NGC 1275 in the Perseus Cluster
Feb. 6th, 2026 06:18 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
astronomypicofday_feed
NGC 1275 in the Perseus Cluster
astronomypicofday_feedif we want to learn, we have to be willing to be wrong
Feb. 5th, 2026 10:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starandreaYesterday I learned the company's DEI group is reading When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill (amazon link). I thought: not real dragons, surely, but I clicked through to find out. There were dragons on the cover so I read the sample and determined that there are in fact dragons in the book.
I was able to borrow the book from our local library at lunch, and I finished reading it this evening. Not only are there dragons, but there's a world very much like ours that's dealing with the dragons. The story ends well and I enjoyed it.
This was the page I bookmarked, when the librarian learns the narrator has a banned book about dragons:
"You should definitely keep this [book]. They're quite rare. Chock-full of absolutely incorrect information too, as it turns out. [The author] will be the first one to say so. The beautiful thing about science is that we do not know what we cannot know and we will not know until we know. It requires an incredible amount of humility to be willing to be wrong nearly all the time. But we have to be willing to be wrong, and proven wrong, in order to increase knowledge overall. It is a thankless, and essential, job. Thank goodness."
I also appreciated this comment in Kelly Barnhill's acknowledgments:
"The work of storytelling requires a person to remain in a state of brutal vulnerability and punishing empathy. We feel everything. It tears us apart. We could not do this work without people in our lives to love us unceasingly, and to put us back together."
I was able to borrow the book from our local library at lunch, and I finished reading it this evening. Not only are there dragons, but there's a world very much like ours that's dealing with the dragons. The story ends well and I enjoyed it.
This was the page I bookmarked, when the librarian learns the narrator has a banned book about dragons:
"You should definitely keep this [book]. They're quite rare. Chock-full of absolutely incorrect information too, as it turns out. [The author] will be the first one to say so. The beautiful thing about science is that we do not know what we cannot know and we will not know until we know. It requires an incredible amount of humility to be willing to be wrong nearly all the time. But we have to be willing to be wrong, and proven wrong, in order to increase knowledge overall. It is a thankless, and essential, job. Thank goodness."
I also appreciated this comment in Kelly Barnhill's acknowledgments:
"The work of storytelling requires a person to remain in a state of brutal vulnerability and punishing empathy. We feel everything. It tears us apart. We could not do this work without people in our lives to love us unceasingly, and to put us back together."
pretty sure I listen to podcasts more when I feel unwell
Feb. 5th, 2026 07:48 pmshadarasOn Sunday I was like "I am dragging myself to aikido out of obligation and habit" and my friend C was like "yeah you look beat". Aikido was good, though, two of K-sensei's students who mostly only show up to her Tues/Thurs morning classes were at weapons class, and showed up early to learn some more basic weapon stuff, which meant that when I showed up my typical ~15min early I got pulled into immediately demonstrating an exercise and then practicing in with the others.
Also went "yeah, the absolute hardest thing to do when practicing ma'ai with weapons is for uke to not flinch" to one of those students, prompting sensei to pause class so that she could more formally talk about how difficult yet important a practice this is. Because, well, the natural instinct when someone is stabbing at you with a weapon is to move out of the way. This is an excellent survival instinct! However! That is not the practice when nage is supposed to be learning how to enter in such that they can properly stab through uke.
On Monday I woke up and was like "I feel like shit!" and have proceeded to spend the entire week thus far dragging myself to work because Capitalism while keeping myself vaguely person-shaped via cold medicine. This has worked out alright mostly because for the majority of this week I haven't had to do anything particularly cognitively difficult at work. (Tasks included: "Put up linears on this floor", which was interrupted by "Be firewatch for the person doing welding", before I was allowed to return to that first task, and then told to do various other things that meant putting up one set of linears that should've taken a few hours took like three days.)
I also went to bed at like 8:30pm last night (due to being at work from 6:30am-2:30pm and class from 5pm-7:45pm... not counting commute time for either, of course...) and woke up this morning like "wow I feel like a person!" until I got up and was like "oh we have CHANGED kinds of feeling ugh, not removed it, rip".
Things I have spent time doing:
- Catching up on the Great Gundam Project (podcast), by which I mean I have now caught up to like last autumn/the end of the Dragonball Z season (which is about the Gundam adaptation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is apparently surprisingly good, but they spent more time talking about DBZ, their backup/non-Gundam show) (considering that this is a podcast I listen to in large part for going "please let me gain knowledge of anime people talk about but which I am only occasionally interested in watching", learning more about DBZ is genuinely a delight.) There is still so much more GGP to catch up on. xD This is a great podcast for listening to during work so long as I'm working alone, because I think it's generally entertaining and also I don't care if I miss a bit due to NOISE or BRIEF CONVERSATION, since I'm not invested in the details of the anime. (I am invested in The Episode Number Pokemon Name Game, though. I do not care about Pokemon. I do not know Pokemon. I think making the host who did not grow up playing Pokemon guess what Pokemon the episode number belongs to is a very funny game because I also do not know Pokemon and so listening to someone go "uh it looks like this, maybe it's called [something related to what it looks like]?" is very fun.)
