

G: What chicken finger purveyor began in 1996 with a single location near the campus of Louisiana State University and, by the end of 2025, had grown to nearly 1,000 locations and more than $5 billion in annual sales?

BON TEMPS POULET

H: Geosmin, a compound produced by soil-dwelling bacteria, helps create the familiar smell that comes with the first rain after a dry spell. What sensory term, coined from Greek roots in 1964 by Australian researchers Isabel Joy Bear and Richard G. Thomas, refers to this scent?

ANSWER REDACTED - TRADEMARKED BY YANKEE CANDLE

I: A possibly apocryphal 1807 story by English journalist William Cobbett about using a pungent fish to divert hunting hounds is widely credited (and widely questioned) as the source for the name of what literary device?

HE WHO SMELT IT DEALT IT

J: What Swedish warship sank on her maiden voyage in Stockholm harbor in 1628, was eventually salvaged in 1961, and has been housed since 1990 in a museum on the city's island of Djurgården?

FJORD EXPLORER

K: In February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly declined a U.S. government offer of evacuation from Kyiv by saying, "The fight is here; I need [BLANK], not a [BLANK]." What two words fill in the blanks in this quote?

A PITCHER, BELLY-ITCHER

And my votes went to:

3: In February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly declined a U.S. government offer of evacuation from Kyiv by saying, "The fight is here; I need [BLANK], not a [BLANK]." What two words fill in the blanks in this quote?

JETS, JET2HOLIDAY

2: The Yang-Mills existence, Navier-Stokes existence, Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, and Hodge conjecture are all associated collectively with what prize?

FIFA MATHEMATICS PRIZE

1: While diamonds are not geologically rare (they're more common than emeralds and rubies), they became artificially scarce due in large part to the actions of what company, which controlled 80-90% of the rough diamond distribution from 1888 to the early 2000s, and essentially created the tradition of diamond wedding engagement rings in America in the 1930s and 1940s?

EVERY KISS BEGINS WITH KAPITALISM

mekachu04

chat log notes

( under cut )

goss

Via

gingicat:

If you were friends with Rubynye also known as minoanmiss, meravhoffman on Tumblr is collecting photos of her, and of her art and care packages that she sent out, to be part of the Virtual Memorial slide show:

https://www.tumblr.com/meravhoffman/812201183122014208/if-you-were-friends-with-rubynye-also-known-as

(Virtual Memorial takes place on April 12, at 1pm EDT (GMT -4) at a Zoom link TBD)

---

I have received so many lovely postcards from MM over the years, tucked into little corners around my house, and also little homemade Xmas tree ornaments. ♥

Will spend some time this weekend hunting them down, and taking a couple photos to send for the memorial slideshow.

I think it would be nice to include something to signify the destination, just to show how far and wide her kindness traveled. Maybe a flag or flower or something like that. ^__^

(My collection of links and announcements regarding MM can be found here.)

fflo

arimamary

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arimamary

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Current Mood: hungry

capri0mni

Prompted by the Introduction Meme, over at

findingfriends, I checked my profile page, and realized this story I linked to, as an example of my writing, was on another site, which has since become unreliable. Since I don't want to lose it, I'm posting it here, instead.

It was inspired by the Czech tale "The Twelve Iron Shoes," the Grimms tale "The Cast Iron Stove," and the Norwegian tale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon.'

Perhaps a Note of Interest: Because I composed this read aloud on stage, it's (mostly) in iambic pentameter, with the line breaks removed.

THE BAREFOOT QUEEN
By Ann Magill

In olden times, when wishing made things so, there lived a princess loved by rich and poor. So fair was she, in face, and heart, and mind, that all who knew her wished to bring her joy. She never raised a hand, or spoke a word, or took a step, except in sheer delight. And so she grew within the palace grounds, becoming even sweeter day by day, for kindness was the only thing she knew.

But childhood and time will never stay, and many nobles sought to call her "wife." The king, dissatisfied, dismissed them all. Each seemed too harsh or proud for her kind heart.

And then, one day, a prince arrived at court whose manner was so easy, warm and free that all agreed he was her very match. The wedding feast was held, and songs were sung, and tears were shed, when loved ones said "Good-bye."

The princess, for her part, was unafraid. The man beside her on the carriage seat was kind as any she had ever known. And though the land grew stranger with each mile, she only saw new wonders to behold.

( Read more... )

snowstorm

She finally seems to be feeling better after her leg injury. Yesterday was her last day of pain meds so fingers crossed she doesn't end up in too much pain again.

