Happy March!
Mar. 1st, 2026 04:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stonepicnicking_okapiWishing everyone a good March! It's the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere.
stonepicnicking_okapiSermon for Lent 2
Mar. 1st, 2026 09:23 pmyrieithyddMay I speak in the name of the living God who is Source of All Being, Eternal Word and Holy Spirit.
I wonder what your reaction to the phrase “born again”?
Maybe you’ve been asked “have you been born again?” by Christians – possibly in the street but also at church.
In the last 50 or so years it has become a phrase associated with a particular type of experience of the Holy Spirit, often involving speaking in tongues, and sometimes it seems to be used to imply people who have not had that exact experience are lesser Christians, or maybe not Christians at all.
Tonight we are heard the passage from which this phrase comes. The NRSV (the translation we use for our readings) opts for “born from above” but other translations go for “born again” – the Greek allows both interpretations. And it is “born again” that has entered our discussions of faith.
Here we have a Pharisee, Nicodemus, seeking out Jesus, who may have been a fellow Pharisee although one who was perhaps going further or in a different direction from his fellows. Nicodemus recognises Jesus as a teacher who has come from God, because of the signs that he has been doing.
Looking back at the first two chapters of John’s Gospel, we have so far seen Jesus being recognised by John the Baptist when he was baptised; calling disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, Nathanael; then turning water to wine at the wedding at Cana; and at the Passover turning over the tables in the Temple, and maybe other signs – for John says “When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing.” Were there healings perhaps? Signs seems a bit broader than two actions.
Certainly enough to get Nicodemus’ attention. Who seeks him out, “at night”, when it was quieter and maybe less open to being observed by others. Some commentators read a spiritual significance into the “dark” but these make me uncomfortable both for anti-semitic implications (of the Jews being in spiritual darkness) and the way tropes of light and dark have fed white supremacy and the lie that people with darker skins are inferior to those who are fairer, a point made by the South Asian Bible commentary on this passage.
A friend of mine who is autistic has pondered whether Nicodemus might be autistic. In that reading, maybe seeking out Jesus by night was about being in a less sensory overwhelming environment – not in a large crowd and only the light of the moon – which was presumably still fairly full as we are at or just after Passover.
Nicodemus’ response to Jesus’ statement about being born again is a literal one – ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ which is not what Jesus was talking about. He is talking about spiritual birth. “no-one can enter the kingdom of heaven without being born of water and Spirit” – does the reference to water here point to baptism? Jesus was himself baptised by John at the start of his ministry and it is the way that we are incorporated into the church. There are strands within Christianity which would say no this isn’t about baptism, that is an empty ritual which doesn’t guarantee spiritual birth. But that’s not been my experience of baptism. I was baptised as a baby at 2 months old and have grown up within the family of faith and come to claim that faith for myself. Others I know have been baptised after a conversion experience. Our journeys are different – the wind/spirit blows where she wills – but we encounter the spirit and something happens. For some that may involve signs such as speaking in tongues, but they are not compulsory. Paul writes about this in his first letter to the church at Corinth. He values tongues, but points to a more excellent way, the way of love. And Jesus here shows the cost of love as he points to his being raised up like the serpent in the wilderness so that that the world, the cosmos, is not condemned but saved. Something I talked more about when I preached on this passage on Holy Cross Day in September.
The passage we heard from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome has a similar theme. It’s not what Abraham did that was important but his belief/trust in God.
I struggle at times with Paul’s theology, or maybe with Calvinist readings of Paul which have dominated a lot how we read Paul. As with the language around being born again, there are those who use Paul’s words about faith and works to condemn other expressions of Christianity. To say claim that we’ve got it right and those people over there have got it wrong. But Christianity shouldn’t be about oneupmanship! We aren’t born again to smugness. The spirit blows where she will.
It’s hard to talk about this without ending up implying I’ve got it right and those people over their claiming their right are the ones who are wrong. But I think it’s about humility. It’s not about us, but about what God has done. We can tell others about the way in which Jesus’ death and resurrection has taken the pain and wrongness that we inflicted on the world and broken that cycle of violence.
And yet, we still see the cycle of violence continuing in our world. War is still happening. Christians support Trump who yesterday caused the bombing of a girls school in Iran. And Christians have been involved in horrors such as slavery and boarding schools for indigenous people and mother and baby homes.
So this Lent, what do these passages say to us, in 2026, in uncertain times? How do we build community that includes? That lives in the light of cross and the breaking of the cycle of violence? That says to those who would divide us that God came to save the world, not just Christian? That seeks to understand rather than hate?
I wonder what your reaction to the phrase “born again”?
Maybe you’ve been asked “have you been born again?” by Christians – possibly in the street but also at church.
