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juan_gandhi at 11:01am on 21/04/2026 under русофобия
juan_gandhi at 11:01am on 21/04/2026 under русофобияПослушал-таки я это обращение Бони.
Тьфу.
Извините.
Reload page in style: light
Network.
juan_gandhi at 11:01am on 21/04/2026 under русофобияПослушал-таки я это обращение Бони.
Тьфу.
Извините.
ysabetwordsmith at 12:07am on 21/04/2026 under call for prompts, cyberfunded creativity, fantasy, fiction, magpie monday, networking, readingdialecticdreamer is hosting Magpie Monday with a theme of "Recovering from Setbacks." Leave prompts, get ficlets!
busySo many hot topics, so little time.
music: I've said repeatedly that I think Trump is suffering from untreated syphilis. I'm still holding to that theory. I keep expecting to see pockmarks of dissolving flesh soon, but he keeps getting his skin covered up with makeup or bandages. It's only a matter of time, though. Meanwhile, I'm making a song playlist for that special day that must arrive eventually. Do you have any songs to recommend for this list (YouTube)?
job: Today at work was more than usual. I was late (30 minutes) going to lunch, and I was late (45 minutes) clocking out. I need to leave early sometime this week, so I don't have overtime to report.
stockpile: I've warned before that you need to buy what you can now, while you can. I reiterate that message now.
Click to read a list of things I expect to decrease in availability or value...
libertarianism: This topic deserves a whole post of its own, but I think I finally have the thing that will help the USA snap out of this terrible decades-long devotion to neoliberal economics. It's been happening ever since the Powell memo of 1971, since the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposed the Humphrey Hawkins Act of 1978 to stop USA's transition to social democracy, and since 1980 when Ronald Reagan launched his presidential campaign promoting so-called trickle-down economics (or "voodoo economics" to quote another former President). Go to whichever AI chatbot you can access, and ask it this particular question:
"Use the Price equation to model the paradox of tolerance. What conditions (like detection of defectors and removal of non-cooperative actors) are required to make that comparison accurate."I want to delve farther into its answer. It seems to call out the ills of libertarian politics and neoliberal economics. The people demolishing our detection, reporting, intervention, and funding institutions know exactly what they're trying to accomplish. It's like they already understand the Price equation but have sided with demons to create perpetual cruelty in a libertarian hellscape instead of choosing the other option offered by the equation. They're succeeding so far, and this AI answer might help us defend attempts to restore/rebuild community, using incontrovertible math as justification.
I'm reminded of an idea I had before that our government should make it easy for citizens to do good things, and maybe that should be the next great push in governance goals. I have to write more about what's needed as we begin the restoration of the USA and its foundational ideals.
The beginning is near. Are you preparing?
busyysabetwordsmith at 01:40pm on 20/04/2026 under cyberfunded creativity, fantasy, fishbowl, poetry, reading, shopping, weblit, writingThis week, the poetry of Polychrome Heroics is on sale for half price from Monday, April 20 through Sunday, April 26. This series is superhero fantasy. It features themes of heroism, coming of age, diversity, identity kink, family of choice, friendship, and cultural engineering. Sale prices range from $5 to $319, so hopefully there will be something for everyone.
Prices on open epics are locked at the time of opening; however, if anyone wants to donate to open epics and buy poetry, spending $100 will get you the quarter-price rate on the new poems, regardless of the rate on the open epic(s) you support. There are no open epics at present, so you may open one if you wish.
We are repeating the special discount for purchases of $100 or more, in which you get poetry at 25% of its original price instead of 50%. (Note that this increases the amount of poetry you get, rather than reducing the amount of money spent; the point is to get this stuff off of my desk. Yes, I can afford it.) That size of donation also makes you a k-fan which comes with some other perks, like a year-end collection of a poetic series. If several folks want to bundle their orders to make the $100 threshold and have one person send it all, that's okay; you'll get the discount and I'll list all your names as donors, but you'll have to decide amongst you who gets the k-fan credit. If you host a pool, please close it the day before the sale closes, so you have time to collect funds and turn them in on time.
Some of the poems are in sequence of related action, so in places there are prerequisites before a poem can be published. They can be sponsored at any time, just might have to wait for publication until something else gets posted first. Those are marked accordingly. I have also made lists of poems which unlock sequels, and poems which have prerequisites.
Linkback perk: The following poems have verses left to reveal. Boost the signal for this half-price sale and tell me which poem you want to extend.
"A Sense of Weather Changes"
"The Loving Embrace of Night"
"Generations of Cooks Past"
"Homefree and Clear "
"One Bite at a Time"
"Mishpocha"
"Changing Your Nature"
"Besa"
About characters and storylines: The storylines feature multiple characters, so if you want poems about ONE specific character, look closely. The thumbnail descriptions here give some indication who features in each poem. The storyline pages are adding precise, complete information about which characters appear in each poem. If you need more than what's already visible, you can ask me.