Then there's this guy, who's been so happy-go-lucky through this past month of craziness. Not even fazed—which is interesting because he came from the shelter as a somewhat sensitive and anxious cat.

snowstorm

This has given me a pleasant start to my weekend.

valoise

Earlier this month I realised that it was exactly 20 years since my first convention: Highlander Worldwide 7 in Leeds. It was also my first international trip. I found a welcoming community of friends there and many, many fond memories.

This also reminded me of the film crew that came to make a documentary of the event, directed by David Abramowitz. Driven by a desire to rewatch that (where I'm one of the fans interviewed) I looked through my dusty old collection of DVDs. It had been bonus material on something. A lot of detective work followed and I figured out that it had been part of the 2007 Highlander Best of the Best box set. A box set that I had long ago given to someone. Thanks to eBay I now finally found it and uploaded it to Youtube. After posting on Facebook (the only place I connect to some of my old HL friends) I got a thanks from David A. for posting it.

Watch on YouTube

dewline

Some things for consideration and concern.

There are people in the wider US intel communities with more time than sense. Warning delivered by Andrew Coyne via The Globe and Mail:

https://archive.is/20260327185628/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-maga-plan-canada-dismemberment-darc-trump/

And the DARC essay itself, entitled "Our Canadian Problem":

https://archive.is/irCkw

To the DARC author in question, Canada's continuing autonomy and desire to preserve same is "anti-Americanism". A lot of you who keep in touch with me here are Americans who know far better than "John Waterman" of DARC and their fellow-travellers, thankfully.

Yes, both countries are standing on lands under Indigenous nations' stewardship, and they too rightly have informed opinions of their own on such arguments...

Current Mood: determined

bookscorpion

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Current Location: kitchen, watching Mr Ook make Brötchen
Current Music: listening to Gab Smolders play Aurora Hills

sparowe

NEVER OUT OF REACH

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

I wonder about this man. Had he ever met Jesus before, in the days when they were both free? Did that meeting plant the seed of faith, which blossomed only while he was dying? Or was it just what he’d seen from Jesus while they were both hanging from a cross that impressed him?

Whatever it was, it worked. And it gives me hope for some people I care about in my own life—people who are broken, lost, and seem to have no interest in God. If Jesus could save the criminal hanging next to Him, then He can reach the people I’m concerned about, too. Nobody is out of His reach.

And nobody is out of His love. For Jesus is going out of His way to rescue anyone He can get His hands on, even as He Himself is dying. This man will be the first to walk into the kingdom of God with Jesus, going home to the Father—the first of the billions saved by Jesus through His death and resurrection. But he won’t be the last.

WE PRAY: Lord, I’m worried about _______. Please reach this person I care about with Your mercy and new life. Amen.

Lenten Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Current Mood: thoughtful

galadhir

After much fretting about whether I'd get to the hospital in time, I arrived at precisely the time of my appointment. Then over the course of about two hours had a mammogram, doctor's exam and ultrasound, and they decided that it was a sebaceous cyst - and was perfectly harmless unless it got infected. As it was already getting smaller, this didn't seem likely.

However, it seems that I was not as un-worried about the whole thing as I thought I was. Even before I got home, the deep, lancing fibro pains had started up, and by the time I got home it was the full works: jabbing pains everywhere, back locked up, feeling sick, dizziness, fatigue etc.

I can only assume that this was my body dealing with suddenly not being stressed any more. As a stress reaction, I do not like it.

DH is off at the Halesworth day of dance. Son has borrowed one of our cars because his new car is in the garage, so I do not have a car available. I had planned to cycle into town, do some weight lifting, toddle around the shops, maybe have lunch in a nice little place as a treat, but while I am fatigued, dizzy and in pain I don't know that that's going to be possible.

Basically everything is terrible. I'm going to the garden to eat worms. But I don't have cancer, so that's something :)

ysabetwordsmith

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

If you were given the ability to reform how your country’s leaders were chosen and how they serve, what would you change?

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Incredible Video Shows Sperm Whales Come Together to Birth a Calf

The beautiful moment when an entire group of sperm whales came together to support the birth of a calf has, for the first time, been recorded in unprecedented detail.

Over several hours on 8 July 2023, scientists recorded two sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) family groups coming together in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Dominica, taking turns to assist with the birth and help the newborn calf stay at the surface to take its first breaths.

Species survival depends on cooperation.

Current Mood: busy

twistedchick

This is a prayer for Baba Yaga. This is a prayer for Resistance.