- Watching FatT's Outward letsplay (which is technically a patreon bonus for their side podcast about videogams xD), by which I mean putting it on as background noise and looking over at the video every time Jack and Austin start going "oh no" or "what's THAT". The idle noise of people playing a videogame I don't have specific investment in but do enjoy seeing progression for is such a particular form of entertainment that usually I only like as background for doing chores, but hey if I'm feeling meh it works well more broadly.
- Thinking about, but not writing, story xD Like. How does one make it impossible to know what happened to someone who got kidnapped when "you can magically communicate short messages to known people over distance and get a response" is a given? The answer is magic warding, which is Deeply Concerning when other states that get No Connection (rather than No Response) would be, like. Unconsciousness/death. (Sleep probably feels different.) (This isn't even going to come up until I get through another few things!)
- I have also been keeping up with FatT: Perpetua, FatT: Realis, and CR: Araman and am enjoying them all. xD No deep thoughts, they're all fun but in very different ways/genres.
Also went "yeah, the absolute hardest thing to do when practicing ma'ai with weapons is for uke to not flinch" to one of those students, prompting sensei to pause class so that she could more formally talk about how difficult yet important a practice this is. Because, well, the natural instinct when someone is stabbing at you with a weapon is to move out of the way. This is an excellent survival instinct! However! That is not the practice when nage is supposed to be learning how to enter in such that they can properly stab through uke.
On Monday I woke up and was like "I feel like shit!" and have proceeded to spend the entire week thus far dragging myself to work because Capitalism while keeping myself vaguely person-shaped via cold medicine. This has worked out alright mostly because for the majority of this week I haven't had to do anything particularly cognitively difficult at work. (Tasks included: "Put up linears on this floor", which was interrupted by "Be firewatch for the person doing welding", before I was allowed to return to that first task, and then told to do various other things that meant putting up one set of linears that should've taken a few hours took like three days.)
I also went to bed at like 8:30pm last night (due to being at work from 6:30am-2:30pm and class from 5pm-7:45pm... not counting commute time for either, of course...) and woke up this morning like "wow I feel like a person!" until I got up and was like "oh we have CHANGED kinds of feeling ugh, not removed it, rip".
Things I have spent time doing:
- Catching up on the Great Gundam Project (podcast), by which I mean I have now caught up to like last autumn/the end of the Dragonball Z season (which is about the Gundam adaptation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is apparently surprisingly good, but they spent more time talking about DBZ, their backup/non-Gundam show) (considering that this is a podcast I listen to in large part for going "please let me gain knowledge of anime people talk about but which I am only occasionally interested in watching", learning more about DBZ is genuinely a delight.) There is still so much more GGP to catch up on. xD This is a great podcast for listening to during work so long as I'm working alone, because I think it's generally entertaining and also I don't care if I miss a bit due to NOISE or BRIEF CONVERSATION, since I'm not invested in the details of the anime. (I am invested in The Episode Number Pokemon Name Game, though. I do not care about Pokemon. I do not know Pokemon. I think making the host who did not grow up playing Pokemon guess what Pokemon the episode number belongs to is a very funny game because I also do not know Pokemon and so listening to someone go "uh it looks like this, maybe it's called [something related to what it looks like]?" is very fun.)
- Watching FatT's Outward letsplay (which is technically a patreon bonus for their side podcast about videogams xD), by which I mean putting it on as background noise and looking over at the video every time Jack and Austin start going "oh no" or "what's THAT". The idle noise of people playing a videogame I don't have specific investment in but do enjoy seeing progression for is such a particular form of entertainment that usually I only like as background for doing chores, but hey if I'm feeling meh it works well more broadly.
- Thinking about, but not writing, story xD Like. How does one make it impossible to know what happened to someone who got kidnapped when "you can magically communicate short messages to known people over distance and get a response" is a given? The answer is magic warding, which is Deeply Concerning when other states that get No Connection (rather than No Response) would be, like. Unconsciousness/death. (Sleep probably feels different.) (This isn't even going to come up until I get through another few things!)
- I have also been keeping up with FatT: Perpetua, FatT: Realis, and CR: Araman and am enjoying them all. xD No deep thoughts, they're all fun but in very different ways/genres.