In the last 50 or so years it has become a phrase associated with a particular type of experience of the Holy Spirit, often involving speaking in tongues, and sometimes it seems to be used to imply people who have not had that exact experience are lesser Christians, or maybe not Christians at all.
Tonight we are heard the passage from which this phrase comes. The NRSV (the translation we use for our readings) opts for “born from above” but other translations go for “born again” – the Greek allows both interpretations. And it is “born again” that has entered our discussions of faith.
Here we have a Pharisee, Nicodemus, seeking out Jesus, who may have been a fellow Pharisee although one who was perhaps going further or in a different direction from his fellows. Nicodemus recognises Jesus as a teacher who has come from God, because of the signs that he has been doing.
Looking back at the first two chapters of John’s Gospel, we have so far seen Jesus being recognised by John the Baptist when he was baptised; calling disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, Nathanael; then turning water to wine at the wedding at Cana; and at the Passover turning over the tables in the Temple, and maybe other signs – for John says “When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing.” Were there healings perhaps? Signs seems a bit broader than two actions.
Certainly enough to get Nicodemus’ attention. Who seeks him out, “at night”, when it was quieter and maybe less open to being observed by others. Some commentators read a spiritual significance into the “dark” but these make me uncomfortable both for anti-semitic implications (of the Jews being in spiritual darkness) and the way tropes of light and dark have fed white supremacy and the lie that people with darker skins are inferior to those who are fairer, a point made by the South Asian Bible commentary on this passage.
A friend of mine who is autistic has pondered whether Nicodemus might be autistic. In that reading, maybe seeking out Jesus by night was about being in a less sensory overwhelming environment – not in a large crowd and only the light of the moon – which was presumably still fairly full as we are at or just after Passover.
Nicodemus’ response to Jesus’ statement about being born again is a literal one – ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ which is not what Jesus was talking about. He is talking about spiritual birth. “no-one can enter the kingdom of heaven without being born of water and Spirit” – does the reference to water here point to baptism? Jesus was himself baptised by John at the start of his ministry and it is the way that we are incorporated into the church. There are strands within Christianity which would say no this isn’t about baptism, that is an empty ritual which doesn’t guarantee spiritual birth. But that’s not been my experience of baptism. I was baptised as a baby at 2 months old and have grown up within the family of faith and come to claim that faith for myself. Others I know have been baptised after a conversion experience. Our journeys are different – the wind/spirit blows where she wills – but we encounter the spirit and something happens. For some that may involve signs such as speaking in tongues, but they are not compulsory. Paul writes about this in his first letter to the church at Corinth. He values tongues, but points to a more excellent way, the way of love. And Jesus here shows the cost of love as he points to his being raised up like the serpent in the wilderness so that that the world, the cosmos, is not condemned but saved. Something I talked more about when I preached on this passage on Holy Cross Day in September.
The passage we heard from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome has a similar theme. It’s not what Abraham did that was important but his belief/trust in God.
I struggle at times with Paul’s theology, or maybe with Calvinist readings of Paul which have dominated a lot how we read Paul. As with the language around being born again, there are those who use Paul’s words about faith and works to condemn other expressions of Christianity. To say claim that we’ve got it right and those people over there have got it wrong. But Christianity shouldn’t be about oneupmanship! We aren’t born again to smugness. The spirit blows where she will.
It’s hard to talk about this without ending up implying I’ve got it right and those people over their claiming their right are the ones who are wrong. But I think it’s about humility. It’s not about us, but about what God has done. We can tell others about the way in which Jesus’ death and resurrection has taken the pain and wrongness that we inflicted on the world and broken that cycle of violence.
And yet, we still see the cycle of violence continuing in our world. War is still happening. Christians support Trump who yesterday caused the bombing of a girls school in Iran. And Christians have been involved in horrors such as slavery and boarding schools for indigenous people and mother and baby homes.
So this Lent, what do these passages say to us, in 2026, in uncertain times? How do we build community that includes? That lives in the light of cross and the breaking of the cycle of violence? That says to those who would divide us that God came to save the world, not just Christian? That seeks to understand rather than hate?
Fannish Woe
Mar. 1st, 2026 02:21 pmastrogirlThe very definition of fannish woe: noticing a typo in one of your fics on AO3 and going it to fix it, only to have the archive go down just as you're hitting the "update" button and refuse to accept it. Woe!
Well, at least in this case it was the very minor typo I noticed and not the embarrassing brain fart mistake I'd just fixed a little while before. Still. SIGH.
Well, at least in this case it was the very minor typo I noticed and not the embarrassing brain fart mistake I'd just fixed a little while before. Still. SIGH.
Difficult Listening Hour 2026.03.01
Mar. 1st, 2026 01:01 pmdjwudiAnother practice session with another random selection of whatever happens to come to mind in the moment.
Mirrored from Eclecticism.