This is a prayer for the magic of chicken feet, the heat of old hates, the way old bones hurt. This is a prayer for Resistance.

This is a prayer for hat knitters, sign-carriers, Congress-callers. Old women make up the Resistance.

This is a prayer for casserole-bakers, newsletter-writers, nuisances. Old women make up the Resistance.

This is a prayer for phone-bankers, neighborhood-canvassers, early-voters. Old women make up the Resistance.

When the Moon is full, I call to Her.

I bring coals for Her oven. I bring flour, to cover Her tracks. I bring paprika salve for Her old, sore joints.

I bring a list of complicit women. I bring a doll poked with pins and bound with vines. I bring a bottle of ancient anger.

“Come, Baba Yaga,” I say. “Come find me alone in the woods.”

She comes as she always comes: after a long, scary wait.

She comes as she always comes: riding a mortar, a mop handle, a big, black bird.

She comes as she always comes: hungry, grumpy, alone.

“Old One,” I cry, “We are deep in the darkness. We stand on the front lines, but we are afraid.”
Old One,” I say, “We are tired, our legs get shaky, our fingers are sore.”

“Old One,” I whisper, “It seems to us as if we have worked all our lives and only gone backwards.”

“Oh, shut up,” Baba Yaga says, grabbing all the cookies and putting them into her bag. “Give me those for my cat,” She demands, pointing to liver mousse, sausages, cheese.

She pulls down the skin below my eyes. “Not enough yogurt,” She decides.

“Oh,” She says, turning her chicken hut around and going way past the speed limit, “You’ll be fine. I saw it in some tea leaves. This all works out in the end.”

“Build you a fence made of bones,” She says. “Write this on your wrist: ‘By my mother’s blessing.’”

This is a prayer to Baba Yaga. This is a prayer for Resistance.

This is a prayer for women in sneakers. This is a prayer for Resistance.

This is a prayer for one more phone call. This is a prayer for Resistance.

-- by Hecate Demeter

* * *

She did not write one for Ostara, but I found this one, from near the same time of the year a few years ago, and I think it's suitable on the eve of NO KINGS.

capri0mni

Just shy of two weeks ago, I caught an episode of the YouTube Channel/Podcast "The Rest is Science: Cognitive Ghosts," about weird perceptional things like de ja vous, and the uncanny sensation that there's someone in the room with you. In the very last chapter of the video, They talk about the almost universal experience of people in the process of dying having dreams of loved ones who've died before them.

And they mentioned the hypothesis that it could be the brain's way of distracting the dying person from the physical pain of their body shutting down. Which is lovely to think that your last thoughts in life will be of love. But I also think, that as a uniquely, intensely cultural species, passing on our values and knowledge and life lessons is just as, if not more, important than passing on our genetic material. So our brains go into overdrive, with all the fervor of a salmon swimming upstream -- reminding us of all the most important knowledge we've learned (love each other, forgive each other), so we can pass pass that knowledge on to those who will live after us.

ysabetwordsmith

Our theme for this session was "World Cuisine." I wrote from 12 PM to 3:45 AM, so about 13 hours 45 minutes, allowing for lunch and supper breaks. I wrote 3 poem on Tuesday plus 3 later in the week.

Participation was up, with 7 comments on LiveJournal and another 40 on Dreamwidth. A total of 11 people sent prompts. There were no new prompters.

Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the March 3, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Confident Guesswork and Improvisation"
"Nuff Respect"
"Refusing to Melt"

"To Understand Water" (Polychrome Heroics, October 7, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl)

Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from March 3. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.

This month's donors include: [Bad username or unknown identity: janetmiles>, <user name=], and Anthony Barrette. All sponsored poems from this fishbowl have been posted. There are 0 tallies toward a bonus fishbowl.

The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

Current Mood: busy

Dreamwidth Community Promotion

Read "This is a prayer to Baba Yaga"

Best Wrong Answer time again

wild au chat logs

Signal boosting: Slideshow Request (for Minoanmiss Memorial)

Postcard of the Day

#002

# 001

An Original Wondertale I wrote, back in 2006.

She's feeling better.

I approve. 😍

Memories of my first convention

RWNJs With Political Power, Rabbit-Holes and Canada (CW: anti-Canada rhetoric)

Daily Life Mach 28th 2026

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries: 28 March 2026 (Lenten Devotional)

Results on the lump

Philosophical Questions: Government

Wildlife

This is a prayer to Baba Yaga; this is a prayer of resistance.

Watched a video, have had a ~Thought~ ever since

Poetry Fishbowl Report for March 3, 2026

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