Daily Check-In
Feb. 5th, 2026 07:42 pmmecurtin posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fandom_checkinThis is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Thursday, February 5, to midnight on Friday, February 6 (8pm Eastern Time).
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
Poll #34187 Daily check-in poll
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 18
How are you doing?
I am OK
10 (58.8%)
I am not OK, but don't need help right now
7 (41.2%)
I could use some help
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans live with you?
I am living single
7 (38.9%)
One other person
6 (33.3%)
More than one other person
5 (27.8%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
[ SECRET POST #6971 ]
Feb. 5th, 2026 07:32 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #6971 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 06 secrets from Secret Submission Post #995.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
for anyone wondering: CROWNWORLD publication (book) canceled
Feb. 5th, 2026 05:03 pmyhleeWanted y’all to hear it from me: CROWNWORLD (book 3 of the Moonstorm trilogy) is canceled. I will not be completing the book (the trilogy). I’m very sorry to readers who were hoping for the conclusion.
This was a mutually agreed, amicable decision between the primary/US publisher (Delacorte), the UK publisher (Rebellion Publishing - Solaris Books), and myself.
Between sales and publishing realities (MOONSTORM sold poorly and its prospects are unlikely to improve for political reasons you can guess), this was a rare situation where this benefits both publishers and myself. I could not announce the cancellation earlier for legal/contract reasons, and can't "simply" release the partial draft of CROWNWORLD for same.
I didn’t plan on MOONSTORM being a market failure. But novel-writing is a career with baked-in instability and career risk. I knew that going in.
Abbreviated version of what happened on my end:
I have 66,000 words of a near-finished draft that I don’t plan on resuming. The breaking point was when I had a concussion in March 2025.
You might ask why I don’t “just” yeet the last 10,000 words to have a book for release to readers even if the print publishers are no longer interested in publishing it. After illness and family crises, I’m exhausted. More than one person close to me nearly died; I set writing aside for months to do caretaking. I have peripheral neuropathy (among other things); my hands and feet might recover, or they might get worse and curtail my ability to do the things that bring me joy.
Both my publishers extended incredible grace and kindness to me during this period. This is not on them. The trilogy existence failure is on me.
I’m moving on. I’ve spent the past several years writing ~three books every two years (or 1.5 books per year - releases won't line up because of production/publishing variables). This probably sounds slow/leisurely but was not sustainable with my health as unstable as it is. There would have been a breaking point down the line even if it hadn’t happened with this specific book. I'm going to spend some time on endeavors just for the joy of it.
I hope y’all have many books you’re looking forward to reading, by other writers.
Note: I’m not in financial distress at present. Please don’t worry on that account.
Best,
YHL
This was a mutually agreed, amicable decision between the primary/US publisher (Delacorte), the UK publisher (Rebellion Publishing - Solaris Books), and myself.
Between sales and publishing realities (MOONSTORM sold poorly and its prospects are unlikely to improve for political reasons you can guess), this was a rare situation where this benefits both publishers and myself. I could not announce the cancellation earlier for legal/contract reasons, and can't "simply" release the partial draft of CROWNWORLD for same.
I didn’t plan on MOONSTORM being a market failure. But novel-writing is a career with baked-in instability and career risk. I knew that going in.
Abbreviated version of what happened on my end:
I have 66,000 words of a near-finished draft that I don’t plan on resuming. The breaking point was when I had a concussion in March 2025.
You might ask why I don’t “just” yeet the last 10,000 words to have a book for release to readers even if the print publishers are no longer interested in publishing it. After illness and family crises, I’m exhausted. More than one person close to me nearly died; I set writing aside for months to do caretaking. I have peripheral neuropathy (among other things); my hands and feet might recover, or they might get worse and curtail my ability to do the things that bring me joy.
Both my publishers extended incredible grace and kindness to me during this period. This is not on them. The trilogy existence failure is on me.
I’m moving on. I’ve spent the past several years writing ~three books every two years (or 1.5 books per year - releases won't line up because of production/publishing variables). This probably sounds slow/leisurely but was not sustainable with my health as unstable as it is. There would have been a breaking point down the line even if it hadn’t happened with this specific book. I'm going to spend some time on endeavors just for the joy of it.
I hope y’all have many books you’re looking forward to reading, by other writers.
Note: I’m not in financial distress at present. Please don’t worry on that account.
Best,
YHL
CON Check – DORK TOWER 02.04.26
Feb. 4th, 2026 06:00 amdorktower_feed
Most DORK TOWER strips are now available as signed, high-quality prints, from just $25! CLICK HERE to find out more!