More frog
Mar. 2nd, 2026 07:45 ammerrileemakes in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
common_natureIn my last posts I described the start and progression of my tadpole adventures. Here's the next instalment.
As soon as the tadpoles started growing legs they changed rapidly. Within days the kinda dopey goldfish behaviour, like nibbling around the surface of the water, disappeared, they became very elusive and shy. Almost like as soon as they started thinking about being predators they realised they were also prey. It was a bit sad, because I really enjoyed watching them, but also necessary for them to become wild frogs. I was glad that I hadn't spoiled them for life on their own.
( Read more... )
As soon as the tadpoles started growing legs they changed rapidly. Within days the kinda dopey goldfish behaviour, like nibbling around the surface of the water, disappeared, they became very elusive and shy. Almost like as soon as they started thinking about being predators they realised they were also prey. It was a bit sad, because I really enjoyed watching them, but also necessary for them to become wild frogs. I was glad that I hadn't spoiled them for life on their own.
( Read more... )
to me, we are all bonita.
Mar. 1st, 2026 08:08 pmgoodbyebird+ I may be somewhat trying to cope with the Horrors by making a big purchase, but I done did it: I ordered those oracles and the workbook I was eying + a tarot deck that spoke to me very loudly and was limited in quantities. Hopefully it doesn't take too long before it arrives so I can dip in before it's back off to work. Tomorrow's big plan is tidying and washing my entire bedroom, laundring the curtains, and set up a nice altar space on the top of my dressing commode.
+ Finished Fallout s2 and I'm happy with how their storylines turned out.( spoilery comment ) There was a small cut scene at the end in case anybody missed that.
+ Steam NEXT Fest is happening, and as usual I've managed to try next to nothing. Two big recommends: Esoteric Ebb and All Will Rise. They're both text-heavy, your choices matter kind of games. I'm gonna try to get a game in of Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes, Wax Heads, Above The Snow, WOODROT, I'm Making A Monster, Dosa Divas, Bookbinding, Twilight Imperium, and the new Moomintroll entry before the time runs out (in that order). 100% I'm going to fail at that.
btw how I loathe having to keep my enthusiasm in check until I've had a scroll to look for AI usage.
+ Why all science fiction and fantasy writers are historians by Ada Palmer.
+ The SEA Is Whose?, Ethnic Entanglements in Southeast Asian SFF, an essay.
+ European bison arrive in the Iberian Highlands for the first time.
+ Botswana shows how smarter cattle herding can save lions, reopen ancient wildlife pathways.
+youtuberecs is a fun community I just became aware of!
+ Soda Blonde released a new song/video, Suit & Tie, and I dig em both. Weird women in suits on the moors. Mud. Pretty horsie. What's not to like.
+ Forbrukerrådet is a Norwegian consumer council that's focused on making sure customers are treated fairly and not scammed, etc. Big big fan. And they've just released an ad on enshittifaction that is top notch.
+ Finished Fallout s2 and I'm happy with how their storylines turned out.( spoilery comment ) There was a small cut scene at the end in case anybody missed that.
+ Steam NEXT Fest is happening, and as usual I've managed to try next to nothing. Two big recommends: Esoteric Ebb and All Will Rise. They're both text-heavy, your choices matter kind of games. I'm gonna try to get a game in of Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes, Wax Heads, Above The Snow, WOODROT, I'm Making A Monster, Dosa Divas, Bookbinding, Twilight Imperium, and the new Moomintroll entry before the time runs out (in that order). 100% I'm going to fail at that.
btw how I loathe having to keep my enthusiasm in check until I've had a scroll to look for AI usage.
+ Why all science fiction and fantasy writers are historians by Ada Palmer.
+ The SEA Is Whose?, Ethnic Entanglements in Southeast Asian SFF, an essay.
+ European bison arrive in the Iberian Highlands for the first time.
+ Botswana shows how smarter cattle herding can save lions, reopen ancient wildlife pathways.
+
youtuberecs is a fun community I just became aware of!+ Soda Blonde released a new song/video, Suit & Tie, and I dig em both. Weird women in suits on the moors. Mud. Pretty horsie. What's not to like.
+ Forbrukerrådet is a Norwegian consumer council that's focused on making sure customers are treated fairly and not scammed, etc. Big big fan. And they've just released an ad on enshittifaction that is top notch.
2594 / Fic - The Pitt
Mar. 1st, 2026 03:41 pmsiriaNot Up For Discussion
The Pitt | Parker, Gen | ~1500 words | Episode fic for 2.08. Thanks tosheafrotherdon for betaing.
(Will be posted on AO3 whenever it returns!)
( There was a fine line between 'shit show' and 'farce.' As far as Parker was concerned, the deposition crossed it about half an hour in. )
The Pitt | Parker, Gen | ~1500 words | Episode fic for 2.08. Thanks to
sheafrotherdon for betaing. (Will be posted on AO3 whenever it returns!)