About timing: If you want maximum choice, shop early. We usually send a batch of things to my father near the end of a sale, and those poems will be posted as I have time.
About pools: Yes, you can combine your funds with other prompters to get the quarter-price rate. Yes, you can combine your funds with other prompters to buy a bigger poem. Yes, you can offer to match donations by other people. However, the wordsmith is not also a math whiz! After several attempts to find a way that I can work with pools and matches, I have concluded that this is over my head. (I did figure out how to avoid generating fractional pennies, though: all initial prices are now whole dollars, which means they cut evenly into halves and quarters.) So if you want to host a pool or a match, make a post for that in your blog or other venue, then comment here with what you're doing and include a link to wherever the discussion will be. You figure out the poems, you collect the funds, and when stuff is fully funded, you send me the money and the list of what it's for. Then I'll post the goodies. Please close the pool in time to collect donations by the end of the sale, so I can start posting pool poems no later than the day after the sale.
Before placing your order, please check this sale page to see what is still unsold! I will try to update the page as things sell, and it's likely to be the case that some poems will be marked SOLD before appearing in posts. People often buy things in batches, which means that selling gets ahead of posting. Also sometimes people ask for the same thing at the same time, so that not all overlaps are preventable. If you have alternate instructions in case you request something that has just sold, please include that in your message; otherwise I'll email you back and ask what you want to do.
Poems that unlock sequels: "Where You Find Light," "When You Learn to Read," "Your Emotional Abilities"
Poems that have prerequisites: "When You Learn to Read," "No Faster or Firmer Friendships," "A Beautiful Paradox"
"The Frequent Passage from Hand to Hand"
Story Date: April 2002
Summary: Kraken appreciates BookCrossing.
56 lines, was $20, sale price $10
"Filled with Things You Don't Know"
Story Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Summary: Marjane works on library decor and gets a new assistant.
98 lines, was $49, sale price $24.50
"Lágrimas da Floresta Tropical"
Story Date: Monday, November 17, 2014
Summary: Pinion and Camberhawk team up with Kayapó forest guardians to stop a logging incursion.
170 lines, was $85, sale price $42.50
RUTLEDGE (5 poems, was $867, sale price $433.50)
"Nothing Like Looking"
Story Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Summary: Aria visits Rutledge as part of Many Paths Up the Mountain.
466 lines, was $233, sale price $116.50
"Your Emotional Abilities"
Story Date: Saturday, May 30, 2015
Summary: Amethyst gives Johan some ideas about accommodations that might help cope with his current challenges.
366 lines, was $183, sale price $91.50
"Shag Carpet Cuddles"
Story Date: June 2015
Summary: The Vermont Shag Carpet Cats love snuggling with people.
19 lines, was $10, sale price $5
"A Beautiful Paradox"
Story Date: Friday, June 5, 2015
Summary: Johan loses his temper
259 lines, was $130, sale price $65
Available for posting after "Your Emotional Abilities" has been sponsored and published.
"Learning New Skills"
Story Date: Sunday, June 12, 2016
Summary: Wrenley Immen teaches her new neighbor about gardening.
311 lines, was $311, sale price $155.50
Double price for research.
SHIV (5 poems, was $264, sale price $132)
"The Graffiti of the Rich"
Story Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Summary: When someone paints over a graffit wall, Shiv leaves a pointed message.
28 lines, was $15, sale price $7.50
"Let the Glass Make Itself"
Story Date: Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Summary: Dale Chihuly rebuilds after the Big One.
45 lines, was $20, sale price $10
"An Expression That Crosses Boundaries"
Story Date: Saturday, July 9, 2016
Summary: Shiv and Pain's Gray make treats to celebrate Rutledge setting up a teleport hub, and they visit Kardal at the Syrian Foods truck.
236 lines, was $118, sale price $59
"Always Guided by Passion"
[Morning of Saturday, September 17, 2016]
Summary: Shiv discusses graffiti with Bo-Art and Creamjeans.
51 lines, was $20, sale price $10
"Never Turn Your Back"
Story Date: Thursday, October 6, 2016
Summary: An incident at college leaves Shiv striving to rescue a classmate.
182 lines, was $91, sale price $45.50
OTHER POLYCHROME POEMS (8 poems, was $1978, sale price $989)
"The Four Marks of True Repentance"
Story Date: Monday, August 13, 2013
Summary: Three former child soldiers move to America.
953 lines, was $477, sale price $238.50
"When Everyone Around You Has Theirs Bowed"
Story Date: Sunday, April 6, 2014
Summary: Therapy for men's genital injury tends to focus on loss, but Marvis Willing knows the proud history of eunuchs.
304 lines, was $152, sale price $76
"Let's Go on This Journey Together"
Story Date: Monday, September 29, 2014
Summary: After breaking his arm, Linus gets a lot of support from his friends.