HEY! Want to help keep DORK TOWER going? Then consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! (We have COOKIES!) (And SWAG!) (And GRATITUDE!)
January 2026 Newsletter, Volume 207
Feb. 5th, 2026 06:27 pmotw_news_feedI. AO3 STATISTICS ROUND-UP
2025 was a busy year for AO3! The site continued to see rising traffic, with Communications publishing an update on AO3 statistics from 2020-2025. In December, Support received 3,589 tickets, totalling to over 40,000 tickets received in 2025, an all-time high. Meanwhile, Policy & Abuse (PAC) received 6,357 tickets in December, totalling approximately 47,500 tickets in 2025. Check out PAC’s pie chart for more details.
In the first half of January, User Response Translation translated or betaed 32 ticket requests from Support and PAC.
Open Doors finished importing three archives in December: Absolution – The Inugrrrl Memorial Archive about the manga InuYasha, InDeath.net Fan Fiction about the In Death book series by J.D. Robb, and The Pinky and the Brain Page about the cartoon Pinky and the Brain. In total, Open Doors completed the imports of nine archives in 2025! They also announced the import of the Randall Morgan Memorial Archive, a Queer as Folk (US) fanfiction archive by the creator Randall Morgan.
In December, Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 598,000 tags, or around 1,300 tags per volunteer. In total, they wrangled approximately 4,944,000 tags in 2025. They also continued work on handling “No Fandom” additional tags, publishing December and January news posts detailing recent changes. In total, Tag Wrangling published nine “No Fandom”-related news posts in 2025 covering around 399 new canonical “No Fandom” additional tags.
II. ELSEWHERE AT AO3
Accessibility, Design & Technology coordinated improvements to bookmark searches in the latter half of January, including the ability to filter bookmarks by word count. They also continue their work on performance improvements, bug fixes, and working with PAC and AO3’s spam detection service to address spam comments. In conjunction with Communications, they posted a December 2025 update on how to recognize and report AO3 spambots.
In January, Tag Wrangling updated their Fandom Tag Metatag guidelines, including clarifying when a fandom metatag should be made and when to merge closely related fandoms into one fandom tag. Check out the news post detailing the new policy.
As part of International Volunteers Day (IVD) 2025, Communications collected and batched answers to the IVD Q&A by committee, resulting in five committee-specific news posts highlighting Communications, Support, Tag Wrangling, Translation, and Volunteers & Recruiting. Answers across committees, along with additional responses not featured in the news posts, have been compiled in a separate AO3 work.
III. ELSEWHERE AT THE OTW
Fanlore ran an editing chat to close out 2025, and it was a lot of fun! They also began preparing for their annual IFD Fanlore Challenge and Femslash February event! Keep an eye on their Bluesky, Twitter/X, and Tumblr for announcements.
Legal answered many internal and external questions this month.
TWC is readying the publication of the two 2026 special issues: “Disability and Fandom” and “Gaming Fandom”. They also continue work on the two 2027 special issues: “Music Fandom” and “Latin American Fandoms”, and there continues to be a rolling deadline for submitting to TWC’s next general issue.
In January, Communications’ Fanhackers wrote about the Transformative Approaches to Fan Identity, and they began a multi-post survey of acafannish research and publishing resources.
IV. GOVERNANCE
In December, Board announced the resignations of two directors: Kathryn Solderholm and Erica Frank. We would like to thank Erica and Kathryn for their service as members of the Board, and wish them all the best in their future endeavours with the OTW.
In January, Board finalized and approved the OTW Procurement & Purchasing Policy. They and the Board Assistants Team (BAT) organised the first quarter of 2026 public Board meeting on January 18 which had 54 attendees. Minutes of this meeting will be available soon on the OTW website. Elsewhere, Board and BAT continued work on document review and archiving board statements, Code of Conduct tasks in conjunction with Organizational Culture Roadmap, and ongoing projects for mental health resources for volunteers, scheduling tools, public meeting best practices and volunteer retention in BAT. BAT also updated their OTW website committee page.
Organizational Culture Roadmap finalized a confidentiality policy in preparation for upcoming external recruitment.
V. OUR VOLUNTEERS
In December, Volunteers & Recruiting thanked all OTW volunteers on International Volunteer Day with their organization-wide email and graphics campaign. In January, they ran recruitment for Open Doors.
From November 22 to January 23, Volunteers & Recruiting received 355 new requests, and completed 378, leaving them with 52 open requests (including induction and removal tasks listed below). As of January 23, 2025, the OTW has 1,013 volunteers. \o/ Recent personnel movements are listed below.