( There was a fine line between 'shit show' and 'farce.' As far as Parker was concerned, the deposition crossed it about half an hour in. )
Everything I Read in February, 2026
Mar. 1st, 2026 08:07 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
bookfoolery_feed
February:
18. Star-Spangled Jesus by April Ajoy - April Ajoy grew up the daughter of an evangelical minister who traveled to spread the Word of God to other countries and by RV in the United States before settling into the Dallas area to lead a large church. Like myself, she was a pious little thing, raised to believe that any little sin could end up causing her to be cast into Hell and therefore trying her best to be perfect. But, in spite of the fact that she was mostly homeschooled or taught in private schools, she had questions. And, there weren't always good answers. On January 6 of 2021, she and her Christian husband (they are both still Christians) watched the Insurrection and recognized people they knew. That was when it dawned on her that she was a Christian Nationalist.
Star-Spangled Jesus describes growing up fully indoctrinated in the God-Guns-Patriotism of Christian Nationalism, what exactly Ajoy grew up believing, what changed her mind, and what it's like being a Christian who no longer is a nationalist. Of particular note are the facts that Christian Nationalists consider everything they don't believe "demonic" (something I've heard or seen a lot coming from certain personalities, lately), including voting for Democrats. I was lucky not to be so completely indoctrinated as to believe that everyone else was going to Hell but us Southern Baptists (although I knew people who thought that). But, as Ajoy described, I had a lot of irrational fears and it took me literal decades to deconstruct. The tone is slightly silly and sometimes she's a bit repetitive, but I think Star-Spangled Jesus is worth reading if you're curious about Christian Nationalism and what exactly is going through the heads of people who bizarrely say they're pro-life and then blow off solutions to things like gun control and abortion that don't put people in danger, who support the most braggarty sinner America has ever vomited up, and then go around referring to everyone they disagree with as a demon. A very interesting read.
19. Poetry: January/February, 2026 - I've never even seen this journal, as far as I know. Maybe I just ignored it in the past, but I was in Barnes & Noble after an errand and decided to give it a go. Like short story anthologies, a journal of poetry is always going to have some you like, some you don't. And, that was definitely the case but I found enough favorites that I latched onto a couple of authors whose books I plan to hunt down and one I'll be stalking till he gets a book published (Andy Chen). There were two featured poets who were introduced with nice bios, both of whom intrigued me. And, I closed the journal thinking, "Hmm. I might want to get a subscription."
20. A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich - I would not be surprised if my mother was a fan of Bess Streeter Aldrich when she was alive because she loved reading about Pioneers and was from Nebraska. Bess had Pioneer ancestors (or, maybe even close relatives) and the beginning of A Lantern in Her Hand is based on her own grandmother's story, she being an Irish peasant who married into the aristocracy, lost everything, came to the U.S., and then moved West. Abbie Mackenzie Deal, the main character whose ancestry mimics the author's, knows about her family history and has been promised one of the few treasures salvaged when the Mackenzie wealth was lost. Her greatest desire is to sing and to one day look as classy as the painting of her great-grandmother that she's heard described. But, when she falls for a farmer named Will Deal and they move west to the Nebraska territory, instead of becoming a great singer she ends up living in a sod house, raising children, and working the exhausting job of a Pioneer farmer's wife. As the years go by, Abbie experiences disaster and joy, success and loss. The story is bookended nicely by the story of her death, which begins and ends the novel. I particularly loved reading about the most challenging years in the sod home, before the family moved into a house. The only time I was briefly bored was when Abbie became elderly and started spending a lot of time reflecting on the past. But, I found A Lantern in Her Hand almost impossible to put down, so I gave it a 4.5/5 rating and I'm looking forward to reading more by the author.
21. Source: Poems by Mark Doty - Mark Doty was one of the poets recommended when I asked people on Threads to recommend accessible poets and I would say . . . most of the time, yes. There were moments I didn't follow but I think if you read his poetry aloud (or in your head like you're reading to an audience), doing so clarifies the natural rhythm. I had a few particular favorites but only wrote down two of them. "Essay: The Love of Old Houses" is one (the title reflects the content). The other is about a shop parrot who spends half his time hanging upside down, speaks to customers and has a sign on his cage warning that he bites. One of Doty's poems appears to be about men dealing with AIDS during the early years and is incredibly moving. His poems tend to be very long, pages long so that I didn't feel like there was anything I could photograph to share with friends. But, they don't feel so long when you're reading them to your audience (the cat) and really getting into it.