638 lines, was $638, sale price $319
Double price for research.
"Hear a Thousand Stars Singing"
Story Date: Night of Sunday, October 25, 2015
Summary: Fascinated by the idea of becoming a robonaut, Quain takes up stargazing.
28 lines, was $15, sale price $7.50
"Far Stronger Links"
Story Date: Friday, September 4, 2015
Summary: A coworker's loss inspires support at work.
515 lines, was $258, sale price $129
"Aim a Little Above It"
Nagi deals with a young man who tries to rob her.
260 lines, was $130, sale price $65
"Formidable Tasks of Adaptation"
Story Date: Sunday, March 20, 2016
Summary: Denim has had enough of her parents' shit.
359 lines, was $180, sale price $90
"Upholding It, Wherever Found"
Story Date: Thursday, November 3, 2016
Summary: Gail Somerville works for Interpol, but feels increasingly uncomfortable with it.
256 lines, was $128, sale price $64
busy
james_davis_nicoll at 02:30pm on 20/04/2026james_davis_nicoll at 02:11pm on 20/04/2026 under bundle of holdingysabetwordsmith at 12:55pm on 20/04/2026 under birdfeeding, gardening, illinois, nature, personal, wildlife busyjames_davis_nicoll at 12:11pm on 20/04/2026 under aurora award
rolanni at 11:47am on 20/04/2026 under books read in 202619 An Heir of Distinction (Bad Heir Days #5), Grace Burrowes (e)
18 Longeye (Fey Duology #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
17 Duainfey (Fey Duology #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller***
16 *Crystal Dragon (Liaden Universe® #10), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
15 *Crystal Soldier (Liaden Universe® #9), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
14 Seeking Persephone (Lancaster Family #1), Sarah M. Eden (e)
13 Theo of Golden, Allen Levi (e) book club
12 *Balance of Trade (Liaden Universe® #8), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
11 *Scout's Progress (Liaden Universe® #6), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
10 *Local Custom, (Liaden Universe® #5), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
9 *I Dare (Liaden Universe® #7), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller**
8 Cuckoo's Egg, C J Cherryh, (audio first time)
7 *Plan B, (Liaden Universe® #4), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
6 Getting Rid of Bradley, Jennifer Crusie (audio first time)
5 *Carpe Diem (Liaden Universe® #3), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
4 *Conflict of Honors (Liaden Universe® #2), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
3 *Agent of Change (Liaden Universe® #1), Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
2 A Gentleman in Possession of Secrets (Lord Julian #10), Grace Burrowes (e)
1 Spilling the Tea in Gretna Green, Linzi Day (e)
________
*I'm doing a straight-through series read in publication order
**I screwed up and moved right on to I Dare from Plan B, therefore deviating from publication order. I will now amend myself and go back to pick up Local Custom.
***I'll be re-issuing Duainfey and Longeye as an e-omnibus later this year, and so I need to read them!
cahn finally made me check them out. These four novels cover the "Year of the Four Emperors", aka the time between the uprising against Nero and his suicide and the emergence of Vespasian as the final victor of a year long struggle for the rule of the Roman Empire during which three different candidates before Vespasian all rose and fell. These novels' most inspired narrative decision was to tell these events from the pov of the palace staff, slaves and freedmen (and -women) alike, so we have an ongoing set of characters, partly historical in origin, partly fictional, through whose eyes we see wannabe Emperors come and go. gelliaclodiana, you were looking for a depiction of Domitian where he's not a (present or future) psycho; this is it. He has teenage angst, but is clearly bright, and the sympathetic characters of the novel like him.) There are also those who for entirely non lethal reasons are just in one novel but noth another (not least because they wisely high tail it out of Rome when their survival demands it, like Nero's mistress of the wardrobe - and orgy choreographer - Calvia Crispinilla). As I said, some of these are actual historical figures (like Epaphroditos, Sporus or Caenis), others are fictional, but all of them have had the experience of powerlessness in the past even if they don't in the present, and that means the emotional stakes are there in a way they probably wouldn't be if we were just following the Emperors. For example: there are plenty of good reasons to depose Nero, of course. You don't fret for Nero himself. But then you realise the Praetorians taking the palace also means they're going to feel themselves entitled to have a go (i.e. rape) at Nero's slaves, and suddenly you care very much. Or: there is a famous incident involving the crowd when Galba arrives at the Milvian bridge. But Teretia and her father are within the crowd who has shown up to greet their new Emperor, which means said incident now feels incredibly personal. and so forth. 
impressed busyysabetwordsmith at 09:57pm on 19/04/2026 under art, birdfeeding, crafts, environment, how to, meta, nature, reading, wildlife, writing busyysabetwordsmith at 08:21pm on 19/04/2026 under materials: mixed, materials: notebook, medium: mixed, medium: paper, post type: tutorial busy busy| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
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