New Subcommittee Leads/Workgroup Heads: Eevee (Internal Complaint and Conflict Resolution Lead) and megidola (Organizational Culture Roadmap Workgroup Head)
New AO3 Documentation Volunteers: Lulu S (Chair Trainee)
New Fanlore Volunteers: Elfie, Konsta Morales, Watts, and 1 other Graphic Designer
New Open Doors Volunteers: Addiebees, AviLine, feelyx, LeighR, Marie K, meservey66, MetaKass, miffmiff, Mort, pinkconstellations, SleepyJane, Spit, StormySea, Truendz, Vail, and 11 other Import Assistants
New Policy & Abuse Volunteers: megidola (Supervisor) and 1 Chair Track Volunteer
New Tag Wrangling Volunteers: Chelsea Cheyanne, inspiredstork, Sanity, will, and Yrindor (Supervisors)
New Translation Volunteers: Rhine and 1 other Chair Trainee; Arushi, athursdayschild, Eirinar, Linarii, Mira8, Niki K, Phoebe B, Pi, Rita P, and 12 other Translators
New TWC Volunteers: Fiona M, Yumi, and 3 other Layout Editors; and 2 Outreach and Communications Editors
New User Response Translation Volunteers: Eki, f0f8ff, HARRitte, Jules R, Laus, PanPan, rosings, zoy zauce, and 3 other Translators
Departing Directors: Erica Frank and Kathryn Soderholm
Departing Committee Chairs: 1 Communications Chair and 1 Elections Chair
Departing BAT Volunteers: 1 Volunteer
Departing Communications Volunteers: KW Ukuku (TikTok Moderator), Lori P (Graphics Volunteer), 1 Fanhacker Volunteer, and 1 Social Media Moderator
Departing Communications News Post Moderation Volunteers: 1 News Post Moderator
Departing Development & Membership Volunteers: 1 Graphic Designer, 2 Membership Data Specialists, and 2 Volunteers
Departing Fanlore Volunteers: 1 Discord Moderator, 1 Outreach Analyst, and 1 Policy & Admin
Departing Open Doors Volunteers: Pelagia and 1 other Administrative Volunteer, Wynne (Import Assistant), and 1 FCPP Intern
Departing Policy & Abuse Volunteers: 1 Volunteer
Departing Strategic Planning Volunteers: 1 Volunteer
Departing Support Volunteers: Nary and 22 other Volunteers
Departing Tag Wrangling Volunteers: Nary and 1 other Supervisor; Asas Carmesins, Bruno, Eevee, lianneder, Lily_Haydee_Lohdisse, McBangle, Sayornis, Tea Huimyni, and 10 other Wranglers
Departing Translation Volunteers: Teelee (Task Assistant); Illiterations and 4 Translators
Departing TWC Volunteers: Melanie Kohnen (Review Editor); Courtney Lazore and 1 other Proofreader; and 1 Symposium Editor
Departing User Response Translation Volunteers: 1 Translator
Departing Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteers: 1 Senior Volunteer and 2 Volunteers
For more information about our committees and their regular activities, you can refer to the committee pages on our website.
Fancake's Theme for February: Inept in Love
Feb. 5th, 2026 09:15 amrunpunkrun
Just in time for Valentine's Day,
fancake's theme for February is Inept in Love! This round is for all those dingdongs who just do not know what they're doing when it comes to romance or even expressing their feelings for a best friend or family member.If you have any questions about this theme, or the comm, come talk to me!
Thursday Word: Heckle
Feb. 5th, 2026 06:11 amcalzephyr posting in 1word1dayHeckle
So, you think you know certain words? Their meaning is so obvious, right? Today, I present heckle, a word that's just more than a word!
Meet the heckle, also called a hackle or hatchel. It's a comb used to straighten flax or hemp fibres. Heckling is the final step in preparing these fibres before spinning, performed by hecklers, sometimes in a heckling factory or shop. The work was tough and performed by men and women--female hecklers were called hekelsteres.
Heckle in English dates to 1300 when it was a flax comb and was spelled hechel. It either came from hecel in Old English or from a Germanic source. Middle High German had hechel and Middle Dutch had hekel, both of which come from a root word for a hook or tooth.
Now, how do we get from a pointy comb to the kind of heckler we think of at protests, comedy clubs, sports matches, and speeches?
Well, although heckler originated in the mid-14th century , it escaped the realms of textile production by the 1880s when it was first used to describe "persons who harass"--that is, hecklers from Dundee, Scotland, developed a reputation for their vocal interruptions and spirited discussions. One heckler often read newspapers aloud during the work day, and the shops and factories became centres for labour activism.
Now you know!
So, you think you know certain words? Their meaning is so obvious, right? Today, I present heckle, a word that's just more than a word!