22. The Cay by Theodore Taylor - In The Cay, it's 1944. Phillip has lived on the island of Curaçao for 4 years and is now 11. His mother hates island life and wants to return to Virginia but Phillip loves his life and his friends. When U-boats start blowing up fuel ships in the area, Phillip's mother decides that she and Phillip must return home; his father must stay for work. Disaster strikes and Phillip ends up on a raft with Timothy, an older black man, their ride to Miami blown out of the water. Phillip was hit on the head during the disaster and has lost his sight, but Timothy is strong-willed. When they reach a small island, he refuses to let Phillip mope and puts him to work. Blind people can work, too, he says. With WWII raging and no rescue in sight, will Timothy and Phillip survive? An adventurous read that I've reread many times since my elementary school librarian read it aloud in class. Rereading it now, I can see why it's the kind of book that restores interest in reading, as it did for both my sons during their aversion to reading phases. I read an extra copy that I bought at the library sale for my grandkids. I can't part with my own.
23. Proverbs of Limbo: Poems by Robert Pinsky - My general feeling about the poetry in Proverbs of Limbo is "too much effort". Also, I frequently agreed with one Goodreads reviewer whose review was a mere three words: "What the f***?" In other words, Pinsky's writing is difficult and inscrutable, so it requires effort to unravel what he's trying to say. I like straightforward, accessible poetry. I don't want to read a maze. Having said that, I had a few favorite poems from this collection but I wanted to get the book over with so I didn't mark them and then I couldn't remember which poems I actually liked. Bottom line: I probably will not read Pinsky again, in spite of occasionally liking a poem.
24. Class Act by Jerry Craft - A companion book to New Kid, a Newbery-winning graphic novel that has been frequently banned, I happened across Class Act and decided it would be worth reading on. Drew has a nice circle of friends as he starts a new school year. Drew still feels a little self-conscious about the fact that he's a scholarship kid in his fancy school. When Drew and his friend Jordan are invited to friend Liam's house, which is extremely large and even has a heated swimming pool, Drew is thrown off-kilter. Additionally, there are reminders at school that he's Black all the time — people wanting to touch his hair, micro-aggressions. He knows he'll have to work harder to get by in life and the size of Liam's house feels like having that thrown in his face. Will he be able to continue being friends with Liam?
Basically, I think the best way to describe this book is "an everyday look at life in an exclusive private school with glimpses of racism and its effects." The scene I liked best is one in which two kids are getting a ride from one of the Black fathers when he's pulled over for a broken light. The father is utterly terrified. The scene screams, "What we know can happen to a person during a traffic stop, merely because of skin color." And, it's extremely effective. Overall, an enjoyable and meaningful read. I like the fearless portrayal of racism, the sweet friendships, the humorous background details, and the budding romance. Has Class Act been banned? Briefly, because some Katy, Texas parents complained that it had "CRT" content. It was eventually returned to the shelf.
25. The Android's Dream by John Scalzi - One of the better Scalzi titles I've read in recent years, The Android's Dream takes place in a future time when Earth has ambassadors from other planets and distant space travel is common. The story begins with trade negotiations in which someone from Earth at the table bears an old grudge against one of the Nidu ambassadors. An incident takes place and sets in motion the potential for regime change on Nidu. But, a Nidu coronation must involve a particular form of sheep. This sets off a hunt for the sheep, the result of which feels like a big, bad spoiler. A lot of hacking of computer systems, murder, attempted murder, escape, and a big furry thing called a Takk eating people leads to the final and very clever Human vs. Nidu negotiations and the ceremony. All of which is rather twisty and spoilery, so I guess I don't feel like I can say much about this book apart from: I liked it; I really really liked it. I have had this book on my shelf for a year or two but read it because of the challenge I mentioned in January. I didn't know who created it but I've found the source. It's the Massachusetts Center for the Book 2026 Reading Challenge. I spun the genre wheel at their site and got sci-fi for my February read. Lucky spin. I definitely recommend The Android's Dream. I keep telling myself I'm going to ditch any challenge that doesn't work for me but here I am, planning my March read.
26. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower - Emma will soon inherit her birthright, Lapis Lazuli House, a 4-story London townhouse previously owned by her deceased father and inhabited by Cousin Archibald, related only by marriage and not a fan of Emma due to past events. Emma has been acting as companion to elderly Mathilde and is waiting for her pay for 3 years' work while Archibald has relegated her to the garret and is refusing to pay her allowance. Completely without funds, she does her best to make the garret look cheery and livable but Cousin Archibald has been up to no good. When Emma finds out, she takes charge in the only way she knows how. I read The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion for book group discussion. The first handful of pages didn't grab me but were pleasant enough that I was pleased when the story really began to unfold and it even became a bit addictive. However, at just over 100 pages, the series is a bit too expensive so I'm having to listen to the second book via Hoopla. Have I ever told you what a terrible listener I am? Also, earbuds hurt my ears. So, I have to hold a phone or prop it nearby on a pillow to listen. Well. We'll see how that goes, but I did love the first book and I'll keep pinching myself so I don't fall asleep through the second.