Meet the heckle, also called a hackle or hatchel. It's a comb used to straighten flax or hemp fibres. Heckling is the final step in preparing these fibres before spinning, performed by hecklers, sometimes in a heckling factory or shop. The work was tough and performed by men and women--female hecklers were called hekelsteres.
Heckle in English dates to 1300 when it was a flax comb and was spelled hechel. It either came from hecel in Old English or from a Germanic source. Middle High German had hechel and Middle Dutch had hekel, both of which come from a root word for a hook or tooth.
#/media/File:Hatchel_of_the_Bugg_Family.jpg "Hatchel_of_the_Bugg_Family.jpg")
Now, how do we get from a pointy comb to the kind of heckler we think of at protests, comedy clubs, sports matches, and speeches?
Well, although heckler originated in the mid-14th century , it escaped the realms of textile production by the 1880s when it was first used to describe "persons who harass"--that is, hecklers from Dundee, Scotland, developed a reputation for their vocal interruptions and spirited discussions. One heckler often read newspapers aloud during the work day, and the shops and factories became centres for labour activism.
Now you know!
Online attending conference
Feb. 5th, 2026 10:21 amoursin(This may get updated over the course of the day)
After struggling to get Zoom link downloaded and operating etc, managed to get into first session I wanted to attend, Foundling Hospital in early C20th, good grief, practices had not changed much in a century had they? Recipe for trauma in mothers, children, and the foster mothers who actually bonded with the children until they were taken away to be eddicated according to their station in life.
Then switched to a different panel and was IRKED by a lit person talking about the Women's Cooperative Guild Maternity: Letters from Working Women (1915) which they had only just encountered ahem ahem - was republished by I think Virago? Pandora? in 1970s - and women's history has done quite a bit on the WCG since then so JEEZ I was peeved at her assumption that the working women were not agents but the whole thing was being run by the upper/middle class activists who were most visibly involved. And wanted to query whether working women thought it was very useful to have posh laydeez able to put their cases re maternity, child welfare and so on in corridors of power, rather than deferentially curtseying??? (I should like to go back in time and ask my dear Stella Browne about that.)
Also on wymmynz voices not, or at least hard to trace, in the archives, I fancy this person does not know a) Marie Stopes' volume Mother England (1929), extracts of letters she had from women about motherhood and b) based on 1000s of letters surviving and available to researchers. I could, indeed, point to other resources, fume, mutter.
Update Well, there were some later papers I dropped in on and enjoyed (and was able to offer comment/questions on; but I was obliged to point out certain errors in a description of Joanna Russ's The Female Man (really I think if you are going to cite a work you should check details....) (and I suppose Mitchison's work was just outside the remit of what they were talking about, so I was very self-restrained and failed to go on about Naomi.)
(no subject)
Feb. 5th, 2026 06:42 amastronomypicofday_feed
Most galaxies don't have any rings -- why does this galaxy have three?
Help with translating some phrases/lines from a historical Cdrama?
Feb. 5th, 2026 11:46 amgrayswandir posting in c_entHey! :) So, I've been working on making English subs for a historical Cdrama (set in the mid 1700s/early Qianlong era), Take Care, Your Highness (it's an old Hong Kong series from the 80s, and tbh I don't particularly recommend it unless you're already into old TVB shows XD but I decided to make a project of subtitling it while watching it last summer). I've got all 20 episodes done now, except for a few places where I either still can't understand the Chinese or am not sure how best to translate a historical term. So, some questions! I'd be grateful if anyone can help. :)
(I've included the Mandarin subtitles for most of my questions below, so there's no need to know Cantonese. And I've also converted everything to simplified characters — but you can scroll down and click the spoiler cut at the bottom to see the same post with traditional characters.)
( General translation questions )
( Historical terms and titles )
( Literary stuff )
( A couple of Cantonese questions )
And, since I can't really read simplified and can't guarantee that everything got converted correctly above:
(I've included the Mandarin subtitles for most of my questions below, so there's no need to know Cantonese. And I've also converted everything to simplified characters — but you can scroll down and click the spoiler cut at the bottom to see the same post with traditional characters.)
( General translation questions )
( Historical terms and titles )
( Literary stuff )
( A couple of Cantonese questions )
And, since I can't really read simplified and can't guarantee that everything got converted correctly above:
Click here for the same questions, but with traditional characters instead of simplified.
- Some general translation questions:
- What does "你真是吃了大蒜了" mean? In context, it seems like the speaker is saying something like "you've really lost your mind," but I've tried googling and can't find any reference for the meaning of "eating a garlic." (The Cantonese is the same, "你真係食大蒜喇.")
- "你把我的頭都給問大了" – Is this like "You're making my head spin [with all these questions]"?