27. On Drawing and Painting by Paul A. Landry - An older book (1977) on the basics of value, intensity, color mixing, perspective, supplies, etc., with walk-throughs of the steps made to create each of several paintings, On Drawing and Painting is for novices. While I've painted for years, I have mostly taken online follow-the-leader classes (where you copy the steps in a specific project) and lack some basic knowledge, so I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone already knowledgable about beginning art essentials. I personally liked the way Landry starts with very basic concepts and works his way up to showing how he creates a realistic painting. He describes oil painting, but the generalities of building a work of art still apply and he's given me some ideas for completing a pastel landscape. So, it was worth my time. On Drawing and Painting was a library sale purchase.
Well, goodness, not my best month but there were a few jewels. I loved The Android's Dream, especially the clever way Scalzi pulled everything together in the end. I got some good basic information from the drawing and painting book. And, I am totally hooked on The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (but I still can't stay awake reading audiobooks so I'll be looking for paper copies at the library). Star-Spangled Jesus hit close to home but also contained some interesting information and I was relieved to be reminded that I wasn't indoctrinated into some of the worst of Christianity, although my childhood indoctrination was bad enough.
A Lantern in Her Hand was excellent and I'm certain I will not forget the characters for a long time. Class Act was a good choice for Black History Month as it tackles racism head-on. And, I was pleased to find that The Cay still holds up well. This month's poetry choices all had some poems I loved but I discovered that Robert Pinsky is not for me. At least one of the poets who had more than one poem in the Poetry journal was so exciting that I feel like he should really hurry up and publish a book. And, I feel like it will be worth it to read more by Mark Doty.
So, overall, I'm pleased with what I read in spite of not reading a great quantity. Also, my year of poetry is going very well with 6 books and one poetry journal completed. For the Massachusetts Center for the Book Challenge, March's prompt is, "A book featuring an unlikely friendship." I had to look online for suggestions and found James by Percival Everett, which several friends have been encouraging me to read. I doubled up and made it the book choice for my WhatsApp book group, so hopefully it'll both work for the prompt and be a fun discussion book. We shall see.
Happy Reading and Happy St. Patrick's Day (a wee bit early)!
©2026 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.
oh it's march
Mar. 1st, 2026 03:01 pmasuraidi gotta write a monthly wrap-up for february but it feels like not much happened that month... even though stuff did. i gotta get caught up with the new color tcg games though i am ... sure not in the mood rn. at least it's lauma's birthday today, and sylvie's bday is this month as well. i hope i can finish a zhongvie drawing i've left in WIP hell for almost 2 years for it. not really bday flavoured but its a gift to myself for their bday LOL
Icons — Barbarous
Mar. 1st, 2026 11:58 amsheliakDidn't manage to post February's icons before the month was up, so here's some catch-up.
Mostly Percy, with some of Leeds and Cecelia and one Cameron.
1-5 were made foric_animated's Crayola round—can't resist the color yellow.
( 30 icons )
Mostly Percy, with some of Leeds and Cecelia and one Cameron.
1-5 were made for
ic_animated's Crayola round—can't resist the color yellow. ( 30 icons )
Image Hosting + SquidgeWorld
Mar. 1st, 2026 07:46 pmsquidgestatusFirst off, SquidgeWorld didn't fully come up this morning, but that's because we've been working on Squidge Images. Our new anti-bot software didn't start as it was supposed to, but that has been found and corrected. So SquidgeWorld is up and running now.
Squidge Image Hosting went through an upgrade this morning and everything is working - with a limitation. Image hosting is there, and works like normal under the new code. Video hosting works as well, but for this we are relying on external storage (a cloud storage option) and THAT external storage isn't working yet. So, for right now we are still just hosting images. As soon as our hosting provider can figure out what's going on with our online hosting bucket, we will enable video uploads as well.
But for now - YOU CANNOT UPLOAD VIDEOS. Only regular images like normal.
Squidge Image Hosting went through an upgrade this morning and everything is working - with a limitation. Image hosting is there, and works like normal under the new code. Video hosting works as well, but for this we are relying on external storage (a cloud storage option) and THAT external storage isn't working yet. So, for right now we are still just hosting images. As soon as our hosting provider can figure out what's going on with our online hosting bucket, we will enable video uploads as well.
But for now - YOU CANNOT UPLOAD VIDEOS. Only regular images like normal.
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
Mar. 1st, 2026 02:42 pmlightreadsWhat Moves the Dead
3/5. Historical fantasy horror novella about a nonbinary former soldier going to the literally moldering home of old friends, and getting caught up in a whole fungus horror situation. (This is the Fall of the House of Usher one, if unclear).