- Speaking about a scroll on a table, someone says "我有一次不小心掀了一下." Does this mean he casually/carelessly picked it up? Or opened it? (The Cantonese sounds like "我有一次唔覺意[挈?]咗一下.")
- The context for this one is that Character A is being hired as the nursemaid of a (kidnapped) baby, and wants to know if she'll be living in the same room with the baby. She asks"我是不是跟他住一間房？" and is told (by the guy who hired her, who is also trying to sleep with her) "不一定。有時候也許會換到其他房子。" My question is, is there any way to know whether the answer means "sometimes the baby might be put in another room" or "sometimes you might be moved to another room"?
- For this question I'm mostly wondering how the grammar works in the last part of this sentence: "朝中文武百官，人人得而誅之." Google Translate says this means "All civil and military officials in the court have the right to execute him," which makes sense in context (so I assume it's correct), but I don't understand how 得而誅之 translates to "have the right to execute [him]." Does this follow some kind of idiomatic/literary grammar construction?
- Context for this one is the Emperor saying he's already taken precautions against an enemy; he says he's arranged everything, and as soon as his enemy makes any move, "朕就可以仁至義盡." I'm not sure how to understand 仁至義盡 here, as it seems to mean showing kindness/benevolence? Is the phrase being used sarcastically?
Some questions about historical terms or phrases: - Is there an established/common way to translate 國丈 (a term for the Emperor's father-in-law/the father of the Empress)?
- Similar question: how should I translate 總管 as a title, e.g. when people address 王總管? "Steward Wang"?
- And another: how should I translate 嫡妃 (meaning the legitimate/primary/first wife)? In context, the Crown Prince is offering to marry a woman and make her his 嫡妃, so my guess would be "Crown Princess"?
- Two terms with第 that I'm not sure how to translate: 太史第 and 上書第. It seems 太史 can mean Court Astronomer, Imperial Historian , or Grand Scribe, so is 太史第 like "The Grand Scribe's Residence" or maybe "The Grand Scribe's Office"?? And is 上書第, like... "The Memorial Scribe's Manor"? "The Memorials Office"??
- I think I've got this, but I just want to check my translation: "戶部侍郎兼軍機處行走" → "Vice-Minister of Revenue and a member of the Grand Council" (I can't find any dictionary references for 行走 meaning "member," but Google Translate gives this meaning, and it seems to make sense in context).
- Can I translate "三條胡同" as "Third Street"? Context is someone saying they're not sure where a certain house is located ("不知是在三條胡同那兒").
- In one scene, the Emperor orders for his son to be taken back to "溫寢宮." This term seems to refer to the residence/quarters of the Emperor, so since it's the Emperor himself speaking, can I translate it as something like "take him back to my palace"?
- Does "紫玉樓" refer to a specific place and/or is it some kind of metaphor? It's mentioned in two different scenes. From context, my best guess is that it refers to the residence of the Prince Consort (駙馬爺), but I can't find any confirmation of this. In one scene, the Princess (the Prince Consort's wife) is visiting her father-in-law's villa, and he says "請把這兒當作紫玉樓一樣" (Cantonese: "請當呢度係紫玉樓一樣"), and his sentiment seems likely to be "make yourself at home." In another scene, the same Princess is offered a villa to live in, but declines, asking"住在這兒和住在紫玉樓有什麼分別呢？" i.e. "what's the difference between living here and living in 紫玉樓?" But I can't tell if 紫玉樓 refers to her actual home or if it has some broader/metaphorical meaning.
- Is there (or historically was there) a river called 多羅大河? A general says "我軍已經進入多羅大河," but I can't seem to find any reference for a "Duoluo River." Am I missing something, or is this a fictional river name the writers invented?
- I suspect the writers just screwed this up, but it baffles me so I've got to ask about it. In one scene, Qianlong has a map that was drawn by the Kangxi Emperor. On the map is written "康熙甲子手御筆" (which, as far as I can tell, should mean the map was drawn in 1684, the only Jiazi year that happened in Kangxi's lifetime). After reading these words aloud, Qianlong comments, "這是皇阿爺十幾歲時劃的" (Cantonese: "係皇阿爺十幾歲嗰陣時劃嘅"), which should mean Kangxi (Qianlong's grandfather) drew the map when he was in his teens... but this makes no sense? Kangxi would have been 30 in 1684. A few minutes later, Qianlong comments that it's been sixty-some years since the map was drawn, which should mean the map was drawn sometime between 1665-1675 (because the present-day setting has to be 1735, as Qianlong is about to take the throne). Is there some possible way "康熙甲子" could refer to a year between 1665-1675? Or did the writers just throw "康熙甲子" into the script because it sounded cool/historical, with no regard for what year it actually referred to??
Literary questions - There's a scene where one of the characters (an irreverent teenager who is abusing his tutor by writing poetry on him with a brush) quotes from the poem 愛蓮說, but changes the lines slightly. The original poem says "牡丹之愛，宜乎眾矣," but he changes the words to "牡丹之愛宜『平稟』矣"). I can't understand the meaning of the changed line. Any help on how to translate this??
- A woman sends her lover a breakup letter, and also returns to him a broken jade pendant that was his gift to her. Her letter opens with the line "玉碎珠還." This doesn't seem to be a common phrase in itself, but there seem to be several similar common phrases (玉碎珠沉, 珠沉玉碎, 玉碎珠沒), and per Google they usually refer to something beautiful irreparably lost, especially a woman who has died. What I don't understand is how to interpret 還 in this version. "The jade is broken, the pearls are returned"? Or does 還 have some other meaning I'm missing?
A couple of questions specifically about Cantonese terms - The context here is a guy who is being invited to share a meal with some people he holds a grudge against; he declines and says what sounds like "費事食完之後背脊骨落" or maybe "費事食完老子有背脊骨落." The Mandarin subs say "免得吃了以後反胃," which is quite different, but I have no idea what "背脊骨落" means...
- I don't even know how to transcribe this one. XD A girl (who has just gone out shopping at some street stalls with the Emperor) tells her husband "我同皇上去咗[騎騎嘰?]" — I'm pretty sure the first two syllables are ke4 ke4 (probably 騎騎?), the third could be gi/git/ki/kit? Seems like a high or mid tone? The girl's husband seems confused by the term, but she doesn't really explain what it means when he asks. (The Mandarin subs just say "我跟皇上去逛街".)
starandreaSo Garmin has a sleep coach, and every day it has prompted me gently, "You could use a little more sleep. Try getting 8 hours tonight."
Until today when it told me, "You could use a lot more sleep. Try getting 9 hours tonight."
Marci says it's doubling down.
Robin says there's a pace coach too: if you tell it how quickly you want to finish a race it will give you a pacing strategy. I asked her if "keep going" was a pace or a strategy, and she said she uses the "don't stop but slow down until you're barely moving" strategy.
That one's my favorite, I said.
Until today when it told me, "You could use a lot more sleep. Try getting 9 hours tonight."
Marci says it's doubling down.
Robin says there's a pace coach too: if you tell it how quickly you want to finish a race it will give you a pacing strategy. I asked her if "keep going" was a pace or a strategy, and she said she uses the "don't stop but slow down until you're barely moving" strategy.
That one's my favorite, I said.
GenPrompt Bingo: Freestyle Crossover
Feb. 4th, 2026 07:33 pmsenmutAO3 Link | Washed Up on the Beach (100 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Comics (General)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Wanda Maximoff, Anna Marie
Additional Tags: Drabble, Crossover, +Modern Age (1986-Present)
Summary:
"Sugah, did you have a moment?" Rogue asked, looking ahead at the pack of grazing dinosaurs. Wanda shook her head to try and clear it, and decided that was definitely a valid question from her friend.
"I don't think I did?"
"It's not the Savage Land," Rogue said, after testing all her senses against this island they'd crashed on.
"So some mad scientist bought an island for cloning? Those don't look like the newer pictures of what dinosaurs are supposed to look like, after all."
"Well, before we find their hunting kind, let's get the comms back."
"Good plan, Rogue."
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Comics (General)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Wanda Maximoff, Anna Marie
Additional Tags: Drabble, Crossover, +Modern Age (1986-Present)
Summary:
Two mutant ladies... and dinos?
"Sugah, did you have a moment?" Rogue asked, looking ahead at the pack of grazing dinosaurs. Wanda shook her head to try and clear it, and decided that was definitely a valid question from her friend.
"I don't think I did?"
"It's not the Savage Land," Rogue said, after testing all her senses against this island they'd crashed on.
"So some mad scientist bought an island for cloning? Those don't look like the newer pictures of what dinosaurs are supposed to look like, after all."
"Well, before we find their hunting kind, let's get the comms back."
"Good plan, Rogue."
Daily Check-In
Feb. 4th, 2026 06:09 pmstarwatcher posting in fandom_checkinThis is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Wednesday, February 4, to midnight on Thursday, February 5. (8pm Eastern Time).
Poll #34183 Daily Check-in
This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 31
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 31
How are you doing?
I am OK.
18 (60.0%)
I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
12 (40.0%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans live with you?
I am living single.
13 (41.9%)
One other person.
12 (38.7%)
More than one other person.
6 (19.4%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.