We all know I am somewhat dead inside, so perhaps it is not surprising that I found this only mildly creepy, after having been told it is absolutely terrifying. Take that as you will. I enjoyed this, but it’s not really my sort of thing and I feel no need to carry on with the series. I do wonder whose decision it was to use “they” on the jacket copy re our protagonist rather than the textual neopronoun used in the book. I say ‘hmm’ about that. The background to the whole pronoun situation, and the historical context in this fictional tiny European country, is kind of great, though.
Content notes: Fungus horror, dead bodies moving horror, body horror, animals being creepy.
3/5. Historical fantasy horror novella about a nonbinary former soldier going to the literally moldering home of old friends, and getting caught up in a whole fungus horror situation. (This is the Fall of the House of Usher one, if unclear).
We all know I am somewhat dead inside, so perhaps it is not surprising that I found this only mildly creepy, after having been told it is absolutely terrifying. Take that as you will. I enjoyed this, but it’s not really my sort of thing and I feel no need to carry on with the series. I do wonder whose decision it was to use “they” on the jacket copy re our protagonist rather than the textual neopronoun used in the book. I say ‘hmm’ about that. The background to the whole pronoun situation, and the historical context in this fictional tiny European country, is kind of great, though.
Content notes: Fungus horror, dead bodies moving horror, body horror, animals being creepy.
AO3 Reachability Issues
Mar. 1st, 2026 08:34 pmotwstatus_feedMar 1, 20:34 UTC
Update - AO3 is currently down. We do not have an estimated return time currently. We're looking into it with one of our third-party support providers and will update when we have more information. Thank you for your patience!
Mar 1, 19:37 UTC
Update - We are continuing to investigate reports of slowness and errors when trying to load AO3, including errors saying that AO3 is down.
Mar 1, 18:30 UTC
Update - We are continuing to investigate this issue.
Mar 1, 17:34 UTC
Investigating - We are currently investigating reports of slowness and errors when trying to load AO3.
fic recs: Father Jud/Benoit Blanc
Mar. 1st, 2026 11:09 amsnickficI went hunting for fic of these two a while back. Here are my two favorites.
Acts of Faith by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
quietly_obsessed, 4k. "I don't believe in God, but I do believe in you". Jud and Blanc fall in love during the year after Wicks' murder. A bittersweet but lovely fic in which they find some healing in each other.
fair with her firstborn on bethlehem down byhauntinghouses, 9k. Benoit Blanc comes back to Chimney Rock just in time for Christmas. In which Blanc sets out to seduce a priest and/or not have a miserable Christmas, and ends up talking a lot more theology than he wants (but no more than he ought to have reasonably expected). If you're like the religious debates in the movie were great but what if they had them while fucking, this is the fic for you.
Acts of Faith by
fair with her firstborn on bethlehem down by
Fiction and life whining
Mar. 1st, 2026 02:33 pmrivkatHi there--it's been a bit! The first day of school (which was also a snowstorm) involved me waking just before 7 to the sound of water pouring through my bathroom ceiling, followed shortly by electrical explosions and a fire that will have me out of my apartment for, apparently, at least a year. No one was hurt! That is very good. The rest, not so much. I've now moved all my clothes, shoes & jewelry to my office (which I might actually keep in place forever if I can manage the jewelry organization--turns out bookcases are also really good shoe racks, and they make pretty good clothes racks for cheap now). Anyway I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off; the apartment is now empty except for the stuff that was destroyed, which sadly includes two century-old curved glass windows. And I've acquired a place to nap in my office. I'm both grateful for the resources I have to get through this and still pretty overwhelmed given all the rest of the terrible stuff in the world.
Greer Stothers, Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die: ( fantasy about a cowardly knight and the wizard he seduces )
Aisling Rawle, The Compound: ( hell is reality tv )
Matt Dinniman, Operation Bounce House: ( the wargamers throw stones at frogs for sport but the frogs die in earnest )
Kimberly Belflower, John Proctor is the Villain:( great even as a script )
Aliya Whiteley, The Misheard World: ( an interrogation in a strange world )
Charles Stross, The Regicide Report: ( good night and good luck )
Alix E. Harrow, The Everlasting: ( fantasy about a knight and the man who loves her )
Constance Fay, ( two sf m/f romances )
Joanna Russ, The Female Man: ( the feminine shriek )
James S.A. Corey, The Faith of Beasts:( alien enslavers )
Adrian Tchaikovsky, Pretenders to the Throne of God: ( started as it meant to go on )
Kai Butler,( 2/3 of a fantasy trilogy about an assassin and his emperor-target-lover )
Kai Butler, The Inconvenient Count: ( space m/m regency )
Joe Hill, King Sorrow: ( playing in the King wheelhouse )
Greer Stothers, Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die: ( fantasy about a cowardly knight and the wizard he seduces )
Aisling Rawle, The Compound: ( hell is reality tv )
Matt Dinniman, Operation Bounce House: ( the wargamers throw stones at frogs for sport but the frogs die in earnest )
Kimberly Belflower, John Proctor is the Villain:( great even as a script )
Aliya Whiteley, The Misheard World: ( an interrogation in a strange world )
Charles Stross, The Regicide Report: ( good night and good luck )
Alix E. Harrow, The Everlasting: ( fantasy about a knight and the man who loves her )
Constance Fay, ( two sf m/f romances )
Joanna Russ, The Female Man: ( the feminine shriek )
James S.A. Corey, The Faith of Beasts:( alien enslavers )
Adrian Tchaikovsky, Pretenders to the Throne of God: ( started as it meant to go on )
Kai Butler,( 2/3 of a fantasy trilogy about an assassin and his emperor-target-lover )
Kai Butler, The Inconvenient Count: ( space m/m regency )
Joe Hill, King Sorrow: ( playing in the King wheelhouse )
March: Mirror Universe
Mar. 1st, 2026 06:56 pmtrope_mod in trope_of_the_monthWelcome to another new month!
The theme for March is Mirror Universe; i.e. an alternate version of canon where the good guys are villains and the bad guys are heroes.
Posting guidelines are here, and if you have any recs or prompts you'd like to share, you can leave them in the comments using the templates below:
For recs:
For prompts:
This theme will last until 31st March.
The theme for March is Mirror Universe; i.e. an alternate version of canon where the good guys are villains and the bad guys are heroes.
Posting guidelines are here, and if you have any recs or prompts you'd like to share, you can leave them in the comments using the templates below:
For recs:
For prompts:
This theme will last until 31st March.
February in music
Mar. 1st, 2026 09:48 amsnickficThemes of the month
1. Comfort music, by which I mean mostly the Gallaghers. This felt like a rough month, and I listened to my big Noel playlist a lot, as well as my 2025 and “most listened” playlists. About every six months I listen to the latter and discover it has a lot of great songs on it. Who could have guessed!
2. Also in the comfort music vein, a lot of Lord Huron, mostly the new album, which has earned the extremely rare distinction of skipping the seasonal playlist phase and going straight into my year-round rotation.
3. Wuthering Heights by Charli XCX. Neeeew album! Short, and with some filler of the kind you get in an album for a movie, but still a few new songs I was into. I appreciate how she used the melodramatic vibes of the movie as an excuse to go OTT.
4. Lana del Rey. Inspired by her new single, I went back and listened to Norman Fucking Rockwell again, which I haven't listened all the way through since 2020.
My top artists (by # of streams)
1. Oasis
2. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
3. Lord Huron
4. Liam Gallagher
...I told you. 🙈
Favorite songs:
1. White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter by Lana Del Rey. Weird Lana is back!! Some of this is kind of bad tbh and is definitely her operating in the vein of Taylor's "But Daddy I Love Him," ie pissed at her fans for having opinions about her love life, but also: it's so delightfully weird. I'm into it.
2. Dying For You by Charlie XCX, my favorite of the new tracks on her WH album. Again: really took the theme of OTT melodrama to heart. <3
1. Comfort music, by which I mean mostly the Gallaghers. This felt like a rough month, and I listened to my big Noel playlist a lot, as well as my 2025 and “most listened” playlists. About every six months I listen to the latter and discover it has a lot of great songs on it. Who could have guessed!
2. Also in the comfort music vein, a lot of Lord Huron, mostly the new album, which has earned the extremely rare distinction of skipping the seasonal playlist phase and going straight into my year-round rotation.
3. Wuthering Heights by Charli XCX. Neeeew album! Short, and with some filler of the kind you get in an album for a movie, but still a few new songs I was into. I appreciate how she used the melodramatic vibes of the movie as an excuse to go OTT.
4. Lana del Rey. Inspired by her new single, I went back and listened to Norman Fucking Rockwell again, which I haven't listened all the way through since 2020.
My top artists (by # of streams)
1. Oasis
2. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
3. Lord Huron
4. Liam Gallagher
...I told you. 🙈
Favorite songs:
1. White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter by Lana Del Rey. Weird Lana is back!! Some of this is kind of bad tbh and is definitely her operating in the vein of Taylor's "But Daddy I Love Him," ie pissed at her fans for having opinions about her love life, but also: it's so delightfully weird. I'm into it.
2. Dying For You by Charlie XCX, my favorite of the new tracks on her WH album. Again: really took the theme of OTT melodrama to heart. <3
REMINDER: Squidge Images GOING DOWN
Mar. 1st, 2026 03:08 pmsquidgestatusIn just under an hour from the time of this post (at 08:00 Sunday Morning Pacific Time) Squidge Images will go down for an upgrade.
No official ETA on when it will be back up, but hopefully this afternoon.
Need a reminder why? Read the original post.
No official ETA on when it will be back up, but hopefully this afternoon.
Need a reminder why? Read the original post.